RABT Book Tours and PR Blog

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Tour Kick Off: Friends by Amy Lou Jenkins #blogtour #nowontour #personalessay #briefmemoir #giveaway #rabtbooktours

Voices Series, Book 2

Personal essay (narrative nonfiction, brief memoir)

Date Published: Oct 19, 2020

Publisher: Jack Walker Press

Friendships serve as a cornerstone to a rich life. Each of these twenty-four accomplished authors shares authentic stories that consider the meaning of life affirming, sometimes life saving or gut wrenching, and fun realities of investing in each other: Think chicken soup with adult beverages.

Editorial Reviews:

"A thoroughly enjoyable and heartfelt read! This is an invaluable book for anyone seeking insight and comprehension of the convoluted and often misunderstood road we travel known as friendship. A definite 5-star rating!" --International Review of Books

"Friends: Voices on the Gift of Companionship will take you through the full spectrum of what it means to call someone "friend." It's the book you reach for when you need to feel connected to humanity." --Skye McDonald author of the Anti-Belle series

"The authors in this anthology come from a wide range of backgrounds, and share their stories of friendship with convincing, if often difficult, passages. ...We may still regard the gifts of shared histories as nourishment to sustain us." --Carol Barrett, Ph.D. Coordinator, Creative Writing Certificate Program, Union Institute & University; author of Calling in the Bones and Pansies.

"As the stories evolve, readers will relish the personal tones, touches, and explorations that consider the nature of friendship, its gifts and resiliency, and its lasting impact on all. ...an outstanding key to understanding how relationships evolve, change, pass, and often come full circle to become even more valued as the years go by." -- D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Amy Lou Jenkins holds an MFA from The Writing Seminars of Bennington, has taught writing at Carroll University, Milwaukee Area Tech College, and conferences and workshops, including NonfictioNow/Iowa Writers Workshop and Write by the Lake/University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her essays and stories have appeared in literary journals and anthologies, including The Florida Review, Flint Hill review, Leopold Outlook, Sport Literate, Earth Island Journal, Consequence Magazine, The Maternal is Political, Journeys of Friendship, and Women on Writing. She’s the author of several books including Every Natural Fact; Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting. Her writing has been honored by US Book Award, Living Now Book Award, Ellis Henderson Outdoor Writing Award, and XJ Kennedy Award for Nonfiction and more. She pens a quarterly book review column for the Sierra Club. She writes for children under the name Lou Jenkins. She and her husband split their time between Wisconsin and Arkansas. Unless it’s so cold it hurts, she’d rather be outside. Follow her at www.AmyLouJenkins.com

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December 3 - Book Junkiez - Spotlight

December 4 - Logikal Blog - Excerpt

December 5 - Book Reviews by Virginia Lee - Spotlight

December 7 - B For Book Review - Excerpt

December 8 - On a Reading Bender - Review

December 9 - The Avid Reader - Interview

December 10 - Momma and Her Stories - Excerpt

December 11 - Teatime and books - Spotlight

December 14 - Silver Dagger Tours - Spotlight

December 15 - The Indie Express - Review

December 16 - Dina Raes write stuff - Spotlight

December 17 - My Reading Addiction - Interview

December 18 - Nanas book reviews - Spotlight

December 19 - Rozier and Wine - Spotlight

December 21 - Momma says to read or not to read - Spotlight

December 22 - Texas Book Nook - Review

December 23 - Sylv Net - Spotlight

December 26 - Book corner news and reviews - Spotlight

December 28 - Jazzy's Book Reviews - Excerpt

December 29 - A Life Through Books - Interview

December 30 - Cross Road Reviews - Spotlight

December 31 - Novel News Network - Review

January 1 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up

Giveaway

paperback copies of Friends

Goodreads Giveaway

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Book Blitz: Colorful Tales: The Memoirs of Buz the Bear by Don Hansen #promo #childrens #rabtbooktours @Colorful_Tales

Children's
Grade Level: 2 - 3
Age Level: 4 - 8

Date Published: March 20, 2018

Publisher: WestBow Press

In Colorful Tales, lessons of love, acceptance, wonder, humility, joy, and courage are tenderly revealed through the adventures of life-loving Buz the Bear. No ordinary bear cub, Buz surprises and delights as he finds meaning in living everyday bear life. Through his stories, young readers find their own unique experiences given shape and purpose while celebrating their love of fun and adventure, the natural world, and the realness of the spirit.

About the Author

Father, teacher, athlete, humorist, and humanist, Don Hansen writes short stories, poetry and novels that uplift and enlighten. His work is inspired by an abiding faith; his love of son Eric, daughter Tiffany, and his grandchildren; and the young people he taught and coached for decades. In Colorful Tales, Don celebrates the lessons of life that shaped him most, lessons that resonate with parents and children alike. A natural storyteller, his is the voice of the timeless sage around whom people of all ages want to sit and listen. A retired educator with countless interests, Don divides his time between Arizonas central valley and her northern forests.

