Beyond Flight or Fight: A Compassionate Guide for Working with Fearful Dogs by Sunny Weber

 

Book Details:

​Book Title:  Beyond Flight or Fight: A Compassionate Guide for Working with Fearful Dogs by Sunny Weber
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+),  186 pages
Genre: Animals/Dogs/Training/Self-Help 
Publisher:  Pups & Purrs Press 
Release date:  September 2016
Content Rating: This non-fiction book is rated G.

Book Description:

Is your dog afraid of noises, objects, or you? Whether you have taken a fearful dog into your home, or you work professionally to save lives, Beyond Flight or Fight is an indispensable tool. Discover how to help dogs that have been neglected, abused, or are genetically timid.

Fearful, timid, and/or reactive dogs are the most commonly rejected and euthanized dog personality type. Shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries often do not have the financial resources, time, or qualified staff to help these dogs adapt to life with humans. By providing a concise, easy-to-understand guide for anyone who has chosen a fearful dog to adopt, foster, or rehabilitate for other potential owners, Beyond Flight or Fight will help many people save many innocent, confused, and overwhelmed dogs’ lives.

Unique points covered include:

• How fear works: primary vs. secondary responses.
• Why rescue programs may not work
• Safe places, escape, and helping dogs think
• Flooding, aggression, learned helplessness: what happens/fixing it
• Importance of: a familiar handler, time, and leadership
• Specialized training techniques
• Developing dog self-confidence
• How to use: voice, hands, body, correction cues, and dog psychology
• Why some dogs do not respond
• Maintenance, proofing, accepting optimal levels Learn to teach “special needs” pets how to fit into the human world.

Conquer brain-flooding stress hormones and help your dog move from knee-jerk, Amygdala-based fear responses to reasoned, calm, rational evaluation based in the prefrontal cortex of the dog mind. Fearful dogs can be saved and have quality lives free of anxiety.

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Beyond Flight or Fight is a fascinating, in depth exploration into the psychology of rehabilitating fearful and traumatised dogs so that they can have a happy future in our human dominated environment. Sunny Weber has immense experience and understanding in this field and her expertise really does shine through every page. Beyond Flight or Fight is not a step by step instruction manual, but rather an invitation for us to understand how our own behaviours can influence the dogs in our care - for better or for worse. I was especially interested in the sections where Weber explains how exceptionally fluent most dogs are in interpreting our body language and that they will often give body language signals precedence over whatever verbal commands we make. As humans on the whole have lost much of our ability to communicate non-verbally, it's no wonder our dogs get confused when we send conflicting signals! 

Beyond Flight or Fight does include a number of case studies of formerly fearful dogs, most of which are quite challenging emotionally to read. I find it hard to accept how casually people can abandon a pet, yet thousands do and often for reasons that would have seemed to be obvious problems had they really considered how much of a commitment they were taking on. Weber discusses the differences between shelters and foster homes, but mostly focuses on foster work as the individual care component here is vital in rehabilitating a fearful dog.

While I don't have a dog myself, I was very interested to read this book and picked up a few tips myself for better ways to greet the dogs I do meet pretty much every day. For people who share their homes with a dog however, whether a fearful one or not, I imagine Beyond Flight Or Fight would become an invaluable resource and conversation starter, allowing owners to better understand their canine companions and also, hopefully, allowing those dogs a similar improved understanding of their humans!

Check Out Sunny Weber's Other Dog Training Book:

Book Details:

​Book Title:  City Dog Walking Safety & Etiquette by Sunny Weber
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+),  110 pages
Genre: Animals/Dogs/Training/Self-Help 
Publisher:  Pups & Purrs Press 
Release date:  September 2018
Content Rating: This non-fiction book is rated G.

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Book Description:

Think you need just a leash & a dog? So you think dog walking is a no-brainer, right?

