Shout Out for Daniel Palmer's Next Book! Giveaway Too!

"It was my editor, John, who suggested
that I write about sexting. The idea
immediately intrigued me as I'm attracted
to stories that explore the hidden dangers
of commonly used technologies..."

Helpless 
This title will be released on January 31, 2012. Pre-Orders accepted Now!


By Daniel Palmer


Disturbing...
     Provocative...
          Compelling...
               Powerful...








In my opinion, almost nothing is worse than losing control of your own life! We feel...Helpless...don't we?

All of us have benefited from the technological advancements made; however, with those improvements comes the dangers to which all of us are now susceptible.  Lindsey Wells never thought she would do what she was about to do. Her love was the reason--that, and wanting to ensure she had a date for the prom! Besides it was just between her and Tanner, her boyfriend, and it wasn't as if they were going to really be intimate...Still, "Her racing heart knew she was crossing a line she'd never crossed before" ...As her boyfriend seduced her and asked her to send him a picture, Lindsey, one by one, took pictures of herself, each one revealing more and more...

When the FBI later contacted her about those very pictures, she, and the many other teenage girls first would deny that they had shared them with anybody... Now they knew that those same pictures could be all over the Internet. But, it only got worse... "Lindsey, known for her cheerfulness, enviable GPA, and deft tackling skills on the soccer field" was soon said to be involved with Tom Hawkins, her soccer coach at Shilo High School..

Tom Hawkins, fortunately, was a former seal and had been trained to deal with any situation--except for being falsely accused! Tom had both Lindsey and his own daughter on the soccer team he coached. For him, being able to be near Jill was wonderful since his ex-wife had done everything possible to discredit him in Jill's eyes.

Then his ex was found dead--murdered. And he was immediately the prime suspect, especially since the town cop had been an old school enemy and wasn't interested in looking any further. Tom, however, had seen a man behind their home, who had recently been released from jail. Tom realized that this man could have killed his wife--but he also knew that naming him might reveal a secret from Tom's past when he had still been in the military service.

"Of the forty girls in what Rainy dubbed James Mann's
Text Image Collection, ten of them (according to the school
superintendent) attended or had recently graduated from
Shilo High School. Each girl had taken an image of herself
in some stage of undress. And somehow, those images
ended up on James Mann's office computer."
Note: a Federal child pornographic case against Mann
 is what led to the FBI becoming involved at Shilo High.

Trying to heal and develop a better relationship with Jill since he was now her legal guardian had already been difficult. Jill had chosen to live with her best friend Lindsey and her mother rather than with him while the investigation was going on. Now, however, her father was being accused. all on the Internet, of having a relationship with one of the girls on the soccer team. When Lindsey was then named as that individual, all three were shocked and, within their discussions, even the FBI special agent involved began to question what was happening. Perhaps that was what led to the more intensive search to prove that Tom Hawkins was being accused, but set up--for murder, for sexual abuse and, finally, for possession and trafficking of child pornography!

Daniel Palmer has looked at the terrible, serious crimes that are constantly in today's headlines--the issue of child pornography, sexual abuse, etc., and turning the table, asks readers to consider what happens when the innocent are unfairly accused. Needless to say, most often results in the accused immediately being judged guilty. By providing Tom Hawkins, the main character who is accused, with his specific training and background, Palmer provided a tremendous thriller that is both edgy and exciting in his efforts to clear his name. I was thankful that  he also, though, did "not" provide him with exceptional computer skills, so that readers realized that he had no understanding of how any of what was happening was being done. More like the majority of us who know only enough to use our computer to better perform the routine daily activities that can now be speedily accomplished online.

Palmer indicated that he wanted to make the hidden dangers of today's technologies scary...scary enough to help teenagers realize that what they text or post online will: go on in perpetuity...when they are in college... when they are married...long after they have children of their own... This, he thought was very scary.

Palmer's novel, Helpless, has fully fulfilled his goal. This book is scary--very, very scary! It's scary because young children and adults do not see the "potential" danger. They see only the fun, the connectivity, and, sometimes, the tempting pleasure of private, intimate sexting...It's amazingly illustrative that murder occurred, that drugs had been involved...and those terrible crimes paled in comparison to what was happening to the lives of. all the innocent people... caught in the hidden dangers of those technologies we use every day of our lives!

