This Little Prayer of Mine - Blog Tour, Book Review and INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY!

This Little Prayer of Mine

by Anthony DeStefano

illustrated by Mark Elliott

Touring Apr 5 - 9

About the book: Author Anthony DeStefano’s adult books, The Prayers God Always Says Yes To and A Travel Guide to Heaven, have sold a quarter-million copies. Illustrator Mark Elliott’s cherished artwork has appeared in popular picture books and novels for young readers, including Gail Carson Levine’s ever-popular Princess Tales series.


Now, these acclaimed inspirational experts have come together to create This Little Prayer of Mine, a beautiful and alluring book designed to guide children into a very simple, real and expressive relationship with God.


Through engaging rhymes and alluring illustrations, This Little Prayer of Mine shows children—and their parents and grandparents—that complete dependence on God is what brings peace and fulfillment. It invites children to know and believe that God is always just a simple prayer away and that He longs to respond to them with a resounding, “Yes!”


This Little Prayer of Mine appeals to readers from all different faiths. Easy-reader format allows children to read alone, or with someone older, and encourages them to openly express their fears, thanks, and needs directly to God.

My review:  This is absolutely a must have for every family with children - and in my opinion, not just young children.  Even though it is a simple message - it is an important message.  I have read it with my preschooler, but I am going to make sure my teenagers both have a turn with it also.

Author bio: Anthony DeStefano is the author of The Prayers God Always Says Yes To and A Travel Guide to Heaven. He has received prestigious awards from religious organizations worldwide for his efforts to advance Christian beliefs in modern culture.


Mark Elliott’s brilliant illustrations have appeared in popular picture books and novels for young readers, including Gail Carson Levine’s Princess Tales series. His acclaimed artwork delivers inspiration, wonder, and timeless beauty on every page.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  They also provided me with one copy to giveaway to one of you.  To enter this, just tell me who you would like to win this for and leave an email address.  I am going to make this one international so consider it open to anyone/anywhere - it is just that good and that important!  This giveaway will end April 22.


Purchase This Little Prayer of Mine.

Giveaway of FOXY by Pam Grier

Foxy: My Life in Three Acts

by Pam Grier

Beautiful, bold, and bad, Pam Grier burst onto the movie scene in the 1970s, setting the screen on fire and forever changing the country's view of African American actresses. With a killer attitude and body to match, Grier became the ultimate fantasy of men everywhere. But she quickly proved that she was more than just a desirable film goddess. She had the brains, courage, and tenacity to sustain a career that would span more than 30 years. In FOXY, she chronicles the good, bad, and steamy highlights in her life and career.

GIVEAWAY!!

I have three copies of Foxy to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. 

For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) tell me what you remember most from the 70's - or, if you weren't alive then - tell me anything you know about the 70's! Oh - and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow through google friends (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway is for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Apr 20!

 

 
 

BIRTHDAY BASH GIVEAWAY - Part 2!

(Ok - I couldn't find anything that said it's MY birthday - and I loved the dancing mouse!)




I never did make it back here yesterday to post a list of books or set up any rules!  So let's start with the books!

The Cost of Dreams
Nibble & Kuhn
Stray Affections (A Snowglobe Connections Novel)
Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Saga
Messages to Myself: Overcoming a Distorted Self-Image
Family Plots: Love, Death & Tax Evasion
Saint John of the Five Boroughs
Bo's Café: A Novel
Comes a Horseman
Never the Bride: A Novel
The Castaways (Platinum Fiction)
Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life
Lost Mission (Christian Mystery Series)
Daniel's Den
Painting the Invisible Man
Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen
Blue Jean Baby: One Girl's Trip Through The 1960s L.A. Music Scene (Paperback)
Ms. Taken Identity
White Picket Fences (Christian Fiction Series)
The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper: A Novel
Surviving High Society - Lots of Love Trumps Lots of Money
Sugar Time
Hot and Irresistible
Gold of Kings (Christian Mystery)
Jesse's Girl

I will be adding to this list, but this is all I have time for now.

