It’s Thursday on the blog, and today, I would like to showcase another fabulous #RRBC author, Ms. Gwen Plano, and her novel, The Choice. Take it away, Gwen!
I have never been on an active military base, and yet THE CHOICE
takes place on an air force base in northern California. Because of my limited
knowledge, I not only researched military protocols, I relied on the guidance
of my cousin, retired Lieutenant General John D. Smith. He carefully read the
manuscript and suggested modifications where needed.
Today I share one of his
suggestions, which not only assisted the story but also helped me understand respect within the ranks. It is a simple
scene but what is communicated is powerful. I have bolded my cousin’s edit.
The setting: General Taylor,
the commander of the base, is meeting with Secretary of Defense Vasquez and
Admiral Parker in his office . . .
The three wrap up their discussions. Taylor addresses the secretary, “You mentioned
the Officers’ Club. Would you accompany me as my guest today? I guess we could
all use a drink.”
Vasquez spreads his arms wide and smiles.
“Lead the way.”
Within minutes of leaving the office, they
arrive at the Club. When they walk
through the restaurant, each
officer present stands. The Secretary of
Defense acknowledges their respect with a nod.
About the Author:
BIO:
Growing up in Southern
California, Gwen Plano loved learning. She earned four degrees and taught and
served in universities and colleges across the country and in Japan. Now
retired, she is focused on writing. Gwen’s first book, Letting Go into Perfect
Love, is a memoir. Her second book, The Contract, is a thriller co-authored by
John W. Howell. Gwen lives in the Midwest with her husband, and when she is not
writing, she is traveling, usually to see one of her four children and many
grandchildren.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Lastly, Gwen is a member of the best book club ever – RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB {#RRBC}! If you’re looking for amazing support as an author, or if you simply love books,
It is a pleasure today to turn my blog over to super-talented #RRBC author Karen Glista, who is here to discuss her wonderful book Chasing the Red Queen. Karen, take it away.
KAREN GLISTA BLOG
TOUR
DAY 4
Chasing the Red
Queen
Excerpt: (Once in a blue moon)
Feeling Torin’s hand on the small of her back, she took a
few steps but just short of the dance floor, stopped, pivoted on tiptoes, and
looked up into his eyes. “What is this place?”
“It’s called Privé,” he said. “Which in French means
private. It’s exclusively for Iridescents who want their consorts protected
from wandering eyes.”
“No observers.”
“Exactly.”
“But I’m not your consort.”
He ignored her, ushering her directly to a table. He took
her clutch and laid it down, then led her to the dance floor, where he pulled
her into his arms so tightly that she could not breathe. He danced slow and
steady, so at ease with himself. She slid her arms round his neck, her chin
tilted.
His lips found her ear. “I love this piece. It’s Roberto by Maximo Spodek,” he mused, his
breath warm on her skin. “It’s one of my favorites.” He gently caressed her
back, nestling his nose into her hair. “Can’t you just see the ocean, the moon,
ahhh—it’s all so enchanting.”
He held her tight, and all she could see was him. She felt
herself melting, and with every breath the warmth between them intensified. She
followed his lead, and with the contagious music finding her soul, she closed
her eyes, adrift in his arms. When the music stopped, he slowly released her,
and his face—soft in the dim lights—was so damn handsome that she shivered.
Karen Glista is a registered nurse and award-winning author.
Living in the great lakes state of
Michigan, she finds solace in a remote home nestled within a dense forest
(which she believes is enchanted). In
the moss laden woodlands, she often wanders, all the while delving into and
living fantasy as much as reality. Driven by heart, visionary characters, and
underlying dreams, she embraces the fictious and much like you comes to know
them, and with such, spins a tale that in the dark of night lights your soul.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE.
Lastly, Karen is a member of the best book club ever – RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB {#RRBC}! If you’re looking for amazing support as an author, or if you simply love books, JOIN US! We’d love to have you! Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
It’s time to hear from another amazing Rave Reviews Book Club author, Miriam Hurdle. Just sit back and enjoy her poetry.
“Songs of
Heartstrings” Blog Tour
Day 1
From the Author
This is Day
1 of “Songs of Heartstrings” Blog Tour. I want to thank 4WillsPublishing for
setting up the tour and my host to have me here.
This poetry collection includes nine themes: Songs of Nature, Songs of Dissonance, Songs of
Physical Healing, Songs of Marriage, Songs of Parenthood, Songs of Tribute,
Songs of Reflections, Songs of Challenge, and Songs of Inspiration. Each of
these themes covers various aspects of my life experience. Many poems are
illustrated with my photos and watercolor paintings.
