This Duchess of Mine ~Giveaway~

This Duchess of Mine by Eloisa James

For those of you who missed my Sunday Salon - I told about how I went to my first author visit - and got to have lunch with Eloisa James and hear all about where her ideas come from and what she is doing next. I picked up 2 of her books for me - This Duchess of Mine and When the Duke Returns - and I also picked up a second copy of This Duchess of Mine for one of my readers! I had also just won a prize off of her website (www.eloisajames.com) and when I got home from the visit, it was waiting for me - Duchess by Night! Woo - hoo!

Ok, so let me tell you about This Duchess is Mine - from the back cover: No man can resist Jemma's sensuous allure. . .Except her own husband!

Wedding bells celebrating the arranged marriage between the lovely Duchess of Beaumont and her staid, imperturbable duke had scarcely fallen silent when a shocking discovery sent Jemma running from the ducal mansion. For the next nine years she cavorted abroad, creating one delicious scandal after another (if one is to believe the rumors).

Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, did believe those rumors.

But the handsome duke needs an heir, so he summons his seductive wife home. Jemma laughs at Elijah's cool eyes and icy heart - but to her secret shock, she doesn't share his feelings. In fact, she wants the impossible; her husband's heart at her feet.

But what manner of seduction will make a man fall desperately in love. . . with his own wife?

About the author: Author of fifteen award-winning romances, (I think that number is higher now), Eloisa James is a professor of English literature who lives with her family in New Jersey. All her books must have been written in her sleep, because her days are taken up by caring for two children with advanced degress in whining, a demanding guinea pig, a smelly frog, and a tumbledown house. Letters from readers provide a great escape! Write Eloisa at eloisa@eloisajames.com.

Rules for this giveaway are easy - Tell me your favorite romance (book or movie) and why! One entry per person - and sorry - open only to US. Leave an email address! (This giveaway will end August 4.)

ARC Arrival: Falling into the Sun

Falling into the Sun by Charrie Hazard

Publisher: Spoonbill Cove Press

I received this book from a new to me publicist - Phenix & Phenix.

About the book: In Falling into the Sun, Kate Nardek's life is forever changed the day she stumbles upon a neighbor's gruesome suicide. Haunted afterward by his dark presence, she realizes it's time to seek psychological help for her teenage son's increasingly violent behavior before he meets the same fate. In her quest to conquer his demons, Kate must also confront her dream-stifling self-criticism, a legacy of her father's alcoholism, and trust in the joyful, creative, compassionate energy that infuses all things. An uplifting and poetically-written story combining elements of spirituality, philosophy, psychology and family dynamics, Falling into the Sun is a personal work based in part on the author's own experiences. (Marketing info sent w/book)

About the author: Charrie Hazard is an award-winning journalist, formerly working as an investigative reporter and editorial writer with the St. Petersburg Times. She left journalism to pursue teaching and fiction writing and today is an adjunct professor of writing at the University of Tampa, FL. Hazard is the Clearwater, FL branch president of the National League of American Pen Women, and her work is published in literary journals such as Sunscripts: Writings from the Florida Suncoast Writers' Conference, Snowy Egret, Palm Prints and Wordsmith. She currently resides with her husband of 24 years and their three children in Safety Harbor, FL. (Marketing info sent w/book)

Falling into the Sun

Publisher/Publication Date: Spoonbill Cove Press, July 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9815410-1-3
360 pages

Tamed by a Laird - New Giveaway Starts Today!

Hachette is giving away 5 copies of Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott - right here starting today!

National bestselling author Amanda Scott sweeps readers back to the turbulent fourteenth-century Scottish Borders, where valiant men and women risk everything for their land. Jenny Easdale is ready to accept her fate. She's agreed to marry a man she will never love - yet not before slipping away for one last adventure. Following a traveling minstrel troupe, she's whisked into a world of intoxicating freedom. Then, all too soon, she finds herself in danger - from a vengeful political plot against Scotland and from the man who has come to take her home. Dutybound to return with his brother's wayward bride, Sir High Douglas is not prepared for how her quick wit, courage, and laughing eyes touch his warrior heart. Now, as the merry minstrels play matchmaker and passion sparks between Hugh and Jenny, the conspiracy against Scotland builds...and threatens all they hold dear.

Here are some fun facts about the book - courtesy of Hachette:

1. During the 14th century, Englishwomen could inherit wealth but not titles. If no appropriate male heir existed (with the King generally defining “appropriate”) the King simply awarded the title and, often, the wealthy heiress daughter to a royal favorite. However, in Scotland, it had become almost commonplace for a daughter to inherit her father’s title if she had no brothers. With long-running unrest between the two countries (more than 200 years of it), particularly in the Borders, many Scotswomen became baronesses, even countesses, in their own right. For example, Robert the Bruce’s mother became Countess of Carrick in her own right when her father died, and Bruce inherited the Earldom of Carrick from her.

2. Jenny Easdale, a young baroness in her own right who runs away from her betrothal feast to enjoy one last adventure before marrying, is a woman one might describe as thoughtfully stubborn. Jenny rarely raises her voice, always agrees with her opposition in one way or another, and nearly always gets her own way—much to the consternation of those who expect to control her.

3. Sir Hugh Douglas is one of those so dismayed. A much-honored knight and warrior, Hugh is accustomed to seeing his every command obeyed…instantly. As head of his family, he certainly expects such obedience from young Jenny after her betrothal to his younger brother. However, Jenny has other ideas.

