Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 63
June 5, 2024
Blog Tour: THE BODY AT THE BEACH by K.J. Sweeney
Helena has never dreamt of becoming an amateur detective. But whenshe finds the body of a young woman while on a walk, she can't helpbut try and discover who she was and how she got there.
The Body at Back Beach
by KJ Sweeney
Genre: MurderMystery
Helena Statham never imagined herself as a sleuth. But when shestumbles upon the body of a young woman while on a walk, she can'tresist the urge to discover who she was and how she got there. Evenif it means upsetting the tight-knit community of the small NewZealand town she lives in, and uncovering secrets that have long beenburied.
Thirty years ago, a young woman went missing, but no onetried to find out what had happened to her. As Helena investigatesdeeper, she learns more about what took place back then, puttingherself in danger now.
Join Helena on her journey as she becomesan unlikely amateur detective, determined to uncover the truth andbring justice to the long-forgotten young woman whose story has beenburied in silence for far too long.
Amazon* TheWild Rose Press *Apple* B&N* Google* Kobo* Bookbub* Goodreads
Kelly Jo Sweeney grew up in England before moving to New Zealandwhere she lived for 15 years with her kiwi husband and four wonderfulchildren. An avid reader from an early age, crime novels have longbeen a favourite. She always likes to work out whodunnit before thebig reveal and writing her own novels means that there’s at leastone that she’ll always get right. Her debut novel is set in andinspired by the unique scenery of New Zealand, infusing her storieswith a wonderful sense of place and atmosphere.
Website* Facebook* X * Instagram* Amazon* Goodreads
Followthe tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
June 4, 2024
Blog Tour: PLAYING ARMY by Nancy Stroer
PLAYING ARMY
Nancy Stroer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: UpLit / domestic war
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
It’s1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia are gearing up to deploy toBosnia, but Lieutenant Minerva Mills has no intention of going to war-torneastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and, desperate for some kindof connection to him, she’s determinedto go on a long-promised tour to Asia. But the Colonel will only release her ontwo conditions—that she reform the rag-tag Headquarters Company so they’reready for the peacekeeping mission, and that she get her weight within Armyregs, whichever comes second. Min only has one summer to kick everyone’s buttsinto shape but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers—and herbody—rebel. If she can’t even get the other women on her side, much less losethose eight lousy pounds, she’ll never have another chance to stand where herfather once stood in Vietnam, feeling what he felt. The Colonel may sweep heralong to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Can you fake it untilyou make it? Min is about to find out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ExcerptThree:
I turned to look, but before I could see, before I couldprocess what was happening, brakes squealed and treads strained against theirforward trajectory. A tracked vehicle did not turn on a dime when hemmed in bytrees. Washburn had climbed into the passenger side of my Humvee to get on theradio and his helmet and Reyes’s—awake now and likewise silhouetted against thebrightness—were turned toward an armored personnel carrier that burst frombetween the trees straight at them.
Bright lights made a fuzzy arc in the smoke, then the APCplowed into the vinyl side of the Humvee. There was a sickening crunch, thesound of armor hitting the thin, metal-framed doors. The Humvee lurched forwardinto the back corner of the deuce, pushed by the much larger vehicle. The deucemoved, too, then halted the Humvee’s momentum.
I froze. It took a full five seconds for the cicadas torecover, to begin screaming into the night, although an engine fan was stillrunning somewhere. Those five seconds were so dense I could hear the Browniannoise of molecules struggling for space. Then someone was screaming in alanguage I didn’t know. Maybe Reyes? Screaming in Tagalog? Robinson emergedfrom the cab of the deuce and stumbled toward me on the trail but I motionedher back. “Lay on the horn,” I said. “Fuck light and noise discipline. Turn onthe headlights and don’t stop blasting the horn until somebody turns up.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Nancy Stroer grew up in a very big family in a very smallhouse in Athens, Georgia and served in the beer-soaked trenches of post-ColdWar Germany. She holds degrees from Cornell and Boston University, and her workhas appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Soldiers magazine, Hallaren Lit Mag,Wrath-Bearing Tree, and Things We Carry Still, an anthology of military writingfrom Middle West Press.
