Mailbox Madness 7-4-2010

Happy 4th of July America!

In My Mailbox is hosted at The Story Siren.   Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page . Please visit Kristi and Marcia  and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!

Sand in My Eyes

by Christine Lemmon
(Book Sparks tour, review 7/28)

Twenty years ago, Anna Holt thought she could control everything -- her crumbling marriage, her demanding children, her hectic life -- by quitting her high-paced job in New York City and moving her family to tranquil Sanibel Island, Florida. But she brought her untamed emotions, her rage toward her cheating husband, and her yearning to write a novel with her. When her husband and children left the house for a week, Anna thought at last she would get her household, her novel, and her mind in order. Instead, her elderly neighbor Fedelina Aurelio knocked on her door bearing flowers and homespun wisdom, and when Fedelina's recently divorced son arrived, Anna had a test of passions and a test of truth. Now, at 56 with an empty nest, Anna Holt pulls out the incomplete manuscript she started that memorable week and -- to find closure for her life and a conclusion for her novel -- travels to Indiana to visit Fedelina who lives in a nursing home.

A novel framed within a novel, Sand in My Eyes is both a story about the tension between motherhood and personal dreams as well as a story about women across generations inspiring one another to let beauty persist despite ugly circumstances.

Bad Boy

by Peter Robinson
(from Shelf Awareness)

A distraught woman arrives at the Eastvale police station desperate to speak to Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. But since Banks is taking a break in California, his partner, Annie Cabbot, steps in. The woman tells Annie that she's found a loaded gun hidden in the bedroom of her daughter, Erin -- a punishable offense under English law. When an armed response team breaks into the house to retrieve the weapon, the seemingly straightforward procedure quickly spirals out of control.

But trouble is only beginning for Annie, the Eastvale force, and Banks -- and this time, the fallout may finally do the iconoclastic inspector in. It turns out that Erin's best friend and roommate is none other than Tracy Banks, the DCT's daughter, who was last seen racing off to warn the owner of the gun, a very bad boy indeed.

Thrust into a complicated and dangerous case intertwining the personal and the professional as never before, Annie and Banks -- a bit of a bad boy himself -- must risk everything to outsmart a smooth and devious psychopath. Both Annie and Banks understand that it's not just his career hanging in the balance, it's also his daughter's life.

Dracula in Love

by Karen Essex
(from Shelf Awareness)

From the shadowy banks of the river Thames to the wild and windswept Yorkshire coast, Dracula's eternal muse, Mina Murray, vividly recounts the intimate details of what really transpired between her and the Count -- the joys and terrors of a passionate affair that has linked them through the centuries, and her rebellion against her own frightening preternatural powers.

Mina's version of this gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into Victorian England's dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and asylum chambers, revealing the dark secrets and mysteries locked within. Time falls away as she is swept into a mythical journey far beyond mortal comprehension, where she must finally make the decision she has been avoiding for almost a millennium.

Bram Stoker's classic novel offered one side of the story, in which Mina had no past and bore no responsibility for the unfolding events. Now, for the first time, the truth of Mina's personal voyage, and of vampirism itself, is revealed.  What this flesh-and-blood woman has to say is more sensual, more devious, amd more enthralling than the Victorians could have expressed or perhaps even have imagined.

The Disappearing Spoon and other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of the Elements

by Sam Kean
(Hachette/July)

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?

The periodic table is one of our crowning scientific achievements, but it's also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold, and every single element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

Why did a little lithium (Li, 3) help cure poet Robert Lowell of his madness? And how did gallium (Ga, 31) become the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?* The Disappearing Spoon has the answers, fusing science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, discovery, and alchemy, from the big bang through the end of time.

*Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal with a unique property: it melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. So a classic prank for scientists is to fashion gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch as guests recoil when the Earl Grey makes their utensil disappear.

