Apple Books - Upcoming Releases
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
The Indigo Dream Catcher, my second collection of paranormal short stories with an extrasensory twist, is my latest fiction release, following Summer Solstice, an exploration of the human psyche in thirty interludes, each depicting a woman at a turning point. My three novellas take the reader into the starlit, musical backdrop of a sultry Memphis night, behind the scenes onto the offbeat field of professional soccer, and on a supernatural escapade through the streets of Paris, listening to the haunting melody of an unpublished poem by Irish playwright Oscar Wilde. “Love Song” was composed in 1876 and left unfinished, an inspiration for the mystical plot. An academic history of the romance genre, a bio-bibliography on silent film actor Rudolph Valentino, and a collection of essays on American writer Jack London complete my author list.
Apple Books - Jack London
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
A collection of seven critical essays, JACK LONDON: AN AMERICAN WRITER (1876-1916) reveals a complicated figure with a literary persona and a mass-market image. London rose from a working class background in Oakland, California, to prominence as one of the most famous and prolific authors in the world. Scholars have put him under a literary microscope since his death in 1916. Academics analyze his work, his political views, and his love life in an attempt to distinguish between the private man and the public figure, while modern writers find his creative output daunting. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
- Quest for Eden
- Psychology and Symbolism
- Structural Significance
- Character and Technique
- Political Rebellion
- Idealism and Worldview
- Private Man and Public Figure
Apple Books - Starlit Obsession
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
In STARLIT OBSESSION one night of passion with a songwriter leaves Jade Ramone longing for a man out of reach, until she returns eleven years later to renew their friendship in the quiet, discreet hours of a sultry Memphis evening. The memory of his touch still haunts her dreams and stirs her fantasies. Cass Donovan is her obsession, a lover who romanticized her youth. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
With sophistication and a pen name, Jade interviews Cass for a magazine. Compelled by attraction neither can ignore, she discovers insatiable passion in his arms. He remembers the girl he loved and releases her with reluctance when ethics forces them to keep their relationship professional. Domineering parents and a broken marriage have tarnished Jade's outlook, making her insecure. Cynical of the music business, Cass has abandoned his career. Under the sobering influence of maturity, can they find young love again?
Apple Books - Romeo
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
In ROMEO Veronica Swanson, a soccer investor from Wisconsin, falls for Derek Fallon, a charismatic forward from Manchester, England. She signs him to the Madison Maelstrom, a losing team. Headstrong and stubborn, Derek solves her financial trouble in unorthodox ways. He plays the game with fanatical zeal and stirs the growing crowd with lunacy. Soon every game is a sellout, and his female admirers dub him “Romeo,” pursuing him with the adolescent adoration of a rock star's band of groupies. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
The out-of-control situation escalates until Veronica and Derek must survive under the same roof in a relationship comical and emotional as they ward off the fans. Young adult fiction with a racy edge.
Apple Books - Valentino
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
Based on over one hundred rare sources, VALENTINO: ICON OF ROMANCE will thrill fans of silent film. Enshrouded in mystery is a fascinating individual concealed too long behind his persona. Women wept, yearned, and fantasized about him. Men coveted and copied his mysterious style. And both lined the railroad tracks when his body was transported back to the Tinsel Town that made him famous. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
- Since the 1920s no silent movie star has achieved the prominence of Italian immigrant Rudolph Valentino. His impact on American film and international culture is tremendous.
- By name recognition alone this actor’s notoriety surpasses his most famous peers. Chaplin may be known worldwide, but his fame is based on film credits, not psychological associations with romance and sexual symbols unrelated to entertainment.
- Valentino believed the women who claimed to have loved him were in love with an image and the idea of love itself, not with a real man.
- He longed for artistic acclaim and a greater variety of roles, yet he received fanaticism and a cult-like following that pursues him even after death. His enshrined crypt graces tourist guidebooks and remains one of the biggest attractions in Hollywood.
- If given the choice, Valentino would have played his life different, but this freedom was never allowed.
