BOOKS BY MY FRIENDS
LORETTA GOLDBERG, BARBARA JEAN MILLER, JOAN RAMIREZ, DON STANSBERRY & PETER TAYLOR
Thursday, 27 June 2024
Welcome to Books By My Friends! Today we are featuring
LORETTA GOLDBERG
BARBARA JEAN MILLER
JOAN RAMIREZ
DON STANSBERRY
PETER TAYLOR
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LORETTA GOLDBERG
BOOK: Beyond the Bukubuk Tree: A World War II Novel of Love and Loss
AUTHOR: Loretta Goldberg
GENRE: Fiction World War II; LGBT Literary Fiction, Australian historical Fiction, Jewish Fiction
BLURB: From the award-winning author of The Reversible Mask: An Elizabethan Spy Novel comes an International Firebird Book Award-winning searing tale of passion, redemption, betrayal, and heroism.
New Guinea, 1941. Heroism, sacrifice and ultimately, hope, transcend the horrors of war.
Two men preparing for war, both with secrets they are determined to keep. Jake Friedman, an idealistic young Jewish doctor from Melbourne, is haunted by the death of a colleague he thinks he caused. Alex Whipple, a Catholic known as Wip, is a soul-scarred veteran of the First World War. Wip is an enigma who fights bullies on behalf of their victims yet has a chequered past in the wild side of post-war Paris that he is determined to forget.
Both are posted to Lark Force, a lone and under-resourced battalion defending the port town of Rabaul. It’s not long before Jake and Wip feel a deep pull of attraction. When the Japanese invade Rabaul, their battalion is abandoned by its government. Improvising a desperate jungle retreat, fighting rain, insects, disease, and vengeful Japanese pursuers, Jake will face the ultimate trials of his courage as Wip struggles to find the will to live.
This meticulously researched and richly textured novel is set in a lesser-known battle of the Pacific War. The strength of the human spirit, the bonds of love, and the resilience of diverse communities are tested against the backdrop of these battles. Beyond the Bukubuk Tree is a gripping saga of courage, love, and survival in the face of overwhelming adversity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Australian-American Loretta Goldberg earned a BA in English Literature, Musicology and History at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She taught English Literature at the Department of English for a year, before coming to the USA on a Fulbright scholarship to study piano with Claudio Arrau. Her discography consists of nine commercial recordings, now in over seven hundred libraries. She premiered an unknown work by Franz Liszt on an EMI HMV (Australian Division) album, and her edition of the score for G. Schirmer is in its third edition.
Concurrently, she built a financial services practice, which she sold to focus on writing. Her published non-fiction pieces consist of articles on financial planning, arts reviews and political satire. She earned an MA (music performance) from Hunter College, New York; and a Chartered Life Underwriter degree from the American College, Pennsylvania.
Member of the Historical Novel Society, New York Chapter, she started and runs their published writer public reading series at the landmark Jefferson Market Library. Commuting between New York City and Clinton, Connecticut, she enjoys a community rich in extended family, colleagues and friends. She lives with her spouse and two charming cats.
You can discover more about Loretta from her website and connect on Facebook at:
lorettagoldberg.com/
BARBARA JEAN MILLER
BOOK: Reluctant Heir
AUTHOR: Barbara Jean Miller
GENRE: Regency romance
BLURB: When Gerard Cochran loses his father at Waterloo he is alone, wounded and without direction until rescued by an aged French general. Yet when two English cousins show up to rescue him, one of whom is the beautiful and sympathetic Juliet Chandler, he is reluctant to go with them into yet another plan someone has made for his life. But then they kidnap him and the temptation of Juliet’s lips is too much for any mortal to resist. Even a pawn can change the game.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara Jean Miller is an author, educator, and nature observer.
JOAN RAMIREZ
BOOK: Jamie Is Autistic: Learning in a Special Way
AUTHOR: Joan Ramirez
GENRE: Children’s nonfiction
BLURB: Jamie is Autistic was inspired by special and wonderful students who wanted me to tell other students about them. It is now in Spanish as well.
Jamie is the story of a young girl’s struggles as an Autistic learner. Through support from parents, teachers, and a school counselor, she is able to learn and make friends. Exercises to help Autistic learners are included in the back of the book. While this story was written for Autistic students, it will also show all children the importance of acceptance of others and learning in different ways.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joan Ramirez’s book was inspired by the many special learners she has taught as a Special Education teacher. She lives in the New Jersey/New York Metropolitan area and has an M.S. in Journalism, an M.S. in English as a Second Language, and an M.S. in Elementary/Special Education. She is also a published photographer and has travelled worldwide to give workshops in photojournalism.
DON STANSBERRY
BOOK: Cryptic Blood
AUTHOR: Don Stansberry
GENRE: Religious thriller
BLURB: The world has returned to its regular rhythm after the near cataclysmic events that came from deep space.
Father Kinzee has been given a new job as an investigator of religious artifacts, a job he feels has no real purpose.
