Two Upcoming Book Blog Tours - Let's Talk About Them

Two Upcoming Book Blog Tours - Let's Talk About Them

I have recently been organizing a Book Blog Tour for my book, "13 Ways to Sell Your Ancestor Stories - 2nd Edition" - the companion book (non-fiction) to my family history and genealogy blog, Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories. That will occur March 25 to April 5. I hope each of you, my readers, will participate!

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Currently projected to begin in mid-April will be the first of several Tours promoting my "The Homeplace Series" fiction novels/novellas/short story collections, current and forthcoming. See more information on this March 8 post.

I would like to invite you (Book Bloggers of any size with similar interests) to contact me if you would consider being a part of this series of tours, one at a time, all of them, or decide as each one is scheduled.

I welcome you to leave a comment, below, or, feel free to send me an email (as noted in the post) to billsmith2003 at gmail dot com. I am happy to answer any questions, as well.

Thank you for your interest!

Happy Reading,

Bill  ;-)

It's Monday, What are You Reading? Fur, Fortune, and Empire

It's Monday, What are You Reading? Fur, Fortune, and EmpireFur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America
by Eric Jay Dolin


This is the forty-eighth entry for this meme suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books. [Entries 22-25 in the series were posted at  the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories]

I started this a couple of years ago, but now, I'm back to finish it.

Book Description of Fur, Fortune, and Empire on Amazon:

As Henry Hudson sailed up the broad river that would one day bear his name, he grew concerned that his Dutch patrons would be disappointed in his failure to find the fabled route to the Orient. What became immediately apparent, however, from the Indians clad in deer skins and "good furs" was that Hudson had discovered something just as tantalizing.

The news of Hudson's 1609 voyage to America ignited a fierce competition to lay claim to this uncharted continent, teeming with untapped natural resources.  The result was the creation of an American fur trade, which fostered economic rivalries and fueled wars among the European powers, and later between the United States and Great Britain, as North America became a battleground for colonization and imperial aspirations.

In Fur, Fortune, and Empire, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin chronicles the rise and fall of the fur trade of old, when the rallying cry was "get the furs while they last." Beavers, sea otters, and buffalos were slaughtered, used for their precious pelts that were tailored into extravagant hats, coats, and sleigh blankets. To read Fur, Fortune, and Empire then is to understand how North America was explored, exploited, and settled, while its native Indians were alternately enriched and exploited by the trade.  As Dolin demonstrates, fur, both an economic elixir and an agent of destruction, became inextricably linked to many key events in American history, including the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812, as well as to the relentless pull of Manifest Destiny and the opening of the West.

This work provides an international cast beyond the scope of any Hollywood epic, including Thomas Morton, the rabble-rouser who infuriated the Pilgrims by trading guns with the Indians; British explorer Captain James Cook, whose discovery in the Pacific Northwest helped launch America's China trade; Thomas Jefferson who dreamed of expanding the fur trade beyond the Mississippi; America's first multimillionaire John Jacob Astor, who built a fortune on a foundation of fur; and intrepid mountain men such as Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith, who sliced their way through an awe inspiring and unforgiving landscape, leaving behind a mythic legacy still resonates today.

Concluding with the virtual extinction of the buffalo in the late 1800s, Fur, Fortune, and Empire is an epic history that brings to vivid life three hundred years of the American experience, conclusively demonstrating that the fur trade played a seminal role in creating the nation we are today. 125 black-and-white illustrations






Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)

Book Review: "The Fiction Writers Handbook"

Book Review: "The Fiction Writer's Handbook"

by Shelly Lowenkopf

This Book Review post is part of the Premier Virtual Author Book Tours on behalf of this book. Click on the Tour image, above, to visit the other stops on the rest of this Tour.

Description of the Fiction Writers Handbook:

Publisher: White Whisker Books, November 16, 2012

Category: Non-Fiction, Writing, Publishing
Tour Dates: Feb 18-March 15, 2013
Available in: Print, Kindle, & Nook  336 pages

Promotional Description:

The Fiction Writer's Handbook is the definitive volume to explain the words and phrases that writers and editors use when they talk about a work. In the highly competitive publishing world, today's writers need to stay ahead of the competition and make every sentence count. This book will help new writers who need an understanding of the writing process, and for seasoned writers, it is a powerful tool.

Dr. Bill says:

The Fiction Writer's Handbook by Shelly Lowenkopf is a reference that will be useful to every writer of whatever genre. As as a writer, editor, and educator, Lowenkopf knows what we need as writers and had provided it is one handy volume. Open it up to any section and you will will get inspiration, a useful tip or a needed 'kick in the pants.' 

With the publishing world changing every day, it is great to have this distinctive volume of timeless advise at my fingertips. Thank you.

