FOREVER AND ONE DAY
by Jacqueline Simon Gunn
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FOREVER AND ONE DAY by Jacqueline Simon Gunn
Still Missing Beulah: Stories of Blacks and Jews in Mid-Century Miami
FREE FROM Feb. 12th to the 19th 2018 in honor of black history month.
It’s the 1950s and Miami businessman Tootsie Plotnik counts his Bahamian mistress and his black business associates among his dearest friends. But he also refers to his African American employees using the derogatory Yiddish term, schvartz, and comes within inches of murdering an unarmed black teenager.
Still Missing Beulah uses linked short stories and brief historical accounts to take the reader into the heart and mind of an aging Jewish businessman whose prejudices are challenged by the black people who enter his life. Written in the same vein as The Help, this collection documents the struggles Miami minorities faced during an era when signs prohibiting Jews and blacks in hotels and clubs were as rampant as palm trees and mosquitoes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joan Lipinsky Cochran is a former journalist who now focuses on writing crime-related novels that explore subcultures of American Judaism. Her first book, Still Missing Beulah: Stories of Jews and Blacks in Mid-Century Miami, explores the racism and anti-Semitism that tarnished Miami’s past and informed the relationship between the two minority groups. Three of the short stories in that collection have won literary awards. She is currently working on a novel about a woman whose life is endangered when she discovers her father was a member of the Jewish mafia. It was one of three 2011 Claymore Award finalists and an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarter-finalist. When she’s not working on a novel, Joan is testing recipes and writing food columns and articles, playing classical and Irish violin, sailing, bicycling and reading.
Sophie’s Playlist SALE Blitz
Sophie’s Playlist SALE Blitz
Fiction Action/Adventure
Date Published: January 2018
FREE February 10-14
How does Gramble Thyssen, middle-aged and complacent bureaucrat, transform into an brilliant FBI agent? The Gramble Chronicles I: Sophie’s Playlist describes the challenges he faces as he starts living for the present instead of pining for the past as well as the other people along his path that are swept up into his exciting destiny.
The author has assembled a playlist on Deezer that goes along with the book:
Sophie’s Playlist is available on Amazon as a paperback and a Kindle eBook and from Solstice Publishing.
Excerpt
From Sophie’s Playlist:
Chapter 1
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.” — Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
~“Begin the Begin” R.E.M. (1986)
i. Gramble
Gramble Thyssen was looking at the clock wondering when it would strike 5 p.m. so that he could leave. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was, as always, devoid of any “customers” and the silence preoccupied him: the hum of the air-conditioning, the occasional cough several aisles away, the shuffling of papers, or the creak of a chair. He was alone today in his cubicle – again – as Edith was out pregnant and George started showing premature signs of Alzheimer’s and was rummaging in the tomb of his memories.
Funny how these partitions created a fake sense of isolation and looked so desolate with their laminated surfaces, the identical carbon-copy-like telephones on every desk and old greasy-screen monitors and dusty power strips. The Wi-Fi was relatively unstable (despite being spitting distance between the Lincoln Memorial and the White House in central Washington, DC) and the network cables were all missing that little plastic tab designed to hold the cable in the laptop port. If all four occupants of the cubicle pushed back on their chairs, they would collide without even stretching out their legs. And should two of them need to make a phone call at the same time, well, it was hard to hear oneself think sometimes.
About the Author
Michael Finocchiaro was born in Rhode Island, but grew up in Miami in the 70s before going to University of Florida to get a BS in Mechanical Engineering and enter a career in IT working for some of the world’s largest IT companies (IBM, HP, PTC and Dassault Systèmes). He has lived in Paris, France for over two decades. He had dreams of becoming a writer for years, having always been an avid reader (he is very active on goodreads.com) of fiction and non-fiction. He realized his writing dream by self-publishing, in January 2017, his first book Sophie’s Playlist (The Gramble Chronicles I) via Kindle Direct Publishing. It was subsequently picked up by Solstice Publishing, re-edited and re-published on January 7, 2018. He is currently working on the sequel.
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#SleuthFest2018 www.sleuthfest.com
BITTERSWEETS Oscar & Lisa by Suzanne Jenkins
BITTERSWEETS
Oscar & Lisa
by Suzanne Jenkins
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A PINOT FOR YOUR THOUGHTS Love In The Wine Country by Pamela Gibson
A PINOT FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
Love In The Wine Country
by Pamela Gibson
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All Systems Down Release
All Systems Down Release
Thriller
Date Published: 8 February 2018
24 hours.
That’s all it takes.
A new kind of war has begun.
