Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Turning Toward Eden ~ Great Escapes Tour Spotlight & Giveaway!

TURNING TOWARD EDEN
by Cate Touryan

Mystery / Coming of Age / Historical Mystery
Publisher: ‎ Winged Publications
Publication Date: ‎ May 6, 2025
Print length ‏: ‎ 350 pages

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An evocative story laced with mystery, Turning Toward Eden weaves nostalgia with grit, sorrow with humor, and despair with faith, offering hope to anyone who has sought to belong in a world that rarely plays fair.

“Chasing the truth, huh? Sure you’re not running from it?” Hollis might be her only friend, a lanky boy Mama calls her beau, but Eden Lewis has no time for his hogwash. She’s got a mystery to crack. For most fourteen year olds, California summers in the early 1970s mean sun and surf, despite the Cold War chill. Not for Eden. Her AWOL father has sent her life into a tailspin, landing her in a shabby beach town, stuck caring for her severely disabled brother, Dex. Caught in her parents’ own cold war, Eden ditches Dex at every chance—pier fishing with Hollis, playing poker with the grizzled card sharks, and caterwaulin’ in the church choir, laying plain to the Almighty that singing terms ain’t the same as speaking terms, what with the hand he’s dealt her.

Then Raven arrives mid-ninth grade—an elusive Soviet girl rumored to rain black-winged curses over the fearful town. When a rash of petty crimes escalates to bloodshed on the beach, suspicion falls on the “commie”—and then Eden. Desperate to prove herself innocent, and Raven guilty, she embarks on a reckless game of chase. But for the truth to set her free, she must risk Dex’s life. Will she go all in, no matter the cost?

“This is storytelling at its most atmospheric—brimming with quirky, well-drawn characters, razor-sharp prose, and the kind of setting you can almost smell. The writing is lyrical, grounded, and often laugh-out-loud funny—even in the midst of deeply poignant moments. With a cast of endearing misfits and a tone reminiscent of Southern Gothic charm, this story lures you in from the very first line and doesn’t let go. Cate Touryan has a truly original voice, a rare gift for language, and a special ability to render a world so vivid you feel baptized in it.” — Zena Dell Lowe, Screenwriter, Story Coach, and Founder of The Storyteller’s Mission

Audiobook Coming Soon! 
The audiobook edition of Turning Toward Eden is in production and on its way to Audible, iTunes, and beyond. Stay tuned for a richly narrated experience, perfect for readers who love stories on the go. 
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About Cate Touryan

Cate Touryan writes fiction and creative nonfiction that reach for the story beyond the story and the beginning beyond “The End.” Her complex, realistic narratives often touch on themes of faith. While she avoids gratuitous violence and profanity, keeping any romance clean, she does not shy away from portraying the grit and beauty of real life, instead writing the truest story she can, infused with heart and humor. Her fiction will delight young adults and adults still young.

Cate invites you to journey with her into lives both real and imagined, wherein might lie glimpses of your own story beyond the story and an ending redeemed.

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
One Winner: $25.00 Amazon gift card.
Three Winners: eBooks of Turning Toward Eden!
(US only; ends 8/14/2025)

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VISIT THESE OTHER GREAT TOUR PARTICIPANTS:
July 30 – Hall Ways Blog – SPOTLIGHT
July 30 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
July 30 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
July 31 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
August 1 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
August 2 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
August 3 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 4 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
August 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT
August 6 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 7 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
August 8 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 9 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 10 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 11 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 12 – Salty Inspirations – SPOTLIGHT
August 12 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT

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Friday, July 25, 2025

Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea ~ Partners in Crime Tours Book Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea by Richard I Levine Banner

Virtual Book Tour July 14 - August 22, 2025

LIKE DRIFTWOOD
ON THE SALISH SEA
by Richard I Levine

Genre: Romance, Literary Fiction
Publication Date: June 1, 2025
Pages: 396

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SYNOPSIS

A story of undying love, forgiveness, and second chances...

When they met in the fourth grade, it was love at first sight for Mitchell Brody and Jessica Ramirez. He was the freckle-faced kid who stood up for her honor when he silenced the class bully who’d been teasing her because of her accent. She was the new kid whose family moved to San Juan Island, Washington, from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and whom Mitch had thought was the most beautiful girl in the world.

