The Fountain of Youth: Nutritional Therapies and Dr. David Vastola’s case study based Secrets of the Morning Report has been acquired by Skyhorse’s imprint Carrel Books!

The Fountain of Youth: Nutritional Therapies and Dr. David Vastola’s case study based Secrets of the Morning Report has been acquired by Skyhorse’s imprint Carrel Books!

Much scientific evidence suggests that taking a daily multivitamin-and-mineral supplement is a sensible precaution to help avoid nutrient deficiencies. David L. Vastola, D. O. wrote The Fountain of Youth: Nutritional Therapies to demystify the complicated world of vitamins, minerals, supplements and herbs. His common sense approach, combined with the science to back it up, explains what the product labels do not. FDA, RDA and directional use provided on bottles are not necessarily individually applicable. Each person is unique and his technique of defragmenting the information on a personal level is enlightening.

"Vitamins are really a misnomer when it comes to nutrient therapy because you must consider not only vitamins but minerals, trace elements and herbal remedies. In The Fountain of Youth: Nutritional Therapies, I go into a great deal of fundamental information about how, when and the reasons why they are so important. I also outline my theories on aging and how to avoid the aging process. I also explain how current concepts are so outdated like the recommended daily allowances (RDA) that need to be disregarded. As a sad corollary, nutritional collegiate programs lack an integrated approach to standard medical therapies therefore making them burdensome and ineffective. That’s the reason why I wrote this book, to bridge what I see as a major obstacle in understanding and using appropriately these nutritional additives."

Secrets of the Morning Report, delves into the “behind-the-scenes” of what physicians do or don’t do and why. The information shared in this work is most beneficial in understanding your physician, what to look for as far as his/her credentials, what doctors go through in order to practice and the importance of communicating effectively with them so your treatment is most effective. A must read. Secrets of the Morning Report is all based on fact relating to his patient experiences while doing his internship, residency and fellowship at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Also incorporated into the dialogue are lessons learned and passed on for the reader; a program that is taught through all five senses. Why not learn from these cases, even though it happened forty years ago?  The lessons illustrated are very relevant for all of us. They relay vividly how they will play out for the patient: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and outcome.

Dr. Vastola is a Board Certified Internal Medicine and Gastroenterologist who has done extensive research proving that taking vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements is a sensible precaution to avoiding nutrient deficiencies that are common throughout life. He also believes that candidness and positive communication between patient and physician, as well as being diligent and proactive are the keys to staying healthy.

Vastola has had two movie producers film the pilot for a reality TV series based on his practice in Florida, Good Health Hunting. The TV program has been accepted for five (5) film festivals starting with the Ft. Lauderdale. Promo video of the pilot http://vimeo.com/92357009  James Biden, brother of Vice President Joe Biden, is in the pilot as one of Dr. Vastola’s patients. Improperly diagnosed by the White House physician, he sought out Dr. Vastola who correctly diagnosed him with a rare form of Leukemia. Among his other patients in Palm Beach Gardens, he has many celebrities, as well as others of his community and internationally, who seek his no-nonsense approach to healthcare.

David L. Vastola, D. O.
Your Good Health Medical Group, P. A.
11000 Prosperity Farms Rd. Suite 206
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
office phone 561-622-4646

http://www.yourgoodhealthfl.com/

Published by Skyhorse Publishing www.skyhorsepublishing.com 

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Stephen Doster’s novel Jesus Tree!!!

Stephen Doster’s novel Jesus Tree!!!

 Amazon

Fish Pond

BAM

B&N

IndieBound

Shelfari

Powell's Books

Stephen Doster’s long-awaited novel based on based on a true story, Jesus Tree, has been released and is now available. See below links for immediate purchase.

Knowing this really happened gives you a whole different perspective of what it was like for blacks and poor whites in the south during the early 20^th century.

In the summer of 1932, Ben, a black man originally from Sapelo Island, Georgia, heads to Waycross to hunt for work with his cousin Eli. Eli is lynched on a tall Georgia pine, for a crime he did not commit, which the people then named the “Jesus Tree.” Then Ben is wrongfully accused of murdering a white Methodist preacher. In fear for his family’s life, he is framed by the most influential man in town, Clayborne Cutler, and given forty years in a prison camp. What transpires between 1932 and 1972 will stay with you forever. Ben’s faith, integrity, and honor triumph over all evil.

