Dreaming in the Pages

Books ... where dreams are better than reality

Broken Pieces

Jack Canon's American Destiny

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Keeper of Reign (Reign Fantasy) by Emma Right

1 - ONE NIGHT

THE LAST THING Jules Blaze thought of before he closed his eyes was how he, how anyone, could undo the curse his people were under. He was in the middle of a dream, a nightmare as far as he was concerned, begging Grandpa Leroy and Grandma Bonnie not to leave, when someone banged on their front door, shaking their entire tree house.

Who’d be crazy enough to disturb them at this hour? He sat up on his bed and cocked his head. His mother’s soft tread tap-tapped on the wood floor.

“Who’s there?” her muffled voice asked, harsh and whispery from sleep.

The banging stopped.

“Erin, open up.” Saul’s voice, gruff and loud, jolted the last fog of sleepiness from Jules. He peered over at his brother sleeping noiselessly in the bunk below him, and quietly slipped down the ladder. On tiptoe he sneaked to the trapdoor opening that led down to the living room where Saul stood dripping from the rain.

“Is everything okay?” Erin said.

“Would I visit now if it were?” Saul said. Then in a gentler voice he added, “I’m sorry. Please, let’s take a seat, Erin.” He nodded at Jules who’d slipped down the pull-down ladder to join them. “Jules.” Jules thought about his father at the war front and swallowed a lump in his throat. Was this why Dad hadn’t sent any word to them for the last months? Because he couldn’t?

Saul held Erin by the arm. He led her to the dining room chairs behind the sofa covered with knitted shawls and afghan throws.

Jules trudged to the window and peered at the branches outside. The arm of the oak tree grew so thick they could easily live in it, although getting up there could be a problem, especially since he was afraid of heights. These days they didn’t even live in stone houses, or even wooden ones, unless living under a tree counted as a wooden home. Elfies lived in trees, or burrowed under rocks, in the forest of Reign.

“Take a seat, Jules.” Saul locked eyes on him for an instant. “I just received word from the riverfront patrol—Leroy and Bonnie’s boat capsized in the storm. They’re searching for the bodies, but it doesn’t look good.”

Erin let out a gasp and brought a fist to her mouth. “No!”

“Boat? How can they be sure it was them?” Jules leaned forward in his chair.

“Some of their belongings floated to shore, and I identified the wreck—the pieces drifted to the bank.”

Erin looked at him blankly.

Saul said, again, “The boat…was a wreck.”

“Boat?” Erin said.

“I’d loaned it to them.”

“Why?”

Saul looked at the ceiling. “They’d wanted to get across to Handover.”

“Handover? That’s preposterous. After telling us never to cross the river and saying how dangerous Handover is?” Erin’s voice sounded angry amidst her sobs.

Saul pushed his chair back and stood. He reached into the cloak of his pocket, brought out a few items and laid them on the dining table. “Some things to remember your folks by.” And with that he turned and stalked back out into the dripping night.

Jules stared at his grandpa’s pocket watch, the green felt hat the old man always wore, especially on damp days, and his grandma’s silk scarf she donned when the wind ruffled her snowy white hair. Erin sobbed more violently, and Jules stood behind his mother’s back, leaned over and hugged her trembling shoulders.

Keeper of Reign

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Young Adult Adventure Fantasy  

Rating – G

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Emma Right on Facebook & Facebook (Keeper of Reign)

Website http://www.emmaright.com/Home.aspx

Friday, October 11, 2013

Alice Will by Ashley Chappell @AshleyNChappell

AliceWill

With her leaky powers and premature smiting problem, fourteen year-old Trotter was still just trying to get the hang of the demi-godding business when the apocalypse began. In a world where the gods have withdrawn from humanity, leaving mortals bitter toward magic, she finds herself torn between the human and the goddess in her as the world begins to fade away and she becomes the prime suspect. When her search to determine the cause and prove her innocence ends up revolving around a mysterious little girl named Alice, she discovers that not all of the gods had been as distant as they seemed… Now, with everyone against her and the gods fighting amongst themselves, Trotter is on her own to save her world and stop a spiteful god from using Alice to destroy everything.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Ashley Chappell on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.ashleychappellbooks.com/

An Honest Man (the Donkey and the Wall) @J_L_Lawson

2

It's an Art

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” 

--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“Are you getting all this?” asked the stranger after the lingering pause and he straightened his legs. The cat leapt down and padded off after her own business.

