Cold Coffee Press's Blog: Cold Coffee Press , page 17
July 18, 2015
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Burl Benson Hall and Merry Stetson Hall
Burl Benson Hall and Merry Stetson Hall are the authors of Sophia’s Web: A Passionate Call to Heal Our Wounded Nature.Burl Hall is an author, philosopher (lover-of-Sophia), mystic, retired counselor, and online radio co-host of Envision This which connects listeners to visionaries of a more resilient, equitable, and Earth-friendly future.
He writes with the editorial assistance of his muse and wife, Merry Hall, a retired teacher, author of ‘Bringing Food Home: The Maine Example’, and co-host of ‘Envision This’.
Together they enjoy grand parenting; permaculture gardening at their home in Sabattus, Maine; playing with their dogs, Sophie and Kali; and meeting and profiling the amazing visionaries they interview on their radio show.
A passionate call to heal our wounded nature is vital at this critical evolutionary moment in human history. In Sophia's Web author Burl Hall with Merry Hall is sending out such a call. Sophia’s Web encourages readers to discover how they can co-create individual, planetary and universal health. It examines Burl Hall’s individual dreams, visions, passions, and missions, in the light of Wisdom (Sophia) shared by great thinkers in all disciplines.
Sophia, the Spirit of Wisdom, has woven the multi-dimensional aspects of our lives—personal, relational, cultural, intellectual, scientific, philosophical, and spiritual—into a cosmic web. Burl Hall follows the thread within this web that connects his research in these fields to his personal mystical experience. In Sophia’s Web: A Passionate Call to Heal Our Wounded Nature, he takes the reader with him ever deeper into the heart of divine Wisdom.
************************ Interview With Authors Burl Benson Hall and Merry Stetson Hall
What makes you proud to be writers from Sabattus, Maine?
Burl Benson Hall: Actually the book originated from within me when I was living in Baltimore in the 90's. I do find it interesting that I love to write, but struggled a lot with English classes. With writing, the passion is the subject and not so much the technique. Writing allows you to express your heart. It's more the creativity than writing per se. Writing takes you into a deeper reality.
Merry Stetson Hall: I've written wherever I lived--all over the place, but living here in Maine with Burl has moved me more toward co-authoring. I did write a locally based book here, "Bringing Food Home: The Maine Experience." That book grew out of my commitment to the developing local food movement.
What or who inspired you to become writers?
Burl Benson Hall: My heart. My passion for Sophia. The book began when I had a series of dreams in the 90's. Then, by "accident" I began reading the works of psychiatrist Carl Jung and mythologist Joseph Campbell. I began to understand the images in the dreams of a woman/Goddess to what they were writing about. I then began to research various religions and saw where my dreams coincided with various religions across the world. This led me into understanding the unity behind the diversity of spiritual teachings and practices.
Merry Stetson Hall: Yes, my heart starts to sing a new song and I become scribe for it. Burl's writing moved me so, but had some rough edges, so it just called out to me to begin editing, suggesting, and adding insights.
When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published?
Burl Benson Hall: The 1990's. I was living in Baltimore, MD and was having dreams of this woman/Goddess. After reading Jung and Campbell alongside the scientific works of David Bohm, Fritzof Capra and F. David Peat I decided to write out the dreams while relating the dreams to mythology and science.
Merry Stetson Hall: When I was writing my PhD dissertation. I was so frustrated by the confines of academic writing, where I was supposed to pretend I didn't have a passion for my insights that I knew that it was the writing, not the academia that motivated me.
Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage?
Burl Benson Hall: No. I barely passed English classes and had a really bad taste in my mouth regarding writing. I often was more of the kind of kid that English teachers would cry over and oftentimes pass just to get them out of their classroom. My desire to express was extremely intent so I wrote anyway. It was the passion regarding the subject that caused me to write. I needed to express what I was coming up with and dreaming about.
Merry Stetson Hall: I was a talented writer in school and got teacher comments like, "Bright! Write!" However, my first story about a crippled Princess who overcame her handicap got squelched by my father's judgment. As a good little Christian Scientist I shouldn't be writing about disease! That slowed me down for a LONG time.
Did you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript?
Burl Benson Hall: I came up with the title prior to the writing. I had begun researching mythology as per Jung and Campbell and saw the connection between the dreams and what they were writing about in their books. I realized I was tapping into what Jung called the Collective Unconscious, which is an area in consciousness that is anchored in ancient wisdom (that's my definition and not so much Jung's.) During my research I came across the notion of Sophia in Judeo-Christian teachings and that She was the original Holy Spirit. This caused me to see Christian as well as Jewish and Muslim traditions differently. I was distrustful of mainstream religions and the dreams helped me to understand the religions from a different way. That way was more Unitarian in that I also researched religions from throughout the world from Asia (e.g., Hindu, Oriental) to the Native Americans (e.g., the South American Kogis and the North American Keres Pueblo).
Merry Stetson Hall: "Sophia's Web" resonated with me from the beginning. Indeed, it led me to meeting and marrying Burl. The sub-title morphed through several forms until we were both satisfied. Then, just as we were about to publish, the cover image, "Sophia-Peace Through Wisdom" by Pamela Matthews, came along. The synchronicity of it sealed the deal.
Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre?
Burl Benson Hall: Spirituality. It's my passion and it's how I see the wholeness of the planet, the cosmos and across people of different philosophies and understandings of life.
Merry Stetson Hall: Burl says it beautifully. Spirituality is the crucial link in holistic healing of body, mind and spirit...as well as of our Mother Earth.
What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for?
Burl Benson Hall: The passion to express myself and my experiences was extremely powerful. Also, writing was in some senses sexual. It was a birthing. It was also an intercourse in which I was expressing ideas that were seminal to the reader and would initiate a conception within her. Indeed, in that insight I began seeing the entire cosmos as being sexual as reflected in the dance of Yin and Yang of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. The seminal input of the book's theme and thesis was ultimately seeing the unity behind the various religions throughout the world.
Merry Stetson Hall: So much light poured through me when I first read Burl's manuscript that I was moved to edit, refine, and add to it. It resonated with me as if it came from within me, and so I have used my training and talents as a PhD in English to share his light with the world.
What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process?
Burl Benson Hall: Writing and being creative. Most of the time I write off the top of my head. With the dreams, I would immediately flesh out the dreams on paper. This also helped me to see the themes across the dreams.
Merry Stetson Hall: Sharing--in a way cross pollinating--with Burl. We married late in life; Sophia's Web is our "baby".
Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided?
Burl Benson Hall: Frustrations in not being heard. How could it have been avoided? I'm not sure. My writings are speaking to a whole new paradigm for the human race: the ultimate unity of all religions, which many anchored in their faith will not want to hear. Thus I get people, both atheists and theists who come after me with tooth and nail. I enjoy debate, but many of these people would partake in ad hominum arguments which generated anger in me as well as making me wonder if indeed I was a "nut."
Merry Stetson Hall: Slower book sales than I feel this book deserves. The "new paradigm" in Sophia's Web that Burl mentions as a block for many potential readers seems such an obvious evolution in human thought to me. Therefore, I find it frustrating that so many others don't see it as part of the crucial move from head dominated, top-down thinking to heart based, inclusive thinking.
What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey?
Burl Benson Hall: Writing and creating. The thing about marketing, etc. is a drag for me. I'm not a sales person, but am passionate about the work and what it can do for the planet in general and humankind specifically.
Merry Stetson Hall: The perceptive and responsive readings and reviews of many other readers.
Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided?
Burl Benson Hall: Marketing in a profit-dominated world.
Merry Stetson Hall: Marketing in a profit-dominated world.
What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors?
Burl Benson Hall: Be yourself.
Merry Stetson Hall: Keep putting what you know to be authentic out there and promoting it faithfully; then leave the "results" in the hands of Universal Wisdom.
Who is your favorite author and why?
Burl Benson Hall: Joseph Campbell. His work helped pull my dreams together and helped show the cosmic aspects of the dream that we describing the depths of reality.
Merry Stetson Hall: His words helped me focus my own mission in life.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?
Burl Benson Hall: One of the chapters in the Bible's Book of Proverbs says of Sophia (Wisdom and Understanding in the English versions) "All Her Ways Are Peace." If the book can help bring peace to this fractured world of this vs that, then I will feel as if I had done my job.
Merry Stetson Hall: Amen to that!
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Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call To Heal Our Wounded Nature
by Burl Benson and Merry Stetson Hall
Sophia, the Spirit of Wisdom, has woven the multi-dimensional aspects of our lives—personal, relational, cultural, intellectual, scientific, philosophical, and spiritual—into a cosmic web. Burl Hall follows the thread within this web that connects his research in these fields to his personal mystical experience. In Sophia’s Web: A Passionate Call to Heal Our Wounded Nature, he takes the reader with him ever deeper into the heart of divine Wisdom. Sophia’s Web encourages readers to discover how they can co-create individual, planetary and universal health. It examines Burl Hall’s individual dreams, visions, passions, and missions, in the light of Wisdom (Sophia) shared by great thinkers in all disciplines.
Key topics in the book include:
Sophia, Goddess of WisdomThe Cosmic Web Uniting Philosophy, Religion, Science, Mythology, and Personal ExperienceOur Passionate Call to Heal Our Wounded NatureUnity within Diversity and Diversity within UnityThe Essential Power of the FeminineThe Destructiveness of Our Modern Corporate Emphasis on StandardizationFreeing Ourselves from the Dominant Patriarchal, Top-Down Social StructureOur Current Converging Crises Calling for Conscious Human EvolutionCo-Creating Individual, Planetary, and Universal HealthIntegrating Vision, Mission, and PassionHow Myths, Both Ancient and Modern, Relate to Our Lives and Our CultureAn Invitation to Become the Saving Grace You Were Born to Be*************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review for Sophia’s Web: A Passionate Call to Heal Our Wounded Nature by Burl Benson Hall with Merry Stetson Hall
Have you ever felt drawn into a moving thread of energy that is beyond yourself and seemingly beyond this earthly plane?
