October Monthly News

Welcome to the Canadian Thanksgiving/Halloween Edition of Monthly News!
I signed up for my first reading challenge for next year. The 150+ Reading Challenge. I read 231 the year before last, and am up to 148 as of today, so I'm feeling good about it.

BOOKS:
1. Kiss of Night - Debbie Viguie (recommend)
2. Cherished - Belinda Boring (Book 2, recommend)
3. Deliver Me From Evil - Kathi Macias
4. The Christmas Wedding - James Patterson & Richard DiLallo
5. The Adventures of Miss Upton and the Sky Pirate - D.J. Archer (recommend)
6. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Susan May Warren (recommend)
7. Pretty - Jillian Lauren (recommend)
8. Here We Go Again - Betty White (recommend)
9. Mind Over Monsters - Jennifer Harlow (HIGHLY recommend)
10. 3D Human Body


PRODUCTS:
1. Spike Your Juice
2. Poise Hourglass Pads (recommend)


YEARLY TOTAL: 148 Books, 1 Magazine, 2 Services, 22 Products, 1 Tv Show, 2 CDS and 1 Movie


FREDA'S FAVE FIVE (In No Particular Order):
1. Kiss of Night
2. Cherished
3. Mind Over Monsters
4. Pretty
5. The Adventures of Miss Upton and the Sky Pirate


BOOK OF THE MONTH:

AUTHOR GUEST POSTS:
1. With Debbie Viguie
2. With Belinda Boring
3. With Jennifer Harlow
4. With Melody Carlson


AUTHOR INTERVIEWS:
1. With Deborah Brown
2. With Rob Loughran
3. With Paul H. Magid
4. With Lucianne Rivers



SPONSORED POSTS:
1. Hanes Virtual Comfort Package
2. CrazyDog Tshirt Deal for Readers

Teens and Their Supernatural Pursuits By Melody Carlson

Have you even wondered why some teens are drawn toward things like Ouija boards or psychics? Or why séances are still popular at sleepovers? Does it just have to do with Halloween and that spine-chilling need for a good scare? Or could it be something more? And, as a Christian, should you be concerned?

Those questions, as well as some confused reader letters, prompted me to tackle the “supernatural” in one of my teen novels (Moon White, TrueColors, Nav Press). And whenever I write an issues-based novel, I’m forced to research—and often in some dark places. So I began scouring websites, learning more about Wicca and the occult, trying to grasp what was really going on with today’s teens—and how I could write about it in a helpful and relevant way.
But, as usual, when I write a teen book, I go back to my own adolescence...trying to connect with my inner teen...and I suddenly remembered a short era when a friend and I got very interested in witchcraft. I had honestly forgotten about this time and was fascinated to recall how we scoured some witchcraft stores on a local campus—I think we even purchased a few things. Fortunately, this interest was short-lived and I became a Christian not long afterward.
However, as I reconnected with my inner teen, I had to ask myself—why had I looked into witchcraft back then? Why do teens dabble with it now? Suddenly the answer became crystal clear. I was searching. I’d been calling myself an atheist for several years by then, but I was spiritually hungry—starving in fact. Consequently I was looking for spiritual answers—something that would fill that empty void within me. I wanted a supernatural force in my life and I didn’t even care where it came from. I needed something bigger than me, more powerful than me, something to hold onto. I had no idea at the time that I was really searching for God.
This realization changed the way I viewed my research. Instead of feeling disgusted and dismayed by the witchcraft/Wicca sites (which are not particularly enjoyable) I began to recognize that these people (mostly girls) were simply searching too. They wanted a power source in their lives just like I wanted one in mine. They just hadn’t found God yet.
This led to another discovery. A girl who’s attracted to a religion like Wicca is usually seeking to gain some control over her life. Something is wrong and she wants to change it. To do so, she’s often enticed to purchase something—like “magical herbs”—to create a potion that will give her some control over her situation. Unfortunately, she doesn’t even realize she’s being tricked.
But think about it, wouldn’t you love to have control over a bad situation sometimes? Wouldn’t you love to be able to change the circumstances that make your life unpleasant? So what if someone offered you the “power” to do just that? Perhaps if you’re fifteen, you wouldn’t see that person as a charlatan and you would fall for it.
Which brings me to another important factor in understanding this generation’s attraction to the supernatural. Follow the money. The more I researched, the more it became painfully obvious that Wicca and witchcraft and the occult are money-making enterprises. Thanks to the internet, these savvy distributors sell anything imaginable—and many things you can’t. That leads to some serious motivation—these marketers want to hook their unsuspecting young customers and reel them in. Of course, these potions and trinkets and how-to books don’t come with a money back guaranty. Nor are they approved by the FDA. Yet they are a multi-million dollar industry.
So, in a way, it’s a perfect storm. Teens that are insecure, lost, unhappy, and searching...meet up with an unregulated industry that offers supernatural answers and power and control...for a price. And, oh yeah, I never even mentioned how this opens a door for Satan to slip in and wreak havoc. For that...you’ll have to read the book.

