Sunday, January 27, 2019

#Author #Interview RICHARD HACKER, AUTHOR OF DIE BACK


Richard Hacker is a longtime resident of Austin, Texas who now writes and lives in Seattle.

His writing has been recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. In addition to his writing, he provides editing services to other writers and is the editor of an online science fiction and fantasy journal, Del Sol Review. His three published humorous crime novels ride the sometimes thin line between fact and fiction in Texas. DIE BACK, his first fantasy thriller novel, has been published by Del Sol Press.

When not writing he’s singing in a vocal jazz ensemble, cooking with a sous vide and a blow torch, or exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and his springer spaniel, Jazz.


Twitter Link: @Richard_Hacker

Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/RWHacker 




Title: DIE BACK (Book One of the Alchimeia)
Author: Richard Hacker
Publisher: Del Sol Press
Pages: 332
Genre: Fantasy/Thriller

BOOK BLURB:
In 272 AD Egypt, an enemy thwarts an attempt by League Inkers, Thomas Shaw and Nikki Babineaux, to obtain the Alchįmeia, a document holding alchemical secrets. Sensing his impending death, Thomas secures Nikki’s promise to keep his son, Addison, from the League, an organization defending the time continuum. After his father’s death, Addison inherits a mysterious pen, accidentally inking himself into the consciousness of a man who dies on a muddy WWI battlefield in France. Hoping to make sense of his experience, he confides in Nikki, his best friend and unknown to Addison, an Inker. Keeping her promise to Thomas, she discounts Addison’s experience. 
Fixated on the pen, Addison inks into a B-17 bombardier in 1943. The pilot, whose consciousness has been taken over by someone calling himself Kairos, gloats over killing Addison’s father and boasts of plans to destroy the League. As Kairos attempts to wrest Addison’s consciousness, Nikki shocks Addison out of the Inking. She confesses her knowledge of  the League. When Kairos threatens to steal aviation technology, she she sends Addison and his partner, Jules, to an Army test of the Wright Flyer in 1908. Believing they have succeeded, they return to find the continuum shifted and Nikki knowing nothing about the League.
Inking back to his father’s mission in Alexandria, Addison and Jules hope to get his help in returning the time continuum to its original state. Instead, Addison’s father gives him the Alchįmeia to hide in a crypt at the Great Lighthouse on Phalos. On their return to the present a Kairos agent murders Jules, her consciousness Inked into the past. Addison follows the clues, Inking into Pizarro in 16th century Peru. He finds Jules in the child bride of the Inca emperor. His plan to find the technology and save Jules without destroying the Inca civilization is thwarted by a fleet of Inca airships. Captured, he is taken to Machu Picchu. With Jules help, they find the stolen schematics, but are confronted by Kairos. He stabs Addison, forcing Addison’s consciousness back to the present and traps Jules in the 16th Century. Addison returns to another altered world. Nikki no longer exists, the world is at war with the Inca, and Manhattan lay in ruins.
Addison Inks his father, learning the origins of the League. Thomas urges Addison to uncover their enemy with the help of his colleague, Maya. Putting suspicion on another inker,  Cameron, she insists he must be killing Inkers and acquiring Pens. In a final attempt to stop him, they entrap Cameron, only for Addison to discover Maya is Kairos, his enemy.  She kills Cameron, also wounding Addison.  He chases Maya, who intimates that she holds his mother’s, Rebecca’s, consciousness. Confused he delays, giving her time to scrawl a name with her pen before shooting her dead.

Inked away when Maya died, Kairos finds himself, not in his intended host, Hitler, but in a German infantry soldier POW in the Ardenne during the Battle of the Bulge, WWII. Hoping to repair the shift in the time continuum, Addison brings the League Pens together with the fate of the world and everyone he loves at stake. He awakens to a dissimilar world, but Jules and Nikki exist. And with life there is always hope.

