Cover Reveal ~ Stinky Sardines and Roses by Natalina Reis

 

 Title: Stinky Sardines and Roses

Author: Natalina Reis

Genre: Gay Paranormal Romance

Release Date: April 9, 2026

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Cover Designer: BookSmith Design

Preorder Today!

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Blue only wanted to clear his name, not hook a brooding detective, but when sparks fly hotter than a Portuguese summer, resisting temptation becomes the hardest puzzle to solve of all.

Blue just wants to sell fish, flirt with the locals, and live a chill life by the sea. Sure, he’s a merman, but these days, no one cares about a little tail in their ancestry. That is, until a snobby millionaire drops dead after eating one of Blue’s sardines, and suddenly everyone’s looking at him like he’s serving murder on ice.

Enter Rose: detective for the Portuguese Paranormal Police, a man who hasn’t smiled for two decades and has no patience for seafood puns—or for Blue’s sunshine-in-a-bottle personality. He’s here to solve a murder, not babysit a charming fishmonger with big eyes and a bigger mouth.

But Blue is determined to clear his name, even if that means sticking to Rose like seaweed on a boat hull. As the investigation twists through ancient secrets, magical oddities, and supernatural politics, the two men are drawn together by more than just the mystery. Add in a ghostly white dog, a handful of eccentric locals, and a whole lot of unexpected chemistry, and you’ve got a case that just might end in love.

Magic, murder, and mermen collide in this charming paranormal romance set on the cobbled streets of Portugal.

Now available for preorder!

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Author of We Will Always Have the Closet, Desert Jewel, and Loved You Always, Natalina wrote her first romance in collaboration with her best friend at the age of 13. Since then she has ventured into other genres, but romance is first and foremost in almost everything she writes.

After earning a degree in tourism and foreign languages, she worked as a tourist guide in her native Portugal for a short time before moving to the United States. She li

ved in three continents and a few islands, and her knack for languages and linguistics led her to a master’s degree in education. She lives in Virginia where she has taught English as a Second Language to elementary school children for more years than she cares to admit.

Natalina doesn’t believe you can have too many books or too much coffee. Art and dance make her happy and she is pretty sure she could survive on lobster and bananas alone. When she is not writing or stressing over lesson plans, she shares her life with her husband and two adult sons.

Book Blitz ~ Your Brain Weighs 500 Pounds by Derrick Pledger

 

 

Change Your Mindset to Achieve Desired Outcomes

Self-help, Motivational, Success, Transformational Psychology

Date Published: November 8, 2023

 

 What if the biggest obstacle to your success isn’t your circumstances—but your mindset?

Every day, your brain consumes a steady diet of negative news, social media noise, unhealthy beliefs, and self-limiting ideas. Just like poor nutrition damages the body, poor mental input sabotages discipline, productivity, and long-term success.

In Your Brain Weighs 500 Pounds, U.S. Army combat veteran, Fortune 500 technology executive, and high-performance advisor Derrick Pledger delivers a powerful and practical framework for transforming how you think, act, and achieve.

This thought-provoking and highly accessible book presents 100 short lessons—called “recipes”—designed to help you detox your mindset, strengthen discipline, and build habits that compound into life-changing results.

Whether your goal is career advancement, entrepreneurship, improved relationships, better health, or personal fulfillment, this book shows you how success is built—not overnight—but daily.

Inside This Book, You’ll Learn How To:

● Reframe failure as fuel for growth and long-term achievement

● Build discipline and consistency without burnout

● Eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors and mental clutter

● Develop habits that drive upward mobility and performance

● Create clarity around goals and obsess over what matters

● Treat your brain like your body—by feeding it the right “mental nutrients”

Grounded in real-world experience, extensive research, and years of personal journaling, Your Brain Weighs 500 Pounds distills complex success principles into clear, actionable insights you can apply in minutes a day.

Why Readers Love This Book

Readers from all walks of life have experienced profound transformation, including:

● Losing significant weight and reclaiming control over their health

● Advancing from mid-level roles to executive leadership positions

● Gaining clarity, confidence, and momentum after years of stagnation

“I read this book on a four-hour flight and landed as a completely different person.”

This isn’t motivational fluff. It’s a mental operating system for becoming a daily achiever—someone who understands that success is the by-product of learning, failing forward, and getting better every single day.

If you’re ready to put your brain on a better mental diet and finally achieve the outcomes you want, this book is your recipe for success.

 

About the Author

 

 Derrick Pledger is a U.S. Army combat veteran, Fortune 500 technology executive, digital strategist, and author passionate about helping people unlock their full potential through mindset, discipline, and intentional action.

Currently serving as Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) at Maximus Inc., Derrick leads enterprise-wide technology strategy, artificial intelligence operations, and large-scale digital modernization initiatives. With more than 20 years of industry experience, his expertise spans systems integration, automation, cloud and edge computing, AI, data analytics, IT governance, and end-to-end solution development.

