Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Reap the Wind: Author Interview and Giveaway

REAP THE WIND
by
Joel Burcat

Action-Adventure / Suspense / Climate Change / EcoThriller
Publisher: Milford House Press, an imprint of Sunbury Books, Inc.
Date of Publication: February 6, 2024
Number of Pages: 215 pages 

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THE PERFECT STORM meets THE FIRM.

Reap the Wind is a thrilling action/adventure novel that follows three lawyers as they embark on a treacherous journey from Houston to Cincinnati during a catastrophic hurricane. Josh Goldberg is on a mission to be with his girlfriend for the birth of their child. Along the way, they'll face terrifying obstacles like tornadoes, hailstorms, and driving rain. But the real danger may come from within as they struggle to survive each other's company. His two travel companions—his best friend, a drug-addicted lawyer, and his conniving boss who has her own agenda.

Don't miss out on this unforgettable odyssey that might just be a suicide trip.


PRAISE FOR REAP THE WIND:

"Reap the Wind is a bold, bracing and blisteringly original take on the legal thriller form. Joel Burcat has fashioned a seminal tale focusing on the nightmare of all road trips in which a storm raging outside the car is matched only by the storm raging within. Burcat dares to tread on the hallowed ground of John Grisham and Scott Turow and ends up blazing a fresh, daring literary tale of his own. Not to be missed!"
—Jon Land, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

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Interview with Joel Burcat


Why did you choose to write in your particular sub-genre?

Starting in 1980, I practiced environmental law for forty years. I had an interest in the environment from an early age and finally majored in a college program (B.S. in Physical Geography) to prepare me to be an environmental lawyer, then went to a law school (Vermont Law) that specialized in environmental law. I was fortunate that my first job out of law school was as an Assistant Attorney General at Pennsylvania’s environmental agency (DER). 

I had written fiction throughout college but laid that aside when my law practice and family took away my free time. When I began writing again, I started looking at issues about which I’d like to write, and environmental issues were natural. Also, I like thrillers of all kinds, including legal thrillers (Grisham, Turow, Connelly), so my first real effort at publishing a novel was DRINK TO EVERY BEAST. That was an environmental legal thriller based on a real case (not one of mine) and a real issue: dumping hazardous waste into deep mine boreholes.

I’ve now written four environmental legal thrillers (DRINK TO EVERY BEAST, AMID RAGE, STRANGE FIRE, and REAP THE WIND). I’m working on another, THE FIREBRAND. I also like other things and have written about a post-apocalyptic era when the only survivors of a pandemic are teenagers (a YA novel!), the 1950 Phillies (historical fiction), and other non-environmental subjects. I keep coming back to environmental fiction, though. It just pulls me back. 


How long have you been writing?

I wrote short stories and poetry in college and a short story when I turned forty (that was published). On July 4th weekend, 2008, I was stuck in Lubec, Maine, with no internet access and no cell phone access. It was pouring rain. With little else to do, I began writing a short story that was demanding to be released from my head about the best beer I’d ever had.  When I restarted writing, I wrote short stories for a year. One day, a friend asked me how my novel was coming along. I told him I wasn’t writing a novel. He asked, “why not?” I went home and began writing my first novel. I have written ever since. These days, I write mostly novels, but occasionally will bang out a short story.


What did you find most useful in learning to write for publication?  What was least useful or most destructive?

When I got serious about writing I realized that whatever I had learned at college was long forgotten and, perhaps, irrelevant nearly thirty years later. I stared taking courses on writing and going to writers’ conferences. They were helpful on a number of levels. First, all such conferences offer all kinds of writing skills classes. Second, you get to hear from noted authors and learn from people who have figured out both how to write and what works. Third, you get to meet fellow writers and engage with a wonderful group of humans. 

Maybe ten years ago, I took a day-long seminar on point-of-view. That’s all we discussed. All day long. I loved it. I had crossed the divide. Nerdy writing topics meant something to me.

I have spent a lot of time learning about “the business of writing.” This is all the stuff that doesn’t improve your writing, but that you need to know to get an agent, sell a book, market your book, and develop a following. To me this was useful, but not fun.

Nothing was destructive for me. I take less-satisfying programs with a grain of salt. I have perspective. You cannot imagine how many dreadful continuing legal education programs I had to take over forty years (and I was an instructor for some of them!).


