(NewsUSA) - Maaco, North America’s body shop, is celebrating the start of 2023 in rock and roll fashion by giving away 23 JBL speakers.

The sweepstakes, which invites entrants to share their favorite rock song of all time for a chance to win, can be entered at RockOnIn2023.com. It will run from Monday, February 6 through 11:59 PM on February, 20 2023, and is open to anyone in the United States.

“Following our 50th anniversary year, we are ready to continue our momentum into the next 50 years, thanking our valued customers for their continued support,” said Daryl Hurst, president, Maaco. “We’re hosting this giveaway to continue to show our appreciation to our customers and help them to keep rocking into this year and the future.”

Following the closing of the giveaway, 23 winners will be randomly selected on Wednesday, February 22. To receive their prize, the winner will be contacted through email and must respond within five business days.

“Our family of dedicated owners has worked day in and day out to uphold their commitment to providing their customers the best quality repairs at an incredible value, leading to strong customer loyalty from across the country,” continued Hurst. “I’m thrilled to see our momentum carry into this year and beyond, which could not be done without the incredible support of our valued customers.”

Maaco was founded in 1972 by Anthony Martino, beginning its operations with the first location in Wilmington, DE. From here, the company has grown to over 400 independently owned and operated franchises across North America that have repaired more than 20 million vehicles.

For more information, the rules governing the giveaway, and to enter, visit RockOnIn2023.com.

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About Maaco

Maaco is North America’s body shop, with over 50 years of experience in providing affordable auto body repair and car painting. Maaco, with more than 400 independently owned and operated franchises across the United States and Canada, has been named a top automotive franchise numerous times by Entrepreneur Magazine in its Annual Franchise 500 ranking and Franchise Times’ list of Top 200 franchises. Maaco is a member of Driven Brands, the largest automotive services company in North America. For more information about Maaco, visit Maaco.com.

About Driven Brands

Driven Brands™, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the largest automotive services company in North America, providing a range of consumer and commercial automotive needs, including paint, collision, glass, vehicle repair, oil change, maintenance and car wash. Driven Brands is the parent company of some of North America's leading automotive service businesses including Take 5 Oil Change®, Take 5 Car Wash®, Meineke Car Care Centers®, Maaco®, 1-800-Radiator & A/C®, Auto Glass Now®, and CARSTAR®. Driven Brands has more than 4,700 locations across 15 countries, and services over 50 million vehicles annually. Driven Brands' network generates approximately $1.9 billion in annual revenue from more than $5.3 billion in system-wide sales.

Theatrical essence, we know, relies upon a shared experience of space and time.

(NewsUSA) - Most good thriller novels keep readers guessing until the end. Then there are some that cause jaws to drop.

TKO Rogue has launched debut author Janet Porter’s intriguing, intricate and gory psychological thriller FREE RIDER, a dark coming-of-age story set in 1970s New York City that follows twin sisters as corruption, decadence, and greed engulf any vestiges of innocence, trust, and security they may have left. 

Khalika and Violet, twin girls growing up in a privileged hell, are on the cusp of adulthood after barely surviving a childhood that threatened to shred their psyches before devouring them both in a seismic swirl of pure evil.

Violet and Khalika have grown up in a posh Westchester, NY, estate previously owned by the girls’ parents but later the domain of their stepparents Dick and Bianca. That is, until the stepparents are found brutally murdered. The stepparents’ murders are not the only ones that remain unsolved, and there are signs that point to one killer.

It takes several months, but Detective Mark Vincente follows the investigation and eventually locates Violet, whom he wants to question. Vincente is a subtle but dogged investigator, describing his work as “trying to put a puzzle together where the pieces have been scattered like gory confetti.” Eventually, he and Violet develop a romantic interest. Is it real or is it his way to get closer to his ultimate quest?

