Phoenix Entertainment and Development

Phoenix Entertainment and Development

Friday, May 29, 2015

The Writers Revolution Update




I wanted to give everyone a brief update about The Writers Revolution. We will be on hiatus for the next few weeks, and for good reason. I will be taking some time for last minute preparations and celebrations as I will be getting married next Saturday June 6th.


The Writers Revolution will return Friday June 19th.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Book Review: The Prison Trilogy: Observer By Glen Aaron

 
 
 
 
 





Glen writes both fiction and nonfiction from his forty-year career and experience as a trial lawyer and consultant in international business and banking.

His nonfiction work as the observer in The Prison Trilogy tells the tales in chronological order of how he came to be a lawyer for a Wall Street Journal heiress and her gay husband and how that representation landed him in federal prison. That is the first in The Trilogy. The second book tells the story of his cell mate, Colonel George Trofimoff, serving life for spying for the KGB, and the final book of The Trilogy describes the prisoners, Glen's experiences and takes a hard look at the American criminal justice system.


Author Links:

http://www.glenaaron.com/


http://www.prisonobserver.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorGlenAaron

Twitter: twitter.com/OBSERVERauthor

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/observerauthor/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/glen-aaron/16/77/566/en

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/glenaaron 

Amazon:  www.amazon.com/Glen-Aaron/e/B00936UFS4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427123445&sr=8-1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/aaron



Book genre: Biography of Wall Street Journal heiress; nonfiction intrigue and crime

Publisher: Glen Aaron using Create Space

Release date: April 1

Buy link: Amazon.com



Book description: 

When Jackie Bancroft's husband died in 1952, he left her an heiress to the income and value of The Wall Street Journal and one of the wealthier women in America. Almost 50 years later, Jackie would mary Ronnie Lee Morgan, a 50 – year old gay interior decorator. Morgan was one of many clients in the active law practice of author Glen Aaron. This unusual marriage lasted until Jackie's mysterious death five years later. Throughout that period, Aaron became entwined in the personal lives and demands of the couple, along with handling many of their legal affairs. The huge money and property distributions made by Jackie to her husband, designed and handled by Aaron, resulted in a two – year federal prison sentence for Aaron. The first book in the Prison Trilogy is this story.




 




Excerpt One:

Ron Morgan always knew what he wanted – – to be rich and beautiful, to live in the places you see in Architectural Digest.
He knew certain things about the rich: that they were different, that they liked beautiful things, power, and influence, that, if they saw that another had something more beautiful or impressive, they had to have it, too. He also knew that every rich person would take advantage of him if given the chance. So he devised ways to reverse this probability. While making it appear that they were getting a good deal, a special deal, he always made money.
Ron had developed his expertise in interior decorating over the course of many years. It took him even longer to perfect the personality that attracted and pleased wealthy clients. His involvement as an interior decorator for the wealthy, his intuitive knowledge of how to deal with them, was an evolution of fits and starts.
Although it didn't hurt that Ron was gay, in his early life he had had difficulty figuring that out. He tried a heterosexual marriage. It didn't work.
Then, in his 50th year, in the New Mexico mountain village of Ruidoso, Ron met Jackie Bancroft Spencer ("Jackie"), a wealthy Wall Street Journal heiress possessed of a unique personality. Jackie was building a stunning theater for the performing arts in Ruidoso, for which she would pay $23 million cash. At the same time, she was caring for her terminally – ill second husband, Dr. A.N ("A. N.") Spencer. Ron Morgan came to know Jackie by creating interior decor for her home, making suggestions regarding the theater, and in assisting with A. N.'s care during his final illness.
I was Ron Morgan's lawyer for many years. On numerous occasions, I defended lawsuits and negotiated a way out of touchy problems. Ultimately, I placed Ron in bankruptcy protection in El Paso, Texas. Not long after, he introduced me to Jackie. Through numerous golf games and dinners, I became fascinated with this lady, her history and that of the Bancroft's and their ownership of The Wall Street Journal.
Two years later, Ron, a 52 – year old gay man, and Jackie, a 72 – year old heterosexual heiress, decided to marry. At the time she met Ron, Jackie, was married to Dr. A.N. Spencer; it was her second marriage. She wanted to travel the world after AN's death, and she wanted Ron to travel with her. For his part, Ron had his own designs on what this should cost Jackie. Whether pressing for marriage was a manifestation of Ron's ulterior financial desires, or whether it was at Jackie's urging is unknown. What is known is that Jackie accepted, indeed, relished, the arrangement.
While the relationship was filled with intrigue, greed and Machiavellian manipulation from within and without, the ultimate mystery for me was the nature of Jackie's illness – – the illness that led to her death – – while she and Ron were on a world cruise. It was my task to get her off the ship in the middle of the Atlantic and arrange for medical care in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That would be my last service on her behalf.
I have always been an observer of people: what motivates them to do what they do, how they view their quality of life, why and how this plays out in relationships. This book has a dual purpose: to share my observations of Jackie and Ron's unusual relationship, and to share my experiences as Jackie's some time – confidante and as Ron's lawyer until Jackie's death. Ultimately, these experiences with my last client would change my life.


