Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Authors, feel free to tell us all about your books and any promotions you have in this thread.

I'm pleased to announce a book giveaway for:
The Veterans of History: A Young Person’s History of the Jews

Enter to win a copy of The Veterans of History for a compelling narrative of Jewish history from Biblical times to today, providing the historical basis for an exploration of Jewish identity rooted in Jewish cultural literacy and traditions of social justice, and enabling young Jews to identify with and place themselves into the broad sweep of Jewish experience.

The Veterans of History is published by the Boston Workmen's Circle and is due to be released on April 2.

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“… Mitchell Silver has written a rich, lively and informative brief history of the Jewish experience which can be read usefully by readers of all ages. Silver is a liberal and a secularist who clearly loves Jewish community and culture and cares deeply about all people. He is scrupulously objective in describing the triumphs and tragedies of Jewish history from its beginnings to the present, including religious, political, cultural and social dimensions. This is the work of a consummate ‘storyteller’ in the best sense.”
-- Dr. David M. Gordis, President Emeritus of Hebrew College and Founding Director of the National Center on Jewish Policy Studies

“Mitchell Silver’s wonderful and engaging summary of the history of the Jews is a useful tool to reach out to our youngsters. I will be recommending it to our b’nai mitzvah as part of their preparation.”
--Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, Temple Beth Zion, Brookline, Massachusetts

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Mitchell Silver was educational director of the I.L. Peretz School of the Boston Workmen's Circle from 1992-2009 and cultural director of Camp Kinderland from 1989-2006. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and has taught philosophy at the University of Massachusetts/Boston since 1982. He is the author of A Plausible God (2006) and Respecting the Wicked Child: A Philosophy of Secular Jewish Identity and Education (1998). He writes and speaks regularly on issues relating to health care ethics, Jewish secularism, and Middle East politics. He was born in New York City, and lives with his wife in Newton, Massachusetts, where he raised his family.

Wanted to announce a book giveaway, five copies of a novel set in the beautiful highlands of Scotland.
The Key-Stone of the Bridge

This is a debut novel by Craig Meggy it's a delightful tale brimming with humor and mystery, set amid the stunning winter scenery of the Scottish highlands in a remote and mysterious glen. Four old friends have shelved their differences and dropped off the grid on one vital mission. They have gathered together, sheltered in a mountain hut or Bothy with a plan. To fulfill a last request, and scatter the ashes of their friend on the adjacent mountain; they had no idea of the consequences. It all goes well at first; in beautiful weather for the time of year but then strange visitors, the sighting of a mystery hiker and several mishaps are a prelude to rapidly deteriorating conditions. Soon it becomes a struggle for survival. Will they rip each other apart or team together and survive to discover the shocking truth about their guests and the mystery man on the mountain?

Note: contains some adult language and Scottish vernacular

Hi everyone. I have written two books;
Storks in a Blue SkyStorks in a Blue Sky
which is a historical romance set in 18th century Devon, England, and Alsace, France.
Freedom, which is a sci fi short novel for teens/YA set in the robot city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hello and thanks for this opportunity to introduce myself.

I'm Joyce Yarrow, the author of the Jo Epstein mystery series. I enjoy traveling and had a great time in Moscow and the Golden Ring, researching settings and characters for RUSSIAN RECKONING, the second book in the series, published by Five Star Mysteries.

Russian Reckoning Ask the Dead

Jo Epstein is a private investigator who moonlights as a performance poet. She is street savvy and tough, with a sensitive side and a weakness for helping family and friends in trouble.

"Intricately layered like a Russian nested doll, this tale of vengeance and hatred flavored with a Russian cultural backdrop will appeal to readers who enjoy unusual mysteries with an international setting." Library Journal

Hi everyone,

I'm Amy Heugh, author of Pretty Girl a young adult romance.



Now available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Girl-Amy...

If there were one day that she could change it would be the day she was taken.

After her parents’ divorce, seventeen-year-old Izzy Scott and her mother move to the old town of St. Augustine to begin a new life, a life beyond the media attention and the memories of the traumatic experiences that left an everlasting affect on their family.

The former ballerina is trying to adjust to the outside world without suffering a panic attack and exposing who she is - all while getting through her senior year at a new school. That’s easy to say until she meets local boy Mason Winchester, a boy with a tragic past.

Mason has a reputation for violence, but a love for motorcycles. At the age of eleven he lost his mother to cancer and from then he has been running from something, but could never really get away.

