YA Urban Fantasy Thriller from KN Smith

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and visa gift card for Discovery of the Five Senses: The Urban Boys Series by K.N. Smith. The book tour will run March 1 -April 29, 2022.

 

 

Genre: Young Adult Action-Adventure, Young Adult Thriller, Urban Fantasy, Mystery/ Thriller

ISBN-13‏: ‎978-0989474757

K.N. Smith, winner of the "Best of" in the category of "Outstanding Young Adult Novel" at the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards, is an author and passionate advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. Her lyrical flair sweeps across pages that twist and grind through action-adventure and urban fantasy in edge-of-your-seat narratives. K.N. has over twenty-five years' experience in communications and creative design as an award-winning consultant. She inspires people of all ages to reach their highest potential in their creative, educational, and life pursuits. 

 

A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory superpowers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, will the boys be able to defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story — an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature readers alike.

Prologue

And in the absence of even a hint of an exchange, Joaquin spun around and lunged at Ross. He grabbed him by the throat, knocking him down.  

With brittle leaves and debris thrust upward, the two were enveloped in a dark, hazy hell as they engaged in a violent struggle for what seemed like an eternity.  

Ross flared up. “Get the hell off of me!”  

Joaquin persisted. “What are you going to do, Ross? Where are you going to go?” 
Ross scrambled to his feet, fighting back with a blow to Joaquin’s head, followed by several body punches. Joaquin stumbled and fell, giving Ross those precious few seconds required for his escape.  

Fueled by a rush of pulsating adrenaline, Ross ran frantically, stretching his quivering legs. His rich brown skin tightened as he pounded through the forest. He tried to ignore his thunderous heartbeat while scanning the pathways, searching for possible escape routes.  

With his baseball cap lost to the wind, his short, curly hair had exposed to the open air. Ross grasped the moment, one littered with deep panic and a singular appreciation for survival.  

This turn of events stemmed from countless episodes in which Joaquin, only nineteen yet extremely demanding, had tried to control those around him.

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My Sister Helped Me Heal book tour and giveaway

 

    

  Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour and free book giveaway for My Sister Helped Me Heal: The Power of Kingdom Sisterhood by Chavon Anette. The book tour will run April 4 - 15, 2022. ISBN: 978-0578380049 Genre: Religion / Christian Living / Personal Growth

ABOUT THE VISIONARY

Chavon is an Amazon #1 International Bestselling Author, Transformational Speaker, Leadership and Life Coach, and Talk Show Host. She is the CEO of Purpose Unwrapped, LLC and non-profit Power and Grace Leaders, Inc. Also, a board member- COO- of an Accreditation organization- Governing Council. Chavon is affectionally known as the Fire Leadership Coach. She marries practical and spiritual tools to empower and equip kingdom people to lead in the world. Formerly a high school educator, her mission is now to help Kingdom people Break Fear, Build Faith, and Lead Confidently online and beyond. She believes it takes commitment, confidence, and courage to impact culture. She is also a transformational speaker who speaks with great passion in a way that empowers and challenges her listeners. She has been featured as a speaker on ABC news, TCT Today, Virginia Wesleyan University, and at conferences and other events such as globally recognized Comeback Champion Summit and Sister Leads Conference. Chavon has published 4 books that are available on Amazon, and she has been a part of 7 anthologies. Three anthologies became Amazon #1 Bestsellers- Undeterred, (International Bestselling) Unveiled Transparency, Called to Intercede and Sister Leaders. Now, She is in the process of birthing out My Sister Helped Me Heal Anthology where she is the visionary. Chavon Anette was the 2021 Servant Leader of the Year Award Recipient from ACHI Magazine. Also In 2021, she was nominated for ACHI as Entrepreneur of the year, mentor of the year, author of the year, and TV personality of the year. In 2018, Chavon was nominated for ACHI as Author of the year and Educator of the year, and in 2019 she was nominated for ACHI as Educator of the Year and Orator of the Year!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Chavon Anette and an amazing group of women join in an Anthology to share their story about the Powerful gift of Kingdom Sisterhood. The book is about real stories of Sisterhood That helped people move - from broken to whole - from hidden to walking in purpose - from rejected to accepted - from insecure to confident - from afraid to bold as a lioness.

