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Traveling with Andrew Watts and Harmony Kent

5/29/2021

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Hello friends! Today I am sharing two reviews. My week of travels, with long flights and equally long layovers, provided great reading opportunities.

I downloaded Andrew Watts' The War Planners after reading the blurb and a few of the reviews. I was not disappointed. This is a fast moving political/military thriller. 

My reason for wanting to read this book is somewhat unique. When I wrote The Culmination, I wrote entirely on inspiration and research. Serious research. Watts wrote The War Planners from inspiration and experience.  

I was greatly relieved to discover that his underlying conclusions echo my own. Very different stories, very different approaches, but we share a common understanding about the profiteers and plotters of war. 

If you enjoy thrillers, this is one you won't forget, because it is frighteningly plausible. 
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​Andrew Watts is the USA TODAY bestselling author of Max Fend thrillers and The War Planners series. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2003 and served as a naval officer and helicopter pilot until 2013. During that time, he flew counter-narcotic missions in the Eastern Pacific and counter-piracy missions off the Horn of Africa.

He was a flight instructor in Pensacola, FL, and helped to run ship and flight operations while embarked on a nuclear aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East.

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A review from Jeff Benham:

​Let's just suppose that China wanted to start a war with the United States. How would they go about it to have its greatest effect and not do too much damage to the infrastructure? Further suppose that the CIA gets wind of this and wants to figure out how China plans to do this so they can stop it. They just might get together some of the best minds in their field of expertise to analyze the probabilities. What the experts don't know, and what the reader theorizes soon enough, is that it is not the CIA and they do not want a plan to stop a war. They want a plan to implement a war.

Good action and worth the read, but the conclusion awaits in the next book (I hope).


The second book I read was Harmony Kent's The Vanished Boy. Well-written and carefully paced, Kent takes the reader through a parent's worst fears -- the disappearance of a child, and worse, his potential demise. As the mom of three sons and a daughter, this book tugged at my heartstrings. I couldn't set it down, and once begun, I read until I finished it. If you like psychological mysteries, this is one to consider. I strongly recommend it. 

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Harmony Kent is an award winning, multi-genre author from Cornwall, England. She’s also an active member of Story Empire. When Harmony is not blogging or working on her latest and greatest, she is busy helping other writers with editing, proof reading, and manuscript appraisal.  

Harmony explains, “I spent 13 years in a Buddhist temple—10 of those ordained. For a shaven-headed, black-robed novice, the days were long and the life hard. And at the end of it all, a new woman emerged, as a beautiful butterfly from a chrysalis, and spread her wings. She’d learnt how to fly. In 2013, I returned to the world and wrote my first book." ​

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A review from writer Mae Clair:

​Harmony Kent delivers a powerhouse novel about a teen’s disappearance. Carole is a widow with an eighteen-year-old son. When Jayden fails to return home one evening, she discovers she missed a cryptic text he sent. Two words only: “I’m stuck.” Those words propel her into a frantic search that begins with her delving into his life online. The police insist Jayden is an adult, and there’s not much they can do—at least not until time has passed. But Carole reacts with the anguish of a mother for her only child.


As she begins to piece together Jayden’s life through online activity, she learns there is a side to her son she didn’t know about. A side that has led him into a dangerous situation. The more she delves the more the tension mounts, clues unravelling a bit at a time, for a staggering revelation at the end.

I had read this book in two days, flipping pages well into the night. The story is well-plotted with a thoroughly satisfying wrap. If you enjoy psychological fiction and domestic suspense, this is engrossing story with a plot highly relevant to current times.

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Story Empire: Hidden Diversity Among Writers

5/28/2021

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Hi blog friends! I'm just extending a quick invitation to join the conversation at Story Empire. If you've the time and interest, here's the link to Hidden Diversity Among Writers. 
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Journeys welcomed or unsought

5/26/2021

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Hello dear blog friends! I've just returned from a trip to Nevada and Arizona. It was an exploratory journey, as my husband and I are relocating. Most likely you've moved a few times, so you know the challenges. It's an unsettling experience at best to feel out of control, but alas, there's an end to the madness. We just have to hold tight and ride it out. 

When I read author Colleen Chesebro's prompt this morning, Travel/Journeys, I thought, "How perfect!" My Tanka focuses on just that.  
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I'd love to hear your thoughts on moving or any other life journey. 🙂 
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Nature's passion

5/18/2021

21 Comments

 
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​Hello friends! It's Tanka Tuesday and author Colleen Chesebro provides us with another prompt. Because it is the third week of the month, fledging poets like me are asked to write an Ekphrastic poem - a poem written in response to an image. Writer Trent MacDonald supplied the above photo.

