First Chapter Plus e-Magazine - August 2022 Issue

by I Have Something To Say Press Roadmap to Indie Publishing by Susan Violante

Interview with Bruce McCombs

Author of “How to Be Happy on Mondays”by Sheri Hoyte

Start the school year with kindness by Barefoot Librarian

First Chapter Plus New Book Videos

First Chapter Plus

creative director/graphic designer Susan Violante

Copyright 2022 First Chapter Plus eco-friendly information

First Chapter Plus e-magazine is environment conscious, and has gone 100% green.

Please consider the environment before printing this e-magazine *

First Chapter Plus is a monthly e-Magazine which includes the First Chapters, book videos, and podcasts of recently published books and back lists books. It is distributed to libraries, book stores, media, readers, reviewers, and bloggers; It also offers content of value to our audience.

Published by I Have Something To Say Press 11900 Jollyville Rd. #201673 Austin, Texas 78759.

Editor’s Note

Susan Violante - Managing Editor

Born and raised in Venezuela of Italian immigrants, Susan completed a BA in Political Science and Business Admin istration before moving to the US . Although she built a career as a Business Analyst/Accountant, she also kept herself active as a freelance writer in the US; publishing articles, poetry, children’s stories, and illustrations since 1996. She published her first book in 2009, and released her revised edition: Innocent War: Behind An Immigrant’s Past – Book 1 in 2011. Her picture book: Tuma: The Tribe’s Little Princess was published in early 2013 under her own label. Currently, Susan Violante is the Managing Editor/ CEO/Partner of I Have Something to Say Press and Book By Book Publicity, Author, Reviewer, Publicist and Publish er. She resides in Austin, TX with her husband Michel and her dogs, Canela, Karina, and Nutela. Susan is mother of two adult daughters, Arianna and Nicolette, and caregiver to her father. She enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, paint ing, writing, gardening, and any outdoor activity.

Topic Calendars, the best content tool for Authors

To be an active author means so many things, but one comes to mind that might be neglected by so many: keeping up with your blog. The best way to keep our blogs current is having a monthly topics calendar handy or a marketing/content calendar. You can find several types of these calendars at no cost that can be used to jumpstart blog content.

Having a year’s marketing calendar allows you to get organized and pro duce monthly content that relates to special dates ahead of time, to be posted each month. By doing this the website can have several drafts ready to be published with just one click. This will make your blog always current which in turn will make your author website consistent and professional.

Being an e-magazine editor, author, publisher, and publicist, I can cer tainly fall behind at any time. Having content ready to publish has been a life saver for me. I hope it works for in the same way!

Table of Contents

Page 02

Editor’s Note - Topic Calendars, the best content tool for Authors

Page 07

Book Reviews of the Month

Page 15

Roadmap to Indie Publishing by Susan Violante

Page 21

Interview with Bruce McCombs Author of “How to Be Happy on Mondays”

Page27

ISL Podcast of the Month

Page 29

Book Videos

Page 37

Start the school year with kindness by Barefoot Librarian

Featured Books and Authors

La Clave

La Clave shares the author’s financial knowledge and experience to help teens get a head start in life. The book presents readers with basic financial knowl edge and life changing know-how tips on how to manage money to make the most of their income to build a successful future. But Anderson does not stop there, she also teaches young people to invest in their communities by buying local products and donating to help others. La Clave is the Spanish translation of Marjorie L. Anderson’s Reader Views Award winner “The Key.”

Suzanne Simonetti grew up in the New York suburbs just outside of the city. After earning a BS in market ing, she spent several years writing press releases, until she left her corporate job to focus on her pas sion for crafting fiction. She lives on Cape May Har bor with her husband. The Sound of Wings is her first novel.

Suzanne Simonetti

Featured Books and Authors

Amy Pflueger

I am a Best-Selling and AwardWinning author, and is a proud mother of two totally awesome boys who both have autism. I have a bachelor’s degree in business, and I am an autism self advocate who loves learning about autism and supporting autism organizations. I advocate for kids with autism to be heard, valued and understood. My mission through this book is to encourage self belief and resil ience, to embrace different abili ties, and to empower kids with autism to reach their full potential no matter what challenges they have.

This book shows us how to embrace our own uniqueness, talents, and interests, empowering those that read it to feel super! Perfect for kids beginning school, full of new faces, to those well versed in making new friends, this is a read perfect for helping our little ones understand more about themselves and the talents of everyone around them.

