Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Sacrifice: A Review

Description (Goodreads):

The sickness destroyed everyone over the age of fourteen. All across London diseased adults are waiting, hungry predators with rotten flesh and ravaged minds.
Small Sam and his unlikely ally, The Kid, have survived. They’re safe with Ed and his friends at the Tower of London, but Sam is desperate to find his sister.

Their search for Ella means Sam and The Kid must cross the forbidden zone. And what awaits them there is more terrifying than any of the horror they’ve suffered so far . . .


My Review:

Another creepy installment to The Enemy Saga. In this one, Small Sam is back in the story. We follow him and the Kid, as well as Ed, and Shadowman. This group of characters is the one I've grown a fondness for. I super hope they end up surviving. In this book, at least, they do. Sure plenty of other kids they travel with die, but it's an apocalypse book, so what can you expect?

This is one graphic series. My gag reflexes have certainly been triggered. The sickness that has spread over the adults reduces them to walking corpses covered in boils and dying flesh. Blech. Digusting.

And yet, these kids are hardened to it. Sure in extreme cases they still are grossed out, but mostly they ignore it. I suppose if that was my everyday, I would do. Thankfully it's not.

And not only are the adults zombie-like, but they are starting to organize. Which is super freaky. They are somehow communicating, gaining up on the kids. And, some of them can talk. No longer are they mindless freaks. They're still freaks, but now intelligent.

Their intelligence gives us insight on the disease, plus the one who can talk knows things. I'm beginning to believe there's a heck of a lot more to thus disease then simply mindless, cannibal adults.

*Shudder* Seriously, thus series creeps me out more often then not.

I give this a 4.5 out of 5!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Book Blitz: The Guilt Free Guidebook for Moms


Ready to learn how to  "Eliminate guilt and perfectionism, Identify the “Superwoman Burnout” cycle that keeps you trapped in monotony, Escape the “Compare Snare” to shine in your own light, and Finally and fully embrace the Joy cradled in your arms and in your heart."

Then let's get to know this book!!!

 

Synopsis

Written by a veteran mother of nine still up to her eyeballs in mud pies and mayhem, The

Guilt-Free Guidebook for Moms is sure to keep you tickled, tearing up and turning pages as you

learn how to break free of the chokehold of an endless To-Do list, so you can finally enjoy the

beauty that is all around you.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-guilt-free-guidebook-for-moms-amy-price/1121754466?ean=9780981761992

http://topshelfpub.com/index.php/mystery/product/115-the-guilt-free-guidebook-for-moms





Author Bio

Amy Price loves to create, write, and dream in and around managing the chaos generated by

her amazing husband, their nine children and their lively homeschooling lifestyle. Amy

considers herself a “recovering addict” where babies are concerned. She just can’t get

enough. Her hobbies include preserving memories, quantum physics, designing wild and

delicious cakes, and death by pasta. Her kids and their friends consider her everything from

hilarious to crazy, and she just gets better with age.

From only child to “CEO” of a bustling household, one constant in Amy’s life has been her love

of writing. Team that with her natural draw to children and studying at the Institute for

Children’s Literature became a given. Amy and her family currently terrorize the Rocky

Mountains of Idaho, but she looks forward to sharing her message of Joy around the world.

With a wealth of ideas from self-helps to coaching programs, mysteries to fantasy novels, you

never know what Amy will come out with next, but it is sure to revolve around her continuous

message of love, family and joy.



 www.facebook.com/GuiltFreeMoms

www.pinterest.com/for1715



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Saturday, April 25, 2015

Book Launch: The Truth About Hope

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

We're launching the BOOK TOUR for
The Truth About Hope
By Kate James
Can Hope help her hometown that holds long grudges and possibly find love with her old high school sweetheart along the way? Come along on the tour to get to know a little more about
Tour Schedule:
April 24th - Launch
April 26th - Word Wranglers & Write & Rewrite
April 27th - Underneath the Covers
April 28th - Letters from Annie (Douglass) Lima
April 29th - Zerina Blossom's Books
April 30th - I Am A Reader
May 1st - Katie's Clean Book Collection & Copyright1985
May 3rd - My Love for Reading Keeps Growing
May 4th - i blog 4 books & Rockin' Book Reviews
May 5th - The Written Adventure & Write from the Heart
May 6th - Deal Sharing Aunt & Bookworm Lisa
May 7th - Getting Your Read On
May 8th - Grand Finale



More About The Truth About Hope and Author Kate James


What is your motivation behind this book? Why did you want to write it?


