Sunday, February 28, 2016

My 15th birthday specials on e-books, new book previews

I can't say that I am looking forward to my 15th birthday, but I thought I might as well turn the tables and give my readers a few presents.

From now through Tuesday, March 1, most of my e-books will be on sale at greatly reduced prices, including the following:

Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud, normally $9.99, reduced to $6.99-  This book details the story of the Joplin Tornado and how city officials and the Joplin R-8 School District dealt with it, detailing the activities of such people as former City Manager Mark Rohr, con artist David Wallace of Wallace Bajjali, and former Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff.

Let Teachers Teach, normally $9.99, reduced to $3.99- This is a collection of some of my writings on education and teaching.

No Child Left Alive, normally $9.99, reduced to $3.99. As regular readers know, this is the novel that got me fired as a teacher in the Joplin R-8 School District. It has received the lowest reviews possible from frequent Joplin Globe columnists Anson Burlingame and Geoff Caldwell, which means it has something going for it.

Scars from the Tornado, normally $9.99, reduced to $3.99. This book features the Joplin Tornado story as written by students and by me. The students tell their tornado stories and reveal what happened during our first year having school in a warehouse on the far end of the district.

Small Town News, normally $4.99, reduced to $2.99- My first novel is a fictionalized version of the events of October 31, 2001 when the Bank of Diamond was robbed and Diamond R-4 Superintendent Greg Smith vanished. Smith's body was found 10 days later in a pond just outside of Diamond. This mystery explores the story through the eyes of intrusive media members who descend upon a small town.

C. J. Huff and the Assassination of a Teacher's Character, normally $9.99, now $2.99- This book actually received a negative review from a reader who said, "Randy Turner is an idiot with a vendetta against the Joplin School system and CJ Huff. Anything of his is purely biased and exaggerated." I found that to be strange, since I did not write one word of this book. It is the transcript of my May 23, 2013 termination hearing. And I will repeat something I have said in the past- If my hearing had been televised on Jet 14, I would still be teaching and C. J. Huff and Bud Sexson would never have stayed employed as long as they did. The transcript also shows an incredible amount of information that the Joplin Globe neglected to mention in its coverage.

The Best of Sports Talk, normally $9.99, now $2.99- For those who have been introduced to my writing through the Turner Report, many are not aware of the kind of writing I did during my 22 years as a reporter for southwest Missouri newspapers. About 30 percent of my work was sports coverage and from 1986 through 1999, I wrote more than 1,000 Sports Talk columns, which were usually features on athletes, games, and everything else about sports. This book includes more than 45 features on athletes and coaches from Carthage, Lamar, Joplin, Webb City, Carl Junction, Diamond, Jasper, Lockwood, Seneca, and elsewhere.

Spirit of Hope: The Year After the Joplin Tornado, normally $9.99, now $5.99. This follow-up, co-authored with Carthage Press Managing Editor John Hacker features Joplin Tornado stories and photos and stories from the year following leading up to, and including, the one-year anniversary observance.

In addition to the e-book specials, I am offering a subscription special. Those who take monthly or yearly subscriptions to the Turner Report/Inside Joplin (plus current subscribers) will receive a free preview, tentatively scheduled for April, of the new book John Hacker and I are doing, which has the working title 5:41: Five Years Later. The book will feature new Joplin Tornado stories, a return to some of the stories from the original 5:41, Spirit of Hope, and Scars from the Tornado, never before seen photos and documents from important moments in the tornado recovery. You can subscribe for one year or for a month by using the buttons below, or you can send money for a one-year subscription to 2306 E. 8th, Apt. G, Joplin, MO 64801. Please make sure to include an e-mail address, since the preview will be in e-book format.

Those who appreciate the alternative news source provided by the Turner Report, Inside Joplin, and Inside Joplin Obituaries can also use the option of making a direct contribution of any amount by using the "donate" button below.

Thanks.


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