Spotlight ~ Dark Spiral Down by Michael Houtz @michaelhoutz #Thriller

Title: DARK SPIRAL DOWN

Author: Michael Houtz

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Pages: 377

Genre: Thriller/International/Action

COLE HAUFNER is a reluctant superstar in the professional mixed
martial arts world. After his latest fight, his wife and child perish in
a car crash. His grief deepens when his brother, BUTCH, a Delta Force
operator, is absent from the funeral and reported missing by two furtive
strangers who show up unannounced at the burial. Despairing, and acting
on a tip, Cole travels to his childhood home in southeast China,
looking for his brother.

Butch and his teammate, HAMMER, are the sole American survivors of a
gun battle between their unit and North Korean commandos, both sides
fighting over possession of a stolen suitcase containing a miniaturized
fusion device that could either provide unlimited clean energy or be
converted to an undetectable bomb seven times more powerful than a
nuclear explosion. Leading the North Koreans is the sociopath, Commander
PARK. Pressed into helping the Koreans is a disgraced former CIA
operative, BARRETT JENNINGS.

Cole meets with the uncle who raised him, MASTER LI, and is warned to
stop his search for Butch. Barrett discovers Cole’s identity (with the
help of a genius computer hacker, LILLY), which opens a twenty-year-old
wound when Barrett was blamed for the disappearance of Cole’s father,
along with the man’s invention. Barrett enlists the 14K organized crime
syndicate to help capture Cole. Hammer, separated from Butch during the
fight for the device, thwarts the gang’s attempt to kidnap Cole, and the
two then set off to find Butch and the device. All parties converge on
the city library where Butch, now disguised as a monk, is attempting to
communicate with the Pentagon. Barrett and Park capture Butch, while the
14K gang nabs Cole.

Danger mounts as Chinese authorities begin investigating foul play
within their borders. Cole fights his way free of the gang and reunites
with Hammer.  Both men find Barrett’s apartment and discover Lilly (the
man’s stepdaughter), who divulges Barrett’s identity and plan. Cole
clashes with Hammer, who is willing to sacrifice Butch in order to
recover the fusion device. Lilly offers her help in exchange for her and
Barrett’s rescue from Park’s grip. Meanwhile, Barrett discovers the
true nature of the case the North Koreans are pursuing and, sensing he
and Lilly are to be assassinated by Park once he has the device, frees
Butch. Butch, trusting Barrett was sent to rescue him, leads the
turncoat to the site where he hid the device. Barrett, hoping to make a
quick fortune selling it, shoots Butch before escaping with the case.

Cole, along with Hammer and Lilly, arrives at the location of Butch
and finds him gravely wounded. Butch fingers Barrett for shooting him
and for stealing the case. Cole wants only to save his brother but Butch
makes him promise to kill Barrett and recover their dad’s invention.
The revelation that the device is his father’s scientific discovery
propels Cole forward to fulfill his brother’s mission. Cole is forced to
abandon Butch at a hospital. Cole pursues Barrett to a remote dock
where the ex-CIA man is planning to escape China by boat. With the
Chinese military now actively looking for Cole, Cole confronts Barrett
and Park sparking a gunfight. Barrett kills Park. As Barrett turns the
gun on Cole, Hammer kills Barrett. Cole, Hammer and Lilly escape via the
boat, and the fusion device is safely returned.

Praise:
“If you’re in the market for a fast paced, action filled,
page-turning thriller, Mike Houtz delivers a must-read novel. I highly
recommend this emotional rollercoaster of a book for every die-hard
thriller reader…Get it ASAP!”

~Lima Charlie Review

“…this work proves that author Houtz is undoubtedly a rising star in the publishing world.”

~Andrea Brunais, Author

“Mike Houtz takes us on fast-pace adventure in Dark Spiral Down, a
thrilling ride along the border between China and North Korea, where
Cole Haufner is in pursuit of his Delta Force brother and a device that
has the potential to change the world forever or destroy it.”

~Dan Grant, Author

“Dark Spiral Down is a phenomenal debut novel by Mike Houtz.
This book has everything readers of the genre love: a great plot,
memorable characters, and a powerful voice. It’s a must-read!”

