A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

ISBN: 978-0-9765116-9-4
Printed: 218 pages, 6″ x 9″, hardcover, black & white interior ink.
Publisher: Copperhill Media Corporation
Copyright: © 2011 by Peter Carroll
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Edition: First Edition

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Queen of Misfortune (Hardcover)

About the Book

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Following extensive research Peter Carroll attempted to put this to rights in this story filled with love and passion. It follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. It shows how the Duke of Northumberland uses her as a pawn in a devious plan to dupe her into reluctantly accepting the throne against her better judgment, and the torment she suffers in consequence culminating in her early death and that of Guildford Dudley, the husband she was forced to marry. Her strict upbringing and the abuse given by her parents at her home in Bradgate is also cause for concern for John Aylmer and her nurse, Mary Ellen. Starting and ending with the execution in the Tower and the belief she was buried at Bradgate, John Aylmer revives his cherished memories…

About the Author

Peter Carroll has written several short stories, poems and many articles on variable subjects for newspapers and Magazines, his favorite subject being history. Queen of Misfortune is his first novel, a fiction piece which involved intensive research and took three years to complete. Born in Barnet, England in July 1933 and with a standard education, he was called up into the RAF in 1951 and served five years as a medic. Since then, until his retirement, he has mainly been involved in accounting and running his own business with his son. Like a cat with nine lives he has survived an air crash, a lift fall and a serious aortic aneurysm and thanks his Karma faith for that. He now lives in beautiful Torbay in South Devon, has been married to Daphne for over fifty years, and they have two children and four grandchildren.

For more information on Queen Of Misfortune and to read an excerpt log on to http://www.frogenyozurt.com/guest-writers/peter-carroll/

A Fictional Recreation of the Life of the Greatest of All Romans
by Philip Katz

ISBN: 978-0-9832800-0-2
Printed: 192 pages, 6″ x 9″, hardcover, black & white interior ink.
Publisher: Copperhill Media Corporation
Copyright: © 2011 by Philip Katz
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Edition: First Edition

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Imperator (Hardcover)

About the Book

From Western civilization’s greatest empire came history’s most gifted and accomplished man. Emerging from a society populated by powerful men with great ambitions, against a backdrop of social change and political upheaval, one man stood as a giant among men. Almost more than a man, he was an irresistible force of nature. “Imperator – The Life of Gaius Julius Caesar” by Philip Katz is a fictional recreation of the life of the greatest of all Romans, Gaius Julius Caesar. It is a personal memoir, the inside story of his world as viewed through his eyes, written in the first person, suppressed by Caesar’s successors, only to be rediscovered in modern times. Born to one of Rome’s most prestigious families, Caesar went on to conquer all of Western Europe in the name of Rome. He then conquered Rome to liberate his countrymen from a corrupt Senate.

Caesar’s energy, intellect, and desire for achievement brought him the jealousy and animosity of his peers along with enormous political opposition. Ultimately, his fight against the corrupt, political establishment and his quest for a more sustainable society brought him into direct conflict with the ruling class of Rome. Gaius Julius Caesar begins writing his life story on the heels of the Alexandrian war while spending some time on the Nile in the company of Cleopatra, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt, reflecting on the halcyon days of his childhood that quickly gave way to smoldering hostilities between the great men of the state, followed by the burst into the conflagration of civil war.

The lack of information about Caesar’s early life makes these formative years of particular importance to the narrative as his character and motivations are placed in the context of recorded history. The reader is invited to step back two thousand years to witness the collapse of the Republic that subjugated the entire Mediterranean world but could not govern itself.

With “Imperator – The Life of Gaius Julius Caesar” author Philip Katz creates an atmosphere in which ancient Rome comes back to life, seen through the eyes of the man who was the principle instrument of fortune and change, Gaius Julius Caesar.

For more information on the book and its author log on to http://www.imperatorbook.com

Printed: 320 pages, 6″ x 9″, perfect binding, black and white interior ink
Publisher: Copperhill Media Corporation
Copyright: © 2010 by Lorelei Bell
Language: English
Country: United States

List Price: $16.95

“Vampire Ascending” is available through Copperhill Media and can be ordered below.
It is also available through all good bookstores and online resources such as Amazon.Com, Barnes & Noble, etc.

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Vampire Ascending (Paperback)

About the Book

Sabrina Strong is a Touch Clairvoyant who knows a secret. She knows her mother was turned into avampire when Sabrina was ten. Now that she is grown up, a powerful magnate in the Chicagobusiness world hires her to reveal the identity of who relentlessly murders vampires in his ultra-modern stronghold of a hotel.

Sabrina is not thrilled about the aspect of working for vampires, but she needs the money, and she wants to find the gorgeous and mysterious vampire who has been turning up in her dreams.  Is he the one who bit her when she was ten, marked her for his own, and turned her mother so long ago?

Little does Sabrina know that her whole life is about to change when her best friend becomes a victim, too, and Sabrina is the only one who can find her. Her friend’s fate intensifies the desperate need to find the murderer and, consequently, brings her into contact with a rogue vampire.

Sabrina is quickly immersed in romantic trysts and dangerous situations involving scheming vampires, shift changers, and werewolves.

With Vampire Ascending, Lorelei Bell has created a unique and mesmerizing mystery blending intricately detailed fantasy and romance within a contemporary setting. Her story features strong character development and provides new insights on a vampire’s life including love, passion, heartache, hope, devastation, lust, and longing. Moreover, Vampire Ascending is an action-packed plot full of surprises. Bell delivers a well-written and satisfying story that will leave the reader wanting more.

For more information on Vampire Ascending, see also the Facebook Page.

Excerpt from Chapter One

The full moon poured silvery light down around me as I arrived about eight minutes late for my job interview with a vampire. Mr. Paduraru had kindly agreed to meet me in my little town of Moonlight, instead of giving me confusing directions to some place in the city, that I’d never driven to by myself before. So, I chose a place that was easy to direct him to from the tollway. It was the Saloon, which was on the corner of Sunbank and Route 30.

