About the book:On the heels of Jeffery Deaver's bestseller, The Sleeping Doll, comes a twisted new case for body language expert Kathryn Dance. Someone is leaving roadside crosses beside Monterey highways. . .not as memorials, but as announcements of intent to kill.
Aided by Deputy Michael O'Neil, Kathryn follows leads to Travis Brigham, a troubled teen who has been attacked in a popular blog for his part in a car accident that killed two high school girls. Is Travis bent on revenge against the cyberbullies and the blogger whom he believes has destroyed his life? Kathryn isn't convinced. . .a doubt that will put her career on the line as she goes up against politicians, paranoid parents and an Internet culture as insidious and vicious as the killer himself. (from Bookspan/BOMC newsletter)
About the author: Wisely taking the advice given to him by legendary mystery writer Mickey Spillane -- "People don't read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end" -- Jeffery Deaver has earned a reputation for prodigious pacing and slick suspense with his string of bestselling Lincoln Rhyme thrillers.
Abandon by Blake Crouch
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
About the book:December 28, 1893: a mule skinner resides into the mining town of Abandon, Colorado. Instead of the usual hustle and bustle, he finds the place deserted - with meals left to freeze and belongings forsaken. No trace of foul play . . . or of the gold from the mine.Now, 116 years later, journalist Abigail Foster joins her estranged father, Laurence, a renowned history professor, on a trek to the mysterious ghost town. With them are two backcountry guides, a psychic and a paranormal photographer. They're not the first to undertake this journey. Years back, another group set out to investigate Abandon - but they haven't been seen since. Will Abigail and her father fall prey to the same fate? (from BOMC newsletter/Bookspan)
About the author: Blake Crouch attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated with degrees in English and Creative Writing. 2004 and 2005 saw the publications of his first two novels, DESERT PLACES and LOCKED DOORS. Blake lives with his family in southwest Colorado, where he is at work on a new book. (from Barnes and Noble website)
What great books did you find this week?? Stop over at Should Be Reading and share yours!
I have 5 copies of Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory to giveaway thanks to Hachette Book Group!
About the book:His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.
Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she's keeping secrets, and dare not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.
MARGARET MALLORY recently surprised her friends and family by abandoning her legal career-and her steady job-to write tales of romance and adventure. At long last, she can satisfy her passion for justice by punishing the bad and rewarding the worthy-in the pages of her novels, of course. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two college-age children. KNIGHT OF DESIRE is her first book so she would dearly love to hear from readers.
RULES
Only residents of U.S. or Canada
No PO Boxes
Five (5) books being given away - giveaway ends July 10th.
Leave a comment w/email address to enter. (may leave all entries in one comment)
Follow my blog +1 or if you already do - let me know
Post about it on blog or any social network - leave me a link +3.
If someone says they found me on your recommendation - I will give you another +3!
Please join me in welcoming Pat and Kathie to Books and Needlepoint today. They are currently doing a virtual book tour with their latest release - Beyond the Code of Conduct.
Characters We Hope You Enjoy Knowing
by KM Daughters, authors of Beyond the Code of Conduct
Our team writing process focuses heavily on character development. We spend a great deal of time discussing our characters – their physical appearance, their history and motivations. Family ties and birth order play a significant role with our Sullivan heroes. Life experiences, how they interrelate with the family, and what obstacles they have and need to overcome to give their hearts to our heroines (and conversely for our heroines) are huge parts of the equation. Whether we use these life stories as back-story in each book or not, we know each character’s life story before we begin plotting the book. Therefore our characters are larger than life for us, real people of whom we’ve grown extremely fond. Amazing how determined they are to do things their way as we write their stories.
As writers we relish exploring the diverse personalities of the Sullivan boys and the women who are their matches. In Book 1, Danny and Molly epitomize a second chance at love, reconciling past pain and tragedy. In Book 2, Beyond The Code of Conduct, Joe and Bobby wrestle with the possibility of a second chance with each other. And wrestle is an appropriate word. Where Molly and Danny are subtle and mature in dealing with conflict, Bobbie and Joe conflict with physicality and dishes literally fly. Readers will see when Book 3 opens (release date not available yet) that Bobbie and Joe are still very assertive in conflict. Brian Sullivan nudges out the rest for a role in the spotlight and sultry Matty Connors is his karma.
We hopes this translates into a sensory experience for our readers and produces relatable, real people characters they can visualize, hear and touch. Reach out and run your fingers over those abs, ladies, or sigh as strong arms encircle you. Try to out think the villains, gentlemen, and team up with the Sullivans to capture the bad guy and the girl.
With athletics as the excuse, the Sullivans pound the daylights out of each other at family gatherings – the only forum where the behavior can pass as acceptable under the watchful eye of matriarch, Jean, and their soft-touch dad, John. United by their chosen careers to protect and serve in law enforcement and a fierce loyalty to and love for each other, the siblings couldn’t be more different.
Family ties are at the heart of the Sullivan Boys series and at the heart of who we are as writers. Since we’re sisters with a fierce loyalty to and love for each other, the Sullivan family springs from our shared values. And like the Sullivan Boys, we couldn’t be more different. Except that we’re delighted to share our author experience equally with no nudging our pounding the daylights out of each other.
