#RRBC Spotlight Author Tour – Larry Hyatt

August 25, 2015August 24, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

I am pleased to have Larry Hyatt visit Fiction Favorites. Larry is the Spotlight Author for Rave Reviews Book Club. Go here to see the rest of his schedule

Author Bio:

Larry Hyatt has written radio comedy, sketch comedy and plays, produced television and radio, worked as a creative director for an arts and entertainment magazine, and published numerous humorous articles and essays. Originally from New Orleans he’s a graduate of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and attended Loyola University’s School of Music as a vocalist, went into radio broadcasting, has been a nightclub in house entertainer (Where he did theatre in a bar), produced and hosted television shows for LCN-TV, and started an entertainment magazine called the “The Tri-Parish Navi-Gator,” featuring theatre, music, dining and the arts in South Louisiana. He hosts “Larry Hyatt is the Morning” on C-96.7 KCIL Radio in Houma, La.

Book Blurb:
How to Reach for the American Dream… (And not get it), is the fictional, comedic account of the life of an entertainer who from childhood had what it took to “make it.” You’ll laugh, cry, and cheer him on as he struggles to achieve what only a select few can through his television kid show debut, glee clubs, remedial college studies, gaining weight as a “starving” artist, dating women out of his league, nightclub entertainer, and romps through radio, television, and publishing.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/How-Reach-American-Dream-Not-ebook/dp/B00FSKCGTU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439568159&sr=8-1&keywords=larry+hyatt

Find Larry Online!

Twitter: @hyhattlarry
Facebook: www.facebook.com/larry.hyatt.967
Website: www.hyhatt.blogspot.com

If you are lucky enough to be chosen as a “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHOR, here is what you and your book will receive:

1) A one-week long blog tour on several blogs, set up by Rave Reviews Book Club;

2) A press release that you can submit to your local hometown newspapers & radio (if you so choose);

3) A PDF flyer that you can print and post in local businesses and bookstores promoting your status as a “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHOR of Rave Reviews Book Club;

4) A “WHO’S ON THE SHELF” Interview hosted by our very own President, Nonnie Jules right here on the Rave Reviews Bookshelf! These are so much FUN and heavily promoted!

5) A special “LIVE” BlogTalk Radio Interview/RAVE WAVES/Bring On The Spotlight with Author and Host, John Fioravanti!

6) Tweets and RTs promoting you and your book heavily during your “SPOTLIGHT” week from the RAVE REVIEWS BOARD MEMBERS, the RAVE REVIEWS Tweet Support Team and other club members, as well as Facebook blasts on club member walls; Pinterest and Instagram posts, etc;

7) A “SPOTLIGHT” on our site, with your photo, book cover, blurb and buy links, directing and encouraging the masses to purchase/read and post reviews of your book;

8) After your “SPOTLIGHT” week is over, you will get a listing on our Past “SPOTLIGHT” Authors page IF you are in good standing with the club.

Now, I know you’re wondering how you can become one of our “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHORS. Well, have you joined yet? Membership in our book club is the only way to the awesome title of “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHOR!!!

“You Can’t Buy This Kind of Support!”

Brains to Books Blog Tour by Angela B. Chrysler

August 24, 2015August 26, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 5 Comments

I am so pleased to participate in the Angela B Chrysler blog tour. The tour has over One Hundred and Twenty authors over a thirty-five day period. You can find my feature and interview HERE. To see the rest of the participants and post location, you can go HERE. If you would like to see, all the giveaways visit this SPOT.

It is a tremendous event, and I have to thank Angela for setting it up.

On Tour – Jason Zandri -Author of “I, Hero: Nathan Returns” #RRBC

August 13, 2015August 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

I am pleased to welcome Jason Zandri to Fiction Favorites. Jason is on tour to promote his book I, Hero: Nathan Returns. Jason, welcome.

Thanks, John. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to everyone, via the blog tour, the very first look at “I, Hero: Nathan Returns”.

I, Hero: Nathan Returns – Excerpt I

PROLOGUE

The morning sun rose over the horizon and immediately began to heat the crisp morning air.

A middle-aged woman sat on a park bench with a small, mixed breed dog on a leash. The dog sniffed around at the grass to the left rear of the bench and the woman turned her back to face her dog.

She was holding her smart phone and had ear buds in her ears. She listened to music that played while an older gentleman with white hair, dressed in a long suit coat, came along. He moved alongside the park bench in the grassy area off the paved path. The smaller dog immediately tugged on the leash to see the other dog.

