Author Archives: Jeanie

About Jeanie

I am President of Loiacono Literary Agency, LLC. I have been a literary agency for thirteen years and have over sixty clients and have sold over 200 books to date.

The Worth of Dreams The Value of Dreamers by Ken La Salle

Ken La Salle has another trailer is coming your way and this one is for his motivational collection of essays,The Worth of Dreams The Value of Dreamers . Please share it with your friends. “Like” it wherever you can. You can even buy a copy!

You can find the trailers by clicking this link… http://youtu.be/iZvAuqvhRjk

And, as always, you can find out more on my website: www.kenlasalle.com.

Go, Ken!

A Grand Canyon by Ken La Salle

A Grand Canyon, the prequel to Climbing Maya by Ken La Salle, is available in both ebook and audiobook formats and you can now view the first trailer on YouTube by clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-IDCK7OE2Q

Another fantastic review for ‘A Sentence of Death’ – Words That Killed A President by Robert Shows

Polly Marshall’s Review of “A Sentence of Death”, April 3, 2013
This review is from: A Sentence of Death. Words that Killed a President (Kindle Edition)
A Sentence of Death: Words that Killed a President (Robert Shows, Ecanus Publishing, 2012)

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.

The author had a book signing at Pentimento, my favorite bookstore, on Saturday, March 30.

Doster is nominated for The Oral History Association Award!!

GW cover   Doster_Stephen new picture

 

Doster is nominated for The Oral History Association Award!!

Georgia Witness has been nominated for The Oral History Association Award was established in 1993 to recognize a published book that uses oral history to make a significant contribution to contemporary scholarship; and/or significantly advances understanding of important theoretical issues in oral history; and/or is an outstanding example of sound oral history methodology.

The award, which is honorific, is presented annually and will be awarded at the OHA’s 2013 annual meeting. Winners receive framed award certificates, one-year memberships in the OHA, and complimentary registration to the annual meeting.

The OHA welcomes entries that represent the work of academic scholars, public historians, independent professionals, and community-based groups and individuals. Entries are welcome from around the world but must be in English.

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Georgia Witness contains 26 interviews with people of various walks of life from a former U.S. Senator to a second-generation immigrant farmer.  The memories of those who were interviewed extend to the early decades of the 20th Century.   Several of the participants descend from American colonists, one descends from a Muslim slave, and another descends from a female Cherokee warrior.  All of the participants have unique stories to tell.

Interviews were conducted over a four-year period in person and by phone. Mr. Doster selected each interview based on geographical location, age, occupation, and in some instances, ethnicity. A standard set of questions regarding the person’s birth, family, and education was used to initiate each interview.  Several of the more prominent participants were approached because of their connection to early settlers or due to significant contributions they made in the course of their careers.  Mr. Doster researched much of what interviewees told him in order to verify the historical accuracy of statements made.  He followed up with each interviewee when necessary to ensure the edits were also accurate.  In some instances, he used e-mail or written correspondence to do this.  Where possible, he asked each person to read the final narrative to further verify the accuracy of his or her statements.

There are two intended audiences for Georgia Witness.  One is today’s reader who may be interested in aspects of contemporary history.  The other audience would be readers a hundred years from now who may want to know what the average American’s life was like in the 1900s-2000s, what they thought about issues of the day, and how those issues shaped their lives, which in turn will shape the lives of future generations.

Copies of Georgia Witness have been deposited in the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum, the Georgia Historical Society, the Vanderbilt University Main Library, the Vanderbilt Special Collections and University Archives, the University of Georgia Library, and the Winterthur Museum (Delaware).

Stephen Doster has a master’s degree with a concentration in history from Vanderbilt University, where he also works as an Editor.  This is his second oral history book.  He wrote a previous oral history, Voices from St. Simons: Personal Narratives of an Island’s Past in 2008 (John F. Blair, Winston-Salem).

William Faulkner once said “each man is the living sum of his past.”  If that’s true, then each man and woman is a reflection of the past and a contributor to history going forward.  This book is an attempt to peer into the past through living windows, the eyes and ears of those who have witnessed the events that make our world what it is today and who continue to shape its destiny.