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1. The Dead of Winter

   About The Dead of Winter:

   Faced with a decision of when or if ever to remove his young wife from life support, a mysterious doctor offers a young man a third alternative. This alternative is a biologically altering process that will instill ageless and immortality. However, it is not without underlying abnormalities.
   Overwhelmed by well-intentioned but conflicting advice, a young man seeks solace in a mountain cabin in the dead of winter so he can come to terms with the inevitable. Not far from his own cabin, stands another shrouded in mystery. Although a doctor administers to those inside, the occupants remain elusive. On a late night outing, a brief encounter with one of its occupants, a beautiful but strangely exotic woman, leads the young man to seek out the doctor to learn more about her. Having already chanced upon one of his wards, as the doctor refers to those he cares for, he gives the young man singular access to his cabin and introduces him to his bizarre world of extraordinary people. Men, women, and children once diagnosis as terminally ill but who, through a cure kept guarded for over fifty years have renewed life. However, his wards must live a nocturnal, clandestine life, forever shielded from the deadly rays of the sun and dependent on a recurrent transfusion of blood as their sole nourishment.
   As the young man develops a personal relationship with the young woman, he comes to understand and appreciate her condition and that of the others, as strange as it is. Offered the process as a way to awaken his wife from her coma and restore her health, he allows the biological altering process to begin. However, as she undergoes the transformation, one that is irreversible, doubt of his decision seep in. What would she think of life thrust upon her without her consent? Locked into a world dependent on others. A world isolated from family and friends and forever denied the light of day. In the end, he makes a heart-wrenching decision.

   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:
   Born and raised in the Los Angeles area. Graduate of California State, Fullerton in communication, film and television.

   The Dead of Winter is a post from Awesome Gang

2. Black Market Baby by Renee Clarke

   About Black Market Baby by Renee Clarke:

   I was born in Canada in 1940. Pregnancy outside of marriage was a disgrace and young women who found themselves in such situations were whisked away and dumped into convents or hospitals. Babies were taken out of the arms of young mothers, often without their consent and sold to married couples. They were smuggled across the U.S./Canadian Border. Papers were forged or destroyed. They were called “black market babies.” I was one of these children. Black Market Baby reveals my life growing up as an adoptee . . . with its inherent sense of rootlessness, abandonment and denial. The writing of this book made my adoption real to me – the shame of unwed mothers, the shame of being different, the shame of being abandoned by my own mother and born of a questionable past. My parents didn’t tell me until I was eleven years old, a mistake made by many, and I spent most of my adult life ignoring the fact of my true origins. It wasn’t until I was forty-eight that I began to face the truth and start searching. This story exists on many levels: adoption, divorce, politics, mystics and psychics, backpacking into the wilderness to find solace, facing health issues, dealing with three daughters, dropping out of the clichéd housewife existence to living the alternative lifestyle of an artist, which has always been my secret desire. It shows the difficulties of coping with the truth about my life and facing the realities of who I am . . . it is a story of discovery.

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

   Author Bio:
   Black Market Baby is written under a pen name to protect the identities of those involved. This is my fifth published book and I’m working on the next two. I was born and raised in Canada and moved to the US to get away from the strangling political atmosphere in Quebec during the 1970s. I was finally drawn to the West – the Rocky Mountains – where I love to hike and eventually wound up at the Pacific Ocean.

   Black Market Baby by Renee Clarke is a post from Awesome Gang

3. The Man Who Built Boxes and other stories by Frank Tavares

   About The Man Who Built Boxes and other stories by Frank Tavares:

   This is a debut short story collection of 12 stories that have been published in literary magazines and journals. If there’s a running theme, it might be that all the characters are people who, through choices they’ve made or actions they’ve taken, have managed to limit their lives. Some are driven by love, others by loneliness.

   They are all people any of us might meet and their situations aren’t uncommon, and yet there’s something about these people that made me want to tell their stories. They were never meant to be grouped together, but now that they are, they seem to be co-existing happily.

   What’s great about a short story collection is that you can pick and choose, some might engage you more than others.

   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:
   I have been writing my whole professional life, but only started writing fiction about 13 years ago. I go back and forth between novels and fiction, the same way I go back and forth between my day job–teaching college and my writing. It’s a tricky balance that means getting up most mornings before dawn to write.

   I’ve been fortunate to have had a third job–as an announcer for National Public Radio. For the past 32 years, I’ve read the credits following all new and information programs. People know me as “the support for guy.”

   All three of these have given me great satisfaction but I’m very pleased that I’m reaching a point in my life when I can concentrate more on writing. An excerpt from my novel-in-progress, Digging Up Mr. Bradley, is the last story in the collection.

   The Man Who Built Boxes and other stories by Frank Tavares is a post from Awesome Gang

4. Be a Critical Thinker: Hone Your Mind to Think Critically

   About Be a Critical Thinker: Hone Your Mind to Think Critically: “Deftly organized into two major sections, Donald Karshner’s Be a Critical Thinker is itself a model of rational thought and highly recommended and instructive. Thoroughly ‘reader friendly’ in style and presentation, Be a Critical Thinker would make an excellent high school or college curriculum textbook supplement for Philosophy or Political Science classes. Very highly recommended for community and academic library collections.” – The Midwest Book Review, Small Press Bookwatch, November 2013 When reading the newspaper, listening to politicians or discussing current events, how can you determine whether the facts and opinions shared are truthful and accurate or misleading and false? Donald L. Karshner has had a lifelong interest in developing critical thinking skills. Inspired by his granddaughter, who was open to suggestions as she went off to college, Karshner began compiling his advice on honing critical thinking. This book evolved from the few pages he had written for his granddaughter. Be a Critical Thinker offers a clear process for applying critical thinking skills to scrutinize ideas, facts and interpretations, even when they are inconsistent or contradictory. By applying the skills of critical thinking, you will be better equipped to clarify your thinking process, to intelligently critique what you read and hear, to correct errors, to dispel misunderstandings and ignorance, and to make a positive contribution to a discussion or debate. Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media: Buy the Book On Amazon. Visit the Facebook Fan Page. Goodreads Profile Page Author Bio: Donald L. Karshner has had a life-long interest in developing critical thinking skills. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio and was educated in the Columbus public schools. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Education degree from the Ohio State University in Columbus, and taught school in Columbus. Karshner went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree and was in the parish ministry for over thirty years. At age 86, he is retired and makes his home in Philadelphia, PA. 01/15/2014

   Be a Critical Thinker: Hone Your Mind to Think Critically is a post from Awesome Gang