NEW~Autobiography by Steve Foreman

NEW RELEASE MAY 1, 20141!

The Number One Best-Selling Autobiography of Someone You've Never Heard of by Steve Foreman

#gypsyshadow #nonfiction #autobiography

http://www.amazon.com/Number-Best-Selling-Autobiography-Someone-Youve-ebook/dp/B00K2GU8XQ

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-number-one-best-selling-autobiography-of-someone-youve-never-heard-of-steve-foreman/1119395622

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/434203

http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Autobiography

One man’s journey from the innocence of childhood in rural England to a life of adventure in the heart of Africa. A killer Autobiography by Steve Foreman. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, other fine eBook vendors and Gypsy Shadow Publishing at:

http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Autobiography

An ordinary man on an extraordinary journey.

When he was only nine years old, Steve Foreman spent almost one year confined to an intensive care ward suffering with life-threatening acute renal failure. Even at that young age he was dreaming of going to Africa to work with endangered wildlife.

In 1992, more than thirty years later, that dream came true.

In the interim, Steve followed careers as a soldier, prison officer, private investigator and a security operative with a few odd jobs thrown in along the way. In his sixty-odd years on this planet he has taken part in many adventurous activities, including motorcycling, caving, rock climbing, foreign expeditions, mountain climbing, SCUBA diving, parachuting, anti-poaching, gun running, drug smuggling and undercover surveillance. As a published freelance writer and magazine editor, his work has appeared in many magazines and journals. Over the past twenty years, Steve has had many adventures and misadventures in the wild places of Africa, including working as a safari guide & mountain leader and as a security operative. Steve has led an incredibly diverse life, full of polar extremes that have ranged from the heights of serving his Queen and Country, philanthropic acts and saving endangered wildlife—down to the depths of criminality.

Woven through this ever-changing life is such a gamut of mistakes and mishaps, triumphs and tragedies, bizarre incidents, ridiculous situations and myriad sexual exploits—and so many pivotal moments—that it leaves one wondering how one could cram so much into a single life. The story is at turns humorous, tragic, ridiculous, exciting and sad; but above all it is honest.

Word Count: 138000

Pages to Print: 367  /414 in print

Price: $5.99   /$18.99 in print

EXCERPT:
My memories of those days are like the pieces of a recently broken church window; all are there, but cast about in a profusion of jagged shards—some big, some small, some glinting brightly in the sunbeams now entering unhindered through the cold stone arch, others partially hidden in the shadows, only to be seen when the flickering light of recall passes by, illuminating them, briefly, as if in a dream.

The fondest and most easily recalled scenes from the stage play of my childhood are those where I am the sole human actor. I was often alone; lying in a field, my eyes squeezed shut against the unbearably blue sky with the smell of lush green grass all around and the piping, high-altitude song of a lark, invisible against the cloudless expanse above me; alone; sitting on the edge of a secluded pond, while around me the insects buzz and chirr their meaningless symphonies in a harmony of noise that enhances rather than disturbs the peace; alone; pushing my way along a tangled pathway following an unfamiliar stream—jam jar and fishing nets my explorer’s only weapons; alone . . . yet seeking companionship.

There is a magic world to which only children have the key. As we grow older, that world does not cease to exist; it just fades away, and, if we are not careful and we lose sight of the key, it becomes completely lost to us. The Key is the innocence of childhood; the open minded acceptance of all one sees, even without knowledge, which is the break in the veil that shrouds the ever-present magic; a magic that is almost tangible in the world of the child.

