#indieauthor – Rosepoint Publishing

Out of the Red and Into the Black: A Debt is Paid by Shane A Ahalt Sr – A #BookReview

Book Blurb:

Unspeakable acts go on under our noses every single day. If you could do something about them would you? How far would you go? Shane Ahalt’s debut thriller will have you questioning your morality and your stance on vigilantism.

When Chris Caldwell, the chief of police of a small town, investigates the kidnapping of Tyler Creasy and the brutal and torturous murder of his parents, the investigation reveals dark secrets of the family. As the clues unravel and similar instances are discovered to have occurred over a period of more than 60 years, the question arises “Is this an isolated incident or is there something more sinister in the works?” Chief Caldwell’s investigation turns up more than he bargained for as history seems to repeat itself. Will he solve these vicious and violent murders or will they become cold cases? Will he discover what happened to Tyler? Find out in Shane Ahalt Sr.’s debut thriller, Out of the Red and Into the Black.

His Review:

A child with serious abusive issues originating from parents has a lifelong cross to bear. Tyler Creasy and his friend Raquel are two such children. Accidental touches when young lead to a world of depravity I have never contemplated. The question that roars into your mind as you read this book is: “How can any parent do this to their own children?”

Brian Smart is a computer analyst with the F.B.I. He was rescued as a young man by someone who had been similarly subjected to such abuse. After being rescued Brian was loved and well educated. His foster father charged him with one task. When given the chance, he would rescue another child subjected to this abuse and thereby “pay it forward”. Brian begins to see this happening and sets out to rescue the child being abused.

The author has developed a skillful methodology to capture the offenders and bring them to justice. The justice is renegade in nature and therefore the rescuers are being sought by the same organization that Brian works for. Most of the crimes occur in four contiguous states and these are the area that Brian’s FBI group investigates.

The use of computer cyber security and advanced monitoring methods are intriguing and effective. I found myself having no sympathy for the recipients of their crimes. I did find that the overall crimes and subsequent retributions to be duplicitous. The two young people are being taught by Brian to assist other young people caught in this abomination.

I was torn between having hope for the victims and concern about the impact on their lives as they tried to make restitution for what happened to them. “Revenge is Mine” sayeth the Lord, certainly is not argued in this text. Rather “An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth” is the norm. I appreciated the authors’ attention to detail and methodology. Living in the bubble of not having been visited this issue was a far simpler way to live. We received this author request and download in the expectation of a review and these are my honest opinions. Trigger Warnings: Graphic descriptions. 4 stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Kidnapping Thrillers, Murder Thrillers
Publisher: Indie Author
ASIN: B07ZQTJYJY
Print Length: 196 pages
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
Source: Direct author request
Title Link: Out of the Red and Into the Black (Amazon)
Barnes and Noble

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

The Author: Shane Ahalt Sr. is a father, husband, teacher, writer, and 21 year veteran of the United States Navy.

Upon graduating The George Washington University, he was commissioned in the Navy where he flew helicopters. When he retired from the Navy, he decided to give back to his community by becoming a High School Math teacher.

Although he is a native of the Washington D.C. suburbs. He is currently a teacher in Florida at a small alternative school.

Writing is a talent he stumbled upon and, to date, he has published one book, “Out of the Red and Into the Black.”

Cocos Island Treasure by Stanley McShane – a #BookReview

It’s March and I’m participating in the Reading Ireland Month for 2019. This one is an action-adventure fiction by Irish author and artist Stanley McShane. He was my grandfather and you can read about the discovery of his manuscripts, paintings, and poems in my “About Us” page here.

