Saturday Sample and Weekend Writing Warriors

 

 Welcome to my blog. Today I'd like to share an excerpt from my all time favorite book Blue 52. On Sunday when you finish here you can go to www.wewriwa.blogspot.com for more excerpts from a talented group of authors. 

Blurb:

"First Lady Kills President Lovinggood" 

December 5, 2018 

Thirty years later, Hank Lovinggood embarks on a quest to prove his mother's innocence and punish the killers who took his family from him. Together Hank and lovely physicist Dr. Kathryn Sinclair confront an implacable, twisted, and merciless enemy who'll do whatever it takes to hide the truth forever.

Last Week's Excerpt: 

When they came home from the hospital, his father had carried her upstairs and stayed with her the entire evening.

Had some of his father’s aides fussed at him for missing appointments? He thought he remembered his father bellowing at them and telling them to leave him alone.

What in the name of God happened on that mountain where they died?

The senator cleared his throat and claimed Hank’s attention. “I always regretted not keeping his watch for you.”

Hank stared at the watch on his father’s arm. “I guess he doesn’t have any need for it now,” he quavered. He bit his lip hard, but his eyes watered anyway. He swiped them with his hand before his grandfather could see.

Senator Lovinggood didn’t act a bit ashamed of his tears. “I’ll tell Sinclair to get it for you.”

Today's Excerpt: Hank and the Senator arrive at the Sinclair Mortuary to view the remains of Hank's mother and father. 

Today's Snippet

Hank nodded. He had to. At the moment he couldn’t have spoken to save his life.

The senator cleared his throat. “Uh, I, uh...wondered if you’d like Elizabeth’s diamond too. One of these days you might want to give it to your wife.”

After thirty years, vague, nebulous doubts and fears finally crystallized, and Hank fell firmly in line with his grandfather’s belief; his mother had not shot his father. Several days ago he had accepted the popular view of her guilt, but he had been wrong. She couldn’t have done it. Every distant memory he had gave the lie to the established version of their deaths. “Yes, I want her ring.”

Neither of them knew exactly how long they stood there. It might have been a few minutes, but it might have been a few hours. Time didn’t seem relevant anymore. At this moment, the past really did touch the present. For all Hank knew, the future might have just changed as well.

Shining Brightly

                                                         SHINING BRIGHTLY

by Howard Brown

 

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GENRE:  Memoir

 

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BLURB:

 

In Shining Brightly, Silicon Valley pioneer, cancer survivor and interfaith peacemaker Howard Brown shares keys to resilience for successful entrepreneurs, patient advocates and community leaders. He shows us how to reach out through our families, our communities and around the world to form truly supportive connections and friendships. From Howard’s career as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, to his conquering metastatic stage IV cancer twice, to his compassionate outreach as a peacemaker, to his love of sports—this ultimately is not one man’s story. Shining Brightly is a story shared by countless men and women—and may wind up changing your life as well. With each true story he tells in the pages, Howard invites readers to picture how they might join him in shining more light in our world.

 

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EXCERPT

 

Sprinkled through all the adventures in this book—some of them ordinary, heartwarming family stories and some of them so remarkable you will be tempted to call them miraculous—there are truths like this one Bubby Bertha was trying to explain that morning on the sidewalk in Worcester, Massachusetts. There are more to come, but here are four of these truths as we set out on our journey together in these pages: 

 

• Each of us has our own special light. 

 

• We shine more brightly when we share our light with others. 

 

• True resiliency—the kind that is strong enough to overcome trauma at seemingly impossible odds—      rests on letting in the light of others. 

 

• As our light circles the world, we illuminate and celebrate our diversity. 

 

I’m sharing these truths right away so that perhaps you’ll turn down the corner of this page and flip back to it from time to time. This is your book as much as it is mine, after all, and I wrote it with the intention that you will mark it up and return to its pages occasionally for inspiration. Plus, as you read through these chapters, you’ll find lots of ideas for fun and inspiring things you can do to shine your light in the world.

 

A Word With the Author

1.Tell us about the publication of your first book.  

 

Have you ever stopped to think about your life? I mean, have you ever set aside time to reflect on the meaning and purpose of your life?

I have.