Like any other angry teenager, he just wants to be left alone and to have nothing to do with anyone else because he believed that he had nothing to offer. That changes the moment he saw what was in the new girl eyes.

Tragedy wasn't new to either of their lives but among the secrets and the memories the one thing they both never excepted was to find hope.

Hello all - my memoir, "The Coconut Latitudes" is set in the Dominican Republic. I'd like to suggest it for this group. It has just been published, and I'm currently doing a Goodreads giveaway through Sept 30, 2014. It is available on Amazon and already getting rave reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads, for which I'm very happy!
About the book:
"The Coconut Latitudes" is about a childhood in paradise, a journey into unexpected misery and a twisted path to redemption and truth. It begins with an American engineer leaving the US to start a new life on a Caribbean island after World War II. He moves his family to an isolated beach in the Dominican Republic, plants ten thousand coconut seedlings and declares the family is the luckiest family alive.
In reality, they are in the path of hurricanes and in the grip of a brutal dictator. Set against a backdrop of shimmering palms and kaleidoscope sunsets, a crisis causes the fragile family to implode. The book is a cross-cultural coming of age story, and about surviving a reality far from the envisioned Eden.

http://amzn.to/1s2lKMA

I'm giving away Audible review copies to celebrate the release of my new audiobook, romantic comedy "Pie Girls." I'd love reviews on Amazon/Audible and GR. Thank you!

Book Link: Pie Girls


Author - Lauren Clark
Narrators - Mary Hollis Inboden, JoBe Cerny

For a code, please email me at laurenclarkbooks@gmail.com.

Thank you, Lauren Clark

I just returned from India, where my latest book -Rivers Run Back, co-authored with Arindam Roy, was launched at the US Embassy's American Center in New Delhi. RIVERS RUN BACK is a saga of love, crime, and intertwined destinies spanning two continents.
To read more about our cross-cultural collaboration, you can visit the Los Angeles Review of Books - http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/one-...

Hi friends...

Enter to win a copy of Candyfloss Guitar! Twenty copies to win and this giveaway is open to US, GB and Canada and ends 27th February!

Enter here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

This paperback edition will not be officially published until MARCH 2015.

“A Gabriel Garcia Marquez-style tale of self-discovery kissed by the supernatural. Short, lovely and satisfying.” - Acclaimed spiritual fantasy author Laura K. Cowan, author of Music of Sacred Lakes & Thin Places: Supernatural Tales of the Unseen

Travellers, Spiritualists and Lovers of the Camino de Santiago won't want to miss this one!

Thanks, Diane.

The WWII combat/crime thriller Under False Flags: A Novel appears in the February issue of the Historical Novels Review, published by the Historical Novel Society in print and online. Here's an excerpt:

"The author clearly brings forth the thoughts, fears, and hopes that run through a soldier’s mind. The dangers and horrors of being a soldier, a civilian living under occupation, or a resistance fighter are well-defined in this book. I liked how the GI narrative voice ... kept the realism alive."

http://historicalnovelsociety.org/rev...

The story takes place in NW Europe during 1944-45, including France, Belgium, Germany, and Southern England.

Hi, I'm Evadeen Brickwood. I write novels mostly about my experiences in foreign lands and interesting topics I research.
My latest novel
Singing Lizards
is set in Southern Africa and has a traditional African aspect.
In 1988, Bridget Reinhold's sister Claire disappears in Botswana under mysterious circumstances. Bridget rushes to Africa and is faced with age-old traditions and political change. Struggling to find her place in rural Africa and an urban society with its many distractions, she is getting no closer to the answers she desperately seeks. Should Bridget enlist the help of witchdoctors to find Claire or just accept and live her new exciting life?
I believe there is an excerpt of the book in my profile, otherwise Singing Lizardsis available as a free read on Wattpad until the end of April.
Happy reading

Hey, I am excited to announce the first Goodreads Giveaway for my debut novel, The Budapest Experiment, going on between May 4th and May 18th. Three author signed (optional) print copies available!! Sign up here: http://bit.ly/1cfdFhv for your chance to win. If you'd like to read an excerpt, you can go to the book homepage.



Interested instead in an eBook giveaway?
Just go to my website www.mauricegmiller.com and join our email list for a chance at 15 eBook copies to be given away on June 1st.

