Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Book Blitz: The Birds Sang Eulogies by Mirla Geclewicz Raz #promo #nonfiction #memoir #giveaway #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

 


Memoir, Non-fiction

Date Published: November 2019

 Publisher: Gersten Weitz Publishers


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Three generations tell an incredible story of survival in the poignant Holocaust memoir The Birds Sang Eulogies.The survivors Anna and Danny Geslewitz tell of their harrowing wartime experiences. Danny’s began in the Lodz ghetto in Poland, then continued in Auschwitz, then in a series of forced labor camps. Anna’s journey took her from the horrors of the Lvov ghetto to a flight into Germany to avoid death in the ghetto. The end of the war, while it ended their years of agony and deprivation, found Danny barely alive and struggling to regain his health and Anna dealing with the post-war chaos as she tried to locate family. The book then follows Anna and Danny’s daughter and granddaughter years later when they travel to Poland and record their reactions to the sites of their family’s suffering. These riveting accounts close with moving poetry written by Anna. Readers will share the sorrow and terror the poems express as they marvel at the bonds of these three generations. 


Excerpt

 

In this poignant memoir, The Birds Sang Eulogies, Anna and Danny Geslewitz's incredible stories of survival are told by them, their daughter and their granddaughter, three generations affected by the Holocaust. Danny's agonizing story began the moment the Germans invaded Lodz, Poland in 1939. His harrowing story of survival begins in the ghetto where starvation and death were rampant. When the Germans liquidated the ghetto in 1944, Danny and his remaining family members were sent to Auschwitz. Danny's description of hell on earth leaves the reader horrified. After enduring Auschwitz for three weeks, Danny and his brothers began nightmarish journeys to seven forced labor camps were they endured inconceivable deprivations. After witnessing two brothers perish, Danny is near death when suddenly the Germans disappear. Living in the eastern Polish city of Lvov, Anna vividly describes life and death in the Lvov Ghetto. When it becomes clear that the Germans will kill every remaining Jew in the ghetto, she and her sister flee into Germany. There, Anna works as a maid in German household. She lives a life of constant terror fearing that her Jewish identity will be discovered. The mayhem of liberation brings its own challenges to Anna and Danny. Barely alive, Danny struggled to regain his health. Anna scrambled to find a way to survive in the chaos and find her sister from whom she had been separated. As Danny and Anna worked to find their place in life, they meet in Germany. Together, they begin a memorable new chapter. Years later, their daughter and granddaughter travel to Poland. Their personal accounts of their trips are riveting. Anna Geslewitz was a poet. One can feel her sorrow, terror and angst as one reads her poems. The poems are included in The Birds Sang Eulogies: A Memoir.


About the Author

Ms. Raz is a retired speech pathologist and the author of the popular Help Me Talk Right books How to Teach a Child to Say the “R” Sound in 15 Easy Lessons, How to Teach a Child to Say the “S” Sound in 15 Easy Lessons and How to Teach a Child to Say the “L” Sound in 15 Easy Lessons and Preschool Stuttering: What Parents Can Do. Ms. Raz is also a contributing author in other publications.

Ms. Raz is a past president of the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors’Association. She is a member of the Board and the Education Chair for the Phoenix Holocaust Association. Ms. Raz newest publication is The Birds Sang Eulogies: A Memoir. The book recounts the harrowing experiences of her parents during WWII as they struggled to survive the Nazi’s attempted extermination of the Jews.

Ms. Raz is married to Zohar Raz. They are the proud parents of two daughters and two grandchildren.

 

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Release Blitz: Aurora's Cowboy Daddy by Melinda Barron #promo #western #romance #releaseday #giveaway #rabtbooktours @BlushingBooks @RABTBookTours

 


Ranch Rescue Book 1

Western Romance, Contemporary

Date Published: September 30, 2020

Publisher: Blushing Books


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Holt Coleman runs the Rescue Ranch with his five brothers. A project initiated by their parents and supported by the entire family. They rescue abused women, and abused horses. Two very different ventures with more similarities than expected, both are suffering from past trauma and have lost the ability to trust. Currently, the ranch needs a new house mother to welcome and assist the women who are seeking safety here. When convicted murderer Aurora Bickman applies Holt’s intrigued by her application and her past. When he meets her he knows he has to have her, as an employee, as a lover and as her daddy.

