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The Sound of Suffering by Darin C. Brown Blog Tour

2/28/2019

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About the Book

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The Sound of Suffering (The Master of Perceptions #2)
by Darin C. Brown
Genre/Keywords: Young Adult Loners and Outcasts, Superheroes, genetic engineering, auras, autism spectrum disorders, bullying, healing energy
Release Date: February 21st 2019

Summary:
Hunter Miller has a secret.

He can read and manipulate the auras that surround everyone.

Having used his talent to dethrone the reigning school bully, thirteen-year old Hunter finds himself thrust into a new quest after hearing screams in the aura of a teacher.  Unable to resist this powerful siren song, he investigates—despite warnings from his family and friends. It nearly costs him everything.

Upon discovering the truth, Hunter seeks assistance in his mission to defeat his formidable adversary. As the situation escalates, the adolescent hero ultimately realizes that despite the risks, he must fight this battle alone.

In this second installment of The Master of Perceptions series, can Hunter use his extraordinary powers to rescue an innocent woman without losing himself in the process?

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The Sight of Demons (The Master of Perception #1) on Goodreads
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Praise for the Book
5.0 out of 5 stars
Master of Perception Series ramps up!
February 5, 2019
Like Rowling's Harry Potter, young Hunter is gaining maturity and skill in each new book of the "Master of Perceptions" series. The reader shares his increasing grasp of the unique ability to see people's auras and manipulate them, and in Book 2 Hunter has a mission. He must deal with the very adult issue of domestic abuse. The perpetrator is a policeman, and his victim is a teacher at Hunter's school. He can hear her aura screaming for help, but what can a sixth grader do against an officer of the law?
Dr. Darin Brown expertly builds the tension and leads us to understand this autistic young man's unique perspective. Imagine the power of seeing people's feelings and thoughts in their auras and also being able to manipulate the colors to affect their behavior. Hunter can already heal himself, but this skill comes at a price. It drains his energy, which can send him into the Void, if he is doesn't keep up his carbs and sugar. Believable - though fantastic - and engaging, I highly recommend the "Master of Perception" Series.

About the Author

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DARIN C. BROWN spent the last twenty years saving lives as an emergency medicine physician in New Hampshire and Maine. His master’s degree in biomedical engineering and PhD in biophysics helped him conceptualize Hunter’s astounding capabilities. When he’s not writing, he directs Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, including the biannual shows on the Conway Scenic Railroad. In addition to his varied academic interests, he competes at the national level in master’s track. He currently resides in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with his wife, Dr. Sandra Brown, and their many pets.

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Future World Rolls! by Terru Tumbler Book Blitz

2/28/2019

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We Are Family
Carousels of Life, Book Two

Space Opera
Published: September 2018
Publisher: Sombrella

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This Space Opera is set to Rock n’ Roll and classical music, many of the songs being entirely original and composed by the author.

It starts in the mid-20th century with two talented FBI Special Agents being tasked with recruiting people to undertake a really unusual mission. In the process, they are themselves abducted to take a leading role in that mission, which is intended to save the human race from alien conquest.

It involves time travel into the future, as they lead their hostile hunters on a merry chase across the centuries. They have the full support of other sympathetic races in their imaginative survival techniques, allowing them to go on the offensive.

The characters within embark on a series of adventures that are truly moving in their significance. Based initially on our own Planet Earth, the story employs reported alien sightings and events.

Future World ROLLS to its very core!




Other books in the Carousels of Life Space Opera Series

FUTURE WORLD ROCKS!
Going Back To Our Roots
Carousels of Life, Book One
Published: August 2017


This story contains interwoven strands that are brought together as events unfold.

The first focuses on the aftermath of Nazi research into UFO based systems. Primarily it concerns a flying time travel craft called the ‘Bell’ and its disappearance after those early days when the U.S.A. took over its research.

The second occurs in the future, when alien refugees seek asylum with us on our planet. They come from a planet destroyed by one of its own moons and have wandered the stars, looking for a place to stay.

Soon they are introducing us to other beings, secretly living under the surface of the planet and mining the moon. Naturally, whodunit problems arise for our crime detection agents to resolve.

All this occurs to a backdrop of Rock n’ Roll music, as Future World rocks to its core!

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About the Author


The author, writing under the pseudonym Terry Tumbler, was born in the 1940s in the small province of Wales, in not-as-‘Great’-as-it-once-was Britain. The adjoining photo of the real author has been air-brushed, so that the possibility of anyone stumbling upon his true identity will not disturb him, also believing that no one who reads his first book can possibly recognise him from the long gone days of his childhood. The first book, The Rough and Tumbles of Early Life, as you may be aware, is an accurate recollection of key events that occurred in his early life.  Others of a similar, warped humour and semi-fictional nature have been produced and are being published.

The author left full-time education with a higher level certificate in Business Studies, had a Commercial Apprenticeship in the Titanium Industry, and subsequently gained professional qualifications in Personnel Management and as a Company Secretary. He worked in all aspects of computing for over thirty years, during which time many reports of dubious value and two technical manuals were well-written and printed.

Now retired, and a few months after moving abroad, the author was bemused to find his dear wife sitting alone on her tilting armchair weeping; the reason she gave was shock and horror at the prospect of spending her remaining years with him. Since then, he has done his best to behave himself, but she has still taken out a funeral plan on him. They have three grandchildren, none of whom much like to be with him for more than two weeks.

Those who may wish to inflict retribution for his innocently evil behaviour as a child, may well see through the flimsy disguise, but should know that the author now lives on alien shores and cares not one jot for their intentions.

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Miracles Master the Art by Nancy Lynne Harris Book Blitz

2/27/2019

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Body,Mind,Spirit / Shamanism
Publisher: GodSpirits United, LLC

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Miracles Master the Art gives readers 12 Steps to Heal Yourself Without Medicine.

With this information, you will never have to settle for anything you'd rather change. By controlling your thoughts and attitudes, and by adding certain words to your thinking, you can control your own health, wealth, and peace of mind.




Excerpt

12 STEPS TO HEAL YOURSELF

WITHOUT MEDICINE


It was 1980. When the call came in, I was presenting a jazz workshop for piano teachers in the farmlands of central Washington. My husband, Ray, was called to the phone. I continued presenting the workshop, wondering what was so important that someone was calling him while we were miles away from our home in Auburn, Washington.

When the workshop ended, we said our goodbyes and got into our car for the long drive home. Ray started the car, backed out a few feet, stopped, and looked at me with tears in his eyes. He said, “Oh, honey! That was Jeff on the phone.†Jeff was our oldest son, just twenty years old.  Ray continued, “He said a policeman came to our home early this morning to say that Mike was killed in a car accident.†Mike, our second child, had turned eighteen just eight days earlier. As we drove through the Washington countryside, now eager to get home, I tuned in to the news on the car radio, and we heard them announce the death of our son, Michael Alan Jones. Michael was born in Frankfurt, Germany, while Ray was serving in the U.S. Army. It was an easy birth for me, mainly because I was in my mid-twenties. While I was still in the hospital, an Army doctor who specialized in ophthalmology came by to say he believed our baby might have something wrong with his eyes, and he wanted to see us in his office the following week. We complied, and the doctor confirmed that Michael was born with congenital glaucoma. The doctor explained that fluid was flowing into his eyes faster than it could flow out, which could cause excessive pressure on his optic nerve and lead to blindness. He also said that when the baby was old enough he would need to have surgery to save his sight. 

When Michael reached the appointed age of eighteen months, we were living in military quarters at the Presidio of San Francisco, where another highly skilled ophthalmologist performed surgery twice on his eyes over a period of months. For the next eight years Michael was given daily eye drops and was taken to the doctor at regular intervals to have his eye pressure checked and prescriptions written for medicated eye drops.

 Being the open-minded person that I am, I always felt there was a way for Michael to be healed, if only I could find it, in spite of the doctors who said he would always have glaucoma because they did not know how to heal it. When Ray’s military service ended, we moved from the Bay Area to Santa Barbara, California, and “just happened†to move right across the street from a lady named Evelyn. I saw her out on her lawn one day, so I went over to meet my new neighbor. As we talked, I told her about Michael’s glaucoma, and she told me she taught a class in healing, and that it was possible that Michael could be healed if we studied the course. I was ready to study anything if there was even a remote chance of healing, so we agreed.

