Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Monday, April 12, 2010

It's Monday! What are you reading?



What are you reading on Mondays is now being hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too!

Don't forget to check out all the giveaways in my right sidebar - especially my Big Birthday Bash!

Currently Reading:
Alexandra, Gone by Anna McPartlin - Good book so far - hope to finish it for the Pocket Tour tomorrow.

This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3) - Net Galley - It is just proving harder that it should to actually read abook on my computer!

My Own Personal Soap Opera: Looking for reality in all the wrong places by Libby Malin - If you missed my interview and giveaway - please check the right sidebar!

New this week:

Too Close to Home (Women of Justice Series #1) by Lynette Eason

Forget Me Not: A Novel (Crossroads Crisis Center) by Vicki Hinze

A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare - watch for an interview and giveaway with her later this week.

Current audio books:

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) - Still listening to this with my daughter.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - I have just gotten this one loaded and ready to go!

Books finished last week and waiting for reviews:

How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly by Connie May Fowler - this review will be posting tomorrow.

The Poacher's Son (Mike Bowditch Mysteries) by Paul Doiron


Is there a monster over there? by Sally O. Lee

A Certain "Je Ne Sais Quoi": The Origin of Foreign Words Used in English by Chloe Rhodes

I Has a Hotdog: What Your Dog Is Really Thinking by Professor Happycat

Books finished and reviewed last week:

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker - Excellent Book!

Asking for Trouble by Sandra Byrd

This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony deStefano

The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister

Waiting for review:

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle: A Cheeky Book with Tidbits of Advice for a Glamorous Lifestyle by Dawn Del Russo

Disrupting Grace: A Story of Relinquishment and Healing by Kristen Richburg

Giveaway of The Cradle by Patrick Somerville


The Cradle
by Patrick Somerville


Early one summer morning, Matthew Bishop kisses his still-sleeping wife Marissa, gets dressed and eases his truck through Milwaukee, bound for the highway. His wife, pregnant with their first child, has asked him to find the antique cradle taken years before by her mother Caroline when she abandoned Marissa, never to contact her daughter again. Soon to be a mother herself, Marissa now dreams of nothing else but bringing her baby home to the cradle she herself slept in. His wife does not know-does not want to know-where her mother lives, but Matt has an address for Caroline's sister near by and with any luck, he will be home in time for dinner.

Only as Matt tries to track down his wife's mother, he discovers that Caroline, upon leaving Marissa, has led a life increasingly plagued by impulse and irrationality, a mysterious life that grows more inexplicable with each new lead Matt gains, and door he enters. As hours turn into days and Caroline's trail takes Matt from Wisconsin to Minnesota, Illinois, and beyond in search of the cradle, Matt makes a discovery that will forever change Marissa's life, and faces a decision that will challenge everything he has ever known.

Elegant and astonishing, Patrick Somerville tells the story of one man's journey into the heart of marriage, parenthood, and what it means to be a family. Confirming the arrival of an exuberantly talented new writer, THE CRADLE is an uniquely imaginative debut novel that radiates with wisdom and wonder.


Giveaway


I have three copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT)if you have children, was there anything that you REALLY wanted when you brought your baby(babies) home from the hospital?   Please leave your email address.


For additional entries:

1. Sign up to follow through Google Friend Connect (old followers let me know) - 2 entries for this one. (leave 2 comments)

2. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about it. Please leave link in comments.

3. Post it on your blog - please leave link in your comments.

Each entry must have it's own comment. (Five entries total.)


This giveaway is for U.S/Canada only - no PO boxes.
It ends April 26.





How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly - Blog Tour (Apr 12 - 16)


How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly
by Connie May Fowler
Touring Apr 12 - 16

New York Times bestselling writer Connie May Fowler delivers a transcendent novel about one fateful day in the life of a woman -- and the extraordinary life change it brings about.

Set amidst the lush pine forests and rich savannahs of Florida's Northern Panhandle, this is the story of one woman whose existence until now has seemed fairly normal: She is thirtysomething, married, and goes about her daily routine as a writer. But we soon learn that ghosts, an indifferent husband, and a seemingly terminal case of writer's block are burdening Clarissa's life. She awakes on the summer solstice and, prodded by her own discontent and one ghost's righteous need for truth, commences upon a twenty-four-hour journey of self-discovery.  Her harrowing, funny, and startling adventures lead Clarissa to a momentous decision: She must find a way to do the unthinkable.  Her life and the well-being of a remarkable family of blithe spirits hang in the balance.

