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" Be Safe " " Make Nice Gift " #Gift #HappyHolidays :-) http://www.ebay.com/itm/121821270921?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

His nonfiction work as the observer in The Prison Trilogy tells the tales in chronological order of how he came to be a lawyer for a Wall Street Journal heiress and her gay husband and how that representation landed him in federal prison. That is the first in The Trilogy. The second book tells the story of his cell mate, Colonel George Trofimoff, serving life for spying for the KGB, and the final book of The Trilogy describes the prisoners, Glen’s experiences and takes a hard look at the American criminal justice system. Author Links:

http://www.glenaaron.com/ http://www.prisonobserver.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorGlenAaronTwitter: twitter.com/OBSERVERauthorPinterest: www.pinterest.com/observerauthor/Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/glen–aaron/16/77/566/enGoodreads: www.goodreads.com/glenaaron Amazon: www.amazon.com/Glen–Aaron/e/B00936UFS4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427123445&sr=8-1Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/aaron

GR: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how your writing journey began….

I am a retired lawyer who, for 40 years, specialized in certain types of trial work and international business and banking. At the end of my career, my last client was an heiress-owner of The Wall Street Journal who funded a blind trust that I set up with $40 million for her new gay husband. That representation landed me in federal prison for a two-year stint and was the seminal event beginning my writing journey.

GR: What is it that draws you to the genre(s) you write?

Although I have written fiction, I particularly like writing nonfiction because it draws me to life’s experiences, questions that frustrate me, and research that I can dig into.

GR: In one sentence, describe your book.

The Ronnie Lee and Jackie Bancroft Spencer Morgan Story, a tale of people, greed, envy, manipulation – – even crime is an expose of dysfunctional and ostentatious wealth.

GR: Share one scene that you enjoyed writing most in your current release.

I have observed that coincidence is often indistinguishable from intent. Ron called from Ruidoso and requested Jane and my attendance at his and Jackie’s private wedding. The event would be small, gracious, with select and very few friends, Jackie’s children and their spouses, though, oddly, not their grandchildren. It was to be held at the Ritz Carlton in Palm Springs, California. Ron wanted me there, and, as it turned out, Jane and I were the lone attendees from Ron’s side. The date was exactly one year and one day after the death of A.N. Spencer, Jackie’s quiet, compliant doctor-husband of so many years. I saw this to be curious. From my research of the Bancroft family, I knew that Jackie had married A.N. one year and one day after the death of Hugh Bancroft, Jr. Now, she was marrying Ron one year and one day after the death of A.N.      When Jackie and I had played golf a few weeks earlier, I confirmed that, indeed, this 72–year–old heiress was going to marry my 50–year–old gay client. Ron had told me, of course, but I felt the need for confirmation from Jackie. That conversation went something like this.      “Jackie, I need to talk to you about something, but I really don’t know how to bring it up,” I began.      “Oh? Well, I guess the way to bring something up is to just start,” she responded.       “Ron mentioned something about marriage, and I am concerned about assets,” I said.       “Yes. We are going to get married in a few weeks. I want you and your wife to be there.”        “Have you met Lorenzo?” I asked.         “Yes. He has been coming up once a week and doing my hair. He is also helping me with an exercise program.”         I left the subject of gay/heterosexual marriage silent, though it was raging in my mind. Clearly, Jackie knew Ron was gay and that Lorenzo was his significant other. She could have cared less. I wanted to ask, “Why on earth do you want to get married? What’s wrong with just doing things together?” With Jackie, you had to be careful with what you asked and how you asked it.        “Jackie, I’m happy for you and Ron. I know you will have good times together, but I need to remind you he has other creditors that will be after any income or assets Ron receives,” I said.         “Ron told me you had taken care of that. Of course, he will receive things. I will let him have some money, and he wants to buy this place in Puerto Villarta.”

[Author’s Note: As it turned out those “things” ended up being mansions, cars, and cash amounting to $40 million placed in the blind trust that I set up.]

