Book Blast: Good Intention Bad Consequences by Phillip Nelson - Win a $25 Gift Card

Title: Good Intentions Bad Consequences: Voters' Information Problems

Author: Phillip Nelson

Publisher: AuthorHouse 

Genre: Social Science/Sociology

Format: Ebook

PURCHASE HERE

A new approach to understanding voter choice with important implications. There is a substantial class of voters who would like to do “good” but ignore important consequences of their attempts to do so—naïve altruists. The book both shows why such a class exists and tests the implications of that group’s behavior in a setting where other voters are self-interested, others are traditionalists, and imitation plays a big role in voter choice. The book also looks at the policy implications of such behavior accepting as desirable, but not fully achievable, the democratic ideal in which sufficiently informed citizens are given equal weight in political choices. Naïve altruists ignore the anti-growth consequences of redistribution from the rich as a class to the poor as a class. That ignorance produces too much of that redistribution in terms of the democratic ideal.

Phillip Nelson has specialized in two fields. The first is information economics in which he has produced seminal work in consumer economics. The second is public choice in which he has written many articles and the book, “Signaling Goodness.” This book melds these two fields producing new insights about voter information problems. He has spent a lifetime teaching graduate courses in these specialties and microeconomics theory at Binghamton University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago.

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• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
• This giveaway begins February 19 and ends on March 2.
• Winners will be contacted via email on March 3.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone! 

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Book Blast: Malayan Enigma by Nicholas Snow - Win a $25 Gift Card

Title: Malayan Enigma: An Andrew Bond WWII Adventure

Author: Nicholas Snow

Publisher: AuthorHouse UK

Genre: Military/History

Format: Ebook

Malaya, 1941 – a fool’s haven from the devastating war raging elsewhere in the world Sent to Singapore towards the end of 1941 to evaluate the intentions of the Japanese Empire, Lieutenant Andrew Bond finds himself embroiled in a series of events accelerating towards all-out war in the region. The city, a heady, exotic blend of cultures teeming with intrigue, is oblivious to what lies ahead. Facing betrayal, incompetence, Japanese spies, and the Yakuza underworld, Bond manages to gather a band of trustworthy companions, including the striking beauty Liu-Yang. In a desperate race against time, he must force his way through enemy-infested jungles and seas to bring home a device that will help change the course of the war – the Malayan Enigma!

Nicholas Snow is the pen name of Nicholas C. Kyriazis, who holds a diploma and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Bonn, Germany. He has acted as visiting professor at Harvard and at the University of Trier. He has worked as a consultant to the Directorate General of Research of the European Parliament, to the National Bank of Greece, and to the Ministries of National Economy and of Defence, and has served as secretary general of Public Administration. Professor of economics at the University of Thessaly, he is a member of the board of Alpha Trust Investment Fund (listed on the Athens Stock Exchange), vice president of Ergoman Telecommunications, and vice president of the Kostas Kyriazis Foundation. He has contributed more than sixty papers to academic journals and has published eight books on economics, history, and strategy as well as a volume of poetry. Poems of his have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Maltese. As a novelist, he has published eighteen books in Greece, several of which have been translated and published in English, including Themistocles (Kosbil Publications, 2004), The Shield (AuthorHouse, 2005), Assassins (AuthorHouse, 2007), and, in collaboration with Guy Féaux de la Croix, Last Love (Plato’s Last Love) (AuthorHouse, 2014).

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Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
• This giveaway begins February 19 and ends on March 2.
• Winners will be contacted via email on March 3.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone! 

