BOOK TOUR: The Question: If you could have the answer to only one question what would you ask? by R. Breuer Stearns

THE QUESTION is ideal reading for anyone who is curious . . . for those who gaze into the cosmos at night and wonder . . . for those who look into the mirror and imagine . . . for those whose hearts beat faster when confronting the unknown . . . for readers who enjoy a fast paced, contemporary thriller that inspires them to think.

Book Details:

Book Title:  The Question:  If You Could Have the Answer to Only One Question What Would You Ask? by R. Breuer Stearns
Category:  Adult fiction, 270 pages
Genre:  Fantasy / adventure / thriller
Publisher:  CreateSpace
Release date:  May 15, 2015
Available for review in:  Print, ebook (PDF)
Will send books:  USA & Canada
Tour dates: Dec 1 to 31, 2015
Content Rating: PG-13 (The story contains some graphic violence and occasional sexual allusions.)

Book Description:

THE QUESTION invites readers to consider this premise:

If you could have the answer to one question, and only one question, what would you ask... and who would try to stop you from asking it? 

To what extremes would they go?

THE QUESTION is a thriller that explores a new way of thinking, a method powerful enough to answer very complex questions . . . perhaps powerful enough to solve the universe's most fundamental mysteries . . . perhaps powerful enough to resolve religions' most beguiling unknowns.

THE QUESTION is an adventure story . . . fiction that you may wish, may believe, may know, is true. The narrative occurs in the present, with scenes in California, Washington, D.C., Paris, Shanghai, New York, and Afghanistan.

The story is aimed at high-school and older readers and contains some graphic violence and occasional sexual allusions. The plot is action-oriented with an element of scientific fantasy, similar to Jack Finney's "Time and Again." The prose is crisply written, professionally edited, and organized into movie-scene chapters.

THE QUESTION is ideal reading for anyone who is curious . . . for those who gaze into the cosmos at night and wonder . . . for those who look into the mirror and imagine . . . for those whose hearts beat faster when confronting the unknown . . . for readers who enjoy a fast paced, contemporary thriller that inspires them to think.


​Buy the book:   Amazon  ~  Book Depository
​

Meet the author:  

R. Breuer Stearns is an investor and author.

Mr. Stearns graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover (1970), Harvard University (AB, 1974), University of Chicago (MBA, 1977), and DePaul University College of Law (JD, 1979). He rapidly ascended on Wall Street in the 1980’s, serving as Managing Director, Mergers & Acquisitions at Lehman Brothers and Head of Investment Banking (North America) at UBS Securities.  While living in New York, he founded “Terrific Teachers, Inc.,” a foundation dedicated to identifying and rewarding the best of the best of the city’s public high school teachers.

Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Stearns launched a private investment bank in the former Soviet Union.  He spent the early 1990’s seeking to marry emerging science, primarily emanating from Russia’s Defense sector, with Western capital.  During this period, Mr. Stearns made a small fortune, albeit from a larger one.  The venture provided a remarkable lesson in hubris, a tremendous reservoir of internal strength, and first-hand source material for Mr. Stearns’ first book, Winning Smart After Losing Big (Encounter Books, Beijing University Press).

Subsequently, Mr. Stearns served as Chief Financial Officer of The Dial Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of Columbia/HCA Corporation, Chief Financial Officer of PacifiCare, Inc., President and Chief Operating Officer of Vascular Genetics, Inc., and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quepasa Corporation (QPSA:Amex).

Mr. Stearns is a Founder of VestaPoint Capital LLC, a family of investment funds focused on real estate development.  He lives in Arizona with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and a horse.  He travels extensively and is intensely curious.
Connect with the author:   Website   Twitter   Facebook

Giveaway:​

Prizes: ​

Win 1 of 10 copies of The Question (USA & Canada

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 I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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Virtual Book Tour for Dragon Apocalypse by Josh Powell

Dragon Apocalypse

by Josh Powell

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GENRE: Humorous Epic Fantasy

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BLURB:

On their way to apprehend a temple thief, Gurken Stonebiter, a templerager of the temple of Durstin Firebeard, and Pellonia, a little, but infuriatingly clever, girl stumble onto a quest to save a town from an evil dragon. The dragon is demanding sacrifices of maidens, and the town is fresh out. Can they discover a way to sate the dragon's bloodlust and save the town?

