the watchmen of ephraim by gerard de marigny

Title: The Watchman of Ephraim
Author: Gerard de Marigny
Rating: 4/5
Cover Rating: 4/5
Summary (Goodreads):
Cris De Niro worked his way up to the top of the hedge fund world. Yet, all of his money couldn't protect him from losing his wife on 9/11. 10 years passed since the tragedy. De Niro and his sons relocated to a sprawling ranch near Las Vegas. Turning to his faith to overcome his anguish, De Niro now lives for a higher purpose. From a biblical passage, he reads about the "Watchman of Ephraim," a defender who kept watch over the land. De Niro decides to acquire a lackluster counter-terrorism agency in order to transform it into a modern-day version of The Watchman for the United States but there's not a moment to lose. Aref Sami Zamani is planning a terrorist attack on American soil - codenamed "Antioch," a plot to detonate a nuke over the city of Las Vegas. The Watchman uncovers a connection between Zamani and a Mexican drug cartel but their agent goes missing before they can learn more. That's because Zamani has a spy working for The Watchman. Strange events start to unfold near the Nogales border crossing. References are discovered to something the Mexicans are calling "Noche Del Espantada" ...Fright Night," but can it mean something else? September 11, 2011 and the sun hasn't risen yet in Las Vegas or Nogales. Antioch is in motion! At the border, Noche Del Espantada has begun and there are intruders at De Niro's ranch. De Niro has to protect his sons and someone new in his life, Dr. Moriah Stevens. She too, lost her spouse on 9/11. Moriah finds herself in love with De Niro but his devotion to his wife is proving too powerful for him, even after 10 years. It's the 10th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil and unless De Niro and his new team are successful, the day will be known as "The 2nd 9/11."

My 2 Cents:
I feel like the book is actually an imagination revenge towards the Muslim world. Why it must be someone with a name of a Muslim try to attack US for the second 9/11. It's not always the Middle East want to attack US. Maybe there would be other race and religion wants to attack US. That is the only thing that I feel it's quite a discrimination towards Muslim. Yes, I am Muslim, and I know I might be skeptical about it. Sorry.

Apart from that, yes, I think the author had his research on everything quite well. I's a plot-driven and I was totally immense in it. I know it's hard when you lost someone you love most and I understand why the character were hype up to prevent any terrorism towards the country. I also feel that the story is well plotted and well-developed until towards the end. The agency he creates is like a very original creations. He acted like he must do it to protect everyone and for that, I admire him. The book is actually quite enjoyable. It's recommended.

Note: I received a copy of the book for an exchange of an honest review.

enlightened by melissa lummis

Title: Enlightened:A Tale of Love and Light
Author: Melissa Lummis
Pages: 302
Genre: Paranormal

Summary: Loti Dupree fears that when her husband died, she lost her soul. Harboring a painful secret, she flees her life in a small Appalachian town for the ashram, the spiritual retreat where she trained to be a yogini. But she is running from more than grief. An ominous nightmare the night before she leaves sets her on a dangerous path of self-discovery that challenges everything she believes – and threatens her life.

While dodging psychic attacks from an unknown assailant, she struggles with her growing attraction to a broody, handsome and completely frustrating vampire. Loti races to understand who and what she is before her anonymous enemy catches up with her. Loti thought she couldn’t survive her husband’s death, but among healers, witches, and vampires, she discovers not only a future, but a family.

My 2 Cents:

I honestly love the book. I thought the book would be boring since the first sentence of her book summary start about her dead husband. I though maybe the character would whining about her grief. I also thought the summary kind of full messy storyline. Seems like there will be so many adventures and so many things she has to face.

Okay, maybe I was wrong. Half a day reading the book, I have nothing to complaint. Maybe I thought too much and forget to just read and embrace the whole story. Well, this book actually has the fun side of the story. I was surprised to read about love between the character and a creature of the night is somewhat very interesting.

The whole story is so fun to read. I cant wait to read the author's other book in future. Please take a while and read the book. I'm sure you'll agree with me.

About the Author

Melissa Lummis considers herself a truth seeker, a peaceful warrior, a paranormal and fantasy writer, an avid reader, a thru-hiker GAàME ’98, a wife, a mother, and a free thinker. She believes the universe conspires to help an adventurer. And if we live our lives as if it is a daring adventure (and it is!), then everything we need will find its way to us. The author lives in rural Virginia with her husband, two children, an Alaskan Malamute and a myriad of forest creatures. The nature of her mind dictates that she write to stay sane. Otherwise, her fertile imagination takes off on tangents of its own accord, creating scenarios and worlds that confuse the space-time continuum. Namaste, dear friends.

Follow Facebook fanpage http://www.facebook.com/MelissaLummis
Twitter https://twitter.com/melissalummis
Blog www.melissalummis.blogspot.com
Buy on Amazon / Smashwords

Credit: I got the copy of the book for the exchange of my review. Receiving a copy will not influence my opinion of the book.

guest post: Author Daniel Friedmann

To become an engineer I studied engineering physics, which had a large physics and cosmology component. I am also a student of the origin of the universe and life on earth both from the scientific and biblical perspectives. Why look at both sources of knowledge? Doesn't science have all the answers?

I initially came to think that science books answered everything. Yet, by my fourth year at university, some fundamental questions concerning our origins began to re-appear. In discussion with my nephews (14 to 20 years of age) I realized they were asking the same questions I had asked at their age and like me, not getting satisfactory answers.

Concurrently I saw an approach to the problem developed 800 years ago, that looked like it had promise – which pointed me to a reconciliation of science and religion answers on our origins. This was exciting and fresh and I was encouraged to write a book, The Genesis One Code, sharing what I had found.

As described by a reviewer Those who struggle to balance faith and science regarding earth's origins will want to read The Genesis One Code, which explores intriguing possibilities that reconcile these two divergent perspectives. The author has conducted significant research into the pertinent religious texts and scientific theories to determine that a relationship between the two is not only possible, but likely.

I hope we will come closer to ending the 200-year “origins debate” and enter into more cooperation between scientists, theologians to lead to a better and better understanding of our origins. Best of all as a family you can spend quality time having a discussion about science, religion and the meaning and purpose of life.

About the Book

Were the heavens and the Earth created 6,000 years ago, as the Bible suggests? Or did the universe expand into existence nearly fourteen billion years ago from a spontaneous "big bang"? Both dates cannot be right…or can they? Imagine medieval manuscripts, written some 800 years ago, that could help us decipher Genesis and thereby pinpoint exactly when the universe began – an instant squaring, moreover, with our most up-to-date cosmological theories. 

The Genesis One Code carefully examines the relationship between scientific theory and biblical teachings. The book approaches the origins debate from a fresh perspective informed by both scientific and spiritual research. Daniel Friedmann lays out the connection between God's creation and modern-day science in his book The Genesis One Code. 

About the Author

Daniel Friedmann is CEO of MDA Corp., specializing in robotics. He has a master's in engineering physics and 30 years' experience in the space industry. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific papers on space industry topics. He is also a long time student of cosmology and religion. The Genesis One Code is currently available on Amazon.com.