She was his salvation from a strict upbringing. He was her knight in shining armor who had always looked out for her. Through the many years of porch-swinging, cotton-candied summer nights, autumn harvest festivals, and hand-in-hand walks planning for the ideal life together, they were inseparable...until 9/11, when the real world interrupted their Rockwell-esque small town life, and Mitch had joined the Marine Corps.

This is not just the story of a wounded warrior finally coming home to search for the love, and the world, he abandoned twenty years before. It is also the story of a man who is seeking forgiveness and a way to ease the pain caused by every bad decision he’d ever made. It’s the story of a woman who, with strength and determination, rose up from the ashes of a shattered dream, but who never gave up hope that her one true love would return to her.

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BOOK REVIEW
I don't spend time on plot summary, so please read the book synopsis above.

HALL WAYS REVIEW: Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea takes readers on an immersive journey that is so much more than a romance. Through richly-detailed descriptions of places and richly-drawn, authentic characters, author Richard Levine delivers a thoughtful and thought-provoking story of two people finding themselves – and each other – again.

Throughout the story, Levine lays the groundwork so readers know or suspect the hurdles our main characters, Mitch and Jess, will face. There are several storylines that weave in and out of each other, and the author sprinkles tidbits of information that make for more than a few predictable outcomes. However, even knowing how things will likely go, Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is layered, nuanced, and an enjoyable reading escape.

The subjects of deception and honesty, resentment and forgiveness, and hurting and healing will resonate with many readers, plus the additional topics of PTSD, alcoholism, terminal illness, discrimination, and even dyslexia make Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea relevant reading. Readers are guaranteed to get the feels along the way about something that hits home, so kudos to Levine for making us react.

One reaction will be because Levine knows how to create atmosphere, and in Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea, his settings shine. (Just read the first paragraph of the excerpt and you’ll understand what I mean.) My mother grew up off Puget Sound, and I spent many summers there visiting my grandparents. I enjoy visiting those places again via armchair travel, and Levine really captures the mood and beauty of the small towns in the Pacific Northwest. At times, some of the best writing gets buried in much-too-long sentences, which disrupts the flow of the story. But there are some gems in the rough.

“I will be like driftwood on the Salish Sea, free of my sins, free of my pain, free of my earthly bonds and obligations, content to explore wherever the tides may carry me.”

I’m always a sucker for when the title of a book comes into play within the story. In this instance, that sentence is among the most stunning in the entire novel, and its placement brought a tear to my eye. But fear not: Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is not all heaviness.

“Mitch thought the microwaved hot apple pie had more warmth and personality than the café.”

Mitch and Jess are both keenly observant characters, and their banter and internal narratives are frequently humorous, lighthearted, and even lyrical. It was sometimes hard to reconcile the different versions of Mitch, and the hypocrisy of his withholding secrets from those who loved him is bothersome. For this reader, it required a significant suspension of disbelief to accept that all the wrongs were made right so quickly and easily with some quick explanations and apologies, no grudges held. On the other hand, the lack of extended conflict made reading Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea less stressful. 

“So, this is what forty feels like?”

As a reader who’s well past the four-decades mark, I had to chuckle at our two main characters acting like forty is old. Granted, Mitch has lived a lot of life (and dodged a lot of death) in his past two decades, but some of their word choices and behaviors seem better aligned to an older generation. Maybe they’re just old souls, so they act that way? Or maybe it's the small-town influence and holding onto simpler things even as change is all around. 

Since the review copy I read was not final, I can’t comment on the editing like I normally would. As always, I hope and expect that any typos, errors, or issues will be tended in the book available for purchase. For me, those fixes would take the story from really good to really great.

Reading the About the Author information, it’s clear that Richard Levine’s fascinating personal experiences helped shape this novel. The result is terrific, evocative storytelling, and readers are sure to enjoy the time spent between the pages of Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.


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READ AN EXCERPT

1

Seattle, Autumn 2021

Mitch watched the I-5 traffic stream by like duty-bound ants marching in neat columns on their way to another conquest. He had wanted to open the window, covered with many months of dirt and grime, but it would have taken a half-dozen requisitions and just as many months before the maintenance department would have tended to it. He didn’t care about gaining a better view of the endless procession of late afternoon commuters; he was hoping to get a better view of the sun setting over the Olympic Mountains from the vantage point of the eleventh floor doctor’s office downtown.

Whether it was from an office building or from the decks of a ferry plying the waters of Puget Sound, it didn’t matter to him. Simply seeing the sun wash over the evergreens once again eased his anxiety faster than the strongest pharmaceutical he’d ever been prescribed. And over the course of the past few years, he’d been prescribed more pills for more reasons than he cared to count. But he wasn’t concerned about any of that now. He was focused on finally getting home.

