MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 298

Facebook Event - Book Launch - The Transition of Johnny Swift by Kerry J Donovan Tuesday, April 1 at 6:30pm in UTC+01

https://www.facebook.com/events/722032794514365/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

 BOOK LAUNCH PARTY for:
...
The Transition of Johnny Swift by Kerry J Donovan - Author

Venue: Facebook (online)
Date: 1st April
Time: From 18:30 (UK time) until I run out of booze - late, late, late...

Come and join us for fun contests and great prizes on April Fool's Day to celebrate the launch of my new novel, which will be available for pre-order from Britain's Next Bestseller from the 28th of March onwards: (http://britainsnextbestseller.com/).

If I generate enough orders, I'll receive a full publishing contract from BNBS, so I appreciate everyone's support in helping me reach this goal.

I'll be sharing more about the book and the prizes soon, but here is a taste of what's up for grabs:

~ 2 x signed paperbacks of my crime novel, DCI Jones Casebook: Ellis Flynn!

~ PLUS a FREE e-version of DCI Jones Casebook: Ellis Flynn for EVERY pre-order of The Transition of Johnny Swift! Thats two full novels for the price of one!

~ My crime novelette, DCI Jones Casebook: Raymond Francis Collins will be going free sometime in the next fortnight, and I'll announce it here first!

~ a $25 Amazon Gift Card

~ 16 e-books from a wide range of fabulous UK and international authors

~ 5 other paperbacks

And two grand prizes for the other authors out there:

~ A Professional Poetry Critique

AND

~ A Professional 5000 word copy-edit from a Former Editor of the Daily Mail Online!!

History Trivia - Bernard of Clairvaux urges the necessity of a Second Crusade.

March 31

 307 after divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine married Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian, but murdered  her in 326. 

1084 Henry VI of Germany, after deposing Pope Gregory VII, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Gregory's successor, Pope Clement III.

1146 Bernard of Clairvaux preached his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade.

1657 Parliament offered Oliver Cromwell the title of king in the Humble Petition and Advice, but he rejected the title.

Free First Chapters for The Night Porter by Mark Barry available at Freado / Bookbuzzr

THE STORY The Night Porter is set in a hotel, in November, in the fictional town of Wheatley Fields, (based on Southwell, near Nottinghamshire, deep in Sherwood Forest). It takes place over two weeks, underneath steel grey clouds and icy rain. Four writers, all nominated for an upcoming awards ceremony, come to stay. One mega successful romance author, a top US thriller writer who sells in seven figures, a beautiful young YA tyro on the brink of world wide stardom... ...and a degenerate, nasty, bitter, jealous, trollish, drunken (but brilliant), self-published contemporary fiction author. The eponymous, pseudonymous and anonymous Night Porter is instructed by a secretive and powerful awards committee to look after their EVERY need, to ensure they make it through the two weeks to attend the ceremony. At the same time as keeping an eye on their wishes, antics, fights, relationships and never-ending ego explosions. And trying desperately to avoid getting involved himself. It's a comedy drama about writers (and Night Porters!) with twists and turns, nooks and crannies, shadows and mirrors, alongside some of my bizarre preoccupations and obsessions. It casts a sometimes shadowy light on modern publishing, the writing business - and the people in it

http://www.freado.com/users/books/33509/mark-barry

History Trivia - Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed

March 30

317 BC, Phocion, the great Athenian general and statesman, died at an approximate age of 85.

1135 AD Maimonides was born. He was a Jewish philosopher who tried to harmonize Judaism with the teachings of Aristotle in his principal work, The Guide of the Perplexed, in 1190.

1191 Celestine III elected Pope. During his pontificate, he confirmed the order of Teutonic Knights. 

1296 Edward I sacked Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.

1603 The Nine Years' War between England and Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill ended with the surrender of the Irish.

1533 Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

 1533 - Thomas Cranmer became archbishop of Canterbury.

History Trivia - Battle near Towton Field, death toll about 33,000

March 29

Artist - Graham Turner  1461 Battle near Towton Field, death toll about 33,000 in the deadliest battle of the War of the Roses, where Edward of York defeated Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England. 


1561 Santorio Santorio, the first physician to employ instruments of precision to medical practice, was born.

Diane Turner - London Rocks - 28.03.2014

Diane Turner - London Rocks - 28.03.2014

The Wizard of Notts Recommends - Mr. Chuckles and Captain Bear have a request

http://greenwizardpublishing.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/more-news-on-tnp-paperback.html?view=classic

More News On The TNP Paperback
 Paperback Despatch Mission Accomplished
Just to let you know, I have despatched 22 paperbacks in the past four days. 

I have three left if any latecomers fancy one free of charge. 


 With cover designer Dark Dawn Creation's striking Imperial Purple background, behind black and white bold lettering, on a magnificent matte cover, whether you want to read it or not, its a thing of beauty and something I am very proud of.
No one will be able to call this book a self pub with a sneer on their face. It's been worked on and honed with passion and love. Who needs a publisher!

Ahum..Laura Miller of Salon.com.



