Books and Needlepoint

Monday, March 7, 2011

BLOG TOUR: Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing by Kathy Cano-Murillo (Review and Giveaway!)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing
Author: Kathy Cano-Murillo
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Other books reviewed from this author: Waking Up in the Land of Glitter

Sometimes to find your life's true path, you have to stray outside the lines. . .

Scarlet Santana is never happier than when creating fabulous fashions for women of all shapes and sizes. Now, after years of hard work, she finally has the chance to live her dream and study under the hottest designer in New York. To raise money for her move, Scarlet opens an after-hours sewing school in a local record shop, teaching a type-A working mom whose rigid parenting style is causing her family to unravel and an enigmatic seamstress with a mysterious past.

But as stitches give way to secrets and class mates become friends, the women realize an important truth: There is no single pattern for a good life. Happiness is always a custom fit.

This was such a fun book to read and I devoured it in one evening! Scarlet's enthusiasm is contagious and her blog posts are very inspiring. I even went online to see what would happen when I went to http://www.daisyforever.com/. I wasn't surprised that it lead me to the author's website - Diary of a Crafty Chica. (Go check it out and enter the great contest going on there!)

Scarlet is 30 years old, and even with two degrees in engineering, she has decided to forego that career and pursue one in fashion. Her Nana Eleanor taught her to sew at a very young age and she makes all of her own clothes. I know I would love to have that kind of skill!

Daisy Forever is a tribute to her favorite designer - Daisy de la Flora from the 50's. Daisy was obsessed with Carmen Miranda and patterned many of her wild designs after Carmen's love of bright colors and sequins. She was also a recluse and her current designs at Casa de la Flora are handled by her newphew Johnny Scissors. He is known as the hottest designer in New York and is the one that Scarlet has won the opportunity to study under. Unfortunately, he is mediocre as a designer and is just in it for the money and fame.

Scarlet starts her Patternless Sewing class to raise money for the tuition for Johnny's class. Only five students are chosen every year and she feels very lucky to be one of them. Especially since it is the 50th anniversary of Casa de la Flora. She currently works for a designer in Phoenix, Arizona who seems to have a talent for leading her employees on and never following through. She promised Carly the use of the studio for her class and cancels on her a week before, telling her the liability insurance would be outrageous. Scarlet just knows that she has to come up with the down payment for Johnny's tuition and find a new location for her class, so she takes about 50 LP's from her eclectic collection and goes to her favorite record store - Vega's Vicious Vinyl. She thinks she might have a crush on the owner, Marco, but where she never stops talking, he hardly talks at all. (He secretly has a crush on her too though!) A disastrous incident smashes most of her records as she goes into Marco's store, but it opens the door for a "working" relationship between Marco and Scarlet. He shows her an usused back room that would be perfect for her sewing class!

After letting her students know about the class location switch - only five students remain - Mary Theresa, Olivia, Rosa, Stephanie and Jennifer. Mary Theresa is the type-A mom, and to tell you a little about her - she goes by Mary Theresa - not Mary or any alternative form whatsoever! She is also a workaholic and her husband is the one that stays home and takes care of their twins. She enrolls in the class as their therapist has recommend she take some sort of free-form art class to try to "lighten up" her outlook on life. Stephanie and Jennifer are sisters in high school. One is an athlete and is taking the class because her mother thinks she needs to diversify and the other is a fan of DaisyForever.com. Rosa is an elderly woman who came to Phoenix just to take Scarlet's class. She is terminally ill and is keeping that secret from the class as well as the real reason she is taking Scarlet's class. Olivia rounds out the class as a divorced, single mom of one.

In Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing you mainly learn about Scarlet, Rosa and Mary Theresa and how these women overcome their fears and bond to each other as close as family. They encourage each other and lean on one another. Scarlet, as she deals with a blooming relationship with Marco and a disintegrating relationship with her family - whom she doesn't feel supports her. Mary Theresa as she deals with her husband leaving her to go back to work in another town and a demotion at work cutting her hours and relocating her to work from home. And Rosa, who keeps her secrets close to her heart in order to make her dreams live on.

So I will say it again - Fun book! Great Read! Made me want to unbury my sewing machine from my own craft room and get creative!

FOR THE GIVEAWAY: The package includes one copy of Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing and one copy of her previous book - Waking Up in the Land of Glitter.

This giveaway is open to US/Canada only - no PO boxes. It will end at midnight, CST on my DH's birthday - March 28! Just leave a comment with your email address to enter.

