Monday, July 31, 2017

Guardian Angel by William McCauley





Middle Grade / Young Adult
Date Published: 6/2013

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png


Markus Simmons, a 13-year-old 8th-grader, wants to hang with the cool kids. When his social studies class begins a Holocaust project, some A-listers befriend him to get him to work with them so they can have access to his Oma, who was in Auschwitz, and he discovers that there are Holocaust deniers in the world, one of whom is in his class.  Then someone identifies his Oma as having played a criminal role during the Holocaust, and he has to reconcile his love for his grandmother, his desire to work with the cool kids, and his anger at the deniers and the others who attack his grandmother.



About the Author


William McCauley was born and grew up in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, in a delightful little town called Vienna. His B.A. in German and M.A. in English are from George Mason University, and at the ripe old age of 29, he "ran away from home" to do doctoral work in linguistics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. After two years, his Wanderlust attacked again, and he trekked on down to Miami, FL, where he did more doctoral work at the University of Miami. Then the powers that be at The German School Washington, where he had taught English for six years, tracked him down and asked him to come back. That brought him back to the DC area, where he taught at the German School for another eighteen years. He finished his career in education at the end of school year 14-15, retiring after ten years as a Gifted and Talented Education specialist with Howard County Public Schools in Maryland. Now all he wants to do is write – and read.

Contact Links

Purchase Link

Reading Addiction Blog Tours

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Skyline by William Ivor Fowkes - Blitz




Literary Fiction

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

In SKYLINE: TALES OF MANHATTAN, award-winning playwright and author William Ivor Fowkes presents stories of New Yorkers—gay, straight, and confused—making startling connections and discoveries. On the West Side, a man approaching his 60th birthday tries a new haircut, with disastrous consequences. On the East Side, a Park Avenue Republican gets a taste of life on the "down low" in Central Park. In the East Village, a struggling writer papers his kitchen wall with rejection letters. In SoHo, a graphic designer takes drastic steps to get the attention of her editor. At MOMA, a woman physically attacks a man examining a sculpture she doesn't like. Downtown, a transplanted New Orleans cabaret singer deals with life and love in the aftermath of 9/11. There are 19 stories in all—enough to demonstrate that Manhattan's residents are just as striking as the city's celebrated skyline.


About the Author


William Ivor Fowkes is a playwright and author based in Manhattan and Connecticut. His short fiction has been published in many literary journals. His plays have been presented in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Several have been published. Several have been broadcast on the radio. His full-length plays include ALL IN THE FACULTY (Dramatists Play Service), SUNSHINE QUEST (Fresh Fruit Festival), PRIVATE PROPERTY (The Players Ring), THE BEST PLACE WE’VE EVER LIVED (Love Creek Productions), COUPLE OF THE CENTURY (Downtown Urban Theater Festival), THE GERMAN LESSON (Great Plains Theatre Conference Playlabs), and others. His short plays include THE DAKOTA (Best Short Play, Downtown Urban Theater Festival), THE BRAZILIAN DILEMMA (First Prize, McLean Drama Company; film version by Collective NY Films), THE NEXT MOVE (Best New One-Act Play, Brevard Theater), THE SESSION (Pushcart Prize Nominee), TABLE MANNERS IN CHICAGOLAND (Winner, Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest), AN ACCIDENT IN THE PARK (William Inge Theatre Festival), A REMARKABLE MAN (Gallery Players, Brooklyn), and others. He has been a FINALIST for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award (Bloomington Playwrights Project) and the W. Keith Hedrick Playwriting Contest (HRC Showcase Theatre) and a SEMI-FINALIST for the Playwrights First Award (National Arts Club), the Promising Playwright Award (Colonial Players, MD), and the Princess Grace Playwriting Award. He is a graduate of Yale University (B.A., magna cum laude) and Northwestern University (M.A., PhD) and a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Pulse Ensemble Theatre Playwrights’ Lab. He was formerly a philosophy professor and a marketing executive at several media companies, including Showtime and HBO. He is married to Stephen Michael Smith, a music conductor. His daughters, Laura and Julia, work in the fashion industry in New York City.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

Reading Addiction Blog Tours

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

New Caledonia: A Song of America by William D. McEachern - Blitz




Historical Fiction

Date Published:  August 2016

Publisher: AuthorHouse

By the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Casting Lots, New Caledonia: A Song of America is William D. McEachern’s third historical novel and the second in the Caledonia series. The first novel in the series, Caledonia: A Song of Scotland, told the story of James MacEachern fighting for Bonnie Prince Charles. New Caledonia: A Song of America continues the epic tale of James, as he emigrates from Scotland in 1750, fleeing the Duke of Cumberland’s ruthless assassin, Captain David Angus Campbell. Sailing to America, James walks the Great Wagon Trail from Philadelphia to Winchester, where he meets Daniel Morgan, who becomes a lifelong friend. Swirling events embroil Daniel and James as wagoners hauling freight for the British Army in the French and Indian War. On the road to the Battle of the Monongahela, James learns that Captain David Campbell is their commanding officer. For a minor infraction, Captain David Campbell whips Daniel Morgan nearly to death. The story of James, Daniel Morgan, and Captain David Campbell is played out over the course of two wars, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, in battles such as Monongahela, King’s Mountain, and Cowpens. Who will survive?





Other books in the Caledonia Series:

Caledonia: A Song of Scotland
Published: September 2015

By the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Casting Lots, William D. McEachern, Caledonia: A Song of Scotland is his second historical novel. Caledonia is the epic tale of Scotland’s struggle to become an independent nation. In the process, the story of Scotland is revealed in its people, the Picts, the Irish Missionaries, the Norsemen, and the Highland Clans. All the natural beauty and wonder that is Scotland are captured for the reader’s enjoyment, from the wind-swept Isle of Skye through the Highlands with its towering bens, with numerous waterfalls, across the moors, purple with heather, and dotted with sheep and the lowing, ruddy Highland cattle, to the reflecting waters of the lochs, some mysterious and mist-laden, like Loch Ness, or picturesque, like Loch Lomond. Told from the viewpoint of one clan-the MacDonalds of Clanranald-the reader is swept along through the major events in the history of Scotland, from the writing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, the Massacre at Glencoe by the Campbells, the MacDonalds greatest enemy, through the Rising of 1745 under Bonnie Prince Charles’ to the decisive defeat at The Battle of Culloden and the bloody Highland Clearances under William, the Duke of Cumberland. Caledonia acquaints the reader with why so deeply ingrained in Scotland’s national psyche is its fight for freedom, both political and religious. Caledonia is the first novel in the series which will tell the story of the Scots not only in Scotland, but also in America.

About the Author


William D. McEachern lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife.  He is a father and a grandfather.  Mr. McEachern graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, with a B.A. in Psychology and Religion, his Juris Doctor Degree was from Fordham University School of Law in New York City and his Master’s in Law Degree in Taxation was from New York University School of Law.  He practiced trusts and estates and tax law for nearly 40 years, before becoming a full time historian writing novels of historical fiction.  An avid reader of history, he thoroughly researches and travels extensively to lend authenticity and realism to his works.  To write New Caledonia: A Song of America, Mr. McEachern travelled both Braddock’s Road  and the Great Wagon Road and visited, among other battlefields, King’s Mountain and Cowpens.  His areas of expertise include the Roman Empire, Early Christianity, Scotland, and United States History with a particular emphasis on the American Revolution and the Civil War.  Mr. McEachern’s first novel, Casting Lots, which is the life story of the Centurion who presided over the Crucifixion, garnered excellent reviews.  His second novel, Caledonia: A Song of Scotland, explored Scottish history up to the Battle of Culloden and the beginning of the Highland Clearances.  New Caledonia: A Song of America, the second novel in the Caledonia series, follows the Scots migration from Scotland to America, as they walk the Great Wagon Road and finally settle in North and South Carolina during the era of the French and Indian War and the America Revolution.


Contact Links


Purchase Links

Reading Addiction Blog Tours

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

WHEN BROTHERS MEET by JOHN HENRY HARDY




Historical Fiction
Date Published: March 2017

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

In the interest of world peace...

That is the pretense for a meeting between America and a coalition of China, Russia, India, and Saudi Arabia. It is 2041, and the US president, Constance Higgins, recognizes the invitation for what it is. The countries are demanding a payment of gold. Previous administrations have sunk America into trillions of dollars of debt after giving citizenship and Social Security benefits to wave after wave of illegal aliens. Now, other countries scoff at the solvency of the US dollar.

As the financial crisis distracts the government, a sinister scheme is going into effect. Operation Dragon is a threat to the liberty of every man, woman, and child in America. The United States will have to rise up to fight an invading military force.

Army ranger Mike Dalton is one of the patriots to take a stand, but he is tormented by his relationship with the beautiful Kyla MacGregor. Their connection will have surprising repercussions in the fight that follows.

Through a cast of characters that includes army rangers, NSA, CIA, FBI, SS agents, and everyday Americans, John Henry Hardy celebrates US patriots and the courageous spirit that built this country.

About the Author


John Henry Hardy served in the US Marine Corps for thirty-three years. As a public-relations officer, he drafted publications read all across the United States.
Hardy was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He is also the author of Whisper in My Ear and The Place Where the Giant Fell.

Hardy earned his master's degree in business management. He enjoys writing, jogging and spending time with his family.


Contact Links

Purchase Links

Reading Addiction Blog Tours