Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Double Blind



Mystery Thriller
Date Published: March 31, 2020
Publisher: Anchor House Publishing

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A young boy disappears in the chill of North Iceland. Twenty years later, a mysterious poem lands on the desk of his twin sister Brynja, a forensic geneticist, and rekindles her hopes that her brother might be alive. As Brynja unravels the clues, more poems arrive, each bearing dire consequences for those who receive them: the guard of the medieval manuscript of Icelandic sagas that possibly has the answer to her burning question, the prime minister’s secretary, the local pastor.

Is the poet out to stop Brynja from finding her brother and shut down her access to the DNA database? Or is the verse maker simply a psychopath copycat killer?

Fighting the visual auras that have plagued her since childhood and now threaten everything she holds dear, Brynja must summon the strength to navigate the twisted labyrinth of the poet’s mind and confront the dark secret buried in her family’s past.

DOUBLE BLIND is a wild ride through the cultural landscape of Iceland, from rural farmsteads to icy fjords to the high-tech world of DNA forensics. This crime thriller packed with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.




About the Author

Sara Winkour is a geneticist and researcher who reinvented herself as an author. She writes historical fiction and informed cultural thrillers hoping to educate readers while they’re being entertained.  

Sara has a Masters in Psytogenetics for cancer diagnosis and a Ph.D. for her work on Muscular Dystrophy, identifying mutations that cause disease. She is also a consultant at the University of California and an Associate Researcher at Biological Chemistry School of Medicine at UCI, Irvine. She was part of the team that found the gene that causes Dwarfism and Huntington’s Disease. 

Sara is an avid reader of historical fiction, mystery-thrillers, and Scandinavian Noir. She also loves to travel and has already visited over 60 countries. 

Being an ovarian cancer survivor gives Sara a sense of gratitude, strength, and perspective that she extends to family, friends, work, and her writing.  A mother of three, she resides with her husband of 37 years in Southern California. 

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Slayer



Shadowborn Rebellion, Book 1
Sci-fi Romance
Date Published: March 2020
Publisher: Anything-but-Ordinary Books

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General Malik Xett doesn't have time for romance. His one and only concern is curtailing the power and influence of the ruthless Sarronti elite. Still, the human female working with him lingers in his mind and fuels his imagination.

Though Kara O'Leary has been attracted to Malik since they first met, she never dreamed he returned her feelings. One kiss ignites a hunger neither can deny, but the timing couldn't be worse. Hostilities rapidly escalate and new threats are revealed. How can Malik and Kara bring freedom to the "world below" when all they can think about is each other?






About the Author

Passionate Sci-Fi with a touch of danger and a whole lot of sass. Cyndi has written about rock stars, vampires, and cat shifters, but she's currently focused on outer space. Her stories are fun, fast-paced, and seriously hot. Her books have made the USA Today Top 100, and frequently land on Amazon Best Seller lists. She is currently working on the Shadowborn Rebellion, a spin-off series set in the Outcasts universe.

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Monday, March 30, 2020

Clean Water for Developing Countries



Environmental Studies
Date Published: January 8, 2020
Publisher: Clean Water Press

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The main purpose of this book is to assist the reader in choosing the best method for providing clean and safe water in a developing country. Most of the book’s content comes from the knowledge gained from:

-Fifty-plus years of research and teaching in water resource engineering, hydrology and clean water for developing countries at both the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Berkeley.

-Thirty-five years as an expert witness on numerous hydrologic and water resource engineering legal cases.

-Clean water projects that I was involved with in Kenya, Peru, Honduras and Guatemala between 2011 and 2017.

-Attendance at various courses including ones at the Centre for Affordable Water & Sanitation Technologies (CAWST) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and at “Potters for Peace” in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

-My many colleagues and students.

The sites needing clean water can be diverse, e.g. an individual household, an entire village, a group of villages, a school, a clinic, an orphanage, etc. The focus of this book is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of how to bring clean water supplies to these entities. The optimal approaches will depend on both the Point of Use (POU), which may be large or small, and the state of the water (quantity, turbidity, type and concentration of pathogens/bacteria/viruses present) at the water source. Point of Use (POU) is the location where the water is to be consumed.