Burl Benson Hall began his journey into this universal energy thread around the age of four. His mystic guide, named “Sophia” in Greek mythology and early Christian writings, teaches Burl to experience and understand the feminine and the masculine forces that make up the energy in our universe.
Mystic, philosopher and author Burl Benson Hall brings his experiences, vision, passion and mission to heal our individual inner wounded nature, the natural world around us (our planet) and all of humankind in his book, Sophia’s Web. He transforms a complicated philosophical theory into layman’s terms using his own experiences, poetry, scripture, parables and metaphors. For an example: “She reaches mightily from one end of the Earth to the other and while remaining in herself, she renews all things….and orders all things well. Solomon 7:27, 8:1”
In her foreword to Sophia’s Web Carolyn Baker, author of Collapsing Consciously says: “Sophia’s Web is the saga of Burl Hall’s journey from fleeting visions of Sophia in childhood to a mature, surrendered embrace of the Sacred Feminine which now underpins and informs his life, his work, and his connection with the earth community.”
In my reviews I always quote passages so the reader can get a sense of the author’s style and purpose. These are direct quotations from Sophia’s Web:
“Sophia is the archetypal image of the feminine principle and thus partner to the masculine god. She is present in all traditions, mythologies, and religions-in Hinduism she is Shakti, in Egyptian myth she is called Isis. Traditionally it is in the gnostic, mystical, and alchemical traditions that the feminine face of the divine is central and present.”
“This book purpose, then is to bring peace through the integration of seemingly opposing forces.”
“In order to achieve this peace, much emotional and spiritual work is required, but in Sophia’s Web, Burl and Merry Hall tantalize us with the rewards of doing that work and compel us to embrace the journey with Sophia, “for indeed our lives and our planet depend on it.”
Cold Coffee Press Endorses Sophia’s Web: A Passionate Call to Heal Our Wounded Nature by Burl Benson Hall as a personal, relational, intellectual, scientific and spiritual resource for those seeking inner healing and a desire to commune with nature and deity to heal our mother earth. This book was given to us to review in a Kindle e-book format. The review was completed on July 16, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
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************************** Amazon Customer Reviews Amazon Print Purchase Link Kindle Purchase Link Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link
**************************If someone reading this interview would like to enter into conversation with us about this, we would be happy to respond here or at our website: www.envisionthismedia.com/sophia-s-web
************************Visit Burl and Merry on the web where they blog, post about their radio guests, and converse with folks: www.envisionthismedia.com
************************ Blog Talk Radio Donate Email
************************ Burl Benson Hall Amazon Author’s Page Merry Stetson Hall Amazon Author’s Page
************************ Cold Coffee Café Author’s Page Cold Coffee Press Author’s Page
July 14, 2015
Out Of The Picture by Augustus M. Cileone
Out Of The Picture by Augustus M. Cileone
Vince Singleton, a writer, part-time English professor at Philadelphia Sacred Covenant University, and huge movie fan, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He witnessed the accidental shooting of his wife by a policeman during a robbery. Vince, however, suspects that her death was intentional. Now, an old friend of his is found dead amid unusual clues. Vince helps the lieutenant working the case, despite his wariness of policemen. Faculty members associated with animal abuse are murdered and strange items are discovered near the bodies. Vince determines that the clues refer to movies, and, with the help of his daughter, his journalist brother, and a female professor, tries to find the killer before another person is taken … out of the picture.
*************************
Cold Coffee Press 5 Star Book Review For
Out Of The Picture by Augustus M. Cileone
Nothing can go wrong in the close-knit community surrounding Philadelphia Sacred Covenant University in North Philadelphia, USA or can it?
Vince Singleton is retired, but works 3 days a week teaching in the English Department and his co-worker Gina Alimentare makes it bearable with her Italian American homemade cannoli, rum cake, or ricotta cheese cake just to name a few. Even though they have a good working relationship where humor is battered about, Vince just isn’t himself some days and gets under Gina’s skin “What’s the matter with you?” demanded Gina. “Is your crazy barometer reading high today? You know, Patterson asked me to make allowances for your weirdness, but, sometimes you can be annoying as hell.”
Well-developed characters surround Vince Singleton and his daughter Hope. Post-traumatic stress is just one complication Vince faces since the death of his wife Jewel. When his long time college buddy who encouraged and helped him land his teaching position is murdered even his ongoing therapy sessions with Dr. Michael Probst don’t stop the panic attacks.
Vince finds solace with his furry cat friend named Jellybean, as he is compelled as a film enthusiast to get involved in the murder mystery when the clues tie into movie trivia. The pressure is mounting to find this killer before next victim is found dead.
Do the animal rights activists play a role in this evolving mystery?
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Out Of The Picture’ by Augustus M. Cileone for the artful writing style that draws the reader into the murder mystery and keeps the reader guessing until the end. This book was given to us to review in a Kindle/PDF. The review was completed on July 12, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Review
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes and Nobles Print Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link
Other Purchase Links
http://booksonline.website/book/24966507-out-of-the-picture.html
Author’s Published Books
A Lesson In Murder
Feast or Famine
Out of the Picture
Author’s Website
Author’s Blog
Related Links
Goodreads
Cold Coffee Café Author’s Page
Cold Coffee Press Author’s Page
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Augustus M. Cileone
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Augustus M. Cileone
Augustus Cileone won the Dark Oak Mystery Contest sponsored by Oak Tree Press, for the novel, A Lesson in Murder, about homicides associated with a Philadelphia Quaker school.
His second novel, Feast or Famine, a satire, deals with a traumatized man dealing with his Catholic Italian American upbringing in the 1960's and 1970's.
His latest novel, Out of the Picture, published by Sage Words Publishing, is a mystery loaded with movie references, and deals with social outsiders.
He has been honored for his writing by Annual Art Affair, Hidden River Arts, the annual Writer’s Digest writing competition for two plays, The Philadelphia Writers’ Conference, the Montgomery County Community College’s Annual Writers’ Club Poetry and Fiction Contest, Filmmakers International Screenwriting Awards, and the Annual StoryPros International Screenplay Contest.
His short stories appear in the anthologies entitled South Philly Fiction and Death Knell V, and in the literary periodical Schuylkill Valley Journal.
*************************Interview:
What makes you proud to be a writer from Philadelphia? I think it’s because of the strong loyalty its people have for anyone associated with this historic town. Everyone pulls for each other to do well.
What or who inspired you to become a writer? I think it was being excited as a reader that led to the writing. I remember in eighth grade that the teacher had us read books that were not the typical ones one would find on the curriculum. Now this was in 1966. I read To Kill a Mockingbird and Seven Days in May, and loved them. I actually liked writing essays in school which analyzed literary works. That led to me wanting to tell my own stories in college.
When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I started to write short stories in college, but I had no idea as to how to get published. I submitted them to major magazines, like The New Yorker, but they were not worthy of publication at that point. They were more like exercises. I guess it was only when I wrote my first novel that I was serious about getting published.
Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? My family members were not readers, so the urge to write came from my schooling. I did use my Catholic Italian American upbringing in South Philadelphia in the 1960’s and 1970’s as the focus of my second novel, Feast or Famine, to address the need for religious and social rules and the urge to break those limitations when the desires of the individual had to be met.
Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? Always before. I feel the title gives the work a direction as to content and theme.
Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? Two of my novels and one short story would fall under the mystery genre category. I love the puzzle aspect of mysteries, trying to find the clues and putting them together to find the solution. But, my second novel is more of a coming-of-age work, and I have written short stories and plays that are not mysteries. So I’m not sure I would classify myself as a mystery writer.
What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? I have always loved movies. I have taken film studies courses for years at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute just outside Philadelphia. Since I have always been interested in mysteries, I thought it would be fun to write a mystery centered on characters and a plot involving movies. I also wanted themes having to do with outsiders and animal abuse.
What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? I enjoy writing dialogue, so I get a feeling of satisfaction when I can write a sharp, telling exchange of words between characters.
Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I think initially I was sending out work too quickly for consideration for publication without enough objective feedback and revision. I think acquiring a professional editor early on would have prevented premature submission.
What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? I guess most people would say the time they were first accepted for publication was the most rewarding. However, with me it was the subsequent acceptance of my fiction which gave me a feeling of validation.
Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I guess I was not ready for the degree of self-promotion that is now necessary for current writers. I am old school, and I was not aware of the need for the extent of participation in social media. I still have a great deal to learn about the business aspect of the publishing industry, which I am sorry to say can trump the importance of talent.
What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? It’s been said before, but I would say write about those areas in which you are emotionally invested.
Who is your favorite author and why? I don’t have a favorite author. I have favorite works by a variety of authors. They would be: Moby Dick; The Great Gatsby; The Stranger; The Sun Also Rises; and Brave New World. These are book that explore the human desire to understand our place in the universe and the different ways people deal with that knowledge.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I am donating the royalties I earn from most recent novel, Out of the Picture, to Kitty Cottage in East Norriton, PA. It is an animal shelter where I do volunteer work. You can find out about this organization at http://kittycottage.org.
Author’s Published Books
A Lesson In Murder
Feast or Famine
Out of the Picture
**************************
Featured Selection
Out Of The Picture by Augustus M. Cileone
Vince Singleton, a writer, part-time English professor at Philadelphia Sacred Covenant University, and huge movie fan, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He witnessed the accidental shooting of his wife by a policeman during a robbery. Vince, however, suspects that her death was intentional. Now, an old friend of his is found dead amid unusual clues. Vince helps the lieutenant working the case, despite his wariness of policemen. Faculty members associated with animal abuse are murdered and strange items are discovered near the bodies. Vince determines that the clues refer to movies, and, with the help of his daughter, his journalist brother, and a female professor, tries to find the killer before another person is taken … out of the picture.
