Wednesday, August 26, 2026

No Straight Lines to the Stars by Ken Kisco ~ @RABTBookTours #RABTBookTours #NoStraightLinestotheStars #KenKisco #Nonfiction


No Straight Lines to the Stars by Ken Kisco


An Unlikely Journey from Lifeguard Tower to Launchpad

 

Narrative Nonfiction/Inspirational

Date Published: August 4th, 2026

Publisher: Acorn Publishing


No Straight Lines to the Stars is the inspiring true story of a young lifeguard who dared to believe his life could reach far beyond the horizon.

On the beaches of Southern California, Ken Kisco learned that preparation saves lives. From rip-current rescues to split-second emergencies, he discovered that courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to act in spite of it. Those early lessons in resilience and composure pushed Ken to believe he could accomplish anything . . . including his lifelong dream of reaching the stars.

Through relentless perseverance and unwavering faith, Ken rose into the heart of America’s most advanced space and defense programs, contributing to human spaceflight initiatives and supporting groundbreaking technologies. His unusual start as a lifeguard helped advance his career, distinguishing him from his Air Force and Navy peers. Yet, his toughest challenges were personal—he faced deep disappointment when a space mission was canceled and learned lessons about trust and integrity from a romance-turned-ruse.

Ken’s journey reveals that success is rarely linear. Setbacks became launchpads, adversity became refinement, and purpose became a compass. Part memoir, part inspiration, and part behind-the-scenes look at America’s quest for the stars, this is the unforgettable story of a man who proves that bold dreams, combined with grit and heart, can launch an ordinary life into an extraordinary one.


 

About the Author:


At ten years old, Ken Kisco dreamed of becoming a rocket scientist, a goal that shaped his life. He earned multiple degrees, including master's degrees from the University of Southern California in systems management and from San Jose State University in industrial psychology.

As an aerospace systems engineer for NASA, Rockwell International, and Boeing, he developed new technologies and earned recognition as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fellow.

Ken now shares his passion by mentoring USC engineering students, inspiring them to dream boldly. When not traveling, he and his wife enjoy San Diego's beaches, where they live.


Contact Links:

Website

Instagram: @Kennasaman


Purchase Link:

Amazon

 

RABT Book Tours & PR

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Tuesday, August 25, 2026

The Filbert Steps (The Telegraph Hill Mysteries) by Lila Blake ~ #CozyMystery

The Filbert Steps (The Telegraph Hill Mysteries) by Lila Blake

About The Filbert Steps:

 

The Filbert Steps (The Telegraph Hill Mysteries)

Cozy Mystery

1st in Series

Setting - California

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sutro House Press

Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 31, 2026

Print length ‏ : ‎ 301 pages Digital

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8951746016

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0H52YDTRG

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A body on the steps. A neighborhood that saw nothing.

Vivian Salvatore came back to Telegraph Hill with a cat, a divorce settlement, and a book she cannot seem to write.

At fifty-two, newly single and trying to rebuild her life, she has settled into the rhythms of San Francisco’s most beautiful staircase: coffee at the corner café, morning walks on the Filbert Steps, old neighbors on three corners, and the comforting illusion that everyone knows everyone.

Then, on a bright October morning, Vivian finds one of the city’s most ambitious developers dead on the third landing.

The police are ready to call it a fall. But Vivian spent twenty-seven years reading teenagers’ faces for a living, and she knows when a story does not fit. A coat buttoned wrong. A cigarette ground out where it should not be. Storefronts quietly sold to a post-office box in Delaware. And a neighborhood full of people who had reason to want one man gone.

As Vivian begins asking questions, she discovers that Telegraph Hill has been keeping secrets for years — about money, loyalty, grief, and who really gets to call a place home.

The Filbert Steps introduces Vivian Salvatore, a sharp-eyed, warm-hearted sleuth who notices everything and forgives almost as much.

Perfect for readers who love older women sleuths, atmospheric San Francisco mysteries, neighborhood secrets, found community, and fair-play cozy mysteries with literary depth.

About Lila Blake:

Lila Blake writes San Francisco neighborhood mysteries about foggy stairways, old houses, found family, and the secrets people keep when a place begins to change. Her Telegraph Hill Mysteries begin with The Filbert Steps, a literary cozy mystery featuring Vivian Salvatore, a fifty-two-year-old former teacher rebuilding her life after divorce. Lila is published by Sutro House Press, an independent fiction imprint based in San Francisco.

