Book Details:
 Dirty Trickster, Corporate Spy by Martin D. Kelly
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction, 410 pages | Genre:  Memoir
Publisher:  Strategic Media Books | Release date:  August 2018
Tour dates: Jan 14 to 25, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 (One sex scene but humorous rather than explicit; some 4-letter words)
Book Description: 
    Not until Dirty Trickster, Corporate Spy does a memoir exist by one of the principal Watergate saboteurs-provocateurs that exposes the full extent of the insalubrious side of politics and negative campaigning. And that is not all: After Watergate, Kelly became a corporate security consultant that provided undercover agents for client companies to spy on their employees. Kelly also specialized in eavesdropping detection, which took him around the world searching for clandestine listening devices for clients such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Ferdinand Marcos, the Miami Dolphins, Eastern Airlines and even suspected drug dealers. He secretly provided debugging training for entities such as IBM, Revlon, the U.S. Navy and dozens of others.
    During President Nixon's second term when the Watergate scandal erupted, Kelly teamed with Donald Segretti in a wild series of underhanded capers that created havoc in the Democratic presidential primaries. Kelly and Segretti turned a fundraising dinner for front-runner Senator Ed Muskie at the Washington Hilton into absolute chaos; hired a University of Miami coed to strip naked and parade before Muskie's hotel; released two mice and a bird that threw a Muskie press conference into total confusion; organized fake luncheons, fake press releases, and other unscrupulous acts. The aim of the Nixon White House and Committee to Reelect the President was for the dirty tricksters to sow discontent among the Democratic primary candidates so they would blame each other for the dirty tricks, making it more difficult for them to unite in the general election against Nixon. The author was one of only three witnesses who testified specifically about dirty tricks before the Senate Watergate Committee.

Initial chapters reveal how dirty tricks were covertly planned and executed, how Kelly dealt with special prosecutors, investigators, Karl Rove, Watergate Judge John Sirica, the FBI, an inebriated Senator Ted Kennedy, the seven U.S. Senators on the Senate Watergate Committee, Bernstein and Woodward, Lesley Stahl and others in the media. Mid chapters expose inside secrets on successful tactics for public-office seekers or those climbing the rough-and-tumble steps of internal party politics.

In final chapters, Kelly unveils the widespread corporate spying that is going on in America to this day, with amazing examples from his security consulting career as a covert industrial undercover agent and secret mystery shopper who spied on all levels of employees. Kelly also fully discloses his role as a polygraph examiner and interrogator with hilarious anecdotes as well as how polygraph can be beaten. Even more controversial examples are revealed from Kelly's specialized international work as a detector of clandestine listening devices, complete with the tools and tricks of the trade.

With an intriguing yet amusing style, Kelly names names and holds back nothing in Dirty Trickster, Corporate Spy.

MY REVIEW: (LAWonder10)
​       This memoir is totally interesting and somewhat enlightening.
    In his own words, Martin Kelly relates how he became in involved in the Watergate Conspiracy, what he did, his entire hearing, why he did not go to jail, and the negative impact it had on the rest of his life.
    It, also, tells of how he tried to learn from this major mistake and make something worthwhile of his remaining years. 
   He explains much about Watergate I was unclear on, and I have always been quite involved in politics. It is amazing of how "dirty" politics has always been a part of political power, not excluding the U.S.A.I I question, how many individuals in today's society really know what Watergate was all about.
     I am further amazed that what President Trump has been forced to endure, is worse than Nixon ever thought of doing, yet nobody is held accountable! 
    In the past, once a candidate won, the other party accepted it and worked at supporting the administration. There was still integrity, which is greatly missing in most of today's Politicians.
Martin Kelly humbly admits he deserved everything he got sand more, and is very regrettable he allowed himself to be persuaded into setting aside his values to be a part of this despicable
plot.
   The main problem I had with this book is there was quite a bit of repetition. (Plus, personally, I disliked the crude sexual comments and profanity,
   The Book Title was chosen well and the Cover image depicted the two sides of all, very well. It would be eye-catching to "the browser:>
     I offer a Four Stars rating for this book.
*This was gifted me with no stipulation of a positive review. This is my honest review.

