Finding the Spirit of Christmas – It’s in Presence!

Daniel Wetta Publishing is pleased to announce the latest book from prolific author M. J. Scott, Finding the Spirit of Christmas, available through pre-order now on Amazon and to be published October 2, 2018! This little book is timeless in its discoveries of kindness and compassion in ordinary events of our days and opens the door to knowing the spirit of Christmas throughout the entire year. When you think about gifts for family, friends and associates, Finding the Spirit of Christmas is a considerate and easy-to-send gift that will be remembered well beyond this holiday season. It is available as an e-book on pre-order now and as a lovely print book October 2. Those who order the print book can choose to receive also the e-book for free. Exclusively on Amazon, Finding the Spirit of Christmas as a Kindle e-book may be viewed on any electronic device (including Nook, iPad and Android devices) by downloading the Kindle viewer application, free on Amazon.

Transported unexpectedly one brisk December day into the clouds with astonishing rapidity by two cloud-dog angels, M. J. Scott looked down on her Virginia home town and saw opportunity everywhere to find the spirit necessary to prepare for the arrival of the approaching Christmas. From above, ordinary life looked small but extraordinary in its potential to transform people. She promised the cloud angels that if released, she would find the partners to help her look for the spirit of Christmas in the hours, minutes and seconds of ordinary days remaining before the 25th. In Finding the Spirit of Christmas, she invites the reader to come with her on daily December discoveries of light, compassion and beauty to share through miniscule acts of kindness the simplest, yet greatest, gift: Presence. It is the gift that endures throughout the year.

Ordering and sending the book as a gift is simple. The e-book on pre-order is $4.99, and the print book to become available October 2 is $11.00. For more information, click this link to the Amazon page: Finding the Spirit of Christmas by M. J. Scott

 

 

You can see in her picture that my guest blogger is a vivacious, contagiously enthusiastic patriot who is prepared to launch with a smile. M. J. Scott has a body of books published to inspire others, one of which (Sport’s Alien Fantasy) is a novel based on a wild road trip that she had in the 1980s. Her latest offering, Double Feature!, delivers two journals of advice, tribute and home-spun humor. First up is “Just Call Me Mom” which brings into intuitive focus what being a mother really means in our stressed and emotionally fragmented world. She follows that up in her hilarious account of life with a talking garment in “The Purple Bathrobe.” Author M. J. Scott (Marilyn) now delivers you a message and an offering from her latest book:

M. J. Scott, USA

My introduction to you as my audience is to ask, “Are you a reader?”
People race through life and forget that they were taught to figure out how to convert letters into word sounds as a beginning to visualizing the language of their speaking since the age of two. My own memory of this is the mental photograph of me on the upturned seat in a big classroom so far back that I couldn’t see the chalk board. My eyes were bad, but I got a paddling for not learning! That’s right, we have erasable boards and I- pads now and many ways to overcome learning disabilities. Despite the paddling, when I was eight years old I announced that I was going to be an author. That was a hidden passion that burst forth from a contest recognition. Later, my work spun around this planet and into space in my Soliloquy of the Year 2002. (I will release that in a blog in a future date).

Why not join me in my creative hopscotch of written thoughts? What a joy it would be to add you to my treasure chest of happiness! Begin by visualizing how you want to present yourself as author of your future body of work. My pen name has an origin when, as a teacher in the principal’s office, I was told, “You aren’t going to New York for your first marketing interview!” I thought about my birth into a Scottish family and decided upon my name despite its commonality with other known authors of the same name. I, as M. J., arrived on the scene when the issue of females being recognized in the writing arena was a scarce probability. So, gentlemen, thanks to you, I’m M. J. Scott, USA. Don’t forget to include USA, as that’s where I hang my hat!

Excerpt from “Just Call Me Mom!

Entry Fifty-One from this Journal in Double Feature!