 The course she taught was written by a man named William Walter, who, through intensive reading and study, had healed himself of tuberculosis, and then developed this course to train other people in how to heal themselves of medically incurable illnesses. The course taught us that: OUR THINKING CAUSES EVERYTHING THAT WE EXPERIENCE. As time went on, using this approach, we began to have success in healing many things, like the common cold and the annual flu. After we had studied this course for two years, Ray and I went to Los Angeles to take the teachers’ training. We both became certified teachers of Eschatology, the Science of Last Things. Then Ray accepted a position as a purchasing agent in San Jose, California, so once again we moved.  

When Michael was nine years old, he still had glaucoma, was still being given daily prescription eye drops, and was still seeing an accredited ophthalmologist, now in the Bay Area, but I felt the time had come for us to take our stand for healing. I had just taken him in for his three-month pressure check, and with medication his eye pressure was under control. The next day I consciously chose to stop putting the medicated prescription drops in his eyes because I felt I had my thoughts in the right place to accomplish his healing.

 Three months later I took Michael to the ophthalmologist for his checkup. The nurse took us into an examination room and asked me what time he had been given his drops that morning. I said, “I have not given him any drops for three months.†She gave me a look of disbelief and noted that on his chart. When the doctor came into the room, he was angry. He said, “Why have you stopped the drops?†I simply said, “We did not do it ignorantly.†The doctor was obviously shaken.  He tried to calm down and proceeded to check Michael’s eye pressure. Then he became quiet, and after a pause he said, “His pressure checks normal.†I was elated, but I said nothing. 

 The doctor left the room briefly. When he returned, he said his colleague, also an ophthalmologist, was asking my permission to follow Michael’s progress along with him from now on. I simply said “No.†I knew that looking for glaucoma in my child’s eyes could reproduce it. That was the last time Michael went to the ophthalmologist. His glaucoma had vanished.

 What we learned in Eschatology is that our son’s glaucoma was caused by my feeling of being pressured (controlled, domineered) by my mother-in-law, Coleen. She could not let go of her son Ray, my husband, even though we had been married for many years and had three  children of our own. She wanted her own way and expected our obedience. I disliked her very much because of her constant intrusion and demands. Once I learned in Eschatology that she was the source of the pressure I was feeling that was causing Michael’s glaucoma, I knew I had to stand against this woman and learn how to say NO to her, rather than allowing her to push me around any longer. I had to change the way I dealt with her. Always before it had been impossible for me to do this, because she was “Mother†after all, and I was trying to be respectful, but it was way out of control. If we did not do what she wanted, she would remind us that we were supposed to honor our parents. 

 Soon my opportunity came to stand up to her. She called one afternoon and asked us to come for dinner that evening. I said, “No, thank you. We will not be able to come.†That was a first for me, and it felt so good! She continued to ask and argue, and I continued to say “NO.†So she hung up. About five minutes later she called back and asked me again the same question: â€œWill you come for dinner?†Again I said, “No, thank you.†She continued to urge me, and said Father (her husband) might die soon, and this would be the last time we could be together. (She had used that excuse before.) I stuck to my guns and did not budge. She hung up. Five minutes later she called back for the third time in fifteen minutes. It was as if she had totally forgotten that I had said no already, so we went through it all over again. When we hung up from that third call, I felt triumphant and no longer felt pushed around. I had pushed back, and by changing my attitude in how I handled her demands, I had changed my on-going feelings of being pushed around by her. My feelings had reflected on my child’s eyes as glaucoma, even while he was in my womb. I healed him of glaucoma by taking an action that changed the way I felt. I had allowed that woman to push me around for years, and now it was over. I had reversed my feelings of being pressured. Now I felt in control.



About the Author


Nancy Lynne Harris, M.A., is a graduate of The Four Winds Society, founded by Dr. Alberto Villoldo, where she was trained in shamanism and energy healing. She graduated as a Spiritual Teacher from the Eschatology Foundation in Los Angeles and healed her son Michael of glaucoma as a result. She completed advanced training in Theta Healing and was recognized by Worldwide Who’s Who for excellence in energy medicine.


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What the Parrot Saw by Darlene Marshall Release Blitz

2/26/2019

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Historical Romance
Publisher: Eve D. Ackerman
Release Date: February 26, 2019

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Hijacking an Englishman from a brothel is all in a day’s work for Captain Mattie St. Armand. She needs protective coloration, and a naïve (and expendable) white man will keep the eyes of the authorities off her as she smuggles slaves from the Florida Territory to freedom in the Bahamas.

Oliver Woodruff wanted a spot of travel in the Caribbean before he settled down, but he never expected “Marauding Mattie.†He’ll help her, but he knows there’s no place in his world for the bastard daughter of a pirate and a freedwoman.

As Mattie trains him for their ruse, she comes to realize he’s a man she can turn to for support and companionship, and Oliver grows to love the commanding and daring woman who refuses to fit society’s mold… but both are sure their relationship is doomed by society’s taboos.

It will take danger and adventure (and Roscoe the parrot) to convince them that the passion between them is more than an island fantasy.




Excerpt


1839

“I don’t need a useless white boy. Find someone else to take him off your hands.â€

“Not a boy, a man. The sort you favor, captain—golden curls, pouty mouth. He’s quite pretty, I know you’ll agree.â€

Captain St. Armand stretched out long legs clad in close fitting buckskins, admiring the shine on boots freshly polished. The brothel on St. Martin offered a variety of services to its clients, from excellent meals to boot-blacking, along with the usual amenities one expected from such establishments.

“If I bring a pretty lad aboard ship, everyone will want one. I don’t share my toys.â€

“You’ll take him,†the madam said. “I’m calling in my marker for the incident last year.â€

“That wasn’t my fault!â€

“Your ship, your crew, your fault, St. Armand.â€

“Really, that man needed some excitement in his life.â€

“That’s not the excitement Mr. Carlson sought at this house. He never expected a goat.â€

St. Armand snickered at the memory. “I still say what you’re asking is excessive.â€

“I thought you’d turn me down.†Barbara Simpson took a sip of the sherry she’d served herself. Her guest was drinking Jamaican rum, as usual. “You should know though, the young man in question is Bunny Rathbone’s relation.â€

“Bunny Rathbone! How is the dear old boy?â€

“He’s well, moving up in the world. He wrote me to say his cousin was touring the islands and if he came here I should treat him as an honored guest. Bunny implied Mr. Woodruff needed to experience more of life. To put it bluntly, he called the young man a ‘stuffy, boring stick.’ I invited him to the house, but first he ran into a spot of trouble and I brought him here for safekeeping.â€

The doors to the parlor were open to catch the afternoon breezes rustling through the bougainvillea—a restful pause before business commenced for the evening. Comfortably rounded and middle-aged, Mrs. Simpson was a shrewd businesswoman whose motto was to give the clients what they desired—within reason—and to treat her girls as she’d wanted to be treated when she’d worked there. She’d miss Captain St. Armand, a favored customer setting sail for Nassau after a stop to provision and catch up on mail and messages from home. A packed valise waited near the door.

“The two of us have fond memories of Bunny’s visits to this house, but I’m sailing on the tide, so bring your package out here and let me see for myself.â€

The madam’s bully boys were summoned and returned a short while later with their “package†struggling between them in a futile attempt at freedom. It was a young man in his mid-twenties, and, as promised, he had bright gold hair and sky-blue eyes. One of those eyes was blackened, and a bruise discolored the left side of his face. He was also gagged with his hands tied in front of him.

“As you see, I need your help taking him away, and you could use a cabin boy. You told me so yourself. Mr. Woodruff has an unfortunate habit of speaking intemperately, and there were people who took exception to what he said.â€

“People?â€

“Americans. Ah, I thought that would interest you.â€

“I am slightly tempted,†the captain said, looking the young man over. “I may have a use for him, other than the obvious one. As always, you have an excellent eye for the goods.â€

The captive made a noise muffled by his gag.

