A POIGNANT LOOK AT CHILDHOOD DREAMS LOST AND FOUND - THE MADONNA - A SHORT MEMOIR BY PATRICIA MORAN

The Madonna was written by my mother Patricia Moran, I inherited it upon her death.

It is the story of childhood dreams lost and re-found. Although, I am labeling it fiction it is told as if it were something that as a child she went through, and knowing my mother as I did, it could have happened.

Until the day she died, she believed that all things were possible.

AMAZON

IN BOOK TWO OF THE DIVIDE (THE BETWEEN TIMES) WE SEE THE RESULTS OF PEOPLE BEING DIVIDED, PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER BY GREED AND PERSONAL AGENDAS----AND WE SEE INDIVIDUALS LIKE JEWELL WILLING TO RISK IT ALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Marta Moran Bishop’s The Between Times is a terrific allegory–until the sucker punch. You think you’re reading a dystopian story set in some future time. Then you suddenly realize Bishop is writing about right now: The Between Times is a period in which we still have a chance save all we hold dear. Fail to marshal our collective powers, and we fail as a society, a culture, as a nation state, and the beacon to the world that America has always is snuffed, never to be reignited. Penned with all the visceral indictments of Sinclair’s The Jungle, we admire and pity Ben, fear for Jewell, grieve Roxanne, and loathe Mr. Horton and his kind. There is a cliffhanger ending that made me need to know more. Will the uprising in The Between Times save us? This series would make fascinating movies.

Robert Blake Whitehill, Author/Screenwriter, The Ben Blackshaw Series

Cyrus Webb

TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE

5.0 out of 5 stars In Book Two of THE BETWEEN TIMES author Marta Moran Bishop shows the power of standing together

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Author Marta Moran Bishop is someone I have followed for quite some time; her books have a way of not just tugging at your heart but getting you to think as well. In Book Two of THE BETWEEN TIMES we see the results of people being divided, pitted against one another by greed and personal agendas----and we see individuals like Jewell willing to risk it all to make a difference.

The book takes us into the darkness of the world for sure, showing us how things could take an even worse turn, but we are reminded that each of us have the ability to stand up for what we know to be right---and we are not alone. Jewell realized that herself, and though it can be scary the alternative is even worse.

Full of messages that do the reader well to consider when it comes to the choices we make and the impact we're having on the place we call home, THE BETWEEN TIMES: The Divide is our call to unite before it's too late.

AMAZON

I HOPE YOU FIND COMFORT, A LITTLE GUIDANCE PERHAPS, ENJOY A FEW LAUGHS, AND CHEW ON SOME 'FOOD FOR THOUGHT' AS YOU JOURNEY WITH VIRGINIA AND I THROUGH THE BLESSINGS AND BLUNDERS OF CAREGIVING!

To walk with another person can be as mundane as putting on one's socks and shoes, or it can be a twisting, turning, life-changing journey into unknown territory. It can also be everything in between. My walk with Virginia was life changing. It was unexpected. It was challenging. It was frustrating and confusing. We had highs, and we had lows. Thankfully, it was also awe-inspiring and extraordinary.

Have you ever been a caregiver for a family member or a friend? Is it, perhaps, on the horizon of your life? Or maybe you cannot yet see the horizon. Make no mistake, it is not a question of love, whether to provide much needed and potentially long-term care. It is a question of necessity. Love, and devotion born out of love, are the firmly rooted footings on which you stand when providing this necessary care. Humor is the grab bar you grip tightly when the ground below you begins to shake or shift. Patience is paramount. I survived it, and you can, too. I believe I am a better person having had the experience.

My story is a true account of my caregiving experience with my mother-in-law. It lasted only a few short years and, in that time, carved such deep and permanent remembrances too good not to share. Some would ask, "why share something so personal?", and my reply would be, "why not?". Life is so much sweeter when shared with others. I hope you find comfort, a little guidance perhaps, enjoy a few laughs, and chew on some 'food for thought' as you journey with Virginia and I through the blessings and blunders of Caregiving!

