#BookTour “Finding Light in a Lost Year” by Carin Fahr Shulusky

May 31, 2022May 31, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

May 16 – June 10, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Finding Light in a Lost Year by Carin Fahr Shulusky

Roni Wright thought she had everything; huge home, successful husband, kids, and a brilliant career. That is until the worse pandemic in 100 years swept away the shallow façade of her life and she nearly lost it all.

This is the story of how a broken family navigated the most difficult year of their lives and found hope in the middle of so much loss. You will recognize many of the things that nearly broke us all as we struggled with pandemic restrictions and the new normal. But you will cheer as they work their way out of darkness into a better world.

Book Details

Genre: Family & Relationship, Biographical Fiction
Published by: Fossil Creek Press
Publication Date: May 2022
Number of Pages: 170
ISBN: 978-1-7362417-2-1
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Read an excerpt:

April 2020 – When It Rains, It Pours

On April 1, I picked up my calendar, as I did at the beginning of every month—usually to see what we had coming up and to schedule more—and started crossing off everything. I had already crossed off the March trip to Paris. Now I crossed off this month’s planned trip to the banking conference in San Francisco. I slashed through the conference in New York. And with a little more pain, I crossed off the two Broadway shows to which I had tickets. An old college girlfriend was going to go with me to one and Dan the other. Broadway closed. New York closed. All crossed off, as was the St. Louis Symphony concert to which we had tickets. Canceled. Hockey, canceled. Three birthday parties, canceled. My appointment at the nail salon, canceled. Hairdresser, canceled. Canceled, canceled, canceled. April was looking so gloomy.

The only exercise I was getting was walking through one of our beautiful parks with the kids. Sometimes, we took bikes and rode a trail. But with April came gloom and rain and even that little bit of escape became impossible. Then the St. Louis County Executive closed all county parks. We were now required to wear a mask if we were out in public, especially indoors, and to stay six feet apart wherever we were. The gloom was growing daily. My life had no order. We were in free fall.

On April 9, we got a big shot in the arm, as it were, when $2,400 appeared in our checking account—a gift from the U.S. government. Officially the money was part of the Economic Impact Payment, but the payments were more often called stimulus checks. We just called it salvation. Like many families, we weren’t sure how we would make ends meet. This money was a gift from heaven—or the government, depending on your point of view.

By the second week of April, our school district was making an effort at learning. They asked parents to pick up “home learning packets” from the school. When I drove up to the school, someone handed me the packet for our kids’ grade levels. But when I got home, there was little explanation about the work. It was terribly disorganized and made little sense to me. Katlin wanted to learn more, and Oliver wanted to learn less. I just wanted more alcohol. Lots more. I decided hard times called for hard alcohol. Wine was OK now with lunch, but by dinner time, I needed a cocktail.

I set up a place in the basement family room for the kids to study. I tried hard to make Oliver work on letters and sight words. He would work with me for maybe thirty minutes, then he’d start disrupting everything I did. He’d rip papers and run away. Meanwhile, Katlin was trying to figure out her lessons with great frustration. She didn’t know what was wanted of her, and I couldn’t figure it out either. Oliver did everything in his considerable ability to disrupt our efforts. Most sessions ended with all three of us crying.

Not only was I failing at trying to teach my kids, I was failing at keeping them out of Nathan’s living room office. Every time Oliver ran away from me, he ran right into one of Nathan’s meetings. No order. No peace. No joy.

—

Author Bio:

Carin Fahr Shulusky was born and raised in west St. Louis County. She attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, where she received a B.J (Bachelor of Journalism). After college she worked in advertising for GE and Monsanto. She was the first professional woman in her division of each. After 25 years in Marketing, she created her own firm, Marketing Alliance. She was president of Marketing Alliance, from 2002 – 2014. She is a past-president of the Business Marketing Association of St. Louis. Carin Fahr is married to Richard Shulusky. They have two grown children and one marvelous granddaughter. Grandma Carin has a life long love of cooking, even writing her own cookbook. In 2014 Carin retired to devote full time to writing. Her first book, In the Middle was inspired by her own battle to care for her beloved mother, Dorothy Fahr. Many of the stories Carrie Young’s mother tells her in In the Middle came from Carin’s mother. Carin is a lifelong member of Pathfinder Church in Ellisville, Missouri, where she volunteers in early childhood.