“Yes, thank you,” answered the young man promptly, glad that the silence was broken at last and anxious to shift the topic a bit. “So the beginning was when George and Belle had Harry?” the host ventured, still scribbling.

“You missed it by a bit. This story began when Wang Fu Kong, George, committed himself to the journey to a new world, then the trek into the wilderness, and when he finally surrendered to the harsh beauty and rewarding wonder of the natural world in which he found himself.”

“Wait. Are you saying little Harry and his son, or daughter, or whatever, all the way down to Fred Livingson, whenever he lived, is all the same story? So, no one person had an individual beginning or end? That doesn't sound quite fair or right somehow.”

The guest stood up and walked to the door. He looked out into haze of the growing Texas day and the harvested hay fields across the pond, then he thought aloud, “You know, that's an interesting point... like 'What is the tree to the forest?' or, 'Is the story of the river in the melting ice and snow of the mountain?' or...”

“Well, yeah, or 'the chicken and the egg',” added the young man, “But how can you say: 'It begins here!' and not here, or here, or here?” Then he groaned in exasperation at his infirm grasp of what the stranger was getting at.

“The simplest way to answer that is to remind you that humans have the unique capacity to dream and to choose, which stands them in contrast to the rest of the life on this planet. Yet even with that great birthright, so few people develop the ability or make the attempt to swerve even a bit from the whims of the winds of fate or of cause and effect.” He paused, assessed the effect of this last on the young man and continued. “So when on that rare occasion someone commits to a decision made of his own understanding and aspiration, acts on that commitment, and affects the lives of others in a positive way which would not have occurred otherwise... That is a beginning.”

“And it doesn't seem to be ending...” muttered the host not so silently while sharpening his pencil for another round.

“It ends; its life however is mapped, not measured,” offered the guest, “Shall we proceed with your map?” The stranger sat down, and picked up the tale again with a conversation between George and White Feathers.

An Honest Man

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Metaphysical/Fantasy/Action Adventure

Rating – G

More details about the author & the book

Connect with J.L. Lawson on Facebook

Website http://voyagerpress.org/

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Evan Burl & the Falling by Justin Blaney

Six

Monday

1:05 pm

I was a wicked boy. And my loving uncle was going to cure me of wickedness. That's what he told me after we left Henri—right before Yesler took a whip to my back. It's worse when Yesler gives them. Three lashes feel like thirty.

But I didn't make a sound.

And I knew the lashes weren't for stealing food. They were for climbing the tower with Pike five years ago. Every punishment went back to that. I often went back to that moment. He hit the ground first; me, a fraction of a second later. I often thought back to that moment; all the thousands of little things that caused us to fall just the way we did. Marcus taught me about science. Physics. How little changes can add up to the difference between life and death.

A soft breeze. The turning of the earth. The way our bodies moved and how we changed our paths through the air without even knowing it. The result was a 4 foot distance between where we landed.

I hit a thick straw roof and went straight through into a shed filled with hay, breaking 12 bones. My leg never healed properly.

Pike wasn't so lucky.

He hit the cobblestone pavement just outside the hut I landed on. Marcus said that a body could bounce up to six feet into the air after a fall like that. He also said it's a painless way to die. I don't know if that's true, but I do know it's not painless for the ones who survive. Especially when I know that it was me who killed Pike. Even if I could forget that, my uncle Mazol was going to remind me.

That's what the lashes were really for.

Yesler wanted to leave me in the hall where they whipped me, make me walk back to the caldroen myself. But Ballard must have known I wouldn't make it. With one arm around me, he helped me limp through the castle. Ballard was like that. He might hold you down under Yesler's whip in the morning and sneak you a sip of stolen beer in the afternoon.

