Saturday, March 28, 2020

Book Review: A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler




Inside the Book:



Title: A Good Neighborhood
Author: Therese Anne Fowler
Release Date: March 10, 2020 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Coming of Age/Contemporary Literary Fiction
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Hardcover/Audio
Source: BOTM/Personal Library

Purchasing:


"A provocative, absorbing read." — People

“A feast of a read... I finished A Good Neighborhood in a single sitting. Yes, it’s that good.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son, Xavier, who’s headed to college in the fall. All is well until the Whitmans—a family with new money and a secretly troubled teenage daughter—raze the house and trees next door to build themselves a showplace.
With little in common except a property line, these two families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.

A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today—what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don't see eye to eye?—as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.



How do I describe A Good Neighborhood? I have to admit that I felt it started a little slow. White family with wealth moves into a new neighborhood where they have built a large home with a pool...something that isn't seen in this particular neighborhood but Brad Whitman feels that this is the new up and coming location and wants to get in while the price is right. The presence of the Whitman family if met with mixed emotions, but their immediate neighbor Valerie, and her son Xavier, have had an issue with the fact that they have infringed on the large oak tree in the backyard (well, Valerie mostly).

Is this your standard white vs black book? Not necessarily. Valerie was married to a white man and that is Xavier's father. He is dead and his family had bigotry for sure, and some people just didn't seem to care one way or another. So, does Valerie have bias? Maybe. What about the Whitman's? Are they against blacks? The first thing Brad insinuates is that Xavier is a worker for the landscaping, instead of thinking he could be the neighbor. Does that make him a bigot? I'll leave that for you to decide.

The story centers mainly around Juniper and Xavier - the two teens that are drawn to each other, even though Juniper has taken a purity vow, something that makes her mother Julia and step-dad Brad beyond thrilled. One less thing they have to worry about. But, Juniper feels differently when she is around Xavier, and a relationship unfolds. 

This is where things take a turn. About halfway through the book I was unable to put it down. The lawsuit fuels something that can't be slowed, and the book races to a shocking conclusion...one I didn't see coming. 

Overall a good read and one I would tell you to hang in there on. Was it earth shattering? No, just a solid book with a good plot and well rounded characters, and one that tackles racial problems as they still exist today. 





Therese Anne Fowler (pronounced ta-reece) is a New York Times and USA Today best selling author whose novels present intriguing people in difficult situations, many of those situations deriving from the pressures and expectations of their cultures as well as from their families.

Her books are available in every format and in multiple languages, and are sold around the world. Z has been adapted for television by Amazon Studios. A Well-Behaved Woman is in development with Sony Pictures Television.

Therese earned a BA in sociology and cultural anthropology and an MFA in creative writing, both from North Carolina State University. She has been a visiting professor and occasionally teaches fiction writing at conferences and workshops. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and PEN America, she is married to award-winning professor and author John Kessel. They reside in North Carolina.




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Book Blitz: Chloe Counting Jamaica by 3s by Suzan Johnson



Children's Fiction
Date Published: February 2020
Publisher: sHjStories

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Chloe is back, and this time she’s counting the wonders of the beautiful island of Jamaica.

Follow along as Chloe and her family vacation and experience much of what the country has to offer. Not only will the reader learn about Jamaica, but they will do it while skip counting by 3s! Skip counting has many benefits to learners, such as number learning, addition, subtraction, and faster multiplication. This type of counting offers a better understanding of number concepts. So, get ready to count your way around Jamaica, and find out where Chloe is heading next!


About the Author


Suzan Johnson has been the Media Specialist at an elementary school for the past nine years. She is a voracious reader of books of all genres. Growing up, she loved and enjoyed participating in sporting activities such as cheerleading and softball. As a teacher she encourages her students to read a variety of books and participate in sports. Suzan is a member of Florida Reading Association and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Johnson currently lives in the South Florida area.


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Release Blitz: Eating the Forbidden Fruit by Rolando Sato Page



Crime Fiction / Family Drama / Women's Fiction
Date Published: March 30, 2020

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Eating the Forbidden Fruit is a gritty fiction novel loosely based on true events in author Roland Sato Page’s life. The newcomer author delivers a personal journey into his rise and demise as a St. Louis City Police Officer. He takes the readers on a roller coaster ride of good ole family memories to the nightmarish reality of being a police officer indicted on federal drug charges. During his trial, he wrote memoirs as a testimonial of redemption. Roland’s case stems from the conflict of his childhood affiliation and his oath to uphold the law. What is certain is one can't run from sin for karma is much faster.