Title: Cocos Island Treasure by Stanley McShane

Genre: Sea Adventures, Historical Fiction

Publisher: Rosepoint Publishing

ASIN: B007D58KZC
ISBN-10: 1468177338
ISBN-13: 978-1468177336
Print Length: 204 pages

Publication Date: October 8, 2012

Title Link: Cocos Island Treasure

Book Blurb:

Where did those rasty, barbaric theft-driven pirates bury their treasures in the 17th and 18th Centuries? Perhaps just a little south of the main South Sea shipping lane in a secluded harbor where a short paddle through shark-infested waters to the steamy, fetid jungle island could yield fresh water, food, and gold! Turn-of-the-20th Century fortune hunters from the schooner, Bessie, hunt where only ghosts inhabit–or are they all merely apparitions? Captain Dan was ready to retire until he gained access to a secret cipher–one that he felt sure was authentic enough to reap him millions and willing to risk one more salty adventure to seek the insanely rich treasures of Cocos Island.

Editorial Reviews:

“This book has it all, adventure, mystery and a touch of romance.” – Catmarie

“Cocos Island Treasure is an old school nautical adventure. This work is a window into the by-gone era where maps that detailed the bounty of famous pirate treasure was indeed plausable.” – S Mellen

“Not my usual subject of interest, but a recent documentary on Blackbeard peaked my interest. The author really seems to know his stuff about the subject, and the island itself.” – mpytlikhusb

“I haven’t read a good pirate novel since I read the Sea Wolf as a teenager. Cocos Island Treasure was even more interesting because it is a true story.” – Terry W Sprouse

“It was quite a trip to go back in time, not only considering the setting of the story, but the book’s birth three decades ago. A cross between Stevenson’s Treasure Island…full of the language of the day.” – N Lombardi Jr. author Justice Gone

My Review:

My grandfather wrote this book back in the late 1920s. My mother can remember him tapping out the manuscript with his two index fingers on an old Underwood–older, I’m sure, than the one I use for my logo. While I may be a bit prejudiced, I rated it a five star because I know he was there, walked that beach (Chatham Bay), climbed through those jungles and did his best not to disappear in the many bogs and crevices. (He later noted in a letter what a fun little trip it was!)

The author described this island down to the gnat’s eyeball. Since I’ve researched the island, I’ve found descriptions echoing his down to the wild pigs that were brought to the island and allowed to go feral. He wrote the manuscript over 90 years ago, turning his sailing adventure into a novel affirming the well-known rumors or stories of all the pirate treasures buried on the island, including the “Loot of Lima.” The treasure stolen by Captain William Thompson, commander of the Mary Dear, was purportedly the largest treasure ever hidden by pirates. So many stories abound regarding the captain and whether or not he survived. More stories published regarding whether or not the treasure was found. That treasure, however, was not the only one to be buried on the island by pirates. (The island is now closed to tourists or treasure hunters.)

It’s a fun, quick read and takes you back almost a century to sail on the schooner, Bessie. The book was written using sailing jargon and colloquialisms of the day and was kept faithful to his original manuscript. The narrative, however, remembers another famous pirate, Edward Davis. (It is said that he was one of the earliest buccaneers to have buried treasure on Cocos Island where he anchored in Chatham Bay as well. Cocos Island is approximately 340 miles southwest of Costa Rica.)

There were two additional sea adventures published, one describing the gruesome art of whaling in Lucky Joe and another after his year-long fishing experience out of Grimsby, England he called Sons of the Sea.

It is the anthology published in 2015, Sole Survivor, in which I pulled together several of his short stories, introduction to Lucky Joe, paintings, and poems. With the possible exception of Cocos Island Treasure, all are available in both paperback and ebook, now for free through Kindle Unlimited. (Busters of Bitter River is available only in ebook form.)

Cocos Island Treasure by Stanley McShane

https://www.amazon.com/Cocos-Island-Treasure-Still-Pirate-ebook/dp/B007D58KZC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+cocos+island+treasure&qid=1553205154&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-spell

https://www.amazon.com/SONS-SEA-Stanley-McShane-ebook/dp/B007ZW8GHU/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=sons+of+the+sea+stanley+mcshane&qid=1553220000&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull sons of the sea free in KU

https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Joe-Stanley-McShane-2012-08-02/dp/B01K93FCAU/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=lucky+joe+stanley+mcshane&qid=1553220194&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull lucky joe free in KU

https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Air-Promotions-Exploration-Investments-ebook/dp/B00GHMAH5I/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=hot+air+promotions+stanley+mcshane&qid=1553220087&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull hot air promotions free in KU

https://www.amazon.com/Busters-Bitter-River-Historical-Western-ebook/dp/B00KOG0ED8/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=busters+of+bitter+river+stanley+mcshane&qid=1553220324&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull busters of bitter river free in KU

https://www.amazon.com/Sole-Survivor-Short-Story-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0166HQPNG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+sole+survivor+stanley+mcshane&qid=1553219534&s=books&sr=1-1 sole survivor free in KU

