Saturday, November 1, 2014

Author, Author Shine Out Loud! Feature Writer and Award Winning Author, Kathleen Rodgers

Author, Author Shine Out Loud! Feature Writer and Award Winning Author

Time: 10/04/2014 11:15 AM EDT

Episode Notes: Kathleen M. Rodgers' stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. "Johnnie Come Lately" is her second novel. She lives in a suburb of North Texas with her husband, a retired fighter pilot/commercial airline pilot, and their dog, Denton.

Kathleen's first novel portrays a family man and seasoned fighter pilot. Tuck Westerfield's life could literally crash down around him. In this business of flying fighter jets, the odds of staying alive are stacked against him. Haunted by the memories of dead friends killed in air mishaps, this Vietnam vet and father of three must deal with a devious commander, an animal-crazed neighbor whose husband hates pilots, a beautiful, but suspicious wife and a rebellious teenage daughter. The last thing he needs is another war.

A great read: "The Final Salute" Military Writers Society of America awarded it the Silver Medal. In 2010, USA-Today, The Associated Press, and Military Times ran stories about the author's sixteen-year journey to bring the novel to life.

Kathleen Rodgers' work has appeared in Family Circle Magazine, Air Force, Army & Navy Times, Family: The Magazine for Military Families, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Albuquerque Journal, Clovis News Journal, For more information, go to www.kathleenmrodgers.com.

The Final Salute, a story of honor, integrity, dedication and survival by Kathleen M. Rodgers

At a small air base in Louisiana, family man and seasoned fighter pilot, Tuck Westerfield's life could literally crash down around him. In this business of flying fighter jets, the odds of staying alive are stacked against him.

Haunted by the memories of dead friends killed in air mishaps, this Vietnam vet and father of three must deal with a devious commander, an animal-crazed neighbor whose husband hates pilots, a beautiful, but suspicious wife and a rebellious teenage daughter. The last thing he needs is another war.

But when Iraq invades Kuwait in the middle of a muggy Louisiana summer, duty calls. Tuck and the other pilots in his squadron head to the Middle East.

Back in Louisiana, Gina Westerfield and other military wives learn that war is hell on the home front, too.

When tragedy strikes, everyone at Beauregard Air Force Base must pull together and live on or forever be consumed with grief.

Although fiction, this story has just as much to do with fact. Kathleen’s husband, Tom Rodgers, flew fighter jets for the United States Air Force for twenty years and then for American Airlines for twenty-two years until his recent retirement. Their real life experiences, both personal and professional, shine through in this military tale; close friends were lost in war as well as training exercises. This book, before and now, is dedicated to her husband/best friend and those who have flown west.

Kathleen Rodgers’ work has appeared in Family Circle Magazine, Air Force, Army & Navy Times, Family: The Magazine for Military Families, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Albuquerque Journal, Clovis News Journal, and in the following anthologies: Because I Fly, McGraw-Hill,

Lessons From Our Children, Health Communications, Inc., Stories Of Faith And Courage On The Home Front, AMG Publishers, Inc., and Home of the Brave: Somewhere in the Sand Press 53. Her essay, “Remembering Forgotten Fliers, Their Survivors” was published in Red, White and True, a new anthology from University of Nebraska Press (Potomac Books). This essay is the seed that grew up to become The Final Salute. http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/Books/AuthorDetail.aspx?ID=27489

The Final Salute, previously published by Leatherneck Publishing in 2008, sold out the first thousand book print run. In that short time, it was selected in 2009 by Army Wife Network as their July book club pick and Military Writers Society of America awarded it the Silver Medal. In 2010, USA-Today, The Associated Press, and Military Times ran stories about the author’s sixteen-year journey to bring the novel to life. The novel soared to #2 on Amazon’s Bestselling Military Aviation paperback list. In 2011, Navigator Books released the Kindle edition and the novel hit #1 on Amazon's Top Rated War Fiction the following year. So far it has garnered over a hundred reviews and sold over 6000 ebook copies.

ENDORSEMENTS AND REVIEWS

“‘A Captivating Tribute to Our Heroes in the Sky’ — There are not enough positive adjectives in the English language to describe what an incredibly fulfilling and beautiful story Kathleen Rodgers has placed within the pages of this unbelievable book. Having just completed it, I can only describe the dichotomy of emotions I feel right now as those of both pride and loss – pride for the years of military service I contributed to our great nation, and loss as I bid farewell to the enigmatic characters Rodgers has given us in Tuck, Gina, and the many others who bring this tale to life and make it dance on the page right before your eyes. Many have “told” readers countless stories of our brave men and women in uniform and the numerous sacrifices they make for us as they struggle to balance duty to country with duty to family; but Rodgers is one of the elite few who is able to make you “feel” their plight, their emotional battles, their physical pain, as well as their joy.”

