Terminal Illness Causes Family Secret to Surface in Heartfelt Story of Severed Trust and Forgiveness
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Natalia Foster is the family secret that her biological father, Joe Russo, was supposed to take to his grave. But when Natalia learns that Joe, an Italian man she’s never met, is dying of a terminal illness, she’s forced to confront the truth of her parentage and make a difficult decision: Should she remain in the shadows or make herself known to Joe and his family?
The Wool Over Their Eyes, from Dione Martin, is an authentic, heartfelt story about complex family dynamics and the emotions that must be unpacked when long-buried secrets push their way to the surface.
Joe’s immediate family, including his devoted wife, Rosa, know nothing of Natalia’s existence. Her gray eyes — exactly like Joe’s — and simple math prove that Natalia is a product of Joe’s infidelity, making a mockery of Rosa’s marriage. If his family discovers the whole truth — that Natalia is not only illegitimate but also Black — family bonds will be shattered.
In the midst of Natalia’s family drama and pain, another life-changing decision emerges. Natalia must choose between two loves — a long-lost one and a new one. Her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Davis, who captured her heart and connected with her soul, resurfaces. But she meets a handsome doctor, David Duplessis, who’d cared for her father. Just as the relationship begins to blossom, David commits an act that severs her trust and sends her spiraling further into her dark abyss.
The Wool Over Their Eyes is loosely based on Martin’s personal experiences. She drew upon her own memories and insights of growing up without her biological father and being betrayed in her own marriage to inform her narrative and give her characters depth and authenticity.
“I wrote The Wool Over Their Eyes for fatherless girls, for women who have been betrayed, for those who have been rejected because of their race (or otherness) and for families that have been torn apart by secrets, lies and deception,” Martin reflects. “Healing is possible – through change, through empathy, through faith and through forgiveness.”
Author Dione Martin was born and raised in New Orleans, where she spent much of her childhood and teen years reading. She earned her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Minnesota-Morris and her Master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a senior communications director at Brinker International. She lives in Dallas with her two daughters and enjoys running, cooking, performing arts and attempting DIY projects. The Wool Over Their Eyes is her debut novel, and she is working on her next one.
For more information about the author, please visit www.dione-martin.com or follow her on Twitter (@DioneMartin30) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dionehmartin).
The Wool Over Their Eyes Publisher: Inspire on Purpose Release Date: March 5, 2021 ISBN-13: 978-1948903530 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Carrie Myers Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Betrayal, Infidelity Lead to Murder in Crimes and Passion
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Elizabeth Knoebel expected her appointment that night to provide another juicy entry in her private diary, aptly entitled Sexual Rites. But a shadowy figure, watching from the edge of her property, has other plans. Instead of an evening of pleasure, Elizabeth is confronted by someone who wants to put an end to her destructive behavior — and succeeds.
Crimes and Passion is the gripping mystery-thriller from Jeffrey S. Stephens, effortlessly weaving suspense and sensuality with psychological undercurrents.
Elizabeth’s murder investigation is turned over to Lieutenant Robbie Whyte, a former New York City cop now serving on the force in affluent Fairfield County, Connecticut. Whyte understands that the appearances of the privileged gentry are often far removed from reality, and this certainly proves to be true in the case of Elizabeth Knoebel, who Whyte discovers was under the care of psychotherapist Dr. Randi Conway.
When Whyte finds Elizabeth’s diary, Sexual Rites, he uncovers explicit details of her erotic adventures with various men, many of whom may have been the husbands of the women in her therapy group. Elizabeth was a predator bent on seducing and, in some instances, humiliating these men, obsessed with a perverse mission that Whyte believes led to her murder.
The secrets of Crimes and Passion are peeled away one layer at a time as readers meet an assortment of Dr. Conway’s patients — one of whom may have been Elizabeth’s killer. With Dr. Conway unwilling to betray her patients’ confidences, Whyte’s investigation gets complicated, putting the therapist herself in more danger as Whyte gets closer to the truth, and to the doctor herself.
