Guest Author: Rabbi Yitz Wyne

Life is Great…Let me Prove it to You!
By: Rabbi Yitz Wyne 


Happiness is that feeling you get when you appreciate that life is good. It is not a selfish or trivial pursuit—it is a very important issue.Living joyfully is very attainable. All people need is the right combination of wisdom and skills in order to do this. 


My first book, Life Is Great! Revealing the 7 Secrets of a More Joyful You!, was written for the happy and the soon-to-be happier with the firm belief that everyone benefits from living a more joyful life. 


Specifically, I focus on:
• Learning to choose to live with more joy
• Appreciating each moment as it occurs and savoring every blessing that comes to you
• Beginningto feel more optimistic and living with a true and lasting positive attitude
• Discovering greater meaning and purpose in your life and enhancing your passion for living


The goals of the book are simple:
• Developing a more positive self-esteem and build genuine self-confidence, 
• Improving your relationships and strengthening your powers of reasoning, 
• Having the determination and enthusiasm to pursue and accomplish meaningful goals.

This book will teach each person how to become happier and will empower him or her to make the lives of others better as well. It will help people unlock the chains that are holding them back from happier, productive lives.


I believe this book will resonate with people for different reasons at different times.  Therefore, it is important to read the book in its entirety and live with the information for a while.  When you go back to the book again, simply open to a page and start reading from there.  The content will mean something different this time through.


While the book is not focused on religion, one of the most important roles I have as a congregational Rabbi is to be available and present for the members of my congregation – I took a lot of inspiration from these people and poured it into the book. Every day I encounter people who need encouragement and a little wisdom from the ages to help reset their life’s course a bit.  


Sometimes that means listening as they share with me something meaningful to them, sometimes it means offering advice on things such as family matters, and other times it is simply smiling and saying hello when they come to services on Shabbat.  Helping people see the meaning in their life’s challenges and motivating them to take advantage of potential opportunities is a daily activity for me.


The book is dedicated to one of my ultimate passions – my wife and our six children, of whom I am eternally proud. 


For more information, to read excerpts from the book, or to purchase the book, please click here. 


Rabbi Yitz Wyne is a first-time author as well as host of Las Vegas’ most listened to weekend radio show, “The Rabbi Show™” broadcasted and streamed live Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on 720 AM KDWN. He is an ordained Orthodox Rabbi as well as founder and spiritual leader of Young Israel Aish synagogue in Las Vegas and Las Vegas’Joyful Living Club. 

Book Giveaway: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

About the book:


In a sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches became the "it" book of early 2011, bringing Deborah Harkness into the spotlight and galvanizing fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar's depth to this riveting story of magic and suspense.

PARANORMAL ROMANCE GIVEAWAY!!!!

Penguin is giving away a paperback copy of A Discovery of Witches. This giveaway is open to readers and bloggers from the US and Canada, and must be 18 years old and above.
  
To join the giveaway, just follow Bookingly Yours (book review 5-star), leave a comment with your email or comment and email me at kaori.books@gmail.com with the subject "Deborah Harkness giveaway". This give away will end on February 13 and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter. 


Goodluck!!

Guest Author: Richard Shiver

Characters & Conflict.


Think back to the last book you read. Can you remember the names of the main characters? If so take a moment to think about what their biggest conflict was during the course of the story.  If you’re able to do so the writer knew what they needed to do to create a believable character. 


As living, breathing, human beings we all face some level of conflict on a daily basis. Be it with our social or physical world, in personal relationships, or with our own nature. Our conflicts can involve a boss or coworker we’d rather not have to face, a lover, or even our emotions and desires. 


Without the character there can be no conflict, and without conflict there is no story. All you’re left with is a dry inventory of the elements of the set upon which the character is destined to live. There is nothing present for the reader to become emotionally invested in. 


That is the job of the writer. To get the reader emotionally invested in the story. 

The description of a man walking down the street gives a reader nothing to attach any significance to. No matter how brilliant the prose, nor how witty the metaphors; it’s still just a guy walking down the street. An event forgotten by the reader as soon as the passage passes from the page. But if while the man is walking he is fighting with himself over his feelings for a certain other character in the tale, conflict has been introduced. Will this other character feel the same way as he? What will happen if they don’t? And the potential for more conflict grows. From this conflict the true depth of the character emerges . 


