BLOG TOUR: Son of a Preacherman Blog Tour

About the Book 

A historical romance novel set in the 1920s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Son of a Preacherman depicts the highly segregated life of African Americans in the Greenwood District, in Northern Tulsa and the tensions leading up to the Tulsa Race Riots.

Billy Ray Matthias is the handsome younger son of the church’s new pastor.  Benny is the daughter of the oil rich Freeman family.  Billy Ray is convinced that Benny is the woman God would have him settle down with. Benny, on the other hand, recently had her heart broken. She is not the least bit interested in getting involved anytime soon. As Billy’s pursuit of Benny intensifies, so does the political and social climate in the prosperous African American neighborhood known as the Greenwood District.

Racial tensions in Tulsa escalate when Dick Rowland, a black man, is accused by a local newspaper of raping Sarah Page, a white woman, on an elevator.  Ethan Freeman (Benny’s brother) and Maynard Vaughn (a radical white attorney and Ethan’s mentor) despite continuous threats put their weight and energy behind helping Dick. While the White Glove Society, a racist group seeks to destroy not only Dick but all the African Americans in this successful black owned community.

As tensions come to a head and violence breaks out, Billy and Benny are caught up in the heat of chaos.  He vows to keep her safe but will Benny let him?

Will faith in God be enough to sustain the people of the community as their lives are changed forever by deadly acts of hatred?

About the Author

MARLENE BANKS resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to being a prolific writer she has an associate degree in Theology from Rhema Bible Institute in Keysville, Virginia and is currently pursuing studies to initiate a Christian counseling ministry. Marlene is a member of Bethel Deliverance International Church in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. Her work resume includes forty years in nursing and business.

A divine gift of storytelling with her unique voice and love of Christ creates engaging and inspirational novels. She considers her fiction writing an avenue to communicate the Gospel and Christian principles. It is also Marlene’s goal to bridge the gap between faith-based and secular literature. SON OF A PREACHERMAN is her second release.

About the Book

A historical romance novel set in the 1920s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Son of a Preacherman depicts the highly segregated life of African Americans in the Greenwood District, in Northern Tulsa and the tensions leading up to the Tulsa Race Riots.

Billy Ray Matthias is the handsome younger son of the church’s new pastor.  Benny is the daughter of the oil rich Freeman family.  Billy Ray is convinced that Benny is the woman God would have him settle down with. Benny, on the other hand, recently had her heart broken. She is not the least bit interested in getting involved anytime soon. As Billy’s pursuit of Benny intensifies, so does the political and social climate in the prosperous African American neighborhood known as the Greenwood District.

Racial tensions in Tulsa escalate when Dick Rowland, a black man, is accused by a local newspaper of raping Sarah Page, a white woman, on an elevator.  Ethan Freeman (Benny’s brother) and Maynard Vaughn (a radical white attorney and Ethan’s mentor) despite continuous threats put their weight and energy behind helping Dick. While the White Glove Society, a racist group seeks to destroy not only Dick but all the African Americans in this successful black owned community.

As tensions come to a head and violence breaks out, Billy and Benny are caught up in the heat of chaos.  He vows to keep her safe but will Benny let him?

Will faith in God be enough to sustain the people of the community as their lives are changed forever by deadly acts of hatred?

Purchase the Book Online at:

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

Book Review

Date:            6/3/12
Title:            Son of a Preacherman
Author:         Marlene Banks
ISBN 13:        978-0-8024-0618-7
Pages:           352
Publisher:      Moody Publishers
Cover:          Paperback
Reviewer:     Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant-Literary Wonders!
Rating:          5.0

Marlene Banks' novel, Son of a Preacherman, is historically based, and provides the reader with multifaceted views of love. The major premise throughout the novel stresses the need to remember that God is love and all things can be endured if we truly believe in God's love.

Benjamina Freeman (Benny), one of the main characters, is consistently challenging her love for God as well as her love for herself. She has allowed the past to cloud her faith and is unwilling to listen to the many messages the Lord is sending her. Will she continue to challenge herself worth even when she is faced with unimaginable circumstances?

Billy Ray Mathias has challenged himself with a new start in a new city, but significant events will determine the road he must take to complete his desire to please the Lord.

The Freeman and Mathias' families are challenged on many fronts. Their interactions with the other characters in this novel as well as the social issues Ms. Banks has included will keep the reader interested and anticipating the final outcome. A novel well done!