The woman casually lifted her hand to her left ear, dropped the ear bud out of it, and glanced over at the pure-bred Labrador Retriever. “We might as well be having that affair we’re always accused of, meeting up like this as often as we do,” she said quietly without taking her attention off her dog.

“It’s better that the talk is of an affair that we’re not having than what we’re actually doing,” the man replied, turning his back towards her and allowing the dog to move him a couple of steps away. “Status and update?” he asked plainly.

“We still have no way to track him,” she said while getting up from the bench to pick up after the dog. She took the opportunity to scan the area for other people. There were none. “His powers… change, for a lack of better description. We are following a given signature then it disappears entirely. When it does come up again it registers differently. We track that for a while and then he just falls off the radar.” She dropped the small bag into a nearby pail and walked her dog near his so they could sniff each other. “He generally seems to head west before he drops out of sight. We’ve eliminated California, Oregon, and Washington because of the number of occasions he disappears heading east from those states. Intelligence is liking Nevada, but it’s still too loose and just a guess.”

“Do you think it’s deliberate? Do you think he knows we are trying to track him and he is masking his movements?” he asked tugging slightly at his dog’s leash.

“I can’t know for certain,” she said looking up at him and smiling slightly. She reached into her coat pocket to make sure her identification badge was still there. “His movements are too casual; if I had to guess I would say ‘no’. He’s young, not skilled or trained, and he trusts easily. Why his signature disappears and then shows up differently is something we haven’t figured out. It does repeat; there are times it matches prior signatures and we have a catalog of nine distinct ones to date, but why they are constantly changing is another unknown. We also see no detectable pattern in the changes. It appears random.”

“We know Senator Kelly is the direct link between Nathan and the President; have we had any luck with that route?” the man asked looking directly at the woman.

“No. He’s tight-lipped, he won’t budge, and he has to be the cleanest politician I’ve ever seen too; we can’t even find anything to leverage on him,” she said withdrawn.

“Everyone has a closet and there are always skeletons. I don’t want to have to go that way with him, but if I have to I will, even if I have to fabricate something. We need to figure out what is going on. It’s a matter of national security,” the man said looking over at his dog as it began doing its business in the grass.

The woman glanced over and then tended back to her dog. “I’ll put some more people on it but eventually it’s going to leak. The people like Nathan; once it gets out that the CIA and Homeland are trying to track him it’s not going to be good.”

“The CIA and Homeland are not tracking him,” the man responded matter of factly.

“Yes, two rogue groups within each organization are; without authorization, and without Presidential backing. That will go over so much better with the public,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “Is it such a smart idea to engage tonight on World News with Mark Daniels?”

“America’s Roundtable is the place for a discussion like this,” the man turned and stepped over to her near the edge of the paved walkway. “The top thirty-five most populous cities in the United States, with a total population that exceeds 40 million souls. Offshore, shell companies, buying, leasing, or otherwise occupying property in the dead center of each of those cities. We have been stymied on just about every legal front, trying to gain access to some of those locations, and others that we have been able to access have not produced anything worthwhile to date.”

She looked up at him with a steely look in her eyes. “I am as much a Patriot as you are. Have you ever considered that there is no conspiracy there? Even if there is one, how can you be so sure it has to do with him? Nathan has no income that we’ve been able to detect. We have no idea where he lays his head at night. As far as food goes, there are millions of families that would offer him dinner, if he even needs to consume food anymore with respect to the powers he has. He just doesn’t have the means for anything nearly as grand as what you’re assuming, based on all of our intelligence.”

“You’re naïve, Jane,” the man said in a stern tone. “His capabilities are unmatched. There are governments that would pay a fortune to exploit them. He has a commodity that no one else can provide in his abilities.” The man tugged at his dog slightly to bring him out of the grass and onto the paved path. “Everyone has a price and everything can be bought.”

“Said the man who has brokered his share of said deals,” Jane replied plainly. She pulled the other ear bud out and put the unit in her purse.

“It is exactly because of that, I know something is going on. I will get to the bottom of it,” he said as he took a couple of steps away from her.

“If you are right about this, then hopefully the people will understand the need for some of the illegal activity…”

“We are covered under the Patriot Act,” he said, stopping his departure abruptly and cutting her off mid-sentence.

“That’s a load and you know it, but if it helps you sleep at night, so be it. Sooner or later it’s going to surface, whether we want it to or not, Congressman Johnson, and I hope you’re ready for that.”

“I’ll be ready because there is just no way I’m that far off base on this. Those properties in those cities… they all tie back to Nathan somehow and I am going to figure it out. All that power he has and it’s not enough. Now he’s involved with something in the middle of all those cities…all those lives. I will find out what that is,” he said turning to walk away.