— Amanda Matti, author of A Foreign Affair

“It's the details that change your life — Kathleen M. Rodgers' The Final Salute is a moving, compelling story of military life, yes, but of so much more. Rodgers writes with insight and knowledge of military life and just enough solid, factual detail to enthrall me, to make me feel as if I am experiencing that walking-the-perilous-edge along with the main characters. But it's the heart-tugging emotions that she weaves through the story that alert me to what a spellbinding storyteller she is. Ultimately, her tale is a realistic yet heartwarming and reaffirming assessment of life and love and dedication by the very people who guard our own lives.”

— Parris Afton Bonds, New York Times bestselling author of Deep Purple & cofounder of Romance Writers of America and Southwest Writers Workshop

“Gripping Insider's Story of A Fighter Pilot's Life Out of the Cockpit —Kathy Rodgers' award-winning novel, The Final Salute, tells the story of Lt. Colonel Tucker “Tuck” Westerfield, an A- 10 pilot, career Air Force officer on the cusp of promotion and senior command, loving husband, and devoted father of three who, while struggling to deal with the news of his best friend's death in an aircraft accident, finds himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong person when he stumbles upon his commanding officer in the middle of an affair with his female

executive officer. What happens next is a series of escalating and emotionally wrenching actions and decisions that not only threaten Tuck's career, but also his marriage. Rodgers' characters are all well-rounded and complex and the story pulls you in from the very beginning. The novel's climax and its aftermath are one of the most moving and satisfying I have ever read.”

— Dwight J. Zimmerman, New York Times #1 Bestseller writer of Lincoln's Last Days, President of Military Writers Society of America

USA Today ~ Air Force wife's novel set at fictional England AFB.

Military Times ~ The Final Salute: Giving voice to these ghosts.

Mobile, Alabama Press-Register ~ Rodgers has created richly layered characters that compel readers to keep flipping the pages.

Midwest Book Review ~ I recommend this novel as a good description of the military life and the inner works of the way things are done, including the cover-up process.

Fort Worth, Texas Magazine ~ Until the very end, readers are intrigued by her colorful cast of characters that bring everything from love to betrayal amid the added struggle of military life.

Winner of the Silver Medal for fiction from Military Writers Society of America

Amazon’s #1 Top Rated War Fiction

Rodgers’ novel, Johnnie Come Lately, published by Camel Press, has a release date of February 2015. Rodgers is currently working on the sequel to Johnnie Come Lately, Seven Wings to Glory. She is also an active member of Military Writers Society of America. www.kathleenmrodgers.com

ISBN-10: 1625969740

ISBN-13: 978-1625969743

Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches

Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces

Published by Deer Hawk Publications www.deerhawkpublications.com

For book orders, contact Aurelia Sands, Publisher, PO Box 7454, Pensacola, FL 32534 (850) 375-9161 aureliasands@hotmail.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

This blog post can be reproduced in its entirety with the following information:
© Joanne Quinn-Smith, Techno Granny Show™ 2013,
Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230, 412-444-5197

Listen at: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=17565&cmd=tc

Host and interviewer is Joanne Quinn-Smith, 2009 National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year and Author of FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101 COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE.

Additional blog posts at: http://authorauthorshineout,blogspot.com
host and interviewer, Joanne Quinn-Smith is the Creative Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and an expert on Web 2.0 Branding.2009 National SBA Small Business Journalist of the Year, Author FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101 COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE. Reasons to Write One." Available at:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DHKVJOG

Sunday, October 12, 2014

A House Divided, Story of the Mc Carthy Era Recently Published

A few words about my recently-published book: The work entitled, "A HOUSE DIVIDED, The Story of Ike and McCarthy" is the story of the political battle of 1952 through 1954 between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Senator Joseph R. McCarthy for the political leadership of the

Republican Party and the moral leadership of the Nation. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the climactic struggle between "Ike" and "Joe" played itself out amidst the machinations of larger-than-life historical figures such as Stalin, Churchill, MacArthur, Truman, Nixon, George Marshall, Joseph and Bobby Kennedy, Edward R. Murrow, Roy Cohn, Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss.