“Hi, Family of Readers! There’s a full moon just after midnight, and this warm fuzzy feeling just must be shared after a day when I can honestly reply to the question, “Where are you from?” Just call me Mom from all fifty states, where indelible memories pounce into word pictures.
We’ll skip across the country like freely racing thoughts, where cranberry bogs were in little fiords higher than the roadway on a full moon night, too. You could almost feel the water ready to enter the roadway in a great sweep to be lost in the night. We’ll see the redwood forests where the moss-covered trail winds down to the ocean and the sea air delivers its fresh history in whispered, private stories. Then the redwood chip under the thumbnail at a remote laundry, and an old woodsman looks up from his murder mystery and pulls out his knife. Gone the chip and gone my nerves.
Hiking along a trail in the Sonoran Desert and hearing rattles like little drums to learn that is the rattlesnake signal. Strangeness, too, at the end of the road in Canada when tracks are discovered that perhaps match a bear of mythical Sasquatch size. Not to mention the highlands where there is no movement of people and the autos sit silently. Remember with me the blueberries for picking by the handful or oranges strewn under the trees like little toys ready to play. My heart skips a beat when the armadillo crosses the marshy path from the clothesline and backs under the house. The next morning, the alligator swims in the Officers Club swimming pool. The military guns focus on a highway where protection is required.
There are so many mental pictures! The mountains surveying the valleys hold whipped-cream snow on their tops from a winter storm that also buttered the wheat, corn and soy fields. We recall rocks for climbing and hunts for gems; the fear of high, curvy mountain roads in unfamiliar surroundings; and hot brakes smoking.
Smell the glory of spring blossoms filling the air like a just-opened-perfume bottle! Or the lilac fragrances filling the airplane as it begins to land in northern country. The memories of Mom just keep coming: Lifting a video camera and taking charge of a wedding held in a little New England church in the woods. That perfect painters’ paradise. The old antique stores speaking of auctioneers selling history, but now impossible to take a card. The beauty of the sea coast that lingers, meanders and follows the shoreline.”

Visit M. J. Scott, USA, Amazon Central Page!

Learn more about Marilyn’s books and life on the page where you can get her books in e-mail or print! Simply click on this cover of M. J. Scott’s very first book:

 

Let’s get to 50! Wow, Howard Moss’ novel, Kiss the Talisman, has garnered an incredible 4.8 stars out of 5 on Amazon with 48 reviews of his book. Still, this number is a small percentage of his book sales through Daniel Wetta Publishing on Amazon. If you purchased Kiss the Talisman through Amazon and have not written a review, please take five minutes to do this, whether your review is good or bad. Book reviews help sales, and all the proceeds of this book are going to a scholarship fund at VMI in memory of a fallen fighter-pilot comrade during the Vietnam War. (All royalties from this book are donated by the author to The Paul M. Bayliss ’60 Scholarship Fund at Virginia Military Institute.) It is easy to write even a three sentence review, as many people do. Simply click the link below to the Amazon review page for Kiss the Talisman. Then click the “Write a Review” button.

Click Here to See the Book and Reviews!

Howard Moss’ gripping novel is about Captain Josh Randolph, USAF, an astute, brave pilot of F4-E jets during the Vietnam War. Lucky in love and air battles, Josh kisses his talismans before missions – a St. Christopher medal given him by his mom and a small Buddha presented to him by his gorgeous Thai lover, Malinee. Successes are many, but Josh also experiences loss of comrades, flight crashes and ill-fated rescue missions. The big question is whether he can survive the bittersweet trauma of love. Howard Moss, himself a highly-decorated combat pilot who once was Officer-in-Charge of the Tiger FAC program during the war, has the experience to tell this story about human emotions and conflict among different cultures in an engaging manner that is authentic, humane and often humorous.

Kiss the Talisman is also available as an e-book:  Click Here for Kiss the Talisman E-book

Fifty is a nice number to surpass. Let’s do it! Kiss the talisman and enjoy the journey! 

 

 

 

 

 

New! Caminos de Fuego!

My first print book entirely in Spanish! Escrito en español!

Caminos de Fuego is a collection of two short stories of suspense and love. My short story, “Awakening from the Golden Sleep,” was recently translated into Spanish by Emilio Bernal-Zubieta of Monterrey, Mexico. The story describes the childhood of Ana Valdez, who grew up in Mazatlán, Mexico in the 1980’s and who, as an adult, became the President of Mexico in my novel, The Z Redemption. Intelligent, beautiful and mischievous, Ana is a protagonist you will never forget!

