A CLOSER LOOK AT SEPTEMBER’S
A GAME MAKER’S LIFE
By Jeffrey Breslow
A captivating memoir that tells a remarkable story.
Millions of people around the world have played with games and toys Breslow and his partners invented—perhaps you have, too! Now, read Breslow’s remarkable story and see how a flash of inspiration, followed by hard work and ingenuity, brought these wonderful games to life.
In his captivating memoir, Jeffrey Breslow tells how:
- Creating a game is a mix of Rube Goldberg, Santa’s elves, mass production, and the bottom line.
- He oversaw two multi-million dollar businesses that earned profits for more than four decades. Even while the industry transformed itself from using cardboard and plastics into electronics, his companies never acquired debt and never borrowed money from a bank!
- He overcame the terrible misfortune of a deadly workplace shooting and led his shaken employees through the tragedy and back to running a thriving business.
THE AUTHOR
JEFFREY BRESLOW, a preeminent toy and game inventor and designer, spent over forty-one years inventing toys and games since graduating with a BFA from the University of Illinois in industrial design in 1965.
Jeffrey, at age thirty-four, became the youngest managing partner of Marvin Glass and Associates, the leading toy design company in the world at that time in 1976. They invented games such as Simon, Operation, Guesstures, the Evel Knievel Motorcycle, Mousetrap, and UNO Attack! Jeffrey was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York City in 1988.
Breslow left the toy business in 2008 to sculpt full time. His sculptures are on display at the University of Illinois and the Lurie Children’s Hospital and on permanent display in Vermont, California, New Jersey, and Uruguay.
LEARN MORE
Follow Jeffrey Breslow on Twitter.
To learn more about Jeffrey Breslow, visit his website.
RUIN
By Leigh Seippel
A vivid tale that opens with every couple’s nightmare
Frank Campbell, a thirty-something former founding owner of a high-flying New York City-based hedge fund, has gone bankrupt, losing not only all his own money but the entire inherited fortune of his artist wife, Francy. The couple take refuge in an abandoned Hudson Valley farm shared with a resident herd of congenial goats. Frank is deeply shaken by the life-changing loss that has so thoroughly ruined their life together. While Frank continues to try and rebuild what had been lost, he takes up fly fishing on the nearby river. Tragedy ensues during a fishing contest, further framing Frank as a “loser loner” in life. Only when he turns to fly fishing in earnest, traveling the world in search of the ever more perfect and elusive trout (and one memorable carp), does he find his way forward in “the yowling madness” of the world.
THE AUTHOR
Author LEIGH SEIPPEL lives in the worlds of Francy and Frank. He has worked a small farm in the Hudson Valley, complete with officious goat herd. Fly fishing has taken him across four continents. He is a past president of The Anglers’ Club of New York, where he now heads its fishery conservation activities.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Leigh Seippel, visit his website.
THE LAST KEEPER
By J.V. Hilliard
Will the entire realm fall to its knees?
Blind at birth, Daemus Alaric is blessed with the gift of prophetic Sight. Now, as a Keeper of the Forbidden, he must use his powers of the Sight to foil the plans of a fallen Keeper, Graytorris the Mad. Meanwhile, Princess Addilyn Elspeth travels from Eldwal, the magically hidden home of the Vermilion elves, to begin her life as a diplomat to the human capital of Castleshire. During her journey, she stumbles upon a mystical creature foretelling ill tidings. Daemus’ recurring nightmare vision threatens to catapult him into a terrifying struggle that will leave the fate of the Keepers—and the realm—hanging in the balance. Daemus and Princess Addilyn must set out to face the menace that threatens their very existence.
THE AUTHOR
J.V. HILLIARD’s training and education readied him to lift a quill that would scribe the tale of the realm of Warminster, filled with brave knights, harrowing adventure and legendary struggles. He lives in the city of silver cups, hypocycloids and golden triangles with his wife, a ranger of the diamond. They built their castle not far into the countryside, guarded by his own two horsehounds, Thor and MacLeod, and resides there to this day.
LEARN MORE
Follow J.V. Hilliard on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
To learn more about J.V. Hilliard visit his website.
KGB BANKER
By William Burton McCormick and John Christmas
What if you returned to the land of your ancestors and they tried to kill you there?
When Chicago financial executive Bob Vanags takes a job at ominous Turaida Bank in Rīga, Latvia, he hoped to learn of his heritage and expected to fight economic fraud in Eastern Europe. Instead, Bob finds himself pulled into a world of political intrigue, blackmail and murder. Aided by his son, David, beautiful colleague Agnese Avena and a fearless Latvian journalist named Santa Ezeriņa, Bob slowly unravels Turaida’s darkest secrets, discovering sins and conspiracies surpassing even his wildest fears. Secrets Turaida security chief Karlis Pugo and his shadowy backers want to keep hidden even at the cost of Bob’s life.
THE AUTHOR
WILLIAM BURTON MCCORMICK is a Thriller, Shamus, Derringer and Claymore awards finalist whose fiction regularly appears in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Black Mask, Mystery Weekly and elsewhere. He is a graduate of Brown University, earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester and was elected a Hawthornden Writing Fellow in Scotland.
