New Release - Steel Town by John P. Matsis

Steel Town, a city of proud immigrant men and women awakens to the call of a distant war. Bessemer converters, open hearths, and steel workers gear for the machinery of a war they don’t understand. Night is no longer dark as the horizon glows from the nonstop flow of molten steel; the evenings no longer tranquil as eighteen-wheelers roar, fully loaded with steel to make tanks that spit fire and for destroyers that patrol the Sea of Saigon.

In a place as alien as a far off planet, two boys, the best of friends, come to age and find themselves catapulted into the horror of war—where the enemy, like moles, tunnel beneath the damp earth and into the hillsides, where booby trapped bombs and punjii stakes await the unwary American soldiers as they step through tall grasses and beneath the canopy of dense vegetation in search of the enemy. It is a place where a cunning and determined enemy calls home, a jungle arena where boyhood dreams and bonds of friendship are tested. The motto, “till death do us part,” becomes a sudden reality when a enemy grenade explodes, and the once “pretty boy” must come to grip with a terrible reality—he has only half a face. He is no longer the boy with a face that girls die for, no longer the vision of a Greek god born of proud immigrant parents.

As the war escalates, Steel Town, Gary, Indiana, must come to grip with the changing times. The old ways are strained, tradition no longer to be taken for granted—the war has changed everything. Like the war afar, lives totter and bend in the gust of controversy. A Greek coffeehouse keeper, an ex-middleweight champion of the world, and a young girl face difficult decisions. A priest struggles with his own demons. Parents look at each with apprehension, uncertain of the future of their sons. Two soldiers, their lives forever changed, struggle in a chess match of life and death. Even the enemy must face the inevitable…that life is indeed fragile

Bestial Cravings

Vesta Johns has everything going for her—except her health. Desperate to find the answers to her lethargy and her insatiable desire for raw meat and sex, she seeks out the help of her doctor, but Dr. Cohen can give her no answers.

Or can she?

Torrence Simiene is a medical consultant with a unique specialization. As an alpha werewolf, it’s been his job to aid Dr. Cohen’s distinctive patients through their transition from human to shifter, for years. This time, however, it’s different. Vesta arouses his primal lust, and he’s having a hard time keeping her at a distance.

Will the doctor’s plan of care offer the ultimate cure for Tor and Vesta’s bestial cravings , or further drive them apart?

Note:

Bestial Cravings is a stand alone companion short contained within the Roma Wolf Tales Series. For more information please visit Dayana Knight's website: www.romawolftales.com and don't forget to check outCurse of the Marhime , Book I of the Roma Wolf Tales Series, available now in print and ebook format at The Wild Rose Press and many other fine book retailers

Not of My Making - a Healing Journey

Guest Post by Author Margaret W. Jones, Ph.D.

In an email Donna asked what inspired me to write about bullying and scapegoating in churches. Without hesitation I thought, that’s easy, desperation. My very survival depended on it. I felt as if my adversaries had a pillow over my mouth and nose and I had to push them off to save my life. Writing Not of My Making was a healing journey in which I not only found my voice but came to love who I was.

My former church mates did everything they could to prevent me from telling my story to others including shunning, expulsion from church and threatening legal action against me.

While they were successful within our church community, they couldn’t prevent me from talking to others outside of church nor keep me from writing a book about it. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects my right to report the facts and express my opinion. I developed a deeper appreciation for freedom of speech and a greater awareness that without the First Amendment those with more power would silence those weaker and more vulnerable themselves.

During the conflicts at the churches to which I belonged, I kept a journal. It was my way of trying to figure out what was happening to me and why. I first considered pulling all that material into a book after I read Catherine Fairbanks’ book, Hiding Behind the Collar. I considered the possibility of getting a book published. Pretty slim, I thought. So I didn’t start it. I couldn’t go through the pain of writing my story if no one was ever going to read it. Then on a Thursday night in August, 2003 I discovered I had no therapy clients scheduled. Absent-mindedly I picked up the catalog of the local adult learning center and discovered they were offering a seminar on publishing taught by Dan Poynter. At the time I didn’t know he was a self-publishing guru but I seized the opportunity and went. I am glad I did. I now knew that the only obstacles to getting my book published were hard work and a little money. I was certain I had what it took to get the job done.

