I DIDN'T FORGET by James S. Kelly

I DIDN'T FORGET
James S. Kelly
Mystery

The double murder of two long time friends has caused hysteria in the small town of Solvang, Ca. Its up to Clay Wrens, the county’s premier detective to solve the murders and calm the townspeople.
Complicating the investigation is a local politician who’s afraid the Wrens will uncover his financial transgressions, while a female reporter, with her own agenda, is suggesting that Wrens be replaced
As the investigation moves to a climax, Wrens is drawn to a twenty five year old murder and the convicted murderer, who’s just been released from prison.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3cS2I4b

The clock struck twelve. Lucille and three of the other laundry workers took off the scarves protecting their hair, looked in the mirror, applied some lipstick, walked down a long corridor and up two flights of stairs to the main cafeteria. It was Tuesday and meatloaf was the special today. To Lucille, it brought back memories of family meals with mashed potatoes, kernel corn and buttermilk biscuits. Most of her family had passed away; she wondered why time had passed so fast.

Lucille grabbed a tray, some napkins, utensils and started down the line; she
decided to have a salad with the special. After she’d made her selections, she looked around and saw that the other three women had found a vacant table near a window. She walked over and sat down with them. They were acquaintances not friends, but they’d spent enough time together that the talk between them flowed free and easy. The best thing that could be said for this group was that none of them smoked.

The four passed the lunch hour with idle gossip until about ten minutes to the hour, then they dumped their refuse, put the empty trays on a rack and started back to work.

Two of the women stopped to talk to another woman at a different table, so Florence Rice
followed Lucille back through the corridor, past security and down the stairs. They still had three hours before their shift ended.

As Lucille started down the stairs, she was struck on the back of her head and she
staggered, but instinctively reached out and grabbed the rail with both hands. She was initially able to maintain her balance, until she was hit again in the back of the head. Lucille started to lose consciousness as she fell to the bottom of the stairs, landing on her stomach and hitting her head on the concrete floor. Still partially alert, Lucille felt someone land on her back and stab her several times; finally, she passed out.

George Bellows, a senior security guard was coming up the stairs at the same time Lucille was being attacked on the landing between the two flight of stairs. The aggressiveness of Florence was more than Bellows could deal with and he called for help. It required two more security officers, in addition to Bellows, to subdue the attacker.

Medical personnel responded quickly, but blood was oozing from four puncture wounds in Lucille’s back. As soon as the medics were able to control the bleeding, Lucille was
placed on a gurney and transported to the infirmary. The physician on duty and his nurse
assistant worked feverishly to stabilize Lucille, clean and stitch up the wounds.

It didn’t appear that any organs had been damaged. Lucille was still unconscious but her
breathing was normal. There was a moderate size bump on her forehead where she hit the
concrete floor and one on the back of her head where she been struck.  Bellows recovered both weapons that Florence used.

A specialist came in from Chicago that evening to repair the damage to several muscles in Lucille’s back. It was after midnight before Lucille regained consciousness and asked for something to drink. When the doctor came back on duty at eight the next morning, the nurse on duty told the doctor that Lucille was incoherent and confused.

“She kept asking me what happened and wanted to know where she was. I told her that
she’d been assaulted and stabbed several times.”

“By who?” she asked me

“By one of the inmates,” I responded.

“Inmates of what?’  she asked me.

“Inmates of the State Prison of Illinois for women.”

James S. (Jim) Kelly is a retired United States Air Force Colonel with over 100 combat missions in Vietnam. Prior to his retirement, Jim was Program Director for a Communication’s Program in Iran, working directly under the Shah. Jim and his wife, Patricia own and operate High Meadow’s Horse Ranch outside Solvang, California. All of his novels use Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley as a setting. Over the past 15 years, Jim and his wife have been active in a charity supporting our troops in forward operating locations, in hostile territory, overseas. To contact Jim, email him at jkelly2020@outlook.com.

Website: www.kellywritings.com

 

MAGNOLIA by James S. Kelly

MAGNOLIA
James S. Kelly
Historical Fiction/Civil War Love Story

Two young men grow up in the south, become great friends and love the same woman. One moves north as the civil war nears and becomes Administrative Asst to Abraham Lincoln The one who remained in the south vacates his office of US Senator to become the south’s chief spy. Both men are pitted against each other during the war. As the war ends, they try to renew their friendship but will the presence of the one they both love be an impediment.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2ZulevO

As soon as the seven southern states seceded from the union, their sons and relatives in the Union Army and Navy resigned their commissions and became the elite officers of the Confederacy. They were euphoric; they threw parties and prided themselves on their great fortune. They didn’t’[t stop there; they became aggressive. The state of South Carolina, one of the first to secede, claimed that Forts Moultrie and Sumter in the Charleston Harbor belonged to the Confederacy; therefore, the Union Soldiers in the fort must vacate. General PGT Beauregard, the former Superintendent of Cadets at West Point, who immediately switched sides,  was in charge of that state’s militia, but was taking his orders from Jefferson Davis in Montgomery, the interim Capitol of the Confederacy. Whether Jefferson Davis’ request to Lincoln to turn over the forts was rejected because it lacked merit or Lincoln took too long to respond, is mute in the long run.

