Here is Your Awesomegang Newsletter
Published: Mon, 03/03/14
http://awesomegang.com
Where Awesome Book Readers Meet Awesome Writers
- Nefarious by Steven F. Freeman
About Nefarious by Steven F. Freeman:Kirkus Indie Review: “A heady thriller that gathers force with the understated menace of a tidal wave, then smashes home…Readers will be absorbed by Freeman’s never-flashy expertise…Superb touches of eeriness creep in.”
When Army Communications Captain Alton Blackwell takes a hit to the leg while on active duty in Afghanistan, both his self-confidence and his leg are shattered in the explosion. Assigned to a desk job while recovering, Blackwell nonetheless manages to prove his resourcefulness as he matches wits with Al-Qaeda operatives in the dangerous regions of Kabul. Unable to fully heal, he resigns himself to the abrupt end of his military career as well as any hope to win the affections of the beautiful and intelligent Lieutenant Mallory Wilson.
Upon returning state-side, the quiet civilian life is quickly left far behind when Blackwell’s colleague Zach Lambert calls him from a weekend camping trip in the throes of a devastating illness with forbidding implications.
In a story out of today’s headlines, Blackwell and now-FBI Agent Wilson explore the possible diversion of a biotech’s project to develop an improved vaccine, scouring leads at the CDC and biotec company, putting their Army and professional skills to the test, and narrowly escaping agents with a murderous agenda at every turn. The closer they come to the truth, the quicker the bodies pile up, along with the suspects. To get to the bottom of the sinister scheme, can Blackwell still use wits when his body has failed him? And will he survive long enough to tell his colleague of the feelings for her he has long kept secret?
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
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Awesomegang InterviewAuthor Bio:
Thriller/mystery author Steve Freeman is a former member of the US Army’s Signal Corps, a twenty-five year employee of a large American technology company, and an avid traveler who has visited five continents. The Blackwell Files novels draw from his firsthand knowledge of military service, the tech industry, and the diverse cultures of our world.He currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.
Nefarious by Steven F. Freeman is a post from Awesome Gang
- Scent of a Wolf’s Mate
About Scent of a Wolf’s Mate:Accepting a job as a wildlife veterinarian at the Savage Hills Wolf Sanctuary is Serena’s dream job. Finding out she’s the mate of Savage Hill’s alpha werewolf turns her world as she knows it upside down. Trying to resist the sexy man is impossible. She’s in heat, and he’s more than ready to claim what’s his.
Release date 3/1/2014 at Smashwords, Amazon, and All Romance Ebooks!
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 PageAuthor Bio:
Tory Richards is a grandma who likes to read and write smut stories that have a happy ending, or a happy ending for now. Known for erotic contemporary romance she has recently branched out to include paranormal. Several of her books have been best sellers including Cupid’s Arrow, under her real name and published through Whiskey Creek Press. The Cowboy Way, The Mercenary Way, and Bishop’s Angel, all through All Romance Ebooks.Born in Maine, she’s lived most of her life in Florida. Retired from the happiest place on earth, Disney, she now resides in Deltona, Florida where she spends her time between her family, friends, and writing. A die-hard syfy junkie, her favorite TV shows are The Walking Dead, Bitten, Revolution, and Criminal Minds. Her favorite all time movie is Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day-Lewis.
Tory loves good coffee, sweet iced tea, chocolate with nuts, and any kind of sandwich. She also likes to hear from readers so visit her blog and leave her a comment. Tell her you read this article and mention the name of the book above, leave your email addy, and she will send you a download of one of her books.
Scent of a Wolf’s Mate is a post from Awesome Gang
- The Pebble Champion by A.D. Pritchard
About The Pebble Champion by A.D. Pritchard
The Pebble Champion: Teenage Bereavement, Sexuality & Self-Acceptance Explored in Uplifting New Novel.
A.D. Pritchard’s ‘The Pebble Champion’ showcases a poignant narrative with a refreshingly honest voice. Cutting through stigma and stereotypes, the book focuses on one young man’s coming-of-age to explore issues of loss, guilt and sexuality – issues that are relevant and real for many young people all over the world.
While thousands of compelling coming-of-age novels sit on the world’s bookshelves, A.D. Pritchard’s ‘The Pebble Champion’ stands head-and-shoulders above the rest for its successful articulation of teenage grief and confusion.
Self-acceptance, sudden loss, sexual insecurities and the search to find harmony with one’s self, form central themes in a narrative that is as uplifting as it is important.
This is a coming of age novel for young adults about a teenage boy’s journey to self-acceptance and a deeper understanding of the meaning of life.Reviews for the novel have been glowing. For example, one Amazon reviewer commented: “For anyone ( young or old ) who has ever lost a parent, had their heart broken, or struggled to come to terms with who they are; this book is for you. Poignant, moving, strong and very very readable, ‘The Pebble Champion’ is one of those human stories which will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Its a page turner, a tear jerk-er and a smile maker
. Like all good novels, it deserves to be read and treasured.”The Pebble Champion by A.D. Pritchard is a post from Awesome Gang
- The War of the Moonstone by Jack Conner
A dark, swashbuckling epic fantasy by the author of War of the Black Tower.
Black times have come to the kingdom of Felgrad. Once one of the jewels of the Crescent, now the dark powers have turned their gaze upon it, and Giorn Wesrain, son of the baron of Fiarth, has become inextricably drawn into the machinations of the Dark One, along with his beloved Niara, High Priestess of Illiana.
They have loved each other in secret for years, but that love will be tested as the armies of the Dark One strive against Felgrad. Worse, one of their own, Raugst, is in truth an agent of the enemy, and Raugst will soon bend the barony to his will. If Felgrad falls, so too will the rest of the Crescent, and then the Dark One will be unleashed upon the world.
Only Giorn and Niara can stop him, but how can they when the legendary Moonstone, the great artifact of the Light that has kept the fell powers at bay for thousands of years, has been taken? As Giorn sets out into the waste lands after it, to either reclaim it or find out what the Dark One wants it for, enemy hordes swarm the mighty city of Thiersgald and Niara is trapped behind its walls . . . with Raugst.
This is only the beginning of the adventure that awaits you in The War of the Moonstone: An Epic Fantasy: Part One.
Imagine the epic reach of Tolkien, the grit of George R. R. Martin and the nonstop adventure of Robert E. Howard, and you will have some idea of the thrills awaiting you in “The War of the Moonstone: An Epic Fantasy: Part One”.
The War of the Moonstone by Jack Conner is a post from Awesome Gang
- Pirates or Patriots
About Pirates or Patriots:In June of 1814 Ephraim Bradford stepped off the pirate ship Tigre to begin a new life in America. But within weeks the young Englishman becomes the only link between Andrew Jackson’s piecemeal militia and Jean Lafitte’s army of pirates. Yet, as the clouds of war darken, Ephraim’s only real desire is to unite with the girl he loves.
As Ephraim lands in America, a thousand miles away in the bustling city of Baltimore, Charlotte Fuller reluctantly marries swindler twice her age. When her foolhardy husband is killed she is soon left starving and alone on the streets of the Crescent City as the terror of an impending war grows. Desperate and near death, the only work she can find is in a Bourbon Street bordello.
Pirates or Patriots follows a young British merchant from the cold fields of Shropshire England to warm waters of the Mississippi delta and a young farm girl from the sunny shores of the Chesapeake Bay to the gritty underbelly of the French Quarter. On a warm summer afternoon the two fall in love only to be torn apart by their secret lives and the looming threat of the Battle of New Orleans.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Visit the Author’s Website.
