@AngieNewson Shares 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Her #Health #Fitness #NonFiction

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Angie Newson

1. She’s a Mediterranean mix: My father was from Cyprus and he came over to the UK at the age of 16. My mother is half–Italian. I can get by speaking Greek and I’m learning Italian.

2. She enjoys travelling immensely: Obviously from the fact that we didn’t travel anywhere as a child except to Margate!

3. She works out everyday: Whether it’s Pilates, yoga, gym, walking .... list is endless – I was pretty good at sports as a child and would always win my races on sports say and then was in the hockey team. However, my love of fitness started with the Jane Fonda craze. I was one of those in legwarmers, a headband and bare feet. I loved it. When the fitness industry started to rapidly grow, I taught Step and aerobics and presented across Europe. I must have attended every convention going at the time – especially the ones in the US. My passion for Pilates and yoga came later. I remember going to my first yoga class and thinking this isn’t for me – there’s no music and it’s too slow. I tried it again two years later and was ready then!

4. She’s been a exercise/mind/body teacher for over 23 years: From being inspired by a teacher I first went to, I did an Exercise to Music course and it led on from there. I am now an examiner in Exercise to Music.

5. She was a manager of a luxurious London health club: I started at this lovely club as an instructor and then looked after their schedules and workshops for about 7 years. It was part-time which fitted in with my life of having two growing children. As they grew, I took on more hours and became Assistant General Manager and then General Manager. I still help out when they get stuck and it’s fun to chat to members when I have ‘proper’ clothes on!

6. She taught aquatics: Her least favourite discipline to teach! Oh my goodness, this was the bane of my life and goodness knows how I taught it for so long – most likely because I genuinely believe in its benefits and also it attracted a delightful older crowd.

7. She isn’t a runner: And yet … completed her first 10k, first half–marathon and first marathon all in the same year: This happened rather by accident. I took my dog for a walk one glorious sunny Sunday morning and I just started jogging – and he joined me. We didn’t go that far as he was only about one at the time – but I became hooked and started running without him as well. Armed with headphones, it became quite meditative and was my thinking time. I solved my ‘problems’ whilst running and improved my heart fitness levels. I did the Richmond River Run and then the London half–marathon. Then my daughter’s friend, who is a runner, was doing the New York Marathon and we got two more people to join us and off we went. It was an amazing experience and I did really well for 18 miles and then slowed down. Running for me was never about achieving the best time – it was about doing something that I’d never done before.

8. She’s got to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro: After a rather sad romantic break–up, I decided to climb a mountain – again, just out of the blue. Six weeks later, I was at the top (it didn’t take 6 weeks, it took about 5 days!) My daughter, bless her, asked ‘Mum, was there a coffee shop at the top?!’ Actually there was sweet FA, except a load of toilet paper on the way up! An amazing experience though and one that changes you.

9. She’s sat in silence for 10 days!: OK, I know Vispassana meditation can be found all over the world and I picked the Sydney location (5 hours outside, by train) – but again an experience that changes one’s being. I’ve never been able to sit still for longer than 10 minutes and here I was, sitting for 10 hours for 10 days. No books, no TV, no phones, no pens, no eye contact, no speaking – absolutely nothing. I’m not sure how I did it – but once you’re in the zone, you don’t want to leave it.

10. She drinks gallons of green tea:  I gave up coffee over 8 years ago. I could never just have one cup – so stopped it dead and switched to green tea. My friends always know what to buy me for my birthday. There’s some great tea shops in Marylebone High Street, London, and love all the different types of green teas available. I have a habit though of just topping up my cup on and off whilst I’m at my PC rather than brewing a new cup each time.

*** AMAZON #1 BEST SELLER - over 22,000 downloads*** 
(Book length - 34,796 words!)

Do you want to lose weight without dieting?

THE DETOX FACTOR: 101 Tips & Tricks To Lose Weight Without Dieting! (Detox Cleanse Book) is a simple, easy-to-follow detox-cleanse guide to help you to shed pounds - naturally! You'll learn practical detoxing and fat busting changes you can make straight away. 

Here are some of the fantastic slimming and detox cleanse secrets revealed in this book: 

* How to get rid of stubborn belly fat and banish it for good! 

* Where toxins come from and how they wreak havoc on your body weight! 

* The foods you are eating that are a detox disaster if you want a slimmer waistline! 

* The best detox cleanse exercise you can do to drop unwanted pounds - and the good news is it takes just 15 minutes per WEEK! 

* How toxic are you? A quick and easy tally to help you make less fattening lifestyle choices. 

* Why sound sleep is your best friend when it comes to detox your body and preventing fat gain! 

