Michael Phillip Cash Author Guest Post

 I am participating in a Virtual Book Tour. I have read and reviewed this book. Today I have the privilege of having a guest post from this wonderful author. Enjoy!

“Ghosts of Our Past” by Michael Phillip Cash

I’m sitting here in my den, laptop where it should be (on my lap), and I’m watching my new (old) favorite channel – MTV Live. I grew up on MTV. It was Channel 29 for the first 20 years of my life and it was on 24/7.  Then, for some generation-killing reason, some corporate guy at Viacom decided to stop airing music videos, so they went full on into reality TV. 

I don’t like anything about reality TV, except a Tony Robbins show on NBC that aired many moons ago. I love music, and I love watching live shows, so this channel has become my therapy for when I’m writing – which is what I’m doing now. 

One of my favorite bands, Eagles of Death Metal, is on MTV Live right now. They’re playing live in Paris, and they’re wearing red feathers on their shirts. I liked the Eagles of Death Metal in the past, but watching them playing now, live, I LOVE THEM. Absolutely love them! 

 I’m not one to point out something negative, but the Eagles of Death Metal were playing during the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015 at The Bataclan. I remember watching the news thinking of the horror everyone at the concert was going through. People lost their lives that night because of a senseless act of violence. But now I’m watching this band play live on MTV and let me tell you they are tighter, better and stronger than ever. This band witnessed hell in front of their eyes and here they are, playing harder and louder than ever before.

Should the ghosts of our past stop us from moving forward from accomplishing what we were born to do? The answer is a resounding HELL NO! Nothing, absolutely nothing, should stop you from doing what you love. I’ve personally had some setbacks in life, sour life changes that made life a bit more difficult. Our past should not represent our future. Anthony Robbins said that. We must forge ahead and create our future.

When you write, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of the past. Your characters could have been people you knew, loved or hated. Stopping what you love because of a setback is not living. Curling up and not moving forward is not what we are intended to do.  Everyone has setbacks. All setbacks are simply stepping stones to getting where you want to be. No past-life ghosts should haunt you for more than ten minutes. Life is too short to be dwelling on ‘what happened’ in the past. The past is prologue to your life now.

If you are reading this, you are alive, and breathing, and well. Life is good and you should be grateful that you have an opportunity to wake up every day and thank everything and everyone for taking those first steps in the morning. Every day above ground is a good day. Anthony Robbins said that too.

Now, please excuse me. This live performance from the Eagles of Death Metal has gotten my blood so pumped up, I have to continue writing more of my current manuscript.

“And then we dance all through the whole night.” – Eagles of Death Metal

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ABOUT MICHAEL PHILLIP CASH

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. His novels are best-sellers on Amazon under their genres – Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Ghost, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror. Michael writes full-time and lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wonderful wife and screaming children. You can follow him @michaelpcash.

Six Informational Children's Books

Genre: Children’s Picture Books

Source: I received copies to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Steak at Stake by Desirée DeNourie

This book won the Mom’s Choice Awards and once you read it you will understand why. The story is told of a young boy named Cole who goes skiing with his family. After a long and tiring day of skiing, they stop at a steakhouse to eat. Cole has several food allergies. He politely asks for his food to be prepared in a manner that he can safely eat it without ending up in an emergency room. The server and the manager are not only not accommodating, but also very rude. They find a restaurant across the street that is more than happy to make his eating experience pleasant and safe. I am hoping that many places are beginning to understand that many people need accommodations as Cole did. Something as simple as serving food up in a dish that held peanut oil could be deadly to some people. This book does an excellent job of educating people and getting the message out.

Blue Angels for Kids by Eric Z

This book has everything you would want to know about the Blue Angels. I had no idea there were so many flying formations. More importantly, I had no idea what they were called or how they performed them. This is a very interesting book full of other links for more information. I am proud to put this book on my classroom shelves.

If You Were Me and Lived in the Ancient Mali Empire by Carole P. Roman

I learned so much about ancient Mali from this book. Many of the people became Muslims. Men had many wives. There were major trade routes used for transporting salt and gold. A griot was a storyteller who memorized the history. This was one of the most important jobs and was passed down from father to son. The book also talks about the importance of each job and the people. There is so much history here that the book should be read multiple times to et it all down.

If You Were Me and Lived on Mars by Carole P. Roman

The author has done a lot of research for this book. The reader will learn the three reasons Mars is unlivable. The reader will learn about the two moons of Mars, and how many times they each orbit the planet. The two hemispheres have a summer and winter. It was interesting to learn Mars has an active volcano. There is a lot of interesting information about what it would be like to live on Mars.

