New Release - Karma Nation

My family and I lived for fifteen years in a mixed-race neighborhood, with African-Americans, whites and Latinos, in Denver, Colorado. I had the pleasure of interacting with and exploring my neighbors’ experiences and views of America.

As an initiated Hindu Vaishnava priest, I was also active in Interfaith circles and spoke at various churches and conferences. This resulted in friendships with black pastors and inspired me to seek a deeper understanding of African-American history and spirituality. It is these experiences that led me to write Karma Nation.

Presented as a literary romance, Karma Nation follows the arc of two characters: Sam DeVon Johnson, a proud young black man, and Chantley Armstrong, a white American woman who grew up in an ashram in India.

The intense feelings aroused by a chance encounter in Boulder, Colorado suggest that they share a relationship from previous lives.

Chantley sees the world through the eyes of karma. “Everyone acts according to their karma,” she says, “maybe even entire nations.”

Deeply concerned with American injustice, racism and militarism, he asks, “What can you say about a country that starts its history with a slavery and a genocide? What kind of karma is that?”

Discovering that they may have been lovers at a plantation in South Carolina during the antebellum period, they journey through the South, visiting places and people connected to America’s troubled past and uncertain present.

As they fall deeper in love, their travel exposes conflicts whose origins neither is able to explain. They locate their plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, but its exploration reveals a shocking truth about the real nature of their relationship—one that makes them question who they are, their deep-seated beliefs and the meaning of love.

Karma Nation is, in short, an exploration of American cultural and racial attitudes as seen through the ethos of Hinduism. It is also the engaging story of two quirky characters who, having to overcome their own issues, grow towards maturity and love. I invite all of you to enjoy this book.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper, published by Books We Love. 

www.mohanashtakala.com

www.bookswelove.com

Thank you and farewell

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On 11 November 1918 the First World War effectively ended when a peace treaty was signed by Germany and the Commonwealth of Nations. An armistice, which is a truce made by opposing sides, was signed at 11 am on what has become known as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The following year, after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, when what is now known as the Great War was formally ended, a peace parade was held. For a number of years after that, what came to be known as Armistice Day, was celebrated. It was not about victory. It was about peace. It was about remembering all those people who had died in the line of duty. To help us do this there has always been 2 minutes of silence at 11 am on 11 November.

It is now 100 years since the Great War ended. Tragically, WW2 followed in little over 20 years. There have been many other wars across the world since then as well, so now, what eventually came to be called Remembrance Day, is the day when nations remember all those other soldiers, sailors and airmen who have died more recently, as well as those who fought a century ago. Whether this will continue, only time will tell, but this year in the UK it was special.

Danny Boyle, the Academy Award winning film director, challenged the people in the UK to go to the beaches to remember those soldiers who boarded the troop ships that would take them into battle. 30 beaches around the UK were chosen and Formby Beach, which is right outside my front door, was one of them.

This might not look like many people walking towards the beach but they kept on coming and, if you look closely, you can see  crowds beginning to congregate on top of the sand dunes as well. They were making the journey to commemorate the lives of those millions of young men of all nations who never had a chance to grow old, and they were doing this on a day that started out overcast, cold and very wet. As the minutes ticked towards eleven o'clock, however, the clouds began to part, and by the time a lone bugler began to play the The Last Post, the haunting tune that would lead the crowd into 2 minutes of silence, the sun came out.

When the silence ended there was just one more thing the crowd had to do, and that was to watch as the incoming tide washed away the huge portrait that had been sculpted into the sand, an image of a WWI soldier. It was a final farewell and thank you to those who had suffered so much for the price of our freedom. 

My family, like so many others, suffered during both world wars. Uncles died and others sustained injuries that affected them for the rest of their lives, so I grew up knowing their stories, and also knowing about the deprivations many suffered after both wars. Unemployment, food shortages, a lack of decent housing, rationing...it all went on for a very long time. Yet, without those wars and the tremendous sacrifices, would I have been the recipient of free health care for the whole of my life, or received a free first class education, benefited from female emancipation, been able to pick and chose a career...even write books that are published by Books We Love...the list is endless. 

So as we watched the waves wash away all that was left we said thank you, and farewell.

Sheila Claydon on facebook

One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four?

First, I want to thank Joan for letting me take over her spot this month. To introduce myself, I am Helen Henderson, the author of the Windmaster Novels. I like to hang out with mages and fly with dragons.

Windmaster, the first book of the Windmaster Novels, was never intended to be a novel, let alone the start of a series. It was a short piece written to help someone during their recovery after a severe illness. But after Lady Ellspeth of the House of Cszabo, captain of Sea Falcon gave the order to cast off the mooring lines and set sail, the characters decided they wanted more story told and a full-length fantasy was created. The adventures of Ellspeth and the Archmage, Lord Dal took me on an epic quest from a tropical island to Dal’s clanhold in the high mountains and into a thrilling journey deep in a cave. Their story ended, or so I thought.