In How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, Connie May Fowler once again demonstrates her keen abilities as a storyteller. A remarkably original and empowering novel about an unexpected midlife awakening, it will resonate and be discussed for years to come.

Connie May Fowler is an essayist, screenwriter, and novelist. She is the author of five novels, most recently The Problem with Murmur Lee, and a memoir, When Katie Wakes. Her 1996 novel, Before Women Had Wings, became a bestseller in paperback and was adapted into a successful Oprah Winfrey Presents movie. She also founded the Connie May Fowler Women with Wings Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need.

Participating Sites:

April 12
Readaholic
Frugal Plus
Review From Here
Foreign Circus Library
A Mom After God's Own Heart
You wanna know what I think?
Rundpinne
The Cajun Book Lady
The Tome Traveler's Weblog


April 13
Reading at the Beach
One More Foggy Notion
Red Lady's Reading Room
Libby's Library News
Books and Needlepoint
Along the Way
Chaotic Book Obsession
Busy Julie


April 14
Bella's Novella
Bookhounds
Just One More Paragraph
My Book Views
Starting Fresh
BookNAround
Booktumbling
Distracted Musician

April 15
Bookin with Bingo
Joseph's Reviews Blog
Bless Their Hearts Mom
Delgal's Book Reviews
Just Jennifer Reading
Debshere
Simply Stacie
O' Joy of My Life

April 16
Just Short of Crazy
My Life in Not So Many Words
Freda's Voice
The Avid Reader
Lori's Reading Corner
Just Another New Blog
The Book Tree
My Book Buddies
Arms of a Sister
Wise Owl Book Review
Must Read Faster

Forget Me Not - Blog Tour and Giveaway! (tour Apr 12 - 16)

Forget Me Not
by Vicki Hinze
Touring Apr 12 - 16

 
A mother who cannot face her future.

THEIR ELUSIVE ENEMIES TOOK EVERYTHING. NOW THEY WANT MORE.


Crossroads Crisis Center owner Benjamin Brandt was a content man—in his faith, his work, and his family. Then in a flash, everything he loved was snatched away. His wife and son were murdered, and grief-stricken Ben lost faith. Determination to find their killers keeps him going, but after three years of dead ends and torment, his hope is dying too. Why had he survived? He’d failed to protect his family.

Now, a mysterious woman appears at Crossroads seeking answers and help—a victim who eerily resembles Ben’s deceased wife, Susan. A woman robbed of her identity, her life, of everything except her faith—and Susan’s necklace.

The connections between the two women mount, exceeding coincidence, and to keep the truth hidden, someone is willing to kill. Finding out who and why turns Ben and the mystery woman’s situation from dangerous to deadly. Their only hope for survival is to work together, trust each other, and face whatever they discover head on, no matter how painful. But will that be enough to save their lives and heal their tattered hearts?

Vicki Hinze is an award-winning author of twenty-three novels, three nonfiction books, and hundreds of articles. Selected for Who’s Who in America in 2004 as a writer and educator, Hinze is active in Romance Writers of America and serves as a Vice President on the International Thriller Writers Board of Directors. Vicki lives in Florida with her artist husband, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.


I have one extra copy of this book to giveaway so just leave me a comment if you are interested.  Please leave your email address.

This giveaway is open to U.S. only and will end April 26.

Just Let Me Lie Down - Book Give Away!

This book is for moms who work, moms who work from home, and moms whose work IS home.



Just Let Me Lie Down
by Kristin van Ogtrop

Kristin van Ogtrop has a nice career, a dependable husband, and three healthy kids who occasionally make their beds. You could say she is average, but lucky. You could also say she is half-insane -- but just try to name one working mom who isn't.  Like all of us, van Ogtrop needs a bit of guidance from time to time. Yet when she searched the bookshelves for something to help put a little order into her average/lucky/chaotic life, she came up short. And so she had an idea.

In Just Let Me Lie Down, van Ogtrop providces a new lexicon for the half-insane working mom. Using experiences and insights from her own life, she presents terms and concepts to illustrate the highs (children who know where their soccer cleats are, coworkers who never hit, "Reply to All," dogs who helpfully eat whatever falls from the table) and lows (getting out of the house in the morning, getting along with everyone at work, getting dinner made before everyone starves, getting willful kids into bed) of trying to combine work and family in the same life.

Filled with essays, lists, poignant observations, and more than a few embarrassing stories, Just Let Me Lie Down shows that if you can't laugh at the nonsense that is daily life for the working mom, then you might need to reconsider your entire existence, or at least take a nap.