Just snap on the old leash and head out the door, until. . .
• Your dog pulls you off your feet or jerks your arm out of its socket
• An off-leash dog races straight at you and your dog, in attack or play
• A speeding bicyclist barely misses hitting you
• Your dog jumps on a passer-by while you are distracted
• A panting, passing runner causes your dog to go ballistic from the aggressive, fast invasion of her space
• You encounter a coyote or snake

City Dog Walking Safety & Etiquette will cover all scenarios you and your dog can expect in urban and suburban environments. You will learn simple commands to help you understand each other, find the best fit of equipment, be aware of local hazards, and appreciate basic manners so you and your pup are welcome wherever you go. Sunny Weber will help you enjoy the outdoors with your furry friend—safely!

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Meet the Author:

Sunny Weber has over 30 years in animal welfare advocacy. She has experience in rescue, fostering, medical care, service and therapy dog evaluation and training, shelter and sanctuary work and specializes in the rehabilitation of fearful animals. Sunny has rehabilitated then re-homed hundreds of dogs, cats and horses.

connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ linkedIn ~ goodreads ~ bookbub

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BEYOND FLIGHT OR FIGHT Book Tour Giveaway

The First State (The Judgment series Book 1) by Tshekedi Wallace

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  THE FIRST STATE  (The Judgment series Book 1) by Tshekedi Wallace
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 237 pages
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Review Tales Publishing & Editing Services
​Publication Date: August 18, 2022.
Content Rating: G 

Book Description:

​England is run by the dictator and tyrant Gregory Christopher in the year 2079 from London Metropolitan state. He is crushing the citizens will by enforcing unfair laws using his statesmen, and he has used the police and his alpha hunters to put fear in the people’s hearts. Kofi Achebe and the urban fist revolution factions are fighting the evil head statesman and the men he uses to inflict pain on those who go against him as he continues to rule over the masses. The battle between the state police, unified security services, and the urban fist militia starts to become brutal and gruesome as the mad leader slowly begins to tighten his grip. He knows that he must keep the citizens in line so he can continue to rule. Slowly the despot leader begins to feel that his power is being challenged to the point where he must make the people suffer. Kofi and the urban fist militia leader Trevor Brown know that they must fight to break free of the statesmen’s evil regime and destroy the system they created once and for all. The final war in London Metropolitan becomes a fight to the death that will decide the fate of many citizens.

Buy the Book:
Amazon

Meet the Author:

Tshekedi Wallace is named after Tshekedi the Great, the King of the Bamangwato of Botswana. In keeping with his namesake, Tshekedi Wallace, who was born in Leeds, is a committed advocate for freedom due to his upbringing. He was born into a well-known family of struggle heroes who fought for the liberation of their people. He grew up listening to vigorous debates about politics, history, and issues of the day mostly discussed at the dinner table. This has given him an enduring love for history, literature, art, and politics. Although he likes to read books across all kinds of genres, he has a special love for science fiction, thrillers, poetry, and non-fiction. In his spare time, he avidly follows what’s happening in movies. He loves music from all cultures and is steeped in African culture in all its manifestations, particularly in the Caribbean and the Americas. In his spare time, he writes poetry.

connect with the author: twitter ~ instagram

Win an ebook Copy of THE FIRST STATE  (The Judgment series Book 1) by Tshekedi Wallace (one winner) (open internationally, ends Dec 17)

FIRST STATE SPOTLIGHT Book Tour Giveaway

Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman

Book Details:

Book Title:  Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman
Category:  Young-Adult Fiction (18 +), 286 pages
Genre:  Action-Adventure/Fantasy
Publisher:  Chelshire
Release date:   July 30 2022
Content Rating: PG. The author thinks the book is G-rated. A reviewer said it had some curses. Some may consider "Holy crap" is a curse.