Additional entries available:
- Follow my blog - just tell me how (up to 2 ways for 2 entries)
- Twitter - leave me the link
- Blog post - leave me the link

A total of five entries are available, but please leave each in a separate comment.

Follow @CraftyChica on Twitter

Become a Facebook Fan

Crafty Chica on Flickr

Crafty Chica YouTube Channel

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Mailbox Time! (Mar 7, 2011)

Shared by Kristi

I was unable to do my regular posts last weekend as DH took me to see the musical Hair in Milwaukee and we even got to spend the night with no kids! It was a fun musical but I was really amazed with how the movie changed the entire story line. So, this post covers the last two weeks of mail. I think that there is something for everyone here!

Mailbox Monday's host for March is I'm Booking It. In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren. Please visit these posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!

Alice in Zombieland
By Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook

They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank -- the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross and uncomfortable. All of them were covered in Alice's now cold and congealed blood, which made them even tastier looking to poor hungry Alice.

When little Alice follows the Black Rat down into the gaping darkness of an open grave, she falls and falls. And soon finds herself in an undead nightmare of rotting flesh and insanity. Venturing further into this land of zombies and monsters, she encounters both creepy and madcap along the way.

But there's something else troubling poor Alice, her skin is rotting and her hair is falling out. She's cold. And she has the haunting feeling that if she remains in Zombieland any longer, she might never leave.

Can Alice escape Zombieland before the Dead Red Queen catches up to her?

Murder Takes the Cake: A Daphne Martin Cake Mystery
by Gayle Trent

A routine cake delivery becomes a culinary nightmare when a small-town baker discovers her first client's dead body in this irresistible new mystery series.

It'll take more than a little sugar to convince folks Daphne Martin's freshly baked spice cake was not to blame for the mysterious death of town gossip Yodel Watson. Getting her new cake decorating business, Daphne's Delectable Cakes, off the ground is hard enough now that Daphne's moved back to her southern Virginia hometown, but orders have been even slower since she found Yodel's body. She soon realizes, however, that just about everybody in town had a reason to poison the cantankerous busybody, from the philandering pet shop owner, to Yodel's church potluck nemesis, to the Save-A-Buck's cranky produce manager-turned-bagger. Now, to help prove she's no confectionary killer, Daphne recruits her old flame, Ben Jacobs, editor of the local newspaper, and quickly stirs up a long-hidden family scandal that just might hold the secret ingredient she needs to solve the case. All she's got to do is roll up her sleeves and get her hands a little dirty before the real culprit decides that taking sweet revenge on Daphne will be icing on the cake.

Cold Wind (A Joe Pickett Novel)
by C.J. Box

When Earl Alden is found dead, dangling from a wind turbine, it's his wife, Missy, who is arrested. Unfortunately for Joe Pickett, Missy is his mother-in-law, a woman he dislikes heartily, and now he doesn't know what to do -- especially when the early signs point to her being guilty as sin.

But then things happen to make Joe wonder: Is Earl's death what it appears to be? Is Missy being set up? He has the county DA and sheriff on one side, his wife on the other, his estranged friend Nate on a lethal mission of his own, and some powerful interests breathing down his neck. Whichever way this goes . . . it's not going to be good.

Field Gray
by Philip Kerr

Bernie Gunther is one of the great protagonists in thriller literature. He's a tough-talking cop who spent eleven years as a homicide detective in Berlin's Kripo, where he witnessed just about every form of deviance, corruption, and gratuitous violence known to man. In 1933, as the National Socialists took power and began purging non-party members from the force, he jumped ship and set himself up as a private detective. He'd had a wife but lost her to the influenza pandemic and he's had a roving eye ever since, but not much luck in long-term relationships. It's hard to have long-term relationships in Nazi Germany when so many people keep disappearing. Still, that's been good for business.

But in 1940, Heydrich dragoons him into the SS, and garbed in its field gray uniform, Bernie soon finds himself knee-deep in the bloodbath that was the Eastern Front.

Song of the Silk Road

by Mingmei Yip

Following her success of Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals from the Sky is the release of Song of the Silk Road, the third novel by celebrated author, Mingmei Yip. This richly imaginative novel follows one woman's daunting journey along China's fabled Silk Road, a life-changing adventure filled with the most unexpected revelations.