Aurora Bickman was released from prison early given her good behavior and prison overcrowding. Most people thought she didn’t serve long enough but they also didn’t know her sentence began shortly after she married her deceased husband. Feeling as though she’s imposed on her best friend’s hospitality long enough, and even though she’s scared beyond belief, she is ready to start her life over on her terms. Surprised she has an interview and worried she’ll be rejected, she pushes the feelings aside and takes a chance at the Rescue Ranch. When she sees the gorgeous ranch and meets the handsome Holt Coleman, she feels as if her dreams have a chance to come true. In more ways than one.


This is book one in the Rescue Ranch series and can be enjoyed independently.


Publisher’s Note: This sexy, Daddy Dom, cowboy romance contains elements of danger, adventure, mystery, sensual themes and power exchange and is intended for adults only. If any of these offend you, please do not purchase.


 

About the Author

Melinda Barron loves to explore Egyptian tombs and temples, discover Mayan ruins, play in castles towers, and explore new cities and countries. She generally does it all from the comfort of her home by opening a book.

Melinda loves to lose herself between the pages of a book. The only thing she loves more is creating stories from the wonderful heroes and heroines that haunt her dreams and crowd her head. She believes love is for everyone, not just those who are a size 2. Her books are full of magic, suspense and love, in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Mel currently lives in the Texas Panhandle, with two cats, and a file stuffed with new ideas to keep her typing fingers busy, and your heart engaged.

She also writes as Maura McMann.


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PROMO Blitz: The Best Doctor in Town by Amelia Townsend #promo #mystery #rabtbooktours @JanCarolBooks @RABTBookTours @townsendart

 


A Tall Tales from the Hills Novel: Book 1

Mystery

Date Published: November 7, 2019

Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.


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Set in Southwest Virginia and inspired by actual events and the story of the small town's most revered doctor, who may just be a serial killer. A local police officer with a tarnished reputation, a reporter who manipulated facts, and the doctor's chief intern, who may be a thief, have pieces of the puzzle. Yet no one in authority believes the great doctor could be responsible. All the while, patients are dying.


About the Author

Shadowed and protected by the mountains of her native southwest Virginia, Amelia Townsend has lived hither, thither, and yon – mostly between Virginia and North Carolina. She has worked as a newspaper and TV reporter, freelance producer and director, writer, and now PR hack.  She is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She has no claim to fame. Further, she is most often bewildered when people say they are impressed by her work. Her first novel, Keepsakes for the Heart, was nominated by the N.C. Historical Association for the prestigious Ragan Old North State Award for non-fiction.

Her favorite avocation is listening to and writing down other people’s stories, for truth surely is stranger and more beautiful than fiction. This is where Townsend has found fodder for the stories of the hills that she wrote with her late writing buddy. Several have come to life in the form of a novel and a couple of plays in production. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Townsend’s most impressive accomplishments are her children – a son and daughter – who managed to turn in to fine young adults, despite her attempts to raise them.


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Sale Book Blitz: Love's Full Circle by Cherry Christensen #promo #onsale #sale #booksale #giveaway #christian #romance @RABTBookTours

 

 

Contemporary Christian Romance

Date Published: April 27, 2019


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On Sale for $0.99!


Kayden James may have missed out on her happy ever after. But, as a successful marriage and family therapist, at least she can help other people find theirs. Now that her career has taken off, Kayden is finally ready to put the past behind her. . . until it strolls into her office unexpectedly one day. The last thing Kayden needs is for her ex-boyfriend to stir up old feelings. She’d rather stay a single cat lady than let him break her heart again.

Liam has spent a long time living with one regret—letting Kayden slip through his fingers. He’s determined to make amends for the way he treated her all those years ago, but he’s finding it hard to melt her icy exterior. If he can just convince her to trust him and see that he’s changed, their love finally has a chance of coming full circle.