Before joining Maximus, Derrick was Chief Information Officer at Leidos, where he oversaw global IT delivery operations supporting a $17-billion organization with more than 48,000 employees worldwide. Earlier in his career, he ran a multi-million-dollar export business in his twenties and became a Fortune 500 CIO by age forty.

As an author, Derrick’s journey is rooted in resilience and persistence. While serving in the U.S. Army, he transformed a failed screenplay into a novel manuscript—written during downtime in Iraq. After dozens of rejections, that effort led to a co-written book deal with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, resulting in the 2008 release of The Diamond District.

Fifteen years later, driven by a mission to democratize success, Derrick released his second book, Your Brain Weighs 500 Pounds, after investing more than 1,500 hours researching mindset, habits, and high-performance behaviors. His work challenges conventional thinking about failure, goal-setting, and achievement, offering readers a practical blueprint for sustained personal and professional growth.

In addition to writing, Derrick advises individuals, teams, and organizations on high performance and leadership, and he is a partner at 500 Pound Media, a digital content company focused on personal development and achievement.

Born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Derrick believes that success is not reserved for the lucky or the privileged—but for those willing to develop the right mindset and show up consistently, even when failure is part of the process.

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Book Blitz ~ Long Lost Midwife by Skye Smith

 

 

Historical Fiction | Race & Identity | Women’s Stories | 1930s America

Date Published: September 19, 2025

Publisher: MindStir Media

Set against the charged racial landscape of 1934 St. Louis, Long Lost Midwife is a gripping historical novel about identity, obsession, and the dangerous cost of defying social order.

Pamela appears to be a privileged young white socialite, newly married and expecting her first child. But beneath the polished surface lies a restless, unsettled woman struggling against the suffocating expectations placed upon her. As her pregnancy advances, Pamela becomes fixated on one thing: finding Miss Minnie, the Black midwife who delivered her at home in 1911.

Her request ignites fierce resistance. Both families condemn the idea, and Pamela’s husband, Frank, fearing scandal and loss of control, tightens his grip—bringing in relatives to monitor her movements and even hiring surveillance to ensure she never makes contact with the midwife. Determined and increasingly reckless, Pamela secretly pressures her Black maid to help locate Miss Minnie, setting in motion a chain of events neither family can contain.

What begins as a quiet domestic drama escalates into a volatile confrontation with race, power, and truth. As long-buried histories surface, the search for a midwife becomes a catalyst for racial tension, betrayal, and violence—raising the chilling question: will this birth end in life… or murder?

Long Lost Midwife starts with measured restraint and builds relentlessly toward a tempestuous, unforgettable conclusion. It is a haunting exploration of white blindness, Black resilience, and the fragile illusions that sustain privilege in early 20th-century America.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

● Thought-provoking historical fiction

● Novels examining race, class, and gender

● Character-driven stories set in pre-Civil Rights America

● Books that begin quietly and end with devastating force

 

About the Author

Skye Smith is a historical fiction author and retired mechanical designer whose career spanned decades of designing complex machinery using advanced computer-aided design (CAD) systems. That background in precision and structure deeply informs Smith’s approach to storytelling—where narrative architecture, historical accuracy, and character motivation are carefully engineered.

During the final ten years of a professional career, Smith moderated the Plymouth Writers Group, a MeetUp-based genre writing collective composed of engineers, doctors, legal professionals, technical writers, and MFA graduates. Within this collaborative environment, Smith completed first drafts of three novels, with two additional works developed independently.

Smith holds a degree in History from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, an academic foundation that profoundly shapes the thematic and contextual grounding of the work. Historical setting, for Smith, is never decorative—it is the backbone of character behavior and moral conflict.

Another significant creative influence comes from many years singing in Sonomento, a Minneapolis-based operatic choir active until 2024. Immersion in opera introduced Smith to the disciplined exactness of musical phrasing and libretto, where text is fluid, expressive, and shaped by emotional register. That sense of linguistic “plasticity” carries directly into Smith’s prose style.

Long Lost Midwife reflects these influences in a novel that begins with restraint and builds toward controlled chaos—examining race, power, and identity in 1930s America with precision, tension, and historical depth.

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Book Tour ~ Tinkle Tinkle Little One - ABCs to Potty Training by DeCarol Blocker Jovanovic

 

ABCs to Potty Training

Children’s Book

Date Published:11/15/2025

Join Bella Jay as she learns her ABCs...from beginner potty training steps to nighttime training to visits to Grandma and Grandpa. See the alternate ending to Bella's Journey!

 

About the Author

 

 DeCarol Jovanovic is a sleep advocate, entrepreneur, and mom of two. For more than 30 years, DeCarol has worked with children. During this time, she became certified as a newborn care specialist and developed a potty training song to encourage little boys and girls to pee on the potty.

Tinkle Tinkle Little One © has been sung by recording artists and little children around the globe. DeCarol is excited to share the Tinkle Tinkle Little One © song with parents and simple steps for using the potty with little boys and girls around the world.

