Saturday, June 28, 2014

Copyright: A Novel by @LeskoLori #Thriller #AmReading #GoodReads

“Please, I can’t catch my breath,” I gasped, reaching out to the chubby nurse.
“Just relax, sweetie, I have some medicine that will calm you right down and you’ll go to la-la land.” She smirked as she inserted the meds into my IV. Three minutes later, I inaugurated her as my new best friend. Oh, such a beautiful place la-la land was. Heart attack, what heart attack? I felt much better; there was no need to angy-plasty-wasty me. I wanted to move in here permanently. Karen, the kids and I, we’d be just fine and dandy right here.
All of a sudden, a pair of bright blue eyes filled my vision. I glanced down and saw Karen’s cleavage spilling out of her sleeveless white shirt.
“Babe! How do you feel? You scared the shit out of me!”
“Karen, hey Karen, I can see your boobies,” I laughed hysterically.
“Christ, what did they give you?” Her tone suddenly became quite parental.
“Wait, where are the kids?” I asked, in a moment of clarity.
“Danny is out in the waiting room, and Kira is at Stacey’s house.”
“Stacey?”
“Yes, muffin, Stacey from next door,” she responded.
The chubby nurse re-entered my room and began to look more and more like a pink bunny rabbit. “Okay, it’s time to go, say your goodbyes.”
“Wait!” I screamed. “Karen, come here.”
“I’m right here, babe.”
“Karen.”
“Yes?”
“Karen, don’t call me muffin anymore.”
“Okay,” Karen said with a giggle and a kiss on my lips.
“I love you,” I said as the chubby nurse and a male attendee pushed me on my gurney out into the hall toward my next destination. I stared up at the glaring light fixtures, still gleefully high from whatever the chubby nurse had given me. I seriously must find out her name before I go home so I can thank her for taking me to la-la land. I looked to my left as I moved down the corridor and saw other patients’ rooms. People of various ages and colors watched me passing by. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion.
There was a man in his seventies with his eyes closed. How anyone slept with all this noisy clatter, I had no clue. Oh God, I hope he wasn’t dead. Around the corner, a little boy screamed bloody murder as a doctor tried to examine his arm. Mid-scream, the young lad glanced my way and I contorted my face and stuck out my tongue. He stopped screaming for a moment, then continued on his rant, even louder than before. I’d probably scared him for life with the way I looked.
I noticed one of my wrists not attached to any device. I waved as people walked by me. Eventually, a man dressed in blue scrubs looked down at me when we passed by each other.
“Give me five,” I yelled at him and placed my hand up. He laughed and gently slapped me back.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” I screamed in medicated bliss. We reached the elevator, and I tried to sit up. “Can I push the buttons?” I’d clearly regressed to a five-year-old girl.
“Yeah, Valium works on them every time,” said the chubby nurse. The male attendee nodded in agreement. They were acting like I wasn’t even there, or fucking deaf.
“I can hear you, you know,” I said, addressing the issue.
“We know, sweetie, and we’ll have you up in the OR in a second.” Forget about thanking the chubby nurse or finding out her name, I no longer cared about her, even though she had provided the wondrous meds. Wait a minute, should I even be on them? Surely, they had received my history from Karen? The elevator door opened and I heard more glass doors slide. I lay back and closed my eyes, while fear and anxiety rose once more. They mentioned I’d had a heart attack. Did that mean I had a broken heart?
“Amber Tyler,” announced the chubby nurse as she handed me off to the crowd of masked strangers in the brightly lit room.
“Hello, Amber, how are you doing right now? My name is Dr. Peterson. I’ll be assisting Dr. Casey,” said a man wrapped up in blue. He had elephant ears and wore glasses. That was all I could tell about him. Having a doctor with impaired vision assisting my heart surgeon didn’t fill me with a ton of confidence. Yes, this had my dream team written all over it.
A weird face filled my vision, again, all masked up. “Are you comfortable, Amber?” I recognized Dr. Casey’s voice once more.
“I guess so,” I replied apprehensively.
“Let me know if you’re in any pain, we’re going to go through your groin with a tiny tube up to your heart,” Dr. Casey said.
“Really? That’s how my girlfriend does it. Only she doesn’t have to medicate me first.” Had I actually just said that? Apparently I had, because the room broke out into laughter. Amber Tyler, ladies and gentlemen, make sure you tip your waiters. Author by day and comedienne by night.
I peered up at the monitor that was guiding the doctors. But I didn’t understand quite what I was looking at.
“There, right there, do you see it?” Dr. Casey asked.
“See what?” I inquired.
“Sorry, I was talking to Dr. Peterson,” he responded.
Both doctors moved over to the monitor and turned it away from me. Okay, officially fucking scared now! Anyone want to tell me what’s going on? Why were the two men in charge of my life pointing worriedly at the screen? Talk to me, people, remember me, the patient?
“What’s happening?” I asked.
They ignored me for a second. Then Dr. Casey walked over to me cautiously. Somehow I knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say. Be nice to me, I thought, you’re talking to a woman who’s got a bad ticker.