In Shadows of the Past I delve into the internal conflicts of two men on opposite sides of the battle between good and evil. Jack Griffith can not escape the memories of the day, as a young man in Southeast Asia, that he walked hand in hand with an ancient evil residing in the depths of his soul. Nor can Sam Hardin put to rest the promises of what could have been had it not been for a weakness that brought about the untimely death of his wife. Struggling with these internal conflicts they are thrust into the ongoing battle between good and evil.

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches

Author: Deborah Harkness
Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (December 27, 2011)
Amazon Link

Note: I received this book free from the publiser, Penguin (Non-Classics). The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

The book tells the story of Diana Bishop, a daughter of two powerful witches. Her parents were murdered by humans and because of this, she is reluctant to use her witch power. When she accidentally discovers an old magical manuscript, every creature in the city came stalking her. They all want to have this magical manuscript and they would kill Diana if they have to. 

When Matthew Clairmont hears that the long-lost magical manuscript is found by a witch, he starts stalking her too. He befriends Diana with the intention of stealing the manuscript from her. After a few days with Diana, he develops an unwanted attraction, he accidentally falls in love with her and that is forbidden. A vampire cannot mate with a witch, or else they will be destroyed!

I loved this book! A very long book, 592 pages but I finished reading this in just three days! The author wove a great story of witches, vampires, demons, and other supernatural creatures. The story is captivating and full of emotions. I laughed and cried with Matthew and Diana, oh their forbidden love affair. I loved Matthew's mother Ysabeau and her companion Marthe. Oh I love almost all the characters and the story setting...

This is the first volume for the All Souls Trilogy and I can't wait to read the second book, Shadow of the Night which will be released on July 10, 2012. This is highly-recommended for lovers of paranormal-romance.

About the book:

In a sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches became the "it" book of early 2011, bringing Deborah Harkness into the spotlight and galvanizing fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar's depth to this riveting story of magic and suspense

About the author:

Deborah Harkness is a professor of history at the University of Southern California. She has received Fullbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships, and her most recent scholarly work is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She also writes an award-winning wine blog.

Guest Author: Fernando E. Sobenes Buitron

4

I wrote “The Evil Visitor” in 2009 with the idea of creating a book that would be different from those that we who are accustomed to reading. I wanted to create a story that take the reader into a kind of roller coaster, ascending and descending between terror; suspense, drama and mystery. I tried my book had the necessary action and realism (despite being supernatural terror) to wrap the reader in its content.  


There are some parts in my book where I try to tell in a very detailed way the dangers and fears that its characters live. This led me to visit places like: forests, churches and cemeteries and I even had to lay down on a tomb to try listening to the sounds that you can perceive in these places and to try to transmit them to the readers. My military and police experience helped me to be able to complement my novel which I hope to reach many readers. 


Here is the synopsis:


Northern Kuwait 1991 during the Persian Gulf War.  Peter Donovan, lieutenant in the US Army, commanding a group of soldiers; walks into an ambush in the Iraqi desert and as a result a massacre occurs.  There he finds an amulet that he puts in his pocket without knowing that it contains a hidden power; and because of it, has his first terrifying encounter in a grave underneath the sands of the desert with an evil being that takes him to death's door.

Several years pass after these events and Peter, after leaving the Army, moves to a place in the United States where he settles down, gets married and begins a family.  It's beautiful place where people live happily far from the stress of the big city.  Others that live there also enjoy the pleasant climate, tranquility and beauty of the place with its lake and wonderful forest.


Peter serves as the town sheriff and gets together on the weekends with some other families.  Their lives continue with peace and happiness until the day when they play with the Ouija Board, using the amulet that Peter brought from the Iraqi desert.  They unintentionally open the door for evil to enter their lives; destroying them, sowing fear and death.  Paranormal phenomena, blood-curdling demon possessions and tragic deaths create a climate of suspense and terror in this work.


This novel deals with the matter of the fight between good and evil.  One of the protagonists, Father Josh Carter, fights again his principles and everything he learned in seminary when he realizes that the Church contradicts itself and doesn't comply with its own precepts.  He begins to doubt his faith and his religious superiors and proves to his dismay that he has been deceived, which tears him apart emotionally.


