Heartbreaking and Courageous…..

By Gwendolyn Plano on September 24, 2016

New Apple Awards released their winners list and ‘When Angels Fly’ can be found at this link. New Apple Awards Memoir Only one of the two books below could be chosen as ‘Medalist Winner’ and we are happy just to be in the top two books, and to have won ‘Official Selection’.

Eli Triumphs…

By Robert Kimbrell on September 17, 2016

For several moments I sat at my laptop, trying to think of something that hasn’t already been said. There are many great reviews, and it is easy to see many hearts have been made tender by reading this.

First, I am so glad this story has been written down and shared. As the father of two wonderful daughters, I cannot begin to imagine the horror that took place in this mother’s life. How any man can be so evil is beyond me. Thank God for men like Matt, however.

There are a few happy moments in this story that made tears of temporary joy hint from behind my eyes: when Eli was able to drink apple juice without choking; the late-night trip mom took to get watermelon her son craved; when Eli and Noah played, as much as they could, in the hospital together. But sadly these moments too quickly moved aside, and the harrowing acts by a despicable grandmother and truly evil husband and father darkened the story. But this is real. That is partially what attracted me to this book. There is a time for the raw truth, it keeps one grounded.

To me, this book was more than a succession of events. Often, I felt like I was sitting across from the mother at a diner. My mind fades to gray images as she recollects her story from years ago. She opens her heart, and I listen to her thought process in awe. The mother is amazing for hanging on for dear life, even when it surely felt the bottom had fallen away and there was nothing to believe in anymore. She was there for her son regardless of all else. If you don’t believe evil exists, you will after reading this. Above all, little Eli shows strength and heroism, and despite the bitter end, he triumphed over life.

Vigilante Annie Scarlotte (Vigilante Annie Series): Book One 

I have just finished reading Book One of this series by Robert Kimbrell. First is the author’s blurb on Amazon.  

“It was only months ago when Annie was overtaken by a mysterious illness. Now, the story begins with Annie relishing in the afterglow of her first feeding of fresh human blood. She has found the cure. But there is much more to Annie than being a bloodsucker.

The story unfolds when Marcus, Annie’s boyfriend, argues with her over keeping a journal with incriminating evidence. Because Annie has yet to find her birth mother, and has never known her real father, Annie grows closer to a father figure named Larry. There is bubbly Elisa, who for some reason went silent months ago; and there is unplanned drama for
Annie and Marcus when her target is Congresswoman Kim Bardner.

Annie’s story is full of romance:
“Meet me in the shower.”

mystery:
“Sorry, Miss,” the stranger said with a monotone voice. “Thought you might be someone I know.”

suspense:
“Act like you belong. Breathe, relax your shoulders and smile.”

humor:
“Pay no mind to me, lovebirds, just getting water.”

intrigue:
“Forgive me, Marcus. A woman like this gets more than a handshake.”

You will instantly be drawn in by this new and original story!”

This book isn’t my normal genre that I prefer to read, yet Kimbrell had me hooked at the first chapter. Characters are supported and Kimbrell leaves nothing out when describing a scene or person, and the book is a nice fast pace. I found myself more drawn to the vigilante portion of Annie than the vampire; although I must say she only goes after and feed’s on the bad guys.  Kimbrell has written this book in a manner that keeps one’s interest throughout! Annie has a counterpart in Marcus. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I will say it’s a good thing I don’t use coffee creamer. The story is short but not so short that one feels cheated out of a full length book. I think this book is great for the YA genre. Kimbrell’s writing leaves one wanting to read the next book in this series. I rate this as a high five star!

Gwen is a lovely lady and she hosted me on her blog to help promote our first book, a memoir, When Angels Fly. 

The link to her blog is here, and thank you Gwen!

0.99 cent sale still going on!

.99 CENTS!!! Sale!! .99 CENTS!!! Award-winning novel!!!

Life can be harrowing, but there’s always hope. A poignant reminder that, “there, but for the grace of God, go I.” The story of finding faith after it has wavered. A story of Loss, Pain, Hope and Love! Beautiful! When all else fails, trust your faith! A gritty, true drama of every parent’s nightmare. “I want to go to Heaven, Mom.”…and so you did go…

Amazon Link  When Angels Fly      Grab your copy today!

Convinced (The Paradigm Shift Trilogy Book 2)

I have just finished reading Convinced by Raven H. Price. First her book synopsis found on Amazon.

