http://awesomegang.com

Where Awesome Book Readers Meet Awesome Writers

1. A Looming Lady by Pamela Murrey

   About A Looming Lady by Pamela Murrey:

   A Looming Lady tells the story of a young homeless woman who inherits her aunts home. She finds delights and problems with becoming a settled home owner while creating loom knitting projects. This is a story book and a loom knitting pattern book.

   Kate gets to adopt a cat (and two more cats adopt her!) and has to pay taxes. She works hard on her new home and yard and struggles to pay the expenses of a place. Her homeless friends are tried and true, but will they mix with new friends that she makes in the community?

   Each chapter tells the next section of the story, then provides loom knit patterns connected to it.

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.

   Author Bio:
   Pamela Murrey works in an office by day but enjoys writing and crafting, including loom knitting on her off time. She lives with four cats, though she doesn’t claim to own any of them. She likes to write on a variety of subjects. Originally she is from Virginia but currently she resides in Washington State.

   A Looming Lady by Pamela Murrey is a post from Awesome Gang

2. A Star is Born by Rajeev Lal

   About A Star is Born by Rajeev Lal:

   A book for dog lovers.

   Lollipop, a lovely white Japanese Spitz, came into our lives when our two sons were in their early teens. He became a member of our family, our furkid. He brought smiles and laughter to our lives every day, and was our good luck charm. He enriched our lives and also made us rich. From the day he entered our home, he was the center of attention. We brought him up the same way as we had brought up our two children, except that this time it was under their scrutiny. We soon realized that we had a brat on hand, but loved all his antics. All his actions looked funny, and we could only laugh at them. Such is the power of canine love. Often our neighbors, more so their children, suddenly became very friendly as soon as they saw him. When our sons moved out, he filled the gap in our lives. He was so close to us that sometimes we believed we could read his mind. His passing away created a void in our lives which will never be filled. “ A Star is Born “ is his story, partly in his own words.

   “Very touching , especially the final chapters bring in the sudden change of pace and life changing events . And I could see the moments project in front of me. Such was the capture of emotions. Although I had faint memories of Lollipop , this book brought me closer, like I knew Lollipop very well.
   The simple language and short chapters, intertwining your own progression of life , places, family and events at the same time keeping Lollipop the central character , is what excited me the most – with an occasional wit thrown in.
   In lot of ways , this book reminded me of short stories of Ruskin Bond .
   I opened your note an hour ago and read the complete book at one go. If there were a word, I would term this book as ‘unputdownable’ – for the simplicity of views and purity of love and affection.
   Many congratulations on the first of many to come. You just made my day and possibly deep impact at the way I look at things around me.”

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Buy the Book On Amazon.

   Author Bio:
   Rajeev Lal has written articles and short stories, and occasionally published some of these. At age 65, he has been through the corporate grind for four decades and retired in 2012 after being the CEO of a software services company. He worked in India except for about five years in Kuwait, in Information Services at a number of leading companies. In the last decade of his work, he successfully helped large companies in US and Europe leverage the power of global workforce in Information Services and Product Engineering. He has been a member of a number of professional bodies and held positions of responsibility in them. He is married, with two children and four grandchildren. He has travelled widely. He writes in an easygoing style, laced with humor and emotion at times. His narratives are based on events and situations that have occurred in his life. “ A Star is Born “ is his first book.

   A Star is Born by Rajeev Lal is a post from Awesome Gang

3. Hello, My Love!

   About Hello, My Love!:

   Elise Halverson is a compassionate young woman in her last year at law school. Inexperienced in love, she distrusts playboys like Greg Thorpe. Dark, good-looking, internet-business owner in the San Francisco Bay Area, he finds Elise intriguing, so unlike his fiancée Lori, the type of dark-haired, seductive beauty he escorted around.

   Elise and Greg butt heads and spar at her parents’ dinner parties. She discovers someone more than a flashy playboy, and he finds that she touches him at his core like nobody else has. A strong attraction grows between them and leads to an unexpected night together two days before his wedding.

   Lori threatens revenge. Her machinations tear Greg and Elise apart, revealing doubts and insecurities they have within themselves and forcing them to make choices.

   They reunite but Greg is in for a surprise and their lives are thrown again into disarray when Elise becomes the victim of a hit-and-run. The specter of Lori’s revenge looms. How do Greg and Elise weather the trials they face?

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.
   Visit the Facebook Fan Page.

   Author Bio:
   I’m a realist in my writing, as well as my art. I don’t have as much imagination as many other writers–a handicap (or strength) that comes partly from my training (Ph.D.) and experience as a mental health program researcher/evaluator/developer. I’m also a flâneuse, a female observer-wanderer. So, I watch, and observe. And listen. That’s where the meat of my writing comes from.

