Book Blast: Masters of the Veil (with giveaway)

Masters of the Veil

by Daniel A. Cohen

Life can't get much better for Sam Lock. Popular, good-looking, and with a future as a professional football player. every guy at Stanton High School wishes he were Sam. That is, until his championship football game, when Sam accidentally links with an ancient source of energy known as the Veil and reveals his potential to become a powerful sorcerer. Sam is whisked off to Atlas Crown, a community of sorcerers who utilize the Veil as a part of everyday life. Once there, he trains beside a mute boy who speaks through music, an eternal sage who's the eyes and ears of the Veil, and a beautiful girl who's pretty sure Sam's an idiot. As it becomes clear Sam's meant for power magic-the most feared and misunderstood form of sorcery-people beyond Atlas Crown learn of his dangerous potential. An exiled group of power sorcerers are eager to recruit Sam, believing that he is destined to help them achieve their long-held goal. If they succeed, they could bring about the downfall of not only Atlas Crown. but all humankind.

Book Trailer

MAGIC FAQ + A SHORT LESSON FROM BARIV THE CONDUIT

Congratulations! You can do magic!

Here’s what you need to know about your exciting new ability:

Q: WHAT IS MAGIC? AND WHY CAN I DO IT?

This can be a very thrilling, confusing, and even frightening time for a young sorcerer, so let’s start with the basics. Magic is just another way of saying, “Connecting with the Veil.” As you may already know, the Veil is an ancient energy that lies all around us that some fortunate few (YOU!) can even use.

The Veil gives the sorcerer communities everything we need to survive. The more the Veil is used, the more She gives us. All sort of wonderful plants, animals, food, clothing, and shelter… they’re all there, waiting to spring forth.

There is no conclusive evidence explaining why some people can use the Veil and some people cannot. Some speculate it’s genetic, while others believe it’s spiritual. Alas, we will probably never be sure, so just be thankful that you are one of the lucky ones.

Q: HOW DO I DO MAGIC?

There are two methods of doing magic: A “grip” and a “drape”

A Grip: Connecting with the Veil to perform a specific feat.

A Drape: Essentially it’s wrapping the Veil around an object to give it extraordinary properties.

As you may have seen from the older sorcerers in your magical community, we use something called a “Second-Skin” to access the Veil.  A second-skin is a covering for your hand that allows you to grip the Veil. Second-skins must be made from materials that have sprung from the Veil in order to work. One of the first things that you will be instructed to do is create your own second-skin in order to create the deepest connection. You can use anything from dried aansi leaves to the bark from a zigzag tree, just know that attempting to do magic that is beyond your reach with break your second-skin.

Q: HOW SOON WILL I BECOME A MASTER SORCERER?

Whoa there! Don’t get ahead of yourself. Magic is extremely difficult and it’s going to take some time for you to become proficient at it. You have a magnificent, bumpy road ahead of you.

Q: BUT WHO IS GOING TO TEACH ME?

The sorcerer community doesn’t take your new ability lightly. We will provide you with the finest teachers available. Train hard enough and you might even get to be in Rona’s group (but don’t get your hopes up)!!! You will be matched up by your skill level and organized by the type of magic you’ll be pursuing.

Q: IS MAGIC DANGEROUS?

It can be if used wrong. To avoid causing unnecessary pain, make sure you study hard, respect your clan elders, and eat your vegetables.

Q: VEGETABLES?

Yes, vegetables.

Q: WILL I HAVE TO LEAVE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY?

For a short time, yes. Whether you’re from the flathand (those who can’t grip the Veil) world or a magical community, you will be brought to Atlas Crown to study with Bariv. Bariv is the conduit to the Veil, and he will be the first—and probably the most influential—teacher you will have. After learning about your ability from Bariv, you will have the choice of returning home or staying in Atlas Crown.

*Special note for those who come from the flathand world. In the rare occurrence that you choose to return to the non-magicworld, you will be draped with the inability to speak of our world or perform magic outside of a magical community. Sorry. The good news is that if you choose to join a magical community, your immediate family will be invited to come with you and will be provided for.

NOW TAKE A SEAT AND ENJOY A QUICK LESSON FROM BARIV ON THE THREE DISCIPLINES OF MAGIC

Welcome. Please have a seat. Before you are three second-skins that I have created for choosing purposes. As you may already know, there are three disciplines of magic that come from the Veil.