150+ Reading Challenge 2012

MY OVERSTUFFED BOOKSHELF


1. Ashley's New Attitude - Samantha Whitney
2. Summer's Crossing - Julie Kagawa
3. The Meerkat Wars - H.S Toshack
4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
5. Jabberwocky - Daniel Coleman
6. The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove - Lauren Kate
7. Busted - Glenn Gamble
8. Liesl & Po - Lauren Oliver
9. The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean
10. Daughter of Smoke & Bone - Laini Taylor

#148: 3-D Human Body

The 3D series combines DK's classic reference approach with cutting edge augmented reality technology to create an incredible interactive experience!
Lighthearted, enticing, and fun, the text in each book is packed with information to give a comprehensive overview of the subject. But there's more! Spread throughout the book are special activating boxes that indicate the presence of digital pop outs that when held up to a webcam attached to your PC, feature amazing 3D digital animation on the screen! Using the magic of augmented reality, these animations are superimposed on a live image of the book and its actual surroundings, making it appear as if they're really in the room with you-a miracle of modern technology that has to be seen to be believed.
Discover the world of the human body, recreated with incredible augmented reality animations!
3D Human is filled with incredible 3D body animations that literally leap right off the page! Through the magic of augmented reality technology, you can see jumping skeletons, beating hearts, and other body systems come to life on the screen of your PC, appearing to be right in the room with you.

Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Ltd. (May 24 2011)
ISBN: 9780756672164
Purchase at Dk Canada
Purchase at Amazon




My Opinion:
Meet the coolest way to get a kid to read a book, make it 3D!
I did think this was an exceptionally great idea. It takes a lot of thought to get all the details right. And this book is very thorough.
Even as an adult, there was much I learned from this book. And I thought I already had a great grasp on the human body, but was wrong, and learned much more.
This was a fabulous way of learning the body, though there are a couple of gross moments. That's all part of the learning process, is including the gross things no one likes to talk about.

5/5

Recommend? YES!!!


~I received a copy from DK Canada. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

Get to Know Author Lucianne Rivers

Give a warm welcome to Lucianne Rivers, author of Thrill Me, her latest in A Caldwell Sisters book.
Why don't you check out her website, by clicking her name, and let me know what cool things you found there.

ENTICE ME is the final installment in the Caldwell Sisters romantic
suspense trilogy, in which Allison Caldwell goes to Afghanistan to find
her long-presumed dead father, Zach, with the help of former navy SEAL,
Robert Rivera, finding love and danger on the way.

Kindle Edition: 207 KB
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (September 29, 2011)
ASIN: B005R3DHW8
Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at Barnes & Noble
Purchase at Diesel


Who or what inspires your writing?
My own love life.

When did you know you would be a writer?
After I gave birth to my baby girl.

How long did it take you to write your first novel?
Three months...it's never going to see the light of day.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Finding the time.

Do you have any writing rituals?
An uninterrupted block of time alone.

Have you written any thing else?
A novella published by Cobblestone Press, entitled THE KISS TEST.

Any advice to aspiring writers?
Take some classes on craft and pitching from Savvyauthors.com.

Who are your favorite Authors?
Susan Wiggs, Tami Hoag, Suzanne Brockmann, Iris Johansen, Catherine Mann

What are your favorite books, or which book has impacted you the most?
Any of Susan Wiggs historicals, especially The Hostage.

What are you currently reading?
Kiss Me Deadly by Cynthia Eden.

How do readers find out more about you?
Go to www.luciannerivers.com or www.viceandvalkyries.blogspot.com

AUTHOR BIO:
Lucianne writes romantic suspense for Entangled Publishing and
Cobblestone Press. Born and raised in Ireland, she currently lives in New
Mexico with her young daughter.
Formerly a stage and television actress, she now manages a non-profit and
is NM State Champion in her weight class for Olympic style weightlifting.
Long story. Recently she has taken up Crossfit, Jiu Jitsu and boxing.

BLURB:
ENTICE ME by Lucianne Rivers
Heartsick over the untimely death of her mother, Allison Caldwell is
blindsided again by the secret revealed in her mom’s will. Her supposedly
dead father is alive, and she and her two sisters must find him in order
to settle the Caldwell estate.
Robert Rivera, private investigator and former Navy SEAL, alerts Allison
to new intel identifying her father as a P.O.W. in Afghanistan. With her
sisters out of the country pursuing leads, Allison insists on heading to
the war-ravaged country to find him. Robert doesn’t want his naïve client
to take the risk. He knows what danger lays in that godforsaken land…he’s
lived through it. Barely.
But Allison is determined to go, and Robert can’t let her travel alone.
Reluctantly appreciative, Allison quickly realizes how much she needs his
guidance and protection, and how deeply she longs for his love. Robert
struggles to understand her effect on his battle-weary heart.
The path to Allison’s father is blocked by terrorists, traps and
treachery—all demons of Robert’s past. Can he survive a second round with
the enemy and keep Allison out of harm’s way?

#147: Mind Over Monsters - Jennifer Harlow (With Giveaway & Author Guest Post)

Very few people know the truth about Beatrice Alexander. She's no ordinary schoolteacher with a fondness for classic movies. Beatrice can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing and dangerous skill that she's never learned to master - or embrace. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins F.R.E.A.K.S. The Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals is a top-secret offshoot of the FBI that neutralizes ghouls, trolls, and other monsters threatening humanity. Beatrice has no desire to become Buffy the vampire slayer. But F.R.E.A.K.S. offers training to control her power. Also, she doesn't feel like such a freak next to the other supernatural members, including a cute former detective who's a werewolf and an unbearable vampire determined to seduce Beatrice. Despite a natural instinct to flee from hideous, bloodthirsty zombies, Beatrice must prove herself on her first mission to find a cunning necromancer.

