BEYOND THE CODE OF CONDUCT by K.M. Daughters

Closing Molly and Danny’s love story in Against Doctors Orders, we sighed and relished their happily ever after. Bobbie Leighton, Molly’s live in house keeper and caregiver to her daughter, Amy, was on the mend after suffering an attack from a crazed killer at the book’s conclusion. We trusted that she’d deal with her estrangement from the younger Sullivan brother, Joe, who had not only captured her interest, but had also captured that serial killer who had threatened her life.

But Bobbie lingered in our minds. And so did her love interest, Joe Sullivan. Wounded in the line, would Joe be bitter that he’d lost his career as the price for his bravery? Would Bobbie remain in Molly’s household as a caregiver, or would her brush with mortality change her life forever, too?

Those open-ended questions plagued us. What if Bobbie did change her life? She had toyed with aspiring to a law enforcement career on her way to a fateful dinner with Joe when the Henna Housewife Killer had attacked her. What if that didn’t short-circuit her career, but instead reinforced her desire to protect and serve? How could Joe Sullivan accept an inactive role in the homicide department? Wouldn’t he always strive to resurrect his career despite the unlikelihood that he could convince his superiors that he was fit for active duty?

Beyond The Code of Conduct became an inevitable necessity for us! We had to find out the answers to those questions and we were eager to know what happened to Joe and Bobbie. Ironically Bobbie excelled in law enforcement while Joe’s career stalled. Wouldn’t it be fun to see what that meant when they were reunited? And to make things more interesting, wouldn’t it be dangerous to cast them into an undercover operation where major life interests were at stake for both of them and see what happens?

Exploring this premise and writing Joe’s edgy character compared to the sweet, easygoing man depicted in Book 1 was more than fun. Bobbie had matured into an accomplished woman, able to deflect Joe’s barbs and keep her eye on the target. But could she remain impervious to Joe’s charms and forget the sweet man under his eye patch and chip on the shoulder exterior?

We don’t know if questions as a central basis for a story are common plot drivers for all writers, but for us, Book 2 in our series translated into answers. Bobbie and Joe could finally play out their beliefs that the story in Book 1 was really all about them.

K.M. Daughters is the multi-published writing team of sisters Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their penname is dedicated to their parents Katherine and Michael, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. Their author career began in January 2008 with contracts from The Wild Rose Press for an inspirational romance, Jewel of the Adriatic, and a romantic suspense novel, Against Doctors Orders, Book #1 in The Sullivan Boys Series. Beyond The Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the series, is rated 4-stars, compelling, page turner, by Donna M. Brown, Reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews (June 2009 Issue #304). A contemporary romance, Past, Present and Forever is available in E-book from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Residing in Illinois and New Jersey, the sisters continue to work on The Sullivan Boys Series. Book #3 will release later this year and two additional books are anticipated to complete the series. You can visit their website at www.kmdaughters.com. Follow them at http://twitter.com/kmdaughters!

Editor’s note: Leave a comment on K.M. Daughters’ blog stops during her virtual book tour in June and you could win a free virtual book tour if you are a published author or a $50 gift certificate if you’re non-published.

SEX AND CHOCOLATE by Reese Johnson

I have lived in a very different environment than the majority of people. I was sentenced to 99 years in prison for robbing a white female motel clerk when I was nineteen years old. In that kind of setting a person sees a lot of different situations. Homosexuality is very prevelant and often, even those who aren’t gay wind up being someone’s girlfriend either for the protection it affords them, or because sometimes they can’t handle being alone. Often people coming into prison are gay and proud of it. These are the ones who like telling stories about their lives on the outside, and they’re the ones I’ve taken story lines from.

Sex & Chocolate is a novella about an interracial couple, Jim & Steve, who have just gotten together. Jim’s ex, Alan, unexpectedly comes back into Jim’s life to tell him he has AIDS, and the story continues with how Jim copes with Alan’s news and how Steve supports his new lover through that period in his life.