Kristin van Ogtrop is the editor of Real Simple magazine. Her essay "Attila the Honey I'm Home" appeared in the New York Times bestseller The Bitch in the House, and her blog, "Adventures in Chaos," appears on RealSimple.com. She lives outside New York City with her husband, a dog, and three children, whom she loves very much, even though they insist on playing too many sports.

Giveaway


I have three copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) just leave me a comment. Please leave your email address.


For additional entries:
1. Sign up to follow through Google Friend Connect (old followers let me know) - 2 entries for this one. (leave 2 comments)
2. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about it. Please leave link in comments.
3. Post it on your blog - please leave link in your comments.

BONUS ENTRY:  Sign up for the NING Group - Just Let Me Lie Down

Each entry must have it's own comment. (Six entries total.)

This giveaway is for U.S/Canada only - no PO boxes.
It ends Apr 26.

Too Close to Home by Lynette Eason - Blog Tour (Apr 11 - 17)

New romantic suspense series: “Women of Justice”
FBI agent Samantha Cash sets out to solve a string of murders in a small Southern town. Troubles arise when the case turns personal…


Lynette Eason debuts a new romantic suspense series that features strong female characters who will stop at nothing to find the criminal: the Women of Justice series.

Too Close to Home is the first novel in this new series, which renowned suspense author Dee Henderson called “a hit” and said that she “enjoyed every minute.”

In this thrilling first book, readers meet Samantha Cash, who is the FBI's secret weapon. Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help the local police chief Connor Wolfe find the killer. And he has two problems with that. There's her faith--in God and herself. And then there's the fact that she looks exactly like his late wife.

As they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor's 16-year-old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective. Can't a girl just have some fun?

Too Close to Home ratchets up the suspense with each page, and will have readers cheering for the characters they love as justice is served and love grows even in the face of danger. Read this one with the lights on!

Lynette Eason is the author of three romantic suspense novels, and a member of American Fiction Christian Writers and Romance Writers of America. A homeschooling mother of two, she has a master's degree in education from Converse College.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

First Wild Card Tour: The Secret Holocaust Diaries

="">It is time for a 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!Nonna Bannister

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


My review is here.


Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Tyndale House Publishers (March 4, 2010)
***Special thanks to Vicky Lynch of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Nonna Bannister was a young girl when World War II broke into her happy life. She went from an idyllic early-twentieth-century Russian childhood, full of love and comforts, to the life of a prisoner working in labor camps—though she was not a Jew—eventually bereft of her entire family. But she survived the war armed with the faith in God her grandmother taught her and a readiness to start a new life. She immigrated to America, married, and started a family, keeping her past secret from everyone. Though she had carried from Germany the scraps of a diary and various photographs and other memorabilia, she kept it all hidden and would only take it out, years later, to translate and expand her writings. After decades of marriage, Nonna finally shared her secret with her husband . . . and now he is sharing it with the world. Nonna died on August 15, 2004.

Visit the author's website.



Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (March 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414325479
ISBN-13: 978-1414325477

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

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:


and the book:

Tyndale House Publishers (March 4, 2010)
***Special thanks to Vicky Lynch of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Nonna Bannister was a young girl when World War II broke into her happy life. She went from an idyllic early-twentieth-century Russian childhood, full of love and comforts, to the life of a prisoner working in labor camps—though she was not a Jew—eventually bereft of her entire family. But she survived the war armed with the faith in God her grandmother taught her and a readiness to start a new life. She immigrated to America, married, and started a family, keeping her past secret from everyone. Though she had carried from Germany the scraps of a diary and various photographs and other memorabilia, she kept it all hidden and would only take it out, years later, to translate and expand her writings. After decades of marriage, Nonna finally shared her secret with her husband . . . and now he is sharing it with the world. Nonna died on August 15, 2004.

Visit the author's website.



Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (March 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414325479
ISBN-13: 978-1414325477

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

FIRST Wild Card Tour

The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister (Book Review)




Title: The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister
Author: Nonna Bannister with Denise George and Carolyn Tomlin
Publisher: Tyndale

About the book: The Secret Holocaust Diaries is a haunting eyewitness account of Nonna Lisowskaja Bannister, a remarkable Russian-American woman who saw and survived unspeakable evils as a young girl.  For half a century she kept her story secret while living a normal American life. She locked all her photos, documents, diaries, and dark memories from World War II in a trunk. Late in life she unlocked the trunk, first for herself, then for her husband, and now for the rest of the world.