Website: http://danielfriedmannbooks.com/.

frizzy tizzy goes to the park by wendy hinbest

Title: Frizzy Tizzy Goes to the Park
Author: Wendy Hinbest
Pages: 20
Genre: Picture book, children’s book
Rating: 3.5/5
Blurp: Frizzy Tizzy attempts to face her fears and begins to second guess herself, until she realizes things are not always what they seem.

My 2 Cents:
I personally love the book. My 2 and a half year old cousin love Tizzy frizzy hair! I laughed when he said Mommy hair! That is so like his mother's messy hair. LOL.

I read the book and showed the picture of Tizzy and he likes her too. I love how simple the story is. My cousin can easily relate the story to his daily life routine when my Aunt brought him to park near their house everyday. He even told me he and Tizzy could be friends and go to the park together. The picture is colorful and also very clear. The artist had done a great job.

I wish to read my cousin more of the author's book. I can assure readers that they will like this picture book too.

Book Excerpt

Frizzy Tizzy climbed the stairs to go down the slide, but when she got to the top she was afraid to go down. 

Frizzy Tizzy felt the ground looked so far from up there. “What’s wrong, Frizzy Tizzy?” asked Mommy. 

“I’m scared to go down,” answered Frizzy Tizzy. She turned around and noticed a little girl standing behind her.

About the Author

I like writing children's books and blogging. I live in Burlington, Ontario with my husband and three young children. I have an Early Childhood Education diploma and I am certified to teach children from birth to six years including children with special needs. I have worked with many children and have read many books to them. My daughters enjoy the books I read to them so I decided to write books of my own. I am also a real estate agent.


Links: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Google Plus | Amazon | Goodreads | Smashwords

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from Enchanted Book Promotions as part of the tour. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.

guest post: Author Rebecca Coleman

Rebecca Coleman is back, celebrating the kickoff of her new book, HEAVEN SHOULD FALL. So trot along on the blog tour and make sure to click through to every blog in the order listed to get the full first chapter– you won’t want to miss it! You have to click HERE to check ;p

"Cade’s takes a dramatic turn after Elias’s tragedy. Can you tell us a little more about how you developed his character?"

There's a certain type of guy who makes a good romantic hero: good-looking (of course), ambitious but willing to set aside quality time for the woman he loves, passionate, principled and charming-- well, you know the drill. When I go into middle schools for Career Day-- amazingly, they still let me do that after The Kingdom of Childhood-- I hold up a copy of Twilight and talk about how the two romantic heroes, Edward and Jacob, are conflations of everything women stereotypically love about men. And on the surface, Cade-- the guy who loves my protagonist, Jill, in Heaven Should Fall-- is a guy like that, too.

But as the reader slowly discovers, a man like Cade-- one who feels things deeply, is driven to feel relevant in the world, and believes he is a notch above most people he meets-- is especially vulnerable when things don't go his way. He wants to feel in control of his world, and believes he deserves to. As he feels his influence slipping, the ability Jill once observed in him-- to "find his passion and follow the prize of it like a polestar"-- corrupts into a desperate determination to matter, at whatever cost.

And so the "dramatic" turn that Cade takes after a crisis strikes his family is not as jarring as it first appears. He's the same guy as ever, only angry now, and with his judgment clouded by grief. This is an aspect of characterization that has long fascinated me. No real human being is entirely good or entirely evil; each person has something they want-- out of life, or out of a particular situation-- and will act, sometimes in ways that conflict with the values they profess, in the service of that goal. That's not inconsistency-- that's humanity. And so while Cade spends most of the book dismissing his brother-in-law Dodge as an ignorant redneck, when Dodge provides him with a route to his goal, the desires of Cade's ego trump his opinion of the man.

To me, the more deeply conflicted the character, the easier they are to write. A sense of uncertainty and struggle is something I understand, while moral certainty can feel foreign and even false. Like Zach in The Kingdom of Childhood, I saw Cade as a man wrestling with the angel; it wasn't hard to get inside their heads, because in one way or another, I've been there, too. And I think that's what the writing gurus really mean when they say, "write what you know." Every time I sit down to start a new novel I must research places and people, hobbies, music and occupations, learning it all from scratch. But a protagonist who struggles between love and anger, one who means well but often stumbles-- ah. I write what I know.

Book Excerpt - Scavenger Hunt

It wasn’t long before we made the turn back into College Park. Cade and I lived in the dormitories on campus—he in a single room, me with a snooty roommate—but on the weekends he often crashed at the apartment of his friend Stan. Up until the previous year he and Stan had been roommates, but now Stan had his own place, at which he held frequent parties. He was generous in offering his futon—or a patch of carpet—to whoever couldn’t drive home.

About the Book

A dark and compelling novel, HEAVEN SHOULD FALL (MIRA Books; October 2012) by Rebecca Coleman tells the story of a young relationship that slowly corrupts in the face of tragedy and desperation—and tests the character of everyone involved.

Alone since her mother’s death, Jill Wagner wants to eat, sleep and breathe Cade Olmstead when he bursts upon her life—golden, handsome and ambitious. Even putting college on hold feels like a minor sacrifice when she discovers she’s pregnant with Cade’s baby. But it won’t be the last sacrifice she’ll have to make.

Retreating to the Olmsteads’ New England farm seems sensible, if not ideal: Jill and Cade will regroup and welcome the baby, surrounded by Cade’s family. But the remote, ramshackle place already feels crowded. Cade’s mother tends to his ailing father, while Cade’s pious sister, her bigoted husband and their rowdy sons overrun the house. Only Cade’s brother, Elias, a combat veteran with a damaged spirit, gives Jill an ally amidst the chaos, along with a glimpse into his disturbing childhood. But his burden is heavy, and she alone cannot kindle his will to live.

The tragedy of Elias is like a killing frost, withering Cade in particular, transforming his idealism into bitterness and paranoia. Taking solace in caring for her newborn son, Jill looks up to find her golden boy is gone. In Cade’s place is a desperate man willing to endanger them all in the name of vengeance…unless Jill can find a way out.

About the Author

Rebecca received her B.A. in English literature from the University of Maryland at College Park and speaks to writers’ groups on the subjects of creative writing and publishing. Her manuscript for her critically-acclaimed first novel, The Kingdom of Childhood, was a semifinalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition. A New Yorker by birth, Rebecca grew up in the close suburbs of Washington, D.C. in an academic family. After studying elementary education for several years, she graduated with a degree in English, awarded with honors. Rebecca lives and works near Washington, D.C. with her husband and their four young children.

p/s: I'll post the book review later. Seems like this post is too long and I dont want you to get bored ;p
Visit www.rebeccacoleman.net

guest post: Author Paul Batista

Hi everyone. I know it is quite a while I didnt get to post anything so much these days. But today, I have Paul Batista, the author of Extraordinary Rendition, writing as a guest about his transition from a lawyer to a novelist. I thought it is cool when you finally know what's best for your life and have passion about it. I basically think that his book is a lso great. I was drawn into his book after reading the synopsis, and he got good reviews about his book too. I'll write a review of the book later (dont know when but I will!) and hope you'll give a try too.