Normally, it would only take me ten minutes to drive from my house to this bar, except that a huge John Deere tractor, hauling just-picked corn, took up the whole damn road, and I had to follow it the one mile from my house to turn onto Sunbank.

This was not your ordinary nine-to-five office job I was applying for. The ad had read, “Clairvoyant needed. Only serious applicants need apply.” Disbelief had filled me as I read the ad, and I read it five or six times before I dialed the number. It was long distance—a Chicago area code—and I made mistakes before I’d gotten it right.

Yes, I was nervous about the interview. I didn’t know he was a vampire until I spoke to him over the phone, of course. How I knew this was second nature. Sometimes all I had to do was walk up to a house I’ve never been inside before, and I knew the layout of the place; or, the emotions of the people inside a room would sometimes flood me, and every once in a while, merely by speaking to someone—even on the phone—I would get a “read”.

This was how I knew that Mr. Paduraru was equipped with fangs, and drank blood.

Mostly, though, I only needed to touch something to get a read, sometimes they came as visions. I didn’t do that very often. Not at all, if I could help it. Being a clairvoyant sometimes sucked, especially on a social level. Early on, I’d had to learn to shield my mind against this ability, or hide in a closet—literally—or go insane. The gloves I always wore were my only other protection. I’m a Touch Clairvoyant, which is very rare.

Climbing down out of my Jeep, I took in the other vehicles in the lot. There were seven cars—well, three were cars; the rest were pickups. Not many people here, but it was Monday.

Black and sharp, my shadow advanced ahead of me on the gravel lot as I walked toward The Saloon. I’d turned twenty-one four weeks ago, and had only been here once. I spotted a sleek, black Jaguar parked near the building. This could not belong to any of the regulars inside. It had to have been Mr. Paduraru’s.

Curious, I angled for it and stopped next to it, pulled in a little breath to steady myself, and closed my eyes. Suddenly, my mind sent me a flash of an image: Twin white spires cutting skyward over a Chicago skyline.

Whoa. I had a little bit of a head-spin as I opened my eyes.

As the spinning stopped, a wave of energy hit me, totally and inconceivably savage, and possibly carnivorous. It was a tangled emotion that, as a human, I couldn’t fully appreciate. In fact, I didn’t know where it was coming from.

That’s when I saw a low shadow ease from a dense copse of trees, around the far side of the building. When it emerged from shadow into the light recognition threw me; I could hardly believe what I was looking at. Large and gray with four legs, and big yellow eyes staring right at me, the creature growled low and menacing.

Keys still in my hand, I froze and surveyed my surroundings. I was alone. The wolf stood between the tavern and me. Behind me, and about fifty yards beyond my Jeep, the two roads that converged at the corner didn’t have a lot of traffic. The closest house was simply too far away.

Without warning, the wolf lunged at me.

I screamed. For one frozen moment, I thought I was dead. All of my twenty-one years flashed before my eyes.

Big, sharp teeth grasped my free arm—the one I held up to protect myself. I batted at the animal with my purse, smacking it pretty hard, and it let go of me. I kicked him, connecting a blow to the rib cage, but this did little to deter him. By the loping, little jump he made to stay clear of my swiped, I sensed this was play to him.

The wolf snatched my purse and ripped it out of my hands, then shook it as though it were a living thing. Tossing it aside, he snarled and lunged at me again, snapping at my left hand—the one that still gripped the keys. Automatically I had made sure that I had a few keys sticking up between my fingers, like a weapon, as his mouth clamped shut around my hand, sharp teeth scraping my fingers and knuckles through my gloves.

My first reaction had been to run like hell, but then, I’d decided to fight for all I was worth.

My hand was now trapped inside the animal’s mouth, but he didn’t crunch down, just held it there firmly while making a terrible growling deep in his throat, and then pulled, as though he was going to take me somewhere. I planted my feet, and skidded about five feet as he pulled. Fear seized me temporarily, leaving me unable to comprehend why this animal had attacked me, or what it wanted.

Even though perhaps a minute had elapsed while dealing with this beast, I wondered if anyone had heard my screams inside. Well, no. For one thing, they were all into the football game on the big screen TV—I could hear their boisterous cheers from inside all the way out here.

The keys rattled around in the huge wolf’s mouth as he renewed his grip. Then the creature made a sudden whine, as though he might have bit down on one of the keys wrong, and they had stabbed him, and he let go. My hand came away from the grip the animal had on me, and with the momentum, I fell on my butt. Sharp gravel bit and scraped my backside and legs through my nylons and cotton skirt. Rolling over to my knees, I scrambled to gain my feet, but he knocked me down from behind. In the next moment, the horrible beast was on top of me, big paws on my back, pushing me back down to my knees, sharp gravel knifing into me, making me screech again. He had hold of my dress and I heard it rip.

Why couldn’t anyone in the bar hear me screaming?

Something dark lurched from the edge of my periphery, pulling my gaze about ten feet away. Renewed fear reverberated through me.

Another damned wolf.

Screaming, my heart reeled as though it would jump out of my chest. Utter terror gave me strength to push nearly to my feet, but it was no use. The second wolf leaped and tackled the other one with a vicious growl. A yelp of pain resounded through me as my knees and hands took the brunt of the combined weight of two huge beasts. They tumbled off me in a flurry of fur, teeth and claws. A sharp yip from the first wolf told me that its attacker had hurt him. One fled, the other chased; I could hear the garbling growl of the pursuer. Then, there was no more sound.

I felt the hole in my nylons spread up my thigh, and that was so out of context it wasn’t funny.

Panting, and simply too relieved to worry about what happened to either wolf (or my nylons), I tossed my long, dark brown hair out of my face and tried to brush myself off.