 

EXCERPT

“Look at her”- my eyes meet my friend- “I support and love you.” “Look at her”- my eyes shift to my next friend- “I support and love you.” “Look at her”- my eyes turn to my other friend- “I support and love you.” “Look at me”- my eyes are at my friend creating this moment- “I support and love you.” It was moments before I would speak for my first in-person event. God led my friend Kiyanni Bryan to instruct me to turn and look at all my sisters in the back room with me - Lakia Perez, Ciara Mason, Melissa Daughtry, and herself, and allow them to say those words to me. With tears rolling down my eyes, the reality of their words sinking in brought me to a new level of freedom and deliverance. It can weigh on you when you have had to manage the fights of ministry and fights in your personal life. It never means quitting or giving up, but with the right people around you, it still means making sure you position yourself to heal in the areas where you have been wounded.

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Walking on Pins and Needles nonfiction memoir

 

Walking on Pins and Needles: A Memoir of Chronic Resilience in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis 

by Arlene Faulk
River Grove Books, February 15, 2022, 268 pp
Health and Fitness
ebook 7.99
paperback, 16.95
 
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About the Book:
Tai Chi is not about trying harder; it’s about letting go, being in the moment, feeling balance, and the fluidity of energy.
 
When you’ve been voted as “most likely to succeed” as a senior in high school with a bright future ahead, you set challenging goals and move forward to fulfill expectations. And as far as Arlene Faulk—accomplished businesswoman, storyteller, and Tai Chi instructor—knew, multiple sclerosis wasn’t going to get in her way.
 
At the age of 22, in the middle of working the busiest shopping day of the year, Arlene loses all feeling in her body from the waist down. Her mobility returns but she’s given no diagnosis, and one question pervades her thoughts: What is happening to my body?
In this moving and illuminating memoir of one woman’s years-long struggle to understand and conceal her debilitating symptoms as she ascends the corporate ladder in a major airline comes a story of perseverance, rediscovery, and hope in light of multiple sclerosis. As she jumps into the unknown, Faulk finds comfort and healing through Chinese medicine and Tai Chi. Her inspiring story demonstrates how a chronic and debilitating health condition lacks the power to control our lives and stop us from moving in the direction of possibility.
 
My Review:
Faulk’s captivating story drew me into her world, from the prologue of a young woman’s dreams of leaping into a responsible career as a new adult, independent in the exciting and challenging era of the 1970 and 80s, all the way to the final page. Memoirs are often so personal that I feel like a voyeur, but Faulk’s engaging and frank storytelling made me part of her story, cheering, booing, encouraging, parental at various points along her journey of discovery. Perhaps because I have personal experience through friendships with this condition, Faulk’s perspective helped me take part in her life through her eyes and grow in empathy.
 
As a newly minted adult, Faulk experiences frightening symptoms that could have easily been contributed to hysteria, had her father not been a physician and helped direct her first medical consultation. During that first consultation, the neurologist spoke to her father instead of to her as they direct her tests and receive a result of “inconclusive.”
 
I marvel at Faulk’s fist boss who gave her space to realize she has to change her career. She returns to school, earning a graduate degree and gaining lifelong supportive friendships. Focusing on the positive and most honest aspects of her life choices, Faulk sets the pace and tone for a forthright and authentic revelation about achieving a balanced life.
 
With her graduate degree in business communication and a recommendation from a friend, Faulk enters corporate America in Chicago at first through the restaurant industry, “studying promotional opportunities for entry-level workers in the food service industry.” The pace for young professionals is brutal, and she tries have a social life tucked between long hours on the job. When she’s head-hunted by a major airline at first in research, and later promoted to “management education representative,” Faulk slowly rises to become one of top female executives in a high-profile industry and moves to New York City.
 
But these rungs on the corporate ladder are all challenged by fits and starts and stops of strange symptoms as specific areas of her body seem to turn on and off with extreme weakness and pain mostly in her legs, and brain fog. A visit to a neurologist results in the dreaded “inconclusive” result. But this doctor asks her to track her symptoms and try steroid therapy. She joins a fitness club and makes special friends who encourage her to find a good balance in life—not easy for anyone.
 
Faulk eventually receives a possible diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, but little advice and support from medical professionals of that era in New York City and refuses to participate in an experimental drug therapy study. A job-related return to Chicago and involvement in church results in setting down roots.
 
