Welcome to a special author reading experience, where you will be treated to not one, but five, indie authors reading excerpts from their books. Listen to the books that intrigue you. Then, ask the authors questions, by name, in the comments section below, and they'll answer you. Jon Reisfeld, Shaunda Kennedy Wenger, Kitty Sutton, Kelsey Miller and Michael Meyer are five of dozens of up-and-coming "indie" authors featured in "The Last Way Station Mega Book Tour," a new concept in virtual book touring that involves multiple authors at individual book-tour stops. The tour, named in honor of founder and sponsor, Jon Reisfeld's book, The Last Way Station, is also hosting a Sweepstakes with a Grand Prize of a Kindle Fire and secondary prizes consisting of ebook bundles. Click here to learn more about the featured authors here and the other authors on the tour and to complete your free entry in the Sweepstakes! The Last Way Station 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?’' Author Jon Reisfeld 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. The Ghost in Me (Young Adult/Paranormal) Myri Monaco has problems she doesn't know how to deal with: a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, a mother who's dating her science teacher, and a "punishment" for a science project that lands her in auditions for the school play (the last place she wants to be). But most girls don't have a ghost living at home who is willing to "trade places" whenever she's needed. Will ghostly possession be an easy solution when problems collide? Or, will Myri lose everything to a ghost wanting to fulfill her own desires? Author Shaunda Kennedy Wenger Prior to starting her own publishing company in 2011 with the release of her new titles, The Ghost in Me and Little Red Riding Hood: Into the Forest Again, Shaunda published five books in the educational market and one with Ballantine Books at Random House. The Book Lover's Cookbook, Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages That Feature Them was a 2003 featured holiday gift pick on National Public Radio (NPR). Her poems, short stories, and articles have been published with Babybug, Cricket, The Mailbox Company, The Writer, and Spirit Goat. When she is not writing, she is teaching, spending time with her family and friends, or chasing after the latest escapades of extreme donuts. She can be visited online at her blog, www.shaundawenger.blogspot.com. Wheezer and the Painted Frog (Historical Fiction) Who killed Usti Yansa? Find out September 15, 2011, in Wheezer and the Painted Frog, Kitty Sutton's debut novel about the aftermath of the infamous Trail of Tears. Healthy little boys shouldn't grow weak and die when they have shelter, food and the care of their families, yet Sasa's little brother, the last of her family, sickens, mumbling the mysterious 'I didn't do it right, I didn't do enough. Why didn't it work?' Left alone, mourning and trying to survive in a new place with new ways, Sasa seeks answers with the help of her new friend, Wheezer. The Jack Russell Terrier seems too wise, too fierce and too loyal to be just a dog. Did the Creator send Wheezer to Sasa and if so, how can a dog, albeit a smart one, help to solve a murder? From the time Europeans landed in North America, the People were forced out of the land they had known for generations. By the nineteenth century, the United States had pushed them into the remote and undeveloped area known as Indian Territory and promised them food and protection that never came. Plagued by the loss of their ability to farm and hunt, the lack of food and shelter, the disease brought by the White Man, every tribe suffered losses so great only the memories of the survivors could document the dead. This story, taking place among the Cherokee after the Trail of Tears, is a story for all the People. Kitty Sutton Kitty Sutton was born Kathleen Kelley to a Cherokee/Irish family. Both sides of her family were from performing families in Kansas City, Missouri and Kitty was trained from an early age in dance, vocal, art and musical instruments. Her father was a Naval band leader. During the Great Depression, her mother helped to support her family by tap dancing in the speakeasys even though she was just a child; she was very tall for her age but made up like an adult. Kitty had music and art on all sides of her family which ultimately helped to feed her imaginative mind and desire to succeed. Kitty married a wonderful Cherokee artist from Oklahoma, in fact the very area that she writes about in her Wheezer series of novels. After raising her family, Kitty came to Branson, Missouri and performed in her own one woman show there for twelve years. To honor her father, she performed under the name Kitty Kelley. She has three music albums and several original songs to her credit and is best known for her comical, feel good song called, It Ain't Over Till The Fat Lady Sings. Kitty has been writing for many years and in 2011 Inknbeans published her historical Native American murder mystery. First in a line of stories featuring Wheezer, a Jack Russell Terrier and his Cherokee friend, Sasa, it is called, Wheezer And The Painted Frog. Kitty lives in the southwestern corner of Missouri near Branson with her husband of 40 years and her three Jack Russell Terriers, one of which is the real and wonderful Wheezer. Retribution (Paranormal) Not all Vampires drink blood… As the reluctant wolf heir to the Lyall Family, Faolan is no stranger to killing Vampires. But even he is unprepared for the two Changelings who attack him one day during his patrol. The two young Vampires make no move to seriously harm Faolan, and despite his confusion at their odd behavior he manages to get away. Shortly thereafter he is attacked by a mysterious Vampire. However, instead of killing Faolan, she coerces him into joining her quest to kill the elusive vampyre, Hunter. But can Faolan trust her? And why is he forced from his wolf form whenever he fights this Vampire? Faolan will have to work quickly to discover her secrets before both of them are killed… Kelsey Miller Kelsey Miller began Retribution when she was fourteen. Now, four years later, she has finally finished. In the fall she will begin a journey of her own as a college freshman, where she hopes to continue writing. Retribution is her first novel. Covert Dreams (Suspense/Thriller) Is the mysterious disappearance of an American in today's Saudi Arabia somehow linked to a terrible murder in Munich back in 1984? Is B.J. living a nightmare, or is it reality? How can he dream the same dream night after night and know intimate details of Munich, a city in which he has never been? How can he speak German in his dream, a language he does not know? Why does everybody think he is losing it? Is he going crazy? How can a woman suddenly disappear in the Saudi Arabian heat, along with every trace of her very existence? Why is there absolutely nothing, not one single detail in any records anywhere, to prove that she is indeed a living person and that her spouse is not crazy for thinking so? Why do both the American government officials and the Saudi Arabian authorities insist that she has never even existed? What is real, and what is not? Who is really who, and why? What is behind the murder, the kidnappings, and the nightmares all leading up to what end? The mounting suspense moves from Munich, to London, to Rome, and to the burning sands of Saudi Arabia. What is the horrifying link between these two alternating stories? Do you love mysteries? Do you love thrillers? Do you love suspense? If so, then take on COVERT DREAMS. Michael Meyer Mike Meyer recently retired from a 40-year career as a professor of writing, amassing numerous teaching awards along the way from both his students and his colleagues. He lives in the Southern California wine country with his wife, Kitty, and their two other cats. Comments01/18/2012 08:24
Always interesting to hear authors read from their own books--they add an extra dimension of intensity and emphasis that doesn't always get translated onto the page. 01/19/2012 08:13
What an eclectic group of authors. Thanks for the introduction to some interesting books. I agree with Lori that it is always nice to hear the authors read. Shows how much passion they have for their work. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply |  Banner (240X240):
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