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
Cook Delicious, Healthy Food That Actually Makes You Feel Better With The Recipes In My Pinewood Kitchen
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Mee McCormick understands only too well the importance of healthy food, having watched her single mother suffer with a host of debilitating auto-immune diseases, some of which she inherited, that led her to make the decision in her mid-twenties to change her own fate. Today, chef and author Mee McCormick is an expert who healed herself of Crohn’s disease, gut issues, and other immune system challenges with whole food recipes when doctors couldn’t help her.
Offering microbiome-friendly meals with a Southern spin, My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure, is a follow-up cookbook to her wildly successful, life-enhancing My Kitchen Cure. Mee is living proof that you can change your fate by what’s on your plate and her recipes will help heal your gut and fight a host of autoimmune diseases. With over 130 mouthwatering, whole foods recipes that can be customized for Keto, Paleo, or vegans, it truly is an “all-inclusive” eating plan for everyone in the family.
From smoothies, soups and salads, to dinners and desserts, every recipe in the book is gluten-free and gut-friendly. Mee has since forged the way for a new kind of hospitality: a fully-inclusive table where everyone can eat delicious Southern comfort classics without sacrificing taste, regardless of even the most severe food allergies or dietary restrictions – all while stressing the importance of intestinal health and how to improve your own gut microbiome. Her book shows us which foods are nutritional powerhouses and which ones we must avoid, and how to eat real food every day without breaking the bank.
Mee McCormick is a rising Southern culinary and wellness innovator, restaurateur, author, TV cooking personality, farmer, rancher, wife and mother. She splits her time between Nashville and nearby Nunnelly, Tennessee; a tiny, unincorporated community in Hickman County; home to her biodynamic farm and restaurant Pinewood Kitchen & Mercantile – that is unique in that every meal is created with the intention to serve everyone with the same deliciousness, regardless of dietary restrictions. In fact, some members of the community drive hours to get a taste of her farm-to-table cuisine and her mouthwatering Pinewood’s Grain-Free Fried Chicken!
Mee authored her first cookbook My Kitchen Cure, which led to wild success and a book deal with HCI for her second cookbook, My Pinewood Kitchen, published in April 2020. She frequently appears on Today in Nashville, and she participates in nationally-recognized food festivals and events, spreading the same level of care and hospitality to audiences everywhere that she has become known for throughout the state of Tennessee. Visit: www.meemccormick.com or www.pinewoodkitchenandmercantile.com.
My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure/130+ Crazy Delicious, Gluten-Free Recipes to Reduce Inflammation and Make Your Gut Happy By Mee McCormick HCI BOOKS / $26.95 ISBN: 9780757323522 Available wherever books are sold
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
To Live or Maybe Not Takes Readers On Adventurous Ride With Musician Gary Revel
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Musician and historian Gary Revel fully expects readers to say, “No way this could be true,” as they peruse the pages of his colorful memoir, To Live or Maybe Not.
“Don’t worry, I feel the same way when I remember some things I have done in my life,” he quips in the book’s prologue.
Part coming-of-age and part adventurous road trip, To Live or Maybe Not begins in Florala, Alabama, near the Florida state line in 1949. Readers who experienced the nomadic, hippie culture of the ’60s and ’70s will be overcome with nostalgia, as Revel takes a long, winding stroll down a memory lane paved with colorful characters and unforgettable situations. We follow Revel through his unusual upbringing, his high school days and his US Navy service during Vietnam.
Most people associate Revel with his accomplishments in the music industry, and it was after his honorable discharge from the Navy that he found himself in Hollywood, California, where his music career blossomed. He eventually traveled back across the country to New York City, Memphis and Nashville. Revel includes entertaining anecdotes from his music career and his pivot toward family life before his life took yet another turn and he began his investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
To Live or Maybe Not leaves off with Revel and his family back in Hollywood. It’s the end of the book but the beginning of more adventures and books to come.