Find Carin Online:

carinshulusky.com
Goodreads
Instagram – @cshulusky
Twitter – @shulusky
Facebook

Tour Host Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

Enter to Win!

This is a giveaway hosted by Providence Book Promotions for Finding Light in a Lost Year by Carin Fahr Shulusky. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

Find Your Next Great Read at Providence Book Promotions!

#BookBlitz “Her Jailer’s Secret” by Brian F. Smith

May 21, 2022May 20, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

~~~

A broken family’s fight against a brutal justice system

Historical Fiction, Australian History, Literary Fiction

Date Published: April 2022

Publisher: Tablo Publishing

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

In 1786 Elizabeth Fitzgerald, a 26 year old woman, became involved in England’s brutal justice system and found herself exiled from her homeland to Botany Bay in the antipodes where she had to endure brutality, near starvation, love and a shipwreck off Norfolk Island with her friend Jane Fitzgerald. She bore twin girls to a marine William Mitchell while on the island and began her own family in this strange new land, as she never expected to ever see her family members, or friends, ever again.

On her return to Sydney she began a new life with another soldier, Thomas Wright, with whom she had another child but was imprisoned again for selling her children’s rations to purchase rum where she met a strange cockney woman named Margaret, who was in charge of the prison and who changed her life.

William Mitchell, who returned to England carried out an investigation into who Margaret really was as she had now died, and in doing so came up against Irish rebels who threatened his life but finally gave him a sealed letter as to her true identity, that could not be opened by anyone other than one of the two Fitzgerald women.

~~~

About the Author

Brian F. Smith has always had an interest in writing that became further enhanced with his early career moves which included his service with the
Australian Army before joining the Victoria Police Force. He later went on to become the Chief Security Officer at the Loloho Port Site on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea. On his return to Australia, he founded the ‘Jordan River Journal,’ a Hobart, Tasmania suburban newspaper before going to the island’s west coast where he founded the ‘ The Western Herald’ another local weekly newspaper. Since his retirement, he has written four
books: ‘Off The Record”, “Convict Connections’, ‘Witness to a Miracle’ and ‘Her Jailer’s Secrets’. In 2020 he obtained a Diploma in Family History from the University of Tasmania.

Contact Link

Promo Link

~~~

Purchase Links

~~~

#BookTour “The Discontent of Mary Wenger (Paper Dolls Book 1)” by Robert Tucker

April 11, 2022April 10, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

TheDiscontent copy

Welcome to the book tour for The Discontent of Mary Wenger by Robert Tucker. Read on for more details!

efortin ebook

The Discontent of Mary Wenger (Paper Dolls #1)

Publication Date: February 3rd, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing

Emotionally torn between the conflicting historical social forces of feminism and the traditional roles of women in post-World War II society, Mary Wenger struggles with a deep sense of despair. Spanning the continent during the decades of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s to the turn of the century, her compulsive lifelong odyssey in search of an acceptable house in which to realize her personal and economic goals throws her out of balance with her family.

A master wordsmith tells Mary’s story with a subtle touch of humor only an actual descendant could wield with success. Her fictional memoir is based on historical facts and bravely reveals Mary’s discovery and fear of separation from her children. The existential examination allows Mary to finally understand how her personal discontent, obsessions, internal demons, and depression affect her husband and children, as they mature and independently react to her attempts to mold them to her vision of how they all should be as a family. The life of every character is determined by his or her delusions and how they clash or compromise with one another.