            The firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 began a war that had no reason to happen. It was as though a disagreement between father and son had escalated way beyond what either wanted. At some point, each realized that they had gone beyond the normal barrier of good behavior and tried to step back and assess their actions. The father made every effort to try to explain to his son why his actions were unacceptable, but a sense of freedom to do as he wished, made that view almost impossible for the son to accept. He and his friends were caught up in a wave of excitement, which escalated into a cause. The normal civility between father and son was met with obstinacy and imprudence. Consequently, neither could see how to rectify a situation that continued to fester and finally got out of control. There seemed to be no common ground, no mediation and no chance for reconciliation. Just like a family, a nation was splitting apart.

            So too, did the distance between two childhood friends from Charleston, South Carolina, widen even though in the early stages, they tried to maintain a sense of decorum and respect, ignoring all outside influences. But it was not to be. The tension had grown from anxiety to acceptance, on both sides; their views were incompatible.

            On that fateful day, James Stephen Harris and his wife Claire were sitting at the dining room table in their rented Georgetown Residence in Washington DC. The lights on the black wrought iron lamps on their porch illuminated their entrance steps and their beautiful white slump stone exterior.. They were hosting four of their closest friends to celebrate Claire’s thirtieth birthday. Her mother and step-father planned to attend, but the situation was such that they wanted to see what would happen next before they crossed the Atlantic to be with the one they raised.

            James had spent the busiest two weeks of his life getting acclimated to his new position as Special Advisor to the newly elected President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. All six friends looked solemn; the neighborhood outside was quiet; it was as though an honored member of their family had died. No one spoke of the situation; no one wanted to. They talked of trivial things until ten that evening and then the guests left.

            Several hundred miles to the south in their home outside Charleston, South Carolina, John William Beauregard, with his wife Louisa and their two children were celebrating the same occasion with champagne at their magnificent plantation, called Magnolia. He’d resigned from the US Senate, as soon as the State of South Carolina seceded from the union. Interim President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, with an endorsement from John’s cousin, General PGT Beauregard, asked him to lead the Confederate Signal Corp. He was that new nation’s chief spy.

             They were embarking on an adventure and everyone was excited. John looked over at his wife and said, “We won’t be told what to do or how to run our lives anymore by some Union Bureaucrat in Washington.”

            “Be careful what you wish for, John.” She responded.

            “I just don’t understand the provocation. Why start something that can’t be reversed. The forts weren’t being supplied, so why not wait. The defenders would eventually have no recourse but to leave. Firing on the forts seemed to force the issue.” James Beauregard, their son, who was scheduled to attend West Point in the fall asked.

            “I wouldn’t have done it that way, but the die is cast. I believe many in our new administration wanted to make the break as sharp and as quick as possible, so there’d be no recourse.” His father responded

            Over the next four years, the two childhood friends, James Harris and John Beauregard, would be rivals, as antagonistic and would use every conscious moment during that period to assist their side in this ridiculous loss of life, property and dignity..

James S. (Jim) Kelly is a retired United States Air Force Colonel with over 100 combat missions in Vietnam. Prior to his retirement, Jim was Program Director for a Communication’s Program in Iran, working directly under the Shah. Jim and his wife, Patricia own and operate High Meadow’s Horse Ranch outside Solvang, California. All of his novels use Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley as a setting. Over the past 15 years, Jim and his wife have been active in a charity supporting our troops in forward operating locations, in hostile territory, overseas.

To contact Jim, email him at jkelly2020@outlook.com.

Website: www.kellywritings.com

 

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN by Susan Rubin & Giveaway!

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Susan Rubin
Fantasy/Time Travel

The debut novel from Los Angeles-based playwright and filmmaker Susan Rubin is a trippy fantasy that uses time travel to explore the inner drives of a woman in midlife. In The Road Not Taken, a simple trip to the lipstick counter becomes an opportunity to unravel the mystery of self.