Amber Tyler is living every author’s dream: her books are all best sellers and she writes full time. She has worked hard and is well-accomplished in her career, and she has the support and love of her beautiful children and girlfriend. 

But the dream soon turns into a terrible nightmare when her latest manuscript is stolen. She decides to fight for what is rightfully hers, only to find that the harder she tries, the easier it all slips through her fingers, putting her career, her family, and her life in jeopardy.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Thriller
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author
Connect with Lori Lesko on Facebook & Twitter

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Fatal Greed #Excerpt - #SummerOfGreed - by John W. Mefford @JWMefford #Thriller #Giveaway


Did you know that? For the first time, 2 consecutive World Cups are not hosted in Europe. World Cup 2012 was hosted in South Africa. 

And now, an excerpt from John W. Mefford's "Fatal Greed"

Heat crawled up my neck and into my face. I glanced at Paula, who rubbed her temples, then affixed her hand to the bottom of her chin.
“Kamal, I have to say I’m a bit shocked.” The pitch to Paula’s voice was higher than usual. “I’ve asked you directly about your ‘synergy targets,’ what I call job cuts, and you said nothing. I spoke with Turug about this same issue before the deal closed, and he denied layoffs were part of your strategy.”
“My dear Paula, I don’t recall such questioning, but—”
“I’m sorry?” Paula interrupted. “You don’t recall me asking you if you expected any layoffs? I find that hard to believe. In addition, I made a compelling business case for how we can continue to grow the business and improve operating margin by using our current approach.”
“I’m not going to get into a ‘he said, she said.’ I will only say Turug and the PHC board expect to take any newly acquired business and make it more profitable than we found it. That is how we make money.”
Paula moved to the edge of her chair.
“You make money by delivering on your commitments to your customers. You make money by giving incentives to your employees to deliver outstanding service. That increases your sales.” Paula jabbed her knee with each key point. “We have no millionaires working at J&W. How many do you have working at PHC?” Paula had launched her first major attack.
“I had hoped we would see eye to eye on this very important aspect of this transition process.” Kamal sorted papers on his desk. “But we are not changing our plan.”
Paula leaned back and started swinging her leg. I clicked my pen.
Kamal avoided Paula’s glare and addressed me. “I will be sending both of you this file electronically. But in order to meet our deadlines, we need the first round completed by Friday. Help Paula with this spreadsheet.”
I dug my fingernails into the wood of the chair arm. Paula jerked the spreadsheet closer.
“By when will the first round be notified?” Paula asked.
“A week from Friday,” Kamal said.
“What’s the goal of this whole exercise?” Paula flapped the paper.
Kamal ignored her question.
“Lowering our cost will provide more bonus potential for the people who remain, especially those in management, such as yourselves.” Kamal smiled as if he was trying to sell us a used car.
“So, you’re saying we can get satisfaction through all this if we fire our friends and dedicated colleagues, all because of some mythical bonus,” she fired back.
“I wouldn’t word it that way. And there are many factors that go into calculating bonuses at PHC.”
“So, the promise Turug gave me, where J&W would operate as a separate business unit under the umbrella of PHC…that was just a pile of horseshit?” Paula said. I sat motionless in my chair, stunned at her defiant attitude and proud that she flew directly into Kamal’s crosshairs on behalf of the people of this company.
“Paula, I can assure you we made no such promises.” It was obvious Kamal knew he had the upper hand regardless of where the discussion went.
Paula wouldn’t back down. I made sure my jaw stayed closed.