Songs of Heartstrings is a poetic memoir. It comprises nine
themes:
Songs of
Nature – Lessons learned from
observing the surviving power in nature. Songs of
Dissonance – Survival of ten years in
the agonizing, painful, helplessness and distressful relationship. Songs of
Physical Healing – Experience in an
invasive melanoma cancer, the faith and hope along the process of aggressive
chemotherapy and treatments. Songs of Marriage – The giving and receiving of love in a mutual
respect and committed marriage. Songs of
Parenthood -The reflection of having
a premature baby, the joy and fulfillment of parenthood. Songs of
Tribute -Remembrance of parents’
tender love for each other, and a true friend’s untimely death. Songs of
Reflection -Thoughts on the daily
walks, value of life and the power of music. Songs of
Challenge -Poems written in response
to Colleen’s Poetry Challenge. Songs of
Inspiration -Insight on the finite
human being and gratitude toward the Maker.
Highlighted poems from Songs of Nature: Echo of the Earth and Cocoon – Butterfly
On May 18, 1980, Mt. St.
Helens in the Washington State, U.S.A was erupted. It was a major eruption
among the 48 states since 1915. The ash drifted over many states and could be
seen as far as Chicago. The evacuation was announced before the eruption. Mr.
Harry Truman, the caretaker of a resort lodge refused to be evacuated. He
preferred to die with the mountain, so he, along with five residents, died with
the mountain.
I was in Seattle when Mt. St.
Helens wad erupted. It was my desire to hike Mt. St. Helens and see what
it was like years after the eruption. My family and I went back to visit on
September 10, 2016. The mud and debris still filled the river. The bottom of
the mountain had some signs of growth. I was amazed to see the life after such
a devastation.
Miriam Hurdle is a
multi-genre writer. She writes poetry, flash fiction, and short stories and
memoir. Her poems are included in Letters to Gaia, Whispers and Echoes Issue 2,
Whispers and Echoes Issue 3, and Outcast and More Words.
She is passionate about poetry and her favorite
poets are Robert Frost with his poems “The Road Not Taken,” and Linda Pastan
with her poem “To a Daughter Leaving Home.”
She is a member of PoemHunter.com, and
her poetry may be read on the websites.
Music has rooted in her life. Being a soloist as
a teenager led her to taking voice lessons and to have ongoing singing
engagements. She continues to sing soprano in choral groups. Lyrics have a
major influence in the natural flow of her melodic writing. She writes memoir
in the form of poetry.
Along with her brother, she took photos when the
films were black and white. Photography is still her enjoyable hobby. Drawing
and painting were fun activities as a child. Her favorite was to draw a
Japanese girl with big eyes, long hair, small lips and chin. She resumed
drawing and watercolor painting several years ago. In her poetry collection,
photos and paintings are included to illustrate the poems.
She earned a Doctorate of Education from the
University of La Verne in California. After two years of rehabilitation
counseling, fifteen years of public-school teaching and ten years in school
district administration, she retired and enjoys life with her husband in
southern California.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Lastly, Miriam is a member of the best book club ever – RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB {#RRBC}! If you’re looking for amazing support as an author, or if you simply love books, JOIN US! We’d love to have you! Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
It’s time to learn about another fabulous Rave Review Book Club author, Guy Worthey. Please enjoy his blog post. Also, be sure to remember the following:
Please be sure to leave a comment below for your chance to win one of the following prizes: -(3) Kindle ebooks – Winner’s choice (US residents only)-(1) $10 Amazon gift card (US residents only) or $10 (via PayPal for non-US residents)
Greetings one and all, and a hearty thank-you to my kind
host and 4 Wills Publishing!
In this seventh blog tour stop we meet the fourth of Ace’s
five associates. Is see a dark-haired gentleman coming in, now. Gracious. He
looks like a movie star. That slick suit accents his trim waist, and he’s got a
carnation in the buttonhole. A cane, too, like Charlie Chaplin but he carries
it in such a suave way it’s inconspicuous.
GW: Greetings, Bert.
Bert: Hello, theah.
GW: Oh, a New England accent?
Bert: Yes, indeed. Boston, to be precise.
GW: Is Bert a nickname?
Bert: It’s shortened, yes.
GW: What’s your full name?
Bert: Hubert Ewing Devery Christopher Bostock III.
GW: That’s … quite a name. That’s your legal name?
Bert: And my father’s before me, and his father’s before
him. The Bostocks are what they call old money in Boston.
GW: A veritable princeling.
Bert: You mean the suit, I presume. I’m not rich. My father
turned black sheep and he was disinherited before I was born.
GW: That sounds like a good story.
Bert: Does it? Wicked good. But I’m not sure. Father’s a
doctor living in Panama. That’s where I was born.
GW: Sam scolded me for walking on eggshells, so I’ll just
say it. Your skin is dark for a typical Bostonian. Are you part Panamanian?
Bert: Smaht. Very smaht. That’s exactly right. Dual
citizenship.
GW: How did you come to meet Ace and your fellow
associates?
Bert: The Great War. I met Quack first, and he managed to
get us both captured. We ended up in the back of the truck heading for St. Vith
with Ace and the others.
GW: Was it a memorable meeting?
Bert: Yah, the memory is clear. Ace understood German. She
knew where we were going and why. She had blood stains on her flight suit and a
look like a hawk or something I can’t even describe. Inside ten seconds it was
clear who we were going to follow. Well, maybe Ace didn’t know, but we all
knew.