Throughout this decade, Faulk reflects on her family life and future decisions while she tries to ignore increasingly disturbing symptoms of her multiple sclerosis. Her father’s sudden death in 1983 makes her realize that she knew little about his family beyond the facts of his emigration. Faulk is stunned to hear painful truths and questions her reasons for not sharing her own condition with any but her siblings and a few close friends.
 
After five years of stability, Faulk’s symptoms return with a vengeance and she concludes she needs to be honest with her mother. Amazingly, Faulk deals with the challenges of her health and her job until the economic downturn of the early 1990s forces her career into a radical sidestep. It’s also that time when her condition becomes so severe that she makes the decision to leave the workforce. She’s young yet, depressed and disillusioned about where to go from here, and spends two years on the couch at home. A friend’s strong recommendation to see an alternative healer finally sinks in and Faulk makes a choice that changes her fate.
 
Here’s where her real journey to managing her health, well-being, and outlook truly begin. Through fits and doubts, Faulk begins to learn about Chinese medicine and gradually regains her equilibrium, learning to re-channel and redirect her energy and pain through therapeutic manipulation, acupuncture, and eventually tai chi, the gently flowing Chinese-origin exercise regime which gives her life back.
 
Told without pretense, Faulk’s enlightening and fresh perspective of her personal journey of living with a dreaded chronic condition will encourage anyone, especially those who live with severe challenges. Highly recommended.
 
About the Author:
Arlene Faulk is a teacher, writer, storyteller and accomplished businesswoman. She led Human Resources departments in a major airline for 19 years. Her MS symptoms that she kept secret for years stopped her cold. She jumped into the unknown and discovered health practices that transformed her life. In her award-winning blog, she interweaves Tai Chi principles and her own life experiences to inspire readers to live their best lives.

Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly debut historical fiction

 

Obedient Unto Death

Liisa Eyerly

Christian historical fiction

March 22, 2022

CrossRiver Media

355 pp

 

$15.99 Print

$4.99 Ebook

 

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About the Book

Christians under the rule of Emperor Domitian walk a lethal tight-rope between evangelism and martyrdom.  Sabina, a young Christian widow, knows this better than most, her Roman magistrate father is sworn to uphold the decrees of Rome and arrest any Christian who refuses to worship the Emperor.

     Her separate worlds collide when a young scribe is murdered at a house church, and her pastor confesses to the crime. With his execution imminent, Sabina sets out to prove his innocence, but to do so she must defy the laws banning her faith, and step beyond the privileged and sheltered world she has grown-up in.

     When a pagan idol is found hidden in the dead man’s robe, she soon discovers the life of this faithful scribe is anything but simple. Dogged by the scribe’s brother demanding justice for the death, they begrudgingly agree to join forces. They uncover fragments of a burnt scroll leading to the underworld of a mysterious Gnostic sect. The closer she gets to solving the murder, the more she endangers her family, the security of her Christian community, and her life. Can this collision between faith and Roman law bring anything but disaster? 

 

My Revew

Eyerly’s debut is a deeply moving mystery set in an exotic location during treacherous times. In ancient Ephesus, a death at a forbidden Christian worship service rocks the early church. One of the worshippers happens to be the daughter of the Roman magistrate of the cosmopolitan Greek city. Sabina is not willing to call her friend Benjamin’s death an accident or the will of God, and uses her unusual upbringing as the lonely daughter of a single father who raised her to challenge myth and tales through the lens of practical stoicism and facts.

 

Obedient Unto Death is a fascinating mix of faith and life in ancient times, told in a way that brings Ephesus to life. Readers walk with Sabina as she defies the Romans, the Ephesians who want to ban the Christian sect, other secret sects, and even her family and friends to get to the truth behind the death of a rising leader in her church.

 

Told through Sabina’s eyes, this inspirational story set during the era of the early church will keep you turning pages as she uses the four days her father gives her to unmask the real murderer or watch their congregation’s pastor die for the crime. Sabina finds Benjamin’s brother dodging her steps as he, too, is on a quest to find his brother’s killer, as well as learn more about his life. Colorful characters from Sabina’s cool, classic Roman father to her nurse to church members who all seem to have some sort of secret people this un-putdownable book. Standalone, but with future stories to come, readers who enjoy mysteries in any era will find much to love about Obedient Unto Death.

