PLAYING ARMY by Nancy Stroer

 

PLAYING ARMY

Nancy Stroer

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GENRE: UpLit / domestic war

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BLURB:  It’s 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia, but Lieutenant Minerva Mills has no intention of going to war-torn eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and, desperate for some kind of connection to him, she’s determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. But the Colonel will only release her on two conditions—that she reform the rag-tag Headquarters Company so they’re ready for the peacekeeping mission, and that she get her weight within Army regs, whichever comes second. Min only has one summer to kick everyone’s butts into shape but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers—and her body—rebel. If she can’t even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she’ll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam, feeling what he felt. The Colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Can you fake it until you make it? Min is about to find out.

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Excerpt:

I sucked in my gut and forced the top button of my BDU trousers through the hole. Pounds never melted off me like they did in the diet pill commercials. As I wrestled with my body’s ill-fitting container the latrine door opened and two pairs of boots tromped in. Specialist Pettit’s voice floated over the sound of running water. “Not to be mean or anything, but female commanders are the worst. And Lieutenant Mills is the absolute worst. I worked for her for two years in Personnel and she ragged on me the whole time.”

Whoa, shit. Enemy inside the wire. I stopped breathing altogether and leaned so close to the stall door my eyes crossed.

“Hey, now.” That was Lieutenant Logan, my replacement at my old job. Female soldiers carved their hierarchies along different lines, never straight down the military ranks, and new alliances were being tested. Would Logan stick up for me, officer to officer? “It’s a short-term thing. She won’t be here long.” Instead of reproach, Logan’s voice was edged with mirth. “The colonel needs a body in that chair until a real commander comes in, and now that I’m here, Lieutenant Mills is over strength. She’s the body.”

My face grew hot. Real commander? Body? I clamped my lips shut against the urge to burst out of the stall, roaring. I imagined inhaling the entire room then blowing them away with the release of my torso, all tightly packed plastic explosives and buckshot. These two, Logan especially, had no freaking clue.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Nancy Stroer grew up in a very big family in a very small house in Athens, Georgia and served in the beer-soaked trenches of post-Cold War Germany. She holds degrees from Cornell and Boston University, and her work has appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Soldiers magazine, Hallaren Lit Mag, Wrath-Bearing Tree, and Things We Carry Still, an anthology of military writing from Middle West Press.

She’s a teacher and a trainer, and an adjunct faculty member of the Ellyn Satter Institute, a 503(c) not-for-profit that helps individuals and families develop a more joyful relationship to food and their bodies. Playing Army is her first novel.

Social media links:

https://twitter.com/Nancy_Stroer

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49311942.Nancy_Stroer https://www.facebook.com/nancy.stroer/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-stroer-86213089/

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

RAFFLECOPTER

A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.

Fresh Grown by Andrea Kristin

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Andrea Kristin will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Written, photographed, and designed by Andrea, this book is filled with firsthand imagery and knowledge direct from the farm. For beginners and experts alike, its unique insights, stunning visuals, and practical approach make it an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to fully utilize and enjoy their fresh produce. Featuring over 50 types of vegetables (with applications for far more), from asparagus to zucchini and everything in between, it will help you reap maximum benefits, stretch your dollars, and make it all go farther than you ever thought possible while deepening your appreciation for nature's delicious bounty.

Filled with:
- stunning images
- staple recipes
- creative uses
- cooking + storage tips
- preservation guides

A book you'll return to time and time again— a staple in any home kitchen.

Read an Excerpt

I wasn't always passionate about vegetables. My first memorable encounter with fresh vegetables was the evening Denis (the cute guy I had been dating for a couple of months) first brought me to visit his family's farm. I was 17 at the time. Growing up in the suburbs, my only experience with produce up to that point was a few staples from the supermarket and frozen foods section. We had no garden and no real produce variety in my childhood home. Our family dinners involved the classics— carrots, potatoes, frozen peas, and the odd green salad thrown in for good measure. Farmers markets and CSAs were completely foreign to me; fresh was not something I thought about, and I had never seen or heard of most of the vegetables in this book.