I decided to take stock after years as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, a mentor to college students, an interfaith peace advocate—and a cancer whisperer to other patients after having survived two long-shot bouts with cancer myself. After fully expecting to die more than once in my life, I wondered: Why am I still standing? Who helped me? And then: What can I share to help inspire people to build their own resilience?

As you will learn in the true stories in this book, one key to resilience is not trying to tackle life on your own. We are always at our best when we draw other people around us and, right there, you’ve got a central theme of this book.

That leads to the questions: How do we draw people around us? How do we make and keep friends? How do we build a community? How can each of us contribute to our families, our friends and to the larger world?

Answering those questions will give you hope and will lead you to greater strength, love and joy in your life. Taking those questions to heart will help your light shine brighter in this often very dark world.

I set out on my journey in an unusual way that you will discover in these pages—and may want to try yourself. Over a two-year period, I sought out people who had played a significant role in my life—from camp counselors and basketball coaches I knew as a kid to family and friends to business and community leaders to some of the world’s top faith and health professionals. Because my quest unfolded during the COVID pandemic, I met these more than 100 men and women via Zoom.

And here’s the biggest surprise: Everyone loved the experience. While they were doing me a favor—and I am thankful for everyone who shared stories with me—the truth is: Most of them enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

That’s why I am confident you will enjoy this adventure, too, and you may decide by the end of the book to set out on such a quest yourself. No matter how you choose to reflect on your life’s purpose, I hope this book fans your inner flame so you can shine ever more brightly.

 

 

2.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in? Dr. Robert J. Wicks, because he is an internationally renowned expert on resiliency. Dr. Wicks graciously wrote the Foreword to my book Shining Brightly.

 

3.What's the best part of being an author? The worst? The best part of being an author is creating a legacy with lessons for building a resilient life that I can share with so many friends and loved ones. The worst part of being an author? I don’t know. I haven’t hit a worst part yet.

4.What are you working on now?

Already, I’m crisscrossing the United States, in person, to speak to groups about the messages of hope and resiliency in my book. I plan to continue as a speaker, consultant, workshop leader and will continue to write both online and in a future book.

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Howard Brown is an author, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, interfaith peacemaker, two-time stage IV cancer survivor and healthcare advocate. For more than three decades, Howard’s business innovations, leadership principles, mentoring and his resilience in beating cancer against long odds have made him a sought-after speaker and consultant for businesses, nonprofits, congregations, and community groups. In his business career, Howard was a pioneer in helping to launch a series of technology startups before he co-founded two social networks that were the first to connect religious communities around the world. He served his alma matter—Babson College, ranked by US News as the nation’s top college for entrepreneurship—as a trustee and president of Babson’s worldwide alumni network. His hard-earned wisdom about resilience after beating cancer twice has led him to become a nationally known patient advocate and “cancer whisperer” to many families. Visit Howard at ShiningBrightly.com to learn more about his ongoing work and contact him. Through that website, you also will find resources to help you shine brightly in your own corner of the world. Howard, his wife Lisa and daughter Emily currently reside in Michigan.

 

http://www.shiningbrightly.com 

 

Link to buy: 

https://www.amazon.com/Shining-Brightly-resilience-entrepreneur-interfaith/dp/1641801476/ref=sr_1_1

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Story That Made Us Stronger

                                    The Story That Made Us Stronger

by Iris March

 

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GENRE:   Women's Fiction/ Cancer journey

 

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BLURB:

 

An abandoned building. A motivated runner. A Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer survivor.

Connor Jackson has been training for a half marathon for the past six weeks. Katie Brandt has been training to beat cancer for the past 50. When Connor discovers an intriguing secret in a tiny, abandoned building on his running route, Katie finds that the mystery is what she needs to help her get through her three-week stem cell replacement procedure. Together, Conner and Katie must find the strength to achieve their personal goals and, in the meantime, expose the many past lives that the tiny building led.

 

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EXCERPT

 

The Runner

Connor Jackson

 

I’d run past it probably a thousand times. 