Add to Goodreads

Excerpt

Since I was a young girl, I have always believed that death is stalking me. It lurks and hovers in the dark recesses of my mind like a virus waiting to strike and destroy when I least expect it.

When I was eight years old, I wrote a poem about myself and death.

My name is Mary

Sounds airy

Death is scary

It makes me wary

Being wary makes me carey

All my life, I have developed defenses and tried to be a protector of the people I love. They often didn’t see things the way I did and they didn’t agree with me. But I knew what was best for all of us.

I always have.

My mother told me the first night when she and Dad moved in, the wail of an infant floated up to their bedroom. Eyes wide open with fear, she lay listening as the weak cry faded to silence.

“Mike, did you hear that?” she whispered and poked Dad in the ribs. “It came from the cellar.”

“Just a cat. I’ll chase it out in the morning.”

Shaking his arm, she insisted. “It sounded like a baby. You must go down and look.”

“I’m tired. I look in the morning.”

“Please, Mike, I scared.”

“Aah! All right.” He touched a lighted match to their bedside candle. The electricity had not yet been connected. He went down the creaking stairs into the cellar.

Unseen by him, a woman’s bare foot and leg were pulled out through the window. The glow of the candle light was reflected by the wet shine of an object in one corner. Dad approached it and his blood chilled.

A newborn infant lay curled, the blood and mucous of the afterbirth still clinging to its blue body.

In horror, he fumbled his way back up the stairs to the bedroom where he blew out the candle and set it on the dresser.

Mother pulled the blankets close around herself. “What was it?”

Dad quickly climbed into bed. “Nothing but cat. I get rid of it in the morning.”

Before Mother awoke, Dad buried the infant in the back part of the yard farthest from the house in a corner of what would be a vegetable garden.

Many years later, when I was a young woman, Mother told me she knew Dad had lied to her to shield her from the grotesque reality of what he had found in the basement. She knew the difference between the wail of a newborn infant and the wail of a cat.

She never asked him where he had buried the infant. She suspected she knew from the unusual growth and size of tomatoes she had planted in that section of the garden. The thought of the child as fertilizer sickened her. Believing the soul of the infant existed in the ripe red fruit, she buried the tomatoes in a field far from the house and dug up and destroyed the plants.

Refusing to explain why, she avoided planting any other vegetables in that part of the garden. The spot of untilled soil was a silent message to Dad that she knew what had lain buried there.

I was sitting between Ruth and Nina clinking ice in our glasses of lemonade. I slowly turned the pages of the latest Sears & Roebuck catalog while they chatted about the clothes and merchandise they would buy if they had the money. We all did a lot of wishing in those days. Wishing didn’t cost anything, but left us with an aching malaise and a shared emptiness that our imaginations could not fill.

Since we had little in the way of personal possessions, we shared everything. If one of us even bought a candy bar, we wouldn’t think of eating it all. We would divide it up so each of us had a taste.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

IMG_0987TuckerTU

Author of 27 novels and a retired business and management consultant in a wide range of industries throughout the country, I reside with my wife in Southern California.

I’m a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles with Bachelor’s and Master Degrees.

A Pulitzer nominated author, I am a recipient of the Samuel Goldwyn and Donald Davis Literary Awards.

An affinity for family and generations pervades my novels. My works are literary and genre fiction that address the nature and importance of personal integrity.

As the grandson of immigrants who fled persecution in Germany and Austria-Hungary and came to America during the early 1900’s, the early history of our country and the rise of the middle-class have always held a fascination for me. The dramatic depiction of fictional characters placed in actual events sharply and realistically bring alive the harsh times and adversity of the multitude of people who sought freedom and a better way of life and demonstrate that only a little over one-hundred years have passed to bring us to where we are as a struggling society today.

The chronology and events of history have captured and held my interest for many reasons, among them being stories that entertain, educate, and inform. Learning about the lives of my immigrant grandparents coming to America from Czechoslovakia during the early 1900s and the lives of my parents during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s provided the initial motivation. Researching and writing historical fiction is a way to learn more about myself and my origins and the social, political, and economic influences related to my generation.

Whether writing historical fiction or non-fiction or fantasy, I’m drawn into the societies and cultures of a particular period that inspire the creation of characters who bring that era to life. Not only do I experience this dynamic in books, but in films, plays, dance, music, and other art forms.

Researching history takes me into the exploration of new territory perhaps outside of my own life experience through reading other sources, interviews, travel, and films. Although a number of fine books are written from personal experience by authors who lived through those times, much of the historical writing by contemporary authors is dependent on secondary sources. Forays into the past for story material is a rewarding part of the creative process.

Robert Tucker

Book Tour Schedule

April 11^th

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com

@ofmoviesandbooks (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/ofmoviesandbooks/

Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com

@fle_d (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/fle_d

Ravenz Reviews (Spotlight) http://ravenzreviews.blogspot.com/

April 12^th

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

Latisha’s Low-Key Life (Review) https://latishaslowkeylife.com/

The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com

Read & Rated (Spotlight) https://readandrated.com/

Rambling Mads (Spotlight) http://ramblingmads.com

Misty’s Book Space (Spotlight) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com

April 13^th

Timeless Romance (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/

B is for Book Review (Spotlight) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com

@mels_booksandhooks (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/mels_booksandhooks/

Stine Writing (Spotlight) https://christinebialczak.com/

@itsabookthing2021 (Spotlight) http://www.instagram.com/itsabookthing2021

April 14^th

@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/

Riss Reviews (Review) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website

Books + Coffee = Happiness (Spotlight) https://bookscoffeehappiness.com/

@bookscoffeehappiness (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/bookscoffeehappiness/

@hodophile_z (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/hodophile_z/

April 15^th

@bhaneereads_ (Review) https://www.instagram.com/bhaneereads_/

@amber.bunch_author (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Spotlight) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

Bunny’s Reviews (Spotlight) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

#BookBlitz “Malory’s Quest” by Helen Lewis

March 16, 2022March 14, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

~~~

Historical Fiction

Published: February 28, 2022

Publisher: Austin MacCauley

March 1471, Rogue Malory is dead. His friends, the Newgate Three, set out to fulfil their promise to him to deliver the finished manuscript of Le Morte D’Arthur to the friars of Winchester. But national events intrude and the three find themselves cast out from England. Advised by their old friend, Sir Anthony Tanner, and his betrothed, Margaret Limpsett, they set out to Bruges in Flanders where they seek advice on how to proceed to protect the manuscript. New characters are introduced, including William Caxton who becomes integral to their lives. Previous friends – and
enemies – reappear and play their parts. But not all is well. At the end, there is a shocking discovery. Will the quest be fulfilled?

‘Malory’s Quest’ is an historical novel set in 15th century England at the time of the fractious struggle for the throne. It is the second in the ‘Malory Trilogy’ and continues where ‘Rogue Malory’ ended. Accurately researched, it contains a host of lively fictional characters, as well as major players in the labyrinthine politics of the era. The manuscript,
written in Newgate Jail, is entrusted to the care of his three greatest friends, who pledge themselves to fulfil his dying wish that they take it to Winchester Priory. Their journey diverts considerably, carrying them to France and Bruges, where they meet William Caxton, a pioneer of printing who becomes an integral character in this and the final book. The trilogy takes a fictional look at how the manuscript disappeared for fifteen years before it was eventually published by Caxton in 1485. The final part: ‘Malory’s Grail’ is in production and due out next year.

~

Also from Helen Lewis:

London, 1469. Rogue Malory sets out to show how, ‘comfortably imprisoned’ in Newgate Jail, Sir Thomas Malory works on his magnum opus, Le Morte D’Arthur, with the help of his scribe, Montmorency Pickle, his servant, John Appleby, and his stationer, Jack Worms. The story is an imagined account of the preparation of the famous manuscript, the true
revelations of Sir Tom’s disreputable past and the factual events covering the final two years of the ongoing tussle for the crown between the Earl of Warwick and King Edward IV. A combination of real and imaginary events brings to life this arresting period of history.

Reluctantly, Monty and Jack become embroiled in Malory’s political machinations whilst also contending with his dissolute yet magnetic character. Whores, pimps, spies and officials pass in and out of Sir Tom’s cell, where he sits at its centre like a hilarious old spider weaving mischief.

Amazon