   As an author of love stories, I tend not to rely on broad shoulders and heaving bosoms. Instead, I go into the protagonists’ thoughts and emotions, and how those show their growth. My novels deal with protagonists’ insecurities and disappointments, love/hate relationships with parents, characters who seem to behave out-of-character, and even life events not typically included in romantic fiction. My stories do have happy epilogues, and I’ve tried to work in intriguing plotlines into them.

   Hello, My Love! is a post from Awesome Gang

4. Time of Death: Induction by Shana Festa

   About Time of Death: Induction by Shana Festa:

   When nowhere is safe to hide, where do you go to escape the monsters?

   In a few short days, 37 year old Emma Rossi’s hard work will finally pay off. She will don her cap and gown and graduate with a degree in nursing, but not before she loses her first patient and is confronted with a new reality. In Cape Coral, Florida, a storm approaches. The dead are coming back to life.

   And they’re hungry.

   Infection ravages the Eastern Seaboard with alarming speed while attempts to contain the spread of infection fail. Within days, a small pocket of panicked survivors are all that remain of civilization. Fighting to survive the zombie apocalypse alongside her husband Jake and their dog Daphne, Emma comes face-to-face with her worst nightmare.

   Relying on snarky wit and sheer determination, she is forced to commit atrocious acts to protect her family and avoid joining the ranks of the undead.

   “Shana Festa’s debut novel, Time of Death: Induction, is the real deal. Tightly plotted, beautifully violent and realistic, and led by a badass heroine, this book is the start of a wonderfully promising career. Get in on the ground floor and start reading her now, because she’s set to launch. Highly recommended.”

   –Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Dog Days and Plague of the Undead

   “A must read. Time of Death: Induction is the Zombie Apocalypse at its best. Scary, scary stuff.”

   –Mark Tufo, Bestselling author of Zombie Fallout

   “Shana Festa’s TIME OF DEATH: INDUCTION is a fresh, gritty, realistic and emotional look at the zompocalypse.”

   –Craig DiLouie, author of THE INFECTION

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.
   Visit the Facebook Fan Page.

   Author Bio:
   Shana Festa grew up in the small town of Northborough Massachusetts. As an impressionable tike, she shared in her father’s love for Horror, and spent most of her childhood hiding under the blankets worrying what nightmarish creature lurked in her closet. She grew up on a healthy diet of classics like Nightmare on Elm Street, Return of the Living Dead, American Werewolf in London, Child’s Play and Poltergeist.

   Her writing career was born from her long-time addiction to terrifying tales. Under her alter ego, The Bookie Monster, Shana reviews horror and paranormal books, with an emphasis on zombie fiction. Her altruistic beliefs fuse seamlessly with The Bookie Monster’s mission to provide readers with honest reviews and to provide authors with a platform to promote their labors of love.

   Shana holds a degree in nursing and now resides in Cape Coral, Florida with her husband and two adorable dogs. In addition to her apocalyptic series, TIME OF DEATH, she is a founding member of AT HELL’S GATES, a horror anthology series dedicated to supporting the brave men and women of our Armed Forces through the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

   Time of Death: Induction by Shana Festa is a post from Awesome Gang

5. Lethal Lawyers

   About Lethal Lawyers:

   $ .99 Until Oct. 2nd — LETHAL LAWYERS dissects the cutthroat culture and ruthless world of big money law firms. Infighting, carnage, and sexual favors are the rule of law at the Los Angeles office of Thorne & Chase, an internationally renowned firm famous for winning at all costs. A firm whose partners and associates cannibalize each other battling for money, power, love, clients, and ultimately their own survival. With blue-collar idealism and onerous student loans, Sophia Christopoulos, first year associate, covets the firm’s money and power. But her new friendships, love, and success come with a price she didn’t expect—disillusionment, murder, and betrayal. As Sophia struggles for her survival, she is hurled into a murder investigation. She is torn between ethics and firm politics, as well as love and truth. She fights to save her career and life when she becomes a star witness and then herself a target.

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.
   Visit the Facebook Fan Page.
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:
   After a lifetime of writing poetry, books, nonfiction, and legal documents, it was author Ray Bradbury’s friendship and encouragement that finally inspired Dale E. Manolakas to pursue writing as a career. He taught her that the characters wrote the book–she didn’t. Raised just outside Los Angeles by a surgeon father and a homemaker-author mother, Dale E. Manolakas had always aspired to an acting career, but also had to make a living.

   Dale E. Manolakas earned her B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, and M.A., M.S., Ph.D. and J.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the California Bar, had the privilege of clerking for The Honorable Arthur L. Alarcón at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was a litigator in two major Los Angeles law firms, and a senior appellate attorney at the California Court of Appeals, as well as an Administrative Law Judge.