As a girl growing up in Hong Kong, Lily Lin was captivated by photographes of the desert -- its long, lonely vistas and shifting sand dunes. Now living in New York, Lily is struggling to finish her graduate degree when she receives an astonishing offer. An aunt she never knew existed will pay Lily a huge sum to travel across China's desolate Taklamakan Desert -- and carry out a series of tasks along the way.

Intrigued, Lily accepts. Her assignments range from the dangerous to the bizarre. Lily must seduce a monk. She must scrape a piece of clay from the famous Terracotta Warriors, and climb the Mountain of Heaven to gather a rare herb. At Xian, her first stop, Lily meets Alex, a young American with whom she forms a powerful connection. And soon, she faces revelations that will redefine her past, her destiny, and the shocking truth behind her aunt's motivations.

Powerful and eloquent, Song of the Silk Road is a captivating story of self-discovery, resonant with the mysteries of its haunting, exotic landscape.

God's Healing Words: Your pocket guide of Scriptures and prayers for health, healing, and recovery

Debbie Marrie, General Editor

God wants you to be healthy -- mind, body and spirit.

God answers prayers for healing, as the lives of people recorded in both the Old and New Testaments confirm. His desire is for you also to live a life of wholeness and health -- to experience His total redemption.

God's Healing Words demonstrates God's desire to restore your entire being to health. This insightful book full of scriptures, quotations, and prayers on healing lets you meditate and then pray for yourself and your loved ones to receive the precious promises that God has given us. You will discover:

Healing words for your body
Healing words for your spirit
Healing for grief and depression
Healing for your marriage and other relationships
Healing through forgiveness

As you meditate on these "wonderful words of life," you will be inspired to pray the healing prayers of scriptures for yourself and those you love, whether the need is physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

The Border Lord and the Lady (Border Chronicles)
by Bertrice Small

Lady Cicely Bowen, daughter of the Earl of Leighton, is sent away by her doting father when her jealous stepmother presents a threat to her safety. Raised by a royal widow, Cicely becomes best friends with Lady Joan Beaufort, the king's cousin. When Joan is married to King James I of Scotland, she chooses Cicely as one of the ladies to accompany her north.

At the Scot's court, Cicely finds herself pursued by two men: elegant Andrew Gordon, the laird of Fairlea, and Ian Douglas, the laird of Glengorm, a rough-spoken border lord. When Ian kidnaps Cicely just as Andrew is about to propose to her, the royal court is sent into an uproar. The queen demands the return of her friend and the Gordons threaten to set the border aflame, even as Ian Douglas attempts to win Cicely's love. But the border laird is difficult to tame -- and the lady's heart is even harder to claim.

Exit the Actress: A Novel

by Priya Parmar

While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, Ellen "Nell" Gwyn impresses the proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution, to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to starring the scope of her life broadens as well. Soon Ellen is dressed in the finest fashions, charming the luminaries of Restoration England.

Ellen grows up on the stage, experiencing first love and heartbreak and eventually becoming the mistress of Charles II. Despite his reputation as a libertine, Ellen wholly captures his heart -- and he hers -- but even the most powerful love isn't enough to stave off the gossip and bitter court politics that accompany a royal romance.

Telling the story through a collection of vibrant seventeenth-century voices ranging from Ellen's diary to playbills, letters, gossip columns, and home remedies, Priya Parmar brings to life the story of an endearing and delightful heroine.

The Bone Yard: A Body Farm Novel
by Jefferson Bass

The onset of summer brings predictably steamy weather to the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Brockton's human-decomposition research facility at the University of Tennessee. But Brockton's about to get more heat than he's bargained for when Angie St. Claire, a forensic analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, asks him to help prove that her sister's death was not suicide, but murder.

Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a long, harrowing detour when bones begin turning up amide the pines and live oaks of the Florida panhandle. Two adolescent skulls -- ravaged by time and animals, but bearing the telltale signs of lethal fractures -- send Brockton, Angie, and Special Agent Stu Vickery on a search for the long-lost victims. The quest leads them to the ruins of the North Florida Boys' Reformatory, a notorious juvenile detention facility that met a fiery end more than forty years ago.

Guided by the discovery of a diary kept by one of the school's young "students," Brockton's team finds a cluster of shallow graves, all of them containing the bones of boys who suffered violent deaths. The graves confirm one of the diary's grim claims: that one wrong move could land a boy in the Bone Yard. but as the investigation expands, it encounters opposition from the local sheriff, who's less than delighted to find forensic experts from the state capital and the Body Farm digging up dirt in his county.

As Brockton and his team close in on the truth, they find skeletons in some surprisingly prominent closets. . . and they learn that the ghosts of the past pose perilous consequences in the present.