Links: 

Website: lilablake.com 

Purchase Link: Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

August 24 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
August 24 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
August 24 – Books1987 - SPOTLIGHT
August 25 – Christy's Cozy Corners – RECIPE
August 25 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW
August 25 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT
August 26 – Storybook Lady – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 26 – Sarandipity's – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 27 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
August 27 – Romance Novel Giveaways – AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 28 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
August 28 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT
August 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
August 29 – Ruff Drafts – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 29 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 29 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
August 30 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 30 – Book Hookup – REVIEW
August 31 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
August 31 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT

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Sunday, August 23, 2026

The Secret in the Sampler: A Plain Truth Mystery by Abigail B. Hartwell ~ #CozyMystery

The Secret in the Sampler: A Plain Truth Mystery by Abigail B. Hartwell

About The Secret in the Sampler:


The Secret in the Sampler: A Plain Truth Mystery

Amish Adjacent Cozy Mystery with Slow-Burn Romance

1st in Series

Setting - Ohio

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Plain Truth Press

Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 31, 2026

Print length ‏ : ‎ 358 pages

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GX372D82

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What would you do if the family heirloom hidden in your aunt’s estate could expose a stolen inheritance—and make you the next person someone needs silenced? Two years after losing her husband, Nora Bell returns to the quiet Ohio Amish-country town of Briar Creek to settle her late aunt’s estate. She expects dusty type drawers, unpaid bills, and enough sympathy casseroles to survive a minor siege. Reopening The Bell & Quill, Aunt Lenora’s old letterpress and stationery shop, is supposed to be a temporary project—not the beginning of an entirely new life. Then Nora discovers an antique hand-stitched sampler concealed inside a cedar trunk. Its mismatched initials, reversed border, and nearly invisible name suggest that the sampler is more than a family keepsake. It may be the only surviving record of a child erased from Briar Creek’s history—and an inheritance quietly stolen decades ago. Before Nora can uncover what her aunt knew, a local estate appraiser is found dead. He had been asking questions about the sampler, searching for a missing auction ledger, and meeting privately with someone determined to keep an old land transfer from being examined too closely. Now Nora is following a trail of altered records, old letters, disputed property, and carefully guarded family secrets. Her unexpected ally is Eli Yoder, a reserved Amish widower and auction clerk who knows Briar Creek’s family histories almost as well as he knows when people are refusing to tell the truth. Eli’s dry humor and steady presence make him useful. The grief he recognizes in Nora makes him dangerous in an entirely different way. As suspicion spreads through the Amish farms, antique shops, auction houses, and polished tourist businesses surrounding Briar Creek, Nora realizes the sampler does not simply reveal what happened in the past. It threatens someone’s money, reputation, and future. And the person who killed to keep its secret hidden may already know Nora has begun to unravel the pattern. Readers will discover:
  • A clever, emotionally grounded amateur sleuthwhose knowledge of printing, paper, handwriting, and design helps her notice what others overlook.
  • An atmospheric Amish-country settingfilled with rural roads, estate auctions, quilt work, family businesses, and small-town secrets.
  • A layered, low-gore cozy mystery involving an antique sampler, a hidden heir, altered records, and a disputed inheritance.
  • A clean, chaste slow-burn romance between two widowed people rebuilding their lives through trust rather than instant attraction.
  • Warm community characters and lightly witty dialogue without turning the mystery into slapstick.
  • A satisfying standalone investigation that opens the door to more secrets from The Bell & Quill.
The Secret in the Sampler is the first novel in The Plain Truth Mysteries, a gentle Amish-adjacent cozy mystery series about old objects, hidden histories, rural grudges, and the truths people leave behind on paper and cloth. Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower’s Assaulted Caramel, Laura Bradford’s Hearse and Buggy, and Vannetta Chapman’s Falling to Pieces.

About Abigail B. Hartwell:

Abigail B. Hartwell writes gentle Amish-adjacent cozy mysteries rooted in the small towns and wooded backroads of east-central Ohio. Though she is not Amish, she lives near Amish communities and draws inspiration from the region’s quiet rhythms, close-knit families, old stories, and rural traditions. She shares a modest home on five wooded acres with her long-haul truck driver husband. They have two grown daughters and three grandchildren. When she is not writing, Abigail enjoys church activities, family time, and the peaceful beauty of the Ohio countryside.