She’s a teacher and a trainer, and an adjunct faculty memberof the Ellyn Satter Institute, a 503(c) not-for-profit that helps individualsand families develop a more joyful relationship to food and their bodies.Playing Army is her first novel.
Social media links:
https://twitter.com/Nancy_Stroer
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49311942.Nancy_Stroer https://www.facebook.com/nancy.stroer/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-stroer-86213089/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Arandomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Blog Tour: THE TRUDY GENOVA MANHATTAN Mystery Series by M.K, Graff
Nurse Trudy Genova mixes her movie studio consulting work with hernose for murder!
Death in the Orchard
The Trudy GenovaManhattan Mysteries Book 3
by M.K. Graff
Genre: Mystery,Police Procedural, Amateur Sleuth
Thethird Trudy Genova mystery from award-winning author M. K. Graffbrings Trudy home, leaving her New York City studio consulting job tovisit her rural hometown of Schoharie, three hours north. NYPDdetective Ned O'Malley accompanies Trudy, primed to meet her family,but with a secret mission to find out what really happened when herfather died eleven years ago.
Mario Genova's death was deemeda tragic accident, but Trudy feels there was more to her belovedfather acting out of character the day before he died. After years ofhard work building a successful apple orchard business with hermother, Mario cleaned out their bank accounts. No reason-and nomoney-was ever found. As Trudy and Ned try to investigate withoutinforming her family of their actions, a new death occurs on GenovaOrchards property, and once again Trudy's family is under scrutiny.
"A welcome and forcefulreturn of MK Graff's Trudy Genova, Death in the Orchard is a well-crafted and thought-provoking story of unexplained death andcold-blooded murder, as Trudy sets out to solve the death of herfather with her NYPD boyfriend Ned O'Malley. The couple return to theGenova family orchards to dig into the past as the present threatensto shake the family to their very core.
Graff deals us a cold case offamily intrigue, a small-town conspiracy, and a terrifying leap intothe unknown, as her heroine comes face to face with a secret shethought would never be told, a case impossible to solve, and a doggeddetermination to finally get to the truth.
A masterclass in laying thethreads bare and knitting them together in a satisfying conclusion."
Mandy Morton, Author of TheNo. 2 Feline Detective Agency series
Amazon* BridlePathPress* Goodreads
Death at the Dakota
The Trudy GenovaManhattan Mysteries 2
Nurse Trudy Genova is making plans to take her relationship with NYPDdetective Ned O'Malley to the next level when she lands a gig asmedical consultant on a film shoot at the famed Dakota apartmentbuilding in Manhattan, which John Lennon once called home. Then starMonica Kiley goes missing, a cast member turns up dead, and itappears Trudy might be next. Meanwhile Ned tackles a mysteriousmurder case in which the victim is burned beyond recognition. Whenhis investigations lead him back to the Dakota, Trudy finds herselfwondering: how can she fall in love if she can't evensurvive?
Readers of Death Unscripted, the first book inthe Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery series, will find the samepleasures in this sequel: fast pacing, engaging characters, twistsand turns on the way to a satisfying close. Once again M.K. Graffreveals her talents in crafting this delightful mix of amateur sleuthand police procedural.
Part procedural, part cozy, Deathat the Dakota is a well-crafted and highly entertaining mystery.-Bruce Robert Coffin, #1 bestselling author of the Detective Byronmysteries.