Guest Post by Martin D. Kelly, author of Dirty Trickster, Corporate Spy
    The first commitment one must make in writing a memoir is being honest. There's a huge incentive to make yourself the hero of every anecdote and to minimize damaging your self- image. However, I vowed to take the "brutal honesty" route for two reasons: Readers realize -- and even empathize -- with the notion that to err is human, and the accuracy of events recounted throughout the entire book will more likely be trusted.
    For example, you'll be shaking your head in disgust at the end of Chapter Three. I'd traveled from Miami to Palm Beach to address a Republican Club about a candidate I was supporting at an upcoming convention. With some time on my hands before that meeting, I visited a swank Palm Beach resort and by accident met Senator Ted Kennedy. We swapped stories amid downing a few cocktails. After arriving at the club meeting, I imbibed yet more alcoholic beverages. The depiction of my unsavory drive home that evening involved a rather pathetic array of experiences, but to leave them out of the chapter would not have framed the ordeal honestly.
    Another such example involved my acquiescing to a vengeance-seeking young wife. She'd just learned that her husband had broken their wedding vow of faithfulness, and it was payback time. Unfortunately -- and perhaps fortunately for the hubby -- my performance with her was anything but stellar. In fact, it turned out to be so embarrassingly pathetic that I promise you'll be gasping with laughter. As I say in the book about that incident, I like to think I saved a marriage that night.
      And so, gentle reader, I decided to expose the thorns as well as the roses in Dirty Trickster, Corporate Spy.

About the Author:
Martin D. "Doug" Kelly is a successful author and freelance writer who resides in Clearwater, Florida. A rising Republican activist in college, his role in Watergate dashed any political ambitions. He thereafter engaged in a security-consulting career that included spying on the workforces of corporate America, during which time he also become renowned internationally as a locator of clandestine listening devices. When not fishing and playing golf, Kelly contributes travel- and outdoors-related articles for a variety of publications and co-hosts a weekly syndicated radio talk show. ​
Connect with Martin:  Twitter ​​

Here is the tour schedule.

Giveaway:
Prizes: Win one of 3 books (Dirty Trickster, Corporate Spy by Martin D. Kelly) or a $50 Amazon Gift Card  (open to USA and Canada / 4 winner total)
(ends Feb 2, 2019)

The House of Stone and Ivy by Anita Stansfield280 pages | Published January 1st 2019 by Covenant Communication
SYNOPSIS:     
Orphaned as children, Hennie and Lottie share an unbreakable friendship. Together, they suffered the horrors of orphanages and the workhouse, and now grown, they continue to rely on each another. When Lottie approaches Hennie about a possible position at a manor house, Hennie is eager to work alongside her dear friend. However, to secure the positions as stable hands, they will have to undergo a bold act of deception: the women must disguise themselves as men.
    Upon arriving at the manor, Hennie is stunned. Her new position is at Ivy Manor—the beautiful estate where her mother was employed long ago and where Hennie was raised until her mother’s death. Hennie has wonderful memories of her friendship with the son of the house, Jack, and is shocked and dismayed to learn he has vanished. Living in disguise at the manor allows her to gradually uncover the truth of Jack’s disappearance and eventually find him. Both Hennie and Jack are thrilled to be reunited, and their friendship is renewed. Soon, their relationship blossoms . . . and threatens their determination to remain concealed. With so much at stake, will they be prepared to risk everything for love

My Review: (LAWonder10)
The House of Stone & Ivy is a fantastic "Rags to Riches" tale and slightly an unusual deviation from Anita Stansfield's usual style.
This is about Hennie, who was raised for the first eleven years of her life in a large estate, where she was loved by most all and enjoyed friendship with the siblings whose father owned the estate. Their mother had died shortly before Hennie's mother, also, died. Hennie was an orphan but a couple of the servants wanted to take responsibility of her and teach her service skills. The Lord of the manor refused and Hennie was sent to live in one of the better but despicable orphanages. While in the orphanage, she made an everlasting friend in Lottie. They were the salvation of each other.
After the two girls left the orphanage for the workhouse, life became even harder. One day an elderly woman took compassion on them and arranged for the girls to receive employment in a hotel restaurant.
Lottie refused to go with Hennie, because she was sure her new boyfriend was coming back for her, although Hennies tried to convince her otherwise.
Hennie worked in loathsome living quarters, with a brutish boss, but it was better than she had experienced for the pat several years.
Five years after she began her new job, she was pleasantly surprised when Lottie came to eat at the place she worked. Hennie was then offered a job where she would have a much better living situation, earn a decent wage, and even have a day off each week. The only problem, she would have to go against her principles of appearing as a man, and cut her long blond curls. 
After much contemplation, she decided it would be worth it, nor could she bear the thought of not being with her dear, and only, friend. Little did she realize what an impact on her life it would be.
The diverse characters are very well describes, as are the scenes, enabling the reader to feel he/she is a part of the story. The Book Cover and Title are both colorful and very fitting. 
The novel is one the reader will not want to put down!
I offer a Five Stars rating.
+This was gifted me with no urging for a positive review. This is my honest review.