Did I really believe that I was a naturalist, with my fishing nets and butterfly nets; made from Mum’s old stockings and coat-hanger wire (only the bits of smelly pondweed stuck in the seams of one net identified its individual use)? Did I really believe that I would see a hoopoe, a crested newt or a golden eagle? Were Camberwell Beauties and green lizards really within my grasp? In that part of England? Probably not. However, to me as a child they were all there, having just taken flight, or dived into a pond, or crawled under the bark of a fallen tree, just seconds before I arrived on the scene. Even the russet flanks of the red deer were imagined, being just errant rays of sunlight falling upon some brown leaves and glimpsed fleetingly through a gap in the tangled undergrowth. I was happy in the warm embrace of ignorance. Yet it was not all a dream: the world was real and I was content with my tadpoles, cabbage whites and hedge sparrows. I was happy with such exciting finds as the blue feather that had fallen from a noisy jay and had settled on the mossy bank of the secret stream.

Like an intrepid explorer of the African bush, I would struggle through undergrowth so thick it was impossible to pass without snagging my fishing net on some clutching bramble and leaving my legs covered in scratches and tiny beads of blood. With nets held high and the old jam-jar bouncing against my thigh on its string handle, I would push my way deeper into my secret wood, passing familiar oaks and other trees whose name I did not know, coming at last to my secret stream, where the crested newts hid from my view and the kingfishers stayed huddled deep in their tunnelled nests until I departed once more. I knew they were there of course, just as I knew that behind my back swallowtails flitted by and golden orioles peered at me from high branches.

This wonderful feeling of being at one with nature never left me . . . in fact; years later as a mature adult, I was still experiencing the same thrills as when I was a child . . .

GSP's Last 13 Books of 2013, Alphabetically #13

Trips to the Dark Side by Steve Foreman

#gypsyshadow #shortstories #horror

Trips to the Dark Side comprises a collection of twenty-three weird tales.

Each story takes the reader on a trip to the dark side of the author’s mind . . . the side where weirdness lurks in the shadows, strange ideas leap out from hidden corners and morbid thoughts emerge from pools of blood. Here you will find stories of horror, the paranormal, the bizarre, the whimsical, the unknown and the unexplained.

These excursions into darkness include a sinister ride at a fairground; messages from the dead appearing on a Scrabble board; a glimpse into a cellar haunted by a strange entity; a clamber up into an attic where something deadly lives in the dark; a stroll into a back garden inhabited by a murderous imaginary friend; a meeting with a terrible supreme deity; and strange encounters with ghosts and werewolves and evil creatures lurking in the deep . . .

Word Count: 77400

Pages to Print: 235    Also Available in Print

Price: $5.99

http://www.amazon.com/Trips-Dark-Side-ebook/dp/B00EOCSR9Q
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trips-to-the-dark-side-steve-foreman/1116559209
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/349808
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Trips

Trips to the Dark Side takes the reader on excursions into the dark world of horror, paranormal, the weird, the bizarre, and the unexplained. Trips to the Dark Side, a short story collection by Steve Foreman. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, other fine eBook vendors and Gypsy Shadow Publishing at:
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Trips

GSP's Book of the Day December 15

Worm by Steve Foreman

#gypsyshadow #dragons #fantasy

A fantasy adventure story of epic proportions, this quest tale is filled with memorable deeds of bravery, selfless determination, courage and unassailable love, set against a background of war, sorcery, betrayal, bloody conflict and great tragedy. The story is populated by a huge cast of diverse characters, including heroic warriors, fantastic creatures, evil beings, huge monsters, and unexpected and comical allies.

Wandering in the ancient woodlands of Eria, sad and alone after being cast out of his village by a cruel and tyrannical chieftain, the weakling named Worm meets up with Grimbald the Enchanter. Little does Worm know that this is no chance encounter, for Grimbald has chosen Worm to set out on a long and convoluted journey fraught with danger at every turn, which propels the boy into a dark world of evil and terrible hardship; for Worm must go north to the savage land of Vulcanstark in search of the lost Chalice of Caladain; a quest that, if successful, will cast peace over the land of Eria and bring about the restoration of the old Kingdom . . .

