Friday, April 21, 2017

Trailer Reveal: Are You There, Krishna? by Rachel Khona



We're happy to host Rachel Khona's ARE YOU THERE, KRISHNA? IT'S ME, RESHMA, OR RACHEL. OR WHATEVER Book Trailer Reveal today! Enjoy the trailer!




About the Book:

Title: ARE YOU THERE KRISHNA? IT'S ME, RESHMA. OR RACHEL. OR WHATEVER.: ESSAYS ON TALKING TO GHOSTS, ACCOSTING CELEBRITIES, GETTING HIGH, SEXISM, RACE AND FIRST-GENERATION WOES
Author: Rachel Khona
Publisher: Thought Catalog
Pages: 257
Genre: Humor/Memoir

Rachel knew even as a young child that she wasn’t like the rest of her Indian family. While her parents were plotting how she could make it into med school with her mediocre grades in chemistry and biology, she had other things on her mind, including such gems as:

• Why can’t she go to the temple on her period?
• Why don’t her Indian cousins like her?
• Why was it OK to be sexualized at a beauty pageant but not for herself?
• How can she straddle two cultures while retaining her sense of self?
• Why are women considered sluts and men considered studs?
• Why do people keep asking her if she was born in
India?
• Should she wax down there?
• Why does she have crazy eyes?

After leaving home, Rachel got high in
Amsterdam, met her pop singer idol in a bathroom, argued with a ghost, and got lost in the Pyrenees. But that didn’t stop her from questioning while men still tell her to smile. 'Are You There Krishna? It’s Me, Reshma. Or Rachel. Or Whatever.' weaves stories of Rachel’s life with observations on race, class, sex, feminism, and culture with humor and candor.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon




About the Author


Once upon a time in an exotic land called New Jersey, Rachel Khona used to dream of one day playing tambourine in an all-girl rock band. That never happened.
Instead she became a writer. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Playboy, Penthouse, Maxim, and Cosmopolitan among others.
When she’s not writing or designing, she is busy drinking wine and singing off key, bike riding, pretending she’s friends with Mindy Kaling and Amy Poehler, eating absurd amounts of cheese, or listening to rock music at an appallingly loud volume. Sometimes all at once.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK


Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Guest post: "What the hell am I going to do now?" by mystery author Margaret Fenton

In 2007, my big bucket-list dream came true.  I was at Killer Nashville (a great conference by the way) and I had written this mystery called Little Lamb Lost.  I loved my protagonist; a sharp, witty social worker named Claire Conover who gets to work one summer day and a little client of hers is dead.   He’s nearly three, and his mother Ashley has worked so hard to get sober and get her life together and get custody of him again.  When the police arrest her for his murder, Claire can’t believe it, so she investigates.
            Sounds great, right?  Killer Nashville offered the opportunity to talk to an agent or an editor for extra money, and I chose the agent and pitched to her.  She HATED it.  That’s right, in capital letters hated it.  Couldn’t see who in the world would publish it, it was so bad.
            I went to the bar and ordered the largest gin and tonic you can imagine. I’m halfway through it when Don Bruns comes over to me and asked how it went.  Slightly buzzed, I explained not well.  He found the rep from Oceanview Publishing and brought her to the bar so I could pitch to her.  Boy, that was sloppy, but she wanted to see it.  I got home and mailed her a copy and within a couple of months I had a contract.  And a fantasy.  Now I had a publishing house, and an editor, and they were going to publish my series and help the books get better and better and help me get a lot of readers.
            Nope.
            I wrote the second book and sent it off.  Somewhere in space and time, Oceanview decided they were only going to publish thrillers.  Can you make it a thriller?  I tried, but I don’t write thrillers. Little Girl Gone is solidly in the category of an amateur sleuth mystery. They passed on it.  That was tough, because I still love these characters and I love this book.  And the question was, what the hell am I going to do now?  The fantasy was dead.
            I sat on this book for a long time.  Like years, while struggling with the question of what to do.  Find an agent?  My stomach churned at the thought.  I was published already, dammit, and the days of query letters were supposed to be over. I could do it myself, I thought.  Become a self-published author with all the baggage and assumptions that go along with that.  Back and forth, back and forth.
            Then I decided I would do it myself.  Author J.A. Konrath brags on this company that can do the formatting for you and I hired them.  They are just as wonderful as he said.  My sweet brother designed the cover for me and it’s just what I wanted.  I’ve hired a publicist now, and that’s the best decision ever.
            So what’s different?  I’ve been told that I’m a hybrid author.  I like that term.  I’m lucky enough to have the resources to do this and not have to worry about earning the money back, because I don’t think I ever will.  I care about recruiting readers, not earning a living.  Like I said, I’m really lucky.  I miss having a team at the publisher, but I still have a team.  I just pay them now instead.  The worst part of being self-published is the conferences and bookstores that want nothing to do with you, although Books a Million is taking steps to change this.  I didn’t get on a panel at Bouchercon this year, and there was no place to really pitch my books.  I’m glad I had a publisher for the first book, and wouldn’t change that for the world.  It’s an Amazon bestseller, by the way.
            So what’s next? I’m writing the third book in the series.  Little White Lies.  I have control over everything:  the meat of the book, the cover, and the formatting.  That’s really nice.  There are readers out there that have yet to discover Claire and crew and I look forward to hearing from them.  You can reach me through my website at www.margaretfenton.com.
///////////////////////////