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February 19

A Title Wave

Confessions of an Eccentric Bookaholic

February 20

T's Stuff

The Review From Here

February 21

Harmonious Publicity

Write and Take Flight

February 22

Carpe Librum

Read Between the Ink

February 23

Comfy Chair Books

From Paperback to Leatherbound

February 26

My Bookish Pleasures

The Literary Nook

February 27

Voodoo Princess

The Revolving Bookshelf

February 28

The Book Refuge

The Book Czar

March 1

Lover of Literature

Zensanity

March 2

Personovelty

A Taste of My Mind

Book Blast: A Thousand Points of Truth by V.P. Hughes - Win a $25 Gift Card

Title: A Thousand Points of Truth

Author: V.P. Hughes

Publisher: XLibrisUS

Genre: History

Format: Ebook

PURCHASE HERE

My interest in Colonel John Singleton Mosby began in 1950 However it wasn t until 2002 that it led to extensive research on the subject centered upon newspaper reports on the man begun during the Civil War and continued throughout and even after his life And while I rejected Virgil Carrington Jones s observation on Mosby contained in the preface of this work I did not contemplate writing this book until an even more disparaging observation came to my attention during my research The comment was contained in an article in the Ponchatoula Times of May 26 1963 as part of a six article series written by Bernard Vincent McMahon entitled The Gray Ghost of the Confederacy Mr McMahon in turn based his comment upon General Omar Bradley s judgment of what might have been the postwar life of General George Patton Now substitute Mosby for General Patton in the book A General s Life by Omar Bradley I believe it was better for General Patton Mosby and his professional reputation that he died when he did He would have gone into retirement hungering for the old limelight beyond doubt indiscreetly sounding off on any subject anytime any place In time he would have become a boring parody of himself a decrepit bitter pitiful figure unwittingly debasing the legend emphasis mine McMahon however only proffered in his writings the widely accepted view of John Mosby held by many if not most However like General Ulysses S Grant I have come to know Colonel Mosby rather more intimately through the testimony of countless witnesses over a span of 150 years and I believe that it is time for those who deeply respect John Mosby the soldier to now also respect John Mosby the man A century ago the book of John Singleton Mosby s life closed It is my hope that this book will validate the claim he made during that life that he would be vindicated by time V P Hughes,

For many years, V. P. Hughes has been drawn to certain historical figures whom she researched at great length and in considerable depth regarding not only the person of interest but the period in which that individual lived and his influence upon it. Over the years, she has studied such heroes as Sir William Marshal (1147-1219), Sir Harry (Hotspur) Percy (1364-1403), Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), Sir William Wallace (1270-1305), Francis Marion (1732-1795) and the legendary figures William Tell and Robin Hood. The last three were of especial interest because they, with their few followers, engaged the most powerful armies of the time-and prevailed. Of course, John Singleton Mosby was another such champion-a man who defeated his adversaries with cunning and courage rather than brute military force. Yet Mosby became an even greater curiosity when during her research the author discovered that he had died twenty-five years to the day and hour of her own birth-May 30th, 9 a.m, 1916 and 1941 respectively. Although acknowledged as a mere coincidence, however curious, Mosby’s unique style of warfare and his astonishing success under the circumstances extant, made him of especial interest. Early on, her knowledge of the man centered around the Civil War, but then, copious written works as well as the opinions of past and present day Mosby sages brought to light his post-war life in a manner that seemingly disparaged and negated all the glories that had gone before. Finding this both troubling and unacceptable, when the opportunity arose to refute these calumnies and slanders, the author felt obligated to undertake what is, in essence, a posthumous defense of the man. It is hoped that this unique work will achieve the goal of undoing a great injustice and restoring to a noble American hero the respect and admiration he so richly deserves.

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V.P. IS GIVING AWAY A $25 GIFT CARD!

  

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
• This giveaway begins February 19 and ends on March 2.
• Winners will be contacted via email on March 3.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone! 

ENTER TO WIN!