Searching for my keys, I shuffled toward my Jeep. A sound made my head turn toward the building. A handsome guy with black hair, wearing an un-tucked, button-down green shirt and jeans, dashed down the steps toward me. Here I was tousled, my clothes ripped, wearing holey nylons, and one of the cutest guys I’d seen in a long while was rushing toward me, a sort of pity glowing in his eyes. I was hoping he was a paramedic. He’d tend to me, surely.

“Nicolas!” he called out loudly, as he darted toward me where I struggled to stand upright. My feet felt as though I had roller blades strapped to them, my legs had turned to rubber hoses and I sagged against the Jag.

“Ms. Strong, are you hurt?” the handsome guy asked as he darted so swiftly, I thought I’d blacked out for a few seconds. Suddenly one hand was clutching my arm, and the other one went around me, holding me up.

“Who are you? How do you know who I am?” I said numbly, trying not to lean against him too much. He was just a few inches taller than my five foot four stature that was, at this moment, compromised by my slumping. His black hair and dark eyes contrasted harshly against a complexion that looked like pewter in the moonlight.

Oh, damn. Vampire!

“Ms. Strong, are you—” He stopped, and eyed my arm. He looked worriedly up at me. “You’re bleeding.” His face went through an alarming metamorphosis of emotions. Concern had vanished, now something like a wicked smile drew his lips back off his teeth, and his fangs slid out. I could see this situation was above and beyond his ability to handle, what with me bleeding and him being a vampire and all.

The glove of my left hand was ripped. My eyes zeroed in on the sticky wetness. Blood. My blood. It glistened darkly in the overhead lights of the lot. Raising my gaze, my heart wrenched as I saw a wolf pad toward us from the shadows. “Look out!” I cried, and braced myself against the younger vampire, who had hold of me and wouldn’t let me go even if I could get my legs to move right.

This wolf stopped and made an odd whine as it looked curiously up at us. A wisp of smoke obliterated the wolf, and in a moment, a man emerged from the smoke. He looked to be about thirty, in human years. Wearing a dark brown suit expertly matched with a lighter brown silk shirt and gold-green silk tie, he surged toward us, looking as though he had merely been out for a stroll. He straightened his tie, and then ran his fingers through his slightly tousled, iron black hair, smoothing it away from his heart-shaped face. I questioned my own sanity at that point. Clearly, if I told a policeman that a wolf had just attacked me, and then I saw another wolf change into a man; at that point, he’d take my keys away from me and call a paramedic. Probably this would have been the best scenario, but no policeman was available. Unfortunately.

“Ms. Strong?” This new man’s voice charged the air around us. It was a magnificently smooth-as-whipped-chocolate voice, and I wanted to hear it again.

“Mr. Paduraru?” I presume. Still shaken I had to pull in a breath and simply stare. He had deep-set eyes—the kind that held mystery behind them. Dark brows arched distinctively from a narrow, slightly hooked nose. His unblinking stare was a little haunting. Hypnotic. His pale skin was almost opaque, but I noticed his cheeks had a little blush to them.

He inclined his head. “At your service. What a horrible ordeal! I beg you forgive us for not having come to your rescue much sooner!” he said in an apologetic tone as he neared me. His glittering gaze engaged the other vampire beside me. As though something telepathic happened between them, the younger vampire stepped away from me, lowering his head, as though giving way to a monarch. “Seeing that you were late, we worried. We came out, heard you screaming, and saw that you were in trouble. Do forgive us.”

“And so you turned into a wolf to chase it off?” I just wanted to make sure he could easily explain the inexplicable.

“I did.” He smiled knowingly. “You seem to be taking the shock of all this quite well. I mean, you understand what we are—I and Steve, here?”

I nodded. “Vampires,” I said simply. Yes, I certainly did know that vampires existed. My mother was one, after all.

“We have not come out into the open, and have retained our anonymity down through the centuries-for our own security,” he explained. “But we employ many humans to do many tasks. The job I was to interview you for pays handsomely, by the way.”

I nodded, barely able to yank my mind out of the terror-induced few moments of before to the idea of taking a job for vampires in the city.

He moved closer in a liquid way that seemed to defy gravity, and the use of his feet. I think he merely floated over to me. I felt the power from his eyes—a sort of hypnotic bondage. A weakness, or a deep lassitude overwhelmed me, and I sagged. As though anticipating this, he caught me by the arms, his minion caught me from behind, and they held me upright between them.

“One important thing, Ms. Strong. Did the wolf bite you?”

Making a befuddled effort to remain on my feet, I groaned weakly, “yes,” and shakily held up my injured arm. My black glove was tattered and pulled halfway off my hand; dark blood covered it.

“Hold her still,” Paduraru said, and I heard the scuff of shoes in gravel as Steve pulled me up against himself, his arms around me from behind. If anyone had come along at this point, they would have thought two men were accosting me.

The efforts of the two vampires, however, went on without interruption. Only an occasional shushing of a vehicle going by on Route 30, or stopping at the stop sign at the juncture of the two main roads, let me know that I was still conscious. Just barely.

Very gently, and very carefully, Paduraru peeled off my glove, one finger at a time. “Steve is here merely to assist me tonight.” Well, I had news for Mr. Paduraru. From such close contact with his younger assistant, I was getting that what he really wanted to do was yank me into the bushes and ravage me. The only force that kept him from doing so was Mr. Paduraru’s power over him. I was still of the old school of belief that as soon as a vampire comes into physical contact with a human, they became irreversibly locked into the hunter-prey relationship. Had Mr. Paduraru’s thrall not paralyzed me, I’d be screaming at the top of my lungs again, trying to escape this mayhem.

Unveiling my hand, my fingers looked as though dipped in blood. A wound at my wrist was bleeding freely. Suddenly Steve snatched my hand and began licking my fingers as though they were the best buffalo wings he’d ever had. His fangs out, I heard him gasp an expletive.

