Synopsis

 

Michael’s story continues from A Reservoir Man (2022) where we find him teaching at a university ready to retire. He unexpectedly meets a young man named Ron who becomes his protege and journeys in a haphazard adventure with him throughout America and Europe, each twist and turn of the road bringing unexpected adventures. The journey taken is one of joy, friendship and discovery.

 

 

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Excerpt

 

As the ferry entered the river, one would barely know they were sailing. The breeze brushed against his face; he saw the water pass him just as life had. He looked at the stern of the ferry seeing all his relationships, career, and spirituality disappear in an endless stream of the river, moving them away but not forgotten. Michael felt as if the bow moving upriver was pushing towards his future with the thrust of a young man stealing second base.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a well-built, nice looking young man, nerdy, longish dirty blonde hair that either needed cutting or a ponytail.

He was talking to himself, no, Michael thought, “he is talking on the phone.” But no, the young man was actually talking to himself, or a bird. Suddenly, the young man saw Michael and flashed a small smile.

“Oh no I have been here too many times; those moments are up the river,” thought Michael. The young man approached Michael asking if he knew him.

“I could not imagine how,” said Michael, in disbelief.

“Yes,” the young man said, “in the park near the university. You were always reading on that same bench. I remember when the pigeons shit on your book and once on your jacket; the whole bench was full of shit,” the young man said with a slight devilish smile.

“Right!” said Michael. “Are you getting off here?”

“In the middle of the river, how could I?”

“You could always try,” said Michael, with a slight but cold smile.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. He taught at over 7 universities in America. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

 

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Giveaway

 

 

LJ Ambrosio giving away one $20 Amazon Gift Card & an Autographed Copy of Reflections on the Boulevard!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive either a $20 Amazon Gift Card or an autographed copy of Reflections on the Boulevard.
• This giveaway starts August 28 and ends September 22.
• Winner will be contacted via email on September 23.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

A multi-generational biblical saga of captivity, romance, faith, and redemption, set against the Judean exile in Babylon.

Everything changes for Sarah the day Nebuchadnezzar’s army storms Jerusalem. In an instant, her peaceful life on the farm is ripped away: her city sacked, her temple desecrated, her people enslaved. Marched across unforgiving desert sands to Babylon, Sarah and the remaining Judean people must find a way to keep their faith alive in a new and unforgiving home.

Displaced within an empire of strange gods and unimaginable wealth, Sarah and her descendants bear witness to palace intrigue, betrayal, brutal sacrifice, regicide, and a new war brewing in the east. Through every trial, the Hebrew people attempt to preserve their religion. Uri, Sarah’s son, transcribes incredible stories of prophets and visions, Creation and Exodus—stories that establish the central tenets of the Hebrew faith.

 

 

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Excerpt

 

Part One: The Captives

 

586 BCE–Year 1 of the Exile

 

Sarah Under Siege

 

Sarah stood at the window of the family farm outside of Jerusalem, staring across the hills into the confusion of the city. Flames and smoke rose from Mount Moriah. But it couldn’t be—

“Papa,” Sarah choked out.

“How many times have I said to stay away from that window?” Baruch, her father, pushed her aside to stand in front of the window himself. “God help us,” he gasped.

Flames were shooting up from the Temple Mount. Solomon’s Temple—God’s Temple—was burning. “How could they?” she whispered.

Her father wheeled on her. “They’re idolators; that’s how. Placed on this Earth for no other purpose but evil.”

It was inconceivable. Why hadn’t God stopped them? Sarah could almost smell the rich scent of the cedar and fir walls that lined the Temple as they smoldered in flame. Even at this distance, she saw the Chaldean forces gleefully loading carts with the gold and silver ornaments of the Lord, seizing them as war loot to enrich the coffers of the Babylonians. How could anyone destroy such beauty?

Her father irritably brushed aside her comment, his hand smacking the air.

Unable to bear it, she looked in another direction. Beyond the Temple Mount, outside the city, soldiers raced back and forth on the solid earthen banks they’d built up over the past weeks to attack Jerusalem’s sacred stone walls. They made Sarah think of wasps buzzing angrily in date palms, swarming about her head as she collected ripe fruit. She watched, helpless, as the enemy cast heavy stones from giant catapults while shower after shower of arrows fell upon the city. The air was acrid with the smell of dust and smoke and of oil bubbling on Judean fires, sent scalding down the walls to repel the attackers.

“We’ll see an end to this before nightfall,” her father said, his voice heavy with resignation.

They had not seen daylight for many days. The skies were dark and angry, brooding, as if God Himself wished to add to the assault’s fury. The prophets had warned them, Father had growled just last night. Jeremiah had warned them. Still Sarah prayed, trying to ignore the tumult surrounding her. It was no use. God was angry with His people, the prophets proclaimed, and had sent the bold Babylonian conquerors to punish them. Sarah believed them.

After all, Sarah’s God was always angry. Just like her father. She often confused the two.

“What will they do to us?” moaned Aliza, Sarah’s mother.

Mother sat on her stool near the hearth, having gathered her household treasures around her. In her lap was a pile of hand-worked linen, which she stroked compulsively.

“Aliza,” Baruch chided her, turning from the window, his face bleak. “With death lurking in every corner, why do you cling to that old cloth?”

But Sarah knew why. Her mother’s life was confined to the solidly built rooms and terraced fields of the sprawling white stone farmhouse. She needed to clasp something solid, gain comfort from softness she could touch and caress. As her father turned away, Mother snuck the cloth to her cheek, hand shaking. Sarah knelt by her stool, laying her head in her mother’s lap to both give and take comfort. Aliza’s trembling fingers moved from the cloth to Sarah’s hair.

It would not be long now, Sarah thought, her heartbeat rising in panic.

The servants, suspecting the worst, had fled the farm yesterday, leaving their rakes in the field and dinner half cooked. Only old Dina remained, too brittle and cloudy eyed to contemplate escape. The handmaid sat blinking in a corner of the room, her wrinkled face working in silent terror.

Sarah pictured the soldiers marching up the hillside in orderly rows, breastplates glinting in the sun. The family would huddle in a corner while the greedy troops seized her mother’s shining metal mirrors and soft goatskin rugs. They would round up the sheep and goats now bleating piteously in the pen behind the house. But then Sarah willed them to move on. After all, there was no reason for them to lay good farmland to waste.

But even if they burned this season’s crop in the field, Sarah thought, that would surely be the worst of it. Her father’s fears of death and destruction were groundless. They had to be. Sarah could not imagine life beyond the family farm, this safe, familiar place where she had lived every day of her young life.