**See the amazing story of the painting that provides an updated cover version of Sole Survivor here. (Three of the above covers were provided by his paintings.)**

The Author: Stanley McShane is the pen name of Patrick John Rose and the author of one novel published during his lifetime in 1936, “Bitter River Ranch” by Phoenix Press. Patrick was born in 1872 aboard his father’s vessel, the Marguerite, and was the sole survivor when she sank. He sailed as a captain aboard his own ship until some time after the turn of the 20th century, whereupon he caught Alaskan gold fever and ventured north. It was in the late 1920’s/early 30’s that he eventually settled down to write about all of his adventures–both land and sea. “Cocos Island Treasure,” “Sons of the Sea,” “Lucky Joe,” and “Hot Air Promotions” were published posthumously through Rosepoint Publishing by his granddaughter. An eBook historical western novella was published in May, 2014 called “Busters of Bitter River.” McShane’s short stories, poems, and paintings were gathered in a fiction adventure anthology called “Sole Survivor” in 2015.

The vocal music background on the book trailer is provided by Marc Gunn, self-proclaimed Irish and Celtic Music celtfather. In addition to his albums, he offers a delightful podcast which was available for download on iTunes. Otherwise, check him out here.

My grandfather had an unusual writing style, often filled with slang, sailing terms, and sensitivities (or lack thereof) of his day. Have you attempted to publish one of your ancestor’s manuscripts? I’d love to hear about your journey!

The Invisible Mind by M. T. Bass #BlogTour #BookReview

I am so delighted today to provide a review for you by the C.E. at my blog stop for The Invisible Mind by M. T. Bass on Sage’s Blog Tours.

The Invisible Mind-Murder by Munchausen #3 by M.T. Bass

Title: The Invisible Mind: Murder by Munchausen #3 Future Crime Mysteries: A Sci-Fi Police Procedural Techno-Thriller

- - Print Length: 212 pages
  - Publisher: Electron Alley Corporation
  - Publication Date: August 25, 2018
  - Language: English
  - ASIN:B07DFF75L3
- ISBN-10: 194626606X
- ISBN-13: 978-1946266064
A police procedural sci-fi thriller ripped from future headlines!

Now unleashed, the “Baron” is resurrecting history’s notorious serial killers, giving them a second life in the bodies of hacked and reprogrammed Personal Assistant Androids, then turning them loose to terrorize the city. While detectives Jake and Maddie of the police department’s Artificial Crimes Unit scramble to stop the carnage with the Baron’s arrest, the cyberpunk head of the Counter IT Section, Q, struggles to de-encrypt his mad scheme to infect world data centers with a virus that represents a collective cyber unconsciousness of evil. Continue reading “The Invisible Mind by M. T. Bass #BlogTour #BookReview”

See You Soon, Afton – a #BookReview

Title: See You Soon, Afton (Afton Morrison Book 2) by Brent Jones

Genre: Currently #3787 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Suspense

Publication Date: August 7, 2018

Source: Direct author request

Title and Cover: See You Soon, Afton – Afton Morrison, Book 2 (The Afton Morrison Series) by Brent Jones

Holy smokes! Book 2 literally sets the plot on fire with the dark and desperate attempt by Afton to find and save little Kim. The despot in Afton takes a back seat as she must act on that soft spot for the sweet and innocent volunteer library assistant who looks on her as a mentor. After all, she has yet to prove her psychopathic vigilante assassin status! If Afton ravaged your senses in Book 1 with her first-person account of her twisted, deep vigilante desires and her comprehensive search for the perfect victim to stem the Animus within her, Book 2 slams what you thought you knew about where this was going against a very hot, blackened wall. Continue reading “See You Soon, Afton – a #BookReview”

Charlie Mac – a #BookReview

Title: Charlie Mac: A Story of Ordinary People Who Lived in Extraordinary Times by Maria McDonald

Genre: Currently #37389 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction

Publication Date: March 30, 2018

Source: Direct request by author

Title and Cover: Charlie Mac – The chair holds significance but doesn’t wholly convey the tragedy that it included.