Word Count: 102200

Pages to Print: 245 (Also available in Print)

Price: $5.99

 

http://www.amazon.com/Worm-ebook/dp/B00CR359AO
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115288509
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/315522
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Worm

A novel for teenagers and adults alike; a tale holding true to the proven and traditional “Sword & Sorcery” theme of fantasy adventure stories. Worm by Steve Foreman. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, other fine eBook vendors and Gypsy Shadow Publishing at:
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Worm

GSP's Book of the Day December 2

Trips to the Dark Side by Steve Foreman

#gypsyshadow #shortstories #horror

Trips to the Dark Side comprises a collection of twenty-three weird tales.

Each story takes the reader on a trip to the dark side of the author’s mind . . . the side where weirdness lurks in the shadows, strange ideas leap out from hidden corners and morbid thoughts emerge from pools of blood. Here you will find stories of horror, the paranormal, the bizarre, the whimsical, the unknown and the unexplained.

These excursions into darkness include a sinister ride at a fairground; messages from the dead appearing on a Scrabble board; a glimpse into a cellar haunted by a strange entity; a clamber up into an attic where something deadly lives in the dark; a stroll into a back garden inhabited by a murderous imaginary friend; a meeting with a terrible supreme deity; and strange encounters with ghosts and werewolves and evil creatures lurking in the deep . . .

Word Count: 77400

Pages to Print: 235 (Also Available in Print)

Price: $5.99

http://www.amazon.com/Trips-Dark-Side-ebook/dp/B00EOCSR9Q

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trips-to-the-dark-side-steve-foreman/1116559209

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/349808

http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Trips

Trips to the Dark Side takes the reader on excursions into the dark world of horror, paranormal, the weird, the bizarre, and the unexplained. Trips to the Dark Side, a short story collection by Steve Foreman. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, other fine eBook vendors and Gypsy Shadow Publishing at:

http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Trips

GSP's Book of the Day September 22

Surviving Your African Safaris by Steve Foreman

#gypsyshadow #checkeditout #survival

It is important to note that safaris and adventurous holidays in Africa can be, by their very nature and the environments in which they take place, culturally challenging, physically demanding, risky to health, potentially dangerous and, without the correct preparation and skills, horribly disastrous! The type of preparedness one undergoes is usually based on previous personal experience and the pre-departure advice supplied by the travel companies who organise your trip (tour operators and safari outfitters). These elements vary enormously, from individual to individual and from company to company. This book is intended to cover all the aspects and contingencies one might encounter, by providing a selection of advice, checklists, guidelines and essays, designed to help the reader, whatever role or position in the group, to have an enjoyable and successful trip.

Word Count: 45300

Pages to Print: 156  (Also Available in Print!)

Price: $4.99

http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Your-African-Safaris-ebook/dp/B009FDY6BC
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/surviving-your-african-safaris-steve-foreman/1112998454
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238495
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Surviving

This book is a safari and adventure travel handbook, aimed at both guides and the guided intending to go on a safari or expedition in Africa. Surviving Your African Safaris by Steve Foreman. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, other fine eBook vendors and Gypsy Shadow Publishing at:
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Surviving

Book of the Day May 4

Beneath the Surface (anthology) by Steve Foreman

 --> This is a collection of weird tales that scratch the surface of life to reveal both the supernatural and real horrors or unexpected events that can lie beneath.

A photo booth that predicts death, a computer programme with a horrific application, hauntings and ghost stories, morbid vampire humour, a radio that broadcasts momentous events past and yet to come, faint shades of H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, a splash of Ray Bradbury...

** A great collection of short stories about the paranormal and the unknown, often with a sting in the tale. Perfect for dipping in and out of, or settling down for a binge read. Any fan of the Twilight Zone will love these stories!