 

An especially windy thunderstorm had covered my regular paved running trail with slippery leaves, twigs, and a few larger limbs on a late August afternoon. As I was running the trail, avoiding the more slippery sections, a door that I’d never noticed before was ever-so-slightly crooked, leaving it ajar. Mind you, I was running when I caught this dark shadow next to the door in the corner of my eye, and I almost tripped. Instead of hitting the ground, I sidestepped and took that moment to stop, pretend to tie my shoe and adjust my socks, and push my sweaty brown hair out of my eyes. I refused to be one of those guys with a man bun, but maybe I just needed to get a new haircut.

 

As I was messing with my shoes, I looked up at the building. It was small, probably only ten feet long by ten feet wide, a red-brick structure with a huge pole an inch away from it that was taller and thicker than any nearby telephone poles. At the tip of the pole was a piece of metal, strapped on and reaching even farther into the sky. There was a rusted chain-link fence around the building, with a few small trees and weeds within it. You could tell at one point that green plastic had been wrapped around the links, but it was long gone. The building was about fifty feet away from the trail, with plenty of trees between it and me, including a huge tulip poplar that I often noticed while running, and a bunch of maples. Breaking up the brick on the west side of the building, facing up the trail, was a wooden door with no window, adorned only by a worn doorknob. And now the hinges seemed to have broken a bit, the wood warped and pulling away from the frame about half an inch.

 

I was kneeling and staring for too long. A woman wearing blue sunglasses and walking a dog that looked like Lassie gave me a bit of a sideways look. I adjusted my shorts and stood up to continue running, with a lot more on my mind. 

A Word With the Author

1.Did you always want to be an author?

I have always been a reader and I always been a bit in awe of authors. I never understood where they came up with ideas and how they could write such a long story, so so many words. When I was struggling with the worry I had surrounding my sister’s cancer treatments and the burden on her family, I needed something more than journaling. I distinctly remember standing up at my desk, looking out the window, and craning my neck to see the little brick building on my running route that I always wondered about. In that moment, I was inspired. I sat down and wrote the first scene of Connor running past the building and knew that he was my sister’s fictional nurse and they would figure out the mystery together even if I didn’t know the answer myself yet. 

2.Tell us about the publication of your first book.

This is actually my second book. My first is a cozy mystery, The Broken Bridge – A Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery - set at a garden center with a hiking trail running behind it. There’s another trail, another mystery, and another cat. That book was a lot easier for me to figure out the plot and I knew the ending before I even started writing it.

3.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?

I used to claim that F. Scott Fitzgerald was my favorite author. It was the English major in me that needed to be a bit literary. But then I reread Gatsby as an adult and didn’t love it as much as the first four times I read it (ha!). I love cozy mysteries and am a big fan of Sara Rosett and Lucinda Harrison. 

 

4.What's the best part of being an author? The worst?

The very best part of being an author is someone you don’t know telling you they love your book. Yes, I want my mom and my sisters and aunts and my friends to like it but their praise has a lot to do with the accomplishment of writing the book as a whole. When someone I don’t even know takes the time to seek me out and tell me they love the story, that means a lot. That’s the best. The worst part is being stuck at a scene that you don’t think is going in the right direction. 

 

5.What are you working on now?

I’m working on a short story for an anthology – a collection of cozy mystery short stories that all have a bookish theme. It’s the second in the Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery series and is set at a plant swap event at the library.  

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Iris March grew up the oldest of three sisters whose names all began with the same letter. Her sisters are still her best friends. March works in the sustainability field and also writes cozy mysteries in the Succulent Sleuth Series. She lives in Ohio with her husband, young son,

and three cats.

 

Author website https://irismarchbooks.com/

 

Insta https://www.instagram.com/searchingformysteries/

 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076150266393

 

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22404252.Iris_March

 

Amazon (will be in KU): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9PQWVN5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Physical book will also be on Barnes and Noble 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

Iris March will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope, Strength and Courage

 Hope, Strength and Courage: With Stories in Medicine Training and the Atypical Sibling Rivalry

by Kathryn Lee

 

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GENRE: Autobiography - Medical and Family

 

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BLURB:

 

This book has been a self-reflective journey of a medical doctor as an ordinary person going through ordinary life's ups and downs. In epistolary form, its articles were written during the special time of her first year of training to become a general practitioner/family physician, including making the tough decision to give up hospital specialist training, "withdrawing" from fast-paced hospital work, transitioning to working from a metropolitan hospital to a rural community clinic, witnessing and getting used to a younger sibling's growing up, and being independent from a close and loving family. Some also feature a promotion of the author's new academic career at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic and how it was perceived. The book shows a journey of love, strength, perseverance, purpose and encouragement. Lots of anecdotes, lots of stories, lots of quotes. With love and respect.