Buy the Book On Amazon.
Goodreads Profile PageAuthor Bio:
I’m a Christ Follower and a Texan to the core. I own two types of shoes; flip-flops and cowboy boots. I have a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington where I studied Film and Television Production. Like everyone in my line of work I’ve written a few screenplays. One earned some awards but none ended up on screen.Pirates or Patriots evolved from a conversation I had with an elderly uncle about how my family came to America. That discussion led me to begin reading as many accounts of the events leading up to the Battle of New Orleans as I could find. One version claimed that an English teenager introduced Lafitte and Jackson at the corner of Royal and Canal Streets. That account somewhat coincided with my uncle’s Now, I do not want to imply that some relation of mine had anything to do with Jean Lafitte, but I couldn’t help but wonder how a British teenager could have found himself standing on a New Orleans street corner with Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson. Thus, Pirates or Patriots.
Pirates or Patriots is a post from Awesome Gang
- Fateful Decisions – there’s a fine line between acceptable parenting and neglect by Enid O’Dowd
About Fateful Decisions – there’s a fine line between acceptable parenting and neglect by Enid O’Dowd
August 2011. Two babysitting, mix-ups. Two decisions with devastating consequences.
Waterford, Ireland. Baby Tommy vanishes from his mother Carli’s car parked near the hairdressers where she is having her hair done for the local final of a national talent competition.
Accrington, Lancashire. Baby Rose, left briefly ‘home alone when her ambitious lawyer mother Amy departs for a crucial board meeting, is not there when the family au pair returns home.
The story unfolds through the eyes of Molly, recently widowed, who has lost her unborn child after a fall.
What starts as an understandable diversion becomes an obsession.
Under the pseudonym ‘Miss Marple’ she blogs on an internet discussion forum about missing children, stirring both constructive debate and dissent.
Molly finds public opinion inconsistent, thanks to often inaccurate or sensational media coverage.
Using social media her research makes progress while the police investigations stall. Meeting a fellow blogger gives her a major clue to the UK mystery.
Ultimately Molly discovers what happened to the missing children but is herself forced to make a fateful decision she never could have envisaged.
Fateful Decisions leaves readers to ponder what they would have done in similar circumstances.
Fateful Decisions – there’s a fine line between acceptable parenting and neglect by Enid O’Dowd is a post from Awesome Gang
- Next of Sin by Lisa Gordon
About Next of Sin by Lisa Gordon
WHEN EVERY LAW IS AGAINST YOU IN YOUR HUNT FOR JUSTICE
A string of murders dating back to 1987 and in all that time only one witness and she doesn’t even know she’s a witness!
Two teenagers fooling about on a camping holiday; a young woman marries surrounded by her loving family; an idyllic honeymoon; a salubrious law firm – the image of perfection and yet evil lurks. A body on a Moroccan Beach; a missing girl in Japan; a corpse floating in the Mediterranean – what is the link? The vital clue lies locked in away in a memory – a memory that now wants to be remembered.
A desire to explain a recurring nightmare, leads young lawyer Gaby to a horrifying discovery which throws into question everything she thought she knew about her past, her family and even herself. She is forced to stray onto the wrong side of the law in world where the scales of justice are rigged in favour of her eminent and respectable adversaries. Along with an unlikely set of allies from across the social strata she digs into her past, knowing that it will change her future forever.
Her quest for truth will cost her everything; it may even cost her life.
If you love contemporary, fast paced original fiction this is for you.
Next of Sin by Lisa Gordon is a post from Awesome Gang
- The Bully Barn
About The Bully Barn:
“The Bully Barn”is a story about a mouse named Marty who is bullied by numerous animals on a farm. It teaches children about the various types of bullying, coping skills and the important role of bystanders (part of the problem or part of the solution). It is an excellent story and resource for parents and educators as well.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Buy the Book On Amazon.Author Bio:
Robert Gioia (January 19, 1965) has been a police officer in the province of Ontario for over 24 years. He has spent several years as a school liaison officer addressing criminal complaints and specializing in presenting to youths on many topics. Mr. Gioia created numerous presentations for the V.I.P. (Values, Influences and Peers) program which reflect the moral dilemmas and dangers faced by our youth today. These include Internet Safety, Drugs, Mischief, Theft, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Bullying. Bullying in particular seems more problematic as it has transformed with the advent and progress of the internet. As a result, society has been inundated with instances of bullying that appear to have increased at an exponential rate. In order to address this, the author created a story (The Bully Barn)that will assist in teaching youths and their parents about bullying in a an entertaining fashion.The Bully Barn is a post from Awesome Gang
- Salvation Jane by Ann Massey
About Salvation Jane by Ann Massey
If You Love Political Intrigue with a Splash of Romance You’re in for a Treat
On the heels of a relationship breakup, Jane Patterson inherits a hotel. Her fantasy of operating a five star hotel comes crashing down when she discovers it’s filled with vagrants. Unprepared to roll up her sleeves and get on with the job of running a homeless shelter, she enlists the aid of her local politician, a man who is astute, brilliant and incredibly charming. Jane is surprised he’s so eager to assist her to secure a grant to convert the shelter into a hostel for back-packing tourists, but then he hasn’t told her of his plans to ban beggars from the streets and criminalize homelessness. When Jane discovers her conscience, she finds herself having to play the politician at his own game.
A romp with a serious side– chick lit with a packed political message.
Salvation Jane by Ann Massey is a post from Awesome Gang
- The Ruby Brooch (Time Travel Romance) by Katherine Lowry Logan
The Ruby Brooch (Time Travel Romance) by Katherine Lowry Logan
Regular Price: $3.99; Sale Price $1.99 (March 1-2)
From the white-plank fenced pastures of central Kentucky to the Bay of San Francisco, The Ruby Brooch, an emotional saga steeped in family tradition and mystery follows a young woman’s quest as she attempts to solve the murder of her birth parents 160 years in the past.
As the lone survivor of a car crash that killed her parents, grief-stricken paramedic Kit MacKlenna makes a startling discovery. A faded letter and a well-worn journal reveal that she was abandoned as a baby. The only clues to her identity are a blood-splattered shawl, a locket with a portrait of a man from the 19th century, and a Celtic brooch with mystical powers. The brooch sweeps her back to the American west in the year 1852 where she meets Scotsman Cullen Montgomery, a San Francisco-bound lawyer who resembles the ghost who has haunted her since childhood. With Cullen’s assistance, she joins a wagon train heading to Oregon. The journey is fraught with danger, but nothing is more dangerous than Cullen’s determination to uncover the source of her unusual knowledge and life-saving powers. If she can survive the perilous journey she might discover the answers she seeks and return home to a new life without leaving her heart on the other side of time.
The Ruby Brooch (Time Travel Romance) by Katherine Lowry Logan is a post from Awesome Gang
- Stalking Jack
About Stalking Jack:The SS City of New York is about to embark on its maiden voyage to England. It is August, 1888 and Madeline Donovan is a passenger on this ship, an unexpected trip she has taken because the thought of being in America or around anything familiar at Christmas when the anniversary of the tragedy occurred would be unthinkable. But everything abruptly changes when the local London papers arrive on board and the news of Jack the Ripper’s latest victim are the headlines in every paper. She encounters Jonathan Franks, a reporter from The New York Times and other chance meetings that change her thoughts and path that will lead her directly to the streets of Whitechapel, the deadliest place to be. Her life, with new purpose, to hunt down Jack.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Visit the Author’s Website.
