I'm honored to be hosting Romance/Suspense novelist, Cherish D'Angelo, author of Lancelot's Lady. This is the first time that I am hosting an author on a blog tour. When I was approached by Ms D'Angelo to host her on her Cherish the Romance book tour, I was originally supposed to do what other book bloggers do—either interview or allow them to do a guest blog. I decided to do something different: recite an excerpt from Lancelot's Lady.
Enjoy!
Lancelot's Lady is available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help Cherish celebrate by picking up a copy today and "Cherish the romance..."
Leave a comment at below, with email address, to be entered into the prize draws. You're guaranteed to receive at least 1 free ebook just for doing so. Plus you'll be entered to win a Kobo ereader. Winners will be announced after October 10th.
Thank you! Cherish
Russell Brooks is the author of the soon-to-be-released action/thriller, Pandora's Succession.
DWI victims spun in their graves this week when former WHAM! singer, George Michael, was only sentenced to eight weeks in jail for driving under the influence of drugs. The remaining fourteen weeks will be spent under the supervision of the probation service. Considering that he has a prior offence for lewd behaviour and a laundry list of other drug-related offences (The List), one must again wonder whether judges are too lenient on some people when they commit serious offenses—especially when they are repeat offenders.
Paris Hilton is one of the best examples of a repeat offender. The spoiled heiress to the Hilton hotel chain and renowned sex-video superstar, was arrested in September 2006 for a DWI. She was sentenced to 36 months probation and fined $1500. Since her blood alcohol level was 0.08%, she was left with a suspended licence. As though that wasn’t enough to teach her a lesson, less than a year later in January 2007, she was pulled over for driving with a suspended licence, and yet again a month later for driving 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. Oh yeah, did I mention that she still had a suspended licence? Her sentence was forty five days in jail. However due to a "Phantom" medical conditImage via Wikipediaion she was released two days later. She was then re-sentenced to 40 days home confinement with an electronic monitoring device (2).
Here we are in 2010 and her ass has been arrested again. The charge: cocaine possession. Her defence? “It’s not my purse.” The latest report is that she’s been offered the chance of a plea bargain. Although specifics were not disclosed, a spokeswoman for the Clarke County District Attorney’s Office said: “Possession of a controlled substance is a felony punishable by a minimum term of one year and a maximum of four years. (Hilton) may be fined up to $5000. This charge is probationable so the court could sentence her to a term of probation, rather than prison time.” (3).
Both Michael and Hilton displayed inexcusable behaviour where the consequences could have ended with in serious injury or even death—either to themselves or to others. The fact that Hilton`s in trouble with the law again illustrates that she did not learn from her previous arrests. Maybe if she’d get off her high horse and start doing some real work for a change—likeImage by ballookey via Flickr the rest of us normal taxpayers—she’d be too busy being productive that she wouldn’t have time to be so stupid.
As for Michael’s eight-week prison term, it’s both a joke and an insult. It was reported recently that he’s being kept in solitary confinement since he’s in the same unit as pedophiles and rapists. However a snitch disclosed that George is being treated like a king and that his cell is dubbed The Ritz. This is because his cell comes complete with duvets, cushions, and even its own digital TV box (4). I could hear the gnashing of teeth from the fine citizens of the UK, as they learn where some of their tax dollars are being spent. This ought to leave one to wonder whether reports of George Michael crying like a bitch is nothing more than an act to make us feel sorry for him, thus tricking the judge into reducing his sentence.
Guess what, George? I’m not falling for it. Your DWI is no less a crime than the DWIs that ruin scores of lives every year—even scarring the lives such as that of my friend, whose girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver a few years ago. As long as the courts keep going easy on drunk drivers, one day judges will only have themselves to blame if the next victim of an impaired driver is one of their loved ones. On a positive note, a real prison term for George Michael would do him some good. Give him a few pens and a lot of paper so he could write music, which is what many of us have grown to love him for. By the same token, he’d be taking responsibility for his actions. After all, isn’t that one of the characteristics of being a Father Figure?
Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Available Fall 2010.
Several people wrote me asking me to post another chapter of Pandora's Succession. Well, I could continue posting more and more chapters. Unfortunately for me to do so would give away major plot spoilers. So I've decided to do something else to appease a few appetites. I'll post a small section further on in the story where nothing much is revealed, but will be enough to set a mood for any reader so that they can guess what's in store for them when the ebook is available this fall.
Enjoy.