 Excerpt


A combination of relief and confusion washed over Kayden while she processed the information. Her brain registered a jumbled mess of contradictory emotions ranging from sadness to anger to happiness.

Liam withdrew his hand. “That’s all in the past,” he said, reaching for his burger. He took a big bite and stared off into the distance.

“You said you work nearby. Where?”

“The University of Colorado. I teach computer science at their Denver campus.”

Kayden let out a low whistle. “I’m impressed. What’s your area of expertise?”

“Database Management Systems.”

“Sounds complicated.” She finished eating her fries. “It wouldn’t be my idea of fun, but I bet you find the subject fascinating.”

He grinned. “Not as fascinating as your job. In my line of work, it’s extremely rare for a computer to get mad and storm out of the room.”

Kayden gave him a playful elbow to the ribs. “Very funny.” Her lips twitched, struggling to contain the laughter, until it burst out and engulfed them. Soon they giggled like two long lost friends instead of estranged exes.

Shane cleared away their plates. “Any dessert for you today?”

“No, thank you,” Kayden answered.

“I’ve got this,” Liam replied as Shane slid the check on the bar between them. He placed the money he extracted from his wallet on the counter. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks. You folks enjoy the rest of your day.”

~~~~

Liam followed Kayden out of the restaurant and into the sunshine, feeling a little less guilt-ridden than when the day had begun. He stepped lightly and inhaled the aromatic pansies blooming in one of the many large flower pots dotting the sidewalk along the path to Elway Plaza. 

He eased his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose. While they walked, he admired the captivating woman beside him and thanked God for the opportunity to make amends for the way he’d treated her.

“This is my stop. Thank you for lunch.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I guess I’ll see you around.” She turned for the door.

“Wait!” He withdrew the wallet in his back pocket and pulled out his business card. “Give me a call sometime. Day or night.”

Kayden read aloud the name on the card: Liam Pierce, PhD.

He slowly stepped away, wishing he had a camera to capture her radiant smile. “Goodbye, Dr. James.”


About the Author

Amazon #1 Bestselling Author

Cherry resides in the Mitten State with her husband of 19 years and a tabby cat named Caden. A true Michigander, she points at the palm of her right hand when telling people where she lives, drinks Vernors ginger ale when she’s under the weather, wears shorts and a sweatshirt at the same time, and measures distance in minutes, not miles. She also cheers for her favorite football team, the Michigan Wolverines. Go Blue!

A confirmed night owl, Cherry wholeheartedly agrees with whoever said, “I could be a morning person, if morning happened around noon.” It’s no surprise then she prefers to write in the evening. She’s a bit of a pantser writer, meaning she dreams up stories without using an outline, so every day is an exciting adventure as she waits to see where the characters lead her next!

A lifelong avid reader, Cherry turned to writing as a creative outlet. Drawing partly from her own experiences, and partly from her wild imagination, she weaves romantic tales with a smidgen of religion and a hint of mystery. Cherry’s first novel, The Fearful Heart, debuted in 2014, and she has never looked back. She continues to grow as an author, learning more about the writing craft with each book.


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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Release Blitz: Battling with Innnerchild by Reyhan Toplu #promo #selfhelp #nonfiction #psychology #releaseday #giveaway #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

 


Healing My Inner child to Restore Self-Love

Self Help- Body mind Spirit- Psychology

Date Published: 9/29/20


Do you have a yearning to be the best version of yourself, but struggle to connect with your inner child? If you answered yes, perhaps I can help. I am Reyhan Toplu, and once upon a time, I was just like you. My journey will help inspire you to reconnect with yourself.

We’ve all heard the cliché, “don’t lose sight of the child within”, but how do we hold onto them in a world of negativity? How do we preserve our love and innocence in a world seemingly intent on grinding us down? The time is right for us to rediscover our inner peace and self-love.

Too many of us think of our inner child as someone to fight against, rather than embrace. The victim of embarrassment, trauma, and for some of us, suffering, we’re all too willing to fight against the worst of what our inner child could be, rather than realizing the potential for growth, love, and happiness. This book is all about a journey to reconnect with my inner child, a book of ideas to help you on your own journey to finding peace and happiness. Our journeys may not be the same, but I hope my story can help guide you to finding your own contentment.