This is the fictional account of the life and death of Charlie McMullen, great-grandfather of the author which follows three generations through one of the most tumultuous times in the history of Ireland–specifically in Belfast.

Charlie was born in 1873 and died just after the Irish Home Rule Campaign ended with the establishment of the border dividing Ireland. A city fella, he married a country girl, Mary Jane from County Down. Her life experience was totally opposite his, as was her religion; hers being Catholic. We can’t help who we fall in love with and sometimes that will forever shape our destiny. But neither his Belfast neighbors nor their respective families were happy with the marriage. The couple thought, however, that the strength of their union would overcome objections. It couldn’t and didn’t, resulting in tragedy. Continue reading “Charlie Mac – a #BookReview”

Blog Tour Review Stop and #Giveaway of Micromium-Clean Energy from Mars by David Gittlin

Title: Micromium: Clean Energy from Mars by David Gittlin

Publication Date: March 6, 2018

Source: Sage Adderley – Sage’s Book Tours

Publisher: Entelligent Entertainment

Genre: Science Fiction

I am thrilled to present today a blog tour review stop by both myself and my associate reviewer, the CE, promoted by Sage Adderley of Sage’s Book Tours. And please don’t miss your chance for this Super Sci-Fi Giveaway!

Book Blurb:

The year is 2038. Earth’s biosphere is on the brink of destruction from the effects of global warming and pollution. The World Energy Council has awarded a lucrative contract to a major US corporation to mine a precious ore discovered by the first manned mission to land on Mars. One kilo of Micromium can power a large city for a year without environmental side effects. Micromium promises to provide clean energy to a thirsty planet far into the future.

When two people die in a mining accident on Mars, the World Energy Council sends Commander Logan Marchant and a crack team of astronaut specialists to investigate.

Confronted with a lack of cooperation from the mining colonists, the investigation is further complicated by Logan’s growing attraction to the team’s beautiful and brainy geologist. While tensions and tempers rise, Logan and the audit team make one shocking discovery after another, until the investigation leads them into mortal danger, and ultimately, to a surprising conclusion.

Because Sci-Fi is more his genre than mine, I am presenting his review first. This is definitely a unique spin on that ole Sci-Fi tale and one you’ll be glad to have discovered!

The CE’s Review

Corporate greed combined with Martian mining makes for a fascinating tale. Four auditors and astronauts are sent to a mining outpost on Mars to investigate the mysterious deaths of a former audit team. Extra-terrestrial events embroil them in a life and death struggle with exceptionally greedy management. Access which should be totally open is suddenly restricted and robotic miners guard areas they do not want investigated.

The team discovers alien space shipwrecks and find that the mining operation is a ruse for a much more sinister endeavor. Management attempts to kill and stifle reports which may restrict their dreams of vast wealth and world domination.

World pollution and degradation of the planet’s atmosphere threaten life on earth. Micromium, a miracle heretofore unknown substance promises many years of totally clean energy and the chance to clean up the damage caused by the burning of fossil fuels and global warming resulting from their use.

The team headed by Logan Marchant include Kate Blackstone geologist, Kaneko Fukui MD and Exo-geologist and Rashawn Livingston navigator and EVA specialist. They all have advanced degrees in their fields. Their personalities are deeply vetted to make sure they fit as an audit team.

Kate studies the mineral deposits on Mars and finds that the concentration of Micromium is much smaller than she had expected. Trying to access the mines results in resistance from the Operations Manager, Oscar Kominsky. His reward for managing this Martian operation is undreamed of wealth. He will not allow anyone to get in his way.

