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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Wednesday's Child (Freedom Fighter Book 1) by J. A. Carlton

Wednesday's Child (Freedom Fighter Book 1) by J. A. Carlton
In 2055 the U.S. is a 3,000 mile wide graveyard. Inside the country's borders, a war against the world is about to begin. After Commander Harold Mitchell's murder, Stone Rivers, an idealistic young graduate is called in to head up Delta Squad. His first day in charge is the day he loses his second in command. Lieutenant Jade McKay should've been given command of Delta, but instead was put in charge of investigating Mitchell's murder, the very murder she's been accused of committing. On the night she begins her investigation, a sinister branch of the government that will stop at nothing to unlock the classified secrets buried deep in her subconscious, takes her captive. Elija Tyrell will do anything to destroy Jade, including going back through time to re-make the world they came from. U.C. Director Antoine Pecho will do anything to get his "Pet Project" back home where she belongs, including giving her to Tyrell.

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Wednesday's Child
(Freedom Fighter Book 1) by J. A. Carlton
The world and the United States of America as we know it in 2015, is unrecognizable in 2055. The CIA, Homeland Security, ATF and DEA are all merged into one body now called the U.C. or Upper Command. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are merged into the New United Military Alliance or NUMA which is under the control of President Clayton Maxwell in 2055.

History had repeated itself with mandatory DNA collection and the desire to create a perfect race. During this engineered holocaust America’s population was decimated forcing many of the remaining citizens’ into catacombs and tunnels, where they later became known as “Unders”.

Lieutenant Jade McKay is a trained assassin working between NUMA and the Unders to ‘take back the topside’. She has been implanted with a microscopic computer chip with “binary coding tendrils attached along her visual pathway” which make her memory almost photographic. Jade is able to carry out any mission as long as it doesn’t conflict with her basic principles. (Jade is not only hyper-kinetic and telepathic, she has to contend with the side effects of a hybrid drug that suppresses her neural impulses that cause nightmares.)

Upon return from an assignment to protect Darien Rivers, the man most directly responsible for helping NUMA break away from Maxwell’s control, Jade finds herself arrested and charged with the murder of her Commander, Harold Mitchell. But like all superior soldiers Jade has an enemy named Elija Tyrell who is out to destroy and even kill her.

Working with the local UC branch Elija takes Jade prisoner determined to find out whether or not she can be compromised. This adversary will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals including going back in time to change history. I like this quote from Jade, “Something’s going to happen today. I swear I’ll kill him if he keeps pushing.” The sense rushed through her veins, carried in every cell of her blood to every nerve fiber, axon and dendrite. As sure as she was breathing, something huge lay in the shadows of this little corner of the universe. “I wonder if anyone else feels it. Whatever it is, I’m not gonna like it.”

What a great read. Become mesmerized in Jades ice green eyes and her abilities as ‘Wednesday’s Child’ continues with book two of the series called ‘Into the Fire’ and book three ‘Fortune's Tide’ in the ‘Freedom Fighter Series’.

Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Wednesday’s Child’ by J. A. Carlton as a science fiction, action, suspense, mystery thriller. We received both the print and PDF version of this book to review. The review was completed on March 19, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press.http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Amazon Author’s Page  
Amazon Customer Reviews  
Amazon Print Purchase Link  
Kindle Purchase Link  

Books Available To Purchase Now:  
Broken (psychological thriller)  
Fortune's Tide (Third - Freedom Fighter Series)  
Into The Fire (Second - (Second - Freedom Fighter Series)  
Nick, Of Time (First -Heroes Of The Line Series)  
Second Hand Heroes (Second – Heroes Of The Line Series)  
The Third Race (Third - Heroes Of The Line Series)  
Touch Me-Nurturing Your Relationships Through Positive Touch (Stand Alone Book)  
Soul Hunter (psychological thriller)  
Wednesday's Child (First - Freedom Fighter Series)  

J. A. Carlton’s Website  

Cold Coffee Press Author J. A. Carlton  
Cold Coffee Café Author J. A. Carlton

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author J. A. Carlton

   
Award Winning Author J. A. Carlton blasts through genre barriers, first with her horrifying psychological thrillers ‘Broken’ and Soul Hunter. With a penchant for epic series Jill has published ‘Wednesday’s Child’, ‘Into The Fire’ and ‘Fortune's Tide’ of her ‘Freedom Fighter Series’. ‘Nick, Of Time’, ‘Second Hand’, and ‘The Third Race’ are the first three installments of her ‘Heroes Of The Line Series’. Jill currently lives and writes in Austin, Texas. She is a Certified Hypnotherapist, Speaker, Author and Screenwriter.
 
Jill’s Mission: Entertain as many people as possible!
Inspire others to achieve their dreams!
To explore the human condition creatively!
To learn and share!
Interview: 

What makes you proud to be a writer from Austin, TX? Austin has an absolutely incredible and supportive arts community. There’s an openness and appreciation for so many different mediums here.  

What or who inspired you to become a writer? My mom. She’s the one who instilled a love of reading and literature in me. She’s the one who taught me to find the bliss within the pages. From there, writing I suppose was a natural progression.  

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? When I was twelve. Though I was in my mid thirties before I believed that what my characters had to say had validity.  

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and why? Absolutely. My mother was an English teacher who instilled in me a love of literature and the myriad worlds that could be mine if I only dared to believe and open my mind! I grew up with a family that cherished education and imaginative expansion.  

Do you come up with your title (s) before or after you write the manuscript (s)? Usually the ‘logline’ holds the title. I also write screenplays, so once I have the concept, a working title comes relatively quickly.  