—Jill ReaderReyViews

This is such a powerful resource. As a pediatric occupational therapist myself, I find this book to be important for parents, students, teachers and the team that a child has around them. We so often get lost in what a child cannot do, and need to stop and remember all the beautiful powers each unique and individual child has. Love the incorporation of all thecalming strategies!

— Amazon Customer Review

For more information about Amy visit www.ausome-able.com.

who

meant

Amy Pflueger

This book explains autism though the lens of an autistic child in a special way inviting people to visit their unique world, to help people understand more about autism and the reasons behind their unique behaviors, to embrace differences and to raise acceptance. This story is to empower kids with autism to believe in themselves and reach their full potential no matter what challenges they have; encouraging them to be confident in being who they are - because they are who they’re meant to be!

READER VIEWS BOOK OF THE MONTH

“I recommend “All Roads Lead to Nowhere” to fans of dystopian fiction and sci-fi thrillers who want to both embark on a new literary adventure, but also learn some hard, yet valuable truths along the way.”

Roads Lead to Nowhere

By Alexander Skikos

Degree Press (2021)

9781636763675

Fiction - SciFi-Cyber Punk

Reviewed by: Megan Weiss for Reader Views (08/2022)

All Roads Lead to Nowhere” by Alexander Skikos is a chilling, post-apocalyptic portrayal of America that takes place not too far in the distant future. It is the mid-21st century and six different people are doing their best to survive in a world where the United States is no longer free. Instead, Russia and China have succeeded in

toppling the superpower of America and crushing it into “Paradise Cities,” where only the rich and powerful can be lucky enough to live safely, and everywhere else outside the walls, in the wastelands of Nowhere. In “All Roads Lead to Nowhere,” we meet Levi, a corporate bigwig who is being hunted as a whistleblower by a big, powerful corporate tyrant and Ali, a young man who has dedicated himself to helping the less fortunate masses forced to withstand the harsh dangers outside the walls of the Paradise Cities find safety and new means of survival by sneaking them inside the very city walls the corporate giants try to use to keep out the riffraff. We meet a President forced to lie to his people about having hope in a war that has already been lost; Janet, a young journalist who is accused of committing a murder she most certainly did not; and even more faces from varied backgrounds and walks of life.... Though at times the book felt almost a little too fast paced, “All Roads Lead to Nowhere” is poignant, eye-opening and harsh....

To read complete review click here or visit www.readerviews.com.

READER VIEWS KIDS BOOK OF THE MONTH

“Max Goes to Town: Based on a True Story,” would make the perfect gift for any young reader who loves cat stories..”

Max Goes to Town

Outskirts Press (2021)

ISBN 9781977244390

By Cynthia L. Clark Fiction -Early Reader (6-8 years ol)

Reviewed by: Tammy Ruggles for Reader Views (08/2022)

MaxGoes to Town,” by Cynthia L. Clark, illustrated by Blueberry Illustrations, is a fun children’s book about a cat named Max who ventures into town. Full of energy and heart, this rhyming story reflects the personality of Max, a cat who loves where he lives and the life he leads, pestering a mouse and playing with the children that live with him.

One day the family drives to town in their truck, ordering something to eat and drink from a cafe. After their family night out, they settle on heading home to watch a movie, but discover that Max is waiting for them on the hood of their truck, which surprises the family a little, but isn’t much of a big deal to Max, who has waited patiently for them to return. They determine that Max must have jumped into the truck and rode all the way into town with them, unbeknownst to them.

Clark weaves an irresistible tale that is cute and curious: How and why did the family cat follow them to town in their truck? The girls rode with Max in the back seat of the truck on the way home, scolding him for scaring them with his brave stunt, but Max gives the perfect, typical cat-reaction—turning his head away. When the next chance comes for the family to go to town, what will Max do?

To read complete review click here or visit www.readerviews.com.

Featured Books and Authors

Marcus A. Nannini

Mr. Nannini began his writing career when he published his own newspaper in the sixth grade and charged 25 cents per school quarter for the privilege of reading the only hand-written copy of each edi tion. The newspaper was a modest success. During his undergraduate years, he was a paid newspaper reporter and worked three semesters as the Research Assistant to journalism professor Richard Stocks Carlson, Ph.D. Nannini’s newspaper reporting paid for his senior year of undergrad. Carlson advised him to always write as if his readers have an 8th-grade education or less, something he took with a grain of salt.

For more information about Marcus visit www.chameleonsthebook.com/ midnight-flight-to-nuremberg/

Arivetingand detailed military memoir, "Midnight Flightto Nuremberg: The Capture of the Nazi who put AdolfHitler into Power" is an extraordinary and recommendedaddition to community, college, and university library World War IIbiographies.

