Showing posts with label #BookTour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #BookTour. Show all posts
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Don't Give Up ~ Guest Post by Author Susan Barton
My book, Emotional Paramedics, comes in at just about two hundred pages, yet
it took me almost five years to finish and finally publish it. There were
several reasons why it took me so long and I’d be lying if I said
procrastination wasn’t one of them. As a book marketer/book reviewer, I find
myself living the life of a shoemaker. I’m sure you’ve heard it…the shoemaker spends
so much time making shoes for everyone in the village that his own family goes shoeless.
In other words, I was so busy helping other authors publish and market their
books, I had little time to concentrate on my own writing.
A couple of other things had me at a
standstill with my latest book. Emotional
Paramedics is unlike anything I’ve written before. I’ve also written three
children’s books and three non-fiction books and, as proud as I am of them all,
a coming of age novel was an ambitious undertaking for me. I struggled with the
content and dialogue. The book deals with some very serious social issues and
uses strong language at times. Although any strong language in the book is most
definitely not gratuitous, I’d seen the scathing reviews where readers
condemned a book after a couple of pages simply because they didn’t like the
language used. The truth of the matter is that some subjects are just gritty
and real, which means they warrant some gritty and real language. Emotional Paramedics is (at times) one
of those books. Yet, it’s not all doom, gloom and swearing. Not by any means.
At the heart of the book is a young
girl, August, who struggles to overcome some truly awful life experiences,
while trying hard not to let the world change her into something she wasn’t meant
to be. It’s about a young girl who is determined not to give up and who
believes there is something better just around the corner.
I also wondered if anyone else would
be as invested in my main character as I was. Would people enjoy the book? Or
would they groan and say, “ugh, not
another book about a kid with a bad childhood.” Or would they accept it for
the story that it truly is – a story of hope, courage and perseverance?
Maybe you’ve been considering
writing a book and are filled with the same concerns and doubts that I was when
I first began writing Emotional
Paramedics. I’d like to encourage you to continue writing. Do it for
yourself and then share your story with everyone you know. Be like August and
don’t give up!
Wishing you much success and
happiness in all you do!
Susan
Barton
August Gallagher is a sweet and intelligent Brooklyn girl just trying to find her place in the world during the turbulent 1960s. Unfortunately, her mother Alis doesn't make things easy for her. Bad choices, poor parenting and abusive men create chaos at every turn. Yet, through it all, August reluctantly remains a devoted daughter and continues to be Alis's emotional paramedic.
Along the way, August finds friendship, romance and makes a few dangerous enemies. When Alis hits rock bottom, August is forced to come to terms with the fact that it's finally time to cut the dysfunctional cord to save herself from Alis's emotional grasp. This is a wonderful coming-of-age story that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.
*This book deals with serious social issues. It includes some strong language and mature situations. It is recommended for readers 17 and up.*
PURCHASE EMOTIONAL PARAMEDICS ON AMAZON.COM
ABOUT SUSAN BARTON:
Susan Barton is an author, book promoter, marketer and coach. Susan has written several non-fiction and fiction books with several more books in the works. She currently resides in North Texas with her husband and their two dogs. She invites readers to connect with her via her website and on social media:
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Two #NewRelease Romances by Ey Wade
Anabelle Lee,
mourning her inability to have a child of her own, suffered through two
miscarriages, a heartbreaking late-term abortion, and a soul crushing divorce.
As an embryologist, she has protected the potential life of many frozen
specimens, and lived envious of the women choosing In Vitro fertilization as
their form of reproduction.
After a bit of
encouragement from her best friend, and counseling from the very perfect Dr.
Ribbons, Anabelle takes steps to fulfill her desire to become a mother.
Problem is, the
announcement brings more of a shock than a gift.
EXCERPT
Belle stood, smoothed her shirt and tugged at the waistband
of her pants, trying to gather her words before opening her mouth. Eventually,
giving up. Crossing the room to the closet, she pulled out the Christmas gift
bag. From it she placed a couple of the fertility magazines in
front of Tyson and stood back to observe his reaction.
The look on his face
transformed from burning curiosity into lip pursing illumination. “Oh. I have this one in my office.” Leaning forward, he
tapped the cover of one magazine before shifting back to his previous position.
Arms crossed over his body gave emphasis to the movement of his chest and the
stretched material of his shirt. Tyson sucked in a deep breath before letting
it out slowly and clearing his throat. His glance never left her face. “How
soon do you plan on going through with the procedure?”
“As soon as possible. I would simply love to have a baby by
Christmas.” Belle smiled softly, unaware of how wistful she looked.
“At this moment, you remind me of a child wishing on a star
for a toy she covets. You know this isn’t a game, right? This baby you want
would be a living being. Not something you can return when it doesn’t meet your
expectations.”
Belle’s smile vanished.“What are you trying to say, Tyson?”