Although I was surprised to read that homoerotic romance is a top seller among straight women, I didn’t write Sex & Chocolate solely for titillation purposes, although there is a lot of that in the story as well. I wanted to write something that also had meaning and maybe get someone, whether gay or not, to think about the consequences of their actions. Unprotected sex can kill you, and AIDS does not differentiate between gays and straights. Even though AIDS might be an extreme as far as some readers are concerned, unprotected sex can also cause unwanted pregnancy, syphillis, gonherreha, herpes, hepatitis, and various other STD’s. And if I can write an entertaining story that also carries a message, then I’ve succeeded in what I intended to do in the first place.

Although I am published and have a new release entitled Soul Searchers, coming soon, I am new at the writing game. The best advice I can give anyone is to keep trying and don’t give up no matter how many rejections you get. I read once that Stephen King had over 700 rejections before he was published for the first time! Now that’s perseverance!

Reese Johnson is the author of Sex and Chocolate. You can visit his website here.

THEY PLOTTED REVENGE AGAINST AMERICA by Abe F. March

Where did I get the inspiration to write the book?

The unresolved dilemma in the Middle East constantly bothered me. Why wasn’t something done to resolve the situation? America has the power to insist and enforce UN Resolutions but refused to act in that manner. They coached, expecting the two sides to sort things out and come to an agreement. That sounded reasonable, but it didn’t work and the violence continued. Who is retaliating against whom was referenced in my first book, “To Beirut and Back.”

The invasion of Iraq was the catalyst. Although historians are now writing about what was in fact known before the invasion, that information was ignored. The real reason for the invasion was for Iraq’s large oil reserves. Israel was in favor of the invasion supported the claim of “harboring terrorists” as well as possessing WDM’s. It tended to deflect criticism of their actions against the Palestinians and the fact that they had their own arsenal of WDM’s.

I began to write and then placed the manuscript aside on several occasions asking myself why I would want to get involved in this mess. I’m retired. I don’t need the hassle or the criticism that would be forthcoming, so why bother? It’s not my problem. The realization that no politician would place his neck on the line to do the right thing by enforcement meant that the pressure would only come from the American people. And for that to happen, they must somehow feel some pain or the possibility of it. The assault on the twin towers on 9/11 placed the blame squarely on Al Quaida, however the root of the problem was again ignored. If the body suffers pain, does one just take a pain killer for relief or try to find out what caused the pain? The cause of the problem has its roots in the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma and the wounds continue to fester.

I decided to finish the book and seek publication. If it can open the eyes of some people and make a difference that will affect change, then it will have been worth the effort.

How did I get it published?

I sent query letters to publishers and agents and got the normal rejections, “Not suitable for us,” etc. I then sent an inquiry to a small publisher, All Things That Matter Press, and they asked to see the manuscript. After review, they agreed to publish it.

For aspiring authors

It is helpful if you write about something where you have some special knowledge. A subject that excites you will be reflected in your writing. Once you have written the story, have someone review it for content and editing. I would suggest that you don’t use friends or relatives. You require a disinterested person who will be brutally honest.

Abe F. March is an international business consultant and author, living near Landau, Germany with his wife Gisela. An active retiree, he enjoys hiking and exploring the local vineyards and can also be heard singing with a regional men’s choir. Mr. March’s career has taken him around the world to work in many areas from his birthplace in the USA to Canada, Europe and the Middle East.

His first book, To Beirut and Back – An American in the Middle East, was published in 2006 and is a memoir of his adventures that took him to Lebanon in the 1970s. Mr. March grew up in York County, Pennsylvania on the family farm, and he served in the USAF from 1957-61. His business career got underway with the computing sciences division of IBM’s service bureau where he held positions as manager of administration and operations analyst. He later joined an international cosmetic company where he rapidly achieved top distributor status and was promoted to Vice President of Sales Development and Product Marketing Management, an opportunity which took him throughout the USA and into Canada, Greece, and Germany.

With international experience and an entrepreneurial spirit, Mr. March started his own importing business headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, for the distribution of cosmetics and toiletries to the Middle East markets. With an ease about him and a talent for developing business relationships, he also functioned as a locator of goods and services sought by Mid-Eastern clients before the civil war in Lebanon destroyed his successful business enterprise. Mr. March returned to the United States to start over, and was soon working on an international level once again. His subsequent work involved Swan Technologies, Inc., a personal computer manufacturer in West Germany, and back to the US to work with Stork NV, supporting a fleet of 1200 Foker Aircraft. He officially retired in 2001.