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Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

Thanks for having me on your blog. I like your color coordinated bookshelf, by the way. A palette of books. Very cool. So, what do I do when not writing? I sing with a jazz vocal ensemble, so I usually spend a bit of time rehearsing music each day. And I like to draw—although I’ve only been at it for about a year. I’ve been honing my drawing skills so I can do quick sketches in a travel journal. And these days I’m learning French. I’ll be going to France next year and thought it would be best to be a bit more conversant than I’ve been in the past. I also love to cook. I recently picked of a sous vide. You essentially cook the food in a bath of water at a regulated temperature. It does amazing things to meats. I even sous vide hard boiled eggs! LOL And I’m a runner and hiker, so you’ll find me out with my springer spaniel, Jazz, running through the neighborhood or out on a trail either on an urban walk or in the Cascades.

When did you start writing?

When I was in the third-grade I started writing short stories which I read to the class for show and tell. Why I did that, I’m not so sure. My squirrel skeleton in a shoebox had been a hit, but I think having the class respond to my stories got me hooked on writing.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

There was a time when I got all wrapped up in the idea that success as a writer was about a big audience and lots of money, awaiting my Stephen King moment. Then I stepped back to acknowledge that writing is an art form. And like all art, its value is in its expression. There are many artists from writers to painters to sculptors to musicians whose work is never recognized on a large scale. Would a Picasso painting or a Hemingway short story be of less intrinsic value if it hadn’t been placed on a world stage and purchased by a wealthy art collector? I don’t think so. Guernica or A Clean, Well-Lighted Place would be great works of art whether they sold for millions or were in a small studio apartment. Art is art. And once I got that, it freed me up to be an artist. Not a purveyor of books. Not a market-focused writer. An artist who writes.

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?
Florence, Italy. It’s a beautiful place with fabulous food and wonderful architecture. And walking the cobbled streets, you get the sense of a fifteenth century Florence. The Leonardo da Vinci and the Galileo museums have some wonderful artifacts, the magnificent Duomo, and the stunning David at the Accademia Gallery, just to name a few.

For the second book in the Alchimeia series I went to Washington DC in the dead of winter to spend time in the Washington Monument. There’s a pivotal scene and by taking detailed notes and photographs I was able to accurately describe the setting, including the views from the monument.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Certainly more time with my wife, with family, with friends. But if it’s what I would do, I’d say more writing, more singing, more drawing, more exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

As you might have guessed from an earlier question, Florence. There’s such a since of time in the place. I can see the characters walking the streets.

Back to your present book, Dieback, how did you publish it?

My publisher is Del Sol Press. I attended a workshop lead by the publisher, Michael Neff, a few years ago. In fact, he heard an early pitch for the book. He liked the story idea, but wasn’t enamored with the title at the time. The Geneologist. He was right, by the way. Dieback is a much better title. I had several crime novels published by a small press a few years ago and after the contract expired, I decided to get the rights back and self-publish those, just to keep them out in the wild. So, I’ve gotten to go both ways. Del Sol Press is committed to putting out top notch fantasy novels, so I’m very pleased to be working with them.

In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?

The story goes all over the world. Ancient Alexandria, Egypt; modern Tokyo, WWI France, fifteenth century England, an altered present Austin and Seattle; WWII Guadalcanal; and fifteenth century Peru to name a few. I did visit Austin (I lived there for many years) and I currently live in Seattle. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in England, so I had memories and photos of my times there. For Peru, I had a writer friend who just happened to be going to Machu Picchu and she provided some wonderful details about things you just can’t Google. How does the air feel, smell? What insects, birds and other fauna did you see? What is the vegetation lie? The ground at your feet? And for some of the places I just couldn’t get to, I traveled virtually. It’s amazing these days how you can get on Google maps and walk the streets of a city.

Why was writing Dieback so important to you?
Oh my. When I have a story idea it’s burning a hole in my head. I’ve got to get it out, got to share it. I can’t put it down and walk away. So, I guess you could say it was so important to me because if I didn’t write the story my head would explode. LOL.

Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?