As always, I love to hear from Goodreads members so please friend or follow me at:
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1DO6y6k
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1ESXMYv
Twiiter: https://twitter.com/mauricegmiller @mauricegmiller

Thanks so much for your support.
Maurice

I have a Free Kindle promotion for Storks in a Blue Sky from June 21st to June 25th. Storks in a Blue Sky is a historical romance set in England and France in the 18th century.
The beautiful, red-haired Sarah Durrant is an uneducated servant who takes the place of her mistress when she suddenly dies at Lynmouth, as they are travelling across the remote wilderness of Exmoor in the 18th century.
Her own origins are a mystery. She only knows she is illegitimate and possesses a gold locket which contains a miniature of a woman who resembles her. North Devon at first proves a sanctuary from the violence of her past but then the French aristocrat Jean Luc de Delacroix arrives from the New World en route to Alsace; the local activities of smuggling and wrecking surface; and her life becomes a tangle of love, deception and despair.

The giveaway for my book, The Great Year, has started.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

An India travel memoir that is, I think, unlike any other travel memoir before it in that there are 166 full-colour, beautifully designed pages.
Alleppey to Amritsar, and Jaisalmer to Kolkata, a lot of India covered, a lot left to be explored.

Here’s a new short story, free today 14th August until and including 18th August.
Corinne is an Australian, working in London, who sees England as “fawn and beige and grey and brown”. For you travellers, is that how you see the place, or the way of life? The scene of the story is London Zoo.

The link for the UK site is:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_n...

The link for the USA site is:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...

Thank you.

Dear Readers,

I am a former journalist/ media manager, currently a publisher. I am excited to be a part of this group and to read your book recommendations on Africa.

I'd also like to introduce 'Child Witch Kinshasa' and 'Child Witch London' - a novel in two parts based in DR Congo and the UK. I believe that you might find the book interesting - faith is a central theme, which initiates a 'problem' for the protagonists, yet provides a solution to it.

The novel has received more than sixty '5 star' reviews from general readers - including many 'Africa hands' - and has been among the bestsellers on Amazon's African Literature shelf.

The novel is based on the author's experiences as a journalism trainer in DR Congo in 2002.

I would be happy to provide free e-copies in exchange for honest reviews.

Disclosure: I am the publisher of this book and the author is my husband.

Thank you and happy reading,
Angela Nicoara

Please enter to win one of eight signed paperback copies of The Devil's Prayer.
Genre: Historical Horror Thriller set in Europe, Africa and Australia.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway?pa...
Promo: 26th August 2016.

Hello! I’m Jennifer S. Alderson and have two books published and another on the way. I’m addicted to traveling and use my own experiences gained while backpacking, volunteering and living in other countries, in my writing. My first novel, Down and Out in Kathmandu: Adventures in Backpacking, is a travel fiction adventure through Nepal and Thailand. The Lover's Portrait: An Art Mystery, my second book, is a suspenseful 'whodunit?' that transports readers to wartime and present day Amsterdam.
Thanks for letting me introduce myself to this very interesting group!

Hi everyone! Download all our titles as Free PDF's...

For info on all Anomie Press titles + free book & music downloads, visit www.BigShinyPrison.com

On 2/16/16 we released "The Big Shiny Prison (Vol I)"
On 3/15/16 we released "Fortress Europe (BSP Vol II)"
On 11/15/16 we are releasing "Anticlimax Leviathan"

Anomie Press has worldwide distribution via Ingram Spark & Amazon – any promo/reviews much appreciated.

Please enter to win one of three signed copies of The Devil's Prayer
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Promo ends 6th Nov 16.

Hi! I'm not sure where to put this comment and hope this is a good place for it.
I am an author who writes 'travel fiction'. I am also an avid reader of books with a strong sense of setting. I have created a group on Facebook where authors can promote their travel fiction and non-fiction books and readers can find great new titles to read. I would love it if you would join us. Have a great night!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/16315...

I have started my own book review blog https://alyscrusinlifeandbooks.wordpr.... I also have a Goodreads group called "What is Life without Books", would love more authors and anyone/friends to join.

Jennifer wrote: "Hi! I'm not sure where to put this comment and hope this is a good place for it.
I am an author who writes 'travel fiction'. I am also an avid reader of books with a strong sense of setting. I hav..."

Looks cool! I just sent a request to join

Aly wrote: "I have started my own book review blog https://alyscrusinlifeandbooks.wordpr.... I also have a Goodreads group called "What is Life without Books", would love more authors and anyone/friends t..."

And I just sent you a request, Aly. Thanks!