The work also deals with the theme of exorcism and the vision that the Church has towards it, and the manipulation that occurs in these situations.  Problems of a mental nature are conveniently used as methods of propaganda and to control the faithful.  This novel immediately grabs the read and is geared towards adult readers, people who enjoy emotions that are strong and that make them identify with the characters their lives, fears, loves, and sufferings.  It is a lively, emotional novel, full of suspense.


You can read the prologue and the first three chapters of my novel on mi blog:
http://elvisitantemaligno.blogspot.com/p/evil-visitor.html 

I want to thank to Jenai for giving me the opportunity to publicize my work. 
Best regards…

In My Mailbox

IMM (In My Mailbox) is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristi at The Story Siren. 

This is a way to share books we received for review, bought, and borrowed from friends or library.

Received for review

In one of the most heartbreaking times in American history, a Southern preacher's daughter makes a tragic error that pits her against the very people she loves most.

It's the spring of 1861 on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Although Amanda Belle never thought she would marry, her attraction to Captain Kent Littlefield is undeniable.

When Texas secedes from the Union, her brother Daniel marches off to war to fight for the Confederate States and Kent remains with the Union troops.

Her heart is torn between the two men she loves and the two sides of the conflict. When she turns to God for help, Amanda expects direction and support, but hears nothing. Is God listening to her anymore? Does He not care about the atrocities of war-and whose side is He on?

The war is dragging on for much longer than expected, and Amanda struggles between the opposing philosophies of slavery. But after the death of her pastor father, she learns some hard truths about love, the human condition, and God's role in her life.

Amanda must trust God to bring her family through the chaos that threatens her home, her family, and the beloved state of Texas.

Niki Turner has finally arrived. Her career as a Software Engineer is soaring—she has just been offered the company’s most sought after account, Helitronics. Life would be perfect, if she could stop her roommate from playing matchmaker.

Then Kyle Jacobs mysteriously re-enters her life. As painful memories resurface, his presence turns her life upside down and threatens to waylay her career. She must find a way to work with him—after all, he’s the helicopter flight consultant for the new flight control system she’s coding.

Can she forget the past and see him as the new man he has become? Or will her resentment keep her from finding what she has always been searching for?

Timeout! To Retreat Review & Renew A practical 3-Step Strategy To Advance Your Life, Relationships & Businesses "THE playbook for happily-ever-after!" Timeout! To Retreat, Review & Renew was created, in part, at the request of family, friends, and colleagues who have observed and been curious about our personal annual timeout as a couple: the time we set aside each year from our daily routine to focus on our personal and professional relationships-with each other, and the world to which we are both individually connected. Our annual timeout has provided the "breather" for us to re-couple and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose, respect and joy-together. TIMEOUT! To Retreat, Review & Renew is about the insights and practices we've gained and developed along the way. It's also about defying the odds when it comes to melding families, businesses and strong-willed personalities...like us, and maybe, like you! These techniques have assisted us in creating a richer, happier, and more playful life together and we hope they'll add richness to your life too. TIMEOUT! A 3-Step Success Strategy Retreat... Slow down the pace; Smile more; Stress less! Review... Assess goals and challenges; Dream big; Reflect on possibilities! Renew... Map out the Bliss; Plan for prosperity; Celebrate your union! 

For more info: Timeout@RetreatReviewRenew.com

Guest Author: Robert R.

I wrote 180 Degrees because a friend convinced me it was my duty to tell my story; and by doing so could save a life.  I went from being a daily-using drug addict and occasional ‘big shot’ dealer to, eventually, a homeless junkie living on the streets. Today I am a completely sober, self-reliant, self-employed husband, father, and self-made millionaire.


I have realized after a long time that sharing my story is in fact a great way to share my lesson’s learned. For years I hadn’t even considered writing an autobiography and it wasn’t until an acquaintance of mine turned on the light bulb one day by reminding me that a book like this would not be for me, rather it would be to help the millions of people that are struggling with the nightmare of addiction.


It has been emotionally moving hearing and seeing the number of lives, and the variety of circumstances of those lives, that have received inspiration from my book. Even people who don't come from a history of abuse or addiction have found inspiration my story.