ABOUT the AUTHOR:
​Anita Stansfield, the LDS market's #1 best-selling romance novelist, is an imaginative and prolific writer whose romantic stories have captivated her readers.
"With sales approaching a half million, Anita Stansfield has clearly found a niche in this market," said Nicole Martin, Publicist for Covenant Communications. "Her popularity stems from her ability to empathize with and write about the issues that LDS women deal with on a daily basis."
"I always write for women like me. It's through my interaction with other women that I've found there are some personal and emotional struggles that are typical," said Anita Stansfield. "I hope my writing makes women feel better about themselves and shows them these real problems can be solved through gospel principles.
Website |

      Presented by Covenant Communications Publishing

Book Details:
Book Title:  Accessible Fine Dining - The Art of Creating Exciting Food in Your Everyday Kitchen by Noam Kostucki, with Chef Quentin Villers
Category: Adult Non-fiction ,  128 pages | Content Rating: G
Genre:  Creative Cookbook / Fine Dining | Publisher:  Amazon
Release date: Dec 10, 2018 | Tour dates: Jan 7 to 31, 2019
Book Description: 
      Six months after opening my first restaurant, one of my dishes was selected as "25 dishes to travel around the world", featuring me next to culinary legend Heston Blumenthal.
      Exciting and healthy food doesn’t have to be complicated, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Over the years, I have seen some of the most exciting dishes come from the simplest kitchens and the most modest ingredients. The purpose of this book is to focus our attention away from the distractions of fancy kitchen equipment and luxury produce and instead focus our attention towards ingenuity in the kitchen and culinary innovation.
      For some strange reason, cooking is taught in books as a series of mechanical steps to follow and repeat with precision. I see cooking as a creative art like painting or playing music: it is the freedom of expression that is most interesting to me. When we create from an artistic perspective, we give birth to something new and potentially magical.
      The purpose of this book is not to teach you specific recipes, because the ingredients you will find in your local organic food market will likely not be the same as the ones we see here. Nor is the purpose to show you how to imitate us.The purpose of this book is to guide you into thinking about your dishes in a way that elevates them to a fine dining level, from ingredients which are easily accessible to you. Naturally, you will find a few recipes, but most importantly you will find a new way to look at food.
      We will share how we think about food shopping, searching for unusual ingredients, the combinations of flavors, techniques, textures, nutritional value, and of course, plating. The purpose of this book is to guide you to become a more exciting, creative and adventurous version of yourself in the kitchen. What separates a craft from an art form is the story behind it; cooking is a craft, while fine dining is an art form.
      If you want to create fine dining dishes, start to focus your attention on the different stories a dish can tell. Some stories can be told through your cooking, and others are told through words. Taking the time to present your dishes before people eat is crucial to creating anticipation for the food they will eat.

PRESERVING INGREDIENTS (an excerpt from Accessible Fine Dining by Noam Kostucki)

      While cooking for myself, I was always aware of food waste. To reduce the amount of food thrown away, I’m always looking for ways to transform “crap into gold”. One day, I ended up with a massive watermelon. Cutting it, I was horrified to throw away so much of the peel, and I looked up different ways of using it. After several attempts, I created a beer-pickled watermelon peel. The result is magical. Other chefs who try it in my dishes are blown away because they can’t ever guess what it is. Using the so called waste makes it outside of their frame of reference.  
      In the above dish, the mahi-mahi was rolled in roasted papaya seeds. I grated avocado seeds and roasted them lightly until crunchy. I use them as flakes on top of salads and sauces. When eating at HiR Fine Dining, guests don’t mention as often the lobsters, scallops, shrimp and other delicacies, as they are in awe with pickled watermelon peels, dried papaya seeds, and roasted avocado seeds.
      I used to hate the idea of having food in jars or cans. Thanks to learning about Magnus Nilsson, from the restaurant Favikan, I changed my perspective. Some things don’t last and aren’t available all year long. When using natural and local produce, you can’t always have everything you want when you want it. Now I understand there is an art to preserving food in a way that enhances it so that you can continue using these amazing produce even when they’re no longer available.
      Bananas are everywhere in Costa Rica, and they tend to all come at the same time. So suddenly, we have more bananas than we can eat. However, they don’t last long enough to keep them until the next batch of bananas are ready. One of the things we’ve made with bananas that are too ripe to eat is to turn them into a banana ice cream with chocolate swirls and roasted pecans. We first cooked this for ourselves because we had too many bananas, and shared it with friends because we loved it so much. We ran out before we knew it, and made more. We eventually offered it to guests as a small extra taster, and they loved it, so it became a desert.
      Freezing mixtures rolled in breadcrumbs can make it easy to store, and convenient to cook as you can throw them in the deep fry from frozen. Food can be pickled. It can be fermented like with Korean kimchi. You can keep ingredients by drying them. Learning to preserve food in a way that enhances it will expand your pantry with exciting components that you have made yourself.