Journey with me, Reyhan Toplu, as we explore the hidden truths of your inner child on a quest for health and happiness that comes from within.


About the Author

Reyhan Toplu is an holistic healing and mindfulness practitioner, scholar, yogini, and author who offers her blending lifetime skills and knowledge with holistic; body mind spirit approach. Reyhan focuses on the multidimensional needs of individual. Recognizing a need for greater spiritual awareness in society, Reyhan has devoted her life on especially inner child healing, self-love, teaching mindfulness and helping people in all age groups who need to discover and develop their creative power of self-healing and personal growth. She also has integrated her accredited yoga, meditation, reiki, shamanic healing and other healing practices into her private healing & therapy work and public course offerings. And she is also writing her next book “Mindful Compassion for Suffering".


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Book Blitz: Snatch 2&20 by Luke E. Fellows #promo #literary #fiction #satire #rabtbooktours @BookBuzznet @RABTBookTours

 

 

A Satirical Romp through the Wall Street and Silicon Valley Swamps

Satire, Literary Fiction

Published: April 2020

 

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Would you sell your soul to a sociopathic hedge fund titan for tens of millions in dirty cash? What about your sexy wife? What if it meant cozying up to a neurotic and lecherous tech entrepreneur while risking your freedom, and maybe even your life?

Snatch 2&20 is a satirical memoir parodying the author’s past life as a hedge fund manager. It should not only be of interest to the fans of the hit TV shows Billions and Silicon Valley, and books like The Wolf of Wall Street and Liar’s Poker, but to anyone who wants an insider’s take on the rotten core of our delusional plutocracy in this second Gilded Age.

If you just say no to innuendo, then please enter with caution (as the strumpet said to the stiff). But just remember that, in this case, the only thing more offensive than the jokes is the truth they pillory- the corruption of our financial elites and the system that enables them, the ludicrous hype surrounding technology companies and their founders, and the blatant hypocrisy of pretty much everyone. It is also, perhaps, one man’s journey to find a grain of meaning in the castle of sand that is his life.

 


Praise for Snatch 2&20:

 "Snatch 2&20" is a remarkable debut novel by Luke Fellows and one I highly recommend. If you're looking for an entertaining escape and enjoy a little zing in your reads, this one scores off the charts in originality, entertainment value and excellent writing. Well done...Among the top stories I've read so far this year." - Reader Views

"A raucous story told by a brilliant mind becomes something both satirical and insightful in Snatch 2&20 by Luke Fellows...the novel sings like a satirical sword cutting through the worlds of finance and the realms of human folly, making Snatch 2&20 a timely caper that is both amusing and insightful from start to finish." -Self-Publishing Review. 4 stars out of 5.

"In this gloriously sardonic book...the descriptions and dialogue are consistently pithy and snarky...Overall, this novel will be a riotous ride for readers...Fast-paced and often hilarious fiction" - Kirkus Reviews

"Complex, witty, dramatic, thought-provoking, and filled with business and social inspection...Snatch 2&20 is engrossing, unexpected, and hard to put down..." -Midwest Book Review

"Snatch 2&20 is just wild enough to support its destructive, incongruously wholesome conclusion...a clever, cynical novel about the absurdities of capitalism and the people who prop it up." 4 Stars out of 5- Foreword Clarion Reviews.


About the Author

 Luke Fellows is a forty-something recovering hedge fund manager. Born in London, and educated at St. Paul's School and Oxford University, he sacrificed his love of Classics for a Wall Street career, moving to New York City in 2000. After a sojourn at Harvard Business School, he made the leap to Silicon Valley, where, in 2008, he co-founded a technology-focused hedge fund, retiring as soon as his partners could practicably get rid of him. Despite his best efforts to escape the bubble, he still lives with his wife and three daughters near Palo Alto, CA. Snatch 2&20 is the first novel he is admitting to.

 

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Release Blitz: The Heart Revolution by Karen Tobiasen #promo #releaseday #giveaway #nonfiction #business #rabtbooktours @AuthorParul @RABTBookTours

 


