C.A. Milson's Blog, page 149
November 25, 2018
Book Blast – FUTURE COMES FROM BEHIND
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. STK Chan will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Fighting what we’ve become.
An ancient dimension of dark echoes from the past.
Lisa and her family barely manage to escape an invasion from the Rebel army in their home of Malta. Shortly after this episode, she discovers Exo, the ancient dimension she cannot understand until her late 20s. Exo is made of memories of the past; it brings forth all the strong echoes we leave behind. Lisa desperately wants to resolve the conflicts of this inner world peacefully, but quickly learns she must fight the shadows in people’s hearts, materialized through battle re-enactments, warfare and emotional turmoil.
Enjoy an Excerpt:
“Are we in danger? I heard Daddy talking to Uncle Bernie about some bad people coming to our island. There’s only water protecting us from them, see?”
“Ah, their long debates over the phone… It’s just chatting; just people talking. No worries here, my dear.”
Her mother paused and reflected on whether to be more honest with her child, as some school advisors were recommending, or whether to continue shielding her from the world’s problems.
“I don’t want them to come to my school. My friends might stay at home because they’re scared.”
“They won’t,” the mother replied with another smile as she caressed the little girl’s brown hair. “They won’t. Let’s get inside, sweetheart; it’s getting chilly.”
They resided in a fortunately situated neighborhood. Though just two miles from the shore, it was elevated enough to have an unobstructed sea view over the gentle slope of their rocky hill. Before entering the house, Lisa spotted some movement above her head.
“Hey, it’s Reblas!” She waved at their neighbor, who was tranquilly gazing through his telescope, poking out of his dark attic window. “Any shooting princesses today?”
“Why don’t you come over and take a look? It’s a cheesy moon out tonight,” beamed the man. He was recently retired and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life on the island.
“It’s late. Maybe tomorrow,” Lisa’s mother called back.
“’Night, Reblas.”
“Sure thing, Strawberry. It’ll be there tomorrow as well—always waiting for us to look up and admire it!”
The electric shutter on the back door slowly closed after they had passed through. Reblas adjusted his telescope’s lens and angle, observing the horizon, while in the background, concerned voices on the radio discussed the recent riots in Europe and the increasing numbers of boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea from both continents.
[image error]
About the Author:
A fan of nourishing SF&F fiction. Seeker of essential truths in historical non-fiction. Exploring life for almost half a century. Delivering action and matters of the inner self. “Chan has license to be more philosophical and issue-oriented, and on the whole he blends together different genres well.” (John Staughton, SPR)
Website: http://stkchan.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18365677.S_T_K_Chan
The book is $0.99 during the tour.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/PARADIGM-SHIFT-Future-comes-behind-ebook/dp/B07GVNH3GQ
Other book venues: http://stkchan.com/#shortcode-88edda7ce3603c2b9a964b5f0f2b8d1e
STK Chan will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
November 24, 2018
VBT – Inside the Chinese Wine Industry
[image error]
About the Book
Title: Inside the Chinese Wine Industry
Author: Loren Mayshark
Genre: Nonfiction
[image error]
The wine business is one of the world’s most fascinating industries and China is considered the rising star. A hidden secret, the Chinese wine industry continues to grow at an amazing pace and is projected to soon enter the top five producing nations, supplanting long established countries such as Australia. Inside the Chinese Wine Industry: The Past, Present, and Future of Wine in China takes you through the growing Chinese wine scene.
Wine has had a meteoric rise in China over the past two decades. The nation is projected to become the second most valuable market for wine in the world by 2020. One recent study concluded that 96% of young Chinese adults consider wine their alcoholic drink of choice. Not only does Inside the Chinese Wine Industry explore current expansion and business models, it journeys back to the past to see where it all began.