The Ike-McCarthy political war was fought on a battlefield undergirded by the emergence of Russia as a nuclear power, The Korean War, the "Red Scare" and the tumultous Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954. This is history but it's not dry. Rather it relates a three-year story of high drama, human emotions on dispay at government's top levels, pride, prejudice, courage and cowardice.

The colorful characters alone could have provided the stuff for a good novel were it not for the fact that the actual facts were more intriguing than fiction.

A HOUSE DIVIDED is available in paperback HERE and in e-book on

Respectfully,

Don Farinacci

Sunday, September 21, 2014

What’s it like when Steelers fans live in Ravens territory?, Women’s fiction novel makes for cozy fall read

Shore Thing Publishing

Queenstown, MD • shorethingpublishing@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Women’s fiction novel makes for cozy fall read

What’s it like when Steelers fans live in Ravens territory? How did
Washingtonians live through the tense weeks of October 2002?
Letting Go: The Maryland Shores depicts life at the one-year mark after
9/11 and the anxiety in Maryland during the DC sniper attacks.

“Every book has its tension, and having just moved to Maryland around 9/11, I could certainly
describe that,” says Loriann Oberlin, who writes fiction under the pen name of Lauren
Monroe. “The story focuses on the heroine Maren— a young widow solo parenting a child
through this anxious time. Steve Kramer is the decisive surgeon she meets who convinces her
to become a co-worker and much more. No spoilers…it’s a romance!”

A former Pittsburgher, Oberlin also conveys what it’s like to have team loyalties that don’t
exactly coexist with the color scheme of area fans. “I actually do wear a lot of purple so I get
called a closet Ravens fan,” she admits. “Rest assured, I think it’s great for everyone to
display enthusiasm for their individual teams, and by adding a very famous football rivalry to
the storyline, I had a lot of fun with that.”

Two dozen reviews on Amazon.com display reader enjoyment of this novel as it:
• features realistic, believable characters you can sense chemistry between.
• paints a scenic, relaxing and very nautical portrait of the Chesapeake Bay.
• includes spot-on references to the hospital workplace, Pittsburgh favorites, and even
Disney World that adds to the characterization.
• remains a favorite that readers have gifted for special occasions, recommended to
friends and book clubs and posted about on Pinterest, Facebook, and Goodreads.

The author has contributed to national bridal, airline, and women’s magazines in addition to
writing non-fiction books on serious challenges such as relationships, divorce and anger. She
also has a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a career as a therapist.
“Combining the romantic and travel writing I did for women with the relationship knowledge
I’ve gained has made this a really fun project. I’m working on Book Two of the series, which
readers already want to read. Always a good sign,” she says. Her name symbolizes her start
in Monroeville, outside of Pittsburgh. Visit www.facebook.com/lauren.monroe.novels.

Letting Go: The Maryland Shores by Lauren Monroe (2014)
$3.99 Kindle/ISBN: 978-0-9912822-0-3
$16.99 Paperback/316 pages/ISBN: 978-0-9912822-1-0

Listen at: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=17565&cmd=tc

Host and interviewer is Joanne Quinn-Smith, 2009 National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year and Author of FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101 COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Author Author, Shine Out Loud: Attention Authors, How to Get that First Interview!

The book is published, web site is up, author page done, free copies are given away, congrats from friends but the media is not knocking down your door to interview you.

So you write press releases, media alerts, make phone calls and WAIT. "I wrote a book, maybe it's not CNN, ABC, NBC or

CBS but someone should be paying attention!"
So you send more, call more and still no bites for even five minute interviews.
Did you ever hear when you were a kid that no one wants to hire you if you have no work experience? It's like that with media coverage. You have got to get that first interview so that you can parlay it into more.

There is hope for authors. Small Business Journalist of the Year, Joanne Quinn-Smith broadcasts an internet radio show which is plugged in to her audience of over one million accumulated internet radio listeners and this year new cars will have a dashboard control for podcasts like hers.

Author Author Shine Out Loud

Get your AUTHOR INTERVIEW NOW!

· Increase your internet search results
· Add a link to your media package on your media page or web site.
· Create an interview cd to add to your author "shock and awe package" for speaking engagements.

CALL TODAY

You are Guaranteed to Get an Interview!

SPRINGBOARD THIS 1ST INTERVIEW INTO MANY

412-444-5197

The Show "Author, Author, Shine Out Loud." The host is internationally known, Joanne Quinn-Smith, a.k.a. TechnoGranny, National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year. "Author Author Shine Out Loud" can be heard archived on the TalkShoe network and also at Pittsburgh's First Internet Radio and TV Network, http://pplmag.com. It will soon be available on Itunes and Player FM.