I fell in love -- not only withco-protagonists, Trudy and Ned, the richly detailed and historicsetting of The Dakota, and the unique cast of characters, but withthe unusual plot of Death at the Dakota. Sherry Harris, Agatha Awardnominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries
Amazon* BridlePathPress* Bookbub* Goodreads
Death Unscripted
The Trudy GenovaManhattan Mysteries Book 1
Trudy Genova has the best job any nurse could want, working on set asa medical consultant for a NY movie studio. No more uniforms, bedpansor emergencies, until at the actor whose overtures she's refused diessuddenly while taping a hospital scene--but not before pointing hisfinger accusingly at Trudy. When detectives view Trudy as a suspect,she sets out on an investigation to clear her name. Then a seconddeath occurs, and Trudy realizes she's put herself in jeopardy.
Anew mystery from the award-winning author of the Nora Tierney EnglishMystery Series, DEATH UNSCRIPTED is based on the authors' real workexperience during her nursing career and is the mystery seriesBritish Queen of Crime P. D. James insisted she write. A mix ofamateur sleuth and police procedural, the story is told in firstperson from Trudy's point of view, and in third from NYPD DetectiveNed O'Malley
Marilyn Chris, Obie and Drama DeskAward-winning actor who played Wanda Wolek on ABC's soap "OneLife to Live" notes: "Graff gets behind the scenes of soapsjust right, as well she should--she was there!"
EdithMaxell, national bestselling author of multiple mystery series says:"Your blood pressure will soar during M. K. Graff's newManhattan Mystery, as nurse Trudy Genova takes the pulse of a killerduring a soap opera filming in Death Unscripted. You won't even thinkabout changing the channel during this smart, suspensefulmystery."
And Triss Stein, author of the Erica DonatoMysteries, has this to say: "Soap opera drama is as intense onthe set as it is on the screen. Sometimes Trudy Genova, consultingnurse, feels like the only sane person in the room. Join her as shecopes with huge ego, daily melodrama, an attractive detective, andlife in New York . . . plus murder. The city and the studio provideintriguing backgrounds for this entertaining mystery."
HelenSmith, UK author of the The Emily Castle Mysteries, agrees that DeathUnscripted is "an engaging story featuring a charming amateursleuth. A great start to a mystery series."
Amazon* BridlePathPress* Bookbub* Goodreads
Marni Graff is the award-winning author of The Nora TierneyEnglish Mysteries and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries.Her stories are in several anthologies, including the AnthonyAward-winning Malice Domestic’s Murder Most Edible. She isManaging Editor of Bridle Path Press, a crime book reviewer, andblogs for Miss Demeanors. Graff is a member of Sisters in Crime,Mavens of Mayhem SinC, Triangle SinC, Mystery People UK, and theInternational Association of Crime Writers. She lives in eastern NCwith her husband and two Aussiedoodles.
Website* Facebook* X * Instagram* Bookbub *Goodreads
Followthe tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
June 3, 2024
Blog Tour: BUBBA AND SQUIRT'S SHIELD OF ATHENA by Sherry Ellis
A Greek Goddess and a MythicalMonster!
Bubba and Squirt’s Shield ofAthena
Bubbaand Squirt Book 4
bySherry Ellis
Genre:Middle Grade Fiction, Adventure
A Greek Goddess and a MythicalMonster!
When Bubba and Squirt travel through themysterious vortex on a quest to save their father, they end up inAthens, Greece where they meet an old woman known as the Oracle ofDelphi. Her intriguing riddles set them on a path that leads to theNetherworld, a place where danger lurks around every corner.
Withthe help of their new friends and some unlikely allies, they mustdefeat the monster that holds their father captive. Will they succeedor be trapped forever in the labyrinth of the Netherworld?
Amazon* Apple* B&N* SignedCopy * Bookbub* Goodreads
**Don’t miss the rest of theadventures of Bubba and Squirt!**
Findthem on Amazon
It’s a quest to save their dad,and Bubba and Squirts find themselves transported to Athens, Greece, where theyfollow a set of clues and riddles to find the Shield of Athena. This is a cute,little, magical adventure. The classical figure, Medusa, makes an appearanceand becomes an ally to the kids. I liked that her story was pretty accurate tothe Greek myth.