DeCarol is a service disabled veteran who has served and deployed to overseas locations. DeCarol has worked in Okinawa, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and many locations in the USA. DeCarol completed undergraduate studies at University of Maryland University College (2005) and obtained a Master of Arts from Webster University (2008). DeCarol is also creator of “Don’t Wake the Baby” inspired signs.

 

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Book Blitz ~ To Hell and Back by Bill Blume

 

To Hell and Back
Bill Blume
Publication date: January 20th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

For one pair of swordfighters, their marriage is worth going to Hell and back.

Ty and Dani are a modern-day, swordfighting husband-and-wife duo who help with exorcisms until a demon kills Dani’s mother and all of their fellow exorcists. Now, they’re on a quest for revenge through the realms of Hell, and killing the demon is just the start of the journey. To keep the demon from reviving, Dani and Ty must escape Hell within seven days and cast the demon’s head and heart into an Eternal Flame. To get back to the mortal realm in time, they rely on their small terrier Wicket to lead them past the demon’s army and thousands of other horrors.

To Hell and Back takes readers on an epic journey perfect for those who believe love can overcome any challenge and that a devoted dog makes the perfect guide no matter where you need to go.

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—

EXCERPT:

They didn’t drive far, parking on a cobblestone street next to the café, sitting on a street corner. The entire front wall of the café was made up of tall doors that were all turned open to take advantage of the pleasant spring weather. Ty sucked down his coffee. It tasted stronger than what he preferred, but as tired as he was, he considered that a good thing.

“I imagine you have a lot of questions.” Maria sat at one of the tables closest to the sidewalk with people dressed in business suits and hospital scrubs walking by. She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair, draping her arm over the back of it.

“I’m told you work for the church?” He decided against gambling on whether it was the Catholic or Episcopal Church.

“Heard that, did you?” She cracked an amused grin, as if she’d been privy to his conversation with Barry. “That’s only partially true. We’re funded by the Church of England, but we don’t answer to them.”

Taking a chug of his coffee, Ty then asked, “And who is we?”

“A fair question, and I’ll get to that soon enough.” She paused for her own sip of coffee. When she continued, she stared out at the street as cars rumbled across the cobblestones. “I’d like to talk about you a bit first. I notice you’ve started the transition.”

“The what?”

“Oh, you’re trying to find a way to make a living off that sword arm of yours that doesn’t require a nine-to-five job typing on a keyboard or some other nonsense. You’re going the usual route: giving lessons to wannabes drunk on fantasies of medieval knights or Star Wars. You know. The usual stuff.” She looked at him with a smirk that assured him she already knew the answer to her next question. “You enjoying all that?”

He cleared his throat and sniffed. His sinuses were still killing him.

“I’m paying my bills.” He shrugged, trying to mimic her nonchalance by turning his focus out onto the street and the passersby. Didn’t keep him from seeing her amused reaction to his answer, that she knew he was full of shit.

Yeah, he’d taken to giving part-time lessons at a local fencing club that included saber fighting. Most of the job seemed more about punishing clients into the realization that they weren’t going to turn into Inigo Montoya overnight and that fighting with a sword required both finesse and brutality. Being good with a sword required a killer instinct. Forcing others with limited skills to realize they didn’t have that certain something was taking a toll on him.

“Look, Mr. Faison.” She leaned forward, crossing her arms on the table. “For some people that’s enough, and that’s fine.” The way she said “fine” left little doubt it was anything but that. “But someone like you…” She shook her head.

He tried to bluff, acting amused and disinterested, but his acting skills failed him again. “You think so?”

The way her expression hardened, that single eye narrowing on him, forced his full focus on her. “I think you’re the kind of person who’s only ever whole when he’s got a sword in his hand and a real fight in front of him.”

She leaned back in her chair again, with all the satisfaction of a wildcat dining on a fresh kill. The silence offered him a chance to respond, but she’d left him speechless. No one had ever peeled him down to his bones like this—not even his parents—not this fast or with such ease.

After giving him his chance to answer and seeing he wasn’t able to, Maria sipped her coffee and then continued. “You’re twenty-six. You used to finish in the top three at most competitions you entered but you haven’t in more than a year. It’s not that your skills or body are fading, and it’s not because you’re distracted by the side work that pays the bills. No, it’s because even the competitions are starting to bore you. Those fights aren’t real anymore, because all that’s at stake there is pride.”

“And what? You’re offering me a ‘real fight’? What is this? Some kind of underground sword fight club, where the loser dies, and the first rule is to not talk about it?”

She shook her head, grinning at his attempt at wit. “This is no game or club. Underground? Somewhat. But what you’ll be doing will make a real difference in people’s lives. I’m offering you a chance to reclaim that fire that ignited the moment you first touched a sword.

“I’m giving you a chance to find your heart.”

Author Bio:

Bill Blume discovered his love for the written word while in high school and has been writing ever since. His latest novel, West of Apocalypse, is now available from Time Killer Publishing. His short stories have been published in many fantasy anthologies and various ezines.