“Hold on, wait a minute...” Tyson stood. Hands held out in
front of him as if he thought he had to protect himself from harm, a chuckle
escaping. “Damp down the fire. I’m just
observing your reaction and emotions. Counseling in this area is my thing,
remember?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well this is no different than what I would ask any
potential parent. Do you really want to be a parent? A single parent, even?”
“Yes. I want to be a parent.”
Noticing the tears forming in her eyes, Tyson moved closer,
pulling Belle into his arms and close to his chest. “You know, you don’t have to use the lab method. I promise
you, it would be much more fun trying the old fashioned way. I’m just saying,”
He laughed and held her tighter when she struggled to pull out of his embrace.
“You have me here. Happy and willing anytime. Anywhere.”
At 17, Ismet Honorable O’Neal couldn't stop Sunny from going through with an abortion, so he ran from
the girl who killed his dream of the perfect life and white picket fence. Now he helps other men become the voice in their children's lives.
Can Ismet and Sunny overcome years of hurt and anger? Or will it take more than love to repair the broken fences?
EXCERPT
Three of the five containers of infant formula slipped from
his grasp, falling with the weight of bricks on the ends of his loafers. The
pain to his toes was nothing compared with the unexpected sharpness stabbing
his chest.
He froze, listening to her voice as he eavesdropped on her
one-sided conversation.
“Belle, will you stop talking? All I asked was what size
should I get? I didn’t ask for a commentary or a price list on the gifts I’ve
already bought for my godchildren. Furthermore...”
Her voice slowly faded away, dragging Ismet’s composure with
it. He stood, shaking like a leaf and peering between the columns of baby
diapers and infant paraphernalia at the woman who had crushed his soul years
previously.
Without conscious thought, Ismet found himself scurrying
through the doors of the supermarket and into his car, the task of purchasing
supplies for the childcare center completely forgotten. His main focus was to put
as much distance to his memories and reality as possible. Which wasn’t far.
He pulled the car over as soon as he could
find a safe spot and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. He hadn’t expected the sight of Sunny to impact him so hard.
After all, he hadn’t seen her in ten years, but would know her anywhere.
She was more mature--at least her body was, but the voice
was still the same. As was his reaction to her. Heart palpitations, joy, lust
and retreat. Yes, same-o-same-o.
The last time he’d seen her, he’d run. Run from her, his
home, and what had become the end of his life. That night was the death of his
dreams. A night he’d done his best to keep buried. Seeing her unearthed all of
that. He was shaken to his roots and his mind reflected the turmoil. Spilling
its secrets...
“You really gonna let her make you do this? You
gonna let her kill our baby?”
“I don’t have a choice. She’s my momma. I’ve only been
sixteen two weeks and here I am pregnant with a baby. Met, what can I do with a
baby? How can I finish school? Go to college? I can’t be a mom right now.”
“I thought you loved me. Wanted our baby.”
“I do.”
At the touch of her hands on his shoulder, he shook it off.
The contact seeming to burn him with desire and freeze his heart at the same
time. This was the person who, in one night, sent him soaring to the sky with the
announcement she was pregnant, and then casually tossed him to the pits of hell
with the plans for an abortion.
She sat quietly, gaze transfixed by the movements of her
fingers in her lap, while he opened the door of the car and went to sit on its
hood. With every step, he wanted to fall apart.
There was nothing he could do. Nothing or no one able to
help him. Sunny was right, they couldn’t go against her mother’s demands. If
only it were possible to make her carry
the baby and then give it to me. Would she even contemplate the thought?
With a small turn of his head, he glanced in her direction.
There she sat, stone-face in the car. He wondered if she truly cared. If the
whispers of love she’d mouthed for years was simply the fantasy of a teenage
girl deep in the throes of her first relationship. Did she even care for him
with the same intensity he cared for her? From the corner of his eyes he watched
Sunny staring, as if she were unable to move and join him.
The hurt was a physical tearing in his chest that radiated
into his back. It wasn’t possible Sunny felt anywhere near as helpless and
devastated as he was feeling. She had the upper hand. It was her body, her
child--until it was dead. The finality took the last bit of strength from his
body and he fell across the hood of the car, deep
sobs tearing his heart apart.
The thud of the metal hitting metal roused him from his
misery. A simple hug would’ve meant a lot. A word of comfort or remorse
would’ve been a balm to his spirit. Instead, he watched her shoulder her purse. Without a glance in his direction, she strolled up the concrete path to her
mother’s house. The taps of her heels on the sidewalk, the closing snap of the front door, marked an end to his wishful dreams--and echoed in his nightmares for years.
Ey Wade considers herself to be a caged-in frustrated author of
thought provoking, mind bending books in several genres. She is the mother of
three adult daughters who were previously home-schooled and the drooling ‘Lovey'
to a little boy. Ey was born in Texas and reared as an Army brat. She had the
constant need to speak, and writing and telling stories became her way of socializing.