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Book Blitz: Farewell the Dragon by S. Lee Barckmann #promo #mystery #rabtbooktours #bookbuzz @BookBuzznet @barckmann

International Mystery

Date Published: September 2020

Publisher: Barckwords Publishing

In Farewell the Dragon, Nate Scheutt, American, 35, is pulled into a politically charged murder investigation when he stumbles onto the bodies of two young Europeans on a prestigious Beijing university campus. Gradually Nate discovers the case is entwined with an international quest for a small stone tablet, (a stele) that might contain the key to ancient China's long-lost link with the West.

In the 1980's, old Beijing's walls and hutong alleyways were disappearing, victims of Deng Xiaoping's proclamation 致富光荣!(To get rich is glorious!). While juggling teaching English, his business, (and women), Nate seeks refuge at the bar on the roof of the Friendship Hotel with a legation of self-imposed exiles from the both sides of the Cold War. There he enters a netherworld of sex, spies, strange religion and the hidden history of China's Cultural Revolution.

Excerpt

Early August 1987

Chop, chop, chop – I knew it was still pretty early, even though the sunrise was beginning to light up the white walls of my bedroom. In the apartment above, I could hear Liu Taitai still chopping up garlic.

She usually finished the chopping and cutting before daybreak. Chop, chop, chop – China’s heartbeat.

As I lay in bed, I remember thinking that I was going to stay in China, at least for another year. Chop, chop, chop…I can remember turning over on my side and the noise from the cast iron bed springs drowning out the chopping. Everything in Xilou was so solid; the steam radiator against the window must weigh a ton. The red brick building called Xilou, West Hall, was constructed by Russian engineers and Chinese labor in 1957. It was one of the first buildings in Beijing specifically designed not to collapse in an earthquake.

Xilou: each apartment was designed with socialist equality and utilitarianism in mind, two big rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, high ceilings and lead-framed windows with the view of the courtyard to the sunny south. The living room is the same size as the bedroom. We moved in almost a year ago to the day in August. In the winter, the apartment had been luxuriously warm, hot if you wanted. It was a long way from our cold, dank apartment in Louyang. Molly and I were the only foreigners in Xilou. Nearly all of the men there were teachers, authors, or language researchers, as were several of the women. All had been exiled for ten years during the Cultural Revolution. Some did not come back. My next-door neighbor, the Party leader Dr. Lü — her husband did not come back. Those that survived returned in 1977, and were told by the Party to sweep it all under the rug, for everyone to just go back to the way they were, and forget about the ten lost years. Like the morning vegetable chopping, it was part of the rhythm of this place. “Please,” said Lang, stopping the tape player to get up and bring me another beer.

His face looked very pained. “We don’t need to talk about that. I am pretty sure that the Cultural Revolution had nothing to do with the deaths of the two foreigners.”

I didn’t argue, but I wasn’t sure he was right.

About the Author

Born and raised in the small Jersey Shore town of Barnegat NJ. Parents, Doris (Jones) and Bill Barckmann, both deceased. Two sisters, Liza and Laura. Moved to North Jersey suburb at 13 (1964). Went to University of Kansas, graduated (1973), degrees in Economics and History. Planned to be a writer, wrote much of the backstory later incorporated into the The SwiftPad Series. Worked in various capacities as laborer, heavy equipment operator, became a Land Surveyor (1977). Worked in a Civil Engineering office, managing business. Wrote articles, grant writer of social service agency, involved in local politics, Progressive election mechanic (Eugene Oregon). Went to China, (1984) as English teacher in Xian Medical college. The following year I moved to Beijing to teach at Foreign Language Institute. Returned to the US (1987), married Mary Traeger, son Zach born (1988). Started a career in IT in a strip mall Computer store. Worked for various companies and organizations as technical lead in various IT specialties, (networking, software development, computer security, systems management) Retired from IBM (2014). Presently full time author.

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Tour Kick Off: A Mistake Incomplete by Lorenzo Petruzziello #blogtour #nowontour #fiction #noir #giveaway #rabtbooktours @lorenzomagnus

Fiction, Noir

Date Published: December 8, 2020

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

An incompetent thief makes another attempt at burglary. A hopeless bartender struggles to manage her last patron. The pair reluctantly work together to figure out why a man they presumed dead may have returned, while a lonely tourist inadvertently gets in the way.

Lorenzo Petruzziello is the author of The Love Fool and a contributing writer to publications focusing on food, travel and cocktails. A Mistake Incomplete is his second novel.