Tell us why you write the genre (s) that you write? I like things a little spicy so work mostly with Thrillers and Supernatural themes. I tend to think of genres as ingredients in a recipe, so I love mixing and blending their elements in the hopes of creating a unique flavor to my particular story telling voice. Also, exploring human behavior in relationships is utterly fascinating and employing multiple genres gives a far more well-rounded view of a character and how they interact with the world on different levels and under different circumstances.  

Tell us your most rewarding experience while in the writing process? The moment when you know your characters will prevail in spite of, AND because of whom their experiences have made them.  

Tell us your most negative experience while in the writing process? The doubt. As a writer there is horrific doubt, are the characters real enough? Is the story compelling? Are the voices individual enough and the motivations true? Is everyone being true to who they are? Is the story cohesive? (I could go on... but let’s not.)  

Tell us your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? The day a client told me she was going to start a small press so that she could put my works out there in the world. She believed in me so much that she started a press geared toward getting new authors with unique voices a chance to be read.  

Tell us your most negative experience in your publishing journey? Form rejections. I have a file cabinet full of them. They hurt, deeply.  

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? If writing is what you love, don’t ever stop. Learn from others, how to run a business, learn to network. (I don’t mean slamming the keys at the local coffee shop... meet people, join writers groups. You will suck many lemons before you find the right people to work and grow with but when you do, it’ll all be worth it.).  

Who is your favorite author? The first author who made me pursue her works was Marguerite Henry.  

Books Available To Purchase Now:
Broken (psychological thriller) 
Fortune's Tide (Third - Freedom Fighter Series) 
Into The Fire (Second - (Second - Freedom Fighter Series) 
Nick, Of Time (First -Heroes Of The Line Series)
Second Hand Heroes (Second – Heroes Of The Line Series)
The Third Race (Third - Heroes Of The Line Series)
Touch Me-Nurturing Your Relationships Through Positive Touch (Stand Alone Book)
Soul Hunter (psychological thriller)
Wednesday's Child (First - Freedom Fighter Series)  

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? Yes. Please, if you love to write do it! Invest in an editor, one you can meet with face to face. Believe in your voice BUT... understand your market. Do you have a point? If so, stick with it. Do you want to be the next Rowling? Meyers? Koontz? Learn the art and structure of story then as you write consider both the market and yourself. It can be a beautiful compromise! Just understand what you want and why.

*************************
Wednesday's Child (Freedom Fighter Book 1) by J. A. Carlton
In 2055 the U.S. is a 3,000 mile wide graveyard. Inside the country's borders, a war against the world is about to begin. After Commander Harold Mitchell's murder, Stone Rivers, an idealistic young graduate is called in to head up Delta Squad. His first day in charge is the day he loses his second in command. Lieutenant Jade McKay should've been given command of Delta, but instead was put in charge of investigating Mitchell's murder, the very murder she's been accused of committing. On the night she begins her investigation, a sinister branch of the government that will stop at nothing to unlock the classified secrets buried deep in her subconscious, takes her captive. Elija Tyrell will do anything to destroy Jade, including going back through time to re-make the world they came from. U.C. Director Antoine Pecho will do anything to get his "Pet Project" back home where she belongs, including giving her to Tyrell.

*************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Wednesday's Child
(Freedom Fighter Book 1) by J. A. Carlton
The world and the United States of America as we know it in 2015, is unrecognizable in 2055. The CIA, Homeland Security, ATF and DEA are all merged into one body now called the U.C. or Upper Command. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are merged into the New United Military Alliance or NUMA which is under the control of President Clayton Maxwell in 2055.

History had repeated itself with mandatory DNA collection and the desire to create a perfect race. During this engineered holocaust America’s population was decimated forcing many of the remaining citizens’ into catacombs and tunnels, where they later became known as “Unders”.

Lieutenant Jade McKay is a trained assassin working between NUMA and the Unders to ‘take back the topside’. She has been implanted with a microscopic computer chip with “binary coding tendrils attached along her visual pathway” which make her memory almost photographic. Jade is able to carry out any mission as long as it doesn’t conflict with her basic principles. (Jade is not only hyper-kinetic and telepathic, she has to contend with the side effects of a hybrid drug that suppresses her neural impulses that cause nightmares.)

 Upon return from an assignment to protect Darien Rivers, the man most directly responsible for helping NUMA break away from Maxwell’s control, Jade finds herself arrested and charged with the murder of her Commander, Harold Mitchell. But like all superior soldiers Jade has an enemy named Elija Tyrell who is out to destroy and even kill her.

Working with the local UC branch Elija takes Jade prisoner determined to find out whether or not she can be compromised. This adversary will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals including going back in time to change history. I like this quote from Jade, “Something’s going to happen today. I swear I’ll kill him if he keeps pushing.” The sense rushed through her veins, carried in every cell of her blood to every nerve fiber, axon and dendrite. As sure as she was breathing, something huge lay in the shadows of this little corner of the universe. “I wonder if anyone else feels it. Whatever it is, I’m not gonna like it.”

What a great read. Become mesmerized in Jades ice green eyes and her abilities as ‘Wednesday’s Child’ continues with book two of the series called ‘Into the Fire’ and book three ‘Fortune's Tide’ in the ‘Freedom Fighter Series’.

Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Wednesday’s Child’ by J. A. Carlton as a science fiction, action, suspense, mystery thriller. We received both the print and PDF version of this book to review. The review was completed on March 19, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press.http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Amazon Author’s Page  
Amazon Customer Reviews  
Amazon Print Purchase Link  
Kindle Purchase Link  

J. A. Carlton’s Website 

Cold Coffee Press Author J. A. Carlton  
Cold Coffee Café Author J. A. Carlton

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Scary Girls by JD Kaplan

 
The Scary Girls by JD Kaplan
“Male guitarist needed. Talented humans only. Ask for Forsythia.” Trick is looking for a new band. So what the hell, he makes the call. Which is how he meets the Scary Girls. Mysterious, Beautiful, and otherworldly, there’s something downright...scary about them. But the music he makes with them is incredible. Magical. Because of them, he discovers a world within the one he knows, just left of center, hiding around the next corner. A world of magic, improbability, and impossibility. Trick changes. He senses more—he is more. He’s always felt out of place, uncomfortable in his own skin. Now, he’s coming alive. But who is relentlessly and terrifyingly hunting him? Can Trick figure it out before someone gets hurt? All he can do it try. As it turns out, that’s a fine place to start...

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Scary Girls by JD Kaplan
‘The Scary Girls’ contemporary urban fantasy by JD Kaplan will captivate your imagination and tease your own dreams. Kaplan’s descriptive writing will draw you into the plot by his use of vivid colors, musical concepts, space and time, people and places, romance and terror, reality and fantasy.

His main character named Patrick Benjamin MacKenzie, better known as Trick to his friends takes the reader into his world as a lead guitarist for a band named ‘Fishmonger’. Little does Trick know that by walking into ‘The Carpenter Creek Brewery’ for drink or two one night will change his reality!

Three women, all with the name of a flower will soon come into his life. His reaction: “The music we'd made together had been magical. Like good sex almost. No, amazing sex. I was hooked. I thought about them that entire night and when I finally I fell asleep my dreams were full of music and magic, all of it revolving around those girls, The Scary Girls.”

Characters that you might meet or hope not to meet somewhere at some time will overwhelm your senses. Music, romance, supernatural places, images, and characters from an ancient world take you on a journey to the “Dreamside”.

When you wake there will be a lot of questions, but I guarantee that the read will be intense.

Cold Coffee Press Endorses ‘The Scary Girls’ by JD Kaplan as a contemporary urban fantasy that will stimulate your imagination. We received this book in a PDF format for review. The review was completed on March 29, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

************************* Book Excerpt Link
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews Link
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Amazon Kindle Purchase Link

Books Published by JD Kaplan
The Scary Girls
Waking Dreams: The Torment Of Colin Pierce

Author JD Kaplan’s Website and Related Sites
http://www.thedreamside.com
http://onthedreamside.blogspot.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7363644.J_D_Kaplan
https://www.facebook.com/jd.kaplan.author
https://twitter.com/jedeleh

Cold Coffee Café Author JD Kaplan
Cold Coffee Press Author JD Kaplan

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author JD Kaplan

 Welcome To The Dreamside
What is the Dreamside?
It's the mystical and chaotic place where all dreams take place. It is an ever shifting landscape made up of a patchwork quilt crafted by the minds of people asleep and dreaming in the Waking World. Separated from our world by the Wall of Sleep, this is where the stories in my books take place.
So come on in and explore the Dreamside...
************************
Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author JD Kaplan  JD Kaplan currently lives in Northern Illinois with his wife, two kids and very insecure Golden Retriever, Max. He has worked in the software industry for nearly 18 years after a period of failing to publish his poetry. At this stage in life he's actively trying to change careers again to be a full time author of fantasy and science fiction novels. 
************************
Interview:  

What makes you proud to be a writer from Chicago? I don’t know that pride comes into it but I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and after spending about 20 years living elsewhere (Austin, Tucson and San Jose) it’s really great to be home. It’s funny how the things that bugged me about this place have become a source of great comfort. I love the down to earth people here.  

What or who inspired you to become a writer? At the age of 13 my aunt introduced me to Frank Herbert, Stephen R Donaldson and J.R.R. Tolkien and that year I wrote a 200 page book. It was the worst garbage ever but I did complete it and it had a story. I guess that’s a victory in itself. I’ve tried my hand at a few different styles of writing—poetry, short literary fiction and music—but in the end I have come back to the type of stories I loved as a child.  

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? When I first graduated from college I got a job in a bookstore in Tucson and spent all my free time writing poetry and short fiction. I basically collected rejection notices…this was at a time when you still got rejection notices from publishers and agents. Nowadays you’re lucky if you get a post it note with ‘no thanks’ scrawled on it.  

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? As a kid I was quiet, shy and a bit reclusive. I loved to curl up with a good book that featured impossible things. I didn’t have much interest about reading stories that were feasible—I wanted to escape. Both my parents were educators and reading was valued as a good pastime in our house.  

Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? Sometimes I come up with a title before or during writing, but rarely do those titles survive to the end. The one exception to that is The Scary Girls. I tried different titles for that book but in the end that one just stuck.  

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? My writing falls somewhere into the broader range of urban or contemporary fantasy. There aren’t any vampires, werewolves or benevolent monsters in them. It’s more like the urban fantasy of Charles de Lint or Neil Gaiman, though I would never compare myself to them, of course. I’ve heard people refer to it as ‘slipstream’ lately. Stories with magic and fantasy elements but set in the modern world.  

What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? Listening to Forsythia by Veruca Salt really loudly in my car as I drove somewhere. I just got this scene in my head where the main character first meets the Scary Girls. I ended up replaying that scene in my head over and over, tweaking it, adjusting it, even roleplaying it until it solidified. That was where the book was born.  

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? Every time I complete a book it’s so empowering. I’ve got two I’ve published and another three that I’ve completed but have shelved. That moment when you finish it is quite awesome.  

Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I had an agent request my manuscript then lose it, forget who I was and then eventually just blow me off. The entire process took 6 months and really almost killed my energy to get published. On the other hand, I guess I should thank her for driving me to self-publish, which has been an awesome experience.  

What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? The first moment I held a trade paperback copy of my first book. Then again with my latest book. I had kind of thought it wouldn't be as intense as the first, but I was wrong.  

Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? Well, since I decided to go independent, I’ve not really had many negative experiences. Sometimes it’s disappointing at how hard it is to get noticed by readers. Marketing a book is hard. It takes a different skill set than is needed to write the book.  

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Write every day no matter what. I liken it to running. If you’re a runner, you make sure to run every day. You build it up as a habit that you just do without having to convince yourself to do it. Even one missed day can take you out of your stride.  

Who is your favorite author and why? I have two favorite authors. Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint. Both of them write the kinds stories I love to read: lyrical, thoughtful and full of magic. Their stories draw on myth, folklore and other sources to inject magic and fantasy into our everyday world.  

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I am really drawn to strong female characters. One of the things I love about the more mainstream urban fantasy genre is the wealth of strong female leads. Mercy Thompson (Patricia Briggs) is probably my favorite character currently. Some of my favorite characters in my own work are female. Penny from Waking Dreams, and Foxglove from The Scary Girls were so much fun to write. I really want to get to the point where I feel comfortable writing an entire book from the perspective of a strong woman.

*************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Scary Girls by JD Kaplan
‘The Scary Girls’ contemporary urban fantasy by JD Kaplan will captivate your imagination and tease your own dreams. Kaplan’s descriptive writing will draw you into the plot by his use of vivid colors, musical concepts, space and time, people and places, romance and terror, reality and fantasy.

His main character named Patrick Benjamin MacKenzie, better known as Trick to his friends takes the reader into his world as a lead guitarist for a band named ‘Fishmonger’. Little does Trick know that by walking into ‘The Carpenter Creek Brewery’ for drink or two one night will change his reality!

Three women, all with the name of a flower will soon come into his life. His reaction: “The music we'd made together had been magical. Like good sex almost. No, amazing sex. I was hooked. I thought about them that entire night and when I finally I fell asleep my dreams were full of music and magic, all of it revolving around those girls, The Scary Girls.” Characters that you might meet or hope not to meet somewhere at some time will overwhelm your senses. Music, romance, supernatural places, images, and characters from an ancient world take you on a journey to the “Dreamside”.

When you wake there will be a lot of questions, but I guarantee that the read will be intense.

Cold Coffee Press Endorses ‘The Scary Girls’ by JD Kaplan as a contemporary urban fantasy that will stimulate your imagination. We received this book in a PDF format for review. The review was completed on March 29, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com  

**************************
Book Excerpt Link
Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Customer Reviews Link
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Amazon Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link  

Books Published by JD Kaplan
The Scary Girls
Waking Dreams: The Torment Of Colin Pierce  

Author JD Kaplan’s Website and Related Sites
http://www.thedreamside.com
http://onthedreamside.blogspot.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7363644.J_D_Kaplan
https://www.facebook.com/jd.kaplan.author
https://twitter.com/jedeleh

Cold Coffee Café Author JD Kaplan
Cold Coffee Press Author JD Kaplan  

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book) by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley

Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and
Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book) by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley
Step by step how-to for each phase of the hiring process. Includes blueprints for hiring sales, management, entry level labor, clerical and technical staff. Complete sample interviews, suggested forms, tips based on research and the author's experience are included. Legal issues are addressed, along with guidelines for avoiding legal problems.

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower
Turnover and Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book) by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley
Hiring Right by Pat Kelley is a common sense, practical step-by-step, need-to-know business guide for finding and keeping good employees.

Whether you are just starting out and need to hire a few employees or business is picking up and you need to hire more this book should be your first reference guide. Pat Kelley lays out her step-by-step, need-to- know guide with facts, numbers, examples and all the forms necessary to help you find and keep good employees. Following her advice and the right incentives you will be able to lower your turnover rate and increase your profits.

Book Part One is made up of five chapters. In Chapter One, Pat lays out mistakes one, two and three and teaches employer how to “Profile” the job that you are offering, “Research” and “Complete A Personality Profile” on each perspective employee.

Chapter Two goes on to teach the employer how to “recruit”, “screen” and “test” applicants. This detailed chapter defines the advantages of promoting from within, considering employee referrals and details how to use all local, community, and technological researches to find, screen and test applicants.

Chapter Three details steps the employer can use to prepare for and conduct an interview.

Chapter Four presents the “Employment Law In Hiring” and alerts the employer to danger zones.

Chapter Five Part One shows the employer what comes after the interview, such as checking references, how to make the job offer with the proper compensation. Chapter Five Part Two goes on to explain the necessary training and work environment to ensure the employee fits in and stays.

Book Part Two is made up of five “Business Blueprints”. These blueprints are include essential “Job Profile”, “Patterned Interview”, “Candidate Offer Letter”, “Orientation Checklist” forms for Office Clerical Positions, Level Labor Positions, Technical Worker Positions, Sales Worker Positions and Management Worker Positions.

The book wraps up with miscellaneous resource materials.

Cold Coffee Press endorses “Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book)” by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley for an instructional guide to help new employers coming into the job market and existing employers that are struggling with a high rate of turnover. We received this book for review in a PDF format. The review was completed on March 28, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link
Pat Kelley’s Website
Pat Kelley Management Matters Blog
Cold Coffee Café Author Pat Kelley
Cold Coffee Press Author Pat Kelley

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Pat Kelley

 Pat Kelley, MS, SPHR, is the author of Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits, Second Edition, published in December 2014.