  GR: What would readers be most surprised to know about you?

That I am actually somewhat of an introvert.

GR: How would your friends describe you in one word?

Outgoing, friendly, and reliable.

GR: If you could go to dinner with any book character, who would it be and where would you go?

I would go to dinner with Samantha Kofer, the protagonist in John Grisham’s Graying Mountain. We would sit down for a common dinner in Appalachia and discuss how money influences and controls the civil justice system.

GR: Who are some authors that have inspired your writing?

Well, I am always amazed at how John Grisham can take a complicated social or legal problem and weave it into an intriguing story with simplicity. Of course, the classics and writers like Dostoyevsky have influenced me through my life.

GR: Where is your favorite writing space? Please share what it looks like or a picture.

In the back of our house. There is a room that we call “the writing room.” It is off-base to anyone other than myself and my two Rottweilers who lollygag around while I write. It is nondescript with two desks and a computer and hundreds of books. 

Thank you for stopping by today and sharing with our readers. We wish you the best of success in the future.

Book genre: Biography of Wall Street Journal heiress; nonfiction intrigue and crime

Publisher: Glen Aaron using Create Space

Release date: April 1

Buy link: Amazon.com

    Book description: When Jackie Bancroft’s husband died in 1952, he left her an heiress to the income and value of The Wall Street Journal and one of the wealthier women in America. Almost 50 years later, Jackie would mary Ronnie Lee Morgan, a 50 – year old gay interior decorator. Morgan was one of many clients in the active law practice of author Glen Aaron. This unusual marriage lasted until Jackie’s mysterious death five years later. Throughout that period, Aaron became entwined in the personal lives and demands of the couple, along with handling many of their legal affairs. The huge money and property distributions made by Jackie to her husband, designed and handled by Aaron, resulted in a two – year federal prison sentence for Aaron. The first book in the Prison Trilogy is this story.

YouTube Book Trailer Book 1 – https://youtu.be/uhoZd3cJG7g

Excerpt:

Through the course of four years, Ron bought several million – dollar Puerto Vallarta properties, some for rental, some with an eye toward resale; all in the name of the trust I had set up for him. This was causing a problem. When Ron initially explained how he wanted the trust to work, or, at least, how he envisioned the goal, it was to be an income – generating entity protected from domestic creditors, the IRS, and Jackie’s children. Therefore, I envisioned never conducting business in the United States. I had never filed for a tax identification number, nor had the trust filed an income tax return.

However, throughout the first few years of the trust, Ron imported large amounts of artworks and furnishings from other countries and warehoused them in El Paso. He also took unreported, large cash distributions into the United States. This was not how to protect oneself within a trust. No matter how I might admonish him, I would find, after the fact, Ron paid no attention and threw caution to the winds. I could never tell, through many aspects of Ron’s life, whether he felt invincible or whether he just couldn’t perceive risk/reward exposure.

In following the goal of creating an offshore cash-cow for Ron’s future, I had established a corporation and office in Belize that headquartered an online casino. Acquiring the software through professional contacts in Vegas and setting up accounting and payment controls took about a year. Belize was ideal for an online casino because broadband T-1 connections were plentiful and the domain name address would be Belize. Additionally, the major Caribbean undersea fiber line connecting instantaneously to the entire world was within stone’s throw of where I had set up the online casino. In the second year, the casino was cash-flowing twenty – five – thousand dollars per month with hardly any overhead.

To diversify the activities and income of the trust, I retained a CPA and Hong Kong attorneys to establish a Hong Kong trade Corporation with an office in Shenzhen, China. The trade companies served multiple full purposes because of the myriad opportunities in China. Its primary purpose was to protect importations of artworks, sculptures, and furnishings from all the countries Ron had haphazardly imported into the United States.… Although Ron was as tight – lip about those details as he was about most other details, it was pretty clear he was stockpiling a high-end inventory for his post – Jackie future.