"Why Make the Transition from Busy Lawyer to Novelist?"

More basically, why exit from a business with a good regular paycheck to a business where the financial rewards are uncertain? Why exchange a suit for a casual shirt and jeans? I get asked these questions a lot, and they are in fact questions I ask myself.

Let's start with a disclaimer. I haven't entirely abandoned the practice of law. This is work I've done for more than thirty years, and old habits die hard. Besides, I like it. More important is the fact that the legal work I do provides fuel for the novels I write. A criminal case or even a civil lawsuit involves a story, a narrative. Part of the function of a lawyer is to shape the narrative -- not to fabricate facts but to tell a story.

Creating fiction, however, does give me a license to do more than just shape the narrative of a case. In writing a novel I have the ability and the incentive to weave imagined events together, to create personalities and personal histories, to generate intrigue and conflict. In practicing law, I’m confined by facts -- and those facts can be extremely interesting given the nature of the work I do -- but there are no such constraints in writing fiction.

There's another factor. Law is a highly regulated business. No matter how independent you may be as a lawyer, there are people known as judges. They require you to do specific things on their schedule, not on yours. They want you to do things their way, not necessarily yours. They tend to have outsized personalities -- wearing a robe can transform a guy or gal who in civilian clothes is demure and shy into a muscled-up action figure. And there are also clients. They get to call you in the middle of the night.

The external controls on fiction-writing are different. Sure, an editor can set "deadlines" but those are more goals and aspirations rather than drop-dead dates. You can be disbarred for missing a judge-imposed deadline if you do that too often. The worst a publisher can do is get mad at you.

But the most important reason for transforming myself into a novelist from a practicing lawyer is the beauty of transformation. The stuff of a novelist's life is different from the stuff of a lawyer's life. Creating novels is a liberating experience; you can let loose your imagination. I find I can have a passion and a drive that, even though I’ve loved practicing law, I can't completely tap into in a courtroom. You hear commencement speakers constantly delivering to young graduates the trite mandate to "follow your passions." As you move through life and hit the jarring realities of jobs, families and obligations, you can get cynical about those conventional admonitions to follow your passions, live out your dreams, and fulfill your talents.

But those inspirational messages do have meaning, at least for yours truly. Even a lawyer can break out of the constraints of the life he or she has lived. There is something invigorating, even for a seasoned adult, in taking risks and having the courage to give up security and embrace something unknown, strange, exciting -- fresh.

About the Author

Paul Batista, novelist and television personality, is one of the most widely known trial lawyers in the country. As a trial attorney, he specializes in federal criminal litigation. As a media figure, he is known for his regular appearances as guest legal commentator on a variety of television shows including, Court TV, CNN, HLN and WNBC. He’s also appeared in the HBO movie, You Don't Know Jack, starring Al Pacino. A prolific writer, Batista authored the leading treatise on the primary federal anti-racketeering statute, Civil RICO Practice Manual, which is now in its third edition (Wiley & Sons, 1987; Wolters Kluwer, 2008). He has written articles for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The National Law Journal. Batista's debut novel, Death's Witness, was awarded a Silver Medal by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). And his new novel, Extraordinary Rendition, is now being published—along with a special reissue of Death’s Witness—by Astor + Blue Editions. Batista is a graduate of Bowdoin College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and Cornell Law School. He’s proud to have served in the United States Army. Paul Batista lives in New York City and Sag Harbor, New York.

About the Book

When Ali Hussein—suspected terrorist and alleged banker for Al Qaeda—is finally transported from Gitmo to the US mainland to stand trial, many are stunned when Byron Carlos Johnson, pre-eminent lawyer and the son of a high-profile diplomat, volunteers as counsel. On principle, Johnson thought he was merely defending a man unjustly captured through Rendition and water-boarded illegally. But Johnson soon learns that there is much more at stake than one man’s civil rights.

Hussein’s intimate knowledge of key financial transactions could lead to the capture of—or the unabated funding of—the world’s most dangerous terror cells. This makes Hussein the target of corrupt US intelligence forces on one side, and ruthless international terrorists on the other. And, it puts Byron Carlos Johnson squarely in the crosshairs of both.

Pulled irresistibly by forces he can and cannot see, Johnson enters a lethal maze of espionage, manipulation, legal traps and murder. And when his life, his love, and his acclaimed principles are on the line, Johnson may have one gambit left that can save them all; a play that even his confidants could not have anticipated. He must become the hunter among hunters in the deadliest game.

Written by no-holds-barred-attorney Paul Batista, Extraordinary Rendition excels not only as an action thriller, but as a sophisticated legal procedural as well; tearing the curtains away from the nation’s most controversial issues.

Provocative. Smart. Heart-pounding. A legal thriller of the highest order.

the rebel princess by anne m. strick

Title: The Rebel Princess

Author: Anne M. Strick

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary:

An insider's first-ever behind-the-scenes scoop on how movies are REALLY made: gritty, grinding, tunnel-vision labor, back-stage intrigue, explosive dramas, parties, and relationships that last a night or a lifetime. Larger-than-life characters who live life with fervor, while contending with their own inner demons and one another, all in the pressure cooker of a location shoot in the exotic world of Mexico. This romp of a story follows the making of a movie from pre-production through wrap. A hotly passionate love story and a murder elevate the stakes.

My Review

I could not remember if I have read any kind of movie star character like in this one. Maybe I have, but maybe not that kind that worth to be remembered. But this book, is very light, edgy and romantic, in so many ways (then I realised this is so NOT for minors!). At first, I thought this movie star stuff might as well filled with made up, unbelievable storyline and all. However, I find the book very amusing and like I said, very light. It is also maybe because the author is someone that is very familiar with Hollywood, things that you experienced will not same as you imagine it. The book as I would describe, is very well detailed and informative about making movies and yes, Hollywood. Almost believable.

The character, Devina, as I would imagine her, would be a sexy woman and beautiful, not to forget rebellious. The combintaion of the storyline with the characters are great. I would enjoy a great romance with not too complex situations. An exotic place like Mexico is definitely a wonderful, perfect choice. The author really know how to lure readers to be buried with the story. If you feeling like you need something light, time to relax, and want to feel love, then pick up this book. You might finish this in one sitting.

Book Excerpt

Last night she’d had the dream again. The dream she hated and loved. She smelled the sea brine and the sharp pines that rose beyond the dunes, saw the tide-pool anemones open and close about their viscous centers. She felt the heat move from her soles up through her calves to her thighs and pelvis and the small of her back from the sun baked sand; felt the melting begin. Her nipples tightened. She heard the waves slide and suck, in and out, insinuating, hypnotic. And as shockingly as always the green-eyed, gypsy-faced stranger burst – jogging, grinning with knowing primal energy – through the tall grass at the top of the rise. And as always, that energy struck her like a blow: sudden, deep, forever. Jason. Jason Archer. Davena, waking slowly in the huge four poster, ran her hand through her curtain of sun-tipped chestnut hair in irritation. Merde. It was the Dom Perignon. Whenever she’d drunk too much, as she had the evening before, she had the damn dream. And awoke in heat – for a man from whom she’d been divorced six years. And despite having been thoroughly laid by Bram last night. Humiliating. She rolled over and buried her head beneath the pillow, hiding from the familiar soul-pain, denying it - – and then with a shake of her disheveled mane sat abruptly up. The clock next to her bed read six am – the alarm, set for five-thirty, had somehow failed. Or, webbed in her dream, she’d slept through it.

