Posts Tagged ‘history’

The Midas Touch By Gary Grossman, Oren Aviv & Charles Segars ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: July 2, 2026 in Excerpt, giveaways, Mystery, suspense
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The Midas Touch by Gary Grossman, Oren Aviv, & Charles Segars Banner

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THE MIDAS TOUCH
by Gary Grossman, Oren Aviv, & Charles Segars
June 29 – July 24, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

 

 

Synopsis:
National Treasure meets Jack Ryan in THE MIDAS TOUCH

July 19, 1799. Napoleon’s armies advance into Egypt. In the steaming desert sands, his explorers unearth an astounding discovery: The Rosetta Stone. The tablet, cracked and incomplete, will eventually answer mysteries about ancient Egyptian history, culture, and science. But in the years since its partial excavation, world leaders, historians, scientists, and adventurers have speculated that the missing fragments could answer another age-old mystery.

THE MIDAS TOUCH is a globe-trotting adventure that follows CIA cryptologist/puzzle solver/savant Brady Donovan as he investigates the murder of his beloved mentor Dr. Hastings Kaufman, only to find that it leads to a search for the missing pieces of the famed Rosetta Stone and the secret it holds: The Alchemist Gold Theory – how to turn ordinary metals into gold.

Protagonist Brady Donovan partners with British archeologist Teppy Flynn and conspiracy theorist Avery Prophet. Only a heartbeat away is a diabolical Silicon Valley tech giant, D’Arcy Lauren Granier, and her henchmen.

The quest takes them through Napoleonic history and into a contemporary race through the streets of London, America’s backroads, the Caribbean, New Orleans’ French Quarter, Napoleon’s last island prison in the Atlantic, the Louisiana Bayou, and a massive, abandoned salt mine where pirate Jean Lafitte hid his treasures.

History, told in vivid flashbacks, jumps back to 1799 Egypt, and forward through the hundreds of years since, with pirates and presidents on the search for better or worse. Now Brady Donovan fights against the fast- ticking clock, relentless bad guys, and a Category 5 hurricane to where past meets present and greed and betrayal become deadly partners.

THE MIDAS TOUCH is written by international award-winning thriller writer Gary Grossman with Charles Segars and Oren Aviv, the creators of the billion-dollar National Treasure movie franchise.

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Praise for THE MIDAS TOUCH:

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“A perfect piece of entertainment with characters and a story that never disappoints. Poignant in places, nail-biting in others, the plot is accentuated by a take-no-prisoners attitude, similar to speeding down a slalom course with all its twists and turns. It’s quite a ride!” ~ Steve Berry New York Times best-selling author

“The Midas Touch is a thrilling ride through history and modern-day, tantalizing the reader with intrigue, action, and adventure across a labyrinth of archaeological secrets and danger.” ~ Raymond Benson, New York Times best-selling James Bond novelist

“Fans of The DaVinci Code will love The Midas Touch. Grossman, Segars, and Aviv have created an iconic character in Brady Donovan, a CIA cryptologist who trades in his pen for tradecraft to protect the world from a devastating economic weapon. Gripping prose, unforgettable settings, and non-stop excitement. A real page turner!” ~ K.J. Howe, international bestselling author of Skyjack writes

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THE MIDAS TOUCH Trailer:

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Book Details:

Genre: Suspense, Mystery, History Fiction, Globe-Hopping Intrigue

Published by: Fayetteville Mafia Press Publication Date: June 2, 2026 Number of Pages: 334 ISBN: 9781949024999 (ISBN10: 1949024997)

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub

 

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Gary Grossman:

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Gary Grossman

THE MIDAS TOUCH is written by international award-winning thriller writer Gary Grossman (OLD EARTH, the EXECUTIVE ACTIONS and RED HOTEL series) with Charles Segars and Oren Aviv, the creators and executive producers of the exciting and popular Nicholas Cage NATIONAL TREASURE movie franchise.