Author Gary Revel was born in Florala, Alabama. After his parents divorced when he was just 5, music became a trusted companion, and he formed his first band when he was 15. After a long career in music, Revel found himself investigating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in association with the US Government’s House Select Committee on Assassinations. Revel continues to release and distribute music via his Jongleur Music company as well as develop motion pictures via his Jongleur Pictures company. He is also the author of My Angel from Heaven, Milestones, Grempk and Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction, his investigation into the life of Michael Jackson.
Only The Diligent Can Discover The Secret Of The Treasure Tree
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A severe famine has overtaken the village, putting most of the residents at risk of painful starvation. Matt Loman is a young man looking for a way to help his parents and the village survive. What he doesn’t know is that his selfless demeanor will lead him into a supernatural world where he will ultimately discover his true destiny. Along the way, Matt receives guidance from a sage named Jedidiah, the mentor who offers Matt the choice between honor and dishonor. Matt’s opportunities and potential are limitless, but will he choose the pathway to greatness or settle for a wasted life? Will he pass the tests of the Treasure Tree? Would you?
The Treasure Tree is the first installment in a new series from father-daughter authors Bruce and Vernae Ewing. Full of adventure, intrigue and “sweet romance,” The Treasure Tree is a wholesome story suitable for all ages. Matt’s adventures are seamlessly woven with valuable lessons from the Bible and will prompt readers to reflect upon their own choices and life journey.
Dr. Bruce Ewing has been a pastor for 48 years, with 28 of those spent as a military chaplain. He has been married to the love of his life, Valerie, for 47 years and is the father of two pre-cious daughters, Brecia and Vernae. Dr. Bruce is a Marriage and Family Relationship Con-sultant, teacher of biblical principles and teller of stories. His love for God and family is the catalyst for his writing. Love healed his own heart, so he tells stories to inspire others to dis-cover the same grace he has received.
Co-author and Dr. Ewing’s daughter Vernae Ewing Thompson holds a BS in Marketing and a MBA. She is married to singer/songwriter Lance Thompson. She is an actor, model, dancer, producer, director and business owner. She acquired her love for books and writing through her childhood experiences while listening to her father’s wild bedtime adventure stories and stories from the Bible.
Watch for the next installment in the Treasure Tree series, Coming Home. For more information, please visit www.thetreasuretreebook.com or connect with the authors on Instagram: @thetreasuretreebook; or on Facebook: thetreasuretreebook.
The Treasure Tree Publisher: High Bridge Books ISBN-10: 1940024609 ISBN-13: 978-1940024608 Available from Amazon.com and TreasureTree.com
Trish Stevens Karen Anderson 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 Teresa Hinojosa Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 832.569.5773 Direct 281.333.3507 Phone 832.569.5539 Fax [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
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Climb Aboard The Western Star And Witness The Adventures Of A Lifetime
The year is 1979, and 12-year-old Annie’s life has been upended. Her parents have announced that their home for the next nine months will be a 53-foot sailboat in the Atlantic Ocean. The thought of leaving behind her pets, friends and a life she loves—plus coexisting in close quarters with her older brother—has left Annie spiraling through a kaleidoscope of emotions. Heartbroken at first, Annie turns to writing, and through her detailed journal of daily life aboard the Western Star, she reveals a remarkable transformation.
Girl Sailing Aboard the Western Star is the engaging, poignant result of Annie’s chronicle of her family’s adventures in the Atlantic. Readers get to experience through Annie’s eyes the raw, unfiltered angst of a girl on the cusp of being a teenager, as she grapples with feelings of isolation, resentment and uncertainty. Page after page, hints of new awakenings rise to the surface, as Annie learns how to trim the sheet, raise the main sail and navigate using a sextant. She also learns about the stars and constellations and about the amazing creatures living under the boat. The journal takes readers along as she snorkels, scuba dives and jet skis her way through The Bahamas, the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands.
Drawn directly from Anderson’s real-life story of living on a sailboat with her family, this charming coming-of-age tale shares Annie’s day-by-day emotional evolution, as she discovers new worlds above and below the deep blue sea and lives the adventures of a lifetime.