For more than 43 years, she worked as a specialist, manager and Director of Human Resources in banking, manufacturing, food processing and communications.

Certified as a lifetime Senior Professional in Human Resources, Ms. Kelley is recipient of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas Society of Human Resource Managers.

*************************Interview:

What makes you proud to be a writer from eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas? Having lived in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas the longest, I consider myself a home here. The people make this place special. They care about their families, friends, conservative values, their God, their church, and their communities. My kind of people.

What or who inspired you to become a writer? I imagined myself a writer when I was 12 years old. Of course, I had no idea what that meant until I read a few thousand books. I'm most inspired to write non-fiction because of my passion for teaching people about Human Resources management and leadership. I'm inspired to write fiction because I'm constantly asking myself "what if..." when I drive down the road. My novels are about real people in real situations.

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I wrote my first draft of Hiring Right in the mid-1980s when I was unemployed and bored waiting for the telephone to ring. Writing a book was a way to keep my mind active and to stay involved in my profession.

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? I grew up in a dysfunctional family, and am in the process of writing a memoir. Hiring Right is a product of my 43 years' working in HR. And my latest novel, Rich Mountain, combines my love of HR with the realities of living with a veteran suffering PTSD.

Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? The title Hiring Right came to me before I wrote the book. The subtitle, A Business Blueprint ... was developed as part of a marketing campaign when the first edition was published in 2004.

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? I write non-fiction because I have information to share, and am passionate about teaching others what I've learned about the hiring process, and the impact it can make on a company's success. In fiction, I write contemporary women's fiction because that's what tickles my fancy.

What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? When I was writing the first draft of Hiring Right I realized one day that readers of this book would really be helped by the information. That was my "aha" moment, and still drives me.

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? My first validation was winning a runner-up prize at a major writing contest. I thought, "Oh, my God, I'm really a writer!"

Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I spent too much time and money submitting my manuscript to agents who claimed to want non-fiction, but said I didn't have enough name recognition. It was disappointing, but a part of my learning process. The only way it could have been avoided, I believe, is to have had a contract with a major publishing house. Again, all part of the learning process.

What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? Having someone call to tell me how much they've benefited from Hiring Right. That's validation of the first degree!

Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? So far, my only negative as far as publishing goes, is that the process of marketing and selling your books is so much more difficult than I had thought. I should have studied and learned much more about it many years ago and saved a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Keep writing, keep studying the publishing industry, and never stop promoting!

Who is your favorite author and why? My favorite non-fiction authors are people like Lee Iacocca who tell it like it is. My favorite fiction authors are all those who write fabulous characters caught up in impossible situations.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I consider myself to be a teacher as much as a writer. As long as someone is learning from something I've written, I'm content.

************************* 
Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover
and Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book) by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley
Hiring Right by Pat Kelley is a common sense, practical step-by-step, need-to-know business guide for finding and keeping good employees.

Whether you are just starting out and need to hire a few employees or business is picking up and you need to hire more this book should be your first reference guide. Pat Kelley lays out her step-by-step, need-to- know guide with facts, numbers, examples and all the forms necessary to help you find and keep good employees. Following her advice and the right incentives you will be able to lower your turnover rate and increase your profits.

Book Part One is made up of five chapters. In Chapter One, Pat lays out mistakes one, two and three and teaches employer how to “Profile” the job that you are offering, “Research” and “Complete A Personality Profile” on each perspective employee.

Chapter Two goes on to teach the employer how to “recruit”, “screen” and “test” applicants. This detailed chapter defines the advantages of promoting from within, considering employee referrals and details how to use all local, community, and technological researches to find, screen and test applicants.

Chapter Three details steps the employer can use to prepare for and conduct an interview.

Chapter Four presents the “Employment Law In Hiring” and alerts the employer to danger zones.

Chapter Five Part One shows the employer what comes after the interview, such as checking references, how to make the job offer with the proper compensation. Chapter Five Part Two goes on to explain the necessary training and work environment to ensure the employee fits in and stays.

Book Part Two is made up of five “Business Blueprints”. These blueprints are include essential “Job Profile”, “Patterned Interview”, “Candidate Offer Letter”, “Orientation Checklist” forms for Office Clerical Positions, Level Labor Positions, Technical Worker Positions, Sales Worker Positions and Management Worker Positions.

The book wraps up with miscellaneous resource materials.

Cold Coffee Press endorses “Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book)” by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley for an instructional guide to help new employers coming into the job market and existing employers that are struggling with a high rate of turnover. We received this book for review in a PDF format. The review was completed on March 28, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link
Pat Kelley’s Website
Pat Kelley Management Matters Blog
Cold Coffee Café Author Pat Kelley
Cold Coffee Press Author Pat Kelley

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Madonna Ghost by Linda Maria Frank

 
The Madonna Ghost by Linda Maria Frank
Seventeen-year-old Annie Tillery and her Aunt Jill set off for Long Island's Fire Island for a vacation of surf, sun, and sailing. Annie is happy to leave behind the stress of her relationship with her parents. Aunt Jill, who is an NYPD detective, is mixing her vacation with a case she must keep secret from Annie, who is suspicious nevertheless. Annie finds romance and intrigue when she meets Ty Egan, the nephew of their host on the island. They find themselves in the middle of an eerie adventure when she and Ty investigate the tragic and perplexing story of a local ghost. Annie becomes increasingly uneasy and the investigation turns sinister when Aunt Jill goes missing, the ghost appears, and the troublesome neighbors in the cottage next door become hostile. When they find one of Aunt Jill's special earrings on the neighbor's porch, they begin to wonder what she was doing there. Will they find Aunt Jill before it's too late? In the breathless conclusion to their investigation, Annie and Ty narrowly escape death solving the mystery of The Madonna Ghost.

