Burning Night Spotlight

 

Where the ashes of the past awaken the future This is the turning point…

When Collie flees an abusive husband she’s also escaping her sordid past. But when her money is stolen, the only way to earn it back in time for her trip to Alaska, is to do the very thing she hoped she left behind. Burning Night festival is only a month away and she simply has to be there.

Exotic dancing at her age seems laughable, but the woman who owns the bar thinks differently. Meanwhile she’s met a much younger man who is undermining all her good intentions. As the past catches up with the present, terrible memories rise to the surface.

Can she untangle the threads of her life before it’s too late, or will her dreams be lost forever in the web closing in around her?  

Cold Coffee Review: Collie’s life is out of control. Everything that can happen, seems to be happening. Her marriage was a disaster, due to Dean’s abuse, and running seems to be her only way of escape.

While memories haunt her awake and sleeping mind, a trip to Alaska to attend the Burning Night Festival is perhaps going to be a fresh start. The trip is long and through her emotional pain, she finds a strange sort of comfort, when her laptop becomes her voice. As she writes, a character emerges named May. Collie’s old truck doesn’t like the trip up Medicine Mountain within the Crow homeland. At 10,000 feet the “wind whips around her, like something alive”.

With clean fresh air, wildlife in abundance all around her, a sense of reverence abounds, even though she is not Native American Indian. Dancing is in Collies blood. Her dance is not done in a huge auditorium where everyone admires the rhythm of each limb orchestrating moves within a flowing white costume. Instead, it is a dance that frees her body, mind and soul, while attracting the wrong types of men to fill her loneliness.

Can Collie take her love of dance, the magic of Medicine Mountain, a new relationship, and the words that pour from her mind, through her finger tips, into her manuscript, create a life worth staying alive for?

I enjoyed reading Burning Night. I hope the author will choose to let us know how Callie does in the future. I invite you to read this book along with the many other books written by Nikki Broadwell. Nikki uses her life experiences in Pacific Northwest and now Desert Southwest of the United States to create her novels. I purchased this book in Kindle and posted the review on October 27, 2018.  

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Women's Fiction, Contemporary  

Product Details: Paperback: 271 Pages Publisher: Airmid Publishing (October 15, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1732617317 ISBN-13: 978-1732617315 Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches  

Amazon Customer Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1KHJYXRBYHPAP/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv  

Amazon Print: https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Night-where-awaken-future/dp/1732617317/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J9Q97T2/ref=docs-os-doi_0

   

About The Author: Nikki I was raised by fairies in a sylvan glade under a massive oak tree. Her early life was spent wandering fields and woods searching for acorns and berries and staring at the cloud shadows racing across the landscape while listening to the whispers on the wind. Magic and the mystical are alive and well in all her books.

Celtic and Norse fantasy, time travel, murder mixed up with ghosts, humor and steamy romance, and a shapeshifting coyote, inhabit my 19 novels. If confused about where to begin--start with Moonstone, book 1 of Wolfmoon.

Nikki books are not what you would call literature, and yet they are not mere entertainment either. They are unique--humorous at times, sad at times, and page-turners that take the reader into a world separate from this one. I do not write to market, I write from my heart. She couldn't stop writing if she tried--it is the heart and soul now. She is astounded by how her characters lead her, taking her down meandering paths where she hadn't planned to go. A muse sits on her shoulder most days, and when she's absent, Nikki flounders and realize she needs a break. Nikki loves all things magic, including the Tarot, the runes, divination of all kinds, ghosts, clairvoyance, astral travel--you name it.

Magic is all around us if only we open our eyes to it. Nikki lived in the Pacific Northwest for sixteen years before moving to the desert southwest with her husband, a cat and a dog. The move was hard because she left family behind. “Arizona is a wonderful place to be and the weather, at least in the winter, is delightful!” In her spare time she enjoys yoga, hiking, gardening, and enjoys the bird and animal life that abound in the desert.  