For more information please visit http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch

The Story Behind Blood Line by Rie McGaha

My husband used to drive big rigs cross country and one night he had a dream that he’d been attacked by a werewolf. He’s a big sci-fi fan! Anyway, as he was telling me the story, I thought, hey, this could be a book, so I started writing, asking him for more details and adding to it. Before I knew it, I had a book! I have always loved vampire and werewolf stories, but always felt werewolves got a bum rap, so my werewolves are different than any I’ve ever read about. They are intelligent human beings who just happen to have a little extra something whenever the moon is full. They’re also likable characters, tough when they have to be, and very, very sexy! I’ve also been working on the sequel, called Ancient Blood that delves into the life of one of the most lovable characters, Ganda. The reviews for Blood! Line have been awesome, but most of the comments are about Ganda and I am constantly being asked if her story continues, so the answer is Yes, it does!

Rie McGaha was born and raised in northern California along the shores of Humboldt County where her grandmother often took her to search for seashells and watch the humpback whales migration. Though her father was a bit of a gypsy and moved his family all over, Rie always enjoyed the trips back to Eureka, California where many of her 12 children and 23 grandchildren still live.

As a dreamer of dreams and being born with a a gypsy soul, Rie has lived all over the United States. Settling in SE Oklahoma with husband, Nathan, she enjoys a quiet life in the Kiamichi Wilderness where she takes in abused and neglected animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find them new homes. The ones that don’t find new homes remain with Rie and she currently has 18 dogs and 1 cat.

Between her husband, children, grandchildren and all of the animals, Rie tries to find a few moments to write. She is currently working on Ancient Blood, the sequel to Blood Line, and Caleb and Arion the second and third installments of the My Soul To Keep Trilogy. She also writes reviews for Romance Writers United.

For more information, visit Rie at www.riemcgaha.com or read her blog at http://riesreviews.blogspot.com/
www.youtube.com/NovelsByRie

The Story Behind Equality: The Quest for the Happy Marriage by Tim Kellis

My biggest influence, and the reason I have taken on the challenge of saving marriages, were my parents, who again just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. And their influence wasn’t because of anything they ever said to me, but what they did, stayed married. What makes this more important was they had the typical marriage of couples from their generation, full of fights, but they managed to stick it out. They taught me that divorce was not an option, that quitting was not the path to take.

My mom actually had my career mapped out when I was a kid to be a priest, something I took very seriously. I was an altar boy (no, I do not have any stories) and studied the bible intently. Although I haven’t read the bible since I was a kid I have used a lot of what I learned in my book. And then I discovered girls.

My taking on the marriage issue is a combination of both my professional and personal paths. Personally speaking, I’ve learned from the pain of what I’ve been through in past relationships, particularly the one that led to writing the book, what causes relationships to turn negative. After a successful career, and at the height of the market in 2000, I met the girl whom I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. We fell in love, got engaged, fought and tried to get help from a marital therapist. When I realized the therapist wasn’t really helping I decided to tackle the issue myself.

And I have had a very successful career. Although I grew up relatively poor, the son of a cab driver and a secretary, I put myself through engineering school, spent nine years in the communications equipment industry, got my MBA and landed on Wall Street, becoming the first semiconductor analyst to focus on the communications market.

Engineers have real difficulty dealing with illogical situations. So when I met the woman I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with and that relationship didn’t work out, my only real response was to try to figure out why. My engineering undergraduate degree is important for two reasons. The first is engineers do not understand things that are illogical, and going from planning on spending the rest of your life with someone to breaking up just didn’t make sense. And the second reason is engineers are taught problem solving, a big tool I used in writing the book.

The funny thing about this question is I was able to solve the problem not by having a successful relationship but by having an unsuccessful relationship. Plus I have come to realize that professional martial therapists are not really that interested in solving the problem. That would be bad for their business.

Included in the 100 books that went into the research for writing this one, were nearly 2 dozen relationship books. My joke on this issue is all of the books I read were non-fiction books, with the lone exception of the relationship books. My first title concept was “Men Are From Earth, Women Are From Earth” to demonstrate just this point. Last time I checked we were all from the same planet.