Catch Up With Gary Grossman:

garygrossmanbooks.com Amazon Author Profile Goodreads BookBub Instagram – @garygrossman1 X – @garygrossman1 Facebook – @AuthorGaryGrossman

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Charles Segars:

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Charles Segars

CHARLES SEGARS has served as a senior executive at Viacom, CBS, The Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation. Segars is also known as Creator and Executive Producer of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures hit movie franchise, National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Currently, Segars enjoys a dual role as CEO of Ovation TV, the only multi-platform program service dedicated to the Arts and as President of Segars Media. Segars is a respected global safety and security analyst. He advises a number of national security-related technology startups and is actively involved in governmental affairs.He has served as a White House Associate as an Advance Team leader for the Office of the President and Vice President of the United States of America, leading a number of secretive domestic and international trips. .

Oren Aviv:

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Charles Segars

OREN AVIV ran Disney Studios from 2006-2010, after heading Disney Marketing for eight years. He became Disney’s first Chief Content Officer, and after leaving Disney he became CMO for 20th Century Fox Studios. In addition to executive producing a dozen films, he also co-created and was Executive Producer of Disney’s National Treasure film franchise. Aviv was named “Marketer of the Year” three separate times by Advertising Age Magazine. He created breakthrough campaigns for the studio’s NARNIA, STEP UP, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the National Treasure franchises, and launched memorable campaigns for many of Pixar’s animated hits, including Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles and Cars. He also launched blockbusters such as The Sixth Sense; Pearl Harbor; Ransom; The Rock; Signs; The Waterboy; Armageddon; Unbreakable; 101 Dalmatians; Con Air; Crimson Tide; Freaky Friday; and Father of the Bride, as well as hundreds of other films under the Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures banners. As CMO at 20th Century Fox, Aviv created the campaigns for Rise of the Planet of the Apes; X-Men: First Class; Ridley Scott’s Prometheus; The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman; and Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning Life of Pi. As head of production at Disney, Aviv was responsible for greenlighting such hits as THE PROPOSAL starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds; Tim Burton’s billion-dollar-grossing Alice in Wonderland; Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End; National Treasure: Book of Secrets; and the Amy Adams musical-comedy Enchanted.

Tour Participants:

Click through the other tour stops for can’t-miss reviews, insider interviews, exclusive guest posts, and more chances to win! Click here to view the Tour Schedule

 

 

History, Suspense, & Gift Cards – Enter To Win
This giveaway is hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Gary Grossman, Oren Aviv, & Charles Segars. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

. THE MIDAS TOUCH by Gary Grossman, Oren Aviv, & Charles Segars

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

A Spotlight On A Soul On Trial By Robin R. Cutler

Posted: June 17, 2026 in Historical
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Book Details:

​ A Soul on Trial: A Marine Corps Mystery at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

By Robin R. Cutler

Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+),  365 pages (442 with back matter)
Genre: Literary Non-Fiction, History
Publisher: View Tree Press
Release date:  May 20, 2026
Content Rating: PG +M: The M rating is because the book is about whether or not a young man committed suicide. There is a brawl and an autopsy described in detail but minimal violence, no sex no abuse, adultery or abortion.

Book Description:

Secrets, Spirits, Scandal, and a Nation Watching
A murder mystery, ghost story and courtroom drama from the Progressive Era 

The death of a young Marine Corps lieutenant in 1907 creates a sensation when his mother, his sister, and his ghost challenge the Navy’s suicide verdict.

A Soul on Trial is the true story of an unprecedented conflict between democratic values and military justice in the age when the modern mass media was born. It is also a tale of the power of the press a century ago, and of the lives of young officers whose private battles were often as challenging as their professional ones.  After her son died under mysterious circumstances in 1907, Rosa Brant Sutton came 3000 miles from Portland, Oregon, to challenge the Navy’s suicide finding. Inspired by her Catholic faith and several alleged postmortem visits from her beloved “Jimmie,” she embarked on a crusade to save his soul from the stigma of a mortal sin– a sin that would keep him out of heaven.

