Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Dwarf Story by Professor W. W. Marplot




This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Professor W. W. Marplot will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


For Arty to miss a day of school, either he is very, very sick or a fairytale-character turf-war has begun in his backyard — such as what begins this particular Wednesday. First, he finds an ax-swinging, bearded, sweaty warrior Dwarf scaring his dogs. Soon enough, Emma, Cry and other middle-school friends also find fairy creatures — Elves, Spriggans, Pixies, and a hoped-for Dragon — crashing into their normal homework-doing, backpack-carrying, phone-charging schooldays.


Why are these magical beings here? What should be done? Is that axe sharp? Can Pixies be given aspirin?
Arty with his friends — and spying jerks, and questionable strangers with long names — follow the clues and try to find out, even as things turn dark and dangerous.


The mythical beings are taking sides. The Gwyllion, that legendary Old Woman of the Mountains, has a sinister plan, turning the neighborhood into a fantasy battleground. One that awaits young heroes.


Read an Excerpt


Some can picture the battle in their mind’s eye, or in others’ eyes, or by using magic to help them see. For the rest, I can tell them what I know.


The Old Woman of the Mountains, a Gwyllion of great and strange powers, made herself stronger by taking one of each kind of fairy: to start a new kingdom in heaven, to steal the ancient place of rest, and to make new creatures and rule over all them and their world. And then, perhaps, ours.


More folktale legends joined the war, and on both sides. Some came to rescue their friends from the foul Gwyllion and her armies of Wights, Trolls, and dark spirits.


All who fight have their own special energies and enchanted abilities; some humans believe in them, most do not. But that does not always matter.


Now the battle rages, using nature, and the earth, and the sky.


In and out of the fight, many struggle to find their way back to Eastward Manor, knowing it as the path home. Some captives that can escape the Old Woman seek and find children and hide. This is a strange occurrence, the strangest of the whole story, for me. The fairies’ connection to these young people, all friends, can only be guessed, and is personal, so should not be guessed.


All the rest, of the living fairy creatures, struggle in the War. The dead only the earth can help.


To conquer the Gwyllion, I will use the spells, and counter-spells, and the ancient symbols that secretly kept the story alive for hundreds of years, waiting for this part of the tale. They complete a mystical alchemy of words and magic. I am here, I was born to be here, to help the armies of folkies, as Arty and Emma and the adopted human children call them: the Spriggans and the Dwarves and the Elves, with any birds and trees who have taken sides.


It was those human children that the Gwyllion did not count on. When Arty sent the counters-spell out to his friends of friends, as he says, the words were read, and spoken out loud, and contemplated. And passed to others, to friends, and to friends of friends, along and along. That is turning the tide—help unlooked for!


And Ted doesn’t know it yet, but our side has a dragon. My dragon.

About the Author: Professor Welkin Westicotter Marplot, of Coillemuir, Scotland, is a collector of esoteric tales of global wisdom and curator of ancient manuscripts. He is a recluse and, as he claims, has been collecting and collating adventure and fantasy stories for over a century.



#Giveaway A Secret Life by James S. Juliana






Join us for this tour from June 15 to June 26, 2020!

Book Details:

Book TitleA Secret Life: Enduring and Triumphing Over OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by James S. Juliana
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 176 pages
Genre:  Self-Help, Mental Health
Publisher:  Self-Published
Release dates:   October 2019
Tour dates: June 15 to June 26, 2020
Content Rating:  PG. This self-help book deals with adult subject matter of mental illness.


Book Description:

Are you one
 of the millions who reside within a secret life, a life which
constantly feels out of your own control: Are you plagued by repetitive
thoughts and/or actions which interfere with your daily activities? The
author lived for more than 40 years with an undiagnosed form of mental
illness, a phobia now known as OCD: obsessive-compulsive disorder. His
emotional pain and suffering were at times almost unmanageable. In his
mid-sixties, the author, a loving husband, father and accomplished high
school teacher and athletic coach, discovered a unique psychologist
within the Denver therapeutic community who utilizes a radical but
highly successful treatment that's allowed the author to control his OCD
 symptoms almost 100%. "A Secret Life" is one of the few books written
by an OCD sufferer and descries in detail the pain and chaos living with
 this illness can cause not just the victim, but those closest to him.
This story doesn't stop there, but provides readers with options and
advice dealing with OCD from someone who broke the curse of living a
secret life. Now he's ready to share his story in order to help others.