 

 

About the Author

 

Michelle Cameron’s Beyond the Ghetto Gates (She Writes Press, 2020) was awarded a Silver Medal in Historical Fiction by the Independent Book Publishers, won First Place/Best of Category for the Chanticleer Goethe Awards and was a Foreword Indies finalist. Her previous historical novel, The Fruit of Her Hands (Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books, 2009), is based on the author’s thirteenth-century rabbi ancestor, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg.

Michelle’s novel-in-verse, In the Shadow of the Globe (Lit Pot Press, 2003), was named Shakespeare Theatre of NJ’s 2003-4 Winter Book Selection. In addition, it was performed at a variety of venues, including the Stella Adler Studio’s Shakespeare Benefit.

She lived in Israel for fifteen years (including three weeks in a bomb shelter during the Yom Kippur War) and served as an officer in the Israeli Army teaching air force cadets technical English.

A director of The Writers Circle, Michelle teaches creative writing to children, teens, and adults in NJ and virtually. Residing in Chatham, NJ, with her husband, Michelle has two grown sons of whom she is inordinately proud.

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Synopsis

 

Sarafina di Ramonicci sets sail for America as the promised bride in an arranged political marriage.

Taken prisoner at sea, she clashes with her captor and demands freedom, only to discover he is planning her future husband’s demise, with her as a pawn in their deadly feud. The challenge of escape tests her loyalty to family, human decency, and love.

Captain Nye Tarquin is a dangerous man. Left to die on the streets of New Orleans, he swears retribution on the man responsible. When he makes Sarafina part of his plan, he isn’t prepared for the fiery vixen aboard his ship, nor his desire to claim her as his own. When passion overtakes honor, he’s torn between his heart and his need for justice.

 

 

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Excerpt

 

A grin formed on his lips. “She belongs to me now,” he said, his voice was as cool as his expression. “And when Cornell comes for her, I’ll be waiting to return the favor… only I’ll succeed, where he did not.”

Sarafina’s fingers curled around her goblet. “What makes you think he’ll come for her?”

“He has several reasons to take the bait. Cornell will demand satisfaction for his humiliation.”

“His humiliation?” She sat up straighter. “What about hers? Do you understand what people will think when they find out she was held hostage here? If her intended is murdered and she’s left stranded, this will leave her utterly alone. What will become of her, then?”

“She’ll marry someone better than the likes of Cornell, I hope,” he replied dryly.

She slammed her goblet down and flew to her feet. “And who would want her?”

He remained seated. “I’m doing her a great service,” he said calmly, leaning on the arm of his chair. “You have no idea the kind of life she would’ve been subjected to.”

“So, you’re her savior now?”

The captain pushed off his chair, and straightened to his full height. She kept her glare locked with his, but keeping it steady was becoming as difficult as her breathing. “Maybe,” he said.

“That’s an absurd notion,” she replied.

“Is it?” he asked. He stepped towards her, and she stepped back in unison, until the back of her legs hit the chair.

 

 

 

 

Guest Post

 

10 Things you might not know about Avery Sterling and Precious Burdens

 

1.     Avery grew up traveling with the military.

2.     By the time she was twenty-three, she’d moved to nine different destinations, some being Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hawaii, and New York.

3.     It was Avery’s father who first inspired her to write.

4.     One of her most inspiring places to visit is Schoodic Point in Winter Harbor, Maine.

5.     Precious Burdens was initially titled One Breath.

6.     Precious Burdens is Avery’s first published historical romance.

7.     The first idea for Precious Burdens was sparked while listening to U2’s With or Without You.

8.     The original version of Precious Burdens was lost.

9.     After losing the first manuscript, it took Avery over ten years to decide whether she’d rewrite it.

10.  Precious Burdens underwent seven different endings.

 

 

About the Author

 

Avery Sterling’s love for the romance genre began in her teen years when she picked up her first novel. She was captivated by the sweeping scale of emotions brought about by the words. The experience catapulted her towards learning the art of wielding a breathtaking adventure, with a love that felt authentic. Wanting to inspire people with her own thoughts and words, she finished her first novel at sixteen. It was a step towards understanding the essence of what she wished to create.

Most of her youth was spent traveling, searching out the romance and beauty in her everchanging world. From the waves that crashed against the rocky shores of Downeast, Maine, to the warm breezes of the Caribbean, she discovered that love was universal, apparent in its grandest and simplest of forms. Her goal is to write novels an audience can relate to, one that conveys the truth and nature of love… with all that steamy romance.

 

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The Body in the Back Garden (A Crescent Cove Mystery)
Queer Cozy (“Quozy”) Mystery
1st in Series 
Setting – The fictional town of Crescent Cove on Vancouver Island, Canada
Crooked Lane Books (August 22, 2023)

 

Synopsis

 

In this queer cozy series debut perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams, Luke Tremblay is about to discover that Crescent Cove has more than its fair share of secrets…and some might be deadlier than others.

Crescent Cove, a small hamlet on Vancouver Island, is the last place out-of-work investigative journalist Luke Tremblay ever wanted to see again. He used to spend summers here, until his family learned that he was gay and rejected him. Now, following his aunt’s sudden death, he’s inherited her entire estate, including her seaside cottage and the antiques shop she ran for forty years in Crescent Cove. Luke plans to sell everything and head back to Toronto as soon as he can…but Crescent Cove isn’t done with him just yet.

When a stranger starts making wild claims about Luke’s aunt, Luke sends him packing. The next morning, though, Luke discovers that the stranger has returned, and now he’s lying dead in the back garden. To make matters worse, the officer leading the investigation is a handsome Mountie with a chip on his shoulder who seems convinced that Luke is the culprit. If he wants to prove his innocence and leave this town once and for all, Luke will have to use all his skills as a journalist to investigate the colorful locals while coming to terms with his own painful past.

There are secrets buried in Crescent Cove, and the more Luke digs, the more he fears they might change the town forever.

 

 

 

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Guest Post

 

A Brief Tour of Vancouver Island

 

 

In my debut cozy, The Body in the Back Garden, readers find themselves in the fictional town of Crescent Cove, a charming seaside hamlet on the east coast of Vancouver Island. It’s a small place, populated by a diverse bunch of residents who are as inclusive and welcoming as Canada itself—though of course, as in every cozy mystery, an assortment of shocking and scandalous secrets lurk just beneath the surface of their perfect little burg. I wrote the book shortly after moving to the Island myself, inspired by what I think is the perfect setting for a good mystery: quaint towns juxtaposed with dark forests and lonely beaches. What better place for murder?

The book follows the amateur sleuthing of Luke Tremblay, who returns to Crescent Cove after the untimely death of his aunt. He’s inherited her cottage, which looks out across the beautiful expanse of the Georgia Strait, as well as her antiques shop on Main Street. Planning to sell them off and return to his life in Toronto, Luke soon encounters a belligerent stranger who then winds up dead in the back garden. Cue various shenanigans, including the unexpected return of a childhood friend and more than one attempt on Luke’s life.