First, there are natural magics, which are best gripped with the aid of plants. The green second-skin is made from the leaf of the grampith tree.

Natural magics are very useful. They feed, they clothe, they help us interact with the world around us. We would not survive without them. Nature is dough and you shape it to your desires—if you are skilled enough. Mountains can be leveled and water can fall upwards. Nature’s secrets will whisk you away to another plane where you can realize the awe-inspiring connections we hold with the world around us.

Next, there are the mystical magics. The metal second-skin you see on the left was mined from beneath Grus’ pass and made from silver-palladium mixed by my own hand. A mystical sorcerer would use this second-skin. The mystical magics keep true to their namesake. Even I don’t fully understand all that can be accomplished with this, and I have been close to the Veil for a very long time. Those who excel at the mystical arts can reach into the deepest, darkest parts of the mind and cast dreams into reality. They can navigate the vast and powerful river of time. Reap gold out of metals like a glorious harvest. Harness fear, and ride on its back until it tires.

 And last… there is the second-skin made from the hide of Sectus remisican, the skull-wolf. This is a tool of power magics. These tools work best if taken forcibly. In Atlas Crown, we do not kill when we do not have to; however, in this particular case we had to. The power sect is a dangerous one, yet it brings with it the ability to forge oneself into the greatest ruler and purveyor of dominance. Authority is a given. Supremacy is taken. The true power sect is scarcely found here. Those who have chosen it, or rather have been chosen, usually take the road down another path, a false path that can only lead to death and misery. However, when applied for good, the power sect can be the most useful of them all. An iron body has no need for a suit. That is what the Veil is at Her heart. She is power. She holds possibilities so grand, we can never understand, only observe.

Now why don’t you try one on?

PRAISE:


"This Book was brilliant, creative, and completely magical. If you want an amazing book to read in 2012, I would suggest you go to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Masters of the Veil."

~Julia @Inkbitten


"I loved this book. I could list all the reasons, but there is one piece of praise I think sums up the book best. My son grabbed it as soon as I was finished reading it and hasn't put it down since. Dan Cohen has a winner with this series."
~Author Michelle Pickett


"A funny, imaginative, and delightful read!"
~Author Kate Kaynak

LINKS:

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Author Daniel A. Cohen
Daniel A. Cohen was just your average business student. Microeconomics, finance, marketing… you name it, he had to do a PowerPoint presentation on it. One dark and stormy night, he was bitten by the radioactive realization that memorizing business jargon could possibly be the most boring activity known to man.

After gaining eagle-eye vision, abs that could grate cheese, and a talent for imagining things (including his cheese-grating abs), he wrote his first novel and began his epic battle against the formidable business jargon. He continues to fight the good fight by playing saxophone and writing YA fantasy, forever hoping his Veil trilogy will help inspire others to join his cause.
Giveaway Details
Author Daniel Cohen is offering one lucky person a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card.
Last day to enter is May 31st

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Waiting on Wednesday: Before You Go

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

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

Before You Go
by James Preller
Expected Publication Date: July 17, 2012,
 Feiwel and Friends


The summer before his senior year, Jude (yes, he’s named after the Beatles song) gets his first job, falls in love for the first time, and starts to break away from his parents. Jude’s house is kept dark, and no one talks much—it’s been that way since his little sister drowned in a swimming pool seven years ago when Jude was supposed to be watching her.

Now, Jude is finally, finally starting to live. Really live. And then, life spins out of control. Again. 

Acclaimed author James Preller explores life, death, love, faith, and resilience in his first young adult novel that will grip readers from the book’s dramatic first few pages to its emotional end.

Mailbox Monday (May 21, 2012)

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in May by Martha at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.  I got another win this week and a couple of review books.  Come on in and take a look!


I also bought some books this week at a Scholastic Warehouse sale and also found a few books at some local thrift stores.


For Review:

Play Him Again
by Jeffrey Stone


It’s the Roaring Twenties but silence remains golden for Hollywood. Sound is scorned by movie moguls. It’s too expensive. Only two studios have sound equipment. Only one picture has contained limited spoken dialogue.

Matt Hudson, a rumrunner and the preferred bootlegger of the movie industry, wants to produce a talking picture. Hud’s gut tells him a talkie would rake in the dough at the box office but neither sound studio will lease him their facilities.