With a pacing that mirrors Whyte’s frantic search for the truth, Crimes and Passion keeps readers guessing as each revelation unfolds. And along the way, readers are shown glimpses into the dynamics that cause marriages to succeed, to fail or sometimes, to end in tragedy.
Author Jeffrey S. Stephens lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is also the author of the Jordan Sandor espionage thrillers, beginning with Targets of Deception and, most recently, Rogue Mission. Crimes and Passion is the first in a planned series featuring Lieutenant Robbie Whyte.
Theology and Politics Collide in Reality-Inspired Cold War Thriller
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When Pope John Paul I died of an apparent heart attack in September 1978—just 33 days after his election—the United States and the Soviet Union went on high alert.
The United States could loosen communism’s stranglehold on Eastern Europe if a non-Italian successor is chosen to lead the Catholic Church. Conversely, the Soviets are determined to keep an Italian in the papacy. A dangerous competition ensues as the two countries aim to further their own interests while limiting those of the other party. CIA and KGB agents infiltrate the Vatican as Cold War tensions mount amid the backdrop of a hastily arranged conclave to elect a successor.
Meanwhile, back in the states, army officer Carter Caldwell is sent to persuade American cardinals to wield their influence in the conclave. He meets beautiful CIA analyst Katherine O’Connor. Carter can’t get her out of his mind, although plenty of problems demand his attention.
Before the conclave is over, the Sistine Chapel will be bugged, a spy in the Vatican’s kitchen will be murdered, and CIA and KGB operatives will exchange gunfire. As the most important figure in the Catholic world is finally chosen, one question remains: Will he survive long enough to become pope?
Conclave from Tom Davis weaves an in-depth thriller where Catholic theology and Cold War politics collide. The result is a gripping, fictionalized retelling of what might have happened as these real-world events unfolded.
Was the election of non-Italian Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II in October 1978 somehow orchestrated through the US’s covert influence on the papal conclave? Today, his election is viewed as a turning point in the Cold War—just 13 years later, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the Warsaw Pact disintegrated.
Author Tom Davis is a retired army officer and corporate executive. After graduating from West Point, he had numerous assignments and experiences in the army, including commanding an artillery battalion in Operation Desert Storm, being a key advisor to a Secretary of the Army and several Army Chiefs of Staff, and serving as an Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at West Point, where he taught International Relations, Political Science, Economics and Middle Eastern Affairs. He served a brief tour in the Department of State as part of the Palestinian Autonomy negotiating team, where he heard a story that inspired Conclave.
After retiring from the army, Davis had a successful career with General Dynamics Corpora-tion. He has written numerous articles and editorials for major newspapers on a wide range of topics, and has published major studies on federal budgeting and the management of the nation’s national security programs. His previous book, 40 Kilometers Into Lebanon, analyzes the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He holds degrees from the US Military Academy at West Point and Harvard University. He retired from General Dynamics in 2013, and is currently the Forrestal-Richardson Industry Chair at Defense Acquisition University and an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School.
Conclave has captured the attention of an independent film company based in Germany and has been converted into a screenplay for future development into a six-episode mini-series.
Conclave Publisher: CreateSpace ISBN-10: 1534706615 ISBN-13: 978-1534706613 Available from Amazon.com and www.tomdavisauthor.com
Trish Stevens Anna Jones Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Science And Love Hold Hands In New Quasi-Fiction Release: What Love Feels Like
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Love and science may seem like strange bedfellows, but in a new quasi-fiction collaboration by authors Dave Cunningham and C.K. Tyler, the two subjects dance together in a strange kind of harmony. Science turns its focus on love and tries to find a practical answer to a mystical question: What does love feel like?
Luke and Dawn, both in their mid-60’s, met via Match.com and fell in love. Their passionate, storybook romance ended when Luke died of brain cancer. Dawn returned home from the funeral to the shock of hearing Luke’s voice and seeing his face on her computer. His brain had been uploaded into her PC before he died, part of an experiment for which he volunteered – but never told her about.