Widowed suddenly at age 50, Deborah is left with plenty of money but no direction to her life. Shedding her suburban housewife life, she moves back to the West Village where she grew up. When she meets a woman who appears to be an identical twin, Deborah discovers the Lost: a group of 100 fully-formed people who were dropped off on Earth as it cooled down and who have lived on the planet as it developed. The Lost show her the myriad dimensions of Spacetime, taking her to ancient Egypt, Weimar Germany, and planets without inhabitants. They reunite her with deceased loved ones. She forms relationships with an Egyptian god and a famous artist through whom she lives new truths and learns who she needs to become to walk the road not taken.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3jvZ9VJ

Susan Rubin has written for Funny or Die, and in contrast, she’s written more than two dozen documentaries that highlight international women’s issues like domestic violence, forced child marriage, and untested rape kits accumulating in police evidence rooms. Rubin has used her skill, empathy, and compassion to render these darkest of topics into accessible films distributed to tens of thousands of college classrooms.

As a playwright, Rubin has, for 20 years, been the recipient of Los Angeles County Arts Commission Grants and Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department Grants. She also was honored with a six-year residency at the prestigious Los Angeles Theatre Center. Her plays have been seen at New York Theatre Workshop, Baltimore Center Stage, and at every major 99 seat theatre in Los Angeles including co-productions with Bootleg Theatre, Circle X, Skylight Theatre to name a few. She is the recipient of Garland, Ovation and LA Weekly Awards. Visit her website at  http://www.susanrubinwriter.com/.

Susan Rubin is giving away an autographed copy of THE ROAD NOT TAKEN!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one autographed paperback copy of THE ROAD NOT TAKEN.
• This giveaway ends midnight August 28.
• Winner will be contacted via email on August 29.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Character Guest Post: Pancho McMartin of David Myles Robinson's TROPICAL DOUBTS #characterday

Today is character guest post day! We have Pancho McMartin from David Myles Robinson's TROPICAL DOUBTS. Enjoy!

Aloha from Honolulu, dear readers. My name is Pancho McMartin and some consider me to be Hawaii’s best criminal defense attorney (although I’m way too humble to say so myself). Together with my private investigator and best friend, Drew Tulafono, a former NFL lineman, we have won more than our share of cases, often proving who the actual culprit (murderer) was. However, as you can see from the first page of Tropical Doubts, I had just lost three jury trials in a row and may be having a bit of a crisis of confidence, which is certainly not the best state of mind to have as I begin this latest legal adventure.

I get wrangled into representing an old friend of my parents when the wife falls into a permanent vegetative state following what should have been a routine surgical procedure. Medical malpractice cases are not my specialty, which is why I hired Padma Dasari, the former chief medical examiner for the city and county of Honolulu as my medical consultant but after whom I’d been lusting for years. What can I say? Beauty, brains, and a dry, sarcastic sense of humor turn me on.

As if handling a difficult and expensive malpractice case weren’t stressful enough, my client (the husband) gets arrested for the murder of one of the doctors. So now I have a medical malpractice case and a murder case; my parents add to the pressure by coming to Honolulu to watch the trial; and I’m spending money on expert witnesses in the malpractice case as if I have it to spend.

          Speaking of a dry sense of humor, you may be wondering how I got my strange name. My parents dropped out of college in the late 60s and moved to Taos, New Mexico to join a hippie commune. Their story is that they named me Pancho so that I’d fit in better in the mostly Hispanic community once I was school age. My theory is that they dropped acid to celebrate the fact that I had all my fingers and toes and an apparent working brain despite all the drugs they had taken and, while stoned, they named me Pancho. They since left the hippie life and moved to Santa Fe to write self-help books full of psychobabble bullshit they learned in their counterculture life, becoming millionaires in the process.

          When I’m not representing the crème de la crème of criminals, Drew and I hit the surf on our longboards. Surfing, for me, clears my head and is the perfect reminder that I live in paradise.

       

 

When Honolulu’s flamboyant and quirky attorney, Pancho McMartin, agrees to step out of his normal role as a criminal defense lawyer, he thinks it will be a challenging but welcome change from his daily dose of criminal clients. His old friend and father-figure, Manny Delacruz, has beseeched Pancho to handle a medical malpractice claim against the physicians who botched what should have been a routine surgery, but which resulted in Manny’s beloved wife being in a permanent vegetative state. The case looks good, the damages enormous, but when Manny is arrested for the murder of one of the doctors, Pancho finds himself back in his old role. If Manny is convicted, it means he won’t be able to be at his wife’s bedside to hold her hand, caress her face, and read his poems to her. He will have lost his reason to live. The pressure on Pancho is enormous. While he and his team try to make sense out of one of the most sinister and complicated murder schemes he’s ever seen, the medical malpractice case chugs forward, in jeopardy of being worthless should Manny be convicted.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2WJQSnx

 Barnes & Noble → https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tropical-doubts-david-myles-robinson/1128284518?ean=9781948749015

 

 

 

David Myles Robinson was a trial attorney in Honolulu, HI for 38 years before retiring to the mountains of New Mexico, where he lives with his wife, a former Honolulu trial judge. In the days of yore, before becoming a lawyer, he was a freelance journalist and a staff reporter for a minority newspaper in Pasadena, CA. He is an award-winning author of six novels, three of which are Pancho McMartin legal thrillers set in Honolulu.