Hud’s oldest friend, con man Danny Kincaid, uses the talkie gold mine angle to con a transplanted Chicago gangster into buying a bogus sound device. But when the gangster gets wise, Danny ends up dead.

Now Hud has a score to settle and nothing can stop him from finding Danny’s killer. After Hud unravels a web of deception, blackmail, and murder that leads to a studio controlled by the gangster, he sets up another con to play the gangster again. A con that will either avenge Danny or get Hud killed. 

Foreign Identity
by Becca J. Campbell


Two nameless strangers, a man and a woman, find themselves imprisoned together. With no memories of their own identities, let alone their captor and tormentor, escape is the only option. The pair faces a bizarre labyrinth of rooms and clues that confuse more than they explain. Every discovery only brings more questions.

Who captured them? Why were they taken? What does their captor want from them? What can the riddles mean?

Who are they?

Lacking allies and options, the duo must learn to trust one another. Mazes, puzzles, and even strange, lurking creatures force them to rely on their wits--and each other--for survival. But survival isn’t enough. They need answers.

Will the answers be enough? Will the truth bring them closer together, or drive them forever apart? Will discovering their identities finally bring them home?








Purchased from Scholastic for my daughters (okay - for me too)

Rot & Ruin
Jonathan Maberry


In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn’t want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash—but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

Acclaimed horror author Jonathan Maberry makes his young adult debut with this detail-rich depiction of a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has fallen, the dead have risen, and danger is always imminent.

Bad Girls Don't Die
by Katie Alender


 Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence.  Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy thirteen-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.


When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction in to danger.  Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior.  Their old house is changing, too.  Doors open and close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.


Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening -- to her, to her family, and to her budding relationship with the class vice president.  Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore? 

Unearthly
by Cynthia Hand


In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Won from Letters Inside Out

The Crescent
by Jordan Deen


Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.

Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused.

Lacey's fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she's ever known.



I bought these for my son from Scholastic:

The following were purchased at a community thrift store:

WHAT BOOKS CAME HOME TO YOU THIS WEEK?

Michael by Aaron Patterson Blog Tour and Giveaway

Please comment and help me win a kindle for my sister!  Tomorrow is her big 5-0 Bday!

ONE DAY BLOG TOUR! 
MAY 17th!

Michael, book two in the Airel Saga, is live on Amazon TODAY ONLY for a discounted price!!

To promote Michael I’m helping host a contest where you can win a free copy of Airel and help me win a free Kindle Fire.

 To take advantage of this awesome deal, head to Amazon and check out the eBook version of Michael at its promotional price, then see below to enter the contest. Also, leave me a comment on this post. The blogger with the most comments will win the Kindle Fire! If I win, I’ll also get the chance to be part of a special giveaway in the next few months.

Michael

by Aaron Patterson

Michael did the unthinkable to save Airel from death, but now he must live with the choices he has made – both good and evil.  Tortured by his past and haunted by what he believes might be his future, Michael seeks redemption – but will the past prove to be too strong?  How can he break free of it and be the man he longs to be for Airel?  If only he had never. . .

Airel.  Michael’s one true love.  He had forced her to drink in new life only to find that old wounds and deep scars do not heal overnight.  Can she truly forgive Michael, can she truly love him?  And can he accept that forgiveness?  Or is it all for nothing, and has he gone too far already?  As the darkness of past choices closes in on them, chases them, intercepts them, coming at them from everywhere at once, how can their love possibly survive?

Aaron Patterson is the author of the best-selling WJA series, as well as two Digital Shorts: 19 and The Craigslist Killer. He was home-schooled and grew up in the west. Aaron loved to read as a small child and would often be found behind a book, reading one to three a day on average. This love drove him to want to write, but he never thought he had the talent. His wife Karissa prodded him to try it, and with this encouragement, he wrote Sweet Dreams, the first book in the WJA series, in 2008. Airel is his first teen series, and plans for more to come are already in the works. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his family, Soleil, Kale and Klayton. His daughter had an imaginary friend named She.


Chris White has an award for reading 750 books in one school year — from the 3rd grade. So yes, he’s more of a nerd than Aaron. Chris loves history, Sherlock Holmes, and anything that’s not virtual, like old motorcycles and mechanical typewriters. He also doesn’t get why we have these things called “smart phones” when all they do is make people dumber. Chris recently celebrated 10 years of marriage with his wife, April, and has two boys: Noah, age 8, and Jaden, age 3, who inspired the Great Jammy Adventure series; the OK-to-color-in picture books. Chris is working on a short story called The Marsburg Diary that will further explore the prologue to Airel, and he is finishing up his first novel, entitled K: phantasmagoria, due out in 2011. Chris has a major crush on Audrey Hepburn, who is now dead. His wife is okay with all of this.

