Larry Peterson's Blog, page 29

SMASHWORDS Read an EBook Week in Underway

Smashwords annual "Read an Ebook Week" is underway. Here are the links to The Priest and The Peaches and to Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes.






The Priest and the Peaches:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/116166?ref=tributebooks




Slippery Willie's Stupid Ugly Shoes:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41406?ref=tributebooks



Use Code  REW75 at checkout for 75% discount. Offer good thru March 9. 2013

Another 5 STAR unbiased review for The Priest & The Peaches

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done, February 26, 2013



By 

polockjohn - See all my reviews





This review is from: The Priest and the Peaches (Kindle Edition)
Peterson has created a captivating novel that stars a large cast of unique characters who keep you enticed and make you not want to set your e-reader down even though it may be well past your bedtime! Your heart will be touched as you journey with the children. A few well placed unexpected twists add to the story, surprising the reader. A great read








5.0 out of 5 stars The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways, April 10, 2012



By 

adventures of frugal mom - See all my reviews





This review is from: The Priest and the Peaches (Kindle Edition)

Here is an alert to this book. Make sure you have a box of tissue ready. You will either laugh until you cry and you will cry at the sad moments. This book is that good. It is amazing to me how together these five orphans were. There was never any doubt in their minds that they all wanted to be together. The older two children who are in their late teens could have easily said nope I do not want the responsibility of caring for my younger siblings. They stepped up to the plate and decided that they did. To me that in itself speaks volumes. Teenagers are normally in their own little world not looking out for anyone but number one. ( Believe me I know I have 2 of my own.) The Peach family is a family that you will fall in love with. I found this book to be highly entertaining. I loved how be kind to others is a main theme of this book. How one good deed can turn into many more.

If you are interested in finding out more about Larry Peterson and his writings you can check out Tribute Books or his blog.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Tim Forbes - It's Game Time Somewhere - Guest Post & Giveaway

About the Book

Tim Forbes was like many Americans: painfully unsatisfied in his corporate job but making too much money to walk away. But then, one momentous day, he and his wife struck the Deal, leading to a career in the one field he loved more than anything: sports.



Years later, having carved out his place in the sports business, he was surprised when a friend asked, "Do you still love sports?"...And stunned when he didn't know how to reply. Of course he still loved sports! Didn't he? Was it possible that walking away from a perk-filled Corporate American life had all been for nothing?



His year-long quest to find that answer started with a single game. But what he discovered there soon led to an unlikely coast-to-coast “sports walkabout” involving 100 more games and 50 different sports—from major-market events to the smallest of the small. Poignant, irreverent, and ultimately inspiring, It’s Game Time Somewhere chronicles one man’s search for the love of the game.




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Video Book Trailer







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Guest Post



Cards on the table – yours truly is not quite right.



How else could you explain the fact that I spent a year of my life attending and writing about 100 uniquely different sporting events involving 50 separate sports? But that’s what I did, and literally thousands of readers helped me keep score. And when it was done, we all knew more about sports in America than it was thought to be humanly possible. Or at least I did, anyway.



“But why?” you ask. Well here’s my story and I’m sticking to it…



As Bill Cosby once said, I started out as a child. A child inexorably drawn to sports – the organized kind and especially the disorganized kind favored by my circle of friends. Consequently I grew up chasing a ball. It didn’t matter what size or shape, I chased them all. I was fortunate enough to have come of age in a time when kids themselves scheduled their own games and “officiated” them via the kid’s code of sports ethics – an arcane collection of arguments, declarations, and insults that inevitably led to the Do Over. Or somebody taking their ball and going home.



On those occasions when a quorum wasn’t available for even the most streamlined of games, I played them solo. Some might call it “practicing”, but I knew it as “having fun”. And as is the case with many things one repeats endlessly, I managed to develop some level of skill. So it came to be that I went to college on a basketball scholarship.



Annoyingly enough, they don’t let you just major in Basketball – well, not in 1977 anyway, and not in any conference that, like mine, did not start with the word “Big”. So I chose to pursue a degree in Psychology. Don’t ask me why. And when my undergraduate days ended, I decided to obtain an MBA, because, well…because.



The ironic thing was that neither Psychology nor Business Administration would have even been in the race had Sports Management been an academic option. Ubiquitous now, at the time that I entered college there was no such degree program. And so, a career match made in heaven went by the boards…for the time being, anyway.