Promotional Information About Shelly Lowenkopf:

Shelly Lowenkopf taught in the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing Program for 34 years, has taught at the annual Santa Barbara Writer's Conference since 1980, and has been guest lecturer in many schools and conferences. He is currently Visiting Professor at the College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, with classes in noir fiction, the modern short story, genre fiction, and developing a literary voice. Lowenkopf has served as editorial director for literary, general trade, mass market, and scholarly book publishers, seeing over 500 books through the editorial and production process. His own short fiction has appeared widely in the literary press.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lowenkopf   

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shelly.lowenkopf

The Fiction Writers Handbook  Web Tour Schedule

So Many Precious Books  Feb 19  Spotlight & Giveaway

Angler's Rest Feb 20 Review &             Giveaway

Dizzy C's Chick Book Feb 21 Review                                   

Dizzy C's Chick Book Feb 22  Guest Post & Giveaway

Cozy Little Book Journal            Feb 26            Review                       

Cozy Little Book Journal            Feb 28 Interview & Giveaway
Bloggin Bout Books Feb 27 Review & Giveaway

Dr. Bill's Book Bazaar Feb 28 Review                                   

Alive on the Shelves Mar 1 Guest Post           

Angela Shelton            Mar 4 Review & Giveaway

Teena in Toronto Mar 5            Review                       

Book Lover's Library  Mar 6 Review                                   

Book Lover's Library Mar 7 Guest Post
Reviewing Shelf                  Mar  11 Review                                                     

Every Free Chance Mar 11 Guest Post

Broken Teepee             Mar 12 Review                                                     

Frugal Experiments Mar 13 Review & Giveaway

Joy Story Mar 14 Review & Giveaway            

Happy Reading,

Dr. Bill  ;-)

 

Book Review: "the Eighth Wonder" by Kimberly Young

Book Review: "the Eighth Wonder" by Kimberly Young

This Book Review post is part of the Premier Virtual Author Book Tours on behalf of Kimberly Young's book. Click on the Tour image, above, to visit the other stops on the rest of this Tour.

Publisher: Author House, January 31, 2012
Category: Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Tour Dates: February/March, 2013
Available in: Print, Kindle,  & Nook, 208 pages

About the book, from the promotional material:
A modern Bridges of Madison County, Nicole Benson, 35, is an ambitious college professor with dreams of teaching at an Ivy-League school until she meets Tom Ryan, 44, married 23 years and shattered after his daughter’s death from leukemia. A first-generation in her family to go to college,  Nicole is a self-made woman. She put herself through school, sacrificing marriage and children for her career. In the summer of 1997, she finally graduates with a Ph.D. from NYU, but her life is thrust into chaos when her father is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Abandoned by her mother as a girl, her father is all she has.
After fifteen years in New York City, Nicole leaves everything and everyone she knows to teach for a year in rural Bradford, Pennsylvania to be close to him in nearby Buffalo. Now, trapped in tiny Bradford, she has never felt more alone in her life…until she meets Tom Ryan.
At 44, Tom represents what Nicole longs to be: settled, secure, and clear about his purpose and direction in life. Emotionally scarred, he and his wife are empty nesters with an older son away at college and struggle to grieve together after the death of their daughter. Tom and Nicole’s story begins as a journey of self-discovery for both of them but turns to bittersweet romance when their friendship becomes love. Nicole risks offering what she has never given before, her heart; and Tom has never felt happier or more conflicted when he falls in love for the second time in his life.


http://youtu.be/ekTyjqDWXjU

If you haven't read her promotional literature:
Kimberly Young is a licensed psychologist, an author, and an internationally-known speaker on Internet addiction. In 1995, she founded the Center for Internet Addiction and since then she has written numerous articles on the topic including four books, Caught in the Net, Tangled in the Web, Breaking Free of the Web, and Internet Addiction: A Handbook for Evaluation and Treatment.
She is a professor at St. Bonaventure University and her work has appeared in hundreds of media outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, Time, and Newsweek, and she has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and ABC World News Tonight. She has written creatively on and off since she was eight-years-old, mainly working on poems and short stories. While recovering from retina re-attachment eye surgery, she was homebound for several months and decided to pursue her creative writing more seriously. The Eighth Wonder is her first novel.
Author Website: http://kimberlyyoung.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-S-Young/110260432388254
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKimberlyYoung



Dr Bill says:

Great stories with a sense of place and home draw me in quickly. The Eighth Wonder did just that. The May-November relationship between Nicole Benson and Tom Ryan was a bonus, in my view. This is a wonderful human story in a distinctive setting. What more could one ask - a story you won't soon forget!

Did you notice what remains of the bridge, in the photo of Kimberly, above?

If you have not checked out the story of the Kinzua Bridge in north-central Pennsylvania, itself, just click on the link for another fascinating story of its own.

