Saturday, January 10, 2009

Scattered Leaves Virtual Book Tour '08 & '09



When Ben McCord comes home from a business trip to find his young wife raped and murdered, he starts out on a journey of death and destruction. Clues lead him to a dark world of drugs and violence in action that spans Texas, Colorado, and the Mexican border. McCord hooks up with a beautiful doctor, who was also victimized by members of the same drug cartel, and together they track down the killers, surviving bloody confrontations, and ending with a suspenseful climax in the Big Thicket of Texas.



AUTHOR'S BIO:


Suspense/Mystery author Richard Roach was born in 1931 in Galveston, Texas. Short stories of his have been published in Man’s Story 2, Happy 2007, Vol. 20 and Bibliophilos 2006, Vol. 42. His first novel, Scattered Leaves, hit the book stores on September 1, ’08, and his second novel, Scattered Money, will be published in 2009.

You can visit his website at www.richarderoach.com.

TO SEE WHERE RICHARD AND BEN ARE STOPPING NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

Friday, January 9, 2009

The Five Lost Days Virtual Book Tour '08 & '09



Struggling documentary producer Michael Burns has traveled to the remote Maya Mountains of Belize to capture exclusive footage of the last surviving curandero. The traditional Mayan healer may hold the key to discovering new medicines among the vast, uncharted flora of the rain forest.

But with a violent civil war spilling across the border from neighboring Guatemala - and Burns inexplicably drawn to the aging curandero's American apprentice - the filmmakers stumble into a more explosive story than they ever could have imagined.
At once an adventure and an exploration into the nature of perception, THE FIVE LOST DAYS exposes the clash between modern culture and ancient beliefs.



AUTHOR'S BIO:


William Petrick is an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer/director who has created programs for National Geographic, Discovery, MTV, Court TV and many other cable and broadcast networks. He is currently a senior producer with Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. You can find out more about William's book by clicking here.

TO SEE WHERE WILLIAM AND MICHAEL ARE STOPPING NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

Five Steps to C.A.L.M. Virtual Book Tour '08 & '09



A father once told his young son, who was going out into the world on his own, “Son, whatever you want to become, be The Best.” This course teaches you how to be “The Best.”

It begins with instructions on how to put “The Best” of you on paper  Writing Your Resume. Then, later presenting “The Best” of you in person  Preparing for an Interview.

You’ll begin with the basic Resume Content, noting what should and should not be included in your Resume. After mastering the content, then begins the formatting of the Resume.

The author has thoughtfully provided you with a Resume checklist. Some of the questions are as follows:

Is the Resume two pages or less?
(Do you realize the importance of this question?)
Are the dates consistent on the left (or right) side, and limited to years?
Does the language “flow” (neither stiff nor stilted)?
Are Action Verbs used to your full advantage?

I would like to make a comment here; this is one of the many sections that you will utilize not only in your job search but also in your everyday associations.

C.A.L.M. gives you access to nine different categories for Action Verbs. They are listed under the headings of:

Communication Skills
Creative Skills
Detailed Skills
Financial Skills
Helping Skills
Management Skills
Manual Skills
Research Skills
Teaching Skills

You’ll be surprised how many Action Verbs from this section you will be able to include in your Resume, which will help make it more impressive to your employer.

Didn’t I tell you that employers would be impressed with your Resume? Now, you have been called for an interview! The next section of the book takes you into “Interviewing Techniques.” What other book walks you through an all-inclusive “Pre-Interview” session? Well, C.A.L.M. does, and once you have completed this lesson, you will indeed be CALM during your interview, no matter how many people may be on the panel of interviewers.

Included in the “Interviewing Techniques” section are Fashion Recommendations, which takes you step by step through the protocol for the business interview dress code, how both men and women should dress when going to an interview. Remember, your Resume may have “opened” the door, now your personal appearance may get a “foot” in that door. Here is where you put the lessons you have learned from C.A.L.M. into practice. Here’s where you sell The Product – Yourself! Don’t worry. C.A.L.M. has fully prepared you for any of the possible questions that you may be asked during the interview. You are ready for them, and you will remain CALM.

C.A.L.M. guides you step-by-step through the entire interview: from the Beginning of the Interview, during the Interview, and through the Closure of the Interview. After completing this course of study, you will glide through your interview with confidence and a sense of achievement. You will have left a favorable impression with the employer, and all because you put into practice your C.A.L.M. course of study.