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December 2 - Nanas book reviews - Spotlight

December 3 - #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee - Spotlight

December 4 - Momma and Her Stories - Excerpt

December 7 - Teatime and Books - Spotlight

December 8 - A Life Through Books - Interview

December 9 - Rozier and Wine - Spotlight

December 10 - Silver Dagger Tours - Spotlight

December 11 - Texas Book Nook - Review

December 14 - Novelty Book Designs - Spotlight

December 15 - My Reading Addiction - Interview

December 16 - Cross road reviews - Spotlight

December 17 - Saph's books - Spotlight

December 18 - The Indie Express - Review

December 21 - Momma says to read or not to read - Spotlight

December 23 - Sylv Net - Spotlight

December 26 - Book Junkiez - Excerpt

December 28 - Dina Rae's write stuff - Spotlight

December 29 - On a Reading Bender - Review

January 4 - Book corner news and reviews - Spotlight

January 5 - Novel News Network - Review

January 13 - Jazzy Book Reviews - Excerpt

January 14 - Nesie's Place - Excerpt

January 18 - The Avid Reader - Interview

January 22 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up

More dates coming soon...

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Tour Kick Off: Why Liv? by Jon Sebastian Shifrin #blogtour #nowontour #giveaway #youngadult #rabtbooktours @Sebasti31715189

Young Adult (fiction)

Date Published: October, 2019

As a twenty-something corporate employee with a doctor-in-training girlfriend, Livingstone Modicai Ackerman—Liv, to his friends—personifies success. Yet all is not as it seems. His job is tedious and soul-gutting, his girlfriend is a vacuous, image-conscious snob, and, meanwhile, his pathologically narcissistic parents are constant irritants. Add to this the febrile political climate dominated by a reactionary group, the Patriot Posse, led by a mendacious radio personality with outlandish hair and catchy campaign slogan to “Make America Great Again,” is a presidential candidate—and he’s winning!

Overwhelmed and struggling to maintain a sense of dignity and worth, Liv quits his job, breaks up with his girlfriend, and leaves for Spain to explore the existential question: Why live?

Told with humorous charm and wit, Why Liv? examines why modern work is so devoid of purpose and why reactionary politics is so alluring in America. Most of all, it humbly attempts to offer a reason to persevere during difficult times.

Jon Sebastian Shifrin is a writer plying his trade in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, The Hill, Reunion: The Dallas Review, The Missing Slate, The Indian Review, and Futures Trading. Jon also is the founder of the popular current events website, The Daily Dissident (www.dailydissident.com). His non-literary career in politics has taken him from the White House to Capitol Hill to think tanks in Washington and Europe. To learn more about Why Liv?, visit www.whyliv.com.

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December 2 - B for Book Review - Excerpt

December 3 - Book Review Virginia Lee - Spotlight

December 4 - Sapphyria's Book Blog - Spotlight

December 5 - The Avid Reader - Interview

December 7 - Teatime and books - Spotlight

December 8 - Momma and Her Stories - Excerpt

December 10 - Silver Dagger Tours - Spotlight

December 11 - Novel News Network - Review

December 12 - Nana's Book Reviews - Spotlight

December 14 - Dina Raes write stuff - Spotlight

December 15 - Texas Book Nook - Review

December 16 - Momma says to read or not to read - Spotlight

December 17 - A Life Through Books - Interview

December 18 - Sylv Net - Spotlight

December 21 - Cross Road Reviews - Spotlight

December 22 - My Reading Addiction - Interview

December 23 - Book corner news and reviews - Spotlight

December 24 - Rozier and Wine - Spotlight

December 26 - Jazzy Book Reviews - Guest Post

December 28 - Book Junkiez - Spotlight

December 29 - The Indie Express - Review

December 30 - On a Reading Bender - Review

December 31 - Valerie Ullmer - Excerpt

January 1 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up

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Tour Kick Off: Love of the Sea by A.R. Masterson #blogtour #nowontour #giveaway #youngadult #yaromance #mermaid #rabtbooktours @LittleAlice06

Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Romance, Young Adult Mermaid Fiction

Date Published: 4/27/18

Publisher: Ink Smith Publishing

As crown prince, Cormack is required to take a bride and his place as king. His father’s choice is Princess Nephara of their neighboring ally, the Kingdom of Caraway. But the appearance of Asrai, a fiery mermaid determined to get what she wants, and an heir to her own throne, has Cormack wondering where his heart’s loyalty lies.

Exiled from her underwater kingdom, Asrai is determined to do whatever is necessary to return to her throne, but Cormack, once a means to an end, has enchanted her. Can Asrai get the best of both worlds, or will she sacrifice her heart for her kingdom?

Lauren A.R. Masterson graduated from Columbia College of Chicago with a degree in Fiction Writing. During her college days, she began working as a freelance model eventually making it her full-time profession after graduating. She toured nationally, met scores of creative people, and had many adventures. After retiring from modeling, and experiencing a divorce, Lauren felt the drain of her creativity. But after finding a loving and supporting community she began exploring her writing talent and art again. Lauren is now a regular in the local Chicago writing communities and is dedicated to enhancing her craft.

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