* The 7 Daily Detox Habits you need for detoxification and for losing weight easily!

BONUS - 7 Super Detox Cleanse Green Juice Recipes

The only Green Juice Recipes you'll ever need!

Would You Like To Know More?

Download now and start losing weight and leading a healthier lifestyle today! 

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Health, Fitness & Dieting

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Angie Newson on Twitter

@MarcADiGiacomo Gives Us A Peek Into His Mind #AmReading #AmWriting #Thriller

Beware! Enter at your own risk. Just kidding, really, come on, authors are just like everyone else, right? Maybe. Since I published my second book, people still look at me the same although, I am much more recognizable to my hometown crowd. I constantly get asked, “Is that part true?”

There is a concern as to how people view me since my books are so graphic in nature. There is a lot of violence, as police work can occasionally be. Mostly, I feel for my wife, especially when she gets asked about the sex scenes within the books. People assume that is part of your real life when in reality, these situations are complete fiction. An author can fantasize about anything and incorporate those thoughts into a working manuscript. It happens to me all the time. I’ll meet someone or hear something and boom, it’s in the book. Of course, I change it all up to protect identities but most people would kill to be portrayed within the pages of a novel. It’s a cool thing, like being an extra in a movie.

I don’t know exactly how I come up with the stuff I do, I guess I’m lucky in one way, I have good material. I just hope, the well doesn’t dry up anytime soon. Because if it does, I’ll have to take this job on the road.

The shotgun blast catches Detective Matthew Longo by surprise. His world unravels into a nightmare that seemingly won't end. Murder, rapes, pedophiles, the small town of Hutchville, N.Y. is changing. It is up to him to make a difference.

While partner Donny Mello is in Italy attending a funeral for a family member who is connected, to say the least, a beautiful F.B.I. agent waits to question him about his family business. Can Matt keep from answering the Agent’s questions? More importantly, can he hide a potentially career-ending secret from his community, his brother, and most especially Agent Cynthia Shyler?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Thriller

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Marc A. DiGiacomo on Facebook & Twitter

@TheobaldSprague on Strength, Weakness & Writing #AmWriting #Memoir #EmmyAward

What scares you the most?

FAILURE TO REACH MY POTENTIAL REGARDLESS THE ARENA. WHETHER IT’S BEING WITH MY KIDS, LEARNING SOMETHING NEW OR FACING A DAUNTING TASK. MANY TIMES IN FACE OF FEAR I MIGHT BACK AWAY AS I’M AFRAID OF A NEGATIVE OUTCOME, BUT IF I SUMMON UP MY INNER STRENGTH, TRY NOT TO LISTEN TO THE FALSE FEARS AND GIVE THE SITUATION ALL THAT I HAVE, I STAND MY BEST CHANCE AT REACHING MY POTENTIAL. IT’S ONLY IN HINDSIGHT THAT I CAN SEE I DIDN’T REGARD MY POTENTIAL AND THAT’S USUALLY WHEN I’M THE HARDEST ON MYSELF.

What makes you happiest?

A HAPPY OUTCOME, A BABIES’ LAUGHTER, BEING AT PEACE WITH MYSELF AND NATURE AT HER FULLEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL.

What’s your greatest character strength?

THAT’S A HARD ONE… PERHAPS MY BUILT IN BLINDERS TO OBSTACLES AND THE WILLINGNESS TO TRY AND PERSEVERE REGARDLESS THE ODDS. OPTIMISM.

What’s your weakest character trait?

I CAN BE VERY, VERY HARD ON MYSELF.

Why do you write?

I HAVE NO IDEA! PERHAPS IT’S TO GIVE VOICE TO ALL THOSE SCENARIOS AND IDEAS INSIDE OF ME. WRITING ALSO TAKES ME TO A PLACE NOTHING ELSE CAN. I LOVE THE FEELING OF SITTING DOWN TO WRITE FRO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS AN HOUR WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY FOUR!

Have you always enjoyed writing?

ALWAYS!  PERHAPS NOT SO MUCH WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL AND THE RED PENS RAN RAMPANT ACROSS MY PAGE, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, ALWAYS!

What motivates you to write?

MY MUSE.  MY MUSE, BOB, WILL COME CALLING AT THE DAMNDEST TIMES AND WHEN HE DOES HE COMES WITH FULL AND POWERFUL MOTIVATION. A HARDER TASK MASTER I’VE YET TO MEET!

What writing are you most proud of?

MY LAST BOOK, “THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ICE” http://amzn.to/U5R91x

What are you most proud of in your personal life?

MY SON

What books did you love growing up?

