Published by Camel Press

When the Devil’s Idle is the second volume in author Leta Serafim’s ‘Greek Islands Mystery’ series. A deftly crafted and thoroughly absorbing read from beginning to end, When the Devil’s Idle is a compelling and very highly recommended addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For personal reading lists, it should be noted that When the Devil’s Idle is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.95). Also very highly recommended is the first volume in this outstanding series The Devil Takes Half (9781603819657, $14.95 PB, $4.95 Kindle, 256pp). Appreciative readers will all be looking eagerly toward author Leta Serafim’s next title in her ‘Greek Island Mystery’ series.

• Midwest Book Review

To Look on Death No More

BY LETA SERAFIMFind & buy on

Although many historical novels have been written about the Second World War, this is the first I’ve read that’s set in Greece, concerning the war’s effect on that country. Serafim’s To Look on Death No More tells a painful but engrossing story about Germany’s assault on the Greek isles. It is told through the eyes of an outsider, Irishman Brendan O’Malley, a doctor who had enlisted in the British forces and is parachuted into Greece to create an airstrip. Wounded in his fall, he’s held prisoner by Danae, a young Greek woman, and her even younger brother Stefanos.

O’Malley takes to Danae and Stefanos, and when Stefanos is witness to a German soldier’s shooting in their village, Kalavyrta, the Irishman hides with the young boy among the Greek resistance, the Antares. Tragedy after tragedy befalls this group, both from in-fighting and at the hands of the Germans. The innocent villagers of Kalavyrta are the targets of the Germans’ revenge on the Antares. Serafim has written devastating descriptions of the ruthless violence that is inflicted on the women, men, and children. The attitude of O’Malley’s British superiors towards the carnage is as chilling as the Germans’ actions. What saves the novel from a feeling of complete despair is O’Malley’s love for Danae and his growing love of her country. This aspect of the war was unknown to me before this book. It’s as important as the Blitz and the occupation of Paris, and Serafim makes me want to learn more.  — Historical Novel Society

Historical Novel Society https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/brother-can-you-spare-a-dime/

In the 1930s, America is clearly a county in transition. The economy is on a downward spiral, and the majority of citizens are turning to anyone offering a change of fortune. Criminal bosses control the flow of money, liquor, etc. Senator Huey Long controls politicians, affluent businessmen, and the general population, who demand social and economic parity. A pipe dream?

Suddenly, an assassination attempt on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt indicates that someone is looking for a different, radical leader who will provide the same hope that the “madman” Adolf Hitler offers to the German people. FBI Director Herbert Hoover hates being powerless, and so he assigns agent Harry Bierce to find out who is truly behind the attempted assassination. This is the story of Bierce’s mission and his free-wheeling, independent, supposedly willy-nilly methods that will get the job done, with Hoover’s reluctant approval.

This is an intriguing novel because the narrator assumes a neutral stance, which compels the reader to admit that all men have positive and negative attributes, that motives are complex, that one may have to overlook the tyrannical control of a leader in order for the common man to receive a decent wage, education, and so on. It’s also the story of the infamous couple, Bonnie and Clyde, a secret cult supporting the German Führer, and so much more. The pace never slackens, and yet we can’t stop reading because we have no idea whether a solution or resolution is around the corner. The title, an actual poem/song, accurately reflects America’s power and weakness, a theme pervading every page of this excellent historical novel. Highly recommended, indeed!

Published by Blank Slate Press   Jack Martin 

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

The Avignon Legacy

Two inventive and audacious men separated by 700 years.

One incomparable treasure, hidden for centuries.

A legendary mystery waiting to be solved.

When Pope Gregory XI abruptly decides to move the Papacy back to Rome in 1377, chaos and rebellion descends upon both Avignon and the Papal States in Italy.  The Rome-based Pope’s foes and critics are everywhere and any shipment of the papal treasury from Avignon to the Vatican is at risk. An ingenious location is devised by Sir Jean Termonde, a heroic knight, to secure the treasure from discovery until it can be transferred to Rome.

The papal treasure never arrived at the Vatican, and the legend of the lost gold and jewels has grown over the centuries.

Rare book dealer Jim Pierce’s expertise is in tracking down and retrieving old volumes coveted by well-heeled clients. He has little interest in the French Middle Ages until two armed thugs enter his bookstore demanding an ancient 14th Century volume on the Avignon Papacy that mentions the Church’s treasury. They are killed thanks to Pierce’s precautionary measures.

When he receives an offer of $5 million from the legendary billionaire recluse John W. Baxter, to steal a 14thcentury volume from the Vatican Secret Archives, his interest is piqued leading him to wonder if Baxter wants the volume or if the contents are related to the treasure. So Pierce sets out to attempt two thefts: the volume from the Vatican, and the treasure from Avignon. That’s when he discovers the French and the British police are on Baxter’s heels who is, in turn, after him.

A writer of factual fiction, Daniel Lorti has written several works, The Avignon Legacy is his second novel. He is currently working on his third, a romantic thriller.

Lorti has a B.S.E. (summa cum laude) and an M.S.E from Arizona State University. An aerospace engineer with military sensors, weapons, and intelligence background, he was Chief Radar Engineer for the Northrop Grumman Corporation for many years. In 1995, he was appointed to President Clinton’s twenty-member conference committee for Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland. As an international arms broker he conducted business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2003, he and his partners sold a highly classified aerospace company to Northrop Grumman. He currently resides in Southern California.

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Published by Argus Publishing

Meet Caroline Giammanco, author of Bank Notes: The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit, and get an autographed copy of the never-before-told story of Keith Giammanco. Keep this link to locate an event nearest you! Giammanco Events

booniehatbandit@yahoo.com www.booniehatbandit.com

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Review of By Accident of Birth – Sunday 2/14/16 Sun Herald Newspaper

www.thomasesimmons.net

Published by TouchPoint Press www.touchpointpress.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Ed Protzel will be reading excerpts from and signing copies of The Lies That Bind at Subterranean Books in the U. City Loop, Thurs., April 28, at 6:30 pm. Mark your calendar and plan to be there!

Publisher: TouchPoint Press 

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Special Guest Speaking
National World War II Museum
945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
February 12, 2016 @ 6 PM
info@nationalww2museum.org

Keynote Speaker
Mississippi Power Company Retiree’s Luncheon
Address Golden Corral Restaurant
12255 Highway 49, Gulfport, MS 39503

March 17, 2016 @ 11:30 AM
www.mississippipower.com

Thomas E. Simmons is the author of Escape from Archangel (University Press of Mississippi), The Man Called Brown Condor (Sky Horse Publishing) and Forgotten Heroes of World War II: Personal Accounts of Ordinary Soldiers Land, Sea and Air (Taylor Trade Publishing). He has also written numerous magazine articles, an example of which, “Growing Up With Mr. Faulkner,” was published in The Oxford American, a literary magazine founded by John Grisham. The sequel to By Accident of Birth, The Last Quinn Standing, is due for release in 2016. www.thomasesimmons.net

Published by TouchPoint Press www.touchpointpress.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com