There are more than seven hundred wineries in China today. Although it’s bit of an oversimplification, the vast majority of the wineries fit into one of two categories: the larger established producers who churn out mostly plonk to meet the growing demand for inexpensive wine and the newer wineries that try to cater to the tastes of the wealthy Chinese with money to spend on luxury goods like fine wine. In the words of wine guru Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, “The cheap wines from the very large producers have mostly verged on dismal.” However, this should not be considered a blanket statement regarding every wine from large producers. Also, she has positive reflections regarding the level of wine produced by “cutting-edge wineries” which she finds “far better.” How good are they? MacNeil asserts: “Some of these wines are so good they could easily pass for a California or Bordeaux wine in a blind tasting.”
[image error]
Author Bio
[image error]
Loren Mayshark studied Chinese art, religion, philosophy, and history while earning a B.A. in history from Manhattanville College in New York. After graduation, he attended The Gotham Writers Workshop and the prestigious New York Writers Workshop. He has written about the Chinese wine industry for The Jovial Journey and Sublime China.
After college, he supported his itinerant lifestyle by working dozens of jobs, including golf caddy, travel writer, construction worker, fireworks salesman, substitute teacher, and vineyard laborer. Predominantly his jobs have been in the restaurant industry. He cut his teeth as a server, maître d’, and bartender at San Francisco’s historic Fisherman’s Grotto #9, the original restaurant on the Fisherman’s Wharf. While working with a colorful crew of primarily Mexican and Chinese co-workers.
He spent much of his young adult life exploring the wine industry from Sonoma Valley to the North Fork of Long Island, immersing himself in vineyards and learning valuable lessons. He has traveled extensively in South America, Europe, and Asia. He presently splits his time between Western New York and Sweden.
His first book, Death: An Exploration, won the 2016 Beverly Hills Book Award in the category of Death and Dying and was a finalist for book of the year in the 2016 Foreword INDIES Awards in the category of Grief/Grieving (Adult Nonfiction). Inside the Chinese Wine Industry is his third book.
For more information visit his website: lorenmayshark.com.
Keep up with him on Twitter: @LorenMayshark
[image error]
Links
Twitter: https://bit.ly/2JgrXQy
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2OLTEGE
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PlLUuF
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2PoUKHW and http://bit.ly/LMaysharkFB
Author Website Bookpage: http://bit.ly/LmaysharkWB
[image error]
Book Excerpt
CHAPTER I:
Introduction
Few things signal civilization and sophistication more than enjoying a fine wine with an excellent meal. It may be asserted that China is the world’s oldest continuous civilization. One of the features of its culture is that Chinese cuisine serves up superb meals. Until recently, however, fine wines have been absent there, at least wine made from the noble grape.
In many ways, we live in a golden age for wine. The wine world has many exciting new wrinkles from fancy new mobile applications to devices that allow us to extract a glass of wine from a bottle and then return it to the cellar to rest for a couple of years without changing the character of the wine. With all the current trends and innovations, it is the best time to enjoy wine. This is certainly a special age, in the words of renowned wine critic Jancis Robinson: “The irony is that just as the difference in price between the best and worst wines is greater than it has ever been, the difference in quality is narrower than ever before.” Perhaps one of the most pervasive reasons for this truism, which Robinson so eloquently captured, is the globalization of the wine industry. One cannot fully understand the global wine industry of today without developing a deeper understanding of its largest and fastest growing player: China.
Though starting relatively late historically with grape wine production and consumption, China has been catching up quickly. China’s role in the global wine industry continues to grow at an astonishing pace. Wine consumption in China doubled between 2008 and 2013 when China became the fifth largest consumer of wine in the world. At the end of 2013, China became the world’s largest market for red wine, and China is projected to become the second most valuable market for wine in the world by 2020 (behind the U.S.), which will have a profound impact on various aspects of the global wine industry. These are significant statistics for anyone who has a serious interest in the global wine industry.
To feed the rapidly rising consumption, the domestic production in China has also increased at an amazing rate. China now has more than seven hundred vineyards, compared to 240 in 1995. As of 2018, China is projected to have the second largest area of wine grapes planted in the world and to be the seventh largest producer of wine.