~Ammar Habib, Bestselling & Award-Winning Author, Editor-in-Chief of Thriller Magazine

ORDER YOUR COPY

AMAZON

~ Authors Guest Post ~

International Action Thriller, Dark Spiral Down—The Real Message Behind the Book.

Every novel written begins life with an inspired idea—an author experience, expertise in a given field, or any number of other bits and pieces that speaks to the writer. Dark Spiral Down chronicles the life of a former Shaolin monk, living in the U.S. with his beautiful wife and toddler son, who earns his living as one of the greatest fighters in professional mixed martial arts history. The motivation behind the book has little to do with the actual manuscript. Nothing on the pages hints at the true purpose of why I wrote this story. Let me tell you how it came about.

A few years ago, I retired early from a career in medicine. No surprise, my first writing effort started with a medical thriller. I felt, and still do, the story has a strong premise and has the potential to do well. Somewhere around that same time, I read an appalling account of a child whisked away from his father to South America by his ex-wife. The courts in that part of the world were manipulated by the new boyfriend, an attorney, and the father struggled mightily against unsympathetic ears. From all accounts on subsequent research, I discovered the dad was a good guy with no history of violence, and he’d been a loving father to his son. His journey for the return of his son spanned years. Imagine dropping off your child with a spouse for visitation and never seeing them again. The account really hit home. 

I continued with my medical thriller but kept going back to the event and grew increasingly angry when all his attempts to just visit with his son were thwarted. How could someone be so cruel? I imagined someone traveling there, in the middle of the night, and whisking the boy away from this horrendous adult and reuniting him with his father. Not long after that initial thought, I formed a character in my head capable of a rescue. That’s when I knew I had to write another book. Now.

With all that backstory of my motivation to write my newest novel, you’d expect the storyline mirroring my description. Well, that’s not how this book turned out. Yes, the protagonist, Cole Haufner, is a man with the necessary skill in performing a rescue, but he doesn’t pursue an innocent child’s return. He rescues two young adult women, his Delta Force brother, and recovers a device capable of incalculable destruction. Hey! Where’s the kid? Here’s where my pragmatic brain kicked in.

I’ve seen Best Selling authors write a book later in a series that explains the roots of their primary character. I consciously decided that the first would show where they came from and not wait until #5. Cole’s story-arc beginning has nothing to do with saving children. Only later does he discover his true talent and begin his life’s purpose. I wanted to follow his life in a linear fashion—just as we all live our lives in real life. I also have a secondary motivation.
Dark Spiral Down is my first published, full-length novel. So? Well, I reasoned my freshman effort would possibly look just like what you’d expect from someone’s first attempt—rough around the edges. I’m hedging my bet that Cole’s real purpose in life should be met with more writing experience and thus an improved reader experience. I didn’t anticipate the excellent reviews I’m receiving by significant members of the thriller marketplace—very welcome but unexpected. Did my decision negatively impact what I hoped to accomplish? Not at all. I’m more fired up that ever for Cole to begin his journey of bringing these children home—my true motivation for breathing life into this character. Just so happens I did learn a lot on the mechanics of writing novels this first go-‘round, and I’m confident future books in the series will benefit from my newfound knowledge.

I hope readers will join me in supporting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Like my imaginary friend, Cole Haufner, I too discovered my new purpose in life.

Bring them home!
Mike

After a career in medicine, Mike Houtz succumbed to the call to hang
up his stethoscope and pursue his other passion as a writer of
fast-paced thrillers. A rabid fan of authors such as Clancy, Mark
Greaney, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor, Mike loves series writing with
strong characters, fast pacing and international locations, all of which
explode into action in his debut novel, a 2017 Zebulon Award winner.
When not at the keyboard, he can be found on the firing range, traveling
for research across the globe, or trying out the latest dry-fly pattern
on a Gold Medal trout stream.

He lives at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

His latest book is the thriller/international/action novel, Dark Spiral Down.