You’ll have to buy the book to find out whodunit, but I’m happy to offer a free introduction to the Island, which is truly one of the most gorgeous places in the world. Of course, I’m required to say that because I live here, but once you’ve spent a little time in Crescent Cove, I think you’ll agree.

A lot of people confuse Vancouver Island, which sits off Canada’s west coast, with the city of Vancouver, one of the country’s largest metropolitan areas. Both were named after Captain George Vancouver (1757-1798), an officer in the British Royal Navy who mapped North America’s coastline from Alaska to California, but they’re very different places. Vancouver is a bustling city with a population of more than 2.6 million people, while the population of the entire Island is less than 900,000. Running 285 miles in length, it’s actually the top of a submerged mountain range and ranks as the 43^rd-largest island in the world. Though discovered by Europeans in the 1770s, it’s been home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years, including the Kwakwaka’wakw, the Nuu-chah-nulth, and the Coast Salish peoples.

In The Body in the Back Garden, we learn that Luke used to spend his childhood summers in Crescent Cove, making him one of the hundreds of thousands of people who regularly flock to Vancouver Island in the warmer months. It’s easy to see why—much of the Island is covered in ancient, primeval rainforests that are home to some of the oldest spruce and cedar trees in the world, some of them more than 1,000 years old and towering over 300 feet tall. Pristine beaches dotted all the way around the coastline play host to seals, otters, and bald eagles, while orcas and humpback whales are spotted frequently in nearby waters. It’s also worth mentioning that Vancouver Island has the mildest climate in a country famous for its frigid weather, with temperatures just barely dipping below freezing in the winter and summers filled with warm sunshine and cool breezes. If it sounds like paradise, well, it is. There’s a reason why half of Canada retires here.

 

 

The antiques shop that Luke inherits from his aunt sits in the center of Crescent Cove, and in describing the store and the other buildings on Main Street, I drew inspiration from the old-world charm you’ll find all over the Island. Victoria, the largest city here, is filled with historical buildings that have been lovingly preserved. The city has Canada’s oldest Chinatown, which in turn has Canada’s narrowest street, Fan Tan Alley—in the summer, you can find long lines of tourists eager to squeeze themselves through its two-foot width. Victoria is also home to Rogers’ Chocolate, Canada’s oldest chocolatier, and Murchie’s Fine Tea and Coffee, Canada’s oldest tea company. The Fairmont Empress hotel, which sits on the Inner Harbor, is one of Canada’s iconic grand railway hotels that were built across the country in the late-19^th and early-20^th centuries. They’re remnants of a time when rail travel was glamorous and exciting, and today, the Empress leans hard into this history, offering visitors a pricey but authentic high tea service in elegant surroundings that harken back to a glittering past.

 

 

If this isn’t enough to tempt you, then perhaps you’ll want to see the world’s largest hockey stick in Duncan (truly the most Canadian of tourist attractions). Or you can hike to Canada’s tallest waterfall, Della Falls, while trying to avoid the densest concentrations of black bears and cougars in North America. Or, if you’d like something a little less dangerous, plan your visit for March and participate in the Greater Victoria Flower Count, where we count the number of blossoming plants and then share that number with the rest of Canada, which is usually digging out from under several feet of snow. (If you’re curious, the official count in 2022 was 27,875,292,158—yes, that’s almost 28 billion flowers.)

 

 

As Luke discovers in The Body in the Back Garden, there’s something for everyone here on the Island. Grab a copy and join him in Crescent Cove! You won’t regret it.

 

 

Excerpt

 

The drive back to the cottage took no more than five minutes, and when I got there, I found a Jeep Wrangler with RCMP markings waiting for me. My heart sank. I really didn’t want a third encounter with the police today.

With some reluctance, I trudged around the side of the cottage and found Jack Munro waiting for me, brawny arms folded across his tactical vest as he gazed out at the sea. My heart sank even further, but also fluttered a little as well. I had no idea how to behave around him now that I knew he was my old friend.

As I approached, shoes crunching on the stone path, he turned to face me. I paused. Jack looked mad. His square jaw was clenched and his eyebrows were drawn downwards in a fierce glower.

Uh oh.

“We need to talk,” he informed me, and I nodded jerkily after a moment’s hesitation.

“Sure. Okay. Do you want to come inside?”

With a shake of his head, Jack then advanced towards me until he was close enough that I had to look up into his face. “I want to know why you lied to me.”

I had to work moisture back into my mouth before I could reply. “What do you mean?”

“I spoke with Aleesha Perkins.” At my blank stare, he added, “Her mom runs the greengrocers in town. She delivered some groceries here yesterday.”

Oh yeah. I nodded again, mutely.

“Aleesha claims that she witnessed you assault Joel Mackenzie and then threaten him.” Jack’s resonant baritone was tight with anger. “Is that true?”

“I wouldn’t say assault, exactly,” I hedged. “I did push him, that’s true.”

“She says you pushed him off the front porch and that he landed on his back on the ground.”

“Uh. Yes.” Jack’s eyes narrowed and I added hurriedly, “But he provoked me. He called my aunt a thief and said she got what was coming to her. I…I got upset and pushed him harder than I intended.”

“And then threatened him.”

“No!” I protested. “No, I just told him that if he came back here he’d regret it.” I paused. “Okay. That sounds bad, I admit. But I didn’t mean anything by it. It wasn’t a threat.”

Jack said nothing. His features, familiar and yet not, were completely blank.

On a rising tide of panic, I reached out involuntarily and grasped his forearm. “Jack, please. Please believe me. I did not kill Joel Mackenzie. I didn’t see him again until I found his body this morning. I know how this looks, but…”

Jack stepped back from me, breaking my hold on his arm. “You assaulted and threatened a man who later turned up dead on your property, Luke.” His voice was cool now, dispassionate. “And you have no alibi for last night. How this looks is extremely bad for you.”

My feeling of panic increased as I stared up at him. “But you know me. You know I would never—”

He cut me off with brutal finality. “I used to know you. I’m not sure I do anymore.”

I had no response to that. There was nothing left to say. My panic slowly subsided, leaving hurt and fear in its wake.

A deep silence fell between us. Waves crashed in the distance and gulls screeched overhead. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?” he finally asked. “Because if there is anything, you need to tell me now.”

I shook my head once. “There isn’t anything,” I said, barely able to speak through the tightness in my throat.

He nodded without taking his eyes off me. “I strongly advise you to stay put here at the cottage while we continue our investigation.”

I said nothing, and after a long pause Jack brushed past me as he headed back to his Jeep. I watched him go with something close to despair.