Review:
 
I thought this book had an intriguing premise and was quite satisfied with it. The author was descriptive which painted a nice picture for me to think of while reading. The plot hooked me from the beginning and I couldn't seem to get enough of it. I look forward to reading the second book in the series.
 






Schedule


May 17 - Introduction at VBT Café Blog
May 19 - Spotlight at 3 Partners In Shopping - Nana, Mommy & Sissy Too!
May 21 - Interviewed at Author CAMilson
May 21 - Spotlight at The Voluptuous Book Diva

May 22 - Guest Blogging at The Voluptuous Book Diva
May 26 - Review at The Writers Revolution
May 28 - 6 Besties at BK Walker Books

June 1 - Interviewed at Bikers With Books
June 3 - Spotlight at Jody's Book Reviews
June 6 - Reviewed at My Life, Loves and Passions
June 8 - Author 2 Author Marketing at BookIt BK
June 10 - Spotlight at Readsalot
June 12 - Interviewed at BK Walker Books Etc.
June 15 - Spotlight at eBook Review Gal
June 17 - Spotlight at My Book Tour
June 19 - Spotlight at Black Coffee, Brown Cow
June 22 - Interviewed at Ghost Rider Book Promotions
June 24 - Interviewed at Yah Did Radio 6:30pm EST
June 26 - 5 Things I Know For Sure at CAT Magazine
June 29 - Review & Interview at Deal Sharing Aunt
July 1 - Spotlight at Tea and Book
July 3 - Spotlight at Mass Musings
July 6 - Reviewed at BK Walker Books








Friday, May 22, 2015

Spotlight: Timeless Endings By Alexandra Forry

 
 
 



Author Bio: 


Alexandra Forry has an incredible talent for living vicariously through the colorful and intriguing escapades of her strong female characters and successful leading men. Her first book, “Omerta Affair,” based on the true story of mafia boss Tony Torino and his paramour Evelyn Rosenberg has recently been adapted and re-released as “Timeless Endings”–romance fiction. Her latest book, “Wildflower,” is an adventure in coming of age for both a young orphan and her repressed aunt who is trapped in a destructive marriage. It is a beautiful story of life, hope, growth, and triumph and deals with many of the traumas of youth, such as bullying.

Alexandra Forry is familiar with life’s challenges. She was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she lives with her loving grandparents. Alexandra has conquered the limitations of Cerebral Palsy to write exciting and engaging novels. She has completed a number of talks and internet book tours and is a member of the Las Vegas Romance Writers and RWA.

Author Links -






Book Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date: February 27, 2014




Book Description: 

Evelyn turned toward the lights of the city. The view was breathtaking as she stood looking down on Las Vegas, lovingly wrapped in Tony's arms. It was a moment she would keep deep in her heart, forever.
"Look at this-The City of Gold!" Evelyn exclaimed as Tony kissed her forehead.
"And it's all ours, Eve!"
Thus begins a heartwarming and harrowing tale of life and forbidden love lost to one generation and found in the next. Caught between a turbulent love triangle that shook the very foundations of the Mafia's Las Vegas Empire, and a deadly struggle for wealth and power, Mob Boss and "King of Las Vegas" Tony Torino, his mistress hustler and onetime showgirl Evelyn Rosenberg, and her husband top Chicago mobster Charlie "Gus" Rosenberg live and love in defiance of the violent and unforgiving laws of the Mafia. All that remains is Evelyn's carefully preserved diary left by Gus to be discovered by his daughter Adriane and Tony's son Victor as they pack up her late father's belongings. Through the vivid and brilliant use of flashbacks, juxtaposed with current events, we witness one of the most beautiful and ill-fated love stories of the last century. As Victor, a forest ranger who fled his family's Mob past, and Adriane, an attorney being pressured to work for the Mafia, read through the diary old hatreds and new alliances rise leaving us to wonder if history will repeat itself.



