Our journey south for the Miami Book Fair and Readers' Favorite International Book Awards ceremony was a fantastic experience. The timing was also quite fortuitous. Final touches on the whopping new 13,000 square foot location for Nautical Ventures were still underway, so my cousin Hank McDowell and his wife Lauren had time to give us a tour of South Beach and Miami from a local's perspective, culminating with a pleasant dinner on the veranda at the Miami Yacht Club while reminiscing about the foolish days of our youth in Savannah. That alone was well worth the trip. But before I forget, here's a note to future attendees about the book fair: Miami is a coastal city, and on a peninsula. The tropical weather can and does change rapidly, from torrential rain to bright sun and back in short order. In retrospect, carrying a poncho or umbrella would have been prudent at the Miami Book Fair. But as we huddled under the vendor tents, the spontaneous rain shower became a great opportunity to shop for books. During one such interval my wife and I had the leasure of meeting Stephan Earl, author of the children's book Kayla and Eli Discover Jazz. We found Mr. Earl gregarious and engaging. His books are colorful, educational, and entertaining, so we got an autographed copy for my youngest grandson. If you have a preteen kid or grandchild who loves to read, you should check out his website. Miami is also headquarters for M2Hospitality. His client list includes U2, the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics sports teams, Jeff Gordon, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Leonardo Di … [Read more...]
The 2013 Readers’ Favorite international book awards
Award-winning author John L. Leonard sounds pretty good, doesn't it? The 2013 Readers' Favorite international book awards ceremony will be held next month in Miami. My wife and I have made plans to attend. She's my editor and publisher, deserving the trip just as much as me. And why are we going? Three of my five books, edited and published last year, were entered in the 2013 contest. My collection of short stories about animal rescue called Always a Next One: true stories of dog fostering, was awarded the highest honor, the gold medal for Nonfiction/Animal books. Reviewers offered some very kind words. One said: The author wrote in a conversational manner, as if he were sitting with me and personally telling me his tales. Another critic wrote: This is a book that belongs on animal lovers' reading lists everywhere. My book Counterargument for God won the gold medal for Nonfiction in the category for Religion/Philosophy. One reader wrote, This is a must for anyone struggling with their own faith or trying to get a loved one to see that God does exist. Mr Leonard's style of writing keeps one interested while presenting very scientific material. Another review said: As I review this book, I find myself wanting to quote the author. His presentation is tactful, eloquent and stated in a logical manner. John Leonard has extensively researched the scientific arguments he discusses in this book. He also deftly asks questions that should have atheists questioning their beliefs. Even my alter-ego for fiction, Rocky Leonard, got into the act. My novel … [Read more...]
Counterargument for God: 2013 Readers’ Favorite finalist
Truly, my cup overflows. My book Counterargument for God has been named one of six finalists for in the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Awards contest in the Non Fiction category Religion/Philosophy. One very kind reviewer said: As I review this book, I find myself wanting to quote the author. His presentation is tactful, eloquent and stated in a logical manner. John Leonard has extensively researched the scientific arguments he discusses in this book...The author states his own personal beliefs in a non-threatening logical manner. I find this book well-written and documented. It is very easy to highly recommend this book. On a somewhat related note, Dr. Robert Rose will be interviewing me on Wednesday, July 10th. This will be my third visit to "Rewiring Your Brain." The first two interviews took place earlier this year, on April 5th and then again on April 17th where I offered my "positive" counterargument for God using the best scientific evidence the current experts in their respective fields have given us. I was very pleased when Dr. Rose invited me back for a third hour, this time to discuss how Christianity affected my life. Dr. Rose is one of the most interesting and open-minded atheists I've met on my faith journey. It should be a very interesting conversation. Best of all, I've doubled my odds of earning that trip to Miami! … [Read more...]