Website: www.mikehoutz.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelhoutz

Facebook Pages: https://www.facebook.com/author.mikehoutz/

https://www.facebook.com/mike.houtz.77

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Blitz/#Giveaway ~ The Divorce Planner by Angela Lam @authorangelalam #Romance

The Divorce Planner
Angela Lam 

Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: May 20th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When her daughter suggests Darcy Madison attend her ex-husband’s wedding, Darcy enlists the help of her colleague, divorce attorney Victor Costello, to pose as her dashing young date. But when Victor proposes to Darcy at the reception, Darcy forgets they are pretending and says, “Yes!” Between her false engagement to Victor and her daughter’s suggestion to have a double wedding, Darcy falls even further in the fantasy of being a blushing midlife bride. The longer the masquerade continues, the more Darcy starts to wonder what is love and can it last forever in a world where divorce is the only language she knows?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

~Q&A With Angela ~

Q: What inspired you to write The Divorce Planner?

A: Shortly after my year-long divorce was finalized, I wistfully wondered if the process would have gone more smoothly if I had hired someone to navigate it for me much like brides hire a wedding planner to plan their special day. My boyfriend and his mother said there was no such thing as a divorce planner. I looked up the profession and discovered they were right. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of such a career and wondered who would be brave enough (and crazy enough) to help divorcing couples through the process. That’s when Darcy Madison came to me. Once she started telling me her story, I began to write.

Q: Who inspired Darcy? Who inspired Victor?

A: Darcy is a little bit of me (the woman in a man’s body), a little bit of my husband (I never want to get married again), and a little bit like my favorite female friend (who has the same name as Darcy’s best friend), and, of course, the rest is herself.
Victor is every male Peter Pan I’ve ever met with a dash of the classic Alpha romantic hero and a whole lot of himself.

Q: What inspired the mother-daughter dynamics between Darcy and Joyce?

A: Obviously, Darcy and Joyce’s relationship mirror my own relationship with my daughter following my divorce.
(Shhh…don’t tell her that).

Q: Why include the 2017 Northern California wildfires in the book?

A: I sold the manuscript to The Wild Rose Press in December 2017. My editor, Leanne Morgena, thought the wildfire was relevant to the setting. I rewrote extensively to include the fire and its aftermath in the book.

Q: Is rewriting difficult?

A: I was in labor for 72 hours with my daughter and giving birth was much easier than rewriting anything, including The Divorce Planner. Luckily, Leanne is patient and understanding with an open heart and open mind. In spite of her talent, the rewrite took over one year for me to complete. I’m hoping to reduce that amount of time with the next book I’ve sold, Friends First. But I’m a slower learner, so we’ll see…

Q: Any advice for aspiring authors?

A: I think the famous authors have said enough. I have nothing more to add. I’ve tried to quit writing but writing is the only reason why I am still alive.

Q: What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

A: During a work conference, I trekked three miles by foot to visit the Not My Brother’s Bar in Denver, Colorado,
where Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady drank. The register still shows the amount of Kerouac’s bar tab. Fabulous!

Q: What is the first book that made you cry?

A: Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery. I identified with Emily Bryd Starr’s quest to become a professional author.

Q: Does a big ego help or hurt authors?

A: It definitely helps. Most of the local authors I’ve befriended since I started writing professionally in 1985 focus exclusively on writing, because their confidence was contagious. If you dream big, believe big, and live big, you will definitely experience big results. I, on the other hand, am trying desperately to build my self-confidence so I can eventually retire and focus exclusively on writing and painting.

Q: Do you paint?

A: My first love is drawing. You can read more about my journey as a visual artist in my memoir, Red Eggs and Good Luck.

Author Bio:

Angela is a San Francisco Bay Area native.
She studied journalism at Northwestern University as a Cherub scholar. She received her B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Sonoma State University.
Her nonfiction articles on real estate, lending, and finance can be found online at SFGate.com. Her short stories, essays, and poetry are published in a number of magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, including The Dollar Stretcher, Foliate Oak , Kenwood Press, The Phoenix, Potpourri, The Sun, The Writer, and Women’s Voices.
When she is not writing, she is either painting, reading, running, or spending time with her family and friends.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Must Read Books for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Soon to be a Hulu limited series starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington!

Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads,  Book of the Month, Paste,  Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more!