~~~

About the Author

Writing under her maiden name, Helen Lewis began writing novels after retiring from a career in education. She has previously published two novels
of a trilogy set in Victorian England, but she has always been drawn to the fifteenth century. She has a PhD from Birmingham University; her thesis:
Warwick the Kingmaker in Shakespeare’s ‘Henry VI’. Later she wrote a quartet of novels on Warwick’s life – Lodestar – and it was while researching them that she came across the lively character Sir Thomas Malory.

Contact Links

Facebook

BookBuzz

~~~

Purchase Links

~~~

#BookBlitz “Atlantic Rue” by Jack Adderley

March 3, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ 1 Comment

~~~

Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller

1903. The South Atlantic. HMS Roanoke steams deeper into the southern hemisphere’s winter, bound for the sparsely populated Cranmer Island. A chance encounter at sea has fateful consequences for her demoralized crew and presents a growing mystery they must resolve while they struggle to reconcile with their pasts.

~~~

About the Author

Jack Adderley is the author of the historical mystery novel, Atlantic Rue.

Purchase Link

Amazon

~~~

#BookTour “They Called Him Marvin” by Roger Stark

February 27, 2022February 19, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

~~~

Creative nonfiction History, Historical romance, WW2, Family Saga, Memoir
Biography

Date Published: September 1, 2020

Publisher: Silver Star Publishing Llc

Duty called.

He answered.

She, with child, was left behind.

He did not come home.

“They were the fathers we never knew, the uncles we never met, the
friends who never returned, the heroes we can never repay.” (B
Clinton.) Such a man was 1st Lt Dean Harold Sherman, B-29 Airplane Commander
one of the thousands of man-boys, not far from their mother’s apron
strings, that learned to fly a B-29 thousands of miles and bomb an
enemy.

“They Called Him Marvin” is a history of Dean Sherman and his
teenage bride Connie’s love, World War 2 and their efforts to create a
family. A history of the collision of the raging politics of a global war,
young love, patriotism, sacred family commitments, duty and the horrors and
tragedies, the catastrophe that war is.

A reviewer explains: “I am a fan of historical fiction and this story
did not disappoint. It was sweet, tragic, personal, and moving. Gradually
and almost imperceptibly, the story of two wartime sweethearts begins
circling the drain of a tragedy you know is coming. The book begins with the
ending, but by the time you get there you have convinced yourself that it
can’t possibly be the case. I enjoyed every moment, even the ones that left
me in tears.

The letters between Connie and Dean provided a fascinating glimpse into
wartime life. Reading the experiences of people both at home and abroad was
very engaging. I found myself eagerly awaiting the next letter, right along
with the young couple!