Every time I bring this issue up a critic points out that the book is just a metaphor to explain that men and women are simply different, so let me clarify before anyone asks. Yes biologically speaking we are different. One of the biggest objectives of my book is to refute Freud’s biology theory that we are born with our brains and, well there is really nothing you can do about mental problems, a major stumbling block to solving our marriage problem. This is actually the first relationship book written from a mental perspective, something I find humorous considering psyche is defined as “the mental or psychological structure of a person”.

But the most significant point on the metaphor with John Gray’s Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, is the concept of the book is supposed to promote couples to appreciate their differences. Now this may make sense intellectually but it is very challenging to apply practically.

One of the biggest lessons we learned with our racial struggles was a concept referred to as “separate but equal”, a term coined by the Supreme Court in the late 19th century to continue to justify the separation of the races. And we saw the results of that concept. If you promote in any way the notion that you can keep 2 separate and that this will somehow make you equal then you cannot find balance in your relationship.

Equality is only possible when you bring those differences together in harmony, through what Dr. Martin Luther King referred to as “civil disobedience”. Manage conflicts by disagreeing, just be civil about it.

If you would like to read the result of all of this effort please visit the following link for a review of the book that was just posted last week:

http://www.bookreviewers.org/equality.htm

Renowned Wall Street analyst Tim Kellis takes on what could be considered society’s biggest problem today: divorce. The journey that led to him tackling such a significant issue was both personal and professional. After a successful career that eventually landed him on Wall Street, Tim met what he thought was the girl of his dreams, only to see that relationship end with bitterness and anger. The journey included work with a marital therapist, and after he discovered the therapist wasn’t really helping decided to tackle the issue himself.

Ambition and a strong aptitude for math helped lead Kellis to discover how to make relationships work. His math skills led directly to an engineering degree, nine years in the telecommunications industry, an MBA in finance, and finally on to Wall Street, where he became the very first semiconductor analyst to focus on the communications market.

After publishing a 300-page initiation piece entitled Initiating Coverage of the Semiconductor Industry: Riding the Bandwidth Wave, Kellis became a leading semiconductor analyst at one of the biggest firms on Wall Street. The experience he gained as a Wall Street analyst provided an excellent backdrop for becoming an expert on relationships, and resulted in his relationship book entitled Equality: The Quest for the Happy Marriage.

You can visit his website at www.happyrelationships.com or his blog at www.happymarriages.com.

CYNTHIA AND CONSTANTINE by Kathye Quick

Believe it or not, the concept for Cynthia and Constantine sprung up during a season of American Idol. I work for county government and once a month 7 of us get together to have lunch. We call it the Lusty Ladies Lunch Group. We keep in touch via email.

During this particular season, Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis were competing. Two of the Lusties choose these guys as their favorites. While we didn’t agree on who should win that season, we did all agree that they had ‘romance book cover’ hair; the kind of hair Knights in Shinning Armor had in days of yore.

Well one thing lead to another and we began to serialize a story about them. We named our hero Constantine and his lady was Cynthia, one of the Lusties. We gave Sir Constantine a brother, Sir Braeden and his lady is named Jane, another Lustie.

The story just evolved on a weekly basis with email scenes going back and forth until I had 100 pages.

We thought that was the end of the adventure until I decided to flesh out Constantine and Cynthia’s story and turn it into a 55,000-word book. I was fortunate enough to have the Wild Rose Press express interest in the novel and then publish it.

And yes, you’ll either love this or hate this, but the antagonist of the story is named after one of the American Idol Judges. I’m sure you can guess which.

There will be a sequel to this book called Jane and Braeden because in the course of fleshing out the story so it would be long enough for a book, Jane’s character became an integral part of the book and now we need to hear her story also.

Kathye Quick has been writing since the sisters in Catholic School gave her a #2 pencil and some paper with ruled lines.

From stories about her family for Writing Week in fifth grade, to becoming editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper, The Blueprint, to 1999 when she realized her dream of being published, Kathye’s love of the written word span numerous genres.

