Blog Archives
WAKE UP AMERICA!
When you find yourself wondering why society at large seems to be on a self-destructive path with little hope for survival, one of the most refreshing things that you can find is the idea that not all is, in fact, lost. That idea can mean many things to many different types of people. Whether the thought that we can still turn things around gives people hope or goes so far as to create a road-map for future success, any idea or discussion breathing new life into failing systems is a positive addition to our body of knowledge. Charlie Petersen, long-time technology management specialist turned author, seems to be a good source of game-changing ideas, and many of them make a lot of sense.
Wake Up America covers a lot of ground but is centered around the idea that if we, as global citizens, don’t change our ways we are headed for destruction of two types: war and/or depression. The author, Charlie Petersen, argues that in an ever more globalized society we all have a responsibility to choose a brighter path to planetary stability and harmony.
As it would seem pretty clear that most of us aren’t willing to initiate the kinds of changes that are required to avoid a meltdown, Petersen presents his ideas for change as being ones to be taken up by the governments of the world. He maps out a solution to reduce the dependency on oil and gas, while at the same time focusing on the coming water crises. Petersen discusses what would be required for a global paradigm shift and discusses why those holding power currently are not prepared to act, although they are aware that action is needed.
How can the status quo be reimagined? Who or what forces would be responsible for initiating a new approach? The author of Wake Up America goes to great lengths to answer those questions and more in this important work.
Wake up calls usually come in a couple of varieties. Those which are too far-fetched to do anyone any good, and those that deliver logic and science together with a solid dose of reasoning to make sense of it all. Wake Up America, published by Matchstick Literary, is the latter. All in all, Wake Up America contains in depth research and unique approaches to solving the current problems facing our world.
Pages: 344 | ISBN: 1642540447
Silent Spring – Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War – Trailer
WHAT HAPPENED IN VIETNAM DIDN’T STAY IN VIETNAM. IT CAME HOME WITH US!
Silent Spring – Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War is both a memoir and an investigative journey into all the complications the U.S. government hasn’t told you about the Vietnam War. It’s not just another book about Vietnam or Agent Orange. Rather it’s a “silver bullet” which cuts through to the heart of the circumstances and pesticides used during that war—highly toxic herbicides and insecticides, which in some cases are still being used to this very day all over the globe, even right here in the USA.
So, forget everything you’ve heard from our government and everything that you think you know about the Vietnam War because this book is much more than a memoir of one Vietnam veteran’s struggles over the decades following the war. It’s a story of all the veterans who served in Vietnam and their children. And it could even be the story of you and your children, too.
As you read through the book and its volumes of information, you will be absolutely stunned at what the US government had willingly dumped on Vietnam and its own troops.
Cottonblood – Trailer
This saga begins amid the wealth of Southern plantation owners and Northern investors. By identifying the equities gained, greater concerns began to rise among the nation’s abolitionists. As a consequence, regional politicians began moving the citizenry into opposing camps.
COTTONBLOOD tracks the lives of two adolescent murderers: The first, a mixed-breed Canadian entering American waters as a deckhand aboard a French freighter. The second, a youngster captured from Sierra Leone to a foreign land where a strange language is spoken. Although the two men never meet, their journeys lattice one another as each search for some form of security. When false hope leads one into an unsolicited life of labor, the other haphazardly finds a future of opulence.
The plot traces their lives, and relations, through generations of survival leading the inheritors into the first year of America’s horrendous Civil War.
American River: Confluence
![American River: Confluence: Book Three of the American River Trilogy by [O'Connor, Mallory M.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51JNl-0ybxL.jpg)
One type of story that captivates a large portion of readers is the story of humanity. The author, Mallory M. O’Connor, excels at capturing powerful moments of human interaction in her novel American River: Confluence. O’Connor’s work involves a host of social issues—sexuality, politics, race relations—all disguised in what seems to be a book about artists pursuing their passions.
This book follows three families of different cultures that manage to connect. They are all tied to the same area, and while the young adults have mostly wandered off to different regions of the U.S., this story is about them all finding a reason to come home to celebrate life, art, and diversity which gives the story a greater sense of symmetry. O’Connor filled this book with real-life problems such as racism, mental health issues, sickness, and political confrontations. Therefore, this book can be a guide for helping people navigate their way through similar tragedies in their own life.