"If I were to give a book to every young adult in this world, I would give them Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman without blinking. I absolutely loved every moment of this uplifting and fascinating story. It's filled with valuable life lessons, adventure, peril, and highly relatable and lovable characters." Reviewed by Emma Megan for Readers' Favorite

"Harry Potter meets Sky High. If you're a fan of young adult stories where protagonists go to mysterious schools to train their superhuman abilities, don't miss out on Grady Whill and The Templeton Codex." Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Reader's Favorite
 
"Carole P. Roman has created a world that is unique, inhabited by characters that young people can easily relate to because of their similar concerns about growing pains... This book has a strong message and theme that deserves to be read." Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Reader's Favorite​

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Book Description:

Templeton Academy- the superhero high school is finally open! The prestigious institution is recruiting the best of the best to enroll in its student body. The school is as mysterious as it is exclusive.

Grady Whill thinks there is nothing special about him to make the grade. However, his best friend, Aarush Patel has been selected and thinks Grady has the right stuff. Even school bully Elwood Bledsoe is attending.

​If Grady is fortunate enough to be picked, his guardian has forbidden him to attend. Will a family secret prevent Grady from becoming the superhero he was destined to be?

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I should probably start this review by admitting that I am several decades older than Grady Whill and his friends so I'm not even close to the target audience for Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex, nevertheless I still had a good time following their adventures. Grady himself did remind me a little of myself at that age - hopelessly entangled in self doubt and low self esteem. Fortunately for Grady, he is inspired by the thought of attending a new super-school, The Templeton Academy, and what he learns there might just be enough to turn his life around. I would have loved to find out exactly what was written on his application!

Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex starts and ends with thrilling disaster scenes, and there's plenty of fantastical magic happenings in between. Carole P Roman manages to include moral and self belief teachings along the way which are intertwined into the lessons Grady and Aarush learn so it doesn't feel like being preached to. Personally I would have liked more background description and world building in order to fully understand the whys and hows of everything. Where did that pterodactyl come from, for example, (and couldn't Carol have picked an easier to spell dinosaur!)? However, I realise that would have considerably slowed the story's pace and made it less of an appealing read for young superhero wannabes.Overall, I  think that Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex is a fun adventure tale for school story and superhero fans, and it is a strong start to what I imagine will be an entertaining series.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW w Carole P. Roman

1- What genre do you write and why? I write all genres. I write kid's fiction and nonfiction as Carole P. Roman and adult fiction (horror and paranormal romance) as Brit Lunden. 

2- What made you write a book about superheroes? I come from a family of authors. Grady Whill was actually a character my son came up with. He wanted to name the novel Whillpower and write about superheroes. My younger son suggested it should be in a school setting. I asked if they minded if I took the idea and write the book. He moved on to something else, and I took Grady, gave him asthma, created an autistic best friend, and went on an adventure of a lifetime with them.

3- Your book is set in Middlebury and an island off the coast of Miami. Have you ever been there? Only in my imagination. Middlebury is like the Simpson's Springfield. It could be anywhere in this country. Both Middlebury and the island are inventions of my imagination.

4- In your book you state "Do not fear failure. Failure makes us stronger. Failure makes us smarter. Failure is good.” Why is that? We teach children to fear failure. They must learn that it's only through trial and error that we can become successful. Each failure leads us closer to success.

5- If you could put yourself as a character in your book, who would you be?  I think I identify with Grady more than any other character. I have felt that pit of insecurity lodge itself in my gut, making me question everything I do. I love his loyalty and how he stands up for his autistic friend. I hope I was that kid in school.

6- What is the last great book you’ve read? Jodi Picoult Wish You Were Here. I love her writing. I can't put her books down.

7. What's the moral of this story? You can do anything you desire, and nothing, not gender or anything else should hold you back.

Meet the Author:

Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of over fifty children's books. Whether it's pirates, princesses, spies, or discovering the world around us, her books have enchanted educators, parents, and her diverse audience of children of all ages.

Her best-selling book, The Big Book of Silly Jokes for Kids: 800+ Jokes! has reached number one on Amazon in March of 2020 and has remained in the top 200 books since then.

She published Mindfulness for Kids with J. Robin Albertson-Wren.