Non-fiction, Business, Management, Leadership, Personal development

Date Published: 9-29-20


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Change happens in business and in life. Today’s success is achieved by learning how to thrive and come alive – manifesting our deeper purpose and true potential – through transformation.

For that to happen we have to shift our mindsets to build and sustain our own capacity to transform. By replacing fear with love. Waste with value. By enriching our personal and professional lives with deeper meaning and expanded capacity.

This book invites you to step out of your comfort zone, tear down your internal blockers, and follow the Ten Steps of Transformation, for a greater impact in your life, organization and society.

Join The Heart Revolution


About the Author

Karen is a business executive, transformer and facilitator with 20+ years of experience in People, Culture and Transformation Leadership roles from several multinationals across industries.

She hates waste in all forms and shapes – and loves impact. That’s why she has a burning desire to help individuals and organizations to transform, disrupting their lives as a way to enrichment.

Karen is a self-proclaimed collector of the lightbulb moments, where people do things they never imagined they could. And she says she comes fully alive when deeply engaged in asking, listening to and sensing people – both what they’re saying and not saying.

She is lifelong student and learner, holding a bachelor’s in Economics – specialized in Organizational Development, an Executive MBA and a Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy. But originally started her career as a nurse, caring for terminally ill AIDS patients. Seeing how differently people would meet death – whether embracing it having truly lived or facing it begrudgingly with regret – gave Karen existential insight into the importance of living fully, both personally and professionally.

Whatever the label though, working with people, their well-being and transformation has been the red thread throughout Karen’s life. And she is here to help everyone who wants to disrupt and enrich their lives – transforming through love and laughter – whether as individuals or whole organizations.


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Release Blitz: Moon in Bastet by ES Danon #promo #releaseday #jewishfiction #magicalrealism #giveaway #hurnpublications #rabtbooktours @HurnPubBooks @RABTBookTours

 

MAGICAL REALISM, JEWISH FICTION

Date Published: SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2020

Publisher: HURN PUBLICATIONS


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A memoir turned into thrilling fiction; Moon in Bastet is based on the life of author E. S. Danon. The story follows a fourteen-year-old girl named Eva, an orphan living in the Negev desert of Israel who is working as a custodian of Cirque Du Christianisme. Her life is controlled by a volatile drunk named Bella who favors a group of equally volatile teenage bullies over her and her own safety or sanity.

Bullied, neglected, and alone – Eva’s only friends are an odd, thirteen–year–old Sephardic boy named Jack and a small cohort of Bedouin sister-wives. On the brink of giving up on life, Eva stumbles upon a mysterious cat in the middle of the desert. Or really, did the cat stumble upon her?

Together they must fight to stay alive, win the battles thrown at them, and Eva must learn to not only lean on others but to trust in herself.

 

Filled with mystery, magic, and symbolism – Moon in Bastet is a story of resilience, survivorship, forgiveness, and women empowerment. This is a work filled with Jewish mysticism that can be enjoyed by people of all races, ages, and religions everywhere.

 


About the Author

Elizabeth Danon received her B.S. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University before working as a Marine Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service. She traveled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico: collecting data aboard commercial fishing vessels and dredges.

When that didn’t pan out to be the glorified job that she expected, finding herself covered in shark snot and fish scales daily, Elizabeth became a technical writer. In her spare time, she began doing standup comedy after taking comedy bootcamp with the Armed Services Arts Partnership. At this time, she married the most wonderful man who also provides most of her joke writing material. Unfortunately, because he’s Indian he has also enabled her Maggi addiction… Like she needed that on top of her already long-standing iced coffee issues.