Listen to the soundtrack of ‘The Silencer’
Can a book have a soundtrack? Well, perhaps only in the mind of the writer. But if you like a little music, you might find a listen to some of these songs adds another layer of flavour to the scenes in which they are mentioned. Here are some YouTube links to the ‘track list highlights’. Just click on the blog and select a track to listen to.

(alison-krauss, daniel-doss, joel-norman, john-barry, michael-caine, oh-brother-where-art-thou, sister-rosetta-tharpe, the-human-league, the-ipcress-file, travis)

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

NEW RELEASE: Notes of a Naive Traveler: Nepal and Thailand is now available as eBook on Kobo, Amazon, iBooks, and NOOK!



To celebrate, I'm giving TWO eBooks away this weekend on Facebook. To enter, all you have to do is comment with the name of a place (town, trek, beach, temple, etc.) you want to visit in Nepal or Thailand on the special Giveaway post.

Contest closes Monday night, May 15!

Tuesday morning (Amsterdam time) I will randomly choose two lucky winners.

If you have always wanted to visit Asia but don't want to deal with the hassle, this may be the perfect book for you. :)

PAPERBACK VERSION WILL BE RELEASED ON ON OR BEFORE JUNE 1, 2017

The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman
Last 3 days! Win a beautiful, signed, hardbound copy of award-winning THE IMPROBABLE WONDERS OF MOOJIE LITTLEMAN by Robin Gregory. Ends 1.24.18. US & Canada only.
Hailed as a classic by critics ...
Through friendship with otherworldly beings, a disabled boy discovers miraculous powers his kinfolk refuse to recognize.
"... effective, moving, and heartening."-Kirkus Reviews, 5*, Best Books of 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

"I have not been so moved and challenged by a work of literature since reading the great Russian novelists..." writes a reviewer of Mr. Galaxy's Unfinished Dream.

See if you agree. Sign up for Giveaway - 12 softcover copies (1 Feb - 5 Mar 2018)

Very happy to have a publishing deal for a new thriller I’ve written set in Albania and Greece at the time of the economic crisis in 2012… More details on the link.

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

I’ve just, belatedly, made the leap into the twitter-sphere... If anyone would like to link up there, you'd be more than welcome :) https://twitter.com/paul_alkazraji

For the first time, The Gardener of Baghdad ebook format will be 99c/99p on all retailers starting 24th September till 30th September.
This is your chance to grab a copy of a novel that has sold more than 25,000 copies in over 45 countries!

The Gardener of Baghdad

"Two people, one city, different times; connected by a memoir. Can love exist in a city destined for decades of misery?"

Adnan leads a weary existence as a bookshop owner in modern-day, war-torn Baghdad, where bombings, corruption and assault are everyday occurrences and the struggle to survive has suffocated the joy out of life for most. But when he begins to clean out his bookshop of forty years to leave his city in search of somewhere safer, he comes across the story of Ali, the Gardener of Baghdad, Adnan rediscovers through a memoir handwritten by the gardener decades ago that beauty, love and hope can still exist, even in the darkest corners of the world.



Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M91LJGW
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M91LJGW/
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...
iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/the-...
Googleplay https://play.google.com/store/books/d...
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/the-...


Ahmad Ardalan Author Page: http://www.ahmadardalan.net/

Follow me on Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ahmad...

Join my mailing list for all the latest
http://mad.ly/signups/130001/join

Ahmad Ardalan

This ugly book goes free on 03/24/19 for one day only and then the price will soar to 3 bucks an e-piece:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O3BEX4Q
If you don't like the cover, imagine how awful the content can be -:)

Russian/Ukrainian Godfather

On the last day of April, I am running an Amazon promotion for free downloads of Assassin Marked! You are welcome and, in fact, encouraged to share this post with your friends and spread the love.

This promotion will run all day on April 30, 2019.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07688D1T5

~Michael C. Sahd

Hi, I'm doing a keyboard worker’s road trip around the UK (blog touring) :) Eight writers will review, publish articles and do Q and A's linked to ‘The Migrant’, a suspense novel set in Greece and Albania, eight days in a row from today, May 6th. Drop in on each writer’s address on the tour schedule, or on my Goodreads page, or on this twitter thread #themigrantnovel to find out more. Paul.

Hi everyone,

I have the privilege of sharing with you my first book: a guide for people who want to move to another country. It has checklists, stories from others who've moved successfully, detailed explanations, all in a thorough, though user-friendly tone.

I would like to offer a free online copy of this book, in return for an honest review :).



Free copy for an honest review
Please email me at diana@mymoveguide.com to receive the free copy.

