Monday 25 February 2013

Welcome Author Gary Goldstein

I came into the world on October 18, 1961. John F. Kennedy was President of the United States. The film West Side Story was released, and would go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Major League Baseball was celebrating Roger Maris of the New York Yankees, who hit a then-record 61 home runs that season.

I was an excellent student, although a bit of a class clown too. I spent a majority of my time playing sports, but fell in love with newspapers, which was how I was initially introduced into writing and storytelling.

While attending Kingsborough Community College from 1979-1981, I served as editor-in-chief of the school's paper, and then joined the staff at Long Island University's Seawanhaka for my junior and senior years. At L.I.U. where I earned my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism in 1983, I was also a selected member of Sigma Delta Chi, as well as Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges.

My last year in college included an unpaid internship at WCBS-TV, Channel 2 in New York City, where I learned so much about the television business. Upon graduation, I landed a job at the network, starting as a news clerk for The CBS Morning News with Diane Sawyer, and also weekend shifts for The NFL Today with Brent Musburger.

After quickly rising in the ranks to producer, my life suddenly went on a downward spiral due to addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling, which ultimately led to nearly six years behind bars for robbery.

My time incarcerated gave birth to my first published book, Jew in Jail, which tells my true story of how I finally decided to deal with my addictions and turn my life around, all the while under the toughest conditions imaginable of being a minority in the prison system, forced to fend for myself.

Writing Jew in Jail - as I was doing my time - allowed me to become very introspective, and realize that I could help others in similar situations of being an addict and/or living with low self-esteem.

Today, I still reside in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York, where I am working on my next bookproject, continuing to promote Jew in Jail, and always helping other addicts through my motivational and inspirational speeches, and one-on-one consultations.



Excerpt

From Chapter 1:

I crossed the street and found a cozy corner in which to drink my beer before calling it a morning (it was still only nine-fifteen, and I wasn’t ready to “escape” into the subway system just yet). All of a sudden, from seemingly out of nowhere and coming from every direction, were the police. Before I knew what hit me, one cop tackled me hard to the sidewalk, knocking my bottle of beer high into the air; it came crashing down to the pavement.

“Where’s the gun?” the flatfoot demanded.

“What gun?” I asked, as he took the fake weapon from out of my pocket.

He then pulled me up off the ground and brought me over to one of the many squad cars that were now on the scene.

“We got him. We got Woody Allen,” the officer chirped as he handcuffed and handed me over to another of New York’s finest. “Don’t move an inch, you piece of shit,” the second officer ordered, as I finally realized the magnitude of what I had done, although still not believing that all of these cops had come just for little old me with the balding head and thick prescription eyeglasses.

After being positively identified right there in the street by my last victim, the elderly Chinese man, I was placed into the police car and taken over to the 17th Precinct, without even having had my rights read to me.

At the police station, I was immediately processed (photographed and fingerprinted), and then thrown into a filthy, stinking cell. Oh, yeah, and my money and pills were taken from me, presumably to be held as evidence.

“Now I’ve really done it,” I remember mumbling to myself, as the gravity of the entire situation began to completely sink in. Then, after lingering in my cell for over an hour, two sharply dressed detectives came to pay me a visit.

~ ~ ~

"Gary Goldstein is a refreshing presence to the literary world. He's accomplished what so many continue to seek - that rare ability to create magic with nothing more than a pen and paper. [Goldstein is] a rising star!"

- David L. - Best-selling author of
Over Your Dead Body, Chalk Outline Confessions, My Life Is A Movie and Represent


Purchase Links

Website     Amazon     Barnes&Noble     Smashwords


Connect with Gary

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Monday 18 February 2013

A Poem


Pictures: photobucket.com


Before you knew you owned it

by

Alice Walker


Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.