Buy the Book:
Add to Goodreads

Guest Post

How Teaching Experiences Influence My OCD Outreach

            As a life-long classroom teacher and athletic coach, I realized years ago I was blessed by God with an inherent ability to successfully motivate adolescents to work hard, persevere and achieve beyond their perceived limitations, both in the classroom as well as in achieving their athletic goals. This special gift also allows me to be comfortable in sharing my life-long struggles with OCD with other sufferers.

I believe that the majority of individuals who live with a form of mental illness are embarrassed about their condition. I am convinced the number of reported and identified cases of OCD are significantly underreported or misdiagnosed, especially with children and adolescents. Fear and guilt are two powerful emotions which prevent many individuals from seeking professional assistance. Repeatedly, Dr. Gallagher has remarked to me during therapy sessions, that in over the twenty-plus years he has been practicing private therapy he has only worked with one or two other patients like me, who possess the inner strength or lack of fear to confront their OCD demons head-on.


Throughout my entire career in education, one of the most important lessons I taught to students was to not be afraid to set high goals and to reach for the stars, whether in academics or sports. Sharing my story of overcoming my OCD symptoms comes naturally to me.





Meet the Author:


Jim Juliana was a hard-working family man with a devoted wife and
adoring children. As a teacher, he taught numerous subjects over a
28-year career, was an assistant principal/athletic director for three
years and mentored generations of youngsters in the classroom and in
athletics. Juliana was a coach for forty years at the high school level.
 Coach Juliana has been a part of two state championship teams, a city
championship team and several league title teams. He spent two years as a
 college instructor and football coach. But Jim Juliana had a secret
life, one over which he had no control. For most of his life, he also
fought - and eventually defeated - an embarrassing and almost
debilitating OCD. OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety
disorder that effects three to five million adults in the US each year.
OCD involves irrational fears or repeated thoughts or obsessions that
drive an individual to engage in repetitive behaviors or compulsions.
Jim Juliana's life was finally changed when he found a therapist whose
treatment all but eliminated his OCD incidents. A Secret Life chronicles
 Juliana's battle against his OCD and gives readers options and
information for treatment based on his experiences.

Connect with the author:  Website ~ Facebook


Tour Schedule:

June 15 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 15 - Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway
June 16 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 16 - Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight
June 17 – novelsnerd – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 17 - T's Stuff – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 18 – Library of Clean Reads – book spotlight / giveaway
June 18 - Laura's Interests - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 19 – Hall Ways Blog – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 19 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 22 – Books for Books – book spotlight
June 23 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 23 - Olio by Marilyn – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 24 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / giveaway
June 24 - Rainy Day Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 25 – Pick a Good Book – book spotlight / author interview /giveaway
June 26 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:






Tuesday, June 23, 2020

#Giveaway The Shadow of the Tudor Rose by Wendy Leighton-Porter












A graduate of Exeter University in the early 1980s, I spent 20 years as a teacher of French, Latin and Classical studies, before a change of career led me to writing children's fiction. Currently residing in Abu Dhabi, I live with my husband and our beautiful Tonkinese cat.



The Shadow of Atlantis is the first in a series of time-travel adventures, featuring 3 children and a rather special cat called Max. I'm now working on the 17th book, The Shadow of the Great Fire. The series also includes several novellas that feature Max the talking Tonkinese cat undertaking solo adventures. As I take my young readers on a magical mystery tour through the past, I'm hoping that my love of history, myth and legend will rub off on them too. 













In 1588, a plot to invade England and overthrow Queen Elizabeth the First is about to unfold. At this crucial moment in English history, four visitors from the future arrive in Elizabethan London. 