Are you a full-time or part-time writer?  How does that affect your writing?

At first, I was a part-time writer. From 2008 until 2018, when I was forced to retire from my law practice, I only wrote at night and on Sundays. As much as I loved writing, I had a day job that demanded my attention for anywhere from forty to seventy hours a week. As a partner in a law firm, I could not, in good conscience, write during the weekdays. Generally, I would write after 8 p.m. Then I would write anywhere from two to four hours.

After I retired, I became a full-time writer. I changed my writing times. Now I write six days a week, Sunday through Friday, from around 8 a.m. until lunch time. Sometimes I will write in the afternoons. I devote my afternoons to “the business of books.” That is all the stuff you need to do to be successful as a writer, like getting speaking engagements, finding and registering for signings, doing social media posts, entering writing competitions, talking with your agent and publisher, paying bills, etc., etc. The list of business tasks is endless.


What do you like to read in your free time?

I read a variety of books. I try to alternate between four different kinds of books: 1) well-known thriller writers; 2) literary books; 3) nonfiction; and 4) thrillers written by debut authors. I like reading debut authors as they are the future of storytelling. Also, it is fascinating to see how they handle situations that are different from how their predecessors might have handled them. I read about twenty-five books a year. In addition, I critique about five novels a year. I know many people who read a lot more, but I like to point out that I also write one or two books a year!


What is your favorite quote?

“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never— in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Winston Churchill, Harrow School. Oct. 29, 1941.


What piece of advice would you offer any not-yet-published authors?

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.


Do you have a mantra for writing and/or for life?

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.


What do you want your tombstone to say?

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.




Joel Burcat is an award-winning author of three environmental legal thrillers: Drink to Every Beast (illegal dumping of toxic waste), Amid Rage (a coal mine permit battle), and Strange Fire (a fracking dispute). His most recent book, Reap the Wind, is about three lawyers trying to drive from Houston to Cincinnati in a climate change-induced hurricane.

He has received a number of awards, including the Gold Medal for environmental fiction from Readers’ Favorite for Strange Fire, and as a Finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Amid Rage. He has written numerous short stories. Burcat imbues his novels with facts to educate his readers about critical environmental issues while they are being entertained by the story.

Burcat’s books are infused with realism developed over a forty plus year career as an environmental lawyer.


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THREE WINNERS:
Signed copy of REAP THE WIND
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 03/15/24)

Thursday, February 22, 2024

The Knotted Ring: Book Blitz and Giveaway

THE KNOTTED RING
BY MYRA HARGRAVE MCILVAIN

Historical Fiction / Family Saga / Historical Romance
Publisher: Next Chapter
Page Count: 412
Publication Date: December 7, 2023

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Susannah Mobley, expecting a baby by her lover, a slave owned by her family, submits to an arranged marriage to Hezekiah James who is headed to Texas to claim a Spanish land grant. Caught in a series of lies about the origin of a beautiful ring woven from her red hair and the circumstances of her pregnancy, Susannah embarks on the harsh trip to Texas, grieving for her lost love and determined to control her destiny.

On the wagon train journey, Hezekiah is tested by his beliefs and strengths with his slaves and Native Americans, as well as a strange Mad Stone. His determination to build a plantation as fine as Susannah’s home place and to make the best decisions for Susannah fails. Susannah will have to decide if she can live with the consequences of her lies and open herself to this man who shows every form of contrition or if she will allow longing for what she cannot have to destroy her life.

The Knotted Ring is currently a semi-finalist status
in the Laramie Awards for Western and Americana Fiction.

"An often engrossing and well-handled story of the 19th century."
--Kirkus Reviews

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Myra Hargrave McIlvain, a sixth-generation Texan, is a storyteller who has written Texas historical markers (yes, real people write those things lining Texas highways), articles for newspapers and magazines such as Texas Highways, and six nonfiction books about famous and infamous Texas characters and places.

McIlvain found her real love when she wrote her first historical fiction. All her tales take place in Texas during major periods of its history. However, The Knotted Ring was inspired by an old family story, and in her search to understand what may have happened, she imagined their lives set in a time that she knew well––the establishment of the first Anglo colony.