About the Author

Anne M.Strick has spent over twenty years in the movie industry. She has worked for Universal, Warners, Paramount and EMI, as a Unit Publicist, Project Coordinator and National Publicity Director, and with such Hollywood legends as Jack Nicholson, James Earl Jones, Sean Penn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Lynch, Sting and Dino De Laurentiis, among many others. She has published theater reviews, articles in Parents Magazine , Frontier and The Nation, and six books: two novels, two self-help books, one memoir (a best-seller in Italy); and a non-fiction, scholarly critique of our adversary trial system. (”remarkable”) . Born in Philadelphia, and educated at Bennington College and UCLA, she lives in Los Angeles.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from Enchanted Book Promotions as part of the tour. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.

interview: Author Andrea Kane

About the Book

Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child. Or was he? One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches onto for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs. Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge. The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further the team digs into Paul’s past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all. Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the Congressional halls of Washington D.C. to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find. Little do they realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends THE LINE BETWEEN HERE AND GONE.

So here's the interview with Author Andrea Kane. Enjoy!

D: What are you in relation to your siblings? Are you the middle child? The baby of the family?


A: I’m the baby of the family. Establishing my own identity was the challenging part, but being referred to as “baby” when you’re an adult has its perks!

D: Describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer.


A: A mother is desperately searching for the father of her newborn baby – hoping that he’s alive and is a donor match to save her critically ill son. What inspired you to write THE LINE BETWEEN HERE AND GONE? A: As with all my books, THE LINE, started out as flashes of the characters' lives playing out in my head. I saw a flash of an important male character who vanished without a trace and a critically ill infant whose life was integrally tied to his. But I didn't know why or how that would factor into FI's caseload. Those answers came later, after the baby’s mother crystallized in my mind.

D: What sort of attachment do you have to your characters?


A: They become part of me, like family. The ending of a book is bittersweet. My characters are fully formed, have achieved some resolution in battling the trials and tribulations of life. Just when I’m ready to enjoy their creation, it’s time to say goodbye. Fortunately with Forensic Instincts, I get the chance to stay attached and further the FI team’s characters and stories in their next book. 


D: Where do you do most of your writing?


A: Wherever my Pomeranian lets me. It’s amazing where he can place his snout, his paws, his tail and his body on my laptop to prevent me from writing. 


Book Excerpt 

“Ms. Gleason?” A young nurse touched her gently on the shoulder. “Why don’t you get something to eat? Maybe take a walk? You haven’t done either all day.” She reached for the baby. “Justin will be in good hands. You’ve got to take care of yourself or you won’t be able to take care of him.”

About the Author

Andrea Kane’s psychological thriller The Girl Who Disappeared Twice became and instant New York Times bestseller, the latest in a long string of smash hits. It introduced Forensic Instincts, and eclectic team of maverick investigators, each with different personalities and talents, all with one common bond: a blatant disregard for authority. The Line Between Here and Gone is the next exhilarating installment in the Forensic Instincts series. Armed with skills and talents honed by years in the FBI and Special Forces, and training in behavioral and forensic psychology, the team solves seemingly impossible cases while walking a fine line between assisting and enraging law enforcement.


For more info, CLICK HERE.

interview: Author Peter Lefcourt

What did it mean to become American in the mid-20th century? Peter Lefcourt goes beyond assimilation to take a nostalgic and dramatic look at what makes us truly American in AN AMERICAN FAMILY. Lefcourt reaches back to his own family and memories to inform this saga. “Though this is not an autobiographical novel, it is, in a larger sense, a ‘cultural autobiography’ – specifically, that of Jewish-Americans born in the 1940’s. Our experiences are similar to that of all immigrants – Italian, Irish, Vietnamese, Iranian, etc. – as we all navigate the tide of our new culture.”

To celebrate the release of AN AMERICAN FAMILY, here's some interview I have with him and wanted to share with all all of you ;p


D: Is there a specific element in your writing that you find most challenging?

PL: Writing is not easy and never gets any easier, no matter how much you do it. There is nothing that requires more concentration, patience and inner self-criticism than writing. The more I do it, the more I edit. As the zen proverb goes, words are the enemy of the writer. Trust the music, not the notes.

D: Which author inspires you most?


PL: Patrick O’Brian. The twenty novels in the Aubrey-Mathurin series are consistently readable, absorbing and enlightening. I have read all of them at least twice, and some three or four times.

D: What is your guilty pleasure?


PL: Chocolate and champagne every Sunday afternoon with my wife.

D: You’ve had a long, successful career in Hollywood— what was your favorite project?


PL: “Beggars and Choosers,” the two-year Showtime series that I co-created (with the late Brandon Tartikoff), wrote and produced, 1999-2000. The show was a satire on the television business, a subject I know very well; it was a lot of fun to write about the universe and people that I was familiar with. Moreover, Showtime gave me a great deal of creative freedom. That, and the collaboration with some very talented, co-writers, directors, and actors – made the experience particularly rewarding. It’s not often in Hollywood that creative egos merge and work well together, and “Beggars and Choosers” was clearly a lovely exception. 


D: Do you prefer writing screenplays or novels? 


PL: Novels, because they are yours and don’t have to be shared with directors, actors and producers. And because with novels the writer’s voice still matters. However, occasionally the loneliness of writing books gets to me, and I seek out and enjoy the collaborative experience of screenwriting. HHHooooo



Book Excerpt

His fraternity brothers were in a rowdy mood. There was a keg party scheduled at the house that Saturday night, and the prospect of getting laid was in the air. The brothers lounged around the tables bragging about all the sex they were going to get. Michael filtered it out. Most of it was bullshit. The more you talked about it, the less you got. He had a girlfriend, Naomi Berks, whom he had met last spring and with whom he’d been going steady ever since. They’d been doing it pretty regularly in his room beside the kitchen, but he didn’t have to talk about it. It was nobody else’s business. He was taking Naomi home for Thanksgiving next week. She was from Shaker Heights and had never been to New York City. His sister Elaine had volunteered to share her room. On the phone, his father had asked, Mickey, is this the one?

For more info Click HERE

About the Author

Peter Lefcourt

Peter Lefcourt is a refugee from the trenches of Hollywood, where he has distinguished himself as a writer and producer of film and television. Among his credits are “Cagney and Lacey,” for which he won an Emmy Award; “Monte Carlo,” in which he managed to keep Joan Collins in the same wardrobe for 35 pages; the relentlessly sentimental “Danielle Steel’s Fine Things,” and the underrated and hurried “The Women of Windsor,” the most sordid, and thankfully last, miniseries about the British Royal Family. He is a 30 handicap golfer, drinks too much good wine, and has never been awarded the Nobel Prize for anything.

interview: Author James Macomber

Hello peeps! We got James Macomber in the house today. I would to welcome the author to my blog with an interview. I would love to suggest all of you to read the book compilation of great stories including so many brilliant authors. Without further ado, James Macomber.

