Knee Deep by Jolene Perry (Book Review)

Title: Knee Deep
Author: Jolene Perry
Publisher: Tribute Books


About the Book: You’re a girl, he says, and are probably seeing things that aren’t there.

Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight every day, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.

Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He's the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she's playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.

Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both.

My thoughts:  For me, this book started out slow, but I was quickly immersed in Ronnie's story.  I think that every young girl thinks her first love will be her only love, and the author does a great job of capturing those feelings for the reader. But there is more than just first love going on here. Shawn has started to change and Ronnie is convinced that if she just gives him more time, he will be the boy she fell in love with again - regardless of the consequences. 

And then there is Luke.  Who remembers all those feelings you get when the boy of your dreams walks in the room?  Ronnie begins to have those feelings for Luke, but she convinces herself that these are not her feelings, but those of Juliet for her Romeo - the characters the two of them are playing in the school play.  She is sure that once the play is over she will be able to let those feelings go and that the problems Shawn is having will have begun to ease by then and that relationship will get back on track.  

Jolene Perry does a great job of dealing with the sensitive issue of abusive relationships and how women, especially teens, can make exceptions to excuse the behavior in the one they love - and who loves them.  I have already told my daughter that I want her to read this book - because I want her to see how no abuse is okay, and there is no reason good enough to make it okay.   

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

About the author: Jolene grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in political science and French, which she used to teach math to middle schoolers.

After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.

She is also the author of Night Sky and The Next Door Boys.

You can find out more about the book and connect with the author at the following locations: 

Knee Deep web site:
http://knee-deep-book.blogspot.com/  
Knee Deep Twitter hashtag:
#KneeDeep
Knee Deep GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12987551-knee-deep
Jolene Perry's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002038196677

Jolene Perry's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/JoleneBPerry

Jolene Perry's Website:
http://www.jolenebperry.com/

Jolene Perry's Blog:
http://www.jolenesbeenwriting.blogspot.com/

Jolene Perry's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4944599.Jolene_B_Perry

Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com

Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176

Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

Knee Deep

Publisher/Publication Date: Tribute Books, May 2012

ISBN: 9780983741886

ISBN: 9781476060316

240 pages

It's Monday! What are you reading? (July 23, 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 this week: 

Permanence by Vincent Zandri

Knee Deep by Jolene Perry

You Take it From Here by Pamela Ribon

Upcoming books:
Beach Season by Lisa Jackson
The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane

Bathroom Book:
Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2) by Aimee Carter

Books reviewed last week: 
Foreign Identity by Becca Campbell
Forgive Me, Alex by Lane Diamond

Books read and needing to be reviewed:

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

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

Mailbox Monday (July 23, 2012)

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books.  This is where I share the titles I have received for review or purchased during the past week.  Mailbox Monday will be hosted in July by Mrs Q Book Addict.

I have been in email hell for the last week!  We changed internet providers so I had to change email addresses - it feels like I have been updating all the newsletters that I get for a month!  And don't get me started on what I had to do to get my files transferred!  My new provider doesn't have files within files *yet* so I hope I can find things when I need them.  But, at least I got some good books last week!

Pushing the Limits
by Katie McGarry


So wrong for each other. . . and yet so right.


No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms.  Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night.  All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.


But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined.  They should have nothing in common.  And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.


Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away.  And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

The Last Letter from your Lover
by Jojo Moyes


In 1960, Jennifer Stirling wakes in the hospital and remembers nothing -- not the car accident that put her there, not her wealthy husband, not even her own name.  Searching for clues, she finds an impassioned letter, signed simply "B," from a man for whom she seemed willing to risk everything.


In 2003, journalist Ellie Haworth stumbles upon an old letter containing a man's ardent plea to his married lover.  She becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the lovers.  Perhaps if they lived happily ever after, her own complicated afair could have a happy ending, too.  A Brief Encounter for our time, this is a novel for romantics of every age. 

Finding Emma
by Steena Holmes


Megan sees her daughter Emma everywhere.  She's the little girl standing in the supermarket, the child waiting for the swings at the playground, the girl with ice cream dripping down her face.  But it's never Emma.


Emma's been missing for two years.


Unable to handle the constant heartache of all the false sightings, Megan's husband threatens to walk away unless Megan can agree to accept Emma is gone.  Megan's life and marriage is crumbling all around her and she realizes she may have to do the thing she dreads most:  move on.

