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Speaking of Writers

Speaking of Writers

By Steve Richards

Welcome to Speaking of Writers. Veteran broadcaster Steve Richards interviews local, regional and best selling authors. For more info email steve @ sval622@sbcglobal.net.
Cover art photo provided by Janko Ferlič on Unsplash: unsplash.com/@thepootphotographer
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Speaking of Writers Nov 25, 2020

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16:14
Steve Lazarus- Call Me Sonny

Steve Lazarus- Call Me Sonny

Shortly after a corrupt attorney pays a visit to an inmate serving a life sentence in a federal supermax prison, people from the inmate’s past start to die. Bryce Chandler, a retired FBI agent eking out a living as a private investigator in the Florida Keys, ties the string of killings to a shadowy murder-for-hire organization operating on the dark web. As Bryce digs into the murders, he discovers the final name on the hit list is his own.
Meanwhile, a simple divorce case turns out to be much more than meets the eye, as Bryce’s investigation of the defendant leads him down a path of international drug smuggling, money laundering, and violent henchmen bent on keeping him silent. The two storylines run parallel to one another until they eventually converge in a final bloody outcome. About the author

Steve Lazarus is a first-time author, retired FBI Special Agent, and United States Air Force veteran. He served twenty-two years in the FBI, spending the first half of his career investigating drug trafficking organizations and violent street gangs. Later, he became a full-time bomb technician, an assignment which led him to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan as part of the Global War on Terror. After retiring from the Bureau, he spent several years as a national security contractor in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Steve lives on the South Carolina coast with his wife Susan and their amazing wonder dog, Aspen.

Steve’s debut novel was inspired by one of his real-life cases. After arresting a subject who threatened to unleash a bioterror attack on the Atlanta subway system, Steve and his partner found themselves of the receiving end of a death threat from the soon-to-be convicted felon. And though that subject would spend the next 25 years in prison, Steve couldn’t help but wonder….what if he could make good on his threat, even from behind bars? The most logical solution would be if he hired a hit man, and….voila!!!! A novel was born. Written over the course of a year in Abu Dhabi, the Florida Keys, and Texas hill country, “Call Me Sonny” was a labor of love incorporating the personalities, anecdotes, and experiences of Steve’s multi-faceted FBI career, and if things work out as planned, it will be the first in a series of Bryce Chandler crime thrillers.

For more info on this book click HERE

Mar 28, 202415:41
Log and Stick by Ritvik Gautam

Log and Stick by Ritvik Gautam

This story is about Log and Stick. They’re two characters, called Log and Stick, and they live in San Jose, CA. Log is a wood log and Stick is a wood stick. They have been together since their childhood, with an enemy called Evil Leaf. Leaf’s name was originally “Good Leaf”, but people around him called him “Evil Leaf” because of the acts he would do. Then, years later, all three of them had graduated from college. Then Evil Leaf started to cook up a plan… to steal Dubai’s Ruby! Not so soon later, Log and Stick found out about this, and started to go after him. First in San Jose, then in Dubai.

Ritvik Gautam was born on May 13, 2012 in New Delhi, India. When Ritvik was 7 in California, he was surrounded by technology. He used to draw lots of stuff, like cars. Then one day he was drawing and then he said to himself, “Why don’t I make a book with my drawings?” Then he was researching which types of books contained ONLY drawings. That’s when he came across comics. He fell in love with them immediately. Then he made a small book “Cat Man 2”, but it wasn’t successful. He didn’t cry over spilled milk though, he wrote and published another book called “Log and Stick” when he was 8 years old, inspired by the comic book franchise “Dog Man”. Then he made a small book called “The Missing Key”. Since Log and Stick was only half of the actual first story, he’s working on the second part right now called “Log and Stick: Part 2”.

For more info on the book click HERE

Mar 26, 202407:10
Lisa Unger-The New Couple in 5B

Lisa Unger-The New Couple in 5B

About The New Couple in 5B

Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad’s late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.
At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn’t feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there’s more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell.

 

With echoes of “Rosemary’s Baby” and Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B is a chilling warning that even the place you think of as home may be built on dark secrets and lies

 

About Lisa Unger

LISA UNGER is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including Confessions on the 7:45 and Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. An award-winning and acclaimed writer with millions of readers worldwide, Lisa is widely regarded as a master of suspense. Her books are published in thirty-three languages and have been voted "Best of the Year" or top picks by the Today show, Good Morning AmericaEntertainment Weekly, Amazon, IndieBound and many others. In 2019, her novel Under My Skin and her short story "The Sleep Tight Motel" were both nominated for the prestigious Edgar Award. Her nonfiction work has appeared in the New York TimesWall Street Journal, NPR and Travel + Leisure. Lisa lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

For more info on the book click HERE

Mar 25, 202417:34
Peggy Bland- Beauty Is a Beast

Peggy Bland- Beauty Is a Beast

I wrote this book to help other pretty and beautiful women to wake to being lied to, abused, and manipulated by men to get them to marry them. Your life is your journey; no one else's and you should pay attention to your inner feelings. You do not have to live up to other's expectations or approval. You are you and there is not another one like you. Make your special place and make it the way you want it to be. When you hear criticism, do you think that it is true, or that you are doing something different from others' ideas?
Coming from a very dysfunctional family, I did not have guidance and no one teaching me the right kind of life--the life I wanted. When I did start to get on my own and find my way off at college, my domineering mother had me come home and change colleges. I was too young and immature to realize why I was doing this. It was not for me, it was for her. That was the beginning of being manipulated and lied to into getting married way too young (nineteen) and to the wrong man. One mistake seems to cause you to make another to try and right a wrong.
There comes a time to slow down and take stock of you and your life and where you are going. Be honest about your family, friends, and what you are living for. Is it what you want, or what they want from you? Are you making them happy, or yourself happy? When you are not pleasing a lot of self-centered, selfish friends and family, they make you feel bad, insufficient, and unworthy of their attention. Think if you really need their attention. Be very particular who you let in your life--your life and future depend on it.
I was always excellent and smart at whatever I did, except to take care of myself and live my life to my satisfaction, not to the satisfaction of others. Had I zeroed in on my wants, likes, talents, and future, my life would have been different. As it was, I have lived a full and exciting life, but full of disappointments toward me and my children, or what could have been if I had sailed the right course. I wrote this to steer anyone and everyone who will read this and take a sober look at their life and where they are going with it.