Author RA Anderson is a wanderer who has lived all over, from California to Belize, and currently, home is a town called Rome, in Georgia that is! She grew up on horseback and sailboats—“the most amazing way to grow up!”
A lifelong passion for creative writing and photography became her life. Her award-winning photographs have been featured in table books, magazines and front-page news, and her writing has been published in magazines, poetry books and children’s books. Her children’s series include If Pets Could Talk and Iceland: The Puffin Explorers.
Three boys—her heart and soul—call her Mom. She and her husband—whom she calls her “strength and passion”—are recent empty-nesters, leaving them more time to travel.
Girl Sailing Aboard the Western Star Publisher: My Favorite Books Publishing Company, LLC Release Date: January 1, 2020 ISBN-10: 1950590038 ISBN-13: 978-1950590032 Available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.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
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Powerful True Story Chronicles Woman’s Triumph After Unspeakable Heartaches
In 1979, life changed dramatically for Soheila Adelipour and her family. Fleeing chaos and persecution in Iran following the Islamic revolution and landing in New York, this family found stability there and worked hard to achieve education, jobs, spouses and children. But life had yet to take its cruelest toll.
Chronicling their experiences in Dancing to the Darkest Light, Adelipour recounts how her only brother became a neurosurgeon while others followed different paths. But their successful relocation and the joy they felt over each triumph was soon shattered when the Adelipour’s second son, Stefan, was killed in a dorm room fire before his scheduled graduation from Boston University.
Adelipour channeled her grief into the foundation she established in his name. Soon after, her older sister had to undergo five brain surgeries that left her blind and deaf before ultimately claiming her life. The same week, their only brother who was supervising her care was diagnosed with leukemia. Adelipour gave him her bone marrow and 60 percent of her liver when his liver stopped functioning. Doctors ultimately announced he was cancer-free with a perfectly functioning liver, but the week he was to come home, he died from pneumonia.
How one perseveres under the weight of all this loss is at the core of Dancing to the Darkest Light. “When life plays different music, we have to be fluid and dance to the new tune,” Adelipour said.
Adelipour received her bachelor’s degree in business and her master’s degree in Art Gallery Management while her first two children were in diapers. She was involved with the World of Arts and Antiques in New York City and followed that by operating high-end gift stores.
For more information visit www.soheilaadelipour.com.
Dancing to the Darkest Light
Released: September 2019
ISBN-10: 173371264X
ISBN-13: 978-1733712644
Trish Stevens Terri Lynn Polk Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
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Drugs, Money And Cancer Challenge Ultimately Transform Texas Woman
Amy Herrig loves dogs, the Dallas Cowboys, her husband and, of course, her family. You might find her cooking up a gourmet meal, reading a good book or discussing the latest movie she’s seen. She’s as American as apple pie, and one would assume that her life has been a series of successes. Except it hasn’t.
In her memoir No More Dodging Bullets, Herrig recounts her struggle with heroin addiction during her teenage years and, as an adult, an addiction to money. She and her father were the successful owners of a number of businesses, raking in the profits and enjoying all that it could buy when the government slapped them with a lawsuit that threatened to strip them of everything, including their freedom. During that four-year battle, she was served with another notice: she had breast cancer.
Her struggles, she says, have served to provide her with a new perspective and have deepened her faith. “All the bullets I’ve dodged and all the things that have happened made me realize how lucky I am to be alive,” she says.
Today, Herrig volunteers regularly and has founded the nonprofit, Hopeful Tuesdays, to assist the homeless in her community. She and her family enjoy spending time in Alaska, helping to run the family business there and spending time hiking and fishing. A self-professed foodie, she’s frequently hosting dinner parties and delving into meaningful conversations with her close circle of friends.
No More Dodging Bullets
Publisher: Inspired Forever Book Publishing
Available from Amazon.com
ISBN-13:978-1-948903-17-2
ISBN-10:1-948903-17-2
