I believe God wants you to know that you cannot make a mistake, you can only make a decision that will be your next best step.
There is no reason to hesitate when you know that you have nothing to lose. And losing is not an act of God, it is a thought in the mind of humans.
Get rid of the thought and you get rid of doubt. Ride your Wisdom to Victory. www.CWGPortal.com
SO WHAT’S IN A TITLE? SALES, FOR ONE THING…
By Buzz Bernard
Lately, I’ve been asked a lot if the ongoing Ebola crisis–tentacles of which have slithered into our homeland–have done much for the sales of Plague. In short, no.
I suspect the reason for that is that people don’t know the novel is about Ebola. It’s certainly not obvious from its title. If you don’t know, Plague is about bioterrorism, specifically weaponized Ebola.
My other books, Eyewall, Supercell and Blizzard, leave little doubt about the theme of the book. Well, little doubt if you’re at all attuned to the weather. One of my friends, without knowing any other details, thought Supercell might be a medical drama.
Anyhow, in an effort to keep the title of my books to one word (easy to remember), my publisher and I struggled with the title of Plague. The working title of the novel was The Koltsovo Legacy. That was too long, didn’t convey what the book was about, and might have led people to think the novel was set in Russia. (The Koltsovo Institute of Molecular Biology in Russia was once a factory of death, a center for bioweapons research.)
We finally settled on Plague, and I don’t think anyone was happy with that, but it was the best we could come up with. That was over two years ago, long before Ebola became a household word in America. In retrospect, from a purely commercial standpoint, i. e., sales, we should have just named the thing Ebola and let it be done. Of course, not many people knew what Ebola was then, and we certainly had no idea it would become headline news in the U. S.
So what about Ebola as a bioweapon? It’s certainly possible, but not in the way I envisioned it: a bioengineered virus. It’s much simpler than that. There’s talk now of “Ebola bombers” from ISIS or other of our Middle Eastern friends targeting Europe and North America.
I guess if people are willing to strap on a vest filled with C-4 and shrapnel, and fragment themselves and whoever else is nearby, it’s not much of a stretch to envision individuals so warped or brainwashed they load themselves up with a deadly virus and walk among us.
What a world we live in. www.buzzbernard.com www.bellebooks.com www.loiaconolitearyagency.com
I believe God wants you to know that if you see yourself as prosperous, you will be. If you see yourself as continually hard up, that is exactly what you will be.
Robert Collier said that, and he was right. Every spiritual book in contemporary times sends us the same message. Live the reality you wish to experience, beginning now.
Not only see yourself as prosperous, act this idea out. You can do it in small ways. The Universe doesn’t care. It’s the energy behind the gesture that counts, not the size of the gesture. So go ahead. Give some money away today. Buy something special today. Act prosperous today. The Universe will get the message when you do. www.CWGPortal.com
Buzz’s Weather Predictions
Something for everyone, I suppose–suddenly, all of my novels seem to have some sad relevance to current events. SUPERCELL: there’s a threat of a significant severe weather outbreak (including supercells) on Monday from the lower Midwest to the Gulf Coast. EYEWALL: there’s a fairly high probability of a tropical storm or hurricane developing next week and perhaps doing some saber rattling at the East Coast. PLAGUE: the news about Ebola, unfortunately, hasn’t gotten any better. www.buzzbernard.com www.bellebooks.com www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
I believe God wants you to know that you need to read more. No, really. You need to read more. There’s a book right now waiting to be read by you.
Do you think this book has come into your awareness by accident? It has been placed before you by your Consciousness. Go get it. Read it. Make margin notes. Do it now.
Sometimes Life jumps out at you with its message, fairly screaming at you: get this. This is one of those times. I’m telling you, there’s a book you’ve been scheduled to read right now. Don’t ignore the schedule.
It’s Divine Intervention. www.CWGPortal.com
I am reading two pages every morning of What God Said by Neal Donald Walsch. Gives good chee. J If you have not read Conversations with God, Friendship with God or signed-up for this free daily good chee, do it!