For more info on this book click HERE

Mar 22, 202409:53
Battle Cry: Decent Into War by Yamikani Kafungu
Mar 20, 202412:02
J.J. McAvoy- Hathor and The Prince
Mar 19, 202414:08
Barbara J Meredith-Daisy and Friends What Happened to Yesterday

Barbara J Meredith-Daisy and Friends What Happened to Yesterday

YESTERDAY we could go to our classrooms in school and our parents went to work every day. TODAY some of our parents stay home from work and we are home schooled."

Once again, meet Daisy the cat and her three canine friends, H-Dee, Smokie, and Rocky, as together they face a worldwide pandemic.

The story tackles the Covid-19 pandemic and how everyone's life changed in just one year.

Daisy and Friends What Happened to Yesterday: A Covid-19 Story begins with the definition of the words pandemic and essential workers. The story then explains the changes in our daily lives before and during the pandemic.

"Pandemic: When many people in a country or even all over the world have the same illness."

"Covid-19: A flu-like illness that passes from one person to another person when they have this illness by sneezing and coughing without covering their nose and mouth. Another way people contract Covid-19 is touching something that the affected person has touched. Some people do not know that they are sick with the Covid-19 until a few days after when they show symptoms of the illness. This is the reason why everyone needs to wear their masks in public, sanitize and wash their hands frequently, and stay six feet away from people they do not live with."

Inspiration for the author's books comes from her working over 20 years as a pre-school teacher observing children at work and play.

About the author

Barbara J Meredith retired from Kids Express Learning Center & Daycare, LLC in 2013. She was co-owner, director, and head teacher for 14 years. The animals in the Daisy and Friends Books are my pets. The inspiration for the books came from over 20 years as a pre-school teacher observing children's behaviors.

The following are the book titles of Daisy and Friends Books series:

Daisy and Friends How To Stay Healthy

Daisy and Friends Rocky's New Friend

Daisy and Friends Outside Our Window

Daisy and Friends Waiting for the School Bus

Daisy and Friends What Happen to Yesterday A Covid 19 Story

For more info on the book click HERE

Mar 12, 202408:00
C.J. Box - Three-Inch Teeth

C.J. Box - Three-Inch Teeth

#1 New York Times award-winning author C.J. Box (an expert on all things Wyoming and the West) and his next Joe Pickett novel (#24 in the series).  In this latest, the Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts—one animal, one human.  The topic of grizzly bears is always a curiosity to people traveling to Wyoming and the surrounding areas and in the past, but it hasn’t been a real threat to people in the area.  However, the population of grizzly bears in the Mountain West has skyrocketed in the Mountain West well beyond their traditional stomping grounds.  Every year, there has been an increasing number of fatal and near-fatal encounters with humans.  Although some attacks can be attributed to provocation, several recent incidents have been random and terrifying.   

 

In THREE-INCH TEETH, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts—one animal, one human. A rogue grizzly bear has gone on a rampage—killing civilians including the potential fiancée of Joe’s daughter. At the same time, Dallas Cates, who Joe helped lock up years ago, is released from prison. He wants revenge on the people who sent him away including Joe himself. After seeing news reports of grizzly attacks in Twelve Sleep County, Cates has an idea:  He can take out his enemies in such a way that no one will suspect him. As Joe is asked to join the state Predator Attack Team to try to find and destroy the bear the bear can’t be trapped or found. As the attacks continue and escalate, will Joe be able to figure out which ones are real and which ones are staged before he’s the target?

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: C. J. Box is the author of twenty-four Joe Pickett novels, eight stand-alone novels, and a story collection. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and two Barry awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and two Spur Awards. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He has been executive producer on shows based on his books, including ABC TV’s Big Sky and Joe Pickett on Paramount+.

For more info on the book click HERE

Mar 09, 202410:01
Nick Petrie-The Price You Pay

Nick Petrie-The Price You Pay

The work of acclaimed and award-winning author Nick Petrie continues to gain esteem. In his 2016 debut, The Drifter, Petrie introduced Peter Ash, a war veteran struggling with PTSD who finds himself in dangerous situations and facing challenges that only a man with his unique skill set can solve. In THE PRICE YOU PAY Peter Ash, a war veteran struggling with PTSD is placed in his most personal predicament yet. He must follow his friend Lewis into a criminal underworld when secrets from the past threaten everything they hold dear.

 

Peter Ash’s friend Lewis has helped him out of jam more times than he can count and has saved his life more than once. So, he doesn’t hesitate when Lewis asks a favor. Lewis has left his criminal past behind, but a troubling message from a former associate spurs him back into action. He and Peter make a trip to check in, but their visit immediately takes a dark turn when they arrive to find a smoldering cabin and realize that someone has stolen notebooks full of incriminating details of Lewis’s long-ago crimes…Lewis and Peter set off find the notebooks with the help of Peter’s girlfriend June Cassidy but find themselves up against professional criminals in Chicago. The two men may have to tap into the dark sides that they have worked to keep hidden in order to save themselves and their families.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nick Petrie is the author of seven novels in the Peter Ash series, most recently The Runaway. His debut, The Drifter, won both the ITW Thriller award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel, and was a finalist for the Edgar and the Hammett Awards. A husband and father, he lives in the Milwaukee area.

For more info on the book click HERE

Mar 02, 202417:34
Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein-AMERICAN WINGS

Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein-AMERICAN WINGS

Sherri L. Smith, author of the critically acclaimed story Flygirl, and Elizabeth Wein, author of the award-winning book Code Name Verity, join forces in AMERICAN WINGS (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) to shed light on an important and lesser-known chapter in Black aviation history and Black contributions to aviation during the Golden Age of Flight.

 

In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where some previous Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?

 

AMERICAN WINGS follows a group of determined Black Americans:  Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield on Chicago’s South Side. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.

 

Complete with black-and-white photographs throughout, AMERICAN WINGS brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.

ABOUT THE ELIZABETH WEIN: Elizabeth Wein (LEFT) is a recreational pilot and the owner of about a thousand maps. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Code Name Verity, as well as the novels Rose Under Fire; Black Dove, White Raven; The Pearl Thief; and The Enigma Game; as well as the nonfiction book A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II. Visit her online at elizabethwein.com.

