Mrs. Mommy Booknerd's Book Reviews

GIVEAWAY!!! BookTrib Blog Tour: BARE IT ALL by LORI FOSTER

2013-05-22T06:57:00.000-05:00

"A cop's craving to know more about the woman next door could prove fatal in the steamy new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster"

As the person responsible for taking down a brutal human trafficker, Alice Appleton fears retaliation at every turn. No one knows about her past, which is exactly how she prefers it...until the sexy cop next door comes knocking.

Detective Reese Bareden thinks he knows what makes women tick, but his ever-elusive neighbor keeps him guessing like no other. Is his goal to unmask Alice's secrets? Or protect her from a dangerous new threat? One thing is certain: their chemistry is a time bomb waiting to explode. And with no one to trust but each other, Reese and Alice are soon drawn into a deadly maze of corruption, intrigue and desire-and into the line of fire....

watch the trailer below!

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a Waldenbooks,Borders, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette and Samhain. She is currently with Berkley/Jove.

Lori believes it’s important to give back to the community as much as possible, and for that reason she ran special contests in conjunction with a publisher, facilitating many first sales for new authors. She routinely organizes events among authors and readers to gather donations for various organizations.

Along with her good friend, Duffy Brown, Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.

Lori Forster is absolutely brilliant. I love her books. As a writer she draws you into the book and keeps you there until the very end. I love alpha males. They are there to protect you with everything they have got, they love fiercely and are extremely passionate. Reese is a cop who is intrigued by his neighbor Alice. He wants her now, tomorrow and yesterday. Alice stumbles across something dangerous and Reese will fight to the end to protect her. This book is fast paced, well written, entertaining and has an element of surprise to it. There is even a character from her Edge of Honor series. You have to read this book (and all her other ones too). I give it 4 stars.

GIVEAWAY!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue

2013-05-21T06:43:00.001-05:00

“Beach Book Extraordinaire! Donohue’s three protagonists are irresistibly sympathetic as they try to unbury their true selves from the ruinous secrets of their shared past.” --Elin Hilderbrand. bestselling author of Beautiful Day

In Philadelphia, good girl Kate is dumped by her fiance the day she learns she is pregnant with his child. In New York City, beautiful stay-at-home mom Vanessa is obsessively searching the Internet for news of an old flame. And in San Francisco, Dani, the aspiring writer who can't seem to put down a book--or a cocktail--long enough to open her laptop, has just been fired...again.

In an effort to regroup, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani retreat to the New Jersey beach town where they once spent their summers. Emboldened by the seductive cadences of the shore, the women being to realize how much their lives, and friendships, have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful night on the beach eight years earlier--and the secrets that only now threaten to surface.

Donohue has done it again and I could not be more happy. There is a risk that when you love an author's debut novel the subsequent books may not meet your high expectations. I loved How to Eat a Cupcake and I am happy to report that I also loved All the Summer Girls. Donohue writes compelling characters, ones that you can relate to. In ATSG Donohue brings three friends back together for a weekend getaway, back to the place that all feel at home. All of the women are facing person struggles, mixed with ghosts of the past and guilt that has fractured the foundations of the friendships years ago. What unfolds in ATSG is not only a universal story about love, friendship and ultimately finding ones self among the chaos of life, but also a story of the weight of secrets kept, forgiveness, growth and redemption. ATSG is a book to take to the beach, to share with a friend or is your next book club pick. This is a must read for summer 2013. Donohue knows how to write novels that cause you to become invested, to turn pages and to ruminate on what you read after the book is finished. A talent worth noticing. 5 stars.

CLP Blog Tour: Still Life in Brunswick Stew by Larissa Reinhart

2013-05-20T07:05:00.000-05:00

Follow the tour HERE

Cherry Tucker's in a stew. Art commissions dried up after her nemesis became president of the County Arts Council. Desperate and broke, Cherry and her friend, Eloise, spend a sultry summer weekend hawking their art at the Sidewinder Annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. When a bad case of food poisoning breaks out and Eloise dies, the police brush off her death as accidental. However, Cherry suspects someone spiked the stew and killed her friend. As Cherry calls on cook-off competitors, bitter rivals, and crooked judges, the police get steamed while the killer prepares to cook Cherry's goose. Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all! Still Life in Brunswick Stew is the second book in the Cherry Tucker humorous mystery series. Bonus: Includes book club discussion questions.

Eloise begged me to participate in this cook-off turned art festival, which is why I’m spending my weekend slumped in a camp chair, drinking tea by the jug, and sweating up a storm. And not selling any paintings. People come to taste stew, eat pulled pork, and watch the rednecks churn up the Georgia clay with their four- by-fours. So when the guy hawking koi ponds in the booth opposite leaned into our tent to report the newest altercation, I jumped at the chance to break my boredom. Actually, my jump was more of a sweat-soaked slide out of my seat.

“Eloise,” I asked. “You want to come and see what the fuss is about?”

“And miss the possibility of a single customer? I’m not hauling my butt out of this chair except to get more stew.” She stubbed out a cigarette. On the folding table sat her second or third bowl of the thick Brunswick Stew, brimming with shredded meat, tomatoes, butter beans, and corn. “One of my students gave me a bunch of free tickets to his family’s booth, and I plan to use them all. My Crohn’s isn’t bothering me, so I’m eating to make up for the times my stomach doesn’t let me.”

Although the stew had a lovely cinnamon color, eating it in record-breaking heat held no appeal to me. Particularly the amount Eloise had already consumed. The concoction of veggies and meat once got poor folks through hard times by tossing in whatever you could salvage. I’ve had it made from chicken, beef, pork, venison, and even rabbit. Some like to add squirrel with their pork. However in college, after enjoying a bowl with a large side of tequila shots at a Savannah bar, I vowed never to touch the stuff again. Does not taste as pleasant the second time around.

Watching Eloise eat made sweat break on my neck. “On a scorcher like today, I would think you’d rather have a Sno-Cone than a hot bowl of stew.”

“As a Sidewinder native, it is my duty to eat Brunswick Stew, particularly at our annual cook-off,” said Eloise. “I love Brunswick Stew. You should know better. How long have we been friends?”

“Let me see,” I pretended to think, not trying to hide my grin. “Seems I beat you in the Forks County Art Competition in third grade...”

“And I stole your drawing and you promptly announced it over the PA, getting me in all kinds of trouble. I still have the handprint on my behind.”

“Serves you right, you art thief.”

“I loved your drawing,” Eloise’s eyes grew misty. “I couldn’t help it. I’d never seen such a beautiful unicorn.”

“It was not a unicorn. I would never draw a unicorn.”

“I’m pretty sure there were rainbows, too,” Eloise laughed at my horrified look. “You were eight. Anyway, I recognized talent then and now. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”

“Are you kidding? You’re the one that got me into the Reconstituting Classicism gallery show. If I can pull off something great, that crowd will pay big bucks. I’m down to my last twenty dollars and change.” At that thought, I fished in the pockets of my cutoffs to look for Sno-Cone change, disappointed to find only thirty-five cents and a few gum wrappers.

“No one around here wants a portrait made, not even one of their pet,” I moaned. “I had the hunting dog market cornered there for a while. The art well in Forks County has mysteriously run dry ever since I was snubbed by the Bransons after painting the portrait of Dustin. Then Shawna Branson became president of the Forks County Arts Council and suddenly I have paintbrush leprosy.”

“How are those classical paintings coming?” Eloise dropped her eyes to her stew bowl. She knew me well enough to avoid conversation about Shawna Branson. “Aren’t you supposed to send digital photos of the portfolio soon?”

“Week from Monday,” I said. “Plenty of time. I’m doing famous Greek statues as paintings. Except to make it edgier I’m covering the model’s body in tiny Greek letters. Head to toe.”

Eloise swatted me with her spoon. “You haven’t done them yet? Don’t make me look bad, Cherry Tucker. The show is organized by my old drawing professor at UGA. He’s still ticked I went into pottery. I’m hoping to get back in his good graces and get my own show out of the deal.”

I held one hand over my heart, the other palm up in Pledge of Allegiance mode. “I swear I would never do anything to make you look bad, Eloise Parker. You have my word. I’m just having a little trouble convincing my model to pose nude as the Dying Gaul.”

“Who are you using as a model?”

“Luke Harper.”

It took a moment for Eloise to regain control over her laughter. I helped her right her chair when it threatened to tip.

“Luke is the perfect model for a Greek statue,” I explained. “Tall, lean, with great muscle definition. Especially those indentations between his waist and hips.” I paused a moment in delicious ecstasy, ruminating over Luke’s V-cut. “He even has the dark curly hair and the straight nose of a classic Greek. And I don’t think he’s got a drop of Greek blood in him. Pretty sure Harper’s not a Greek name.”

“Nor Roman. You just want to paint Luke naked,” Eloise cackled. “This doesn’t have anything to do with art.”

“Of course it does. I have an eye for beauty, that’s all.”

“You got a thing for beauty, all right. As long as it’s got a—”

“You can stop right there, Eloise Parker. No need to get trashy.”

“I’m not the one obsessed with painting Luke Harper nude.”

“He never lets me paint him, nude or otherwise. I don’t get it. What’s the big deal?”

“Probably because he’s worried the criminals in Forks County will laugh at him after seeing his bare ass in a painting,” Eloise lifted her brows. “Hard to arrest somebody when they’re laughing at you.”

Author Bio:
Larissa Reinhart loves small town characters, particularly sassy women with a penchant for trouble. STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW (May 2013) is the second in the Cherry Tucker Mystery Series. The first, PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY, is a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist, a 2012 The Emily finalist, and a 2011 Dixie Kane Memorial winner. She lives near Atlanta with her minions and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website, her Facebook page, or find her chatting with the Little Read Hens on Facebook.

Connect with Larissa!

Website: larissareinhart.com

Blog: larissareinhart.blogspot.com

Facebook page: facebook.com/RisWrites

Goodreads author page: goodreads.com/author/show/5806614.Larissa_Reinhart

Twitter: twitter.com/RisWrites

Publisher: henerypress.com

Amazon:

Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

2013-05-19T08:38:00.002-05:00

Listen to Christina Baker Kline discussing Orphan Train on NPR http://www.npr.org/2013/04/14/1769202...

The author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be delivers her most ambitious and powerful novel to date: a captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to ask.

Nearly eighteen, Molly Ayer knows she has one last chance. Just months from "aging out" of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvie and worse.

Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

The closer Molly grows to Vivian, the more she discovers parallels to her own life. A Penobscot Indian, she, too, is an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. As her emotional barriers begin to crumble, Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life - answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

The book Orphan Train weaves the stories of 17 year old Molly, who is a foster child, and Vivian, an elderly woman with a very troubled past. I loved how this book bounced back and forth between the 1930’s and 2011 and told parallel stories, years apart. The authors attention to detail is top notch and once you start this book you will not want to put it down. I was very interested in the Orphan Trains and loved how the author included information regarding them at the back of the book. The little extra information was quite interesting and added more to my reading experience. I give this book 5 stars.

Children's book showcase and reviews!

2013-05-18T14:46:00.000-05:00

Humans have gazed into the night sky for thousands of years and wondered, What are those twinkling lights? Though the sun, moon, and planets moved across the background of stars, the stars themselves appeared immovable, forever fixed in constellations. Only when astronomers began taking a closer look did anyone realize what a fascinating, ever-changing universe lies beyond our solar system—red giant and white dwarf stars, spiral galaxies, wispy nebulae, black holes, and much more.

In Beyond the Solar System, author Mary Kay Carson traces the evolution of humankind’s astronomical knowledge, from the realization that we are not at the center of the universe to recent telescopic proof of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. In addition to its engaging history, this book contains 21 hands-on projects to further explore the subjects discussed. Readers will build a three-dimensional representation of the constellation Orion, model the warping of space-time caused by a black hole, see how the universe expands using an inflating balloon, and construct a reflecting telescope out of a makeup mirror and a magnifying glass. Beyond the Solar System also includes minibiographies of famous astronomers, a time line of major scientific discoveries, a suggested reading list, a glossary of technical terms, and a list of websites for further exploration.

My Review:

My 6 year old was beyond excited to get this book! He loves space and experiments and this book has given us hours of endless fun! This book is jam packed with great facts pictures and experiments. This will be a book that stays with my kids for years to come! This book is geared for 9 and up, as some experiments are harder to do, but my kids (age 5 and 6) loved doing the Sweet, Twisted Space-Time experiment. If you have a child that loves space or scientist in the house this book is a must have. I rate it 4 stars!