************************
Cold Coffee Press 5 Star Book Review For
Out Of The Picture by Augustus M. Cileone
Nothing can go wrong in the close-knit community surrounding Philadelphia Sacred Covenant University in North Philadelphia, USA or can it?
Vince Singleton is retired, but works 3 days a week teaching in the English Department and his co-worker Gina Alimentare makes it bearable with her Italian American homemade cannoli, rum cake, or ricotta cheese cake just to name a few. Even though they have a good working relationship where humor is battered about, Vince just isn’t himself some days and gets under Gina’s skin “What’s the matter with you?” demanded Gina. “Is your crazy barometer reading high today? You know, Patterson asked me to make allowances for your weirdness, but, sometimes you can be annoying as hell.”
Well-developed characters surround Vince Singleton and his daughter Hope. Post-traumatic stress is just one complication Vince faces since the death of his wife Jewel. When his long time college buddy who encouraged and helped him land his teaching position is murdered even his ongoing therapy sessions with Dr. Michael Probst don’t stop the panic attacks.
Vince finds solace with his furry cat friend named Jellybean, as he is compelled as a film enthusiast to get involved in the murder mystery when the clues tie into movie trivia. The pressure is mounting to find this killer before next victim is found dead.
Do the animal rights activists play a role in this evolving mystery?
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Out Of The Picture’ by Augustus M. Cileone for the artful writing style that draws the reader into the murder mystery and keeps the reader guessing until the end. This book was given to us to review in a Kindle/PDF. The review was completed on July 12, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Review
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes and Nobles Print Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link
Other Purchase Links
http://booksonline.website/book/24966507-out-of-the-picture.html
Author’s Published Books
A Lesson In Murder
Feast or Famine
Out of the Picture
Author’s Website
Author’s Blog
Related Links
Goodreads
Cold Coffee Café Author’s Page
Cold Coffee Press Author’s Page
July 4, 2015
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Roads Dead End by Jennifer Robins
The Roads Dead End by Jennifer Robins
Clark and his wife Ginger head out from their apartment in a suburb in Arizona for a week’s vacation to a resort in the desert. They expect to find the old west as a theme in the park portrait with all the buildings and clothes of the old west to make it seem real, but what they find is nothing like the brochures advertised. Were they lost in a time warp, or did this place turn out to be a joke?
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Roads Dead End by Jennifer Robins
The Roads Dead End is another great paranormal romance adventure by Jennifer Robins.
This short story begins as Ginger who works at a medical center and her husband Clark who is an airport fight coordinator is destined to take a vacation to Alamo Lake Park. The brochures and vacation video has convinced Clark and Ginger that this desert resort is the vacation spot that they have been dreaming about.
“Soon they were on their way with the sun in the lower western sky still radiating heat to the earth in shimmering waves across the roads that led to the outer city limits. Evening was approaching and Clark wanted to get to the park before dark.”
Come vacation with Ginger and Clark as they need a much needed break from their professional lives and a romantic getaway to the Wild, Wild West! Or, was it a very strange place, nothing like what they'd expected!
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘The Roads Dead End’ as just one of many of Jennifer Robin’s paranormal adventures. We were given this book in a PDF format for review. The book review was completed on July 4, 2015. Please visit Cold Coffee Press for more information. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
Genre: Paranormal (Supernatural),
Amazon Reviews
Kindle Purchase Link
Author Jennifer Robins Published Books:
Abuse Me No More
An Author's Nightmare
Careful What You Wish
Emily's Other Face
Ghostly Antiques
Ghostly Antiques II: The Ancient Egyptian Bowl
Jeffrey
Mirror Mirror
Murder Me Twice
Outside That Door
Over The Mistletoe
Roads End
Secret Visions
The Ghost of Herbert Grezley
The Roads Dead End
To Christmas With Love
Trick or Threat
What Happened to Anna
Jennifer Robins’ Website
Jennifer Robins’ Blog
Cold Coffee Café
Cold Coffee Press
June 26, 2015
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St. by Clint Adams
EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St.
by Clint Adams
The stars are infallible; one's true destiny cannot be altered. Or can it?
A descendant of presidents John and John Quincy Adams, and the black sheep of her family, astrologer Evangeline Adams flees provincial Boston in 1899 to launch her business in New York City. On the train ride, she casts her own horoscopic chart. Her findings--death on November 10, 1932 and an unusual intimate union--alarm her. Soon after, she meets actress and suffragist Emma Sheridan-Fry, and she spends the rest of her life torn between society's restrictions and the trail-blazing nature that made her one of the most prominent female businesswomen of her time.
Peopled with real historical figures, including J.P. Morgan, King Edward VII, Enrico Caruso, Rudolph Valentino, Charles Schwab, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Sheridan-Fry (who was known to have been a "companion" of Evangeline's) and occult figure Aleister Crowley, Evangeline.
The Seer of Wall St. immerses readers in a New York populated with the Wall Street wealthy and the downtrodden, all of whom visited Evangeline's Carnegie Hall office.
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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For EVANGELINE:
The Seer of Wall St. by Clint Adams
“Six thousand five hundred and seventy days remain in my life, according to my astrological calculations.” This is a quote from Evangeline Adams who becomes famous as the seer of Wall Street. Not only is she a descendant of President John Quincy Adams, she one of America’s first female entrepreneurs.
Author Clint Adams has learned through thousands of hours of research and development that he is not part of Evangeline Adams’ lineage. His diligent research births this incredible historical fiction based on facts that he presents extremely well while telling Evangeline Adams’ life as an American astrologist.
Evangeline navigates adversity at the threshold of the Twenty Century in American society where women just acquired the right to vote, where women were not acknowledged as business professionals and where astrology was kept in the shadows due to “witchcraft” references by the religious and sometimes elite.
To help you understand that Evangeline is not a fortuneteller here are a couple of quotes from Evangeline herself as she explains differences between astronomy and astrology to a judge.
“Astronomy is the study of all objects outside our world. It, too, is a science. Astronomy, you could say, came from astrology. Yes, you are correct when you mentioned interpretation. Astrology is the oldest, most ancient, of all sciences.”
“Yes. Astrology is the science which describes the influence of the heavenly bodies upon mundane affairs, upon human character and life. To be most clear-cut, it is a mathematical or exact science deciphered via astronomy, which describes the heavenly bodies and explains their motions, etc.”
If you have an interest in history as it relates to the mindset of the most powerful people on Wall Street and on the world stage this is a must read. Learn how astrology influenced the business decisions that have affected trade, commerce and currency, influence and wealth in America and around the world.
Real life influential people including J.P. Morgan, King Edward VII, Enrico Caruso, Rudolph Valentino, Charles Schwab, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Emma Sheridan-Fry (who was known to have been a ‘companion’ of Evangeline's) and occult figure Aleister Crowley sought the expert advice from “Evangeline: The Seer of Wall St.”
Get to know Miss Evangeline Adams’ life, business, relationships, romance and internal struggles for answers of her own. This is an interesting quote from Evangeline. “What can be understood is what the stars have in store, the free will we possess and how it affects our destiny. But the ways in which the Almighty intervenes is a concept that left even me baffled. Speaking to clergy had led me nowhere, since every member I’d ever sought out had refused interaction with me. This was what upset me most, for my beloved astrology to be confused with demonology, in addition to me time and time again being written off. How very unfair.”
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St.’ by Clint Adams for his ability to bring the reader into this period of time in U.S. History where Evangeline’s services were not commercial entertainment, but surprisingly essential and routine for our country’s, and the world’s, most influential people. We were given this book to review in a PDF format. The review was completed on June 22, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
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Don't Be Afraid of Heaven
by Clint Adams
How in the world did fear ever become so popular, especially when it never should have existed in the first place?
Why were we put here to do what we want, if we end up being too afraid to do it? In DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN, 13-year old Miguel Estes feels that being "scared to death," and having "the life scared out of me," are no longer just tired, old expressions.they've become part of a world-wide epidemic. Now rid of the fears that once paralyzed him, Miguel decides to help others eliminate theirs; he founds F.A.A.T. (Fear Ain't All That), an after-school group with his eccentric but wise Aunt Shirley.
In its first meeting Miguel befriends Samantha, a girl diagnosed as having an exotic variety of phobias, fears, and anxieties. With a fierce determination, Miguel helps Samantha rid her life of one debilitating fear after another. Together, Miguel and Samantha learn much about life, fear, and death. Revelations from Aunt Shirley, and recurrent dreams of his brother Jorge (who already lives in heaven), also remind Miguel that "heaven is a far better place than here. It's nothing to be afraid of; it's the perfect place to be. Everything about it is perfect."
After undergoing a radical transformation, a stronger-than-ever-before Samantha, grows to be ill. As her condition worsens, Aunt Shirley informs Miguel that the greatest lesson he can possibly share with his dear friend is to help her be unafraid of going to heaven. Of course he's uncertain about accepting this task. But, paradoxically, it ends up being Samantha who teaches Miguel. Prior to leaving, Samantha feels only joy, excitement, and relief about her upcoming journey; Miguel, due to Samantha's experience, becomes unafraid of his own mortality. Samantha, now completely fearless, moves on; although left behind, Miguel celebrates Samantha's life as well as her death.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN is the sequel to FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT, two multicultural fear-eliminating novels for teens.
