My connections and friendships with other writers on Google+ are two of my favorite things about this platform. This morning I celebrate and share with you the books that Meg Tufano, T. Pascal and Matthew Graybosch (three of my favorite Plussers) have written, each of which is now available on Amazon/Kindle.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, one had to go to a book store to purchase a new release. Amazon changed all that and more, allowing the ease of home delivery in paper, in the cloud, in your Kindle library, or, as is my choice, on my Mac. What a pleasure to know each of these writers, to be able to champion their work, and to be able to be so easily supportive by having so many different online purchase options.
I have attached jpegs of each book cover, along with About the Author and About the Book summaries from Amazon, so that you can get a feel for each writer and, hopefully, choose to support one (or all!) of them yourself. There is a fourth jpeg, of the cover of publisher Curiosity Quill’s Primetime, which includes The Milgram Battery, a story by Matthew Graybosch, also available on Amazon/Kindle.
It has been an honor and a pleasure for me to buy all of these books on Amazon. Join me if you can, will you? There is something so feel-good about technology that allows us to be so directly supportive of our fellow artists. Congratulations to each of them, and thanks to Mr. T., Matthew and Meg for believing in their own talents, for putting pen to paper, and for sharing themselves with us here on G+.
Please read on, add to your library, support writers and writing on Google+…and have a good weekend.
Thank you, all.
Giselle
How I Started Drinking, by Meg McDermott, a/k/a Meg Tufano
(Kindle $9.99 / Paperback $21.78)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Meg McDermott is a fourth-generation Washingtonian who has lived in Tennessee for twenty years. She teaches college students over the Internet while traveling around the world with her childhood sweetheart who is a scientist for Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Meg designed and built their house deep in a forest of oak trees on the side of a mountain overlooking The Cumberlands. She could see Windrock in the distance while she wrote this novel. She is addicted to Buddy’s Barbeque and hopes her husband will not leave her if she eventually gets a little fat. She drinks Pinot Grigio but will have a glass of Bourbon on the rocks if provoked.
ABOUT How I Started Drinking: Meg McDermott’s writing reminds one of Maeve Binchy, Elizabeth Berg and Anne Tyler with a touch of Fannie Flagg (“Fried Green Tomatoes”) while establishing a voice that is all her own. She also manages to cleanly capture the voices of the heart of Appalachia. In this award-winning novel, “How I Started Drinking,” divorced Maggie Bailey, Ph.D.² comes to rural East Tennessee to forget her rich and high-powered life in Washington, DC, while her ex-husband has some second thoughts, bless his little heart. The story weaves together the past and the present with her mountain ex-in-laws while Maggie learns that maybe when it comes to life, love, and liquor, her cornbread just ain’t done in the middle. This is a poignant and light-hearted story about unusual friendships and the craziness of love and family in North America spanning The Vietnam War to 9/11. You will love this book if you enjoy warm-hearted, or cold-hearted, Southern characters, smart strong-headed women whose love-life gets them snookered into no-way-out corner pockets. And, maybe, if you like some interesting cooking recipes (included at the book’s end). It’s a fantastic read for people who love sex or drinking! It’s not too long and–WARNING–the sex is explicit! In an international competition, Meg McDermott was honored with the distinction of the The Sue Ellen Hudson “Excellence in Writing” award by The Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference, its top overall prize. They also awarded her novel, “How I Started Drinking,” BEST NOVEL. “As you go skinny dipping with the snapping turtles in this hilarious novel, pour yourself a strong one! I loved ‘How I Started Drinking!’” –Dr. Jane Oswald, author of “Teaching in Black Holes in Space.” http://goo.gl/FlPAUk
POTUS Goes to Washington, by T. Pascal
(Kindle $2.99 / Paperback $6.81)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: T. Pascal is a father, husband, and writer who looks down from the heights of his ivory tower and contemplates the little people beneath him. He is a benevolent writer who believes in the competence of all his subjects, excepting those who recycle and/or enjoy a vegan diet.
ABOUT POTUS Goes to Washington: The governor of Kansas is elected to the highest office in the land. As President of the United States, he promises to right the wrongs that plague the great states of America. His populist platform involves getting rid of Daylight Savings and abolishing Congress. With his silent, brave, and heroic Secret Service agent Johnson by his side, he attempts to confront his political enemies on the open field of back room meetings. His most trusted allies and head maid turn against him in an all-out battle to determine who will control the White House lunch menu. Can he implement his reforms and turn the clock back on Daylight Savings before he is impeached?