 

About the Author

Liisa Eyerly is the author of two Christian mystery novels set in ancient Ephesus. She is a retired elementary teacher and school librarian but will never retire from inciting the thrill of reading in all ages.

She has lived in some of the most beautiful areas of the U.S. The passion for exploring new places and connecting with people began there and inspired her writing. Her publishing career started after getting married, teaching, raising three children, opening a small business, closing her small business, and finally getting serious about writing. Check out her blog at www.liisaeyerly.com

Defending David new historical fiction from Barbara Britton

 

Defending David: Ittai’s Story
Barbara M. Britton
 
Harbour Light Books, Pelican Book Group
Biblical fiction, 300 pp
February 25, 2022
16.99
5.99
Amazon 
Barnes and Noble 
Apple, Kobo, and from the publisher
 
About the Book
When a quiet journey to Jerusalem turns tragic, newly orphaned Rimona must flee a kinsman set on selling her as a slave. Racing into the rocky hills outside of Hebron, Rimona is rescued by a Philistine commander journeying to Jerusalem with six-hundred warriors. Exiled commander, Ittai the Gittite, is seeking refuge in the City of David. Protecting a frantic Hebrew woman is not in his leadership plan. Although, having a nobleman’s niece in his caravan might prove useful for finding shelter in a foreign land. Rimona and Ittai arrive in Jerusalem on the eve of a rebellion. In the chaos of an heir’s betrayal, will they be separated forever, or can they defend King David and help the aging monarch control his rebellious son?
 
My Review
Britton’s deft research and reimagining little-known stories from scripture flesh out another deeply ingrained figure in the background of King David’s life and reign. As a child, the Philistine Ittai met David and his entourage when they lived for a time under the protection of Achish. Ittai loved his single mother, but adored the youthful David who was kind and strong. Ittai also found a new purpose in life when David’s God became Ittai’s God.
 
Fast forward thirty years and we encounter a grown-up Ittai whose zeal for the Lord and gifts of command have influenced a small army loyal first to the Hebrew God, then to their leader Ittai, and finally to David. To that end, they set out to pledge their swords to the now aging king.
 
In the meantime, we’re introduced to a recently orphaned young woman who is seeking the capital city reluctantly to claim shelter from her last remaining relative, the brother of her recently deceased, dear mother. Rimona must trust a kinsman to take her to Jerusalem. But her trust is misplaced and she must run for her life, it’s out of the pan and into the fire when a giant Philistine catches her. Now what can a lone woman do? Who can she trust? Along the way they have a strange encounter with King David’s son Absalom.
Rimona agrees to join Ittai’s company and is sheltered by Ittai’s commander’s family whom she befriends. Once in Jerusalem nothing is easy. Sure, they both are welcomed after a fashion—David recognizes and gratefully accepts his one-time protegee, and Rimona’s grouchy uncle gracelessly accepts his new responsibility. That is unfortunately the highlight of their first impression of Jerusalem as they’ve unwittingly walked into a dreadful time in their sovereign’s life. The encounter with Absalom was a portend of a coup, and Rimona and Ittai are thrust into each side of the battle for the throne, their dignity, their freedom, and their lives.

Britton’s story of great faith and loyalty, of choosing the Lord’s side even if it looks hopeless is a gem of an addition to her growing library of Biblical historical fiction. Nuanced with romance and faithful to the story found in II Samuel, readers of faith-based fiction will surely enjoy Defending David—Ittai’s Story.
 
About the Author
Barbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. Barb writes romantic adventures from Ancient Israel to Modern Day USA and especially enjoys bringing little-known Bible characters to light. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barb is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can visit Barb online at www. barbarambritton.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Write Now Literary Tour and Givaway for Boss Women

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and $25.00 Amazon gift card for Boss Women: Seven African American Women Who Built Their Business From The Ground Up by Gwen Richardson. The book tour will run Jan- Feb 25, 2022. 

 

Genre: Youth

ISBN- 978-1737449607

Gwen Richardson has been an author, entrepreneur, and "boss woman" for decades. She is the author of 13 books, including Boss Women, and is a graduate of Georgetown University. She has been twice nominated for NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work, wants to inspire children to seek entrepreneurship as a career path. Richardson resides in Houston with her husband, Willie, and adult daughter, Sylvia.