In this fourth book in the series, Elizabeth and Fuzzina are enjoying themselves on a fine spring day when they stumble upon an overgrown ruin of a garden. It doesn’t seem possible to bring it back to life, but when the call goes out to earthly and Fuzzwipper helpers, it seems nothing is impossible.

My Review:

I think the Fuzzwippers and funny little things that teach such amazing lessons to children. In the 4th book in this series the Fuzzwippers learn the value of chipping in and helping and what a big difference that makes. With the greatest lesson to be learned at the end of the day, is that you are loved, no matter what! I rate this book 4 stars!

Master storyteller Dharmachari Nagaraja offers 18 beautifully illustrated bedtime stories, inspired by the Buddhist folk tradition, for parents to read to their children. Nagaraja weaves a thrilling narrative spell while conveying basic life lessons that will nurture children, calm their anxieties, and help them find peace and confidence. The tales explore themes from the Eightfold Path—Buddhism's practical route to a happy life—while gently teaching kids to speak kindly and truthfully, behave with compassion, and think selflessly.

My Review:

No matter your religious views I am sure we all want our kids to be kind, respectful, confident and calm kids. This book tells tales that bring those lesson to life and so many more. With beautiful images and inspiring and uplifting stories this has become our new go to bedtime book. I love that my kids go to bed feeling good about themselves and with a new lesson blooming in their minds! 5 stars!

Fireflies and Shooting Stars is a delightful and inspirational tale filled with beautiful art and songs about Enzo, a little firefly who was born without a taillight. As Enzo faces the challenges of growing up different, the story tells of his self-determined, fantastic journey and adventures to find his light—a magical ride of hope, understanding, and discovering the importance of accepting the differences in others as well as ourselves.

My Review:

Such an amazing story about Enzo, a firefly that could not find his light. It is adorable, heartwarming and quite inspiring!!! This book is one that will be appealing to many children, some going through tough stuff and those that are not. I love the CD that accompanied the book! What an amazing way to bring the story to life! I also loved that the book was one that was read over a period of time. It makes to last so much longer and creates such great dialogue between my kids and myself! I just loved this book and rate it 5 stars!

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Dressing up as a mermaid is even more fun when you get to be part of the Mermaid Parade!

Every year at the beginning of summer, mermaids and Neptunes and creatures of the sea flock to Coney Island to dance and twirl and march in the annual Mermaid Parade! A highlight of the year, one little mermaid can’t wait to put her costume on and join her parents as they take in the sights, sounds and smells of the fun-filled pageant. This year she is “Little Mermaid Coming Out of Her Shell.”

An annual artists’ parade in New York City, the real Mermaid Parade provides the backdrop for an exciting time that every little diva is sure to enjoy!

My Review:

With rich pictures and a fun story set on Coney Island and based on the Mermaid Parade, Mermaids on Parade is such a fun and interesting story! You feel the excitement fun and atmosphere of the parade. All the music, the floats, the performers and my sons favorite: Who will win the trophy!? comes together in a grand story!

My kids thought it was a fun book and we rate it 3.5 stars!

A young woman who loves to grow roses is surprised one day when she receives an unusual gift that will forever change her life. Cecily Brunner learns that love sometimes comes in very small packages.

My Review:

A book based ion the mystical and magic this book focuses on loving and caring and ultimately the cycle of all living things. It was an interesting book and I rate it 3 stars.

Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kakes: Kandy Bar Kakes made with Reese's Peanut Butter by Tastykake!!!

2013-05-17T15:07:00.000-05:00

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

I was so excited when the Spring Fever Vox Box (#SpringVoxBox) by Influenster showed up! I can admit here that two of my vices are peanut butter and cake! Can you imagine how excited I was when I saw the Kandy Bar Kakes made with Reese's Peanut Butter by Tastykake in my vox box!? I dove right in and I cannot tell you how simply yummy it was. I did share a small bit with my two sons, since their opinion on the item was also very important to me! They also loved it and tried to snag my piece too, but fear not their mother is quite fast when it comes to yummy treats and beat them too it!!! I will be buying this snack again and cannot wait to try the other flavors and items from Tastykake! I HIGHLY recommend this simply amazing indulgence!

The Tasty Baking Company, founded in 1914 and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is one of the country’s leading bakers of snack cakes, pies, cookies, and donuts. As a subsidiary of Flowers Foods, the company has bakery facilities in Philadelphia and Oxford, Pa. that offer more than 100 products under the Tastykake brand name. Celebrated for their freshness and quality ingredients, the Tastykake line includes such classics as Krimpets, Kandy Kakes, Juniors, and Kreamies. For more information on Tasty Baking Company, visit www.tastykake.com.

SPOTTED : Single Serve - $1.69 Family Pack - $4.49

TAGS: Tastykake Cake Snack Desert Sweet

Blog Tour: Bella Saves the Beach by Nancy Stewart

2013-05-16T06:29:00.001-05:00

About the book:

Bella and Britt are worried about all the trash appearing on their beautiful beach. But what can they do? Britt is leaving on vacation, and Bella can’t solve the problem alone. Without adults to lend a hand, can they possibly save their beach?

Excerpt:

Bella, Britt and all their friends built sand castles and filled moats with salty sea. But this summer, the girls were worried.

“Look at all this trash, Britt,” said Bella.

She nodded. “Yeah, and I leave on vacation tomorrow. I can’t help pick it up!”

Next morning, Bella walked along the beach alone. “Hello.” Bella said to the old crooked beak pelican, perched on his piling. “Somebody has to help, and I guess it’s me.”

This 5 star read teaches children to take a look around and make the earth a better place by keeping it clean and tidy. Bella's slice of the world needing protecting is the beach! Bella get a team to help her clean up the beach and teaches us along the way the danger that trash has on the beaches. I think that this is such a great lesson for children to hear. We only have one earth and we need to be kind and courteous about how we treat it. It is a great book to share with your child and I highly recommend it!

Purchase from:

NANCYSTEWARTBOOKS.COM
GUARDIANANGEL PUBLISHING

BARNESAND NOBLE

Nancy Stewart Bio:

Nancy is the bestselling and award winning author of the four Bella and Britt Series books for children: One Pelican at a Time (eighteen weeks on Amazon Bestselling List), Sea Turtle Summer, (which won the Children’s Literary Classic Gold Award), Bella Saves the Beach (which won the Gold) and Mystery at Manatee Key. The authorized biography, Katrina and Winter: Partners in Courage, is the story of Katrina Simpkins and Winter, the dolphin. One Pelican at a Time and Nancy were featured in the PBS Tampa special, GulfWatch. All are published by Guardian Angel Publishing.

Nancy is a frequent speaker and presenter at writer’s conferences throughout the United States. She conducts workshops and seminars and speaks to school children on writing and helping save their planet. A blogger with a worldwide audience, she writes of all things pertaining to children’s literature.

Nancy’s travels take her extensively throughout the world, most particularly Africa. She is US chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya, that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education. She and her husband live in Tampa and St. Louis.

Visit her online at www.nancystewartbooks.com and her blog at http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

Bella Saves the Beach Tour Schedule

Monday, April 22^nd

Guest post at The Children’s andTeens’ Book Connection

Tuesday, April 23^rd

Book trailer feature at If Books Could Talk

Wednesday, April 24^th

Book review at On Words - Opening Eyes, Opening Hearts

Thursday, April 25^th

Book spotlight and giveaway at The Busy Mom’s Daily

Book review at Shannon Hitchcock Pen andProse

Monday, April 29^th

Book review at Hook Kids on Reading

Guest post at The Pen and Ink

Tuesday, April 30^th

Guest post at Write What Inspires You

Wednesday, May 1^st

Book review at LadyD Books

Thursday, May 2^nd

Book review at Kid Lit Reviews

Friday, May 3^rd

Guest post at Lori’s Reading Corner

Monday, May 6^th

Interview at Tribute Books Reviews andGiveaways

Tuesday, May 7^th

Book reviewed at The Picture Book Review

Wednesday, May 8^th

Book reviewed at My Devotional Thoughts

Thursday, May 9^th

Book review at It’s About Time Mamaw

Friday, May 10^th

Book review at The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection

Monday, May 13^th

Book review at 4 the Love of Books

Tuesday, May 14^th

Book spotlight at Review from Here

Book review at The Jenny Revolution

Wednesday, May 15^th

Guest post at Literarily Speaking

Thursday, May 16^th

Book review at Mrs. Mommy Booknerd’s Reviews

Friday, May 17^th

Book spotlight at I’m A Reader, Not A Writer

Showcase: Family Secrets: Shame and Privacy in Modern Britain [Hardcover] Deborah Cohen

2013-05-15T07:23:00.000-05:00

We live today in a culture of full disclosure, where tell-all memoirs

top the best-seller lists, transparency is lauded, and privacy seems
imperiled. But how did we get here?

Exploring scores of previously sealed records, Family Secrets offers a
sweeping account of how shame-and the relationship between secrecy and
openness-has changed over the last two centuries in Britain. Deborah
Cohen uses detailed sketches of individual families as the basis for
comparing different sorts of social stigma. She takes readers inside an
Edinburgh town house, where a genteel maiden frets with her brother over
their niece's downy upper lip, a darkening shadow that might betray the
girl's Eurasian heritage; to a Liverpool railway platform, where a
heartbroken mother hands over her eight-year old illegitimate son for
adoption; to a town in the Cotswolds, where a queer vicar brings to his
bank vault a diary-sewed up in calico, wrapped in parchment-that
chronicles his sexual longings. Cohen explores what families in the past
chose to keep secret and why. She excavates the tangled history of
privacy and secrecy to explain why privacy is now viewed as a hallowed
right while secrets are condemned as destructive.

In delving into the dynamics of shame and guilt, Family Secrets explores
the part that families, so often regarded as the agents of repression,
have played in the transformation of social mores from the Victorian era
to the present day. Written with compassion and keen insight, this is a
bold new argument about the sea-changes that took place behind closed
doors.

About The Author

Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, DEBORAH COHEN was educated at Harvard
(BA) and Berkeley (Ph.D.). She is the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of
Humanities and Professor of History at Northwestern University. Her
specialty is modern European history, with a focus on Britain.

Cohen's new book is Family Secrets, published in the UK by Viking
Penguin and in the US by Oxford. She's also the author of Household
Gods: The British and their Possessions (Yale, 2006) and The War Come
Home: Disabled Veterans in Britain and Germany (California, 2001)

Review: A Grand Day to Get Lost by Kris Radish

2013-05-14T06:52:00.000-05:00

A wrong turn down a remote Florida backwoods highway turns into the ride of a lifetime for Emily Weaver, a university librarian, when she mysteriously discovers a manuscript written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings dated years after the beloved author's death. Emily unwittingly begins a treasure hunt in a world that is as beautiful as it is dangerous, and it is a hunt that could not only change her life, but the landscape of the entire literary world.
Is it really possible that the renowned author of The Yearling faked her own death in 1953?
Parading through the scrub country in Rawlings's seemingly fresh footsteps, Emily must separate fact from fiction as she discovers more than one secret world, opens up her heart to new friendships and challenges, encounters ghosts from the past, and puts her own life in danger to uncover the truth.
A Gran Day no only resurrects a bold literary icon but also explores the emotional landscape of loss, survival, and forgiveness in a world where anything is possible for those who dare to risk and follow their dreams.

Once again Radish writes a books that is both interesting and relatable. I fell in love with Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral and went on to read a few other amazing reads by Radish. My favorite to date is Tuesday Night Miracles. Is is simply amazing! In A Grand Day to Get Lost Radish keeps up with her brilliant writing of female characters, friendship, family and life in general. She takes you on an adventure to find truths, discover oneself and find a new way to live life to the fullest! I really enjoyed this book and rate it 4 stars!

CLP Blog Tour: Identity Break by Stifyn Emrys

2013-05-13T07:58:00.000-05:00

Follow the tour HERE

How far would you go to find yourself?

Imagine everything you thought you knew about yourself turned out to be a lie, and you didn’t know who was telling the truth. Imagine you possessed a secret so dangerous that, if it were exposed, it would reshape the entire world.
What would you do if that secret were your very identity?