A short and quick read!
Rating:4 stars
Sherry Ellis is an award-winningauthor and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin,viola, and piano. When she is not writing or engaged in musicalactivities, she can be found doing household chores, hiking, orexploring the world. Ellis has previously published Bubbaand Squirt's Big Dig to China; Bubba and Squirt's MayanAdventure; Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; ThatBaby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; and That Mama is a Grouch. Ellis livesin Atlanta, Georgia.
Website* Facebook* X * Instagram* Bookbub* Amazon* Goodreads
Followthe tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$20 Amazon giftcard – 1 winner,
Autographedcopy of Bubba and Squirt's Shield of Athena – 5 winners!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 29, 2024
Book Blast: ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE, ICONIC, AND KINETIC MAPS OF AUSTRALIA IN THE WORLD by Jose Tugaff Amoloria
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Dream without fear. When dreams are nourished with faith and actions, dreams bloom into realities.
Jose, a self-taught artist, had no formal training in art, no scholastic qualifications and had very challenging life experiences as an international sailor, chef, watchmaker and stone mason. How can one be multi-skilled and pass international standards without proper educational training?
This book will make you rethink how adversity, grief and loss can cause so much pain, and yet these life challenges can facilitate creativity, and be transformed into gifts and blessings for a meaningful and productive existence.
Get inspired by faith and determination that changed the course of life, and be entertained by the unconventional ways Jose educated and equipped himself with skills to achieve dreams and goals. The one-of-a-kind masterpieces in this book and Jose's life are testimonials that creativity can really transform lives. Miracles do happen, and anyone can manifest miracles if they sincerely believe in themselves and in the intervention of the unseen power of the Supreme Creator.
Read an Excerpt
Jose Tugaff Amoloria, a self-taught Filipino-Australian artist and watchmaker is very unlikely to admit he is an artist. He is even surprised how he was able to create one of the most expensive, kinetic and iconic maps of Australia in the world as well as his other artworks. The unique map is also a showcase of Jose’s collection of remarkable timepieces. An antique 18-carat gold watch, a 14-carat gold watch, white gold watches, other rare collectible timepieces, gold nuggets, Australian opal, and a certified one-carat diamond are embedded in his art pieces.
All the art pieces featured in this book are one of a kind, handmade and had no prior prototypes as they were done progressively as the designs were revealed in his imagination. Jose didn’t have sophisticated tools and instruments to complete his artworks and he is so grateful the result was far beyond his imagination.
About the Authors:
Jose Tugaff Amoloria is a man of multi-talents and skills. He is a professional watchmaker who had mastered most phases of watches: mechanical, automatic, quartz technology and modern watches. He created one-of-a-kind kinetic masterpieces made of collectible time pieces and watch parts, enhanced with microlights. He became a chef, and was personally taught a French masterchef's family secret of French liquored ice cream.Jose mastered stone masonry in record time. His experience in watch repair helped him to gain a feather touch to accomplish his masonry works. He is also an avid martial art practitioner of arnis, a Filipino martial art, and he is also a second-dan black belt in Karate, with a champion's trophy to prove it. With so many other skills and abilities, Jose thanks God for the gifts and talents given to him.
Email: jjamoloria@gmail.com
Lourdes Villena Amoloria is an Amazon international best-selling author for her book Kiss From an Angel: How to Turn Your Grief Into a Gift From Heaven, published in Sydney, Australia, 2014.
Lourdes holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from La Salle, Bacolod City, Philippines, with a post graduate in counselling from the Australian College of Applied Psychology in Sydney, Australia.
Lourdes is on a mission to help others find the gift behind their grief, help with mental health issues, and live more productive lives with faith, self-responsibility and love in action.