For More Information

Visit the author online at:

http://www.marlenebanks.com/

View the blog tour schedule at: 

http://www.tywebbin.com/blog-tours/authors-on-tour/2012-tours/

Please enter Marlene’s Book giveaway contest!

To enter, leave your name and address in the comment section AND answer the following question

Where year does the Son of a Preacherman take place?

Winners will be chosen June 30, 2012.

30 Books in 90 Days Partial Reading List

Hey folks! As you all know, for the last few years, we have participated in Written Magazine's 30 Books in 90 Days Challenge and this year, the challenge starts, today, June 24th! Below, is our partial reading list.

In years past, we've tried to go past 30 books, and have been unsuccessful. However, each year we read more books than the year before. As with every year's challenge, this year, our goal is to read AT LEAST 30 books.

Join us in this challenge by going to Written Magazine's website and signing up and compiling your list. Summer time is one of the busiest times for new book releases, so there should be plenty for everyone to read.

Let the challenge begin, and, Happy Reading!

~~That Literary Lady

1.      The Guilt Trip – Pat Simmons

2.      Guilty by Association – Pat Simmons

3.      Yes! Energy – Loral Langemeier

4.      When Two Become One -  Alicia Hill Jones

5.      Identify: Your Passport to Success – Stedman Graham

6.      Sade’s Secret – Shelia M. Goss

7.      Ada’s Rules – Alice Randall

8.      The Whitney I Knew – BeBe Winans

9.      Five Elements of Effective Thinking – Edward Burger and Michael Starbird

1.   Master Class – Peter Spiers

1.   Five Star Temptation – Jacquelin Thomas

1.   Summer Vows – Rochell Allers

1.   Discovering Wes – Wes Moore

1.   Job – John H. Walton

1.   Lead Me, Holy Spirit – Stormy Omartain

1.   Heart Attack Proof – Michael Ozner, M.D.

1.   Jeremy Lin – Timothy Dalrymple

1.   What God Has Joined Together – Vanessa Harris

PODCAST: Artist, Poet and Writer Uvi Poznansky

Listen to our interview with Uvi here. 

Uvi (Ahuva) Poznansky is an Israeli-born, California-based artist, writer and poet. Her versatile body of work includes bronze and ceramic sculptures, oil and watercolor paintings, charcoal, pen and pencil drawings, and mixed media. She has a profound knowledge of the human form, and an equally profound compassion for the human story. Her interpretation is unique, personal and charged with emotion. She published a poetry book in Hebrew, Beyond the Window," and two children books, "Now I am Paper," and "Jess and Wiggle."

כיצד נוצרה סדרת הפסלים  "עפר"

Uvi earned her B. A. in Architecture and Town Planning from the Technion in Haifa, Israel. During her studies and in the years immediately following her graduation, she practiced with an innovative Architectural firm, taking a major part in the large-scale project, ‘Home for the Soldier’; a controversial design that sparked fierce public debate. At the age of 25 Uvi moved to Troy, N.Y. with her husband and two children. Before long, she received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she guided teams in a variety of design projects; and where she earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. During the years she spent in advancing her career—first as an architect, and later as a software engineer, software team leader, software manager and a software consultant (with an emphasis on user interface for medical instruments devices)—she painted constantly, and exhibited in Israel and California. In addition, she taught art appreciation classes. Above all, Uvi devotes herself passionately to her artwork, creating evocative and compelling images that touch the heart and engage the mind. You can also find Uvi's interview on iTunes.

BLOG TOUR: The Guilt Trip Virtual Book Tour w/Pat Simmons

About the Author

Pat Simmons is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth. She is passionate about digging up the dirt on her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She has been a genealogy enthusiast since her great-grandmother died at the young age of ninety-seven years old. Pat has won numerous awards for her novels which include: Talk to Me, Grace and Humility and Still Guilty, which was voted the Best Inspirational Romance for 2010.

Pat is best known for her Guilty series: Guilty of Love, Not Guilty of Love, and Still Guilty. She is continuing the series through the Jamieson Family Legacy trilogy: Guilty by Association, The Guilt Trip, and Free From Guilt. Pat has recently been nominated for the best Christian fiction award by the African American Literary Awards for her latest release, Crowning Glory.

Pat and her husband live in Missouri and have two children. Find out more about the series at TheJamiesonLegacy.com or visit the author online at patsimmons.net.

About the Book

Aaron Jamieson is living a carefree life. He's good-looking, respectable when he's in the mood, but his weakness is women. When a woman tries to ambush him with a pregnancy, he takes off in the other direction. Responsibility as an option is something he learned from his absentee father.

