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Where Awesome Book Readers Meet Awesome Writers

1. So What! Stories or Whatever! by G J Griffiths - AUTHOR BIO DETAILS: G J Griffiths is a UK baby-boomer who worked for quite a while in the Photographic industry. Then he became a Science teacher for about twenty years. He likes reading (lots!) walking in the countryside and birdwatching - Oh! and being a Grandad! Having retired he thought he would like to write a novel. So why did he write the first one? Who Do They Think They Are? Watching those programs on TV about different people looking into their ancestral past, and seemingly becoming very upset about certain individuals in their pedigree, he wondered about how much their emotions had been stirred by forebears, such as cousins, grandparents and even great grandparents. After all they had never met them or never even knew about their existence previous to their research. The tears, regrets and often anger that became evident on the screen betrayed how delicate feelings may often lie very near the surface. At the same time he had been reading Winston Churchill's volumes about the Second World War and also reading about the Battle of the Bulge, of Band of Brothers fame. It occurred to G J Griffiths: What if someone was looking into their ancestry and discovered that their forefather was involved in plot to assassinate a famous general from WW2? What if that general was George S Patton who was so vital in relieving the US troops trapped in the Battle of the Bulge? He had read that Patton often could be a thorn in the side of his senior officers at that time. And so he created three pivotal fictional characters around this idea of unpleasant discovery; of an assassination plot involving the father of Chris Squires. The father he never knew dashes his hopes to the ground. How would Chris feel? How would he react? Once the author started writing the story the characters took over and he had to continue the tale where they took it! It became his first novel, Fallen Hero. When GJ started writing Fallen Hero he was already well into the collection of stories later to become his second book: So What! Stories or Whatever! But the general direction of the plot and many of the characters were not properly formed at that time. Then along came the idea for Fallen Hero and that took over for the next 18 months or so! Originally, after he had retired from teaching GJ just wanted to write and write about many of the kids he had taught and tell his readers about some of their hilarious tales. But after a while he realised that so many of the stories would be tinged with sadness or tragedy or poignant moments, and that it was not going to be just another "book of funny stories". If he was going to include some of the difficulties that the kids' teachers also faced, many times a day sometimes, then he had to also write about why they wanted to come into education, and more importantly, why they were determined to stay in it! So Robert Jeffrey was "born" and his story is gradually unfolded and woven between the collection of students' stories. Robert's determination to become what he feels is a "good teacher" became a main theme throughout the book. There was a danger then that the book would become a continuous whinge from yet another cynical, grumbling teacher. Enter Kyle Crabbe, the bully, and some of the tales begin to have a sinister theme to them! With that stage set it meant that G J could lead the reader up a path that would allow a twist to it! Be surprised - be very surprised! Some of the books that Robert Jeffrey had read and that had inspired him to want to teach coincided, strangely enough, with some of the list that G J Griffiths had also valued. It was a list that included: R Delderfield's "To Serve Them All My Days", Thomas Hughes' "Tom Brown's Schooldays", D H Lawrence's "The Rainbow", E R Braithwaite's "To Sir with Love", "Neill! Neill! Orange Peel!", plus, of course, a couple from The Master - Charles Dickens, such as "Hard Times" and "Nicholas Nickleby". G J Griffiths still has many more So What! Stories to tell. Until he had almost finished his second book he hadn't realised that there was going to be another book-full to come out of his head and onto the written page. It's under way and hopefully will become a reality after a few more months.
   
2. Animal Stories: 25 Fun Stories for Ages 4-8 (Animals From All Over the Planet!) - #1 Best-Selling Children's Book Author Uncle Amon began his career with a vision. It was to positively impact the lives today's youth with his children's books. Whether it be a silly tale or an important value and lesson, Uncle Amon uses his creativity and imagination to tell a story that you will remember for a lifetime and cherish. Uncle Amon believes in reader loyalty. He has designed a book club and gives away FREE copies of his books weekly! Some say he is crazy, but he really loves to give back to his readers and fans. For more details, download this book and see the inside cover. "I always shoot for the moon. And if I miss? I'll land in the stars." -Uncle Amon
   
3. TURN A BLIND EYE - By the time Marta Tandori reached fifth grade, she was an avid reader and writer with a stack of short stories collecting dust in a box under her bed but it wasn’t until she began studying acting in her early twenties at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York that Marta realized acting wasn’t really her passion – writing fiction was. What followed was years of writing workshops as well as correspondence courses in writing for children through the Institute of Children’s Literature in Connecticut. She credits the award winning author, Troon Harrison, as the instructor who helped her find her literary voice. Marta’s first work of juvenile fiction, BEING SAM, NO MATTER WHAT was published in 2005, followed by EVERY WHICH WAY BUT KUKU! in 2006. With her more recent endeavors, Marta has shifted her writing focus to “women’s suspense”, a genre she fondly describes as having “strong female protagonists with closets full of nasty skeletons and the odd murder or two to complicate their already complicated lives”. To learn more about Marta, visit her website at www.martatandori.com.
   