I pulled in a gasp of horror as my eyes took in his fangs. A terrifying sinking feeling came over me as it looked as though I was about to become his snack. Just when I wondered how I would get out of this, Paduraru’s voice shocked my senses.

“Stop tasting her!” Paduraru hissed vehemently.

Abruptly, Steve let go of my hand, then let go of me, bowed, and backed off. I could tell that Mr. Paduraru had a definite power over Steve.

“Sorry. She’s your human,” Steve muttered apologetically, his tone a tad jealous. Tongue slipping out, licking his own hands of my blood, his teeth and lips had become blood stained. “You have to do something, or she’ll become one of them at the next full moon!” he all but begged him.

I didn’t know what Steve meant, or what Paduraru was going to do until he swiftly brought my arm up and covered the bleeding wound with his mouth. Alarm went through me like a bolt of lightning as I felt him suck, not just a little bit, but he attached himself to my arm like a Hoover on a throw rug. The feel of it—of him—sucking my blood from the wound, made my head spin suddenly. A cold sweat washed over me. Little sparks lit across my eyes, and everything went black.

At some point, I woke up. Understanding emerged slow as molasses that I was on my back, my head was in someone’s lap. I knew because I saw lights flashing by the windows of a car.

This had been my vision, I realized as I groggily came to with my head in the lap of the driver, his one hand on the wheel, the other soothingly touching me on the temple. I gazed up to see Paduraru’s face peering down at me.

With a quickness that shocked me, I righted myself and sat in the front seat of his Jag. We now eyed one another warily in the semi-darkness of the interior of his car, and headlights of nearby traffic—we were on a four lane.

“How do you feel, Ms. Strong?” Paduraru’s voice was gentle. It was at this point that I realized he had a slight, eastern European accent. Possibly, it had been all the excitement of those moments back there that this one detail had escaped me.

“Alright—” A movement from behind and to my left made me shriek, and I jumped, flopping against the car’s door, hitting my head as the flight mode took over. Fists at the ready, back to the door, I saw Steve leaning between the front seats, a black bottle in his hand, eyes gleaming at me, a sneer on his lips.

I let out a relived gasp, although I really didn’t know why I felt relief. It seemed two vampires had abducted me. It would be a while before I’d quit being so jumpy, I reasoned. Steve took a pull on the bottle, brought it away and smiled at me. Dipped in red, his fangs were out. I had to look away quickly.

“Steve, see if there’s a juice box in my cooler, will you, please?” Paduraru requested.

Steve disappeared from his spot between our seats, but quickly reappeared with a juice box. He handed it to me.

“Drink it,” Paduraru said to me. “It will help you recover.”

Finding his concern with my physical state a great relief, I took it, found the little straw and struggled to tear it away. I finally had the straw jammed into the little hole and sucked on somewhat cool grape juice. My left arm ached all the way to my fingernails. Although I couldn’t really examine my hand or arm, since it was rather dark inside the car, I did notice its neatly wrapped bandage.

Sucking the drink gratefully down, I looked out the windows trying to get my bearings. “Where are we?”

“Aurora, I think.” Paduraru squinted, eyes darting to look into his rear view mirror.

“Yes. We just went through the Aurora Toll Plaza,” Steve supplied, between sips from that black bottle. I eyed it. Red lettering across it identified it as Real Red. That was all. It didn’t take my clairvoyant abilities to tell me that the content was blood. No wonder he looked like a contented puppy at his mother’s teat.

“Aurora?” I said, feeling anxiety hit me.

“Tell me, Ms. Strong, how is it that you knew that vampires existed?” Paduraru asked quickly before I could make a comment about the direction we were going.

I hadn’t talked about this in a long while, so I had to go slowly. “I happen to know that my mother is a vampire.”

He squinted questioningly at me. “How is it that you know that your mother is a vampire?” he asked gently. “Tell me what makes you think this.”

I made a deep sigh, and plunged into the story. “I was ten when my mother disappeared. It was summer. Everyone looked for her, thinking she’d gone into the field behind our house, looking for me, or maybe our dog, and had got lost—you can really get lost in a tall cornfield. Anyway, they never found her, dead or alive, but one night, maybe the third or fourth night she had been gone, I woke up, thinking about her. I got out of my bed, looked out the window, and I saw her down in the backyard. She wasn’t a ghost, either. She was solid. I waved to her. She waved back. Because it was summer, and we had the windows open, I heard her say she loved me. And then she was gone.” My hand went up and wiped the tears from my eyes automatically.

“I see. I’m very sorry,” he said quietly. “How long ago did you say this was?”

“Eleven years ago.”

“What was her name?”

“Julia.”

“You say she disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“And, you are certain that when you last saw her it was at night, and she spoke to you?”

“Yes. It wasn’t a dream or anything like that. She was there. She was real and solid. Not a ghost.” In my mind, I could see her standing out in the yard, under the light. This memory sparked another, more sinister memory. Squeezing my eyes shut, I chased it away before it took anchor in my mind, too frightened to let it take purchase.

“She wasn’t one of our turns,” Paduraru said, abruptly interrupting my thoughts. I nearly said “thank you” out loud to him for bursting in like that.

“Beg your pardon?” I finally blurted, a little disoriented.

“What I mean to say is The North American Vampire Association did not create any new vampires in that year, and I know for certain none have come across my desk from this quadrant of my ward. I will take this information back with me; see if I can’t bring her up on our computer system. If she’s in there, we will find her.”

“She might be listed under the European Vampire Association?” Steve suggested.

“Yes, thank you. She might be,” Paduraru said distractedly.

I sat there trying to make sense of what the both of them had just said. I was a little confused. “North American Vampire Association? European Vampire Association?”

“Yes—uh—we have a very extensive listing of all vampires in the world in our data bases. We have listings of every vampire, whether they are rogue or not,” he assured.