“I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting.” —Jodi Picoult

“To say I love this book is an understatement. It’s a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears.” —Reese Witherspoon

“Extraordinary . . . books like Little Fires Everywhere don't come along often.” —John Green

“Witty, wise, and tender. It’s a marvel.” —Paula Hawkins

From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides.  Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster. Purchase on Amazon 

_

 

Life is a lucrative business, as long as you play by the rules.

People Book of the Week • “[Joanne] Ramos’s debut novel couldn’t be more relevant or timely.”—O: The Oprah Magazine (25 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2019)

Nestled in New York’s Hudson Valley is a luxury retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, personal fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. In fact, you’re paid big money to stay here—more than you’ve ever dreamed of. The catch? For nine months, you cannot leave the grounds, your movements are monitored, and you are cut off from your former life while you dedicate yourself to the task of producing the perfect baby. For someone else.

Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is in desperate search of a better future when she commits to being a “Host” at Golden Oaks—or the Farm, as residents call it. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her family, Jane is determined to reconnect with her life outside. Yet she cannot leave the Farm or she will lose the life-changing fee she’ll receive on the delivery of her child.

Gripping, provocative, heartbreaking, The Farm pushes to the extremes our thinking on motherhood, money, and merit and raises crucial questions about the trade-offs women will make to fortify their futures and the futures of those they love.

Praise for The Farm

“So many factors—gender, race, religion, class—may determine where you come down on the surrogacy debate. . . . Joanne Ramos plays with many of these notions in her debut novel, The Farm, which imagines what might happen were surrogacy taken to its high-capitalist extreme. . . . The stage is set for lively book chat.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A thrilling read.”—New York 

“Grippingly realistic.”—Entertainment Weekly (“20 New Books to Read in May”)

“Brilliant.”—New York Post (“Best Books of the Week”)

“A provocative idea, and Ramos nails it . . . Crisp and believable, this smart debut links the poor and the 1 percent in a unique transaction that turns out to be mutually rewarding.”—People (Book of the Week)

“Wow, Joanne Ramos has written the page-turner about immigrants chasing what’s left of the American dream. . . . Truly unforgettable.”—Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Lake Success.  Purchase on Amazon

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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Lean, relentless, and incandescent.” —Colson Whitehead

From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others—the basis for the Academy Award –nominated film Arrival: a groundbreaking new collection of short fiction.

"THE UNIVERSE BEGAN AS AN ENORMOUS BREATH BEING HELD."In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.

In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory. Purchase on Amazon

_

 

“The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational.” —Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians

Amy Tan’s beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery. Purchase on Amazon

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“These dazzling stories interrogate the fractures, collisions and glorious new alloys of what it means to be a Chinese millennial.”—Adam Johnson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Orphan Master’s Son

Named One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2019 by Nylon, Electric Literature, The Millions, and LitHub • An Elle Best Book of Spring

In dexterous, electric prose, the twelve stories in Xuan Juliana Wang’s first collection reveal the new face of a generation of Chinese youth.

Her characters stand at the threshold of bold and uncertain futures, navigating between their heritage and the chaos of contemporary life. In a crowded apartment on Mott Street, an immigrant family raises its first real Americans. At the Beijing Olympics, a pair of synchronized divers stands poised at the edge of success and self-discovery. And in New York, a father creates an algorithm to troubleshoot the problem of raising a daughter born into a world so different from his own.

From fuerdai (second-generation rich kids) and livestream stars to a glass-swallowing qigong grandmaster, these stories upend the well-worn immigrant narrative to reveal a new experience of belonging: of young people testing the limits of who they are and who they will one day become, in a world as vast and varied as their ambitions.