In almost every way, Palo Vista seems like a typical California city, with office buildings, schools, and homes sprawled out across suburbia, filled with families making a life for themselves at the dawn of the new millennium.
But two seniors at Mt. MacMurray High are about to find out that nothing is as it seems. Jason Nix is a star athlete and honors student who can’t seem to remember anything about his childhood. Elyse Van Auten is a budding artist from a broken home whose father left her mother two years ago - or so she’s been led to believe.

Like most teens entering adulthood, Elyse and Jason just want to find out who they really are. For them, however, the stakes go far beyond their own personal quest. Join them on a journey of self-discovery that becomes a desperate fight for survival against enemies determined to conceal the truth … and find out what happens when that fight becomes personal.

So much for my Friday afternoon, eh? I had just spent wasted three hours on a blustery fall day sitting on a cold, hard, metal bench watching 22 boys beat each other up for the sake of a stupid ball. Run around for a couple of seconds. Stop. Wait half a minute and repeat. It sounded like those inane philosophies my mom got out of her favorite book, Wisdom on the Head of a Pin.

I didn’t like philosophy, so I wasn’t a thinker. I didn’t like football, so I wasn’t a tomboy. And I didn’t like dresses, so I wasn’t a proper lady. What did that make me?

“You’re an arteest!” Cherie crowed as she came bounding up to me like the Easter bunny in heat. Come to think of it, Cherie almost always acted like she was in heat. I shivered. The word “heat,” however it might be used, somehow seemed absurd on a 40-degree day.

“Yes, I am,” I said without smiling. Why wouldn’t she just go away?

That was one thing about Cherie. She was oblivious. But at least she wasn’t a snob like some of the other girls.

“What you working on today?”

I turned over the sketch pad to let her see. I wasn’t one of those people who cared if people saw my art before I finished it. I knew it was garbage, anyway, so why should I care if someone else said it was garbage? At least it was honest … unlike Cherie, who promptly ooohed and ahhhhed over it as though it had come from the paintbrush of Picasso.

“That’s really good!” she crowed. “And will you look at that? You drew my boyfriend!”

She pointed to a figure on the pad, which was really nothing more than a blur with the barely discernible number 24 on the back. If I had to wait around after school for Mom to pick me up, at least I could make the most of it and practice capturing motion in my art.

“Your boyfriend?” I said. “Jason Nix is your boyfriend?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she said, nodding triumphantly. “He just doesn’t know it yet. Some of the other guys call him Runt, but he’s the best player on the team. Who else would I go out with? Certainly not Chaz Haney. And not that big Samoan guy, Fail-toesy or Purple Haze or whatever.”

“Carlton’s a nice guy,” I said, more to be contradictory than anything else. The truth? I didn’t know him any better than she did. But I hated it when someone just dismissed people as though they weren’t worth a second thought. Maybe Carlton Haze was a nice guy? Cherie sure had no way of knowing.

“Nice guy?” she said, the words accompanied by an odd sound that fell somewhere between a laugh and a snort. “He’s a nice guy because he wants to … well, I don’t have to explain it to you. I’m sure you understand these things.”

I could tell she meant that sarcastically.

I looked back down at my sketchpad. At least she hadn’t been sarcastic about my art. It was nice to have the compliment, even if it did come from a grade-A airhead who wouldn’t know art if her name were Mona Lisa.

About the author: Stifyn Emrys is a journalist and educator who has written on subjects as diverse as history, religion, politics and language. He has served as an editor for fiction and non-fiction projects, and his first book, “The Gospel of the Phoenix,” was published in the summer of 2012. He has published four other books, including three non-fiction works and the children's fairy tale “Feathercap.” “Identity Break” is his first novel. He lives on California’s Central Coast with his wife (also an author), stepson, cat and dog.

Connect with Stifyn!
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/semrys

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Stifyn-Emrys/e/B008LHKFM2/

Twitter: @stifynemrys.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/stifyn-emrys/58/b73/36b

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/6453846.Stifyn_Emrys

Blog: http://semrys.blogspot.com/

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/stifyn-emrys?dref=2207

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

2013-05-12T08:50:00.001-05:00

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2013-05-11T17:29:00.001-05:00

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Showcase: The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts

2013-05-11T10:17:00.000-05:00

Synopsis:

Sophie has always felt out of step—an outsider, even amongst friends in her high school with all the hype about celebrity culture. Her life in L.A. seems to have been already written for her, but when her junior year starts, it all takes a drastic turn. When she crosses paths with the school's heartthrob, Nate Werner, they fall for each other in a way neither can understand. What they don’t know is that by giving in to their desires, they are unlocking an ancient Egyptian prophecy that threatens to return Earth to the dark ages.

To undo the curse, Nate and Sophie embark on an adventure that takes them across the country. But their quest is not only to save the world as they know it. It is also a fight for their very survival. Behind the scenes, there are those that are counting on them to fail.

Admitting I wasn’t going to fall asleep, I emerged from under the bed covers, went over to the windows, and sat on the floor. They say if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Well, if the city lights were going to keep me awake, I might as well enjoy the view.

Crossing my legs in the lotus position, I admired the city skyline. The other glass tower across from us seemed to be private apartments. Most of the floors had their lights on. The energy of this city was captivating. Life continued on through the night in the city that never slept.

It was starting to snow. The frosty flakes resembled white cotton candy. They seemed to be defying the laws of gravity as they were suspended on the air and then swirled up into the sky. It was probably due to the air current caused by the tall buildings. But as things stood in my life at the moment, anything seemed possible.

The traffic was as dense as rush hour in downtown L.A. Cars jammed around Columbus Circle, and no one thought twice about leaning on the horn, even though it was past midnight.

In one of the apartments opposite, a man was sitting by the window, typing on a laptop. The room was dark, but the reflection of the computer screen lit up his face. I could see him clearly. It was as though we were sitting across from each other. I was sure he could see me, too. We were so close, but at the same time, so far. This must be the big city syndrome where you can feel so alone amongst so many people. And knowing that Nate was just across the wall only enhanced the feeling.

I had to start blocking any thoughts of Nate. I had to give myself a break or I was going to start losing my mind. Unfortunately, I was aware that ignoring a problem wasn’t likely to make it go away. I couldn’t believe Nate had planned to hide the stain on his back from me. How long did he think he could pretend everything was going to be fine?

Dad taught me to only believe what could be proved by science, but this lulled me into a state of denial. Nate was vanishing with the tick of the clock, and I had to help him. I wasn’t sure how yet, but I couldn’t fail him. I wanted to slap myself to throw myself into action. How could I be so passive when I was losing the only thing I wanted?

The man in the apartment across from me was drinking from a cup and flicking through the pages of a book that he had next to the laptop. After scanning a few more pages, he continued to type. I wondered what he was doing. I wanted to think he was writing a detective novel based in 1950s Manhattan.

The man stopped typing and stared openly at me, as if he also needed to share his secrets with a stranger. It was snowing hard, and thousands of snowflakes playfully spiraled up into the sky, proving reality had many dimensions. The simple stare from a distant stranger was appeasing that loneliness that was taking hold of me.

I couldn’t stop staring back. Here, sitting on the floor of this grandiose room, in the epicenter of the madness of this city, I just felt so small. How was I, this tiny, fragile girl, going to make the world change its course?

The man with the computer—as if he could hear my thoughts—smiled at me and nodded. Without uttering a word, and with the power of our surroundings, this stranger confirmed that, yes, I could do whatever I gave myself to. It was probably a coincidence, but there were moments like this when the universe conspired to prove that life was full of magic moments. You just needed to learn to see past what was in front of you.

The man went back to typing on his computer, unconscious that with just one stare he’d provided me with the courage I lacked. I was beginning to fall in love, but in this case, with New York City. There was something about the anonymity of this city that brought us closer as humans.

BLURB ABOUT ME

Teresa Orts studied economics and went on to work in the financial industry. She lives in London with her husband and son and this is her first novel. If you want to know more about her, please visit her website www.teresaorts.com

MY BIO/STORY

Unlike most authors, I didn’t start writing books when I was fiveyears old. In fact, I’d never been too interested in reading or writing. Hanging out with friends in the small Spanish town where I grew up always seemed more appealing than anything a book could offer. It took about twenty-seven years and a global financial meltdown for me to discover the magic world of writing.

At the time, I was living in New York City, and one morning I discovered I was no longer expected at my sixty-hour-a-week investment banking job. Most of my friends had very demanding jobs, so I spent my days wandering around on my own.

Like other unemployed people, I started living through the nights and sleeping through the days. New York is known as the city that never sleeps for a good reason! One night, tired of surfing the web and watching TV, I opened a Word document and started typing a short story, which I saved in my computer with little interest. That was the day Nate and Sophie were born.

Days later, since the financial industry seemed to be going into a downward spiral, I decided to spend three months traveling through Southeast Asia and New Zealand. I thought, naïve me, that by the time I returned, the financial crisis would have come to an end.

Something really strange happened to me during that trip. No matter where I went, I couldn’t stop thinking about the story. Nate and Sophie followed me everywhere. No matter how hard I tried to forget about them, they just wouldn’t go away. At the beginning, I thought I was losing my mind, but soon after, I realized I had to continue writing the story.

When I came back to New York, I went right back into it, and that’s how The Year of the Great Seventh was created. Unfortunately, halfway through the novel, I received a letter from the immigration department informing me that, with no job, I was no longer welcome in the United States. Without much of a choice, my boyfriend and I decided to pack our lives, along with my half-drafted manuscript, and begin another exciting adventure in London, where we now live.

Mandy's Romance Corner Reviews

2013-05-10T06:22:00.000-05:00

It had to Be You (Lucky Harbor) by Jill Shalvis

Book Description

Release date: May 28, 2013 | Series: Lucky Harbor

Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern....

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

Mandy's Review: This is another book in the Lucky Harbor series, and it is just as awesome as the others. I have read all of the Lucky Harbor series so far and this one is definitely on the top of my list. Jill’s writing is witty, loveable, steamy and addictive. Luke Hanover is taking a break from his job and goes to Lucky Harbor for some much needed down time. He walks into his grandmother’s old house and meets Ali Winters. The story continues from there (you will have to read it to find out what happens, no spoilers from me). Needless to say there is lots of laughs, who did it, and steamy romance. Jill is an awesome writer who brings the reader in with her fun loving characters, alpha males and the women who drive them absolutely crazy. This is a must read book. I give it 4 stars.

Headed for Trouble by Suzanne Brockmann

Book Description

Release date: April 30, 2013 | Series: Troubleshooters

New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann, whom USA Today calls “the reigning queen of military suspense,” breaks out a rapid-fire collection of pulse-pounding, heart-tugging stories and novellas featuring the intrepid men and women of Troubleshooters Inc., fiction’s hottest ultimate counterterrorism squad.

• Tough-as-nails Troubleshooters operative Sam Starrett learns the agony of loving someone in danger—and the hell of waiting on the home front—as his wife, Alyssa, hurtles into a foreign hotspot that’s about to boil over.

• Navy SEAL Frank O’Leary’s ill-fated holiday reunion with his older brother takes a turn for the better—when a chance encounter on a rainy New Orleans street gives Frank a reason to be thankful after all.

• In a maze of tunnels deep beneath a military base in Germany, Jules Cassidy, Alyssa Locke, and their comrades in arms match wits with terrorists on a mission with explosive consequences.

Plus more never-before-released adventures featuring Jenk, Izzy, Gillman, Lopez, Kenny, Savannah, and other members of SEAL Team 16—along with Suzanne Brockmann’s exclusive interviews with her beloved characters.

Looking for the best kind of trouble? You’ve found it!

Mandy's Review: Suzanne is the amazing author of the Troubleshooters series: Navy Seals, alpha males and the women who love them. This book contains some short stories of the men and women of Troubleshooters Inc., interviews with the characters and some background information on her books. I loved this book. I loved hearing about what was going on the lives of these awesome characters. This is my favorite series out there. I have been there for every book Suzanne has written and anxiously awaited the release of the next one. Suzanne makes you feel what the characters are going through, root for love to conquer all and most of all that someone always has your back. There is a section in this book called Valentine’s Day. It is an essay on Navy Life. It was the sweetest thing I have ever read in my life, it brought tears to my eyes. You have to read this book, you really really need to. I give it 5 stars.

Blog tour with CLP!!! Appetites by Karen Frankola

2013-05-09T06:33:00.000-05:00

When Sarah suddenly hears from Harry, the Brit she almost married twenty years ago, she decides now is the time to change her life. Sarah has a great job in Manhattan, but she considers herself too fat to have a boyfriend. Harry is visiting New York in four months and she wants to turn back into the girl he fell in love with. Since she can never stick to a diet, she comes up with a drastic solution.