AUTHOR INFO: Born in Oakland, California, Clint Adams, now lives in Viareggio, Italy. Having authored numerous academic publications while at the Washington Post and McGraw-Hill, Clint now actively markets his two fear-eliminating novels for teens, FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT and its sequel, DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN. Before writing, Clint was a professional actor with over 100 credits in TV, film, and theatre. Clint earned a bachelor's degree in drama from the University of California at Berkeley, and his master's in marketing from San Francisco's Golden Gate University.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
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Fear Ain't All That
by Clint Adams
How in the world did fear ever become so popular, especially when it never should have existed in the first place?
Why were we put here to do what we want, if we end up being too afraid to do it?
For some who read FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT, learning to exist without fear is an option. For twelve-year old Miguel Estes, it's a necessity. Miguel happens to live with a fatal form of the skin-blistering disease E.B., yet believing he'll have a future is what sustains him. "The longer you keep your To Do list, the longer you'll have to hang around to get everything done," says Miguel's Aunt Shirley.
Through his insightful aunt, through his dreams about his brother Jorge in heaven, and through the challenging lessons he's chosen to learn, Miguel is able to eliminate nearly every fear within him-all that's left is his mighty power of belief. In the end, Miguel is the ultimate victor; he realizes he's living life the way it was meant to be lived without fear.
FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT (review): In Fear Ain't All That, Clint Adams has crafted a beautiful, very touching book, full of wisdom about life: Becoming comfortable at being different; Dealing with anger; Staying with hope; and most important, creating one's own destiny. I couldn't put it down, and strongly recommend it to both young people and adults. - Carla Perez, M.D., 13-year talk show host, ABC-Radio practicing psychiatrist for over thirty years FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT is the prequel to DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN, two multicultural fear-eliminating novels for teens.
AUTHOR INFO: Born in Oakland, California, Clint Adams, now lives in Viareggio, Italy. Having authored numerous academic publications while at the Washington Post and McGraw-Hill, Clint now actively markets his two fear-eliminating novels for teens, FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT and its sequel, DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN. Before writing, Clint was a professional actor with over 100 credits in TV, film, and theatre. Clint earned a bachelor's degree in drama from the University of California at Berkeley, and his master's in marketing from San Francisco's Golden Gate University.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
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Just Say Mikey
by Clint Adams
Just Say Mikey…an incredible journey from the insidious grips of fear…to the elation of ultimate freedom.
In today's world, a climate dominated by technological advancements, it may be time to play spiritual "catch up." Upgrades provide infinite options, but now more than ever people are finding one, single enhancement to be the most important they will ever implement, the elimination of fear from their lives.
Miguel, the central character in this mainstream novel for adults and young adults is unique, yet he shares a trait common to many children; a lifetime measured by days instead of years. Miguel happens to live with the skin-blistering disease Epidermolysis Bullosa, but he spends little time thinking about it. For Miguel, living with fear is far more deadly than this potentially fatal disease that encompasses his life.
Miguel happens to command an extraordinary ability to view life as few others do, with razor-sharp insights and an unwavering spiritual conviction that all things are possible to those who believe. The action in this novel revolves around Miguel's many changes and transformations as he comes to realize that he was put on earth for a purpose, to teach others about the enormous power of belief and faith (in themselves)…just as ( Miguel believes) God intended.
Just Say Mikey is told solely through Miguel's point of view, yet it is not a children's (juvenile or middle-grade) book.
Opposing perspectives dominate the three main characters in this book. The protagonist, of course, is Miguel, a boy who is open to change, open to any new ways of keeping himself alive. Throughout the course of this story Miguel learns and applies these new ways taught to him by his Aunt Shirley (Kirkland), a woman who may be thought of as eccentric, revolutionary, and wise all at once. The antagonist is fear itself, personified in this story by Miguel's mother, Shirley's sister, Sharon Kirkland-Estes, a woman who loves her son dearly, but happens to be paralyzing him with her imposing fears and (dis)beliefs.
The geographical setting is comprised of three radically different environments within the San Francisco Bay Area, all in present-day. First is the luxurious, opulent, thirtieth-floor Nob Hill (San Francisco) apartment in which Miguel and his mother live. Second is Aunt Shirley's serenely beautiful and sanctuary-like house in the Berkeley hills. Third is the hygienic and medicinal world of the Lucille Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University (Palo Alto/Menlo Park). Many other Bay Area locales are significantly featured: Big Sur, Bodega Bay, Golden Gate Park, Marin County, and more.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
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My Watch Doesn't Tell Time
by Clint Adams
"What if time runs out?" is the question that makes 14-year old Miguel Estes sweat every night. Miguel's certain of three things though: he's here to learn lessons, he lives with a fatal form of the skin-blistering disease E.B., and the clock never stops ticking. In his quest to learn everything from the challenging life he's been given, Miguel discovers who's responsible for time being over.
My Watch Doesn't Tell Time is the third in a series of muticultural, fear-eliminating teen novels, which includes Fear Ain't All That and Don't Be Afraid of Heaven.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
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The Seventh Ritual
by Clint Adams
'The Seventh Ritual: a race for survival,' a novel for adults based on a true story, is a remarkable journey through fear, grit, discovery, forgiveness and triumph….with a few laughs in between. (Cover copy): "You must discover the cause of your unhappiness by the end of this year…or you will not live to see the next.” Disgusted and disbelieving, 34-year old Paul Jacobson dismisses what he’s told by a Greenwich Village psychic. Only days later, while running in the New York City Marathon, Paul’s mind positions him back to a past he’s never known. This journey begins the race for his life.
Genre: Adult Thriller
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Hardcover Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Hardcover Print Purchase Link
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Author’s Published Books Don't Be Afraid of Heaven
EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St
Fear Ain't All That
Just Say Mikey
My Watch Doesn't Tell Time
The Seventh Ritual
Author’s Websites Author's Website Author’s Blog 1
Author’s Blog 2
Goodreads
Cold Coffee Cafe Cold Coffee Press ************************
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Clint Adams
Along with enjoying a peaceful life in rural Northern Nevada, Clint Adams is now marketing his first historical novel, EVANGELINE The Seer of Wall St.. His first novel for adults, a thriller: The Seventh Ritual, a race for survival. After having spent over a decade prior as a teen-fiction author, Clint leaves young adult publishing with a smile on his face…and lots of good memories.
Since the publication of his first novel, Just Say Mikey in 2002, Clint Adams has conducted dozens of his No Time for Fear workshops in an effort to help teens everywhere maintain that “I can do anything” attitude. In conjunction with these events, Clint actively marketed his three multicultural, fear-eliminating novels, Fear Ain’t All That, and its sequels, Don’t Be Afraid of Heaven and My Watch Doesn’t Tell Time. He has also authored numerous academic publications while at The Washington Post and McGraw-Hill publishing, and has been a member of the Authors Guild for over fifteen years.
Clint earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in drama from the University of California, Berkeley, studied creative writing at San Francisco State University and received his master's degree in marketing from San Francisco's Golden Gate University.
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Author’s Published Books Don't Be Afraid of Heaven
EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St
Fear Ain't All That
Just Say Mikey
My Watch Doesn't Tell Time
The Seventh Ritual
Author’s Websites
Author's Website
Author’s Blog 1
Author’s Blog 2
Goodreads
Cold Coffee Cafe
Cold Coffee Press
************************Interview:
What makes you proud to be a writer from Nevada? I'm most proud that I've been at this for 20+ years, have given up a few times along the way, but I always come back. Very difficult to answer where I'm from. Born in Oakland, CA, became an Italian citizen ten years ago to predominantly market my books in Europe and now live in rural northern Nevada.
What or who inspired you to become a writer? I became a writer long ago to do nothing more than get the truth out.' My adult thriller, THE SEVENTH RITUAL, evidences this. The author, Alice Walker, inspired me a great deal because I feel that her inspiration was identical to mine -- thrilled to have met her at Kepler's bookstore in Menlo Park, CA over twenty years ago; even more thrilled to see her smile once I told her, "You inspired me to write."
When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? Again, I wrote with the intention of getting the truth out, not necessarily for pleasure. Having the truth published became a necessity for me. Now, I find great pleasure in the process of writing creatively.
Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? Absolutely. My upbringing was the sole content of THE SEVENTH RITUAL. Very little difference between fact and fiction in that one.
Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? I'd have to say during. Just like all other writers, I assume, titles change as the project takes shape. The title never ends up being the same one I thought it was going to be. A word of advice to folks starting out: Always research (Google) prospective titles before selecting one. Makes it too difficult to put out a book with a title that already exists.
Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? I'm now onto my third; historical fiction. After having completed 12 drafts of my current novel, EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St., I never would have imagined how much research has/needs to go into its development. As I mentioned, I'd also written an adult thriller, a screenplay adaptation of the same, and several novels for teens/young adults.
What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? Great question! EVANGELINE was always a back burner project, mainly because I'd believed for so long that I was related to its subject, Evangeline Adams. But, never did I think I'd have interest in writing about her (because I don't do biographies)...until I'd read, what I believed to be, a fascinating tidbit about her in Wikipedia. It was indeed a light bulb that went off, telling me, "Now, there's your story!" So, why not attempt historical fiction?
What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? For this particular book, spending three years getting to know one of America's first female entrepreneurs, Evangeline Adams.
Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? MANY! Without question, seeking the approval/acceptance of a/any literary agent or publisher has been the most disempowering experience of my life. I'll NEVER do it again. The dedication in EVANGELINE reads, "To those wise enough to know that yours is the only 'yes' that matters." I hope this dedication will inspire other writers to know that they need no one else to make THEIR dream(s) come true.
What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? I have two. The first was my years having visited students in schools to promote my books. They were brilliant! The exchanges we had were priceless and they left impressions on me that will last a lifetime. I miss those kids. The second was, inevitably, getting the truth out via THE SEVENTH RITUAL (novel and screenplay). Not only was the experience cathartic, but the horror that had lived inside me was transferred from my body to someone else's, a stranger's, bookshelf. The truth no longer lived inside me; it was set free.