Morning 😊🌺

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, with a great sense of humor

Having been a caregiver for my Mother and Father, I found Jill’s book to be a delight to read.
Information combined with a great sense of humor.
My Christmas gift to my closest friends is most often a book, I have read and enjoyed.
Jill’s book was my choice for Christmas 2021. They all greatly enjoyed the book, even though none of them are caregivers.

AMAZON

A REAL MURDER MYSTERY - I HAD NO IDEA WHO THE BAD GUYS WERE - CISCO BANDITS BOOK 2 IN THE GWYNN REZNICK MYSTERIES BY USA TODAY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR INGE-LISE GOSS

Oil is vanishing from the Cisco field and revealing it becomes a death sentence

Newly trained and ready to rock her first assignment, Gwynn Reznick goes undercover, posing as an accountant for the Prudell Energy Company. After fending off the unwanted advances of a company executive, she stumbles on a murder scene staged to look as an accident. Then she learns another employee died in a suspicious oil well accident and a large quantity of oil is missing from the Cisco field.

˃˃˃ This book is a wild ride of action, adventure and mystery all rolled into one fast-paced story.

Her boss (and boyfriend) Ruben calls and warns Gwynn not to go poking her nose where it doesn’t belong and to wait for his directions. She promptly ignores his orders and sets out to solve the case, which quickly spirals out of her control as she ends up on the perpetrators’ hit list. Will Gwynn be able to maintain her cover—or risk everything to crack the case?

˃˃˃ The gripping pace of the story is set from the very first page and this holds true to the end.

“Any reader who enjoys action, adventure, murder mysteries, or just a plain good read will love Cisco Bandits: A Gwynn Reznick Mystery”

Becky

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery solved.

I'm not at all interested in the oil industry. But this story was amazing! Full of action. Full of sub plots. Cleverly written. Lots of characters. A real murder-mystery. I had no idea who the bad guys were. Wonderful, clever, sharp, beautiful, brave Gwynn. Working to solve her first case. Her absentee boss/boyfriend ruled the job from the phone and monitors.

I listened to an Audible version of this book gifted to me from Story Origin. The narrator had her work cut out for her. There were so many characters. She had several different voices, but not enough for everyone. Still, she brought a lot to the feel of this story. Very easy to listen to and understand.
Because of the numerous characters, and some of them had alias'; I wondered if I wouldn't have been just as happy to be reading and have visual names.

AMAZON

THE COST OF CRUDE BOOK ONE IN THE THRILLING GWYNN RESNICK SERIES BY USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR INGE-LISE GOSS TAKE US INTO A DARK WORLD FUELED BY CORPORATE GREED AND INTRIGUE.

”Murder for Oil”

Gwynn Reznick's life is shattered when her best friend and co-worker at Wilton Oil & Gas Company dies in a car crash. She doubts it was an accident. Her suspicion is confirmed when a private investigator, Ruben Dordi, shows up at her door. His team has discovered a trail of unusual deaths and disappearances among Wilton employees.

˃˃˃ Going To Work Becomes Very Dangerous

To make matters worse, Gwynn is under constant surveillance by those responsible for her friend's death. But that doesn't deter her from getting involved in the investigation. Danger lurks in every corner of the Wilton Tower. One false move could turn a risky situation into a death trap.

˃˃˃ A Hard To Put Down Thriller

As the investigation team digs deeper, they begin to unravel a sinister plot that threatens a catastrophic pipeline disaster. Will they solve the crime before it is too late?

Jasper

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Mystery/Thriller!

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This book opens dramatically with a man being attacked and then thrown to his death from a oil platform. The scene then switches to Julie, an employee of Wilton Gas & Oil, who decides to do a little spying to find out if the company, as she suspects, is planning a merger. She plants bugs in the conference room prior to an important meeting and, later, when she goes to retrieve them, is confronted by a brawny, muscular man who discovered what she was up to. The next day, her best friend and fellow employee, Gwynn Resnick, is shocked to learn that Julie died the night before in an unlikely automobile accident. Gwynn suspects foul play. But who would want to kill Julie?