Following books added April 4th
Ravens by George Dawes Green
Abbeville by Jack Fuller
A Better View of Paradise: A Novel by Randy Sue Coburn
Chosen by Desire (The Guardians of Destiny) by Kate Perry
Love You to Death by Shannon Butcher
THE PERUKE MAKER: The Salem Witch Hunt Curse by Ruby Dominguez
Ginger High by Melissa Burmester
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything: A Novel by Janelle Brown
Rion (Pendragon Legacy, Book 2) by Susan Kearney
Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro
To Desire a Devil (The Legend of the Four Soldiers) by Elizabeth Hoyt
Thirsty: A Novel by Tracey Bateman
The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott
Lucan (Pendragon Legacy) by Susan Kearney

I think we will have 5 winners - The first winner can pick 5 books, second winner 4 books, third winner 3 books, fourth winner 2 books, fifth winner 1 book.  If my followers grow - I will definitely add more winners!  And don't worry - I have another list of books a little longer than the one above to post!  Spread the word - I would love to increase the winners and get rid of clean off some more shelves!

And I am sorry - but this must be limited to US only.

To enter:  Must do this for all other comments to count - just tell me what your first choice book would be (don't worry, you don't have to keep it if I list a better one for you later!)  Please leave your email address also.

You can also do the following - but leave separate comments for each - Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect (2 entries - leave 2 comments).  If you already follow through Google friend - that works too.

Twitter - leave link - 1 entry - can do daily.

Individual blog post - 4 entries (leave 4 comments) - leave link

Blog post [not by itself] or on sidebar - 2 entries (2 comments) - leave link

Giveaway will end in 2 weeks - on Tax Day!   (April 15) 

Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly - GIVEAWAY!

Apologize, Apologize!

by Elizabeth Kelly

Welcome to the perversely charmed world of the Flanagans and their son, Collie (yes, he was named after the dog breed). Coming of age on Martha's Vineyard, he struggles within his wildly wealthy, hyperarticulate, resolutely crazy Irish-Catholic family: a philandering father, incorrigible brother, pigeon-racing uncle, radical activist mother, and domineering media mogul grandfather (accused of being a murderer by Collie's mother).  It is a world where chaos is exhilaratingly constant and money is no object. Yet it is one where the things Collie wants -- understanding, stability, a sense of belonging -- cannot be bought at any price. Through his travails, we realize what it really means to grow into one's family: to find ways to see them anew, to forgive them, and to be forgiven in turn.

Elizabeth Kelly is a magazine editor and award-winning journalist with several Canadian National Magazine Awards and nominations to her credit. Apologize, Apologize! is her first novel. It will be published as part of Knopf Canada's "New Face of Fiction" program in April, 2009. She has a profoundly (some might say tragically) Catholic education, attending a Catholic elementary school, a convent high school, and then St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, where she majored in English, multiple fiancés, and truancy. Years of poverty, strong opinions, and poor judgment ensued. Today, a largely unrecognized authority on Guns N' Roses, she lives in a century-old house in a little eastern Ontario village where she hides from visitors and nightly prays that she won't one day be found under an avalanche of old newspapers, partially consumed by dogs—one Labrador Retriever named Chip in particular.

Giveaway

I have three copies of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) Collie is one of the characters names in this book - what is the most unusual name you have ever heard.  Oh - and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Apr 20!

Reading Group Guide:

1) Throughout this account of Collie Flanagan’s life (so far), he appears to be the only conventional—or perhaps even sane—member of his family. However, the novel is told from his perspective. Do you feel like you can trust what he’s saying?

2) What do you think of Collie’s mother? Does she seem to have lived a life of passion, or is she defined only by her rebellion against her aristocratic roots?

3) Should Collie have gone in after Bingo and the others, knowing as he did that there was no hope?

4) In one interview, Elizabeth Kelly referred to Bingo as “representative of full-blown adolescence, but in all its glory,” and as something of a heroic character as well. What do you make of him?

5) Elizabeth Kelly has clearly had a lot of fun creating the hilarious and often manic characters at the heart of this novel. How did you react to the various Flanagan family blowouts? Did you more often cringe or laugh out loud?

6) Talk about the role of money in this novel: who has it and who doesn’t; how it can be a motivator, or stunt one’s ambitions; how it insulates the Flanagans, yet forces them into the limelight; and so on.

7) “Dignity is the last refuge of scoundrels,” Collie’s father was known to say, and he certainly was one to put himself into undignified positions, despite his charm and sharp clothes. What do you make of him as a man, and as a father?