A.A.MILNE, ANYTHING ILLUSTRATED BY N. C. WYETH, DOCTOR DOOLITTLE, MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS, E. B. WHITE

Who is your favorite author?

COLUM MCCANN

( TO WATCH THE OFFICIAL HD TEASER FOR “The Other Side of The Ice” [book and documentary] PLEASE GO TO: VIMEO.COM/45526226) 

A sailor and his family’s harrowing and inspiring story of their attempt to sail the treacherous Northwest Passage.

Sprague Theobald, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and expert sailor with over 40,000 offshore miles under his belt, always considered the Northwest Passage–the sea route connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific–the ultimate uncharted territory. Since Roald Amundsen completed the first successful crossing of the fabled Northwest Passage in 1906, only twenty-four pleasure craft have followed in his wake. Many more people have gone into space than have traversed the Passage, and a staggering number have died trying. From his home port of Newport, Rhode Island, through the Passage and around Alaska to Seattle, it would be an 8,500-mile trek filled with constant danger from ice, polar bears, and severe weather.

What Theobald couldn’t have known was just how life-changing his journey through the Passage would be. Reuniting his children and stepchildren after a bad divorce more than fifteen years earlier, the family embarks with unanswered questions, untold hurts, and unspoken mistrusts hanging over their heads. Unrelenting cold, hungry polar bears, and a haunting landscape littered with sobering artifacts from the tragic Franklin Expedition of 1845, as well as personality clashes that threaten to tear the crew apart, make The Other Side of the Ice a harrowing story of survival, adventure, and, ultimately, redemption.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Memoir, adventure, family, climate

Rating – PG

More details about the author

 Connect with Sprague Theobald on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.spraguetheobald.com

@MargaretWestlie on ANNA'S SECRET, Family & #BookMarketing - #HistFic #Mystery

Is your family supportive? Do your friends support you?

Now they do.  I get more encouragement from others outside the family than I do from family members.  That’s what the family I belong to is like.  I think it’s partly because they don’t really understand what it takes to conceive of and construct a novel.  Everyone thinks it’s easy when it is all consuming and demanding when I am in the creating phase.

Do you plan to publish more books?

I already have two others published and another one about to be published, then two more to go out this fall.  We are planning a local book launch, and a marketing campaign that is to begin this week (first week in May).  I have about eight others in manuscript form and two others that I am currently working on.

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time…

We are retired and this is our second career.  I am very fortunate.  I never thought when I was working on novels that in retirement the writing would take off.  I never thought I’d be co-owner of a publishing company.  I never thought I’d have ten manuscripts ready for publication (three already published) and over 200 poems to my name.  For so long I was just a nurse doing the job that nurses do.  Mind you, I was doing it well and I enjoyed the patients but it was very tiring, and I was getting older and finding that I had less stamina, and a sore back from all the lifting.  When my husband said why don’t you retire, I can support the two of us, I took the chance and went on to study music, then got channelled into writing.

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?

Probably clinical psychology, history or Womens’ literature.  When I passed my RN exams, one of the residents said that with grades like that I should have been a doctor.  If I had stayed in medicine I would have become a psychiatrist.  I think the human psyche is fascinating.    However that seems not to have been my path, and I went on to literature earning a Masters’ degree in English  with an emphasis on prose and poetry from UMKC.  I looked into going on  for a PhD, but their program was such that it required a double major and only some departments offered the kind of oversight in areas that would have been my choice.  It would have been more for interest’s sake than actually using the studies to further my career as a writer.  I already had all the tools I needed.

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

I write prose at a desk on a laptop with a larger keyboard attached.  I write poetry in my blue chair with a pen on a leather clipboard that I have had since graduate days.  I love my clipboard.  It speaks to me of the wonderful world of imagination, imagery and juxtapositions of ideas, quirky and otherwise.

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?

I get a tremendous amount of support from my husband.  He has always encouraged me and made it possible for me to go to graduate school.  My brother is also very good to cheer me on.  He keeps saying that Mattie’s Storyshould be turned into a play!  I also have friends who are very encouraging and a few writers who have become my friends over time.  One of my professors called three of us aside one evening after class and said:  “You three keep on writing.  You have what it takes.”  Wow!

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

I keep my thank you list up to date with cards and notes and acknowledgements in my books.

There are too many people who have helped me on my way and given freely of their time and advice and wisdom.  A few who have been especially helpful are Nancy Beth Guptill of Sweet Spot Marketing, Gary Ramsey, reference librarian at the Confederation Centre Library in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Patti Larsen, writer, Marilyn Russell, English Professor (deceased), my husband, John, who does the computer work and proofing for me, Lori Cheverill at Bookmark, an independent bookstore in Charlottetown.  Also Francis Warner of St.Peter’s College, Oxford, has been very encouraging and helpful. So many others.  I have been very fortunate in my mentors.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

A career in writing means putting a new book out every year at least.  I hope I don’t run out of ideas.  I am meticulous about producing a finished novel so it takes me a few months to get it all the way I want it after the story is put on paper.