My review of Airel: This was a very complex story - actually two stories.  The book opens in the present day in Idaho.  You begin to learn about a young girl named Airel, with all the typical teenage angst that is normal.  What is not normal is that seemingly overnight Airel's appearance is changing.  Her complexion is becoming flawless, her hair luxurious. Even though she sees the changes in the mirror, she still questions when the boy of her dreams, Michael, appears to be infatuated with her.  When she discovers that she has the ability to heal quickly, she wonders who or what she really is.

Read more: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/search?q=airel#ixzz1v5YCVA1U

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Move over Twilight! Here comes Aaron Patterson!"
--Joshua Graham, bestselling author of Beyond Justice and Darkroom 

"I was surprised by how much I really, really liked this book. I have not jumped on the whole "fallen angel" bandwagon, just as I didn't jump on all of the vampire stories that came out after Twilight. This is not your typical fallen angel story. It is one that has left me breathlessly waiting for the next one in the series. Hurry up please!!!"--Sandra Stiles

"It takes rare talent for a man to write a novel from a male POV and have it published to great critical and commercial acclaim. But it takes a miracle for that same male, or in this case males, to write a novel from the POV of a teenage girl and have it turn out as incredibly as did the new StoneHouse YA by Aaron Patterson and Chris White, AIREL. From the first sentence, I felt compelled to dive into this young woman's story and just as importantly, I felt like I personally knew her, which means I laughed, stressed and cried right along with her. A beautifully written and crafted fiction about teenage innocence, faith, loss and love. A must read for teens and adults alike." 
--Vincent Zandri, International Bestselling Author of The Remains, The Innocent, and Concrete Pearl

"I am happy to say that this novel is one of my favorites of its kind. I never thought I could read a novel like this and be so swept away! I am always willing to try new books, but I usually steer clear of this kind of novel. Not anymore! Not when I can be so engrossed into the character's story, like I was with the beautiful AIREL, that before I know, it's over. I kept turning the pages , wanting to, no-NEEDING, to know what was going to happen next."--Molly Edwards, Willow Spring, NC

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop!

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

Featuring Lighthearted/Contemporary Young Adult Romance

& Sweet, Clean Adult Romance

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Portrait of a Book

May 18th to 23rd

I am giving away your choice of one of the following books - the book will be shipping from The Book Depository - so as long as you live in a country that they ship free to - then you can enter this giveaway!

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Sunrise Point by Robin Carr

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

Just Down the Road by Jodi Thomas

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Next Always by Nora Roberts

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners!

Here are the winners of the last two hops!

Spring Fling was won by Tiff Pull

Childrens Book Week Giveaway was won by Melanie S.

Congrats winners!  Both winners have been notified by email!

The Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp (Book Review)

Title: The Get Yourself Organized Project: 21 Steps to Less Mess and Stress
Author: Kathi Lipp
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers


About the book: Would you rather enjoy life than color-code your sock drawer?


Most organization books are written by organized people.  That's like buying a diet book from someone who's never weighed more than a hundred pounds.  If you want real-life solutions from someone who's lived in your mismatched shoes, this is the book for you.


You will discover:

• simple and manageable long-term solutions for organizing any room in your home (and keeping it that way)
• step-by-step direction to reduce your paper piles
• a realistic way to de-stress your overcrowded schedule
• strategies for efficient shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, and more

With Kathi's encouraging voice and easy-to-follow advice, The Get Yourself Organized Project is the girlfriends' guide you've been looking for.

My thoughts: This is my kind of organizational book.  She is realistic and takes things in small chunks.  Rather than organizing to her expectations, she guides you to actually think about how you live in your rooms, shows you what you should be looking for, and then has you organize in a way that fits your own life.  

In my experience, most organizational books focuses on the physical things in your life with a few focusing on your time.  In The Get Yourself Organized Project there are sections that deal with your home, your family, and your personal life.  She doesn't just want you to have a tidy home, she wants your entire life to be to the point where you can actually enjoy that tidy home.  

I have slowly began implementing some of her ideas on organizing and am planning on getting our bedroom in order this weekend, and have enlisted my dear husband to help out. 