Carole has co-authored two self-help books. Navigating Indieworld: A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing with Julie A. Gerber, and Marketing Indieworld with both Julie A. Gerber and Angela Hausman.

Roman is the CEO of a global transportation company, as well as a practicing medium.

She also writes adult fiction under the name Brit Lunden and has created an anthology of the mythical town of Bulwark, Georgia with a group of indie authors.

Writing is her passion and one of her favorite pastimes. Roman reinvents herself frequently, and her family calls her the 'mother of reinvention.' She resides on Long Island, near her children and grandchildren.

connect with the author:

website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

Enter the Giveaway:

Win a $100 Amazon Gift Card or a signed copy of GRADY WHILL AND THE TEMPLETON CODEX (10 winners / USA only) (ends Dec 5)

GRADY WHILL AND THE TEMPLETON CODEX Book Tour Giveaway

A Dress the Color of the Moon by Jennifer Irwin

Book Details:

​Book Title:  A Dress the Color of the Moon by Jennifer Irwin
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  360 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction 
Publisher:  Glass Spider Publishing
Release date:  October 30, 2021
Content Rating:  PG-13 +M: Though this book deals with sexual addiction, it does not contained explicit sex scenes and the language is tame. The book's focus is on the protagonist's path toward recovery from an addiction.

Book Description:

Prudence Aldrich is a sex addict. Five weeks ago, she checked into the Serenity Hills rehab center to prevent that addiction from ruining every important relationship in her life. Now Prue must face the trail of destruction she left behind, including mending the broken bond with her teenage son, finalizing the divorce from her husband, Nick, and using a newly learned set of skills to ward off her insatiable cravings for male attention-a compulsion that puts her friendship with lifelong pal Lily to the test.

​Adding ever further complications to the hurdles in her path is the arrival into town of Alistair Prescott, her in-rehab romantic obsession, and the one person in the world most capable of throwing Prue off her recovery. Meanwhile, Serenity Hills counselor Mike Sullivan is undergoing a crisis of his own-one that will drive him to the rediscovery of a lifelong passion . . . and causing him to cross paths again with Prue, his former patient.

A Dress the Color of the Moon tracks the rocky and sometimes disastrous path to recovery-a recovery that will require Prudence and her friends to face down the demons of their pasts while learning to accept the fearful uncertainty that comes with living life on your own two feet.

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This book's striking cover art first caught my attention and, although its synopsis wasn't then what I had expected to see, its concept appealed to me as a reader. A Dress the Color of the Moon is actually the second of two books. I hadn't read its predecessor, but found I had no problems in launching straight in to the story so I can confidently recommend A Dress the Color of the Moon as a standalone novel.

Events are recounted mostly from the perspective of recovering addict Prudence - Prue - as she attempts to regain some form of an addiction free life. This made for an interesting juxtaposition for me because, while Prue is certainly an engaging narrator, I didn't actually like her very much as a person. She's incredibly self-centered and frequently complains of faults in other people that I could clearly recognise in her too. For example, at one point she says that her rehab friend Gloria has stilted maturity, probably due to childhood abuse. I thought Prue's continued insistence on putting herself at the centre of everyone's attention displayed a similar childishness. I appreciated how Jennifer Irwin portrayed these contradictions and complexities in Prue's character. 

I was not so impressed by some over-convenient or perhaps just under-explored subplots which were unnecessarily distracting and didn't seem to fulfil any narrative purpose. Alistair's search for a particular woman is an example of this. On the other hand, Prue's setbacks in trying to rebuild a constructive relationship with her son was poignant, especially when she recognised how she herself was perpetuating damaging parental examples from her own childhood.

A Dress the Color of the Moon was an unusual and insightful read that I'm glad to have discovered and read. It is potentially triggering on a number of issues surrounding addiction, suicide, childhood abuse and parental neglect, but I felt that Irwin always negotiated these subjects respectfully. While, understandably, not always a happy tale I thought it struck a hopeful note overall and was a sensitive depiction of addiction recovery.