About the Author


Roland Sato Page was born in Brooklyn New York in a military household with a mother from Osaka Japan and a combat trainer father with three war tours under his belt. He grew up in a well-disciplined home with five other siblings. As he got older his family relocated to St. Louis where the author planted his roots and also pursued a military life in the Army Reserves.
Roland married his high school sweetheart and started a family of four. Roland joined the St. Louis police department were his career was cut short when he was convicted of federal crimes due to his childhood affiliation.
After enduring his demise he rebounded becoming a famed a tattoo artist opening Pearl Gallery Tattoos in downtown St. Louis Mo. The company grew into a family business yet another unfortunate incident tested his fate. He was diagnosed with Lupus which halted his body art career. However, with tragedy comes blessings. Roland’s sons took over the business and propelled the shop to a higher level. Roland consumed with depression began writing to occupy the time. With a newfound passion, he traded visual art for literary art. 


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Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Book Tour: The Wingless Angel by Fabrice Wilfong


Dark Fantasy
Date Published: 2/22/20
Publisher: Acorn Publishing

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The Wingless Angel

Ex-Army Medic, Silton, has had a rough go of late. Soon after being discharged from the military his wife suffered a tragic accident, then slipped into a coma and died. Now alone, drinking fills his days, and restless sleep plagues his nights.

He feels that God is finished with him, that he has no purpose in life, so he ends it all.

He falls. Naked and confused, he falls.

Silton awakens on a taught expanse of warm Skin Land. Acrid air stings his lungs, tiny hairs jut up like grass under his feet, and the pale blue eye of Heaven stares down on him.

In the distance he hears a scream, and as he bounds towards it, finds a fetid swamp of others who have fallen, sinking into the soupy flesh. Quick to his training Silton pulls a woman out of the mess, only to find her legs ravaged with breaks. Using his medical skills and the flesh around him, he binds her injuries, easing her pain.

Far off in the distance, on their huge moving home called the Sled, a group of demons set off on a journey out into the Skin Land to harvest those lucky enough to survive the fall. Those like Silton.

Silton drags his newfound friend to a distant shelter of bone as they share the reflections of life that have brought them here. With each step the mystery of this place unfolds revealing its true beauty, and its terrifying reality.

As the demons draw near, and the pale blue eye of Heaven watches above, it becomes clear that God is not finished with Silton. God has a new purpose for him, a purpose for him in Hell.



“Sin follows the sinner, it does not lead them.”


About the Author


Fabrice Wilfong has been writing fiction since he was 15 years old. His works have consistently leaned towards the dark side of human experience, where he uses characters and philosophy to challenge our shared interpretations of life.  

For most of his professional career Fabrice has been in the Healthcare Industry where he’s learned to love human anatomy and the systems of the body. He feels the body remains a frontier that we are all forced to explore with little understanding of how things will unfold.

His works consistently push the reader to a deeper knowledge of themselves both mentally and physically, while daring into the fantastical and bizarre.     


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Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Diana the Voice of Change by Stewart Pearce



Non-Fiction / Self-Help
Date Published: Jan 10th, 2019
Publisher: Fitzrovia Press (Imprint: Shimran)

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DIANA – THE VOICE OF CHANGE ……isn’t just another biographical account of Diana’s life, but rather it is a deeper exploration of the unique idiosyncrasies, extraordinary events, and changes of destiny that created a flow of force by which Diana evolved, transmuting from being the Peoples Princess into the Queen of Everybody’s Heart, and so to beyond her death………

It is written by the legendary Voice Coach: Stewart Pearce, who confidentially coached Diana during the last two years of her life, adding both a physical and metaphysical support to Diana’s vast transformation. This we palpably saw, as she moved from the demure and pained young woman, seen in the Martin Bashir interview, to the assured, powerful humanitarian leader witnessed in July 1997. For Diana’s voice revolutionized both the African Landmine issue, and the face of the Global Aids epidemic, and irrespective of her HRH title being removed, Diana acquired such public support that her voice of freedom almost toppled Queen Elizabeth, and exposed the anachronisms of the Windsor Household!



