Title: Goddess of the Wild ThingAuthor: Paul DeBlassie III
Genre: Paranormal Thriller
Goddess of the Wild Thing is a dramatic tale of one woman’s spiritual journey where magical happenings, unexpected turns of fate, and unseen forces influence her ability to love and be loved. Eve Sanchez, a middle-aged woman and scholar of esoteric studies, encounters a seductive but frightening man who introduces her to a supernatural world in which the wicked powers of a surrogate mother’s twisted affection threaten love and life. In the mystic realms of Aztlan del Sur, Eve and three friends struggle with whether bad love is better than no love and discover that love is a wild thing.

Review: What an insightful, yet thrilling, exciting rollercoaster of a book. Eve Sanchez is an unlikely protagonist, middle-aged, scholar of esoteric studies, but otherwise not that exceptional... Until she meets a man who introduces her to a world she never knew existed, where she feels things she never thought she would. The story and characters compelled me to keep turning the pages.

About the Book

Your wedding day is possibly the most important day of your life, and your wedding dress may be the most important garment you will ever wear. Why not take control of the entire process of planning your ideal wedding – one that is fun, intimate and uniquely your own?
In Your Bridal Style, award-winning bridal designer Rani St. Pucchi shares her expert advice on everything a bride needs to create a truly unforgettable day, including:
How to define your personal style based on your specific body type.
Different wedding silhouettes and what is suitable for different venues
and ceremonies.
A helpful timeline for planning your wedding.
Do’s and don’ts for wedding dress shopping.
Tips on choosing fabrics, colors, accessories and other finishing touches.
How to avoid common wedding day mishaps.
A FAQs section which answers 53 of your most pressing questions.
Strategies for the photo shoot, and so much more.
This engaging, beautifully illustrated book is a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration. With this book in hand, any bride-to-be can design and create the wedding of her dreams.


Author Bio

Rani St. Pucchi, a trendsetting fashion designer whose expertise has been recognized in such media outlets as Entertainment Tonight, Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country, Bride’s, Cosmopolitan Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings, and The Knot, works to help women define the style that flatters them the most – no matter what their age or stage of life, or what their body type is.


Links

Author website: http://ranistpucchi.com/
Amazon
Free gift to download:  51 Fashion & Styling Tips

Please tell us about yourself. 
CHERYL MEYER AKA CHERYL M HEALTH MUSE
Cheryl is an entrepreneur and Type A personality.  For the last 20 years, she has owned a sterling silver jewelry company where she designed jewelry for major retailers.
 Previously, she was a General Store manager for a major department store where she managed and coached over 200 employees to be their best.
Cheryl is as Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, aka Cheryl M Health Muse.  She is a self-published author and an anti-toxin advocate.  Why did she become a health muse?  To put it simply, Cheryl got sick, very sick.  She had terrible pain and wasn’t finding answers.  Now on the road to wellness, she wants to share what she has learned to help others.  What can this health muse do for you?  Cheryl will inspire you to take charge of your life and reduce your pain.  She will help you find the answers you need for wellness.  She wants her journey back to wellness to help you in your journey.
Cheryl is a newly-wed, (at a ripe old age) and married for 2 years to her perfect match in the greater Pasadena, California area.  Cheryl happily reports, “I FEEL GREAT AGAIN, and so can you!”
Cheryl is available for individual and group coaching as well as public speaking and workshops.  You can contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Facebook as Cherylmhealthmuse or on her Facebook book page at It Feels Good To Feel Good, reverse inflammation
Want to be the first to know?  Follow what she is doing next and stay informed with the latest and the greatest new information.  Her newsletters and blogs will be all about living the good life pain-free without toxins and without deprivation.
NICHOLAS PATTON, ILLUSTRATOR
Nick Patton is a multidisciplinary artist living in Portland, OR.  He received his BFA in illustration from Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, OH and his MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art.  Nick currently serves as the shop manager for PNCA’s sculpture facilities while also completing freelance illustration projects and maintaining a fine art practice that ranges from printmaking to abstract sculpture.  For more information visit www.nickpattonart.com or contact Nick at [email protected] Special thanks to Nick for an outstanding job!!!
 