 

Boss Women features seven African American women who started their businesses by themselves or as co-founders with family members. Some of the enterprises are relatively new, while others have been established for decades.

 

The businesswomen profiled in this book are Janice M. Adams (JMA Solutions), Valerie Daniels-Carter (V&J Holding Companies), Bea Dixon (Honey Pot), Janice Bryant Howroyd (The ACT One Group), Garnetta Sanders (Neta Scientific), Janell Stephens (Camille Rose Naturals), and J.C. Sykes (90 Degree Construction).

 

Boss Women uses poetic phrasing to make it easier for children to read and understand. While reading each poetic profile, children will be able to see themselves in these women’s successes and dream big dreams for the future. The book is also a motivational tool for adults who are seeking encouragement on their entrepreneurial journeys.

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$25 Amazon Gift Card

The First Wolf Pack by J Daniel Reed for epic lovers

 

The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable, by J. Daniel Reed

Terra 3 Communications LLC

November 15, 2021

Paper, ebook, 220 pp.

Fiction

$5.95 ebook, $11.95 paper

Buy on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/First-Wolf-Pack-Dogs-Fable-ebook/dp/B09LZ9KY6T

About the Book

An exciting and emotional journey into the ancient history of man and the wolf to discover the genesis of tolerance, cooperation, and loyalty.

Immerse yourself in the intelligence, wisdom, and majesty of the wolf as you journey through wolf-history heretofore unknown by humanity. Discover what every dog knows about the true beginnings of human civilization. You will find yourself wondering if it really did happen this way.

It was the age of the lone wolf, an ancient time of isolation and hostility. When Arn and Versa, two of the most powerful wolves to ever roam the earth, clash in a mighty battle lasting two days and two nights they collapse on the battlefield, virtually drained of life. Only by helping each other can they survive certain death. Forced to trust each other, they overcome the poisoned blood of the lone wolf and forge a super-partnership never before enjoyed by any other carnivore.

Fully healed, they become The First Wolf Pack, a hunting machine dominating all lands they choose. Lone wolves, pressed to survive, form alliances in an attempt to destroy The First Wolf Pack. While their adversaries assemble, Arn and Versa must teach their extraordinary offspring the secrets of pack life.

For The First Wolf Pack to survive, the most gifted of their young offspring, Tria, must grow up quickly, battling countless foes and her own deep flaws. Soon she becomes the invincible wolf others fear; destroying all enemies in her path, but her spirit remains empty and broken. Suffering great internal struggles to overcome her unparalleled power, brutality, and suspicious nature, Tria must learn to forgive and trust those who misunderstood her.

She embarks on an epic sojourn across continents and time in an attempt to change the course of wolf, dog, and human history. But the question remains—can she fulfill the improbable destiny that awaits her?

The legend is shared by the narrator, a British dog named Bingley, who has been granted the right to speak “human” by the great wolf spirit. Discover how The First Wolf Pack created The Wolf Ways and, in the process, how wolves and humans came together to create the ancestors of modern dogs.

My Review:

J Daniel Reed’s tale of The First Wolf Pack draws the reader into an imaginary world of two mighty predators who must decide to survive together or fight to the death.

When an accidental hunting convergence brings two of the ancient great wolfs into mortal combat, they realize they are so equally matched they must use their great intelligence to seek a common goal: survival. Versa and Arn begin to care for each other and together derive the Wolf Ways.

 

Told in the manner of the great sagas, the narrator, a contemporary dog named Bingley, reveals the secret of contemporary dog heritage to his audience. Bingley’s tale is filled with lofty wisdom and bits of advice on how to be a family, not just any family but the best at parenting, the best at sharing the role of alpha couple in a pack, the best at finding nutritious food and cooperation—the first Wolf Way. Versa and Arn are notably the first at many things, including digging an inground den in which to raise their first litter.

 

As the family grows into the First Pack, Versa and Arn form the first wolf council, the Magnificent Ones, and establish the first Wolf Utterance. Soon the offspring grow toward maturity and ponder their parents’ ways. Why do they prosper and live in a pack and work together and not fight like the lone wolves? When an intruder is assimilated into the alpha family, they teach him their ways. The story occasionally lapses into buzzable page-turning moments such as when Versa turns to Arn and asks, “Are you as amazed at this crazy, unique life we created? There are no lone wolves who live like we or that know what we know.”