It was a warm, sunny evening as 19-year-old Denis drove me through the agricultural landscape in his bright red compact car. Pulling into the gravel driveway of his parents' property, we parked next to a large, weathered, white barn. Hopping out of the vehicle, we were met by a few of his brothers coming in from the field with dirt on their hands and grins on their faces. It was an expansive, hundred-acre, organic vegetable farm that his parents had started from scratch and that he and his siblings grew up cultivating. There was so much pride in him around it and a real passion for the produce they grew. It lit me up to see the enthusiasm sparking in him to show me all of it, and I couldn't wait to discover this unique world that made him tick so vibrantly.

After enjoying an energetic outdoor supper with everyone back at the house, Denis invited me for a stroll to see the garden.

"Kick off your shoes," he said, tossing his own aside. We proceeded to walk barefoot through the acres of dirt and lush growth.

The sun was beginning to set behind the surrounding mountains, bathing the whole valley in a golden glow. The birds were chirping and flying overhead as he took my hand. I gazed in wonder as he proudly named the different kinds of plants. I thought he was teasing me when he pointed and told me the kale was something to eat. (That dark green, weird, leafy thing? That surely couldn't be food!) I look back and laugh now, but it was just so far from my food experience at the time.

I remember when he bent down to the damp earth, pulled a handful of carrots from the soil, and wiped the dirt from them with the old T-shirt he was wearing. Then he handed me one to munch on as we continued talking. It tasted incredibly crunchy and sweet— far better than anything I'd ever eaten from a grocery store. I was caught up in wonderment. What was this incredible lifestyle?

About the Author: 

Andrea Kristin and her husband have been growing vegetables on their organic market garden farm outside of Edmonton, Alberta for nearly a decade. They sell at farmers markets and feed their local community through their thriving CSA program (@greyarrowfarm). In this book, Andrea draws from her wealth of firsthand knowledge to walk the reader graciously through all the ways to use, store, and enjoy your vegetables. She shares a bounty of insightful information, including which parts of each plant are edible, how to use them, what to do with your excess, and the various ways to preserve them to last throughout the year.

https://andreakristin.ca/
https://greyarrowfarm.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/greyarrowfarm/
https://www.facebook.com/greyarrowfarm

https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Grown-Essential-Guide-Vegetables-ebook/dp/B0D7QN6Q64

Andrea Kristin will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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My Second Life by Simon Yeats

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Simon Yeats is awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

We all have two lives. We only get to experience living in the second after we realize we only have just one.

I have my first real scare in life when I get attacked by a kangaroo when I am seven. My first brush with the cliff-face edge of death comes when I am 12. My dad drives the family down the dangerous Skipper’s Canyon dirt road in New Zealand in a rented minivan.

Including the occasion I am almost involved in two different plane flight crashes, in the same night, there have been at least a half dozen more occasions when I have been within a moment’s inattention of being killed.

However, none of those frightening incidents compare to what I experience after my son is abducted.

This memoir is the story of how I used the traumatic experiences of my life to give me strength to forge on during a 13 year fight to be a father to my son.

What did it take for me to get to my second life?
It took me to truly understand what fear is.

Read an Excerpt

How does a second life differ from a first? My story of reaching the second will demonstrate it perfectly for those languishing in the latter. I guarantee the perception of your life will never be the same after reading about it.

What did it take for me to get to a second life?

Was it an occasion of cheating death? Was it multiple occasions of evading the grim reaper? Was it being arrested and thrown in jail for no reason?

Perhaps a better question might be. How much do I love my child? What am I willing to go through to be in my child’s only life?

Until recently, I had never even heard of this saying by Confucius. But, when a person sees something that resonates with a chord in their heart, they feel it.

I felt it like an earthquake.

Before then, I had never given thought to who I might have ever met that I would consider was living a second life.

Yet this would seem to be our very point of being.