Sarah asks her sister Max to lock her up in her basement and feed her nothing but healthy meals. Max, a struggling waitress, agrees begrudgingly. She's skinny, but has her own set of appetites—for drink, drugs, and great-looking losers.

Sarah thinks a summer in Max’s basement will give her a new body, a chance to reconnect with Harry, and the friendship she’s long craved from her sister. But things quickly go wrong. Max's drinking leads her to neglect Sarah, who figures out how to get out of the basement. Sarah develops an obsession with Max's boyfriend and manages to fulfill a sexual fantasy by pretending to be something she's not.

Can Sarah turn back time with Harry or will she and Max kill each other first? Can either sister ever learn to say no?

Sarah was stretching in her downward dog pose when Max shouted that she was coming downstairs. Sarah was surprised to see that for the first time since she had moved in, Max was entering the basement without food or laundry in her hands.

“So, what’s up?” Sarah asked.

“Uh, well, Adam is here—he stayed over last night.”

Max looked surprisingly uncomfortable.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” said Sarah.

Adam and Max had awakened Sarah again last night, but she was getting used to it. In fact, it made her feel a little less lonely.

“He wants to see you,” said Max. “I told him that you were probably busy, but he wants to talk to you about something important.”

“And how is that going to happen when you know I can’t leave the basement? I don’t think he wants to come down here.” Sarah looked around at the gloomy room. It was repulsive, and on top of that, it was her bedroom.

“You can come upstairs. It would be just for a few minutes.”

Sarah could think of nothing she would like more than seeing Adam again, but breaking the rules this early in the game seemed like a bad idea. She stood frozen.

“Oh, for God’s sakes, just come up,” snapped Max.

“But I’m all sweaty,” said Sarah. “At least wait until I take a shower.”

“You’re not going on a date.”

Max was right, but she didn’t need to be so mean about it.

“Okay, but give me five minutes to wash my face.”

Sarah ran to the bathroom, took off her shirt and bra, and scrubbed a washcloth quickly between her breasts and under her arms. She threw on a little foundation and mascara and then her nicest T-shirt; a pale blue one that matched her eyes and didn’t cling too much to her enormous belly.

She walked upstairs to the kitchen, where Adam was waiting. The sun coming through the window was so bright that she could barely open her eyes. Adam himself seemed to be radiating light, or at least his agreeably snug white T-shirt was. For the first time, she realized his eyes were green.

“Great to see you again,” he said, stretching out his hand.

No hug? She felt a twinge of disappointment.

“I’m going to take a shower while you guys talk,” said Max, already half-way out of the kitchen.

“Great, babe,” Adam said. “Thanks for prying Sarah out of her cave.”

Sarah felt a churning in her intestines. Did Max say something to him after all? Or is it just because I look like one of those Chilean miners finally coming to the surface?

He made small talk while Sarah provided the appropriate responses, all the while marveling at the length and curliness of his eyelashes. Even the mole on his chin was cute. And normally she didn’t go for stubble, but she could imagine it bristling against her face as they kissed.

She was in the middle of noticing how white his teeth were when she realized he had transitioned to what she was doing with her money. She sighed audibly, finally breaking free from his blinding teeth-tight T-shirt-green-eyed spell. Of course—she had forgotten he was an investment advisor. Max must have told him I make good money and here he is trying to collect a slice of it. “The usual—you know—401K, index funds, nothing crazy,” she said. “I’m happy with what I’m doing.”

“Of course, I would expect someone as bright as you to be doing all the right things,” he said.

Yep, he’s good, thought Sarah. And those looks certainly don’t hurt.

“But I’m now able to get a few clients in on an amazing opportunity,” continued Adam. “I’m sure, as a sophisticated investor, you’re aware that the average person can’t get in on a hot IPO. I usually can only work a deal for a few big clients, but I was hoping to get Max involved. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the money to invest, but she said you might be interested.”

Is this the same script Bernie Madoff used? But who cares,Sarah thought. I can string him along for a while. “Okay, tell me more,” she said.

Adam launched into a spiel about a new company that had developed a Facebook-type tool for businesses who would pay handsomely to connect their employees in a way they could control. He talked for ten minutes, stopping only when Max returned to the kitchen and announced she was ready to go to brunch.

Adam gave Sarah a sidelong glance like he was wishing he could ditch Max. A salesman’s trick, but she couldn’t help herself from smiling at him. He asked for her phone number and email to give her more information, and said he would call her later in the week. When Sarah handed him the paper, their fingers touched. She imagined him taking her into his arms and kissing her.

After he left, it was almost impossible to force herself back into the basement. It seemed so much darker and smaller. She walked over to one of the small windows; nothing but weeds.

Follow the tour HERE

Author Bio:

Karen Frankola wrote Appetites to explore the hard choices women make in love and work. Karen spent much of her career writing very short stories at news organizations like CNN and MSNBC, so creating a novel was challenging. She now does a variety of writing for corporations and nonprofit organizations. Karen is lucky enough to work mostly from home, with her dog Rascal curled up under her desk.

Karen grew up near Pittsburgh, where she spent much of her childhood reading books in the cemetery that bordered her family’s backyard. Karen moved to nine different states and England. Some of her favorite jobs were teaching journalism at the University of Missouri, working as a television news director, and handling video shoots for Deloitte around the world. She also spent a summer repairing motors at a steel mill and hopes to soon publish a coming-of-age memoir about that experience.

Karen and her husband Troy now reside in Durham, North Carolina, where they enjoy watching deer in the woods behind their house, lots of live music, beautiful biking trails, and great neighbors.

Karen is working on a sequel to Appetites and would love to hear what you think of it.

Connect with Karen!

Twitter: @kfrankola

Review: Joy-Worthy: A Mother's Guide to More Joy, Less Stress and No Guilt by Julie McGrath

2013-05-08T06:50:00.002-05:00

No matter where you are on your beautiful, often exhausting journey through motherhood, Joy-Worthy gives you a plan to put yourself first without guilt and rediscover what gives you joy. If motherhood is sucking the joy right out of you -- or you fear it might -- joy coach and licensed social worker Julie McGrath offers down-to-earth guidance on how to get your own needs met so you can be a better mother and create the fulfilling life of your dreams. You don’t have to put your happiness on hold -- you can learn how to be happy right now, because you are joy-worthy!

I have to admit that I enjoyed this book, I very much believe that we can spent time away from our kids and have a life beyond them. I feel that are children will be fine in the end, even though Mom went to book club, or to a movie or on a girls weekend. I have thought for a while that we are so children centered that we forget we are not just mothers, but wives, sister, friends and so much more. This book gives so much great advise on how to have more joy, less stress and to do so guilt free. I rate it 4 stars.

Review: The Children Are Tender by Linda A. Born

2013-05-07T06:41:00.000-05:00

Heartwarming and heart-stopping classroom adventures Welcome to the town of Karola, Kansas, where the air is clean, the sky vast and blue, and the people have a strong tradition of extending the Golden Rule to all. First year teacher Lydia Birn faces heartwarming and heart-stopping adventures at Karola School as Tommy disappears on the class field trip, Brian's pet snake escapes in the classroom, and Brenna refuses to depart from her imaginary world long enough to learn to read. With husband Farmer John at her side, Lydia relies on her faith in God and the support of her colleagues and self-appointed mentors, Abby and Ruth.

As a teacher and mother, I really enjoyed this book. With reflections on her first year of teaching Lynda takes us on many adventures with her students...you will laugh, be moved and be left satisfied you read this book. I give it 3.5 stars.

*Please note that I got this book free from the publisher for my honest review.

Q. What inspires your writing?

A. The Children Are Tender was inspired by three passions: empathy for little kids who struggle, compassion for teachers in the public school system, and love of life in a rural community. These three themes weave together to form the backbone of the book. I am a Christian writer, and so I work hard to be certain my words reflect as accurately and honestly as possible the Lord's great love for human beings.

Q. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A. I love to make my readers laugh. Working with small children brings joy, exasperation, exhaustion--and unexpected little adventures are always unfolding. My years as a teacher provided reams of material that informed the characterizations of the antics of the youngsters (as well as the adults) in The Children Are Tender.

Q. What is the toughest part of being an author?

A. Well, I hate to say this, but it is hard to give forth hours and hours of labor for free. Our whole society is built on the "work hard and earn money" dynamic, and writers tend to work very hard and earn not very much money. I've been allowed a season of life during which I've had the time to write without facing poverty as a result (so far). My husband (the inspiration for "Farmer John" in The Children Are Tender) is a saint (most of the time).

Q. If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. I would write anyway, even if no one else read my words. Like my mother before me I've always journaled daily, filling stacks of spiral notebooks (and later on hundreds of word-processing documents). In my spare time I would default to my other life roles: teacher, mother, grandmother, caregiver.

Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. Hopefully--and by God's grace--it will be "She Ran the Good Race and Fought the Good Fight."

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A. I love At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon, and the whole Mitford series. Her writing is comforting to me.

Q. Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. I feel a real connection to James Herriot as the lead character in his autobiographical novels. He writes in first person, as I do, and his way of observing the world and writing about it as a sort of neutral observer is very much a part of me. I identify with his love of family and devotion to his job, and my novel has a strong sense of place as do his. In fact, one of the earliest "hooks" for my book read "If James Herriot had been a teacher living in Kansas, The Children Are Tender might have been the result!" I believe it was this line that won me my publishing contract with Ambassador International.

Q. What character from all of your book are you most like?

A. At this stage of my life I am most like Abby, in The Children Are Tender. Both Abby and I took early retirement from teaching jobs in order to care for aging mothers who have dementia. Another similarity is that Abby faces prejudice and often feels out of place. I've felt a little different all of my life, sometimes because of my faith in God; more often because I'm a thinker and an analyzer rather than a mover and a shaker! The world tends to value movers more than thinkers, and it is painful to feel judged or found lacking.

Q. Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. When I was ten I read a magical book entitled The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key. It was about a boy who lives on another planet and falls through a portal to Earth. Confused and lost he is helped by a kind farm family, and they all eventually return to the safer and more advanced world the boy comes from. I would like to see the peaceful, kinder world on the other side of that forgotten door--but just for the weekend!

Q. What is your favorite season?

A. This year I loved winter. We had two big snows and because I now work at home I had time to go sledding AND to sit in front of the fire with a mug hot chocolate. We were snowed in for several days, and it was very peaceful.

Q. What inspired your book cover(s)? Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. The art director at Ambassador International chose a digital painting that he believed fit with descriptive passages in The Children AreTender. By coincidence, just a few months earlier I had taken a photo of golden Kansas grasses that was nearly identical to the windblown grass on the book cover. Whoo hoo, goosebumps! I love this cover!

Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. At an author event in Abilene, Kansas, I bought more books than I sold. I returned to my place, lamenting my expenditures and vowing not to buy more books. The author at the table next to mine knew an easy mark when he saw one, and took my statement that I wasn't going to buy more books as a challenge. He'd read my bio, which says that I'm a reading teacher. So he read me a poem from one of his books about his gratitude to a teacher who taught him to read. I handed him a check for a copy of his book.

Q. Are you working on something new?

A. I need to finish my devotional for dementia patients. It is a companion book to my caregiving book My Mom Has Alzheimer's: Inspiration and Help for Caregivers. My hope is to package the caregiving book and the devotional for dementia patients together, thus helping caregivers and their patients to literally stay on the same page! Following that project I foresee writing a second Karola book.

Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. Thank you for reading these words and God bless you!

GIVEAWAY and visit by Sherryl Woods to MMBBR's

2013-05-06T06:54:00.000-05:00

I’m thrilled to be showcasing author Sherryl Woods on her upcoming Ocean Breeze trilogy, which will be published by Harlequin.

Selling millions of copies worldwide, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods has spent a combined 113 weeks since 2008 on the bestsellers list. Widely known for her signature heartfelt emotions and compelling characters with relatable real life stories, Woods returns this summer with yet another captivating trilogy in her new Ocean Breeze series. Set in her beloved South, Woods takes her readers to the North Carolina coast and introduces them to the Castle family — three tight-knit sisters: each at a turning point in their life, their aloof father, and their adored grandmother.

Sand Castle Bay (March 26, 2013)

In a trade-off she's lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved.

For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever.

Will fate once again separate them—or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?