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK (Oct 2011)
ISBN: 9780738726670
Purchase at Amazon

My Opinion:
I loved this book! Can't wait for the next in the series. it was so much fun to read.
I have to say, it reminded me a lot of Xmen, right down to the training school mansion they all live in. Mind you, there isn't a vampire in the Xmen.
Great characters, great mystery, and great writing build up this fantastic scary story for the Halloween season.
I have a few friends that love zombies, and I am sure to tell them all about this book!

5/5

Recommend? Definitely, it was fun to read.


Author Bio:
Jennifer Harlow earned a BA from the University of Virginia in Psychology. Her eclectic work experience ranges from government investigator to radio DJ to lab assistant. She is also a member of Sisters in Crime. Visit her website.


A Word From The Author:
Saying Good-Bye to My Baby by Jennifer Harlow

Writing an entire book is like running a marathon (not that I ever have or will run one) or finding out you're about to have a baby, where you start off fast and happy, hit a wall of fear, curse the gods for ever giving you the thought of pursuing this madness, but keep going until the end with renewed vigor, or as I like to think of it, "I made it this bloody far, I will not let anything stop me. I'll show them! Ha ha ha!" So you continue on toiling through the backaches, the sleepless nights trying to figure out what happens next, even through the bloating (though that could just be me) until you get to write those two wonderful words, "The End," and make yourself a large, stiff drink. You’ve earned it. And you’re gonna need it because your baby is finally here...and now comes the hard part.

After the first draft comes the first and second edits, each where you stare at every word trying to figure out if it’s the best choice, second guessing yourself a million times along the way, before you give it to your beta testers, who take their sweet time reading and editing. Then you take their suggestions, edit again, send it to your wonderful agent for her to edit, make the corrections she suggests, edit again, and finally it's ready to shop around. And if the publishing gods deign her worthy, the publisher will have you edit it at least twice more. So "The End" is simply the beginning of a grueling process, almost like raising a child, where you will curse your characters for ever entering your imagination or life in the first place at least once or twice. But you love her regardless, and you solider on to do your best to help her grow.

My baby has gone through so many changes I barely recognize her. She has gone through so many changes since I conceived her seven(!) years ago, I barely recognize her. The beginning chapter I started with is completely gone, characters names have changed, and I don't know how many paragraphs have been shortened or expanded. She (like all cars manuscripts are female) has grown from a seed in my mind to an infant as I did the first draft. All her parts were there, her personality, but she needed shaping to become a productive member of book society.

So through the years I did my best to trim her fat, improve her vocabulary, scream at her when she wouldn't listen to me, and make her the best she could be. (Those teenage years...shudder. I almost gave up on her when I was trying to sell her, but we soldiered through). Now it's as if she is about to graduate college. She's standing on her own two feet, but still needs her Mommy for a few last bits of advice. That's what I'm doing now with the final edit. Never again will I be able to change words, add to characters, plug in narrative holes, etc. She will forever be out in the world as is for other people to judge, enjoy, or just plain hate. She is her own entity now. I just hope my baby will become President instead of a bum. Regardless, I have to let go. I've done all I can to get her to stand on her two feet, and I am proud of her...though I never want to see her again.

Now…onto her siblings.

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY...
Comments posted here DO NOT count.


~I received a copy from Bewitching Book Tours. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

Quote It Saturday

Welcome to Quote It!
Please feel free to grab the button and create your own post.
Add as many quotes as you wish, from whom ever you wish. It can even be lyrics to a song.
Just tell us who it is. Anonymous welcome too.
And please leave your link.


* Yesterday nobody dreamed of today; nobody dreams of tomorrow.
~ Henry David Thoreau, (1817-1862, American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist.)


* It's when we face for a moment the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know the taint in our own selves, that awe cracks the mind's shell and enters the heart.
~ Denise Levertov, (1923-1997, British-born American poet.)

The Friday 56

Welcome to Week 49 with me!



Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.

It's that simple.

Alia felt like she was staring into a miniature world, one that might be inhabited by gods or djinn.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi everyone!

I hate to report, but The Friday 56 will be late today due to Blogger difficulties getting photos in the post. Hopefully it gets resolved quick and when I rise the post will be up.

Have a Chai tea and see you soon!

Theme Thursdays: Endings

READING BETWEEN THE PAGES

His eyes were coal black, his expression piercing, and she was certain he'd recognized her. Then, as his gaze continued on, she'd realized the area she stood in was too dark fir him to notice her. He looked instead towards her father, bowing his head in acknowledgement.

#146: Here We Go Again - Betty White

BETTY WHITE first appeared on television in 1949 and has gone on to have one of the most amazing careers in TV history, starring in shows such as Life with Elizabeth, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Golden Girls, among many others. She is one of the hardest-working actresses of any era, and her sense of humor and perennial optimism have seen her through half a century of industry changes and delighted millions of fans.
Now, during Betty’s sixty-first year on screen, a year in which she has enjoyed a huge resurgence of popularity, her 1995 memoir makes a comeback too. Here We Go Again is a behind-the-scenes look at Betty’s career from her start on radio to her first show, Hollywood on Television, to several iterations of The Betty White Show and much, much more. Packed with wonderful anecdotes about famous personalities and friendships, stories of Betty’s off-screen life, and the comedienne’s trademark humor, this deliciously entertaining book will give readers an entrée into Betty’s fascinating life, confirming yet again why we can’t get enough of this funny lady.