“Don’t look so horrified, Sunshine. The work’s not onerous and it comes with special benefits. If he’s annoying the Americans I’m thinking of, it makes him far more trouble than he’s worth, Barbara. I’ll pay you for the goat incident and leave him to his own devices.â€

“The goat incident set me back twenty-five pounds, not to mention the free services Mr. Carlson received for his embarrassment. You owe me, but if you take Woodruff with you to Nassau we’ll call it done.â€

She directed one of her men to get the captive’s gear. The captain pulled a fine cigar from the mahogany box on the table, taking time to light it and inhale before answering.

“Twenty-five pounds? I don’t care how pouty his mouth is, there’s not a man alive worth that amount.â€

The bound man squawked again, jerking against the hold on his arms.

“Untie the gag, James. Maybe Woodruff can convince me of his worth.â€

The gag removed, the captive worked his square jaw back and forth, glaring at them.

“I demand you release me at once! I am a British citizen and I will notify the authorities!â€

St. Armand looked at Mrs. Simpson, then both laughed aloud. Even the guard chuckled.

“How do you intend to back up that demand?†St. Armand asked. “Did you happen to bring a knife with you? Or guns? Or friends with guns?â€

“Friends with guns are good, Captain.â€

“Indeed they are, James, but I don’t believe Woodruff has friends here, with or without guns.â€

“You cannot hold me here! I did not come to the islands to end up in a bawdy house!†he protested.

“Well, that’s your problem right there, Sunshine.â€

Woodruff took a deep breath, then looked at the mistress of the house.

“You are not responsible for me, Mrs. Simpson. I am not unappreciative of your protecting me by keeping me here, but I can take care of myself.â€

“You don’t seem to be doing a good job of it so far.â€

He glared at the sea captain.

“I do not know what your interest in my affairs is, sir, but I do not need your assistance.†He started to step forward, but James’s heavy hand on his shoulder kept him in place.

St. Armand set down the cigar.

“It’s not up to you. Hold out your hands.â€

Almost reflexively the man thrust his arms out. St. Armand’s knife sliced through the knots, but when Woodruff tried to pull his arm back, the captain gripped his hand and turned it over.

“Soft and smooth as a nun’s arse. You’ve never hauled lines or done work harder than holding a pen. Don’t look so astounded. I can tell you’re a scribbler from this callus on your finger.†Cold eyes scanned him from his face down to his feet. “Soft all over. I only take crew and cargo aboard my vessel. You are worthless to me.â€

The brothel owner delicately cleared her throat.

“Goats, St. Armand. Remember the goats. You don’t have to keep him forever, like a pet. Take him to Nassau or Jamaica and leave him there. You owe me, and I oweâ€â€”she paused and looked at her guest—“our mutual friend, so let’s be reasonable about this.â€

Woodruff stared at the sea captain. “You are Captain St. Armand? The Captain St. Armand, of the Prodigal Son?â€

Before he could answer, the brothel’s majordomo knocked at the door.

“A note arrived for the captain, ma’am, and it’s marked urgent.â€

St. Armand read the rumpled paper, a frown creasing the lean face.

“There’s no time for further debate. I’ll dispose of this person for you, Barbara, and make sure the body’s well hidden.â€

“What? You can’t kill me!â€

They ignored such a patently ridiculous statement, but Mrs. Simpson shook her head.

“I must insist.â€

“Oh, very well. Woodruff, you’re coming with me. Your only choice is whether it’s bound and across your saddle, or riding.â€

He appeared ready to argue, but after one look at St. Armand’s set face said, “I’ll ride.â€

“You’ll find a way to turn a profit on him,†Mrs. Simpson said, rising to her feet as well, “I know you.â€

“There is that,†St. Armand said cheerfully. “He could have an unfortunate and fatal accident aboard ship, and I know a surgeon in Nassau who pays well for fresh cadavers. Don’t look so pasty-faced, boy. If you follow orders, you should survive long enough to keep scribbling. The first order is this… The captain is always right, and when I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed. Say ‘Aye, Captain’ if you understand.â€

Woodruff looked at him and swallowed.

“Aye, Captain.â€



About the Author


Darlene Marshall is the author of award-winning historical romance featuring pirates, privateers, smugglers, and the occasional possum. She loves working at a job where business attire is shorts and a shirt festooned with pink flamingos and palm trees. Marshall lives in North Central Florida, a convenient location for putting the convertible top down and researching sites of great historical significance, which also happen to be at the beach and serve mojitos.

Marshall is a graduate of the University of Florida and worked as a broadcast and print journalist, news anchor, radio station owner, obituary writer and a few other odd jobs. She's section leader for Erotic Writing at TheLitForum.com.

Her books have been published in English, German and Estonian. Awards include the New England Chapter RWA (Romance Writers of America) Readers' Choice Award and Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence for The Pirate's Secret Baby; the Denver RWA Aspen Gold award (Castaway Dreams); the First Coast Romance Writers National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (The Bride and the Buccaneer), and two EPIC awards.

Represented by Barbara Collins Rosenberg of the Rosenberg Group.

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Josephine Baker's Last Dance by Sherry Jones Blog Tour

2/26/2019

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Write Now Literaryis pleased to be organizing a book tour for Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones. The tour will run February 25-March 1, 2019. Book your own tour here. 
Read the first chapter
ISBN-10: 1501102443
ISBN-13: 978-1501102448
Genre: Historical
About Sherry Jones
Author and journalist Sherry Jones is best known for her international bestseller The Jewel of Medina. She is also the author of The Sword of Medina, Four Sisters, All Queens, The Sharp Hook of Love, and the novella White Heart.  Sherry lives in Spokane, WA, where, like Josephine Baker, she enjoys dancing, singing, eating, advocating for equality, and drinking champagne. 
 About the Book
From the author of The Jewel of Medina, a moving and insightful novel based on the life of legendary performer and activist Josephine Baker, perfect for fans of The Paris Wife and Hidden Figures.
Discover the fascinating and singular life story of Josephine Baker—actress, singer, dancer, Civil Rights activist, member of the French Resistance during WWII, and a woman dedicated to erasing prejudice and creating a more equitable world—in Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.
In this illuminating biographical novel, Sherry Jones brings to life Josephine's early years in servitude and poverty in America, her rise to fame as a showgirl in her famous banana skirt, her activism against discrimination, and her many loves and losses. From 1920s Paris to 1960s Washington, to her final, triumphant performance, one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century comes to stunning life on the page.
With intimate prose and comprehensive research, Sherry Jones brings this remarkable and compelling public figure into focus for the first time in a joyous celebration of a life lived in technicolor, a powerful woman who continues to inspire today.
Connect Socially
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       Purchase copies Amazon
Tour organized by Write Now Literarywww.wnlbooktours.com
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Coveted Kiss by Karen Tjebben Blog Tour & Giveaway

2/25/2019

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Psychological Romantic/Suspense
Date Published: June 2017



Bella Chan is a good girl surrounded by alpha-males who aren’t afraid of danger. Unfortunately, that danger comes back to bite her. She can still feel the deadly grip of Hazeem’s hands wrapped around her neck. If Jack hadn’t shown up at Savage Security, she’d be dead. Then, in pure alpha-male fashion, Jack appoints himself her personal bodyguard, but Bella soon realizes that Jack isn’t there to protect her. He’s there to win her heart.

And now, in the aftermath of the attack, the men of Savage Security band together to hunt down the terrorists living on American soil. As they navigate through the intrigue and deception that camouflages their assailants, they also confront the treason that threatens the Nation’s defenses.


About the Author 

Karen Tjebben lives in central North Carolina with her wonderful husband, twin daughters, and two hamsters. When her girls left for kindergarten, Karen discovered that she needed to fill her days with something, and that was the beginning of her writing career. She loves to create worlds filled with unique characters that she hopes will delight and raise goose bumps on her readers. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and seeing the world through her daughters' eyes.