 
Please tell us about your book.
Synopsis:
Got Pain?  This book is for anyone with chronic pain looking for answers.  It will give you a place to start.  You don’t have to resign yourself to a life of pain and pills.  In this book you will learn: • What is causing your pain and how to eliminate it.  • How to find a practitioner that will help you gain back your health.  • Identify the toxins in your life.  Learn how to purge them.  • 3
What’s in your food?  Organic vs Conventional vs GMOs.  Processed food, fast food, canned goods, Dairy, meat, soda, soy, and sugar.  What’s in your water?  Identify your sensitivities and heal your leaky gut.  •34 stress busting ideas, and four simple exercises to reduce your stress.  • 32 suggestions from leading functional experts on how to get a good night’s sleep.  • How to recognize a toxic relationship and make it work or walk away.  • How to tame Anxious Negative Thoughts “ANTs.”  • How to take control of your health, reduce your inflammation and feel great again!
 
What inspired you to write "It Feels Good to Feel Good"? 
I got autoimmune disease 5 years ago and learned that “leaky gut” was a major contributor to my disease.  One of the main things that cause “leaky gut” are toxins.  As part of my get well journey, I started researching so that I could eliminate as many as I possibly could from my life.  I was appalled that they were everywhere.
 
I wasn’t offered anything other than medications when I talked to my conventional MD.  My parents both had unusual illnesses where the meds became more of a problem than the condition they were suffering from, so I knew that I didn’t want to go there unless there were no other options.  I discovered a new paradigm of medicine through my research called Functional Medicine.  These were medical doctors from reputable institutions that got sick themselves and looked for a better way.  Functional medicine is “root cause”  medicine.  They do have meds in their tool box, but they see the body as a whole, and run tests to heal the entire body, not just the body part that is diseased.  Rather than listening to a patients symptoms and prescribing a pill, they listen to the patient, and run tests to figure out the root cause of the symptoms so that they can heal it.  They believe in organic eating, and that the body has an amazing ability to “heal” itself if given the right nutrients.
In the beginning I didn’t even know what I was looking for.  I wrote the manual that I wish I had had when I started my journey.  I want to get this information out into the world to help others who find themselves in the same situation with their health and no knowledge on how to move forward.
How much time per week do you spend writing / editing your work? 
At the moment I am writing articles and webinars to get my message out to the world.  This is a full time job along with a health coaching business.
 
When I was writing It Feels Good to Feel Good the book took over my mind and my fingers and was begging to be written. I joke that I think I somewhat channeled it.  I wrote all 350 pages in 2 months, from 7 to 7 writing 7 days a week.  The next book is evolving more slowly but will come together in the end just as quickly.
 
What are you working on at the moment? 
Right now I am concentrating on marketing my book, and on getting health clients for my coaching business.  I pain to publish book 2 sometime early in 2018.

 

About the Book

Title: It Feels Good to Feel Good
Author: Cheryl Meyer
Genre: Non-Fiction / Health
Got Pain?
This book is for anyone with chronic pain looking for answers. It will give you a place to start. You don’t have to resign yourself to a life of pain and pills.
In this book you will learn:
* What is causing your pain and how to eliminate it.
* How to find a practitioner that will help you gain back your health.
* What’s in your food? Organic, conventional, GMOs processed, fast, canned, dairy, factory farmed meat, soy, water.  Identify your sensitivities and heal your leaky gut.
* Identify the toxins in your life. in  your cosmetics, over the counter drugs,in you kitchen, in your body. Learn how to purge them.
* 34 stress busting ideas, and four simple exercises to reduce your stress.
* 32 suggestions from leading functional experts on how to get a good night’s sleep..
* How to recognize a toxic relationship and make it work or walk away.
* How to tame Anxious Negative Thoughts “ANTs”.
* The importance of movement, even for people who don’t like to move
* How to take control of your health, reduce your inflammation and feel great again!

