2021 Guest Blogs

Mary Mae Lewis

24/9/2021

NEW RELEASE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON ……
Don’t Stop the Fiesta, a 170 page memoir by Mary Mae Lewis
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09GGB6KGJ
US: www.amazon.com/dp/B09GGB6KGJ

WIN A FREE SIGNED COPY OF THIS MEMOIR BY ADDING A COMMENT BELOW. EXPLAIN WHY YOU DESERVE TO WIN A COPY AND THE AUTHOR WILL SELECT A WINNER.

It had always been a far-off dream of Stoke-born Mary’s to settle in Spain, and after so many years travelling around the world, living in exotic places such as Grand Cayman and Malawi, her dream was close to being realised. However, with husband Chris content to tinker with all kinds of machinery back home in Staffordshire, how was Mary going to persuade him that Spain was the ultimate place for them? All was solved with the idea of his converting an ex-Liverpool Council single-decker bus into a serviceable mobile home – and, with that accomplished, they were on their way – along with beloved dog, Josh. After saying hasta la vista to their British life, they set off for a grand adventure and - twenty years later - they are still having it!

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though for Mary and Chris; it was initially hard for them to settle into a more relaxed pace of life… and the endless excuse of manana! Mary: It was then that I realised that manana doesn’t just mean the very next day, but just means sometime the day after; that could extend to even a week or more.

Intent on living life to the full in Spain, meant the adventurous couple had to get used to a whole ‘new normal’ and their flexible approach has been to the fore during the last few years that have seen both Brexit and the Pandemic.

Don’t Stop The Fiesta is aptly named, as Mary and Chris are determined that nothing will put an end to their casa life of: sea, sun, music and parties. This jam-packed book is a non-stop rollercoaster of a read; the pace never slows down, even when family ties pull the couple back and forth to the UK.

If you’ve ever wondered what life in Spain could look like for you, then read on… it hasn’t always been roses around the door for Mary and Chris – but they never want to stop their Fiesta!

Signed copies can be ordered from Mary Mae Lewis : marymaelewis@mail.com or tel:07714419126

Or see more at : www.author-marymaelewis.co.uk

8 Comments

Julie Watson

19/3/2021

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In Search of Lost Travel Time

Are you missing travel as much as I am? My guess is that many of us who share a passion for travel and like to write about it, are experiencing some uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms just now. Our favourite pursuit has had to be put on hold and there’s a gap in our lives yearning to be filled, which is at least half the size of a black hole. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve spent quite a lot of my lockdown time sitting in an armchair with a laptop on my knees, doing the next best thing to travelling: writing about it.

Actually, in a sort of subliminal and prophetic way - or perhaps it was just coincidence - I began writing up my first collection of travel stories ‘Travel Mementos: Personal Stories from Faraway Places’ a year or so before the Coronavirus came along and disrupted my travel plans. But much of the hard graft of revising, editing, proofing, and finding a publisher for my book has happened over the last twelve months. And as a result, it’s finally ready!

The personal stories I’ve chosen to retell span a long period of time. The earliest of them, Table Manners for Eating Noodles, dates from time spent in Japan during my twenties, and the last, Senior Moments in Segovia, from a trip I made shortly after retiring. There is almost forty years between them. The impetus for writing them was to recall and re-live some of the memorable encounters I’ve had while travelling over the years.

To piece together those events, in some cases after several decades, with the people they involved, the times and the places, I began with the individual memories, then turned to old photos, slides, annotated guidebooks and some of the curious mementos I took home with me. This helped to jog my memory further. At times, it has felt like a Proustian endeavour – although Marcel Proust, lying in his sickbed, must certainly have had a much harder task recollecting the past for his seven volume, 1,267,069 word autobiographical novel, A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time).

The settings for the twenty travel stories in my slim volume are diverse. The cover blurb gives a taste of them: The argument in an Italian ice-cream queue, a bumpy becak ride in Indonesia, African migrants washing up on a Spanish beach, venomous scorpions in the Mexican sun. They span both continents and cultures. If I have piqued your interest or you would like a foretaste of Travel Mementos, an early draft of the Italian ice-cream story, ‘Gelato - As It Once Was’, was selected for showcasing in 2018 and can be found here: Julie Watson 2018 (fd81.net)

So if like me, you’re suffering from travel deprivation and looking for something to fill the void, I can recommend a nostalgic trip into the recesses of your memory in search of lost travel time – for the story that you didn’t quite find the time to write about – until now.

Julie Watson

Julie Watson is the author of Travel Mementos: Personal Stories about Faraway Places. She lives on the Isle of Wight and is now writing a second book on a different subject.

Link to book publisher and list of purchase sites for book
https://beachybooks.com/bookshop/travel-mementos-personal-stories-about-faraway-places

Amazon link to Travel Mementos (print and e-book)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913894045/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5SRYMYXQYZGYY04J6ZR4

Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliewatson1/

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Randy Overbeck

31/1/2021

24 Comments

Welcome to Day 4 of Randy Overbeck's Blood/Crimson Tour!

Giveaways:
(1) e-book copy of BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE or CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY (Winner's choice)
(1) $10 Amazon gift card

For your chance at winning one of the awesome giveaways above, simply leave a comment below!