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Sherlock and Me: The Cast of Billy's Missing Gun by SJ Slagle Cover Reveal

2/25/2019

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(Sherlock and Me series)

Cozy mystery
Date Published: March 2019

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Super sleuth Lucy James is hired to find the Colt pistol that may have belonged to Billy the Kid. Hampered by dishonest weapon experts, a pawnshop murder and unusual architecture at a downtown casino, her investigation is rocky at best. A massive snowstorm has blanketed Reno leaving Lucy to slog her way to interviews with uncooperative witnesses. Her father’s abrupt firing from his job as the host of a local children’s television show and the impending marriage between her best friend Cindy Floyd and her detective fiancé Skip Callahan grab chunks of Lucy’s fleeting attention. But she is determined to find the missing gun before the next snowstorm even though she on and off relationship with handsome professor Eric Schultz is off again. With sheer tenacity and a pair of thick snow boots, Lucy muscles through to the mystery’s resolution. It isn’t easy but the mystery and murder never are.


About the Author


SJ SLAGLE started her writing career as a language arts teacher. Her initial interest was children’s stories, but she moved on to western romance, mysteries, and historical fiction. She has published 24 novels, both independent and contract. SJ contributes regularly to guest blogs and has her own blog called anauthorsworld.com in which she discusses the research involved in the books she writes. SJ has established Twitter and Facebook fan bases, a quarterly author newsletter and a website under her pseudonym: JEANNE HARRELL at jeanneharrell.com.

Her first historical fiction novel, LONDON SPIES, was awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2018 and Slagle was a finalist in the 2017 UK Independent Book Awards. She was given the Silver Award with the International Independent Film Awards for her screenplay called REDEMPTION. SJ conducts writing/publishing symposiums in her local area. OSLO SPIES, her second historical fiction novel will be published in September. She lives and works in Reno, Nevada.

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Bullets and Bosses Don't Have Friends by Toni Crowe Book Blitz

2/22/2019

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How to Navigate Tough Challenges in the Workplace
The $7 Series, Book 3
Memoir
Published: December 2018
Publisher: Boker

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Are you worried that you're too nice to get ahead? Discover how to play smart in your work place and take your life to the next level in Toni Crowe's continuation of her memoir.

Does your office feel more like a minefield than a place to get things done? Are you confronted by tenacious colleagues and even more challenging situations every workday? With over 30 years of experience, award-winning executive Toni Crowe has climbed the ladder across multiple sectors, from high tech to aerospace. After ascending from the very bottom to the top, she's here to share her experience, strategies, and wisdom for you to realize your own career triumph.

Bullets and Bosses Don't Have Friends teaches you how to assume the serious edge you need to succeed in the corporate world. With the book's honest, compelling look at relationships with peers and bosses alike, you'll discover a pragmatic approach to mastering your trek through management. By reading Crowe's down-to-earth stories, you'll learn how to navigate common challenges in the workplace and conquer them with your own personal style.



In Bullets and Bosses Don’t Have Friends, you’ll discover:



- A behind-the-scenes peek at corporate America that shows you what it’s really like at the top

- Which skills and attitudes you need to scale to the top of the business world

- How to cultivate a relationship with your boss that benefits both of you

- What you can do when confronted with difficult peers so you maintain control

- How you can and should deal with workplace treachery, and much, much more!



Bullets and Bosses Don’t Have Friends is a series of true stories from Toni Crowe’s life in the corporate world, each with a practical lesson and a set of exercises you can apply to your own career. If you like the personal approach of a mentor, tales of hard-won success, and real-world advice from a CEO with an amazing record of achievement, then you’ll love Toni Crowe’s second installment in the four-part My Journey from a Lady of the Night to the Lady of the Boardroom memoir!






About the Author


Toni Crowe is an award-winning and accomplished executive with 30 years of experience as a CEO/President, Vice-President, Director, Engineer, and Manager across multiple sectors including high tech, consumer and nuclear sensors, Aerospace, film production, and glass. She has extensive experience in P&L, Manufacturing, Operations Management, and Lean.  She has participated in several mergers and acquisitions.  Toni is currently the President and CEO of Just One: her company which is dedicated to changing lives, one life at a time.


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My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One by Glenn W. Powell Blog Tour

2/22/2019

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Write Now Literary Book Tours is pleased to be organizing a book blast tour for My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One by Glenn W. Powell. This tour will run Feb 22, 2019. Click here to book your own tour. 
Genre of Book: Memoir, Motivational, Military Life and History
ISBN-10: 1986878406
ISBN-13: 978-1986878401
               
           Meet Glenn 
Sergeant First Class Glenn W. Powell (Retired) is a native of Toledo, Ohio. He enlisted into the United States Army in 1982 and retired in 2002. During his military career, he served as a heavy vehicle driver, a squad leader, and non-commissioned officer.
In September 1991, SFC Powell joined the George HW Bush White House as a chauffeur, and in 1992, was promoted to transportation coordinator for the white house Press Corps, serving in the Clinton Administration.
In December 1995, he assumed the duties of transportation supervisor for Air Force One.
In January 2001, during his service under President George W. Bush, SFC Powell was transferred to the White House Military Office, Customer Support and Organizational Development where he served as deputy director.
SFC Powell retired with distinction from the Military in 2002. He received numerous awards and decorations throughout his service, including the Legion of Merit Metal, Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the United States Army Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters. He received U.S. Service Ribbons for both domestic and overseas service.
Glenn and Ronda Holloway Powell have been married for 25 years, and have three sons, Darius, Warren, and Glenn, II. They reside in Virginia. For more information, or to contact Glenn Powell regarding availability for speaking opportunities, please email him at .
              About The Book
Sergeant Glenn W. Powell’s MY LAST BAGGAGE CALL is the story of a most unlikely young man who leaves his working-class environment of Toledo, Ohio, to become a soldier. Seeking excitement and a way to “make something of himself,†Glenn Powell’s journey exceeds his wildest dreams—a journey that began in basic training in Fort Hood, Texas ends at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue—the most important address in the world. MY LAST BAGGAGE CALL is about so much more than Glenn Powell’s military journey, but about poignant memories of family, friendships, sacrifices, and love—central to his story is Ronda Holloway, the beautiful young woman he falls in love with in Manheim, Germany, and, who joins him on his life journey as wife, soulmate and mother to their two sons. MY LAST BAGGAGE CALL offers readers a glimpse into Sergeant Glenn Powell’s 30-year transformation from the much-beloved boy who seeks more in life…to the man, who discovers it—in adventure, in friendships, and in service to three American presidents. a service he delivered with pride, unquestioned loyalty, distinction and in the end, great admiration.
Excerpt
A Soldier’s Story 
Shortly after I turned 18, I enlisted in the army. Around that time, I learned that the young woman I’d been dating was pregnant, so going into the army would be an opportunity to provide for my child. The army sent me to Fort Dix in New Jersey for boot camp training on April 22, 1982. It was the perfect enlistment site for me.
Because of the popular television show, Dallas, I had in mind that I wanted to go to Fort Hood, Texas and meet JR Ewing. Not only did I meet Larry Hagman, the actor who played JR, but I also met the entire cast at one of the big Dallas malls. That was in the 80s when the networks spent money to have cast members show up to greet their fans, and when fans could easily get a photo with the stars. Meeting JR had been on my mental bucket list. Later I learned that “Klinger†from Mash and Danny Thomas were both from Toledo, and so I added them to the list.
In 1983, I re-enlisted and chose Hawaii as my next army stint. There for 18 months, I’m convinced that the Hawaii move helped me look long and hard at myself and my future. In Hawaii, I decided I needed to better myself. I enrolled at the Wahiawa Community School for Adults and got my high school diploma. My mother was so disappointed when I didn’t graduate from high school, so I did it as much for her as for myself.
My long transportation management career began in Wahiawa. I was one of a large number of applicants who applied for a temporary mission of driving for the Sergeant Major for the division. He was the senior enlisted man at the post. I beat out the other candidates for that position. Later, I drove for the one-star general at the post. After that, I returned to my unit and worked as the battalion mail clerk until he left in 1985. While there, I met friends and mentors who would help me decide on my career journey. That same year, I was asked to re-enlist, and First Sergeant Herbert Harris became a lifelong mentor and friend. Sergeant Harris recommended that I choose Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia for my re-enlistment. I remained at Fort Eustis from April 1985 until January 1988.
I became a squad leader, and for the next six months, I managed a squad of truck drivers in and around the base. After that, I was set on transportation becoming my specialty, but my career trajectory changed some when I was appointed to head up NCO Training, where I was responsible for the training of 270 soldiers.
Around this time, I met First Sergeant Fletcher Walker. He was sent in to straighten out our company, and he did just that. He would stand up at the top of the stairs with his hat covering his eyes but looking down at us. Sergeant Walker was a ‘soldier among soldiers,’ an airborne paratrooper, a Vietnam Veteran who had been shot three times. There was no one more surprised when he chose me to run the training.
I knew he had high expectations, and I was determined not to disappoint him. He was the kind of leaders for whom soldiers would fight and die. He was a true hero who taught me how to be a soldier and a man. He shared a lot about life with me. I imitated him in many ways so much that everyone would call me “Baby Walker.†I met his family and it was an honor. He retired as a Command Sergeant Major.
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Sports Wives by John Vance Book Blitz