Bound by Guilt
by C.J. Darlington

Roxi Gold is a throwaway, shuttled from one foster home to another for most of her life. She longs for a family and will do anything to fit in -- even if it's against the law. Soon she's traveling the country stealing rare books from unsuspecting bookstores, until a first edition of The Great Gatsby catches up with her.

Police officer Abby Dawson has seen the worst of society, and not just at work. The job she once loved has become a chore, the world isn't any safer, and there's no joy in her life. One fateful night a man's innocent blood changes both Roxi's and Abby's lives forever. One searches for justice; the other finds herself on the run. Will the power of forgiveness set them free, or will they both remain bound by guilt?

Pale Demon (The Hollows, Book 9)
by Kim Harrison

Condemned and shunned for black magic, Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches' conference and clear her name, or be trapped in the demonic ever-after. . . forever after.

But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car going across country? Talk about a recipe for certain disaster, even without being the targets for assassination.

For after centuries of torment, a fearsome demon walks in the sunlight -- freed at last to slay innocent and devour their souls. But his ultimate goal is Rachel Morgan, and in the fight for survival that follows, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

The Linen Queen: A Novel
by Patricia Falvey

Abandoned by her father and neglected by her self-centered, unstable mother, Sheila McGee cannot wait to escape the drudgery of her mill-village life in Northern Ireland. Her classic Irish beauty helps her win the 1941 Linen Queen competition, and the prize money that goes with it finally gives her the opportunity she's been dreaming of. But Sheila does not count on the impact of the Belfast Blitz, which brings World War II to her doorstep. Now even her good looks are useless in the face of travel restrictions, and her earlier resolve is eroded by her ma's fear of being left alone.

When American troops set up base in her village, some see them as occupiers, but Sheila sees them as saviors -- one of them may be her ticket out. Despite objections from her childhood friend Gavin O'Rourke, she sets her sights on an attractive Jewish American army officer named Joel Solomon, but her plans are interrupted by the arrival of a street-wise young evacuee from Belfast.

Frustrated, Sheila fights to hold on to her dream, but slowly her priorities change as the people of Northern Ireland put old divisions aside and bond together in a common purpose to fight the Germans. Sheila's affection for Joel grows as she and Gavin are driven farther apart. As the war moves steadily closer to those she has grown to love, Sheila confronts more abandonment and loss and finds true strength, compassion, and a meaning for her life.

Dark Prince: Author's Cut Special Edition
by Christine Feehan

Enter the enchanting world of the Carpathians, where dark adventure, mystery and love await, and the desires of two daring hearts unite in one irresistible passion.

A telepathic hunter of serial killers, Raven Whitney helps to catch some of the most depraved criminals. But her work keeps her from getting close to others, and has drained her body and spirit. In need of rest and rejuvenation, she embarks for a vacation far from home.

Mikhail Dubrinsky is the prince of the Carpathians, the powerful leader of a wise and secret ancient race that thrives in the night. Engulfed by despair, fearful of never finding the mate who can save him from the encroaching darkness, his soul cries out in loneliness -- until the day that a beautiful voice full of light and love responds, softly soothing his pain and yearning.

From the moment they meet, Raven and Mikhail are helpless to resist the desire that sparks between them. But just as fate unexpectedly brings these life mates together, malevolent forces threaten to destroy them and their fragile love. Yet even if they survive, how can these two lovers -- Carpathian and human -- build a future together? And how can Mikhail bring Raven into his dark world without extinguishing her beautiful goodness and light?

Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing
by Kathy Cano-Murillo

Sometimes to find your life's true path, you have to stray outside the lines. . .

Scarlet Santana is never happier than when creating fabulous fashions for women of all shapes and sizes. Now, after years of hard work, she finally has the chance to live her dream and study under the hottest designer in New York. To raise money for her move, Scarlet opens an after-hours sewing school in a local record shop, teaching a type-A working mom whose rigid parenting style is causing her family to unravel and an enigmatic seamstress with a mysterious past.

But as stitches give way to secrets and classmates become friends, the women realize an important truth: There is no single pattern for a good life. Happiness is always a custom fit.

Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout
By Philip Connors

In the tradition of Desert Solitaire and Shop Class as Soulcraft comes a remarkable debut from a major new voice in American nonfiction -- a meditation on nature, work, and life, witnessed from the heights of one of the last fire lookout towers in America.