I was now the only suspect in a murder, and the person in charge of investigating that murder clearly disliked me. I wanted to trust that Jack would figure out who the killer was rather than pin this on me, but given our recent interactions, that seemed far from certain. If I didn’t want to end up in prison, there was only one option left.

I needed to solve this myself.

 

 

About the Author

 

Mark is originally from Calgary, Alberta, and grew up on the cold, windswept Prairies of western Canada. Fleeing southward, he earned a Ph.D. in the history of science, medicine, and technology from the Johns Hopkins University and then worked as a professor at Michigan State University for fifteen years. Finally, he persuaded his amazing husband to move to Vancouver Island, where they now live.

When he’s not writing stories about murderous Canadians, he plays the viola in the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, walks his dogs along the seashore, and thinks up interesting ways to kill people.

 

 

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Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

Lost is a story of love, betrayal, honour, revenge, and everything in between. It’s also a love story that sets fire to the world they live in leaving them with no choice but to rise from the ashes anew…

Lieutenant Rahul Jaishankar of the Indian Navy is a man of honour, principles and commitment. His love for his family, his ethics, and his integrity is only eclipsed by his love for his country. He has no time or space to love anything or anyone else. Until the day Ayaana Sahni explodes into his life. Suddenly, she’s all he can think of, all he can hope for, all he dreams of, awake or asleep…

But Ayaana isn’t a dream he can afford to have. She’s an illusion. Ayaana Sahni is actually Aarushi Mittal. And Aarushi Mittal wants only one thing…Vengeance. And no man, not even one as deliciously gorgeous as Lieutenant Rahul was going to get in her way.

An award winning, intrepid journalist, Aarushi spends most of her life abroad working on the kind of devastating stories that the world would never hear of if not for people like her. But it has come at the cost of her personal life, at the cost of time with family, and at the heartbreaking cost of her friend’s devastating tragedy.

Aarushi needs to atone for her negligence, she needs to right the wrongs done in her absence, and she needs to make the villain in her friend’s story pay. What she really needs to make that happen is a way into the tightly knit community of the Indian Navy and Lieutenant Rahul Jaishankar is it. And if that means there is some collateral damage along the way, then so be it. Even if the collateral being damaged makes her yearn for dreams that don’t exist. Surely, the Lieutenant would understand, wouldn’t he?

Aarushi isn’t built for love. She’s built to burn down the world for her loved ones instead. So what if this man makes her want things she’s never wanted? So what if this man makes her heart ache for something she’ll never have? So what if, suddenly, this man is all she wants?

 

 

Amazon * Amazon IN

 

 

Excerpt

 

She swung the door open, her eagerness on full display. Rahul leaned against the wall outside her flat, in loose tracks and a t-shirt that had probably been washed ten thousand times. He looked warm and rumpled and enticingly cuddle-able.

“Hi Ayaana.” Rahul smiled, a weary smile.

Ayaana.

Her smile dropped in wattage as she held the door open and made way for him to enter. He didn’t move, instead waiting on the threshold for her to precede him.

Oh right. The whole gallantry thing. She turned around and started hopping back down the little corridor. She heard the door shut behind her and then a warm hand captured her crutch holding hand.

A shiver worked its way through her. He was so close. So big, so warm, so everything. A ridiculous urge to curl into his solid, stable presence and cry overcame her but she shook it off. She shook it all off.

“Problem, Navy?”

His eyes, so close to her own, flashed in amusement at the nickname.

“You’re doing it wrong,” he murmured.

“Doing what wrong?” Why was she breathless?

“The crutch thing.”

She raised one eyebrow and tried to look haughty. “You’re criticizing my ability to limp on a damaged foot?”

But she ruined the effect with the breathless whisper that accompanied the words.

He looked down at her, his gaze dropping to her lips before moving to land on her crutch. “You’re hopping too much. All the weight and pressure is on your shoulders and back. You’re not leveraging the crutch enough.”

He slid one arm around her waist to anchor her, his other hand going to wrap around the knuckles she had tightly clenched around the handle of the crutch. He helped her raise the crutch in the air and place it forward while using his other arm to coax her body into not leaping into a hop to compensate. Only when her weight rested on the crutch did he let her body slide into step with it.

“Better?” he asked, the word a waft of heat against the shell of her ear.

Aarushi shut her eyes, as unreasonable sensations cascaded through her. She nodded her head, just once, in response to his question.

He released her and stepped back, cold air rushing in to take the place of the delicious warmth of his body. She reached instinctively for him but stopped herself before she made contact. Her fingers curled in mid-air before her hand dropped to her side.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

A published author with Harlequin India – Mills & Boon India Collection and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj’s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled ‘Wrong,’ has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year. She is also part of the Flipped Anthology by Harper Collins and had an audiobook book Insta Reddy release with Storytel.

She is, amongst other things, currently working on ‘Frazzled and Fabulous,’ a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.

An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copywriting for an ad agency as a teenager. Twenty years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship, all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, mother, and Head of Human Resources & Public Relations at an architecture and interior design firm.

 

 

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Synopsis

 

Get ready for a wild ride with Miracle From Ukraine!

Irina Balabanova is a beautiful Ukrainian girl, twenty-seven years of age and heartbroken, abandoned by an American post-graduate teacher who had worked in her country as an intern. Fending off the unwanted advances of locals and co-workers, she reluctantly agrees to a chance meeting with John Masters, a middle-aged American businessman, stranded in pre-war eastern Ukraine following an ill-advised romantic venture.

Despite their wide differences of culture, language, and generation, the two are brought together in a whirlwind of love and adventure.

But their dreams of a life together are threatened by the acts of a fanatically jealous Ukrainian State Security officer, who will stop at nothing to stop Irina from leaving their native country to marry an American. When all hope seems totally lost to the point of both facing criminal persecution, John’s perseverance and some ever present divine intervention keep the unlikely and miraculous romance alive.

Based on actual events, Miracle From Ukraine is a story of international intrigue, faith, and romance.

 

 

 

Amazon

 

Read for Free via Kindle Unlimited

 

 

Praise

 

“Miracle From Ukraine is a gripping tale of love and adventure that will leave you on the edge of your seat! The story follows the lives of Irina Balabanova, a beautiful Ukrainian girl, and John Masters, a middle-aged American software salesman, as they navigate the challenges of falling in love across borders. From bureaucratic legalities to the jealousy of a former KGB officer, the obstacles they face seem insurmountable. But with perseverance and a little bit of divine intervention, their love story unfolds in the most incredible way. This book not only explores the cottage industry of international online matchmaking but also delves into the risks and rewards of searching for love overseas. Based on actual events, Miracle From Ukraine is a touching tribute to the power of love, the strength of the human spirit, and the joys of life’s unexpected surprises.