Praise for Home Remedies
 
"Artful, funny, generous and empathetic . . . Xuan Juliana Wang is a radiant new talent.”—Lauren Groff

“Spectacular . . . Wang has cherry-picked from disparate worlds and engineered a whole new, sublimely captivating one.”—Vogue

“Remarkable . . . Wang captures the strivings and uncertainty of Chinese youth establishing themselves in America and beyond. . . . [A] deft, striking debut.”—New York Observer, “Spring 2019 Must-Read Books”

“Filled with characters who mirror the chaos and anxiety, exhilaration and despair, desire and fear of the world around them, Home Remedies offers searing portraits of millennial Chinese immigrants. . . . Wang’s shimmering words offer proof that even the most mundane of these lives have the potential to become something extraordinary. . . .  A great, explosive talent.”—Nylon, “Best New Books of May” Purchase on Amazon

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ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Wall Street Journal • NPR • Vanity Fair • Vogue • Minneapolis Star Tribune • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Guardian • O, The Oprah Magazine • Slate • Newsday • Buzzfeed • The Economist • Newsweek • People • Kansas City Star • Shelf Awareness • Time Out New York • Huffington Post • Book Riot • Refinery29 • Bookpage • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus

WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE
A MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Purchase on Amazon

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~ For a Limited Time Only - Two Great Reads On Sale ~

~ 5 Stars - blue ridge sunrise by Denise Hunter ~

 "This must-read romance stirs a touch of heat into a sweet story of self-acceptance and rekindled love. Recommended!" USAToday

Former free spirit Zoe Collins swore she'd never again set foot in Copper Creek or speak to the man who broke her heart. But return she must when her beloved Granny dies, leaving the family legacy to Zoe--a peach orchard nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When Zoe returns home with her daughter and boyfriend Kyle, she finds that she's the only person in town who doesn't expect her to give up the life she's established far away from Copper Creek. Everyone believes she was born to run the orchard, but how can she make it her home after so many years?
Cruz Huntley never quite got over his first love, Zoe Collins, the little sister of his best friend Brady. Not when she cheated on him during their "break," not when she took off to parts unknown with good-for-nothing Kyle Jenkins, and not even now--five years later.
As life-changing decisions and a history with Cruz hang over Zoe's head, tensions rise between her and Kyle. Even as she comes to terms with the shifting relationships in her life, Zoe still isn't sure if she can remain in Copper Creek with her new responsibilities . . . and her first love. $8.99  now $1.99 on Amazon

~ 5 Stars - Murder on the Sugarland Express by Angie Fox ~

Ghost hunter Verity Long is overdue for a little R&R (rest and romance) with her boyfriend, Ellis, and a vintage train trip through the Tennessee mountains seems like just the ticket. The Sugarland Express carries history and nostalgia in every compartment, and Verity is determined to enjoy it—without ghostly interference. But the ghosts have other plans…

On a dark, desolate night nearly a century ago, the train was stranded in the mountains, and a young woman was found stabbed to death in her locked compartment. The murder was never solved, and a ghostly Belgian detective is still pursuing the case from the grave. 

To Verity’s dismay, all of the ghostly suspects are back. And when history repeats itself and a new murder mirrors the old, it’s up to Verity and her friends to discover which of the passengers—dead or alive—could be behind the murders before the killer strikes again. 99Ȼ on Amazon

HAPPY READING! 😉

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#Free ~ For A Limited Time Only ~ Forest of Lost Secrets by Emmett & Clarice Swan

They say there is magic in the woods. You don’t believe it? Just ask the trees.

"I was blown away by the emotional journey I was taken on in both the real world and the realms beyond." - Reedsy Discovery.

Jessica must confront the supernatural forces that haunt an enchanted forest deep in the Irish backcountry. Her one hope is to learn to use magical elixirs. The green one makes you invisible. The blue one changes your form. But the red elixir is the most valuable of all. It takes centuries to make, yet one drop transports you to other realms.
Jessica never knew of such magical elixirs. At least not until her parents sent her to Ireland to spend the summer. Having lost her boyfriend in a tragic accident, she was unable to shake the suspicion it was her fault. She didn’t think a new country would change anything.
But as she and her younger brother explore the lands around their Aunt and Uncle’s manor house, they discover a beautiful forest which seems the perfect escape. Filled with old, gnarly trees and carpeted with lush moss, the forest slowly reveals its secrets. Then, one moonlit night, Jessica hears a quiet, troubled voice among the sound of wind whispering through the branches. Three brothers, from a noble estate two hundred years past, have been cursed and need her help.
Jessica finds herself in a race to save the lives of the handsome brothers while preventing a war between two realms she never knew existed. Her only hope is to use the red elixir to travel to the land of Derfaria and confront the evil Keeva. But unless she can put her personal loss behind her and open her heart to a new love, she doesn’t stand a chance.