Email: lourdesvillenaamoloria@gmail.com
WEBSITE: https://lourdesvillenaamoloria.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/mylifemypricelessmasterpiece
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lourdes-villena-amoloria-b92025a2/?originalSubdomain=au
GOODREADS GIVEAWAY: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/388642-one-of-the-most-expensive-iconic-and-kinetic-maps-of-australia-in-the-w
PURCHASE LINKSAMAZON: https://amazon.com/dp/0228895901
WALMART: https://www.walmart.com/search?q=9780228895909
BOOKTOPIA: https://www.booktopia.com.au/search.ep?keywords=9780228895909
RAKUTEN KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/one-of-the-most-expensive-iconic-and-kinetic-maps-of-australia-in-the-world
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 28, 2024
Blog Tour: FIELD MOUSE FAIRY LIGHTS by Emma Brown
Children's Book / Healthy Eating / Parenting
Date Published: 2/13/2024
Does your child refuse to try new foods?
Do they go off foods they used to like?
They don’t want to help with meal prep?
They become impossible at mealtimes and say they don’t like it before seeing it.
Why are dinosaur-shaped nuggets so popular? They taste just the same as normal nuggets, but they are shaped for fun.
If you put a sticker of your child’s favorite cartoon character on an apple, they will want that apple, not the identical one next to it.
What if there was a fun game to play at mealtimes that also helps with picky eating?
This book gives you just that. Imagine if you stood in the middle of the kitchen and said in a funny voice, “I think Kiwi fruit looks like troll boulders, and they’re all mine,” or “Brussels Sprouts look like cannon balls, so tonight we’re eating like pirates,” or “This rice looks just like snowflakes, can you sprinkle the snowflakes on that plate for me?” Do you think you’d have your child’s attention and possibly get a giggle?
Children have amazing imaginations, so let’s use them to reduce the stress around mealtimes and create a play environment.
Written by a Nutritionist and mum of two who has helped many children overcome picky eating and families reconnect at mealtimes, this little book takes you into a food fairytale. It encourages children and adults to come up with their ideas of what food looks like to them.
Review: This book was a fun andillustrative look at what all of life’s little things look like. A watermelonlooks like a rainbow that didn’t get all the colors. Lemons look like the sun.Berries look like gems and jewels. Mushrooms look like mini houses.
Cute and funny! This was wildlyimaginative. A good book!
Rating:4 stars
About the Author
Social Media Links
Author: Emma Brown @emmajebbink
Author Photo Credit: Malo Photography (Instagram @malophotographyau)
Illustrator Credit: Sally Stephens (Instagram: @sals_animation)
Purchase Link
May 27, 2024
Blog Tour: MY GANGSTER FATHER AND ME! by Marcia Rosen
MY GANGSTER FATHER AND ME!
Marcia Rosen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Memoir
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Happy Fathers Day.
Our history and experiences can define us,inspire our actions and as writers impact our words and stories. Minemost definitely has. My father was a gangster. Really!
This is my story about my relationship with myfather and how his profession affected me and my life, “He called me SugarPlum. Both a blessing and a burden, I learned interesting lessons from myfather: about generosity and determination, taking risks, and certainly findingthe willingness to live life as an adventure.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ExcerptThree:
There were mixed messages and expectations for mygeneration. My friends, mostly high school sorority sisters, fell in line. Theymarried, had fancy weddings, and wore beautiful white wedding dresses. For me,they were the symbol of years of living an unwanted life. It was expected ofthem. They had dreamed of being a bride and about their wedding since playingdolls and dress-up as little girls. They lost themselves and who they could be,shoving aside what they were capable of being, to do what was expected.
One brilliant girl Iknew wanted to be a doctor. Instead, she became an accountant. What a waste.Another wanted to be an actress, another a dancer, another a social worker.They found it best to leave those dreams tucked away so they would be approvedof by their families. The sadness of not fulfilling their dreams caused them tofeel an emptiness much of their lives. I had many women tell me this when I toured the country with my firstbook, “The Woman’s Business Therapist.” One woman had told me her whole lifeshe felt as if she could never fill the emptiness. Now a senior, she realizeswhy. She had abandoned her education for marriage. Why couldn’t she have hadboth? Men do.
