Author Bud Bradshaw

About Bud Bradshaw

     Bud Bradshaw’s fictional work, “RIVERWALKER,” is his second work, the first being “BRANDISHING,” the true-crime story of the California Highway Patrol’s worst tragedy.  His previous formal writing experience consisted of med-legal report writing - chiefly as a Qualified Medical Evaluator and Disability Evaluator – and Intelligence report writing while he served as a Special Agent with the Army’s 109^th MI Group from 1969-71.

     As an artist, Bradshaw’s work focuses on military history and the American West.  Many of his paintings, prints, and Giclees appear in private collections and museums in the U.S., Canada, England, Europe, Hong Kong, and Australia. He is a member of the Western Artists of America. 

     Along the way, Bradshaw worked as a professional musician while earning his B.S. and D.C. degrees.  You may view his web site and blog at www.budbradshaw.com/blog

About RIVERWALKER

RIVERWALKER features the character debut of San Antonio PD veteran detective Gifford Holloway, a former Special Agent with Army Intelligence.  Holloway is in pursuit of the most despicable of criminals, a savage murderer who victimizes children and dumps their remains in the water and along the banks of San Antonio’s beautiful and world-renowned Riverwalk attraction.

Frustrated at the lack of progress on the case and spurred on by an encounter with the mysterious Madame Candelaria, a local psychic, Holloway contemplates calling upon his special gift of “seeing”, though officially off-limits within the SAPD, to help solve the case and bring an end to the terror.  Along the way, Holloway finds an ally in the capable and sensuous newspaper reporter, Salma Veramendi, who carries her own history of abuse

 On the bend of the river looms Adler’s Antiques, a historical landmark owned and operated by Wolff Adler, a drug-pumping psychopath descended from a familial line of predators dating back to post-World War I Germany.   Himself a victim of horrendous child abuse, Adler is the offspring of a Nazi father and a Mexican bruja, a witch who practiced the “old” religion.  Operating from deep within his secret lair beneath the Alamo, San Antonio’s most recognizable and sacred shrine, Adler assumes the guise of Tlaloc, Aztec god of storm, thunder, and … child sacrifice.  Adler’s demonic reign of terror, acting upon a distorted internal belief system - a synthesis of Norse mythology and ancient Aztec practices – has a stranglehold on the residents of San Antonio.   Wolff Adler has become the RiverWalker.

When his own daughter is suddenly abducted, Holloway pulls out all the stops and, with Salma by his side, closes in on the killer in a gripping climax. 

Read the Excerpt

“…..Holloway squinted, eyes straining through the shimmering candlelight.  What he saw perplexed him.  A series of bizarre symbols and figures had been incorporated into the design of this board, some around the perimeter, some more centrally located. ‘No, Lieutenant, it's not a Ouija board,’ Madam Candelaria croaked, her voice suddenly deeper.  ‘This is called la Tabletta que hable.  The Tablet that speaks. This Tablet, Lieutenant, is far more powerful than any Ouija board. In fact, this one can be quite deadly."  (RIVERWALKER, Ch. 3: “Madam Candelaria”).

“…..Suddenly, with a gasp, she stopped.  Her eyes flew fully open, whites above the irises. "Retribution!" she rasped.  Holloway's eyes were riveted to hers.  The old woman seemed genuinely afraid.  The lips on her contorted face trembled, sending a thin river of spittle dribbling downward from the corner of her mouth.  Again she spoke.  "The Beast has awakened.  The River Beast of San Antonio.”   (RIVERWALKER, Ch. 3: “Madam Candelaria”)

 “…There, in the stillness of inner earth he paused, darkness within darkness, coiled evil, the only sounds the pulse in his ears, his own breathing, and the soft hiss of the San Antonio river, fifteen feet away.” (RIVERWALKER, Ch. 20: “Lair”)

“…For a long moment, she was still.  Then she felt her own heart beat, felt the breeze, sweet and warm, rush into her lungs, felt her lashes flutter as the river’s cool caress brushed her cheek.  Slowly, Salma pulled her sunglasses down over her tear-brimmed eyes, picked up her thermos and attaché, and quietly walked away, knowing she was loved but not knowing why she cried.”   (RIVERWALKER, Ch.5: “Salma”) 

 “…Otto stood in his kitchen and read how all three victims had been mutilated in the same way, with symbols carved into their skin.  ‘Animal figures,’ the article said.  ‘Possibly Aztec in design.’”  (RIVERWALKER, Ch. 12: “Heinrich”) 

Bud Bradshaw will be on book tour September and October. If you would like to be a part of the book tour with a guest post at your blog or a book review contact Rebecca at her email, Rebecca.camarena@yahoo.com

 

The Final Victim – a Paranormal Mystery Thriller by Larry Jukofsky

About The Final Victim

A victim of the holocaust rises from the grave to seek vengeance. From the death camps in Poland to the steamy shores of South Carolina, the author guides you through a macabre vampire tale of murder, intrigue, and revenge in "The Final Victim"

