To save two friends, the Executioner sets his sights on Music City Mack Bolan has spent a lifetime crisscrossing the country, taking the Mafia apart piece by piece. Occasionally, this solitary crusader has found allies—strong-willed fighters who hate the Mafia just as much as he does but who prefer to do battle inside the law. Lately, several of them have joined up with the Sensitive Operations Group, a top-secret task force devoted to unconventional crime fighting. Bolan never considered joining the team, but when two of his oldest friends are captured by the mob, the Executioner will fight alongside Uncle Sam to get them back. Carl Lyons and Smiley Dublin were last seen in Nashville, the country music capital and stronghold for the Dixie Mafia. In Music City, Bolan will teach the mob to play a different tune—a song of mayhem, violence, destruction and death. Tennessee Smash is the 32nd book in the Executioner series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Heartache makes for good country music. It's what country superstar Butch McCormick keeps telling himself. He’s done with women and can’t handle one more disappointment. He's taking a few months off to work on the old house on his parents' land to fix shutters, scrape paint, and figure out what he wants in life... Then she appears out of nowhere, with red hair and a peaches-and-cream complexion...and just so damned lost. Architect Kate Riley doesn't have the luxury of getting lost, having a damaged car, or being smitten by a sexy-talkin' cowboy with an irresistible smile. But the longer Kate stays at Elderberry Farm, the stranger things get. For one, there's the crazy chemistry between her and Butch. For another, dead bodies are starting to turn up...and Kate might be the murderer's next victim. Each book in the Lost series is a standalone, full-length story that can be enjoyed out of order. Series Order: Book 1 – Lost In Tennessee Book 2 – Lost in Shadows Book 3 - Lost in Deception
Country music grew up in Tennessee, drawing from sources in the white rural music of East and Middle Tennessee, from the church music of country singing conventions, and from the black music of the Memphis area. The author traces the vital role played by Tennessee and its musicians in the development of this unique American art form.
“Brilliant… I loved every moment.” Book Lover Lorna, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I couldn’t put it down.” Ink Heart Blogger, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A feel-good, uplifting, heartwarming read.” WattsYaReading, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Absolutely perfect.” Sheila Books Shelf, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An uplifting, beautiful and totally heartwarming tale about the magic of family at Christmas, the importance of chasing your dreams, and the unbeatable feeling of falling in love under the mistletoe. Christmas is always the toughest holiday for Lila Evans––a heartbreaking reminder of losing her father… This year, she’s organized a cozy getaway with her closest friends. She might not have a family to call her own, but it should be just the remedy for the December blues. On the way to their festive vacation, Lila stops at a coffee shop in Pinewood Hills. But the rugged, surly owner Theo Perry, doesn’t offer a warm small-town welcome. Despite her best efforts, Lila’s met with an icy reception. At least she has Fireside Cabins, tucked in the snowy Tennessee hills, to look forward to. Except it turns out to be far from a winter wonderland––there isn’t a shred of Christmas spirit in their tumbledown cabin and the owner, a widow named Eleanor Finely, confesses that the resort is on the brink of closure. Lila instantly wants to help––tearful Eleanor clearly has no one and Lila knows exactly how that feels… When a burst pipe floods their cabin, Lila turns to Theo for help. As much as his coldness infuriates her, she can’t deny that on the rare occasions when he does smile, it feels like coming home. As Lila does her best to bring some sparkle to Fireside Cabins, and to warm up frosty Theo, could Pinewood Hills hold her new beginning––and the family she’s always longed for? And, with a dusting of Christmas magic, spiced cider and sugarplum pie, could this be the first holiday she’s not alone? Indulge in this glittering page-turner that might just prove, at this magical time of year, that anything is possible… Christmas at Fireside Cabins is the perfect treat for fans of Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallery and Sheila Roberts. Readers totally love Christmas at Fireside Cabins: “Wow, what a story!!… Simply put, I loved it!… The end had me needing the tissues, it was so heartwarming.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I LOVED this one!… Jenny Hale has done it again – she made me fall even more in love with the bad boy and the holidays :-)… All adds up to the perfect read.” The Miron Monologues, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Oh, my heart… The writing is wonderful and had pangs running through my chest.” WattsYaReading, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Absolutely perfect… For anyone longing for the perfect dose of Christmas, look no further… I have never wanted to wrap myself in a soft blanket, with a cup of steaming hot cocoa and enjoy the lights of a Christmas tree more than I have after reading this book.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Like a warm hug in a book… Pure escapism… Highly recommended for any fans of festive fiction. You will not be disappointed!” Goodreads Reviewer “THIS WAS SO CUTE! Sorry for the capital letters but I'm excited!” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Such a gorgeous festive story… Jenny Hale is the queen of Christmas stories for me! They just keep getting better.” Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Jenny Hale is the gift that keeps on giving! Perfect escapism, in the most charming, magical, warm and cozy way… Tied together like a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift… Perfect read for fans of Hallmark movies and Christmas romance stories!” Books n Lattes, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Undeniably brilliant!