First Night, being a Walking Tour with Alex and Jackie by Tom Weston

Our special guest today is Tom Weston, author of First Night.

Alexandra O'Rourke, aged 16, is not a happy camper. It's New Year's Eve. She should be partying in San Diego with her friends, but instead she is stuck in Boston, with just her younger sister, Jackie, for company. As if that wasn't bad enough, she is being haunted by Sarah, the ghost of a seventeenth century Puritan. Oh, and there is the small matter of the charge of witchcraft to be sorted out.

Armed only with big shiny buttons and a helping of Boston Cream Pie, the sisters set out to restore the Natural Order. Can Alex solve the mystery of the Devil's Book? Can Jackie help Sarah beat the sorcery rap? And can they do it before the fireworks display at midnight? Because this is First Night - and this is an Alex and Jackie Adventure.

Having lived all my life in Massachusetts and having been to Boston multiple times for field trips and sporting events, I asked Tom to discuss some of the landmarks and familiar areas readers will find in First Night.

First Night, being a Walking Tour with Alex and Jackie
by Tom Weston

While First Night is a fantasy, I wanted to set the story in as real a world as possible. Cue Boston - although it would be more accurate to describe Boston on New Year's Eve as surreal.

Part of my aim was to feature Boston as a character in the book. So I dropped a great deal of ink on the history of the city. There are more than 70 landmarks referenced, many of them in detail.

I have to admit, I did worry if all this history throughout the novel would detract from its pace, but I have been gratified by the reactions of the readers: from Bostonians (of both the ‘I-never-knew-that-existed’ and the ‘been- there-done-that’ variety) to out-of-towners, who have been kind enough to write me that the book has made them want to visit the city and follow in Alex and Jackie’s footsteps.

And the good news is: many of the landmarks featured in the book (except, of course, for the ghostly Court of Spirits) are within walking distance of each other. Indeed several of them form part of Boston’s famous Freedom Trail. In the story, Alex and Jackie manage to visit all of these sites in just one day. While this is technically possible (I know, I did it), to do so comes at the expense of a great deal of enjoyment and discovery. So if you visit Boston, I would suggest that you employ a more leisurely pace than that used by the girls.

I have been accused of favoritism in my selections. Indeed I left out so many worthy attractions that I could fill several Alex and Jackie sequels. But I hope that the reader will agree that I chose based on history and connection to the story, not because of personal preference. That said, if I had to highlight any particular landmarks of those featured in First Night, I would choose the following:

The first is the Granary Burying Ground: where the real child, Sarah Pemberton, was laid to rest in 1688. I won’t say where exactly - go and discover. It may seem macabre to list a graveyard as your number one tourist attraction, but the history of Boston (and America) stems from the people buried here, and it contains many names that will already be familiar to you. And this is where the story of First Night had its genesis, during a visit one earlier New Year's Eve. Before I put pen to paper, I knew that this would be where the story began and ended.

The second is the Old South Meeting House: another Boston gem that I discovered one New Year's Eve (thank God for those buttons). Small, sparse and unassuming – a cathedral it isn’t. But with its little museum dedicated to revolution, democracy and civil rights, it is both humbling and inspirational at the same time. That this also turned out to be Sarah’s church was a happy coincidence.

So if you find yourself in Boston, grab a map from the Visitor Center and follow the Freedom Trail, and don’t forget to say hello to Sarah.

Originally from England, Tom now hangs his hat in Boston, Massachusetts; with occasional spells in such faraway places as London and Luxembourg. Tom has a degree in Computer Science, and he claims to speak three languages: English, American, and Visual Basic. Before turning his hand to fiction, Tom had a successful career as the CEO of a systems consulting company, conference speaker, and writer of industry articles and business books.

As well as the novel, First Night, Tom has also written the screenplay, Fission, based on the true story of scientist, Lise Meitner, and the race for the atomic bomb. While Fission has yet to find a home in Hollywood, it garnered enough critical acclaim, including being named as a finalist at the London Independent Film Festival, that Tom was encouraged to keep on writing, resulting in his latest work which is, of course, First Night.

You find Tom online at www.tom-weston.com.

What if? - Pat MacDermott and A Band of Roses

Today's guest blogger is Pat MacDermott, author of the alternate history adventure novel A Band of Roses.

A Band of Roses is an alternate history adventure set in modern day Ireland. The "what if" premise of the story supposes that Irish High King Brian Boru survived the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D. and founded a dynasty that rules Ireland to this day.