If You Were Me and Lived in Germany by Carole P. Roman

The author gives a quick cultural snapshot of Germany. As usual, I always learn something new no matter how much I think I know. I was unaware that Germany had sixteen states and is the second most popular place in the world for immigrants. She shows how much the outdoors means to the German people. From the large Neuschwanstein Castle, that Disney’s Cinderella Castle is modeled after, to the Miniature Wunderland full of hundreds of miniatures; Germany is definitely a place of contrasts. The author’s short informational book for children is sure to please adults and children alike.

If You Were Me and Lived in the Mayan Empire by Carole P. Roman

As always, there is so much to learn from Carole’s books. I didn’t know that the Mayans were the only ancient American society whose history was written down. Now it was not written in the language we know today, but through carved pictures. They had over 800 symbols. Like many ancient cultures, your job was inherited. Women didn’t have a lot of rights. They could not inherit any land. Everyone in the family worked hard. Prayers were said daily before the shrine every home had. Clothes identified your place in society. They were simple, yet colorful and filled with embroidery. There is so much to learn from this book. I recommend it to all.

Then She Was Born by Cristiano Gentili

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

When I was asked to review this book I told the author I could not guarantee them a date for the review as we were approaching our month of testing at school.  However, while on spring break something about the book kept drawing me to it. Out of all of the books I read over my break, this one to me is the most important. For that reason the review was bumped to the very front. I had a student four years ago who was an albino African American. I understood some of the physical issues she faced.  I had no idea of the history of African albinos until this book. Although this book is the fictional story of Adimu, an albino child born to a black couple, I had no idea of the stigmatism or superstitions that accompanied that birth. The child along with the  mother is rejected by her father. The mother rejects the child. The village demands she be taken to the forest to die.  The grandmother is given permission to raise the child if she survives not being trampled by the herd as they leave their pen. Her wise grandmother wraps her in a cloth soaked in the cattle urine. They step over her and the people decide the gods of the lake are allowing her to live.  At times I found myself angry with the way the grandmother treated her until I realized she was teaching her skills to survive any danger that arose long after she was gone. The fortunate meeting with the rich, white mine owner Mr. Fielding and his wife play a large part in her life. Unfortunately greed on Mr. Fielding’s part almost cost her the very life she has fought so hard to keep. 

I learned so much from this book and what I learned from researching afterwards. 1 in 20,000 people around the world are albinos. However, in Africa, 1  in 2,000 to 4,000 African’s are born with albinism. They are still sought after by witch doctors and people who want to get rich quick. They fear the night as that is when  their homes are broken into and they are viciously attacked with machetes where they are hacked apart while alive then left to die.  There are many arrests but few prosecutions.  There are many people who have tried to change old superstitions. Josephat Torner is one. I would not have been inspired to start researching about him if it had not been for the author of this book who sought me out. I would not be inspired to reach out and teach my students about this plight if not for this book. Mine is just one voice, but I proudly raise it along with others to bring this problem to the forefront.

Author Bio from Amazon:

Since his graduation, where he obtained a BA in political science, a MAs in humanitarian assistance and a PhD in social science, Cristiano’s work has taken him to some of the most challenging locations around the world, often dealing with the after effects of war and natural disasters. He currently works in Ukraine, in the hazardous border area with Russia.

In 2011, he went on a personal fact-finding trip to Tanzania, to assess the living conditions of Africans with albinism. From that experience his goal became to raise awareness of the living conditions of African albinos through the #HelpAfricanAlbinos campaign. His novel, Then She Was Born, is the English translation of his book, originally written in Italian.

Cristiano has met with eleven Nobel Peace Laureates, the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis, who have each read a part of his novel and have leant their considerable support to the campaign.

In the case of Pope Francis, Cristiano was invited to an international symposium on Africa at the Vatican, to speak about Africans with albinism. He stayed in the Pope’s residence for four days and had a private meeting with him during that time. As a result, the #HelpAfricanAlbinos campaign is now endorsed by Pope Francis as an universal and interreligious message of peace and brotherhood.

Cristiano’s next target is to get celebrities to record video messages, just as the Nobel peace laureates and the Pope did, and spread them on social media to increase awareness of the living conditions of Africans with albinism, the last among all others.

The official campaign website is www.HelpAfricanAlbinos.com
#HelpAfricanAlbinos