I consider this more than a must-read. Parents, please provide a copy to your teenagers and allow them the opportunity to read and discuss the book. At a minimum, learn about those hidden dangers and work to create the environment within your home where those dangers are efficiently and effectively addressed!

You'll be sorry if you miss this one, maybe in a very sad way...

Daniel Palmer--An exciting author who forces us to confront the bad as well as the good of technology! With just two novels published, he's now a must-read author for me and I'm already looking forward to his next book!


GABixlerReviews

"Home networks were often the most vulnerable to hackers.
Without proper security in place, it was relatively easy to
hijack those signals. It would explain why Lindsey was
unaware of the Tumblr account. Somebody could have been
parked on the street using the Wellses' Wi-Fi signal to make
those pages and exchange messages. Probably the same
person who created the bogus Facebook profile to accelerate
the spread of the rumor...
"Daddy, it's me," Lindsey said into the phone. "Did you ever
put a password or anything on our wireless network?"

Author Daniel Palmer has authorized using his Advance Uncorrected Proof (Signed!) as a Giveaway! The winner will be selected randomly based upon (1) being a follower of this blog and (2) adding a comment about this review/the book/the author! Please include an email address to be contacted if you win!

Real-life Story & Photos Create Fantastic Gift for Children of Military Parents!

Military Mommy


By Carol Dabney




Has your life been affected by our armed forces personnel? Is your daughter or son serving in the military? Are your grandchildren "Army Brats"?

I am pleased to recommend Military Mommy to all those US families whose lives have been disrupted, perhaps, but also enriched by one or more members of their family serving in the armed forces! It's important for all of us to recognize the major contribution of all military personnel to the safety and security of our country...

When a son or daughter chooses to join the service, it is the parents who first struggle with that decision. The son or daughter is perhaps choosing an interim or long-term career. To the parents, it means, simply, separation--separation of that individual from their loving home, their loving embraces. So when Carol's daughter joined the Army, it was Grandma Carol who realized that she would not only be separated from her daughter Melissa, but also from her wonderful grandson, Noah!

Carol's father had been in the service, so she was very aware of how her life had been affected. She decided to do what she could to help the love of her life, Noah, adjust to his new life! So, she started by writing him a poem...then she added some real life photos, and after adding her presence and a whole lot of love, she put together this book in which Noah would be the star!

Now the key thing about this book is that, because Noah was the star character, it not only helped Noah begin to understand his mommy's new job, it helped him to see the exciting adventure that he would have as he traveled with her!

And by sharing his poem and all the pictures of his new life, this book, Military Mom is a wonderful way to share their life with other families, many with children who may not have traveled with their parent, but still have many questions and just want to know what their missing Mom or Dad are doing!

"In California she went for more leadership skills.
From coast to coast, she learned even more drills.
The gals in the Army, they know how to play,
but when they're at work, "Get out of their way!"

Military Mommy moves from boot camp for Mommy on into ROTC, etc, while correlating Noah's life as he grew. This is much more a picture book than the norm...because the pictures are real--they follow Mommy and Noah's life within the military environment--visiting the Commissary, seeing the troops exercise, running around the barracks, and then on to their first duty station. These "real-life" pictures, capturing the life of our soldiers, in my opinion, will help to share that environment with those of us who wait back home. And to make it even more educational, a glossary supplements the poem and pictures so that children can learn the correct terms, such as commissary, while see Noah and others shopping.

The uniforms can sometimes be scary for children, but by seeing Noah and other children within the pictures, as well as them playing with their off-duty parent, will do much to much to dispel the unknown and make the separation  more understandable and less stressful for those back home.

Personally, I think this is a must-read for military families...a perfect gift or stocking stuffer for upcoming holidays! You can click on the title of this article to visit the book site... or find Carol on Facebook to see lots more pictures and info on not only this book, but Carol's CDs! Before you leave, check out this interview with Carol as well...

Related articles

• Military Mom reviewed by fran lewis (gabina49.wordpress.com)

GABixlerReviews

Welcome to the Flower Child Blog Tour!

Warmest Welcome to


Sheila Deeth!
 Author and...
  Mongrel Christian Mathematician?




I’m a mathematician (help!). In fact, I describe myself as a “mongrel Christian mathematician.”