Title: Little Girl Gone
Genre: Mystery
Author: Margaret Fenton
Find out more on Amazon

About the Book:

When Little Girl Gone opens, it’s September in Birmingham, Alabama, and Claire Conover is steeling herself. September—with its oppressive, unwelcome heat, back-to-school newness worn off, and skyrocketing reports of abuse and neglect—is a time of year Claire has come to dread.  As the crime rate increases, so increases the work load for Claire and the Jefferson County Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division. Seems this year is no exception.
 
When she takes into custody a 13-year-old girl found sleeping behind a grocery store, Claire is swept up in a case that turns out to be far more complicated, and far more dangerous, than initially meets the eye. Struggling to piece together the young girl’s identity, Claire finds herself with few answers and no shortage of questions.  Is the young girl a runaway?  An abuse victim?  Or something else?   But things go from bad to worse when the young girl’s mother is found murdered—and then the girl disappears.  Claire soon discovers that the mother was involved in an illegal gambling industry in Birmingham.  But even with this clue, the case becomes more complicated.  Could the young girl have pulled the trigger?  Is that even possible?  And where could she have run?  Did she run at all? In the midst of all the questions, only one thing is certain: Claire has to find the answers, and the girl, fast.

A swiftly paced, suspenseful, and shocking story, Little Girl Gone earns Margaret Fenton a solid spot among today’s best mystery writers.  Masterful plotting, extraordinary character development, and a pulse racer of a plot combine to create an extraordinary mystery resplendent with twists, turns, and surprises.  An unforgettable story informed by Fenton’s near decade of experience as a social worker, Little Girl Gone also shines a light on the plight of at risk children and the dedication of those tireless and compassionate workers who serve them.  A stellar entry into what Booklist hailed “a promising new series,” Little Girl Gone is mesmerizing.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

