Sunday, 14 June 2020

WILLIE HANDLER _AUTHOR _WWW.WILLEHANDLER.COM



Dix Jenner, a self-proclaimed slacker, is the first chef to live—and maybe die—on Mars. After an explosion kills his colony companions and leaves him with nothing but his spacesuit, his time on the faraway planet is about to expire… until he’s rescued by friendly Martians Bleeker and Seepa, who smuggle him into their vast underground civilization. Now an alien among Martians, Dix must hide his identity to survive. Despite an unfamiliar world of telepathy, strange class dynamics, and really bad food, Dix sets out to make his mark—if only out of boredom. But after opening a cafe—who knew Martians loved espresso?—he starts to notice that responsibility can feel good. Not only that, but he’s got a new romance, and for the first time he actually cares.
Unfortunately, his success attracts the attention of the corrupt and narcissistic Martian Grand Leader who is skeptical of his flimsy fake identity and becomes determined to uncover the truth. Forced to run to avoid being imprisoned, Dix gets lucky: an unexpected NASA rescue mission has landed on Mars. But seeing it brings back the dark secret he’s been keeping from himself about the colony’s explosion and now Dix must choose between returning to Earth or spending the rest of his life in a cell playing euchre on the dusty red planet where he belongs.

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Rick Tompkins, a suburban Toronto insurance broker, never considered a career in politics until a good friend, who happens to be the leader of the Conservative party, asks him to run for office. He accepts the offer, with the understanding that he would probably not win, but can use the opportunity to gain some visibility for himself and his business. Jerry Switzer, a veteran party worker, is sent in to guide Rick through a campaign in a riding that hasn’t elected a Conservative in years. Rick fumbles his way through the election campaign and manages a surprise win but at the expense of saddling his party with an impossible commitment. What makes matters worse, Rick is anything but politically correct. He offends everyone in his path and stumbles from one political scandal to another. Still, Rick has one saving asset: a political party machine that is able to spin scandals to its advantage.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Hello, I’m Willie Handler.
Thanks for dropping by my blog. I’m not using a pseudonym (yes, people have asked it it’s a real name). I live in a classic bedroom community with streets and streets of identical homes just outside of Toronto, Canada. Just picture the fictional town of Agrestic, California from the TV show Weeds.
I’ve reinvented myself on several occasions through my work career. I’ve been a hospital administrator, a government policy wonk, an insurance expert and consultant.
Now, I’ve decided I want to write humour. 
Why humour? Humour is in my DNA. It’s part of who I am. When I was young, I actually wanted to be a comedy writer. But not being a risk taker, I went to grad school instead. I’m not one of those people who was an author at 11 and has always wanted to be a writer. I was reading at 4 but never thought about writing until recently.
My first novel, THE ROAD AHEAD, was partly about my previous career. I spent 30 years in government and had this story I wanted to tell. The novel I am currently working on LOVED MARS, HATED THE FOOD is humour/sci-fi story. As for science fiction, I had a strong interest at a young age. I used to read authors like Robert Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Then I got away from reading fiction while I was working. I’ve sort of come back to it now.
I get asked about my writing process a lot.
I am a totally undisciplined writer. I can be writing away furiously one day followed by a day of organizing my paper clips by size and color. I don’t do story plans or outlines. I’m strictly an organic writer. I only really know what will be in the chapter I’m currently working on. The rest of the plot is either fuzzy or undecided. I’m referred to as a pantser.
Why did I decide to go the independent publishing route?
I went indie with my first novel because I couldn’t find an agent interested in it. I know what writer hasn’t had that experience? Because the book was a satire of Canadian politics, I was limited to contacting Canadian literary agents, an extremely small group. None had any interest in the genre, me the story. Who knows? You never get read feedback.
What’s my plan to get my next novel published? 
Plan A is to contact every literary agent in the English speaking world. If that doesn’t work? Plan B is to pull a Rupert Pupkin (King of Comedy, 1982) by kidnapping a publishing executive and holding him or her ransom until my book is published. I probably should come up with a Plan C.

Book Review

A great comedic and politically read ,well written by the author.
5-5 Stars
Highly recommended



ALAN LIVINGSTON _AUTHOR _WWW.ALANLIVINGSTON.COM


In an inspirational and spiritual fantasy exploring the gift of life, an enigmatic dog guides a middle-aged man through an introspective round of golf in the sanctuary of a most unusual course

personal family history describing the Livingstons’ unique connection to the 1963 presidential assassination. Like Gabriel’s Creek, the book has a dedicated page on this site.

Part One of the Bogeys series, the relationships of an international assortment of aviators and French citizens develop just as the Armistice ends the fighting. The bonds of new loves and new friendships are tested as the continent demobilizes, putting their futures in doubt.










Alan Livingston


Mr. Livingston is a native of Fort Worth, Texas, where he last resided in 1974 before moving away to attend The University of Texas at Austin. Throughout his life, Mr. Livingston has been known by his first name – Charles, or Charlie – but when moving to writing full-time late in life, he chose to publish under his middle name, Alan. He now lives with his wife in Las Vegas, Nevada, although there were many stops in between, to live in the states of Georgia, Texas, California, Ohio, Arizona, and Mississippi; extensive travel took him to work in many others. 
For most of his adult life, Mr. Livingston’s career was accounting in the hospitality industry. His over 30 years in hotels, resorts, golf courses, and casinos began at the bottom as a university student, from which he started a climb to become a corporate executive. He also has been a casino table games dealer and overhauled the financial aspects of both a large property owner’s association in Mississippi and a church in Las Vegas. Oddly enough for an accountant, oversight of golf operations was included in his responsibilities more than once.
The author believes his love for writing started in high school, although he had already published a periodical newsletter as early as grade school. At Western Hills High School in Fort Worth, the late Ms. Melba Jackson was a favorite teacher of his Journalism class, leading him to be the Sports Editor of the large school’s paper. Heading to college, Journalism was his first choice as a major. Not unusual for a freshman, he changed that at registration, remaining in the School of Communication as a Radio/TV/Film major. In his sophomore year, peers and family convinced him that the school of Business Administration provided a better career path. Finance became his final major through his completion in 1978.
The author held a variety of jobs while a full-time college student. The second of his middle-of-the-night hotel jobs began a 10-year career with Marriott Hotels and Resorts. That period began as a Night Auditor in Austin, then progressed as he wove through Atlanta, DFW Airport, and Anaheim before completing his time with Marriott as a Hotel Controller in La Jolla, California.
Lured away from Marriott, he spent the next few years as a Regional Controller for Stouffer Hotels and Resorts, traveling extensively from his base at their corporate office in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. In this capacity, he provided corporate oversight of several high-profile properties in the U.S. West and Southwest, auditing both the books and operations of local management. His professional writing was frequent, as his trademark lengthy trip reports would document everything in extreme detail.
During this time with Stouffer Hotels, Mr. Livingston met the woman he would ultimately marry, along with her three young children who would become his step kids. This union could only happen by walking away from his executive job, so that’s what he did. As a result, the new family moved to suburban Atlanta, Georgia, where the new spouse continued her own successful career. In a short time, Mr. Livingston accepted an offer to return to an executive management position in the hospitality industry which fatefully relocated the family to Biloxi, Mississippi.


Book Review -

Excellent Adventure,History,True Events by a great author
5-5 STARS  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Bizarre-But-True-Lazarus-Syndrome