Having traveled to all seven continents, he has also published a travel memoir entitled CONGA LINE ON THE AMAZON, which includes two Solas Traveler’s Tales award winners.
He says he includes his middle name, Myles, in his authorial appellation because there are far too many other David Robinson’s running around.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: davidmylesrobinson.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DNRobinsonWrite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidMylesRobinson/

CHRISTIAN AUTHORS SELF-PUBLISHING SECRETS TO WHAT BESTSELLING AUTHORS USE TO SELL MORE BOOKS - Get your free copy!

CHRISTIAN AUTHORS SELF-PUBLISHING SECRETS TO WHAT BESTSELLING AUTHORS USE TO SELL MORE BOOKS
Yeral Ogando
Marketing/Publishing/Self-Publishing-

Have you been struggling to get your book (s) published? You have written a masterpiece, but you have been struggling to get is published.

Have you thought about self-publishing? Well, now is the correct time to start thinking about self-publishing your Christian book (s). You don’t know where to start…?

You do not know the steps you need to follow to get your book self-published. No need to worry about it anymore. I have created this Christian Authors Self – Publishing SECRETS to what best-selling authors use to sell more books, just for you.

No need to worry. I will show you the steps you need to follow. I will also tell you exactly what you need to do to have a successful Christian self-published book. All you have to do is get this e-book, follow the instructions and you will be on the right path to self-publishing and getting sales from your book (s).

Wait… but there is more… I am revealing the SECRETS for you not only to have your Christian books self-published, but also on how to get sales out of them. The SECRETS no one else is willing to tell you on how to make your book successful.

Discover the SECRETS best-selling authors are using to sell their books and turn it into your winning strategy. This is not a How to be millionaire guide; this is self-publishing guide with SECRETS tips already proven to be successful.

You will need to work hard in order to achieve your goals on becoming a best-seller or to sell many more books.

If you are a Christian Author and you want to have people know about your writing, well then, it is time for you to discover the SECRETS and steps to be successful.

There are many books out there showing you how to be a self-published author; but few of them really show you the SECRETS to sell more books. Discover today what you need to do and what your focus should be on… and start selling your story.

For a LIMITED TIME I will have this incredible book for free. Get your copy today. DO NOT waste more time and START GETTING SALES from your books.

Think about it… for free, you can start your learning experience towards getting more sales from your books.

Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085N626W6

Christian Book Cover Design →  http://christian-book-cover-design.com/sdm_downloads/my-free-guide-to-what-best-selling-authors-use-to-sell-more-bookschristian-authors-self-publishing-secrets-to-what-bestselling-authors-use-to-sell-more-books/

Introduction
You know you have a wonderful story to share, a God’s given message that the world should know about it, BUT…
You just don't know what to do or how to start sharing your books with others. I am taking this opportunity to share with you some of the secrets or putting it into simpler words, key points, and strategies that you might use before and after releasing your book.
…
Maybe you are an experienced author. Maybe, you are just starting, BUT you definitely want and need to share your story with the world.
Wait! Nobody told you that it was going to be difficult. Everybody said to you that you just needed to write and nothing else.
Well, before getting to the STRATEGIES, allow me to share a few thoughts that might serve you well.
You are writing your story, and there are many things to consider when sharing your story with the world.
…
Are you going to be a self-published author (Indie author), or are you going for the big league and hire a publishing house?
The answer to this question will influence your strategy and outcome of your book's popularity. Therefore, this is something you need to think through.
…
In this guide, you will be able to find excellent tips that you will use before, during and after publishing. It is not a mere guide for self-publishing authors. Any expert author can benefit from this guide and all the expert tips in it; such as Search engine Optimization, Amazon optimization, marketing and promotion strategies and much more.

Yeral E. Ogando was born on May 18th, 1977 in Las Matas de Farfán, Dominican Republic. Yeral is polyglot or a multilingual person.

He has been able to learn Spanish, English, French, Italian, Haitian Creole, German, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Modern & Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew.

Yeral E. Ogando has earned several degrees:

Master of Arts in Theological Studies

Master of Arts in Languages and Linguistics

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology

He has been a Bible professor for many years and teacher for several languages locally and internationally, such as Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole.