Talise Rogers has a bright future ahead of her. She's pretty and has no problem catching a man's eye, which is exactly what she does with Ace. Their chemistry is undeniable and their passion explosive. Trapping Ace is the furthest thing from Talise's mind, when she learns she is pregnant.  She is determined to be a good parent.

When Ace rejects her she lets him know, " I want nothing from you Ace, not even your name," and she means it.  But Ace's big brother and cousins don't plan to let the child who represents the twelfth generation descendant of a royal African tribe leave the fold. Whether Ace decides to accept his responsibility or not, his family embraces Talise and baby.  As for Ace, they turn him over to the LORD.  How long will he be able to endure the guilt trip he's experiencing because of his choices?  What will it take for him to accept responsibility and turn from following in his father's footsteps?

About the Series

The Jamieson Family Legacy series follows the lives of the two Jamieson brothers in Boston, Kidd and Ace and their cousin Cameron from St. Louis.  Kidd, the older brother, is struggling with anger and resentment issues toward his absentee father who never married his mother, but had the audacity to demand his illegitimate sons carry his last name Jamieson. Ace, on the other hand, is on a collision course with disaster as he shows how much a "chip off the old block" he is when it comes to women. Their highly educated MIT graduate cousin, Cameron Jamieson, is all about saving his family from self-destruction. Through genealogy research, Cameron's mission is to show his cousins their worth as eleventh generation descendants of a royal African tribe and give them a choice: to be angry black men or accept the challenge to become strong successful black men.

The Jamieson men in this three book series are challenged with accepting that the past and the present are both in God's hand.  Without Him they can't move forward toward their future blessings. The bonus storyline is one that progresses the story of the much-loved Grandma B.B. character from the author's previous Guilt books and her new sidekick, Mrs. Valentine.

Purchase the Book Online at:

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

Book Review

Book Review coming soon. 

For More Information

Visit the author online at:

www.patsimmons.net

twitter.com@patsimmons

facebook.com/patsimmonsauthor.

View the blog tour schedule at : 

http://www.tywebbin.com/blog-tours/authors-on-tour/2012-tours/

Please enter Pat’s Book giveaway contest!

To enter, leave your name and address in the comment section AND answer the following question

List the titles of Pat Simmons books you have read.

Winners will be chosen June 30, 2012.

Call for 2012 Summer Literary Showcase

Literary Showcase Guidelines

Literary Wonders! hosts a Literary Showcase every quarter (March, June, September and December), from the 1st – the 30th of the month. Your showcase will be featured on The Author’s Hideaway and the Literary Wonders! website.

The link to your showcase will be shared on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have a specific location where you would like the link shared, please include that with your entry.

The deadline to send your information is the 30th day of the previous month. (Example: for the Fall/September Showcase, the deadline for entries will be August 30th).

Keep in mind when sending content, that the showcase has national exposure and this is another venue to showcase you and your work, so keep it professional at all times.

If you’d like to participate in the showcase, please forward information to info@literarywonders.com. Please keep in mind that entries MUST be sent to this info@literarywonders.com. Entries sent via Twitter or Facebook will not be accepted, nor will you receive a response.

Please make sure that any documents file that you send is formatted in MICROSOFT WORD and that photos are JPGformat. Please do not embed photos or text into an email.

I have been asked several times what we are looking for. I hope that this will help:

Authors

Author Photo (jpg)

Photos of your book covers (jp) The limit is 5

Future literary events (taking place after the 1st of the showcase month)

Author bio (Microsoft Word ONLY)

Contact information

Website(s)

Links

Writers

Samples of your work that you want readers to see (Microsoft Word ONLY)

Author photos (jpg)

Links

Writer bio (Microsoft Word ONLY)

Website(s)

Poets

Author Photo (jpg)

Poems (Microsoft Word ONLY)

Future literary events (taking place after  1st of the showcase month )

Website(s)

Literary Services

Type of Service

Business Logo (jpg)

Company synopsis (Microsoft Word ONLY)

Contact Info

Website

Links

Please keep in mind that this is just an outline of things we are looking for. If you have anything else you’d like us to consider, please send it to us and we’ll decide whether the entry qualifies.

Literary Wonders! welcomes all genres but will utilize its right to decline offensive material.

When submitting information for the Literary Showcase, you give Literary Wonders! (an entity of LW Media Group) the right to use your work in the Showcase.