K.M. Daughters is the multi-published writing team of sisters Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their penname is dedicated to their parents Katherine and Michael, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. Their author career began in January 2008 with contracts from The Wild Rose Press for an inspirational romance, Jewel of the Adriatic, and a romantic suspense novel, Against Doctors Orders, Book #1 in The Sullivan Boys Series. Beyond The Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the series, is rated 4-stars, compelling, page turner, by Donna M. Brown, Reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews (June 2009 Issue #304). A contemporary romance, Past, Present and Forever is available in E-book from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Residing in Illinois and New Jersey, the sisters continue to work on The Sullivan Boys Series. Book #3 will release later this year and two additional books are anticipated to complete the series. You can visit their website at www.kmdaughters.com. Follow them at http://twitter.com/kmdaughters!
I won this book at Find Your Next Book Here. And if you ever need some ideas for a book to read - this is the blog to check out!
About the book: What happens when you think you know the person you love -- and you're dead wrong?
From the acclaimed author of Waiting to Surface comes the story of four college friends whose reunion reawakens old desires and grudges -- with fatal results.
After tossing and turning all night, thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Barkley wakes up well before her alarm sounds. With two daughters about to start another year at their elite Upper East Side private school and her own career hitting a wall, the effort of trying to stay afloat in that privileged world of six-story town houses and European jaunts has become increasingly difficult, especially as Manhattan descends into an economic free fall.
As Lisa looks over at her sleeping husband, Sam, she can't help but feel that their fifteen-year marriage is in a funk that she isn't able to place. She tries to shake it off and tells herself that the strain must be due to their mounting financial pressures. But later that morning, as her family eats breakfast in the next room, Lisa finds herself checking Sam's voicemail and hears a whispered phone call from a woman he is to meet that night. Is he having an affair?
When Lisa shares her suspicions with her best friend, Deirdre, at their weekly breakfast, Deirdre claims it can't be true. But how can Lisa fully trust her opinion when Deirdre is still single and mired in an obsessive affair with a glamorous photographer even as it hovers on the edge of danger?
When Deirdre's former college flame, Jack, comes to town and the two couples meet to celebrate his fortieth birthday, the stage is set for an explosive series of discoveries with devastating consequences.Filled with suspense and provocative questions about the relationships we value most, Best Intentions is a tightly woven drama of love, friendship and betrayal. (from Barnes and Noble website)
About the author:Emily Listfield is a former magazine editor in chief and author of five novels, including the New York Times Notable It Was Gonna Be Like Paris and Waiting to Surface. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, Redbook, Self, Ladies' Home Journal, New York magazine, Parade, and many other publications. She lives in New York City with her daughter.
Best Intentions Publisher/Publication Date: Simon & Schuster, May 2009 ISBN: 978-1-4165-7671-6 352 pages
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (read by Peter Giles)
Publisher: Hachette Audio
I won this audio book over at J.Kaye's book blog. J.Kaye had a wonderful blog - full of great reviews, giveaways, challenges and all kinds of book information. This blog has been a "must read" blog for me since I started blogging myself.
About the book:Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.
Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.
Bringing together Michael Connelly's two most popular characters, The Brass Verdictis sure to be his biggest book yet. (from Barnes and Noble website)
About the author: A former Los Angeles Times crime reporter, Michael Connelly's familiarity with the seamy side of L.A. adds a steamy kind of street cred to his hardboiled, gritty detective novels -- especially his bestselling series of mysteries featuring dark detective Hieronymous Harry Bosch.
I received this book from the author. Thank you Ms. Wallace!
About the book: Sharon suffered continual physical and sexual abuse from her stepfather for seven years. Unfortunately, no one would listen to her or believe her story. At age 16, she finally finds the courage to flee from her tormentors. Social Services find her the first of a string of temporary jobs between which she cris-crosses England trying to find a safe haven.
However, she cannot escape her "night devil" completely until she comes to terms with her past. Sharon's growth and recovery from abuse and learning to accept love would be a long road to travel, taking nearly forty years to achieve. She had to learn to trust and love herself before she could another.
Faced with society's judgments against her, Sharon stood alone against the people who abused her for seven years. The truth is, we don't start to heal when taken from an abusive situation; we only start to digest and relive its emotional content. Many go on to live their lives with tortured souls and an inability to trust and love their own children.
Equally, many of us find the inner child that God intended; we pull that child past the empty adult left by years of mutilation of our childhood souls. I was a no-hoper, unjustly cast out into a world of desolation and loneliness that pulled at my heart like a lead weight. I self-harmed and mutilated parts of my mind and body to try and erase memories.
Eventually, I learned that healing was within me and could never be found under that largest or smallest boulder. I have walked the road of hope and desire and looked into the pool of my future. I did not want to be the mother they had raised, or the wife they had created. Slowly, I started to rebuild my life and my wish is that this book offers the same hope to you. (from the Amazon website)
I received this book from Bostick Communications and the author. Thank you Mr. Stone!
About the book:A collection of 'short insights and fiction flights' culled from over 20 years of the author's newspaper columns. Each one a highly polished gem. These short pieces are often funny, occasionally profound, generally insightful and always creative. Stone knows how to surprise the reader with twist endings, unexpected points of view and more narrative styles than a roomful of writers. You will be delighted. (from Amazon website)
Visit www.PaulStevenStone.com for more information on the author and his blog.