He has also been able to write the following books:

* The Hero Within – Power (Volume Two)

* The Hero Within – Nede Land (Volume Three)

* Teach Yourself Italian by Yeral E. Ogando.
* Teach Yourself Haitian Creole Conversation by Yeral E. Ogando.
* Teach Yourself Haitian Creole by Yeral E. Ogando.
* And many other books for language learning (English, Spanish, Creole and Italian)
* Coming Soon From The Hero Within Series (Volume Four – Volume Five – Volume Six)

His hobbies are reading and listening to music. He is passionate for teaching, learning and starting new ministries and businesses.

He is the founder and owner of the successful internet business www.christian-translation.com, thus reaching the world in more than 200 languages since 2004.

 

Website:

www.yeralogando.com

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/TheHeroWithinC1

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/yeral.ogando.9

 

THE PRUSSIAN MEMORANDUM by Michael McMenamin & Kathleen McMenamin

THE PRUSSIAN MEMORANDUM
Michael & Kathleen McMenamin
Historical Fiction Adventure

Winston Churchill’s adventure-seeking goddaughter, the intrepid Hearst journalist Mattie McGary, sets out in 1934 to expose a major political scandal—a conspiracy between the US Army’s Military Intelligence Division (MID) and Hitler’s Praetorian, the SS, to help the Nazis persecute German Jews.

Churchill alerts Mattie to what he learns from a confidential German source: that the Nazis are working on a new law to strip Jews of their citizenship and forbid them to marry or have sex with Aryans. The year before, Heinrich Himmler’s SS secretly engaged the MID to research racist laws in thirty American states that prohibit sex and marriage between whites and other races. Known as “The Prussian Memorandum”—an actual historic document—radical SS anti-Semites plan to use these racist American laws as a model for their treatment of the Jews.

Aided by a courageous German lawyer, Hanna Raeder, Mattie’s efforts to document the conspiracy take her from Churchill’s country home in England to the corridors of power in Berlin and, along with Churchill, to the canals of Amsterdam where his German source is to provide them with conclusive proof of the conspiracy. Pursued by both agents of Himmler’s Gestapo and American MID agents determined to stop them at all costs, Mattie and Hanna race to expose the shameful secret of The Prussian Memorandum.

In a chilling climax, Mattie and Hanna are arrested and taken to a Gestapo-run concentration camp where they are charged with crimes against the state—Hanna for treason, Mattie for espionage— and scheduled for show trials the next day before The People’s Court. If convicted, the penalty is death by beheading.

Literary Awards and Praise for Mattie McGary’s Adventures with Winston Churchill

Three-Time Grand Prize Winner Fiction, Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Three-Time Thriller/Suspense Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews

Two-Time Historical Fiction Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews

Appointment in Prague

“A thrilling historical novel with a no-nonsense heroine is what you’ll find… Wow! This is an action-packed, intense story that brings the reader right into the world of WW II espionage. Well-developed characters, a tough heroine, and great attention to detail.” [The Book Connection review]
“Mattie McGary was easily my favorite character and I loved how the authors made her into a strong female character with a very real personality. So many times strong female characters end up feeling almost unrealistic and that was not the case with Mattie.” [Books for Books review]

The Berghof Betrayal

“Mattie McGary is what every woman wants to be: strong-willed, the ability to take care of herself, and who doesn’t take crap from anyone.” [Goodreads review]

“I’ve read and enjoyed all of the books in this series and I vote this one as the most exciting yet, full of twists and turns and I really cared about what happened to the characters. It was a most believable page-turner right to the very end. I can’t wait for their next book. “[Amazon review]

The Silver Mosaic

“This is a well-written historical novel that stays true to the time period and keeps its historic facts accurate. I really liked how the authors immersed me in the time period right from the first page.” [Amazon review].

“Historical fiction that excels. I immediately became involved with both the characters and plot, which took on a life of their own. I have read much shorter books that seemed far longer than The Silver Mosaic.” [Goodreads review].

The Gemini Agenda

“A thick and rich tale that is impossible to put down, So many twists and turns and the ending is gripping…This book holds its own with the best historical fiction.” [Goodreads review]

ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE PRUSSIAN MEMORANDUM

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2BhPctO

 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/3ibS5wY

Chapter One

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT finished stirring an ice-filled pitcher of martinis in the Oval Office and placed it back on the drinks trolley beside his custom made wheel chair. It was of minimalist design—a plain, straight back wooden chair with no arms or legs placed on a base between two large rigid black spoke wheels. Behind the seat were two smaller spoke wheels that turned 360 degrees so that the chair could go in any direction the polio-crippled Roosevelt desired. The two large wheels did not extend above the chair’s seat so that the overall effect of the chair was not to draw attention to itself, but rather to its occupant whose massive chest and broad shoulders conveyed an image of strength, not weakness, and belied his shriveled legs below the wheels.
Roosevelt carefully poured the icy liquid from the pitcher into two stemmed glasses and, after popping an olive into each, handed one to the man who sat in a maroon leather club chair on the other side of the drinks trolley. He raised his glass. “Well Louie, to our good health and the consternation of our enemies.”
Louis Howe lifted his glass and lightly touched it to the other extended glass. Howe was Roosevelt’s right hand man—Secretary to the President—and had been FDR’s fixer while he was governor of New York as well as his unofficial campaign manager both for the nomination and general election in 1932. In contrast to Roosevelt who had a handsome face topped by wavy silver brown hair, Howe was short, dark and ugly with large, bulging, bloodshot eyes and an emaciated frame. Roosevelt thought he looked like death warmed over. Still, he was the most astute political operative Roosevelt had ever known and the President was going to ride him as hard as he could until his health—and luck—ran out. He only hoped that Howe would last until his re-election campaign in 1936.
“Speaking of enemies, Louie,” Roosevelt continued, “what did J. Edgar say he wanted to discuss with me in our meeting tomorrow morning?”
“Beats me, Boss,” Howe replied after taking a sip of his martini. “All he said was that it involved ‘intelligence matters’ that would be an embarrassment to the country, to your administration and to you personally if it ever became public knowledge.”
“Interesting. Do you suppose he’s going to try and blackmail me again about Lucy?”
“Not a chance, Frank. You remember when, after your election, he showed me photographs of Mrs. Rutherford entering your private railcar in Chicago while you were there to accept the nomination and I told him it would be most unwise were he to make them public?” Howe asked, referring to Lucy Mercer Rutherford who had been Roosevelt’s long time mistress both before he contracted polio and after she married the aging socialite Winthrop Rutherford. Howe had arranged to have her there in the railcar in Chicago as a reward for Roosevelt when he returned from giving his acceptance speech at the convention.
“Of course,” Roosevelt replied and took a sip of his martini.
“I don’t believe I mentioned this to you at the time, but that goddamned little fairy actually blushed when I showed him our photographs of him with Clyde Tolson’ cock in his mouth,” Howe continued, Tolson being Hoover’s #2 man at the FBI with whom he lived. “So, don’t worry, whatever he wants to talk about tomorrow, all he’s doing is sucking up to you—pardon the expression—and trying to get on your good side.”
Roosevelt laughed and drained the rest of his martini. “I would have loved to have been there to see that. Remind me, is that the photo where he’s wearing a woman’s frilly dress?”
Howe shook his head and finished his martini also. “Nope, he doesn’t know we have that one.”
Roosevelt laughed again. “Well, it’s good to know we have something in reserve if what he’s going to tell us tomorrow is going to embarrass me and my administration. Another martini?”
Howe nodded and placed his stemmed glass back on the drinks trolley. Roosevelt stirred the martini pitcher again and once more filled their glasses.