Forest of Lost Secrets is a modern day adventure full of supernatural beings. If you have ever believed that a forest in the moonlight is magical, then this story is for you.

Free On Amazon For A Limited Time

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Guest Post & Spotlight - Guns, Drugs, or Wealth by Jerry Ford @realjerryford

Title: GUNS, DRUGS, OR WEALTH: THE THREE-INCOME SECRET TO SUCCESS THAT TOOK ME FROM THE STREETS OF DETROIT TO THE TOP OF MY GAME

Author: Jerry Ford

Publisher: Beast Publications

Pages: 164

Genre: Nonfiction/Motivational

Author and Celebrity Personal Trainer Jerry Ford has authored a
powerful, painfully honest book entitled GUNS, DRUGS, OR WEALTH as a
help and inspiration to others who also seek personal wealth and
independence.

Said Jerry Ford: “ ‘Guns, Drugs, or Wealth’ is about how I went from
the hard streets of Detroit to building wealth through stocks, real
estate and smart spending. I share with my readers how I began to build
my wealth as a personal trainer. As I wrote this book, I imagined myself
having a front porch casual conversation with my readers. This how-to
guide on building wealth will not only teach people how to build wealth,
but it’s written in layman’s terms. The genres of this book are
business, inspiration, and self-help.”

Mr. Ford’s book tells all that he has learned, offering readers
specific, tried-and-true tools for building wealth by creating three
streams of income: (1) passive income (through real-estate investing),
(2) portfolio income (through stock market investing), and (3) earned
income (through hard work and smart spending).

As a personal trainer, Jerry Ford has worked with many, many “big
name” clients, including rapper Big Sean to musical artist MoBeatz. One
special trip led to Ford becoming an author. “I was traveling with Big
Sean and MoBeatz and decided to journal a few hours a day on the trip. A
few hours turned into many…and two months later I had created the
manuscript for my book.”

A tragedy earlier in his life also drove Jerry to pull himself up
from a hard life in his native Detroit and build a life for himself as a
personal wealth coach and trainer. “My brother Sam was murdered…I miss
him every day. He inspires me to get out of bed and go as hard as
possible in life every day…I feel like I am living for two people
instead of just one, myself.”

“Being an author was never a plan,” asserted Jerry. “I knew I needed
to figure out a way to help the eighty percent of America who are poor
or middle class. I knew that I needed to help the three billion people
 on the planet who are really poor. Of course this book doesn’t make up
for the world’s educational flaws, but it’s a start. Schools don’t teach
people how to build wealth.”

Praise for Jerry Ford and His Method

“Jerry traveled across the globe to train me. He goes hard in fitness and in life!”

—Alisha Boe, actress best known for 13 Reasons Why on Netflix “I am inspired by Jerry’s principles of building wealth through real estate and stock market investments as well as entrepreneurship. With
multiple streams of income, the sky is the limit when it comes to
potential earning power. This book is here to help!”

—Adrienne C. Moore, actress best known for Orange Is the New Black on Netflix
“Jerry is a beast, and I can totally understand why. Coming from our city, it’s life or death.”

—Dj Mo Beatz, best known as Big Sean’s official DJ “Jerry is not only a trainer; he’s an entrepreneur. He has come up with incredibly creative ways to service his high-end clientele. Not only do I enjoy working with Jerry–he’s great to hang out with.”

—Marc Webb, film and television producer

ORDER YOUR COPY

~ Guest Post With Jerry ~

How Getting Fired from My Job Started Me on the Billionaire Track

Of all the things in my life that have pushed me toward being on the billionaire track, perhaps nothing has been more impactful than getting fired from my job.

That sounds strange, doesn’t it? Allow me to explain.

When I was twenty-six, I woke up one day and decided to move to LA. I don’t know why I felt this urge to move. I would be leaving amazing personal training clients, friends, my mentor, and a great business that I had worked so hard to build.