When Megan takes a photo of a little girl with an elderly couple at the town fair, she believes it to be her missing daughter.  Unable to let go, she sets in motion a sequence of events that could destroy both families lives. 

and when she was good
by Laura Lippman


When Hector Lewis told his daughter that she had a nothing face, it was just another bit of tossed-off cruelty from a man who specialized in harsh words and harsher deeds.  But twenty years later, Heloise considers it a blessing to be a person who knows how to avoid attention.  In the comfortable suburb where she lives, she's just a mom, the youngish widow with a forgettable job who somehow never misses a soccer game or a school play.  In the state capitol, she's the redheaded lobbyist with a good cause and a mediocre track record.


But in discreet hotel rooms throughout the area, she's the woman of your dreams -- if you can afford her hourly fee.


For more than a decade, Heloise has believed she is safe.  She has created a rigidly compartmentalized life, maintaining no real friendships, trusting few confidantes.  Only now her secret life, a life she was forced to build after the legitimate world turned its back on her, is under siege.  Her once oblivious accountant is aksing loaded questions.  Her longtime protector is hinting at new, mysterious dangers.  Her employees can't be trusted.  One county over, another so-called suburban madam has been found dead in her car, a suicide.  Or is it?


Nothing is as it seems as Heloise faces a midlife crisis with much higher stakes than most will ever know.


And then she learns that her son's father might be released from prison, which is problematic because he doesn't know he has a son.  The killer and former pimp also doesn't realize that he's serving a life sentence because Heloise betrayed him.  but he's clearly beginning to suspect that Heloise has been holding something back all these years.


With no formal education, no real family, and no friends, Heloise has to remake her life -- again.  Disappearing will be the easy part.  She's done it before and she can do it again.  A new name and a new place aren't hard to come by if you know the right people.  The trick will be living long enough to start a new life. 

Outpost
by Ann Aguirre


Salvation isn't as safe as it seems. . .


Deuce's whole world has changed.  Currently living topside in a community called Salvation, she has a new set of problems.  Down below, she was considered an adult, and she contributed to the enclave.  Now above ground, she's a brat in need of training in the eyes of the Salvation residents.  She doesn't fit in with the other girls:  She hates cooking, sewing, and school.  Deuce only knows how to fight.


To make matters worse, her feelings for her Hunter partner Fade haven't changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore.  Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.


Deuce pursues a chance to serve in the summer patrols -- those responsible for making sure the growers and planters can work the fields without danger of Freak attack.  It should be routine, but the Freaks have grown smarter.  They're watching.  Waiting.  Planning.  The monsters don't intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide. 

Not Much of a Crime
by Steven W. Johnson


Allison King finds herself embroiled in a fight for her life when she decides to run for a vacant seat on the town council of Charleston, Nevada.  Does she have what it takes to overcome the political corruption, intrigue, and murder that permeates the town and still save the adult video empire she has created in Los Angeles?


What books came home to you last week?

Forgive Me, Alex by Lane Diamond (Book Review)

Title: Forgive Me, Alex
Author: Lane Diamond
Publisher: Evolved Publishing

About the Book: Tony Hooper stands in shadow across the street, one amongst many in the crowd of curiosity-hounds gathered to watch a monster’s release. Seventeen years after Mitchell Norton, “the devil,” terrorized Algonquin, Illinois on a spree of kidnapping, torture and murder, the authorities release the butcher from psychiatric prison.

Tony longs to charge across the street to destroy Norton—no remorse—as if stepping on a cockroach. Only sheer force of will prevents his doing so.

“The devil” walks the world again. What shall Tony do about it? Aye, what indeed.

After all, this is what he does. It’s who he is. “The devil” himself long ago made Tony into this hunter of monsters. What a sweet twist of fate this is, that he may still, finally, administer justice.

Will FBI Special Agent Linda Monroe stop him? She owes him her life, so how can she possibly put an end to his?

Tony Hooper and Mitchell Norton battle for supremacy, with law enforcement always a step away, in this story of justice and vengeance, evil and redemption, fear and courage, love and loss.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE GIVEAWAY ON GOODREADS UNTIL AUG 31

My thoughts:  This book kept me riveted!  It is told through the eyes of both Tony Hooper and MItchell Norton.  It starts in 1995 as Mitchell is being released from prison and goes back and forth from that time frame to 1978, when all the tragedy occurs.  