While the employer is checking you out, C.A.L.M. also instructs you on how to compile a checklist of pertinent company information. Information that is important to you in helping you decide whether or not you would want to work for this firm or company.

The author has thought of everything in preparing you for the job search. He has included a web-site listing for those of you who want to do your job-hunting via the Internet.

C.A.L.M. answers all the questions you may have ever had in your previous job search. The “Who,” the “What,” the “Where,” and the “How.”

If you are willing to strike a Faustian Bargain, that is, willing to sacrifice anything to satisfy a limitless desire for knowledge, then C.A.L.M. is, without a doubt, the course of study for you.



AUTHOR'S BIO:

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio Reverend Robert Patterson, Sr. is the father of six children (5 sons one daughter) and the loving husband of Mrs. Linda Patterson. He is a grandfather as well as a great grandfather.

As a member of Walker Chapel AME Church (The Fifth District), he has served in various capacities, from the Usher Board to the Steward and Trustee Boards. He has taught both Sunday School and Bible Study and has served in each department to the best of his abilities

His life reads like a road map, he is a Vietnam ERA Veteran (U.S.M.C 1961-1970), A Graduate of San Diego State University (Class of 1975). He has served as a Cable Television News Reporter, (Oceanside, CA.) Host of “Behind the Truth”, Employment Counselor Specialist, (Operation SER), Counselor-Testing Specialist, Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee (MAAC). Coordinator of Manpower, CETA Area Training Center (at Palomar Community College), Transitional Assistance Program Instructor (TAP) and was Director of Personal Affairs (Camp Pendleton, CA) and Coordinated the first ever Sickle Cell Anemia Testing in Oceanside, just to name a few of his many accomplishments.

Reverend Patterson is a strong advocate of education and cultural awareness. He likes teaching and having the interaction and discussion of both Bible Study and Sunday School with the congregation in order to get down to the nitty gritty and still be brief, be specific, and be seated.” As he is fond of saying, “The day that you stop seeking knowledge, is the day that you most surely are dead.”

You can visit his website at www.rpatters.com.

TO SEE WHERE ROBERT IS STOPPING OF NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Perfect on Paper Virtual Book Tour '08 & '09



Anything can look perfect...on paper.

When her fiance calls off their wedding at the last minute, Waverly Bryson wonders if her life will ever turn out the way she though it would...or should. Her high-powered job in sports PR? Not so perfect. Her relationship with her dad? Far from it. Her perfect marriage? Enough said.

"Perfect on Paper" is a humorous tale of Waverly's efforts to cobble the pieces of a broken yesterday into a brand new tomorrow. What does the future have in store for her? Will she finally find what she's looking for?

Her dates? Cringe-inducing at times, definitely entertaining.

Her friends? Often amused, definitely supportive.

Her new crush? Possibly intrigued, definitely a catch.

The results? Hardly perfect, definitely just right.

AUTHOR'S BIO:


Maria Murnane is currently an independent business writer and works mostly with technology and financial services companies, but like the main character in her book, she used to work in sports PR. One day she quit her job and ended up in Argentina for a year, where she played semi-pro soccer and also wrote the first draft of what would eventually become "Perfect on Paper". She has dedicated the book to any woman who has ever been on a really bad date or realized halfway through the workday that her skirt is on backwards.

Maria graduated with high honors in English and Spanish from UC Berkeley and received a master's degree in integrated marketing communications from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Visit Maria's website at http://www.mariamurnane.com/

TO SEE WHERE MARIA AND WAVERLY ARE STOPPING NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

My Splendid Concubine Virtual Book Tour '08 & '09





Driven by a passion for his adopted country, Robert Hart became the “godfather of China’s modernism,” inspector general of China’s Customs Service, and the builder of China’s railroads, postal and telegraph systems, and schools, but his first real love is Ayaou, a young concubine.





AUTHOR'S BIO:


As a field radio operator, Lloyd Lofthouse was a walking target in Vietnam in 1966. He has skied in blizzards at forty below zero and climbed mountains in hip deep snow.

Lloyd earned a BA in journalism after fighting in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine. Later, while working days as an English teacher at a high school in California, he earned an MFA in writing. He enjoyed a job as a maitre d’ in a multimillion-dollar nightclub and tried his hand successfully at counting cards in Las Vegas for a few years. He now lives near San Francisco with his wife, with a second home in Shanghai, China. Lloyd says that snapshots of his life appear like multicolored ribbons flowing through many of his poems.