Nikki Broadwell Published Books: The Last Keeper Of The Light: A Dystopian Fantasy https://www.amazon.com/Last-Keeper-Light-dystopian-fantasy-ebook/dp/B07G6RBKYF/ref=sr_1_23?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533658930&sr=1-23&keywords=Nikki+Broadwell  

Just Another Desert Sunset: A Shapeshifter Romance (Coyote Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/Just-Another-Desert-Sunset-shapeshifter-ebook/dp/B00MJ6IWEE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Coyote Sunrise: A Shapeshifting Story http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0195QJLOK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0195QJLOK&linkCode=as2&tag=colcofpre-20&linkId=OUJ3NNWFVCPVVC2T  

Moonstone: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/Moonstone-Wolfmoon-Book-Nikki-Broadwell-ebook/dp/B007DXI9SM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Willow: Wolfmoon Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/Willow-Wolfmoon-Book-Nikki-Broadwell-ebook/dp/B00A2WZDXU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Raven: Wolfmoon Book 3 https://www.amazon.com/Raven-Wolfmoon-Book-Nikki-Broadwell-ebook/dp/B00DDHA1FG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Faery: Wolfmoon Book 4 https://www.amazon.com/Faery-Wolfmoon-Book-Nikki-Broadwell-ebook/dp/B01M0X19G0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Wolfmoon Series Gift Set: Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QL9O0LE/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5  

The Wolf Moon: A Supernatural Fantasy https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Moon-supernatural-fantasy-ebook/dp/B01DWPRX04/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Gypsy's Quest: A Time Travel Romance (Gypsy Series Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/Gypsys-Quest-travel-romance-Gypsy-ebook/dp/B00HXNKLRO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Gypsy's Return: A Time Travel Romance (Gypsy Series Book 2) https://www.amazon.com/Gypsys-Return-travel-romance-Gypsy-ebook/dp/B00LMDHIBS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 Gypsy's Secret: A Time Travel Romance (Gypsy Series Book 3) https://www.amazon.com/Gypsys-Secret-Travel-Romance-Gypsy-ebook/dp/B00PZ2BVBA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Gypsy Trilogy Gift Set: Gypsy Trilogy: Gypsy's Quest, Gypsy's Return, Gypsy's Secret https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QO845Z8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6  

Murder In Plain Sight: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery Book 1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013VKERKE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B013VKERKE&linkCode=as2&tag=colcofpre-20&linkId=MT53XWYHBBPZHK3T  

Summer McCloud Boxed Set: Paranormal Murder Mysteries 1-5 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C7W91PH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i15  

Saffron and Seaweed: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery Book 2 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016UZMHM2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B016UZMHM2&linkCode=as2&tag=colcofpre-20&linkId=Y7VTLDQFO3TKU5UK  

Black and White and Red all Over (A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery Book 3) https://www.amazon.com/Black-Summer-McCloud-paranormal-mystery-ebook/dp/B01FY6IEZ2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Finlay's Folly: A Ghost Story (A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery Book 4) https://www.amazon.com/Finlays-Summer-McCloud-paranormal-mystery-ebook/dp/B01N28P07O/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

The Night Of The Jaguar: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery Book 5 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078J9KB2W/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10  

Time Bridge: Fehin and Airy Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-shared-destiny-travel-across-ebook/dp/B00XZGXGJ8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=   

Time Gap: Airy and Fehin Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/Time-Gap-happens-present-collide-ebook/dp/B01M9JR2V1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Rosemary For Remembrance: A Supernatural War-Torn Love Story https://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-Remembrance-supernatural-war-torn-story-ebook/dp/B0711FL8T8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

A Witch In Time Saves Nine https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Time-Saves-Nine-ebook/dp/B01IL91QTA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

The Moon In Her Eyes: A Witch's Tale https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Her-Eyes-witchs-tale-ebook/dp/B076N412QV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Interview:  

What makes you proud to be a writer from Tucson, Arizona? I am proud to be a writer no matter where I live, but this area has a special mystical quality about it that harkens back to the early days of the Native tribes who lived here.  

What or who inspired you to become a writer? I always loved to write—my favorite classes in school were when the teacher gave us one unfinished sentence and told the class to write for fifteen minutes. In college I majored in Art and English, unsure which was the most important to me.  

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? I spent a lot of time alone when I was a kid—There were no electronic devices then and so I was able to use my imagination to make up stories as I roamed forests and fields. I was an army brat and so we moved a lot, which added to my introversion. I read books nonstop.  

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? It was around 2003 that I began a serious story that had to do with my father’s time as a POW. That book still languishes due to the heavy emotional toll it took. In the meantime, I began a fantasy that took off and turned into three books. I sent it out to 60 agents before I decided to self-publish.

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing and publishing journey? The writing itself is my reward. I feel blessed that the muse has seen fit to stick with me!  

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? I write in several genres—the main one is fantasy, but I also write paranormal mystery, historical fiction and dystopian.   