*Without Bloodshed (Starbreaker #1), by Matthew Graybosch
(Kindle Price $4.99), 319 pages.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Matthew Graybosch is the author of Without Bloodshed, a near-future science fantasy thriller set in the Starbreaker universe. His other works include Steadfast, a novelette published in five parts at the Curiosity Quills Press website; Tattoo Vampire: and The Milgram Battery, which was included in the Curiosity Quills Primetime charity anthology. According to official records maintained by the state of New York, Matthew Graybosch was born on Long Island in 1978. Urban legends in New York suggest he might be Rosemary’s Baby, the result of top-secret DOD attempts to continue Nazi experiments combining human technology and black magic, or that he sprang fully grown from his father’s forehead with a sledgehammer in one hand and a copy of The C Programming Language in the other — and has given the poor man headaches ever since. The truth is more prosaic. Matthew Graybosch is a novelist from New York who lives in central Pennsylvania. He is also an avid reader, a long-haired metalhead, and an unrepentant nerd.
ABOUT Without Bloodshed (Starbreaker #1): “All who threaten me die.” These words made Morgan Stormrider’s reputation as one of the Phoenix Society’s deadliest IRD officers. He served with distinction as the Society’s avenger, hunting down anybody who dared kill an Adversary in the line of duty. After a decade spent living by the sword, Morgan seeks to bid a farewell to arms and make a new life with his friends as a musician. Regardless of his faltering faith, the Phoenix Society has a final mission for Morgan Stormrider after a dictator’s accusations make him a liability to the organization. He must put everything aside, travel to Boston, and prove he is not the Society’s assassin. He must put down Alexander Liebenthal’s coup while taking him alive. Despite the gravity of his task, Morgan cannot put aside his ex-girlfriend’s murder, or efforts to frame him and his closest friends for the crime. He cannot ignore a request from a trusted friend to investigate the theft of designs for a weapon before which even gods stand defenseless. He cannot disregard the corruption implied in the Phoenix Society’s willingness to make him a scapegoat should he fail to resolve the crisis in Boston without bloodshed. The words with which Morgan Stormrider forged his reputation haunt him still.
http://mybook.to/withoutbloodshed
Curiosity Quills: Primetime:
(Kindle $4.99 / Paperback $13.00)
Curiosity Quills Press brings together bestselling authors like J.R. Rain, Tony Healey, A.W. Exley, and more to create a spine-tingling, mind-blowing, quirky collection of short stories in their first ever, annual Curiosity Quills: Primetime Anthology. 10% of every purchase will go straight to animals in need. The CQ team has selected humane societies on both the East and West coast that spend well and do not stray from their “no-kill” policies. Included Short Stories: – And Death Shall Have No Dominion – K.H. Koehler – Cyber Cowboy – James Wymore – Dark Orb – Tony Healey – Ephemera – Gerilyn Marin – The Fridge – J.R. Rain – Ghost Placers – Nina Post – Gothic Gwen – A.W. Exley – How I Killed the Drama – Mike Robinson – Mad Science – Sharon Bayliss – On the Rocks – William Vitka – Razor Child – Michael Shean – Sinergy – A.E. Propher & Grace Eyre – Tell Us Everything – Randy Attwood – The Caw – Eliza Tilton – The Damned and the Dangerous – Michael Panush – The Last Carnivale – Vicki Keire – The Milgram Battery – Matthew Graybosch – The Notebook – Randy Attwood – The Pearl – Rand B. Lee – Trevor – Nathan Yocum
#HowIStartedDrinking #POTUSGoestoWashington #WithoutBloodshed #CuriosityQuills #BlogsofAugust
November 23, 2013 at 4:01 pm
Giselle Minoli you are utterly the most fantastic person ever! Thanks so much, I’m completely gobsmacked.
Congratulations also to my fellow authors whom I know well on G+.
November 23, 2013 at 4:09 pm
You are most welcome T. Pascal. Seriously, this was such a pleasure for me. I mean, we learn things about one another as we go on, don’t we? But then there are rather big things that happen along the way – like publishing a book – and such an event needs to be shouted, because it’s such an accomplishment. Congratulations T. Pascal…
November 23, 2013 at 4:10 pm
I love this eloquent and generous post.