Jane turned back to where the Congressman was exercising his dog. “You going to pick that up?” she asked plainly.

“The park has paid caretakers; they’ll tend to it,” he said without turning around.
About I, Hero: Nathan Returns

Nathan is back in New York City; the place where it all started, nearly one year later. While he has been away, he has been establishing a base of operations and trying to follow the direction his life has taken – making a difference and answering the call for help where and when he is needed.

He has returned to this birthplace of his powers with more questions of why he is on the path he is on and what is expected of him.

During a dangerous rescue, his powers dissipate, and leave him critically vulnerable.

He connects back with old friends who help him rediscover the man he used to be to in order to help him be the man he has become and the man who he must be.

Magical forces come into play, pulling on nature itself, which introduces an unexpected challenge to Nathan while he is at this perilous juncture.

The pendulum swings even farther out of alignment; it is up to Nathan to respond before forces are set into motion that cannot be countered.

I, Hero: The Beginning – Links to Excerpts

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt I http://bit.ly/1MKrwsF
“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IIhttp://bit.ly/1CCp4Sl
“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IIIhttp://bit.ly/1HlZEYo
“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IVhttp://bit.ly/1CwNg3l

I, Hero: Nathan Returns – Links to Excerpts

COMING ON DAYS FIVE AND SIX ON THE TOUR!

Books and links

Before Another Sunset (The Sunset Series Book 1)
http://www.amazon.com/Before-Another-Sunset-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00T11GKYE

Another Sunset (The Sunset Series Book 2)
http://www.amazon.com/Another-Sunset-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00QD2FQU8/

I Hero: The Beginning
http://www.amazon.com/I-Hero-Beginning-Jason-Zandri-ebook/dp/B00Y3LA41M/

I Hero: Nathan Returns
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011AOPE64

As Life Goes: Elementary
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Goes-Elementary-Jason-Zandri-ebook/dp/B00ZXVB7SK/

As Life Goes: The End of the Innocence – (expected November 2015)
As Life Goes: The Reunion – (expected April 2016)
As Life Goes: The Wedding (expected July 2016)
As Life Goes: The Funeral (expected October 2016)

I Hero: Untitled Book 3 (Expected first half 2016)
I Hero: Untitled Book 4 (Expected second half 2016)
I Hero: Untitled Book 5 (Expected first half 2017)

Social Media links

Twitter – @GUNDERSTONE https://twitter.com/gunderstone/
Facebook Author page – https://www.facebook.com/jzandri
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonzandri
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+JasonZandri/
Author blog – The GUNDERSTONE Review https://gunderstone.wordpress.com/

ABOUT JASON ZANDRI

Jason has been working in the information technology field in one form or the other since 1996. He is currently employed full time at Bloomberg LP as a Systems Engineer in the R&D group. Jason lives in Wallingford Connecticut, with his wife Renata. He is the father to four children, three boys and 1 girl – 11 years (Andrew), 9 years (Angela), 7 years (Adam) and 6 years old (Alex).

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – Cherished Blogfest Day

July 24, 2015February 19, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 63 Comments

As you may be aware a group of excellent Bloggers put together an incredible Blogfest that includes over 128 blogs. The idea is to talk about a cherished item and to link together a number of bloggers who will be describing an item they cherish. The founders of this idea are Damyanti – Daily (w)rite, Dan Antion – No Facilities,Paul Ruddock – Echoes of the Pen, Peter Nena – Demogorgons Fiction,Sharukh Bamboat – India Destinations and Tom Benson. Here is the badge for the event and if you click on it, you can go to a complete list of the participating bloggers.

The following is my contribution. Todays JohnKu is suspended

A Cherished Item by John W. Howell

When I considered joining the Cherished Blogfest I had in mind some items that could qualify for the title Cherished. Of course, I ruled out family since although cherished they are not items and in keeping with the blog fest it would not be fair to include them. I finally settled on a piece that belonged to my father. I have so few items left since he died was I was ten and the years have taken their toll on those mementos that could also qualify as cherished.

My dad served as a naval aviator during World War Two. He was the bombing group navigator and had the awesome responsibility to plot the course to the bombing site and then back to the ship. He served on both the Aircraft carrier Lexington and Yorktown. His group participated in battles that included the invasion of Iwo Jima and bombing strikes to the Japanese homeland.

