Hey, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Mark
Spivak and his new book, “The American Crusade”! For other stops on his Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Mark
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The American Crusade
by Mark Spivak
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GENRE: Political Thriller
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BLURB:
A power-hungry vice president, a bad batch of shady
intelligence, and a sinister plot to destroy Western civilization.
Just another day in America.
On
May 1, 2001, a group of radical Islamic terrorists crash a Boeing 737 jet
airliner into the Mall of America—and Vice President Robert Hornsby knows his
moment is coming.
The
attack kills three thousand American citizens and throws an entire nation into
a panic, but all Hornsby sees is an opportunity, a chance to imprint his
fanatical values on the soul of the country he loves and become the most
powerful vice president in American history.
With
the aid of his affable but ineffectual president; the reluctant,
conscience-stricken secretary of defense; and a preening, foppish faith leader
with more than a few skeletons in his closet; Hornsby declares war on
terror—and anyone who stands in his way. But as media scrutiny of the
administration’s actions overseas intensifies, Hornby’s one-man campaign
against evil begins to unravel—with striking parallels to the thirteenth
century’s doomed Fourth Crusade—and sends the nation spiraling toward another
deadly tragedy.
The
American Crusade paints a grim and often cynical picture of America’s recent
past, reflecting the attitudes, politics, and fears that shaped our nation in
the new millennium. By sampling the contemporaneous French text on the Fourth
Crusade, On the Conquest of Constantinople, author Mark Spivak reminds us of
that ever-vital adage: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to
repeat it.”
Fans of The Castle
by Jack Pinter, The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson,
House of Cards by Michael Dobbs, The Whistler by John Grisham, and the Aaron
Sorkin–penned TV drama The West Wing will love this book.
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EXCERPT THREE:
The
lights from the lanterns flickered against the walls of the cave. It was
nearing midnight on May 1 in the tribal areas of Kabulistan, the mountainous
and impenetrable regions high up near the Persepostan border. Salman Al-Akbar
sat on a cushion, surrounded by his inner circle. Fazil Ahmadi, his director of
operations, had just finished briefing him on the aftermath of the Mall of
America attack and the subsequent suicide missions around the United States.
“Allah
be praised!” Al-Akbar’s normally sad eyes were bright and jubilant. “We have
succeeded beyond our wildest expectations, beyond the reach of our dreams.
Allah is most with us.”
“This
is so,” said Fazil Ahmadi. “Had we dreamed it, it could not have gone better.”
“What
time is it now in Washington?”
“Four-thirty
in the afternoon, sir.”
“And
where is the young American President now?”
“We
have no knowledge of his whereabouts, sir. He is in hiding.”
“Hiding?”
Al-Akbar’s eyebrows arched toward the ceiling of the cave, and his normally
expressionless face was close to registering hilarity. “From whom is he hiding?
Robert Hornsby?”
“He
has been removed from sight, sir. We suspect they took him to one of their
nuclear installations.”
“Do
they actually think we are in possession of nuclear weapons?”
“We
believe it is a precaution on their part, sir.”
“Allah
be praised!” Al-Akbar clapped his hands in glee. “This is beyond our imagining.
Everything has gone off perfectly, with synchronized precision.”
“They
will most certainly retaliate, sir.”
“Against
whom?” asked Al-Akbar with contempt. “Our forces are safe. The loyalty of the
warlords is secure, and they will not betray us.”
“We
believe their most likely target will be the Dua Khamail. They will wage war
against them and will surely defeat them. Then, they will restore Selim Hanjuk
to power.”
“Let
them have the Dua Khamail.” Al-Akbar shrugged. “To us, it matters not who is
the ruler of Kabulistan. Any war they wage against the innocent population can
only help us. It will bring more recruits to our side.”
“This
is true.”
“One
thing I will guarantee you. They may topple the government of Kabulistan, or
all of the governments of the earth, but they will never be at peace again. As
they fall off to sleep, they will see us in their nightmares.”
“Yes,
sir. Our position is strong, and the Americans can only immerse themselves in
quicksand by invading Kabulistan. They will never find us, much less defeat
us.”
“Their
memories are short,” mused Al-Akbar. “They forget that the Russians tried and
failed. It was their Vietnam. And the Americans are far weaker than the
Russians. They do not have the will for a prolonged conflict.”