On the Spotlight: ‘The Bronx Kill’ by Philip Cioffari


CioffariCoverColorTitle
: THE BRONX KILL
Genre:  Suspense/Literary
Author: Philip Cioffari
Publisher: Livingston Press
Find out more on Amazon
When Danny Baker returns home after a self-imposed exile, he finds himself face to face with what he’d run away from. On a hot August night five years earlier, a teenage brotherhood called the Renegades—Danny, Charlie Romano, Johnny Whalen, Tim Mooney and Julianne Regan, the lone female of the group with whom they were all in love—set out on a misguided and ill-fated effort to swim the East River from the Bronx to Queens. Under questionable circumstances, Tim Mooney, known affectionately as Timmy Moon, and Julianne both disappear in the failed attempt. Timmy washes up the next day, but Julianne’s body is never found. In the initial police investigation, the apparent drownings were ruled “accidental.” But Timmy’s older brother, Tom, has recently been promoted to the rank of detective in the NYPD—and he’s decided to re-open the case. Convinced that the death of his brother was anything but an accident, he’s determined to bring the surviving Renegades to justice by any means possible.  Now Danny must fight not only to preserve his childhood friendships but also to save himself and his friends from the detective’s vigilante brand of justice.  And that will mean having to confront the truth about what really happened on that hot August night…
With its richly-developed characters and seductive, suspenseful storyline, The Bronx Kill is a thoughtful, thought-provoking, exquisitely crafted tale.  Gritty, dark, and ominous, The Bronx Kill is an intense character-driven thriller that plunges readers headfirst into the mean streets of the Bronx. With characters that come alive within the novel’s pages, a plot that draws readers in from page one, and its poignant exploration of such universal themes of friendship, loyalty, loss, and redemption, The Bronx Kill is destined to stay with readers long after the final page is turned.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
phil in b&W
Philip Cioffari is the author of the novels: DARK ROAD, DEAD END; JESUSVILLE;  CATHOLIC BOYS; and the short story collection, A HISTORY OF THINGS LOST OR BROKEN, which won the Tartt Fiction Prize, and the D. H. Lawrence award for fiction. His latest novel is THE BRONX KILL (Livingston Press, 2017). His short stories have been published widely in commercial and literary magazines and anthologies, including North American Review, Playboy, Michigan Quarterly Review, Northwest ReviewFlorida Fiction, and Southern Humanities Review. He has written and directed for Off and Off-Off Broadway. His Indie feature film, which he wrote and directed, LOVE IN THE AGE OF DION, has won numerous awards, including Best Feature Film at the Long Island Int’l Film Expo, and Best Director at the NY Independent Film & Video Festival. He is a Professor of English, and director of the Performing and Literary Arts Honors Program, at William Paterson University. www.philipcioffari.com
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Interview with Bishop Robert, Count to One


The prayer of Jesus in John 17 was that His Church would be one, and that together we would display the glory of God to a lost and dying world. Our unity would prove our message. Sadly, we’ve badly missed the mark.

Bishop Robert lifts the veil on what the Holy Spirit has been doing across the globe, enflaming hearts of believers everywhere to fulfill Christ’s prayer. Today, God is moving His Church to the place of unity we see in John 17! Count to One lays a simple and compelling foundation every believer can stand upon, examining the issues and answering the questions everyone asks about overcoming the barriers to genuine Christian unity.

God gave Bishop Robert an interesting task one day in prayer, telling him “I am teaching you to count to one!” The lesson was to be found in a simple truth revealed in the pages of the Scriptures. The Lord’s determination to see the unity of His Body restored and His desire to see the power of His glory displayed to a lost and dying world will strike you with deliberate force as you take in the message of Count to One.

Christ desires to see His Body as one—a powerful and life-changing reflection of His own ministry on Earth, and Bishop Robert lays out the principles that every believer in Jesus can use to begin breaking down the barriers, which have held them back and building bridges of unity within the Body of Christ. Using a combination of fascinating historical insights and refreshingly simple applications of Scripture, Bishop Robert leads you down the path to real freedom to love your brothers and sisters in Christ in a new and effective way.

Read the book and meet the family you never believed you had. Welcome home!