Read the Excerpt

For some reason, Rudy was uncomfortable tonight, physically and mentally. Transporting a coffin was a new experience. It frightened him. Superstition played a large role in his limited educational life. Here it was dark, stormy, and he was delivering a corpse. The route took him through wooded and desolate country, with hanging Spanish moss casting eerie shadows as he drove by. His bright lights were on, only being dimmed when a car came from the opposite direction. The lightning and thunder added to the unease caused by the downpour. Rudy’s grasp of the steering wheel was quite tight. The rhythmical beat of the windshield wiper was his only entertainment as the radio had not worked in quite some time. Rudy was horrified when a bolt of lightning seemed to strike the ground quiet close to his truck. It took considerable effort to hold the wheel firmly. Through the rear view mirror he could see no flames and concluded no damage had been done to his cargo. The dead guy in back wouldn’t mind a jolt or two anyhow, would he?

Thinking the better of his decision to continue driving in this downpour, he pulled over to the side of the highway.  It was when he turned off the motor that he realized he was not alone in the truck. He had  a  passenger seated alongside him. 

About Larry Jukofsky

Larry Jukofsky is a first time author at the young age of 86. His novel The Final Victim, in the genre of mystery, horror is his debut novel. He was born in New Jersey in 1925. He earned his degree at Columbia University, New York Medical School and interned at Hackensack Hospital. His eye training was at Barnes hospital St. Louis, Mo., where he met and married wife Betsy.

His active duty was in the United State Naval Reserves U.S.N.R. and U.S. Marines as an Ophthalmologist for First Marine Division in Korea. He opened first office in New Jersey in 1953 and moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina in 1978.

When Larry is not writing he is enjoying his retirement with his 2 children, 4 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

The Final Victim is available as a Kindle and Book Edition at Amazon and Barnes and Noble 

Visit Larry at his tour page with Pump Up Your Book!

Saturday Biography Review: Farewell to Manzanar

Title: Farewell to Manzanar

Author: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston

About the Authors: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, a Japanese American, was born in California where she has spent most of her life. As a child during World War II, she was interned with her family in a camp in Central California, Manzanar.  She met her husband, James D. Houston, while studying journalism and sociology at San Jose State University. He has written novels and nonfiction.

Publisher: Random House, Inc. 1973

Story Summary: Wakatsuki’s memoir recounts her childhood experience as she and her family were detained in Manzanar during the years of World War II. Her story outlines in detail a tragedy of suspicion and indignity inflicted upon American-born Japanese during a sad epoch of world history. It showcases the strength of these people and their ability to cope with dislocation and then reenter mainstream life after the war. Thirty years later Jeanne returns with her husband and children for a visit to the former internment camp. There she achieves some degree of resolution and personal peace.

In my travels up and down Highway I-395, I pass Manzanar several times a year. All that remains in this beautiful location at the foot of the Sierra’s is a guard tower and a huge building that looks like an airport hangar which now serves as a museum. This book is now used in middle school sociology studies in the service of helping student develop cultural diversity and to outline the sad effects of racism run awry.

The book contains a group study guide and an author interview.

Recommendation: I give this book ***1/2 stars. It is informative and reads quickly.

Saturday Biography Review: Hitler, the Pathology of Evil

Title: Hitler: The Pathology of Evil

Author: Dr. George Victor

About the Author: Dr. George Victor, a practicing psychotherapist specializes in evaluation of personality disorders. He lives in New Jersey, USA

Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. 1998

Summary: This unique biography may be termed a psychological history of Adolf Hitler, a leader who turned the history of the world upside down. Dr. Victor explores the psychogenesis of Hitler’s hatred of Jews, rooted in his own self-loathing and rejection of that fact that in all probability, his grandfather was sired by a man of Jewish origins. Sickly at birth, his mother overprotected him and doted upon him while his father, a strict disciplinarian was abusive toward him. Hitler was never able to meet the man’s expectations. Dealing with a country that suffered terribly after its defeat in World War I, the leader of the new Nazi party set out to change the economic and ethnic character of Germany. A charismatic speaker, Hitler was able to entice his followers to accept programs designed to create a perfect race through genocide, involuntary sterilization programs and other practices the we deem to be atrocious in hindsight. Few people, even among his closest followers, we aware of the extent of the plans he had carried out. Hitler's obsession with attaining racial purity led to strategic decisions that resulted in Germany's defeat. The author also explores elements of his personal life such as his bizarre sexual practices, his inability to relate closely to others and his low sense of self-worth.

While not a “quick, easy read” this biography gives an overview of the war in Europe and the psychology of the man behind it. The author avoids highly clinical terminology and his material is organized and presented in a logical manner. The work is well-written and well-documented.

Recommendation: I give this biography ***1/2 and recommend it to those who have interest in World War II, in the psychology of evil or in the roots of Hitler’s choices. I did not in anyway feel that Dr. Victor was trying to defend Hitler’s behavior. He rather presented an objective analysis of the man’s character.

I’m off to read something light and fluffy now!

Review submitted by Victoria Ceretto-Slotto, http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/