Author Bio

About Cheryl Meyer aka Cheryl M Health Muse and her book, “It Feels Good to Feel Good, learn about toxins, reducing inflammation and feel great again.”
Five years ago, Cheryl got sick, really sick.  It was a perfect storm: she was working 24/7; her long-term relationship imploded; economic changes slowed her business; she got Type II diabetes; she was taking care of everyone else; her stress was out of control.
Then one morning … viola, Cheryl woke up in incredible pain that didn’t go away. Her doctor didn’t recognize what it was and thought it was in her head.
Cheryl didn’t want more pills, so she embarked on her own journey to find wellness.  When she started, she didn’t even know what she was looking for.  She was stunned to find toxins in every aspect of her life that were poisoning her.  She discovered the Functional Medicine community.  She was tested for food sensitivities.
This book shares everything that Cheryl learned to reverse her inflammation and put her autoimmune diseases at bay.  This is the get well manual that she wishes had been available when she got sick. The book is about first identifying  that toxins that were a significant cause of her leaky gut, then she identified  what  the toxins were  and finally she shares what she replaced them with. She addresses the toxins in our food, in our cosmetics, our cleaning supplies, our kitchen utensils, our water, our over the counter drugs, and even in our heads, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, lack of movement and finally toxic relationships.  She wants to help others find a path to wellness.
Cheryl is now relatively pain-free, but still considers herself a work in progress.  She avoids the foods and spices on her specific, long list of problem foods.  She has purged toxins.  She has released stress and nagging worry.  She has learned to find joy in movement.  She has found love.  She is grateful.
Cheryl believes that following her journey will help you live a long, happy and pain-free life.
In order to help others, Cheryl has become a Holistic Health Coach, certified from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition©.
My book has won the following awards to date:

• 3rd place CIPA EVVY Health/Wellness,
• 2nd Place CIPA EVVY Illustrator in a non-children’s book
• New Apple Summer Digital sole winner in Health/medical
• The Living Evergreen Award Gold winner for books that exemplify better living.
• It is in the top 10 from Write your Own Dream Book, November 17, Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
• TOP 12 Books on the Spirited Woman Fall Equinox 2017 book list.

Book Reviews

“It Feels Good to Feel Good, learn to eliminate toxins, reduce inflammation and feel great again” is written by Cheryl Meyer, a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition®, where she completed a cutting edge curriculum in nutrition and health coaching taught by the world’s leading experts in health and wellness.  I recommend you read this book and be in touch with Cheryl (Cheryl M Health Muse ) to see how she can help you successfully achieve your goals.
– Joshua Rosenthal, MScEd, Founder/Director, Institute for Integrative Nutrition
If you want to truly feel better…clean up! Just one tip from Cheryl’s book will change your life. She has written the ultimate source for getting well through detoxification.”Suzy Cohen, RPh Author of “Drug Muggers: Which Medications Are Robbing Your Body of Essential Nutrients and How to Restore Them.”
“You have taken putting soap in the mouth for naughty words …” to a New Level!  LOL Who knew we were surrounded by so many toxins.
I’ve pretty much finished your book now working on giving sections to my family and friend that I think will especially appreciate certain chapters!  YOU, my Dear, have found your calling, YOU make this rather “dull” subject a Very Good, interesting read, with fun personal touches along the way.
I LOVE your book; I hope people will embrace it.  Why worry so much about health care if we keep killing ourselves with poison.  We can all start with eliminating the toxins out of our lives.              Val Peterson
“As a Functional Medicine Doctor who partners with patients to deal with the root causes of their symptoms, it was a pleasure to read a book that offers such a comprehensive yet simple approach to improve health, reduce inflammation and pain, lose weight and increase energy. This is a great reference to keep in reach on your own journey to optimal wellness.  If you are struggling with chronic symptoms like digestive problems, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune disorders, this book may really help you. It lays out practical tools that you can use right away and at your own pace, everything from how to change your shopping choices to getting more comprehensive medical testing to reduce your toxic burden. Her simple to understand, well researched and easy-to-adopt tools can be helpful to even the busiest among us.”   Dr. Shilpa Sayana, Founder and Medical Director, Sayana Wellness Centers
“Cheryl has been not only been an exemplary patient, she has made it her mission to inspire and help others with her experience and knowledge!”   Susan Spizer, MTCM, L.Ac.
“She writes like she talks, straight and with passion.  What you will read here will surprise you. A helpful read that you will refer back time and time again for reference.” Scott Lee, Master, Body and Brain Yoga, Monrovia
“My friend, Cheryl Meyer has written a book that I recently finished called “It feels good to feel good”. It has a lot of common sense solutions (many that you would never think of) to healthy, toxin free living designed around the reduction of inflammation through what you put in and on your body. Most of this is from her personal experience. I know Cheryl to be one of the finest people you’ll ever know. Cheryl’s also a big proponent of “functional medicine”. If you are unfamiliar with this form of medical practice, you need to read her book. It will change the way you think”.  Frank Jones
Cheryl’s book is as timely as it is informative. This is an excellent read for those seasoned in the holistic lifestyle as well as those just beginning. There is something for everyone. Her material covers everything from probiotics, house cleaning materials, and abdominal massages, to which teas to drink for better sleep. She has the latest information on metal detoxing and extensive research on the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.
Cheryl provides real solutions that can be implemented far beyond the basics with a bend toward functional medicine. I personally ordered three products within hours of reading her book. I’m especially thrilled with the depth of her research around relationships and those that can be toxic. Make sure to read this book and hold onto the “not to miss points” at the beginning of each section.
Shannon Eavenson, Author, & Physical Therapist/Health Coach