Buy the Book On Amazon.
Goodreads Profile PageAuthor Bio:
I am a copy editor working on the research book, Practical Analysis of Composite Structures by Dr. Brian Esp. I am a poetry contributor to Sacramento Free Press (Poems for All Chapbook) Pomona Valley Review #7, The Voices Project, The UK Poetry Library, Creations Magazine and Prose and Rhyme; short stories to Prose and Rose and The Book Patch.Books include: Stalking Jack, The Night of the Twelfth Moon and Felicity’s Beaus, Poetry From Behind the Curtain and Sweet Sins.
Stalking Jack is a post from Awesome Gang
- Born of Oak and Silver
About Born of Oak and Silver:YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE LIFE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN.
All that you can do is make the most of what you’ve been dealt—fight a good fight, resist being beaten by circumstance, and hope that somehow, despite it all, you’re able to accomplish the impossible.
But even then you cannot change the fact that you were born cursed.
I am one of those unlucky few upon whom the Curse of the Four Fathers has fallen.
It is I who must bear the burden of having a life that is unchangeably intertwined with the Fae. A sorrow made all the more great by knowing that where they are tragedy, loss, misery, and despair most assuredly follow.
As a Druid it is my responsibility to uphold the boundaries that keep the worlds of the Tylwyth Teg, and our own, separate. As a man it is my only ambition to protect the family and woman I so desperately love.
The only problem: I’m not sure this curse will allow for me to do both.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Visit the Author’s Website.
Buy the Book On Amazon.
Goodreads Profile PageAuthor Bio:
Marie McKean was born in rural Utah, far from city life. Surrounded by the Abajo Blue Mountains, she gained a passion for the serenity of nature. When a young adult, her sheltered and quiet-mountain life came to an abrupt end when she married and moved to the “Big Apple.” New York City opened her eyes to a whole new world. She worked for an international insurance company at the top of One Penn Plaza and later moved to San Francisco in pursuit of her advancing career and in completion of her degree in British and American Literature. Although it was all rewarding, deep down something was missing; there was something else she had to do.She accepted an invitation to travel to Mississippi to explore her family’s genealogical roots. The stories of her ancestors were rich in legend and fantasy. It was during this trip that Marie had a return-to-self, embracing the simple passions that drove her imagination as a child. Her purpose was not found in a career where the reward is money and prestige; rather, for Marie, it was found in the creation of characters that confront all the horror and happiness of real life. Since this time Marie has resurrected forgotten historical folklore to tell the stories of her imagination.
Her first novel, “Born of Oak and Silver”, is known for its controversial ending that splits opinions. Marie is now preparing to release a sequel, “Born of Ash and Iron,” as well as a new series “Stone Faced Angel.”
Born of Oak and Silver is a post from Awesome Gang
- Cats and Crime, A Panzer and the P.I. Mystery Collection by Fiona L. Woods
About Cats and Crime, A Panzer and the P.I. Mystery Collection by Fiona L. Woods
Meet 24-year-old Lori Stockley, the mail order private investigator, and Panzer, the rascally black cat, in this mystery short story collection. Oh, and we can’t forget Lori’s Granny Gladys. Put these three together and it’s a recipe for chaos. Follow them as they catch drug dealers, burglars, bank robbers, and carpet snakes.
Five of the stories in this collection feature P.I. Lori Stockley, her Granny Gladys and Panzer; two feature police Detective Matt Stockley; one features P.I. Lori Stockley working on her own; and one features Panzer home alone. As an added feature Panzer has included before each of his stories one of his favorite quotes from a famous or not so famous or totally unknown human.
Chapter Titles include:
Introduction One
You’re Out
The Case of the Cat and the New P.I.
The Case of the Kamikaze Cat
The Case of the Peeping Tom Cat
The Case of the Santa Claus Caper
For Sale
Introduction Two
Seeing Double
Dirty TrickThe P.I. Lori Stockley cases are meant to be tongue-in-cheek spoofs of the hard-drinking, hard-fighting private investigators of the genre.
Cats and Crime, A Panzer and the P.I. Mystery Collection by Fiona L. Woods is a post from Awesome Gang
- Empire of the Worm
About Empire of the Worm:What happens when you don’t appease the gods?
In the glorious empire of Qazradan, the youngest son of the Emperor seems to have it all — youth, ability, intelligence — and he’s poised on the brink of a great destiny. Not only that, but his family seems ideal, the perfect royal family — not oppressive but nurturing to their empire, almost democratic.
But the royal family has a dark secret, and after Davril proves himself with a military victory over a minor rival, his father decides to reveal the family’s secret ahead of time. Davril had been meant to learn it at sixteen, but instead he’ll learn it at fifteen. Would the extra year of maturation have made a difference? One thing is certain — everything is about to change, and not for the better.
When Davril learns the hideous secret at the heart of the empire, that a great, otherworldly being must be given a regular human sacrifice — worse, that it must be Davril’s beloved who dies and he himself who wields the blade, Davril takes drastic and bloody action.
When that happens, the wheels of fate begin to turn. The great and awful being that was supposed to be appeased is now wrathful, and its absence and unwillingness to help Qazradan opens the empire — and the world — up to strange new horrors. For the being had been keep OTHER entities at bay, even darker and more terrible, and with it gone they descend upon the world.
The worst of them all, their supreme deity, is the one known as the Worm, and somehow Davril must prevent its coming, or at least its dominion, but how can he with the empire collapsing into chaos and a vicious cult out for his blood?
This is a tale of triumph and tragedy, bloodshed and horror, as Davril seeks to reverse what he’s done and prevent Qazradan from becoming . . . the Empire of the Worm.
People who enjoy “Weird Tales”, the works of Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and other weird fiction writers are likely to love “Empire of the Worm”. It’s sword and sorcery with a Lovecraftian twist.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
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Goodreads Profile PageAuthor Bio:
Jack Conner lives with his wife and cats in Oregon.Empire of the Worm is a post from Awesome Gang
- Silevethiel by Andi O’Connor
About Silevethiel by Andi O’Connor:“A fresh adventure novel sure to enchant a wide range of fantasy fans.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The entertaining and complex world O’Connor has created is full of magic and intrigue.” –ForeWord Clarion Reviews
“Lovers of Tolkien’s Middle Earth and fantasy would like this book, as well as anyone who likes a good elven romance.” –Us Review of Books
Following her father’s murder, Princess Irewen Donríel is betrayed and left for dead in the forests of Mistwood. Rescued by the elf prince, Laegon Elendell, Irewen awakes an exile with no home, no country, and no people. But as the horrific memories of murder and betrayal return, she realizes that the nightmare is only beginning.
The world of Vaelinel is failing—its fate bound to her in ways no one fully understands. A mysterious elven prophecy may provide her with some answers, but continuously hunted and fighting for her life, Irewen quickly learns that unearthing the truth will be more difficult than she ever imagined. Can she accept Laegon’s love and the friendship of the Wood Elves, or will she stand alone against the terrifying evil now threatening to destroy the entire world?