 

Maturity has its leaps and drawbacks, and as the pups reach adulthood, the alpha offspring male and female must be driven off to begin their own pack. Jett soon finds his mate and begins a family even while he and his sister Tria maintain a close relationship and develop wolf speak, which humans foolishly call howling.

 

Eventually other lone wolves outside the First Pack hatch a plot to attack, and the scattered family packs reunite hoping initially to make peace and teach the others the Wolf Ways. However, the alpha daughter, Tria, suffers from hatred, or poisoned blood, and her turmoil and anger threaten her brother’s young family and the First Pack with her vigilante ways. It takes her father to remind her of her greatness and uniqueness and why she’s driven. “Only you, daughter, share our genes, strength, and cleverness,” he tells her, “and only you can teach the wolf ways.” The advice changes his daughter’s heart, much like taking a Dale Carnegie class, the narrator explains.

 

The battle ensues between the First Pack and their friends, and the lone wolves who align with malicious creatures to attack the First Pack. Find out if the First Pack can maintain its integrity and survive against these as well as strange new odds.

 

The author has created a legend, an epic saga the likes of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, or other Norse legends of old, even faintly reminiscent of Eden and the first humans. We learn how humans and wolves intertwine. Those who love poring over those tales will thoroughly enjoy The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable.

About J. Daniel Reed

J. Daniel Reed (Joe) is an independent real estate investor and author. His new novel is The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable, the legendary journey of wolf, dog, and mankind.

After a successful career in commercial real estate, Joe has spent the last year exploring his love of creative writing. In The First Wolf Pack: A Dog’s Fable, Joe combines his writing talents with his deep knowledge and respect for dogs, wolves, other animals, and nature.

Born on the Northwest side of Chicago, into a three-generation household, he was raised by a committee—grandparent, parents, and three older siblings.

Joe lives in suburban Chicago with his wife, Barbara and their Bouvier des Flandres, Keera. When not writing, he loves outdoor photography, taking walks with Keera, nature hikes, gardening, birdwatching, cooking, and grilling.

 

Boss Women: Seven Women Who Built Their Businesses

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and $25.00 Amazon gift card for Boss Women: Seven African American Women Who Built Their Business From The Ground Up by Gwen Richardson. The book tour will run Jan- Feb 25, 2022. 

 

Genre: Youth

ISBN- 978-1737449607

Gwen Richardson has been an author, entrepreneur, and "boss woman" for decades. She is the author of 13 books, including Boss Women, and is a graduate of Georgetown University. She has been twice nominated for NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work, wants to inspire children to seek entrepreneurship as a career path. Richardson resides in Houston with her husband, Willie, and adult daughter, Sylvia.

 

Boss Women features seven African American women who started their businesses by themselves or as co-founders with family members. Some of the enterprises are relatively new, while others have been established for decades.

 

The businesswomen profiled in this book are Janice M. Adams (JMA Solutions), Valerie Daniels-Carter (V&J Holding Companies), Bea Dixon (Honey Pot), Janice Bryant Howroyd (The ACT One Group), Garnetta Sanders (Neta Scientific), Janell Stephens (Camille Rose Naturals), and J.C. Sykes (90 Degree Construction).

 

Boss Women uses poetic phrasing to make it easier for children to read and understand. While reading each poetic profile, children will be able to see themselves in these women’s successes and dream big dreams for the future. The book is also a motivational tool for adults who are seeking encouragement on their entrepreneurial journeys.

Website   Facebook

Barnes & Noble  Amazon

$25 Amazon Gift Card

Mended Wings Nam history by Colin Cahoon

 

Valor Press (June 7, 2021)

249 pages
ISBN-13: ‎978-1733170727

Ebook $9.99

Print  $17.95

Buy on Amazon
 

Check out the author's trip to Vietnam.

Read about the inspiration behind the story.