4. Medieval minstrels could go anywhere. Female minstrels, dancers, and gleewomen were common. Minstrel troupes followed armies in times of war and had access to both camps without interference. They thus gained admission to houses and castles without difficulty and even acted as spies. King Alfred of England (871-901) “assumed the character of a gleeman and entered the [enemy] camp, where he made such observations as were of infinite service.” Other such spies were equally successful.

5. Tamed by a Laird is the first book in my new trilogy. Seduced by a Rogue will follow it in January 2010. I have based all three books on fourteenth-century events described in an unpublished manuscript written by a Lady Maxwell in the mid-sixteenth century.

Visit Amanda Scott!

Tamed by a Laird
Publisher/Publication Date: Forever, July 2009
ISBN: 9780446541374
432 pages

Rules

1. Only residents of U.S. or Canada
2. No PO Boxes
3. Five (5) books being given away - giveaway ends Aug 3rd.
4. Leave a comment w/email address to enter. (please leave all entries in one comment)
5. Follow my blog +2 (new or old - but you gotta let me know)
   
6. Post about it on blog or any social network - leave me a link +3. If you are leaving it on twitter use @kherbrand.
7. If someone says you referred them you will each get +3!
8. Unlimited entries if you get lots of "referred by's".
   

Mailbox Monday 7-13-2009

Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page or In Your Mailbox at The Story Siren. Please stop by those posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!

ARC Arrivals

1. The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love by Beth Pattillo
2. The Rapture by Liz Jensen
3. Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill
4. The Light, the Dark, and Ember Between by J.W. Nicklaus
5. Unplanned Journey by Tanya M. Unkovich
6. Turnings by Donald R. Fletcher
7. Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
8. The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon
   

Wonderful Win

1. Red Fire by Deidre Knight
2. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos
3. The Last Child by John Hart
   

Tome Travelers

1. Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman
2. The Twilight Before Christmas by Christine Feehan

What new books came home to you last week?

One Scream Away by Kate Brady (partial book review)

One Scream Away by Kate Brady

Publisher: Hachette Books

I just wanted to post my thoughts so far as this is my review date - This is a fantastic page turner and it is a debut novel for Kate Brady! I am about half way through the book and just reached what I would have considered the climax - But I still have 200 pages to go so I can't wait to see what is going to happen next!

Here is the synopsis from the back of the book: Seven years ago Beth Denison was attacked by a killer named Chevy Bankes. Since then, she's created a new life for herself and her daughter, one far removed from the night that ended in an awful tragedy. But now Bankes is out of prison, and his chilling phone calls tell Beth he's coming for her.

Ex-FBI agent Neil Sheridan is driven to investigate a chain of murders eerily similar to a disturbing case from his past. When the killer's trail dead-ends at Beth's doorstep, Neil finds a beautiful woman with a secret she'll do anything to keep. Yet even as Beth surrenders to Neil's protection - and then his embrace - she still refuses to tell him why Bankes hungers to hear her scream, and why she'll soon consider doing the unthinkable: face Bankes alone.

This is the first book in the Sheridan series - the next being Last to Die expected out in July of 2010. I will try to get a complete review written next week - but if the last 200 pages are as good as the first 200 pages all I will have to say is WOW!

One Scream Away
Publisher/Publication Date: Forever, July 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-54152-7
464 pages

The Sunday Salon 7-11-2009 (winners announced)

This is my first Sunday Salon post. Mainly because I didn't really know if I would have something to say every week - or, more honestly, that I would have something to say that anyone would care to read! But this week, I had the opportunity to attend two different author visits at my library! It was the first time that I had gone to see an author and I had so much fun!!! Ok, so let me tell you about them.

On Friday, I went to see Eloisa James. She writes historical romances for Harper Collins. I believe she said that she has written 18 books. This is a genre that I have just recently started reading. I must admit, there are some that I like, and some that I do not like. I like the historicals that are written in modern language, if that makes any sense. I have started her Duchess Quartet series - which begins with Duchess in Love and am liking it tremendously. About a week before her visit I also won a book off of her website - how coincidental was that! When I connected the two, I emailed her assistant Kim and told her how excited I was, as I had signed up to see her and that I had never been to see/hear an author before. Well, Kim told me about a luncheon they were having before the visit and so I got to have lunch with her and about 10 other fans as well.

It was very interesting to hear how Ms. James gets her ideas for books. She says that she will find little facts in history and then just start asking how and why these things might affect the people of that time period. Her book When the Duke Returns was actually brought about by toilets (water closets) and the problems that might have happened if they had not been plumbed properly, etc, etc. I bought this book as I had to see how this made for a romance!

When Ms. James is not writing she is an associate professor at Fordham University in New York City. She is currently on "leave" and will be writing an academic book for the university as well as working on her next novel. She has a fantastic webpage that is full of all sorts of goodies like her books and which ones are connected, all the different places you can find Eloisa on line and in person, and Eloisa's Easter Eggs - which will tell you different little facts about the books or pictures relating to the books, etc. So visit Eloisa today at www.eloisajames.com!

I will be hosting a giveaway for her New York Times bestseller - This Duchess of Mine which I had autographed for one of my lucky readers. That will be later this week so be sure to watch for it! She also has a new book coming out later this month - A Duke of Her Own.

Then, on Saturday, I got to meet Brad Thor, also a New York Times bestselling author - this time of thrillers, or I would call them political thrillers. Even though he was up for the Thriller of the Year award last night at Thriller Fest in NYC - he opted to come to our little ole library to continue his tour for his latest book - The Apostle. (The award went to Jeffrey Deaver for The Bodies Left Behind).