Along the way, Gurken and Pellonia meet up with Maximina, a half under-elven woman that also happens to be a tad psychic, a ranger with a dash of necromantic ability, a smidgen of samurai training, and just enough time living as a rogue to acquire the ability to sneak up on and stab a foe in the back. Maximina is full of clever ideas on how to gain a tactical advantage over her foes, and on occasion they even work.

During their adventures, Gurken, Pellonia, and Maximina face a snarky unicorn, do battle with a terrible frost giant, contend with a rival adventuring party bent on their utter humiliation, and confront the end of the world in the form of an evil sorcerer and a teeming dragon horde. Can they save the world one more time?

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Excerpt :

“We’ve run out of maidens,” the mayor told the crowd in the morning, shaking his head sadly.  The mayor stood beside a wooden pole with chains and manacles attached to it.  The manacles were empty.  “I’m afraid that last night, the last maiden in the city, shall we say… disqualified herself. 

“Trollop!” said a voice in the crowd.

“In about five minutes, the dragon will be here and we’ll all be scorched and eaten alive.  Please, don’t panic.  There’s nothing to be done.”

The people in the crowd looked around at one another.

“Can’t we still pretend she’s a maiden?” said a voice in the crowd.

“A good idea, for sure,” said the mayor.  “But the dragon can tell these things, he’s got a unicorn with him.  I’m afraid we’re doomed.  Nothing to be done about it.”

“You can’t fool a unicorn,” someone in the crowd shouted.

“How about a male maiden? I’m sure we’ve plenty of those.  Roger here, for example.”

“Hey!  I’m not a maiden!”

“Sure, sure, we all believe that.”

“It’s no good anyway.  The dragon quite prefers that the maiden in question be a woman,” said the mayor.

“The dragon’s really quite particular,” another voice criticized.

“What about a young maiden?  I mean, technically, if we can just find someone young enough…” said someone in the crowd.  He turned and looked at Pellonia, as did the rest of the crowd.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

JOSH POWELL, wielder of the Sommerswerd, destroyer of the thread, expeditioner to Barrier Peaks, discoverer of his magic talent, and venturer into the Tomb of Horrors is known for having survived a harrowing adolescence full of danger and fantasy. He's gone on to write The Berserker and the Pedant and Dragon Apocalypse and is currently working on the yet to be named third book in the series.

He also spends some not inconsiderable amount of time wiggling his fingers over a keyboard as a software engineer.  He lives with his wife, Marianne, and two amazing children, Liam and Chloe, in sunny California, where winter is, most decidedly, never coming.

Website:

www.pedantpublishing.com

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0108J28XE

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/seasoup

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26492210-dragon-apocalypse

A Really Cool interview with  Josh Powell

As a kid did you write or make up stories?

I played a lot of dungeons and dragons.  I was often the Dungeon Master and created my own adventures. It was fun because it’s a shared storytelling experience and you get to throw situations at people and see how they would react.

One player played was a dwarven berserker and every encounter seemed to end with her being the only conscious person remaining.  All the monsters were killed and the rest of the party was unconscious.  It was hilarious. One of those encounters served as the inspiration for a scene in The Berserker and the Pedant.

Where does most of your Character inspiration come from?

Wow, great segue.  That was completely intentional, I swear. Most of my character inspiration for my fantasy novels comes from fantasy role-playing games or vampire role-playing. It is definitely not a novelization of the games or characters I’ve played, they more serve as the basis for the events or characters. Writing a book gives time to lend more depth and edit and make changes, whereas role playing is like writing a first draft because there is no edit phase and you can’t add in the “wouldn’t it be cool if” scenarios because it’s already played out.