"I've seen lunar eclipses and desert sandstorms and lightning that made my hair stand on end. I've watched deer and elk frolic in the meadow below me and pine trees explode in a blue ball of smoke. If there's a better job anywhere on the planet, I'd like to know what it is."

For nearly a decade, Philip Connors has spent half of each year in a 7' x 7' fire lookout tower, ten thousand feet up in a remote corner of New Mexico. One of the most undeveloped parts of the country and the first region in the world to be designated as an official wilderness area, the landscape he watches over is also one of the most fire-prone, receiving more than thirty thousand lightning strikes each year. Written with gusto, charm, and a sense of history, Fire Season captures the wonder and grandeur of this most unusual job and place: the eerie pleasure of solitude; the strange dance of communion and wariness with its wild creatures; and the majesty, might and beauty of untamed fire at its wildest.

Filled with Connors's heartfelt reflections on our place in the wild, on other writers who have worked as lookouts -- Jack Kerouac, Edward Abbey, Norman Maclean, Gary Snyder -- and on the ongoing debate over whether fires should be suppressed or left to burn, Fire Season is a remarkable homage to the beauty of nature, the blessings of solitude, and the freedom of the independent spirit.

Kid's Korner: Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes by Larry Peterson (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes
Author: Larry Peterson
Publisher: TB Press

Willie Wiggles hates his slippery feet. He just slips, slides and spins all over the place. But what he hates even more are the special shoes that have been made for him that will help him to walk just like all the other kids. Willie thinks that they are the "stupidest, ugliest shoes in the whole world."

Discover how sometimes we worry about things about ourselves when actually there is nothing to worry about in the first place.

This was such a cute book! It would really be a great tool for helping kid's accept differences in one another (ethnicity, style of dress, hair color) - whatever kid's get picked on for these days. The illustrations were also very cute - just look at the cover, or watch the video below. Amazon has the reading level at 9-12, but I think it could be read to younger audiences also.

Larry Peterson was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. As a freelancer, he has written many newspaper columns for local publications. Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes is his first children’s book. Peterson has lived in Pinellas Park, Florida for the past 28 years.

Visit Larry at his Facebook page. You can also find some discussion questions and more about Slippery Willie at http://www.slipperywillie.com.

~I received a complimentary pdf copy of this book from Tribute Books in exchange for my review.~

Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes
Publisher/Publication Date: TB Press, Jan 12, 2011
ISBN: 978-0982256572
24 pages
Ages 9-12

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Seduced by Destiny by Kira Morgan (Book Giveaway!)

Shared by Kristi

Seduced by Destiny

by Kira Morgan

All her life, Josselin Ancrum has been trained for combat, hoping to exact vengeance for her heroic mother, who was killed fighting the English. When asked to spy for the Scottish Queen, Jossy joyfully accepts. But when a handsome stranger rescues her from sudden danger, his charm distracts her from her mission.

On the surface, Drew MacAdam may appear to be nothing more than a carefree champion, but his heart harbors a dark secret: This Highland hero is actually a skilled English soldier with a hatred for war and for the Scottish. Yet from the moment he meets the feisty Jossy, he's captured by her fiercely loyal heart. He's determined the honey-haired lass will be his ultimate prize - until the tragedy of their entwined legacies is revealed. Are these star-crossed lovers to be divided by their pasts? Or will they be...seduced by destiny?

TIME FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

I have 3 copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. Just leave a comment to enter. Entrants limited to US and Canada only with no PO boxes. This giveaway will end March 23, 2011.

For additional entries you can do up to 4 more of these (for a total of 5 entries). Follow my blog - tell me how (up to 2 ways)

Twitter - leave me the link

Blog about the giveaway - leave me the link

Please leave each entry in a separate comment.

Seduced by Destiny

Publisher/Publication Date: Forever, March 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-446-54817-5

352 pages

Highland Master by Amanda Scott (Book Review and Giveaway!)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Highland Master (Scottish Knights)
Author: Amanda Scott
Publisher: Grand Central Publisher

About the Book: The story opens on a battlefield in Perth, Scotland in 1396. The battle is between the Mackintoshes (Clan Chattan) and the Camerons. Clan Chattan is the victor as only one Cameron is left alive. This survivor, Fin, swears an oath to his dying father, the clan leader, for vengeance against Clan Chattan. One of Clan Chattan's members approached him at this point and they recognized each other and realized they could not fight, so he motioned for Fin to go for the river so he would survive. It wasn't until later that Fin realized that he had sworn an oath going into battle to not pursue vengeance and the one to his father contradicted that.