At times, he questioned the life-altering choices he had made or the ghosts he had been avoiding for so long. At times, he even wondered why they had that much power over his better judgement, or if, in the end, he had avoided them at all.

It had been many years since he had last visited Seattle. The city seemed so foreign to him now. The places he enjoyed on his rare visits: a University District music store he had loved for their extensive inventory of compact discs, a Pioneer Square sports bar within walking distance of the football stadium, and a waterfront seafood restaurant he had listed among his favorite places, were all long gone. Except for the Space Needle, the skyline was not how he had remembered. A decade or more of gentrification that had given birth to a collection of glittering glass-on-steel architectural masterpieces, could only distantly hide the once-vibrant intersection of First Avenue and Pike Street. No longer decorated with flower baskets filled with a colorful bounty, or teaming with hungry buskers distracting eager tourists heading toward the Pike Place Market, this, as with other downtown boulevards once bursting with a vibrance representative of all the city had been known for, now seemed soulless. Empty paper coffee cups danced across the pavement like tumbleweeds, while lifeless eyes peered from wind-tattered tents that shared the sidewalks with empty storefronts and growing mounds of trash. Save for a recollection of a few clandestine excursions, Mitch no longer had any interest in this place. He wanted to conclude his business and be on his way back to a world that was also nothing more than a distant memory: a world filled with blackberry, apple, and pumpkin pies cooling on windowsills in the warmth of a late summer morning, the Memorial Day parades led by a high school band, the volunteer fire department, and a collection of potbellied members from the local VFW, and the potpourri of Fourth of July barbecues, sack races, and firework displays lighting up the skies over a Rockwell-esque Friday Harbor. It was a place he had wrapped around his insecurities as if it were a goose-down comforter used to keep warm during a snow-driven winter storm, and it was the place he had avoided. Maybe going back and facing the ghosts of his past would be more painful and life-threatening than the physical wounds and emotional scars he’d sustained during his multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet here he was, as if a few more tests and one more opinion might have produced the silver bullet that would have magically reversed every bad decision he made over the past twenty years during a self-inflicted exile.

For the tenth time in as many minutes, he glanced at his watch, then up at the wall clock for confirmation. He’s late again, he thought before becoming aware of the clock’s relentless ticking and noticing the long shadows cast upon the opposite wall. To him, those shadows resembled a life slipping away—a life he felt no more able to grasp and hold on to no more than he could grab and hold on to any one of those shadows—and it abruptly reminded him of one of the last times he saw Alex.

* * *

Iraq 2004

“Is that who I think it is?”

Mitch reflexively cringed then turned toward the sound of the familiar voice. “Alex! I mean, Captain,” he quickly corrected himself, in front of the squad of men in his charge.

“Holy cow, Mitch, what the hell! What brings you to Baghdad?”

“Besides an all-expense paid luxury vacation, courtesy of Uncle Sam?” He forced a smile, then dismissed his men before continuing. “My unit was moved over here in oh-three from Afghanistan…for the invasion. We’ve been doing a lot of probing for, you know,” he lowered his voice, “retaking Fallujah. I don’t suppose you have anything to do with planning that, sir?”

Alex surveyed his immediate surroundings before responding. “No one’s within earshot now. Even if they were, you can drop the captain and the sir nonsense.”

“I’ll take that as a yes…sir.”

“C’mon, Mitch, let’s not do this here.”

“Fair enough, Alex. You were saying.”

“I pulled a few strings to get some of the best recon units for a little fun I’ve got planned before we launch the main operation. And yes,” he winked and attempted a little levity, “I even asked for you.”

“Very funny. Let it be known that even over here, you’re trying to get me to do your heavy lifting. When are you ever gonna admit that if it wasn’t for my size, speed, and blocking ability, you would’ve never scored all those touchdowns in high school?”

“That was you?” He smirked. “I did pretty well in college without you by the way.”

“Yes, I’ve heard…constantly. No offers from the pros, huh?”

“I had more important business to attend to.” Alex patted his sidearm.

“Yes, I’m well aware of that too.”

“What, you think you’re the only patriot?”

“So, that’s what you call it!”

“Mitch, please. There’s a lot you need to know. There’s a lot we really need to discuss. Not here, though. This isn’t the time or the place.”

“I’ll give you that. So, moving right along, when did you get here?”