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Interview with Ilona Salley, author of Yesterday is Never Gone

Title: Yesterday is Never Gone
Author: Ilona Sally
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Thriller/Crime
Format: Ebook

Niki is no stranger to horrific personal challenges. As a child, she bravely endured abandonment by her father. While in her teens, she witnessed her mother’s murder and the abduction and presumed death of her only sibling. Although her secrets have always been carefully cloaked from others, they have shaped her personality more than she would like to admit. But with a past as terrible as hers, how can Niki ever hope for a bright future? Years later, Niki is a dedicated profiler in a criminal investigation agency with no idea her life is about to change exponentially. One day, through a quirky twist of fate, she receives startling news that her sister, Inge, is alive. As a driving force compels Niki to search for her, she embarks on a quest that takes her through cities and wilderness on two continents. She encounters difficult decisions, threatening mobsters, near-death experiences, and romance, yet nothing deters her from reaching her goal—not even a gruesome discovery about her father. But Niki is about to discover that things are never what they seem to be. In this thrilling tale, deception and inner turmoil hamper a young woman’s journey toward a new reality as she attempts to reconcile her past and find the truth.

Could you please tell us a little about your book? A young woman discovers that the sister she thought had been dead for many years, was actually still alive. But her whereabouts are unknown. Niki leaves her job as criminal profiler for the Berlin Police Department and embarks on a quest to find her. The journey takes her through many cities in Europe and ends in Canada. Along the way, Niki encounters difficult decisions, threatening mobsters, near-death experiences, and romance. The story is a tale of deception and inner turmoil, and Niki learns that things are not always what they seem to be.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book? The inspiration is not a single person, nor a single story, but layers and layers of books, written by various authors, and movies of different sorts. These form a backdrop of ideas which have been woven together to form a new fabric, a new book. TV shows such as Criminal Minds and CSI were important and I remember a movie from a long time ago which stuck in my mind. ‘Forbidden Promises’ was about the Russian Mafia.

What cause are you most passionate about and why? I am not a crusader of any specific cause, but human trafficking plays a large role in the book, along with smuggling. The story also touches also on the plight of refugees, and the injustice at play when the strong prey upon the weak.

Do you have any rituals you follow when you finish a piece of work? After finishing a lengthy project, I like to take a breather, a time out, while I absorb new ideas. Like small seeds, these begin to germinate and grow until I am ready to write again.

Who has influenced you throughout your writing career? Ever since I planned to write a thriller, I immersed myself in the books of writers such as John Grisham, David Baldacci, Kathy Reichs, and Patricia Cornwell.

What are some of your long term goals? As a writer, I hope to continue to grow and polish my technique. I have begun a sequel to ‘Yesterday Is Never Gone’ and already have an idea for the book after that. My aim is to give to the reader something which will please and hopefully open up new ideas to consider and emotions to explore. I try to introduce interesting characters for the reader to get to know.

Ilona Salley emigrated from Germany to Toronto, Canada, with her family when she was three. Throughout her life, her interests have included squash, skiing, wood carving, literature, art, and languages. Her fascination with architecture and archaeology has led her to travel in search of ancient places and artifacts. After a long career as an educator, she expanded her horizons by teaching in England and China. Now, she spends part of each year in Fort Myers, Florida.

Guest Post from Annelies George, author of Quest to the Unknown

Title: Quest to the Unknown

Author: Annelies George

Publisher: Hybrid Global Publishing

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Format: Paperback/Ebook
On Tour: January 22 - February 16

Quest to the Unknown revolves around up-and-coming Dutch reporter Jessie Golden, ready for her first holiday with business mogul and playboy Carlos Gomez, with whom she is engaged in a budding romance. Her journey begins when she finds a folder full of information on a mysterious woman named Nancy and her son Paul, leading her to an unexpected quest. Soon thereafter Jessie is confronted with a series of unexplainable supernatural occurrences. She realizes there is no such thing as coincidence, although she can’t unravel the true meaning of her quest nor her link to Nancy and her son. At the same time Jessie believes Carlos’ father has ties with some questionable characters. Startled by a series of unexpected events she reaches out to Ed Turner, Carlos’ right-hand man. In order to protect the one she truly loves, Jessie starts an investigation that points to the murky world of the mob. When a stranger is constantly following her, Jessie’s life is in serious danger. Can the ones she implicitly confides in, still be trusted? The first part of the Jessie Golden 21st Century Earth Series, introduces the main characters of the saga in an intriguing story of exceptional mother love, the far reaching consequences of choices in life, genuine feelings, blind faith and brutal deception, set in a multitude of countries in today’s fast moving business world.