While there have been many occasions in my existence when I have felt like the world is against me. The true nature of life often seems a cruel device. Callous. Savagely unforgiving. And the puppeteer of fate in control of all our lives does not seem to care that we do not want it to be this way.

How many people would admit that they are suffering during their first life?

Rhetorical question.

We all are. Some more than others. But we all are.

Not surprisingly then, that humanity thrives on the ever-unfolding tragedies around us. The devastation of the tsunami in Thailand. The OJ Simpson trial. World War Two concentration camps. The collective work of The Cure and The Smiths.

If it bleeds, it leads.

This is what people want to see.

But the hordes in their first life are primarily concerned with the suffering of the mighty.

However, many of us are not mighty.

Most of us are ordinary.

And the suffering in our first life is done in silence.

About the Author:

Simon Yeats has lived nine lives, and by all estimations, is fast running out of the number he has left. His life of globetrotting the globe was not the one he expected to lead. He grew up a quiet, shy boy teased by other kids on the playgrounds for his red hair. But he developed a keen wit and sense of humor to always see the funnier side of life.

With an overwhelming love of travel, a propensity to find trouble where there was none, and being a passionate advocate of mental health, Simon’s stories will leave a reader either rolling on the floor in tears of laughter, or breathing deeply that the adventures he has led were survived.

No author has laughed longer or cried with less restraint at the travails of life.


Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CBNQLSPW/about
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authoryeats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoryeats

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/My-SECOND-Life-Simon-Yeats-ebook/dp/B0CB4LCCPN/ref=sr_1_1

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Playtime Clothes Kim MacLean

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kim MacLean will award a randomly drawn winner a $15 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The young boy's room is an undeniable mess. Did he actually clean his room, as he is telling his mom? Or do his clothes come to life and play?! They are, after all, playtime clothes. Is he learning a lesson to tell the truth and be accountable, as we all do in life? Or is it a world of make believe? It is for you to enjoy while you decide.

About the Author: Kim MacLean was inspired to be creative while she and her little girls made their own fun inside their home on long, cold winter days. Her girls sat for hours painting and gluing crafts into works of art on paper. Oh, the rows and rows of finished masterpieces drying on the floor while Kim sat and wrote! And there were the hundreds of books that they read and enjoyed together that further inspired creativity and an adult love of children's books!

Tia Bates is an artist, illustrator, and storyteller from London, Ontario. She is inspired by the beautiful illustrations she grew up looking at in children's books just like Playtime Clothes, the first children's book she has illustrated! Currently pursuing a master's degree in fine art, Tia's personal artwork is all about the stories we tell.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/0228883547
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playtime-clothes-kim-maclean/1143163085
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Playtime-Clothes-Kim-Maclean/9780228883548

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ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE, ICONIC AND KINETIC MAPS OF AUSTRALIA IN THE WORLD by Jose Tugaff Amoloria & Lourdes Villena Amoloria

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Dream without fear. When dreams are nourished with faith and actions, dreams bloom into realities.

Jose, a self-taught artist, had no formal training in art, no scholastic qualifications and had very challenging life experiences as an international sailor, chef, watchmaker and stone mason. How can one be multi-skilled and pass international standards without proper educational training?

This book will make you rethink how adversity, grief and loss can cause so much pain, and yet these life challenges can facilitate creativity, and be transformed into gifts and blessings for a meaningful and productive existence.

Get inspired by faith and determination that changed the course of life, and be entertained by the unconventional ways Jose educated and equipped himself with skills to achieve dreams and goals. The one-of-a-kind masterpieces in this book and Jose's life are testimonials that creativity can really transform lives. Miracles do happen, and anyone can manifest miracles if they sincerely believe in themselves and in the intervention of the unseen power of the Supreme Creator.

Read an Excerpt

Creativity means many things to many people, but the most common understanding is that creativity happens when someone creates something unique, new, artistic, beautiful and often valuable, an enhancer to our lives. No doubt, creativity is one great way to win in life’s arena of challenges.