“I’ve been in country for about two months now.”

Mitch smiled. “That’s hardly enough time to get your utilities dirty.”

Alex ignored the dig. “Truth be told, it seems like I’ve been here forever. Anyway, I’ve been here long enough to have that kid over there waiting to do errands for me every day.” He laughed and pointed to a ten-year-old Iraqi boy waiting nervously at his tent. “Showed up one day outta nowhere and now he’s like my shadow. You’ve been up to your neck in this for how long now?”

“Since summer of oh-two. Afghanistan and now here. So, who is this kid, like your food taster or your house boy?” He studied the child with suspicion.

“Food taster?” Alex laughed. “He cleans up the tent, does my laundry…provides a little intel now and then. I pay him in MREs, which I’m sure he sells on the black market.”

“Smart little guy. Just don’t eat anything he brings you,” Mitch warned. “I don’t trust the locals.”

“You don’t trust anyone, especially me.”

“Well, it’s not as if you didn’t earn it.”

“I guess in your mind, at least until we have a chance to talk, I deserve that.”

“You do, but I’m serious about not trusting the locals, Alex. You never know who’s an insurgent or who’s been compromised.”

“Don’t worry, I checked him out. He’s a good kid.”

“Famous last words. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Well, anyway, you’re an intelligence officer, so I guess you know what you’re doing. After all, you made it through ROTC and all that other fancy training with your boyish good looks intact. I’ll bet the folks back home are proud of you as you rise through the ranks like a rocket.”

“Jealous?”

“Not one bit.” Mitch said defensively.

“Keep this to yourself…the real damage is on the inside.” Alex pointed to his head.

“I had heard that about you intel officers.”

“And look at you! Three stripes! That didn’t take you as long as I thought it would, Marine. At the rate you’re going—”

“Not me, brother. Except for burn-pit duty and having to get all those booster shots, I was happy just being a grunt. Only now I’ve got responsibilities like leading a squad on patrols. And on top of everything, I’ve got these guys who are just a couple years younger than us calling me ‘Pops,’ of all things.”

“Burn-pit duty, huh? I didn’t know they gave out Purple Hearts for sucking down toxic smoke. Does that stuff really get you stoned?”

“I almost wish it did. Sometimes that stuff made me puke up my guts like there was no tomorrow. I should’ve gotten those medals for that instead of playing dodgeball with bullets.”

“Yeah, I’m told everybody heard about that…front page of the paper back home.”

“Didn’t mean to steal your thunder.”

Again, Alex ignored the dig. “Next time you should duck and dodge a little faster.”

“Honestly, it was nothing. A couple grazed me, is all. Here...” He pointed. “Here, and over here. It’s no big deal. Anyway, how’d you hear about it?”

“It was in Jess’s last letter. She included the article. I hear you two have been corresponding.” Alex said, then looked for a reaction from Mitch. There was none.

“She wrote once. It was the first time I had heard from her since…anyway, she didn’t have much to say other than you were on your way over here. She asked if I could keep an eye out for you. It was only right that I respond. I told her I would. Nothing more.”

“That’s all anyone could expect.”

“Uh huh…by the way, how’s your little boy? Mateo, isn’t it? He must be getting big.”

“Like I said, we’ll talk…anyway, Mitch, I had already read up on your exploits.”

“You’ve been reviewing my personnel file? If I didn’t know any better, Alex, I’d say you really do have something planned and you’re gonna want me to carry it out for you.”

* * *

Doctor Lenkovich’s Office
The Present

“Did you hear me, Mitch? Mitch? Master Gunnery Sergeant Brody?”

Startled, Mitch hadn’t heard the doctor enter the room. “Sorry, doc, it’s been a long day…it’s been a long week.”

“Not a problem.” The doctor took a seat. “When I came in, you were talking to yourself. Can I ask what you were thinking about?”

“Nothing really…actually, that’s not true. I was thinking about everything you guys put me through the past couple months. Not just you or this place, but you know, all the tests, the paperwork, going through the process. I was thinking about getting out of here and finally getting back home.”

“How long has it been?”

“Far too long. I would’ve been there several weeks ago if I hadn’t been detoured to Bethesda and then Pendleton before ending up here.”

“You do know it was a suggestion to come here, right? A strong suggestion, perhaps, but it wasn’t an order. After all, your retirement came through and you were discharged. Don’t forget, you’re a civilian now, and I think it’s important for you to get established with a doc. It just makes sense, considering.”