—Midwest Book Review

Nannini, author of Left for Dead at Nijmegen, takes flight in this gripping account of courage in the air, the story of pilot Harry E. Watson, who flew 27 combat missions in World War II and was the recipient of seven Battle Stars and three Air Medals. Nannini, who interviewed First Lieutenant Watson extensively, opens this vivid account in the thick of the war, with the tense tale of Watson.

— Book Life

Midnight Flight to Nuremberg

By Marcus A. Nannini

on Amazon

Air World, An Imprint Of Pen & Sword Books (2021)

- Biography

Synopsis: This is the story of an American C-47 ‘Dakota’ pilot who earned three Air Medals, seven Battle Stars and flew twenty-seven combat missions during the Second World War. Around midnight, in early April 1945, he was sent on a secret mission to fly to a point near Nuremberg, which was behind enemy lines at the time. It was necessary for him to locate an empty meadow in the dark, land, load a party of US soldiers and their captives, and then take-off again. He pulled it off. Among those prisoners was Franz von Pappen, the man who had persuaded President Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Von Papen had been seized at his own home by First Lieutenant Thomas McKinley and his men from the US 194th Glider Infantry Regiment.

Featured Books and Authors

Conor Mitchell

Conor Mitchell was born in October of 1994 and raised in the suburbs just outside of Baltimore, MD. Growing up, he had gained a fascination with photography and videography. In 2007, while visiting his uncle in Palo Alto, CA, Conor experienced the city of San Francisco for the very first time. From the minute he got on the plane back to Baltimore, he never stopped talking about his plan to eventually move back to the city he fell in love with after only one visit.

Conor started his own YouTube channel, Dragon Rider Network, in October of 2008, dedicated to discussing technology news and tech product reviews. In September of 2018, nearly 11 years after his first visit to the city, he would travel 3000 miles over four days by train to his new home of San Francisco, CA.

For more information about Conor visit www.lockdownsf.squarespace.com/

Although Conor was unsure what he was so drawn to the city for expressly, he knew he had a purpose of serving, and San Francisco was the key to this purpose. With all he had experienced with COVID-19 and the last several months of his time in the city, documenting one of the most historical times in world history could very well have been his calling. On March 16th, 2020, San Francisco announced that it would be instituting a Shelter-In-Place to help combat the spread of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first major metropolitan area in California and the United States to enact such an action. Yet, throughout those first 100 days, Conor Mitchell, a photographer and videographer living in downtown San Francisco, found himself alone in the city he had called home for just 18 months.

Taking as many pictures as he could, Conor curated a collection of photos in this book to best illustrate what a total lockdown in one of the most famous cities in the world looked like.

Lockdown

By Conor Mitchell

Press (2021)

-

View on Amazon

NonFiction -Photography / Photojournalismold)

Synopsis: On March 16th, 2020, San Francisco announced that it would be instituting a Shelter-In-Place to help combat the spread of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first major metropolitan area in California and the United States to enact such an action. Yet, throughout those first 100 days, Conor Mitchell, a photographer and videographer living in downtown San Francisco, found himself alone in the city he had called home for just 18 months. Taking as many pictures as he could, Conor curated a collection of photos in this book to best illustrate what a total lockdown in one of the most famous cities in the world looked like. But the street would not stay quiet for long. Aside from the pandemic itself, San Francisco was one of many cities that hosted a string of protests that swept through the country fueled by the death of George Floyd. As a result, the city saw empty city streets become filled with protestors and even scenes of civil unrest. Conor hopes these photos will act as a force for change.

I Have Something To Say Press was founded in 2013 and has been an unseen force behind Book by Book Publicity since then. Our mission is to promote the sharing of life lessons through story telling by focusing our publishing efforts to produce a high-quality product, as well as publishing independent authors to help them develop marketable books with the current available tools. Our program is based on providing options to writers. We offer affordable Print On Demand Publishing Packages; An a La Carte publishing services menu and the opportunity to win publication through an annual manuscript contes which will open for submissions in January 2023. Check us out!

La Clave

By Marjorie L. Anderson

I Have something To Say Press (2021, 2022) - ISBN: 9780985430825

Nonfiction - Spanish/YA-Teen- Tradeback - 100 pages - $16.00

La Clave shares the author’s financial knowledge and experience to help teens get a head start in life. The book presents readers with basic financial knowledge and life changing know-how tips on how to manage money to make the most of their income to build a successful future. But Anderson does not stop there, she also teaches young people to invest in their com munities by buying local products and donating to help others. La Clave is the Spanish translation of Marjorie L. Anderson’s Reader Views Award win ner “The Key.”