If you’re looking for a thrilling, romantic read, this is the book for you!”

 

 

Excerpt

 

John took a shuttle flight that ran daily from the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to Lambert International. Upon exiting the small aircraft, he entered the terminal and made his way toward his gate in preparation for his departure to Chicago. A former boss in Atlanta once told him he should never make important decisions when you’re emotional, advice he always valued but couldn’t apply this day. Once settled and waiting to board, he dialed up his parents’ phone, and his mother answered on three rings.

“Mom, I’m in St. Louis, getting ready to fly out to Kiev.”

“My, this is sudden. So, when is her interview?”

“I don’t know,…yet,” John replied and gave his mother the long litany of events, or lack thereof, that had occurred over the past three weeks.

“You know this doesn’t sound too good… And there’s no sense in us trying to talk you out of going back over there,” his mother stated, knowing her oldest son all too well.

John paused before answering. “Johnny knows to come to your place after school, Mom. I’ll call when I get there. Love you all.”

“Love you too, John. We’ll be praying for you.”

***

After yet another long and sleepless night, Irina entered the kitchen in dire need of some coffee. She picked up her phone to check for missed calls and messages, noticing the battery being nearly dead. This is strange, I know I plugged this in to charge it overnight. It had to have been unplugged… Dimitri!

There was now little mystery as to where Kuznetsov had received such detailed information over time about her calls and she assumed Dimitri had also snooped around the apartment for any other incriminating information he could find. The damage had now been done and the only remaining question was how she would get rid of him.

Setting the issue with her tenant’s betrayal aside, Irina decided to send John an email message, one that she hoped wouldn’t break his heart as much as it was breaking hers.

 

Dear John, I am sorry you have not heard from me. Because of issues within my family and a police investigation on me, I cannot emigrate to America in the foreseeable future. I hope you will forgive me. You will always have a place in my heart.

Love, your Irina

PS: Feel free to transfer the money still in my account and cancel it. I will try and pay you back the rest someday.

 

She sat and proofread the message, preparing to hit SEND when she heard a knock on the door. Who could this be at this time of morning? Momma and Papa or Alika would have called before coming over here… And they never knocked before entering anyway.

Irina opened the front door and standing before her in the hallway was a young woman, perhaps her own age and one distant in memory, wearing an official-looking female uniform and the SSU badge displayed prominently on the collar. Irina saw a red flag of concern flash before her, which immediately instilled an extreme sense of dread. “Yes?”

The young woman struggled to recognize the lovely Irina Viktorivna Balabanova, as the woman facing her looked terrible, one who appeared to have not slept, washed, or applied an ounce of make-up in days. She thus held up a copy of her photograph for credence, while also handing over a prepared handwritten memo and signaling with an index finger to her lips to be silent. Irina read the scribbled note, looking up at her with a confused blank expression, and then the SSU agent leaned forward to whisper in Irina’s ear.

“I am Calina Zhukova, from the State Security of Ukraine, Kharkov Oblast office. Your apartment may have listening devices. I suggest we talk outside, perhaps around in back of the building.”

 

 

About the Author

 

James Herbert Harrison, a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, has lived and worked throughout the continental United States as a businessman and industrial equipment and software sales representative. He currently resides in Olathe, Kansas with his wife Maryna and their thirteen-year-old son. James has an older son who remains in Cape Girardeau as well as two older step kids. The family are active and proud members of Lenexa Baptist Church in Lenexa, Kansas.

James’ pedigree as a writer began ten years earlier with the publishing of his first novel, Quest For Power, a political thriller soon to be re-released as The Programmer. Miracle From Ukraine, a totally different departure in genre, was inspired by the real-life saga of James and Maryna having experienced many of the actual events in the story. James is currently working on Escape From Ukraine, a dramatic and contemporary sequel.

 

 

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FOR THE MINDS

 

AND WILLS OF MEN

 

by

 

Jeff Lanier

 

 

 

Mystery / Art History

Publisher: Boyle & Dalton

Date of Publication: October 16, 2022

Number of Pages: 310 pages

 

 

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A gripping, historical art mystery set in 1950s New York, For the Minds and Wills of Men is a story of art, love, and Cold War fear, suspicion, and betrayal.

MANHATTAN, 1953. Fear of communist subversion and espionage are tearing America apart. Abstract expressionism is on the verge of exploding, making New York the cultural epicenter of the world. While recovering a stolen Jackson Pollock for a wealthy client, art insurer Will Oxley falls for the client’s daughter, Liz Bower, who leads him deep into the rebellious and seductive world of the abstract expressionist painters, their Village bar haunts and East Hampton binges. But when Will learns the painting-and Liz-may be hiding communist secrets better left hidden, he finds himself torn between exposing the girl he loves or risking his life by trusting her instead. Realizing nothing is as it seems, Will is caught between communist espionage, secret government programs, and the grip of cold war fear, suspicion, and betrayal where trust is all he has left…

With post-World War II New York, 1950s avant-garde art world, and the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings as background, the novel tells the story of abstract expressionism and mid-century American politics- through the thrilling search for a stolen Jackson Pollock.

 

 

 

 

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Praise

 

2023 INDIEREADER AWARD WINNER: 1^ST PLACE FICTION

“Lanier brilliantly evokes the energy and excitement of the New York art world in this Cold War thriller with an artistic twist. Along the way, he gives us fascinating insights into Abstract Expressionism and the power of art to communicate values and ideas.” –Ross King, Acclaimed art historian and New York Times bestselling author of The Judgment of Paris, Brunelleschi’s Dome, and Michelangelo and The Pope’s Ceiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Fact and Fiction”

 

Excerpt from

 

FOR THE MINDS AND WILLS OF MEN

 

by Jeff Lanier

 

 

ON OCCASION, a reader may wonder what of this story is true. Although loosely inspired by the 1967 New York Times article and Frances Stoner Saunders’ book The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters, this story is entirely fictitious. Several historical figures interact with fictional characters in the novel including Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Nelson Rockefeller, Porter McCray, John “Jock” Whitney, and Congressman George Dondero; and, while my research formed the basis of their character and actions, their involvement in the story is a complete fabrication. This woven canvass of fact and fiction continues throughout the novel.

However, while the storyline and dialogue between well- known actual people were imagined, like all historical novelists, I tried to depict the world in which the story takes place with as much likeness and accuracy as I could, layering in strands of “historical truth” while still taking certain liberties to create a lively fiction.