How To Train A Rock Publisher/Publication Date: CreateSpace, April 2009 ISBN: 978-1442117211 200 pages
I am so late posting these winners! I was at my mom's house for a week and over the weekend attended my 25th class reunion. It was a lot of fun and I was glad that I went. Was able to see some people that I literally had not seen since graduation! A lot of us have linked up now on Facebook so they could possibly be reading this! (Leave a comment and say hello!) But anyway. . . my mom's computer was r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w so I didn't get much posting done. That and I had forgotten to take my spreadsheets of all the entrants to the giveaways.
But am home now and hoping to get caught up on posting about those books that have arrived - start a few of the weekly memes - need to get caught up on book reviews and also tell you all about my 8th graders dance and graduation! I also want to post the speech that she gave at the commencement!
But let's get down to the business of this post - Winners! I have winners of the 4 audio book giveaways and also the book, Night Watchman. You might actually see this post before they get emailed, because I wanted to get them up here first.
So - The first 5 winners of the audiobook The Scarecrow are: Nicole Karin Dawn M Belinda M Lady Roxi
The 5 winners of Cemetery Dance audio book are: Hil'Lesha ossmcalc Belinda M Cindy Alexa
The 5 winners of The Secret Speech audio book are: Cheryl S.(already won) Gaby317 Hil'Lesha Sue W. LoveMyCoffee Alexa
The 5 winners of The Way Home audio book are: MJ Kitten22 Cindy Scottsgal(already won) Jake L Valorie
The 1 winner of Night Watchman is: A Reader
I will go get everyone emailed (and hopefully no one has won these yet!) and they will have until Sunday morning to get back to me or I will have to randomize some new names!
I won this book at Bella's Novella! Bella's Novella is hosted by Holly and Ashley - and not only are they friends, they are also sister-in-laws. They have many diverse reviews, blog tours, giveaways, you-name-it. Give them a visit and tell them I sent you!
About the book:When Obama stated that if elected, he would keep his Blackberry, debate echoed through Washington and among the ranks of the Secret Service. What would it be like to have a president who could Twitter, send text messages, and navigate the web with ease? What would it be like to receive a text message from inside the Oval Office and, most importantly, what would it say?
Now, for the first time, We The People are privy to our new leader's epistolary back-and-forths on his wily hand-held device. We're about to discover that his emails (and the replies, from his wife and daughters, Biden, Palen, Rush, Hannity, the new first puppy, and even Bush) are so tuned in to the language of electronic correspondence they come hilariously close to the brink of legibility.
This giftable, imagined glimpse into Obama's beloved Blackberry traverses the mundane and momentous contours of the Commander in Chief's life, from security briefings to spam, basketball practice to domestic bliss, and the panic of oops-I-hit-reply-all, to, of course, the trauma of dealing with the First Mother In Law.
To wit:
BidenMyTime: Hey U, whatcha doin? BARACKO: M rly busy BidenMyTime: Right :( Can I lv at 4:45? (from Barnes and Noble website)
About the author: Kasper Hauser is a San Francisco-based comedy group. They are the authors of Weddings of the Times, a parody of the New York Times wedding pages, and SkyMaul, which the San Francisco Chronicle called "wicked funny," and Salon.com called "the perfect sendup." The Kasper Hauser Comedy Podcast has been called "brilliant" by New York magazine and "wonderfully realized" by The Times of London. The group's members have written for HBO and appeared on "Comedy Central" and "This American Life." (from Barnes and Noble)
Obama's Blackberry Publisher/Publication Date: Little, Brown & Company, June 2009 ISBN: 978-0-316-07435-3 137 pages
This book's arrival was a surprise! I received it as part of the St. Martin's Press Reading Group Gold's Early Access and Sweepstakes program!
About the book:Becky Thatcher wants to set the record straight. She was never the weeping ninny Mark Twain made her out to be in his famous novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She knew Samuel Clemens before he was "Mark Twain," when he was a wide-eyed dreamer who never got his facts straight. Yes, she was Tom's childhood sweetheart, but the true story of their love, and the dark secret that tore it apart, never made it into Twain's novel.
Though she's married Tom's cousin Sid Hopkins, Becky's never forgotten the maddening, sweet-talking, irresponsible boy who stole her heart as a little girl. As her life winds its way from the steamboats of the Mississippi to the rebel camps of the Ozarks to the gilded streets of San Francisco, Becky must grapple with ghosts of her past. Can she forgive herself, or be forgiven, for the lies she's told to the men she's loved? And when she is old, and Tom and Sid and Twain are only memories, whose shadow will lie beside her?
About the author:Lenore Hart is the author of Ordinary Springs, Waterwoman, and other novels. She teaches creative writing at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania and Old Dominion University in Virginia. She lives on the eastern shore of Virginia with her husband, novelist David Poyer, and their daughter.
Becky Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press, March 2009 ISBN: 978-0-312-53965-8 400 pages
The Adventures of Snip in Oregon by Betty Moir, YumiVong - Illustrator
Publisher: BookSurge, LLC
I received this book from Bostick Communications and the author. Thank you Mrs. Moir!
