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Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Welcome, Author Linda Weaver Clarke!





A Historical Mystery Romance: One Last Dance

One Last Dance: Felicity Brooks is a talented artist but her career is cut short when her father passes away. Realizing the importance of family, she travels home to care for her mother. When Felicity meets their new neighbor, a fine-looking bachelor, she soon discovers that he is hiding his true identity. Nicholas Adams is on a quest. But that is not all. When she finds out that someone is after a valuable heirloom…a precious treasure that her father discovered in his attic, her life takes a new turn. This Historical Romance is set in 1835.

Awesome Reviews:

One thing that always keeps me reading this author’s books is her characters; they are engaging, funny and passionate. I especially liked Mr. Adams’ character as he was both witty and charming with an air of mystery about him. I was impressed by Felicity’s character. She was a strong woman who had seen some of the world, only to end up back home where everything feels different. I liked the quirky bond between Mr. Adams and Felicity. He has her pegged from the start and from the moment they meet you can tell at some point sparks will fly, and they will challenge each other’s perspectives on the problem at hand, which made this book rather gripping. One Last Dance kept me guessing until the end and left me wanting to read this book all over again. If you like Historical Romance with a mysterious touch and well-developed characters, this book is a must-read.” --Author Katrina Hart

One Last Dance is a historical romance with a mystery to add to the tale. Felicity has always been a strong and independent woman. Amongst mystery, loss, paintings, and a career, she is going to have to decide if love has a place in her heart.” --Author Anna Del C Dye



Linda Weaver Clarke’s links:
Linda’s Website: www.lindaweaverclarke.com

About Author: Linda Weaver Clarke was raised among the Rocky Mountains of southern Idaho and now lives among the red hills of southern Utah. Linda is the author of 24 books. She has written in several different genres, which include: historical romances, romantic cozy mysteries, a mystery suspense series, children’s book, and non-fiction. All her books are family friendly. To learn more, visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com.

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Welcome, Author Gail Pallotta with a New Release: "Hair Calamities and Hot Cash"! Plus a Giveaway!

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsandMore








Author Gail Pallotta grew up at the foothills of the North Carolina Mountains.
Gail will give away a Kindle copy of "Barely Above Water", and "Hair Calamities and Hot Cash" is on pre-order for .99 cents (the link is below). 



Welcome to my blog, Gail. What is your newest book about?

A New York stockbroker, Philip, crashes his rental car into Eve Castleberry’s beauty shop in a mountain town in North Carolina. On the same day the young widow’s defective hair products cause wild hairdos. Philip’s attracted to the distraught top-notch hairstylist and asks her out. 

She starts dating him, but stops because she falls too hard for a wayfarer who’ll leave and break her heart. When there’s another catastrophe in the shop, Philip comes to Eve’s rescue and convinces her to go out as friends. Later he solicits her help to find the thieves who stole his client’s cash. 

Then they trail two of the FBI’s most-wanted criminals. Romance blossoms amid danger, suspense and Eve’s hair-brained plan to get back the money.


Where did you get your inspiration for this novel?

My mother’s beauty shop in a small town at the foothills of the North Carolina Mountains inspired it. Her shop echoed the warm, friendly atmosphere of the community. Clients discussed what to do about world affairs and everything in between, including family relations, births, deaths and weddings. They planned showers, graduation parties and get-togethers for new neighbors while my mother shampooed and rolled hair. They had close friends, acquaintances, people they tolerated and those they kept at a distance. As in most areas where everyone knows everyone else, they gossiped and could be nosey. 
However, when someone grieved for a loved one, suffered from an illness or any other crisis, prayers went up and casseroles went out no matter whether the person was a best friend or someone held at a distance. They all were God’s children.



What kind of research did you do for this book?
Techniques and supplies for beauty shops have changed over the years, so that required research. However, the ambiance of a beauty shop remains pretty much the same. As far as the setting, I borrowed from the atmosphere of the town where I grew up, but set the book at a higher elevation to allow for breathtaking views.


What intrigues you most about writing these stories?
Many things about writing interests me. However, if I’m selecting one, I’ll say the characters. It’s fun to see how they change from the beginning of the story to the end and to find out what predicaments they’ll get themselves into.


Tell us a bit about your other books.