She writes contemporary and career romances for Avalon Books, romantic comedy and historicals for Wings Press, urban fantasy for Cerridwen Press, and most recently medieval historical romances for Wild Rose Press.

Kathye is one of the founders of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a group launched in January 2009 to help writers of all fiction genres in their journey to publication. She had been a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America since 1988 and considered it an honor to have been NJRW President in 1992 and 2001.

Kathye’s fifth hardcover romance for Avalon books, ‘Tis the Season, a holiday romance complete with Santa Claus, a sleigh ride and a New England snowfall earned a 2006 HOLT Medallion nomination.

Her debut historical romance, Daughters of the Moon, from Wings e-Press has been heralded as a flawless glimpse into the world of the ancient Greeks.

Writing as P. K. Eden with writing partner, Patt Mihailoff, Firebrand, an urban fantasy based on the fall of the Garden of Eden, has won two Reviews Choice Awards and many five-star ratings.

In August 2009, Avalon Books will publish her three-book contemporary romance series entitled Grandmother’s Rings. The books, Amethyst (August 2009), Sapphire (December 2009) and Citrine (early 2010) follow the Archer family siblings in their quest to find their soul mates using rings given to them by their Grandmother. Kathye used the birthstones from her family for her inspiration for this series.

While writing romances has been her dream for many years, the book of Kathye’s heart, is a non-fiction work entitled, Hi Mom, How Are Things in Heaven, a book that developed after the death of her mother and deals with coping with grief though humor. She is currently still working on the concept for this book.

In her “other” life, Kathye works for Somerset County government. She is married with three sons. You can visit Kathye’s website at www.kathyequick.com.

THE PYEWIZ AND THE AMAZING MOBILE PHONE by Herbert Howard Jones

Certainly it is true that when I wrote The Pyewiz and the Amazing Mobile Phone, it was partially inspired by a tradesman who was a pirate in all but profession. But there has always been an inner need in me to fulfill a long held idea, that writing a book might in fact be therapeutic. I discovered that whenever I wrote, be it a letter or an essay, I found that it eased certain mental tensions. The act of writing seemed to calm my mind, and fulfilled a part of me which would ordinarily seek activity in the real world. I discovered that it satisfied my need for action. It also clarified certain thoughts that I had about things in general. As my father once said, one finds inspiration in the act of writing. So I wondered, what would happen if I committed myself to a bigger project, a science fiction or fantasy project perhaps. Would it lead to some kind of personal epiphany? Would I discover the real me lurking behind my creation? Science fiction fantasy has the latitude to take the individual anywhere he wants. So I set about looking for a ‘big’ subject, a possible adventure story for young adults. Something that would fill 400 pages, which would equate to roughly a year in my life, if I were to write one page a day. Well one day, I found my big subject in the form of a ‘big’ workman, a man who came to shift some garbage for me. He had a couple of helpmates with him, and they all immediately struck me as being slightly old fashioned, anachronistic, people who might well have been around 300 years ago. They dressed in unfashionable clothing, and spoke in a kind of English ‘dialect’ all of their own. It was English but with a quaint East Sussex twang to it, filled with home spun colloquialisms which were without the usual bad language associated with workman. It was colourful and rich. I was spell bound! Then it hit me. Pirates! Yes, these guys could definitely have been pirates from another time and place, pretending to be workman! They became the inspiration for my book. I even took their names for my characters, Terry and Will. The big guy was to become my ‘Pyewiz’. After I paid them for the work they had done, I knew that they would continue to live on in my mind. And so almost immediately, the concept of the book took shape. I also felt that I wanted to take my science fiction fantasy adventure story not only to the ends of the earth, but out into space itself. Perhaps to Pluto. So I settled on Charon, one of Pluto’s moons and created a world for the Pyewiz there. I also gave him creature comforts, stem cells, a personal robot servant, galleons, muskets, all the piratical paraphenalia, but it was a world without water, only snow and ice. And to cap it all, I decided that the Pyewiz should have something special, a prop, a wonder widget, something unique to him – an Amazing Mobile Phone!

