Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Mamacadabra by Carrie Monroe O’Keefe – Spotlight and Giveaway
February 27, 2024 By 3 Comments
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Starting her third year of marriage, Carrie Monroe O’Keefe had already been on the roller coaster of extreme highs and lows of a newly blended family. Thinking she could do a better job of navigating marriage, stepmotherhood, working full time, and all of the things, she embarked on a year of “what if.”
Settling into her role as wife and mom, she tried to find ways to do things better, see things differently, and reframe her thinking to create a better home for her family and to feel more at home herself. With humor, unwavering honesty, vulnerability, and sarcasm, Carrie finds her way through the year and to her true self.
Enjoy an Excerpt
From Chapter: A Real Mom After All
No one can fully prepare you for the journey of being a stepmom. In the early days, I doubted myself daily, suffered from depression, considered divorce, and constantly questioned the meaning and viability of our relationship. My relationship with my little girls that is.
I had to look at the kind of mom I wanted to be and the kind of mom I actually was. Because we only have our little girls half the time, I was consumed with worry about what their life was like when they weren’t with us. However, this only led to me being too uptight, too rigid, and too crabby. When they came home, the worry subsided but then I turned into a crazy mom, constantly trying to have everything work perfectly. Which, obviously, isn’t a thing.
It took a while, but eventually everything just kind of fell into place. I stopped worrying what people thought about how I parent. I stopped caring whether others viewed me as one of the little girls’ moms. Most importantly, I stopped trying to compare myself to someone else. Finally, I decided I was one of their parents and I do, in fact, matter. I’m playing an important part in how these little girls will grow up, how they’ll turn out and who they’ll become. I am one of their moms.
About the Author:
Carrie Monroe O’Keefe started blogging about her life by sharing stories of marriage, stepmotherhood, and how to navigate it all on mamacadabra.com in 2012. People said they loved reading the posts, so she kept writing. In addition to blogging, she released her middle-grade fiction book, The Whole Truth, in 2019.
Carrie lives outside of Minneapolis with her husband, two daughters, and dog Finlay.
If I’d never heard of me, would I read my book? by Brian H. Roberts – Guest Blog and Giveaway
February 26, 2024 By 5 Comments
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Brian H. Roberts will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Young Me: I see you’re reading Red Planet Lancers by Brian H. Roberts. How do you like it?
Old(er) Me: I like it a lot.
Young Me: What’s the premise?
Old(er) Me: It’s about a future conflict between the US and China. China has a monopoly on rare earth elements. They choked off the supply making it expensive for the US to manufacture anything high tech. An American company, EPSILON, has established a commercial base on Mars to mine rare earth elements, bypassing China’s stranglehold. Complicating things, a Chinese general seized power, declaring himself emperor. He wants to control the Moon and Mars, reestablishing China’s monopoly at America’s expense.
Young Me: Sounds like a plausible scenario. China controls like 85% of rare earth element mines and processing today. The two countries don’t trust each other. An open conflict in the near-future seems possible. So, do the good guys win?
Old(er) Me: I’m only halfway through. But the company has obtained surplus laser-armed flying rovers nicknamed Water Bugs. They created a private militia force to intercept the Mars-bound Chinese flotilla, and tapped the leader of the first mission to Mars as commander. Meanwhile, the civilian Mars colony is preparing to defend itself against the same Colonel who just booted the Americans off the Moon.
Young Me: I’m sold. Where do I get it?
Old(er) Me: Exclusively on Amazon.com. But you’d better hurry. The release price of $2.99 is only good through March 15th. List price is $4.99.
Young Me: That’s the ebook, right? I prefer paperbacks. Does it come in that format?
Old(er) Me: It does, for $16.99.
Young Me: I’m on it. Thanks for the tip!
Old(er) Me: You’re welcome. Happy reading.
How far will you go to save a friend?
After sweeping Dallas Gordon and the American base from Earth’s moon, Emperor Zhang Aiguo launches an armada to conquer Ep City and control Mars.