I wrote "Barely Above Water" to give people a better understanding of Chronic Lyme Disease. At the same time, I wanted the book to be upbeat, so I added a romance and a fun, kids’ swim team. It is a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner. In the book an illness comes out of nowhere and strikes Suzie Morris. Her boyfriend dumps her. She has no living family, and her physician can’t diagnose the malady. Suzie relies on her Christian faith as she faces the uncertainty of the disease, and turns to a renowned alternative doctor in Destin, Florida. She takes a job coaching a county-sponsored summer swim team. She’s determined to turn the fun, sometimes comical, rag-tag bunch into winners. Her handsome boss renews her belief in love, but learns of her mysterious affliction and abruptly cuts romantic ties. Later he has regrets, but can he overcome
his fear of losing a loved one and regain Suzie’s trust?


I have two novellas that are part of a series.





"Mountain of Love and Danger" is book five in the Fairwilde Fairy Tale series. It’s a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack’s girlfriend has been kidnapped and taken to a mountain accessible only by helicopter. He must figure out how to scale the dangerous cliff, pry her from the giant- sized man holding her captive and bring her back to safety.





The other novella is "Breaking Barriers", book number eight in Prism Book Group’s "Love Is..."series. In this romantic suspense, the church is under attack. Ann Jones forms True Light Guardians to keep it safe from terrorists. She’s attacked, but rescued by James Crawford. The love inside him seeps into her heart, cold from her father’s abuse. However, she narrowly escapes more attempts on her life, and James can’t cope with losing her. He breaks up with her. Then an unlikely ally brings them together, but he puts all three of them in danger.





I also have a book of poems and short stories, "Messages: Poems and Short Stories to Live By". A nice gift book, it offers inspiration for our hectic times in straight-forward poems for happy and sad days. It features three stories. Getting the Goat peeks into the early 1900s when mountain
life was tough. In Stitches in Love Rose's deep love for her grandmother motivates others to share their gifts. Robert Horner is tempted in The Stranger, but does he succumb to the lure?


When you have time to read, who are some of your favorite authors?
That’s a difficult question because I love to read. I’m not a genre person. Even though I lean toward mystery and suspense, I find pleasure in any good story. I’ve read and enjoyed books by many authors. Some Christian fiction bestsellers I read include James Scott Bell, Nancy Mehl and Loree Lough.


Let’s get personal for a moment:
What is your favorite meal? Fresh fish, especially grouper, red snapper, halibut or cod.

What city would you love to visit and why? Honolulu, Hawaii. I love the sea and tropical places.



To learn more about Gail, visit her website at gailpallotta.com. You’ll find all her books and buy links at this site.




Readers, "Hair Calamities and Hot Cash" is on pre-order on Amazon for only .99 cents for a limited time.

Thank you for visiting, Gail. Best wishes on your new book and in your writing career. Please come back again soon and visit "the World", it is always a joy to chat with you!










Saturday, September 8, 2018

Welcome, Travel Blogger Bob Boutin!

In the Vatican with Rome in the background.


Bob Boutin is a native New England resident. He grew up in Fall River, MA and currently lives on
Cape Cod.
He loves exploring both local and far places. Welcome to the 'World of Good' blog, Bob!
What is your blog about?
Thanks for having me as a guest, Regina! I write about my travel adventures, both near and far.
So far, the farthest place to me I’ve written about is Independence Rock in Wyoming, where I
almost got stuck on the top, and the closest place is the Lyman Reserve, a nice hiking trail in
Bourne, MA.

I also share my own travel experiences and tips, such as how I had an embarrassing meltdown
at the Denver Airport this past summer due to too much coffee,
or what you should do at home before leaving on vacation.

Picture in Quebec City


Where did you get your inspiration for starting your travel blog?
I have the travel bug. I love going to different places and exploring what each new place has to offer.
One day, this past summer, while my wife and I were traveling through Wyoming, I thought to myself
that I would love to be a tour guide or work for a travel company. That’s not feasible for me and and my
wife right now, but I still wanted to share my traveling experience and tips with others. So, I decided to
start writing down my adventures on a blog and sharing it with anyone who’s interested.

I also hope to inspire others to get out and see the world. Even if you can’t hop on a plane and travel to
Europe, you can still find cool places in your hometown. Have you ever played tourist where
your live? Give it a shot! It’s a fun and rewarding experience.
What is your favorite American city?
I’m going to sound like a typical New Englander here, but it’s definitely Boston. When I was a kid,
my parents and I would go on day trips to the city, and we would visit all sorts of cool places such as
the Aquarium, the Italian North End, and the Science Museum. My trips there gave me the confidence
to travel in other cities. It was in Boston where I learned how to navigate public transportation and where
I took my first ride on a subway. Because of this, no matter what big city I’m in, I always refer
to the subway system as the “T.”