My motivation behind all my books is to entertain readers with stories that they hopefully find engaging, unpredictable, and morally and emotionally satisfying.

The idea for this book arose partially from my respect for Hope’s real-life counterparts—people who care for, rehabilitate and locate forever homes for the animals that find their way into shelters.

What do you hope readers take with them when they read your book? 

I would like readers to feel good about the story’s conclusion, and believe that no matter what hardships we may face, we can overcome them with faith, perseverance and—of course—love!

Do you have a favorite scene? 

One of my favorite scenes is when Hope and Luke meet unexpectedly outside a pet food store after her return to her hometown of Canyon Creek.

Share something about you that is unique. 

I wanted to write from a relatively young age, but a family tragedy, school and career intervened. A few years ago, my ever-intuitive husband realized that writing was—or could be—something important to me, and he gifted me a personal laptop for my birthday. While outwardly appreciative, in my mind I was wondering why I needed another laptop, when I had a perfectly good one from work that was constantly with me. Clearly my husband knew better than me, because having a separate computer that I didn’t associate with my essentially 24/7 day job was pivotal. That gift ultimately resulted in my first publishing contract and, two years later, my decision to step down from a full-time CEO role (that I enjoyed and found rewarding) to pursue writing as a career. I owe a debt of gratitude to all my readers for enabling me to fulfil my dream of writing!




The Truth About Hope
by Kate James
Adult Contemporary Romance
May 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming


Who is Hope Wilson?

Is she the girl her former hometown thinks she is? Or the girl Luke Carter once loved—and maybe still does?

When Hope returns to Canyon Creek, Texas, to honor her

father’s last wishes, there’s only one person on her mind: her high school sweetheart, Luke. The boy she lied to when she had to leave Canyon Creek as a teen, finding it easier to hide what she really felt than deal with the grief of loss. Her father’s fortune could make a big difference to Canyon Creek—but Hope finds that the townspeople have a long memory about his misdeeds. With a plan to make amends on his behalf, Hope learns the truth about herself. And the truth about love.
Kate James 2.jpgKate James spent eight years of her childhood living in foreign countries as her professional parents travelled on business. She lived in four countries and spoke five languages before settling down in Canada again to attend university. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering, she held a variety of positions in the field of real estate development and operations, and ran three substantial organizations. While her writing during this period was mostly business related, including presentations and speeches she delivered both nationally and internationally, her passion is and always has been fiction.

Kate's business and personal experiences enable her to write fiction with a deep, often first-hand knowledge of what she is writing about. This approach makes Kate's stories richer and more vivid.

Kate’s goal is to entertain you with well-written, engaging stories, set in intriguing places and with strong, likeable characters. “I hope my stories bring you pleasure and entertain you. Nothing pleases me more than receiving feedback from people who have chosen to spend their valuable leisure time with one of my books,” notes Kate.

Kate married her husband, Ken, in an elegant, ocean-front wedding on a tropical island. When they are not traveling, they split their time between their properties in southern and central Ontario in Canada.
Tour Giveaway


$30 Amazon Gift Card (INT)
5 Print Copies of The Truth About Hope (US/CAN Only)
1 ebook of The Truth About Hope (INT)

Ends May 15th

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Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Book Excerpt: Katia's Promise

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.


Katia's Promise
(Shores of Indian Lake #4)
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
May 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming
 

Katia Stanislaus is a top insurance agent in Chicago, but her company is about to fold if she can't pull off a miracle. She convinces her boss to relocate to Indian Lake where she lived as a child and broke the heart of the one man whose account would be enough to save her job and her company. The only problem is that Austin McCreary has been a near recluse since the day Katia left him. Austin won't take her calls and appears set on revenge for the pain Katia has caused him. Just seeing Austin, catapaults Katia back to the time when she was 16 and so very much in love. But it was just a teenage crush, wasn't it?



Here's an Excerpt!

Today, a storm had blown into his life, and its name was Katia.

Austin picked up his iPad and stared blankly at his apps, but all he saw was Katia’s beautiful face gazing back at him. He’d always thought she was pretty; even when they were kids and then teenagers, she was his dream girl. But the sight of the woman she’d grown into was a shock on about a dozen levels. He couldn’t remember what he’d said to her, or how he’d even managed to speak. All he’d felt was an overpowering rage that had threatened to burst out of him. If he’d remained downstairs and confronted her, there was no telling how far that rage would have taken him. He would never be physical, but he feared worse. He was afraid of what he would say to her.

