Ellis Shuman's Adventure Thriller Also Historically and Culturally Significant.

"...My name is Sophia, Sophia Ivanova."

"Sophia?" he asked. "Sophia from Sofia, Bulgaria?"...

"Nice to meet you, Sophia from Sofia. I'm Simon Matthews from Chicago. I'm a professor, well actually a retired professor, from the University of Chicago."

..."Oh, you never know!" she said, laughing, her eyes focused on his. "I am also in academia. I teach at our local St. Clement of Ohrid University. In the history department, specializing in Thracian culture..."

"Professor, tell me something. What is the perception of Bulgaria among average Americans?"

"I'm not sure there is a perception of Bulgaria among average Americans. I think there's quite a substantial Bulgarian community in Chicago, where I'm from. At least I've come across some former Bulgarians in the city, and there were many Bulgarian students at the university. But the average American, well, I don't think they could even find Bulgaria on the map."

~~~

Sofia Synagogue - See Much More at the Bulgarian Adventure Blog!
I loved the opportunity to pictorially visit the beautiful architecture and other pictures from Bulguria!

Valley of Thracians:
 A Novel of Bulgaria

By Ellis Shuman

If you are like me, I do a lot of my traveling via books! Certainly the setting for many fiction novels takes us to exciting places; however, Ellis Shuman who has spent time there, has taken special care in including much more than the usual, in writing Valley of Thracians. So if you are like myself, as an average American who had no real "perception" or knowledge of this country, then I highly recommend you consider this much more than an exciting adventure thriller--consider it a significant historical and cultural novel from which you will learn much... While enjoying the familial love of a grandfather who refuses to believe his grandson is dead...

"It's called a gaida," one of the Peace Corps instructors
explains to me. "It's quite common all over Europe
actually."
..."You know a lot about bagpipes!" I joke with the
instructor.
"Oh, not really, but I do know one thing," he says,
laughing. "When you finish playing your gaida each
night, you pour a glass of rakia into the bag."
"You must be kidding me!"
"No, it's true. Rakia [beer] acts as an antiseptic
within the bag to keep it from rotting..."
~~~

Scott had always been close to his grandfather, finding him easier to discuss things with than his own father. So when the family heard that he had been killed while in Bulgaria, although the body had never been found, his father initially investigated but then worked to go on with life.

But three years later, Simon was still not willing to accept Scott was dead. Having lost his wife, Simon decided to do his own investigation. Before long he met a fellow professor who was quite willing to introduce Simon to her country and its treasures. It is to the character Sophia from Sofia that we are also given a guided tour as she volunteers to help Simon with his search.

Scott had been having some normal teenager problems when Simon began to talk with him. Scott turned around enough to finish school and join the Peace Corps who sent him to Bulgaria. During their training period Scott had lived with a local family, but had also started to use drugs again. That had led to his being blackmailed into some minor crime activities, normally just as a messenger. But soon Scott realized that those with whom he was involved were selling Thracian artifacts!

On the latest trip, he had been forced to deliver one of those artifacts and the sister of the man who was blackmailing him was forced to go with him. But when he actually has to go into the building to meet the buyer, she refuses to go in with him...

That was the last time anybody who knew him could say where he had been... Now Simon was trying to retrace his grandson's steps...