GW: And now you’re an Ace Carroway associate, looking for
trouble all over the world.
GW: I didn’t. I was trying to make a joke. It didn’t come
off. So, to regroup, do you ever think you’re in over your head? That you’ll
all die in a hail of bullets or something?
Bert: Yes and no. I mean, yes, intellectually. In my heart,
though, I think I’m like everybody else. I think I’m immortal. Anyway, I hope I
don’t die by bullets. Not my favorite way to die.
Bert: A gentleman never reveals his tailor. But you might like
this.
GW: Your cane? Oh! It’s actually a sword?
Bert: Technically, an épée. Heavier than a foil, not so
heavy as a sabre.
GW: You’re right. That’s very sneaky, and I like it. Have
you ever used it?
Bert: Alas, no, the situation has never arisen. I’m waiting
for the day I can scare the pants off a would-be mugger with it.
GW: Is this sword your special ability in the group?
Bert: No! I’m not sure I have a special ability. I’m the
one they push to the front to do the talking. I think that means I’m the most
expendable.
GW: Eh, wouldn’t it mean you’re the most persuasive
speaker?
Bert: That’s an optimistic way of putting it.
GW: Given the choice, I generally pick optimism. Thanks for
speaking with us today, Bert.
Bert: My pleasure.
Bert’s quotes:
Spoken with amazement: “Eh? You’re not going to call me out
on being a hothead?”
Normal griping: “Bumbling, comedic pack of dolts! This is
no way to win a war!”
Waxing eloquent at Quack’s expense: “You are not a doctor,
sir! You were barely enrolled in medical school when the war broke out! Why
else should I call you a quack? It’s only the truth.”
Normal griping: “I’m gassed! Can we take a rest?”
When sworn to tell the truth: “I hate to agree with the
Quack, but he’s right on this one.”
“Yaaaaah!” — The sound one makes when firing a machine gun.
Giving lawyerly advice: “Ace. You don’t have to talk to any
reporters.”
And a limerick!
The sharp-dressed Bostonian’s Bert.
His manner may sometimes be curt.
But throw him a curvy,
(A woman) observey!
He is an incorrigible flirt.
Join Ace Carroway and her motley gang of associates as they
travel the world, solving mysteries and fighting crime.
In ACE CARROWAY and the GREAT WAR, sixteen-year-old Cecilia
Carroway lies about her age and joins the war effort as a pilot. She earns her
Ace nickname over France, but is forced down behind enemy lines. Escape plans
are imperiled when Ace catches the attention of imperial minister Darko Dor.
Three years later, in ACE CARROWAY AROUND THE WORLD, Ace’s
father dies in a hail of bullets in quiet Hyannis, Cape Cod. Lieutenant Drew
Lucy is on the case, but it’s Ace Carroway at the top of his list of suspects.
In ACE CARROWAY and the HANDSOME DEVIL, Ace barely survives
an assassination attempt at the hands of her old nemesis Darko Dor. Figuring
the best defense is offense, she starts a detective agency in New York. Before
the paint on the door dries, a new web of deception ensnares the rookie
sleuths. Sudden romantic attention from a pair of handsome strangers is good,
right?
The Adventures of Ace Carroway are available at many fine
stores around the world.
Wyoming native Guy Worthey traded spurs and lassos for
telescopes and computers when he decided on astrophysics for a day job.
Whenever he temporarily escapes the gravitational pull of stars and galaxies,
he writes fiction. He lives in Washington state with his violinist wife Diane.
He likes cats and dogs and plays keyboards and bass guitar. His favorite food
is called creamed eggs on toast, but once in a while he heeds the siren song of
chocolate.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. And follow this author on Twitter.
Lastly, Guy is a member of the best book club ever – RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB #RRBC! If you’re looking for amazing support as an author, or if you simply love books,
JOIN US! We’d love to have you! Thanks for supporting this author and his work!
Visionary/metaphysical fiction turbo charges transformative energy. It’s
a different kind of read. You need to be willing to suspend disbelief regarding
an unseen world. There are those hard-core empiricists who just can’t do it.
They only believe in and trust what they can see, touch, smell, and control.
But, there are other folks like you and me for whom the unseen world of the
deep unconscious mind pulls and pulsate. It’s what old shamans called the
spiritual world. Daily, in my professional practice of depth psychology, I
witness numinous images and symbols emerge from the unconscious. They speak to
the story of a soul in the midst of gaining consciousness, healing, and
transformation.
Author Bio: Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D. is a depth
psychologist and award-winning writer living in his native New Mexico. He
specializes in treating individuals in emotional and spiritual crisis. His
novels, visionary thrillers, delve deep into archetypal realities as they play
out dramatically in the lives of everyday people. Memberships include the
Author’s Guild, Visionary Fiction Alliance, Depth Psychology Alliance,
International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and
the International Transpersonal Psychology Association.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and his work!
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