Social Media Links:


Purchase Links – Amazon Book Amazon Series

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

August 18 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea - SPOTLIGHT
August 18 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
August 19 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
August 19 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 20 – Boys' Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
August 20 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
August 21 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
August 22 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
August 22 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
August 23 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT
August 23 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 24 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 25 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 26 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
August 27 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 28 – Sarandipity's – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
August 28 – Book HookUp – REVIEW
August 29 – Romance Novel Giveaways – SPOTLIGHT
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Thursday, August 20, 2026

Burned Out by Iris Waichler ~ @IrisWaichler @RABTBookTours #RABTBookTours #BurnedOut #IrisWaichler #Nonfiction #selfhelp


Burned Out by Iris Waichler

Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Date Published: May 29, 2026

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group 


       


About the Book:

Burned Out evolved from conversations I had with a friend who had been a firefighter for 30 years. He shared stories about traumas he and his fellow firefighters experienced while on the job. We discussed universal challenges that first responders face in terms of not knowing what to do with this trauma, recognizing its symptoms,  and the impact it had on family members and loved ones. I interviewed male and female paramedics, firefighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) around the country to get their candid personal stories and experiences.  I also interviewed family members. We all shared the goal of wanting to. help fellow first responders and family members understand the dynamics of trauma, its impact, and how they can get support to cope with its consequences with renewed understanding and resilience.
 

Key themes of book:
  1. What types of trauma do first responders experience on the job?

  2. How does it impact them physically and emotionally?

  3. How does it affect their relationships with family members and loved ones?

  4. How can first responders and family members understand and  cope with these traumas?

  5. What ways can they effectively communicate and understand the ramifications of trauma?

  6. Where can they go for help to deal with the trauma and learn to heal from it?

 
Message for readers: My hope for those who read this book is that you will have a greater understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices our first responders and their families make in the service of others. I believe reading these personal accounts in combination with the information, support, and resources provided will be invaluable to all who take the time to read Burned Out. I hope you will share it with others you believe might find it beneficial.



About the Author:


Iris Waichler has been a well known patient advocate and licensed clinical social worker for the last 40 years. She began her career working with geriatric patients who experienced catastrophic illness and counseled them and their families about adapting to these medical problems. She helped them understand their medical condition helping them to cope with the disease and its impact on their lives.

She is an award winning author. In addition she is a prominent speaker presenting on topics related to infertility and caregiving. She has been featured in Redbook, Parade, MindBodygreen.com., Forbes Magazine and Next Avenue Magazine. She also has done many radio shows and podcasts.

Iris has taught and supervised social work students, medical students, interns, residents, and nurses about patient rights, ethics.

Ms. Waichler found herself in the role of a patient when she battled infertility for many years. The feelings of loss and helplessness she personally experienced were profound. She promised herself if she was successful in having a child she would do everything she could to help other people fighting infertility.


She authored a second award winning book, RIDING THE INFERTILITY ROLLER COASTER, A GUIDE TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE. This book won 4 awards including 2 best book of the year awards. The response was so great she began doing individual and group counseling with people who had infertility. She volunteered for RESOLVE, a national infertility group, and went on to do a series of radio interviews, magazine articles, workshops, and speeches on infertility topics.

Her book, ROLE REVERSAL, HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR AGING PARENTS, has won 8 major book awards. Her experience in caring for her beloved father, who died at age 97, triggered her passion in reaching out to others who suddenly find themselves in a caregiver role and are uncertain about what to do or where to go for help. In this book she shares her father’s inspiring story and her personal and professional experience in assuming the challenges that come with being a caregiver for an aging loved one.

Iris has been doing freelance writing for the last 18 years. The focus of her work has been on health related topics. She also does workshops and speeches offering caregiving tips for caregiver family members and educating healthcare professionals.

Ms. Waichler lives in Chicago with her husband, Steve, and her daughter, Grace and her mini golden doodle Brandi. She loves to travel whenever she can and to spend time with friends and family.

Contact Links:

Purchase Links:


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Wednesday, August 19, 2026

MalaBrava by Carol James Marshall ~ Horror, Dark Comedy



MalaBrava 
Carol James Marshall 

Genre: Horror, Dark Comedy
Date of Publication: August 1, 2026
ASIN: B0H12RB68Z
Number of pages: 241
Word Count: 58,477

About the Book:

Welcome to Malabrava a town where the squirrels carry knives, the vampires have HOA problems, and the local mad scientist is still workshopping the perfect dick.

