tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45377401938088494002024-02-20T08:02:46.524-05:00Book BabbleDescriptions and thoughts on the various books I read.Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.comBlogger1463125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-18408912826190895192021-03-10T00:00:00.001-05:002021-03-10T00:00:00.180-05:00To Catch A Dream (The Wish Series Book #2) by Audrey Carlan<div class="separator"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="72-HTP-Winter-Reads-Blog-Tour-WOMENS-FICTION-2021-640x247" border="0" height="220" src="https://i.ibb.co/1bxzFfd/72-HTP-Winter-Reads-Blog-Tour-WOMENS-FICTION-2021-640x247.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>TO CATCH A DREAM</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>Author: Audrey
Carlan </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>ISBN:</b> <b>9781335180933</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b>Publication Date: March
9, 2021</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b>Publisher: HQN Books</b></p></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="9781335180933-TS-prd" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.ibb.co/6FS48xL/9781335180933-TS-prd.jpg" width="213" /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BOOK SUMMARY: </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254); color: #0a0a0a;">The #1</span></strong><em><b><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254); color: #0a0a0a;"> New
York Times</span></b></em><strong><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254); color: #0a0a0a;"> bestselling author of the worldwide
phenomenon Calendar Girl series brings readers a poignant and honest look at
life’s most complicated relationships.</span></strong><span style="color: #0a0a0a;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);">When their mother passed away, Evie Ross and
her sister were each given a stack of letters, one to be opened every year on
their birthday; letters their free-spirited mother hoped would inspire and
guide them through adulthood. But although Evie has made a successful career,
her desire for the stability and security she never had from her parents has
meant she’s never experienced the best life has to offer. But the discovery of
more letters hidden in a safe-deposit box points to secrets her mother held
close, and possibly a new way for Evie to think about her family, her heart and
her dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><u>BUY LINKS</u>:</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/28227_audrey-carlan.html">Harlequin
<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335180933?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=89779d1b6c9811eb80bc00ea0a24060c">Indiebound<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335180931?tag=hqnweb-20">Amazon<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-catch-a-dream-audrey-carlan/1136918906;jsessionid=7B97DBBA5798937E4AEEE562A7D8CE20.prodny_store01-atgap03?ean=9781335180933&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC">Barnes
& Noble</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335180933?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=89779d1b6c9811eb80bc00ea0a24060c">Books-A-Million<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=9781335180933">Walmart
<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781488077838&c=books">Google<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/to-catch-a-dream/id1509950312?uo=4&at=10l9MF&ct=hqnweb">iBooks<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><a href="https://www.kobo.com/?utm_source=walmarthybrid&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=HarperCollins.com&utm_term=hqnweb&ranMID=37217&ranEAID=MdXm68JZJz8&ranSiteID=MdXm68JZJz8-ihZkqrA2cvClao7EnKK3rw&siteID=MdXm68JZJz8-ihZkqrA2cvClao7EnKK3rw">Kobo<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><u>RATING</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Four stars</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">I have gone back and forth on my thoughts about Harlequin books over the years, but this one put me back in the fan category again. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Evie Ross and her sister Suda Kaye could not be more different. Suda Kaye is a free spirit who traveled the world before returning to her family to settle down with the love of her life, who still is spontaneous and fun-loving. Evie has always been the responsible one, especially with her military father constantly deployed to one place or another, and her mother taking off time and again to follow her dreams. Evie is determined that her adult life will be stable and secure and that she will never again let herself be hurt by loving someone.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">When Suda Kaye secretly arranges to throw Milo Chivas, Evie's lifelong crush, into her life, Evie's world is turned upside down. Will she continue to hold on to her attitude of not needing anyone else in her life, or will she be able to compromise and find true love at last?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">I enjoyed the characters in this story, particularly Suda, Evie, and Milo. Evie, being half Native American and half European American, never really feels that she belongs fully to either world. Suda, who has a different father than Evie (and doesn't know who he is), always feels on the outside of the family. Milo is a full-blooded Navajo who faces family criticism for his relationship with Evie but refuses to back down. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">I was disappointed that the "letters in the safety deposit box" twist didn't come until nearly the end of the book and that it all seemed rushed and shortened. It does set up the third and final book of the trilogy, however. <br /><br />I was also not a fan of the multiple explicit sex scenes throughout the book and found myself skipping over them. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><u>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Audrey Carlan is a #1 <i>New York Times, USA Today, </i>and <i>Wall Street Journal </i>bestselling author of over 40 novels, including the worldwide phenomenon Calendar Girl serial, and her books have been translated into more than 30 languages across the globe. Audrey lives in the California Valley with her two children and the love of her life.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">.<img alt="80014-2020-02-04-1759" border="0" height="137" src="https://i.ibb.co/BCx28Kn/80014-2020-02-04-1759.jpg" width="200" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><u>SOCIAL</u>:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Author Website: <a href="https://audreycarlan.com/">https://audreycarlan.com/</a>
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">TWITTER: <a href="https://twitter.com/AudreyCarlan">@AudreyCarlan
</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AudreyCarlan/">https://www.facebook.com/AudreyCarlan/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Insta: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/audreycarlan/?hl=en">https://www.instagram.com/audreycarlan/?hl=en</a>
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Goodreads: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7831156.Audrey_Carlan">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7831156.Audrey_Carlan</a>
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 254, 254);"><br /></span></span></span></p><br /></div>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-22970192265695390872020-12-10T11:41:00.002-05:002020-12-10T11:51:18.047-05:00The Loneliness Solution by Jack Eason #lonelinesssolution<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="2-Cover-of-Loneliness-Solution" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/Qvf2xMm/2-Cover-of-Loneliness-Solution.jpg" width="259" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>BOOK INFORMATION</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian self-help, Christian personal growth</div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><li data-wakoopa-lastvalue="0" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">192 pages</span></span></span></li><li data-wakoopa-lastvalue="0" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>Publisher:</b> Revell (October 13, 2020) </span></span></span></li><li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10 : </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">080073789X</span></span></span></li><li data-wakoopa-lastvalue="0" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">978-0800737894</span></span></span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #111111;"><br /></span></div><div><b>Buy Links </b></div><div><b>Landing page:</b>
https://www.amazon.com/Loneliness-Solution-Meaningful-Connection-Disconnected/dp/0800
73789X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+loneliness+solution&qid=1605557718&sr=8-1 </div><div><b>Direct retailer link</b>: https://www.jackeason.org/preorder/the-loneliness-solution-pre-order </div><div><span style="color: #111111;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #111111;"><b>Synopsis:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Statistics show that despite our connected world--and partly because of it--we are lonelier than ever. Social media tricks us into thinking that we are engaged in genuine friendships, except we never quite get beyond that feeling of being outside someone else's life and looking in every so often at what they choose to show the world. Instead of intimacy, we get little more than what amounts to digital small talk. But there is a solution. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">With plenty of good humor and practical advice, Jack Eason invites you to discover the benefits of doing life together with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Grounding his message in Scripture, Eason helps you</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">- learn the obstacles to real community</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">- reimagine what real friendship looks like</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">- discover a place of true belonging</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">- and more</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">If you're tired of feeling lonely, this encouraging and community-building book is just what you need.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><b>Review:</b></span></span></div>While we as humans like to think that we are incredibly connected, thanks to the multitude of social media platforms, research shows that many of us identify as lonely. This book explores things that can stop us from having truly connected relationships as well as ways to develop a real, close-knit community. The author shares a variety of Scriptures which refer to unity and love, and then goes on to discuss learning to trust, meeting needs, praying together, and supporting causes. He also broaches the subject of encouraging our pastors--a group many of us don't think of as having an issue with loneliness. In this time of so much forced isolation, this book is a tremendous resource for reaching out to others and creating a real, in-depth relationship. I plan to put some of the ideas into practice for myself.<div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><b>Rating:</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">Five stars</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><b>About The Author</b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Jack Eason has been the executive director of Crossover Cups Mission for 30 years. The nonprofit organization's focus is on transforming the lives of young people in the Dominican Republic and Malawi. Additionally, Cups equips pastors through an annual HONOR event, along with partners like Focus on the Family and In Touch Ministries. Eason also consults with a variety of nonprofit ministries, helping them develop successful approaches to fundraising and development. He and his wife, Lynette, have been married for 23 years and have two children. They live in South Carolina.</span></div>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-78061769222905303362020-12-09T22:28:00.000-05:002020-12-09T22:28:48.599-05:00Everything That Came Before Grace by Bill See<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="55881748-SY475" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/1sq9r86/55881748-SY475.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>BOOK INFORMATION</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Genre: </b>Family Life Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction</div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul class="a-unordered-list a-nostyle a-vertical a-spacing-none detail-bullet-list" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; margin: 0px 0px 1px 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">263 pages</span></span></span></li><li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">979-8697945605</span></span></span></li><li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><b>Publisher:</b> <span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">Independently published (November 6, 2020)</span></li><li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">English</span></span></span></li><li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 5.5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span class="a-list-item" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="a-text-bold" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ASIN: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">B08MSMP6DW</span></span></span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #111111;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111;"><b>Synopsis: </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">A single-father comes of age as he discovers whether it’s love or fatherhood that could save him. Haunted by his mother’s death and a series of serendipitous events from his past, Benjamin Bradford desperately tries to keep his mental illness under control while raising his daughter Sophia. Set against the iconic streets of Los Angeles, there’s music always playing, heavy therapy sessions and private emails to discern, shattered friendships and betrayal, and the specter of a true love that got away. Think: Silver Linings Playbook meets High Fidelity with a dash of Eighth Grade. Can Benjamin find redemption? Can he escape his demons and find love again? Come along for the ride and find out.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Review:</b></span></span></div></div><table border="0" cellspacing="1" class="myActivity" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="readable reviewText" style="line-height: 21px;"><span id="freeTextreview3670621963" style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This is one of the most moving books I've read this year. Single dad Benjamin is trying to raise his daughter Sophia while keeping her in the dark about his mental illness, as well as the mental illness of his mother (and its impact on his childhood). Add in losing his "one true love" in college, and subsequently seeing her married to his best friend, and life gets pretty complicated pretty fast. The main theme of the father-daughter relationship is very well-written, and its ups and downs are incredibly realistic. The fears Benjamin has about his parenting may seem a little over the top at times and make him more than a little overprotective, but it all tends to make him someone you just want to hug (and at times, shout at to get over himself). I was also glad to see that the author did not give us a predictable ending, but that it was still full of hope and promise. There are a lot of song references throughout the book, which was fun. The author has put together a Spotify playlist of all of them, which makes for a great soundtrack while reading.</span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Rating: </b><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Five years</span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">About the author<br />
</b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Bill See was the founding member of critically acclaimed Los Angeles indie rock band Divine Weeks and has been a mainstay in the L.A. music and writing community since the mid-80s.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">His debut docu-novel "33 Days: Touring in a Van, Sleeping on Floors, Chasing a Dream" was released in 2011.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">His new novel, "Everything That Came Before Grace" is set to be released in December 2020.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Check out the Everything That Came Before Grace Official Website at: https://www.everythingthatcamebeforegrace.com</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Check out the Everything That Came Before Grace Podcast: https://anchor.fm/etcbg</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">See Divine Weeks on All Music Guide for an overview of the band's career: http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-get-used-to-it-r5916/review</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">33 Days Official Website: http://www.33daysthebook.com</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111;" /><span style="color: #0f1111;">Divine Weeks' official website is http://www.divineweeks.com/</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-83473084232629599112020-11-30T00:00:00.027-05:002020-11-30T00:00:03.465-05:00BLOG TOUR: The Santa Box DVD <img alt="White-Bordered-Red-Profile-Cover-Photo-1" border="0" height="245" src="https://i.ibb.co/KjTVN2C/White-Bordered-Red-Profile-Cover-Photo-1.png" width="640" /><div><b><br /></b></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SYNOPSIS: </b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For Kallie Watts, Christmas is anything but merry. For the last five years, the tinsel-strewn holiday has spelled disaster for her family, so when an apartment fire leaves Kallie and her widowed mother homeless just in time for the holidays, it comes as no surprise. There's only one logical conclusion: Christmas is cursed for Kallie. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When her mother finds a new job in a small California town, Kallie steps out of the moving van and into her worst nightmare: a real-life version of "Whoville", overflowing with holiday decorations and brimming with Christmas cheer. Forced to navigate the complicated ins and outs of her jolly new surroundings, Kallie is shaken out of her gloom one day when she discovers a curiously crafted wooden Santa box on the porch, addressed to her. The moment she lifts the lid, the young teenagers' life is changed forever as she rediscovers the true magic and meaning of Christmas. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<img alt="Publicity-Still-2-1" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/TH2mcN5/Publicity-Still-2-1.jpg" width="300" /><div><br /></div><div><b>REVIEW: </b>I am always in the market for a new, family-friendly Christmas movie, so I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to watch and review this one. I am incredibly glad I said yes because this is a movie I will be watching every holiday season from now on.</div><div>There are two main stories to this film that tie together in a rather surprising way. Both of them show how giving to others, and expressing love and compassion, can change the lives of not only the recipient but also the giver. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><img alt="Publicity-Still-1" border="0" height="427" src="https://i.ibb.co/HLS1tKG/Publicity-Still-1.jpg" width="640" /><div><b>RATING: </b>Five stars</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>MOVIE TRAILER</b></div><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/469139492?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/469139492">The Santa Box_Theatrical_Trailer1</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user21298530">Ron Brough</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>DVD PURCHASE LINKS</b></p><p class="yiv5603824234MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face="arial, sans-serif">(Amazon): </span></p><p class="yiv5603824234MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Box-Cami-Carver/dp/B08JLQLQLF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YLWHN2Q07LGV&dchild=1&keywords=the+santa+box+dvd&qid=1603988570&sprefix=The+Santa+Box%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span face="arial, sans-serif">https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Box-Cami-Carver/dp/B08JLQLQLF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YLWHN2Q07LGV&dchild=1&keywords=the+santa+box+dvd&qid=1603988570&sprefix=The+Santa+Box%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-1</span></a></p><p class="yiv5603824234MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face="arial, sans-serif">(Deseret Book):</span></p><p class="yiv5603824234MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face="arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://deseretbook.com/p/dvd-santa-box?variant_id=188194-dvd" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">https://deseretbook.com/p/dvd-santa-box?variant_id=188194-dvd</a><br /></span></p><p class="yiv5603824234MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face="arial, sans-serif">(Seagull):</span></p><p class="yiv5603824234MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="https://www.seagullbook.com/TheSantaBox" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span face="arial, sans-serif">https://www.seagullbook.com/TheSantaBox</span></a></p><p><img alt="The-Santa-Box-One-Sheet-1" border="0" height="640" src="https://i.ibb.co/j493JQ5/The-Santa-Box-One-Sheet-1.jpg" width="435" /></p><p><b> </b></p>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-63147300059544605912020-08-13T00:00:00.050-04:002020-08-13T14:30:50.761-04:00BOOK TOUR: The Magdalene Deception [The Magdalene Chronicles (Book 1)] Gary McAvoy <div style="text-align: center;">
<h2><a href="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/the-magdalene-deception-by-gary-mcavoy/"><img alt="The Magdalene Deception by Gary McAvoy Banner" class="aligncenter size-full" height="320" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/magdalene-deception-by-gary-mcavoy-banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></h2>
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<h2>The Magdalene Deception</h2>
<h3>by Gary McAvoy</h3>
<h4>on Tour August 1 - September 30, 2020</h4>
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<h2>Synopsis:</h2>
<p><img alt="The Magdalene Deception by Gary McAvoy" border="0" height="309" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/magdalene-deception-by-gary-mcavoy-cover.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0px;" width="200" /></p>
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<p>For two thousand years, believers have relied on Christ’s Resurrection as the bedrock of Christian faith. But what if the Vatican had been blackmailed into suppressing a first-century manuscript revealing a very different story about what happened after Christ’s death—and that long-hidden document suddenly reappears?</p>
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<p>Michael Dominic, a young Jesuit priest expert in the study of ancient writings, is assigned to the Vatican as an archivist in the Church’s legendary Secret Archives. Hana Sinclair, a reporter for a Paris newspaper whose privileged family owns a prominent Swiss bank, is chasing a story about Jewish gold stolen by the Nazis during World War II—millions of dollars in bullion that ended up in the vaults of the Vatican Bank.</p>
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<p>When Dominic discovers a long-hidden papyrus written by Mary Magdalene—one that threatens the very foundations of Christianity—he and Hana, aided by brave Swiss Guards, try to prevent sinister forces from obtaining the manuscript, among them the feared Ustasha underground fascist movement, Interpol, and shadowy figures at the highest levels of the Vatican itself.</p>
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<p>Based on illuminating historical facts—including the intriguing true story of Bérenger Saunière, the mysterious abbé in the French village of Rennes-le-Château; and the Cathars, fabled keepers of the Holy Grail—“The Magdalene Deception” will take readers on a gripping journey through one of the world’s most secretive institutions and the sensitive, often explosive manuscripts found in its vaults.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>REVIEW: </b>I've always been a fan of religious mystery/thrillers, especially when they involve conspiracy theories. This one definitely does not disappoint in any way. The action and suspense build throughout the story, and the major characters are all well-defined through their own words and actions, as well as through their backstories. The papyrus that is the central focus of the story, written by Mary Magdalene, could provide a major crisis for all of Christianity if it were to come to light. The factual history that is interwoven throughout the story helps to make it even more believable. I am already looking forward to Book Two to see what happens next.<br /><br /><b>RATING: </b>Four ratings</span></p>
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<blockquote class="details">
<h3>Book Details:</h3>
<p><b>Genre:</b> Suspense Thriller<br />
<b>Published by:</b> Literati Editions<br />
<b>Publication Date:</b> July 1st 2020<br />
<b>Number of Pages:</b> 368<br />
<b>ISBN:</b> 0990837653 (ISBN-13: 978-0990837657)<br />
<b>Series:</b> The Magdalene Chronicles (Book 1)<br />
<b>Purchase Links:</b> <a href="https://amzn.to/3ct2EHW" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://bit.ly/3729LWv" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="https://bit.ly/2Mq8gbf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></p>
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<h2><em>The Magdalene Deception</em> Trailer:</h2>
<div align="center"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LymbBYANOo0" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<h3>Read an excerpt:</h3>
<div class="excerpt" style="border-color: 800000; border-style: groove; border-width: 3px; height: 250px; overflow: auto;">
<p>1<br />
Southern France – March 1244</p>
<p>The relentless siege of the last surviving Cathar fortress, perched strategically on the majestic peak of Montségur in the French Pyrenees, entered its tenth month.</p>
<p>The massive army of crusaders dispatched from Rome, thirty thousand strong, were garbed in distinctive white tunics, their mantles emblazoned with the scarlet Latin cross. Knight commanders led hordes of common foot soldiers, some seeking personal salvation, others simply out for adventure and the promise of plunder. They had already devastated most of the Languedoc region of southern France in the years preceding. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children had been slain, regardless of age, sex, or religious belief. Entire villages were burned, rich crops destroyed, and the fertile land which yielded them was poisoned, in a cruel, single-minded quest to root out and extinguish a small and peaceful, yet influential mystic order known as the Cathars.</p>
<p>The defeat of the impregnable Montségur remained the ultimate prize for the Church’s troops. Rumors of a vast treasure had reached the ears of every soldier, stirring up the passion with which these feared European mercenaries carried out their holy mission. As was the customary practice during a crusade, whatever pillage remained after the plundering—spolia opima, the richest spoils for supreme achievement—could be claimed by the victor. That temptation, bonded by the personal assurance of the pope that all sins would be forgiven and their paths to heaven assured, was enough to seduce anyone, nobleman or peasant, to take up cudgel, pike, or arrow in the name of God.</p>
<p>In 1209 Pope Innocent III had ordered a Holy Crusade to crush the spirit, and if necessary, the life of each and every dissident in the Languedoc region bordering France and Spain.</p>
<p>This independent principality had distinguished itself by fostering an artistic and intellectual populace well beyond that of most northern European societies at the time. The people of the Languedoc practiced a religious tolerance that encouraged spiritual and secular diversity. Schools teaching Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic languages and the customs which accompanied them flourished, as did those espousing the Cabala, an occult form of Judaism that dated from the second century.</p>
<p>Most settlers in the Languedoc viewed Christianity with the utmost repugnance; at the very least its practices were perceived as being more materialistic than godly in nature. The irreligious of the region passed over Christianity in large part due to the scandalous corruption exhibited by its local priests and bishops who, unable to influence the heathens within their provinces, came to prefer the rewards of commerce and land ownership over the tending of a meager flock.</p>
<p>Consequently, the authorities in Rome felt compelled to deal with this unforgivable heresy once and for all, in towns such as Toulouse and Albi within the Languedoc area.</p>
<p>Consigning his troops to their commanders, Pope Innocent III invoked a special benediction to all, lauding the divinity of their mission. Asked how they might distinguish their Christian brethren from the heretics, however, the crusaders were simply told, “Kill them all. God will spare His own.”</p>
<p>And so the Albigensian Crusade began.</p>
<p>The new moon cast no light over Montségur as night fell on the first day of March 1244, obscuring not only the hastened activities of its occupants, but the lingering threat conspiring outside its walls. A dense alpine fog had settled over the mountain, and the castle that straddled its inaccessible peak had withstood nearly a year of unceasing battle.</p>
<p>Weakened by the tenacity of their predators and yielding to the hopelessness of their situation, Raymond de Péreille, Lord of Château du Montségur and leader of the remaining four hundred defenders, commanded his troops to lay down their arms, and descended the mountain to negotiate terms of their capitulation.</p>
<p>Though offered lenient conditions in return for their surrender, de Péreille requested a fourteen-day truce, ostensibly to consider the terms, and handed over hostages as an assurance of good faith. Knowing there was no alternative for their captives—nearly half of whom were priest-knights, or parfaits, sworn to do God’s work—the commanders of the pope’s regiment agreed to the truce.</p>
<p>Over the next two weeks, reprieved from the constant threat of attack they had been enduring for months, the inhabitants of Montségur resolved to fulfill their own destiny before relinquishing their fortress—and their lives—to the Inquisition.</p>
<p>On the last day of the truce, as if guided collectively by a single will on a predestined course, the surviving members of the last Cathar settlement made special preparations for their departure.</p>
<p>Four of the strongest and most loyal of the parfaits were led by Bishop Bertrand Marty, the senior abbé of the fortress, as they descended deep within the mountain down a long, stepped passageway carved into alternating layers of earth and limestone. The end of the passage appeared to be just that, as if the original tunnelers had simply stopped work and retreated without finishing the job. But, while the others held torches, Abbé Marty withdrew a large rusted key-like wedge from beneath his cassock, thrusting it into a hidden cavity near the low ceiling.</p>
<p>The abbé manipulated the key for a few moments. A muffled sound of grating metal from beyond the stone wall echoed through the tunnel, and the seemingly impenetrable granite slid inward slightly, revealing a door.</p>
<p>Aided by the parfaits, the door swung open into a small dank chamber filled with an enormous cache of riches—gold and silver in varied forms, gilded chalices and bejeweled crosses, an abundance of gems and precious stones, sagging bags of coins from many lands.</p>
<p>And, in a far corner removed from the bulk of the treasure itself, stood a wide granite pedestal on which rested an ornately carved wooden reliquary, crafted to hold the most holy of relics, next to which sat a large book wrapped in brown sackcloth.</p>
<p>Standing before the legendary treasure of the Cathars—glittering and hypnotic in the dim torchlight—would prove seductive for most men. But the Albigensians held little regard for earthly goods, other than as a useful political means to achieve their spiritual destiny. Ignoring the abundant wealth spread before them, the abbé fetched the sackcloth while the other four parfaits hoisted the ancient reliquary to their shoulders, then they left the room and solemnly proceeded back up the granite stairway. In the thousand-year history of the Cathars, these would be the last of the order ever to see the treasure.</p>
<p>But the most sacred relic of the Christian world would never, they vowed, fall into the unholy hands of the Inquisition.</p>
<p>Emerging from the stone passage, Abbé Marty led the parfaits and their venerable cargo through the hundreds of waiting Cathars who had assembled outside, forming a candlelit gauntlet leading to the sanctuary. All were dressed in traditional black tunics, all wearing shoulder length hair covered by round taqiyah caps as was the custom of the sect.</p>
<p>Once inside, the parfaits lowered the reliquary onto the stone altar. The abbé removed the ancient book from the sackcloth and began the sacred Consolamentum, a ritual of consecration, while the four appointed guardians prepared themselves for their special mission.</p>
<p>Armed with short blades and truncheons, the parfaits carefully secured the reliquary in the safety of a rope sling, then fastened taut harnesses around themselves.</p>
<p>“Go with God, my sons,” Abbé Marty intoned as he gave them his blessing, “and in His name ensure this sacred reliquary be protected for generations to come.”</p>
<p>The four men climbed over the precipice and, assisted by their brothers gripping the ropes tied to their harnesses, gently and silently rappelled hundreds of meters down the escarpment. Sympathizers waiting at the base of the mountain assisted the parfaits in liberating their holy treasure, guiding them away from the danger of other troops and hiding them and the reliquary deep in one of many nearby caves.</p>
<p>Throughout the night, those remaining at Montségur celebrated their brotherhood, their holy calling, and their last hours alive. Descending the mountain the next morning, in a state of pure spiritual release from the material world, Abbé Marty led the last of the Cathars as they willingly marched into the blazing pyres awaiting them, martyrs to their cause.</p>
<p>The holy reliquary of the Cathars has never since been found.</p>
<p>2<br />
Present Day</p>
<p>Rounding the northern wall of the Colosseum with a measured stride, a tall young man with longish black hair glanced at the Tag Heuer chronometer strapped to his left wrist. Noting the elapsed time of his eighth mile, he wiped away the sweat that was now stinging his eyes.</p>
<p>Damn this Roman heat. Not even sunrise, and it’s already a scorcher.</p>
<p>Approaching the wide crosswalks flanking the west side of the immense Colosseum, he wondered if this was the morning he would meet God. Dodging the murderous, unrestrained traffic circling the stadium became a daily act of supreme faith, as the blur of steel sub-compacts, one after another, careened around the massive structure on their way, no doubt, to some less hostile place. Since his arrival here he had discovered that this was the way with Italian motorists in general, though Roman drivers excelled at the sport. Veteran observers could always tell the difference between natives and visitors: a local would cross the road seemingly ambivalent to the rush of oncoming traffic. Non-Romans, who could as likely be from Milan as from Boston or Paris, approached the threat of each curb-to-curb confrontation with a trepidation bordering on mortal terror.</p>
<p>Crossing the broad Via dei Fori Imperiali, his route took him through the Suburra, the most ancient inhabited area of Rome and off the beaten path of most tourists. As a newcomer to a city whose normal pulse was barely evident beneath the confusing ambiguities of new and old, the runner felt most comfortable here in the Suburra, a semi-industrial working-class neighborhood, much like the one he only recently left in New York. In the summer, people got up early to tend their gardens before the real heat forced them indoors. The early morning air was thick with alternating scents of Chilean jasmine, honeysuckle, and petrol fumes.</p>
<p>He ran another five miles, long blooms of sweat accentuating a lean, muscular frame beneath a gauzy white t-shirt as he burst into a sprint up the final few blocks, past the empty trattorias and shuttered shops whose merchants were just beginning their morning rituals.</p>
<p>Slowing to a cool down pace as he crossed the Sant'Angelo bridge spanning the Tiber River, he turned left up Via della Conciliazione as the massive dome of Saint Peter's Basilica loomed suddenly ahead. Though it could be seen from almost anywhere in Rome, this approach always gave him the impression that the dome seemed to tip backwards, being swallowed up by the grand facade of the church the closer he got to it.</p>
<p>"Buongiorno, padre.” Several female voices, almost in unison, broke the cobblestone pattern of his reverie.</p>
<p>Father Michael Dominic looked up and smiled politely, lifting his hand in a slight wave as he swiftly passed a small cluster of nuns, some of whom he recognized as Vatican employees. The younger girls blushed, leaning their hooded heads toward each other in hushed gossip as their eyes followed the handsome priest; the older women simply bobbed a chilly nod to the young cleric, dutifully herding their novitiates into obedient silence on their way to morning Mass.</p>
<p>Though he had only been in Rome a couple of weeks, Michael Dominic's youthful exuberance and keen intellect had become known quickly throughout the cloistered population of Vatican City, setting him apart from the more monastic attitudes prevalent since the Middle Ages.</p>
<p>But despite the fusty parochialism and an atmosphere of suspended time he found within its walls, Dominic still felt the intoxication of privilege at having been assigned to Rome so early in his religious career. It had not been even two years since he lay prostrate at the altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, ordained by his family friend and mentor Cardinal Enrico Petrini.</p>
<p>It was no secret to Vatican insiders that the eminent cardinal's influence was chiefly responsible for Dominic's swift rise to the marbled corridors of ecclesiastic power now surrounding him. The young priest’s scholarly achievements as a classical medievalist were essential to the work being done in the Vatican Library. But the progressive cardinal was also grateful for the vitality Dominic brought to his vocation, not to mention the charismatic ways in which he could get things accomplished in an otherwise plodding bureaucracy. Though Dominic could not account for his mentor’s vigorous inducement that he come to Rome—and knowing this particular prince of the Church so well, it was surely more than a familial gesture—he had trusted Enrico Petrini completely, and simply accepted the fact that this powerful man had believed in him strongly enough to give him an opportunity which he most certainly would not have had otherwise.</p>
<p>Pacing slower now, Dominic drew in rhythmic gulps of searing air as he neared the Vatican. A block or so before reaching the gate, he stepped inside the Pergamino Caffè on the Piazza del Risorgimento. Later in the day the cramped room would be filled with tourists seeking postcards and gelato, but mornings found it crowded with locals, most nibbling on small, sticky cakes washed down with a demitasse of thick, sweet coffee.</p>
<p>Across the room Dominic spotted Signora Palazzolo, the ample wife of the proprietor, whose wisps of white hair were already damp with perspiration. Seeing the priest approach, the older woman’s face broke into a broad, gap-toothed smile as she reached beneath the counter and withdrew a neatly folded black cassock Dominic had dropped off earlier, which she handed to him with deliberate satisfaction.</p>
<p>“Buongiorno, padre,” she said. “And will you take caffè this morning?”</p>
<p>“Molto grazie, signora,” Dominic said, accepting the cassock graciously. “Not today. I’m already late as it is.”</p>
<p>“Okay this time,” she said with a gently scolding tone, “but it is not healthy for a strong young man to skip his breakfast, especially after making his heart work so hard in this unforgiving heat.” Her hand reached up to wipe away the dampness as she spoke, coifing what little hair she had left in a vain attempt to make herself more attractive.</p>
<p>Heading toward the back of the shop, Dominic slipped into the restroom, quickly washed his face and raked his hair into some semblance of order, then drew the cassock over his head and buttoned it to the starched white collar now encircling his neck. Emerging from the restroom minutes later and making for the door, he glanced back to see the signora waving to him, now with a different look on her face—one beaming with respect for the clergyman he had suddenly become, as if she herself had had a role in the transformation.</p>
<p>Of the three official entrances to the Vatican, Porta Sant’Anna, or Saint Anne’s Gate, is the one generally used by employees, visitors, and tradesmen, situated on the east side of the frontier just north of Saint Peter's Square. Although duties of security come first, guards at all gates are also responsible for monitoring the encroachment of dishabille into the city. Dominic learned from an earlier orientation that casual attire of any sort worn by employees or official visitors was not permitted past the border. Jeans and t-shirts were barely tolerated on tourists, but the careless informality of shorts, sweatpants, or other lounging attire on anyone was strictly forbidden. An atmosphere of respect and reverence was to be observed at all times.</p>
<p>Vatican City maintains an actual live-in population of less than a thousand souls, but each workday nearly five thousand people report for duty within the diminutive confines of its imposing walls—walls originally built to defend against the invading Saracens a thousand years before—and the Swiss Guards at each gate either recognize or authenticate every person coming or going by face and by name.</p>
<p>One of the Guards whom Dominic had recognized from previous occasions, dressed in the less formal blue and black doublet and beret of the corps, waved him through with a courteous smile as he reached for his ID card.</p>
<p>“It is no longer necessary to present your credentials now that you are recognized at this gate, Father Dominic,” the solidly built young guard said in English. “But it is a good idea to keep it with you just in case.”</p>
<p>“Grazie,” Dominic responded, continuing in Italian, “but it would be helpful to me if we could speak the local language. I haven’t used it fluently since I was younger, and I am outnumbered here by those who have an obvious preference. You know, ‘When in Rome….’”</p>