While wine has deep roots in Western culture, China has a rich history of wine production which dates back to millennia before Christ. However, it must be stressed that this tradition is almost exclusively rice wine. The production and mass consumption of grape wine is a recent phenomenon in China. A 2015 poll found that 96 percent of young adults in China select wine as their favored alcoholic beverage. This book examines the development of the Chinese wine industry in a historical context and explains how the Chinese grape wine industry has exploded in the last two decades. We will explore the fascination with European Grapes in China and the explosion of the import and consumption of Vitis vinifera (the most important wine-grape species in the world) in China and the historical precedent for that. We will attempt to answer burning questions such as: What changed to make China wine-crazy? How can a tourist enjoy unique wine experiences in China? Why is mass wine production and consumption a modern phenomenon? Why are there not a lot of Chinese wines exported to the United States and Europe?
Quoted in George M. Taber, A Toast to Bargain Wines: How Innovators, Iconoclasts, and Winemaking Revolutionaries Are Changing the Way the World Drinks, 1st Scribner ed (New York: Scribner, 2011), 1.
Vinexpo Newsroom, “China Is a Leading Wine Market of the Future,” Vinexpo Newsroom – Wine & Spirits News by Vinexpo (blog), April 4, 2017, https://www.vinexpo-newsroom.com/china-is-a-leading-wine-market-of-the-future/.
Suzanne Mustacich, Thirsty Dragon: China’s Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World’s Best Wines, First edition (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2015), 56.
“State of the Vitiviniculture World Market” (International Organisation of Wine and Vine (OIV), April 2018), http://www.oiv.int/public/medias/5958/oiv-state-of-the-vitiviniculture-world-market-april-2018.pdf.
Can Akalin and Lawrence Lazar, Wine in China: Insights on a Burgeoning Industry in an e/m Commerce Context, 2 edition, Kindle Edition, (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015), Location 89.
[image error]
November 19, 2018
Book Blast – LONGEVITY
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Caleb Smith will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Noah Thomas is a scrawny seventh grader who is bullied to the brink in his new town. Friendless, except for sassy tomboy Wendy Sherman, who seems to lend him the confidence he needs to stand up to his oppressors. Upon stumbling into a bookshop one afternoon while on the run from some teenaged tyrants, Noah is hurled into an unexplainable adventure. Noah learns that the bookshop does, in fact, lead to the Akashic Records – a place that holds all spirit lives recorded in tablets of light. With this new found knowledge, Noah begins to grow in wisdom and confidence to face his fears. His biggest challenge comes in the form of five demonic spirits that he accidentally lets loose from a lost tablet. Will Noah succeed with the help of his guardian angel cat he calls Keeper, or will all Hell’s henchman prevail?
“A spiritual thriller that skillfully celebrates determination and self-discipline – Kirkus Reviews “
[image error]
Read an Excerpt:
They reached the side of the building from which Noah’s room could easily be seen, and the twins walked through the exterior wall, making themselves visible. Noah was knocked unconscious and appeared lying on the floor, wedged against debris and a corner wall space. The book was on the floor, alive and open, shaking wildly, while the magic of dark energies poured from its depths. There was a flow of freed evil creatures clawing out through the window and into the night air. Enoch scooped the book up and slammed it shut; great, heavy iron doors locking into place.
About the Author:
Caleb Smith an author from Bangor Maine, holds a passion for nature, spiritual study, family, poetry, art, strength training and golf. Honesty, simplicity and a hard work ethic are the best things that shape his day.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/calebsmithauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/calebsmith
Publisher: http://www.blackrosewriting.com
Goodreads Giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/284681-longevity-the-wardens-of-time
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Wardens-Time-Caleb-Smith/dp/1684331382
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/longevity-caleb-smith/1129584642
http://www.blackrosewriting.com/childrens-booksya/longevity
Caleb Smith will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Book Video:
November 16, 2018
Movie Review – Wolf Mother (2016)
[image error]
Wolf Mother (2016)
Director:
Writer: Erik Peter Carlson
Stars: , , , , , and
Plot: In an attempt to rectify their criminal past, a once successful Hollywood starlet, turned prostitute, and a petty, misogynistic thief, set out together to solve a high profile child abduction case in San Francisco.