The I Hate to Cook Book

50th Anniversary Edition

by Peg Bracken
(Hachette/July)

Fifty years ago, Peg Bracken wrote The I Hate to Cook Book -- and helped change women's lives forever. At that time her message was a revolutionary one for housewives: you don't need to spend all day in the kitchen to host parties or feed your family. Cooking can be easy and more important, it's okay if you'd rather be doing something else!

Now this updated and revised edition introduces Peg's delicious recipes -- along with her wry sense of humor -- to a whole new generation of women. While we're no longer expected to slave away in the kitchen, more than ever, women (and men!) still need meals that taste like great home cooking and can be prepared with minimal effort. Peg's mouthwatering recipes are quick and easy -- and many dishes, like her "Stayabed Stew," can be popped into the oven and ignored for an hour or so while you take a nap. Best of all, they all come salted with Peg's side-splitting and timeless humor.

Updated for today's pantries and with a touching foreword from Peg's daughter Jo, The I Hate to Cook Book is sure to fill your kitchen with wonderful smells and even more wonderful laughter -- whether you hate to cook or not!

The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise

by Julia Stuart

Balthazar Jones lives in the Tower of London with his wife, Hebe, and his one-hundred-eighty-one-year-old pet tortoise. That's right: he's a Beefeater (they really do live there). It's no easy job navigating the trials and tribulations that come with living and working in the largest tourist attraction in present-day London.

Among the eccentric characters who call the Tower's maze of ancient buildings home are the Tower's barmaid, Ruby Dore, who just found out she's pregnant; portly Valerie Jennings, who is falling for ticket inspector Arthur Catnip; lifelong bachelor Reverend Septimus Drew, who secretly pens a series of principled erotica; and the philandering Ravenmaster with his flock of insufferable ravens.

The white-hot flame of Hebe and Balthazar's love has dwindled in the few years since their son, Milo, died. Their marriage is teetering on the brink of extinction, when Balthazar is unexpectedly tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals given to the Queen.

Life at the Tower is about to get all the more interesting. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives. . . Balthazar is in charge, and things are not exactly running smoothly. Then Hebe decides to leave him and his beloved tortoise runs away.

Suffused with whimsy, heart, and hilarity -- not to mention chock-full of curious Tower history -- The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise is a pure delight whose sparkling prose and charming characters will stay with you long after you've turned the final stunning page.

Premiere (On the Runway)

by Melody Carlson
(First Wild Card Tour, Aug 10)

Although they're sisters, Paige and Erin Forrester are like oil and water, night and day, denim and silk. Paige is an outgoing fashionista who loves to be the center of attention, while Erin is more comfortable sporting vintage garb and recording the action around her. When a near disaster turns into the opportunity of a lifetime, these two very-different sisters are given the chance to star in their own fashion-TV show. A guest spot on a hot teen-reality series and their first big red-carpet assignment give this unlikely partnership plenty of room for success -- and even more for failure.

It's hard to imagine that two sisters could be more different, but the launch of On the Runway, their fashion-centric TV show, promises that Paige and Erin Forrester will finally have at least one thing in common.

Final Touch

(The Rayne Tour series)

by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins
(First Wild Card Tour, Aug 3)

On a lavish estate in California guarded from the media, Shaley's mom, rock star Rayne O'Connor, is marrying her teen sweetheart and Shaley's father, Gary Donovon. It's a dream come true for Shaley, who has always longed for the father she never knew.

But minutes before the wedding, Shaley is kidnapped.

Who is this man who has taken her -- and why?  As Rayne and Gary race against time to find their daughter, Shaley's abductor eludes the FBI at every turn.  Fearing for her life, Shaley wills herself to stay strong. But as the days pass, she realizes that no one can save her but herself.

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June

by Robin Benway
(from Shelf Awareness)

Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond, in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait!

Around the time of their parents' divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood -- powers that come in handy navigating the pure hell that is high school, and help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?