Throughout my life I felt as if I was being strangled bysuch demands. I did my best to untangle their grasp. The mixed messages forwomen amounted to being a good wife and mother. The man is the head of thehousehold and breadwinner, meaning his needs and wants are more important thanyours.
Oh, oh. My mistake? Ibegan making more money than my now ex- husband.
I was to have hisdinner on the table when he came home from work. I often begrudgingly did.
Oh, oh. I hate tocook.
Never refuse to have sex with him. (Honestly, my father’smother told me this when I first got married.)
Oh. Oh. I failed again.
Really, I tried to do what was expected. All my friends werealready married, what was I to do?
First, I married a hippie and had a baby. Oh, oh, thetwo-year marriage ended in divorce.
So, why not try again. Another marriage, another child. Thistime the disaster lasted twenty-one years. He was a cheat and a womanizer. Nomore oh, oh. Only good riddance!
A couple years laterin therapy, I commented, “He was lucky I didn’t kill him.”
The voice of reason calmly asked, “What good would that havedone?”
I not so calmly shouted, “I could have hung his head on thewall, same as when someone shoots a deer and hangs it on their wall.”
“You might need more therapy,” the therapist replied.
Me: “No, I feel great about the idea!”
My parents had wanted me to marry a nice Jewish boy and livein a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood. At least my mother surelydid. I hadn’t met her expectations. Neither did my father.
How is it possible to meet our parents’ expectations whenour ambitions and interests are far different than theirs? My mother’s owndisappointments created her dreams for what I might become, how I might live myadult life. I never felt my father had those same expectations. He was,however, disappointed with the two men I married. We both were.
The thing is, we women had mixed messages and expectationsin our heads, voices shouting at us, holding us back from stepping outside thebox women were told they fit into. I often refused to listen to those voices. Ididn’t make my life easy.
I wanted to live a life beyond the ordinary. Have I paid aprice for my wanting to live differently than what was expected of a woman ofmy generation? Probably so. Mostly, it’s been worth it to me. It would havebeen lovely to be married to the right man for me—one who would have been assupportive and proud of me as I would have been of him.
Constantly pushing myself to succeed. I found myself insituations where I was financially responsible for my sons, their education,and my own needs. But I did it. My dad’s voice was in my head. “Never be aquitter.”
I’ve hardly ever told anyone about the time I was asked torun for Congress in NYC—a “no” I have regretted.
Wow, my dad wouldhave been thrilled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Marcia Rosen is an award-winning author of twelve books includingnine mysteries, the most recent is An Agatha, Raymond, Sherlock, and MeMystery: Murder at the Zoo. She is also the author of The Senior Sleuths, theDying to Be Beautiful Mystery Series, and The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries andMenus (Menus by her son Jory Rosen). She wrote The Woman’s Business Therapistand My Memoir Workbook and has given Memoir Writing presentations and classesfor close to twenty years. Her Memoir Blog can be found on her website. Fortwenty-five years she was owner of a successful national marketing and publicrelations agency.
Marcia has frequently been a featured speaker at organizationmeetings, bookstores, libraries, and Zoom Programs presenting talks onEncouraging the Writer Within You, Marketing for Authors, Writing Mysteries…NotA Mystery and A Memoir Detective…Writing Your Life Story. She has also helpednumerous writers develop and market their books.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Southwest Writers, New MexicoBook Association, Public Safety Writer’s Association, International MemoirWriter’s Association, Women’s National book Association and NationalAssociation of Independent Writers and Editors—for which she is also a boardmember.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
MarciaRosen will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveawayBlog Tour: KISSING ASPHALT by Delicia Niami
KISSING ASPHALT
Delicia Niami
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Memoir
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Resilienceisn’t inherited. It’s a hard-fought skill forged by our ability to pick up thebroken pieces of our past and remake them into something new.