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 PageAuthor Bio:
Andi O’Connor is the fantasy author of the The Lost Heir, Silevethiel, and Redemption, a dark fantasy short story now available on Kindle. Her next book, Awakening, is due to be released in 2014. Silevethiel, a YA fantasy, was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2013. Andi is a member of the National Writers Association and the Boston Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association. In her free time, she enjoys reading and running and is an avid ballet dancer. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and four dogs. You can connect with Andi on Twitter @OConnorAndiSilevethiel by Andi O’Connor is a post from Awesome Gang
- The End Times Chronicle
About The End Times Chronicle:This is our journey, yours and mine, into the chaos of the end times, that you have been expecting for decades now.
Have Courage, and let me take you with me. For you are about to go, where you never thought you could. When you come to the end of this journey and look around, you will realize this is where you always longed to be.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Buy the Book On Amazon.Author Bio:
Dacre Hill was born and raised on the east bank of the River Mersey, not all that far from England’s only completely walled city. Getting a B.A. in history led him to become a tour guide to the British Isles. A ‘Near’ Death Experience was persuasive enough to cause him to transfer his domain from the United Kingdom to the United States. When visiting clients in the United States, he met and married his wife and settled in Santa Fe, eventually abandoning the west and moving to the mountains of the east. Information he acquired from his NDE and later, set him to writing. He intends this to be his last book, but as he asserts; “The best laid plans of mice and men . . . .”The End Times Chronicle is a post from Awesome Gang
- The Scent of Flames by Kira A. Gold
About The Scent of Flames by Kira A. Gold:Something is rotten in the town of Hortonville.
Lars Fjorden just wants to talk to Violet without making an idiot of himself. But keeping cool isn’t easy with a mother overwhelmed by grief, a brother bullied at school, and a best friend unable to get past the accident that killed both their fathers. Add arson and reoccurring dreams of an awkward angel, and he might not survive his senior year–at least not sane.
Seraphima is called down to a tiny Vermont town of unusual girls, unpredictable weather and unresolved tragedy. Her mission: to keep her nephew safe as he discovers his powers, while getting used to her own mortal body, college prep classes, and boys who ask her to dance.
Sera must teach her charge there are more things in Heaven and Earth than he’s ever dreamt, as Lars battles the fires that threaten those he loves.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Visit the Author’s Website.
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Goodreads Profile PageAuthor Bio:
Kira Gold is a theatrical costume designer and textile artist living in Kentucky. She writes strange things after midnight and collects rabbit marionettes.The Scent of Flames by Kira A. Gold is a post from Awesome Gang
- Gone With The Fairy Winds (The Amuylett Saga) by Halo Summer
About Gone With The Fairy Winds (The Amuylett Saga) by Halo Summer:
What happens when three girls like you and me are spirited away to another world where half-vampires, toad-headed teachers, and magic subjects at school are completely normal? The outcome is inevitable: sooner or later they will all end up in the fortress of Swampy Hollow, a school for children who are either magically untalented, poor, considered a threat, or otherwise lost. Life at this school is dangerous enough, but to make things worse, the evil Cruda that abducted the girls from our world wants to get hold of them. And it does not exactly help that there are also boys with dark secrets, who are just the type human girls like to fall in love with …
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 PageAuthor Bio:
What is the secret to life? Halo Summer thinks that it can only be fathomed by telling stories. Fantasy stories, preferably. So that’s what she’s doing besides her job as an editor for children’s and teens’ magazines. Halo Summer lives with her husband and her dog on the edge of a forest, somewhere between an old graveyard, the moon, and the large city the graveyard belongs to. In Halo’s home country five volumes of the Amuylett Saga have already appeared. With 100,000 copies sold Halo Summer is one of the most successful self-publishers in Germany.Gone With The Fairy Winds (The Amuylett Saga) by Halo Summer is a post from Awesome Gang
- Joyous Expansion: Unleashing Your Passions to Lead an Inspired Life by Brett Dupree
About Joyous Expansion: Unleashing Your Passions to Lead an Inspired Life by Brett Dupree
Do You Want To Achieve Greatness?
Do You Want More Passion In Your Life?
Get your copy of the most easy to understand transformational book!Brett Dupree has discovered a key to living an inspired life with passion. Using personal stories, and his Joyous Expansion Intention System, Brett can teach you how to achieve all of your dreams with passion.
This clear and down-to-earth book is filled with practical tips that will increase your joy.Reading this book you will learn to:•Be a true self leader.
•Get out of the rat race and enjoy your journey.
•Write powerful intentions that focus your determination to reach your desires.
•Celebrate your life and learn from your outcomes.
•Transform your life and create lasting change.Mike Dooley, NY Times Bestselling Author of Infinite Possibilities Praises Joyous Expansion!
“Refreshingly original and completely organic. Please do yourself a favor and be a part of Brett Dupree’s Joyous Expansion! Reading this book will not only improve your life, but the lives of people you interact with everyday!You Want to Change Your Life, Look No Further Than Joyous Expansion!
Improve your life and the life of the people you love today!Joyous Expansion: Unleashing Your Passions to Lead an Inspired Life by Brett Dupree is a post from Awesome Gang
- A Song of Swords (Whill of Agora Book 3) by Michael Ploof
About A Song of Swords (Whill of Agora Book 3) by Michael Ploof
Book #3 of the Amazon Best-selling epic fantasy series Whill of Agora (Legends of Agora)
“Michael Ploof is one of the indie good guys. Don’t be surprised if he is soon swooped up by one publisher or another. Whill of Agora is a fine example of why I think so.” – Award Winning Fantasy Author, M. R. Mathias
Influenced by the works of Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, R. A.Salvator and Tolkien, Whill of Agora is a classic coming of age fantasy tale of magic, mayhem, friendship and war. Set in the realm of Agora during the Draggard Wars, five centuries after the fall of the elven lands, Whill of Agora brings readers on a heart pounding epic adventure with a colorful cast of characters that are sure to become fan favorites.
Upon the frozen fields of Volnoss a strange rift has appeared. Eadon’s legions have gathered; the final invasion of Agora draws near.
Bound by his vow of fealty, Dirk Blackthorn finds himself at Eadon’s side. His first mission; kill the entire royal family of Eldalon, leave none of Whill’s kin alive.
Deep within the heart of the Mountains Ro’Sar, King Roakore prepares to travel to Elladrindellia and reunite the boy Tarren with Whill. He hopes also to have the ancient dwarven tome, The Book of Ky’Dren, translated. And he trusts none but Whill to do it.
Aurora prepares to face the self-proclaimed Chief of the Seven, Icethorn of Dragon Tribe. She no longer feels Eadon’s power coursing through her; she begins to dare hope that she is free of the dark elf. But a pledge of fealty to Eadon is not made lightly.
Avriel remains trapped within the body of the white dragon. Neither the elder elves nor Whill with his great power can find a way to return her to her body. With the racial memories of her dragon line clear in her mind, she begins to lose hold of her elven self.
Whill has found the ancient elven blade of legend, Adromida. Finally he has made it to Elladrindellia, and his training with the elves has begun. Although he is safe for the time being from the reach of Eadon, a new threat arises that may prove his greatest challenge yet. He soon realizes that his greatest enemy may not be the dark elf lord, but he himself.A Song of Swords (Whill of Agora Book 3) by Michael Ploof is a post from Awesome Gang
- HABIT
About HABIT:“A great detective mystery: realistic, well-written, and with such dramatic tension that I was up all night racing to reach the conclusion.” Chris Child
“Detective Brendan Healy solves a complex case, facing his own demons, in a brilliant police procedural with a dark conspiracy in the background.” Sarah Victor
“Complex, beautifully drawn characters, twists and turns, great atmosphere, a real page turner.” Beth Boyd
A brilliant mystery that you won’t be able to put down
A young woman, Rebecca Heilshorn, lies stabbed to death in her bed in a remote, upstate New York farmhouse. Rookie detective Brendan Healy is called in to investigate. All hell breaks loose when her brother bursts onto the scene. Rebecca turns out to have many secrets and connections to a sordid network mixing power, wealth, and sex.