Meet the Author:

Jennifer Irwin’s debut novel, A Dress the Color of the Sky, was published in 2017 and has received rave reviews, won seven book awards, and was optioned for a feature film. Jennifer’s short stories have appeared in numerous literary publications including California’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction. Jennifer is represented by Prentis Literary and currently resides in Los Angeles.

connect with the  author:

website ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ youtube ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

Enter the Giveaway:

Win a signed copy of A DRESS THE COLOR OF THE MOON by Jennifer Irwin (one winner)(USA only)(ends Dec 17)

DRESS THE COLOR OF THE MOON Book Tour Giveaway

A Spying Eye: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox book review

Book Details:

Book Title:  A Spying Eye: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+), 256 pages
Genre:  Historical Mystery
Publisher:  She Writes Press
Release dates:   Oct 25, 2022
Content Rating: R: There are some swear words peppered throughout (not many) and 2 explicit sex scenes (tasteful, but more than a PG-13 scene)

Book Description:

In A Spying Eye, Clive and Henrietta return to Europe in an attempt to resurrect their failed honeymoon. While in London, they are approached by their old friend, Inspector John Hartle, who convinces them to search for the missing panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, a famous Renaissance painting, of which Hitler’s top men are also in pursuit.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Oldrich Exley threatens to cut off financial support for the entire Von Harmon brood if Elsie continues with her plan to marry Gunther―a situation made worse by the sudden appearance of one Heinrich Meyer, who claims to be little Anna’s father and threatens to take her away. Desperate, Elsie seeks the help of Clive’s sister, Julia, who is herself the victim of domestic abuse and who has fallen under the spell of a handsome Texas millionaire bent on acquiring a rare painting from the Howard collection.

​Clive and Henrietta’s search takes them to Chateau du Freudeneck in Strasbourg, France―the ancient seat of the Von Harmons and home to three eccentric distant relatives. What begins as a wild goose chase turns decidedly more deadly when several Nazi officers also arrive at the chateau in search of a “valuable item.” When Henrietta and Clive attempt to flee after Henrietta uncovers a shocking truth, they are forced to trust themselves to a suspicious French servant who seems all-too willing to help . . .

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A Spying Eye is comprised of two distinct narratives, linked by their heroines being related to each other, but each taking place on different continents. Henrietta has travelled to France on the trail of a lost painting and Elsie is striving not to lose the man she loves. I liked how Michelle Cox intertwined both stories, using the changing atmospheres in each to complement and contrast with what was happening at that time in the other story. Of the two sisters I found myself identifying most strongly with Elsie, although both women are determined and somewhat impetuous when it suits them.

Cox creates a believable 1930s setting on each side of the Atlantic. I was interested in how the then-forthcoming Second World War was perceived by the various characters, especially as, for several of them, the believed 'unrepeatable' Great War was still a very relevant and emotionally painful part of their lives. Clive, Henrietta's husband, for example, suffers from 'fits' which we would now recognise as untreated PTSD as a result of his Great War experiences. I imagine it was tricky for Cox to balance her characters' not knowing of an imminent future that her book's readers would likely be aware of in much greater detail. There is a strong sense of foreboding in the background throughout A Spying Eye which I felt was particularly effective in the Alsace scenes, set as they are so close to the French-German border.

I enjoyed reading A Spying Eye for its mix of spy mystery and human drama. It kept me intrigued throughout and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for unwilling traveller, Edna!

Meet the Author:

Michelle Cox is the author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. Her books have won over 50 international awards and have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Foreword, Elle, Redbook, Brit&Co., POPSUGAR, Buzzfeed, and many others.

Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade. She lives in Chicago with her husband, three children, and one naughty Goldendoodle and is hard at work on her latest novel. 

