7 Seconds till Eternity IF YOU ENJOY BOOKS THAT AREN'T CLONES OF EVERYTHING ELSE...GIVE THIS ONE A TRY! With this book, Mr. Babb takes his writing in a new direction, from romance novels to the topic of death. Babb's approach is intriguing, written from the perspective of Death's representative. His protagonist is Zach, who collects souls daily on assignment from the Mighty Powers. Zach is one of countless Soul Collectors, known by some as The Grim Reaper, although he does not like that label. The rules he follows are simple: collect souls regardless of his personal sympathies for the dead; avoid lengthy discussions with the spirit; and leave all judgments to the Mighty Powers. Zach wants humanity to understand the process so takes us with him while collecting six souls during one day's assignment. He explains that the journey from life to death takes seven seconds -- that tunnel people describe when experiencing near death situations -- and that near death situations are mistakes made by inexperienced Collectors, not meant to happen. The six souls Zach collects are of varying ages, male and female. Theodore McCabe is an elderly man, a widower whose retirement weighs on him like an iron anchor. McCabe would rather die than be alone, in useless retirement, and ultimately gets his wish. Allen Dalton is a teenager who rarely has his workaholic father's attention. He finally gains his errant father's full attention during a storm on a High School soccer field. Carmen Martinez is young and idealistic, but knows too well life's cruel indifferences. She's finally recovered from public humiliation and bravely forged a new path...just in time for Zach to introduce himself. Raul is a bitter man who takes the easy way in all things. He'd rather steal for a living than work and shirks his paternal responsibilities, until Zach leads him to a new reality. Mariah Newton has always focused on her goals and failed to savor the present. A last minute shopping trip changes everything, and not even a successful businesswoman can negotiate her fate with Zach. Daniel Maxwell decides to commit suicide when his bride does not show up for the wedding. He hopes the impact of his death will destroy her life. Zach shows him the error of this plan, but it's too late for amends. Zach's message is that we can't go back and right life's wrongs once our souls have been collected. Both the living and the dead reap the bitter harvest of our actions and inactions. 7 Seconds Till Eternity has a premise quite unlike anything I've read before. If you enjoy books that aren't clones of everything else on the shelves, give this one a try. Review by: Laurel Johnson for Midwest Book Review CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER A COMPELLING, THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING READ   When Efigenia Hanns is ten years old, her father is killed by a bull, leaving her orphaned; her mother having died in childbirth.  Efi's aunt, Herminia, steps in to care for her and to run the ranch Efi's father left her outside of Seville, Spain.  Efi, in honor of her father, chooses not to sell the ranch, which is used for raising bulls for bullfights, although she receives a generous offer.  When Efi is 18, the son of a man interested in purchasing the ranch tries to rape her in order to control her, leaving Efi with emotional scars about men.   Peter Collins' father is a surgeon who moves his family from Liverpool, England to Madrid, Spain when Peter is ten.  Throughout his young life, Peter has been fascinated with seeing a bullfight, and when he is 20, travels to Seville to visit with a family friend and attend his first bullfight.    On the train to Seville, Pete meets Efi and the two share an instant attraction.  They begin to see one another and quickly fall in love, and with patience, tenderness and care, Peter helps Efi overcome her secret fears about men.    Peter is disappointed by the bullfight; he does not understand the cruelty exhibited toward the bulls, the way they are tortured before dying, and is repulsed.  When he learns Efi's ranch provides bulls for the bullfights, he questions whether their love can survive this conflict.  Efi feels this lifestyle is part of her heritage and does not understand Peter's feelings about the sport.  Peter decides to return to Madrid, although Efi has hinted there may be a compromise.  Will their love survive this rift?  You'll have to read the sequel to find out.   Babb proves himself a wonderful storyteller with this tale of love, passionate romance, and conflict.  He educates the reader about the sport of bullfighting in Spain, along with treasures of historical information, while weaving a spellbinding romantic story.  The ending leaves the reader anxious to learn what happens between Peter and Efi.  A compelling, thoroughly entertaining read.   Author - Christy Tillery French   To purchase from Amazon, click here To compare prices, click here To purchase at Barnes & Noble, click here CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER SUSPENSE, ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE In a world where fame comes as easy as ordering a hamburger, Bart Freeman devises the ultimate promotional gimmick. With the resources from hitting it big in the state lottery and the ambition to make it to the top in the designer clothing world, he sponsors the “Discover America” contest to choose five beautiful ladies to promote his new line of designer clothes.  Five ladies from different areas of America would be selected in a pageant televised nationwide from post 9/11 New York.  For them, this would be a dream come true and for thousands more, it would be a heartbreaking experience.  