About the book:Author Betty Moir in The Adventures of Snip in Oregon recounts the tale of a lovable shaggy dog as he wanders into the hearts of the Moir Family and their daily lives in the peaceful countryside. Ms. Moir paints a colorful portrait of "home life" in the Northwest during the 70's in these first five chapters introducing Snip.
This is the first in a sequel about this lovable black shaggy dog named Snip who is a half malamute and poodle cast away dog. Snip teaches family values and love.
Snip captures your heart as he teaches driving, chases away skunks and raccoons and engages in daily mischief. Snip loves to visit neighbors and spend time with the nesting duck named Lucky who lives by his owner's front door steps. This children's book offers pictures of family life on a small farm in Oregon showing how a family weaves their lives together with love and mutual respect and work with Snip and the family animals. Snip's adventures seek an audience of young children readers. (from publicity information from Bostick)
About the author: Betty S. Moir was born in Columbus, Kansas, married in Hilo, Hawaii, journeyed to the Philippines for many years, then around the world, and finally settled in Eugene, Oregon with her family. After 15 happy years in the Northwest, Betty and Jim encompassed the Bay area, Honolulu, Guam and the West Pacific with their businesses. She now resides in Honolulu and is a Sensei for Sogetsu while volunteering for the community and the Honolulu Art Academy. Betty continues to reminisce about Snip and the family in Oregon and plans on sharing more adventures. (from the back cover)
About the illustrator:Yumi V. Vong was born in Paris, France, raised on the East Coast and has also journeyed around the world, landing in Honolulu, Hawaii. She met Betty at a local art fair in Waikiki and they have been good friends and book partners ever since. (from the back cover)
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Publisher/Publication Date: Simon & Schuster, September 2009
I can't wait to see what the cover of this book is going to look like also!
About the book:Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.
When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt; they only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers -- with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another.
The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive former lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including -- perhaps -- their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind. Niffenegger weaves a captivating story in Her Fearful Symmetry: about love and identity, about secrets and sisterhood, and about the tenacity of life -- even after death. (from Barnes and Noble website)
About the author: In her book Three Incestuous Sisters, Audrey Niffenegger tells the tale of a trio of sisters, each with her own special trait. There is blond Bettine, the beautiful one, blue-haired Ophile, the smart one, and then there's Clothilde. While hardly unintelligent and certainly not unattractive, it is still probably no coincidence that Niffenegger decided to cast her fellow redhead Clothilde as the talented one considering that she is so abundant in talent. A gifted illustrator and writer, Niffenegger is parlaying her quirky imagination into one of the most interesting bodies of work in contemporary literature.
Niffenegger's love of writing developed when she was a young girl, quietly spending her time writing and illustrating books as a hobby. Her wonderfully eccentric imaginativeness was in play from her earliest writing efforts. "My ‘first' novel was an epic about an imaginary road trip [sic] I went on with The Beatles," she explains on her website, "handwritten in turquoise marker, seventy pages long, which I wrote and illustrated when I was eleven."
Niffenegger's mini-magical mystery tour may have been her "first novel," but the first one to which the rest of the world would be privy came many years later. She had already established herself as a prominent artist whose work had been shown in the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Library of Congress, and the Houghton Library at Harvard University when The Time Traveler's Wife was published in 2003. "I wanted to write about a perfect marriage that is tested by something outside the control of the couple," Niffenegger told bookbrowse.com. "The title came to me out of the blue, and from the title sprang the characters, and from the characters came the story."
The Time Traveler's Wife, a sci-fi romance about the mercurial time traveler Henry and Clare, the wife who patiently awaits his return to the present, became a sensation upon its publication. This thoroughly original love story captured mass praise from USA Today, The Washington Post, People Magazine, and The Denver Post, not to mention celebrity couple Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, who promptly purchased the rights to the book and are currently developing it into a motion picture.
Now that she had established herself as a talent to watch, Niffenegger finally had the opportunity to produce a book she would describe as "a fourteen-year labor of love." Three Incestuous Sisters: An Illustrated Novel, is a gorgeous, modern-gothic storybook about the love and rivalry shared between three women. With its minimal text, Niffenegger's chiefly uses her eerie illustrations to convey the sisters' story. Booklist summed up Three Incestuous Sisters quite succinctly by stating that "Niffenegger's grim yet erotic tale and stunningly moody gothic prints possess the sly subversion of Edward Gorey, the emotional valence of Edvard Munch, and her very own brilliant use of iconographic pattern, surprising perspective, and tensile line in the service of a delectable, otherworldly sensibility."
Now, Niffenegger is turning her attentions back to straight prose as she works on a new novel. "It's called Her Fearful Symmetry," she revealed in an online chat with the Hennepin County Library. "It's set in London's Highgate Cemetery, and features as many of the cliches of 19th century fiction as I can summon." Amazingly, with such a wide variety of styles in her still budding body of work -- from science fiction to fairy tale to her impending period piece -- Audrey Niffenegger's books still share a strong sense of unity, a distinctly peculiar and particular vision. "The thing that unites all my work is narrative," she said on her website. "I'm interested in telling stories, and I'm interested in creating a world that's recognizable to us as ours, but is filled with strangeness and slight changes in the rules of the universe."(from Barnes and Noble website)
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
Allison Bottke spent 17 years as a professional fund-raiser before her personal journey prompted her to create the best-selling God Allows U-Turns anthologies. Now a popular speaker and author of hip-lit fiction as well as nonfiction, Allison was one of the first plus-size models with the Wilhelmina agency. Today, she has created a place where fun, fashion, food, family, and faith merge to empower and inspire boomer women all around the world. That place is her website.