 

ABOUT THE SHERRI L SMITH: Sherri L. Smith (RIGHT) is the author of several novels for young adults, including the critically acclaimed The Blossom and the Firefly, Flygirl, Orleans, and Pasadena, as well as the middle-grade novel The Toymaker’s Apprentice. Visit her online at sherrilsmith.com


For more info on the book click HERE

Feb 24, 202428:28
Kimberleigh Patterson-Random Poems 4 Random Times
Feb 17, 202411:54
Paal Piir- Sprinkle: Celebrate, Meditate, and Understand Our Drinkle

Paal Piir- Sprinkle: Celebrate, Meditate, and Understand Our Drinkle

Sprinkle is a poem of poems, just like how a sprinkle is full of unique sprinkles. Here are new discoveries about what is Existence and Spirit and Awareness, preciously and slowly made understandable without resorting to belief or guessing. This does not make religion and science obsolete because they have unique purposes and provide many cool tools. Sprinkle helps clarify how and why their tools and toys work. Philosophers and others have long postulated that our real practical underlying truths are utterly simple. Oh yes! We are always close to knowing these new discoveries but strange as it seems have been unable to look directly and fully. Sprinkle warmly and playfully presents this knowledge full, direct and making sense while on a tour of our serious and goofy world. We are certainly responsible for ourselves but we don’t have to feel bad about our ignorance. We can learn and become happier.


How did I come to Know? At four, I stopped asking others ‘why’ because their answers seemed meant to shut me up moreso than to lovingly educate. Instead, seeking any truths, I asked myself something silly and intuitive, ‘Why why?’ Immediately and shockingly I transcended. I did not have an answer but it felt promising. Pleasant enough was being in freeflow Know, my first meditation ecstasy! Then at 22, while studying Native American philosophy, I just had to go on a journey. Just had to! But I could not leave and I had stopped doing drugs years earlier. So I did it unsufferingly from my easy chair, closed my eyes, and meditated on what could be my spirit guide. I asked and let it go and went into freeflow Know and soon met White Otter. According to the books, this translated as playful wisdom. I laughed because I had no clue what it meant. But I found out in a lifetime of intense study and play in all philosophies and sciences and lots of looking. Fifty years later, I have wonderful playful wisdom to share with you. You do not need a background in philosophy or anything else, just honest willingness to look. This is just like your original adventure of coming to Know as a fresh Love One. I have made it easy and exciting to experience, and oh so fun!

For more info on the book click HERE

Feb 15, 202408:18
Jack Kelly- God Save Benedict Arnold
Feb 11, 202412:45
Barbara J. Meredith-Daisy and Friends What Happened to Yesterday: A Covid-19 Story

Barbara J. Meredith-Daisy and Friends What Happened to Yesterday: A Covid-19 Story

"YESTERDAY we could go to our classrooms in school and our parents went to work every day. TODAY some of our parents stay home from work and we are home schooled."

Once again, meet Daisy the cat and her three canine friends, H-Dee, Smokie, and Rocky, as together they face a worldwide pandemic.

The story tackles the Covid-19 pandemic and how everyone's life changed in just one year.

Daisy and Friends What Happened to Yesterday: A Covid-19 Story begins with the definition of the words pandemic and essential workers. The story then explains the changes in our daily lives before and during the pandemic.

"Pandemic: When many people in a country or even all over the world have the same illness."

"Covid-19: A flu-like illness that passes from one person to another person when they have this illness by sneezing and coughing without covering their nose and mouth. Another way people contract Covid-19 is touching something that the affected person has touched. Some people do not know that they are sick with the Covid-19 until a few days after when they show symptoms of the illness. This is the reason why everyone needs to wear their masks in public, sanitize and wash their hands frequently, and stay six feet away from people they do not live with."

Inspiration for the author's books comes from her working over 20 years as a pre-school teacher observing children at work and play.

About the author

Barbara J Meredith retired from Kids Express Learning Center & Daycare, LLC in 2013. She was co-owner, director, and head teacher for 14 years. The animals in the Daisy and Friends Books are my pets. The inspiration for the books came from over 20 years as a pre-school teacher observing children's behaviors.

The following are the book titles of Daisy and Friends Books series:

Daisy and Friends How To Stay Healthy

Daisy and Friends Rocky's New Friend

Daisy and Friends Outside Our Window

Daisy and Friends Waiting for the School Bus

Daisy and Friends What Happen to Yesterday A Covid 19 Story

For more info on the book click HERE

Feb 07, 202412:19
Brad Taylor-Dead Man's Hand

Brad Taylor-Dead Man's Hand

New York Times bestselling author and former special forces officer Brad Taylor is back with a propulsive and topical edge-of-your-seat thriller featuring Pike Logan as he goes head-to-head with Putin’s henchmen. To finally end the war between their nations, a rogue Ukranian band of partisans known as the Wolves teams up with members of Russia’s military intelligence to assassinate Vladimir Putin. But Putin is aware of the traitors in his midst and assigns the loyal commander of the Russian national guard to root them out. It’s a mission Victor Petrov is expected to undertake after he prevents Sweden from joining NATO—by assassinating a deputy minister of foreign affairs. After receiving intelligence about the threat in Sweden, the U.S. sends Pike Logan to identify Victor’s target—only for him to get caught in the crossfire between Putin’s agents and the Wolves. When the smoke clears, Pike makes no effort to stop the Wolves on their ultimate mission, believing it just, until he discovers that their operation has unimaginable consequences. For Putin is preparing a devastating endgame: activating the Dead Man’s Hand nuclear response that will launch Russia’s missiles in the event of his death.


Author Bio

Brad Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.), is a twenty-one-year veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces, includ­ing eight years with Delta Force. Taylor retired in 2010 after serving more than two decades and participating in Oper­ation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has written seventeen New York Times bestsellers and is a security consultant on asymmetric threats for various agencies. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and two daughters.
For more info on the book click
HERE

Feb 04, 202413:31
Jessie Asya Kanzer -Unlocking Your Inner Zelensky

Jessie Asya Kanzer -Unlocking Your Inner Zelensky

Award-winning author Jessie Kanzer's UNLOCKING YOUR INNER ZELENSKY: Lessons We Can All Learn from an Unexpected Leader , draws on Volodymyr Zelensky's words and actions to show how to improve how we lead, and how we live.   Early praise and more info are below, and a list of possible interview/discussion questions is attached.


Jessie Kanzer, a half-Ukrainian child of the USSR who had a small part in Zelensky’s first major film, sees Zelensky as "a spiritual leader for our times."  As a native Russian speaker (like Zelensky himself), she picks up on the deep philosophical ramifications behind his words. Rich and yet easy-to-read, the life lessons in UNLOCKING YOUR INNER ZELENSKY are accessible and wise, and are more about starting where you are than about war.


Each chapter begins with a key piece of wisdom drawn from Zelensky's words, along with advice for implementing it in our own life. Readers will see how Zelensky handled his much-criticized background as a comedian when he came into elective office.  Topics include:

  • Speak Truth to Everything
  • Unstick Yourself
  • Decide with Courage
  • Use Your Energy Wisely

Tips include spreading graciousness, and acknowledging that it's not "all about you" to erase differences in backgrounds.