Under his other arm, Ballard carried one of the small chests that the roslings were found in. I don’t know where the stuff inside those chests came from or where it went when we were done. We might have been producing reams of cheap linen, doilies of spun gold or refined cow dung for all I knew. No one really cared. If, on the other hand, we discovered the clankers turned out cherry tarts, fresh bread—even moldy bread—now that would be something. 

I imaged Ballard carrying a chest of cherry tarts as we walked, smiling at the absurdity of it. My ragged shirt, tucked in my pants, lapped against my bad leg with every step; it would be a while before I could put it on again. I could hear the blood dripping off my back onto the stone floor as we walked.

We were moving too slow for my uncle and Yesler, so they went ahead to keep an eye on the roslings. Not long after they were out of sight, Ballard gestured to a bench. He seemed to sense how badly I needed to sit down, which was ironic given his role in my suffering.

"Don't run off," he said with a crooked smile and a growl, then set the chest down next to me and disappeared around a corner. I wasn't sure if he was trying to be funny or not, but when you have blood running down your back and your best friend is being punished for something you did, it's difficult to find anything funny.

I sat on the bench, careful not to touch my back to the wall. For a moment, I thought about trying to open the chest next to me, just to see what was inside. But it was impossible to open without the key. Instead, I stared blankly through a huge window into the courtyard. 

Daemanhur sat on a cliff's edge, high above the Leschi sea, which filled the northern horizon. A 40 foot wall circled the courtyard, running close to the castle by the tower on the uphill side and stretching for nearly a mile down the slopes toward the harbor where a small trade-town was built a few more miles down the road.

A creek ran under the wall on the uphill side of the courtyard and kept a large lake full year round. There were fish in the lake, but most were to bony and small to eat, not that bones stopped us from trying when we had the time to fish. Another larger river joined the creek just above the town and ran into a harbor where ships docked from time to time.

I sometimes watched the ships come into the harbor while I was working the clankers, just to give me something to think about besides work. Men from the town  traded with the ships, and sold some of the goods to Mazol. Those who dared to travel through the jungle only did during the daylight and always with armored carriages and trained guards. They also kept moving no matter what. They didn't stop for anything, not even if one of their passengers fell out of the carriage.

I heard once that traveling guards, runners they were called, the kind who protected deliveries through the jungle earned more money than the town's mayor. Even for that much money, I wouldn't take the job. Runners usually didn't live past thirty. To be a good runner you had to be strong, ruthless and talented with a spear. Intelligence, on the other hand, was not required.

When the warts ordered goods, the runners would come to the gates on the uphill side of the courtyard just outside the window I was looking through. There was a fortified sort of room that was open to the outside where the delivery men could wait in relative safety for someone to come open the gates. The runners would pull a chain which ran over the courtyard and was connected to a bronze bell in the caldroen; the bell was in the caldroen because that's where the roslings worked and someone would always hear it in there. 

Evan Burl

My father abandoned me when I was an infant.
My friends have turned against me.
My uncle beats me.
The most powerful men in the world want me dead.
They all have one thing in common.
They think I’m turning into a monster.

I’m starting to worry they’re right.

Genre - Young Adult

Rating – PG

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Connect with Justin Blaney on his website

#Free Alert–Who’s Your Father? Robert Bernecker

Who’s Your Father? by Robert Bernecker

Amazon Kindle US

Genre – Christian

Rating – G

5 (13 reviews)