 

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EXCERPT

 

Many, many other motivational speakers, and wonderful  business and scientific giants: Evan Charmichael, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jack Ma, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Lisa Nichols, Oprah Winfrey, Rick Warren, John Maxwell, Jim Carveziol (the actor who played Jesus), Denzel Washington, Simon Sinek, Barbara Cocoran, Pastor Liew Qunmao, Tom Bilieu, Jay Shetty, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, people from TED talks, the hard-working Chinese public figures that we listen to, as well as many, many more… Dude, I think there is value in knowing the above names and listening to the people attached to these names. They share characteristics that really shine in this world where things can go poorly and negativity prevails. In a world that is often corrupt, these are positive, energetic, super intelligent, yet incredibly down-to-earth people. These people are great not only because they are extraordinary in what they do, but because their attitudes. and approaches to life set them apart from those who live their lives in a mediocre way. Have a listen to the talks presented by these people. I shared some with you, and there are many more online. Stay grounded and be faithful to God.I really appreciate God always finding ways to cheer me on, to encourage and motivate me when I am down, frustrated, and worried. Through His word and the people He has impacted, I am indirectly impacted myself. This has gradually changed the way I look at things and people.

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Kay Li is a medical doctor. A Christian. A daughter. A sister. A student in life university. An ordinary person in an extraordinary world.

 

 

CONNECT WITH KATHRYN LEE

 

WEBSITE: 

https://authorkathrynlee.com/

 

Goodreads: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22644710.Kathryn_Lee

 

PURCHASE LINKS:   

 

Amazon.com.au 

https://amazon.com.au/dp/0228833280

 

Amazon.com 

https://amazon.com/dp/0228833280

 

Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hope-strength-and-courage-kathryn-lee/1139427777

 

Book Depository https://www.bookdepository.com/Hope-Strength-and-Courage-Kathryn-Lee/9780228833284

 

Kindle

 https://amazon.com/dp/B094DS6C8K

 

Indigo https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/hope-strength-and-courage-with/9780228833307-item.html

 

Kobo

 https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/hope-strength-and-courage

 

Smashwords 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1083228

 

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/hope-strength-courage-stories-in-medicine-training/id1566675671

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

Kathryn Lee will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beyond the Book: Rose in Bloom

I’m doing a book review today on an older book, but if you give it a chance I think you’d love it. Bear in mind that it’s really a young adult book. First a blurb and then my review.

Blurb: In this sequel to Eight Cousins, Rose Campbell returns to the “Aunt Hill” after two years of traveling around the world. Suddenly, she is surrounded by male admirers, all expecting her to marry them. But before she marries anyone, Rose is determined to establish herself as an independent young woman. Besides, she suspects that some of her friends like her more her money than for herself. How can Rose tell who her real friends are? Is there anyone she can count on?

My Review:

I bet you’d like to know why I just read a young adult book written in the nineteenth century. Isn’t the language archaic? Isn’t the subject matter irrelevant in the modern world? Yes to the first question, no to the second.

It’s true that in the nineteenth century their language was a bit more formal than our own. It’s also true that they put words together in a slightly different way than we do. They didn’t know much about brevity either. I think they got paid by the number of words they wrote which might explain their wordiness.

However, and it’s a big however, the story line is excellent. Rose in Bloom is the sequel to Eight Cousins. Rose, whose parents died, is sent to live with her Uncle Alec where she meets and becomes a part of her family that she hadn’t known. The eight cousins are seven boys and Rose. Rose in Bloom is the story of what happens when the cousins grow up. 

I hate giving summaries of books, so I’ll just say that Rose in Bloom is a romance, a coming of age story, and is filled with attitudes and values that really matter. This is what I think Alcott wanted us to learn from the story.

First, be true to yourself. Don’t let people pressure you to do something you don’t want to do.

Second, think of other people and do things for them, not just yourself.

Third, be kind. 

