A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption by David Misch (spotlight for upcoming release) Killion Group

A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption
By David Misch

POWER! WEALTH! SEX! What are these things without the corruption that feeds them? In A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CORRUPTION, veteran humorist, David Misch, offers an easy and deliciously funny step-by-step guide on how to find or create corruption wherever you need it. If you appreciated America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't by Stephen Colbert, or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book) by Jon Stewart, you’ll enjoy the many “truths” of CORRUPTION!

Join David Misch as he celebrates the release of his upcoming book, A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption, with this month-long promotional tour.

Genre: Satirical/Humor
Release Date: July 21st, 2016
Publisher: Self-Published
Print Length: 71 pages
Format: Digital and Paperback
Paperback ISBN: 978-1532714504



Synopsis:

Most people believe that the high-paying world of lying, cheating, stealing, kickbacks, bribes and blackmail is hopelessly out of reach. They’re right… unless they buy this book.

In just 71 fact(ish)-filled pages, comedy writer David Misch shows you dozens of sure-fire, time-tested and only marginally illegal ways to feed at the trough of political, financial and/or romantic depravity. But don’t take our word for it – listen to the master…

"Not everyone can be corrupt; it takes a magical combination of opportunity, moral turpitude and having something to sell: wealth, power, sex. (Got the set? Score!) Or, in lieu of those admirable attributes, a willingness to give up all moral standards and betray anyone who trusts you. Does this sound like you? Then welcome to A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption!"

And remember, A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption by David Misch has been called “The funniest book ever written about corruption” by corruption expert David Misch!





Excerpt:

My dictionary defines “corruption” as “the act of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being debased; impurity; wickedness; depravity.”

Wow. Ol’ Dictionary’s gettin’ pretty judgmental for an inanimate object in a dying technology.

Let’s get real, peeps: corruption is deceit in pursuit of personal gain. And while we can debate whether deceit is “good” or “bad”, nobody argues with personal gain. What are we after in life – personal loss? I don’t think so. And personal gain ain’t gonna leap onto your thighs for a free lap-dance; you gotta make it come to you.

There are lots of ways to do this: Wishing. Hoping. Hard Work. All perfectly valid... if you’re the world’s biggest pussy.

No, a brief perusal of today’s headlines shows that Corruption as a route to wealth and happiness is fast, easy and effective, other than when it takes years, requires enormous effort, and doesn’t work.

But let’s face it, not everyone can be corrupt; it takes a magical combination of opportunity, moral turpitude and having something to sell: wealth, power, sex. (Got the set? Score!) Or, in lieu of those admirable attributes, a willingness to give up all moral standards and betray anyone who trusts you. Does this sound like you? Then welcome to “A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption”!

A bit of preliminary advice; before fooling others, many expert corruptioneers find it helpful to fool themselves. Believing that what you do for personal gain is actually a sacrifice for your family/company/country is crucial to getting away with it. When Chief Bill Clinton Impeacher Newt Gingrich was discovered having an affair during the impeachment, he explained “There’s no question that, partially driven by how passionately I feel about this country, things happened in my life that were not appropriate.” Ah, Newt, we miss you.

(Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Clinton Impeacher Dennis Hastert was making multimillion-dollar payoffs to one of the teenagers he molested as a high school wrestling coach.)

To be conscious you’re evil risks Snidely Whiplash Syndrome, in which the victim grows a long moustache and twirls it obsessively while chortling. (SWS is especially challenging for women, a gender generally unschooled in the craft of evil-moustache-twirling.)

This book [Note to readers under 20: A “book” (buk) is a papyrus-based wireless display device which uses ultra-thin “pages” to convey information] will reveal the secret to success through corruption (and its bff fraud) in the fields of Politics, Finance and Love, and will give you this information in less than 30 minutes, assuming you skip the first 9 pages.

Why should obscene financial wealth and supercilious social status belong only to the professionally corrupt? I dream of a time when – thanks to their purchase of this moderately-priced “book” [see above] – every American will be able to say “I’m rich! I’m corrupt! And I’m not guilty! (Although I’m willing to plea bargain.)”

Available Here: Amazon

Advanced Praise for A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption:

"I thought I knew everything about lying, cheating and stealing​ -- this book disabused me of that. David Misch is one funny motherf@$&r.” ​-​- Penn Jillette, Penn & Teller, Penn's Sunday School Podcast

"Hilarious!" – Daniel Klein, NY Times best-seller Plato and a Platypus Walk Into A Bar... Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

“Who needs Machiavelli when you have Misch? A Beginner’s Guide to Corruption covers much the same ground as The Prince, at a fraction of the time and with more laffs. Read, learn, and satisfy your heart’s every evil desire.” — Ellis Weiner, NY Times best-seller Yiddish with Dick and Jane

​"Misch may be corrupt himself in saying he 'wrote' this book - because everything in it is 100% fact. What he HAS done, though, is figure out how to present such depressing reality hilariously. Really funny and smart." – Paul Provenza, The Aristocrats, ¡Satiristas!