He was a great speaker and we got to hear about what pushed/enabled him to write his first novel, The Lions of Lucerne. His wife had asked him one evening (as they were drinking wine in Italy no less) that if he were on his deathbed, would there be any one thing that he would regret. He said he would regret never writing and publishing a novel. She told him then, that when they returned home, he needed to take 2 hours of time - everyday - and get busy, and she would do whatever it took to enable him to do that. (Behind every good man is a good woman you know!) And that is how The Lions of Lucerne was born. Since then he has written seven more novels.

He also entertained us with stories about his research for his last novel, The Apostle. He actually spent time with a Black Ops group in Afghanistan to learn how they would go about "recovering" someone who might be kidnapped. After he left Afghanistan, NYTimes reporter David Rohde was kidnapped by the Taliban, and the Black OPS group that he traveled with were the ones sent in to try to find him. (Mr Rohde has since escaped the Taliban last month after 7 months in captivity and is apparently in good health.) Mr. Thor said that was probably his scariest research he has ever done for a book. He also has a fun website full of pictures and information about his books - www.bradthor.com. I forgot my camera for this one - but the photographer for the library was nice enough to take our picture and will be emailing it later this week - so I will share it at that time.

I picked up a copy of his last book - The Last Patriot - and had it signed to giveaway to one of my readers. That giveaway will also happen later this week! Wasn't it an exciting weekend?

As for my other reading - I am getting behind in writing reviews. I need to write a review for Critical Care by Candace Calvert and A Promise for Breanna by Al Lacy. I am currently reading One Scream Away by Kate Brady which I will be doing a partial review on later today - as it is on a blog tour right now and today is my day to post! (It is a terrific book btw).

Coming up this week I will be reading - Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown - which I will be discussing with a group of bloggers at Bookworm With a View on Tuesday. I will also be dipping into Refuge: A True Story of Faith and Civil War by John and Bessie Gonleh for a First Wild Card Tour and The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock.

In addition to the two giveaways mentioned above, other new ones starting are Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott, Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer and The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock. Three giveaways are ending soon, so if you haven't signed up for Hint of Wicked, How to Score, or One Scream Away - you still have a few days left.

Since I am talking about giveaways - this would probably be a good time to tell you the winners of Knight of Desire which ended on Friday! They are:

1. Jenny,
2. kitten22,
3. nightdweller20, already won - new winner - nfmgirl
   
4. Belinda M
   
5. ibeeeg.

The winners have been notified and have until Wednesday morning to get back in touch with me.
It was nice visiting with you all and hope to see you in the salon again really soon!

ARC Arrival: The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal

The Last Days of Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon

Publisher: Other Press, LLC

I received this from Blue Dot Literary.

About the book: The girls of the Lacuna Cabal Montreal Young Women’s Book Club are at a crossroads. One of their founding members is dead, they’ve made a few unfortunate compromises to their membership, some of them aren’t getting any younger, and they’ve been stuck on a single weepy tome for six long months. Resident maverick Runner Coghill decides to shake things up by introducing a cherished family heirloom to the group — ten pristine stone tablets, carved in cuneiform, telling the oldest story in the world: The Epic of Gilgamesh. Because their new book is written in an ancient language, the group must take the unprecedented step of allowing Runner to translate the whole story for them. But Runner’s narration is not of a common vein. Before they know it, the Cabalists have been thrust out to sea, on a journey in search of answers that extends halfway across the world to the war-torn land of this oldest story’s birth.

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal is an offbeat rites-of-passage novel whose characters live out literature with ferocity and passion. It is a funny, quixotic debut that follows the members of a shallow, squabbling, time-wasting, protracted-adolescent book club as they find themselves transformed through the alchemy of the storyteller’s art. (from Barnes & Noble website)

About the author: Sean Dixon is a writer and actor. His work has been published in The Globe and Mail, This Magazine, Canadian Theatre Review, and Brick, A Literary Journal. Coach House Books published Dixon’s play collection, AWOL, and his young adult novel, The Feathered Cloak, was published by Key Porter. He lives and plays banjo in Toronto. (from Barnes & Noble website)

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal
Publisher/Publication Date: Other Press, LLC, April 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59051-312-5
304 pages

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

ARC Arrival: Baking Cakes in Kigali

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

Publisher: Dell Publishing

I received this book from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.

About the book: Once in a great while a debut novelist comes along who dazzles us with rare eloquence and humanity, who takes us to bold new places and into previously unimaginable lives. Gaile Parkin is just such a talent—and Baking Cakes in Kilgali is just such a novel. This gloriously written tale—set in modern-day Rwanda—introduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungaraza—mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets—a woman living on the edge of chaos, finding ways to transform lives, weave magic, and create hope amid the madness swirling all around her.



In Kigali, Angel runs a bustling business: baking cakes for all occasions—cakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver.…A CIA agent’s wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweeter…a former boy-soldier orders an engagement cake, then, between sips of tea, shares an enthralling story…weary human rights workers…lovesick limo drivers. Amid this cacophony of native tongues, love affairs, and confessions, Angel’s kitchen is an oasis where people tell their secrets, where hope abounds and help awaits.



In this unlikely place, in the heart of Rwanda, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned…a heartbreaking mystery—involving Angel’s own family—unravels…and extraordinary connections are being made among the men and women who have tasted Angel’s beautiful cakes…as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel’s life—and the lives of those around her—in the most astonishing ways. (from Barnes & Noble website)


About the author: Gaile Parkin was born and raised in Zambia and studied at universities in South Africa and England. She has lived in many different parts of Africa, including Rwanda, where Baking Cakes in Kigali is set. She spent two years in Rwanda as a VSO volunteer at the new university doing a wide range of work: teaching, mentoring, writing learning materials, working with the campus clinic to counsel students with HIV/AIDS, and doing gender advocacy and empowerment work. Evenings and weekends, she counseled women and girls who were survivors. Many of the stories told by the characters in Baking Cakes for Kigali are based on or inspired by stories Parkin was told herself. She is currently a freelance consultant in the fields of education, gender, and HIV/AIDS. (from Barnes & Noble website)

Baking Cakes in Kigali
Publisher/Publication Date: Dell, August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-34343-5
320 pages

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

ARC Arrival: Turnings

Turnings: Lyric Poems Along a Road by Donald R. Fletcher

Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc

I received this book from the author through Bostick Communications.

About the book: Part memoir and part anthology-this book is a spiritual autobiography. Don describes in vivid scenes the road he has taken through a long life and the epiphanies that have come to him along the turnings of that road. And because he has a gift of lyric poetry, he includes a rich selection of poems written as his life experience unfolds, marking the evolving of a sensitive spirit. (from the book cover)

About the author: Donald R. Fletcher grew up in pre-WWII Korea, earned degrees in English and theology at Princeton, and has lived and worked in Chile, Mexico and the Caribbean, and in the southwest, south and east of the U.S. He has taught at high school, college and university levels and served extensively in Presbyterian and ecumenical churches. A creative thinker and writer, he is the author of I, Lukas, Wrote the Book, Doors of Bronze, and View from the Playroom Floor, as well as numerous poems, plays and prose pieces. (from the book cover)

Turnings
Publisher/Publication Date: Outskirts Press, March 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4327-3849-5
264 pages

ARC Arrival: Unplanned Journey

Unplanned Journey: A Triumph in Life and Death by Tanya M. Unkovich

Publisher: VMI Publishing

I received this book for a First Wild Card Tour in August.

About the book: Phil Morrow's 48th birthday party was interrupted by a phone call that would change his life: he had been diagnosed with small cell carcinoma, an aggressive cancer of the lung. The prognosis was grim, yet he clung tenaciously to the faith that God was not finished with his life yet.

Unplanned Journey: A Triumph in Life and Death tells the story of Phil's journey from diagnosis to death, chronicling his spiritual process and that of his wife, Tanya, as they finally accepted his fate. The book has been lovingly penned by Tanya Unkovich to carry out Phil's deep desire to share his story with the world. Phil's own words are woven through Tanya's narrative, giving readers a true glimpse of his character and the faith in God that carried him through his journey.

"Phil was a man of few words; when he spoke, they were significant. When he wrote, they were transforming and often expressed in poetry," Unkovich recalls. "Throughout the pages of this book, from Phil's words and my own, readers will walk beside us and share our experience during those five months. They will also accompany me on my journey of healing during the first year following his death. It is my wish to communicate how goodness can come from what at times feels like the deepest depression."

Unplanned Journey: A triumph in Life and Death will speak directly to anyone who is struggling to cope with a tragedy in life. Unkovich holds nothing back, sharing the depths of her healing process - everything from her initial shock and dismay over the uninvited interruption of her "picket fence dream" to her acceptance of Phil's death - and inviting readers to join her as she finds meaning in her experience. At the time of the book's release, she will also be releasing an accompanying workbook that will help guide grieving people through their own healing processes.

While there are many painful moments in the book, Unkovich's tone is an overwhelmingly hopeful one. "In the year following Phil's death, God revealed a purpose in my life, even in the times when there appeared to be none," she says. "Today I feel at peace with our separate journeys knowing that they were both triumphant in their own different ways. Phil triumphed in death, and I, in life." (from B&B Media Press Release sent with book)

About the author: In both her professional and personal life, Tanya Unkovich describes herself as "a mixed bag." As a qualified CPA and expert in accounting software, she provides counseling and consulting services. Later in life, she received training as a life and corporate coach and now maintains a private coaching (therapy) practice in Auckland, New Zealand. Her latest career developments include writing articles for local magazines, publishing Unplanned Journey and the accompanying workbook, and fulfilling speaking engagements. On the personal side, Unkovich traces her passionate approach to life to her Croatian roots. She pursues health and wellness on all levels - physical, emotional, and spiritual - and prefers to fill her hours with fun, creativity, friends, family and Fergus the cat, who is a source of absolute joy. (from B&B Media Press Release sent with book)

Unplanned Journey
Publishers/Publication Date: VMI Publishing, Jan 2009
ISBN: 978-1-933204-75-8
240 pages

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

First Wild Card Blog Tour: What the Bayou Saw

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



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

Today's Wild Card author is:

Patti Lacy

and the book:

What the Bayou Saw

Kregel Publications (March 24, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Patti Lacy graduated from Baylor University with a B.S. in education. She taught at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, until 2006, when she began to pursue writing full-time. She has two grown children and lives in Illinois with her husband, Alan, and a dog named Laura.



Visit the author's website.









Product Details:



List Price: $14.99

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Kregel Publications (March 24, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0825429374

ISBN-13: 978-0825429378



AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Prologue



Hold the Wind, Hold the Wind, Hold the Wind, don’t let it blow.



—Negro spiritual, “Hold the Wind”



August 26, 2005, Normal, Illinois



“I’m meteorologist Kim Boudreaux.” Clad in a dark suit, the petite woman smiled big for her television audience. “Katrina’s track has changed.” She pointed to a mass of ominous-looking clouds that threatened to engulf the screen. “She’s no longer headed for Mobile but is on course for the Crescent City.”



Sally Stevens checked her cell phone, then paced in front of the television, as if that would make her brother Robert pick up the phone. She needed to talk to him, needed to know that he’d gotten her nieces and her sister-in-law out of the death trap that New Orleans suddenly had become. Needed to have him assure her, with his balmy Southern drawl, that he and his National Guardsmen were going to be okay.



A slender hand pointed to what must be a fortune’s worth of satellite and radar imagery. “As you can see, Katrina’s moving toward the mouth of the Mississippi, toward the levees . . .” The meteorologist buzzed on, seemingly high on news of this climactic wonder.



Every word seeped from the television screen, crept across the Stevens’s den, and crawled up Sally’s spine. Louisiana had once been her home. Her heritage. What would this hurricane do to the Southern state that she still loved?



A glance at her watch told Sally to get moving. Instead, she once again punched in Robert’s number. If she could just hear his voice, she’d know how to pray later as she stood in her classroom pretending to be passionate about her lecture on the history of American music, pretending to act like it was another ordinary afternoon in Normal, Illinois, while this mother of a storm wreaked wrath and vengeance upon her brother. Her home.



“. . . the next twenty-four hours are crucial . . .” The camera zoomed in for a close-up, focusing on a perfect oval face that, for just a moment, seemed to stiffen, as if a personal levee was about to be breached. “I’m not supposed to say this.” Urgency laced the forecaster’s voice “But I’m telling you. Leave. This is a killer.” The pulsating weather image seemed to confirm her report, a mass of scarlet and violet whirling about an ominous-looking eye. Growing like a cancer. Moving in for the kill . . .



Talk turned to evacuation, log-jammed roads, but Sally barely listened. Years flew away as she studied Ms. Boudreaux’s flawless mocha complexion, the tilt of her chin. The determination of this woman to save her city, or at least its people. So like the determination of Ella, that first friend, who’d taken off for New Orleans. It was as if the lockbox of Sally’s memories had somehow sprung open. Ella, that friend who’d saved her. Ella. And her brother Willie, if he’d gotten out of the pen. Were they digging in, evacuating—



A classical song Sally’s kids had downloaded onto her phone poured from the tiny speaker as the device vibrated in her palm.



“God, let it be—” She glanced at the readout. 504 area code. New Orleans. Robert. Her fingers suddenly clumsy, she struggled to flip open the phone.



Static greeted her.



“Robert? Bobby?” She was shouting, but she didn’t care. “Are you there? Are you—”



“Ssss—got them out.”



He’s out there somewhere, right in the elements, from the sound of it. “Where are you?” Sally cried. “Robert, what’s going on?” Sally pressed the phone against her ear until it hurt. All this technology, yet she could barely hear him, could barely—



The whooshing stopped. So did Robert’s voice. Sally stared at the readout. Ten seconds she’d had with him. Ten seconds to gauge the climate of a city. A city that might still claim as a resident that once-best friend. Sally whispered a prayer as she grabbed her briefcase and headed to class.



***



August 29, 2005, New Orleans, Louisiana



“It’s no use! The generator’s flooded!” A single battery-operated hallway light revealed the faint outline of Dr. Powers, the thin, impeccably groomed physician whom Ella Ward had worked with for a decade. “Ella? Ella?” He groped against the hospital’s second floor wall, his hands and arms made ghoulish by the shadowy dark. “Are you there? Ella? We’ve got to get them out of here! Now.”



Screams, howling winds, and debris crashing against boarded-up windows swirled into a hellish cacophony that tore at Ella’s heart. What were the three of them, she, Willie, and the doctor—no. Willie didn’t count. What were the two of them going to do for sixty-three patients writhing in excrement, gasping for breath, thousands of dollars of ventilators and BiPAPs rendered powerless? Dying, minute by minute, second by second?



Just to keep from falling down, Ella dug her fingernails into a wall sweaty with humidity. She opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. At Dr. Powers’s side, she’d watched an aortic artery explode, a patient gurgle in his own blood . . . “The scalpel, Ms. Ward?” he’d said. “Suction, please.” With ice-blue cool, Dr. Powers had plucked life out of mangled messes and never even raised his voice. Now his screams pierced Ella’s ears, and her hopes. Even with one of New Orleans’ best surgeons at her side, the prognosis of surviving this storm was dim. There was nothing for Ella to do but close her eyes and beg. “Oh God. Please Spirit. Please Lord Jesus, please.”



Dr. Powers clutched at the sleeve of Ella’s cotton scrub. “Where’s Willie?”



The doctor’s touch and the mention of her brother brought Ella around. Still, she could barely speak for the quivering of her lip. “Where . . . do you think a junkie would be?”



“The . . . pharmacy?”



Even though Dr. Powers most likely couldn’t see her nod, Ella went through the motion. Twenty-four hours ago, she’d decided she and Willie would come here together. Yet even in her worst nightmare, she hadn’t really believed that they’d die here together.



“Someone, anyone, let me outta here!” It was Mrs. Smith, in Room 215.



“Hold the wind, Lord!” Mr. Lunsford, who’d thought he’d die of cancer.



Ella gritted her teeth. One by one, the patients were seeing the storm’s demonic fingers etching out a death sentence, and screaming their response.



“We’ve got to do something.”