4. The Sad Cloud Who Wanted to Make Friends by Evalhena Owen & Katie Darden - Evie is an 11 year old who lives in Northern California on an iris garden with her family and her four cats. When she's not playing games on the computer, she likes to read and make up stories, and learn new things. This is her first book. You can find out more at http://facebook.com/Evalhena, where you can sign up to get information about her other upcoming books and a free coloring page from this book. This is Katie's first published children's book. She has written and published several nonfiction books, mostly relating to goal setting, careers and business. You can find out more about her books at http://facebook.com/katiedardenbooks. She has also written and published several fictional novellas under her pen name. This is the first collaboration with her granddaughter Evalhena. They have 3 more stories planned.
   
5. The Beacon of Redwood Cove by Alesha Cary - Alesha Cary grew up reading mysteries and she still loves a good who-dunnit. But she's also a romantic at heart and believes we all deserve our own happily-ever-after -- we just have to find the right person. She writes her books with a bit of romance and a bit of mystery ~ and sometimes a splash of paranormal. The mixture is different for each book, but you can expect to find some of each in every story. Just like her characters, Alesha lives on the Pacific Northwest Coast with her husband and two cats. Their neighbors are deer, raccoons, skunks, foxes, mountain lions and bear, and far too many birds to list. From her window she gets to watch the whales playing as they migrate. Alesha writes the CAROLINE DAWSON, HWE Series and the REDWOOD COVE Series.
   
6. Digestion Magic 10 Natural Therapies That Heal Your Body - As a nutritional researcher for over 29 years Thomas Jackson enjoys testing his health theories on himself and his trusting wife. This book is a collection of their best results. The health improvements have been so good that he and his wife are expanding their digestive nutrition business into the publishing of useful information.
   
7. VIBRANT To Heal and Be Whole, From India to Oklahoma City - R. Murali Krishna, MD, DLFAPA is a psychiatric expert and pioneer in mind, body, spirit connection. He is president and chief operating officer of INTEGRIS Mental Health, that provides adult and child/adolescent mental health services in inpatient, residential, outpatient & clinical settings; an employee assistance program; and crisis intervention services. He is also co-founder and president of the James L. Hall, Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit, an educational organization devoted to improving health through raising awareness of the healing power of the connection between mind, body, and spirit.
   
8. Noble Intentions: Season One (Episodes 1-5) - Lee "L.T." Ryan lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA with his wife, three daughters, and one slightly psychologically unbalanced, but lovable dog. He enjoys writing fast paced suspense thrillers. When not writing, he enjoys reading, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and spending time with the ladies in his life. Current and upcoming projects include: Never Go Home (Jack Noble #3), Untitled (Clarissa Abbot #1), Untitled (Mitch Tanner #2), Noble Intentions: Season Four (Episodes 16-20) Join L.T. Ryan's New Release Newsletter: http://ltryan.com/newsletter To Learn more about L.T. go to http://ltryan.com Join L.T. Ryan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jack-Noble/333773700042676
   
9. Weight Loss for Kids: How to Help Obese Children Lose Weight - Eileen Clarke is a mother of three who helped two of her children who struggled with weight issues to lose to drop the excess weight and live healthier.
   
10. Poppies by Ulrica Hume - Ulrica Hume's work has appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, Poets & Writers Magazine, The Bloomsbury Review, The Huffington Post, and elsewhere. An Uncertain Age, her debut novel, was longlisted for a Northern California Book Award and selected as a literary fiction finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. House of Miracles was a finalist for the D.H. Lawrence Fellowship; the title story was selected by the PEN Syndicated Fiction Project and broadcast on National Public Radio.
    
11. Positive Affirmations for Abundance! - Focus on the areas in your life where you would like to see immediate and positive lasting change. You can use these powerful positive affirmations right away, to begin your journey towards success. These powerful positive affirmations will make your dreams happen. Positive affirmations are powerful as they allow you to change your thought patterns, which in turn changes your perspective. When you add action with intention to these, you will change your life. Anyone can use affirmations, they are not limited by age, gender or anything at all except your own willingness to use them and effect lasting change.
    
12. Second Time Round (Jackies Christmas Tales 2) by Jackie C Myrtle - Hi I am Jackie and I am simply excited to show you my books. It is so exciting for me to write them (it gives me the opportunity to dream and be creative). You will see me most mornings at my computer typing away on my next book, once I get in the creative mood I can’t stop and my poor family end up with late dinners, bless them. I have 3 wonderful children, a very patient hubby and a dog who sits beside me every day listening to me type away. He really is a cutie and comes to my rescue when I get stuck and can’t think of what to write, he is there with his collar and lead and so off we go walking which is usually enough to refresh me so that when I return I am ready to write again. If you have read some of my books you know I like to write adventure with a bit of mystery thrown in, I prefer short stories because these are ideal for lunch breaks or when your waiting for an appointments I do tend to write with each book leading into the next as I have always enjoyed reading books that did this.
    
13. Love Food, Live Healthy - Born and raised on a tiny Scottish island, now living and working in Amsterdam, I got here, eating my way via Portugal and London. Originally a business and marketing graduate. Having worked in various corporate situations mainly in project management positions in hospitality and banking, I gave all that up to pursue my food career. I set up an award winning delicatessen in Amsterdam in 2000, taking most pride in selling cheese to the Dutch (the equivalent of selling ice to Eskimos - for a Scot anyway!) Now I teach people to cook. Through getting over a binge eating disorder (B.E.D) I learnt that cooking tasty, easy meals was the key to getting and staying healthy, and more importantly enjoying my food. This was the inspiration for my business "The Cooking Coach". I also give Culinary Tours in Amsterdam and act as a business consultant to small and medium sized food related businesses.
    
14. A French Star in New York by Anna Adams - Anna Adams is a French author presently living in Paris after having spent her childhood in the United States. She enjoys writing and reading young adult novels. She loves music, art, shopping, hanging out with friends and roaming in the streets of Paris, or writing in small French cafés. She is currently working on the "French Girl series". Anna Adams also loves to hear from her readers at this address: annaadams333@gmail.com. You can also add her on Facebook and Twitter.
    
15. Burn It by Jennifer Cie - Jennifer Cie is a music enthusiast from Memphis, Tennessee, with a writing style that has been described as "eloquent", "90% dark chocolate", "off the wall", and "intriguing" conversations. Tone deaf to the point of after-hour karaoke bar invites only, Jennifer is currently finishing her first screenplay, and working on an untitled historical fiction novel. You can find her on her blog (http://journeytopaperback.blogspot.com/) or rambling on twitter (JenniferCie1).
    
16. Midnight Riders by Pete Clark - Pete Clark likes writing, animals, potato chips, and cheese. Midnight Riders is his first published novel, although he can also proudly say he finally finished Helix Crashing, the fantasy novel he has been working on for over a decade. In addition, he has written Across the Barren Landscape, a collection of linked Western short stories. He also writes plays, both dramatic and comedic. When he is not writing, Pete tends to ignore everyone around him and obsess over sports.
    
17. Surrender (Dominated By The Billionaire) Guilty Pleasures #1 - Adriana Hunter writes erotic romance with many of them featuring curvy heroines. She loves writing stories that involve powerful, dominant alpha males, romantic billionaires and sometimes even paranormal erotic romance that make for great bedtime stories ;) Connect With Adriana on twitter, her website or on GoodReads: Twitter: http://twitter.com/spicytales Blog: http://www.AdrianaHunter.com
    
18. Lily of the Valley by Sarah Daltry - Sarah Daltry writes erotica and romance that ranges from sweet to steamy. She moves around a lot and has trouble committing to things. Lily of the Valley is her third full length novel, although she also has several story collections and two novellas available. Her other novels are Forget Me Not, the story that tells Lily's version of events, and Bitter Fruits, which will be released 12/1/2013 from Escape Publishing. Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun. When Sarah isn't writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.
    
19. Tempting Fate - Aspen wrote her very first romance novel at only thirteen years old, by hand, in an old lined scribbler and she hasn't stopped since. Writing what she loves to read, Aspen writes both contemporary and paranormal erotic romance which almost always features an irresistibly sexy Alpha Male with a happily ever after. Aspen Hayes lives on a beautiful island in Canada where she is currently hard at work on the next book in her latest series.