You hear them first, the "whop, whop" sound of rotor blades chopping through the humid Vietnam air. Suddenly they appear, screaming toward the landing zone at treetop level. Gunships launch rockets into the nearby tree line. The resulting explosions announce the arrival of the lift helicopters, pointing their noses skyward like falcons coming out of a dive for landing. Unseen enemy respond with machinegun fire, spewing orange tracers toward the slowing birds. Bullets rip into the thin aluminum skin and plastic that surrounds the men who fly these machines. But on they come, determined to complete the mission no matter what the cost. When one pilot is hit, the other takes the controls and carries on. When one helicopter crashes in flames, the pilots in the others maintain formation and push ahead. Nothing deters these warriors, volunteers all, from flying on with the tenaciousness of zealots.

Who are these men? Where did they come from? Where have they gone?

Mended Wings is their story. Follow the lives of ten Purple Heart heroes as they relate the Vietnam War experience from the perspective of the helicopter cockpit. Get to know the generation of men who fought with pride, determination, skill, and courage only to be shunned when they brought their battered bodies and haunting memories home. Their fathers and uncles were heralded as the “greatest generation.” Meet the forgotten generation. Meet the men whose stories did not end as a name on a black wall in Washington D.C. Meet the survivors.

ColinP. Cahoon

Colin P. Cahoon is a writer of historical nonfiction and historically based fiction, a patent attorney, and former Army helicopter pilot. He grew up in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico and earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering at New Mexico State University, which he attended on an Army ROTC scholarship. Colin received his Regular Army commission in 1983 and graduated with honors from the aero scout track of flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama in 1984. He served with distinction as an Aero Scout Platoon Leader in the 307th Attack Helicopter Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division, where he accumulated over 1000 hours of flight time in UH-1 and OH-58 helicopters. Captain Cahoon resigned his commission in 1988 to pursue a legal career, whereupon he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army’s second highest peacetime award for service. He subsequently earned his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University School of Law, where he met his wife, Susan. Colin has served the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dallas as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, Stephen Minister, and Chancellor. Colin and Susan have three grown children and live in Dallas, Texas and Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where they both enjoy skiing, hiking, and fishing.

 

Charming Cat Adventure for a holiday read

 

My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir, TD Arkenberg
Outskirts Press, Denver, Colorado
c. December 2021, ebook, print, 268 pp
Fiction
 
Print paperback $18.95
Hardcover, $28.85

Ebook $8.99
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes and Noble
 
About the Book:
“Few humans lead an extraordinary life. I’ve come to that conclusion from my years of scrutinizing the tribe of upright walkers. My credentials? I’m a cat.”
 

And with that bold assertion, Fluff invites readers into his exceptional feline world. We meet the outspoken tabby as a kitten. He lives with his mother and siblings in a cardboard box in the heart of Brussels. Charmed by exotic tales of a seasoned street cat called Grumps, Fluff dreams of adventure. But he can’t quite muster the courage to venture out on his own. His family’s disappearance forces his paw. He sets out with Siamese newcomers, Penelope and Odysseus. Once posh and pampered housecats, the brother and sister won’t survive the urban jungle without their new friend’s help. The trio encounters unexpected dangers: two- and four-legged villains; their own naiveté; and a city swarming with animal traffickers. Strays are disappearing from the streets, Fluff’s family among them. In their bid to save the catnapped felines, the three companions become targets themselves. Adventure turns into a harrowing game of intrigue where they’re both cat and mouse.

 

My Review:

Although titled a memoir, this marvelous tail, er tale, is really a fictional autobiographical adventure of one Dickens-quoting, Twain-reading homeless camp cat, Fluff, who learns the world is bigger than his slightly squashed cardboard container. He has a role to play, even if the first step is to venture outside of one’s…box, in the European city of Brussels, a place author TD Arkenberg knows well from living there once upon a time.

 

In the territory of temporaries, there exist tribal hierarchies, Fluff learns, where all manner of creatures exist side by side, and humans are known as “uprights.” When Fluff comes home from one of his romps, only brother Auguste welcomes him. It’s not long before Fluff is abandoned with the dismal advice that “it happens to us all. Time for you to stand on your own four paws.” Grumps, an older cat, has filled Fluff’s head with tales of adventure, and when Fluff believes he’s been orphaned, he decides, though hesitant and fearful, to dream big and explore the world and hopefully find his lost family. As he waits for the right moment to leave the camp, he reaches out to newcomers, domesticated castoffs Penelope and Odysseus, to help them adjust and survive the harsh reality of their new status. When bullying pushes Penelope and Odysseus into fleeing the camp, they ask to join Fluff on his quest. “Dogs travel in packs, cats don’t,” Fluff says, but when dangerous conditions arise, he relents, and comes to learn that loyalty comes in all forms from all sides. It’s not always easy to know who to trust, and sometimes one just has to get his paws dirty to achieve results.