“Okay,” I said slowly. This really sounded complicated. “Well, thanks.” I tingled slightly with the thought that my mother might finally be located, and my one sighting of her verified. I’d told only a few about seeing my mother. My brother had told me I was sleepwalking —? I never sleep walk. The only other person I had ever told about this was my best friend, Jeanie Woodbine. If my mother were a vampire—I was certain she was—who but vampires would know her whereabouts? “T-that sounds really wonderful. I-I mean if you can do that.” I stuttered, then paused and took in a shaky breath, pressed my fingers against my eyes and let it out. I needed to push all this talk of my mother out. I had to somehow make him take me home. “Now if you’ll just turn your car around somewhere and take me back to my Jeep, where I’d left it, I’d really appreciate it.”

Paduraru’s head turned to me and he said, “No, Ms. Strong. I don’t believe that is possible.” Before I could protest he said, “Go to sleep, now, Sabrina.”

My lids drooped. I fought against his thrall, but he was too strong. The last thing? I heard was Steve saying, “Her blood is sweet.”

“I noticed that,” Nicolas said, his voice echoing in my head somehow.

“You’re not strong enough to keep her safe. She needs a—”

“—Master. Yes.”

ISBN:

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The Ayurvedic Healer (Paperback)

About the Book

Set in the intriguing atmosphere of India in the early 20th century, full of mysticism, love, compassion, and political drama, The Ayurvedic Healer tells the story of Madhavan Namboodiri, a physician practicing an ancient medical science, and his enduring love for Rosalie. By healing the underprivileged, regardless of their status, touching the untouchables, he follows his beliefs and disobeys the rules of his society. His life story is set in the background of India’s struggle for freedom, the communist revolt in the Southern State of Kerala, social advancement, and the emergence of new societies. The Ayurvedic Healer sweeps the reader into an exotic place and time, rendering an intimate experience through sharing Madhavan Namboodiri’s life and love.

About the Author

Joy J. Kaimaparamban has written 18 novels in his native Malayalam language, four of them are children’s literature. His first novel in Malayalam received the Tagore award, named after Rabindranath Tagore, a famous poet, novelist, musician, playwright, and Nobel Price winner.

Joy J. Kaimaparamban was born in October 1939 to a middle class family in the Southern state of Kerala in India. After finishing his education he became a schoolmaster and worked in several Kerala government schools teaching English. He retired in 1995. Currently he lives in Vayalar, a beautiful village in the Alappuzha (Alleppey) district with his wife and two children.

His first novel written in English, The Azure of Solicitude, was published in 2009. His second novel, The Ayurvedic Healer, was published by Copperhill Media in July of 2010.

Joy J. Kaimaparamban is not only a passionate storyteller. He envisions people and events, past or present, in his native India as material for unwritten works. These visions and the ability to transform them into fascinating stories is a trademark of his novels.

Copperhill Media is the leading publisher of technical literature with focus on Controller Area Network (CAN) based technologies and Higher Layer Protocols. All literature is available in paperback form through Amazon.com or as eBooks (PDF) through the Copperhill Media web site.

A Comprehensible Guide to Controller Area Network by Wilfried Voss represents the most thoroughly researched and most complete work on CAN available in the marketplace. Controller Area Network (CAN) is a serial network technology that was originally designed for the automotive industry, especially for European cars, but has also become a popular bus in industrial automation as well as other applications. The CAN bus is primarily used in embedded systems, and as its name implies, is a network technology that provides fast communication among microcontrollers up to real-time requirements, eliminating the need for the much more expensive and complex technology of a Dual-Ported RAM. This book provides complete information on all CAN features and aspects combined with a high level of readability. The author, Wilfred Voss, is the President of esd electronics, Inc., a company that specializes in CAN technology.

Available through:

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
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Embedded Networking with CAN and CANopen was written by Olaf Pfeiffer, Andrew Ayre, and Christian Keydel, all founders and owners of the Embedded System Academy. Providing a detailed look at both CAN and CANopen, this book examines those technologies in the context of embedded networks. There is an overview of general embedded networking and an introduction to the primary functionality provided by CANopen. Everything one needs to know to configure and operate a CANopen network using off-the-shelf components is described, along with details for those designers who want to build their own CANopen nodes. The wide variety of applications for CAN and CANopen is discussed, and instructions in developing embedded networks based on the protocol are included. In addition, references and examples using MicroCANopen, PCANopen Magic, and Vector’s high-end development tools are provided.

Available through:

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
• Amazon.com – Paperback
• Amazon.co.uk – Paperback
• Barnes & Noble – Paperback

A Comprehensible Guide to J1939 by Wilfried Voss is the first work on J1939 besides the SAE J1939 standards collection. It provides profound information on the J1939 message format and network management combined with a high level of readability. SAE J1939 has become the accepted industry standard and the vehicle network technology of choice for off-highway machines in applications such as construction, material handling, and forestry machines. J1939 is a higher-layer protocol based on Controller Area Network (CAN). It provides serial data communications between microprocessor systems (also called Electronic Control Units – ECU) in any kind of heavy duty vehicles. The messages exchanged between these units can be data such as vehicle road speed, torque control message from the transmission to the engine, oil temperature, and many more.

Available through:

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
• Amazon.com – Paperback
• Amazon.co.uk – Paperback
• Barnes & Noble – Paperback

The Importance of servo motor sizing should not be underestimated. Proper motor sizing will not only result in significant cost savings by saving energy, reducing purchasing and operating costs, reducing downtime, etc.; it also helps the engineer to design better motion control systems. However, the knowledge of mechanical systems and their influence on motor speed, inertia and torque requirements seems to decline in a world where modern technology aspects, such as tuning and programming, seem to be the main focus. The motor sizing process involves a number of mathematical equations, which are most certainly documented, but not necessarily with the motor sizing process in mind. A Comprehensible Guide to Servo Motor Sizing by Wilfried Voss  focuses primarily on servo motor sizing and it documents in detail the inertia and torque calculations of standard mechanical components and the motor selection process.