McIlvain views history as the story of a people; the people she knows best have made Texas home.                                                                                                                                     


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THREE WINNERS
1st Prize: Autographed hardcover & tote bag; 2nd Prize: Autographed paperback + candle; 3rd Prize: Autographed paperback
(US only; ends midnight, CST, 02/29/24)


Monday, February 12, 2024

Amethyst, the Shallows: Blitz and Giveaway


AMETHYST, THE SHALLOWS
The Companion Novel to
The Aquamarine Surfboard
By KELLYE ABERNATHY

Young Adult / Magical Realism / Coming of Age
Atmosphere Press
296 pages
February 6, 2024

NEW RELEASE!



"This is a night for being brave."

In the aftermath of a devastating sickness that shatters their close-knit beach town, six lonely kids are drawn together during the unpredictable autumn equinox. Among them are fourteen-year-old Lorelei, who yearns to be an oceanographer, and her peculiar younger brother, Tad, who possesses an otherworldly curiosity.

When Lorelei has a strange and almost deadly encounter in a sea cave, her loyal boyfriend, Casey, cannot reconcile her fantastical experience with the rational world. Condi, Lorelei's best friend, understands ocean magic but isn't free to share what she knows. Kait, a girl from Ireland, regrets her impulsive move to America-all because of an odd occurrence involving her deceased boyfriend's lost surfboard. When tides turn and the moon shifts, Isaac, the new kid in town who despises the ocean, is forced to face the truth-a profound and powerful magic lives in the deep.

Guided by a wise surf master, mystical old women known as the Beachlings, and an open-hearted grandmother, six kids embark on transformative adventures that challenge their beliefs about possibilities and the intense nature of love.

Amethyst, The Shallows is the brand-new
companion novel to The Aquamarine Surfboard.

PRAISE FOR AMETHYST, THE SHALLOWS

Amethyst, The Shallows' sensitive and potent prose stirs the reader, leaving a lasting impression. Although this novel is the second installment in a series, it stands strong independently, welcoming newcomers and returning readers alike.” --Literary Titan

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Kellye Abernathy's passions are writing and serving trauma survivors as a yoga teacher and practical life skills advocate. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from the University of Kansas. Her home is in land-locked Plano, Texas—where she’s dreaming of her next trip to the sea!



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Friday, February 2, 2024

To Rescue a Witch: Blitz and Giveaway

 

TO RESCUE A WITCH
By LISA A. TRAUGOTT

Historical Fiction / Action & Adventure / Fantasy
Coming March 1, 2024


It’s 1739. An abused girl accused of witchcraft must be defended by a man married to an actual witch.

William MacLeod, a fierce Scottish lawyer with a kind heart, takes on a daunting task—rescue young Annaliese from the clutches of her tormentors in the untamed wilds of Virginia colony and deliver her safely to her aristocratic father in London. But lurking in the shadows are enemies eager to expose MacLeod’s own wife, Fiona, as a witch with a dark secret.

Their perilous journey takes an unexpected turn when their ship wrecks, and Annaliese’s haunting nightmares and unexplained “Devil marks” trigger suspicion among the crew. Tension peaks when MacLeod must become Annaliese’s unwavering protector in a witch trial, where Fiona’s clairvoyance and a murder are unveiled.

To Rescue a Witch navigates themes of betrayal and redemption, in a spellbinding narrative that blends history, magic and the unyielding resilience of the human spirit.








Lisa A. Traugott is an award-winning author and World Championship public speaker semifinalist -- who also spoke five lines on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She lives in Austin with her husband, two kids and English bulldog, Bruno.


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Monday, December 18, 2023

Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being CG Fewston: Scrapbook Page and Giveaway

CONQUERGOOD & THE CENTER
OF THE INTELLIGIBLE
MYSTERY OF BEING
by
CG Fewston
Science Fiction / Dystopian / Steampunk
Date of Publication: October 17, 2023
Number of Pages: 381 pages
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One of resilience and transformation, Conquergood’s life-changing discovery explores the depths of family, memory, love, and the mysteries that lie at the heart of the universe.
In 2183, Jerome Conquergood is an outcast roaming the abandoned and crumbling skyscrapers of Old York City outside the Korporation’s seductive and dizzying headquarters, a post-apocalyptic security-city for the mega-rich. Despite his hatred for the techno-optimism and the Korporation, Conquergood is compelled to save his mysterious twin brother Vincent by joining the Korporation, a mega-corporate and governmental entity in a world oppressed to peace.