It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?

We have been working with Nancy Beth Guptill of Sweet Spot Marketing for almost a year now.  She has guided us and taught us a lot of the ins and outs of successful on-line marketing.  We have just this month begun tweeting, blogging specifically on writing topics, and Facebooking.  I have been playing with the blog since last summer just to get the feel of writing one every week.  It’s not always easy to come up with topics.  I took a month or so off this spring because the weather had been so bad and all we were able to do was stay indoors and work.  We had about 15 feet of snow but there is only so much you can say about the weather and the day to day work of writing and publishing.

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?

Anna’s Secret is the story about a murder in Lyndale, Prince Edward Island, that took place in the mid-nineteenth century.   Her name was Anne and the hollow where the murder took place is called Anne Beaton’s Hollow to this day.  The real story is that an ancestor of my own was the one who did her in with a turnip hoe.  He was acquitted and subsequently left the Island.  My uncle who told me the story said they ultimately decided that it was a woman who did the deed, and that it was crime of passion.  Anne was, as they used to say, “no better than she should be” and was said to have been having an affair with the woman’s husband.  I took the fact of her murder and fictionalized it.  I examined Anna’s relationship with her own husband, son, neighbours and friends and the impact it had on the whole community.  The ending that I created is pretty much unexpected and for reasons that no one in the fictional community guessed.

Anna Gillis, the midwife and neighbour in Mattie’s Story, has been found killed. The close-knit community is deeply shaken by this eruption of violence, and neighbours come together to help one another and to discover the perpetrator. But the answer lies Anna’s secret, long guarded by Old Annie, the last of the original Selkirk Settlers, and the protagonist of An Irregular Marriage. Join the community! Read Anna’s Secret and other novels by Margaret A. Westlie.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Fiction, mystery, historical

Rating – G

More details about the author

 Connect with Margaret Westlie on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.margaretwestlie.com

@ClarissaClemens Shares the Process Involved in Self-Publishing Her #Erotic #Poetry

What was the Process Involved in Self-publishing your Poetry?

About 14 years ago the dam broke on my poetry valve. Daily, poems would come pouring out and into a little notebook I carried around in my purse. A few years later, I had hundreds of accumulated poems written to help process feelings of grief and hope after divorce and then there were the erotic ones…

I shared some of my poetry with friends and they encouraged me (almost to the point of badgering – thank you Dustin) to publish what I had written. At that point I had decided I needed to go back to college to get a bachelors degree to provide for my daughters. A goal list was put together – get a BS in Accounting, get a good paying job, and then publish my poetry.

With no background in any areas related to publishing, I plunged into massive amounts of research online to figure out the best path. I decided that self-publishing was the perfect way to go.

Step 1 – Take all the notebooks and scraps of paper with poems scribbled on them and decide which I liked best and type them up on my computer.

Step 2 – Submit the computer file of my poetry along with my pen name to the U.S. Copyright Office

Step 3 – Call Createspace (the self-publishing subsidiary of Amazon) and find out how much it would cost and what was involved in getting my first volume published of my series, The Poetic Art of Seduction. I chose to have one of their book cover designers come up with a cover describing to them what I envisioned. I was ecstatic with the result. I use the image as my avatar on social media sites and marketing materials. I also used it to create the theme for my subsequent volume’s book covers.

Step 4 – Selecting which of my large catalog of poems I wanted to include in the first book and formatting them per the requirements of Createspace. Probably the most time-consuming activity was sourcing the photos that I envisioned to accompany the poems to add a little extra pizazz to the eye as one reads the book. With the book file fully assembled and the photos placed where I wanted them, I was ready for the next and most exciting step.

Step 5 – Next step was to submit the PDF file to Createspace for publishing and conversion to Kindle for E-book distribution. They reviewed the file and notified me that it met their approval.

Step 6 – Before Createspace/Amazon moves forward they request the author approve the ‘proof’. When I received the book ‘proof’ in the mail a week or so later, I had such a feeling of accomplishment it was so exhilarating!

Step 7 – Begin the steps all over again. With the experience of my first book under my belt, I was able to do everything myself including designing the covers of subsequent books and converting the PDF files to be Kindle compatible.

In addition to the paperbacks and kindles, I decided it would be really cool to also have audio books of my poetry books. That’s a whole other story and adventure in another area I had no background – recording, mixing, and working with sound.

