Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off: POKERGEIST by Michael Phillip Cash

POKERGEIST
By Michael Phillip Cash
Humorous Fantasy

Sometimes life, as well as death, is about second chances. Luckless Telly Martin doesn’t have a clue. An awful gambler trying to scrape by as a professional poker player, he becomes the protégé of world famous poker champion Clutch Henderson. The only catch…Clutch is a ghost. Telly and Clutch must navigate the seedy gambling underbelly of Las Vegas learning to trust each other in order to win the elusive International Series of Poker, repair their shattered personal relationships and find redemption in this life and the hereafter.

 

Amazon → https://amzn.to/35QJFn4

 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/36LeX02

 

Prologue
Like taking candy from a baby, Clutch Henderson thought. He took a deep pull on his whiskey, allowing the burn to numb him from gullet to stomach. The room reeked of smoke, even though it was not allowed in the main ballroom during the tournament. Overhead, giant television screens focused on two players. Clutch looked up, winked, and watched the camera close in on his craggy face. I still got it. He smirked at his image. He was tall, lanky, and deeply tanned, which accentuated his silver hair and light eyes. Even though he was pushing seventy, he knew the ladies still found him attractive. They didn’t call him the Silver Fox for nothing. Clutch patted the blister pack of Viagra in the pocket of the polyester bowling shirt that he wore in homage to the Big Lebowski, the fictional kingpin legend. Gineva would be picking up a celebratory bottle of champagne right now, as soon as she clocked out at the Nugget. They wouldn’t give her the day off today—the bastards. There was a good chance he was going to make an honest woman out of her tonight…a rich, honest woman.
Clutch shifted in his seat, his hemorrhoids making their presence known. They burned his ass more than the cocky kid sitting opposite him. He looked over to his opponent who was sunk low in his seat, his face swallowed by the gray hoodie he wore. Adam “the Ant” Antonowski, boy wonder, who rose from the ranks of online card games, had beaten out a seemingly impossible one hundred sixty-five thousand players to earn a coveted seat at the International Series of Poker. His pimply face peeked out from under oversized sunglasses. Clutch sneered contemptuously at him. They let everybody play today. The kid did look bug-eyed with those enormous glasses. Adam curled his hands protectively over his cards, his bitten-down fingernails repulsive.
“Rookie,” Clutch muttered under his breath, his lips barely moving.
“Looks like Clutch Henderson is praying, folks,” Kevin Franklyn said into his mike from where he sat in a small room watching the game. He was a former champion turned seasoned sportscaster on the poker circuit, well respected, and the senior of the two anchormen. He was completely bald, his fleshy nose slightly off center on his craggy face, a victim of his youthful and unsuccessful boxing career. He’d made a mint once he turned to poker and had never looked back.
Stu James shook his head. “Clutch could be at his last prayers; this kid is the terminator.” Stu was a tall cowboy with wavy blond hair and mustache left over from his 1970s poker-playing heyday. He looked like a country singer.
“Let’s see if Clutch can exterminate the Ant,” Kevin replied.
They shared a laugh. The sportscasters wore matching light blue jackets with the Poker Channel logo on the chest.
Kevin nodded, placing his hand on his earbud, and said, “Yes, this is it, folks, in case you’ve just tuned in. A record fourteen thousand entrants, and it all comes down to this—the final moments. The rookie versus the pro: it could have been scripted by a screenwriter. David versus Goliath. Adam ‘the Ant’ Antonowski going up against the legendary Clutch Henderson.”

Michael Phillip Cash is an award winning screenwriter and novelist. He’s written many books and screenplays in the horror, suspense, thriller and fantasy genres. He resides on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: http://www.michaelphillipcash.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelpcash

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelPhillipCash

 

 

Pump Up Your Book Book Blast Kick Off: CHEMO MUSCLES: LESSONS LEARNED FROM BEING A PSYCHO-ONCOLOGIST AND CANCER PATIENT by Renee A. Exelbert, PhD & Giveaway!

