About The Author: Martin L. Shoemaker is a programmer who writes on the side… or maybe it’s the other way around. He told stories to imaginary friends and learned to type on his brother’s manual typewriter even though he couldn’t reach the keys. (He types with the keyboard in his lap still today.) He couldn’t imagine any career but writing fiction… until his algebra teacher said, “This is a program. You should write one of these.”
Fast forward 30 years of programming, writing, and teaching. He was named an MVP by Microsoft for his work with the developer community. He wrote fiction, but he gave up on submitting until his brother-in-law read a chapter and said, “That’s not a chapter. That’s a story. Send it in.” It won second place in the Baen Memorial Writing Contest and earned him lunch with Buzz Aldrin. Programming never did that! Martin hasn’t stopped writing (or programming) since. Today he writes field diagnostic software for big truck transmissions, and continues writing fiction as well. His work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Galaxy’s Edge, Digital Science Fiction, Forever Magazine, Writers of the Future, and numerous anthologies including Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF 4, Man-Kzin Wars XV, The Jim Baen Memorial Award: The First Decade, Little Green Men—Attack!, More Human Than Human: Stories of Androids, Robots, and Manufactured Humanity, Avatar Dreams, and Weird World War III. His Nebula-nominated Clarkesworld story, “Today I Am Paul” explores the logical consequences of a medical care android with empathy, able to understand how its actions affect its patient’s emotional state. It appeared in four different year’s best anthologies and eight international editions. He expanded that story into his debut novel, Today I Am Carey (published by Baen Books in March 2019), in which the android learns more about humanity through life with its human family. His novel The Last Dance was published by 47North in November 2019, and was the number one science fiction eBook on Amazon during October’s prerelease. The sequel, The Last Campaign was published in October 2020. Title: Ulla: Martian Song, Book 1 Genre: Science Fiction Book Synopsis: H.G. Wells was wrong. But then, so was everyone else... Once Eugene Hardy was a trailblazer, with a promising future studying law. But the world outside his small town was cold and unforgiving. By 1907 he has returned home, teaching music at local schools and at his church. His life is quiet now, settled. Then he encounters the circus train; and he meets the Martian... The tragedy of London sweeps the world, threatening Martian refugees who never hurt anyone, but who cannot speak for themselves. Suddenly Eugene must stand for individual justice over collective guilt. Only this pacifist musician can protect the last free Martians. Follow Martin’s Website: https://shoemaker.space/ Find The Book: https://amzn.to/3ABu8g1 YouTube: https://youtu.be/BuWEdXVdnag Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/mvxz55k7
0 Comments
About The Author: Rich Nelson is a retired college instructor and social worker. He was formerly a columnist for the West Michigan newspaper The Norton/Lakeshore Examiner. He has contributed essays to the publications of the American Humanist Association, the International Buster Keaton Society, and the Gay and Lesbian Review.
Rich lives in Muskegon, Michigan, along the shores of Lake Michigan. He dabbles in photography, kayaks Michigan rivers, hikes the plentiful woods and dunes of his native state, and loves summer afternoons at the beach. Formerly a runner, he completed the Chicago and New York City Marathons. His favorite travel destinations have included New York, Paris, Venice, and Maui. Title: The Tender Man – My Father’s Story Genre: Biography Book Synopsis: "My father nearly died of malaria in the jungles of World War II New Guinea." This is the opening sentence of This Tender Man - My Father's Story, the journey of an ordinary man thrown into war and forever affected by its cruel aftermath. It is a story of a Midwestern boy lovingly raised by Swedish immigrants, an adolescent coming of age during the early years of the Great Depression, a young adult whose innocence is shattered by war in the tropics of the South Pacific, a man selflessly committed to family and community in his post-war years, though haunted by the demons of war that followed him home, and a hellish descent into Alzheimer's in his final years. He carried throughout his life the characteristics of the "Greatest Generation" - service, hard work, and humility. Follow Rich: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BZN7FRS1/about Find The Book: https://amzn.to/3YYBvIw YouTube: https://youtu.be/izVo9nvk3J0 Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3phe2yrd
About The Author: Australian Jennifer Raines writes sensuous contemporary romances set mainly, but not exclusively, in Australia – think Malta, Finland, and New Zealand. A dreamer and an optimist, her stories are a delicious cocktail of passion, mutual respect and loyalty because she still believes in happily-ever-afters.
