The Way I See It: June 2021

30 June 2021

American Valor by Jack Cashman

Posted by Rethi at 08:00

Historical Fiction, Military Fiction

Published: March 2021

Publisher: Seacoast Press

From the critically acclaimed author of An Irish Immigrant Story, One Man’s Mission and Three Steps to the Making of an Assassin, comes a new story of commitment, dedication, strength and perseverance.

The United States came out of World War II the most respected and admired country in the world.

That status was earned by the courage, commitment, and integrity of American families. American Valor is the story of one such family.

American Valor is on sale now at fine independent bookstores everywhere and online retailers.

About the Author

One of America's promising new authors Jack Cashman's fourth novel tells a story of an American families commitment to the ideals that have made their country the envy of the world.

Jack lives in Hampden Maine with his wife Betty near their sons Derek and Danny; their daughters-in-law Michele and Karen and their granddaughters, Katie, Sarah, Jackie, Carolyn and Brianna.

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29 June 2021

Debt Bomb by Michael E. Ginsberg

Posted by Rethi at 08:00

Thriller/Suspense/Spy Fiction/Political Fiction

Date Published: July 1, 2021

Publisher: BQB Publishing

China hungers to take the United States’ place as the global hegemon.

And it is plotting to use America’s $40 trillion national debt to do it.

Only one person stands in China’s way: suburban accountant Andrea Gartner.

For years she has dreaded the day of America’s reckoning about its national debt. She’s gotten involved in local politics. She’s run for Congress. But the debt marches remorselessly higher.

Rejected by her party in her congressional race, she joins the insurgent presidential campaign of Congressman Earl Murray. When he wins in an upset, he defies all Washington convention and names Andrea his Director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Washington rookie finally has her chance to solve America’s debt addition.

But China has other plans, engineering financial crises and military confrontations designed to bankrupt and collapse the United States. Wars rage overseas as America’s health care system, schools, and social fabric disintegrate. Desperately coping with these existential threats to America’s very existence, Andrea finds herself enmeshed in vicious Washington infighting with belligerent military brass and ruthless politicians, including the powerful and complicated Congressman Lewis Mason and his chief of staff Frank Palmer. Chinese agents lurk in the shadows, threatening Andrea’s life and family, as she struggles to keep the country afloat.

No aspect of American life is spared as the country teeters on the brink of financial collapse. Can Andrea stave off China’s assault and ensure the United States survives? Or will the Red Chinese flag fly over the American Capitol?

Debt Bomb is a sobering fictional account of a future facing the United States if it fails to control its debt and get its financial house in order.

Excerpt

“Andrea Gartner, South Carolina. Why are you running? And why should we endorse you?”

Andrea hesitated and took a sip of water, followed by a deep breath to steady her nerves. She leaned into her microphone.

“That’s a fair question, Congressman Mason. I’ve been a leader in the South Carolina Republican Party for years,” she said, unnerved by the entire Debt Rebel Gang staring down at her. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. They were nothing like what she practiced. “This is my first time running, but I’ve gotten a lot of campaign experience from my leadership positions in the local and state party organizations. Professionally, I’m an accountant with a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve been in private practice for fifteen years and I’ve been married for ten years with two children . . .”

She could see from the Gang members’ bored expressions she was getting nowhere. She took another sip of water. You’ve got this, she told herself. Stay focused. She felt a wave of control, of inspiration, of her spine stiffening. She took a breath. Now she was ready.

“Mr. Mason, Gang members, honestly, I’m running for one reason only.” Her voice was firm now. “The United States is utterly dependent on members of the public and foreign countries to buy our debt. If they decide they don’t want to loan us money and we can’t finance our debt, the country goes broke. We won’t have a dime to spend. No Social Security. No Medicare. This thought terrifies me. And we’re doing this on the backs of our kids and grandkids. If we don’t cut our deficits and pay down our national debt, they will be paying for all the things we’re spending money on now. No one is speaking for them. I want to be their voice. Believe me, Congressmen, I have lived this. My father died when I was young and left my family in a pile of debt. I don’t want other families to go through the same hardships. This country needs financial help. I have two kids at home, and I’ll be damned if I saddle them with debt they have to pay tomorrow so I can get free government goodies today. There is nothing—absolutely nothing—I hate in this world more than ruinous debt.” Andrea began gesticulating for emphasis as she built momentum. “You’re the only people who have raised this issue. You inspired me to run. I’m an accountant. Balancing books is what I do. With me on your side you’ll have as credible an ally for debt reduction as you can possibly imagine.”

The Gang members had no reaction whatsoever.