About David Misch:

David Misch has been a comic folksinger, stand-up comedian, and screenwriter; his credits include the multiple-Emmy-nominated Mork and Mindy, the Emmy-losing Duckman, the Emmy-ignored Police Squad!, the Emmy-engorged Saturday Night Live, and the Emmy-ineligible The Muppets Take Manhattan. David wrote Funny: The Book (Applause), blogs for The Huffington Post, and his play Pretty Naked People has its world premiere in Los Angeles this winter.


David’s taught comedy at USC, musical satire at UCLA, and lectured at Oxford University, the Smithsonian Institute, and the University of Sydney (Australia); Yale, 92nd St. Y, Actors Studio, New York Public Library; American Film Institute, Burbank Comedy Festival, Grammy Museum (Los Angeles); Lucasfilm; Austin Film Festival, Midwest Popular Culture Association and VIEW Cinema Conference (Torino, Italy). More at davidmisch.com.


Connect with David: Website | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads


Follow the tour to these stops for exclusive content, interviews, reviews of the book, and to help David get the word out about this funny, celebrity-endorsed book.



Charmed Reflections 7/1
Blissfully Bookerized 7/2
Lost in Sweet Words 7/4
Yah Gotta Read This 7/7
My Book Addiction & More 7/13
Books & Spoons 7/14
Nicole's Book Musings 7/17
Lush Book Reviews 7/18
The World as I See It 7/21
Ten Minute Interview 7/21 (interview)
Book Pleasures 7/21 (interview)
Hart's Romance Pulse 7/28

Surrender My Heart by G.E. Taylor (Release Day Blast, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) Killion Group

Surrender My Heart

By G.E. Taylor

She was a law unto herself until she met David Alexander… Priscilla is a single mom trying to make a life for herself and her young son. She doesn’t have time for romance, especially not with the handsome, charming man who ran over her dog. From the first frightening moment of their first meeting, David is enchanted with the prickly yet fiercely loyal and loving Priscilla. He can’t get her out of his head, and he doesn’t want to. He sets his sights on the one woman he’d fight hell or high water to love. But will Priscilla surrender her heart to him?

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 21st, 2016

Publisher: Self-Published

Print Length: 275 pages

Format: Digital and Paperback

Digital ASIN: B01G0S02SU

Synopsis:

“Jesus Chr—!” David mutters in disbelief, while swerving to avoid hitting the dog that dashed in front of his truck and the young boy who chased after him. He hears a thump, feels it, and he prays to God it isn’t the child he’d hit. The dog he can fix; he’s a veterinarian. The child was a different story. Kneeling beside the boy and his pet, David breathes a sigh of relief. The child is all right. He turns his focus on the mother, and he knew this encounter would not be his last. Her fiery tongue leaves him with no doubt that he would be held responsible for the accident, and if he’d hurt her son, there’d be no place he would be safe from her wrath. But like a moth, he was drawn to the flame.

Priscilla Bradford has one goal—to build a successful psychotherapy private practice in a short time. There is no room in her life for a relationship. She doesn’t want it. She wants no distractions and no complications. Maintaining an aloof persona, she keeps off would-be admirers. Then she runs into David Alexander, a man she cannot ignore. Despite her best efforts to stay fully committed to her goal, she is drawn to him in a way she cannot explain. That did not sit well with her, being a person who likes to be in control and in charge.

Excerpt #1:

The doorbell chimed.

“Don’t open it!” Priscilla’s voice rang out, but it was a second too late. 

Tony charged forward, pulling it open. Boxer dashed through before she or her son could stop him to put on his leash.

“Boxer, come back!” Tony shouted, giving chase.

“Tony, don’t!” Priscilla screamed, running after her six-year-old son. Her frightened heart rushed up to her throat. Praying heavily to God that she got hold of him before he reached the street that was fairly busy in the evenings, she doubled her strides. Tony was learning to check the door first before opening it. Sometimes he forgot. The minute she returned to the house, she would call the electrician to fix the bell. Obviously, there was a short somewhere, since it was ringing spontaneously.

