Welcome to Day 24 of the #RRBC “ROCKIN’ 2020 AWAY” BOOK, BLOG & TRAILER Block Party! @SHarriSlaughter #Giveaways

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HELLO EVERYBODY! WELCOME TO “#ROCKIN’ 2020 AWAY” BOOK, BLOG & TRAILER BLOCK PARTY ON MY OFFICIAL WEBSITE: OUR LADY OF VICTORY REMEMBERED!
The Story Is As Relevant Today As It Was Yesterday

Here are my prize giveaways for 3 lucky winners!

(1) $5 Amazon Gift Card

(1) Ebook Copy of “Our Lady of Victory” Second Edition

(1) Autographed paperback copy – “Our Lady of Victory” Second Edition

INTRODUCING

OUR LADY OF VICTORY, THE SAGA OF AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

Second Edition

Today is the official launch of the Second Edition of Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community. As you can see there is a new book cover. I figured since I had to make extensive changes to the interior, that I might as well throw in the kind of cover I always wanted. The paperback version does the cover more justice. The interior needed to be revamped after discovering to my horror that some content had been altered. There was a reduction of photographs this time around, and format changes were made.

You are probably wondering, “How could this have happened?” Well let me tell you. As you know, we are independent authors and because of that, anything can and does happen. I made a move from my original publisher, iUniverse, over to Createspace (an Amazon affiliation) and in the process, files were turned over and altered without my knowledge. In 2014, I did a Facebook Re-launch promotion created by Rave Reviews Book Club. It took six years from that day for me to discover the extent of the damage. I paid iUniverse to prepare the files for acceptance by Createspace’s team. When I complained about the bad formatting, Createspace told me that the file size was sent over with incorrect dimensions. Why didn’t they tell me while it was happening? So the blame lies with both.

I know and feel that the book world does not have a lot of respect for Indie Authors, just from my own personal experience. But they better believe that we are a force to be reckoned with and and I believe that RRBC played a huge role in that evolution of thinking. But we still have to be careful and remain vigilant.

Although changes were made, the story remains basically the same with a few added updates. It was and is an evolving story because the church is still functioning. The membership has dropped dramatically because of the raging Pandemic that has swept the globe. Members are dying due to aging and not being replaced in significant enough numbers. I went to church for the first time in months and got attention just for being there. I couldn’t have hidden if I wanted to. Its kind of hilarious but also shows that I was missed. I suppose I can take a little comfort in that knowledge.

Paperback Book Cover (front & back)

Click to access olov-shs_247pgs-printcover-01.pdf

Feel free to view Our Lady of Victory book trailer on the side bar of this post.

On another note, I saw on the news that for Halloween (October 30 & 31) my beloved train station, The Michigan Central Depot in Detroit, will be featuring a display of lights and you just have to drive by or park in order to see it. This is wonderful. This station had been vacant and deteriorating for many years and this is the first spark that it is coming back to life. The Ford family purchased the building so there is plenty of money to support it. I am extremely grateful.

Here is my contribution to saving the station, right down to resurrecting the Friends of the Michigan Central Depot. We renamed the group, “The New Friends of the Michigan Central Depot.” I wrote how we did it in a booklet called, “A Citizens Group in Action, Saving a Train Station.” There was a slide presentation of the event held at the Detroit Yacht Club at beautiful Belle Isle Park in a replica of a train station, courtesy of the City of Detroit, who were only too happy to do it. And they provided consultation and some technical expertise.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN RRBC!

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Feel free to connect with me via…

Email: sharrislaughter@gmail.com

Twitter

Facebook

OLV FACEBOOK PAGE

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Website:  https://rememberourladyofvictory.com/

Blog:  https://shirleyslaughter.com/  

At the end of the tour, there will also be GRAND PRIZES awarded! So do stick around.

*1st/Grand Prize:  $50 Amazon Gift Card 

*2nd/Grand Prize:  3-day Blog Tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing

*3rd/Grand Prize:  Book Bundle {10 books of your choice from the Kathryn C. Treat Book Giveaway Treasure Chest}

*4th/Grand Prize:  A *LIVE* interview on an upcoming segment of a RAVE WAVES “EYES ON THE BOOK” or a BOOK OF THE MONTH slot.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of this post.  Good luck on winning my giveaways!  I’ll see you at the next stop of this awesome BLOCK PARTY!

WELCOME TO THE #RRBC 2019 OCTOBER-WEEN BLOCK PARTY!

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HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE #RRBC 2019 OCTOBER-WEEN BLOCK PARTY! 

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HERE ARE THE WINNERS OF MY GIVEAWAYS…

(1) $5 Amazon Gift Card – Miranda L

(1) “Our Lady of Victory” EBook – Cassidy Salem

(1) A Citizen’s Group In Action EBook – Susanne Leist

CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!!

Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community

I must have had an out-of-body experience to take on the task of researching, writing and publishing OLV’s story. I didn’t want to do it, but the voice inside my head would not go away. I could not dismiss it, as much as I tried. And so Our Lady of Victory was born. I knew the story, but had to do some research to get all of the facts straight. How this little church community came into existence is an amazing tale of starts and stops before the first brick was laid.

I created this website to bring the history to life and provide a home to talk and ask questions. Coming to RRBC gave me a platform to keep the conversation going. I even created a Facebook page.

Maybe I became a little obsessed about it, but before my efforts, you couldn’t find anything about this little community. I was on a mission to change all that.

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Another Option

5***** Star Read! 2/24/14
Let me start off by establishing one very important fact:  I AM NOT CATHOLIC.  And because of that fact, I felt there wouldn’t be much for me inside the covers of this book.  I bought the book because I wanted to support this author.  I read the book all the way through because of the INTRODUCTION, paragraph 2 which states:  “This book will present the facts – and some of those facts may not make for pleasant reading.  I make no apologies since I had nothing to do with making the policies that shaped Our Lady of Victory and our lives…I ask that you understand that I am only the messenger.”   So, let me explain to you why the INTRODUCTION, paragraph 2 got MY attention:  1)  I like facts, and I’m impressed by people who feel no qualms about sharing factual information, be it comfortable or not; and 2)  I love people who make no apologies for speaking their truths!

