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1. Seriously Mum, What’s an Alpaca?

   About Seriously Mum, What’s an Alpaca?:

   A MUST READ BOOK FOR ALL ANIMAL LOVERS

   “This was an enchanting read. I regularly laughed

   out loud and as an animal owner, so many of the scenarios were terribly

   familiar. I would recommend this book to anyone (and I have been) and in

   particular animal lovers.” – Amazon Review

   ‘Seriously Mum, What’s an Alpaca?’ is the frank and charming story of a brave couple who risk everything to move to Spain to breed alpacas. Their intention is to make a living, but first they must negotiate their way through the Spanish property market, local characters, rogue builders and the worst weather Andalucía has seen for 100 years.

   In this memoir with a difference, you can even hear what some of the animals have to say about their new home.

   Alan and Lorna experience the joy, but also the heartbreak of alpaca breeding, picking up an assortment of stray animals on the way.

   ‘Seriously Mum, What’s an Alpaca?’ may be full of glorious highs and monumental lows, but it is essentially a story of endeavour and spirit, living each day as though it may be the last.

   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.
   https://twitter.com/AlpacaBook
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:
   Alan Parks was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex in 1978. His life changed for the better (he is constantly reminded) when he met Lorna in 2003. Work consisted of fairly mundane, mainly managerial posts. In 2008, Alan and Lorna moved to rural Andalucia, Spain, and now live in an old Olive Mill, off grid and with a menagerie of animals.

   Seriously Mum, What’s an Alpaca? is a post from Awesome Gang

2. The Harvest

   About The Harvest:

   A run of the mill day turns apocalyptic when three suns appear in the sky and a brutal storm covers the U.S. in several feet of snow. People by the millions go missing or are murdered, temperatures plummet below zero and fresh corpses fall from the sky. For Captain Austin Reynolds what takes place isn’t a surprise. He had warning that something big and bad was coming. What he hadn’t been told was his pregnant wife would be among the missing.

   For those few surviving the initial onslaught, it fast becomes apparent an alien species has taken over the planet. The small band of survivors eventually meets up and follows Reynolds on his quest to find his wife. They make their way across the frozen tundra that was once the U.S. in order to reach Cheyenne Mountain, where buried deep below the mountain Reynolds believes the last military stronghold exists. Upon arriving at Cheyenne, things aren’t what they seem and everyone is harboring secrets. If Captain Reynolds hopes to unravel the mystery of who, or what, has seized the planet and to find his wife, he will have to rely on a demented man’s tales of space portals and far away planets.

   The Harvest is a post-apocalyptic tale that is sure to thrill readers across many genres.

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
   Visit the Author’s Website.
   Buy the Book On Amazon.
   http://twitter.com/Veezy67
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:
   I grew up south of Chicago in a small industrial type town where I attended an all girl’s Catholic school run by ‘the sisters’. And yes some of them were mean, but I survived. I served in the U.S.A.F. where I met my awesome husband. I’ve been an avid reader forever. I’ve been writing fiction for about six years now. The Harvest is my first published novel. I enjoy creating my own stories as much as reading those of others. I’ve written several screen plays, two of which placed well contests, but never made it to the big screen. I read a little bit of everything depending on my mood. I admire writers like Anne Rice, Stephen King and Ayn Rand and of course the classic authors like Bronte, Lee and Dickens. My favorite foods are chocolate donuts and Italian ice cream, but if I have to eat something real I go for anything with shrimp. Like shrimp tacos. Love em! With a margarita (or 2) of course. I run a lot to burn off the junk and have completed two half marathons, plus a 10k and a few 5ks.

   The Harvest is a post from Awesome Gang

3. The Essene Conspiracy

   About The Essene Conspiracy:

   A high ranking Israeli minister has been murdered in Jerusalem. Muslim terrorists are suspected, but no group has claimed responsibility.

   Discovering a barely legible name scribbled on a blood-stained business card in the shirt pocket of the slain minister, the Director of Israeli Intelligence calls upon international security consultant Harry McClure to investigate a possible American connection to the brutal crime.

   Follow McClure as he uncovers a Wall Street money-laundering scheme linked to a clandestine Messianic Brotherhood’s plot to reclaim Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
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   https://twitter.com/sericwachtel
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:

   Eric was born and raised in New York City. While in college at the University of Missouri, he crafted his first historically based short story.

   Recruited by the CIA, he opted out in favor of a business career. Starting on Wall Street, he was later a vice president of an international conglomerate, then President/CEO of an innovative medical technology company.

   He lives in Washington, D.C. and Vermont with his wife and Russian Blue cat. A member of International Thriller Writers, he is working on the next Harry McClure thriller.

   The Essene Conspiracy is a post from Awesome Gang

4. Properties of Light: A HyperNovel by Linton Robinson

   About Properties of Light: A HyperNovel by Linton Robinson:

   A celebrated photographer hangs up his camera… and starts selling off his pictures on the streets of Seattle. Each picture has a story.