Dr. Powers’s words sent a shiver through Ella. Had he read her mind? Or had she babbled without even knowing it? She clamped her hands over her ears. Lord! I’m goin’ crazy! Help me, Lord!



“What’s happenin’, Lawd? Oh, Lawd Jesus!”



“Sweet Jesus! Where are you?”



What had acted as a twisted tonic to incite the patients to a new level of chaos? Was it the howls of the winds, the thuds and crashes against the windows, the doors, the very roof of this place?



“Jesus, oh Jesus!”



Every moan, every scream, knifed into Ella like a scalpel. Nursing school hadn’t trained her for this. Nearly thirty years working at understaffed facilities hadn’t trained her for this. Nothing had trained her for this. With taut fingers, she pulled the doctor close, then shoved him to his knees and knelt by him, her hands flush against the wall. “We gotta pray,” she said.

*This book has not yet been reviewed.

ARC Arrival: The Light, the Dark, and Ember Between

The Light, the Dark, & Ember Between by J.W. Nicklaus

Publisher: American Book Publishing Group

I received this from the author through Bostick Communications.

About the book: This book is a collection of uplifting images that delve into the reflections of the human condition. These stories will cause you to think, laugh, and even cry at the beauty of emotional memories. You will smile at the thought of love lost and found again in "Paper Doll." You will think about your life's choices in "10:18." You will cry tears of joy while reading about the hidden gift in "Winter Rose." This is a must-have collection of thought-provoking reflections perfect for your bedside or the beach. (from the book cover)


About the author: J. W. Nicklaus resides in a place not entirely fit for human habitation about five months of the year. No pets to speak of, only the apparitions from which all romantics suffer.

An Arizona native, he's been from one coast to the other, and a few places in between. Snow has been featured prominently in his stories, perhaps because of the seasonless climate he lives in. Nature was meant to be enjoyed and experienced, not hidden from the senses. So to that end, he hopes someday to live amongst those who are able to live through four true seasons, and not just blast furnace and warm.

He enjoys the occasional Arizona Diamondbacks game with his son, as well as watching him grow up. The experience of being a single dad has taught him far more about himself than he ever thought possible.

Within the expanse of every waking moment, he hopes his guardian angel keeps its arms open wide and heart ever watchful, for there but for one true Hope goes She. (from the book)

The Light, the Dark & Ember Between
Publisher/Publication Date: American Book Publishing Group, May 2009
ISBN: 978-1-58982-505-5
196 pages

Amazon
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Wonderful Win: The Last Child

The Last Child by John Hart

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

I won this AUTOGRAPHED copy over at Rhapsody in Books. This is a husband/wife blog team that has the best list of non-fiction reviews I have seen. They also have a multitude of fiction reviews. Stop by to find your next book!


About the book: Thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he'd been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is - confident in a way that he can never fully explain.



Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.



Then a second child goes missing. . .



Undeterred by Hunt's threats or his mother's pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.



Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, The Last Child leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power. (from the book cover)

About the author: John Hart is the Edgar Award-winning author of two New York Times bestsellers, The King of Lies and Down River. His books have been translated into twenty-six languages and published in over thirty countries. A former criminal defense attorney, John has also worked as a banker, stockbroker, and apprentice helicopter mechanic. Other than writing, his favorite job was pouring pints in a London pub. A husband and father of two, John still lives in his native North Carolina, where he writes full-time.

The Last Child
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press, May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-35932-4
384 pages

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

ARC Arrival: Me, Just Different

Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill

Publisher: Revell Books

I received this for a blog tour later this month.

About the book: Skylar Hoyt is a girl who seems to have it all – she’s pretty, popular, and has a great-looking boyfriend. Her senior year should be the best one yet. But a horrible experience at a summer party has changed everything. Now she’s vowing to make better choices, including going back to church. But as Skylar tries to gain new perspective on life, the world as she knows it begins to fall apart.

Her parents are constantly fighting. Her younger sister has a big secret that Skylar is forced to keep. The guy she’s dating is annoyingly jealous. And the new guy down the street is just plain annoying. In the midst of the chaos, Skylar starts to wonder who her real friends are and, even more importantly, who she is. (from the back cover)


About the author: Stephanie Morrill is a twenty something living in Kansas with her high school sweetheart turned husband and their daughter. She loves writing for teens because her highs school years greatly impacted her adult life. That, and it’s an excuse to keep playing her music really, really loud. (from the book)

Me, Just Different
Publisher/Publication Date: Revell Books, July 2009
ISBN: 9780800733773
256 pages

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Friday Finds 7-10-2009 and a Tome Traveler

Here are my finds this week! (I am late posting because I got to go to an author talk today at our library - look for a post on it soon along with a signed giveaway and bag!)

The Twilight Before Christmas by Christine Feehan

I had seen a book earlier this week - Fever by Christine Feehan and so when I saw this book at our library's used book store, I had to buy it. I discovered it was the second book in the Drake Sisters series - see below for entire list. It sounds like it will read well alone though. Has anybody read this series?


About the book: Bestselling novelist Kate Drake is one of seven sisters gifted with amazing powers of witchcraft. Returning home in time for her northern California town's annual Christmas pageant, Kate catches the spirit of the season and decides to open a bookstore in a charming but run-down historic mill. Decorated former U.S. Army Ranger Matt Granite, now a local contractor, doesn't mind working in the undeniably eerie house - not if it means getting closer to Kate. There's something about the quiet, sensual woman that powerfully attracts him.