In my mid-30’s, having acquired over a decade of experience in Corporate America, I became vaguely aware of the fact that people were getting paid to work in sports! Having thus discovered the existence of what was rightfully MY chosen field of work, I spent the next several years alternating between a state of agitation over having been born a decade too early, and thoughtful rumination on how I could still pull off a second half rally and transition to my natural calling.



At the age of 40, the confluence of a certain set of circumstances, not the least of which is the most understanding wife in the cosmos, enabled me to take the plunge. I enrolled in an accredited four semester program that rewarded me upon completion with an Associate’s Degree in Professional Golf Management. I was on my way – a little late out of the gate, but with a full head of steam and ready to use my transferrable skills to claw my way to the top of the sports business.



Nearly a decade later, having come to know quite well the good, the bad and the ugly about pursuing a second career within the sports industry, I was innocently confronted one day with the following question: ”After working in the industry for ten years, do you still love sports?”



Hmmmm…great question. One I honestly didn’t have an answer for. As you can imagine though, it became critically important for me to find one. And thus began germinating the idea of a “sports walkabout” – an effort to reconnect with my ball-chasing, sports-loving roots.



I went to a game. And then another. And another. Big games, little games. Tournaments, matches, meets and bouts. Men’s games, women’s games. Professional. Amateur. High School. College. Games that I was intimately familiar with. Games that I didn’t have the faintest idea as to their rules.



To those that virtually accompanied me I offered to share everything that I found – both positive and…not so positive. I promised to keep it light-hearted, and they in turn agreed to laugh, learn and share the link with others. This blog, this portrait of Americans at play, became a love letter to sports, warts and all. My friends at Google Analytics tell me that it has been read by thousands of people all over the world.



I hope it brings a smile of pleasure and recognition to your face as well. Because it’s always game time somewhere.



To read more of my stories, please visit:

http://itsgametimesomewhere.com/the-igts-tour/the-stories/



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Video Interview







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It's Game Time Somewhere can be purchased at:

Barnes and Noble , MyBookOrders.com



Price: $15.95

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9781938008122

Publisher: Bascom Hill

Release: February 12, 2013





About the Author



Alternately blessed and cursed by the notion that everyone should do what they love for a living, Tim Forbes creates and writes about the games that people play.



Tim grew up in the farmlands of northern Connecticut, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College—where he played Division III basketball in front of literally tens of people. He received an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an Associate’s Degree at the Professional Golfers Career College in Temecula, CA. Yes, in that order.



After 15 years spent meandering about in Corporate America, Tim went on to work for three professional golf tours: the Symetra Futures Tour, the LPGA Tour, and the PGA Tour. He also served as general manager for golf clubs in Nashville, Tennessee and Orlando, Florida. In 2009, he founded Outside the Mode, a sports marketing and production company based in his adopted home of Los Angeles.



Tim lives in Redondo Beach, California with a perennially underachieving fish named Halo, a cat, and a wife he fondly calls Bird..



Connect with Tim:

Web Site

Blog

Twitter

Goodreads

YouTube

Flickr







About the Giveaway



Leave a comment with your email address to win an ebook of It's Game Time Somewhere. 

Ends 3/01/13.

Special Lenten Offer

                     

                 THE PRIEST AND THE PEACHES



LENTEN SPECIAL: The novel, The Priest and The Peaches, will be available for .99 cents on Kindle during the Lenten season. This is a story about orphaned siblings trying to stay together as a family and how their faith, coupled with the guidance of their parish priest, helps them to learn about forgiveness, love of neighbor, and the real power of family. A great read for the Lenten season especially for the young folks.





          Only .99 on Kindle   also available on Nook, iPad, Google, Smashwords and PDF

An Amazing Book! 5 Star Rating Great read for Lent

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book!, March 22, 2012  Review Redux



By 

N. Medina "LizzieBeth" (WTBY, CT, USA) -
(REAL NAME)   





This review is from: The Priest and the Peaches (Kindle Edition)
Often times, faith is something almost all of us have a hard time in having. Believing in something you can't see is testing, most especially for those of us who have strayed from the Lord's path. Believing in his goodness, in the fact that he'll lead us along the righteous path, well, it can honestly be trying. The reason for this is because for some, the trials and tribulations they face along the way hard from them to place their trust in a being they're really not sure exists.

For the Peaches, both young and old, their lives haven't been that easy. The children lost their mother and grandmother at a very young age and have dealt with the consequences of their deaths ever since then. When their father falls ill, the children realize it's another blow of disappointment they've been dealt with - a disappointment none of them wish to deal with just yet. Despite this, they're determined to band together in hopes of helping their father through his ordeal.