I went on to other projects, flew with dragons, but Dal and Ellspeth tapped me on the shoulder. “We want to tell you about our new ship, Windmaster.” Since he’s a mage, I couldn’t refuse. (I don’t think he’d turn me into a toad, but didn’t want to take the chance.) So while there was never a plan for a series, work on a Book Two began. The first problem was a name. I couldn’t name it after the ship because that was already taken. Since this trip would be to take Dal’s mother to her ancestral lands overseas, the title became Windmaster Legacy.

I had fun researching Windmaster Legacy because of the foreign setting. Pictures of the Australian outback and Ayres Rock (now referred to as Uluru) surrounded my workspace. The scenes intermingled with images of koalas and giraffes that I’d taken. Unfortunately not in their homeland, but in local zoos.

One Book, Two Book, not a series you say. Just two books set in the same world. Although Windmaster and Windmaster Legacy are stand-alones and can be read independently of each other, there was one itty bitty little thing. In most of my novels, a myth or legend is told. While having dinner under the stars Dal notices two stars are brighter than the rest. Ellspeth tells him the legend of the lovers, Iol and Pelra. Although they were from competitor trading houses, Iol and Pelra petitioned to be handfasted and were granted same if they both accomplished a given task within the required time.

As the legend goes, “The ships returned in the final hour allowed by the bet. Despite their return within the allotted time, the parents reneged and declared Iol and Pelra had lost the bet and refused to allow the marriage. The ruling council of Iol’s house ordered him to a remote inland lake to captain an old scupper. Pelra was confined to her family complex. Unable to return to their ships and the sea, the pair sneaked to the twin rocks that guarded the harbor entrance. When the families sent soldiers to enforce their orders, the water god brought up a storm to protect the lovers. Then he transformed Iol and Pelra into shipfish. Legend has it they swam together to the end of the world. One powerful leap carried them into the night sky.”

As you may have guessed, Book Three recounts the full story of Iol and Pelra. Windmaster Legend, the tale of the star-crossed lovers and their quest sets sail Spring 2019.

But the title of the post is “One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four?” Only three have been talked about. If you pay close attention at the end of Windmaster Legacy, you will get a hint of whose story Dal and Ellspeth want told next.

~till next time, Helen

Click the book covers to purchase from your favorite online bookseller.

Remembering WWl

For more information about Susan Calder's books, or to purchase visit her Books We Love Author Page. 

Yesterday, November 11, marked the 100th anniversary of the formal end of World War 1. The occasion led me to remember my trip to Europe three years ago with my husband Will and our son Matt. We began our tour of Canada's battlefields with a stop at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France.  

From the Vimy visitors' centre, we walked up to monument, past a section of land that has been forested to prevent erosion. A sign told us that the bumpy terrain was caused by mine explosions during the war. German troops planted the mines when they occupied the strategic ridge from 1914-1917. The explosions went off as Allied forces advanced up the hill. Barbed wire fences and "Keep Out" signs warned that unexploded munitions remain buried under the grass. 

   

Our approach led to an impressive sight. Sculpted of Croatian limestone, the Vimy monument features 20 human figures representing peace and the defeat of militarism.  

The names of 11,285 Canadians killed in France whose graves are unknown are inscribed on the memorial's outside wall. Back down the hill, we stopped at the cemetery for the Canadian soldiers who died at Vimy or on neighbouring battlefields. 

Student guides conducted a tour of the preserved trenches and tunnels.

Moved by all we'd seen at Vimy, we drove to the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949 and fought as a separate regiment in WWI. 

Beaumont-Hamel caribou monument

On July 1 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the Newfoundlanders left the trenches to storm a ridge occupied by German forces. Most of the soldiers made it less than half way before they were mowed down by German guns and artillery. An Allied explosion set off earlier had warned the Germans of the impending attack. The Newfoundland regiment failed to take the ridge. 
   

Plaque in Musee Somme 1916, in the town of Albert, France

Nearby, in Thiepval, we visited the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, where graves of British Commonwealth and French soldiers represent the joint nature of the 1916 Somme offensive. The British Commonwealth headstones are rectangles made of white stone; the French headstones are grey crosses. 

We left France and drove toward Bruges, Belgium, for several days of respite from war. But on the way we stopped at Ypres, the location of several WWI battles that virtually destroyed the city. After the war the city was rebuilt to its former style, attractively we felt. 

Main square in Ypres

At the Ypres Memorial to the Dead, people were setting up for the weekend's ceremony to commemorate the first poison gas attack, which took place in Ypres in April 1915. Lights shining on the stone monument's list of war dead cast an ominous glow.  

  

    

Being Thankful

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  Reconnaissant

Agradecido

    Kansha shite iru

  Buíoch

                Every language has a word for “thankful.” Since it’s November, I automatically thought to write about Thanksgiving, but realized not everyone celebrates that specific holiday. And when you stop to think about it, why do we celebrate being thankful on only one particular day of the year? It should be an everyday occurrence.

