Listen to Me

Okay, maybe not me (that sounds needy), but I do have something for you to listen to.

I've been working on a new series called the Defective Amish Detective. It is a humorous, without making fun, look at the misadventures of an Amish blacksmith and his Non-Amish friend. The defective detective is admittedly a repentant man with a questionable past. He has reached an age where certain parts (eyes, ears) don't work as well as they did. Through travels with his wife into Amish Country, the detective has become friends with Eli, who also happens to have a shadow over his past. Together, they work to help those that cannot help themselves. Things don't always go as expected and both of their pasts may come back to haunt them. These stories are full of slapstick, but they also share a message and have heart.

Now, it is a special treat for me to share with you that my publisher, Helping Hands Press, has taken a big leap in putting Volume 1: The Whoopie Pie Affair on audiobook.

You can get more information on Amazon: http://amzn.to/13PgsSR

Another treat is the voice you will hear on the audiobook. It is none other than Big Daddy Abel. Also known as BDA, he is the frontman for a band called the Amish Outlaws and a talented author in his own right.

If you enjoy audiobooks, I do hope you will give mine a listen.

Thanks for reading and please visit me at www.FB.com/MarkMillerAuthor

Review: Hidden Earth Volume 1 Maycly Part 1

Here is a treat from one of my dear friends and a talented author. My review of the first book in her inspirational epic fantasy:

I am enthralled by this wonderful new world. Reminiscent of the character journeys of both Star Wars and Wizard of Oz, I am looking forward to the complete epic of Hidden Earth.

Maycly Part 1 is a fabulous beginning, arming the reader with the history of Maycly and introducing the reader to Iona. Iona has suffered some great tragedies, yet still manages to maintain a childlike innocence. She struggles with her faith and only truly begins her adventure when she opens her heart up to the Grand Wizard, SUL (a metaphorical reference to God).

While this book is only the beginning of Iona's story, it introduces us to an imaginative ensemble of characters and creatures. The stage is set for the classic battle of Good vs Evil.

Having had the opportunity to meet the author, it is easy to see her spirit captured in these pages. The author's personal story is a great inspiration and her passion fuels the world of Maycly!

The best part is that you can get it for ONLY 99 Cents on Kindle:

http://amzn.to/12lFoW5

About the book: Part 1 of the trilogy is titled "Two Altered Worlds." Discover the dreams, the magic, the quest. Kids of all ages will love this inspirational epic fantasy adventure, suitable for the entire family.  The three parts of Maycly found in the paperback are sold separately as Ebooks. Part 1 is an amazing start to an epic journey. Get attached almost immediately as the protagonist, Iona, is thrown into circumstances beyond her control. Just as you're getting acquainted with her, you'll find yourself being taken back in time on Maycly, where the stage is being set for their queen's hopeful arrival. Part 1 offers a great cliff hanger, leading you right into Part 2.

About the author: Janet was born and raised in Ohio. She and her husband, Don, moved to Florida in the 1980′s to not only escape the cold winters, but to also pursue their careers as live event and production specialists. It was through their parent company, Multi-Tech Productions, Inc, that Janet's creativity was given free reign to soar. She was published in trade specific magazines, published non-fiction books, spoke at international conferences nationwide, and developed training classes pertaining to technical theater applications. When chronic illness stopped her in her tracks, it didn't stop her as a creative genius. Once she was back on her feet she took over the family gourmet dog treat business and expanded it by adding a full scale bakery to the already established "BARK"-ery. Again she collapsed, and again she didn't let it keep her down. Her creativity crested new horizons, and after putting herself through schooling at age 49 she became an epic fantasy author. She birthed JLB Creatives, a subsidiary of Multi-Tech Productions, Inc., which handles the publishing and authorship side of the business. Volume 1 - Maycly in her HIDDEN EARTH series was an eight year project brought to fruition by her determination, dedication, and zest for life! Janet and Don still reside in Florida. Janet is a dog lover who enjoys tandem kayaking, photographing nature, and baking cupcakes.