CHEMO MUSCLES: LESSONS LEARNED FROM BEING A PSYCHO-ONCOLOGIST AND CANCER PATIENT
By Renee A. Exelbert, PhD
Autobiography/Health/Fitness

In Chemo Muscles: Lessons Learned from Being a Psycho-Oncologist and Cancer Patient, Exelbert reflects on her experience of confronting her cancer diagnosis, as the doctor becomes the patient.

Exelbert was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 after working as a psychologist in a pediatric cancer center in Long Island, NY. A wife and mother of two young children, she struggled with vulnerability and identity. As a medical professional, she had both challenging and elevating experiences with healthcare professionals. And ultimately, she became a certified personal trainer and bodybuilding figure competitor to regain a sense of control over her body.

With unflinching candor and detail, Exelbert shares her story by pairing it with psychological theory, well-researched coping techniques for patients and families, and guidance to aid healthcare professionals in treating people with greater dignity, understanding, and respect.

“By sharing the inner-most thoughts and emotions she experienced throughout her breast cancer journey, Dr. Exelbert provides validation that “life-altering” doesn’t necessarily condemn a cancer patient to a life that is “less than” it once was. Her dual perspectives as both a patient and a psychologist provide a unique opportunity to merge the raw emotional impact of the diagnosis with clinical training, thereby allowing her to process and understand the experience in a way that is both reassuring and empowering.”
— Jane E. Austin, Ph.D., Professor, William Paterson University

“This is less a book about cancer and the healing effects of exercise and diet as much as it is about the power of resilience; about confronting the unimaginable and what it takes to come out the other side. By allowing the reader into her personal journey, Dr. Exelbert invites us to explore the human dimensions of illness, seamlessly weaving between best psychological practices and the simple needs that we all have as members of the human family. For those of us working in the cancer community – or in any other community for that matter – this book is a must-read. It summons us to remember our humanity – to not hide behind cold clinical jargon and artificial barriers – and reminds us of the power we each possess to not only ease our own fears and pain, but those of our fellow travelers.”
— Arnie Preminger, CEO/Founder, Sunrise Association International summer and year-round programs for children with cancer and their siblings

“In this important and inspiring book, Dr. Exelbert shares her personal and emotional journey through cancer, with the vulnerability of a patient, the expertise of a psycho-oncologist, and with a generosity of heart that makes this book an essential guide for cancer patients, their families and clinicians alike. Lessons gleaned from personal suffering and transformation, combined with valuable knowledge from psychological and medical research, nutrition, and exercise, will undoubtedly leave the reader not only better informed, but empowered with hope and courage amidst the struggle with serious illness.”
— Anthony P. Bossis, Ph.D., Psycho-oncologist, New York University School of Medicine

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2snRyTo

 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/2tk9lvi

 