What am I doing wrong? she wondered. Cutting the debt is these guys’ calling card. Their raison d’être. What gives? Keep going. Maybe they’ll come around.

“Congressmen, if you—”

“Thank you, Ms. Gartner, but I’m afraid we can’t endorse you this election cycle,” interrupted Mason.

The words sent a shock through Andrea’s body. She’d barely gotten two minutes to state her case and the Debt Rebel Gang had already rejected her. And the way Mason emotionlessly dismissed her only added to the shock. All those years of helping candidates who were worried about the debt, and she got three sentences in before these guys rejected her?

“Come again?” Andrea said.

“We’re endorsing Dan Morgan.”

Seriously? Dan Morgan? That ridiculous opportunist?

She’d known Dan Morgan from her local Republican work.

When cutting spending was all the rage, Dan Morgan was a deficit cutter. When Republican-controlled Congresses were spending like drunken sailors but conservatism demanded absolute support for President Roberts, Morgan was there. You could always count on Dan Morgan to get a double dip of the Republican flavor of the month.

Ryan and Cam were right. Politics was a dirty business. And once again, she’d gotten the short end of the stick.

Mason continued, “Dan Morgan has been an unwavering supporter of the Roberts Agenda. You spent your time blasting the debts and the deficits at a time when President Roberts needed all the support he could get. We need a team player, not a Johnny-one-note. Dan’s reliable. You aren’t.”

“But reducing the debt was your signature issue. You all inspired me to get active and fight to reduce spending and debt. I’m here because of you,” Andrea said, her voice rising to a crescendo. “I’m an accountant, and what America needs right now is an accountant!”

About the Author

Michael E. Ginsberg is an attorney in Washington, DC practicing in the field of national security law. He spent a decade in private practice at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, DC and then worked several years in the U.S. government as a Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), where he served as legal counsel for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). He currently is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at a Virginia-based defense contractor.

Ginsberg has also served in senior leadership positions in the Republican Party of Virginia and is the co-founder of the Suburban Virginia Republican Coalition.

A 1997 graduate of Harvard College and 2002 graduate of Harvard Law School, he also holds a master's in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University (1999). A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Ginsberg lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.

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28 June 2021

The Trophy Room by Barry Litherland

Posted by Rethi at 08:00

Crime Thriller, Psychological Thriller

Published: March 2021

Publisher: Bleaknorth Publishing

What terrible secrets lie inside those doors?

It was to be an ordinary holiday by the sea for the Miller family, a chance to bond after difficult times; but when they meet a local family, the Trevelyans, they become embroiled in a dangerous and disturbing conflict with the unstable owner of Leybury Hall, and must face the terrifying truth of The Trophy Room.

Written in a mixture of second and third person, this novel about the evil doings of the disturbed and psychotic inhabitant of Leybury Hall. The novel flirts with gothic horror but is, at heart, the story of families brought together to face terrible truths. Children from both families play a central and disturbing role.

Excerpt

A young boy approaches the watchtower along the cliff path. He is alone and intent on some game which absorbs all his attention. He swerves and circles, arms outstretched, and accompanies each move with excited chatter. He is about ten and has a mop of untidy red hair, and a rash of freckles.

So intent is he on his game that he doesn’t see the low, wooden door of the watchtower open, and a man step out, at least not until it is too late. When the boy does notice, he pauses, and his hands drop to his side. His shoulders hunch, and he stands there, waiting for the man to approach. The look of fear on the boy’s face seems to entertain the newcomer, because he offers an unpleasant smile—close to a sneer—and takes up a position blocking the path. The man is gaunt, with a sickly complexion, and his clothes hang loose, like they were intended for a stockier man. He’s in his mid-twenties but has a pinched, shifty look, and a hollow face which makes him look ten years older. There’s something cold about him, too, and a glint of malice lingers around his mouth and eyes. He has the air of someone who would pull the wings off a butterfly, just for fun.

The boy senses the danger and looks around for other walkers, but it’s early and it’s October, and there is nobody else out. They are alone on the cliff.

‘Are you following me, Sammy?’ The man’s voice curls around him like a snake, then it darts a poisoned tongue. ‘Because if you are—’

About the Author

Barry Litherland is a writer of character-driven crime / mystery thrillers, sometimes tinged with the paranormal. His books have received excellent reviews and are commended for the quality and depth of the characters, the reality of the settings, the strength of the narrative and the quality of writing. He lives in the far north of Scotland with his wife and two springer spaniels.