Like the father figure in his "Gidion Keep, Vampire Hunter" novels, Bill works as a 911 dispatcher for Henrico County Police and has done so for more than two decades. He served as the 2013 chair for James River Writers, which produces one of the nation's best annual conferences for educating and connecting writers.

He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1995. In the years after, he worked as a TV news producer, first in Columbus, Georgia, and then in Richmond, Virginia, which has become home for Bill & his family.

You can learn more about Bill at his website: www.billblume.net.

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GIVEAWAY!

To Hell and Back Blitz

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Book Blitz ~ The Eternal Flame and The Children of the Promise by PJ Patrick Flynn

 

Christian Non-Fiction

Date Published: December 23, 2025

The Eternal Flame and the Children of the Promise traces the thread of God's covenant promises through Scripture and history, showing how the "eternal flame" of God's purpose has been guarded, opposed, and carried forward to our own generation. It is written for thoughtful lay believers and seekers, pastors, and small group leaders who feel the weight of current events and want to test every headline against the unshakeable promises of God rather than speculation or fear.

Drawing on careful biblical exegesis, historical research, and engagement with contemporary scholarship, it seeks to equip readers to recognize the patterns of God's dealings with His people, discern the times without sensationalism, and anchor their hope where Scripture does: in the faithfulness of the One who calls Himself "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

By the end, readers will better understand where we are in the story of redemption—and what it means to live as children of the promise in an age of upheaval.

About the Author

PJ Patrick Flynn is a retired public school administrator, teacher, and environmental consultant. She lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains, surrounded by animals and books, writing in the quiet of a high country retreat.

A seventh generation Californian, she descends from a family with more than 420 years on American soil, beginning with early arrivals to Massachusetts in the early 1600s. From the Mayflower through the Revolutionary, Civil, and World Wars, her ancestors fought for freedom, trekking across the continent over generations of Manifest Destiny to the final frontier—California in the 1800s.

Her great grandfathers helped shape the Los Angeles basin in the early 1900s as it grew from a town of a few thousand into a major metropolis. One founded an early auto parts enterprise that later folded into what became the NAPA Auto Parts distribution system, and was a 33rd degree Freemason and 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason; the other built many of the public schools of Long Beach—campuses she would encounter again a century later when her own career in school business leadership ended amid the battle over their reconstruction.

That civic legacy extended through her grandfathers and close kin. One grandfather served in the U.S. Navy and spent three decades as an engineer in Lockheed’s Skunk Works, contributing to the secretive aerospace projects that defined the Cold War era. Another served in the Navy in the Second World War and later became a Superior Court judge for Island and San Juan Counties in Washington State. A maternal uncle spent ten years in the U.S. Coast Guard before rising to vice president of foreign research and development for Occidental Petroleum, and a maternal aunt served for twenty seven years as director of research within the orbit of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Her father developed historic ranches in California and Nevada and worked in Republican politics alongside Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon, later authoring two books about his time with Reagan. Until his death in 2024, he remained active in local affairs, modeling a life of engagement at the intersection of land, liberty, and public service.

It is against this backdrop of faith, sacrifice, and civic engagement that she writes today. Politics, corporate development, international organizations, Freemasonry, law, the military and its industrial complex, history, land use development, and construction all appear in her extended family story, providing a living case study of the very systems traced in this book. These ancestral strands—crossing boardrooms, bases, courtrooms, campuses, and covenants—form the soil from which her understanding of global forces has grown, and the lens through which she explores genealogy, power, and promise in The Eternal Flame and the Children of the Promise.

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Book Tour ~ Mountains to Cross by Abraham M. George

 

Finding Life's Purpose In Service

Philanthropy/ Social Justice / Self Help

Date Published: January 13, 2026

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group

The Rewards of Turning a Life of Success into one of Compassion in Action are Worth the Risk

Mountains to Cross is a narrative of the author’s pursuit of purpose through his transformative social contribution. George shares his remarkable life story and offers guidance on finding satisfaction and joy in helping others. More than a personal memoir, this book motivates those who want to address systemic poverty and inequality but are unsure where or how to start.

Through personal stories and lessons from his experiences, readers can develop their own understanding of what it means to lead a life of conviction and engagement. For social entrepreneurs, educators, philanthropists, policymakers, or anyone interested in grassroots change, it provides practical insights to help them achieve their goals in serving those in need.

The author offers his story not as a blueprint for service but as an invitation to consider a path of purpose through compassion. Written in a storytelling style, he shares his life experiences to provide insights into social work for those who wish to help the impoverished.

 

What readers will learn from Mountains to Cross

• Lessons from transitioning from a high-pressure corporate world to grassroots philanthropy.
• Practical insights on finding purpose in life through impactful actions to alleviate poverty.
• Overcoming adversity to find meaning and fulfillment in life.