I am deeply grateful, It's worth it, you'll enjoy it,
Diana

‘I have spent some time in Greece in the past, and I was captivated by the author's evocation of various locations in Athens. His description of the car journey from Albania to Greece, too, is rich and detailed…’ says reviewer S C Skillman.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm starting a one-day Amazon Kindle giveaway of My Ugandan Hill (children's book) at midnight tonight and running through September 28. I'd really appreciate a review left on Amazon if you do decide to download my book. Thanks so very much. Charles.
Here is what IndieReader thought:
IndieReader Review: 4.8 stars
"From being cared for by traditional ayahs (nanny/nursemaids) to life-threatening encounters with musota snakes, as seen through young C. H. Colman's eyes, the reminiscences of MY UGANDAN HILL come wonderfully to life. Readers of all ages, parents, teachers, take note: supported by judicious use of Luganda and Swahili terms, native concepts, and introductions to African wildlife, this is a perfect tale for pleasure reading and education."
by C.H. Colman

"Burn: Horror Stories" is a collection of dread-inducing, mind-twisting, existential horror stories inspired by The Twilight Zone and H.P. Lovecraft. It's now available on Amazon for 33 percent off until Nov. 13.

Visit the book's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XH1FPP1

A man’s wife and business partner believe they killed him as part of an insurance scam, but then he reappears as if nothing happened. Two fugitives take shelter in an abandoned industrial facility, but what they find inside might be more dangerous than what pursues them. A tech guru's lifestyle is immersed in smart technology, but what if it's so smart, it's dangerous? The parents of an out-of-control child will do anything to curb her awful behavior, but at what cost? A woman awakens upside down in a totaled car with no recollection of how she got there. Will she be able to find help, or will something more sinister find her first? These stories and more await you in this collection of existential horror by James G. Boswell.

"The Tree of Death" by James G. Boswell

Pedro Oliveira circled a spot on the map that lay unfolded on the table before him. A thin film of sweat shined upon his forehead. Dust motes floated in the light that beamed through the hut’s wooden shutters.

He tapped his pen in the circle as he looked at Isabella Silva and said, “Here’s the place, Professor Silva. The last known location of the Apuelito tribe. It’s a month’s journey from here through the jungle on foot, but you shouldn’t go there. No one should. It’s too dangerous.”

Isabella said, “Thank you, Mr. Oliveira. I appreciate your concern, but I’ve been searching for this lost rainforest tribe for many years. I’m too close now to give up. Besides, I’ve been on a half-dozen expeditions through the jungle, the last two of them by myself. I think I’ll be fine.”

Read the whole story here: http://jamesgboswell.com/2019/10/the-...

“Reading is very creative - it's not just a passive thing. I write a story; it goes out into the world; somebody reads it and, by reading it, completes it.” ― Margaret Mahy

Hello Everyone,

I've just written and illustrated my first children's picture book Passionately Curious. It's out now on https://www.amazon.com/dp/1696284988/...



Thanks
Isaac

A Whole Nother Story

Amazing book, check it out!

Paul wrote: "Like to check your general knowledge of Albania and Greece? Try this easy quiz on goodreads drawn from my thriller/novel ‘The Migrant’.

Who was the Prime Minister ..."

For a few days only ‘The Migrant’ on kindle has been reduced to £2.99. It’s a great deal to catch!



‘The Migrant is a compelling read that takes the reader on a road journey from rural Albania to Athens, Greece and back again. A British man, Jude Kilburn, is the pastor of a small church in Albania, who goes in search of a young man from his community to bring him back home…’ writes reviewer Katherine Blessan.

‘Look Inside’ is available for Chapter 1.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...

Paul wrote: "Paul wrote: "Like to check your general knowledge of Albania and Greece? Try this easy quiz on goodreads drawn from my thriller/novel ‘The Migrant’.

Who was the Pr..."

Dusk in the mountains of Albania. Talking about Jude Kilburn, the main character of the novel ‘The Migrant’, in this short film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCM0u...