My Ekphrasic response is a simple Haiku. The words came easily when I focused on the motion in the photo. Perhaps you'd like to submit one too? I'd love to read it.

Hope you have a great week!
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Boyack is on tour with LUNAR BOOGIE!

5/12/2021

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Hello, blog friends!

I'm excited to welcome C.S. Boyack to this site today. Most of you know and appreciate Craig through his books. He's a prolific writer and amazing storyteller. His latest publication, Lunar Boogie, just became available, and Craig's going to tell us about it. We're in for a ride, because the entire series is laced with hilarious and unforgetable scenes.

C.S. Boyack has a wonderful way of taking reality and masking it in a fantasy. Through laughter and quirkiness, he opens our eyes to possibility. That's no small achievement. 

Let's see what Craig has to say!


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I really appreciate you loaning me your space today, Gwen. My door is always open when you need it. 

Today, I’m out promoting my newest book, Lunar Boogie. This one is part of The Hat Series, and I’ll let the cover and blurb do their jobs down below.

I believe in keeping each tour post unique. I have regulars, supporters, and fans who tend to follow a blog tour. It gets boring if it’s the same post over and over each time. This time we’re going to talk about comedy.

The Hat Series is supposed to be dark comedy. I’ve turned it into my personal playground to have a little fun, yet still make sure to tell a complete story. I include silly little graphics in the text to help that process along. Some of you may remember the angry potatoes from The Ballad of Mrs. Molony. This book has similar things. I continued using a series of bass clefs as my section breaks when I don’t have a unique graphic instead.

I even included emoji in chapter one. I’m sure my formatter wants to shoot me over that, because Amazon didn’t like them. You might, though, and that’s the point. We’re writing books in the 21st century now. I have more things in mind for future books.

Lizzie is also plagued by a late-night radio show called, Night Bump Radio. If you’re old enough to remember Art Bell, I styled it loosely after his call in show. The hat is a big fan of Night Bump Radio, but I think he just likes to hear people talk about him.

You see, Lizzie and the hat form a symbiotic bond when she wears him, then go out at night to fight monsters. In a modern city, you’re eventually going to have a witness or two. People are way off-base on this, and created a cryptic creature they named Hellpox. They call into the program to discuss theories that are so off base they’re insulting to Lizzie.

This series is a buddy series and you can see the strife in the setup. The hat is thousands of years old and has seen things nobody should have to witness. Lizzie is a modern California girl, and the only female the hat has ever bonded with. They’re going to have different opinions on things and I try to pick away at that. Fans seem to like their banter, so I’m sticking with it.

They argue like an old married couple, but still manage to get things accomplished. Their relationship provides most of the fun.

Lunar Boogie is the fourth book in the series, so if you get hooked you have someplace to fall back. They are stand alone titles, so if you read them out of order you won’t feel lost. Hopefully, I have enough published to hold you over until I can write “Good Liniment,” the next in the series.


BLURB:
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Lizzie and the hat are back in action, only this time they're up against the most tragic monster of all, a werewolf.

This adventure is more like hunting an animal, and the werewolf is unlikely to come to any of their musical performances. This puts Lizzie out in the dark corners and wooded areas of the city. It may be more beneficial to get the monster to hunt Lizzie than to stalk him on his own turf. All she has to do is be quicker on the trigger than the wolf is on his feet.

At the same time, the police think they're after a serial killer. Lizzie tries to keep them alive while also keeping them out of her way. As the body count rises, so do the pressures. It doesn't help that people are blaming Lizzie and the hat for the killings. This involves an urban myth about them that the locals call Hellpox.
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Pull on your boogie shoes and join the hunt. Designed as an afternoon read, this one is tons of supernatural fun.

Be sure to check out Craig's contact links: 

Blog     My Novels     Twitter     Goodreads     Facebook     Pinterest     BookBub 
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49 Comments

Life Travelers...

5/11/2021

19 Comments

 
​Hello readers! It's time for another poem.

Because this is the second week of the month, author Colleen Chesebro invites writers to use synonoms of two selected words in their poem. This week the words are LIFE and MOVE.

I've chosen a challenging topic and the Butterfly Cinquaina, nine-line syllabic form (2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2) for my poem. I hope you like it. 

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19 Comments

In Pursuit of Compassion

5/5/2021

35 Comments

 
For the first week of a month, author Colleen Chesebro encourages writers to pen a poet's choice! By that she means, writers choose the topic, the image, and the poetic form. 

Over these last months, I've been deeply moved by the unsung heroes in our midst. Some fight crime, others run into flames, still more race to save a failing heart. These men and women in uniform follow the call of compassion. Because of their leadership, their faithfulness, and their selflessness, we have hope for our collective humanity. 💗


My tanka poem, In Pursuit of Compassion:
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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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