Readers follow the whirlwind of Emily’s life in the second book —Wind Chime Point (publication date is April 30, 2013)

When life gets complicated, New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods proves family—and love—can make all the difference.

Facing a personal crisis, ambitious and driven Gabriella Castle retreats to the welcoming arms of her family. Everything she's worked for has been yanked out from under her, and she seeks the serenity of her grandmother's home on the North Carolina coast. With difficult decisions to make about her future, the last thing she wants is an unexpected love.

Wade Johnson fell for Gabi the first time he saw her. It's not the only time he's found himself in the role of knight in shining armor, but Gabi isn't looking for a rescuer. To get her to stay, Wade will need a whole lot of patience and gentle persuasion…and maybe the soothing sound of wind chimes on a summer breeze.

The trilogy concludes with the June release of Sea Glass Island.

Woods’ Ocean Breeze series is an enticing trilogy of true love and its many facets. Readers will relate to each of the Castle sisters, seeing themselves in the varying challenges of these characters.

My review of Sand Castle Bay and Wind Chime Point

There is something amazing that happens when you enter a really great series. You become attached to a family and get to read a story that spans many books, with the characters you have grown to love. It really shows that the author did a great job of writing the characters and that the story is a solid one when a series grabs onto you right from the start. I have to say that was the case with the newest trilogy by Sherryl Woods.

Woods newest trilogy is so fun to read. In Sand Castle Bay you get primary introduced to all of the Castle family. You get to learn how the family runs, the dynamics and so much more really great foundational back story. Sand Castle Bay follows Emily, as she attempts to decide which is worth fighting for love or a job...or perhaps both??? In Wind Chime Point you meet Gariella negotiates being pregnant and unemployed simultaneously. Both stories kept me turning pages, looking forward to finding out what happens to the girls and wanting to head to the coast with these amazing women. It was truly a most enjoyable reading experience.

I just adored the first two books in the series and I cannot wait to dive into the third. These are the first books by Woods that I have read and I have to say that now I am a fan. It is nice to read stories with substance, that do not involve overt sex and that have you feeling good upon completion of the books. It was so fun to be whisked away to the North Carolina coast with some amazing characters. It was fun to watch Emily and Gabi grow, concur fears and find the happiness that they so deserved I cannot wait to get back to the coast with the girls and see what adventures Samantha will take me on. I highly recommend this series for some great summer reading and rate each book 4 stars!

PS...love the covers too!

ENTER TO WIN THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES BELOW:

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What do you find to be most fun about writing?

I absolutely love creating the world for a new series of books. And once that's been established, it's always such a treat for me to go back and re-visit that world with each new book. It's a lot like re-connecting with old friends. I hope it feels that way for readers, too.

What is the most difficult thing about writing?

Amazingly, there's nothing about the writing process that I don't enjoy. Now, the business side of writing, that's a whole other ball game. I've tried to teach myself to be savvy about the business of publishing, but it's much more stressful than sitting in front of a computer and letting my imagination run wild!

Where do all your wonderful story ideas come from?

I credit my journalism background for training me to always be on the lookout for a great story idea. I have a natural curiosity about people and events that's been fueled by that training. I can be inspired by a casual remark overheard in a mall food court! The problem with that, of course, was teaching myself not to interrupt and start asking questions!

What book do you wish you could crawl in and experience first hand?

Wow! That's really a tough one. I usually try to create heroes I'd want in my life, so every book has some element I'd like to experience first hand. I suspect, though, if I'd had all hundred-plus men in my real life, it just might tarnish my reputation a bit!

What would the story of your life be titled?

I Wasn't Expecting This! My life has taken a whole lot of fascinating twists and turns. It's really been a reminder that life truly is what happens while we're busy making plans.

What is your favorite season and why?

I love fall. I'm energized by the crispness in the air, the scent of leaves burning, and knowing that Christmas -- my favorite of all holidays -- is just around the corner.

Can you tell me something funny that happened while being a book tour or at a signing?

I did have a disastrous couple of days on a tour a few years ago. A water main break flooded the downtown area near my hotel and prevented my media escort from picking me up. A cab driver then raced me to a TV station for my early morning interview, only to have the producer somehow miss the fact that I was there. And then, the next morning the valet at the hotel locked my keys inside my car and we had to wait in the rain for a locksmith, which made me an hour late for a book signing in the next city. A fun time!

It is such an honor to have you on my blog. Honestly, I am a bit star struck....is there anybody that you would love to meet? (past or present)

A few years ago I was living in Los Angeles for several months and spent the whole time hoping I'd cross paths with Kevin Costner. Of course, the man I really wanted to meet was his "Bull Durham" persona, but alas, it was not to be, so I make do by watching the movie from time to time!

Thanks so much for inviting me to visit with you and your readers. Please stop by my website, www.sherrylwoods.com to learn more about my latest books, enter my contest, or link to my Facebook fan page.

preorder below!

Showcase: Gone South by Meg Moseley

2013-05-04T07:02:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it Takes Feeling the Sting of Rejection to Love the Unlovable

Colorado Springs, Colo.— In Gone South (Multnomah Books, May 7, 2013), author Meg Moseley weaves another captivating tale from the heart of the South.

Having moved frequently within her native Michigan, Tish McComb is thrilled to move to Noble, Alabama, and buy the house built by her great-great-great-grandparents shortly after the Civil War. She hangs their ancient wedding portrait in the parlor where it once hung and dreams of finding a sense of home. But she soon learns her ancestors were carpetbaggers whose legendary misdeeds make the town hostile toward anyone named McComb.

Tish isn't the only one who feels the sting of rejection, though. When an influential citizen disowns his prodigal daughter, Tish offers her the acceptance they've both been denied. But everything goes south when the wayward daughter doesn't straighten up. Tish can't decide if she should challenge her incorrigible houseguest by drawing a line in the sand, or write words in the sand and dare the prodigal's father to throw the first stone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MEG MOSELEY is still a Californian at heart although she's lived more than half her life in other states. For four years, she wrote human interest columns for a suburban section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but contemporary fiction remains her real love. She's the author of When Sparrows Fall and now resides in the state of Georgia.

Q. What inspires your writing?

A. Inspiration can come from random glimpses of interesting people or places, from a memory that grips my emotions, or from an interesting piece of history that makes me ask questions about what might have been. I think we’re always processing a thousand things at some subconscious level. Out of that stew, sometimes a new story is born.

Q. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A. The excitement of holding a finished story in my hands. Even if it’s only the first draft, it’s a world I created, and it’s populated with characters that didn’t exist until they wandered into my head. That world and its people can be magically transported to other minds and hearts by this amazing process of using symbols to represent words that communicate ideas.

Q. What is the toughest part of being an author?

A. The pressure of marketing the books. I didn’t sign up to be a marketer. I love stories, not sales and numbers.

Q. If you could not be an author, what would you do/be?

A. I would go back to the country life of my pre-writing days, except in a warmer climate this time. I would raise tons of flowers, vegetables, and fruits, especially the impractical or strange ones. I would try all kinds of brave new recipes, and I would have fresh flowers on the table all the time, even if I had to pick them up at the grocery story.

Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. Maybe something like Smalltown Girl.

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A. Seriously? Just one? Okay, let’s say The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in one volume—not because I’m really into Shakespeare, but because I’ve read enough of his works to know they could keep me busy for the rest of my life.

Q. Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. Maybe Jo in Little Women. Although I’m more of an introvert than Jo, I share her love of books and solitude.

Q. What character from all of your books are you most like?

A. I’m probably most like Miranda Hanford of my first novel, When Sparrows Fall. I nearly fell into the pit of extremist homeschooling myself, so I understand how she became trapped and why she needs to break free.

Q. What is your favorite season?

A. It depends on where I am. In my home state of California, I love the rainy season when the hills are incredibly green. Autumn is my favorite season in my adopted state because the North Georgia mountains are gorgeous in the fall.

Q. What inspired your book cover(s)? Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. I adore my publisher’s art department for finding their inspiration wherever they do! Their cover for Gone South captures the mood of the book perfectly and it’s just gorgeous, so that’s my favorite so far.

Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. When only my first novel had come out, someone grabbed my arm and started gushing about how much she loved “all” my books. She had me confused with another author with a very similar name.

Q. Are you working on something new?

A. Yes, and I’m excited about it. But it’s not quite ready to be shared.

Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. Book lovers are my favorite people, so I would be very pleased to make your acquaintance. Please stop by my blog sometime and say hello. And Emily, thanks for having me here on your blog.

Reviews: Asylum Harbor, Burn Out & Cut and Run by Traci Hohenstein

2013-05-02T07:25:00.000-05:00

Asylum Harbor

About the Book:

Amber Knowles, a beautiful high school senior and Florida governor John Knowles’s daughter, has everything going for her until she disappears during a cruise to the Bahamas. After an extensive search of the ship SeaStar, it’s clear that Amber has vanished without a trace. When Governor Knowles receives the distressing news, he asks for Rachel Scott’s help.The teenager’s disappearance represents every parent’s worst fear, and Rachel, founder of Florida Omni Search, knows only too well what losing a daughter feels like. Her three-year-old, Mallory, went missing five years ago. As she works with FBI special agent, Drake Reynolds, Rachel discovers an organized crime ring linked to the cruise line. The last person known to see Amber aboard ship was an incognito DEA agent, who also has vanished. Where is he? And where is Amber? Finally, where is Mallory?Traci Hohenstein’s Asylum Harbor draws inspiration from the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005 and delves deeply into the mysteries and suspense of missing-person investigations and organized crime detection. The first in a series, Asylum Harbor introduces Rachel Scott and her team and compels readers to follow Florida Omni Search and all their investigations.

Mandy's Review:

This is a new series by Traci revolved around Rachel Scott who runs the Florida Omni Search. In this book Amber Knowles disappears while on a cruise to the Bahamas. Rachel teams up with the FBI to find the missing girl. This story is filled with suspense and action. It is well written and kept me hanging on until the very end to see what would happen. I love how the beginning of the book starts with a chapter told from the missing persons point of view. I would recommend this book to all. I give it 4 stars.

Burn Out

About the Book:

Lt. Samantha (Sam) Collins, a firefighter, vanishes after a warehouse fire the week before she was to testify at her estranged husband’s trial for drug charges. The only clue to her disappearance is a firefighter helmet that was left behind at the scene.

Rachel Scott founded Florida Omni Search after her own daughter disappeared when she was four. She has worked with law enforcement agencies all over the United States in locating missing people. Sam’s mother calls Rachel for assistance in locating her daughter. However, the search for Sam takes her on a journey that she never expected.

As she digs deeper into Sam’s past, she finds out more about the marijuana operation that her husband Ken, a former police officer, was involved with. Working with Mike Mancini, a former DEA agent, and Stacy Case, a reporter for the Miami Sun, Rachel uncovers clues about Ken Collins and an organizational drug ring that is out for revenge.

In her desperate, terrifying search for Sam, Rachel also discovers clues about her own missing daughter, Mallory.

Will she locate Samantha in time and also find out what happened to her own daughter?

Mandy's Review:

This is another in the Rachel Scott series. In this book Rachel is on the search a fire fighter who disappears during a warehouse fire. There is lots of intrigue, action, more character development and a huge cliff-hanger. This book kept me just as entertained as the first one. Traci’s books just keep getting better and better. I would recommend this book. I give it 4 stars.

Cut and Run

About the Book:

When Matt O’Malley turns up at a truck stop with a nasty concussion and no recollection of what happened to him or his family, investigator Rachel Scott knows she and the Florida Omni Search team have to act fast. Whoever attacked him still has his wife and children, and a gruesome piece of evidence points to deadly possibilities.

While Matt sweats under the scrutiny of the FBI, his shattered memory slowly pieces together disturbing details. Afraid to trust even his brother with this new information, he turns to Rachel, who scours southern Louisiana for clues. Along with retired police detective Red Cooper, Rachel searches everywhere from a voodoo parlor to an eerie Houma swamp, unearthing troubling secrets about the O’Malleys…and a shocking truth behind the disappearance of Rachel’s own daughter.

Traci Hohenstein picks up her suspenseful Rachel Scott series with its third entry, Cut and Run—a gripping thriller that captures the haunting spirit and intoxicating mystery of New Orleans.

Mandy's Review:

What would you do if you woke up at a truck stop with a concussion and no memory of what happened to your spouse and kids. I think I would freak out ever so slightly. Rachel Scott is called into action to help Matt find out what happened to him and his family in Louisiana. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was another fast paced thriller with lots of twists and turns. I could not wait to get to the end to see what happened. Traci does another great job with this third book in the series. You have to read this book. I give it 4 stars.

