Paying It Forward to Jan Sikes, RRBC Author

Today is the day I support fellow author Jan Sikes through the Pay It Forward initiative of the Rave Reviews Book Club. Each member is given the opportunity to “pay it forward” by supporting a fellow member and not promoting herself or himself that day.  If you are an author in search of a supportive home, then head over to the RRBC website and tell us that Jan sent you.

Jan’s creative approach to writing combines narrative and music, as she explains below. She is not only multi-talented, but she is also “multi-published” as well. You can check out her books and CDs below. Join the fun and support Jan on social media. Her links are listed below. Now here is Jan in her own words.

I am an Award Winning Author, screenwriter, songwriter and most of all an individual. I tell true stories in a creative and entertaining way. I love sharing what other authors are doing and any information I feel is useful to other authors. I also enjoy playing guitar and writing music. With each book I publish, I also release a music CD of original music that matches the time period of the book. This is something unique and I haven’t met many other authors who do this, but for me they go hand in hand. My stories all evolve and revolve around the music.

 

Click on the photos above for summaries of each book.

Jan’s links:

http://www.jansikes.com http://www.ricksikes.com
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks
http://www.facebook.com/RickSikesMusic http://www.twitter.com/rijanjks

 

Paying It Forward to John Howell, Author and RRBC Member

Today I am participating in one of my favorite promotional activities of the Rave Reviews Book Club. Every day this week, RRBC member-authors will promote a fellow author. It is my pleasure to promote and support John Howell, award-wining author of stories and books, including My Grl and his latest, His Revenge. John is a super supportive member of fellow RRBC authors, and I am very happy to be given the opportunity to support and promote him today. Take a moment today to check out his books on Amazon and to support him on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Be sure to visit John’s website. Here is John in his own words.

John’s main interests are reading and writing.  He turned to writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive career in business.  John writes thriller fiction novels and short stories. His story Cold Night Out won an honorable mention in Writers Digest Popular Fiction contest this year. He also won first place in the Kurt Vonnegut Kilgore Trout novel contest, celebrating Kurt Vonnegut as an author. His short story Never Give Inn was selected to be published in the Miracle E-zine fifth issue published in April.

John lives on Mustang Island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of south Texas with his wife Molly and their spoiled rescue pets.

John has finished his debut novel and is published by  Martin Sisters Publishing. www.martinsisterpublishing.com. The title of the book is My GRL and is currently available on Amazon. Come see the author’s page at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/author/johnwhowell

His novel is a fiction thriller and the following back cover blurb will give you an idea of what the story is about:

John J. Cannon successful San Francisco lawyer takes a leave of absence from the firm and buys a boat he
names My GRL. He is unaware that his newly purchased boat had already been targeted by a terrorist group. John’s first inkling of a problem is when he wakes up in the hospital where he learns he was found unconscious next to the dead body of the young woman who sold him the boat in the first place. Further, John now stands between the terrorists and the success of their mission.

The following review by Readers Favorite gives My GRL a five star rating:

Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers’ Favorite My GRL by John W. Howell is a book filled with suspense, intrigue, conspiracy, and drama. John J. Cannon needed a break from work so he requested a one-year leave of absence for personal exploration, which he was entitled to as a partner who had been with the firm for over 10 years. He booked a flight to Corpus Christi, locked his condo, and started on what he hoped would be a long island vacation filled with lazy days and personal time. When he reached Corpus, he bought a boat, and started living the life. Little did he know that buying that boat would bring an end to the peaceful vacation he had hoped for, not until he woke up in a hospital with no memory of what had happened, and was told that Gerry, the girl who helped him buy the boat was dead. That is when he starts working to put the pieces together and find the truth behind Gerry’s death and then realizes who he is really up against. My GRL by John W. Howell is fast-paced thriller that shows how your life can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye. John J. Cannon was looking forward to a long island vacation but instead ended up chasing and hiding from the bad guys. From losing Gerry who he was getting close to calling a friend, to discovering the real truth behind her death, to discovering who Sarah, Gerry’s friend really was. It is a well-written story that kept me glued, page after page.

Shirley Harris-Slaughter, Author: RRBC’s Bethany Turner “Pay It Forward” Week

Wow! I was selected to promote Shirley Harris-Slaughter again in this week’s Bethany Turner “Pay It Forward” week for the Rave Reviews Book Club. Here is my original post from April 2015:

This week I am participating in the Rave Reviews Book Club’s Bethany Turner “Pay It Forward” week during which RRBC members promote their fellow authors through a club selection process. Well, wasn’t I surprised to learn that I was being promoted by the very member I was asked to promote: Shirley Harris-Slaughter, and on the very same day! I first “met” Shirley by telephone, shortly after I was selected to be the RRBC’s first ever Spotlight Author. Talking to Shirley put me at ease before my podcast interview that was part of the promotion package I received as the first Spotlight Author. I must confess that I was won over even earlier when I saw Shirley’s beautiful smile in her author photo. That smile is symbolic of Shirley’s outreach to fellow authors, and I venture to guess, all the people who are lucky enough to inhabit her every day world. You can help me support Shirley by liking her Facebook page, retweeting my tweet of this post, following Shirley on Twitter and other social media, and buying and reading her book.

Today I “pay it forward” to Shirley Harris-Slaughter. Here she is in her own words.