First and foremost, I attempted to render the biographies and personalities of the artists, their art, and the art history to the best of my ability, particularly Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline. The Stable Gallery existed and was established in 1953 by Eleanor Ward, deriving its name from its first home, a former livery stable on Seventh Avenue at West 58th Street. The gallery focused primarily on modern and avant-garde art, particularly the abstract expressionists. Eleanor Ward held annual exhibitions of painting and sculpture; the 1st annual was held in 1953. Participating artists included Philip Guston, Hans Hoffman, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Elaine de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Roy Newell, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jack Tworkov, among sixty-four others. Jackson Pollock did not show in the 1st Annual. The Club and Cedar bar both existed in close proximity to each other on Eighth and University and were important seedbeds of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Jackson Pollock did kick the payphone. While de Kooning’s exhibition of his Woman series launched in 1953, the series first showed at the Sidney Janis gallery in March rather than the late summer as presented in the novel. And, he did not complete the paintings in his rented Hampton house. The MoMA exhibit “Twelve Modern American Painters and Sculptors” occurred, circulated to six countries in Europe (April 1953 to March 1954), and was primarily funded by a 1952 five-year grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. There was no preview for the MoMA exhibit at the Stable Gallery. And, obviously, Elizabeth Bower and the Bower Foundation are complete fabrications with no involvement in the MoMA exhibit.

The painter Andrei Roschin and his HUAC trial are entirely fictitious yet modeled after a similar muralist painter and his mural The History of California, located in the Rincon Center Post Office in downtown San Francisco, California, which was the subject of a 1953 congressional hearing by the House Committee on Public Works chaired by Congressman George Dondero. Congressman George Dondero was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan who did mount an attack on modern art. In 1949 and again in 1952, he delivered a now-famous speech in which he denounces the Artists Equity Association and American Artists’ Congress as Communist fronts, museums as Soviet pawns broadcasting the Russian propaganda, and the art of the ‘isms’ as the weapon of the Russian Revolution Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, Expressionism, Abstractionism, and Surrealism. The Scientific And Cultural Conference For World Peace event did occur, was held at the Waldorf-Astoria for three days in March 1949, and was the subject of great political concern and protest.

And lastly, although the organization ALERT did not exist, it was modeled after similar organizations, such as the private interest group AWARE, which created blacklists for employers and ‘special reports’ like Red Channels listing names of purported communists. The libel lawsuit John Henry Faulk v. Aware, Inc., et al, which began in 1957 and concluded in 1962, resulted in a verdict that put an end to institutional blacklisting by private groups and individuals who claimed to be experts on Communism; and put an end to the organization itself.

To render this world, several books and articles were indispensable, as well as the obvious effort spent in libraries and on internet research. For the 1950s and McCarthyism, I am indebted to Ellen Schrecker’s Many Are the Crimes, McCarthyism in America; and to the Fifties by David Halberstam. For the world of art, I leaned on several authors and their books including Irving Sandler’s The Triumph of American Painting; to Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith’s Jackson Pollock: An American Saga; to Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan’s de Kooning: An American Master; and to An Emotional Memoir of Franz Kline by Fielding Dawson. The following essays were also helpful: Eva Cockroft’s essay “Abstract Expressionism, Weapon of the Cold War” in Frances Frascina ed., Pollock and After. The Critical Debate, “The Suppression of Art in the McCarthy Decade” by William Hauptman; “American Painting During the Cold War” by Max Kozloff; “Art and Politics in Cold War America” by Jane De Hart Mathews; “The Philosophy and Politics of Abstract Expressionism 1940 – 1960” by Nancy Jachec with Cambridge University, and the “Review of the Scientific And Cultural Conference For World Peace” arranged by the National Council of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions.

 

 

 

 

Jeff Lanier is an award-winning author. He earned bachelor’s degrees in history and art history at The University of Texas, Austin, with a focus on the History of American Culture through Art and Literature. He has a master’s from Rice University, is a member of the American Society of Aesthetics, and currently lives in Houston with his wife and three children.

 

 

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07/25/23	The Book’s Delight	Review
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Paw and Order: A Detective Whiskers Cat Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Florida
Wright on the Mark, LLC. (May 23, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 204 pages

 

Synopsis

 

What’s better than a K-9 cop? A feline detective. Detective Whiskers is out to prove himself, and keep his human from being framed for murder, or worse. He’ll need the help of his new animal friends and Sheila’s group of female sleuths. This cozy mystery set in a small town in Old Florida is purrfect for cat lovers and anyone who enjoys a fun beach read.

Who is really catching killers in Paradise Cove? It’s not the local police. The Paradise Cove Murder Society is getting the job done, with more help than they realize from a furry detective named Whiskers.

Sheila and her cat Whiskers are starting a new life in the perfect little Florida beach town that managed to avoid the big crowds, condos and chain stores. But as soon as they arrive the town has its first ever murder. Good thing Whiskers is a trained detective! Fred, Sheila’s husband of forty years, was a police detective who recently passed away, right before they were supposed to retire to the beach. After forty years of devoting herself entirely to being a good wife and mother she’s now left to put her life back together, but what kind of life will it be? In a fresh setting, and with some quirky new friends, she slowly begins to remember all of the dreams she had as a young woman. She has a second chance to chase those dreams, if she can stay alive and out of prison. When her next door neighbor is killed and the evidence points to Sheila, it’s time for Whiskers to step up.

Whiskers was Fred’s loyal assistant and he’ll need to remember everything he learned from his mentor to keep Sheila safe as she rediscovers herself. With the help of some unexpected new friends of his own Detective Whiskers sets out to prove to the world, and himself, that he is worthy of the shiny badge on his collar. If you love humorous cozy mysteries where pets take the lead and eccentric friends come together to solve crimes with just the right amount of suspense then the Detective Whiskers Cozy Mystery Series is exactly what you’re looking for.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

I’ve been asked several times why I choose to write mysteries with animals as the lead characters. The answer may be connected to my childhood.

At the age of ten I moved over 4,000 miles with my family from Alabama to a place I’d never been before — Scotland. And not Edinburgh or Glasgow, but a tiny village in the Highlands on the shores of Loch Ness. That’s right, the home of the world’s most famous monster. The World Hide and Seek Champion (sorry, Bigfoot). I was in the middle of one of the world’s greatest mysteries and it wasn’t human.

You’re probably saying that the Loch Ness monster isn’t real. I can’t prove that you’re wrong. But I can tell you that on my last visit back to Scotland there was another video sighting of ‘Nessie.’ That’s what the locals call her. Don’t ask me how they know Nessie is a she.

That wasn’t the only sighting this year. At last check, no fewer than three pictures or videos of a possible Loch Ness monster had been registered. The website LochNessSightings.com shows ten webcam sightings since 2021 and over 1,100 sightings overall. Somebody is seeing something.