Tagline: Zelda has some baggage.
[image error]
Review: I admit I got about as far as Najarra and Tom sitting in the cafe and her chowing down like there’s no tomorrow. That was enough to tell me this film was absolute rubbish and a waste of time and money. I give this a zero out of 100, it was that bad.
Verdict: Cheesy, predictable, failed to rise to any occasion.
Rating: 0/10
November 15, 2018
VBT – WEDGE OF FEAR
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eugene M. Gagliano will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Overshadowed by the death of his brother, Tony is about to encounter the western way of life when his parents move from the East Coast to Wyoming. Starting in a new school as a sixth grader isn’t easy when your controlling mother is fearful of everything. Tony likes his new teacher, Mr. Brunswick, but Regina, the class bully, does her best to makes his life difficult. Jed, the son of a rancher, befriends Tony and helps him adjust to his new environment. Life becomes more complicated when his grandmother dies and a series of unpredictable events causes his father to question his ability to take care of himself and be responsible. In the end, Tony is tested when a tornado rips through his neighborhood.
Read an Excerpt
“Stop treating me like a little kid!”
“Tony, don’t talk to your mother that way.” Dad pointed a finger at him.
“But, Dad, nobody in sixth grade has their mom go with them to school on their first day.” Tony pushed strands of hair out of his eyes and sighed. He placed his empty cereal bowl on the kitchen counter.
“I just want you to get off to a good start. This is a new school,” Mom said, rinsing out a dish. “We’ve only been in Wyoming a week, and you don’t know anybody yet.”
“I’ll be fine, Mom,” Tony said, even though his stomach tightened with the thought of going to a new school. What if the kids didn’t like him? What if they made fun of him because he was from New York? Could he take care of himself?
Tony’s broad-shouldered dad, Gene, reached down and wrapped his arms around his wife’s tiny waist. “Frances, Tony will be fine.” He winked at Tony.
“But, Gene, what if…” Mom looked down and rubbed her hands on her skirt.
“He’ll be all right,” Dad whispered into her ear.
Tony smiled. “I’ll be okay. I’ll make new friends.”
“Well, I suppose. But make sure you’re careful with your new jeans. Money is tight now, with moving and all. I can’t afford to buy you new clothes the way that you’re growing.” She reached over to adjust his shirt collar.
Tony pulled away. “Mom, don’t.”
“Tony, you’d better get going so you’re not late.” Dad placed his arm around Tony’s shoulder. “I’ll see you tonight. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Dad. Bye, Mom.”
About the Author:
Wyoming’s State Poet Laureate, known by many children as the “teacher who dances on his desk,“ Gene Gagliano is a retired elementary school teacher with a great sense of humor, who lives with his wife Carol at the base of the Bighorn Mountains in Buffalo, Wyoming. Gene is the author of: C is for Cowboy, a Wyoming Alphabet; Four Wheels West, a Wyoming Number Book; V is for Venus Flytrap, a Plant Alphabet; My Teacher Dances on the Desk; Little Wyoming; The Magic Box; Angel’s Landing; Booger, Dee and the Mammoth, and Is It True? A collection of humorous poetry. His newest book is a middle grade fiction book titled Wedge of Fear. He enjoys making his educational, entertaining and inspirational school visits, as well as presenting for adults at conferences and library functions. Gene’s hobbies include hiking, canoeing, singing, reading, painting, and gardening.