For fans of gore, horror and “the dark side,” FREE RIDER has it all. But Porter’s work is much more than that. It is a complex psychological study of two sisters, their slightly different paths, their inner thoughts and their resultant actions. The author does a marvelous job of getting into their heads and souls.

And what an ending – it will leave readers stunned!

Praise is already pouring in for FREE RIDER:

"Thought-provoking and atmospheric!” says one Amazon reviewer.

"Captures the darkness and grittiness of New York City in the Seventies and Eighties,” says another.

“Astute observations on the evil that human beings perpetrate,” says another reviewer.

The author, Janet Porter, was born in Pittsburgh and immediately began trying to injure herself by roller skating over broken pavement. Subsequently, the family moved to New York City, where the family lived in a series of ramshackle apartments in the borough of Queens. Janet has no writing credentials except those of anybody who has processed the daily grind and decided to fictionalize it. She lives by the words, “Write the book you want to read.”

In writing Free Rider, Porter said she keeps in mind the words of the dead guy in the movie “Ghost,” doomed to ride the subway for eternity after jumping in front of a train: “You take all your emotions, all your pain, all your love, all your passion, all your rage. Just push it all the way down into the pit of your stomach. And then let it explode, like a reactor! Pow!”

“Pow” is right. Pick up Free Rider and you’ll know what we mean.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3uxbKil.

(NewsUSA) -  

The House at the End of the World
by Dean Koontz

Soon no one on Earth will have a place to hide in this novel about fears known and unknown by #1 NYTimes bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz. In retreat from a devastating loss and crushing injustice, Katie lives alone in a fortress-like stone house on Jacob’s Ladder island. Once a rising star in the art world, she finds refuge in her painting.

A neighboring island houses a secret government research facility. And now two agents have arrived on Jacob’s Ladder in search of someone―or something―they refuse to identify. Although an air of menace hangs over them, an infinitely greater threat has arrived.

Katie soon finds herself in a terrifying battle against an omnipresent terror that could bring about the end of the world.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3tWnqL8.

A Week’s Worth
by Thyme Lewis

To those who cross Mac, punishment comes on a daily basis. With a skill set rivaling special operatives in the world’s most elite gangs, Mac navigates the country working for FEMA, helping those less fortunate resurrect their lives after the USA’s most horrific natural disasters.

In A Week’s Worth, Mac receives a call that sends him home to California, where he will face a more personal disaster: His mother’s health is failing. His good intentions to help are met with resistance. And people keep dying around them. With a burning desire to right the wrongs of the past, Mac hopes this last road trip to Los Angeles will make their time together unforgettable. “Lewis paints a wry and unapologetically honest depiction of his characters,” says one reviewer.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3QWT9Xa.

I Trust My Inner Voice
by Ana Parra Vivas

The author, a well-balanced Lifestyle Manifestation Expert, gives you a blueprint on how to TRUST your Inner Voice. She is a perfect example of how working to change your self-perception can have incredible and tangible benefits. Ana faced many difficulties in her life, and these difficulties challenged her beliefs in herself. She decided to study herself and, ultimately, she discovered the tools that brought her balance as she recovered her personal power.

This book is not only the story of how Ana found balance in her life, but also a guide for anyone struggling to take the next steps toward the life of independence and freedom they desire. The Inner Voice is a powerful tool, and this book can help readers harness that power.

Purchase at www.itrustmyinnervoice.com.

Failed States
by Justin O’Donnell

A grim, fast-paced speculative thriller in the vein of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It is a tale that deals with political, religious, and violent themes ranging from cannibalism to abortion, while calling into question the fundamental clash between security and liberty.

In an America on the edge of extinction, Thomas La Stella serves as a Deportation Force officer. Tom is old enough to remember America before Dayton Day, the attack that finally brought the country to its knees and the earth towards its death.

Still fighting for hope, Tom clings to his pregnant wife and begrudgingly serves a government on the brink of revolution. When the president goes missing, a new radical force rises from within and threatens every hope Tom has for a better future.