Kanzer is a self-described "spiritual nerd" who followed Zelensky long before he stood before a blue and yellow backdrop on the national stage. She writes, "What is so incredible about our man Volodymyr is that his belief in himself stems not from seeing himself as special, but from seeing himself as ordinary and from knowing there is great power in this ordinariness."

  About the Author JESSIE ASYA KANZER is the award-winning author of Don’t Just Sit There, DO NOTHING and Unlocking Your Inner Zelensky. She was born in the Soviet Union and left at age eight. A former reporter and actress, she once found herself on the set of a Zelensky film and has been following his story ever since. Kanzer’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, the Washington Post, and many other publications. She's been interviewed on podcasts and TV programs across the country. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and two cats in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

For more on the book click HERE

Feb 01, 202413:35
Deborah Goodrich Royce- Reef Road
Jan 27, 202412:00
David T. Beito-The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance
Jan 20, 202415:39
Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill -ELVIS AND THE COLONEL An Insider’s Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business

Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill -ELVIS AND THE COLONEL An Insider’s Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business

Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider’s Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business by Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill is a fresh biography of entertainment manager Colonel Tom Parker, a largely misunderstood figure in the life of Elvis Presley. McDonald, who worked under Parker for years, presents a contrarian and corrective point of view on a trailblazing man. The heart of the book is the long, strong, warm, and complex relationship between two iconic men.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Greg McDonald is an entertainment producer who got his start in show business with Colonel Tom Parker, who knew him when he was a teenager. He managed Ricky Nelson for seventeen years, ran Sonny Bono’s mayoral and congressional campaigns, and was president of Transcontinental Records (Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and O’Town). He’s also produced several feature films, television series (Making the Band) and large-scale concerts. McDonald manages Colonel Tom Parker’s show business assets, including his name, likeness and image. He resides in the Palm Springs area with his wife Sherry.
Marshall Terrill is a veteran film, sports and music writer and the author of more than 30 books. They include best-selling biographies of Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Billy Graham, and Pete Maravich. His book, Steve McQueen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon, is in development to be made into a feature film. He also executive produced the 2017 feature film documentary, Steve McQueen: American Icon and the 2022 documentary Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon. He resides in Tempe, Arizona, with his wife Zoe.

For more info on the book click HERE

Jan 15, 202417:03
Dr. Steven Lesk-Footprints of Schizophrenia :The Evolutionary Roots of Mental Illness
Jan 11, 202415:08
David Head and Timothy Hemmis- A Republic of Scoundrels

David Head and Timothy Hemmis- A Republic of Scoundrels

The Founding Fathers are often revered as American saints. A Republic of Scoundrels (Pegasus Books), edited by David Head and Timothy Hemmis, chronicles the Founders who were schemers and opportunists, vying for their own interests ahead of the nation’s. We now have a clear-eyed understanding of Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton; even so, they are often considered American saints, revered for their wisdom and self-sacrificing service to the nation. However, within the Founding generation lurked many unscrupulous figures—men who violated the era’s expectation of public virtue and advanced their own interests at the expense of others. About the Editors:

A history professor at the University of Central Florida, David Head (editor) is the author of A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution. His books have been supported by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, a Gilder Lehrman Fellowship at the New-York Historical Society, and a Lord Baltimore Fellowship. Head’s academic work has been honored with the John Gardner Maritime Research Award; the Marion Brewington Prize for Chesapeake Maritime History; and the Hardin Craig Award for Excellence. David lives in Orlando, Florida.

Timothy Hemmis (editor) is an assistant professor of history at Texas A&M UniversityCentral Texas. He graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi. Timothy's teaching focuses on Early American History and American Military History. He serves as the Regional Coordinator for the Southwest for the Society for Military History and is the History Book Review editor for The Presidential Studies Quarterly. Hemmis has written opinion pieces for the Washington Post and has delivered speeches at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC, the War and Society Working Group at Texas A&M University College Station, and the US Army III Corps Senior Command at Fort Hood.

For more info on the book click HERE


Jan 07, 202421:41
Michailah Belle-Vision of Inspiration
Jan 06, 202413:26
H. W. Brands- Founding Partisans -Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics
Jan 02, 202418:24
Tom Clavin-The Last Outlaws The Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang
Dec 28, 202315:42
William Alexander- Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World: A History

William Alexander- Ten Tomatoes that Changed the World: A History

The tomato gets no respect. Never has. Lost in the dustbin of history for centuries, accused of being vile and poisonous, subjected to being picked hard-green and gassed, even used as a projectile, the poor tomato has become the avatar for our disaffection with industrial foods — while becoming the most popular vegetable in America (and, in fact, the world). Each summer, tomato festivals crop up across the country; the Heinz ketchup bottle, instantly recognizable, has earned a spot in the Smithsonian; and now the tomato is redefining the very nature of farming, moving from fields into climate-controlled mega-greenhouses the size of New England villages. 

About the author

William Alexander is the author of the national bestseller, "The $64 Tomato," as well as "52 Loaves: A Half-Baked Adventure," his hilarious and moving account of a year spent striving to bake the perfect loaf of bread; "Flirting With French," about his often riotous attempt to fulfill a life-dream of learning French, and most recently, "Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World," a whirlwind tour of the history of the humble tomato.

The New York Times Style Magazine says about Alexander, "His timing and his delivery are flawless," while Counterpunch has called him "one of the funniest writers in America." He has appeared on NPR's Morning (and Weekend) Edition, at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC, and was a 2006 Quill Book Awards finalist. Alexander has also contributed over a dozen essays to the New York Times opinion pages, where he has opined on such issues as the Christmas tree threatening his living room, Martha Stewart, and the difficulties of being organic.

Before turning to writing full-time, Bill spent 37 years as a director of information technology at a psychiatric research institution, persisting in the belief that he is a researcher, not a researchee.

For more info on the book click HERE

Dec 24, 202316:51
James Lee Burke- Flags on The Bayou
Dec 17, 202311:41
Katlyn Marie Carter - Democracy in Darkness
Dec 12, 202314:55
Lynne Golodner- Woman of Valor
Dec 09, 202315:09
Jerome Peterson- The Haunting of Andrew Sharpai

Jerome Peterson- The Haunting of Andrew Sharpai

Searching for love leads Andrew Sharpai down a path of rejection and haunting memories. When he encounters LaRae DuFont, however, Vegas' famous show dancer, it is love at first sight. She tells him a story in which Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was a gardener teaching Andrew that everything is not as it seems. A tragic twist of fate alters the plans of the lovers. Grievous questions lead Andrew down a drunken path to an Idaho town, where he is far from the Vegas crowd.