How about your favorite international city?
That’s a really tough question! Can I have two? It’s a very close tie between Quebec City and Rome.
I love Quebec because of its quaint, European style downtown area, and its people are warm and
welcoming. The summers are beautiful, and not too hot or humid. The views of the St. Lawrence River
are just spectacular.

Rome is right up there on my list too. Everywhere you turn, there are buildings and monuments from
antiquity. The city is full of history and landmarks that could keep a traveler like myself busy for weeks.
And the food! Pizza from a Roman corner store beats pizza at a restaurant in the United States.


Picture of a pizza in Genoa, Italy



How do you decide where to go?
Deciding where to go all depends on the situation. Many places I’ve been lucky to visit because I jumped
on an opportunity. For my trip to Rome, I went because work sent me to Northern Italy on a conference,
and I decided to fly down to Rome when it was over. I had a similar situation for my trip to Texas.
Other trips, such as my trips to New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Honduras, were service-oriented
where I volunteered on various projects. There are opportunities to go out and see the world on a
lower budgetif you know where to look.

For more my more traditional trips, a few factors come into play. How much will it cost to get there?
Are me and my wife interested in going? What type of trip are we looking for? One year, my wife
wanted to go to Canada becauseshe heard so much about it from me. This past year, we
needed downtime near nature and to be away from crowds, so we chose to go to Wyoming.


What will you your upcoming articles be about?
Coming up, there will be a couple of articles about places local to me, such as the Roger William
National Monument in Providence, RI, and Fort Taber Park in New Bedford, MA. I’ll also be writing
about my adventuresthroughout Canada, France, Italy, Honduras, Texas, California, and Vermont.

What I’m really looking forward to is interviewing others who’ve traveled to interesting places.
I’ve begrudgingly come to the conclusion that our world is so huge that it’ll be impossible for me
to visit every place in the world before I bid the Earth adieu. Interviews will help readers
learn about more destinations and read about different perspectives.


What are your favorite types of places to visit?
I’m biased for anything outside and close to nature. I love hiking, biking, and kayaking. I’ll spend
more time at a city park than I will walking in a crowded downtown, and I’d rather be on a kayak in a
pond with my wifethan on a cruise ship. Of course, I’ll still go to the crowded downtown, and I’ll
probably enjoy the experience, I just won’t spend my whole day there. I’m still up in the air
about the cruise.


What’s one place you wish you could go to that you haven’t yet visited?
Australia. I’ve always been fascinated by the Land Down Under. I’d love to go to the Outback
and visit Uluru (Ayers Rock). Seeing the Great Barrier Reef would be amazing. Who knows?
Maybe soon I’ll be able to go and write about it!

Mt. Moran in the background, Grand Teton National Park, WY



What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done while traveling?



What comes to mind is a day trip I took to Le Mont St Michel in Normandy, France. Le Mont
is an old abbey that is right off the coast. During low tide, you can for miles on surrounding
sand, but during high tide this area is completely under water.




After exploring Le Mont, I went for a walk on the sand. I decided that I wanted to
walk all the way to another island in the distance. As I was walking, I heard
loudspeakers repeat: “Get off of the beach!"

The message was repeated in every language known to man. I still didn’t
understand why I had to get off the beach. Then I saw it: the ocean was barreling
in towards me. High tide was approaching, and I was about a mile away from safety.

I ran the fastest I ever had in my life. I knew that if the ocean reached me before I
made it back, I would be a goner. Out of breath, I made it back to Le Mont.
After catching my breath, I turned around.

All I could see was water.





Thanks again for inviting me on your blog! Interested readers are welcome to check
out my site and sign up to follow via e-mail.  
To learn more about Bob and read about his travel adventures, visit his website:
 www.yourtravelcap.com.


His Twitter handle is @yourtravelcap, Pinterest username is yourtravelcap, and his e-mail
is yourtravelcap@gmail.com

Bob started a Facebook group for his blog! Visit it at www.facebook.com/yourtravelcap


Thank you for visiting, Bob! It's been great to hear of your travels, please come back again soon. Readers, if you have any travel stories to share, I would love to have you as a guest on 'the World'.
Message me with your topics!

Next, Gail Pallotta visits on October 15, discussing her newest release...and more! See you soon!


Monday, July 23, 2018

Welcome, to author Larry Hammersley, discussing his book "Motorcycle Woman"!