My first sighting of the Loch Ness monster was on an episode of Scooby Doo. The episode called A Highland Fling With a Monstrous Thing was part of the third season of Scooby Doo, Where Are You? in 1978. In that episode Finnyan McDuff summoned the monster to scare away tourists. It didn’t work. Tourists flock to Loch Ness every year hoping for a chance to see Nessie themselves.

The tourist appeal of the monster is not showing any signs of fading away. Just this summer the Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit reopened following an extensive and expensive renovation.

How long have these sightings been happening? The first one (that we know of) was reported by Saint Columba in the year 565 AD. The “water beast” recorded in the book Life of Saint Columba was responsible for the death of a man swimming in the River Ness. Personally, I have my doubts about this encounter because you would never catch me swimming in water that cold. But in the book Saint Columba faces down the monster, sending it deep into the water where it stayed for a very long time.

The sighting that started the modern day monster craze occurred 90 years ago in 1933. The Inverness Courier newspaper reported that Aldie Mackay, driving with her husband near where the Loch Ness Centre is now located, saw a “whale like fish” rolling in the loch. The newspaper article. Was titled Strange Spectacle in Loch Ness and said “The creature disported itself, rolling and plunging for fully a minute, its body resembling that of a whale, and the water cascading and churning like a simmering cauldron. Soon, however, it disappeared in a boiling mass of foam. Both onlookers confessed that there was something uncanny about the whole thing, for they realised that here was no ordinary denizen of the depths, because, apart from its enormous size, the beast, in taking the final plunge, sent out waves that were big enough to have been caused by a passing steamer.”

If you would like to look for the monster there are plenty of locals willing to help you, for a fair price. Regular tours of Loch Ness depart from at least three docks, including one that I walked past every day that I lived there. The boat operator was kind enough to place monster-shaped stickers on the window so that, if you didn’t get a picture of the real thing, you could point your camera at the water with the sticker in the right place and get a picture that might fool a couple of your more gullible friends back home.

You may also be able to get a seat on a boat scanning the depths of Loch Ness with sonar equipment. If you happen to see a very large object swimming below your boat, I do not recommend throwing a fishing line over the rail. Should you hook Nessie you would either get pulled overboard or, if you somehow succeed in catching everybody’s favorite ‘beastie’ then you would be an instant villain and would not make it out of the Highlands with your catch.

So, growing up near such a mysterious creature, is it any wonder that I chose to write mystery stories that are not dominated by humans? Detective Whiskers and his friends in Paradise Cove are not quite as famous as Nessie (yet) but they will keep you entertained while you try to help them figure out whodunit. I invite you to read Paw & Order and the rest of the cozy mysteries in the Detective Whiskers series, available exclusively on Amazon. And, if I ever spot Nessie, I promise to write a book about it.

 

Excerpt

 

Sheila does not understand. I know we’re not supposed to play favorites with our humans, but we all do. Fred and I had a connection that was … special. I’ve tried communicating with Sheila, but— Okay this part is a little embarrassing. Every time I tap her hand with my paw, she thinks I want food or a belly rub. Which, of course, I do. I ALWAYS want food or a belly rub. Or both. But I’m trying to tell her something important, and all of a sudden, she puts those fingernails to work on my belly and I’m gone. Lost. A zombie. It feels sooooo good. Whatever I needed to say is up in smoke, my eyes are closed, and I hear a Karen Carpenter love song in my head.

Don’t judge me.

 

 

About the Author

 

Chris Abernathy has narrated more than 200 audiobooks and now he is writing his own stories. He has been a storyteller his entire life — around campfires at a summer camp as a counselor, on the radio for more than 30 years, as an actor with background roles on major motion pictures and TV series, as a producer of short films for social media and more. Chris is married with two sons and lives on the Gulf Coast in Alabama. He is a dual national with citizenship in the US and UK and visits family in the Scottish Highlands as often as possible.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Synopsis

 

The world has already changed – The genie (AI) is out of the bottle, but this is a genie of our own making, and one that we designed to think, learn, grow, and develop on its own, without the need for human involvement.

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and over 1,000 other influential people in the field have already signed an open letter requesting a pause on the development of AI, citing security concerns and stating, “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity”.

Italy has gone so far as to ban, at least temporarily, the AI application, ChatGPT, following a security breach where “it was possible for some users to see another active user’s first and last name, email address, payment address, the last four digits (only) of a credit card number, and credit card expiration date,” according to an OpenAI spokesman.

This book, “AI-AGI Revolution: Will This Change What It Means to Be HUMAN?”, takes readers on a journey to explore these issues, the incredible potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced General Intelligence (AGI), the incredible challenges, and the incredible potential impact on what it means to be ‘human’.

From the promises of technological utopianism to the existential questions raised by attempts to recreate human intelligence, AI-AGI Revolution discusses the most remarkable area of technological advancement in recent history.

This book explores the moral, ethical, economic and cultural implications of human-like AI systems, and the implications of an AGI system that would certainly surpass humans with reference to its intellectual abilities.

“More than anything, this book is an exploration of the subject to promote discussion and debate,” added author, Ms Bella St John. AI is not good, nor bad – but where we go from here is something that needs informed consideration. My hope is that this book provides food for thought – no more, no less.”

Explore topics ranging from:

• An overview of the AI Revolution
• Why I felt the need to co-author this book with AI
• AI outpacing Moore’s Law
• The comparisons between child developmental psychology and ChatGPT
• AI’s propensity to convincingly make stuff up
• The origins of AI
• The blurring line between human and AI, including Robot ‘Legal Personhood’, and cross-dimensional marriage
• Should robots have ‘human rights’?
• Is AI sentient?
• Deep Fake
• Impact on Businesses and on Individuals (pro and con)
• Implications for Education and Training
• The Age of the Cyborg
• Are Artists and Writers now an endangered species?
• Why “Critical Oversight” is essential
• What if consciousness is fundamental – what does that mean re AI and Consciousness?
• Responses to the AGI Revolution
• Will AI-AGI Change What It Means to Be Human?

…and so much more – including my thoughts on ‘co-authoring’ a book with artificial intelligence.

“I hope this book inspires people to talk with each other – really talk with each other on the topic of AI. Not to have a right or a wrong, but to explore the topic. Only by doing what seems to have become a lost art (ie having a discussion and respecting all viewpoints whether one agrees with them or not) will we be able to navigate this exciting but challenging time ahead”.

 

 

 

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Excerpt

 

“I think, therefore… What am I?”

Let’s examine something I hid in plain sight when I designed the cover of this book:

“I think, therefore… what am I?”

“I think therefore I am” is a famous philosophical statement by René Descartes, which asserts that the very act of thinking proves one’s existence. It is a statement that has been debated for centuries and has significant implications for our understanding of consciousness, self-awareness, and artificial intelligence.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), this statement has gained new significance, raising important questions about the nature of consciousness and the possibility of machine sentience.