Excerpt:

"Adriane, look at what I found,” Victor said peering closely at the photo.
"What?" she said, walking over to him.
"It's a picture of your parents, my parents and two other couples sitting on the sofa at your old home. Hey, I remember taking this photo at a party!"
"Ah, it must have been taken before my mom went and slept with your dad," Adriane said, looking at the photo.
"Seems like your dad was trying to figure out what happened back in Las Vegas. What a coincidence this is. We were just talking about it!"
"Victor! It's a photo that my dad kept in his desk, nothing more!"
She rolled her eyes as Victor looked over at her and then down at the very bottom drawer of the desk. He bent down and pulled it open.
A look of astonishment crossed his face.
"Adriane, what if we have the story wrong about what happened in Vegas long ago?"
"Victor, did you forget? My dad told his side of the story to the person who wrote that sickening movie. My dad had no reason to lie about what happened!"
"If you say so, but I think that you need to take a look in this drawer."






Schedule


May 14 - Author Interview at Deal Sharing Aunt
May 18 - Spotlight at IndieWritersReview
May 20 - Spotlight at Jody's Book Reviews
May 22 - Spotlight at The Writers Revolution
May 25 - Interviewed at Bellevue Book Reviews
May 27 - Review & Interview at The Booksnake Etc.
May 27 - Guest Blogging at Lori's Reading Corner
May 29 - Spotlight at My Book Tour
June 1 - Reviewed at Dreams Come True Through Reading
June 3 - Spotlight at Books, Books The Magical Fruit
June 5 - Interviewed at Author CA Milson
June 5 - Guest Blogging at Infinite House Of Books
June 8 - Interviewed at My Life, Loves and Passions
June 10 - Interviewed at Bikers With Books
June 12 - 5 Things I Know For Sure at CAT Magazine
June 15 - Review & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Book Reviews
June 17 - Spotlight at Black Coffee, Brown Cow
June 19 - Guest Blogging at Ghost Rider Book Promotions
June 22 - XoXo Book Blog
June 24 - Interviewed at BK Walker Books Etc.
June 26 - Author 2 Author Marketing at BK Walkers Cafe
June 29 - 6 Besties at BK Walker Books









Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Book Tour: Taylor By Irish Winters

 
 



Irish Winters is an award-winning author who dabbles in poetry, grandchildren, and rarely (as in extremely rarely) the kitchen. More prone to be outdoors than in, she grew up the quintessential tomboy on a farm in rural Wisconsin, spent her teenage years in the Pacific Northwest, but calls the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah home. For now.
The wife of one handsome husband and mother of three perfect sons, Irish divides her time between writing at home, and travelling the country with her man while – writing. (Seriously, what else?)
She believes in making every day count for something, and follows the wise admonition of her mother to, “Look out the window and see something!”
To learn more about Irish and her books, please visit:





Some covert missions take place deep inside a guy….
Stoic ex-Marine, Taylor Armstrong, survived his arrogant father and one too many deployments. Battered and disillusioned, he’s built a wall to keep the world at bay. His rule is simple: a man can’t lose a friend he’s never made. It works—until an arrow rips into his chest and changes everything he knew about his father. His mother. Himself….
She never gave up…
Gracie Fox has loved Taylor since the fateful day he was ripped from her life as a four-year old. He has no memory of her or the loving family that was forced to give him up. It seems he’ll never know—until the ancient rite of revenge, the blood hunt, collides with his carefully structured life and drops him into Gracie’s life again. She seizes the chance, determined he will remember….
Even if she has to tie him to her bed.



Excerpt
#1

He listened and waited for a chance to escape, but something about his predicament made him want to stay. The long strands of hair in his face for one thing. They tickled, but smelled good. Flowery. Feminine. Good deal.

The fact that a woman held him for another, her head facing away from him. The breeze whipped her hair in soft swirls. It danced across his chest and face, lulling him into peace. The sad melody thrumming through her body soothed, an odd sensation for a guy who’s used to jackhammering artillery and muzzle flash. RPGs. IEDs. All those other noisy making sons of bitches.

Whoever this gal was who had a hold of him, she cut a slender profile against the dark night sky and starlight overhead. Her hand was warm and gentle on his forehead, the other across his collarbone, cradling him on her lap to lessen the sway of the ride. He turned into her shirt, just to inhale something besides the smell of his own sweat, and blood.