Apple Books - Romance Writing
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
ROMANCE WRITING: LITERARY HISTORY AND COMMERCIAL CATEGORIES explores this exciting and lucrative field in publishing, a guide for aspiring beginners and established professionals. Windows of opportunity have opened to talented writers with persistence and determination. The message of the romance novel is not a complicated one. It is above all else a love story from its legendary roots to its contemporary sub-genres. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
Prolific authors who consider themselves storytellers, rather than literary greats with an inclination to change the world, often resent the analysis of a commercial endeavor. Romance novelists are entertainers. They write from the heart with inspiration and hope. Scholars who try to decipher their words usually fail, and complications set in when a critic examines the various types of romance. The literary criticism of romance has led to numerous scholarly books, some of which cast a gray sheen on the business through a dark filter. Just like an uplifting rose-colored glass, these negative distortions do not give an accurate picture of reality. Reality to the millions who enjoy romance novels is the pleasure derived from reading and the feeling of contentment that lingers afterwards. Reality to the published author is an advance and quarterly royalty statements. Accomplishment and creative achievement are deeper motives for pursuing this spectacular profession, a glamour job with awards and acclaim.
Apple Books - Oscar Wilde's Love Song
November/28/2023 11:40 AM Filed: Apple Books
OSCAR WILDE’S LOVE SONG is a supernatural novella about Carina Angelo, an English literature professor who places a love letter on the grave of Oscar Wilde, then spends three days in Paris seduced by the writer’s ghost in a haunting liaison. Based on the famous Irish legend, this story features an unpublished poetry fragment taken from the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library at UCLA, composed in 1876 and left unfinished. Only through the mysticism of his words will she revive his soul, creating a spiritual pathway... an eternal bond. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
This story is a departure from typical portrayals in derivative fiction as it illuminates Wilde’s bisexuality. Devastated over the end of her marriage to an award-winning author, Carina travels to Europe for a recovery period. While visiting the Père La Chaise Cemetery, she lays a rose on Wilde’s headstone. His spirit overwhelms her, distracting her from reality. He pulls her from the depths of depression into a dream world of pleasure. A psychic bond makes his character come alive, his energy tangible. She sees him, hears him, and touches him, but he’s perceptible only to her. The foreign scent of a man’s cologne surrounds her... mingling with the exotic taste of his lips. Carina feels the warmth of his kiss and the caress of his hands... his presence in her bed at night. His personality entwines with hers, bringing psychological freedom and peace.
Apple Books - The Indigo Dream Catcher
November/28/2023 11:39 AM Filed: Apple Books
An unforgettable collection of short fiction, THE INDIGO DREAM CATCHER surpasses the ordinary and delves into the extraordinary experience of romantic, spiritual love. The realm of the human mind is a labyrinth of unexplored passageways. In a visionary world of time travel, extrasensory perception, and clairvoyance, where classical literature and commercial fiction meet, universal symbols merge with secret codes. This sacred place cannot be fathomed without honest passion and internal drive... dedicated to the reader who dares to look deeper than the mundane. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
- Two essays on the development and marketing of women’s fiction open this collection of four short stories and an unusual three-part novella.
- Bernart de Ventadorn: Celeste visits the ruins of the Castle of Ventadorn in France while researching the life of the famous troubadour Bernart. The haunting presence of his ghost manifests itself at a party in Chicago, leaving Celeste in pursuit of a mysterious man who may not exist... in this world.
- Eclipse: Crista meets an enigmatic stranger at a mid-December party for a costume designer in Chicago. Both remain in disguise throughout the event, and she never learns his name or place of employment. The following day she cannot forget him and realizes she has fallen in love with a man she will never find. A contemporary version of “Cinderella” with a supernatural element.
- His Caress: Catherine purchases a rundown 1920s bungalow that once belonged to an elite member of Hollywood society and finds the home's hidden treasure at the back of an attic... a suitcase filled with Rudolph Valentino's possessions. As she discovers its contents by day, she records her thoughts at night in a secret diary intended only for him and in her dreams forges a dangerous pathway to his soul.
- Chasm in Time: Cara removes herself from the clutches of an abductor by traveling into a time warp where the present no longer exists. In this safe, psychological realm, she communicates with a lover she has not seen in ten years by reliving the past. A damsel-in-distress tale with a telepathic twist.
- The Indigo Dream Catcher: After recovering from injuries sustained during the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, Crystal is tormented by flashbacks. During treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome, she receives an anonymous book of poetry in the mail and discovers it is an unexpected dream catcher. In three distinct stories, she travels to the Allegheny Mountains, Mojave Desert, and Horicon Marsh. As she reaches for her lover, a man presumed lost in the disaster, she realizes the director of the advertising agency that employed her as senior copywriter may not be dead.