Nonna's story is one of suffering, torture, and death -- but also of incredible acts of kindness that show the ultimate triumph of faith and love over despair and evil.  The Secret Holocaust Diaries is in part a tragedy, yet it's also an unforgettable true story about forgiveness, courage, and hope. (back cover)

My thoughts:  First off, definitely read the introduction of this book to get a better understanding of the author.  I think it is just amazing that she kept this all a secret for so long!

The book starts out in 1942 and immediately shows some of the horrors that Nonna lived through - it then jumps back to her childhood with her family.  She was very close to her mother, father and brother and she had a very happy childhood before the war.  At times I was a little confused because of all the names of people and places (and being unfamiliar with the geography of Russia/Germany).  It leads up to the war and what happened with her father and brother.

There are many side notes in the text that help explain what Nonna may have been thinking - or how her text has become "Americanized" due to writing this after he life in America.  It is an incredible story of survival, especially as Nonna was very ill and hospitalized at the end of the war.  How she found the strength as a young girl to sustain her and help her get to American - as was her families wish can only be attributed to God.  That she lived her live without showing anger or bitterness towards the evils of her childhood says a lot about her character. 

She kept a journal through much of her young life and the war and was able to keep these journals with her.  Upon coming to America, she locked them away.  It wasn't until late in life that she unlocked the trunk and began to translate them to English.  When that was finished, she told her husband it was time for him to learn about her past and showed him all the things she had from her past.  She then presented him with the translated pages of her journals.  Nonna died in 2004.  More information can be found at http://www.secretholocaustdiaries.com/.


***Special thanks to Vicky Lynch of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. for sending me a review copy.***




The Secret Holocaust Diaries
Publisher/Publication Date: Tyndale, Mar 4, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2547-7
336 pages

Sunday, April 11, 2010

More Winners!



Here are the winners from the giveaways that ended on April 8, 9, and 10.


Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton

For the first entry, reader's needed to tell whether or not they ever wanted to be a writer - here is what the winners had to say:

25 - Sue said. . .I've always wanted to be a writer, but sadly it will never happen.. . I have great reading skills but very pathetic writing skills.


24 - Jonita said. . .I've always wanted to write a fictional novel drawing from my experiences as a teenage mom. I'm scared of rejection, though!

49 - Pamela S. said. . . I think it would be wonderful to be a writer, but I doubt I have any talent for it. I wish I did!!
 
Slip of the Knife by Denise Mina
 
59 - Darcie K.
41 - Tabathia
9 - LuAnn
52  - Suzi
12 - Heidi V.
 
For the first entry into this contest, readers had to either give me their blog URL or, if they didn't have a blog - they had to tell me a favorite.  Hopefully you will all go check out these other wonderful bloggers.

Favorite blogs: 
http://www.readingatthebeach.com/
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
http://northernmama-northerngirl.blogspot.com/
http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.luxuryreading.com/
http://www.frugalplus.com/
http://www.agoodaddiction.blogspot.com/
http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/(blush)
http://www.thestorysiren.com/
http://kat-bryanscorner.blogspot.com/
http://desiringtobeawomanaftergodsownheart.blogspot.com/
http://www.themommy-files.com/

Own blogs
http://stacievaughansblog.blogspot.com/
http://lumorgan.blogspot.com/
http://theblackcell.net/blog/
http://grumpydan.blogspot.com/
http://wakeboardingmama.blogspot.com/
http://www.luxuryreading.com/
http://cerebralgirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.cherylbaryl.blogspot.com/
http://thefictionenthusiast.blogspot.com/
http://meditativereading.blogspot.com/
http://suzquiz.blogspot.com/

Final winner today:



This One is Mine by Maria Semple - WINNERS! For their first entry, each reader had to tell me what they thought of the cover.

20 - Benita said. . My first thought was a cupcake, my second, chocolate, and my third, who wouldn't claim chocolate or sweets for themselves?

60 - Darcie K. - I love the cover. simple and clean.

44 - cherylbaryl said. . . When I saw the cover I thought "oh chocolate, yum!"

Don't forget about my Birthday Bash - ends on April 15 - Currently their are 5 winners ranging in winnings from 1 - 5 books.

Congrats winners!  Followers - please remember to check the instructions of each giveaway - I hate having random.org pick someone's number, only to have to throw it away because they didn't follow the directions for the first entry!




You will have 48 hours from the time I email you to get me your mailing information, otherwise I will have to draw new winners.  If you see your name here first though - please feel free to email me the information at: kherbrand (at) comcast (dot) net.

Winners!