Thus, begins Gwynn’s journey into a dark world fueled by corporate greed and intrigue. Accompanying her on this voyage, is Ruben, a private investigator of sorts hired by the dead girl’s grandmother. Together, Gwynn and Ruben, along with an assortment of Mission Impossible-style investigators, try sort out what really happened to Julie and, more importantly, why.

The Cost of Crude is a fast-paced thriller that has numerous twists and turns as the reader makes his/her way to the final shocking conclusion. The characters are cleverly drawn and the plot is complex. A real page-turner, this is the exciting start to a new series featuring the aforementioned Gwynn Resnick.

Highly recommended for lovers of corporate intrigue and mystery/thrillers.

AMAZON

GEORGE HAINT BY HELEN DIESSNER A CHILLING GHOST STORY THAT WILL LEAVE YOU SHOCKED AT THE END!!!

In the old south a haint was a ghost or evil spirit. George Haint, originally begun by Helen Diessner in 2012 takes us into the most unusual ghost story you will probably ever read.

It is not only a ghost story, but a short story of murder most foul and takes place in the mid 1800's in the Virginia City Nevada area during the gold and silver mining days. The story contains a lot of local history of the area.

AMAZON

FROM HISTORY TO THE PAGES OF TODAY'S PAPERS - DARKNESS DESCENDS BOOK 1 OF THE DIVIDE WILL TAKE YOU ON A FICTIONAL JOURNEY YOU WON'T SOON FORGET.

 Marta Moran Bishop’s Darkness Descends is powerful, gripping work! It’s a compelling, sometimes scathing prequel to her first series title, The Between Times. Set in a dystopian city-state, Bishop indicts a patriarchal oligarchy that feeds a rape culture at the same time as it plots the overthrow of the rule of law with the anarchic rule of a well-managed mob psyche. The Roman people were given bread and circuses. The crowds in Darkness Descends are handed Rebecca, Jewell’s mother, and a crucial charter character of the series, who faces public torture, humiliation, assault, and finally, auto-da-fé, burning at the stake, which she accepts as her fate as the ultimate sacrifice for a greater good. Bishop pulls no punches. The blows land all the harder when one realizes she is not working solely from imagination. She has incorporated into her literary tapestry the warp of today’s culture, with the weft of actual history, including a chilling early Twentieth Century plot by brutal American financial moguls to overthrow the United States government. Who knew?! This book is devastating. I’m praying for an uplifting third installment to arrive in my Kindle soon, but given Bishop’s dim view of humanity and history, I’m not holding out too much hope for a Pixar ending. Every win in Bishop’s world comes at a great price, and the brilliant Darkness Descends is no exception. Of course, I absolutely can’t wait to see what Bishop will come up with next! Robert Blake Whitehill, Author/Screenwriter - The Ben Blackshaw Series

Samfreene

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and compelling

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2016

Darkness Descends: Jewell in the Dark: Volume I

Marta Moran Bishop

Within this novella the author strikes some hard chords that will reverberate and resonate within our minds causing readers to realize that although this is fiction if we look long and hard it just might be our reality. As you open to the first page of this book and see Rebecca in her cell, the smallest glimmer of light shed on her broken and tortured body you wonder just how she even exists and yet within her own mind she survives. Her appearance is vividly described and the pain she feels as the guards us a whip to her already tattered skin and her body shakes from pain, her mind and spirit go back in time to where she was safe, loved and with Ben. Hoping to keep her sanity and not giving her captors an edge allowing them to think they have broken her spirit Rebecca takes readers back to the past as we meet her father and mother hear about the ceremonies that are sacred, the magic that will change the world and a place where she and her daughter will be safe. But, that world does not exist for her anymore as the author created three worlds for Rebecca: The present one where she is held captive for crimes against the laws invoked by those that rule. Women have no rights, school is just for men and only boys that come from rich families. The poor are enslaved and made to work in meager jobs, filthy conditions and considered nothing more than filth and cattle. If one dies another will replace that worker or person and anyone who dares to complain suffers. The second world is one where Rebecca lives with her parents, is about to marry Ben and although her life might not be perfect she is content. The final world has yet to come as you learn more about the men who changed the world she lived in, took her and placed her in her own private cell or dungeon, used her body for their own needs, tore away her skin but never her spirit. The “Between Times,” the time between night and day and the time when Rebecca could forget her present and remember why she is where she is right now and why Ben had to denounce her actions and his love.