A Sentence of Death: Words That Killed a President
By Robert Shows
Hardcover: 364 pages
Publisher: Ecanus Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0957412614
ISBN-13: 978-0957412613
‘A Sentence of Death’: Words that Killed a President is available in ebook and hard back through all online venues and Ecanus Publishing http://ecanuspublishing.businesscatalyst.com/a-sentence-of-death.html
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A little over fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead. Taken from us via a conspiracy in a coordinated effort by the CIA, FBI, the mafia, Russian terrorists and perhaps even approved of by some in the White House itself. He was the youngest man to ever preside as Commander in Chief. Although he had is dark side, his intentions were noble; his words inspirational. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” The world cheered!
As stated in Robert Shows’ ‘A Sentence of Death’: Words That Killed A President (Ecanus Publishing, 2012), the truth shall not be revealed until 2063. “Why?” you ask. It is because everyone who was personally involved, and most of their closest decedents, will be dead by that time; unable to refute, sue or take revenge. Those remotely related may balk or deny, but there will be no doubt at that point.
This novel, as you will read below, is the most believable and plausible story written to date. I encourage you to read it. Then having garnered a new perspective, removed the rose-colored glasses, form a new opinion.
Love Field, Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963
Robert Shows www.robertmshows.com
New Book Released Exploring the Assassination of President John F Kennedy and the Lives of Those Involved in the Conspiracy.
“Pure ‘white-knuckle’ excitement as the plot builds to the climax. Extremely well written…” Joy Potts, Amazon review
How involved is too involved? At what point can a soul turn back? At what cost? Based on the 1978 United States House Resolution #1540, “We believe and the facts suggest that President John F. Kennedy was killed as the direct result of a conspiracy. Although, the persons responsible cannot be identified at this time.” A Sentence of Death: Words that Killed a President is a work of well-researched historical fiction that explores the very real possibility of such a conspiracy which led to the death of President John F. Kennedy and the lives of the men who masterminded the assassination.
Shows paints a plausible, vivid picture of the two men who orchestrated the events which led to the death of 35th President of the United States. Through the lens of time, the author has been able to weave together the pieces of tangled thread that form the web of lies and deception and cover up that brought Kennedy down. Shows follows the lives of those men and explores the ongoing ramifications of “at what cost” these men would go to hide the truth.
The assassination of President John F Kennedy is an event in American history that continues to captivate the U.S. and the world. In 1977, the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy spent over a year investigating and concluded conspiracy. As we approach the coming 50th anniversary of the event, much will be made of the events surrounding Kennedy’s death. Though a work of historical fiction, A Sentence of Death: Words that Killed a President does a credible job of putting all of the pieces together and also carrying the story forward for the 20+ years following that fateful day in Dallas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHlJ7THUEkE
“Plots, true or false, are necessary things, to raise up commonwealths and ruin kings.” John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel (from the introduction of A Sentence of Death: Words that Killed a President)
Robert Shows is a fifth-generation Mississippian and has been writing for more than 20 years. A descendant of Revolutionary War soldier, John Shows, Robert is a graduate of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, and a graduate of The University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He has been published in the Oxford So and So magazine and The Magnolia Quarterly.
Another fantastic review for Robert Shows’ ‘A Sentence of Death’: Words That Killed A President
Another book about the assassination of President Kennedy is apt, for anyone living that awful November day, to produce the yawn factor; not so the version of that event and its aftermath in Robert Shows’ novel A Sentence of Death. I have no idea about Dr. Shows’ ability in the emergency room, where he practiced for many years, or in his medical office where he still holds forth, but I can testify to his ability as a writer.
This doctor can write, and if you are a fan of the character driven suspense novel, then this history-laced book is for you. It is a page turner, and even though I still can see in my haunted vision the events of that day in Dallas, as I was reading the pages leading up to the sound of the gunfire, I still hoped that someone or something would intervene. The story does not end in Dallas, however, but extends over a period of almost 25 years and finally in Vicksburg.
In between, the reader travels to New Orleans in prose so vivid, you’ll want to call and make reservations, to a Davis Island camp in the Mississippi, precious to southerners whose sense of place contains the acknowledgement of evil in our most loved places. This novel is global, however, for those who like to look around and meet interesting characters wherever you are.
The premise that Kennedy’s assassination was set in motion by an off-hand remark by the then Assistant Director of the FBI might seem slim, but so were the many ideas of a conspiracy that ultimately destroyed many other lives. That we, after so many years, still argue about conspiracies and cringe when we hear the words Dealey Plaza, certainly shows the power the assassination still has to haunt us. And in this novel, the realization, that one assassination calls for another and another so that no witness can be left behind, says something vital about the perpetuation of any evil act. The easy disregard for human life mirrors today’s society and will leave the reader breathless with fear.