The mongrel probably applies to both the Christian (Catholic, Methodist, Church of England, free Evangelical, Presbyterian, Christian Reformed…) and the mathematician (pure and applied and whatever lies between).

But I’m also a writer and book reviewer.

I always wanted to be a writer; math just intervened with the lure of perfection and right answers. But I never wanted to be a book reviewer. In my secondary school the principal issued an edict that no-one should study English Lit—it might put us off reading. I became a very quick and eager reader, so perhaps her technique was sound. But I managed to go through life to age 40 and beyond (not telling how much beyond) without ever attempting to write a book review or even book report.

Then I met the internet. Still dreaming of writing (still programming computers with math) the internet was a perfect outlet except that no-one was reading what I wrote. I met other aspiring authors online and when one had a book published, I found all his e-friends writing book reviews. It seemed like the friendly thing to do, so I gave it a try. Then I wrote one for someone else. Then I confessed I could never remember what I’d read and someone said keep records, keep lists, post reviews…

I became a writer and reviewer.

I love reading, and I really do read quite fast. I’ve read 229 books so far this year, and it’s only October. Two hundred and twenty-nine book reviews is a lot of writing, so I guess it begs the question, have I given up writing my own stuff in favor of being a reviewer? The answer’s no.

Writing book reviews introduces me to a lot of variety and teaches me to be, at least moderately, critical. I note things for review as I read—ah, a typo (there’s always one, but too many will drive me crazy)—a misused word (I wonder how often I’ve failed to check what I wrote was what I meant)—too many sentences starting with the same phrase, repeated words, scenes that are described once too often through different eyes, points of view that switch too fast, too many adjectives… The list goes on. And, having spotted these things, I reread my own books. Help! A typo, a misused word, too many sentences starting… You get the idea. It’s as if reading other people’s books tunes up my inner ear.

Of course, the trouble with all this is I soon reach the point where I’m not sure I dare send my writing out because I know it’s not good enough. But book reviewing helps again. Nobody’s perfect. Try.

Of course (repeated phrase!), it also helps that I’ve now got a couple of acceptances under my belt, so somebody, somewhere, believes this mongrel Christian mathematician writes well enough to be published. Who am I to disagree?

About Flower Child:

When Megan miscarries her first pregnancy it feels like the end of everything; instead it’s the start of a curious relationship between the grieving mother and an unborn child who hovers somewhere between ghost and angel. Angela, Megan’s “little angel,” has character and dreams all her own, friends who may or may not be real angels, and a little brother who brings hope to her mother’s world. But Angela’s dream-world has a secret and one day Angela might learn how to be real.

Where to find Flower Child:
On Gypsy Shadow’s site:
More Informative and excerpt...

On Amazon!

On Smashwords! 



About the author:  Sheila Deeth grew up in the UK and has a Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. Now living in the States with her husband and sons, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, telling stories, running a local writers' group, and meeting her neighbors’ dogs on the green.

Sheila describes herself as a Mongrel Christian Mathematician. Her short stories, book reviews and articles can be found in VoiceCatcher 4, Murder on the Wind, Poetic Monthly, Nights and Weekends, the Shine Journal and Joyful Online. Besides her Gypsy Shadow ebooks, Sheila has several self-published works available from Amazon and Lulu, and a full-length novel under contract to come out next year.

Find her on her website: http://www.sheiladeeth.com

or find her books at:  http://sheiladeeth.weebly.com


Sheila, Thanks so much for visiting here at Book Reader's Heaven! 
We certainly learned more about you--Wow...you've got a lot of options for us to consider...
 Congratulations for all of your contributions in both your writing and your other activities! 

Frightfully Delightful Story Just Became Favorite From Heather Graham!

Image via Wikipedia

"Ouch! Not kind at all," Ringo said. "And may I remind
you, I died because I was caught up in someone's grudge
against one of your ancestors."
"Ringo, I'm sorry, but that was more than a hundred
years ago, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it
now. I'm sure he appreciated your help."
"Probably. I was good back then. Damn good."
A woman walked by, frowning nervously as she stared
at him...