I get my best ideas where and when I’m not trying to get my best ideas. I think it’s something like that thing when you can’t remember a name and more the try to remember the further the memory seems to be. And then a few hours later, when it’s not even on your mind, suddenly the name pops right up. I think when I get out of the way, I let my imagination run free. And it comes up with some crazy stuff!

Any final words?

Thanks so much for providing this opportunity to share my work with your readers. I hope they enjoy reading Dieback as much as I enjoyed writing it. For fun, go check out the trailer for the book. https://youtu.be/qesyHscyzNM And I’d love to hear from you. Visit my website, www.richardhacker.com and drop me a line.

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Thursday, January 24, 2019

#BlogTour: Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter by A.L. Bryant


BLESSED: THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER by A.L. Bryant, Supernatural/Christian/Thriller/Horror, 279 pp., $5.99 (Kindle)

Title: BLESSED: THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
Author: A.L. Bryant
Publisher: HSW Publications LLC
Pages: 279
Genre: Supernatural Christian Thriller/Horror

On New Year’s Eve 2021 the staff at St. Ann’s Hospital witness a medical miracle when a semi-conscious woman walks into the emergency room. The Jane Doe has been stabbed multiple times and as the staff struggle to keep the woman alive in the end all they can do is stand back and watch as their mysterious patient revives herself.

Glory wakes up in St. Ann’s Hospital gravely injured from an attack she cannot remember. However, her memory loss is no ordinary amnesia and she is no ordinary patient. Much to the shock of the hospital staff Glory heals at three times the rate of an average person. Soon the administration hears of her unique case and waste no time convincing the recovering Glory to be a part of an experiment to discover the origins of her power.

Once outside the comforting walls of the hospital it becomes apparent that healing is just a small portion of Glory’s capabilities. Abilities that to Glory’s distress are becoming increasingly unstable. Deciding that the hospital’s experiments are in vain, Glory embarks on her own Journey to discover the source of her power, unaware that she is a major pawn in a war between two secret organizations.
The two syndicates continue to clash in their fight for control and their battles result in several casualties. The crimes of their warfare surface and draw the attention of Dennis Wilson, a NYPD Detective known for solving his cases in the first forty-eight hours. Dennis follows the trail of bodies out of curiosity. But when his curiosity causes the deaths of his loved ones Detective Dennis becomes obsessed with the case.

In his overzealous attempts to find the murderer Dennis becomes the syndicates’ next target. Now the Detective must run for his life and the only person capable of saving him is the very person he suspects.

Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter is a hybrid of government espionage and supernatural Thriller. This novel is intended for audiences 18+ that seek an edgier outlook on Christian fiction. Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter is the first installment of the Blessed trilogy.