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25 June 2021

Earth Shattering by L.P. Maxa

Posted by Rethi at 00:00

St. Leasing, Book 6

Contemporary Paranormal Romance, Shifters

Published: May 2021

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

ALL MINE

It's always the quiet ones. Riley, the good guy. The dependable packmate. Everyone's best friend. Especially Jasper's, with whom Riley shares women. Not I date 'em one night, you date 'em the next. More like, we're with the same woman at the same time. It's their thing, and they enjoy the hell out of doing it.

Then the universe decided Riley needed a swift kick in the head and sent Blake as the striker.

Petite, bubbly, and indefatigable, Blake pulls him out of his college freshman funk. And, for a while, they have a blast. New best friends enjoying college life.

But all good things must end, and when Jasper makes a surprise visit, there goes the party.

Or...maybe not.

Nothing goes according to plan or shifter lore, until it does. Then Blake's Riley's and he has no intention of sharing her with anyone.

Other books in the St. Leasing series

Mouth Watering

St. Leasing, Book 1

Breath Taking

St. Leasing, Book 2

Jaw Dropping

St. Leasing, Book 3

Heart Stopping

St. Leasing, Book 4

Soul Crushing

St. Leasin, Book 5

Amazon

About the Author

L.P. lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, and a plant-killing cat.

Writer, business owner, and office manager, L.P. says she loves to read as much as she loves to write. Reading a good book is her reward after writing one. In her spare time—ha!—she fosters puppies for a rescue organization based in Austin.

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24 June 2021

Coffee & Crushes at the Cate Cafe by Kris Bock

Posted by Rethi at 08:30

a Furrever Friends Sweet Romance, Book 1 of 6

Sweet Contemporary Romance

Date Published: October 18, 2019

Publisher: Pig River Press

What do you do when you meet the guy of your dreams? Set him up with your sister, of course.

Kari doesn't have time for love when she's opening her new cat café. She’s busy hiring employees, fighting with the health inspector – oh, and welcoming 16 shelter cats. She's doing this for the cats, the community, and her family. The café will give her sister, Marley, a job worthy of her baking skills.

Then a tattooed military vet wanders in claiming he’s a master baker. Surely Marley will fall for a guy this sweet, this sexy, this tasty.

Colin has other ideas. It's Kari who makes him want to turn up the heat. But he's spent the last two years recovering from physical and psychological wounds. Is he really ready for a relationship? He's not even sure he should commit to Samson, the sweet Siamese cat who steals his heart.

The Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the workers and customers at a small-town cat café, and the adorable cats and kittens looking for their forever homes. Each book is a complete story with a happy ending for one couple. These sweet romances will leave you with the warm, cozy feeling of cuddling a purring cat.

Excerpt From Chapter 1

Kari studied the muscular, tattooed man with the shaved head. Yummy. Not her type, but still, she could see why some women liked bad boys. “You don’t look like a barista.” Whoops, had she said that out loud?

One corner of his mouth twitched. “You don’t look like a business owner.”

Fair enough. Growing her hair out had not, as she’d hoped, helped her look older than her 24 years, and no matter how tall she stood, she couldn’t reach above five feet two inches. All right, technically five feet one and a half inches.

She smiled. “I guess we’re even.”

He glanced around the empty room. Kari followed his gaze. Was he wondering if they would actually get the cat café open in a few weeks? At the moment, they had no furniture, no decor, and no cats. This man had wandered in through the doors that were propped open to let the paint fumes escape. He wasn’t the first person to take interest in the Help Wanted sign in the window, but he was one of the few men, and the oldest. She guessed his age at early thirties, though possibly hard living had added a few years.

His presence made the large room feels smaller. Kari took refuge in professionalism. After all, however she might look, she was in fact a business owner now. “Do you have a resume?”

He turned back to her and his piercing gaze almost knocked her back a step.

“I’m going to be upfront with you,” he said.

She swallowed. “I’d appreciate that.”

“My resume doesn’t reflect my current interests. I did four years in the Army. Then I signed on with a private security firm in the Mid East. Did that for four years before I was injured last year. Almost two years ago now, I guess.”

Kari did some math in her head, partly to distract herself from his golden-brown eyes. Assume he’d entered the military right out of high school. That made four years plus four plus two. That would make him younger than she’d thought, less than thirty. Eight years in the Middle East would also explain his tough, weathered look.

“I spent the time since then focused on healing. Physical therapy, counseling.” His eyes narrowed slightly, as if ready to judge her response.

“That’s good.” It would be rude to ask about his injuries, not to mention against labor laws if this was going to be a job interview. “I hope you’re …” It was probably too much to expect better from a recovery that took over a year of physical therapy and counseling. “… improved.”