The reality is people have different kinds of creativity, and children can be very creative as they do not know the limitations of their imagination. There are adults, too, who are determined to create what has never been done before, hence perhaps Einstein’s famous quote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there will be to know and understand.”

Jose’s creativity started to manifest when his father encouraged him to make his own toys out of some spare watch parts and other odd pieces he had kept. His school projects were also a great outlet for his growing creativity. Nonetheless, this creative influence almost got lost when he had to deal with his mom’s passing and pursue his own life travelling around the world as a sailor.

About the Authors:

Jose Tugaff Amoloria is a man of multi-talents and skills. He is a professional watchmaker who had mastered most phases of watches: mechanical, automatic, quartz technology and modern watches. He created one-of-a-kind kinetic masterpieces made of collectible time pieces and watch parts, enhanced with microlights. He became a chef, and was personally taught a French masterchef's family secret of French liquored ice cream.

Jose mastered stone masonry in record time. His experience in watch repair helped him to gain a feather touch to accomplish his masonry works. He is also an avid martial art practitioner of arnis, a Filipino martial art, and he is also a second-dan black belt in Karate, with a champion's trophy to prove it. With so many other skills and abilities, Jose thanks God for the gifts and talents given to him.

Email: jjamoloria@gmail.com

Lourdes Villena Amoloria is an Amazon international best-selling author for her book Kiss From an Angel: How to Turn Your Grief Into a Gift From Heaven, published in Sydney, Australia, 2014.

Lourdes holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from La Salle, Bacolod City, Philippines, with a post graduate in counselling from the Australian College of Applied Psychology in Sydney, Australia.

Lourdes is on a mission to help others find the gift behind their grief, help with mental health issues, and live more productive lives with faith, self-responsibility and love in action.

Email: lourdesvillenaamoloria@gmail.com

WEBSITE: https://lourdesvillenaamoloria.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/mylifemypricelessmasterpiece
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lourdes-villena-amoloria-b92025a2/?originalSubdomain=au
GOODREADS GIVEAWAY: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/388642-one-of-the-most-expensive-iconic-and-kinetic-maps-of-australia-in-the-w

PURCHASE LINKS AMAZON: https://amazon.com/dp/0228895901
WALMART: https://www.walmart.com/search?q=9780228895909
BOOKTOPIA: https://www.booktopia.com.au/search.ep?keywords=9780228895909
RAKUTEN KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/one-of-the-most-expensive-iconic-and-kinetic-maps-of-australia-in-the-world

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I THINK IT MIGHT RAIN by Rick Marchand

 

I THINK IT MIGHT RAIN

Rick Marchand

Illustrated by Nicole Herbut

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GENRE: Children's Fiction

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BLURB:

Meet Bartholomew, a curious, kind and sweet third grader. One day, Bartholomew wakes up and is convinced he sees a black cloud forming in the clear blue sky. "I think it might rain," he proclaims. But what happens when his family, friends, and classmates don't believe him? Will he be able to stand up to the bullies who call him names? Will he hold firm in his beliefs?

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EXCERPT:

As the sun beamed brightly through his bedroom window, Bartholomew pulled on his tee shirt – the one with his favourite Pokémon design. As his head popped out, he noticed a small black spot far in the distance. That doesn’t look good, he thought.

Grabbing quickly for his telescope, he pointed, focused the lens, and peered out through its long-extended tube to see just what the small black spot might be.

His imagination scaring him a little, he thought out loud: “Could be an assault helicopter? Maybe even a stealth bomber? Are we being attacked by aliens?”

Bartholomew raised the telescope. Refocusing the lens, he decided to have another look. What if it’s just one of those huge hot air balloons?

Straightening back up, scratching his head, a puzzled look now on his face, he thought, No way; I’ve never seen one of those around here.