Betrayal like hers was something no man could ever truly conquer. Wars were fought over women who’d wronged men. Austin had loved Katia with all his heart, and she’d left him.

Night after night, in the seventeen years and eight months since she’d left, he’d tried to make sense of it all and had come up dry. He’d never gotten past it. As far as he was concerned, she’d never given him a reason. She and her mother had simply moved away, without notice, on the very day that Katia was supposed to fly to New York for his senior prom.

He would never forget standing at LaGuardia, waiting excitedly with a bouquet of flowers. But Katia hadn’t walked off the plane. He’d waited for over half an hour. He’d gone to the ticket counter and asked if they were sure all the passengers had disembarked. The woman had assured him that the plane was not only cleared and cleaned, but ready for a new boarding. After that, he’d raced to a pay phone to call his mother.

Hanna had told him that Stephania had quit her job that morning. Apparently mother and daughter had been planning their departure, since their bags were already packed. They had walked out of the house and out of the McCrearys’ lives forever.



Other Books in the Series

Love Shadow (The Shores of Indian Lakes)  A Fine Year for Love  (Shores of Indian Lake #3)


Links for Love Shadows
(Shores of Indian Lake #1)

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Harlequin


Links for Heart's Desire
(Shores of Indian Lake #2)

Amazon - Barnes & NobleHarlequin

Links for A Fine Year for Love
(Shores of Indian Lake #3)

Amazon - Barnes & NobleHarlequin


Catherine Lanigan is the bestselling author of over thirty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Heart”, Chocolate for a Woman’s Spirit”. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into over a dozen languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available on audio-cassette, CD and on electronic format. A prolific writer, she is always writing wonderful stories. She has several titles only available in ebook format on Amazon.com Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine for December, 2002, and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference. In March, 2006 Divine Nudges: Tales of Angelic Intervention and the second in Lanigan’s Angel Watch series of books, was published by HCI, the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher.

Tour Schedule:

April 19th - Launch
April 20th - Coffee Books & Art
April 21st - Deal Sharing Aunt
April 22nd - The Written Adventure
April 23rd - I Am A Reader & Zerina Blossom's Books
April 24th - LeahSay's Views & The Opinionated Woman's Musings
April 26th - Wishful Endings & Letters from Annie (Douglass) Lima
April 27th - Christy's Cozy Corners, i blog 4 books, & Getting Your Read On
April 28th - Mel's Shelves
April 29th - Katie's Clean Book Collection
April 30th - Lisa's Research & Reviews
May 1st - Grand Finale

Cover Reveal & Tour Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card
3 ebooks of Katia's Promise by Catherine Lanigan
Open internationally.
Ends May 8th

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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Book Tour LAUNCH: Katia's Promise

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.


We're launching the BOOK TOUR for:
Katia's Promise
By Catherine Lanigan

How does it feel when you've lost love, especially when you're the one who walked away? Katia is going home to win back someone she left behind. Can she mend the heart of the man she loves as well as her own?


Tour Schedule:

April 19th - Launch
April 20th - Coffee Books & Art
April 21st - Deal Sharing Aunt
April 22nd - The Written Adventure
April 23rd - I Am A Reader & Zerina Blossom's Books
April 24th - LeahSay's Views & The Opinionated Woman's Musings
April 26th - Wishful Endings & Letters from Annie (Douglass) Lima
April 27th - Christy's Cozy Corners, i blog 4 books, & Getting Your Read On
April 28th - Mel's Shelves
April 29th - Katie's Clean Book Collection
April 30th - Lisa's Research & Reviews
May 1st - Grand Finale



Exclusive Interview with the Author


1. What is your motivation behind this book? Why did you want to write it?

Katia’s story goes all the way back to the night that I woke up at three in the morning with my dream still in my head about this auburn haired, beautiful woman standing under a street lamp, around midnight, looking up at a single burning bedroom lamp in the mansion across the street. In my “vision” the woman turned to me and stared. She told me that I was to write her story. I knew instantly that she was in love with the man in that house and that he was awake thinking of her. I also knew that she couldn’t “go” to him because he would have nothing to do with her. She was the one who had broken his heart when they were teenagers and not only had he not forgotten her, he had become the town’s recluse because she abandoned him.