The White House
Washington, D.C
Thursday, 5 October 1933

ROOSEVELT WATCHED the FBI Director walk across the carpet in the Oval Office, followed by Louis Howe, until he reached the President’s desk. Dressed in an immaculate Brooks Brothers suit, he thought the short, stocky man’s face really did resemble a bulldog. “Edgar! How good to see you again,” he boomed in a loud voice and extended his hand.
Hoover grasped it. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Mr. President, but I thought this was of such importance that it could not wait.”
“Take a load off your feet, Edgar, and tell me all about it,” Roosevelt said and placed a cigarette in a silver holder and lit it.
Hoover took a seat in one of two straight-backed armchairs in front of the President’s desk and Howe sat in the other. Hoover frowned and glanced disapprovingly at Howe.
“This is a most sensitive matter, Mr. President.”
Roosevelt laughed. “Don’t worry about Louie, Edgar. He knows everything.”
“Very well, Mr. President, you’re the boss.”
Yes, I am, Roosevelt thought, and don’t you forget it.
Hoover took out a slim folder from his briefcase and began to talk. “This is based on interviews my agents have had with the commanding officer of the US Army’s Military Intelligence Division (MID) Major General Leonard Marlborough, his immediate predecessor Brigadier General Ralph Van Deman, the Harvard Law School Dean Roscoe Pound…”
“Roscoe?” Roosevelt said, interrupting. “The devil you say! How is the old rascal?”
“He’s fine, Mr. President. He was most cooperative. We also have had interviews with six former MID agents, all lawyers, who were selected by Dean Pound to perform under his supervision certain legal research for a foreign power.”
“A foreign power, eh? Which one?”
“Nazi Germany, Sir.”
“The Nazis? Really? You have my attention, Edgar. Let’s hear it from the beginning.”
“Well, Sir, it began with information from a wiretap of General Leonard Marlborough’s office and home telephone lines. Based on that, I ordered an investigative file opened and sent Special Agents into the field for interviews with all involved.”
Roosevelt was surprised at this, but said nothing. Was the sonofabitch tapping White House phone lines as well? He made a mental note to have Louie find out. If he was, then it was time they showed the little bastard the photo of him in a woman’s dress. Meanwhile, the President listened with growing horror as Hoover told his story in a dull, dry-as-dust monotone.
“In June, acting on behalf of the Nazi’s German Commission on Criminal Law Reform which was contemplating racial laws which would make Jews and gypsies second class citizens and prohibit sexual relations and marriage between Aryans and Jews, Gypsies and other non-Aryans, Erich Krueger, an SS officer and a political attaché at the German Embassy, approached General Marlborough to commission and pay for confidential legal research into American race laws on miscegenation they could use as models to do the same to Germany’s Jews. We learned from other sources that Marlborough was an anti-Semite like many other MID officers. In fact, Marlborough admitted to us he didn’t like or trust Jews and that this was why he readily agreed to the request. He also told us that he recognized how politically sensitive it might be. So he farmed it out under a Black Drape using secret MID contingency funds to retain RVD International, a private security group named for and headed by Marlborough’s predecessor at MID, retired General Ralph Van DeMan. RVD frequently had been given government subcontracts by MID and employed many ex-MID agents.”
FDR did not like where this was going, but he decided to keep quiet until the little bastard finished. The faint odor of blackmail trailed Hoover like the scent of a skunk.
“Once Marlborough told Van Deman what kind of research the SS wanted, they both agreed that the most qualified—and sympathetic—person to supervise the research was the Dean of the Harvard Law School, Roscoe Pound. He was known to be a Nazi sympathizer and had publicly accepted an honorary degree from the University of Berlin personally presented by Hans Luther, Nazi Germany’s Ambassador to the US.”
“The head of Harvard Law School? Old Roscoe?” Roosevelt said almost reflexively.
“Yes sir.” Hoover said and then continued “He and the whole Harvard Law faculty attended a Nazi luncheon on the university’s campus”
Roosevelt wished he was surprised but he wasn’t. He could tell Hoover was waiting for some kind of reaction but he wouldn’t be getting any. Roosevelt stared at him and said nothing. Finally, the ugly little toad started speaking again, the air firmly vacuumed from his sails by FDR’s silence.
“Uh…well in the late summer of 1933, RVD hired Pound with secret MID funds to sift through personnel files of former MID agents with law degrees to find the six best men for the job. Pound then supervised, also under a Black Drape, these six ex-agents who performed on the ground research in law libraries in thirty states whose laws in 1933 prohibited marriage between whites and assorted ‘coloreds’ and Asians.”
FDR just shook his head as Hoover read off the thirty states. He had known the Deep South prohibited interracial marriage, but was mildly surprised at all the western states that did so as well—Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Hoover paused after reading off the names of the states as if to ask if the President had any questions. Roosevelt gestured for him to continue. “Go ahead, Edgar, and get it over with.”
Hoover did. And, to FDR’s dismay, it got worse.
“While they have no such laws today,” the FBI Director continued, “an additional seven American states once enacted laws against interracial marriage during the 19^th century and later repealed them: Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island and Washington. Oh yes,” Hoover added, “the District of Columbia once had laws like that as well.”
Exactly, Roosevelt thought, courtesy of those idiot Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives before the Civil War. One of the few decent things the Republicans did after the Civil War was to repeal those laws. The last piece from Hoover, however, was the goddamn spoiled cherry on top of the whole rotten cake. Even savage Indians—the Cherokee Nation in 1824 and 1839, the Cree Nation in 1839, and the Chickasaw Nation in 1858—prohibited marriage and sexual relations with Negroes!
“In September 1933, Pound compiled the resulting research and delivered it to Wilhelm Krueger, the SS officer at the German Embassy who commissioned it. RVD was then reimbursed for its expenses by the SS and, after taking its cut, in turn passed it back to MID to replenish their secret contingency funds. The SS officer later told Pound that he had sent it on to Berlin where, after translation and removal of his name, they were calling his report the ‘Prussian Memorandum’. The SS officer also told Pound that many members on the German Commission on Criminal Law Reform were relying on it to advance their arguments that German Jews should be stripped of their citizenship and that marriage between Aryans and Jews, gypsies and other non-Aryans should be criminalized. Pound reported all this to the FBI agent with no small amount of pride and gave him a copy of Pound’s original memorandum.”
After Hoover finished, Roosevelt sighed. What complete idiots! It’s not that he didn’t understand what had motivated Marlborough, Van Deman and Pound. After all, he privately had informed more than one Catholic or Jew reluctant to do his bidding that this was a Protestant country; that the Catholics and Jews were here on sufferance; and that it was up to them to go along with anything he wanted. Well, make that a white Protestant country as well and Negroes better do what he wanted also. And what he wanted was for all of them to vote in large numbers and elect more Democrats in the mid-term elections next year, not to mention his own reelection in 1936. But these were not things he could say publicly. To have it known that the Nazis were using openly racist American laws to craft their own laws against Jews would not play well among Jews or Negroes. And while he needed the larger Negro vote, he also very much needed campaign contributions from the Jews who would not understand that some politically tone-deaf idiots in his Administration had gone off the reservation without his knowledge.
 “Thank you, Edgar. I appreciate your bringing this to my attention. I will take care of it. I assume that folder you’ve been occasionally reading from is for me?”
“Yes, it is, Mr. President.”
Roosevelt held out his hand. “Good, I’ll take it.” Hoover handed the folder to him. “I want any copies of this file in the FBI classified as ‘TOP SECRET’ and I don’t want this appearing in any of Drew Pearson’s ‘Washington Merry-Go-Round’ columns in the Post. Understood?”
“Perfectly, Mr. President.”
“Fine. Louie will see you out.”
Moments later, Howe returned. “What were those morons at MID thinking?”
“Who knows, but have the fannies of Marlborough and Van Deman sitting in those two chairs,” Roosevelt said, pointing to the two armchairs in front of his desk, “first thing tomorrow!”
“You got it, Boss,” Howe said and turned to leave.
“One more thing, Louie.”
“Yes, Frank?”
“This is political dynamite and absolutely cannot get out. I don’t trust Hoover. Call him sometime in the next few hours; re-emphasize to him the importance of keeping this quiet. Tell him I want all FBI records on this destroyed. He’ll agree, but he’ll keep one copy for his personal blackmail file anyway,” Roosevelt said and then paused. “Also, tell him I want the names and personnel files of the two agents who conducted the investigation on my desk by the close of business today. Then, have someone check them out. Make sure they’re good Democrats. If he is at all reluctant, this may be the right time to mention the photograph of our top cop in a dress.”