<p>The guard’s smile faded instantly, replaced by a slight but obvious discomfort as he attempted to translate, then respond to Dominic’s rapid Italian.</p>
<p>“Yes, it would be pleasure for me, padre,” the young soldier said in halting Italian, “but only if we speak slowly. German is native tongue of my own home, Zurich, and though I speak good English, my Italian learning have only just started; but I understand much more than I speak.”</p>
<p>Dominic smiled at the younger man’s well-intended phrasing. “It’s a deal then. I’m Michael Dominic,” he said formally, offering a sweaty palm.</p>
<p>“It is an honor meeting you, Father Michael. I am Corporal Dengler. Karl Dengler.” Dengler’s face brightened at the unusual respect he was accorded, extending his own white-gloved hand in a firm grip. Recently recruited into the prestigious Pontificia Cohors Helvetica, the elite corps of papal security forces more commonly known as the Swiss Guard, Dengler had found that most people in the Vatican—indeed, most Romans—were inclined to keep to themselves. It was never this difficult to make friends in Switzerland, and he welcomed the opportunity to meet new people. He also knew, as did everyone by now, that this particular priest had a powerful ally close to the Holy Father.</p>
<p>“An honor for me as well, Corporal,” Dominic said a bit more slowly, yet not enough to cause the young man further embarrassment. “And my apologies for soiling your glove.”</p>
<p>“No problem,” Dengler said as he smiled. “With this heat it will be dry in no time. And if you ever want a running partner, let me know.”</p>
<p>“I’ll take you up on that!” Michael said with a wave as he passed through the gate.</p>
<p>Already the Vatican grounds were bustling with activity. Throngs of workers, shopkeepers, and official visitors with global diversities of purpose made their way along the Via di Belvedere to the myriad offices, shops, and museums—any indoor or shaded haven, in fact, that might offer escape from the heat of the rising sun.</p>
<p>Another Swiss Guard stood commandingly in the center of the street—looking remarkably dry and cool, Dominic thought, despite the obvious burden of his red-plumed steel helmet and the traditional billowy gala uniform of orange, red, and blue stripes—directing foot and vehicular traffic while smartly saluting the occasional dignitaries passing by.</p>
<p>To any observer, Vatican City appears to be in a state of perpetual reconstruction. Comprising little more than a hundred acres, the ancient city state is in constant need of repair and maintenance. Architectural face-lifts, general structural reinforcement, and contained expansion take place at most any time and in various stages, manifested in the skeletal maze of scaffolding surrounding portions of the basilica and adjoining buildings. Sampietrini, the uniquely skilled maintenance workers responsible for the upkeep of Saint Peter's, are ever-present throughout the grottoes, corridors, and courtyards as they practice time-honored skills of the artisans who have gone before them, traditionally their fathers and their fathers’ fathers. It was quite probable, in fact, that a given sampietrino working on, say, a crumbling cornerstone of the basilica itself, could very well be shoring up work that was originally performed by his great-great-grandfather more than a century before him.</p>
<p>Dominic walked to the end of the Belvedere, then turned right up the Stradone dei Giardini and alongside the buildings housing the Vatican Museums, until he reached the northern wall of the city.</p>
<p>A priest learns early that his life will suffer many rituals, and in at least one secular aspect, Michael Dominic’s was no different. Every day he ended his morning run with a meditative walk along the inner walls surrounding the immaculately maintained papal gardens. The fact that many of the same trees which lined the paths have been rooted here for centuries—serving the contemplative needs of whichever pope might be ruling at the time—gave Dominic a more natural feeling of historical connectedness, in subtle contrast to other abundant yet more imposing reminders of where he now happened to be living and working.</p>
<p>“Ah! Good morning, Miguel.” It was a gentle breeze of a voice, yet Dominic recognized it clearly in the early warm quiescence of the Vatican gardens.</p>
<p>“Buongiorno, Cal!” Dominic said brightly. Brother Calvino Mendoza, prefect of the Vatican Archives and Dominic’s superior, was approaching the entrance to the building. Clad in the characteristic brown robe and leather sandals of his Franciscan order, Mendoza was a round, timorous man in his seventies—quite pleasant to work with, Dominic thought, if a little indiscreet in his obvious affection for men.</p>
<p>“You are up early today,” Mendoza said in heavily accented English, furtively appraising Dominic’s form beneath the cassock. “But then, defying the wicked heat and traffic of Rome is best done before sunrise, no?”</p>
<p>“It is, yes,” Dominic laughed easily, his damp hair glistening in the sun as he shook his head in amusement, “but in another hour or so I expect the pavement to start buckling.”</p>
<p>Dominic had come to enjoy Mendoza’s fey demeanor and playful flirting. Nearly everyone he had met here seemed overly stern and impassive to be really likable, and Dominic was naturally drawn to people he found more hospitable anyway. This gentle man had a quick mind for humor and was never, Dominic found, lacking for a proverb appropriate to the moment. It was also common for Mendoza to call many on his staff by the Portuguese equivalent of their name, maintaining an affectionate cultural touchstone to his native home of Brazil. As for the subtle intimations, Mendoza grasped early on that Dominic’s vow of chastity was not likely to be compromised, and particularly not by another man.</p>
<p>“You’ll get used to it,” Mendoza nodded, smiling. “It is worse in the mornings, to be sure, but come late afternoon we are blessed by the ponentino, a cool wind off the Tyrrhenian Sea.</p>
<p>“And besides,” he quipped, “’To slip upon a pavement is better than to slip with the tongue—so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily.’” He finished by glancing around the garden with mock suspicion, as if every word were prey to overcurious but unseen ears.</p>
<p>“‘Ecclesiastes,’” Dominic responded. “And thanks for the admonition.”</p>
<p>Pleased that the young priest indulged his occasional whimsy, Mendoza shuffled up the few steps of the entrance to the Archives.</p>
<p>“Now come, Miguel, your days of orientation are over. Let’s get on with the real work,” he said dramatically, his arms nearly flapping as his large body moved up the steps into the Archives. “Today is a very special day.”</p>
<p>“I’ll catch up with you shortly, Cal. I’ve got to take a quick shower first. But why is today so special?”</p>
<p>From the top of the steps, Mendoza turned around to face Dominic and, like a child with a tantalizing secret, whispered with barely contained excitement, “The treasures we are about to exhume have not been seen by any living soul for several hundred years.”</p>
<p>Clearly a man who enjoyed his work, Calvino Mendoza’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as he lifted one heavy eyebrow in an arch, then spun as quickly as his heavy frame would allow and disappeared through the heavy wooden door.</p>
<p>As Dominic walked back to his apartment at the Domus Santa Marta, the resident guesthouse just south of Saint Peter’s Basilica, two men in a golf cart were heading in his direction, both dressed in the familiar black and red garb of cardinals. The cart stopped directly in his path, and one of the men stepped out, approaching him.</p>
<p>“Father Dominic, I presume?” The heavyset man had a thick Balkan accent, with an intelligent face bearing an inscrutable mask of expression.</p>
<p>“Yes, how can I help you?” Dominic said.</p>
<p>“I am Cardinal Sokolov, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I simply wanted to extend a hand of welcome on behalf of those of us who have been expecting you.”</p>
<p>Dominic recognized the cardinal’s department, better known as the infamous Office of the Holy Inquisition before someone came up with a less intrusive name.</p>
<p>“Good to meet you, Your Eminence,” he said, surprised by the comment. “I didn’t realize anyone was actually expecting me, though.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yes,” Sokolov said, holding Dominic’s hand in an uncomfortably firm grip as they shook. “Having Cardinal Petrini’s endorsement carries a great deal of influence here. But it also comes with certain expectations. First and foremost, keep to yourself. Do not expect to make many friends here. One is surrounded by vipers masquerading as pious souls.</p>
<p>“Secondly, know that you are being watched at all times. Conduct yourself appropriately and you may survive your time here. There are many who were vying for your job as scrittore in the Secret Archives, and they will seek any opportunity to displace you.</p>
<p>“Lastly,” the cardinal said scowling, his eyebrows a black bar across his fleshy face, “come to me directly if you witness or suspect anyone of illicit or unbecoming activities. Such careful scrutiny will be viewed with admiration by His Holiness, for whom I speak in this regard.”</p>
<p>Dominic was dumbfounded by the man’s audacity, hardly the kind of welcome he would have imagined, one that shed a darker light on his exhilaration at now working and living in the Vatican.</p>
<p>“I will keep all that in mind, Eminence,” he said, forcibly pulling back his hand from the cardinal’s cloying grasp.</p>
<p>Sokolov stood a moment longer appraising Dominic’s face, then turned and shuffled himself back into the golf cart, which pulled away with a mounting whine as it headed into the papal gardens.</p>
<p>Troubled by the encounter, Dominic returned to his apartment, the fresh burdens expected of him weighing on his mind. What have I gotten myself into, he thought, stepping into the shower.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Excerpt from <i>The Magdalene Deception</i> by Gary McAvoy. Copyright 2020 by Gary McAvoy. Reproduced with permission from Gary McAvoy. All rights reserved.</p>
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<h2>Author Bio:</h2>
<p><img align="left" alt="Gary McAvoy" border="0" height="200" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/magdalene-deception-by-gary-mcavoy-author.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0px;" width="173" /></p>
<p>Gary McAvoy is a veteran technology executive, entrepreneur, and author of "<a href="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/and-every-word-is-true-by-gary-mcavoy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">And Every Word Is True</a>," a sequel to Truman Capote's landmark book "In Cold blood." "The Magdalene Deception" is his fiction debut, and is the first in a series called The Magdalene Chronicles.</p>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-53246863613415125022020-05-26T22:21:00.000-04:002020-05-26T22:21:50.476-04:00BLOG TOUR: Comparison Girl by Shannon Popkin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Comparison-Girl" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/Dk7L96r/Comparison-Girl.jpg" width="258" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian Women's Issues</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">224 pages</span></span></div>
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<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Kregel Publications (May 19, 2020)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 082544621X</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-lastvalue="0" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0825446214</span></li>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>SYNOPSIS: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Women
compare constantly—on social media, in their neighborhood, at
church, even in the school drop-off lane. They glance sideways and
ask themselves, "How do I measure up?" All this assessment
feels like a natural way of finding a place in the world. But it
pulls them into feelings of inferiority or superiority, guiding them
into a trap of antagonism by the
enemy.</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; display: inline-block; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Satan
would like women to strive to measure up, constantly adding to a
tally sheet that can't ever be balanced. The way of Jesus is
completely upside down from that philosophy. Instead, he says the
last shall be first--and the greatest are those who empty themselves,
lay down their lives, and serve each other.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; padding: 0in;">Through
conversations Jesus had and parables he shared, Shannon Popkin has
created a seven-week Bible study to address this tendency to compare
and judge ourselves and others. Each chapter is divided into lessons,
allowing women on a time budget to read a Bible passage, engage in a
complete train of thought related to the topic, and then make the
content personal--all in one sitting. And the informal teaching tone
will make women feel like they're meeting with a trusted friend.<br />
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<span style="border: none; display: inline-block; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Suited
for both individual and group study, <i>Comparison Girl</i> will
guide women to leave their measure-up ways behind, connect with those
around them, and break free from the shackles of comparison!</span></span></div>
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<span style="border: none; display: inline-block; padding: 0in;"><a href="https://www.kregel.com/books/pdfs/excerpts/9780825446214.pdf"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click
here to read an excerpt!</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>REVIEW: </b>This book resonated with me from the moment I read the description. As I read, I was amazed at how much of each chapter spoke to me. I've spent the majority of my life comparing myself to others in negative ways. I read through each chapter hungrily, underlining passages and answering questions. I plan to go back through and study each section more thoroughly over the next several weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Popkin shares personal stories and stories from friends, as well as lessons from the Bible, to demonstrate why comparison is self-destructive. Her writing style is like a friendly conversation, educating without being preachy or judgmental.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">There are 30 lessons, and each lesson starts with scripture references. Following that, there are personal stories, and lessons from the Bible that tie into these verses. The lessons are only a few pages each, making it an easy to manage daily reading. Each lesson then ends with discussion/reflection questions, that usually have scripture references to look up as well. I would recommend it to anyone looking to break out of the pain of being a "Comparison Girl."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>RATING: </b>Five stars</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/D1CX6qf/Shannon-Popkin-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Shannon-Popkin-crop" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.ibb.co/D1CX6qf/Shannon-Popkin-crop.jpg" width="223" /></span></a>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Shannon Popkin</b> is a writer, speaker, and Bible teacher who
loves pointing others to the truth of God’s Word. She combines her
gifts for humor and storytelling with her passion for Jesus. She
regularly speaks at Christian women’s events and retreats,
encouraging women of all ages to put their hope in God.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Popkin is also a
regular contributor for the Revive Our Hearts <a href="https://www.reviveourhearts.com/true-woman/blog/">True
Woman and Leader Connection blog</a><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u>s.</u></span>
Her articles have been published by <i>Family Fun</i>, <i>Focus on
the Family Magazine</i>, <i>MOMsense</i> and others. She is the
author of several books, including <i>Control Girl: Lessons on
Surrendering Your Burden of Control from Seven Women in the Bible</i>,
<i>Influence: Building a Platform That Elevates Jesus (Not Me)</i>,
and<i> Comparison Girl: Lessons from Jesus on Me-Free Living in a
Measure-Up World</i>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Popkin and her
husband, Ken, have been married for more than twenty years and live
in West Michigan. They have three children—one in high school and
two in college.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect with
Shannon Popkin by visiting <a href="http://www.shannonpopkin.com/">www.shannonpopkin.com</a></b><span style="color: black;"><b>,
</b></span><span style="color: black;"><b>following her on </b></span><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/shanpopkin">Facebook</a>
(<a href="http://www.facebook.com/shanpopkin">shanpopkin</a>)</b><span style="color: black;"><b>,
</b></span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/shannonpopkin/"><b>Instagram
(shannonpopkin)</b></a><span style="color: black;"><b>, or </b></span><a href="https://twitter.com/shannonpopkin"><b>Twitter</b></a><span style="color: black;"><b>
(</b></span><b><a href="https://twitter.com/shannonpopkin">@ShannonPopkin</a>).</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GIVEAWAY</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Comparison-Girl-blog-tour-giveaway-1" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.ibb.co/HDFXkFy/Comparison-Girl-blog-tour-giveaway-1.jpg" width="320" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="8b3c91bb16" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8b3c91bb16/" id="rcwidget_km3cbarn" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a Rafflecopter giveaway</span></a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script> Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-78856649693275187872020-03-07T07:40:00.000-05:002020-03-11T08:05:29.558-04:00Yes Sisters: Surrounding Yourself with Women Who Affirm, Encourage, and Challenge You by Angelia L. White<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="46161123" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/L6tm7n7/46161123.jpg" /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian woman, personal growth, self-help</span></div>
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<span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">224 pages</span></div>
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<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Revell (February 4, 2020)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0800735889</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0800735883</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis: </b></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">A single "no" from someone close to us can crush our dreams. You can't . . . You'll never . . . You're kidding yourself . . . In contrast, a single "yes" can sustain our dreams despite the setbacks we're sure to encounter. Yes, you can! Yes, I'm here for you!</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">With passion and contagious enthusiasm, Angelia White shows you how to surround yourself with Yes Sisters--women who will remind you that you are worthy, that God loves you completely, and that you can accomplish even your wildest dreams. Her engaging personal stories, as well as those from other prominent women, will show you how to</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">- find and cultivate Yes Sister relationships</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">- leverage their power</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">- and be a Yes Sister for someone else</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">She also helps you understand, forgive, and sometimes distance yourself from negative people who dampen your joy and strip you of your motivation.</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">You don't have to go it alone, and you don't have to drag the naysayers along behind you. Start finding your Yes Sisters today!</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/RS2fy4L/13887697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="13887697" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.ibb.co/RS2fy4L/13887697.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Review: </b>While I enjoyed reading this book, its subject is one with which I always feel something of a disconnect. I have never had really close female friends, so the whole idea of a group of Yes Sisters is totally foreign to me. I did enjoy reading the story of Angelia turning her dream into reality and also getting to read about certain events from the perspective of the "Yes Sister" who was involved in it with her. I can see this book being used in a women's ministry to encourage us to support one another in every area of life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333;"><b>About the author: </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Angelia L. White is the creator of Hope for Women magazine, a quarterly publication with a reach of 200,000. A Ball State University Black Alumni Award of Achievement recipient, Angelia is a mother of three and the publisher, president, and CEO of HOPE for Women, headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Rising from a background of discouragement, she spends her life encouraging other women to step into their full potential and share their inspiring stories</span></span></div>
Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-77245815809571845532020-02-27T00:00:00.000-05:002020-02-28T10:13:19.654-05:00BOOK TOUR: The Ishmael Covenant (Empires of Armegeddon #1) by Terry Brennan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="Ishmael-Covenant" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/1dDStvn/Ishmael-Covenant.jpg" width="266" /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian Mystery and Suspense</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Series:</b> Empires of Armageddon (Book 1)</span></li>
<br />
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 320 pages</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Kregel Publications (February 18, 2020)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0825445302</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0825445309</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis: </b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His marriage
in tatters and his career ruined by lies, Diplomatic Security Service
agent Brian Mullaney is at the end of his rope. Banished to Israel as
punishment by his agency, he's assigned to guard a US ambassador and
an insignificant box. Little does he know that this new job will
propel him straight into a crisis of global proportions.</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">
<br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Inside
the box is a messianic prophecy about the fate of the world. And a
dark enemy known as The Turk and the forces of evil at his command
are determined to destroy the box, the prophecy, and the Middle East
as we know it. When Ambassador Cleveland gets in the way, his life
and his daughter's life are threatened--and Mullaney must act
fast.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Now
agents of three ancient empires have launched covert operations to
secure nuclear weapons, in direct defiance of the startling peace
treaty Israel and its Arab neighbors have signed. And a traitor in
the US State Department is leaking critical information to a foreign
power. It's up to Mullaney--still struggling with his own broken
future--to protect the embassy staff, thwart the clandestine
conspiracies, and unmask a traitor--before the desert is turned into
a radioactive wasteland.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Fans
of Joel C. Rosenberg, Steven James, and Ted Dekker will relish the
deadly whirlpool of international intrigue and end-times prophecy in
Ishmael Covenant--and will eagerly await the rest of this new
trilogy.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.kregel.com/books/pdfs/excerpts/9780825445309.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #7e7d7e;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Read
an excerpt from Kregel by clicking here!</span></b></span></a></u></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>Review: </b>This is a fascinating story with several ties to current events. It is the first book in a trilogy, and I am already looking forward to reading the next two.<br /><br />The characters are very well-written and realistic. I felt invested in all of the main characters and their circumstances. I also like that each new section is headed by date, time and place. It helps to keep things in perspective, as some circumstances are occurring at the same time.<br /><br />Be sure to read the author's notes at the end of the book. I found them to be very enlightening.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>About the author</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div style="letter-spacing: -0.3pt; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk32322687"></a>
<span style="color: #2a5a78;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Terry
Brennan is the award-winning author of </span><i><em><span style="color: black;">The
Sacred Cipher</span></em><em><span style="color: black;">, </span></em><em><span style="color: black;">The
Brotherhood Conspiracy</span></em></i><span style="color: black;">,
and </span><i><em><span style="color: black;">The
Aleppo Code</span></em></i><span style="color: black;">,
the three books in The Jerusalem Prophecies series. His latest
release, </span><i><em><span style="color: black;">Ishmael
Covenant</span></em></i><span style="color: black;">
is the first in his new series, Empires of Armageddon.<br />
<br />
A
Pulitzer Prize is one of the many awards Brennan accumulated during
his 22-year newspaper career. </span><i><span style="color: black;">The
Pottstown (PA)</span><em><span style="color: black;">
Mercury</span></em></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for a two-year series
published while he led the team as the newspaper’s
Editor.<br />
<br />
Starting out as a sportswriter in Philadelphia,
Brennan became an editor and publisher for newspapers in
Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New York and later moved to the corporate
staff of Ingersoll Publications (400 newspapers in the U.S., Ireland
and England) as Executive Editor of all U.S. newspaper titles.<br />
<br />
In
1996, Brennan transitioned into the nonprofit sector, spending 12
years as VP Operations for The Bowery Mission and six years as Chief
Administrative Officer for Care for the Homeless, both in New York
City.<br />
<br />
Terry and his wife, Andrea, now live in Danbury,
CT.</span><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>More
on Brennan can be found at </b></span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://www.terrybrennanauthor.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #007c89;"><b>www.terrybrennanauthor.com</b></span></a></u></span><span style="color: black;"><b>.
He is also on </b></span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.facebook.com/terry.brennan.5201" target="_blank"><span style="color: #007c89;"><b>Facebook
(Terry Brennan)</b></span></a></u></span><span style="color: black;"><b>
and </b></span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://twitter.com/terrbrennan1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #007c89;"><b>Twitter
(@terrbrennan1)</b></span></a></u></span><span style="color: black;"><b>. </b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><b>Giveaway</b></span></div>
<img alt="Ishmael-Covenant-giveaway" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/FKsJwqM/Ishmael-Covenant-giveaway.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<br />Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-50277465329570288552020-02-03T00:00:00.000-05:002020-02-03T00:06:29.341-05:00BOOK TOUR: The Great Witches Baking Show by Nancy Warren<div style="text-align: center;">
<h1>
<a href="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/the-great-witches-baking-show-by-nancy-warren/"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><img alt="The Great Witches Baking Show by Nancy Warren Banner" class="aligncenter size-full" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/GWBS_AvailableBANNER-1536x569.jpg" height="222" width="600" /></span></a></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">The Great Witches Baking Show</span></h1>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">by Nancy Warren</span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">on Tour February 1-29, 2019</span></h3>
</div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Synopsis:</span></h2>
<img alt="The Great Witches Baking Contest by Nancy Warren" border="0" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Great-Witches-Baking-Show-Nancy-Warren.jpg" height="300" style="float: left; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0px;" width="200" /><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>A baker with secrets</strong><br /><strong>Witches in trouble</strong><br /><strong>The cameras are rolling</strong><br /><strong>Ready, set, die.</strong></span><br />
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Poppy Wilkinson is thrilled to be chosen as a contestant on <i>The Great British Baking Contest</i>. As an American with English roots, winning the crown as Britain’s Best Baker would open doors she’s dreamed of. In more ways than one. Appearing on the reality show is her chance to get into Broomewode Hall and uncover the secrets of her past.</span><br />
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But strange things are happening on the show’s set: accusations of sabotage, a black cat that shadows Poppy, suspiciously unsociable residents at Broomewode Hall—and the judges can be real witches.</span><br />
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are murmurs that Broomewode is an energy vortex. It certainly makes Poppy see and do things that aren’t exactly normal, and seems to draw interesting characters to the neighborhood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When a fellow contestant dies in mysterious circumstances, Poppy has more to worry about than burned pies and cakes that won’t rise. There’s a murderer on the loose and it’s up to Poppy and her new friends to solve the crime before it becomes a real show-stopper.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Warren, this delicious series of cozy paranormal mysteries will have you guessing until the end. Includes recipes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Book Details:</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre:</b> Culinary Cozy<br />
<b>Published by:</b> Ambleside Publishing<br />
<b>Publication Date:</b> January 15th 2020<br />
<b>Number of Pages:</b> 250<br />
<b>ASIN:</b> B07ZL472PK<br />
<b>Series:</b> Culinary Cozy #1<br />
<b>Purchase Links:</b> <a href="https://amzn.to/34QsyBR" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/32EcPV3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Read an excerpt:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">CHAPTER ONE</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As life-changing moments go, getting the call that I’d been chosen to compete in <i>The Great British Baking Contest</i> was right up there. I’d practiced, auditioned and practiced some more. I was a decent home baker, but was I really the best in Britain? Probably not. But I didn’t have to be. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The contest was my way of getting into Broomewode Hall, where the show was filmed. I had my own reasons for going there that had nothing to do with baking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Still, it hadn’t been easy to be chosen. There were thousands of applicants every year and then an excruciating selection process, where the show’s producers chose twelve from the shortlist and made us bake on camera. Some people went to pieces; some were just really boring. They randomly selected bakers off the shortlist and tried out different combinations of personalities, a bit like baking, really, seeing which ingredients created the most interesting results. I quickly learned that the trick was to be a good character, try to be funny, be a good sport, pretend you didn’t notice that cameras were on you and a clock was ticking down the minutes, and still turn out a decent jam tart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Easy peasy! <i>Not</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the reasons they chose me for the show, I think, was that while I was British, I’d grown up in the States, which was kind of fun, as the show had become a huge hit in America. I’d also started life in a bakery. Or, more accurately, in a cardboard box outside a bakery in Norton St. Philip, a charming village near Bath in Somerset.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I like to think my mother, whoever she was, chose the bakery so she knew I’d be warm and, since bakers start work so early, I’d be found. And I was. When Gareth Philpott came to work that morning, he said he looked into the box and found me wide-awake, staring up at him. Not crying, not fussing, just staring as though I’d expected him. They named me Poppy. The Philpotts would have kept me if they could have. They’re a nice family, but they already had three children, and the authorities don’t just give a family a baby because they happened to stumble across one. First, they tried to find my mother or any information at all about my origins. When that proved impossible, I was adopted by Agatha and Leland Wilson, and they became my parents.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They were both teachers. They’d tried for years to have their own children, and their delight in getting me was reflected in the way they pretty much turned their lives around to give me the best upbringing they could. They were loving parents, kind and patient. Strict when they had to be. We lived in Bath for the first eight years of my life, and then my dad was offered a teaching job in Seattle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I grew up there, mostly, lost the British accent, became a typical American teenager, and then when I finished high school, my folks retired and moved back to the UK. I could have stayed in Seattle. I had friends, and I could’ve gone to college there, but I chose to come back to England. I think, deep down, it’s always felt like home. Besides, like a lot of adopted kids, the mystery of my beginnings haunts me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon after returning to England, my folks moved to the south of France to bask in warmer weather, grow lavender and cook gourmet meals. My dad, who taught history, was writing a book. My mom was learning French.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They’d saved up a nice chunk of change for me to go to college but, in spite of having teachers as parents, I never felt the urge. I was always more artistic than intellectual, so I went to an art and design college for two years, and they let me use the rest of the money toward buying a tiny cottage in Norton St. Philip. It’s probably crazy, and nobody even thinks my mother was from there, but I started my life in that village and so it pulled me back. The Philpotts still ran the bakery and were my second family. I guess you’ll always have a bond with the person who picked you up off the street as a newborn. Besides, growing up as an only child, I was fascinated by their sprawling, noisy family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I became a freelance graphic designer, which allowed me to work from home.<br />
Gina Philpott was my age and my best friend. She was also the only one who knew why I really wanted to get on that show.<br />
It went all the way back to when I was just a baby in that cardboard box. I’d been wrapped in a curious blanket.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw my baby blanket one day when I was watching <i>The Great British Baking Contest</i>. They always filmed at Broomewode Hall, a Georgian manor house that wasn’t open to the public. Broomewode Hall was the seat of the Earl of Frome, Robert Champney, and his family. During one of the behind-the-scenes segments on the show, Lady Frome showed them around her home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the camera panned around the great dining hall I was instantly transfixed by a woman in an oil painting who seemed to be wearing my baby blanket! I saw now that, in fact, it was a shawl. But the pattern was the same. I was certain of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And from that very moment, I began my quest to find out more about Broomewode Hall. Lord and Lady Frome guarded their privacy tenaciously, and it was impossible to get access to them and their family home. Besides, what would I say? “I think one of your ancestors once wore my baby blanket? The best way I could think of to spend time there was to qualify as a baker on <i>The Great British Baking Contest</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d done it. Against incredible odds, I’d been chosen as one of twelve bakers. It was one step toward finding how who I really was. All I had to do now was figure out how to get the rest of the way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Excerpt from The Great Witches Baking Show by Nancy Warren. Copyright 2019 by Nancy Warren. Reproduced with permission from Nancy Warren. All rights reserved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Review: </b>I was intrigued by the title of this book, and could hardly wait to read it. Once I started, I spent the entire afternoon reading it from cover to cover. Most of the characters who are sure to be regulars are very likable. The main character, Poppy, is an amateur baker (who gets baking advice from a ghost who lives in her cottage), who discovers in the course of this story that she is also a witch. I look forward to seeing both of these talents improve as the series continues.<br />As if those two things weren't enough stress for one person, Poppy discovers one of her fellow baking contestants has been murdered, and she gets involved in the middle of the investigation. Will she discover the killer before he or she strikes again, or will she be the next victim?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are secrets, intrigue, and just the right amount of humor in the telling of this story. I highly recommend it for all cozy mystery lovers.<br /><br /><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Author Bio:</span></h2>
<img align="left" alt="Nancy Warren" border="0" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/nancy-warren.jpg" height="200" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 5px;" width="300" /><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than seventy novels, including the best selling <a href="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/vampire-knitting-club-nancy-warren/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vampire Knitting Club</a> series and the Toni Diamond mysteries. She's from Vancouver, though she tends to wander. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, appeared on the front page of the New York Times when her book Speed Dating launched the Harlequin/Nascar series. She was also the answer to a clue in a crossword puzzle in Canada's National Post newspaper.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Catch Up With Our Author On:<br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/2Meobvu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NancyWarren.net</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2vL6jye" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/33DW1Pn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BookBub</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2O3d5rf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2vJf8sr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, & <a href="http://bit.ly/2McYn33" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Tour Participants:</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">GIVEAWAY!!:</span></h1>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-21394532445957037382020-01-07T00:00:00.000-05:002020-02-05T09:45:36.175-05:00Raising The Challenging Child: How to Minimize Meltdowns, Reduce Conflict, and Increase Cooperation by Karen Doyle Buckwalter, Debbie Reed, Wendy Lyons Sunshine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GENRE: </b>Parenting; Christian Family and Relationships</span></div>
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<span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Hardcover:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">272 pages</span></div>
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<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Revell (January 7, 2020)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0800735242</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0800735241</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SYNOPSIS: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">What's the worst you've ever faced as a parent? An all-out tantrum at the mall? A son who won't take out his earbuds to listen to you? A daughter who's failing at school and won't do her homework? A teen who constantly breaks curfew? A call from the police? Whatever you're dealing with, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Raising the Challenging Child</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> will help.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Building on their work at Chaddock, a nonprofit organization that has worked with some of the most challenging kids in the nation for more than 150 years, the authors empower frustrated parents with practical tips and real-life examples on how to</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">- minimize behavioral meltdowns</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">- reduce conflict</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">- increase cooperation</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">- promote healthy attachment</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">- improve family relationships</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">The strategies they share work both for the child who is going through a difficult phase brought on by life disruption or trauma, and for the child who faces chronic struggles. Parents, teachers, and those who work with children and youth will find positive, practical steps they can start taking today in order to understand and address the baffling behavior of the child under their care.</span></span><br />
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<b>REVIEW: </b>This is one of the best parenting books I have ever read. The scenarios presented are very realistic, as are the tips and techniques suggested (most of which are explained in detail for those who may never have used them before). I love that natural consequences are encouraged, as I have used those with all of my children and grandchildren for over 30 years now.<br />
Not only did I find the book useful for myself, but I also passed it onto my oldest grandson's other grandmother, and she has been using the techniques with him on a daily basis (she lives with his family).<br />