Luke existed in virtual reality, and researchers asked Dawn to participate in the experiment by becoming wired into the same reality, where she could experience Luke and his magical, “anything is possible” universe with all five senses. As they did in life, the virtual Luke and Dawn explored the meaning of love: Is it something rare and mystical, or just chemical reactions in the brain? In fact, these questions were the focus of the experiment.
What is new love like in one’s golden years? Can a digital copy of the human brain feel love? Can “old dogs” learn new tricks about love? What happens to a person who craves love but can no longer receive it?
These and other questions are explored in a series of real love letters and the storyline of What Love Feels Like: The Dawn of Human 2.0, a tale that’s relatable to lovers of all ages.
Authors Dave Cunningham and C.K. Tyler live in the Pacific Northwest. Visit their website at www.whatlovefeelslike.net
What Love Feels Like: The Dawn of Human 2.0 Publisher: John Hunt Publishing, Ltd. ISBN: 978 1 78904 371 6 ISBN: 978 1 78904 372 3 (ebook) Available from Amazon.com and johnhuntpublishing.com
Trish Stevens Mandy Williams Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Locked in the Endless Loop of Foster Care, One Desperate Boy Struggles to Break Free
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Silas Dillon enjoys a full life now. At 40 years old, he’s a married father of four, foster father of six and minister to his church’s devoted flock. The joyful background noises of his houseful of children is a stark contrast to his lonesome beginning, when his birth mother, in the throes of heroin withdrawal, abandoned him the day after he was born.
Silas Dillon of Cary County is the sobering story of Silas Dillon, who ping-ponged between eight foster homes and two attempts at re-placement with his birth mother by the time he was 14 years old.
Told with gripping authenticity by author Cliff Schrage, Silas Dillon of Cary County begins with Silas’ birth on a frigid winter night in the fictional suburb of Cary Island in the New York Bay. His life becomes a series of glimpses into different realities — some harsh and grossly neglectful; some unapologetically abusive; and some well-intentioned but unprepared. Each one serves as a gross reminder of the fractured, overwhelmed foster care system. Silas is repeatedly transplanted from house to house, but none of them becomes a home. And occasionally, his mother does just enough to satisfy a lenient judge, and he’s returned to her world of drug abuse and prostitution
Damaged, fragile and without hope, he draws the attention of conscientious young social worker Molly Fresh, and this sets the stage for Silas to one day find the nurturing family and promising future that every child deserves.
Silas Dillon of Cary County is a candid look inside a typical foster care system that outwardly champions for the best interest of the children, but in reality, caters to the see-sawing whims of biological parents. Readers will witness Silas’ growing loneliness, alienation, anger and self-destructive nature, as he struggles to cope through his youth and early adulthood. Silas Dillon represents hundreds of thousands of young ones locked in a broken system. Will he be one of the lucky few who break free?
Author Cliff Schrage is a two-time published novelist — A Fruitful Field and Silas Dillon of Cary County — and published poet: Broken Prose, Spoken Poems. He has worked as a chaplain, and he taught high school English for 33 years. He is the father of eight children — two biological and six adopted (foreign and domestic) — and has endured the trauma of losing a child to a terminal illness. He has been married to his wife, Sherry, for more than 40 years.
Silas Dillon of Cary County Publisher: Morgan James Publishing ISBN-10: 1683502833 ISBN-13: 978-1683502838 Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and MorganJamesPublishing.com
Trish Stevens Sophie Carter Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Trish Stevens Terri Lynn Polk Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
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Out Of Darkness Puts The Bite Back In Young Adult Vampire Genre
Brian Porter’s mysterious, sudden onset obesity makes him an easy target for school bullies—physically and emotionally. Even his one-time best friend has joined in the bullying, teasing Brian relentlessly since his unexpected metamorphosis. Brian hates what he sees in his reflection, too. He hopes that summer break will offer him a reprieve.
