SHELF AWARENESS BOOK TRAILER OF THE DAY
The book trailer for THE WOMAN IN THE PARK was selected as the Shelf Awareness Book Trailer of the Day!
Shelf Awareness develops and distributes e-newsletters about books and the publishing industry. To learn more about Shelf Awareness, click here.
To view the book trailer, click here.
For more on The Woman in the Park, click here.
REVIEW: UNLIKELY PILGRIM IS ONE CONVERT’S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
“Ninety years ago, Evelyn Waugh wrote a travel book called Remote People. You couldn’t do that today. Those remote people are now your Facebook friends. But Al Regnery has found a way to write a travel book about remote places that will never be mentioned in the New York Times travel section. That’s because he visited ancient Christian sites in Europe and the Middle East and wrote about them in a wonderful new book, Unlikely Pilgrim (Beaufort Books, 2019).”
“What drew the author to the obscure churches and monasteries he visited was a growing Christian faith, and during his travels, he converted to Catholicism. The book describes a spiritual odyssey, as well as an account of visits to remote places, that takes it out of the realm of ordinary travel books, and makes it a classic that deserves to be long remembered.”
To read the full review, click here.
For more about the book, click here.
Author Al Regnery will be discussing his book, Unlikely Pilgrim on It’s A New Day Radio Show on July 8th. Make sure to tune in!
It’s A New Day covers local, regional, national and international news and topics of interest on a wide variety of subjects. The show features commentary and informative interviews with noteworthy guests from this area and around the world which you won’t hear anywhere else. Callers are welcome to share their views.
For more information, click here.
For more information on the author, click here.
Synopsis: When a bomb rips the facade off the Kensington Hotel in Tokyo, dozens are killed and injured while one man walks calmly away from the wreckage, a coy smile playing on his lips.
Former Army intelligence officer Dan Reilly, now an international hotel executive with high level access to the CIA, makes it his mission to track him down. He begins a jet-setting search for answers as the clock ticks down to a climactic event that threatens NATO and the very security of member nations.
Reilly begins mining old contacts and resources in an effort to delve deeper into the motive behind these attacks, and fast. Through his connections he learns that the Tokyo bomber is not acting alone. But the organization behind the perpetrator is not who they expect.
Facilitated by the official government from a fearsome global superpower, the implications and reasons for these attacks are well beyond anything Reilly or his sources in the CIA and State Department could have imagined, and point not to random acts of terror, but calculated acts of war. RED Hotel is an incredibly timely globe-trotting thriller that’s fiction on the edge of reality.
Critique: In an inherently riveting plot that could well be ripped from tomorrow’s newspaper headlines, “RED Hotel” showcases the effective collaboration between co-authors Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller.
While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Contemporary General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “RED Hotel” is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.49) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Brilliance Audio, 9781978691605, $14.99, CD)
For more on the Wisconsin Bookwatch, click here.
For more information about the book, click here.
Author Al Regnery will be discussing his book, Unlikely Pilgrim on The Armstrong Williams Show on June 27.
Armstrong Williams is a pugnacious, provocative and principled voice for conservative and Christian values in America’s public debate.
The Armstrong Williams Show airs live every Monday through Friday from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST on Sirius XM Urban View Channel 126 .
To listen, click here.
For more information about the book, click here.
“Oh my, what a whirlwind of a read and so tense! Sarah Rock meets a stranger in the park. She needs to get away from her life and all the overwhelming baggage she is juggling right now, and this handsome fellow may be her ticket out.
“Then, a woman goes missing in the park, and Sarah is a suspect. Everyone turns on her including her husband and therapist, and now her lover is also missing.
“I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was true versus lies. The Woman in the Park is a quick read, one that is perfectly paced, original, and shocking. I can’t say too much more because I don’t want to give anything away.
“Sorkin and Holmqvist write seamlessly, and their debut novel, The Woman in the Park, is an utterly captivating read.” -Jennifer
For more information about the book, click here.
Hello!
I’m Beaufort’s newest intern here to report back that, yes, BookExpo is exactly as cool as our previous post promises!
I’ve never been part of the publishing world before, but I had heard tell of a magical event where all the industry people came together to network and best of all—talk about books! I was very excited when Beaufort asked if I’d like to go to this paradise, so of course I said yes.
And BookExpo and BookCon did not disappoint! I hit the ground running on this internship, starting my first day by helping set up the booth. For the next three days I helped out there, meeting authors and helping with signings, and of course, exploring this mecca of the book world.
The Javits Center was full of larger-than-life posters of books and authors. It was like they were movie stars—some of whom I got to meet in real life! Just sharing a room with people whose books I’ve admired since I was little is enough to make my nerdy heart swoon, let alone all of the other fantastic things going on.