OUR LADY OF VICTORY is a story of a black, Catholic community that is no more.  I was in awe of the author for the time and patience it must have taken to secure all this data and these facts, and to lay it all out the way it is now…in this great book.  This author wants everyone to understand that her book is a NARRATIVE HISTORY.  Don’t mistake it for a novel, a short story, fantasy, or any other genre.  It is the HISTORY of this church and how its existence and its demise, shaped so many of the lives that passed thru its doors.

Should I be ashamed to admit that when the author said “…some of those facts may not make for pleasant reading,” I instantly knew there was a cover-up involved here?  And who doesn’t love a good cover-up/mystery, especially one that gets UN-COVERED?   Shirley H. Slaughter uncovered some things about the higher-ups and the powers-that-be in that church, that a lot of people would have never touched with a ten-foot pole and I’m sure, some are still “whispering” about today.

Let me get to what you came here for…this book was one of the most detailed books I’ve ever read.  At first glance, I thought, “All this information is going to give me brain freeze,” but once into it, I found myself anxious for more.  Again, I’m not Catholic and don’t know much about the religion (other than I love this new POPE you guys have!), so I really enjoyed being “schooled” by an author who puts information together as well as this one did.  I’m a stickler for (almost) perfect anything, but especially (almost) perfect writing.  Mrs. Slaughter delivered a home-run for me.  It was clean, it was detailed, but most of all, it was interesting.  The best part is, you don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy this book.  She gets 5***** stars from me for her compilation of the facts, and we all know how hard that is to do!

Lynn Hobbs
A Must Read!
5 Stars

January 26, 2018

Thank you, Shirley Harris-Slaughter for sharing an incredible part of history that I was unaware of until reading this book. Yes, I knew of racism, but not inside the church. And certainly not in the form of a concrete wall separating the races in a Detroit community. I am proud of all the efforts by so many who continued building a better future for their children with schools, and a church. It was mind-boggling to see their progress halted. Had I lived in that time, and in that community, I would have felt like a prisoner with someone else in control of my life. Much respect to all who worked so hard, and for so long. Loved hearing about the people, and loved the pictures. What an awesome church family to grow with through the years. It does make one wonder what other history remains localized that should be shared with the entire public. Well written, and a must read! I highly recommend this book to all!

UPDATE: OLV is now housed in a little chapel behind St. Scholastica’s. They kept the church community, but housed it in the back of another church? Did anybody think the problem would be solved? Archbishop Vigneron apologized for what was done to the Black Catholic Community.

Maybe it’s too late. The damage has taken a toll and the numbers are dwindling rapidly.

A Citizen’s Group In Action: Saving a Train Station

Since I wrote a book about history, it is only natural that I would gravitate towards saving a train station. I can’t believe I took this huge task on. But I did and never looked back, except to watch a video presentation of the workshop I created and produced to try and save Detroit’s landmark station. In fact I took this project on before even thinking about writing a book.

The Blurb

Around 1992, this study was pulled together for one specific purpose – to save the Michigan Central Depot, a train station in downtown Detroit. After it was boarded up in the 1980s, I agonized about what was happening to the building as it descended into neglect and decay; with no hope of it ever rising to its former glory. I needed to form a plan and a way to do it. Attending a university afforded me that opportunity. I always loved trains even though there was never a chance for me to experience the thrill of it all growing up. My mother was pregnant with me when she traveled, by train, from California, all the way to Detroit, to be with my dad’s family while he was stationed in Guam during World War II. So I always thought that I was touched in the womb. There was no other way to explain this love affair with trains.

Fortunately while group efforts failed so many times in the past, on June 11, 2018, the station was purchased by the Ford Motor Company.

Congratulations Detroit!

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CONNECT HERE…

Author Page: http://wp.me/P43s9i-1m

Email: sharrislaughter@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharrislaughter3

OLV Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Our-Lady-of-Victory-796220353772511/?modal=suggested_action&notif_id=1570066314043196&notif_t=page_user_activity

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sharrislaughter

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/historybuff

Thank you for stopping by. Please continue to follow along on the rest of this amazing #RRBC 2019 OCTOBER-WEEN BLOCK PARTY! Tour for the month of October.

@4WillsPub “Been There, Going Again” Blog Tour @StephenGeez

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4 Wills “Been There, Going Again” Blog Tour, Stephen Geez

Day 1

Greetings, all! Welcome to the first stop on my 4WillsPublishing Blog Tour celebrating the re-issue of my memoir-shorts, Been There, Noted That: Essays in Tribute to Life. It has updated cover, new graphics, new book trailer, and now a first-ever jacketed hardcover edition. The book’s ruminations range from light and humorous to heartbreakingly poignant, but all spring from my own experiences. Thanks for visiting, trying this sample, and commenting!

 

How Old, Indeed

Essay by Stephen Geez

 

“I sure wish I had put some trees in my yard,” my neighbor said, watching me trim branches on the row of flowering crabapples that liked to reach over the sidestreet walkway and tickle the noggins of passersby.

Only a year into grad school and working full-time, I had just commenced one of those long-term projects called a “mortgage.”  Yes, I had bought my own place, a nice corner-lot colonial in a well-seasoned, thirty-year-old neighborhood. My house’s original owners had planted enthusiastically, blessing me with gloriously mature flora: springtime bloomers such as apple, cherry, and crabs; robust blossom-gobbed shrubbery the likes of lilac, snowball, and forsythia; plus a towering trio of magnificent hot-summer shaders—a red maple that ended every sentence with “eh?”; the mischievous elm that liked to flirt with my grapevine; and a humongous cottonwood that could target any area swimming pool with a fusillade of silky white puffs, then laugh about it for days. My neighbor’s yard, a mower-cropped crew-cut of featureless green, looked forlorn in comparison.

“Today’s as good a day as any to plant a few,” I pointed out.

He chuckled as if I’d made a joke, then shook his head and said, “Naw, it takes a good ten years or more till they’re big enough to sit under.”