Free until 12 October 2013

Kirkus adds that Bernecker's points are "well-researched and well-articulated," giving the reader "a thought-provoking look at the modern definition of God." Amazon reviewer carpenterdaughter writes, "Bernecker faces some tough questions and doesn't attempt to defend God. He declares and reveals God. He points readers to the truth, and he uses God's own word to do it."
This eye-opening new book challenges readers to reevaluate their perceptions of God, and it thoughtfully exposes many misconceptions that are commonly found in the church of our day. Readers are led into a deeper understanding of the real God of the Bible and shown the path to a new and immensely satisfying relationship with their loving Father.
This compelling work is a thought-provoking and inspirational examination of how today's church views God. As the church struggles to truly experience the unchanging love of our heavenly Father and to rest confidently in God's perfect purpose for each of our lives, the cause of this crucial deficiency is usually overlooked. Who's Your Father? explains how our concept of God has grown increasingly flawed, and it reveals how we have been taught to view our sovereign Father as a benevolent gentleman who won't interfere with human free will. By fostering this view, we've unknowingly created a weak, unreliable, and frustrated God who we falsely believe will only occasionally choose to use his divine power to actively work in our lives in a powerful and effective manner.
Writing from the down to earth perspective of a well-versed layperson, Bernecker skillfully shows how we rob ourselves of incredible blessings when we miss the vital connection between the unlimited sovereignty and the unbounded love of the true God of the Bible.
An illuminating look at the true nature of God and his dealings with mankind, this extraordinarily insightful book will change readers' lives across the globe.

#Bargain – Demonworld @KyleBStiff

Demonworld by Kyle B. Stiff

Amazon

Demonworld is the first in a ten-book series that chronicles the life of Wodan, a son of laborers and heir to an amazing destiny.
Wodi grew up hearing tales of the outside world. Living in an isolated, technologically advanced city, it was hard to imagine that the rest of humanity suffered at the hands of sadistic, godlike monsters called flesh demons. Then Wodi finds himself exiled into the wasteland, victim of a death sentence handed out for no reason that he can understand. Moving boxes in his father’s store and attending the local university did nothing to prepare him for the horrors that lay ahead.
Unfortunately for the ones behind his exile, the wasteland turns Wodi into a force to be reckoned with. His journey through baking, wind-tortured deserts and poisoned oases wakes something up inside of him, and Wodi learns that the human spirit has strength that few can imagine… and also comes equipped with terrifying weapons that those who crossed him cannot even begin to comprehend.

Tamara Hart Heiner – Choosing the Right Publisher

Choosing the Right Publisher

by Tamara Hart Heiner

There are so many different kinds of publishers out there, and much of it depends on what you want out of your publishing company. I thought of this the other day when reading a friend’s blog and she mentioned how her agent is shopping her book around.

I’ve often heard that getting an agent is even harder than getting published. But if you want to get published by one of the big dogs, you gotta have an agent.

That’s where I decided I didn’t want to get published by a ‘big dog.’ Or at least, I didn’t want to spend three years trying. Of course I wouldn’t mind if one of them decided to publish me. But I decided to go with a small press, one that still took author submissions. This path ended up working out for me.

There are other presses that are only for certain genres. Others are only certain formats. Some companies (like the former Mystic Moon Press) are primarily e-books. Others might only be POD (Print-on-Demand) or you might only be able to buy through Amazon.com and not bookstores (likeMarcher Lord Press).

Here’s what I wanted: a company that I could directly submit to, that would offer me a contract, that would pay for all of the printing/distribution costs and offer me royalties, that would get my book online and into bookstores, and that would represent me well. I found it, in WiDo Publishing.

So, while you are shopping for publishers, here are some questions to consider:

1) Do I require an advance? If so, how much?
2) Where do I want my book to be sold? Bookstores? Online? Independent bookstores, specialty shops? All?
3) What is my genre?
4) Who is my audience?
5) How much to I expect in royalties?
6) How many people do I want my book to be available to?
7) How much marketing am I prepared to do?
8) Do I want to work with an agent?
9) Do I consider this a ‘starter’ book to get me in the door, or do I expect this to be my bestseller?
10) Will I be happy with a small press or do I want a bigger name?

Marketing is going to be a huge part of your decision. If you self-publish your book, you know you’re signing up for a ton of marketing. There is no company behind you, no financial backing, no support group (other than your friends and family). On the other hand, everyone seems to think that if one can just “get an agent,” very little of that stays the same.