1.  I’m an otherwise simple man who enjoys wearing all Adidas because it’s simple, easy, and (for me) fashionable because the outfits can easily match. I don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about my appearance, and I choose comfort over vanity every time. 

2.  I enjoy spending my time with my wife, Axton, and we enjoy going to eat at fancy restaurants, going shopping, and traveling. I want to grow old with my wife and have our son Thor return home to us when he’s grown and has a family of his own — things I didn’t have as a young man and still don’t have now as an old man. I want my wife and son to be proud of me and my work as a novelist. This, for me, is the greatest accomplishment I could ever achieve as a writer. 

3 & 4. My son Thor and I enjoy building LEGOs together. Among the countless LEGOs we have built, we have built a LEGO Minecraft Village and Thor’s LEGO Hammer, Mjolnir, and he got me the LEGO Typewriter for my birthday, which we will build together once he is only holiday from school.

5.  For the productivity part of my writing — the printing of pages, etc. — I live in a Serviced Apartment in China, so it’s a lot like having a private assistant. I can be in my office and message them to print out an academic essay or some obscure research or several images or photos, and as I go back to my work, they will deliver to the outside door of my home, and they know not to disturb me. And when I’m ready, maybe hours later, I can collect the items at the foot of my door.  




Photo credit: Thor
The American novelist CG FEWSTON has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome (Italy), a Visiting Fellow at Hong Kong’s CityU, & he’s been a member of the Hemingway Society, Americans for the Arts, PEN America, Club Med, & the Royal Society of Literature. He’s also been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) based in London. He has a B.A. in English, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership (honors), an M.A. in Literature (honors), and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Fiction. He was born in Texas in 1979.
Fewston is the author of several short stories and novels. His works include A Father’s Son, The New America: Collection, The Mystic’s Smile ~ A Play in 3 Acts, Vanity of Vanities, A Time to Love in Tehran, Little Hometown, America, A Time to Forget in East Berlin, and Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being.
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SIX WINNERS:
1st: $100 Amazon card + eBook or paperback of Conquergood
2nd: $50 Amazon card + eBook or paperback
3rd: $25 Amazon card + eBook or paperback
4th: Book Lover's gift bundle + eBook or paperback
5th: Book Lover's blanket + eBook or paperback
6th: Book Lover's tote bag + eBook or paperback
(US Only; ends 12/21/23)

Friday, December 15, 2023

Porter and Midge: Book Blitz and Giveaway

PORTER & MIDGE:
PAWS AND PLAYTIME
by
Jennie Chen and Giselle Nevada


Children's Picture Book / Pet Care / Dog Training
Series: Porter and Midge series
Publisher: Raise the Woof Press LLC
Page Count: 32 pages
Publication date: December 12, 2023


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Discover the enchanting world of Porter and Midge: Paws and Playtime - a rhyming children's book that follows the heartwarming bond between two furry friends, Mastiff Porter and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Midge, and their devoted companions, CJ and Lora.

On a sunny day, CJ's thoughtful idea sets the stage for a joyful exploration of new ways to make Porter and Midge's days even brighter.

Through rhythmic verses, follow their journey as they uncover imaginative games, canine enrichment activities, and thrilling dog sports, all while strengthening their unbreakable connection.





Giselle Nevada has owned several mastiffs, acquired both from reputable breeders and via rescue. Fostering rescued mastiffs and helping them work through their issues led to a keen interest in socialization as a means of preventing future issues. She loves working with her dogs and has dabbled in carting, conformation, agility, rally, trick dog, nose work, and many other canine sports. Her puppy Porter is a testament to early socialization - he has achieved many performance dog titles and has done commercial work. He also has a role in a movie called Match Me If You Can directed by Marian Yeager.



Jennie Chen is a homesick Austinite who founded Keep Austin Dog Friendly. Over the last 20 years, Jennie has owned Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and Lowchen. She has earned numerous titles in conformation, competitive obedience, rally, herding, animal assisted therapy, and more. She is passionate about the relationship people build with their beloved canines, and she has been an advocate for people living with disabilities who need a service dog to live independently. She is active in various dog clubs and can be seen on AKC.TV from time to time.

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ONE WINNER
Pawtographed hardcover copy of Porter and Midge: Paws for Safety
+ a series water bottle
(US only; ends midnight, CST, 12/21/2023)


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