Thursday, May 8, 2025

God and Petroleum by Roberto Aguilera - Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Roberto Aguilera will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

It's been many years since God planted in my heart the idea to author this book. To do so I relied on science and engineering, looking deep into the earth a few thousand feet, dreaming of petroleum reservoirs I could not see, and evaluated them using mostly indirect sources of information. Petroleum hydrocarbons in earth are of organic origin (they form from dead plants and animals) and are intimately related with water. I also had to look to a different scale deep into the universe when it was created 13.77 billion years ago to try to understand the origin of hydrogen, the birth of the first hydrogen star (the seed star), its explosion in a supernova, and the repetitive births and explosions of subsequent stars that led eventually to the formation of elements such as carbon and iron and to hydrocarbons in the universe. These are hydrocarbons of inorganic origin.

Then I moved into the micrometer scale of human cells and to top research informing us that we are very close to chimpanzees, and a very persuasive discussion about evolution that I agree with. The book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman in the sixth day, and that he formed man in the seventh day of the dust of the earth and woman of the rib of man. At first glance all of this seems contradictory, but it is not. This book shows that available science supports Genesis' seven days very well. They do not contradict each other.


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Following Monsignor Georges Lemaître’s mathematical demonstration showing that the universe has expanded since the Big Bang, many scientists have produced data from the Hubble telescope corroborating the expansion. The observations by Hubble in 1929, proving galaxies are moving away from the earth at speeds proportional to their distance, has traditionally been known as Hubble law.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted in 2018 to recommend amending the name from Hubble law to the Hubble-Lemaître law, and in fact, this is how it is called now by the IAU. This is a recognition of the contributions of both Hubble and Monsignor Lemaître to the development of modern cosmology. The amendment recommendation stemmed from the fact Lemaître was the first to come up with the idea of an expanding universe in 1927, previous to Hubble’s contributions in 1929. Although Lemaître was first, his ideas received little attention at the time.

The galaxies outside of our solar system are moving away from us. One theory indicates that the farthest the galaxies are away from us, the faster they move (Library of Congress, 2019). Another theory based on data collected by the Planck satellite indicates that the cosmos is expanding at a slightly slower rate than was thought, making the universe around 13.82 billion years old rather than the 13.77 billion years formerly given for the age of the universe (Siegel, 2018). For the purpose of this book there is a slight difference.

About the Author:

Roberto Aguilera is professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Calgary (Canada) and president of Servipetrol Ltd. He specializes in the evaluation of naturally fractured, tight and shale petroleum reservoirs worldwide. He has authored and co-authored six books dealing with petroleum engineering subjects and over 300 technical papers. He has rendered training and/or consulting services in over 40 countries worldwide. This is his first book linking God, His creation, and the benefits of petroleum to humanity while debunking alarming claims about its use.


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Monday, April 21, 2025

Tales of the Ocean City by Christopher Kaufman - Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Christopher Kaufman will be awarding $45 worth of digital products from his website to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
A young civilization is turning the corner into the future, but first they must face a terrible enemy from their deepest past - The Vorm..

The main characters are a young man named Harl’ut and his lifelong companion Vispushin - who is a perIanth, a kind of telepathic pegasus. Join them on this epic adventure as they lead a group of young warriors into the heart of the Vorm Hive.

Book One: Battle In The Sky is the first of five books which comprise the opening series of this epic tale. Here, Harl’ut and Vispushin and The Princess Bryn’lynn, engage in desperate battle over the southern plain with savage Vorm warriors. You will be uplifted by the passionate and thrilling conclusion of the first installment of this fantasy adventure.

Book Two: Descent Into The Abyss, Harl’ut recovers from his harrowing adventure from Book One: Battle In The Sky. He walks through the streets of The Ocean City, visits the Sculpture Garden and his friend, Elá, the bard, and engages in exciting training games with warrior/mentor, Calanctus. Then the story takes you down the throat of the vast volcano, Pla’than’taa, once worshipped as a god, where Harl’ut enacts a deadly initiation ritual, confronts the barbaric past of his people and battles a terrifying monster.

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Bryn’lynn stood in a weary fighter’s crouch. She brandished her slender blade in her remaining hand and held her torn wrist, bound with tunic, against her breast. Though intensely brave, she was yet filled with horror as the monster approached. A riotous gout of spikes and horns, shadows and glare-trails attacked her senses.