What do you like to do when you are not writing? We just got back from a trip to Britain…I love to travel. Travel has brought me many ideas for my books. I also like to hike with my dog, and do yoga—I’m also thinking about making my own shea butter products…  

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Main one is do not be discouraged. There are many writers and many approaches to writing. Don’t give into the crowd mentality—think for yourself. And READ avidly!  

Who is your favorite author and why? If I had one favorite author it would probably be Lewis Carrol. Alice in Wonderland was my favorite book growing up, as well as his other writings—also loved Rudyard Kipling (Jungle books) There are so many it would take a full page to list them all! Of course, Tolkien comes to mind. I love fantastical stories like The Night Circus.  

What writers would you compare yourself to? I have always had a difficult time when I’m asked to compare myself with other writers. There seems to be a marketing trend now about describing oneself as a mix between this author and that. I question this. I recently read a book about Hemingway, who felt as I do—he thought of himself as unique and frowned on comparisons with others. I understand the reasoning, but my contention is—can’t being unique be a claim to fame? w  

Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/Nikki-Broadwell/e/B007EE1LN0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1445118734&sr=8-1  

Professional Website http://www.nikkibroadwell.com/  

Professional Blogs http://niksblog-authorinprogress.blogspot.com/2015/10/saffron-and-seaweed.html http://jalapenosandjavelina.blogspot.com  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Author-Nikki-Broadwell-117978961639691/  

Twitter https://twitter.com/nikkibroadwell  

Book Awards http://authorstalkaboutit.com/2017-atai-book-award-contest-finalists-announced/  

Cold Coffee Press http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/nikki-broadwell/  

CCP Book Listing Page: http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/burning-night-by-nikki-broadwell/  

Authors Keys To Success http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Finding Billy Battles Trilogy - by Ronald E. Yates

Finding Billy Battles Trilogy by Ronald E. Yates

Must Read Historical Fiction With Action & Adventure Trilogy

All Three Book Bundled At Kindle For $13.97  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNDWHH6/ref=series_rw_dp_sw/132-5477088-3669130

From Book 1: Finding Billy Battles When a great-grandson inherits two aging trunks and a stack of meticulously detailed journals penned by his great-grandfather, he sets out to fulfill his great-grandfather's last request: to tell the story of an incredible life replete with adventure, violence, and tragedy. The great-grandfather's name is Billy Battles--a man often trapped and overwhelmed by circumstances beyond his control. For much of his 100-year-long life Billy is a man missing and largely unknown to his descendants. His great-grandson is about to change that. As he works his way through the aging journals and the other possessions he finds in the battered trunks he uncovers the truth about his mysterious great-grandfather--a man whose deeds and misdeeds propelled him on an extraordinary and perilous journey from the untamed American West to the inscrutable Far East, Latin America and Europe. As he flips through the pages of the handwritten journals he learns of Billy's surprising connections to the Spanish-American War, French Indochina, and revolutions in Mexico and other Latin American countries. But most of all he learns that in finding Billy Battles he has also found a long lost and astonishing link to the past.  

One Special Book Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Historical Fiction Amazon Verified Purchase Review Most of my relatives are normal, boring people. They have interesting anecdotes and some cool experiences, but overall there is nothing that will make me sit back and listen to them for hours on end. Billy Battles is nothing like these people. Apparently taken partially from a real-life person, this tale is told through the great grandson of Billy Battles reading through the personal journals of his life as a young man, exploring the world and discovering himself. Having studied history, the research involved in this book is striking and very thorough. The language, the details, the people and cultures, are very true to life, and I have to take my hat off to Ronald Yates. Yet the book doesn’t just rest on being factual. Through the journals, I got a very close look at Billy, and the people he met, which humanized several actual historical characters, without taking any undue liberties to make them fit a certain mold. I read this book in a day and half the night, and I don’t regret the lost sleep. Reviewed by Dan Clarke

From Book 2: The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles Billy Battles is definitely not in Kansas anymore. As Book 2 of the Finding Billy Battles trilogy opens, Billy is far from his Kansas roots and his improbable journeys are just starting. The year is 1894 and Billy is aboard the S S China sailing to the inscrutable Far East. Trouble is not far behind. He has met a mysterious and possibly dangerous German Baroness. He has locked horns with malevolent agents of the German government and battled ferocious Chinese and Malay pirates in the South China Sea. Later, he is embroiled in the bloody anti-French insurgency in Indochina–which quite possibly makes him the first American combatant in a country that eventually will become Vietnam. Then, in the Philippines, he is thrust into the Spanish-American War and the brutal anti-American insurgency that follows. But Billy’s troubles are only beginning. As the 19th century ends and the 20th century begins, he finds himself entangled with political opportunists, spies, revolutionaries, and an assortment of vindictive and dubious characters of both sexes. How will Billy handle those people and the challenges they present? The answers are just ahead.  