“I know. Everybody here keeps reminding me. Did I tell you it wasn’t my choice to retire?”

“No, you didn’t. Was separating hard for you?” the doctor asked.

“Nah. I’ve had more than my share. It was time…I’m just trying to get used to it…” Mitch trailed off as the wall shadows once again stole his thoughts.

“Anyway,” Doctor Lenkovich said, “it’s just the corps’ way of taking care of one of its highly decorated heroes.”

“By forcing me out?” He snapped back as the flip of a light switch washed away the distraction. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…anyway, I don’t think of myself as a hero.”

“Forcing you out? Come on, it’s a medical discharge. What choice did they have? Anyway, you’ll be happy to know they finally sent the rest of your medical records. You’d think that after all these years I’d be used to the red tape and inefficiency that’s inherent…I’m rambling, sorry. All those tests we ended up duplicating since you arrived here…let’s just say, in case there was any doubt…well, let’s just think of the whole thing as one more confirmation. Which is what you wanted, and what you rightfully deserved. I hope the past week with us hadn’t been an inconvenience.”

“An inconvenience?” He chuckled. “From being constantly poked and prodded, or having the unwanted attention because I’m some highly decorated…?”

“Both. Are you saying you didn’t want all that special attention?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the above-and-beyond from you and the staff. Even got a couple of names and numbers of some very nice nurses. Even so, I’ve never been one for medals, parades, accolades, etcetera. No, not me. That was Alex’s thing. In all honesty, I hate the attention. It’s embarrassing and it makes me uncomfortable. Especially when so many others here don’t get half of what they deserve.”

Their eyes locked in an uncomfortable moment of silence.

“Luckily for you,” Doctor Lenkovich continued while jotting Alex’s name in Mitch’s chart, “there may be one more parade and then you can pack the uniforms, the medals, and hopefully the bad memories, and put them all into mothballs.”

“What?” Mitch looked confused.

“Mothballs…I guess people don’t use those anymore.”

“I know what mothballs are. What parade?” Mitch asked. “Whaddya talking about?”

“Didn’t anyone from your hometown contact you?”

“I didn’t tell anybody I was coming…well, that’s not totally true. I left a voicemail for one guy to meet me, but he knows not to say anything to anyone. So, I’m in the dark here, Doc.”

“Hold on a sec.” He skimmed through Mitch’s file. “Where’s that note? Here it is. Someone from the San Juan Island VFW post contacted the Pendleton base commander right after the news ran a story on you.”

“Recently?”

“Several weeks back. They mentioned that you were coming home and that you were being considered for the Congressional Medal. Is that true?”

“It’s news to me.”

“Anyway, they want to throw you a homecoming parade…wanted to do it the day you got back there. So, I guess that’s why this guy wanted a heads up on an exact day. I’ve got a number right here. Do you want to call them?”

“No…no, I can’t.” He shook his head. “And they can’t do anything if they don’t know when I’m coming. They don’t know I’m coming, right? You didn’t call them?”

“Why would I? It’s not my responsibility. Although if you ask me, a welcome home like that might be good for you.”

“It’s been a long twenty years, Doc, and I’m tired in more ways than one. I don’t want the attention. And before you ask, I don’t wanna talk about why, and I don’t wanna talk to the shrink about it. I’ve talked to enough shrinks. Hell, I don’t even wanna think about it.”

“Understood.” He continued to flip through the chart, stopping to review one page. “Mitch, if I may…I’m still curious. I suspect you weren’t thinking about home just now when I walked in because I overheard some of what you were saying. The duty nurse told me you had another restless night. You were talking in your sleep again. What were you really thinking about? If not home, then what? Who? Your friend?”

“My friend?”

“Alex? You’ve mentioned him a number of times.”

“Who, Alex? My friend? He wasn’t my…no, I wasn’t thinking about him.” Remembering the shadows, Mitch stared back at the wall. “Why?”

“Because I’m told you’ve had conversations with him, with this ‘Alex,’ when you’re alone, and you’ve yelled out his name in your sleep more than a few times, and…and I’m told one night it was as if you were trying to warn him about something. Mitch, I heard you mumble his name just now when I walked into the room. It’s okay to admit you were thinking about him.”

“Just as long as I don’t think he’s sitting right here?” Mitch winked and smiled at the empty chair next to him to see the doctor’s reaction.