The strength of this book is in its characters, all people we have met or think we know: ruthless politicians, hungry for power and filled with such hubris, the arrogance of their crimes against the country and its people seem today taken right out of the news. Mafia figures and people on the fringe who feel a type of misplaced devotion, the Jack Rubys among us, we’ve learned to live with in a sort of hopeless resignation. But characters in this work, living with regret and remorse after one ill-fated decision and who ultimately have to pay, can still draw from us a knowing sympathy.
And there are the ordinary people, trying to keep marriages together and friendships secured and children safe who grace this extraordinary novel: characters who go about making the movements of life with no idea that they will be thrust into violence but who exhibit courage and skill beyond their own imaginings when confronted with people from our worst nightmare. That the main character is an emergency room doctor will not be lost on us, we who long to be the hero of our own adventure.
So find a place where you won’t be disturbed and start reading. You will love this book.
Shows is represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
Last Bigfoot in Dixie now available!
By Wally Avett
Published by Bell Bridge Books
Deep in the peaceful, Smoky Mountains of North Georgia, a huge black bear kills a child in a campground and the hunt begins. Wade, an outdoors-man and backwoods columnist, is quickly deputized to find and slay the massive beast terrorizing tourists and locals alike.
A giant Cherokee, wannabe-writer whose gifts are enhanced by mushroom trances and a Minnesota Vikings horn-helmet, offers to help and proves a modern Sasquatch when he tracks the mythic, killer bear Ol’ Nathan.
But that is the least of the small town’s worries.
In their pursuit, they encounter a cannabis compound, an authentic Appalachian psychopath, an albino savant called White Willie and rumors of buried Yankee gold surface turning the quiet hamlet into a cauldron of death and fear.
Wally Avett is a semi-retired Realtor in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. He lives in the same little town, sometimes compared to Mayberry, where he was editor and chief writer all though the 70’s for the weekly newspaper.
“My father was a preacher,” he says. “And I grew up with good storytellers all around me, both friends and family.” He met many colorful characters over the years and they inspire and infuse his writing today.
“For me, good writing has to be based on truth. I write like an Appalachian granny makes quilts, producing fiction that is actually fashioned from bits and pieces of raw truth.”
Some of the truth, of course, comes from actual experiences. “My bear-hunting friends are appalled that I can actually write and my literary friends are shocked that I sometimes hunt bears.”
Readers interested in Southern, mystery and thriller books should enjoy Last Bigfoot in Dixie and Murder in Caney Fork. Names and places have been altered adequately to avoid litigation. His other two novels based on true stories, Rebel Bushwacker and Coosa Flyer, are available for acquisition.
Wally is an avid reader and a gardener, a Sunday School teacher and bluegrass gospel singer, hunter, fisherman and reluctant handyman. He likes history, sometimes sells mountain cabins to retirees fleeing the heat of flatland Florida and frequently tells funny stories.
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com To order books please contact: Danielle Childers, Marketing Director, BelleBooks, Inc.
901.344.9024 DanielleChilders@bellebooks.com www.bellebooks.com
Prodigious Savant by JJ White is now available!
Prodigious Savant
Paperback: 324 pages
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1626941874
ISBN-13: 978-1626941878
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
There are fewer than one hundred reported cases of prodigious savants in the world. Those few who possess the savant syndrome all have an island of brilliance that allows them to excel in some remarkable talent. Unfortunately, they all share various developmental disabilities; some bizarre, others violent.
In 1962 Vermont, seventeen-year-old Gavin Weaver survives a horrendous explosion, six hours of brain surgery and thirty days in a coma to awaken possessing not just one savant talent, but several: art, music, mathematics, and memory, and all without suffering any of the usual mental disabilities associated with head trauma…except one issue he keeps hidden from all.
His newly acquired abilities thrust him into the public eye as the amazing ‘Whiz Kid from Burlington;’ a moniker he detests. His genius, paranoia, and increased hallucinations result in some strange and extraordinary encounters with the icons of the ‘60s, including Bobby Fischer, Nikita Khrushchev, Edward R. Murrow, John Chancellor and even a tragic meeting with John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He also catches the eye of a neurologist who is unique in his own right, and is most interested in the young man’s brain—for many reasons.