One Special Book Review: You can't help but be intrigued and fascinated by the intrepid, larger-than-life protagonist in Ronald Yates' entertaining and thoughtful second book of his Finding Billy Battles trilogy. This time, you see how Billy's tumultuous life begins to impact him in middle age as he seeks his next adventures to distract him from past grief and guilt. Yates has an effective way of revealing interesting details of exotic places during historic periods--this time primarily in the Orient of the late 19th and early 20th centuries--while weaving in a fascinating tale of a man in perpetual motion. One can't help but find interesting parallels at Yates' deft hand between Billy's unrest and that of French Indochina and the Philippines during a time of conflict and pushback over European colonization. Ray Elliott, Author of, With the Silent Knowledge, Iwo Blasted Again, and Wild Hands Toward the Sky  

Awards: Three Pulitzer Prize nominations by the Chicago Tribune The Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists The Inter-American Press Association Tom Wallace Award for coverage of South America Three Edward Scott Beck Awards for international reporting.  

Cold Coffee Review: The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles is the sequel to Finding Billy Battles. I jumped right into this book without reading the first in this trilogy and found it to be a compelling story based on fact and expanded by narrative fiction. Ted Sayles who is the great-grandson of Billy Battles inherits Billy’s journals and while writing this trilogy he stays very true to the language of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. While this book opens in 1894 with William (Billy) Battles heading for the Orient aboard the SS China it covers his time in the Far East, Latin America, and Europe. It is aboard the SS China that Billy meets German Baroness Katharina von Schreiber. She is gorgeous and regal, far out of reach of a Kansas scribbler (journalist).

Since you have probably read the book’s description I wrestle with what to share with you from this amazing story and journey that Billy Battles is about to embark on. So I have decided to quote this passage to whet your appetite. I quote: “Katharina’s cabin was a bit larger than mine was, and like mine, its walls were covered with dark mahogany panels. In addition to the two overstuffed chairs and writing table, she also had a small dining table. That is where we settled, she on one side and me on the other. “I’m sorry, I have nothing to offer you to drink.” Then she paused, stood up, and walked to her wardrobe where she produced a tear-shaped bottle of Glenglassaugh single malt Scotch whiskey and two heavy cut crystal glasses. “Except for this.” She returned and placed the glasses on the table in front of us. “May I?” she asked, and then uncorking the bottle, she poured two fingers in each glass. “This was my late husband’s favorite.” I shuddered imperceptibly at that remark but pulled the glass toward me anyway. Images of Katharina pushing Baron von Schreiber over a cliff or poisoning him with arsenic-laced Wiener schnitzel flooded my mind. I forced those macabre thoughts out of my mind by focusing on the rich amber hue of the whiskey as I uneasily swirled the glass around and around in front of me. What was I doing? I found myself thinking. Why was I in Katharina Schreiber’s cabin about to drink expensive single malt Scotch whiskey with a woman who had just admitted she had killed, but not murdered, her husband?” Murder, mystery, intrigue, people, places and events that were intended to divert Billy’s attention from his past soon gets him embroiled in Katharina’s past, with the German government, not to mention Chinese and Malay pirates. Later on he finds himself perhaps the first American to be involved in the Anti-French insurgency in Indochina which will later be called Vietnam and involve America. War will not end there as he is forced into the Spanish-American War while in the Philippines. Just as life takes many unexpected turns for Billy Battles so will your desire to keep turning the pages of this book to find out what is it about Billy Battles that causes him to try to escape his past, endure his new reality and find measured peace as he heads into the twilight of his life. I invite you to read The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles as it is a journey worth your time. Be sure to read Finding Billy Battles (book one in this trilogy) while waiting for the author to write the final book in this amazing trilogy. Author Ronald E. Yates life experience as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune in Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America gives him the authority with which he writes. It is important to point out he won “three Pulitzer Prize nominations and several other awards, including the Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists; The Inter-American Press Association Award for coverage of South America; and three Edward Scott Beck Awards for international reporting. He is a graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. He lives in Murrieta, California.”