I thought of him some years later when I saw an elderly woman interviewed on the news. Posing proudly in her cap and gown, she beamed over realizing her dream of going to college, four years of determined effort culminating in a bachelor’s degree. When the interviewer asked about encouragement from friends and family, the elder-grad surprised me by admitting, “They all thought I was nuts.”  She said that when she enrolled, her grandson quickly pointed out she’d be 74 by the time she graduated. Her response still resonates with me today:

“And how old will I be in four years if I don’t go to college?”

How old, indeed.

The very nature of a human lifespan presents life-plan challenges. Nearly all of us have reliable data on when our individual clocks started ticking—it’s right on the birth certificate—but except in rare instances, we have only a vague notion of now much time we’ll get to live and love, to laugh and learn. That’s why we try to cram so many accomplishments into our younger days. I mean, the sooner you achieve a goal, the more time you’ll have to enjoy the benefits.

However, this perspective is rather outcome-oriented. At the lower level in a hierarchy of ambition, we choose quick-and-simple aims, the kind where we expect lesser efforts to produce quicker results. At the middle level, we pursue the kinds of substantial rewards that require long-term, sustained effort—which in turn imbues success with greater meaning. At the highest level, we work toward goals where the benefits extend beyond our time, service to future generations, a paying forward for what our forebears accomplished for us. Imagine the old-timer who patiently plants a thousand seed-lings, knowing he’ll never live to see the forest, a form of altruism too few of us ever learn to embrace. Failing to see our world and the people who share it as bigger than one individual—as a continuum enduring beyond a single lifetime—is how it comes to seem acceptable to ignore the long-term consequences of pollution and climate change, of rapid natural-resource depletion, of amassing a massive collective debt for future generations to pay down.

Maybe we don’t always need a “result.”  The old lady didn’t say her goal was a degree, but rather “to go to college.”  If she ran out of time after a year or two or three, wouldn’t the experience, the knowledge, the mere accomplishment found in effort be worth it?  If you plant a tree, won’t watching it grow, if only for a while, offer a measure of satisfaction?  Don’t the best destinations beckon us with the promise of a meaningful journey?

And can’t the results of our best efforts prove different than we expect, maybe even better, with dividends paying in more ways than we ever imagined?  Think about the never-too-late lesson younger generations learn from the example set by that elderly college coed. Think about the circle-of-life wonder a child discovers when an old-timer nurtures seedlings that will mature long after he’s gone.

And even if nobody ever finds out what you have done, at least you can embrace the joy in knowing you’ve made yourself a better person, and you’ve left the world better for the time you got to live and love, to laugh and learn.

It’s been a long time since I lived among those springtime bloomers, blossom-gobbed shrubs, and towering trio of magnificent hot-summer shaders; but I hope my former neighbor is still right there across the street, and that he did get around to planting those trees. I like to imagine him spending some golden-years time relaxing in the shade. But if he’s gone now, I expect his son inherited the house, and I hope that on a hot summer day he can sit in that shade with his own children and share memories about helping his dad plant those trees.

How old do you have to be to understand that such a simple result is worth all that effort?

How old, indeed.

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Author Bio: Writer, editor, publisher, TV producer, music composer, entrepreneur and more, Stephen Geez has long honed a keen eye for the foibles of human nature. His writing since taking undergrad and grad degrees at Michigan includes novels and short stories in various genres from literary to mystical adventure, non-fiction covering academic to how-to, commercial arts spanning corporate training to consumer advertising, and web-based content including the collections at StephenGeez.com and GeezWriter.com. Easing gingerly into his second half-century, he can’t hop, skip, or jump like the old days, but he never stops noticing and taking notes.

 

Trailer URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw_mo5wtTMI

 

Amazon URL: https://www.amazon.com/Been-There-Noted-That-Observations/dp/1947867148/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521337201&sr=8-1&keywords=been+there%2C+noted+that

 

Barnes & Noble URL: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/been-there-noted-that-stephen-geez/1113808078?ean=9781947867147

 

Prizes up for grabs…   (Visit the 4WillsPublishing website for more details!)

*For each day: 1 hardcover edition of Been There, Note That.
*During the entire tour: $25 Amazon card.

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”

Thank you so much for stopping by and please be sure to click here for the rest of Stephen’s tour stops.

WELCOME #RRBC SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR MICHAEL LYNES @woodheat

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Please welcome Michael Lynes, Spotlight Author!

Hello Followers: TODAY begins the month of November showcasing another SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR. It’s also a holiday month giving thanks for all our blessings here in the United States. So let’s celebrate while Michael is sharing with us “The Publishing Process”.

CONGRATULATIONS, MICHAEL, ON YOUR AUTHOR BLOG TOUR!!

The publishing process

There is a Reaper is our first published work.

Both Margaret and I have been actively writing for many years, Margaret’s efforts mainly consist of revelatory and philosophical essays. She has also written about alternative medical practices, using energy flows and ‘chi’ as well as holistic healing techniques and meditation.

My essays have mostly been technical, including many white-papers and internally published papers for research and more academic audiences. I have always had a consuming interest in story craft, being both a voracious reader as well as a provider of critical writing advice to others. I possess a good command of the mechanics of writing, able to use the written word to convey my ideas and concepts succinctly and clearly.

These skills were important, and both our experiences stood us in good stead thru the process of writing Christopher’s story, but they were hardly equal to the scale of the effort.

There is a Reaper was more than 135,000 words in manuscript…over 500 pages. It is a substantial work, especially for a first time author. Once written, we were faced with the daunting challenge of actually forming the text into an actual book, a container that would honor the content within and give pleasure to the potential reader.

Barry Sheinkoph of BookShapers was our godsend.

Margaret had met Barry and his wife Eugenia years before. I had met them also, once or twice, and frankly though Margaret had told me that Barry was in the publishing business I initially did not even think of bringing the project to him.

When I had ‘finished’ with my MS, (so I thought), I started to cast around and do some online research to find out how to get a book published. I spent a lot of time on many different ‘author’ sites, reading blog posts on the correct way(s) to get a work published; each new set of sure-fire rules promptly contradicting the last. After wading thru this morass for a few nights it became clear that there were three main options:

The first general approach was to contact a series of publishers, in essence ‘pitching’ the MS to them in the hope that they would be willing to publish the work of an unknown author based on the strength of the story alone.