   This is a true hypernovel. The hundred chapters–each a description or explanation of a photograph–are not connected by normal plot sequence, but by clicking links to read them in the order created by the reader. Plots might emerge, but are less important that relationships of mood, key words, color, or intent.

   Stark and unflinching, the style has been described as “black, steel, and glass–focused just past infinity”. Partly based on author Robinson’s experiences as a photographer in Seattle, partly fictionalized, partly a kind of tech/flesh poetry, these images and their stories will haunt you.

    

   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.
   https://twitter.com/LintonRobinson

   Author Bio:
   Linton Robinson has been a professional writer and author for decades. He was also, like the narrator of Properties of Light, a photographer in Seattle for several years and Northwest Correspondent for “American Photographer” magazine.

   Properties of Light: A HyperNovel by Linton Robinson is a post from Awesome Gang

5. Pride and Honour – The Battle for Saxony

   About Pride and Honour – The Battle for Saxony:

   Europe, in the year of the Lord 772

   Like a bloody storm, Charlemagne’s armies ravage early medieval Europe, leaving devastation and misery in their wake. They have subdued the kingdom of the Langobards, defeated the duchy of Bavaria; they threaten the Moors in the west and, in the south, the pope in Rome.

   Yet Charlemagne has even more ambitious plans: he covets the Saxon territories in the north. The Saxons put up an unexpectedly fierce resistance. When Charlemagne’s troops destroy the Irminsul shrine, the Saxon holy of holies, there ensues a struggle to the death. Led by the legendary Duke Widukind, for decades the Saxons fight savagely for their beliefs and their independence. And they will have their revenge…

   Pride and Honour will transport the reader right into the heart of this legend-shrouded part of the Early Middle Ages. With his story, Nathaniel Burns has woven a a rich, dark tapestry of one of the pivotal periods in medieval European history. His historically accurate descriptions rich in authentic detail bring this remote, strife-ridden world to life again before your very eyes.

   Go ahead, stoke the fire in the hearth, draw your armchair closer and dive into this wonderful historical novel full of royal intrigue, warriors, and battles of a bygone Europe…

   Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
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   https://twitter.com/burns_writer
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:
   Nathaniel grew up in Germany and graduated from the University of Oldenburg, where he was never accused of over-studying, and went on to live in Ireland and most recently in Minneapolis, MN.

   In the sleepy irish town of Cork armed with his secret weapons: fresh atlantic ocean air and Jameson in his morning coffee, he completed his first book, The Mummifier’s Daughter.

   Pride and Honour – The Battle for Saxony is a post from Awesome Gang

6. The D.A.’s Forever by Laura Pinto

   About The D.A.’s Forever by Laura Pinto:

   What happens when four greasers from the ’50s reunite in the ’80s? That’s the tagline for my novel THE D.A.’s FOREVER, and basically that’s what the book is about: Four men, who as teenagers were a tight group of friends called the D.A.’s (no relation to the legal profession), attend a special Fifties-themed reunion at their old high school thirty years after graduation. They’d attended previous reunions, but this one, which takes place in 1988, marks a turning point: All the guys are nearing fifty, and each one is experiencing a combination of personal and midlife crises. The last time all four of them had been together was ten years ago. The D.A.’s have grown apart over the decades, although whether or not they’re willing to admit it is another matter. They all appear to be clinging to the past, even though (or, perhaps, especially because) they aren’t in high school anymore. Their joy at seeing one another again appears to be genuine. But is their mutual affection sincere—or habitual?

   Eddy Steinberg, the first character introduced in the book, is the youngest member of the D.A.’s, the nerd-turned-greaser who was more or less “adopted” into the existing group during the guys’ junior year in high school. He drives two hours to reunite with his old comrades and classmates, but the festivities turn out to be a letdown for him; he is the first one to acknowledge (if only to himself) that he and the other guys have drifted apart, perhaps irrevocably. Frankie D’Antonio is the founding member and leader of the group, the alpha male, who along with Eddy is one of the main “voices” of the third-person narrative. Eddy and Frankie are “frenemies” who appear at times to merely tolerate one another rather than truly enjoy each other’s company; the dynamic between them is often tense, and Frankie’s greaser posture doesn’t help matters. Although Frankie claims to be a lover and not a fighter, it’s difficult to tell from his attitude—he is quick to anger and appears to always have his dukes up, whether or not the situation warrants it. Denny O’Reilly, Frankie’s best friend and the only divorced member of the quartet, has recently shed unhealthy (and unattractive) poundage and is now engaging in almost promiscuous behavior with the ladies, as if making up for lost time. Denny is concerned about the masculinity of his twenty-year-old son, Sean, who is his polar opposite in the sex-and-romance department. And Tony Franklin, Eddy’s best friend, is a bit of an enigma; he’s just as tough as the next guy but also has a tender, romantic side that the others seem to lack. During the reunion, Eddy is amazed at the lack of discretion shown by his married cohorts, Frankie and Tony, serial cheaters who are seldom without other women by their sides—or in their beds. Frankie hopscotches from one conquest to the next like other men change their clothes, apparently without concern for his wife and seven children safely tucked away at home some distance away. Tony is no slouch either, having shown up at previous reunions with “window dressing” (as Eddy puts it) on his arm, but that was child’s play compared with what he’s dealing with now: His marriage and happiness are threatened by the reappearance of his high-school sweetheart, Marsha, whom he hasn’t seen in twenty-five years. Eddy is the only member of the D.A.’s who has never cheated on his wife, and he finds it difficult to wrap his head around his friends’ antics … until he meets a sweet, shy 24-year-old girl named Laurie who instantly steals his heart, throwing him into emotional turmoil and forcing him to see the realities of his life with new eyes. Unbeknownst to each other, all of the guys are facing issues ranging in magnitude from irritating to life-altering. No stone is left unturned, and there are some surprising twists as the story develops.