Ruthless Colonel Song Dajing leads his Emperor’s flotilla to defeat EPSILON’s isolated Mars colony. He brings the same armaments he used to defeat Dallas Gordon on the moon, plus a high yield missile to annihilate Ep City and its occupants. The US Space Force, occupied with plans to take back the moon, refuses to intervene.
In a race against time, Dallas Gordon must organize a mercenary squadron and pursue Song before he can deploy his weapons on the defenseless colony. Ep City commander Genady Antonov must prepare his civilian workforce for the coming invasion and plan for the unthinkable should Gordon fail to reach Mars before Song does.Taught and fast-paced, Red Planet Lancers builds tension until the exciting climax. Once you start this Earth-to-Mars rocket ride, you won’t want to stop. Order your copy today!
Enjoy an Excerpt
Steve sat back in his chair and folded his hands together. “I’m sure if some stranger asked you why it’s important to stop Zhang Aiguo from kicking us off Mars, you could tick off several good reasons:” he tapped his fingers with the index finger of his opposite hand, “the oxides returned to us are the lifeblood of our autonomous vehicle division—frankly of the entire western world’s microchip manufacturing capacity. That manufacturing capacity is vital for our national security, and the fight to contain Emperor Zhang.
“But did you know that I donate ten percent of my personal wealth to a number of causes? This organization,” he lifted the upper half of his tee shirt off his chest for emphasis, “community colleges across the country that serve low-income communities, organizations that build and manage housing for the homeless with comprehensive drug, alcohol and mental health treatment, remedial job training, and follow-up support. … “It’s for these reasons that I seek someone to rescue EPSILON from the peril it now faces. In short, I’m seeking a messiah.”
Dallas waited for the shoe to drop.
“I’ve procured the weapons. Half a dozen Water Bugs and their lasers. Now I need someone to recruit, train and lead the pilots. Dallas, will you lead this squadron?”
Dallas felt like he was being examined under a microscope. Steve’s gaze was unflinching. After what felt like an interminable silence, he blurted out, “Yes. I’ll do it.”
About the Author:
In his first life, BRIAN H. ROBERTS worked as a contractor and civil engineer in bustling Seattle. In his spare time he read novels by the greatest names in science fiction: Andy Weir, Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and so many others. As he read these authors’ works, he was inspired to write Sci-Fi Thrillers to engage and entertain readers like him.
As with so many of us, life intervened. Raising a family, work, remarriage and finally retirement all placed demands on his time. Desiring a change – and time to write – he and his wife traded big city life for the outdoor adventures of Central Oregon. His writing draws deeply on his lifelong loves of science/technology and adventure sports. The EPSILON Sci-Fi Thrillers is Brian’s first series.
Buy the book from Amazon.
Out of Body by Kimberly Baer – Spotlight and Giveaway
February 21, 2024 By 3 Comments
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Those weird dreams Abby Kendrick has been having? Turns out they aren’t dreams after all. They’re out-of-body experiences, like the ones her cousin Logan is having. At first Abby has fun with her new ability, using it to spy on her neighborhood crush and spook a mean girl. But when Logan gets in trouble on the astral plane, the game changes, and Abby must bend the rules of out-of-body travel as she journeys to a distant realm. Her mission is a perilous one, and success is not guaranteed. Can she save Logan and find her way home again? Or will the cousins be lost forever on the astral plane?
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It had been a tiny, meaningless dream. Not much to offer plot-wise. Why was it thumping so insistently inside me?
You know why, said a firm, quiet voice in my mind.
But I don’t.
You do. It’s because—
I walked faster, trying to outrace the voice. Knowing I couldn’t.
—because there was something different about that dream.
No, there wasn’t!
Something strange.
“No,” I said, as if uttering the word aloud would give it more weight. “It was just a dream. A normal, stupid dream that didn’t mean a thing.”
Except it didn’t feel like a dream.
Yes, it did.
It felt like real life.
That’s crazy! That’s impossible! That’s—
Like. Real. Life.
The words slammed into me like three bullets. I stopped walking.
Like real life. That was how Logan had described his dreams before he’d realized they were out-of-body experiences.