   Before that she was a teacher, primarily at the high school, adult school, and university levels, and holds a public administrative services credential. In addition, she has pursued her passion for acting, primarily on the stage, but also in film and television. She is a member of both Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. She also has raised three very independent daughters and lives with her husband, a retired attorney, in an otherwise animal-free environment in California.

   Lethal Lawyers is a post from Awesome Gang

6. Identity Thief

   About Identity Thief:

   Identity Thief is a psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing to the last page as to who is really who. There are two narrators: a computer whiz identity thief and the man whose identity is stolen. The thief has a money-hungry wife, a mysterious girlfriend, a salty mother, and a highly precocious son. His victim is a sadistic psychologist with an emotionally scarred wife and many mistresses. They are opposites yet the differences dissolve as their lives and loves intertwine. One of the intriguing aspects of the story is that the thief is more sympathetic than the victim.

   The novel also explores the mystery of the self. What makes up your identity? What happens when someone tries to steal even a small part of that? As the story dangerously snowballs downhill, the characters discover how losing themselves can lead to duplicity, blackmail, and sometimes murder.

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.
   Visit the Facebook Fan Page.

   Author Bio:
   I am a writer and a sociologist. In the course of writing the book, I myself became a victim of identity theft. So I know firsthand what it feels like. Of course, these feelings are heightened and dramatized in the novel. In a broader sense, I drew upon the kind of everyday guessing games we all put each other through. The things we share with other people and the things we don’t. Even when we spill our guts, we never tell anyone everything about ourselves. I think this is part of what makes people interesting. In the end, I found myself agreeing with the thief when he says, “The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you know who you are.”

   I love eating cashews and watching my favorite noir movies. I do pretty much whatever my dog wants me to do, except when I’m teaching or writing.

   Identity Thief is a post from Awesome Gang

7. Shadow Heart

   About Shadow Heart:

   Nobody wants to talk about them, but there are events that occur in our lives that become deep dark secrets we hold inside. And they dramatically influence who we are and who we become.

   Such is the case for seventeen year-old Nicky Young, who was raised by an alcoholic father and disengaged mother. When Nicky tries to make her way into the word she is confronted by the demons of her dysfunctional and sometimes violent upbringing.

   Unlike many of her friends, she has shied away from boys, makeup and clothes, instead focusing on achievement and her goal of getting into Stanford. But when Nicky meets Ryan Tilton, a sexy, high profile professional baseball player eight years her senior, a strong desire is awakened in her.

   Nicky questions Ryan’s motives for wanting to be with an inexperienced girl. Is he a scoundrel or does he genuinely care about her? Nicky is both excited and frightened, torn between protecting her heart and wanting to trust. Ryan brings his own demons—losing his father at the age of fourteen, and a sexual partner from his past who will not leave him alone.

   Will their young, uncertain love be enough to help them open their hearts and experience intimacy they both crave so deeply or are Nicky and Ryan on a collision course?

   Loosely based on the author’s life growing up in San Francisco, this inspired contemporary romance novel deals with the disturbing secrets siblings share, the dance between love and protecting one’s heart, and the innate desire to connect with another even when it means risking everything.

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.
   Visit the Facebook Fan Page.
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:
   “When I was hit hard on my bare butt at only five years old, while my father sat drinking with a friend in our living room and our mother worked nights, I knew my life was changing.”

   “I learned how to hide, sometimes in the house, sometimes outside, or at a friend’s house, and when older, to stay busy and away from home.”

   These are what Pamela Taeuffer learned, raised in a family that battled alcoholism, and gave her the sharp awareness and rare insight that enabled her to write “Shadow Heart” and “Fire Heart”, the first two novels of her Broken Bottles Series, in an honest and open way.

   She is a true believer that nothing can be gained unless we risk everything for what we want and reveals the dark secrets that few families of addiction and abuse dare to share.

   From the time she was six years old, Taeuffer’s father, a man she ultimately admired, took her to the San Francisco Giants baseball games, and thus her love for sports grew—especially baseball, which provides the backdrop for her first series, Broken Bottles.

   In her words “Through my writing, I hope to shine a light on how it’s only when we step out of our shadows, jump and take a risk, that we begin to let others into our heart. Real intimacy comes through being vulnerable, and intimacy opens our heart.”

   In addition to her Broken Bottles novels, Taeuffer has also published: Business Networking for Introverts and will soon release a new series: “My Two Years as a Porn Star”, which tackles the love-hate relationship with our bodies.

   Shadow Heart is a post from Awesome Gang