To learn more about the author go to Gene’s website and to his Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/dancingteacher
Wedge of Fear is available on Amazon.com: http://a.co/d/gY2VS8O
Eugene M. Gagliano will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
November 14, 2018
Spotlight – 50 Ways to Get Your Way
[image error]
50 WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY by Juliet Huck, Motivational/Nonfiction, 120 pp., $14.95 (paperback)
Title: 50 WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY
Author: Juliet Huck
Publisher: The Huck Group
Pages: 120
Genre: Motivational/Nonfiction
50 Ways to Get Your Way by Juliet Huck
Promotes the Art of Persuading Others
Using the Simple Power of Commonsense Values
In 50 WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY, Juliet Huck
shares the lessons she learned while growing up on her family’s farm in rural
Ohio—values such as being grateful, nurturing relationships, and listening
intently, which she used to build a successful career as a persuasion
strategist working with corporate clients and on high-profile legal cases. Huck
teaches readers how to be persuasive in a manner that is honorable and
respectful, while making genuine human connections.
The tools Huck shares in 50 WAYS TO GET YOUR
WAY are familiar, but the author notes that many of these values are
missing in the current social climate. Using beautiful images (many
photographed by the author) and conversational prose, Huck encourages readers
to commit to a practice of awareness—of self and others—and guides them through
the dance of building relationships that will help them achieve their goals.
While all of the pearls of wisdom presented in 50 WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY
are essential ingredients for developing into a solid human being, several
offer the building blocks for becoming an exceptional person who gets what he
or she wants. Being empathetic by learning what other people find meaningful,
paying attention to the effect that one’s tone can have on others, telling a
compelling story, letting go of expectations to minimize disappointment, and
understanding the importance of clarity when asking for assistance or sharing
plans are just a few of the gems that Huck examines in her book.
Huck acknowledges that the principles outlined in 50
WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY are not “rocket science”; however, she believes they
are timely. “Observing the current environment, I could not sit back and be
silent about how we are treating each other—especially when we need something
from someone else. I felt instead of fighting with others, it is time to remind
us of the beautiful things that can connect us,” Huck said.
50 WAYS TO GET YOUR WAY was written with the intention of helping
people fulfill their personal and professional needs by mastering the art of
making genuine connections.
ORDER YOUR COPY:
Amazon
The Declaration of Persuasion
Persuasion in NOT a call to action – it is a directed action
It is
time to break up the myth that persuasion is
a call
to action. To “call” is to “invite.” This puts all
the
power in someone else’s hands. While to “direct”
is to
“control.” This is the ultimate way to give you
the
power you need to get what you want. Inviting
someone
to do something allows them to say no. You
must
lead or direct them to what you want in simple
words,
statistics and/or visuals proportional to the
magnitude
of your need. Think of a traffic cop. They
are not
inviting you to take their direction. You are
clearly
persuaded to do what they want you to do
as they
are in control. Moving someone to decide
in your
favor is not always easy but there are steps
which
you can take that will get you what you want.
Carry on!
Juliet Huck is an expert in persuasive communications with 25 years
of experience. She was born in Marietta, Ohio, and holds a bachelor’s
degree in fine arts. During her career, she has worked with the US
Department of Justice for the Enron litigation, Exxon Mobil, Boeing, and
law firms, such as O’Melveny and Myers, Kirkland and Ellis, and King
and Spalding, among other high-profile clients. Juliet is the author of 50 Ways to Get Your Way and The Equation of Persuasion: Securing Decisions in Your Favor.Her latest book, 50 Ways to Get Your Way, offers insights
for skillfully using persuasion in work and in life by forming
meaningful relationships. It is the first book in a series that will
teach readers how to get what they want in all facets of their lives.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
AUTHOR WEBSITE | BOOK WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK |
INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | LINKEDIN
VBT – My Wonderful Wobbly Life
[image error]
My Wonderful Wobbly Life
by Charles Irwin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Memoir (Autobiography)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[image error]
BLURB:
Having survived quite a few birthdays and had some interesting experiences, I wrote them down. That’s how “My Wonderful Wobbly Life” was conceived. It was nearly born in 2004, but decided to hang on until 2018 to become ‘Born again‘ Alleluia!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[image error]
EXCERPT
Chapter 1 – SURVIVAL
“I’ve changed my mind! I’ve changed my mind! I don’twant to go.”
