Book Blitz: Take Them By Storm (Angel Island #3)

Take Them By Storm (Angel Island #3) by Marie Landry
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Sadie Fitzgerald has always been different, and not just because she makes her own clothes and would rather stay home watching Doctor Who than party with kids her age. When it’s time to leave Angel Island for college, Sadie is eager to put her old life behind her. 

Small-minded people and rumors have plagued her for years, but with the love of her adoptive family, the O’Dells, Sadie has learned to embrace who she is. Now she’s not afraid to admit the rumors about her are true: she’s gay.

For the first time in her life, Sadie feels free to be herself. She dives into college life and begins volunteering at the local LGBT center, where she discovers her small-town upbringing left holes in her education about life outside Angel Island.

The world is a bigger and more accepting place than Sadie ever imagined. She’s finally found where she belongs, but with the reappearance of someone from her past, an unexpected new friendship, and a chance at love, Sadie soon realizes she still has a lot to learn about life, friendship, and love.

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Giveaway:

Promotional Event: Life's Riverbed

Life's Riverbed by Haidji

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Release Date: July 16, 2014

Buy Links:

Free Here

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Excerpt:

Square Table.
2 persons, 4 places.
One for the handbags; one empty place.
The plate was in front of Sophie.

Marianne was sitting in front of her, speaking so much that Sophie could not hear it anymore:

“Why you don’t move to Tokyo? There you could learn Japanese and work as a teacher. Or you could move to France, learn French and work as a teacher too. Or stay where you are, but work as a teacher in a school. Any school. But what you do, this what you do now, will bring you nowhere. It is not even a street with an ending. It is not a path anymore. The world doesn’t need creators, we already have everything we need in this world.”

Sophia was looking at her plate…

Looking at the food on her plate.

Blog Tour: Every Shattered Thing

Every Shattered Thing by AUTHOR
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Stephanie fights reality every day. The voices inside, the ones declaring her worth, deem her broken, used and dirty. She is an object. A toy. Something to be tossed aside when bored. Who will believe her if she whispers the truth about her wrecking ball of a family?

Eventually, her secret explodes and the person who means the most to her knows just how shattered she is and why she's so afraid. But rescue is closer than she realizes. Hidden in plain sight, her horror hasn’t been ignored by everyone.

Racing against the truth of what she faces, forces are joining together and developing a plan to free her from the hell in her own backyard. And while she’s at her lowest point, she’s hit with the beauty of love at any cost - redemption in the face of ruin. Will it be enough?

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Excerpt:

As always, dinner at the Stevens’ house proves to be an event. Emma worked all day on braising beef into some incredible creation. She gives me a generous portion and at first I’m wondering if I will ever be able to finish it. Halfway through, I understand this is a far cry from the SPAM I normally eat, and I determine to shove every piece in to my mouth.

“How was work today, love?” Emma asks Jude while fighting Benjamin’s attempts to grab every utensil he can reach.

“It was good. Tiring. We’ve limited our search to a few key players in the field. No names, just leads. The progress seems promising.”

Review: The Cuckoos of Batch Magna

The Cuckoos of Batch Magna by Peter Maughan
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Humor, Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: March 1, 2004
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

When Sir Humphrey Miles Pinkerton Strange, huntin' shootin' and fishin' Squire of Batch Magna, goes to his reward (doubtless to find God as true-blue British as his more recent but equally worthy ancestors), his rambling but rotting estate passes to distant relative Humph, a hapless dollar doodler in New York.

With $$ in his eyes, Humph decides to make a killing by transforming the sleepy backwater of Batch Magna into a theme park image of rural England - a vacation paradise for free-spending US millionaires.But while the village's threadbare businessmen see the plan as a windfall, the tenants of the estate's dilapidated houseboats are above any consideration of filthy lucre and stand their ground for tradition's sake.

And because they consider eviction notices not to be cricket.Each disgruntled faction sees the other as the unwelcome cuckoo chick in the family nest!So, lead by randy pulp-crime writer Phineas Cook and Lt-Commander James Cunningham DSO, DSC and Bar, RN (ret) - a man with a glass eye to suit every occasion (and all painted with naval battle scenes where the Union Jack flies triumphant) - the motley crew takes on Wall Street . broadside to broadside.

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I loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

When you enter the world of Batch Magna, you don’t want to leave. It’s like spending a warm summer day with good friends. You don’t want your time together to end and when it does, you’re ready to plan you next adventure with them.