Listen to the Show Here

P.S. You also get a great blog post about you written by the National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year.

Read and Subscribe to the Blog Here

BE SURE TO LISTEN TO AND READ ABOUT PULITZER PRIZE ENTRANT, RIC HUNTER.

Joanne with ABC TV Secret
Millionaire, James Malinchak

Listen at: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=17565&cmd=tc

Host and interviewer is Joanne Quinn-Smith, 2009 National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year and Author of FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101 COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Author Author Shine Out Loud, Pulitzer Prize Entrant Rich Hunter, Air Force Veteran Author of FIREHAMMER

LISTEN TO INTERVIEW HERE

27 years as US Air Force, fighter pilot, all active duty gave Ric Hunter a rich arsenal of experience and stories to tell. Why 27 years in active military? Well Ric

says he was just having too much fun with amazing assignments. But one assignment that would not be considered "fun" was his time as a fighter pilot at the end of the Viet Nam Conflict. As a freelance writer his myriad experience became articles on aviation and the Viet Nam War and some of these became part of his historical fiction novel, FIREHAMMER.

FIREHAMMER is based on a true story of two high school best friends who parted ways on graduation. Tim joined the Marines in the height of the Vietnam War. Randy went to college and later became a fighter pilot. When Tim is killed at nineteen by a Vietnamese sniper, Randy vows to even the score. Firehammer is the nick-name of Tim’s Zippo lighter that Randy carries during several combat engagements, including the last battle of the war when his flight of four Phantoms helps rescue Marines trapped on bloody Koh Tang Island. Spoiler Alert: At the end of the novel, Randy places the Zippo at panel 9E of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. What happens between Randy's first combat flight and his visit to the Memorial is mesmerizing enough to have earned, the author, Ric, a Pulitzer nomination.

Native—sort of.

· 27-year active duty, 8 years Civil Service

· 3 generations of career Air Force

· 4000 hrs in fast movers in 20 years, most in the F-15 “Eagle”

Why I wrote FIREHAMMER and what it is about:

· Magazine feature articles

· Critique Group in Panama City, Florida—books, can I go the distance?

· 9-11 interruption

· Not a self-published “Memoir,” although there are many good ones out there.

· What is FIREHAMMER about?

· Publisher to submit for a Pulitzer and a couple of movie companies are giving it a look

40^th anniversary of the events in this book are coming up next year

Write your story! People write their stories for many reasons: therapy, for the decendants, as a hobby or to sell.

· First person military stories are good sellers!

· Just start writing a little every day and join a group

My Presentations: Power Point and video called, “Come Fly With Me: the F-4 Phantom II and the Last Battle of Vietnam.”

FIREHAMMER is available on Amazon in both print and digital versions

Ric
"A fighter without a gun...is like an airplane without a wing. " B/G Robin Olds

TWITTER:@ric_cvhjr

Website

Purchase Ric's FIREHAMMER

Listen at: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=17565&cmd=tc

Host and interviewer is Joanne Quinn-Smith, 2009 National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year and Author of FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101 COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Author, Author Shine Out Loud, New Audio Book with Pittsburgh Connection

An Exciting Announcement, New Audio Book with Pittsburgh Connection

Dear Katzenhaus Customer,

We have just released the audiobook version of Beyond All Price, which was our all-time Kindle bestseller. Here's a message about it from Adrianne Price, who narrated the book. Turn up your sound and listen here.

In connection with that release, we will have several free copies of the audiobook to give away to those who have entered their names on our website. The random drawing will be held early next week, so there's little time to lose. Click here right now to add your name and be entered in that contest.

Thanks for reading (and listening to) our books!

Sincerely,

Carolyn P. Schriber
Katzenhaus Books
P. O. Box 1629
Cordova, TN 38088www.katzenhausbooks.com

Watch Author Interview on Roving Pittsburgher, PPLMag

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Award Winning Military Historical Novel Author Completes Trilogy

If you’ve always wanted to know what happened to that baby born in FLYING SOLO, the wait is over! WAITING IN THE WINGS answers all of your questions! Explore a journey of loss and love regained! Get your copy of this five star, page turner today! If you order from AgeView Press, you can get the signed boxed set for 29.99! Just click here! What a superb Christmas gift! Remember proceeds from the sale of these books to support the USO and Vietnam Veterans!

Thanks so much for your support! - and as always, if you have read this wonderful books, please post a couple of sentences as a review on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!