I realize that through the severe hardships I endured, I can help other people through theirs.

180 Degrees has been out for three years or so now and is currently available on Kindle for only $3.99. The book is also available on my website and Amazon. Be sure to check out the 180 Degrees website (http://www.the180blog.com/), it includes behind the scenes views and helpful resources.


I hope you enjoy reading 180 Degrees!


http://www.facebook.com/180Degrees
http://twitter.com/#!/180DegreesBook

Book Review: Catch and Release by James Twerell

Catch and Release


Author: James Twerell
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Living Word Publications, Inc (November 12, 2011)
Amazon Link




Note: I received this book free from the author, James Twerell. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.




Ratings:


★ ★ ★ 


My thoughts:


The book started out strong. I read more than a hundred pages in one sitting. I was instantly hooked when both the main characters, Jennifer Blade aka J and Steve Sanders were introduced. However somewhere along the middle, I realized I was having a hard time understanding the story. The sudden shifts in POV (first person by Steve Sanders and then third person by Jennifer Blade) had me skimming the rest of the story. There was even one scene in the story that was told twice but different POV (meeting with Junior in the parking lot). I had to flip back the pages to absorb everything.


I didn't have any problem with the action and suspense, it was well-written. Yes, I was skimming but I liked the action in the story. Reading this book reminds of my favorite action TV series, Alias. I was also thinking of Jennifer Garner as Jennifer Blade. Overall, I thought the story would have been great if the author just wrote it with one POV.


About the book:


A botched drug raid took her father’s life when she was 7. On her 13th birthday she witnessed her mother’s murder. Alone in the world, Jennifer Blade sets out to even the score. At 33, enmeshed in a game that knows no rules, she is about to fulfill her quest when everything unravels. Fleeing for her life, she heads to the mountains of upstate New York, where she unexpectedly finds new reason to live. Steve Sanders, a 38-year-old psychologist with a predictable life, is on a fishing trip in the mountains. Little does he know that all vacations are not created equal. Within 24 hours, they catch a few trout, have a passionate affair, shoot and kill a man, are involved in two gun battles, receive wounds, and end up in Miami, Florida. All this, and as Steve says, they still have six days of vacation left. Their relationship touches long-buried feelings in Jennifer, and shatters the mundane existence suffocating Steve. Catch and Release, a romance/suspense novel, is the story of two lives from vastly different backgrounds, drawn together by fate and a common love of the great outdoors. The crossing of Jennifer’s and Steve’s paths releases an explosion of love, passion, adventure, and ultimately a reason for a shared journey.


About the author:

Dr. James Twerell is a practicing psychotherapist in New York City. Out of his years of personal experience in psychology and spiritual growth, he has created the stories of the journeys of Domatarious, a messenger from the God of the Universe and published them in his two books "I am Adam" and "The Light and the Shadow" Writers Digest states "Twerell's presentation is beautifully written and believable with a tone and pace that are consistent."

He is also author of the new and intriguing book "Signal 30" which won the Readers View Reviewers Choice Award for 2011. It is a story of a insane bomber and the police hunt to find him. This new book begins a series of stories that are mysteries with a romantic twist, but with a tone of adventure that will captivate the reader.

The second book in this venue is called "Catch and Release" a new romance/suspense novel about two lives from vastly different backgrounds who are drawn together by fate, causing an explosion of love, passion, adventure, and ultimately a reason for a shared journey. Within 24 hours, they meet on vacation, have a passionate affair, shoot and kill a man, are involved in two gun battles, receive wounds and end up in Miami. This is only the beginning. An avid boating enthusiast, J. T. Twerell and his wife Janetta live in Long Island New York and Sarasota Florida.

Web site: www.JTTwerell.com.
Email address: NYCCC1@AOL.COM

Guest Author: Terry J. Newman

Greetings from across the pond!
My name is Terry J. Newman, and I'm based in Sussex, England. 
Drayling is my first novel.


It sprang from an idea that's been buzzing around in my head for years. So long, in fact, that I can't actually remember where it came from in the first place.