We find Fin almost 5 years later on the banks of a river in the Highlands, bleeding from a gash to his head. He is discovered by Catriona Mackintosh and her wolf dog protector, Boreas. Fin is in the Highlands on orders from Davy Stewart (Rothesay) - current governer of the Realm and heir to the Scottish throne. He is to convince the Mackintosh to host a meeting between Rothesay and the Lord of the Isles and the Lord of the North. Rothesay hopes to win their favor so that he can retain their votes to keep the governorship and not have it revert back to his uncle, Albany. Albany was not a good ruler of the people, but only wanted to rule for power and wealth. Rothesay was good for the people, but was also a womanizer and would chase anything in a skirt - married or otherwise. At the back of Fin's mind was also the oath of vengeance he had sworn to his father, to kill the leader of Clan Chattan. He knew if he came on this journey for Rothesay, he may have the opportunity to fulfill his oath.

Turns out that Catriona is the granddaughter of the Mackintosh and daughter of the man Fin has sworn to kill. As she and Fin grow closer, he doesn't know what path he is going to take. Catriona is a very strong woman and does not like being told what to do. She appreciates Fin in that he allows her to voice her opinion and seems to really listen to her, and not dismiss her like her brothers and father. Unfortunately, when Rothesay and the two Lords arrive, this gets her and Fin into some hot water.

I really enjoyed this book. It had not only a strong hero in Fin, but also a strong heroine in Catriona. She spoke her mind and acted on her convictions, regardless of what it might cost her. Their relationship developed gradually and wasn't the "see the girl - bed the girl - ok, now let's get to know her" story. The more time they spent together the more I wanted to see them end up together. They were just a really good fit. There were a lot of different conflicts that kept the story line moving - what would Fin do about his oath - how would Catriona deal with Rothesay - what would all the leaders decide to do - how does Fin react upon meeting Cat's brothers and father. I definitely recommend this read.

~I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review from Hachette Books.~

TIME FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

I have 3 copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. Just leave a comment to enter. Entrants limited to US and Canada only with no PO boxes. This giveaway will end March 23, 2011.

For additional entries you can do up to 4 more of these (for a total of 5 entries). Follow my blog - tell me how (up to 2 ways)

Twitter - leave me the link

Blog about the giveaway - leave me the link

Please leave each entry in a separate comment.

Highland Master (Scottish Knights)

Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Feb 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-446-57431-0

400 pages

Monday, February 28, 2011

Everyone Loves a Hero by Marie Force (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: Everyone Loves a Hero
Author: Marie Force
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Cole and Olivia meet by accident when he stops to buy some Mentos at an airport kiosk. Olivia was working the register and the guy she was waiting on was being rude. Cole stepped up to ask him to be a little nicer and received a punch in the face for his efforts. When he opens his eyes he finds Olivia hovering over him trying to find out if he is okay.

They don't find out much about each other that day, all they know is that they each received a jolt (unbeknownst to each other) when she touched his face. He is a pilot, so she sends a note to the airline to find out how he is. Meanwhile, he stops back by the kiosk to try to see her - only she was just filling in there for the day, it was her normal stand. But, as Fate would see fit, he does end up finding her and he asks her out on a date. They hit it off really well, but there are a few things standing in their way.

He is a pilot based out of Chicago. He shot to fame a year earlier when his copilot had a hard attack and he landed a plane in a blizzard and then gave the guy CPR until paramedics arrived. Since then he has been on the cover of many magazines and has women throwing themselves at him. She is a 27 year old business student, still living at home and trying to work her way through school - in a major that she hates. She is really an artist at heart but doesn't have the self-confidence to pursue it. She also has an agoraphobic mother who shops excessively online and TV.

They begin this relationship and both admit fairly quickly that it is different from anything that either has experienced before. Olivia has a lot of doubts about Cole's feelings though, especially the way they seem to run into old girlfriends where ever they go. Cole, sensing that Olivia is a little skittish, isn't entirely truthful with her about all the women in his life and so doesn't tell her about an old girlfriend that he calls "Nutty" Natasha. Well, good intentions puts a definite crick in this relationship.

I did enjoy this book and really wish that I had a pilot with me when I flew to let me know what all the noises and bumps were about! Olivia had never flown before, so when Cole took her on a trip he told her everything that was going on. (I don't care for flying - so this would be great!) Cole and Olivia were fun to get to know and I liked the way that Cole encouraged Olivia to follow her dreams and to give her the space and time to do just that. Warning - book does contain a lot of sex scenes.