I endorse The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles (Trilogy Book Two) by Ronald E. Yates. Ronald E. Yates is the author of the Finding Billy Battles (book one in this trilogy) and The Kikkoman Chronicles: A Global Company with A Japanese Soul, Aboard The Tokyo Express: A Foreign Correspondent's Journey Through Japan as well as three journalism textbooks: The Journalist's Handbook, International Reporting and Foreign Correspondents, and Business and Financial Reporting in a global Economy. I purchased this book from Kindle. This review was completed on June 17, 2016.

From Book 3: The Lost Years Of Billy Battles Where in the world is Billy Battles? As Book Three of the Finding Billy Battles trilogy begins we know where Billy is. He is in Chicago with his wife, the former Baroness Katharina von Schreiber living a sedate and comfortable life after years of adventure and tragedy. That changes with a single telephone call that yanks Billy and Katharina back into a life of havoc and peril. Persuaded by a powerful old friend to go undercover for the U.S. government the two find themselves in Mexico during the height of the violent 1910-1920 revolution. There they encounter assorted German spies, Mexican revolutionaries, devious political operatives, and other malefactors. Caught in the middle of the 1914 American invasion of Veracruz, they must find a way out while keeping their real identities secret. Later on, disaster strikes. It is a tragedy Billy is all too familiar with and one that will send him plummeting into a chasm of despair and agony. Then, Billy vanishes leaving family and friends to wonder what happened to him. Where is he? Is he dead or alive? What provoked his disappearance? In Book 3 of the Finding Billy Battles Trilogy, those questions are answered, and the mystery behind Billy’s disappearance is ultimately revealed.  

Cold Coffee Review: Saying goodbye to an old friend is always hard and that is how I feel as the “Finding Billy Battles Trilogy” comes to a close with book three titled “The Lost Years of Billy Battles”.

The fictional Ted Sayles has done a remarkable job reading and producing this trilogy from more than a dozen journals written by his great grandfather Billy Battles. It is the historical significance woven skillfully within the element of fiction that makes this trilogy a must read for history buffs and fans of action and adventure novels. After years of travel, relationships with foreign governments, wars of American making and wars forced upon us, not to mention the Chinese and Malay pirates; Billy and Katharina finally enjoy a few peaceful years where Billy is an editor for the Chicago Record-Herald and Katharina a successful author. It is inevitable that this serene period wouldn’t last forever. One phone call to go undercover will find them “caught in the middle of the 1914 American invasion of Veracruz”. Just when danger subsides, I found myself holding my breath when the unthinkable happens. “Katharina wasn’t the one the five men were after. It was me. But when they couldn’t find me, they decided to take Katharina to use as bait. That was the first revelation. Next was who the men were. The man who had dragged Katharina out of the house was Mason Bledsoe, son of Nate Bledsoe, the man I had killed in 1889 on my family’s homestead in Western Kansas. When I heard the name, my knees buckled and my heart raced for a moment.” It was the ransom note that made Billy’s heart sink. Of all the dangers Billy and Katharina had been exposed to in their life together, how will this one match up? When Billy is nowhere to be found, what reason will be uncovered? How will Billy Battle close the final chapter in his journal? Will Ted Sayles effort to canonize the legacy of his Great Grandfather Billy Battle live on for future generations? There is no doubt in my mind that Author Ronald E. Yates’ extensive historical research, skilled character development and impeccable story telling has brought the reader to a successful conclusion in this thought-provoking trilogy.

I invite you to read the entire “Finding Billy Battles Trilogy” as it portrays, as much a glimpse into history, as it does into one man’s life. I endorse The Lost Years Of Billy Battles (Finding Billy Battles Trilogy Book 3) by Ronald Yates as a final testimony to the life and times of Billy Battle. I purchased this book in Kindle format. This review was completed on June 26, 2018.

