About The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter by Robert Sultan:

If you enjoyed The Good Earth, Wild Swans, The Tin Drum, or The Painted Bird, this is a book that belongs on your reading list.

The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter is the story of a woman who knows how to use a cleaver. It is an exploration of the Chinese proverb “to hit is to kiss, to curse is to love”. It is a tale of China and Jews, of passion and politics, of revolution and mahjong. The author has traveled extensively in China. In this novel he writes of a time when Chinese history and Jewish history collide in the Shanghai ghetto.

The story begins on the momentous day in 1908 when news of the death of the Empress Dowager reaches the town of Two Trees. The eight year old Slaughtering Girl works side by side with Grandmother Chen to kill enough fowl for the celebration. Certainly there is no child more skilled with a cleaver but her grandmother wonders what she is destined to do with this gift. Grandmother Chen cannot live long enough to know this destiny but readers can follow Slaughtering Girl as she claims her place in a tumultuous century of Chinese history.

At roughly the same time, on the other side of the world, a young Polish Jew discovers that he has little talent for talmudic scholarship and even less for office work. Yet, he too has been given a gift, albeit one less tangible than that of Slaughtering Girl.

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Author Bio:
Mr. Sultan’s first novel, The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter, reflects the author’s deep love of Chinese history and culture as well as his Jewish heritage. He has traveled widely in China and speaks Chinese, although no one will mistake him for being fluent. Prior to his career as a writer, Mr. Sultan enjoyed a long career as an engineer, the final six years of which he worked for a Chinese company. Readers are invited to join the authors blog at www.easterntales.wordpress.com.

The idea for The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter came from the observation of a young girl in a poultry market in the city of Kunming, China. The girl was, perhaps, eight years old and she was responsible for the slaughter, plucking, and dressing of the live ducks and chickens purchased by customers. The author was fascinated by the sight of this little girl and the carnage she created. The author wondered what such a girl would be like as she grew to adulthood.

The book was written in various seaside locations in Thailand and Indonesia; the essential tools being my laptop, a comfortable beach chair, and a gin and tonic. It should not be surprising that, given the setting of the book, the writings of Pearl Buck were a significance influence. The Good Earth remains the Westerner’s guide to the heart of China. Her novel Peony also explores the relationship between Jews and China. The narrative voice of the story owes some debt to Bertolt Brecht. Slaughtering Girl’s practicality in stepping through events does have some echoes of Mother Courage. In scenes that involve some gore, the author was perhaps influence by the wonderful death scene in Madame Bovary. The characters general sense of amorality perhaps reflects the great Chinese classic Golden Lotus (金瓶梅). Jung Chang writes of this period in Wild Swans, but her book is a bit more serious look at sobering events. Finally, the relationship between Slaughtering Girl and Comrade Zhao does owe something to that of Xena and Gabriella of Xena, the Warrior Princess. The first half of the book had a soundtrack. While writing, the Eurhythmics song Sweet Dreams (are Made of These). The author was unable to remove this song from his head. The author would love to hear from you at immoderatetemper@gmail.com. If you read this book, please review it on Amazon… or if you listen to the book, please review it on audible. A few minutes of your time can give this book a much wider readership. Thanks!

The Immoderate Temper of Mrs. Chen’s Daughter by Robert Sultan is a post from Awesome Gang

About The Watershed by Wilden Turk:

Looking for something to read after Wayward Pines?

There’s something in the water.

After a typical night of excessive drinking, Owen Fisher, a muck-raking journalist turned adjunct professor, is delivering a lecture to a hall full of students on academic probation when two cops appear. At first he isn’t sure if they’ve come for him or for a student, but when they haul him off to jail, he assumes that his latest publication went viral, one in which he recklessly accused the world’s largest water company of poisoning its customers.

With no money for bail and no support, Fisher’s vow to abstain from drinking the company’s products has never been harder.

But worse, if his suspicions about the company are correct, the world as we know it is on the brink of collapse. Locked away in a remote island prison, Fisher must discover the real culprit before a deadly poison arrives in every restaurant, store, and faucet in the country.

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Author Bio:
In his ninth grade English class, Wilden Turk wrote a short story about a football team that was taking the bus home after winning the championship and chanting “We’re number one!” when they ran off a cliff and plummeted to a fiery death. The story ended with the young writer’s attempt at profundity: “No one is invincible,” he wrote, perhaps setting the tone for his later work–dark, quirky, and laced with moral ambiguity.

Unbeknownst to him, his ninth grade teacher promptly shared that story with members of the football team who, incidentally, had just won the championship.

He was mortified.

The team captain, the alpha male who had tormented him throughout elementary school, stopped Turk in the hallway, pushed him up against a locker, and said, “That was the best story I have ever read.” At first Turk was surprised that his nemesis could read, but once he recovered from the shock, he realized that words could beat bullies.