What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Well, the obvious, keep going! But, going back to my current novel's dedication, I'd tell young writers, "Don't ever ask anyone else, 'Do you like what I've written?' If YOU like it, that's all that matters. After 20+ years at this, the writing journey is for the writer alone. Whatever happens after publication is gravy...NOT the end result."
Who is your favorite author and why? As I mentioned previously, Alice Walker. Or...anyone who tells a story in a voice I've never heard before. Don't forget the old saying: "Every story's already been told, but it's the WAY it's told that makes it new/fresh/interesting." I'm paraphrasing, but I think you get it.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? Yes, don't expect anything to happen overnight. Another thought: writing is a craft...it gets better with practice.
How many published books do you have? 6: one historical novel; one adult thriller; four young adult novels.
Which book title would you like featured in this interview? EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St. -- now out in hardcover, paperback, Kindle and non-Kindle eBook editions. Audio version to come.
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EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St.
by Clint Adams
The stars are infallible; one's true destiny cannot be altered. Or can it?
A descendant of presidents John and John Quincy Adams, and the black sheep of her family, astrologer Evangeline Adams flees provincial Boston in 1899 to launch her business in New York City. On the train ride, she casts her own horoscopic chart. Her findings--death on November 10, 1932 and an unusual intimate union--alarm her. Soon after, she meets actress and suffragist Emma Sheridan-Fry, and she spends the rest of her life torn between society's restrictions and the trail-blazing nature that made her one of the most prominent female businesswomen of her time.
Peopled with real historical figures, including J.P. Morgan, King Edward VII, Enrico Caruso, Rudolph Valentino, Charles Schwab, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Sheridan-Fry (who was known to have been a "companion" of Evangeline's) and occult figure Aleister Crowley, Evangeline.
The Seer of Wall St. immerses readers in a New York populated with the Wall Street wealthy and the downtrodden, all of whom visited Evangeline's Carnegie Hall office.
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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For EVANGELINE:
The Seer of Wall St. by Clint Adams
“Six thousand five hundred and seventy days remain in my life, according to my astrological calculations.” This is a quote from Evangeline Adams who becomes famous as the seer of Wall Street. Not only is she a descendant of President John Quincy Adams, she one of America’s first female entrepreneurs.
Author Clint Adams has learned through thousands of hours of research and development that he is not part of Evangeline Adams’ lineage. His diligent research births this incredible historical fiction based on facts that he presents extremely well while telling Evangeline Adams’ life as an American astrologist.
Evangeline navigates adversity at the threshold of the Twenty Century in American society where women just acquired the right to vote, where women were not acknowledged as business professionals and where astrology was kept in the shadows due to “witchcraft” references by the religious and sometimes elite.
To help you understand that Evangeline is not a fortuneteller here are a couple of quotes from Evangeline herself as she explains differences between astronomy and astrology to a judge.
“Astronomy is the study of all objects outside our world. It, too, is a science. Astronomy, you could say, came from astrology. Yes, you are correct when you mentioned interpretation. Astrology is the oldest, most ancient, of all sciences.”
“Yes. Astrology is the science which describes the influence of the heavenly bodies upon mundane affairs, upon human character and life. To be most clear-cut, it is a mathematical or exact science deciphered via astronomy, which describes the heavenly bodies and explains their motions, etc.”
If you have an interest in history as it relates to the mindset of the most powerful people on Wall Street and on the world stage this is a must read. Learn how astrology influenced the business decisions that have affected trade, commerce and currency, influence and wealth in America and around the world.
Real life influential people including J.P. Morgan, King Edward VII, Enrico Caruso, Rudolph Valentino, Charles Schwab, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Emma Sheridan-Fry (who was known to have been a ‘companion’ of Evangeline's) and occult figure Aleister Crowley sought the expert advice from “Evangeline: The Seer of Wall St.”
Get to know Miss Evangeline Adams’ life, business, relationships, romance and internal struggles for answers of her own. This is an interesting quote from Evangeline. “What can be understood is what the stars have in store, the free will we possess and how it affects our destiny. But the ways in which the Almighty intervenes is a concept that left even me baffled. Speaking to clergy had led me nowhere, since every member I’d ever sought out had refused interaction with me. This was what upset me most, for my beloved astrology to be confused with demonology, in addition to me time and time again being written off. How very unfair.”
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘EVANGELINE: The Seer of Wall St.’ by Clint Adams for his ability to bring the reader into this period of time in U.S. History where Evangeline’s services were not commercial entertainment, but surprisingly essential and routine for our country’s, and the world’s, most influential people. We were given this book to review in a PDF format. The review was completed on June 22, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
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Book Excerpt Link
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Hardcover Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Hardcover Print Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link
Google Books Purchase Link
Smashwords
Amazon.co.uk
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Don't Be Afraid of Heaven
by Clint Adams
How in the world did fear ever become so popular, especially when it never should have existed in the first place?
Why were we put here to do what we want, if we end up being too afraid to do it? In DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN, 13-year old Miguel Estes feels that being "scared to death," and having "the life scared out of me," are no longer just tired, old expressions.they've become part of a world-wide epidemic. Now rid of the fears that once paralyzed him, Miguel decides to help others eliminate theirs; he founds F.A.A.T. (Fear Ain't All That), an after-school group with his eccentric but wise Aunt Shirley.
In its first meeting Miguel befriends Samantha, a girl diagnosed as having an exotic variety of phobias, fears, and anxieties. With a fierce determination, Miguel helps Samantha rid her life of one debilitating fear after another. Together, Miguel and Samantha learn much about life, fear, and death. Revelations from Aunt Shirley, and recurrent dreams of his brother Jorge (who already lives in heaven), also remind Miguel that "heaven is a far better place than here. It's nothing to be afraid of; it's the perfect place to be. Everything about it is perfect."
After undergoing a radical transformation, a stronger-than-ever-before Samantha, grows to be ill. As her condition worsens, Aunt Shirley informs Miguel that the greatest lesson he can possibly share with his dear friend is to help her be unafraid of going to heaven. Of course he's uncertain about accepting this task. But, paradoxically, it ends up being Samantha who teaches Miguel. Prior to leaving, Samantha feels only joy, excitement, and relief about her upcoming journey; Miguel, due to Samantha's experience, becomes unafraid of his own mortality. Samantha, now completely fearless, moves on; although left behind, Miguel celebrates Samantha's life as well as her death.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN is the sequel to FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT, two multicultural fear-eliminating novels for teens.
AUTHOR INFO: Born in Oakland, California, Clint Adams, now lives in Viareggio, Italy. Having authored numerous academic publications while at the Washington Post and McGraw-Hill, Clint now actively markets his two fear-eliminating novels for teens, FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT and its sequel, DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN. Before writing, Clint was a professional actor with over 100 credits in TV, film, and theatre. Clint earned a bachelor's degree in drama from the University of California at Berkeley, and his master's in marketing from San Francisco's Golden Gate University.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
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Fear Ain't All That
by Clint Adams
How in the world did fear ever become so popular, especially when it never should have existed in the first place?
Why were we put here to do what we want, if we end up being too afraid to do it?
For some who read FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT, learning to exist without fear is an option. For twelve-year old Miguel Estes, it's a necessity. Miguel happens to live with a fatal form of the skin-blistering disease E.B., yet believing he'll have a future is what sustains him. "The longer you keep your To Do list, the longer you'll have to hang around to get everything done," says Miguel's Aunt Shirley.
Through his insightful aunt, through his dreams about his brother Jorge in heaven, and through the challenging lessons he's chosen to learn, Miguel is able to eliminate nearly every fear within him-all that's left is his mighty power of belief. In the end, Miguel is the ultimate victor; he realizes he's living life the way it was meant to be lived without fear.
FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT (review): In Fear Ain't All That, Clint Adams has crafted a beautiful, very touching book, full of wisdom about life: Becoming comfortable at being different; Dealing with anger; Staying with hope; and most important, creating one's own destiny. I couldn't put it down, and strongly recommend it to both young people and adults. - Carla Perez, M.D., 13-year talk show host, ABC-Radio practicing psychiatrist for over thirty years FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT is the prequel to DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN, two multicultural fear-eliminating novels for teens.
AUTHOR INFO: Born in Oakland, California, Clint Adams, now lives in Viareggio, Italy. Having authored numerous academic publications while at the Washington Post and McGraw-Hill, Clint now actively markets his two fear-eliminating novels for teens, FEAR AIN'T ALL THAT and its sequel, DON'T BE AFRAID OF HEAVEN. Before writing, Clint was a professional actor with over 100 credits in TV, film, and theatre. Clint earned a bachelor's degree in drama from the University of California at Berkeley, and his master's in marketing from San Francisco's Golden Gate University.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
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Just Say Mikey
by Clint Adams
Just Say Mikey…an incredible journey from the insidious grips of fear…to the elation of ultimate freedom.
In today's world, a climate dominated by technological advancements, it may be time to play spiritual "catch up." Upgrades provide infinite options, but now more than ever people are finding one, single enhancement to be the most important they will ever implement, the elimination of fear from their lives.
Miguel, the central character in this mainstream novel for adults and young adults is unique, yet he shares a trait common to many children; a lifetime measured by days instead of years. Miguel happens to live with the skin-blistering disease Epidermolysis Bullosa, but he spends little time thinking about it. For Miguel, living with fear is far more deadly than this potentially fatal disease that encompasses his life.
Miguel happens to command an extraordinary ability to view life as few others do, with razor-sharp insights and an unwavering spiritual conviction that all things are possible to those who believe. The action in this novel revolves around Miguel's many changes and transformations as he comes to realize that he was put on earth for a purpose, to teach others about the enormous power of belief and faith (in themselves)…just as ( Miguel believes) God intended.