About The Author: Ronald E. Yates is an award-winning author of historical fiction and action/adventure novels, including the popular and highly-acclaimed Finding Billy Battles trilogy. His extraordinarily accurate books have captivated fans around the world who applaud his ability to blend fact and fiction. Ron is a former foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and Professor Emeritus of Journalism at the University of Illinois where he was also the Dean of the College of Media. His award-winning book, "The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles," is the second in his Finding Billy Battles trilogy of novels and was published in June 2016. The first book in the trilogy, "Finding Billy Battles," was published in 2014. His latest book is entitled The Lost Years of Billy Battles. It is book #3 of the trilogy and will be released in May 2018. Ron has been a presenting author at the Kansas Book Festival and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, among other venues. He is also the author of The Kikkoman Chronicles: A Global Company with A Japanese Soul, published by McGraw-Hill. Other books include Aboard the Tokyo Express: A Foreign Correspondent's Journey through Japan, a collection of columns translated into Japanese, as well as three journalism textbooks: The Journalist's Handbook, International Reporting and Foreign Correspondents, and Business and Financial Reporting in a Global Economy. Before leaving the world of professional journalism where he toiled 27 years, Ron lived and worked in Japan, Southeast Asia, and both Central and South America where he covered several history-making events including the fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia; the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing; and wars and revolutions in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, among other places.

His work as a war correspondent resulted in several awards, including the Inter-American Press Association's Tom Wallace Award for coverage of Central and South America; the Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists; three Edward Scott Beck Awards for International Reporting, and three Pulitzer nominations. Ron is a proud graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas and a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served in the Army Security Agency.  

Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KHDVZI/-/e/B00KQAYMA8/  

Professional Website http://ronaldyatesbooks.com/  

Professional Blog http://ronaldyatesbooks.com/category/foreign-correspondent/  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Ronald-E-Yates-Books-688075584557417/  

Twitter https://twitter.com/jhawker69  

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RonYates/about?cfem=1  

Cold Coffee Press http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/ronald-e-yates/  

CCP Trilogy Page http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/finding-billy-battles-trilogy-kindle-gift-set-by-ronald-e-yates/  

Authors Keys To Success: http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/keys-program-for-authors/  

Wayland’s Revenge by Lesley Lodge

 

Wayland’s Revenge by Lesley Lodge

It’s 1647: a time of bitter civil wars in England. Wayland, the village blacksmith, returns from army service to find his wife, Rebecca, murdered and his son traumatised and struck dumb. Wayland’s overpowering desire for revenge is thwarted by the collapse of laws and a dearth of clues to her sadistic killer. Thwarted, that is, until the villagers ask him to investigate a runaway horse. Whilst searching for its rider, he discovers instead the body of a young boy, cut with symbols in the same way as Rebecca’s body had been. The clues abound and confuse with elements of witchcraft, religious hatred and the enmities of civil war.

Wayland sets out on a perilous journey to find the killer, taking with him his son Jonathan and Alun, a canny Welsh baker. But just as they find their first suspect, they are trapped in the brutal Siege of Colchester, facing ever more dangerous challenges. Wayland, Alun and Jonathan must draw on all their strengths, devise new strategies and make agonising decisions, if they are to stay alive and find the real killer before he strikes again.

Cold Coffee Review: Captivating story listed as historical fiction, but seeped in truth. The Author is writing from the UK, where language and spelling might differ from your own.

The setting is 1647 in Forest Heath, England. The main character, Wayland returns from war to find his wife has been murdered and his son traumatized. This village blacksmith sets out to find the sadistic killer of his beloved Rebecca. Wayland enlists his son Jonathan and his baker friend Alun to help him. The three of them set out on a perilous journey. In the process Wayland discovers the truth behind the symbols cut into Rebecca’s dead body.

Author Lesley Lodge is a compelling writer. I quote, “Wayland was standing beside a lake, watching thick grey clouds swirl over the seething water. At first, he could hear only the waves slopping against the shoreline. Then a woman’s head broke through the surface of the lake, gasping, choking, panting. Wayland leapt forward, ran towards her, shouted to her to hold on, to wait for him. But her head sank down again. He could see only the black surging sea and some dirty white foam.”
The author carefully takes the reader from 1647 back to 1645. I quote, “The howling became louder, nearer. Agnes could make out individual screams now. For a moment she felt paralysed, rooted on to the earth, her hands still holding the strips of cloth. Then she dropped the cloth and she ran, holding her skirts up out of the mud. Other women soon overtook her; their urgency spurred her on. Tree branches whipped at her face and caught at her skirts. Neither she nor any of the other women wasted any breath screaming now. All that Agnes could hear was the sound of her own lungs heaving and that of her heart drumming.”