‘A Comprehensible Guide to Servo Motor Sizing’ describes all equations and algorithms necessary for the sizing process, including inertia and torque calculations for mechanisms such as lead screws, rotary tables, actuators, gears, and more. Also included is the calculation of duty cycles including a detailed description of S-Curve (Jerk Limitation) calculation.

The information in the book is accompanied by a free download of VisualSizer, the most popular servo motor sizing software in the motion control business. To download VisualSizer: http://www.visualsizer.com.

Ordering Information

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
• Amazon.com – Paperback
• Amazon.co.uk – Paperback
• Barnes & Noble – Paperback

Articles on Servo Motor Sizing

Why is Servo Motor Sizing so important?
The importance of servo motor sizing should not be underestimated. Proper motor sizing will not only result in significant cost savings by saving energy, reducing purchasing and operating costs, reducing downtime, etc.; it also helps the engineer to design better motion control systems. Click here to read more…

Motion Mechanisms’ Inertia & Torque Calculations
This page provides all equations necessary to calculate the inertia and torque of mechanisms like gears, reducers, timing belts, rack & pinions, conveyors, and leadscrews. Click here to read more…

Calculation of Motion Parameters
This page provides all equations necessary to determine the parameters of a triangular or trapezoidal motion profile. The equation address velocity, acceleration, distance and time based on what parameters are known and which need to be determined. Click here to read more…

Holding Brake and Motor Torque Requirements
The effect of a holding brake on motor torque requirements is usually minimal in a regular rotary or linear horizontal motion application and is therefore not necessarily recommended. However, the torque and power reduction can be quite dramatic in case of vertical linear applications. Click here to read more…

Servo Motor Selection Criteria
The motor data needed to select a motor are rated speed, rated torque, intermittent torque, and rotor inertia. However, the best servo motor selection criteria is to use the motor’s performance curve (torque over speed) and to verify it with the application requirements. Not all motor data sheets do provide such detailed information, since some manufacturers prefer to define the rated/intermittent torque and the rated speed of their motors in a more conservatively manner. Under certain conditions it is, however, possible to operate motors beyond their rated data. Click here to read more…

Optimizing motion-control-system design
Choosing the right PC-based motion-control system requires evaluating motion controllers, software, amplifiers, motors, and positioning hardware.
Vision Systems Design – July 2005 - Click here to read more…

When to Choose a Linear Motor
For rotary or linear motors, motion is produced the same way and the same basic physics and electromagnetic forces apply. The theory that produces “torque” in a rotary motor produces “force” in a linear motor. But a closer look reveals that linear motors provide unique advantages for motion applications. Click here to find out how linear motors work and what the advantages are for motion applications.

The MilCAN physical layer conforms to the CAN standard ISO 11898. The CAN protocol is ideally suited for the tough environmental conditions experienced by military vehicles. CAN was originally designed for use in passenger automobiles, but, due to its extreme reliability, is also utilized in a great number of industrial applications. Many companies in the field of medical engineering chose CAN since they have to meet particularly strict safety requirements. Similar problems have been faced by manufacturers of other equipment with very high safety or reliability requirements, including robots, lifts and transportation systems.

The MilCAN A Standard uses a 29-Bit message identifier and it is based on the SAE J1939 Standard. J1939 defines serial data communications between microprocessor systems (also called Electronic Control Units – ECU) in any kind of heavy duty vehicles.

The MilCAN B standard uses an 11-Bit message identifier to provide compatibility with existing CANopen devices. CANopen is a higher layer protocol (HLP) on top of CAN, and it provides network management functions not supported by the original CAN standard.

With standards A and B, MilCAN utilizes the possibility to connect 11-Bit CANopen devices and 29-Bit SAE J1939 devices on the same network, thus gaining access to a great number of devices from Europe (primarily CANopen), and the United States (primarily SAE J1939).

A Comprehensible Guide to Controller Area Network by Wilfried Voss represents the most thoroughly researched and most complete work on CAN available in the marketplace. This book provides complete information on all CAN features and aspects combined with a high level of readability. Controller Area Network (CAN) is a serial network technology that was originally designed for the automotive industry, especially for European cars, but has also become a popular bus in industrial automation as well as other applications. The CAN bus is primarily used in embedded systems, and as its name implies, is a network technology that provides fast communication among microcontrollers up to real-time requirements, eliminating the need for the much more expensive and complex technology of a Dual-Ported RAM.

Available through:

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
• Amazon.com – Paperback
• Amazon.co.uk – Paperback
• Barnes & Noble – Paperback

A Comprehensible Guide to J1939 by Wilfried Voss is the first work on J1939 besides the SAE J1939 standards collection. It provides profound information on the J1939 message format and network management combined with a high level of readability. SAE J1939 has become the accepted industry standard and the vehicle network technology of choice for off-highway machines in applications such as construction, material handling, and forestry machines. J1939 is a higher-layer protocol based on Controller Area Network (CAN). It provides serial data communications between microprocessor systems (also called Electronic Control Units – ECU) in any kind of heavy duty vehicles. The messages exchanged between these units can be data such as vehicle road speed, torque control message from the transmission to the engine, oil temperature, and many more.

Available through:

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
• Amazon.com – Paperback
• Amazon.co.uk – Paperback
• Barnes & Noble – Paperback

Embedded Networking with CAN and CANopen by Olaf Pfeiffer, Andrew Ayre, and Christian Keydel provides a detailed look at both CAN and CANopen, this book examines those technologies in the context of embedded networks. There is an overview of general embedded networking and an introduction to the primary functionality provided by CANopen. CANopen, a higher layer protocol based on CAN, provides the means to apply the ingenious CAN features to a variety of industrial-strength applications. Many users, for example in the field of medical engineering, opted for CANopen because they have to meet particularly stringent safety requirements. Similar requirements had to be considered by manufacturers of other equipment with very high safety or reliability requirements (e.g. robots, lifts and transportation systems).