Doster’s first novel, Lord Baltimore, published by John F. Blair in 2002 and nominated for the Pulitzer the same year, is the fictional account of a young man’s travels through Gullah country along the Georgia coast.  His second book, Voices from St. Simons: Personal Narratives of an Island’s Past, published by John F. Blair in 2008, is an oral history of the island’s people.

Deer Hawk Publications fell in love with his works two years ago with an immediate release of Doster’s nonfiction, Georgia Witness, a compilation of twenty-six interviews with some of the most influential Georgians of the 20^th and 21st centuries: Griffin Bell, Ruby Crawford, Willie Mae Robinson, Bill Brown, Irene Cordell, Sam Massell, Jr., Patrick Demere, William Ladson, Floyd Faust, Lucian Sneed, Clarice Strother, Vic Waters, Chuck Leavell, Pat McDonald, Ron Edenfield, Harriet Gilbert, Bob Woodward, Ted Dennard, Lewey Cato, Bootie Wood, Charles Gowen, Sonny Gibson, Dot White, Oscar Cruz, Mack Mattingly and Billy Winn. “Can’t” was never in any of their vocabularies either!

Six months later came Shadow Child which chronicles a historical artifact and the people it impacted from 1597 to the 21^st century. Exceptional historical writing written so well you could smell the musket powder from the first story and it kept you spellbound until the last word!

Next came Rose Bush, a southern novel which humorously and seriously exposes conflicts between environmentalists, a paper mill, and the aristocracy of a rural Georgia town. Simply one of the best depictions of the way things are done in the South.

Stephen Doster was born in England and grew up on St. Simons Island, Georgia. He is a student of history and has extensively researched the Gullah and Geechee cultures of South Carolina and Georgia. He received a degree in Marketing from the University of Georgia and has recently received his Master of Liberal Arts and Science degree with a certificate in history and is an assistant editor for a peer-review journal at Vanderbilt University. Stephen has appeared at BookExpo, the Southern Festival of Books, the Amelia Island Book Festival, The Southern Kentucky Book Fest and has spoken at colleges, historical societies, and library associations in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. He has been interviewed on public radio and television in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia. Currently, he is an assistant editor for a peer-review journal at Vanderbilt University. www.sdoster.com Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com. Published by Deer Hawk Publications www.deerhawkpublications.com

“Archie” By Trisha O’Keefe

“Archie”

By Trisha O’Keefe

Archie looked like a mistake. He wasn’t a hunting dog—long-eared, keen nose, and vocal cords like a gospel choir. He was pigeon-toed in front and spraddle-legged in back; the kind of dog that made you laugh just looking at him. His eyes were slightly crossed, his tail arched at an angle, and his ears didn’t match. One went up and the other down and then they would change places as if they couldn’t make up their minds which one should be on top.

          But Archie had heart. He was a scrapper and could hold his own in a yard fight. He would wag that crooked tail if you just looked at him, let alone spoke a kind word. He would do a little dance on those bowed hind legs for treats, the picture of ecstasy at such attention. He was used to being ignored.

          I forgot to mention Archie was a stray. Tossed from a car on a country highway, he wandered into our yard limping with a torn ear. Probably some fox thought this little mutt would make fine eating or a coyote pack approached him with the same thought in mind.  In spite of being slightly worse for wear, there he was at suppertime, wagging that crooked tail.  You can’t do much with an animal like that but love him.

          Archie had been abused, it was plain in the way he shied when you raised your hand too fast. He was particularly afraid of feet, being on the same level as they were and no doubt on the hurtful end of some kicks. Little dogs get underfoot sometimes. He therefore would growl at your feet and make a pre-emptive strike if you got too close.

          Archie was with us only a short while when he saved the church. It was a stormy night; the worst lightening we had seen all summer. All the dogs were asleep in a pile except him.  His crossed eyes were wide open and his ears moved up and down with each thunder clap. He seemed to sense something was going to happen. We don’t know why, but all of sudden, he started scratching at the door to go out. You see, Archie hadn’t grown accustomed yet to three squares and pigs’ ears treats. He often had to go charging out in the middle of the night, so someone  opened the screen door and off he went as if he were on a mission.

          We never saw him alive again. Apparently, he raced down to the village in that raging storm. A lightening strike had set the roof of the wooden church ablaze and the choir was inside, oblivious to anything but making a joyful noise when in rushed Archie, yapping insanely. Now we had put a collar on Archie, but no tags. He’d had the requisite shots, though we kept the tags at home, just in case they got lost. Nevertheless, he cleared out that church in a heartbeat before the fire even burned down to the first beam. He gave every appearance of a rabid dog.

