Love Stories Always Win

Love stories always win! Val Sharp’s No Commitments is the beating heart of a love story.  Every minute you are on the trail of adventure and intrigue. Sharp makes us think, “what is love?”

Set in the Vietnam War era, Clay Stoner is a fun-loving, carefree Annapolis graduate and navy pilot when he first meets Marianna Haizet, the daughter of a renowned Swiss banking family who had been sheltered in boarding schools pursuing the study of music.  Never truly experiencing the joy of life, Mariana meets Clay, and for the first time joy beams from her heart.

Meeting that one weekend in Nice, they thought they would never see each other again, until they do!  In spite of repeated vows of No Commitments they come together, and Marianna becomes immersed in a world of wild parties and the torture of anxiety filled souls waiting to go off to war—the two of them fighting back and forth, each believing that their love affair is hopeless.

She helps make him realize that he cannot bomb innocent human beings.  And ,when he decides to take on the system, she’s who he turns to, all he’s got, as he struggles to preserve his freedom and self esteem.

Little do they know their destiny is bigger than they can see!

Val Sharp was an Annapolis graduate and a navy pilot during the era of the novel.  Afterwards, he obtained a Columbia MBA and enjoyed a second career as a Wall Street investment banker and finance company president.

He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christina, and their youngest child, German  shepherd, Riva. He wrote No Commitments because he thought he had a story to tell. See his website , TheLaValleCollection.com, for 25 things you may NOT want to know about Val.

Review copies and interviews are available. Contact Val Sharp - lavallesharp(at)gmail.com

Deeply Hidden Mormon Conspiracy

Compelling and undeniably enthralling, The Mormon Candidate is a new political thriller by Avraham Azrieli.

This excellent mystery begins with an accidental death of a motorcyclist during a Veterans’ ride. But what protagonist Ben Teller uncovers is a conspiracy originating deep within the Mormon Church, aimed at protecting a prominent member who’s running for president. Both political and religious drama makes this intricate novel one you can’t put down.

The plot’s strong religious undercurrents will likely draw some Mormons to defensive protestations reminiscent of stormy Catholic reactions to The Da Vinci’s Code. Fictional at the core, The Mormon Candidate’s characters bring you right in from start to finish. Ben Teller is witty and intractable—you’ll want to stay with him for every flare-up of action and shocking discovery.

Growing up, author Avraham Azrieli attended religious schools, resulting in a lifelong fascination with the power of different faiths over our social discourse, ideological forces, and political processes. Having been trained both as a lawyer and a writer, he developed a keen interest in politics and justice.

In recent years, the rise to national political prominence of men like Harry Reid, Orrin Hatch, and Mitt Romney made many Americans curious about Mormonism – a relatively young faith (born in upstate New York while the Erie Canal was being dug). Mormons, who define themselves unabashedly as “peculiar people,” emphasize male dominance in the family, secretive hierarchical authority, and total obedience to LDS church leaders, elements that conflict with mainstream American values.

As a reader, Azrieli found very few novels that featured Mormonism, and none in the political/thriller genre, which caused him to embark on writing one. He conducted extensive research to make sure that the fictional characters’ story is told against a realistic and accurate background. (A bibliography of selected sources is appended at the end of the novel.)

The result is nothing short of exciting: in writing The Mormon Candidate, he managed to explore Mormonism, politics, and the dramatic way faith drives motivation and dictates action – both for good and for evil. With great attention to detail and the thrill of a suspenseful mystery, The Mormon Candidate is a timely and provocative novel you don’t want to miss.

Review copies and author interviews are available upon request. Contact Avraham Azrieli - Avraham(at)AzrieliBooks.com

Super-Sized Waistlines

According to the CDC: (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html/)

• More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese.

• No state has met the nation's Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15%. The number of states with an obesity prevalence of 30% or more has increased to 12 states in 2010. In 2009, nine states had obesity rates of 30% or more. In 2000, no state had an obesity prevalence of 30% or more.

• Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of death.

• In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs paid by third-party payors for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.

Author and recording artist Bobby Tinsley says, “Everywhere you look today, it seems as though there is another advertisement for a super-sized portion of food! The enormous portion sizes we eat have caused a bulge around the waistlines of Americans... one that seem to be expanding more every day. On top of the increased food intake, people are becoming less and less active. This is a formula for disaster, and one of the many reasons obesity is at an all time high. Between my junior and senior years of high school I gained nearly 100 pounds due to massively overeating. It started out as something I was doing for Football, and quickly turned into a lifestyle of huge portions and high calorie foods. When I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a recording artist, I educated myself on the power of food, and used my new found knowledge along with a healthy exercise program to lose those pounds and get in tip top shape. Anyone can change their body and their life, it just takes the right knowledge, along with a long term commitment to accomplish their goals.”