Available through:

• Copperhill Media – Paperback and eBook (PDF)
• Amazon.com – Paperback
• Amazon.co.uk – Paperback
• Barnes & Noble – Paperback

The books are also available through Online booksellers in Europe such as Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Abebooks.com, etc.

How I shamelessly promoted my novel with sex, lies, and deceit.

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

Available in all good bookstores and Online by September 2010.

Stuart Martin Berry has only three months left to find a publisher for his first novel. In a desperate attempt to reach his goal he leaves his home to live in New York. His wife has given him free reins to do whatever it takes to get a book deal. Her only request was not to give her any details on how he got there. If he fails he will be forced to give up his dream of being a famous writer and take a regular forty hour a week job. For Stuart this is sufficient motivation to start a three month adventure full of sex, lies, and deceit, without losing focus of the ultimate goal. When he finally reaches the finish line, he has evolved and become a top expert in the publishing world.

The idea for American Male Prostitute came after reading my favorite, most useless magazine, Writer’s Digest. Well, it is not totally useless, since it provided me with enough information to learn about the bizarre world of book publishing. Just the other day, I found yet another advertisement that made my blood broil, and I was ready to get my hands on that computer keyboard and add a flaming entry to my blog. Maybe, I thought, I’ll make this a series and share my experiences with every new, aspiring author.

To put it in a nut-shell, today’s publishing world is a shark tank. There is a great number of sharks out there, circling the waters, prying on the vast number of wannabe-authors who will never have a chance to sell their work, but are nevertheless naive enough to spend their money with useless services. It is a shame that a magazine such as Writer’s Digest is in the business to support these dubious businesses.

Through my research I found that the market for nonfiction on writing and publishing is cluttered ad nauseam. The majority of these works are – excuse my French – full of crap. Then I remembered the saying “Don’t anger me or I will write a novel about you”, and that is what I am currently doing. There is no better weapon than writing a novel about the industry. They deserve it.

Excerpt (Unedited version)

My name is Stuart Martin Berry, and until last week I was an editor for one of the largest magazines dedicated to the dreamworld of writers and poets. Like many of my ex-colleagues, I am also a failed novelist. My first and so far last novel never made it into publication. That was almost two years ago, and, with my pregnant wife pressing me to get a job that actually created an income, I considered my writing career as being over and done with.

For a short while after my failure, literary agents, snobby bastards that they are, treated me like I was the carrier of a deadly disease. But they started kissing up to me as soon as I got my job as editor for the above mentioned magazine. Until then, during an intense three month period of shamelessly promoting my book, I had learned my lesson on effective bull-shitting. Suddenly, if you believe my job description, I was not a failed novelist, but an accomplished author, who had decided to share his knowledge with the aspiring writer, to provide advice and inspiration. These days you see my photo in various publications, printed or Online, identifying me as a top expert on all aspects of fiction writing. My job included, among many other things, writing about writing without being allowed to actually write something substantial like, let’s say, a novel.

Another essential part of my work as an editor was to maintain a dreamworld for the tens of thousands of wannabe-writers who made the mistake to subscribe to our magazine or the even more useless Online forum. You see, a writers’ magazine cannot exist without the vast number of illusional writers who will never have the slightest chance of ever being published. In order to have your book published you need to be good and, as I was told from day one, the vast majority of our subscribers weren’t. I was also directed to keep the information in my articles at a fairly superficial level, and for God’s sake not to write anything that might interfere with the business of the sharks who paid good money for advertisement in our magazine. That wasn’t difficult for me. As I said, bull-shitting was one of my acquired talents.

Well, the bull-shitting time is finally over, and, honestly, I hated every single day. Deep in my soul I am an honest guy. Unfortunately, honesty doesn’t pay the bills.

Fortunately, though, about four weeks ago, my wife Sophie had accepted a job offer for a $150,000 annual salary plus benefits, and I had offered to be a stay-at-home Dad. Our daughter Magda is now almost two years old, and my wife was itching to get back to her former job as the manager of the Human Resources department of a major insurance company based in Washington, D.C.

I have not yet decided what I will do during the copious spare time between play-group-mornings and afternoon walks in the park. Llysha, another aspiring author and good friend of mine, had jokingly suggested to start our own publishing business, and she touted BBS, Inc. as the business name. BBS stands for “Baffle me with your Bull-Shit”, and, believe me, the name alone was a guarantee for success in the publishing industry.

To stay with the truth, I am done with writing. I am with Groucho Marx who once said, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” Nevertheless, I am burning to take a final hit at the system. It deserves it.

While we’re at it, my name is not Stuart Martin Berry, and events and names have been changed to protect my family, especially my wife. I will tell you about the weirdest three months of my life, during which I tried to find a publisher for my book. My wife had given me totally free reins to do whatever it would take to get a book deal. Her only request was not to share any details of how I got there.

Let me distort Mark Twain’s quote “Truth is more of a stranger than fiction” and make it “Life can be stranger than fiction,” and this is what the following story is about.

For the past several years I have researched the bizarre world of writing and publishing, which has led me to some pleasant and some not-so-pleasant experiences. One of the truly pleasant experiences was meeting Joy J. Kaimaparamban through the AuthorNation.com online forum. The forum is designed as a social network for authors seeking or giving advice on writing and publishing.

Joy was one of those looking for advice to promote his first novel, The Azure of Solicitude. At the same time he was looking to find a publisher for his next novels.