One Breast or Two?
I still had not decided if I was going to have the requisite single
mastectomy, or a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. There were some
studies that showed a miniscule chance of breast cancer spreading to
the other breast. My plastic surgeon had discussed that there would
also be a lack of symmetry between my breasts had I elected to have
the single mastectomy. He commented that they would be “sisters”
rather than “twins.” Two days prior to having surgery, I was sent for
a final scan of my breasts. My right breast was the one that had the
malignancies, however, there was some concern that the cancer might
be present in the left breast. The amount of terror I experienced about
the possibility of having more cancer was beyond measure. It turned
out to be nothing, merely dense breasts. However, my doctor notified
me that from this point forward, I would be checked much more
frequently in the existing breast. The prospect of experiencing more
scares due to dense or cystic breasts was something I could not handle.
I decided then and there that I would opt for the prophylactic bilateral
mastectomy. It was not an easy choice, as I could have kept one breast
and therefore preserved some sense of my existing identity, femininity,
and beauty. I had several people close to me as well as Dr. A, my old
boss from the pediatric cancer center, try to convince me that having the
bilateral mastectomy was a drastic and unnecessary measure. On
the other hand, I had been so freaked out by cancer and the possibility
of future trauma, that I felt it best to minimize any and all risks. When
I arrived for surgery, my surgeon, Dr. M, still had not been notified of
my final decision. She asked me in a perfunctory tone, “One breast or
two?” as this was her common vernacular, and illustrative of surgery
that she routinely performed. I couldn’t help but be struck by the metaphor
to coffee—would I like one lump of sugar or two? Additionally,
Dr. K and Dr. M had asked me if they would be removing a mole that
I had between my breasts, as surgery was the perfect time to get rid
of it. It was not attractive, but it had become a part of me. I told them
that I did not want to lose any more of me than I needed to, and that I
wanted to keep my mole. They both joked with me about how hideous
my mole was going to look with my brand-new boobs. They made me
laugh and brought levity to an agonizing experience. Nonetheless, I
am so glad that I kept my mole. We have been through a lot together.
I spent a few final minutes alone with Billy, who gently touched and
kissed my boobs. He then said “goodbye guys.” We cried and held each
other. His unconditional love and acceptance let me know that no
matter how this surgery altered my body, he would always love me and
find me beautiful. And with that, I was wheeled into surgery.
As the anesthesia was administered and I was lying down, terrified
for how this next chapter of my life was about to unfold, Dr. M held
my hand and supported me. It was such a small gesture, but meant the
world to me.

Renee A. Exelbert, Ph.D., CFT, is both a licensed psychologist and certified personal trainer. She is the Founding Director of The Metamorphosis Center for Psychological and Physical Change, where she integrates psychotherapy and exercise with a focus on the mind/body connection. She maintains a private practice in New York City, Manhasset and Nyack, New York for the treatment of children, adolescents, adults and families. Dr. Exelbert is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development where she teaches Masters-level psychology courses. She previously served as Staff Psychologist at the Winthrop University Hospital Cancer Center for Kids, working with children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website:  https://drexelbert.com/
Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/ReneeExelbert

 

Renee A. Exelbert is giving away an autographed copy of CHEMO MUSCLES!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one autographed paperback
• This giveaway ends midnight February 28.
• Winner will be contacted via email on March 1.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off: AMIRANDA: PRINCESS AMIRANDA AND THE TALE OF THE DECIDUOUS FOREST by John P. Adamo #juvenile #tween

AMIRANDA: PRINCESS AMIRANDA AND THE TALE OF THE DECIDUOUS FOREST
By John P. Adamo
Juvenile/Tweens

An instant classic tale portraying the life of “Amiranda,”an innocent and brave princess, who unwittingly sets out on a quest that will ultimately determine the fate of her entire kingdom.

From her castle window, Amiranda would gaze at the beautiful countryside below-always watching carefully, always observing everything. Gradually the princess realizes that she knows very little of the small kingdom over which she would one day reign.

Nevertheless, Amiranda would never disobey her father’s wishes, especially the one to never enter the mysterious dark forest, which borders their kingdom. That is, until one day when she would have no other choice.

Amiranda will take a journey that will lead her on a wild adventure, where the decisions she makes will determine the fate of many lives-the lives of her animal friends, her family members, those who dwell in her kingdom, and her very own life as well. Travel along on this trip where Princess Amiranda hopes to find the missing piece in her existence and ends up trying to achieve the impossible….

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2FxWgRu

B&N → https://bit.ly/2QBqk5d 

 

John Adamo is a Long Island-based author and songwriter who has copyrighted more than four hundred poems and has both written and composed numerous songs and short stories. Music has always been an integral part of John’s life, as he has performed at different venues all across Long Island—both as a professional pianist since the age of seventeen (one year after his father passed away) and also as a disc jockey / emcee for various private parties and public events.

This is John’s first formal work, which was originally written as a screenplay and copyrighted in 1998. John has always had the visualization that an animated movie would one day be made from his work. The author wanted to put together a story unlike any other, and one that could be enjoyed by people of all ages … both young and old alike. A story that reinforced good values, covered common ethics, and taught morals as John feels those important criteria are so often left out in today’s modern fairy tales.