The truth of the matter is, even if you go with a traditional publisher, you better be prepared to do some heavy marketing. I am always surprised when I see or hear of authors publicly complaining that their publisher is not doing the marketing they expect when the author himself is not doing anything to market either. If the author is not willing to put forth some effort, what makes them think that the publisher is going to have the confidence to do so? It’s a joint effort.

So really, what’s the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing when it comes to marketing? There shouldn’t be any. You should promote yourself and your book as aggressively as any self-published author.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA

Rating – PG

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Tamara Hart Heiner on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Our Little Secrets (Montana Romance) - Merry Farmer

“Now what I need to know is where I and my young charges can stay while we’re in town getting to know you all.”

Michael glanced from the dark-haired beauty who had thought he was a porter to the dreadful woman causing a spectacle further down the platform.  At her direction the rest of the floozies formed a line and were smiling and flaunting their assets at Cold Springs’ finest. He ignored them.  Seen one loose woman and you’d seen them all.  He had a shipment to receive and a store to run.

And an unexpected distraction.

“I really am very sorry I mistook you for the porter,” Miss Baldwin apologized again.  She was well spoken, he’d give her that.  Her soft black hair was tied up in a simple style that framed pale skin, deep blue-green eyes, and rosy lips.  Her perfect figure was concealed in a modest, elegant dress.  She hadn’t bought a dress like that anywhere nearby and the brooch pinned at the collar was genuine ivory.

“Not a problem.” He smiled.  “I’m sure it was an easy mistake to make.”

He picked up his clipboard, scanning over the packing list.  His eyes only made it halfway down the page before flickering back to Miss Baldwin.  She studied the platform and the town beyond it with a resolute expression.

“You haven’t seen beauty until you’ve seen Katie,” the garish Miss Helen talked up another of the girls.

Michael begged to differ.  He studied Miss Baldwin.  She had her carpetbag open now and was sorting through its contents.  Her lips were pressed in a perfect pink line of determination.  There was no reason at all that he should find her more interesting than his work.

“You aren’t going to….”  He nodded towards the others.

“Oh no.” She glanced up and shut her carpetbag, arching an eyebrow.  “I don’t need that kind of attention.”

He closed his mouth and stood straighter.  “That’s very … confident of you.”

“There are days, Mr. West, when confidence is the only thing I’ve got going for me.”

A lopsided grin tweaked the corners of Michael’s mouth.  If this poised beauty expected to find a husband amongst the miners and cowboys of Cold Springs she was out of luck.  Not one of them was up to the challenge.

“Do you want me to bring the wagon around, Mr. West?” Oliver asked as he jumped down from the train’s cargo car.

Michael continued to appraise the enigmatic woman in front of him until she noticed him watching her.  “Yes,” he told Oliver.  “See if you can flag down one of the Jones boys over there to help you while you’re at it.  Tell them I’ll pay them a dime each to help with the shipment.”

“Yes, sir.”

“A dime?”  The woman nodded her approval.  “For that kind of money I’d help you myself.”

“Would you now?”  He tucked the clipboard under his arm, work forgotten.

“Certainly.  Are you hiring?”  She kept a straight face but there was a sparkle in her bright eyes.

One of her light-skirt companions laughed at something and half the men on the platform laughed with her.  It served to underline her question.  His grin broadened.  “As much as I need help at the store, I don’t think I could afford you.”

“I thought you were one of the richest men in town, Mr. West.”

It had been so long since a woman had flirted with him that he’d forgotten how to flirt back.

“Alright, you’ve got me there,” he chuckled.  What was wrong with him?  He should go back to work or run as fast as he could.

He checked to make sure no one from town was listening.  “I just need to make sure all of the crates on this packing list are here.  Oliver can handle the rest.  Then can I take your bags somewhere?” he asked out of sheer mad compulsion to find out who she was and what she was doing there.  He glanced past her to the others.  One of the young women actually lifted the corner of her skirt to show off her calves.  “Do you know where you’ll be staying?”