          Then he raced back to the volunteer fire station to see if they were doing their job. They were, climbing on the ladder truck and heading toward the burning church. The volunteers came flying in their trucks, a flashing red light on their dashboards. One of them hit Archie in the pouring rain; we don’t know which one. It doesn’t much matter.

          We found our little hero by the side of the road, just a small grey mound of fur. The fireman held a service for Archie and made him posthumously a member of the volunteer fire crew. They even buried him in the churchyard behind some rosebushes. Somebody made a little headstone. It said “Archie of the Julia Springs Volunteer Fire Crew. Big heart. Little Dog. Died saving the church. We’ll Miss You, Archie.”

          Archie would have loved all that attention. I just hope there are pig’s ears up in heaven.       http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/trisha-okeefe/

God wants you to know that you have an opportunity this day to really affect someone's life for the better. Watch for it.

God wants you to know that you have an opportunity this day to really affect
someone's life for the better.  Watch for it.

Someone is needing something from you, and they are going to come right to you to get it.  Someone—friend or stranger, I don't know--will cross your path in the hours ahead, looking for the most important gift you can give them: uplift for the soul.

Your job: return them to themselves.  Find a way to allow them to feel good about themselves again.  Just
a word, or a smile, can do it.  You'll know what's needed it the moment!  www.CWGPortal.com

God wants you to know that all the problems you face today are going to go away, unless you worry them to stay.

God wants you to know that all the problems you face today are going to go away, unless you worry them to stay.

Problems like worry.  Worry is a magnet for them.  If you just "let it be," the current worrisome condition
will not even be part of your life a short time from now.

If you worry enough about it, however, you can be sure that it will stick around.  So, just do your best around all this...then turn it over to God. Yes? www.CWGPortal.com

Buzz Bernard signs with Loiacono Literary Agency for the 4th novel in his disaster/thriller series, BLIZZARD!

Buzz Bernard signs with Loiacono Literary Agency for the 4^th novel in his disaster/thriller series, BLIZZARD!

Bernard is on a roll and we hope he never runs out of momentum. BLIZZARD lives up to the same fast-paced, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat quality as EYEWALL, PLAGUE and SUPERCELL.

BLIZZARD focuses on a man who must get from Atlanta, Georgia, to Durham, North Carolina, through the worst blizzard in the history of the Southeast. Highways are closed and air transportation, shut down. And the storm isn't his only enemy. He's working against the clock and an outlaw biker carrying almost a million dollars’ worth of stolen cocaine.

            There's also conflict at The Natural Environment Television Network (NE-TV) in Atlanta: do they go public with a prediction of an historic snowstorm or not; be the first to cause mass chaos either way?

And then there are those affected by the white, fluffy stuff: some are involuntary victims and others have chosen to battle Mother Nature.

Life goes on either way…or does it?

Naïve or nefarious?

Bernard is writing from vast experience. He has a B. S. in Atmospheric Science, University of Washington, was a Weather Officer in the United States Air Force Reserve 1963-1996 (two tours in Vietnam 1965-1966, Meritorious Service Medal 1993, flew with Hurricane Hunters 1995, and Legion of Merit 1996), and worked as a meteorologist and defense contractor 1968-1996.

EYEWALL, PLAGUE, SUPERCELL, published by BelleBooks www.bellebooks.com
www.buzzbernard.com   
www.facebook.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com  

Rogue Phoenix Press acquires Shanty Gold, a story strength and perseverance, by Jeanne Charters!

Rogue Phoenix Press acquires Shanty Gold, a story strength and perseverance, by Jeanne Charters!

            In 1849’s famine-ravaged Ireland, thirteen-year-old Mary Boland is found lying mostly dead on the side of the road to Cork Harbor, Queenstown, Ireland. She just buried her mother and baby sister after they both died of starvation. Now she is headed for Boston to find her father— no matter what.

            Raped and beaten by the motley crew of The Pilgrim’s Dandy, she is rescued by a fifteen-year-old Negro slave who had been used in like manner for some time and had vowed to throw himself to the sharks that very night. Together they survive, helping others as well, the harrowing two and a half month trip. Their friendship is the key to the new world for both of them, carrying them through hardships and trials, and eventually to happiness.

A grand tale that is truer than we would like, yet spurs us to endeavor what people consider the impossible.