David Alexander glanced quickly at the clock on his dashboard. He’d better hurry, or he would be late to pick up his son from detention. This was becoming a habit with Bryce. Last month, he’d had three detentions. Now this one. Soon—and very soon—the principal would schedule a parent conference. Bryce was skating on thin ice. “Jesus Chr—!” he muttered, swerving to avoid hitting the dog that dashed in front of his truck and the young boy who chased after him. He heard a thump, felt it, and he prayed to God it wasn’t the child he’d hit.

Parking quickly, David pushed his door open and stepped out, hurrying to where the boy and the dog were. Immense relief flowed through him to see that the boy looked all right.

Tony was on his knees, screaming, “He killed him! He killed him! Boxer is dead!”

On bended knees, beside the boy, David spoke softly to him. “I’m sorry I hit your dog. Let me see. . . .”

“What were you doing driving so fast on this street?” demanded a voice filled with fright, worry, and anger as she skidded to a stop and immediately fell on her knees beside Tony. With her heart pumping furiously, Priscilla’s eyes swept over Tony quickly. Breathing hard and fast, she continued, “If you’ve hurt my son or killed his dog, you’re in big trouble.” Swiftly, her eyes and hands roamed over Tony. “Honey, Tony, do you hurt anywhere?”

Shaking his head, he said, “No.” His eyes, which were fastened on his dog, never wavered. “But Boxer—” He broke off, and fresh tears ran down his face.

Satisfied that her son sustained no visible injuries and he appeared to be all right, she turned her attention to Boxer.

“Oh, Mom, Boxer is dead. He’s not moving.”

“May I take a look at him?” David asked the boy gently.

“You stay away from us!” The furious pumping of her heart had not slowed down. Her hand trembled visibly as she reached out to touch Boxer. Swallowing with difficulty, her fingers moved gently over his coat. Boxer didn’t move.

Deciding he couldn’t reason with the mother, David addressed the boy again. “Tony, I’m Dr. Dave. I’m a veterinarian, and I work with animals,” he said, his eyes holding the boy’s while he ignored his mother for the moment. His priority was the boy and the animal. Hopefully, he could deal with the mother later. “May I?”

Available Here: Amazon

***************************

About G.E. Taylor:

I became hooked on reading romance novels during my teen years and my attempt at writing began in high school. All of my manuscripts were mailed under my bed. Eventually, I threw out most of them. That was painful especially since I’d written them by longhand first, then typed them on my old, dependable typewriter.

In college I majored in English but ended up with a Master in Social Work from Rutgers University and a Master in Education from Seton Hall University. Though I had these different career paths, I never gave up my passion for writing or my need to read.  Now I’m more committed to my writing.

I live in New Jersey with my family; enjoy soul music, like dancing and the occasional glass of wine.

Connect with G.E.: Website | Goodreads

*********************************

GIVEAWAY:

Join G.E. Taylor and the Killion Group as we celebrate the release of Surrender My Heart with a Release Day Blast on July 6th. Included in this release day blast is exclusive content, a spotlight of the book, and a giveaway.

  One GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive a SIGNED copy of Desperate Decision!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Follow the blast to these participating blogs for new content throughout the day:

Books & Spoons

Yah Gotta Read This

Happily Ever Chapter

Nicole's Book Musings

Underneath the Covers

EskieMama Reads

A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia

Evermore Books

 

Invisible by Allie Harrison (Release Day Blast, excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

Invisible
By Allie Harrison

Invisible Release Day Blast

June 28th

INVISIBLE by Allie Harrison is a sexy thriller that will steal your breath and set your chill your heart. Ellie Westfall is trying to live her life, raise her son, and keep out of trouble. Unfortunately, fate and evil have other plans. After surviving a bank robbery, Ellie is forced to put her life and son's life in the hands of FBI Agent Gil Trent, a man whose deep green eyes captivate her, and whose strength makes her feel safe for the first time in years. But Gil is hiding something. Can she trust him or will his secrets get them killed? Is falling in love worth the risk? Is trusting him worth dying for?

Genre: Thriller w/ Romantic Elements 
Release Date: June 28^th, 2016

Publisher: Indie Published

Print Length: 249 pages

Format: Digital

ASIN: B01FVFWCK4

Synopsis:
 

After a terrifying bank robbery brings her face to face with a masked gunman, Ellie Westfall hopes she and her son are safe. But Ellie soon learns there are worse things to fear, like dead bodies, or maybe becoming one. And as shadows close in and a bigger danger threatens, she has to trust FBI Agent Gil Trent to keep her safe from the monster bent on making her his own. But Gil Trent is hiding something. Can Ellie put her life in Gil's hands? Or will his secrets get them both killed?