“Okay, so let me ask again, since you appear to be hard of hearing. What is the goal of this exercise? How many layoffs are we expected to make and by when?” Paula spoke with even more force.
“You know this information must be held in the utmost confidence.” Kamal eyed each of us. “For this initial round, we are looking at fifteen percent. But all businesses can cut fifteen percent without affecting their operations. That is a known fact.”
“You might have learned that fact in some expensive business school, but it doesn’t work that way in the real world, Kamal. Not if you’re trying to grow the business, which you say is the point.”
“As you might imagine, we will be redeveloping our revenue targets and goals for the year. While we go through this process we will be expected to maintain our current level of service.” Kamal looked at his monitor, then his fingers rattled the keyboard.
“Let me ask again, how many rounds are we going to have? And what is the ultimate target layoff number?” Paula’s veins were bulging in her neck.
“We haven’t determined the final number, but we believe our synergy contribution could reach between fifty and seventy-five percent. Some jobs will be replaced by our outstanding employees in India, while others will be absorbed by remaining employees. Of course, the higher percentage, the better your bonus potential,” he said with his Cheshire Cat grin.
There goes the carrot again. We weren’t biting. I wanted to jump into the fray, but Paula had taken the reigns. She had little to no ammunition but had uncovered their concealed transition plan. She dropped her hands in her lap on top of the now-crumbled spreadsheet.
“Okay, you’ll have it by Friday.” Paula stood abruptly.
“Paula, we will evaluate more numbers when you have cooled down,” Kamal said to her back. “We also need time to review the severance package.”
She ignored Kamal.
“Michael, please come to my office,” she said.
I did, looking into her eyes, dark circles beneath them, her teeth clenched. I had only one thing to say. “It’s an ethics thing.”

Behind the façade of every corporate takeover executives pull levers this way and that, squeezing the last profitable nickel out of the deal. But no one knows the true intent of every so-called merger. 

No one knows the secret bonds that exist. 

An Indian technology giant swallows up another private company that has deep roots in North Texas. For one unassuming man the thought of layoffs, of losing his own job to a bunch of arrogant assholes feels like a kick to the jewels. 

Until the day Michael’s life changes forever.   

Perverse alliances. An affair of the heart. A grisly murder. A spiraling string of events thrusts Michael into a life-or-death fight to save a tortured soul and hunt down a brutal killer…one who lurks closer than he ever imagined. 

Greed knows no boundaries.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Suspense, Thriller
Rating – R
More details about the author
Connect with John W. Mefford on Facebook & Twitter
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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

3 stars to Titanic: Answer From The Deep by Britt Talley Daniel #ReviewShare #Fiction










Did you know that World Cup 2014 is the most expensive World Cup to be held?  

And now, my book review for ...

Titanic:  Answer From The Deep



Titanic: Answer From The Deep by Britt Talley Daniel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I know of many authors who use the non-fiction backdrop of the Titanic to pull the reader into a fictional world. Downton Abbey starts off exactly on this premise. In this case, what could have been a good book became a slight chore because the reader had to do all the work.

It was the reader who had to figure out the timeline, how the characters looked and the setting. I think more effort is needed in development for a reader to enjoy this story.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads UK Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for my book review. This book review is based on my thoughts, opinion and understanding of the book. This book review does not reflect the opinion of other book club members.