Amazon.com Widgets

CLP Blog Tours: Transplanting Holly Oakwood by Di Jones

2013-05-01T06:35:00.001-05:00

Follow the tour HERE

ONE

Holly

Holly sat in the middle of a privet hedge outside her best friend’s apartment, planning her murder. She’d been there for an hour, her limbs bent like paperclips. She rubbed her arms where the hedge had scratched her and twisted to see a spider dangling beside her. Why hadn’t she worn long sleeves for heaven’s sake? She shifted, crouched back on her heels and peered up at the darkening sky. The air was dank and chilly and the smell of privet pungent in her nostrils. This vigil wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done, but she had to find out if her suspicions were correct.

A car pulled up. She sank back into the hedge, holding her breath and watching as a familiar figure crossed the road, strode down the path whistling, and let himself into the building.

Her breath came out in a rush. Her fingers tightened around the branch above her and it snapped, throwing her off balance. She rolled onto the ground and pressed her face to the grass, trying not to sob. Tom was supposed to be in New York, not here in Maida Vale.

She needed to be sure. After thirty minutes she clambered out, certain Tom wasn’t coming back. Cautiously she surveyed her surroundings, her breath whistling between her teeth. She shook out the kinks in her cramped limbs and through a haze of pain, disbelief and anger, reached the front door of the building.

What was Sonia’s security code? She knew it, of course she knew it – the exchange of security codes was as natural to their friendship as the secrets they shared. Her fingers fumbled on the cool smooth metal but eventually they remembered the pattern, and the door clicked open. She pushed it wide and stumbled into the foyer.

She couldn’t wait for the lift and ran up the stairs without pausing. Outside her friend’s door she wavered. Would her perfect life change irrevocably if she knocked? She thought of her less than happy single days before she met Tom. But she had to know, had to be sure. She raised her hand, then tapped on the door.

No answer. She knocked again.

“Who’s there?”

She opened her mouth to tell Sonia it was her, but as the words of greeting bubbled in her throat, she clenched her teeth, deciding it was better to retain the element of surprise. Her hand hovered above the polished wood of the door, then she brought her knuckles down on the unyielding surface and rapped again.

“Who’s there?”

A key scraped in the lock, the door opened, and Sonia stood in front of her. She’d never seen her friend look more beautiful. Her hair was dishevelled and her skin radiant and glowing, burnished with a fine mist of perspiration. Her eyes were soft and warm, but a split second later they widened in alarm.

“Holly.” Sonia’s fingers fluttered to her mouth, then down to the silk of her robe, which she tried to tighten around her. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Thought I’d drop round and see what you’re up to.” She struggled to keep her voice light, but could hear the edge of panic creeping into it. “Fancy a drink at the wine bar down the road?”

Sonia leant against the door. “It’s not convenient right now.”

“I’ll only come in for a minute then.”

“No.”

Sonia’s refusal sharpened Holly’s resolve. She twisted with speed and grace, and in one fluid movement lined her shoulder to the door and threw her seventy five kilos against it. It yielded and she slid her foot behind it, levering Sonia off balance.

“Stop,” said Sonia, in a voice as sharp as new scissors. “You can’t barge in here.” Her perfume hung between them; exotic, heavy and insidious.

Finding her lover in bed with her best friend was the worst thing ever, but leaving London for Los Angeles pushed trouble to a whole new level.

Holly Oakwood’s cosy life is shattered when her boyfriend has an affair with her best friend. Determined to mend her broken heart by throwing herself into her career, but unable to hide her contempt for her new boss, she loses her job as well.

She lands a dream job in a Consulate in LA, but that’s when her troubles really begin. She struggles to settle, loneliness begins to bite, and everyone around her is thin and shallow. She loses her confidence, makes a fool of herself once too often, and her new boss hates her. Can she salvage anything from the train wreck of her new life, or should she return to England?

What ensues is a comically entertaining series of events that catapult Holly into new friendships, the promise of romance and the realization that home is where the heart is.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I was born in Liverpool, England to parents who had a strong sense of adventure and moved many times. I’ve lived in Canada, the United States, England and New Zealand. I’ve worked in a variety of jobs ranging from envelope stuffer to bakery assistant, librarian to trade development executive, but none of my jobs were as much fun as the one that allowed me to write and get paid for it. That was a few years ago, and each year it’s become more and more apparent what I want to do is write full time, a dream that first occurred to me at seventeen.

I write chick lit – light hearted and humorous stories for and about women who value their families, their friendships, their careers, their independence, who have a sense of adventure, and who live and love with passion.

Like my characters, I love my family and friends, beautiful shoes, anything sparkly, the ‘occasional’ drink, parties, and a good belly laugh. I’m addicted to shopping, chocolate, bubble bath and anything else that smells nice, and the sort of tv programmes you’d never publicly admit to watching.

I live in a lovingly renovated home overlooking Auckland’s beautiful Waitemata Harbour, with my trusted friends Bronson Boxer and Dolce Dane. They keep me fit and exercised, scare the burglars away, sit loyally by my side throughout my late night writing sessions, and hang on my every word when I read final drafts aloud. They truly are my biggest fans, and I theirs!

I love my life, but not so much that there’s not room to live a load of other lives, through the hearts and minds of my characters, all of whom I adore, and some of whom I’m fortunate enough to call friend.

My Character’s Journey

Transplanting Holly Oakwood is the story of a journey, in both a literal and figurative sense, and the figurative journey is one many of us can identify with. Holly Oakwood is a young woman who thinks her life is all mapped out – she has a job she loves, a boyfriend who’s the center of her universe, and she knows where she’s going, or more to the point, where she’s staying. And that’s London, the city she’s come to call home.

But Holly couldn’t be more wrong. Life is about to change, and in a way she never anticipated. Her boyfriend cheats on her - with her best friend - and she’s devastated to lose two of the most important people in her life. Holly decides to focus on her career to get her through the pain and grief of her betrayal. When she loses her job as well, she feels her whole life is crashing down around her. But she’s presented with a chance to start all over again, somewhere new. Holly seizes the opportunity and flies off to a new life in Los Angeles, despite the fact she’s never wanted to live there. How many of us, faced with a broken love affair, have wished we could do the same thing and run off to a new life, leaving our errant lovers behind us?

Holly doesn’t think deeply about why she’s going - she’s swept up in the excitement of it, and hoping her ex will miss her and come to his senses. The whole thing seems like a big adventure, but what she doesn’t count on is the fact that we can’t run away from the reality inside our head. It follows us wherever we go, and in Holly’s case that reality is misery.

So Holly arrives in Los Angeles lonely and bereft, desperately missing her old life at home. Despite the fact she’s in one of the most exciting cities in the world, something about LA pushes Holly’s insecurities to a new level.

What’s she insecure about? Well, she’s ordinary, overweight, a bit of a klutz, and not in the slightest bit sophisticated. In London, loved by Tom, these issues didn’t matter, but in the States they seem magnified, and Holly struggles as an awkward and disaster-prone newcomer.

Her job, the lynchpin of her new life, is complex and her new boss is harsh and critical – of Holly’s work, and her appearance.

Friendships offer Holly’s salvation. She meets Charlie and Tessa who, like her, have transplanted themselves to LA to seek out new lives. Charlie is a London hairdresser, with an eye for the ladies, and Tessa an aspiring actress from Washington, who walks dogs to pay the bills. These new friends help her navigate the difficulties in her new life and offer much needed support and guidance when things turn tough.

Holly learns and grows in LA, but throughout her adventures, her character doesn’t change. She is who she is – the slightly dim, loveable character we started our journey with. What she does gain however is insight – into herself, and into those around her. She learns to accept who she is, embrace her weaknesses, and importantly, she learns to make better choices for herself.

Holly’s journey started in a dank and chilly London and ended in the warm sun and blue skies of Santa Monica. In parallel, her inner journey takes her to that sweet spot where she finds her place in the world. She journeys from sadness, grief and loneliness to the security of loyal friendships, the promise of new love, and the realization that home is where the heart is.

Q. What inspires your writing?

A:  In short, what inspires my writing is the need to appeal to others on an emotional level. We all have common joys and fears, likes and dislikes and the desire to connect with each other. Writing enables me to do this but with people I don’t get to meet, and that’s a privilege.

Q. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A:  The ability to be able to live in a parallel world to my own, for the period of time I’m writing the book. There are so many choices in life, so many paths you can take, and by writing, I get to experience someone else’s life as well as my own.

Q. What is the toughest part of being an author?

A:  Having to come home from my day job, and start work all over again. You do have to sacrifice quite a bit of leisure time when you write, but I love it, so you won’t find me complaining.

Q. If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A:  I’ve love to be an interior designer. I’m passionate about colour, texture, furniture, and houses, so to be able to bring that all together and get paid for it would be fantastic.

Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?

A:  Living Many Li(v)es:  The Exaggerated Adventures of an Ordinary Person

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A:  That’s a hard one, but it’s definitely one of the Narnia titles by C.S. Lewis, who I was addicted to as a kid, and still read even now.  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Horse and His Boy are two I particularly love from this series.   When I was a kid I wanted to live in these worlds, and spent way too much time looking for a way into them. The books are beautifully written and their messages and themes remain relevant.

Q. Which part of your book(s) was the easiest to write?

A:  The first chapter of Transplanting Holly Oakwood, where Holly finds her boyfriend was cheating on her, was easy to write because I’ve been in that situation, so I knew the emotions Holly would be experiencing.   That’s one of the things I love about writing – being able to draw on your own emotions in order to shape and breathe life into a character.

Q. Which part of your book(s) was the hardest to write?

A:  The entire middle of the book was hard to write, probably because it was my first. I knew Holly was going to leave London, and I knew she was going to fall in love with Guy, but what I couldn’t figure out, was how she was going to get there. I can’t tell you how many drafts this novel went through. Once I had the idea of the car accident, which incidentally a friend suggested to me, everything fell into place.

Q. Which character from any book are you most like?

A:  Definitely Holly, in fact I’d go so far as to say she’s my alter ego. When I started writing my second book, Meeting Miss Mollie, I was scared I didn’t have another book in me because I wasn’t actually sure I could get into someone else’s head, but I think that’s something a lot of first time authors experience.

Q. What is your favorite season?

A:  I love the summer and especially living in Auckland, New Zealand. The lifestyle is very relaxed here, and what I love most about the summer are the beaches, the BBQs, and the long, lazy weekends when the sun is hot and the sea is cool.

Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book(s).

A:  Hmm, that’s a hard one, because this is my first book tour…can I get back to you when something funny happens?

Q. Are you working on something new?

A:  Yes, I’m working on my third novel, which is called Taking the Lead: Adventures of a Hollywood Dog Walker.  This book is the prequel to Transplanting Holly Oakwood, and is a about Holly’s flatmate in Los Angeles, Tessa. Here’s a brief blurb:

Tessa Taylor leaves her home in Washington DC to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. But Tinseltown is tough, and the road to stardom isn’t as straightforward as she hopes it will be. Tessa has to compromise to make ends meet as she pursues the dream, and work is hard to come by in Hollywood. She tries one job after another, and they all end in disaster. Until one day she finds the perfect job – and the perfect group of new friends.

Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A:  Yes, for sure. What I’d like to say to you all is make sure you live your dream, or at least work towards it. We all get bogged down by the day to day stuff we have to do and it’s easy to forget our dreams. Keep hold of them, and do something each day to take you closer to achieving them. There’s a saying I love:  It’s better to travel hopefully than arrive.  Not sure it’s exactly true, but the sentiment is sound. Have a passion, and live with optimism.

Q. Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind your book cover(s)?

A:  I’d love to tell you about my book covers, because I love them so much. The cover for Transplanting Holly Oakwood was designed by the incredibly talented Ami Smithson of Cabin London, who is the sister of a very close friend of mine. I met Ami when she was on holiday in New Zealand and I didn’t realize she designed book covers – I just knew she was a graphic designer. When I started writing and needed a book cover, her sister said “Why don’t you use Ami?” I went on to Ami’s website, which is where I saw another cover that I fell in love with, and I said to Ami, “I want something similar to that, but with a skyline of London and LA in it.” I just loved what Ami came up with and she has been a very important part of my branding, with all my covers having a very consistent look and feel. Ami also did the graphics for my website, and has already designed the cover for my new book, Taking the Lead: Adventures of a Hollywood Dog Walker. It’s my favorite cover to date.

http://www.dijoneswrites.com

CLP Blog Tours: Unexpecting by Lori Verni Fogarsi

2013-05-01T06:35:00.000-05:00

Follow the tour HERE

Things Get Worse With Alexandra (First half of Chapter 18)

The next day, David planned to work from home after having put in such a long day the day before. As usual, Shelley went into Patrick and Alexandra’s room bright and early in the morning to take care of the baby while Alexandra and Grace got ready for school.

                What was not usual, however, was the fact that poor Patrick hadn’t been changed, bathed, or anything else the night before. Thinking back, recalling her very concise instructions, she was astounded that Alexandra—even after getting in so much trouble—still hadn’t given him a bath, read him a story, or done anything else to take care of him before putting him down for the night. Still in yesterday’s clothes, his diaper was so full that it had expanded to a painfully tight point, actually leaving red marks on his hips when she took it off. His poor little bottom was all red and the urine had leaked up the front of his diaper and into the fabric of his shirt, all the way to his neckline.

                She was so livid, she could barely look at Alexandra. Not to mention that 6:00 am was not exactly her favorite time of day in the first place. Knowing that the girls had to get off to school on time, she made it clear that there would be a family discussion that evening, that she would be checking with the school to make sure she was there for every class, and that she was disappointed in the way everything was going.

                Grace, also getting ready at that hour, simply rolled her eyes, apparently unsurprised by anything Alexandra would do or not do. Thanking her lucky stars that she seemed to be doing well in school, dance, and at home, Shelley’s mind raced through the muck and mire of her preoccupation to try and remember what was going on for Grace that was important. “Good luck on that math exam,” she said. “I know you’ve been studying hard.”

                Grace stopped, looked at her sideways and said, “That test was yesterday.”

                “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so exhausted, I lost track of the days. How do you think it went?”

                “Fine. I think I did pretty good.”

                “That’s good.”

                They looked at each other, sharing an unspoken conversation in which they communicated to one another: I’m sorry; I understand; I care.

                “Well, I’ve gotta go. Don’t want to miss the bus.”

                “Okay. Love you.”

                “Love you too, Mom.”

*****

After giving Patrick a nice warm bath, Shelley let him play naked for a while to give his skin a chance to dry fully and heal from all the urine exposure while she spent a few minutes cleaning up their room. Should she have to? No. Did she want to? No. But she couldn’t allow Alexandra’s neglect to affect Patrick so extensively. His crib sheets needed to be changed, the diaper pail was making the room stink, and there was no sign of his llama, which she saw that he’d slept without the night before, causing her heart to break a little at the thought of him having to fall asleep without his comfort animal.

                She opened the window and gathered all of the clothes that were strewn on the floor, over the chair, and on Alexandra’s bed. All of them were hers; more evidence that Shelley was Patrick’s primary, if not only, caregiver, since all of his clothes were neatly stowed in his little baby hamper to be washed separately with his baby laundry detergent.

                As was her habit, she checked all of the pockets before tossing Alexandra’s clothes into the hamper, not wanting to end up with things like gum or tissues cycled through the washing machine. Picking up yesterday’s jeans, she pulled something out, initially thinking to herself, See, gum. Upon closer inspection, however, she realized that the foil was not a gum wrapper at all. It was an actual piece of aluminum foil, folded multiple times to create a sturdy square. On one side was some sort of whitish-brownish substance, and on the other the unmistakable black film caused by a lighter, like when you light a candle and accidentally get that annoying shadow on the inside of the candle holder.

                Stunned, she stood there holding the thing by its edges, not wanting to get the substance on her fingers. She knew Alexandra was doing naughty stuff: cutting school, lying about her whereabouts, being neglectful of her responsibilities to Patrick. But drugs? It hadn’t even occurred to her that she would do something so stupid.

                Shelley had never been one to beat around the bush with her kids—Alexandra included—about the fact that she understood that some experimenting is normal. She wasn’t naive: she realized that they’d have the opportunity to try alcohol and pot, and that they’d be offered other things too. Her mantra was that she didn’t think they should do any of it, but that there were certain drugs that should be off-limits no matter what: Drugs that could be instantly addictive and end up ruining your life permanently, even if you only intended to try them once. In her mind, and in her mini-lectures, those included crack, crystal meth, and heroin.

                Any of which could be the stuff on the foil square. To her knowledge, all three were substances that druggies might use these melting squares for, and in her mind, they were all equally as dangerous. She certainly had never heard of anyone using something like this for pot.

                Fear surged through her as she made sure the baby gate was closed at the top of the stairs and went to the hall bathroom to wash her hands. Setting the poisonous little square on the counter, she wrapped it carefully in tissues, went back and dressed Patrick, then headed downstairs to find David.

Shelley and David are a couple of almost-empty-nesters preparing to embark on the next stage of their life. They've just ordered white furniture and are planning the vacation they've waited their entire lives to take.

Their lives are catapulted in a completely different direction when Alexandra, seventeen and pregnant, shows up on their doorstep and announces that she's the daughter they never knew they had! Their life becomes filled with dilemmas as they add not only another child, but also a baby to a household that was just about to become serene.

Shelley feels like she no longer fits in anywhere and to top it off, having two teenaged girls suddenly plunged into being sisters and school mates is not exactly warm and fuzzy. When Alexandra's behavior becomes erratic, the couple is faced with even tougher decisions to make.

Hold on for an emotional yet witty ride as you join this family of characters in a story of love, loyalty, heartbreak, and humor that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

Q. What inspires your writing?

A. I like to write about real life emotions that lots of people are faced with but don't necessarily talk about or feel "okay" about. Knowing that I may have affected readers' lives---whether from feeling understood, offering an opportunity to learn about their feelings, or the simple aspect of entertainment---is what keeps me writing for the public, rather than just in a personal journal.

Q. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A. Receiving letters from readers who have enjoyed my books!

Q. What is the toughest part of being an author?

A. When a new book is released and I'm waiting for public feedback! My thoughts fluctuate between feeling confident and terrified! It usually takes until I've received 10 reviews or more (from people who are not my mother, husband, or best friend) that I become more comfortable!

Q. If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. I assume this means being an independently wealthy socialite is not one of the choices? LOL! I think being a real estate attorney would be a great career choice.

Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. The Life and Times of a Wine-Drinking Black Sheep.

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A. Seriously? ONE? Okay. Breathing deeply. If I were stranded on a desert island and could only read one book over and over, I would probably pick, "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron. It's hilarious, honest, and would distract me from having no lip gloss.

Q. Which part of your book(s) was the easiest to write?

A. In "Unexpecting," the easiest parts were the various teens' personalities. I have so many of them in my life, I was able to draw from a never-ending supply of firsthand experience.

Q. Which part of your book(s) was the hardest to write?

A. Hands down, in "Unexpecting," it was the Big Terrible Incident with David. Exploring how I would feel if something like this were to happen with my husband freaked me out to the extent of having to set the manuscript aside for weeks at a time!

Q. Which character from any book are you most like?

A. I am most like Shelley, who is the main character in both "Momnesia" and "Unexpecting."

Q. What is your favorite season?

A. Summer! I love summer, and the hotter the better! My favorite activity of all time is going out on our boat on Lake Gaston, which is best enjoyed in summer, too!

Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book(s).

A. This was hilarious and I'll never forget it as long as I live! I was having a Momnesia Party and there were tons of ladies. I was going around handing out little giveaway gifts and these three women said, "Omigod, is this a vibrator? Thank you so much!" Me: "Um, no, sorry. It's just a pen shaped like a lipstick." Even funnier is that a few weeks later I was traveling and the airport security guy pulled my lipstick pen out of my purse and asked, "Is this a personal massage device?" Apparently, these lipstick pens are pretty confusing! (MRS MOMMY: IF THIS ANSWER IS NOT IN KEEPING WITH YOUR BLOG'S TONE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I'LL PROVIDE A MILDER ANSWER.)

Q. Are you working on something new?

A. I have two projects burning in my brain. The first and top priority is another novel, this time illustrating the men's point of view, exploring how life is experienced by the men who are trying to do it all: being the family provider, tee-ball coach, lawn guy, etc. Kind of like "Momnesia" but from a man's point of view. I'm also planning a nonfiction guidebook for older teens and twenty-somethings called "The Party Animal's Guide to Beginner Party Animalism." It will help teach the difference between "this is fun," and "this would have been fun but now my life is ruined," as well as redefining the meaning of being a party animal in the first place.

Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. Yes! Thank you so much for reading this interview! I feel honored that you would spend your valuable free time getting to know me and possibly read my books. I love getting to know my readers, so I hope to get to know you too, either through comments here, or in other ways!

Q. Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind your book cover(s)?

A. I think it's important to impart what a book is about within a quick glance. With "Momnesia," I came up with the idea for the legs with the two different shoes---one sneaker and one stiletto---to impart the balance we women strive for when we're in the throes of "Momnesia." I actually commissioned an accomplished artist to hand paint that cover! With "Unexpecting," I felt that the image of the woman's hands juggling the wine, baby bottle, and coffee cup also gives a quick impression of a woman trying to do it all!

Author Bio:

Lori Verni-Fogarsi has been an author, speaker, and

small business consultant since 1995. She has been

featured in major media including Lifetime Women’s

Network, the My Carolina Today Show, andBoston

Globe Forums Live.

Her public speaking has occurred at many

prestigious venues including North Carolina State

University, Nassau Community College, and many

more.

She has received two awards for her novel,

Momnesia, and her nonfiction, Everything You Need to

Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs,

continues to be one of the most highly recommended in

its genre since 2005.

Lori is a happy married mom of two, step mom of

two more, and has two cats, both rotten. Originally a

native New Yorker, she now divides her time between

Raleigh, NC, and Lake Gaston, VA.

She is very excited about the release of

Unexpecting, and looks forward to her book tour,

interviews, launch parties, and other festivities!

Connect with Lori!

• Lori’s Website: http://www.LoriTheAuthor.com

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LoriTheAuthor

• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LoriTheAuthor

• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/LoriTheAuthor

Click: An Online Love Story AND Double Click by Lisa Becker

2013-04-30T07:05:00.000-05:00

Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with "My buddies and I were out drinking one night," to the egotistical "B" celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC's, FWD's and inadvertent Reply to All's, readers will root for Renee to "click" with the right man.

Fans of the romantic hit Click: An Online Love Story will enjoy another voyeuristic dive into the lives of Renee, Shelley, Ashley, Mark and Ethan, as Double Click picks up with their lives six months later. Are Renee and Ethan soul mates? Does Mark ever go on a date? Has Shelley run out of sexual conquests in Los Angeles? Will Ashley's judgmental nature sabotage her budding relationship? Through a marriage proposal, wedding, new baby and unexpected love twist, Double Click answers these questions and more. Readers will continue to cheer, laugh, cry and cringe following the email exploits of Renee and friends.

Click: An Online Love Story

Lisa does a very a job of writing this story, its basically all emails back and forth. They are emails between Renee and her friend and the online dating sites she is trying. Lisa does a wonderful job of making you laugh at Renee and her girlfriends, and the cyber dates she goes on. There are multiple stories you have to follow throughout the book which can be hard to follow, but overall it is a fun and entertaining book. I give it 3.5 stars.

Double Click

This is the follow book to Click (make sure you read it first). It follows the same style of writing as Click and picks up 6 months later. The same characters are involved. It is funny, charming and a quick read. Great job on the second book Lisa. I give it 3.5 stars.

Sorry

2013-04-29T12:28:00.001-05:00

I have been knocked out by a terrible bug. Hope to be back up and running tomorrow!

Showcase: J.T. Brown

2013-04-27T07:34:00.000-05:00

A horse stands at the corner of the fence as she tells a tale. She shares the stories from her past. The stories of heartbreak, disappointment, and the feeling of finally finding love within her life.
She remembered when her life wasn’t as easy as, she struggled to be recognized for who she was. She remembers when a little girl opened her heart and opened up a whole new way of living.
She chose her new life, and wants to share it with you; hoping for other horses out there in need, will have a chance to live with love.
“Gypsy’s Meadow” is a touching story which tells a tale of other simuliar horses out there that are just plainly looking for a good home. The purpose and mission of this book, is to raise funds for “First Light Farms Equine Shelter”; so other horses can share their “Remember When” and not “Maybe could be.” “Every step we take could be another hoof print left in our hearts.”