Emilio also translated “Nightfire,” a story that explains the mystery of Día and Luna, two indigenous Tarahumara natives who were the grandparents of Corvette Nightfire in the novel of the same name. Inhabitants of the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua in northern Mexico, Día and Luna, married in adolescence, are seduced and later enslaved by men of the drug cartel who invaded their territory to grow marijuana and poppy. Caminos de Fuego is available in e-book form as well.

To buy in Mexico: Amazon Mexico (E-book only)

To buy in USA: Amazon (e-book and print available)

Adrenaline stories of heroes, love, crime, aliens, poker and history by author and publisher, Daniel Wetta! Get a new entertainment addiction!

 

Visit my author page on Amazon to see all the books! 

Daniel Wetta Author Central on Amazon

Sport’s Alien Fantasy Co-Authored by M. J. Scott and Daniel Wetta!

Our novel spent 30 days on the Kindle Scout page by Amazon and garnered nearly 1,000 nominations for publication. Marilyn (M. J. Scott) and I believe that this story of a school teacher who must endure the ordeal of a grueling road trip in 1986 to determine if her memories of an alien childhood are real or crazy is set to make everyone question themselves when they make judgements about others. Inspired by the life of teacher Christa McAuliffe, who perished along with the other astronauts on that horrible day in that same year, Sport takes Christa with her to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello during the Easter break of the students and teachers. It is the beginning of a journey into the unexpected, and it holds a mirror to the faces of people in rural Virginia in the time when our current orientation to a global community was just beginning. 

Sport has memories of multiple births. She remembers flights through space and vistas of vibrant silo cities in colorful, faraway lands. People she invents in imagination come alive. Her parents and educators think that she is crazy. That 1986 road trip is disastrous, and Sport, the cheerful school teacher, is refused help again and again. People gossip that she ages too slowly. Her admirers have questions to which Sport has no answers. But a child savant helps her understand her origins and destiny in Sport’s Alien Fantasy!

Purchase our novel in print online from Amazon for $9.95 or the e-book for $3.99. The Amazon link is Click here to purchase!

E-book is $3.99 and is exclusively with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. Kindle Direct subscribers may download for free. The link is Click here to purchase e-book!

The Stories of The Z Redemption

A Coup in Mexico, A Dance in Las Vegas: Heart-Clutching Excitement!

Keep on the run in this cinematographic suspense novel through Mexico, Texas, and Washington in a story of high stakes and stirring love! To purchase the E-book at Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, Amazon, Kobo or Google Play, just click the book cover photo below!  E-book Just $4.99 Print Book $17.95 Retail Click here to purchase book on Amazon

The Z Redemption In this steamy and romantic suspense thriller based on true life events in Mexico, the author tells the story of ordinary heroes struggling to save lives in the midst of the drug cartel wars. With a military coup as backdrop, Ana Valdez, a Mexican homemaker and political opinion blogger, unwittingly becomes a celebrity of her nation. She and her gringo lover, ex-CIA agent David James, race time to prevent an American invasion and civil war in Mexico! The country dissolves into chaos when its Army sequesters its President and   government and the anxious USA readies an invading force at the border. In Monterrey, Ana and David rally Mexico’s young people to form the paramilitary “Zs.” Trained to fight with parkour skills and without firearms, the Zs assist the Army in preserving public safety from attacks by the drug cartels. But when the cartels succeed in smuggling Mexico’s most strategic possession, bloodshed and invasion appear to be certain outcomes!