Unexpected twists and turns in this illustrated novella along with the unexpected meeting of aliens make for a very exciting read. There are no lagging parts in this book. The audit team expands communication with them. When mining management tries to destroy the second audit team along with the aliens there is a very surprising result. I highly recommend this book. (5 stars) C E Williams

My Review:

I love it when I can find a book that I know will have the CE chomping at the bit to tear into. And he did. And, surprisingly, not a sci-fi fan, so did I. This takes place in 2038, but not much has changed in human behavior. There are still the good and the bad–and the bad can sometimes be very, very bad.

What else is the management team of Martian Mining Interplanetary hiding from the World Energy Council and their U.S. corporate bosses that have been awarded the contract for bringing back the minerals? The mining colonists are not particularly friendly and certainly don’t appreciate the investigatory team, but it definitely goes deeper than that. The death of the early audit team must be investigated.

Although the story starts off a little slow for me, the discoveries feed into an interesting mystery. And the mystery reminded me just a little of some of the old interplanetary thriller movies, as they kept finding clues and developed the cast members.

The search for precious metals or minerals in this case creates the same tension that any mining operation has created since the first was discovered. The idea is a noble one–that of becoming capable of providing the energy to the world that will help turn around the environmental disaster wrought on the earth. Mining the ore becomes technologically feasible and might serve the earth for some time to come, but then something happens when the ore is assessed by the audit team. Something isn’t right.

The little drawings added an extra little tease to the narrative, but unfortunately, there were a few edit misses that diverted my attention as well. Dialogue generally works, and the romance probably served as a slight distraction, unnecessary to the general plot. The protagonist allowed his team to use their individual expertise fleshing most of them out and the team worked well and usually successfully even as events became progressively dangerous.

I was offered this stop on the blog tour by Sage’s Blog Tours and greatly appreciated the offer to read and review, particularly sharing with my sci-fi guru for his opinion. Did it meet his expectation? Yes, and I would recommend as well to sci-fi and mystery fans, intrigue, and action-adventure fans. A mine on Mars? Certainly within the realm of imagination and an appealing concept.

Check out the spotlights and reviews of this book and don’t forget to sign up for one of the giveaways!

Blog Tour Participants

April 26th Bound 2 Escape ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT
April 27th Storyteller Alley ~ BOOK REVIEW
April 28th Book Fidelity ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT
May 1st Bound 2 Escape ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT
May 2nd Rosepoint Publishing ~ REVIEW
May 2nd Shari Sakurai ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT

About the Author

David Gittlin - author (From Amazon Author page)

After a career in marketing and business communications, David Gittlin studied screenwriting and novel writing at UCLA. His three feature length screenplays; “Love Will Find You,” “Joshua’s Decision,” and “A Prescription for Happiness” have reached the finals or placed in several major screenplay competitions. His first novel, an urban fantasy thriller, “Three Days to Darkness,” was a recent nominee to the James Kirkwood Prize for creative writing. Entelligent Entertainment recently published Gittlin’s second and third novels, “Scarlet Ambrosia” and “Micromium–Clean Energy from Mars.” I’ve put my heart, soul and guts into these books. I’d like you to read them.

(From Goodreads Author page)Only one thing stood between me and my dream of becoming a creative writer: I couldn’t do two things at once. Upon retiring from my career in marketing communications, I decided to devote my full attention to writing fiction, thereby solving my multi-tasking challenge. Mr. Gittlin is also a prize-winning citizen journalist and film maker. He lives in Aventura, Florida.

David Gittlin’s purchase and social media links:

On Amazon: http://amzn.to/2FOfg0y
On B&N: http://bit.ly/2G9H2Ea
On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2GJoubD
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dgittlin
On Twitter: @DavidGittlin

The author will be giving an ebook copy of Micromium to the first 40 people who contact him with their name and ebook format preference (ePub or Mobi). They can enter here:

https://www.davidgittlin.com/contact

#ThrowbackThursday – Drifter by M. L. Gardner

Renee began the #ThrowbackThursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Sounded like a good reason to join! I’ll be looking back at my favorite authors and stories you might not have previously experienced. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. Just provide the link back to her please).