He is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. His historical novel of the Baltic Republics, LENIN’S HAREM, was the first work of fiction added to the permanent library at the Latvian War Museum in Rīga. A native of Nevada, William has lived in seven countries including Latvia, Russia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine for writing purposes.
LEARN MORE
Follow William Burton McCormick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
To learn more about William Burton McCormick, visit his website.
THE AUTHOR
JOHN CHRISTMAS is a former banker whose banking career ended when his whistleblowing against his employer was covered up by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He earned a BA at Dartmouth College and an MBA at Cornell University.
He has lived in the United States, Latvia, Spain, United Kingdom, and Malta. He wrote the dystopian novel DEMOCRACY SOCIETY which was released in 2011. Now he enjoys time reading, writing, and boating in Europe. His experiences as a whistleblower inspired KGB BANKER.
SHE WHO RIDES HORSES
By Sarah V. Barnes
An adventurous girl will change the future of humans and horses alike.
Set more than 6,000 years ago, we follow the story of Naya, the first person to ride a horse. Daughter of a clan chief, bolder than the other girls but shunned by the boys because of her unusual appearance, Naya wanders alone through the vast grasslands where her people herd cattle and hunt wild horses for their meat. But Naya dreams of creating a different kind of relationship with the magnificent creatures. One day, she discovers a filly with a chestnut coat as uncommon as her own head of red hair. With time running out before she is called to assume the responsibilities of adulthood, Naya embarks on a quest to gallop with the filly across the boundless steppe. Unwittingly, she sets in motion forces and events that will change forever the future of humans and horses alike.
THE AUTHOR
When Sarah is not writing stories, she teaches riding as a meditative art. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University and spent many years as a college professor, before turning full-time to riding and writing. She is currently finishing the first volume in a series of novels, entitled SHE WHO RIDES HORSES.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Sarah V. Barnes, visit her website.
A BREAK IN THE FOG
By Molly Salans
A family in turmoil, a dangerous cult, and God at the center of it all.
With her mother dead, her sister Wendy addicted to drugs, and her father condemning her every decision, Clara Greenwood shoulders the weight of all her dysfunctional family’s problems. Desperate for a way out, she is reluctantly goaded into attending a meeting for a secret school, The Ancient Side of Ideas. She is quickly swept up in the cult, however, when she meets the charismatic Damien – one of its teachers. His charm and good looks melt her skepticisms away, convincing her to give up everything in her old life. But when Clara finds herself in too deep, can she find her way out before it’s too late?
THE AUTHOR
Her love of literature and deep spirituality brought Molly to earn her M.Ed from Cambridge College in 1989. Prior to pursuing her education in counseling and social work, Molly was a member of a prominent cult for seven years. Though she left in 1982, her experiences of the group haunted her, leading her to write her newest book, a psychological novel titled, A BREAK IN THE FOG. Though not autobiographical, her inside understanding of the way cults operate informed this integral part of the dysfunctional family narrative. Feeling this was a story she had to tell, her wish is for her readers to find hope in the family’s quest for redemption.
LEARN MORE
Follow Molly Salans on Facebook and Instagram.
To learn more about Molly Salans visit her website.
MAKE AMERICA BEAUTIFUL AGAIN
By Bo Bancroft
Politicians scheme, investigators struggle, and fringe groups plot!
Suspected terrorists attack with a pre-dawn bomb spree, baffling law enforcement as the only targets are towering billboards lining the interstates. The laundry list of culprits include eco-terrorists, a notorious drug cartel, and disgruntled outdoor advertising employees. With Georgians on edge, politicians quickly focus on their top priority-how to manipulate the situation to their advantage. Caught in the crosshairs of the mayhem are the three, adult Worthington siblings. Not only was their outdoor advertising business attacked, the youngest brother, a retired Army demolitions expert, has suspiciously disappeared. Fighting to save him, and each other, the family enlists his devoted Army buddy to track him down. The web she ultimately uncovers is far more nefarious than terrorists.
THE AUTHOR
Bo Bancroft grew up in Ohio where he graduated from Miami University with a degree in Marketing. Shorty after college, he visited a friend in Atlanta and never left. Bo and his wife Aree live in Atlanta, Georgia, and their adult daughter, Aly, resides in Washington, DC.
The majority of his professional career was spent in business development with the telecommunications industry. Early on, he worked for major cable networks then shifted to the technology sector as the industry evolved into today’s sophisticated information delivery system.
Currently, he works for Habitat for Humanity International serving those seeking affordable housing. In his free time, Bo enjoys spending time with his family and network of friends. An eclectic crew of people that keep his mind sharp and spirits up.
He also spends a lot of time exploring the many wooded wonders of the city and the North Georgia mountains. A dedicated Labrador lover, Bo is rarely seen without a faithful Lab by his side. Lula’s paw prints are present throughout this book, from the reckless crashing through the forest to curling up in his desk cubby when it came time to write.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Bo Bancroft visit his website.