The second was to submit the work to various book agents and agencies, looking to acquire their support. The idea was to find an agent or agency that would become an advocate for me and for There is a Reaper – connecting us with editors, a publisher and possibly even assisting with the marketing of our work.

The third avenue, and to my mind the least desirable, was self-publishing. In essence this would mean contracting with a printer and having your work put into book form on your own dime. There were many ‘vanity’ print houses that would take your MS and basically have it printed and bound for a fee. This seemed to me then to be one step above having a few copies run off at Staples. I was sure that this was not the correct way to go.

So I began the process to try and get a publisher interested in the work. Together, Margaret and I wrote a ‘pitch’ letter describing ‘There is a Reaper’ in brief. Along with this we selected a couple of example chapters from the finished MS; some publishers wanted to see the work, others only wanted a short synopsis to begin. I searched for publishers who I thought would be right for the special type of memoir we had created. With high hopes we sent out emails, and submitted letters and copies of excerpts of the MS.

The response was, to say the least, underwhelming….

Undaunted – we pivoted to our second potential venue, securing an Agent to represent us. I spent a few more hours/days working up and researching a list of potential literary agents. Each agent or agency had different specialties, and sub-specialties. Some were interested in mysteries, some in dramas, still others in fiction etc. I sifted thru the list, looking for agents who would consider non-fiction memoirs, an encouragingly long list. Again I went to each agency website, they all had different requirements on how to submit, one wanted PDF’s another excerpts directly in the body of an email (making the except look horrendous by the way), still another wanted physical media (!) – needless to say we skipped that one.

All of them had variations of the evaluation process. Some said they would look at the work and get back with in a few days. Others said that they needed a month or more, still others gave no fixed time with the stern admonition to “under no circumstances contact us directly to enquire about the status of your evaluation” – lest we incur instant disqualification. So we submitted, first to five agents, then ten and I think in the end almost 30 different agencies. With each submission we had high hopes, and with each new response we received these hopes dimmed. All of the replies were uniformly polite, and almost all praised the quality of our writing and the significance of the work as a whole, BUT….none of them were willing to take any risk with an unknown author and a large work. We were stumped.

After receiving several weeks’ worth of rejection letters I thought that perhaps I was just not engaging the ‘right’ sort of agency. After all I was basically picking these targets at random, doing internet searches and ‘cold’ submissions. One evening it came to my mind that one of Margaret’s friends, Barry something-or-other, had some connections to the publishing world. We talked about it, “Oh…you mean Barry Sheinkoph… Eugenia’s husband…”, she replied, “Barry teaches creative writing and I think he does some publishing work. You should contact him and see if he knows a good literary agent or agency that we can send your book to…”

So I asked her for his contact info and drafted a short email. I described There is a Reaper in brief and told him we had been looking for an agent to take us on. I ended my note with a request. Did he know of any literary agents who might be willing to help?

I really did not expect too much. After all of the rejection letters I figured that Barry’s reply might be just another reject…Polite, encouraging and yadda-yadda-yadda.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

Barry turned our whole process upside down. He asked me one key question – “Why?…Why do think you need an agent? What you need is an editor…”

So…Barry became our editor and the published book, There is a Reaper, which will be released to the world in just a few short weeks, is in large part due to his skill and dedication in working with us on its creation.

Thru judicious cutting, Barry helped us focus our prose and crystalize our vision. The MS we started with was a gem in the rough, and his was the master touch that brought its clear and sparkling facets to view. I am very proud of the writing that both Margaret and I did, but I am grateful and not at all ashamed to say that without him, publishing Christopher’s story might never have been more than a dream.

Thank you Barry…

Author Bio:

Mr Lynes is a serial entrepreneur who enjoys dry red wine and single malt scotch. When not occupied with arcane engineering projects he spends his time playing with his two grandchildren, baking bread, feeding seasoned hardwood into his ancient Timberline woodstove, working on his various cars, bird watching and taking amateur photographs. His current menagerie includes one short-haired turtle shell cat and a pair of actual turtles.

 

His last book, There Is A Reaper: Losing a Child to Cancer, was an Indie B.R.A.G. Gold Medallion Honoree in January 2017, a silver-medal winner of the 2016 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards for Memoir, a medalist in the 2015 New Apple Book Awards for Memoir, a winner of the 2015 TISBA (The Indie Spiritual Bookk Awards), and a finalist in both the Independent Author Network 2015 Book of the Year award and the Beverly Hills Book Awards for 2015.

 

Mr Lynes was awarded a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and currently works as an embedded software engineer. He has a consuming interest in the science of emotion as promulgated by Dr. Paul Ekman and has made a comprehensive study of his Face and Emotion courses.

 

Mr Lynes has four sons, has been married for over thirty years and currently lives with his wife and youngest son in the beautiful secluded hills of Sussex County, NJ.

 

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Follow Michael online:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/woodheat

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MLynesAuthor/

Website – https://mikelynes.wixsite.com/mlynesauthor

 

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Michael’s Books:

THE FAT MAN GETS OUT OF BED

 

THERE IS A REAPER

Thank you so much for your support today of Michael. Please go to the RRBC Website for the rest of his tour. I know he will appreciate it.

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Presenting #RRBC “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHOR @JennyHinsman1 Jennifer Hinsman!

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Hello Rave Reviews Book Club Members and Bloggers!

Today I am pleased to present to you #RRBC “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHOR” Jennifer Hinsman on her exciting month-long tour! And she’s from my hometown of Michigan.

I remember when we all had to get passports after 9/11. I still haven’t had an occasion to use mine and I’m pretty sure it probably needs to be updated.  Let’s see what Jennifer has to say about it…

 

Passport 

 

My passport expired about nine years ago.  I originally got my passport for a trip to Europe and used it in several countries.  It was an easy process, quick too!  I can remember traveling to Mexico and Canada in college and I didn’t even need a passport to travel to those countries from the United States.  Wow, have times changed.  I would need a passport now to travel to both these neighboring countries, or at least a special license to get into Canada.