Lastly, the book left me with an overwhelming acknowledgment of the
universal trauma and tragedy of war. The Sherman’s are not the only
family we meet in the book and the weaving together of several different
narratives added a depth to the story that’s hard to put into words. I definitely encourage anyone to read this book, especially if historical
novels are not something you typically read. This is a story about people
and you won’t want it to end.”

~~~

Excerpts

18 January 1941, The Story Begins

Stanley Carter started all this.

… I want to help you with your problem of not knowing any one in Salt Lake. Tomorrow I am going to my girlfriends house, come with me, she would love to meet you and then you will know two people here.” Dean answered, “I could be talked into that.”

“We are going to meet up at church and then go to her house.”

By the end of church the following day, Dean would actually know three people from Salt Lake City. This because Stan’s girlfriend, Carol Woffinden, happened to be the best friend of Constance Avilla Baldwin, who also just happened to attend the same Waterloo Ward of the Mormon Church, who also didn’t have a boy friend, and who was also more than happy to make a visitor feel welcome.

Dean innocently walked into all of this.

Mormons have a special interest in non Mormons, or Gentiles as they call them. You see, a Mormon is never far from, or without, his missionary zeal. If you’re not a Mormon and your going to hang out with a Mormon for very long, you’re going to get zealed. For Dean Harold Sherman, it was to be a life altering dose of zealing.

************

Dean and Connie exchanged 67 letters (50 written by Dean) the night (unbeknownst to him) that his son Marvin was born Dean wrote:

18 February 1945

Good Evening Peaches:

Hello sweet girl, I sure have been thinking of you lots these days and wishing so much that I could be around to take care of you, and be holding your nice soft hands and giving you lots of moral support, and see your pretty face and look in your eyes and without saying a word, tell you millions of wonderful things that you mean to me. You do too, Honey, mean so many wonderful things to me. All the wonderful things a beautiful girl can be and my best companion ever along with being the sweetest wife any guy ever could love. Those are just a few of the things, Darling, which make me love you more every day…

Goodnight Peach Blossom,

Dean

On the day Dean was shot down Connie Wrote:

14 May 1945

My most wonderful man,

I’m in a rather odd mood tonight Honey, and it is most all about you and Marvin and me. I have been trying to decide whether or not I would write to you tonight most all evening. I wanted to, but I didn’t know if I could express my feelings as I would want to, and, as I feel them. As you can see Honey, I have made up my mind to try. How well I succeed remains to be seen…

Then I was thinking of Marvin and wondering just what his talents are going to be. To have a Daddy such as you, Honey, he will be kind and good, even as you are, a wonderful man. Honey, I’m really just beginning to realize what a great responsibility we have in teaching and caring for Marvin. We just have to do it to the very best of our ability. I know you have lots of ability, Honey, and I hope I have…

I have a hard time, the past seems like such a thrilling dream of love and happiness. I wonder if it all really happened, but then I know it did. And Oh! Honey how I do love you now and forever and ever ever after with all my heart and soul. Honey I just can’t express how deep my love for you is. Its an impossibility. I love you always.

Good night my husband,

Peaches

Xxxxxxxxxx

************

10 December 1944, The Same Damn Movie

… In Puerto Rico the crew was quite happy to watch the new release The Lady Takes a Chance starring John Wayne and Jean Arthur. Coincidently when they reached British Guiana the same movie was featured. Not to be deterred the crew again enjoyed the film. When they got to Brazil and it was again the featured picture show, some murmuring occurred. The Corporalies, were feeling cheated.

When they found the movie would be playing at their fourth stop also they complained to Dean.

“Sir, ain’t the Army got any other movies?”

“We know the lines better than the actors.”

“We know John Wayne is going to eat the lamb chops because Jean Arthur cooked them for him even tho he is a beef man.”

“Maybe there will be something new at our next stop,” was the consolation Dean offered. After crossing the Atlantic The Corporalies showed signs of giving up on the movies.

But in KhartoumThe Corporalies forced into the NCO Club by the searing heat and therefore ‘forced‘ to drink cold beer all day had a terrible yearning, near evening, for a movie.

“Howell, go see what’s playing at the movies tonight.” ordered his fellow Corporalies.

By virtue of being the youngest Howell was often the brunt of such requests especially after three or four beers. He had given up protesting that he was the same rank as them. In fact as the Central Gunner, he was in charge of the other gunners in combat, but as the youngest of four boys at home he felt a strange comfort in re-playing the role with his combat brothers.

“And damn it, don’t come back if it is The Lady Takes a Chance.”

Of course he discovered that The Lady was indeed tonight’s special feature. On the way back to the NCO Club with the sad news that John Wayne was again eating those lamb chops even here on the edge of the Nile Rivers, he met his Airplane Commander.

“Sir, they are playing that same damn movie here, oh sorry sir, that same John Wayne movie is playing here. We are sick of it, Sir, ain’t the Army got any other movies?”

“Evan, the reason that movie shows up everywhere we go, is that we have been tasked with delivering it to our final destination while allowing each layover airfield to use it.”

Howell stared at his Airplane Commander as his cognitive impaired brain tried to process. The light finally came on for him, a bit dim, but it came on. “Oh, Sir, I see Sir, I’ll tell the boys.”

And off he wandered, not in the direction of the boys, but in the direction of his bunk, taking his comrades threat to not return with bad news seriously.