The book answers volatile questions such as:

Why was the marriage of a century known as a Fairy Tale?

Why was Diana the most photographed woman in recorded history?

Was Diana murdered?

Why did her incandescent love affect so many, and where did it come from?

What was the extraordinary energy that affected 5.9 billion people during August 31st and September 6th, 1997?

What has happened to Diana’s voice post-death, the resonance of which appears to have precipitated significant social movements, such as the #METOOCAMPAIGN?



The book is packed with Vocal Exercises, Sound Meditations, and Presence Techniques, which allowed Diana to become the spell-binding, radiant being that she became – about which Henry Kissinger said: “ I remember, Diana was a beautiful young woman whose blue eyes melted grown men’s bones!”


The content of this book is seen as a developing work, which will eventually evolve to become a series of workshops known as THE DIANA HEART PATH

Stewart Pearce
(copyright)




About the Author

Stewart Pearce is a Master of Voice and Corporate Presentation Coach who finds and liberates the authentic power and presence in the world’s most extraordinary people.

As a Master of Voice, Stewart has a reputation for his holistic training of the Actor, within renowned Actor Training Centers throughout the World, – Stewart was Head of Voice at the Webber Douglas Academy between 1980-1997, assisting the pioneering of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre between 1997-2010, as well as consulting on Broadway and in the West End. Stewart has coached world-acclaimed actors such as Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne and Mark Rylance, Matthew Goode, Hugh Bonneville of “Downton Abbey”, Simon Callow CBE, Vanessa Redgrave, Michelle Williams, Minnie Driver, Gwendoline Christie. Stewart also develops iconic presence for luminaries such as Marianne Williamson, Dame Anita Roddick, Margaret Thatcher, Mo Mowlem, and Diana, Princess of Wales.

In the corporate sphere, he is the “go-to” Mentor for Presentation Coaching with senior iconic business people and organizations. Corporations, where he has developed leaders and chief executives, include Giorgio Armani, L`Oreal, BT, BBC, ITN, Qatar Holdings, World News, McKinsey & Co, Merrill Lynch, WPP, UBS, Nat West, Vidal Sassoon, Redken, and McKenzie Boston and The British Government and the LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC Bid.

Stewart Pearce is the author of several acclaimed books about the human voice and its power for personal development and healing. In addition, he has recorded six award-winning sonic meditation albums. Stewart’s work is regularly featured in the global press, and he is sought after for private Mentorship, and Master Classes throughout the world.

Stewart Pearce’s great passion is to assist extraordinarily talented individuals to change the world, whilst finding and embodying their soul’s note and signature style, which brings a magnetic presence to the work. In this work, Stewart helps people find great joy, authenticity, and clarity of purpose in their work and personal lives.

Stewart Pearce is based in London and New York and leads Master Classes around the World.

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Monday, March 23, 2020

Virtual Book Tour: El Gringo by Edmond Salus


Fiction
Date Published: January 2018

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Sonny Galas is an only child being raised by his mother-a widow---and the loving help of his grandfather, also widowed. Living in a Santa Monica apartment complex owned by 'Grandpa' all is well and average for this close-knit family until a certain French family come into the picture, in need of a place to rent. They soon show their colors in various ways, topping it off by slapping a suit on their patient, kind landlord. Sonny's family sees no better option than selling their only asset-the apartments-and getting far away from their Lawyer-packing tenants. Far, as in 'leaving the country', and this is where their true adventure begins. South of the border becomes their new home. 



From their journey through third-world narrow roads, small towns where no English is spoken, to long, hot unending desert roads and through humid coastal towns they continue toward their big city destination, Guadalajara, where their life begins and they encounter everything and everyone from kind helpers to con-artists and crazies and from strangers to good friends, both Mexican and American. From young boy to teenager, as the years pass, Sonny sees it all: his family's ups and downs, the country's ups and downs with its own political third-world corruption, and his own transformation from a simple boy in a new country to a growing youth, fully fluent in Spanish; a devilish yet fun-loving teenager now with roots firmly planted and sprouting happily in his new home, his new country. From the adventures and joys of boyhood with his friends and pals to the wild days through grade school, junior high and high school with the opportunities given him as a bi-lingual kid to living through the set-backs that could trouble any family-Mexican or American-even scare of the faint of heart, he takes it all in; after all, now he's Mexican. The fiestas, the friends, the awesome busy modern streets of Guadalajara in the early Seventies to the early Eighties, Guadalajara, the country's capital of Mariachis.