After having the screenplay sit on his shelf for nearly fifteen years, John felt that it was finally time to let the world know the life and world of Amiranda—a Cinderella-type princess who has everything in the world that a princess could possibly ask for, but is still missing something more in her life. With your help, John hopes that he can help fulfill Amiranda’s aspirations, hopes, and dreams. Last but not least, John hopes you like Amiranda’s story just as much as he enjoyed writing it … Enjoy!

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS

Website  →   www.princessamiranda.com

Facebook  → https://www.facebook.com/amirandabook

 

 

Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off: The Lyme Regis Murders by Andrew Segal @happyLDNPress #crimethriller

THE LYME REGIS MURDERS
By Andrew Segal
Crime Thriller

Can innocence ever be an incentive to murder?

A quiet seaside town is thrown into turmoil. Tammy Pierre, London based private investigator, accompanied by her sometime lover, Israeli art dealer and martial-arts coach, Dov Jordan, has just been brought close to tears by police photographs shown to her by an hysterical Eleanor Goldcrest, at the home of three innocent toddlers whose brutally murdered bodies have been found on the beach at Lyme Regis.

Wealthy financier, Eric Goldcrest, alarmed that his partner of three years, together with the local police has him nailed as guilty of murdering the children, now retains Tammy to prove his innocence and find the real culprit. But has his involvement in all this been misinterpreted?
In this investigation, with no apparant motive or forensic evidence, Tammy’s skills will be tested to the limit. In a twist that muddies the waters, Eric Goldcrest, laments that he’s simply never made it clear to Tammy about his position in the family and his relationship with the children, all of which have been assumed by the investigation.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39jm4OV
B&N: http://bit.ly/BNLymeRegisMurders

Tammy was left in no doubt about what was happening when the interior of the Porsche was lit up by a blaze of lights from a third following vehicle reflected in her rear-view mirror.

Her pulse raced and a vein throbbed in her neck. The flanking vehicles gently closed in on her, bumping the sides of the Porsche, shunting it this way and that. Gila screamed. Caleb swore under his breath. Tammy’s palms remained dry and she gripped the steering wheel firmly as the two grey SUVs moved ahead of her so she could neither drive through them nor round them.

Something like bits of iron junk was thrown from the windows of both leading cars. The Porsche crunching over the gritty debris, lurched unsteadily, quickly regaining its poise. Caltrops, she thought. Four-pronged, palm-sized steel teeth for bursting tyres. Problem: she’d have thirty miles at best before the run flat tyres gave up on her. Far less if she pushed the car hard, which was just what she was aiming to do.

The vehicle following moved closer till it touched the tail of the Porsche, which seemed to literally stagger under the impact. Tammy could no longer be certain they’d get away. She’d thought the emailed warnings had been directed at herself. But the situation was more confused than she’d reckoned. Things were becoming unpredictable.

Junction 10 led to the A3, which they’d aimed for, but would now be too slow for them to outrun the SUVs. There was no time to consider options. Gila was screaming hysterically and banging on her side window as though trying to escape the vehicle. Caleb had pulled what looked like a plastic gun from the inside of his bomber jacket.

“Put that bloody thing away,” barked Tammy, in the next moment reaching forward for the switch to the rear fog lamps.

“What the fuck’s she thinks she’s doing now?” scowled Caleb.

The flash of the rear reds looked like she was braking and the following motor immediately hauled back, giving her a window to stamp on the brakes, adding to the eruption of light at the tail-end of the Porsche and allowing her to fall back herself, out of the clutches of the two big greys.

Now, dragging the wheel left and forced unwillingly onto the exit slip, with the two SUVs running on her offside wing, she immediately swung the wheel to the right again, swerving in front of the two big motors and back onto the main body of the motorway, then she floored the throttle. The car responded like a SpaceX rocket, roaring ahead of the three following motors, leaving them stuttering in her wake as she approached 180 mph. Now her palms ran wet. The tyres could go at any second, and with that, all control of the car.