Had the Roscoe dream been an OBE?
“No,” I moaned, sagging against a hefty oak tree in the Hoffmans’ front yard.
It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Out-of-body travel was Logan’s thing, not mine. I was letting my imagination run wild. My mother always said I was impressionable.
Then again, was it so crazy to think I might have the same weird ability Logan had? After all, we were cousins. Maybe it was a trait we shared, like our thin brown hair and knobby knees.
A violent shiver rippled through me, even though the sun was once more warming the air. The notion that I might have left my body like a dead person and flown off into the night was terrifying.
And also exhilarating.
About the Author:
Kimberly Baer is an author and professional editor who was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a town marginally famous for having endured three major floods. She even lived there during one of them. She enjoys power-walking on days when it’s not too hot, too cold, too rainy, too snowy, or too windy. On indoor days, you’re likely to find her hard at work on her next novel or binge-watching old episodes of Survivor, her favorite guilty pleasure.
Kim has had her nose in a book practically since birth. Her first story, written at age six, was about a baby chick that hatched out of a little girl’s Easter egg after somehow surviving the hard-boiling process. These days she writes in a variety of genres, including adult romantic suspense, young adult, and middle-grade. Her books are published by The Wild Rose Press and have won several awards.
Out of Body Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYzqrZ2gl-I
Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks/a>, or BookBub.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for February 21, 2024
February 21, 2024 By 4 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: Pets I Used to have, or Wish I Could have
Tales of the Yankee Clipper by Jonathan Weeks – Interview and Giveaway
February 20, 2024 By 5 Comments
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jonathan Weeks will award a randomly drawn winner a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
What would you tell a new author?
I’ve been asked this several times before and I always say the same thing: As an author, you have to have thick skin. It’s tough finding a publisher for your work and, even if you do, it doesn’t guarantee that you will sell many copies. It’s best to write for the sheer enjoyment of it. Don’t worry about becoming the next Stephen King or James Patterson. Write because you can. Write for yourself. And if your work ends up being published, DON’T read the reviews!
What scares you the most as an author?
As a non-fiction writer, there are actually two things that scare me. One is the idea that someone will publish a book on the same topic while my own book is in the production phase. I understand that books on identical topics can peacefully co-exist, but it’s discouraging when another author beats you to the punch. Another thing that scares me is live interviews. I have never been comfortable with public speaking in any shape or form. I used to do a radio show with a friend when I was in college. I was okay if I was reading off of a script, but was never completely relaxed when we would improvise.
What is the hardest part about writing?
That’s a tough question because there are so many difficult things about writing. For me, the hardest part has always been accepting the finished product. I am a harsh critic of my own work. And I tend to over-edit. There are days when I absolutely hate the work that I have produced and want to start over from the beginning. But I resist because I know that’s just me being me.
What is your ideal writing space?
I’ve found over time that I can write just about anywhere as long as I have a comfortable place to sit and there are few distractions. One thing I can’t do while writing is listen to music. Music is one of my passionate interests and, if it’s on in the background, it commands my attention. There’s no way I’m going to produce a coherent sentence in competition with song lyrics. I have tried listening to guitar instrumentals and classical music while writing but that distracts me as well. I prefer a quiet place.
There has probably never been a professional baseball player more of a puzzle than Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio had a talent for keeping his emotions suppressed and his innermost thoughts to himself. Few could say that they really knew him. And even the ones who did found him to be unpredictable. He was a walking contradiction. He was quiet, but not necessarily shy. He could be both gracious and abrupt, approachable or aloof depending on the situation. Although he came across as humble, he had a tremendous sense of entitlement. He was complex, secretive, inscrutable. There were many layers to the man who came to be affectionately known as the “Yankee Clipper.” DiMaggio always felt that his actions on the field should do the talking for him. And for the most part, they did. To many, DiMaggio personified elegance, style, and grace. An impeccable dresser, he was married to two glamorous actresses. On the field, he glided almost effortlessly, never having to dive for a ball and rarely (if ever) making a mistake on the basepaths. He became the living embodiment of the American dream and a symbol of the country’s so-called “greatest generation.” But as time marched on, DiMaggio grew increasingly distrustful of the people around him. It was understandable—inevitable even. The third book in Jonathan Week’s Yankees trilogy contains an abundance of anecdotes, statistics, and other little known facts about the Yankee Clipper.