I’m hoping to travel to Costa Rica the summer of 2018 with my son on a school trip.  It looks like it will be a fabulous learning experience for both of us.  I’ve really encouraged my kids to travel whenever it’s possible because it’s an educational experience like no other.  I can remember thinking, when I traveled outside the U.S.,  it was a life changing experience to be able to immerse myself in another culture.  I learned things that I never would have learned in school, and for that, I’m eternally thankful.  The human aspect is what really got to me.  What I mean is that we are all basically the same, we have families, we love, we laugh, we cry, we work and so on.  Obviously there were many differences as well, language, traditions and such, were much different.  I was still able to connect and communicate with people in these foreign countries though, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Anyway, I was looking into getting passports for my son and myself for the Costa Rican trip and it looks like it will take two to three months.  We have plenty of time, but it’s crazy to see how much things have changed over the years.  There was no Homeland Security, social media or the kinds of technology we have now back in the day.  The ‘new normal’ has this process more secure, more difficult and with more safeguards to protect ‘us’ and ‘them’, I guess.  I understand, but at the same time it makes me sad that we can’t just all be kind and cooperative with our fellow human beings.  All of us share this planet, who cares if my ideologies are different than yours?  My philosophy is, to each his/her own.  If you’re not hurting other living things like animals, the environment, other humans, etc… believe whatever religion or way of life that you’d like.  We could all learn a lot from one another.

I’m looking forward to more travel and life changing experiences!

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Author Bio:

 

 

 

Jenny graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in business. She currently resides in Michigan with her husband, two sons, a furry son (pet dog) and a furry daughter (pet cat). Jenny is an avid reader and loves to escape with a great book. She is a huge animal lover and supports rescue organizations that help save all kinds of four-legged family members and more. All of her family pets have been rescues.

 

Twitter – @JennyHinsman1

Facebook – @SoulsANovel

Website – hinsmanj.wordpress.com

Amazon – amazon.com/author/jennyhinsman

 

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Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Please stop by Jennifer’s other stops during this entire month of her October SPOTLIGHT TOUR by visiting the RRBC site.

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#RRBC DAY 30 @RRBC_RWISA @nonniejules – “RWISA”

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Hi!  Welcome to RAVE WRITERS – INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, otherwise known as RWISA  {pronounced RISA or rice-uh, with a silent ‘W’}, a division of the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB! (#RRBC)

 

RWISA, the latest brain-child of Author, Nonnie Jules, was founded for the sole purpose of introducing the literary world to some of the top INDIE Authors!  These writers are consummate Professionals, dedicated, committed and driven to continually excel at producing the best written works possible.  Are they perfect?  No, but none of us are.  What separates them from the rest, is their ultimate goal of giving readers what they are paying for…great, polished reads and writing!

The members of this community have penned works that have garnered high marks and praise for creativity, and their dedication to the excellence of the craft of writing.  But, it doesn’t stop there!  Their desire to be the BEST in their writing, is evident in the little things, as well, such as their websites and blogs, their well-written book blurbs and even their Author bios on Amazon.  These writers care about perfection in their writing and it shows across the board!

RWISA is home to some of the most talented INDIE authors around the world!  We invite you to take a look around, visiting each author’s page, as well as their showcases.  If you are an author, and think that you have what it takes to have your name placed on the roster of our ELITE members, we invite you to submit a request for membership.

You can’t belong to RWISA simply because you want to.  This community of ELITE writers is not open to the general public.  Although submitting a REQUEST  for possible membership is required, actual membership into the society is by invitation only!  Once it has been determined that your written work, your attention to detail, and your commitment to continually improve and excel as an Author is genuine, it will be an honor to add your name to our roster of other ELITE writers.

On the other side of that coin, if you are a member of RRBC (because we do have lots of great talent there) and your name is not listed here yet, that could simply mean that you are on a list of authors waiting to be vetted, but feel free to submit a request for membership, just to be safe.

For more information, please visit our FAQ page and any of the other informative pages on the site.

**If you are a publisher, news or magazine entity, etc., and are interested in the work of some of the talent showcased here, please feel free to connect with them via the contact info on their Author page.**

 

Thanks for visiting, and if you truly treasure and appreciate great writing, please tell your friends about us!

APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP WITH US!

 

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#RRBC DAY 29 CONGRATULATIONS @nonniejules & @AskTheGoodMommy – “DOES MY LIFE MATTER”

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Because of the division that’s going on in our world right now, the hate that’s being stirred up and spewed by these White Supremacist groups, we felt it appropriate and extremely necessary that we share a piece from our President, Nonnie Jules, that needs to be wide-spread.

 

 

 

“DOES MY LIFE MATTER?”

 

I am a black woman, and because of the shade of my skin and coarseness of my hair, because of the fullness of my hips, my lips and the bold colors I wear…some don’t find me as attractive as my fairer counterparts.  You see, I’m no longer your house-maid or here for your sexual pleasure; no longer Mamie to your children, I’m now someone’s Mother…a treasure.  But, does my life matter?

 

I am a black man, and because of my dark skin and the boldness of my stance, because of the kinky in my hair, the anger in my stare, and the wear and tear shown on my hands…some still don’t see me as a man.  You see, I’m no longer your field property or your whipping post.  I’ve freedom papers and own land now, maybe, more than most.  You build cages to hold me, guilty or not; where you should build institutions of higher learning, you lock me away for little things, then leave me there to rot.  Do you forever see my bed as a cot?  But, does my life matter?

 

I am a white woman, and because of my milk dove skin and cute, pinched nose, thin ruby red lips and fair skin that glows…with my pearly whites and prominent chin…some still look at me and despise the skin I’m in.  I was never privy to the pain that was caused.  I was born into that hatred…those God-awful laws.  So, does my life still matter?

 

I am a white man, born into privilege and wealth, easy life, perfect health, yet…I’m still persecuted and referred to as “the man.”  I, too, hate the ways of the Ku Klux Klan.  My neighbors are black, white, green and red…still, I haven’t fled.  To be where everyone looks more like me, is not where I want to be.  I, too, would like to one day be FREE. Yes, FREE!  It also applies to me! FREE of the labels that bind because of the color of my skin; I’ve never owned any human or degraded any man. But, does my life still matter?