He was an older man when the war broke out and could have stayed behind since he had two children and was a member of the Detroit Police detective bureau. He chose instead to enlist and was promptly sent to school stateside to earn his navigator wings. He was commissioned as an Ensign and assigned to Bombing Group Nine of the US Navy. These were the dive bombers who were most effective against the Japanese fleet and land-based targets. He and his group earned a number of medals and to his credit never got lost or missed reaching the assigned target.

My most cherished item is the Year book that all members received upon completion of the war. Here is a picture of the cover. You can see the scuff marks of time. The book is now seventy years old.

The next picture is the page devoted to my dad. The editor had a sense of humor in that a poem was written describing my father as a fighter that was intended to parody his true nature. The cartoon below the picture depicts the sinking of the battleship Yamato, which my dad helped plan and execute.

This book and the fact that the Lexington is permanently docked close to my home are the last links I have to my father. I do cherish it.

Tuesday – Anything Possible – #RRBC Author Jan Hawke

June 30, 2015June 29, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 43 Comments

I am so pleased to Welcome author Jan Hawke to Fiction Favorites. Jan is on a 4Wills Publishing MILELE SAFARI Blog Tour in celebration of her book Milele Safari a wonderful fictional African story. Jan the post is yours to give some background to your book.

Thanks, John Tanzania was somewhere I always dreamed of going to one day. I wanted to see the Great Migration (vast herds of wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and antelopes) across the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater and onwards to the north across the Mara river into Kenya’s Maasai Mara. A childhood spent avidly watching

Tanzania was somewhere I always dreamed of going to one day. I wanted to see the Great Migration (vast herds of wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and antelopes) across the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater and onwards to the north across the Mara river into Kenya’s Maasai Mara. A childhood spent avidly watching Daktari, various film incarnations of Tarzan, safari movies like The Snows of Kilimanjaro, or King Solomon’s Mines, and, above all, David Attenborough’s wonderful wildlife excursions, meant I had high expectations and when I finally got there, these were more than met. Rather too much in some instances, as the latter half of the holiday, further south exploring the Selous wilderness where licensed game hunting still went lucratively on, provided several eye-opening reality checks on how some of the other half lives in Africa.

Enough has been written of the Serengeti National Park to need little embellishment on the beauty of its landscapes and denizens, but it nevertheless left us with a deep impression of the fragility of the eco-system and how hard it was to make it a sustainable world heritage region in terms of climate and economic factors. The brochures were full of luscious descriptions of the exclusive game lodges that you could stay at and, by and large these were delivered, even if the upkeep of them proved less than adequate. The Great Migration the time we were there had not yet happened, as the animals were elsewhere on their journey following the water trail, so we didn’t see the vast herds of ungulates that we craved, but we did see territorial animals such as leopard, cheetah and lion as well as some of the usual antelopes, elephants, giraffe and indeed zebra and gnu that had passed on the annual procession for whatever reason. The lack of rains also meant that game spotting was pretty simple as our elderly Tanzanian guide, Muhammad, simply visited the places he knew would still have water.
I saw sights I’ll never forget, such as a cheetah stalking and bringing down a sleepy Thomson’s gazelle, where I cried and nearly fainted with excitement as I forgot to breathe, just like the sprinting predator was doing. We saw a truly superb leopard up a tree, on whom ‘Moll’ in the Perfect Day chapter is based, and rare black rhino and lion – so many lion, in the Ngorongoro Crater.

Our accommodation choices were not as advertised exactly, but added to the sense of adventure in that lack of water oddly meant fairly high humidity, even on the high plains and one of my abiding memories of the country is the faint to overpowering scent of mildew in our rooms or tents. We went for lunch at one of those luscious panoramic glass and timber hotels with a swimming pool embedded in a kopje and found the ‘lido’ several years into being dried up and one of the ground floor ablutions areas looking like it had been invaded by several rather cross rhinos…
Our trip to the Selous in the non-hunting jungle-like reserve north of the Rufiji River was heaven and hell in comparison, with heaven being what at first seemed to be a very basic tented camp, but had a licence to shoot game for the pot. It was there that we dined like kings on catfish cakes, wildebeest liver and onions and warthog sandwiches and then curry. Divine after our other venue, an ex-camp for Scandinavian engineers working on a dam project that never got built. The manager did his best to run what was billed as ‘luxury’ guest accommodation in rusty-roofed chalets with re-cycled fuel cans for lavatories and an almost non-existent food budget, except for a rather pathetic vegetable garden, a few elderly and very muscular hens that had stopped laying, and copious supplies of discount corned beef – which did at least make a fairly good spaghetti bolognese for lunch.

We dined out on the Tanzanian experience for some time back home in Kent and, looking back on it we did have a great time, even the bad bits, because it really was authentic travellers fare and brought home to us exactly what Africa meant for the people who had to live there. It was just a pity we’d had to spend a small fortune for the experience.

Excerpt from The Land of Nod
Terry sighed with impatience. ‘We must be able to do something surely?’ It was the fiftieth time she had said something like this since she’d pulled herself together Tom thought. Henryk appeared to concur as Terry joined Christian at the window. The old German spoke with authority still despite his dejected looks. ‘So long as they are just talking we should wait. If we interfere it may make things worse. You know this as well as I Teresa…’

Barely a second after he said it both Christian and Terry jumped and drew breath sharply. ‘He is hitting her!’

Christian’s appalled exclamation was drowned out by Terry’s outraged shout ‘Stop that you filthy animal!’

Nobody was quick enough to stop her as she hurtled past an open-mouthed Tom and out of the door, deftly evading the one militia man left guarding them. Briefly he trained his weapon after her, but the others were all on their feet and Tom was halfway towards the door himself. The young Matu was wide-eyed and frightened and swung the gun around nervously as Tom came to an abrupt halt with the three others cannoning into his back. They could all hear Terry yelling like a banshee and the clergyman screaming back at her in rapid French. Their guard was getting a grip and gestured fiercely for them to get back. They all hurried back to the little window, all four of them craning around to try and see what was happening outside.

‘They are not wicked! They are frightened you devil-spawn!’ Terry’s eyes blazed with fury. ‘What did they ever do to you?’ Her French was suddenly fluent again after all these years. She was still scared as hell, but her anger was aflame now and it carried her on, passionately determined to stop this craven traitor who dared to declare himself a Man of God, no matter what it took.

‘Keep out of this you snivelling worm!’ he snarled. ‘These women are less then pigs and they must come back to Zyanda with us!’ He snapped at one of the men with a rifle. ‘Get this stupid foreigner back inside or kill her!’ He turned his mad eyes back on Terry. ‘Go back to your no-good ghosts before I really lose my temper!’

……………

Tom’s gaze strayed to the window again to the women and girls cringing away from the Matu guards. They were looking at the nun as though she were mad. Never, never again did he want to see people that petrified with terror. He turned back to Henryk and saw his own concern echoed. ‘She is my best friend and the kindest, strongest person I know. I love her like my sister and I’ll do anything I can to help her.’ Henryk smiled up at him. ‘She deserves to have such good friends Tom.’

‘He says you can both go out to get the lady.’ Christian’s voice broke in on them. He looked worried and tired too. ‘He says his grandfather is the one holding the rifle – that he will not hurt her, but the other one – their leader – he is a very angry man who will listen to no one. He will kill her himself if she does not stop. You must hurry.’

Henryk sighed and looked at Tom then back at Christian. ‘Thank you my friend. And tell the young soldier thank you also for us please. You will look after my wife for me until I get back?’ Christian smiled shyly and nodded his head at the two Europeans.

‘You take much care Pastor, and you my friend.’

Tom forced a big smile at the quietly spoken young man and at the guard as he and Henryk walked calmly out of the school house into the strong African noonday sun.

Other Tanzanian chapters
Here be Dragons – Sophie arrives in Tanzania to take up her new post at the Teresa Olatunde Community Hospital, helping others come to terms with terrible memories even as she lays her own past to rest.

Hard Rains – the rains come late and hard and Sophie is caught up in a natural disaster, just after a herdsman is brought in with gunshot wounds after a brutal encounter with hardened, well-equipped poachers.

Angels of the Abyss – as police arrive at the devastation, it emerges that the poachers have far more sinister origins and Mgakera sends a convoy with food and shelter for the stricken community, while Luey flies more medical aid in.

Author Bio:
I live near Launceston in Cornwall, UK with Toby and Benji the Springer Spaniels – it’s a tie between us all as to who’s maddest, but as I outrank them in being weird anyway it’s not open to debate really.
I’m physically lazy with things that don’t hold much interest for me (so that’s mostly housework and, increasingly, cooking…), but I love where we live, mainly because I chose it for being so quiet and off the beaten track, very close to the moors and quite near to the sea.

I also love books, both to write and to read, the latter of which can be very eclectic (I enjoy Julian Barnes, Kate Atkinson, Jeanette Winterson and will happily admit to Jilly Cooper too) but in the main I’m heavily into SF&F, particularly Tolkien, Terry Pratchett and Julian May, although I can pass on Zombie Apocalypses fairly easily…

…how I’ve chosen to write about Africa for my first novel may be something of a surprise to my friends, but if you read it you may find that all of the above information manifests in there somehow!