But I have always been a risk-taker, so I left. After giving everyone two months’ notice, I moved from New York to Los Angeles with no job and no connections.

By the end of my first week in LA, I had landed a job as a personal trainer at Equinox. I quickly became one of the top trainers at Equinox and started to do some damage.

Within six months I had the best clients, including celebrities, more high-net-worth people, and even members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Just like in New York, I found myself feeling unstoppable and living the life on the west coast.

However, it began to bother me that I was still working long hours for another person’s company. Not only that: Equinox was ripping me off, as all gyms do with their trainers.

Have you ever felt that way? It sure doesn’t feel like financial freedom.

Sure, I had a job and I was making a lot of money, but this was not the answer. It was time to make some changes in order to really be free financially. I wanted to be wealthy.

I loved what I did, but my goal was to become a billionaire and I knew there was no way I could there if I kept training sixteen people a day for the rest of my life.

There was only one problem: I had no idea where to start.

My mind was occupied with selling personal training sessions for Equinox, to make sure they hit their monthly goals. I was training so many people each day that there was no time to think about new strategies that would put me on the billionaire track.

I prayed about this. I thought about it whenever I could. And — sure enough — shortly after I began praying and thinking about my future, I was fired from Equinox.

Equinox fired me for working out with one of my clients, even though they had given me permission to do so multiple times. After firing me, they quickly realized that 99% of my clients had left Equinox to follow me to a private training gym.

Their response was to ban me from Equinox worldwide.

To this day, anytime I walk into one of their gyms, somebody kicks me right out. Maybe you think this makes me mad, but I totally understand. If I were in their position, and somebody posed a threat to my business, I’d probably do the same thing.

As upset as I was, I now feel that Equinox did me a favor. This was God answering my prayers. This was what I needed to shake me out of my comfortable routine.

By firing me, they forced me to get on the billionaire track instead of straddling the fence. I believe that the illusion of security stifles ambition. When we feel too safe and secure, we end up settling for what we have instead of striving for what we want.

I had been spending sixteen hours a day, seven days a week at Equinox. Although I had income coming in from investments, I was still tied to the gym as long as I knew that there would always be a new client or lead from the PT manager.

I was playing it safe.

But when I left Equinox, I was motivated to push above and beyond what I’d been capable of. What doesn’t kill you makes you a survivor, and you have to decide to get stronger. I left Equinox and soared as an independent trainer, making four times as much per client as I had at Equinox. Not only that, I was my own boss and loving it.

Now that I had quadrupled my income from training and had investment income coming in, it was time to take my financial freedom to the next level. I reinvested all of my profits from my investments because I knew that would put me on the billionaire track.

The illusion of security at Equinox had stifled my ambition and kept me from truly going after financial freedom. I’m not a billionaire yet, but I know I’m on the right track now. 
I’m on the right track now.

Jerry Ford is a Detroit native who grew up in the ghetto. He has been
involved in and witnessed everything from gun violence to drug
trafficking and addiction, jail, gang life, and murder. At age fourteen,
Jerry’s brother, Sam, was murdered on their mother’s birthday. At age
seventeen, Jerry’s best friend, Steven, was also murdered. The list goes
on. One of the ways Jerry channeled his anger was through martial arts;
he became a black belt in multiple styles and received gold medals in
the Junior Olympics and other world-respected tournaments.

Jerry received his Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University.
Immediately after college, he started his career as a personal-fitness
trainer at New York Health & Racquet Clubs, and soon became one of
the company’s top trainers. Having established himself as a fitness
professional in New York City, Jerry moved Los Angeles, where he became a
top trainer at Equinox. After mastering the science of human
engineering, Jerry parted ways with Equinox to launch his own private
training business. His clients currently include high-net-worth
individuals, celebrities, royal family members, fighters, and a variety
of other tastemakers. While still based in Los Angeles, he travels
nationally and internationally to train clients.

Jerry is also an investor in stocks, real estate, television and film
properties, and anything else he believes to be worth the risk. This is
his first book, and he wrote it to help others walk their own paths to
success.

Visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/realjerryford.

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