The majority of those impacted by unsafe water live in isolated rural areas of the developing world. Cost, sustainability, cultural differences and acceptance by those who will use the water are all important factors in providing clean drinking water to these people.

These factors include:

-Community Involvement. By far, the most successful water enhancements in developing countries are tied to community organizations, particularly among the female population.

-The Source of Water. It could be from groundwater, rainwater harvesting or surface water, such as springs, creeks, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

-The Quality of the Source Water. The water may have physical, biological and/or chemical pollution.
The Size of the Demand Population. Is it an individual household, a school, an orphanage, a small or large village, or a group of villages? Obviously, this affects the amount/volume of clean water needed, and this affects the methodology to be used.

-The location of the population to be served. Are they close together or widely dispersed?
                                 


About the Author

John Dracup was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, where his parents settled because the climate reminded them of their native Glasgow, Scotland. He is a civil engineer and hydrologist. He holds degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge and the University of California, Berkeley.
He has taught water resource engineering and hydrology at both the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley for over 50 years. In his research, he has focused on the optimization of large-scale water resource systems and the impact of climate change on hydrologic variables. He has conducted clean water projects in Africa as well as in Central and South America.
Professor Dracup is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Geophysical Union among others. In 2001, he was a Fulbright Scholar to Australia. In 2015, the Rotary Foundation cited him for his efforts in supplying clean, safe water in developing countries. He lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife and family.


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Friday, March 27, 2020

Please Return To: Toby Solano



PLEASE RETURN TO: Book #2
Middle Grade Fiction; Humor; Action; Adventure; Epistolary; Middle Grade
Publisher: INtense Publications LLC
Published Date: March 27, 2020

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Toby Solano is the new kid in town. No one in Mapleton knows he exists, which is tough to swallow for a boy who descends from Lucha Libre wrestling royalty. Back in El Paso, Toby could snap his fingers and the seas would part as he walked the hallways at his old school.

But when his dad gets body slammed into submission and his career goes into a tailspin, Toby decides to take his anger out on his classmates, which gets him kicked out of school and shipped off to Mapleton with his mom.

Toby hates his new town, he hates his classmates and, most of all, he hates Mr. Finkelstein. But when he finds his teacher’s missing journal under the tires of a moving truck, the drama of the famed Mapleton Wrestling Federation opens wide for him. Armed with a journal’s-worth of wrestling lore, will Toby be able to build friendships and help the Mort-tician regain his title? Or, will he fall back on his old ways and bully himself right out of Mapleton Middle School? Find out on the slightly-wrinkled pages of Please Return To: Toby Solano.

About the Author


Frank Morelli is the author of No Sad Songs, a 2019 YALSA Quick Picks nominee and winner of an American Fiction Award for best coming of age story. The first book in his debut middle grade series, Please Return To: Norbert M. Finkelstein, was released in September 2019. His fiction and essays have appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Cobalt Review, Philadelphia Stories, and Jersey Devil Press. A Philadelphia native, Morelli now lives in High Point, NC where he has been a classroom teacher for almost twenty years. He holds an MFA in Fiction from National University and thinks dogs are the most respectable beings on the planet. Connect with him on Twitter @frankmoewriter or on his website frankmorelliwrites.com.

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Twitter: @frankmoewriter
Instagram: @frankmorelliauthor


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Monday, March 16, 2020

Beyond the Gardens by Sandra C.Lopez


College Romance/New Adult
Date Published: 2009; Cover Redesign 2019
Publisher: Independent Publisher

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At the age of 18, Esperanza Ignacio begins her college years at an upscale Los Angeles art school, where she studies to fulfill her long-term dream in Animation. But she soon learns the truth to the old folktale: “you can take the girl out of the barrio, but you can’t take the barrio out of the girl.” Even though she’s getting financial aid, Esperanza works a part-time job during her break from classes just to make ends meet. Her roommate, Anna, is what she calls a “chicana from Beverly Hills” because of the rich daddy and the new car she got for her quinceañera.