Being a self-published author has expanded my horizons and provided with me with skill sets that I had no idea I would incorporate into my career as a writer. I am so thankful for everyone along my journey that has helped and guided me to where I am now. I look forward to future adventures and expanding my horizons forever more.

Thanks so much for reading this post! I’m thrilled and honored to be participating in this Book Blog Tour for my book, The Poetic Art of Seduction – The Erotic Poetry Collection.

Seductively yours,

Clarissa O. Clemens

A collection of all 3 volumes of Clarissa O. Clemens’ erotic poetry book series, The Poetic Art of Seduction, under 1 cover! 

An erotic gift of lyrical rhyme to keep on every bedroom nightstand for play. Kinky yet classy erotic poetry painting sexy pictures and scenes with seductive words to read to each other and get the mood soaked in seduction. 

What critics have said about Clarissa’s poetry: 

“…A delicious dance with words…” 
“Impossible not to be aroused…” 
“…mouth-watering feast of erotic rhyme…” 
“…her words ebb and flow with a superb sensuousness.” 
“5 Stars is just not enough for this exquisite work of erotic art” 

78 Passionate poems of seduction are waiting for you to be devoured with lust and desire. 

41Beautifully sensuous photographs have been included to heighten your visual experience with Ms. Clemens poetry. 

A must-have for every couple looking for new ways to add the spark back into their flame.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Erotic Poetry

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Clarissa Clemens through Facebook & Twitter

@LisaConsiglioR Shares Her 3 Reasons WHY You Should #Detox - #Health #AmReading

Oh, glorious spring! Time to wake up and move!

Spring means rebirth, renew…starting over.  Many actually start their “new year” in the spring. You have more energy, a spark, to carry your health goals through all the way into next fall. 

Now, I’m talking about popping a bunch of pills or mixing up powders for a detox. I believe a simple whole foods based cleanse is perfect.  Detox doesn’t have to mean deprivation, starvation, and torture.   It’s not a diet, a quick fix…just a simple clean living plan you can incorporate in life.

Detox signifies glow, vibrancy, sexiness if done safely.  Eating lots of veggies (especially spring ones like peas and asparagus), dark greens (kale, spinach, watercress), fruits, grains, beans and legumes is the ticket. You know, all that good wholesome stuff.

You are probably wondering then WHY you should detox.

Here are 3 reasons why you should detox:

1.  Over the past 60 years or so, we have seen a tremendous increase in the use of chemicals in all types of industry, including factory farming.  This has brought with it a bunch of toxins.  Pesticides and herbicides were virtually unknown 70 years ago are now widely used on our crops.  Despite the fact that most of us are fastidious about cleaning our homes, cars, clothes and so on, few of us pay attention to cleaning ourselves-on the inside, that is.  Over the years, the debris of everyday toxins accumulates in your blood, liver, lungs, gut, and in fact in your body’s cells.  We become acidic, imbalanced within our blood. This leads to inflammation, and therefore, chronic disease.  It is so important to cleanse, at least seasonally to help your body get back to a balance and stay healthy to ward off any illness.

(Okay, enough with the science lesson! But I had to give you the low-down on the basics)

2.  When body is overloaded with toxins, much of your energy is spent on trying to eliminate the toxins rather than on enabling you to live life to the fullest. Additional pressures like stress, insomnia, and emotional issues can aggravate the symptoms of toxic overload.  You know how you tend to break out more when you are stressed? Just the body’s way of eliminating toxins and letting you know to either slow down or pump some healthy foods into your system.

3.  When you detox, especially during spring, you are more apt to keep up with your goals. This is the perfect time of year to devise a health plan and stick to it.  How do you want to feel?  What do you want to change?  Let those goals blossom.  During springtime you have the opportunity to look at old patterns in your life with new awareness and detox can help you obtain some long-term habits that you can keep up with for your life.

Are you ready to get your detox on this spring?

Lose weight, energize, and glow with over 50 recipes and complete 10 day detox plan. This whole foods cleanse includes detailed menu plan, shopping list, and bonus recipes to make after your cleanse. Renewal “Anytime” also includes pre-detox plan, daily instructions, FAQ’s, and post-detox next steps.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Wellness

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Lisa Consiglio Ryan on Facebook & Twitter

Dream Caster (The Dream Cycle) by Najeev Raj Nadarajah @NRNadarajah #Fantasy

Haunted by memories of his massacred settlement, sixteen-year-old Weaver seeks cover in a hidden refuge among the remains of a ruined city. In the midst of building a new life, Weaver discovers that he has the amazing power to cast his dreams into reality. Convinced it’s just an anomaly, Weaver ignores it. That is until he learns of a mysterious man who shares the ability, and uses his power to bring nightmares into existence and wage war on the world. The peaceful life Weaver hoped for begins to unravel as waves of chaos begin to break loose about him. In a race against time, Weaver must learn to accept his role as a dream caster and master his new power, before his new home is destroyed and humanity is pushed to the brink of extinction.

Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Najeev Raj Nadarajah on Facebook & Twitter

Razer 8 Series by P.T. Macias @pt_macias #Romantic #Suspense #AmReading

Marsha Diane Bryant looks over at the shiny red sport car. Oh yes, I’m going to get that cute car for my birthday. I’m so lucky that my Daddy spoils me, she thinks. She smiles at her Daddy and at her Mama. She watches him sign the paperwork.

“Marci, dear, you know that this is also a gift for your hard work in school. You’re going to graduate next year. I know that you’ve worked hard to maintain your GPA. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to see that you’re going to be able to qualify to be an intern at the Capitol,” states Rex Bryant.
Chief Commissioner Rex Bryant has always dreamed of seeing one of his girls enter the realm of politics.

Marsha chews her lower lip. Oh, yeah, I did forget about that. I don’t want to enter the world of politics. I don’t want to disappoint Daddy. I know that he’s counting on me since Margaret decided to get married. I don’t know when I’m going to tell Daddy that I want to go into law. It’s almost the same. I can be a judge, she thinks.

“Marci, I’m real proud of you,” says Daddy Rex.

“Thank you, Daddy,” replies Marsha.

“Sir, here are the keys to the car,” says the salesman. He looks over at Marsha with longing. “Ms. Bryant, you’re going to enjoy driving down the coast in your new car.”

“Yes sir, I’m sure I will. Daddy, can I drive Cherry Bomb home?” asks Marsha.

Her lovely blue eyes sparkle with pleasure. Her face is softly flushed with a soft glow of excitement.
Chief Bryant turns to gaze at his lovely daughter. He smiles with pleasure upon seeing her excitement. He raises an eyebrow with amusement. 

“Yes, Marci. You can drive your new car home. Cherry Bomb?” replies Daddy Rex.
He chuckles with amusement. He turns to the sales man and takes the keys from him. “Marci, dear, you drive carefully.”

Marsha jumps up from the chair and excitedly hugs her Daddy. She gives him a huge kiss on his cheek. She then takes the keys from his hands.

“Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, Mama. I love you both! I’ll see you at home. I want to stop for a few minutes at Sarah’s to show her my new car!” Marsha turns to give her Mama a quick hug.

“Marsha Diane, you best drive carefully. We’ll see you at home shortly,” says Mama Irene.

“Absolutely, Mama,” replies Marsha, nodding. She walks out of the sales office and out into the dealership showroom.

The salesman is opening the huge glass doors. Marsha walks up to the red sports car. She opens the door and slides in. She smiles and turns on the car.

Marsha turns to look over at her parents with an enormous smile. She waves at them and pulls out of the showroom.

Hell yeah, I’m going to love driving this cute car. I’m such a lucky girl, she thinks. Nodding she turns on the stereo and starts to sing along to her favorite song.

Buy Now @ Amazon

 

Buy Now @ Amazon

 

Buy Now @ Amazon

 

Buy @ Amazon

Genre – Romantic Suspense

Rating – PG 13

More details about the author

Connect with P.T. Macias on Facebook and Twitter

Website http://ptmacias.com/

Daily Life on a Canal Boat - LOCK READY @JimRada #Historical #Fiction #Authors

This excerpt gives a picture of the daily life on a canal boat and it features two of the favorite characters in the series, Tony and Thomas Fitzgerald.

Tony rolled off of the bottom bunk in the family cabin before the dawn and stoked the fire in the small pot-belly stove. It was difficult to cook a family meal on its flat top, but space was at a premium in the cabin and a full-size stove would have put out too much heat in the small room. Tony had to admit, though, on cold nights, this stove didn’t put out enough heat to keep his toes and nose from freezing while he slept.

He stepped quietly past the door to Mrs. Fitzgerald’s cabin. It wasn’t really a door, but a curtain made of a piece of blue fabric with white stripes. He didn’t hear her moving around on the other side. Hopefully, she was asleep. She had been crying late into the night and he had had to pretend that he hadn’t been able to hear her.

Tony could feel the cold of the floor boards through his thick socks. He only wore his socks when he slept specifically so he wouldn’t have to worry about his feet freezing on the floor in the winter.