"As they passed the sign announcing their destination with a
colorful montage of pictures, Sophia told him about the
important role monasteries played in Bulgarian history. Over
five centuries of oppressive Ottoman rule, the country's
monasteries--usually situated in the safety of isolated mountain
valleys like this one--were guardians of Bulgarian customs and
served as teaching centers for the Bulgarian language. In the
serene setting, they offered protection to hermits and those
seeking religious salvation, as well as to Bulgarian leaders
planning their rebellion against the Turks. Bulgarians were
not a religious people, Sophia said, but they deeply respected
the country's many monasteries..."
"They call Rila Monastery the Jerusalem of Bulgaria..."
"Scott!"
"This man was not his grandson at all, Simon realized,
and then he passed out..."
~~~

But word had gotten around that a renewed effort to find Scott was being made... And the original thieves...as well as the buyer...were keeping track of everywhere that Sofia and Simon traveled...

Poor Simon soon began to get hurt in one way or another, although not badly, as they encounter the men following them! But that didn't stop him because a major clue had been sent to him.Scott's silver chain, which Simon had given to him, had been delivered to where he was staying. Did this mean he was alive? Or did somebody actually know he was dead and wanted to return an important part of Scott to his family...

Soon, though, Simon began to wonder about Sophia... She was making calls or texting without saying what she was doing. Did she think that somehow Scott was tied to the missing artifact that she had told him about when they toured the museum?

A treasure hunt? Or a native Bulgarian who was
 trying to help out a fellow member in academia?
 Simon was beginning to feel his trust fading,
since even the police and fellow Americans
living there were not really helping in any way...

"Sophia explained that ancient treasures were accidentally discovered quite frequently in Bulgaria. Gold and silver vessels were unearthed near the village of Valchitran in 1924, and farmers uncovered treasures while plowing their fields near the town of Borovo in 1974. Other caches of Thracian relics had been dug up by chance at Loukovit and Lemitsa..."What was in this one?" Simon was standing by an empty glass case, the largest in the entire Treasure Room hall...
"They called it the Rogozen Drinking Lion."
~~~

This is not a fast-paced thriller, but there is certainly enough action and adventure to keep the thrills moving... Plan instead to sit back and relax and learn about the many Bulgarian sights that Simon enjoys seeing while searching for his grandson. You'll learn much about this country, including, for instance, that because of the high quality of its roses, "mastered over centuries of dedicated cultivation, Bulgaria is one of the world's largest exporters of rose oil, used in the production of perfumes, beauty creams, chocolates, liquors, and jams...and even tooth paste." Cool, right?! Bet you didn't know that, did you... 

Lots more, but most importantly, emails are included between a loving grandson and his grandfather, who never gave up believing he could find his grandson... Highly recommended!

GABixlerReviews

Ellis Shuman...at Shipka Pass, Bulgaria...

About the Author

Ellis Shuman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. He completed high school in Jerusalem and served for three years in the Israeli army's Nahal branch. Along with his wife, Jodie, he was a founding member of Kibbutz Yahel in the Arava Valley in Israel's south. On the kibbutz he worked in agriculture, industry, tourism, the dairy barn, and served as the kibbutz's general secretary. After moving with his wife and three young children to Moshav Neve Ilan in the Judean Hills, Ellis received formal training in the hotel industry. He worked in a variety of positions at the Neve Ilan Hotel and later was Food and Beverage Controller at the Jerusalem Hilton. He served as the moshav's general secretary during a period in which the community underwent major social changes. As a hobby, Ellis began writing on the Internet. He wrote extensively about life in Israel in his position as the Israeli Culture Guide at About.com. He designed and maintained websites for the Neve Ilan Hotel and for Indic--Independent Israeli Cinema. For two years he was webmaster for Yazam, an international financial firm that provided support for technological start-ups. Ellis served for three years as Editor in Chief of Israel Insider, an online daily newsmagazine that developed new technologies as it posted the latest news and views, from and about Israel. Starting in 2004, Ellis began working in a marketing company servicing the online gaming industry. In the years 2009 - 2010, his job was relocated to Sofia, Bulgaria. During those years, Ellis and Jodie traveled extensively in Bulgaria as well as in the countries of the region. Today Ellis continues working at this job, based in Ramat Gan. Read about Ellis and Jodie's Bulgarian Adventure at their blog:  http://shumansinbulgaria.blogspot.com/. Ellis writes regularly on his blog at: http://ellisshuman.blogspot.com/

Related articles

• Valley of Thracians by Ellis Shuman
• Living an Adventure in Bulgaria
• Thracian exhibit at archaeological museum in Sofia

Anita Clenney's Guardians of Stone is Fantastic Debut to Series!