ScheduleMay 17 – Introduction at VBT Café BlogMay 19 – Spotlight at 3 Partners In Shopping – Nana, Mommy & Sissy Too!May 21 – Interviewed at Author CAMilson May 21 – Spotlight at The Voluptuous Book DivaMay 22 – Guest Blogging at The Voluptuous Book DivaMay 26 – Review at The Writers Revolution May 28 – 6 Besties at BK Walker BooksJune 1 – Interviewed at Bikers With BooksJune 3 – Spotlight at Jody’s Book ReviewsJune 6 – Reviewed at My Life, Loves and PassionsJune 8 – Author 2 Author Marketing at BookIt BKJune 10 – Spotlight at ReadsalotJune 12 – Interviewed at BK Walker Books Etc.June 15 – Spotlight at eBook Review GalJune 17 – Spotlight at My Book TourJune 19 – Spotlight at Black Coffee, Brown CowJune 22 – Interviewed at Ghost Rider Book PromotionsJune 24 – Interviewed at Yah Did Radio 6:30pm ESTJune 26 – 5 Things I Know For Sure at CAT MagazineJune 29 – Review & Interview at Deal Sharing AuntJuly 1 – Spotlight at Tea and BookJuly 3 – Spotlight at Mass MusingsJuly 6 – Reviewed at BK Walker Books

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We Go On Anthology For Veterans Release Day Book Blast – ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY

Book Genre: Charity Anthology, Veterans Publisher: Indie

Release Date: March 9, 2015  Buy Link(s): Amazon

 Book Description: The poems and stories included in this anthology, written by various authors, tell of veterans outside of war, of how their sacrifice of service changed their lives long after the war was over. Although some of the messages of the sacrifices of war are sadly…

Interview With Author Seth Mullins – What Casts The Shadows #vbtcafetours & Giveaway

  Title: What Casts the Shadow (The Edge of the Known, Volume I)

Author Name: Seth Mullins

  GR: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how your writing journey began….

I aim to write stories that can provide a really immersive, dramatic experience while at the same time exerting a kind of healing or cathartic effect on readers. I look at my characters and their situations…

Interview & Giveaway with Author, Jim Reilly – Seaville Book Tour

  Interview with Author, Jim Reilly

  GR: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how your writing journey began….

  I’ve always had a wild imagination and for most of my life I thought it was a detriment being, what I thought, was a dreamer. However, after continuing my education later in life, some of the professors complimented me on my writing. Encouraged by my wife I…

  RL: I’ve been a working professional writer for 25 years. For 15 of those years, I lived and worked in LA, writing television movies and feature films—18 of my scripts have been produced. But I’ve been writing for far longer than that. When I was nine years old, I wrote a variety comedy show—a Laugh-In clone—that my friends and I performed in my garage for the neighborhood kids and parents. My army men had backstories, nicknames, families at home. I don’t know what inspired me to be this way. My mother says I haven’t changed a bit since birth. That last sentence makes my wife roll her eyes.

  For the last six or seven years, I’ve been a novelist. I write funny books with smart/crazy/crafted stories and eccentric, hilarious characters. I’m a fast, fun, and easy read. So I’m writing for readers who want to jump off the speeding train of their lives for a few minutes and get lost in a world of lunatics maneuvering through stories that charge causally forward and make them laugh out loud.

  My life is so full and insane sometimes that all I want to do is sit on my screened porch and disappear in a book that transports me—heart and soul and sense of humor—to somewhere, anywhere else. Just give me a few minutes; that’s all I ask.

  I’m not special, so I think lots of readers feel the same way.

  GR: What is it that draws you to the genre(s) you write?

  RL: I’ve always liked mysteries. There’s something about the unraveling of a story you can’t quite figure out that I find exhilarating—both to read and to write. I wrote a dozen mystery movies before I started my McCall & Company series.

  As for writing funny books, well, I love to laugh, and I love to make other people laugh. I think a great and effective way to transport readers to another emotional world or to express a human truth or to move a story forward is with humor. Anyway, that’s what’s always worked best for me.