Crown Princess Talty Boru, the daughter of the current King Brian, is the heir to the throne, though she wishes she weren’t. She’d prefer to pursue a military career, but she’s resigned to her royal fate until England’s Prince Geoffrey seizes a tiny Irish island in the North Atlantic and the oil-rich ocean bed around it. Geoffrey plans to return the island to Ireland in exchange for oil wells in the Irish sea. He proposes a conciliatory treaty that would marry Talty to the unbalanced young English King. Talty agrees, as the terms demand that she relinquish her title as heir to the throne. She believes she’s free of her duties as crown princess, but a murder attempt on her wedding night turns her life upside down.

Multiple attempts on Talty’s life force King Brian to send her away to protect her, though he unwittingly sends her into further danger. From Japan to California, Talty must hide her true identity until her elders can set things straight. She can’t disguise her ingrained training as one of Ireland’s ancient Fian warriors, however.

Her recruitment into International Security Forces’ top secret Peregrine Project allows her to visit strange worlds, one an eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf. She finds romance and adventureand brings back a discovery worth more than any oil well, yet all she wants is to return to her family and her lifelong friend and protector Neil Boru, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves and can’t have—or so she thinks. Talty’s warrior cousin has a secret of his own, one that emerges as the Boru clan works with England's MI6 to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring Talty home.

What If? by Pat MacDermott

From time to time, most of us wonder how life might have turned out if we’d had richer parents, attended another school, married a different person. Historians have asked similar questions concerning the outcome of world events. What if the Roman Empire hadn’t fallen? What if the American Revolution had failed? What if Germany had won World War II?

Hold those thoughts for a moment, please. As a second generation Irish American, I’ll never know what it is to be truly Irish. I only have the stories my grandparents told, the songs they sang, the letters from siblings and cousins they never expected to see again. My childhood vision of Ireland was one of magical legends and ancient kings, banshees and leprechauns, rebellions and heroes. When at last I saw the real Emerald Isle, the palm trees astonished me. My grandparents never mentioned palm trees!

I longed for the Ireland I knew through song and story. My aunts had assured me our family had descended from Irish royalty, kings and queens long gone but hardly forgotten. How could such great men and women simply vanish?

What if they were still around?

In 1002 A.D., the chieftain of an obscure Irish clan rose to claim the High Kingship of Ireland. Brian Boru united Ireland’s warring tribes under one leader for the first and only time in Irish history. A scholar as well as a warrior, King Brian rebuilt churches, encouraged education, repaired roads and bridges, and roused the country to rise against the Norse invaders who had ravaged Ireland for centuries.
On Good Friday in 1014 A.D., Brian’s army challenged a host of Vikings and their allies on the plains of Clontarf. Though his troops were victorious, Brian’s son and grandson perished in the battle. Brian himself died as he prayed in his tent, murdered by fleeing Vikings who stumbled upon his camp.

Many historians have speculated that Ireland would be a different place today if Brian Boru and his heirs had survived the Battle of Clontarf. A Band of Roses presents one possible scenario.

So begins the preface of A Band of Roses, a book whose concept offered the refuge I sought. In my Ireland, King Brian survived the Battle of Clontarf. His descendants still rule modern Ireland, and the current crown princess, Talty Boru, longs to be anyone but the heir to her father’s throne. She quickly learns to be careful what she wishes for. Her adventures take her from Japan to California to an ancient Ireland whose facts don’t fit the history she knows. Time travel? Not quite. The parallel world she visits is ours.

While some argue that “Alternative History” is more grammatically correct, “Alternate History” has emerged as the common name of this interesting genre of fiction. The “what if” asked by so many authors has produced a wealth of thought-provoking tales. My “what if” has created an Ireland that might have been, one where all are welcome. I invite you to stop by and lose your way for a while.



Born and educated in Boston, Massachusetts, Pat McDermott grew up in a family full of music and myths that have found their way into her stories. She is a member of The New Hampshire Writers' Project, Seacoast Writers' Association, Romance Writers of America, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A frequent visitor to Ireland, she lives in New Hampshire, where she is currently working on her next novel.

To find out more about the author and her work visit www.patmcdermott.net.

Wenda the Wacky Wiggler by Christopher Aslan -- Book Review

Wenda loves to laugh and dance and feel herself move. The grumpy and grey people in her town, however, did not like her to do any of those things. So, they figure if they stopped the music and the singing, Wenda will go away. Wenda and the townsfolk soon learn, however, the love and joy that comes from inside is something that can never be stopped, and sharing it changes people forever.

What a wonderful way to show children how to listen to their own voice! Wenda the Wacky Wiggler is a charming and beautifully illustrated picture book that both entertains and educates.

Published by Benjamin Brown Books, Christopher Aslan one of the company's founders, has found his voice in a planned series of books that both inspire, educate and entertain. Wenda the Wacky Wiggler is the second book in the publisher's Rainbow Collection. The first book, Lilly and Lucy's Shadow, encourages children to overcome their fears.