Preface

 

Mountains to Cross is a narrative account of my pursuit

of purpose through social service. More than a personal

memoir, this book is to inspire those who wish to address systemic

poverty and inequality but are uncertain about where or how to begin.

Drawing upon personal stories and lessons from my experiences,

readers might form their own perspective on what it means to lead a

life of conviction and contribution. For social entrepreneurs, educators,

philanthropists, policymakers, or those interested in grassroots

change, this book offers practical insights and guidance to accomplish

their goals in service of others.

From an early age in India, I was troubled by the social and economic

injustice that had entrapped an entire section of society for

centuries. Caste-based prejudice and discrimination have hindered

the progress and welfare of the lower strata of society. Despite prevailing

oppressive practices, I held firm the conviction that everyone

deserved a fair chance to succeed and enjoy a life of dignity.

From the age of twenty-one, I studied in the United States and

pursued a successful business career. Consistent with my mission

to help those in need, I returned to India after a twenty-five year

absence to fulfill my life’s purpose I had long sought. Accordingly, I

undertook several diverse yet interconnected projects to improve the

living condition of marginalized communities. I focused on education,

women’s rights, access to health care for the poor, promoting a

free and independent press, and environmental health. As a result of

the work we undertook, thousands of families have been able to break

free from generational poverty and oppression.

Of these projects, I am most proud of the pioneering approach

we took to alleviate poverty through an empowering education and

a nurturing environment for children from a very young age. I was

fortunate to find like-minded individuals who shared this vision and

dedicated their lives to the cause. With great enthusiasm and care for

one another, we worked together to overcome insurmountable challenges

to accomplish our goals. In my pursuit of change, I encountered

both unforeseen resistance and unexpected support from the communities

I worked with, which challenged my impressions of the rural

population. It has been an emotionally charged journey of profound

self-discovery with a transformational impact.

I have learned many valuable lessons over the past 30 years of

my social work career. Firstly, I recognize that humanitarian projects

call for passion and drive. Before embarking on them, sufficient

thought must be given to the reasons for being involved, whether

it be a moral, social, or religious duty. Only if those motivations are

compelling is one likely to devote the energy to make the effort successful.

Patience and perseverance are essential to overcoming hurdles

in social endeavors.

I have observed that poverty is not inherently due to a lack of

resources but often the result of societal practices that prevent certain

groups of individuals from achieving upward mobility. Social equality

that offers fundamental rights is essential to improving the economic

status of those at the bottom of society.

Social justice cannot be achieved when the upper class has the

power to oppress those below. Those who are discriminated against

find it challenging to overcome prejudices and improve their financial

situation. Only with economic strength can they challenge

long-standing practices and attain equality. The path to social justice

lies in economic opportunity, and there is no better way to achieve it

than through an excellent education of young people.

Oppressed people usually have limited expectations for their future,

as they do not know a way out of their predicament. They tend to

believe that nothing good will ever happen in their lives and no one

will really help them. Trust is a rare commodity in those who struggle

to make ends meet each day and cannot think of tomorrow. Social

projects succeed only when beneficiaries recognize the longer-term

value of the service provided and derive hope from it for a better future.

Significant wealth remains in the hands of a relatively small

minority. At the same time, billions of people continue to suffer

because of their deplorable economic conditions. If some excess

wealth is channeled to proper use for the benefit of those deprived,

poverty can be significantly reduced. The most effective use of financial

resources is for enhancing knowledge and developing skills. The

precondition for a satisfying outcome is an excellent education that

supports the progress of children from disadvantaged homes.

I offer my story not as a blueprint for service but as an invitation

to consider your own path of purpose and find joy in a world surrounded

by compassion. Written in a storytelling style, I have shared

my life experiences to provide insights into social work for those who

wish to help the impoverished.

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Book Tour ~ The Making of a Warrior of Light by Theresa Rubi Garcia

 

Conquering Pain to Claim Your Power

 

Memoir

Date Published: December 16, 2025

Publisher: Elite Online Publishing

In The Making of a Warrior of Light, Theresa Rubi Garcia takes readers on a poignant journey through the trials and triumphs that have shaped her into a beacon of resilience and hope. Born into a world shadowed by prejudice and hardship, Theresa's life is a testament to the power of transformation through love and inner strength.

From the dark corridors of her past where she faced abuse, neglect, and the crushing weight of racism, Theresa emerged with a fierce determination to change not just her circumstances but to inspire others to find their light within. Her path from the depths of despair as a young mother in the strip clubs of urban America to a respected entrepreneur and advocate for individuals with disabilities is not just a story—it's a movement.

With each page, Theresa extends a hand of solidarity and empowerment, urging her readers to embrace their own battles as gateways to growth and enlightenment. This heartrending memoir is more than an account of overcoming adversity; it's a clarion call to all who find themselves struggling against the odds. The Making of a Warrior of Light is an ode to the human spirit's ability to heal and thrive, encouraging everyone to rise up as warriors of their own destiny.