8) Who is your favorite character in this novel, and why?

9) Collie and Bingo have a relationship that’s not always straightforward, yet at its heart is a strong sibling love. What does each expect, and receive (or not), from the other?

10) What was Collie hoping to achieve in El Salvador? Did he change as a result of his experiences there?

11) What are Collie Flanagan’s personal strengths? Were there small events that stood out for you as monumental in terms of proving his character?

12) More than any other member of the Flanagans, Collie has a close—if complex—relationship with his grandfather, Peregrine Lowell. Why is that so? How has their relationship developed by the end of the novel?

13) The Flanagans inhabit a world of elite privilege, yet are so self-absorbed you can’t help but wonder whether they’d even notice if the rest of humanity ceased to exist. Does Collie rise above all that, or is he just like the rest of them?

14) Collie’s father has a knack for showing up wildly drunk for even the most staid of events, including the funerals held for his wife and son. Talk about how his disappearances and arrivals function in the novel.

15) Whenever anyone talks to Collie about the events of the day Bingo and his mother died, they always get the details wrong. What is Kelly saying about living up to the expectations of others in this novel? Should Collie have stood up for himself more often?

16) The Flanagans are a wild and wildly humorous bunch, and even their seemingly unwarranted jabs at Collie are terrific. Discuss the role of cutting humor and over-the-top judgment in the novel.

17) At the end of the novel, Collie appears to have come to terms with his family, or at least seems to have achieved some measure of peace. What does the future hold for Collie Flanagan?

An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick - Blog Tour and Giveaway!

An Absence So Great

by Jane Kirkpatrick

touring Mar 29 - Apr 2

Did photography replace an absence in her life OR expose the truth of her heart's emptiness?

While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele's personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she's put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as "water under the bridge," she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.

Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession.  But even a job she loves can't keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.

Author bio:  Jane Kirkpatrick is an award-winning author of sixteen historical novels, including A Flickering Light, the first part of Jessie Gaebale’s story, and three nonfiction titles. Known for her unique insights into the exploration of community, family and faith of actual historical women, the Wisconsin native and her husband have called their ranch in Oregon home for the past 25 years.

Jane blogs at Words of Encouragement.  You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY INFO:

I have one copy of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) just leave a comment - that easy! Oh - and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway is for U.S.only and will end Apr 20!

Learn more about this book at Random House.

A Touch of Scandal Blog Tour (Mar 25 - Apr 7) and Giveaway!

A Touch of Scandal

by Jennifer Haymore

The last thing Garrett, Duke of Calton, expects to find while tracking his sworn enemy is the delectable, mysterious Kate. This beautiful servant girl rouses a longing the battle-scarred ex-soldier had never hoped to feel again. But when she turns out to be the sister of the man he seeks, he's convinced he's been betrayed.

Kate knows her duty to her family, yet how can she ignore Garrett's powerful pull on her heart? Or the heady temptation of his stolen-and sizzling-kisses? Scandal has followed the duke since the war. Now the greatest shock of all is on its way-the one that can separate Garrett and Kate forever.

Five Fun Facts

1. The heroine from A Touch of Scandal, Kate, has a younger brother, Reginald. Reggie suffers from severe asthma—something I understand, having been through it as a child and now watching my own son fight it. It’s truly a painful and frightening illness. I can’t imagine what it was like for children before proper medications were available. The prescription the doctor in A Touch of Scandal orders—prussic acid—was a common remedy for asthma. But like many medicines of the time, prussic acid has since been proven to be very poisonous—even deadly. No wonder poor Reggie didn’t improve while he was taking it!

2. In the first drafts of A Touch of Scandal, there were three “villains.” I thought that was at least one too many, so I changed one character to soften her up a bit, even almost redeeming her at the end. She’s still not a very likeable character, but she’s no longer the equivalent of the Wicked Witch of the West! Can you guess who this is?

3. I’ve been to England several times, but I have not been to Kenilworth Castle. I researched it as thoroughly as I could while writing A Touch of Scandal, and it’s definitely on the itinerary for my next visit to the UK!

