Travel

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Escape from America combines one American expat’s experience living and working in the United States and China to give an unvarnished account of the world’s dominant superpowers. From a ground-level perspective, Vinnie Apicella finds surprising likenesses between these two seemingly vastly different nations. His bold insights reveal the real people of each country and emphasize the differences between their experiences and the ongoing political rhetoric.

As Escape from America shows, the opinions, achievements, and anxieties of working people in each country are relevant to us all. Apicella argues that much can be learned living among the locals and looking beyond false façades and fabricated truths. Using a balanced blend of praise and criticism toward both countries, he highlights the potential for upward mobility through mutual tolerance and trust.

Apicella sets out to educate and entertain through anecdotes, observations, and years of hard-earned experience. He points to lessons learned about family, education, business, and society inside China to help encourage cultural exchange of ideas and ideals so that we may all benefit. His inspirational story will change our perspective and persuade us to think critically, not just about America, not just about China, but also the place we call “home” and our place in it.

In Escape from America, Apicella provides a blueprint to overcome our biases, fears, and insecurities. He points us in the right direction to explore new trails. He challenges us to expand our horizons. He shows us that, through what he has learned from living abroad, we can improve our understanding of one another while better understanding ourselves.

Vinnie Apicella is a professional business writer with more than 30 years’ experience. He has written for Forbes, film and music companies, medical publishers, and e-commerce businesses. Originally from New York, he relocated to China in 2011 and currently operates Shanghai EDGE Consulting to assist students achieve greater success in academics or their professional career.  

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Meet Vinnie Apicella

Wow, I’m an “authorpreneur.” I could never conceive of that back when I first took an interest in writing so many years ago. It’s wonderful really, opening doors for us writers to become viable authors and share our work with the public. Quite the learning experience!

My writing career began by drafting press releases and artist bios for NYC music and film companies, then later producing financial articles for Forbes, travel and tourism pieces for a medical publisher, and more recently, marketing and sales copy for a Beijing-based e-commerce firm. I guess you could say I’ve run the gamut of writing on diverse subjects.

I am originally from New York and earned my BA from Columbia University where my guidance counselor had to “convince” me that choosing a major in Literature & Writing wasn’t a waste of time. In hindsight, he was right. Indeed there is much value in a Liberal Arts-based education where primary importance is placed on reading, writing, and critical thinking.

Several years later I relocated to Beijing to reinvent myself and pursue new opportunities for business.

Today, I oversee Shanghai EDGE Consulting, an online education company where I assist students at home and abroad to improve their interpersonal skills and guide them toward achieving greater success in academics or their professional career.

I sincerely hope that my new book, Escape from America, can help make a positive impact on society, and inspire others to improve their lives and pursue their passions.

Bucket To Greece Volume 1

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Bucket to Greece is a delightfully comical account of a British couple starting over in a new country, complete with imported cats, whilst discovering the joys and pitfalls of adapting to a strange culture.

When our hero, Victor, needs a pseudonym to avoid embarrassing his wife after deciding to pen a book about moving to Greece, he dusts off his original name of V.D. Bucket, the name he was stuck with after being abandoned in a bucket as a baby. As Victor adapts to his adopted homeland he battles an obsession with the exacting hygiene standards he demanded during his illustrious career as a public health inspector against the rather less exacting standards of rural Greece. His attempts to master the complexities of the language lead to a number of embarrassing misunderstandings.

Crossing paths with the local undertaker, Spiros, was a stroke of good luck for Victor and Marigold, since he just happened to have a house to sell in the charming Greek mountain village of Meli. Of course Spiros didn’t explain the strange arrangement of an Albanian living in the stone shed at the bottom of the garden, or mention the old lady’s next door filthy habit of burning plastic every morning. He also failed to mention his late uncle had plunged to his death from the roof terrace, but did a wonderful job of selling them on the spectacular views.

If you’re a fan of Greek travel and culture, then this book is a must.

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Savoring the World: Hit and Misadventures – a memoir

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Savoring the World: Hit and Misadventures – a memoir - ASIN B08BG83WQ3

I am an avid world traveler. I have lived in a variety of international locations, and I have both studied abroad and taught abroad. I have backpacked, camped out, stayed at youth hostels, and now, in my senior years, I have stayed in topnotch hotels and resorts. I have flown standby, and I have flown first class. I have hitchhiked, and I have taken public transportation, slow trains, fast trains, boats, and ships. I cherish my memories. They are solid, like granite, and they remind me of what I have been through and of how they have made me into a better person. World travel has taken me out of my comfort zone, has freed me from ever living a cocoon like life, has taught me to reach for the stars, and has provided me with an education that far surpasses any level that I could have achieved in any other way. 

“Thank you, world!” I can shout from the greatest heights and from the lowest depths, from Germany’s Zugspitze to California’s Death Valley. I’ve been in the burning sands of Saudi Arabia, and I have been in the Arctic freeze of Lapland in Finland. I’ve been there and I am a better person for it.

