 I give IN THE REARVIEW five out of five stars. And here's why: The main character, 23-year old Meagan, is introduced to the reader through a series of diary entries and poems. She looks back on her life in her adolescent years, where it all began. Meagan battles problems that no parent ever wishes their daughter to go through. She feels that they are much worse and not normal. To cope, Meagan begins a pattern of self inflicted harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts cutting. That one cut turns into another, and another. Like an addict, Meagan feels the instant gratification, but then has conflicting thoughts: remorse and figuring out when to cut again. While learning to quit cutting, Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process. Debut author, Maria Ann Green's takes us on a young woman's journey on growing up and the consequences of life are spot on. Through the beautifully crafted poems and the unique diary-entry style of the novel, this book really puts the reader in the shoes of Meagan. As the reader, I could feel her pain. And at times, I understood and related to the situations that Meagan found her self in. IN THE REARVIEW is a FANTASTIC read of pain, loss, and above all, hope!!!  *About the author: Maria Green currently lives in Minnesota, despite its bitter winters, with her husband. She graduated with a degree in Psychology and a minor in English. When she isn’t writing, Maria loves to read with a cup of strong coffee or a glass of sweet wine, craft, and spend time with her family. This is her first published novel.
Author Links: *Website: www.mariaanngreen.com *Blog: www.mariaanngreen.com/blog *Goodreads(me): https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/20358446-maria *Goodreads (book): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22877564-in-the-rearview *Twitter: https://twitter.com/missmariaann *Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/MariaAnnGreenAuthor?ref=hl&ref_ BUY LINKS: Kindle: http://amzn.to/1kPJmk9 Nook: http://bit.ly/1pG2CRk Also find where other ebooks are sold!  Lunar Reality and Lunar Fiction I began writing stories about the moon back in 2013 when the Liftport Group decided to put out a monthly magazine about their endeavors to build a space elevator, first on the Moon, and later on Earth. Although I could not contribute to my friends’ efforts either scientifically or financially, I could write stories about a thriving society on the Moon in the near future. The magazine lasted less than a year, but my stories about Luna were well-received. They sat on a shelf until 2014, when they were picked up by Distinguished Press. A new story now comes out with every full moon. The research I do for these stories is never-ending. I often become immersed in a thread of some fascinating detail I find, such as my hometown hero Vance Brand being in the back-up crew for Apollo 15. While researching an article about stuff the astronauts threw around on the Moon I discovered this list of man-made objects that are on the moon. Most of it is what one would expect; crashed satellites, jettisoned equipment, and mementos. Then there are the one hundred two-dollar-bills that Apollo 15 left behind. I have no idea why. Anyone who has seen the Tom Hanks movie about Apollo 13 knows about Gene Kranz and his vests. The astronauts from several missions also played pranks on each other, such as inserting pictures of scantily-clad women in with the official documents for their peers to find. I was also interested to learn that, at the time the memorials to fallen astronauts and cosmonauts were placed, there were several cosmonauts whose deaths were still being kept secret by the Soviet Union. Sunday, December 14, 2014 is the 42nd birthday of the day we left the moon. Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt lifted off the lunar surface at 10:54:37 p.m. We haven’t been back since. All of these pieces of information, both trivial and historical, feed my imagination when I’m writing my stories. Although I leave the exact details of humanity’s return to the Moon purposely vague, I always strive to ensure that any real history is honored. I keep a bottle of little blue pills on my desk just to make sure the SciFi stays hard enough. In The Cities of Luna, the Apollo sites are all world heritage sites. Locals and tourists alike visit the museums and tour the locations, which are carefully preserved. When I discover details such as the presence of water or other resources in a particular place, or the seismic activity on the Moon, it goes into a story. Yet the stories are about the people. I’m not telling you about the moonquakes, I’m telling you what the people do when there’s a moonquake. I’m not describing how the orbital elevator works, I’m telling you how the people use it and how it affects their lives. I’m not lecturing about the two weeks of sunlight and two weeks of darkness, but