~~~

Available Here and on Amazon!

~~~

About the Author

roger

I am, by my own admission, a reluctant writer. But there are stories that demand to to be told. When we hear them, we must pick up our pen, lest we forget, and the stories be lost.

Six years ago, in a quiet conversation with my friend Marvin, I learned the tragic story his father, a WW2 B-29 Airplane Commander, shot down over Nagoya, Japan just months before the end of the war.

Bill Clinton has famously said: “They were the fathers we never knew, the uncles we never met, the friends who never returned, the heroes we can never repay. They gave us our world. And those simple sounds of freedom we hear today are their voices speaking to us across the years.”

Such a man was Marv’s father. A father he never knew. The telling of the story that evening by this half orphan was so moving and full of emotion, it compelled me to ask if I could write the story. The result being “They Called Him Marvin.”

My life has been profoundly touched in so many ways by being part of documenting this sacred story. I pray that we never forget, as a people, the depth of sacrifice that was made by ordinary people like Marvin and his father and mother on our behalf.

My career as an addiction counsellor (CDP) led me to write “The Waterfall Concept; A Blueprint for Addiction Recovery,” and co-author “Reclaiming Your Addicted Brain.”

After my counselling retirement, I decided I wanted to learn more about the craft of writing and started attending classes at Portland Oregon’s Attic Institute. What I learned is that there are an amazing number of great writers in my area, and they were willing to help others improve their skills. I am grateful to many of them.

My next project is already underway, a memoir of growing in SW Washington called “Life on a Sorta Farm.” My wife of 49 years, Susan and I still live in that area.

We raised seven children and have eleven grandchildren. We love to travel and see the sites and cultures of the world. I still get on my bicycle whenever I can.

They Called Him Marvin

~~~

Click the link below for a chance to win a signed copy of the book! (Open to everyone)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour Organized By:

RABT Host Badge

#BookTrailerReveal “The Discontent of Mary Wenger” by Robert Tucker

February 25, 2022February 24, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the book trailer reveal for new release, The Discontent of Mary Wenger (Paper Dolls #1) by Robert Tucker!

efortin ebook

The Discontent of Mary Wenger (Paper Dolls #1)

Publication Date: February 3rd, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing

Available on Amazon

About the Author

IMG_0987TuckerTU

Author of 27 novels and a retired business and management consultant in a wide range of industries throughout the country, I reside with my wife in Southern California.

I’m a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles with Bachelor’s and Master Degrees.

A Pulitzer nominated author, I am a recipient of the Samuel Goldwyn and Donald Davis Literary Awards.

An affinity for family and generations pervades my novels. My works are literary and genre fiction that address the nature and importance of personal integrity.

Robert Tucker

Trailer Reveal Organized By:

R&R Book Tours

#BookTour “Hemingway’s Daughter” by Christine M. Whitehead

February 10, 2022February 7, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

~~~

Historical Fiction

Date Published: July 10, 2021

Finn Hemingway knows for a fact that she’s been born at the wrong time into the wrong family with the wrong talents, making her three dreams for the future almost impossible to attain. She burns to be a trial lawyer in an era when Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being told to type and when a man who is 500th in his law school class is hired over a woman who is first in hers. She yearns to find true love when the family curse dictates that love always ends for the Hemingways, and usually, it ends badly. And finally, she’d give up the first two dreams if she were able to triumph on the third. She longs to have an impact on the only thing that matters to her father: his writing. To accomplish that would require a miracle. All three dreams are almost impossible, but it’s the “almost” that keeps Finn going. Ernest Hemingway had three sons but ached to have a daughter.

This is her story.

~~~

Purchase Link

Kindle Unlimited

Amazon

~~~

#AudioTour “One Must Tell the Bees” by J. Lawrence Matthews

January 23, 2022January 23, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ 2 Comments

One Must tell the bees audiobook cover

Author: J. Lawrence Matthews

Narrator: Thomas Judd

Length: 19 hours 13 minutes

Publisher: East Dean Press

Released: Oct. 1, 2021

Genre: Mystery

Continue reading →

#BookTour “Somewhere Between Light and Time” by Aiden Leman

January 20, 2022January 17, 2022 ~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

~~~

Historical Fiction

Date Published: December 21, 2021

Have you ever met a stranger and felt that you already knew them?

The story begins in the 1800s when Elias and Henry are souls on the Other Side. Their own time as humans lies ahead of them, but they unwittingly observe their ancestors-to-be as they progress through major historical events. From slave-liberation missions in antebellum America to the horror of the Vietnam War, they follow six generations across two centuries. But as the family separates, the descendants form two divergent lineages, thousands of miles apart, into which the two souls are eventually born.

Elias and Henry grow up in different countries but meet again in modern Britain—without any recollection of the Other Side. Civil-rights activist Elias is hiding from a Russian kidnapper when he runs into Henry, who has become a kind-hearted but prejudiced Englishman. Against the backdrop of repeating historical patterns, they become entangled in a love triangle with free-spirited Lana, who becomes Elias’s protector.

Blinded by his intolerance, Henry unwittingly brings danger upon them as the agent closes in on Elias. But soon, all their historical experiences unravel into the present, and eventually produce an unexpected, startling ending.

Somewhere Between Light and Time is a fast-paced adventure drama in which historical events and everyday reality are interwoven with elements of the supernatural. Aiden Leman lives in East Sussex, England, where he works in financial services for his day job. He studied International Relations in Scotland and was previously active in the teaching sector. He has worked in five different countries across three continents, although his dream job would probably be a firefighter.

~~~

EXCERPT

Prologue

The signal on the heart monitor quivered and slowly faded into a flat line. Suddenly, Lana was hovering out of her body and watching the doctors as they battled to resuscitate her. An ethereal light was glowing under the ceiling, and her spirit gravitated toward it. She soared into an otherworldly tunnel, from where she was drawn into an even brighter, more magnificent radiance. There stood her mother, who greeted her on the Other Side, and now came her grandparents, all welcoming her to this supernal place. Here were so many souls Lana had known before she had even been incarnated on earth. Some of them were still waiting to start their lives as humans, while Lana had already returned. This realm of light had been her home long before.

Now her mother was speaking to her again, more loudly this time. ‘It is not your time yet,’ she heard, and eventually, she found herself back in her physical body. It was a cold night in January 2020, and she was in England. Her head was still throbbing from the meningitis fever that had sent her into cardiac arrest, but she was alive.

Her near-death experience had called to mind hidden recollections of the Other Side, memories from before she was born, but Lana also felt she had been sent back here because her work was not complete yet. She gripped on to the old abolitionist medallion that was dangling from her neck, and she immediately thought of her good friends Elias and Henry, for suddenly, everything made sense. The history of this century-old medallion was deeply entwined with the story of Elias and Henry, two very special people to her. And from the moment Lana had first seen them together, she’d sensed something about the two she was not able to articulate. Until now. Throughout the last few months, she’d been given so many clues to the puzzle, but now she finally grasped the bigger picture.

Like a tapestry that had been woven in a bygone time, all their encounters and experiences in history had somehow unravelled into the present era and produced a story that Lana now understood in a different light. The story of Elias and Henry was one that had begun almost one hundred and seventy years before.