In Pocatello, he meets the infamous witch, Iris Winkle, her daughter, Lily, and their magical raven, Elijah Corbeau. Their mysterious and unconventional ways bewitch Andrew into entering their eccentric lifestyle, which mingles with the "other" world.

Iris' ex-husband, a cruel Satanist witch, has cast a wicked spell on Iris and Lily. Andrew finds himself trapped within it. The three victims battle with the hauntings as they see the spirit of things unfold before them. But will this be enough to save them from the evil spell?

About the Author

Jerome Peterson was born in Rockford, Illinois. While listening to music in high school, he began writing poetry. From there, he added songwriting, short stories, articles, and novels. Jerome also likes to sketch. He is the author of Leaving Family Behind, Thumb Flagging, and The Mind is Sorry The Body Suffers. Jerome has been married for forty-three years. He has two daughters, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Jerome lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their dog, Freddie, in Sparks, Nevada.


You can purchase the book HERE


Dec 06, 202318:53
Jonathan Farris-Shadows In The Sunset - Three Novellas

Jonathan Farris-Shadows In The Sunset - Three Novellas

Dec 04, 202311:52
Laurence Leamer -HITCHCOCK’S BLONDES

Laurence Leamer -HITCHCOCK’S BLONDES

In HITCHCOCK’S BLONDES, bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer offers an intimate journey into the lives of eight legendary actresses whose stories helped chart the course of the troubled, talented director’s career—from his early days in the British film industry, to his triumphant American debut, to his Hollywood heyday and beyond. Through the stories of June Howard-Tripp, Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedren—who starred in fourteen of Hitchcock’s most notable films and who bore the brunt of his fondness and sometimes fixation—we can finally start to see the enigmatic man himself. After all, “his” blondes (as he thought of them) knew the truths of his art, his obsessions and desires, as well as anyone. As with his previous book, Capote’s Women, Leamer's empathetic retelling acknowledges their complex stories and allows their biographies to take priority.

 

Alfred Hitchcock was fixated—not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blond actresses who starred in many of his iconic movies. The director of “North by Northwest,” “Rear Window,” and other classic films didn’t much care if they wore wigs, got their hair coloring out of a bottle, or were the rarest human specimen—a natural blonde—as long as they shone with a golden veneer on camera. The lengths he went to in order to showcase (and often manipulate) these women would become the stuff of movie legend. But the women themselves have rarely been at the center of the story, until now. Biographies have been written about Alfred Hitchcock, but never has there been an account of his life and work told through the lens of the actresses who helped launch his career.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Laurence Leamer is a leading biographer of the rich and powerful, including Capote’s WomenMadness Under the Royal Palms and The Kennedy Women, among many other books. Leamer’s last book, 2021’s CAPOTE’S WOMEN was an acclaimed national bestseller and will serve as the source material for the second season of Feud, Ryan Murphy’s F/X anthology series. It has a jaw-dropping cast of stars attached including Naomi Watts, Molly Ringwald, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, and Chloe Sevigny, with Gus Van Sant directing.  He lives in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida.

For more info on the book click HERE

Dec 04, 202309:35
Dr. Leggie L. Boone- Dear Dream Maker

Dr. Leggie L. Boone- Dear Dream Maker

When I rest my eyes and fall into that place of disconnection from my surroundings, I slide over into a land of creative, colorful narrations. My dreams are often so eventful that I wake up exhausted. The events in this book are real in my dreaming mind. This volume includes dreams and notes from 1997 through 2006. I have been journaling my dreams for decades and decided there must be a reason, therefore I am sharing. These episodes of varying lengths are neither fiction nor nonfiction, fantasy nor reality, just dreams. Sometimes they are funny and at times, they reflect the job I am working or events that have actually happened in my real life. I have also included some diary notes that fit between some of the dreams that may offer context. I have rarely tried to interpret my dreams, mainly because I am hesitant to connect with the power or prophecy or clairvoyance. There is space for interpretation and space for response to prompts about different dream scenarios and triggers. I encourage everyone to read, imagine, and travel to familiar or strange places in my mind and your own.

Dr. Leggie [Leh ‘jeeBoone is a Forensic Analyst, Author, and Educator. Leggie primarily works as an analyst, examining evidence for fingerprints, shoe prints, and tire tracks for comparison and identification. She has spent over 30 years in the forensic science field as a Crime Scene Investigator, Volunteer Autopsy Technician, Educator, and Analyst. Dr. Boone’s main fields of interest are vicarious traumatization, organizational support and civilian relations, implicit bias in crime scene attendance, personal impact of law enforcement suicide, and active dreaming. Having an array of tragedies in her mental slide show of crime scenes, Leggie adopted her methods of decompression to include writing songs and crime scene poetry, singing, and journaling graphically detailed dreams.


Dr. Boone has collaborated on the publishing of the forensic textbook and virtual component, So You Want to Be a CSI, with two other former CSIs, Kendall Hunt Publishing, and Victory XR. She has also coauthored and published Fox Tails: ShortShort Stories Written While Puppysitting, she has multiple poems and song lyrics published in books and magazines. Someday, My Prints Will Come is the most recent publication she has produced, functioning as a learning tool and activity book focused on the study of fingerprints.


Dr. Boone has taught as an adjunct professor with Keiser University in Florida, in the Crime Scene Technology program and as contributing faculty with Walden University, in the Forensic Psychology programs. She has also been an invited speaker in many international conferences, including the Global Science Guild, Worldwide Association of Women Forensic Experts, and the Caribbean Association of Forensic Sciences, and she is a Senior Adjunct Faculty member for the Sherlock Institute of Forensic Sciences, India.


Through it all, she still dreams vividly, in the midst of producing volumes for interpretation, enlightenment or entertainment. Dr. Boone is inspired by the constant support of her mother and daughter, both named Leggie, and she is driven by her faith to be an author, a leader, and an agent of social change.

You can purchase the book HERE

Dec 02, 202319:02
William Covey- Desolation Part One

William Covey- Desolation Part One

Visited by the spirit world, a Hopi woman, an Aborigine man, and a Rabbi are told the earth will soon undergo worldwide desolation. They are divinely united to reveal the message to all humans that live upon Mother Earth. It all begins with a thermonuclear war between India and China over greed, which starts the cataclysmic events that alter the entire planet. They were told that man's carelessness with his scientific technology will cause a cascade of events that will literally change the face of Mother Earth. Will Sarah, Yirawala, and Rabbi Raboy be able to warn all the humans in time to prepare themselves for these cataclysmic events? This book is part one of the Desolation trilogy. Mother Earth purifies herself and completes her rebirth in books two and three.

Nov 30, 202309:21
Cliff Sloan-THE COURT AT WAR FDR, His Justices, and the World They Made

Cliff Sloan-THE COURT AT WAR FDR, His Justices, and the World They Made

The inside story of how one president forever altered the most powerful legal institution in the country, with consequences that endure today.

By the summer of 1941, in the ninth year of his presidency, Franklin Roosevelt had molded his Court. He had appointed seven of the nine justices—the most by any president except George Washington—and handpicked the chief justice.

 But the wartime Roosevelt Court had two faces. One was bold and progressive, the other supine and abject, cowed by the charisma of the revered president.

The Court at War explores this pivotal period. It provides a cast of unforgettable characters in the justices—from the mercurial, Vienna-born intellectual Felix Frankfurter to the Alabama populist Hugo Black; from the western prodigy William O. Douglas, FDR’s initial pick to be his running mate in 1944, to Roosevelt’s former attorney general and Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson.

The justices’ shameless capitulation and unwillingness to cross their beloved president highlight the dangers of an unseemly closeness between Supreme Court justices and their political patrons. But the FDR Court’s finest moments also provided a robust defense of individual rights, rights the current Court has put in jeopardy. Sloan’s intimate portrait is a vivid, instructive tale for modern times. Cliff Sloan is a professor of constitutional law and criminal justice at Georgetown University Law Center. He has argued before the Supreme Court seven times. He has served in all three branches of the federal Government, including as Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure, and is the author of The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court. His commentary on the Supreme Court and legal issues has appeared in the New York TimesWashington PostSlate, and other publications, and on television and radio networks.

For more info on the book click HERE

Nov 29, 202318:47
David Baldacci- The Edge

David Baldacci- The Edge

“The Master Storyteller” David Baldacci is back with the second book in his 6:20 Man series: The Edge.  

The 6:20 Man series is praised: "Corporate conspiracies, corruption, and murder—all come together in one of thriller fans’ most anticipated books of the summer . . . Baldacci’s experience in this genre truly shines as he builds complex layers of riveting twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat!"―Reader's Digest

"A complex, high-powered thriller that will keep the reader guessing . . . This is a winner from a pro."—Kirkus

David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org⁠.

For more on the book click HERE

Nov 28, 202313:17
John Hartzell- You Can't Go Back
Nov 22, 202306:09
Daniel Dain- A History of Boston

Daniel Dain- A History of Boston

Boston is today one of the world’s greatest cities, first in higher education, hospitals, life science companies, and sports teams. It was the home of the Great Puritan Migration, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the first civil rights movement, the abolition movement, and the women’s rights movement. But the city that gave us the first use of ether as anesthesia, the telephone, technicolor film, and the mutual fund—the city where Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott founded their world-changing partnership—was also the hub of the anti-immigration movement, the divisive busing era, and decades of self-inflicted decay.

Boston has the most important history of any American city. Yet its history has never been given a comprehensive treatment until now. In A History of Boston, Dan Dain takes us from the arrival of First Peoples up to the election of Boston’s first woman and person of color as mayor. Along the way he explores the policies and practices that took Boston from its highest heights to its lowest lows and back again, and examines the central role that density, diversity, and good urban design play in the success of cities like Boston.

  Daniel Dain was born in Boston and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. A graduate of Vassar College and University of Michigan Law School, he’s spent his professional career as a lawyer in Boston, working with commercial property owners and developers on issues related to their use and development of real estate. Dan writes and lectures widely on land use law and urban planning and is the founder and president of the law firm Dain Torpy, where he chairs the firm’s real estate litigation practice. He is the manager of an equity fund that invests in independent local restaurants, a co-founder and treasurer of the Needham Land Trust, and is a board member of the business advocacy groups NAIOP of Massachusetts and A Better City, as well as the Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture. Dan also chairs the arts company White Snake Projects and the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association’s Litigation Section. He lives in Needham, Massachusetts with his wife and two kids.

Nov 19, 202326:53
Jennifer Bedsole- Face To The Wind

Jennifer Bedsole- Face To The Wind

It’s 1923 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where a risky romance between a mistreated young woman and a boxer owned by the mob motivates self-discovery, loyalty toward passions, and a life-threatening struggle for freedom.


A mundane life is far from Angelina’s only suffrage. Pitying the monster that once loved her as a daughter is just as much a captivity as his fist to her face. Fear locks her door; daring to dream is her key.


For fisherman Vincent, unsought ties with the world of organized crime have him boxing in a speakeasy notorious for its gambling on the fights. To maintain the security and success of his father’s longtime fishing business and the well-being of everyone close to him, Vincent must remain enslaved to a ruthless and powerful mob leader.


Face to the Wind is a tender romance, a “jazz-age” journey that unfolds through the eyes of two young lovers with a timeless determination to be together.

Prior to settling in Slocomb, Alabama, Jennifer Pauline Bedsole spent most of her life where she grew up in New England, wishing the comfort of summer was longer-lasting and the cold of winter less bitter. Her love for the South was recognized and undeniable in 1997 when she spent a year at the University of Tampa where she majored in creative writing. A change of fate put Jennifer’s collegiate journey on hold and led her back up to Massachusetts where she continued her education at Northern Essex Community College, never abandoning her passion for writing. Her romance with the South was far from over and in 2018, following her husband’s retirement from the military, Jennifer’s dream to return close to the Gulf Coast was fulfilled. With her husband and five children, on 49 acres of flourishing farmland, she finds peace and inspiration in the warmth of southern life.


Currently an English major at Troy University, Jennifer is dedicated to her family, farm life, and dreams of finally obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in English. Finding success in writing and editing has been a lifelong goal that she is determined to bring to fruition. Her passion for writing is fueled by her desire to inspire and encourage others to experience phenomenal and infinite depths of emotion.


Several of Jennifer’s poems were published in Troy University’s literary journal, the Rubicon, in 2021 and 2022. Other collections in which her poetry has been published include Montage of Life, The Colors of Life, and VoicesNet Anthology. The completion of her first novel Face to the Wind is one of her most significant creative accomplishments, and she is motivated to continue writing fiction. This historical romance novel, featuring dual protagonists, captures the essence of the “roaring twenties” amidst the cobbled roads of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.