Gila was still screaming, Caleb cursing, as Tammy said softly, “We’re about six miles from Junction 9. There in two minutes. At say, half our speed they’ll be there in four, that’s three miles behind us. I’m guessing, or hoping, they’ll reckon we’ll use our greater speed to take us further round the motorway. But we’ll come off at 9 anyway, then find the A244 to Oxshott.

“And this is us, now,” she said almost at once, and braked hard. “Dov? Anything?”

“Nothing behind,” said Dov, with obvious relief, looking over his shoulder. “You should maybe slow down a bit Tammy? The tyres are gone, you know.”

“I know, Dov. Let’s try to get home first.”

“If you can,” he said quietly.

She was on the rims, sparks flying as the Porsche careered along the last mile of the A244 to Oxshott village. If she stopped now they’d not be able to move again, the car simply being carried forward at this stage on its own momentum and a silent prayer. Tammy suddenly realised that the wrought-iron gates to the cul-de-sac would need to be opened and that’s where their journey would end. If they were still being chased, their pursuers would be with them in no more than a couple of minutes.

As she swung the car left towards where the gates should have been, her confidence now failing, she saw that the housekeeper had thoughtfully left them open together with the up and over doors to the double garage in the safe house, an eight-bedroom red brick mansion at the end of the cul-de-sac. In the distance could be heard the growl of fast-moving motors.

Through the iron gates, the pair starting to close automatically behind them, the sounds of the other cars came ever nearer.

They’d be just too late. Glaringly clear. Now, in the double garage, the up and overs closing agonisingly slowly, the sound of the other three SUVs screamed at them, then whispered past, just as the doors clicked shut. Tammy breathed. “Home.”

 

______________________

A contract killer changed my life

The encounter inspired me to become a Crime Thriller writer.

He was a contract killer, and he was in my car!

I’d been lost, looking for West Thurrock in Essex, and asked a little old man in a shabby coat, on the opposite side of the road, the way. He offered to show me if I gave him a lift, and whilst I make it a rule never to give lifts to anyone I don’t know, I reasoned, he could hardly be a contract killer, could he. Could he? Of course not.

As we drove he casually informed me that he’d, ‘Done it for the Kray’s, mate.’ That would have been the notorious East London gangsters he was referring to, known to kill, or have killed, without conscience.

Once I’d dropped him off and recovered my composure, I realised I was looking at fodder for a short story. What then followed was a raft of short stories, including, ‘I am a Gigolo,’ something I told my wife when I first met her, and which almost ended our relationship before it had begun. That title is now the heading for a book of short stories.

Jokingly, over lunch, I told a fellow professional I’d once been a contract killer, and devised a story. He believed every word, and left me at some pains to disabuse him. That title, I am a Contract Killer, now heads a further collection of short stories.

Writer of scary short stories and full-length novels like The Lyme Regis Murders.

It’s been a fascinating journey… I hope you’ll want to share with me.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS

Website: http://andrewsegalauthor.com
https://www.happylondonpress.com/
Weekly Blog:https://happylondonpress.blogspot.com/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/HappyLDNpress
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happylondonpress/
AnchorFM Podcast: https://anchor.fm/living-a-life-through-books/episodes/Author-Conversations-International—Andrew-Segal–Part-1-e4homt/a-aibjav
Podcast Reading: https://anchor.fm/happyldnpress/episodes/Lyme-Regis-Murders-Extract-reading-by-Andrew-Segal-e7r5df
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happylondonpress/

 

 

Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off: Reframing Poverty: New Thinking and Feeling About Humanity's Greatest Challenge @reframingpvrty #nonfiction

REFRAMING POVERTY: NEW THINKING AND FEELING ABOUT HUMANITY'S GREATEST CHALLENGE
By Eric Meade
Nonfiction

We typically view poverty as a technical problem we can solve with more money, more technology, and more volunteers. But there is an adaptive side to the problem of poverty as well. Reframing Poverty directs our attention to the emotional and often unconscious mindsets we bring to this issue. Meade's approach is as unique as it is challenging. Rather than trite tips or tricks, he offers a series of nested insights from diverse fields like political science, physics, complexity theory, and psychology. Most importantly, he provides a path of self-exploration for those eager to become the kind of people who can successfully navigate the tensions of a world in need.