                Many of you are already nodding your head, because we do give thanks every single day. We’re thankful for our families, our jobs, our homes, our health. But have you ever thought about all the totally unique, out of the ordinary things? Let me give you an example.

                I had the opportunity to visit Paris this summer for a writing workshop and we visited Versailles one evening. While walking back up the path to the seating by the fountain, I bent over to catch my breath. (This is not a blog about how out of shape I am!) I saw a cell phone lying on the gravel. Since it was night time and the phone was black, I’m surprised I noticed it at all. I picked it up and tried to open it, hoping to call someone and tell them I had found a phone with their contact but the phone was either locked or the battery was dead. I would simply have to turn it in and hope someone checked with security. (Since my son had once left his phone on a restaurant table, I realized how hopeful someone was that this would be returned to them.)

                With a bright flash, the phone rang. I quickly swiped it and answered with a cherry “hello” only to have someone start chattering in French, of which I know “bonjour”.  I quickly gave it to our workshop director, who spoke fluent French. The end result was we left the phone with a security agent at a place the owner could easily find. No doubt that person was thankful for our help, but I was just as thankful that I had been able to help, just as someone had once done for my son.

                Out of the ordinary, uncommon things to be thankful for, and yet just as wonderful as the roof over my head. Every time I drive up to the house from a trip, and especially if it’s dark, I thank my parents and two sisters for watching over me and getting me home safely.

                As an author, I am thankful for the ability to put words together in such a way as to create a story. That may sound simple, but believe me, some days the words do not want to play together nicely! A completed novel leads to being very thankful to readers because your interest and reviews give my publisher faith in me and my next novel. So much so that the book featured here is my 20th full length novel! “Prelude and Promises” is a fun romance about how opposites attract and I hope you will grab a copy. If you do, you can participate in BWL newest contest.

                And speaking of publishers, a huge thank you to Books We Love, who is having a BOGO until December 25^th. The link is http://bookswelove.net/bwl-holiday-special-free-books/ and it’s as simple as submitting a purchase receipt for a book from Books We Love.  

I challenge you to come up with the unusual for your daily thankful-ness. And if you want to share thankfulness with a stranger, next time you’re in a drive-through (Starbucks, McDonalds, etc), pay the bill for the person behind you. They won’t track you down but believe me, they will be thankful. 

Best wishes as we enter the holiday season.

Barbara Baldwin, who is thankful for so many things it would be impossible to list them all.

           

Is research your excuse for not starting … or finishing your book? by Rita Karnopp

 

     Murder and revenge collide as a vicious serial killer stalks and escalates in the preparation of one-sinner-at-a-time for atonement.  His routine takes an unexpected turn when he falls in love with the last woman on his list.

        When a string of women turn-up dead, all incriminating evidence points to Carter Thompson, a pathologist with a reputation for solving crimes, that is until his wife is brutally murdered.  For years his life revolves around making sense of the serial killer’s deranged plan. Carter is determined to uncover who and why he has become linked to this killer’s gruesome handiwork.  He teams up with the one woman he hurt and still loves.  Through it all he manages to uncover a convoluted plot of jealousy and delusion.

        Native American Studies Professor, Angelene Jensen’s orderly life is shattered when her sister is brutally murdered.  Determined the killer must pay, she makes decisions that propel her closer to the man who left her standing at the altar, and a chilling killer.  Are they the same person?  Had her sister uncovered evidence exposing the killer … triggering her death? 

 

 Is research your excuse for not starting … or finishing your book?

There is so much information on the Internet – it’s like having a library at your fingertips. You just must learn the tricks to finding the information you’re looking for.

Find a search engine to do the work for you such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, and . . .   Different search engines may look for different things. Some look for key words in the titles of documents, some search all links for key words, and some will search the entire text of documents. Check several out and decide which one you like best. The search engine I use most often is Google.

When searching keep in mind:

1.     Be specific don’t use words too general or too common.

2.     Use singulars – never plural forms

3.     Write down in a notebook where you’ve been – saves so much time!

4.     Unsure of a key word –start with a wide search and find key words to find what you need

5.     Keep it simple – and don’t get bogged down

a.     Pace yourself

b.     Don’t read everything – skim through until you find what you’re looking for

c.      Don’t print every page – ‘copy and paste’ into a ‘note’ file and save it on your hard drive or a flash drive for future use

d.     Copy the URL if it’s interesting - or save the site to your ‘favorites’ for future research

e.     Take notes if there are bits and pieces of information you wish to keep

f.       Don’t bog down – keep moving – if you find a site that is so interesting you can’t seem to stop reading; save it to your ‘favorites’ for later

g.     Keep moving – It’s so important to stick to the information you’re looking for.

 

I love researching for my books – I learn so much . . . but sometimes I find myself absorbed in the information. You must know how to say enough research is enough.  Get that book started. Remember, you can always go online and find that one or two things you specifically need at the time! 

Don’t let research be your excuse for not starting … or finishing your book!