READ First Chapter

View on Amazon

Becoming an Angel of Change

By Bineta Ngom

I Have Something To Say Press (2021,2022) - ISBN 9781647751784

Nonfiction - Memoir / Self-Help-Tradeback - 186 pages - $16.00

Through a collection of inspirational stories, Bineta Ngom details her journey exploring her life’s purpose, helping others in need. From her beginnings as an eight-year-old philanthropist in Senegal, to her adult life establishing outreach programs in the United States, readers will be inspired to discover their strength, uniqueness, and purpose in her recent memoir “Becoming an Angel of Change.”

READ First Chapter View on Amazon

ROADMAP TO INDIE PUBLISHING

“Make sure everything you need to help your book to be

1Place some thought on your book idea. Who is your audience? Is it a current topic that readers will relate to? Is the market saturated with this topic? What will this book offer than similar books don’t? These are the answers we need to understand before we commit to a book idea.

6Make the Most of your Book Launch. Once you launch your book contin ue the buzz through local and digital meet the author events. You can organize digital book tours and giveaways. Contact influencers for a book review… etc. The point is to keep the buzz going for as long as you can to get your book the maximum exposure.

2Plan the process. to write for publication, cided to start a business nesses need a plan. necessary on budgeting, market, platform, tion, and promotion. thing you need to successfull is in place

5Schedule your publicity tion to start 6-3 months book is out. The moment your is ready the ‘coming soon’ publicity campaign should When the final manuscript ARC copies of the book should out to get reviews and quotes for the back cover.

7Find your balance. After the initial buzz there comes a point when the author needs to move on to the next story project. However, that does not mean the book is done. We should find the time to keep promoting because that is the platform for your future books as well. So finding a balance between the consistently writing, publishing, and promoting is what eventually will generate the sales.

be successfull is in place ahead of time.”

process. When you decided publication, you have debusiness and all busiplan. Do the research budgeting, process, target platform, production, distribupromotion. Make sure every to help your book to be place ahead of time.

3Put a team together. Once you planned the process get a professional team to help you. Apply your budget wisely by investing on what matters and doing yourself what you can. Luckily there are many freelancers, virtual assistants, social media promoters that are affordable to help so use your available funds on a professional editor, cover design, and distribution. Negotiate a payment plan, if necessary, like editing pay as you go plans even if it takes longer to go to production as long as your book is high quality product.

publicity and promomonths before your your front cover and ‘pre-order’ should be launched. manuscript is ready the should be sent and endorsement cover.

4Write and build platform simultaneously. The biggest mistake of Indie writers is not having their platform in place when they publish. To sell your book you need to have people that will be interested in it when it launches. For example, if you are a doctor you can work on letting your pa tients know about your upcoming book about preventing illness and ask then if they would like to be notify when it is available through an email list signup. Building a website and getting followers on social media or your blog…etc., is also building your platform.

Featured Books and Authors

Frederick Reynolds

Frederick Douglass Reynolds is a retired LA County Sheriff’s homi cide sergeant. He was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan before joining the US Marine Corps in 1979. After a brief stint in Okinawa, Japan, he finished out his military career in southern California and ultimately became a police officer with the Compton police department. He worked there from 1985 until 2000 and then transferred to the sheriff’s department where he worked an ad ditional seventeen years, retiring in 2017 with over seventy-five commen dations. He lives in Southern Califor nia with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter Lauren and young son, Desmond. They have six other adult children and nine grandchildren.

Book

For more information about Frederick visit www.authorfrederickreynolds. com

An intimate, sharply written account of one cop's perseverance in a broken system...Get it.

eye-opening read!

Black, White, And Gray All Over

By Frederick Reynolds

Mindstirmedia

- 395

View on Amazon

- $16.99

Nonfiction - Memoir / Law Enforcement / Black / African

Synopsis: This book is far more than just “cop stories”; it is a looking glass into life in ways that had not been thought of before. , The author set out on a path of destruction, living on the streets, dealing with drugs and gangs, and even ending up in jail before an unlikely career as a police officer in Compton, California. As a Black man who found himself on both sides of the law, the author offers a truly unique perspective to readers, showing the intricacies of how society works in dif ferent ways for different situations. No matter what someone’s gender, race, or political views are, any reader will be able to take these life experiences and learn the reality of racism and po licing in America through the author’s lenses.