A review for ‘The Silencer’.
‘Paul Alkazraji's novel conveys a vivid and atmospheric impression of life in the Balkans. His characters are believable and real, some of them loveable and slightly eccentric. This is a thriller in the old style, building up a picture with skill and dexterity, and as the plot becomes tense towards the end of the book, it is a real page-turner. Highly recommended!!’
Grace Turner. Author of ‘The Kings Gold’, Monarch Books.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Hi
I hope you are all well and coping ok in these trying times - everything seems insane at the moment.
Anyway
If anyone is interested my new book 'Fall of the Romanovs' has just gone on sale on Amazon for purchase on Kindle (£0.99p or $1.39) and hard copy paperback (£6.99 or $9.60)
I've attached a small example for your pleasure:-

"Okay, everyone, call to order, order."
The words came from the newly appointed chair for the Westfield Amateur Theatrical Company, Geoffrey Mayweather and were accompanied by a banging of a gavel on the table. He was pleased with his new position and he looked it. Portly, balding and shiny-faced, every inch the bank manager.
He banged the gavel again and said, "First on the agenda...this year's play."
His wife, Melody, a tiny, 50-something brunette with delicate features, a surgically preserved hand span waist and well-shaped legs, determinedly a Little to his Large, interrupted his smug survey of the assembled committee members with a quiet but forceful, "Er...first Geoffrey, just to let you all know, Emily popped in earlier and left cakes in the kitchen for us." She had no intention of partaking herself but needed her female friends to dive in and engorge themselves.
There was a chorus of 'oohs and aaahs'; Emily Clunk's exquisite cakes were legendary.
"Should I get them now?" This offer came from Clive Bowthorpe, middle-aged, paunch and comb over, perennial bachelor of the parish, known to have a soft spot for both Emily and her cakes.
"Not yet," said Geoffrey, his sweet tooth fighting with the need to keep time, "things to do."
"Don't mind him, Clive," Melody's laugh tinkled through the words, "he's thinking about the football."
Clive was half-way out of the room before she'd finished speaking.
"Kick off in just over an hour," murmured a voice. Eric Stones, his mind on the game and how long it would take them to get home. He seemed to be unaware he'd spoken; the words emerging of their own volition.
His wife, Deirdre, all gym toned body and Botox face, was sitting well within earshot and raised her immaculate eyebrows, (in so much as she was able) and gave him a stern sideways look. Eric's face folded in on itself and his enthusiasm for the beautiful game waned.
"I nominate Time's Up," said a loud voice. There was a collective groan from the assembly and Derek Greene stood up, using his height to dominant effect. He was determined to get his nomination in first. "Mable," he said, indicating his wife who looked startled to be named, "will second the motion."
"Oh no," sighed Melody, "not again, surely."
All eyes turned to the hapless Mable. She was squirming, embarrassment writ large across her pretty but vacuous face. Would she be the dutiful wife and support Derek's play for a third year? Despite knowing how badly it was received and attended last time, bearing in mind it had been just as badly attended the year before that and that was before people knew how awful it was.
"Mable," pressed Derek.
She gulped.
"Mable?"
"Seconded," she said, her voice barely audible.
"You'll have to speak up, Mable, old love," said Geoffrey, using chair's privilege, hoping she would take the opportunity to withdraw the nomination or at least have the decency to faint, "I don't think the others heard you."
"Yes Mable," said Derek, "Speak up girl."
"Seconded," said Mable, this time more forcefully. She shared their misgivings about putting it on again but knew from personal experience how pig-headed Derek could be. He would give her such grief at home if she didn't support him and he was quite capable of nominating it year on year until it was accepted and somehow made into a hit or until they all died of the sheer agony of going through the same torment again and again.
Deirdre had told Eric she intended to oppose Derek if he put forward his play again, and true to her word she spoke up, "I think we should call time on Time's Up!"
There was a light titter at the pun.
Eric began a vigorous nodding, indicating his support of his wife. He forbore to speak, unsure if it was safe to do so. Naturally, anything that sounded like disagreement would be met harshly later and in most cases the nod was the safest course of action. As his nodding slowed to a head bob, he remembered with a clutch of concern that there were times when a nod wasn't enough and full-on verbal heart felt support was required. The problem was that he never knew which was what at the time and would be instead informed about the lack of said support at a later stage and in no uncertain terms. He sighed at the tenuous nature of his survival.
"How exactly," said Florence Chestnut, Flo to her friends, in her best deep-throated actress voice, "were we to make anything of that tosh of a script...I would defy Olivier to do anything with it."
Despite entering her fifties, she was still, nonetheless, a gorgeous looking woman; milky-white skin, flame hair and a figure to die for or get extremely excited about depending on your proclivities, however she had the personality of a hungry crocodile and therefore she garnered no support.
There was a collective groan at the name drop.
Even Martin, her husband, Ken to her Barbie, made a sound, quickly suppressed. She had once appeared in film in which Sir Laurence had starred. She'd tried to steal the scene and had been banished from the studio. The scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Florence explained the missing footage on an error in set design. No matter, they couldn't go through a meeting or a rehearsal without her drawing reference to having once appeared with Olivier.