April, the oldest, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And the youngest sister June reads minds. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls must come together to save the day or risk falling apart forever. Will they realize how much they need one another, before it's too late? Because if there's anything stronger than magic, it's sisterhood.

When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories From a Persuasive Man (audio)

by Jerry Weintraub with Rich Cohen

Read by Jerry Weintraub
(Hachette/July)

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed him -- the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood -- he has found a way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door. "All life was a theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage, " he writes. "I wanted to set the world under a marquee that read 'Jerry Weintraub Presents'."

In When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead, we follow Weintraub from his first great success at age twenty-six with Elvis Presley, whom he took on the road with the help of Colonel Tom Parker, the immortal days with Sinatra and Rat Pack glory; to his crowning hits as a movie producer, starting with Robert Altman and Nashville, continuing with Oh,God!, The Karate Kid movies, and Diner, among others, and summiting with Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen.

Along the way, we'll watch as Jerry moves form the poker tables of Palm Springs (the games went on for days), to the power rooms of Hollywood, the the halls of the White House, to Red Square in Moscow and the Great Palace in Beijing -- all the while counseling potentates, poets, and kings, with clients and confidants like George Clooney, Bruce Willis, George H.W. Bush, Armand Hammer, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bobby Fischer. . . well, the list goes on forever.

And of course, the story is not yet over. . . as the old-timers say, "The best is yet to come."

As Weintraub says, "When I stop talking, you'll know I'm dead."

With wit, wisdom, and the cool confidence that has colored his remarkable career, Jerry chronicles a quintessentially American journey, one marked by luck, love, and improvisation. The stories he tells and the lessons we learn are essential, not just for those who love movies and music, but for businessmen, entrepreneurs, artists. . . everyone.

So Over It

(The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series)

by Stephanie Morrill
(Revell tour 7/25-7/31)

Senior year is over and Skylar Hoyt is ready to forgive and forget. Or at least forget. She wants a fresh start where people don't know about her past or her dysfunctional family. A place where she won't run into her ex-boyfriend every time she leaves the house. When she gets the opportunity to spend the summer in Hawaii with her grandparents, Skylar jumps at the chance to get out of town.  But will she truly be able to leave her old life behind?  And will she be strong enough to rise above the gossip and live the life God wants?


I also went a little nuts yesterday at garage sales and purchased a whole slew of books!

That Summer by Sarah Dessen
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
One For the Money by Janet Evanovich
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
Nightseer by Laurel K. Hamilton
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Summer Island by Kristin Hannah
Whitewash by Alex Kava
The Murder Book by Jonathan Kellerman
Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Frankenstein: City of Night by Dean Koontz
Even Vampire's Get the Blues by Katie MacAlister
Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Mail-Order Marriages by Debbie Macomber
The Vampire Who Loved Me by Teresa Medeiros
Season of the Machete by James Patterson
City of Souls by Vikki Pettersson
Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
Vampires by John Steakley
Rewriting Monday by Jodi Thomas


What Books Came To Live With You This Week?

Thrillerfest V

SUSPENSE AND THE CITY

MASTERS OF LITERATURE’S THRILLER GENRE ARE ABOUT TO EXECUTE AN EVENT SO PERFECT IT’S ALMOST CRIMINAL

ThrillerFest V, the world’s most diabolically delicious literature festival, chills

New York City July 7-10, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel

There’s only one event where New York Times best-selling masters of the art lurk around every corner, agents appear in broad daylight and fans conspire with writers in the wee, small hours of the night – ThrillerFest V, the International Thriller Writers’ fifth annual celebration of their genre and the largest event of its kind in the world.

The highlight of the event will be the gala ITW Thriller Awards Banquet on Saturday when the heroes of suspense will be honored:

• International best-selling author Ken Follett will receive the 2010 ThrillerMaster Award given by 2009 recipient David Morrell
• Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down will become the first recipient of the True Thriller Award
• Brad Meltzer, recipient of the 2009 Silver Bullet Award, will present the 2010 award to Linda Fairstein

And this year’s winners in the categories of Best Hardcover Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best First Novel and Best Short Story will be revealed.