Embrace our own journeys with the good, bad, and ugly. Our families will close these cycles. Join Theresa as she shares not just the pain of her past but the love and light that guided her through. You will be inspired by the story of a woman who turned her darkest moments into stepping stones toward a luminous future.

Excerpt

 

My life is a perfect case story to illustrate that no matter what you go through, you have a choice of how to see it. You can view your circumstances as an opportunity for growth or you can allow every horrendous thing that happens to devastate or cripple you. No matter what hell I was going through, I somehow managed to see the former.

This didn’t happen all at once. I cried, became a victim, and then often had no choice but to move forward. By reflecting on my past, I was able to find the gifts that were right in front of my face, yet I was unable to see.

The journey I am going to take you on in this book will include a lot of pain. I want you to feel the emotions, release them, and commit to not feeling sorry for me. This book isn’t to fuel pity. Rather, it is intended to be a roadmap for how to turn pain into power. I share the details so you can see that it doesn’t matter where you come from or who is by your side. All that matters is your willingness to consciously choose a better life and to take the tiny action steps towards what you love and self-mastery, versus focusing on and perpetuating what you dislike.

I encourage you to read this book with an open heart and mind. If you feel triggered by anything you read, please write it down and then ask yourself, “Why did this statement or situation trigger me? What could be the root cause of this trigger?” “Am I ready to let this wound heal?”

  

About the Author

Theresa Rubi Garcia is a global award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and author dedicated to helping people unlock their divine potential and helping businesses make, keep, and claim more money. As the founder of Rubi’s Positive Empowerment, she blends belief transformation with strategic financial tools to drive true, lasting success.

A certified Mindvalley Coach, HeartMath® Coach, and PSYCH-K® Practitioner, Theresa draws from over 20 years of experience in diversity, business development, and personal healing. She is also a prayer chaplain, retreat leader, and doctoral candidate in Bible Interpretation.

Her signature HOTT Technique empowers others to become “Miracle Magnets” through inner alignment, and when she’s not teaching or speaking, you’ll find her trail running through the Rocky Mountains.

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Book Blitz ~ My Guardian Angel by Mr. Adam Chase

 

Short Story

Date Published: October 21, 2025

A Short Story of True Love, Hope, and the Power of the Human Heart

If you ask 100 readers what this story is about, you may receive 100 different answers—and that is exactly the point.

My Guardian Angel is a deeply moving short story about true love in its many forms, inspired by real life, real relationships, and real emotions. At its core, this story is a tribute to unwavering devotion between a husband and wife—and to the quiet strength that sustains us when life hangs in the balance.

Graham, a Vietnam veteran whose greatest joys are his wife and their beloved dogs, begins what seems like an ordinary day wrapped in comfort and routine. But in a sudden and devastating turn, he finds himself fighting for his life. As danger closes in, it is his wife—his lifelong “Guardian Angel”—who stands between him and the unthinkable.

Set largely within the stark stillness of a hospital, the story unfolds as friends rally, time seems to pause, and love becomes both shield and salvation. Through moments of fear, hope, memory, and faith, My Guardian Angel explores how love endures even when life is fragile—and how the bonds we build may be stronger than fate itself.

Though classified as fiction, more than 60% of this story is drawn directly from the author’s life and experiences. Every word comes from the heart—there is no AI-generated content, no shock value, and no explicit language. This is a story written for readers of all ages who believe in love, kindness, and the quiet courage found in everyday relationships.

✨ Themes Readers Will Connect With:

● True love between husband and wife

● Hope in the face of mortality

● Gratitude, humility, and resilience

● Faith, belief, and emotional connection

● Stories that inspire children and adults alike

 

My Guardian Angel does not tell readers what true love is—it invites them to discover what it means through the lens of their own lives.

If you are looking for a heartfelt, gentle, and profoundly human story—one that lingers long after the final page—this book offers a reminder that love, in all its forms, is life’s greatest gift.

About the Author

Adam Chase – Author | Vietnam Veteran | Storyteller of Hope and Love

Adam Chase is a Vietnam veteran, lifelong entrepreneur, and late-in-life fiction writer whose stories are rooted in lived experience, gratitude, and enduring love. At 79 years old, Adam brings a lifetime of resilience, humility, and heart to his writing—qualities shaped by military service, decades as a self-employed corporate consultant, and his journey as a business owner and mentor.

In 2016, Adam and his wife purchased a failing plumbing company despite having no prior plumbing experience. Through discipline, integrity, and a tireless work ethic forged during his Vietnam service, they transformed the business into the number-one contractor in their county. In January 2025, they sold the company to two trusted key employees—continuing to work alongside them, unpaid, ensuring the next generation’s success. Adam is widely regarded as the county’s “go-to” backflow tester and is respected for consistently placing recognition on his team rather than himself.