“I did see that in your file too. It says here you’ve been told PTSD manifests in many ways. I do know from experience with other patients, any deep-seated guilt over the death of a friend can make a person believe the deceased continues to hang around. So, tell me,” the doctor looked up from the file, “has that been happening? Are you seeing him? Talking to him? You can tell me.”

“I was only joking, Doc…no, it hasn’t happened, and it never did happen, and it’s not happening now, so, I don’t know what the duty nurse thought she heard. And for the record, I was joking with the doc at Bethesda too. That was my mistake. She was one of those uptight types. I was only trying to give her a rise, lighten the mood. I can’t believe she put that in my chart.”

“A couple of times. I wouldn’t worry about it, though. If you say it didn’t happen—”

“It didn’t!”

“I’ll make a note of that. Okay, moving right along...”

“Yes, let’s. About those last few tests…you said there’s nothing new to report, right?” Mitch asked.

“Do you have anything new to report to me? Headaches the same?”

“No better, no worse.”

“Any more episodes of nausea?”

“Just the one time this past week. I think it was from the sausages. They smelled a little funny, now that I think of it. I actually thought I saw one move. Other than that, the food here is pretty decent.”

“You’re joking, of course, yes?” Lenkovich asked

“About it being pretty decent?”

“Moving on…any confusion? Memory loss?”

“No confusion. However, I do have some memories I’d like to get rid of.”

“Any visual disturbances, slurring of speech, issues with balance or muscle weakness?”

“No, no, no, and no.” Mitch said.

“Okay, then. The latest tests show everything’s the same: the blood work, the scans, your sense of humor, no changes…for now, anyway. However, if you start to notice anything different, like if you actually become funny, you let me know.”

“So…then…we’re all good, right? We’re all done then.”

“Mitch, we could do more here, you know? The rate that this thing…it’s unpredictable. There’s a procedure we can do, it’s relatively new and—”

“I know, Doc, you’ve told me already. I’m not interested, sorry.”

“Look, I can arrange—”

“Thanks, but I think we’re all done here. Trust me, I’ll continue to take all my meds as directed, I’ll call when I need refills. I’ll call you if anything changes, I promise.”

“In that case, please do me a favor? After you get home, after you get unpacked and settled in, had some time to yourself, looked up old friends, I’d like to have you come back here in a couple months and—”

He shook his head. “Not gonna happen. I’m really not interested.”

“Listen Mitch—”

“Please, Doc, I’m finished listening. It’s nothing against you. You’ve actually been the most understanding, the easiest person to work with. I just don’t wanna do any more...I can’t do any more. All my years in the Corps I’ve had people telling me how to live my life, when to get out of bed, when to eat, who and how many to kill, I’m finished with all of it. I’ve got a small farm and a small hardware store waiting for me up on San Juan Island. For far too long now, I’ve been…I’ve been dreaming about waking up to a rooster’s cry, frying up bacon and some fresh-laid eggs in a cast iron skillet for breakfast, and topping off my coffee with warm milk straight from the teat before heading in to town to help some poor do-it-yourselfer find an odd sized doohickey for his hot water heater; all the things I detested growing up, which I’ve been missing for more days than I can count. I wanna get my hair cut at Freddie’s barbershop on Spring Street, where old men in suspenders still read newspapers, smoke cigars, and solve the world’s problems over a game of checkers.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

“Wanna know what’s really wonderful? Sitting by the big stone fireplace in Jentzen’s Café on a winter afternoon, drinking Irish coffee with a hunk of hot beer bread slathered in strawberry jam. And all the while, breathing in the heavy scent of fresh cut spruce and fir draped all across the windows as snow flurries dust the sidewalks and people rush by to get their Christmas packages to the post office before closing time. Now, that’s wonderful.”

“It sounds like a wonderful life in Bedford Falls.” Doctor Lenkovich quipped in his best George Bailey imitation.

“What?”

“Bedford Falls? It’s a Wonderful Life? The movie…never mind. It sounds like a wonderful life, Mitch, and I can see I’ll have a hard time convincing you to come back here for any follow-ups.”

“I was away for a long time, a lifetime, and now time is my enemy. So, once I set foot off that ferry I am not coming back to Seattle.”

***

Excerpt from Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea by Richard I Levine. Copyright 2025 by Richard I Levine. Reproduced with permission from Richard I Levine. All rights reserved.