Things get a little confusing for Esperanza when an old friend comes looking for her, hoping to start a meaningful relationship. But is Carlos the right guy for her? She never even considered him to be anything more than a friend since high school. Then comes Jake, a gorgeous mechanic, who shares her passion for books and loves her for who she is. What’s a girl to do?

Strength and determination help pave the way for the future. And, as she approaches her graduation, she is faced with a difficult decision: should she leave Los Angeles and leave behind her family, her home, and everything she’s known? Ever since she was born in the California barrio of Hawaiian Gardens, she’s always had to look over the fence, wondering what she’s been missing. Now she’s taking a flying leap over to see what’s beyond the little barrio. What’s beyond her family, her friends, and her past? What’s beyond the little nothing town, where dreams don’t exist? What’s beyond The Gardens? Is it life, love, a future?



About the Author


Sandra C. LĂłpez is a writer, artist, blogger, and book reviewer. She is one of today's funny and influential authors in YA and chick lit. Her first novel, Esperanza, was published in March 2008 WHILE she was still in college. She wrote the follow up starring the same leading heroine in Beyond the Gardens, which recently had a cover re-design. Her most recent and bestselling book is Single Chicas, a collection of humorous short stories about zany chicas. When not writing her stories, Sandra supports the art and literary communities with freelance work and book promotion. For more info, see below: 


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Friday, March 13, 2020

~ Cover Reveal ~ Murder in the Chowdhury Palace by Sharmishtha Shenoy


~ Cover Reveal ~
Murder in the Chowdhury Palace
by Sharmishtha Shenoy




About the Book:

What if someone you loved... was murdered? How far would you go to bring a killer to justice?


Orphaned in her childhood, Durga has always longed for wealth, security and, above all, a sense of belonging. She finds it all when she marries Debnarayan Chowdhury, heir to an immense, multi-crore estate. But the Chowdhury family has been under a curse that dates back to the British era. The first-born of each generation dies young, purportedly killed by the spirit of Kadambari, a young woman murdered by the notorious Shankar Dakat, the founder of the Chowdhury family and their Zamindari. When her father-in-law Birendranath dies unexpectedly, Durga and Debnarayan come down to the ancestral home in Kakdihi, a small village near Kolkata. The moment Durga enters her new palatial home, she crosses a threshold of terror. She loses her husband within a month of her marriage and finds herself a widow in a house full of strangers. Are Debnarayan’s and Birendranath’s deaths accidental? Everyone in her new family and the neighborhood appear to be friendly. Most of them have a motive to kill her. A well-meaning neighbor tells her, ‘Run from this place. You have no friends here.’ Is she, the current owner of the estate, now on the murderer’s radar?

Read an Excerpt from Murder in the Chowdhury Palace


We walked back to the main house and, crossing the hall, went to the east wing on the ground floor. This wing also consisted of a verandah with doors leading to various rooms on the left. All the rooms were closed except for one. We entered the room, and I became aware that there was something strange about it. There was an air of studied naturalness as if the occupant of the room had left just a moment before.  A pair of bedroom slippers were placed near the bed, and a pitcher of water was kept on the side table along with a copper glass. On a small platform, a sitar, and harmonium and a tabla were arranged in a way that seemed to suggest they were still played regularly. It was quite a spooky room, or maybe it felt that way because it belonged to a man who had been dead for quite a long time and yet gave the sense that it was currently in use.
Debu pointed out to the sitar with pride and said, ‘This is a very expensive sitar, one of the Kanai Lal sitars which Pandit Ravi Shankar himself used to use. These sitars are very valuable and not available in the market nowadays.’
On one wall hung a painting of a young man. I immediately recognized it as that of Debendranath. He must have been blessed with the best genes in the family. Apart from his prowess at music, he was the most handsome of all the Chowdhury men that I had seen. He had wavy shoulder-length hair and an attractive nose. The mouth was curved into a smile. It was a beautiful face, and the picture was painted in such a way that the eyes seemed to follow you wherever you went. I stepped back, and eyes followed me, appearing sad at one moment and smiling the next.
‘So, you are looking at my Deben,’ a female voice spoke at an unnaturally high pitch that sent shivers down my spine.