Herbert Howard Jones was born in London in 1955, and went to Eccles Hall, a boarding school in Norfolk. He left after a couple of years and attended IIford County High School in Barkingside where he where he met Bram Tovey, now conductor of the Vancouver Symphony orchestra, and pianist Derek Smith who later played with the Johhny Dankworth ensemble. They inspired Jones to take up music, which he still practices today.

Jones attended Lisburn college in Ireland and then worked in a wide variety of occupations. These included in law, as a porter at the BBC, in jewellery manufacture, publishing, and commercial art. As a BBC porter he was required to hump equipment between studios and could be spotted riding shotgun around London in the old green BBC vans of that time. He was eventually sacked for lateness!

He then found a job in a Hatton Garden jewellery firm in London. As an apprentice jeweller he was required to assemble twenty-two 14 carat gold gate bracelets a day. In the two years he spent in the business he had personally made nearly 12000 bracelets, which was quite a feat, but was mind numbing work, and not something he wanted to do with the rest of his life. At this stage he didn’t know what avenue to go down next.

But the clue lay in his early life. As a young boy, he showed an early interest in the arts, particularly writing, musical composition and painting, and has pursued them as interests ever since. At this time he met the daughter of the captain of the Titanic, which sank in 1912, and consequently became obsessed with the myth which surrounded the subject. Jones remembers handling Titantic artifacts in the lady’s cottage country, and thinking that they made beautiful art ornaments! They inspired Jones to start creating collages using old bric-a brac, attaching small objects to canvas and applying paint to them.

In his teens, Jones lived with the family of author Julian Branston, whose mother was a close confidant of British comic Kenneth Williams. They introduced Jones to writer and poet John Pudney, famed as the author of wartime poem ‘For Johnny’. As busy as he was, Pudney would give kindly critiques of Jones’ earlier writings, urging Jones to say ‘more with less’. Jones described his writing efforts at this time as pretentious and undisciplined, and was frankly lucky, that ‘Pudney gave him the time of day,’

Jones found John Pudney fascinating as, among other things, he knew Pablo Picasso personally, having met him as a reporter during the war. To the aspiring and awe struck Jones, this was all glamorous grist for this artistic mill. At this time he became fascinated by celebrity, which was hardly surprising considering that his benefactors frequently had prominent people down to dinner, including the Bishop of Liverpool and others.

When Jones worked for a firm of ‘showbiz’ solicitors in London, he ran errands for screen star John Mills, and composer Tony Hatch, but felt that life as a London commuter just wasn’t for him, and so he ‘dropped’ out and went to live in Deptford. Jones justified this to himself by saying this was his ‘down and out in Paris and London period’.

Jones moved around South London and finally settled in some lodgings in Lewisham which were also being occupied by the now international artist David Mabb, presently Head of Masters at Goldsmith’s college, from whom he acquired wonderful discarded art pieces. Mabb’s charismatic and confident personality had an inspiring effect on Jones who began to look at art in a new light. In Jones’ eyes, David Mabb was ‘one of the solid group of British artists who are exponents of a new kind of socially responsible art, which is dynamic and very much at the cutting edge.’ In Jones’ view, Mabb’s art not only succeeds powerfully as a room decoration, but it invokes a strong visceral response in the viewer. If Jones was going to paint, he wanted his art to be as eloquent as Mabb’s! At the time of writing, Jones is still struggling to achieve this goal. Jones cites US artist Ron English, as his other influence.

Meeting well known people and those active in the arts and entertainment industries had the effect of shaping Jones’ view of the world, and he vowed that one day, he too would make a contribution. It was only in his fifties that
Jones has seriously sought publication. The Pyewiz and The Amazing Mobile Phone is his first book.

At the present time Jones is busily writing his second book and is painting. He hopes to have his first exhibition of art in London in the near future.

Jones’ most thrilling life moment: ‘being six feet away from Frank Sinatra when he came to the London Palladium!’

You can visit his website at www.science-fiction-fantasy.com.

THE TABLET OF MY HEART by Elizabeth Walker

When I was eight years old I lost my voice. Not literally, figuratively. It was buried under the weight of sexual molestation. When I “lost my voice” I found a pen. I couldn’t get past the shame I felt in order to tell someone so I started writing my fears and my secrets between the covers of a tablet that became my childhood diary. While I did eventually tell, my writings had a lot to do with leading me to the point where I understood that I needed to. In black and white the tablet held fear, anger, confusion and finally, healing – But in essence the tablet held my heart.