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With a slight hesitation, Glory examined the entrance. Using the corner of her jacket she tested the knob, not overly surprised when the door opened easily. Behind her, she could still hear the muffled sounds of the girl’s sobs. Glory stepped one foot through the door and paused. She turned sideways and looked back out into the yard. With one foot inside the house and one still on the porch, she stared at the girl, whose eyes were as wide as her own. The side of her body that remained outside of the house felt light; she could feel the breeze whip her clothing. She raised her hand and, as expected, it lifted easily. Glory looked down at her other arm, the one in the corridor of the house. Sweat drizzled down her brow as she struggled to lift it.
            Making sure to keep her voice light, Glory nodded in the direction of the gate. “Go home, I’ll get Mitch and he’ll call you afterwards.” She waited until the girl nodded reluctantly and disappeared.
Feeling a strong urge to leave, Glory turned as quickly as she could and closed the door behind her. Instant darkness. She pulled out the cell phone Dr. Stephens had helped her purchase shortly after she left the hospital, and turned its flashlight on. She had not paid the bill in a long time, so she had no service, but Glory still kept it charged. The corridor was short, maybe two or three large steps long. A staircase, which dominated the space in the narrow corridor, stood against the left wall. Glory shined the light up the steps trying to determine where they led, but the light’s range was too short.
Examining the staircase carefully to make sure it could hold her weight, Glory began ascending. The house had its own gravity; every step felt like moving through quicksand. By the time she made it to the top, she was winded. She leaned against the wall, shining her light around the area while she rested. She stood in another corridor, much larger than the first one. A solid wall lined one side; several doors, some of them mere centimeters apart, lined the other. She pushed herself away from the wall and walked to the first door, covered her hand with her jacket, turned the knob, and pushed the door. It gave way only slightly before it refused to open any farther. She tried pulling the door, but it could only be opened inward. She pushed one more time, shining a light through the narrow opening to see if she could locate the blockage—silently hoping it wasn’t the boy—but nothing met the light. Frustrated, she moved on to the next door, only to encounter the same problem.
By the sixth one, Glory started to wonder if any of them were meant to open. With each door, she put more strength and effort into her shoulders and arms, desperately trying to force her way through. By the twelfth, she was exhausted. She took a deep breath and shoved her shoulder against it. The door swung open, Glory stumbled two feet, and fell through the hole behind it. She fell through one story of the house into an open room and into the much bigger hole in that room’s floor. She fell through another story and into another room with another hole. She hit hard rock and slid until she landed on her back. Her head hit the floor and her eyes instantly clouded from the impact.
Glory’s breath and sight came back simultaneously. Slowly, she sat up with a grunt as she brought her right hand to her ribs. Not only had her pack survived the fall, but she had managed to hold on to her phone. Standing up, still favoring her left side, Glory began dusting herself off. Her hands shook and she took a deep breath to dispel the effects of the adrenaline still rushing through her body. Turning on the light so she could look around, Glory shifted her feet. Taking a small step forward, she tripped on something, but managed sustain her balance with a small hop to dislodge whatever had caught her foot.
Glory turned the light downward to look at the ground and saw a piece of cloth clinging to her boot. Ruffles—the cloth was filthy, covered in dust and grime, but the ruffles still maintained their shape. Forgetting herself, Glory reached out and ran her fingertips over the cloth, smoothing the dirt away so she could see the color. Her fingertips grew warm and her eyes widened as she realized what she had done. Too late, she snatched her hand away.
“This is so exciting!” A young woman in a blue ball gown tightened her grip on her friend’s arm, her gloved fingers long and delicate. Looking a little less interested, her friend, a tall, thin brunette, pried the girl’s hands from her arm, but her friend only returned them with slightly less bruising force.
“Yes, well, if my father knew I was here, it would be the end of me.”
“That’s what these are for, silly.” The young woman flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulders and tapped her masquerade mask with her folded fan.
“I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this. I have a bad feeling.”
“You are thinking far too much. Now tell me how beautiful I look and then let’s go get some refreshments.”
The brunette stood back and pretended to consider her friend. “You look positively stunning as always, Annabelle. Your dress is lovely; I could never pull off so many ruffles.”
Annabelle waved the last statement away. “Nonsense, Sarah, I’m sure you would look just as lovely in ruffles. I don’t know why you insist on wearing such drab garments.” She looked her friend up and down, a frown on her face as she examined the dark green dress that covered Sarah, from its unfashionably high neckline down to the slightly pointed toes of her boots.
Sarah grimaced. “My father does not agree with today’s fashions. He thinks exposing shoulders, wrists, and cleavage is unseemly.” Trying to distract her friend from her dress, she made a show of looking around. “This is an extremely odd house, isn’t it? Why would he build a staircase directly at the entrance?”
“For that matter, why build a staircase that only goes to the top floor when there are four flights in between?”
“We’ve been here less than an hour and I’m already confused. So many corridors and staircases.”
“And how many rooms are there, anyway? There are doors everywhere you look.” The girls spoke frantically now, their intertwined arms squeezing together as they became more excited.
Annabelle turned to her friend. “Let’s explore the house more.”
Sarah looked over her shoulder. “I don’t know. We haven’t even greeted the host yet. It would be bad manners.”
Annabelle shrugged. “It was bad manners for him not to show himself so he could be greeted.”