But the list of the notables doesn’t end there – more than 50 best-selling authors and another 200 up-and-comers will be at the festival, ready to mix and mingle with fans, aspiring writers and industry executives. In fact, ThrillerFest is often called the summer camp of literary events. Everyone--the famous, the infamous, the law-abiding, and the unsung -- all freely chat and party together while sharing their love of thrillers.

There will be plenty of thrills during the four-day event. In the spotlight will be interviews with top authors, each interrogated by another thriller master:

• Ken Follett, legendary author of The Eye of the Needle, Pillars of the Earth, and World Without End is the recipient of the ITW 2010 ThrillerMaster Award, will be interviewed by Steve Berry.
• David Morrell, last year’s recipient of the ThrillerMaster Award and author of First Blood, will be interviewed by Douglas Preston.
• Lisa Scottoline, author of the legal thrillers Killer Smile and Lady Killer, will be interviewed by Jon Land.
• Gayle Lynds, the Queen of International Suspense, will be interviewed by Lisa Gardner.
• Harlan Coben, whose novels Hold Tight and Long Lost debuted at number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, will be interviewed by Kathleen Antrim.

The panels are only the beginning. Returning are CraftFest and AgentFest, mini-festivals within the conference. During the two-day CraftFest, writers looking to hone their craft can take workshops from many New York Times Best Selling authors. An afternoon at AgentFest will be like speed-dating as aspiring writers get a chance to pitch their manuscripts to more than 40 agents. There will also be a complete bookstore, a reader’s reception and many, many book signings.

And what would a gathering of fans and writers of intense suspense be without a party, or should we say, parties? There’s one every night during ThrillerFest V including a celebration of four great, new publications on Friday night:

• Wednesday – Get acquainted at the CraftFest cocktail party.
• Thursday – Festivities officially begin with an opening reception cocktail party.
• Friday – The brand new ITW publication reception cocktail party will feature a grand book signing with dozens of best-selling authors.
• Saturday – One ticket to the ITW Awards Banquet gets you into three parties: the pre-event cocktail party, the Awards Banquet and the post-event party and happy recap.

Register now by going to http://www.thrillerfest.com/ and clicking on “Registration.” Like all great literary thrill rides, you’ll want to follow this one all the way to the end.

I so wish that I could go to this!!  Is anyone out there going to be attending?

Heart of Lies by M.L. Malcolm (Book Review and Giveaway!)

Title: Heart of Lies
Author: M.L. Malcolm
Publisher: Harper Collins

My synopsis/thoughts: This book starts way back in 1919 in Budapest.  Leo Hoffman is working at a hotel when he finds out that his adopted family has been killed for ties to the Communist Party.  He is warned to not go home or he will meet the same fate.  He is only 19 years old.  We rejoin him six years later, still working at the same hotel.  He has been noticed by certain people in power because of his gift for languages.  He is proficient in five and has a certain way of reading people's body language that enables him to charm just about anyone. 

These people entice him to go to Paris under the ruse that he is just supposed to be an interpreter and also to listen in on wire-taps as an informant.  While in Paris he has a chance meeting with a young girl on a vacation from college. Her name was Martha Levy and she was from Germany.  It was love at first sight.  Before the next 48 hours are over, he has broken her heart and is on the run from the police.  He is forced to leave Paris, but cannot return to Budapest because of his crime.  He makes his way to Shanghai as he has heard that many people go there to start new lives. 

He is able to establish himself within a year and has sent word to Martha that he wants her to join him.  She had almost given up hope, but soon is on her way to Shanghai.  They are married quickly and begin their new life together. 