About the Authors:
Noam Kostucki
    MY NAME IS NOAM KOSTUCKI AND I CREATE SPACES FOR MAGIC TO HAPPEN.
    I was an awkward child, so I changed school 5 times. I spent most of my life trying to please others, and be the kind of person I believed everyone else wanted me to be. I wasn't happy and I struggled to get what I want. Everything changed when I started changing.
    I spent the last 12 years creating the life I dream of. I've had the privilege to be homeless twice, and to speak at Harvard about entrepreneurship. I have grown to be myself more fearlessly than ever before. I am now surrounded by people I love, and who love me.
    I traveled over 40 countries, and I've helped over 25,000 people create magic. For example Patryk Wezowski who raised $500,000 in 8 weeks and Esther Perel who gave the 30th most viewed TED talk. Some less public successes include a blind eyed student who experienced his blind eye for the first time and a journalist who left an abusive relationship.
    As a university drop out, I was surprised when my first book (personal branding) became required reading at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, as well as receiving the UK Business Speaker of the Year runner up award, and a honorary degree in Business from Hofstra University. As an artist, I was honored to exhibit my photography at the European Union's Innovation Conference.
    My most recent venture is HiR Fine Dining, a jungle culinary adventure. I create a discovery menu of 7 plates per person for groups of up to 12 people. HiR Fine Dining became #1 fine dining on TripAdvisor in Tamarindo within the first month. Within 6 months one of my plates was selected out of 40,000 restaurants by OpenTable as one of "25 dishes to travel around the world for". I was invited to speak at Chateau 1525, Costa Rica's most reputable cooking school and our guest chefs include a blind chef who traveled all the way the United Kingdom.

Quentin Villers

Quentin has been cooking in restaurant since the age of 18. He helped his brother build a restaurant for which they received a Michelin Star. Quentin moved to Costa Rica to consult for hotels and restaurants. He managed 3 of the 4 restaurants at Hotel Nayara in La Fortuna, for which he lead a team of over 20 people to be selected to enter Relais & Chateaux, a prestigious network of unique luxury hotels with exquisite cuisine. Quentin is a regular guest chef at HiR Fine Dining and consults for a number of fine dining restaurants in Costa Rica.
Connect with the Authors: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ​​​

Here is the tour schedule

Giveaway:
     Grand Prize: Win a 4-seat dinner at HiR Fine Dining in Costa Rica (value $580) or win a paperback or ebook copy of Accessible Fine Dining (20 Kindle copies and 10 paperbacks) open int’l to wherever Amazon delivers
​(ends Feb 7, 2019)

No Safe Place By Sherri Shackelford
Christian Romantic Suspense | January 1st 2019 by Love Inspired Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 224 Pages
He lives by the law.
She’s running for her life.
    After forensic accountant Beth Greenwood uncovers a money-laundering scheme tying her company to the organization that murdered her mentor, she knows she needs to go into hiding. With ruthless killers in pursuit, she’s forced to rely on homeland security agent Corbin Ross’s protection—even as his investigation suggests Beth is complicit in embezzlement. Can their uneasy alliance develop into something deeper—and keep them alive?

