Please Say Kaddish For Me has been nominated for the USA Book News International Best Book Award contest (http://www.usabooknews.com/) for books published in 2015 and the Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Award contest.
Published by Argus Publishing
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency
Steam rose from the dish pan. Sweat beaded Leah’s forehead and soaked her kerchief. Gavrel’s chest ached with yearning and remorse. She deserved better. He circled his arms around her waist.
“A perfect fit.”
Turning in his embrace, she planted a wet kiss on his cheek. “Spoken like a shoemaker.”
“How else should I speak? It’s what I am. We may not be wealthy, but our children will never go barefoot in winter.”
“Remember how angry Havah was at our betrothal. She even accused Mama of selling me into slavery.”
“As I recall, you weren’t too happy about it either. After all, I am old enough to be your father.”
He surveyed their cramped apartment. With a front room that doubled as a kitchen and three cramped bedrooms, it was much too small for a family of six. Despite Leah’s efforts to keep it tidy, it was always cluttered.
“Maybe Havah was right and your mother did sell you into slavery.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” After another kiss, Leah turned back to the dishes. “I’m happy with my life.”
~~Taken from From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
In Please Say Kaddish for Me Arel’s sister Tova betrothed her sixteen-year-old daughter Leah to Gavrel Wolinsky the shoemaker who was twice Leah’s age. An angry Havah accused poverty-stricken Tova of selling her daughter for a pair of shoes.
Gavrel’s first wife died of a fever during their first year of marriage leaving him a childless widower. Since Tova’s untimely passing, Gavrel has assumed the role of father for Leah’s younger siblings as well as their own daughter. Nothing makes him happier than being Papa.
In From Silt and Ashes Gavrel and Leah have moved their family to Odessa, Ukraine, where another vicious pogrom looms on the horizon. As Jewish university students amass weapons to defend themselves Gavrel’s only desire is peace in his home. As this becomes increasingly difficult he saves to take his wife and children to live with their family in Kansas City.
Published by Argus Publishing
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency
Navy Hymn for Submariners Chief Melvin T. Smith, STC (SS)USN-RET who served aboard the USS Snapper (SS-185), USS Quillback (SS-424), USS Sea Leopard (SS-484),USS Sennet (SS-408), and the USS Sea Fox (SS-402), went on his last patrol the 14 of November 2015. https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/mary-nida-smith
A Historical Journey – 5-star Review
By Lakeviews
Brilliantly drawn characters make this novel hard to put down. You are propelled into their lives and taken on a historical journey that you won’t soon forget.
Jackson is living his nightmares even when his eyes are open. Addicted to heroin since Vietnam, it is the only thing that tends to keep the horror at bay. Besides killing him slowly, it has cost him his job. Living with his mother, in the same home he grew up in, he is now stealing from her and his neighbors for a fix, his girlfriend since grade school has dumped him and the only means of transportation is a beat-up bike. Is there a word for lower than low?
Then his rich aunt from Vermont calls requiring his “services”. Cheryl, his so-called cousin, has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Auntie wants her back no matter what it costs, and she wants them all dead. Can Jackson kill again? Can he stay straight long enough to get her back? Nothing is what it seems.
“In Deviant Acts, J. J. White has reinvented the amateur sleuth. His reluctant PI, Jackson Hurst, is crazy as a loon, funny as hell, and deadly serious. He’s as outside normal life as a man can get and somehow still solidly on the side of the angels. This is a great read. Let’s hope Jackson Hurst goes pro and we get a string of novels about this original and compelling character.”
~ Sterling Watson, author of Fighting in the Shade and Suitcase City.
J.J. White is an award winning author who has had articles and stories published in several anthologies and magazines including, Wordsmith, The Homestead Review, The Seven Hills Review, Bacopa Review, and The Grey Sparrow Journal. His story, “The Adventures of the Nine Hole League,” was published in the Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Volume 13. His novels published by Black Opal Books are: Prodigious Savant (2014), Deviant Acts (2015) and Nisei (2016). He was recently nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his short piece, “Tour Bus.” www.jjwhitebooks.com Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com
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www.sdoster.com Published by Argus Publishing Amazon BAM B&N
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
Posted on November 12, 2015 by READINGOTHERPEOPLELeave a comment
A memoir of triumphant positivity and inspiring attitude, Stephen Doster’s “Her Finest Hour” is why memoirs are written: to tell a true story of those individuals who don’t get the worldwide acclaim and respect that they so obviously deserve. It’s the genre that belongs to the unsung heroes, to which Terry Smith of Doster’s book belongs.
Still alive to see her spectacular and riveting memoir published, Terry Smith is the epitome of a good person. Joining the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in London as teenager, she saw her life take her to unimaginable places doing extraordinary things. She acted in Operations Rooms for the Royal Air Force, was an Air Traffic Controller, and even became one of the first female flight attendants in the British Overseas Airways Corporations, now known as British Airways.
But what makes this memoir so special is that it is a faithful transcription of Terry Smith’s own actual words. There is no twisting of the truth or the worry of things being lost in translation. What Smith has said is what is printed within these pages, giving her story a depth that is often lacking in most books of this genre. With every predicament that Terry Smith finds herself in, there is an undeniable willingness to become better, to do better.
The memoir covers Smith’s life quite literally. From her family being bombed several times during World War II, to the terrible incident of her fiance being murdered fighting in North Africa, Smith’s attitude of resilience and positivity is both provocative and inspiring. I couldn’t shake the hope and good intentions that this woman, through life’s proverbial ups and downs, wore like a badge on her arm, bright and shiny for the world to see.
Pass on the word that Mary Nida Smith’s book Heroes Beneath the Waves: Submarine Stories of the 20th Century is now available. Published by Skyhorse https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/mary-nida-smith http://submarinestories.blogspot.com So glad you served. Been there myself. God bless all who have ever served this fine country! I am proud to be an American!! God Bless the USA – Lee Greenwood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD4RFjmlzcQ
Her neighbor and the policemen filed into the living room. She (Havah) shut the door behind them. The taller officer, an imposing presence with dark skin, fascinated her. Although she had read about them in Professor Dietrich’s books about Africa and American history, she had never met a Negro face to face.
At once, his kind expression and gentle manners allayed her deepest fears. He bowed at the waist. “Please excuse our rudeness, ma’am. I’m Officer Lafayette Tillman and this is my partner, Pat Mulligan.”
~~Taken from From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
As From Silt and Ashes, the sequel to Please Say Kaddish for Me, opens, Havah and Arel Gitterman have been in Kansas City for only five months. Plagued with post-traumatic stress, Havah suffers vivid nightmares of Kishinev. In this first chapter, Havah dreams she is fighting off pogromists and, in the process, screams and breaks her front window. Their next door neighbor, who is certain that Arel is beating his wife, calls the police.
One of the officers who shows up at the door is Lafayette A. Tillman, who actually lived in Kansas City.
Born in Indiana in 1859, he studied music at Oberlin College in Ohio and attended Wayland Seminary in Washington D.C. He moved to Kansas City with his wife Amy in the 1880’s where he opened a barber shop and they raised three children, Lon, Portia and Junne. During the Spanish-American War he joined the volunteer infantry where he was appointed the rank of first lieutenant in a black regiment. When he returned, some influential white citizens who appreciated his loyalty and patriotism secured him a position on the police force.
Havah finds an unexpected ally in Officer Tillman who can’t believe what she and Arel have suffered at the hands of so-called Christians. More than once he proves himself to be a true friend to the Gitterman family.
Award winning journalist, Ginny Fite, talks about her first mystery novel on David Clarke’s Different Strokes for Different Folks Blog Talk Radio
Author of Cromwell’s Folly (Black Opal Books, 2015) and No Good Deed Left Undone (Black Opal Books, 2016)