Promotional Event: The Last Gentle Dentist

The Last Gentle Dentist by Oliver Pearl
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: August 25, 2012
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Based on actual events, spanning continents from San Francisco to Paris, from Amsterdam to Odessa, from New York to Siberia.

The Last Gentle Dentist is a novel about a modern age Casanova, a romantic-vigilante, who is fond of pain medications and elective plastic surgery, whose life is a tumultuous river running with the speed of a putrid pond, which makes an unexpected turn when he goes on the run from the law due to charges of medical fraud. He wanders the streets of Europe looking for ways to stay.

This search throws him into bony arms and narrow beds of people he meets, fugitives in their own right, only to bring to a new light his own immaturity and unscrupulousness he only yesterday called boyishness and charm. He revisits his recent past, ornate with Vicodin fountains and Ecstasy-laced threesome fender-benders, while adding more crumpled and soon blood-stained pages to his love affair with Life.

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Where The Last Gentle Dentist Was During His Disappearance.

I simply don't know. I can only speculate on his whereabouts. I wrote the book overwhelmed by sadness. One morning in the Summer of 2003 I sat up on a mattress in my NYC apartment and started writing. I continued for the next 9 months until the first draft (456 pages) was finished.

The inspiration came from this bright and strange man that I had the great fortune to observe, admire and be to mad at frequently during ten years of my life which ultimately led to the events described in the book.

Cover Reveal: Greed (The Seven Deadly #2)

Inkslinger Promotional Event

Greed (The Seven Deadly #2) by Fisher Amelie
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: Fall 2013
Book Description:

Gather ‘round, love, because I want you. I want what you have, I want what you don’t have, I want more of what I already have. I want. But if you so much as ask for something in return, go ahead and walk away. Know if you want to play in my world, it’s every man for themselves and the weak become mine. Leeches will be obliterated because I make it my job to destroy them. I protect what’s mine and I take what’s yours...because that’s what I do. I want.

My story will not endear me to you and, frankly, I could care less if it does because I’m in this for the money and nothing else. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a corrupt, money hungry, immoral asshole from Los Angeles. I’m every man’s worst nightmare and every girl’s fantasy.

Promotional Event: The Disappearing Girl

The Disappearing Girl by Heather Wood
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Kayla Marlowe is slowly vanishing…

Last year, Kayla’s world imploded. Her beloved father died, leaving her alone with a narcissistic mother who is quick to criticize her daughter’s appearance. During her winter break from college, Kayla’s dangerous obsession with losing weight begins.

Kayla feels like her world changes for the better overnight. Being skinny seems to be the key to the happiness she has desperately been seeking. Her mother and friends shower her with compliments, telling her how fantastic she looks. Kayla is starving, but no one knows it.

Cameron Bennett explodes into Kayla’s life. He’s sexy and kind—he has every quality she has been looking for in a guy. As Cameron grows closer to Kayla and learns of how far she’s willing to go to stay thin, he becomes desperate to save her.

Kayla’s struggles with anorexia and bulimia reach a breaking point and she is forced to confront her body image issues in order to survive. She wonders if Cameron could be the one to help heal her from the pain of her past.

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Excerpt:

The images on the TV passed before my eyes in a blur. Beautiful faces all staring back at me, secret smiles playing on their lips, bliss shining through their eyes. I envied everything about them—their effortless beauty, their thin and toned bodies. But most of all, I coveted their happiness.

I was sprawled across Cameron’s couch. Minutes earlier, he had come up next to me and tried to coax me to dinner. I waved him off, but he was persistent. He had spent the past hour cooking spaghetti and meatballs while I was a motionless blob on his couch. The least I could do was eat, but at that second I’d rather have traveled to the depths of Hell than put food in my body.

My funk had worsened since Lila left to return home the previous weekend. I missed her fiercely. She had left on a sour note, her disapproval over my diet still clear in the tightness of her expression.

Promotional Event: And the Soft Wind Blows

And the Soft Wind Blows by Lance Umenhofer
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Poetic Fiction
Release Date:
Buy Links:

Buy from Author

Book Description:

Timmy Enosh is a peculiar, small man: 5' 3", one hundred and fifteen pounds, and is a pharmacist in Ashton City, Tennessee. He finds himself at 43 years old as his life starts to fall apart: his three hundred pound wife disappears, his romantic interest has lost interest and has gained hatred toward him, his coworkers harass him, customers verbally assault him, and he has the strange urge to adopt his foulmouthed, 18-year-old coworker, Alex.