Kudos go out to illustrator Emily Mullock, whose colorful and stunning illustrations bring Wenda and her town to life. This is Mullock's first book project and I look forward to more from her.

Every child needs to know what they have to offer to this world; and Wenda the Wacky Wiggler is an excellent way to teach them this lesson while enjoying a fun book.


Title: Wenda the Wacky Wiggler
Author: Christopher Aslan
Publisher: Benjamin Brown Books
ISBN: 978-0-9782553-2-9
SRP: $ 19.95 (U.S.)

Sylvia Weber and The Wolves' Keeper Legend

Today's guest blogger is Sylvia Weber, author of The Wolves' Keeper Legend.

".... From the beginning of time, it seemed that rivalry between man and wolf was at the root of man's dislike for the animal, discovered only too well by Sealgair. Was his fate forever to be condemned to isolation, to see terror and hate in the eyes of the once he once loved? All he could see in his mind was the last pictures of Awena's beloved face, which he carried in his heart for all his life.

Was the only way out to discover the special secret held by the papyrus-pearls in the stone pot - what secrets could this hold? And which stone pot could keep that precious secret when there were so many of them?

Seanns' quest to find the pearls and uncover the secret ended with tragic consequences, resulting in him not only discovering the truth of his birth and who his real mother and father were, but the realisation that his father lived among the wolves..."

I've asked Sylvia to give us a lit bit of Awena's story. Here's what she has to say:

Awena was a beautiful girl who arrived to Caladh. She and Sealgair fell in love and lived a happy time together, until one day, in the Fire Festival, Fiosaiche fell in love with her too. From there on, Sealgair and Fiosaiche had a hard time, each one of them trying to be the prince of her heart. She chose Sealgair, but Fiosaiche was never happy with her decision. So, he made a pact with the evil powers to get Awena's heart. But there is no such power that can defeat true love... Fiosaiche was downhearted and spiteful, and decided that, if he could't have her, no-one else could. So, he casted a spell over Sealgair and Awena that would keep them apart forever. So, how can this terrible destiny be changed? By then, Awena was already pregnant...

"This book was written when I was twelve years old (1980), which makes it, even for me, something rare. It’s usual to see books about teenagers, but they normally are written by adults. During my career as a teacher, I realised that few adults can see the world in the way a child does – I can name Jostein Gaarder, Jorge Amado and, of course, Saint-Exupery. Generations go by, and the teenagers love them. In the time I wrote it, there were no Golden Compass, no Narnia and no Harry Potter. Though the themes might seem similar to these works, my book is different and whoever reads it to the end understands it very clearly. It’s a unique and very pure vision, not even influenced by television and Internet. I translated it myself from Portuguese to English and gave it the final features, but the original manuscript is a hundred per cent in it, word by word.

My book is a dream, created by a dreamer’s mind, founded on Celtic tales. It talks about ideals that may seem so old-fashioned nowadays to many people, but that in my vision should be eternal targets to Humanity – Freedom, Love, Peace, Justice, Life. It’s a world of Children, but I think that one of the greatest abilities a grown-up can have is to see the world by the eyes of a child. The true hero is “Seanns”, a thirteen-year-old boy who seeks fulfilment and enlightenment in his life. This boy strives for truth and has a long way to go in a world inhabited by fairies, griffins and dragons. His companions are an old savant man and an older boy who guides him through the Mine of Dreams, where pearl-books are kept as the most precious treasures.

Though the wolf, traditionally, is seen as a terrible creature, associated to everything that is evil, my book tries to demystify this idea, presenting him as in “My friend, the wolf”, a traditional children’s poetry of my country whose author is unfortunately unknown.

Sylvia Weber was born in a small town in the heart of Portugal. She grew up on a farm, along the shores of the river Tejo, in an environment in which the traditions, and the respect for Nature exerted a very strong influence in what concerns the development of personality. At the age of twelve, she moved with her parents to Lisbon, in the suburban Amadora. The cultural confrontation with the cosmopolitan life was very deep, and it was definitively what made a writer out of Sylvia. the teenage years, Sylvia discovered the pleasure and the freedom of writing and she spent her every moment writing.

After a short marriage that gave birth to a son, she remarried in 2002 and added twin girls to her family. In September of 2007, she left to England with her husband, taking only a van loaded with essential goods (music, photos, books and clothing), a handbag of documents and a heart full of hope.

Visit her website at www.wolveskeeperlegend.com.

Virtual Vice by Jason M. Kays -- Book Review

Explosive and edgy, Virtual Vice by Jason M. Kays takes the reader on a journey into the bowels of the murky and deadly dark side of Internet venture capitalism.