 

I am a brown-skinned woman and because of my accented words, you think I should be silent…quiet and not heard.  I can do more, than clean your windows and floors.  Just ask me what I’m capable of, you’d be surprised, I’m sure.  I may have come here via the back of a truck, or even the legal route, if I was blessed with such luck.  Maybe I was born here, and my parents, too.  In your eyes, would that still make me less American than you?  Does my life matter?

 

I am a brown-skinned man and though maybe a bit stocky, I’m no less in appearance, than your brawn and cocky.  I’m not a rapist, a thief or thug…but a man like you, with kids to hug.  I’m not ashamed to tend your lawns and trees, but Executive, also a title I wear with ease; whatever it takes…my family to feed. Don’t dismiss, or overlook my face; I may not have been born here, but I’m here to stay.  And, with that said, does my life still matter?

 

With all that’s going on, there’s much racial unrest.  It’s time to put differences aside and put real LOVE to the test.  We can’t keep fighting each other, when there are real wars going on.  We must come together in love, heal and stand strong.  There are real enemies among us, and their names we know not.  We must stand on the front lines, together and talk.

The differences between us are fewer than those in our heads; and in the end, until we draw our last breath,  we all still bleed red.  Yes, that small matter is what makes us brothers, and binds us tighter than any other.

That stream of red flowing thru our veins, is what should force us to…
release all blame,
stop the pain,
forge ahead,
no more blood we’ll shed.

Thank you for supporting this member along the WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour today!  We ask that if you have enjoyed this member’s writing, to please visit their Author Page on the RWISA site, where you can find more of their writing, along with their contact and social media links, if they’ve turned you into a fan.  WE ask that you also check out their books in the RWISA or RRBC catalogs.  Thanks, again for your support and we hope that you will follow each member along this amazing tour of talent!  Don’t forget to click the link below to learn more about this author:

 

Nonnie Jules RWISA Author Page

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#RRBC DAY 28 @RRBC_RWISA MEET @boom_lyn Linda Mims – “YOU TAKE THE BLUE PILL”

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AUGUST IS WATCH “RWISA” WRITE MONTH SHOWCASE TOUR

TODAY I AM HOSTING LINDA MIMS!!

Welcome, readers!  Today is the 28th day of the WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour!  This is a 31-day showcase profiling a new RWISA member on 55-60 blogs across the globe.  We hope that you will visit each member’s Author Page and their Author Story and share your comments and LIKE their pages.  You may find their books within the RWISA catalog.

 

You Take the Blue Pill, the Story Ends. You Take the Red Pill …

By Linda Mims

 

I was sixteen when I first suspected that I might be the one. I’d seen people in my family striving for excellence all my life. My parents’ friends were creative types who often took time to quiz me about my goals and what I was doing to achieve them. I had been persistently pleading with a leader at my church who had the power to make one of my goals a reality.

 

This woman headed the Womens’ Ministry. Everything from church announcements to annual celebrations fell under her domain. I wanted to be the youth announcer on the weekly, hour-long radio broadcast that emanated from our church, but she was speaking a language that I didn’t understand.

 

“Take some speech lessons and come back to me.”

 

Where in the world was I going to get speech lessons and how would I pay for them? My family knew some people, and the house did overflow from Friday to Sunday with weekend guests, but that didn’t mean we had money. A party costs maybe $25 back then—especially if everybody brought food and drinks.

 

Bottom line, we didn’t have money for speech lessons. Still, I wasn’t going to give up. I was a spiritual youngster, even before I knew what spiritual meant. I told the Lord what I wanted and then forgot about it. While I was waiting, strange, but wonderful things were happening to me. I was voted vice president of my choir and I was chosen to deliver the Youth Day Address. Go figure!

 

One Friday evening, my mother received a phone call. The church maven and her assistant had gone on strike. I was too young to understand everything a strike entailed. I just knew that I was being asked to fill in as the main radio announcer for the broadcast; the very thing I’d wanted in the first place.  That broadcast went out to hundreds, maybe thousands in the Chicago listening area.

 

When she returned from her strike, Ms. Maven kept me on as a junior announcer and she became one of my most revered mentors. That was the year I discovered that I was tight with God. I could get a prayer through! Was I the one?

 

I’m every woman. It’s all in me

 

While in college a few years later, I watched a bold, beautiful young woman, with a voice as big as a brass saxophone, sing on a makeshift stage. It was an impromptu concert behind one of the lecture halls on my university campus. The day was balmy and the sun was bright. We shaded our eyes as we stared straight into the golden orb that bathed her in its light.

 

She looked like a woman and a child at the same time. She wore very few clothes. Just a band around her breasts, a pair of short shorts, ankle boots, and a tall feather stuck in the crown of one of the biggest afros I’d ever seen.

 

We were fascinated, and her voice held us captivated. After the performance, members of the group handed out bills that said their name was Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. They would be performing at a local club that night.

 

We showed up to the club, but a multi-ethnic crowd had filled the place to capacity. You don’t need to ask for racial diversity once everybody realizes you have something we all desire. Anyway, we couldn’t get in. That day would be the first and only time I’d hear Chaka Khan sing for free. At the time, I wondered if she was also the one!

 

In 1978, Chaka Khan recorded her first solo album, Chaka. One song from that album would define the rest of my life. In it, she sang my truth! I’d always felt that I could do anything, but it wasn’t until Ms. Khan sang the words, that I knew how to describe what I’d always known.

 

“I’m every woman. It’s all in me. Anything you want done, baby, I do it naturally. I ain’t bragging, but I’m the one. Just ask me and it shall be done.”

 

I had a theme song!

 

You may not know the purpose, but know that there is a purpose

 

In The Matrix, one of my favorite movies of all time, there’s the scene where Morpheus gives Neo a choice between the red pill or the blue pill. Neo has been searching for information about the matrix. Morpheus has to convince Neo that he isn’t looking for the matrix, but what he’s really looking for is more. Morpheus believes that once Neo has answers to his questions, he will come to accept what Morpheus already knows. Neo is the one.