The task of keeping the family afloat falls upon Joanie and Teddy's hands, the oldest of the Peach children. Beeker, Dancer, and Joey don't quite understand what's going on, but for their father's sake, they're willing to pretend that everything is fine and dandy. Unbeknownst to the Peach children, their problems are just beginning.

When their father takes a turn for the worse and dies unexpectedly, Joanie, Teddy, and the children must find the strength within themselves to face the adversity that has now been lain at their feet. Their faith has been shattered and each one of them begin to wonder as to whether they'll be able to bounce back from the brink of a darkness that seems intent on engulfing each and every one of them. Determined to pick up the pieces of a life they'd once known, Joanie and Teddy do their best to keep their family together.

The children's unexpected saving grace arrives in the form of Father Sullivan, a man who believes completely in the blessings and virtues extoled by God himself. His faith is firmly cemented in the fact that God will provide for his flock no matter what happens along the way. Father Sullivan has tried to make this fact known to all those he meets wherever his feet have taken him. While there are a good many that shun the message he tries to deliver, he knows that there are a good many who will take the Lord's words into their hearts and do the best they can with what they've been given - a certainty that becomes apparent when the safety and well-being of the Peach children inadvertently lands in his hands.

This was such a beautiful story. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it to anyone for reading. It's meaning, and the lessons found throughout the story, will touch a soul to its very core. While this is a Catholic fiction story, I think it's one that will leave the person reading with a better understanding of God, of faith, of death, and even of life, be it whether they're a religious person or not.

We're able to feel the Peach family's pain, their laughter, their fears, and their triumphs as they seek to make the most of a situation that is way out of their control. We're able to watch a family grow within a period of seven days while faced with an adversity that, at times, seems to want to topple the family altogether. The fact that they're able to bounce back and find strength and meaning within the very world they live in goes to show us that anything is possible only if you believe.

It's like a Christian song that was taught to me when I was little, if your faith is like that of a small mustard seed, you can move mountains. The book made me realize that it's very much true. Anything is possible, but only if you believe. More so, if you believe that God will be there with you no matter what comes your way.


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My Message to MY Pope, "LOVE YA MAN--It is ALL GOOD"

Pope Benedict XVI, this quiet, unpretentious, holy man with the brilliant mind will vacate the Papacy effective February 28, 2013. He is 85 years old and has accepted the fact that his frail body cannot  adequately perform the duties required of the awesome position to which he was entrusted. It is "ALL GOOD". We Catholics believe that the church is the "bride of Christ" and that the Holy Spirit is always there to guide it. Personally, I am in awe as I watch this beautiful process unfold. I have not an iota of concern about the future of the Church or about the next Pope. This institution has been around for 2000 years, no problem.



Over the next several weeks the print and broadcast media will bombard us with their insight and the gaggle of expert pundits will tell us what is going on within the church. They know nothing of course and have probably (most of them anyway) been trashing and criticizing the church for years on church teaching (birth control, abortion, women priests, celibacy etc). Now suddenly they will be theologians and will share with an uneducated public their babble. I do not care. It is "ALL GOOD". What I might advise all these newly ordained experts to do is to maybe make a visit to a nearby Catholic church and sit in front of the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is reposed in the tabernacle (I do not have to explain any of this to experts) and sit and LISTEN. Just sit there quietly and LISTEN. No talking, just LISTENING, to your heart. Maybe you might learn something useful to pass onto the folks.



Lent begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. It is a forty day journey that leads us to new-life, a rebirth, the Resurrection. It is a time for prayer, penance, alms-giving and self-denial. Millions of Catholic/Christians observe these traditions every year. It does not make the news. Countless people who have found  Christ will be welcomed into the church during the Easter Vigil when they are baptized and receive the sacraments and become Catholic. This will not make the news. It does not matter. It is "ALL GOOD".



From a blue-collar catholic guy to my Pope, Benedict XVI...---"LOVE YA MAN"

My New Chair "Rocks & Rolls". YES!!!!

I am looking at my blog posts for 2013. There are three. One from January 1, one from Jan 16. and one from Jan 25. I am quite embarrassed. How could I only post three times in six weeks. Today is February 9. Look, no one may even be reading these posts but that doesn't matter. As a writer, besides working on my books, and making my daily, feeble attempts to socially network, I should also be posting commentary. What have I been doing? Where have I been? Whas up?