It's speculative fiction/sci-fi. At least, that's the shelf it's on in the stores - although I prefer to say that it's "futuristic drama", because it just happens to take place in the future. Obviously, it does refer to things that haven't been invented yet, but it doesn't have any spaceships or little green men. One lady commented on one of the websites that she "doesn't like science fiction, but loved Drayling" - which I guess kind of makes my point.


The small district of Drayling, in Southern 25th Century Britain, is typical of communities throughout the country, and its citizens live in harmony and contentment.


Following the death of the head of the national government, however, there is a significant shift in approach - which forces a small group of ordinary people to conclude that they have no alternative but to take radical action to protect their way of life. This is their story.


Not wishing to spoil the read, suffice to say that this is a different kind of "science fiction" book - for the intelligent reader.

To quote from the back-cover synopsis, "Reality collides with fantasy and philosophy as they embark on a mission of suspense, danger, deceit and death - with far-reaching ramifications."


The brief "bio" at the end of the book reads, "The author lives with his wife in Sussex. He is a member of English Heritage, The National Trust, Brighton & Hove Albion Supporters' Club and Mensa."


Prior to Drayling, my published work has been restricted to a few poems and short stories in anthologies and stuff like that. Amongst other stuff, I write topical doggerel for fun. In the same way as cartoonists lampoon topical events in the press, I like to comment on them in rhyme. (But I do get angry when I see doggerel that doesn't scan properly - which is often - so I'm quite hot on that.) Here are a couple of examples from recent years:


Kirsk
We watch as Russia's stricken sub
runs slowly out of air.
It seems there's no priority
to get them out of there.


The outcome, as expected,
is the loss of all the men.
They cared more for their country
than their country did for them.


New Arrival
Hello, my name is VCR -
I'm very sad today.
My mummy's bought a DVD,
so I'll be sent away.
They've taken out my scart and lead,
and placed them on the floor.
Expect I'll die of broken heart -
not needed any more.
But wait, she's set the cable so
he's one end, I'm the other.
My mummy says she loves us both -
I've got a little brother.


I hope you'll read Drayling - and I hope you'll enjoy it.
Have a happy 2012.
Terry J. Newman

Movie Trailer: Underworld Awakening

Underworld Awakening
Release Date: 20 January 2012




 

Mega Book Tour and Giveaways: The Last Station by Jon Reisfield and Mad Gods by Athanasios

About the book:

On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler, one of the most notorious mass-murderers in history, retired to his room in his bunker, 25 feet beneath the old Reich Chancery garden. Above him, the Red Army was encircling Berlin as his dream of a thousand-year Aryan empire lay in ruins. Hitler placed a glass cyanide capsule between his teeth and pointed a loaded service pistol at his right temple. Then, smugly believing he had both evaded capture and escaped all accountability for his crimes, he bit down and pulled the trigger. He was wrong! The Last Way Station begins moments after Hitler’s successful suicide, when the Führer finds himself mysteriously transported to a numbingly cold, solitary holding cell in the afterworld. There, he meets his caseworker, a supernatural being tasked with helping him face, and work through, his sins. The caseworker explains that Hitler will remain in solitary confinement indefinitely, as he prepares his soul for eventual return to the material world. The method, Hitler learns, involves seeking enlightenment through physically embodying his victims and then personally reliving the atrocities committed against them in his name. This speculative, historical fantasy narrative explores Hitler’s psychology, the psychology of evil and asks, ‘What, if anything, constitutes fitting punishment for the ‘super evil?’'

Bookingly Yours 5-star book review read HERE


About the author:

Jon Reisfield
A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Jon Reisfeld has worked, most of his adult life, as a writer and marketer. He has more than 25 years combined experience in journalism, corporate communications, advertising and marketing. At 23, Jon became the first writer ever to have a story start on the cover of Baltimore Magazine. (It was a piece about teenage suicide.) He later founded and published Housecalls, a Baltimore-based health-and-fitness magazine. In the mid 90s, Jon served as Director of Marketing and Communications for Duron Paints and Wallcoverings. He ran the half-billion dollar regional paint company's 12-person in-house advertising agency for several years before returning to his private marketing consulting practice. Jon's eclectic interests run the gamut from cosmology, chaos theory, technology and sci-fi to social issues, politics, the economy, anthropology, marketing and writing. He began writing fiction in his 40s and enjoys reading, walking, cycling, attending the theatre and "most" new movie openings. His next major fiction project will be a sci-fi trilogy set on earth and spanning "several hundred years" of human history.