 

Being the one is about knowing that you want more. You want to change things. You may not know what your ultimate purpose is, but you know that there is a purpose. You’re so absolutely self-motivated and focused, that God himself delights in your purpose. I told you I’ve always been spiritual, so, I’ll say that I believe when God and the universe delight in your purpose, there’s no stopping you.

 

The Matrix is fiction, so let’s take a look at real-life people who wanted more. One such person was the late author, Janet Dailey. A prolific writer, Dailey thought she could write better than most of the romance writers she was reading. She knew she was the one. When people referred to her as “just a secretary” who writes romance novels, Dailey said the following, and I quote:

 

 “One of the things that to me is the biggest compliment any writer can get is hearing from the ones who say, ‘I used to think reading was boring until I picked up one of your books.’ ” 

 

Between 1974 and 2007, Janet Dailey sold over 300 million copies of more than 100 titles. Not bad for “just a secretary”.

 

Then, there was Steve Jobs. Steve dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon after six months, but he stayed there and audited creative classes over the next 18 months. A course in calligraphy developed his love of typography. Apple and Macintosh computers would be the first to offer creative fonts, including calligraphy, for the consumer’s use.

 

Steve Jobs partnered with his friend, Steve Wozniak, to start Apple Computer, in the Jobs’ family garage. Steve Jobs said, “I want to put a ding in the universe”.

 

I guess he knew that he was the one!

 

Being the one comes with certain responsibilities

 

Many of you have already realized that you are the one; you just haven’t taken the red pill yet. When you’re ready, there are some responsibilities:

 

  1. Toot your own horn
  2. Don’t give up
  3. Throw away false humility

First, toot your own horn! You can’t be afraid of appearing to be too much of a showoff. Waiting patiently for others to give you the rewards you so richly deserve, may yield nothing but hurt and disappointment. Individuals will slink away with your destiny in their greedy little hands without so much as a backwards glance for you.

 

A few times, I spoke too quietly in meetings or waited until it was too late to claim my own ideas that I’d shared with others in private. I watched, stunned, as another, bolder individual stole my idea, shouted it out, and received my praise. I had to wise up quickly and realize that there are differences in the way that leaders and achievers talk and present. First, leaders declare that they have something to say. Then, when everyone is focused, they speak. They make sure their ideas are credited.

 

Don’t give up, opportunity does knock more than once.

 

I’ve learned that opportunity knocks more than once. Heck, when you’re the one, you create opportunities. When one door closes, another door really does open. If you weren’t ready the first time, the truth is, you can keep reinventing yourself until your moment comes or until you’re tired of trying.

 

“Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” —Steve Jobs

 

Throw away that false humility! It’s okay to hang back while you formulate your plan. Go ahead! Get the lay of the land. If you are confident in the knowledge that you can do anything, take as much time as you need. Just don’t overdo humble. That’s almost as bad as having too much pride.

 

It’s permissible to show pride in yourself and your accomplishments. The 21st Century is begging for your stories, calling for your experiences, and expecting you to step up and lead, in every way imaginable. Women like Oprah Winfrey—women like Taylor Swift—they are leading change with their out-of-the-box ideas and sweeping changes to the status quo.

 

Men like Barack Obama are stepping out of obscurity and into the Senate and the office of the President of the United States. Have the audacity to dream! Wear your mantle of distinction with pride. Step-up, speak-out! You are the one!

Thank you for supporting this member along the WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour today!  We ask that if you have enjoyed this member’s writing, to please visit their Author Page on the RWISA site, where you can find more of their writing, along with their contact and social media links, if they’ve turned you into a fan.  WE ask that you also check out their books in the RWISA or RRBC catalogs.  Thanks, again for your support and we hope that you will follow each member along this amazing tour of talent!  Don’t forget to click the link below to learn more about this author:

 

Linda Mims RWISA Author Page

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#RRBC DAY 27 @RRBC_RWISA MEET @ParkerJoni Joni Parker – “ON THE AIR”

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TODAY is the 27th day of WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour!
Please take the time to read Joni Parker’s works, share comments, like this page and check out her books in the #RWISA catalog.

TODAY WE SHOWCASE JONI PARKER!!

 

ON THE AIR

 By Joni Parker

 

Good afternoon, this is Mike Evans at iFantasy talk radio in Tucson, Arizona where we love to talk about science fiction and fantasy. Thanks for joining me today. We have a very special guest lined up for you, an iFantasy talk radio exclusive. World-famous journalist, Olivia Richards, is expected to join us via satellite telephone. As you may know, Olivia and her husband, John, were reported missing at sea several years ago, but she’s made contact and will be here in a few minutes. But first, we must hear from our sponsors at Cactus Thumb Nurseries. (run commercial)

 

Mike: Welcome back. We’ve just made contact with world-famous journalist, Olivia Richards. Hello, Olivia, this is Mike Evans. Can you hear me? (static) Olivia, are you there? (static)

 

Olivia: Yes, I can hear you, but just barely, please speak up.

 

Mike: I will. Thank you for joining me on iFantasy talk radio. I’m Mike Evans in Tucson, Arizona. Let me begin by asking, how are you and where are you?

 

Olivia: My husband and I are fine, but for the last few years, we’ve been stranded on this island called Seaward Isle. In 2011, we rented a sailboat in southern France and were sailing to Italy when we were caught in a ferocious storm. It came out of nowhere. We hid in the cabin below deck for hours until our boat crashed on the shores of this island. We survived the crash just fine, but we haven’t been able to find a way off. We’ve met hundreds of people here just like us. That’s how I met Takura. He’s a friend of yours, I understand. He talked me into coming on this program because he was concerned people wouldn’t understand his English.

 

Mike: Yes, I’ve met him and I thought his English was fine. He went to Harvard for his doctorate.

 

Olivia: Yes, I know, but he feels very self-conscious.

 

Mike: How is he?

 

Olivia: He’s doing well. As you know, he’s a geologist and has gathered a group of Japanese scientists to figure out our situation. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough computers or the right equipment to do the job, but at least, he’s discovered that we’re not on Earth and he’s discussed this problem with the Elves.