November 23, 2013 at 4:34 pm
Thank you, Annabelle Howard
November 23, 2013 at 5:15 pm
I’ve been wondering if there’s a writers’ Hangout group (fairly small) for, shall I say . . . mature women . . . writing fiction. I’m working on a novel and it would be fun to have more companionship in that regard. Online Writers’ Group rather than an open Community for Writers.
November 23, 2013 at 5:19 pm
Of course I don’t mind Matthew Graybosch. I tried to find such a link on the Amazon page for each book, but I couldn’t find it – probably didn’t know where to look. So I’m going to copy and paste that link right underneath the About the Book paragraph in the body text of my post.
T. Pascal and Meg Tufano if the both of you have such links will you please get them to me? Awesome Matthew. Thank you.
November 23, 2013 at 5:20 pm
You are an excellent writer yourself, Giselle Minoli.
November 23, 2013 at 5:25 pm
Giselle Minoli http://www.zennet.com
This is ten times more special to me than being on some New York Times list. 🙂
November 23, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Well thank you kind Chad Haney. You have always been very supportive. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is, however, to take a break from myself to focus on the writing of others. I know you know it is the challenge all writers face – the fact that we must read because it is our calling, but that fact competing with the time it takes to write and the silence and focus required by it. That is why I love that Mr. T., Matthew and Meg are finally able to share the fruits of their own labors with all of us…
November 23, 2013 at 5:34 pm
That’s an excellent point. I write a lot about science on G+. It’s time I make time for my own, independent research.
November 23, 2013 at 6:24 pm
That’s a very fantastic writeup! I shall definitely give those a look, thanks. 🙂
November 23, 2013 at 8:47 pm
Matthew Graybosch I have included the link for Primetime in the body text of my post as well. Thank you for that. Thank you Daniela Huguet Taylor in advance for taking a look at these books. I appreciate it.
Annabelle Howard, I write literary/creative nonfiction so I am not part of any online group for fiction writers, but I tend to think there must be. Have you tried searching for one, starting, perhaps, in the City/State where you live? If you don’t find what you are looking for, my own feeling is that an audience exists for what you describe right here on G+…if what you are looking for is a supportive audience and making connections. I do belong to a couple of community groups on G+ for writers, but noticed that I had a time crunch in responding within those communities and posting publicly, which has been my Mission since day one, and which, in fact, gives me my own support system. There are only a certain number of hours in the day and I have chosen to spend mine in Public, rather than Private, conversation because I think it more directly relates to what a writer does when they publish their work!
November 23, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Greetings Mz Maau and Pam Adger and thank you both for sharing this post. 😉
November 23, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Thanks so much for the pointers Giselle Minoli . My husband and I run an open mic for writers at our local independent bookshop each month which is supportive and a public event. I do have a local writers’ group, too, but they’ve heard this book. I’d love the opportunity to talk about my book with new people as I rewrite and also hear about other people’s work. My day job is educational publishing k-12. I write plays for kids and that is a whole other audience. I need to keep my adult fiction separate for now. I shall do a little clicking around and see what comes up 🙂
November 23, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Annabelle Howard how fabulous your Open Mike. My husband Brian Altman, who is also a writer (of fiction), and I have been talking about doing a private Open Mike (by invitation) and playing around with the genre and include music. I think it’s wise for you to keep your kids plays separate from your adult fiction…and, in case you don’t know this already, Matthew Graybosch can tell you he has “tested” quite a bit of Starbreaker with a growing audience here. Maybe think of it as excerpting your book? What a shame you and I have not been in more touch on G+. Let’s change that!
November 23, 2013 at 9:49 pm
I’m delighted we have connected now, Giselle Minoli. We clearly have quite a bit in common. My husband is a playwright from the Yale School of Drama and has written musicals and tons of songs. He was the first to deliver a novel as a thesis at Harvard. He’s also taught play writing and screenwriting at the Yale Summer School for 23 years. We’d love to be included in your private Open Mic. Great idea. Let’s definitely be more in touch!
November 23, 2013 at 11:08 pm
Ah, Yale School of Drama…what years Annabelle Howard? Years ago when I was still acting, I was in a Thieves Theatre play (Fassbinder’s Trash, The City and Death) put on in New York at ABC No Rio by three people who went to Yale Drama – Nick Fraccaro (Director), Gabriela Schaefer (actor/translator) and Eric Ehn (Dramaturg). I lost touch with all of them years ago…I wonder if your husband knows any of them.