Everything and everybody in this book is factual. All details are true to life. This is exactly how it all happened. It is as if yesterday is today, and, in a way, that’s the way it really is. These glimpses of my world journeys are poignant, funny, comical, inspiring, and sometimes frightening, but one thing is for certain: every word details precisely and truthfully how it all happened. 

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Finding Anna

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Finding Anna - ASIN B086YDXFYC

– An Amazon Best seller
– 5 Star Review from “Readers’ Favorite”

Finding Anna- A True Story

A young man seeking to unravel his past travels throughout the world in search of Anna. The story begins in a hotel in Germany and curiously, the travels lead to one destination: to the very heart of the traveler. Finding Anna:is an interesting and inspiring story that takes place in more than 25 countries


At thirty years old, Vineeth found that his life required examination if he was going to make it extraordinary. He realized that certain moments and the people in his life played pivotal roles in the making of the person that he had become. As he searched for a way to explore these connections, Finding Anna opened the door for him to a new world of constant searching for meaning, in a journey filled with reflection and excitement.

Finding Anna is a story of a simple man with a simple goal: to experience life and appreciate the little things. In this book, he shares the stops on his journey where he links his past to the present in a quest for his identity.

Readers will relate because there is an Anna in everyone’s life, and everyone has a story they want to share. Every story in a life is a journey because they are not the same person at the end of it as they were when it started.

Editorial Review


Reviewed By K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite

Finding Anna: An Unusual Journey To Self-Discovery is a work of non-fiction written in the style of a memoir by author Vineeth Vijayghosh. The narrative recounts the epic journey of the author when, at age thirty, he realizes he would like to do more with his life and begins a vast series of travels in order to better understand his own identity. As experiences in other countries and meeting other people reflect him back to his own roots and the pivotal people in his life, so his consciousness grows. In a unique turn of events, the author recounts the many Annas he met in different countries, and how their stories changed him too.

Author Vineeth Vijayghosh presents a truly heartfelt and unique memoir that anyone on a journey of self-discovery will surely be able to relate to and treasure. As a traveler myself, I found it really wonderful to see the author visit places that I have also been to, and even more delightful to be introduced to vistas that I have yet to visit. The noticing of small details of culture and personality in other people’s lives is a true joy of travel, and the author brings that enthusiasm to life with a well-penned and highly relatable narrative style. The personal moments in the memoir are very evocative because we are able to form a deep connection, and the author is generous with details from his personal life and the formation of his own identity so that we may better understand ourselves. Overall, I would recommend Finding Anna: An Unusual Journey To Self-Discovery as an engrossing but also empowering and educational memoir for anyone who feels they have not yet discovered their true identity in this life.

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Lost for 72,000 Miles: Parallel Journey

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Following a difficult breakdown of a relationship, Paul decided a progressive change of scenery and lifestyle would be a positive step, so he moved from England to America.Straightforward to others, it was by far, a more complex situation: the aftermath of the relationship breakdown triggered a sequence of events – from losing a sense of realism to dealing with issues from his past, catapulting him to another country, which he at first believed would be an extension of his existing way of life and culture. In fact, it turned out to be a very different experience to what he ever imagined, bringing about a life-changing experience, moving him from a low mood of betrayal and sadness of the past to a new level of acceptance and understanding of a happier future leading Paul into a purposeful investigation into his own mind during a journey of self-discovery.

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Elemental Dragons Book 1: Blood and Water

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Not every dragon is born equal. Hazel and Aqueous will have to learn that the hard way.

Being an elemental is hard.

Just ask Hazel Adams who at fifteen finds herself being sent off for the next step in her training where she will receive her dragon egg. But, the camp harbours many dangers in disguise, she will soon find out that not all dragons are born equal.

Soon Hazel, along with her new family and friends, will have to learn to navigate the shifting political alliances and social castes that come along with being an elemental. But, among the political turmoil an even greater danger lurks. One that hasn’t been seen in centuries.

Will Hazel be able to raise her dragon and prove that it’s more than meets the eye or will she be defeated by the dark forces working against her?

Find out in Blood and Water, the first book in a new YA fantasy series that is sure to keep you glued to every page.

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Cruising the Mississippi

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In crossing another travel adventure off their bucket list, two retirees take a fascinating river cruise and find the heart and soul of the American South.

Born travelers Al and Sunny Lockwood seized their dreams of exploring America’s natural wonders. From hiking Sierra Nevada mountain trails to photographing wildflowers in Death Valley, they’ve documented their fascinating journeys to critical acclaim.

A serious car wreck changed their lives. They stopped postponing their dreams of ocean cruises.

Now, these veteran travelers embrace a new travel adventure: a river cruise up the magnificent Mississippi.