Just Say Mikey is told solely through Miguel's point of view, yet it is not a children's (juvenile or middle-grade) book.
Opposing perspectives dominate the three main characters in this book. The protagonist, of course, is Miguel, a boy who is open to change, open to any new ways of keeping himself alive. Throughout the course of this story Miguel learns and applies these new ways taught to him by his Aunt Shirley (Kirkland), a woman who may be thought of as eccentric, revolutionary, and wise all at once. The antagonist is fear itself, personified in this story by Miguel's mother, Shirley's sister, Sharon Kirkland-Estes, a woman who loves her son dearly, but happens to be paralyzing him with her imposing fears and (dis)beliefs.
The geographical setting is comprised of three radically different environments within the San Francisco Bay Area, all in present-day. First is the luxurious, opulent, thirtieth-floor Nob Hill (San Francisco) apartment in which Miguel and his mother live. Second is Aunt Shirley's serenely beautiful and sanctuary-like house in the Berkeley hills. Third is the hygienic and medicinal world of the Lucille Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University (Palo Alto/Menlo Park). Many other Bay Area locales are significantly featured: Big Sur, Bodega Bay, Golden Gate Park, Marin County, and more.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
************************
My Watch Doesn't Tell Time
by Clint Adams
"What if time runs out?" is the question that makes 14-year old Miguel Estes sweat every night. Miguel's certain of three things though: he's here to learn lessons, he lives with a fatal form of the skin-blistering disease E.B., and the clock never stops ticking. In his quest to learn everything from the challenging life he's been given, Miguel discovers who's responsible for time being over.
My Watch Doesn't Tell Time is the third in a series of muticultural, fear-eliminating teen novels, which includes Fear Ain't All That and Don't Be Afraid of Heaven.
Genre: Young Adult
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Print Purchase Link
************************
The Seventh Ritual
by Clint Adams
'The Seventh Ritual: a race for survival,' a novel for adults based on a true story, is a remarkable journey through fear, grit, discovery, forgiveness and triumph….with a few laughs in between. (Cover copy): "You must discover the cause of your unhappiness by the end of this year…or you will not live to see the next.” Disgusted and disbelieving, 34-year old Paul Jacobson dismisses what he’s told by a Greenwich Village psychic. Only days later, while running in the New York City Marathon, Paul’s mind positions him back to a past he’s never known. This journey begins the race for his life.
Genre: Adult Thriller
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Hardcover Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Hardcover Print Purchase Link
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June 14, 2015
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Beautiful to Behold by M.D. Wiselka
Beautiful to Behold (The Dark Brethren Series Book 1)
by M.D. Wiselka
Star-crossed lovers struggle to survive the German invasion of Poland at the opening of the Second World War.
Since childhood, twenty-four-year-old Owen Linet has been plagued by bad dreams, or rather the same bad dream, of a man called Hector, who claims to be dead. Hector possesses a strange black cloak on which is stitched a series of golden symbols—“Words” that Hector, their “bearer”, claims have miraculous powers when spoken. Hector gifts a Word to Owen—one that he claims can not only take life, but also restore it.
Twenty-two-year-old Polish partisan, Jacek Tarasek, is ordered to follow a suspicious foreigner, a British artist named Owen Linet, who closely resembles a man from Jacek’s past—someone Jacek would just as soon forget. Jacek’s worst fears are soon realized when he learns that Owen is not only his avowed enemy, but something infinitely worse—a devil in human form, with the power to take life with a mere word. When Jacek can’t bring himself to destroy the man with whom he is falling deeply in love, he is forced to confront his flawed understanding of good and evil.
Publisher’s Note: Beautiful to Behold is a male-male love story and contains homoerotic sex acts that may be offensive to some readers.
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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For ‘Beautiful to Behold’ by M.D. Wiselka
The author of ‘Beautiful to Behold’ writes under the nom de plume (pen name) M.D. Wiselka. This 728 page book takes place at the beginning of WWII, just as Poland is first invaded and is the first in a series.
Instead of a Table of Contents the author has chosen to use Sections (parts) with titles. Each section has title, location, with a date and occasionally the actual time and sometimes the season of the year. This book is actually a mixture of genres including fiction, historical reference, war, gay romance with some paranormal undertones.
Each section follows a well-defined narrative format with easy-to-follow conversations. There are many unique complex characters like British artist Owen Linet who has been tormented by bad dreams. The author’s extensive travel throughout Europe and research into descendants from Poland who later immigrated to the US in 1913 has greatly influenced the setting and story line.
This avid reader would not have typically picked up this book to read, but interestingly I found that the story line held my attention. Although this book comes with an adult content warning due to gay (male-male) romance and adult language I did not find it crude or offensive. The sex is intense, but not overly explicit and the romance is touching and realistic. The author tells a story and within this story weaves a romance.
Like with all my reviews I am careful not to spoil the read. However, I always quote one or two portions from the book that catches my attention in hopes to give the potential reader a sense of this author’s writing style. Early on in the book this line from a main character caught my attention. “Sooner or later, your past catches up with you. His was sitting three rows back from him in a darkened theater, sipping soda noisily through a paper straw.”
Descriptive excerpt quote from the book: “Owen turned to look out the rain streaked window. Mother was still standing alone beneath the metal awning, her shawl drawn tightly about her hunched shoulders, a brave, if false, smile on her face, which made Owen if not quite regret his decision to go with Dad, once more question the wisdom of it. But she would have Ned and Lily to keep her company, and he could come home any time it pleased him, if he found Warsaw didn’t suit him, if his mother needed him. He lifted a hand to wave to her as the aero plane began to slowly taxi down the runway. Her face was a smear of warm light in the dreary rain, soon gone as the aero plane sped away. Dad looked at him. Owen smiled sympathetically. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
A thought on war excerpt from the book: “Jacek had never considered their odds in the light of dry statistics. Had someone told him that the German army was five times the size of the Polish army, that it had twenty times the number of planes, tanks and guns, he would have said, without hesitation, “but we will still win.” He would have said it with conviction, because he believed wars were not won with planes or tanks or guns, but with spirit. Our cause is a noble one. We are in the right. God is on our side, and with God’s help, we will triumph against the Germans, just as we did against the Russians twenty years ago. The keystone of his faith—the justness of his cause. We can’t lose, because we’re the good guys, and the good guys never lose.”
A taste of supernatural excerpt from the book: “Most bearers went the whole of their long existence without once attempting to merge themselves with another, mortal or brethren—and for good reason. Only the most skillful of bearers could do it without leaving some taint of himself in the spirit with which he merged, and, in turn, taking some part of that spirit’s nature as his own. Owen wouldn’t have ventured to attempt it, if he hadn’t had a good deal of practice. It was one “trick of the trade” that Hector, for reasons of his own, had invested a great deal of time in teaching to Owen.”
A snippet of romance excerpt from the book: Jacek let Owen guide him to the bed. He nestled against Owen’s chest, savoring the warmth of his naked body. His drooping eyelids sank shut, quite unwillingly, as he laid his head on Owen’s shoulder. This was something new, something unknown to him. His fantasy Owen, and all the other nameless lovers he’d taken in the darkness of his flat, had never wanted to be with him afterward. They had fled like evil spirits at the words of his prayer. Leave me, devils. I cast you out. I reject you and all your evil promises. “Feels so strange,” he murmured.”
Cold Coffee Press Endorses ‘Beautiful to Behold’ (The Dark Brethren Series Book 1) by M.D. Wiselka for the author’s ability to tell the story with detail and human reflection. This book was given to us in a PDF format for review. The review was completed on June 9, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
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Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author M.D. Wiselka
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author M.D. Wiselka
Writing under the nom de plume M.D. Wiselka, Melinda Wiselka is the oldest of four daughters and one of the numerous descendants of a Polish family who immigrated from Wisła, Poland in 1913 to farm in Big Horn, Wyoming.
Melinda has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia over the last decade, visiting, among other places, Warsaw, Poland, the setting of her debut novel, a gay historical romance titled Beautiful to Behold, the first book in the Dark Brethren Series, released in November 2013.
Her second book, a gay paranormal romance titled Darkness Falls, the second book in the Dark Brethren Series, will be released in 2014.
*************************Interview:
What makes you proud to be a writer from Wheeling, West Virginia? I spent the first eighteen years of my life in my hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia before moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Growing up in a once vibrant city (Wheeling was once the capital of the State of West Virginia), which had since fallen on hard times, gave me a great desire to learn my city’s own history. From there, I became a history buff in general.
What or who inspired you to become a writer? From the time I was ten, I was writing stories. Naturally, my first attempts at fiction were laughable. I had a wild imagination. This was a practical means of putting it to use.
When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? Around 2010, I decided to get serious about the novel I’d been working on for more than ten years. Because I was having no luck with getting an editor/publisher to even look at a sample chapter of my book, I decided to self-publish on Amazon. It was the best thing I ever did. It’s been an incredible experience for me, not only because of the wonderful reviews I’ve received, but also because of the effect it had on me as a writer. Before, I treated writing as a hobby. Now, I treat it as a job.
Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? I was raised a Roman Catholic and feel my religion has had a big impact on my writing, which may seem odd to those who’ve read my novels, because none of the three I’ve published would be in any way, shape or form considered Christian fiction.
Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? The original title of my first novel was Stranded on Another Shore. Shortly before I self-published, I changed the name to one I thought would better reflect the tone of the story: Beautiful to Behold. The love the main characters share for each other is what is beautiful to behold.
Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? All three of my self-published novels are gay romances. Two are paranormal romances; the third is a contemporary romance. I didn’t choose this genre. Strange as it sounds, it chose me. When I reviewed my first draft of Beautiful to Behold, it became clear to me that my two male leads loved each other. In the numerous drafts that followed, I more fully developed a relationship that was there from the start.