  And if something works for you, then you’re drawn to it. And if you’re drawn to it, then it must work for you.

  Something like that.

  GR: In one sentence, describe your book.

  RL: McCall & Company: Workman’s Complication, the first book in my McCall & Company series, is a fast and funny mystery about an off-off-off-off Broadway actress who inherits her father’s New York City private investigation business after he’s murdered in an insurance company elevator and investigates his death with the help of the dysfunctionally functional residents of the brownstone she lives in and manages—the House of Emotional Tics—and the histrionic actors in her troupe—the Schmidt and Parker Players.

  GR: Share one scene that you enjoyed writing most in your current release.

  RL: Oh dang, I’m one of those writers who enjoy every scene they write. Here’s one I had a blast writing because Kate’s lawyer, Mel Shavelson, is based on an honest-to-God real person who’s just like this…and I mean exactly like this. Here’s the scene:

  Shavelson was sitting at his desk, eating a pastrami sandwich and smoking two cigarettes— one Lucky Strike and one Winston, from different ashtrays— while washing it down with a cup of scalding black coffee and a glass of Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks. It was ten thirty on Monday morning. While he was chewing the pastrami, he took a drag from the Winston. With the food in his mouth. While he was chewing. I had never seen that before.

  “You going to cry?” he said, food and coffee and cigarette smoke all mixed in his mouth at once. “All cried out,” I said, lying. I might cry for the rest of my life. Who could tell? It had been a terrible weekend. A trip to the city morgue, a visit to Jimmy’s girlfriend’s place to retrieve his things, a sad lunch with Matthew to tell him the news, a dozen weepy trips down Memory Lane.

  Shavelson was overweight in a way that made it impossible for him to keep his shirt tucked in. His tie was loose at his neck, which was wider than his head, which was as big as the moon. He had dark, unruly hair and small eyes black as ink. He needed a shave. Or maybe he shaved an hour ago and always looked like this. I pegged him for fifty-five years old. Jimmy’s will had pastrami stains around the edges.

  “I’m going to charge you for this call. Client pays for long distance.”

  “I’m not your client.”

  I was sitting in the chair across from his desk. His office was near the corner of Broadway and 98th Street, above Epstein’s Deli, a small, smelly storefront in the middle of a two-story building that stretched the length of the whole city block facing Broadway. It was an odd and charmless place for a law office, so it was perfect for him. The room was paneled in dark wood and decorated with framed black-and-white photographs of nude women (surprise!), old-time baseball players, and New York City skyscrapers. There was leather furniture, a big walnut desk and credenza, some file cabinets, a small conference table, a television, and a stuffed Kodiak bear. There were no law diplomas on the walls. No indication that he had ever gone to school anywhere.

  “That’s what Jimmy used to say.” He polished off the last of his sandwich, took a swig of coffee, agulp of Johnnie Walker, hit off the Lucky Strike, and punched a button on the speakerphone.

  “My name is Mel Shavelson . I’m Jimmy’s lawyer. This is the reading of his will. On this conference call right now is his older daughter, Marilyn, in Cleveland , his brother Kevin, in Las Vegas, his Uncle Mike, in Tampa, and his cousin John in San Diego. Sitting in my office is Jimmy’s younger daughter, Kate.”

  “Just because she stayed in New York doesn’t mean she should get everything.”

  That was Marilyn. She was six years older than me and was gone by the time I got pregnant. She went off to Cleveland State and never came home. We were as close as a zebra and a lion. She became a dental hygienist, married a dentist, and had two houses, two cars, two kids, and two dogs, neither of which was trained. The kids, I mean.

  “Cleveland, right?” Shavelson said.

  “Yes,” my sister said.

  “You talk again, I’ll disconnect you and give your share to the Salvation Army. Understand?”

  There was silence for a moment , and then Marilyn said, “Yes.”