The one thing that Fox knew that Ares operatives excelled in was their torture techniques—using medieval or ancient methods as a signature. He recalled uncovering one of their victims in the past. The shirtless man had been strapped to a table with a cage on top of his stomach. Fox still had memories of the foul smell in the room before he had seen the large hole in the victim’s stomach—with a rat gnawing away inside. Apparently the cage that housed the rat had been heated, freaking out the rodent so that it had burrowed its way through the man’s stomach and intestines in order to escape.
The only thing that Fox imagined that could be worse, was a sadistic torturer that maintained the suffering as long as possible, not allowing his victim to die.
So that's all I can share for now. In the meantime, keep checking back as I'll post the dates of my virtual blog tour for the month of October. And if all goes well, there will be a second book trailer.
I spent some time on a conspiracy website, AboveTopSecret.com this week because I thought that it would be a cool way to see some of the interesting conspiracy theories that are floating around—and pick up some ideas for subject matter for a future novel. One topic that grabbed my attention the most was the 9/11 conspiracy thread that argued that those terrorists attacks were an inside job. Apparently the smoking gun that corroborates that theory comes from video footage of World Trade Center 7 (WTC 7). In the video, WTC 7 is seen collapsing on itself. While evidence suggests that Al Qaeda leader and alleged former CIA operative—Osama Bin Laden—was responsible for the plane crashes, one theory that is arguably plausible as any is that the Twin Tower crashes were allowed to happen in order to turn our attention away from the alleged controlled demolition of WTC 7. This would’ve been done in order to cover-up secrets that were hidden inside WTC 7.
Debunkers of conspiracies theories regarding WTC 7 argue that WTC 7 collapsed because it was struck with flying debris from the Twin Towers. However, at least two witnesses—a now-retired NYPD officer and Barry Jennings, the Deputy Director Emergency Sevices Department—both claimed that they heard explosions inside the building prior to WTC 7 collapsing. Further video footage shows WTC 7 collapsing in its own footprint as would a building that was demolished by professionals as opposed to an internal fire.
Considering that the United States has the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as other elite intelligence agencies whose main goal is to collect and analyse intel in order to prevent catastrophes such as 9/11 from occurring, it’s unfathomable that former President George W Bush did not know that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on American soil on that day. For him not to act and allow the 9/11 attacks to occur in order to have an excuse to start a war with Iraq has been a popular theory. Is it possible that 9/11 was engineered to distract attention from what was actually going on in WTC 7?
Russell Brooks is the author Pandora's Succession, coming Fall 2010.Teaser chapter.
As if turns out, Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was spotted dining in New York City last year with Roger Ailes, the president of Fox News, and Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News and coincidentally the inspiration behind the James Bond villain, Elliot Carver. If Mr Harper were to have it his way, Canadians would have a Fox News-style cable station established as early as 2011.
But wait a minute, we have the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), there's no way that the trash that Fox News spreads will ever get past them if they were broadcasting up here, right? Not so fast, Harper wants to replace the heads of the CRTC with his own cronies in order to do his bidding. According to the Globe and Mail, Harper wants Konrad von Finckenstein, the head of the CRTC, and vice-chair, Michel Arpin, out the door. Arpin's as good as gone since his term would've expired by this time. Finckenstein's term doesn't end until 2012. But according to reports, he's been offered ambassadorships and judgeships. So far he hasn't taken the bait.
It would appear that little Mr Harper wants to have more control over what Canadians watch. What's next on his agenda? Will he try to control what we listen to on the radio, or what we read in the newspapers, or what we view on the internet? Fortunately Canadians are not so gullible as to believe the biased crap that comes from Fox News and will hopefully excercise their right to not tune into the station once it becomes a part of our cable packages.
However there's a bright side to all of this. I've always said that Jon Stewart of the Daily Show owes Fox News, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin, a huge debt of gratitude for all of the times that they've set themselves up for failure. If it wasn't for them, The Daily Show would not have the comic material that has kept us North Americans, both north and south of the border, laughing for hours. Who knows, if this so-called, Fox News North makes it to Canada, they'd make such asses of themselves that the writers of the Daily Show would never have a case of writer's block.
So to you, Mr Harper, I say, "BRING IT ON!" Let Fox News North become a reality. I'll keep watching the Daily Show instead along with most Canadians. We can all use a good laugh, especially when it's about you.
As you are all aware, my action/thriller, Pandora’s Succession, will be available digitally as an ebook this coming fall. Was it easy to write? Absolutely not. First novels generally are not the easiest ones to write, and not necessarily the best ones that an author will write. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with a writing coach and an independent editor. In addition, I had to properly research subject matter, brushing up on what I learned in biology and chemistry classes. And last but not least, it took a lot of imagination in order to bring to life my protagonist—CIA operative, Ridley Fox—as he attempts to stop a worldwide disaster.