Ey was inspired to write Ribbons and Belle by the
controversy over abortion and the vitriol with which women who choose abortion are attacked.
People tend to overlook the fact there may be medical reasons. Ismet’s Honor
was born after a beta reader finished Ribbons & Belle and wished there was
a story about Sunny. Ey decided to make it more about the father, what his
wishes may have entailed, and how abortions also affect fathers-to-be.
For more information on Ey and her writing, you can visit the following:
Website: http://wade-inpublishing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@jumpouttheboat
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/eywade2
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/itsmeeywade/
Amazon Central
Author Page: http://bit.ly/EyWade-Amz
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/EyonGReads
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Writer's Block? Step Into My Shower
Guest Post by ROBERT GERMAUX
Does this sound familiar? You’ve placed one of your
characters (let’s call her Jenny) in a pretty sticky situation, and now you
have no idea how to get her out of that pickle. You’ve tried several scenarios,
but none of them quite works. Finally, you decide to take a break, clear your
mind a bit. You’re thinking grab a quick shower, drive over to Starbucks for a
latte, then come back and get to work on saving Jenny. Five minutes later,
you’re halfway into that shower, and suddenly, it hits you, the perfect way to
extricate Jenny from that sticky situation.
That sort of thing has happened to me often enough that, at
some point, I began to wonder about the possibility of a connection between
water and creativity. So, of course, I Googled it, and I quickly learned that
there is a veritable waterfall of information on this topic. Yeah, I know.
Waterfall of info on water. I couldn’t resist it. No more, I promise. Anyway, I
discovered that there does, indeed, appear to be a connection, although it’s
not the water per se, but rather a progression of events in which water is just
one part. With apologies to Mr. Metcalf, my high school science teacher, I’ll
do my best to walk you through the process. It involves dopamine, and one of
the few things I still remember from Mr. Metcalf’s class is that dopamine equals
good. Apparently, dopamine aids in the creative process (no idea; I got a C- in
science), but to get the dopamine released into our brains, we first need to be
doing something relaxing, like taking that warm shower or a long walk or a
leisurely drive in the country. During these types of activities, your mind is
distracted from whatever subject you’ve been concentrating on all day (for
instance, poor Jenny), which allows your brain to relax at the same time it’s
being flooded with dopamine, and before your know it, genius hits.
Okay, there you have it. Maybe not the most scientific
explanation of the process (again, C-), but it gives you the general idea.
Relaxation plus distraction plus dopamine equal problem solved. So the next
time you’re sitting there staring at that blank page, take a hike.
ABOUT ROBERT GERMAUX:
Both my parents were readers. I'm talking stacks-of-books-on-their-nightstands readers. So it's no surprise that at an early age, I, too, became an avid reader. Everything from sports books (especially baseball) to Nancy Drew to the Hardy Boys to almost anything about distant and exotic places.
Although I've always enjoyed putting words on paper, the writer in me didn't fully emerge until I retired after three decades of teaching high school English. I quickly wrote two books aimed at middle school readers, at which point my wife urged me to try a novel for adults. As is usually the case, Cynthia's idea was a good one.
Over the next few years, I wrote several books about Pittsburgh private eye Jeremy Barnes. I took a brief hiatus from the detective genre to write Small Talk and The Backup Husband. Now I’m back and I just released my first Jeremy Barnes novel, Hard Court, on April 11.
In our spare time, Cynthia and I enjoy reading (of course), going to live theater productions, watching reruns of favorite TV shows such as "Sports Night" and "Gilmore Girls," and traveling to some of those distant and exotic places I used to read about as a child. So far, we've been fortunate enough to walk in the sands of Waikiki, swim in the warm waters of the South Pacific and share a romantic dinner in Paris.
I love interacting with my readers and getting their input on my characters and stories. Please feel free to contact me via my website.
HARD COURT
A Jeremy Barnes Mystery
File Size: 638 KB
Print Length: 253 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Robert T. Germaux (April 6,
2016)
Publication Date: April 6, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B01DX54ZFO
ABOUT HARD COURT:
Miles Bradshaw, the dot-com
billionaire owner of Pittsburgh’s first NBA franchise, hires private detective
Jeremy Barnes to look into what appears to be a simple case of harassment of
one of the team’s players. But when Jeremy (JB to his friends) begins his
investigation, the case proves to be anything but simple, eventually involving
a local businessman with suspected criminal ties, a major FBI task force, a
computer geek in California and a mob boss in Erie. Along the way, JB, who can
quote Shakespeare as quickly and easily as he can land a solid left jab, uses
his wits and his ever-present sense of humor to wend his way through a cast of
characters who range from the ridiculously inept to the ruthlessly lethal.
As Hard Court unfolds, there
are numerous surprises and plot twists, culminating in a dramatic confrontation
that neither JB nor the reader could have predicted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)