Links

website
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Facebook It Feels Good to Feel Good
Twitter
Instagram
Linkedin
Blog

About the Book

Title: Just Like The Bronte Sisters
Author: Laurel Osterkamp
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Sisters Skylar and Jo Beth adore skiing and they virtually share the same soul. After an accident, Jo Beth flees to Brazil, leaving Skylar behind in Colorado to obsessively read the Brontë sisters. While abroad, Jo Beth meets Mitch and her life takes some unexpected turns, until tragedy leads free-spirited Mitch right into Skylar’s empty arms. With their Heathcliff/Catherine romance in full swing, Skylar wants to trust Mitch, but did he harm her sister? Loving Mitch could make Skylar lose everything. Just Like the Brontë Sisters is an unconventional romantic page-turner inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel, full of magical realism, literary references, a ghost, and some healthy doses of suspense.

Author Bio

Laurel Osterkamp is a Kindle Scout/award-winning author of women’s fiction and suspense. Her “day job” is as at Columbia Heights High School, where she teaches creative writing, college writing, and AP Lit. She resides in Minneapolis with her husband, two chatty children, an overweight cat, a gecko, and a hissing cockroach (don’t ask). Her other loves include chocolate, jogging, and boots.


Links

Amazon
Facebook
Website
​

Please tell us about yourself.
My name is Deanna Martinez-Bey. I am a writer, baker, runner, wife and mother of two. I am from New Jersey and live in North Carolina. My ideal day would be spent under a cozy blanket, drinking coffee watching the Food Network! I am also a food blogger and recipe creator! 

Please tell us about your books.
I write self-transformation novels. My characters begin living one way and after self discovery they change for the better and live a happier, healthier life. 

What inspired you to write your book?
I am a survivor of domestic violence. There were parts of this book that were difficult to write because the main character, Stephanie, is also a domestic violence survivor. I want this book to help and inspire those who need to leave or have left a domestic violence situation. 

How much time per week do you spend writing / editing your work?
It varies from week to week. I usually write at night and on the weekends because I do have a family and also work outside of our home. If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing or making notes pertaining to what to write... it all counts! 
​
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on a novella series! My plan is to write a minimum of eight novellas. My goal is to have a television series developed from this series of books!

About the Book

Title: Hot Cocoa, Green Tea and The Man Who Sweetened My Heart
Author: Deanna Martinez-Bey
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Stephanie had been held hostage in an abusive marriage for nearly twelve years. She was manipulated, controlled and abused by her mentally unstable husband. The last physical altercation drove Stephanie to begin a new life, alone, just her and her ten-year-old son, Ray.
Stephanie made an exit plan. She would find a new school for Ray, a full-time job and a place to live and just when she thought that life would be calm and peaceful, her monster of a husband, soon to be ex-husband would rear his ugly head.
Stephanie winds up meeting a new friend through work. As time passes, they find that they are developing feelings for one another. After the divorce is final her ex-husband stirs up trouble yet again.
Would Stephanie and her new friend become an item or would all the trouble from her ex-monster have him packing his bags and running? Would Stephanie finally be awarded full custody of her son or would her ex sabotage that from ever happening?
Hot Cocoa, Green Tea, And the Man Who Sweetened My Heart, is a compelling story of love, fear, hatred and self-transformation with a touch of humor, intimacy and a hint of the paranormal.


___________________________________________________________________________


“That day, I decided that a battered and bruised physical body, damaged emotions, and what felt like a broken ankle was not going to keep me from finding happiness. The hunt was on!”