Gavin’s odds are slim that he will survive not only his external trials but also his inner conflicts; keeping him from the one thing he desires most, the girl he’s loved since childhood.
White has written over two hundred short stories, had articles and stories published in several anthologies and magazines including, Wordsmith, The Homestead Review, The Seven Hills Review and The Grey Sparrow Journal. His story, “The Nine Hole League” was recently published in the Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, #13. He has won awards and honors from the Alabama Writers Conclave, Writers-Editors International, Maryland Writers Association, The Royal Palm Literary Awards, Professional Writers of Prescott, and Writer’s Digest. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his short piece in The Grey Sparrow Journal. His other two novels, Deviant Acts (2015) and Nisei (2015) will also by published by Black Opal Books. www.jjwhitebooks.com Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
White events:
Irish Toasts
By Jeanne Charters, author of Shanty Gold (Rogue Phoenix Press, 2015) http://jeannecharters.com
As you have probably heard, the Irish love a good toot! And what’s a good toot without a good toast?
So, here are a few I’ve collected during my travels to the Emerald Isle. Some of them come from a book by Padraic O’Farrell.
Whiskey, you’re the divil. You’re leading me astray—
Over hills and mountains and to Americay.
You’re sweeter, stronger, dacenter (decenter).
You’re spunkier than tay (tea).
Oh whiskey, you’re me darlin’ and may be the death of me!
The following toasts come from the Irish Folklore Collection as quoted in Séamus ŎCatháin’s book.
Here’s health and prosperity to you and your posterity.
And them that doesn’t drink with sincerity, that they be damned for all eternity.
Whiskey, drink divine! Why should drivellers bore us with the praise of wine?
When we have thee before us. (Uh, I like wine!)
Good health to your enemies’ enemies.
Health to you and yours; to mine and ours.
If mine and ours ever come across you and yours, I hope that you and
yours will do as much for mine and ours as mine and ours have done for
you and yours. (Not recommended for late-night toasts).
And, of course, finally…..
Sláinte!
Triumph and Tragedy of Cobh
In 1849, when thirteen-year-old Mary Boland sailed off on The Pilgrim’s Dandy for Boston, the Cork Harbor was in the midst of an identity crisis. That was the year Queen Victoria visited Ireland and the British wanted to change the name of the port from Cove to Queenstown in her honor.
This deep-water port had already experienced many appellations during its existence. Legend has it that one of the first colonists of Ireland was Neimheidh, who landed there around 1,000 B.C. Later, it was known as Crich Liatháin because of the powerful Ui Liatháin who ruled in the area from late antiquity into the early 13th century.
In 1750, it was named Cove by Smith, the historian. International upheaval caused Cove to experience rapid growth in the early 19th century. Its natural protection and harbor setting made it important as a tactical naval center, never more so than during the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain.
Mary Boland was only one of 2.5 million Irish people who immigrated to North America between 1849 and 1950 from Cove Harbor, or Queenstown as it had recently been renamed.
The Irish resented that British intrusion on their beloved Cove Harbor and when they gained freedom from England in 1920, one of the first actions they took was to change the harbor’s name to Cobh which is Gaelic for Cove.
Two tragedies marked this port during the 20th century. In April of 1912, the British ship Titanic sunk only days after leaving Queenstown, her last port of call. More than 1,500 men, women, and children perished following Titanic’s collision with an iceberg. The Titanic Memorial in Cobh brought tears to my eyes when I saw it.
Another tragically notable ship will forever be associated with Queenstown/Cobh. In 1915, 1,198 passengers perished while 700 were rescued from the Cunard passenger liner, RMS Lusitania when it was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of the harbor. The survivors and the casualties were brought into Queenstown, and 100 of them lie buried in the Old Church Cemetery in the center of town.
Mary Boland was not traveling by a luxury liner, though. She was sold onto an infamous “coffin ship” by a woman she trusted to take care of her. Coffin ships were so named because of their lack of seaworthiness and because often there was not enough food and water aboard to last the duration of the voyage.
As an American of Irish descent, I’ve always been proud of the resilience and strength my ancestors demonstrated on these hellish voyages across the Atlantic. The memory of their courage has sustained me through the toughest times of my life. If they could survive those tragic hardships, I feel I can survive just about anything, too.