Purchase at bit.ly/3g24qHS.

BookTrib’s Bites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA) -  

The Violin Thief
by Genie Higbee

A startling coming-of-age tale that twines magical realism with musical history and legend.

It’s 1941. A wondrous violin is charming six-year-old Douglas Tryzyna. In her wordless language she tells him they are destined to spark kindness and joy together. Overawed, Douglas names the violin Magic Muriel.

Professor Stoya, recent Berlin émigré, accepts Douglas into his music conservatory. This teacher, who craves fame for himself and his obstinate son, Willi, knows exactly how to trap Douglas, who falls prey to the Professor’s dictate. Meanwhile, poetic piano student, Violette, captures his heart.

1953. Just when Douglas’ benevolent destiny with Magic Muriel seems possible, a clash of desires sets off a chain reaction of ruinous events. For Douglas, navigating a fractured future will require courage, forgiveness, and the balm of kindness.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3gG55ix.

The Island Mother
by Jon Cohn

Leigh Ramos is a woman on the run from her own life. After escaping from a toxic relationship with a drug dealer, emotionally codependent Leigh starts life over far from the hills of Kentucky. She chooses Hawaii, where she lands a job in an exclusive resort. It seems too good to be true.

Then supernatural horrors start manifesting all around Leigh, and she starts having disturbing nightmares of impossible creatures calling out to her. To make matters worse, Leigh’s violent ex-boyfriend is close on her tail, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Now trapped, Leigh falls back on old habits. In order to survive paradise, Leigh will need to learn from her past mistakes or she will be doomed to repeat them.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3U4BflN.

Principles of Education
by Donald Sung

“The human brain and the human body are very complicated, and so is human education.” In Principles of Education, author Donald Sung defines and details 81 principles that parents, educators and learners need to consider to maximize a child’s learning. Together, the principles make up a childhood educational theory that tackles a learner's conditions, environment, and educational processes. 

The book will help readers understand how people learn, guide our children, assess the effectiveness of education, explore the proper and necessary tools for education, and watch children grow. The book is presented as a blueprint for success and systematically outlines each principle with brief and succinct comments. The principles are divided into three interdependent groups: learner's state (functions and conditions), learner's interactions with environment, and introducing a learner to the world.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3fF5G3u.

Meanwhile Back Home
by Gabrielle Meeker

Most American children during World War II were aware of the threat that faced the country, and they responded to the call. They walked to school listening for air raid sirens, carried scrap metal to school for collection, offered their dimes to buy War Bonds, and sent caring packages to children in Europe. 

This work is a compilation of 50 interviews with people who experienced WWII as children, who were expected to contribute to the war effort. It can thus be described as 50 memoirs, and historical depictions of the era, with revelations of the hardships of post-war attempts to return to normal life. Fifty elders of various backgrounds and locations were interviewed. Some recollections were common, others quite unique. But in all cases, the children faced life-changing events.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3vNUnu6.

BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.
 

(NewsUSA) -  

Reef Road
by Deborah Goodrich Royce

When a severed hand washes ashore in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach, FL, the lives of two women—a lonely writer obsessed with the unsolved murder of her mother’s best friend and a panicked wife whose husband has disappeared with their children—collide as the world shutters in the pandemic lockdown of 2020.

In a nod to the true crime that inspired it, “Reef Road” probes unhealed generational scars in a wrenching and original work of fiction. It is both stunning and sexy and, like a bystander surprised by a curtain left open, you won’t be able to look away. “Though pure fiction, it reads as compellingly as a mixture of memoir and exposé. It has left me shaken to the core,” says NYTimes bestselling author Luanne Rice.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3iJung5.

Hell of Hosanna
by Kip Langton

"Kip Langton is a writer to watch", says NYT bestselling author Fiona Davis.