Meetfour-year-old Delicia, a poor but carefree child who is about to have her worldshattered. Along with her seven-year-old brother Nile, she is kidnapped fromher Los Angeles home by her estranged father and taken to Iraq, a foreign worldshe has never known. This is just the beginning of a string of traumas,hardships, and assaults Delicia will endure throughout her tumultuouschildhood.
Nowan adult living back in California, Delicia Niami bravely recounts how shesurvived the unimaginable in her debut memoir. Kissing Asphalt, the first inher memoir trilogy, ResilientAF, grapples with the power of resilience,acceptance, and self-love. She revisits her terrifying past with vulnerability,compassion, and the honesty of a true survivor. Hold hands with Delicia as shefaces her childhood scars and learns how to confront her fears, accept her truevalue and identity, and embrace her unique gifts. It’s a multi-decade rollercoaster ride that is the beginning of her liberation, propelling her to live aninspired life and embrace her full human potential—a human potential she knowslives inside everyone, no matter what life has thrown at us.
Foranyone who has struggled with childhood trauma, Delicia’s unflinching journeythrough darkness and back to light will resonate. She has decided to share herstory publicly in hopes that it will serve as a guide to the many who havesuffered in silence and continue to struggle against the daunting weightimposed by childhood trauma.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ExcerptThree:
The family was celebrating in traditional style; foodlavished the tables, and the youngsters were playing around the giant firepitin the backyard. As the night was coming to an end, the celebration began towind down. Grandmother was telling the kids to “make it happen” in Arabicbefore going to bed. Encircling the large firepit, the children startedblowing. At first, I was perplexed, but everyone looked like they were havingso much fun, I wanted to join in.
Very eagerly pushing my way in between my cousin and mybrother, I began to blow and laugh, having a good time for once. Suddenly, Ifelt heat on the right side of my face. I watched as my grandmother bolted upfrom her chair, screaming in Arabic and running straight for me. By this time,my brother and cousin had backed away. Feeling heat on my head, I hit my hairwith my hand, which became hot. I cried as the high-pitched screeches gotlouder and louder until, after what felt like an eternity, my grandmotherfinally reached me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whatwas the hardest thing about writing this book?
The entire processwas quite hard actually. I began my writing journey in 2019, just after aworkshop with Bessel Van der kolk, author of The Body Keeps The Score.Shortly thereafter, as we all know, COVID hit. Between dredging updaunting memories of my past, combing through old photos and the binder that Iacquired from my mother after she was killed; showing every piece of paper,document, receipt phone call, message that was exchanged between my mother andfather in my mother's attempt to get us back from baghdad.
All of thisculminated as I wrote during COVID, sitting alone, quarantining while severelysick with Crohn's Disease. My colon ruptured on August 5, 2020 and I wasrushed to the ER. They had me on the operating table within 3 minutes,that is how emergent it was.
Amidst all that, Irealized while I was writing that my life wasn't as great as I'd made it out tobe in my mind. I have a knack for finding joy, even in the most dismal ofthings...that is why I say resilience is my superpower because I actuallydidn't see that I was being abused. Because you don't know what you don't knowand it was my distributor that pointed out that I needed the word"abuse" in my subtitle and that had me perplexed for quite some time.That is until I read and re-read my book over and over again.
At one point while Isat on my couch and wrote in solitude, I broke down and cried out to the skyHOW?! HOW?! How did I survive my childhood? This hit me like nothing ever hadbefore. After writing and re-writing and editing and re-editing things becomeclearer.
The absolute hardestthing during the writing process was realizing that the man I looked up to as afather figure, who I idolized, and whom also was my molestor didn’t view me thesame. I realized after almost fourty years that this man that I put on apedestal, and protected from harms way by not telling a soul what he was doing tome, was merely grooming me. I was just a toy to him. This was a crushing blowto my spirt and my psyche on so many levels. That was absolutely the mostdifficult thing of my entire writing process.