Katia’s story did not evolve the way some stories do for me, but was just “there—everywhere.” Despite the fact that this book is the fourth in my Indian Lake Series, her story was the impetus for my ability to “see” these romances in this small lovely town.

That said, I should go back to the very beginning of The Indian Lake Series. Long before there was Heartwarming as Harlequin’s line of books, I sensed, intuited, realized (use whatever word you want here) that there was a huge market for not just Christian based romances or Amish romances, but clean romances that had some tough issues in them as well. I invented Indian Lake along the lines of Jan Karon’s small town Midford. I loved those books, but I wanted more characters, more individual stories. I based my little town on my hometown of La Porte, Indiana---just with a better paint job on the downtown buildings.

Once the anchor characters came to me, the octogenarian Mrs. Beabots, Sarah Jensen, Maddie Strong, Liz Crenshaw, Austin McCreary and the four handsome Barzonni brothers, it didn’t take long for me to realize there were dozens upon dozens of romances and life stories in Indian Lake. My proposal for the series was 155 pages long. Half the characters I came up with in the beginning may never have a story of their own to be written as they are most likely too eccentric for Heartwarming, but who knows what the future will bring?

2. What do you hope readers take away with them when they read your books?

I always want to entertain to the best of my ability on that given moment in my life when I’m writing. Depending on the story, I hope readers find hope, laughter and inspiration to keep believing that love creates miracles in life. I truly do believe that. I believe what Jesus said, that of all the gifts, love is the greatest of all. It takes a great deal of courage to extend ourselves to someone else, to risk our hearts which can be so easily broken and say, “Here. Take my life. It’s yours.” Frankly, that’s a huge conflict to get over. I think that’s why romances appeal to so many people. Loving is not easy. It’s tough. It’s always thinking of the other person first, especially when we have so many other things to do, places to go, etc. In KATIA’S PROMISE, she has to go back to Indian Lake and face the one person whom she has betrayed. For all the good she’s done in her life since she was 16, this is a lot of regret to swallow.

3. Do you have a favorite scene?

There are quite a few in this story, but my favorite is when Katia is so desperate to get Austin to talk to her that she “breaks” into his house to see him. Katia had been the maid’s daughter in Austin’s parents’ mansion when she was a little girl. Therefore, this house had been her childhood home as well. Once she was a teenager, she fell in love with Austin and he with her. However, Katia’s mother feared their growing relationship and moved Katia and herself to Chicago on the eve of Katia’s trip to New York for Austin’s senior prom. Austin waited at La Guardia for Katia to show up, but she never did. Katia was ashamed that her mother thought she might become pregnant and was too embarrassed to ever call Austin again. Austin never forgave her—and never forgot her. Katia has kept the key to Austin’s home all these years. Once she comes back to Indian Lake, he won’t talk to her about the insurance policy she is trying to sell him. So, she goes to his house, uses the key and lets herself in. The security guards are alerted by the electronic security system. The cops show up. The housekeeper, Daisy, comes running and its pandemonium, while all this time, Austin is upstairs in the shower. It’s an embarrassing, but very humorous moment for Katia and Austin both!

4. Share something about you that is unique. How/where you write.

As I’ve become friends with authors over my thirty years of writing, I don’t think I’m unique at all. Maybe I used to be, but not really. I write at the same desk where I wrote my very first book, but now I’m back in my family home where I grew up. I have an incredible nearly 100 year old golf course to look out on. I love trees and animals, and right now the deer are eating all my holly bushes and have destroyed my landscaping. But they are living. My husband says we’ll buy iron yard sculptures in the future. Maybe not. I have more books in my head than I have time to write, but I’m trying. I write screenplays as well as novels and my husband is a film producer. Back in the day, when Romancing the Stone came out my life was beyond unique, it was incredible. Michael Douglas and Twentieth Century Fox sent me on book tour all across the US and even to Europe to promote the book and film. In Taormina, Sicily I stood on a stage in a coliseum that was 400 years older than the coliseum in Rome in front of thousands of people who were chanting my name. THAT was like living the lead character role in a novel.




Katia's Promise
(Shores of Indian Lake #4)
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
May 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming
 

Katia Stanislaus is a top insurance agent in Chicago, but her company is about to fold if she can't pull off a miracle. She convinces her boss to relocate to Indian Lake where she lived as a child and broke the heart of the one man whose account would be enough to save her job and her company. The only problem is that Austin McCreary has been a near recluse since the day Katia left him. Austin won't take her calls and appears set on revenge for the pain Katia has caused him. Just seeing Austin, catapaults Katia back to the time when she was 16 and so very much in love. But it was just a teenage crush, wasn't it?