Keeping an eye on the group they had been standing with, Annabelle pulled Sarah toward the door, only to stop mid-stride as their path was cut off by a large figure in an expensive dinner jacket and a full porcelain mask.
“Good evening, ladies.”
Annabelle released Sarah’s arm and took a step closer, resting her hand coquettishly on her bosom. “Good evening.” She let the greeting hang in the air. When the man merely nodded, Annabelle tried again.
“I do not recognize you, and since I know everyone in this town except the owner of this fine home, you must be…”
“The owner? That is correct.”
Barely masking her annoyance, Annabelle turned to her companion. “This is…”
The man held up his hand, effectively cutting off the introduction.
“If I wished to know the identity of my guests, then I would not have made this a masquerade ball.”
Flustered by her mistake, Annabelle released a breathy chuckle. “My apologies, I don’t know what I was thinking. We must keep the mystery up.”
The man turned his head to the side as he considered the two ladies. “Do you like mysteries?”
Eager to impress, Annabelle stepped forward. “Yes, I do!”
The man turned to look at Sarah, who hovered in the background, not at all certain she wanted to join in the conversation.
“And what about horrors?”
Taken aback, Annabelle frowned. “I beg your pardon?”
“Do you like to be frightened?”
Not sure where this was leading, Annabelle glanced at her friend. “I suppose being frightened every once in a while can be thrilling.”
The man nodded slowly as if contemplating her answer. “Do you believe in the supernatural?”
Annabelle laughed. “Do you mean ghosts and goblins? I think it’s nonsense.” She waved a delicate hand. “Stories to scare children.”
“And what of demons?”
Annabelle paused, the smile wiped from her face. “The church tells us that they exist, so I believe in them.”
The man leaned back on his heels and shoved his hands into his pockets. “So do I. I have always been curious, and judging by the turnout of this gathering, I’m not the only curious one.”
While he surveyed his guests, Sarah inched forward and grabbed her friend’s arm.
“Come, Annabelle.” Annabelle ignored her, staring at the man as if mesmerized. Sarah pulled sharply on her arm. “You said you wanted to explore the house.” This time Annabelle looked at her and nodded, allowing Sarah to lead her around the man and toward the door.
“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be possessed?” Both girls turned to look back at the man as he spoke. “All the power of the demons and none of the rigid rules of the angels.”
Sarah trembled. “At the expense of our souls and sanity? No, thank you. You can keep your so-called demonic power.” She pulled Annabelle forward and escorted her through the door. Before she could close it behind them, she looked up to see the man looking directly into her eyes for the first time.
“There is only one way to leave this house, and it isn’t the way by which you entered. I doubt you could find the exit even if you stayed here a hundred years.” He turned and headed toward his other guests. “I wish you the best of luck.”
Sarah closed the door. “What an unpleasant man.”
Annabelle shrugged, walking along the corridor, sliding her hand along the wall. “I think he’s fascinating.”
“I think we should leave, Annabelle.”
Annabelle swung around. “I’m not leaving until I’ve explored this house.” When Sarah didn’t make a move to follow, Annabelle turned her mouth down, opened her eyes wide, and lifted her pupils, creating the perfect pout. “Just this one corridor and then I promise we will leave post haste.”
Sarah studied her friend and then nodded. “Just this one corridor and then we’re leaving.”
Annabelle smiled and skipped toward her friend, linking their arms once more.
Trying to take her mind off the eerie darkness of the corridor, Sarah changed the subject. “I wonder what he meant when he said that judging from the turnout, there were a lot of people curious about demons.”
“Oh!” Annabelle swatted the question away. “He was just referring to his invitations.”
Sarah looked over her shoulder. Had she heard something? “What about his invitations?”
“In his invitation, he appealed to those of us who were interested in a thrilling evening. Something about satisfying curiosity about demons in—and these are his words—the demons’ playground.”
“What?” Sarah stopped walking. She stared in Annabelle’s direction, but could barely see her in the dim lighting.
Misinterpreting, Annabelle shrugged. “I know… Who would name their house that?”
Sarah grabbed Annabelle’s shoulders. “Who cares about the name—why did you come? Why are we here?”
Annabelle tried to pry Sarah’s bruising grip from her shoulders. “Calm yourself, Sarah. It’s like taking a ghost tour, there is no need to be—”
Sarah covered Annabelle’s mouth with her hand. “What is that?” The question was rhetorical; the noise was piercing and distinct.
“W-why is everyone screaming?” Annabelle, who had taken Sarah’s hand from her mouth, stared back toward the ballroom. Sarah grabbed her friend and made a move back toward the sound—but more importantly toward the path she hoped would lead to the exit. The girls had only gotten a few feet when the corridor erupted in chaos.
Terrified men and women spilled from the room, tripping over each other in their panic and trampling the people in their way. They didn’t run back the way they came. Instead, they ran toward the two girls, their bodies pressing forward trying to propel themselves farther away from the ballroom. Everything happened so fast that it took Sarah a couple of seconds to react. In that short period of time, the mass of people was almost upon them. Sarah swung around and pushed the startled Annabelle farther into the corridor.
“Get into one of the rooms!” Annabelle grabbed the closest doorknob. She leaned her weight against it. Sarah came to help.
“It won’t open!” Annabelle cried.
“It’s locked?”
“Not locked—just won’t open!”
“Try the next one. Hurry!” Giving up on that door, Sarah followed Annabelle to the next one. She looked over her shoulder to find the crowd less than ten feet from them. Directly behind her friend, she cried out in relief as Annabelle opened the door. But her world came crashing down as she watched her friend disappear in that same second.
Glory sat up sharply. A full minute passed before she stopped gasping and coughing. She had made some progress in controlling the duration of her illusions. Standing, she dusted herself off and picked up her cellphone. From what she could tell, she was underground in a place that resembled a dungeon carved from the rock that the mansion had been built on. It was large and dark. There was no place for light to shine through, so even during the daytime, the room would still be pitch black.