You can visit his website at www.mysplendidconcubine.com.

TO SEE WHERE LLOYD AND ROBERT ARE STOPPING NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Recovering Me, Discovering Joy Virtual Book Tour '09



Recovering Me, Discovering Joy reveals how to recover (from any ailment or condition) not to normal but to a better normal. After numerous attempts at sobriety, stints in more than three rehabs, followed by repeated relapses, Vivian shares the “secret” that finally brought her lasting recovery and profoundly changed her life. In an effort to improve the success rate of recovery and quite possibly save lives, one of the book’s main goals is to raise awareness about the profound correlation between depression, social anxiety, and alcoholism. Vivian has struggled with these disorders and is in recovery from all three.

In addition, Recovering Me, Discovering Joy is a remarkably honest book of creative non-fiction about the positive nature of life’s problems. It is about the journey to know oneself. With a sense of humor and an uplifting spirit of gratitude, Vivian suggests ways to live a more meaningful life. She offers a fresh look at enduring truths which we all tend to forget in our day-to-day fast-paced lives. By using stories from people in recovery, famous quotes and personal reflections, she re-establishes the importance of faith in the healing process. Her experience, strength and hope provide the reader with keys to living a richer, easier and happier life.



AUTHOR'S BIO:

Author of Recovering Me, Discovering Joy / Uplifting Wisdom for Everyday Greatness, Vivian Eisenecher has been an inspirational speaker, mentor and writer since 1996. Using her experience, strength and hope, she is committed to helping educate and enlighten the general public about the puzzling aspects of the addiction/recovery process and the strong correlation between anxiety, depression and alcoholism. Vivian holds a marketing degree in Business Administration (magna cum laude). Her other published works include articles for The Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Woman’s World, Viewpoint, and JUST FINE: Unmasking Depression and Anxiety Disorders (due out in 2009). She is featured on the 2009 Faces of Recovery Calendar and is a Board of Director for A New Path (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing). You can visit Vivian Eisenecher's website at: www.recoveringme.com.

TO SEE WHERE VIVIAN IS STOPPING NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/

Amazing Grays Virtual Book Tour '09



Maggie Rose Crane has written an informative and engaging book for boomers who are unwilling to become feeble old women with boobs in their laps, dreams on the shelf, and “Memory Lane” their only destination. This book is for maturing women who are staking their claim as part of a dynamic and growing movement of ‘Amazing Grays’, women who want to challenge stereotypes about aging and create a fresh start for the second half of life – but aren’t quite sure how to pull it off.

When an epiphany in the hair salon convinced Maggie to try life without hair dye, she found herself face to face with the fears and questions that unsettle many maturing women living in a culture obsessed with youth and manufactured beauty…

Who am I now that I’m no longer young and fertile? Will I still be desirable as I age? Will I be invisible? Is this the beginning of the end? Is it too late to make a difference? And how on earth do I stop coloring my hair if I want to?

Balanced somewhere between a memoir and a how-to, Maggie uses her personal journey as a springboard to shatter stereotypes about aging. She shares her most poignant insights and experiences on what it means to be a woman "of a certain age," and offers suggestions on how to mindfully chart a graceful course through the physical changes, emotional challenges and mental gauntlet of aging. With honesty, humor and plenty of research, Maggie lights the way for women who want to live with vibrancy and joy – regardless of their hair color!



AUTHOR'S BIO:

Prior to publishing her book, AMAZING GRAYS, Maggie Rose Crane spent a decade crisscrossing the country conducting leadership and life-skills workshops for women. Born on the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation, she has experienced many life passages common to her peers: college, marriage, divorce, single motherhood, career changes, and creating a blended family. At the core of her message, shared through writing, speeches and workshops, Maggie exposes the fears and anxieties that haunt many midlife women – and reveals how to mindfully navigate the turbulence with wisdom, perspective and practice. She also serves as a guest editor for the Dove Real Women/Real Beauty Campaign website. (www.dove.com). Born and raised in Wisconsin, Maggie now resides on the West Coast.

You can visit Maggie's website at www.maggiecrane.com.

TO SEE WHERE MAGGIE IS STOPPING NEXT, VISIT http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/