It stopped in front of her, a full twelve feet in height. It had dropped the barbed net it had carried and now wielded a huge, wickedly shaped scimitar in both hands.

Its mission of capture was now changed to one of a quick kill and return to its central hive. The protuberant antennae on the top its head pulsed with energy, a vertical slit in its cold white face dilated open and closed. Shark-like teeth gleamed a lustrous pink.

A chill cascaded coldly along Bryn’lynn’s spine. She raised her weapon. She reached out her mind to Zhi- i’gla and felt only his pain and desperation, but then, through his eyes, she saw a shaft of white light as Vispushin arrived. Hope rose in Zhii’gla’s breast and thence to her own. Zhii’gla charged. Bryn’lynn’s war scream mingled with his.

“Kayaaaaaaa....!”

She drove herself against her enemy. She felt a violent impact and then stood back a pace. Her blade was broken, she dropped it to the dusty earth.

About the Author:
Christopher Kaufman is an author, composer, presenter, illustrative artist and performer. He started imaginative fantasy books with illustrative art at the age of nine. During high school years he found music and attended The New Orleans Center for The Creative Arts and went on to major in music composition in college. He finished his schooling - earning his DMA in music composition at Cornell University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize Winning composers who prize his abilities as a composer.

Christopher is the type of person who needs imaginative fantasy scenarios to get to sleep. Therefore, he emerged from Cornell, not only with his degrees in music, but with the full event structure for his classic epic fantasy series Tales Of The Ocean City in his mind.

He began writing the story down in the early 2000’s, but it did not really come to life until he developed his home music ‘laboratory’ and started creating the music and text at the same time. Thus books one and two of TOC came about simultaneously as both graphically illustrated pages and effulgent audio albums filled with cinematic epic symphonic music.

They exist now as physical books and audio albums (that go together) and the new Video Book version. He performs live tours with the music pouring through speakers, live narration and the colorful pages streaming on screen -a true immersive multi-media experience.


Christopher believes in the transformative power of imagination. “Live with imagination!”

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Thursday, April 17, 2025

Smoke & Mirrors by Joanie Olson - Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Joanie Olson will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Searching for an answer to a question you haven't asked yet? You are not alone. One small realization and a whole world unravels.

Woven through these pages are a series of my most significant life events relating to narcissistic victim/survivor syndrome. Inside are keys unlocking mysteries of complex PTSD, compounded through various forms of abuse.

A journey of highs, like the Freedom Convoy, and the lows of a failed longtime marriage. With spiritual forces at work behind the scenes, could a Christian home have so many secrets? The smoke will clear to reveal our true mirrored self.


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I was sitting in the back of the plane, settling in between two passengers. My hair in a ponytail, wearing comfy sweatpants and a T-shirt with excitement in my chest. Others around me seemed like seasoned pros fluffing their pillows, adjusting their screens, ready to endure the long flight overseas.

I tried to act like a frequent flyer but struggling to plug in my headset must have given me away. Fidgeting in my seat to get comfortable, I remembered to put my phone on airplane mode. That’s when I saw a missed call from my son.

He had reached adulthood and well able to care for himself. A hard worker, smart as a whip and living life on his terms. With a few more minutes before the plane departed, I took the opportunity to give him a call.

“Hey Michael, Mom here. Sorry I missed your call. I was kind of busy.”

Michael responded, “That’s OK Mom, sorry I never called you back yesterday. What are you up to?”

“Well,” I said as I let out a laugh, annoying the man sitting beside me. I leaned over with my head down between my knees. Cupping the phone to muffle the sound of my voice, I went on to explain. “I’m on a plane headed to Paris, France!”

“WHAT?!” he replied.

About the Author: Joanie was raised on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Life revolved around chores, school and church. Six older siblings and all the nieces and nephews added up to a large family.

Strong in doctrine and armed with a passion for truth, she's walked the walk of faith, facing challenges to overcome. She was married at 19, became a mother to a stepdaughter, and later birthed two children. Following years of turmoil in her marriage, she hit the inevitable breaking point.

Starting life over, she attended broadcasting college, going on to anchor morning news for the airwaves. Feeling isolated and rejected, her drive to help others who have gone through similar circumstances inspired this book. Through the Refiners fire, she's ready to share tools required to escape the fake and embrace the truth.


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