It was really interesting to see all the different people who came to BookExpo—not just publishers, but librarians, booksellers, and educators as well. I saw a few people from around where I live and said hello. It was nice to see a little bit of home in the big city.
But of course, for a young hopeful such as myself, it was great to see the variety of publishers there. From the big four to small presses, academics to picture books, a wide range of organizations came to BookExpo. Everyone was excited to show off the projects they’d been working on and even standing in line, attendees would talk about the exciting things they’d done or were planning to do during the convention.
BookExpo was a really great way to kick off my internship because not only did I get to be dazzled by all of the cool things happening in the industry, I also got to know the Beaufort & Spencer Hill teams better than I would have just starting behind the desk.
Signing off for now,
Beauseidon
This is a shared blog post for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.
Wisconsin writer J.F. Riordan set her series of novels on remote Washington Island, just off the tip of Door County. It’s a place that locals refer to as “North of the tension line,” a phrase that gave her series its name. However, while Riordan loves that place, she does much of her writing in the Milwaukee area.
It’s that disconnect that informs the series of essays that fill her latest book, called Reflections on a Life in Exile.
To listen, click here.
“The long dormant seeds of ‘bottom-up’ culture, evolutionally baked deeply into our DNA and our neurophysiological systems, are vibrantly reawakening.
“When I asked Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, ‘What’s the next big thing on the web?’ He replied that it was trust.
“This tsunami of bottom-up thinking and behavior is causing a bigger paradigm shift than the inventions of writing or Gutenberg’s printing press because we’re already genetically primed for this by our millions of years of human evolution.
“So many trends today look toward the end of life as we know it—climate change, the huge gluttony of the super-rich who work together to transcend national boundaries in their pursuit of more money, more power, ultimately a global feudal system.
“I go to places like farmers’ markets and shopping malls to find solace in the persistence of the middle class against all odds—creeping fascism, the extreme right-wing governments that are spreading throughout the world, led, for the time being by our very own donald trump, who recently gave permission to Juan Guaidó to seize the Venezuelan government away from Nicolás Maduro. Socialism is no good, say the super-rich, focusing on Venezuela, whose assets in the United States have been seized and whose chief export, oil, has dropped in monetary value through the floor.
“Against these trends and their obvious manifestations, a quiet revolution is in progress, writes author and OpEdNews owner as well as entrepreneur and original thinker Rob Kall in his just-released book The Bottom-Up Revolution: Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity. He offers us an optimistic vision of the future. We are transitioning from a top-down to a bottom-up worldwide society. “Top down” describes the current structure of our society, a worldwide plutocracy, but “people can be victors without the need for victims.” “Bottom-up” is its now-competing inverse: it is “small, local, interdependent, respectful, egalitarian and decentralized,” according to author Gregg Levoy. “Humans have spent 99 percent of our developmental time in the wild kingdom,” he writes. –“-99 percent of the five to seven million years hominids existed,” adds Kall. “What I call a ‘bottom-up connection consciousness’ is a revolutionary way of seeing, being, and relating to others, and . . . it affects how we behave in our community and all our other activities, including our “activism,” child rearing, religious practice, and, of course, doing business. It enhances our ability to be cooperative, interdependent, sharing, caring, empathic, egalitarian, and transparent, and although often small, it can be incredibly powerful.”
To read the full review, click here.
Ron Goldman was not just Kim Goldman’s big brother. He was her hero and protector, the guy who pulled a terrified teenager from a devastating car wreck 34 years ago and rode to the hospital in the ambulance with her. The person every guy had to go through if they wanted to ask her on a date.
When O.J. Simpson was acquitted of stabbing to death Ron Goldman and Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, in one of Los Angeles’ most exclusive neighborhoods on June 12, 1994 , Kim Goldman was devastated. As the verdict was read following one of the most divisive criminal cases in U.S. history , cameras in the courtroom caught her sobbing uncontrollably.
Twenty-five years later, she has turned the agony of that moment into a lifetime of helping troubled teens and aiding crime victims’ rights groups while also pursuing the life of a suburban single mom who, at the moment, is teaching her 15-year-old son, Sam, to drive.
“That’s very scary,” she says, laughing while recalling gripping the passenger-side door and putting her foot where the brake would be if she was in the driver’s seat.
Still, even lighthearted moments like that come with a price.
“I don’t suffocate in my grief. But every milestone that my kid hits, every milestone that I hit, you know, those are just reminders of what I’m not able to share with my brother and what he is missing out on,” she adds.
To read the full article, click here.
The June 12, 1994, killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman brought the “Trial of the Century” that saw O.J. Simpson acquitted of the murders. From Johnnie to Kato to Ito, the trial brought together a fascinating cast of charters. Here’s a look at where they are now.