Corvette and Valentina: Their one dance changes destiny in this cinematographic suspense novel that pits three men in a life or death fight for one woman!To purchase the E-book at Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, Amazon, Kobo or Google Play, just click the book cover photo below!  E-book Just $4.99 Print Book $17.95 Retail Click here to purchase book on Amazon

Corvette Nightfire He is hot, 27, a new World Series of Poker celebrity, and clueless that his destiny will hurl him into a tsunami of danger fifty years in the making. The changes for him begin when a beautiful Mexican woman fleeing gunfire in a casino thrusts a bag loaded with cash into his arms and sprints away. His subsequent hunt for Valentina turns desperate as he becomes the hunted and time runs out for her life to be saved. He disappears from public view into the heinous underworld of the Zetas, where trafficking and kidnapping are ordinary lines of business. In the ruthless world of the cartels, Corvette and Valentina find that love is their only defense. Generations of family sins have forged Corvette’s character. Now he must reconcile the past with the harsh realities of his present. Set in Las Vegas, Barbados and Mexico, Corvette Nightfire, this second book in the suspense series, The Z Redemption Trilogy, takes up where The Z Redemption leaves off and straps the reader into another bumpy, exhilarating ride!

Six Titles by Daniel Wetta Available on Amazon!

 

If you are a suspense thriller fan who likes sudden twists, passionate characters, flawed heroes and plots that push the red line, don’t miss these stories of intrigue!

Plus, enjoy two stand-alone short stories that provide enriching details about the characters! Written in the same fast- paced style as the novels, the short stories take you to worlds you didn’t know existed! Try “Awakening From the Golden Sleep” and “Nightfire!” to whet your appetite!  Click their e-book covers above to purchase on Amazon!

Book Reviews of the Novels!

Click the book covers below to read the reviews on Amazon!

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Guest Blogger Bill Holland’s Sharing of His Hip Replacement Journey

My friend and colleague Bill Holland, author, entrepreneur and consultant, contemplated having hip replacement surgery and decided to go through with it. Bill came up with the excellent idea of doing a daily blog just before and after his surgery to deal with his feelings and to help others contemplating similar complicated procedures. They are life changing and certainly anxiety provoking. Here is Bill’s seventh post in the eight article series. In the words of Bill:
 TAKE MY HIP—PLEASE!

The decision on replacing the left side of my ass.

I no longer remember exactly what I thought would happen during the post surgery period, but there is a possibility I am the victim of inflated expectations.

“The major difference between the posterior (my surgery of 10 years ago) and anterior (what I just had completed) is the point of entry to the body and cutting of the buttock muscle of the former.

Anterior patients are told, “We get you up right after surgery; recovery is faster because we do not sever your buttock muscles, and the entire process is less intrusive and painful.” Now who the hell could turn that down? When asked which approach I prefer, I felt as if I was reliving that iconic scene in “When Harry Met Sally: “I’ll have what he’s having.”

These images were re-enforced by the early exposure I got to post-surgery patients dancing about in praise of the surgeon and each other for having completed the journey, if not together, at least in the same time frame. I now see that I have also been influenced by TV ads that promise “same-day” spinal surgery after which you are back to work. They all should stop it!

Here is what actually happened: They got me up right after surgery with visions of sugarplums dancing in my drug-induced head. I was fine and not feeling much pain. No one said anything about being stiff and sore, a condition that would remain with me for the next two weeks.

During this time, our refrigerator broke; Claudia got some sort of stomach infection; and we both lost intestinal control during the same period. I will spare you the details.

A full week into the recovery-journey, things are better, and I have concluded that having the operation was definitely worth it – provided that I will return to a more active and less painful life-style. There is every reason to believe this will happen.

Meanwhile, is hip replacement surgery something you should consider, and, if so, when? We are back where we started. Whenever the pain in your hip becomes greater than the anxiety and inconvenience of surgery, you will get it done. Meanwhile, don’t rush it. It ain’t no fun!

I have a hunch that with a little more time, I will have more insights to share when I am a little farther along in the recovery process. So stay tuned for one final installment when I can sum up the range of emotions and thoughts about the whole hip replacement journey!

Be sure to learn more about Bill on his website www.collegetocareercatalyst.com and on his author page here at www.danielwetta.com/

 

Guest Blogger Bill Holland’s Sharing of His Hip Replacement Journey

My friend and colleague Bill Holland, author, entrepreneur and consultant, is very soon having a hip replacement surgery. Bill came up with the excellent idea of doing a daily blog just before and after his surgery to deal with his feelings and to help others contemplating similar complicated procedures. They are life changing and certainly anxiety provoking. I have read the first few of his posts and think they are excellent and will share them here. So, here is Bill’s sixth post, and in the words of Bill:
 TAKE MY HIP—PLEASE!
A decision on replacing the left side of my ass
#hipreplacement

A decision on replacing the left side of my ass

#hipreplacement

Today is the day. It’s 4:30 AM, and my wife Claudia and I are waiting for the driver to show to give us a ride to the hospital for registration and then the operation. Okay, I admit to being a little nervous. But it is about more than the surgery.