Taking one last look, squinting as he focused out towards the black dot, “I GOT IT!!” he yelled out, loud and proud. “That’s a storm cloud and it’s heading our way. I think it might rain!!!”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Richard Marchand and Nicole Herbut are a father/daughter, grandfather/mother, author/illustrator team creating picture books for young boys and girls. Their stories centre on a young boy named Bartholomew and his family and friends. They are designed to convey a simple yet meaningful message that can help young children learn from and grow with. Rick's stories were developed with his own daughters who at a very young age wanted him to "read a story from his mouth" and not a book.

PURCHASE LINKS for I Think It Might Rain

AMAZON 

 INDIGO CHAPTERS 

 BARNES & NOBLE 

 BOOKTOPIA 

 GOODREADS GIVEAWAY Join Bartholomew's journey of belief and courage! Enter to win a e-copy of 'I Think It Might Rain'—a heartwarming tale of kindness overcoming doubt. 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

Rick Marchand will award a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via

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A Cure for Spring Fever by Barbara Robinson

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

For centuries, Gamekeepers have used their magical abilities to create a buffer between the creatures who dwell in the enchanted forest and the sleepy coastal town that sits in its shadow. When Gamekeeper Stan Ross’s magic begins to fail, he must find out what went wrong, then fix it before the two worlds collide. His hit or miss magic has already led to a few close calls so he journeys to the Sacred Isle searching for answers and advice. Finding a cure proves elusive—until Stan encounters a kitchen witch who captivates him body and soul. Lynnette Peters is healing from her own wounds, however, and it isn’t clear whether she’s ready to open herself to the possibility—or the peril—of love.

Read an Excerpt

“I’m not sick, sir” Stan answered, uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading. He swallowed, then cleared his throat. “I haven’t changed the way I cast a ward. My magic is elemental, so I rely on nature runes, overlaid with those representing broader concepts. I might choose an animal rune, or a rune representing a natural element. It depends on the creature I’m warding, and what its habits are. Once I have the base rune, I add on layers, and then finish it with something representing strength or luck. I guess I’m in a bit of a rut. My magic is feeling tired, lately. When it works, it doesn’t have the same staying power, and sometimes it just doesn’t work at all.”

Tapping his fingers on the desk, Covington regarded Stan with sympathy, then nodded. “You’re certainly not the first gamekeeper to hit a rut, and you won’t be the last. I think that a little bit of rest and relaxation is what’s needed here. I am going to suggest—no, I’m going to insist—that you take some time off and recharge your batteries. Meanwhile, I’ll give some thought to damage control."

Stan dipped his head in acknowledgment, but his posture was rigid as he exited the office. Finding his partner in the break room, Stan told him that Covington was taking him off the duty roster, and insisting he take some leave. “I don’t know, Owen” he said, picking dust off his sleeve and shaking his head. “I haven’t taken any vacation time in over a year, so maybe Covington has a point, but I feel like I’m more than just tired. I’m soul tired. I’m not sure that a week on my sofa with daytime TV and a tray of bonbons is going to fix anything.”

About the Author: Barbara Robinson is an author of contemporary and historical romance set against a backdrop of magical realism. She is a deep thinker and tea drinker who finds inspiration in myths and folktales, poems and ballads, and academic writing on a variety of subjects. Diagnosed with autism and giftedness as an adult, she enjoys exploring themes of neurodiversity and opposing character perspectives in her writing.

She is an avid gardener and lover of nature who works out plot lines and character sketches while nurturing her garden, walking in the woods, or sitting by the shoreline watching waves. She is known for world building that features rich and immersive detail, supported by meticulous research and careful observation.

Barbara lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the shadow of ancient mountains that lie along the Bay of Fundy coast. These rugged vistas shape her story settings, while providing the perfect backdrop for life with her husband, her hounds and her dragon (Pogona Vitticeps). She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of King’s College and a Master of Arts at Dalhousie University, and she recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from the Humber School for Writers (Humber College, Toronto).

Website: https://www.barbararobinsonauthor.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraRobinsonWrites/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Fever-Jelly-Beans-Things-ebook/dp/B0CVHHR5ND/ref=sr_1_1

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