Then back to 1647 where for Wayland “a few more days passed uneventfully though, and the uneasy feeling began to leave him. Instead, he and Alun discussed again and again their hoped–for encounter with their suspect Carter and what it might mean in terms of opportunities to question the man further. One morning they were sorting through the charcoal stores, setting to one side the big lumps needed for the smithy furnace and to the other side the smaller pieces more suited for the bakery oven. Wayland suddenly picked up the bellows and threw them into the far corner of the smithy.
‘When?’ he shouted, ‘When will God grant me the truth? Will we never get any further with our search? Can we never find justice for the boy’s death? Or for Rebecca’s death? We will likely perish in this Godforsaken town, murdered by one side or the other. Or starve to death. All for no reason.’
I invite you to read Wayland’s Revenge. I purchased this book from Kindle and posted this review on October 3, 2018.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mysteries, Thrillers, Fiction, Literature, Suspense

Product Details: Paperback: 232 Pages Publisher: Troubador Publishing (August 28, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1789013607 ISBN-13: 978-1789013603 Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.9 x 5.1 inches

Amazon Customer Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Waylands-Revenge-Lesley-Lodge/dp/1789013607/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#customerReviews

Print https://www.amazon.com/Waylands-Revenge-Lesley-Lodge/dp/1789013607/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Waylands-Revenge-Lesley-Lodge-ebook/dp/B07CYW7JZ5/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Audio Book https://www.amazon.com/Waylands-Revenge/dp/B07D84KB6N/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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Lights-Camera-Gallop: The Story Of The Horse In Film by Lesley Lodge

All the film and TV horses you've loved - and more!

From Roy Rogers' Trigger to War Horse Joey
You'll find all the genres of film featuring horses here: Westerns (with exciting chases), wild horse movies (survival against great odds) and comedies (talking horses, a horse on a piano).
You'll find out how some of the most awesome scenes with horses were filmed - and how to spot some of the tricks of the trade.

Check out the pictures of beautiful horses - well-toned bodies, manes to die for, amazing stunts. You'll find key cinematic techniques are explained, from clever editing, through Stop Animation to Computer Generated Images, all in easy to understand terms.

Lights! Camera! Gallop! will also tell you where to watch exciting clips of horses on the internet for free. And there's a fun film trivia quiz at the end.

* Sixteen great photos
Horse stars and stunts
* Over one hundred films referred to
From silent movies to War Horse
* How DID they do that?
Stunts – and make-up for horses – explained

Genre: Crafts, Hobbies, Home, Animal Care, Pets, Horses, Humor, Entertainment, History, Criticism

Product Details: Paperback: 138 Pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (December 15, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1481051644 ISBN-13: 978-1481051644 Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches

Amazon Customer Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E04EF4S/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i2#customerReviews

Print: https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Camera-Gallop-Story-Horse/dp/1481051644/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E04EF4S/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i2

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Horse and Pony Colours: Which Would You Choose by Lesley Lodge

Have you ever wondered what a blue roan is? Or a Perlino? There are more than fifty horse and pony colours and colour combinations!

Illustrated paperback.

This book - with colour photos - will tell you about all the horse and pony colours and their combinations. It has some stunning colour photos and explanations of the different colour terms. There's a bit of science too, around why horses inherit different colours. And some useful websites for more horse colours and film clips.

So, what colour would you choose for your perfect horse (real or imaginary)?

Genre: Nonfiction, Science, Biological Sciences, Animals, Horses, Science, Math, Biological, Nature, Ecology, Fauna

Product Details: Paperback: 90 Pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; First edition (December 9, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1494338866 ISBN-13: 978-1494338862 Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.2 x 9 inches

Amazon Customer Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HA7A772/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3#customerReviews

Print: https://www.amazon.com/Horse-Pony-Colours-Which-choose/dp/1494338866/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HA7A772/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3

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Because It Is Written by Lesley Lodge

"Two very different short stories about revenge and redemption:

"Because it is Written" is set in seventeenth century England. The discovery of a runaway horse leads to a chance for Wayland – village blacksmith and ex-soldier – to take a full revenge on the man who murdered his wife. Includes some original images.
"Hoodies", set on a present-day inner-city estate, tells of a drug-dealer’s violent death from the viewpoint of his one-time girlfriend.”

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction

Product Details: Paperback: 36 Pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (February 2, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1481912542 ISBN-13: 978-1481912549 Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.1 x 9 inches  
Print: https://www.amazon.com/Because-Written-Lesley-Lodge/dp/1481912542/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DSY44V0/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4

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Coloring Book Of Horses: Stress Reducing Art Therapy Paperback by Lesley Lodge

Reduce your anxiety and stress levels colouring-in - with horses. This book offers two sorts of colouring-in: Coloring-in with patterns and Coloring-in with the 50 plus actual horse colour combinations.