One Once Again

The idea of One started small and grew into a year's worth of amazing, thought-provoking, inspirational stories. The resulting anthology was combined into a beautiful paperback book (not unlike Chicken Soup for the Soul, and definitely nice enough for any Doctor's office).

With that success, my publisher was nice enough to ask me to do it again. So I set out to gather another twelve authors, including myself, and start a journey into 2013.

One of the things I like best about this series is that it benefits other people instead of the author. Last year, we made a nice donation to Give Kids the World (www.gktw.org) from author proceeds. This year, I found a group much closer to home. Bridge to Ability Specialized Learning Center (www.bridgetoability.org) is only about a twenty minute drive from my home. The organization helps children in my community. They are small and can use our help. So please remember, every time you download this story, 100% of my author proceeds are going to a very good cause.

2013 is also going to be a bit of a family affair. My wife, Traci Miller, will be contributing a story and my father, De Miller will return, as well. Other returning authors include: Crystal Linn, Sude Khanian and Sarah Price. We will also see new stories from some other sensational authors: Murray Pura, Alexandria Barker, Janet Beasley, R Jeffries and Missy Kennedy Adams.

This will be a great, eye-opening year!

100% of the author’s proceeds will be donated to Bridge to Ability Specialized Learning Center, a not-for-profit organization serving the educational and therapeutic needs of fragile children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities. www.BridgeToAbility.org. The authors, creator and publisher are in no other way affiliated with this organization.

Mark Miller’s One 2013 is a spiritual anthology examining True-Life experiences of Authors and their Faith. As the series evolves expect to discover what it means to have faith, no matter what that faith is and no matter where they live. Remember that we are all part of this One World.

In Story One, Mark Miller welcomes you back to the series. He has a little something to say  about forgiveness and finding his place in the world. Sometimes, we are exactly where we are supposed to be and not even realize it.

You are invited to visit the Authors of One, ask questions and start discussions on our official Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/MarkMillersOne

You can get the 2012 paperback here:

http://goo.gl/LwQU5

2013 Story One: A Marvelous Net is available on Kindle for ONLY 99 Cents:

http://goo.gl/2go5u

Guest Post - Doug Lucas

Each of us has hidden parts of ourselves that we seldom share with even the ones we love the most. Those karmic pieces we rarely discuss, but are a very real part of what makes us who we are and what we become in our lives. Elijah B. Connors is no exception, but he is an enigma.

He went from an angry young child, to a Marine serving in Vietnam. Then became the pastor of a small church…all knew some of Eli, but none knew all. He is a very private man who wanted to serve his God and community.

When Eli finds out he's dying, he comes to understand he has hidden a large part of himself from everyone he loves. Over the years he'd refused to tell the ugly parts of his life, which made him the man he became. In an effort to answer the some of those questions, he writes a book.

Eli does the one thing he would never do before, he tells war stories. Eli tries to answer some of the questions he'd greeted with silence. In so doing he shares a special time and memories he'd hidden in his heart. Eli shows his family a small glimpse of the joys and sorrows he'd never spoken of before.

Eli was a Marine and proud of his service to his country. He's a man who loved his family deeply, but mostly he is an enigma understandable only by reading the book

From the book you will be given a glimpse into the lives of your grandfathers, uncles and fathers who served in Vietnam. Eli will tell you about where they lived, the people and the battles they fought. He'll tell you how he felt about those battles you have never heard spoken of before. You'll be given a chance to learn what life was like in a CAP unit. You'll be introduced to the struggles of an orphanage and learn about the children who filled it. Eli tells war stories you thought you knew and tells you about a side of war you've never dreamed of.