With the confines of where people were allowed to live and daring to go to the lower town to educate children and women, Rebecca finds herself in a place of no return and pain. As you hear the guards and see what they are capable of you wonder why she does not cry out or why no one comes to her aid. Crawling on the floor of the filthy cell she once again returns to the past, hears her mother’s voice and then the author shares information about the John Birch Society, remembering her 15th birthday and coming back to the present.

Lost once again in her own thoughts as she is about to be sentenced to her final fate, as Ben stands in the back watching what is being done and seeing her for the last time, realizing that the world no longer exists the same for everyone as a group of ten men, rich, powerful, hungry for creating a world where the Constitution is just a piece of paper with words that have faded in time and have no meaning, where the rich prevail and the poor submit, where property rights are gone, guns belong to those in charge and five year old child is being trained to become a grown up and living on her own in hiding until it is safe for her to take her place in a world filled with fear, hate, cruelty and deceptions.

A coup to overthrow the government and rid the world of Roosevelt. A world where a special meeting took place in the 1930’s in a room in the Drake hotel and if the walls could talk and we were present what you would learn is bone chilling, frightening and could be ripped out of the headlines today. Ridding the world of the New Deal which these men felt would ruin their businesses and their fortunes forcing their children to do the unthinkable: Work! Morgan, Chafee, Davis and a man named McGuire hired or allowed into this elite group in order to con the veterans into going along with their plan. Rockefeller joins the conversation as Chapter 8 sets the tone for what they planned and what is yet to come. Controlling the media, the people, no freedoms, no voice in what they do or the government, education no longer a right, and a world filled with anarchy, oligarchy and more dangerous than the one created by Hitler in Germany, author Marta Moran Bishop might be taking us back in time and showing us what happens when we are complacent, not looking carefully and paying attention where few rule and the rest suffer at their hand.

While Rebecca shares more of her past and her father’s sad fate, the fate her Ben and her daughter Jewel who must learn to be the woman of the house at age five, you wonder what will really become of her, if she will carry on the magic and the prophecy for people in the future as she questions out loud what has she done? Why has she done this and I know Ben will keep you safe?

How far will a mother go to protect her child? How far will some go to enslave an entire population and justify their thoughts? How far will they go to make Rebecca an example of what happens when you speak out or go against their will? As she calls upon the spirits to hear her prayers, her thoughts and hopes and, “ By the power of the between times, I call upon the spirits of Earth, Air, Fire and Water to bring me the strength to face this coming day.” With cool water she hopes to bathe her burns and cool her body and spirit will she comes to the present as she is asked to renounce her delusions and take her place as a woman who serves men, who is worth nothing and what happens will bring tears to your eyes and anger in your heart. An ending takes her back to the dark days of the United States of America where a young girl will be born and have the power, “ to make people face from sight. Sound will disappear with the wave of her hand.” Will she have the power to control what happens between those times and present, past and future and where the world will once again be ruled not by the corporations, not by the rich but with equality. Will it happen but not before Rebecca faces a fate that lets readers know there is more to come as the author penned the next chapter: The Between Times but not before the night comes, a black veil forms and the Darkness Descends. A powerful novel that deals with real life issues like slavery, rape, cruelty, debasement and anarchy. Read the author’s notes to understand which situations are real, which characters are fictional and which did try and create a world as described and hopefully our world will not have a real Darkness Descends.

AMAZON