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Scribner (Oct 12 2010)
ISBN: 9781451613698
Purchase at Amazon


My Opinion:
I learned so much about Betty from reading this book. I knew she had been around showbiz forever, but had no idea what a true pioneer of television she really is.
I also learned things about her love life that I had no idea about. Not that I was supposed to know such intimate details, but it was eyebrow raising information.
Fans of all walks of life will enjoy this book. Told in her own words, you can hear her voice when reading. Not literally, but figuratively.

5/5

Recommend? Yes.


~I received a copy from Simon and Schuster. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

#145: Pretty - Jillian Lauren

Bebe Baker is an ex-everything: ex-stripper, ex-Christian, ex-drug addict, ex-pretty girl.
It's been one year since the car accident that killed her boyfriend left her scarred and shaken. Flanked by an eccentric posse of friends, she is serving out a self-imposed sentence at a halfway house, while trying to finish cosmetology school. Amid the rampant diagnoses, over-medication, compulsive eating, and acrylic nails of Los Angeles, Bebe looks for something to believe in before something--her past, the dangerously magnetic men in her life, her own bad choices--knocks her off course again.

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Plume; 1 edition (Aug 30 2011)
ISBN: 9780452297340
Purchase at Amazon


My Opinion:
What a life Bebe lives.
This book is like an onion with many layers. Each intricate and part of what develops the story is all the intricacies.
I liked it, but am still feeling the impact, so am unclear whether I loved it.
I did think it very clever, but sometimes all over the place too.
I will say, Bebe, has the crappiest luck in the men department, and will make any woman feel better about herself. Sounds a tad harsh, but I don't mean that as a bad thing. She is a fictional character after all. Why can't her drama give us readers a boost?!

5/5

Recommend? Definitely, yes!


~I received a copy from Penguin. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

Teaser Tuesday

SHOULD BE READING


* Grab your current read.
* Let the book fall open to a random page.
* Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
* You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given.
* Please avoid spoilers!

The question of moving Password to the west coast became academic before 1967 was over. In May, CBS had terminated the nighttime version of the show, and while we were sorry, of course, to see it go, it had enjoyed an excellent run in the highly competitive prime-time schedule. However, it came as a shock to all concerned--the audience included--when daytime Password was canceled in September.

Get to Know Author Paul H. Magid

Please give a warm welcome to Paul H. Magid, author of Lifting the Wheel of Karma. Why don't you check out his website and come back to tell us what you found of interest.

A profound spiritual journey of extraordinary healing and redemption. It is a modern tale that harkens back to the myths of antiquity, about a boy who finds God in the most amazing of ways.

Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Point Dume Press (September 23, 2011)
ISBN: 9780984016068


Who or what inspires your writing?
What inspires my writing is the desire to share the pursuit of insight and understanding through a creative vehicle, that entertains while it enlightens. We are all here for a reason, a purpose, and the more we can understand and enjoy the journey, the more meaningful our lives will be.


When did you know you would be a writer?
By my sophomore year in high school I was secretly writing (I say secretly because I was too insecure to tell anyone). I continued in secrecy in college, and finally after I “got a real job”, I knew I couldn’t let it go.


How long did it take you to write your first novel?
Funny enough, it took me a brisk twenty-five years. This is my debut novel, but I actually started writing it back in high school. Along the way I have been an award winning screenwriter and independent filmmaker. My autobiographical film, A LIFE UNFINISHED, that I wrote, produced, directed, edited, narrated, and performed in, screened in The Hamptons International Film Festival –one of the most prestigious in North America. My film chronicled a life filled with an almost unbelievable amount of adversity that I have endured and triumphed over.


What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Making average writing into great writing.


Do you have any writing rituals?
I don’t actually sit in front of my computer and try to force words onto a page, even though this certainly does work for other writers. I can only write when inspired, so I continually strive to put myself in a mental, physical, spiritual state of being that is conducive to channeling inspiration, then I scramble to get it down on paper before I forget what it is.


Have you written any thing else?
My whimsical comedy of redemption screenplay, A NOT SO SIMPLE PLAN, has won or placed in half a dozen national screenwriting competitions.


Any advice to aspiring writers?
Never give up. It’s the only way you can lose.


Who are your favorite Authors?
My favorite writers run the gamut from Theodore Dreiser, who wrote “An American Tragedy”, later made into a movie entitled “A Place In The Sun”. His novel almost single handedly taught me every word I needed to know for the SATs back in high school. I also love reading Kurt Vonnegut.


What are your favorite books, or which book has impacted you the most?
The book that has impacted me the most really was “An American Tragedy”. Theodore Dreiser’s use of language is what sparked my love affair for words, even though he is more of a lengthy storyteller and I prefer writing pithy provocative prose.


What are you currently reading?
A Brief History Of India.