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For The Madonna Ghost
by Linda Maria Frank
Come on vacation with Annie Tillery and her Aunt Jill to Long Island’s Fire Island. Stand with Annie on the Ferry and recall what she sees; “Looking out across the Great South Bay, I could see Fire Island in the distance, a long stretch of dunes and scrub pines across the horizon. At the western end of the island, was the black and white striped tower of Fire Island lighthouse, blinking away. Sailboats maneuvered across the dark blue waters of the bay in ballerina fashion, their sails puffed out by the wind like dancers’ gauzy skirts.”

Walk along the boardwalk which “opens onto a broad cement lane where homey little cottages, each with a tiny garden” stretch as far as the eyes can see. Relax with Annie and Aunt Jill in the charm of “Windalee” one of the oldest houses on the island where secret a secret passage was used to smuggle liquor onto Long Island in the twenties. The Long Island coastland has always been the perfect environment for shipwrecks, lost treasure, pirates, bootleggers, drug runners, kidnapping and terrorists.

Learn the history of settlers coming to Long Island as far back as the early 1800s and how Fire Island got its name. Become aware that men, women and children enduring treacherous seas in wooden ships came to Fire Island and some were forced to wade cold ocean water to make it to Bay Shore. Join Annie and TY on their quest to see ‘The Madonna Ghost’ as past accounts and island legend recalls seeing her walking on the Bay Shores in the mist of the salt water air to protect the grave of her infant child who perished while she was trying to make it to shore.

Mystery and suspense develops when Annie discovers that her Aunt Jill, who is a NYPD detective is not really on vacation, but working an active case. Watch Annie’s sleuth abilities interrupt her own vacation when her beloved Aunt Jill is missing and some unscrupulous neighbors beside “Windalle” are on the top of her short list.

Enjoy a youthful budding romance and see for yourself that “Fire Island must indeed be a paradise where dreams come true.”

Annie Tillery Mysterys book two ‘The Madonna Ghost’ is an enjoyable read for students and young adults of all ages. Each book in the Annie Tiller Mystery Series is unique and stands alone with no need to read in a particular sequence. Author Linda Maria Frank uses her own background in forensic science, great research, delightful writing skills, intensive character development and interesting dialog to keep her readers engaged in each one of her mysteries. The Annie Tillery Mystery series should be placed on our schools’ summer reading list.

Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘The Madonna Ghost’ and the Annie Tillery Mysteries by Linda Maria Frank. We received a PDF version of this book for review. Review completion date March 27, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press: http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Book Excerpt
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Softcover Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Amazon Hardcover Purchase Link
Audio Book Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Hardcover Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Softcover Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link

Author Linda Maria Frank’s Websites and Related Links
Amazon Author’s Page
Barnes and Noble Author’s Page

Linda’s Website Links
http://lindamariafrank.com/
http://lindamariafrank.com/reviews/
http://lindamariafrank.com/events/
http://lindamariafrank.com/tv-show/
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WordPress Blog

Cold Coffee Café Author Linda Maria Frank
Cold Coffee Press Author Linda Maria Frank

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For ‘Girl with Pencil, Drawing’ by Linda Maria Frank

 
Girl With Pencil, Drawing by Linda Maria Frank
Seventeen-year-old amateur detective Annie Tillery is at it again. After she wins a series of art lessons at a prestigious art gallery, Annie shows up for her first lesson to find her instructor, Francesca Gabrielli, in a volatile argument with John DiCristiani, the art gallery's director. He is demanding that she illegally copy art masterpieces. Unwittingly, Annie is about to be drawn into the illicit, treacherous, and unpredictable world of art forgery. When DiCristiani is found murdered in cold blood, Francesca becomes the prime suspect. She calls upon Annie to help solve the crime along with her NYPD detective aunt, Jill Tillery. They must brave the dangers of an international art fraud ring in an attempt to clear Francesca's name. They discover that the key to solving the case revolves around a mysterious brownstone in Brooklyn whose inhabitants present tantalizing and elusive clues. As Annie and company attempt to stay one step ahead of DiCristiani's murderer, they escape one deadly trap after another. The stakes are high in the glamorous yet dangerous world of illegal art trafficking. Annie must solve the crime to save her life and that of her friends.

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For ‘Girl with Pencil, Drawing’ by Linda Maria Frank
Annie Tillery Mysterys book two Girl with Pencil, Drawing is a spectacular read for students and young adults of all ages. Each book in the Annie Tiller Mystery Series is unique and stands alone with no need to read in a particular sequence.

The story line in ‘Girl with Pencil, Drawing’ by Author Linda Maria Frank draws the young reader into an adventure where young Annie Tillery goes for her first art lesson at a prestigious Art Gallery. With youthful exuberance and an eagerness to advance her drawing skills Annie arrives early. When she enters the studio she overhears a heated argument between two people who turn out to be her Art Instructor Francesca Gabrielli and the Art Gallery Director John DiCristiani.

Annie’s empathy for others and her sleuth personally draws her into a murder mystery when John DiCristiani turns up dead and Francesca Gabrielli is the prime suspect, Annie enlists the help of her Aunt Jill who is a NYPD Detective to help clear her new found friend and art mentor’s name.
With strong characters, flowing dialog and layers of mystery, soon everyone is caught up in a real who-dun-it that involves a long lists of suspects and hidden clues. Twists and turns with all the dangers that come into play when an International Art Fraud has been perpetrated.