2/21/2019

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Women's Fiction, Humor
Published: January 2017
Publisher: Champlain Avenue Books

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Mary Wulf, wife of baseball slugger Gary Wulf, has invited her four dearest friends to her Southern Connecticut home for a fun-filled late August weekend get-together. They’re coming from Maryland, Ohio, Colorado, and as near as next door. Sports Wives coming together with their unique personalities and emotional perspectives.

Being together for the very first time, the women reveal far more of themselves during the weekend than they ever expected. Indeed, the humor is continuous—while tenderness, poignancy, and sorority will also pull at your emotions. There is much on multiple levels to draw one into the lives of these women—who are in effect, wedded to sports as well as to their men.



Excerpt


Chapter 1

All right, let’s take stock.  I am thirty-five years old.  A reasonable, loving, and notoriously cautious woman.  I am married to Gary Wulf, the current right fielder for the New York Mets.  I am deeply in love with his agent.  I have violated the Seventh Commandment.  On several occasions. Other than that, I have no complications in my life. 

Mary Wulf stood in her kitchen staring at her reflection in a bottle of tequila, wondering how much of the bottle would be consumed before the evening was out.   She couldn’t contain her delight at the prospect.  The weekend series was about to begin--only minutes away now from the first pitcher .  . . of margaritas. Ha, ha.

Look, it’s late August, and the Mets are only seven games out of first.  They could still win the division; it’s not too late.  But I can’t say the same thing about my marriage, can I?  Nor would I want to.  At least the Mets have a chance not to finish in the Eastern Division cellar, the way Philadelphia ‘s playing.  Yes, the cellar.  If Gary only knew what I have hidden in mine.  Figuratively, I mean.  The poor Mets.  This will be their sixth straight losing season.  How many have I had in a row with my husband?  About the same?  More than that?  Up in Boston they were for forever saying that this year could be the year they’d win The Series.  The Curse of the Bambino once and for all exorcised.  And they finally had their year--twice.  Here it’s the curse of Mary Wulf.  But this also could be the year.  My year. 

            While Mary pondered her personal life in the context of Major League Baseball, she put the CD player in “Random†mode.  For once the batting order of her Broadway CD mix would be shaken up, providing Mary some variety and surprise rather than disgorging once again the same tracks in the same familiar pattern—one long ago memorized.  “Memory†from Cats was hitting second, instead of eighth as it usually did.  Then again, this wasn’t the song to come so early in the lineup—it seemed highly out of place in that position.  It spoke too deeply to its listener; it was too emotional, too relevant for it simply to waft through a room without adequate preparation, without at least some expectation, without any anticipation from the woman in the house, who played it whenever she attempted to communicate with her soul. 

Hearing the opening bars of the song, Mary came quickly into the room from the kitchen, where she had begun filling bowls with high-calorie, indefensible, and long-denied tortilla chips, pouring two kinds of salsa into “authentic†Mexican serving bowls, after having pulled down from the shelves of the liquor cabinet the accompanying tequila and margarita mix.  She felt a bit startled moving from the gaiety south of the border to the tragic and poignant setting of Griselda the Glamor Cat among the piles of unwanted junk.  Mary disliked sudden shifts of mood, sudden news of any kind, sudden demands on her time and emotions.  And now one of her favorite songs was causing her sudden anxiety.  

Six weeks into their relationship, eight months before they were married, she had given herself to Gary Wulf only because the tune was playing in the living room of her small apartment.  She thought earlier in the evening that in spite of her physical attraction to the young and ardently insistent ballplayer, it was really too early in their relationship for sex.  She just had too many questions about him as a man and as a potential husband.  But the tune had begun to play at the exact moment he touched the top of her thigh with unmistakable amorous purpose—and there was little she could do or wanted to do to make him cease.  The song stimulated her pity and understanding, and she felt more vulnerable every time she heard it.  She had loved the song long before she had fallen in love with Gary Wulf, having sung it as part of a musical revue at a local community theatre, and she had frequently fantasized about making love while it provided the most erotic musical accompaniment she could have imagined.  She wondered if she wanted a sexual encounter to purge the pain the song featured—the loneliness and regret as one’s life sped off course to it’s inevitable end.  Her doubts after that night about what she had allowed to happen with Gary had absolutely no effect on her love for the song.  She knew now, however, that her feelings for Gary were never the same afterward.  And still she had married him.  When she was only twenty and a far distance from the aging Glamor Cat.

Mary turned off the disc, felt her tension immediately lessening, and replaced the compilation with the other CD sitting on top of the player—Carole King’s gift to the 1970’s, the album Tapestry.  Mary felt it almost a duty to listen to the CD at least once a month—that is, a duty to her mother, who found almost every cut an anthem worthy of respect if not devotion.   Carole King was the first singer Mary could recall from her childhood. Her mother had loved the album for almost ten years before Mary was born, and Mary felt unashamedly wistful recalling how her mother wore her hair in King’s curly mane as shown on the album cover and how from the ages of one and a half to seven she would dance to “Smackwater Jack†while her mother roared with delight, giving Mary a standing ovation after every performance.  Mary put the CD in the player but this time did not want the “Random†mode dictating the lineup; no, what she needed now was familiarity and control.  Of course she wanted to hear the album’s opening song—after all, her closest friends would arrive soon, and they would surely make the earth move if Carole King couldn’t.  But more importantly, Mary wanted to know where that third cut on the album was.  She wouldn’t listen to it. She hadn’t listened to it for months.  She couldn’t, even though she knew it was too late for her and Gary.  

Mary decided to stay in the room until the second song finished; then she could skip to cut four and go back in the kitchen and begin mixing the margaritas.  She swished her lips from side to side—her familiar though unconventional gesture of approval—as she thought how well the renovations of this room had gone this past March.   Her spring training, as it were, while Gary was doing his with the Mets in Port St. Lucie.  The room was so much brighter—yellow and white—so perfect for listening to her music, contemplating the backyard through the French doors, and entertaining friends and guests.  And how perfectly the room would serve the purposes of this special weekend.  The inaugural meeting of “Sports Wivesâ€â€”the name Mary came up with in the middle of the summer for her and her four closest friends, all married to men with intimate connections to sports.  Why not invite them all to come to her place and meet each other?  Why not have them all here in Connecticut to help shove her toward a decision about terminating her marriage?  It seemed like such a brilliant idea. 

Mary made a final check for neatness—and for anything that might cause discomfort or embarrassment.  As the song concluded, she noticed something lying behind the plush chair against the wall.  She headed toward the chair at the moment the piano intro to “So Far Away†began.  Halting, Mary felt an immediate and depressing realization that she didn’t want to hear that selection either, so she walked to the CD player and turned it off.  The silence in the room put its arms around her; it was what she needed--at least until her friends arrived.  This silence did not chide her, as had her conscience the past several months. 

Expelling a soft breath, she bent down and pulled from behind the chair a baseball bat and a vintage Brooklyn Dodger baseball cap—one of the many bits of sports memorabilia her husband just had to have but soon after discarded with indifference. Mary’s face registered no disdain or pleasure; she simply laid the bat on the sofa and brought the cap closer to her face. She traced the classic white “B†on the blue cap with her finger and once more accepted the fact that she ought to think of herself as one lucky girl.  Oh, absolutely--one lucky girl.  But . . .  that’s what the “B†stood for at this moment—the contradictory tag “But . . .†  After taking the bat and cap to her husband’s game room, she heard the steps on her patio, followed by the sound of a platter breaking on the flagstones, and then the expected “Oh, Mother of Shit!†  Yes, of course.  Miranda Peterson.  The weekend could now formally begin.