Shirley Harris-Slaughter

My name is Shirley Harris-Slaughter and I’ve been a published author since 2007. My life plans never included becoming a writer. I was urged to write when I realized there were things going on around me, such as my community being shut down everywhere I looked and yet it seemed no one was interested in preserving our history. I never dreamed that I would be the “chosen one” to take on that task, but I was, and so after much research, sleepless nights and being shunned by those who didn’t want me to tell this story, OUR LADY OF VICTORY, THE SAGA OF AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY was born. Something that started out as just a timeline of events to honor the pioneers of this West Eight Mile Community, turned into a full-blown narrative history.
Like most Indie authors, I was struggling to get even a little recognition in an already over-crowded field. And then, I happened upon the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB where I served for a short while on the Governing Board as the Newsletter Director. This club is all about supporting and helping authors. RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB is the brainchild of Founder and President, Nonnie Jules. She took the time to read my book and gave it an honest review. Since becoming a part of this awesome organization, I have been blessed with many opportunities which further profiled and brought recognition to my book. I have had such honors as being: the President’s Pick in the online Newsletter, a “WHO’S ON THE SHELF” Interview by Nonnie Jules, a #PUSHTUESDAY win and a week-long “SPOTLIGHT.”
Aside from being an active reader and writer, I am also a community-activist and from time to time, I lend my name to petitions to stop something or another, or I may even pick up the phone to call my elected Representatives, if that’s what it takes to get something accomplished. My latest campaign is about the potholes that are driving us crazy here in Michigan. I personally started a petition drive and am in need of 500+ signatures (preferably from the citizens of our great state) to make an impact. If you can’t sign for that reason, but know someone here in Michigan who can, please share this link:

Thanks for stopping by to learn more about me and you’re welcome back any time. You never know what I might have going on next!

OUR LADY OF VICTORY – The Saga of an African American Catholic Community is a compilation of memories, records, photos and interviews. The author recalls growing up in the legacy of Mother Anna Bates.
Follow the tale of the infamous wall…built to separate blacks from white residents and how it almost impeded the development of the area. It’s the story of a thriving Catholic community in spite of regressive government policies; on the verge of developing strong Catholic roots but doesn’t quite make it.
This is the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community. Don’t run from the information housed inside the covers of this book because the mere mention of black and white being divided makes you uncomfortable. Run towards this historical narrative because, whether black or white, yellow or brown, if we don’t know the history, we are surely destined to repeat it! I dare you to read this book and walk away unmoved!

“Paying It Forward” to Author Suzanne McKenna Link

As a member of the Rave Reviews Book Club, I participate in a wonderful program called the Bethany Turner “Pay It Forward” week. Suggested by Bethany Turner’s generous support of her fellow authors and envisioned into a recurring program by the founder of RRBC, Nonnie Jules, this unselfish promotion of fellow authors is available to members of RRBC. It allows us to support other author members and to “pay forward” in a way that we know enriches us as human beings. How many of us get the chance to support others in a meaningful way on a regular basis?

Today, I “Pay It Forward” to Suzanne McKenna Link, RRBC member and author of Saving Toby, winner of the 2014 Romance Award from Double Decker Books. Let’s support Suzanne on Twitter (@SuzMckLink), Facebook, Goodreads, and of course on Amazon, where you can purchase her book. Looking for a good summer read? Here it is! And here is Suzanne in her own words.

Author Suzanne McKenna Link

I grew up in Bayport, New York, a tiny suburban town on the South Shore of Long Island somewhere between the Big Apple and the trendy Hamptons. The youngest of four siblings, I was very much a latchkey kid with lots of unsupervised time. I was a pretty good kid. (just ask my mother!) Alright, I wasn’t always so well-behaved, but I was a fairly quiet teenager who spent a lot of time writing letters, journals, short stories and poems.  Aside from writing, I enjoyed an assortment of artistic outlets. Photography and drawing, along with the written word, gave me a way to express myself. In school and at home, I developed a love for words and was often acknowledged for my writing ability. Rewarded with the desired laughter for the satirical humor of my short stories, and further inspired by good grades in writing classes, my passion for writing grew. I studied writing at community college (my first college experience), as an undeclared major.

I fell in love, married my soul mate and began a family. With the demands of a young family, I put aside my career pursuits and plowed through a plethora of interesting part time jobs and community volunteer positions. When my kids were school aged, I went back to school to pursue a career in graphic design (my second college experience). Just before I graduated with my second college degree, this one in graphic design (with honors *brag brag*), I landed a job with a small, family newspaper that strictly covers events in the local area. It’s an old fashioned, unassuming office that puts out three, weekly newspapers. Laying out the paper appeases my visual, creative side, and I simply love it. And what’s more, I adore all my wacky, diverse co-workers. Deadlines are inherently stressful, but I find myself laughing all the time, and it was at this job that I rediscovered my love of writing.  The two women editors of these newspapers are great advocates for new and undiscovered talent. Several years ago, I inquired about writing, and they put me to work. It was with their encouragement that I dove in and published my first pieces of writing. I learned a lot, and my writing grew stronger. In addition to my work in the production department, I continue to do freelance articles and photography work for them.  It took me several years to piece together my first full-length book, but now I have the full “novel-writing experience” under my belt – I personally handled the details of writing, publishing and promoting my work. And despite, the bad lighting, long hours and extremely poor pay, I am totally head-over-heels in love with the whole process. I enjoy hobnobbing with my new writer friends online and debating with them over writing styles and strategies. And while I can’t quit my day job, I not only dream of future writing successes, I expect them. I believe I am exactly where I need to be right now, and it’s a good good place to be.

TITLE: Saving Toby
AUTHOR: Suzanne McKenna Link
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Jan. 31, 2014
RETAIL PRICE: $14.95 US
(6X9 Paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1432799854 
PAGES: 350
eBook ASIN: B00EV6K2AC
RETAIL PRICE: $1.99
BUY IT AT:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1gtAXzv
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1fJhjxG
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1en3W6o