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

You can find more about this author at http://www.mariesullivanforce.com/, on her blog Marie Force, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Everyone Loves a Hero: ...and that's the problem
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Feb 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4022-4574-9
416 pages

Friday, February 25, 2011

E-Publishing Benefits the Different Storyteller - Guest Post by Libby Sternberg

Shared by Kristi

E-PUBLISHING BENEFITS THE DIFFERENT STORYTELLER

By Libby Sternberg

Thank you for having me as a guest! I’ve been on this site before, but as an author. Today I’m here as an editor to share some information about a new e-press I’m involved in--Istoria Books.

Istoria Books publishes only fiction but across a wide variety of genres--historical, romance, young adult, literary, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy and more. About the only thing we’re not handling is erotica.

My husband, daughter and I started this publishing venture late last year with only my inventory. In the coming months, we’re poised to release six books by other authors--a wonderful literary offering by a Vietnam veteran and the backlist of a superlative romance author, whose five books had been published in print by Penguin’s NAL imprint.

These books represent why e-publishing offers so many opportunities to authors. It allows “different” stories to find readers, and it gives already-published authors a chance to expand their readership without worrying about their books being pulled from shelves and returned to the publisher. Because of the marketing limitations placed on traditional publishing, these opportunities are sometimes hard to come by in the print world.

Recently, an aspiring author shared with me a rejection note she’d received from an editor. The editor praised her book and writing style. In fact, it had taken the editor awhile to get back to the author’s agent because the editor had liked the book so much that she’d “sat on it” and let other editors read it, too. Everyone agreed--it was a marvelous book, and they loved it!

But….(you knew there was a “but” in there, didn’t you?), they couldn’t figure out how to market it. It was one of those “crossover” kinds of books, sort of in this genre and sort of in another one. Therefore, they rejected it.

Hired by their publishers to use their judgment to identify good books, these editors had done just that--identified a good book. But they were under marketing constraints--probably also put there by the publisher--that forced them to push their first judgment aside in favor of “marketability” concerns.

In this case, “marketability” meant: where in a bookstore would this book be shelved, and how would appropriate readers be drawn to it?

So, despite their raves, despite what their critical judgment of a good read told them, they rejected this manuscript.

In e-publishing, however, it’s a different story. A book can simultaneously be “shelved” in romance, mystery, young adult, sci-fi, even inspirational, if it contains elements of all of those genres. There’s no marketability problem with crossover books. The only “marketability” question is: will this book sell at all?

That means that e-publishing is open to a broader array of books. That’s why, at Istoria Books, we say in our submission guidelines, if your romance is told from the hero's POV, we'll still look at it. If your young adult novel features a college-age protagonist, we'll consider it. If your women's fiction book puts romance way on the back burner, we're open to it. If your inspirational involves a sinning protagonist, we'll still take a look.

The two questions we ask when reviewing manuscripts are: do I want to keep reading this story, and do I want to keep hearing this author tell it to me? A good story, well-told--that’s what we’re looking for.

Istoria doesn’t offer advances, but we do split royalties, and we do not ask authors to “earn out” the cost of cover art, ISBN registration, editing, formatting and more. Once the book is up for sale, the royalty splits begin.

We hope authors will check out our submission guidelines, at the “About Us” page on our website--www.IstoriaBooks.com. We hope readers will check out our offerings and get on our mailing list by signing up at our website or blog (www.IstoriaBooks.blogspot.com). Freebies and discounts will be available at various times to our subscribers.

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Istoria Books is pleased to announce acquiring digital rights to Gary Alexander’s up-market/literary fiction Dragon Lady. Here’s a brief summary of this wonderful book:

In 1965 Saigon, Joe, a young draftee becomes obsessed with a Vietnam girl named Mai, his own "Dragon Lady" from his beloved Terry and the Pirates cartoon strips that his mother still sends him. As he pursues a relationship with her, Saigon churns with intrigue and rumors--will the U.S. become more involved with the Vietnamese struggle? What's going on with a special unit that's bringing in all sorts of (for the time) high tech equipment? Will the U.S. make Vietnam the 51st state and bomb aggressors to oblivion? But for Joe, the big question is--does Mai love him or will she betray more than just his heart? Gary Alexander’s intelligent voice, filled with dry wit, and his own experiences give this story a sharp sense of truth, recounting the horror and absurdity of war. Reminiscent of books such as Catch-22, Dragon Lady serves up equal measures of outrageous humor and poignant remembrance. Gary served in Vietnam in ’65. When he arrived, he joined 17,000 GIs. When he left, 75,000 were in country.