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CASE OF THE PURLOINED BAT
DiMaggio suffered a major scare during his 56-game hitting streak. On June 29, 1941, the Yankees traveled to Washington for a double-header against the Nationals (often referred to as the Senators). Joe had hit in 40 straight games and was poised to break the modern record set by George Sisler in 1922. His double in the opener tied Sisler’s mark. In the first inning of the evening game, Tommy Henrich was on his way to the plate when he heard DiMaggio shouting across the diamond. Joe couldn’t locate his favorite bat and wondered if Henrich had done something with it.
Joe was very attached to that particular piece of lumber, naming it “Betsy Ann.” He had been using it throughout the streak and worried that he might fall into a slump without it. A frantic search turned up nothing. The bat was gone. Forced to hit without “Betsy Ann,” DiMaggio flied out. Two innings later, he switched bats and lined out to short. In the seventh inning, Henrich gave Joe his own bat to use. Averting disaster, The Yankee Clipper lined a clean single to left field, claiming Sisler’s record for himself. Still, the loss of his favorite bat vexed him.
“Of course the guy had to pick out the best one,” Joe told reporters after the game. “I had three of my bats on the ground in front of the dugout but he got the one I wouldn’t take money for…the bat was just right for me. I liked the feel of it. I hate to lose it.”
About a week later, “Betsy Ann” was delivered by courier to the Yankee clubhouse in a plain brown package. Behind the scenes, one of Joe’s assistants—a wise-guy named Jimmy “Peanuts” Ceres—had spent five days looking for the bat. As it turned out, the thief had ties to the Newark underworld (which was Jimmy’s domain) and also happened to be a braggart. When the thief’s identity was revealed, Jimmy paid the guy a visit with one of his associates. Specific details of how they persuaded the man to return Joe’s prized bat have never been disclosed.
About the Author: Jonathan Weeks has written several sports biographies and two novels, one of which was a posthumous collaboration with his father. He grew up in the Capital District region of New York State and currently works in the mental health field.
Buy the book at Amazon.
Secrets of a Gay Man Growing Up in the 1950s by Jonathan Feinn – Spotlight and Giveaway
February 14, 2024 By 5 Comments
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jonathan Feinn will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The Blessing of Self -Acceptance
I decided to write my memoir when I reached my mid-eighties. Given the gift of longevity, I felt a strong need to review my life openly and to recall both the joyful moments as well as the days and nights of feeling anguish and hopelessness. Highlighting events and experiences in my life has given me the opportunity to better understand the emotional and physical cost over the years of denying the person I am and the pain of self-rejection.
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My travels broadened my perspective to better understand the cultural differences among peoples in the world but just as important was my increasing awareness all peoples strive to fulfill similar hopes and dreams.
Among the important learnings for me was to become aware I could travel independently and was significantly more adaptable than I had thought. I was aware of my openness and desire to learn from others and developed a major respect for the different ways people strive to meet their challenges in life. I’m grateful to so many for their hospitality and openness in allowing me to learn and to share in differing customs and traditions, some which were quite different from my own experiences.
My new perspectives led to feelings of deep respect and appreciation for all that I learned. I now know differences in language can be managed and handled and people everywhere share the same significant life tasks including the need to feel accepted and loved as they are; to find satisfaction in their work, to find love within their family and community and a hope their children will have opportunities to fulfill their potential.
I’m grateful to the Thai family I lived with for a year who were so generous and caring and respectful to me. The parents were professionals and had two young children. They kindly shared their home with Sung Wien who cared for the home and the children and prepared the evening meal for us each day consisting of many different dishes. I’m deeply appreciative of the Sri Lankan family I’ve known for more than 30 years who now live in Paris. I’ve known their three young adult children since their early childhood and am grateful for their on-going love. It brings special joy to me.