Connect with the Author: website ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ tiktok ~ goodreads ~ bookbub

Enter the Giveaway:

Win a $150 Amazon Gift Card, courtesy of author of A SPYING EYE (a Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel) (one winner/USA only) (ends Nov 28)

A Spying Eye Book Tour Giveaway

Holy Terror by John R. Dougherty + Author Interview

 

Book Details:

​Book Title:  Holy Terror by John R. Dougherty
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  275 pages
Genre: Supernatural Mystery
Publisher:  Self-Published
Release date:  September 2022
Content Rating:  PG-13 +M - There is very little mild bad language, but there is a lot of somewhat graphic violence depicted.

Book Description:

The Miami police force is utterly baffled by the horrific crime scenes they are finding. The victims are being executed in unimaginable ways, and unlike most crimes perpetrated against humanity, these victims do not fit the usual murder victim profile. These victims are themselves criminals. In fact, some are very well-known criminals. But this scenario is not unique to Miami. Locales worldwide are seeing the same kind of maniacal homicides.

Who is responsible for carrying out these crimes, and how can they be stopped?

Two of Miami PD’s finest, Detectives Ian Jelani and Lane Madigan, are on the prowl, trying to solve these mysterious crimes. But they are being drawn into something far beyond their imaginations, something more than they have ever bargained for. These men may think they have seen it all, but that is quite the understatement. They are on a collision course with the most terrifying vigilante they have ever encountered. When their families become embroiled, the gloves come off, no holds are barred, and the rage of the vigilante spills onto them as well.

The forces of good and evil have waged war since long before Creation. Angels of heaven, both good and evil, have struggled to expand the borders of their kingdoms, and humankind has long been caught in the middle of that raging turf war. Men and women have faced the choices of good and evil since the Garden of Eden, and everyone knows where that original choice landed the rest of us. But humans are not the only ones tempted by the wares of evil. Angels have stared those same choices in the face too. Some have fallen away from the Creator, while some have remained faithful to Him. What of an angel caught betwixt good and evil, an angel who thinks he is serving his Master, but he is actually teetering on the edge of his own fall? What if that angel was the greatest warrior angel of all time, and decided to take it upon himself to rid the Earth of evil people? What might happen to those evil people who are trying to exert their malevolent power and intentions upon their fellow humans if such an angel was to go after them?

In Holy Terror, Thumos, the greatest warrior of the Creator’s angelic army, the fiercest of all heavenly soldiers, has had enough of what he perceives to be a pattern of deference. He decides to take matters into his own hands. But the path he starts down is a path that other angels have traversed before. And many of them have ended up in the camp of the Evil One, the most destructive force the universe has ever known. Thumos comes face to face with Satan himself, and he have even more decisions to make.

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John R. Dougherty
Amazon ~ BookBaby

Author Interview with John R Dougherty

What made you write a book about angels?

I have long been fascinated with stories about angels.  Primarily that began with reading and studying the Bible, which obviously contains a plethora of angel stories. But beyond the Bible stories, for a few decades, I have had a fascination with more modern stories which people have shared who believe they have had personal encounters with angels.  Many interesting books have been written on this topic.

I even have my own story that I like to think was my personal “angel encounter” – it’s not quite as dramatic as many such stories of others’ experiences, but still, maybe it counts!

Years ago, the real impetus to my book, was the thought I had after seeing/hearing about both real stories of people doing terrible things to other people, and fictional stories of villains, bad guys.  I would think “these bad guys wouldn’t stand a chance against an angel” – in turn, that led me down the path of creating a story where an angel goes rogue and decides he has had enough of watching bad people do bad things to other people, and he wants to right such wrongs…misguided as he may be.

How long have you been writing?

“Writing” could be interpreted in a few different ways, from my vantage point.  

This is the first novel I have ever attempted to write – the first full-length book.  And it has been quite a fascinating experience, for sure – an excellent learning opportunity for me.

I actually started writing as a teenager.  Back then, I never had any formal goals of becoming a published author, and that kind of writing was always in more of an expository, non-fiction way of writing.  That was all in the context of church-going, Bible study, that sort of thing.