  “That goes for everyone. You’re Jimmy’s family, not mine, and I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of you. I got two more wills to do today, plus a shit-storm divorce mediation, so we’re going make this short and sweet. Any objections? Don’t answer. It’s rhetorical. I don’t care.”

  He took a pack of Pall Malls from his pocket and lit one— he now had three different packs of cigarettes on his desk, one from each of them burning in the ashtrays—sucked half of it down, chased it with Johnnie Black, blew hot smoke into the air, and said, “I, James Patrick McCall, being of sound mind and sound body , hereby, upon my death, disperse and dispose of my earthly possessions as follows: To my cousin John in San Diego, I leave my blue suit in the hope that he’ll wear it and get a job for a change. To my Uncle Mike in Tampa, I leave my Volvo, though I’m leaving the keys to his wife, Bonnie. Sober up, Uncle Mike. To my brother, Kevin, I leave my house in the Poconos. It needs a new roof, but the fishing’s good, and all my gear’s inside. Catch one for me, Kev.”

  He paused, sucked down the rest of the Lucky Strike, rubbed it out while finishing the coffee , lit another one, filled his glass with Johnnie, and continued.

  “To Marilyn, I leave the only thing she cares about: money. I hereby direct my attorney to sell what’s left of my earthly possessions, except for the box, deposit the money in my savings account , and transfer the balance to Marilyn. I hope she buys something that reminds her of me, but I doubt she will.”

  He took a final drag of the Winston and, with that smoke still in his mouth, immediately hit the Pall Mall. Then he lit another Lucky.

  “It is my further wish that my remains be cremated as soon as possible and put in a suitable urn. I’d like there to be a little ceremony, but I’m not too particular about what kind. My final words are just this: ‘Whatever you think you know, you don’t. That’s the only thing I know.’”

  Shavelson picked up a loose piece of pastrami and dropped it in his mouth. “I took care of the cremation over the weekend, so that concludes my business with all of you. Stay on the line, and my secretary will handle the details . If you have any questions, ask anybody but me.”

  He clicked off the call, picked up the Pall Mall, and sat back in his chair.

  “I get the box?” I said.

  “You get the box.”

  “What’s in it?”

  “The business . He left you his business. The urn’s in there too. His gun. Some other shit I didn’t look at. Don’t grill me, all right? I’m not in the mood.”

  “Jimmy was murdered,” I said. “Somebody shot him in the eyes.”

  “Talk about seeing it coming.”

  “Any idea who killed him?”

  “I narrowed it down to seventy-three people. Ask Harriman; it’s his case.”

  I knew that name. Detective Harriman. I was right. He was calling to tell me about Jimmy. “He’s the homicide cop?”

  “Thirteenth Precinct. My secretary’s got his number. She’s got the box too.” He gestured at the door while lighting cigarette number six. Another Winston. “Pick it up on your way out.”

  “That’s it?” I said.

  “Unless we’re on a date.”

  I stood up and moved to the door, but I turned back to him before I left. “It’s your divorce, isn’t it? The mediation today?”

  “It’s a shit storm,” he said. “She wants everything, including the bear.”

  I promise, the guy I know is just like Shavelson. You just can’t make it up.

  GR: What would readers be most surprised to know about you?

  RL:I know virtually everything there is to know about wedding planning.

  GR: How would your friends describe you in one word?

  RL: Passionate.

  GR: If you could go to dinner with any book character, who would it be and where would you go?

  RL: Kate McCall, the star of my series. There’s something about her spirit I’m drawn to. She’d be a great friend, I feel sure. She goes to a New York classic, Wo Hop, with the Harriman, the homicide detective investigating her father’s murder—and eventually becomes romantically involved with him.

  I’ve been to Wo Hop many times. It would be a blast to go there with Kate.

  GR: Who are some authors that have inspired your writing?