A.L. Bryant was born and raised in St. Petersburg FL. She became interested in writing at an early age; an interest that depending on the circumstance brought punishment (detention for passing out the latest installment of her novella during class) and praise (being chosen for a youth writers conference at the Poynter Institute.)  A.L. Bryant gets her inspiration from both her mother and her Great Grandmother. Her mother recently published an inspirational children’s book under a pseudonym and her great grandmother is South Carolina’s first published African-American female author and playwright.

Until recently writing had simply been a pastime for A.L. Bryant who although she attended several writing courses, graduated with a B.A. in International Business. It was shortly after her second job as a Financial Office Manager at a Goodwill correctional facility that she realized she loved writing more than anything else. It would still be some years before she would convert the short story she wrote in college into a novel.

Besides writing, A.L. Bryant loves traveling the world. God has blessed her with the opportunity to visit a total of seven countries. She has studied abroad in Seoul and has traveled throughout Kenya; two locations she researched for her Blessed series. Her dream is to visit every country in the world.
Her latest book is the supernatural Christian thriller horror novel, Blessed: The Prodigal Daughter.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/ALBryantHSW
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100029069148653

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com
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Monday, January 21, 2019

Interview with John R. Beyer, Author of 'Iquitos: The Past Will Kill' l Book Tour l @drjohnrbeyer





John R. Beyer spent nearly ten years in law enforcement in Southern California as a street cop, a training officer and a member of the elite SWAT team. After leaving the force, he continued in public service entering the field of education. During his tenure, he served as classroom teacher, school administrator and district administrator, and was an integral part of the gang and drug force in San Bernardino. While in both worlds he earned a Doctorate in School Administration and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

During all those years, he never gave up the passion for writing – both fiction and nonfiction. He has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and the like for decades, writing on a variety of topics. His latest short stories in the past year can be found in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine (2016) and GNU Journal (2017). He is also the author of three highly praised internationally known novels – Hunted (2013), Soft Target (2014) and Operation Scorpion (2017).