Twins Joe and Jemima Lancelot, together with their friend Charlie and their talking cat Max, embark upon their next journey into the past as they continue the search for their missing parents who are lost somewhere in the mists of time.



Finding themselves at the heart of a web of conspiracy, can the young time-travellers solve the mystery of the Tudor Rose?








Good reads ~








Top Ten List:





1. I have lived in Abu Dhabi in the UAE for the past 6 and a half years. The next book in my series (number 18)  - The Shadow of the Shifting Sands -  is set out here.



2. Although I’m originally from the UK, my permanent home is in France. When we first moved in, we discovered we were sharing the house with a previous occupant – it’s haunted!



3. I became a full-time writer after a career of teaching French, Latin and Classical Studies, but at the age of 5, my dream job was to be Dr Who's assistant (a famous TV show in the UK) - I must have been into time-travel even back then!



4. If I could meet any famous figure from History it would be King Richard III – I’d like to know what really happened to his nephews, the two princes in the Tower.



5. I would dearly love to be able to time-travel. If I could choose just one place to visit, it would be the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii, on the proviso that I could escape before Mount Vesuvius erupted. 



6. I love Tonkinese cats. My feline hero, Max (short for Maximus), is a prime specimen of a large lilac male, based on my own cat.



7. I have a genuine phobia of snakes. When I encountered a snake in my living room in France, I think they probably heard my screams in the next valley!



8. I was once involved in a high-speed crash whilst riding a camel in Cairo … and, unfortunately, I had a party of my students with me to witness it, so it was quite embarrassing! 



9. I believe in being a lifelong learner. You’re never too old to learn, be it a foreign language or a new skill. I’m a recent convert to kayaking – I never realised how much fun it is. I’m still trying to get to grips with Arabic, though, despite being a linguist. It’s a hard language to master and I can manage a few key phrases, but it hasn’t helped that everyone speaks such brilliant English out here!



10. I love baking. Mince pies at Christmas time are one of my particular specialities, and I even won a pie-making contest for my French Onion Tart a couple of years ago! During the recent lockdown, I seemed to go into baking overdrive  - self-isolation has not been good for the waistline!







To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



















Saturday, June 20, 2020

Building Self-Esteem by Joseph Burgo, Ph,D.














How Learning from Shame Helps Us to Grow




Self-Help




Date Published: May 2020




Publisher: New Rise Press









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Despite what most people believe, shame and self-esteem are not opposites.









"With the skill of a master storyteller, Burgo vividly brings to life, through his clients' struggles and his own, our shared journey to accept a startling truth: shame can either hobble us or help us thrive; it all depends on what we do with it. Savor this book's lessons and exercises. You'll come away with the kind of self-compassion that makes us all better people. "-- Dr. Craig Malkin, Lecturer, Harvard Medical School and author of the internationally acclaimed book, Rethinking Narcissism.









Challenging widely-accepted views within the self-esteem movement, author Joseph Burgo argues that self-esteem does NOT thrive in the soil of non-stop praise and encouragement, but rather depends upon setting and meeting goals, living up to the expectations we hold for ourselves, and finally sharing our joy in achievement with the people who matter most to us. Along the way, listening to and learning from our encounters with shame will go further than affirmations and positive self-talk in helping us to build authentic self-esteem.









Richly illustrated with clinical stories from Burgo's 35 years in private practice, Building Self-Esteem also describes the myriad ways that unacknowledged shame often hides behind a broad spectrum of mental disorders including social anxiety, narcissism, addiction, and masochism














For fans of Brené Brown and John Bradshaw









#BuildingSelfEsteem #self-esteem #self-help #bookbuzz


















About the Author





Joseph Burgo began writing short stories when he was 12 years old, wrote and published his first fantasy novel with Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster) at the age of 23, and then went on to become a clinical psychologist and author of self-help books. His articles and commentary have appeared in major publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and USA Today, as well as on sites such as CNN, CNBC, Forbes, Vox, and Glamour. He also contributes regularly to Psychology Today and writes the popular blog After Psychotherapy where he discusses personal growth issues from a psychodynamic perspective.





As a clinician, he has practiced psychotherapy for more than 30 years, holding licenses as a marriage and family therapist and clinical psychologist. He earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA and his masters and doctorate at California Graduate Institute in Los Angeles. He is also a graduate psychoanalyst and has served as a board member, officer and instructor at a component society of the International Psychoanalytic Association. He continues to practice psychotherapy by Skype with clients around the world.













Contact Links



































Purchase Links









Amazon 
Read FREE With Kindle Unlimited

















RABT Book Tours &
PR

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

#Giveaway Beyond the Surface by Trish Ridinger McKee





This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Trisha Ridinger McKee will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other tours on the stop.


Ella is a middle-aged woman with a stagnant career, an exasperated teenage daughter, and a husband that has left to make a new life with another woman. Her first attempt at dating is a disaster, and in an attempt to refocus her life and rediscover her joy, Ella goes fishing. It is here that she meets Dennis, the older, captivating man that ends up saving her life and stealing her heart. But Dennis has a history, and Ella might just be in for the biggest heartbreak of her life if she can not get her emotions under control and face the demons from her own past.


Enjoy an Excerpt

“Listen,” Dennis started immediately upon her greeting. “I know you have had a day of it. I know you said you just needed space. But I’m … I’m sorry if I added to anything. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”


“No! Dennis, you’ve been an amazing friend. I just hate… I don’t like being in limbo. I don’t like the drama infiltrating my life right now, and I’m embarrassed and upset and sad.”


“Come outside.”


She stood, her eyes skipping to the windows even though she knew the blinds were closed. “Why?”


“Because I’m out here.”


She momentarily forgot about the sweats and t-shirt she had on and stepped outside, grinning involuntarily. “Hey you.”


And through the sharp moonlight, she saw him grin back. “Hey you.”

About the Author:

Trisha Ridinger McKee resides in a small town in Pennsylvania where there is not much to do ... except write. When she is not twisting words into stories, she enjoys fishing, reading, binge-watching true crime or cheesy horror, hanging out with her bulldogs, and finding new hobbies. She shares her world with a patient hubby and an amazing daughter. She finally gained enough courage to send out her writing in April 2019. Since then, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in over 50 publications, including Tablet Magazine, The Oddville Press, Crab Fat Magazine, Kzine, Commuterlit, J.J. Outre Review, ParABnormal Magazine, 4Star Stories, Black Hare Press, Thirteen Press, and more. She won Story of the Month from 50-Word Stories. Her short story Where We Meet has been nominated for Best of the Net Anthology 2019. Her debut novel Beyond the Surface is now available on Amazon.




Monday, June 15, 2020

#Giveaway Murder by Munchausen Trilogy by M.T. Bass




GENRE: Mystery


BLURB:

A Cyber Crime Thriller Series: Notorious serial killers digitally resurrected to live & hunt again in hacked replicants, pursued by detectives of the Artificial Crimes Unit.

Excerpt


The Invisible Mind Chapter 2 – Richard Speck

It sat on a bench outside the dormitory of nursing students, waiting with its kind’s infinite patience. Originally acquired and programmed for landscaping at the Cleveland Clinic, the synthoid was one of a brigade of units which had been hacked and Munchausened, then returned to their menial daily services to mankind to await the Baron’s call.

There was no adrenalin surge behind the extremely life-like facade of humanity when that call came. Data packets, sent scatter-shot through the Atlas Grid, coalesced at the location outside the Cole Eye Institute where the synthoid methodically trimmed and shaped the immaculate shrubbery around the building. To avoid Q’s metadata sniffing algorithms from detecting a download spike in the grid, the information came in digital sprinkles over the course of its human handler’s work shift, slowly building a malevolent intent to be executed that night. In the middle of the afternoon, the synthoid left the unfinished topiary to melt into the hospital shift change and disappeared.

Personality modules were a Gen-3 feature upgrade, which is why the earlier models were initially preferred. Swapping out a few IC chips and uploading hacked firmware was a relatively easy way to turn a quick buck with an automated contract killing. But evil innovates, too, and the same features that made synthoids even more human-like in their behavior also helped create robotic assassins which could better camouflage their malicious intents and evade the reach of the Artificial Crimes Unit by melting into and moving undetected through the humanity that surrounded them. For the Baron, it allowed for a greater measure of artistic expression in programming the synthoid’s behavior to not only recreate infamous crimes of the past but to mimic the behavior of their perpetrators, which intensified the thrill of watching the video feed through the eyes of Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy or, this particular evening, Richard Speck. Jake wasn’t the only history buff, and it amused Jamal that London police had photographed the eyes of Jack the Ripper’s victims, hoping to capture the last thing they ever saw: their killer’s face. If only Scotland Yard could have imagined the future…


Guest Post


I have tried outlining…once.  I was halfway through writing In the Black and trying like hell to figure out what was going to happen with all of the stupid characters I found myself within the book who were spread out over three generations located everywhere from San Fransisco to Washington DC.  Somehow, I came across a picture of Joseph Heller’s outline from Catch-22, which is what you see above. I was inspired. It’s my all-time favorite novel and no question the inspiration for my satire of the Sixties. 

Looking over Heller’s character and timeline grid, I broke out Excel and went to work. I dutifully filled out all the important events from 1965 through the end of 1969.  I listed all the characters out along the top and started filling in the little boxes.  I must have worked on it for a few months and when it was all done, I sat back and admired all the neatly filled out squares. And it was good.

And now, it’s easy, right?  Just, you know, scribble it all out. So I went to work.

But there was just one problem: fitting “round” characters into the “square” holes of my spreadsheet.  None of them—not one of them—would do what they were supposed to do. It was like they all had minds of their own.

I fought it for a while, pointing to the spreadsheet and begging them all to behave. See?  It’s right there. In black-and-white. No such luck.

So I finished the book without ever looking back at the outline and I think it all worked out for the better.

Working without a net is sometimes kind of scary—being up high with a bunch of characters and plotline events and not really knowing what’s going to happen.  I was damn near the end of Somethin’ for Nothin’ and didn’t have a clue how I was going to finish it all up.  Then, the Epilogue came to me and I was able to wrap it all up in just 102 words. Perfect.

I didn't really know who the villain was going to be in the Murder by Munchausen Trilogy until I started The Darknet.

See, it all just works out.

So, the bottom-line is that I am always surprised whenever I start a new story. And actually that’s kind of nice.  It keeps things interesting for me, too. 

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”


AUTHOR Bio and Links

M.T. Bass is a scribbler of fiction who holds fast to the notion that while victors may get to write history, novelists get to write/right reality. He lives, writes, flies and makes music in Mudcat Falls, USA.

Born in Athens, Ohio, M.T. Bass grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in English and Philosophy, then worked in the private sector (where they expect “results”) mainly in the Aerospace & Defense manufacturing market. During those years, Bass continued to write fiction. He is the author of eight novels: My Brother’s Keeper, Crossroads, In the Black, Somethin’ for Nothin’, Murder by Munchausen, The Darknet (Murder by Munchausen Mystery #2), The Invisible Mind (Murder by Munchausen Mystery #3) and Article 15. His writing spans various genres, including Mystery, Adventure, Romance, Black Comedy and TechnoThrillers. A Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor, airplanes and pilots are featured in many of his stories. Bass currently lives on the shores of Lake Erie near Lorain, Ohio.

M.T. Bass Author Links

M.T. Bass Website Links
Murder by Munchausen Purchase Links
The book will be on sale for $0.99.
Amazon
Amazon - Murder by Munchausen: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NBTE2C5
Amazon - The Invisible Mind: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DFF75L3

Apple Books

Barnes & Noble

Kobo Books

Smashwords
Smashwords – Murder by Munchausen:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/739086
Smashwords – The Darknet:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/757708
Audio Books – Murder by Munchausen













M.T. Bass will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.