Edmond Salus




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Thursday, March 19, 2020

Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Feasible Living by Ken Kroes


Non-Fiction
Date Published: November 28, 2019
Publisher: 1779671 Alberta Inc

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No matter which way we turn today, trends like pollution, climate change, and the 4th Industrial Revolution are impacting the ecosystems that you and I live in.

The thrust of the book is to bring awareness to major global trends that we are facing and to give suggestions on how to adapt and prepare for them.

Topics covered include mental health, physical health, employment and lifestyle, social impact, and emergency readiness.

There is an emphasis on mentoring our youth who are especially impacted by both the anxiety that these trends raise and their direct impacts.


About the Author

Ken Kroes is the author of the Percipience Eco-Fiction Series and the non-fiction books, Feasible Planet and Feasible Living. He is passionate about our relationship with our planet and applies his diverse background which includes agriculture, mechanical engineering, and information systems into his writing. Born in Calgary, Canada he has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has had the pleasure of living in many locations in North America and has traveled extensively.

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Monsterland by Michael Okon






MONSTERLAND
By Michael Okon
YA Monster Fiction

Welcome to Monsterland—the scariest place on Earth.Wyatt Baldwin’s senior year is not going well. His parents divorce, then his dad mysteriously dies. He’s not exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter White, either. An ongoing debate with his best friends Melvin and Howard Drucker over which monster is superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan, and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance. But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park where guests can interact with vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by werewolves on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.With real werewolves, vampires and zombies as the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?

Praise:

“Michael Okon crafts a fabulous novel with unique, unforgettable characters. …The world building was done fabulously. There were believable backgrounds that explain how it could be possible for there to be a world that had not only vampires, but also werewolves and zombies, excuse me, the vitality-challenged. It all comes together seamlessly as the plot lines converge to make for an explosive ending.” – Devouring Books 2017, blogspot

“I can assure you of this: you will not be disappointed. Nor will you sleep well at night for a while, either. But isn’t that the mark of a master storyteller! Hat’s off to Michael Okon” – Theodore Jerome Cohen, Author of “House of Cards: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Martelli NYPD, #2)”

“As this book deserves not only top of the New York Times bestseller list but on the big screen as well. The moment I began to read my world was transformed and I was living through the novel.” – Carey Hurst, Tales of A Wanna-Be SuperHero Mom

“First rate YA fiction with a monsterous twist. Highly recommended.” – Richard Schwindt, author of “The Death in Sioux Lookout Trilogy”

“Okon does a fantastic job of creating distinct personalities for the different monsters. The vampires are sly and cunning while the werewolves are weary and brooding. Even the zombies have some personality, albeit it’s only shown through thoughts they struggle to string together.” – Alejandro Ramos, medium.com

“I enjoyed the beautiful prose, the great characters, and the exciting plot. It’s hard to read this novel without getting emotionally involved.” – Divine Zape, Readers’ Favortie (Five Star Review)

“I think MONSTERLAND provides something different for the YA category that really isn’t otherwise present, not only in type of story but in teen/adult relationships.” – litbites.com, Blog Tour

“This book has a charm often lost in supernatural stories. Michael Okon sets a brilliant scene where you can hear and see the world coming to life before your eyes. You don’t read this book, you live it. .. Monsterland makes for a fun yet harrowing horror read, with injections of comedy, and masterful execution.” – K.J. Simmill (5 Star Review)

Monsterland Awards

  • 2017 Readers’ Favorite Five Star Review
  • Feathered Quill Book Awards 2018 – Science Fiction/Fantasy – Second Place
  • Feathered Quill Book Awards 2018 – Teen Fiction, Graphic/Anime (13-18 years) – First Place
  • The Feathered Quill, The Write Companion Award for Best Overall Top Pick
  • 2018 Shelf Unbound – Notable
  • 2018 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner in the Young Adult – Horror genre
  • 2019 International Book Awards – Fiction: Fantasy – Finalist
  • 2020 Feathered Quill Book Awards – Gold/1st Place – Best of Backlist


