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:

WEBSITE

AMAZONAUTHOR PAGE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

PINTEREST

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.

PURCHASE HARD COURT ON AMAZON

Read "LOGAN - A JEREMY BARNES SHORT STORY" HERE

Book Tour Hosted by My Book Tour

Virtual #BookTour ~ LOVE & HAPPINESS ~

LOVE & Happiness by Ben Burgess Jr.

Paperback: 240 pages

Publisher: Ben Burgess
Jr. (April 23, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0988374544

ISBN-13: 978-0988374546

Karen has it all: a handsome husband, beautiful twin daughters, a lovely home and a great job. Karen also has a secret; she’s cheating on her husband, with not one man, but two. 

On the outside her life seems perfect, but on the inside Karen feels neglected, bored and unappreciated. Yearning for affection and excitement, she falls into the arms of first Raheem and then

Tyrell. Out of fear of losing her husband and breaking up her family, Karen ends the affairs but things don’t turn out how she planned. When Karen’s dirty secrets are revealed she must fight to keep her family together. 

Chris is doing all he can to hold his marriage together. He loves Karen but she grows more distant every day. When she starts coming home later and later, he suspects she is being unfaithful. When Chris accidentally takes her cell phone what he finds changes their lives forever. 

When tragedy strikes, Karen must decide if she should sacrifice her happiness for her husband’s love, and Chris wonders if he should stay with Karen because he still loves her despite her infidelity. But

if they do stay together, will they ever find love and happiness again? 

Sexy and relatable, insightful and inspiring, Love and Happiness shows us both sides of Chris and Karen's story, and reminds us that sometimes to have it all, you must first lose it all.

PURCHASE “LOVE AND HAPPINESS” ON AMAZON.COM HERE

RECEIVE A FREE DOWNLOAD OF “LOVE AND HAPPINESS” IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR
HONEST REVIEW HERE

  

ABOUT BEN BURGESS JR:

Ben Burgess Jr. is the author of the award winning novels Monster, Wounded, the poetry book Times Have Changed and Life is Strange and the new novel Love and Happiness He is an active performer of spoken word poetry. 

Ben uses his love of writing to inspire and influence youths to strive for what they believe in, and to never give up on their dreams. His poetry book Times Have Changed and Life is Strange and his novel Monster are currently used in schools on the lower east side of Manhattan.

Ben Burgess has a BA degree in Business Management, and a MA degree in Educational Leadership.

He is the proud father of his daughter Jaelynn and is active in trying to improve urban neighborhoods and communities.

CONNECT WITH BEN

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

  

 Tour
media kit provided by Susan Barton, MyBook Tour

And now for something completely different...

Those of you who know me won't be surprised when I say that I cut my teeth on Agatha Christie. By the time I was 12, I had read forty-two of her mysteries. This put me one book ahead of my friend, with whom I was competing to see who could read the most Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries over summer break.

In the years that followed, I discovered Raymond Chandler and Ruth Rendell, Robin Cook and Jonathan Kellerman, Tess Gerritsen and Dennis Lehane.

Eventually, of course, I expanded my reading repertoire to include other genres--most notably, romance, which is what I write.  But my first love was mystery.  So it is with great pleasure that I introduce my guest today, Robert Germaux. Robert's new book, Small Talk, is now available on Amazon.

About the Book:

A serial killer has the people of Pittsburgh on edge, and Detective Daniel Hayes and his hand-picked Special Assignment Squad are working feverishly to solve the case before more innocent lives are lost.  But the killer proves to be a formidable foe, whose viciousness appears to be matched only by his ability to elude capture.

Throughout Small Talk, the reader is given glimpses into the mind of this cunning and sadistic murderer, an individual who seeks a face-to-face confrontation with his pursuers, a confrontation Daniel is only too willing to provide.

Read the first seven chapters of Small Talk

About Robert Germaux:

Robert Germaux and his wife, Cynthia, live outside of Pittsburgh. After three decades as a high school English teacher, and now a good many years into retirement, he is beginning to have serious doubts about his lifelong dream of pitching for the Pirates. Small Talk is Robert Germaux’s second book. His first book, The Backup Husband, is a contemporary romance novel, available on Amazon.

*******

Robert Germaux Author Q & A

I see you were a high school English teacher for thirty years. That’s quite an accomplishment!  Were you doing much writing during this time?

No, I wasn’t, mainly because I was too busy grading my students’ papers, along with doing the thousand-and-one other things involved with teaching.  And to be honest, I really didn’t think of myself as a writer during those years. 

What made you decide to take the plunge and publish your first book, The Backup Husband?

Pretty much just the desire to put my work out there, to see if it was as good as I hoped it was.

Why did you take the Indie route?

I’d written several books about a private detective named Jeremy Barnes, but my agent and I hadn’t been able to find a publisher for them.  I knew how popular eBooks were becoming, so I thought I’d try that route. 

The Backup Husband is a contemporary romance novel. Small Talk is about a serial killer. Was this a conscious decision to keep your book genre choices open?

No, not really.  I’d had the idea for The Backup Husband floating around in my head for some time, and after I wrote it, I thought it might be the best book for my initial foray into the world of eBooks.  My other books are all crime novels, and that’s the genre I most enjoy. 

What kind of research did you do for Small Talk?

I was fairly knowledgeable about standard police procedures, but I had to do a lot of research into the technical aspects of the investigation by Daniel and his squad, things like facial recognition software, etc.  I also had to educate myself about what can be learned at autopsy, which wasn’t my favorite part of the research for this book.