Other Books in the Series


Love Shadow (The Shores of Indian Lakes)Love Shadows
(Shores of Indian Lake #1)
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
April 1st 2014 by Harlequin Heartwarming



Catherine Lanigan is the famous author with over 40 books published including "Romancing the Stone" and "Jewel of the Nile". This is the first in a series of at least five books about the romantic and electric world of Indian Lakes.


One of the first characters we meet in the Indian Lakes series is Luke Bosworth. There are five stages of grief, and Luke Bosworth is stuck on anger. Unable to move on after his wife's death, he's struggling to make ends meet and be a good father to his children—a fight he's afraid he's losing. But then Sarah Jensen crashes into his life.


Dealing with the loss of her mother, Sarah is a kindred spirit in grief. And even though he doesn't always agree with her actions, she renews hope for Luke and his kids. Suddenly he's making plans for the future again. But can he take the risk of falling in love a second time?


Heart's Desire
(Shores of Indian Lake #2)
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
August 1st 2014 by Harlequin Heartwarming



His homecoming is bittersweet…for both of them 


Café owner Maddie Strong is finally ready to take her burgeoning cupcake business to the next level. With the help of handsome businessman Alex Perkins, her future's all mapped out. Until her first love comes home.


At seventeen, Maddie adored Nate Barzonni with her whole heart and soul. But when he asked her to elope, she'd said no—she couldn't let him throw away his dream of becoming a doctor. Then he vanished from her life for eleven years. Now the cardiac surgeon has returned to Indian Lake asking for a second chance, and Maddie has to choose between her new life…and the man she never stopped loving.


A Fine Year for Love  (Shores of Indian Lake #3)A Fine Year for Love
(Shores of Indian Lake #3)
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
January 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming



Her grandfather told her never to trust a Barzonni 


Nothing gives Liz Crenshaw more delight than walking the hills of her family's winery and tending her precious vines. And nothing frustrates her more than Gabe Barzonni, the handsome, successful and utterly aggravating son of Indian Lake's most prominent farmers. All her instincts scream "avoid," especially when she finds out he's going into the wine business himself. But Liz can't seem to shake him. One minute, he's nosing around her property, the next he's arranging to escort her to her best friend's wedding. Well, too bad. Whatever he has designs on—her or her land—Gabe is out of luck. Now, to get him out of her mind…

Catherine Lanigan is the bestselling author of over forty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Heart”, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Spirit”. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into over a twenty-four languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available in E-books on Amazon.com and BN.com. Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her Vietnam war-based novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine and also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference. Cedar Fort, Inc. published the third book of angelic interventions, Angel Tales. Angel Watch and Divine Nudges, the first two books in Lanigan’s Angel Watch series of books about divine intervention in human life, were published by HCI. Allworth Press released Lanigan’s “how-to” book on writing: Writing the Great American Romance Novel. Ms. Lanigan’s first Young Adult Adventure novel, The Adventures of Lillie and Zane: The Golden Flute was published by Cedar Fort. Lanigan was tasked by the NotMYkid foundation to pen a collection of compelling and informative true stories of teen addicts.

April, 2014 will see Lanigan’s new clean romance series HARLEQUIN HEARTWARMING’S publication of LOVE SHADOWS, the first in Lanigan’s “Shores of Indian Lake Series”. HEART’S DESIRE will also be published in 2014. A FINE YEAR FOR LOVE January, 2015. KATIA’S PROMISE May, 2015. Lanigan is working on the next three novels in her Indian Lake series for HARLEQUIN HEARTWARMING.

Ms. Lanigan is a frequent speaker at literary functions and book conventions as well as inspiring audiences with her real stories of angelic intervention from her Angel Tales series of books. She is an outspoken advocate for domestic violence and abuse and was honored by The National Domestic Violence Hotline in Washington, D.C. She has been a guest on numerous radio programs including “Coast to Coast” and on television interview and talk show programs as well as blogs, podcasts and online radio interview programs.

Cover Reveal & Tour Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card
3 ebooks of Katia's Promise by Catherine Lanigan
Open internationally.
Ends May 8th

a Rafflecopter giveaway