Detective Brendan Healy, trying to put his demons behind him, pursues a dangerous investigation that will risk both his life and his sanity.
Habit is a compelling mystery which will appeal to all fans of crime fiction. T.J. Brearton amps up the tension at every step, until the shocking and gripping conclusion.
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 PageAuthor Bio:
T.J. Brearton has published short fiction with The Rusty Nail Magazine, Orange Quarterly, Enhance Magazine, Third Rail, Atticus Review, and Nonsense Society.The crime-thriller Habit marks his debut novel with a traditional publisher, Joffe Books, an imprint of Not So Noble, based in London, UK.
He lives in the Adirondacks, USA with his wife and two children.
HABIT is a post from Awesome Gang
- Knockout! A Passionate Police Romance by Emma Calin
About Knockout! A Passionate Police Romance by Emma CalinOn sale for 5 days, reduced from $5.99 to $0.99 from the 3-5 March 2014.
KNOCKOUTt! is the first in Emma Calin’s Passion Patrol Series – steamy action novels featuring hot cops, hot crime and hot romance. The second book, SHNNON’S LAW, launches 28th February 2014 and is also on a special offer price. Get the two books for just $2.49 during the promo dates listed above (joint standard price $9.98.)
KNOCKOUT! – A Mafia conspiracy. A female undercover cop. Her target: international sportsman and playboy Freddie La Salle.
Can she fake it? Can she nail the gangsters before her cover is blown? What happens when his charm kicks in, passion takes control and she falls for this charismatic suspect?
KNOCKOUT! The No 1 Kindle Bestseller romance adventure from Emma Calin.
Interpol cop, Anna Leyton, spirals down into a hopeless vortex of sexual and emotional turmoil as she fights to keep her professional cool. But who is deceiving who in this fast moving ride across continents? What motivates the art loving prize-bull of a lover Freddie La Salle?
An action-filled pulse-pounding adventure novel. A tense and erotic romantic affair. Can a relationship survive when it is founded on deceit? Can she prove her man is innocent? Can she escape with her life and her love?
The power of love and trust stands against greed and crime as conflicting forces grapple for that KNOCKOUT punch.
Popular quotations from the book:
“Truth is a line like the Equator. To the South lies the tropic of exaggeration, to the North is the tropic of forgetfulness,”
“I want to kiss you at every monument and under every bridge.” Freddie to Anna in Paris on the Seine.
“You always think that you are headed somewhere, that there is some bus stop ahead where you will know to get off and say – ‘Yes, this is the place,’ but there is no such stop – the view from the window and the other folk on that bus are your life and it is always now. Each minute is your stop and is your place.”
“Love is a fact like the Eiffel Tower. It is there and just because you are not in Paris it does not mean it fell down.”
FIVE STAR REVIEWS:
‘The sex scenes are well written and actually play a part within the story rather than being thrown in for the fun of it’
‘A mix of relentless, buff sexuality, uncompromising, idealistic romance, and sassy, police detective mystery’
‘Knockout writing and a perfect dilemma’
‘The language is sensual and gripping and powerful all at once’
‘Knockout will surprise you with its qualities, but do not be surprised if you put it down wishing for more. I did.’
‘What a page turner the plot was held perfectly with shocking twists and turns’
‘The story is so full of passion, it is easy to be swept along’KNOCKOUT! A romance novel with a twist of suspense that will take you on a roller coaster ride of passion, deception and love.
Knockout! A Passionate Police Romance by Emma Calin is a post from Awesome Gang
- Betrayed by Morgan St. James
About – Betrayed by Morgan St. JamesLaurel Murphy awoke in a strange bedroom to the terror of being drugged, bound and gagged.All this beautiful teenager ever aimed for was a career as a professional ballerina.Instead her dream was crushed when she was kidnapped, sold into a brothel raped and brutalized and finally left for dead.
Contrary to what the kidnappers thought,she didn’t die. As Laurel managed to rebuild her body and a new life, deep within her soul she dealt with the need for revenge. Then a chance meeting changed everything.She will grab your heartstrings and not let go. Inspired by true events.
Available in Kindle and paperback.
Kindle countdown deal March 2-8
Just $1.99 instead of $3.99Betrayed by Morgan St. James is a post from Awesome Gang
- Tips On Prayer, A Quickstart Guide To Improving Your Prayer Life
About Tips On Prayer, A Quickstart Guide To Improving Your Prayer Life:Tips On Prayer, The Quickstart Guide to Improving Your Prayer Life (2nd Edition, Revised and Expanded)
Prayer doesn’t have to be hard. Do you wish you knew how to pray better, so you could have a better relationship with God? If so, Tips On Prayer is a playbook of actionable steps to help you improve your prayer life immediately.
John Arnold has been researching and teaching people how to prayer for over 20 years.He has taken those years of experience and gleaned the best of the best practices and put them into an easy to follow guide. You can spend hours of reading prayer books by great writers, such as, Richard Foster, Phillip Yancey, Dallas Willard, and Thomas Kelly, or you can get just what you need to know and start improving your prayer life right now.
Learning to pray doesn’t have to take hours of reading. You can likely read “Tips On Prayer” in under and hour and immediately start applying easy to implement strategies.
Tips On Pray is a game-changing book. Why? John Arnold breaks down having a vibrant prayer life into just five “pillars” of life-changing prayer. Then he systematically shares the most effective strategies for strengthening each of these pillars.
No fluff or esoteric theory. Tips On Prayer is just the raw information you need to start praying better immediately. Here is just a little of what you’ll discover:
The 3-fold formula of praise David used and you can use for greater intimacy with God.
How to create your own custom prayer routine, tailored to overcome your weaknesses
10 tips to eradicating fatigue, so you can stop falling asleep and start paying attention during prayer.
A sure-fire technique to always remember a prayer promise and never feel guilty again for forgetting.
How to integrate prayer into your daily life, so you can move past knowing how to pray and into living prayerfully.
3 step-by-step proven prayer models that will remove wondering about how you ‘should’ pray.
And much, much more.
Lastly, Tips On Prayer removes the guesswork for anyone desiring a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. If you are brand new to prayer, you will get equipped to build a rock-solid foundation for your daily devotional time. If you are a prayer veteran, you’ll gain a fresh perspective on how to evaluate your prayer life and then systematically put together an action plan to improve it.
Remember, there is more actionable information in this small ebook than you’ll probably get reading a dozen other prayer books. It truly is a complete prayer manual that you can go to over and over again to improve your prayer life. The strategies inside it are all ones that have helped other people experience the power of praying more effectively.
Furthermore, this second edition has over 30% more content than the much beloved original version. John Arnold has taken the instruction to a whole new level by including instructions on the often neglected practice of praying with others in small groups plus several other new invaluable tips.
So, now is the time to stop waiting for your prayer life to get better. If how you pray isn’t changing your, then it’s time to change your prayer. Take action and start praying better today with “Tips On Prayer, The Quickstart Guide To Improving Your Prayer Life.” Get your copy now.