It is such a delight to welcome the wonderful author and supreme gentleman, Larry Hammersley,
to the blog! Larry, thank you for visiting with us. With your many books and interesting occupation, you have such a dynamic and fascinating life. I am sure readers will have lots of questions for you. Larry will give away two Kindle copies of "Motorcycle Woman" to two of his readers who comment here. Thank you, Larry!



Author Larry Hammersley grew up in Williams, Indiana.
Welcome to my blog, Larry.  What is your newest book about?
It is entitled Motorcycle Woman. Her name is Tess McBride.  Her father ran off with another
woman and her mother dies a year later of a broken heart.  Tess takes to the road on her Harley
Sportster to leave the unhappiness behind and will not allow a man to enter her life.  She is an
expert motorcycle mechanic and runs with a gang for a while, but that brings her nothing but
trouble despite her keeping the gang member’s motorcycles repaired.  She splits from the gang,
but when she stops to fix stranded biker, Johnnie Parker’s motorcycle, her life changes. She has
never met anyone like Johnnie, but she is reluctant to let him into her life despite him treating
her with respect and of course falling in love with her.



Where did you get your inspiration for this novel/book/work?
Although I never ran with a gang, I owned an old vintage Harley Duoglide and later bought a
new 1967 Harley Electra Glide and rode it to work for over 30 years.


What kind of research did you do for this book?
uring the many years I owned and rode my motorcycle I learned how they worked and could
do some minor repairs and servicing on it.  I learned a lot from a friend who ran a shop in nearby
Bloomington, Indiana. I also learned from a couple of relatives.


Did you put real experiences from your research in this story?
Yes.  That involved taking a four-day trip on my motorcycle and stopping by a shop in
Wisconsin.  I got their permission to mention their shop in the story. I worked in tidbits of
mechanics I performed and learned from my Bloomington friend.
What intrigues you most about writing these stories?
It takes me back to another time and place I’ve either been to or wished I’d been. In the
college based stories I relive some of the experiences I’ve had when in college.


Tell us a bit about your other books.
I have two science fiction novels and two romance novels along with a novella
(Motorcycle Woman) and several short romance stories. My mother wrote a lot of poems and I collected those into a thin book (see photo below). They are about her world travels, friends, early jobs, birthdays and other special times. I've included poems I wrote to her, as well. Some are humorous and some are serious reflections. The two romance novels involve clean romance between the man and woman while they are in college and the work place. The science fiction novels cover the man and woman as they explore space in the
solar system and beyond.








Which of all your characters is your favorite?
That is a difficult question as I like all my characters.  My main female character, Jody,
in my first novel, 'A Change of Heart', and Buddy, my main character in 'The Vanishing Shed',
the second novel come to mind.  Surprisingly, a minor character, Marcy, in my first
novel who lost her quest for Leroy’s heart to Jody, is a character I felt so sorry for
that I wrote a short story where she finds romance with the quarterback, Ross.  I must
include The Shunammite Woman, an Old Testament Bible character. I love this woman
and have a nonfiction/fiction novella out about her.











How did you get started in this genre?
I read science fiction when I was growing up and always had an interest in astronomy.  
As a child I liked to fantasize about female movie stars and would dream of them
falling for me.  Should I have said that?


When you have time to read, who are some of your favorite authors?
Science fiction author Doris Piserchia who I believe is still living.  Jacqueline
Lichtenberg who wrote the Sime/Gen series and who gave me a critique on a short
story and encouraged me to keep writing.


Let’s get personal for a moment: Please share with us the most daring
thing you’ve ever done.
Favorite meal? City you would love to visit and why?
I would say exploring an unexplored cave where crawling was the only option.
Favorite meal involves a desert, Tapioca Pudding which I usually make myself.
The city.  I would like to return to a place where my job sent me years ago.  
That was Nome, Alaska. The charisma of Alaska overwhelmed me despite my being there in October when it was rainy, unseasonably warm and muddy as the streets were not paved when I was there.




To learn more about Larry Hammersley, visit his thwebsite
at http://larryhammersley.blogspot.com/   
You’ll find all his books at Amazon by typing in Larry Hammersley.


Here are his links:




The novels The Vanishing Shed and The Silver Dart are only
available from the author
while supplies last as the publisher has closed their doors.
Short stories are available through Amazon by typing in author’s
name Larry Hammersley.  A few short stories are available at
Smashwords again by typing in the author’s name.

Thank you so much for visiting, Larry. Best wishes in your writing!