Charters became VP of marketing for Viacom TV, then branched-off and opened her own advertising agency, Charters Marketing. She has written for WNC Woman magazine and website. Her columns under the title, funny, isn't it? have appeared in most issues for the past twelve years. Funny, isn't it? (Catawba Press (now defunct), 2008) is a compilation of some of her best columns; illustrated by noted North Carolina artist, Marie Hudson, of Asheville, NC. Clothes Lines is a compilation of women's writings from across the state and country. Charters was honored to be included by Editors Celia H. Miles and Nancy Dillingham. She is currently working on the sequel, Lace Curtain. www.jeannecharters.com  Rogue Phoenix Press www.roguephoenixpress.com Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

“Deep Woods” A teaser for Love Song of the Chinaberry Man By Trisha O’Keefe

“Deep Woods”

A teaser for Love Song of the Chinaberry Man

By Trisha O’Keefe

We Southern women are tough as nails on the outside, but marshmallows within.  Therefore, it follows the males should be square-jawed versions of Clint Eastwood: gun-toting, spitting accurately, and cussing a blue streak.

            This describes my male cousins which is why this story is all the more believable.

            So when two of them took it in their  heads to go hunting one night down in a swamp, where I wouldn’t even set foot in the daytime, no one thought they were crazy. Nobody but me.  Not even if someone told me there was buried treasure three feet inside the tree line, would I go there.  I told them so.

            See, this swamp is the site of an old Mississippian burial mound and rumor has it some funny things have happened there.

             Undeterred, they left their truck at the trailhead, and hiked to the first deer stand, about a quarter of a mile into the woods. They had miners’ lights on their hunting caps; their knapsacks held sleeping bags and beer. They both carried their rifles in case of snakes or meth dealers.

            The bolder of the two, I’ll call him Robbie, went on to the second deer stand about a mile and a half further into the swamp.  He told Len, the less experienced hunter, to stay where he was and if there was any trouble, fire two shots in the air. They agreed to meet in the morning back at the truck.

            Robbie continued on, deeper into the swamp. At some point, a branch cracked behind him and, thinking it was a deer, he turned around.  Taking his flashlight from his belt, he scanned the woods behind him. Seeing nothing, he continued on, concentrating on negotiating the forest floor. He had been here in daylight enough to know there was a stream somewhere up-ahead… with alligators.  They didn’t snap at humans unless stepped on, but he was careful not to risk it.

            Then he heard it again—a snapping twig, a crunching of underbrush. He stopped, and whatever was making the noise stopped.  Robbie went a few more steps and hesitated. Whatever it was stopped, too, but not without taking another step. 

            Robbie figured whatever was following him couldn’t really see through the massive foliage. It was following the sound of his footsteps.

            “Len, where are you, man? I’m over here, you idiot!” Just like Len not to follow my directions, Robbie thought. Probably got scared staying by himself and thinks he’ll scare me.   Only the throbbing of the frogs and cicadas answered him. “Len, that you?” He shone his light through the bushes. That’s when he smelled the peculiar odor of chinaberries. Robbie felt the hair on his head and back of his neck stir.

            He knew one thing. That wasn’t a deer over there, or anything walking on four legs. Whatever it was walked upright.  Robbie took the safety lock off his gun and, treading as quietly as he could, moved on down the trail at a brisk pace. He wasn’t far from the deer stand now, only a few hundred yards.

             That’s when both his lights went out—simultaneously.

             Shoving his flashlight in his belt, and holding his rifle chest-high in case he tripped over a root or fell in a hole, Robbie began to jog. He was sweating now, not from the heat—it was a cool night—but from fear.  The footsteps increased their pace, too, but always staying just parallel with him, shielded by the thicket.

            Following the trail by moonlight wasn’t easy, but fear heightens all the senses.  Now as he neared the deer stand, he knew there was a creek just thirty feet away. They had built the stand with that in mind; knowing deer drank there at night. He knew the creek curved inland a little way upstream, so whatever was stalking him would have to cross the water ahead of him. By that time, he would have reached the deer stand. Sure enough, he heard a splash as if something heavy had plunged into the water.

             As he reached the safety of the stand and climbed up, he heard his stalker wading through the creek, heading upstream. As Robbie tells the story, “it” was taking steps, not as an animal would, but like a man.

            Then, as the footsteps faded, both his flashlight and miner’s light came back on.

***

            In the morning, the two hunters rendezvoused at the truck. “You see any deer?” Robbie asked, trying to see if Len had been playing a trick on him.

            Len yawned. “Hell, no. Not a one. Finally gave up and went back to the truck to sleep. Damned mosquitoes were killing me up there.”

            Go figure.

God wants you to know that yearning for a new way will not produce it. Only ending the old way can do that.