There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, Phyllis...  I have a favour to ask.  
My editor and great friend, Mary Ann and I have this mad long running thing about teddy bears and books going down with Captain Bear (MAB) and Mr. Chuckles (me). It's childish and babyish etc, but we like it.


Captain Bear of the Starship Nebraska
Can you take a photo of your favourite cuddly toy reading TNP? I shall include it HERE on PINTEREST, my new craze thingy!

http://www.pinterest.com/markythewizard/

and on this blog. Yay!


Remember: The Review
And don't forget. I need a review from you. 

I don't care what star at all as long as you review me.  Seriously. 

If you detest the book, let me know. If TNP finds itself in the hands of the legendary Goodreads troll, Troy Trolley the Truculent Tricky Troll fair enough. Give me 1*, Mr Tricky and don't spare my feelings for a millisecond. 

I firmly believe ANY review is better than NO review - hence the investment Green Wizard has made in this book.


Typical Goodreads critic, the fearsome Mr Tricky.Oh, and in three months time, whatever comments you make, will go into the hat to form the back blurb of a new cover. 

The PB has no back blurb at present.  And that's deliberate.


In Conclusion - a Fiver.
UK readers can pick the PB up for just over a fiver for a limited time only with a FREE e-book version for your Spa...sorry, Kindle. 

US readers, for a reason I can't quite grasp, have to pay approximately 15% more. Sorry, gang. 

Good news: The e-book is cheap, as they all should be, on all continents.

Love you all.  Wiz.
PS: I shall tell you about the NEW footnote-less e-book in another post.


 
The Libertines are the spiritual sponsorof TNP

Read the latest spotlight of TNP on http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.co.uk/

 Mark Twain statue in Kansas City minutes before its
unfortunate painty encounter with
Linda La Looby

Milford (UK) Makers Day. May 05, 2014 10:30AM - save the date

Date: May 05, 2014 10:30AM
Venue: Milford on sea Hampshire Cummunity Hall
Location: Milford on Sea, The United Kingdom

Milford Community Centre
Milford on Sea,  9 Sea Road, SO41 0PH
:
Twice yearly event for Milford Creative People to show and sell. Authors will be present and sign their book. Elisabeth Marrion will have ' The Night I danced with Rommel' plus The Briton and the Dane: Concordia written by Mary Ann Bernal, 'Divorcees.Biz' written by Eileen Thorton and 'Beyond the Island' written by Karenne Griffin. Come along if you can.

Sevso treasure items repatriated by Hungarian government after UK sale

The Sevso treasure, photographed in 1990 in Sotheby's. Photograph: Pa
The Roman silver, discovered in Hungary in the 1970s, was bought from an 'unidentified London seller' for €15m

Dalya Alberge
theguardian.com,

The Hungarian government has repatriated seven of the 14 pieces from the Sevso treasure, a spectacular hoard of 4th-century Roman silver whose ownership had long been contested by several countries.
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, announced this week that the pieces have been repatriated to Budapest in return for €15m, reportedly paid to unidentified sellers in London. The pieces include the so-called "Hunting Plate" and the "Dionysiac Ewer".
He said that "Hungary never abandoned the goal" of acquiring a treasure found in the middle of the 1970s around Polgárdi, close to Balaton.
The treasure will be exhibited free of charge in the Hungarian Parliament. From 2018, it will be kept in the new museums' quarter.
The hoard was named after a Latin inscription on one of the large plates: "Let these, O Sevso, yours for many ages be, small vessels fit to serve your offspring worthily." Such is the treasure's importance, the entire hoard had in the past been estimated at £100m.
But it has had a troubled history, with some archaeologists viewing it as archaeological loot. Reports suggest the man who originally found the treasure in the 1970s was murdered.
The Marquess of Northampton acquired the haul in the 1980s on the advice of the late Peter Wilson, a former deputy chairman of Sotheby's. He tried to sell it in 1990 through Sotheby's in New York. To ensure the collection had not been stolen or illegally excavated, the auctioneer contacted the governments of countries that had once formed part of the Roman empire. That led to the silver being impounded by a Manhattan judge, amid initial claims by Lebanon that it had been illegally excavated and smuggled out of the Bekaa Valley.
Hungary and Croatia also claimed the silver had been illegally excavated from their countries but failed to prove ownership through the US courts, which found that the marquess was the legal owner. A Lebanese export licence was later found to be a forgery.
Northampton's lawyer, Ludovic de Walden, said "the best pieces" are with the marquess and that the treasure is "very safe". He noted that other pieces have been with a third party.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/sevso-treasure-items-repatriated-hungarian-government-roman-silver

History Trivia - Paris sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok,

March 28

37 Roman Emperor Caligula accepted the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
 Didius Julianus 193 Roman Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sold the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.

364 Roman Emperor Valentinian I appointed his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.

845 Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.

1515 St. Teresa of Ávila was born. Teresa was a mystic, a reformer of the Carmelite order, and author of spiritual literature. She was the first woman to be named a doctor of the Church.