Excerpt #3:

He looked through the rifle scope. He only saw the three people in the kitchen. The blond girl laughed silently. The dark haired girl picked up a cookie and took a bite. He should shoot her for her own stupidity, putting those worthless calories in her body when her body was so perfect. Didn’t she know empty calories now only led to heart disease and fat hips later?

No other movement anywhere. He supposed his target could be in the basement. He could wait. He had time. He had patience. He had perfection.

As he moved the scope and studied the rest of the house again, he took in the tree in the back yard. It was a red maple, beautiful and symmetrical. He loved how the leaves started changing into a brilliant red. Maybe, after he finished this job, he would stop at a nursery and buy one. It would look good in his own yard.

A tall, good-looking young man of about twenty entered the kitchen from stage right, obviously from a hallway. The target followed him.

“At last…” Cross hairs in the middle of the man’s back, he drew in a deep breath and let half of it out. He would love to stay here a few more moments and revel in the rush that came with knowing the man had no idea he stood in the line of fire. But the target could any second turn and disappear back into the hidden part of the house. He didn’t have the luxury of taking that chance.

He squeezed the trigger.

Available Here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About Allie Harrison:

Allie Harrison lives with her husband in Southern Illinois. By day, Allie works in the medical field, but when she clocks out, she hits the keyboard, crafting stories readers will love. When she isn’t enjoying fun family time, games with friends, reading, crafts, music, camping, biking, and hiking, she’s working to build fictional worlds and unforgettable characters.

Connect with Allie: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

****************************

Join Allie Harrison and the Killion Group as we celebrate the release of Invisible with a Release Day Blast on June 28th. Included in this release day blast is exclusive content, reviews of the book, a spotlight of the book, and a giveaway. One GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive an e-Copy of Hargrove House, book one of The Haunted Series!

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the blast to these participating blogs for new throughout the day:

EskieMama Reads

Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

Brooke Blogs

Yah Gotta Read This

Charmed Reflections

United Indie Book Blog

Hart's Romance Pulse

The Phantom Paragrapher

The Reading Addict

Books & Spoons

Ali - The Dragon Slayer

Donna's Book Blog

My Book Addiction and More

Cyn's Reviews and Promotionals

A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia

The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen (guest post, book blast and GIVEAWAY)

It is my pleasure to share a guest post by author Pamela Binnings Ewen.

From Lawyer to Women’s Fiction Writer - the journey

by 

Pamela Binnings Ewen

As a rather poor young woman entering the legal profession years ago, the most difficult hurdle I faced was balancing my time between a demanding career and family. While raising my son--the light of my life--I worked my way through the college undergraduate years and then through law school. I wanted to give my boy the sun, moon, and stars--the best of everything. But practicing law is competitive--long hours, traveling. Still, I fought not to see this as a choice.

It happened that my grandmother, who I adored, passed away during my years in college. We were close, and all my life she’d dazzled me with stories of her adventures, marching as a suffragette, and then through the decade of the 1920’s following my grandfather’s footsteps (as her custom required). My grandfather was a medical missionary, first in the jungles of Siam, and later as a physician to the royal family in Bangkok, where my mother was born. As a child I listened for hours to my grandmother’s philosophical musings, and dreamy stories of tigers and elephants and palaces and kings in Siam, later Paris, Lausanne, Rome. But a few years after she was gone, I discovered that I had never really understood her at all.

While rummaging through her old Chinese chest some years later, I came across old sepia photographs and letters and a portion of a journal from her years of travel through Siam and Europe. These revealed a woman I’d never known, a complex and beautiful young woman with great talent, trained to sing grand opera. I’d never known! The letters revealed that when my grandfather returned from the battlefields of France after WWI, she followed his dream and gave up her own, still, all the while haunted by her longing to sing. The Moon in the Mango Tree was born. (The photos are posted at www.pamelaewen.com )

The sting of truth in the story was this: our grandmother’s generation of women had no real choice when it came to careers. Despite Edna St. Vincent Millay’s lovely, lovely light, stepping out beyond social boundaries was a risk; no support networks existed in those days for ordinary women who failed. Even though women had just won the vote, in most states the law still prohibited them from serving on juries, owning separate property, or accessing credit or managing the family funds.

Our grandmothers paved the way for women today. They fought, and sacrificed. Because of them we are free to steer our own courses through life now. Today we have the RIGHT to choose our own dreams, whether our choice is to work in the home or outside, or to try to balance the two. Those old letters, those glimmering shades of the past in my Grandmother’s Chinese chest, are what inspired me to write my first novel, The Moon in the Mango Tree. Soon after, I found writing much more exciting than practicing law.

