Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.
Showing posts with label Book Blast Blog Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Blast Blog Tour. Show all posts

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Review: Finding the Baby Jesus (with Top Ten list and Giveaway)


Tour Schedule


Finding the Baby Jesus by Kimball Fisher

After being forced to wear lederhosen for the annual holiday card picture, twelve-year-old Chris thinks that the least his parents can do is get him the Tony Hawk skateboard he wants for Christmas. But when he recovers the hand-carved Baby Jesus that everyone thought had been destroyed in a fire the year his Grandma died, Chris realizes that some gifts are even more important than skateboards.

When the author had to discontinue a cherished tradition of reading Christmas stories out loud with his family and holiday guests each week in December, he wrote Finding the Baby Jesus. He had been unable to locate enough meaningful stories that could be read in a single sitting with wiggly children.


My thoughts: This was a very quick read and the author did a nice job of going from one extreme of Christmas in the eyes of the world to Christmas in the heart.  Even better was that it was a child who went through this transformation, whose motives were completely pure at the end.  If it had been an adult, you sometimes wonder if there were ulterior motives in his gestures.


The author was kind enough to share with me his ten favorite gifts to give (or receive).

My wife and I have a tradition of making gifts for Christmas. My ten favorite home-made gifts (for giving or getting) include:

1- Scrapbooks. Reenie does this for me nearly every year. (Because I beg for them! Honest. On my knees.) I love her scrapbooks not only for her photographic and display artistry, but for the visual memories of our life together over the year. Priceless.
2- Poems. A non-holiday tradition we have is that I leave her a pillownote (so-called because of where I tuck them in secret) whenever I go out of town. That happens a lot. As a result, once in a long while I gather the poems and assemble them into a book to present as a Christmas gift. Yikes! That reminds me that this particular gift is long overdue. I just counted and there are 203 scraps of paper with a poem on them that she has sandwiched into the last book I made eons ago.
3- Food. I crave my sweetie's yam and apple casserole. And her apple crisp. And there's this one strawberry jello thingy that has lemon pudding in it. WOW. Oh, and just about anything with whipped cream.
4- Pens. I started making writing pens several years ago after Reenie bought me a lathe. My favorite type of pen to make (the experts, BTW, say "turn" instead of "make") is a cigar style pen out of cocobolo or burled walnut.
5- Stained glass windows. I think the windows are her favorite Christmas gift, although she will neither confirm nor deny this. She always says: "I love everything you make for me!" I've done some smaller ones of flowers (I like irises in blue tones). I also did a big one of Mt. Hood near our home in Portland that ended up being a gift multiple times. I took the window apart and reworked the design until I liked it. I do that with my books, too. I've been rewriting FINDING THE BABY JESUS for the last three Christmas seasons. I finally felt it was done this year.
6- Time. I love it when she gives me something for us to do together. One year she gave us golf lessons. Another year--and I really loved this--she gave us fly fishing lessons in the Provo river in Midway, Utah. We have a cabin there. (Midway is where I decided to locate the FINDING story.)
7- Furniture. Honestly, on the years when I do this I usually only have part of the present completed and hidden under a quilt with a promise to finish it before the next Christmas. But I've made a TV cabinet, head board, coffee table, jewelry case and some other stuff I can't think of right now. In fact our whole making a present tradition started on our first Christmas together because of furniture. We were poor graduate students with a $15.00 Christmas budget. After we got a tree, there was only enough money left for an angel eraser and some Smarties candies. My Mom saved the holiday by helping me refinish an old family drop leaf table to give to my bride to use for our kitchen.
8- One special apron. The first gift my wife ever made me. It's blue with my name on it. It's pretty worn, but I'm keeping it forever.
9- A game. Part of our tradition is to get a game every Christmas that we play before the end of the day. Technically, we buy it instead of making it, but we make the time to play it. That's the fun part, right?
10- My favorite gift is love. There is something so warm and wonderful about just being with my sweetheart on Christmas. I set up her card table and watch her work on a new jigsaw puzzle each year. It's nice seeing her in front of the fire, doing something she really enjoys. Makes me feel good to think about it all year long.



I love the tradition of making gifts to give for Christmas.  A few years ago I talked my family into drawing names for Christmas with the idea that we each had to make something for the person whose name they drew.  This tradition lasted about two years and then I was the only one who wanted to continue to make gifts. . .  Of course, I am the only one in the family who loves to do crafts - needlepoint, knitting, crochet, quilting.  What the rest of the family didn't get was that I just enjoyed seeing the time they put into their projects and the thoughtfulness - not really looking for the finished project.  By the third year they were getting creative and "making" reservations for dinner or the older girls were "making" time to watch their little brother.  So sadly, this tradition has died out with us for now.