This is a wonderful book for all parents, even those who may not be avid readers. It is a quick easy read, without much technical writing, simple to follow and understand.<br />
*I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher prior to its release. The opinions and review are mine.*<br />
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<b>RATING: </b>Five stars<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">ABOUT THE AUTHORS</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;">Karen Doyle Buckwalter</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, MSW, LCSW, is director of program strategy at Chaddock in Quincy, Illinois. She serves on the board of directors' advisory board of the Theraplay® Institute in Chicago and has trained and consulted at family behavioral health organizations and youth foster care centers in the US, the UK, Australia, Denmark, and beyond. In addition to her degrees, Karen completed a two-year marriage and family therapy training program and 500-plus hours in diverse modalities including Theraplay®, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), and other attachment, trauma, and developmental approaches.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;" /><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;">Debbie Reed</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> is president and CEO of Chaddock. Currently engaged in doctoral studies, she has also played a leadership role in child- and family-serving organizations at the state and national levels, including the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' Child Welfare Advisory Committee, the CEO council of the internationally recognized Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, and the national board of the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries. In addition, she trains and consults with organizations on topics related to nonprofit leadership.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;" /><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Wendy Lyons Sunshine</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> is an award-winning writer and coauthor of </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">The Connected Child</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, with over a quarter million copies sold. She is an editorial consultant for leading nonprofits and has written for media outlets including </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Health</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">AARP </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">magazine, </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Scientific American</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">American Way</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, and the </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">New York Times</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">.</span></span>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-3170209310012399332019-12-08T17:29:00.003-05:002019-12-08T17:37:25.316-05:00DVD REVIEW: Christmas Jars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Based on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">New York Times</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> best- selling novel by Jason F. Wright</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hope is an aspiring reporter who has had her fair share of tragedy in life. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">when her apartment is burglarized of all her possessions. While reporting </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">the burglary to the police, Hope discovers a jar full of money labeled</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">"Christmas Jar." Shocked and grateful for this act of kindness, Hope</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">discovers that people all over her hometown of Columbus, Ohio have</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">been receiving Christmas jars for years during times of need. The jars</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre;">are always anonymous and always contain different amounts. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In this heartwarming Christmas classic, Hope goes undercover to discover </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the secret behind the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas jars, putting into motion a series of events </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">that will change her life, and her community, forever.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the best new Christmas movie I've seen this year. As a baby, the heroine, Hope is abandoned in a booth at a diner, where she is found and adopted by a waitress and grows up to be an aspiring reporter. After her mother dies of cancer, and her apartment is burglarized, she discovers someone has left her a "Christmas Jar" full of money outside her door. She begins to research the Christmas Jars and discovers dozen of recipients all over her hometown. With a little more digging, she finds out who was responsible for starting the tradition and decides to write a story about them. That leads her into a complicated situation, and she comes close to losing both her career and her relationship. In the end, things work out even better than you might suspect.
I enjoyed this film, both for the storyline and for the acting in it. All of the characters are very well scripted and extremely believable. I look forward to making this movie a part of our family Christmas tradition.</span></div>
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</span>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-88468053337299745742019-11-22T11:54:00.003-05:002019-11-22T11:54:16.783-05:00BLOG TOUR WINTER 2020: MYSTERY/THRILLER The Last Affair by Margot Hunt<img alt="551-05-Winter-Blog-Mystery-Thriller-2020-640x247" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/nRny922/551-05-Winter-Blog-Mystery-Thriller-2020-640x247.jpg" /><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Mystery/Thriller</span></div>
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 336 pages</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> MIRA; Original edition (November 26, 2019)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0778309223</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0778309222</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780778309222_the-last-affair.html">Harlequin</a></u></span>
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<b>Synopsis: </b><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Love may be blind, but obsession's a real killer. </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Nora Holliday is not that kind of woman. Not the kind who has an illicit affair with a married man. But Josh Landon is everything Nora's alcoholic husband isn't. And now she and Josh are so infatuated, they can't stay away from one another. Abby Landon, Josh's daughter, is home from college nursing a broken heart. She's seeking solace, not more scandal, so when she catches her dad kissing Nora, she vows to take the homewrecker down. And as for Abby's mother and Josh's wife, Gwen? To anyone on the outside looking in, the mother of two appears to be living the ideal suburban life. Until she winds up dead. The serene seaside town of Shoreham has always been the perfect place to raise a family--not somewhere housewives are brutally murdered. So who killed Gwen Landon, and how many twisted secrets will be exposed as the vindictive plot comes undone</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">?</span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>
<i><span style="color: black;"><b>Prologue</b></span></i></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other
than the woman’s blood-covered body splayed facedown in the grass,
it could have been any typical upscale Floridian backyard.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There
was the ubiquitous pool with a water fountain feature, a patio
furnished with both a dining set and outdoor sectional couch, and an
enormous gas grill capable of cooking hamburgers by the dozen. A
large pergola with a tropical vine trained over it covered part of
the patio. The dining area was shaded by a black-and-white-striped
awning. It was the very picture of suburban domestic bliss. It could
have been the set for a commercial advertising anything from laundry
detergent to allergy medicine.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Again,
except for the dead body.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
area had already been taped off. The first officers on the scene
appeared with an ambulance in response to a frantic 911 call placed
by the woman’s daughter. The paramedics had assessed the situation,
and quickly determined that the woman was dead. The fact that the
back of her head had been bashed in with what looked like a paving
stone, conveniently dropped next to her prone body, made it
immediately clear that it had not been a natural death. The
responding officers called the sheriff, who responded by sending in a
full investigative team. The medical examiner was now doing a
preliminary examination of the body, while police officers combed the
area for additional evidence. Two detectives, Mike Monroe and Gavin
Reddick—separated by twenty years and sixty pounds—were
overseeing the operation, standing at the edge of the patio under the
shade of the pergola. It was the third week in April, but this was
South Florida and the temperature had already climbed into the low
nineties.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“The
paving stone came from the stack out in the front yard. They were
delivered last week by the company who’s installing the driveway,”
Detective Reddick said. He was the younger of the two men and had a
wiry frame and angular face.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Weapon
of convenience. Suggests it wasn’t premeditated,” Detective
Monroe said. He had a ruddy complexion and a full head of thick dark
hair, swept back off his face. A strand never moved out of place,
even in a strong wind.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Plus
he dropped the weapon, rather than taking it with him. Probably
panicked.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Could
be a she,” Monroe said mildly.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reddick
shrugged. “Blunt force trauma to the back of the head? You know the
stats. Overwhelming likelihood that it’s a man, and probably
someone the victim was intimately involved with. Husband, maybe a
boyfriend.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“The
husband was with the daughter when she called it in.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Doesn’t
mean he didn’t do it, and then had her place the call.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“No,
it doesn’t.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
family had been sequestered indoors, both to keep them out of the
way, and so that the officers waiting in the house with them could
observe anything they did or said. Other than the husband, there was
a daughter in her early twenties and a teenage son. The daughter was
reportedly distraught, while the husband and son had both been eerily
quiet. It was possible they were in shock.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Do
we have an ID on the victim?” Reddick asked.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“It’s
her house,” Monroe grunted.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Yeah,
but I like doing things the official way, you know? I’s dotted, t’s
crossed, all of that. Building a case, basic detective work.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite
the chilling scene in front of them—the woman’s body still
sprawled on the grass, the back of her head a pulpy, bloody mess—the
corner of Monroe’s mouth quirked up in a half smile. “Sure, kid,
tell me all about basic detective work. I’ve only been doing this
for, what…thirty-two years now? The husband ID’d her. Victim is
Gwen Landon, age forty-nine. Married, mother of two. Husband said she
hasn’t had any recent conflict with anyone.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Other
than the person who caved in the back of her head with a paving
stone,” Reddick pointed out.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Wouldn’t
be the first time a husband didn’t know his wife as well as he
thought he did.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“Possible.
But there’s another possibility, too.”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“What’s
that?”</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reddick
turned to look at his partner. His eyes were small and dark, and he
had a habit of squinting when he concentrated intently on something.</span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 0.21in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.17in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“The
husband is a liar,” Reddick said.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<b style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Review: </b><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">This story grabbed my attention from the prologue and held it all the way to the last sentence. Each character has his or her story to tell, full of twists and turns, all tying together to create a magnificent tale of love, betrayal, vengeance, and murder.</span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">I was disappointed in the reveal of the murderer, though. Having that character do the deed just felt too convoluted to me. I was definitely expecting someone else to be responsible.</span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Rating: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Four stars</span></div>
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/bH3wrQs/Margot-Hunt-Author-Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Margot-Hunt-Author-Photo" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.ibb.co/bH3wrQs/Margot-Hunt-Author-Photo.jpg" width="127" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the author</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Margot Hunt is a critically acclaimed author of psychological
suspense. Her work has been praised by </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher's Weekly</em><span style="font-family: inherit;">,
</span><em style="font-family: inherit;">Booklist </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">and </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkus Reviews.</em><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>SOCIAL</u>:</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">TWITTER:
</span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: inherit;"><u><a href="https://twitter.com/huntauthor?lang=en">@HuntAuthor</a></u></span><br />
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-25992676009211068662019-11-19T12:07:00.001-05:002019-11-19T12:07:53.723-05:00100 Words Of Affirmation Your Husband Needs To Hear by Lisa Jacobson<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="mail" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/gSy6b52/mail.png" /></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian Marriage</span></div>
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 144 pages</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Revell (October 1, 2019)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0800736605</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0800736606</span></li>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="43984615" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/mvdD7sy/43984615.jpg" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Every one of us has tremendous power to either build others up or tear them down through the words we speak every day, and nowhere is this more evident than in our marriages. Are you being purposeful in how you use the power of your words to speak encouragement, strength, and love--breathing life into the heart of your spouse? Or are careless words having a negative impact on your marriage and on the heart of the one you love most?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Matt and Lisa Jacobson want you and your spouse to discover the powerful ways you can build one another up in love with the words that you choose to say every day--words that every husband and wife need to hear. These books offer you 100 Things to say to your husband or wife that deeply encourage, affirm, and inspire. Start speaking these words into each other's lives and watch your spouse--and your relationship--transform before your eyes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Review: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Allerta Stencil"; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the things I like about this book is that the affirmations are written in a way that sounds like the average wife could say them, or close enough that they could just be altered slightly. They aren't long, flowery speeches that might put some women off, they are short, simple truths. I also liked that while some of them are things I already say to my husband, some of them made me realize places where I was missing opportunities to encourage him.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Allerta Stencil"; font-size: 16px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Allerta Stencil"; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This book would make an excellent gift for any wife, whether a newlywed or celebrating fifty years of marriage.</span></span><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: inherit;">Rating: </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Five stars</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the author</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://i.ibb.co/hgV3rs6/61-ITWv00-WML-US230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="61-ITWv00-WML-US230" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/hgV3rs6/61-ITWv00-WML-US230.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lisa Jacobson is an author, a speaker, and the founder and host of Club31Women.com, a powerful online community of Christian women authors who write weekly on the topics of husband, home, family, and biblical truths--a strong voice for biblical womanhood. Her combined social media platforms have a reach well over 1 million viewers/visitors per month. She is the author of the best-selling 100 Ways to Love Your Husband, as well as 100 Words of Affirmation Your Husband Needs to Hear. She and her husband, Matt, are the co-hosts of the popular FAITHFUL LIFE podcast. Together they live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where they have raised their eight children.</span></span>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-6321555272233736192019-11-16T12:54:00.001-05:002019-11-16T12:54:25.743-05:00100 Words Of Affirmation Your Wife Needs To Hear by Matt Jacobson<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <img alt="mail2" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/k89PCh8/mail2.png" /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian marriage</span></div>
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 128 pages</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Revell (October 1, 2019)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 0800736648</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-0800736644</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="43984617" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/C1mmVFJ/43984617.jpg" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Every one of us has tremendous power to either build others up or tear them down through the words we speak every day, and nowhere is this more evident than in our marriages. Are you being purposeful in how you use the power of your words to speak encouragement, strength, and love--breathing life into the heart of your spouse? Or are careless words having a negative impact on your marriage and on the heart of the one you love most?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Matt and Lisa Jacobson want you and your spouse to discover the powerful ways you can build one another up in love with the words that you choose to say every day--words that every husband and wife need to hear. These books offer you 100 Things to say to your husband or wife that deeply encourage, affirm, and inspire. Start speaking these words into each other's lives and watch your spouse--and your relationship--transform before your eyes.</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Review: </b>I had my husband read this book before I did, and he read through the entire book in one sitting. While a lot of the affirmations mentioned in the book are things that he already tells me, he did find some that made him say "I never thought of that!" </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the things I like about this book is that the affirmations are written in a way that sounds like the average husband could say them, or close enough that they could just be altered slightly. They aren't long, flowery speeches that might put some men off, they are short, simple truths.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This book would make an excellent gift for any husband, whether a newlywed or celebrating fifty years of marriage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the author</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://i.ibb.co/DGY8sMQ/A1o5-CEyc-LIL-US230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A1o5-CEyc-LIL-US230" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/DGY8sMQ/A1o5-CEyc-LIL-US230.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;">Matt Jacobson</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> was an executive in the publishing industry for 25 years and for the past 16 years, has been a teaching elder/pastor of Tumalo Bible Fellowship. Matt is also the founder and teacher at FaithfulMan.com, an online social media community focusing on the topics of marriage, parenting, and biblical teaching, with a cross-platform reach of 2,200,000 viewers/visitors per month. He is the author of the bestselling </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">100 Ways to Love Your Wife</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">He lives with his wife, Lisa, in the Pacific Northwest where they have raised their eight children.</span></span></div>
Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-83903638605101419472019-11-06T06:18:00.001-05:002019-11-06T06:18:09.223-05:00BLOG TOUR: Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper (Death By Cupcake #4) by D.E. Haggerty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-142945" height="296" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CHRISTMAS-COOKIES-AND-A-CAPER-640.jpg" width="640" />
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper (Death by Cupcake)</span>
<span style="color: red;">by D.E. Haggerty</span></h4>
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<em><span style="color: red; font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 24pt;">About Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper</span></em></h2>
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<img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-142946" height="500" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CCaCv2.1-640x1024.jpg" width="312" /> </div>
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<strong><a class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="5ff1263aa49f60ad821e569a7f631dfe" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper (Death by Cupcake)" href="http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Cupcakes-Caper-Death-Cupcake-ebook/dp/B07XMF4L35/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=dollycsthoug-20&linkId=5ff1263aa49f60ad821e569a7f631dfe&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_8589937" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christmas Cupcakes and a Caper (Death by Cupcake)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_8589937" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=dollycsthoug-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=5ff1263aa49f60ad821e569a7f631dfe&_cb=1568744399212" style="border: none; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0" /></strong> </div>
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<strong>Cozy Mystery Novella</strong> </div>
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<strong>4th in Series</strong> </div>
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<strong>Independently Published (November 1, 2019)</strong> </div>
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<strong>Number of Pages: 80</strong> </div>
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<strong>ASIN: B07XMF4L35</strong></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48105440-christmas-cupcakes-and-a-caper"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10339" height="41" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/goodreads-badge-add-plus-d700d4d3e3c0b346066731ac07b7fe47.png" width="130" /></a></div>
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<em><strong>It’s all candy cane cupcakes and peppermint coffee until you find a dead elf on your doorstep.</strong></em></div>
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Only the elf wasn’t a real elf, because elves don’t actually exist – not even at Christmas time. A college student dressed like an elf decided taking a nap in sub-zero winter temps was a good idea. It wasn’t. Anna, the pink-haired baker extraordinaire of Callie’s Cakes, is convinced the student’s death was not an accident. She drags Callie and Kristie along with her as she attempts to discover who killed the elf … um… student.</div>
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Will the gals of Callie’s Cakes find the killer before Christmas is ruined?</div>
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Cupcakes not included, although you’ll find recipes for all the delicious Christmas cupcakes Anna baked.</div>
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<b>Review: </b>Anna, Callie, and Kristie are back in their fourth adventure, and they are still as entertaining as ever. While the first three books each focused on one of the three women, giving us a deeper insight into her personality and backstory, this one showcases each of them throughout, using their individual skills and talents to the fullest, proving once again what a great team they make.<br />
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The easy rapport between the three women is very well written, drawing us into their inner circle of friendship and teamwork. The story is written with the perfect blend of drama and humor--and cupcakes!--to keep you reading to the end. As an added bonus, recipes for all the cupcakes mentioned in the story can be found at the back of the book, so you can add them to your repertoire of holiday treats.<br />
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If you are looking for a fun, quick and easy holiday read, this is definitely the one to choose!<br />
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<b>Rating: </b>Four stars<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 24pt;">About D.E. Haggerty</span></em></span></h2>
<a href="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MG_0371_2-231x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-112414" height="300" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MG_0371_2-231x300.jpg" width="231" /></a>
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I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories that have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic before returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where, in between tennis matches and failing to save the world, I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.</div>
<strong>Author links</strong><br />
<strong>Website:</strong> <a href="http://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://dehaggerty.wordpress.com</a><br />
<strong>Blog:</strong> <a href="https://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/category/mymusings/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/category/mymusings/</a><br />
<strong>Facebook:</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty</a><br />
<strong>Twitter:</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/dehaggerty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/dehaggerty</a><br />
<strong>Instagram:</strong> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dehaggerty/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/dehaggerty/</a><br />
<strong>Goodreads:</strong> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7210211.D_E_Haggerty">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7210211.D_E_Haggerty</a><br />
<strong>Amazon author page:</strong> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/D.E.-Haggerty/e/B00ECQBURU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_5?qid=1438239628&sr=8-5">http://www.amazon.com/D.E.-Haggerty/e/B00ECQBURU/</a><br />
<strong>Newsletter signup:</strong> <a href="https://mailchi.mp/027b2768aa1c/newsletter-sign-up-for-a-writers-life-by-de-haggerty">https://mailchi.mp/027b2768aa1c/newsletter-sign-up-for-a-writers-life-by-de-haggerty</a><br />
<strong>Pinterest:</strong> <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/denahaggerty/">http://www.pinterest.com/denahaggerty/</a><br />
<strong>Bookbub author page:</strong> <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/profile/d-e-haggerty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.bookbub.com/profile/d-e-haggerty</a><br />
<strong>LinkedIn:</strong> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-e-haggerty-4b49a29/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-e-haggerty-4b49a29/</a><br />
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<strong>Purchase Links</strong>
<strong><a href="https://amzn.to/32KjJIP" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48105440-christmas-cupcakes-and-a-caper" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></strong><br />
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<strong>TOUR PARTICIPANTS</strong><br />
<strong>November 1 - <a href="https://ireadwhatyouwrite.wordpress.com/">I Read What You Write</a> – REVIEW, GUEST POST</strong><br />
<strong>November 1 - <a href="https://baronessbooktrove.com/">Baroness' Book Trove</a> – SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>November 1 - <a href="http://fuonlyknew.com/">FUONLYKNEW</a> – SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>November 2 - <a href="http://www.myreadingjourneys.blogspot.com/">My Reading Journeys</a> – REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 2 - <a href="https://wwq.mysteryshelf.com/">The Pulp and Mystery Shelf</a> – AUTHOR INTERVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 3 – <a href="http://www.celticladysreviews.blogspot.com/">Celticlady's Reviews</a> – REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 3 – <a href="https://libriamicimiei.blogspot.com/">LibriAmoriMiei</a> - REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 4 – <a href="https://www.storeybookreviews.com/">StoreyBook Reviews</a> – REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 4 – <a href="http://www.brookeblogs.com/">Brooke Blogs</a> – SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>November 5 – <a href="https://www.literaryau.com/">Literary Gold</a> – CHARACTER GUEST POST</strong><br />
<strong>November 5 – <a href="https://dogsmomvisits.blogspot.com/">Laura's interests</a> – REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 6 – <a href="https://www.knyttwytch.co.uk/a_wytchs_book_review_blog/">A Wytch's Book Review Blog</a> – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW</strong><br />
<strong> November 6 – <a href="https://memesandfiction.blogspot.com/">Book Babble</a> – REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 6 – <a href="https://eskimoprincess.blogspot.com/">Eskimo Princess Book Reviews</a> – SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>November 7 – <a href="https://cozyupwithkathy.blogspot.com/">Cozy Up With Kathy</a> – RECIPE, SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>November 7 – <a href="https://mysterythrillerandromanticsusreviews.blogspot.ca/">Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews</a> – SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>November 8 – <a href="http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/">Books Direct</a> - REVIEW</strong><br />
<strong>November 8 – <a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/">Reading Is My SuperPower</a> – SPOTLIGHT</strong><br />
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<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-88015" height="154" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/great-escape-button160-1.jpg" width="160" />Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-54582606229249746152019-10-30T16:59:00.003-04:002019-10-30T16:59:29.688-04:00BLOG TOUR: The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Horror/Thriller</span></div>
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<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</b> Crooked Lane Books (December 10, 2019)</span></li>
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<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1643851632</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-1643851631</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis: </b><b style="color: #181818;">A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic--and terrifying--consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="freeText12289385578245513224" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><br /></b><i><b>Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your fac</b>e...</i><br /><br />In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it.<br /><br />That belief got Becca killed.<br /><br />It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died.<br /><br />The night Heather killed her.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> </span><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Review: </b>This was a perfect story to read just before Halloween! It has alternating chapters of past and present so that we learn little bits and pieces of each story as we go along. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">I remember as a young girl doing things with my friends to scare ourselves that seem silly now--saying Bloody Mary three times in the mirror, playing light as a feather stiff as a board, playing with an ouija board, etc. But thankfully we never took any of it as seriously as Becca took her Red Lady story.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">I didn't see the ending of this one coming at all, but it certainly made sense of Becca's obsession and made me feel even sadder for her. The same can't be said for Heather, however. As an adult, she is way too paranoid and too suspicious of nearly everyone in her life.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">I highly recommend this one. It's got creepy moments, a few laughs, and tons of head-shaking 'yikes, what's wrong with people' scenes. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Rating: </b>Four stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>About the author</b></span></span></div>
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/Gn1JS5y/Damien-Angelica-Walters.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Damien-Angelica-Walters" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/Gn1JS5y/Damien-Angelica-Walters.png" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: 700;">Damien Angelica Walters</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> is the author of </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Cry Your Way Home, Paper Tigers</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, and </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Sing Me Your Scars</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, winner of This is Horror's Short Story Collection of the Year. Her short fiction has been nominated twice for a Bram Stoker Award, reprinted in </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> and </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">The Year's Best Weird Fiction</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, and published in various anthologies and magazines, including the Shirley Jackson Award Finalists </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Autumn Cthulhu</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> and </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">The Madness of Dr. Caligari, World Fantasy Award Finalist Cassilda's Song, Nightmare Magazine, Black Static, and Apex Magazine</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. Until the magazine's closing in 2013, she was an Associate Editor of the Hugo Award-winning </span><i data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333;">Electric Velocipede</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two rescued pit bulls.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-68392959044308975642019-10-30T15:53:00.000-04:002019-10-30T15:53:02.268-04:00Better Off Bald by Andrea Wilson Woods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BOOK INFORMAT</b><b>ION</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Biography/memoir</span></div>
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<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</b> 392 pages</span></li>
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<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1544504594</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-1544504599</span></li>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><b>Synopsis: </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adrienne Wilson is a depressed, suicidal teenager—until the day she receives a diagnosis of stage IV liver cancer. Facing the fight of her life, Adrienne discovered just how much she wants to live. In Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days, Andrea Wilson Woods chronicles her sister's remarkable life, from the time she was born to the day she dies at age fifteen. Written like a journal, Andrea takes the reader inside her and Adrienne's journey explaining how she gained custody of Adrienne from their mother and how the sisters' relationship evolved over time. Adrienne's courageous spirit shines through as she squeezes more life into 147 days than most people do in a lifetime. From meeting Jay Leno to spending the day with Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction, Adrienne makes every moment count. As she lay dying, Adrienne teaches Andrea how to live.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Review: </b>This is an amazing memoir about two amazing young women. They are sisters, but the older is acting as the parent to the younger. When Adrienne is diagnosed with cancer, both of their lives change in an instant.</span></span><br />
While you may expect this to be a sad story (and it does have its moments), there is a lot of happiness and positivity in the pages of this book. Even in the final days of Adrienne's life, she is an inspiration to everyone around her.<br />
The book is very honestly written and gives great insight into the lives of both sisters and the emotions they were feeling as they took this final journey together.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>About the author</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://i.ibb.co/LppNrQ8/19508511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="19508511" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/LppNrQ8/19508511.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ANDREA WILSON WOODS is a writer who loves to tell stories, and a patient advocate who founded the nonprofit Blue Faery: The Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer Association. Andrea is the CEO and co-founder of Cancer University, a for-profit, social-benefit, digital health company. With Cancer U, Andrea synergizes her talents of coaching, writing, teaching, and advocacy. For over ten years, Andrea worked in the education field as a teacher and professor for public and private schools as well as universities. Andrea obtained her master’s degree in professional writing from the University of Southern California; her nonfiction writing has won national awards.</span></span></div>
Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-31947252031408413552019-10-09T00:00:00.000-04:002019-10-10T10:34:30.047-04:00BLOG TOUR: Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/speak-no-evil-by-liana-gardner/"><img alt="Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner" class="aligncenter size-full" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PartnersInCrime_SNETourBanner.jpg" height="300" width="600" /></a></h1>
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Speak No Evil</h1>
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by Liana Gardner</h2>
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on Tour October 1 - November 30, 2019</h3>
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Synopsis:</h2>
<img alt="Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner" border="0" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Speak-No-Evil-Liana-Gardner.jpg" height="300" style="float: left; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0px;" width="200" /><br />
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<em><strong>What if every time you told the truth, evil followed?</strong></em><br />
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My name is Melody Fisher. My daddy was a snake handler in Appalachia until Mama died. Though years have passed, I can still hear the rattle before the strike that took her from me.<br />
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And it’s all my fault.<br />
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Since then, I’ve been passed around from foster home to foster home. I didn’t think anything could be as bad as losing Mama.<br />
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I was wrong.<br />
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But I will not speak of things people have done to me. Every time I do, worse evil follows. Now, the only thing I trust is what saved me years ago.<br />
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Back when I would sing the snakes calm …<br />
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Book Details:</h3>
<b>Genre:</b> YA Mystery<br />
<b>Published by:</b> Vesuvian Books<br />
<b>Publication Date:</b> October 1st 2019<br />
<b>Number of Pages:</b> 285<br />
<b>ISBN:</b> 1944109366 (ISBN13: 9781944109363)<br />
<b>Purchase Links:</b> <a href="https://amzn.to/2Y5lmOz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/2Y5lpKf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/2Y6R1io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></blockquote>
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Review: <span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is an unusual YA story, and I loved it. Melody Fisher has led a difficult and complicated life which we learn about in flashbacks. Now, at 16, she has stopped talking entirely and communicates through the music she plays. Unfortunately, she's been charged with stabbing a classmate, and her words may be the only thing that can save her from prison. Will her therapist and her caseworker be able to break down her walls and save her in time?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">The author draws us into not only Melody's story but also into her mind. I kept wanting to reach out and comfort the poor girl as she went through so many traumatic events in her short life. There are possibly triggering scenes of abuse and rape, but they are an important part of the narrative and are presented in ways that show the author is mindful of her young audience's emotions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">This story does a wonderful job of reminding readers that silence does not equate to consent in any situation, and that the truth should always be spoken even when it hurts...with truth comes freedom.</span></span></div>
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Rating: <span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Five stars</span></span></h3>
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Read an excerpt:</h3>
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Uncle Harlan slammed my bedroom door open. “You’re going to learn to show the Lord respect, girl.” He grabbed my neck and forced me to walk in front of him.<br />
My neck hurt where he dug his fingers in.<br />
He took me outside and shoved me toward the shed. He slipped the key in the lock and removed it from the hasp. The door creaked as it opened and then he thrust me through.<br />
“I’m not going to allow you to follow your mother’s footsteps. You’ll learn to make peace with snakes and not show them any fear. Or else.”<br />
He grabbed a snake case from the shelf, put it on the ground, and opened it. He stepped backward out of the shed and swung the door shut. The latch clicked. Uncle Harlan on one side of the door, and the snake and me locked inside.<br />
“I’ll come get you in time for school in the morning.”<br />
His footsteps receded.<br />
Light filtered through the cracks in the shed slats. In the dim light, the snake coiled in the corner, its tongue flicking out periodically. I slowly lowered to the ground and hugged Raksha Waya tight.<br />
The inside of the shed was slightly warmer than outside. Staying warm might be a bigger problem than keeping the snake calm. It ignored me and remained coiled, but the cold seeped into my bones. I scanned the shelves. There had to be something in here I could use to help keep warm.<br />
A tarp sat on a shelf on the opposite side of the shed from the snake. But I might not be tall enough to pull it down. Standing on tiptoes, I grabbed a corner and tugged. My fingers slipped. I set Rakkie on a lower shelf, then reached with both hands and tugged.<br />
The weight of the tarp almost knocked me over as I caught it.<br />
Making sure to keep my movements small so I didn’t threaten the snake, I unfolded the tarp and spread it out. Then I grabbed Rakkie and carefully crawled under a corner. Once settled with Rakkie on my lap, I pulled it over us and tucked it under my chin.<br />
The hours passed as the light changed and moved through the shed. My tailbone ached and my back hurt from sitting still for so long. Twilight came. Surely Uncle Harlan didn’t really mean to leave me here with the snake all night.<br />
When the darkness was complete and I could no longer see my hand in front of my face, I faced the hard truth—Uncle Harlan meant it. I’d spend the night locked in a small space with a pit viper.<br />
While my toes still felt frozen, the rest of me was warmer with the tarp. My eyes drooped and closed. Then I heard it.<br />
Hiss. Rattle. The whisper of something dragging across the floorboards.<br />
The snake was on the move. The slight rattle as it slithered through the shed made my heart pound. I froze.<br />
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Excerpt from Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner. Copyright © 2019 by Liana Gardner. Reproduced with permission from Liana Gardner. All rights reserved.</div>
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Author Bio:</h2>
<img align="left" alt="Liana Gardner" border="0" src="http://www.partnersincrimetours.net/pict/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Liana-Gardner.jpg" height="266" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 5px;" width="200" /><br />
Liana Gardner is the multi-award-winning author of 7th Grade Revolution (most recently the recipient of a 2018 Nautilus Book Award) and The Journal of Angela Ashby. The daughter of a rocket scientist and an artist, Liana combines the traits of both into a quirky yet pragmatic writer and in everything sees the story lurking beneath the surface.<br />
Liana volunteers with high school students through EXP (expfuture.org). EXP unites business people and educators to prepare students for a meaningful place in the world of tomorrow. Working in partnership with industry and educators, EXP helps young people EXPerience, EXPand, and EXPlore.<br />
Engaged in a battle against leukemia and lymphoma, Liana spends much of her time at home, but her imagination takes her wherever she wants to go.<br />
Liana is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.<br />
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Catch Up With Liana Gardner On:<br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/2Y6GCDt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lianagardner.com</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2Y6GQuj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2Y7nZ2m" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BookBub</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2Y2FhO1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, & <a href="http://bit.ly/2Y37e8B" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>!</h3>
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Tour Participants:</h1>
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!<br />
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Enter To Win!:</h1>
<h5>
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Vesuvian Books and Liana Gardner. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card and 2 winners of a signed print copy of Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner. The giveaway begins on October 1, 2019 and runs through December 2, 2019. Open to U.S. addresses only. Void where prohibited.</h5>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-8480336491021404362019-09-25T00:00:00.000-04:002019-09-25T09:46:10.492-04:00BLOG TOUR: Have Yourself A Beary Little Murder (Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery #3), Meg Macy<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-140024" height="294" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/HAVE-YOURSELF-A-BEARY-LITTLE-MURDER-BANNER-640-1.jpg" width="640" />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder</span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">(A Teddy Bear Mystery)</span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">by Meg Macy</span></h4>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 24pt;">About Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder</span></em></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-140025" height="504" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Have-Yourself-a-Beary-Little-Murder-680x1024.jpg" width="335" /> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><a class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="9705dd9dc2f4a509ce37e10de77cf964" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder (A Teddy Bear Mystery)" href="http://www.amazon.com/Yourself-Beary-Little-Murder-Mystery/dp/1496722655/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=dollycsthoug-20&linkId=9705dd9dc2f4a509ce37e10de77cf964&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6055496" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Have Yourself a Beary Little Murder (A Teddy Bear Mystery)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6055496" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=dollycsthoug-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=9705dd9dc2f4a509ce37e10de77cf964&_cb=1563907497187" style="border: none; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0" /></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Cozy Mystery</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>3rd in Series</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Kensington (September 24, 2019)</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Paperback: 288 pages</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>ISBN-10: 1496722655</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>ISBN-13: 978-1496722652</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Digital ASIN: B07MRC5KZG</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43442447-have-yourself-a-beary-little-murder" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-10339 size-full" height="41" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/goodreads-badge-add-plus-d700d4d3e3c0b346066731ac07b7fe47.png" width="130" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>This holiday season, teddy bear shop manager Sasha Silverman must solve the slaying of Santa Bear . . .</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sasha and her sister Maddie are thrilled that the Silver Bear Shop and Factory has won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest, which means they get to produce a holiday specialty toy, a wizard bear named “Beary Potter.” Promising to be just as magical is Silver Hollow’s annual tree-lighting ceremony and village parade. Only one hitch: the parade’s mascot, Santa Bear—played by Mayor Cal Bloom—is missing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After a frantic search among the floats, Bloom is found dead. When the outfit is removed, it’s clear the mayor’s been electrocuted. Who zapped hizzoner and then stuffed him into his Santa Bear suit? While the police investigate the grisly crime, Sasha attempts to track down the murderer herself, with some help from the Guilty Pleasures Gossip Club. Can they wrap up this case in time for Christmas—or will Sasha meet her own shocking end?</div>
</blockquote>
<b>Review: </b>As a teddy bear collector, I love reading this series. The latest installment does not disappoint. Sasha is once again caught up in a murder investigation when the mayor winds up dead before the annual Christmas parade and tree-lighting ceremony.<br />Along with the murder mystery, which is as well done as always, we get a good look at the holiday festivities in Silver Hollow, Michigan. The usual cast of characters are all present, and readers of the entire series are getting drawn deeper into their relationships. Sasha's mother is one character who irritates me throughout the book...but she is written to be that way, so kudos to the author. :)<br />
Solving the murder was not easy for me in this story...I had no clue who, why or how until the reveal. It was well worth the wait, and was quite a "shocking" surprise! <br />
<br />
<b>Rating: </b>Five stars<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 24pt;">About Meg Macy</span></em></h2>
<a href="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Author-Photo-September-2018-234x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter wp-image-107560 size-medium" height="300" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Author-Photo-September-2018-234x300.jpg" width="234" /></a>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Meg Macy</strong> is an award-winning author and artist, and lives in Southeastern Michigan, the setting of her Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear cozy mysteries for Kensington. Her first published book, <em>Double Crossing</em>, won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First Novel from Western Writers of America. Meg is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland, authors of the Eliza and Henry Higgins Mystery series—of which two titles have been Agatha Award finalists. Meg love gardening, watercolor painting, and reading books of various genres.</div>
<strong>Author Links</strong>
<strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MegMacyAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/megmims">Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/meg_macy_author/">Instagram</a> <a href="http://www.megmacy.com/">Website</a> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/megmacycozies/">Pinterest</a></strong>
<a href="https://www.megmacy.com/contact">Subscribe to my newsletter!</a><br />
<br />
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<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-88015" height="154" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/great-escape-button160-1.jpg" width="160" />Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-61623952420237459842019-08-15T08:14:00.001-04:002019-08-15T08:14:34.535-04:00BLOG TOUR Shame Off You:From Hiding To Healing by Denise Pass<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHAME OFF YOU: FROM HIDING TO HEALING</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">BY DENISE PASS</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/0MPNy34/Shame-Off-You.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Shame-Off-You" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/0MPNy34/Shame-Off-You.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">BOOK INFORMATION</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Christian Self-Help</span></div>
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 240 pages</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> Abingdon Press (August 21, 2018)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-lastvalue="0" data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 150186968X</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-1501869686</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>About
the book:</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Learn
to recognize and process feelings of shame in a biblical way to
restore God-ordained self-worth and hope.</span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">“There
is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
— Romans 8:1 </span></em></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shame
is an assault on the core of who we are. It assassinates our
character, minimizes our worth, and dashes our hope. Like Adam and
Eve, we often hide shame, but hiding never heals it. Left unattended,
shame can develop into a crippling reality that paralyzes us. Like an
infectious disease, shame impacts everyone . . . but not all shame is
bad.</span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shame
can either be an oppressive and powerful tool of worldly condemnation
or a source of conviction that God uses to bring His people back to
himself. Having the discernment to know the difference and recognize
shame in its many forms can change the course of one’s life.</span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
a transparently honest style, Pass shares of her experience dealing
with shame after learning that her former husband was a sexual
offender. Having lived through the aftermath, she leads you into
God’s Word where you will see for yourself that God is bigger than
your pain, shame, mistakes, and limitations.</span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><span style="color: #202020;">Shame
Off You</span></em><span style="color: #202020;"> shares
how freedom can be found in choosing to break the cycle of shame by
learning from the past, developing healthy thinking patterns,
silencing lies and overcoming the traps of vanity and other people's
opinions.<br />
<br />
</span><b><span style="color: #202020;">Learn
more at </span></b><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://shameoffyou.life/the-book"><span style="color: #007c89;">https://shameoffyou.life/the-book</span></a></u></span><b><span style="color: #202020;">.</span></b></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #202020;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;"><b>Review: </b>I have read several books on this and similar topics this year as part of my focus on my word of the year, which is CONTENT--learning to be content with who I am, what I have, and all the circumstances of my life. However, this one has been the best read by far, resonating with me time and again, as well as giving me a lot of food for thought.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;">The author shares honestly about things in her own life that brought shame to her, as well as how God has taken that shame off her. She also shares Scripture which helped her to see that she was not meant to carry that shame.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;">Anyone who has ever carried shame about their past and wants to know how to overcome it should definitely pick up a copy of this book.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #202020;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;"><b>Rating: </b>Four stars</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dbL17Grmrds" width="560"></iframe>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>About
the author:</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/zxZ2B2X/Denise-Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Denise-Pass" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.ibb.co/zxZ2B2X/Denise-Pass.jpg" width="133" /></a>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Denise
Pass, author of </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">Shame
Off You</span></i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">,
is an award-winning CCM recording artist and singer-songwriter,
accomplished writer/blogger, speaker and worship leader at women’s
conferences as well as a worship leader on staff at her home church.
After a crushing discovery of her former husband’s hidden life as a
repetitive sex offender, and surviving a painful divorce, she now
shares an inspirational message through her ministry, Seeing Deep
Ministries, about seeing the deeper truth in God’s word when life
hurts. Denise also founded and directed a home educational co-op for
12 years and engaged in many educational pursuits, including forming
and directing a classical children’s choir. A graduate from the
University of Maryland, Denise now resides in Virginia, with her
“Kinsman Redeemer” husband and five children.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Find
her online at </span></span></span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://denisepass.com/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">DenisePass.com</span></span></a></u></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: inherit;"><u><a href="http://www.facebook.com/deniseduboispass">www.facebook.com/deniseduboispass</a></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: inherit;"><u><a href="http://www.twitter.com/thedenisepass">www.twitter.com/thedenisepass</a></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/thedenisepass">www.instagram.com/thedenisepass</a></u></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0563c1;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-71567632075980036182019-08-13T00:00:00.000-04:002019-08-13T00:00:03.284-04:00BOOK BLAST: Apples And Alibis by Gayle Leeson<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-138917" height="296" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/apples-and-alibis-banner-640.jpg" width="640" />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #198401; font-size: 24pt;"><em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">About Apples and Alibis</span></em></span></h2>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-138634" height="500" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/APPLES-AND-ALIBIS-COVER.jpg" width="333" /></h1>
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<strong><a class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="eac5b997959827bd8677609a2bc78762" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Apples and Alibis (A Down South Cafe Mystery Book)" href="http://www.amazon.com/Apples-Alibis-Down-South-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07V1X8SW3/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=dollycsthoug-20&linkId=eac5b997959827bd8677609a2bc78762&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2347141" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apples and Alibis (A Down South Cafe Mystery Book)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2347141" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=dollycsthoug-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=eac5b997959827bd8677609a2bc78762&_cb=1562786134316" style="border: none; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0" /></strong> </div>
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<strong>Cozy Mystery</strong> </div>
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<strong>4th in Series</strong> </div>
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<strong>Grace Abraham Publishing (August 13, 2019)</strong> </div>
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<strong>Print Length: 188 pages</strong> </div>
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<strong>ASIN: B07V1X8SW3</strong></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46815950-apples-and-alibis"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10339" height="41" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/goodreads-badge-add-plus-d700d4d3e3c0b346066731ac07b7fe47.png" width="130" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
That's the last time Amy agrees to do a favor for a stranger...
Down South Cafe owner, Amy Flowers is in over her head. Operating a cafe while hosting the first Farmers' Market in Winter Garden has her swimming in apples. And when an elderly woman calls the cafe, pleading for a delivery for her upcoming party, Amy relents, feeling compelled to help the desperate customer.