Before

After

Tinsley discusses his struggle with obesity in his new book. The Difference is a book comprised of chapters that mirror each song on the author’s upcoming album by the same name. However, the book is much more than a simple commentary on his music. It’s a story that speaks to everyone about following their dreams and making a difference. Tinsley says, “Every person has a circle of influence unique to them. If we focus on making a difference in those lives, what may seem insignificant is the way we change the world.”

Bobby Tinsley is available for interviews, performances, speaking engagements, and the book is available for review. Contact: KR Winston - ctltemp(at)gmail.com

About the author:

Bobby Tinsley is a multi-talented singer/songwriter/producer who uses his musical ability to communicate through song touching people from all walks of life. Not a newcomer to the music scene, Bobby has worked with many of the top names in the industry and began to write, record, and produce for others simultaneously. His first CD, "Page 1," generated a Top 40 Christian CHR single with the song "Addicted."

Galaxy of Immortal Women: The Yin Side of Chinese Civilization

In a world where concern and curiosity about China are on the rise, Brian Griffith presents a different face of China and another side of its story. In A Galaxy of Immortal Women: The Yin Side of Chinese Civilization, he explores the countercultures of China’s founding mothers, village wise women, local saints, goddesses, and ordinary heroines. He tells a story of their accomplishments, values and religions, from the first Neolithic villages to globalized Shanghai. This is an account blending mythology, archaeology, history, folklore, literature, religion, and journalism into one vast, captivating story. In the future, this counterculture will increasingly influence and even inspire the world.

Griffith is an independent historian whose impeccable research reveals the important influence of women’s values and religions in shaping China. He shows how women’s visions and religious leaders changed folk culture, Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. These women’s popular traditions offer an alternative kind of wisdom about health, sexuality, community, spirituality, harmony with nature, and partnership between men and women.

It might seem odd for a man raised in Texas to write about Chinese goddesses, but Griffith feels it’s a natural for men to admire women’s accomplishments. Also, from meeting great Christian, Jewish, and Muslim women in North America, he realized that these people commonly have their own versions of seemingly male-controlled religions. They ask their own questions and give their own answers. Rather that asking, "What does the ultimate authority require?" they tend to ask, "How good can our relations with others get?" Griffith wondered what woman-made religions might look like, and turned to learning about the vast women-created spiritual traditions of China. He found extraordinary people whose beauty, wisdom, and strength he could really admire.

Review copies and author interviews are available upon request. Contact Brian Griffith - pkbgriffith(at)yahoo.ca

Does Evil Have a Color?

Riveting!

Connie (Corcoran) Wilson writes about what we are terrified to talk about—the truth.

Wilson’s main character,  Tad McGreevy, has a power that many would consider a curse. He can see colors, auras, around everyone he meets. Every aura tells Tad whether the individual is good or evil. Wilson takes us through the story rooting for Tad, who has one goal: to protect those he loves from the evil that lurks among us.

Pogo is the hired clown at Tad’s 8th birthday party. After meeting Pogo (aka Michael Clay), Tad relives every terrifying detail of the Killer Clown’s actions,  fearfully relating the horrifying details to his disbelieving family in the middle of the night. They insist Tad is simply having bad dreams and must not tell anyone of his unique power.

The catch? Tad doesn’t know if the crimes he is witnessing occurred in the past, the present or the future.

With each line, Wilson holds our interest, keeping us glued to the story, connecting with us via Tad’s vulnerability.  The message: dark people and places can live quietly, right next door to you.  The Color of Evil is a frightening and intense story of the darkness that lurks in seemingly typical small town America.

Wilson displays her true colors as a formidable writer in creating this graphic page-turner of a tale.



Wilson is a graduate of the University of Iowa (English/Journalism) with a Master's and 30 hours from WIU (Western IL Univ), NIU (Northern IL Univ), Berkeley and the University of Chicago. She taught writing at 6 IA/IL colleges and has written for 5 newspapers and numerous blogs, including her own (www.WeeklyWilson.com). She is a featured contributor to Yahoo, named 2008 Content Producer for Politics for its forerunner, Associated Content, a 400,000 member blog.  Her short stories have appeared in numerous online and print journals.

She taught junior high school students for close to 20 years, then founded a Sylvan Learning Center and a Prometric Testing Center, which she owned and operated as CEO until 2003. She covers politics, movies and television for Yahoo and has written 10 books since 2003. Connie Wilson’s  2 children ( born 20 years apart) are Scott, who has twin three-year-old daughters and lives in Chicago with wife Jessica, and Stacey, a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, who is currently living and working in Australia.

Review copies and author interviews  available upon request.

Contact: Connie Wilson - einnoc10(at)aol.com
Read more at www.ConnieCWilson.com and watch the trailer at www.TheColorOfEvil.com.

Books are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble retailers.