When things start to pile up, Timmy must find a way to deal: he turns to Alex to supply him with marijuana, starts sewing an elaborate Mr. Mistoffelees costume, finds solace in the wild, etc., etc., etc. And the soft, constant wind of change blows him on, on, and on.

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The Writing Process

It’s funny how little is planned when I sit down to write. I imagine most authors having notebooks, maybe multiple, of ideas and plot points and character sheets for their novels, and when they sit down to write, they compile all of their ideas into paragraph form, having every intention to make their ways to the final climaxes planned out months, maybe years before.

But, through the years, it’s seemed that the more and more I plan out a piece or have a vivid picture of where the story is going or who the characters are, the more and more I stray from it. I do not like to write within constrictions, even if the constrictions are made by myself.

Blog Tour: David's Song - April R Talley: Top Ten List

David's Song by A.R. Talley
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: November 23, 2010
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

Taken from the book cover: Annie only ever really loved two men in her life. One broke her heart, the other married her. Four children and fifteen years later, Annie’s marriage is in jeopardy. Money is tight and her husband questions the very foundation of their relationship.

When Annie is unexpectedly given the opportunity to see the young man who broke her heart — a man who is now a megastar in the music industry — Annie is faced with choices. Choices that will determine what is of more value — a second chance at lost love and unfulfilled dreams or commitment, trust, and love built on years of experience.

A psychologically subtle, yet compelling tale about how the instinct and need for love overcomes self-doubt and personal inadequacy.

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1. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - I love the interplay of relationships in the story
2. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luis Zafron - it has the most unexpected twist in it that I have ever read
3. Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell - show the tragic results of poor choices

Book Blast: David's Song

David's Song by A.R. Talley
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: November 23, 2010
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

Taken from the book cover: Annie only ever really loved two men in her life. One broke her heart, the other married her. Four children and fifteen years later, Annie’s marriage is in jeopardy. Money is tight and her husband questions the very foundation of their relationship.

When Annie is unexpectedly given the opportunity to see the young man who broke her heart — a man who is now a megastar in the music industry — Annie is faced with choices. Choices that will determine what is of more value — a second chance at lost love and unfulfilled dreams or commitment, trust, and love built on years of experience.

A psychologically subtle, yet compelling tale about how the instinct and need for love overcomes self-doubt and personal inadequacy.

♥ ♥ ♥
Excerpt:
Classes started a few days later and the rigors of college life set in. Being a closet dancer, I really was excited that fi rst morning to attend social dance. Th e class was always closed out, being one of the most popular the university off ered. But I was nervous, too, knowing how backwards I felt around boys and unsure of what to say as we danced. I decided to focus more on appearance than small talk and woke early to spend more time with my hair and makeup.

It was a beautiful September morning to be walking to class. The sky was an azure blue, the air crisp but not cold, and the mountains appeared as dark shadows with the sun brightening the sky behind them. I loved Provo. I missed the green of Ohio, but the majesty of the mountain range always left me feeling wistful. I felt like I lived in a fortress, the mountains protecting me and my world of fantasies.

Cover Reveal: Love at 11

AToMR Promotional Event

Love at 11 by Mari Mancusi
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: April 24, 2013

Cover Designer: Okay Creations

Book Description:

When Maddy graduated from Columbia University, she was ready to change the world. She'd get a job at Newsline, meet a nice guy, and live happily ever after with a real designer handbag on her arm. Five years later, she's stuck producing puff pieces for News 9 San Diego--where "if it bleeds, it leads." She's still single, her family's falling apart, and so is her knock-off Kate Spade. 

Then Jamie Hayes walks through her newsroom door. The former filmmaker is everything Maddy has ever dreamed of. Creative, smart, sweet—and with eyes that could make a girl melt. The perfect guy…but perfectly unavailable. And the more Maddy tries to stay away—the further she starts to fall.

Cover Reveal: The Last Hour (Thompson Sisters)

AToMR Promotional Event

The Last Hour(Thompson Sisters) by Charles Sheehan-Miles
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Design By: Okay Creations

Book Description:

Twenty-seven year old Carrie Thompson-Sherman has the life she always wanted: her PhD, a prestigious fellowship, and an amazing husband.

Her life begins to unravel as a jealous colleague puts her fellowship in jeopardy and a haunting secret Ray Sherman carried home from Afghanistan comes to light.