Future projects include a futuristic fantasy series, loosely grounded in Celtic myth – The Shadow Chronica (http://havenlands.blogspot.co.uk/), which is kind of stalled at present, but I’ll be dusting it off as summer gets in full flood with the first novel hopefully available at the tail end of 2016.

Book Blurb:
Milele Safari back blurb – Milele Safari – An Eternal Journey …twines around a single day, in an unremarkable border village that snuffs out the lives of four people and shatters many others, only to draw the survivors back to a different time and, perhaps, a hope of atonement and peace. Step out on the journey and discover an Africa that could have been, is and might one day come to be.

Book links –
Amazon (print & eBook) – http://www.amazon.com/dp/0992747201/http://www.amazon.com/dp/0992747201/
Barnes & Noble (print only) – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/milele-safari-an-eternal-journey-janette-mary-hawke/1117529970?ean=9780992747206 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/milele-safari-an-eternal-journey-janette-mary-hawke/1117529970?ean=9780992747206
Milele Safari blog – http://milelesafari.blogspot.co.uk/p/taster-1.html http://milelesafari.blogspot.co.uk/p/taster-1.html
Book Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkJsS5vtJjg

Social Media links
Twitter – @JanHawke
Facebook Author page –https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jan-Hawke/386239624841750 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jan-Hawke/386239624841750
LinkedIn –https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=254177051&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=254177051&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
Author blog – Jan Hawke INKorporatedhttp://janhawke.me/http://janhawke.me/

4WillsPublishing Link:
AUTHOR EVENT – http://4wills-hawke.chatovod.com/

This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com

The Heart of Teaching Tour with #RRBC’s John Fioravanti

May 8, 2015May 4, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 32 Comments

A special guest on Fiction Favorites is Rave Reviews Book Club board member and Membership Director John Fioravanti. This is a stop on his The Heart of Teaching Tour. John Fiction Favorites is yours.

Thanks, John I’m grateful that you would be my host of this sixth post of THE HEART OF TEACHING TOUR, and to Nonnie Jules of 4WillsPublishing who arranged it all! The full lineup for this tour can be found @ http://wp.me/P43s9i-2g

“It would take me several more years to learn that the most valuable thing I could offer students who confided in me was a willingness to listen and caring support.”

Excerpt from John Fioravanti: A Personal Journey To The Heart of Teaching.

In a previous post, I talked about the fact that I had felt the desire to help others as far back as I can remember. It became a major motive when I decided, as a high school student, that I wanted to teach in a high school one day. I did not have an easy time of it, emotionally, during my teen years, so I readily identified with troubled teens and hoped I might be of some help to them. Unfortunately, in this respect, things didn’t turn out the way I had anticipated.

The problem wasn’t with the students; it was with me. As I developed rapport with my classes and students felt comfortable in my classroom, I found that sometimes a student would seek me out in my classroom at noon or before school in the morning. Often they shared friend problems or family issues, and in my enthusiasm to be helpful, I would try to fix their world. Even now, as I type this, I’m shaking my head in disbelief. I honestly believed that these students wanted my advice, to tell them what they should do to solve whatever problem they were experiencing. How intellectually arrogant is that? My heart was in the right place, but my head certainly wasn’t!

The truth of my folly became apparent one day when our Vice Principal came to my door. At this time I was the Student Activities Council teacher advisor, and had been for a couple of years. Once I made it into the corridor, he asked me to meet with some distraught former students in his office. He said he would take over my class and I was to stay with our visitors for as long as necessary. Wow! What was this all about? Several possibilities crossed my mind as I walked the short distance to his office. I wasn’t ready for what greeted me when I arrived.

Stepping inside that office, I was swarmed by at least a half-dozen sobbing grade 11 kids who had been my Student Council seniors the year before. I hugged them all, two at a time, before we sat down together. I didn’t know that one of their friends had been killed in a car crash the day before. I knew the boy, but not very well. The sudden revelation of this tragic news, combined with their distress, served to put me into a slight state of shock. My mind raced, What can I say to these kids? How can I make them feel better? How can I fix this? It suddenly dawned on me, that there would be no “fixing” this!

So I sat quietly and listened intently to their expressions of grief. I did not admonish them when they railed against fate for their tragic loss. I nodded in silence as they wept openly – as if to tell them that their tears are good. I honestly didn’t know what else to do! There was a war going on inside between my desire to fix the situation and my natural instinct to just sit still and let them pour out their grief. After about 45 minutes (seemed like hours), the Council President from the previous year stood, thanked me for “being here for us”, and led the rest of the group out. There were more hugs on their way out the door.

“Thank you, sir, for being here for us.” I fixed nothing, but that is not my role. This tragedy, and these grief-stricken teens, gave me one of the most valuable lessons in my career. For this, I will always be truly grateful!

Author Bio:

John Fioravanti is a retired secondary school educator who completed his thirty-five-year career in the classroom in June, 2008.

Throughout his career, John focused on developing research, analysis, and essay writing skills in his History Classroom. This led to the publication of his first non-fiction work for student use, Getting It Right in History Class. A Personal Journey to the Heart of Teaching is his second non-fiction work; it attempts to crystallize the struggles, accomplishments, and setbacks experienced in more than three decades of effort to achieve excellence in his chosen field.

John’s first work of fiction is Passion & Struggle, Book One of The Genesis Saga, and is set within Kenneth Tam’s Equations universe (Iceberg Publishing). He claims that, after two non-fiction books, he’s having the time of his life bringing new stories and characters to life!

At present, John lives in Waterloo, Ontario with Anne, his bride of forty-one years. They have three children and three grandchildren. In December of 2013, John and Anne founded Fiora Books for the express purpose of publishing John’s books.

Contacts:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fiora-Books/516763875088924?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FioraBooks

Website: https://fiorabooks.com

Book Purchase Links:

Amazon USA: http://dld.bz/dCm6v

Amazon Canada: http://dld.bz/dCm64

Amazon UK : http://dld.bz/dCm6P

Amazon Australia: http://dld.bz/dCmBB

Chapters/Indigo Canada: http://dld.bz/dCp5A

Barnes & Noble: http://dld.bz/dCp5E

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”

Seventh Day of It’s Reining Men with Traci Sanders – (me included)

March 8, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 4 Comments

Today is the seventh day of the Traci Sanders It’s Reining Men Tour. This will be my last day but there are three more male authors she will be hosting for the remainder of the month. Today I posted a short story which I call Last night. This story is the opening of the first chapter of my latest WIP. You might want to check it out and then come back for the rest of Traci’s tour all month.

Thank you. Tracy for having me. It was a real pleasure and wishing you the best for the remainder of the month.

When DarknessBreaks

Sixth Day of the IT’s Reining Men Tour with Traci Sanders (and me)

March 7, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 4 Comments

Today is the sixth day of Traci Sanders’ It’s Reining Men Tour. I am over there pontificating about the six things a writer should know. These were learned by me through the efficient and time-honored tradition of Trial & Error. (Tongue in cheek) Visit if you can

Traci has authored a number of books, but her first foray into fiction for adults is When Darkness Breaks

Local news anchor, Amber Woods, seemed to have it all – a thriving career, two beautiful children, and a doting husband named Drake. Life was perfect…until her world was turned upside down in one fateful night. While the incident causes Amber to renew her priorities; unable to deal with what happened, Drake begins sinking into a deep depression laced with infidelity and alcohol.

Hoping a change of scenery will salvage her quickly deteriorating marriage, Amber agrees that a move to New York may be just what they need. Unfortunately, she quickly discovers that you can’t outrun your problems and the past is not always left in the past.

Can Amber save her marriage without losing herself along the way? What will she do when darkness breaks her will to keep trying?

Here is an excerpt.

Drake’s feet tore a cautious but swift path to the double doors, and stopped when he reached the waiting room. His hands trembled as he filled out the papers. Then, he alternated between sitting and standing, unable to settle, as he anticipated the doctor’s arrival. After what seemed like an eternity, Drake spied a white coat out of the corner of his eye.

“Mr. Woods?” A deep, soothing voice summoned him.

Drake turned to see a male physician, possibly in his late fifties, who sported a head full of dark black hair, and appeared to be in excellent physical shape. He shook the doctor’s hand as he confirmed his name.

“I am Dr. Davis. I am the surgeon on your wife’s case. We need to talk about your wife’s current condition.” His words were spoken in a matter-of-fact tone, almost with arrogance.

Drake sat down. The words “We need to talk,” echoed in his mind. He had heard those words from Amber many times, especially lately, and good news never followed.

“Is she alive?” He could barely summon his voice to ask the question.

“She is, but remains in critical condition. Amber suffered severe trauma to the head and is currently in a coma. Amazingly, she came through with only a few broken bones, and those can be mended. Our major concern right now is her brain. We were able to stop the hemorrhaging, but there is still quite a bit of swelling left behind. We are monitoring that now and giving her …”

Drake’s head felt as though it had swelled. His ears rang. He wanted to hear every word the doctor said, but his heart pounded louder than the doctor’s voice, and his tears masked his sight. He pictured his sweet love lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to a plethora of machines and IV drips, as she clung to her last breath of life. He worried about the children too, but felt a powerful obligatory presence with the love of his life in that moment. After all, she was the reason he even became a father. Where have these loving thoughts about her been hiding for so long?