The most thrilling and fulfilling part of writing fiction, Jennifer believes, is creating a world that seems so real that it is hard to put the pen down and say goodnight to the characters. She endeavors to bring her stories to life by rousing the senses and introducing characters that become impossible to forget.


For more info on the book click HERE

Nov 16, 202312:58
Michael MaCambridge-The Big Time- How The 1970's Transformed Sports in America

Michael MaCambridge-The Big Time- How The 1970's Transformed Sports in America

A captivating chronicle of the pivotal decade in American sports, when the games invaded prime time, and sports moved from the margins to the mainstream of American culture. Every decade brings change, but as Michael MacCambridge chronicles in THE BIG TIME, no decade in American sports history featured such convulsive cultural shifts as the 1970s. So many things happened during the decade—the move of sports into prime-time television, the beginning of athletes’ gaining a sense of autonomy for their own careers, integration becoming—at least within sports—more of the rule than the exception, and the social revolution that brought females more decisively into sports, as athletes, coaches, executives, and spectators. More than politicians, musicians or actors, the decade in America was defined by its most exemplary athletes. The sweeping changes in the decade could be seen in the collective experience of Billie Jean King and Muhammad Ali, Henry Aaron and Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Joe Greene, Jack Nicklaus and Chris Evert, among others, who redefined the role of athletes and athletics in American culture. The Seventies witnessed the emergence of spectator sports as an ever-expanding mainstream phenomenon, as well as dramatic changes in the way athletes were paid, portrayed, and packaged. In tracing the epic narrative of how American sports was transformed in the Seventies, a larger story emerges: of how America itself changed, and how spectator sports moved decisively on a trajectory toward what it has become today, the last truly “big tent” in American culture.

About The Author:

Michael MacCambridge is an author, journalist and TV commentator, whose books have included the acclaimed America’s Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured A Nation and Chuck Noll: His Life’s Work. For eight years a columnist and critic at the Austin American-Statesman, MacCambridge was later a contributor to A New Literary History of America, and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, and GQ. The father of two children, Miles and Ella, he lives in Austin.

For more info on the book click HERE


Nov 11, 202317:35
Matthew J Davenport-THE LONGEST MINUTE: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906
Nov 06, 202317:10
Samuel Freedman- INTO THE BRIGHT SUNSHINE Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights

Samuel Freedman- INTO THE BRIGHT SUNSHINE Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights

Many know Hubert Humphrey as a man whose public life ended in disgrace—as the man who lost his bearings during the Vietnam War and then lost the presidency to Richard Nixon. But decades before the Vietnam War or his presidential run, Humphrey was known as a trailblazing statesman who electrified the nation through an impassioned speech in support of civil rights at the July 1948 Democratic National Convention. Urging the delegates to “get out of the shadow of state’s rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights,” Humphrey—then a 37-yearold mayor of Minneapolis—put everything on the line, rhetorically and politically, to move the party and the country forward. To the surprise of many, including Humphrey himself, the democratic delegates adopted a meaningful civil rights plank. With no choice but to run on it, President Truman desegregated the armed forces and soon thereafter won reelection against the frontrunner Thomas Dewey, a victory due in part to an unprecedented surge of Black voters. Published on the 75th anniversary of that pivotal 1948 speech, Samuel G. Freedman’s July 2023 Into the Bright Sunshine examines the politician’s early career, when his efforts to promote racial justice not only transformed the Democratic Party but the nation as well. Freedman explores the journey of Humphrey’s life from a remote, all-white hamlet in South Dakota to the mayoralty of Minneapolis as he tackles its notorious racism and anti-Semitism to his role as a national champion of multiracial democracy. His allies in that struggle include a Black newspaper publisher, a Jewish attorney, and a professor who had fled Nazi Germany. And his adversaries are the white supremacists, Christian Nationalists, and America Firsters of mid-century America—one of whom tries to assassinate him. Celebrating one of the overlooked landmarks of civil rights history, Freedman illuminates the early life and enduring legacy of the man who helped bring it about. Samuel G. Freedman is an award-winning author, journalist, and educator. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and has won the National Jewish Book Award and the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Award. His columns for the New York Times about education and religion have received national prizes. He is a professor at Columbia University, and has been named the nation’s Outstanding Journalism Educator by the Society of Professional Journalists.

For more information on the book click HERE


Oct 31, 202318:49
Elizabeth Varon-Longstreet The Confederate General Who Defied the South

Elizabeth Varon-Longstreet The Confederate General Who Defied the South

From acclaimed historian Elizabeth Varon comes a true story of courage and controversy – a new exploration of one of the most complex figures from American Civil War history. LONGSTREET, delves deep into the life and legacy of General James Longstreet.

With LONGSTREET, Varon – the recipient of the 2020 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize for her book Armies of Deliverance – provides a meticulously researched biography that unveils the lesser-known aspects of General Longstreet's story, from his early days as a protégé of General Robert E. Lee to his pivotal role in the Battle of Gettysburg and beyond.

However, what truly sets this work apart is its focus on Longstreet's divergent path from traditional Southern postwar ideology. After the South was defeated, Longstreet moved to New Orleans. There he supported Black voting and joined the newly elected, integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, battled against former Confederates. White Southerners branded him a race traitor and blamed him retroactively for the South’s defeat in the Civil War. His continued defiance ignited a firestorm.

In this age of racial reckoning, it is high time that Longstreet be rediscovered. Varon's careful research and engaging storytelling provides readers with a fresh understanding of a man who dared to challenge the norms of his time, demonstrating that Longstreet’s controversial choices have enduring relevance for our modern debates.

About the Author: Elizabeth R. Varon is Langbourne M. Williams professor of American history at the University of Virginia and a member of the executive council of UVA’s John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History. Varon’s books include Southern LadyYankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van LewA Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy, and Appomattox: Victory, Defeat and Freedom at the End of the Civil War. Her most recent book, Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War, won the 2020 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize and was named one of The Wall Street Journal’s best books of 2019. For more info on the book click HERE

Oct 28, 202315:38
Michelle Copeland -Life's Unexpected Blessings
Oct 24, 202310:36
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver-Clean Sweep VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver-Clean Sweep VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45

A vivid narrative history, packed with first-hand accounts, of the US Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command from its foundation in 1942 through to its victory in the skies over Nazi Germany.
On August 7, 1942, two events of major military importance occurred on separate sides of the planet. In the South Pacific, the United States went on the offensive, landing the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal. In England, 12 B-17 bombers of the new Eighth Air Force's 97th Bombardment Group bombed the Rouen–Sotteville railroad marshalling yards in France. While the mission was small, the aerial struggle that began that day would ultimately cost the United States more men killed and wounded by the end of the war in Europe than the Marines would lose in the Pacific War.
Clean Sweep is the story of the creation, development and operation of the Eighth Air Force Fighter Command and the battle to establish daylight air superiority over the Luftwaffe so that the invasion of Europe could be successful.
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has had a lifelong interest in the history of the fighter force that defeated the Luftwaffe over Germany. He has collected many first-hand accounts from participants over the past 50 years, getting to know pilots such as the legendary “Hub” Zemke, Don Blakeslee and Chuck Yeager, as well as meeting and interviewing leading Luftwaffe pilots Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall and Walter “Count Punski” Krupinski. This story is told through accounts gathered from both sides.