About the Author: Jonathan holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and was trained to serve both as a teacher and administrator providing guidance to staff and to children and adolescents with identified emotional disturbance and behavior disorders. He has served as a consultant to differing programs in both public and private school settings and was the director of a high school off-campus learning center serving students who required part-time placement outside the main building.
He has held faculty positions at National College in Evanston, Illinois and Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania where he taught students studying for both Master’s degrees and state certification. Prior to his retirement, he taught gifted elementary students in a ‘pull-out’ program. He is currently retired and continues his love of travel. To date he has visited 22 countries where he developed meaningful and lasting friendships with people in differing settings throughout the world.
Buy the book at Amazon.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for February 14, 2024
February 14, 2024 By 1 Comment
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Today’s topic is: What’s New in my Life Lately
Go, Gabbie, Go! by Hollie Noveletsky – Spotlight and Giveaway
February 12, 2024 By 1 Comment
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Go, Gabbie, Go was written as a gift to my illustrator and friend Gabbie Studley. Gabbie is a young woman with a big dream to fly. The only thing bigger than Gabbie’s dream is her heart. Read along as Gabbie achieves her dream of flight. Thank you, Gabbie, for your beautiful illustrations and friendship.
About the Author: The author is an ornery old woman who lives with her crotchety old husband in the woods of New Hampshire. Her greatest joy is watching her grandson, Pip, on his great adventures.
Descendants of Atlantis by Courtney Davis – Spotlight and Giveaway
February 12, 2024 By 19 Comments
This post is part of a virtual book tour oganized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Courtney Davis is awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Sorcha is a descendant of the Atlantean people, a race of humans who were once the blood slaves of the vampires of Atlantis. She grew up knowing that the vampires were enemies, the werewolves were beasts, and the witches were their friends. When she starts to question the situation her clan has been put into with the witches, a vampire who haunts her erotic dreams comes to the rescue. Samson didn’t grow up in Atlantis and didn’t choose to become a vampire. He hates what he has to do to survive, and can’t imagine ever deserving love. When he finds a Descendant of Atlantis near death and nurses her back to health, he expects her to run at the first opportunity. When she offers him her willing body, he knows he would do anything to keep her, and that means hiding his monstrous side. But you can’t love someone if you’re hiding part of yourself. One look at Samson and Sorcha knows she erased him from her memory on purpose, but why? What could he have done to make her risk such a dangerous spell? With battle on the horizon and Descendants in trouble, will Sorcha’s memories be the end of any chance at Samson’s happiness, or will it lead to a new understanding of what these monsters really are?
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Ian stood in shadow outside the museum where there were too many people for him to risk getting close. He couldn’t tell what was happening inside, but he watched and waited. Did this have to do with Norgis? What had he done in there and why was she here now? Had something been taken? Had Norgis found something that he could use to further whatever plan he had? Norgis with a plan, that didn’t feel right. Ian worried, not for the first time, that Norgis had help, that he was working as someone else’s dumb muscle. That would make him harder to track and take down. Of all the monsters housed in the bowels of Atlantis, Norgis had one of the simplest minds. Easy to control and powerful, but to come up with this on his own was unlikely. Had one of his men helped the monster escape?
Ian had so many questions and it irked him to not be in the know, it was a new experience for him.
The only comfort was that she would not leave without him knowing. It was many hours until sunrise and he doubted she would stay that long; humans were not nocturnal creatures. And when she returned home, he wouldn’t let a locked door keep him from her, that he vowed.
About the Author:
Courtney Davis is an author of urban fantasy/paranormal/supernatural fiction with a little romance and humor thrown in. She loves creating worlds and exploring human, and inhuman, interaction. She lives in North Idaho with her husband and children where she teaches and enjoys time spent relaxing in the summer sun and winters by the fire. She has always had an affinity for reading and writing and a goal to make a career of it. There is no greater joy than to know her words took a reader out of reality for a time and into another world.
Buy the book at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Google Play.