Lucky for everyone Tony needed to make water. They would get to wake up in a warm cabin because Tony had decided to drink a cup of water before going to bed. He wrapped his wool blanket around himself and crept outside to empty his bladder into the empty canal basin. As he did, he wondered how many canallers would have to be doing the same thing at the same time to fill up the canal and float the hundreds of boats now stranded along its length. Just thinking about it made him feel like he had more water in him to get rid of.

By the time Tony went back inside, Mrs. Fitzgerald had come out of her small cabin. It was really just a smaller room partitioned off from the family cabin and just barely large enough for a small bed. Even Tony and his birth mother had never stayed in a room that small no matter how little money they had had. At least the partition gave the captain some privacy. She and Mr. Fitzgerald had shared the cabin before he had been killed in Shanty Town. Then she and Elizabeth had shared it until Elizabeth had decided to stay in Washington to learn how to act like a lady. Now Mrs. Fitzgerald slept in there alone.

It struck Tony as sad. He wasn’t sure why. She certainly had more room now that she wasn’t sharing the same small bed with someone.

Mrs. Fitzgerald began pulling out breakfast ingredients from the pantry tucked away under the Freeman’squarterdeck…canned fruit, flour, eggs. It was a storage area that you could enter through doors in one wall of the cabin. Though the pantry was nearly as large as the family cabin, it was only half as tall since it was under the quarterdeck. Some larger canalling families used it as another cabin. Tony had discovered that the Fitzgeralds had used it not only as a pantry but also as a place to hide slaves they had helped on their way to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

“Good morning, Tony,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said. She sounded too happy in the mornings, especially a morning after she had been crying half of the night.

“Good morning,” he mumbled. He, on the other hand, was still half asleep and wishing he was fully asleep.

“I thought I would make pancakes for breakfast.”

“Thomas’s favorite.” Tony liked them, too, but doughnuts were his favorite breakfast.

Mrs. Fitzgerald grinned. “It will probably be the only way to get him up this morning. On cold mornings, it’s like he’s frozen to the bed.”

“I’ll throw a coal from the fire in bed with him if you want,” Tony said with mock seriousness. “That ought to thaw him out and get him up pretty quick.”

Mrs. Fitzgerald rubbed her chin as if she were considering the idea. “I think the pancakes will work fine. If I’m wrong, we can try your idea.” Then she grinned at Tony.

As she poured batter into the frying pan a few minutes later, the small cabin quickly filled with the scent of pancakes frying. Sure enough, Thomas began stirring in his bunk. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and smiled.

“You two need to feed the mules,” Alice said. “By the time you finish, breakfast should be ready. Oh, and make sure that George and Da…” She stopped and the smile slipped from her face. “Make sure George is awake when you come back.”

“Flapjacks, yea!” Thomas said.

“Then you can get ready for school,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said.

“School, no!” Thomas said and he flopped back in his bunk and pulled the blanket over his head.

The Civil War split the United States and now it has split the Fitzgerald Family. Although George Fitzgerald has returned from the war, his sister Elizabeth Fitzgerald has chosen to remain in Washington to volunteer as a nurse. 

The ex-Confederate spy, David Windover, has given up on his dream of being with Alice Fitzgerald and is trying to move on with his life in Cumberland, Md. Alice and her sons continue to haul coal along the 184.5-mile-long C&O Canal. It is dangerous work, though, during war time because the canal runs along the Potomac River and between the North and South. Having had to endured death and loss already, Alice wonders whether remaining on the canal is worth the cost. She wants her family reunited and safe, but she can’t reconcile her feelings between David and her dead husband. 

Her adopted son, Tony, has his own questions that he is trying to answer. He wants to know who he is and if his birth mother ever loved him. As he tries to find out more about his birth mother and father, he stumbles onto a plan by Confederate sympathizers to sabotage the canal and burn dozens of canal boats. He enlists David’s help to try and disrupt the plot before it endangers his new family, but first they will have find out who is behind the plot.

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Genre – Historical Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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#Excerpt from So Go On & Live by Erick Galindo by @ErickGEEE #AmReading #Literary

Even before the Scrabble war started, White Jesus and Red Rock had been playing Scrabble most of their adult lives. Not perpetually or anything, but quite often. It brought them pleasure. And though it was contentious, it even brought them closer.

In his youth, White Jesus was athletic, handsome, charming, and possessed a childlike sense of humor that made him that much more likeable and that much more annoying. Now, as an old man, White Jesus was still all that to some degree. And though his athleticism had diminished, his wit, wealth of knowledge, skill and over all silliness had sharpened.

Red Rock was somewhat intelligent, substantially silly and well-read but only 25 when they met. So to say that they both had played Scrabble their whole adult lives, though technically accurate, was a bit misleading.