When Grizzy Del Monstruo isn’t decapitating problems or resurrecting boyfriends in her basement lab, she’s navigating family dinners, supernatural bureaucracy, and the inconvenience of having a moral compass. Around her, monsters bicker, humans wander in by accident, and nobody seems particularly concerned about the body count as long as it stays within city limits.

Malabrava is a brutally funny, deeply inappropriate adult dark comedy packed with gore, sex, monsters, and unhinged domesticity.

If you like your horror ridiculous, your comedy filthy, and your towns aggressively cursed, you’ve just found your new favorite place to never visit.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

Read an Excerpt:

Griselda grew up in Malabrava. Her family founded the town. The streets, the smells, the houses, the people, and even the squirrels with knives run through her veins. She loves Malabrava and all its quirks.

Grizzy is a Del Monstruo. Not the youngest, not the oldest. She’s the middle-aged one. The Auntie. The one who never married, never wanted to. Grizzy’s the one people call when something needs to be handled. Because that’s what Grizzy does. Grizzy handles things.

Nobody asks how. It’s understood. Grizzy is what some might call sketchy with a heart of gold. She’ll go to war for the people she loves, and she has a clean, no-fuss method of decapitation for the ones she doesn’t.

She lives in the family home, dead center in the town of Malabrava. Her parents retired to a smaller place on the outskirts, saying they needed more land for at-home burials. Her sister Gracie prefers her condo near their parents. Gracie said that the convenient burial space is a plus. Makes cleanup easier.

They left Grizzy the house. You’d expect a gothic mansion, right? This is Malabrava, where things creep in broad daylight. A home for someone called Del Monstruo should come with bats, cobwebs, a gong, a butler who only groans, and a maid with wild frizzy red hair and access to the gong.

But no.

Grizzy’s grandfather was a modernist. Way ahead of his time. He wanted to be a supervillain, and in his mind, supervillains needed sleek, sprawling homes with underground bunkers, hidden rooms, and plans for a moat.

He never made it to “super.” He was a decent villain. He refused to recycle and regularly flipped off children, but he lacked the follow-through. He couldn’t commit to one evil scheme long enough to earn the title.

Grizzy’s grandmother was the true force. A science-minded woman with dangerous ideas. She adored the modern mansion. It gave her room for her lab.

That lab became Grizzy’s favorite place in the world.

Grizzy the fixer, the inventor, the one always tinkering away in her lab is deeply loved by her family. But her mother, a devout occultist with a dramatic streak, had other hopes. She wanted Griselda to be witchy. Ideally, a Voodoo Priestess. She always said Griselda looked striking in white. Though, in the end, she would’ve settled for a kitchen witch with a solid essential oil game.

Her father, a known vampire, had his hopes too. Gracie inherited the thirst. Gracie was the one born with a taste for blood.

But not Grizzy.

Instead, she snuck into her grandmother’s lab as a child. Touched everything labeled “Do Not Touch.” Sniffed everything marked “Hazard.” Dreamed of beakers and blueprints. She ignored every warning.

At twelve, she came out to the family as a Mad Scientist.

Her parents told her they loved her. Accepted her, a little reluctantly. Gracie grinned. She had another reason to be the favorite now.

They threw a family barbecue for her official announcement. The cousins came. The uncles, the aunts, the vaguely-related lurkers. Grizzy cut a cake shaped like a beaker and declared, “I’m a Mad Scientist, like Granny.”

There was a pause.

Some awkward glances.

Then applause.

The Del Monstruos were known for monsters...being them, birthing them, bargaining with them. But Grizzy wasn’t rattled by the hesitation. She knew the truth.

What was better than being a monster?

Inventing them.


About the Author:

Carol James Marshall is a storyteller who loves serving up scary stories with and sometimes adds some laughs. 

Carol writes genre-bending horror packed with comedy, paranormal twists, sci-fi, and suspense. As a bilingual, low-vision author, she uses adaptive tech and bold fonts to bring her stories to life, crafting her books in English, Spanish, or sometimes both. 

When she isn't weaving nightmares or getting lost in an audiobook, Carol works as a medical coder and biller. Her journey spans from the sunny streets of Los Angeles, California, to the vibrant culture of Mexicali, Mexico, and she now happily calls Georgia home.




Amazon: 



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If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.
Thank you for supporting Sapphyria’s Books.