Jessica Gregson, author of The Angel Makers and The Ice Cream Army.

jessicagregson.co.uk
 

Word Count: 55000
Pages to Print: 181/210 
Price: 4.99

http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-the-Surface-ebook/dp/B0090R3678
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beneath-the-surface-steve-foreman/1112582087
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/217411
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Beneath

This is a collection of weird tales that scratch the surface of life to reveal both the supernatural and real horrors or unexpected events that can lie beneath. Beneath the Surface, a short story anthology by Steve Foreman. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, other fine eBook vendors and Gypsy Shadow Publishing at:

http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Beneath

Book of the Day March 24

Surviving Your African Safaris by Steve Foreman

It is important to note that safaris and adventurous holidays in Africa can be, by their very nature and the environments in which they take place, culturally challenging, physically demanding, risky to health, potentially dangerous and, without the correct preparation and skills, horribly disastrous! The type of preparedness one undergoes is usually based on previous personal experience and the pre-departure advice supplied by the travel companies who organise your trip (tour operators and safari outfitters). These elements vary enormously, from individual to individual and from company to company. This book is intended to cover all the aspects and contingencies one might encounter, by providing a selection of advice, checklists, guidelines and essays, designed to help the reader, whatever role or position in the group, to have an enjoyable and successful trip.

Word Count: 45300
Pages to Print: 156

Price: $4.99 (Also available in PRINT)

Here's what we need you to do (Thanks in Advance!):

1. Login to Amazon
2. Click the link (under the picture)
3. By the title on Amazon there is a "like" button, click it. if you wish you can stop there, but if you want to help even more . . .
4. When you click and hover over the like button it says "share this link: via Email, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest." Click one (two or all) of them and hit share, it should only take a couple of minutes.
5. Page down to the visible tags (Tags Customers Associate with This Product) and either click on the tags you agree with, agree with all the tags or, if you've read the book, add some tags of your own. The fastest way, of course is to click on the link that says "Agree with these tags?"
6. If you have read the book, please leave a brief review!

Amazon, for some unknown reason, keeps dropping the like button and has seemingly permanently deleted product tags, so unless you care to leave a review, there is no longer any way to help us get the word out about this book on Amazon. We encourage you to search for and buy it at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, or on our Gypsy Shadow website and help our authors succeed, despite Amazon's bizarre treatment of authors and Indie publishers!

http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Your-African-Safaris-ebook/dp/B009FDY6BC
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/surviving-your-african-safaris-steve-foreman/1112998454
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238495
http://www.gypsyshadow.com/SteveForeman.html#Surviving

 

Book of the Day March 3

Beneath the Surface by Steve Foreman

This is a collection of weird tales that scratch the surface of life to reveal both the supernatural and real horrors or unexpected events that can lie beneath.

A photo booth that predicts death, a computer programme with a horrific application, hauntings and ghost stories, morbid vampire humour, a radio that broadcasts momentous events past and yet to come, faint shades of H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, a splash of Ray Bradbury...

** A great collection of short stories about the paranormal and the unknown, often with a sting in the tale. Perfect for dipping in and out of, or settling down for a binge read. Any fan of the Twilight Zone will love these stories!

Jessica Gregson, author of The Angel Makers and The Ice Cream Army. jessicagregson.co.uk

Word Count: 55000
Pages to Print: 181/210 
Price: 4.99

Here's what we need you to do (Thanks in Advance!):

1. Login to Amazon
2. Click the link (under the picture)
3. By the title on Amazon there is a "like" button, click it. if you wish you can stop there, but if you want to help even more . . .
4. When you click and hover over the like button it says "share this link: via Email, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest." Click one (two or all) of them and hit share, it should only take a couple of minutes.
5. Page down to the visible tags (Tags Customers Associate with This Product) and either click on the tags you agree with, agree with all the tags or, if you've read the book, add some tags of your own. The fastest way, of course is to click on the link that says "Agree with these tags?"
6. If you have read the book, please leave a brief review!

Amazon, for some unknown reason, keeps dropping the like button and has seemingly permanently deleted product tags, so unless you care to leave a review, there is no longer any way to help us get the word out about this book on Amazon. We encourage you to search for and buy it at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, or on our Gypsy Shadow website and help our authors succeed, despite Amazon's bizarre treatment of authors and Indie publishers!