Product Details:
List Price: $14.99 Paperback: 448 pages Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 1434799492 ISBN-13: 978-1434799494
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Susan Anderson yawned and mumbled an incoherent complaint. She tried to focus heavy-lidded eyes on the glowing chartreuse numbers of the digital clock. Six a.m. She rolled onto her side and picked up the ringing cell phone, wishing she’d shut it off the night before. This was her day off, the one day in seven she could stay ensconced in her luxurious bed, wrapped in Egyptian cotton like a mummy princess. The one day in seven she could snuggle with her hubby when he came home from working the night shift.
“Slow down, Karen,” Susan whispered hoarsely. “I understand you haven’t been to sleep yet, but I’m still waking up, okay? Now, start from the top. Who’s Tina?”
Stretching like a limber feline, Susan propped her pillow against the headboard and slowly sat up, her eyebrows knitting together as she listened. Her eyes opened more fully as she listened to Karen’s amazing tale.
“… that’s the whole story. I’m afraid she’s going to do something drastic. Please, you have to help her. I know you don’t work Mondays, but you’re the only one I know who might be able to do something.”
Susan leaned her head back and yawned again as she considered.
“Susan? Susan, are you there?”
“Still here. Sorry. Okay. I need coffee and a bagel, but you can tell her to meet me at the salon at seven.”
“Seriously? Fantastic! You’re a lifesaver!”
Susan hung up the phone, rolled onto her stomach, and buried her face in her pillow. Part of her wanted to go back to sleep. But the rest of her loved a challenge—and this was truly a challenge. Although dull moments were few in her world, so were new ventures these days—at least ventures of the dramatic magnitude Karen had just described.
She pulled back the covers and eased up on the edge of the bed. Absentmindedly tucking a strand of ash-blond hair behind her ear, she considered her options for another minute or two before reaching for the phone.
“She works hard for the money, so hard.…”
“Stop singing, Loretta—please. It’s too early for Donna Summer, even for you. I hate caller ID.”
“Heretic—bite your tongue! It’s never too early for Donna. And you should love caller ID. It’s the only reason I always answer your calls.”
Susan laughed. More than a dependable employee, Loretta Wells was a good friend and a sister in faith. She was also the reason Susan could take Mondays off. Loretta was more than capable of handling things without the boss. In fact, she’d been Susan’s right hand for almost twenty years.
Every Monday morning before opening the salon at seven thirty, Loretta had coffee at the Starbucks just off Tropicana Boulevard. Susan knew she could depend on her to rise to this challenge, cut her Starbucks run short, and get things ready for Tina before she arrived.
Susan explained what little she knew about what she’d dubbed as Tina’s Tragic Trauma. “You don’t mind coming in early?” she asked.
“Are you kidding? Sounds utterly fascinating. Don’t worry about me—what about you? I don’t think I’ve seen you on a Monday in more than a decade. Think you can function?”
“Very funny. I’ll be just fine. See you in forty five.”
She flipped the phone shut, grabbed a notepad and pen from the bedside table, and scribbled a note to leave downstairs for Michael on her way out. Her husband wouldn’t get home until eight, about the time she was usually getting ready for work. He wouldn’t be happy with her for taking off like this on their one day together, but what could she do? This young woman needed her.
She recalled the most recent argument she’d had with Michael about this very subject.
“You’re a hairdresser for crying out loud—not George!” he had shouted into the phone last week when she called him from the salon at 2:30 a.m.
George was their neighbor, a psychologist who was on call for police emergencies twenty-four/seven.
“You wouldn’t say that, Michael, if you had seen her. The creep used a butcher knife to cut off her hair. I couldn’t say no. Michael, you should have seen …”
“What if he had showed up at the shop? What then? He might be outside waiting for you right now. Maybe I should come over and follow you home …”
“No, Michael, I’m fine. I’m sure he’s not waiting for me. He doesn’t have a beef with me.”
Susan didn’t tell him she had worried about the same thing when the girl showed up, referred by a friend who ran a shelter for battered women.
“I’m sorry I called,” she said with a sigh. What she had really wanted to share was her excitement at being able to pray with a young woman who was openly searching for an answer to the unexplainable emptiness in her heart.
“Me too,” Michael grumbled. “Now, get out of there and go home. I’ll stay on the phone while you lock up.”
That had been several days ago, and they had yet to talk about the situation again. She wasn’t exactly eager to bring it up—not with the way Michael had been acting lately. His sixtieth birthday loomed on the horizon, and Susan was quite certain he was having a delayed midlife crisis. She was hard-pressed to feel sympathetic. She was turning fifty in April, and she wasn’t snapping at everyone about every little thing.