I don't want to tell you any more about the book and have tried to be vague about his Paris dealings as I don't want to give anything away.  I never knew what was going to happen next but truly loved this book.  There was something about Leo that made me overlook all the bad things that had happened/he had done - and just kept me rooting for him.  This book dealt with a lot about forgiveness - both having to forgive others and having to forgive yourself.  I was even more excited upon reading the author interview at the end because it sounds like there is going to be a second book!  I am very much looking forward to reading it.  I have to include this paragraph to show a little of the writing:

One night. A volcano erupts and destroys an entire countryside in one night. A hurricane rushes ashore and destroys an entire island in one night. An earthquake hits and destroys an entire city in one night. Her love for Leo had the power of a volcano, a hurricane, an earthquake. She could not just go on with her life as if she had not met him. She had to believe that he'd meant what he said. She had to believe that he would find her. (p60, Heart of Lies)

Readers can log onto MLMalcolm.com for more information about HEART OF LIES and M.L. Malcolm, including:


-M.L. Malcolm's bio: http://www.mlmalcolm.com/author_info.html
-A Q&A with M.L. Malcolm: http://www.mlmalcolm.com/conversation.html
-A Reading Group Guide: http://www.mlmalcolm.com/reading_group.html
-About Shanghai: http://www.mlmalcolm.com/shanghai.html
-About Budapest: http://www.mlmalcolm.com/budapest.html

GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to Harper Collins and Authors on the Web I have 2 copies of this book to giveaway! 
Simple Summer Rules still apply! Just leave your comment with an email address.  Spread the word about how easy it is to enter my summer giveaways! 
This giveaway is only open to U.S./Canada and will end on July 25.

~I received a copy of this book from Authors on the Web in exchange for my review.~ 

Heart of Lies

Publisher/Publication Date: Harper Collins, June 8, 2010

ISBN: 978-006-196218-9

318 pages

What's Happening Wednesday? 6-30-2010

Welcome to What's Happening Wednesdays?

I always have things going on during the week - or things going on with my kids - just stuff that I think I should post - but never seem to have anywhere to post it! I would love it if others would do posts about whatever is going on with them that they want to share - whether it be a gripe or good news - it will all be welcome here!

On my last What's Happening Wednesday post I said that I would have my daughter's grad pictures up and - you guessed it - they are not up (can't find the camera we used. . .)  BUT  I do have other pictures of all the fun stuff my son and I have been doing.  And since I didn't do a What's Happening post last week - this covers the last 2 weeks.

First up was a week of morning soccer camp.

I think they were playing Farmer and Foxes here - Jake had a "tail" tucked in his shorts and the other little boy is trying to grab it.

They were playing "crab" soccer - and Jake was the last one standing.

Here they were playing "Tom and Jerry" - His coach was "Jerry" and when he was touched "Tom" would chase him back to the starting line.

Then - we had our first day at the pool.  The fountains were the biggest draw.

We were just getting ready to get in the car.

Sunday afternoon we made water balloons so we could attack Dad when he got home.

But let me tell you about Saturday night.  I had received an email that Rachel Vincent was going to be signing books at the local Walmart.  I was very excited as we rarely get anyone doing just book signings up here.  My sister went with me and we walked all over the Walmart and finally found her.  But it wasn't just Rachel.  Get this - it was 5 - yes 5 authors!  Carla Neggers, Susan Mallory, Rachel Vincent, Emilie Richards and GENA SHOWALTER.  (Yes, I was excited to meet Gena Showalter!)  Needless to say I had to buy 4 books - but you will hear about them on my next Mailbox Monday.   I just happened to have my small camera in my purse so I snapped this shot.

So - what's happening in your little corner of the world?

Waiting on Wednesday: Faithful Place

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Faithful Place

by Tana French

Publication Date: July 13, 2010

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city, and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and Rosie Daly were all ready to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.

But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd dumped him-probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.

Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.

Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he's a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he's willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.

Faithful Place

Publisher/Publication Date: Viking, July 13, 2010

ISBN: 978-0670021873

416 pages

Waiting on Wednesdays is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

What are you waiting for?