Simon, a reforming gang banger and the Father’s best friend, joins him for breakfast one morning when a stranger seeks them out and asks them to take possession of an object of great importance. Moments later, the stranger is abducted, thrusting the Father and Simon into a world of assassins and the ultra-rich.
The government and the FBI are only willing to give help through unofficial channels leaving them to enlist Simon’s former gang for protection since they are now targets for those searching for the object.
The strange architecture of the Svalbard Seed Vault appears to be from another planet emerging from the frozen Arctic Circle. Also known as the Doomsday Vault, it houses all the seeds needed to replant the planet. But what else is secreted away in its secure bowels?
The pair experience greed and corruption at their worst as they try to unravel and survive an international manhunt.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Don Stansberry is a native West Virginian and an elementary school teacher. He has been in the public school system since 1984 and always had an interest in writing. He was the head coach for the Parkersburg High Girls' Basketball team for 16 years and retired from this position with four state championships. Don lives in West Virginia.
PETER TAYLOR
BOOK: The Advisor, Kien Bing, South Vietnam, 1969-1970. A Novel
AUTHOR: Peter Taylor
GENRE: Military Fiction, Vietnam War 1969-1970, Coming-of-age romance
BLURB: This is the first of a four volume “Advisor” series written about the military intelligence efforts during the final years of the Vietnam War that weaves the military and personal story of a young military intelligence officer who is a member of a Military Assistance Command Advisory team stationed with the South Vietnamese forces fighting in the Mekong Delta.
The book tells the story of the 2nd Lieutenant’s military experiences and the story of his developing relationship with a young American Red Cross worker, Cathy Stewart, who he meets in Saigon while waiting to attend some military training.
The story begins with a deadly life-and-death battle on a small outpost bordering Cambodia and follows Tyler’s reassignment to the first of the three-man District Advisory Teams. Lieutenant Paul Tyler slowly becomes a decorated veteran of the war, while keeping his relationship with the beautiful woman in Saigon in a completely different silo. Their story is told through their constant letters and his infrequent visits with her in Saigon.
This balance between the peaceful yet passionate relationship with his girl and the constant fight to stop Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army infiltration forms the basis of a fascinating story.
While a novel, the story is based on the real-life experiences of the author and provides the reader with a glimpse into the military intelligence efforts the American advisors, who despite serving as advisors, accompanied their Vietnamese counterparts into the heart of the fighting in the jungles, rice patties, villages, and canals of the Mekong Delta. But the story of his passionate romance with his girl is just as engaging and keeps the reader wondering if the relationship will survive the demands posed by the war.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Peter Taylor is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who served three combat tours in Vietnam between 1969 and 1973. He enlisted in 1968 and after Infantry Basic and Advanced Infantry Training, he attended Engineer Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Branch of the U.S. Army.
After his commissioning, he attended the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was sent to the Jungle Warfare School in Panama prior to his initial assignment to Vietnam.
Taylor is a graduate of the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He earned a master’s degree in Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. Taylor attended numerous schools in the U.S. Army and graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College, the National Defense University, and the U.S. Army War College.
Taylor retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1994. He is married to his
wife of over 50 years and has three grown children and young grandchildren. After his
retirement from the U.S. Army, he taught Junior ROTC at the high school level for
seventeen years. He currently resides in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The military stories
in this novel are based upon actual events that took place during his tours in Vietnam.
If you would like to be a featured author on a future BOOKS BY MY FRIENDS, please leave a comment, and I will be in touch.
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When Gerard Cochran loses his father at Waterloo he is alone, wounded, and without direction until rescued by an aged French general. Yet when two English cousins show up to rescue him, one of whom is the beautiful and sympathetic Juliet Chandler, he is reluctant to go with them into yet another plan someone has made for his life. But then they kidnap him and the temptation of Juliet's lips is too much for any mortal to resist. Juliet and her brother insist on Gerard's return to England to save Juliet from a forced marriage and to prevent their grandfather's estate going to another cousin, whom they don't like. Can Gerard play this game and win Juliet's hand?
JOY E. HELD is an author, educator, editor, entrepreneur, and literary citizen responsible for this site and its contents. She is the author of
Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2020)
Writer Wellness Workbook: A Guided Workbook and Journal to Accompany Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2023)
The Mermaid Riot (Fire and Ice YA, 2024) Young Adult Historical Fantasy
She writes spicy historical fiction under a pen name.
She is the winner of multiple writing and book awards:
West Virginia Writers, Inc. Annual Writing Contest, Honorable Mention, Novel, 1998.
New York Book Festival, Honorable Mention, Writer Wellness, 2020.
Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Finalist, Writer Wellness, 2021.
Northeast Ohio Romance Writers of America, Member of the Year, 2020.
Northeast Ohio Romance Writers of America, First Book Award, 2020.
She is an adjunct faculty member in the Southern New Hampshire University Online MFA Creative Writing.
She is a proud graduate of Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA with an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction.
She is a member of The Authors Guild and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Joy is the founder and CEO of My WRITEDAY Subscription Box for writers and readers.