“Let
us not underestimate their military strength, sir.”
“These
infidels are like the Crusaders of old.” Al-Akbar’s fingers worked prayer beads
in the darkness of the cave. “They have many troops, they have excellent
weapons, and they have knowledge of warfare. But they lack the fire of belief,
as well as the support of their people. And they do not have Allah on their
side.” He smiled approvingly at his lieutenant. “You have done well today. And
soon we will do better still. Today is the beginning of the great Jihad. Nearly
eight hundred years ago, the East was ruled by Saladin and the true believers
were victorious. That day will come again.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
How to Hold Yourself Accountable as A Writer
This
seems like an odd topic at first glance, because what standards of
accountability are we talking about? Obviously they have to be your own, since
the yardstick of success varies so much from person to person. If your
definition of being a writer is cultivating a friendship with Oprah, or
succeeding on the level of James Patterson or Danielle Steel, you’ll probably
give up pretty quickly and end up selling real estate.
Let’s
assume, then, that you’re more or less like me: someone who is driven to become
a writer and who is competing in a very tough arena. How do you keep the faith?
Meeting
deadlines:
I mentor beginning writers through a Meetup group, and I’m always amused when
they talk about writer’s block. I tell them there’s one certain cure for it: Go
to work for a daily newspaper. At the end of six months, you won’t even
understand what writer’s block is. You’ll be so accustomed to turning out
quality work under pressured circumstances that you’ll seek other challenges in
life.
Finding
time to write:
You simply do whatever it takes: get up at 4 a.m. (as I did for many years, and
still do out of habit), stop watching sports or Netflix, take your smart phone
and smash it into 100 pieces—then you’ll have time to write. Rest assured that
life will always try to get it the way, but there’s always a solution. If
you’re chronically lazy, or a procrastinator, or addicted to your smart phone
or Netflix, your problems are deeper than you imagine, since it’s not likely
that you’ll find the time to succeed at another career either.
Staying
focused:
Many years ago, journalist Studs Terkel write a book called Working. It was a compilation of
interviews with people who did a variety of tasks for a living, ranging all the
way from garbageman to film critic. And it was a depressing book to read,
because most of those people said the same thing, almost in the same words:
They felt they had wasted their life, and they bemoaned the fact that they had
never used their talents, never gotten a break, etc. When I read that book, I
resolved not to be one of those people.
Interact
with other writers:
There are dangers to critique groups, but they have one significant benefit:
you’ll give out a lot of advice to others, which you’ll then be forced to take.
They’ll hold you accountable.
When you’re tempted
to quit: Remember that no one asked you to do this—I
seriously doubt that you received an engraved invitation requesting that you
become a writer (check your mailbox). I kept going because I simply didn’t have
anything else that really meant anything to me (and I had numerous other
careers, some of which I was very successful at). If you’re truly a writer,
then you really can’t quit. It’s like having a recurring disease: you may go into
remission, but it will always come back. Face the fact that you’re in it for
the long haul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
In
the realm of non-fiction, award-winning author Mark Spivak focuses
on wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. His first book, Iconic
Spirits: An Intoxicating History, was published by Lyons Press in 2012. He
followed this with Moonshine Nation (Lyons Press, 2014), hailed as the
definitive book on illegal corn whiskey in America. From 1994-1999 he was the
wine writer for the Palm Beach Post, and was honored for excellence in wine
criticism “in a graceful and approachable style.” Since 2001 he has been the
Wine & Spirits Editor for the Palm Beach Media Group, and contributes to a
number of national magazines. He is also the holder of the Certificate and
Advanced Diplomas from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Mark’s
first novel, Friend of the Devil, was published by Black Opal Books in May
2016. Set in Palm Beach in 1990, it tells the story of America’s most famous
chef, who has sold his soul to the Devil for fame and fortune.
Mark
also has an endless fascination with the American political system and is an
avid follower of Washington politics. His second novel, The American Crusade (a
gripping political thriller set during the invasion of Iraq, which dips into
the shadowy world of government conspiracy and political sabotage), will be
released by TCK Publishing on April 4. He is currently at work on Impeachment,
the sequel to The American Crusade.
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CONNECT WITH MARK:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Mark will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