I have a vague memory of making this cry from a railway carriage as I was stolen from my parents by authoritarians.
I was five years old when the authorities decreed I had to be placed in a home for children. Their decision was final and all avenues of appeal against it were exhausted when my father, to soften the blow of parting, talked me into what he described as an adventure.
It was not until the train began to move and the realisation came I was leaving my parents forever, that I made my plaintive cry:
“I’ve changed my mind!”
When I arrived at the home my world changed, never to be the same again. My loving mother and my fun-filled father were gone and in their place were grown-ups I did not know. I did not understand what was going on. There were lots of crippled children, but why was I there with them? Okay, I couldn’t walk very far without falling over. I shook uncontrollably most of the time for no apparent reason. I couldn’t speak very clearly. But, I’d been like this all my life, for me it was normal. So, what was I doing here? “
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[image error]
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Charles was born in London U.K. in 1932. During his birth the forceps slipped, resulting in brain damage to the motor control nerves of his right side and causing total body spasticity. However, his intellect was not damaged. Throughout his life the two adversaries, controllable brain and semi-controllable body, always needed to be balanced. After several years of work and study he became a Chartered Production Engineer. In 1971 he emigrated to Australia and became a senior examiner in the Australian Patent office. This autobiography illustrates the rhyme: “He started to sing as he tackled the thing, That couldn’t be done – but he DID IT!” Charles chronicles his journey from useless to useful, with humour and joie de vie. He pays tribute to friends who only gave him help when it was asked for. At a young age he recognized his psychic abilities and, by using lessons at the end of each chapter, shares some insights with readers
Buy Link: BOOK IS ON SALE FOR $0.99 DURING THE TOUR
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/My-Wonderful-Wobbly-Life-Autobiography-ebook/dp/B077PF88CT/ref=sr_1_1
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-wonderful-wobbly-life-charles-irwin/1127552673
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
Enter to win a $50 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERVIEW
If you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be?
There is no point in apologizing in retrospect, because the incident that took place does not have the same significance now time has washed over it. Ergo, there is no-one to be given an apology.
If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?
Pegasus the winged horse. Then I could invent and indulge in a new hobby of ‘Drone Round-up!’
How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?
That is easy to answer. I don’t let them live my life for me.
What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
I cannot recall ever having been given any advice about writing in general. Any advice I have been given has usually concerned specific points being presented in an article I was writing. However, since publishing my book and trying to write another, I have been given a platinum piece of advice. Which I share with you, “Write like a Reader!”
Are the experiences in this book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
The title of my book being “My Wonderful Wobbly Life,” gives a big clue to the answer of this question. It is a memoir of my life, outlining the trials and tribulations of coming to terms with being disabled in an abled world. The problems of getting an education, finding and keeping employment, being accepted in society and by the opposite sex were difficult to overcome. ‘The rows were hard to hoe, but the plant of life grew to maturity.’
VBT – SOME MEN’S DREAMS
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eileen Dreyer will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
SHE HAS NO TIME FOR LOVE
Dr. Gen Kendall has paid too high a price to let anything get in the way of her dream. In one month she’ll be a full-fledged doctor. She just has to impress her chief of staff, Dr. Jack O’Neill. She impresses him, all right. With one swing of a softball bat she puts him in his own hospital and changes both of their lives forever.
HE HAS NO TASTE FOR LOVE
A widower with a 12-year-old daughter, Jack hopes this move to Chicago will signal a new life for them both. He doesn’t plan on finding himself literally at the feet of one of the most compelling women he’s ever known. He certainly doesn’t expect her to turn his life upside down when she recognizes something in his daughter that could well break his heart. Is love enough to see them through, especially when it means that not just Jack but Gen must face the ghosts of their pasts to save his little girl?