Amazon → https://amzn.to/31KQKFy

Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/2SCCo5P






Chapter 1
The Everglades

The sky was a sparkling, powder blue, mosquitoes droned lazily over the tepid water, frogs croaked messages while they sunbathed on waxy lily pads. The fire he created burned bright, rabbit roasting on a spit made from hickory, the juices dripping to hiss in the flames. Seven of them lay in scattered repose, enjoying the late afternoon lull—two napped, the others tossed a stuffed fur in the form of a ball around the clearing, hooting with amusement when it rolled into the brush. They traveled in a pack, his group, his makeshift family, foraging together, hiding in plain sight. It had been that way for generations. But the glades were getting smaller, the humans invasive.
The sun started its slow descent into the horizon, hot pink and lilac clouds rippling against the empty canvas of the sky. Their color deepened as the sky filled, the rosy hue morphing into a burnt orange as the sun hid behind the condensation. The air thickened, moisture causing the leaves to lie heavily against the branches. Here and there, fireflies lit the gloom, doing a placid ballet in the humid air. The men moved closer as the sun sank into the western treetops, the fading sky promising another clear day tomorrow in the Everglades despite the moving ceiling of clouds.
A lone hawk cried out, disturbing the peace of the glade. Huge birds answered, flapping their wings, creating a cacophony of swamp sounds. The area became a concerto of animals responding to the disruption of their home—wild screams, squeaks, and complaints of the invasion of their territory.
The lead male stood, his head tilted. He heard it again. It was music, the strange organization of sounds, predictable as well as dangerous. Where those rhythms originated meant only one thing—they were not alone. They all rose, tense and alert, searching the waterway. Billy pointed, his dirty hands silently parting an outcropping of trees to expose a flat-bottom boat with strangers floating slowly toward them. It was filled with people, excitedly searching the banks of the swamp, their expensive khaki bush clothes ringed with sweat. Many held huge cameras. It was obviously a film crew, invasive, nosy individuals looking for something, anything, to enhance their lives. Men’s voices drifted on the turgid air. Billy stood, sniffing, his mates following suit. He glanced at the sky, gauging the time, his eyes opening wide. It was late. The bald top of the moon peeked over the ridge in the south, the sky graying to twilight with each passing second. Night came fast and furious in the swamp, dropping a curtain of darkness, extinguishing all light except for the beacon of the full moon. That chalk-white orb floated upward, indifferent to the consequences of its innocent victims. A halo of lighter blue surrounded the globe, limning the trees silver, the cobwebs in the trees becoming chains of dripping diamonds in the coming night.
What were the interlopers doing here? Billy thought furiously. This was their territory. The humans didn’t belong in the swamp. The moon continued its trip to the heavens, the familiar agony beginning in his chest. Billy fought the demons churning within his body, feeling the pain of metamorphosis. He curled inward, hunching his shoulders, the curse of his nature making his spine pull until his tendons and muscles tore from their human positions to transform into something wicked. A howl erupted from his throat, followed by another, and then another. Grabbing handfuls of dirt, he tried to fight the awful change, but, as the sun dipped to its fiery death, the moon took control of his life, and the unnatural force tore through his unwilling body. Reason fled; his heart raced. Falling on his hands and knees, he let loose a keening cry as his face elongated, his body changing into a canine, fangs filling his mouth. He raced in a circle in a demented dance, knowing his fellow pack members did the same thing. Slowing, he regulated his labored breathing, forcing the icy calmness he needed to keep some semblance of reason. He peered through the dense brush. Lights from the search party bobbed in the distance. The odor, the stench of humanity, filled the clearing.
He turned, digging furiously on the ground, throwing dirt on the flames, hiding their existence. It was no good. Discovery would ruin everything. No one could live with their kind. Humans brought disease, humans brought anger, humans brought hatred. They were there; he could smell them, see their clumsy bodies invading his home. “They’ve found us,” he growled in the special language they used. “Run!” he barked as he turned to his pack, watching his friends’ naked skin transform until it was covered with the same silvered fur. They cried out in unison at the pain, howling with the injustice, and then ran in fear from the interlopers threatening their habitat.










Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.
Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.

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