Eric saw an opening for some manly behaviour of which Deidre might approve. He stood up, heavy-set, 5ft 11 in his socks, clumsy and un-coordinated, tugging at his jacket pocket and saying, "D'you like me to read the reviews?" He was pleased that he'd taken the time to dig them out in anticipation of Derek nominating his dreadful play again. He tugged at his jacket again, the moment almost lost. He could feel Deidre's head shake without seeing it, and he tugged harder. Then the cuttings from last year were in his hand and he was flourishing them in Derek's general direction. He spoke loudly from memory, "Dull, tired, meaningless drivel, poorly scripted...nonsensical..."
"Steady on, Eric, that wasn't my fault, it was the cast...if they had more belief in the..."
Geoffrey cut across Derek's protestations, saying, "Ok, we've heard from the Nay sayers, now, who's for Derek's motion?"
Derek's hand shot up whilst the others round the table determinedly folded their arms. Mable tucked her hands under the table and ducked her head.
"Mable," hissed Derek, spotting the lack of support, "hand."
Mable grimaced, then raised her arm, quietly confident that it would make little difference if the others remained strong.
"Clive?" said Derek.
Clive swallowed the remnants of his third cake and squirmed in his seat.
"Clive," Derek said, "come on, I've always backed you."
This wasn't true, Clive felt inferior to Derek and was intimidated by him. Slowly, he raised his hand.
The room sighed.
Derek turned to the next on his list of likely targets. Daffyd Brodsky had supported him every year so far and he was confident he would do so again.
Daffyd was, as usual, draped on his chair, louche and languid, yet there was an air that was unfamiliar about him. And more worryingly, he showed no sign of raising an arm.
"Daffyd," repeated Derek, fixing the younger man with a dark stare.
"Actually..." said Daffyd, his voice a slow drawl, "I have a play of my own to offer this year."
He'd changed significantly since he'd made the decision to come out as gay, to himself, and to the public, albeit at some unspecified time in the future. His confidence levels had risen and that had altered his general demeanour. A few of the women on the committee had noticed; he was dark and brooding in a Welsh Heathcliff-like way, and this new confidence added emphasis to that. They'd spent several hours in huddled sessions, speculating on the probable cause, none of which had been anywhere near the mark. Daffyd was adept at keeping his cards exceedingly close to his chest and this hand, in particular, was well and truly clamped tight within his ribcage.
Derek stared open mouthed, the others turned in surprise, Daffyd never had ideas.
Melody gave Flo a knowing glance, Flo elongated her face raising her left eyebrow towards Deirdre who sent her own coded look to Mable who gulped; Derek would not like this one little bit, and she was bound to hear about it for weeks on end, especially if Daffyd's play was chosen over Derek's which in her heart of hearts she desperately hoped would be the case.
"What play is that Daffyd, my boy?" asked Geoffrey, turning slightly away from the dumbfounded look on Derek's face.
Daffyd's burst of courage had deserted him. "It's not all that, something I came up with...."
Derek felt rage coursing through him, "What could you have possibly written about? Spit it out," he said, a vein was now pulsing in his temple, "you've started now, so finish it."
That did it. "It's about the Russian revolution," Daffyd said, no longer sprawling or languid, "and actually...I'm quite proud of it."
"A revolution?" said Florence, her hands theatrically cupping her face, "I don't think we want anything to do with revolutions, do we girls?" She could see no role for herself in this and was immediately disposed to oppose it.
Daffyd wasn't about to leave it now the subject had been broached, "My paternal grandfather was an émigré...he fled the revolution...and my play charts the history of the revolution right up until after the Great War."
"How on earth do you expect us to put something like that on?" demanded Derek, "No, no, no, I think we all know we'd be better off sticking to something that we know..."
The others winced visibly, there was no way they could stomach appearing in Derek's disaster again.
"Anyone else?" asked Geoffrey.
"We could revive 'Horticulture Harriet'?" said Deirdre.
Eric seized his opportunity, "Hear, hear, darling."
"Ah yes, a wonderful concept, Deidre," said Geoffrey, groaning inwardly, "although we must consider what happened with the Daffodil boys? In of itself a superb idea of course, but the realisation of the idea was less..."
"Can't be done," said Derek, "not worth contemplating."
Deirdre was disappointed but didn't want to strain her facial muscles so restricted herself to a sigh.
"I'm working on something," offered Clive nervously, "but...urm...I haven't finished it yet."
"Well how close are you?" asked Melody, "To finishing it, I mean?"
"Oh...well...not so close really," said Clive, "perhaps it might be better saved for next year."
"Oh, for God's sake," Derek said, "there's no alternative...bar Daffyd's preposterous call to revolution and I'm sure we're all opposed to that, which just leaves Time's Up."
The room fell silent as each committee member stared into the nightmare that would be a rerun of Derek's play. The endless rehearsals with him bossing them all around, the same awful lines of what had been a tired script the first time round, the mounting despair as opening night approached, the group humiliation of staring out at empty seats and the same soul-destroying reviews as the local rag ripped into them once again. In short, the horrendous prospect of yet another mortifying flop.
"All in favour of Daffyd's Russian Revolution?" asked Geoffrey.
With the exception of Derek all hands shot in the air.