November 23, 2013 at 11:39 pm
Giselle Minoli Thanks so much! The book is available internationally from the link you gave out. And, for happy reasons that I will never understand, is selling like crazy in India ! ;’) One more thing! If you buy the Paper copy, you can get the digital for 99 Cents! (You do not need to own a Kindle to read the book AS a Kindle (it’s a free software program that works on all computers).) (Click on the paper copy and, then, “MatchBook.”)
Annabelle Howard You may not know it, hard to know who is on what threads, but Giselle and I discovered after having become friends here on G+ that she and I spent an ENTIRE YEAR together at St. John’s in Santa Fe!!!! SAME DORM! She remembers me as, “The one with the energy.” I was always studying and can hardly remember ANYTHING! ;’) Isn’t life wonderful and strange?
BTW, I have just met Annabelle through Laura Gibbs this year. Giselle. She rocks! Back to editing the Journal! ;’)
November 23, 2013 at 11:42 pm
Whoops! Is there a link? If not, here it is:
http://goo.gl/FlPAUk
November 24, 2013 at 1:02 am
One could call such a drink link? Just as the professional poker player never drinks while playing. It is difficult enough to not lose due to a URLtell.
November 24, 2013 at 4:23 am
Jake Parker Huh?
November 24, 2013 at 4:38 am
Went way over my own head Meg Tufano…
November 24, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Thanks for saying I rock Meg Tufano . Very flattered.
Mz Maau Thanks for suggesting R.J. Blain . I’ll definitely check her out.
Any advice for using G+ to help sustain writing Matthew Graybosch ?
I saw All Is Lost today. The Redford movie. Extraordinary.
November 24, 2013 at 10:09 pm
By sustain I mean the sort of support a writers’ group provides. Momentum can increase with the sense of a real audience. I’ve written my whole life. It’s not as if I’m about to give up, but I just thought it might be nice to see what a G+ effect might add and was looking to hear about your experience Matthew Graybosch
November 24, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Yeah, I’ve tested a few writing communities and they are good as far as they go. What I was hoping to hear about was a little private group of writers who Hangout and read their stuff and act like a virtual writers’ group. Mz Maau
November 25, 2013 at 11:55 am
Good morning, Giselle ! My husband didn’t know those folks at Yale. He was there with Rich Greenberg (Take Me Out), Patricia Clarkson, and Courtney Vance. I imagine we’ll discover people in common at some point!
November 25, 2013 at 12:29 pm
We will indeed Annabelle Howard. But my basic question is: Do All Roads Lead to Meg Tufano? Or Laura Gibbs? Or…perhaps…to women writers? You and me? All of the above? Have a lovely week you all…
November 25, 2013 at 12:32 pm
Women writers got it going on. Here’s to us!
November 25, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Annabelle Howard I can’t understate how important I think a non-writing audience is for a writer. It’s like a theatre audience for an actor. They are responding almost viscerally, immediately, instinctively, intuitively…naturally. It creates a sense of being understood on another level, whereas the fellow writer voice is more specific, like that of one’s friends and family. What I have learned from perfect strangers on G+ is something that I never had access to in years of writers workshops or discussions with other writers and I have found it invaluable and sustaining in ways I never imagined. For what it’s worth…that is why I post publicly. I value that random unexpected encounter. I have always depended on the kindness of strangers!
November 25, 2013 at 6:05 pm
OK, Blanche, settle down 😉 But seriously, that’s a very interesting perspective. That might work for my memoir, but I can’t see posting random bits of my novel and getting much back. The women in my writers’ group are more readers than writers, so I get some readers’ response there — granted, they are not strangers. However, I’m willing to give it a go and see what happens. Just like you, I’ve depended on a ton of strangers for kindness . . . why stop now?
November 27, 2013 at 9:48 pm
Ha! Annabelle Howard. One of my favorite plays Streetcar. I don’t know that everything needs to get a response. Sometimes I think that what we post just shows a different side of us, lets people in more. There is value in that. Have a lovely holiday Annabelle Howard…you and your family…and the same to everyone else on this thread…Happy Thanksgiving to all of you…
November 28, 2013 at 12:02 am
Thank you Matthew Graybosch and to you and Catherine and all things and beings Starbreaker as well!
December 3, 2017 at 9:58 pm
Guys…..is easy to be a poet???????