Author Bio

Deanna has always aspired to be a writer. She started writing poetry and short stories and the young age of seven.
Born in New Jersey, Deanna currently lives in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina. She says. “I will always be a Jersey girl at heart.” Which is why she came up with her own recipe for, New Jersey coffee cake, that she shares at the end of this book. She has had several of her original recipes published over the years. They have been featured in publications such as: Taste of Home Magazine, Taste of Home “Best Of” cookbooks, Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, local magazines and Women’s Day online, to name a few.


Deanna’s other published works:
Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star
When Life Gives You Lemons, Drink Coffee!
 
Deanna’s contact information:
Website:          www.deannamartinezbey.com
Facebook:       Author: Deanna Martinez-Bey @deannamartinezbey
Instagram:      writer_deanna
Twitter:                       Cookrunwrite
Blog:               https://bookwriterdeanna.blogspot.com/
YouTube:                    Author Deanna Martinez-Bey
  
Purchase Links: 
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA

Title: Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity
Author: LeNae Goolsby
Genre: Nonfiction (Body, Mind & Spirit)
Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity provides an experiential journey where mental and emotional vibrations rise and conscious awareness expands. Personal power is reclaimed and peace restored with each chapter and each sweet serenity tip.

​Review: Just reading this book already made me feel better about myself. Helps restore your inner peace, and helps you on your journey of self-acceptance.

​Please tell us about yourself. 
I am the Founder/Owner of www.LeNaeGoolsby.com, as well as the Practice Administrator/Director of New Business Development for Infinite Health Integrative Medicine Center in Louisiana.
 
In addition to running these successful businesses, I am a wife, mother, artist, author/writer, host of Empowered Living with LeNae, a soul-focused life coach, oracle of the pragmatic persuasion and energy healer.
 
I received my certificate from the Duke University Integrative Medicine Center Leadership Development Program in February 2017, and my law degree from Tulane University Law School in 2010. And somewhere between Tulane and Duke I completed my universal laws-centric life coaching studies and honed my intuitive abilities.
 
In addition to authoring Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity - How to cultivate the calm even in the midst of the crazy chaos, I am the co-author of the soon to be released, “Empowered Medicine – Harnessing the infinite laws of the universe for optimized health.”
 
When I am not somewhere on I10 go back and forth between my New Orleans and Lake Charles’ offices, I am keeping up with the ever-evolving interests of my children affectionately known as IV, Huck & L-Belle.
 
 
Please tell us about your book. 
Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity provides an experiential journey where mental and emotional vibrations rise and conscious awareness expands. Personal power is reclaimed and peace restored with each chapter and each sweet serenity tip.  Each chapter offers my personal stories and perspectives, stories of my clients, and soul tips for shifting perspective and moving into an empowered space of peace and serenity.
 
These are the exact processes that I used when I felt like my financial, mental, emotional stability had been essentially stolen right out from under me.  Even to this day, I implement the soul tips in Seven Sundays to help me balance my roles as wife, mother, creative entrepreneur, and writer.
 
My purpose for writing Seven Sundays is to remind the reader that serenity and inner peace are not qualities that are dependent upon, or that have to be at all influenced by, any drama, trauma or chaos that is happening outside of us.  Rather serenity and inner peace are always available and accessible when we shift our perspective from outward in.
 
Where did you find the inspiration for your book?
I was inspired to write Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity after feeling like I finally came out ahead of a storm that knocked me off my feet. I felt compelled to share the processes I used to get from there to where I am today with others, particularly because stress is such a big issue for our time.
 
 
How much time per week do you spend writing / editing your work? 
My writing/editing schedule varies greatly.  One week I may spend anywhere from eight to sixteen hours, another week I may only write a few hours.
 
What are you working on at the moment? 
In addition to releasing Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity, I co-authored Empowered Medicine: Harnessing the laws of the universe to obtain optimized health, Trip Goolsby, MD and that should be released in short order.  Additionally, I am working on Seven Sundays to Manifesting Money Like A Master Manifestor, The Spirituality Reality (working title), and co-authoring on at least one other project…for starters.

About the Book

Title: Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity
Author: LeNae Goolsby
Genre: Nonfiction (Body, Mind & Spirit)
Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity provides an experiential journey where mental and emotional vibrations rise and conscious awareness expands. Personal power is reclaimed and peace restored with each chapter and each sweet serenity tip.

Author Bio

LeNae Goolsby is the Founder/Owner of www.LeNaeGoolsby.com, the host of Empowered Living with LeNae which is syndicated on 50 global networks, as well as the Practice Administrator/Director of New Business Development for www.YourInfiniteHealth.com
In addition to running these successful ventures, LeNae is a wife, mother, artist, writer, oracle of the pragmatic persuasion, calm cultivator and energy healer.
LeNae received her certificate from the Duke University Integrative Medicine Center Leadership Development Program in February 2017, and her law degree from Tulane University Law School in 2010. And somewhere between Tulane and Duke she completed her universal law-centric coaching studies and honed her intuitive abilities.
LeNae is also an expert and writer for www.YourTango.com. She is the author of Seven Sundays to Sweet Inner Serenity, and is on the cusp of releasing “Empowered Medicine – Harnessing the Infinite Laws of the Universe for Optimized Health,” which she co-wrote with her husband. She is also working on her next book, Seven Sundays to Money Manifesting Mastery.




Links

Website: www.LeNaeGoolsby.com
Where to Purchase: https://books.pronoun.com/seven-sundays-to-sweet-inner-serenity/

Book Excerpt


The first time I met Joseph Arillo, I didn’t expect I’d go to jail or even get beat up as a result. And yet, that’s exactly what happened.
Joseph was sitting out in the middle of a parking lot the first time I saw him. He was a small kid, not the kind you’d notice, practically invisible. In a downpour, he’d probably weigh a few pounds but it would all be water caught in that long, brown hair of his that went straight down his back. He had brown skin like everybody else in Southern California, except perhaps for me, and wore threadbare clothes like a badge. I was walking out of the liquor store, Rod’s Liquor on the corner of 14th and Main, carrying my morning Strawberry Quik and…
“What’cha got there?” I asked him.
He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at me.
What he was working at caught my attention, though. There he was, on his hands and knees, practically lying down on the cracked and weathered asphalt… painting.
I opened the ice cold Quik and took a swig. Nothing went down better after a jog than a Quik. You might say that was why I never took off any weight but the hell with you; I didn’t ask.
I walked around to watch him work and to see what he had done. He didn’t move. He didn’t appear defensive or concerned in any way. There, on the ground between the oil stains, faded parking lot lines and various other markings – tire marks and graffiti – this young man was painting… “What is that? A flower?”
He had a silver Sharpie in one hand and a butter knife in the other. He was working the silver onto the concrete around circles of bright red paint, creating the sheen on what would undoubtedly be rose petals. Whenever he made a mistake, he’d take an old, brown brush and dab it out or go back with the Sharpie – but he hardly made any mistakes.
I knelt down and took a look at the pen in his hand. “What’s that? A one inch fine? Where’d you learn to get that kind of detail with a one inch fine?”
“I’m good,” were his first words to me.
“You’re painting flowers in a parking lot, kid. You’re not Michelangelo.” I noticed his choice of paint cans was interesting: old Advil bottles. Big ones. The kind your arthritic grandmother might have. “Still… What’s with the flower?”
Nothing. Not even a glance.
 
​

About the Book

Title: Work of Art: An Intention of Flowers
Author: Ken La Salle
Genre: YA / Contemporary Fiction
Oily pavement.
Thick tempera paint.
A parking lot filled with history, fear, and regret.
A young man named Joseph Arillo sits in the parking lot and paints the pavement with flowers.
And Andy Hollis steps in it.
As the new art teacher at Santa Ana High School, he’s too curious about Joseph’s Flowers and unravels both of their lives in his pursuit for answers.
He learns that it’s all part of a rite of passage, an absurd test started by Joseph Arillo’s father, the suspiciously world-renowned artist named only Tom. Which also connects to the drama teacher at Santa Ana High, Katie Bustos. Whose daughter, Desiree, may or may not be dating Joseph. Who is putting himself in danger from a local gang, the lot’s mysterious history, and the police.
Andy puts himself in danger of losing his job, his home, and his freedom. If he can’t solve the riddle of Joseph’s Flowers, both of their lives will go up in smoke – despite any help from Winny, the old, Slovakian bureaucrat at school, or his students, or Tom himself.
But is Tom trying to help? And is Joseph really up to his father’s test?
And is Andy really fit to be a teacher? He doesn’t understand kids, can’t get to school on time, and… doesn’t appear to care about art or families or anything. But Joseph’s Flowers will challenge everything Andy believes: about himself, about the world, and most importantly of all about art.
Before Andy and Joseph are finished, they will witness the power art has to provide inspiration, to waken our hearts, and to shatter everything you ever believed about humanity.
An Intention of Flowers is the first book in a 5-book series, modestly titled Work of Art, about growing into the person you always wanted to be, making the most of what you have to give and not just what you have, and the power in each of us when we chose to be ourselves.

Author and occasional philosopher and monologist, Ken La Salle’s passion is intense humor, meaningful drama, and finding answers to the questions that define our lives. Ken La Salle grew up in Santa Ana, California and has remained in the surrounding area his entire life. He was raised with strong, blue collar roots, which have given his writing a progressive and environmentalist view. You can find a growing number of his books and performances available online. Find out more about Ken on his website at www.kenlasalle.com.


Links
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Youtube
Website
Amazon Page

About the Book

Title: Winner Take All
Author: Mary Rodgers
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Hot shot skier and unrepentant party girl Carly Carrington is on top of the world until a disastrous crash destroys her championship dreams. Can she lower her guard long enough to trust the one man who might be able to heal her body…and her heart?
When it comes to sports doctors, buttoned-up Paul Blackburn is the best of the best. But when Carly upends his carefully ordered little world, will Paul fight his one chance at true love, or go for the gold in… WINNER TAKE ALL.

Author Bio

A career performer and storyteller, Mary was the keyboardist and lead vocalist in an all-female rock band for a number of years, and has acted in leading roles in plays and musicals across the globe. 

Her first screenplay, Common Ground, was a finalist in the Moondance International Film Festival competition, and she is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild/AFTRA and the New York chapter of Women in Film and Television. 

An avid gamer and unrepentant nerd, Mary’s been a fan of romance, science fiction and fantasy novels since she was old enough to hide them between the pages of her textbooks during geometry class in high school. She is delighted to introduce the first book in her new contemporary romance series, Winner Take All.



Links

Twitter – @mb_rodgers
www.mary-rodgers.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075TRJ4SP

Book Excerpt

27) Parents Like Common Sense And Standards, So Get Both.

Parents worldwide like it when their kids show that they have got some good common sense and some kind of standards of their own. Proof that you, as a kid, have developed them both, shows up in your behavior and in your thought process daily. Your parents take notice when you speak out loud and when you make your decisions as you do things daily. How you reason, think and come to your conclusions also shows how much common sense you, as an individual, actually have. A common sense that can only be developed by basically paying attention to your parents and the world around you. Which, when you have it is something for you to brag about.

It is one of the main things that your parents look for, in you, that lets them know that they can trust your thinking, to sort of help them to keep you out of trouble while still growing. They, as parents, learn to trust your grasp of common sense and appreciate your standards the more you, as a kid mentally grows. As a kid, your growing and developing common sense and standards, means that you are learning to look at situations and realize in them that there is a better way to do things, and also a better way to get things done. You are realizing that you do have choices in life's situations and those better choices, in your life, reflects your standards and common sense. When that happens for a child it is truly a wonderful thing. An example of a kid applying standards and common sense would be, for instance, if they, as a kid, decide to dress warmer when they go outside. If they were functioning without having developed good standards and common sense, they might have gone from inside where it was warm, to the outside where it was cold, with only just a thin shirt on. And then they would get a chill, get sick and come down with a cold. They might end up with a runny nose or worse. These choices and behaviors shows that they, as kids, obviously haven't developed the common sense and standards to be sensible and wear a jacket to keep warm before going outside. Preventing themselves from catching cold and getting sick, is why their parents basically have to make them put a jacket on before going outside. They, of course, as kids, roll their eyes back in their head because they haven't developed the common sense or the standards to know better themselves. They just can't see it.

Or, as an example, kids may share and drink off the same soda with friends. This is because they haven't developed the common sense or the standards, to get the point of avoiding behavior that passes germs and colds. So they end up catching and helping to spreading their friends' germs and colds. Of course, to prevent this from happening, when parents see this about to happen, they step in and stop them from sharing and, of course, the youngster again just roll their eyes up in their heads. This, again, because they, as a kid, just don't get the point of why they should stop doing that. Which is further proof that they still haven't developed the good common sense and standards to fully protect themselves. Or they may choose to allow themselves to mess around with someone from their block, school, or place of worship. And when the relationship falls apart, like they generally do, they still have to see that person around where they live, their school or at their place of worship. They become embarrassed and humiliated by the gossip and the shame of being seen as their “ex''”, or as has-been leftovers. This, of course, could have been avoided by using good common sense and standards that they have yet to develop. Or, they may go out and do what they want to do, without protection, where they catch something awful, all because they haven't developed the proper common sense and standards to know the better way to do things. This is again further proof that they haven't got good sense or knowledge to be protected by. Or they might be the type to go to visiting their new friends' house after school, without getting any permission or communicating with their parents. Which, of course, by the time they get home, they find out that their parents were worried sick for not knowing where they were, with the police at their home, while the whole neighborhood is left looking for them, while assuming that the worst things possible have happened. All this because the kid hadn't developed the good common sense or standards to call or talk to their parents first to prevent things like this from happening. Which is again more proof of the same thing, where all this drama and nonsense could have been avoided just by having grown enough to have developed a little common sense and standards.

​When you have developed the ability to see how using good common sense and standards, on a daily basis, can stop a bunch of bad things from happening to you, you are on your way to developing and being able to fully see that secret knowledge of adults. This also means that you are slowly learning to make choices that help you to dodge many of the pitfalls in life. Good common sense and standards are a big part of the secret knowledge of adults. This is partly why you, as a kid, really need your parents.

About the Book

Title: A-C-T Like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K Like a Parent
Author: C.S. Whitehurst
Genre: Nonfiction self-help
Just for kicks, have you ever wondered what your parents really want from you in life? Is it you, or do your parents want you to have no real fun? On any given day, do you want to make your parents proud of you and still do what makes you feel really happy within yourself? Of course you do! But the real question has always been, and still is…how? How can we actually get this done?
Well, with A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent, a.k.a “the child-part consoler”, you will get past common misunderstandings by learning how to truly talk, hear, and listen to your parents, guardians or caregivers instead of feeling like you have to run to friends to find some sense of acceptance, understanding, and real connection.
In this book, chock-full of questions and answers gotten directly from the source, you’ll learn what your parents, guardians or caregivers really expect of you—and maybe you’ll even find out how to explain to them what you really expect from them! Not that this book could ever replace a parent, because it can not. But when it comes to openly communicating certain key ideas, this book comes really close.
This tell-all guide contains lots of enlightening explanations and helpful answers to many common kid questions like:

• What do my parents really want from me?
• Why do my parents do what they do and say what they say?
• What do I really need to know about my parents’ parenting skills?
• How can I keep my parents happy with me?
• How can I help my parents to help me?
• How can I get what I want from my parents every time?

A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent is an intro to the secret knowledge of adults which is a set of informations that is mainly covered in the book entitled Surrogate Re-Parenting: A.K.A. Get Your Mind Right, and even more thoroughly covered in the book The Secret Knowledge Of Adults. While this book, A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent is intended for kids 10 and up, the info in this book is beneficial and useful to the intelligent kid parts in all of us. Yes, this means you too.
The information in this book will help you and yours to start to see your parents, not as the enemy, but as the caring human beings they really are, and take the first step toward family unity, understanding, growth, success, and happiness! Both you and your parents really deserve this, and with this book, A-C-T like a Kid and T-H-I-N-K like a Parent, you and your parents can actually achieve this.

Author Bios

Katherine Shears is a mom, graduate of Strayer University, and an executive consultant, who is dedicated to bettering the social function and overall visibility of all she encounters. She is a deep thinker with an open mind who stays on the cutting edge of learning, having read over one hundred self-help titles and counting.

C.S. Whitehurst is a psychology-based UX/UI designer/tester, computer programmer, IT Project Manager, and self-help enthusiast, who is a student of science, philosophy, life, and NYU. As a native of New York, having been exposed to social diversity, he has been coached by life to respond to the issues plaguing inner-city youth.


Links

http://www.katherineshears.com/
http://www.cswhitehurst.com/
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