Years down the road and after 10 years of marriage, I found myself a single mother with four young sons who’s hearts were broken by the absence of their father. As if divorce is not hard enough on a child, my kids’ father was not just absent from their home he was smack in the middle of a cocaine addiction and had little interest and little contact with them at all.

In the process of fighting the odds of ending up on welfare, going back to work, moving them from the only house they ever remembered living in, and convincing them in the midst of the earthquake that had become their lives, that we were going to make it – I saw in their faces the same distrust, the same disbelief that I felt when I was a child in the middle of loss and abuse, the first time someone told me “It’s going to be ok. This storm won’t last forever.”

So…..I couldn’t tell them we would make it to the end of this pain, I had to show them. That illustration began with telling them (gradually) about my childhood story. The story of victory over the pain of the abuse that I endured as a child, so that they could see that healing happens, not just hear it. In order to get to a victory, there first had to be trial. That story of victory began in my childhood journal.

As I thumbed through the writings an idea was born. During this mission to help my sons learn to let go of their anger and heal, maybe I could reach even more people. I decided that I would publish portions of the journal and donate from the proceeds to an organization that helps abused children. That outreach, I decided, would be the best illustration of healing that I could possibly paint for them.

Originally I had planned to publish only the poetry but as I read through them I thought that they might better serve their purpose if I added a little background to the prose. I found myself in touch with pieces of my heart that I had not entertained for years. The project kind of took off without me and took on it’s own form right beneath my nose. The narration turned into a flowing story and the poetry became just a piece of the bigger picture. By the time the manuscript was finished I had in my hands what began as an emotional hurricane and ended as a generously watered garden. A journal of abuse and more importantly healing, that read like a story. My story.

The boys (my kids) and I made it through some incredibly difficult times in the past few years. They had a hands on lesson in the devastation left in the wake of addiction, as they are still sorting through the wreckage. I learned, once again, that I was stronger than I thought I was, though I believe that my strength was a product of my kids’ faith in me. They went from having mom and dad, to just mom, to day cares and babysitters as I took on two jobs to make ends meet, to crummy neighborhoods and frightening neighbors – but we made it! We made it together. We’re wet, but we made it to edge of the storm.

By no means are we a “perfect family” by definition but they are experiencing hope and healing and I have witnessed a beautiful thing happen in them; I have watched them defy the term “hurting people, hurt people” as they have learned by demonstration that – helping people heal, helps heal. The Tablet of My Heart has a little something to do with that in their lives – we hope that publishing it might have a little bit to do with that kind of healing in some one else’s life too.

A portion of the proceeds from The Tablet of My Heart are donated to Childhelp USA for the treatment and prevention of child abuse. Visit them at www.childhelp.org.

Elizabeth Walker is the author of the memoir, The Tablet of My Heart. You can visit her website at www.tabletofmyheart.net. To read an extended bio, click here!

THE OBAMA REVOLUTION by Alan Kennedy-Shaffer

The Obama Revolution, my second book and the first book published about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign by a former campaign organizer, provides an in-the-trenches look at how a generation of people sparked a movement for change that continues to have lasting implications for politics in America. I wrote The Obama Revolution because I wanted to share with my fellow Americans the voices of millions of Americans who left their homes, their jobs and their schools, in order to register voters, make telephone calls and knock on doors in record numbers.

After eight years of George W. Bush’s tortuous defenses of the ill-conceived War in Iraq, funding cuts for education, health care, environmental protection, and executive approval of black sites, water boarding, and repression of dissenting voices, it is time for the voices of hope and change to be heard once again. It is time for us to overcome the apathy that has held us back from achieving our full potential. It is time for us to listen to the men in Mathews who leave their homes before dawn to work in the shipyards and the women in Harrisburg who work overtime to feed their children.