[image error]
Read an Excerpt
“You look like hell.”
Gen couldn’t help but laugh. “I hope you don’t expect me to say you look any better.”
She was glad when he closed his eyes. He wouldn’t see her rub her hands along her pants to wipe off the sudden perspiration. He wouldn’t be close enough to hear the sudden staccato of her heart.
Good grief, she thought. He looks like day-old hamburger, and I’m about to swoon. Her hands were tingling all the way to her elbows, and she had done nothing more than push him back into bed. She wanted his teasing. She wanted, ridiculously enough, to settle herself on the side of his bed and just enjoy his company.
A man who was recovering from a head injury. The man she’d single-handedly put in the ICU.
[image error]
About the Author:
New York Times bestselling, RWA Hall of Fame author Eileen Dreyer has published 31 romance novels in most genres, 8 medicalforensic suspenses, and 10 short stories.
2018 sees Eileen enjoying critical acclaim for her foray into historical romance, the Drake’s Rakes series, which Eileen labels as Regency Romantic Adventure that follows a group of Regency aristocrats who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep their country safe. She is also working on her first nonfiction book, TRAVELS WITH DAVE, about a journey she’s been taking with a friend’s ashes.
A retired trauma nurse, Eileen lives in her native St. Louis with her husband, children, and large and noisy Irish family, of which she is the reluctant matriarch. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.
Website — http://eileendreyer.com
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/EileenDreyer
Twitter — https://twitter.com/eileendreyer
Buy Links:
Amazon https://goo.gl/WT5QfF
iBooks https://goo.gl/bALN6z
Eileen Dreyer will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
November 13, 2018
Book Blast – MISTLETOE IN MAYHEM
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. L.E. Rico will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the rest of the stops on the tours.
A Christmas Wedding In Mayhem
You’re cordially invited to the wedding of the century! Please join bride-trying-not-to-be-a-zilla Hennessy O’Halloran and her prince-in-shining-snow-boots as they finally say, “I do.” Unless a rogue wedding planner and a blizzard that takes out the entire Midwest can stop them, these two will get married on Christmas. The town of Mayhem will make sure of it.
A Surprise Baby In Mayhem
The town of Mayhem, Minnesota, is about to have a population explosion…and the Whiskey Sisters are getting more than they expected! While newlyweds Henny and Bryan are anxiously awaiting not one but two little bundles of joy, Jameson and Scott are focusing on planning their own perfect wedding, with only one troublesome toddler in tow. But babies have a way of arriving on their own schedules…and fate has a way of intervening in this quirky hamlet. Now, the couple finds themselves scrambling to beat the clock—and the odds—to their own happily ever after before their unexpected special delivery arrives.
Travel to the quirky town of Mayhem, Minnesota, with these two companion novellas that prove love, and sisterhood, will always save the day.
[image error]
Read an Excerpt
From Novella 2: Baby Bedlam
“I was thinking…”
She’s on guard immediately.
“Uh-huhhhhhh?”
I give her my best naughty smile.
“Nothing bad,” I assure her. “I figured maybe you and I could just get away for a couple of nights? We could sort out some of the wedding plans…maybe get a jump on the honeymoon…”
Jameson rolls her eyes and smiles at my suggestive suggestion. “Why don’t we just stay here? You, me, the calendar…the three of us can hole up here under the covers,” she counter-offers, wagging her eyebrows up and down in her own…suggestion.
But, adorable as she is, I shake my head.
“Nope.”
“Nope to which part of it? Me? Bed? The calendar?” she asks, sounding slightly amused.
“The ‘here’ part of it,” I explain. “Because you know it won’t just be you and me. It’ll also be Walker. And Bailey. And Bailey’s friend Dana. And Dana’s boyfriend Joseph—”
“All right already! I get the idea!” She’s giggling, even as she kicks me gently with her foot. “Then where did you have in mind?”
“Just leave that up to me.”
