Book Tour: Triangle of Hope by Michael Meyer with my #review of the #fiction Novel and a #giveaway

Contemporary Fiction

Date Published: December 1, 2014

Publisher: Pacific Books

If one person can make a difference, just think what three can do.

Clint Westerly was a success until a fateful choice he makes tears his world all apart. Tanya Wilshire is broke but hell-bent on committing to her mother's final deathbed request. 84-year-old Seamus Harrington needs to right an ancient wrong before time runs out.

Filled with grit and determination, these three people with three different problems, an unlikely trio of unexpected allies, converge in a small Irish town to form a Triangle of Hope against all odds. Together they take a courageous stand that will forever change their world and that around them.

Praise

If you love feel-good reads with happy endings, then TRIANGLE OF HOPE is for you. "If an author can make you cry for his characters then want to hug them close and then want to do an Irish Jig with them to celebrate overcoming that much pain then you know you have read a book that will stay with you forever."- Wanda Hartzenberg, Wanda's Amazing Amazon Reviewers

It is a "fantastic read that will pull at your heart." - Lauren Alumbaugh, Goodreads librarian

SEMIFINALIST FOR THE 2015 KINDLE BOOK AWARD IN LITERARY FICTION

Review

This one took me a bit to get into. It's not as fast moving in the beginning and there is some time spent getting to know characters in their connections.

That being said, once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. It's a very compelling read to me. These characters had real issues and situations to deal with.

About the Author

Michael Meyer is the author of mysteries, thrillers, humorous fiction, and non-fiction: Love and romance, laughter and tears, thrills and fears.

As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, he now lives in Southern California wine country with his wife, Kitty, and their two adorable rescue cats.

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Book Tour: thedeadgirlinthevacantlot by Janna Bommersbach #review #mystery

Fiction - Mystery

Date Published: May 16, 2018

Publisher: Spotlight Publishing

         Phoenix investigative reporter Joya Bonner is like most Americans—she knows nothing about the world of sex trafficking; thinks it's a problem reserved for somewhere far off. Thailand. Russia.

         But the reality that this is an American problem slaps her in the face when  her 15 year-old honorary niece disappears in Phoenix.  And a 13 year-old from her hometown in North Dakota goes missing.  And there's that pitiful dead girl in the vacant lot. As the evidence piles up that these are all part of the sex-slave underworld, Joy's awakening chills her to the bone.

         She's sickened even more when she realizes the website that pimps use to sell these girls was created in Phoenix at the weekly newspaper New Times—by guys she knew; by journalists she admired; by men she'd defended in the pages of her own newspaper when they were attacked by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

         Joya's frantic search to find the missing girls—and identify the dead child—brings readers into the real world of sex trafficking. It includes the true history of Backpage.com, that's been called an “online brothel,” and its founders, Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin, currently awaiting trial on charges of facilitating sex trafficking.

         This book combines a riveting fictional story with the reality that is ripped from today's headlines. The book ends with an extensive “end notes” section that details the facts and personalities of this world—both from those exploiting youngsters for prostitution, and those who have long fought to stop it.

Review

Jana Bommersbach manages to put to use imagery and detail to allow the reader to be swept away in the case. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Action packed with a lot of moving parts to it. Mysterious to the core.

Twists and turns paired with lighter moments leads to a novel that will keep the reader engaged and anticipating each event.

About the Author

Jana Bommersbach is one of Arizona's most acclaimed journalists and authors. She's already been honored with two lifetime achievement awards as “an inspiration to the state's media community.”  She's been inducted into the Arizona Arts and Entertainment Hall of Fame, and honored by the ACLU as a “journalist and activist who speaks truth to power.”  She's won a regional Emmy for her television work and was named the nation's best columnist in a city magazine for her work at Phoenix magazine. She twice won the Don Bolles Award in Investigative Reporting for her work at Phoenix New Times.

         Jana is known as a tenacious researcher and lyrical writer. Her debut non-fiction book, “The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd” was nominated for the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award as one of the nation's best mysteries in 1992.  Her children's book, “A Squirrel's Story, a True Tale” won numerous awards here and abroad. Her first historical novel, “Cattle Kate,” was named one of the best books of 2014 by Publisher's Weekly. With “thedeadgirlinthevacantlot,” Jana continues exploring the world of fiction with her character, Phoenix investigative reporter Joya Bonner.

          To satisfy her journalistic soul, Jana combines a fictional story with real-life incidents she's covered in the past. In her first Joya Bonner book, “Funeral Hotdish,” it was the problem of Sammy “the Bull” Gravano and his Arizona ecstasy ring and how it affected Joya's safe, secure hometown in North Dakota that buried one of its children from a drug overdose.  In this new book, Joya takes on the world of sex-trafficking.  As the book was going to press, federal officials shut down the “online brothel” known as Backpage.com and its founders—Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin—were arrested and are awaiting trial on multiple counts of facilitating sex-trafficking.

         This is a particularly poignant story for Jana to write, for a dozen years before Backpage was created, she was partners with Mike and Jim in owning Phoenix New Times. She left and sold her interest to pursue other journalistic options. As she says in the Epilogue, “I write this book with a broken heart.”

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PROMO: Splotch by @kenhicksnyc #middlegrade #fantasy

Middle Reader Fantasy

Publisher: MuseItYA a division of MuseItUp Publishing.

Alice’s parents refuse to let her have a dog, so when Alice sees a paint stain on the sidewalk that looks like a dog, she decides that she will make him a virtual pet. She calls him Splotch and downloads a picture of him to her computer. To her surprise, he escapes from the computer and begins to act as Alice’s self-appointed protector. Unfortunately, he sees most people as potential enemies of Alice, including her teacher and the school principal, and he is not shy about giving those various enemies a bite. When Splotch starts to attack Alice’s best friend, Alice knows there is a big problem. But how will she get Splotch to stop being a guard dog and go back into the computer?

About the Authors

Anne Rothman-Hicks is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College where, in 1969, at a college dance, she met a student from Haverford named Kenneth Hicks. They have been together pretty much ever since, getting married, having children, writing books, making art, and generally conspiring to live lives that are happy, creative, and good.

Anne and Ken’s most recent novels and stories are set in New York City, where they have lived for most of their married lives.

Their middle reader series, Alice and Friends, features Alice, a 10-year-old girl with a vivid imagination that gets her into and out of trouble. The titles are, STONE FACES, BROWNSTONE FACES, and SPLOTCH.

In Ken and Anne’s tween book, THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM, Jennifer and James find a pigeon in Central Park whose foot was caught in a bit of string attached to a fence. Only this pigeon was actually a man before he was turned into a pigeon over a hundred years earlier. Now he needs some help to be turned back into a man before a certain hawk captures and eats him instead.

A sequel, REMEMBERING THOMAS, has been published by MuseItUp Publishing in March of 2018.

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The Murder of Paolo Mancuso

A Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery, Book Five

Crime Mystery

Publisher: Sand in My Shoes

Release Date: August 4, 2018

This time is personal, very personal. Paolo Mancuso was killed in a bar in Little Italy 20 years ago. To this day, his murder has gone unsolved. A cold-case The NYPD has not paid much attention to in all these years. Enter Antonino "Tony The Hammer" Falcone. Paolo's best friend and co-mafia family member. Tony, in his death-bed, reveals to Joey that the mafia had nothing to do with his dad's murder. Something Joey always believed it had. Instead, with his last breath, Tony whispers only three words to Joey - Barcelona, Wetherly, Stevens. With just those three words, Joey sets off to Barcelona. Is it justice or revenge, Joey seeks? Will he learn things about his dad's past, he wished he hadn't? Is Joey about to go up against one of New York's five mafia families? Will he solve Paolo Mancuso's murder?

Now retired, former NYPD Homicide Detective, with the Midtown South Precinct, Joey Mancuso, had looked at the murder book many times during the time he was with the NYPD. Lacking clues and any evidence, he was never able to pursue the perpetrators responsible for his father's death. Currently a licensed private detective in New York City and half-owner of an Irish Pub in New York's Financial District with his half-brother, Father Dominic O'Brian, the pastor at Saint Helen's Catholic Church in Brooklyn, also a licensed private detective, they set out to solve the murder of Paolo Mancuso.

The brothers, Mancuso and O'Brian have been called by the New York press; - "The Last Advocates of the Victims," for the relentless pursuit of the perpetrators, they exemplified in their last cases, working as consultants for the NYPD or as investigators for criminal law firms.

But, this time is personal, very personal. And, Joey's determination in solving this case, his dad's unsolved murder, could make him do things outside the bounds of justice. Is it justice or revenge he seeks?

Other books in the Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery Series:

A Murder on Long Island

A Joey Mancuso Father O'Brian Crime Mystery, Book Two

Published: May 2017

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The Manhattan Red Ribbon Killer

A Joey Mancuso - Father O'Brian Crime Mystery, Book 3

Published: November 2017

Amazon

The Case of the Antiquities Collector

A Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery, Book Four

Published: April 2018

Amazon

A Murder On Wall Street

A Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery, Book One

Published: January 2017

Amazon

About the Author

Everyone loves to solve mysteries, and Multi Award Winning Author, Owen Parr is no different. Taking a page from Agatha Christie's -Poirot series and Conan Doyles' - Holmes series, Parr infuses his thirty years of Wall Street experience into his crime mysteries and exposes its underbelly. His characters come to life in the vividly described locations of his novels. And, you'll need to look beyond the obvious, if you want to solve the crimes.

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Unbreak This Heart

Title: Unbreak This Heart

Author: Betty Shreffler

Genre: Contemporary Romance Standalone

Release Date: August 31, 2018

Blurb

Ever since that horrific night, I’d shut men completely out of my life. I’d gone from the spunky, fun, Alex DeMarco to a broken woman terrified of intimacy. Easing me back into dating, my best friend sets me up with kickboxing lessons from my charming and perfectly sculpted instructor—Carter Maxwell.   

Carter’s goal is to break through my emotional barrier and mold my heart just like he molds my body, but trusting men is a battle I’m not ready for. What’s worse is my ex fiancé, Todd Livingston—the man who tore my heart in two—wants me back, and as much as I’d like to deny it, the feelings are still there.

Both men want what I can’t give—my body and my love—and neither are willing to give up the fight. But only one of them can unbreak this heart of mine. 

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Author Bio

Betty Shreffler is a bestselling author of paranormal romantic suspense and contemporary romance. She writes sexy and suspenseful stories with hot alphas and kickass heroines with twists you don’t expect. She also writes beautiful and sexy romances with tough women and their journeys at finding love. Betty is a mix of country, nerdy, sassy, sweet and a whole lot of sense of humor. She’s a fan of photography, reading, watching movies, hiking, traveling, drinking wine, and all things romantic. She lives with her amazing hubs and five fur babies. If she’s not writing or doing book events, then you can find her behind the lens of a camera, in the woods, or sipping wine behind a deliciously steamy book.

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Days of Reign

Dystopian Fiction

Date Published: June 29, 2018

Described as Dune meets The Hunger Games, this epic narrative of survival will have you in suspense and intrigue. Set in the futuristic world of Eldon, our hero, Zelenka, is forced to abandon everything she loves for a chance at freedom.

With parallels to today’s global crises, this book will have you questioning; would you risk it all?

It is year 2107 and the planet which was once called Earth (now Eldon), is ruled by a single, oppressive government.  Many of those who suffered under the tyrannical rule of Eldon, have fled to a neighbouring planet, Amaryllis, and attempted to grow a utopian society.

Relations between the two worlds are fraught.  Each believe the other to be evil.  Each believe it is their responsibility to save humankind from the other.

Within this interplanetary political backdrop, lives Zelenka.  The Eldonian teenager is forced to hide her intelligence and knowledge.  Naïve and idealistic, she has never fitted into Eldonian life.  She longs to openly be herself but is terrified of the government’s harsh rules and punishments.

“Zelenka is a true hero to me,” says the author, Elisa Hansen. “She has a strength of character that I see in many women facing similar fates today. Facets of the Eldon society mirror the present. Our heroes should not always the ones who succeed, but the people with true intent, and drive, to change.”

About the Author

Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, Elisa Hansen was curious about other worlds. The travel bug bit her young, and she spent her early years with a pack on her back and hiking boots on her feet. Beyond exploring she loves to dance, cook, eat, learn other languages and paint.

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Hard Trigger

Title: Hard Trigger

Author: S.L. Hannah

Publisher: AOH Publishing

Genre: Romantic Suspense

 Release Date: August 28, 2018

Blurb

“Your mother’s opiates are coming from Jose Herrera’s distribution network.” My pulse races as my stepfather speaks these words. Because taking on the Herreras also means taking on Diego.

Reckless, and hardened by a volatile past, Victoria does not see a future with Diego Herrera as a realistic option. As their childhood friendship ignites, they find themselves on opposite sides of a bloody feud between the two most powerful families in Mexico City. And she’s a Moreno now—brought up to be the secret weapon nobody suspected.

But Victoria can’t deny the attraction. Diego’s commanding muscles, the coarse, dark hair of his solid chest, that rugged scar above his sensuous lips…

Loyalty is in the eye of the beholder.

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My body is spent. I want to feel him release inside of me. I want to collapse on top of him. I want to keep fucking like two animals trying to survive a wilderness that is both beautiful and vicious. Our chests heave in a unison that signals it’s not over, and he starts pumping into me…

Except I’m not just an animal. I turn my head towards the end table, lean over, and grab his cell phone.

“Call them off.” I shove the phone into his palms. “All of them. Tell them I’m not here. That they made a mistake.”

Still pumping into me, he stares at me with widened eyes. “Don’t be fucking crazy. Let me walk you out of here and make everyone believe you’ve disappeared. At least for a little while.”

He’s hitting that spot. That warm and sensitive spot that makes me second-guess every decision and every goal I’ve ever made or had. That makes me want to curl up and be swept away and taken care of, even though I’ve never wanted that to be any part of my long-term plan—because I’ve seen everything my mother has gained and lost by being…taken care of.

Diego searches my face for a place to reason. “What I’m offering…they’re going to catch up to you eventually. And before you catch up to my uncle again. He’s the second-in-line to a multinational business. You killed one of his men last night. You almost killed him. You think no one noticed? This would give us…a chance,” he pleads.

Although he doesn’t say it, it’s the same proposal he made on our trip, except without the ring.

I freeze. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted. I’ve always been tempted. He’ll never know how many times I ran my finger around the circumference of that diamond band on the nightstand before I drove off, deciding on a different destiny. I knew the moment I stepped in the old Peugeot that Diego’s ring would forever be imprinted on my finger.

But…

“I can’t.”

My response makes him choke on whatever he was about to say and roar in frustration. He’s not the type of man to accept defeat.

His fingers fumble on the phone screen. Awkwardly he holds it against his ear, spitting in Spanish as he does what I’ve asked him to do.

He throws the phone and then locks his forearms around my neck, pulling me closer to him. His cock is still stiff, and it throbs inside of me, reminding me of why we’re even in this position.

Cursing, his lips find mine, biting, absorbing, demanding. And I reciprocate. I have never been unwilling. Our tongues tangle as our bodies rock in unison again.

Author Bio

S.L. Hannah was born in Poland, grew up in Canada, and moved to Southern California to pursue her love of single-engine airplanes. Her latest, Hard Trigger, is a rogue romance that will be published on August 28th, 2018. Visit her online at www.slhannah.com to learn about her other books, to get updates about her new release, and to connect through social media. S.L. Hannah lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and garden of succulents. When she’s not writing fiction, she continues to solve the aviation problems of the world.

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