Praise for Finding the Baby Jesus:

“Tender and true, this warm Christmas tale brought tears to my eyes.”

–Heather Vogel Frederick, author of the much-beloved Mother-Daughter Book Club series and Oregon Book Award winner for The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed

“A touching story that speaks to the importance of family, giving, and the true spirit of Christmas.”
–Matthew Kirby, author of Icefall, winner of the Edgar Allen Poe and the Pen Center USA Literary Awards for Children’s Literature

“Deeply moving. Poignant.”
–Deborah Halverson, former editor at Harcourt Children’s Books and author of Honk If You Hate Me, a Gayle McCandliss Literary Award Winner

"The perfect little book to tuck away with your Christmas things and bring out year after year to read with family. As mother to three boys, I can't imagine a better protagonist than Chris. His typical teenage attitude followed by the softening of his heart towards a friend teaches a poignant and very relatable lesson on the true meaning of Christmas."

–Amazon review

"After I read this short story I felt like I had read a novel--every sentence is packed with action and imagery. I was emotionally connected to the characters, and the story is touching. I didn't see the plot twist at the end coming! A great story to read every Christmas."

–Amazon review


Purchase






Author Kimball Fisher





Kimball Fisher writes novels for young readers. He is also a best-selling business author, professional speaker, and management consultant. Some of his past jobs include: sailboat builder, ghost writer (not as scary as it sounds), illustrator, and factory manager (more scary than it sounds). For fun he builds furniture, stained-glass windows, and writing pens.



He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities (with minors in English, Asian Studies, and Japanese), and a Master of Organizational Behavior degree from Brigham Young University. He and his amazing wife Reenie live in Portland, Oregon, where they have seen pheasants, coyotes, and a bobcat in their own backyard.



Links




Book Blast


Tour Giveaway:

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/26/12



Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.




a Rafflecopter giveaway






Tour Schedule

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2012/10/finding-baby-jesus-blog-tour.html





Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Book Blast: The Jelly Bean Crisis by Jolene Stockman (with Giveaway!)


The Jelly Bean Crisis by Jolene Stockman

A total meltdown. The whole school watching. Now Poppy’s an ex-straight-A with no Plan B.

When Poppy Johnson throws away a full scholarship to Columbia, she can only blame the jelly beans. The yucky green ones? Midnight cram sessions and Saturday’s spent studying. The delicious red? The family legacy: Columbia, and a future in finance. Except now it’s starting to look like Poppy’s jelly bean theory is wrong. School has been her life until, but maybe it’s time to start living now.

Poppy has thirty days to try a new life. No school, no studying. Just jumping into every possible world. Thirty days to find her passion, her path, and maybe even love.

The Jelly Bean Crisis is officially on.


*** Praise for The Jelly Bean Crisis***

"The Jelly Bean Crisis is a heart warming and thought provoking story, especially if you're in the process of figuring out your life!"  - Ajoop On Books!

"This book had me riveted. Completely riveted the entire time. The Jelly Bean Crisis was instant love for me."  - Book Briefs.

"It's a beautifully told story that you'll be thinking about long after you finish reading."  - A Pocket Full of Books.

If you're looking for a smart contemporary YA read, then The Jelly Bean Crisis is for you!


Purchase



***Book Blast Special***

Get your Kindle copy of The Jelly Bean Crisis for 99 cents!




Author Jolene Stockman

Jolene Stockman is an award winning writer, speaker, and an expert for Girlfriend Magazine Australia. She is a Master of Neuro Linguistic Programming, and one of the youngest in the world to achieve the Distinguished Toastmaster Award. Jolene lives in New Zealand, and is the author of Total Blueprint for World Domination. The Jelly Bean Crisis is her debut fiction.










$100 Book Blast Giveaway

Ends 12/21/12

*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry. Simply enter it when you follow Jolene and leave the others blank.

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Book Blast: For What It's Worth by Karey White


For What It's Worth by Karey White

Twenty-four year-old, Abby Benson has dreams of owning her own wedding cake shop. An inheritance from her aunt gives her the ability to make those dreams come true. She hires Dane, a handsome contractor, to help her get the bakery up and running and soon they’re moving toward their own happy ending.