Webfetti.com







Here are the winners from the giveaways that ended on April 7:






Cole. . . I Love You to the Moon and Back -  WINNER - Linda Kish








Black Hills by Dan Simmons - WINNERS -


rubynreba
Wise Owl, Editor
Mary Ann Deborde







Worst Case by James Patterson - WINNERS -

Libby's Library
ossmcalc
Boo Bear's Place

For the first entry into this contest, readers had to leave the name of their favorite literary detective (some people didn't do this so were eliminated. . .)  But I got a neat list of favorites:

Kurt Wallander
Nancy Drew
Daniel Gallagher
Lindsay Boxer
Kay Scarpetta
Hercule Poirot
Sherlock Holmes
Anna Pigeon
Lucas Davenport
Rick Castle
Miss Marple
Alex Cross
Dirk Pitt
Hardy Boys
Harry Dresden
Trixie Beldon


Thanks everybody - watch for more winners announcements tonight or tomorrow!  Winners will be notified tonight and will have 48 hours to get me their mailing info or new winners will be drawn.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Readathon Title Teasers Mini Challenge

This challenge is being hosted by Write for a reader.

Here are your titles:


1.The Dark _____    The Dark Divine

2.An _____ _____ Girl  An Irish Country Girl

3.The Lost _____ of _____ May _____  The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

4.Necessary _____  Necessary Heartbreak

5.She's So _____ to _____  She's So Dead to Us

6._____ Over Toccoa  Fireworks Over Toccoa

7._____ Dead  Beautiful Dead

8.Scones & _____   Scones & Sensibility

9.All _____ Things  All Unquiet Things

10.Beautiful _____  Beautiful Creatures

11._____ to Dream  Perchance to Dream

12.The _____-_____ Waves  The Dead-Tossed Waves

13.I Kissed a _____ and I _____ It  I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It

14.Prophecy of the _____  Prophecy of the Sisters

15.Very _____  Very Valentine

16.The Girl Who _____ from the _____  The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

17.Marriage and Other _____ of _____  Marriage and Other Acts of Charity

18.Making _____  Making Toast

19._____ Cat  White Cat

20.Letters to My _____  Letters to My Father

Readathon Mini Challenge - Bookish movies

This hours challenge is to pick a book that you would like to see made into a movie and pick the stars.

I had just finished The Road last year and had mentioned to my husband that it would be a great movie, when a movie trailer came on tv - so that one is out.  Then I thought The Lovely Bones would be a good movie and sure enough, that one is out too!

So I will pick How It Ends by Laura Wiess.  You can see my review here.

This was such a great story and it had a great message.

For Hanna I would pick Dakota Fanning



and for Helen - Helen Mirren.

Readathon Mid Event Survey

IT IS THE HALFWAY POINT!  By the way, if you have no clue to what this is all about - check it out here.


1. What are you reading right now?

Still - How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly


2. How many books have you read so far?

only 1


3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Maybe A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare or Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber - or I might try an ebook - This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer


4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Yes - 2 of my children are staying with my sister - the third child is on a church retreat
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

I had laundry that I did not get done yesterday that HAD to be finished today - and I have had to give some time to my hubby.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

That I don't read more than I do.  .. .

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

It would be nice if all the links from the read-a-thon page popped up in their own windows - so that you didn't have to keep reopening the Read-a-thon page. . Does that make sense?
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Go to bed earlier the night before!

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Yes, I actually just closed my eyes for about 20 minutes

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
 
No, but I am open to suggestions!

Readathon Mini Challenge - drabbles

This challenge is being hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl - so to learn what a drabble is - you will need to go and visit her!

I am reading How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly - and since I am not very far into it I am going to make something up based on the title.

"As Clarissa climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse, she thought back to all the ships that had been saved as the light splashed out across the water in one of its neverending arcs.  The heat was intense up here, but with the coming nightfall, it would wane.  Jiggling the hatch on the glass door to the balcony, Clarissa stepped outside and felt some trepidation.  She scanned the horizon away from the water, looking for someone. Finally, she saw Peter. He appeared to be pulling his hot air balloon in a trailer behind him."




And just what did you think she was going to do?

Hour 8 Readathon Update

I took a break over hour 7 and went outside - did some more laundry - walked around and loosened up.  I also picked out my next book - How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly.  I am about 20 pages in.  I tried reading outside - but I was actually too hot!  Hard to believe that 2 days ago it was 35 degrees!

Hour 7 update

Hey folks - it is 12:15pm here and I have been at this since 7:30 am.  I just finished my first book The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister.  I am excited to be able to pick another!