I invite you to go beyond this headline: “Manhattan Business-Man Found Slain in Chelsea. John DiCristiani, a wealthy business man, whose financial interests reached as far as Hong Kong and Istanbul, was found shot to death in his posh apartment overlooking the Hudson River. Mr. DiCristiani’s body was found by an employee from his Soho gallery. The police questioned the employee, Ms. Francesca Gabrielli, at headquarters, but subsequently released her. Police would only confide that the murder weapon was found at the scene and that all other leads were being investigated. Mr. DiCristiani is survived by a son, Mark, twenty-five, a law student at New York University.”

Learn the ins and out of the art world that include how scientists tests for authenticity in original paintings by world renown artist like Renoir and the lucrative forgeries that make this underworld as treacherous as any international mob association.

Follow the clues, wait for the DNA evidence and sift through the ashes left by an arsonist. Inspire a young reader to discover the innate detective skills of Annie Tillery who is fast becoming the next Nancy Drew. This series should be placed on our schools’ summer reading list.

Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Girl with Pencil, Drawing’ and the Annie Tillery Mysteries by Linda Maria Frank. We received a PDF version of this book for review. Review completion date March 24, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press: http://www.coldcoffeepress.com


Book Excerpt
Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Softcover Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Amazon Hardcover Purchase Link
Audio Book Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Hardcover Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Softcover Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link

Author Linda Maria Frank’s Websites and Related Links
Amazon Author’s Page
Barnes and Noble Author’s Page

Linda’s Website Links
http://lindamariafrank.com/
http://lindamariafrank.com/reviews/
http://lindamariafrank.com/events/
http://lindamariafrank.com/tv-show/
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WordPress Blog
Cold Coffee Café Author Linda Maria Frank
Cold Coffee Press Author Linda Maria Frank

Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord

  Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord
Young Min passes up a chance for a pre-Thanksgiving trip to the city with her parents, never suspecting that this decision will place her in a life-or-death situation. Due to the ferocious snowstorm that catches everyone by surprise, her parents are stranded out on an impassible highway, but it provides the cover Bruno Hessle, a maniacal serial killer, needs to walk away from a minimum security prison near the Quinnu village. He holes up in the warm kitchen where Min sleeps up in the attic to keep warm; forcing her to use everything she has been taught to escape the clutches of this madman. Will she be able to outwit him before her parents arrive and he kills them as they walk through the door?
Min's Monster is currently being considered for a film.Genre: Fiction, General

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord
Lila L. Pinord writes with mastery equal to an artist with a paint brush. I encourage libraries and schools to put ‘Min’s Monster’ on their summer reading list. Here are just three of my favorite quotes from Min’s Monster.
“The city of Center was disturbingly quiet today. Sheriff Andy Mann stood at the window of his upper story office gazing at the snow-covered buildings and streets. Everything is so hushed. Like the city was lying in wait for something to happen – something that would burst this bubble of tranquility.”
“The partially frozen girl stepped put into the clearing and the wind nearly whipped her around to send her back into the tress. Swirls of snow danced around the little cabin where its door swung in and out, in tune with the music of the storm.”
“The screaming and howling went on and on. Across the clearing in front of the cabin’s door stood the small quaking child, rifle held up to her shoulder.”
Who said monsters aren’t real? There is a monster on the loose in a small fishing village in the Pacific Northwest. His next victim is an innocent 12-year-old Native American girl named Min Wills.
Lila weaves tradition, folklore, culture and mysticism into her stories from her own experiences growing up on a Quinault Indian Reservation. Her knowledge of Native American Indian culture not only brings reality to her fiction, it fascinates and educates her readers. 
I encourage you to come read ‘Min’s Monster’ and find out how Min’s Tomanous (Indian animal spirit) plays a role as she struggles to stay one step ahead of her monster.
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Min’s Monster’ along with ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’, ‘Skye Dancer’, and ‘In Time’ by Lila L. Pinord. We purchased Lila’s e-book for this review and it was completed on March 12, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

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Amazon Author’s Page Amazon Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link *************************
Author Lila L. Pinord’s Published Books:
Evil Lives in Blue Rock
In Time
Min’s Monster
Skye Dancer
************************* Lila L. Pinord’s Website