“One Million Children Trafficked?”

“An astounding ONE MILLION Children are victims of human trafficking worldwide.”

When I first encountered this statistic at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, a few years ago. I was stunned to silence. I was mulling around, checking out the fascinating exhibits with a group of educators, many for the first time. I remember I stood there, rooted to the spot, reading and re-reading that one sentence. One million children. I had dedicated my life to young people for more than three decades in education, committed to make sure those I touched had a better life, or at least a chance at a better life through a solid education. But one million children being trafficked?

I never shook that experience of dread and horror.

That’s why when I penned my new novel, Crimson at Cape May, I decided to use my literary voice to share my outrage about this horrible fate of one million children. You see, my new novel is advertised as an award-winning, amateur sleuth mystery with a touch of romance, all set in the quaint, old resort town of Cape May, New Jersey. And all this is true. Just check out the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

In fact, I chose the beauty and charm of this picturesque small town, with gorgeous white sand beaches and the most stunning collection of Victorian mansions and B & B’s anywhere, as a deliberate contrast to the ugly world of human trafficking occurring not very far from the city limits. Cape May sits at the end of the New Jersey Parkway, a highway, experts say, connected to the major shipping and trafficking routes on the East Coast.

Don’t get the wrong idea. The novel is no white paper on sex trafficking. In fact, based on reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, readers love the romance, mystery, suspense and even the ghost story of the novel. But Crimson at Cape May offers more. As one professional reviewer wrote “the subject matter…is important in today’s mainstream media, because sex trafficking of young girls is something that is overlooked at an unprecedented rate.” My hope is readers, when the turn the last page and finish the story, may be motivated to discover more about this horrible scourge on the human race. Some simple research will lead them to any number of the websites posting information to fight this crime. Here’s just one example of the sites set up to inform and combat human trafficking. https://www.loveneverfailsus.com

If a few more readers get the message, I will have accomplished a major goal as an author, an educator and a human being.

AUTHOR BIO

Dr. Randy Overbeck is a veteran educator who has served children as a teacher and school leader. For more than three decades, his educational experiences have included responsibilities ranging from coach and yearbook advisor to principal and superintendent and he’s lived the roles of many of the characters in his stories. An accomplished writer, he has been published in trade journals, professional texts and newspapers as well as in fiction, with his third published novel. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Twitter: @OverbeckRandy
Facebook: Author Randy Overbeck
Website: http://www.authorrandyoverbeck.com

PURCHASE LINKS
https://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Cape-Haunted-Shores-Mysteries/dp/1509231633

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crimson-at-cape-may-randy-overbeck

https://www.bookbub.com/books/crimson-at-cape-may-by-randy-overbeck

BOOK TRAILER LINK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9nWiaGO-KM

To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the authors' tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you'd like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and his work!

24 Comments

Wendy Scott

18/1/2021

2 Comments

Sleighed: A Christmas Tale #ShortStory by Award-Winning #Author WJ Scott #NewRelease #Free

It is a pleasure to feature award-winning children's author Wendy Scott as our first guest blogger of 2021.

Her newly released short story Sleighed: A Children's Christmas Tale is free on Amazon Kindle from today (Monday 18th) until Friday 22nd January. You can get your copy here: http://mybook.to/Sleighed

Book Blurb

Tinsel is the newest apprentice in Santa’s Workshop, but this young elf lands himself in strife on his first day!

He’s sent to care for the reindeer and instead ends up on a magical adventure.

Will the Toy-Inspector allow him back into the Workshop?

A fun Christmas story for younger readers and those young at heart.

Amazon Universal Link http://mybook.to/Sleighed

Wendy's Post

In March 2019, my sister (who lives in Canada), visited me in New Zealand, and we embarked on a memory tour. We revisited places from our childhood, including Queenstown, where our grandmother used to live.

Our great-grandfather had been an engineer on the iconic century-old coal fired steamship, the TSS Earnslaw, back in the day when it transported stock and supplies across Lake Wakatipu. We enjoyed a delightful sunny cruise to Walter Peak High Country Farm.

During our travels, we set a challenge, to each write a 1500 word story. I chose to write a Children’s Christmas story, based on a writing prompt from my Aspiring Author Series, and that’s how, ‘Sleighed’, came to be created.

Aspiring Author Series Link Aspiring Author Series (6 book series) Kindle Edition (amazon.com)

Author Bio

Wendy Scott has a New Zealand Certificate in Science (Chemistry), which allows her to dabble with fuming potions and strange substances, satisfying her inner witch.

Wendy writes short stories, fantasy, and children’s novels. Her books have won multiple awards.

One of the creeds she lives by is to always – Live a life less ordinary!

Full book list http://www.wendyjscott.com/

Amazon Universal Link http://mybook.to/Sleighed

Connect with Wendy

Children’s Websites
http://www.authorchildrens.com
http://www.hieroglyph.ws
http://www.tails-wjscott.com

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenAuthorWJScott

Twitter
@WendyJayneScott
https://twitter.com/WendyJayneScott/

Pinterest
https://nz.pinterest.com/wendyscottbooks/