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2PryNan

 

“And because how we feel is intricately tied to how we know, we cannot
feel differently if we don’t know differently. We need a bigger emotional and cognitive space, one in which we experience that the internal conflicts and inconsistencies of our adaptive challenge are not inevitable and intractable.”
Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
The most constructive conversation about poverty may be the one we’re not having.
We talk a lot about poverty. Rarely does a day go by without someone offering a new book, white paper, or article marshaling new data to support a particular point of view. Experts make definitive statements on long-standing debates, only to see those debates reopen the next day with a new report issued from the opposing side. The pace of the conversation seems to suggest that we are making daily progress toward understanding – and solving – the problem of poverty.
Unfortunately, most of this conversation is a rehash of the same old views. Contrary to popular opinion, “breakthrough studies” and “radical new perspectives” on poverty are of-ten – for those familiar with the historical discourse – merely rediscoveries of or variations on arguments and proposals heard many times before. The same ideas come and go as seasons and public attitudes change.
But why? Why does so much discussion yield so few genuinely new insights about poverty? The answer is that we have misunderstood the challenge of poverty. We have seen it as a technical challenge – one that we can solve once we learn the right skill or methodology. We strive to determine “what works” and to apply it as broadly as possible.
Too bad it’s not that simple. We cannot have a straightforward, technical discussion about poverty because the topic is too emotionally charged, and for good reason. Until recently, the vast majority of humans were poor. A mere 200 years ago, 83.9 percent of humans lived in extreme poverty, on less than $1 per day (in 1985 dollars)1, which is roughly equivalent (ac-counting for inflation) to the World Bank’s poverty threshold today. Poverty is the ground from which most of us who are not poor have only recently emerged. Most of us would only have to look back a couple of generations to find a relative who genuinely struggled to survive. How our own relatives made it out of poverty – or why they were unable to do so – likely shapes how we think and feel about poverty today.
Thus, poverty is not just a technical challenge. In the words of Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey as quoted above, poverty is an “adaptive challenge.” It requires us to change not just what we do but also who we are. It requires us to change how we think and how we feel, and to work through the emotions we carry forward from our personal and familial experiences of poverty. Only then can we shift the focus from the unresolved needs of our own pasts to what the world needs from us right now.
Prior to that shift, we experience “internal conflicts and in-consistencies.” In our dealings with others, we cling to our own limited ideas about poverty at the expense of the ideas of others, preventing meaningful collaboration and partnership. In our dealings with the poor, we unconsciously project the difficulties of our own lives, and we offer the poor not what they need but what we feel fulfilled in providing. In our dealings with ourselves, we reject new insights and discoveries that threaten our established identities and our ways of understanding the world.
After we work through our emotions about poverty, how-ever, we become more potent leaders of change. In our dealings with others, we embrace multiple perspectives to build collabor-ative partnerships with those we previously may have avoided. In our dealings with the poor, we respond to their most pressing needs rather than making them foils for our own challenges. In our dealings with ourselves, we recognize that the emotions poverty evokes in us may actually raise issues we need to ad-dress in our own lives.
These benefits accrue not  only to those who address poverty on a professional or volunteer basis, but also to all who are concerned about the state of their own communities. The question we must address affects each one of us. It is not: How do we eradicate poverty? But rather it is: What am I, as a human being, to do, living as I do in a world where poverty exists? This question demands a new conversation – one in which we look deeply into our own experiences.
This book opens the door to that conversation. Part One explores what our society has already been saying about poverty, but in a novel way. First, it shows how our emotions about poverty shape how we think about it. Second, it explores the range of perspectives on poverty and suggests the emotions that may be associated with each. Finally, it concludes that all such perspectives have some validity.
Part Two reframes those perspectives by introducing concepts not currently included in the poverty conversation. These concepts allow for a way of thinking about poverty in which all the major perspectives can be true at the same time. They also highlight and address areas where I believe the poverty conversation overall has heretofore fallen short.
Throughout the book, I will offer a series of nested insights drawn from my own experience living in developing countries, consulting to nonprofits, teaching social enterprise classes at the university level, serving on the board of a global development non-governmental organization (NGO), and otherwise living my unique human life. What you will do with these insights, I cannot say. What I can say is that after reading this book, you will be able to enter into a new, more constructive conversation about poverty.