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:
To begin with, I am passionately devoted to making growth in the Christian faith as practical as I possibly can make it. That’s been the driving force behind my ministry over the past 20 years of pastoring various churches, as well as, the passion that drove me to create the blog, http://ThePracticalDisciple.com. almost 6 years ago.I had a passionate desire to deeply connect to God beginning sometime in High School. That passion literally took me from monasteries to mountain tops. Hundreds of hours of workshops, retreats and books later, I realized that nothing teaches someone better to pray than prayer. So, I wanted to write a book that could take all of the best practices I had found and condense the learning curve around those best practices as small as possible. The result was my first ebook, “Tips On Prayer, The Quickstart Guide to Daily Improving Your Prayer Life.”
When I am not dreaming or writing about how to help people live life better you will most likely catch me spending time with my wife and co-pastor, Rev. Dr. Susan Arnold and/or my two awesomely funny and talented children Matthew and Ruth. (You guys rock–Woot! Woot! for team Arnold.) We love performing in local theater together, hiking around outdoors, roller-skating, skeet shooting and whatever mess of fun we can dream up. That…and we laugh a lot, a whole lot. One of the best theater experience I have had was playing Arthur in Camelot with my beautiful wife Susan as Guenevere.
I am also the Chief Inspiration Officer (Isn’t that the coolest title ever?) of The 7 Minute Life, Inc. Which is just another excuse for me to dream and write about helping people live better lives. We’re working hard to knock down some really faulty thinking people have about time management and replace it with honest to goodness tools that help you Do Less and Be More at work and home. You should check us out if you’re tired of feeling busy all the time ready to love your life. http://The7MinuteLife.com.
Well, that’s a really nutshell version of me. If you enjoy my book connect with me online at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepracticaldisciple
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePracticalDisciple
Twitter: https://twitter.com/disciplehelper
Blog: http://ThePracticalDisciple.com
Blessings,
Rev. John Arnold
The Practical Disciple
Tips On Prayer, A Quickstart Guide To Improving Your Prayer Life is a post from Awesome Gang
- The Waking Moon
About The Waking Moon:
Paulette’s life is in shambles. Her sister is dead, her mother is a drunk, and she’s been forced to transfer into a chaotic public school full of bullies. Things go from bad to worse when her intoxicated mother hits and kills a teenage boy and is sent to jail. Now she is truly alone. That is until the teenage boy mysteriously comes looking for her, convinced that he and Paulette are meant to be together. He is the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen. But dead.
Afraid he’ll find her insane, Paulette must keep the secret from her love-struck best friend, Rhodes, a prodigy who lives and breathes rationality and science. In the end, it’s up to her to save them all from the power-hungry, undead teens who want to kill her, kidnap Rhodes, and claim Jack as their own.
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 PageAuthor Bio:
T.J. McGuinn is the author of The Waking Moon, the paranormal romance sensation that received over a million reads on Wattpad.com in only two months. She is a world traveler, a bird lover, a film buff, and a storyteller.McGuinn lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.
The Waking Moon is a post from Awesome Gang
- 101 Healthy Vegan Desserts
About 101 Healthy Vegan Desserts:The most amazing collections of delicious vegan desserts for a healthy lifestyle
101 original, easy and delicious, healthy vegan recipes from all over the world (cakes, cookies and ice creams).
After the dizzying success of the two previous bestsellers, Daniel Nadav’s third cookbook is mainly for people who are crazy about desserts and, on the other hand, want to maintain a healthy and harmonious vegan diet.
Are you familliar with the claim that vegans do not have delicious desserts? Have you encountered the prejudiced belief that vegans have only dates as a dessert? I am personally very familiar with this prejudice, and the aim of this book is to show 101 original and easy ways to make dozens of wonderful, healthy, natural and nutritious desserts that will astonish your guests!
In 101 healthy vegan desserts you will find:
Chapter 1: 34 Vegan cake recipes
Chapter 2: 34 Vegan cookie recipes
Chapter 3: 35 Vegan home made ice creams
Three major advantages of this book:
1. An impressive collection of recipes that will help you maintain a healthy life and boost you and your family’s energy levels.
2. Extremely easy-to-prepare vegan recipes that are full of nutritional value.
3. Recipes that are based on products that can be consumed anywhere and that cost very little money.
Learn more about the author, buy the book, or follow them on social media:
Buy the Book On Amazon.Author Bio:
My name is Daniel and I’m 33 years old. I’ve always considered myself a moral person and I lived for many years with an internal dissonance – The desire for animal products, collided with the heavy ethical baggage eating them brought.But at the age of 28 I decided to change. It was after I spent 6 days in a meditation course (Vipassana) which is held in complete silence that I declared: – “That’s it, I’m a vegan!”
When I came back from Vipassana I was troubled. I had no idea what to eat Because my knowledge about vegan cooking was very poor. So I decided to contact members of our worldwide community through forums. I asked for recipes and tips and the response was amazing! I decided to leverage my passion for food and find the ultimate solutions to our community by writing a vegan cookbook.
My vision was to write a series of cookbooks which contain vegan recipes and distribute them to as many people as possible. Each book focuses on one type of food and shows that there are dozens of ways to prepare food that contain only natural products. These books incorporate original recipes and are especially devoted to our wonderful community to enjoy and distribute them.
Here I also urge you – if you have a winning recipe – you are welcome to send it to me along with your picture and the picture of the recipe, and I promise to publish it in my next books. Even if you do not have a recipe, you are invited to share with me your ideas and thoughts.
For a much more harmonious, peaceful, balanced and sane life
101 Healthy Vegan Desserts is a post from Awesome Gang
- Retribution by Gemma James
About Retribution by Gemma James:Kayla Sutton thinks it’s over. She now holds the leverage she believes will end her contract with her blackmailer, but Gage Channing isn’t going down without a fight. He’s turned the tables on her, cleverly making her submit under the guise of giving her a choice, and Kayla soon discovers that retribution isn’t so black and white when everyone around her has secrets.
She faced sexual servitude in Ultimatum. In Enslaved she was seduced into craving it. Now she must find the strength to either accept the part of her that craves him still, or walk away for good…
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 PageAuthor Bio:
Gemma James (a pseudonym for Christina Jean Michaels) loves to explore the darker side of sex in her fiction. She’s morbidly curious about anything dark and edgy and enjoys exploring the deviant side of human nature. Her stories have been described as being “not for the faint of heart.”She lives with her husband and their four children–three rambunctious UFC/wrestling-loving boys and one girl who steals everyone’s attention.
Retribution by Gemma James is a post from Awesome Gang
- A Shadow in the Flames by Michael G. Munz
A Shadow in the Flames by Michael G. Munz
Grab the first book in the New Aeneid Cycle, a near-figure science fiction series, FREE through March 15th!
Northgate is in turmoil. Decaying, violent and corrupt, it is a common enough city in the mid twenty-first century, yet discoveries beneath the Moon’s surface have marked it with their first distant echoes. Into Northgate has come Michael Flynn. Jobless and down to his last few dollars, Michael still dreams of making a positive difference of his own. Yet he has no family, no friends save for the freelancer known only as Diomedes, and tonight the apartment they share will burn to the ground.
When Diomedes becomes his mentor in a search for the arsonist responsible, Michael will get his chance to realize those dreams. But he must face dangers far more personal than fire if he is to succeed, for like a shadow in the flames, neither arsonist nor mentor may be what they appear.
