Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Blog Tour: Scrooge And Marley by Kef Hollenbach

                                Karl-Hollenbach-Long

Scrooge & Marley
by Kef Hollenbach

About The Author

AuthorPhoto-KFH-103012Born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1925, Karl F. Hollenbach graduated from a local public high school in 1943 as a major in the junior ROTC. Entering the army on Christmas Eve that same year, he served as a sergeant in World War II with the U.S. Engineers. Assigned to the Seventh Army he crossed the Rhine River into Germany, ending up in Austria at the end of the European war.
He attended Biarritz American University, Purdue University, the University of Kentucky and earned a Masters of Education degree and Rank I in education from the University of Louisville. After 20 years in business as a sales representative, manager, and owner-operator of several retail stores, he made a career change to education.
During the next 18 years, he taught in the Louisville, Kentucky public schools and the Hardin County Catholic school system. After the merger of two of the largest Kentucky public school systems, Karl served as a consultant to the Jefferson County school system and was a lecturer/coordinator of student teachers at the University of Louisville, School of Education.
A student of esoteric studies for over 50 years, he is a member of the Rosicrucian Order, Self-Realization Fellowship and the Association for Research and Enlightenment. He has lectured on esoteric subjects in a dozen cities, and his metaphysical articles have been published in Japan
and England as well as the United States.

Author Links:

Publisher's web site: http://BooksAuthorsAndArtists.com

KFH uses his publisher's Facebook page, if needed:https://www.facebook.com/BooksAuthorsAndArtists

  Author's page - BAA blog: http://booksauthorsandartists.com/authors/karl-f-hollenbach/ 

Author's page - Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Karl-F.-Hollenbach/e/B00B36VS38/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1363387919&sr=1-2-ent 

Author's page - Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Karl+F.+Hollenbach&search_type=books 

Author's page - Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/KarlFHollenbach

YouTube Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-Vjs-SNMUg 

About The Book

Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Books, Authors And Artists, div of internet marketing KY, LLC.
Release Date: November 14, 2012
buy_at_amazon


SM-CovImg-v06-200dpi-032013Book Description:

A year after Ebenezer Scrooge encountered the ghost of his partner, Jacob Marley, as well as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Scrooge relives the previous Christmas and is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley once more. Mediating for his friend and partner by fulfilling his requests, Scrooge witnesses an altogether different story. This expansion on Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, recounts how Marley unshackles his soul from previous deeds allowing Scrooge to partake of redemption. Relive and recapture the essence of Christmas while exploring the wonders of life, living and death.




Excerpts

PROLOGUE

Ebenezer Scrooge considered Christmas a “humbug.” Uncharitable to solicitors for funds for the poor, his only concern was whether the poorhouse was no longer open. He grudgingly gave his clerk Christmas day off. When his nephew wished him a “Merry Christmas,” he responded, “And good day to you, sir.” In short, Scrooge was not a pleasant person.

On Christmas Eve Scrooge was visited by the ghost of his dead, miserly and selfish partner, Jacob Marley, who had to trudge through the spirit world encumbered by chains. Marley told Scrooge that three spirits would visit him, and if he was to be saved from an even worse fate than was Marley’s, he had to meet these three spirits.

At twelve midnight a childlike figure appeared, saying she was the Spirit of Christmas Past and showed Scrooge scenes from his past. The second spirit, the Spirit of Christmas Present, a huge, jovial man, dressed in red and green, took Scrooge to the homes of those people that should have been dear to him.

These scenes touched Scrooge. And he shed tears. Visited by the third spirit, Scrooge said he feared it most. The Spirit of Christmas Future showed Scrooge his own lonely death, with no one grieving at his grave.

A changed man, Scrooge yelled, “I don't know what to do! I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy, I am as giddy as a drunken man. A Merry Christmas to everybody!” The Spirit of Christmas had made Scrooge a different man from the one he had been.

                                  Bottles & Books Review
                                               5/5 stars
     Everyone knows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. You may have read the Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol, or you may have seen the movie, but either way you know who Scrooge is. 
     Ebenezer Scrooge, a cantankerous and greedy man, spent his days counting his money and being in an awful mood all of the time. That is until one Christmas Eve he was visited by the ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley. On this night Marley, speaks to Scrooge and tells him of three spirits that will be visiting Scrooge over the course of the night. What the spirits have to show Scrooge will change his life. On the morning of Christmas, Scrooge awakes a brand new man. With a change of heart and the joy of a man renewed, Scrooge sets out to right his wrongs and share his good tidings with his fellow man.
       Have you ever wondered what came to be of Scrooge after that Christmas that changed him? Did he remain the joyful, boisterous man that he came to be after that fateful night the spirits visited or did he revert back to the man he was before? 
       Hollenbach's book, Scrooge And Marley, expands on A Christmas Carol and takes place a year after the events of that Christmas Eve took place. Scrooge, now a friend to all, loving uncle, and a generous man to those in need, has changed for the better. Those who used to shy away from Scrooge now embrace him with happiness. 
        As life continues on for Scrooge, now for the better, Marley returns with a request for Scrooge. Marley, still dragging his chains that tether him to the past due to his actions while alive, has come to ask Scrooge to help him free himself from the chains that bind him so that he can move on in the afterlife.
        Can Scrooge fulfill this request or will Marley be forced to roam the spirit world dragging his chains for eternity? And if Scrooge is to succeed what shall become of Marley? 
         Scrooge And Marley is a wonderful continuation to A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Carol, my favorite Holiday book, always left me wondering what would ever become a Scrooge. Would he ever return to the selfish man he was or would he embrace all that life had to offer after the feast at the Cratchit's home? Hollenbach's books give answers to those questions and makes me fall in love all over again with not only A Christmas Carol, but with Scrooge And Marley. 
         The book makes me believe in redemption and change and fills my heart with renewed hope and Christmas spirit. I will be recommending this book to my local library and to others in search of a good book this Holiday.


Karl-Hollenbach-Long


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2 comments:

  1. Thank you very much for hosting! Your review is insightful and appreciated.
    Enjoy!
    Karl F. Hollenbach

    ReplyDelete