  RL: Richard Ford, John Irving, Phillip Roth, Donald Westlake, Carl Hiaasen, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Sophie Littlefield, John D. MacDonald, Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, Sinclair Lewis, Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury. That’s a start…

  GR: Where is your favorite writing space? Please share what it looks like or a picture.

  RL:I love my little office. Photos attached.

Thank you for stopping by today and sharing with our readers. We wish you the best of success in the future.

Author Bio:

Rich Leder

Screenwriter—Novelist—Publisher

  Rich Leder has been a working writer for more than two decades. His screen credits include 18 produced television films for CBS, NBC, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, and Left Bank Films.

  He has written four funny novels to be released in 2014: McCall & Company: Workman’s Complication, McCall & Company: Swollen Identity, Juggler, Porn Star, Monkey Wrench, and Let There Be Linda.

  He has been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a commercial real estate agent, an indie film director, and a visiting artist for the University of North Carolina Wilmington Film Studies Department, among other things, all of which, it turns out, were grist for the mill. He resides on the North Carolina coast with his awesome wife, Lulu, and is sustained by the visits home of their three college kids.

  Rich loves to hear from readers and writers. Please don’t be shy.

  You can write him directly at [email protected]

  Or you can visit him at www.laughriotpress.com/richleder

  Author Links –

Website: laughriotpress.com/richleder

Blog: laughriotpress.com/blog

Facebook: facebook.com/laughriotpress

Twitter: twitter.com/laughriotpress

Pinterest: pinterest.com/laughriotpress

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8304523.Rich_Leder?from_search=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Leder/e/B00N66JNN0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1410055056&sr=8-1

    Book Genre: FUNNY MYSTERY // FUNNY FICTION

Publisher: LAUGH RIOT PRESS

Release Date: AUGUST 2014

Buy Link(s): Amazon

Book Description:

  MCCALL & COMPANY: WORKMAN’S COMPLICATION

  WAY-OFF BROADWAY ACTRESS. MURDERED PI FATHER. NEW DAY JOB.

  Off-off-off-off Broadway actress Kate McCall inherits her father’s New York private investigation business after he’s a whole lot of murdered in a life insurance company elevator.

  A concrete-carrying, ballroom-dancing construction mule says he fell off the scaffolding and can never work—or dance—again, and then sues the contractor for a whole lot of money.

  Kate assembles the eccentric tenants of her brownstone and her histrionic acting troupe to help her crack the cases, and they stir up a whole lot of trouble.

  But not as much trouble as Kate, who sticks her nose in the middle of the multi-million-dollar life-insurance scam her father was investigating and gets a whole lot of arrested for murdering a medical examiner.

  Will Kate bust the insurance scam, prove who really killed the examiner—and her father—and get out of jail in time to pull off the ballroom sting of the decade? She might, but it’s going to be a whole lot of hilarious.

  MCCALL & COMPANY: SWOLLEN IDENTITY

  BEAUTIFUL BILLIONAIRE SOCIALITE. COLD-BLOODED CORPORATE ASSASSIN. MCCALL & COMPANY BACK IN BUSINESS.

  Way-off Broadway actress and NYC PI Kate McCall had promised the police and the Assistant DA—her son—that she was all done investigating any damn thing in New York…

  Meaning beautiful billionaire socialite Brooke Barrington says someone has stolen her identity and the corporate assassin who murdered Kate’s father has shot the eyes out of the CEO of Superior Press…

  Meaning McCall & Company is back in business…

  Meaning Kate enlists the help of the eccentric tenants of her brownstone—the House of Emotional Tics—and her melodramatic acting troupe, the Schmidt and Parker Players…

  Meaning things spiral hilariously and dangerously out of control…

    Meaning she is confronted by Brooke’s demonic identical twin, Bailey, accosted by international counterfeiters, and arrested for impersonating a hooker.

  Will Kate stop Bailey from murdering Brooke? Or will she stop Brooke from murdering Bailey? Or will she figure out how to tell one from the other in time to survive the wrath of the Bulgarian mob men hired to protect the counterfeit cash?

  And will she finally find her father’s killer?

  She might, but it’s going to be a fast, funny, furious ride.

  JUGGLER, PORN STAR, MONKEY WRENCH

  My name is Mark Manilow. I am a Hollywood screenwriter. Here’s my recipe for a cocktail called “Romantic Hollywood Sex Comedy.”

  Start with my estranged wife, who left me two years ago to become a juggler.

  Pour in the ensuing emotional tailspin conjoined with a brutal case of writer’s block.

  Mix with my last-gasp writing job, a ridiculous porn flick called Broken Boner.

  Add in the Broken Boner porn star, who seduces me into an ill-fated relationship.

  Blend with the gun-toting producer and eccentric Montecito billionaire, who hire me to adapt the phonebook into a movie.

  Toss in the return of my headaches and a trip to an ancient Chinese healer, where I meet the healer’s beguiling granddaughter—my monkey wrench.

  Serve with wonderment as to whether or not I’ll find a way to settle things with the juggler, break it off with the porn star, and fall in love with the monkey wrench…or if anyone will stop laughing long enough to notice.

  Excerpt:

JUGGLER, PORN STAR, MONKEY WRENCH

  My parents stood by the front of the stage, staring at the glowing songwriter with wonder and awe. They weren’t as used to seeing famous people as we all were.

Once you’ve seen George Hamilton buy apples at Gelson’s, looking tan and fit for someone one-hundred-sixteen-years-old, the thrill dissipates to some degree. But this wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill famous person. It wasn’t Heather Locklear or David Spade. It was a glowing global legend. My mother was grasping my father’s arm with a superhuman adrenaline rush of strength normally reserved for women whose small children are trapped beneath parked cars. I thought to intercede on their behalf and escort them over to meet the man in the flesh, but as thin as Barry was, I was afraid my mother might break him in half.

Ally Kramer’s interest appeared to peak now that Barry was here. I imagined calculators clicking furiously in her head. If Barry Manilow was doing the music, she could raise the budget by twenty million. Think of the soundtrack album! Think of the international appeal! Talk about reaching the cabaret demographic! Why make a movie for one hundred seventy-five million when you can make one for two hundred million? I saw her nodding with approval and whispering into Cathy’s ear.

Behind me, Royal T and Boogie had sprung into action. Boogie had created a mellow blue hue around Barry’s table, dimming the lights elsewhere in the church while throwing three azure pin spots on Barry himself. It was a remarkable effect and I thought if Boogie is this good on the fly, the staged reading should really be something special. To complement the lighting, Royal T had cross-faded Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club with Barry’s Trying to Get the Feeling, and the whole room had a sunset on the beach kind of vibe that was warm and electric at the same time.

And then the door opened again and Dr. Alvin Yee, wearing a purple tuxedo and tails, a purple top hat, and purple Puma Clydes stepped into the church with Caroline on his arm, and everything stopped.

My sister saw him first and froze. Phil followed her starstruck gaze and his jaw dropped open. Then my parents saw him. Then Eddie and Gloria and Cletis. Then the porn people. Then Barry and his entourage. Finally, everyone in the Colonel’s studio was staring at Dr. Yee and his granddaughter.

Yee’s long white beard was done in three separate French braids, as was his hair, which spilled out of the top hat and reached all the way down his back. Caroline was a vision of loveliness in a beautiful blue evening gown, her skin perfectly porcelain, her hair a glossy shimmering black.

For all the money and time and blood and sweat spent trying to catch lightning in a bottle, the truth is not much magic is found here in Hollywood. It’s a town of smoke and mirrors and gummed up gears. So when genuine magic walks through the door—say, dressed in purple from head to toe—legends and losers and icons and idiots alike stop and stare, not exactly recognizing it as magic per se, but sensing an unusual wave in the groomed LA sand.