Look, I hate making excuses but due to some serious back problems I have been moving around very, very slowly and deliberately. Four herniated lower discs will do that to a person and as those nerve bundles get pressed upon it is like staring at the NewYork skyline during the Independence Day fireworks display. In my case the fireworks are smashing back and forth inside my back and have been doing so since October last. So, how do you sit at a keyboard and merrily type away? Well, you don't for very long. Plus, you are easily distracted from a focused train of thought that lasts more than 20 seconds.




Well, I have good news. After the MRI's weaved  their wondrous tale about my back-in-crisis, my doctor wanted me to go to a neurologist for pain relief. Being a masochist I refused. "I want it to get better, doc. I'm not looking to hide what's wrong and I am not taking pain meds. I want to fix the problem." Yes, I have been told I am an idiot (not by the doctor). So be it. I have been called a lot worse.




My doctor and I negotiated. I was given a script for physical therapy and I agreed that if it did not work (he did not feel that it would) I would do the neurologist thing. Onward to the Physical Therapy Rehab place and that was at the end of December. I finished with them last Thursday. I have been prodded and pulled and twisted and even had elbows pressed into my upper back and dragged down to my lower back. Seems that over the years parts inside my torso  have traveled to places unintended.. The PT folks were simply trying to cajole those parts back to where they belong. How I had a twisted rib-cage was beyond my comprehension.



Besides the PT treatments I have faithfully worked out at least three times a day, without fail, stretching and prodding and  even conversing with my back which is nothing more to me right now than an invading poltergeist. The things I have said to my pesky demon I cannot put in print lest I be  de-bloggered or something. Suffice it to say I have given Ralphie's dad (Christmas Story) a run for his money. Anyway, all of that helped but I still could not sit very long at the keyboard. Then it happened.The GOOD NEWS I mentioned earlier was pushed into my life and under my keister.



My physical therapist, Pam, introduced me to the Exercise Ball (some call it a Yoga Ball). I call it a huge beachball. Its diameter is almost seven feet. It is my new chair. YES!!! It took a few days but I have it down to only a few roll-offs a day. You sit and balance and you have to keep your body straight. I have three printed sheets of various exercises that I am supposed do with the "ball". So far I have only rolled off and whacked my head two times, my elbow once and ripped a gash in my hand as I tried to keep myself on the ball as I rolled sideways and grabbed the metal rail on my keyboard table. When I get up from the ball, no pain in my butt or in the old Glutes. I love it.



Bottom line--I just sat and typed up this masterpiece. Loving my Exercise Ball. YES!!!!!

Is it Chance or God's hand Working "Little" Miracles in Our Lives?

Review Redux:




5.0 out of 5 stars Growing Up Fast with a Serious Dose of Faith in this story, March 1, 2012



By 

Laura O. Neill (Alaska USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   





This review is from: The Priest and the Peaches (Kindle Edition)
Growing up, I rarely saw a title that appealed to me and had any connection to my Catholic faith. This novel just might fill that type of void for any Catholics from middle school on up. The reader meets the Peach family, already suffering from the lost of their mother and grandmother. Now the children become orphans after their father's unexpected death. This particular novel follows them through the first week or so after their father's death. While there are plenty of 'heavy' topics broached (e.g. how to pay the bills), Mr. Peterson has thrown in a decent share of levity.

I have to say that this book was quite enjoyable on many levels. Seeing how God's Hand was present throughout the trials experienced by the Peach family was fantastic. I believe we often miss those little miracles in our lives, possibly just writing them off to `chance.' But, through the conversations and strings of consciousness for the characters, you can fully appreciate just how well God will take care of us so long as we are willing to accept it.

....Taken from my full review on Day by Day in Our World

"For This Unborn Child, Mom Had Her Back"

Ten minutes away from the house was a hospital and the paramedics wanted to take her there. She had lost a lot of blood and they were concerned for her life. She was 33 years old and had three kids. The risk was too great. She did not care. "NO! NO! NO! You have to take me to Holy Name."



"But it is too far. It is more than a half hour drive. Do you want to die?"



"I don't give a damn. I'll be fine. I want this child treated properly and if she is not going to make it I want her baptized."



There was no concern for her own well being. At that very moment it was she and her unborn baby against the world and she was the only one who cared. If her child was going to die she would definitely have lived first. She would have existed. She was a person, God's gift to a family and to the world no matter how supposedly insignificant. Her momma had her back. They relented and headed to Holy Name Hospital.