I loved the way that the author draws you in to the story right away, and then slowly dishes you out the details.  You know the outcome, because Mitchell was in prison for 17 years - but you don't know everything that happens in 1978 and those are the details that you are spoon-fed through out the rest of the book.  

At the same time you struggle along with Tony as he wades through his memories as well as what he has become because of Mitchell.  Along with Linda, the FBI agent who cut her teeth on the Norton case, and has crossed paths with Tony over the years, you hope that he is able to overcome the wall he has put up to keep people from getting too close.  

I thought this was a great thriller and am looking forward to reading more by this author.  Please enjoy the excerpt below from Forgive Me, Alex. 

~I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from Novel Publicity in exchange for my review.~

About the author:   I write fiction, long and short. My writings cross over many genres and focus on diverse subjects, ranging from the mysteries of the human mind, with its fragile psychological and emotional states, to the everyday joy and anguish of life on Earth. Ultimately, characters move me – as both a reader and an author. It’s all about the people. When not writing, I’m Publisher and Executive Editor at Evolved Publishing. Connect with me on my website, Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, or via Evolved Publishing.

Forgive Me, Alex: An Excerpt

Mitchell Norton, the man I've long considered the devil, smiles atop the courthouse steps and waves to the simmering crowd. He tilts his head back to soak in the sunshine and cool breeze of the late spring day, the tranquility of which stands in stark contrast to the circumstances of this event.

The mere sight of him pushes me to the dark edge of my mind, where sanity hangs like... like... like a balloon in a tornado!

I stand in shadow across the street, one amongst many in the crowd of curiosity-hounds gathered to watch a monster's release. As my face blazes, fists clench and teeth grind, I can easily imagine the onset of a stroke, an aneurism, a pulmonary embolism, a raging scream—

Control yourself, Tony!

I long to charge across the street to destroy him—no remorse—as if stepping on a cockroach. Only sheer force of will prevents my doing so.

For seventeen years, I assumed this day would never come. How could they even consider releasing this vile creature, this very personification of evil?

In 1978, Norton murdered innocent kids who'd barely tasted of life. He tortured two of them beyond the limits of rational imagination, for to imagine such deeds was to summon a devilry that we dared not face. Yet the jury held him not responsible, a victim himself to the ravages of an illness that drove him to insanity beyond our reckoning.

He thus resides forever in the darkest pit of my psyche, chained to me in perpetuity. Now only two choices remain: I must cast off those chains, or yank them tight around his neck. Yes, I must obtain satisfaction. The idiotic jury seventeen years ago, and today's flawed court system, has left little recourse. No one else seems willing to deliver him to justice.

I am willing. After all, this is what I do. It's who I am. Indeed, the devil himself made me into this hunter of monsters. What a sweet twist of fate this is, that I may still, finally, administer justice.

He descends the stairs toward his waiting car with an arrogant swagger, watching the small group of protestors, the news reporters, and the police officers here to ensure a peaceful transition, as if to challenge them. His wicked grin never waivers.

Oh, that grin. For seventeen years it has taunted me, punished me for my indecision, my incompetence. I missed my chance to kill him in 1978, to remove his damned head—simple, as if cutting a sheet of paper. It would have been a fitting end for a monster.

Why did I let him live?

Like whispers in a storm, those memories only tease at me now, here at this obscene and maddening event. I'm trying not to relive every moment of 1978. Every time I do, I feel as if swimming in quicksand, anchored by my constant companions—sorrow and guilt. I'm too damned tired; can't shake the confusion, the dread. I fear surrendering to fear.

My life teems with just such wretched ironies.

As Norton vanishes inside a black sedan—looks like standard-issue law enforcement—I dash through the crowds to my van. Despite this call to action, my mind again zeroes-in on memories of 1978. I recall the court proceedings, particularly the devil's own twisted testimony, as though it were yesterday. I've only relived it ten thousand times.

Then twenty-six, Norton was a man-child who'd never quite grasped the nuance of adulthood. He continued to wash dishes at a restaurant, ten years into the only job he'd ever held. He found it comfortable and unchallenging—perfect. He harbored no great yearnings, nor imagined exciting possibilities, nor sought lucrative rewards.

Then everything changed. He said that was when his new life emerged, when he became more aware, even more intelligent. He better understood the world around him. He discovered what he called "The Purpose" in the spring of 1978, and it guided his every deed. He claimed he became a man that year.

I remember it quite clearly as the year he became the devil.

The words I wrote in my diary at the time return to me, a personal anthem more relevant than ever: Rage flows like lava through my veins. My soul slowly roasts upon the flames. How did I ever let it come to this?

Now mortality, as it did seventeen years ago, lingers above me like the hangman's noose. Yet it looms more ominous than ever, as if it will drop down around my neck at any moment. After all, I know the true Mitchell Norton. And whom shall I fear if not the devil, the grim torturer who conquered my aspirations and left me without a recognizable world of my own?

Or is it me that I fear? The man I've become? The man Norton made me?

Some fancy maneuvering is required to escape the crowds and the police at the courthouse. I manage to keep Norton in sight, zigzagging between lanes and keeping several vehicles between us, hanging back far enough to avoid detection without losing him. Uncertain emotions bubble up, some indecipherable combination of dread and anticipation, fear and excitement, vengeance and sorrow. I must know where he'll make his home, information that has been difficult to obtain, as the authorities are concerned with Norton's security.

Give me a break! They should express their security concerns not for the devil himself, but for his next victims.

Oh yes, I know Norton too well. He will torture, murder and dismember again. The temptation will be too great to resist.

I saw him up close in 1978, looked into the soul of the devil, as we waded through the blood and gore he'd spilled. I couldn't fathom his unrepentant pleasure, the sick thrill, his gleeful anticipation.

Now he's out of prison, again free to call up his demons, to torture the innocent, to waltz to what he once called his "symphony of screams."

The devil walks the world again.

What shall I do about it? Aye, what indeed.

Forgive Me, Alex

Publisher/Publication Date: Evolved Publishing, March 2012 (1st published Nov 2011)

ISBN: 9781622539000

242 pages

Foreign Identity by Becca Camptell (Book Review)

Title: Foreign Identity
Author: Becca J. Campbell
Publisher: Consortium Books


About the Book: 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?

My thoughts: This book was definitely different from anything that I have previously read.   You have to read the entire book to figure out what is going on, why, and who is behind it - so I can't really tell you much about the book without giving away some of the secrets.  It was a very quick moving book though. 

Jax and Kel (what they think their names are) are the only two characters through out much of the book.  To me, their dialogue seemed forced and I didn't feel the connection between the two of them.  I understand that they couldn't be "fleshed out" better, as they have both lost their memory.  The ending wrapped up this story but at the same time left the option for another book.  

If you are into Science Fiction, then this one would probably be something you would enjoy - it was just a little too far out there for me though. It has some great reviews Goodreads so please check those out as well - I just think it wasn't my cup of tea. 

~I received a complimentary ebook from the author in exchange for my review.~   

Foreign Identity
Publisher/Publication Date: Consortium Books, May 2012
ISBN: 9781475217
244 pages

It's Monday! What are you reading? (July 16, 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 this week: 

You Take it From Here by Pamela Ribon

Upcoming books:
Beach Season by Lisa Jackson
Forgive Me, Alex by Lane Diamond
Knee Deep by Jolene Perry

Bathroom Book:

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Books reviewed last week: 
Listening to Africa by Diana Raab

Books read and needing to be reviewed:

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Foreign Identity by Becca Campbell

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

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

Mailbox Monday (July 16, 2012)

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books.  This is where I share the titles I have received for review or purchased during the past week.  Mailbox Monday will be hosted in July by Mrs Q Book Addict.

A Girl Like You

by Maria Geraci

Every ugly duckling is a swan in waiting.

Emma Frazier is smart and hardworking, and loves her job as a journalist for a Florida lifestyle magazine.  Emma knows she's no great beauty, but she's pretty certain she has a shot with her handsome new boss, Ben Gallagher -- untiil Emma overhears a mutual acquaintance refer to her as the "ugly friend."  In an effort to reclaim her battered self-esteem, Emma decides to impress Ben at work by promising an exclusive interview with NASCAR legend Trip Monroe.

Emma and Trip went to high school together and although it's been fourteen years since they've spoken, Emma is sure she can score an interview with the elusive superstar.  But connecting with Trip turns out to be harder than Emma imagined.  Her quest for the interview leads her back to her tiny hometown of Catfish Cove, where old secrets and a new romantic interest shoake up Emma's views on life and teach her that maybe the key to finding true love is as simple as accepting yourself for the person you were always meant to be.

Saving June
by Hannah Harrington


Everyone's sorry.
But no one can explain why.


Harper Scott's older sister, June, took her own life a week before high school graduation, leaving Harper devastated.  So when her divorcing parents decide to split up June's ashes, Harper steals the urn and takes off cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going - California.


Enter Jake Tolan, a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession. . . and an unknown connection to June.  When he insists on joining them, Harper's just desperate enough to let him.  With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanor and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what Harper needs.  Except. . . Jake's keeping a secret that has the power to turn her life upside down -- again. 

Rainbow Colors
by Karen Szybalski


Everyday is a treasure hunt, when you're looking for rainbow colors.  This is a joyful, playful, romp which celebrates bright colors and bright ideas!


This illustrated poem and song can be enjoyed again and again!


Wonderful for children 4-7 years of age. 




What books came home to you this week?

Listening to Africa by Diana Raab (Book Review)

Title: Listening to Africa
Author: Diana M. Raab
Publisher: Antrim House


About the Book: Poet Diana M. Raab travels to the heart of Africa with her family to experience the beauty and fascination of another world. During her safari, she observes the distress, the delight, and the dignity of the humans and animals who live there and parallels them with her own quest for health.

Listening to Africa's Reviews
“Diana M. Raab makes a pilgrimage from the 'familiar neon of home’ in America to Africa, bringing her family, her passion and her pen. Her moving words carry us with her in narrative poems re-plete with vision, humor and irony. In her inner and outer journey, the poet transforms fear and sadness into beauty and love as her heart opens 'in this place which will remind you of your reason for living.’”
- Susan Wooldridge
author of poemcrazy: freeing your life with words

“Diana M. Raab takes us on a joyous poetic journey of words and photos. She juxtaposes her wisdom, essential wellness and depth of feeling in exploring four-legged friends, illness, and hope, making this an extremely powerful collection."
- Cara Nusinov
author of Unrequited Loves and Other French Kisses

My thoughts: I am not sure how to review a poem book, but I will do my best.  I did enjoy reading these - they are very quick - about a page each.  She has the book divided according to where she traveled in Africa as I am guessing she wrote as she traveled.  She has a way of taking what is everyday for the people in Africa and making it a one-of-a-kind event for the reader.  She weaves into these poems thoughts on her own health, her family, memories of her father and in this way connects her experiences with her home.

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

Diana Raab's Bio:

Diana M. Raab is a memoirist, essayist and poet. She has a B.S. in Health Administration and Journalism, and an RN degree from Vanier College in Montreal, in addition to an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Spalding University’s Low-Residency Program.

Diana has been writing from an early age. As a child of two working parents, she spent a lot of time crafting letters and keeping a daily journal. A journaling advocate and educator, Diana teaches creative journaling and memoir in workshops around the country. She frequently speaks and writes about the healing powers of writing.

She’s the award-winning author of eight books, and the author of over 500 articles and poems. Her release is Writers on the Edge: 22 Writers Speak About Addiction and Depression, co-edited with James Brown, which is a compilation of essays by renowned writers discussing how addiction has influenced their literary lives. She is also editor of Writers and Their Notebooks, a collection of essays written by well-known writers who keep journals.

Raab is the author of two memoirs, Regina's Closet: Finding My Grandmother's Secret Journal, winner of the 2008 National Indie Excellence Award for Memoir and Healing With Words, the 2011 Mom's Choice Award Winner for Adult Nonfiction.

She is also a registered nurse who teaches in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and at various writing workshops across the country. She is the author of four poetry collections, My Muse Undresses Me (2007); Dear Anais: My Life in Poems for You (2008), winner of The Reader Views Award and an Allbooks Review Editor's Choice Award; The Guilt Gene (2009); and Listening to Africa (2012).

Her poetry and prose have appeared in national journals and anthologies such as Rattle, Rosebud, Litchfield Review, Tonopah Review, Writers' Journal, A Cafe in Space, the Toronto Quarterly, Common Ground Review, The Smoking Poet, Snail Mail Review, New Mirage Journal, Lucidity, Blood and Thunder, Jet Fuel Review, Ascent, and The Huffington Post.

You can connect with her in the following places:

Diana Raab's Web Site:

http://dianaraab.com/

Diana Raab's Blog:
http://dianaraab.com/blog/

Listening to Africa's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ListeningToAfrica

Diana Raab's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/dianaraab

Diana Raab's Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/512931.Diana_Raab

Listening to Africa's Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13579750-listening-to-africa

Diana Raab's Red Room:
http://redroom.com/member/diana-raab/blogTribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

Listening to Africa blog tour site:
http://listeningtoafrica.blogspot.com

Listening to Africa
Publisher/Publication Date: Antrim House, March 2012
ISBN: 978-1-936482-18-4
80 pages

Release Day Promo: One Major Mistake by Starr Reina

 One Major Mistake

 Starr Reina

Publication Date: 7/10/12

Despite having brought down two major crime families, Pavel's life is still filled with problems. The two bright things in his world: Teresa Mancini, his fiancee, who, on a good day, has the ability to bring him to his knees and his daughter Rita Grace, a result of a whirlwind affair before he fell in love with Teresa.

Once again, murder is the prime evil propelling Pavel into his latest case.  After the murder of his partner and friend Nick Haxton's ex-wife Brenda, Pavel leads a team to dethrone Guillermo Diaz, the leader of a drug gang believed to be responsible for Brenda's death.  Detective Danni Stone joins the local agency.  Stone knows Diaz on the most intimate of levels, and wants to be present at his demise. 

During the investigations, not only does the team grieve with Nick over Brenda's death, they also deal with the loss of their long-time Assistant Director in Charge Steven Lazlo, who was gunned down in their own backyard.  Pavel has a particularly hard time dealing with Lazlo's death and is determined to hold everyone involved responsible.

As if Pavel can take anymore, Teresa receives a substantially large check from an anonymous benefactor, and insists that Pavel deal with it while she decides how to spend it.  But not before she uses her iron-willed determination to find out who the benefactor is even if it means breaking into her attorney's office looking for answers.  Being thrown in jail would stop any ordinary woman, but apparently not Teresa.

Join Pavel as he wades through harrowing situations, suspects aplenty and suspense in this third thrilling installment of the Ivanovich Series. 

Author Bio

A paralegal by day, she’s an author by night. Apart from being an award winning author for her short story "Cut", Reina has appeared in a blaze and made her mark on the literary world with her Ivanovich Series. The first is “In the Name of Revenge”, the second, “Deadly Decisions” and the third, "One Major Mistake" is to be released July 10, 2012. Having studied and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Literature/Creative Writing, she has found her unique style and is known for her works' distinctive voice, making every character stand out.

 Reina is the artistic creator of the Ivanovich series featuring Pavel Ivanovich. Flanking Ivanovich's side in "Deadly Decisions" is Teresa Mancini, who vies with Ivanovich for readers' attention. According to J.M. LeDuc, who was "raised in an Italian family", Teresa "is perfect...like all your characters". Reina is also the author of young adult novella "Cruel Whispers" and its sequel novel "Cruel Past".

 Reina is an executive editor for Suspense Magazine. She has been interviewed in the newspaper and on the radio with relation to her fiction work. She has been a co-host on Suspense Radio.

 She has won three Best Speaker awards as well as Best Evaluator at the Voice Ambassadors chapter of Toastmasters. Reina is a member of Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles Chapter and nationally. She has always been active in events. As co-chair and main coordinator for the West Coast Author Premiere, she arranged the weekend-long event to help authors from all over network, learn and share their work with the public. Reina has also been instrumental in compiling authors and planning a local author event at Barnes and Noble in Ventura, California along with the store’s event manager.

You can connect with Starr on her website, Queen Writer; her blog - Queen Writer News, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Suspense Magazine.

It's Monday! What are you reading? July 9, 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 this week: 

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

The After Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer

Listening to Africa by Diana Raab

Upcoming books:
Beach Season by Lisa Jackson
Foreign Identity by Becca Campbell
Forgive Me, Alex by Lane Diamond

Bathroom Book:

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Books reviewed last week: 

Summer Fit: First to Second Grade
Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
The Director's Cut by Janice Thompson
One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf
Game of Secrets by Dawn Tripp

Books read and needing to be reviewed:

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

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