Unsure what to charge for her cakes, Abby has a crazy idea to let the customer decide what they think their cake is worth. This plan has its ups and downs, but the novelty of the idea makes her a local celebrity. When she is interviewed on television about the unusual idea, business booms and Abby has cake adventures she never dreamed possible. But as her fame grows, Abby is swept up in a whirlwind that threatens everything she values. With the challenges that face her, will she be able to determine what is worth the most?



Praise for For What It's Worth

Reading Karey White’s books, like eating chocolate cake, is always satisfying and brings a smile to my face. For What It’s Worth is light, romantic, and delicious. It’s a great pleasure read. Sit down and get lost in the charming world of wedding cakes and love. As an added bonus, each chapter  starts with a recipe, so it’s a novel and cookbook all in one. A fun read!

—Teri Harman, KSL columnist, Studio 5 contributor, and author of Blood Moon, available June 22, 2013

I just loved the book – loved it. Hated putting it down and hated finishing it. Karey White is my new Maeve Binchy, her writing as warm as the bakery her novel is set in. For What It’s Worth surprised me, made me smile, say “no” out loud in a public place. I love when a character feels like my sister. I didn’t want to finish it, so now I may try the recipes that began every chapter.

—Amanda Dickson, author and radio personality

This book oozes charm, romance, and mouth-watering recipes. If you want to escape reality and curl up with a darling story, For What It’s Worth is the perfect fit. Thank you, Karey White!

—Rachael Anderson, author

This is a book worth every penny of the price. In the business of baking wedding cakes, every detail must be perfection, but this story remembers that real life is oh-so-messy. White’s clear and honest writing left me hungry for good food, a close family, and a little romance. A beautiful marriage of food, family, and faith.

—Regina Sirois, author of On Little Wings, 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award



Purchase




Book Trailer







Author Karey White

Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.

She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.








Links




Blog Tour December 2012
Tour Schedule
Book Blast Giveaway Details

$50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Cash from Author Karey White

Ends 12/14/12

*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry. Simply enter it when you follow Karey and leave the others blank.

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, October 8, 2012

The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Renee Anderson (Book Review)

Title: The Reluctant Bachelorette
Author: Rachael Anderson

About the Book: Unknowingly cast as the bachelorette for her town’s charity event, Taycee Emerson wants out. Especially when she discovers her old teenage crush, Luke Carney, is one of the bachelors and it's up to the viewers--not her--to decide which bachelors stay or go.

Coerced into participating, Taycee does what any self-preserving girl would do. She launches a subtle attack on Luke’s good name with the hope of getting him voted off the show. Unfortunately, Luke's an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, and when he discovers what she's up to, it means revenge.

But when their pranks go south, will they screw up any chance they have at a future together, or will they be able to forgive and forget and prove that love really does conquer all?




My thoughts:  This was such a fun read! Taycee was such a down-to-earth girl-next-door type - and she gets coerced into being the town bachelorette on a webshow to try to raise money to help the local farmers. Of course this happens just days after her girlhood crush, Luke, moves back to town after a ten year absence.  Wondering whether or not she will be able to get over him this time, she volunteers his name in the hat to be bachelor 21 before she finds out that she is the unwilling bachelorette.  Never one to want the spotlight, she now not only has it, but also has 21 bachelors vying for her attention!

Well, you can see how this can become humorous quickly.  Taycee doesn't actually get to choose which bachelors stay - that honor falls to the viewers who for $1 can cast a vote for the bachelor of their choice - but will it be Taycee's choice as well?   

As Taycee and Luke relive some old high school memories, when Luke was Taycee's big brother's best friend, she is also setting him up to be voted off the show.  Which bachelor will be the last man standing?  You will have to read it to find out!

I loved the tension between Taycee and Luke as well as the misunderstandings.  I just wanted to shake Luke and tell him to open his eyes!  It was fun hearing about some of the dates that Taycee went on with the other bachelors as well, from the egotistical one to the spitter!  If you are looking for a light-hearted romance, then look no further.  And you can pick up for your kindle until Oct 31 for only 99 cents!

~I received a complimentary copy of this digital book from Book Blasts Promotions in exchange for my unbiased review.~

For more information on this book, please visit The Reluctant Bachelorette Blog Tour.

The Reluctant Bachelorette
Publisher/Publication Date: CreateSpace, Sept 2012
ISBN: 978-1479269679
300 pages


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