Jennifer is a member of Romance Writers of Australia. Three times a finalist in the Emerald competition, including in 2017 (Lela’s Choice under its working name Common Cause), 2018 (Taylor’s Law) and 2022 (Quinn, by design). She’s a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand, winning the Pacific Hearts competition twice, including in 2019 with Grace Under Fire, the sequel to Taylor’s Law. She’s also a member of Romance Writers of America and has been a finalist in chapter competitions in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (Taylor’s Law). Jennifer values competitions for the constructive, honest, not always comfortable feedback they provide. In 2023 Taylor’s Law placed second in the Romance Writers of New Zealand Koru Awards for Best First Book. Jennifer lives in inner-city Sydney, Australia, with the requisite number of partners (1) and animals (2). Her desk overlooks a park which nourishes her soul when she raises her head from her keyboard. She gets some of her best ideas during long yin yoga poses or walking – anywhere. While Jennifer adores historical romance, she chose to write contemporary because she thought (wrongly) it needed less research while she was holding down a full-time job. Title: Masquerade – Choosing Family Book 1 Genre: Contemporary Romance Book Synopsis: Money won’t bring LIAM QUINN’S father back, but it’ll save his mother’s home. A high-paying law partnership is in his sights. To win it, he needs to successfully land a project. Problem is the project requires absolute confidentiality, and he’s just discovered his estranged identical twin is appearing life size on a billboard across the city. The second catch is a return to environmental law. His earlier career imploded after his lover was revealed as a mining company spy. Researcher and soon-to-be-published romance author KATE TURNER needs a disguise. Maybe more than one. Her famous playwright father despises ‘trashy’ novels. Her ex-boyfriend mocked her ‘dirty little secret’, then stalked her when she left him. Her identical twin coaxes her into appearing on a billboard to prove she can be notorious and anonymous at the same time. No one connects the billboard model to the dowdy researcher Kate has become, and no one knows about her author pseudonym and second disguise as Ms. Sexy Romance. Kate and Liam’s lives collide when she’s hired as Liam’s research assistant. Liam’s boss laughs off the billboard. Having doubles is the perfect cover for confidential field work. A masquerade, a road trip, a steamy attraction, the sudden appearance of Liam’s old lover, and Ms. Sexy Romance’s unexpected arrival in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Liam and Kate discover the steps they took to protect their hearts might break them. Follow Jennifer’s Website: https://www.jenniferrainesauthor.com Find The Book: https://amzn.to/4dCIDiq YouTube: https://youtu.be/-4DjcxR_H6I Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/24sys9h5 About The Author: Heather Ashle has been reading fantasy novels for as long as she can remember and writing them about half as long. She has two degrees in English from Oakland University and currently lives in southeast Michigan. When she isn’t writing, she continues to immerse herself in the world of fantasy through reading, theater, music, movies, and events like Renaissance Festivals and Witches’ Bazaars. She also likes to work her magic in the kitchen, embarking on new recipes with the fresh herbs from her potted garden. Her favorite charity is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and she has participated in medical studies for the CF community almost continuously for the past eight years.
Title: An Heir of Realms: Book 1 of the Realm Riders Series Genre: Epic Fantasy Book Synopsis: Realm-devouring parasites threaten all existence. The Exchange is desperate to destroy them. But could their radical plans endanger the realms, too? Soul-sucking parasites are overwhelming the realms. Rhoswen of Stanburh is of age to train as a Realm Rider—a defender of the realms. Riders and their dragons work together to burn away infiltrating Narxon as they swarm in through tears in a realm’s fabric. But it’s not an easy battle: the mere touch of the smoky, dragon-like adversaries can reduce the lively winged beasts—and their Riders—to ash. Becoming a Realm Rider is Rhoswen’s dream, but she carries far more responsibility than flying a dragon. Her destiny will pit her against her uncle, Badrick, the king of her realm, who has scorned Rhoswen since before her birth. Misconceptions about the Narxon are proving as destructive as the parasites themselves. In the Exchange, the waystation between all realms, new recruit Emmelyn is fighting her own battle to save the realms. Her foe is not only the Narxon but also the insidious G’Ambit, a gambling ring with members more intent on lining their pockets than protecting the realms… or even their own lives. Emmelyn must convince the higher-ups in the Exchange that the threat is real, starting with her own boss, an avid gambler who despises her tactics. Both novice heroines must win their respective battles before war can be waged on the Narxon. But are Rhoswen and Emmelyn too far behind to stand a chance? In An Heir of Realms, book one of the Realm Riders Series, Heather Ashle’s tangled web of worlds and the memorable characters who inhabit them will leave you racing to solve the mysteries surrounding imperfect heroes and tormented villains. But the real question is: which is which? Find The Book: https://amzn.to/4dEv4OZ Find Heather’s Website: https://heatherashle.com/ Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3f7bccru YouTube: https://youtu.be/Lge85XSV8cQ |
WelcomeYou'll find some interesting stuff here... some Op Eds, some Information, Book Reviews, and More. Poke around the categories and see what ruffles your feathers... in a good way! Archives
October 2024
Categories
All
|