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published writer for the past 40 years, with his most recent work being the best-selling Osprey titles MiG Alley (2019), I Will Run Wild (2020), Under the Southern Cross (2021), The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club (2021), Going Downtown (2022), The Cactus Air Force (2022) alongside the late Eric Hammel, and most recently Clean Sweep (2023). Tom served in the US Navy in Vietnam and currently lives in Encino, California. For more info on this book click HERE

Oct 14, 202312:26
Tom Rachman- The Imposters

Tom Rachman- The Imposters

Tom Rachman’s debut, the New York Times bestselling The Imperfectionists, was a novel-in-stories, each chapter told of a different character in the news business at a time of journalistic tumult. (Rachman was a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press stationed in Rome, then an editor at the International Herald Tribune in Paris.) His new novel, THE IMPOSTERS , spotlights a different writer per chapter set in our moment of cultural tumult--a standup-comedy writer in LA; a delivery driver hired to write fake-news in London; a pretentious Brooklyn author struggling through a literary festival in Australia. At the center in all ways is Dora Frenhofer, a once successful novelist who knows her mind is going and is determined to finish her final book and reverse her fortunes. The plot stops in New Delhi and New York, Copenhagen and Los Angeles, Syria to Paris, inhabiting the perspectives of Dora’s missing brother, her estranged daughter, a lover, and her last remaining friend. Alone in her London home during the pandemic, Dora creates, and is in turn created by, the characters from her own life.

Tom Rachman is the author of five works of fiction: his bestselling debut, The Imperfectionists (2010), which was translated into 25 languages; the critically acclaimed follow-up, The Rise & Fall of Great Powers (2014); a story collection, Basket of Deplorables (2017)a novel set in the art world, The Italian Teacher (2018); and a novel-in-stories about writers, The Imposters (2023).
Born in London and raised in Vancouver, Tom studied cinema at the University of Toronto and journalism at Columbia University in New York. He worked at The Associated Press as a foreign-news editor in Manhattan headquarters, then became a correspondent in Rome. He also reported from India, Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere. To write fiction, he left the AP and moved to Paris, supporting himself as an editor at the International Herald Tribune
His writing has appeared in The New York TimesThe Atlantic, The Washington PostThe Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker, among other publications. Today, he is a contributing columnist at The Globe & Mail. He lives in London. 

For more info on The Imposters click HERE

 

Oct 10, 202317:33
John Hunter- Maps and Legends The Story of R.E.M.
Oct 08, 202305:08
Jonathan Miller-Truly Blessed: Wirklich Gesegnet Vere Bgatus
Oct 04, 202306:28
Mark Stille-Leyte Gulf
Sep 30, 202314:58
May Cobb- A Likeable Woman

May Cobb- A Likeable Woman

ABOUT A LIKEABLE WOMAN

Kira’s back in her affluent hometown for the first time in years and determined to unravel the secrets of her mother’s death–hidden in the unpublished memoir she left behind– even if it kills her. . . .
After her troublemaker mother’s mysterious death, Kira fled her wealthy Texas town and never looked back. Now, decades later, Kira is invited to an old frenemy’s vow renewal celebration Though she is reluctant to go, there are things pulling her home. . . like chilled wine and days spent by the pool . . . like sexy Jack, her childhood crush. But more important are the urgent texts from her grandmother, who says she has something for Kira. Something related to her mother’s death, something that makes it look an awful lot like murder.
When her grandmother gives Kira a memoir that her mother had been working on before she died, Kira is drawn into the past and all the sizzling secrets that come along with it. With few allies left in her gossipy country-club town, Kira turns to Jack for help. As she gets closer to discovering what—and who—might have brought about her mother’s end, it becomes clear that someone wants the past to stay buried. And they might come after Kira next.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

May Cobb is an award-winning author of The Hunting WivesMy Summer DarlingsA Likeable Woman, and Big Woods. Her books have received attention from Book of The Month, The Today Show, and Oprah Daily and have been optioned for film/TV. She has an M.A. from San Francisco State University and her essays and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post and Good Housekeeping. She currently lives in Austin with her family.

You can purchase the book HERE


Sep 25, 202309:27
Marie Bostwick -ESME CAHILL FAILS SPECTACULARLY

Marie Bostwick -ESME CAHILL FAILS SPECTACULARLY

Marie Bostwick’s ESME CAHILL FAILS SPECTACULARLY is an emotional, humorous, and very human novel about what it means to be family—the ties that bind us together and the unintentional hurts that can render us apart. Along the way, Esme learns that failure can be the first step toward the life you’re meant to find.

Set amidst the stunning landscape of Asheville, NC, Esme Cahill returns Esme Cahill returns to her childhood—from New York City, where she was fired from her publishing job, divorced from her husband—at the request of her late grandmother, Adele, who dies suddenly before Esme arrives.

While she finds her footing in a place she hasn’t been back to in years, Esme finds the once-charming lakeside retreat run by her family is sliding toward financial ruin. With her grandfather George, estranged mother Robyn, and a travelling chef Dawes, they set out to rebuild their family’s legacy.  In the attic, Esme unearths a trove of museum-worthy art quilts, sewn by Adele. Piecing together the inspiration behind them, Esme discovers a forgotten chapter in her grandmother’s untold story, that of a gifted artist who never received her due.

Marie Bostwick began her writing career in 2005 with her debut, Field of Gold. In the eighteen years since, she has written more than 20 novels and novellas. A lifelong quilter, she weaves quilting into her narratives both to instill her characters with creativity and as a metaphor of piecing together their life stories.  Marie travels extensively, speaking at libraries, bookstores, quilt guilds, and at quilt shows. You can follow her book tour appearances for ESME CAHILL FAILS SPECTACULARLY at www.mariebostwick.com.

She lives in Gig Harbor, WA.

You can purchase the book HERE


Sep 23, 202316:09