            “Mary, Mary, the song canary—my, how your garbage grows!† Miranda Peterson had branded her claim to Mary’s Wulf’s friendship with the habitual pun on familiar nursery rhymes when she was inclined to make a grand entrance.   “There was a young woman who lived in I-talian shoes. / She spent so much on sandals, her husband had no money left to lose†was one Mary particularly loved, as her neighbor--one of America’s most successful authors of romance novels--didn’t have enough of an ear for poetry to get the number of syllables right.  On the other hand, Mary was highly embarrassed by “Little Miss Wulfit sat on a toilet, touching her curls so gray,†because Miranda had thrice offered it while others were in the room.  On the first two occasions, Mary protested with animation the unfair characterization; on the third, she merely smiled, recalling that she had in fact just celebrated the first anniversary of her touching-up the gray in her curls.  

            “Do you need a broom, Miranda?† Mary stuck her head out the French doors.

            “I wouldn’t want to borrow your favorite mode of transportation, Mary.  Let’s just leave it alone.  Clams on the half-shell biodegrade, don’t they?† That face—that puckish pretty face.  Not the same austere and intimidating one that graced a good number of dust jackets and that garish website of hers. 

            Mary headed for the kitchen.  “The clams biodegrade perhaps--not sure about the half-shells.† Within thirty seconds she was out on the back patio helping Miranda dump the two-dozen clams with accompanying half-shells in a paper grocery bag.  She complimented Miranda for at least having her heart in the right place. 

            “My heart may be, but unfortunately my heel got stuck between the flagstones on your patio.  Right time, but wrong place.†

Mary’s face exploded like popcorn.  “My God, Miranda.  I just realized.  You’re actually on time!   How does it feel?â€

“Not bad.  I think the heel will stay on.  Seriously, Mary, I told you that I wouldn’t be late for the first of what we hope will be many an annual meeting of ‘Sports Wives.’  I promised I’d be the first of the wives to check in, and--Voila!—here I am.  Sans clams, sans shells, sans everything.† Miranda was bouncing her heads from side to side in childlike excitement.  Mary thought she looked like a little leaguer entering Yankee Stadium for the first time.

“Right, Miranda.  Anyway, you’re the first here, but not actually the first to check in.† Miranda’s face dropped and her lips bubbled forward in the classic pout that made her the darling of all her friends.  “I am truly sorry, but Sherry McDuffie called me from New Rochelle, where she spent last night with a favorite cousin she hasn’t seen in nearly fifteen years.  She has a rental car and is on the way.† Mary knew Sherry would be both the jaw dropper and the ultra sweetener the others would absolutely adore.  She might also be the soft rod of stability Mary would require if she could conquer her fear and share her big news with the rest of the Sports Wives.  But then again, the happily-married and traditional Sherry McDuffie would likely be the last one to sympathize.  But then again.  Yes, but then again.  How tired Mary was of all the “Buts†and “But then agains†that more and more bedeviled her waking hours.  For her part, Miranda lamented the fate of her best friend--the “poor, poor woman†who had to take that “horrific drive from parkway to parkway to parkway past golf course and golf course and another golf course until arriving at this little nineteenth hole†Mary called a home in Southeastern Connecticut.  

When the two women entered the house, Mary headed for the kitchen with the bag of unusable clams and Miranda toward the CD player.   As she dumped the clams in the trash container, Mary heard Miranda informing her that she forgotten to take the “Best Value†sticker from her Carole King CD--and then uttering some half-unintelligible remark about how impossible it was to open those “damned CD’s†the way they have them wrapped.  “The ancient Egyptians should have been so good.  Anyway, when are you going to upgrade to MP3?†Miranda flipped the case over and began going down the song list as Mary returned from the kitchen. “Tell you what, Mary, let’s put on ‘You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman’ and get naked on the couch when your friend Sherry comes in.   What do you say?† Miranda began to unbutton her blouse.  Again, one would not have imagined such behavior by looking at Miranda Peterson’s website.

“Whoa, Tigress.  Sherry wouldn’t quite approve.† Mary was therefore reminded of the single most glaring difference between the two of them.  Miranda had seemingly never met that distasteful brood called The Inhibitions, whereas Mary had given them room and board for her entire life.  Miranda would often brag to anyone who listened that she was one of the leaders of the short-lived “Streaking†craze in the early 70’s.  And even when Mary reminded her that she only five or six years old at the time, Miranda grinned and added, “Want me to show you?† Mary wondered whether her neighbor’s effusive influence had finally begun to make inroads when she considered the changes she herself was making in her wardrobe since the spring.  What made her uncomfortable about her new outfits and shoes, however, was any assumption that she was dressing to please Gary.  She had claimed to friends on more than a few occasions that she was refitting herself to please herself and no one else.  But she knew that to be a lie.  There was most certainly someone else.

            Miranda offered her characteristic mock horror at the possibility that Sherry McDuffie was a prude and would therefore ruin the entire weekend. 

Mary countered, “No, she’s not a prude, Miranda.  She’s a lot of fun.  A lot of fun.  She’s just a bit more conservative than you are when it comes to the matter of . . . you know.† Miranda raised her eyes in a way any hard-working imp would have envied.  “Then again, Miranda, the far left is more conservative than you are.â€

Miranda flung herself onto the sofa.  “Now this fun-loving prude is just like me, right.† Mary spent the next six seconds shaking her head back and forth.  “No, no, Mary.  I mean she’s never met three of the five Sports Wives, right?†     “Right.  She knows only me.  You know only me.  The other two know me and each other."  Having noticed Miranda’s expanding and examining eyes, Mary was now unhappy with the color of her blouse.  Miranda thanked her for the clarification and asked if Sherry was married to the college football coach “Alan†McDuffie.  Mary knew light blue, not the black she was wearing, would be the right color, especially since Miranda was wearing silver and black.  “Alex McDuffie, Miranda.  And he’s the defensive coordinator for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats.â€

Miranda now lay completely stretched out on the sofa, appearing more fit for an interment or necrophiliac sex with Poe’s Roderick Usher than a fun weekend with Mary’s other friends.  “Hmm.  She should tell old Alan that he’d get a lot more coordinating done if he weren’t so defensive.  Do you have an apple, Mary?†  Miranda lifted her left leg straight up—for a reason known only to her.        

            Perhaps red would be better, Mary thought.  She ignored the apple request and informed her best friend that she’d get the chips and margaritas percolating just as soon as the others arrived.

            “Wonder what it would be like to be married to a football coach.  Think, old Alvin . . .â€

            “Alex.â€

            “. . . makes Sherry bend over and . . .â€

            “Miranda, don’t start with the lewd jokes now.  You have no audience here for . . .†          

            “. . . hand him his eggs and bacon . . .â€

            “What?â€

            “. . . through her legs like one of those centers?â€

            Yet, Miranda Peterson’s brand of vulgarity was always sanitized by her infectious and playful spirit.  She never wrote in a vulgar way—although her novels were surely far more than mildly stimulating—but her mouth was clearly sprightlier than her pen.  At this moment, Mary couldn’t help visualizing Gary Wulf, like Alex McDuffie, as a coach or manager when his playing days were over.  And at thirty-seven, his days were surely numbered.  The thought frightened her but only because she also saw herself standing next to him, older than she was now.  Next to him.  Having lost her chance at something to revitalize her spirits.  She just couldn’t tolerate the thought.

            “Will you love me tomorrow?â€

            Miranda’s intrusion startled Mary, but it at least swept away her disturbing vision of a lifeless future.  “No, Miranda.  I’m just in it for the quick and cheap thrill.  What are you talking about?â€

            “One of the songs on the Carole King album.† Miranda lurched off the sofa and walked again to the CD player.  Yes, Mary concluded.  Red was the right color.  She informed Miranda that she was going to change her blouse and to “hold the fort.†  Miranda saluted and as soon as Mary walked out of the room, Miranda commenced a thorough search for any trace evidence of Mary’s husband in the room.  She wasn’t quite sure, but it seemed to her that, recently, every time she came over to Mary’s something new was in the room and something Gary was removed. 