However, no matter how well a book is written, if it is not marketed well and properly distributed, it will flop. There’s another aspect that’s important for the sales of a book—and that’s the book cover. I know, I know. We all grew up being told not to judge a book by its cover. Let’s be honest. We’ve all judged a book by its cover and trust me, the people who told us not to do so are doing so themselves.
So today, I’m going to do something a bit different. I’m going to invite everyone that is reading this to help me design the book cover. My cover artist wants me to select a celebrity in which he could mould the Greek Goddess, Pandora, after. So I’ve narrowed it down to three beautiful women. So let’s hear it. Which one of the three do you feel could be a Greek Goddess?
1. Famke Janssen
2. Monica Bellucci
3. Angelina Jolie
You can all participate by leaving your answers in the comments section below. Or if you can't post them below, leave them on my page on facebook at: www.facebook.com/russellparkway. The one with the most votes will be chosen.
Over nine million listeners—soon to double that amount by the time that I finish writing this essay—listened to Doctor Laura Schlesinger this week when she got into an argument on her radio show with a listener named Jade. For those unfamiliar with what happened, Doctor Laura—in an attempt to make a philosophical point that African-American comedians on HBO incessantly say the N-word without offending viewers—said the N-word repetitively. Although Jade told Doctor Laura that her use of the N-word bothered her, Doctor Laura still said it again. Furthermore, Doctor Laura stated that she was not calling anyone a N*g*er, that she was just making a point.
Now hold on. This is Doctor Laura, an educated and presumably very intelligent woman of some renown in the T.V psycho-babble entertainment word who is regarded by many to be a leader in that profession. She felt that she was doing the right thing. Wrong. Just because an African-American freely calls out the N-word doesn’t mean that they are right to do so—which is what Jade also told Dr. Laura before being rudely interrupted. One would think that someone of the stature of Doctor Laura would have learned from Michael Richards—formerly known as Kramer from TV’s Seinfeld—when he screamed out the N-word in public. Doctor Laura should’ve known better.
Doctor Laura’s argument that she should be allowed to say the N-word freely as long as she’s not calling anyone a N*g*er is patently ridiculous and it made me wonder. Before that now awfully revelatory call from Jade, has she ever freely said the N-word in the presence of friends of like colour? For sure she would not have freely said the N-word in the presence of her bodyguard—who happens to be black? Considering that she’s a public figure, had she done that, I doubt Doctor Laura would’ve gotten away without causing a media stir that she wished to have avoided at this moment.
Doctor Laura has since apologized for her careless use of the N-word. I imagine that she’s had time to listen to the broadcast, to reflect and become more self-aware of her public role and admit that she has made a serious ethical error. I’m curious to know at which point Doctor Laura realized this. Was it the moment when she deviated from the topic and talked about President Obama and interjected that African-Americans voted him into power just because he had more melanin than his challenger? Was it when she accused Jade of being hypersensitive because Jade’s neighbour kept stepping on the line by obsessively singling out African-Americans in every conversation? Or was it when she interrupted Jade as she was about to mention that the N-word was thrown about in her house by family as though she was absent?
After having listened to the broadcast several times I’ve concluded that Jade had every right to be bothered by what went on in her household. Accusing Jade of being hypersensitive was insulting and demeaning because Jade stated that her dilemma had gone on for quite some time before she had reached the point of frustration.
As for bringing up President Obama, not only was it off topic but Doctor Laura herself was being racially insensitive when she said that blacks only voted for him because he was black. I’ll admit that if I was an American citizen, I would’ve voted for Obama, not because he’s black but because I feel that he’s more qualified to lead the country. Had it been Hillary Clinton versus Ms Condoleezza Rice or worse yet, Michael Steel, I would’ve voted for Mrs Clinton. Please note, that in the above reference to President Obama, I do not accuse Doctor Laura of being a racist, but that she was racially insensitive. Furthermore, the broadcast hasn’t convinced me that she is a racist, and I am saying this having repeated listened to it. Doctor Laura could have helped Jade had she listened to her more attentively!
Russell Brooks is the author of the upcoming thriller, Pandora's Succession, to be released in the Fall of 2010. Visit http://www.russellparkway.com/ for details.
I'm honored to be hosting Romance/Suspense novelist, Cherish D'Angelo, author of Lancelot's Lady. This is the first time that I am hosting an author on a blog tour. When I was approached by Ms D'Angelo to host her on her Cherish the Romance book tour, I was originally supposed to do what other book bloggers do—either interview or allow them to do a guest blog. I decided to do something different: recite an excerpt from Lancelot's Lady. 