4. The James family seat, Calton House, is located in the Yorkshire dales. I feel especially bonded to this part of England—I think it’s because several of my ancestors immigrated to Canada from Yorkshire. I’ve driven through the county once, and I loved it. It’s a special place.

5. One of the main characters in A Touch of Scandal is Becky, the younger sister of the Duke of Calton. I have loved writing about her, because she is the one character whose growth you can really see from the beginning to the end of the series. She is immature and compulsive in A Hint of Wicked; she crashes back to reality in A Touch of Scandal; and in the third book, A Season of Seduction, she really comes into her own and finally finds the man that will lead her down the (very rocky!) road to a happily ever after.

GIVEAWAY INFO:

I have five copies of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) - From the fun facts above, we learn that Reggie suffers from asthma - was there any childhood diseases that you or one of your siblings suffered from?  I had allergies so bad that I got an allergy shot once a week - by the time I was 14 I had learned to give them to myself - then by 17 they had all switched to foods, for which there was no shot - so after about 12 years of shots, I just got to stop them!  Be sure to leave an email address also!

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Apr 15!

Participating blogs:
Thoughts in Progress Feature, Giveaway, Guest Post 3/25/2010
Bibiliophilic Book Blog Feature, Review, Giveaway 3/25/2010
Book Soulmates Review, Giveaway, Q&As 3/25/2010
You Wanna Know What I Think? Review, Giveaway 3/25/2010
Just Another New Blog Giveaway 3/25/2010
Simply Stacie Giveaway 3/25/2010
Freda's Voice Giveaway 3/25/2010
A Journey of Books Review, Giveaway, Q&As 3/25/2010
Book Junkie Review, Giveaway, Q&As 3/25/2010
Long Live the Lit Feature, Guest Post 3/26/2010
Smexy Books Review, Giveaway 3/26/2010
The Book Girl Review, Giveaway 3/26/2010
Rundpinne Feature, Review 3/27/2010
Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks Review, Giveaway 3/29/2010
Who Has Time to Read Review, Giveaway 3/31/2010
My Guilty Pleasures Review, Giveaway 4/1/2010
Eclectic Book Lover Review 4/1/2010
Seductive Musings Feature, Review, Giveaway 4/1/2010
Books and Needlepoint Feature, Review, Giveaway 4/2/2010
Broken Teepee Review, Giveaway 4/3/2010
Savey Spender Review, Giveaway 4/4/2010
All About {n} Review, Giveaway 4/5/2010
Just Short of Crazy Review, Giveaway 4/5/2010
Marta's Meanderings Feature, Review 4/6/2010
My Book Addiction and More. . . Feature, Review, Giveaway 4/6/2010
Razlover's Book Blog Feature, Review, Giveaway 4/6/2010
Renee's Reads Review 4/7/2010
My Reading Addiction Review, Giveaway 4/7/2010

Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs (Book Review) and Giveaway!

Eggs in Purgatory

by Laura Childs

Suzanne, Toni, and Petra lost their husbands but found independence -- and, in each other, a life raft of support, inspiration, fresh baked goods, and their own business. But when the Cackleberry Club cafe opened its doors in the town of Kindred, who'd have guessed that the cozy oasis would become the scene of a crime?

Suzanne's lawyer is found in his car behind the Cackleberry with egg on his face and blood on the dash.  Suzanne's taking the crime personally: The murder reveals a scandal in her late husband's past and brings a stranger fleeing a messianic sect to her for help. Now, discovering the link between a dead man with secrets and a runaway cultist may be putting Suzanne's own life on the line.

My Thoughts:  I believe that I just found me another cozy mystery writer to love!  I really enjoyed the sense of strength and friendship that I felt among these three women.  Suzanne appears to be the leader, but I have a feeling that we will probably get to explore them all in depth as the series progresses.  The Cackleberry Club isn't just a cafe - it has a book nook and a knitting nest - It is definitely my kind of place!  Amidst the morning and lunchtime rush and the afternoon tea's, Suzanne still manages to get herself into some unusual situations.  It was fun to follow the twists and turns, and Laura Childs leads you down one path - only to jar you off of it at the end to show you the real murderer!  

I was lucky enough to receive the next book in the series, Eggs Benedict Arnold, from the author, as well as The Teaberry Strangler - her latest Tea Shop Mystery.  Even better than that though, I have 4 copies of each book(Eggs Benedict Arnold and The Teaberry Strangler) to giveaway to my readers!  