 First, my wife has to be there for check-in and to make any decisions during and after surgery should the need arise. She also needs a ride home and back the next day for my discharge. She would like to handle this alone, but her MS prevents it. That’s why my anxiety is more than it might normally be. However, there is an upside to this because the need to focus on getting my wife to the hospital takes some of my attention away from “going under the knife.”

 Tick, tick, tick – it’s 4:45 AM, and the driver is no-where to be seen. Tick, tick, tick – 5:00 AM comes and goes and still no driver. I call the health care service and am told, “She is on her way.”

 The next two minutes were filled with a one-way confrontation during which I explained that “on her way” is well beyond the time she was supposed to have arrived as agreed. Now it is too late to get me registered at the hospital to be first in line, and just possibly I would lose my chance to have surgery that day. It quickly became clear that the person on the other end of the phone saw herself as the victim in the exchange. Here she is, up before the crack of dawn with no extra compensation for having to deal with clients who don’t appreciate that her efforts to coordinate transportation have been above and beyond the call of duty.

 Before the last grain of sanity passes from my head, I ask for the number of the driver.

 “Hello, is this Mary?”

 “Yes, this is Mary. You must be Mr. Holland. I’m glad you called. I have already talked with the office to let them know that I’m on my way. I should be there in about 20 minutes,” she said in a in a light-hearted voice that belied any awareness of actually being late.

 “Mary, can you get from where you are to the hospital? If you can, let’s meet there, rather than having you come to my house. It just might be that this whole thing can be salvaged.”

 Mary responded cheerfully, “It’s a plan!”

 I ended the call, rushed to get Claudia in the car and headed to the hospital. Just before entering he highway, Claudia said to me quietly, “You handled that well.”

 I only wish there had been nothing for me to handle. I already thought everything had been well planned so I could have the least amount of anxiety on the morning of my surgery.

 Oh, well!

 The rest of the morning was uneventful, save for actually having the left side of my ass removed.

 Day Seven would come soon enough!

That’s all for Day Six: More emotions, struggles and decisions coming Day Seven.

Be sure to learn more about Bill on his website www.collegetocareercatalyst.com and on his author page here at www.danielwetta.com/

 

Guest Blogger Bill Holland’s Sharing of His Hip Replacement Journey

My friend and colleague Bill Holland, author, entrepreneur and consultant, is very soon having a hip replacement surgery. Bill came up with the excellent idea of doing a daily blog just before and after his surgery to deal with his feelings and to help others contemplating similar complicated procedures. They are life changing and certainly anxiety provoking. I have read the first few of his posts and think they are excellent and will share them here. So, here is Bill’s fifth post, and in the words of Bill:
 TAKE MY HIP—PLEASE!
A decision on replacing the left side of my ass
#hipreplacement

DAY FIVE

 

The truth is that Susan has the wrong title. Officially, she is known as a “Surgery Scheduler.” It sounds simple enough and self-explanatory. But, let’s examine that more closely. The next time you are provided service, ask how you felt as it was being delivered: worse, the same or better?

 

 Every time I spoke with Susan, I absolutely felt better. I noticed others in the hospital and doctor’s offices provided me with a similar level of experience. A few, however, left a distinctly negative impression. As a result, I left the interaction in a hostile mood thinking about how I might avoid this person or situation in the future. When the procedure to be performed itself produces anxiety, positive interactions ahead of it become very important.

 When I shared these observations with Susan, she understood that her job was more than that of a surgery scheduler. More than anything else, Susan is a “chief hand holder” – a title she takes just as seriously as her official one. Her personality, seriousness of purpose and understanding of human nature helped me gain a sense of comfort that I had chosen both the right hospital and doctor.