This poem can be found on PoetrySoup.com


Wednesday 13 February 2013

Happy Valentine's Day

Picture: freedigitalphotos.net


The modern cliché Valentine's Day poem can be found in the collection of English nursery rhymes Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784):

The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou'd be you


To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the price of my Sexy Romance novel, Candy’s Man, is reduced to 99c on Smashwords.  

Coupon code: VB35C
Expires: March 15th



Excerpt

Candy stretched, yawned, and snuggled back into a ball.  A faint humming filled the cabin, and she heard water running.

“Damn!”  The masculine voice was loud and clear, and her eyes snapped open. 

Oh, my God!

She searched the room and her gaze rested on clothes neatly folded over a chair.  

Men’s clothes.  

Under the chair, a pair of shoes sat in an orderly fashion.

A neat freak. 

She soon discovered that was the least of her problems.  She lifted the bed covers.  Just as she thought.  She was naked in a strange man’s bed.   Her stomach clenched.

I slept with a stranger!

With the sobriety she lacked the evening before, she shook her head in disbelief.  She had never been so reckless in her entire twenty-nine years.

The bathroom door flew open and a man stood before her in all his natural majesty.  Candy flushed and pulled the covers over her head.  His deep laugh resonated throughout the room.

“You’re not shy?” he asked, the amusement evident in his husky American voice.

Shy?  Shamelesswas a more appropriate word.

“Come on,” he said playfully, and Candy heard him move closer to the bed.  The bed shifted as he sat near her.  “You’ve nothing to feel embarrassed about.”

Embarrassed?  Try mortified!

With forceful hands he grabbed the covers and tried to pull them from her.  She refused to give up without a fight.  






Sunday 10 February 2013

Time for Change

www.freegreatpicture.com

After a horror 2012, I am determined to do things differently this year.  I aim to look at life in a spiritual way and not be taken in by the physical aspects of this planet.  That includes the dramas that people create.

When my first grandchild was born, three weeks ago, things changed.  I now endeavour to live in the moment because these ‘moments’ don’t come by again.

I start each day with deep breathing exercises and listen to some calming music at some point during each day.

I think it must be working because I feel calmer and more at peace. 

Life is often hectic and stressful but by concentrating on the spiritual energy around me, I can find the good amongst the chaos. 

And so, I bid the Year of the Dragon, adieu, and in this year of the Snake, I leave you with a favourite quote.

In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away.   – Shing Xiong





Sunday 3 February 2013

Welcome Author Gladys Quintal



Paranormal Romance Author of The Dream Series, Gladys Quintal, shares a personal story.


Instead of writing about my books, I thought I would share my experiences with another subject close to my heart.
Hyperparathyroidism

You have probably never heard of the word Hyperparathyroidism? Neither had I up until about 15months ago. Your parathyroid glands are tiny – about the size of a grain of rice and are positioned behind your thyroid gland (normally), their sole purpose is to control the calcium circulating in your blood.
 I had been suffering from pain and fatigue for over a decade, doctors couldn’t find the source and so I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and told there wasn’t a lot I could do apart from pain medication, physio and antidepressants. At least now I had a diagnosis – or did I?
My blood pressure had been spiking for years, but all of a sudden just over a year ago it went very high and wouldn’t come down. I felt very close to passing out and was home alone with a 9 month old baby and 6 year old.
I rang my 19 year old daughter to come and watch the kids while I went to the doctor and the next thing I knew, I was being shipped off in an ambulance. It was one of the scariest times in my life, but it was also the turning point that would change my life.
A young doctor at the ER decided to check my calcium after hearing about the fibro and bp spikes and discovered it was high. Next my parathyroid hormone was tested – which was also high. At last I had a real diagnosis and possible cure! HPT – meaning one or more of the parathyroid glands had gone hyper and was stripping the calcium out of my bones and putting it into my bloodstream. Left unchecked, it could cause osteoporosis from the lack of calcium in your bones, the high calcium in your blood causes brain fog, fatigue, reflux, moodiness, weight and heart problems.
 At this stage I was thinking that all I had to do now was find a specialist and have surgery – hey presto, cured! I had no idea how hard it was going to be to get this surgery. My GP referred me for the imaging tests and to see an endocrinologist. I hope I never have to see another endo in my entire life. I saw 2 and they both made me feel terrible, as if I was some overweight, middle-aged housewife looking for sympathy or drugs! All I wanted was to get this thing cut out of me – not too much to ask?
In the end, I asked my GP to refer me directly to an endocrine surgeon and to cut a long story short, I had surgery 2 and a bit months ago. I am feeling so much better already although I still have a long way to go. Also through researching my symptoms, I have discovered a lot of sites dedicated to this and similar problems. I have learnt that if you are a woman and have an endocrine problem (eg: adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism or HPT etc) you are going to have a hell of a job getting a diagnosis and getting treated, unless you are willing to fight all the way.
I am just glad I was prepared for the fight as I am now on the road to recovery!