For over thirty years, Adam worked as a self-employed corporate consultant, a career that allowed him and his wife to travel the world. One of his most unforgettable experiences was visiting the only wild panda sanctuary in the Southern Mountains of China, where he held a mother panda and her cub—an encounter that deepened his appreciation for life, connection, and wonder.

Later in life, Adam faced significant health challenges, including skin cancer, macular degeneration with geographic atrophy, and ocular rosacea. Rather than slowing him down, these challenges fuel his determination to remain mentally and physically engaged each day. His writing emerged not from literary ambition, but from a desire to put feelings, memories, and gratitude into words—especially for children, who he believes need hope, belief, and kindness most.

Adam writes children’s bedtime stories and fiction, including the deeply personal short story My Guardian Angel, which—while categorized as fiction—is largely inspired by his real life, his marriage, and the people he loves most. Despite graduating near the bottom of a class of over 1,000 students and reading almost exclusively non-fiction and business books, Adam’s storytelling resonates because it is honest, heartfelt, and unfiltered.

He does not consider himself an author by profession, but a man sharing his thoughts and feelings with sincerity. Adam credits his single greatest achievement in life as marrying “the woman of his dreams”—the inspiration behind My Guardian Angel. His stories contain no profanity, no adult content, and no artificial intelligence—only his words, his heart, and his lived truth.

 

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Book Tour ~ Adelaide by Janell Strube

 

 

Painter of the Revolution

Historical Fiction

Date Published: January 13, 2026

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

In a world where women are seen but rarely heard, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard refuses to be silenced.

The daughter of Parisian shopkeepers, Adélaïde dreams not of marriage or titles but of earning a place among the masters of French art. With Queen Marie Antoinette on the throne and a spirit of change in the air, anything seems possible. But as revolution brews and powerful forces conspire to deny her success, Adélaïde faces an impossible choice: protect her life—or fight for a legacy that will outlast her.

Inspired by the true story of one of the first women admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution is a sweeping, evocative portrait of ambition, courage, and resilience in the face of history’s fiercest storm.

 

Prologue
Paris 1793

A column of fire reached like the Colossus of Rhodes into the night sky.

Shadowed figures waving torches poured into the Place du Carousel.

There, a clamoring mob passed wooden chairs, carriage wheels, and empty wine barrels over their heads toward the center of the square. Anything to feed the growing fire.

The Palais des Tuileries loomed to Adélaïde’s left. Its mansard roof jutted into a smoke-filled sky. To her right, the Palais du Louvre’s long wings stretched into the dark. The stone walls of the gallery that connected the two palaces flickered yellow and orange.

Adélaïde had never felt as small and alone as in that moment, between the embrace of buildings, in a space designed to dazzle royal spectators with seven hundred horses and jousting riders. Tonight, the square was filled with thousands of milling Parisians. And this time, she was the spectacle.

She pulled herself up on the tongue of the wooden cart next to the fire. Squinting against the smoke, she searched for anyone familiar.

Not a soul.

Even the donkeys had balked against their traces and been set free. Their distant braying reached her over the noise of the crowd.

Around her, men lurched about, their faces reddened from the bonfire, their sleeves stained purple from the wine they had scooped into their hands when the king’s cellars were raided. The scent of Bourgogne rose into the air. Beside her, a woman opened a dusty brown bottle and poured wine into the mouths of her companions.

Then the woman turned to Adélaïde. “Traitor!” she shouted, and drew back her arm, preparing to throw the bottle.

The crowd took up the chant. “Traitor! Traitor!” Others brandished their wine bottles.

Time slowed down. Adélaïde felt each sluggish boom of her heart, the constriction of her lungs, the loss of air she could not drag into her paralyzed chest. Was this the way she was going to die? Sliced to ribbons by a barrage of flying glass?

She raised her hands to protect her head and braced herself, but then a tall man in striped pants and a pointed red hat plucked the bottle out of the woman’s hand and emptied the last drops into his mouth. “Any Parisian knows not to let good wine go to waste,” he said.

Laughter.

The new citizens of France stomped their feet, shook their fists at Adélaïde, and threw the staves of the wine barrels into the flames. Arms brushed against her skirts. Bodies jostled the cart. She gripped the splintered seat to avoid being knocked into the fire.

The wind changed, and a rush of acrid smoke filled her lungs. She fought the urge to cough. Heat seared through her dress, burned her arms. Her mind screamed at her to run, but she had promised herself not to show fear, not to retreat.

The man in the red cap climbed into the cart. Sweat rolled from his face, and she smelled the sharp scent of his perspiration. Beneath his polished leather boots, the mountain of canvasses shifted. Fragile wood snapped. He stooped and held up a painting, still in its gilt frame. Black paint effaced the portrait sitter.

“Look at this travesty to art,” he called to the crowd.

How right you are. She kept her eyes averted from his familiar face.

“Burn it. Burn it all!” the crowd roared.