"The place might not be cursed, but there were secrets hidden
here. She could hear them whispering. She wasn't sure if they
were trying to get her attention or warn her away, but the feeling
persisted that she had been here. That often happened with her
visions. Sometimes she wondered if she was traveling to another
dimension in her sleep. She checked on Jack again. As if he
sensed her watching, he turned and met her gaze. He continued
to move around the garden, while keeping her in sight.
"She was burning with curiosity about the place. Were there
others in the order besides this guy? He didn't look like a monk
or a knight, more like a warrior or a guard. It wouldn't be easy
getting past him, but they had to get inside. She was certain
the box was here.
"...She heard a sound and when she looked up, she saw a robed
figure move behind one of the statues. "Hello?" she called
softly. "Salve?" It was probably her imagination or her senses
playing tricks. She looked toward the garden. Jake's back was
turned as he examined the maze. She hurried toward the
nearest statue. It was at least nine feet tall. Some kind of
warrior. She looked behind him, but there was no robed
figure. The only things she saw were the other status lining
the castle grounds as far as she could see. The robed figure
must have been her imagination, or perhaps her sixth sense.
Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.
"The studied the statue again. He wore a garment similar to
the ninja monk's. He had a sword clasped in his hand and his
face was coldly handsome. She touched the stone, letting the
texture settle against her hand. The images rushing through
her head startled her. Places and faces that felt more like human
memories that the impressions she usually got from an object.
The stabbing pain in her stomach startled her even more..."
~~~

Love A Great Mystery! YA Works Fine!...

..."Exactly right" said Mr. Eldred, smiling with
delight. "Do you know it, by any chance? I sold a
clock to a very nice man who lived there not so long ago
which was also part of Miss Millichamp's clear out.
I always felt the clock belonged there myself. Now
what was the man's name?"
"Chambers, " said Oz...
...He held up the scarab brooch. "This came to us
from a spinster who had recently inherited...the
previous owner had been a collector...
"So this definitely comes from Penwurt..."

The Obsidian Pebble


By RA Jones









When I say this novel has three children--two boys and a girl, and quite a bit of the setting is at school, playing soccer, and magic is involved, you may think immediately of the Harry Potter series. Don't.. Because that's where the similarity ends...

And the mystery begins...

If you're one of those individuals like myself who enjoy reading mysteries, even those for "the young," then consider this one! And it's a perfect novel to give as a gift to your young readers. The characters are fun and, as with Harry and his friends, they make a perfect trio--each providing and complementing the skills of the other...

Of course it was Oz Chambers who was chosen...

In this first book which is the first in a series called Artifact, we don't find out why he was chosen. Oz was still missing his father who was killed in an accident several years ago. His mother, too, is still having a  hard time, after experiencing an emotional breakdown upon his death. Oz didn't want to return to that time, but he was also very concerned at the moment because his mother was starting to talk about moving from their home. Oz knew that his father would never have wanted that, and neither did he!

Penwurt had been inherited by Oz's father and had a long history. At one time the building had been merged with another large one next door. The older part, dating back centuries, had once been used as an orphanage and was said to be haunted. Indeed on Halloween night, when Oz, Ellie and Ruff were having a small party, they had heard footsteps from that older part of the building, long shut off from the living quarters. But when they went to look, the floor was very dusty and there were no footprints, no disturbances! And that was the beginning of their search--for a ghost, or whatever, that was causing things to happen.

Like pictures, one of them a scarab, floating on Oz's computer screen...

Oz's father had been a historian and often traveled, searching for and coming back with artifacts. Now Oz also had that desire, especially when they discovered a package that had been sent to Oz before his father died, which contained a small trinket box, with something else he later found...after his mother had angrily smashed the box!

The scariest part of this book is a man who is trying to talk Mrs. Chambers into selling their home to him. Here's a short hint/excerpt about what he's into:

Oz's gaze shot...to the fence, where a face was glaring at them out of the fog. It was a human face, but distorted and wild. The eyes black and sunken, the features pinched, yellow teeth bared, the nails at the ends of the dirt-encrusted arms filthy and broken. A low feral scream erupted from its red mouth and ended in a hissing snarl...

But finding out about what that was is just part of the complex mystery that readers are going to be putting together--tracking down old books, searching the computer, and exploring secret places are just part of what happens! A great mystery that shouldn't be missed!