How do readers find out more about you?
Readers can visit my website:
www.PaulHMagid.com, where they can read/download the 1st Two chapters of my novel,
LIFTING THE WHEEL OF KARMA. Additionally, they can check out my novel on Amazon.com

A Personal Note: In writing LIFTING THE WHEEL OF KARMA, I wanted to offers readers a novel that is uniquely equal parts spiritual and intense, which is what I feel life is all about. More often than not, Life is hard, and throughout that difficulty we are tasked with finding meaning, purpose, happiness, and peace. I wrote this novel to provide readers with a singular opportunity to travel vicariously with a boy in high school who must do all of that…and more.

Giveaway: See Mix Drink - Brian D. Murphy

Have you tried mixing a Mojito? What about a Rusty Nail? Or a Cosmopolitan? With See Mix Drink, the first-ever cocktail book to offer instruction through info-graphics, making the drinks you love at home is as easy as, well, See, Mix, Drink.
This unique, illustrated guide graphically demonstrates how to make 100 of today's most popular cocktails. For each drink, color-coded ingredients are displayed in a line drawing of the appropriate glassware, alongside a pie chart that spells out the drink's composition by volume for intuitive mixing. No other cocktail book is this easy or fun. Instantly understandable 1-2-3 steps show exactly how each drink is prepared, and anecdotes, pronunciation guides, and photographs of the finished drinks will turn newbie bartenders into instant mixologists.

Hardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (Oct 19 2011)
ISBN: 9780316176712

Thanks to Anna and Hachette Book Group, I have 2 copies up for grabs.
Fill in the Rafflecopter form to enter.

#144 : Baby, It's Cold Outside - Susan May Warren (With Giveaway)

Hope finds the hopeless when a storm hits.
It's Christmas weekend 1949, and despite the threat of a storm, the townspeople of Frost are determined to continue their holiday traditions, if only as a means to forget the war that they had all just suffered through. But the suffering hasn't ended for Dottie Morgan who lost her only son in the war. She's preparing to wallow in her isolation for the weekend, when Violet, nearly a spinster at age 29, dares to make a request that will force Dottie to publicly revive the memory of her dead son.
When a storm traps the two women at home with a strange young man who has an unbelievable confession and a neighbor with more to do with Violet's past than she would like, no one can predict how this Christmas will give them all a second chance.

Read an excerpt here and find out the story behind the novel.


Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Ellie Claire (October 2011)
ISBN: 9781609362157
Purchase at Amazon


Author Bio:
Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.
Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.
Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at:www.susanmaywarren.com.


My Opinion:
This story is a great way to warm up the holiday spirit.
It's a heartwarming story surrounding a small group that are trapped together through a storm. You really get to know people when enclosed in such surroundings, and that clearly came across in the book.
Loved the bit of romance too. It was surprising and yet welcoming.

5/5

Recommend? Yes, I loved it!


And now for the giveaway.... comments here DO NOT count.

Warm up with a Kindle Fire from Susan May Warren!

Enter 10/14-10/26!

Post:
Baby, It’s Cold Outside – warm up with a Kindle Fire from Susan May Warren



Warm up to Chrismtas early this year with Susan May Warren's Baby, It's Cold Outside! To celebrate the release of her new Christmas book with Summerside Press, she and the publisher are giving away a Kindle Fire and hosting an early Christmas Party on Facebook!



Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One festive winner will receive:

• A brand new Kindle Fire
• Baby, It's Cold Outside by Susan May Warren

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. Giveaway ends on 10/26!



But, wait there’s more! Join Susan May Warren on 10/27 for merriment and a few early Christmas presents at her Baby, It's Cold Outside Christmas party! Grab your Christmas sweaters, socks and pj’s and join Susan and a few friends for a fireside chat about her recent books (Heiress & Baby, It’s Cold Outside), holiday traditions, favorite Christmas recipes, a trivia contest and more! Invite your friends and don’t miss the fun!



RSVP here and we'll see you on October 27th at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST!

Quote It Saturday

Welcome to Quote It!
Please feel free to grab the button and create your own post.
Add as many quotes as you wish, from whom ever you wish. It can even be lyrics to a song.
Just tell us who it is. Anonymous welcome too.
And please leave your link.

* Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
~ Henry David Thoreau, (1817-1862, American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist.)


* Not until we are lost do we begin to realize where we are.
~ Henry David Thoreau


* It a man constantly aspires is he not elevated?
~ Henry David Thoreau

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My Opinion:
These pads work great, not only for bladder protection but for your menstruation cycle.
I have some light bladder leaking due to having natural childbirths, but I find that these pads are great for keeping your tighty whities clean and damp-free. I also used them while menstruating and found they absorb well and hold the nastiness away from your skin.
A fantastic product for any woman!

5/5

Recommend? Yes!!!


~I received a package from ChickAdvisor. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

The Friday 56

Welcome to Week 48 with me!



Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.

It's that simple.

His new teammates were nodding in agreement, Steve noted with approval. Contrary to Cougar's solicitous concern, there were all big boys who hadn't come here for a vacation. Hungry, thirsty, or sleep-deprived, their training was to get on with the mission. If they couldn't handle that, they had no business being on his team.