What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? I wrote an unpublished novel titled Olympic Voyage, a historical romance in which the main characters, Trent Linet and Violette Carvell, met and fell in love. The thought naturally followed: where would they and their family be in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. Beautiful to Behold was initially meant to be a family saga. After much consideration—and review and revision of drafts—I decided to strip the story down to a romance between the son of Trent Linet and Violette Carvell and a Polish partisan he met while in Warsaw at the beginning of the Second World War.
What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? It’s such a high to watch what was only a daydream in your head take on a life of its own in print. In the past, it was enough for me to enjoy my own writing. But to share it with others has been such a fantastic experience. On Christmas Eve, I received a review from a reader that made my day, week, month, year and lifetime. “I picked this book up looking for a light read to pass a few hours’ time. Wow, big mistake. The next thing I know, it's 6 a.m. in the morning and I'm actually in physical pain from having stayed up to finish.” What writer doesn’t want to read a review like this?
Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I think every writer dreams of being an overnight success, especially when you release your first book. I’ve had a lot of great reviews and enjoyed the experience of self-publishing immensely, but I think being a little more practical—and perhaps doing a bit more planning in advance of the release of my book—would have helped me to make a bigger splash. Marketing is a necessary evil. Ignoring that fact is a mistake. Few books get the notice they desire simply by casting them, like bread, onto the waters—and hoping for the best. Have a plan in advance of a book launch.
What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? Self-publication has not only allowed me to get my book out there, but it has also enabled me to write the story that I wanted to tell, without having to compromise for the sake of making a buck.
Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? Building your brand takes time—and patience. I’ve had some great reviews and made some money selling my books, but from a financial standpoint, it’s the worst paying job I’ve ever had. Fortunately, being an author is a labor of love for me. Even if you told me I’d never make money at it, I’d never give it up. It’s just too much fun.
What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Read, read, read was the best advice I ever got or can ever give.
Who is your favorite author and why? Frances Milton Trollope. She was a contemporary of Charles Dickens. A dry wit, with a great capacity for understanding character. Though every one of her books but one is out of print, I spent more than a decade hunting up copies through various sources—used bookshops, Google, etc. She was my mentor.
Why did you decide to give the story a supernatural element? As originally written, my novel had no supernatural angle. My dissatisfaction with the unhappy ending for my two lead characters made me rethink the story. After all, if I didn't like it, my readers probably weren't going to. Often, you must travel down many roads before finding the one that leads you where you want to go.
Author’s Published Books:
Beautiful to Behold (The Dark Brethren Series Book 1)
Darkness Falls (The Dark Brethren Series Book 2)
Something True
************************
Featured Selection: Beautiful to Behold (The Dark Brethren Series Book 1)
by M.D. Wiselka
Star-crossed lovers struggle to survive the German invasion of Poland at the opening of the Second World War.
Since childhood, twenty-four-year-old Owen Linet has been plagued by bad dreams, or rather the same bad dream, of a man called Hector, who claims to be dead. Hector possesses a strange black cloak on which is stitched a series of golden symbols—“Words” that Hector, their “bearer”, claims have miraculous powers when spoken. Hector gifts a Word to Owen—one that he claims can not only take life, but also restore it.
Twenty-two-year-old Polish partisan, Jacek Tarasek, is ordered to follow a suspicious foreigner, a British artist named Owen Linet, who closely resembles a man from Jacek’s past—someone Jacek would just as soon forget. Jacek’s worst fears are soon realized when he learns that Owen is not only his avowed enemy, but something infinitely worse—a devil in human form, with the power to take life with a mere word. When Jacek can’t bring himself to destroy the man with whom he is falling deeply in love, he is forced to confront his flawed understanding of good and evil.
Publisher’s Note: Beautiful to Behold is a male-male love story and contains homoerotic sex acts that may be offensive to some readers.
************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For ‘Beautiful to Behold’ by M.D. Wiselka
The author of ‘Beautiful to Behold’ writes under the nom de plume (pen name) M.D. Wiselka. This 728 page book takes place at the beginning of WWII, just as Poland is first invaded and is the first in a series.
Instead of a Table of Contents the author has chosen to use Sections (parts) with titles. Each section has title, location, with a date and occasionally the actual time and sometimes the season of the year. This book is actually a mixture of genres including fiction, historical reference, war, gay romance with some paranormal undertones.
Each section follows a well-defined narrative format with easy-to-follow conversations. There are many unique complex characters like British artist Owen Linet who has been tormented by bad dreams. The author’s extensive travel throughout Europe and research into descendants from Poland who later immigrated to the US in 1913 has greatly influenced the setting and story line.
This avid reader would not have typically picked up this book to read, but interestingly I found that the story line held my attention. Although this book comes with an adult content warning due to gay (male-male) romance and adult language I did not find it crude or offensive. The sex is intense, but not overly explicit and the romance is touching and realistic. The author tells a story and within this story weaves a romance.
Like with all my reviews I am careful not to spoil the read. However, I always quote one or two portions from the book that catches my attention in hopes to give the potential reader a sense of this author’s writing style. Early on in the book this line from a main character caught my attention. “Sooner or later, your past catches up with you. His was sitting three rows back from him in a darkened theater, sipping soda noisily through a paper straw.”
Descriptive excerpt quote from the book: “Owen turned to look out the rain streaked window. Mother was still standing alone beneath the metal awning, her shawl drawn tightly about her hunched shoulders, a brave, if false, smile on her face, which made Owen if not quite regret his decision to go with Dad, once more question the wisdom of it. But she would have Ned and Lily to keep her company, and he could come home any time it pleased him, if he found Warsaw didn’t suit him, if his mother needed him. He lifted a hand to wave to her as the aero plane began to slowly taxi down the runway. Her face was a smear of warm light in the dreary rain, soon gone as the aero plane sped away. Dad looked at him. Owen smiled sympathetically. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”
A thought on war excerpt from the book: “Jacek had never considered their odds in the light of dry statistics. Had someone told him that the German army was five times the size of the Polish army, that it had twenty times the number of planes, tanks and guns, he would have said, without hesitation, “but we will still win.” He would have said it with conviction, because he believed wars were not won with planes or tanks or guns, but with spirit. Our cause is a noble one. We are in the right. God is on our side, and with God’s help, we will triumph against the Germans, just as we did against the Russians twenty years ago. The keystone of his faith—the justness of his cause. We can’t lose, because we’re the good guys, and the good guys never lose.”
A taste of supernatural excerpt from the book: “Most bearers went the whole of their long existence without once attempting to merge themselves with another, mortal or brethren—and for good reason. Only the most skillful of bearers could do it without leaving some taint of himself in the spirit with which he merged, and, in turn, taking some part of that spirit’s nature as his own. Owen wouldn’t have ventured to attempt it, if he hadn’t had a good deal of practice. It was one “trick of the trade” that Hector, for reasons of his own, had invested a great deal of time in teaching to Owen.”
A snippet of romance excerpt from the book: Jacek let Owen guide him to the bed. He nestled against Owen’s chest, savoring the warmth of his naked body. His drooping eyelids sank shut, quite unwillingly, as he laid his head on Owen’s shoulder. This was something new, something unknown to him. His fantasy Owen, and all the other nameless lovers he’d taken in the darkness of his flat, had never wanted to be with him afterward. They had fled like evil spirits at the words of his prayer. Leave me, devils. I cast you out. I reject you and all your evil promises. “Feels so strange,” he murmured.”
Cold Coffee Press Endorses ‘Beautiful to Behold’ (The Dark Brethren Series Book 1) by M.D. Wiselka for the author’s ability to tell the story with detail and human reflection. This book was given to us in a PDF format for review. The review was completed on June 9, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews
Kindle Purchase Link
*************************
Website Link
Blog Link
Goodreads
Facebook (if link doesn’t work, please search by my name or title of book)
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May 23, 2015
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For A Flight Without Wings: My Experience With Heaven by Brian A. McLaughlin
A Flight Without Wings: My Experience With Heaven
by Brian A. McLaughlin
A Journey There And Back
The following story describes my journey into Heaven and subsequent return to life, all as a result of massive head trauma sustained while vacationing in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 21 years ago, on 9/11/1993.
It will describe visions as well as deep feelings that moved me to the core of my being. It will go on to briefly give some background into facets of my life and experiences that I had before and after that "accident" that relate somehow to the understanding and clarity that this event has brought to me and how I continue to discover the benefits of passing over to the "other side" Some things are evident to anyone who reads this and some remain relative in more obscure ways.
My hope would be that my words and experience with an afterlife will comfort those people who struggle with a fear and concern, either for themselves or someone close to them that has made this journey on their own. I have kept this to myself for all these years initially out of fear of accepting it, and then out of my inability to accurately describe the sequence of events and the meaning of it all.
My best guess and my overwhelming belief is that this journey of mine represents the exact path and result of nearly everyone who has left us. I was "blessed" with a return ticket and a feeling that it is my onus to share what so few get to experience.
*************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For A Flight Without Wings:
My Experience With Heaven by Brian A. McLaughlin
Author Brian A. McLaughlin answers one age old question in this short book chronicling his experience when he died and went to heaven.
This reader is impressed by the fact that Brian isn’t a particular religious man even though his roots are Catholic with a keen interest in the Mayan culture. Like so many raised in a particular faith he longs to know the truth. When faced with truth he struggles for a deeper understanding which leads him to share the gifted insights acquired through his own journey from earthly ties to heavenly peace.
Throughout mankind’s history humans have been given insights and experiences that leave them asking “Why Me?” This book reveals the answer, but the reader has to be open to receive it.