Featured Books and Authors

Suzanne Simonetti

Suzanne Simonetti grewup in the New York sub-urbs just outside of thecity. After earning a BS inmarketing, she spent sev-eral years writing pressreleases, until she left her corporate job to focuson her passion for craft-ing fiction. She lives onCape May Harbor with herhusband. The Sound of Wings is her first novel.

For more information about Suzanne visit www.suzannesimonetti.com

Astory world so completely alive with characters so real, I can feel them breathing behind me.

Leavitt

York Times best-selling author

Reminiscent of Alice Hoffman in its elegant unfolding and sheer magic of its storytelling..

— Mary Morris award-winning author

The Sound of Wings

Suzanne Simonetti

Synopsis: A gripping, touching, and memorable prtrait of three women rising above painful pasts to seize present opportunities and of friendships that grow, despite differences, to sustain and inspire. The novel is set on Cape May Island.

INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE MCCOMBS

AUTHOR OF “HOW TO BE HAPPY ON MONDAYS”

“...my epiphanies played a pivot-able role in my journey, and because I acted on them, in the end, my story turned out to be a happy one. I am grateful for that!”

corelatively early age. I was blessed to be prosperous with the help of many people along the way. During my career, I learned many skills how to sell large enterprise sys tems that often sold for eight figures. I said to myself, “I have knowledge that can help en terprise sales leaders become successful and create wealth, why don’t I write a book about it?” Very few, if any, sales books offered the knowledge and skills that I wrote about in, How to Become a $1 Million Enterprise Sales Leader. Therefore, I wrote the book and pub

Bruce McCombs is an alum of Oracle Corporation, an expert in enterprise software sales, and is an award-winning certified coach, through the International Coaching Federation, helping sales lead ers improve their performance. Bruce published his first book, How to Become a $1 Million Enterprise Sales Leader in 2020. How to be Happy on Mondays is his latest book, published in June 2022. Bruce is a decorated ballroom dancer, mentor, philanthropist, and speaker. His favorite title is servant leader. Hi Bruce, Thank you for joining us today at Reader Views. Can you share a bit about your journey to becoming an author? Journey of becoming an author; now that is an insightful question! I retired from the hightech industry selling enterprise software for Oracle Corporation, the world’s sec ond largest software company, at a

lished it 2020. What is How to be Happy on Mondays about? In short, the book is about, reinventing myself, vulnerability, and openness! After I finished writing the manuscript, I asked my editor, “Am I being too honest?” She said, “No, that’s what will differentiate your writing from others and draw your your audience into the reading.” I trusted her, and along the way, I learned being vulnerable takes courage.

By Sheri Hoyte

MONDAYS”

That’s why at first the book feels like a homespun memoir to gain the readers trust, and then quickly morphs into a life filled with actionable lessons each step of the way. Your title is fabulous, almost like a call-to-action message, urging readers to “pick me up and read me!” How did you come up with it and what is the significance of being happy on Mondays as it relates to the contents of the book? The title of the book came to me in the subject line of an email I read after I returned from an extended trip to Europe. It was the catalyst that enabled me to leave high tech sales, align with my values, and become the man I am today! What inspired you to write How to be Happy on Mondays? Many experiences inspired me to write the book. I buried a few things that I did not talk about, or heaven forbid, wanted to admit because I did not know how to be vulnerable. But as I said in the nearby section, I learned it takes courage to be open. I also wanted to docu ment my history to gain clarity where important events in my life were missing and to set the story straight regarding the family dynamics between my mother and my brother’s wife when he returned home from Vietnam. In addition, my epiphanies played a pivot-able role in my journey, and because I acted on them, in the end, my story turned out to be a happy one. I am grateful for that! I have 3 stepchildren and 2 grandchildren that I am close to. They know me, but do not really know me. Now they can, when they read the book. Along the way, I developed a flexible model to man age the Sales Navigation System. This model has been adaptable enough to incorporate into my Circle of Life and the lives of my clients. It is the foundation for my self- help tools that enable me to reinvent myself, including the Plan for Success, the Comeback Wheel and my mental rehearsal practice that keeps everything moving. In the end, I hope these tools can help others in some way!

Read the complete interview with Bruce McCombs

Featured Books and Authors

Ari Loeb

Ari Loeb spent much ofhis life traveling as a cir-cus artist. Now he lives in Los Angeles and worksas a stuntman, specia-lizing in creature horrorsuch as Zombieland, Fear The Walking Dead, andthe Resident Evil video games. He also writesbooks.