Books read: 1
Pages read: 285
Mini challenges: 5
Books won: 1
Loads of laundry done: 2

Shots given to diabetic dog: 1
Swimming pool covers removed: 1


Happy reading!

Feed me Seymour: Mini Challenge

Find a passage where the characters describe what they are eating or when they are actually eating – write up a post with the book, author, your selected passage and a picture of one the dishes- leave a link to that specific post on MckLinky and that’s it.  Nicole from Linus's Blanket is hosting this one!

Passage: Trying to keep him quiet, I stuck my finger into the preserves, and then into the cream, and let him lick my finger.  By then, my own desire took over, and once again, I stuck my finger into the preserves and then the cream.  It tasted heavenly.  (The Secret Holocaust Diaries, p62)




Preserves


Cream (hahaha)


Ok - this cream.

Mini Challenge - Hour 4

I do waste a lot of time with this one - but it is so much fun!  Here are my entries:


Burn the last ember, Elynia, she's so dead to us.

Burn the fiery cross in the land of cotton.

Across the endless river, Benny and Shrimp, die for me.

The clouds roll away, when turtles fly, bending toward the sun.


I think this would be fun for an assignment for kids for like extra credit in an English class or something!

Mini Challenge - Kick Off of Champions

I don't have a lot around me right now - except for a notebook and my laptop - so that I can check in and type up these posts.  (and my books of course!)  I do have a small heater going out in the 3-season room as I hope to sit out there part of today. For now I am just on the couch under my snuggie! It is just such a relaxing atmosphere out there - and I can watch my hubby work in the yard!  

He is going to the grocery store for me later and is going to pick me up some snacks then - probably just pretzels and chip dip and maybe some soda.  Does anyone else have some good snack suggestions?  I would love to have him get more.   (:


Back to reading!

Readathon - Hour One

Good morning!  I am starting just a little late this morning as my husband and I went out to breakfast - but thought I would participate in the first meme.

We have to answer these questions:

Where are you reading from today?
My home in the sunny (but cold) Midwest.

3 facts about me …
I have a schnauzer who was just dx as diabetic - so I have to give her 2 shots every day!

I enjoy playing piano and hope to start lessons again as soon as my youngest is in school.

I hope to go back to college to get a degree in library science.


How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I made myself a huge list of books - so that I would have a variety to pick from -
But I am not limiting myself to this list.

This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3)

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister

Too Close to Home (Women of Justice Series #1)

Forget Me Not: A Novel (Crossroads Crisis Center)

Alexandra, Gone

How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly

A Certain Wolfish Charm

Deliver Us from Evil: A Novel

The Language of Secrets

Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir

Lost Letter

Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure

When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out

Birthmarked

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

My only goal is to keep better track of how much I read every hour.  I didn't do that so well the last time!

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?

I wouldn't say that I am a veteran - but what I have learned for me is not to be so rigid - if I start a book and don't like it - move on or you will get bogged down (and sleepy).  Have fun.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Moms - I have a giveaway for you!


Mommy Power:
Discovering Your Mommy Strength
by Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman
Many women struggle with being mothers. The great joys of parenting are hindered by harsh self-doubt and a chronic lack of physical and emotional energy. In MOMMY POWER, Sheila Schuller Coleman helps women understand that while they really don't have the power or strength to handle the demands of motherhood alone, they don't have to. Mommy strength, Sheila says, comes from asking God to lend some of His, knowing He will never fail to provide. God will enable anyone who asks to become a powerful mother who loves strong, forgives strong, and models a strong faith.


Author Bio: Sheila Schuller Coleman has a doctorate in educational leadership and administration. For over a decade she has worked in both the public and private school arenas, mentoring schoolteachers, principals, and preschool directors. Sheila is currently senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. She lives in Southern California with her husband, Jim, and they are the parents of four children. You can contact Sheila and read her column at www.crystalcathedral.org/Sheila.

Giveaway

I have three copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) other than God's power - for fun, what super power would help you be a better mother? Please leave your email address.

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

This giveaway is for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes.
It ends Apr 23.







My Own Personal Interview with Libby Malin and Giveaway!

Hi Libby, Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me today!  Let's get right to it.


1. You have written romantic comedies, mysteries for young adults and one historical - is any genre a favorite over any other?

Whatever I’m writing at the moment is my favorite! When I’m writing romantic comedies, I start thinking to myself, “Wow, I should just write these all the time.” Then I get an itch to write something more serious, and I start thinking, “Hmm, this is where my strength is, in these brooding tales.” Maybe I need to see a psychiatrist!