AUTHOR BIO:

Richard I Levine

Richard I Levine is a native New Yorker raised in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in several occupations and a one-year coast-to-coast wanderlust trip, This one-time auxiliary police officer, volunteer fireman, bartender, and store manager returned to school to become a chiropractor. A twenty-five-year cancer survivor, he’s a strong advocate for the natural healing arts.

In 2006 he wrote, produced, and was on-air personality of The Dr. Rich Levine Show on Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five-year chiropractic practice in Bellevue, Washington, he closed up shop at the end of 2016 and moved to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O.

While briefly working as a ghostwriter/community liaison for a Honolulu City Councilmember, a Hawaii State Senator, and volunteering as an advisory board member of USVETS Barbers Point, he appeared as a background actor in over twenty-seven 5-Os, Magnum P.I.s, NCIS-Hawaii, and several Hallmark movies. In 2020, he had a co-star role in the third season episode of Magnum PI called “Easy Money.”

While he no longer lives in Hawaii, he says he will always cherish and be grateful for those seven years and all the wonderful people he’s met. His 5th novel, To Catch the Setting Sun, was inspired by his time in Hawaii. Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is Levine’s first foray into the romance genre.

Website ❂ Amazon ❂ Goodreads ❂ BookBub ❂ Instagram ❂ Threads ❂ Facebook  

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Visit the other great hosts on this tour for book reviews, interviews, guest posts, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway! Click here to view the Tour Schedule

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
ONE WINNER
will receive a $20 Amazon gift card!
(US only; ends 8/24/2025)
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Richard I Levine. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

Can't see the giveaway? Click Here!

 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours

 

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Bittersweet Blogger

 

It was 10 years ago today, 7/23/2015, that I shared my first post as a member of the Lone Star Literary Life Blogger Team. It was a spotlight on Texas Author Lisa Wingate's THE STORY KEEPER, and it was the start of a beautiful relationship with literary-Texas, first as a blogger, then as a blog tour coordinator, and then as owner & publisher of LSLL.

Though I sold the business in spring of 2024 to the very capable Amy Kelly, she has generously kept me on the blogger team since then, allowing me to continue sharing the plethora of fine Texas-connected authors and books and publishers.

All good things must come to an end, and I recently decided to fully step away from the Lone Star Lit team. It was a bittersweet but right-for-me decision, making me fully retired from Lone Star Lit.

My passion is still to amplify bookish things, and I'm not giving that up, but instead I feel like I've come full circle with my blogging. I started Hall Ways Blog in December of 2011 as a place for my "book views, reviews, and news you can use...or not," and that remains my platform.

Fully retired forever and never again gainfully employed? That remains to be seen. I hope some of you will stick around to watch my journey. #staytuned

Many thanks to the talented blogger, Karen Siddall, for the retirement gift of a blog-themed beverage glass! 

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Inverted Reality ~ Partners in Crime Tours Book Blast & Giveaway!

 
INVERTED REALITY
by Fran Lewis

Horror / Short Stories / Suspense and Thrillers
Published by: Just Reviews
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Number of Pages: 219

 Scroll down for the giveaway!

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SYNOPSIS:

Inverted Reality is a compilation of five books that teach people, through the characters involved, the consequences of doing harmful, dangerous or mean things to others. The person will face in some cases the mirror that will replay their wrongdoing and then ask if they will repent. If not, the mirror will decide their fate for them.

Each story has different characters who have done something wrong or evil to someone else. Some of the stories have voices that have been silenced and can no longer be heard. One story describes someone who was wrongly accused. The last part, “The Third Choice,” is the author’s favorite. It tells a story about people who do not repent, and fate or consequences will be inflicted, but you won’t be told how.

Some of the stories are fiction while others are true and factual. You, the reader, will decide whether the story is true or false as you enter the world of Inverted Reality. You can decide what your own definition of the title means and how you would react if you had to face the mirror or the third choice for what you might have done. You decide if it really happened and how you would react.

It’s good vs. evil, and consciousness vs. unconscionable. 