Acracked

For more information about Ari visit www.ariloeb.com

carnival of a book - pendulum rides, freak shows, and the best damn shooting gallery. You'll gasp,grin, and line up for more.

—Kirkus Review

Engrossing...

Complete annihilation... An unforgettable tale tnathasn't been told before.

— Paige LovittReader Views

AZ

Ari Loeb

House (2021)

Tradeback - 186 pages - $16.00

Fiction - Horror / SciFi

Synopsis: College student Jimmy Johannsen returns to his small hometown, only to find it’s been overrun with death, chaos and strange rumors. Now with his shocked, hayseed mother under his arm, Jimmy must defend himself against a storm of horrors, as well as the town’s dwindling survivors, who’s history adds up to a deadly sum of guns, conspiracy, and bad blood. Welcome to Thunder, Arizona – a small town with a big nuclear secret.

Featured Books and Authors

L.E. DeLano

L.E. DeLano comes equipped with a “useless” Theatre degree that has opened doors for her in numerous ways. Though mostly raised in New Mexico, she now lives in Pennsylvania with two adventurous kids and two ri diculous cats. L.E.’s 2021 novel, BLUE, was named a 2021 SPARK Award win ner by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), a 2021-22 Gold Medal Winner for Young Adult in the Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards, a 2021 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite in Young Adult Fiction, a 2022 Independent Press Award Distinguished Fa vorite – Teen, and was named 2021-22 Teen/YA Book of the Year by Reader Views Kids. Her debut novel, TRAV ELER, was a Keystone State Reading Association (KSRA) Secondary Book Awards Finalist for 2018-2019.

For more information about L.E. visit www.ledelano.com

Blue by L.E. Delano is an intense and completely engrossing YA novel about perspective . . . a must read for teens and anyone else who enjoys a great fictional story.

Overall:

10.00 out of 10. DeLano has an excellent ear for teens' idiomatic speech. This is a fast-paced novel focused more on feelings and the social world of teens . . . An easy read forits intended audience.

— BookLife Prize BookLife Prize

—Paige LovittReader Views Kids

By L.E. DeLano

View on Amazon

Gaze Publishing (2021)

Tradeback - 233 pages - $10.99

Fiction - Young Adult (age 16+)

Synopsis: Blue’s older brother was involved in a car accident that killed the father of her classmate, Maya, and now Maya has returned to school determined to make Blue’s life a living hell in the aftermath. When Maya’s taunts push Blue to retaliate, they find themselves forced into a project meant to foster cooperation. Blue learns about Maya—and her own sense of privilege—when revealed secrets cast a new perspective on everything in Blue’s world.

PODCAST OF THE MONTH

Mark Shaiken lives with his wife Loren and their dog Emily in Denver, CO. He schooled at Haverford College and Washburn University, and practiced commercial bankruptcy law for several decades before moving on in 2019 to write, volunteer and play music.

In addition to his latest legal thriller, “Automatic Stay,” he is the author of “And . . Just Like That - essays on a life before, during, and after the law” and “Fresh Start,” a legal mystery. Mark is currently working on his book, “Unfair Discrimination.”

You can learn more about mark and his work at markshaikenauthor.com

INSIDE SCOOP LIVE Mark Shaiken

Listen to Podcast Topics of Conversation

•

Mark's author journey

•

fiction and non-fiction

•

and mapping out a legal thriller series

•

authentic characters

•

people are saying about Automatic Stay

• What's next for Mark Shaiken?

A Hill Toward Home

By Robert Earl Winter

Outskirts Press (2021) - ISBN: 9781977237590

Historical Fiction- Tradeback- 568 pages - $29..995

Jesse Logan spent his boyhood in East Tennessee 1840s, grew up out West then returned as the country struggled with divisive states’ rights issues, slavery, and commitment to one’s principles. This carefree, lighthearted youth transforms to commander of a regiment pursuing renegade bushwhackers. Jesse’s inclination to act impulsively causes conflict with superiors, but places him in positions of responsibility, becoming a significant contributor to the success of the Union in the American Civil War.

READ First Chapter View on Amazon

Playful Teaching Practices

By Dr. Bill Michaelis and Ezra Holland

Outskirts Press (2019) - ISBN 9781977202093

NonFiction-Education - 106 pages - Tradeback - $19.95

During this era of “drill and grill,” accelerated stressful learning, over drive consumer lifestyles, excessive testing and a great decrease of play in the early childhood and elementary education curriculum, playful teaching practices are sorely needed...and playful teaching practices are essential to relationship building and creating “connections” to the learning process, to joy, to success, to self-esteem and to our group members of any age.