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Western Historical Romance

Rating – R

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Merry Farmer on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://merryfarmer.net/

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

#Free Alert–The Class Key by John J. Daly Jr. @johnjdalyjr

The Class Key by John J. Daly Jr.

Amazon Kindle US

Genre – Non Fiction

Rating – G

5 (15 reviews)

Free until 8 October 2013

Obtaining the key to success in any area of life...

...depends on social ETIQUETTE skills.

It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or where you want to go, if you don’t have the proper social etiquette the doors to success will not easily open for you. Our society is based on social interactions, from obtaining our first job to landing large promotions, starting our own business, traveling in foreign countries, enrolling in universities, or speaking about causes and experiences closest to us.

Social etiquette is at the heart of success.
Social etiquette is a universal language that knows no boundaries.
˃˃˃ Those who master social etiquette feel comfortable, confident, and able to communicate effectively in any social situation.

THE KEY CLASS is your go-to-guide for mastering social and business etiquette. Taught by world-renowned special event producer John Daly, The Key Class presents a rare and unique program custom tailored to fit the needs of any organization, school, corporation, or individual. Although the keys to social and business etiquette are universal, there is no one-size-fits-all route to achieving personal success.

The Key Class works with you to meet your own individual goals.
˃˃˃ Through Partners in Education, The Key Class is currently being taught in the majority of high schools in the Santa Barbara, California School System.

Whether you are an educator seeking a valuable social skills resource for your students, a professional student needing that extra edge in job searching, a foreigner who needs to know American etiquette, a returning veteran, or a director of a non-profit or corporation looking for ways to increase employee value within your organization, The Key Class has the unique trajectory to help you reach those goals.

˃˃˃ WHAT DO I GET FROM THE KEY CLASS?

The purpose of The Key Class is to teach the tools of successful social and business skills for anyone, especially youth, who wants to succeed in life. In both personal and professional situations, every society has traditions in place that determine the way people are judged by the people they meet. Understanding these guidelines in society can make or break a person in social and business circles.

The Key Class teaches students how to get along with others, behave properly and treat others respectfully in the workplace or in social situations.

Along with being informative, The Key Class is user-friendly and fun! The use of high-energy interactive teaching methods increases student participation and enhances the learning environment. A series of four classes provides lecture, interactivity and role-playing to give students the knowledge to enter worlds that might not otherwise be achievable without it.

The course covers a variety of techniques, including:
  • communications technology modifications, involving cell phones, email and social media
  • handling applications;
  • research;
  • securing appointments;
  • phone etiquette;
  • proper introductions;
  • positive body language;
  • conversing;
  • following up after an interview;
  • creating an effective resume;
  • what to wear and what etiquette to use for interviews that take place over a meal;
  • financial literacy.
Participants will leave with a complete understanding of the necessary skills to succeed in both their work and life environments and the tools for a successful job search and/or college entrance.

Take a class from the Key Class and get job winning interview skills now!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Free Alert–Twined by A.L. Collins @ALCollins2011

Twined by A.L. Collins

Amazon Kindle US

Genre – YA

Rating – PG13

4.5 (6 reviews)

Free until 11 October 2013

Avalin Marsh is used to disappointment. When her mother murdered a woman in the kitchen of her home on her eleventh birthday, Avalin decided that the people in your life were only there to let you down. She built up walls over the years making a mental fortress impervious to disappointment, heartache and sadness. However it also isolated her from others, making her bitter... and lonely.
When her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the murder, Avalin began to see and experience things that she couldn't explain. She thought she could handle these episodes by pushing them back into her mind. Until the day she sees one of her classmates morph into a monster right in front of her eyes. Pushed to the brink of paranoia, Avalin truly believes she's insane. Then a mysterious man named Albert comes into her life. She's wary of his motives yet for some reason finds herself drawn to him even though they've never met. What's even more inexplicable is that Albert knows who Avalin is. She's the daughter of the famous Abigail Marsh. Her mother.
Now the two of them will need to put their differences aside and trust one another. If Avalin can't let her guard down long enough to let Albert in, then there might be dire and far reaching consequences in store for them.
It turns out Avalin Marsh isn't as crazy as she thought.