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Harlequin│iBooks│Kobo

MY REVIEW:(LAWonder10)
Beth Greenwood discovered her suspicions of this company she was working for is well founded. Now she must do what she can to expose them, then disappear. However, just as often happens, her plans don't work out.
Corbin Ross, Homeland Security Agent, is working undercover. His efforts are thwarted when his assignment tries to disappear. 
Neither individual feel she/he can trust the other. Are they at an impasse?
Will one or both get killed before they can ""move on"?
This is an action packed, suspenseful, romance novel you will not want to miss!
Each chapter leaves the reader anxious to discover, "What happens next?"
It is somewhat predictable but keeps the reader unsure and has enough "twists" he/she will not lose interest.
The characters seemed very real, and the scenes were well described so the reader felt he/she was a part of them.
The Book Title was a great "Fit",  and  the Cover image was okay but not an impressive "eye-catcher.
 It still earns a Four and a Half  Stars rating.
*This book was gifted me with no request for a positive review. This is my honest review.

About the Author

​A former naval reservist with a top-secret security clearance, Sherri writes rapid-fire suspense featuring captivating characters and heart-pounding romance. She's authored more than a dozen novels for Harper Collins publishing, including both historical and contemporary suspense.


Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│BookBub│Pinterest│Instagram

​Tour Schedule
January 7th:
Launch
The Power of Words
Splashes of Joy
January 8th:
Hearts & Scribbles
Jorie Loves A Story
January 9th:
Colorimetry
Rockin' Book Reviews
January 10th:
Simply Kelina
Labor Not in Vain
By The Book
January 11th:
The Barefoot Reader
Heidi Reads...
January 14th:
Faithfully Bookish
Locks, Hooks and Books
Among the Reads
January 15th:
Book by Book
The Becca Files
January 16th:
EmpowerMoms
Wishful Endings
Author Loraine D. Nunley
January 17th:
Tell Tale Book Reviews
Harlie's Books
Two Girls and a Book
January 18th:
Min Reads and Reviews
Remembrancy
January 19th:
Grand Finale

​1 winner will win "A Little Bit More Romance Box," which includes the following items in a Decorative Box (pictured):
- Romance Bubble Bath
- Classic Cover Harlequin Notebook
- Collectible Addition Book of Romance Poems
- Romance Bath Bomb
- Scented Candle
- Fuzzy Socks
- Books: No Safe Place and His Substitute Mail-Order Bride by Sherri Shackelford, and Undercover Memories by Lenora Worth

US only
Ends January 23, 2019

Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis by Patti Callahan Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 2, 2018) :416 pages

• ISBN-10: 9780785224501 : ISBN-13: 978-0785224501
• ASIN: 0785224505

SYNOPSIS:
    In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.
   From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.
     In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.
      At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all. 

​About the Author
    Patti Callahan (who also writes as Patti Callahan Henry) is a New York Times bestselling author. Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction, has been an Indie Next Pick, twice an OKRA pick, and a multiple nominee for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Novel of the Year. Her work has also been included in short story collections, anthologies, magazines, and blogs. Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. Once a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, she now writes full time. The mother of three children, she lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina, with her husband.
Visit her online at: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter |

A Thousand Eyes by Junior Burke
Published: May 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78535-715-2
"... with the smell and smoke and taste still harsh in his nostrils, eyes and throat, he needed to warn others, not just his own kind but all other non-humans. Death was in the air." When Todd Wendt, recovering from the tragic death of his wife, is sent to oversee operations at a regional cement plant in Colorado, news reaches him of a series of vicious animal attacks. Over time, it becomes clear that the attacks taking place in this small mountain town are far from random: Todd, and his company are being targeted... 

Junior Burke

Junior Burke is a novelist, dramatist and songwriter. In 2004, he founded the ezine not enough night www.notenoughnight.org which for a decade published work by some of the most compelling writers of today. His novel Something Gorgeous appeared in 2005. This work of speculative fiction explored the historical background of the era that spawned The Great Gatsby and was lauded for its invention by the UK's Historical Novels Review.

From 2005 to 2010, Burke served as Chair of Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and was a literary source for such publications as Le Monde and The London Observer when they presented features on the 50th anniversary of Kerouac’s On the Road. Burke was one of the chief organizers of the first-of-its-kind Poetic Film Symposium held in Boulder in June, 2011, a collaboration between Naropa University and the University of Colorado. His account of the event, "Notice What You Notice" appeared in Bomb Magazine.

In 2013, he co-authored One October Midnight, a musical theatre work, contributing book and lyrics. The musical, based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe, received its world premier at the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival in Hamilton, New York. This year, he will release Spot of Time, a song cycle inspired by classic works by such writers as W.B. Yeats, Arthur Rimbaud and Gertrude Stein.