He won the 'Write Well Award' in October of 2018 from the Silver Pen Writer's Association for a fictional short story.

His newest novel, ‘Iquitos – the Past Will Kill’, was released in November of 2018 by Black Opal Books bringing two of his protagonists together for their first investigation. Jonas Peters and Frank Sanders will work hand in hand with an international incident which left undetected could cause a catastrophic issue for the United States. They are friends and they are good at they do. Catching the bad guys.

Website Address:    http://johnrobertbeyer.weebly.com/
Twitter Address: @Drjohnrbeyer



Jonas Peters and Frank Sanders team up to solve a string of murders, starting with the intentional and fatal bombing of a local coffee shop in downtown Riverside—a usually calm city in Southern California. Dozens are dead after an explosion rips apart the Coffee Grind, leaving dozens of others gravely wounded. Frank soon finds himself up to his elbows assisting the bombing victims, especially when he discovers that Jonas was walking to the Coffee Grind to meet up with his fiancée, but he never made it. In an instant, all their lives are thrust into a trail of death and destruction carried out by an unknown psychopath.

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Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

My lovely spouse, Laureen, and I love to travel. We have a blog, J and L Research and Exploration that deals with naturally, research and exploration which is a great way for us to travel the globe. In the real world though I am in education – teaching English and World History to 7th graders – yes, my halo is bright but tilted at times dealing with these lovely youngsters. But to their credit they are full of energy and the desire to investigate their creative writing skills is right up my alley.

When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was in middle school with a passion. Short fictional stories dealing with strong protagonists and simple plots. That evolved into non-fictional pieces for newspapers and magazines. After meeting Ray Bradbury I really got into writing fiction again and have numerous short stories as well as novels published. It’s always been a passion for me and hopefully always will.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

There were so many pivotal points after being published but I remember one from years ago. I has a small story published in a history magazine and one day at a local book store I saw a gentleman reading the magazine and as I walked by I snuck a peek (I know – I know) and he was reading my article. A moment later I heard him say to a lady who had walked up to him, “That was a really good story.” It was such a humbling but wonderful moment.

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?

In fact, I am writing a historical fiction novel on Vlad Dracula – and would love to return to Romania while I finish the work. We spent a month there a couple of years ago conducting research, and the country is so beautiful. It would be the perfect setting to actually sit and write the novel while staring out over the river Danube.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Four extra hours a day would be great, but again after a while the same thought would invade my brain, ‘there aren’t enough hours in a day.’ But, if that were the case, I would write more and exercise more – the writing for keeping the brain active and the physical exercise for the health of the body. What an awesome way to spend an additional four hours.

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

I think on the east coast of the United States. Perhaps somewhere in the wood of New Hampshire, with a small lob cabin as the main homestead. No idea what the story line would be, but I’m sure one would pop into my head while having a cup of coffee on the front porch watching deer dance across the front yard.

Back to your present book, Iquitos, The Past Will Kill, how did you publish it?

My publisher is Black Opal Books out of Oregon. They are a traditional publishing house and chose to publish my first novel, Hunted, and I have stuck with them for the following three novels.

In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?

We traveled to Peru for the research into the Peruvian rain forest near the rather large village of Iquitos on the Amazon River. It is the largest city in the world where the only way to arrive there is either by boat or by air. No roads lead to Iquitos. There is no way to get there by car. Spending a month getting to know the layout of life in the Amazon was amazing.

Why was writing, Iquitos, The Past Will Kill, so important to you?

Jonas Peters is my protagonist along with his friend Frank Sanders. Both former cops turned private detectives in Southern California, and the thought of writing about an alien landscape such as the Amazon had always been of interest to me. I just needed a plot line to follow and after asking myself ‘What if something had happened in Peru in Jonas’s past life that came back to haunt him?’ The story worked its way out after that. There was a story to be told and a great location for it to happen.

Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?