Excerpt: Dissolution of Peace by Richard Flores IV @Richard_Flores4

Chapter 4

Janice couldn’t sleep after her shift. She really hadn’t adjusted to the night work. But, really it was a matter of everything that had gone on the night before.

She hadn’t expected that much excitement from working on a ship. This was supposed to be peace time, these things were not supposed to happen. A nameless, faceless enemy had attacked an Earth warship.

Her adrenaline was still flowing, and the only way she was going to calm down was to walk around. So she had been wondering the ship for the last hour.

The news media was going to have a field day over this. The media laws wouldn’t allow them to broadcast any speculation, but once the Australia arrived at space dock all bets were off. Janice knew the routine. They would only report that the ship arrived damaged. But that is all it would take for the public to start asking questions. Within hours the Navy or the Prime Minister would be forced to make an official statement.

Politics wasn’t Janice’s thing, but when you work for the government you learn the game. It was worse when you were in Security Forces, which was by far the largest branch in the Military. When you had to police the world, police the military, and staff the prison that was a lot of personnel. The Navy was distant second, but still had a significantly larger staffing level than the Army or Air Force. There just wasn’t much need for a standing army when there was peace and the only threats would come from space.

Janice wasn’t really sure where she was. She didn’t know the ship well outside of the maps, and Carlson wasn’t being much of a host. His file was about all Janice knew of him.

He has served on the Australia for most of his time in Security Forces, has been in Protective Services for about three years. He had the same partner since he’d been on board. Roger Mathews. There was nothing on him. His file was restricted to a clearance above Janice’s. That was odd enough. But, there was nothing in the record about why they were suddenly not partners anymore. Janice was beginning to think it had been Mathews’s funeral Carlson attended when she arrived.

Janice found a bar on deck 6, she knew there was one up near the shops, but not down here. It would be something different than the mess hall. She went in. It was a lot like the bars of Earth, only cleaner. Dimly lit with dark paint, and soft music playing. There were pool tables and booths around the room; to the left was the long bar. Sitting there, alone, was Mike.

Janice took a seat next to him. He’d seen her as soon as she got close. He was certainly on his toes. She motioned the bartender over and ordered a drink. “Can’t sleep either?”

              “I haven’t even tried.” Carlson’s voice was quiet. “That was a first for everyone on this ship.”

              She studied him for a moment. “So you come here often?”              Carlson gave a chuckle. “Actually, I do. It’s quieter here.”

              “I didn’t even know it was here.”

              “I used to patrol this deck before I went to Protective Services.”

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – PG13 to R (Language)

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Richard Flores IV on Facebook & Twitter

Sunday, October 6, 2013

#AmWatching We Need to Talk About Kevin (starring Ezra Miller)

  • We Need To Talk About Kevin

  • 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (300 customer reviews) |
  • 7.5/10
  • Also available in HD
  • Watch in HD on supported devices
  • In this Golden Globe nominated psychological thriller, Oscar winner Tilda Swinton plays the mother (Eva) of the evil Kevin (Ezra Miller). Eva contends with her clueless husband (John C. Reilly) and her son's malevolent ways, as the narrative builds to a chilling and unforgettable climax.
  • Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly
  • Directed by: Lynne Ramsay
  • Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
  • Release year: 2012
  • Studio: Independent

 

Plot Summary:

Eva Khatchadourian is trying to piece together her life following the "incident". Once a successful travel writer, she is forced to take whatever job comes her way, which of late is as a clerk in a travel agency. She lives a solitary life as people who know about her situation openly shun her, even to the point of violent actions toward her. She, in turn, fosters that solitary life because of the incident, the aftermath of which has turned her into a meek and scared woman. That incident involved her son Kevin Khatchadourian, who is now approaching his eighteenth birthday. Eva and Kevin have always had a troubled relationship, even when he was an infant. Whatever troubles he saw, Franklin, Eva's complacent husband, just attributed it to Kevin being a typical boy. The incident may be seen by both Kevin and Eva as his ultimate act in defiance against his mother. Written by Huggo

Author Interview – Dianne Worrall

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

Marketing

What marketing works for you?