2. I don't think you need to see a psychiatrist!  I think it is great that you love whatever it is you are writing - I think this is reflected in your books! You are trained as a singer and performed on stage before becoming a writer - if money were not an issue, what would your dream job be?

If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would still write fiction. When I came to that realization years ago, I knew I had found my calling.

3. What do you feel your strengths are and how have they helped your writing?

A vivid imagination, a sense of humor, some keen powers of observation, and, of course, my stunning physical beauty – these are all my strengths. Seriously, the first three items in that list help me as a writer for obvious reasons. I think being able to observe people and puzzle out motivations helps an awful lot. I also think being able to think of “what if” questions (vivid imagination) helps launch stories. Other than that, writing is a craft and it takes lots of practice to hone one’s skills. I also do some freelance editing and that has helped me tremendously—seeing what does and doesn’t work in other manuscripts.

4. What do you feel your weaknesses are as a writer and how have you overcome them?

My weakness as a writer is I care too much. Seriously, my weakness is probably a tendency to “gild the lily.” By that I mean to overwrite, to use two adjectives when one (or none) would do. Often when I edit, I end up cutting a lot of “gilt” from the book. I need to perfect the art of gilt-free writing.

5. If you could have written any book in history, what would it be and why?

Oh, that’s a tough one. I have some favorite books, books that I’ve read and re-read because I absolutely adore them. But to think of having written them myself seems so. . . presumptuous, I guess. Here’s one that I re-read last year and recommend highly – the Pulitzer-prize-winning Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Such a beautiful book, filled with inspiration and serenity and, well, godliness. It’s not a comedy but a serious book, a trip through memory. As a writer, when I finish a book like that, I do sigh and think, “I wish I could write like this.”

6. Has there ever been a book that you have "faked" reading?

Please do not tell my high school teachers, but I did not read Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness or Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. But that didn’t stop me from writing papers about them.

7. While writing, do you have any "must haves" or favorite places that help to facilitate the process?

I’m fortunate to have a small office in my house that overlooks the back yard where we have a garden complete with bird bath. I love to sit at my desk and watch the birds frolic in the bath. My office also contains various mementoes that cheer me – framed copies of my book covers, funny little gifts from my kids, three very romantic prints of pre-Raphaelite paintings. That room is my favorite and most comfortable writing spot. But I can pretty much write anywhere if the muse visits me with inspiration. My only “must have” is a computer. I can no longer write longhand. I become too impatient.

8. What question have you never been asked in an interview but wished you were?

Question: Why should I buy your books?
Answer: Because they’re engrossing stories about people you’ll recognize—folks with the same insecurities most of us have faced at one point or another—who go on incredible personal journeys of self-discovery—sometimes funny, sometimes difficult and filled with sorrow—but always ending up the better for their struggles. And. . . if you don’t buy my books, I will be very, very, very sad. Extremely sad. And my publishers will be sadder. And when they’re sad, they don’t like to buy manuscripts from me. That have this amazingly silly preoccupation with numbers—numbers of books sold. I know, I know—it’s preposterous. But that’s the way of the publishing world. So if you want to see more books from me, well . . . please, oh please oh please oh please, buy a copy of My Own Personal Soap Opera. And other books by me. Buy multiple copies. Give them away as gifts. Leave them on subways or trains and buy fresh copies. Thank you.

Okay readers - We want to make Libby's publishers happy - so get out there and buy her books!




MY OWN PERSONAL SOAP OPERA
BY LIBBY MALIN
IN STORES APRIL 2010


Is life stranger than fiction, or vice versa?



Frankie McNally has found the perfect solution for life’s perplexing problems: as head writer for the daytime soap Lust for Life, she works them out on the air!



Meanwhile, Frankie’s being courted simultaneously by the dashing older man sent in to save the show’s sagging ratings and by the soap’s totally hot leading man. And just when Frankie thinks the plot couldn’t get more complicated, a jewel thief starts copying the show’s storyline-a development that could send the show’s ratings soaring, if it doesn’t get Frankie arrested first...



In her signature blending of the hilarious with the poignant, Libby Malin’s latest light-hearted novel combines the best of life and of fiction into an entertaining and incredibly satisfying read.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Libby Malin is published in women’s fiction, including Fire Me, and is an Edgar nominated YA mystery writer. She’s worked in public relations, as an education reform advocate, and was a member of the Vermont Commission on Women. She lives with her husband and three children in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For more information please visit http://www.libbysbooks.com/.

Ok - I can hear all of you asking - What about the giveaway? 