Her favorite show is Schitt’s Creek, as she feels a special bond to her fellow comedians – and Sephardic brethren. Growing up half-Jewish herself, Elizabeth eventually converted to being full-Jewish with Temple Israel as a student of Rabbi Panitz.

Her enriched, but complicated, heritage has been an inspiration for most of her creative writing. Being an Aries, she has always felt like a leader and has therefore integrated her feminist beliefs into her work, albeit dropping every women’s studies course that she ever elected in college. Additionally, her writing has an unmistakable international presence. Elizabeth wanted to discover as much as she could about her Sephardic Heritage and went on Birthright, followed by her independent travels to over ten other countries… carrying nothing but a red bookbag.

 

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Monday, September 28, 2020

Blog Tour: Worth the Struggle by Dr. Althea L. Phillips @drlphillips #blogtour #christian #nonfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

 

 

Christian, Spiritual growth, Christian mentorship

Date Published: Sept 15, 2020

Publisher: Clay Bridges Press

 

Worth the Struggle is designed to help followers of Jesus Christ become more aware of how living life with purpose relates to achieving their destiny. This is an encouraging spiritual handbook based on the author’s journey through personal transformation to live life with purpose. The author shares how she learned that struggle is an integral part of the process of finding purpose and fulfilling each person’s destiny—what it truly means to walk by faith, not by sight. Worth the Struggle presents profound insights about how you too can walk by faith in the reality that “this is the day that the Lord has made” and gain a new way of seeing destiny.

 

 

About the Author

Dr. Althea L. Phillips, a native New Yorker, is a mother of eight children and a grandmother of ten. Her academic studies include a bachelor of science in nursing from Liberty University, a legal nurse consultant certificate from Kaplan University, a master of science in nursing from Walden University, and a doctorate of nursing practice from Walden University. Dr. Phillips currently resides in South Chesterfield, Virginia. Her most recent published book, The Need for Transformation, focused on the transformative influence of and journey to the presence of God.

 

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Release Blitz: Marybeth, Hollister and Jane by Vera Jane Cook @verajanecook #promo #mystery #releaseday #giveaway #womensfiction #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

 

 

Woman’s Fiction, Cozy Mystery

Date Published: 9/28/20


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Some secrets draw people closer.........after they tear them apart.

Marybeth and Hollister moved to rural New York to escape—both the city life and a checkered past. Their lives were unassuming, until they bought a grandfather clock. They just wanted something to fill the space under their stairs, but they got much more than they bargained for. What secrets could the clock possibly hold?

Jane was sent to Callicoon to find the Eagle diamond, which was stolen from the Museum of Natural History in the ‘60s and never recovered. Convinced she won’t find what she’s looking for, she grudgingly takes the assignment. When she arrives, things aren’t what they seem and Jane finds more than she ever expected.


Excerpt

    Brenda Loring was far too small for the overstuffed capacious couch. She appeared uncomfortably absorbed by the cushions, hardly consoled. At first glance, she looked swallowed by the plush off-white arms. It could be assumed that her body had found a semblance of solace, but the truth was, there really weren’t any sacred places to turn for comfort; the fluffed-up cotton squares were far too affectionate and they consumed her behind their good intentions, providing only a pretense of succor.

     Brenda sat up straight and reached for her glass; next was the cigarette. Comfort was better found in a nicotine binge and a scotch devoid of ice or water.

     Brock was still not sure if he should believe her, even though she’d been insisting for months. “I’m not hallucinating,” she kept repeating. “I know what the hell I’m talking about. It’s all going to hell.”

     His thoughts raced ahead as he watched her light the tip of her cigarette with a lit butt from an old dish with more ash than a crematory.

     Brenda was birdlike but hardly unattractive, just sticky and twiggy, unlike his wife, who was a full hug, an eye level kiss. Brenda took a deep drag and looked at him through smoke.

     “What a fuck,” she said. “Both of them. They are both fucks. I’m telling you, Devon has bought Glen off, paid him well to screw us over, though I don’t know why he would, disloyal asshole.” 