The media devours his idea and overexposure quickly makes him the hottest commodity in the country. However, as five fortunate ladies prepare for a summer tour to all fifty states, someone has other plans for them. Their plans begin to unfold and their dreams will come crashing down hard around them as beatings, bombings, murders and kidnapping upstage the marketing scheme that Bart worked so hard for. The tour quickly becomes of little interest to them as their very survival hinges on their ability to stop this person before they are eliminated. What was meant to be an adventure of discovery for these five ladies converts into an adventure of a lifetime that would pull them together.  The promise of glamour and fame replaced with menacing perils and survival.  There would be no help from the media as Bart and the five ladies rapidly form as a team to save something more than the tour. They would have to discover who was behind all of this brutality and why the wanted to see them all dead. To purchase from Amazon, click here To purchase, click on the icon To purchase from Barnes & Noble, click here CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER MOVING STORY OF EMOTIONALLY TORN LOVE ALEX — an up-and-coming architect for the city. Now he has to decide what is best. He finds himself between the charm and elegance of Jacklyn and the down-to-earth Sylvia, who shared many of the same professional interests. JACKLYN — has to decide what is best. An accountant student, she finds herself attracted to a man who was full of charisma, but is also the object of desire for Sylvia. SYLVIA — has to decide what is best. The niece of the city mayor, she was forced onto Alex to perform a renovation project at the state university library. She hopes to maintain a professional relationship with Alex, but his knowledge excites her beyond belief. Now her personal interest could bring the entire project down. Three people torn between what is right and their desires. While they have to make their decisions, there would be someone else torn between permitting one of them to survive…or not. TO PURCHASE FROM BARNES & NOBLE CLICK HERE   TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON CLICK HERE CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER A Book that Will Restore Your Faith in True Love William Shakespeare’s “star-crossed lovers” suffered the torment of unfortunate twists of fate in “Romeo and Juliet.”  Likewise, for the main characters of Unforgettable (now available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble) that offers the story of a couple bound with love but burdened with an unlucky destiny.  How can anything be more special than the first person that steals your heart?  When you fall into love for the first time, you feel you can overcome anything in life.  Cindy and Charles learn, through the years, that love is able to overcome many barriers, even death, when it is true and sincere. This highly acclaimed heartbreaking novel has a positive outcome with proceeds from his book being donated to the American Cancer Society. TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE FROM BARNES & NOBLE CLICK HERE Reviews Torn - L.A. Johnson, Midwest Book Review - 5 STARS        Alex Tanner has a real problem. He's a man who prides himself on resolving life's difficulties swiftly, with a minimum of fuss. His stock in trade is honesty, enforced by reality based logic. So how did such a straight shooter end up with two women in his life? And how can he survive being torn between the two?      Jaclyn is an accounting student he meets while evaluating the University Library for restoration. She's everything he ever hoped for in a woman - curvaceous, straight forward, feminine and kind. She lets him know straight off that he's the sort of man she wants in her life.      The mayor foists his niece Sylvia on Alex, strongly hinting that a successful career restoring historical landmarks is dependent on his niece's participation in the library project. It turns out to be not so huge a sacrifice. Sylvia is shapely, sensible, and a natural beauty. She finds Alex irresistable and he reciprocates.      The premise of Torn is intriguing and unusual. Two beautiful and honest women desire one man in their life - the young Alex Tanner - a man whose innate decency is a large part of his persona. How the three friends resolve their triangle and remain true to themselves is the intriguing part. Their very success and survival depends on wisdom and determination.  Torn holds no similarity to any book I've read. I'll repeat, it's an intriguing and unusual love story. Unforgettable - Cynthia Sue Larson - Amazon Top 500 Reviewer- 5 STARS "Unforgettable" lives up to its name, and then some. This poignant love story is told from the point of view of a shy young man named Charles, who tells the tale of how he met and fell in love with his high school sweetheart, Cindy. Unexpected twists and turns of fate cause emotional and physical upheaval in Cindy and Charles' lives following graduation from high school. Even so, the romance shared by these two young lovers eventually proves its power for transcending all obstacles -- even death. "Unforgettable" may well have you crying tears of release by the end of the book, as it did for me. This book will help restore your faith in the power of love, and will bring you a greater sense of what really matters in life -- making it unforgettable. Click on image to donate to the American Cancer Society If you wish, you may donate directly by clicking on the image to the : American Cancer Society I thank you for your kindness in the fight against this deadly disease!!