God wants you to know that yearning for a new way will not produce it. Only ending the old way can do that.

You cannot hold onto the old all the while declaring that you want something new. The old will defy the new; the old will deny the new; the old will decry the new.

There is only one way to bring in the new.You must make room for it.www.CWGPortal.com

”

John Flynn, author of Intimate Bondage, will be attending his 15th San Diego Comic Con http://www.ign.com/events/comic-con Wednesday, July 30th – Saturday, August 2nd.

John Flynn, author of Intimate Bondage, will be attending his 15th San Diego Comic Con http://www.ign.com/events/comic-con Wednesday, July 30^th – Saturday, August 2^nd.

SDCC www.comic-con.org/cci  is always a very big deal for fan boys and fan girls. As you may know, this is the largest convention in the world for books, movies, comics science fiction, fantasy, popular culture, etc.  There will be 150,000 people in attendance at the convention in its 4 days.  Most publishers will be there with displays, even small mom and pop operations.  Lots of writers and artists attend, as well as actors and actresses, directors, and other Hollywood types.  The new issue of Entertainment Weekly (with the new Avengers movie on the cover) has about 25 pages of Comic Con coverage, and CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and many other news outlets will be there covering the convention with live coverage throughout the weekend. 

Although this year Flynn is not scheduled on any programming, ( he is usually on a panel or two) he will be heading to the big exhibit floor (about the size of several football fields) talking to vendors and signing books.  There's a freebie table on the upper floor that's about the size of a ballroom that will have giveaways. Fans will have the ability to come by the table and pick up freebies that are out on the table.  Flynn will have postcards and Intimate Bondage available. When the books run out, attendees will have the opportunity to scan the postcard, read an excerpt of Intimate Bondage, and order it immediately. So come out and join the festivities, meet some of the most exciting people in the industry and get a signed copy of Intimate Bondage.

This is the first in the Kate Dawson mystery/thrillers. Coming up is Intimate Disclosure (2015). and Intimate Denial. Flynn has whet the appetite and aims to feed. Available: Amazon BAM B&N FIsh Pond Waterstones Kobo Powell's Books Published by BelleBooks www.bellebooks.com Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Dr. John L. Flynn is an author, psychologist, and college dean. Born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. from Southern California University. He is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and has been a regular contributor and columnist to dozens of science fiction magazines.

In 1977, he received the M. Carolyn Parker award for outstanding journalism for his freelance work on several Florida daily newspapers. He sold his first book, Future Threads, in 1985, and has subsequently had twelve other books published, including Cinematic Vampires: The Living Dead on Film, The Films of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dissecting Aliens, Visions in Light and Shadow, War of the Worlds: From Wells to Spielberg, 75 Years of Universal Monsters, 50 Years of Hammer Horror, 101 Superheroes of the Silver Screen, 2001: Beyond the Infinite, The Jovian Dilemma, Phantoms of the Opera: Behind the Mask, and Future Prime (with Bob Blackwood). He has also written the introduction to Signet’s new edition of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera, and the afterword to Signet’s new printing of The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. From 2002 to 2004, Dr. Flynn was nominated for three Hugo Awards for his science fiction writing. John also received an honorable mention for his unproduced screenplay for The Jovian Dilemma in the 2003 Screenplay Festival writing competition. Drs. John Flynn and Bob Blackwood have co-authored two nonfiction pop-cultures which is available for acquisition: Future Prime: Top Ten Science Fiction Films and Everything I Know About Life I Learned From James Bond (available for acquisition).

In 1997, John switched gears from writing and literature to study psychology, and earned a degree as a clinical psychologist. His study, “The Etiology of Sexual Addiction: Childhood Trauma as a Primary Determinant,” has broken new ground in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual addiction. www.john-flynn.com  

God wants you to know that it sometimes looks like "one thing after the other," but really, it is Blessing After Blessing.

God wants you to know that it sometimes looks like "one thing after the other," but really, it is Blessing After Blessing.

I know, I know...you don't experience it that way. But that's because you don't see it that way.  In this business of life, "What you see is what you get."

If you think you are looking at struggle, struggle is what you will experience.  If you decide that you are looking at a gift (even if you can't see it clearing in this exact moment), a gift is what you will get. Just wait. You'll see. I mean that literally. You will see. www.CWGPortal.com

“Golden Rule of Writing” by Amber Lanier Nagle

“Golden Rule of Writing” by Amber Lanier Nagle

Posted on July 21, 2014by Amber Lanier Nagle

I recently read Chuck Sambuchino’s post (Writers in the Storm Blog) titled, “How to Support an Author’s New Book: Eleven Ideas for You.” I found myself jumping out of my chair with arms lifted high, shouting “Amen, Brother!”

