This Thanksgiving, are you coming correct?

This morning, I (and I’m sure you did, too) crawled out of a warm bed, had a hot shower, and shuffled into the kitchen for a hot cup of coffee.

When you take a sip of that joe, please take a moment to think of the 2 million homeless people in the United States that don’t have a bed, shower or kitchen.

On this day of rest, we sleep in, prepare a huge feast, and either welcome others into our home, or are ushered into one. At some point or another, you are likely to see a family member who you don’t care for much, and who you do your best to avoid at all costs.

When you feel that evil little devil telling you to run and hide in the kitchen, close your eyes and say a prayer for the 18,000,000 children in the U.S. who have neither parent and are living in orphanages, or in the streets – and who would give anything to have a roomful of aunts, uncles and cousins.

The time has come to share that sumptuous repast, and you gather around the table to pray.

In those prayers, please take a moment to remember the 31,000,000 Americans who live in or on the edge of hunger.

After dinner, the kids go upstairs to play video games, and the “grownies” sit around to catch up on times. You regale your Uncle Pete with the story of how little Bennie broke his leg in football practice, and what a brave trooper he was at the hospital.

Pause in that moment and breath a sigh of relief you aren’t one of the 50 million families without health insurance.

And when the big game comes on TV, and the guest performer clears their throat to sing the National Anthem, please stand. We live in a country who has a military that is willing to sacrifice time, family, and their very lives in order to preserve our freedom. Standing isn’t silly or pretentious – it’s respectful.

We have so many ways in which we are  blessed. On this day of Thanksgiving, come correct – bow your head and give praise.

A safe, warm Thanksgiving to you, one and all…

 

In the Spotlight – Thomas Rydder » Maer Wilson

By Maer Wilson:

It’s always fun when friends stop by to visit and today is no exception. Thomas Rydder is the author of the paranormal novel, The Clearing, and his story collection, Restless Souls: 3 dark fables. He’s fun, generous with his time and has a wicked sense of humor. Thomas is always quick with a word of support and encouragement to his fellow writers. He’s one of the good guys.

(Blush – click on the cover to read on)

 

…Authors and Artistes are Ageless… just look at ‘young’ Mick Jagger… #TBSU… | Seumas Gallacher

By Seumas:

…I’m sure if yeez dig deep enuff into the Great God Google yeez can find out what age authors(esses) were when they wrote their various masterpieces… I’m equally certain there will be no common specific age when this tome or that tome came streaming from these assorted cerebral creative minds…

(Click on the immortal Mick to read on)

 

Are self-published Authors guilty of sabotaging their trade? | Jade’s Jungle

By Jade Reyner:

Wow… that’s a weighted question.. and one that I would like to hold my hands up to in shame and admit that yes, I probably am guilty of sabotaging the trade that is self-publishing.

I shall explain.

(click on Jade’s banner to read on)

 

How To Keep A Writer Entertained And Happy | Rose’s Road

By Rose:

This is just a short list of things you can do to help keep life with your Writer a little more comfortable for the both of you. Whether your Writer is your wife, room-mate, sister, daughter, or strange person who comes over in her sleep to use your computer, using these tips could make things a little easier.

(Disclaimer: Every Writer and situation is different. If you discover that your Writer does not like any one of these tips please discontinue its use and attempt to find a suitable substitute. Also, the Writer is referred to as ‘she’, this is simply because I am a female Writer and have no knowledge of what it is like being a male Writer. Sorry.)

(Click on the image to read on)

 

“Obtrusion”, by Anastacia Moore, is FREE on Smashwords. This one sounds great!

From Anastacia:

From November 25th through November 30th, Obtrusion Book 1 The Gathering is available for free download on Smashwords. In exchange for your FREE copy, all I ask is an honest review on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, etc., as you are able to provide upon completion of reading the first installment of the OBTRUSION trilogy. Please email me for the code to receive YOUR copy, or leave a comment. Thank you!

(Click on the cover to go to Anastacia’s site)

Book description:

Are there aliens among us? Do you believe there is another explanation as to how we came to inhabit the Earth? Whether you do or not, Obtrusion will cause you to think again on things such as the story of Adam and Eve or whether we truly evolved from apes. Eric Von Daniken and many others have voiced their theories on how the pyramids, the lines at Nasca, the temples spread through the world, that are so technologically advanced, yet so similar in the widespread cultures may have come to fruition. There is more to these theories than just conjecture. We have been visited. We are the product of years of evolution, but it is not the type of evolution you may have read about in your history books. 

David Mohr and Molly Turner search for answers when they find strange disks that lead them on an epic journey. They discover that there are many dark secrets being kept by top-secret government officials . . . so secret that even some of the highest ranking person in the country is unaware of the scope of deception being perpetrated . . . the President of the United States! 

Why was John F. Kennedy really assassinated? Could it possibly have been because of his demand only ten days before his untimely murder to have complete knowledge of the secret alien files held by the Majestic 12 organization? Conspiracy theories abound . . . about JFK, aliens, Area 51, Dulce, New Mexico, and many other ultra-top-secret installations both in the United States and abroad. 

Obtrusion will not only shed light on the alternate creation of life on planet Earth, but will leave you pondering . . . is it really possible that we have been fed lies and propaganda throughout the centuries in order to hide our true origins . . . how can such widespread cultures have had such advanced technology to create highly sophisticated and similar structures across the planet . . . who truly are the ‘bad’ guys, and what are their ulterior motives? 

David and Molly must make a life changing choice in deciding whether to trust their newly discovered alien friend Goran or the Interstellar Development Agency who seems determined to intervene in the interest of humanity. You are invited to take the journey with them as they uncover that we are not alone in the universe . . . and whether there is any hope for the inhabitants of Earth.

The Write Practice says “Write Naked!”

By Sophie Novak:

Do you write from personal experience? Or you rather get lost in imaginary worlds and alternate realities, full of superheroes and alien creatures?

Our imaginations are endless and should be exploited creatively as much as possible. And yet, the number one writing advice says: ‘Write what you know’. Does this suggest that only war veterans can write about wars, or that Jules Verne really went around the world in 80 days?

Honestly, I used to hate this epic instruction. It somehow suggested that everything anyone writes is utterly personal and resembles the writer’s soul. Which simply isn’t true.

(Click on the image to read on)

 

Hey! Foresight (Guarded Secrets series Part One) eBook: Erika M Szabo is now available on Amazon!

 

Book Description:

Ilona is an emergency room doctor, born into an ancient Hun tribe which still exists hidden amongst us with its strict and fiercely enforced rules. She doesn’t know much about her Hun heritage other than legends, customs, and rituals that she continues out of respect for her parents who died suddenly ten years ago. Her mother didn’t have a chance to explain her inherited powers, but after her twenty-ninth birthday, Ilona is considered as an adult by Hun standards and begins to remember forgotten instructions concealed as childhood rhymes. Ilona discovers that she can heal with her bare hands; she can rearrange the human body to its healthy state. This ability is exciting as well as frightening. She is conflicted between having confidence in her intelligence and inherited abilities while having no confidence as a woman. Her insecurity creates barriers which keep others out and her caged in. She’s in love with her unsuspecting best friend, but when a dashing stranger explodes into her life, the magnetic feelings frighten her. A dark, sinister man appears to be the connection to a series of mysterious deaths, and Ilona is now forced from her calm, steady life and is thrust into the unknown.

 

Readers should be grateful authors work for peanuts – Digital Book Today

By Thomas Rydder:

Bet that got your attention, didn’t it? Now, before you run to the tool shed for your pitchfork, I’ll hasten to explain myself. See, this isn’t a “you buncha ingrates” thing. It’s more of a “food for thought” thing. So, as with any good meal, we’ll start out with an appetizer. My personal favorite is stuffed mushroom caps. So:

Mushroom #1 -The books I’m talking about are good books. Good story, nicely laid out, colorful characters, and it moves along. Well edited, too. You know, a quality read.

Mushroom #2 – I’m a reader right in there with ya. I’m a writer, and my debut novel “The Clearing” came out March 1st (shameless plug, wasn’t it?), but I’ve read hundreds of books. So, I’m a much more prolific reader than writer, and always will be.

So, onto the salad (peppercorn ranch for me):

(Click on the cover to read on)

Hey! “Unexpected Gifts”, by S.R. (Sarah) Mallery) is 99 cents on Amazon…check it out!

It has 25 5-star reviews!

Click on the cover to get it on Amazon!

Book Description:

Can we learn from our ancestral past? Do our relatives behaviors help mold our own? In Unexpected Gifts, that is precisely what happens to Sonia, a confused college student, forever choosing the wrong man. Searching for answers, she begins to read her family’s diaries and journals from America’s past: the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and Timothy Leary era; Tupperware parties, McCarthyism, and Black Power; the Great Depression, dance marathons, and Eleanor Roosevelt; the immigrant experience and the Suffragists. Back and forth the book journeys weaving yesteryear with modern life until finally, she gains enough clarity to make the right choices.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A History Lesson With a Surprise Ending May 11, 2013

By Lasher Lane

In S.R. Mallery’s novel, the main character Sonia resurrects a family tree from a long-secreted attic trunk.
Struggling with her bothersome, lifelong affliction, she looks for clues in the diaries and tangible souvenirs of her past relatives’ lives, hoping for a better understanding of herself.
With Ms. Mallery alternating each chapter between past and present, I was reminded of T.C. Boyle’s WORLD’S END, but unlike WORLD’S END, UNEXPECTED GIFTS covers many more decades of American history, and the author’s recounting of events such as The Depression, Suffragist Movement, immigrants’ contribution to the Ford Motor Company and Empire State Building construction, Vietnam War and Woodstock is powerful.
Then there’s the surprise ending, as Sonia realizes her friend and her father share something in common.
A wonderful story that should serve to remind us that in this fast-paced world we live in, we should never forget such precious American history.

 

 

4.0 out of 5 stars A page turner you will enjoy May 10, 2013

By Frank Lennox

Sonia Weyland not only learns the origins of her OCD, she learns how to cure it (or did she? Not sure about that). And in the bargain, finds a way – by chance — to help her father out of a long depression brought on by an injury from Vietnam. She is able to travel deep into her ancestors’ emotional lives by means of diaries stashed in her mother’s attic. Lucky for her, they recorded the events and emotions that shaped their lives (and their friends. Not sure how they did that!). The vehicle that S.R. Mallery uses to reveal their lives – these diaries – might tax credulity, but it is okay, because we can suspend that disbelief in order to follow her ancestors’ arrival in the United States and trials as immigrants and workers struggling through the depression, and later in the 1950s and 60s. The historical aspects are engaging – tossing rivets on the Empire State Building, Woodstock, anyone? Or the HUAC hearings — and especially her father’s unwelcome trip to Vietnam – but the pleasure of the novel is in Sonia’s story: her emotional trials with a rock star boyfriend (a scoundrel) and a new comer whose ethical care of his wheelchair-bound relative shows a higher path is engaging – if maybe too pat. I enjoyed the novel as a page-turner. The unexpected gifts are more elusive. I look forward to her next novel.

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected Gifts was an unexpected book! November 24, 2013

By Marisa Slusarcyk

Unexpected Gifts was an unexpected book!

So many historical events and times are covered from Woodstock and Vietnam to the depression, emigration/immigration and the poor conditions people were forced to endure once arriving here. Even the Titanic is briefly touched on!

I have never read a book that wasn’t a textbook that was able to successfully cover so many time frames in such little space, with the accuracy you really would expect from reading the journals of those who had actually lived in those times.