The Obama Revolution begins to tell the stories of the men and women who finally had enough of failed policies and decided to organize their neighbors, many for the first time. When I thought about writing a book about Obama’s inclusive presidential campaign, I knew that I wanted to put down on paper more than my version of history. With the office visits, late night phone calls, and mid-day canvasses of 2008 behind us, I began to think about what the campaign meant to me. The Obama Revolution is a call to arms to a generation that seized the opportunity to spread a radical message of change.

Writing The Obama Revolution, I found myself making connections between policy prescriptions, Obama’s rhetoric, and the nation’s future, connections that I did not have time to make while walking the streets of Allison Hill and driving across rural Virginia. Only in hindsight can we appreciate just how important those precious months of campaigning really were to the history and future of this great nation. As President Obama completes his first 100 days, we must rededicate ourselves to the dreams for which so many campaigned for so long. That is why I wrote The Obama Revolution.

Alan Kennedy-Shaffer served as a regional field director for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in Virginia. Educated at Yale University and William & Mary Law School, Kennedy-Shaffer is the author of Denial and Deception: A Study of the Bush Administration’s Rhetorical Case for Invading Iraq. Kennedy-Shaffer’s writings have also appeared in The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Washington Post, the Patriot-News, the Daily Press, and the Virginia Gazette. Alan lives in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

You can visit Alan on the web at www.alankennedy-shaffer.com.

The Light, The Dark, & Ember Between by J.W. Nicklaus

Years ago, as is still true now, I found I would happen upon some small event or object that would practically insist that it be written about. I’ve always leaned toward short stories because of their urgency and ability to deliver a satisfying beginning, middle, and end in a short period of time.

And so I would often jot something down when inspiration hit me, then find some appropriate vehicle to convey the idea that struck me. Seems pretty obvious, right? Isn’t that what we all do? I couldn’t find the heart to let a good idea go just because it might not fit into a more lengthy format, so I’d craft a short story around it instead. Just so happened, much of what I would write centered around the very personal ideals of love, hope, desire, longing, and a host of other emotions. I didn’t know it all those years ago, but The Light, The Dark, and Ember Between was slowly evolving.

In one case (Streetlamp) I’d been tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep one night. I had a lot on my mind and my brain had apparently decided it wasn’t ready to shut down. As I lay there I suddenly recalled reading a story by Ernest Hemingway during my freshman year in college—A Clean Well Lighted Place. That one thought was the emulsifier that helped to bring together a number of other disparate thoughts and feelings. I immediately got out of bed and typed out the skeleton of the story.

There are a few instances where the story I wound up with had little or nothing to do with the initial spark that generated it. I started with a lit match then switched to the flashlight. Emissary and Winter Rose are two such examples.

The things that I think move us most are storylines and characters we can relate to. You may not get a super detailed description of what a given character looks like or what clothes they might be wearing, but if through their actions and dialogue they can compel you to feel something, then that’s the hook I’m hoping for. Once you can relate to them, then who cares what they look like—and if you care about the character then you’re naturally going to read through the story, because we’re only human, we have to know what happens. With a short story, you don’t have to wait too long. Something like the reading version of the impulse area at the checkout!

J.W. Nicklaus resides in a place not entirely fit for human habitation about five months of the year. No pets to speak of, only the apparitions from which all romantics suffer.

An Arizona native, he’s been from one coast to the other, and a few places in between. College brought an AA in Journalism with a minor in Photography, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications. His work experience has run the gamut from Creative Director for a small advertising firm in Tucson to a litigation support bureau in Phoenix (and assuredly some awkward stuff in the mix).

Snow has been featured prominently in his stories, perhaps because of the seasonless cli-mate he lives in. Nature was meant to be enjoyed and experienced, not hidden from the senses. So to that end, he hopes someday to live amongst those who are able to live through four true seasons, and not just blast furnace and warm.

He enjoys the occasional Arizona Diamondbacks game with his son, as well as watching him grow up. The experience of being a single dad has taught him far more about himself than he ever thought possible.

Within the expanse of every waking moment, he hopes his guardian angel keeps its arms open wide and heart ever watchful, for there but for one true Hope goes She.

For more about J.W. visit www.avomnia.com.

The Story Behind the Book is part of the pre-tour package included with certain tour packages.  J.W’s tour will begin on April 1 and continue until April 30.  If you would like to visit his tour stops, visit www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in April.