Characters and situations occur in my head on a daily basis. I have never suffered through writer’s block and the tapping of the keyboard comes easy for me. Of course, not everything is written wonderfully – I have thrown away or deleted many chapters over the years knowing the words and effort were not going where I wanted them to travel. It’s part of the game – a good idea and write about it. If it works it works and if it doesn’t – then chuck it and start afresh.

Any final words?

I want to thank you for this opportunity telling your readers a little more about me and the craft I love. If anyone would like to follow our real life adventures then please visit us at jandlresearchandexploration.blogspot.com.

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Friday, January 18, 2019

Book Blast: The Employee Millionaire by H.J. Chammas






Title: The Employee Millionaire
Author: H.J. Chammas
Publisher: PartridgeSingapore
Genre: Business/Economics
Format: Ebook

When the financial crisis erupted in 2008, thousands of people lost jobs they thought theyd always have to sustain their standard of living. For H. J. Chammas, it was a wakeup call to escape struggling to make ends meet. It was time to take charge of his life and stop acting like a lab rat following a set program. In this detailed guidebook to buying, owning, and managing rental properties, he gives readers a plan that you wont find in other books. Instead of promoting foolish risks, he helps you leverage your position as an employee to achieve financial freedom. Learn how to: evaluate the current state of your finances; overcome limiting beliefs about money and investing; set personal objectives to achieve financial freedom; and think and operate like a seasoned real estate investor. Chammas shares real-life examples that will help you build a personalized investment blueprint to build your rental property portfolio and become wealthy. From identifying and closing deals, getting approved for loans, renting out properties, dealing with tenants, and capitalizing on opportunities, this book will challenge how youve always looked at life, finances, investments, and real estate.

PURCHASE HERE


H.J. Chammas is a self-made "Employee Millionaire" who has achieved financial freedom by investing in rental properties throughout Asia, Dubai and Europe. With over 10 years of real estate industry and investing experience, as well as property management, he brings forward a blueprint for real estate investing in a simple and clear manner.

He is the founder and CEO of the Employee Millionaire, a company that empowers employees to achieve financial freedom and become millionaires with real estate investing.

To emulate Chammas' success in single family real estate investment, sign up for his program on www.employeemillionaire.com to learn the sound investing principles and avail of free templates and worksheets that makes rental properties investing almost on autopilot.



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Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Book Review: The Lady with the Purple Hat by Otilia Greco







Title: The Lady With the Purple Hat
Author: Otilia Greco
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: General Fiction
Format: Ebook


Ten years ago, Daisy left her husband, Bernard, to create a new life for herself. But now as their divorce proceedings continue to drag on and Bernard battles terminal cancer, Daisy determines she would rather be his widow than his ex-wife and decides to play with fate.

After she dons an outlandish large purple hat to disguise her face, Daisy glides through the hospital corridors, hell-bent on poisoning her husband to accelerate his death. When she finally arrives at his door and opens it, she is shocked to see a woman sitting by his bedside. With her plan foiled, Daisy rushes out of the room as she transforms from the hunter into the hunted. Still obsessed with ending Bernard’s life, Daisy retreats into her memories, unaware that a surprise is waiting in the shadows. Now only time will tell if fate will intervene to save Daisy or if she will lose her soul to the dark side, where it can never be retrieved.

In this contemporary thriller, a woman intent on ending her husband’s life is propelled on a journey through her memories that leads her to an unexpected truth.

PURCHASE HERE





They say not to judge a book by it's cover, but let me tell you, I fell in love with this cover the first time I laid eyes on it. Vibrant colors and just overall it is beautiful and draws your attention. This book left no ends untied and was quite a ride. I wasn't sure if it was ok to like Daisy considering what she was trying to do, but I did like her and felt that I could understand where her mind was throughout.

The author does an excellent job not just with plot development, but character development as well. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of suspense/thriller novels.




Otilia Greco was born in the Swiss Alps; was educated in Switzerland, England, and Paris; and is fluent in six languages. She graduated from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and developed an appreciation for history and cultures.

Otilia and her husband worked internationally, lived for several years in California, and now reside in Switzerland. This is her third book.



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