When the ambulance pulled into the emergency room entrance her husband was waiting and so was Father Murray, the priest from nearby Holy Trinity Catholic Church. As they removed the gurney from the ambulance the blood had soaked upward past her head and was already matted in her hair. The emergency room doctor looked and said, "Oh my God, get her upstairs stat. Let's hurry."



The baby girl did not make it. She was baptized by the priest and her mom survived despite a tremendous loss of blood. Some of the folks on staff were amazed that she had, in fact, made it.



This woman, who was also my wife, had an innate need to protect her unborn daughter. It did not matter how big this baby was. It did not matter if the child was three or five or six years old or still unborn. Her mom needed to protect her. It was not crazy or ridiculous or stupid what she did. It was heroic. She was willing to die for her child, born or unborn. She would have taken a bullet if that is what had been necessary. Nothing else mattered except saving her baby. That is love my friends. Plain and simple.



Theresa Mary Peterson was born on September 6, 1978. Theresa Mary Peterson died on September 6, 1978. On October 3, 1978, Theresa Mary, her remains in a tiny white casket, was transported by limousine to Gate of  Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla, NY. She was interred with her grandparents. Her mother saved her because her mother was willing to die for her. Because of that heroic effort the world knows that Theresa Mary did exist even though she had only  breathed for a few moments. There is no difference with time in   God's world.  Everything takes place in the "eternal now".  One second, one day, 100 years--no difference. So, it does not matter how old she was.



As hundreds of thousands, (many of them young folks) participate in the March for Life today,  we should remember that  when they mention a number like 55,000,000 abortions over 40 years, it has taken one person at  a time to reach that number. One person like Theresa Mary, whether smaller or bigger than she, but one  person nonetheless. Finally,to all the moms (dads too) who have lost children through miscarriages, God bless you all. That was a true loss of a family member  and "not for the best" as some might have suggested. You had every right to grieve. Losing a child is a terrible thing.

Smile, Laugh, Cry, be Mad and Inspired

Review Redux:






4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT read for anyone, April 2, 2012



By 

FranJessca [at] Book Lovin' Mamas (Virginia Beach, VA) - See all my reviews





This review is from: The Priest and the Peaches (Kindle Edition)
(I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review)
I have never read a book that really inspired me. A book that made me smile, laugh, cry and be mad. A book that actually teaches you life lessons, instead of what television creates today to be okay...teen pregnancy, bullying, etc. This book takes you into a World, when Teens have to become adults and children have to grow up way too quickly after they lose a parent or even both their parents. What society also thinks about them. How could children take care of children? Their nothing, but bad children, etc. At least that's what people assumed.
This book proves people wrong. It also proves, you can't judge anybody by who they are and what they are. Anyone is dealing with a struggle harder than yours...and this book definitely digs deeper into that saying.
5 Kids...who are newly orphaned. Known as Yimey's Kids or the Peach kids. They just recently lost their father and now they have to find away to survive without them. It's bad enough, they had lost their Mother also. Through so many challenges and obstacles, they conquer it all, with the help of friends and family they never knew they really had and the help of one another. With one saying..."L-Y-N". Which you will learn a lot about in this book. I didn't know what it meant until mid-way into the book and once I found out what it meant, I understood so much more.
I have a quote or saying that hangs on my Wall at home that could go with the ending of this book so well, "Faith is not believing God Can, it is knowing that God Will."
Larry Peterson, definitely has a different writing style that I'm used to. I'm the usual Paranormal Romance Addict who thrives on the Para normality and of course the Hot Steamy Romance Scenes...but this book took me out of my fantasy world for awhile and made me realize, I need to pick up more books like Larry Peterson's. A book that really can teach you something in the end, even if it's fiction. He made me fall in with the characters. He made me realize how much I wanted to jump in the book and help them out.
It may have taken me a little longer than usual to read this book, but that's because I was slowly reading it to savor every moment of learning about the Peaches Kids.
I recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought their life was difficult or struggling at times. This book will put in perspective how life can be unmanageable in times...but in the end, anything is manageable as long as you believe.
You'll also learn a lot from this book about not judging someone by their character or even appearance.
This is a definitely must read even to those readers out there who think this book is not for them. I challenged myself to read outside of my "Normal" Genre...and now I can't wait to dig deeper into this kind of Genre again and also read even more books from Larry Peterson.