I read Poynter’s book, The Self Publishing Manuel, organized a binder for my manuscript and began writing. It wasn’t easy. When I first started writing my book I would type until flooded with anxiety. I would then spend the rest of the time curled up on my couch in a fetal position. Eventually as I wrote and processed the events leading to my dechurchings the anxiety became less crippling. I could use the entire four hours plus any other free moment to work on my book. Writing Not of My Making was hard but necessary work.

As a psychologist I was trained to write dry, data filled research papers. Writing a memoir was a very different creature. I struggled. It was emotionally draining and the first draft was absolutely horrible. I knew something was wrong but didn’t know what. I searched Amazon and ordered Tristine Rainer’s book, Your Life as Story. That helped some. I attended a writing seminar at a local college and met Hannah R Goodman. I hired her to do a content edit on my book and took another year to rewrite the manuscript. The result was well worth it.

The process of writing, publishing and marketing has helped me clarify issues and develop new skills. It gave me a new career. In addition to being a psychologist I am now an author and publisher. I have come full circle. I am now more of myself than I have ever been.

Not of My Making is available from www.pluckpress.com and Amazon.com

Biblical Church by Beresford Job - 4 stars

Every now and then a book comes along that challenges the foundations of accepted Christian practice and offers something completely new. Biblical Church: a Challenge to Unscriptural Tradition and Practice! by Beresford Job does exactly that. It strips away traditions that man has added to the concept of Christian practice and points back to the original blueprint found in Scripture. 

 

Biblical Church: a Challenge to Unscriptural Tradition and Practice!

This book challenged me to reconsider my understanding of the New Testament teaching on church life and practice. It combines meticulously researched scholarship and exegesis with Job's more than thirty years of practical experience pioneering New Testament church life and practice. It's a journey of discovery to regain lost biblical truths and understandings.

This book is an easy read, a little wordy for me, but well worth the read. It pinpoints traditions and practices that are un-scriptural in a thought-provoking way that completely revolutionizes the teaching of Scripture. Questions covered include:

• What was the conflict between Jesus and Israel really about?

• What is ‘the Tradition of the Elders’?

• Why is it that for 1800 years churches have been so completely different to those we see in the New Testament?

• What were the New Testament churches actually like?

• Does the New Testament teach and prescribe a particular way for churches to be?

• Why did the Early Church Fathers reverse the teaching of the New Testament about church life?

• What do leading evangelical scholars have to say concerning these issues?

For three decades Beresford Job, has been involved on both sides of the Atlantic in helping to start and nurture churches which are based purely on the teachings and practices revealed in the New Testament. He argues powerfully that what history has come to refer to as the Reformation is not yet complete, and that the restoration of biblical truth regarding justification by faith needs to now be followed by a similar restoration concerning the way in which church life is experienced.

As this books turns to the New Testament church it argues that there are four simple things that differentiate biblically based churches that align with scripture rather than mere human tradition:

1) Each New Testament church was numerically small and therefore needed nothing other than homes to meet in. The idea was to have as many small churches as possible in any given geographical area rather than fewer numerically large ones.

2) When a church met for its weekly Sunday gathering the format was strictly that everyone was free to take part as the Spirit led them. All present were used by the Lord in different ways to edify their brothers and sisters and each person was seen to have a unique contribution to make. Unbelievable though it may seem to the vast majority of Christians there is no such thing in the New Testament as a church ‘service.’ Further, because of this format and design passed on by the Lord to the Apostles, there was also no need for anyone to lead the proceedings from the front. Indeed, in a lounge or living room in someone’s home there is no ‘front’ to lead from. Equally unbelievable is that neither is there any such thing in the New Testament as ‘the Minister’ of a church.

3) The other aspect of their weekly Sunday gatherings was that the Lord’s Supper was an actual meal which those present ate together, the loaf and cup being shared together as part of it. Basically a church was seen as an extended family of the Lord’s people, and the New Testament format for church gatherings was such that those present could actually function as such. Here believers experienced spiritual intimacy, close, genuine and significant fellowship, and the freedom to truly gather together around the Lord to celebrate his presence in their midst.

4) When it came to church government the New Testament clearly shows that decisions were made collectively by all in the church with leaders, referred to as elders, shepherds or overseers, being merely part of the decision-making process rather than the process itself. Further, this function of local church leadership was undertaken by brothers raised up from within, and recognized by, the church of which they were a part. Itinerant ministries from outside of each church augmented such local leaders church.

