Second Sunday Books

17/08/2024

WRITER HUMOR

19/06/2024

Hi, North Shore friends! I have two upcoming events where I'll be sharing MAX'S WAR and the story of the Ritchie Boys -- I'd love you to come!

The 1st is this SUNDAY, JUNE 23 at 2 PM at the Northfield Library. (It happens to be my birthday...so there WILL be refreshments.)

The 2nd is JULY 15 at MAX & BENNY's DELI on Waukegan Road in Northbrook. I'll be the speaker at their monthly dinner programs. In addition to a great meal, you'll get some great post-dinner conversation.

Hope to see you at one or the other.

18/06/2024

Yo, Chicago! Hope you're coming to the Book Cellar, Thursday, June 27 at 7 PM. Why? A special event with Luis Alberto Urrea and me, talking about our WW2 fiction, both of which are based on accurate research. Don't miss us -- If I weren't on the program, I'd go myself...🙂

10/06/2024

Don’t miss KOBO’s 500 under $5 sale for the AU and NZ marketplaces. Includes my book, Set The Night on Fire.
https://www.kobo.com/au/en/p/500-under-5
https://www.kobo.com/nz/en/p/500-under-5

05/06/2024

Issue 18 of Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem is now available!
18 Stolen Cars… So Criminal, It’s Good.
Be sure to check out my short story “Dumber Than Dirt”.
https://www.mysterycrimeandmayhem.com/product/stolen-cars/

24/05/2024

Happy Summer Everyone! I’m part of Bedside Reading, a book concierge company that distributes books to luxury hotels all over the country. Their “season” begins with Memorial Day weekend when they distribute books to select hotels on the Hamptons. Max’s War is one of their featured books this season! How cool is that?


https://www.bedsidereading.com * https://mybook.to/MaxsWar

18/05/2024

What Libby Fischer Hellmann Learned from MAX'S WAR is now LIVE on YouTube!
In conversation with Matty Dalrymple.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYjBT_Vq6PU&list=PLDnpWFQZeQuZvO-V4yqqoliAomad0Z9ji&index=1

14/05/2024

Stop by Sister’s in Crime and listen to my conversation with Julie A. Hennrikus, where we chat about Max, writing, and more…
https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/Libby_Fischer_Hellmann

24/04/2024

Part II on Anti-semitism

The strongest element in Hamas's tool kit these days is propaganda. (They've lost the military fight.) And who are the most receptive people for that propaganda? College students who, for the most part, are taking a stand on political issues for the first time in their lives. I know. I was a college student during the Vietnam War, and I was staunchly anti-war. We were protesting the goverment's policy. It was exhilarating to make our thoughts known.

Which is exactly what the students protesting are doing. Most of them are quick to tell you they're protesting Israeli and US policy toward Gaza. Except there's one difference. An entire nation filled with Jews is now a target (when it was HAMAS who attacked and killed hundreds of JEWS in the first place.)

Yes, students say, but Israel should know better. They are punishing an entire population for that attack. What they dont say... and perhaps choose not to know ...is how Hamas embeds itself in the population, stores arms underground, and has probably done terrible things to most of the hostages by now.

But the real point is that many people cannot differentiate the policy of a Jewish country from Jews as a whole. Anti-semitism is slippery. You can discriminate against Jews and still maintain you're not. The N***s started out that way. Until their persecution was too blatant to hide.

Students are doing the same thing.

A young student was invited to a Seder in Berkeley at a private home of a Jewish professor. In the middle of the service/meal she took out a microphone and started broadcasting a tirade and wouldnt stop. Even after she was kicked out. That's exactly what's happening. It's not only an insult but it's an aggressive one. And it's a frightening example of what i'm talking about

Yes, when we're young, we usually think we are right. But when it's at the expense of a group who have been the target of persecution for centuries, young people (whom George Packer calls "Just America," and btw, i HIGHLY recommend his book THE LAST BEST HOPE), it's a shonda.

24/04/2024

So... I've been pretty quiet about the explosion of so-called anti-semitism up til now. I felt that the media was, as usual, overdoing it. But what started at Penn (my alma mater) has spread too far and too fast for me to be quiet. Max's War shows in a very heartbreaking way how hate became a legislative tool for Hi**er and Goebbels-- with the result that anti-semitism was baked into government policy. To understand how it happened, read the blogpost below that i wrote for Janet Rudolph.

But before you say, 'but that's not what's happening now," go on to Part II.

(This is Part 1 -- to be continued)

How do you feel when you hear the word “Holocaust?” Many of us react with an involuntary shudder or stomach flip. We feel uncomfortable. We...

20/04/2024

Our doors are still open! If you want FREE crime fiction from some new-to-you authors and some ones you're sure to know, click onto my FB page. There may have been a glitch yesterday, so let me know if you have trouble.
https://facebook.com/authorlibbyfischerhellmann

18/04/2024

Yo, Chicago... Tonight I'll be at The Book Stall in Winnetka at 6:30 PM for the official launch of Max's War! Please join me for a short talk and signing.