For more information, please visit www.BishopRobert.com

Q: Please tell us about Count to ONE, and what inspired you to write it.
A:
A few years ago, the Lord arrested me as I was reading Ephesians, chapter 4.  I use the term arrested because, day after day, regardless of my planned reading program, I found myself returning to the same chapter and re-reading those same words.  Even when I would decide that I had spent enough time in Ephesians 4 and deliberately started to study a different book or began a specific topical study, the Lord’s conviction would come upon me and give me no peace until I turned back to what had, by now, become a very familiar passage.
This continued on for several months. Finally, I decided to directly ask the Lord what He was doing.  I am not one who frequently speaks of receiving a message from God. I am very careful before I declare that He has said a specific thing prophetically or directly, because I don’t want to be guilty of putting words into His mouth. But in this instance, His answer was clear, direct, and frankly, a bit unsettling. He simply said,
“I am teaching you to Count to One!”
I’ll be the first to confess that my mathematics skills are not the stuff that legends are made of. In fact, my feeble attempts to do all but the simplest math in my head are sort of a running joke in my family.
Thankfully, the Lord wasn’t really talking about math. He was talking about unity. The light of understanding dawned as the words of Ephesians 4:4-6 flooded my mind ….
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all. (Emphasis added)
The Lord’s determination to see the unity of His Body restored, and His desire to see the power of His glory displayed to a lost and dying world struck me with deliberate force. He desires to see His Body as one—a powerful and life-changing reflection of His own ministry on Earth.

Q: What themes do you explore in Count to ONE?
A:
• Our diversity is our glorious strength; and when we discover this, it will no longer be a source of division but will be a force for unity.
• The initial Christians were unstoppable; united, we will be as well.
• Forgiveness, love, and a focus on the Great Commission are the secrets to recapturing the unity God is determined to give us.
• Unity, not uniformity or unification is essential in the body of Christ
• Discover the secret of harnessing the Great Commandment to fulfill the Great Commission.

Q: Why do you write?
A:
I see what the Holy Spirit is doing in the Church as a game changer; and I believe that He will use the lessons in COUNT TO ONE as part of His purpose.

Q: How picky are you with language?
A:
I often spend a good deal of time re-working phrasing in order to get the exact point across.

Q: Is writing an obsession to you?
A:
Serving the Lord is my obsession. I see writing as one of the tools that He has placed into my hands to communicate that message. It may sound strange coming from someone who has published his first book and has four or five more in development, but I see myself more as an ambassador than an author.

Q: Are the stories you create connected with you in some way?
A:
Yes, all of them relate to my personal experiences and insights from the Scriptures. For example, in chapter nine of Count to ONE I share the story of Kadin, a young Muslim man in his twenties I’ve come to know during my travels in Israel. His story is one of utter rejection by his twin brother on the basis of some cultural differences, even though they are genetically identical.  I use Kadin’s story to illustrate the same rejection taking place between Christian denominations today. In chapter 10 I relate a life-changing story where a brother forgives the man who murdered his sister.

Q: Ray Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Do you agree?
A:

No, actually I would prefer to quote another author, the Apostle Paul, who correlated a similar thought about being filled with the Holy Spirit.  He said in Ephesians 5:18-20, “Do not get drunk on wine ... Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I am convinced that, when you are continually filled with the Holy Spirit, the reality of evil in the world will not destroy you. The opposite is true. You, as a Spirit-filled person, destroy the evil with the love of Christ within you.



Bishop Robert is a voice for unity in the Body of Christ. His heart’s cry is the prayer of Jesus in John 17, that followers of Jesus may be one, and so proclaim the message of the Gospel in the power of His glory.

God gave Bishop Robert an interesting task one day in prayer, telling him “I am teaching you to count to one!” The lesson was to be found in a simple truth revealed in the pages of the scriptures. The Lord’s determination to see the unity of His Body restored and His desire to see the power of His glory displayed to a lost and dying world will strike you with deliberate force as you take in the message of Count To One. 

Bishop Robert serves as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Count to One, a ministry which exists to promote greater unity in the Body of Christ worldwide. Christ said that our love for one another would be the way the world would know that we are His disciples. As followers of Christ forgive one another and love one another - we will be in a better position to serve Jesus and fulfill the Great Commission.