A big thank you to Danielle and Sourcebooks for allowing me to giveaway 2 copies of My Own Personal Soap Opera!  This giveaway is open to US/Canada and will end Apr 23. 

To enter:  Please visit Libby at one of the following places - Libby's Books, Libby's Books Blog, Lunch Reads or her daughter's blog - Bedford Square, and tell me something you learn.  Please leave an email address with your comment.  Must do this to enter.

For an additional entry, sign up to be a Google Friend follower (and if you already are - just let me know).

Thursday, April 8, 2010

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


This Little Prayer of Mine
by Anthony DeStefano
illustrated by Mark Elliott
Touring Apr 5 - 9

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


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


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


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

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

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


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

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


Purchase This Little Prayer of Mine.

Please Welcome Mary Carter!

Mary Carter is my guest blogger today!  Please give her a big warm welcome!



My Sister’s Voice is my fourth novel with Kensington. The characters grabbed me right away, led me sometimes gently, sometimes bumping-me-into-furniture, into their lives, revealing their secrets, their dreams, and their desires to me as I brought them to life on the page. The book is about sisters, identical twins who are raised apart and only learn of each other’s existence when they are twenty-eight-years-old. One is hearing and the other is Deaf. Unlike many books or movies that portray deafness as a defect, or a handicapped to be pitied or fixed, Lacey is proud to be a Deaf woman, she doesn’t view herself as handicapped, and she doesn’t want to be “fixed”. I’ve worked the past twelve years as a sign language interpreter, so I didn’t need to spend a lot of time researching Deaf Culture, I was in familiar territory. But I didn’t want Lacey to be a stock character of any type, which is why I had to let her show me who she was, apart from her deafness, her talents, her past. Characters are unique, like us, like spools of thread.

I’ve never worked with needlepoint. But I can see the similarities to writing. Attention to details. Concentration. Working section by section. I would assume as you get into it, you ease into a meditative state that relaxes you. Then, as your work progresses and you can see the tiny details start to form a larger image, you are filled with a sense of excitement and satisfaction that drives you to the next project. I am currently working on my fifth novel for Kensington. Each book feels like starting over. Of course you learn things along the way. How to lay out a pattern, or in my case an outline, what spools of thread will you weave this time, the varieties of colors you have at your disposal, the tiny tricks of the trade you need to have on the ready. It’s the same thing whether it’s thimbles or a thesaurus. Passions are what life is all about. Anything worth doing has its own set of challenges. The thread will come out of the needle, you will prick your fingers over and over again, you might even drop your needle into a haystack and waste all day looking for it. Maybe you haven’t even finished your apple in a bowl yet, whereas your neighbor has just completed a life-size needlepoint of the Sistine Chapel. Don’t despair. The key to improving is to pour everything you have into your apple, and measure your progress without comparing yourself to anyone else. At the same time, go ahead and marvel over your neighbor’s creation, rejoice in someone else’s success, and learn something from their technique that will help you with your next project. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of a book it’s hard to remember the original vision, I might be off track, I might need to pull back and see the whole picture. I used to never finish my pieces of writing. They sat abandoned in drawers. I was afraid to keep going, I was afraid of failure, I would lose sight of what the final picture was supposed to look like. There are so many excuses not to get something done. Time. Kids. Work. Bills. Errands. Blogs. The key to success lies in the step-by-step work, the nitty-gritty, the day-by-day details. Fall in love with your picture, your project, work section by section, work a little every day. Keep the final picture in mind. In the end you’ll have something to be proud of, something worth looking at, and something you can finally take out of the drawer and hold up to the light.


MARY CARTER is a freelance writer and novelist. My Sister’s Voice is her fourth novel with Kensington. Her other works include: She’ll Take It, Accidentally Engaged, Sunnyside Blues, and The Honeymoon House in the best selling anthology Almost Home. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which is part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has just completed A Very Maui Christmas, a new novella for Kensington that will be included in a Christmas of 2010 anthology. She is currently working on a new novel, The Pub Across the Pond, about an American woman who swears off all Irish men only to learn she’s won a pub in Ireland. Readers are welcome to visit her at marycarterbooks.com.

Thank you Mary for guest blogging with me today. I love the correlation you make between writing and needlepoint.  You were able to voice for me something I can share with my family as to why I love to needlepoint - you hit it head on!  I would have never thought about it in the same vein as writing - makes me see that in a new light also!

Readers - I will be reviewing My Sister's Voice in May - so please come back and read my review!

My Sister's Voice
Publisher/Publication Date: Kensington, May 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0758229205
352 pages

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