Susan didn’t start thinking about Tina’s Tragic Trauma again until she was in the shower. What if she couldn’t help her? Lord, I’m almost embarrassed to bring this to you. I mean, I know it’s just hair. But what if Karen isn’t overdramatizing the situation? Surely someone wouldn’t commit suicide over a bad hair day, would she? Please help me help Tina. Amen.
Hurrying to get dressed, she pulled her thick hair back in a ponytail and wrapped a vintage Chanel scarf around her crown as a headband. She brushed her teeth, stroked on moisturizer, and applied her makeup in record time even though she’d been tempted to go without it, since her goal was to return home in a couple of hours and jump back into bed.
She quickly straightened up the bathroom for Michael, knowing he would take a shower as soon as he got home. When she finished, she sat down at her laptop and sent a quick e-mail to her online chat group. Then she checked herself one last time in the hall mirror and headed out the door.
From: Susan Anderson (boomerbabesusan@boomerbabesrock.com)
Sent: Monday, January 9, 6:43 a.m.
To: Patricia Davies; Mary Johnson; Lisa Taylor; Linda Jones; Sharon Wilson
Subject: You will NEVER believe this … story to follow
Good morning fellow boomer babes!
I’m off to work early … seems we have a Hair Emergency. I’ll fill you in when I know more. Can’t believe it’s only week two of the new year. Things haven’t slowed down at the shop … we’ve been operating full tilt since before Thanksgiving. Guess I shouldn’t complain … business is good. Hope everyone is healthy and happy.
Suze
Looking around the casino on his way out that morning brought Michael Anderson a bittersweet feeling. He liked his job, and every day yielded a new challenge. Yet, after thirty-five years, he was beginning to consider early retirement. The past night had been another busy one, and he was tired from walking the length of the property countless times as one mechanical problem after another surfaced. The Silver Spur was one of the oldest casinos in Las Vegas, and time was beginning to take its toll.
Of course, mechanical problems were easier to deal with than the inevitable people problems his wife seemed to encounter on a daily basis. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like for Susan, standing in one area, doing the same thing day in and day out. It must drive her crazy. It drove him crazy sometimes, just hearing about it.
“I love it, Michael, really I do,” she often told him. And he knew she was proud of her unique beauty salon, Disco Diva. But she had to be as tired of the daily grind as he was. They’d both been at it for so many years.
He couldn’t wait to get home and tell her his news—and this was the day to tell it. Monday was their only full day to spend together. Oh, sure, he saw her throughout the week, but not for long. Most days they were like the proverbial ships passing each other. He came home from the night shift just before she left in the morning, and she woke him when she returned from the salon in time for him to shower, get dressed, eat, and take off for work.
For years, though, they had enjoyed their evening meal together—Susan’s dinner and his breakfast. It was a solid ritual. And there was always something to talk about. Communication wasn’t a problem in their relationship. Having time to communicate was the problem. He’d once computed the time they’d actually spent together in the almost twenty-five years they’d been married; it was far less than the years implied.
And recently, it seemed, things were getting worse. More often than not during the past few months, Susan was already gone when he came home in the morning. And instead of waking him in person in the evening, she had taken to setting the alarm clock for him before she left for the salon.
This was all very unusual for her. He suspected she might be going through early menopause—not that he was an expert on such things. But she was certainly acting strangely these days. She spent more time at the salon than ever and seemed on edge a lot of the time.
That was another reason he’d decided to unveil his surprise a little early. It was time to free her from the growing responsibilities that were clearly taking away her joy.
Time for him to make their longtime dream come true.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
My review will be coming for this book after I return home - currently on vacation at my mom's house - but I will tell you this - the first chapter absolutely grabbed me! But don't take my word for it - check it out below!
Tom Davis is the accomplished author of Red Letters and Fields of the Fatherless. He also serves as a trainer in leadership development. He holds a Business and Pastoral Ministry degree from Dallas Baptist University and a Master’s Degree in Theology from The Criswell College. He is the president of Children’s HopeChest (www.hopechest.org), a Christian-based child advocacy organization helping orphans in Eastern Europe and Africa. Tom and his wife, Emily, have five children.
List Price: $14.99 Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 1589191021 ISBN-13: 978-1589191020
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa, 1998
Ten years ago I was a dead man.
It all began when Lou, my broker from Alpha Agency, said, “Stuart, how would you feel about heading to The Congo? Time is putting together a crew and needs a hot photographer.”
He asked; I went. That’s how I got paid then. It’s how I get paid now.
My job was to cover a breaking story on a rebel uprising that would soon turn into genocide. Unfortunately, neither Lou nor any of us were privy to that valuable information at the time. We should have seen it coming. The frightening tribal patterns resembled the bloodbath between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. We knew what happened there had spilled over to the DRC – but we ignored it.
Our job was to focus on the story of the moment, whatever we might find. But this was more than a search for journalistic truth. It was an opportunity to win a round of a most dangerous game – the chase for a prize-winning picture.
The plane landed in the capital city of Kinshasa. A man in combat fatigues stood near a large black government car. He was flanked by six armed guards toting fully automatic rifles.