On the first day of summer, Brian’s former best friend, Chris, challenges Brian to enter the neighborhood’s scariest house. The trade-off? Chris promises not to tease Brian all summer, and it’s a chance for Brian to impress his new female friend, Sarah. But there’s a dark, toothy reason behind the home’s evil reputation, and Brian and Chris are about to discover it.
Out of Darkness from M. A. Richards puts the bite back in young adult horror, with evil vampires who fight on behalf of Satan to enslave humanity and werewolves who are warriors, fighting for God to keep humanity free.
When Chris and Brian uncover a pair of vampires in the neighborhood “haunted house,” Chris is captured, and Brian finds himself fighting to survive a vampire attack—a battle he’d lose if not for a daring rescue by the vampires’ ancient enemies: werewolves. To save him from a deadly wound, Brian’s lycanthropic allies turn him into one of their own.
Now, Brian is a powerful young werewolf with a strong new body. He’s also become part of an ancient war to protect mankind. It’s his destiny to revitalize the Holy Warriors, a once great werewolf order sworn to protect the world from vampire domination. But the order’s leaders have become corrupt—and worse, they want Brian dead. He’d prefer to keep living.
Author M. A. Richards grew up in the country in Oregon, the fourth of five boys, and enjoyed watching monster movies. He attended the former Ricks College (now Brigham Young University—Idaho) and spent most of his life in the US Marine Corps. He currently lives in Texas with his family. Richards was recently diagnosed with a deadly disease called sarcoidosis. He wrote Out of Darkness for his children. To learn more, please visit https://www.authormarichards.com/.
Out of Darkness
ISBN-10: 151469008X
ISBN-13: 978-15146900867
Available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
Trish Stevens Kim Weiss Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com (800) 851-9100 Ext. 9212
Are You Raising Or Teaching A Bully? This enlightening children’s book shows that the key to creating a generation of kinder, more resilient kids is to stop the first bully they encounter—THEMSELVES!
Words have power. The words others say to us can either lift us as high as the clouds, or drop us down like a crashing plane. But what about the words we tell ourselves? What about that constantly running inner voice? In truth, what we say to ourselves impacts us even more than what others say to us.
“Pigtails are for babies!” she snarled at me. Her words hurt more than the time I broke my arm. I quickly untied my hair. I wore my hair down for the rest of the school year.
That was the first time I met the Big Bad Bully … She called me names like “fatty,” “piglet” and “ugly.” Things are worse now that I am in the 6th grade. Even when I don’t see her, I can always hear the whispers, the giggles, and the growls.
So goes the mesmerizing story of a young girl who grows up with a voice that ridicules and demeans her. In the end, we discover that her tormentor is staring back at her every day in the mirror.
Featuring stunning artwork–and small enough to fit in a backpack–this profound book is a tool for engaging children, young adolescents, parents, and caring adults about the impressions they make on themselves with their thoughts and self-talk. Included are powerful workbook exercises and resources for implementing healthy self-esteem habits that can last a lifetime.
About the Authors:
Jack Canfield is an award-winning speaker and an internationally recognized leader in personal development and peak performance strategies. As the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, he’s taught millions of individuals his formulas for success. He is the author and co-author of more than 150 books (including 66 bestsellers) with more than 100 million copies in print in 47 languages around the world. His bestselling book, The Success Principles has been hailed as the new self-improvement classic.
Miriam Laundry is a sought-after speaker at schools nationwide. She is the author of I CAN Believe in Myself, I CAN Make a Difference, and I CAN Be Me. On an average year, she visits 100 schools speaking to 50,000 children. She set a Guinness World Record on May 7, 2014 for the largest online book discussion in a 24-hour period. More than 100,000 children and adults participated in this record with the purpose of promoting positive mental health. Her books have also received numerous book awards including a Mom’s Choice Award and a Readers Favorite International Award. Miriam was also awarded the 2014 Winspiration Award.
The Big, Bad Bully ISBN-13: 9780757323089 ISBN-10: 0757323081 On Sale: 10/29/2019 Hardcover 48 pages, Juvenile Fiction