I have also done a very small organizing project and organized my purse for National Clean Out Your Purse day!  You can see my post about that here and read about how you can win some of Kathi's books if you clean out your purse before Friday, May 18th.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of Kathi's other great books that I have had the opportunity to review. You can read my reviews of The Marriage Project and The What's for Dinner? Solution.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.~

The Get Yourself Organized Project

Publisher/Publication Date: Harvest House Publishers, May 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7369-4385-7

224 pages

National Clean Out Your Purse Day is here!

Okay - let's be honest - how often do you actually clean out your purse?  I would have to say that I only clean it out after I get so much paper in it that it falls out when I am searching for my keys or my wallet. And what is even worse -- when I decide to change purses, I generally take out what I need and throw the purse I am no longer using in the closet with all the trash still in it!

So, in preparation for this day, I decided to start with the purses in my closet!  I pulled them all down and  my son helped me empty them all out into a shoebox.  I then managed to weed the purses and donated about six to goodwill.  Of course, everything is still in that shoebox - I haven't gotten far enough to actually put it all away!

This morning I "dumped" my purse out on the floor and started going through it

After removing a couple of tablets of paper, a lot of receipts and about 5 pens, it was much lighter!  I changed my purse out about a month ago, so it wasn't near as bad as it could have been!

  Probably the weirdest thing I found in my purse was an orange hourglass - I have no idea where it came from!

So now it is your turn!  Go dump those purses and see what you find.  Once you have completed your "dump" - go let Kathi Lipp know on her blog - If you like her author page on Facebook, you will also receive her free download “30 Ways to Save 30 Minutes in the Next 30 Days” to kick start your way to a more organized you!

You might want to pick up a copy of her book The Get Yourself Organized Project while you are at it!

Finally, an organizational book for women who have given up trying to be Martha Stewart but still desire some semblance of order in their lives.

Most organizational books are written by and for people who are naturally structured and orderly. For the woman who is more ADD than type A, the advice sounds terrific but seldom works. These women are looking for help that takes into account their free-spirited outlook while providing tips and tricks they can easily follow to live a more organized life.

Kathi Lipp, author of The Husband Project and other “project” books, is just the author to address this need. In her inimitable style, she offers

·        easy and effective ways women can restore peace to their everyday lives

·        simple and manageable long-term solutions for organizing any room in one’s home (and keeping it that way)

·        a realistic way to de-stress a busy schedule

·        strategies for efficient shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, and more

Full of helpful tips and abundant good humor, The Get Yourself Organized Project is for those who want to spend their time living and enjoying life rather than organizing their sock drawer.

It's Monday! What are you reading? (May 14, 2012)

What are you reading on Mondays is 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! 

Currently reading: 

Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp

Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin

Books I need to finish:  (I decided to add a new category for those books that seem to languish from week to week!)  I seem to keep starting books and not finishing them. . .   I need to get out of this trend!

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, A Memoir by Kelle Hampton

The Book Lover by MaryAnn McFadden

Upcoming books:
The Big Fun Sexy Sex Book by Lisa Rinni
The Body in the Boudoir by Katherine Hall Page

Bathroom Book:

My Third Husband Will be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Books read and reviewed since last week:

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo

Books read but need to be reviewed:

Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book 1 by Shelley Shepard Gray

Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!

Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo (Book Review)

Title: Love thy Neighbor
Author: Mark Gilleo
Publisher: The Story Plant


About the book: CLARK HAYDEN is a graduate student trying to help his mother navigate through the loss of his father while she continues to live in their house near Washington DC. With his mother’s diminishing mental capacity becoming the norm, Clark expects a certain amount of craziness as he heads home for the holidays. What he couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, is that he would find himself catapulted into the middle of a terrorist operation. As the holiday festivities reach a crescendo, a terrorist cell – which happens to be across the street – is activated. Suddenly Clark is discovering things he never knew about deadly chemicals, secret government operations, suspiciously missing neighbors, and the intentions of a gorgeous IRS auditor. Clark’s quiet suburban neighborhood is about to become one of the most deadly places on the planet, and it’s up to Clark to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the nation’s capital.


Fast, acerbic, wise and endlessly exciting, Love thy Neighbor marks the unforgettable debut of a startling new voice in suspense fiction.