Genre: Arts, Photography, Drawing, Coloring Books for Grown-Ups, Animals, Health, Fitness, Dieting, Alternative Medicine, Meditation, Crafts, Hobbies, Home, Crafts, Hobbies

Product Details: Paperback: 82 Pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (August 27, 2015) Language: English ISBN-10: 1515202364 ISBN-13: 978-1515202363 Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.2 x 11 inches

Amazon Customer Reviews: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1515202364/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0#customerReviews

Print: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1515202364/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Lesley Lodge

About Lesley Lodge: Lesley Lodge now lives on a very small farm in England after many years working on regeneration projects in inner-city London. She grew up in the New Forest with holiday jobs in a racing stable and on a palomino stud farm. Her long-time ride is Freddie, a hairy bay cob mare with a moustache. Lesley has had several short stories published. Blues to Orange, about a farmer ruined by the foot and mouth outbreak, was a Luton Literary Prize Winner and published in Junction 10, a collection of short stories. She has twice been a Runner-up Prizewinner in the annual British National Short Screenplay Competition and is a past Time Out and Jim Beam Whiskey Cult Film Buff of the Year. Lesley is currently working on a crime novel set in 17th century England featuring ex-soldier and blacksmith Wayland. Lesley is always looking for new stories about horses in film or TV - you can contact her through her website: http://www.lesleylodge.co.uk

Interview:

What makes you proud to be a writer from Bedfordshire, in the UK? It’s a rural area in the UK and a few aspects of farming life are much the same as in the seventeenth century, when my novel is set. A blacksmith still makes my horse’s shoes from molten iron, for example, just as the protagonist in ‘Wayland’s Revenge.

What World Region are you in? I live in the UK (European Union) on a smallholding farm, about 40 miles north of London.

What or who inspired you to become a writer? The boy next door was writing stories. He was fourteen, I was eleven. I thought if he can do it, then I could certainly try it (and maybe that would impress him…).

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I’d had professional articles published in the course of my work but I began writing fiction in earnest, with the aim of being published, around 2010.

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing and publishing journey? I think the most exhilarating moment in my writing and publishing journey was finally writing “The End” to my draft novel – after five years of researching, writing and polishing it.

How many published books do you have? One novel, two self-published non-fiction books (on horses in film). Several short stories published.

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? Historical novels are a great way to explore issues in a more distant and nuanced way. For example, ‘Brexit’ has divided Britain – but England was far more brutally divided by civil wars in the seventeenth century for example. Also, history is an amazing source for stories of all kinds. The stakes were usually much higher than in many of today’s societies.

Please list the title of your book you want featured and promoted? Wayland’s Revenge.

What do you like to do when you are not writing? I ride Freddie, my hairy horse, a Clydesdale Cob cross with a moustache. And the turkeys and sheep on the smallholding keep me busy.

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Grammar and structure can always be perfected afterwards. The thing is to get your story, quirks and all, on to paper first.

Who is your favorite author and why? C J Samson – for his Shardlake series which completely take you to England in the sixteenth century but also for his moving story set during and after the Spanish Civil War in Winter in Madrid.

Please add any additional questions and answers that you think readers would like to know.

Q: So why did you choose the seventeenth century setting? And why Essex, England?

A: England was utterly divided – in civil war. Matthew Hopkins, self-styled Witch-finder General, was responsible for the trials and deaths of some 300 supposed witches in Essex. The Siege of Colchester lasted eleven weeks in the summer of 1648. The townspeople, once they’d eaten all the dogs and rats, were reduced to eating candles and soap. Hundreds died.

Q: So why Wayland, a blacksmith, as protagonist and “detective”?

A: Well, blacksmiths were neither gentry nor peasant class. This gave them some scope for independent action – a rare thing in the seventeenth century but something a “detective” needs. Also, they were experts not only with horses but also with weapon making and repair. Their command of fire and molten iron inspired awe and respect in the community.

Awards: One of my short stories – Blues to Orange - was a Luton Literary Prize winner but no links.

Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lesley-Lodge/e/B0094HBCMK/

Professional Website: http://www.lesleylodge.co.uk/

Professional Blog: https://lesleylodge.wordpress.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LesleyLodgeAuthorPage/

Twitter: @LesleyLodge

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115281020673054750226

Cold Coffee Press http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/lesley-lodge/

Authors Keys To Success Program: http://www.coldcoffeepress.com/keys-program-for-authors/