Happy Reading,

Dr. Bill  ;-)

It's Monday, What are You Reading? Almost President

It's Monday, What are You Reading?
Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation by Scott Farris


This is the forty-seventh entry for this meme suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books. [Entries 22-25 in the series were posted at  the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories]


We got this book on Kindle… I've been reading on it off and on… now about half-way, reading Goldwater and McGovern.

Book Description on Amazon:

Publication Date: December 6, 2011
As the 2012 presidential campaign begins: Profiles of twelve men who have run for the presidency and lost, but who, even in defeat, have had a greater impact on American history than many of those who have served as president—from Henry Clay to Stephen Douglas, William Jennings Bryan to Al Gore—Plus, mini-profiles on 22 "honorable mentions."

From the Inside Flap
“I would rather be right than be president.”
—Henry Clay, 1824, 1832, 1844 presidential runner-up

Henry Clay is one of a dozen men profiled in the chapters of Almost President, men who have run for the American presidency and lost but who—even in defeat—have had a greater impact on our history than many of those who have served in the Oval Office. Veteran political journalist Scott Farris tells the stories of these legendary figures, from Clay to Stephen Douglas, from William Jennings Bryan to Thomas Dewey, and from Adlai Stevenson to Al Gore. He also includes concise profiles of every major candidate nominated for president who never reached the White House but who helped promote the success of American democracy.

Farris explains how Barry Goldwater achieved the party realignment that had eluded FDR, how George McGovern paved the way for Barack Obama, and how Ross Perot changed the way all presidential candidates campaign. There is Al Smith, the first Catholic nominee for president; and Adlai Stevenson, the candidate of the “eggheads” who remains the beau ideal of a liberal statesman. And Farris explores the potential legacies of recent runners-up John Kerry and John McCain. The book also includes compact and evocative portraits of such men as John C. Fremont, the first Republican Party presidential candidate; and General Winfield Scott, whose loss helped guarantee the Union victory in the Civil War.

Almost President reveals that losers often show more foresight than winners, that being ahead of their time is one cause of their defeat, and that losing, like the demolition of a house, can be an opportunity for reconstruction of a political party and the nation. Losing presidential campaigns have created new political alignments and broken down barriers to participation for a wide variety of groups, from Catholics to women. And losing presidential candidates, by conceding victory graciously—an uncommon occurrence in many other nations—ensure that our American democracy works.




 Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)

It's Monday, What are You Reading? John Quincy Adams

It's Monday, What are You Reading? John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams by Harlow Giles Unger


This is the forty-sixth entry for this meme suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books. [Entries 22-25 in the series were posted at  the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories]

One of my Christmas book gifts… neat  ;-) And, one of my favorite figures in American history!  ;-)

Book Description of John Quincy Adams on Amazon:

He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of The Amistad. He served his nation as minister to six countries, secretary of state, senator, congressman, and president.

John Quincy Adams was all of these things and more. In this masterful biography, award winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals Quincy Adams as a towering figure in the nation’s formative years and one of the most courageous figures in American history, which is why he ranked first in John F. Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Profiles in Courage.

A magisterial biography and a sweeping panorama of American history from the Washington to Lincoln eras, Unger’s John Quincy Adams follows one of America’s most important yet least-known figures.




Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)

It's Monday, What are You Reading? Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man

It's Monday, What are You Reading?

Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr


This is the forty-fifth entry for this meme suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books. [Entries 22-25 in the series were posted at the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories]

One of my Christmas book gifts… getting right at it!  ;-)


Book Description of Seward on Amazon:

From one of our most acclaimed new biographers– the first full life of the leader of Lincoln’s “team of rivals” to appear in more than forty years. William Henry Seward was one of the most important Americans of the nineteenth century. Progressive governor of New York and outspoken U.S. senator, he was the odds-on favorite to win the 1860 Republican nomination for president. As secretary of state and Lincoln’s closest adviser during the Civil War, Seward not only managed foreign affairs but had a substantial role in military, political, and personnel matters.
Some of Lincoln’s critics even saw Seward, erroneously, as the power behind the throne; this is why John Wilkes Booth and his colleagues attempted to kill Seward as well as Lincoln. Seward survived the assassin’s attack, continued as secretary of state, and emerged as a staunch supporter of President Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s controversial successor. Through his purchase of Alaska (“Seward’s Folly”), and his groundwork for the purchase of the Canal Zone and other territory, Seward set America on course to become a world empire.
Seward was not only important, he was fascinating. Most nights this well-known raconteur with unruly hair and untidy clothes would gather diplomats, soldiers, politicians, or actors around his table to enjoy a cigar, a drink, and a good story. Drawing on hundreds of sources not available to or neglected by previous biographers, Walter Stahr sheds new light on this complex and central figure, as well as on pivotal events of the Civil War and its aftermath.




Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)