Nightwalker


By Heather Graham

"I was glad to become a nightwalker," he said, "
because it meant there was another place, another
world after this one. That there was a supreme being
and the essence of a person lived on."
"My mom was a Catholic, so my spiritual ethic has
a lot of elements mixed into it. In my mind there's one
big power, and it doesn't matter how you recognize
it or what you call it. I think a person's time on earth
is best spent learning how to be decent to others. If
there is a heaven or a great white prairie in the sky, I
know my parents have earned their place there. And
that's something I find reassuring."

I was so happy to have this 2010 novel passed on by my niece, since I had missed it earlier. What a treat for this Halloween month! It's got a great investigation group (who sometimes act as ghostbusters) with Dillon Wolf as one of the primary Nightwalker, an old ghost town called Indigo, and plenty of ghosts--all set in Las Vegas!

And what I enjoyed most of all was the ghost character Ringo, who had become Dillon's sidekick and helped him solve his cases, and even lived with him! How cool is that?! Ringo had once partnered with Dillon's ancestor...and had been killed along with him and others in a gun battle at the Indigo saloon. Gold had been discovered and the owner of most of the property in Indigo had learned that John Varney had just purchased a plot of land and had told his wife he'd found the gold...

But all those that had participated in the shootout were killed that day... Only a few of the town occupants had lived to share the story...

In present day Nevada, Dillon Wolf had been hired through his company to investigate who was trying to kill Emil Langdon, the owner of a new casino. He already had two bodyguards, so Dillon had unwillingly accepted the job. His boss and, strangely, Ringo had wanted him to take it, but he didn't really believe that there was anybody out to kill Langdon, even though a gunshot had been fired near him one night.

And now as Dillon had begun his investigation, he had stopped to play at one of the tables. Jessy Sparhawk was there playing and he was struck by her beauty. He could tell she was very serious about every move she made. In fact, she was anxiously trying to win enough to keep her grandfather in his home, although nobody knew it. But Dillon, sensing her need, took on her cause and evoked the crowd into supporting her, each adding some to her pot, helping her to win a bundle...

But just as she was about to close out, a huge man came lumbering toward her and literally fell across her back, pinning her to the table. Dillon was fortunately still nearby and rushed to help her out from under him. Turning then to the man, they saw the knife still stuck into his back! Dillon saw something else--the man was one of the bodyguards of the man he was working for!

Tanner Green had been a dead man walking, but had time to whisper one word in Jessy's ear: Indigo...

And now Jessy was in danger, for the tape of his death was seen by many and soon Jessy was a target, as well as one of the men who parked cars for the casino and who had seen Green get out of a car that night! Dillon had talked to the worker and almost immediately after that he had been struck down by a car...

And now both dead men, were showing up wherever Jessy was! What did they want from her?!

Jessy had heard that Dillon's company also were known as ghostbusters...so she was finally willing to share that she could see the ghosts that were following her.

What she didn't expect was to have her grandfather start talking about his ancestors visiting him, foretelling him that "they" were all assembling... and to learn that her grandfather, and she, were direct descendants of those that had been in Indigo that day, over 100 years ago!

I'm sure you all have read Heather Graham before, as I have...but I have to say that this book went to the top as a favorite for this writer. I loved it! A truly awesome ghost story with a fascinating, intriguing closing that is brilliantly conceived and delightful to read! This is a perfect book for this scary time of the year! Highly recommended!


GABixlerReviews

"Hey, it's all right, just a game," said a deep, smooth masculine voice.
She flashed him a smile...He lifted his glass to her and looked over at
the dealer as he tossed out two hundred-dollar chips. "Hard ten for me
and for the roller," he said...
"Jessy, just roll, sweetie," Coot called to her, then turned to the croupier
as he picked up two chips himself. "My money is on the little lady. Throw
this on the hard ten, one for me, one for her, please." His hundreds went
down. More chips were thrown down on the hard ten, plenty of them for
her, and she knew that she was blushing...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bananawacky/5709733639/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Fictional Supermen or Genetically Created Killers?

Image via Wikipedia

"Everyone on the floor!" the first one shouted, waving
his gun. The second man barred the front double doors
with a crowbar. "Get down I said!" he screamed, shoving
one of the bankers to the floor.
Rage crouched down, his eyes moving to the elderly
couple, huddled against each other on the floor, both
terrified. He swiveled his head back toward the woman,
whose eyes met his...He closed his eyes and thought
about his gift. He had used in only once before, years
ago. Since then he'd sworn to her he would never use it
to harm another...
Bang! The shotgun went off. Startled by Rage's sudden
move, the large man had fired it inadvertently, right into
Rage's stomach...