And the ones who search the Moon will be watching.
A Shadow in the Flames by Michael G. Munz is a post from Awesome Gang
- The Isolation Door by Anish Majumdar
About The Isolation Door by Anish Majumdar:From an award-winning journalist comes a haunting debut novel examining the inner world of the mentally ill and those within their gravitational pull.
Neil Kapoor, 23, is desperate to create a life beyond the shadow of his mother’s schizophrenia. Years of successive relapses and rehabilitations have forced his father into the role of caretaker and Neil into that of silent witness. But there is no light within this joyless ritual, and any hope for the future rests on finding an exit.
Amidst her latest breakdown, Neil attends drama school in pursuit of a role that might better express the truth of who he is. What started as a desperate gambit becomes the fragile threads of a new life. A relationship blooms with Emily, and each finds strength – and demons – in the other. New friendships with Quincy and Tim grow close and complex. But the emotional remove needed to keep these two lives separate destabilizes the family. Neil’s father, the one constant in the chaos, buckles under the pressure. Enlisting the aid of an Aunt with means and questionable motives, Neil plies ever-greater deceptions to keep the darkness at bay. But this time there will be no going back. As his mother falls to terrifying depths a decision must be made: family or freedom?
In this powerful fiction debut, Anish Majumdar shines a much-needed light into the journey of those coping with serious mental disorders and the loved ones who walk alongside them. Incisive and filled with moments of strange beauty, it marks the arrival of a unique voice in American letters.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards supporting schizophrenia research and treatment.
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 PageAuthor Bio:
As a child growing up in Montreal, Canada, Anish Majumdar’s first creative writing lessons came courtesy of his mother, a former English teacher. Witnessing her struggle with schizophrenia had a profound impact and inspired The Isolation Door, his first novel. His non-fiction work, appearing in many publications, has garnered Independent Press Association Awards for Feature Writing and Investigative Journalism. His short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He lives with his wife, son, and a growing menagerie of pets in Rochester, NY.Connect with Anish on Twitter @dashamerican and visit his website at anishmajumdar.com
A Q&A with Anish Majumdar
Author of The Isolation Door
Q. Tell us about your book, The Isolation Door.
A: The Isolation Door tells the story of a 23-year-old named Neil Kapoor who is taking his first steps towards manhood in the shadow of a schizophrenic mother. When you grow up with that kind of insecurity–forced committals in mental hospitals and difficult periods of rehabilitation, witnessing paranoid behavior and changes in personality so severe that the person you love becomes all but unrecognizable–it fundamentally changes how you function in the world and your dreams of what the future might hold. Amidst his mother’s latest breakdown, Neil attends college, falls in love, and discovers the magic of true friendships. But it’s all clouded in secrecy. These people hold the promise of a new life, yet how can he tell them the truth about his mother and how it’s affected his family without marking himself as damaged in the process? How do you grasp happiness when isolation is the strongest feeling you’ve ever known? Finding an answer to this lies at the heart of this book, and it’s something millions of other family members across the United States affected by mental illness in a loved one are struggling to answer.
Q. What prompted you to write this novel?
A: Necessity. Up until age 25, secrecy was how I dealt with my mother’s continuing battle with schizophrenia and its effect on me. I was working as a professional film/TV actor in Montreal, trying on the mask of different personas at work and continuing to turn the trick in my personal life. I had serious relationships with two women who loved me, but the thought of telling them something other than a made-up version of my past was inconceivable. I had great friends in Montreal and Toronto, but the fear that one day this horrible skeleton in my closet would be revealed always caused me to burn bridges preemptively. The end result was living alone with no one but my cat for company, sinking into a bottomless well of depression, unable to find a way out. Out of desperation, I began writing some of my memories down on paper. As I spent more and more time facing these demons, a magical alchemy took place and a new world, filled with people I’d come to love like Neil Kapoor, began coming out of the woodwork. I discovered a talent for writing novels, but more importantly, I gained the perspective necessary to see that my past did not have to define my future. By sharing my experiences and allowing them free reign, I was able to leave my old life in Montreal behind and start anew in the U.S. By being honest about myself, I struck up a relationship with Erin, the woman who’d become my wife in 2009. Today we enjoy a happy life with a baby boy and way too many pets. It’s a million miles removed from the isolation that threatened to drown me just a few short years ago, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Q. What kind of research went into it?
A: I was 9 years old when the death of my grandfather triggered the onset of my mother’s schizophrenia. From the moment her personality began to slip away and the first of many dangerous obsessions emerged, I stopped being a child and started being a watchful guardian. My father, younger brother and I had to suddenly learn to function in a single-parent household throughout over a decade of forced committals at Douglas Hospital (a mental institution in Montreal), lengthy periods of recovery, and, inevitably, relapses. Family finances were drained to cover legal fees, hospitalization, and massive shopping binges on clothes, costume jewelry, shoes . . . anything she would develop a fixation on. Friends of my parents they’d known since immigrating to Canada in the ’70s severed ties because she was much too dangerous in the grips of her schizophrenia, leaving us marooned with a person who could transform at any moment. This continued until I was in college, when the doctors who were treating her finally found a combination of drugs that offered stability. I drew heavily on these experiences in writing the novel. I’ve also had a chance to compare notes with therapists and social workers who have dealt with schizophrenics in the past, and realized that many other families are coping with their version of what we went through. I also put a significant amount of research into the types of drugs being prescribed to schizophrenics as well as the continuing controversy which surrounds schizophrenia, which some in the medical community believe is actually a catch-all term for multiple mental disorders.
Q. Tell us how much of yourself you put into the character of Neil.
A: In many ways, Neil is a younger version of myself–less sure of himself, more haunted, driven by a furious desire to get out, that conflicts with the love for family at every turn. I worked hard to really communicate the internal thought processes he experiences throughout the course of the book to give readers a sense of just how messy things can get emotionally. Yes, you should love your parents. But when any sense of normality has been stripped away after years of serving as a caretaker, it’s normal to feel resentful, confused, even furiously angry. On the flip side, there is an incredible sense of gratitude when you strike up relationships with new people. Understanding the darkness in a way few others do, it is impossible not to be truly grateful for those moments in the light: holding a girl who loves you extra close, treasuring the company of true friends. Neil is a version of myself on the precipice between light and darkness. Like him, there was a very real chance that I’d never make it out. But during the course of writing this book I did, and ultimately this hope is present in the story.
Q. What do you hope readers will walk away with?
A: I hope readers gain an intimate sense of the burden carried by the family members of someone suffering from a mental illness, as well as the unique perspective it affords in how you see life. For every challenge faced in looking after someone with such a disease comes a greater amount of self-understanding and resiliency. It’s very easy to say you love someone–it’s in the doing, looking after them when they can’t look after themselves, taking on the sacrifice willingly because they are as much a part of you as an arm or a leg where love is truly tested. To this day, there is a special bond between my father, mother, younger brother and me because we were all tasked with the challenge of dealing with a monster called schizophrenia. The monster never goes away, but those who face it grow closer through facing it. I think this kind of courage is something that should be celebrated, and I hope that readers make the extra effort to reach out to others who are going through similar circumstances.