Imagine the Empire State Building removed from New York City. Imagine that building reconstructed brick-by-brick on your father's private island--the trappings of the past stolen from the public to indulge unfettered hypocrisy. This is James's defeated and ravaged landscape when his father successfully monopolizes all forms of industry into one perfect company called U atop the collapse of the old world.
Ownership no longer exists. Now, anyone can have anything--temporarily. But to James, the "rent and move on" lifestyle is a total hell. Then one strange day, the whole thing comes tumbling down and James can break away. In a U space shuttle, he travels to the ultimate unknown. Freedom? The real hosanna?

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3LtKV64.

I Killed Sam
by Robert A. Steadman

Inspired by the true story of a groundbreaking defense of a Flint, MI, woman who killed her abusive husband in the mid-1950s—a time when a husband could rape his wife in Michigan without facing criminal charges. 

This fictionalized account of the trial is more than a legal trial, replete with unexpected plot turns and the drama of a young, small-town lawyer trying to juggle his obligations to his client and to his fledgling law practice. There’s also romance— attorney Bob Nichols is in love with Betty, the defendant and his high school sweetheart whom he should never have let go. Nichols is tortured by the thought of losing his long-shot, legal gamble, which would mean forever losing Betty to a life sentence in prison.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3iSoRYQ.

Make Your Factory Great & Keep It That Way
by Liam Cassidy 

Liam Cassidy is known as “The Serial Factory Fixer.” He's the man that multinationals in the USA, Canada, China, the UK and Ireland have on speed dial. The man with the plan and the one to call to fix a broken factory.  In his 40-year career, Liam has used lean principals and tools, with his unique brand of leadership, to turn around factories and supply chains all over the world including some considered “too far gone” to salvage. 

Now he shares the secret of his success and some very interesting case studies and outlines how lean principles and tools were vital in the processes he adopted to save plants. If you are determined to make your factory great, this is the only book you’ll ever need.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3IqCKrX.

BookTrib’s Bites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA) -  

Writers of the Future, Volume 38
presented by L. Ron Hubbard

In the World of Science Fiction & Fantasy, this Anthology stands out for the stories, art, and extras.

Which will you love most? Discover 25 award-winning authors and illustrators. The best new stories selected by some of your favorite authors—including Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, and Jody Lynn Nye. These diverse stories will fill you with wonder. And a few just might break your heart.

“The Writers of the Future collection is exciting and engrossing, across the spectrum of SF and fantasy, space opera and epic fantasy. These stories explore new mysteries and ideas.” --Publishers Weekly

Bonus short stories by Frank Herbert, L. Ron Hubbard, and David Farland. Volume 38 is a treasure.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3ERPzcn.

Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary
by Laura Stanfill

Suspenseful and heartwarming, a whimsical journey full of friendship, adventure, and self-discovery. Georges Blanchard is revered in the small French town of Mireville as a master serinette maker and for a miraculous incident in his childhood that earned him the title "The Sun-Bringer." As his firstborn son, Henri Blanchard is expected to follow in his footsteps, but Henri would rather learn to make lace than music boxes.

When Henri discovers a stash of American letters in his father's drawer, he learns he's not the firstborn son at all: Henri has an older half-brother born to one of Georges's American customers. When he crosses the ocean to encounter his half-brother, Henri discovers there's an entire world beyond Mirevilleace and there may be a perfect place for him yet.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3EwxVJP.

The Hawk’s Flight: Book Two of the Three Brothers Trilogy
by Elizabeth R. Jensen

From award-winning author Elizabeth R. Jensen comes a gripping tale of adventure and the unbreakable bond of family. 

After twenty years of peace in the land of Etria, war has come crashing across its borders. Both Wanonia to the north and Ruschmann Blackwell to the south have waged attacks. Suddenly, three young brothers find themselves thrust into the role of battlefront soldiers. Following separate paths, the three hone their skills and fight for their people. 