The overall story arc is intricate and well thought out. It is a little unclear where the book is going at first and what the focal point will be, but there are exciting turns everywhere that keep the readers’ attention until the end. Several subplots play out to give the book a lot of depth. On the surface, it seems like the McPhalan family is working through their problems with the ultimate goal of setting up a musical festival on Mockingbird Valley Ranch, the family’s ancestral property. Underneath, O’Connor raises awareness of many social issues. These social issues are picked apart one by one to allow the reader to think through different perspectives regarding them. While set in the 1970’s, the problems the characters face are problems that are prevalent in our society today, potentially making this book a timeless classic.
If you did not read the previous books to get familiar with the intricacies of the story you would need to refer to the “Cast of Characters” page at the beginning. The book immerses readers from the start with drama and doesn’t let up until the end, so lacking thorough character introductions early in the story, even though its the last of the series, can detract from the impact of certain events. I highly suggest you read books one and two before confluence.
American society, as well as many others around the globe, could drastically benefit from reading this book. While many authors hide a political agenda in their work, it’s often obvious where they stand on controversial issues; O’Connor, on the other hand, hid her feelings on many of the topics, which requires distinct talent. Ultimately, she encourages discussion and introspection through the characters. If it weren’t for some minor language concerns, this book would be well suited in a high school reading curriculum to expose students to the complexity of the world they live in and the core of human nature.
Pages: 364 | ASIN: B07HL12C8T
Professor B.A. Zikria Interview
This is an interview of Professor B.A. Zikria about his recent books.
B.A. Zikria, born in Afghanistan, came to America at the age of eighteen to study medicine. He finished college in three years, studied at Johns Hopkins medical school in Baltimore, and received his diploma from President Eisenhower, brother of Milton Eisenhower, president of Johns Hopkins. He trained in Bellevue and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centers. He taught medical students at the College of Physicians and Surgeons for 25 years and trained surgeons at CPMC and affiliated Harlem Hospital for 45 years. He has received 10 U.S. Patents during his career. After his retirement, he began writing philosophical and historical books.
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![Malalai Joan of Arc of Afghanistan and the Victors of Maiwand: The Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878-1882 by [Zikria, B.A.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51PVoZYfcRL.jpg)
The Old Heroic Tales
Stella Atrium Author Interview
Seven Beyond follows Dr. Meenins as he goes on an adventure spurred by wild dreams and helped along by unlikely friends. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling novel?
I was first attracted to the idea of writing about people with long life and how a century can be devoted to a specific study of music or warfare without loss. Also a woman can enter business without feeling the pressure to give birth to all her children within a single decade. As my father aged, I wondered how very old people cope with loss of friends, loss of a homeland, or a faulty memory without companions to reinforce the old heroic tales. The storyline grew from there.
Dr. Meenins is a well developed character that I enjoyed reading about. What were some obstacles that you felt were important to his character’s development?
Dr. Meenins is troubled by dreams that are his memory turning. The character has lived for 800 years and traveled to other worlds. He started a blood feud by killing another Longist, his great friend Frum from the Soldier caste. The relatives of Frum cannot with honor allow Chris Meenins, who they know as Clem from the House of Past Promise, to live. He must side-step assassins in each situation on each planet that he visits.
When our story opens, Dr. Meenins is channeled and believes that he’s an aging temporal earthling. He enters resurgence where he accepts that his knowledge is greater than he could attain over a temporal’s lifetime – human anatomy, advanced weapons, the relative positions of the stars. As a Longist, he must face his past guilty acts that perpetuated the blood feud. Only in full memory can he lead the colony to the new homeland.
This is an intriguing setup to a novel that is high in social commentary. What was your moral goal when writing this novel and do you feel you’ve achieved it?
The Longists maintain group identity with social castes and old stories and ancient books of wisdom. To match those, I used Christian beliefs and stories from the Bible as the source of strength for Lady Drasher and other traveling companions.
The traveling group starts in old Russia, travels through the Caucuses, and across the Mediterranean to the northern coast of Africa, before they visit England and fly to NYC. They are piercing time from the 18th into the 20th century. They also test many philosophical theories that groups used to justify political movements.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The Backside of Beyond is a companion book to Seven Beyond that opens a generation later with a few characters the reader will recognize. Dr. Meenins’ daughter lives as Yolanda Santiago in fragmented America and volunteers for a brain implant experiment that is a corporate and military partnership. She gains core programming, making her independent and lethal, and goes rogue with a traveling group who are on the provinces’ most-wanted list. Her Longist friends who integrate with society in the USA have spiritual questions and join a tent revival movement to heal America and bring down the bisecting fence.
The Backside of Beyond is in beta now and may be released in 2019.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog
![Seven Beyond by [Atrium, Stella]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zDO3d1GLL.jpg)
Dr. Meenins has recurring dreams that are his memory turning. He resists facing his guilty acts from eight centuries ago. Linda Deemer of his race of Longists is sent to help him step through painful memories of lost companions.