D: What is your guilty pleasure?  


JM: Some things are better left unsaid :-) but, confining this answer to the literary world... I, of course, read thrillers. But almost as much, I read histories, British history in particular. If I have a guilty pleasure, however, it will be Austenalia is that a word?). I only recently read Pride and Prejudice and loved it. So much so that I now look for the...I'm not sure what they're collectively called...derivatives, spin-offs, maybe?   I particularly enjoy Carrie Bebris' Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries.    

D: Describe your favorite meal.   


JM: New England Clamboil. That's clamBOIL, not clamBAKE. ClamBAKEs are the hot stones in the sand tradition and they're good enough but a clamBOIL involves a huge pot with clams at the bottom covered in water, then all varieties of meats and sausages and sometimes fish then potatoes, eggs, onions on top. The pot is covered and the liquid brought to a boil then a simmer and everything cooks in the steam from the simmering clams. Moist and with a flavor that isn't duplicated anywhere...not even in a clamBAKE.    

D: If you were not a writer, what would be your career?   


JM: Well, I was a lawyer for a while, among other things. As some bios show, I have a rather eclectic background. My brother is an archeologist and that work utterly fascinates me. My older sister is a librarian and I have often said I would be very happy as a librarian or owner of a bookstore. But, way back when, my original plan was to be a history professor. I think that might still apply though at this point in my life, I think I'd enjoy being a historian – just reading and research, no teaching. Coming full circle, I'd probably like to write historical fiction. Hmm, maybe I will.    

D: If you could time travel, which year would be your destination?   


JM: Wow, that's a tough one. Some time in British history, probably. Most any time really. But if I have to pick one, maybe mid-sixteenth century Edinburgh. According to my brother's family genealogy work, we're first cousins to Mary Queen of Scots, something like fourteen times removed and I'd like to meet her – preferably while her head was still attached. Or a few years earlier, our mutual grandfather, James IV of Scotland. And Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities to visit. But then, being accustomed to twenty and twenty-first century amenities, I'd not enjoy the privations that go with that time period. Now if there was a nice Marriott in sixteenth century Edinburgh...    

D: What inspired your contribution to LOVE IS MURDER?   


JM: Actually, the story grew out of the characters I've created in my novels. I write about a Washington DC-based international law firm with ties to the intelligence community...from which some of their lawyers are recruited. The central characters of John Cann and Katherine Price are two such individuals, highly competent and highly accomplished, both in their pasts and in their presents. They were colleagues for years but finally became a couple after the third novel, “A Grave Breach”. So when the call went out for 'romantic thrillers' for “Love is Murder”, it was a matter of setting the scene in London, with Katherine representing a client...and then bad things start to happen. And to what lengths will one go to save the other?


James Macomber – Execution Dock

“No.” Refusing to look at the woman lawyer seated across from him, Sarnath Dutta addressed his remarks to the male magistrate. “I have a superior order from the Sharia court of Jessore that I, as father, have all rights.” “No, Mr. Dutta.” Katherine Price, senior partner with Loring, Matsen and Gould, leaned forward and just as pointedly addressed the dark-skinned Bengali man directly. “You married Mrs. Dutta in the United States. That marriage produced two children, now four and six. The marriage failed and divorce proceedings ensued, also in the United States. For good and valid reasons—we won’t  get into the issues of abuse unless we have to— that court awarded sole custody to Mrs. Dutta. You received specific and, under the circumstances, generous visitation.”

About the Author

James Macomber is the author of the international legal thrillers featuring former Special Forces/NSA/CIA operator, now lawyer, John Cann—whom Booklist described as a strong, multilayered protagonist with the star power to keep this series going for a very long time”—along with an ensemble cast of memorable characters in a Washington, D.C., international law firm with very close ties to the intelligence community. At one time or another, Macomber has been a serviceman, student, bartender, waiter, salesman, tennis instructor, actor, lawyer, photographer and writer. This eclectic background—or checkered past—is reflected in the range of subject matter for his novels, which include terrorist networks in academia in bargained for Exchange, assassinations in the Netherlands during the trial of the Pan Am 103 Lockerbie bombers in Art & Part, atrocities, international crime and human trafficking with the Bosnian war crimes trials as the backdrop in A Grave Breach and, in Sovereign Order, the horrifying prospect of a catastrophic WMD attack on the “crown jewel of Formula 1 racing,” the Monaco Grand Prix. When he’s not hanging out on Siesta Key, Florida, Jim is completing work on his fifth novel, Extraordinary Rendition.

Visit his website at www.jamesmacomber.com.

Please not to forget to visit http://booktrib.com/blog-tour-love-is-murder-heart-pounding-stories-of-romance-suspense/

interview: Author Andrea Kane

Today I have author Andrea Kane to the blog and happy to have and interview with her. She's on tour promoting the new romantic suspense anthology, "Love is Murder", to which she contributed a story, entitled LOCKDOWN.


D: What is your guilty pleasure? 


AK: I don’t even have to ponder this one. Ice cream. Always ice cream. If I could, I’d take a quart (maybe even a half-gallon if I had room J) of homemade ice cream, a giant spoon, and eat it all in one sitting. Too bad broccoli and ice cream can’t switch places in terms of calories, fat content, and healthy eating!

D: Describe your favorite meal.


AK: I’d start with a Caesar salad, move on to filet mignon and lobster tails with a lovely glass of Beaujolais, and end with some fabulous profiteroles. I’m getting hungry just answering the question.

D: If you were not a writer, what would be your career?


AK: I can never answer this question, because I can’t imagine being anything BUT a writer. I almost went to law school, but then my writing called me back. It’s no use. I’m just a diehard storyteller.

D: If you could time travel, which year would be your destination? 


AK: I’m fascinated with Regency England, which is why I set most of my historicals there. I’d have to visit some of the grand balls of the nobility, see the carriage rides through Hyde Park, and watch the Bow Street Runners in action. But I could never deal with the chamber pots!

D: What inspired your contribution to LOVE IS MURDER? 


AK: I really wanted to give my readers romantic closure on FBI agents Sloane Burbank and Derek Parker. But I was also dying to mix in one of my new Forensic Instincts team (the series I’m immersed in right now). “Lockdown” gave me the opportunity to do both, and to do it in a romantic setting and a life-threatening situation.

About the Author

Andrea Kane’s psychological thriller The Girl Who Disappeared Twice became and instant New York Times bestseller, the latest in a long string of smash hits. It introduced Forensic Instincts, and eclectic team of maverick investigators, each with different personalities and talents, all with one common bond: a blatant disregard for authority. The Line Between Here and Gone is the next exhilarating installment in the Forensic Instincts series. Armed with skills and talents honed by years in the FBI and Special Forces, and training in behavioral and forensic psychology, the team solves seemingly impossible cases while walking a fine line between assisting and enraging law enforcement.