And to make it even more fun, the author has a great site for all readers to explore! Check out just a few items below! Highly recommended!


GABixlerReviews

RA Jones was born in 1955 and grew up in a mining village in South Wales with his nose in a book and his head in the clouds. He managed to subdue his imagination long enough to carve out a career in medicine, writing whenever the chance arose.

In 1994, writing as Dylan Jones, he published his first scary book for adults, a thriller, which was subsequently made into a two-part film by the BBC. Other scary books followed.

A growing desire to move away from adult thrillers and write for children is what currently preoccupies him. The Obsidian Pebble is the first in a quintet featuring eleven-year-old Oz Chambers whose family inherits a ‘haunted’ house. His mother wants to leave, but Oz wants to unlock the house’s mysteries and uncovers a secret that will change his life forever.

RA Jones has three grownup children who have emerged remarkably unscathed into adulthood. When not writing, he practices medicine and lives in darkest West Wales with his understanding (very) wife and two dogs.


Want to hear an excerpt by the Author?

Click and Let the Pebble Lead You to Secret Stuff!

Review: Drawing In The Dust by Zoe Klein - I Loved It!

Drawing In The Dust
Zoe Klein
Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9781416599128
360 Pages

Wouldn't it be wonderful if alternative history sometimes really took place? Do we know for sure that it didn't? I believe that if the love story that Zoe Klein created in Drawing in the Dust was true then God, me and a lot of other people would be very happy! Indeed, Klein's Drawing in the Dust is an inspired beautifully written novel that demands to be read and shared!

Naima and Ibrahim Barakat came quickly to speak to Page Brookstone. She was at work in Megiddo and had been for twelve years. When the Barakats explained they were looking for an archaeologist to "dig" under their home, it could have been fate. Quite possibly, though, it hit just at the right time since Page had become less than thrilled to be pulling out wrapped children from long-ago tombs on a daily basis. It also didn't help that her boss, mentor and roommate in a housing area of fellow professionals, was also suggesting a different relationship than she cared to have...

Curiosity more than anything else brought her visiting Anatot. She was happy to visit since it was the hometown of the prophet Jeremiah and she told herself that she might as well learn about Jeremiah's home. She asked a local merchant for a tour and he quickly indicated he would show her Jeremiah's tomb. But when she saw the tomb, which appeared to be early Muslim, her own knowledge told her that she was not visiting the tomb of the great prophet.

But then Ibrahim saw her and immediately assumed she was there to visit them--how could she not go with him? When she was inside their home, though, she immediately began to question their sanity, for he has drilled a hole right between the couch and the television! How quickly could she leave!

She is invited to dinner and Naima shows her to the bathroom to freshen up. But there Page encounters a figure, standing behind her, but when she turns, there is nobody there. She quickly is on her way to the front door, but encounters Walid, their nephew who has already started to remove the tarp in the living room. Page is hooked!

I do not in any way want to spoil the story of what happened after that! Only to say that I wish the story was at least based upon a real archaeological site, because what is found is beautifully described and would be a marvelous discovery! I will say, though, that a scroll of Anatiya is one of the archival documents discovered. Of course, the author is responsible for the writing--such poetic beauty! Assumed verses of the scroll, written in the language of many of the Old Testament books:

"It is an appalling...thing to be an ancient scroll, filled with stories and secrets... in an earthen jar...where no one can touch you or know you."

Jealousy, fear...and love waits for Page to encounter as she excavates beneath a home that is known for being haunted by ghost lovers! Meet Anatiya...and a side of Jeremiah you have never heard about in Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein. It is a book that you will remember for learning the secrets in that earthen jar.

Although based upon some religion history, this is an adventure into an alternative historical mystery you shouldn't miss! I loved every page of this book!

G. A. Bixler

Review: Rome Sims - An Adventure in Scientific Discovery!

Inside Awake
Rome Sims
Eloquent Books
ISBN: 9781606939123
161 Pages

Starting with an enticingly beautiful cover depicting an underwater scene, a futuristic ship, and a strange statue, I moved quickly to start reading Inside Awake by Rome Sims.

Near Lake Eyasi, Tanzania, a group of scientists noticed a bright light, but they were just there to collect random blood samples from migratory birds. Then members of the Mamoya clan also saw the pulsating radiant orb. Hunters, animals and the scientists perished as they stood watching it rotate. They had instantaneously died from extreme thermal shock.