Travel companions help Dr. Meenins confront his dreams while haunted by wispy memories of faraway places and alien races. The reader is treated to his past adventures on other worlds where Christopher Meenins escapes assassins of a blood feud and gathers followers to find the new homeworld.
A quest novel that, in broader terms, is a cautionary tale with many tongue-in-cheek references to true human nature and injustices of contemporary society. Similar to Cloud Atlas or Sense 8.
By God, Are They Isolated!
Humphrey Hawksley Author Interview
Man on Ice follows Rake Ozenna of the elite Eskimo Scouts as he struggles to protect his family on the brink of World War 3. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling novel?
When I visited Little Diomede island in the Bering Strait in Alaska I was amazed at how close it was to Russia. Every morning, we stepped out and saw the Russian island of Big Diomede barely two miles away and occasionally a Russian military helicopter circling to land at the small base out of sight on the other side. It was time when US-Russian relations were taking a big dip. Many thrillers are written about Russia in Europe, but rarely on this real, live border where American and Russian territory meet. It is an incredible place because there are no border lines, no customs sheds, no marker buoys in the sea water or on the ice in winter – just wind, skies, birds, and emptiness. I just had to set a thriller there. The Russian island is run by the military. The American island is an Eskimo village with no government protection. What would there be to stop the Russians from just taking it? Why would they want to? What would be the reaction in Washington?
This book was able to take a rare look at the Eskimo people and culture. Why did you want to include them in this story and what aspects were important for you to portray?
The Bering Strait setting of Little and Big Diomede islands is native land. Before the Cold War Eskimos travelled back and forth between the islands barely recognizing Russia and America as two separate nations. The border was open to them. When it was suddenly closed during Cold War hostilities, families were separated, and still are today. The American Eskimo villagers of Little Diomede are some of the most rugged and determined people I have met. By God, are they isolated! Their environment is totally unforgiving. But they love it and have lived the land, sea and ice for generations. To make credible the stakes of a Russian incursion onto Little Diomede, I had to show this village as it really was, portraying the challenges of environment and community as well as the ingenuity the villagers use with the terrain, weather and local knowledge to win. At the end of the day, even if you’re the president of Russia or the United States, you do not mess with the Eskimos of Little Diomede.
Rake is an intriguing character that continued to develop as the story progressed. What did you model his character on and how did he change as you were writing the story?
Rake Ozenna is a blend of real life people whom I have met throughout my career as a journalist. Rake’s motivation compares to any character determined to make the best of his life and give himself a wider world than his small, isolated island community. He enrolls in the Alaska National Guard, taking every opportunity he can, eventually breaking the ceiling, making officer and captain. He serves in Iraq and Afghanistan where he meets Carrie Walker, a trauma surgeon, Brooklyn, white, middle class, professional. They both have a wild, independent streak, but their backgrounds couldn’t be more different. Rake adores Carrie and can’t believe his luck. As the action gathers pace, and Rake finds himself more and more alone and hunted down on the island, then on the ice, we see his characteristics of ruthless leadership develop. He needs to win, but is never sure if his skills and natural ability to carry them out are compatible with loving Carrie and whether the two of them could ever make the kids, nice house and white picket fence thing ever work. Interviewing many heroes over the years, I have found there are always two strands of motivation. One is the bigger cause of the country and the mission. The other is the lover, the child, the home community. Sometimes they run in parallel. Often, they clash.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I deliver the second Rake Ozenna political thriller at the end of May 2019 for publication later in the year. Many of the same characters, Rake, Carrie and Stephanie Lucas will be there and the location will be a wild, inhospitable place in the European Arctic.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
![Man on Ice: Russia vs the USA - in Alaska by [Hawksley, Humphrey]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510G9ETJgiL.jpg)
An incident in the snows of Alaska could trigger the outbreak of World War III in this tense and twisting thriller.
When Rake Ozenna of the elite Eskimo Scouts brings his fiancée, trauma surgeon Carrie Walker, to his remote home island in the Bering Strait, they are faced immediately with a medical crisis. Then Russian helicopters swarm in.
America is on the eve of an acrimonious presidential transition and inauguration. As news breaks of a possible Russian invasion, Stephanie Lucas, British ambassador to Washington DC, is hosting a dinner for the president-elect.
Ozenna’s small Alaskan island community is suddenly caught in the crosshairs of sabre-rattling big powers. The only way to save his people is to undertake a perilous mission across the ice. Can he survive long enough to prevent a new world war breaking out?
LITERARY TITAN 