Rosa’s spiritual journey soon became  a political one that would take her through the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., to a courtroom in Annapolis, and, finally, face-to-face with Jimmie’s corpse in Arlington Cemetery. This book also explores the values of a proud and honorable Marine Corps forced into the center of public discourse by Rosa’s uninhibited pursuit of justice. The Corps’ brilliant judge advocate, Henry Leonard, already a combat hero at thirty-three, was the perfect foil for Mrs. Sutton, her renowned attorney, and America’s relentless reporters when the naval inquiry opened in Annapolis in 1909.
By then, millions of Americans had a stake in this confrontation between a patriotic mother and her own government in a military forum. Rosa’s story was irresistible to Progressive Era journalists and high-ranking military officials who joined with members of Congress in a search for verifiable truth that played out on a national stage. In order to save her son’s reputation and defend her own sanity, Rosa ultimately turned to James Cardinal Gibbons, the highest official in the American Catholic Church, and Dr. James Hervey Hyslop, America’s foremost psychical researcher. Hyslop commissioned a detailed field study of her paranormal experiences as part of his research on whether or not the dead communicate with the living. With the press corps as a catalyst, these two men helped Rosa achieve an American brand of justice, as well as redemption both for Jimmie and for herself.

​As H. Michael Gelfand wrote in the Journal of American History, A Soul on Trial explores “one of the most remarkable cases of a civilian challenging the power of the U.S. military in American history… [and it is] a testament to the power that one ordinary individual can wield when determined to seek justice.” Plus, “. . . it is narrative history at its finest.”

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ BAM
​add to goodreads
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Meet Author Robin Cutler:

​Historian, filmmaker and blogger, Robin Cutler’s early life was split between Manhattan and a farm in rural Virginia. An only child, she never felt like one because of the menagerie collected by her mother, Jane Hall, a former screenwriter at MGM. Robin’s siblings included a rescued ocelot, German Shepherds, farm cats, snooty cats, and a screech owl (Sidney), who could not fly but travelled on Eastern Airlines in a modified Nantucket basket.
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Robin decided she wanted to be a historian in the ninth grade. Highlights of her career include working for the National Endowment for Humanities, co-producing an Emmy-nominated dramatic series for PBS, collaborating with several Native American tribes to chronicle their histories and culture on film and video, and publishing three nonfiction books. 
She discovered the extraordinary story told in A Soul on Trial in family papers. She was astonished that Rosa Sutton’s effort to learn the truth about her oldest son’s death created a national sensation between 1907 and 1910. Although Rosa was convinced Jimmie’s ghost came to her several times, he has never visited Robin. Rosa was Robin’s great grandmother.

For much more see https://robinrcutler.com/a-soul-on-trial/ 

connect with the author: website ~ X ~ facebook ~ goodreads

 

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

The Kid’s Korner #25 ~ If You Were Me And Lived In…The American West

Posted: December 27, 2017 in Children's books
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Welcome to The Kid’s Korner.

I decided to do this feature as I have so many great children’s books to share. From picture books, to books for beginning readers, to middle graders, I have plenty of fun ones.

Today I’m sharing a fun adventure book in the If You Were Me And Lived In…  series by Carole P. Roman.

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If You Were Me And Lived In…

The American West

by Carole P. Roman

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Genre: Education / Adventure / Children’s Book

Grade Level: 3 – 9

 My Review

Learn how it was to join the Wagon Train of 1843. What was it like to load everything you own into one wagon and travel west across the country, braving the elements and hidden dangers? What would you do for food and clothing? What did you do for shelter once you arrived at your chosen destination? Life is different, with many new customs, and there’s much to be done to settle into your new life.

There’s so many interesting details shared about settling in the Old West. Many I never even thought about before. With beautiful illustrations by Paula Tabor, and informative discussions on such things as building homes, clothing, names of the times and daily living, Carol captures the image of the American West.

At the end of the book, the author shares about famous people from these times and includes a glossary of words that explain meaning and pronunciations.

Young readers will find this to be a fascinating and fun trip back in time to see how it was done in the American West.

5  Stars

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Synopsis

Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in her exciting new series.

Learn what kind of food you might eat on the Oregon Trail, the clothes you wore in in the American West, what your name could be in the 19th century, and what children did for fun once their many chores were done.

If You Were Me and Lived in…does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture.

So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.

Amazon / B&N

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE