My Reading Room

Guest Blog: Using Personal Stories in Writing: Do or Don't by Nelle Davy

2012-02-27T00:30:00.000-05:00

Today I welcome Nelle Davy, author of The Legacy of Eden which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. It's an excellent family saga and today the author is sharing a very interesting topic in light of reading The Legacy of Eden. Read this great post and make sure you check out the book as well.

Using personal stories in writing: do or don’t?

by Nelle Davy

Of course it is a do. One of my favourite books is Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson which is a reworking of her own childhood within a fictional format as opposed to an outright memoir. What matters is that you are true to the kind of story you wish to tell, regardless of what is the inspiration. I would also say that no writer works in a vacuum as if their books are ‘ex nihilo.’ Whether you mean to or not, you write the kind of story you are either interested in, or have been through in some way. It is all inspired by your personal past and you rework it, sometimes even try to ignore it, but then press it down and reshape it so that it can become unrecognizable from truth but it still has seeds in it. There are some stories I love to read but would never be able to write because I would never be inspired to write them because they come from a different sort of experience to the one I have had. But novels should be about trying to tell some kind of truth – either the one you wish was real or the one that is. And sometimes I think the novels that have impressed me the most and the ones that have really stayed with me as visceral works of honest art are the one that you discover had some grounding in the author’s past. You do look at them in a new light and they seem so much more informed. But this novel is not based on my own personal story in any other way than it is about the interrogation and destruction of the family unit.

Thanks Nelle for stopping by today.
You can check out the rest of this blog tour here: http://booktrib.com/?page_id=152294&preview=true

About The Legacy of Eden

For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than three thousand acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields. The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway's dream to elevate the family name - no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways - and the once prosperous farm.

Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died - alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land, or the memories.

Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia's youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family's once-great name. Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family... and her own part in their mottled history.

In My Mailbox (16)

2012-02-26T20:45:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

I had a great week, here is what I received in the mail:

Conquered by a Highlander by Paula Quinn

from Grand Central Publishing (releases June 2012)

BOUND BY DUTY
Colin MacGregor was born to fight-for his beliefs, his king, and his family's honor. After years away from his beloved Scotland, he yearns to return to its lush, green hills-and he can, after he completes one final mission for the king. Sent to infiltrate a traitor's home, Colin is determined to expose the treasonous plot and triumph on the battlefield . . . until he meets a sensual lass who tempts him towards other pursuits . . . .

BETRAYED BY PASSION
Lady Gillian Dearly is no stranger to temptation. Cast out of her family for bearing an illegitimate child, she's now the ward of a barbarian conspiring against the king. Her only desire: freedom for her son and for herself at any cost, even if it means making a deal with the devil. Yet when a mysterious Highlander appears in their midst, his braw strength and smoldering gaze give her hope for a future beyond the castle walls-and promise a desire unlike any she's ever known. But passion comes at a price . . .

More Beauty, Less Beast by Debora M. Coty

For a Litfuse Tour

If you ever wrestle with that out-of-control inner ogre that threatens to destroy the divinely beautiful princess hidden within, this witty and wise book is for you. With simple, practical tips for taming that nasty, unsightly beast, you’ll discover how to transform its unattractive snarl into inner and outer beauty—refashioned, revitalized, and renewed.

An Amish Family Reunion by Mary Ellis

won from the author (and it's autographed!)

During a rumschpringe visit to Niagara Falls, Phoebe Miller meets Eli Riehl, who charms her--and everyone else--with his exceptional storytelling ability. When Phoebe sketches scenes to illustrate one of his tales, Eli encourages her talent, and together they embark on a lofty and unlikely business venture for two young Amish people--writing and illustrating a children's book

Poison Flower by Thomas Perry

won from Mike Draper's Blog

Poison Flower, the seventh novel in Thomas Perry's celebrated Jane Whitefield series, opens as Jane spirits James Shelby, a man unjustly convicted of his wife's murder, out of the heavily guarded criminal court building in downtown Los Angeles. But the price of Shelby's freedom is high. Within minutes, men posing as police officers kidnap Jane and, when she tries to escape, shoot her.Jane's captors are employees of the man who really killed Shelby's wife. He believes he won't be safe until Shelby is dead, and his men will do anything to force Jane to reveal Shelby's hiding place. But Jane endures their torment, and is willing to die rather than betray Shelby. Jane manages to escape but she is alone, wounded, thousands of miles from home with no money and no identification, hunted by the police as well as her captors. She must rejoin Shelby, reach his sister before the hunters do, and get them both to safety.In this unrelenting, breathtaking cross-country battle, Jane survives by relying on the traditions of her Seneca ancestors. When at last Jane turns to fight, her enemies face a cunning and ferocious warrior who has one weapon that they don't.

The Second Time We Met by Leila Cobo

From Grand Central Publishing, releases this week

Adored and nurtured by his adoptive parents in California, Asher Stone has moved effortlessly through a nearly perfect life. He is on the verge of a professional soccer career-when a car accident throws his future into doubt. Suddenly, Asher begins to wonder about his past, and about the girl who gave him up for adoption in Colombia two decades ago. And so begins his search for a woman named Rita Ortiz.

From the teeming streets of Bogata to a tiny orphanage tucked into a hillside, Asher untangles the mystery of Rita's identity, her abrupt disappearance from her home, and the winding journey that followed. But as Asher comes closer to finding Rita, his own parents are faced with fears and doubts. And Rita must soon make her own momentous choice: stay hidden in her hard-earned new life, or meet the secret son who will bring painful memories-or the promise of a new beginning . . .

And I received these from Netgalley and Edelweiss this week (click on the covers to go to the Goodreads description):

How was your week, leave me a link and I'd love to see what you received in your mailbox!

Weekend Report (1)

2012-02-25T10:45:00.002-05:00

I'm all about new things this week. I've been following Christian Bookshelf several weeks, but this is my first time posting a Weekend Report. The Weekend Report is just a summary of what I have accomplished in my reading life this week. You can see what Melanie has read, reviewed and is reading at her Weekend Report and view others and add yours as well at Christian Bookshelf Reviews.

Clicking on the book covers below will take you to their book descriptions on Goodreads.

What I'm currently reading:

Sizzling Sixteen is my audiobook in my car, Frantic is my next review book.

What I read:

What I reviewed (clicking on bookcovers will take you to the reviews):

Next Up:

Giveaways (clicking on the picture will take you to the link):

Busy week! How was yours?

Scott Nicholson Kindle Freebie Alert

2012-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Many of you know I love Scott Nicholson and his books. I always jump at the chance to promote his books and his Epic Kindle Giveaways. This weekend he has one of his box set of books up for free on Amazon and I wanted to let you know about it. This box set includes the #1 Kindle suspense bestseller Disintegration and two other crime/mystery books. Most of you know you don't have to have a Kindle to read Kindle books, you can read on your computer, your phone, your iPad, pretty much anything with one of the great Kindle apps, so snap up this freebie now.

Mystery Dance: Three Novels by Scott Nicholson

Disintegration, Crime Beat and The Skull Ring

Find it on Amazon

MYSTERY DANCE: An omnibus edition containing more than 200,000 words.

Features the complete text of the #1 bestselling mystery and suspense novel Disintegration, The Skull Ring, Crime Beat, a short story, a bonus deleted chapter from Disintegration, and an essay about the novels.

DISINTEGRATION-- Two brothers view for a family empire built on deceit, dark secrets, and blood, and one woman stands between them while another waits in the shadows. Jacob's life falls apart when his brother Joshua returns to town after a tragic fire and they return to the twisted roles of their childhood.

THE SKULL RING-- Julia Stone pieces together her shattered childhood memories, but then the past comes closing in when she finds a mysterious silver ring. Three men want to help her, but choosing the wrong ally can cost not only her heart but her soul.

CRIME BEAT-- Crime doesn't pay...but neither does journalism. When a new reporter moves to a small town, a crime spree escalates into serial killing.

Also contains "Dead Air" the from collection CURTAINS. DRM free.

Feature and Follow Friday (1)

2012-02-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

This is my first Friday joining in Feature & Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. When I saw the question I just knew I had to join in!

Q: Activity!!! Take a picture or describe where you love to read the most…

This is my favorite place to read. I have my laptop beside me for tweeting, reading blogs and checking out what is going on. I also have a nice electric throw for keeping me warm. It's also in the family room so my kids are near by, yet when they are noisy I have great headphones to tune them out so I can read.

When it's warm and sunny this is my other favorite place to read. I have a place to put my drink, it's in the sun and in the winter it's sheltered from the wind. In the summer it catches the breeze. I love this chair set!

Where do you like to read. Join the meme at Parajunkee's View.

Book Review: A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow

2012-02-24T10:00:00.030-05:00

A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow

Publisher: Monarch Books

Publish Date: December 1, 2011

Paperback, 366 pages
Fiction, Christian, Suspense, Mystery
ISBN: 978-0857210500
The Monastery Murders #2

My Review:
What a fun and different mystery to read. I did not read the first in The Monastery Murders, but I will be going back to read it because I am enamored with Felicity and Father Antony. Ms. Crow has quickly become a must-read after one book.

I loved Felicity and Father Antony. There is a buzz of attraction between the two of them. Father Antony is sure of how he feels, but Felicity is conflicted because she is pretty sure she wants to become a nun. I liked this added possible romance. It made their working together more interesting and their interactions more plausible to me. They worked well together. I also liked the fact that Felicity is an American in England. I understood her on that level and it made the book easier to understand for us Americans. Sometimes I get lost in British-speak, but I didn't have that problem in this book. Father Antony is great as well. He loves to solve mysteries, he loves his calling and he's falling in love with Felicity. He's a great character and I liked watching him develop in this book. There is definitely some back story in the first book between these two, but I never felt lost in this book. Ms. Crow goes into the back story briefly but enough that those of us that pick up the second book have no trouble getting into it and understanding the characters. I really appreciated this fact and it made reading this book very enjoyable.

The plot moves along at a great pace. Interspersing the action with some history that helps Father Antony and Felicity solve the mystery really made the book for me. I love the history of things like the Templars, and other groups associated with the church. But this is not another Da Vinci Code, it's completely different, so don't worry about that. I loved her angle and how the plot moved. I must say I didn't see several things coming and that was great as well.

Combining interesting characters, fascinating history and an interesting murder mystery, Donna Fletcher Crow was able to grab my attention within the first few pages of A Darkly Hidden Truth and I had a hard time putting the book down until I turned the very last page. I look forward to going back and reading the first book in the series and I also look forward to future books as well. Ms. Crow just has a way of writing that draws you in and makes you interested in the story and I really enjoyed that. Plus the British setting was an added plus for me. I haven't read as much British fiction so gaining a little knowledge of the countryside was great for me. If you love mysteries then I suggest you give this series a try. You can start with the first book, or start with A Darkly Hidden Truth which I thoroughly enjoyed.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

About the Book:
More page-turning action from a popular author.

Felicity has decided to become a nun. She departs to visit convents in spite of her mother's imminent arrival and Fr. Anselm's request that she and Fr. Antony recover a missing priceless Russian icon before the Patriarch of Moscow arrives at the community for Holy Week.

Felicity's discernment journey takes her to Rempstone, Norwich, London, and Walsingham, but her discovery of a friend's murdered body in a shallow grave, the disappearance of more icons, the shooting of a London art expert just after she visits him, the disappearance of Antony, and finally the abduction of Felicity and her mother teach her far more about motherhood, life, and love than she could learn in any convent retreat. Breathtaking chase scenes, mystical worship services, dashes through remote water-logged landscapes, the wisdom of ancient holy women, and the arcane rites of The Knights of St. John of Malta keep the pages turning. And will Felicity choose the veil--or Antony?

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
Donna Fletcher Crow is the author of 35 books, mostly novels dealing with British history. The award-winning GLASTONBURY, The Novel of Christian England is her best-known work, an Arthurian grail search epic covering 15 centuries of English history. A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, book 1 in the Monastery Murders series is her reentry into publishing after a 10 year hiatus. THE SHADOW OF REALITY, a romantic intrigue will be published later this summer.

Donna and her husband have 4 adult children and 10 grandchildren. She is an enthusiastic gardener and you can see pictures of her garden, watch the trailer for A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, and read her international blog at www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com

Website
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book through Kregel Tours for an honest review. I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Young Adult Paranormal Activity Hop

2012-02-23T20:31:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Young Adult Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer and Read for Your Future.

For my giveaway I'm giving away the first two books of the Torn Trilogy by Erica O'Rourke, Torn and Tangled which just released at the end of last month. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below, all that is required is the name and email. Open to US/Canada only.

Torn by Erica O'Rourke

Everyone has secrets.
Even best friends.

Mo Fitzgerald knows about secrets. But when she witnesses her best friend's murder, she discovers Verity was hiding things she never could have guessed. To find the answers she needs and the vengeance she craves, Mo—quiet, ordinary, unmagical Mo—will have to enter a world of raw magic and shifting alliances. And she'll have to choose between two very different, equally dangerous guys—protective, duty-bound Colin and brash, mysterious Luc. One wants to save her, one wants to claim her. Which would you choose?

Tangled by Erica O'Rourke

Constance started to keen as the air around us began to thrash and twist, the caustic scent of ozone burning my nose. As I watched, her dark gold hair began to lift and kink into knots.

“I’m here. It’ll be okay.” It was the last thing I said before my best friend’s little sister went supernova in the second-floor girls’ bathroom, taking me with her.

A month ago, Mo Fitzgerald risked her life to stop an ancient prophecy and avenge her best friend's murder. Now, she only wants to keep her loved ones safe. But the magic—and the Chicago Mob—have other plans.

Mysterious, green-eyed Luc is back, asking for help—and a second chance. Colin, her strongest protector, is hiding a shocking secret. And inside Constance, the magic is about to go terribly wrong. Tangled in a web of love and betrayal, Mo must choose between the life she's dreamed of and the one she's destined for.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour: Frantic by Mike Dellosso

2012-02-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Mike Dellosso

and the book:

Frantic

Realms (February 7, 2012)

***Special thanks to Jon Wooten of Charisma House for sending me a review copy.***

***My Review will follow later today***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mike Dellosso is the author of numerous novels of suspense, including Darkness Follows, Darlington Woods, and Scream. He is an adjunct professor of writing at Lancaster Bible College and frequent contributor to Christian websites and newsletters. Mike is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers association, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, the Relief Writer’s Network, and FaithWriters, and he plans to join International Thriller Writers. He earned his BA degree from Messiah College and his MBS from Master’s International School of Divinity. He lives in Hanover, PA, with his wife and daughters. Hometown: Hanover, PA

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Gas station attendant Marny Toogood thinks it’s just another ordinary day on the job until an urgent message from a young girl in the backseat of a car draws him into a daring rescue attempt. Now he is on the run with Esther and William Rose from their insane “uncle” who thinks it is his mission from God to protect William, a boy with incredible faith that gives him supernatural powers.

As they face kidnapping, underground cults, and other evils, can Marny trust the simple faith of a child and stand his ground against a power so twisted?

Product Details:
List Price: $13.99

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Realms (February 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616384808
ISBN-13: 978-1616384807

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

The night Marny Toogood was born it rained axheads and hammer handles.

His grandfather made a prediction, said it was an omen of some sort, that it meant Marny’s life would be stormy, full of rain clouds and lightning strikes. Wanting to prove her father wrong, Janie Toogood named her son Marnin, which means “one who brings joy,” instead of the Mitchell she and her husband had agreed on.

But in spite of Janie’s good intentions, and regardless of what his birth certificate said, Marny’s grandfather was right.

At the exact time Marny was delivered into this world and his grandfather was portending a dark future, Marny’s father was en route to the hospital from his job at Winden’s Furniture Factory where he was stuck working the graveyard shift. He’d gotten the phone call that Janie was in labor, dropped his hammer, and run out of the plant. Fifteen minutes from the hospital his pickup hit standing water, hydroplaned, and tumbled down a steep embank- ment, landing in a stand of eastern white pines. The coroner said he experienced a quick death; he did not suffer.

One week after Marny’s birth his grandfather died of a heart attack. He didn’t suffer either.

Twenty-six years and a couple of lifetimes of hurt later, Marny found himself working at Condon’s Gas ’n Go and living above the garage in a small studio apartment George Condon rented to

1

Mike Dellosso

him for two hundred bucks a month. It was nothing special, but it was a place to lay his head at night and dream about the dark cloud that stalked him.

But his mother had told him every day until the moment she died that behind every rain cloud is the sun, just waiting to shine its light and dry the earth’s tears.

Marny held on to that promise and thought about it every night before he succumbed to sleep and entered a world that was as unfriendly and frightening as any fairy tale forest, the place of his dreams, the only place more dark and foreboding than his life.

On the day reality collided with the world of Marny’s night- mares, it was hotter than blazes, strange for a June day in Maine. The sun sat high in the sky, and waves of heat rolled over the asphalt lot at the Gas ’n Go. The weather kept everyone indoors, which meant business was slow for a Saturday. Marny sat in the garage bay waiting for Mr. Condon to take his turn in checkers and wiped the sweat from his brow.

^“

^{Man, it’s hot.”}

^{Mr. Condon didn’t look up from the checkerboard. “Ayuh.}

^{Wicked hot. Newsman said it could hit ninety.”}

^“S

^{o it’ll probably get up to ninety-five.”}

^{Mr. Condon rubbed at his white stubble. “Ayuh.”}

^{He was sixty-two and looked it. His leather-tough skin was}

^{creased with deep wrinkles. Lots of smile lines. Marny had worked}

^{for him for two years but had known the old mechanic his whole}

^life.

^{Mr. Condon made his move then squinted at Marny. Behind}

^{him Ed Ricker’s Dodge truck rested on the lift. The transmis-}

^{sion had blown, and Mr. Condon should have been working}

^{on it instead of playing checkers. But old Condon kept his own}

^{schedule. His customers never complained. George Condon was}

^{the best, and cheapest, mechanic around. He’d been getting cars}

^{and trucks through one more Maine winter for forty years.}

^{Marny studied the checkerboard, feeling the weight of Mr.}

^{Condon’s dark eyes on him, and was about to make his move}

Fr antic

when the bell chimed, signaling someone had pulled up to the pump island. Condon’s was the only full-service station left in the Down East, maybe in the whole state of Maine.

Despite the heat, Mr. Condon didn’t have one droplet of sweat on his face. “Cah’s waitin’, son.”

Marny glanced outside at the tendrils of heat wriggling above the lot, then at the checkerboard. “No cheating.”

^{His opponent winked. “No promises.”}

^{Pushing back his chair, Marny stood and wiped more sweat}

^{from his brow, then headed outside.}

^{The car at the pump was a 1990s model Ford Taurus, faded blue}

^{with a few rust spots around the wheel wells. The windows were}

^{rolled down, which probably meant the air-conditioning had quit}

^{working. This was normally not a big deal in Maine, but on a rare}

^{day like this, the driver had to be longing for cool air.}

^{Marny had never seen the vehicle before. The driver was a large}

^{man, thick and broad. He had close-cropped hair and a smooth,}

^{round face. Marny had never seen him before either.}

^{He approached the car and did his best to be friendly. “Mornin’.}

^{Hot one, isn’t it?”}

^{The driver neither smiled nor looked at him. “Fill it up. Regular.”}

^{Marny headed to the rear of the car and noticed a girl in the}

^{backseat. A woman, really, looked to be in her early twenties. She}

^{sat with her hands in her lap, head slightly bowed. As he passed}

^{the rear window she glanced at him, and there was something in}

^{her eyes that spoke of sorrow and doom. Marny recognized the}

^{look because he saw it in his own eyes every night in the mirror.}

^{He smiled, but she quickly diverted her gaze.}

^{As he pumped the gas, Marny watched the girl, studied the}

^{back of her head. She was attractive in a plain way, a natural pret-}

^{tiness that didn’t need any help from cosmetics. Her hair was rich}

^{brown and hung loosely around her shoulders. But it was her eyes}

^{that had captivated him. They were as blue as the summer sky, but}

^{so sad and empty. Marny wondered what the story was between}

^{the man and girl. He was certainly old enough to be her father. He}

Mike Dellosso

looked stern and callous, maybe even cruel. Marny felt for her, for her unhappiness, her life.

He caught the man watching him in the side mirror and looked at the pump’s gauge. A second later the nozzle clicked off, and he returned it to the pump. He walked back to the driver’s window. “That’ll be forty-two.”

While the man fished around in his back pocket for his wallet, Marny glanced at the girl again, but she kept her eyes down on her hands.

“You folks local?” Marny said, trying to get the man to open up a little.

The driver handed Marny three twenties but said nothing. Marny counted off eighteen dollars in change. “You new in the

area? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Lately, seems more people have been moving out than in.”

Still nothing. The man took the money and started the car. Before pulling out he nodded at Marny. There was something in the way he moved his head, the way his eyes sat in their sockets, the way his forehead wrinkled ever so slightly, that made Marny shiver despite the heat.

The car rolled away from the pump, asphalt sticking to the tires, and exited the lot. Marny watched until it was nearly out of sight, then turned to head back to the garage and Mr. Condon and the game of checkers. But a crumpled piece of paper on the ground where the Taurus had been parked caught his attention. He picked it up and unfurled it. Written in all capital letters was a message:

^{HE’S GOING TO KILL ME}

***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free. I do not receive money for my amazon links since I live in NC (something about some law), so they are up purely for my readers to have a place to check out the book.***

Book Review: The Defector by Mark Chisnell

2012-02-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

The Defector by Mark Chisnell

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Ebook, 267 pages
Fiction, Suspense/Thriller
ASIN: B004NBZE76

My Review:
The Defector is an intriguing book and while at times it felt really out there and scary as all get out, I could not quit turning the pages (or hitting the next page button on my Kindle in this case).

Martin Cormac is down on his luck and in a bar about to be beaten senseless when the book begins. Drunken and trying to run away from life, Martin stumbles into the one man who seems to save him, only to learn that this one man likes to play games and in the end these games mean life or death for Martin and for those around them.

The Defector is not for the squeamish. It's gritty and it's violent, but it goes with what is going on. It's definitely the underbelly of society in this book. Martin has been greedy and that is how he lost the love of his life, Kate, but he finds her again. The problem is he is already involved with Janac at this point and if Janac knows his weakness he will exploit it. As the game continues and things heat up, the plot takes you on the chase of Martin's life.

I liked the book, it raises moral questions, it makes Martin question who he is and who he wants to be. It has a really bad "bad guy" with Janac. I mean he could be the devil himself. This is not your typical book because of the raw grittiness of it. But it works. The plot definitely moves along, at times it was a little choppy, but the times it really flowed more than made up for the choppy times. I found myself engaged in Martin's life and I cared whether he lived or died.

It's an interesting book with "The Prisoner's Dilemma" at the center. I had never heard of this so it was interesting to learn about it. It was also great to see that not everyone is completely self-centered like Janac seems to think they are. Mr. Chisnell has written an intriguing book that had me engaged from beginning to end.

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

About the Book:
What will you do, when it's you or them?

This is the dilemma at the heart of The Defector - can Martin Cormac turn his back on his ruthless past as a dealer, a major city player, and do the right thing? Not when he's looking for answers in a succession of sleazy dives...

One night, Cormac gets caught trying to chat up the bar owner's girlfriend and soon needs rescuing. Unfortunately, his white knight is anything but - Janac's a big-time drug baron with a psychotic urge to test people to the limit, and if possible... over it.

And soon Cormac is running from more than his past, he's running from the most dangerous game he will ever play.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
One place to start the story is when you get loose from school or college, when you suddenly realise you now have to make all those choices for yourself, rather than have them set by parents, teachers, the exam system, etc, etc... In my case, I chose to travel...
After a summer in a sports equipment factory, loading rugby posts onto lorries, I had a working holiday visa for Australia and the cash to buy a one-way ticket to Sydney. Along with the - less than concrete career plan - that I'd travel and then write a book about the experience.

Website
Facebook
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book from the author for an honest review.

Guest Blog: This or That with Hannah L. Clark

2012-02-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today I welcome Hannah L. Clark, author of Cobbogoth, the first book in a new series. She's here to answer my This or That questions. So please welcome Hannah and be sure to check out the rest of her tour stops for more interesting guest blogs, interviews, reviews and giveaways (I have a review and giveaway coming up March 29th).

*****
Breakfast or Brunch? Brunch. This is such a boring answer, but most breakfast foods just don’t do it for me. For whatever reason, I usually feel queasy in the morning—been that way since high school—but by brunch time, my stomach has usually settled down enough to eat. I also think the foods that are served at brunches are much tastier.

Lemonade or Pink Lemonade? Either. I honestly can’t taste the difference, and I don’t really care so much about the color of my drinks as I do the carbonation—I hate soda!
Sedan or Sports Car? My husband would say “sports car,” but I’m much more practical when it comes to cars, so Sedan.

Laptop or Ipad? I love my iPad, but I’m going to go with the laptop, because I can get a whole lot more done. My iPad is really more of a toy to me.

High Heels or Flip Flops? I have long, ski-like feet, with a very long “speed-toe” (second from the big toe) and I’m a runner, which means my feet get beat up a lot. So it’s high heels for me—but not too high.
Trip around the world or trip to the moon? Around the world…the moon is just a bunch of dust and moon rocks and stuff, but the world has all kinds of different people that have and are living on it, leaving their mark. To me, people are what make places interesting.

M&Ms: Peanut or Plain? I love, love, love peanut m&m’s but have had to wean myself off of them, because my little tyke has a VERY severe peanut allergy. It’s a real bummer.

Hair: Short or Long? Short. Always short. Otherwise I look like Ms. Triangle-head.

Necklace or Bracelet? Depends on whichever goes better with my outfit. But never both.

Take a walk or go to the gym? Take a walk. Nature really inspires me, and so I spend a lot of time either driving or walking through it.

Write at home or write somewhere else? I can write pretty much anywhere. I prefer to write at home, but if you give me a solid chunk of time, I can get lost in the story and don’t even register where I am until I come back up for air…or food.

Spring or Fall? Oh, Fall…definitely Fall. I love sweater weather and the anticipation of the holidays. I also love the colors and how it’s foggy most of the time in the mountains behind my house.

Fairies or Vampires? Um…fairies. I’m not big into “creatures of the night.” But fairies, now, there are a million different possibilities when you bring fairies into the picture. Good. Bad. Impish. Playful. Mysterious. Ominous. Ancient. Etc.

Thanks for joining us today Hannah!

To seventeen-year-old Norah Lukens, the Cobbogothians were just a myth. But after her archeologist uncle's brutal murder, and being asked to translate one of his old research journals for evidence, she begins a journey to discover the truth for herself.

Chasing the myth her uncle was obsessed with, Norah learns that his murder was a cover up for something far more sinister. If she hopes to save others from suffering the same fate he did--including the peculiarly magnetic James Riley--she must head to Iceland in order to find out the truth once and for all.

If she succeeds, she'll gain the one thing she's always longed for.

But if she fails, not even the gods can help her.

Book Review: Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

2012-02-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Publish Date: November 27, 2011

ebook
Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Detective/Police Novel
ASIN: B006FBDHG2
A Lei Crime Novel

My Review:
I love being surprised by books. While I was intrigued by the blurb of this book and accepted it for review, you never know what you are getting. What I got from Blood Orchids was a thoroughly mesmerizing book based in Hawaii, which I hardly ever read about and a culture that was new to me. And not only did I get this new culture and setting, but I read about some amazing characters and a plot that kept me flipping the pages to see what would happen next.

The character of Lei Texeira rings very true. She is a woman with a past and some problems to work through. She is a tough woman cop who wants to make things right in her town of Hilo and when two girls show up murdered, it feels personal and she will stop at nothing to find the killer and bring him to justice. Though Lei is just a beat cop, through her skills she ends up involved in the investigation. She also ends up with a stalker which brings her closer to lead detective Michael Stephens, who also has a past that he is dealing with. I liked Michael as much as Lei and I was cheering for them as a couple through the whole book. I like how Ms. Neal handles them and I won't give anything more away, you need to read the book to find out. Suffice it to say, the book has a little bit of romance to take the edge off the hard suspense vibe going through the majority of the book.

The suspense is gripping. The plot moves along great. As the detectives, Lei and her partner plow through the investigation, things don't just fall into place. They have to work for the answers and it takes time. This isn't a CSI episode where the DNA just happens to be there and things are wrapped up quickly. I think Ms. Neal paced this well to keep the reader turning pages and engaged in the book. I wanted to know who was behind the murders, rapes and kidnappings. I also wanted to know who was stalking Lei. Was it the murderer? Or one of the other people that Ms. Neal puts forth? It's definitely a guessing game and I have to say I guessed wrong. So well done Ms. Neal!

So, in summary, Blood Orchids is an amazing debut effort. It's tough, it's edgy, but it has some romance as well. It kept me guessing, it kept me turning pages. It has me anxious to read more about Lei. She's an intriguing character and I want to see more of her and from the note at the end it looks like there are several more books involving Lei planned so I am in luck. But don't worry, everything is tied up nicely at the end of Blood Orchids so you aren't left wanting for the next book, I just want one to see more of Lei. Blood Orchids is interesting, fresh and a great read.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

About the Book:
Hawaii is palm trees, black sand and blue water—but for policewoman Lei Texeira, there’s a dark side to paradise.

Lei has overcome a scarred past to make a life for herself as a cop in the sleepy Big Island town of Hilo. On a routine patrol she finds two murdered teenagers—one of whom she’d recently busted. With its echoes of her own past, the murdered girl’s harsh life and tragic death affect Lei deeply. She becomes obsessed—even as the killer is drawn to Lei's intensity, feeding off her vulnerabilities and toying with her sanity.

Despite her obsession with the case and fear that she's being stalked, Lei finds herself falling in love for the first time. Steaming volcanoes, black sand beaches and shrouded fern forests are the backdrop to Lei's quest for answers—and the stalker is closer than she can imagine, as threads of the past tangle in her future. Lei is determined to find the killer—but he knows where to find her first.

About the Author (from her website):
Toby Neal was raised on Kauai in Hawaii. She wrote and illustrated her first story at age 5 and has been published in magazines and won several writing contests. After initially majoring in Journalism, she eventually settled on mental health as a career and loves her work, saying, “I’m endlessly fascinated with people’s stories.”

She enjoys many outdoor sports including bodyboarding, scuba diving, beach walking, gardening and hiking. She lives in Hawaii with her family and dogs.

Toby credits her counseling background in adding depth to her characters–from the villains to Lei Texeira, the courageous and vulnerable heroine in the Lei Crime Series.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the author for an honest review.

Guest Blog: 7 Things I've Learned On Writing by Toby Neal (+ Giveaway)

2012-02-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

7 things I’ve learned on writing by Toby Neal

1. Notice everything. The world is filled with sounds, smells, textures, and fabulous stories
unfolding all around you. Take the time to notice, and keep something handy to jot down new
thoughts/ways to describe that sensory input as it comes to you. Sometimes, when I really let
myself experience any given moment in time, I’m overwhelmed by all that’s going on. Life is a
series of amazing moments.

2. Write what interests you. I ended up writing “crime/suspense mysteries with a romantic twist”
which I never expected to do in my younger, more literary-ambitious days. I started no less than
5 novels before I finally finished one in a genre that kept my own interest long enough to write
350 pages of it. (I also LOVE reading these kinds of books, but honestly never thought I could
write them. Shows what I know!)

3. Write about themes that touch something deep inside. I became a therapist for a lot of reasons,
not least of which is my desire to help others heal—but there’s another side to me that wants to
kick some abuser ass, and it’s that part of me that Lei, my crime-fighting detective, “actualizes”
as we say in the biz. Course, it took me three books with her for me to really understand WHY I
was drawn to the themes I was, and to really own them, shucking off cognitive dissonance.

4. Write whatever interests you. I know I already said this, but this time I mean don’t try to write
something only for it to sell. Write poetry, essays, novellas, series, flashfiction, fanfiction,
bumper stickers… it’s all practice and part of the body of your work, and you never know what
piece will lead to something else.

5. Be brave when you write. Think of it as “touching universal themes”—write about pain,
pleasure, rage, and joy from the depth of your experience. FEEL the experience as you write
about it. There’s no getting away from exposing yourself when you’re a writer. Course it doesn’t
all have to be agony and ecstasy; a good description of that niggling, drafty suspicion that your
pants have burst a seam is also universal.

6. Persevere. I had no idea how really, truly difficult it is to get published. I could way more easily
have done a doctoral degree—that also requires a lot of study and writing, but at the end when
you’ve fulfilled all the requirements, they HAVE to give you the little paper with “doctor” on
it. At the end of every considerable, unpaid, and even paid-for-professional-editor effort you
can still get, “Thanks for letting me have a look at this. However, it’s not right for our list at this
time” (a nicely worded rejection. Many are less kindly worded.) What’s my advice? Cry. Rant
to friends about the obtuseness of everyone not getting your obvious genius. Then, get back
in front of the computer and revise, rewrite, and never stop learning how you can improve.
Humble out. You don’t know everything even when you think you do. Oh, and nothing is ever
actually finished until it’s in print.

7. Make room in your life for writing. Most people have at least toyed with the idea of writing a
book. If you’re going to be a “professional” writer (and don’t give up your day job just yet) you
need to have actual time behind the computer built into your life. Study what works for you to
produce words on the page—spurts of productivity with a deadline, daily goals, an outline, a
laptop at Starbucks—figure it out and plan it in. For me it’s setting goals for myself, scheduling
time (I work six days a week, so NOBODY gets to whine to me about not having time) and then

DO IT. I get most done on what I call “retreats”—stretches of time when I step out of my regular
life and into the world of my characters. A writing day for me is akin to a spa day—a wily tactic
for luring the muse out to play. On the other hand, the dearth of time I have creates an urgency
that people with more may not feel. If so, fake yourself out. No excuses, this is your life you’re
spending.

Now stop reading blogs and get out there and create!

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Blood Orchids follows police woman Lei Texeira, whose life starts to unravel after discovering a gruesome murder scene on the shores of beautiful Hawaii. A scene that also begins to expose Texeira’s dark buried past. After an impulsive mistake she is sent to mandatory counseling to help deal with the escalating violence and how it triggers her. Meanwhile she gains the attention of a killer, and the lead detective on the case, Michael Stevens. Even deeper conspiracies develop the story, originating with her father, a convicted drug dealer. Haunted by a persistent stalker, the shadow of her past looms over the growing relationship with Stevens, Texeira, with the help of her loyal Rottweiler, battles the monsters of her past and present, reaching out toward a loving future.

Giveaway:
BookSparks PR is offering 1 copy of Blood Orchids to a winner in the US. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below. Only your email address is required for entry, and if you are signed in through Facebook, just simply hit the enter button. Ends 2/28/2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Blog: "Best of" Liz Reinhardt's Favorite Books

2012-02-21T00:00:00.001-05:00

Today I welcome Liz Reinhardt, author of Double Clutch who is currently touring with Teen Book Scene. Today at My Reading Room she is sharing about some of her favorite books, some she would find in her library. So please welcome Liz and make sure you check out her other tour stops on the schedule.

***

There are so many books I really treasure and love, so I know I’m going to make this list, then think, “Oh, man, I should have mentioned that one!” or “I can’t believe I didn’t mention this one!” So I’ll make a few “Best Of” references, and just let everyone know that there are so many that I’m missing.

Best Keep-You-Up-All-Night Don’t-Start-This-Book-If-You-Have-Somewhere-You-Need-To-Be Book:

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Maguire

I found this book through an Amazon recommend. It had a lot of really passionate reviews. Almost everyone loved it. Some people hated it! I had to find out for myself. I stayed up until 2 AM reading it. I told my sister to get it. She texted me at 3 AM to yell at me…and thank me. We sent it to our sis-in-law, she stayed up all night. It’s a really addictive love story, and the thing I love is how passionate and rebellious it is. It breaks a lot of the unspoken ‘rules’ about how a romance should be, and it’s just fearless. This book, after I read it, made me want to publish Double Clutch, so huge thanks to Ms. Maguire!!

The Fictional Guy I Would Run Away With If He Came To Life Book

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty is the first of five books that follow the ups and downs of Jessica Darling and her romantic interest, Marcus Flutie. Um, excuse me.

MARCUS, I LOVE YOU!!!!

Thank you. Marcus is a rebel and a brainiac. A tortured musician who loves his parents. A sexy, sexy guy who can write a poem that will knock you over! Jess and Marcus travel a long road (from 10^th grade to post college), and it’s amazing. Read these books and fall in love!

The Book That Made Me Want to Run Away and Live Somewhere Else…Right NOW!

Over in Samoa and New Zealand, Lani Wendt Young is ripping up all the YA charts with her epic book about a young girl who finds out she’s a Samoan volcano goddess. Telesa is one of those books where I felt like I moved in with the characters! It was wild, gorgeous, lush, and very, very romantic. Leila and Daniel have serious sparks, and I felt like I went on this huge, crazy journey with them.

If you love tropical destinations, paranormal craziness, romance, family stories…this one has it all!

The Book that Made Me Weep Until My Eyes Were Red and Puffy, But Was Also So Uplifting and Amazing

If you haven’t picked up Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere, please, please do it now. Especially if you have a sister. Disclaimer: you may hate me for that last bit. I have a sister I love very much, and reading TSIE felt a little like jabbing a knife in my heart over and over. But it was also intensely beautiful. And romantic. And amazing. I can’t say enough good stuff about this book! Please check it out!

The Book That Made Me Feel Like I Was An Amazing Dancer, Even Though I Have Two Left Feet

My sister and I love to have Bring It On movie marathons where we sit on the couch and eat cheesy/buttery/chocolaty/delicious snacks and wonder how people actually have the strength and coordination to do all the jumps and twists and leaps that you see onscreen. I read Angie Stanton’s Dream Chaser, and now I know!

They work their tails off.

I admit, a book about a cheerleader/dancer sounded like it might be a little fluffy. Um, no way. Willow is a strong, determined young woman who has a nasty fall as the flyer on her cheer squad. She has this frenetic energy she needs to keep up with, and she trades her cheer career to go back to her roots; dance. I will tell you, I felt exhausted just reading about her grueling practices…but also elated when she got it all down, and the performances? Amazing! If you want to feel like you got a chance to dance/cheer/perform while still eating your delicious snacks on the couch, check this one out!

Thanks Liz - I have some of these books, but now I know I need to get reading them!

About Double Clutch:
What happens when you fall in love with the perfect guy...twice...in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she's back in the States, she's determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn't know why he can't get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake's sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be more darker and more complex than Brenna's willing to handle.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies...and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school's rising punk band, keeping up her grades in both academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice. But how can she when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other's?

Cover Reveal: Hidden by Sophie Jordan

2012-02-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

I love the Firelight Trilogy by Sophie Jordan and I was very excited to receive in my email today the final cover for Hidden, the third book in the trilogy and the synopsis straight from Sophie. I cannot wait to read this book. So do you want to see? Are you Team Cassian or Team Will? I will admit to not being huge into the team joining until this series, but I am definitely Team Will, but liked Cassian better in Vanish. Here you go:

A dangerous journey.
Shattered bonds.
Undying passion.

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter.
When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right.
Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control.
As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive.
But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.

I am in love with this cover!

Book Review & Today's Excerpt: Lovesick by Spencer Seidel

2012-02-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Lovesick by Spencer Seidel

Publisher: Publishing Works, Inc.

Publish Date: ebook, currently out,
paperback, releases, June 21, 2012

Paperback, 376 pages
Fiction, Suspense/Thriller

Excerpt for today:

Dina’s eyes again wandered over to Chad, who was looking at the ground.

Lisa smiled and said, “Sure.” She fished a business card out of her bag and handed it to Dina. Lisa said, “Email me.We’ll set up a time to talk about it. Now, Chad, is there something I can help you with? I really must get going.”

Chad unshouldered his pack again and reached inside. He pulled out a few sheets of paper and said, “I wanted to give you this. It’s that essay you said I could fix for a higher grade. I had to run back to my room after class to get it. You said you needed it by today.”

“Oh. Okay, sure,” Lisa said, taking the papers.

One side of Chad’s mouth curled into what looked to Lisa like a predatory grin.

Tomorrow's blog: http://kaitlyninbookland.blogspot.com/

My Review:
I liked Dead of Wynter but was not as crazy about it as some reviewers, but I was intrigued by Lovesick's blurb so I had to read it. Oh my, I am so glad I did. Mr. Seidel really stepped it up to me. This is a thriller to the max. So much is going on that I did not even realize until I was told and that made it awesome. I won't go into specifics in my review because I don't want to spoil things, but suffice it to say that Mr. Seidel is now on my must-read list.

Lovesick is what I consider a psychological thriller and it was right up there with some of Chelsea Cain's books if you like a comparison. This involves three teenagers in a love triangle of sorts only one teenager ends up missing, one is murdered and it looks like the other is to blame. Enter in Forensic Psychologist Lisa Boyers, who talks to Paul, the one who is accused of murdering Lee to get the full story. The story is fascinating as well as the story that unfolds in Lisa's life in both the past and present. The characters, were fascinating, they were broken and interesting and this seems to be the way Mr. Seidel likes them. And this also seems to be best for this type of thriller. The characters personalities add a lot to the book, and I think Mr. Seidel has done an amazing job writing them into the story so they make perfect sense in the storyline.

The plot is amazing. Mr. Seidel weaves it and paces it perfectly. It never grows stale or moves too fast. It goes just right, keeps your interest and keeps you turning pages to find out what will happen next. I could not turn pages fast enough. I was fascinated. I was horrified. And every time I thought I knew where it was going, Mr. Seidel switched it up on me. That's what made it really great.

If you are looking for the next great psychological thriller, then you have found it in Lovesick. It will keep you turning pages until the very last page and when it's done you will hope to have more books with Forensic Psychologist Lisa Boyers in it.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Here's the link to the blogs participating in the scavenger hunt: http://booktrib.com/?page_id=152303&preview=true

About the Book:
A teenage boy is found on Portland Maine’s Eastern Promenade Trail holding the dead body of his best friend and the murder weapon. Forensic psychologist Lisa Boyers is called in to interview the disturbed young man, and her jailhouse interviews reveal more about her troubled, violent past than she bargained for.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
Spencer Seidel lives and works in suburban New Jersey but has also called Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine home. He is an honors graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University and attended the Berklee College of Music to study guitar, which he has been playing for over 25 years. His love of reading and books began as a child after discovering Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Later, he was drawn to darker work by authors such as Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Jack Ketchum, who continue to influence his dark novels and short stories.

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FTC Information: I received this book from Meryl L. Moss Media Relations for an honest review. I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Guest Blog: The Terrifying World of a Writer by Spencer Seidel

2012-02-20T04:00:00.000-05:00

The Terrifying World of a Writer
By Spencer Seidel

Ask anyone who knows me, and they'll tell you that I can be overly scheduled, neurotic, a tad
eccentric . . . Well, I won't go on. You get the picture. Let's just say that sometimes I'm not real good with going with the flow.

Show me a writer who isn't a little strange, and I'll show you a mediocre writer. Writers throughout
history have been weird. Hemingway was weird. Same goes for F. Scott Fitzgerald. Do I even have to mention Truman Capote?

I think there's a simple reason for this.

For those of you who don't write, let me describe the concept with an analogy. Suppose you woke up one day with a sense of smell as keen as a bloodhound. Can you imagine how awful that would be? You'd smell everything vividly. Every cleaning product on every surface, your own BO, or worse, everyone else's BO. And I won't even mention that cat box or God forbid, the old cat herself. And that's just the beginning. What about the garbage, the laundry hamper, or the week-old milk in the fridge? Even sex would be a challenge. You'd go mental.

But there's a flip side. Imagine how wonderful freshly baked cinnamon rolls would smell. Or bacon in the morning. No wonder dogs are always begging around for food or dying to get outside. The complex and sometimes overwhelming smells must drive them nuts.

Being a writer is a lot like that, except instead of smells, it's motivations, emotion, and possibilities. When I get into the car to drive to work every morning, it isn't hard for me to make my writer voice say things like, "His last day on earth began just like any other." Yikes! Even on that short drive to my day job, I'm always seeing possibilities. Things that could happen, little things that change lives forever, events that books are made of, like a dropped cellphone on the passenger-side floor that makes someone stray into oncoming traffic, or a blown tire. The more complex the situation, the worse this effect gets. I think this can make writers a little crazy and regimented in their ways as they seek to control their environments.

But, like with our newly found bloodhound senses, there is a flip side. Although some can be extremely introverted, writers are very good at sniffing out people's angles and motivations. I contend that this makes writers very difficult to lie to. Think your writer spouse could never find out that you're having an affair? I'll bet she already knows. Or suspects, anyway. We can be hypersensitive and detect subtle verbal clues and facial expressions people aren't even aware they're using. We do that because that's in part what makes good characterization. That's a powerful thing.

People are always telling me I would have made a great psychologist. I'll bet that's true of most writers. That's because you really need to understand people at a gut level to make believable characters.

That also gets a little hairy. You can't just think about all the good things people do, although there is
plenty of that around, despite what you hear on the news. Sometimes you have to live inside the head of a killer or rapist or worse, trying to understand how a character like that would think. It can be frightening.

I mean, what if I find out I sort of like it in there? Damn, there I go again.

About the Book:
A teenage boy is found on Portland Maine’s Eastern Promenade Trail holding the dead body of his best friend and the murder weapon. Forensic psychologist Lisa Boyers is called in to interview the disturbed young man, and her jailhouse interviews reveal more about her troubled, violent past than she bargained for.

Make sure to check out my review and the excerpt later today.

Book Tour and Review: Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in Your Boy by Dannah Gresh

2012-02-20T00:00:00.002-05:00

Today's Wild Card author is:

Dannah Gresh

and the book:

Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in Your Boy: Guiding Your Son from His Tweens to His Teens

Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2012)

***Special thanks to Karri James, Marketing Assistant, Harvest House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***

My Review:
I have flipped through and read various parts of this book and I have loved what I have read. I think this book will be a great guide to help me as my son goes through his tween years into his teen years. A lot of what I have read I have really agreed with and the author and her contributors have given me a lot to think about to help me with my parenting strategies through these very important years. I also plan on sharing the strategies and advice with my husband (this book is not just for moms). I also found it great that for each of the six ways that she has provided advice for single moms. It really seems she has covered all the basis in this book.

In summary, Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in Your Boy is a great parenting book for those tween years. I loved the advice I read and feel this book has a lot of great ideas that I plan to implement. I feel this is a great book for any parent, mom, dad, single mom, any one parenting boys.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dannah Gresh is a bestselling author, a speaker, and the creator of the Secret Keeper Girl live events. Her books include Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl, 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters, And the Bride Wore White, and Lies Young Women Believe (coauthored with Nancy Leigh DeMoss). She and her husband have a son and two daughters and live in Pennsylvania.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Bestselling author Dannah Gresh empowers moms of with six proactive ways to raise sons age 8-12 to be honest, confident, and respectful. This encouraging, practical resource shows how the formative years can shape a godly, healthy teen and adult. Includes engaging activity ideas, and Scriptures to pray over sons.

Product Details:
List Price: $13.99

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736945792
ISBN-13: 978-0736945790

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Is There a Mouse in
That Cookie Box?

A box of cookies and a dead mouse.

The combination conjures up one of the proudest memories of mothering my wonderful son, Robby. (If you meet him, you can call him Rob. But I can’t. He’s still my Robby even if he’s the size of a linebacker.) He was a freshman at Grace Prep high school and was just returning from a school-assigned Random Act of Kindness when these two mismatched objects—mouse and cookies—mingled together to create an equally odd mixture of emotions.

Just hours earlier, armed with nothing more than a few boxes of cookies and several rakes, he and a few friends had set out to do some good. They’d come back a little flustered, but laughing their experience off like four cool 15-year-old boys should.

“We just got yelled at,” said Robby, wearing the words like a badge of courage.

“By whom?” I asked.

“Some crazy woman who thought there must be a mouse in the cookies we were trying to give her,” he answered defensively.

“What!” I was just a little aggravated, having been the one who had issued the assignment. How could anyone react with anger and suspicion (particularly in our small, friendly town) to a box of cookies and an offer to do yard work? Surely they must have misunderstood. “Tell me what happened. Play-by-play,” I said.

“Well, we knocked on the lady’s door to give her the cookies and ask permission to rake her leaves,” Robby answered. “When we tried to hand her the cookies she looked afraid and angrily said, ‘Is there a dead mouse in that box?’ ”

The other boys snickered. I could see that they thought it was funny, but that it also bothered them.

I was having a hard time believing it.

“We promised there wasn’t a mouse in there, but she just couldn’t believe we were there to do anything good. So one of the guys said, ‘Look, we just want to show you God’s love in a practical way.’ ”

This made me smile. It was what they’d been taught. “Transfer the credit of this good act to God,” I’d said in class.

“What’d she say when you said that?” I asked.

“She grabbed the cookies, said, ‘Rake if you want to,’ and slammed the door in our faces!” said Robby. “So, we raked.”

I could tell that the guys were still a bit shaken, and I was a bit angry that they hadn’t been met with the reward of a simple “thank you.”

A few weeks later, God brought the whole thing full circle with a letter that came in the mail. One of the members of Robby’s group got to read it out loud in chapel. I wish I still had it. It went something like this:

Dear Grace Prep:

Recently some boys from your school came here to deliver cookies to my daughter and me. They also raked our leaves. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t trust them. I am sorry. (For the record, they were really yummy cookies.)

I think God sent those boys here.

You see, my husband—my daughter’s father—died recently and it has been tough. Just that morning my daughter and I kind of put a test out there for God. We prayed, saying, “If you’re really there and you really see us, show up!”

When he did, we didn’t recognize him right away. But I have no doubt that God sent those high-school boys to remind us that he sees us.

Thank you.

You could have heard a pin drop in that room of high-school kids when the letter was read. We were all simply struck with the power of goodness.

But here’s why this wonderful memory not only floods my heart with pride, but also makes me sad: We’ve lost our faith in the goodness of boys and men. And not wholly without reason.

Where Have All the Good Men Gone?

A title of a recent Wall Street Journal article inquired, “Where Have the Good Men Gone?” A current Amazon bestseller seeks to answer the question, Is There Anything Good About Men? Since the 2004 coining of the word “adultescent,”¹ we’ve had something to call the young adult male who is so busy playing Call of Duty on his PlayStation 4 that he has no real-life call of duty. No honor. No integrity. No goodness. Just a seventh-grade mind-set and responsibility level trapped in the flabby body of an adult who often still lives at home or in a tacky bachelor pad with other adultescents. The phenomenon is what caused Kay S. Hymowitz to pen the book Manning Up, in which she writes,

Not so long ago, average mid-twentysomethings, both male and female, had achieved most of the milestones of adulthood: high school diploma, financial independence, marriage, and children. These days [the males] hang out in a novel sort of limbo, a hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance.²

High-school English teacher Joe Carmichiel has written a book entitled Permanent Adolescence: Why Boys Don’t Grow Up, because “a large number of today’s teenagers, especially boys, see no reason to accept or pursue adulthood since it is of so little value to the larger culture.”³ So, with no motivation todo anything, many of these young men remain in a state of wimpy complacency well into their twenties, even thirties.

Along with this state of immaturity that many boys will embrace as they grow older is a culturally acceptable pressure for boys to be bad—both complacent and void of character. By the time a boy is finished with high school, he is likely to have three crucial areas of character ripped right out of him:

Over 50 percent of young men will have become sexually active in a casual-sex culture where they’re likely to have an average of 9.7 sexual partners before they graduate from college.⁴ (There goes his purity.)
Most of them will be exposed to porn as a tween or early teen, with the median age of first exposure being about 11. This catapults many of them into a world of double-mindedness where they are one boy at home and in public—and another entirely in their private world. (There goes his integrity.)
Many will have succumbed to an emasculated version of manhood that strips them of their drive to be leaders and protectors who do good. (There goes his honor.)

Our boys need to be taught to grow up.

And to be good.

While Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl cried
out for us to band together against the culture’s pressure for our little girls to grow up too fast, this book pleads with you to join us in raising sons who are prepared to embrace the responsibility of growing up.

It’s been our goal to create a character base for our son to be a man of integrity, honor, and purity. Bob and I want him to be good. Fortunately, our life work led me into the depths of research, and I learned that we had to start building a foundation for our son to rise to the call of manhood…when he was still just our “good boy”! Raising a son to reflect your value system when he is a man is—in part—a matter of introducing those values to him in an age-appropriate manner when he is a tween. Social science offers us statistical lines of footprints showing how a boy will turn out based on what he is exposed to and when. Sadly, our boys have got a tough battle ahead. It’s been a long time since they’ve seen anything but “adultescent” or “bad” examples of manhood dominating our culture.

Why Are Boys “Bad”?

Robert Coles, a pioneer in the field of moral intelligence, brings clarity to the definition badness when he writes,

Bad boys display a “heightened destructive self-absorption, in all its melancholy stages.” In essence, we go bad when “we lose sight of our obligation to others.”⁵

Badness is not simply the loss of innocence, purity, integrity, and honor, but also the loss of vision to see the needs of others and to act on them. It’s a complacent, self-absorbed lifestyle that is void of character.

I think we have a bad-boy mentality in our culture for two primary reasons.

The first reason boys become bad is that the feminist movement has told us they are bad. Michael Gurian, author of The Wonder of Boys, though seeming to embrace the feminist movement as a whole, points out a few devastating myths it introduced to convince our boys that they are “bad.” Here are two that resonate with me:

Myth Number One: “that masculinity is responsible for the world’s ills and femininity is the world’s salvation.”⁶

Myth Number Two: “males destroy, females create; males stand in the way of positive spiritual/social values; males are inherently violent.”⁷

While a deeper study of the feminist movement would betray an agenda to introduce these fallacies, we don’t have to get that academic to see how much we are influenced to believe these myths in our politically correct culture.

Just consider how prevalently they are portrayed in the media. Television alone reinforces them. Two and a Half Men, “the biggest hit comedy of the past decade” according to the New York Times, features a hedonist formerly played by Charlie Sheen. After eight seasons, the show was stalled when Sheen went into rehab for drug use. He was then fired for making disparaging remarks about the show’s producers. On and off screen he was self-absorbed and void of character. Other shows display the contrast of the valuable female to the valueless male. Reruns of The Simpsons portray Lisa as bright and beautiful and Bart as out of shape and selfish. Co-ed television commercials often portray the guy as a doofus and the girl as smart. It’s funny. It really is. But how much of it can we expose ourselves to before we believe it? And that takes me to my next concern.

The second reason boys are “bad” is that they have become what has been expected of them, just like any individual tends to fulfill what has been prophesied about them. Of course, they’ve had help from their parents (or lack thereof), their culture (and its emasculation), their economy (and its consumeristic “me” mentality), and their churches (who haven’t done much to stand against the feminist untruths). But today’s men as a whole have pretty much rolled over and taken it.

It’s probably a good idea for me, Bob, to step in here. I’m a guy. If anyone’s going to throw us under the bus, it should be me. It has always befuddled me that the prettiest, nicest girls are always attracted to the bad boys. From the jock who bullies everyone at school to the kid in a leather jacket who doles out drugs after school, nice girls often go after the bad boys. In the Twilight series, bad boy Edward Cullen makes good girl Bella Swan swoon. In real life, the stars live out the scenario. Kevin Federline was the top bad boy of the tabloids when he nabbed the most famous girl on the planet at the height of her career, Britney Spears. Katy Perry, former Christian music artist gone sexual tease, pledged herself to bad boy Russell Brand.

I think that the constant drip of these scenarios into our spirits makes us want to be bad boys. Let’s be real: A guy desires a beautiful girl, and while the ones in the headlines might not be all that chaste, they’re often portrayed as the good girl taken by the bad boy. And guess what? Guys want nice girls. So, we begin to believe that maybe we’re supposed to be bad.

And if we’re not, we’re boring.

Come on. The media glorifies the bad boys—from Grease’s Danny Zuko to Pirates of the Caribbean’s Captain Jack Sparrow—not the plain-vanilla good guys. I didn’t watch this show, but Dannah says Gilmore Girls played to this big time when Rory fell for beautiful boy Dean until bad boy Jess came to town. The bad boy is so often the one the girl wants and celebrates.

Conversely, there aren’t a lot of movies being made about Billy Graham, the kid who called 9-1-1 and delivered his mom’s baby, or the apostle Paul. These are true heroes…but they’re good. And good is boring, according to movie producers. Since no one rises up to celebrate the good, most guys—though innately built to be conquerors—roll over and become boring.

In some twisted place in our minds, we’d much rather be bad than boring because that’s how you get the girl. But many of us are afraid of being the real bad boy. So we just get complacent. We roll over and stay in some limbo—a state of in-between. Not really bad. Not really good. Or so we think.

In reality, this complacency is the absolute root of badness.

The Tree

Complacency was at the root of the first bad move among men. (Yes—the bad move of all time.) Adam had the most complacent moment of all when he stood at the foot of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was Eve who wore the pants in the first family during this catastrophic moment. She took the lead and reached for the fruit of the Tree. Adam just got all quiet, passive and…well, boring. The Scriptures don’t note that he was deceived, tempted, or lied to like Eve. Just that he went along with it.

Some theologians believe that there was something in the way that Eve was crafted which made her more vulnerable to deception. (Just consider how often we women are prone to think things like “I’m fat!” Haven’t seen too many guys obsessing over that thought. Or maybe you’ve been prone to believe the lie “No one really likes me.” Men don’t struggle with that as often or as easily. Women are just prone to believing lies.) However, many believe that Satan approached Eve because he was attempting to throw over the created order by getting her to take leadership over her husband. And Adam seemed to passively accept this evil situation to gratify his flesh. Sounds a bit too much like many men of today.

Complacency led to the first sin. (Perhaps, had Adam chosen to speak truth to Eve, he could have led her away from that horrible original sin.) His failure to lead changed the course of history. We believe that the same kind of complacency that showed itself at the foot of the Tree still leads men to badness.

Goodness vs. Badness

While a bad boy’s greatest desire is to live according to his desires, a good boy, according to Robert Coles, has an outward focus:

Good…boys…have learned to take seriously the very notion, the desirability of goodness—living up to the Golden Rule.⁸

The Greek word for goodness (used in our take-to-heart verse, Romans 12:21) appears in the New Testament in three forms, all of which are rooted in the Hebrew word tod, which means “usefulness” or “beneficialness.” Are we bringing up boys who understand their call of duty to be useful contributors to society, to be beneficial to others?

Goodness is the quality that makes us put others ahead of ourselves. It’s the moral compass that keeps the world safe, happy, and working. It’s the drive that makes us want to function in families rather than isolation. It’s the internal road sign that takes us away from our own desires and toward the destiny of meeting the needs of others. Without it, we are “bad.” That’s probably why all of us—male and female—are called to goodness.

Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21

God is good

The ultimate reason we must raise our boys to be good is that it reflects the character of God. His goodness is a bedrock truth of Scripture and is inseparable from his nature. If we are to be a picture of him, we must possess goodness. He is good not only in a general sense, but he is good to us and forus. This element of his character expresses his selflessness and desire to exist on behalf of others. When people are good, they act toward and for others, as opposed to losing sight of others as their own needs and desires consume them.

In My Mailbox (15)

2012-02-18T23:36:00.001-05:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

The Way by Kristen Wolf

Anna is a fiery tomboy living in ancient Palestine whose androgynous appearance provokes ridicule from the people around her and doubt within her own heart. When tragedy strikes her family, and Anna's father—disguising her as a boy—sells her to a band of shepherds, she is captured by a mystical and secret society of women hiding in the desert. At first Anna is tempted to escape, but she soon finds that the sisterhood's teachings and healing abilities, wrapped in an ancient philosophy they call "The Way," have unleashed an unexpected power within her.

When danger befalls the caves in which the sisters have made their home, Anna embarks on a hazardous mission to preserve the wisdom of her mentors by proclaiming it among ordinary people. Her daring quest and newfound destiny reveal, at last, the full truth of her identity—a shocking revelation that will spark as much controversy as it does celebration.

Anna’s story is one of transformation, betrayal, love, loss, deception, and above all, redemption. Readers will cheer for this unforgettable protagonist—and for debut novelist Kristen Wolf, whose beautifully written book both provokes and inspires. A compelling mix of history, myth, and fantasy, The Way is a fascinating exploration of the foundations and possibilities of human spirituality

Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins

Amaryllis, Mississippi is a scrappy little town of strong backbone and southern hospitality. A brick-paved Main Street, a park, and a legendary ghost in the local cemetery are all part of its heritage. Everybody knows everybody in Amaryllis, and gossip wafts on the breeze. Its people are friendly, its families tight. On the surface Amaryllis seems much like the flower for which it’s named—bright and fragrant. But the Amaryllis flower is poison.In the past three years five unsolved murders have occurred within the town. All the victims were women, and all were killed in similar fashion in their own homes. And just two nights ago—a sixth murder.Clearly a killer lives among the good citizens of Amaryllis. And now three terrified women are sure they know who he is—someone they love. None is aware of the others’ suspicions. And each must make the heartrending choice to bring the killer down. But each woman suspects a different man.

Injustice for All by Robin Caroll

A federal judge lies bleeding on his office floor, betrayed by a most unlikely source—people who helped him bring criminals to justice. Now, why would someone working for the FBI need to disappear after witnessing this crime?When Remington Wyatt sees her godfather’s murder, she recognizes the killers and knows it’s only a matter of time before they come to silence her. She must do the only thing possible to stay alive . . . run.FBI agent Rafe Baxter is serious about his career, and solving a cold case involving a federal judge’s death puts him in line for the promotion he so desires. But the case leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana, where some secrets seem inextricably hidden deep within the bayou.Injustice for All explores what happens when everything a person believes in is utterly destroyed. Who can you trust?Praise for Injustice for All:"A journey into the heart of suspense and the heart of faith. Robin Caroll scores again with Injustice for All."James Scott Bell, best-selling author"Themes of personal sacrifice, betrayal and guilt, trust and temptations, fear and forgiveness permeate Injustice. Readers will be hooed from the first page. Caroll has combined murder and suspense with vivid descriptions and excellent character development.

Unbroken by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Ranching is a life of extremes, perhaps even more so on the high plains near Laramie, Wyoming. And no one knows that better than Gwen Swan, who married both her husband Will and his family ranch where she works hard beside the men and struggles to raise her two children.

The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe

Katherine Howe, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, returns with an entrancing historical novel set in Boston in 1915, where a young woman stands on the cusp of a new century, torn between loss and love, driven to seek answers in the depths of a crystal ball.

Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.

But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Derby, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.

From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the opulent salons of high society, from the back alleys of colonial Shanghai to the decks of the Titanic, The House of Velvet and Glass weaves together meticulous period detail, intoxicating romance, and a final shocking twist that will leave readers breathless.

The Beautiful Wife by Sandy Ralya (with Mentor's Guide and Prayer Guide)

The Beautiful Wife uses these inspiring stories along with biblical principles to guide and encourage any wife looking for God's best in her marriage. The Beautiful Wife answers serious questions women have about their roles as wives. Discussing everything from romance and money to beauty, communication, and sex, Sandy challenges women to open up and share their journeys so that together they can see God's plan for their marriages. "It is my passion to help women discover God's heart for their marriage, just as the other women helped me," writes Sandy. "When women share with each other the details of their journeys with God as wives, it's a beautiful thing indeed.

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson

Set against the backdrop of redwood forests and shimmering vineyards, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women, bound by an unspeakable loss, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children.

To Ella Beene, happiness means living in the northern California river town of Elbow with her husband, Joe, and his two young children. Yet one summer day Joe breaks his own rule--never turn your back on the ocean--and a sleeper wave strikes him down, drowning not only the man but his many secrets.

For three years, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known and has believed that their biological mother, Paige, abandoned them. But when Paige shows up at the funeral, intent on reclaiming the children, Ella soon realizes there may be more to Paige and Joe's story. "Ella's the best thing that's happened to this family," say her Italian-American in-laws, for generations the proprietors of a local market. But their devotion quickly falters when the custody fight between mother and stepmother urgently and powerfully collides with Ella's quest for truth.

The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers. Their conflict uncovers a map of scars--both physical and emotional--to the families' deeply buried tragedies, including Italian internment camps during World War II and postpartum psychosis.

Weaving a rich fictional tapestry abundantly alive with the natural beauty of the novel's setting, Halverson is a captivating guide through the flora and fauna of human emotions.

Frantic by Mike Dellosso

Can a deranged serial killer be stopped before it’s too late?For gas station attendant Marny Toogood it’s just another day on the job when an urgent message from a young girl in the backseat of a car draws him into a daring rescue attempt. Now on the run with the girl and her brother, Marny begins to realize he must conquer his own past and surrender all to Christ.As they face kidnapping, underground cults, and other evils, can Marny trust the simple faith of a child and stand his ground against a power so twisted

Too Tempting To Resist by Cara Elliott

In the Wolf's Lair . . .

Determined to stop her wayward brother from squandering their dwindling fortune, Lady Eliza Brentford decides to follow him to his favorite den of depravity. There, among the candlelight and raucous revelry, she encounters her brother's role model in debauchery, the notorious Marquess of Haddan, Gryffin Dwight. Staring into his smoldering green eyes, Eliza can't help but find the rakehell nobleman seductively charming-and sinfully attractive.

In a Lover's Paradise . . .<

When Gryffin appears on Eliza's estate as a guest of her brother, a stolen kiss among the garden's blooms leads to a night of unbridled passion. Suddenly the lovely widow feels herself opening up, like the petals of a rose. Could this master of seduction possibly feel true emotion for Eliza? Or is he leading her down the garden path to an Eden of delights no woman can resist-and a fall no woman can escape?

Review Copy Cleanup Challenge: March 2012

2012-02-18T09:12:00.001-05:00

Nyx Book Reviews and Books, Biscuits & Tea are hosting a wonderful Challenge in March caled the Review Copy Cleanup. You know me and challenges. I can't help but sign up. But this is a good one and even my husband would agree. I have toppling piles of review books (which is a wonderful problem to have) that I need to get read. And what more fun can you have doing it than doing it with a challenge with others? That's my idea of fun at least so I'm joining in. Head over to these ladies blogs to sign yourself up and see who else is playing as well :)

Challenge guidelines:

✦ This challenge runs from 1 to 31 March, 2012
✦ Sign-ups are open until 15 March 2012. After that the linky list will be closed and participation in the challenges and giveaways won't be possible for anyone who hasn't previously signed up.
✦ To sign up, just fill in the Mister Linky form below. Link to your sign up post directly, please! The Linky is the same for both our blogs, so you only have to sign up once.
✦ When you post your sign up post on your blog, either include the challenge button with your post or link it back to this article so that people know where to sign up. Thank you!
✦ Every book you received for review counts towards the challenge, both ebooks and hard copies, including all genres and lengths.
✦ You don't need to follow the two hosts in order to be able to sign up for the event (although it's appreciated), but you do have to follow us in order to be able to enter our giveaways. In order to be entered in the giveaway, simply complete the given challenge and add the link to your post in the linky list.
✦ Challenges will be posted every week on Fridays and will last throughout the week until Thursday the next week. Every challenge ends with a giveaway. To enter in the challenges and giveaways, simply add the link to your challenge post in the Linky list in the main challenge post. It will be posted on both blogs.
✦ At the end of the event we will host our Massive Giveaway. This contains tons of prizes donated by awesome authors. All you'll need to do in order to enter this giveaway is to fill in a Rafflecopter form - as simple as that. :)
✦ Most of our giveaways will be open INTERNATIONALLY but you'll find all the relevant info about each giveaway when we post the challenges.
✦ Feel free to use the #RCCleanup hashtag on Twitter for your RCC related tweets or join in the Twitter party at http://tweetchat.com/room/RCCleanup and meet lots of lovely bloggers :)

Challenge schedule:

✦ March 2 - Show Off Your Pile
✦ March 9 - Cuddle Up With a Book
✦ March 16 - Don't Be Such a Tease!
✦ March 23 - Mysterious Meet-up
✦ March 30 - Love Will Find a Way

Book Review: Changing Kids' Lives One Quote at a Time by Steve Reifman

2012-02-17T12:30:00.001-05:00

Changing Kids' Lives One Quote at a Time by Steve Reifman

Paperback or eBook
Non-Fiction

My Review:
I was contacted by the author to review this book and another book by him that is a fiction book and you will see that review at the beginning of March. Changing Kids' Lives One Quote at a Time is a quick, easy read, but it's a very powerful read. I read it as a parent, not a teacher, but Steve has notes for parents and for teachers at the beginning of the book and I can obviously see how useful the book is for parents since I am one. But I can also see where the book can be of great use in the classroom, in fact I plan on mentioning it at the charter school my kids go to because this is the kind of thing they really latch on to. It's good stuff, powerful stuff.

As I read through the quotes, I found ones that I thought would really apply to my kids at the moment and ones I would use in the future. And that is the beauty of the book, it's meant to be used over time. A quote or two a week. I plan on putting one on the refridgerator and a copy on the boys' bathroom mirror. My youngest just started reading this year so it will be fun for him to read them I'm sure. I'll probably stick a copy in the van as well because it seems we have all our important discussions in there because no one can go anywhere and we have 10 minutes between home and school that we can talk. The nice thing is Steve offers some great ideas for getting the conversation going. For teachers he also offers some journaling ideas at the beginning and further ideas for talking through the quotes. For parents it's a little easier because it's more one-on-one.

I think the book is very well put together. I enjoyed reading through the quotes, which are from philosophers, writers, songs, proverbs, books and other sources. The author uses such a variety of sources that you marvel at how he put them all together. It also makes the book fun to have the band Live and Chumbawumba quoted next to Sophocles and Shakespeare. Of course I have Tubthumping stuck in my head now too. But that's not a bad thing.

I wanted to share one thing from the book and that was my favorite quote:

“One who makes no mistakes never makes anything.” -Anonymous

Steve uses this quote to talk about Courage and I want to use this one with both of my boys. One of my boys is pretty fearless but I think that has to do with his age, the other kind of wants to stay with the status quo and not go out on that limb. His Dad and I want to push him more and have him go out on that limb and this is a great quote to share with him and his brother as he grows older. See I already have learned from this wonderful book.

I think Changing Kids' Lives One Quote at a Time is a wonderful book for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone working with kids. Using the quotes in this book for discussion is a great way to help build up our next generation and get them ready to lead our country into the future.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

About the Book:
Created for parents and teachers by a National Board Certified elementary school teacher, Changing Kids’ Lives One Quote at a Time contains 121 inspirational sayings designed to bring out the best in children and develop lasting habits. For educators, discussing these quotes also helps establish an enthusiastic, productive, team-oriented classroom culture.

Specifically, the quotes target 13 “Habits of Character,” a list that includes Cooperation, Courage, Fairness, Honesty, Kindness, Patience, Perseverance, Positive Attitude, Pride, Respect, Responsibility, Self-discipline, and Service. In addition, the sayings touch on other important ideas, such as quality, success, and health & wellness. From beginning to end, the quotes spiral through these topics to empower children with multiple opportunities to think about and discuss each one. Accompanying each quote is a set of “talking points” Steve provides as a reference that parents and teachers can use to draw full meaning from each saying.

In Changing Kids’ Lives One Quote at a Time Steve describes a simple, effective way for parents and teachers to conduct meaningful discussions with children. Though the conversations take only a few minutes, the exercise is a valuable one because it encourages kids to think deeply, because there is a high tone to the dialogue that appeals to the best in people, and because it allows your family or classroom to start the day on a positive note. Further payoffs to consistent use of this activity include better student behavior, stronger work habits and social skills, improved attitudes towards school, greater enthusiasm for and increased dedication to learning, more connections made between school and students’ present and future lives, and enhanced vocabulary development.

Finally, Steve provides a series of prompts for teachers who are interested in using the quotes for journal writing purposes. Furthermore, Steve shows how talking and writing about these quotes addresses a variety of important language arts standards.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
I am a National Board Certified elementary school teacher, writer, and speaker in Santa Monica, CA. I am the author of several resource books for educators, including Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning, K-8. I am also the creator of the Chase Manning Mystery Series for kids 8-12. Each book in the series features a single-day, real-time thriller that occurs on an elementary school campus.

Website
Twitter
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Blog

FTC Information: I received this book from the author for an honest review.

Guest Blog: Discuss Quotes to Promote Literacy Development by Steve Reifman

2012-02-17T00:00:00.001-05:00

Today I am featuring teacher, author and speaker, Steve Reifman and I start that feature with a wonderful guest blog titled Discuss Quotes to Promote Literacy Development. Later today I will post my review of Steve's book, Changing Kids' Lives One Quote at a Time, which is a wonderful book for parents and teachers. You can visit Steve's webpage here.

Discuss Quotes to Promote Literacy Development

by Steve Reifman

For the past fifteen years of my teaching career, I have incorporated the use of quotes into my classroom’s morning routine to inspire my students, start the day on a positive note, and build lasting habits of character. Discussing well-known sayings brings out the best in children and helps them focus on important ideas. It is my enthusiasm for this exercise and my firm belief in its effectiveness that led me to write my new book, Changing Kids‘ Lives One Quote at a Time: 121 Inspirational Sayings to Build Character in Children.

In addition to its character-building mission, our “Quote of the Day” conversations also offer a powerful way to promote literacy. When I speak of literacy, I am referring to the specific skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking.

In its pure form the discussion begins when a student volunteer reads the “Quote of the Day” on the board. It is critical at this time to provide approximately thirty seconds of “wait time” so each child can then think about the quote, make sense of it, and perhaps even come up with an example of how the quote’s meaning applies to everyday life or connects to a habit of character.

To maximize student participation, the kids follow this “quiet think time” with a brief pair-share, in which each child has an opportunity both to express ideas and listen carefully to the partner’s thoughts. Next, a few volunteers share their interpretations of the quote’s meaning with the entire class. Finally, I close the activity by sharing some thoughts of my own. Whenever possible, I like to share a personal story that brings out the quote’s meaning in a deeper way. Storytelling is a powerful teaching strategy, and kids are likely to remember the stories and the lessons they contain for a long time to come.

Parents can follow the basic outline of this procedure when discussing quotes at home with their children. In addition, there are several ways that parents can modify this conversational structure to strengthen literary development.

Put one quote per day or week in your child’s lunch and discuss the quote’s meaning after school. Reading a quote at lunchtime is a novel experience for children, and the timing provides kids with several hours to think about the quote to prepare for the evening discussion, which can take place on the ride home, at the dinner table, or at bedtime. For example, with R. Herzog’s quote, “It is better to light a candle than complain about the darkness,” it may take children a while to figure out that the saying is telling them to adopt a problem solving attitude when life’s inevitable frustrations arise, not complain about them.

Analyze quotes for excellent word choice or interesting word play. With Rudy Benton’s quote, “7 days without exercise makes one weak,” discuss with your child how the word “weak” is spelled. The quote isn’t referring to a week on the calendar, but to the fact that if we don’t exercise, we will become physically weaker.

Consider writing a quote or a set of quotes on your child’s placemat and discuss these sayings during a healthy breakfast. Over cereal and fruit, you and your child can discuss Bonnie Hopper’s quote, “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little EXTRA!” Together, you can talk about how consistently giving that extra effort in school, in sports, and other endeavors can make a huge difference in the long run.

If you’re trying to sharpen your child’s writing skills, consider using quotes for journal writing. Simply choose a quote and ask your child to respond to it using one of the prompts listed below. (More prompts are provided in Changing Kids‘ Lives One Quote at a Time.)

• Describe a time when you or someone you know demonstrated the main idea of this quote.
• What do you think this quote means? Give examples.
• Why do you think the speaker said this quote in the first place?
• Describe how you can use the meaning of this quote to help others.
• Describe how this quote can help you get along more effectively with other people.

For example, with Vince Lombardi’s quote, “If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives,” children may address the first prompt by describing a time when they finished a writing assignment at school and then continued to revise it to improve the story’s word choice and sentence structure, rather than put it away because they simply wanted to be done.

• Choose a quote and ask your child to say whether (s)he agrees or disagrees with its meaning and then explain why. This type of exercise builds the critical thinking skill of evaluation (the highest level on the well-known Bloom’s taxonomy) and develops persuasive speaking skills. For example, when considering John Hancock’s quote, “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others,” a child may choose to disagree and argue that knowing how to do one’s job with knowledge and skill is more important than getting along with other people. This would likely lead to a very interesting conversation.

Discussing quotes with children is a powerful, engaging way to build character in children and develop valuable literacy skills. I hope you decide to give it a try.

Book Review: In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

2012-02-16T14:00:00.002-05:00

In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

Publisher: Flux

Publish Date: February 8, 2012

Paperback, 228 pages
Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary
ISBN: 978-0738726007

My Review:
Wow, what an emotional read. I never could figure out how I felt about Sam. I actually read this book a few months ago, but it sticks with you. Sam makes a play for Carter, is rejected and in that moment makes a bad decision that begins to affect everything in her senior year and it not only affects her, but others as well, especially Carter and even her best friend Nick.

I wanted to like Sam, I really did, but felt she could have stopped things from getting that far. But then again, I could understand her situation as well. I was that girl, not in that situation, but I could see myself being passive like her. I'm not a kickbutt girl and not all main characters can be or should be the strong type. I think Sam while not likeable through the whole book is actually relate-able, and that may be contradictory, but I feel it's true. I felt it. And the truth was, she wanted to stop things, but then they steamrolled and she could not.

Read the book, you won't be able to put it down. It's a fast, engrossing read. I guarantee Sam won't be your favorite character, but I think you will like Nick and you will like the book overall. There is a good message in it and the storyline is very interesting and keeps you hooked. Ms. Grace does a wonderful job crafting this story and keeping it real and interesting.

So grab this one, curl up and read for a couple of hours. Then you will be thinking on this one for months afterwards. It's a good solid book with interesting characters, a different premise and a good lesson to be learned. Give it a try.

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Parental guidance: Since this book deals with the sex/rape issue it's best for the older teens or your more mature younger teens. This is where I say it's up to the parents. There is lots of talk in the book, but that is what you expect of a book that deals with this subject and I never felt it was out-of-line or over-the-top. I felt the subject was handled well. It's a topic that affects all teens and should be discussed.

About the Book:
At an end-of-senior-year party, invisible Samantha Reeves decides to make a play for Carter, the jock she's crushed on for years. When Carter rejects her cruelly, she leaves the party in tears, leaving others who didn't see the rejection to speculate why Sam was crying. Back at school, Sam hears a rumor that Carter raped her and, for once, her classmates seem to care about her. When she decides not to tell the truth, the school divides between those who believe Sam and those who don't. Soon, the little white lie escalates and Sam finds that the resulting war at school could cost her the boy she's only just started to love.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
Amanda Grace is a pen name for Young Adult author Mandy Hubbard (PRADA AND PREJUDICE, YOU WISH). She lives near Seattle, Washington, with her husband and young daughter.

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FTC Information: I received this book through Teen Book Scene for an honest review. I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Book Review: The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy

2012-02-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy

Publisher: MIRABooks

Publish Date: January 24, 2012

Paperback, 400 pages
Fiction, Fiction, Family Saga
ISBN: 978-0778329558

My Review:
The Legacy of Eden is a very interesting book. Told through the generations of one family, it's the story of secrets and eventually overcoming those secrets. It's one of those reads you can't really put down because you wonder what you will find out next. It's like talking to the best town gossip and getting all the good details about that one family. It's all in here laid out for the reader. The good, the bad and the really ugly. It's a tale of how a family can look so great on the outside yet have such secrets on the inside.

I enjoyed the book, as much as you can say you enjoy this kind of book. You never like to say you enjoy anyone's pain, even fictional characters', but it's a book that really grabs you, reels you in and keeps you interested until the last page. Learning about Lavinia, her marriage and her life is fascinating and then learning how her decisions affect the rest of the generations is just eye-opening. The Legacy of Eden is told mainly through the point-of-view of Meredith who is Lavinia's granddaughter who happened to be around when Lavinia's health was failing and heard many of Lavinia's secrets straight from her. As the story moves forward, Meredith unravels more and more of the story of the family members of Aurelia and what leads up to what the reader knows was the final breaking moment for the family. And while the reader is never quite sure what that moment was, they do have a good idea.

Meredith is also seeking a redemption from her sisters in the book and she's looking for some kind of connection as well. I felt sorry for her most of the book. She's an interesting character that made some mistakes that she is paying for, but through the book I still felt for her. I felt Ms. Davy created an interesting character in her, but Lavinia really steals the show in the novel.

This isn't a novel you speed through, it's one you read and absorb. It's a tale of family struggle, it's a tale of one woman who would go to almost any length to get what she wanted. It's almost frightening. You want to look away but you can't. Ms. Davy manages to create a story that captivates you and won't let you go even when you finish reading the book.

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

About the Book:
"To understand what it meant to be a Hathaway, you'd first have to see Aurelia."

For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than three thousand acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields. The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway's dream to elevate the family name - no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways - and the once prosperous farm.

Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died - alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land, or the memories.

Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia's youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family's once-great name. Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family... and her own part in their mottled history.

"Our farm was like the world when people still thought it was flat. And when you left it, it was as if you had simply sailed too far and fallen off the surface into the void."

About the Author (from her website):
Nelle was originally born in St George’s Grenada under the name Janelle (which she always hated and immediately shortened when she went to University). She moved to London when she was nine months old because her grandfather was English and her parents supposedly wanted a better life. She got a scholarship to Sir William Perkins School for girls where she had a wonderful English teacher Mrs. Wells who encouraged her constantly in her love for books. She went to Warwick University to study English with Creative Writing where after swearing she would never marry, she met her future husband. She did a masters in Creative Writing at Trinity College Dublin and then moved back to London in 2007 where she almost immediately began working in publishing. After working at Pan Macmillan she moved to work at a literary agency while also writing and pursuing a career as a novelist on the side.

She is 27 years old and The Legacy of Eden is her first novel. She has finished writing a second novel based on the civil rights movement in Louisiana in 1963. She still lives in London with her husband and still works full time in publishing.

So far, she has not had a meltdown…

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FTC Information: I received this book through Meryl L. Moss Media Relations for an honest review. I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Book Review: When the Smoke Clears by Lynette Eason

2012-02-15T12:35:00.000-05:00

When the Smoke Clears by Lynette Eason

Publisher: Revell

Publish Date: February 1, 2012

Paperback, 340 pages
Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Christian
ISBN: 978-0800720070
Deadly Reunions #1

My Review:
I will admit that I love Lynette Eason's books but When the Smoke Clears topped all of her others with the suspense and the romance. This one I could not put down. It kept me guessing and even when I kind of figured out the who, there were still things I didn't understand and made me keep reading the book until the very last page when I closed the book and just said "Wow".

Lynette Eason is by far one of my favorite Christian romantic suspense authors and When the Smoke Clears really takes her books up by another level as I stated before. The characters are well-developed and interesting. Alexia comes from a troubled past that is alluded to in the prologue and then it's slowly developed for the reader as Alexia remembers things in the present. She is strong, but she learns when she needs to lean on someone in this book. That someone is Hunter a lot of the time in this book, but it is also God as well, and I really like how Ms. Eason handles this part of the book. Alexia is not a current Christian and doesn't really know how God could work in her life when it has been so messed up. But through her friends they show her God's love. It's really well done and not in-your-face. I wish everyone had friends like Alexia does. Hunter is a great character too. The older brother, he's dealing with some issues of his own with his little brother who is drinking a little too much. But he keeps moving and going with his job, his friends and his faith. Hunter was so great with Alexia, the sparks just flew anytime they were around each other and I loved it. He was sweet, a gentleman, and all man wrapped up in a nice package.

The plot moved along really fast. As soon as Alexia arrives in town bad things start happening to her and it's honestly hard to put the book down for even a few minutes. I was hooked and had to know what would happen next. The pacing was perfect. A lot of great build up then the climax at the perfect time and then the book was done setting up for the next book. This book was tied up, but there are some loose ends for the whole series. I cannot wait for the next book and I hope I get to see some of Hunter and Alexia in that one and some of the other cast of characters I have gotten to know in When the Smoke Clears.

An amazing book from start to finish. If you are a fan of romantic suspsense or just suspense, you should run out and get this one. It's a edge of your seat thriller with a great romance as the side dish and it's hard to put down. I loved it, can't say enough good things about it and can't wait for Deadly Reunions book #2 to come out. I think I have graduated to huge Lynette Eason fangirl, and I may move to stalker :)

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Available February 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

About the Book:
As a member of the North Cascades Smokejumpers, Alexia Allen always takes care of the equipment that keeps her safe. So when she nearly dies in a fire due to equipment failure, she knows something is up. Ordered to take time off while the investigation continues, Alexia makes a last-minute decision to recuperate at her mother’s home and attend her high school reunion. Yet trouble seems to be following her, and within hours of arriving home she’s involved with murder, arson—and a handsome detective. But the conflicts ahead are nothing compared to the ghosts of her past. As she strives to remember and forgive her family history, she must also decide if
the secret she’s been guarding for the last ten years must finally come to light.

Chock-full of the suspense and romantic tension readers have come to expect from Lynette Eason, When the Smoke Clears is the explosive first book in the Deadly reunions series.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
Lynette Eason grew up in Greenville, SC. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and then obtained her masters in education from Converse College. Author of eight inspirational romantic suspense books, she is also a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). In 1996, Lynette married "the boy next door" and now she and her husband and their two children make their home in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the Revell (the publisher) for an honest review. I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Author Interview & Book Tour: Marie Astor and On the Rim of Love (+ link to Kindle Touch giveaway)

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today I welcome author Marie Astor as part of the On The Rim of Love Kismet Book Tour. Please enjoy her interview, find out more about her and her book, On the Rim of Love and also find out how you can enter Marie's Kindle 3G giveaway.

1. What made you choose to write in the contemporary romance genre?

Let’s face it, human relationships play a very big role in fiction. I write contemporary romances because as a reader, I love love stories - all of my favorite books, whether genre or literary fiction, have an element of a love story in them.

2. Which character really spoke to you when you were writing On the Rim of Love?

This is a tough question to answer because I relate to all of my characters - even the minor ones, but I’ll stop at the two leading characters, Maggie and Taylor:

Taylor’s character spoke to me because he leads the life of his choosing and refuses to compromise. Taylor has many good qualities, but some of his strengths are also his weaknesses because, at times, he tends to take them to the extreme - this conflicting quality is the part about Taylor’s character that I enjoyed writing the most.

Maggie’s character spoke to me because she is at the point of her life where she is unsure of her choices – both personal and professional, as she transitions into a woman from a girl. While I never had to face the exact same choices that Maggie is confronted with in On the Rim of Love, I can certainly relate to the daunting undertaking of making a life-altering decision.

3. Describe your ideal reading space (no expense spared here).

I will probably sound boring, but my ideal reading space is in my living room in my favorite recliner chair – there is nothing better than putting one’s feet up and getting lost in a story!

4. What is the area you write in like?

I do my best writing at my desk at home – that’s where I am most focused, but I also love grabbing my laptop and heading to a park on a sunny day – I may be less productive sitting on a bench under a tree, but the sheer pleasure of the experience is worth it!

5. What is your current favorite romance novel?

I recently reread Love Story by Erich Segal – this heart-tugging love story never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

About On The Rim Of Love - Goodreads, Amazon

Twenty-two-year-old Maggie Robin has been dating the irresistibly good-looking Jeffrey Preston for a year. But when Jeffrey proposes marriage to her a week after her college graduation, Maggie finds herself wondering if she wants to spend the rest of her life married to a workaholic TV show producer.

Her doubts culminate when during a ski trip to British Columbia she meets Taylor Denton, a handsome, free-spirited big mountain skier.

Maggie’s attraction to Taylor is undeniable, but she is engaged to marry Jeffrey. Will Maggie have the courage to follow her heart?

About Marie Astor - website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

Marie Astor is a die-hard romantic who wholeheartedly believes in true love, which is why she writes in the contemporary romance genre.

Marie is the author of contemporary romance novels, On the Rim of Love, Lucky Charm, and a short story collection, A Chance Encounter and Other Stories.

In addition to being a writer, Marie is an avid hiker, an excellent swimmer, a good skier, and a capable badminton player.

Currently, Marie is working on her next novel – stay tuned for details! If you would like to receive updates about book releases and events, please visit Marie’s website or visit Marie at her Facebook page.

Contest Info: Marie is offering a Kindle Touch skinned in her beautiful On The Rim Of Love cover art.

Open US/Canada. See full contest rules here.

Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjA3ZDFjNDVkN2YyNDEyM2I2MTdlODc5MDdlYjUxOjE1/

Book Tour Stops:

Monday, February 13th - Riverina Romantics
Tuesday, February 14th - Snowdrop Dreams of Books
Wednesday, February 15th - My Reading Room
Thursday, February 16th - Books Like Breathing
Friday, February 17th - Obsession with Books
Monday, February 20th - Reviews By Molly
Tuesday, February 21st - Sweeping Me
Wednesday, February 22nd - A Casual Reader's Blog
Thursday, February 23rd - Better Read Than Dead
Friday, February 24th - I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
Monday, February 27th - Hesperia Loves Books
Tuesday, February 28th - A Tale of Many Reviews
Wednesday, February 29th - Library Mosaic
Thursday, March 1st - The Magic Attic
Friday, March 2nd - Ce-Ce's Garden Reviews