*
Pak Han-Yong’s day is here. An elite hacker with Unit 101 of the North Korean military, he’s labored for years to launch Project Sonnimne: a series of deadly viruses set to cripple Imperialist infrastructure.
And with one tap of his keyboard, the rewards are immediate.
Brendan Chogan isn’t a hero. He’s an out-of-work parking enforcement officer and one-time collegiate boxer trying to support his wife and children. But now there’s a foreign enemy on the shore, a blackout that extends across America, and an unseen menace targeting him.
Brendan must do whatever it takes to keep his family safe.
In the wake of the cyber attacks, electrical grids fail, satellites crash to earth, and the destinies of nine strangers collide.
Strangers whose survival depends upon each other’s skills and courage.
For fans of REVOLUTION and Tom Clancy, ALL SYSTEMS DOWN is a riveting cyber war thriller that presents a threat so credible you’ll be questioning reality.
Excerpt
Downtown went dark.
Brendan had been walking with a small group toward the pedestrian bridge when it happened. Every light from every skyscraper, every shop, and every window flickered and winked out. Up and down the skyline, street lights blackened. Bridge lights, harbor lights, streetcars, storefronts—everything succumbed to darkness.
There should have been a noise to accompany the blackout. A loud bang. The explosion of a transformer. The pop of electrical wire. But there was no sound of any kind. Just the gasp of people on every side of Brendan.
About the Author
Sam has worked as a wildland firefighter, journalist, and owner of a mid-sized marketing agency. Though he’s lived in France and Spain, his heart belongs to Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife, Tehra, two wonderful children, and a messy cat that keeps them from owning anything nice.
ALL SYSTEMS DOWN is his first novel, with more to come.
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LOVE TIMES INFINITY The Relinquished Series, Book 1 by K.L. Ramsey
LOVE TIMES INFINITY
The Relinquished Series, Book 1
by K.L. Ramsey
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Home on Anna Maria Island Blitz
Contemporary Romance
Date Published: January 31, 2018
Pittsburgh Privateers third baseman Gavin Sullivan is home on Anna Maria Island with a lot on his mind: his mother’s recent battle with breast cancer and, now, the surprising news his oldest brother, Colby, is a twin. Gavin has a sister he’s never met, and worse, he’s sworn to secrecy while his parents try to find her. Is it any wonder he shows up to Spring Training thirty pounds heavier than last season? Armed with a complicated diet and a warning from Coach Zee, Gavin feels wrecked, until he finds a half-naked goddess on his parent’s stretch of beach. Funny how the body that has been making him feel so miserable lately suddenly has him flying high.
Curve model Emerson Raye wants to prove the naysayers back home in West Virginia wrong. Big is beautiful, too. All she has to do is land a spot in the Sports Unlimited Swimsuit Edition by convincing America to vote for her. When pro athlete Gavin Sullivan stumbles onto her oceanfront photo shoot and asks her out for drinks, Emerson and her assistant concoct a plan to leak photos of the date to the media and create the vote-getting buzz Emerson needs. Soon, Emerson realizes there’s more to Gavin than meets the eye, and their temporary, no-strings relationship heats up. But can something lasting survive under harsh media scrutiny when secrets threaten to sabotage everything?
Excerpt
Emerson had been kissed before. She had a modelling career full of air kisses, double-cheek kisses, and the occasional, friendly smooch on the mouth. She also had a personal life spattered with overeager, often rushed kisses that were nothing more than prerequisites for the main event.
Gavin Sullivan’s kisses weren’t like anything she’d ever encountered.
He took his time, eliciting pleasure with more than his mouth. His hands grazed her neck, his thumbs stroked her jaw. His fingers threaded through the fine hairs at her nape. And all along, his mouth explored her mouth. Lips to lips. Tongue to tongue.
He tasted like butter and sweet champagne. He smelled like citrus fruit and sandalwood.
She leaned into him and whimpered. Her hands gripping the collar of his linen shirt. Her body burned. Her brain urged her to crawl into his lap and settle in for a long, slow, mind-blowing ride. And she was seconds away from obeying when above them, someone cleared his throat.
“Sorry for the interruption.”
Emerson jerked back.
“Dessert?” the man asked as he set shell-shaped bowls of sorbet in front of them.
Gavin didn’t move. He didn’t take his hungry eyes off Emerson. “Thank you,” he said to the man. “That’ll be all for tonight.”
Looking into Gavin’s eyes, Emerson’s heartrate tripled. She wanted him. Even if it made her vulnerable. She wanted this. Even if it was a fantasy.