When an earthquake cracks the mill's foundation and reveals a burial crypt, Kate senses that a centuries-old evil has been unleashed. . .and that it's coming after her. Though Matt vows to guard her from dusk till dawn, Kate knows she will have to summon all of her and her sisters' powers to battle the darkness threatening to destroy both Christmas and the gift of soul-searing passion her hometown hero wants her to keep forever. . .(from the back cover)

About the author: Christine Feehan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including Wild Rain and the Dark Series, as well as numerous novellas, including The Twilight Before Christmas and "After the Music" in A Very Gothic Christmas, both available from Pocket Books. She lives in Cobb, California.

Drake Sisters Series

1. Magic in the Wind
2. The Twilight Before Christmas
3. Oceans of Fire
4. Dangerous Tides
5. Safe Harbour
6. Turbulent Sea
7. Hidden Currents

What great books did you find this week?? Stop over at Should Be Reading and share yours!

Interview with Marie Force - and Giveaway!

Hi Marie and welcome to Books and Needlepoint! Thank you for answering these interview questions for me and my readers - I was reading through your bio and we have some similarities - I graduated hs in 1984 - married a Navy man (but we were stationed on the west coast - and we are divorced now) I lost a parent to cancer and I have a son named Jake! Of course, that leaves a ton of stuff that differs! I just thought that was interesting!




Marie: Wow, Kristi, we do have a lot in common! That’s crazy! Sons named Jake are the best, aren’t they? I’m quite partial to that boy and my daughter, Emily, too! It’s nice to be here with you today. Thanks for having me!

It's a pleasure. I had a lot of fun with these questions! So, let's get started.
I know that you like to go boating and spend time on the beach - do you have a favorite beach that you go to and what do you have to take to make it a great day?



Marie: My favorite beaches are right here in Rhode Island. When I’m home, I love Second Beach in Middletown, which has the best waves for body surfing. My favorite times there are when all my cousins are in town with their kids and we take over a big section of the beach for the day. We stay until the sun sets and then go for pizza. Those are the best days! In late August every year, we go with our best friends to Block Island (12 miles off the southern coast of Rhode Island, but it may as well be another universe). There we while away endless hours on a small section of the town beach. It’s our idea of heaven, and we look forward to it all year. Last summer, my husband came nose-to-nose with a sand shark right off that beach, so now he’s a little less enamored!


Wow - that would have been scary! I have only been to west coast beaches myself (well - ok, one down in Florida, but it was too long ago to count!)I read that you have one must-see TV show for every night of the week - would you share what some of those favorite shows are? Do any of them ever give you ideas for books?



Marie: Okay, here we go:

Sunday: Brothers and Sisters
Monday: The Bachelor/Bachelorette when it’s on as well as Two and a Half Men
Tuesday: American Idol
Wednesday: American Idol
Thursday: Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and back when it was on, every episode ever aired of ER.
Friday: Friday Night Lights (the single best show on TV, hands down—if you’re not watching it, you’re missing out! Don’t be fooled—it’s not just about football. It’s sooooo much more than that. Rent the first three seasons and get caught up!)

In the summer, it’s all Red Sox all the time around here! I haven’t gotten any ideas for books by watching TV, but I do like to study the characterization and story arcs. FNL is particularly good with both of these things, and the writing is just dazzling.

We love Two and a Half Men and watch a lot of the reruns that are on here after the news! I like the medical shows too - actually just watched the very last ER - it had been on my DVR forever. I think I was afraid to watch it cuz I didn't want it to be over! I would watch Friday Night Lights for Kyle Chandler alone - I loved Early Edition!
You would think living near Chicago we would have a favorite baseball team - but we are more of a football family! (Go Bears!)

We both graduated high school in 1984 - how have you found that the technology advances (or any other changes) affect the way you raise your kids versus how we were raised?

Marie: Oh wow, this is a tough question and something I grapple with a lot, especially with my soon-to-be fourteen-year-old daughter. She is more techno savvy than I’ll ever be (I say this despite the fact that my day job has me on a computer all day, using about 30 different programs, so I’m no nitwit in this regard...) I have recently taken her off instant messenger, for one thing, because I worry about her being sucked into something that parents on the other end are watching. I tell her, “Don’t leave a paper trail. It can come back to haunt you.” We’ve had to have conversations about “sexting” and all kinds of things I wish I didn’t have to talk to her about. So while technology is so empowering, it’s just another danger where our kids are concerned. On the plus side, I can’t imagine writing a book on a typewriter, and I love having Google handy whenever I’m stumped by something as I write. I appreciate the advancements, but still, a lot of it scares me in regard to my kids.

Ouch "sexting" - ok, now you have me worried (I have soon-to-be 15-year-old and 17-year-old daughters!) I haven't even thought about this with them - and they text ALOT. I can't imagine what it would have been like when I was their age to be able to take a phone where ever I went!

How much time do you spend doing background research for a book - and what has been your favorite "find" while doing this research?

Marie: Here’s a true confession... I actually don’t love doing research. Because of the full-time job and the kids, I don’t have a lot of time purely devoted to writing, so when I do have time, I want to get in there and write. While I know the research is necessary and critical, it’s just another obstacle to doing what I love to do. One of my favorite “finds” has to have been discovering a latent love of football once I dug into the sport while researching Line of Scrimmage. I’d always been a baseball girl and didn’t give football the time of day. In fact, I’d been kind of disdainful toward football (shameful, I know!) Once my muse delivered Ryan and he demanded that I make him into a football star, I had no choice but to get very familiar with football. And in the process, I became a fan! Go Patriots! (And Tom Brady, of course!) I also enjoyed doing a ride-along with a cop friend of mine when I was researching a romantic suspense. That was truly enlightening!
I was just able to get Line of Scrimmage from the library and can't wait to get started!
Do you have a favorite book(s)? What makes it/them your favorite?