     He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s hard to believe, can’t wrap my head around it, that’s all.”

     Brenda leaned forward and crossed her tiny legs, shapely but thin. Her fingers seemed long as arms, her elbows stuck out like wayward bones.

     “Peter has lost control of his people. He's too old to run the organization. That’s what I think. I have my spies, you know, people who hate Devon and will tell me the truth when I ask for it. You think he’s above screwing his brother?

     “Why let the organization go to shit now?”

     “Why not now? I heard Peter was sick; maybe that's why he's losing control. Maybe it’s serious. Maybe Devon doesn’t want anything going to Peter’s idiot wife if he should die. Imagine Delilah in charge of the LVAJ? Ha!”

     “I don’t think Delilah would want it. Advising Peter in business is not quite the same as running the entire organization. That’s a mammoth job.”

     “Ha!” Brenda took a sip of scotch. “I wouldn’t underestimate her, Brock. She has a degree in art, after all. You sound like a misogynist, just because she’s blonde and beautiful. She’s far from stupid.”

     “I didn’t say she was stupid.”

     “Didn’t say she wasn’t either.”

     “Look, you think we ought to go to Peter with this?” he asked, “he should know about our suspicions.”

     “No, I don’t think we should go to Peter.”

     Brock took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So, you’re saying the Prince was a phony, but what if he wasn’t?”

     Brenda threw back her head and laughed loudly. He noticed that her hair didn’t move, so stiff it seemed to stand at attention. Her hair is obedient, he thought.

     “Oh, come on,” she said. “The whole thing was a scam. I’ll bet my ass that the Yellow Diamond is sitting behind some asshole's velvet pull in Saudi Arabia and nowhere near that little turd that calls himself ‘Prince Vizueta.’ She drew out the syllables of the prince’s name and made a face. “Prince of bullshit.”

     Brock thought for a moment. “So, if the Yellow Diamond buy was a scam, what’s next?”

     Brenda did all three things at once. It was quite impressive. She laughed and took a drag off her cigarette as she put the scotch glass to her lips and drank.

     “I wish I knew.”

     Brock stood up and looked at his watch. He hadn’t called home. It was after ten p.m. in San Francisco. Jane would be angry. One should make a point of calling home when one is suspected of having an affair.

     “It’s getting late,” he said.

     He’d spent months on the phone with Brenda, ever since she first uncovered what she believed to be a conspiracy. He wasn't quite so sure. He thought she was a bit hysterical over nothing. Besides, he was cautious. He liked absolute proof. But with their constant phone calls, he couldn’t blame his wife for suspecting him of infidelity. Once Brenda got to Philadelphia for the Yellow Diamond Buy, she called him several times a day so she could give him the scenario of treachery; so she could share her anxiety as she nervously sucked on her cigarette and drew him into her fears like the nightmare fairy.

     “Why don’t we wait for Devon’s next move, see where he’s going with this,” Brock said, putting Jane out of his thoughts, he’d deal with it in his own way. “No sense making a big deal out of something that could just be gossip,” he added. “Or paranoia.” He stared at her.

     “Well, it’s been months since this phony prince put out a bid on the Yellow Diamond and went back to his phony country with it.”

     “Right, and there hasn't been anything since, no bids out on any precious stones at all.”

     “But it doesn't mean there won't be,” she said. “I sense it in my bones that we’re being screwed with.”

     "Look, if someone out there really has the Yellow Diamond other than the Prince, wouldn't they have contacted Peter and told him he was being made an ass of, that you can’t purchase what someone else owns?"

     "Why should they say anything? Anonymity is what matters to us, not friendship, you know that."

     Brenda stood up tall but barely reached his chest. She went to a wall of windows and looked out from her thirty-second-floor Manhattan condominium. The night was dark, but the city shone against the sky. It seemed like a false movie set, almost too perfect to be real.

     She turned to face him. “Let’s confront Glen, find out what the hell is going on. If he knows we’re aware he’s a turncoat, he’ll tell us everything. When it comes right down to it, he’s a wimp and he’ll play both sides. Glen has no loyalty. “

     Brock raised his eyebrow. “And you think Glen is going to admit he has his own agenda?” he said. “Just like that?”

     “Where is it going to leave us if Devon takes over the American operation?”

     “Under Devon’s employ, that’s where.” He realized Brenda was being too emotional; one of them had to be rational.