When Drake’s mind and ears returned to the conversation, the doctor said, “I need to get back to check on Amber now. I will send the Chaplain in to speak with you. Is there anyone else you’d like us to call? Do you have any other questions for me?”

Drake only had one: “What now?”

“Now, we wait.”

Guest Post on A Word with Traci – Excerpt from My Next Book

March 6, 2015March 6, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 7 Comments

Traci Sanders is hosting the It’s Reining Men Tour for the month of March. I am lucky to be the kick-off guest and have had a great time. Today I have posted an excerpt from my next book titled His Revenge for release in May. (At least that was the last word). Traci has a beautiful site and well worth a visit. http://awordwithtraci.com/guest-author-john-howell-3/

Author and mother of three, Traci Sanders has been composing poetry, songs, and children’s stories since the young age of ten. In 2003, she opened her home to young children in her community offering “beyond the basics” teachings. In 2008, she was recognized by the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency as Family Childcare Provider of the Year and was featured in two local newspapers.

In 2010, she furthered her education by earning her Child Development Associates degree and was a recipient of the FIRST (First Incentive for Raising Standards among Teachers) Award presented by the Child Care Commissioner of her state. She continues to shape the young minds of the future through her home-based childcare program. Her daily interactions with these children provide constant inspiration for her writing and she plans to continue on this path until her story has reached “The End.”

Her first book was published in January 2013 titled ‘Welcome to “Poop Camp”: The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth about Potty Training’. She released her first children’s book about family child care in May 2013.

To date, Traci has published five books, including her latest foray into adult fiction titled, ‘When Darkness Breaks’. She is an avid reader and writer, and finds inspiration all around her.

Currently Traci is writing her second adult novel, a light paranormal romance, titled ‘UNSEVERED’.

When Darkness Breaks!

Echoes of Narcissus by Jo Robinson

December 28, 2014December 28, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 3 Comments

Donna thought there was something wrong with her. That she was suffering from a mental illness that has caused her husband to despise her, distance himself from her, and cheat on her. She blames herself for the desolate, miserable thing that is her marriage and her life. Then she comes across a book that will change everything for her, and reading it, she discovers that there’s nothing wrong with her mind at all, but that there is something very wrong with her husband instead. Marco, she realises, is a malignant narcissist. A text book case. He has a real and documented mental disorder, and that he’s been controlling, manipulating, and abusing her for decades. The sudden full knowledge of all that he’s purposely done to her enrages her. Not sure how to leave after thirty years of what she finally knows has been intentional mental and emotional abuse from him, and believing that she has nowhere to turn, being so physically isolated, she bides her time.

Then she meets and befriends a group of unusual people who share her passion for gardening, and so begins her journey to escape. She joins her new friends in their project to assist elderly people in old age homes care for their small gardens, as well as secretly supplying those suffering from painful and terminal illnesses with medicinal herb and plant remedies, including illegal plants such as cannabis. As weeks go by, she delves into her memories, relearns what it is to be respected, liked, and loved again, and slowly she formulates a plan to safely leave her dangerous husband. But unbeknownst to Donna, Marco is in serious trouble, and has desperate plans of his own, and absolutely no regard for her safety.

** This is a work of fiction, but malignant narcissists really do exist, and it is a recognised mental illness. Unfortunately, many people never realise that they are involved with a narcissist, because their actions are so demonically bad as to be unimaginable and unbelievable, and so they spend their lives in misery, depression, fear, and isolation. If only by the accidental reading of a fictional story, I hope that this book will help even one person, unknowingly suffering narcissistic abuse, to realise that they don’t have to, and that it’s never too late to start over, be happy, be fulfilled, to love and care for yourself, and be truly loved and respected by others.

Available now from AMAZON

Jo Robinson very recently returned to her homeland, South Africa, after having lived in rural Zimbabwe for eighteen years. Her obsessive affection for the African continent, most humans, and all creatures feathered and furred are what inspire her writing. She is the author of African Me & Satellite TV, the science-fiction/fantasy series Shadow People, and a couple of short stories, which will be free to download from Amazon from 26 to 30 December, Fly Birdie and The Visitation.

To win eBook copies of Shadow People and African Me & Satellite TV, send Jo a message from THIS page.

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