It was pretty obvious to both men from the start that they were kindred spirits. After their first game, White Jesus and Red Rock played Scrabble about once a week for the better part of five years. They played it all night and day, all over the country and on several planes of existence. The young man held his own, but White Jesus was a master gamer. He was also quite a shit talker. Red Rock enjoyed the challenge and banter. But they went beyond the superficial jokes and slams at each other. The duo also talked about everything ranging from intimate feelings to philosophical absurdities. Most nights went like this:

Red Rock would arrive at around 6 or 7 p.m., sometimes earlier in the day if he was off from work that Friday. He would give his old friend a hug and drop like the giant rock that he was onto the couch. White Jesus would lean back on his recliner and grin through his white-whiskered face as he sliced up a guayaba with a very sharp pocketknife.

“So how have you been, mijo,” White Jesus would usually ask Red Rock. It wasn’t usually a superficial question, at least not in Red Rock’s mind.

“I don’t know, man,” Red Rock would say before running his hands through his locks and adding something like: “I feel like life is chasing me down or something. Like I’m running away from life but trying not to get too close to death. It’s the weird battle to find that sweet equidistant spot or some shit. I don’t know. Does that make sense?”

White Jesus would say something like: “Oh yeah. I think a lot of people feel the same way but are unable to articulate that feeling so well.”  Or: “Gosh. I see a lot of myself in you when I was your age.” Or: “The murkiness of today, will resolve itself into the dawn of tomorrow. Mijo, you have your whole life ahead of you.”

Invariably, one of them would say, “Fuck it. Let’s play.” And they would hit the gaming table to throw down. After a while, White Jesus, gracious host that he was, would bust out the wine, whiskey, cheese, fruits and crudités. The games would go on for hours. Sometimes for multiple games and multiple nights. The liquor and hors d’oeuvres would flow to try and keep pace with their killer moves, witty wackiness and preposterous debates.

“Always is a stupid word. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“What are you talking about? Honey, Red Rock says always is not a word. Tell him it’s a word.” White Jesus would sometimes implore his wife, an English professor who hated playing Scrabble, to intervene.

“I’m not saying it isn’t a word. I’m just saying it has no meaning.”

“Same thing.”

“I’m just saying always doesn’t mean anything because there is no such thing as always.”

“But you’ve just used it several times,” White Jesus could barely get out the words. “In fact, you probably always use always!” White Jesus would always laugh at his own jokes.

Sometimes, White Jesus’s best friend The Magician would come over and partake in this ridiculousness. “He’s right there’s always an exception,” The Magician would say and they would all laugh at this so-called joke.

“Geez,” The Professor would chime in. “All this mental masturbation.” And The Magician would toss a box of tissues at Red Rock and say, “Here, I always use tissue when I mental masturbate.”

The laughs would continue as such. The Magician would usually bring good sake and then things would get a little wild.

On more than one occasion, The Magician and White Jesus pulled out their respective pocketknives and lunged at each other. Red Rock found this amusing and a bit frightening but never let on to that fact. Eventually the knives would go away and they would go out to the backyard and smoke a bowl of marijuana.

The games would go on and on, and even years later when White Jesus got sick and they played them straight and sober, the fun times would only ever be interrupted by serious moments of needed advice or times when either needed to vent about personal worries.

“I’m sick. Really sick. It’s my liver.” White Jesus and Red Rock were standing in the kitchen while their women watched TV in the living room. They both squeezed their souls tight to hold tears back. After the serious moment, Red Rock said something irreverent like, “Well you’re not going to use that as an excuse when I beat you are you?”

They brushed it off and went on with their lives. Red Rock was convinced White Jesus would receive a transplant. White Jesus was pretty sure this was his “last hurrah.” At his lowest moments, White Jesus would freak a bit and text or call Red Rock just to vent. It was after one such moment that Red Rock decided to challenge White Jesus to a Scrabble war.

A winner of the Hollywood Book Festival, So Go On and Live poignantly and bitingly captures the angst and restlessness of modern American youth. Pedro “Pete” Salcedo, a young but worn down journalist, is on a figurative and metaphorical journey through the absurdity of life, America and beautiful women. 

After accepting a prestigious job in Washington, D.C. and subsequently losing the love of his life, Pedro loses himself, first to his work, then to the road and eventually to the apathy, alcohol and cynicism that permeates through youth culture. Pedro struggles, like many of his generation, to get his life in order and hang on to love, sanity and pathos in this modern world, where women, relationships and sexuality are constantly evolving. 

So Go On and Live is a wild and emotional expedition into the existential and farcical perspective of a drunken, Mexican-Irish, would-be poet offering a new breed of optimism that comes with a nihilistic twist.

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Genre - Literary Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Website http://www.erickg.com/contact/