Years pass as friendships are tested and lives are lost. Only then are the brothers reunited on a top-secret diplomatic mission. Can their bond as brothers withstand the challenges they face, or will they become the latest casualties of the dragon sorcerer?

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3h3dVa3.

Visions of Johanna
by Peter Sarno

Johanna, an artist, and Matt, a music critic, couldn’t be more different, but by a simple twist of fate, she plucks him from a crowd at a Dylan concert. What follows is a heady and intense relationship buffeted by the usual suspects that gently rocked the ‘80s. Matt’s lessons in art—as well as life—at the hands of Johanna drive the novel into pockets of feminism and quiet revolution. All of this is tempered by deeply held traumatic secrets that torque their intimacy.

The novel travels through time and social unrest to the final moment. Within its pages, tragedies haunt, acts of moral goodness manifest themselves, and benevolence reigns with a finality that absolves all. "A beautifully intimate romance that doesn't shy away from challenging topics," says Publishers Weekly's BookLife.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3HoJ5DG.

BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA) -  

“Battlegrounds”
by Stephen A. Carter       

A young John Saxton looks on helplessly as brutal slavers on the slave ship “Wanderer” throw their human cargo overboard to avoid capture by the American Naval Patrol. From then on, the Boston shipping heir and his giant Maasai mentor Matari  (Marcus Brown) become implacable abolitionists.  

A supporting cast of unforgettable characters are caught up in a web of murder, dark secrets and political intrigue. Arrayed against them are two arch villains, Horatio Garrow and his hapless henchman, Harley Blackstone.  

Saxton and his beautiful Black bride, Virginia, survive a dangerous milieu of Confederate espionage, high treason and the siege of Fort Sumter all brought to the fore by one man ... President Abraham Lincoln. This is book one in the four-book Matari Series.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3Ws0Zug.

“Benghazi”
by Salah el Moncef  

Salah el Moncef’s “Benghazi” is the exquisitely crafted story of a teenager confronted with two equally repressive forces: the dictatorial rule of Italian fascism and the stultifying codes of patriarchy. Stymied and stifled by both, she finds hope and inspiration in the words of a charismatic Tuareg woman.  

Critically acclaimed as a masterpiece of war fiction, “Benghazi” delivers a spellbinding chronicle of the dreary days of European totalitarianism, along with the harrowing tale of a woman’s triumph over the traumas of war and family. A lush, immersive gem of a story from a wordsmith at the height of his powers. “Moncef transforms prose into poetry,” says Michigan Quarterly Review. “Absolutely beautiful,” adds Manhattan Book Review.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3N0l4U5.

“Secondary Break: An NBA Dad’s Story”
by Marvin Williams Sr.  

Named by Book Authority as one of the Best Basketball Books to read in 2021, this book is about more than just basketball. It is about a young man who came from a dysfunctional and abusive family and fell in love with the sport of basketball. His love and passion for the game would take him on a lifelong journey, a journey of disappointments, setbacks and finally triumph. This book will show how, by continuing to follow your passions and dreams, anything can be possible.  

The author is the father of NBA player Marvin Williams Jr. He coached basketball for more than 30 years and is a member of Fathers and Men of Professional Basketball Players.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3fnoVyb.

“Jack Mathias and the Boonetown Bandits”
by G.M. Savage      

He’s known as the class clown  --  the kid with a lot of nerve. And some believe 13-year-old Jack Mathias is too confident for his own good. His audacious practical jokes and impulsiveness frequently land him in hot water, and growing up seems a world away. However, a sudden wild adventure with his unlikely companions, Gene (the nerd) and Edgar (the shy outcast), thrusts Jack toward maturity with more of a shove than normal life would ever have managed.  

The trio’s illicit and desperate quest to find a long-hidden treasure leads them into great danger, challenging their wits and testing the limits of their physical and mental endurance. Will Jack discover the ancient jewels and a different version of himself in the process?

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3WIHiOS.

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