View all my reviews on GoodReads

5 stars to Loving Conor by Tami Urbanek #ReviewShare #Memoir #Parenting @tamiurbanek

Did you know that a Simpson's episode has been dedicated to World Cup 2014? In 'You Don't Have to Live Like A Referee' Homer goes to Brazil!   

And now, my book review for ...

Loving Conor: A Clairvoyant's Memoir on Loving, Bonding and Healing  
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most extraordinary memoirs I have read. It combines the stories of two young women to become a powerful and inspirational experience for their son / grandson. Tami Urbanek's honest writing keeps the memoir real and focused on healing for herself and for the reader.

This is the first time I have read a 'dual' memoir if you will as Tami Urbanek first shares her experience and then her daughter's. Despite the challenges she faced, she struggled to be a role model for her daughter and this made me cry. Physical hardship is one thing but when you are faced with emotional heartbreak and no one to turn to, you are forced to grow up.

In the long run, it is Conor who is affected by these events in their lives which I think is what motherhood / parenting means, the ability to give up what you want for the needs of someone you love. The strengthening relationship between mother and daughter is a joy to read and experience.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads UK Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for my book review. This book review is based on my thoughts, opinion and understanding of the book. This book review does not reflect the opinion of other book club members.

View all my reviews on GoodReads

4 stars to What Lies Inside by J.L. Myers #ReviewShare #PNR @BloodBoundJLM

 

Did you know that? The official World Cup 2014 anthem is called ’Dar um Jeito (We Will Find A Way)

And now, my book review for .... 

What Lies Inside (Blood Bound, #1) 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Never has more than 300 pages sailed by smoothly. The main character, Amelia is sweet, endearing, and adorable. I was expecting more blood sucking less romance so I was pleasantly surprised when romance played a larger role in the story.

Marika wasn't my least favourite character of all but then every book and teen's life needs one of her to keep things interesting. What Lies Inside is well written with a thought provoking storyline. It is deceptively simple at heart and I don't want to give away the storyline because it is interesting to read this book with no idea what to expect, because it very quickly picks up speed and you are surprised with how it all ends up for Amelia.

What you can expect is one of the best vampire books I have read over the past twelve months. Do yourself a favor and give it a chance. You will not regret it.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads UK Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for my book review. This book review is based on my thoughts, opinion and understanding of the book. This book review does not reflect the opinion of other book club members.


5 stars to The Barber's Conundrum by John Hartnett #ReviewShare #Humor @johnjhartnett


Did you know that? For the first time, 2 consecutive World Cups are not hosted in Europe. World Cup 2012 was hosted in South Africa. 

And now, my book review for ...

The Barber's Conundrum and Other Stories: Observations on Life from the Cheap Seats


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

John Hartnett has compiled stories from his life that engage the reader in both the narrative and in the minds of the 'characters', who in this case are people who have interacted with the author and vice versa. The best non-fiction pieces allow us to peer into the thought processes of people very much unlike us, but who are driven by the same universal motives and desires.

This is apparent through the 30 something chapters in The Barber's Conundrum and is especially amusing because the author is not at all shy about including his own weaknesses and plights. This is something I will never be able to do.

At the same time, for the reader there is sufficient 'plot' and action to keep you reading ahead. Like Chapter 14 - If We're Late Again for Church, I Will Kill You - is what my family goes through every Sunday if not every Saturday evening before Sunset Mass. This is masterful writing, which allows us to better understand the thoughts and feelings of others.These stories are powerful, intriguing, hilarious, and beautiful in their perfection.

Amazing story-telling, satirical in the true sense of the word. Often depicting the modern family, funny themes, yet so close to the present culture, at times, to be just a step away. Now to hop over to this author's blog, monkeybellhop.com for more doses of funny life (and people).

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads UK Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for my book review. This book review is based on my thoughts, opinion and understanding of the book. This book review does not reflect the opinion of other book club members.