15/04/2024

My panel on Conflict, Espionage, and War at Left Coast. It was wonderful...GREAT panelists and moderator.

02/04/2024

Today's the day! Max's War is now available in paperback!!
https://books2read.com/MaxsWar

27/03/2024

“Miss Hellmann has included much factual information into this compelling novel. There are so many good stories surrounding World War II and Max’s War can now be added to that list.” -Goodreads reviewer

Don't miss out on this incredible WWII saga! Preorder Max's War today so you can immerse yourself in the gripping story of a young German Jew who becomes a .
Paperback available April 2nd! https://books2read.com/MaxsWar

18/03/2024

Can’t wait to read Max’s War?? Just a reminder that you can get it right now on NetGalley… Request your copy today! https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/327681

Can’t wait to read Max’s War?? Just a reminder that you can get it right now on NetGalley… Request your copy today! https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/327681

You can also leave your honest early reviews on Goodreads by clicking here: I would greatly appreciate it. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/201384591

26/02/2024

“Max barely recalled his trip across the Atlantic. Steeped in grief and misery over Annaliese, he didn’t come out of his cabin often. He didn’t remember eating a meal, although he must have. Images and memories of Annaliese had invaded his dreams and his waking hours.”

Discover the strength and determination of Max, a young German Jew who came to the US and fought against the N***s. Preorder Max's War now. https://mybook.to/MaxsWar

17/02/2024

More fun in Puerto Vallarte!

15/02/2024

She's much more important than the fake allegations against Fawny Willis. I think we have a reader!!!

10/02/2024

Buy the audiobook for just $2.99 at Chirp!

By sunrise, Mai and Tâm were on the river paddling the sampan, Tâm in the stern, Mai the bow. Tâm told her to row quickly at first in case anyone saw them steal the boat. From “A Bend in the River”
Buy the audiobook for just $2.99 at Chirp! https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/a-bend-in-the-river-by-libby-fischer-hellmann
(Paperback and eBook widely available.)

01/02/2024

STILL A PRINT BOOK JU**IE?
Have I told you about Tertulia yet? It's an online bookstore that allows you to PREORDER brand new PRINT books at significant discounts! For your first book, in fact, you get 50% off! And if you join, you'll get 20-25% discounts routinely.
For me, it's a no brainer! Check them out! (Maybe make your first 50% preorder Max's War?)
https://tertulia.com

11/01/2024

Live Your Best Life, my friend Jodie Renner's book, which is geared toward people with Chronic Fatique Syndrome, is on sale! Just 99¢ at Amazon. Not only is Jodie a compassionate, sharing individual, but she's the best developmental editor I've ever worked with. Which makes Best Life a DREAM to read... Grab it now and give it to a friend who has CFC, or is just not 100%.

10/01/2024

“When I got to the bicycle, no one was there. Just the slashed tire and bent frame.” He decided not to mention tell his parents about the hushed jeers and chortles of several uniformed Hi**er Youths huddled a short distance away. Boys, who, in the past, had been his school friends. Who had come to his house, and he to theirs. He wasn’t as angry as he was confused. Why had they turned on him?”

10/01/2024

I'm thinking of turning off FB's Messenger. too many stupid posts. Is there a down side to turning it off?

09/01/2024

As you may know, my new WW2 historical fiction book will be released in April and I'd like to share with you some of the images I created and a bit of text from the book. We first meet Max Steiner when he is 12. It is 1932, and he lives in Germany.

“Opa Steiner used to say that animals had a sixth sense that helped them predict the future. Opa would have known; he’d been a successful racehorse breeder. Now, as Max Steiner hurried out of his father’s shop into the frosty winter air, his pony, Klara, whinnied and tossed her head. Was she impatient that Max had kept her waiting in the cold? Or did she know some significant event or change was about to occur?”

Preorder at https://books2read.com/MaxsWar

09/01/2024

Looking for a FREE early copy of Max’s War? Enter the Goodreads giveaway — it starts today!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/378893-max-s-war-the-story-of-a-ritchie-boy

02/01/2024

Ring in the new year with a fantastic read! Don't miss this incredible deal for the second book in my Georgia Davis series.

Little Molly Messenger is kidnapped but returned unharmed. Later, her mom's car brakes fail & she dies. Was it an accident? Molly's mom, an IT manager with a shady past. Molly's dad hires PI Georgia Davis to investigate. In "Doubleback," PI Georgia and video producer Ellie follow the money, uncovering illegal activities from Wisconsin to Arizona. While Georgia and Ellie go to great lengths to find the truth, Georgia discovers that you can cross a line, but sometimes you have to double back. → https://amzn.to/3rDDT6c

24/12/2023

Stocking Stuffer Alert!
Looking for a last-minute read? Jump Cut, the 5th Ellie Foreman crime thriller (and one of my favorites) is just 99¢ today thru Dec. 20. Grab it.

01/04/2023

Dropping by to let you know that my Historical Fiction Novels are available at a nice discount when you buy direct from me for the month of April. https://bit.ly/3vK7z3i