The various tokens of Gary Wulf’s career in Major League Baseball, though certainly impossible to coordinate with the décor, still had been conspicuous only eight months before, but after the Christmas Holidays, Miranda began to sense that an object here or an object there was no longer in the room.  By the end of April, she was certain something was up.  By June she knew pretty much what it was.  Now it was late August and she wasn’t yet sure what it would end up being.

“Okay, what do you think, Miranda?† Somewhere along the way, another color had lain in ambush.

            “As I’ve always said, green’s your color, Mary.  Goes really well with your red shoes.  Christmas come early this year—or are you auditioning to be a traffic light?† Yes, Mary thought, how perfect for her emotions--the green and red of “Go†and “Stop.†  She found grim humor in the realization that she had out of character ignored the yellow caution light.  First when she was beginning her relationship with Gary and especially more recently when she had given herself to . . . well, she didn’t want to think about that now.

“Damn. Be right back.† Mary returned to her bedroom and Miranda finished her general sweep of the room, turning her attention to the CDs for any sign of Gary Wulf music.   Admittedly, she had made frequent humor out of Mary’s love of classical music, opera, and Broadway tunes and Gary’s refusal to listen to, let alone understand, any of them.  Gary preferred the hits of his youth and the videos that garnished them throughout the later 1980’s and early 90’s.  He reached his teens in January of 1991 and, on the very last day of the 1995, he received yet one more recognition of his incredible athletic prowess with the offer to sign with Cincinnati Reds following his high school graduation. 

Now at thirty-seven, Gary Wulf was playing for the Mets, at the end of what many felt was a sure Hall-of-Fame career, even though the last four years were many miles from Cooperstown.  Mary had encouraged him to take the first steps toward the new period of his life by expanding his musical and recreational interests.  But he would have none of it.   He wasn’t a man to let go.  Miranda recalled that those were the very words Mary had only recently quoted to her over several Long Island Ice Teas—“Gary’s not a man to let go.† Miranda had her share of friends and acquaintances whose marriages resulted in depression and a few of them in violence, but she had always been assured that the advice she freely offered was correct and appropriate.   But with Mary, she found it difficult to come right out and ask the tough questions—and she wasn’t sure why it was so.  Perhaps she had never cared for a friend or respected one as much as she did Mary Wulf.  In many ways, she looked up to her, although again she wasn’t exactly sure why.

            “Okay, how are these?† Mary displayed her green sandals.  

            “Hmm.  Let’s see.  It’s not yet Labor Day—but it’s after St. Patrick’s Day—so they’re perfect.† Miranda started sifting through several discs.  “Carole King I always hear—that is, when I’m here.  Diana Krall?  Could be.  Nora Jones?  Love her.  Charlotte Church?  Cute but I don’t like mixing religion and surnames.  Or perhaps some soprano arias by—how do you pronounce this?  Really Mary, what gives with these opera singers’ names?  Mary patiently informed her that the name was pronounced “Renée Fleming.†

            “Here’s one you like ‘Vissi d’arte’  I know, I know.“  That’s from Wagner’s Tosca—right?

            Almost.  It’s by Puccini.  But I’m impressed, Miranda.  It wasn’t long ago that you thought a ‘Tosca’ was something new and tasty from ‘Taco Guaco.’â€

            “Hey.  I was getting tired of burritos.   So sue me.†

            “You should have gone to see the opera with me at the Met when it played a couple of years ago.  Quite fabulous.† Mary had gone to Lincoln Center by herself while Gary was on a road trip with the Mets.  It was at that performance that she began contemplating the possibility of saying goodbye to a husband and a way of life.  But there would be no bows, no eruption of cheers, no flowers thrown at her feet.  She wouldn’t be surrounded by family and friends who would see the justice or inevitability of the split with Gary.  His family and friends would of course view her as the villain.  Gary wasn’t agitating for a separation; he hadn’t abused her in any way; he hadn’t had an affair--at least as far as she knew.  The scouting report his side would have on her would be nothing short of devastating.   She was the one who had the affair—and with Gary’s agent no less.  The line behind Judas wasn’t very long, and she’d have a prime place in it.

After the comfortable and exciting life Gary Wulf had provided her, she could do such a thing to him—and then want to leave him?   She wanted badly to be taken out of the game, relieved of the responsibility of being Mrs. Gary Wulf—the wife of one of the very few men good enough to make a successful career in Major League Baseball.  She wanted to tell all the reporters in the locker room after the game was over that she couldn’t help it.  She had given it her all, but time had taken away the edge.  She had lost her curve ball, her power, her speed on the bases.  She had to call it a day.  But Mary knew these now so familiar metaphors were literally what her husband was beginning to say about the past few years of his career—about the literal erosion of his athletic skills—and she felt absolutely horrible for him. 

            “I know I should have gone to the Met with you, Mary.  It’s just that I don’t like the kind of farewells you see at the end of operas.  People dying and singing at the same time, with a knife sticking out of their throats.  Ugghh.  Too horrifying.  That is, for a deeply sensitive soul like me.† Miranda’s eyes met Mary’s and each understood what the other was trying to say with them.  She knew Mary was thinking of “Farewell†as some kind of grim literary personification, hovering over her and masking its intentions while it accelerated her anxiety.  For a moment, Miranda didn’t know where to go, but, as always, sports provided a welcome signpost.  “Speaking of the Met, Gary has been with them for how many years now?†

            “This is his sixth.  He also played two transitional years with Colorado after his nine years with the Reds, before we came to New York.† Mary recited these facts without blinking her eyes.  She now touched her blouse—so happy that she had chosen green.  She could have told Miranda more about her husband’s exploits, if her friend had the desire or capacity for remembering such specifics.  She might then have reminded Miranda that when Gary was with the Reds he was an eight-time All-Star, twice National League Batting Champion.  Just two home-runs shy in 2006 of winning the Triple Crown.  That he made enough money to give his wife the kind of financial security very few women ever get.  That he provided her with comfortable surroundings, money enough for her occasional desire for the lavish shopping spree, and time alone to pursue her needed diversions.  Indeed, those needed diversions.  Her friends, her occasional singing, and now another man.

            “Mary, I should know all that.  You’ve—my husband’s--told me plenty of times.  I just don’t have the head for dates and statistics that you—my Tony has.† Miranda was back in random comic mode again, convinced she could reanimate her closest friend.  “I swear if my husband could recall the location of my erogenous zones as well as he does the middle initials of the eight guys who played third base for the 1962 Chicago White Sox, I’d be one contented woman.† Miranda demanded that her friend enjoy the remark—and Mary complied.  Mary appreciated just how essential Miranda Peterson was to her life.  She was always there—with her puns, with her bawdiness, with her teasing, and with her loving encouragement. 

Mary sat on the arm of the sofa.  “I wonder that they’re saying about us about now?â€

“Tonight, Mary, our boys are in San Diego.â€

            “San Francisco, actually.  The first of three with the Giants.† Mary focused on the clock above the mantle of the fireplace.  “It’s after 1:00 there.  He’s . . . they’re probably through with lunch.  How many road trips has your Tony taken this year with the Mets?†Mary again looked at the time and wondered how Sherry and the other two Sports Wives were doing in their life and death struggles with the traffic. 