So - for the giveaway - Please tell me which book (Eggs Benedict Arnold and/or The Teaberry Strangler) The that you would like to win and leave your email address.

For a second entry - please visit Laura at www.laurachilds.com and come back and tell me something that you learned.

If you are a follower you also get an entry.

Twitter or blogging will each get you one also!

This giveaway will end April 14.

UPDATE (3-25-2010)  Giveaway is for U.S./Canada only.

So you can earn a total of five entries - just make sure to put them each in a separate comment!  I am verifying with the author as to restrictions on the winners locations - so please stay tuned for that update!  Good luck!

Montana Legacy - Blog Tour (Mar 22-Apr 2) and Giveaway!

Montana Legacy
by R.C. Ryan

They're the McCords...three rugged, sexy cowboy cousins who'll inherit the family range--if they seek the treasure hidden on it. But even more precious are the women who can tame their wild hearts...

She was the one person who shook Jesse McCord's quiet determination. She was the only one he ever let in, body and soul. Then suddenly Amy Parrish was gone and the oldest McCord cousin devoted his life to the family ranch. Now Amy is back, offering help to Jesse find the McCord gold. Yet Jesse's not about to give her a second chance, and he hopes his pride will protect him from her irresistible charms. But under the wide prairie skies a dangerous, unseen enemy is fast closing in, threatening Amy and Jesse's very lives and the promise of their ...

MONTANA LEGACY.

New York Times bestselling author R.C. Ryan has written more than ninety fiction novels, both contemporary and historical. Quite an accomplishment for someone who, after her fifth child started school, gave herself the gift of an hour a day to follow her dream to become a writer.

The Lost, an anthology of stories by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, and R.C. Ryan writing as Ruth Ryan Langan was published in Fall 2009. Ms. Ryan’s story, “The Legacy,” is an exciting tale of intrigue and other-worldly adventure.

In a career spanning more than twenty years, Ms. Ryan has given dozens of radio, television, and print interviews across the country and Canada, and has been quoted in such diverse publications as the Wall Street Journal and Cosmopolitan. She has also appeared on CNN News, as well as Good Morning America.

Friend R.C. Ryan on Facebook.

Five Fun Facts:

1. The names of all three cousins in this series are famous Western names that I've always loved: Jesse (James), Wyatt (Earp), and Zane (Grey).

2. There really was a gold strike in 1862 Montana at Grasshopper Creek. I doubt the nuggets were as big as a man's fist or thumb, but why not dream big? I love the idea of a treasure lost for a century or more, leading a family into the treasure hunt.

3. In Montana Legacy, part of the fun of reading is that Jesse McCord and Amy Parrish were childhood sweethearts, separated by circumstances. I think everybody can recall their first big love. A few very lucky people actually reconnect with that first love and make it work. Oh, I'm one of them. Very happily married to the guy I met in first grade.

4. Montana is one of my favorite locations in which to set a series because it has such an ever-changing landscape. In that single state, you can find plains, hills, mountains, waterfalls, and four distinct seasons, each of which is simply more spectacular than the last, and I purposefully tried to use all of them in this series.

5. I'm not certain this story could work anywhere else but in the rough, rugged west. Though Jesse tries to be politically correct, there's just something in his genes that has him breaking a lot of rules. I find readers are much more willing to give a pass to a cowboy. Don't you agree? But maybe I'm prejudiced, since Jesse was inspired by my husband—a blunt, plain-spoken rule-breaker. A warrior who would risk his life for the people he loves. And for all his rough edges, he's the most loving, tender-hearted man I know.

And now for the giveaway!

I have five copies of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) What's a "western sounding" name that you like - be creative! Oh - and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Apr 12!