But when she arrives, the woman is slumped over her kitchen table, and Amy is catapulted into the middle of a small town crime. Guilt-ridden for not arriving earlier to save the woman, she sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding the woman. Now, between running the cafe and dealing with the chaos of the farmers' market, Amy is squeezing in a murder investigation, a run-in with her boyfriend's mom, and her own mother's quirky life decisions. Life can't get any worse...or can it? This cafe owner needs a break--in the case.</blockquote>
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<em><span style="color: #198401; font-family: "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 24pt;">About Gayle Leeson</span></em></h2>
<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-32242" height="398" src="https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GayleCooper.jpg" width="268" />
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<h4>
About the Author</h4>
<strong>Gayle Leeson</strong> is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. I also write as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the <a class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-asin="0984125841" data-amzn-link-id="63a84f82a7323d815a6d5a59a0e44ec0" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Pan-Gayle-Trent/dp/0984125841/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=dollycsthoug-20&linkId=63a84f82a7323d815a6d5a59a0e44ec0&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6140104" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series</a><img alt="" border="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6140104" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=dollycsthoug-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=63a84f82a7323d815a6d5a59a0e44ec0&_cb=1508525248962" width="0" /> and the <a class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-asin="B0153P116I" data-amzn-link-id="62a23fe525a2b388141c6e1023aee31c" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Myrtle Crumb Mystery series" href="http://www.amazon.com/Perp-Circumstance-Myrtle-Crumb-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0153P116I/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=dollycsthoug-20&linkId=62a23fe525a2b388141c6e1023aee31c&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5589038" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Myrtle Crumb Mystery series</a><img alt="" border="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5589038" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=dollycsthoug-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=62a23fe525a2b388141c6e1023aee31c&_cb=1508525259213" width="0" />. As Amanda Lee, I write the <a class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-asin="0451230965" data-amzn-link-id="a18be1519c2c556e2d2ce5213662ac7b" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword=" Embroidery Mystery series" href="http://www.amazon.com/Quick-Thread-Embroidery-Mystery/dp/0451230965/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=dollycsthoug-20&linkId=a18be1519c2c556e2d2ce5213662ac7b&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_4685465" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Embroidery Mystery series</a><img alt="" border="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_4685465" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=dollycsthoug-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=a18be1519c2c556e2d2ce5213662ac7b&_cb=1508525268642" width="0" />.<br />
The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The heroine, Daphne, has returned to her hometown of Brea Ridge to open a cake baking and decorating business and is wrestling with the question of whether or not one can go home again. She enjoys spending time with her sister, nephew, and niece, but she and her mother have a complicated relationship that isn’t always pleasant. Daphne has also reconnected with her high school sweetheart and is pursuing a rekindled romance while desperately trying to put her past behind her.<br />
<br />
Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is “a must read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!”<br />
Says Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “One day I found myself happily reading . . . mysteries by Gayle Trent. If she can win me over . . . she’s got a great future.”<br />
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The Embroidery Mystery series features a heroine who recently moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop. Marcy Singer left her home in San Francisco, along with the humiliation of being left at the altar, in order to move to Tallulah Falls and realize her dream of owning her own shop. She takes along her faithful companion, a one-year-old Irish wolfhound named Angus O’Ruff. She makes many new friends in Tallulah Falls, but she also makes a few enemies. Thankfully, her best friend Sadie MacKenzie and her husband Blake run the coffeehouse right down the street from Marcy’s shop, the Seven-Year Stitch; and Detective Ted Nash always has her back.<br />
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Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of the genre will take kindly to Marcy, her Irish wolfhound, Angus O’Ruff, and Tallulah Falls. This is a fast, pleasant read with prose full of pop culture references and, of course, sharp needlework puns.”<br />
Pat Cooper of RT Book Reviews says, “If her debut here is any indication, Lee’s new series is going to be fun, spunky and educational. She smoothly interweaves plot with her character’s personality and charm, while dropping tantalizing hints of stitching projects and their history. Marcy Singer is young, fun, sharp and likable. Readers will be looking forward to her future adventures.” (RT Book Reviews nominated The Quick and the Thread for a 2010 Book Reviewers’ Choice Award in the Amateur Sleuth category)<br />
I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I’m having a blast writing this new series!<br />
<strong>Webpage:</strong> <a href="http://www.gayleleeson.com/">http://www.gayleleeson.com</a> <a href="http://www.gayletrent.com/">http://www.gayletrent.com</a>
<strong>Facebook:</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GayleTrentandAmandaLee/">https://www.facebook.com/GayleTrentandAmandaLee/</a>
<strong>Twitter:</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/GayleTrent">https://twitter.com/GayleTrent</a><br />
<strong>Pinterest:</strong> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/gayletrent/pins/">https://www.pinterest.com/gayletrent/pins/</a>
<strong>Instagram:</strong> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gayletrentleeson/">https://www.instagram.com/gayletrentleeson/</a><br />
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<strong>Purchase Links - <a href="https://amzn.to/2JEXyf1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/apples-and-alibis-gayle-leeson/1132412550?ean=2940156473090" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">B&N</a> <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/apples-and-alibis" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kobo</a></strong>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-36747237101084986452019-08-12T00:00:00.000-04:002019-08-12T07:56:23.666-04:00BLOG TOUR--The Adventures of Billy Bog Brush: The Lost Boy by Tim Constable & Ian Campbell #TheLostBoyBook @fayerogersuk @authoright @BBBAdventures <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The
Adventures of Billy Bog Brush: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b>The
Lost Boy </b></span></span>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">by
Tim Constable & Ian </b><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Campbell</b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://i.ibb.co/hH7gz2m/ebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ebook" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/hH7gz2m/ebook.jpg" width="395" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><u><b>Information about the
Book</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
The Adventures of Billy Bog Brush: The Lost Boy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Author:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
Ian Campbell & Tim Constable</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Release
Date:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> 15</span><sup><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;">
August 2019</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Genre:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
Picture Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Page
Count:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> 40</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
Clink Street Publishing</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Goodreads
Link:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amazon
Link:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Billy-Bog-Brush-Lost-ebook/dp/B07V3P74BB"><span style="font-size: small;">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Billy-Bog-Brush-Lost-ebook/dp/B07V3P74BB</span></a></u></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Summary: </b></span><span style="text-align: center;">While
Billy is out for a walk, he comes across a lady who is looking rather
worried. Offering to help, he discovers that her son hasn’t come
home for his tea when he should have. Billy, who knows all the places
where the local children go to play, suggests that he could look for
him, which leads to an adventure involving various people and places
in his home town, Flushington! In this intriguing story, Billy once
again demonstrates his willingness to help others and work out a way
to do something which at first seems beyond him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;"><b>Review: </b>First of all, for anyone asking "What's a bog brush?"--in America, we call it a toilet brush. And yes, that's an unusual item to be the main character in a children's book, but if you look past that and concentrate on the content of the story, it's a terrific little book.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">The illustrations are large and very attractive, and the text is easy to read. The theme of "I CAN DO THAT!" is repeated throughout the story, which is always a good lesson to teach children. Billy also takes the time to make a plan when he has to accomplish something, breaking it down into small steps, which is another good lesson for youngsters.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">At the end of the story, there are several activity pages related to the story, providing more opportunities for adults and children to discuss the events in the story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;"><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://i.ibb.co/J2h4MZY/Ian-Campbell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ian-Campbell" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.ibb.co/J2h4MZY/Ian-Campbell.jpg" width="149" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><u><b>Author Information</b></u></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Ian
Campbell</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ian
Campbell is a senior storeman for the MOD. Born into a military
family, he has lived in Germany, Northern Ireland, and the United
Kingdom. His first book, A Walk with God, was published in 2011.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/j6rpknT/Tim-Constable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Tim-Constable" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.ibb.co/j6rpknT/Tim-Constable.jpg" width="147" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Tim
Constable</b></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tim
Constable works as a data analyst. He is also a musician, in the
Coventry Cathedral choir as a boy, then later composing and playing
in his own rock band. As a graphic artist, he has designed logos and
flyers for various organizations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 12</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday
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August</b></span></div>
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August</b></span></div>
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23</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><span style="color: black;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>rd</b></span></span></sup></span></span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>
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<br />Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-71876408744442604552019-08-05T00:00:00.000-04:002019-08-05T01:37:01.395-04:00BLOG TOUR: There's A Giraffe In My Bath by Louise Andrews #Giraffeinmybath @author_andrews @authoright @fayerogerpr<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>There's A Giraffe In My Bath</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>by Louise Andrews</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="ebook-cover" border="0" height="400" src="https://i.ibb.co/sK2BRJX/ebook-cover.jpg" width="391" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Summary:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">When
four toy animals come to life, they become unlikely friends. The toys
try to help each other out in a fun bath time adventure. But they
might just need some extra help..! There's A Giraffe In My Bath! is
the first story for children between the ages of 3 and 6 by Louise
Andrews. Illustrations are by Nick Roberts.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Review: </b>This is a quick and easy read which would make a wonderful bedtime story for young children. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the text is kept to a minimum on each page. The story is an adventurous one and should keep listeners engaged all the way through.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Rating: </b>Five stars</span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><u><b>Information
about the Book</b></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
There’s a Giraffe in my Bath</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Author:
</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">Louise Andrews</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Release
Date:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> 9</span><sup><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;">
July 2019</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Genre:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
Picture Book</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Page
Count:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> 20</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
Clink Street Publishing</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Goodreads
Link:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47315093-there-s-a-giraffe-in-my-bath"><span style="font-size: small;">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47315093-there-s-a-giraffe-in-my-bath</span></a></u></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amazon
Link:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theres-Giraffe-Bath-Louise-Andrews-ebook/dp/B07RZ5B3BH/">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theres-Giraffe-Bath-Louise-Andrews-ebook/dp/B07RZ5B3BH/</a></span></u></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><br /></u></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><br /></u></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><u><b>Author Information</b></u></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Louise Andrews is a mum to two young boys, whose love for taking all
manner of toys in to the bath inspired this story. This is the first
book written by the author, who particularly enjoys creating rhyming
stories for her children. What started as simple stories to entertain
her children has become a passion for creating exciting stories for
children everywhere.</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
The
great news is that there’s more to come from Louise. There’s a
Giraffe in my Bath has sparked the imagination and led to another
children’s book which is currently being written, with more ideas
for future books too.</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
Louise
has always had a love of books and still finds time to read all types
of fiction. Her favourite authors include; Jodi Taylor, JK Rowling,
Maeve Binchy, Katherine Arden, Ben Arronovitch, Jill Mansell and
Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is Louise’s
favourite book.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
With
two boys to look after (3 if you include the husband!), spare time is
at a premium. But when she finds time, Louise enjoys exercise
classes, discovering new box sets to binge on, music, cooking (and
eating!) and, of course, reading and writing books.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Twitter:</b>
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://twitter.com/author_andrews">http://twitter.com/author_andrews</a></u></span>
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Facebook:</b>
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.facebook.com/louise.andrews.58152559">https://www.facebook.com/louise.andrews.58152559</a></u></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 5</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://memesandfiction.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Book
Babble</span></a></u></span></div>
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<br />
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<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday
6</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Donna’s
Book Blog</span></a></u></span></div>
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<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
7</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://thepenmuse.net/"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Pen and Muse Book Reviews</span></a></u></span></div>
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<br />
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<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday
8</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://mixingrealitywithfiction.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Mixing
Reality with Fiction</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday
9</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Jazzy
Book Reviews</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday
10</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://amazeballsbookaddicts.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Amazeball
Book Addicts</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday
11</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://bigbooklittlebook.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Big
Book Little Book</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday
12</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://www.bound4escape.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Bound
4 Escape</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday
13</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://infinitepagesbookreviews.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Infinite
Pages</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
14</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://twirlingbookprincess.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Twirling
Book Princess</span></a></u></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday
15</b></span><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>th</b></span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
August</b></span></div>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-42907332461810150002019-07-30T00:00:00.000-04:002019-07-30T13:13:13.223-04:00BOOK BIRTHDAY BLITZ Heathcliff: The Unanswered Questions Finally Answered? by Sue Barnard<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="AcRsrakA" border="0" height="251" src="https://i.ibb.co/QN75VDC/AcRsrakA.png" width="640" /></span><br />
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Book Information</span></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Genre: </span><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Historical fiction</span></span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Paperback:</span> 167 pages</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Publisher:</span> CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 9, 2018)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 1720757607</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-1720757603</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="WGRSVybw" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.ibb.co/2ZPQfP2/WGRSVybw.jpg" width="212" /> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Synopsis: </span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">It would
degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…”</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Cathy’s
immortal words from </i>Wuthering Heights<i> change Heathcliff’s
life. At just seventeen years of age, heartbroken and penniless, he
runs away to face an unknown future.</i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Three years
later, he returns – much improved in manners, appearance and
prosperity.</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what
happened during those years? How could he have made his fortune, from
nothing? Who might his parents have been? And what fate turned him
into literature’s most famous anti-hero?</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">For almost two
centuries, these questions have remained unanswered.</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Until now…</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Purchase Link
-<a href="http://mybook.to/heathcliff" target="_blank"> </a></b><a href="http://mybook.to/heathcliff" target="_blank">mybook.to/heathcl<span style="color: #4472c4;">iff </span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Review: </b>Being a HUGE fan of Wuthering Heights, I jumped at the chance to read this book. It is an imagined telling of the years Heathcliff was away from The Heights and The Grange. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The story is told from a variety of viewpoints, both people we know from the original book and newly introduced characters. They combine to tell a dark, dramatic adventure and offer a believable tale of Heathcliff and his changing circumstances and personality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After reading this book, I no longer look at Heathcliff as a sympathetic, romantic figure. He is twisted, manipulative and evil.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The author does a great job of keeping the Bronte feel in her telling of this story. This is my first exposure to her writing, but it will definitely not be my last.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating: </b>Four stars</span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/Lk7SCH8/gApr690N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="gApr690N" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/Lk7SCH8/gApr690N.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author Bio – </b><i>Sue
Barnard is a British novelist, editor and award-winning poet whose
family background is far stranger than any work of fiction. She would
write a book about it if she thought anybody would believe her. </i>
</span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0.19in; margin-top: 0.19in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sue
was born in North Wales but has spent most of her life in and around
Manchester. She speaks French like a Belgian, German like a
schoolgirl, and Italian and Portuguese like an Englishwoman abroad.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0.19in; margin-top: 0.19in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i>Her
mind is so warped that she has appeared on BBC TV’s </i>Only
Connect<i>
quiz show, and she has also compiled questions for BBC Radio 4's
fiendishly difficult </i>Round
Britain Quiz<i>.
This once caused one of her sons to describe her as "professionally
weird." The label has stuck.</i></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0.19in; margin-top: 0.19in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i>Sue’s
first novel, </i>The
Ghostly Father<i>
(a new take on the traditional story of Romeo & Juliet), was
officially released on St Valentine's Day 2014. Since then she has
produced five more novels: </i>Nice
Girls Don’t <i>(2014),
</i>The
Unkindest Cut of All<i>
(2015), </i>Never
on Saturday<i>
(2017), </i>Heathcliff
<i>(2018),
and </i>Finding
Nina<i>
(2019).</i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sue now lives
in Cheshire, UK, with her extremely patient husband and a large
collection of unfinished scribblings. </i>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Social Media
Links – </b>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Blog:
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="http://broad-thoughts-from-a-home.blogspot.co.uk/">http://broad-thoughts-from-a-home.blogspot.co.uk</a></u></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook:
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.facebook.com/suebarnardauthor">https://www.facebook.com/suebarnardauthor</a></u></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter:
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://twitter.com/AuthorSusanB">https://twitter.com/AuthorSusanB</a></u></span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instagram:
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/suebarnardauthor/">https://www.instagram.com/suebarnardauthor/</a></u></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon:
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Barnard/e/B00IF4ZJJU/">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Barnard/e/B00IF4ZJJU/</a></u></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">RNA:
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u><a href="https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna_author/sue-barnard/">https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna_author/sue-barnard/</a></u></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</div>
<b></b></div>
Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4537740193808849400.post-11738875127519199482019-06-18T00:00:00.000-04:002019-06-18T00:00:00.836-04:00BOOK TOUR: Forget My Name, J.S. Monroe<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="41966291" border="0" src="https://i.ibb.co/2NN2Z6g/41966291.jpg" /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BOOK INFORMATION</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genre: </b>Psychological thriller</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<ul data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><b>Publisher:</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Head of Zeus (2018)</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Language:</span> English</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-10:</span> 9781786698049</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ISBN-13:</span> 978-1786698049</span></li>
<li data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-wakoopa-seen="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">ASIN:</span> 1786698048</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">How do you know who to trust... </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><br />...when you don't even know who you are?</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are outside your front door.<br /><br />There are strangers in your house.<br /><br />Then you realise. You can't remember your name.</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She arrived at the train station after a difficult week at work. Her bag had been stolen, and with it, her identity. Her whole life was in there – passport, wallet, house key. When she tried to report the theft, she couldn't remember her own name. All she knew was her own address.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now she's outside Tony and Laura's front door. She says she lives in their home. They say they have never met her before.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of them is lying.</span></b><br />
<div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Review: </b>This is an AMAZING story! I wish it was receiving more buzz online, and that more of the readers I know were reading it. It absolutely deserves to be a best-seller and to be made into a movie.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is one of those stories that draws you in from the very beginning. With a first line like "I can't remember my own name," you just KNOW it has tons of potential.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are so many twists and turns to the plot that I was always coming up with a new theory--and I never managed to get it entirely right.<br /><br />The story is told from several different perspectives, which adds to the twistiness of the plot. It is sometimes difficult to know which characters are telling the truth and which are lying, and sometimes you may want to shake the main character for her life choices. But it is definitely worth reading this book from beginning to end.</span></span></div>
<div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating: </b>4 stars</span></span></div>
<div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the author</span></b></div>
<a href="https://i.ibb.co/Bj6y0wg/6kuJT65N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="6kuJT65N" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.ibb.co/Bj6y0wg/6kuJT65N.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">J.S.Monroe is the pseudonym of the British author </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/865780._Jon_Stock" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; text-decoration-line: none;" title=" Jon Stock">Jon Stock</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">. Jon is the author of five spy novels and a new standalone psychological thriller, Find Me, to be published in 2017 under the name of JS Monroe. He lives in Wiltshire with his wife and three children.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><br /></span></span>
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Teresa Kanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637414178733769112noreply@blogger.com4