In my twenties, I actually did write some short articles that were frequently “published” in my church’s weekly bulletin.  Granted, that was an extremely limited audience size, considering the churches I attended back then were in the 75-150 people count – but technically you could say I was “published”…just in an extremely limited sense!

As far as diving into fiction/novel writing, the idea for this book originally struck me in 1996, but I never got any real traction on it until the mid-to-late 2010’s.

So the actual answer to the question is “it depends…on how you want to define ‘writing’”.  In one sense, I suppose I could say I’ve been writing for over 40 years.  In the truly professional sense, I am just getting started!

What is the last great book you read?

This is a really hard question, there are so many good books I have read in the recent past. By the way, a lot of my “reading” is actually through Audible.com – huge fan, love listening to books even more than reading them on the paper for myself. I frequently get stuck on the same types of books, where I read several of a similar nature, get a little bored of that, then move on to something else.

In general, I’m a big sci-fi fan, and I’ve really gotten into Andy Weir’s books lately.  The Martian, Artemis, and Project Hail Mary (which I would probably say is the “last great book I’ve read”).  He does such a great job of integrating real science facts & lessons into his sci-fiction writing (showcasing some serious scientific research he has clearly done), combined with great story telling – love it!  Also, like me, he started out as a computer programmer by trade, so that seems to make us kindred spirits, right?!

In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop.  Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

Oh yes, I definitely like to write on paper.  I did all my initial writing years ago on paper, and in fact, still have everything I ever wrote for this book on paper still in my possession.

A number of years ago, I learned from a seminar, that one thing I could do to preserve the original proof/authenticity of my book was by mailing myself a copy of the book, with the USPS date stamp on it, in case anyone ever claimed my book ideas, or challenged its content.  I still have that envelope from many years ago (one of the times I thought I was done writing the book ) – maybe I’ll open that copy one day and help me remember just how different it is today compared to back then.  I like to think of that unopened envelope as a time capsule of sorts.

I am an IT guy by profession, so I do love using my laptop and all things electronic-gadget-wise, but I still feel writing things with pen and paper helps me better organize my thoughts at times.

If there is one thing you want readers to remember about you, what would it be?

Certainly I think any author wants to write something that is inspirational, entertaining, memorable – any or all of those characteristics – for his/her readers.  I am no exception to that.

However, I would have to say that my primary goal in doing my writing – in fact, in anything I do – is to try to honor God (despite the fact I am far from perfect and am not always successful in that endeavor).  It would be great to think about personal notoriety as an author, but I must regard that very much as a tangent to what is my primary goal, in trying to expand the borders of God’s kingdom, even if in only some small way.

Meet the Author:

John has spent his professional career working in information technology by day and dabbling in a variety of other diversions by nights and weekends, including a few decades of serving in lay ministry. While serving in this capacity he preached hundreds of sermons, taught countless Bible study classes, and wrote dozens of inspirational articles.

He enjoys golf, guitars, grandchildren, and all things Kansas City – the Chiefs, the Royals, Sporting KC, KC Symphony, and KC Broadway, to name a few. He thinks (if not for his long-lost metabolism of youth) he could eat the famous Kansas City barbecue every day…maybe not for breakfast, but lunch and dinner for sure!

Now he is enjoying bringing to life his angelic hero, Thumos, and a host of other characters that he hopes you will find both entertaining as well as either inspiring or repulsive (after all, there are both good guys and bad guys in this story). This is the first book of a series, featuring detectives Lane Madigan and Ian Jelani, whose experience with Thumos will yield life changing results. And if you happen to be interested in such things, happy Bible Easter Egg hunting while you read, since many are planted throughout the book.

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Enter the Giveaway:

Win a signed copy of HOLY TERROR, plus $50 PayPal cash prize. (one winner) (USA only) (ends Nov 25)

HOLY TERROR Book Tour Giveaway