Join Al and Sunny on the decks of an antebellum paddle-wheel riverboat as they experience the culinary delights, rich architecture, breathtaking vistas, and famous hospitality of southern culture.

You’ll visit lavish plantation mansions, honor the fallen at Civil War memorials, and be swept away by the magical beat of authentic New Orleans jazz. Before the journey ends, you’ll witness how the couple’s first impressions are challenged, changing their hearts forever.

In Cruising the Mississippi, you’ll discover:
-Fascinating histories of riverside cities
-Little-known facts about famous landmarks
-Personal reflections and insights from their daily experiences
-Tested travel tips and advice for embarking on your own river cruise adventure
-The lifelong benefits of immersing yourself in different customs and cultural experiences
-A detailed tour of the historic paddle-wheel riverboat, and much, much more!

If you like cultural exploration, American history, practical travel insights, colorful characters, and authentic personal stories, you’ll love Al and Sunny Lockwood’s illuminating exploration of America’s mightiest waterway.

Buy Cruising the Mississippi today and embark on a breathtaking adventure for the young at heart!

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Red Road Across the Great Plains

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A life-changing solo voyage of discovery across the blood-soaked Great Plains. A pilgrimage to momentous sites of Native American heritage. Meet the amazing “invisible warriors” fighting impossible odds to reclaim their heritage and share in the American Dream without losing their unique identity, much as their ancestors fought on the battlefields to save their way of life.
Nurturing a half-century obsession, he takes the reader along on his astonishing solo road-trip through haunting places of intense tragedy and stunning triumphs, through Native American spiritual experiences that shook the atheist in him, plunging into the rough and tumble worlds that were Deadwood and Dodge City, chuckling gently over modern American idiosyncrasies. Neither a “white historian” nor a “red commentator,” he visits both sides of the Native American experience to discover exciting sparks of a brighter, more hopeful future – an unusual and enthralling odyssey effortlessly plaiting space and time.

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Year 1 – Fur Babies in France: From Wage Slaves to Living the Dream

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From Wage Slaves to Living the Dream - ASIN B07L38LQ6K

“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” Randy Komisar

Having both been made redundant, Jackie and Mark decided to get a dog – but ended up with four; cuddly Cavapoos Kai, Rosie, Ruby and Lani.
Then, never having owned a tin box on wheels, they accidentally bought a caravan. They named her ‘Kismet’ – which means ‘Fate’.
Half way down the second bottle of CCC (Caravan Celebratory Champagne) they made the perfectly rational decision to go straight from being First-Timers to Full-Timers. Within a month, they had sold most of their possessions on eBay and rented out their apartment to tour in Kismet full time. They called it ‘Early Retirement’ and set out to Live the Dream by touring Europe with their surfboards on their roof.
‘Fur Babies in France’ is the story of their first year on wheels with Kismet and ‘Big Blue’ – their trusty tow vehicle (and toy box) – a Hyundai iLoad panel van.
It was a steep learning curve; one that involved lots of breakages and started on Day 1 with a near-death experience! However, Jackie and Mark approach all of their mishaps and misadventures with more than a pinch of humour.
And avoiding the crowds to tour France by the back roads, they finally found what they were looking for; beauty, peace and tranquillity, with a bit of windsurfing thrown in!

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The Ghost of Lady Liberty

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The adventure of a lifetime is only one click away!

Sid Cooper is a soon-to-be sixth-grader who loves history, travel and photography—which come together in this second chapter book in a series about travel and adventure while solving a mystery in history.

A visit to the Statue of Liberty takes an unexpected turn when Sid and his sister Meg are magically transported… over 130 years into the past, to when the pedestal was being built, and the statue was still in pieces waiting to be assembled!

Sid and Meg get a first-hand history lesson, but soon realize that the statue may never be built! Sightings of a ghost are scaring the construction workers, who plan to leave the island without completing the pedestal. How will Sid and Meg solve the mystery of the ghost of Lady Liberty and get back to the present?

In The Ghost of Lady Liberty, author Lyndon Cerejo transports young readers yet again on a time-travel adventure at another historic monument. They can follow along as Sid and Meg try to save history-and themselves-while learning about the Statue of Liberty. History, interesting facts, recent photographs and illustrations enhance the realistic narrative, making this an educational and entertaining book for readers aged 5-10.

Ananya Chopra, a sixth-grader like Sid, once again lends her talent to the Mysteries in Historyseries, illustrating Sid’s journey to Lady Liberty in her friendly style. 

Let your child open their minds and their hearts as they go on a journey back in time and learn about the Statue of Liberty. From her origins in France, to her delayed and challenging reconstruction in America. They will learn that she wasn’t always green, why her torch was replaced, why people can no longer climb up to her torch, and much more! 

So let your child open their minds and their hearts to this exciting tale… as a magical land of adventure awaits!

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