Apple Books - Summer Solstice
November/28/2023 11:39 AM Filed: Apple Books
An eclectic collection of thirty short stories, SUMMER SOLSTICE offers the reader a glimpse into the paranormal and the unknown workings of the human mind in love. From preordained relationships to hauntings and self-discoveries, every selection portrays a woman at a critical moment or turning point in her life. These windows to hidden realms within the psyche delve into the past, the present, and the future, illustrating the emotional power of romance as it influences and motivates. To be taken in bits and pieces... but not to be taken lightly. Available December 26, 2023, on Apple Books.
- Beverly Hills Perfume: Like a contemporary version of the “Lady in Black” legend, Colleen seeks contact with Rudolph Valentino’s ghost.
- Crystal and Satin: Patricia reunites with a former lover twenty years her senior to experience the joy of his touch once again, but must settle for his memory.
- Deception: Lucinda has an affair without her husband’s knowledge and succumbs to the ultimate deception of her lover.
- The Diary: Fawn rents her former lover’s apartment and learns about the man who dumped her by reading his discarded diary, written Valentino-style.
- At Dusk: A private investigator turned bodyguard protects Leigh from a jealous, stalking boyfriend.
- Encore: Peg renews her friendship with a former English professor and becomes his lover once again.
- Encounter: A voyeur in her own beach house, Demi falls for the epitome of nude male perfection and experiences the thrill of a lifetime when she dates him.
- An Englishman: Rachel’s heart-rending love for a British soccer player changes the course of her life.
- Eternal Flame: A recovering alcoholic ends her marriage, making supernatural contact with the rock star she idolized as a teenager.
- The Guardian: A stranger who appears to have burned in a car wreck rescues Darlene from an abusive husband.
- A Haunting: Alisha receives a silk shirt from the 1920s and finds it haunted by the ghost of Rudy Valentino.
- Interlude: Tess is romanced by the ghost of a dead musician and warned of an impending sexual assault.
- Joshua, My Love: Reunited with a Jewish minister and former lover, Dari forces the man to make the most difficult choice of his life.
- Last Dance: After an earth-moving, one-night stand, Angela longs for her Italian fantasy, until she discovers years later that the company she works for has intercepted his messages, a disclosure that brings them together again.
- Leather Delusions: Hit by a car, Casey falls in love with the driver after he takes her to the hospital.
- Legacy: Cara meets a famous writer’s descendant, while fighting off the effects of a cursed book.
- The Love Letter: After sending a love letter to a songwriter, Sheena discovers she’s made telepathic contact with the sensitive man.
- Melody: Keri, an ordinary farm wife, buys a haunted, autographed photo of an entertainer she loved, then leaves her family for the wealth and glamour and danger of Hollywood.
- Memphis Blues: A London reporter picks up Trish, a young woman with a strange fascination for Elvis Presley’s grave.
- Oliver’s Passion: Messina encounters a perceptive monk with a personal agenda.
- The Orchid: An orchid with mysterious powers reunites Stef with the Australian heartthrob who married her for a green card.
- Rendezvous: Emailed love letters from a strange man bring cynical Christi into the arms of a male romance writer during a once-in-a-lifetime date in Paris.
- Rhapsody: Diane grieves for her lover on the streets of Memphis, a pilot killed in an air crash that could have been prevented.
- A Rose in Paris: Picked up on the Champs Elysees in Paris, Cloe marries a desperate businessman to get him into the United States.
- Soldier of the Natchez: Toria encounters a sexy ghost after laying a violet on a Confederate grave.
- Starlight: An unexpected meeting with her first love at her engagement party forces Naomi to call off her wedding.
- Stranger in Paradise: An overpowering attraction to a tourist changes Kelly’s outlook on life when they land in the dangerous maelstrom of the Bermuda Triangle off the shores of Key West.
- Summer Solstice: Dedication to a haunting musician of ages past.
- The Troubadour: Sue meets a striking British gentleman at an online café and arranges their first face-to-face encounter.
- The Vagabond: Infatuated with a Native American who arouses her passion and takes away her pain, Amber travels south with the healing protector in a motor home.
Impressions - Business Writing
October/09/2023 06:03 PM Filed: Impressions
Read my January 2008 interview for Communication Concepts with Dr. Katherine Wikoff, a professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Business writers can learn valuable techniques from literature, advice that transcends time in Writing That Works.