“A prophecy is starting over. Heaven holds a meeting so the last piece of a puzzle can be found. Jesus chooses Gina Grimes, a strong willed, self-serving and unchurched young woman to complete the team.
For Jesus’ plan to work, the Holy Spirit has to first convince Gina her lifestyle isn’t great. He uses Caylee Sellers, Gina’s happy-go-lucky co-worker, to convince her there is a better life with the Lord. Once Gina submits to Jesus, he sends her a guardian angel. But when the angel called Ox arrives on the scene to guard her, he sees that Satan is already focused on Gina and is determined to ruin or kill Jesus’ new convert before the Lord’s seed of faith can take root.
A battle of wills begins and in the process Gina gets physically hurt. To counter act the situation Satan caused, the Holy Spirit uses another strategy on Gina to produce an effect that will shape her outlook and give her a supernatural way to contour nearly every action and thought.
While Gina physically heals, the Holy Spirit makes sure Gina finds new friends who are also equipped with guardian angels and various powers. Jesus’ plan starts working. Gina gains strength with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, Ox’s presence and her new friend’s assurance. Will she find what she craves before all hell breaks out?”

This book spoke directly to my heart. Price has woven well described characters into a narrative in which one can feel the conflicts and the battles. Gina has a struggle, a huge one, in which she must come out victorious, while Satan sends his evil imps and helpers (including a rapist) to feed upon Gina’s moments of doubts and weakness’s. As the seed of Hope planted in Gina starts growing, the imps multiply their devilish ways to feed upon Gina’s doubts and her fear. Yet Gina wanted to believe in Jesus, and an out of body event, after a car wreck, sets her on a path in seeking The Holy Spirit. This is a FIVE star read!

“When Angels Fly” by S. Jackson & A. Raymond is a journey of loss, heartbreak, and ultimately strength. How do we survive the unthinkable, our child suffering from a terminal illness? Sarah Jackson’s life will teach you that despite all the hardships, you will survive, even if at times it feels like you won’t. “It is a story of hope and the power of love and prayer. Although it will draw tears from your eyes as you read, it will inspire hope and courage. I love this book for the deep experience of the narrators and for the powerful lessons it offers.”

$3.99

When Angels Fly

Book Trailer 

@MaryLSchmidt @Rave_ReviewsBC @welovememoirs @jvisi1001 @Pure_Flix @skydancerfilms @PureFlix @aloganwhite @DavidARWhite @AndreaDover

#ASMSG #RRBC #bookboost #IAN1 #memoir #Cancer #ChildhoodCancer #FF #RT #Inspirational #God #Jesus

I just finished reading Crazy! Hot! And Living On The Edge!! By Shirley Harris-Slaughter

I will start off with a blurb Harris-Slaughter wrote for Amazon. “Imagine experiencing emotions that have you questioning your sanity. Your body gets overheated at the least bit of excitement and you scramble to find a fan or some air. Or you find yourself in the throes of a panic attack and can’t understand how to shut it off, so you are filled with anxiety wondering when the next one is coming. What if every time you take a drug you experience side-effects that you are warned about on the label? The title was conceived in my mind after I thought over all the situations I had found myself in, how I got out of them, and the effect all of this had on my overall physical and mental well-being.”

While I was reading I found myself relating to Harris-Slaughter in different ways and multiple levels, both personally and as a registered nurse. This book benefits everyone, healthy or not. Tips on relaxation and proper diet are great. I would be remiss if I didn’t write that Vitamin D doesn’t come directly from the sun. To put it simply, our own bodies produce Vitamin D when we are to exposed our sun, the ultraviolet B rays to be exact. If you are on Coumadin (Warfarin), then you do need to check with your doctor regarding foods you can or cannot have regarding vegetables and fruit. One example is grapefruit – this fruit will increase your bleeding time, and potential worst case scenario is a brain bleed. A few of the hardships Harris-Slaughter writes about are similar to ones of my own, both in relationships and in health. That said, everyone can use tips Harris-Slaughter writes about to help reduce stress and therefore panic. Benefits in keeping ones colon healthy are true as well. I know this first hand and can relate. Grief over loss of one’s brother (in Harris-Slaughter’s case two brothers) compounds stress. Harris-Slaughter decided to do what she could to make her own life and her body feel better, and she mixes traditional medicine with natural medicine. I am in agreement with her on this approach. Like Harris-Slaughter wrote “The bottom line is that, you must deal with stress before it deals with you.” Bravo to Harris-Slaughter for having the courage to write about her personal problems and how she arrived at solutions that worked for her and the strength she shows in this book. Harris-Slaughter’s writing style flows easily and her characters are well described. Harris-Slaughter’s narration is excellent and this book rates five stars!

I just finished, and sent back to, New Apple Awards all of the information they needed for the rest of this year and next year as well, for posting on their Winners page. Not only does this include our memoir and associated links and materials, also included is my upcoming radio show with Vicki Drane Speaks, and my radio show with Carol Graham. Our certificate will be in the mail soon.

As soon as the complete list of awards winners are posted on New Apple’s website, they will begin tweet blasting blurbs about the winning selections, and they are putting together banner ads that will be placed throughout their site creating cross links to our memoir.

That memoir is, of course, When Angels Fly