Marie: I love anything by Nora Roberts, and my new favorite author is Lisa Kleypas. Even though I mostly read contemporaries, I recently read Lisa’s Wallflower series and loved it. And her contemporaries are among the best I’ve ever read. I adore them! She does it all—deep emotion, sizzling love scenes, heroes to die for, and underneath it all, a great story that has you turning the pages for more.
I love Nora Roberts also - I find her books good to take on vacation! I haven't read anything by Lisa Kleypas but will have to check her out!
From your own books - do you have a favorite scene or quote?

Marie: Let’s see, from Line of Scrimmage I love the scene where Ryan and Susannah are fighting (I love writing fights—what does that say about me?) and she tells him he can have any woman he wants, go get another one. Hurt by this, he says, the only one I want is the one right in front of me. To which she replies, well, you can’t have me. What part of that don’t you understand? In typical Ryan fashion, he says, um, the can’t part? Insert frustrated shriek from Susannah here! That scene cracks me up every time I read it. I loved writing Ryan as intentionally obtuse. My favorite scene in Love at First Flight is the “big black moment” between Michael and Juliana, which I can’t say too much about because it includes plot spoilers. Suffice to say you’ll know it when you read it!
I think a lot of men are intentionally obtuse! I can't wait to meet Ryan and Susannah as I read Line of Scrimmage. I have not read First Flight but am trying to win me a copy! I want to know what that "big black moment" is!

Where do you like to write and is there anything specific you need - like a favorite pen or a favorite snack?

Marie: Since I work in my home office all day for the job, I don’t like to be there when I’m writing. So picture this: sofa, footstool, laptop, kids running all around, Red Sox on the TV, Diet Coke in the glass... I seem to do my best work in the midst of chaos. I travel quite a bit for my day job and always think I’m going to get so much writing done in the hotel rooms, but that never seems to happen. I’ve decided I need the chaos to produce. Weird, right?

No, sometimes I think I get more done when there is more energy (translate: chaos) around me!

While on this blog tour - has there been any comments or questions that have taken you by surprise?

Marie: One thing that happened last week really threw me. I had a reviewer say that the scenario with my characters Juliana and her longtime boyfriend Jeremy really rocked her on a personal level. At the opening of Love at First Flight, Juliana and Jeremy have been together ten years, but she’s sensing some discontent on his part. She later finds out that he’s been having thoughts about other women and worries that he’s missing out by being with the same woman his entire adult life. Needless to say this really rocks Juliana’s world. It also rocked this reviewer’s world since she’s been married to her high school sweetheart for more than twenty years. For a week after she finished Love at First Flight she couldn’t stop wondering if her husband ever feels the way Jeremy did. Wow, I sure didn’t see that coming!

Isn't it amazing how writing can touch everyone differently?!
Is there anything else you would like your readers to know?

Marie: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has shown up to support my blog tour and for all the wonderful reviews. It’s been a really exciting couple of weeks. A few announcements for your readers:

I’ll give one copy of Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight to two different people, so leave a comment for a chance to win! Already read Line of Scrimmage? Just let me know.

(wondering...can I enter a contest on my own blog? hmmmm)

If you wish to discuss all the rules I broke in Love at First Flight, join me Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog (http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com) for a Book Club discussion. Warning, there will be spoilers, so make sure you read the book before the party! I’ll be giving away some great prizes to participants.

Once you’ve read the book, come by my website at www.mariesullivanforce.com to find out how to enter the contest for the Love at First Flight Grand Prize gift basket. I’ll accept answers to daily questions about the book through July 15. The winner will be announced during the July 20 Book Club Meeting.

What is coming up next for you when this tour is over?


Marie: I'm polishing up a sexy romantic comedy about a small conservative town fighting the newest business—a naughty lingerie and sex toy shop owned by my fearless heroine—and working on book one in a series about four brothers who are summoned home to the island where they grew up to save the family business. Their mother also has matchmaking on her mind, but her idea of the perfect mates for her sons differs vastly with their own ideas. It’s been really fun so far, and I’m looking forward to getting back to it!

How fun! I look forward to hearing more about these! Thank you Marie and best of luck on these new ventures!

Marie: Thanks again for having me!

To enter the giveaway for one of Marie's books - Line of Scrimmage or Love at First Flight (please specifiy which book you would like - you can enter the drawings for both, but can only win one!) just leave a comment below WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. This giveaway will end on July 20th. (US or Canada only)

Love at First Flight
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, July 2009
ISBN: 9781402220067
398 pages

Barnes & Noble
Amazon


L@FF Blog Tour: Come By, Comment, and Win!

June 29: Romance Reader at Heart

June 30: The Book Faery

July 1: Happily Forever After & Casablanca Authors Blog Launch Party

July 1: Marie’s Blog Launch Party

July 2: Magical Musings & Crave More Romance

July 3: Fresh Fiction & I Don’t Want to Wait, I Want the Book Now

July 6: Chic Book Reviews

July 7: J. Kaye’s Book Blog & Jaunty Quills

July 8: Marta’s Meanderings

July 9: Yankee Romance Reviewers

July 10: Books and Needlepoint

July 13: Night Owl Romance

July 14: Love Romance Passion

July 27: Romance Bandits