Boogie dimmed the blue lights on Barry and wrapped a soft white curtain around Dr. Yee and his granddaughter. Royal T, who no doubt had some magic in his Watusi history, cross-faded to Hendrix’ Are you Experienced? but kept the volume low. Everyone looked at the wizard as if waiting for a signal that all was well with the world.

Dr. Yee stood there for a long moment, letting the vibe wash over him, then held up the peace sign. An audible sigh of relief, or possibly a gasp of wonderment, echoed through the space, Boogie brought up the blue light, Royal T came back with Barry’s Even Now, and Yee and Caroline walked into the room. I met them at a table just beside the Colonel’s raised La-Z-Boy platform.

“You look beautiful,” I said to Caroline, who smiled and hugged me hello. “Tell your grandfather I’m glad he came.”

Caroline translated, and Yee said something in Chinese.

“He says he never misses a coming-out party,” Caroline said.

“Tell him I don’t understand what he means,” I said.

She did, and he smiled, singing his answer.

Caroline translated. “Lucky you. It’s a surprise party.”

Before I could press him on this surprise coming-out-party business, Colonel Bill Curry strode onto the stage with all the confidence of a madman who has found a way to bend reality to his will instead of vice versa.

“Ladies and gentlemen. You are humbly invited to take your seats,” he said.

  Schedule

  September 7 – Introduction at VBT Café Blog

September 8 – Spotlight at Debbie Jeans

  September 10 – Spotlight at Words, Words, Words

  September 12 – Guest Blogging at PubSlush

  September 15 – Interviewed at A. Literary Mafia

  September 17 – Guest Blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner

  September 19 – Interviewed at Bikers With Books

  September 22 – Review & Guest Blog at Lilac Reviews

  September 24 – Reviewed at KimberkyandCompany

  September 26 – 5 Things I Know For Sure at CAT Magazine

  September 29 – Interviewed at BK Walker Books Etc.

  October 1 – Review & Interview at My Life, Love, & Passions

  October 3 – Guest Blogging at The Avid Reader

  October 6 – Interviewed at YAH Did Radio 6:30pm EST

  October 8 – Spotlight at Black Coffee, Brown Cow

  October 10 – Spotlight at A Cup Of Tea & A Big Book

  October 13 – Author 2 Author Marketing at BookIt BK

  October 15 – Interviewed at Ghost Rider Book Promotions

  October 17 – Review & Interview at AG Lang Writes

  October 20 – Spotlight at Dalene’s Book Reviews

  October 22 – 6 Besties at BK Walker Books

  October 24 – Reviewed at BK Walker Books

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Author Jamie-Jo Brenner – Soul Searching Book Tour & Giveaway

GR: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how your writing journey began….

I used to get bored in grade school, so I started writing stories. First it was comic books with friends. We drew the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and stuff like that and told stories about them. Then I’d write plays for my cousins to perform with me. We’d dress up in Halloween costumes and act them…

YA Book Tour & Giveaway: Soul Searching by Jamie-Jo Brenner

I’m a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Tang Soo Do. I have been on mission trips, one to Haiti and the other to a Native American Reservation/Camp in Oklahoma. I loved both experiences.

I am in the Army Reserves. And I volunteer at Camp Sunshine each August. I also work in Security for Farmer’s Insurance. And I was a victim’s advocate for the YWCA.

My passion is writing and I love to read. I wrote a…

Medical Billing Horror Stories by Sharon Hollander (Book Tour & Giveaway)

Author Bio: Sharon Hollander is an author, entrepreneur, and a healthcare consultant in the area of practice management for over 30 years. She is a leading expert in the area of physician billing and reimbursement. Currently the President of STAT Medical Consulting, a comprehensive medical billing service in Encino, California providing billing services to physicians and surgeons in solo…

  Choose the Intro to Unleashed

  Sydney Rye is coming to Audio and we need your help picking the narrator!

Emily Kimelman’s “Sydney Rye” series features a strong female protagonist and her rescue dog, Blue. It is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don’t mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!

  Haven’t…