When the man left, Gavin grinned and reached for the silver spoon beside her bowl. “Dessert?” He dipped the spoon into the single scoop of light-colored sorbet and lifted it like he might feed her, but then, with an even brighter grin, he brought the spoon to his own beautiful mouth and licked it clean. “Lemon,” he said, his voice warm and deep.
She opened her mouth, and, for a split second, was afraid her throat was too dry to speak. “I like lemon,” she said, watching him help himself to another bite.
This time, he set the spoon down, and inched closer, so close, she could feel the cold on his tongue and smell the lemon on his lips.
“Want a taste?” he whispered.
She wrapped her arms around his powerful shoulders and pulled him in. Their lips locked. Their tongues tangled. He shoved his hands beneath her thighs and guided her onto his lap. Skirt riding high. Heart beating fast. She settled over his erection, biting back a moan as he nipped at her jaw and rubbed erotic patterns up and down her back. And then, he was licking her ear, tugging her lobe, sliding his hands along the silk of her dress to her stomach and the underside of her breasts.
Emerson tipped back her head, and her eyes fluttered open to the starry sky. Was it awful to pray during something like this? Because she wanted to. She wanted to pray for this to be real.
About the Author
Elley Arden is the author of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed Cleveland Clash series. She previously worked for The Walt Disney Company and spent over a decade as a non-fiction writer and editor. When she’s not writing, Elley can be found reading, watching sports, redecorating her house, or kicking her husband’s butt in Words With Friends. She lives in Pennsylvania with her high school sweetheart and their three crazy (in a good way) kids.
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FIVE STARS
on January 30, 2018
A rich and famous artist known all over the world for his sculptures, Bruce Jones has died at the age of 62. Bruce was loved by many. He was loved by his 5th and current wife as well as his four exes’ and a mistress plus his seven children.
Bruce gave each of his wives a different color of his choosing for his own personal reasons. Bruce loved and cared for each of his wives very deeply and differently. He liked to sculpture each of them in the color he gave them.
We find out who and what kind of person Bruce was through the pov of each of his wives and his seven children as well. We find out more about Bruce through the eyes of a private investigator and a Detective, plus a few more people too. We also hear what all the “wives” think about each other and their stepchildren.
I love watching tv shows on the ID channel among others. But two of my favorites are James Patterson’s MURDER IS FOREVER and Betrayed. When I was reading Death of a Sculptor I kept thinking of these two shows. I know that Death of a Sculptor is fiction but I think it would fit right in with Murder is Forever with each of the wives and children playing their part. I love how Murder is Forever portrayed; like a movie or tv show instead of a documentary. I can just hear Bruce on Betrayed narrow rating his own death.
I did relate to a couple of the wives in some ways as I am the fourth wife and I have never had children of my own. We are one big family with wife number two and the mother of my two wonderful stepsons and her family.
Death of a Sculptor is a very short read with just enough info that will leave you wanting more because the story is so great that you just need to know more about their stories and lives. But in the end, it does leave you with that satisfied feeling that Bruce’s story is complete with no loose ends.
I would recommend Death of a Sculptor to anyone looking for a great read that can be read in one sitting, a story that is filled with lots of love for one man and his family and a little murder on the side.
Bruce gave each of his wives a different color of his choosing for his own personal reasons. Bruce loved and cared for each of his wives very deeply and differently. He liked to sculpture each of them in the color he gave them.
We find out who and what kind of person Bruce was through the pov of each of his wives and his seven children as well. We find out more about Bruce through the eyes of a private investigator and a Detective, plus a few more people too. We also hear what all the “wives” think about each other and their stepchildren.
I love watching tv shows on the ID channel among others. But two of my favorites are James Patterson’s MURDER IS FOREVER and Betrayed. When I was reading Death of a Sculptor I kept thinking of these two shows. I know that Death of a Sculptor is fiction but I think it would fit right in with Murder is Forever with each of the wives and children playing their part. I love how Murder is Forever portrayed; like a movie or tv show instead of a documentary. I can just hear Bruce on Betrayed narrow rating his own death.
I did relate to a couple of the wives in some ways as I am the fourth wife and I have never had children of my own. We are one big family with wife number two and the mother of my two wonderful stepsons and her family.
Death of a Sculptor is a very short read with just enough info that will leave you wanting more because the story is so great that you just need to know more about their stories and lives. But in the end, it does leave you with that satisfied feeling that Bruce’s story is complete with no loose ends.
I would recommend Death of a Sculptor to anyone looking for a great read that can be read in one sitting, a story that is filled with lots of love for one man and his family and a little murder on the side.
M.C.V. EGAN ❧Defining Ways❧ 