However strange the above description of church life may appear no serious Biblical scholar would disagree with the simple proposition that it is simply, and quite unarguably, what churches in New Testament times were like while the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus held sway. Quote after quote from top evangelical scholars confirm that the burden of the book is fully aligned with Scripture, and all necessary textual, cultural and historical relevancy are dealt with in detail in its pages.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about this book is, like I said, it is a bit wordy. For this reason I gave it 4 stars. I recommend this book to Christians who enjoy church history, for people who love the Lord but have walked away from church (for various reasons), and for those who seek to walk in the Light of truth. I think people will be amazed at what they discover.

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Order through www.house-church.org

The Book Connection Presents The Man Overboard

Learn more about Darryl Hagar and his inspiring story of recovery at The Book Connection http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2009/04/darryl-hagar-and-man-overboard.html. Darryl's book The Man Overboard memoir chronicles his life as an alcoholic oil tanker officer with alcoholism and drug addiction problems while navigating 900 foot supertankers, and then offers his readers the hope as he shares his journey to recovery.

When you top by, take a moment to watch his video and be sure to leave a comment. Each commenter will be entered for a chance to win a copy of his book, The Man Overboard http://www.themanoverboard.com/book.html. For more chances to win, follow Darryl on his tour and leave comments along the way. You'll also be entered in a weekly drawing for a chance to win one of Darryl's graphic novels http://www.themanoverboard.com/programs.

Darryl is fervent about his recovery and committed to helping others find the strength and support needed to reclaim their lives from addiction. He will check in throughout the day to answer questions.

For the most up to date information about his tour, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/03/man-overboard-by-darryl-hagar-virtual.html

Books and Authors Reviews The Man Overboard by Darryl Hagar

Books and Authors http://joyce-anthony.blogspot.com/2009/04/man-overboard-by-darryl-hagar-review.html reviews The Man Overboard by Darryl Hagar. Reviewer Joyce Anthony says, "This is one book I will continue to recommend for years to come. Parents, high school and college students, counselors, and addicts themselves will all benefit from the words within the covers of The Man Overboard."

Stop by to read the entire review and take time to leave a comment as Darryl will stop by to answer questions. When you leave a comment you'll also be entered for a chance to win a copy of his book, The Man Overboard http://www.themanoverboard.com/book.html.

For more chances to win, follow Darryl on his tour and leave comments along the way. You'll also be entered in a weekly drawing for a chance to win one of Darryl's graphic novels http://www.themanoverboard.co/programs.

Darryl is fervent about his recovery and committed to helping others find the strength and support needed to reclaim their lives from addiction. He will check in throughout the day to answer questions.

For the most up to date information about his tour, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/03/man-overboard-by-darryl-hagar-virtual.html

Alcoholic Outsider Artists Launches The Man Overboard Tour

Monday, March 16, kicks off an exciting virtual blog tour with, Darryl Hagar, author of The Man Overboard. Darryl will stop by Alcoholic Outsider Artist http://alcoholicoutsiderartist.blogspot.com/ where you can read an excerpt from The Man Overboard. It offers interesting insight into the world of alcoholism and recovery. "There’s a public misconception that alcoholics are homeless, hungry, broke, and dirty. My friend was about to see that people from all walks of life are represented at twelve-step meetings."

Be sure to leave a comment while you're there. Commenters on all of The Man Overboard blog tour stops, to be entered in two random drawings. The first is a weekly drawing. Weekly winners have the chance to win one of Darryl Hagar graphic novels http://www.themanoverboard.com/programs. Commenters who participate on the tour also will be placed in a random drawing to win a copy of Darryl Hagar's The Man Overboard http://www.themanoverboard.com/book.html. One copy will be given away midway through the eight-week tour and the second at the conclusion.

Darryl is passionate about his recovery and committed to helping others find the strength and support needed to reclaim their lives from the insidious affects of addiction. He will check in throughout the day to answer questions. You’ll learn more and have a chance to win a graphic novel or a copy of The Man Overboard. You can order his book at http://www.themanoverboard.com/book.html .

For the most up to date information for all tours, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/03/man-overboard-by-darryl-hagar-virtual.html