AND HERE’S A SAMPLE:

All anyone could talk about was what they hoped was wrong with them. No one was anxious for syphilis or cancer, mind you, but we were yearning for nearsightedness or farsightedness, trick knees, high or low blood pressure, flat feet, slipped disks, neuritis, neuralgia, post nasal drip, the heartbreak of psoriasis. We were praying for a backassward Lourdes, where 4-F was the miracle. I had no illusions. If you could fog a mirror, you were probably in…

AND ANOTHER…

We got back to the 803rd, gone a mere three hours. When the captain saw what we’d parked at the curb, he looked at us as if we walked on water. “Men, I’m putting in papers to immediately elevate you to private first class.”

I thanked him as humbly as I could manage. As happy as I would’ve been to be promoted, the clerk-typist slot was foremost on my mind. As PFCs, we’d be booted out of the 803rd sooner or later. It was inevitable. I did not wish to be helicoptered into the godforsaken to hunt Victor Charles and for Victor Charles to surely reciprocate.

I wanted a clerk-typist MOS on my resume. I wanted to be where Charlie would have to barge into my clean, dry office and fire a round through my Underwood to get me.

“Thank you, sir. I request that you send Private Zbitgysz and me to typing school so we can improve our skills on the job and become improved soldiers and lighten PFC Bierce’s burden.”

Bierce didn’t look up, but his clickety-clack-clack ceased.

Thanks Libby for visiting us again today! Being a new owner of both a Kindle and a Nook, (I never thought I would say this), I am really enjoying reading books on my e-readers and being able to have a "bunch" of books with me at any time. I also like it because it has allowed me to read some books that I would not have had the opportunity to before. Good luck in your new venture Libby!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - Book Giveaway!!!

Shared by Kristi

The Paris Wife

by Paula McLain

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time -- Paris in the twenties -- and an extraordinary love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

In Chicago in 1920, Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness -- until she meets Ernest Hemingway and finds herself captivated by his good looks, intensity, and passionate desire to write. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group of expatriates that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

But the hard-drinking and fast-living cafe life does not celebrate traditional notions of family and monogamy. As Hadley struggles with jealousy and self-doubt and Ernest wrestles with his burgeoning writing career, they must confront a deception that could prove the undoing of one of the great romances in literary history.

Praise for THE PARIS WIFE

“THE PARIS WIFE is mesmerizing. Hadley Hemingway’s voice, lean and lyrical, kept me in my seat, unable to take my eyes and ears away from these young lovers. Paula McLain is a first-rate writer who creates a world you don’t want to leave. I loved this book.”

—Nancy Horan, New York Times bestselling author of Loving Frank

“Despite all that has been written about Hemingway by others and by the man himself, the magic of THE PARIS WIFE is that this Hemingway and this Paris, as imagined by Paula McLain, ring so true I felt as if I was eavesdropping on something new. As seen by the sure and steady eye of his first wife, Hadley, here is the spectacle of the man becoming the legend set against the bright jazzed heat of Paris in the 20s. As much about life and how we try and catch it

as it is about love even as it vanishes, this is

an utterly absorbing novel.”

—Sarah Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress

“After nearly a century, there is a reason that the Lost Generation and Paris in the 1920’s still fascinate. It was a unique intersection of time and place, people and inspiration, romance and intrigue, betrayal and tragedy. THE PARIS WIFE brings that era to life through the eyes of Hadley Richardson Hemingway, who steps out of the shadows as the first wife of Ernest, and into the reader’s mind, as beautiful and as luminous as those extraordinary days in Paris after the Great War.”

—Mary Chapin Carpenter, singer and writer of the song “Mrs. Hemingway”

About the Author: PAULA MCLAIN received an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan and has been awarded fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the author of two collections of poetry as well as a memoir, Like Family: Growing Up in Other People’s Houses, and a first novel, A Ticket to Ride. She lives with her family in Cleveland.

The Paris Wife: A Novel

By Paula McLain

A Ballantine Books Hardcover * February 22, 2011

978-0-345-52130-9 * $25.00 * 336 pp

www.ballantinebooks.com

www.ParisWife.com

Want to win a copy of this book? I have 5 to giveaway, courtesy of Entertainment Marketing Group. Please leave a comment with your email address for your first entry.

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