Maximina Nobility is a great example of a character inspired from gaming. She isn’t based off of any one character, but off of a certain type of players tendency to try and game every rule to maximize the effectiveness of their character. I took that concept and delved deeper into what a real person who acted based on those concepts might be like.

Do some qualities of your characters come from real people?

Of course! I use the personality traits or quirks of people I know and work them into characters when appropriate. It helps bring a more lifelike semblance to them.

Do you read a lot?

I listen to audiobooks a lot these days, because I can do that while commuting to work and back.  I have two toddlers at home, so not a lot of “me time” to spend reading. I used to read voraciously, almost exclusively fantasy or sci-fi books.

What is your favorite genre?

There’s that segue again. We are in sync. Fantasy and sci-fi are my favorite genres. I didn’t really appreciate urban fantasy until I got started on The Dresden Files, and I love that series. I especially like twists and turns 

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GIVEAWAY 

Josh Powell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn host.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blast for A Snowy White Christmas by Josie Riviera

A Snowy White Christmas

by Josie Riviera

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GENRE:  Contemporary Romance (sweet)

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BLURB:

Margaret Snow doesn’t believe in fairy tales, but as a devoted mother she’s determined to give her five-year-old daughter a Christmas filled with heart-warming memories.

The once successful LA swimsuit model returns to her small upstate New York town to buy back the foreclosed trailer she once called home. Her menagerie of rescue animals travel with her.

She doesn’t expect to see her former high school sweetheart, the athletic, ever-popular, and decisive Fernando Brandt.

Sparks fly when she realizes that the teenage hockey star is now a successful Realtor who is also interested in her dilapidated trailer for reasons of his own.

But can she resist the handsome, charismatic Prince Charming a second time?

And can she surrender her insecurities and accept the true gift of Christmas, finally feeling worthy of unconditional love?

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Excerpt:

All the poise and modeling classes were forgotten in the space of a second.

Fernando. Fernando. Fernando. It couldn’t be, not after all these years. She drew in a breath and held it.

He brushed a hand through his dark hair, dampened from the icy weather. “I heard you were back in town.”

She swallowed. How did a man look so put together in this type of weather? Her voice returned and matched her shaking body. “You live in Owanda?”

“I thought I did, although you’re making me question it.” He looked around, a slight smile gracing his mouth. “Remember we lived two blocks from each other?”

Except she’d lived in the double-wide trailer at the edge of a trailer park and he’d lived in a cozy bungalow with white shingles and a red front door. She looked off for a moment, needing to focus on something else, anything else. Grumpy appeared to be sleeping.

“How could I ever forget?” she asked.

Fleeting hurt dimmed his gaze, but the smile remained. “You forgot quickly, actually.” He took a step forward, seemed to think better of getting closer, and halted. “I’ve missed you.” He glanced at the parrot. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. He’s blind.”

“Deaf.”

“Does he talk?”

“No, but sometimes he sings off-key.” She looked pointedly toward the street. “Probably because he’s speechless at the terrible weather.”

Fernando laughed. “It’s not so bad here. Summers are very pleasant.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Amazon Bestselling Author, Josie Riviera, is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). She writes contemporary and historical sweet and Christian romances. She’s a transplanted New Yorker now living in the sunny Carolinas. She has three grown children and shares the empty nest with her husband and the family dog.

Josie's an expert at board games and a compulsive reader of every genre, especially romance. In her spare time, she eats Peppermint Patties because they're lower in calories than other chocolate candy.

You can email her at josieriviera@aol.com

She ALWAYS answers.

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Josie.Riviera

 Tweet me at@Josieriviera

Visit my blog, The Italian Blog, for recipes and updates at josieriviera.wordpress.com

Other Books by Josie Riviera:

Seeking Patience (Regency) http://tinyurl.com/a9nnbwy

Seeking Catherine (Tudor Novella) http://tinyurl.com/9cka84m

We'd Rather be Writing http://amzn.com/B01638N5PO

Lightning Strikes http://amzn.com/B0090MXP0Q

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GIVEAWAY  

Josie will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.

a Rafflecopter giveaway