He nodded, and his shoulders dropped half an inch. She hadn’t realized until then that he might be nervous about this conversation as well.

Kari smiled warmly. “So now you think making coffee sounds good? Or is it the cats that appeal to you?”

He returned her smile, and her knees went weak. He was not her type. She liked intellectual, career-focused men. She had never understood women who raved over a man in uniform. Not that he was in uniform now. She glanced down at his faded jeans and tried not to let her gaze linger on the snug black T-shirt as she looked up again. Now he looked like he should be jumping on a motorcycle without a helmet, not looking for work in a café that featured adoptable cats. Soldier or biker, he wasn’t her type – but she could see the appeal.

A clatter came from the kitchen, where her sister was organizing the supplies. On the other hand, this man might be Marley’s type. After all, Marley had gotten pregnant at eighteen from a tattooed soldier on leave. She’d hardly dated since, but if her ex hadn’t turned her off of the type permanently, she might find this one appealing. But was he a nice guy or a jerk?

“Both, actually.”

It took Kari a moment to realize he was responding to her question about coffee or cats.

About the Author

Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. Get a free 35-page story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter. You’ll also get a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels, and in the future, cute animal photos and links, book news, and more.

Kris also writes romantic suspense set in the Southwestern U.S. If you love Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels, try Kris Bock’s stories of treasure hunting, archaeology, and intrigue in the Southwest. Learn more at www.krisbock.com or visit Kris Bock’s Amazon US page or Amazon UK page. (For other countries click here.)

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22 June 2021

The Hellion is Tamed by Tracy Sumner

Posted by Rethi at 08:30

League of Lords, Book 4

Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Paranormal Regency Romance

Release Date: June 22, 2021

Time-traveling lovers navigate the sinister streets of London—while denying their enchantment and desire. If you like THE NEVERS, this series is for you!

He’s a viscount’s bastard who sees more than he wants to...

Rescued from the slums and molded into a gentleman, Simon Alexander lost the love of his life to a mystical world he’s always spurned. Still searching for the time traveler who stole his heart, he’ll stop at nothing to find her. When he does, he finds he can’t trust her—or his desire. Will he be able to tame his fear, and his hellion, once and for all?

She's a time-traveling socialite...

Transforming Emma Breslin from a poverty-stricken termagant into an aristocrat is easier than anyone imagined. Nearly overnight, she delights society as a trendsetting sensation. Torn between her obsession with the man who’s never forgiven her for leaving and her fight to safeguard the magical gem she stole from him, Emma battles to survive without the man she loves. But when her life is threatened, Simon Alexander is the only person in any time she can trust.

Come along for a passionate story where passion defies time and love conquers betrayal.

Ready for Simon's story of forbidden love, time travel, and intrigue? The Hellion is Tamed is #4 in the steamy Victorian paranormal romance series Publishers Weekly calls, “A superpowered twist on Victorian romance!"

Other Books in the League of Lords series:

The Lady is Trouble

League of Lords, Book One

He’s a viscount with a dark past who yearns for the one woman he can’t have. She’s a psychic firebrand! Rebellious, spurned by society and determined to change his mind.

The Rake is Taken

League of Lords, Book Two

A gorgeous psychic. An unwanted betrothal. A tantalizing compromise.

The Duke is Wicked

League of Lords, Book Three

Leagues and lives apart, Delaney and Sebastian navigate a world they're not destined for together. Can she let down her guard and learn to trust a WICKED Duke?

Amazon

Excerpt

Although, he’d no clue what to do with her now that he’d found her.

Shouldering through the throng hovering around the hazard and vingt et un tables like London’s impenetrable fog, Simon ignored the shouts of patrons deep in their cups, the grasping hands of mistresses men liked to have by their side while they squandered their time and, often, their birthright. He disregarded the impulse to steal, then sighed and paused to filch a half sovereign resting on the baize before a boozy baron who had his hand tucked inside his paramour’s bodice. Sliding the coin beneath his sleeve, he waved off his guards with a rigid shake of his head that said, I have this. Like he’d handled the episode last night, though this time, he wasn’t expecting a fist to his face for his trouble.

But a fist to the heart was possible.

Emmaline Breslin was, like it or not, his problem.

She had been from the moment she stepped into his life, hushed presence before a lonely boy or not.

He forced aside the pinch of emotion in his gut, ignoring the emphasis he’d unintentionally placed on the very possessive his.