He has been writing ever since.

A former college professor, Wilden Turk lives on the edge of Washington D.C. with his wife and Shiba Inu.

The Watershed by Wilden Turk is a post from Awesome Gang

About Voices of Inspiration – Volume 3:

In Voices of Inspiration, you will learn real-life strategies and solutions for living YOUR BEST LIFE. The authors in this book includes a diverse group of 26 experts and leaders who represent five countries: Spain, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States.

Each chapter is written from the space of possibilities. Some authors share real life epiphanies and wisdom from their own personal struggles and valley experiences. Others empower you with action-oriented solutions for transforming your life. This is a POWERFUL Book for you, your family and colleagues. You will be inspired.

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Author Bio:
Marlon Smith is on a mission. He is committed to sharing success strategies and leadership principles so MORE individuals and families maximize their true purpose.
Marlon helps speakers, authors, and coaches achieve greater results through his high-energy, content-rich Speaker–Author Blueprint: www.SpeakerAuthorBlueprint.com

In addition to helping MORE thought leaders expand their impact and message, Marlon is strengthening families and training youth leaders through his innovative seminars, coaching programs, and exciting retreats and summits.

For you, your family, and your business to be inspired, Marlon has created a 3-part video series, The Ultimate Gift—Experiencing True Success, Relationships and Wealth. To receive your FREE copy, visit: www.MarlonSmith.com/the-ultimate-gift

Marlon graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. As a college student, his proudest moment came when he founded Street Academics, a high school youth mentoring program where college students provided mentoring and leadership development for high school and middle school students. This was the beginning of Marlon’s life-long commitment to making a positive difference in the world.

Marlon’s corporate experience includes working as a systems engineer for two Fortune-500 corporations, IBM and Hewlett-Packard, in Silicon Valley. During his lunch breaks, Marlon traveled to local schools to share strategies for helping struggling students maximize their true potential.
On January 15, 1992, Marlon listened to his heart and resigned from Hewlett-Packard to follow his mission of inspiring more individuals and communities to be their best.

As a keynote inspirational speaker, Marlon has been blessed with opportunities to teach and empower corporations, schools, organizations, and communities in 45 states and 16 countries—literally throughout the world. Because of his unique presentation style and impact, Marlon’s speaking tours have included the former Soviet Union (in Moscow, Gorney-Altay, Kazakhstan), Canada, Mexico, Japan, England, the Caribbean, Botswana, LeSotho, Ghana, Swaziland, Australia, and South Africa. To learn more, visit: www.MarlonSmith.com

To schedule a presentation or seminar for your company or organization, or to explore long-term consulting, complete the online questionnaire at:
www.MarlonSmith.com/request-marlon

In addition to his base in the United States, Marlon opened a Success By Choice office in South Africa. There he produced the Motivational Mondays television series and Success Is Your Choice radio program. Marlon has been featured in ESSENCE Magazine as one of the top motivational speakers. Contributing to the Tony Robbins’ Global Youth Leadership Summit for 16 consecutive years, sharing the speaker platform with Les Brown, being a contributing author to the international best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul and being a semi-finalist for Oprah Winfrey’s BIG GIVE program, Marlon feels blessed to share insights that produce results.

Today, Marlon and his wife Syreeta live in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are raising their daughter Jade and son Cory. Publishing and sharing with others runs in the family. As a six-year-old, Jade published her first book, Jade’s First Trip to South Africa.

Voices of Inspiration – Volume 3 is a post from Awesome Gang

About Betrayal Only Comes in Green by Sandy Appleyard:

His wife is dead. His only son is a drifter. He lives alone in his quaint San Bernardino town and likes it that way, until well-known Nevada criminals discover something about Saul Jessup that makes him rather interesting.

New neighbors move into town, raising eyebrows in their wake. A young mother and her small daughter seem to find Saul’s quiet street very fitting, and bring only a pick-up truck of things. They don’t bother unpacking; instead they close the doors and window coverings, and remain for days.

Saul is the one to catch little Suzie when a car speeds through the boulevard…but the driver isn’t finished…yet. As eyes watch through the rearview mirror, a master plan is being made, and Saul Jessup’s name is first on the hit list.

A story of heartbreak and triumph, Betrayal Only Comes in Green shows us that money truly is the route of all evil, but it can also bring people together in ways we never thought possible.

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Author Bio:
Some have said that if you see me on the street (usually with a book in hand or a laptop fired up), I appear a cold, hard-fisted person. However, once we’ve spoken for five minutes or less, you’ll have laughed at least once. That is, provided you appreciate sarcastic, self-deprecating wit.

My first short story was penned in middle school and I was hooked ever since.