***************************




The Moon in the Mango Tree


by Pamela Binnings Ewen


The Moon in the Mango Tree is an emotional and riveting tale based on the true life of Pamela Binnings Ewen’s own grandmother. Under the glittering lights of the palace in Siam, can a woman choose between the freedom she craves and the husband she loves with her whole heart? Can she have it all--or does she have to choose? And when you choose between two things you love, must one be forever lost? If you were enchanted by The Moonlit Garden by Corina Bowmann, you’ll be caught in the spell of The Moon in the Mango Tree.

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Release Date: March 21^st, 2016

Publisher: Indie Published

Print Length: 391 pages

Format: Paperback and Digital

Print ISBN: 9780805447330

Synopsis:

The dazzling decade, the 1920's, and a beautiful young singer is torn between her fierce desire for independence--to create something of her own to give meaning and purpose to her life--and a deep abiding love for her husband, a medical missionary who will become royal physician to the court of Siam. Based on a true story, one young woman will travel from Philadelphia of the Roaring Twenties to the jungles of the Orient, to pre-war Paris and Rome, in the struggle to find her place in the world.

Excerpt

As her thigh rested between his legs, she could feel his excitement. She smiled to herself and decided to get a little daring. Hearing a groan come from him, a wicked grin spread across her face.

"Did you say something?" she looked up using her most innocent voice batting her eyelashes.

"Woman, you know exactly what you're doing. Don't play innocent with me." Mac had a stern but playful look in his eyes.

Available Here: Amazon


******************************

About Pamela Binnings Ewen:

After practicing law for many years in Houston, Texas, Pamela Binnings Ewen exchanged her partnership in the law firm of BakerBotts, L.L.P for writing. She lives near New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2013, Ewen’s novel, An Accidental Life, was released by B&H Publishing Group. In addition, in September 2013, an updated, second edition of Ewen’s best-selling non-fiction book, Faith on Trial, was released, including a new ‘User’s Guide’.

In addition to the new releases, Pamela is the author of four novels from B&H Publishing Group, including Secret of the Shroud, The Moon in the Mango Tree (a 2009 Christy Award Finalist), Dancing on Glass (a 2012 Christy Award Finalist, and winner of a Single Titles Reviewers’ Choice Award), and Chasing the Wind ( a Romantic Times ‘Top Pick’). The Moon in the Mango Tree was recently honored as winner of the 2012 Eudora Welty Memorial Award given by the National League of American Pen Women.

Pamela’s fiction writing grows out of her faith journey, which resulted in Faith on Trial in 1999. Faith on Trial , along with Lee Strobel’s A Case for Christ, was chosen as a text for a course on law and religion at Yale Law School in 2000. Pamela is also featured in the film Jesus: Fact or Fiction, produced by Campus Crusade for Christ. An updated second edition of Faith on Trial (September, 2013) includes a new ‘User’s Guide’.

While practicing law Pamela served on the board of directors of Inprint, Inc., a non-profit organization supporting the literary arts in Houston, Texas. Pamela has also served on the board of directors of the New Orleans Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society and she is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans. In 2007 she co-founded the Northshore Literary Society. Pamela received the St. Tammany Parish President’s Arts Award as Literary Artist of the Year in 2009.

Pamela is the latest writer to emerge from a Louisiana family recognized for its statistically improbable number of successful authors. A cousin, James Lee Burke, who won the Edgar Award, wrote about the common ancestral grandfathers in his Civil War novel White Dove At Morning.

Among other writers in the family are Andre Dubus (Best Picture Oscar nomination for The Bedroom; his son, Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog, a Best Picture Oscar nomination and an Oprah pick; Elizabeth Nell Dubus (the Cajun trilogy); and Alafair Burke, just starting out with the well-received Samantha Kincaid mystery series.

Connect with Pamela: Website | Facebook

*****************************

 GIVEAWAY

Join Pamela Binnings Ewen and the Killion Group as we celebrate the release of The Moon in the Mango Tree with this 16 stop Book Blast from March 28^th to April 1st. Included in this book blast is exclusive content, guest posts from Pamela, a spotlight of the book, reviews, and a giveaway. One GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive a $50 Starbucks Gift Card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour to these participating blogs for new content each day:

3/28/2016

Hart's Romance Pulse

Koala Reading Den

Yah Gotta Read This

3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too!

3/29/2016

EskieMama Reads

3/30/2016

Brooke Blogs

OMGReads

Charmed Reflections

Mommabears Book Blog

3/31/2016

Evermore Books

BookSkater

The Reading Addict

Am Kinda Busy Reading!

Donna's Book Blog

4/1/2016

Mama Reads Hazel Sleeps

Canvas and Quill