About the book:
Mad Gods: Revelation Cancelled? (Predatory Ethics)


An immortal Byzantine king discovers and kidnaps the young Anti-Christ, in a desperate effort to save him, and the world, from his dark destiny. Now, he and the boy live on the run, and under constant threat, as they repeatedly attempt to out smart and out maneuver the servants of good and evil who pursue them. 

About the author:

Athanasios Galanis
Athanasios, a Montreal-based graphic/video artist, illustrator & writer, works in dvd production & film during the day -- and moonlights as a novelist at night. He has spent the past 10 years researching and crafting Mad Gods: weaving in factual & rumored history. Athanasios has a life-long fascination with religions, which has led him to study a bewildering array of beliefs: Paganism, wicca, judaism, christianity, islam, hinduism, buddhism, shintoism, luciferianism and much more. Out of his relentless pursuit of this interest sprang "Mad Gods." When he isn't delving into spiritualism and the occult, Athanasios pursues more pedestrian interests: His love of film, television and books. He won't touch video games, he says, for the same reason that he won't bring his favorite booze into the house: Once there, he would not be able to leave either one alone. For a while, Athanasios became obsessed with World of Warcraft, but he eventually gave it up for a deeper, and more compelling one: Mad Gods.

GIVEAWAYSGIVEAWAYSGIVEAWAYS

Jon Reisfield is giving away two copies (e-book and paperback) of THE LAST WAY STATION. One of the winners will also get a signed paperback copy of the book MAD GODS by Athanasios. 

This giveaway is open to readers and bloggers from the US, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia, and must be 18 years old and above.

To enter the giveaways, follow me, leave a comment with your email or comment and email me at kaori.books@gmail.com with the subject "Jon Reisfield/Athanasios giveaways". If you post this on your Facebook page, you will get an extra point for the giveaway. Link to FB post must be included in the comment section.

This give away will end on February 5 and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter.

Goodluck!!

Blog Tour/Book Review: The Last Way Station: Hitler's Final Journey by Jon Reisfield

The Last Way Station: Hitler's Final Journey


Author: Jon Reisfield
Paperback: 74 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (November 14, 2011)
Amazon Link


Note: I received this book free from the author, Jon Reisfield. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.


Ratings:


★ ★ ★ ★ ★  


My thoughts:


This is a very short book, only 74 pages. I finished reading this in less than an hour BUT the story is still fresh in my mind even after a week! In this book, the author wrote Hitler's story after committing suicide. Where is he now? I can't forget what Hitler did to the Jews. I even had to research on the Holocaust because I wanted to know everything about it. I hate reading things like this but I felt I had to know. 


I highly recommend this book to all readers and book bloggers. When you are done reading this book, I guarantee you will appreciate life.  


About the book:



On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler, one of the most notorious mass-murderers in history, retired to his room in his bunker, 25 feet beneath the old Reich Chancery garden. Above him, the Red Army was encircling Berlin as his dream of a thousand-year Aryan empire lay in ruins. Hitler placed a glass cyanide capsule between his teeth and pointed a loaded service pistol at his right temple. Then, smugly believing he had both evaded capture and escaped all accountability for his crimes, he bit down and pulled the trigger. He was wrong! The Last Way Station begins moments after Hitler’s successful suicide, when the Führer finds himself mysteriously transported to a numbingly cold, solitary holding cell in the afterworld. There, he meets his caseworker, a supernatural being tasked with helping him face, and work through, his sins. The caseworker explains that Hitler will remain in solitary confinement indefinitely, as he prepares his soul for eventual return to the material world. The method, Hitler learns, involves seeking enlightenment through physically embodying his victims and then personally reliving the atrocities committed against them in his name. This speculative, historical fantasy narrative explores Hitler’s psychology, the psychology of evil and asks, ‘What, if anything, constitutes fitting punishment for the ‘super evil?’'

