MY 5 #KINDLE #UNLIMITED BOOKS, AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

~ A MINGLING OF SOULS  ~

AMAZON BOOK DESCRIPTION: What do you do when your husband's old love letters start to sing? This is what Justin's wife Gail hears night after night as she lies beside him. Do Justin's old lovers really sing in their letters about their painful longing for him, or does she only imagine it because of her insecurities? Even more important, what will she do when she hears a new lover sing?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:  http://amzn.to/1D6ZG93     

  ~ DANIEL, MY SON ~

AMAZON BOOK DESCRIPTION: Suppose you went out trick-or-treating with your seven-year-old son on Halloween and something terrible happened? He ran up a walk to a house and just disappeared, and you could never find him. Suppose a year later on Halloween your grief-stricken wife demands that you take the plastic, candy-filled pumpkin container which is all you could find of your only child and retrace the route you went with Danny? She tells you that unless you find him and bring him back to her, you should never return.

What would you do?

And what—if anything—will you find when you go out into the night on this mad, hopeless quest and visit the same sympathetic neighbors as the year before?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1JLWwGe

~ HERE BE DRAGONS ~

AMAZON BOOK DESCRIPTION: From space, the planet Mira looks safe and peaceful, but mysterious "dragons" slaughtered the fourteen members of the first expedition. Captain Jordan, leading the second expedition to investigate this tragedy, will do anything to avoid more bloodshed. After their ship lands, they discover a lovely Eden. While there is no sign of the previous crew, soon a deadly snake enters the garden.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1D74tr8

~ KILLERS ~

(WINNER OF MUSA PUBLISHING EDITOR'S TOP PICK AWARD)

AMAZON BOOK DESCRIPTION: What comes first, love or duty? Diana, a 24th century Supervisor of time travel, learns that Dero is taking unauthorized trips into the past. She knows she should arrest him, but she loves him too much. Obsessed, she follows him repeatedly into the distant past to save him from the machine-like killers that police the timelines. 

One day he goes too far, threatening the delicate fabric of history itself, and Diana must make a terrible decision. 

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1Du5yHK

~ MUSIC MAN ~

AMAZON BOOK DESCRIPTION: Bill has a strange obsession: every Saturday he must take his wife and six-year-old son on a drive about the city, endlessly searching yard sales for some hidden treasure that will complete his life. His fanatic interest in yard sale ads dominates the rest of the week, and he ignores his family. One cold day, his refusal to turn the car around and go home makes his son cry and his wife threaten to leave him.

While yard sales seem harmless, they aren’t always as safe or innocent as you might think. Who knows what Bill will find this morning in a garage just ahead, lurking silently in the shadows?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1dm33gT

* * * MORE TO COME * * *

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN . . . AND ME

by John B. Rosenman

No, I don't mean the difference between men and women and me.  I mean the difference between men and women and then some news about what I'm up to these days.  As far as I know, I am a man.

Anyway, recently Gary Stillman asked on Facebook: "Name something men do better than women."  I responded by saying "Heavy lifting."  Later I expanded it by saying that in general, men were stronger and physically superior to women in a variety of sports, one of which is doing power lifts.

I then asked, "Name something women do better than men."  Some women responded, having babies. However, I don't think this qualifies.  Women don't do it better because men can't do it at all.  Anyway, here's a short, evolving list of things I believe women do better, always keeping in mind that there will be numerous individual exceptions.

1. Women can multitask better (contributed by my wife)

2.  Women communicate better and are more nurturing and collaborative; they reinforce and consult with each other more.  How often have you seen two women go off to the restroom together in a restaurant.  Can you imagine men doing it?

3.  Women are more into RELATIONSHIPS.  This is a major reason they write more romances and erotica than men.

4.  Women are more practical.  Men more often go after impractical and often foolish goals.  In fact the word "quixotic" comes from the amusing hero Don Quixote, who read too many medieval romances and embarked on a visionary and impractical quest.

Well, what about it, ladies and gents?  Am I right so far, or am I wrong?  Please comment below.

* * * * *

ARTS ILLUSTRATED: Celebrating the Arts

I'm a featured writer on Arts Illustrated: Celebrating the Arts.  Please visit the site at ( www.ArtsIllustrated.com ) and check out my blog and the other artists as well. I discuss my novel THE MERRY-ROUND MAN as well as my INSPECTOR OF THE CROSS series, and more.  If the link below above doesn't work, please cut and paste it into your broswer.

* * * * *

TWO BOOKS JUST PUBLISHED

I've just published two short books in the Amazon KDP Unlimited program.  A Mingling of Souls is fantasy about a new kind of ghosts.  (Description below) Available at http://t.co/MLotq2UpbF

$2.99 or #FREE UNLIMITED March 16 & 17 - Do you believe in Ghosts?  Gail meets a new kind in A MINGLING OF SOULS.  What do you do when your husband's old letters start to sing? This is what Justin's wife Gail hears night after night as she lies beside him.  Do Justin's old lovers really sing in their letters about their painful longing for him, or does she only imagine it because of her insecurities? Even more important, what will she do when she hears a new lover sing?                                                                                                                                                                                                                          * * * * *                                                                    
Science fiction horror and suspense.  Visit the planet Mira at your own risk. $2.99 or #FREE UNLIMITED March 13 & 14. HERE BE DRAGONS - What evil killed the 1st expedition to Mira? Jordan goes to find out - http://t.co/Q0uCAvm0O1

From space, the planet Mira looks safe and peaceful, but mysterious "dragons" slaughtered the 14 members of the 1st Expedition.  Captain Jordan, leading the 2nd Expedition to investigate this tragedy, will do anything to avoid more bloodshed.  After their ship lands, they discover a lovely Eden. While there is no sign of the previous crew, soon a deadly snake enters the garden.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

SUSAN A. ROYAL -- TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURE ROMANCE WRITER

* * * * * *

It's about time we're fortunate enough to have Susan A. Royal return as a guest. Back in June 2013, we learned much about this gifted MuseItUp writer (see the interview on this site), including the fact that she lives "in a most unusual old farmhouse." NOT LONG AGO, the first novel in her It's About Time Series, has an exciting blurb to say the least:  

Erin has met the man of her dreams, but as usual there are complications. It’s one of those long distance relationships, and Griffin is a little behind the times-- somewhere around 600 years.     

      

Erin and her employer, March, are transported to a time where chivalry and religion exist alongside brutality and superstition. Something is not quite right at the castle, and Erin and March feel sure mysterious Lady Isobeil is involved. But Erin must cope with crop circles, ghosts, a kidnapping and death before the truth of her journey is revealed.

Forced to pose as March’s nephew, Erin finds employment as handsome Sir Griffin’s squire.  She’s immediately attracted to him and grows to admire his courage, quiet nobility and devotion to duty.  Yet, she must deny her feelings.  Her world is centuries away, and she wants to go home.  But Erin can’t stop thinking of her knight in shining armor.

~ Not Long Ago & From Now On ~

Not Long Ago was published in 2012. For the opening scene, I pictured a young woman in her twenties hurrying down a busy city sidewalk. On her way past a coffee shop, she notices a handsome stranger through the window. Their eyes meet and what she sees leaves her reeling. Not only does she recognize him, she knows things about the man…but how? Who is he?

From there, the story could have gone anywhere. Turns out it did. The idea of time travel has always fascinated me. Imagine getting up close and personal with history. Experiencing what life is really like in another time. My main characters, Erin and Griffin, meet and fall in love in his world, a harsh and sometimes violent place.  I never expected it to become a series, but my daughter insisted the story wasn't finished, and she was right.      

From Now On came out in June 2014, and it takes up where the first book left off. Some of my favorite characters are back. Arvo: the tall gangly young man with a disreputable shock of red hair who becomes Erin’s good friend and confidant. Sir Edevane: Griffin’s fellow knight and friend. Kat: Griffin’s fiesty little sister.

Sir Griffin travels across centuries to find Erin, the woman he loves. Before they can begin their new life together, he’s sent on a mission to a strange island. When he doesn’t return as planned, Erin assembles a group of his friends to search for him. Followed by his strong-willed sister, Kateryn, they travel to Swansea and secure passage with the notorious Captain Akin.

Erin discovers firsthand how the island has earned its dark reputation when she battles freakish weather, encounters a race of little people known as “Prowlies” and experiences ghosts of the long departed.  Even worse, she discovers there are “ley lines” crossing the island’s mountain peak, creating all sorts of strange phenomena.  Yet these obstacles pale in comparison to the secrets she uncovers while trying to rescue the man she loves.

If you love a time travel adventure with a twist (and a love story) and haven’t read Not Long Ago, please do. You can continue Erin and Griffin’s story with From Now On. As for what’s going to happen to them in Book 3? It’s too soon to tell, but here’s a hint. As the relationship between the two love birds grows, they’ll have more obstacles to overcome. In addition, you’ll likely see something about the caves in Wales, blood moons and ghost stories.

The It’s About Time series is available at MuseItUp, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Goodreads.

* * *

HERE ARE THE LINKS: 

Xander’s Tangled Web (fantasy, mystery) (Due out in Fall, 2015)

In My Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm41

Not Long Ago (time travel, adventure, romance)

http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3

Not Long Ago book trailer

http://youtu.be/vOIQVdWUigU/

All books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com

http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com

* * * * * *

I ASKED SUSAN WHY SHE SEEMED SO INTERESTED IN TRAVELING TO THE PAST, AND HERE'S WHAT SHE TOLD ME.

The idea of being able to travel through time has always fascinated me. In a way I guess you could say I am a time traveler. Every time I read a book it transports me to another world. Some of them actually exist and some are only fantasy, but that doesn’t matter.

When I’m immersed in a good story, it becomes as real as anything around me. I can cross the sands of ancient Egypt, attend a jousting tournament in England in the Middle Ages, take in the countryside in 17^th century Scotland (get a load of those kilts!!), see what it’s like to live during World War II, live in the south during the Civil War era or ride a stagecoach in the American west. Imagine traveling to another world entirely and see dragons, trolls, dwarves, fairies and other beasts. I can go to a dimension where magic is real or visit alternate realities and see what my life might be like if history had been different.

One of my favorite time travel stories is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Claire Randall is a 20^th century woman sent back through time to 16^th century Scotland who must learn to cope in a world far different from her own. Ultimately she chooses it over her own time, because of the man she loves and cannot forget. It’s being made into series for STARZ, and I dearly love the words that flash across the screen on the trailer: What if your future…was the past.

I’d love to visit medieval England, 16^th century Scotland, or the WWII era. I’d love to travel across America when it was still a wilderness. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to talk to someone like Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain in the flesh? Get up close and personal. Find out what they were really like. To have the chance to meet them or even listen to them speak, instead of seeing them through someone else’s eyes. Form your own opinions.

What if you could go back and see your parents or grandparents when they were your age? Observe them from a totally different viewpoint. What would they be like? Would you find things in common with them?  What if you had the chance to visit a younger you? A you that hasn’t made the mistakes or learned the lessons you’ve learned. Would you try to change the past?

You have to admit the idea of time travel is intriguing. How would you cope? Could you live without electronics or indoor plumbing? What would society be like? It’s fascinating to think of what it would be like to visit. And who knows?  You might decide you actually prefer it to living in the present.  It’s a thought… 

BIOGRAPHY:

Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a ghost who has been known to harmonize with her son when he plays guitar. 

     She is married and the mother of six (she counts her children’s spouses as her own) and five grandchildren who are all unique and very special. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. Her grandmother shared stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20^th century.  She heard about growing up in San Antonio in the depression from her father, and experienced being a teenager during WWII through her mother’s eyes.

   

     When she isn’t writing, she still has a day job working as a secretary in the public schools in east Texas. She also does her best to keep up with her grandchildren. Music and painting are two of her passions. Susan is a firm believer in getting what you want without breaking the bank. She loves to bargain shop anywhere there’s a sale and began repurposing long before it was popular. She paints, crafts and sews. Her office/craft/sewing room is littered with her latest projects.

     Susan loves to take her readers through all kinds of adventures with liberal doses of romance. So far, she’s written two books in her It’s About Time series, Not Long Ago and From Now On. They are time travel adventures with romance about two people who fall in love despite the fact they come from very different worlds. In My Own Shadow is a Fantasy adventure/romance. Look for her books at MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. You can also find Odin’s Spear, one of her short stories featured in a Quests, Curses, and Vengeance anthology, Martinus Publishing, available on Amazon.

     Want to know more? Visit susanaroyal.wordpress.com or susanaroyal.moonfruit.com for a peek inside this writer’s mind and see what she’s up to. You never know what new worlds she’s going to visit next.

* * *

MY SF SERIES CONTINUES WITH BOOK 3, DEFENDER OF THE FLAME

 I WAS JUST INTERVIEWED BY MY EDITOR ABOUT THIS SERIES.  GO TO LINK:  http://chrischattalkscreativity.blogspot.ca/2015/01/with-john-b-rosenman.html

******************************

(Book available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble & elsewhere.)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1sJYMVT      Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1wzOTzp

John B. Rosenman

I never expected it would take until my seventies before I wrote my first fiction series (The Inspector of the Cross series).  I tried once before with a sequel to Beyond Those Distant Stars, my space opera saga about a cyborg heroine named Stella who saves the human race from aliens (Mundania Press), but for various reasons, it never quite crystallized. Thirty-four years ago, I wrote a novel called Inspector of the Cross about a half black, half white man named Turtan (see the cover above) who tries pretty much to do the same thing as Stella, only he's nearly 4000 years old.  Why? Because this elite agent or Inspector travels in freeze ships in suspended animation from planet to planet to investigate reports of devices or weapons that might turn the tide against humanity's vicious and seemingly invincible alien enemy.  In the process, our hero has outlived many generations, including his own children and countless lovers.  He has also almost singlehandedly saved humanity. However, if he doesn't find a solution, we are ultimately doomed anyway.

I thought it was a cool concept.  I even had Turtan and a member of the enemy flying down the raging, mind-warping tunnel of a black hole together.  Trouble was, I couldn't sell the novel.

Flash forward over three decades.  I dug the story out, revised it, sent it to MuseItUp Publishing, they accepted it, it received excellent editing, and it was published.

Inspector of the Cross received excellent reviews, and for the first time in my life, I found a fictional character acquiring a life and staying power of his own.  In the sequel Kingdom of the Jax (see the cover below), Turtan continues to travel about the galaxy, experiencing adventures and encountering dangers from emperor and aliens alike. Marvels and mind-blowing wonders abound.

Now in Book 3, Defender of the Flame, Turtan returns to the space academy he graduated from 4000 years before for a glorious homecoming.  He believes he finally possesses the weapon he needs to defeat the aliens and win the 5000 year war, but he must have the cooperation of officials at the First Station to do so.  Will he get that cooperation or will he only be betrayed once again by his own leaders?  If that happens, the people will die, and humanity itself will be doomed to extinction.

My latest novel is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $2.99 for a limited time at:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1sJYMVT     Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1wzOTzp

A Review of Micki Peluso's AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG

Review by John B. Rosenman

More and more, as I read Micki Peluso’s autobiography covering twenty-two years in her life, I was reminded of eleven words in Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.  “Camerado, this is no book, Who touches this touches a man.”  In her case, it is a woman we touch, and the reader learns who the author is as few characters we ever come to know either in fiction or nonfiction.  In addition, we come to know her husband Butch and her six children as they are born, develop,  interact, clash with each other, encounter problems, and sometimes go their separate ways.

And The Whippoorwill Sang presents a journey that is both inspiring and painful.  It will make you laugh and cry, and it is structured around the grievous, heartbreaking injury to one of their children who is left shattered along the road by a hit and run driver.  There are parts of this book which I find unforgettable, and some of the writing is especially fine.  Generally one is supposed to avoid using pathetic fallacies, but I love Peluso’s statement that the “sun had the dignity not to shine” at Noelle’s funeral.  There is a great deal more wonderful writing as well.

This book is many things.  At times, it’s a sprawling story of misadventures, as when the Peluso family makes its grand westward trek out to Las Vegas and back again.  Readers can laugh at some of the mistakes along the way, perhaps remembering ones they’ve made.  This memoir is also a complex study of the relationship between a wife and husband and her attempts to understand him and improve their marriage.  Plus, we receive fully realized portraits of all six of her children.  They come alive on her pages!  If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Noelle.

Add to all this the author’s mother; Micki’s many friends and acquaintances; the backstory of how she came to get married and change her religion; Butch’s quitting jobs and their persistent financial problems; the wonderful, haunted farmhouse they lived in; plus too many other subjects to mention, and we have a book piled to the rafters with subjects that keep us reading.  One last thing: the author mentioned to me she had doubts about the title.  Well, to me, And The Whippoorwill Sang is perfect, literary, and most appropriate.  Don’t take my word for it.  Read the book and see for yourself.

Sale, great Holiday gift. .99- Nov.28,11AM-Nov30, 11AM  gift that keeps on giving . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang http://www.amazon.com/Whippoorwill-Sang-Micki-Peluso-ebook/dp/B007OWPBGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417051653&sr=1-1&keywords=Micki+Peluso+kindle


From the author's blogspot: http://mallie1025.blogspot.com:

Micki Peluso is the author of "And the Whippoorwill Sang"

Staten Island, New York, United States

I began writing in my 40's as a catharsis to heal the wounds of the death of my 14 yr-old daughter by a dwi. My first short story about this was published, which inspired me to continue writing. For 25 years my stories, commentaries, and slice of life humor and pathos have been published in my daily and weekly newspapers. I have recently released my first book, a memoir -- about my daughter's death -- . . .AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG. It's a funny, poignant celebration of her life more than an eulogy of her death. I'm moving at long last into fiction writing, some of which has been published in short story form. I have a sci-fi YA story all ready to be written up. My dream is to write a complete novel. I believe, at long last I have kept my death bed promise to my daughter and can perhaps move forward now after 27 years.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT MORAL REALITY IS?

by John B. Rosenman

Just this morning, one of my friends said that the only moral way to have sex was within marriage.

Another friend said that it is not necessary to be married to indulge.  Or, if your spouse is sick or indisposed, it may be advisable to engage in sex elsewhere until s/he is able again.

They could not agree.  What's more, people will never be able to agree on these and many other issues.  Some people may think such issues are clear-cut, and they are all a simple matter of right or wrong, but are they?  I believe that moral reality or whatever you care to call it is often hard to define.  It often depends on who's doing the looking, and what their belief system is.

I for one believe that same-sex marriage is fine.  Equal rights for everybody. Others, who are more traditional, believe that a marriage must require one man, one woman.  The problem is, everything eventually changes, and when you get both sides together, they repeat the same old arguments without really listening to each other or convincing anybody.  They can't agree on what moral reality is or should be.

More and more, I find that our inability to agree on our values or moral reality is reflected in other things as well.  For example, consider these two vivid works by Edgar Muller.  Is there really a fierce shark rearing out of the brick pavement and a deep chasm that these people are in danger of falling into?  Or are these just brilliantly clever three dimensional street paintings designed to deceive the eye?  Is it possible that paintings like these are partly inspired by our morally and ethically ambiguous and divisive times?  This is a period I believe of unprecedented change in many areas, especially thought.  We are reexamining our sexual, religious, and political values, and discussing and debating them on a non-stop basis.  We don't automatically salute old beliefs so much anymore just because they are old beliefs.  We are coming to realize there may be at least two different ways of looking at them, as there are with these paintings.  

It is both a challenging and liberating time to be alive.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

BOOK 1, INSPECTOR OF THE CROSS SERIES

CAN EVEN OUR GREATEST HERO SAVE US?  Book I, Inspector of the Cross series - 
#Scifi #Adventure #Romance #Danger - http://www.amazon.com/Inspector-Cross-John-
B-Rosenman-ebook/dp/B007USB0YU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406039888&sr=8-1&keywords
=john+rosenman - For 4,000 years he's outwitted and outfought the aliens.  CAN HE KEEP IT UP?

THE MERRY-GO-ROUND MAN IS NOW AN AUDIOBOOK

      ~~~   THE MERRY-GO-ROUND MAN   ~~~      

     Three boys grow up in the sex-and violence-drenched 1950's.        

By: John B. Rosenman

Published by: Crossroad Press

Available for Sale at: audible.com, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble

Retail Price for audiobook: $19.95

Audiobook: B00NP5UD4A

Retail Price for eBook: $4.99     

eBook ASIN: B00KP17YOE

Retail Price for Trade Pbk: $13.95

Trade Pbk ISBN:-10-1937530914

Retail Price for Hardback: $23.47

Hardcover ISBN:-10: 1937530906

Hardcover ISBN:-13: 978-1937530907

Audible Purchase Website: 

http://www.audible.com/pd/Teens/The-Merry-Go-Round-Man-Audiobook/B00NP5UD4A

Publisher Website: http://www.crossroadpress.com/

Author Website: http://www,johnrosenman.com/

Praise for The Merry-Go-Round Man: 

KSL:  "I was so engrossed in the story that I was taken by complete surprise when the story concluded--I wasn't ready for it to end. IMHO, The Merry-Go-Round Man would made a terrific movie. "

Leona Pence: "I especially liked this book because I grew up in the same time period as Johnny, Jimmy and Lee. So much of it took me back to my childhood, my old school and that wonderful merry-go-round. My heart went out to Johnny with his remarkable talents and the overbearing father who tried to control him."

* * * * * * * * * *

Do you believe you can shape your future, determine your destiny?  One spring day in 1954, three sixth grade boys make a bet: the one who can climb first to the top of a small green merry-go round outside their school will be "Champ for life!"  For the rest of his days he'll be "on Easy Street!" So they engage in a "mad scramble . . . clambering over each other with murderous intent," and eventually one of them reaches the summit and stands triumphant, lording it over the others.  He is the merry-go round man.  

The Merry-Go-Round Man is a novel about three boys growing up in the so-called innocent days of the Eisenhower fifites.  It's about rites of passage, loss of innocence, sexual initiation, racism, and much more.  Of the three boys, Johnny Roth is central. He possesses two transcendent gifts which are only beginning to emerge as the novel begins.  One of them is the ability to box or fight, something he deeply fears. The other ability is artistic and mystical.  He is a natural expressionistic painter of vast potential.  Unfortunately, Johnny's father, an Orthodox Jew, hates both of these pursuits, and his opposition tears Johnny apart.  

Of the two other boys, Lee Esner grows up to be a gifted football player with what looks like a lucrative pro career ahead of him.  He also has a flair for attracting beautiful girls.  Is he the merry-go-round man?  The third boy, Jimmy Wiggins, is black and from the ghetto.  Attending an elite white school with Johnny and Lee, his naive love for a pretty white girl is destroyed by her cruel racism.  Another rite of passage. Symbols such as a burning Buddhist monk make us ask whether anyone is really The Merry-Go-Round Man in life.

*****