THE DEFENDANT
Two years after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal, a civil court jury found him liable for the deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman, and ordered he pay their survivors $33.5 million. He got into a series of minor legal scrapes ranging from a 2001 Florida road-rage incident (he was acquitted) to racing his boat through a protected Florida manatee zone in 2002 (he was fined). His most serious transgression came in 2007, however, when he and five others barged into a Las Vegas hotel room with guns and robbed memorabilia dealers of property that Simpson said was his. He served nine years in a Nevada prison and was paroled in 2017. Now 71, Simpson lives quietly in Las Vegas where he says he plays golf nearly every day with a group of “retired guys.” He also poses for selfies with the many people still enamored with his celebrity. Simpson told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he will never discuss the murders again.
THE VICTIMS’ SURVIVORS
Ron Goldman’s sister, Kim, was 22 and broke into hysterical sobs when the not guilty verdict was read. These days she counsels troubled teens as executive director of a Southern California-based nonprofit, The Youth Project, and is a speaker to victims’ rights group. She has authored several books and on Wednesday — the 25th anniversary of her brother’s death — begins a 10-episode podcast titled “Confronting: OJ Simpson,” in which she says she’ll discuss all aspects of the trial. Goldman, now 47, lives in a Southern California suburb with her 15-year-old son.
Fred Goldman, Ron’s father, has relentlessly pursued Simpson through civil courts, maintaining it is the only way to achieve justice for his son. Goldman’s family has seized some of Simpson’s memorabilia, including his 1968 Heisman Trophy as college football’s best player that year. The family has also taken the rights to Simpson’s movies, a book he wrote about the killings and other items to satisfy part of the $33.5 million judgment that Simpson refuses to pay. Goldman, 78, lives with his wife, Patti, in Arizona, where both are Realtors.
Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister, has remained the family’s most outspoken critic of Simpson, although like the Goldman family she refuses to speak his name. The former model has become a victims’ rights advocate and a speaker, urging both women and men to leave abusive relationships. She said she has gotten over her anger with God for the killings but has never forgiven Simpson and will not watch any films or documentaries about the killings.
To read the full article, click here.
For more information on The Goldman Family, click here.
“RED Hotel by Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller brings to life, in a thrilling novel, the dangers of soft targets. Using his past experiences as an overseer of Marriott International’s Global Security Strategy, and now President of the Irvine, California-based Laguna Strategic Advisors, a global consortium that provides business consulting services to corporations and governments, Fuller is able to help create a realistic plot with political thriller writer Grossman.
“The novel is a thriller within a hotel setting that has suspense and international intrigue. The plot involves a world adventure that is both realistic and believable, given the experiences of one of the authors, Ed Fuller. As the conflict intensifies readers will be on the edge of their seats.”
Elise Cooper: Did your experiences help to write this thriller?
Ed Fuller: I was President of the Marriott International Group for twenty-two years. I had to deal with a series of challenges from kidnappings, evacuations, dealing with drug cartels, and foreign governments. I knew it was necessary to build a crisis management organization.
EC: Why a novel?
EF: While I was still working with Marriott, I wrote a book, You Can’t Lead with your Feet on the Desk. It was a business book that reflected my experiences and philosophies. One of my friends in public relations suggested I make it into a movie. I sought the advice of another friend, Bruce Feirstein, who sat on a board with me and wrote three James Bond screenplays. He suggested I write a novel. Since I had trouble with pulling the characters together, I sought out a co-writer. I was impressed with Gary Grossman, a political thriller writer. So, the way it works is I contribute stories and strategy and Gary applies the glue, creativity, and through-line that binds our stories, characters.
EC: Gary, how did you find out about this project?
Gary Grossman: I bumped into a neighbor, Bruce Feirstein, who told me he knows of someone that wants to collaborate on a novel. I met with Ed and realized he was as much in the anti-terrorism business as the hotel business. I think it came down to a James Bond connection that put us together. I saw Ed as the real deal that has made the hotel experience safer for people. He had information that could protect guests around the globe.
To read the full interview, click here.
Author Webb Hubbell‘s upcoming political thriller, The East End, was featured in The Charlotte Observer‘s Summer Book reading guide!
“Hubbell gives you warm peach pie with ice cream to drool over in the same novel where four men lay a trap for Jack when he arrives at the Little Rock airport, string him up in a tree in a swampy wood and leave him to die. Bam. Hubbell is off to a rollicking start in this one about a widowed doctor who runs health clinics for the poor in Little Rock’s East End neighborhood. Somewhere Dr. Jana Hall has stepped on some powerful toes and someone wants her clinics shut down. Jack to the rescue. But can he succeed without ruining the good doctor’s reputation? Will she be ‘grist for easy gossip’? Court room scenes to keep you up late, but as with any ‘Jack Patterson’ tale, don’t let your breath out too soon.”
For the full list, click here.
To learn more about The East End and the Jack Patterson series, click here.