Links to Amazon are listed below:-
Amazon.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fall-Romanov...

Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Romanovs-...
Thanks for your time
Cheers, good luck getting through the months ahead and happy reading
Arun

– Free E-Book, Sept. 8 –

Magellan's Unlikely Explorers: Stories of the First Circumnavigation



Free Kindle on Sept. 8, 2022, on the 500-year anniversary of the first circumnavigation.

Magellan's Unlikely Explorers tells the first circumnavigation through stories of the far-fetched individuals who joined the expedition. This was a three-year voyage that circled the globe and crossed a wide swatch of history along the way.

Among its crew were Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian scholar who passing through Spain just happened to hear about a fleet being prepared, and went on to write its history; Duarte Barbosa, who spent fifteen years in India, became fluent in the Malayalam language of Kerala, and wrote a detailed Asian travelogue; Joãozito Lopes Carvalho, a young boy who became the first native of Brazil to cross the Pacific; and Enrique of Malacca, the first person to circumnavigate the globe linguistically, and possibly altogether.

Hi everyone,
Promoting my debut novel titled UNEVEN.
---
At twenty-eight, gorgeous-looking and God-believing Bradley Madison seems normal from the outside, but he has had to walk a very different and challenging path every day of his life to be the man he is. And when all seems to finally fall in place, the clouds go dark again, and time stands still. Because of the one secret he omitted by choice, the one person he longs to be with may not be riding out the waves with him. His best friend cannot help him because of the deception he never meant. He comes to the delayed crossroad and is forced to face his fears or risk starting all over.

Headstrong and smart Melanie Reed could not be happier about how her life has taken a turn for good. She’s an orphan who’s finally learned the concept of love but still struggles to accept it. Her dreams are fast becoming a reality—until she learns she may have traded her heart too soon and to the wrong man. Then she learns that her best friend is fast drowning again.

BOOK LINK: https://books2read.com/uneven

For Spanish speakers:

Hola a todos y a todas. Quiero presentarles mi nueva novela de fantasía mitológica: El Amo de los Tiempos.

link Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

link: Amazon: https://geni.us/elamodelostiempos

Aquí les dejo la sinopsis:

¿Es valioso el destino, sobre todo si ha sido elegido por un agente externo? ¿Existe el libre albedrío para los dioses?

Salomeno, un hombre conocido como La Serpiente Traga Hombres, era el conquistador más sangriento que recuerde el continente de Gálica, hasta que sufre un cambio que lo incita a buscar la redención, y se aventura en exilio al continente de Jobos. En su posesión tiene a dos soles: unas deidades que según él se han hecho carne, manifestados en la forma de dos gemelos, Arias y Nira, a quienes Salomeno ha criado como suyos. Con la ayuda de este radiante y catastrófico poder, cuenta con crear una nación llamada Savana, que alberga a todos quienes él una vez humilló, y así entonces derrocar el actual Amo del Tiempo, un rey despiadado conocido como La’Mourg, quien desea tomar custodia de los niños ya que, según la profecía, están destinados a destronarlo. En plena transición a la adolescencia, Arias y Nira se aventuran a un peregrinaje cuyo objetivo es convencer a la mayor cantidad de gente de que ellos son los elegidos para liberarles, pero en su camino se toparán con amos, esclavos, opresores, impostores, traidores, ladrones y un rey demente, cambiando para siempre su percepción del mundo, y por lo tanto a este.

Con lo que no contaba Salomeno era que uno de los soles brillaba por sí solo, y el otro, para sí mismo.