“Hmmm…a surprise…I think I quite like that, Scott Clarke.”
“Me, too,” I say, even as I’m leaning down to put my mouth to hers.
“I can’t wait to see what you have in mind,” she whispers between kisses.
Me, too.
[image error]About the Author:
L.E. Rico didn’t set out to be an author. In fact, she’s made a name for herself as a classical music radio host—doing her best to make the music and the composers relevant by putting them into a modern context. It was just a few years ago that she discovered a passion for writing that blossomed into an entire novel. And then another. And another. And, while she still spends plenty of time on the radio, telling the stories of the great composers, she spends even more time composing her own great stories.
Website: http://www.LaurenRico.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheLaurenRico
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/LaurenRicoAuthor
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Mistletoe-Mayhem-Boxed-Whiskey-Sisters-ebook/dp/B07JLZMGD1/ref=sr_1_1
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mistletoe-in-mayhem-boxed-set-le-rico/1129767993
L.E. Rico will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
November 12, 2018
VBT – Inside the Chinese Wine Industry
Book Trailer
About the Book
Title: Inside the Chinese Wine Industry
Author: Loren Mayshark
Genre: Nonfiction
The wine business is one of the world’s most fascinating industries and China is considered the rising star. A hidden secret, the Chinese wine industry continues to grow at an amazing pace and is projected to soon enter the top five producing nations, supplanting long established countries such as Australia. Inside the Chinese Wine Industry: The Past, Present, and Future of Wine in China takes you through the growing Chinese wine scene.
Wine has had a meteoric rise in China over the past two decades. The nation is projected to become the second most valuable market for wine in the world by 2020. One recent study concluded that 96% of young Chinese adults consider wine their alcoholic drink of choice. Not only does Inside the Chinese Wine Industry explore current expansion and business models, it journeys back to the past to see where it all began.
There are more than seven hundred wineries in China today. Although it’s bit of an oversimplification, the vast majority of the wineries fit into one of two categories: the larger established producers who churn out mostly plonk to meet the growing demand for inexpensive wine and the newer wineries that try to cater to the tastes of the wealthy Chinese with money to spend on luxury goods like fine wine. In the words of wine guru Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, “The cheap wines from the very large producers have mostly verged on dismal.” However, this should not be considered a blanket statement regarding every wine from large producers. Also, she has positive reflections regarding the level of wine produced by “cutting-edge wineries” which she finds “far better.” How good are they? MacNeil asserts: “Some of these wines are so good they could easily pass for a California or Bordeaux wine in a blind tasting.”
Author Bio
Loren Mayshark studied Chinese art, religion, philosophy, and history while earning a B.A. in history from Manhattanville College in New York. After graduation, he attended The Gotham Writers Workshop and the prestigious New York Writers Workshop. He has written about the Chinese wine industry for The Jovial Journey and Sublime China.
After college, he supported his itinerant lifestyle by working dozens of jobs, including golf caddy, travel writer, construction worker, fireworks salesman, substitute teacher, and vineyard laborer. Predominantly his jobs have been in the restaurant industry. He cut his teeth as a server, maître d’, and bartender at San Francisco’s historic Fisherman’s Grotto #9, the original restaurant on the Fisherman’s Wharf. While working with a colorful crew of primarily Mexican and Chinese co-workers.
He spent much of his young adult life exploring the wine industry from Sonoma Valley to the North Fork of Long Island, immersing himself in vineyards and learning valuable lessons. He has traveled extensively in South America, Europe, and Asia. He presently splits his time between Western New York and Sweden.
His first book, Death: An Exploration, won the 2016 Beverly Hills Book Award in the category of Death and Dying and was a finalist for book of the year in the 2016 Foreword INDIES Awards in the category of Grief/Grieving (Adult Nonfiction). Inside the Chinese Wine Industry is his third book.
For more information visit his website: lorenmayshark.com.
Keep up with him on Twitter: @LorenMayshark
Links
Facebook Book Page and Facebook Author Page