"Mrs. Brown does it again." says M-N Smith

The words whisper along the pages of the old tattered book showing its deceitful powers, only to harm what is in its path to Harper’s treasures. Harper has learned the secrets of Pasmaqon and has grown into her powerful magical being which is her strongest power of all. She is prepared to fight the villains of Pasmaqon, yet she is not prepared to fight her past villains that chose to find the only leak to the powerful lands beyond.

Harper is about to sacrifice her life in a battle of the unknown as, she protects who she thought she would never consider as equals. She realizes the battle is non-other without their help. Wizard of Tide’s power has grown stronger, uncovering the secrets of Pasmaqon. To use his new found freedom to destroy the worlds around them. Harper discovers an old friend that carries the secrets of the book and the world. She unfolds the meaning that she longed to find, only to discover the darkness pulls her into a whirlwind of her own worst fears.

Harper, an eleven year old meek, intelligent, but curious girl spent most of her days on her father’s fishing vessel. Her inquisitive notion drove her to an old tattered book that held a mysterious stone. Struggling to open the clasp, releasing the stone as, it radiates a glow across her room. She kept the rock in her pocket for secrecy.
She quickly realized the power of the stone as she found herself in a lost world, called Pasmaqon. She found herself fighting through the estranged beast, invisible vices, and dark ghosts. She recognized Pasmaqon is actually its own worst compelling character. She learned her ancestor had created the world, as it continues battling itself, until an unusual adventuress exposed the transcendent book. Harper finds her ancestor's creations were in search of the missing link.
Harper struggles to find her way through the unknown. She learns that the land of Pasmaqon, yet controls her as well as her world above. Her discoveries and adventures hold the key of eternity. She not only battles her own inner powers as she fights to protect the hidden. She learns that her existence is a true mystery that sings along the pages of her ancestor’s mysterious book.

J.T. Brown was born and raised in Downeast, Maine, growing up in a family of fisherman and loggers. Many of her stories are inspired from the ocean which, she had created in her mind as a child. One particular land mark in Pembroke, Maine called the Reversing Falls, which is a unique natural phenomenon that is pulled by many currents that creates a churning whirlpool took her full interest.

J.T. Brown remembers the many trips that she took over the "Reversing Falls," on her father's fishing vessel, and remembers being full of fear of the currents engulfing them onto the bottom of the Falls. She used to look at the fierce cover of the sea's current in wonders what was on the bottom of the whirlpools. She created a story in her mind and thought about her thoughts often.

She put her thoughts on the back burner, as she grew into her life as a wife, a mother, and a business owner. She continued writing many stories in her own trade of comfort. A day on the ocean reminded her of the love for her ocean's tales. The story about Reversing Falls pulled its way back in her mind. She went home and started writing the first of the Trilogy "Reversing Worlds."

She chose not to tell a soul what she was working on, not even her husband that couldn't figure out the late nights of typing on the computer. Where as, she knew that the ones closest to her knew that she suffered with dyslexia, and what she thought would be a laughing matter, turned out as shocked of her many imaginable sense of the ocean.

J.T knew that writing this book would prove to herself that she could share her stories, even if it did take a bit longer to do. Her loved ones was stunned to learn that she published her story. J.T looked at it in a way of self discovery, in hopes to encourage many others to stride towards their dreams. J.T didn't stop there, she continued on with the Trilogy series in hopes to finish the Trilogy in 2013.

J.T's love for equines traveled along with her life as she continued sharing her love for horses with her daughter. When her daughter was a little girl, J.T faced a tough loss within her barn family, her mare from childhood, she called "Gypsy" had passed on though old age. Devastated she put her pain into creating a children's book called "Gypsy's Meadow." She put it away in plans on never reading it again. Her daughter found herself in the same pain in loosing her equine friend "Bambi."

J.T was familiar with the pain that her daughter was going through and shared the story with her in hopes that it would help with her grieving process. Shortly after, they visited a local equine shelter "First Light Farm Equine Shelter." Listening to the horses stories reminded them both of their horses. J.T's daughter suggested for them to finish the book and donate the proceeds to the shelter so that the shelter was able to help more horses find rightful homes. J.T jumped on the board, knowing that her daughter's heart was in the right place, and had comfort knowing that their story would help many other horses fighting for life.

They finished the Children's story in February of 2012, as they are sharing the proceeds with the farm in hopes that some day the proceeds will grow enough to reach out to other shelters. "Maybe someday the book will bring peace to the horse's that face killpens." J.T shares.

In the mean time J.T. Brown is in hopes of publishing "Trilogy Two, Part II" of the Reversing Worlds Series by the Summer of 2012.

Q. What inspires your writing?

A. Many years ago, I used to go fishing with my family on the “Marsha Darlene.” My father was a lobster/crab fisherman that fished along the Bays of Fundy in Downeast, Maine. As child I always feared a place in the ocean called the “Reversing Falls.” Each and every time we passed through the harbor near the Reversing Falls, all I could wonder was what was underneath all of those whirlpools.

I remember sitting in my tree in the pasture where my horse grazed, as I wrote many stories and drew many drawings. I mostly wrote about a land called Reversing Worlds. I tucked it away, just for my own keeps. In my adulthood I kept going back to writing through my many jobs of office assistant, dental assistant, and co-owner of an Oil company with my husband. I remember enjoying the nature walks with my family and always taking in all of the nature as though it was a story in my mind. So many stories flourished and I needed to write them down. My mind never settled unless, I wrote them down, or told them to my children for their good night stories. It was as though I was a child once again and found my original root. I love sharing stories and bringing out the best of my surroundings. Living in Downeast, Maine makes it easy to be a writer……So many mystical, mysterious, and wonderful stories to be told that lay just beneath my feet.

Q. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A. Too be honest with you, I never call myself an author. I am not sure why, I type it out, but I have not yet been able to say it out loud. Maybe I haven’t had that clarity or prosper yet. Someday, I will refer to myself as an author, but until then a writer I shall be.

If I could list one favorite thing about being a writer/author. Words cannot explain the feeling of making a difference. As a mother and a writer, I always enjoy when my children learn the right things in life. We never really want to push them in any direction, but it is always nice when they learn something new. Helping out with our local shelter, comforts my heart knowing that we can help save one horse at a time. J I think through this venture, I had a review: Here is a small piece as the rest of the review is on Amazon: “I cried actual tears while reading this story to my son. When I asked him what he thought of the book he said

Son: “Mom my heart hurts, I feel so bad for Gypsy that she had a bad life with the other people that had her, but was so happy that she found a great home and was happy when she died. He then went on to say he wishes he could save all the horses that are unloved, unwanted and uncared for"

I then cried even more after hearing that. As my son really had a complete understanding of how important it is to love and care for horses (all animals).

This review made it real, my daughter and I read this one together, and looked over at her and she had a smile and a tear in her eye, of course I was sobbing…..but it is the moments like this that makes it all worthwhile. All the sleepless night, no endless hours of editing, the frog in your throat moment, knowing a new review is up. Moments like this makes me feel that my daughter learned the best lesson in life at nine years old. And for that, I thank my lucky stars every day.

Q. What is the toughest part of being an author?

A. For me: The toughest, would be the endless editing with dyslexia, if only my mind could dictate the story on paper. I am so thankful that I have a wonderful editor to help me with putting my thoughts into words.

Another, is being understood, from people that know me outside of being a writer. I think in the long run, while you are chasing after your hopes, you intend to realize who and what fits in your life. It saddens me, when I keep going forward and the ones that don’t understand the change or the step that I took. I don’t want to leave, but I also don’t want to stand still either. About a year ago, I realized that these are my dreams, and I know why I am doing it – it is because of my two children, they will always have me forever to hand off to generation to generation- these are not other people’s dreams, and I can’t stay the same for people that my dream is not shaped around. I came up with my own quote, so the moments that my heart aches, I tell myself this (I know quirky)…..”Never let anyone make you feel as though you are far too ordinary to be extraordinary.”

Q. If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. If I never followed my ambitions of being a writer, I would most definitely find a way run a therapeutic center for disability children. I would have gone to school to be a riding instructor for therapeutic riding and show children the healing power of horses. If the dream reached me well, I would have a camp for therapeutic reasons, a safe place for adults/children to grasp the thoughts of reaching self-control through the wilderness and through the eyes of an equine. Too learn the power of trust and the kind soul that a horse can bring you.

Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. “Hopeless heart” - Meaning, I am not sure – but it seems to fit. J

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A. “The Wizard of Oz”, my favorite.

Q. Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. Jo from “Little Women” I am the tom boy, the girl that is lost with no direction. Still curious of everyday adventures, but deep down – I know what I want I just don’t speak it until it’s told.

Q. What character from all of your book are you most like?

A. Harper, as her true being in the real world. She reminds me of myself when I was that age. Although, I think in today’s nature Queen Caroleen would suit me best. Her wise ambitions and her positive directions.

Q. Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. Nim’s Island.

Q. What is your favorite season?

A.I love this time of the year when the snow has come to its final resting spot inching its way through the defrosted creeks. When the birds are singing, and the crickets and frogs are chirping the night away. I love the fresh smell of the air, you can almost smell a new beginning. Spring the season of hope, after a long dark winter. The feeling of closing your eyes and sinking your hands into the earth in hopes of creating something beautiful. The high energy of the horses racing in the pasture snorting out the winter’s dust in their lungs. The moment when you can open your windows and be part of nature once again.

Q. What inspired your book cover(s)? Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. This is actually my favorite part of publishing my books. I have designed them all as well as the paintings in “Gypsy’s Meadow.” It is so easy to bleed the story on your cover when you created the vision of the book. I have decided to create custom covers for other indie authors to help them with their future endeavors.

Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. Actually, I have never done a book tour as of yet. Although, something pretty spectacular happened when I was searching for reviewers for “Gypsy’s Meadow.” A amazing author and reviewer Sharon Miner included my daughters and I’s story in her brand new book “Beloved Horses from Around the World.” http://www.amazon.com/Beloved-Horses-Around-World-Sharon/dp/0741480301/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1365167221&sr=8-4&keywords=Sharon+Miner

We were so excited to be part of Sharon’s work. It meant the world to us to have our story spread that much further.

Q. Are you working on something new?

A. Sure am, I have the next in the Trilogy coming out in June 2013. “War of the Reversing Worlds, Trilogy Two, Part II,” I have been working hard with my editor to make sure the book is at perfection before the big release.

Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. I would love to thank everyone for reading this interview, but also would like to share a message…..

I didn’t wake up one day wanting to be a writer, I should not be a writer, being dyslexic and having no experience under my belt. I am crazy for doing anything like this. What I do know, is when you are meant to do something in your life, it follows you around, and every time you try to hide from it, it is still there when a door slams you in the butt, and pushes you through the open door, it still is there lurking- hinting, and telling you to keep going, even if you truly feel as though it doesn’t make sense.

This happens to all of us. Rather if it is a hobby, an interest, or a job. Never let your star fall, it is there for a reason, only let it sail and enjoy the ride in between. Writing is a part of me, and no matter how hard I try to run and lead a normal life with sleep, sanity, and a little less criticism. These thoughts and stories where not there for no reason, I hid behind my work for many years. It was a little over a year ago when I saw the shining star through my children’s eyes. The moment that we were able to save our first horse through “Gypsy’s Meadow”, or the moment when my little boy opened my book and said “Mama’s book.” Or the moment when I looked out the window seeing my little girl sitting under a tree, with my first book, with a curious horse lurking by her side. That is all the success that I need, these are treasures maybe not to everyone but to the ones that I love the most to always treasure as their stories.

Yes, sure I would love to reach as many readers as possible, but when it comes down to it, I think I already have, and that is my two children. Years after I am gone, these books can be handed down, so for one moment to each new reader they know a piece of their past. When my shining star began to rise in the sky, I grabbed it and held it close to my heart. Someday I will let go of it, but for now it just makes sense where it is.

So always go after your ambitions and dreams, because when it comes down to it, the ones that are closest to you, are the ones that fly with you, never let anything stop you, keep going and know that the reasons that you try so hard is the number one reason why you never stop.

Be your own star…..

If I can do anything with this adventure, it would be reaching out to people that need reaching and saving a horse that needs saving.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JT-Brown/201878369832682?ref=hl

http://www.authorjtbrown.blogspot.com/

http://jt-brown.wix.com/jtbrown

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1835389.J_T_Brown

http://www.amazon.com/J.-T.-Brown/e/B007PWVBUE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1365211847&sr=8-1