PRAISE FOR INVERTED REALITY

“Actions Have Consequences! Inverted Reality by Fran Lewis is a chilling look at bad people committing horrific deeds.”
~ Irma Fritz, author of novels and short stories


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AUTHOR BIO:

Fran Lewis

Fran Lewis worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She has three masters degrees and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is a member of Who’s Who of America’s Teachers and Who’s Who of America’s Executives from Cambridge.‬‬

Fran is the author of more than 14 titles including three children’s books. She has written several books on Alzheimer’s disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a cure. These include Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s JourneyRuth’s Story; and Sharp as a Tack and Scrambled Eggs Which Describes Your Brain? She also wrote A Daughter’s Promise about her walk through the disease with her mother. ‪Fran is the author of the Faces Behind the Stones series, a middle school series featuring stories growing up in the Bronx with her sister, and MJ magazineVoices from Beyond is her latest book which was preceded by Mirror ImageWhat If?Population Zero, and Accusations.‬

CATCH UP WITH FRAN LEWIS:

Just Reviews ** Amazon Author ** Goodreads ** BookBub ** Facebook ** LinkedIn ** Instagram ** X ** YouTube

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Visit the other great hosts on this tour for book reviews, interviews, guest posts, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway! Click here to view the Tour Schedule.

------- 🕮 -------

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
ONE WINNER
will receive a print copy of Inverted Reality!
(US only; ends noon, EST, 7/27/2025)
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Fran Lewis. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
INVERTED REALITY by Fran Lewis (Print Books)

Can't see the giveaway? Click Here!

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Friday, July 18, 2025

The Last Man ~ Audiobook Review

 

THE LAST MAN
A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
by THOMAS GOODMAN
Narrated by Eric Priessman

Historical Fiction / Heist Thriller / Texas History
Publication Date: August 28, 2023
Publisher: Mainsail Media
Print Length: 312 pages
Audiobook Length: 8 hours, 52 minutes

~Literary Awards~
*2023 Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 Chanticleer Laramie Award for Americana Fiction*
*2024 Spur Award Winner for Best Western Historical Novel*
*2024 Will Rogers Medallion Award Winner*


ABOUT THE BOOK: When Santa Claus enters a Texas bank just before Christmas in 1927, no one expects him to pull a gun.

The fake white beard hides his identity from his neighbors while he and three others take everything. But their easy heist goes sideways fast when armed lawmen and citizens assemble to claim a new reward for dead bank robbers.

Taking hostages, the gang forces a path through a frenzied and bloody shootout, setting the whole Lone Star state on their trail.

One bandit dies in the getaway. One is executed in the electric chair. One swings from a rope in a mob lynching. The last man finds a life he always hoped for … if only he can keep it.

Closely based on a true story, The Last Man is a gritty Prohibition-era crime novel filled with flawed characters and second chances.

BUY YOUR COPY:

Paperback *** Kindle *** Hardcover *** Audio

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BOOK REVIEW

HALL WAYS AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: 4.5 STARS. I became familiar with the 1927 Santa Claus robbery of Cisco, Texas, in 2019 when I read the nonfiction, aptly titled Santa Claus Bank Robbery by Tui Snider. It's a fascinating and horrifying true crime story, and Snider's interpretation of facts is one of several on the subject, and certainly the most recent -- until Thomas Goodman's The Last Man hit my radar in 2023. My interest was certainly piqued, but it wasn't until I won an audiobook copy in 2024 that I was able to finally get to reading, and it was worth the wait.

The Last Man starts with what we know historically happened, and Goodman’s description of it is excellent. Readers are on the edge of their seats as one by one, the fugitives are dropping. This is the mark of great writing when even though we know how it turns out, maybe even some of the details, the story is still suspenseful.

I went into the book without real expectations since it is a fictionalized account of what happened all those years ago, and Goodman fleshes out the characters and brings the action to life. There is more time spent in courtrooms and jails than I prefer, but those scenes also reflect the reality of what happened post-robbery.

ABOUT THE NARRATION: Narrator Eric Priessman does a great job with pacing and delivery, and he places emphasis on just the right words at just the right time to draw listeners in. His narration is storytelling, not story reading, and is a good complement to Goodman's text. There were several mispronounced words (including "Brazos," which a Texan would tell you is wrong, though it's correct in Spanish), and those definitely caught my ear and took me out of the story a bit.

The Author’s Notes section at the end of at the end of The Last Man is outstanding and shows the depth of Goodman's research. I appreciate his explanations of how he fills in blanks between fact and fiction, providing logical fiction for readers to enjoy.

I have The Last Man on my to-buy-in-print list because I'm particularly interested in the bibliography that I'm assuming is there, and I would happily lend it to friends. I also think it would make a terrific, unique gift for lovers of Texana and the offbeat, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tales that Texas offers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Thomas Goodman first ran across the story of the Santa Claus Bank Robbery when he lived in the small Texas county where it all took place. He currently lives in Austin, where he has been able to conduct extensive research on the true crime at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The Last Man is his first novel.