READ First Chapter View on Amazon

Shamanomics - A Short Guide to the Failure, Fallacies and Future of Macroeconomics

By Giles Conway-Gordon

Outskirts Press (2021) - ISBN: 9781977226853

Nonfiction-Business & Economics - Tradeback - 210 pages - $20.95

The Crisis of 2008 exposed the flaws in their ‘science’. The fact is that macroeconomic advisers have proven no better than witchdoctors and shamans, uttering their ritualistic mumbo-jum bo and issuing forecasts and policy recommendations based on flawed theories which are not only badly inaccurate and misguid ed but, as the Crisis showed, very dangerous. Macroeconomics must return to the socially-useful roots it should never have left. www.shamanomics.info

READ First Chapter View on Amazon

BOOK VIDEOS

For me, the little something is a book video. A book video not only brings to life the main story or topic for the reader, it can also portray a feeling on who the Author is and what message he or she wants to share. Below are some things I get from book vid eos that help make the decision to read the book but also gives me insight on its contents, improving in many cases, my reading experience.

•

The images – unlike movie trailers which use previews from the movie, the book video images could be off putting when reading the story, as the characters looks and settings will be a combined result of the descriptions, and the readers’ imagination. But images that do not mess with such specifics and instead reflect the mes sage, topic, or plot are perfect as a preview of a book, because it helps us to visualize in a short time the content of the book.

•

Background music and nar rator’s voice – The sound allows the possible reader to feel the mood of the story. Is it thrilling? Mysterious? Romantic?

• Finally, but not least is the script of the slides or voice nar ration. Here is where we learn what the book is all about, and other information like endorsements, Author website, and where to get the book.

“Sometimes we need a little bit more than an endorsement, book review or book cover to get a feeling for the story and decide on whether to purchase or not a title”

Book Videos on this page were provided by https://www.youtube.com/user/ReaderViews - For information on how to place your bookvideo here email us at

Auntie Oddity and the Vampire Neighbor

By Frankie McDonald

Outskirts Press (2021) - ISBN: 9781977245571

Fiction - Fantasy/Urban - Tradeback - 73 pages - $3.94

Witchy Hester Habbakuk had it all. After decades as sole curator of a nightmarish occult collection, she’s retired and celebrating with her young nephews. But something evil has moved in next door to her boys. To save them, she’ll risk it all, pitting her witch’s skills against a power ful immortal entity. From Florida to medieval Romania, Hester journeys through space and time to save her family and confront the evil that just won’t die.

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Beyond Pipe Dreams And Platitudes

By Geraldine K. Piorkowski, Ph.D.

Outskirts Press (2020) - ISBN 9781977227744

NonFiction-Self-Help-Popular Culture - 151 pages - Tradeback - $15.95

In this award-winning collection of essays (a 2021 CIPA EVVY winner), Dr. Geraldine K. Piorkowski shares what she learned working with people for over fifty years. In this provocative book, she asserts that positive thinking often does more harm than good, romantic love is basically an illusion, you can’t control anybody, vulnerability is more appealing than self-confidence, a bit of narcissism is healthy, and luck or chance affects success more than anyone thinks.

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Purest Mercy

By Daniel Roberts

Outskirts Press (2022) - ISBN: 9781977250001

Fiction-Romance-Christian - Tradeback - 305 pages - $21.95

A Miraculous Young Woman. A Night of Devastation. A Profound Sacrifice. And Gifts of Healing and Hope. Mercy does not even have a name to call her own, until she arrives at a homeless shelter, sick and alone, setting in motion a chain reaction of miracles that will transform ev eryone around her. But the greatest Miracles are still to come...

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The Hunger Month

By Jessamine Koch

Outskirts Press (2020) - ISBN: 9781977209184

Fiction-Mystery-Detective - Tradeback - 421 pages - $23.95

There’s a place to get a second chance. How do you make a fresh start? Where do you go? And what if the danger you find there is worse than the trouble you left behind?

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Featured Books and Authors

Imani Lewis

Imani Lewis is a multi-award winning and national best sell ing author of multiple genres. She enjoys reading to her ba bies and creating worlds that others can relate to.

Check out more titles by Imani Lewis at www.manitheauthor.com

Adelightful story that will appeal to little ones, their parents, and their grandparents, and I highly recommendit as a must-have in every little home library.