Fourth, avoid bad things that tempt you to do wrong.

I wish that all people were taught these things as they were growing up. It would make such a difference in our world. So, encourage your young adult to read Rose in Bloom. I think if they can get past the formal language, they’d love the story. They’d also love Eight Cousins.

Would you read an old YA book?

In the Mood

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. M W Arnold will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

During a hectic couple of weeks in February 1944, the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club must face devastating personal loss amongst their number. A member of an illegal faction blackmails Betty, whilst a mystery at Mary's ancestral home threatens to cause more trouble than anyone thought possible. In the midst of what should be the happiest of times, the portents seem to be catching up and little is what it seems to be. Can the girls find the strength to battle forces both internal and external, yet still maintain their dignity and friendship?

Read an Excerpt

Jane slumped back into her seat, tore the headset off, and threw it onto the desk next to the radio she’d been about to attack. “I suppose you’re right. It only makes sense if she can’t receive what we’re sending. If I didn’t know her voice so well, I’d think someone was playing a trick on me.”

“Plus,” Betty added, “it’s on our frequency.”

Jane nodded in agreement. “Still, remind me to tear her off a stripe when she gets back…calling Hamble. This is Aston.” She ended with a nervous chuckle.

Betty joined in, eventually saying, “Still, you’ll have to give her points for originality, if nothing else.”

“I’ll give her something, all right,” Jane replied. “I’ll give her…”

“Mayday! Mayday! This is First Officer Aston. Am under attack by two Me109s!”

Jane and Betty stared at each other with open mouths, as the shocking statement blared out of the radio’s tiny speaker in Thelma’s unmistakable voice. When she’d simply been trying to get through earlier it had been in her normal, albeit frustrated, tone. Now unmistakable panic coursed through it.

The radio came to life again, only the first thing they heard this time was the chilling staccato chatter of gunfire! “I repeat, this is First Officer Aston of the ATA! I’m under attack. Rudder control is gone! My port engine’s on fire! Am going down, roughly northeast of Oxford…”

White as a ghost, Jane automatically made a grab for the microphone, “Thelma! This is Jane Howell. Do you receive? Over.”

After a few seconds, a voice came out of the speaker, barely audible, yet clearly that of their desperate friend, “Jane? Is that…”

And then, deathly silence…

About the Author:

M W Arnold lives near Northampton, UK and is known to his family and friends as, Mick. He was in the Royal Air Force for 16 years, visiting many different countries and very much enjoying himself. If he ever meets the Queen, he will have to thank her. He began writing as these characters needed their own voices. For a few years now, he's been a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, a wonderful group of writers who've welcomed this bloke into their fold with open arms.

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Saturday Sample and Weekend Writing Warriors

 Welcome to my blog. Today I'd like to share an excerpt from my all time favorite book Blue 52. On Sunday when you finish here you can go to www.wewriwa.blogspot.com for more excerpts from a talented group of authors. 

Blurb:

"First Lady Kills President Lovinggood" 

December 5, 2018 

Thirty years later, Hank Lovinggood embarks on a quest to prove his mother's innocence and punish the killers who took his family from him. Together Hank and lovely physicist Dr. Kathryn Sinclair confront an implacable, twisted, and merciless enemy who'll do whatever it takes to hide the truth forever.

Last Week's Excerpt: 

When he thought of them, he usually got a warm, safe feeling. He could distinctly remember both of them sitting on the bed with him reading him a story before he went to sleep.

A faint smile curved his lips when he thought of the time he and his mother had sneaked up on his father while he was asleep on the beach. They had poured ocean water from a little sand bucket onto his stomach. He had come awake with a roar and jumped up and chased them down the beach. When he caught them, he had threatened to throw both of them into the ocean. Instead, they had walked down the beach hand in hand and found a hot dog stand where his father bought everyone a hot dog.

Other memories clamored for attention, like the time his mother fell and broke her ankle. He could still picture the fear on his father’s face. His mother had bitten her lip and hidden her face against his father’s shoulder. His dad had hugged her and looked as if he was trying to take away her pain .

Today's Excerpt: Hank and the Senator arrive at the Sinclair Mortuary to view the remains of Hank's mother and father. 

Today's Snippet