The moral of the story? If you believe you have something wrong with you – do not let doctors fob you off with things like getting old, menopause or depression – without giving you a thorough check-up. Basic tests that should be their first port of call like: TSH, FT3, FT4 and calcium for a start. If you are not happy with the doctor you have, then find another one. It is your life and you deserve to be able to live to the fullest.

Read about my own personal journey to diagnosis and treatment and all the obstacles along the way.

Purchase 
from 

Gladys Quintal’s - The Dream Series

Book 1 (The Man of My Dreams) is free on Amazon.com, iTunes, Sony, Smashwords….

Connect with Gladys Quintal


Saturday 2 February 2013

Characters


Picture: Shutterstock


I am often asked if my book characters are real people.  That’s a tricky question.  I’d have to say yes and no.

As a writer, I use my experiences, and to some degree, the people I’ve met, in my novels.  This does not mean that my stories are ‘real’ or that any one character represents a ‘real’ person.   However, my characters and storyline may be written using a combination of traits from real people and situations.  That is, I may use various traits from different people to help make up one or several characters.  And I may use an assortment of real situations and mix them together to create stories.  Sometimes, characters introduce themselves to me as I write and I meet them for the very first time.  We writers have a habit of talking to fictional characters.

Hopefully, my characters are developed enough to seem real, and readers will perhaps see a little of themselves in my novels.

Picture: FreeDigitalPhotos.net



Jeanette's 4-stars-plus book montage

An Offer He Can't Refuse
Emily's Affair
Taste
Rough Harbor
The Chosen One
Runaway Heart
Bared to You
Melodies of the Heart
Fifty Shades Freed
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades of Grey
Anon
Somewhere in Time
House Guest
A Cop, His Wife and Her Best Friend
Hero Of Her Heart
All In Time
Asking for Andre
Almost a Bride
The Fence My Father Built


Jeanette Hornby's favorite books »

Jeanette's bookshelf: diversity

In Love With Death
3 of 5 stars true
I liked the authors take on the Angel of Death and enjoyed learning about the individual characters. The story was interesting and I liked the way the author simplified the subject matter. With a little more editing and polishing, this ...
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now and diversity
An Offer He Can't Refuse
4 of 5 stars true
A thoroughly enjoyable tale. I liked the characters and the situation they were in. A good read for romance lovers.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, diversity, and favourites
All In Time
4 of 5 stars true
An interesting and enjoyable story. I would have liked the unique events to unravel slower and continue longer, but overall, the tale was quite engrossing. A good read.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, and diversity
Bloodtrail
4 of 5 stars true
An intricately woven vampire tale that keeps you wanting more. The historical and scientific content was unique and engrossing. I particularly liked the way the author separated each character's story in the beginning and then tied the...
tagged: diversity, 4-stars, and from-dec-2011-to-now
House Guest
4 of 5 stars true
A short, creepy and enthralling story. The development of the main character and situation was strangely enjoyable. A good read.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, and diversity

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