I think about this topic a lot these days. I call it, “The Golden Rule of Writing,” which is, “Do unto other writers as you would have them do unto you.” It’s about reciprocity—please help me get the word out about my book, and when your next book is released, I’ll do the same for you.

Don’t get me wrong—most of my friends and fellow writers have been extremely caring and helpful as I‘ve worked tirelessly to promote Project Keepsake. But a few of my friends and writing buddies have not helped at all. In fact, a few of my writer friends have vanished from the face of the earth, and I’ve been wondering why.

But as I read Sambuchino’s post, I had some revelatory thoughts—maybe a few of my friends think I’m upset that they haven’t bought a book, and maybe they just don’t know how they can help me, aside from making a purchase. I’ve tried very hard not to push any of my friends into purchasing my book because I know the content of Project Keepsake doesn’t appeal to everyone. I’m fine with friends not buying a book. Really.

But there’re are many other ways to help a writer/author/friend promote his or her projects other than buying the product. I’ve listed Sambuchino’s suggestions below, and I’ve added a few more to his list.

HAND OUT YOUR FRIEND’S PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL—Give her business cards, her book marks, her sell sheets, her postcards to your other friends, family members, and coworkers who may be interested in her book or scheduling her for a presentation at club or church meetings.

SHARE CONTACTS—Hook your friend up with your other friends in the media business (newspaper editors, feature writers, radio personalities, television hosts, etc). Introduce them. It’s very hard to cold-call a media contact and get noticed, so your introduction could make the difference. I also share names of contacts at bookstores and libraries with my other writing buddies. It saves them time.

Wayne Minshew kept me company for two hours at a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Rome, Georgia.

SHARE INFORMATION—Clubs are always looking for interesting speakers. If you hear that Rotary, Kiwanis, or a book club is looking for an interesting speaker or guest, share that information with your friend. If you learn of an upcoming writer’s conference that fits your friend’s project, send her the link or remember to tell her about it.

ATTEND AN EVENT—Whether it is a book launch party or a reading at the public library, attend at least one of your friend’s events and bring someone along. I recently had a poorly-attended book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Rome, Georgia, along with ten other local authors. I was pleasantly surprised when two of my writing friends (my buddy, Wayne Minshew, and new friend, Karli Land) showed up to hang out with me. It would have been a lonely two hours without them.

CRAFT AN EFFECTIVE ELEVATOR PITCH FOR YOUR FRIEND’S BOOK—Don’t just tell your other friends, “My friend has a new book out.”  Give them a little more meat. Say, “My friend, Amber, just published a collection of stories about keepsakes—a quilt, a pocket knife, a cake pan, a ring. It’s a really interesting book. She was recently on a magazine cover. The article talked about the whole project. The name of the book is Project Keepsake.”

BUG A BOOKSTORE EMPLOYEE—Don’t look for your friend’s book. Go to the bookstore clerk and ask him about the book. They will find it in their system and lead you to the book. Your action will cause the bookstore employees to take notice of your friend’s title, and who knows? One of the employees may select it for their “Pick of the Month.”

FACE THE BOOK OUT AT BOOKSTORES—When you are at the bookstore, rearrange the books on the shelf so that your friend’s book faces out. This will help your friend’s book get noticed by passersby.

WRITE ONLINE REVIEWS—So many times, if a reader is on the fence about a book, a well-written, positive review will seal the deal. So take five minutes and post great reviews for your friend’s book on online sites at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc.

BE SEEN WITH YOUR FRIEND’S BOOK—If you have a copy of your friend’s book, carry it around with you sometimes and mention it to friends. Read it at the doctor’s office. Read it at the DMV. Read it at your kid’s soccer practice. Read it on the plane. Make sure that others see your friend’s book.

“LIKE” YOUR FRIEND’S FACEBOOK PAGES—The more “likes,” the better because strangers navigating to the Facebook walls will think, “Wow, I need to know more about this author and her book.”

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES—Merely “liking” a post is not enough sometimes. When the author mentions the book or an event on Facebook, share the news with your social circles and include a small note about what the book is and why they should buy it. Sharing is an act of endorsing. My friend, Ruth Demeter, shared my post about the book event in Rome with her friends who live in the Rome area. I am appreciative. It’s all about exposure.

RESERVE A COPY AT THE LIBRARY—Again, the library employees will take notice of your friend’s book and may order additional copies or suggest it to readers.

CONSIDER SHARING EVENTS—If you are also a writer, consider sharing an event with another writer. I have shared my events with other writers/authors, when applicable. And I recently shared a fifteen-minute radio spot with another writer. I still had plenty of time to promote my book, and quite frankly, I think that including her made the radio spot more interesting. Two of my writer friends, Janie Dempsey Watts and Renea Winchester, have recently asked me to partner with them at upcoming events. I’m thrilled. It doubles the event’s exposure, splits the costs, and it’s fun to enjoy the ride with people I adore.

BE ENCOURAGING—Being kind and encouraging is just what friends do. Ask your friend about her events. Ask how book sales are going. Ask if there is anything you can do to help promote your friend’s book. And then, just listen. Sometimes, new authors just need to know that their friends care. http://ambernagle.com/2014/07/golden-rule-of-writing/

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Author Maryann Wakefield is on the mend and home again!!

Author Maryann Wakefield is on the mend and home again!!

Maryann Wakefield, author of A Gentle Sun Coming, who had an accident several months ago, is home and ready to tackle words again. She had just begun the sequel when she obtained a head injury in a fall which had her in a coma, then learning to talk and walk again. A miracle is what it is! God has special plans for her!

One just may have been paying-it-forward to an orderly at the rehab center she was in. I had sent her an angel in amber, which she then gave to him. You see, he was from Puerto Rico and had just gained his US Citizenship whereupon he immediately joined the Army. When she gave him the blessed angel, he was about to be deployed to Afghanistan. He told her he would keep it with him always.

Never one to think of herself, only of others.

Please reach out and send her love. She said she had no idea how loved she was until this happened. A beautiful woman in and out.

A Gentle Sun Coming                                         

When Kade Turner lost her husband and son to a freak automobile accident, she tried to commit suicide and was hospitalized for a year. Daily sessions with Dr. Luke Bradshaw brought her back to the land of the living… and also of loving. Or so she made him believe, as an unexpected and suppressed emotion is kindled and an eternal flame ignited on the night of her departure. She flees to Destin, Florida with the goal of being reunited with her family ‘on the other side’; unable to believe Luke could love a ‘lost cause’ like herself. Instead, she is targeted by a serial killer who sees her as a challenge. Unbeknownst to Kade, her worst nightmare is her next door neighbor; a man who knows her every move and hears even her thoughts.  Will Luke find her in time? Is what they shared strong enough to turn a determination to die into an undeniable desire to live?
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Published by Deer Hawk Publications www.deerhawkpublications.com (release Fall 2015)

Maryann Wakefield is a retired academic professor who has garnered many distinguished awards and was the Sleuth’s Ink contest winner, 2006. She is currently a member of several writing organizations: Board Member of Missouri Writers Hall of Fame, Ozarks Writers League, Springfield Writers Guild, and Sleuth’s Inc, Panel member for Missouri Writers Hall of Fame, October, 2012. Having been published in several literary magazines, this is her first novel, but far from her last. www.maryannwakefield.com

Love Song of the Chinaberry Man and its sequel, The Mama Tree have been acquired by Black Opal Books!

Love Song of the Chinaberry Man and its sequel, The Mama Tree have been acquired by Black Opal Books!

Trisha O’Keefe’s southern fiction, Love Song of the Chinaberry Man is a story that makes you turn the cell phone off and forget the rest of the world exists.

It is said that in the Thicket right outside of Julia Springs, Georgia lives a creature of myth and legend, the Chinaberry Man. Rightly so named due to the sweet, pungent scent those who have remotely come across him remember smelling. I say remotely because very few have lived to tell of a close encounter, except one… Gina McFarland has always been special: predicting plane crashes, having visions and dreams that come true— mostly the kind that don’t have happy endings. Now she sees the dead, and, of all people, the creature has chosen to save her. 

In a matter of days, several horrid things seemed to develop in this quiet hamlet, all of which culminate with hatred, ignorance and revenge, Mother Nature’s wrath, pure serendipity… and the love song of the Chinaberry Man.

The Mama Tree, the third in the series, (the first is Hanahatchee, Deer Hawk Publications, 2012), involves hoo-doo practice Root Woman style. “By the way, the incidence with Chinaberry Man that Tanner has on the way to Root Woman's place in Love Song of the Chinaberry Man happened to my cousin while he was night-stalking deer at Rood Creek in Lumpkin County.  He is now an avid believer in Chinaberry Man. I think climate change and loss of habitat has a lot to do with increased sightings of these legendary creatures, although I heard about them when I was a kid from these guys who work on oil rigs stuck out in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The world is still full of wonders, thank God.”