Drifter by M. L. Gardner This week I am highlighting M. L. Gardner, another terrific, prolific author who wrote Drifter, which I reviewed on Goodreads. She has actually written ten novels, including two series, short stories, and a novella. This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services LLC on January 11, 2014. She consistently runs approximately 4+ stars for any of her books sold on Amazon.

Originally posted January 26, 2015

Book Blurb:

In this fourth book of The 1929 Series, we are led into the world of Richard Sloan, a Massachusetts missing person’s detective who seems to be losing his touch. After six months he hasn’t found anyone alive and becomes desperate to redeem his reputation.

Aryl Sullivan, who suffered amnesia in a boating accident, finds himself caught up in a series of events that land him in London. While in the hands of Gina, a secretive and controlling woman, and her boss, Mickey, Aryl is forever changed as he does what he has to in order to survive.

Following leads on a serial cop killer terrorizing Boston, Detective Sloan unwittingly stumbles on information that leads him to Aryl Sullivan, a man everyone in Rockport thinks is dead.

My Review:

It’s amazing who you can become–given the right–or wrong circumstances. Sometimes, you can’t imagine how you’ve ever become this person. And having become a person you revile, can you ever quit and so back? Can you ever really “go home”? Would you want to?

This is the fourth in the 1929 series; the third I’ve read and this is definitely my favorite. Aryl is “found” by Richard Sloan, a missing persons cop who lucks onto Aryl looking for a serial cop killer. Sloan is a disgruntled, discontented Boston P.D. detective with a marriage teetering on the edge for a reason both partners are impotent to remedy. His record hasn’t been that good of late, finding more “missings” dead than alive; a day late, handing the file to homicide. He desperately hoped his last case, a 16-year-old, would be the reverse to the pattern. It wasn’t. Dejected, depressed, he decided he’d concentrate on the serial killer and counted on it to be his saving grace.

In the third of the 1929 series, Aryl Sullivan has been in a horrific explosion aboard his fishing vessel and barely survives with his body intact, never mind his mind. He has sustained major lacerations to his back which leaves him in severe pain in this installment. Unfortunately, he has no recollection what happened–only that he has been rescued and handed off eventually to land in London where he is then rescued by Gina who introduces him to Mickey. His injuries have left him dependent upon Gina who dishes him an elixir that quickly gets him hooked and leaves him no where to turn. Under his newly acquired circumstances, he becomes a man totally alien to his former self–capable of the unimaginable.

The tale unfolds after Sloan has picked him up from the French police where they both board a ship for the states. Together over the course of the cruise, each unloads his personal story as Aryl has slowly regained his memory and narrates the events of his past year. Aryl faces a shaky return. The experience has been life-changing for Sloan, however, and he makes several decisions both affecting his job and his marriage.

While the storyline borders on unique, there are edit problems that should have been addressed and it was a bit difficult to keep up with who was doing the current narrative since it switched back and forth between Sloan and Aryl. However, both have compelling histories or stories to tell (and they share with each other) and unfortunately for Aryl a long row to hoe before he can fully be brought back into the fold or the family. You have to swallow a few inaccuracies but on the whole, an interesting read and you do become sufficiently engaged in the characters to pursue the outcome.

This book was downloaded as a freebie by BookBub. Different in concept, the switch between the narrations garnered my imagination. Recommended reading–embrace the uncommon style.

About the Author

M. L. Gardner is the bestselling author of the 1929 series. Gardner is frugal to a fault, preserving the old ways of living by canning, cooking from scratch, and woodworking. Nostalgic stories from her grandmother’s life during the Great Depression inspired Gardner to write the 1929 series–as well as her own research into the Roarin’ Twenties. She also wrote the Purling Road series and a cookbook. Gardner is married with three kids and four cats. She resides in western Montana. http://www.mlgardnerbooks.com