Joy’s real name is John Joseph, and he assumed ‘Joy J. Kaimaparamban’ as his pen name. He was born on October 1939 in a middle class family of Kerala, the south most state of India. After finishing his education he became a schoolmaster and worked in several Kerala government schools, teaching English in middle school classes. He  retired in 1995 and resides now at Vayalar, a beautiful lakeside village in Alappuzha (Alleppey) district with his wife and two children.

I noticed his entries on the AuthorNation forum and shared some of my experience with writing and publishing plus the inevitable promotion of your book and website. One of my advises, though, was unfortunately a bad one. In order to find a publisher it makes sense to contact a literary agent, and I had recommended an agency that turned out to be a scam. Scammers in the writing & publishing industry do have a keen business sense, and everything they offer makes sense. In that respect they reflect a higher level of professionalism than regular literary agents and traditional publishers (See also my article: Literary Agents Are Snobby Bastards).

Nevertheless, I felt bad about giving such ill advice, and I offered to publish and promote his next novel. Within a few days we had an agreement, and we are now in the process of proof-reading his new novel, The Ayurvedic Healer. At the same time we created the cover as shown here on this blog post.

In Joy’s own words, “The novel is the story of an Ayurvedic Physician.  Hope you have heard of Ayurveda, an ancient medical science generated in India. When I thought of writing about an Ayurvedic Physician, I remembered my ancestor, who had converted into Christianity from Brahminhood (An upper division in Hindu religion).  Except this fact, remaining narrations are fictitious. I have created a mythological atmosphere throughout the novel. Freedom struggle of India, Communist revolt in Kerala, a Southern State in India, social developments, emergence of new societies etc., are dominating in this novel.  The novel reveals the developments of incident that happening from 1920 to 1960. Although this is not a historical novel, nevertheless I am trying to unveil the personal life of an Ayurvedic Physician who had lived for the downtrodden people.”

See also his website at http://www.kaimaparamban.com.

While it is always a very exciting process working on a new novel and publishing it, I received my greatest gift through one of Joy’s e-mails in which he addressed me as ‘Wilfriedji.’ His explanation was: “I address you ‘Wilfredji’.  According to Indian custom, we use ‘ji’ as most honourable suffix.  We are giving it to most revered persons like our father of nation Gandhiji.”

For more information on Ayurveda see also my entry, Ayurveda – Science of Life.

ISBN

Your copy will be hand-signed by the author. Please leave a note with your order for special requests.

Preview

Chapter 1-1 • Chapter 1-2 • Chapter 1-3

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The Bleeding Hills (Paperback)

About the book

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. Finn is protected in his exile in theUnited States after having worked for the CIA . Consequently, British Intelligence has come up with a plan to lure Finn back into their jurisdiction, Northern Ireland , by revealing the identity of the man who is ultimately responsible for the killing of Finn’s wife, Shauna. Here they hope not only to apprehend him, but also lead them to another conspirator, Martin Sheehan, who hides in the Northern provinces . For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland .

The Bleeding Hills, Wilfried F. Voss’ new novel, is skillfully divided into three time lines; they keep the reader glued to the story by providing some surprising twists and turns. The first time line describes the life of Finnean Whelan and his first contact with the Irish Republican Army in the late 1960s. The second line is set in the presence and it portrays Whelan’s journey to Northern Ireland where he intends to accomplish his final plot. The third time line is dedicated to the activities of British Intelligence Services, namely the MI5, attempting to apprehend Whelan and his co-conspirator, Martin Sheehan. All time lines come together in the end and they make for some intriguing twists.

Wilfried F. Voss has cleverly weaved real events of recent Irish history, namely the Irish Troubles, into the life story of Finnean Whelan. They are, just to name a few examples, the events of Bloody Sunday, and the murder of Captain Robert Nairac, an officer with the British Army. The historical facts have been thoroughly investigated, but the author also takes some liberties for interpretation; these interpretations are, nevertheless, based on his meticulous research. One theory, for instance, is that Captain Robert Nairac was the victim of child abuse at Ampleforth College in England, which, consequently, caused Nairac’s violent behavior during the Irish Troubles.

Another interesting theory is based on the claim that British Intelligence Services, even to the present day, are instrumental in a plot to disrupt the peace process in Northern Ireland. Whether or not these claims are true is of no consequence; The Bleeding Hills is not only entertaining, but it also effectively tickles the reader’s mind to learn more about recent Irish history.

For more information log on to the author’s blog at http://www.frogenyozurt.com.

Reviews

Paul Dolan Iubito – Amazon Customer Review 5 Stars:
Using the yarns of the past and the present, violence and love, deceit and honesty, The Bleeding Hills is a tale woven like an Irish sweater. It is a well crafted page-turner that keeps the reader in suspense with unexpected twists throughout. This story is about more than just a the Irish Troubles and espionage; it is personalized through Finn exploring his triumphs and retrospective regrets. What is truly impressive is the author’s skill at exploring the larger issue of civil conflicts–how individuals become involved and how governments perpetuate–without being obvious or sacrificing any of the story at hand. An outstanding story that is a must read.

L. Pierro-Pulsifer – Amazon Customer Review 5 Stars:
Great novel! The story line is captivating and the characters are believable. The author incorporated events of recent Irish history, but he also addresses political issues such as the current MI5 involvement in Northern Ireland. His views may be pro-Irish, but they are nevertheless in favor of present day British policies. All this is skillfully mingled with a real-life story with all the right elements – love, romance, suspense, and humor.

Y. Campbell – Amazon Customer Review 5 Stars:
Although the story here is fictional, I felt the historical research portrayed in The Bleeding Hills was very well done. Voss has achieved weaving the three time lines portrayed in the story together with interesting twists and turns (that I was not expecting) into a solid and, I think, fair rendition of the Irish Troubles from a personal point of view – that of Finnean Whelan. The story of Finnean Whelan and his love of Ireland is both exciting and touching – a good read for anyone interested in the Irish Troubles with a touch of excitement and mystery included.