Her hold tightened. She curled her body around him. “You’re safe now.”

He dared to believe. 



Character casting for TAYLOR:

I always hesitate to restrict a readers imagination, but if I have to...

Taylor - Taylor Kitsch

Gracie - Jordana Brewster


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Monday, May 18, 2015

Book Tour: F#@! Bomb By Naomi Rabinowitz

 
 





Author Bio:



Naomi Rabinowitz is a writer, musician, jewelry designer and author of the YA novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD. She lives in New York City with her husband, Jonathan. Like her F#@! BOMB narrator, Sadie, Naomi is currently training for a long-distance walking event – and will be participating in Avon’s 39.3 mile Walk To End Breast Cancer this October.

Author Links -
Twitter: @NaomiRDesigns






Book Genre: New Adult/Women’s Fiction/LGBT Fiction
Publisher: Amazon
Release Date: March 30. 2015


Book Description:

Fatty. Freak. Friendless. Failure. Sadie Abramowitz is used to being alone. The morbidly obese college freshman literally doesn’t fit in anywhere and was constantly the butt of jokes in high school.

So far, life at Cunningham University isn’t much better. Her roommate only communicates in grunts while Sadie’s “dream job” at the school paper has her interviewing her fellow students with questions that practically invite them to insult her.

Things change when she’s assigned a story on Griffin Greenberg, the freshman track star who was one of Sadie’s high school bullies. At first, she’s reluctant to work with the gorgeous Griffin, but soon discovers that he’s not such a bad guy. Plus, he’s been keeping a secret: he’s gay.

As their friendship grows, Griffin challenges Sadie to do something she never thought possible: train for a marathon. Meanwhile, she supports him as he slowly comes to terms with his sexuality. Together, they help each other survive their first year of college – and also learn how to stand strong on their own.

*This book is a New Adult novel with some mature language and situations. It is recommended for readers 14 and up.
 

Excerpt One


“If you could be any type of animal, what would you be?”

I put on my widest smile and tried to sound enthusiastic. I was in Reporter Mode, a side of my personality which was somewhere between a morning talk show host and news anchor. My pair of subjects stared at me, eyes narrowing. Both girls had faces plastered with makeup and long, flat-ironed hair. Both were tan and slender, and wore matching skinny jeans with pink T-shirts. I figured if anyone would want to have their pictures and quotes featured in our college's award-winning newspaper, it would be cute girls who actually bothered to dress up. Girls, who unlike me, didn’t wear baggy, gray sweats and a stained, white T-shirt.

In my month of acting as Freshman Roving Reporter for The Falcon's bi-weekly polls (Memorable queries included, "Other than eating them, what's your favorite alternate use for mashed potatoes?" and, "Do you think underwear would be improved if it had GPS?") I'd perfected the art of choosing prospective interviewees. I could now tell before even asking a student whether he or she would be willing to give me a response. The loner who sat by a tree listening to his iPod? No. The theater major who liked to dance around the Student Union as her friends looked on? Yep. With these girls, all signs pointed to yes. 

My job was to get 10 quotes and photos by four o' clock that day and I was only up to six. It was already 3 p.m. and I was getting desperate. 

“What's the point of this?" asked the blonde, a smirk playing about her perfectly-lined pink lips. I continued to smile and pushed my dark brown curls out of my eyes as she considered the Deeper Meaning behind my query. Though it was late September, it was unseasonably warm for upstate New York and we happened to be in one of the least shady parts of campus. I'd only been standing for about a minute, but sweat was already beading across my forehead and pooling beneath my arms, making my shirt stick to my body. I envied the way these girls could keep their hair so tame.

"It's just a fun question for The Falcon's Roving Reporter column," I said. I shifted my weight from one foot to another to ease the pressure on my back. "What's really nice is you get your name in the paper along with your picture and quote. It’ll be in print and online. Everyone on campus will see it."

"Okay," she said, with a shrug. "I’ve seen that column. I guess it could be fun." She stuck out a hip as she assumed a sexy photo pose and I snapped her picture with my phone.

"Amber Sanchez, I'm 19 and a sophomore," she announced as I recorded her response. "And I'd be a cat. They're beautiful, mysterious and always land on their feet." She finished with a little clap, clearly proud of herself.

"Great answer!"  I said. “My mom is a fellow cat lover.” Buoyed by this small victory in my quest to complete my column, I turned to her friend. "Do you want to give a quote?"