AI has made significant progress in recent years, with machines that can seemingly ‘think’ – recognize speech, translate languages, play games, and even write poetry. However, despite these impressive achievements, AI still lacks the kind of self-awareness and consciousness that is characteristic of human beings – but not everyone agrees. This has led to debates about the nature of consciousness and whether machines can truly think and be self-aware.

This also raises questions about whether machines can ever be considered truly alive or whether they are simply sophisticated tools that mimic human behaviour. Some argue that machines can never be truly conscious because they lack the kind of subjective experience that humans

have. Others argue that consciousness is simply a product of information processing and that machines can, in theory, be conscious if they are programmed in the right way.

Then there is the question of whether machines can have free will, which is closely tied to the idea of consciousness. Free will is the ability to make choices that are not determined by external factors. If AI reaches a point where it is fully independent from any human input, learning from its own successes and failures, can it then be argued that AI has free will to decide what it does next?

Another important consideration is the ethical implications of creating machines that are capable of what we might consider as thought and even consciousness. If machines can truly think and feel, then it becomes more difficult to justify treating them as mere objects or tools. This raises important questions about the ethics of creating and using AI and whether we have a moral obligation to consider the well-being of conscious machines.

It is these and many other considerations that lead me to write this book.

I hope it provides food for thought…

 

 

About the Author

 

Ms Bella St John is one of the most original thinkers you could hope to meet when it comes to a range of topics whether it be quantum physics, history, psychology, artificial intelligence, spirituality, culture, business, branding, marketing, writing, where science fiction and science fact intersect, and so much more…

She is an intelligent anachronist who is much more at home wearing long skirts and writing with her gold fountain pen than she is in jeans and a t-shirt and writing with a ballpoint.

Bella is an acclaimed Achievement Strategist, Writer, Artist, and Photographer who combines a lifetime examining ‘what makes people tick’ with her eclectic range of interests.

“Who am I? Although I’ve achieved some amazing things in my life, I consider myself a ‘work in progress’, so the answer to that question changes often, but some things that remain fairly constant – I love things Edwardian/Victorian (I’m one of those definitely born in the wrong time period – shoot me a message if you can relate!), red wine, exploring new places, writing, photography, quantum physics (yes, I know, that doesn’t exactly fit the Victorian theme), being inspired, inspiring others, anything steam-powered, learning new things – and discussing and sharing with others. In 2016, I decided to essentially retire, sell up, and see the world fulltime – becoming a 24/7 Luxurious Nomad, despite having a mobility challenge. Some people have said of my adventures and all the things I have done that I must be at least 172 years of age (no comments about me looking 172 years old, thank you!)”

 

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Synopsis

 

Sixteen-year-old Charli is living in a pandemic-ravaged 2020 America when she stumbles upon the parallel world of the Q’ehazi. Drawn to these peaceful people, whose constant joy and optimism provides a stark contrast to the suffering and violence in her own life, Charli wants nothing more than to stay with them forever—but first, she must learn to attain a state of grace.

Can she forgive her mother’s abusive boyfriend? Can she learn empathy for her mother? Charli’s inward and outward struggles will lead her to a discovery she wasn’t even looking for: the beauty of her own world.

 

 

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Praise

 

Brightwell’s storytelling is vivid and rich, and her writing compelling. The World Beyond the Redbud Tree is a fascinatingly adventurous and original examination of life, grief, forgiveness and compassion. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before: captivating, touching, gently magical, and ultimately uplifting.” — Penny Haw, author of The Wilderness Between Us

“The novel offers us the story of a struggling young girl making her way through both dystopian and Utopian futures. A very thought-provoking tale for readers of all ages. I highly recommend The World Beyond the Redbud Tree.” — David Silverman is a Hollywood screenwriter with writing credits including The Flintstones, The Wild Thornberrys, and Life with Louie.

“Madison has a great way of merging two worlds together in The World Beyond the Redbud Tree. She writes beautifully and has an incredible imagination. She showcases how a young girl Charli is running from her fears but stays resilient and really just wants to be loved. Madison Brightwell is a talented writer and has created a masterpiece. I hope to one day see it on the big screen.” —Kandace Caine, Voice Over Actress of the popular games Hogwarts Legacy and Call of Duty; screenwriter, and producer.

 

 

Excerpt

 

P R O L O G U E

 

 

Tears streamed down her face, warm and comforting on her skin. She let them fall. Waves of grief passed through her and then were released to the earth below. Sitting cross-legged on the moist grass, she felt strong hands clutching hers on either side. Her eyes were closed, and all she heard was the soft chanting of the group around her, and a mellow voice intoning:

“We send our dear little Belilly across the Rainbow Bridge for the last time, where all is peace and comfort. And we will miss her, for she brought joy to everyone she met, and now her time has come, and she can remain with us no more.”

The girl’s body swayed back and forth in rhythm to the soft flute music playing a tune she knew well because she had heard it many times before. There were no words, but she hummed a sweet harmony to the notes.

The smell of jasmine permeated the air. She remembered how Belilly had loved to sniff the scented air on her morning amble. She remembered the way the breeze would ruffle Belilly’s beautiful white fur and how her whiskers twitched in anticipation of the events of the day ahead. The memories were bittersweet: bitter because she knew she would never again experience them, and sweet because she had experienced them so many times before and they would always exist in her memory.

Gradually, the tears on her face dried. She felt the stroke of a burdock leaf on her cheek, and she turned her head and opened her eyes to see her mother smiling at her and passing the leaf gently over the dried tears in a soothing ritual. Tenderness emanated from her mother’s face as she made this gesture, and the girl felt a sense of relief at the knowledge that Belilly’s passing was done and all suffering was over.

As the girl allowed her gaze to traverse the scene, she took in this group of about twenty people, all known to her, all seated on the ground and clasping hands in a circle, and all swaying to the music around them. Behind them, the beautiful rays of crimson light cast by the huge stone on its ceremonial plinth were enhanced by the stream running behind it. The tinkling of the water cascading over rocks in the stream harmonized with the flute.

Belilly was gone and would never be here again. She knew there was nowhere else she’d rather be than in this place at this time with these people. An intense gratitude swept over her, casting out the grief and replacing it with joy and contentment.

 

 

About the Author

 

Madison C. Brightwell is an author and a licensed MFT with a doctorate in psychology. She has been working as a therapist for fifteen years, before which she worked as a professional actress in film and TV development. She has written four other novels and three self-help books in the field of psychology. Since moving to Asheville, North Carolina, from her native Britain, Madison has become inspired by the history of this land, originally inhabited by the Cherokee. She draws on many of her experiences helping clients with trauma, addiction, and chronic pain.

 

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