Michael McMenamin is the co-author with his son Patrick of the first five of the six award winning 1930s era historical novels featuring Winston Churchill and his fictional Scottish goddaughter, the adventure-seeking Hearst photojournalist Mattie McGary. He is the co-author with his daughter Kathleen McMenamin of the sixth Mattie + Winston novel The Liebold Protocol and the novella Appointment in Prague. The first six novels in the series—The DeValera Deception, The Parsifal Pursuit, The Gemini Agenda, The Berghof Betrayal, The Silver Mosaic and The Liebold Protocol—received a total of 15 literary awards. He is currently at work with his daughter on the ninth Mattie + Winston historical adventure, The Phoenix Progression.

Michael is also the author of the critically acclaimed Becoming Winston Churchill, The Untold Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor [Hardcover, Greenwood 2007; Paperback, Enigma 2009] and the co-author of Milking the Public, Political Scandals of the Dairy Lobby from LBJ to Jimmy Carter [Nelson Hall, 1980]. He is a contributing editor for Finest Hour, the quarterly journal of the International Churchill Society and for the libertarian magazine Reason. His work also has appeared in The Churchills in Ireland, 1660-1965, [Irish Academic Press, 2012] as well as two Reason anthologies, Free Minds & Free Markets, Twenty Five Years of Reason [Pacific Research Institute, 1993] and Choice, the Best of Reason [BenBella Books, 2004]. A full-time writer, he was formerly a First Amendment and Media Defense lawyer and a U.S. Army Counterintelligence Agent. 

Kathleen McMenamin, the other half of the father-daughter writing team, has been editing her father’s writing for longer than she cares to remember. She is the co-author with her father of the 2018 Mattie + Winston novella, Appointment in Prague, A Mattie McGary + Winston Churchill World War II Adventure and the sixth Mattie + Winston novel, The Liebold Protocol. She also is the co-author with her sister Kelly of the critically acclaimed Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality [Sterling, 2017]. The two sisters are professional organizers, personality-type experts and the founders of PixiesDidIt! a home and life organization business, www.pixiesdidit.com.
Kathleen is an honors graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University while she was with The Wendy Weill Agency. Prior to starting her own business, she was Senior Advertising and Promotion Coordinator for Bedford/St. Martin’s. The novella Appointment in Prague was her second joint writing project with her father; The Liebold Protocol was her third; and The Prussian Memoradum is her fourth. Their first father-daughter writing project was “Bringing Home the First Amendment”, a review of Nat Hentoff’s The Day They Came to Arrest the Book in the August 1984 Reason magazine. While a teen-ager, she and her father would often take runs together, creating plots for adventure stories as they ran.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: www.winstonchurchillthrillers.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinstonChurchillThrillers