Denise Grover Swank (author of Chosen) is visiting! (Guest Post, Book Review, Giveaway)

I am thrilled to have Denise Grover Swank as a guest on Books and Needlepoint today. She is touring with her book, Chosen, which was winner of The Beacon-- 2010 Unpublished Division, Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal category.

Write What You Know?  Nah, Just Google It

by Denise Grover Swank

The computer has revolutionized writing. Hundreds of years ago people scratched their thoughts onto parchment paper using squid ink and a quill. Now we tap, tap, tap on our keyboards. Not even those little bottles of White Out for us. Make an error? That’s what the delete key is for.


But an added benefit to the computer is research. Hello, Google. Years ago if you wanted to know about the Vietnam War, you had to go to the library and do a search in periodicals and texts—and hope that the library had the publication you were interested in. Now, all it takes it the entry Vietnam War into the search bar and a click. Instant gratification. (Although I suggest you narrow down your search a bit more. Talk about information overload.)


I couldn’t have written Chosen without my bestie Google. We had already become well acquainted with my previous, unpublishable novel. But suffice it to say, when it came to writing Chosen, I was out of my element. I knew nothing about guns. Street racing. Bullet proof glass. How to blow up a truck. My Google search engine worked overtime for several months finding articles and YouTube videos, and I’m sure put me on a government watch list. I’ve said many times that if I’m ever accused of a crime, they’ll throw me in jail based on my search engine history alone.


But the advent of Google takes write what you know and throws it out the window and onto its head. (Oh, look—there it goes rolling down the street.) I can assure you that I had no idea how to make your car do a 180 degree turn or how to fire a shotgun. I had no idea if bullets could penetrate a regular, unfortified car. (They can, by the way.) If I followed the write what you know philosophy, I wouldn’t have gotten past page two. And I would have been the poorer for it.


There’s a whole big world out there just waiting for me to Google about it.

Title: Chosen
Author: Denise Grover Swank
Publisher: Create Space


About the book: Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach infested motel to another. She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma’s never needed help before. And even though she’s learned to trust her son, it doesn’t mean she trusts Will.


Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma’s freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake’s proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has.


Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Will’s overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late.

My thoughts:  This was one of the best books that I have read in awhile.  From the very first paragraph I was hooked.  Now, is this because I have a little boy named Jake just a little older than the one in the book? - Maybe, but the resemblance ends after the name and the age. 

I love thrillers and this one grabs you and holds on - and it contains elements of the paranormal as well.  Emma and Jake have been on the run for about 3 years.  All they know is that The Bad Men are after them and that Jake can see them when they are getting close.  Emma does not know why they are after them, just that she would protect her son at all costs. 

They have always been on their own, so when Will shows up and starts trying to protect them, Emma puts up a little bit of a fight.  She does not trust anyone, and only agrees to letting him go along because of her son. Will does have another agenda that he is keeping hidden from Emma, though.  I like the way that the dynamics among the three characters start to change when Will arrives.  The author blends these changes in so that the reader becomes aware of them as the characters in the book do also. 

I don't know how much more I can say without including spoilers - so just pick this up!  It is the first in a series and you can visit Denise's blog to find out more - and to see a trailer!

~I received a complimentary ebook from Bewitching Blog Tours in exchange for my review.~

GIVEAWAY!

Bewitching Blog Tours is giving away one ebook of Chosen to one of my readers!  This contest is open internationally!  Following not necessary but is appreciated! Please fill out form to enter.  This giveaway will end on Oct 21 at Midnight, CST.  Bonus entries are available!

Love at Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks (Blog Tour and Giveaway!)

Love at Absolute Zero

by Christopher Meeks

Love at Absolute Zero is the story of Gunnar Gunderson, a 32-year-old star physicist at the University of Wisconsin.  The moment he's given tenure at teh university, he can think of only one thing: finding a wife.  His research falters into what happens to matter near absolute zero (-459.67 F), but he has an instant new plan.  To meet his soul mate within three days -- that's what he wants and all the time he can carve out -- he will use the Scientific Method.  His research team will help.  Can Gunnar survive his quest?  What happens if and when he goes to Denmark?

Please visit the remainder of the blogs on this tour:

Oct 6 -   The Book Addict (review)
Oct 7 -   The Book Addict (interview)
         -    Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews (review)
Oct 10 - Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews (interview and giveaway)
           - Gabriel Reads (review)
Oct 11 - Gabriel Reads (interview)
           - Dan's Journal (review)
Oct 12 - Dan's Journal (guest post)
            - Words I Write Crazy (review)
Oct 13 - Ramblings of a Daydreamer (review)
Oct 14 - Ramblings of a Daydreamer (review)
           - Drey's Library (review and giveaway)

I hope to have my review up later today.  You can get a bonus entry if you comment on it!

GIVEAWAY:

This giveaway is open internationally!  I have one copy of Love at Absolute Zero to giveaway.  If winner is international, they will receive a coupon for the ebook at Smashwords.  If the winner is from U.S. they will have a choice of a papercopy or the Smashwords coupon.  Giveaway is open until Midnight, Oct 19, CST.  Comments are appreciated, but must use form to enter giveaway.  Thanks!!

Spin the Plate by Donna Anastasi (Book Review)

Title: Spin the Plate

Author: Donna Anastasi
Publisher: Black Rose Writing

About the book: Spin the Plate is the story of Jo, a woman who has come through a traumatic childhood, not battered and broken, but powerful and enraged.  A tattoo artist by day, she roams the streets of Boston nightly to forgether past and feed her two passions: rescuing mistreated creatures and inflicting bodily harm on their perpetrators.  Unassuming and unafraid, Francis, a man harboring a secret of his own, is the one person Jo can't seem to scare off.  Right from the start, he sees clearly the caring soul buried deep within Jo's hard exterior and puts into motion a succession of life-altering happenings.


My thoughts: I wasn't quite sure what to think when I started reading this novel.  Jo, the main character, is a really tough woman, who was always looking for someone to either get into a mental/verbal fight with, or looking for someone who deserved to have their face smashed in. I wasn't sure that it was going to keep my interest, but I kept reading.

Francis was then introduced.  He was a quiet man who thinks he has dreamed about Jo, or someone like her, and starts to follow her around - trying to work up his nerve to ask her out. Even though Jo is brusque and dismissive with him, he hangs on and for reasons even she can't define, she accepts his offer of dinner.

They begin to form a friendship with Jo giving Frances a listening ear to his theories and stories about the world without bias, and Frances bringing a calming influence to Jo's life.  She slowly begins to trust him - and she has trusted no man because of her childhood abuse by her father.  (This was also the source of her rage).


This is a good story about hope after the survival of dire circumstances.  The coming together of two opposite individuals able to form something wonderful together that was unreachable when they were apart.  I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting.  I liked the way that my impression of Jo changed.  In the beginning of the book she is described like this:  ". . . very big, extremely strong, and surprisingly fast.  She was 257 pounds and stood 5' 11" in her Chippewa hikers. "  (p5)  You really don't get a physical description of her later in the book, but when seen through Frances eyes - "She looked exactly as he always imagined her: serene. He drank in her beauty and explored each nuance of her exquisite face." (p182)   As I progressed through the book, and Jo starts to trust and lose some of her rage, it seemed to transform her outward appearance as well.

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

To find out more about the book - please visit www.spintheplate.com.  You can also visit the other blogs on this tour:

October 3: Blog interview with Jennifer Walker
October 4: Blog interview with Suzanne Alicie, plus with Jennifer on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show at 3:30 Pacific Time.
October 5: Book review by Kristi Herbrand of Books and Needlepoint
October 6: Book Review at Joan of Shark
October 7: Book Review and guest post from Laurie at Reader Girls
October 8: Book review by Michelle Devon


Spin the Plate
Publisher/Publication Date: Black Rose Writing, May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935605-39-3
198 pages

My Thoughts on Banned Book Week - guest post by Donna Anastasi

Banned book week occurs the last week in September as a celebration of our right to read whatever we damn well please. It took viewing only a very small sampling of items on the banned booked lists to see that my novel Spin the Plate is a prime candidate for inclusion. Spin the Plate is a fictional account of a woman who as a child had been systematically sexually abused by her father and has immerged from this traumatic childhood not battered and broken, but powerful and enraged. The book contains both profanity and sexually explicit content.


So, is “bad language” really needed in literary fiction? Absolutely. Using the s, f, and other four-five letter words
is how many real people really talk. Profanity is used to convey threats, anger, power structure, comradery, familiarity, humor, and sometimes social class. A tense situation can be escalated to the red zone in an instant with a single, well placed swear word. Crude language can be used as a powerful literary tool: in Spin the Plate it is used to show the main character letting down her guard and letting go of her anger and hate, as the frequency of vulgarities dissipates through the course of the novel.


As for sexually explicit materials, again, absolutely necessary. Despite the prevalence of incest in this country (and even more so in many others), the topic is rarely broached in school curriculum. What type of message does this omission send to a young person in such a situation? Certainly having a book such as “Push” (upon which the film Precious was based) be banned only serves to further deny the reality many children are living and silence the victims of this horrific and vastly under-reported crime.
One final thought - with very recent events including the movie Precious winning academy awards, the clergy sex abuse scandal being addressed right up to the top most level, Jaycee Dugard’s brave and candid account as a kidnapping survivor of child rape, and new anti-bullying laws in many states, I wonder if perhaps as a society we are ready to take on child abuse at the next level – sexual abuse being perpetrated by family members. A staggering 10 million people in the US alone are victims of incest, yet it is something that is not talked about. Perhaps now more than ever this is the time to fight against the banning of books about incest victims and survivors, and let their voices be heard.


Visit http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ for ways to participate in this year’s banned book week, September 23-30, 2011.



Thanks Donna for visiting here today!


My review of Spin the Plate will be posted later today!

Teaser Tuesday: Forbidden (Oct 4, 2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
• Then visit MizB and add your link!

Whatever this virus had done to humanity, the alchemists had found a way to undo it in him.  The chaos of emotions had come roiling back into veins and neurons too tepid to house their fire, and Saric wasn't sure if he wanted to kill the alchemists or thank them for it.  (p23, Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee)

Forbidden (The Books of Mortals)
Publisher/Publication Date: Center Street, Sept 2011
ISBN: 978-1599953540
384 pages

Book Tour: The Story of Noah's Ark: Wall Clings (Oct 3-7)

The Story of Noah's Ark

Story book and wall clings

Lori C. Froeb; illustrated by Luana Rinaldo

The story of Noah and his ark is one of the most beloved stories in the Bible.  With this deluxe set, kids can use the wall clings to recreate the awesome scene of all the animals boarding the ark. As they read about Noah and his adventure, children can stick the vinyl clings on any painted wall to retell the story.  The clings peel right off, so kids can rearrange them however they choose -- over and over again.

About the author: Lori C. Froeb lives and works in Westchester County, New York. As a children's book editor, Lori has had the opportunity to write many books for kids -- which she finds both challenging and rewarding.  Lori tries to carry God's promises with her every day and it was a blessing to write this book. Her other titles include A Child's Book of Parables, The Acorn and the Oak Tree, and The Newborn King puzzle book.

About the illustrator: Luana Rinaldo has authored and illustrated many picture books for babies and children. Her work has been translated into more than 14 languages.  Luana's illustrations have also appeared in magazines and on greeting cards and children's clothes.  Luana lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. 

Kregel Blog Tour

The Story of Noah's Ark: Wall Clings
Publisher/Publication Date: Kregel Kidzone, July 2011
ISBN: 978-0825455520
Ages 4-8

Book Tour: Spin the Plate by Donna Anastasi (Oct 3-7)

Spin the Plate

by Donna Anastasi

Spin the Plate is the story of Jo, a woman who has come through a traumatic childhood not battered and broken, but powerful and enraged. A tattoo artist by day, she roams the streets of Boston nightly to forget her past and feed her two passions: rescuing mistreated creatures and inflicting bodily harm on their perpetrators. Unassuming and unafraid, Francis, a man harboring his own back story, is the one person Jo can't seem to scare off. Right from the start, he sees clearly the caring soul buried deep within Jo's hard exterior and puts into motion a succession of life-altering happenings for them both.

It is hard to imagine two characters as unique as Jo and Francis, yet Anastasi places them so convincingly in the world we know that it makes you take a fresh look at the people you pass on the street and wonder about what back story they may be hiding. Every character in this book, including the minor ones, has a distinct personality and practically jumps off the page into your world.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER, Women's Fiction, 2011 Living Now Book Awards
SILVER MEDAL WINNER, Contemporary Romance, 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards
International Book Award Finalist, Romance
International Book Award Finalist, Women's Literature

Touring with Walker Author Tours.
Spin the Plate
Publisher/Publication Date: Black Rose Writing, May 2010
ISBN: 978-1935605393
198 pages

Frightful Fall Read-a-thon! Oct 3 - 9, 2011

It's time for another read-a-thon!  Hopefully I will be more successful at this one than at the last one!  Except for work and normal "taking care of family" stuff, I don't have a lot else going on this week (for a change!) so I might actually be able to read a little more!  Michelle from Castle Macabre (and A True Book Addict) will be hosting this read-a-thon.  Rules/details are as follows:

-Dates: Monday, October 3 at 12:00am through Sunday, October 9 at 11:59pm (your time zone).
-To go along with the scary theme, this time I will have a requirement. You must read at least ONE scary book during the read-a-thon. If you are not a horror fan, then make it a thriller or a mystery, as long as the book has some kind of spooky premise to it. Those of you who fulfill this requirement, and sign in at the starting line, will automatically be entered in the participant giveaway.
-Read as much or as little as you want. You do not have to join in all week. Start during the week or just do the weekend. It's your decision. Just be sure to sign in at the starting line when you start reading.
-Michelle will be hosting a scary themed mini-challenge and hopefully will have other mini-challenges and/ or giveaways
-Hashtag for Twitter will be #frightfall
-Sign up by visiting Castle Macabre.  If you don't have a blog, use Facebook, Twitter or Goodreads. Having a blog is not required.

So jump in and sign up!  You know you are going to be reading anyway!

Click Here For Images  

It's Monday! What are you reading? (Oct 3, 2011)

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:
How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This by Carla Ulbrich
Never Been Bit  by Lydia Dare (I know it is October, but I am just not in the mood for a vampire book - I have loved this series, but I am having a hard time with this one. . .)

Next Up:
Hello, Hollywood!: A Novel (Backstage Pass)  by Janice Thompson
The Last Blind Date  by Linda Yellin
Safe from the Sea  by Peter Geye

Audio Book:
A Discovery of Witches: A Novel  by Deborah Harkness

E-Book:
Forbidden (The Books of Mortals)  by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
An Accidental Mother  by Katherine Anne Kindred

Bathroom Book:
Good Graces  by Lesley Kagen


Reviewed Since Last Post:



Waiting for Reviews:
 The Place of Belonging by Jayne Pearson Faulkner
The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Airmail by Naomi Bulger
Pie Town by Lynne Hinton
Chasing the Red Car by Ellen Ruderman
Whistling In the Dark  by Lesley Kegan
Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel by Lisa Unger
Atonement by Ian McEwan

E-books waiting for review:
Sudden Moves by Kelli Sue Landon
This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Children's Books waiting for review:
Pearl's Wisdom by Auntie LuLu
Bug Meets His Friend (Bug's Adventure Series) by K.M. Groshek
Multiply on the Fly by Suzanne Slade
Ten for Me by Barbara Mariconda
Animalogy by Marianne Berkes
Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison

READY - SET - READ!

Book Tour: The God Girl Bible (Oct 2-8)

God Girl Bible
Snow White/Pretty Pink
Tree Design Duravella
Hayley DiMarco


Now the popular God Girl Bible is available in a fantastic new color! The perfect companion to the #1 CBA bestseller God Girl, the God Girl Bible merges GW with incredible new material that helps a girl become the woman she was meant to be. Jam-packed with special features created just for them, the God Girl Bible offers teen girls

• Book Intros: including quick facts about author, audience, themes, and more God Girl Stories: 26 full-page profiles of women in the Bible
• Know This Devotions: 200 half-page devotions on topics related to becoming a God Girl
• Ask Yourself: sidebars that encourage girls to consider how God's Word applies to their lives on a practical level
• Prayers: 40 timeless prayers rewritten in language today's teen girl understands
• Quick Relief: index of helpful verses on topics and issues teens face
• GodGirl.com: a site where girls can interact with Hayley and other God Girls diving even deeper into their Bible study

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Book Tour: Hello Hollywood by Janice Thompson (Oct 2-8)

Say Hello to Hollywood!

Find out just how funny life can be when you try to script it.

Popular romance author and screenwriter, Janice Thompson, is charming her readers once again with a behind-the-scenes look at life in Hollywood. Her new book, Hello, Hollywood! (ISBN: 978-0-8007-3346-9, $14.99, 288 pages, September) is the second installment in the Backstage Pass series. This time, Thompson takes her readers inside the writer’s room.

At 28, Athena Pappas has a pretty great gig. She’s the head writer of one of the most popular sitcoms in television history, Stars Collide. Yet, something’s still lacking: her love life.

Athena finds nothing wrong with still living at home with her large, wacky Greek family and making her bed with the same Strawberry Shortcake sheets she had as a kid. None of that has prevented Athena from plotting her characters’ romances. So why is her own love life so hard to script?

Athena’s love life gets the shakeup it needs when her boss hires up-and-coming Vegas comedian, Stephen Cosse, to help boost the show’s sagging ratings. Feeling her position as head writer threatened, she starts to doubt her talents, and the fact that Stephen is as good looking as Adonis doesn’t escape Athena’s attention either.

Sparks fly as the competition—and attraction—between the two heats things up. While they struggle to create conflict and comedy for their characters on the page, Athena and Stephen develop a relationship they never would have scripted for themselves and discover that not being in control of the plot of their lives may just be the best thing that’s ever happened.

Hello, Hollywood! delights readers with its charm and humor. Every character will jump off the page and into the readers’ hearts.

Janice Thompson is a seasoned romance author. An expert at pulling the humor from the situations we get ourselves into, Thompson affords an inside look at TV land, drawing on her experiences as a screenwriter. She is the author of the Weddings by Bella series and lives in Texas. To learn more about Janice visit her at: www.janicethompson.com

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.