I had several ahamoments while I wrote this book, most were not easy. I knew I had to workthrough them to come out the other side, which is exactly what my booksare about. That we are all ResilientAF and that we can all make it throughanything if we do the work, there is always light and joy to be found.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
DeliciaNiami is an acclaimed memoirist and LGBTQ+ advocate, whose raw and edgystorytelling has touched the hearts of readers worldwide. Residing in SantaCruz and an alumna of UCSC, Delicia draws inspiration from her own journey ofresilience and empowerment. Through her memoirs, she fearlessly addressestopics such as sexual abuse, trauma recovery, and the importance ofself-compassion. Delicia's work not only sheds light on difficult experiencesbut also empowers others to find their voices and embrace their own resilience.Her passion for advocacy shines through in her writing, making her a powerfulvoice for change and healing in today's world.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/delicianiami_author/
https://www.facebook.com/ResilientAFMemoir
https://www.facebook.com/kissingasphalt
https://www.instagram.com/resilientaf_memoir/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4CuQnSSu4FD0nXrbsZgcG8
Audible: https://a.co/d/ayPVeKl
Libro: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781647047788-kissing-asphalt
Audiobooks Now: https://www.audiobooksnow.com/audiobook/kissing-asphalt/9622777/
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kissing-asphalt-delicia-niami/1144013799
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/kissing-asphalt-the-courageous-true-story-of-one/id1737042425
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will award a randomly drawn winner a signed special edition copy of thebook.
a Rafflecopter giveawayMay 25, 2024
Excerpt: THE CULTIST'S WIFE by BJ Sikes
Aquiet knock interrupted the tea party, followed by a maid peeking around theparlour door. “The post has arrived, mum. There's a letter from overseas forMiss Clara— I mean, Mrs. Cooke.”
Clara'smother's face lit up with her smile. “There you are, my darling. I will wagerthat it is a letter from Theo, timed perfectly to arrive on your birthday. Howclever of him!” She beckoned to the maid to bring the letters to her. “Yes,here it is, your birthday letter from Theo.” Mary took the letter from the maidand passed it to Clara.
Clara'sheart sank. He wasn’t dead after all and now she’d have to read one of hiscold, condescending letters. This was not a birthday treat. She tore theenvelope open, heedless of the stamp that Reggie would have steamed off for hiscollection. She pulled the single sheet of flimsy paper out. It was almostgreasy. Sand scattered across her lap when she unfolded it. Shuddering, shesquinted to read the spiky, almost illegible writing. And then again. No, itcouldn't be. The scone turned dry in her mouth. Was Theophilus actuallydemanding that she and the children uproot themselves from their home to travelacross the ocean to join him? What on Earth was possessing him to make thedemand? They'd been perfectly content for the past five years separated by anocean. What had changed?
Hermother broke the silence. “Clara? Clara? What does Theo say? Is everything allright, my darling? Is Theo ill?”
Claralooked up, her face hot. “He is summoning us to the Bahamas. He wishes us toleave...immediately.” Her voice broke.
Purchase this book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cultists-Wife-BJ-Sikes-ebook/dp/B0CW1FKGND/
Review: LOVELY OBLIVION: BEX by A.D. Craig
Bex was dreading her 10-year highschool reunion because of a certain sweetheart that broke her heart. Butmemories of her first love along with a dull boyfriend’s cheating prompt her togo. Upon seeing each other, Bex and Aiden were filled with memories, desire,and regret. Could they have stayed together back then? What if they did staytogether? Where would they be now? Would she still have been in the mostsuccessful band today? They weren’t ready for each other then. Were they readyfor each other now? Well, it seemed Aiden couldn’t be in a relationship…withanyone. But why? Wow, the truth was devastating. Now, the two gotta make up forlost time. They were back in the perfect, little love bubble. But would it lastwhen they go back to the real world? And especially after the paparazzi gets ahold of Aiden’s story?
A sweet and sexy read!
Rating:4 stars