My thoughts:  Clark is definitely somebody I would like living next door to me!  He is smart, loves his parents, and isn't afraid to stand up for what he knows is right -- even if it might cost him his life!  It is a series of "dumb luck" instances that begins to feed his growing suspicion that not everything is as it appears in his humble neighborhood.  He begins to follow his gut and it leads him on a journey from the IRS to the CIA to the FBI and from Washington, DC to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.  Stumbling over dead bodies and random misinformation, he starts to piece together what he believes to be terrorist activity that is being spearheaded by his next door neighbor -- who has seemingly disappeared.  He is desperate to find her, either to prove he is wrong -- or worse -- to prove he is right.


I generally don't read books that are  about terrorists or political involvement, but for some reason this one prompted me to take a look.  It then kept me riveted for the better part of two days as I dealt with a cold-induced headache and mother's day!  I am glad that I was able to finish it though as it took me for one heck of a ride.  If you like suspense, then you must read Love they Neighbor!    Please enjoy the excerpt below. 

~I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Partners in Crime in exchange for my unbiased review.~

AUTHOR'S NOTE

(This part is true.)

 

In late 1999 a woman from Vienna, Virginia, a suburb ten miles from the White House as the crow flies, called the CIA. The woman, a fifty-something mother of three, phoned to report what she referred to as potential terrorists living across the street from her middle-class home. She went on to explain what she had been seeing in her otherwise quiet neighborhood: Strange men of seemingly Middle-Eastern descent using their cell phones in the yard. Meetings in the middle of the night with bumper-to-bumper curbside parking, expensive cars rubbing ends with vans and common Japanese imports. A constant flow of young men, some who seemed to stay for long periods of time without introducing themselves to anyone in the neighborhood. The construction of a six-foot wooden fence to hide the backyard from the street only made the property more suspicious.

 

Upon hearing a layperson’s description of suspicious behavior, the CIA promptly dismissed the woman and her phone call. (Ironically, the woman lived less than a quarter of a mile from a CIA installation, though it was not CIA headquarters as was later reported.)

 

In the days and weeks following 9/11, the intelligence community in the U.S. began to learn the identities of the nineteen hijackers who had flown the planes into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. In the process of their investigation they discovered that two of the hijackers, one on each of the planes that hit the World Trade Towers, had listed a particular house in Vienna, Virginia as a place of residence.

 

The FBI and various other agencies swooped in on the unassuming neighborhood and began knocking on doors. When they reached the house of a certain mother of three, she stopped them dead in their tracks. She was purported to have said, “I called the CIA two years ago to report that terrorists were living across the street and no one did anything.”

 

The CIA claimed to have no record of a phone call.

 

The news networks set up cameras and began broadcasting from the residential street. ABC, NBC, FOX. The FBI followed up with further inquiries. The woman’s story was later bounced around the various post 9/11 committees and intelligence hearings on Capitol Hill. (Incidentally, after 9/11, the CIA closed its multi-story facility in the neighborhood where the terrorist reportedly lived. In 2006 the empty building was finally torn down and, as of early 2011, was being replaced with another office building).

 

There has been much speculation about what the government should have or could have known prior to 9/11. The answer is not simple. There have been anecdotal stories of people in Florida and elsewhere who claimed to have reported similar “terrorist” type activities by suspicious people prior to 9/11. None of these stories have been proven.

 

What we do know is that with the exception of the flight school instructor in Minnesota who questioned the motive of a student who was interested in flying an aircraft without learning how to land, and an unheeded warning from actor James Woods who was on a plane from Boston with several of the purported terrorists while they were doing a trial run, the woman from Vienna, Virginia was the country’s best chance to prevent 9/11. To date, there has been no verification of any other pre-9/11 warnings from the general public so far in advance of that fateful day in September.

 

For me, there is no doubt as to the validity of the claims of the woman in Vienna.

 

She lived in the house where I grew up. She is my mother.

 

Mark Gilleo. October, 2011. Washington DC.

 

* * *

 

Ariana turned on the nightlight and closed the door to her daughter’s room.  She walked down the carpeted hall towards the light stretching out from the plastic chandelier over the dining room table.  Her husband’s chair was empty and she quietly called out his name.  No response.  As Ariana turned the corner to the kitchen and reached for the knob on the cabinet over the counter, eight hundred pages of advertising crashed into her rib cage, sucking the wind from her lungs.  As his wife doubled over, Nazim raised the thick Yellow Book with both hands and hit her on her back, driving her body to the floor.