Cold Coffee Press Author Lila L. Pinord
Cold Coffee Café Author Lila L. Pinord

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Lila L. Pinord

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Lila L. Pinord
Fiction Author Lila L. Pinord is author of ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’, ‘In Time’, ‘Min’s Monster’, and ‘Skye Dancer’. Much of Lila’s stories are based on her upbringing on the Quinault Indian Reservation. She creatively pulls on all the legends, superstitions, and mysticism that abounded on the reservation making stories a work of fiction with a bit of the truth tossed in.
Lila was born and raised on the Quinault Indian Reservation in a small fishing village called Queets, Washington. She was so small at birth that her father held her in the palm of one hand. She finished grade school at Queets-Clearwater, then it was on to Lake Quinault High School where she earned a scholarship to Grays Harbor College, being Salutitorian of her class. She married at the age of 21 and had one daughter Kimberley. Divorced, she later married her lifelong friend and loving husband James Pinord. He passed away in November of 2003 from the dreaded killer, cancer.
Accomplishments:At Peninsula College in Port Angeles – her home now- Lila made the President’s List by attaining straight A’s during one quarter. She majored in secretarial and office machines with bookkeeping secondary. Deciding she wouldn’t earn much as a secretary, she went on to Western Washington University and graduated with a BA in Accounting.  Even then, she knew that writing would play a big part in her life.Lila is now a contributing author to three publications out on the market: ‘Authors Guide to Promotion’, ‘200 Authors and How They Were Published’, and ‘Shameless Shorts’, an anthology written by a group of writers who met on an Amazon forum. Royalties are donated to a worthwhile cause.
Additional Information: Lila worked at various jobs which she enjoyed very much including; The Clallam County PUD for four years, an attorney’s office for two years, and Tower Service for two more years. Lila and her husband became vagabonds for a while and traveled the country looking for work during the Reagan Years.  They ended up in Houston, Texas, working for a while before returning to Port Angeles.After retirement, Lila went into writing full time and it certainly paid off when she published her first book ‘Skye Dancer’ in 2003. Her second book ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’ was published on April 30, 2005. Much of her stories are based on her upbringing on the Reservation with all the legends, superstitions and mysticism that abound there. ‘Min’s Monster’ was published in 2007 and is set in the village where she grew up, though it is fiction with a bit of the truth tossed in- as are the other books as well. 
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Interview:
What makes you proud to be a writer from Washington, USA? I have always wanted to see my writings in print with my name on a book cover – to me, there’s no greater thrill.
What or who inspired you to become a writer? When very young, getting my hands on every book in sight! No ONE author inspired me; they all did.
When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I wrote my firs stories when I was 25, but didn’t seriously pursue writing until much later in life after retirement.
Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and why? Definitely. Growing up on a Native American reservation, I listened to dark tales told far into the night and I stored them away for future use. It seems I somehow knew that they would become the basis for future stories. Some of the stories were myths, others were legends, and many were true tales.
Do you come up with your title (s) before or after you write the manuscript (s)? The title Skye Dancer came first, then I wrote the book. Evil Lives in Blue Rock came to me halfway through the writing process. I named Min’s Monster after the book was complete.
Tell us why you write the genre (s) that you write?Thriller/suspense tales are what I enjoy reading first and foremost, so I naturally leaned in that direction. Also many of the tales I heard growing up were in that category.
Tell us your most rewarding experience while in the writing process? Feeling lost in the tale and the excitement I feel as the story progresses. After a while, the characters seem to have a life of their own and the story writes itself.
Tell us your most negative experience while in the writing process? Trying to ease gently from one scene to the next can be daunting sometimes.
Tell us your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? When I held my first published book in hand, the thrill was unimaginable.  I couldn’t put it down; I simply stared at it for the rest of the evening!
Tell us your most negative experience in your publishing journey? The waiting. It truly is a waiting game in this industry. First, trying to find the right publisher, then waiting for the finished product, and of course, all the rewriting that needs to be done.
What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Don’t give up. It may take what seems like forever, but it WILL happen; persistence is your best weapon.
Who is your favorite author? Dean Koontz. After that – Stephen King.
Author Lila L. Pinord’s Published Books:
Evil Lives in Blue Rock
In Time
Min’s Monster
Skye Dancer
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I love writing and hate the lull in between trying to get it published and starting another book. I feel I should be writing every minute of the day! If only one could.
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  Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord
Young Min passes up a chance for a pre-Thanksgiving trip to the city with her parents, never suspecting that this decision will place her in a life-or-death situation. Due to the ferocious snowstorm that catches everyone by surprise, her parents are stranded out on an impassible highway, but it provides the cover Bruno Hessle, a maniacal serial killer, needs to walk away from a minimum security prison near the Quinnu village. He holes up in the warm kitchen where Min sleeps up in the attic to keep warm; forcing her to use everything she has been taught to escape the clutches of this madman. Will she be able to outwit him before her parents arrive and he kills them as they walk through the door?
Min's Monster is currently being considered for a film.Genre: Fiction, General

************************
Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord
Lila L. Pinord writes with mastery equal to an artist with a paint brush. I encourage libraries and schools to put ‘Min’s Monster’ on their summer reading list. Here are just three of my favorite quotes from Min’s Monster.
“The city of Center was disturbingly quiet today. Sheriff Andy Mann stood at the window of his upper story office gazing at the snow-covered buildings and streets. Everything is so hushed. Like the city was lying in wait for something to happen – something that would burst this bubble of tranquility.”“The partially frozen girl stepped put into the clearing and the wind nearly whipped her around to send her back into the tress. Swirls of snow danced around the little cabin where its door swung in and out, in tune with the music of the storm.”
“The screaming and howling went on and on. Across the clearing in front of the cabin’s door stood the small quaking child, rifle held up to her shoulder.”
Who said monsters aren’t real? There is a monster on the loose in a small fishing village in the Pacific Northwest. His next victim is an innocent 12-year-old Native American girl named Min Wills.
Lila weaves tradition, folklore, culture and mysticism into her stories from her own experiences growing up on a Quinault Indian Reservation. Her knowledge of Native American Indian culture not only brings reality to her fiction, it fascinates and educates her readers. 
I encourage you to come read ‘Min’s Monster’ and find out how Min’s Tomanous (Indian animal spirit) plays a role as she struggles to stay one step ahead of her monster.
Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Min’s Monster’ along with ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’, ‘Skye Dancer’, and ‘In Time’ by Lila L. Pinord. We purchased Lila’s e-book for this review and it was completed on March 12, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

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************************* Amazon Author’s Page
Amazon Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes & Noble Purchase Link
Nook Purchase Link

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Author Lila L. Pinord’s Published Books:
Evil Lives in Blue Rock
In Time
Min’s Monster
Skye Dancer
Lila L. Pinord’s Website


Cold Coffee Press Author Lila L. Pinord
Cold Coffee Café Author Lila L. Pinord