 

Mike: Say what? You’re not on Earth? Did you say something about Elves? Are you kidding? Say, have you met Legolas by any chance? (Laughs)

 

Olivia: No, but yes, I’m serious. They’re real Elves. This island belongs to them and even they can’t figure out how we got here.

 

Mike: So where are you, if you’re not on Earth?

 

Olivia: We believe that this island is at the end of a wormhole somewhere in space. We don’t know how or where, but here we are. Takura believes the opening is located about six hundred kilometers above the Earth’s surface somewhere near the moon. We ask all astronomers to use their equipment to locate the opening and ask NASA for a rescue mission. That seems to be our only hope.

 

Mike: Attention all astronomers and scientists at NASA! Olivia needs your help. Contact this station immediately if you can provide any assistance. (chuckles) How are you able to talk to us?

 

Olivia: My friend, Ebony Shorter, had a satellite telephone when she crashed on the island. She was in a yacht race that went around the world, but she was caught in a storm and ended up here. Takura and his friends repaired an old generator to make electricity to recharge the phone. He’s also set up a computer network with bits and pieces he’s found.

 

Mike: What do you use for fuel?

 

Olivia: The scientists use alcohol made of old potato skins and grain.

 

Mike: You mean moonshine. Right. Anything else we can help you with today, Olivia?

 

Olivia: No, just please get the word out. We’d really like to get home and see our families. Thank you so much for your help. (static) Our connection is fading…(static)…only a few (static)…Please help…(static)

 

Mike: Apparently, we’ve just lost our connection to Olivia. Once again, let me reiterate her desperate situation. She’s located on an island called Seaward Isle, somewhere at the end of a wormhole and needs the help of astronomers and NASA scientists to locate this opening and rescue them. Hey, maybe we can bring the Shuttle program back to life. Well, that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you for joining me on iFantasy talk radio and join me tomorrow for another adventure into science fiction and fantasy. And don’t forget to send your comments and ideas to our Facebook page. Many thanks to our sponsor, Cactus Thumb Nurseries.

 

*          *          *

 

Mike leaned back in his chair and listened to the program again. Then he pulled out his cell phone. This had to be a joke. But he shook his head when he recalled that his old buddy, Takura, could never tell a joke. He was so serious. They’d met in college nearly twenty years ago when they were freshmen at the University of Arizona with majors in geology. Tak, as he wanted to be called, was a foreign student from Japan and understood more English than he spoke. He also loved the geological formations in the local area, but knew nothing about hiking in the desert. Mike was an experienced hiker and took him under his wing.

They’d remained good friends, but lost contact when Tak transferred to Harvard to finish his doctorate in geology and later returned to join the faculty at the university. Mike speed-dialed the geology department and it rang and rang. Finally, a young woman answered the phone.

“Geology Department, University of Arizona. Bear down, Wildcats!”

“I’d like to speak to Professor Takura, please.”

“I’m sorry, there’s no one here by that name.”

“What? Where is he?” Mike furrowed his brow.

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know.”

“Is Professor Lopez there?”

“Hold on.”

“Professor Lopez. Who’s calling?”

“Julio, this is Mike Evans.”

“Mike! What’s up, man?”

“Hey, I was trying to get in touch with Tak, but I understand he’s not there anymore. Where’d he go?”

“Don’t know, man. A few years ago, he went on a sabbatical and never came back. His parents told us the ship he was on disappeared in a bad storm.”

“You mean it sank.”

“No, man. It vanished. No debris, no oil slick, no survivors. Nothing.”

“Weird. I got an email from him at the radio station last week asking for an interview so I agreed. He sent Olivia Richards to speak to me.  She’s a famous journalist who went missing a few years ago. She was on a ship in a storm, too. Anyway, she told me that they were stranded on an island called Seaward Isle, somewhere in space at the end of a wormhole with Elves. I didn’t believe her.”

“Elves? Was she high?” Lopez paused. “You don’t think it’s real, do you?”

“I don’t know, man. They were both lost at sea.” Mike sighed, leaning back. “Thanks, man or should I say Professor?” He laughed and disconnected the call. After a few moments, he scrolled through his list of contacts and called one of them.

The receptionist said, “You have reached the National Aeronautical and Space Administration. How may I direct your call?”

“Doctor Rachel Goodwin, geology division.”

“Hold on while I connect you.”

“Doctor Goodwin speaking.”

“Hey, Rachel. It’s me, Mike Evans from Tucson.”

“Seriously? After all these years?”

“Hey, I come in peace. I apologize for whatever I did.”

“You don’t remember?”

“Not exactly. Hey, have you been in contact with Tak from college? The Japanese guy?”

“You mean the nice guy who asked me for a date and you told him he was nuts?”

“Um, yeah, him. I think he’s in trouble and needs help. Julio told me that he was on a ship that disappeared in a storm, a few years ago, but he just emailed me for an interview on my radio program. He sent a friend, Olivia Richards, the famous journalist. She was lost at sea, too.”

“So you don’t have a regular job yet?”

“Not fair. I want you to listen to it, okay? Just listen and tell me what you think.”

“Okay.” She sighed.

Mike played the program. “Well, what do you think?”

Silence.

“Rachel? Are you there?”

“Yes. Is this a joke?”

“That’s what I thought, too, but Tak couldn’t tell a joke if his life depended on it.”

She paused. “You’re right. Send me a link to your program.”

“Thanks, Rachel.” Mike sighed deeply when Rachel hung up. She hadn’t changed much and still resented that prank, but he’d always found her attractive. Maybe he should try again, someday. Mike shivered when the air conditioning kicked on; he’d been sweating heavily. He emailed her the link and leaned back. What if it’s real? Nah! Can’t be, can it?

Thank you for supporting this member along the WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour today!  We ask that if you have enjoyed this member’s writing, to please visit their Author Page on the RWISA site, where you can find more of their writing, along with their contact and social media links, if they’ve turned you into a fan.  WE ask that you also check out their books in the RWISA or RRBC catalogs.  Thanks, again for your support and we hope that you will follow each member along this amazing tour of talent!  Don’t forget to click the link below to learn more about this author:

 

Joni Parker RWISA Author Page

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