 “Lots of people are anxious about surgery,” she said. “My job is to help them deal with it.”

 The connection established with Susan gave me context for the experience I felt during my first visit with the surgeon. It was a day when many patients were meeting him for the first time, and other post-op patients were returning to be released from restrictions on driving and other normal daily activities. For the latter group, it was like a family reunion – people who had previously not known one another celebrating that the experience was over and had been as easy as everyone had promised, very much worth the inconvenience and anxiety.

 Those of us still facing surgery looked on this scene, wondering if our experience would duplicate what we were now watching. Would it? We shall see.

That’s all for Day Five: More emotions, struggles and decisions coming Day Six.

Be sure to learn more about Bill on his website www.collegetocareercatalyst.com and on his author page here at www.danielwetta.com/

 

“Awakening from the Golden Sleep” in Spanish!

Arriving July 6, 2017! My short story, “Awakening from the Golden Sleep,” was recently translated into Spanish by Emilio Bernal-Zubieta of Monterrey, Mexico. The story describes the childhood of Ana Valdez, who grew up in Mazatlán, Mexico in the 1980’s and who, as an adult, became the President of Mexico in my novel, The Z Redemption. Intelligent, beautiful and mischievous, Ana is a protagonist you will never forget!

 
LLegando el 6 de julio, 2017! Mi historia corta, “El Despertar del Sueño Dorado,” fue traducida al español por Emilio Bernal-Zubieta de Monterrey, México. El cuento describe la niñez de Ana Valdez, quien creció en Mazatlán, México en los años 80s y que de adulta se convirtió en la presidenta de México en mi novela, The Z Redemption. Inteligente, hermosa y traviesa, Ana es una protagonista que nunca olvidarás.

Para más información, visita www.danielwetta.com por más detalles de este cuento y las historias de The Z Redemption.

For more information, visit www.danielwetta.com for additional details about this story and the stories of The Z Redemption.

Guest Blogger Bill Holland’s Sharing of His Hip Replacement Journey

My friend and colleague Bill Holland, author, entrepreneur and consultant, is very soon having a hip replacement surgery. Bill came up with the excellent idea of doing a daily blog just before and after his surgery to deal with his feelings and to help others contemplating similar complicated procedures. They are life changing and certainly anxiety provoking. His series of 8 or so posts is excellent, and I will share them here. So, here is Bill’s fourth post, and in the words of Bill:
 TAKE MY HIP—PLEASE!

A decision on replacing the left side of my ass! #hipreplacementsurgery

I found out today that my wish to be the first surgery of the day has been granted. No, it is not that they are doing me special favors. It’s that diabetics have more complications during surgery, and there are only two of the eight scheduled that day with the affliction. So, there was a 50/50 chance I would be scheduled first, anyway. My request simply pushed the odds in my direction.

But why first? I have heard, but have not confirmed, that my surgeon does at least eight in a single day. I want the guy to be fresh and ready to go. Who knows how tired he gets replacing joints?

The other unconfirmed rumor is that he alternates between hip and knee in successive operations. I haven’t asked and have no idea if these things are true. It is true, however, that my guy looks like a 35-year-old hippie-and-fitness freak. The women all think he is great. The men don’t care. They only care that he is respected all over as one of the best in the business and that he offers a relatively new implant called a “Jiffy Hip.” He’s my guy!

The procedure has a much smaller incision running front to the side, and the muscles are separated without being severed. That’s why you are up and walking the same day of surgery, and recovery time is reputedly shorter. Our friend Alissa just had her hip replaced, and she is already off to Europe on a cruise.

I have received a lot of reactions from friends. Those who have gone through the operation claim that it’s easy. But they are saying this after the fact. Those who have not needed a hip replacement offer prayers for me. Those who are still in the contemplation stage simply do not know. I think these are people who need to know about “Jiffy Hip.”

Maybe you could help me help those contemplating this surgery by posting this series of articles I am writing in your social media accounts. Together, we can inform and encourage confidence for people who undoubtedly would need it!

Be sure to learn more about Bill on his website www.collegetocareercatalyst.com and on his author page here at www.danielwetta.com/