PURCHASE HERE

It’s always very interesting to look back and discover how things emerged. When I reflect on how I arrived to write the Jessie Golden Series, with part one Quest to the Unknown recently published, I can only conclude it’s there because another book isn’t! After years of hard work on my very first project - a novel based on my encounters with men in the dynamic business world -, I dropped it overnight due to some unforeseen circumstances that requested a complete rewrite of the story. Now was it coincidence or faith that led me into a different direction…..?!

Disappointed, I set the book aside, enjoying my summer holidays, totally not expecting at all that I would be back to writing again so soon. What did happen? Shortly after my return, I was overwhelmed by the remarkable life of a psychic. Inspired by these shocking facts a fiction tale popped up in my head and the Jessie Golden Series was born. At the same time I decided that the series had to reflect something relevant, two subjects that always have been top of mind, i.e., why is the world a cesspool of corruption, violence and terror and could there be a link with the increasing number of natural disasters?

Since I knew from the beginning the main lines of the series, I started my research into the world of the paranormal. I encountered some peculiar things, like the fact that a number of physics I interviewed stated independently of each other that a big natural disaster will occur in the future, leading to a complete clean up of this planet. It made me wonder. Ever since I was a little child, I dreamed over and over again about a series of different disasters leading to something frightening which was never revealed in that dream. Now I never paid attention to these recurring dreams. However, in combination with the interesting Theory of Quantum Physics, I began to reflect on the matter. It even led to the Loveable Light initiative and the awareness I would like to draw on the subject.

As any other author I automatically included other autobiographical elements in the plot, among other characters noticeable in the protagonist of the series, Jessie Golden, which didn’t go unnoticed. In her pre-Alzheimer’s time my mother was so engaged in the story that she exclaimed at some point: “Why did you never introduce me to Carlos?” I had a big laugh out on that one and explained to her the character Jessie is pure fiction, despite some similarities.

At present three books are finished, with two still to be completed in the series. In fact, I just started with part four, Living in destruction. To be continued!

Annelies George was born on 4 August, 1964 in Bussum, After the gymnasium, she followed a one-year course as an international secretary in Amsterdam. Immediately afterward she started to work for a law firm, studying finance, management and law during the evening hours with the goal of becoming a lawyer herself. A move to a different town brought her into the fast IT world, where she was employed by GE Capital, marking the start of a successful career in the international IT Finance world. Due to the intensity of the job and long working hours, she abandoned her plans for a law degree. At the age of 30, she was appointed to Benelux managing director of a US based lease company, a rare phenomenon at the time, since few women were holding similar positions in the specific branch in the Netherlands. Thereafter she accepted a variety of EMEA and regional management and sales roles with Cisco, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard. Annelies still lives in Bussum and is taking care of her 83-year-old mother. She loves, among other activities, to paint and design necklaces when she is not writing. On occasion she likes to travel to discover new places and understand the different ways of living around the globe.

You can visit her at: https://www.anneliesgeorge.com 

Monday, January 22
Guest blogging at A Title Wave

Wednesday, January 24
Guest blogging at Confessions of an Eccentric Bookaholic

Thursday, January 25
Guest blogging at The Writer's Life

Tuesday, January 30
Book reviewed at A Book Lover

Wednesday, January 31
Guest blogging at I'm Shelf-ish

Thursday, February 1
Interviewed at Literal Exposure

Friday, February 2
Guest blogging at As the Pages Turn

Monday, February 5
Book reviewed at Voodoo Princess

Tuesday, February 6
Interviewed at Straight From the Authors Mouth

Wednesday, February 7
Guest blogging at Write and Take Flight

Thursday, February 8
Interviewed at Review From Here

Friday, February 9
Guest blogging at Queen of All She Reads

Monday, February 12
Book reviewed at Turning Another Page

Tuesday, February 13
Interviewed at The Literary Nook

Wednesday, February 14
Guest blogging at The Dark Phantom

Friday, February 16
Guest blogging at My Bookish Pleasure