“That must be the mayor and his six closest comrades,” I said to our writer, Mike, as I swung my heavy neon orange bag over my shoulder. “Welcome to a world where you are not in control.” This was Mike’s first international assignment. I swear his knees buckled.
Our team consisted of me; Mike, shipped in from Holland (a lower executive from Time who was looking for a thrill and trying to escape his adulterous wife for a few weeks); and Tommy, the Grip, whose job it was to carry our gear.
“Welcome to the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am Mayor Mobutu.” We introduced ourselves, exchanging the traditional French niceties.
“Bonjour Monsieur.”
“I must go and attend to some urgent matters, but there is a car waiting for you. These guards will take you out to Rutshuru, North Kivu.”
He pointed to a Land Cruiser near the airport building. The mayor’s face carried the scars of a rough life. His right cheek looked as if someone tried to carve a “Z” into it. His left eye was slightly lazy, giving you the feeling he was looking over your shoulder, even when you were face to face.
He turned to me. “You know how dangerous it is here. You are taking your life into your own hands, and we will not be responsible. We keep telling reporters this, but you never listen!” He started to walk away, but turned one more time and wagged his finger at each one us as if we were children. “Pay attention to what these guards tell you, and do not put yourself in the middle of conflict.”
Nobody ever won a Pulitzer by standing at arms length.
“Thank you for welcoming us, sir, and for your words,” I said. “We will keep them in mind.” The guards nodded for us to follow, and we made a solemn line into the Land Cruiser.
It was the rainy season, and on cue an afternoon storm whipped and lashed across the landscape like an angry mob. As we drove in silence, the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. We arrived at the village that would serve as our headquarters. Amid the familiar routines of a small community that seemed oblivious to the dangers surrounding them, people who were displaced by violence congregated in huddles hoping for safety.
I snapped off pictures of the scene. Once the children noticed my camera, school was over. They surrounded me like ants on a Popsicle. I had come prepared. I handed out candy as fast as I could, then got back to the business of capturing images of this unsettling normalcy.
The sun hid behind the trees, and darkness enveloped the thatched huts and makeshift refugee camp, swallowing them whole. Our armed guards escorted us into a separate compound meant to keep us safe from any danger lurking in the nearby jungles.
We took a seat on concrete blocks to enjoy a traditional African meal of corn and beans and we laughed about the monkeys we had seen on the road hurling bananas at our Land Cruiser. It was funnier than it ought to have been.
And then it happened.
The crisp pop of bullets battered our eardrums. The sounds ripped through the jungle night and into the village. Then the screams began. Screams that boiled the blood inside my ears.
I dropped, crawled on my belly to the window and slid up along the front wall, craning my neck so I could see outside. A guard across the room mirrored my actions at another window. Everyone else was flat against the ground. As I peered through the rusty barred window, flashes of light pounded bright fists against the sky, the road, and the trees.
Buildings exploded with fire and a woman cried out in terror. Shadows flickered, black phantoms haunting the night. I made out five or six soldiers beating a woman with their boots and the butts of their guns.
She quit screaming, quit moving, and then they ripped the clothes from her broken body. They began raping her. She came to and started to scream again, pleading for help, and they hit her until her screams choked on her blood.
She couldn’t have been more than sixteen.
I turned my head.
The horror of this night was no act of God. No earthquake or tsunami. This was the act of men. Evil men. Demons in the guise of men.
The uncertainty of what might happen next hovered at the edge of an inhaled breath.
The armed guards screamed for us to lay prostrate on the dirt floor as bullets flew through the walls and widows, scattering plaster and glass. I wiped away salty sweat burning my eyes. But the sweat was thicker than it should have been. I tasted it.
Blood.
Fear strangled the air. Shallow breaths and rapid heartbeats echoed throughout the tiny room. I thought about my last conversation with Whitney.
My last conversation.
Was it my last?
Mike’s hand slid up next to me. His whisper turned my head. “Ask not for whom the bell tolls, man.”
Mike shoved his glasses back onto his oversized, pock-marked nose. “This happened to one of my closest friends in Northern Uganda. The rebel militia mutilated everyone and everything in sight. No one made it out alive. No one. These monsters believe in a kind of Old Testament extermination of anything that moves.”
“Thanks for the encouraging words.”
“I always knew I’d die young.”
He reached in his pocked and pulled out a string of wooden rosary beads.
“These were my mother’s.”
“I’m not Catholic.”
“Neither was I. Until now....”
“Shut up!” one of the guards hissed.
Rivers of sweat baptized our faces, our necks, our chests.
Death, real and suffocating, pressed in, driven by the wailing of dying babies, the yelps of slaughtered animals, the screams women being beaten and raped.
My heart raced in rapid-fire panic.
I peered through a hole between a cinder block and a broken windowsill. Rebel troops swarmed like locusts, devouring every living thing in their path.
Mike elbowed me in the thigh. “Remember that story about an African militia group that raped a bunch of Americans? Men, women, children – they weren’t choosy.”
“You have to be quiet,” whispered a guard. He got to one knee, steadying his gun. “Now shut up or I’ll kill you myself.”
A rebel commander yelled something just outside the door. Another shot, and the guard who had just spoken fell dead right on top of me. His blood flowed over my neck and right arm staining my band of brothers ring crimson. The screaming intensified, people ran, yelled, and died.