What would you say has been the most difficult thing about Indie publishing?

I knew next to nothing about Indie publishing, and at first, it seemed as though every time I learned something, that led to two or three other “somethings” I had to learn.  It was very frustrating.

Are you currently working on a new book?

I’m finishing the final edit on One by One, the next case for Daniel and the Special Assignment Squad. 

Do you have any advice for new Indie authors?

I would recommend that they educate themselves as much as possible about the world of Indie publishing, but even more important, try to find someone who already knows all this stuff and is willing to guide you through the process.  When I decided to put The Backup Husband online, I had no idea what I was doing, which made for a long and arduous experience.  With Small Talk, I’ve been lucky enough to have Susan Barton in my corner, making the whole process a delight.

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Readers can connect with Robert Germaux via his website, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon. 

Review copies are available upon request via contact form here. 

#NewRelease ~ Contemporary Romance

Looking to fill your virtual bookshelf with more good reads?

Look no farther than Lyssa Layne's latest contemporary romance...

TITLE: My Favorite What If

AUTHOR: Lyssa Layne

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

PUBLICATION DATE: April 7, 2015

COVER DESIGN: Kage Cover Designs

LENGTH: 54,000+

Synopsis 

One year after Jacob "Smitty" Smith is stood up at the altar, his good friend Jules encourages him to redeem his honeymoon package before it expires. Reluctantly, he agrees, and finds himself sitting beside free spirit Sloan Talbott, who is attending her sister's destination wedding at the same resort. Both have been hurt. Neither is looking for love. Will one week in paradise be a fling to remember or could it possibly lead to something more?

Book Links

Amazon US

Amazon CAN

Amazon AUS

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Goodreads

Excerpt

Carrying my cup of coffee, I walk back to my bedroom and look into the suitcase. So far everything looks alright—swimsuit, shorts, t-shirts, dress slacks, and dress shirt. Jules came through on her other promise to go to the store for the trip—deodorant, soap, toothpaste, condoms. Wait, condoms?!

“Jules, what the hell is this?” I ask, holding up the box of Trojans.

Not missing a beat, she grabs the box from me and throws it back in the suitcase, zipping it up. “I got everything you could possible need. Soap, toothpaste, Pepto, Pedialyte—”

“And condoms?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had another preferred method of safe sex,” she quips as she pulls my suitcase off the bed and drags it to my front door.

“And just who do you think I’ll be having sex with?”

She shrugs as she walks back to the bedroom and shoves a pile of clothes in my arms. “I don’t know, I don’t care, but you need to get laid. So go to paradise, find some lucky woman, and get some.”

Other Books by Lyssa Layne

Love is a Fire

Burst Into Flame

The Right Pitch

Fear of Striking Out

If you want to find out more about Smitty's friend, Jules, check out Everybody's After Love. 

Boxed Sets

Heroes to Swoon For

Spring Into Love

Next Release

Lyssa's next release Until You Fall In Love and will debut June 9

Single mom Jordan Glastetter doesn't know how she'd survive without her best friend, Abram Tomko. He's the father her son never knew and he's the rock she's always leaned on. When Abram's father suffers a heart attack, it's Abram's turn to depend on Jordan, finally seeing her as the woman she's become and not the little girl he grew up with. Will they risk their friendship for a chance at love?

Get your copy now for only 99 cents!

About the Author

Lyssa Layne is first, and foremost, the proud momma to her precious daughter, AR. In addition to working full-time and being a mommy to AR, she is also an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, a runner, blogger, and an infertility survivor.

Having watched one too many medical dramas and being inspired by author Rachelle Ayala, who introduced her to the world of indie writing, Lyssa decided to try her hand at writing a romance story. Her attempt turned into the Burning Lovesick series. You can find Lyssa’s own interests throughout her stories although all stories are fictional.

Contact Lyssa via...

Blog:          http://www.authorlyssalayne.blogspot.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lyssalayne

Twitter:       https://twitter.com/layne_lyssa

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authorlyssalayn/

Amazon:     http://www.amazon.com/Lyssa-Layne/e/B00KP1Y5BY

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8280977.Lyssa_Layne

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/lyssa-layne

Facebook Party & Takeover

Friday, April 10 Lyssa will be taking over the One-Click Addict Support Group

Also, join the My Favorite What If Gossip Fest one week after it's release so that we can chat about Smitty & Sloan, discuss their future, and share other spoilers. The party will be April 14 at 8PM CT. Join the fun here!

Giveaway/Rafflecopter

Enter to win a Lyssa Layne ebook of your choice, this pair of Love earrings, or a piece of surprise jewelry from La Jolie Fille Boutique. Rafflecopter will close April 14.

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Bake, LOVE, Write

What do most authors have in common, no matter what genre they write? They love desserts. Sweets sustain them through pending deadlines and take the sting out of crushing rejection letters and nasty reviews. They also often celebrate their successes—selling a book, winning a writing award, making a bestseller list, or receiving a fabulous review—with decadent indulgences. And when authors chat with each other, they often talk about their writing and their lives. 

Recipes. Relationships. Writing. 

In this cookbook 105 authors (including yours truly) not only share their favorite recipes for fabulous cakes, pies, cookies, candy, and more, they also share the best advice they’ve ever received on love and writing.

Bake, LOVE, Write

Available now from:

AMAZON ~ Paperback / Kindle 
KOBO ~ eBook 
Barnes & Noble ~ NOOK Book
iTunes ~ iBook