 

 

 

Eric Meade is a futurist, speaker, and consultant serving nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies. He teaches graduate courses on strategic planning and social innovation at American University’s School of International Service in Washington, DC. He lives in Superior, CO.

Website  → http://www.ericmeade.com 

Twitter  → http://www.twitter.com/reframingpvrty 

Facebook  → http://www.facebook.com/reframingpovrty

 

 

Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off: We of the Forsaken World by Kiran Bhat #literaryfiction #WeOfTheForsakenWorl

WE OF THE FORSAKEN WORLD
By Kiran Bhat
Literary Fiction/Metaphysical Fiction

The Internet has connected – and continues to connect – billions of people around the world, sometimes in surprising ways. In his sprawling new novel, we of the forsaken world, author Kiran Bhat has turned the fact of that once-unimaginable connectivity into a metaphor for life itself.

In we of the forsaken world, Bhat follows the fortunes of 16 people who live in four distinct places on the planet. The gripping stories include those of a man’s journey to the birthplace of his mother, a tourist town destroyed by an industrial spill; a chief’s second son born in a nameless remote tribe, creating a scramble for succession as their jungles are destroyed by loggers; a homeless, one-armed woman living in a sprawling metropolis who sets out to take revenge on the men who trafficked her; and a milkmaid in a small village of shanty shacks connected only by a mud and concrete road who watches the girls she calls friends destroy her reputation.

Like modern communication networks, the stories in, we of the forsaken world connect along subtle lines, dispersing at the moments where another story is about to take place. Each story is a parable unto itself, but the tales also expand to engulf the lives of everyone who lives on planet Earth, at every second, everywhere.

As Bhat notes, his characters “largely live their own lives, deal with their own problems, and exist independently of the fact that they inhabit the same space. This becomes a parable of globalization, but in a literary text.”

Bhat continues:  “I wanted to imagine a globalism, but one that was bottom-to-top, and using globalism to imagine new terrains, for the sake of fiction, for the sake of humanity’s intellectual growth.”

“These are stories that could be directly ripped from our headlines. I think each of these stories is very much its own vignette, and each of these vignettes gives a lot of insight into human nature, as a whole.”

we of the forsaken world takes pride of place next to such notable literary works as David Mitchell’s CLOUD ATLAS, a finalist for the prestigious Man Booker Prize for 2004, and Mohsin Hamid’s EXIT WEST, which was listed by the New York Times as one of its Best Books of 2017.

Bhat’s epic also stands comfortably with the works of contemporary visionaries such as Umberto Eco, Haruki Murakami, and Philip K. Dick.

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2DQIclm

Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/2Lqe9Fi

“My people. Now speaks the man destined to make the great cats bow to feet, now speaks the man who will lock eyes with the sun. I have found our new land. Take your canoes and follow me. A new time for our tribe has come.” 

Not a single man found it in himself to raise a weapon, nor did a single wife open her mouth. The eyes of the eternal shone not from the skull but from the eyes of our chief’s first son. We believed that the spirits had bestowed him with our future. He had the eyes of life and death and life once more.

(Bhat, we, of the forsaken world… p. 191)

Kiran Bhat was born in Jonesboro, Georgia to parents from villages in Dakshina Kannada, India. An avid world traveler, polyglot, and digital nomad, he has currently traveled to more than 130 countries, lived in 18 different places, and speaks 12 languages. He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Website  → http://iguanabooks.ca/