#143: The Adventures of Miss Upton and the Sky Pirate - C.J. Archer

Tilda Upton's talent at finding things with the aid of a talisman puts her on the edge of the dangerous hellhag category. Rather inexperienced in using her magic, she's prone to mistakes. It is one such mistake that lands her in debt to the Chief Royal Inventor who blackmails her into retrieving an Oriental and his machine. But to find the Oriental she needs to intercept an airship and the best way to do that is through piracy.
Tilda turns to the notorious Black Jack Knight, a sky pirate known for his cruelty and cleverness who dislikes passengers, particularly of the female variety. Fortunately for Tilda he accepts a currency she can provide—the location of a man who witnessed his brother's murder, a murder which Jack was falsely accused of committing. Together they fight corsairs, a mad inventor and their growing attraction to each other in order to retrieve the man Tilda has been forced to find, only to learn his machine could destroy her and everyone like her.

Kindle Edition: 373 KB
Language: English
ASIN: B004LGRZGG
Purchase at Amazon


My Opinion:
I loved this story! It was fun, full of adventure and had a romance that kept you reading.
All the Steampunkery stuff was highly contagious to read about too.
I definitely think people will enjoy this book.

5/5

Recommend? YES!!!


~I received a free copy from Amazon. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

Theme Thursdays: Rhymes

READING BETWEEN THE PAGES


RULES:
* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week.

Mike Stokey, for one, had been using celebrities for his Pantomime Quiz since 1948. However, it was my first served as the precursor to the countless TV games I would be playing through the years. You name it, I've played it.Not just because I was hired to do so, but because it was such fun. Still is.
Mom and Dad and I had always played games since as far back as I can remember. Some we made up as we went along--at the table, in the car, wherever--so playing on TV was a bonus. Where else can you spend a couple of hours playing games with nice people and get paid for it? My dad's response to that was always, "Just think of all you gave away before they started paying you." Dad had a way with words.
As with everything else, television programs are cyclical, and game shows are a classic example.Through the years, they have had intense periods when they were all over the dial, then relatively quiet spells, only to resurface in greater numbers than ever.

Get to Know Author Rob Loughran

Please give a warm welcome to author Rob Loughran, who wrote Tantic Zoo: A Bud Warhol Mystery. Why don't you visit his website, and come back and tell me what you found interesting on there.

Tantric Zoo begins at a tantric sex couples retreat in 1987. Amid the cavorting and indulging and groping and exploring one of the campers ends up dead. The surviving campers bury the body and return to their lives.
Until 2008 when the body is discovered and forensic anthropologist Bud Warhol tracks the campers down. Bud finds the murderer but also discovers how two decades of guilt has altered and affected the lives of everyone involved with the Tantric Zoo.

Kindle Edition: 225 KB
Publisher: Bubba Caxton Books, A Division of Foul Mouthed Bard Press (July 23, 2011)
ASIN: B005EC6RAQ
Purchase at Amazon


Who or what inspires your writing?
When I finish a great book or short story—or a non-fiction piece—and I’m moved: to laughter, tears, disgust, or delight. THAT inspires me. I want to make readers feel.

When did you know you would be a writer?
I always wanted to be a writer. Period.

How long did it take you to write your first novel?
Not long. Maybe seven months. It was a comic murder mystery called The Jung and the Restless. I wrote it when I was 23 or 24.
However, it sucked ass.
It was so stilted and clunky and self-indulgent. The writing was worse than drunken-pissed-off-late-night-blog-entry-drivel. Horrendous would have been an improvement: mixed metaphors, unidentified antecedents, dialog that made Hee Haw read like Shakespeare. All the characters talked the same; the plot was linear, but convoluted and confusing; character descriptions dragged on-and-on-and-on. The love scenes read like assembly instructions for a porch swing; the murder scene like a recipe for steak-and-kidney pie.
Needless to say, it was never published.
My first published novel High Steaks took me about two years.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Finding the time. I always have a project going (right now it is a wine country noir/mystery novel Beautiful Lies) but with a job waiting tables and family (and sleep) I’m always scrambling for consecutive hours in which to write. There is also the double-edged sword called the internet. I’ve spent lots of time e-querying reviewers and book bloggers to promote Tantric Zoo. But I will never complain (very loud) that I have a published book to promote. I’m grateful for the opportunity; but it does cut into creative time.

Do you have any writing rituals?
Yes.
I have a calendar in my office and everyday I write I put a big fat Sharpie X on the calendar. When I see two days in a row without an X I get nervous and edgy. I know I’m slacking off.
I don’t (and I never have) put any credence in Inspiration or The Muse. I don’t care how I feel or what’s going on in the world or in my life: when it’s time to write, it’s time to write. My motto is: “Pornography doesn’t write itself.”

Have you written anything else?
Three novels:
High Steaks
T.A.P.F.O.S.: A Love Story
Norman Babbit Scientist
Two collections of short stories:
The Bartender
Chakra Stories
A series of joke books:
A Man Walks Into a Bar…A Compendium of Filthy, Uncouth, Lewd, Lusty, and Lascivious Jokes
Grandma Hazel’s Funny Funny Kidz Jokebook
The Official Love & Marriage Jokebook
The Official Dirty Johnny Jokebook
The Official Obscene Old Age Jokebook
The Official Irish Jokebook
The Official X-Rated Animal Jokebook
The Official Nasty & Blasphemous Religious Jokebook
The Official Blonde Jokebook
The Official Doctor and Lawyer Jokebook
The Official “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One” Jokebook
The Official “I Hate Women” Jokebook
I Don’t Care if George W. Bush Destroys the Free World:
This Guy is Funny!
And several books on writing:
How to Write a Novel and Still have Time for Sex
Things I Wish I Did Not Know About Writing: 15 Essays on Dreams, Sorrows, and Proofreading
Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow: A Year-Long Program for Publishing Success
You Had better Give a ****: 906 Quotes By, For, and About the Writer
I’ve also published 200+ articles in national magazines: Fine Gardening, Inside Sports, Mothering, Woman’s World, Ad Astra, American Brewer, Vineyard and Winery Management, Playboy, Trail Runner, Wines and Vines, Fitness USA, Ladies Circle, Writers’ Journal, Rosebud, ByLine, SCR(i)PT, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, etc, etc

Any advice to aspiring writers?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Never give up.

Who are your favorite authors?
Geoffrey Chaucer
William Trevor
Ross Thomas

What are your favorite books, or which books have impacted you the most?
I love so many different books for so many different reasons. I read a lot of non-fiction and science and history and I find books like Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould or Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez or Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner, mind blowing in their scope and content.
As for the book that’s impacted me the most I’d have to say Lawrence Block’s When the Sacred Ginmill Closes because that showed me that a mystery novel can also be a literary achievement.

What are you currently reading?
The Big Gold Dream by Chester Himes

How do readers find out more about you?
www.robloughranbooks.com
www.lulu.com/rloughranjokes
www.lulu.com/product/paperback/tantric-zoo/16169196
www.amazon.com/dp/B005DTO6W6
www.smashwords.com/profile/view/robloughranbooks

Author Bio:
Rob Loughran has 22 books in print. His first novel High Steaks won the 2002 New Mystery Award. He lives in Windsor, CA.

Teaser Tuesday

SHOULD BE READING


* Grab your current read.
* Let the book fall open to a random page.
* Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
* You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given.
* Please avoid spoilers!

An hour later, the plane lands on a small airstrip, like the one we just left, except instead of being surrounded by flat nothingness, big bulks of black fill the void. There is a control tower and a small hangar but nothing more.

#142 : The Christmas Wedding - James Patterson & Richard DiLallo (With Giveaway)

The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.
But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise--she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, The Christmas Wedding is a fresh look at family and the magic of the season.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 9780316097390
Purchase at Amazon


My Opinion:
This book is sweet like sugar! Exactly what you want to get you in the holiday spirit. Though I didn't think it was much about Christmas, but more about family.
I really enjoyed how the authors told this story. I flew through it in a couple of hours. I just couldn't put it down. I HAD to know who Gaby was going to marry.
It's not what I normally read from James Patterson, but I really liked that.
This story is definitely one I will be sharing throughout the holiday season.

5/5

Recommend? Yes, get some holiday cheer!


~I received a copy from Hachette. I was not compensated for my opinion.~


AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY....
Fill in the Rafflecopter form to enter.

Quote It Saturday

Welcome to Quote It!
Please feel free to grab the button and create your own post.
Add as many quotes as you wish, from whom ever you wish. It can even be lyrics to a song.
Just tell us who it is. Anonymous welcome too.
And please leave your link.


* Do or do not. There is no try.
~ Yoda, (fictional character in Star Wars)


* It is never too late to give up our prejudices.
~ Henry David Thoreau, (1817-1862, American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist.)


* A companion can possess no worse quality than vulgarity.
~ Henry David Thoreau

The Friday 56

Welcome to Week 47 with me!



Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.

It's that simple.

Oliver walks to the first door n the left, and with a bow opens the door for me. This gets an eye roll.

Theme Thursdays: Synonyms

READING BETWEEN THE PAGES


RULES:
* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week.

"First of all, two of the kids are white. Two are black, and those African-American children are classmates of our children, you asshole. I help them because..."

Get to Know Author Deborah Brown (With Giveaway)

Hello readers!
Today it is my pleasure to have Deborah Brown joining us. She was even kind enough to offer a giveaway, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Let's talk about her debut novel, Crazy In Paradise.

When Madison Westin, the main character, inherits her aunt’s beachfront motel in the Florida Keys, along with it comes a variety of colorful tenant’s – drunks, ex-cons and fugitives. But first she has to wrestle control from her unscrupulous lawyer and a conniving motel manager which will be no easy feat. Madison likes living on the edge so she feels right at home in Tarpon Cove. Bullets fly, a dead body turns up, a kidnapping and blackmail. Madison really has to learn not to leave home without her Glock or it could get her killed.
You can check it out on Amazon, if you like.
Now it's time for a chat with Deborah Brown...

Who or what inspires your writing?
It can be anything that captures my interest, a snippet of a conversation, an article on the internet or just plain people watching. There’s always the what-if that unleashes my imagination and plays out in my mind. Suddenly I have a story almost fully fledged and demanding to be written. I always keep a tape recorder within reach so that I don’t forget the slightest detail.

When did you know you would be a writer?
Although I wrote a romance novel several years ago, after numerous rejections most of them by return mail, it remains under the bed. It wasn’t until I finished Crazy in Paradise that I found out I enjoyed the process of writing and in addition, surprised myself by finishing a “fat outline” for a second novel. My outlines aren’t the typical 2-3 sentences that are suggested, this one turned out to be 225 pages.

How long did it take to write your debut novel?
From start to finish my novel of 80,000 words took about one year. I juggled my writing with a full-time job. I didn’t write everyday, however, and most was done before and after work. Factor in life’s interruptions, such as laundry, grocery shopping and all the mundane tasks that make one’s life work. The editing and rewriting took another six months and add another three months of working with an editor learning to correct my writing weaknesses. Once I set aside my ego I soaked up the corrections and suggestions like a sponge.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
You’d think it would be coming up with a plotline. But it’s not, it’s sitting down everyday and writing, meeting that quota of new words, taking the time to write farther into the story, progressing further each day. It takes work and more than anything dedication, to live inside the story to let it play out on the page. There are days when the words come fast and furious and those days when I have to force myself to sit there and finish a sentence. I take a deep breath and encourage myself on with no censorship. That’s what rewrites are for!

Do you have any writing rituals?
I was really stuck on the idea of writing at my desk in my office, the whole professionalism thing. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that I hate sitting at a desk for very long. Factor in the small window and no television and I moved to the most comfortable spot in my house, the living room. I created my own little writer’s corner with a boat/marina view. What works for me is sitting in my favorite over-stuffed chair, in my pj’s, feet up, laptop on my lap, bottled water on the table; television on in the background. My daily writing routine is at the mercy of my daytime job. I’m most productive in the morning and I definitely prefer writing on the computer. It helps to keep my thoughts organized when I can look at the words on the screen in front of me. I write fat outlines and first drafts on the computer and I do revisions by hand.

Have you written anything else?
I’ve written a sequel to Crazy in Paradise that is currently being edited. In terms of published - I’ve had two recipes published - one in the local newspaper for stuffed zucchini and the other is a coffeecake recipe in honor of my sister Jean in a Gooseberry Patch Cookbook.

Any advice to aspiring writers?
Don’t give up. The biggest thing is don’t surround yourself with negativity. Find one or two people who will encourage you along the way. I have a friend who read every chapter of my book as I wrote it, the unedited, mistake ridden version. And she was always encouraging me by asking when she’d be getting the next chapter. I try to be very careful who I share my writing with while it’s in the infancy stage. The reality is that there’s going to be people, reviewers, agents that hate what you write. There are more opportunities to be a writer than ever before. Don’t underestimate the value of a good editor. Don’t stop believing in yourself.

Who are your favorite Authors?
I’ve have been an avid reader my entire life so to choose favorite authors would be difficult. Beverly Cleary and Betty McDonald are my favorite writers from childhood. I was completely hooked on the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Ramona and Beezus series.
As an adult the authors I’d choose would be the ones where I run out and purchase their books, not waiting for the paperback version - James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, and Carl Hiassen. There are dozens more that I love to read – Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Weiner, Lucy Kevin, Jackie Collins, and Tilly Bagshaw, to name a few. To pinpoint “the” favorite would be tough.

What are your favorite books, or which book has impacted you the most?
I would say the Janet Evanovich numbered series has impacted me the most. I didn’t know who she was until three years ago. A friend recommended her when fourteen was coming out. I went to this wonderful little bookstore that we have that is half new books and half used books and was able to buy the first two books of the series. Then I got the rest of the series and read every single book and then reread them again! It was then I became inspired to write a book. I knew enough crazy characters to fill a book and it was going to be fun to sit down and weave snippets of drama into a storyline. I thought what if my main character inherited a motel on the beach in the Florida Keys and I filled it with unusual and quirky characters? In addition, it was a perfect way to unleash my dry sense of humor. Friends and family have been laughing at me for years.

What are you currently reading?
I just finished reading Cross Country by James Patterson and I have the next book in the series Cross Fire waiting for me. I’m a big fan of James Patterson's Alex Cross character. I read everything he writes and look forward to his new releases with great anticipation. I was thoroughly disappointed by this latest Alex Cross novel. It was a tough book to get through, which for me is unusual for this series. This book has more violence than I care for. The murders were extremely gruesome; it’s not a book for the squeamish. The entire plot was beyond believable.

How do readers find out more about you?
My blog
Facebook
Twitter

And now for the giveaway.... There are 2 paperback copies and 2 EBook copies up for grabs, thanks to Deborah!
Fill in the Rafflecopter form to enter.

# 141: Deliver Me From Evil - Kathi Macias

Deliver Me from Evil introduces readers to Mara, an eighteen-year-old girl who has been enslaved for nearly ten years, having been sold by her parents in Mexico and then smuggled across the border into San Diego where she was forced into sexual slavery. Readers will also meet 18-year-old, Bible-college-bound Jonathan and his 16-year-old sister, Leah, whose paths cross Mara’s and who become involved in her dramatic rescue.
Interwoven between the stories of Mara, Jonathan, and Leah is the heartbreaking story of another young woman in captivity in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, whose past life mysteriously connects to the young people in San Diego.

Paperback: 318 pages
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
ISBN: 9781596693067
Purchase at Amazon

My Opinion:
This is not a story to be taken lightly. This subject matter of human trafficking actually exists, and it's hard not to be effected emotionally when you read about some of the things these people endure.
Kathi didn't leave much to the imagination by way of the human trafficking experience. It was horrific to read about.
Then there is the flip side. The missionaries. You can't help but commend them for their bravery in getting involved, where there too can be killed.
I loved the back and forth between both sides. The good and evil, if you will. It made for an engrossed reading.

5/5

Recommend? Definitely!


~I received a copy from Pump Up Your Book. I was not compensated for my opinion.~