Attorney Ian McKenzie's life takes a decided turn when he is introduced to the charismatic, but dangerous, Scott White. Hired by White to represent his interests in Metropoleis Media, a cutting edge Internet startup, Ian is soon drawn into the personal trials and tribulations of White's life. Leaving a trail of violence and abuse wherever he has been, White's quick descent into paranoia and mental illness finds Ian searching for a way out and a way to collect the ever mounting outstanding attorney fees that White owes him. Caught in the middle of the Feds, La Cosa Nostra and the Cali Cartel, Ian is trapped in a fatal game of corporate winner-take-all. How will he ever extract himself? And at what cost?

If you like wild rides, Virtual Vice is for you. Beginning with Ian McKenzie discovering his client naked and teetering on the edge of the veranda outside his hotel room, you're certain from the get go that this is no ordinary story.

Soon after meeting Ian, Scott White and some of his abnormal associates, the reader journeys through part of White's past and how Ian met and came to be hired by White before the book moves through in a mostly chronological format.

The author's love of music and his experience as an intellectual property attorney in information technology and entertainment law are clear from the onset, and it is his well-developed, complex characters that readers will appreciate the most. White's total deterioration that garners him some unwanted attention from past associates, Clarice Westwater's greed and ability to manipulate and Pastor Petey's feigned piousness, come alive within the pages of this book.

Virtual Vice gives a glimpse not only into the world of Internet venture capitalism, but also the music industry and Ponzi schemes, as White's long history of bilking investors and running across state lines is outlined.

Based upon true events, Virtual Vice is considered creative non-fiction, and therefore, the narrative carries the bulk of the story. This made it a little hard to get into at first. I am so glad I stuck with it, though, because the storyline is not only timely, it is riveting once it gets going and you'll find yourself turning page after page up to the explosive and satisfying conclusion.

A timely, attention grabbing story is what you'll find in Virtual Vice by Jason M. Kays.


Title: Virtual Vice
Author: Jason M. Kays
Publisher: BookSurge
ISBN-10: 1-4392-0131-5
ISBN-13: 9781439201312
SRP: $23.99 (U.S.)

Video Trailer for Beyond the Code of Conduct by K.M. Daughters

Here is the latest trailer I created. This is for the romantic supsense novel, Beyond the Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the Sullivan Boys series by K.M. Daughters, which we reviewed here.

FBI Agency Brass and Sullivan family connections force Special Agent Bobbie Leighton into an undercover operation with inactive Homicide Detective Joe Sullivan.

Posing as a cattleman and his arm-candy wife the couple is assigned to infiltrate NY attorney Bradley Sterling’s illegal operation. Suspected of baby trafficking, Sterling maybe be connected with Joe’s brother, Jimmy Sullivan’s murder.

How do Bobbie and Joe adhere to their professional code of conduct living under the same roof? Can they forget their personal history, ignore their volatile feelings for each other and ensnare their target when they might be next on Sterling’s victims list?

You can visit the authors' website at www.kmdaughters.com and follow them at http://twitter.com/kmdaughters!



I would love to hear what you think.

Is Your Ghost Holy? by Shay Bills - Book Review

Not every inspirational book you read is going to touch your heart or even make you think. But Is Your Ghost Holy? by Shay Bills does that and more. In this slender book full of powerful and moving words, the reader is given eight principles to help her evaluate her walk in the Spirit. The Principles of Truth, Life and Death, Faith, Love, Change, the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost and the Power of the Holy Ghost come together for an inspiring and empowering read.

The author's experience as a speaker, teacher and motivator truly shines in Is Your Ghost Holy?. Her conversational style and touching words will leave you thinking long after you close the cover on this book. But I recommend that you never really close this book, but leave it on your nightstand so that you can refer to it often, using it perhaps as a devotional on a regular basis.

Certain chapters may speak to you more than others. I found the seventh principle extremely helpful, especially considering some of the events I still hold onto from my past. In "The Principle of Blasphemy Against the Holy Ghost", Bills discusses how unforgiveness in the Christian walk keeps many stagnant in Christ. She explores the dangerous place that the state of unforgiveness is. With a firm grasp on Scripture, she discusses how easy it can be to notice unChristian behavior in others, but not in ourselves. And she fully explains what blasphemy against the Holy Ghost truly is.

Learn how to take the road less traveled and stand firm on the Word. Is Your Ghost Holy? by Shay Bills will show you how.


Title: Is Your Ghost Holy?
Author: Shay Bills
Publisher: Saint Paul Press
ISBN: 978-0-9819672-7-1
SRP: $11.99 (U.S.)