I scooted against the wall, huddled next to Mike as shots continued to shriek overhead. Plaster exploded and covered us. We tried to make ourselves invisible, curling into the fetal position, wrapping our arms over our heads.
A bullet whined by my ear, missing by centimeters. I crawled face down to the other side of the room, trying to get out of the line of fire.
Then, sudden, deafening silence.
Nobody moved for what seemed like hours. My thoughts milled with the ants of fear, waiting as the silence thickened, punctuated by a moan or a sob. We waited and waited, wondering when it would be safe to stand, wondering if it would ever be safe.
Finally, I gazed out the window, my eyes searching for rebel soldiers in the yellow-orange gloom of smoke. No figures or movement.
“I’m going out,” I whispered to Mike.
He didn’t respond
“Hey, listen. Let’s go man.”
I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Mike!” I grabbed his jacket to turn him toward me. There was a pinpoint crimson stain on the front of his light blue shirt. His eyes stared through me.
I was paralyzed for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then I pulled my camera out of my bag. I picked up Mike’s gear and slung it around my neck.
Outside, the air burned of flesh. Some shadows moved in the distance, but the streets were barren. A few jerking and twitching heaps lined the road and quivered beside the buildings.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
I walked toward the flames. Everything was silent except for a sour ringing in my ears. Something compelled me to enter the destruction, to get closer.
Severed body parts lay before me in a display of such horror I began to heave. A young, pregnant mother crumpled over, lying dead next to a burning haystack. She barely looked human. One leg lay at a right angle, an arm hung loosely from her shoulder, held there by a single, stringy tendon. Her stomach had been sliced wide open, the worm-like contents spilled in front of her, still moving.
There was nothing I could do to help her. Nothing.
I lifted the camera to my left eye. Snap. Snap. Snap. The lens clicked open and closed.
I stepped closer to capture the look on her face. Steam rose from her insides. More pictures. Through the blood and mucus by her midsection I made out a face, a tiny face with eyes closed.
Voices rose over the roofs. Something was happening at the end of the village. Without thought, I raced through the corpses and debris toward the commotion.
The rebel troops had gathered the bodies of all the men they had slain. They were stacking them together in the shape of a pyramid.
As each body was thrown on top of the others, the rebels jeered, spit on the dead, and drank from a whiskey bottle, relishing in their triumph. They shot their guns into the air. Fire flashed around the perimeter. It was a scene from hell.
A man climbed on the roof above the bodies, unzipped his pants and urinated all over the dead. The men slapped each other on the back and laughed.
Another rebel poured some liquid over the bodies.
I adjusted the camera settings and snapped a series of shots as fast as my fingers could click. The fire ignited, a pyramid pyre, and I continued to shoot. I snapped pictures of the dead - men I had seen earlier that day caring for their families - as their faces melted like candle wax. I snapped pictures of the rebels’ ugly glee. And I felt like retching again.
I turned and walked, faster and faster, until I was running.
Each step I took pounded the question: Why? Why? Why?
I raced to the edge of the compound and saw Tommy hanging out the window of our car, frantically motioning me to come. We sped off, the remaining guard driving like a bat out of hell, for it was indeed hell we were escaping. As I turn to look out the back window, I saw Mike’s body crumpled in the seat behind me. Like a rotted rubber band, something inside me snapped. My whole body shook. Sobs came without tears. I only could muster one coherent thought: If we get out of here alive, at least we can send Mike back to his family.
First sentence: "Do you want to know the secret to a happy marriage?"
Based on the title, Secrets to Happiness, and the cute puppy on the cover, I was expecting a light summer read with a happy ending. Now, don't misunderstand me - I don't need a happy ending to enjoy a book - and this book did have a happy ending of sorts - it was just not what I was expecting. (I guess that is why they say don't judge a book by it's cover!)
Holly is the main character - she is middle-aged, divorced from a man she was still in love with, and her career is in a downward spiral. She had been a successful sitcom writer with Leonard - but had taken a break to write a book. (Leonard's career also took a nose dive after this when he decided to make a very very gay movie). The book was not the success she had hoped for and was pretty much about her ex-husband Alex, and her ex-boyfriend before the husband, Spencer.
Holly does some crazy things in the following months - I would say she was searching for that 'elusive' happiness. She has an affair with Lucas who is only 22 and the younger brother of her friend Betsy. Then she moves on to Jack who she met while he was having an affair with her married friend, Amanda. Somewhere in the midst of all this she adopts a dog, Chester, who has brain cancer.
I did not feel a connection to anyone in this book - and there were a lot of characters. I will admit that I had to go back occasionally to figure out who they were talking about - the characters just did not seem very distinctive for me. The book overall didn't hold any excitement or anticipation - it didn't seem to 'build' to a climax, but just sort of ended. I suppose that mirrors real life in some ways though - situations resolve, relationships evolve or end, but life continues on. Please take a look at some other reviews (below) - just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean it won't be for you!
About the author: Sarah Dunn has moved from Los Angeles to New York five times, and from New York back to Los Angeles four times, which means, at the moment, she is happily residing in New York. Her first novel, The Big Love, has been translated into 23 languages.
Abandon by Blake Crouch