Q. Has your relationship with your mother changed since writing this book?
A: My mother and I communicate more clearly with each other these days, and with less emotional baggage. Writing the book and creating a new life in the U.S. with my wife has, in many ways, removed the bedrock fear that something was wrong with me too and the dysfunction we lived through growing up would sabotage my ability to create a happy family life of my own. The truth is, life in my parents’ home was, and will always be, centered around catering to the whims of a schizophrenic. But my priority these days is being a loving husband and attentive father to my newborn son–and when push comes to shove, this will always take precedence over the needs (or obsessions) of my mother. These days, when my mother comes to visit, I make sure to call out any disturbing behaviors she’s displaying immediately. If she starts mumbling to herself, I’ll let her know. If she starts hiding things or displays other paranoid traits, I will let her and my father know. Far from alienating her, this approach seems to be a huge help to both of us. A big part of schizophrenia is lacking an awareness of these types of things. For far too long, we believed that ignoring these early signs meant sparing her feelings. Unfortunately, it also meant that she would spiral out of control that much sooner. By taking this upfront approach, she understands how her actions affect the rest of the family, and I get to communicate how I’m feeling in a positive way. This has resulted in a healthier relationship for both of us.
Also, seeing how nurturing she is when around Mickey, my son, has been a truly wonderful experience. When he was born, I remember going to the waiting room and showing Mom some first pictures. Halfway through scrolling through them, she looked up, and, in a tone of total amazement, exclaimed, “My god, you’re a Dad!” That kind of lightness of spirit comes through when she holds and plays with him. Honestly, it’s not something I ever thought I’d see again.
Q. Can you share a bit more about the important family dynamics in this novel?
A: The Kapoor family has 3 members: Priya, the mother; Raja, the father; and Neil, the 23-year-old son. Priya and Raja, a professor, immigrated to the U.S. in the ’70s and for a time, served as social butterflies within the small college town The Isolation Door is set in. Priya was a doting and caring mother to Neil, and it’s clear that they had a special bond. But the onset of her schizophrenia has changed all of that. Priya’s self-absorption, charming in the old days, flies out of control and becomes a dangerous fuel for her obsessions. Raja, desperately trying to keep things from falling apart, pretends things are better than they are until they become unbearable–a caring man whose love for his wife turns him into an enabler. In the midst of all this is Neil, who is caught between serving as his mother’s caretaker and creating a life all his own. Throughout the course of the novel, as Neil moves progressively towards the latter, it destabilizes the precarious balance within the Kapoor household, forcing a kind of reckoning amongst all 3 of them as they try to figure out the new state of things.
Q. How did growing up in a Bengali/Indian community in Montreal influence your worldview?
A: My relationship with the Bengali community in Montreal has definitely changed over the years. As a kid, I loved hanging out with the sons and daughters of family friends, watching movies in the basement and playing video games while our parents passionately debated politics upstairs. The amount of love Bengalis have for their children cannot be denied. However, the perspective of a cultural group composed of immigrants is vastly different from the perspectives of their children. As I got older and developed an interest in the arts, I came up against huge amounts of blowback from my parents and those in the community who knew me well. They didn’t understand why I was opting to go down such a risky path. I couldn’t understand the point of bowing and scraping and spending your life as a cipher because “that’s just the way things are.” During the latter years of high school and well past college, my rebellious nature prevailed and contact with this community was extremely limited. However, despite whatever criticisms I may have faced, many of these families ended up being the biggest fans of my acting and writing. As I began to make headway in these fields, I grudgingly won the respect of many of them. As I grew more self-confident and unabashed about exactly the kind of person I am, those who had previously seen me as a child began to see me as an adult. Ultimately, the thing that will always bind us together is loyalty–these people, who have been there since I was born and have been there at every major milestone since, will always care for me. Nothing I do will ever really drive them away. And that’s a quality I respect and treasure.
Q. What advice can you offer kids and young adults who are dealing with schizophrenia in their families?
A: Your ultimate loyalty is to yourself. Love for your family can be a double-edged sword–if caring for someone sick means sacrificing your future or your happiness, then you seriously need to consider cutting ties. I know this sounds cold, but I’ve seen way too many friends who’ve come up in similar circumstances become enslaved by the illness of a family member and accept a life that is beneath their potential. The irony of this approach is that it rarely results in a happy outcome for anyone. How can you take care of a loved one if you aren’t taking care of yourself? How can you lift someone up when you can’t stand on your own two feet? Whatever the cost, take the steps necessary to go after your dreams. A family member who cares for your happiness will understand. If they can’t, then it’s the illness talking, and the illness should never have that kind of influence. Don’t allow yourself to become another casualty of schizophrenia.
Q. In an ideal world, how would we view mental illness? Do you think we’re moving toward eliminating the stigma?
A: The current situation with regards to mental illness and treatment in this country is what I’d call a “quiet crisis” and is worsening at an alarming rate. Decades of neglecting this population of patients and dismantling long-term care facilities have resulted in only about 30% of mentally ill people in the U.S. actually receiving the kind of care they need. The rest are funneled into the judicial/prison system or, if they don’t have family support, are tossed out into the streets to fend for themselves. In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in the number of incidents such as the Sandy Hook shooting, where a mentally ill person snapped and went off the rails. With the current infrastructure that’s in place when it comes to the mentally ill, which should be recognized for the national embarrassment it is, is it any surprise that we’re seeing such horrific outcomes? One in four Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetimes. What kind of a message are we sending by telling 25% of our fellow citizens that they don’t deserve the same level of care, support, and treatment as everyone else? Unless we, as a society, have the courage to look mental illness in the eye and embrace those affected as brothers and sisters, we will all fall together.
Q. Tell us more about how you started writing. Any advice for aspiring writers?
A: The best writing comes out of a deep-seated need to express yourself. My mother, a former English teacher, used to give me nightly writing assignments as a child. She never cared about my literary voice, or my process, or what writers I admired . . . all that mattered was the honesty on the page. I never forgot that lesson. Writing a book starts out as fun and gets progressively more difficult. You’ll never make it to the end unless it’s something you have to do (as opposed to want to do). Will and clarity of purpose cannot be learned–everything else can.
One other thing: read the books you want to read, not the ones you feel you should. A good writer is a stubborn person–learn to develop the capacity to do and read and be exactly the way you want to be. Listen to yourself beyond everyone else–it’s your job to lead, not follow.
Q. Where can we find out more about your work?
A: I share personal stories on my blog, www.dashamerican.com. I also keep fans updated on articles and other pieces that are coming out through Twitter: @dashamerican. Finally, I love speaking at high schools, colleges, and organizations about my experiences and the importance of breaking the wall of silence that surrounds mental illness–interested parties can contact me directly at anish@dashamerican.com.
The Isolation Door by Anish Majumdar is a post from Awesome Gang
- Elves, Bicycles,Unicorns and Other Fantasies by Jackie Wilson
About Elves, Bicycles,Unicorns and Other Fantasies by Jackie Wilson
Elves, Bicycles, Unicorns and another Fantasies is a book of short fantasy stories, several featuring two little forest elves, Amber and her husband Alfred,and their various adventures, such as visiting their house elf friends in town and helping rescue their the bike of their friends’ human family, or attending the Spring Festival. There is a story explaining the origin of pearls, another telling why poplar trees produce fluff, and another which tells the true story of the Queen Anne’s Lace flower. There is one about Hugo the bicycle changing places with his unicorn exchange partner and his adventure in the Kingdom of the Unicorns. My book is listed on Amazon and I am also running a promotion on StoryCartel.com.
Elves, Bicycles,Unicorns and Other Fantasies by Jackie Wilson is a post from Awesome Gang