About Sharmishtha Shenoy:

Sharmishtha Shenoy is the author of the Vikram Rana Mystery series. The books under the series are “Vikram Rana Investigates,” “A Season for Dying,” “Behind the Scenes” and “Fatal Fallout”. She has also published a book of short stories, “Quirky Tales.”
Her short stories have been published in efiction magazine and Woman’s era. She loves writing murder mysteries, the kind of books that she likes to read. Her favorite authors are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. She also likes the work of Satyajit Ray – especially the Feluda Series. 
Before starting to write, she had been an IT professional and had worked in TCS, Satyam, Infosys, and Microsoft. 
She is a big foodie and enjoys Biriyani (both Hyderabadi and Awadhi versions) and rasgullas like most Bengalis. She is also a lusty singer of the bathroom singing variety.
Though she is happily married to Mr. Shenoy in real life, in her fantasy world she is wedded to her creation Vikram Rana.  You can get to her blog by typing the word “Sharmishtha Rana” into Google. No, seriously, try it.
She was born in Calcutta. She is an M Tech from the University of Reading, Great Britain and had received a 100% British Government Scholarship to study there. She lives in Hyderabad.

Sharmishtha on the Web:

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

All My Love, Alec Brock



YA Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 3/10/20
Publisher: Literary Crush

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Linda González has given up small-town life with her mom to pursue a better education while living with her dad in Los Angeles. At least that's what she let her family believe. The truth is that she's in love...with an 18-year-old pop star!

Alec Brock has been her cyber boyfriend for over a year now, and Linda has finally closed the gap in their long-distance relationship. But when she surprises Alec in LA, he has no idea who she is.

In this terrifying turn of events, Linda has nobody to rely on but the real Alec himself. She's torn between chasing the truth about the guy she fell in love with, and trying to win the heart of the guy he was supposed to be.



Excerpt


I’d never met Alec Brock, but nothing felt more real in my sixteen years of existence than the insane, breathtaking, overwhelming feeling of loving him—of being loved by him. Since the first time we had talked in that chat room online, I knew there was something special about the guy, something I hadn’t found in the physical world yet.

Falling in love with him felt as natural as breathing. And I know it’s hard to believe, but it had nothing to do with who he was.

No—I’d never given much thought to that. He wasn’t that famous when we met, and even when things got out of control, I couldn’t have cared less about that side of him.

I loved Alec because he could access a part of me that no one else could. It was like we both spoke this weird forgotten language that only we could understand, and every time we talked to each other, we were transported to this private little world where I wanted to live forever.

I’d never felt so connected to anyone before—so exposed, so understood. And for the first time in my life, someone seemed to feel the same way about me.


About the Author


Born in Brazil and naturalized French, Larissa is a real citizen of the world, trying to write her own story the best way she can. Romance, personal growth, and multiculturalism are the core of her writing. And when she isn't secretly living her characters' lives in her head, she's working as a researcher, as a teacher, or inspiring people to become their best version with #TheBestVersionOfMyselfMovement


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Friday, March 6, 2020

Black Moon



Book 11 of the McLaren Mystery series
British mystery
Date Published: August 2019
Publisher: Cousins House

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Each April the members of a mystery writing group gather on Stanton Moon for camaraderie and to fuel their plots. The moody area seems the perfect setting for hatching a whodunit. Unfortunately, an unscripted mystery materializes like an unsolicited manuscript on a publisher’s slush pile—the leader of their group is found on the moor, her head bashed in and very dead.

Lesley Keeton’s murder takes on the aspects of a novel’s first draft: the suspects shadowy and the killer unnamed. Now, a year later, ex-police detective Michael McLaren is asked to tidy up the plot and expose the killer.

McLaren investigates and discovers anger and jealousy cropping up as often as editor’s red marks on a manuscript page. The group members crafted more than stories—they planned a mass exodus, fleeing Lesley’s tutelage, dictatorship and tongue lashings. Add a tinge of blackmail, an illegal business and an affair to this framework, and the deadly combination has the earmarks of a bestseller.

In the midst of this, McLaren’s lady friend arrives unannounced and disrupts the case…and unbalances his emotions. Both are tested one dark night in a churchyard when she stumbles into the arms of the killer…and McLaren must rescue her without letting evil go free.



Excerpt

The car park was empty, the pub having closed at midnight. A small lamp shone in the multi-paned front window, throwing numerous rectangles of yellow-tinted light onto the ground. He would avoid that area.

McLaren found an exuberant spruce wallowing in darkness near the corner of the building. A perfect spot to eavesdrop and see. He slid between the evergreen and the wall, hidden from whatever direction the delivery bloke might come.

The tree branches swayed as he settled in for his fifteen-minute wait, and he prayed the employee wasn’t staring in this direction. McLaren leaned against the building. The stone was cold on his back and pressed into his flesh. At least it’ll keep me awake, he thought. He eased a bough off his shoulder, eliminating the prickling of the needles, and hoped, not for the first time, that he’d interpreted the earlier conversation correctly.

A gust of wind slammed into the spruce, dislodging some needles. They fell onto McLaren’s head and arms, and peppered his neck where his jacket collar was open. He flinched but didn’t dare move. A rumble of thunder rolled overhead. Seconds later, the clouds burst. Rain pelted the tree and collected between rows of needles before topping the confinements and falling. It soaked his hair and trickled into his ears, ran down his neck and dampened his shirt. Rain angled through the space between the boughs and showered his face and hands. Aromas of damp wood, earth and stone saturated the air.

He angled his watch face. Five minutes to one. He held the collar of his jacket closer to his neck and wiped the rain from his eyes.

Lightning corkscrewed across the sky and ripped the clouds. A blast of wind drove the rain through the tree and against the pub. Water coursed down the walls and overflowed the gutters. McLaren tried to lean farther into the tree, away from the wall, wanting to avoid the soaking, but the density of the boughs near the trunk thwarted his movement. He gave up, silently cursing his situation, and sagged against the wall.

The pinprick of two headlights came to him before he heard the vehicle’s motor. Instinct forced him closer to the tree trunk, although he realized later that the tangle of boughs and his dark clothing made him indistinguishable from the spruce. The car slowed as it neared the pub, and McLaren slowed his breathing, afraid he’d be heard. The vehicle paused, as though the driver was checking if the establishment was open for business. Or if the one o’clock rendezvous was still on.

Another growl of thunder drowned out the sound of the idling motor. The driver made no move to drive on or exit the car. He seemed content to sit and wait. For what?

McLaren craned his head so he could see the vehicle better. It was angled just enough on the road so its shape was visible in the lightning flashes. It was an SUV.

He wiped the rain from his eyes, leaning forward as though another few inches would correct what he saw. No light lorry or van sat on the tarmac, nothing large that would denote it was about to deliver kegs of beer. He stared at the car.

He sank back against the pub’s wall as the vehicle inched forward. Puddles on the road and in the small depressions of the ground threw back the brightness of the headlights’ beams, and he diverted his gaze. The SUV was close enough now that he could hear the roughness of the motor. Still, the driver didn’t park or leave the vehicle, and McLaren wondered if he had rung up someone on his mobile and was waiting either for an answer or for the employee’s appearance.

A fresh dumping of rain assaulted the area before the car eased past the pub. It waited until it inched past the stand of trees harboring McLaren’s car before it picked up speed and faded into the night.

McLaren stepped into the open, oblivious to the spruce boughs brushing against his back. He stared at his watch. One-twenty. Surely the delivery would’ve been made by now if it was going to happen. Had the driver who stopped in his car just now phoned to find out why no one was there? Was he told the delivery time or date had been changed and he should come back another time? Surely they hadn’t seen McLaren and called it off.






About the Author

A month-long trip to England during her college years introduced Jo to the joys of Things British. Since then, she has been lured back nearly a dozen times and lived there during her professional folksinging stint.

Jo’s insistence for accuracy--from police methods and location layout to the general “feel” of the area--has driven her innumerable times to Derbyshire for research. These explorations and conferences with police friends provide the details filling both her Peak District mysteries and the McLaren mystery series.

In 1999 Jo returned to Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and departmental honors.

Her McLaren mystery, BLACK MOON, received the ‘N.N. Light Best Mystery Book’ award for 2019.

Jo lives with her cat, Tennyson, and way too many kilts in the St. Louis-area.


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