            “This would be, I believe, only this third.  Been more of a homeboy this season.  He actually once went twelve straight days without taking a sports-related trip.†Now it was Mary’s turn to provide the mock horror.  Miranda ignored it.  “Though I must say, Mary, that Tony’s certainly had his share of epic sports travels over the past several months.  Let’s see.  In no particular order, this year he’s been to Churchill Downs for the Derby.  Followed the Mets to St. Louis and Atlanta.  He also went to Fenway Park for the intramural games the Mets played with the Yankees.† Mary reminded her that the proper term was “interleague.†“But I don’t count going to the Bronx as a real trip.  Anyway.  Umm, Augusta for the Masters.  Somewhere in the South for Tennis—or was it for bowling?  Can’t remember.  Oh yes, in January up to Massachusetts for the KFC Championship game.† Mary asked if she meant “AFC.† Miranda said no.  She was starving--that was why she said “KFC.† Again advising patience as a futile antidote to hunger, Mary felt once more buoyed by the familiar banter between them.  Miranda continued.  “And a few championship fights, some basketball, and who knows what else.  Ah, the freedom of wealth.  But I’m in love.†

            “With the freedom, the wealth, or the man?â€

“Mary, dearest one, you know the answer to that.  Ménage à trois!† Mary’s smile seemed to Miranda only a bit qualified.  Mary was laughing now at Tony’s miscellaneous sports caravans—very few on which Miranda ever ventured.  And Miranda found a brief moment to think of the peculiar match she and her husband made.  She knew of Tony’s pathological obsession with all things sports when she first met him eight years ago, at the time she turned thirty.  After he learned she was a highly successful novelist—his library respectfully expansive but consisting of only one subject, of course--he demonstrated a gentlemanly regard for her career, restricting his inquiries to the way she worked as a writer, not to any feigned interest in her characters or plots.  Miranda was especially pleased by his line of questioning, as no one had ever, at least socially, wished to know about the nuts and bolts of her craft.  Tony had immediately made her feel comfortable, but more--appreciated and safe.  Miranda knew she would never have to work to please him, as he was seemingly pleased just being around her.  Pleased that she let him be him.  Teasing him certainly, but more importantly indulging all of his sports-related activities and accoutrements without being part of them.  Stepping over, around, and through a minefield of sports memorabilia filled her with neither frustration nor trepidation.  Miranda appreciated what a good deal she had with Tony as a mate.  Predictability and conservatism—two qualities that seemed like anathemas to her vivacious and daring personality—merged to form the very spine of her daily life. 

            “And you insist, Miranda, that Tony’s never shown any jealousy over your success?â€

            “Nor any reluctance to spend my money.  Just kidding.  No, Mary, to be fair--as a successful computer geek working out of the home, he makes enough to pay for all his trips.  Of course, my money allows him to forego the bus and actually fly first-class all over the country—and actually stay in nice hotels—and actually eat decent meals.â€

            â€œAs you have so often told me—but I ask again—no jealousy over the fact that his wife is Miranda Peterson, nationally . . .†Miranda interrupted with an “internationally.† “ . . . adored author of best-selling romance novels?†

            “No, and I mean that.  You know Tony. He’s never strays beyond the borders of his own little sports empire.  Only drinks out of cups with team logos on them.  You know, his Florida Marlin martinis?  Wears little else but replica uniform jerseys.† Feeling her own stomach growl, Mary asked if he so bedecked himself on formal occasions. Miranda pointed to Mary’s stomach.  “Heard that.  No, on formal occasions it’s black tie and Cleveland Browns.  More well-adjusted women might put on the latest hot number from Victoria’s Secret and prepare for a night to remember.  But in my case, I don a jock strap, a pair of shoulder pads, and catcher’s mask--and my forty-five year old tiger is rarin’ to go.  Ruff.â€

            “And I know he sings a devastating ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game.’† Mary often saw herself as an engineer shoveling coal into the witty and amusing locomotive that was Miranda Peterson.

            “His ‘Star Spangled Banner’ needs a little work, though.  You know how low his voice is.  Well, he always begins it in a tenor’s key—or soprano’s—and that part ‘and the la-a-a-nd of the freeeee’ is so bad that we’ve had five cats pack their litter boxes and move out of the house in the last year alone.  That’s why we finally had to get a dog.  Maybe you should give Tony voice lessons, Mary.† Mary was reminded that since she had no children, she ought to spend more time teaching voice.  She would love to do that—if she had more time.  Yes.  Time.  More time.  She wondered if there was still time or was it that now was the time?  She wanted more time but she was running out of it.  Miranda saw her friend’s fingers touch the bottom of her lower lip—the tell-tale sign that Mary Wulf was once more giving in to her fears.

            “Mary, I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this weekend.â€

            “You’re really going to like Sherry, Miranda.† Mary stared intently at Miranda’s left wrist.  When she needed a brief moment alone with her feelings, she refused to look anyone in the eye.

            “So . . . also soon to arrive are the pro football player’s wife and the PGA golfer’s bride.† Mary nodded and lowered her hand, providing her mouth the room to smile.  The other two were coming together from La Guardia.  They had called Mary earlier and she assumed they would arrive any moment as well.  They might even beat Sherry. 

            “Rand told me that her flight arrived on time and that she was waiting for Kip’s to land.   I’m sure they had no trouble getting a rental.† Miranda wanted to twist her head around in a circle.  Did she really hear Mary correctly?  Rand and Kip?  “Miranda, didn’t I ever tell you their names?† Miranda shook her head in that highly exaggerated manner that denoted incredulity.  “Rand Connor was born with the name Randee Lynn Beaufort.  But as you will soon see, Miranda, she’s not a Randee Lynn.â€

            “Okay.  But what about Clip—or Crip?† Miranda and names.  Natural enemies.  Mary said that she would let Kip explain that one—but Miranda was certain she was a pretty young thing, to say the least.  Miranda puckered her lips like an experienced crone.  “Oh, good.  Someone to hate.†

            “No, Miranda.  No hating.  Just bonding.  Sports Wives, remember?â€

            “First Annual Meeting.  Got it.  And good on the name too.  Now refresh my memory.  When did you meet the other three again?† Miranda sat down in one of the easy chairs, certain that she was weakening owing to starvation.  She made a little finger gesture to Mary suggesting food going into mouth.  She did a simply superb job of simulating a difficult death in an easy chair. 

            “I met Sherry in Cincinnati when Gary played for the Reds.  And I met Rand and Kip at a party David threw four years ago for his new clients.  Rand’s Jeff, Kip’s Chris, and my . . . husband.â€

            “Whoa, whoa, partner.  Too many names—not enough chips.  I’m not good with names even when I’m stuffed.† Mary had never been able to resolve this bizarre paradox. She asked how Miranda could have that much trouble with names considering all the characters she had created over the years.  “Yes, but I write them down, remember?† Miranda knew better, but the opportunity defied all restraint.  No time was going to be a good time.  Therefore, why the hell not?  Miranda didn’t even offer Mary a heads-up by clearing her throat. “And just how is that sports agent extraordinaire, Mr. David Rowe these days?â€

            Mary’s heart halted and then accelerated at the sound of his name from another pair of lips other than her own.  “Miranda, not now.† Yet Mary’s voice belied the assertion.  Miranda hesitated for a few seconds, and then rejected the impulse to pursue the matter at this time.  Still, she was sure that Mary was simply dying to tell her everything about her relationship with her husband’s agent.  Yes, Miranda was sure about that.  She just wasn’t sure that Mary really understood that she was really dying to tell Miranda everything about that relationship.

            “Okay, Mary.  So you’ve got Sherry coming from Ohio and the other two from . . .?† Mary replied that Rand was flying in from Maryland and Kip from Chicago.  Having spent several years in the Chicago area when she was in her twenties, Miranda was curious to know exactly where Kip lived.  “She doesn’t live in Chicago, Miranda.  She lives in Denver.† Mary thought it was interesting how her friend’s top lip vibrated whenever she was confused.  “She’s flying in from Chicago.† No help to Miranda.  “Where she visited her parents—who just moved there from San Diego.† Miranda nodded, implying cautiously at any rate that she was all straightened out now.  “And you cruised in from next door.â€

            “I did?  Gee, Mary, all of these women coming from all parts of the good old USA just to see you.  What an ego trip.  Should make you feel like singing.†

            A lovely melody began playing in Mary’s mind, but in an instant it was obliterated by the blaring sound of a car horn in her driveway.


About the Author


During his career as Professor of English at the University of Georgia, John Vance was the author of six books and numerous articles devoted to literary biography and criticism. He also began indulging his love of theater as actor, director, and playwright, with thirty-five of his plays staged. Now he has turned exclusively to fiction, and is the author of fourteen novels, including the humorous memoir Setting Sail for Golden Harbor and the recently BookBub featured In Mind of the Vampire. He lives in Athens, Georgia with his wife Susan.


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