Roses & Thorns

Roses & Thorns
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts

Friday, June 2, 2017

The Soul of Adam Short by @David_J_OBrien #Paranormal, #Ghosts, #Souls



The Plot:

The cares of life are beginning to cloud fifteen-year-old Adam Short’s carefree existence. Important exams are looming, his girlfriend Julie thinks he’s unfocused, and right now he’s about to be late for the school trip. Neither his teacher, nor Julie, will be pleased if he misses the bus.

Adam has much bigger problems when, in an extraordinary accident, his soul is torn from his body. His body loses all consciousness−reduced to a mere automaton existence: eating when food is put in its mouth, moving when guided, reacting only to touch. Meanwhile, Adam, discovering that ghosts are very much real, is trapped without a body, and stuck in a place from which he cannot freely leave.

Only the untiring efforts of his girlfriend Julie−who had never considered the existence of a soul, and for whom the idea of ghosts is laughable−against the advice of everyone around her, including her parents, Adam’s doctor, and his best friend—can save Adam. Will she be able to figure out what has happened to Adam? Even if she does, can Julie help Adam escape the scene of his accident, and return the life to his body?

10% of the author’s royalties will be donated to WWF, the World Wildlife Fund.

About the Author:

David is a writer, ecologist and teacher from Dublin, Ireland, now living in Pamplona Spain. He has a degree in environmental biology and doctorate in zoology, specializing in deer biology, and is still involved in deer management in his spare time.

As an avid wildlife enthusiast and ecologist, much of David’s non-academic writing, especially poetry, is inspired by wildlife and science. While some of his stories and novels are contemporary, others seek to describe the science behind the supernatural or the paranormal.

A long-time member of The World Wildlife Fund, David has pledged to donate ten percent (10%) of his royalties on all his hitherto published books to that charity to aid with protecting endangered species and habitats.

You can find out more and read some poems and short stories at http://davidjmobrien.wordpress.com/ and can join David on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DavidJMOBrien.


Review:

When a freak incident tears Adam Short’s soul from his body the morning of his class trip, he doesn’t quite know or believe what’s happened to him. It’s not until later in the day when he meets a ghost who experienced the same incident, but whose body eventually died, that he realized what happened and figures out how he might be able to reunite himself with his “comatose” body.

The Soul of Adam Short is a paranormal coming-of-age book that is thought-provoking as well as amusing. At a time when most kids are worried about clothes, dances, and exams, Julie’s boyfriend is in a semi-comatose state, and she’s having nightmares about being run over by a flaming antique pick-up truck driven by two boys. When she wakes up, she’s sure she can feel Adam in her room.

The characters in this book are deeply-drawn. There are subplots around the parents, live friends, and even ghost friends in addition to the main plot, which kept me turning the pages. I highly recommend The Soul of Adam Short for all ages.

Warnings:  None
Length:  226 Pages
Digital Price:  $3.99

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. You can move the file by highlighting it and dragging it to the documents directory in you Kindle you want to move it to. Or right click on it, and then left click copy or move. Or hit Control/C for copy, Control/X for cut, and Control/V for paste.

Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Mercer Street by John A. Heldt



Blurb:

Love, honor, and courage take center stage in the second book of John Heldt’s American Journey time-travel series as three women from the present become entangled in the past in the tension-filled months leading up to World War Two.

Weeks after her husband dies in the middle of an affair, Susan Peterson, 48, seeks solace on a California vacation with her mother Elizabeth and daughter Amanda. The novelist, however, finds more than she bargained for when she meets a professor who possesses the secret of time travel.

Within days, the women travel to 1938 and Princeton, New Jersey. Elizabeth begins a friendship with her refugee parents and infant self, while Susan and Amanda fall for a widowed admiral and a German researcher with troubling ties.

Filled with poignancy, heartbreak, and intrigue, MERCER STREET gives new meaning to sacrifice and commitment as it follows three strong-willed souls on the adventure of a lifetime.

About the Author:

John A. Heldt is the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage and American Journey series. The former reference librarian and award-winning sportswriter has loved getting subjects and verbs to agree since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Iowa, Heldt is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. When not sending contemporary characters to the not-so-distant past, he weighs in on literature and life at https://johnheldt.blogspot.com.

Review:

Mercer Street was the second book by John A. Heldt that I read and was just as compelling as The Mine. In this time-travel romance, three generations of women travel back to the pre-World War Two era when they meet a professor while on vacation who has a time-travel machine. They’re each given a list of don’ts, such as “Don’t tell anyone you’re from the future.” “Don’t alter history in any way.” “Don’t bring back any living thing,” etc.

They travel to Princeton. Elizabeth, the grandmother, wants to see her devoutly Catholic parents from whom she was estranged when she married a Lutheran man. She meets her parents and her infant self and all three women bond with them. Susan, the daughter, meets and falls in love with a retired Navy Admiral who wants to convince not just the military, but the public, that the US needs to build up our arms—especially aircraft and carriers. And Amanda, the granddaughter, falls in love with the son of a German diplomat. He’s grown up mostly in the US, but where do his loyalties really lie? And who is the Old Man who lives down the street and always seems to have lost something when Elizabeth walks past?

Like The Mine, I had difficulty putting down Mercer Street. It was well-written with wonderful grammar, characters who were easy to like, great pacing, and a twist I never saw coming at the end. I thought I had it figured out, but boy, was I wrong! Thank you, Mr. Heldt.

Warnings:  None
Length:  431 Pages
Digital Price:  $4.99

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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The Mine by John A. Heldt



Blurb:

In May 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can’t use, money he can’t spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of swing dancing and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his twenty-one year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. The Mine is a love story that follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.

About the Author:

John A. Heldt is the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage and American Journey series. The former reference librarian and award-winning sportswriter has loved getting subjects and verbs to agree since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Iowa, Heldt is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. When not sending contemporary characters to the not-so-distant past, he weighs in on literature and life at johnheldt.blogspot.com.

Review:

The Mine was the first of two books by Mr. Heldt that I read. At some point in each book, someone “sank” into a chair. “Sank” is a verb I have not seen in a book in so long, I was beginning to think it had disappeared from the English language. Thank you, Mr. Heldt, for reintroducing me to an old friend! I was beginning to think I was the only person left who remembered sink had a past tense and not just the perfect past tense “sunk.”

Now, to the rest of the book. When Joel Smith gets caught in traffic on his way home from a trip to Yellowstone just before graduating from college in the year 2000 with a degree in geology, he sees a sign for an abandoned gold mine. Despite his buddy’s protests, he decides to check it out. Inside he encounters a glowing room where he hits his head. When he stumbles out his friend is gone, along with a lot of other things. He discovers it’s June, 1941. He meets a young man who is dating an impressive young lady. I almost fell out of my recliner Joel realized she was his grandma.

The Mine was a page-burner. I actually took time off work to read this book because I couldn’t put it down. I really liked Joel and Grace and wanted them to have a happily ever after. Have tissues ready at the end of The Mine. You will cry!

Warnings: None
Length:  297 Pages
Digital Price:  $3.99

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