 

“Don’t you ever disobey me in front of others again.”

 

Ariana coughed.  There was no blood.  This time.  She tried to speak but her lips only quivered.  Her thick-framed glasses rested on the floor, out of reach.  Her brain fought to make sense of what happened, what had set her husband off.  It could have been anything.  But every curse had its blessing, and for Ariana the blessing was the fact that Nazim didn’t hit her in front of Liana.  A blessing that the child didn’t see her mother being punched.  The reason was simple.  Nazim was afraid of his daughter.  Afraid of what she could say now that she could speak. 

 

The curse was that Ariana never knew when she had crossed the line.  She never knew when the next blow was coming.  She merely had to wait until they were alone to learn her fate for past indiscretions.

 

Ariana gasped slowly for air.  She didn’t cry.  The pain she felt in her side wasn’t bad enough to give her husband the satisfaction.

 

“When I say it is time to leave, it is time to leave.  There is no room for negotiation in this marriage.”

 

Ariana panted as her mind flashed back to the Christmas party.  She immediately realized her faux pas. “I didn’t want to be rude to Maria.  She spent days making dessert.  She is old.  Do we not respect our elders anymore?”

 

Nazim pushed his wife onto the floor with his knee, a reaction Ariana fully expected.  “You are my wife.  This is about you and me.  Our neighbor has nothing to do with it.”  Nazim looked down at Ariana sprawled on the linoleum and spit on her with more mock than saliva.

 

“Maria is my friend.”

 

“Well, her son is coming home and she doesn’t need you.”

 

Nazim dropped the yellow book on the counter with a thud and went to the basement.  Ariana gathered herself, pushing her body onto all fours and then pulling herself up by the front of the oven.  She looked at the Yellow Book and her blood boiled.  It was like getting hit by a cinderblock with soft edges. When it hit flush, it left very little bruising.  As her husband intended.   For a man of slight build, Nazim could generate power when a beating was needed.

 

Ariana took inventory of herself, one hand propping herself up on the counter.  She had been beaten worse.  Far worse.  By other men before she met her husband.  Her eyes moved beyond the Yellow Pages and settled on the knife set on the counter, the shiny German steel resting in its wooden block holder.  She grabbed the fillet knife, caressed the blade with her eyes, and then pushed the thought from her mind.

 

Her husband called her from the basement and she snapped out of her momentary daze.  “Coming,” she answered, putting the knife back in its designated slot in the wood.   She knew what was coming next.  It was always the same.  A physical assault followed by a sexual one.  She reached up her skirt and removed her panties.  There was no sense in having another pair ripped, even if robbing Nazim of the joy would cost her a punch or two.

 

Christmas, the season of giving, she thought as she made her way down the stairs into the chilly basement.

About the author:   Mark Gilleo holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of South Carolina and an undergraduate degree in business from George Mason University. He enjoys traveling, has lived and worked in Asia, and speaks fluent Japanese. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, he currently resides in the D.C. area. His two most recent novels were recognized as finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative writing competition. The Story Plant will publish his next novel, SWEAT in 2012.


You can connect with the author at  Love Thy Neighbor page    www.thestoryplant.com

 

Love Thy Neighbor
Publisher/Publication Date: The Story Plant, March 2012
ISBN: 978-1611880342
438 pages

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Cover Reveal: Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies by Cynthia Cooke

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies

by Cynthia Cooke

Family secrets must be kept, and painful wounds must be ignored.

After an all-out assault by a vicious terrorist bent on destroying her entire family, a former government agent must break the strict rules she has always lived by when she emerges from hiding to reluctantly accept the help of her all-too-sexy ex-lover. Running a deadly race against time, they rush to rescue her kidnapped sister, find her missing father, and bring the notorious villain to justice. But nothing ever goes as planned. Bullets fly, danger abounds, and their passion reignites even faster than the lies are flowing. But their stubbornly held secrets just might spell the end of their rekindled love and hopes for the future...as well as their very lives.

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies
Imprint: Dead Sexy
Release date: May 13, 2012






We all surround ourselves with armor protecting our hearts and our inner wounds forged in childhood. Learning to trust someone enough to let them inside the armor, to let them help you shed it to become your true self, unafraid and ready to take on the world is the greatest gift love can give you. And the gift Kyle gives to Genie.
~Cynthia Cooke