Participating Blogs:

Thoughts in Progress Feature, Giveaway, Guest Post 3/22/2010
Maria's Space Feature, Review, Giveaway 3/22/2010
This, That and the Other Thing Review 3/22/2010
Zesty Nachos Review, Giveaway 3/22/2010
Just Another New Blog Giveaway 3/22/2010
Chaotic Book Obsession Review, Giveaway, Q&A 3/23/2010
My Book Addiction and More Feature, Review, Giveaway 3/24/2010
Foolish Wisdom Review, Giveaway, Q&A 3/24/2010
My Guilty Pleasures Review, Giveaway 3/25/2010
Cheryl's BookNook Review, Giveaway 3/25/2010
Just Short of Crazy Review, Giveaway 3/28/2010
Books and Needlepoint Feature, Review, Giveaway 3/28/2010
Savey Spender Review, Giveaway 3/29/2010
Taking Time for Mommy Review, Giveaway 3/29/2010
My Reading Addiction Feature, Giveaway 3/31/2010
Broken Teepee Review, Giveaway 4/1/2010
Marta's Meanderings Feature, Review 4/1/2010
Carol's Notebook Review, Giveaway 4/1/2010
The Book Tree Feature, Giveaway 4/1/2010
Starting Fresh Review, Giveaway 4/2/2010
Renee's Reads Review, Giveaway 4/2/2010
Simply Stacie Review, Giveaway 4/2/2010

Here Burns My Candle - Blog Tour (Mar 22-26) and Giveaway!

Here Burns My Candle
by Liz Curtis Higgs

A mother who cannot face her future.
A daughter who cannot escape her past.

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

LIZ CURTIS HIGGS is the author of twenty-seven books with three million copies in print, including: her best-selling historical novels, Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, Christy Award-winner Whence Came a Prince, and Grace in Thine Eyes, a Christy Award finalist; My Heart’s in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland, an armchair travel guide to Galloway; and her contemporary novels, Mixed Signals, a Rita Award finalist, and Bookends, a Christy Award finalist. Visit the author’s extensive website at www.lizcurtishiggs.com.

Giveaway

I have one copy of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) what is your favorite Bible story (this book is a retelling of the beloved Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi set in 18th Century Scotland)? Oh - and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway is for U.S.only and will end Apr 12!

This One is Mine - New Book Giveaway!

This One is Mine
by Maria Semple

Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life--except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David's hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap.

I hope you utilize this great reading group guide:

1. In many ways, this is a very “LA” story. To what extent do you think the characters’ attitudes and actions are shaped by Los Angeles? Could you see this story taking place anywhere else?

2. How does the title, “This One Is Mine,” interplay with the story? The poem at the beginning of the book opens with the image of a slave block. Are any of the characters in the book “enslaved” in a way?

3. In the first chapter, David is upset with Violet for what he perceives to be her lack of interest in maintaining the household. Is his anger justified?

4. What does Violet find sad about Los Angeles? Where do you think this sadness stems from?

5. What do you think about Sally’s friendship with Maryam? Why does Maryam put up with her?

6. Why do you think Violet is drawn to Teddy? What makes her risk “losing everything,” as David puts it?

7. Los Angeles could be said to be a city of ambition. How do the characters’ ambitions relate to one another’s? What fuels those ambitions, and when do they get out of control?

8. In some ways, Sally seems to want everything that Violet has: a successful husband, financial security, a nice house, and classy friends. Do you think Sally would be happy if she suddenly had everything she wanted? What similarities to you see in Sally and Violet?

9. Conversely, do you see any similarities between David and Jeremy?

10. Teddy seems to have a set of problems that make Violet’s (and everyone else’s) pale in comparison. Do you think Violet is drawn to him because of or in spite of these traits?

11. What do you think of Sally and Jeremy’s relationship? Do you think there is a way that it could have worked out?

12. Why is Violet happy when Sally tells her that she never really liked her?

13. At the end of the book, Violet, Sally, and David all go to visit Teddy in the hospital. In what ways did Teddy’s entrance in their lives bring them all together? How would this story have turned out differently if Violet had never met him at the health fair?

14. In Leo Tolstoy’s classic, Anna Karenina, Anna is miserable in a loveless marriage and recklessly succumbs to her desire for the dashing Vronsky. What similarities do you see between Tolstoy’s novel and This One Is Mine?

15. What other books did this one remind you of? What was similar or different about them?

You can connect with Maria on Facebook.
http://www.mariasemple.com/index.html

Listen to Blogtalk radio interview with Maria

Giveaway

I have three copies of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) I found this to be an interesting cover - what did you think of when you saw it? Oh - and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Apr 10!