Halting before the cloakroom door, Simon glanced over his shoulder at the haunt who’d followed him down the stairs. An older gent, Henry, who seemed to want nothing more than someone to occasionally talk to. “No,” he whispered, “not now. Later.” Henry blinked his watery green eyes once, gave a sharp salute, then continued down the unlit hallway and out of sight. Simon snicked open the door and stuck his head inside, immediately spotting the toes of the grubby boots Emma had traveled to 1882 in peeking from beneath a puddled mound of wool and linen.

Clever time traveler, yes; able spy, no.

As he closed the door gently behind him, the air shifted, the faintest hint of rosemary and lemon capturing the dimly-lit space, shoving aside the baser fragrances of brandy, sweat and cigar smoke that had come in from the hall with him.

Halting two paces from the coat rack, Simon dragged a rickety stool over with the heel of his boot and sprawled on it. Braced his elbow on his bent knee, took a silver cufflink he’d lifted from a baron two hours ago from his trouser pocket and began to rotate it between his fingers, gaslight from the sconce above his shoulder winking off the tarnished metal. Releasing a shallow breath he cared little if Emma heard him release, he settled in. Just him, the Dark Queen of the East End and a thousand glinting dust motes. She had no idea, Miss Breslin, but he was the patient Alexander. The brother with the fiercest temper perhaps…but also the one who could wait.

He’d gladly sit all night in this stinky little room if that’s what it took to break her.

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long.

With a scrunch of wool and linen, her head gradually emerged from amidst the rack of coats, her muffled complaint echoing off the walls. The cufflink fell still in his hand. Her hair was a marvel, a wondrous surprise every time he got a look at it. Unbound and flowing across her shoulders. Gaslight sparked off the auburn tresses, hints of ginger like the inside of a chestnut, an unforeseen blaze in the darkness. Adding to the allure, those cobalt eyes traveling the length of him, leaving fiery eruptions in their wake.

She stepped out with an impatient huff and unladylike shake of her skirts, completely giving up her ruse. She gave a bashful tuck to her hair, placing the loose strands hanging in her face neatly behind her ears. Simon rocked back on the stool, his breath stuttering. Beneath her shabby brown cloak was a gown he’d never seen. New, created for an evening event, unfinished, the ragged hem trailing along the warped floorboards, the bustle yet to be added, the final piece of the alteration process. A plunging neckline, which he didn’t need to make his life or his cock harder at the moment. The curve of her hip highlighted as she stepped forward, her long legs enchanting beneath clinging silk.

He felt the surge. Lust, umbrage, sympathy. A crushing trifecta for any man.

Silly to feel indignation when the gown was everything current style dictated. In a glorious shade he would have pegged as plum or eggplant, so opaque it was almost black, a flash of violet in the murky light.

But it wasn’t the color, although that was a dazzling choice with her creamy skin and vibrant tresses.

It was the fit.

The rags he’d seen her in had been hiding a delicious body. He longed to strip that threadbare cloak from her shoulders and slide her gown in a deliberate exhibition to her feet. Then watch her step out of the puddle of material as she crossed to him.

Caught outside his fantasy, she smoothed her palm shyly down the bodice, her glorious lips curling in what could only be construed as delight. So, she liked the new clothing. Even if she protested, which Delaney had told him she’d done. Mightily.

They stared for a long moment before recognizing the pointlessness of such an endeavor. His shaft hardened a notch further, causing him to shift slightly to hide the reaction. Her eyes were wide, so damn blue, and amazingly easy to read. Layers of pain and sorrow, and like icing topping a cake, garnished with a glimmer of hope. His heart thumped once in his chest, his erection withering.

He’d never held someone’s happiness this close—or been truly responsible.

In a way he wasn’t sure he wanted to be responsible.

Compelling him, she stared. Right at him, right though him. He hoped like hell he’d cloaked the thoughts racing through his mind before they showed on his face. He hadn’t done well hiding what being this close to her had done to his body.

Then with a daring glance, she stepped out of the shadows and into his space. Into his life. Unapologetic, fearless Emmaline. And Simon realized with a surge of some deeply held emotion that she wasn’t meant to be tamed.

Not this girl.

She would run free until a man just as formidable was courageous enough to seize her.

About the Author

Award-winning author Tracy Sumner’s storytelling career began when she picked up a historical romance on a college beach trip, and she fondly blames LaVyrle Spencer for her obsession with the genre. She’s a recipient of the National Reader’s Choice, and her novels have been translated into Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish. She lived in New York, Paris and Taipei before finding her way back to the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

When not writing sizzling love stories about feisty heroines and their temperamental-but-entirely-lovable heroes, Tracy enjoys reading, snowboarding, college football (Go Tigers!), yoga, and travel. She loves to hear from romance readers!

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