I graduated with honours from Humber College and began working as an Administrative Coordinator for a large, multinational corporation shortly afterward. Quickly learning that the corporate world, despite the love I had for my job, is a slow killer of creativity, I chose to quit during maternity leave in 2006.

Difficulty thinking outside the box soon evaporated when I received something that didn’t come in one: my first child. While at home with the baby my imaginative energy got the better of me and my first memoir was written. It had been a dream of mine to write about my late father, who passed away from alcoholism in 1992, and it took me two years to compose a fifty-page manuscript, but I did it.

After my second daughter was born in 2008 I had more fuel to write, and felt it necessary to voice the challenges and inherent gifts I acquired during my struggles with Scoliosis. Hence, my second memoir was born. The words flowed out of me with such ease I shocked myself.

My love for words grew with each book I read and every word I wrote. I soon realized I had no more material to write non-fiction, which led me to take a stab at fiction. The next two books were such a revelation: it became more and more clear what my true calling was. The rest, as they say, is history!

Betrayal Only Comes in Green by Sandy Appleyard is a post from Awesome Gang

About Discord:

As an infant, Brielle was found abandoned with only the clothes she wore and not a clue as to where she came from. Despite this bleak beginning, she was fortunate to have been adopted by a loving couple and raised with all the benefits of an upper middle class existence. On the verge of graduation from college, and acceptance into the Medical School program, she has long since put the mysteries of her birth in the rearview mirror. She is tethered to the past by one tiny flaw; she sees, feels and hears things that aren’t real! Her visions have always been a part of her, and learning to cope with them over the years as therapists, medical trials and even ‘untraditional’ treatments failed, was just part of life as she knew it. Unfortunately, what was once just a nuisance to her mental state is escalating as each ‘episode’ becomes more violent and the visions threaten everything she has worked to accomplish.

Sarai’s parents have always lived outside the grasp of rational society’s rules and regulations. Having been raised in various communities around the country without the benefit of medical care, school or socialization, Sarai is able to explore the outside world only through the written word her mother taught her to love from an early age. Her mother is the one beacon of light in Sarai’s dark and miserable existence, along with the visions she enjoys of life out in the sunshine filled with laughter, joy and love. Despite the firm hand her father has always wielded on all aspects of her life, she will defy him to fulfill a strange request by her mother. That single moment’s decision will begin to unravel a mystery, decades in the making, which will propel Sarai on a journey toward self-discovery and escape from her father’s dictates. Unfortunately, as Sarai and Brielle’s paths hurtle towards an overlap, not everyone will survive the revelations of secrets better left buried.

THIS BOOK CONTAINS THEMES OF CHILD ABUSE, RELIGION, MURDER, THE AFTER-LIFE AND OTHER CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTS THAT MIGHT BE DISTASTEFUL TO SOME READERS.

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Author Bio:
My name is Angela K. Naff and I am a current resident of Stillwater, Oklahoma (go OSU Cowboys) and write under the pen name of Angelica Kate. I have written for more years than I can count, but only started publishing my work as an Indie author in the Spring of 2014. My favorite genre to write is contemporary romance featuring current societal issues such as foster care, child abuse, drunk drivers, domestic violence etc. and heroines/heroes that overcome the odds to not only survive but thrive. Additionally in 2015 I have published my first full-length novel in the science fiction/mystery mixed genre titled THE CURE, and followed it up with a psychic thriller entitled DISCORD. I enjoy stretching my skills by penning stories that don’t fit in a single style or genre and help me grow as an author.

When not working at Oklahoma State University as a Program Coordinator or writing I enjoy working out, keeping up with my two biological college kids activities, and keeping pace with my elementary aged foster children. As a family we enjoy traveling, a myriad of sports, binge watching our favorite shows and entertaining the never ending stream of visitors and relatives to our home

Discord is a post from Awesome Gang

About Toy Wars:

Artificial Intelligence takes form when Don wakes from a normal manufacturing process as a two-meter, sentient teddy bear sporting purple fur. He learns he is the result of a desperate gamble by an autonomous factory with hashed programming. To protect his home, his way of life, and his creator, Don must lead other killer toys across a harsh alien landscape to battle the native fauna of Rigel-3 and even his own kind.

His discoveries change not only his view of the wars, but his own Human gods. In spite of these trials, Don’s harshest test may be getting his own brethren to believe his adventures and the soul-churning changes needed to survive.

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Author Bio:
Tom Gondolfi, father of three, gamer and loving husband, claims to be a Renaissance man and certified flirt. Educated as an electrical engineer and working in high tech for over twenty years, Tom has also worked as a cook, most phases of construction, and even as the personal caregiver to a quadriplegic. Tom enjoys games and most weekends can be found playing some role playing variation, board game and/or Texas hold-em.

Toy Wars is a post from Awesome Gang