With a worldwide following and novels published in over twenty languages, Kane is also the author of eight romantic thrillers and fourteen historical romances. She lives in New Jersey with her family, where she is plotting new ways for Forensic Instincts to challenge the status quo.

About the Book

Prepare for heart-racing suspense in LOVE IS MURDER, edited by New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown, this original collection features 30 of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing nerve-racking romantic suspense today. Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers—these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

 Go on vacation with Allison Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire’s “bullet catcher”—bodyguard Donovan Rush—who may have met his match in the sexually charged “Diamond Drop.” Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child’s pitch-perfect “I Heard a Romantic Story” puts a whole new spin on LOVE IS MURDER.

Love Is Murder is the third Thriller anthology written exclusively by members of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Barely seven years old, ITW has a roster that reads like a who’s who of thriller writing, with 1635 members representing 28 countries worldwide and over three billion books in print. Headed by current co-presidents Douglas Preston and Kathleen Antrim, its board of directors has included such notables as Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Steve Berry, James Rollins, M. J. Rose, Carla Neggers, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell and David Hewson. More information is available on the ITW website, www.thrillerwriters.org.

Book Excerpt

It was times like this that Claire Hedgleigh hated her psychic gift. Her best friend was about to get married. The chapel was alight with anticipation and joy. But all Claire could sense was darkness. Dark energy. Filling the room. Hovering over the fairy-tale setting.

For more information, cool prizes, giveaways, guest posts and interviews click HERE.

the beauty book by nancie rue

Title: The Beauty Book
Author: Nancie Rue
Rating: 3/5

Summary (BookSneeze):
Learn with Lily and her friends just what it means to be beautiful in God’s eyes—inside and out!

In a society so focused on the idea that external beauty reigns supreme, it can be difficult for young girls to figure out what “true” beauty is all about. This unique and creative book for girls ages 7–11 answers the common questions girls ask during this often confusing and overwhelming stage in their lives in an inviting and conversational manner.

Filled with fun quizzes, imaginative activities, and cool illustrations, The Beauty Book offers cool, relevant information about everything from great hair styles to tattoos, from skin care to clothes, and much more. Above all, the message that God-confidence is beautiful is highlighted on each and every page.

My 2 cents:

I like the book. It made me remembers  all the things I used to do or wear when I was a kid/tween. I love to wear anything that I think will make look pretty and nice without concerning what others would say. Let say that my taste in fashion or clothes is not as fantastic as my piles of books!

I admit that the book is more related to Christians according to Bible. However, I believe that every religion has their own belief and this book actually quoted some from the Bible which I'm not really familiar about it. And I think good advices are acceptable regardless of what religion you are. I like the illustrations in the book and make it suitable to girls, and more enjoyable. Adding a little bit more details or explanation would make it much better for kids/teens understanding.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.

unicorn keep by angelia almos

Title: Unicorn Keep
Author: Angelia Almos
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (Goodreads):

Jiline of Ainsley is dismayed when her best friend is selected by the mages to become a unicorn keeper at the Keep, an isolated mountain fortress. Especially since Madelen is in love and engaged to the richest boy in the village. Jiline on the other hand has no prospects of marriage or a trade in their small village. So, she comes up with a plan to take Madelen’s place at the Keep and hopefully flunk out of unicorn keeper training before the mages can discover the deception. Unfortunately, the unicorns have their own plans for her.

Mage Herrick, son of the Keep Mage, returns home to the Keep as the trainee keepers arrive. A chance encounter with Jiline, who he believes is Madelen, on the trail sparks a magical connection between the two. Knowing he can’t feel a magical draw to someone who has no magic, he tries to prove Madelen (Jiline) has magic within her. His attention brings unforeseen complications for both of them .

My Review:

I hope the book will have a sequel. I don't know if the author is planning to have one soon, but I do hope so. The truth is, it's been so long since I've read about unicorns! That maybe the only reason why I'm dying to read this, despite of whatever the outcome. But hey, the book turned out great! It's totally genius! The read was quick like you reading in a glance, but I think she did great plotting the story because even though the book is quite short, it was condense and nothing would be an excuse to hate the book.

Jiline is very cute and I love the love sparkling between Jiline and Herrick. It's like there's nothing impossible even if you are powerless, when you love someone, the power will come to you. And that is what I felt when I was reading the book. You could feel hope, love, magical powers, and endless effort to thrive for the best. And I love misunderstanding, only when it turns out beautiful.

It was a quick read and it worth killing time, with having magical feelings, magical creatures, and I promise you that you will want to be a unicorn keeper yourself. Read it and feel magical.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from Enchanted Book Promotions  as part of the tour. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.

guest post: Author Angelia Almos

Hi guys! Today I would like to introduce you all to Author Angelia Almos, the author of Unicorn Keep. The tour is brought by Enchanted Book Promotions. Please Click on the banner if you like to read more of post, interviews and of course, GIVEAWAYS!

"Writing Books of the Heart"

When people ask me why I write young adult fantasy, my answer is almost always, “I write the books I would have loved as a pre-teen and teen.”

 I was your classic horse crazy girl who also happened to be a book crazy girl. As such, I read a lot and one of my favorite things to read were horse books. It didn’t take me long to get through all of the well-known horsey authors and start to stalk the shelves looking for any book cover with a horse or unicorn on it.

One of my all time favorite “horsey” books as a teen was the series The Secret of the Unicorn Queen by Josepha Sherman, Gwen Hansen, Suzanne Weyn and Dory Perlman. It might not have had many horses in it, but it had magical horses – unicorns. It had just a smidge of romance, lots of adventure and mystery, and pretty unicorns with distinct personalities. I re-read those books for years before I finally wore my copies out. I also adored Thoroughbredseries, The Saddle Club series, and Walter Farley books. Finding horsey contemporary fiction was fairly easy, but finding horsey fantasy fiction was a lot harder which is probably why I love to write it so much.

It’s been a lot of fun writing the books I would have loved as a teen. After Horse Charmer, I was trying to come up with an idea for another fantasy story and I wanted horses to have a prominent role again. But this time, I was thinking unicorns, I wanted to write about unicorns. There are more unicorn books on the market now thanks to Bruce Coville, but I remember having to hunt and hunt to find any books featuring unicorns when I was a teen. It took me several weeks of on and off brainstorming to finally come up with the idea of Unicorn Keep.

The first idea presented itself to me as a middle grade fantasy, but several chapters in I learned the book was actually a young adult fantasy romance. It isn’t so unusual to find your book taking a very unexpected turn when you’re a pantser (writing by the seat of my pants/no-plotting). I fought the change at first, but then decided to go with it and I’m very glad I did.

Unicorn Keep was both fun and a challenge to write. It’s a little different in style than my other books – the challenge, but very much a book of the heart – the fun.

About the Author

Angelia Almos formed a lifelong passion for horses at the age of five when she talked her parents into riding lessons. Horses often play a prominent role in her young adult fantasy books. She also write horsey nonfiction and space opera. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, two cats, and one pony (she often thinks of bumping that number up to two).