As with all my reviews I like to quote a passage that brings understanding to the author’s writing style and mind set. I quote Author Brian A. McLaughlin in the hopes that you will read this book and pass it on to a friend, relative or stranger who wrestles with and even fears what lies beyond life here on earth. “I did have an overwhelming feeling of peace that suggested was the norm for anyone there. Same goes for the journey itself. I didn’t take the trip with anyone else but felt that this path had been travelled countless times before me and ALL the same. I could talk to someone who has lost a loved one and say with confidence that I know the path they were on, I know where they are, and I know how they are feeling right now. I realize that this may open for debate the existence of a hell, but that could be argued as existing in our lives here on earth.”
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘A Flight Without Wings: My Experience With Heaven’ by Brian A. McLaughlin as a gifted journey to light the way for others. Brian accepts his gift with humility and extends its message with compassion. We were given this book in a PDF for review. The review was completed on May 22, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
Excerpt Link
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Hard Copy Purchase Link
Amazon Soft Cover Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Amazon’s Author’s Page
Author’s Website Link
Cold Coffee Press Author’s Page
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Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Brian A. McLaughlin
*************************
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Brian A. McLaughlin
Author Brian A McLaughlin is a native of Long Island, NY where he has spent most of his life taking advantage of its proximity to the ocean. He completed 10 years of private school before finishing his last two years and graduating from Bay Shore High School in 1971.
He and his wife Lin met there, in high school, and married in 1984 and have travelled extensively throughout the world since. He has been in Mexico for a total of years where they learned Spanish and started learning Mayan. He was seriously injured there in 1993 and died in a hospital in Cancun, at which time he experienced what is called a “near death” event. After almost 20 years of denial he came to grips with the reality of it, and has now decided that sharing his experience might help those who thirst for the truth about what happens when you die.
He has lead an interesting, varied life through some college, many different career choices, much travelling, and a “better than most” marriage. He considers himself “happy”, and even with the limitations that severe head trauma placed on him, he remains surprisingly approachable and engaging. He has embraced the peace and clarity gifted to him through his experience.
Interview:
What makes you proud to be a writer from Bay Shore? Although we have travelled more than average people, we settled in Bay Shore where we grew up. It remains comfortable to us, and we love the proximity to the ocean. Publishing and releasing a book from here feels like we’ve done it among family and friends.
What or Who inspired you to become a writer? I always tried to challenge myself with the use of the English language. I like listening to someone speak who has a good command of the language, and writing appealed to me as a way of memorializing those words.
When did you begin writing with the intention of being published? Actual date? On Sept. 11, 2014. The 21st anniversary of my accident in Mexico.
Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? I suspect that my environment and upbringing played a role in how I interpret life in general. Everyone has issues stemming from childhood, or other events in life that would contribute to their overall perception and opinion. I can’t say that I used any of that “to my advantage”. It simply is part of the way I see life.
Did you come up with the title before or after you wrote the manuscript? The title was conceived right after describing the accident and death experience, but prior to sharing parts of my life before and after that.
Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? The genre description varies from person to person. Some readily call it NDE (near death experience), while others categorize it as memoir, or bio, or metaphysical studies (Midwest book review). I’ve called it a death experience and how it impacted my life after returning. (Dr. Penny Sartori - One of the world’s leading experts on NDEs described it in detail after reading my book and reviewing it – a copy of it is available). Before writing, I hadn’t read any accounts of NDEs… in fact I didn’t even know what NDE stood for. The most valuable part of this book would be the change in clarity that this event brought to my life and how any of us can embrace that clarity in recognizing different opportunities that often come disguised.
What was your inspiration, spark, or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you’re seeking promotion for? The inspiration would be from my wife, Lin, who has stood by as I’ve made this journey and has endured much of the same trials and limitations as I do even today. She had read about other accounts maybe in an effort to understand what challenged me every day and strongly suggested that I write this book and tell my story - in my own words.
I was resistant, but after speaking with Dr. Frank Maurio, PhD (Neuropsychologist and author of “The Strength Within” on another family matter, I was convinced that this was the right thing to do (light bulb moment).
What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing/publishing process? I wrote this book in an effort to share an experience which I found most comforting. I was hopeful that others might broker some of the same comfort in dealing with grief and even how they might approach life after reading it. I could go on and on about how I used the clarity and understanding. I was given from this experience to grab hold of life’s opportunities and parlay them into success and happiness.
It is very rewarding to hear people’s reactions and read reviews that support this hope although I never intended for this book to be a “self-help” book. The style I used to write this book was meant to be truthful, relatively simple, and not embellished or exaggerated. The 20k words in the book are the same 20k words that I typed out on my computer without any interpretation from other writers or editors. I’m sure I made some mistakes and lost some readers because it wasn’t as “entertaining” as they had expected.
Have you had a negative experience in your writing career/publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? The one thing that comes to mind might be my being unprepared for the process. I was foolish enough to think that writing the book was the hard part, only to realize that it is the easy part, and publishing, promotion and marketing become a much greater challenge. I might suggest that someone writing for the first time, listen to others with experience… read up on aspects of the process, and be prepared and patient.
What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Don’t give up. Learn to use social media to your advantage… it’s inexpensive and gets results.
Who is your favorite author and why? I seem to gravitate to Nelson DeMille as I find his writing to be compelling and interesting, yet I’ve also read Steven Tyler (“Do the noises in my head bother you”) which I found to be very interesting but very hard to stay with.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? Yes… There is. This book should be read by anyone who has wondered about death, either for themselves or someone close to them. It will answer the questions about where you go… who to follow… will you be alone?
It may also inspire a change of outlook on life, as I’ve experienced, in recognizing opportunities that may even come from those ones you’ve lost. Mine did…
I was slow with work for about six months when I was trying to figure out what to do. Should I sell my business? Should I pursue building business? Should I retire? I asked my departed father who had sent me back from the afterlife: Give me some sign Dad… What should I do? No answer… well, no obvious answer anyway.
Weeks later, I had occasion to be speaking with a neuropsychologist with whom I had briefly spoken with before on a family matter. I took an appointment with him rather than cancel at the last minute, thinking I might add some background or insight into the matter he was evaluating.
When I saw him, he indicated that he didn’t want to discuss any other family, and just wanted to talk to me about writing a book on my experience (!) I bluntly told him that I was not a writer and wouldn’t even know where to start. He said that he could sit and listen to me all day as he appreciated the style which I spoke with, and it would translate well in script. He promised that he would lend any expertise that he could. He believed me and my story and strongly suggested that others would as well.
I thought about it for a while, then realized that I had been asking my father for some sign… an obvious one, to direct me to where I should place my efforts. Well with that aforementioned “clarity” and “understanding”, I decided to seize this opportunity however disguised it came to me. That neuropsychologist has since recommended my book to some patients that came to him for grief counseling and continues to do so.
It has also been used for the same reason by a couple of State appointed counselors who have shared its value with me, which I find most rewarding. Some people have requested time with me to explain some of the “lessons” to be learned in the book, as I tried very hard to keep it short and sweet.
One of my hopes would be that with some validation, an organization like Hospice might consider my contribution of volunteering to speak to any patients that might benefit from the knowledge, experience, and clarity contained in my book. I have but one book at the moment: “A Flight Without Wings” which, when featured in this interview might help build that “validation” I spoke of before.
*************************
A Flight Without Wings: My Experience With Heaven
by Brian A. McLaughlin
A Journey There And Back
The following story describes my journey into Heaven and subsequent return to life, all as a result of massive head trauma sustained while vacationing in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 21 years ago, on 9/11/1993.
It will describe visions as well as deep feelings that moved me to the core of my being. It will go on to briefly give some background into facets of my life and experiences that I had before and after that "accident" that relate somehow to the understanding and clarity that this event has brought to me and how I continue to discover the benefits of passing over to the "other side" Some things are evident to anyone who reads this and some remain relative in more obscure ways.
My hope would be that my words and experience with an afterlife will comfort those people who struggle with a fear and concern, either for themselves or someone close to them that has made this journey on their own. I have kept this to myself for all these years initially out of fear of accepting it, and then out of my inability to accurately describe the sequence of events and the meaning of it all.
My best guess and my overwhelming belief is that this journey of mine represents the exact path and result of nearly everyone who has left us. I was "blessed" with a return ticket and a feeling that it is my onus to share what so few get to experience.
*************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For A Flight Without Wings:
My Experience With Heaven by Brian A. McLaughlin
Author Brian A. McLaughlin answers one age old question in this short book chronicling his experience when he died and went to heaven.
This reader is impressed by the fact that Brian isn’t a particular religious man even though his roots are Catholic with a keen interest in the Mayan culture. Like so many raised in a particular faith he longs to know the truth. When faced with truth he struggles for a deeper understanding which leads him to share the gifted insights acquired through his own journey from earthly ties to heavenly peace.
Throughout mankind’s history humans have been given insights and experiences that leave them asking “Why Me?” This book reveals the answer, but the reader has to be open to receive it.
As with all my reviews I like to quote a passage that brings understanding to the author’s writing style and mind set. I quote Author Brian A. McLaughlin in the hopes that you will read this book and pass it on to a friend, relative or stranger who wrestles with and even fears what lies beyond life here on earth. “I did have an overwhelming feeling of peace that suggested was the norm for anyone there. Same goes for the journey itself. I didn’t take the trip with anyone else but felt that this path had been travelled countless times before me and ALL the same. I could talk to someone who has lost a loved one and say with confidence that I know the path they were on, I know where they are, and I know how they are feeling right now. I realize that this may open for debate the existence of a hell, but that could be argued as existing in our lives here on earth.”
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘A Flight Without Wings: My Experience With Heaven’ by Brian A. McLaughlin as a gifted journey to light the way for others. Brian accepts his gift with humility and extends its message with compassion. We were given this book in a PDF for review. The review was completed on May 22, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press.
http://www.coldcoffeepress.com
Excerpt Link
Amazon Customer Reviews
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