A mix of different channels across the digital spectrum. The OB tour is a great way to connect with people who are specifically interested in the things I write about such as leadership, HR Organisational Development, business transformation and change

Do you find it hard to share your work?

Not at all

Is your family supportive? Do your friends support you?

They are always supportive. But writing and publishing is a mystery to most, so they tend to be awestruck by the whole process

Do you plan to publish more books?

Absolutely.  I have moved into a publishing model instead of an author model nowadays. A number of books are in the pipeline. The next title in the current series will be the Accountability Workbook – a companion guide to my current best seller on Accountability Leadership.

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time…

I am a management consultant and executive coach. I work with CEOs and senior executives to design and direct programs of strategy development, enterprise transformation and change.  It’s true that many writers find it difficult to sustain a full time writing career. That’s why I am shifting my business model from writing to publishing.

What other jobs have you had in your life?

Management Consultant, Human Resources Director, Theme Park Owner, Native Animal Rehabilitator

Di Worrall

Accountability Leadership Saves Tech Company

In 2005, HCL Technologies was in trouble.

The Delhi-based IT firm was losing market share, as competitors grew by 50% annually.

By 2009, HCL’s president, Vineet Nayar had turned the company around, nearly tripling annual revenues and doubling market capitalisation despite the recession.

Nayar accomplished all this through a top-down culture of accountability, beginning with the leadership qualities of himself—the CEO—and other senior managers.

The Rules Of Accountability Have Changed

Great business leaders understand that acceptance of greater personal accountability and responsibility leads organisations back on the path to success.

But with the evolving nature of 21st century business, the practical steps that go into creating a high performance culture of accountability have become more muddled than ever.

Many organisations have seen temporary improvements, implementing traditional systems of accountability in an attempt to drive high performance in the workplace—only to quickly revert back to their old ways, or worse.

Accountability Leadership Will Teach You:

  • What it really takes to lead a high performance culture of accountability
  • Why so many of today’s employees avoid personal accountability and responsibility like the plague, and how to reverse that trend
  • How to sustain great performance through inspiring feedback, feed-forward and follow-through
  • What an accountability plan is, how to create one, and why it’s considered the “secret weapon” behind successful business transformation

Filled with real world case studies and straightforward, easy to digest research, Accountability Leadership offers practical solutions that are direct, engaging, fast, cost-effective, proven, and easy to implement...

Immediate, Concrete Solutions You’ll Take Away From This Book Include:

  • How to transform the “dark side” of accountability into a positive force for change
  • Why carrots and sticks no longer work—and what they’ve been replaced with
  • How to create compelling consequences that inspire people to perform at their best, and achieve the ultra productive workstate known as “flow”
  • Crack the code of high accountability conversations, turning confrontation into a productive and positive opportunity

Accountability Leadership Also Sheds Light On Topics Like...

  • How negativity bias covertly sabotages your feedback loop with your employees
  • The optimal ratio for positive to negative comments in feedback
  • The right amount of autonomy to give employees—without overdoing it
  • What lack of recognition is really doing to your workforce (hint: it’s staggering)
  • The surprising biochemical effect of praise, and why it cannot fail

Plus, You’ll Also Receive A Special Bonus

Reader’s can claim an exclusive 20-minute podcast interview with top-rated thought leader Marshall Goldsmith, sharing his powerful experiences and groundbreaking ideas on coaching for accountability leadership—absolutely free.

A Personal Message From The Author

Accountability is arguably the number-one issue that makes or breaks leadership performance today. Yet most of us were never taught this critical skill—not by our parents, teachers or business leaders.

The good news is, accountability can be coached.

The ideas in this book draw from extensive research and 25 years experience working with executives to improve performance through high accountability.

These ideas work.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Business, Leadership, Workplace Behaviour, Human Resources, Executive Coaching

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Di Worrall on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.diworrall.com.au/

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