… I would recommend this to everyone in need of a little bit (or a lot) of holiday cheer! I hope many more fall in love with Fireside Cabins as I have.” Misty’s Corner Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recording and performing in the early 1950s, Jesse Belvin, Guitar Slim, and Johnny Ace produced at least thirteen top-25 hits between the three of them. All but forgotten in the annals of rock ‘n’ roll, these artists have influenced musicians as varied as Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and generations of soul singers. Their songs have been covered by artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Luther Vandross, and Paul Simon. In Earth Angels: The Short Lives and Controversial Deaths of Three R&B Pioneers Steve Bergsman affords readers a view of the lives and careers of three influential artists who left us much too soon. Bergsman notes in his introduction that this lack of notoriety is partly due to their untimely deaths. Jesse Belvin, a crooner whose “Goodnight My Love” became the closing theme to famed disc jockey Alan Freed’s radio shows, was killed in a head-on collision along with his wife just after performing at the first racially integrated concert in Little Rock, Arkansas; he was 27. Guitar Slim, whose million-selling song “The Things I Used to Do” has been re-recorded by both Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, died in New York City at the age of 32 due to pneumonia that was possibly induced by alcoholism. Johnny Ace’s “Pledging My Love” spent ten weeks at the top position on Billboard’s R&B chart. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 25. Bergsman’s meticulous research and entertaining narrative style seeks to restore the credit denied these artists by their untimely deaths.
This book examines fundraising engagement and the university advancement and development professionals who make it happen at public regional universities in the United States. These institutions are disproportionately under-resourced by state and federal subsidies, and private fundraising has become increasingly relied upon by students attending these institutions while the actual fundraising departments remain understaffed, overworked, and struggling to capture the imaginations of private donors and corporate and family foundations. The book focuses on how advancement professionals at these institutions across the nation have overcome the aforementioned challenges to attain support for their universities unchanging missions in these ever-changing times—to educate a critical mass of United States’ future citizens, workforce, and leaders while providing a socioeconomic ladder to its most vulnerable students.
The History of the Sea, Lake, and River Battles of the Civil War, is an expose, a denunciation, a condemnation of the lies, the distortions, the deceits, the misrepresentations, and the slanders of the biased civil war historians, the biased movie makers, and the biased makers of TV Specials, who write distorted books, distorted movies, and make distorted TV Specials about the civil war. For example, President Grant is slandered as the butcher of the civil war, when the real butcher is the traitor Robert E. Lee by an actual count of the men he killed in the battles he fought! Another example is the big lie that the Monitor and Merrimac battle was a draw when it was a clear cut victory for the Monitor! There are two classes of people in The Damn Slavers: The people in the 22 Loyal states and in the 11 traitor states: the Loyalists: the victims; and the people in the 11 traitor states and in the 22 Loyal states: the traitors: the villains! One of the biggest vile lies of the civil war is the depraved lie the traitors won most of the battles! The author counted hundreds of the bigger land battles and the sea, lake, and river battles! This battle count is what Damn Slavers is all about! Surprise, Surprise! The Loyalists won most of the bigger land battles of the civil war by a ratio of about 2 to 1 from the start of the civil war and won most of the sea, lake, and river battles too, by an overwhelming margin!! If you want to learn some real truths about the civil war, read Damn Slavers! A History of the Sea, Lake, and River Battles of the Civil War!
An essential work for rock fans and scholars, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll surveys the origins of rock 'n' roll from the minstrel era to the emergence of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Unlike other histories of rock, Before Elvis offers a far broader and deeper analysis of the influences on rock music. Dispelling common misconceptions, it examines rock's origins in hokum songs and big-band boogies as well as Delta blues, detailing the embrace by white artists of African-American styles long before rock 'n' roll appeared. This unique study ranges far and wide, highlighting not only the contributions of obscure but key precursors like Hardrock Gunter and Sam Theard but also the influence of celebrity performers like Gene Autry and Ella Fitzgerald. Too often, rock historians treat the genesis of rock 'n' roll as a bolt from the blue, an overnight revolution provoked by the bland pop music that immediately preceded it and created through the white appropriation of music till then played only by and for black audiences. In Before Elvis, Birnbaum daringly argues a more complicated history of rock's evolution from a heady mix of ragtime, boogie-woogie, swing, country music, mainstream pop, and rhythm-and-blues--a melange that influenced one another along the way, from the absorption of blues and boogies into jazz and pop to the integration of country and Caribbean music into rhythm-and-blues. Written in an easy style, Before Elvis presents a bold argument about rock's origins and required reading for fans and scholars of rock 'n' roll history.