Website | Twitter | Facebook

guest post: Author Steven C. Eisner

Welcome to THEMINEFIELDS Blog Tour, brought to BookTrib by the Media Muscle team and a plethora of amazing book bloggers, Including the awesome me! Hahaha. Well, beginning April 1, a section of chapter 1 of the new release The Minefields by Steven Eisner will be featured each day by a book blogger until the entire first chapter has been provided to you. So my turn today would be the 28th Chapter, 28th blog participating in this ohhh-some blog tour. Today, the author is sharing the idea of would it be good to use personal stories in writing. So check his out. And, after reading this, you might want to check other blog involved in the tour as well. Just click HERE.

Using personal stories in writing: do or don’t? 

While THEMINEFIELDS is most definitely a novel, it draws heavily on stories I know, understand and have experienced, in part both in my business life as well as my personal. And as these stories evolve in my writing, there is no question they take on a life of their own. My tales become more interesting, often more vivid, at times more provocative and generally, speaking, more imaginative when they gain new rhythm, speed and texture. So often real life can bog down on us. And then meander back on itself as if to slow the forces of good storytelling to a crawl. I’ve learned that readers don’t take to languishing in the details all that much, unless it is in the details that the reader learns more important things about the story. I think the author’s “ job one” is to keep the story flowing, connecting all the dots concisely and to wander little. You wander only when the overriding theme is about wandering. A writer, certainly this one, needs to curb the inclination to become overly indulgent about back story, unless, of course, back story is the primary driver. I keep finding myself repeating as I write “less is more.” As for real life giving the nourishment to new stories, this is absolutely a truism And there is nothing like reliving a moment in your head that pecks away at you… so as to capture it just as you’re recalling it with what you’re seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling. It’s one of the greatest joys for me as a writer to get what I remember down … from head to paper with authenticity.

About the book
Situated smack between the cigarette-and-martini days of Mad Men and the nihilism of House of Lies, Eisner paints a classic roman a clef in stinging detail. Protagonist Sam Spiegel is the Golden Boy with the New York business world at his feet when he is called home to Philadelphia just as he has begun to make his mark. His father, Holocaust survivor Harry Spiegel, is ailing and it’s with reservations that Sam takes on the challenge to grow his father’s firm, Spiegel Communications, into national prominence. The complex themes of the father-and-son relationship, like those found in the works of Chaim Potok and Mario Puzo, are brought vividly to life as Sam and Harry battle over the future of the family legacy.

Book Excerpt

Harry’s eyes were closed and his breathing was pronounced. He looked peaceful. The trumpet that had started playing the finale to Sunday Morning seemed prophetic under Dad’s staccato snore. “Nurse Ratched” never returned. A chipper young blonde took over instead. The second injection was administered.

About the Author
Before writing his novel and after learning the ropes at Doyle Dane Bernbach, New York, Steven C. Eisner created and led Eisner Communications, a Baltimore-based advertising agency, for more than two decades, creating hundreds of effective ad and PR campaigns for leading corporations and associations including Black & Decker, Marriot, McCormick Spices, PhRMA, US Airways, Lenox China, the Maryland Lottery, the Nature Conservancy, and the United Way. Eisner Communications won numerous industry awards including CLIOs, ADDYs, and EFFIEs, and the O’Toole for creative excellence across its entire client roster. The Minefields is Steven C. Eisner’s first novel.

Website: http://stevenceisner.com/

softly and tenderly by sara evans, rachel hauck

Title: Softly and Tenderly
Author: Sara Evans, Rachel Hauck
Pages: 304
Rating: 4/5

Summary (Goodreads):

Jade Fitzgerald's hope for a perfect marriage shatters when her husband confesses he has an illegitimate son who he wants to raise in their home. With the help of her family and her faith, Jade comes to understand her future doesn't rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's mercy.

My Review:

The book is about an unexpected occasions that occurs in life. I think everyone has their own regrets, redemptions and losses. The story evolves around Jade, who is happily married to Max and owns 2 boutiques and unfortunately still fails to conceive. There is a lot of things going on around her. Her mom is fighting leukemia and refuse to go through another chemotherapy. I think I can understand her mom well since one of my cousin died of luekemia, and she went through a lot of chemotherapy. I can also understand how Jade's feel, to fight for everything so that she could bring her family together no matter what happens. A great thing she has is the ability to forgive, and yet forgiveness is something so difficult for us to handle if it is as big as knowing your husband kind of had cheated on you. I wont give that kind of forgiveness that easy. Or maybe I would. But I guess that is why there is a saying of 'It's easy to forgive but hard to forget'. Jade ran from everything a while and try to compose herself, think of how to move on in the best possible way without losing or hurting others that so dear to her even if it will hurt herself. What I love the most of Jade character is that she always find that there will always be silver lining even in the darkest day, in the hard way. She knows that she should not lose hope and only God knows what's the best for His servants.

I only have one complain for the book, the name Jade and June is likely quite similar and it kinds of making me loses track of the characters. It is obviously sounds like the same, literally. Overall, the book is quite a catch.

When the book ended, I just realized it was actually the second book of Songbird Novel. The first book is The Sweet By and By, followed by the 3rd book, Love Lifted Me. I should try the other two books in the series. You should too.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.

guest post: Author Siobhan Curham

I read Dear Dylan last few years and the book was written by Siobhan Curham. Before, I read a review about it from Sarah's blog, and the book really picked my interest straight away. Luckily, I found Siobhan Curham bog and she gave free download to her book! I read it in one sitting and I'm glad that I printed it out near a cyber cafe since I dont have a printer (and I hate reading on screen). I sent her an email and told her that I'm one of her biggest fan. She was so nice and very kind to reply me back (I have an experience when I sent an email to this one author but she never reply me back, so I guess she must be very busy and a 'psycho-fan' is nothing. Hahaha). And somehow last month she contacted me and she said that her book is going to get published and will be on tour. I was so glad and feel very happy for her! Even though I am in Malaysia and she is somewhere on other part of the world, well, I'm glad we have the power of online friendships. Glad we live in this borderless world. and yes, I am very glad to be part of her book tour!

The Power of Online Friendships by Siobhan Curham

Dear Dylan is the story of a 14 year-old girl called Georgie who starts emailing her favourite actor when she becomes really unhappy at home. The novel is made up entirely of emails as it charts the development of the resulting online friendship. Before I started writing it I was very aware of the negative press surrounding teenagers and the dangers of online friendships. But, as the mother of a teenager, I am also aware of what a vital role the internet plays in the social lives of young adults and I wanted to focus on this, more positive, aspect.

When I was writing Dear Dylan I really enjoyed the way in which the characters could open up to each other through their emails. I imagined that the fact that they weren’t face to face actually enabled them to open up to each other much quicker. And, one of the loveliest things to have happened to me since finishing the book is that I’ve had a chance to find this out for myself.