The Children of Hoa Cam Hue

Hoa Cam Hue was as old and timeless as the very land it stood on.
Loving hands of Buddhist Monks had given it birth.
Its earthen floors were packed to a shining hardness by the passage of time
and bare feet, which had polished away the newness.
Those painted columns and carved inlays lost clarity and took on the comfort of age
which whispers of peace and the gifts of tranquility and love.
Time flowed and ebbed around this forgotten place at a steady gentle pace,
undisturbed by the destruction wars had left by its boundaries.
This oasis of tranquility was not to be destroyed by the passage of time;
time made it all but forgotten, a deserted secret oasis of grace.
Wars came and time went, Hoa Cam Hue remained unchanged, and then a new war
brought the priest and nuns and new life to its broken, forgotten walls.
They gathered the unloved and discarded children of war and the discarded and unloved
came home to the peace and safety of the forgotten.
Time and wars ebbed and flowed around the unloved at the forgotten.
War sent young warriors both damned and cursed by their senders.
The discarded found love with the damned and cursed at the forgotten.
The damned and cursed found purpose with the unloved and discarded.
They were never far from the unloved and discarded at the forgotten, fearful of war.
War came like a thief in the night, stealing that which should never be stolen.
War stormed the forgotten, destroying the gifts of love and tranquility which age left.
The damned bleed and died in vain for the unloved and the forgotten.
Those who sent the damned and cursed neither knew, nor cared about the forgotten
They had their love, they had peace, and they felt caring was enough.
At the throne of God on judgment day I know we all shall stand, I pray that God will allow
me to rejoin the damned and cursed and all of our unloved again.
As for the senders, I hope they can convince God of their shared love and that they cared.
parts of their lives together.

Eli explains what happened to him after Vietnam and how he began his journey to a small church in the very town he grew up in.

Want to know what a CAP unit is…read my book. Want to understand the poem I leave you with…read my book. By doing so, you will learn war is always about death…but more importantly about life.

Now available on Amazon:

http://goo.gl/JJveF

Contest Time!

The official word from my publisher, Helping Hands Press:

Are you ready for a contest? 

We hope that you are ready for a contest; we would like you to have fun with it.

How do you participate and what are the prizes?

Here are a few things you can do:

-Go to the Helping Hands Press website and sign up for our mailing list. CLICK HERE

We will start using the mailing list March 1st, and send out the newsletters each month on the 1st and 15th.Each newsletter will be filled with inside information for you on our authors, new author signings, new release dates, inside information on new series…basically you will hear of it first in this newsletter.

-If you haven’t “liked” our Facebook page, please do so, we like to have as much fun here as possible. CLICK HERE

-Pinterest, if you are a member, please follow us; we will follow you too. We love to know what our friends are doing on Pinterest; it is a great place to have fun. CLICK HERE

All of this information will be listed on the Helping Hands Press Facebook Page. Please look for the Rafflecopter; we will be using that to help choose the Grand Prize winner. 

To enter the contest CLICK HERE  

Prizes, did someone mention Prizes? 

I believe we did.

If you go to the Helping Hands Press website and sign up for the newsletter, we are going to email you a simple question: We have a list of stories; which one do you want to read for free? Also do you mind if we send the audio book sample for the following three releases as they are done: Karen Anna Vogel’s “Amish Knit Lit Circle- Volume 1 – Pride & Prejudice”; Murray Pura’s “The Rose of Lancaster County – Volume 1 – The Rose Garden” and “The Defective Amish Detective – Volume 1 – The Whoopie Pie Affair”. Each of them is narrated by our own Big Daddy Abel.

Now for the Grand Prize:

The Grand Prize winner will get all the Helping Hands Press paper books! Right now we have eight:

Karen Anna Vogel’s: “Amish Knitting Circle Complete”,” Knit Together”,” Amish Doll”

George Michael Loughmueller’s- “An Amish Journey – Set Free Complete”

Mark Miller’s- “Sons of The King Complete” and “Daniel’s Lot”

Marsha Hubler’s – “Bachelor’s Choice”

David Stearman’s-“Hummingbird”