O’Keefe has two novels yet to be released, Poseidon’s Eye (Jabari & Jaser, 2014) and Magi’s Well (Jabari & Jaser, 2015). As an anthropology student many years ago, Trisha O’Keefe became aware of the past’s potential for mystery. While living and studying in Egypt, she began writing with that connection in mind. O’Keefe lives in Georgia where she teaches and, of course, writes mysteries. Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com

God wants you to know that there is a solution. There is, but you must keep going to find it. You cannot stop, you cannot give up.

God wants you to know that there is a solution. There is, but you must keep going to find it. You cannot stop, you cannot give up.

This is about more than just patience. This is about more than just persistence. This is about absolute
knowing that God is on your side.

When you know this, you never give up...and the sense of struggle goes away. You simply keep moving
forward knowing that, in the end, all will work out. And that along the way there will be great insights
and wonderful remembering. www.CWGPortal.com

Mississippi Humanities Council Speakers Bureau topic on The Man Called Brown Condor – The Forgotten History of an African American Fighter Pilot by Thomas E. Simmons

Mississippi Humanities Council Speakers Bureau topic on The Man Called Brown Condor – The Forgotten History of an African American Fighter Pilot by Thomas E. Simmons is now available for viewing: http://www.mshumanities.org/index.php/speaker/the_man_called_brown_condor/

Tom Simmons has returned from his honorary trip to Ethiopia at the request of His Excellency the former President of Ethiopia Girma Wolde Giorgis, CEO of Ethiopian Air Lines, Ato Tewolde Gebremariam, and Director of the Pan-African Technical Association (PATA), Fredric Yaw Davis, to speak and be recognized for his narrative nonfiction, The Man Called Brown Condor – The Forgotten History of an African American Fighter Pilot (Skyhorse, 2013). 

The occasion: the memorial for the sixtieth anniversary of Col. John Charles Robinson’s tragic death.  The main event was at an invitation-only reception at the former president’s home where Simmons was privileged to meet several men who John Robinson had taught to fly (including the former president himself) and who were among the first to serve in the new Ethiopian Air Force. “Talking to them, all ninety-years-old or so, was humbling and thrilling for me. They confirmed to me that I had gotten the facts of the book right.”

Simmons also had guest speaking engagements at the American Embassy and to high school students at St. Joseph’s Academy. 

John Robinson, besides being the commander of the Ethiopian Air Force during the Italo-Ethiopian War, returned in 1944 at the request of Emperor Haile Selassie to rebuild the Ethiopian Air Corps and start Ethiopian Air Lines. An incredible man who deserves all the accolades of a hero of Ethiopia, as well as being a role model to all mankind. www.thomasesimmons.net Published by Skyhorse Publishing www.skyhorsepublishing.com Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com  Buy now! Amazon B&N

Coming soon…Johnnie Come Lately by Kathleen M. Rodgers!

Coming soon…Johnnie Come Lately by Kathleen M. Rodgers!

February 2015 Published by Camel Press www.camelpress.com

Kathleen M. Rodgers www.kathleenmrodgers.com Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com     

Johnnie Come Lately

He was her savior and she was his saint. But sometimes, even saints kept secrets.
In an effort to save her son, Johnnie Kitchen exposes a deeply hidden secret that tears her family apart. Still haunted by her mama’s disappearance and her father’s death in Vietnam, she turns to the comfort of her journal, penning irreverent letters to the missing… and the dead. Her youngest son enlists in the military as the United States is involved in two bloody wars; fear grips her soul on all fronts. Rebuffed in her efforts to repair the damage she’s inflicted on her marriage, Johnnie finds herself trapped in a terrifying emotional spiral that threatens to trigger a relapse of the bulimia that almost killed her. Amidst sightings of her mysterious mama, an odd new neighbor, a granny who knows all yet tells nothing and Bubba Dog who is her constant companion and best friend, will Johnnie succumb or survive?

God wants you to know that there is a book, waiting for you to read. It carries a wonderful message for you.

God wants you to know that there is a book, waiting for you to read. It carries a wonderful message for you. This may be a book that you started, then set aside. Or it may be a text that you have just heard about
and that is now calling out to you. Whichever it is, listen to the calling. Follow the impulse. Read the book. Its time is now. www.CWGPortal.com Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch