Mystery Feature: Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell #blogtour #bookreview #mystery #suspense #giveaway @ewephoric @RABTBookTours

Annalisse Series, Book 2

Mystery/Suspense

A small amount of Romance 

(not the focal point of the story)

Date Published: 12-11-2019

Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing

Antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury drives to her family farm in upstate New York to consult with Aunt Kate about her troubled relationship with Greek tycoon, Alec Zavos. When Annalisse arrives, she learns the beloved farm she expects to inherit is for sale.

That same morning, they find a stranger’s body decaying in the barn. Then her aunt vanishes.

In Spent Identity, Annalisse and Alec join forces for the second time. They must find the mastermind behind her aunt’s abduction before Kate’s health issues worsen. Was the corpse in the barn a coincidence or a warning? The clock ticks for Annalisse to find her aunt and repair what she has left with the man she loves.

Review

This novel is unlike anything I have read recently. I think that it is a great testament to the imagination of a writer that I can say that. This novel really kept me on my toes as far as expecting the unexpected. I love the way that some of the things will be familiar to you, but that she puts her own spin on them. 

There is a lot going on and a lot to understand since you are diving into a new world. I think that Marlene M Bell really managed to keep her readers up to speed by giving them just enough along the way without making them feel lost or bogged down with information. It really shined a light on to the characters and mystery/story in general.

About the Author

Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living, and Sheep Industry News, to name a few. SPENT IDENTITY is the second book in the Annalisse Series.

Her catalog venture, Ewephoric, began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Ewephoric gifts online can be found at https://www.TexasSheep.com. Her books at: https://www.marlenembell.com

Marlene and her husband, Gregg, reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.

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Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Feature: Steel Heart by RJ Blain #blogtour #bookreview #giveaway #urbanfantasy #paranormal @RABTBookTours @SneakyBookLady

Jesse Alexander, #2

Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Publisher: Pen & Page Publishing

Date Published: December 25, 2019

With the Hope Diamond locked around her throat, Jesse Alexander finds herself in the unfortunate position of being a walking national treasure. With the Starfall stone poised to pulse and flood the world with more of its magic, she must figure out how to remove it before she becomes its pawn yet again.

Unfortunately, the stone has a mind—and plans—of its own. Add in a determined tiger, a wolf out for revenge, and an ultimatum to find her clan's missing Starfall stone, and it will take all of Jesse's wit and cunning to survive with her life—and her heart—intact.

Review

This is a fantasy novel that is not simply action and adventure and fantasy, it is detailed and involved the entire way through. There is a lot going on and these characters go through quite a bit over the course of the novel and series as a whole. I enjoyed that fact. I liked how much we got to experience throughout their journey. 

We are getting another glimpse of these characters and I liked that there wasn't any character who seemed stagnate.

I think the flow of this novel was well done and I found myself flipping pages quite quickly to keep the story going.

About the Author

RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.

In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.

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Non Fiction Feature: A Man Devoured by His Body, Food & Work #nonfiction #selfhelp #newrelease #releaseday #excerpt #giveaway @RABTBookTours

Non-Fiction / Self-Help / Eating Disorders & Body Image

Date Published: January 15, 2020

Publisher: CS Publishing Ltd.

For 40-plus years the author battled with attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that are commonly labeled as symptoms of three psychological disorders: muscle dysmorphia, orthorexia, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). The consequences were grave. This book explains Stuart’s struggles and self-inquiry, and then describes the five elements of his psychological healing. Each element helped him, but their synergism profoundly improved his mental health, his relationships, his physical health, and his overall life. 

 This book isn't targeted only at male bodybuilders and other exercise enthusiasts. The great difficulties Stuart dealt with are experienced by millions of men and women who struggle with their body-image and/or eating, and/or who are tormented by perfectionism or workaholism. His success story may inspire any of those people to start their own self-inquiries that lead to their own success stories.

Excerpt

This is Stuart, author of A MAN DEVOURED BY HIS BODY, FOOD & WORK. I have a story to tell only because I survived my mental torment, recognized I had a serious problem, sought help, and turned my life around. 

 Men are less likely to admit to mental health problems than women. And men are also less likely to take action to help themselves. Women outnumber men among therapy and counseling clients. 

 With the right therapy, those with mental health problems can cope and lead rewarding lives. I experienced the therapy myself with great success. But it had nothing to do with psychiatric drugs and institutions. (I’ve never taken psychiatric drugs, and nor was I ever prescribed any.) There were five elements of my overall therapy and healing. The first was talk therapy with a properly trained and licensed therapist. This book includes my session notes—a real-life case study. What I learned from some influential books led to three other elements of my overall therapy and healing. And the self-therapy from writing this book—writing therapy, or expressive therapy, or writing cure—was another element that contributed to my overall progress. 

 I was (and still am) a highly involved participant in my overall therapy. My self-inquiry produced self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-understanding and healing, which enabled me to take true control of myself. 

 This book details the five elements of my psychological self-care. Each helped me, but their synergism profoundly changed me for the better. 

 My journey may especially resonate with readers who have problems related to body-image issues, food, or “perfectionism” and/or “workaholism.” Of course, each reader has travelled a unique path with a particular background, which I can never know. But perhaps through reading my story, readers may be inspired to start their own self-inquiries that bring about their own realizations, self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-understanding, and healing. The particular process that worked for me may not work for others, but my story may help others find the processes that work for them. 

 I’m writing primarily to men, including young men in their teens. But many women also have mental health problems and may benefit from reading my story.

About the Author

Stuart has had around 1,000 articles published in print magazines. He wrote a monthly column for the UK’s leading bodybuilding magazine for 22 consecutive years. He also authored several acclaimed books including BEYOND BRAWN and BUILD MUSCLE LOSE FAT LOOK GREAT, and published his own magazine for 15 years. But his success as a writer was born out of his efforts to survive the profound struggles he had because of his psychological challenges, which resulted in suffocating distress.

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Children's Adventure Feature: Luz and the Alchemist's Folly by @columbkillnoon1 #excerpt #giveaway #childrens #adventure #excerpt #newrelease @RABTBookTours

Children’s Adventure

Date Published: 1/3/2020

 Luz, a Peruvian girl, is enjoying her life in Lima with her father. But what she does not know is that something is about to go very, very wrong, because she lives in a future that has been strangely altered by the magic of an overzealous alchemist from the past. Soon her world will collide with other times and places, putting Luz in terrible danger and linking her fate to a motley assortment of characters.

Will they find their way through unimaginable danger, together? Or will the challenges of this strange new world prevail and take them out, one by one?

Excerpt

Even as she cowered, she felt the apartment building give a great shudder as the water, now carrying the detritus of all that it had already broken, struck it broadside. There was a screeching sound, as though the building was tearing in two. Then her apartment simply disintegrated around her and she was swept up in the great current, adding her screams to the cacophony of everything else.

About the Author

Columbkill Noonan is the author of the best-selling Barnabas Tew series of mythological mysteries, as well as a number of fantastical short stories. When she’s not writing, she’s busy teaching aerial yoga or having adventures with her elderly rescue horse, Mittens.

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Business and Marketing Feature: Why Your Marketing Is Killing Your Business by @minalsampatllc #promo #releaseday #giveaway #nonfiction @RABTBookTours

Business / Marketing

Date Published: January 3, 2020

Do you funnel time, resources, and a significant portion of your budget into every marketing platform you can think of, only to see few results? If so, you’re not alone. This common problem is not only frustrating but the complete opposite of business growth. Marketing that doesn’t convert eats away at revenue, leaving your business stagnant. Let it go on for too long, and you’ll quickly find that marketing has killed your business.

Fortunately, there is a way to turn this problem around and get production back on a growth track. Customers who want what your business offers are out there. To find them, you need the right tools and an understanding of how to leverage them. In Why Your Marketing is Killing Your Business and What to Do About It, expert marketing strategist Minal Sampat shares exactly that, illustrating with real-life examples from over ten years of experience working with businesses in multiple industries.

In this easy-to-read, conversational guide, Minal untangles some of the mysteries of the market, including social media platforms, and shares how a few of her clients have achieved real results such as:

• reducing their marketing budget by $20,000
• nearly doubling their customer base
• gaining thousands of online followers and reviews
• increasing production by 20% even while experiencing a drop in new customers
• making social media presence the top source of business referrals
• Why Your Marketing is Killing Your Business and What to Do About It also includes strategies based on nationwide workshops Minal leads with businesses of all sizes and locations. Just like workshop attendees, business owners can complete these activities and walk away with detailed, custom marketing plans ready for execution.

Your business is more than just your livelihood: it is your passion, your inspiration, and your contribution to the community around you. Your customers recognize this, but only if you are visible and authentic. If you’re ready to start connecting with your ideal customers to launch your business growth pattern, Why Your Marketing is Killing Your Business and What to Do About It has everything you need to begin the journey.

About the Author

Minal Sampat is a speaker, marketing strategist, and health care professional who launched her first marketing company by breaking a Guinness World Record. She has over a decade of experience helping business owners find success through connection and engagement strategies. A proud member of the National Speaker Association and a world traveler, she lives in Washington State with her husband and an extensive shoe collection. Why Your Marketing is Killing Your Business is her first book. To learn more or get in touch, visit minalsampat.com.

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Young Adult Historical Feature: A Drummer in Red by Gordon Saunders #youngadult #historical #fiction #releaseday #rabtbooktours @INtensePub @mediaropa @RABTBookTours

YA Historical Fiction

Published Date: 1-8-20

Publisher: INtense Publications LLC

Lewis Elliot and his mother, Stella, are forced to flee their Baltimore home for the modest farm of their cousins in Gloucester County, Virginia. They arrive just as the feared Lord Cornwallis and the hated Colonel Banastre Carleton take up residence in Gloucester Point and across the York River in Yorktown. The war heats up as Cornwallis fortifies Yorktown and Carleton begins foraging raids in Gloucester County.

Then, while Lewis and his cousins, Lloyd and Tetty, are off to Gloucester Courthouse to try to sell enough tobacco to provide for the family, Carleton raids the farm and Stella receives a life-threatening injury.

Through battle, betrayal, unexpected alliances, and, apparently, the Hand ofGod, Lewis and his cousins and friends take a role in the events leading to Cornwallis’s surrender on October 19, 1781, after the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

About the Author

Growing up in Boston, and living in four countries in Europe over 25 years, gave Dr. Saunders a desire to know and share the history that’s shaped the world we live in today.

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