the length of the lunar day definitely impacts the Loonie’s lives. The next few decades will be interesting ones. Although I may not ever be able to travel to the Moon, that is a distinct possibility for my children and grandchildren. I can write the stories. My progeny will live them. ~*~ A writer by birth, a redhead by choice, and an outcast of Colorado by temporary necessity, AmyBeth Inverness is a creator of Speculative Fiction and Romance. She can usually be found tapping away at her laptop, writing the next novel or procrastinating by posting a SciFi Question of the Day on Facebook and Google Plus. When she’s not writing, she’s kept very busy making aluminum foil hats and raising two energetic kids and many pets with her husband in their New England home. You can find AmyBeth on Facebook, Google Plus, Ello @USNessie, and Twitter @USNessie or check out her Amazon Author Page. Her latest story, One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor, is now available at Amazon. Varen knows better than to trust his big sister, Usra, who has gotten him in trouble more times than he can count. But of all the shenanigans she’s perpetrated, getting them stuck outside their city of Mordor, in surface suits on the lunar regolith, takes the cake.  kristinvanrisseghem@msn.com www.kristinvanrisseghem.com https://twitter.com/KVanRisseghem www.facebook.com/pages/Kristin-D-Van-Risseghem-Author  Tip Tuesday for Writers: Another Twitter Contest is Happening Today for SciFi Writers #SFFpit12/9/2014
 Unpublished novels of fantasy or science fiction in all age categories (PB, MG, YA, NA, and adult) are welcome to submit. Fantasy or science fiction means speculative fiction: epic fantasy, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, space opera. The contest is happening right now until 7pm CST on Twitter under the hashtag #SFFpit. Authors with completed manuscripts who are seeking representation or publication can tweet a pitch for their books. Agents, editors, publishers will make requests by marking pitches as a favorite on Twitter. If your tweet is favorited, please follow the agent, editor, or publisher's submission guidelines. Tweet your pitch 1-2 times per hour throughout the day. Make sure each tweet is slightly different, as tweeting identical text is a violation of Twitter’s guidelines. Use these hashtags to indicate the target age group for your book:
Use a hashtag to indicate the subgenre of your book.
 kristinvanrisseghem@msn.com www.kristinvanrisseghem.com https://twitter.com/KVanRisseghem www.facebook.com/pages/Kristin-D-Van-Risseghem-Author  #PitMad. Hosted by Brenda Drake. For detailed information go to Brenda's website: www.brenda-drake.com/pitmad When is #pitmad happening? December 4 from 8AM to 8PM EST. What is #PitMad? a Twitter pitch party on where writers tweet a 140 character pitch for their completed manuscripts. What's a Pitch? a 140 character (a sentence or two), synopsis. Have several variations of your Twitter pitch available. The pitch must include the hashtag #PitMad and the category in the tweet. The “#” is very important to include as agents/pubs will sort using the hashtags they are interested in. Categories to Use: #YA = Young Adult #MG = Middle Grade #A = Adult #NA = New Adult #PB = Picture Book #CB = Chapter Book #NF = Non-fiction #WF = Woman’s Fiction #SFF = Science Fiction and Fantasy #R = Romance RULES: Only enter #PitMad only if you have completed and polished manuscript(s). You can pitch more than one MS. Throughout the day tweet your pitch. Try not to do it too much (rule of thumb is twice per hour per manuscript). Make sure to include the hashtag #PitMad and your category. *Using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to schedule your tweets is extremely helpful so you've prepared your pitches so you're not glued to Twitter the whole 12 hours. Okay, let's face it, you still will be refreshing Twitter the whole time, but I won't tell. The agents/publishers will tweet their submission preferences and favorite your tweet if they want to see more. If you get a favorite from an agent or publisher, follow their submission preference and send them their request as soon as you can. They should have tweeted what they want you to send, so check their twitter feed for that information. If they haven’t listed it, follow their submission guidelines on their websites. Make sure to put “PitMad Request: TITLE” in the subject line of your email when sending your request. Dos: Have fun! Tweet your pitch twice an hour! Writers: Retweet to show your support Agents/Publishers: Favorite (star) the tweets Don’ts: Tweet agents and publishers directly unless they tweet you first. Favorite friends' tweets. I think that's it. Good luck everyone who is planning to pitch on Thursday!  kristinvanrisseghem@msn.com www.kristinvanrisseghem.com https://twitter.com/KVanRisseghem www.facebook.com/pages/Kristin-D-Van-Risseghem-Author |