About the author:

A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Jon Reisfeld has worked, most of his adult life, as a writer and marketer. He has more than 25 years combined experience in journalism, corporate communications, advertising and marketing. At 23, Jon became the first writer ever to have a story start on the cover of Baltimore Magazine. (It was a piece about teenage suicide.) He later founded and published Housecalls, a Baltimore-based health-and-fitness magazine. In the mid 90s, Jon served as Director of Marketing and Communications for Duron Paints and Wallcoverings. He ran the half-billion dollar regional paint company's 12-person in-house advertising agency for several years before returning to his private marketing consulting practice. Jon's eclectic interests run the gamut from cosmology, chaos theory, technology and sci-fi to social issues, politics, the economy, anthropology, marketing and writing. He began writing fiction in his 40s and enjoys reading, walking, cycling, attending the theatre and "most" new movie openings. His next major fiction project will be a sci-fi trilogy set on earth and spanning "several hundred years" of human history.

Guest Author: Jeanette Lynn DePatie

It’s that time of year again.  It’s the time of year when holiday joy (and stress) morph into guilt and self-hatred.  It’s when the world makes the Big Shift (or B.S for short) from Norman Rockwell holiday pictures and mass over-consumption to admonishment over holiday pounds and the overarching need for a “whole new you”.  It’s the time of year that we hop on to the Big Fat Cycle.

I’m talking about the diet/exercise/binge cycle. Otherwise known as the fat panic / wild activity / fantasy thinking / huge disappointment / give up and eat two Big Macs at once cycle.  Does this sound familiar to you:

1)  PANIC—Oh my God, I’m so fat.  The doctor / my mom / my husband / my agent / my psychic says I need to lose weight right away.  I look awful.  I might die tomorrow.  I have to lose like 100 pounds, NOW!  Maybe if I sever a limb I can lose like 10 pounds in one week.

2) FANTASY--If I just eat healthy at every meal / eat cabbage soup at every meal / totally cut out carbohydrates or red meat / exercise for an hour every day, I’ll lose a lot of weight.  Maybe I’ll only lose the 2 pounds per week that is recommended or maybe a little more.  Then if I just do that for the rest of my life, I can be a size four and life will be wonderful and perfect in every way.

3)  DEFEAT—Oh, well it’s week four and I only lost half a pound.  This is never going to happen.  I don’t look like Angelina Jolie.  I don’t even look like Angela Landsbury.  I give up.  I might as well have a cookie, or a dozen.  I haven’t had a cookie in a month and look at me.  I look the same as when I started.  I want a  COOKIE.  No, wait, I WANT A LOT OF COOKIES.  I may gain weight, but so what? I don’t care…

4)  SHAME—Oh my God.  Not only am I fat, but also I’m hopeless.  How could anybody possibly love me?  How could I even possibly love me?

5) RETURN TO STEP 1.  Rinse and repeat.

How many times have you gone around this little circle?  A dozen times?  A hundred?  Every New Year’s Day since you were twelve?  Many of us have been on this vicious little cycle for our entire lives.  And you know what?  It’s not good.  It leads to frustration, disappointment and often to weight GAIN.  But there is an alternative.  You can choose to love yourself the way you are and take positive steps towards better health without hopping on the Big Fat Cycle.  One of the most positive steps you can take is to focus on fitness.  Exercise has the power to change your life for the better.  It normalizes blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, lessens depression, improves immune function, helps you sleep better and even have better sex.  And you can enjoy these health benefits regardless of whether or not you lose weight.  But if you want to enjoy the long-term benefits of exercise, you have to STAY exercising.  And in order to stay exercising, you need to work out in a safe, easy and FUN way that keeps you excited about fitness and keeps you from getting hurt.  And you need to do this in a way that is about loving and honoring your body and not hating it.  Ready to go?  

You can learn more in my book: The Fat Chick Works Out (Fitness that’s Fun and Feasible for Folks of all Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities) or on my website www.thefatchick.com.  Here’s to you very best new year ever.

Jeanette is a plus-sized certified fitness instructor, author and speaker. She helps people around the world learn to love exercise and love their bodies once again. Jeanette’s work has been featured on CBS News, Fox News, Extra as well as in The Boston Globe and the New York Times. To learn more about integrating healthy, safe and fun fitness into your life and to get your free copy of The Fat Chick’s Fitness Tracker click HERE.  Jeanette’s books and DVDs are available at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.com.