The brunette glared at me and for a second I wondered if I'd misjudged her willingness to be put on display. But after a nudge from Amber, she said "Fine, I'll do it," and let out a deep, tortured sigh. She shook her head as her green eyes roamed up my body, taking in my worn beige sneakers and rumpled ensemble. I waited, my phone poised to record her. 

"I'm Chloe Williams, also 19 and a sophomore. And if I could be any animal," she said, pausing to look me right in the face. "I'd be anything but a fat whale!"

Boom!  The words hit me like a punch and I had to remind myself that we were no longer in high school. I was flooded with bad memories as a montage of past insults echoed in my head; "Fat whale" was just one of many in a long list that included nicknames like "Shamu," "Fatzilla" and even "Igpay Verde" (That's Green Pig in combined Pig Latin and real Latin).

Amber gave me an apologetic look, but high-fived Chloe as they strode away from me, snickering the whole time. I just stood in place like a statue. A huge statue, mind you. When you're 18 years old and morbidly obese, you get used to hearing insults—or as used to them as one can get, anyway. For me, being called a fat whale was just business as usual.

 
Review:
This book was an eye opening read that described the journey of Sadie's life and her struggles with weight loss, which is something I think many people can relate to. Her mother had her thoughts on eating healthy which tried to sabotage Sadie's weight loss attempts. But it was something Sadie needed to overcome. This story also showed her friend Griffin, a guy struggling with his "coming out". Griffin himself was a unique character who helped make the story very interesting.
I thought the book was really well written and had a realistic feel to both the characters and their situations.



Guest Post:
 
WALKING OFF WRITER’S BLOCK
 
Most authors I know have experienced the dreaded “writer’s block” – that frustrating period when you just can’t think of what words to put on the page.  For me, it’s especially annoying when I have a clear story idea in my head and can actually envision the final product… and just can’t think of the proper way to express my idea.
This wasn’t the case for me when it came to writing my novel F#@! BOMB, at least at first. Because the story is based somewhat on my personal life, the words flowed freely and I quickly banged out drafts of the opening chapters.  I put together an outline for each major event that would take place in the tale and thought I had a good foundation for my manuscript.
Wrong! As I was nearing the middle of my novel – the part where my heroine goes through some tough times -- I just couldn’t think of the right things to say. I’d stare at the page… clean the house, practice my flute… stare at the page some more… and could not come up with one word. Finally, I put aside the book and decided to take a hiatus from writing.
It was during this time that I began a serious exercise program. Like my story’s narrator, Sadie, I’d been extremely overweight for years and was grossly out of shape. It was ironic that as I wrote about Sadie’s marathon training, I’d gotten to a point where – and this is no exaggeration – I could barely walk a block without having to stop.  My health was declining and I suspect this was part of the reason why I couldn’t concentrate on my writing.
Toward the end of 2013, my good friend Scott (my real-life Griffin) confronted me and made me promise to walk “just 20 minutes a day.” I agreed to try, mainly to shut him up, but found that I enjoyed walking. Within a few months, I was conquering several miles a day and had lost a significant amount of weight. I was also ready to resume work on my novel.
Because F#@! BOMB is somewhat autobiographical, I signed up for a memoir-writing class, figuring that the discussions and critiques could help, even if my story were fiction. I was right. Simply being in a situation where I got to read others’ work and was forced to meet deadlines lit a creative fire.
Meanwhile, I continued to walk and used that time to mentally construct my novel. Many say engaging in exercise is a great way to clear your head, but for me, the movement helped me focus.
Getting in shape gave me the confidence to finish my work. It had been difficult to write about a character who was improving her life while mine was falling apart, but Sadie and I were now on the same page (pun intended).  I needed to work on my personal story before I could complete my fictional one.

 
Schedule

May 3 - Introduction at VBT Café Blog
May 5 - Guest Blog at Infinite House of Books
May 5 - Spotlight at 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! 
May 7 - Review at Readsalot 
May 11 - Interview & Review at Head in the Clouds, Heart in the Books 
May 13 - Spotlight at My Life, Loves and Passions
May 15 - Spotlight at The Voluptuous Book Diva 
May 18 - Review & Guest Blogging at The Writers Revolution
May 20 - Review at Ella Malone 
May 22 - Spotlight at Jody's Book Reviews
May 26 - Guest Blog at Lori's Reading Corner
May 26 - Review at reneereads
May 28 - Review at Babbling About Books, & More!