Last year I went to a screenwriters’ workshop. While I was there I got chatting to another writer and we exchanged email addresses. Initially this was because he was going to send me some tips on formatting a script, but, after a few token emails about work, our emails started becoming more personal. Pretty soon we were exchanging daily emails in which we would talk about life, the universe and everything. These emails have now become a favourite part of my daily routine. He always emails me late at night, before he goes to bed, and I usually read and reply the following morning on the train into work. Within a few weeks I was thinking of him as a friend rather than an acquaintance – and yet we had only met once. And then it hit me, I was getting to experience what I had imagined for my characters in Dear Dylan – and it was so heartening to see that I’d been right – that there is something about the unique combination of distance and intimacy that makes email the perfect channel for the development of a friendship.

And of course the joy of an email friendship is that it doesn’t matter where you are in the world. Just like the characters in Dear Dylan, my email friend and I live in different parts of the UK but, as we have i-phones, this doesn’t matter a bit. And, even when we travel, our friendship stretches across the globe like an invisible chord. On Thanksgiving Day last year, when I was 4,000 miles away with my family in South Carolina, my online friend sent me an email saying that, in light of what day it was, he wanted to thank me for my friendship and how much it meant to him. It was the perfect Thanksgiving gift and I too, am so thankful for this wonderful example of life imitating art.

Thanks so much Siobhan Curham! Guys, you should browse other blog participating on this tour by checking out the blogs on the banner. I really wish you all will love the book as well. Check out also my review of the book (please click siobhan curham on labels).


About the Author

Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, writing workshop leader and life coach. She runs the YA book-lovers site, The Faded Bookmark and is co-founder of the young person’s writing organisation Write Club. Siobhan is represented by literary agent Erzsi Deak of the Hen & Ink Literary Studio.

Web: http://www.siobhancurham.co.uk/

no one to hear you scream by julia madeline

Title: No One To Hear You Scream
Author: Julia Madeline
Pages: 268
Published: March 22nd, 2011
Rating: 5 /5
Source: Provided by the author

Synopsis (Goodreads):

In upstate New York, Brett and Pamela Jameson find the house of their dreams on twenty acres of land. Bucolic and serene, it is the answer to all of their prayers. But their dream soon turns into a nightmare when violent ex-gang member Rory Madden, the property’s former owner returns, and will stop at nothing to reclaim the home he lost to foreclosure. Rory unearths the secrets hidden within the Jameson family, and begins to leverage his knowledge to slowly drive wedges between them. When their seventeen year-old daughter Justine falls prey to Rory’s advances, she becomes a co-conspirator, setting about a series of increasingly treacherous events that could forever tear the Jameson family apart. A terrifying odyssey into the dark side of the American dream, No One to Hear You Scream captures the fear of the modern middle-class, the alienation of those left out, and the heart-stopping terror at the realization that it can all be taken away in an instant.

What I Think:

This is actually a very good book since I've read the last thriller book and review it on the blog. The author really got me hooked with all the suspense and twists. The book is more like a psycho-thriller book that would make you wonder and keep guessing what is going to happen and who's the culprit. The mysteries of the past also mysterious to the readers. The plot is well organized and so detail but not too dragged to make you lost interest. The storyline of dysfunctional family, with every members have their own issues, makes the story well-blended and resulting a great thrill. Am definitely will wait for her next book in future.

About the Author:

Julia Madeleine is the youngest daughter of Irish immigrant parents from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Born in Canada and raised in a small town in southern-western Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron, Julia honed her dual passions for art and fiction writing from the time she was old enough to hold a crayon. As a teenager she moved to Toronto and graduated in Media Writing from Sheridan College. She wrote for a number of entertainment magazines, while spending all her free time writing fiction, and then in 2000, her passion for art led her, quite by accident, into a career in the tattoo industry.

Visit her at: Website | Goodreads | Blog

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from the author for an exchange of fair review. Receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review and these are my honest review.

Note: The book review joins Cym Lowell Book Review Wednesday.

i'm back and snailly is my new best friend!

Hello dear friends! I know that no one ever miss my absence on the net but I feel very haapy because now I can go back to my old life. Blogging, reading and reviews, reding at leasure etc etc etc.

However, working life is very challenging. I don't know why I ever want to study so hard and get a very pathetic and boring, very boring job. Haha. It's not that I don't lik my work by I kind of in a way, trying to adapt with it. God, being collage student is way too easy than working. Welcome to independent life folks!

So that being said, my everyday schedule is very tight, plus, I'm a newlywed bride! Having 2Ws (Working and Wife) is not easy. And imagine I cook everyday! So there you have it, working, being a wife, cooking, reading, extra workload from office, and planning to be a student again, oh-oh...

I can't imagine if I have kids in future. So bookworms out there who is a wife, working, being a mum, you are gems! Super bionic-woman!

Then I need to update a lot of things. I hosted a challenge last year and still not updating the it (participants, please forgive me and promise will let you know something about it!), my own challenge for 2012 (I didnt finish any of the book challenges last year, so it was very pathethic and I still can feel how lame I am right now), also need to catch up with other blogger buddies (if they still remember me lol) and etc etc etc.

I change my blog layout. I know it's too girlish and too pinkish, but I dont care. Haha. I still think a professional layout is better but I need something colorful and bright to cheer up my every boring day.

Keep in touch dear friends and hope I'm still welcomed in this big wide world community. =)

Darlyn.

lovesick by spencer seidel (arc)

Title: Lovesick
Author: Spencer Seidel
Pages: 376
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from arc):

THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH LEE…

Late one night out on the Eastern Promenade Trail in Portland, Maine, the police discover an incoherent teenager sitting in a pool of blood, holding the body of his best friend and the murder weapon. The girl they both love has been missing for weeks. Dr. Lisa Boyers, forensic psychologist, receives a call from an old friend, a connection to her troubled past. Attorney Rudy Swaner wants her to interview the young killer, Paul Ducharme, who is claiming he doesn’t remember the events leading up to the murder.

In her jailhouse interviews, Lisa helps Paul to recover his memories. But Paul’s disturbing love story forces her to confront her own ugly, violent secrets. Lisa soon finds herself the focus of an over-zealous reporter and media hype that drags her unwilling into the spotlight and threatens to uncover secrets she’d rather not share.

My Two Cents:

I'm totally glad to have such a hope from the author. Since his debut novel; The Dead of Wynter, I knew the author is someone so promising with these kind of book genre.

Maybe the best part of his book is that they sound like a psycho books that will grab your attention real quickly with so many assumptions, doubts and feel like, " I knew it!". His style of writing does not differ much from The Dead of Wynter but I could tell that Lovesick consists like two parts of story. Either way, the book is still good. Psycho thrillers are the best because even though you like the story, you will at least felt that the book is violating your minds, but in a good way. You can't stop hating and loving the same the character at once! Other good part is that, reading the book also was like puzzling your mind to keep guessing what will happen next, and what's the ending would be. I think you can guess it right, it's very spot on, but tricky as well.

I have o complain for the book because I love it just the way he wrote it. You'll love it immensely once you start reading it too. I highly recommend it!

Disclaimer: I received this review copy from publicist Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for an exchange of a review. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.