 

Betrayal and misconceptions abound, clarify, twist, and shimmer as these friends get separated, run into old chums and make new ones, reunite only to be recaptured, find themselves embroiled in “turf issues,” uncover a dastardly international trafficking scheme, and an even greater horror of biological terrorism and research. There’s a lot going on in this page-turning story. Tempted to stay on in certain posh situations when they occasionally meet a human they think of adopting, the friends overhear rotten plans and resolve to rescue the victims.

 

Friends need friends. When Fluff and Penelope realize they’re in over their heads, they reach out to both known and new two and four-leggeds to assist them as they work to thwart the traffickers and restore not only their own families, but those of their formerly misunderstood friends.

 

The story is told in perspective through Fluff’s narration. Early on, he reminisces, “But most things in life, I’ve learned, shouldn’t be defined in absolute terms.” Filled with delicious cat-themed puns, Brussels street life, danger, adventure, and even romance, readers of Lillian Jackson Braun will love My One Extraordinary Life. As we’re encouraged in the author’s introduction to recognize and appreciate our lives, this story of using our wits, paying attention to the small things, networking, and taking a risk should spark introspection and conversation. Great holiday gift.

 
About the Author

T.D. Arkenberg left the world of global airline executive more than a decade ago to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He is the author of novels, short stories, and memoir. T.D. has an MBA from The University of Chicago and a BA in Literature from Northwestern University. He also studied at the London Business School. He’s active in several professional groups including the Barrington Writers Workshop, Off Campus Writers Workshop, and the Brussels Writers Circle. In 2016, T.D. and his spouse repatriated from Belgium. They make their home in the Chicago area along with their favorite Belgian souvenir, Puhi, a precocious tiger cat.

New encouragement for writers

 

Writers on Writing: Interviews with writers of faith
Kymberley Payne, editor
 
Non-fiction
Writing encouragement
c. August, 2021
 
134 pp.
Buy on Amazon or BN
Ebook $5.99, or print: $9.99
 
About the Book:
Writers on Writing is a compilation of 35 interviews from writers of faith exploring where they get their ideas, what they like best about writing, and what inspires them. The writers offer insight into who influenced them to write and how their faith is reflected in their writing. They give a little snapshot into their personal lives and share writing advice. Writers on Writing is a must-read for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be a writer who is Christian and how we may write differently but come together for the glory of God.
 
Whatever your background, you will be inspired by these incredible interviews that contain a unique look into the world of a faith writer.
 
My Review:
Writers on Writing is a nifty, sweet little book. For those writers who need a bit of a pick-me-up, a word of encouragement or even challenge, these interviews might just be a big help.
 
Compiler of this book, Kymberley Payne, interviewed several authors of inspirational fiction. Each gave a brief biography and responded to a series of ten questions. These authors approach and respond to the work and ministry of writing in unique ways. They come from diverse backgrounds and write mostly articles and stories and publish on a platform called Medium.com. They are pastors, teachers, journalists, veterans, tech experts, nurses and much more, from all over the world.
 
Some of the questions include where their ideas come from, influencers, writing goals, how their faith influences the work, and things they’ve learned. One of my favorites is about balancing professional and personal time for these authors. Regarding balancing time, some mentioned “negotiating” with partners or family for time; others set word count or number of hours for a weekly goal. All good advice. Their story ideas come from the news, people-watching, history, and Scripture.
 
Everyone has a different method, reason, and hope for their work. These stories in Writers on Writing: Interviews with writers of faith will offer writers at any stage solid guidance to meet their needs.
 
About Kymberley Payne:
Kimberley Payne is an award-winning author and writer on spiritual and physical health topics. Her devotional writings relate raising a family, pursuing a healthy lifestyle, and everyday experiences to building a relationship with God. Through her work, Kimberley hopes to inspire people to live healthier lives that glorify God. She combines her teaching experience and love of writing to create educational materials for children about family, fitness, science, and faith. You can visit her website at www.kimberleypayne.com