     Brenda sat and puffed; taking deep drags and pushed the smoke out through her teeth.

     Brock paced a bit around the room. “So, according to you, Devon paid the commission out of his own pocket? To make it all look legit?”

     Brenda moved her head, barely a nod but he knew that’s what she’d intended.

     “Right. He has a plan,” she said. “I just don’t know what it is. I mean, a phony bid? A phony buy? I don't get it.”

     Brock sat on the arm of a chair so thin it hurt his backside and he moved quickly onto the couch with false substance.

     “It has to have something to do with discrediting Peter, that’s what I would guess. What else could it be? Devon has finally gotten sick and tired of sharing his customers.”

     Brenda squashed her cigarette out. He was relived she didn’t relight. His throat felt raw from her smoke, and the nicotine stunk.

     “Devon has thought this whole thing up, a fake prince, a ludicrous bid ─ and he sent it all to Peter on a silver platter. I watched Glen go through the motions of recovering the Yellow Diamond; it was clear bullshit.” She looked back out at her seven-million-dollar view. “I never saw the diamond with my own eyes; I never watched any money exchange hands. He had me answering the phone and reporting back to Peter all day while he said he was doing business.”

     Brock wet his lips with his tongue. “Why would Devon approach Glen and not me, or not you, for that matter, if he’s plotting against Peter? I mean, why Glen?”

     Brenda rocked her body just a bit. She was flirting, which was always her way, her constant affectation around men. Brock smiled, but only to himself. He’d never wanted any other woman but Jane from the moment they'd met. It was absurd that she now thought he did, especially Brenda, whose scantily fleshed out body reminded him of an adolescent boy. He wanted to flip open his cell phone and call his wife, just to tell her that her father was a bastard and the only thing he wanted from Brenda was assurance. If all this were real, it changed everything.

     “Because you’re married to Jane and Peter was always more of a father to his daughter than he was. Jane would never let you betray Peter. And me?” Brenda winked at him. “My few one-night stands with Peter could be interpreted as loyalty, though God knows, I have none.”

     Brock stood up. He towered over her and nearly reached her eight-foot ceiling.

     “Listen, if what you’re saying is true, I want a takeover. I want no part of this war between Peter and Devon. Let them chew each other up. You and I together have enough contacts to go on our own.”

     He stared at her. He was surprised at his own words, but he meant it. If he had wanted to work with Devon, he would have stayed in England. Devon was a mean bastard. He was also greedy; his split had been an absurd five percent.

     “I was hoping you’d say that.” Brenda lit another cigarette without leaving his gaze.”

     “That would make us partners,” he said, “just you and me, I’m not opening this up to anyone else.”

     “I’m yours,” she said, sending him smoke rings. “Peter is getting too old for this and Devon is a creep; we can’t trust him. This idiot ploy of his is going to splinter the whole operation, so let’s take our contacts and run.”

     Brock slipped on his jacket. “Let me think this through,” he said. “I’ll be back in touch. Id this is real we're bound to hear of another false buy very soon. If this is Devon's plan, to discredit Peter, he won't wait very long to send him more bullshit about a precious stone that’s surfaced.”

     “Maybe art this time, who knows? What about Jane, will you tell her?” she asked.

     “Of course, I tell her everything,” he said and paused at the door. “Not right away though, she might not like it.”

 

About the Author

I am an award-winning hybrid author of southern and women's Fiction, including Dancing Backward in Paradise, The Story of Sassy Sweetwater, Where the Wildflowers Grow, Pleasant Day, Marybeth, Hollister & Jane and Lies a River Deep. As my alter ego, Olivia Hardy Ray my books include Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem, Annabel Horton and the Black Witch of Pau, and Pharaoh’s Star. The first novel I ever wrote, Dancing Backward In Paradise, won an Eric Hoffer Award for publishing excellence and an Indie Excellence Award for notable new fiction, 2007. The Story of Sassy Sweetwater and Dancing Backward in Paradise received 5 Star ForeWord Clarion Reviews and The Story of Sassy Sweetwater has been named a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards. I have published in ESL Magazine, Christopher Street Magazine and I have also written early childhood curriculum for Weekly Reader and McGraw Hill.

 

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