Excerpt #2 – 902 words

The Academy relented, and in the appointed time, and the appointed manner, François became a full Academy member. Across the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, morning light silvered the heads of spectators and Royal Academy members alike. In the crowd, Adélaïde sought François’s familiar form. She found him at the center of the gallery, a head taller than the other inductees, his wild hair muzzled under wig and powder as he waited to take the oath of allegiance.

For the first time, she heard Director Pierre speak of the importance of art in society, its role to teach, to record, to cause reflection, to inspire. His voice echoed off the gallery arches and into her heart.

When François mounted the stage and raised his right hand, her chest filled with an emotion so big her lungs had no room to breathe. She was too far away to hear the words of the Proces Verbaux but mouthed the words in time to the solemn rumble of his voice, knowing he swore to observe the rules of the Academy, uphold its traditions, and honor France through his work for the rest of his life. The crowd clapped as the newest members of the Academy left the platform, but each time her gloved hands met, it was though something she had swallowed had lodged in her throat. What was wrong with her? If she loved him, how could she envy his success? She should only feel joy in his accomplishment. She should have been as relieved as he was when Joseph Vien finally moved to promote him. And she was, she assured herself, but in all the months since she had painted the great teacher, Vien had done nothing to help her. She did not know what to think.

That night, François lay against her breast while she played with his unruly locks, freed from the hated wig that lay like a gutted rodent at the edge of the bed.

“I thought I would never make it,” François said. She was still wondering if she ever would.

“That was the first time I heard someone talk about the mission of art—to teach, record history, inspire greatness,” she said.

He shuddered. “In Vien’s studio, that was all we heard. Let us not talk of it now.”

She wanted to ask him if that was the power of art, if that was the need that impelled them to produce it. Instead, she let him pull her back into his arms.

A breeze stirred through the room. Then their bodies moved together beneath the open window, beneath the summer sky, and the pale crescent moon.

Afterward, she lay watching as dawn rimmed the darkness, thinking how she would do anything for her turn on that stage.

#

Which was why she found herself in Pahin de La Blancherie’s cabinet of curiosities the next afternoon, perched on a knobby sofa, sipping coffee and nibbling madeleines. Pahin sat across from her drinking brandy and smoking a cigar. A square man with the features of a toad, he bore no family resemblance to any royal person who had visited À La Toilette.

Perhaps Ducis and LeKain were right, Adélaïde thought. LeKain had called him a huckster while Ducis insisted Pahin was a great actor.

“If he’s an actor, then what am I?” LeKain had roared. “I challenge you to see if he knows how to play the part of a king.”

She had to admit, when Pahin spoke, his gravelly voice sounded unlike any aristocrat she had met. But so far, his claim to descend from royalty had made him impervious to d’Angiviller’s machinations, so here she was, negotiating to get her artwork into his exhibition.

“What else will be on display?” She eyed a preserved calf with two heads posed on a lacquered table. Next to it, a large jar held a pair of conjoined twins suspended in gray fluid and beyond that, an orange and white kitten with two pairs of hind legs floated in a blue glass jar. It was hard to imagine her art competing with such oddities.

He grinned. “I assure you, the exhibition is quite serious. Intellectuals will travel from across the world to give lectures and demonstrate the latest inventions.”

“Which artists will be there?”

“All the current ones.”

She knew this did not mean Royal Academy artists. “Any other female artists?”

“Madame Lebrun.”

“But—” She winced. “I heard she was in Flanders.”

“Ah, yes.” He drew on his cigar. “Her husband’s gambling debts. However, I already have her commitment. Don’t you see? Having two female artists’ works on display will make a splash.”

She waved away a cloud of smoke while she considered.

He motioned to a sheaf of papers lying on the sofa table. “I will advertise the exhibit in my journal. People in Europe and the Americas, even the French colonies at the farthest ends of the oceans, will learn of your work.”

Thirty minutes later, she left Pahin’s mansion with a signed contract, pleased with herself. She had agreed to give him forty percent of her earnings, not the fifty percent he had demanded.

Back in her studio, excitement built as she cataloged her works. This would be her first exhibit in six years. Then, she had shown two paintings to Élisabeth Vigée Lebrun’s twenty. If they were always to be pitted against each other, this time she would come prepared.

 

About the Author

 

 Janell Strube makes a mean barbecue sauce. She’s also a world traveler, a baker, and a bicyclist. But when she writes, her identity as an adoptee often steers her attention to topics of alienation, erased history, and displacement.

In 2024, a personal essay of hers was published in the anthology Adoption and Suicidality. Her work has also appeared in Shaking the Tree: brazen. short. memoir and A Year in Ink. Her short memoir, “Taking my Blonde Daughter to a Black Lives Matter Rally,” was selected for the 2020 San Diego Memoir Showcase, an annual live storytelling event.

While much of her writing is personal, she enjoys the freedom that comes with crafting fiction. Her desire to learn about forgotten female artists who shaped the French revolutionary period motivated her to write Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution.

When not crunching numbers as a tax executive for a hotel chain, she can be found hanging out with Shiloh the Wheaten and plotting her second book.

 

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