   THE D.A.’s FOREVER is a nostalgic tale of friendship and romance. It’s part comedy, part drama, part satire. It is by turns funny and touching. It’s raunchy and sexy at times; romantic and sentimental at others. It’s a story of friendship, of old love, of new love, and of a love that will never die. Most of all, it’s a coming-of-age story involving not teenagers, but four men who are all being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the world where grownups live. NOTE: Mature content; reader discretion advised.

   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.
   https://twitter.com/lpintop
   Goodreads Profile Page

   Author Bio:
   Laura Pinto is a babyboomer who grew up in New Jersey and now makes her home in Florida. She loves reading, writing, and the music from the golden era of rock and roll. Laura is best known among oldies fans for her many websites, blogs, and social-network profiles reflecting this passion of hers; if you’re an oldies fan, chances you’ve visited at least one of her sites. They include: Oldies Connection (which features, among other things, a birthday list, memorial pages, and literally thousands of links for artists from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s) and artist-specific websites for Ron Dante of The Archies; Andy Kim; Joey Dee; Neil Sedaka; Robin McNamara (official site); The Dixie Cups (official site); and legendary Brill Building songwriter/producer Jeff Barry. Links to all these sites (and blogs and social-network profiles) can be found on Laura’s homepage, laurapinto.com.

   In addition to reading, writing, and oldies music, Laura is very much into New-Age spirituality and loves reading anything about the Law of Attraction that she can get her hands on. Her favorite nonfiction authors include Jerry and Esther Hicks; Louise Hay; and Rhonda Byrne. As for fiction, Laura adores everything by Amy Tan, as well as “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden and classics such as “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell and the Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling. Laura also likes reading biographies and memoirs, especially if they’re about her favorite singers and groups from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s!

   Laura enjoys live comedy and has actually done a little stand-up herself (very little), mainly at open mikes. She loves attending concerts—mostly by her favorite singers and groups from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, natch—and always has her camera with her; the results are inevitably posted online. Laura has loved writing since she learned how to put pencil to paper many moons ago; THE D.A.’s FOREVER is her first published novel.

   The D.A.’s Forever by Laura Pinto is a post from Awesome Gang

7. The Struggle

   About The Struggle:

   Written by an Iraqi Veteran, “The Struggle” is a poignant, heart-wrenching short story.

   “The struggle knows not the logic of morals” is an Arabic saying. Baghdad, 2006: In the midst of a city at the brink of civil war, stands a man, Walid, trying to find his place in life. He has discovered that he is not as strong as he hoped. With his family’s well-being in jeopardy, a decision looms and we witness his personal struggle with the darkness that lies within us all.

   This is the prequel to The Struggle Trilogy.

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

   Author Bio:

   Lowhim served in the US Army as a Green Beret Engineer and graduated from Columbia University. He’s been published in LA review of LA, Nine Line Anthology, and Afterwords.

   Born in the bubbling cauldron of Tanzania, he picked up his first pen at the age of two and chewed. He’s progressed much since then. He wrote his first story at 5, a knockoff of all the prince-saves-princess stories he’d read at the time. Life did not rest. It took him to India, then frigid Michigan. The shock, according to parent-sources, was a character building exercise. Lowhim, however, only remembered clenched fingers trying to write.

   Soon he was hitchhiking the mountainous American West, where the outlaw locals kept his journal full of color. It wasn’t long before he joined the US Army where the detritus of Babylon only furthered his literary ambitions. Iraq wasn’t done with him. He would return, an Engineer in 5th SFG. When he returned from that trip, he finished his first novel.

   Released upon the world, he attended Columbia University. He spent his free time writing and working with other authors. He graduated and has since been penning some of the most ambitious novels this side of that Pluto rock.

   Lowhim currently lives with his girlfriend in the Bronx. You can visit his blog at: http://nelsonlowhim.blogspot.com/

   The Struggle is a post from Awesome Gang