Code of Darkness


Chris Lindberg






He was a superhero in many ways, but there was also blood-lust in him that resulted in his being over-zealous. A purse snatcher or a robber or a rapist...justice would only be served by death to those who committed a crime! It had all started when he visited the bank that Saturday morning...

Rage had noticed the woman in line, their eyes had met and briefly they had connected. So when the robbers took her hostage, Rage had offered to go in her place. Later he had been shot...

But being shot didn't stop him and as the cops were surrounding the bank, Rage followed the men who had taken the woman.

"In one blinding motion, the newcomer ripped the gun from the small man's hand then spun into a kick that connected with the large man's jaw. Larry could hear the sickening crunch as the jawbone shattered. Completing his full spin, he rounded up on the small man and punched him square in the chest, sending him flying into a brick wall. As the large man fell, he turned back to pull the woman free while kicking the shotgun from the robber's limp hand...Then before Larry could utter a word, the man leapt all the way up onto the adjacent building's roof, and was gone..."

The amazing thing about Code of Darkness is that it begins with action--all the above occurred in the first chapter--and is ongoing throughout the book! Action-packed, however, does not even begin to describe the exciting intrigue of what will occur!

Consider chapter 2, for instance, that immediately takes you into the world of Elias Todd...For most of the book, he will be referred to as Asset One, which lays the foundation for the underlying story...

Enter the Federal government...


Elias Todd was a mercenary, an assassin whose services were available to anybody that could pay his price. He was very rich...

Todd was just back from his latest job, merely slipping poison into the victim's drink, while the autopsy would show that the man had died of a heart attack. "Two hours of work, netting a half-million-dollar payout."

But they were waiting for him...and though he fought with his great strength, they had come prepared for him and filled him with three shots, connecting with Todd's neck and upper chest...he began to feel consciousness slipping away.

Colonel Nolan Hayes declared that Todd was definitely one of them as he examined the wounds from the tranquilizer darts. Asset One had been secured. And before he began to stir they began to Assemble the Box to to get him inside immediately.

Super-soldiers is not a new concept--some readers may even believe that such research has or is taking place right now. What I found compelling about Lindberg's novel was that he took us directly into the lives of three men, all of whom had been genetically altered. Now the research funding had been renewed and two assets were being hunted...

And while these three men had been living their lives, Larry Parker was living as a homicide cop in Chicago and Mira Givens was doing good work as a social worker. Both had been at that bank robbery; both had been drawn into what would become one of the worst violent events that had occurred in Chicago, and later, Virginia...and one of the best "actions" that had been covered up by those government bureaucrats who  created...plausible storylines... What impressed me most was that it was Parker and Givens, just regular people, who used their determination and intelligence to wade through everything and wound up there at the climatic end, because of their love and commitment. You'll have to read it to understand why!

A touch of fantasy and science fiction, with lots of action and suspense will ensure that readers who choose Code of Darkness will be totally wrapped up from page 1 through many hair-raising, scary, and extremely graphic scenes of what is created and done in the name of science...Not for the squeamish! I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend!

Book Received Via
Facebook's Reviewers Roundup


GABixlerReviews

"Dressed in full military garb, he walked with a powerful air toward the table,
ignoring all others around him, his eyes fixated on Todd the entire way, as if sizing up
a target...Todd instinctively struggled against his bindings, again to no avail...
"My name is Colonel Nolan Hayes...I am the head of Operation...Chief Asset Recovery;
part of a larger undertaking by the Pentagon called Project Safeguard."
..."Dr. Ingramov," he bellowed to his right. "You may commence with testing...
Electric shocks. Continuous currents. Pressure points. Needles, large and small.
Probes, Biopsies. All without anesthesia. Through all of it Todd kept his pain
inside of him, gritting his teeth through the agony, letting his anger build within
him. He would get an opening, he knew he would; and when it came, he would
kill them all. First Polosky, then Ingramov, and finally Hayes..."

A Day for Playing...and Napping...

A Day in the Life Discovered Here...