— Sheri HoyteReader Views

Featured Books and Authors

Wally Jones

Wally Jones is a first-time author. He is also fully dyslexic. It wasn’t until his late twenties, and after dozens of tests for physical disabilities and learning disorders, that it was discovered he was missing the fundamental ability to encode and decode word phonics. Reading and writing simply wasn’t possible for him. He subsequently spent many years building a comprehensive Sight Vocabulary and is now considered to be fully compensated. However, dyslexia still causes him many problems. Though he contin ues to struggle with reading and writing, Sam the Chosen serves as testament that all challenges can be overcome.

—Kirkus Review

Wally Jones respects his readers and know how to take us to the conflict in his opening paragraph. Sam the Chosen is a page-turner, taking its readers to a time and place they will never forget.

For more information about Wallyvisit www.theprophecystoryline.com

An entertaining, well-crafted debut that challengeshumankind's stewardship of the planet.

— Mary Ellen/Gavin Literary Agent

Sam the Chosen

Wally

Synopsis: The attacks changed everything. Life would never be the same. So much carnage, and yet the enemy was never seen. Not even once. The truth is, humanity had no chance. You can’t fight what you can’t see. Sam tries to return to a normal life after the attacks end, but constant reminders and para noia feed the need for protection at all times. The desire to run, that internal voice triggering the urgency to escape this harsh world, is very real. Now an ill-fated camping trip will show Saman tha just how deep the peril goes. Swept up in a new reality, she gains a deeper understanding of the way the world op erates. For Sam, there is no returning to her old life. Sam is now Chosen.

START THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH KINDNESS BY BAREFOOT LIBRARIAN

It seems like summer just started, and we are already seeing back-to-school ads. But educators never really take a break from thinking about school. So, let’s talk about the start of school.

As a student and a school librarian, I was always so excited about the start of school. I loved the new pens, lunchboxes, outfits, and pristine notebooks waiting to be filled – what was there not to love? Likewise, as a librarian, I couldn’t wait to return to my students from the year before with new books that would wow them. And joy of joys, introduce new students to the wonders of story time and the heaven of the school library.

However, unfortunately, times have changed. Covid made the start of school last year a challenge after so many students had been apart so long doing distance learning. And last year, I recommended books to help students reintegrate into the in-class set ting - SEL books that emphasized self-confi dence, compassion, caring, acceptance, and self-confidence topped my list.

This year is even more challenging with Uvalde’s deep dark black shadow hanging over us. I no longer have kids in school, but I can’t imagine what educators, parents, and

students feel about returning to the classroom this year. But again, I say, “Books to the rescue!”

Even though every year there is a slew of new back-to-school books – and of course, some classics, this year, I think it is appropriate to focus on kindness. Unfortunately, the world has too little of this nowadays. It is so evident in how people conduct them selves, the things they feel emboldened to say when they can hide behind the façade of Twitter and Facebook. We need to hold ourselves and others with kindness and care.

Recently, late one afternoon, I had to call my tv satellite company about an issue. When the customer service rep answered, she asked how my day was going. I replied, “Very good, thank you. How is your day going?” She told me I was the first person that day to ask her about her day and thanked me several times during our discourse for asking. That simple act of kindness clearly made a huge difference in her day – and it was so effort less on my part!

So why don’t you model some kindness today – it is catching. And while you are at it, promote some books that model kindness and caring. Below are two recommendations to get you started.

Eve Panzer reviews books for Reader Views Kids as well as her own business, Barefoot Librarian. Monthly she publishes the Barefoot Librarian Newsletter. She sells children’s books published by Barefoot Books and Usborne Books & More at book fairs, educational conferences, community events, and online. She earned her Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas in Austin and worked as a school librarian before retiring to start her own business. www.barefootlibrarian.com

The Smile

By Marie Voigt

Publisher: Kane Miller

ISBN: 9781684644131

Children-3 + years oldHardcover - $14.99

One smile has a ripple effect of joy and kindness that spreads around the world.

Be a Bridge

By Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

ISBN: 9781728423388

Children-3 + years old Hard cover - $18.59

The creators of Be a Bridge open the book with a quote from Rumi: “Love is the bridge between you and everything.” They believe “…children can learn to be a “bridge,” building key connections through kindness.” Since the setting of this book is in a school environment, it is the perfect book to use to start the school year off with kindness. A theme of bridges and rainbows runs throughout the book. The illustrations are colorful and inclusive.

First