Readers meet Dr. David Woodall in a Particle Physics Complex in Switzerland where he is so deeply involved with the "mysterious artifact," which is 13% beryllium, 2% niobium and 85% unknown, he pays no attention to anything else, including his boss who is pressing for quick information!

But, when Geri calls, he finds time to talk...

The major action and adventure is taking place in the Indian Ocean Sunda Trench where Dr. Sharon Geraldo (Geri) and her team are on an oceanographic survey expedition. The research vessel had passed across the Malacca Strait when Dr. Geraldo spotted a huge statue. It had taken eleven years and a billion dollars to build the USS Argo and it was packed with any innovative technology available. And this trip would allow the team to use them fully!

At the same time in Polanco, Uruguay, paleontologists had found a remarkably preserved skeleton of a forty-foot beast as a result of a flash flood. But they also found a grey octagonal-shaped box with strange symbols that resembled hieroglyphs.

While in Antarctica, a giant circle, slightly raised off the ground had appeared since the last site visit two days ago... But one of these scientific explorations has led to the biggest mystery of all. Dr. Geraldo and her entire team has disappeared! At least, they aren't where they landed underwater, in the same year!

The Commission has collected artifacts and relics for centuries--but a woman known only as Madam is now in charge and their activities have become much more dangerous...

The trips to these sites, such as Tanzania and Antartica are wonderfully detailed so that you enjoy the trip as if you were the scientists making these discoveries. Brilliantly detailed, readers are caught up into these individual mystery discoveries. In fact, readers become so involved that they want more...

And that just might be the only shortfall of Inside Awake by Rome Sims. As with many other serial stories, readers are left hanging, maybe even more so in this book because of the various locations and artifacts, which are involved, and being investigated. I would have preferred to have both books and spent the weekend in this adventure...So, Mr. Sims, burn some midnight oil to get The Commission to us quickly! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Madam!

G. A. Bixler

Review: Iris Johansen's Latest Novel Out Now!

Deadlock
By Iris Johansen
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9780312368111
374 Pages


Iris Johansen never fails to provide a satisfying read; however, Deadlock, this month’s release of an Indiana-Jones type adventure just might be her best!

Emily Hudson shines as an artifacts expert, who is sent all over the world by the U.N. to evaluate and save each country’s historical treasures. She and her partner Joel had been sent to a small museum that had little of real value, but they worked with their team to package and load everything, working hard and fast to get out before the weather turned even worse. However, as they were leaving, Emily and Joel discovered their first truck, along the road, the men murdered. As they got out to investigate, both were captured!

Held captive, Emily was told what they wanted—a hammer! She knew the total inventory of this small inventory and knew they had not packed a hammer, especially one that was supposed to be of value; however, Staunton would not believe her and soon began intensive, horrifying torture of Joel, until he was dead. Staunton decided Emily would be given to his partner for torturing and was thrown into Shafir’s tent, only to be rescued by a man she thought of as the Angel of Death!

John Garrett was a mercenary who occasionally agreed to take missions for the CIA. It had taken his seeing Emily’s picture to convince him to go after her! But it was her anger and hate of Staunton, and later his own when Staunton killed Garrett’s friend, that started a hunt not only for the mysterious hammer for which Joel had died, but to track down Staunton and those that had backed him financially!

The hunt for the hammer—Zelov’s hammer—takes readers back to an earlier time in Russia, when Zelov had been a behind-the-scenes advisor to Rasputin who advised Tsar Nicholas. Zelov believed he would one day rule and/or be a god and professed that his hammer had magical powers. However, when he found the royal court was no longer listening to him, he worked to have them all murdered—after he had learned how the Tsar had created a path/map to his great riches.

With the CIA and MI6 “blackmailed” into staying in the background with backup help, John Garrett and Emily led the search. Revenge drove them first, but love for each other became a problem as each fought to protect the other from harm. A thoroughly enjoyable ongoing intrigue between the two overlays everything and everybody during the rest of the story.

If you have not read Johansen before, I recommend that this be your first! Deadlock’s historical artifact emphasis brings the usual treasure-hunting to play, but somehow this type of adventure never grows stale, at least not when written by this fantastic author! You just might be adding her to your “favorite authors” list, like I did many years ago!

G. A. Bixler
For Amazon Vine