Wednesday, January 27, 2016

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Shelter by Jung Yun



"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for this week is:


You can never know what goes on behind closed doors.

One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of the Year (Selected by Edan Lepucki)


Kyung Cho is a young father burdened by a house he can’t afford. For years, he and his wife, Gillian, have lived beyond their means. Now their debts and bad decisions are catching up with them, and Kyung is anxious for his family’s future.

A few miles away, his parents, Jin and Mae, live in the town’s most exclusive neighborhood, surrounded by the material comforts that Kyung desires for his wife and son. Growing up, they gave him every possible advantage―private tutors, expensive hobbies―but they never showed him kindness. Kyung can hardly bear to see them now, much less ask for their help. Yet when an act of violence leaves Jin and Mae unable to live on their own, the dynamic suddenly changes, and he’s compelled to take them in. For the first time in years, the Chos find themselves living under the same roof. Tensions quickly mount as Kyung’s proximity to his parents forces old feelings of guilt and anger to the surface, along with a terrible and persistent question: how can he ever be a good husband, father, and son when he never knew affection as a child?

As Shelter veers swiftly toward its startling conclusion, Jung Yun leads us through dark and violent territory, where, unexpectedly, the Chos discover hope. Shelter is a masterfully crafted debut novel that asks what it means to provide for one's family and, in answer, delivers a story as riveting as it is profound.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Will Read Before the End of The Year if it Kills Me!


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This is a Freebie Week!: Pick a topic near and dear to your heart! Something you wished was on our official list!

Top Ten Books I Will Read Before the End of The Year if it Kills Me!

Before blogging became so wildly popular, I kept a good handle on my TBR pile. It rarely went over one hundred. Then publishers and authors realized the power behind having readers talking about their books online and suddenly I fielded more review requests than their are poppies in the field from the Wizard of Oz. 

Not being able to say no is a downfall of mine--one I am working hard to fix. I've been doing pretty good the past two years. Now, if I could just get my work schedule in line catching up would be easy.

So, here is a list of books I plan to read before the end of the year. They should be the oldest in my pile of promised reviews. I thank God for these authors' patience on a regular basis. 

Romantic Crime Mystery

Science Fiction

Thriller

Middle Grade

Cozy Mystery

Women's Fiction

Young Adult Fantasy

Historical Fiction

Business/Professional Development

Historical Fiction

What about you? What books have been in your TBR pile forever?



Monday, January 25, 2016

Musing Mondays - Jan 25



Musing Mondays is a weekly meme sponsored by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:
  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…
THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Have you read – or do you plan to read – the Shannara Chronicles by Terri Brooks? Have you been watching the new TV series based off the books? If so, what do you think?

This week, I am wishing I could read, Touches of Time by LoRee Peery, but my reading time is less than I want it to be right now.





A decades-old unsolved homicide.

A grieving single mother-to-be.

A cold-case investigator.

Sarah Bishop goes through her deceased mother’s belongings and becomes immersed in the details of her grandfather’s unsolved homicide. Determined to find who was responsible, for the sake of her unborn baby, Sarah vows to seek out the answers her mother had failed to find.

Cold Case Investigator Ford Melcher is intrigued by Sarah’s dogged drive to solve the old mystery. His current case has reached a frustrating dead end, but he comes to believe it is somehow linked to Sarah’s quest. His desire to protect her from further hurt is put to the test, especially when he has secrets he’d rather not disclose.

Answers could remain elusive as to who struck Sarah’s grandfather and left him in a ditch. Will the search for those answers open doors for her to discover the life God planned? Can she accept that plan if it includes a man who wasn’t forthright with information?

Touches of Time from Grace & Victory Press

A romance novel inspired by a story close to LoRee's heart

The author has kindly provided me with an ARC so I can provide an endorsement. I plan to dig into this one by the end of the week.

What are you reading this week?

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Coming Soon!: New Releases from Vannetta Chapman


Joshua Kline travels from his farm in Oklahoma to offer aid to an Englisch town on the gulf coast of Texas after a category 4 hurricane has ravaged the area. He brings his brother with him, who needs a change of environment. The last thing he wants for Alton is another brush with the law. He is pleasantly surprised when he hears that Becca Troyer, the bishop’s granddaughter, plans on joining their team.

What will Joshua find when he arrives in Texas? A lack of electricity, certainly, which poses little problem for the Amish volunteers as they help restore order from destruction. But a budding romance? A call from God? And a possible healing of his relationship with Alton?

Joshua’s Mission is a story of love, forgiveness, and the grace of God that carries us through even the worst situations.

Pre-order from Harvest House!



All the color and variety of a quaint Amish shop in a charming collection of novellas by four of your favorite authors.Feel free to come in and browse!

Love Birds by Amy Clipston

While Ellie Lapp and her mother are still mourning the loss of her brother, Seth, Ellie starts working at one of the gift shops in town. Seth s friend Lloyd is talented at carving wooden birds, but his father disapproves and expects him to take over the family farm someday. Ellie sees the beauty in Lloyd s creations and insists Lloyd sell the birds in the gift shop where she works. As Ellie and Lloyd spend more time together, they begin to develop feelings for one another, but she accidentally betrays his trust. Will she lose any hope of a future with him?

A Bid for Love by Kathleen Fuller

Every week, Hannah Lynne brings her home-churned butter to the local market. And every week Ezra stops by to purchase some. Hannah Lynne knows not to read too much into it Ezra is a confirmed bachelor and barely even glances her way, despite any hope to the contrary. But when Ezra bids an exorbitant amount to win the quilt she had her heart set on, Hannah Lynne can t stop her heart from taking over her mind. Could Ezra finally be in the market for love?

Sweeter Than Honey by Kelly Irvin

Shattering a jar of pickled beets wasn t the impression Isabella hoped to make on her first trip to the local Combination Store of Bee County, Texas. But as embarrassed as she was by the accident, she didn t think it warranted the frosty reaction from the handsome manager of the store, Will Glick. As she soon learns, though, Will s heart has been broken one too many times. And now, for some reason, Isabella finds herself determined to be the one to repair that broken heart and renew his faith in love.

Love in Store by Vannetta Chapman

Stella Schrock works at the Old Mill in Nappanee, Indiana, with new employee David Stoltzfus, a recent widower. When strange happenings begin occurring around town, it appears as if someone wants to close the mill. Stella and David have to work together to solve the mystery of what is happening at the Old Amish Mill, and in the process they might just find that God has more in store for their future than they would ever have dreamed possible.

Pre-order from Amazon!

Monday, January 18, 2016

Musing Mondays - January 18



Musing Mondays is a weekly meme sponsored by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:
  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…
THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you have any particular “quirks” when it comes to reading (eg. taking notes while reading, etc)?

I'm trying to keep up with the blog memes I enjoy.

Right now I am reading, The Last Dinner Party by Carly M. Duncan. I was supposed to review it this month, but my reading time is a lot less than it used to be a couple of years ago. I'm hoping to increase it a bit this year. 

What I have read of this one so far is fascinating. The author is currently on a virtual book tour. You can check out her tour schedule here.




Description:

When Jeanie D'Alisa is found murdered in her bedroom after hosting a dinner party in her home, detectives Anna Cole and Kristy Hicks are called to investigate the crime. Known within her community for her generous, yet unpredictable nature, Jeanie's secrets unfold as family, friends and neighbors become suspects. Anna and Kristy discover stamped passport pages revealing travels unknown and a curious relationship between Jeanie and the charming salesman who frequents the apartment building. Meryl, Jeanie's devoted and needy friend, further complicates the investigation when she phones Jeanie's sister who is studying abroad and lies to her about the cause of death. Through a muddied pool of misdirection and betrayal, will Anna and Kristy be able to assemble the clues in order to bring Jeanie's killer to justice? The path to solving the mystery becomes tangled with faces of loved ones who are revealed to be foes in this story about the lengths people will go to in order to save themselves.


What are you reading this week?

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Interview with Lori A. Moore, Author of Oh Ship! Tales of a Cruising Chick and Other Travel Adventures


Lori A. Moore is an award-winning author and professor who doesn’t take herself too seriously and believes her greatest gift to be silliness. A public speaker and consultant, Lori has four graduate degrees in business. Lori, her husband, and their four-legged child live in Louisville, KY. An avid traveler, she has explored much of the globe, finding and bringing silliness to all places.

For More Information

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi, I’m Lori A. Moore and I live in Louisville, KY with my husband and our sweet little cat, Grady, who we adopted from the Humane Society. A recovering workaholic, I worked 25+ years in corporate America without realizing I had a creative side. Now I’ve realized that I can write and take some pretty good photographs of non-living things. I believe that I have the gift of silliness, which keeps this almost-51 year old acting more like she’s 12.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

When I was a junior in high school, I was supposed to have been inducted into the National Honor Society, but when that day came, they didn’t include me. That was on a Friday. I cried all weekend wondering why they didn’t want me as I knew my grades were practically 4.0. Was it because I didn’t do enough extra-curricular activities? Was it because my dad, who raised me as a single dad, didn’t make it to PTA meetings because he worked nights? Monday afternoon I was sitting in Social Studies class when an announcement came over the P.A. system announcing from the principal apologizing that I had been overlooked and announcing that I was officially inducted into the NHS. A few minutes later, I got a note asking me to report to the principal’s office. As it turned out, my dad, who had never said anything to me, had marched into the high school that morning to ask why I wasn’t included. It’s the first time he had ever shown such an expression of love, concern, and support for me publicly and I cherish this memory.

When did you begin writing?

Right after my former husband passed away unexpectedly in 2008, just three days before what should have been his 50th birthday. I wrote a journal to deal with my grief and that ended up becoming a book.

What is this book about?

Oh Ship! is about my many travels, a lot of those being on cruises. So far I’ve been to all 50 states in the USA plus somewhere between 55-58 other countries. Fun, silly, and unbelievable things happen when you travel and this book is a compilation of some of those stories.

What inspired you to write it?


As I travel, I realize that some things are the same everywhere, like wives rolling their eyes at their husbands and children throwing tantrums. But then again, some times are completely different. I want everyone to experience what travel has to offer.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My husband is both my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, and my biggest helper when I can’t find a word that I want to use.

Who is your favorite author?

Liz Curtis Higgs.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and TatePublishing.com

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

Absolutely, thanks for asking. My website is www.LoriAMoore.com (really original name, right?) and I have a travel blog there as well. I also have a book blog at http://loriamoore.wix.com/lorisnovelnews

What is up next for you?

My next book will be coming out in the summer of 2016 and is my first attempt at suspense fiction. Are you ready for the title? My Cold Kentucky Home.




Wednesday, January 13, 2016

"Waiting On" Wednesday: The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

I first learned of Melanie Benjamin when I helped promote her novels, Alice I Have Been and  The Autobiography of Tom Thumb. While I haven't been able to make room for all her books in my reading schedule, I would like to get to this one when it comes out later this month.



"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for this week is:


From the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife comes an enthralling new novel about Truman Capote’s scandalous, headline-making, and heart-wrenching friendship with Babe Paley and New York’s society “swans” of the 1950s.

Centered on two dynamic, complicated, and compelling protagonists—Truman Capote and Babe Paley—this book is steeped in the glamour and perfumed and smoky atmosphere of New York’s high society. Babe Paley—known for her high-profile marriage to CBS founder William Paley and her ranking in the International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame—was one of the reigning monarchs of New York’s high society in the 1950s. Replete with gossip, scandal, betrayal, and a vibrant cast of real-life supporting characters, readers will be seduced by this startling new look at the infamous society swans.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Interview with Mary Lawlor, Author of Fighter Pilot's Daughter

Mary Lawlor grew up in an Army family during the Cold War. Her father was a decorated fighter pilot who fought in the Pacific during World War II, flew missions in Korea, and did two combat tours in Vietnam. His family followed him from base to base and country to country during his years of service. Every two or three years, Mary, her three sisters, and her mother packed up their household and moved. By the time she graduated from high school, she had attended fourteen different schools. These displacements, plus her father's frequent absences and brief, dramatic returns, were part of the fabric of her childhood, as were the rituals of base life and the adventures of life abroad.

As Mary came of age, tensions between the patriotic, Catholic culture of her upbringing and the values of the sixties counterculture set family life on fire. While attending the American College in Paris, she became involved in the famous student uprisings of May 1968. Facing her father, then posted in Vietnam, across a deep political divide, she fought as he had taught her to for a way of life completely different from his and her mother’s.

Years of turbulence followed. After working in Germany, Spain and Japan, Mary went on to graduate school at NYU, earned a Ph.D. and became a professor of literature and American Studies at Muhlenberg College. She has published three books, Recalling the Wild (Rutgers UP, 2000), Public Native America (Rutgers UP, 2006), and most recently Fighter Pilot’s Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War (Rowman and Littlefield, September 2013).

She and her husband spend part of each year on a small farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Visit Mary online at http://www.marylawlor.net/
Connect on Facebook and Twitter
Find out more on Goodreads!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I grew up in an Army family, which meant I moved constantly and still have little sense of home. I have, however, managed to keep two houses in the same two towns for the past many years. One is in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Muhlenberg College is located; and the other is in Gaucin, Spain. The Gaucin place is small and rustic, but it’s where I enjoy life most. I write and hike and swim there in the summers, and skip the swimming in winter.

I’ve taught American Studies and literature at Muhlenberg for years. My favorite courses have been Native American Literature (I wrote a book about contemporary indigenous museums, powwows & casinos called Public Native America), lit & film of the Cold War, and 19th century American Lit.
My memoir, Fighter Pilot’s Daughter, tells the story of growing up in the Army and daily life during the middle years of Cold War. I’m celebrating that it’s done well enough to have very recently come out in paperback.

Where did you grow up?

Since my father was a military pilot, he was often transferred so he could fly new planes and teach others how to fly them. My mother and three sisters and I followed him from one post to another, packing everything up and then unpacking it in the new house each time. I lived in fourteen different places—from upstate New York to Alabama to California and Germany—by the time I graduated from high school.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

When I was 11 years old, my family moved from Alabama to California. We drove all the way across the country on the southern route, passing through places like Biloxi, Mississippi, El Paso, Texas, and the old Disneyland in Anaheim, California. When we finally arrived at our new home in Monterey, I was overcome by the beauty. Alabama had been an overexposed, strange place to live and the towns we’d passed through on the trip were bland and offered little to attract interest. The Monterey Peninsula was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. The waves of the Pacific washed up on it, and there were Cyprus trees everywhere along the rocky shore. In the mornings, fog would roll up from the beaches, and you could only see tree tops, bits of road, beach, the roofs of houses. Gradually the fog would thin, and you could see more. It was magical, like the world was slowly appearing for the day. Kids don’t always appreciate landscapes or views, but I was really taken by all this. It stimulated my imagination like nowhere I’d ever been.

When did you begin writing?

I always wanted to be a writer and actually started playing with writing when I was very young, before we moved to California. But once there, my imagination came awake pretty powerfully. I wrote stories and sketches—and I spent a lot of time dreaming up stories I never wrote down. I took a course in creative writing in undergraduate school but set aside fiction-making when I went to graduate school. I studied centuries of English and American literature at NYU, as well as the cultural and political histories that came with it. I wrote a couple of academic books (one about the literature of the American West at the time the frontier was declared closed, and the other, as I mentioned above, was about Native American museums, powwows, and casinos), but it wasn’t until I wrote Fighter Pilot’s Daughter that I managed to break out of academic publishing into more personal and heartfelt writing.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I usually write in the mornings, as soon as I get a cup of tea made. If I can find an hour or two later in the day, I’ll certainly take it. If writing in the morning doesn’t happen, I’ll try to find time later in the day—even if it’s late at night.

What is this book about?

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter is a narrative of my girlhood years in a Marine Corps and later Army family. It describes the many episodes of our lives on the road and in the many places where we lived. The book gives a close account of our family relations and of the Cold War, Irish-Catholic context of our many households. The climax comes in the late sixties, when I went away to college and began taking a different view of life from that by which my parents had raised me. We came into sharp conflict with each other, and it wasn’t until many years later that we resolved our differences. The book relates those conflicts in detail, and it ends with the story of how we finally came together again as the Cold War ended.

What inspired you to write it?


Because of all the moving, I had a very thin sense of place and this had paradoxically a big influence on my character. The book explains how this is so, but briefly the absence of time spent in any one place left me drifting in the wind as I came out of early childhood and started the long process of trying to figure out who I was and who I might become. Writing Fighter Pilot’s Daughter helped me sort through the memories of all the moving and the experience of being a constant stranger, of never belonging. For years before I started writing this book, I had wanted to sit down with all the records, journals, interviews, letters and photos I had and draft an account of what happened when. I figured seeing the history of my family’s life and my own would be helpful—therapeutic even—in the ongoing process of figuring out who I was. And indeed it has been!

There were also questions of a moral sort that I wanted to think about in writing—questions about what my father did in war and about my own relationship with my parents. Writing the book helped tremendously with this. I learned tons of things about my father, my mother, and myself just by going back into memory, studying the letters and military records, and narrating the story of our shifting, complicated life.

In addition, my students in courses on lit & film of the Cold War were influential. They urged me to write my story, and I was hugely inspired by their encouragement.

Are you a member of a critique group? If no, who provides feedback on your work?

I’m not a member of a critique group. I have a few close friends who I rely on to read my work and give me feedback.

Who is your favorite author?

At the moment, my favorite author is probably David Mitchell (author of The Bone Clocks, Cloud Atlas, Slade House, and several other novels). But I’m a big reader, and my favorite author changes often.

Do you have an agent or are you looking for one?

My agent for Fighter Pilot’s Daughter was Neil Salkind of Salkind Literary/Studio B. He was great and helped me place the book quickly with Rowman and Littlefield.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

My book is available at Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, rowmanlittlefield.com, and other online bookstores as well as in brick and mortar stores.

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

My website is www.marylawlor.net. There’s a lot more information there about Fighter Pilot’s Daughter, including radio interviews, and there are photos, a longer bio, and many photos.

What is the best investment you have made in promoting your book?

The best investment I made for promoting the original hardback edition of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter was to sign up for a virtual book tour with Dorothy Thompson and Pump Up Your Book. The Amazon ratings went up quickly, and the first printing of the book sold out.

What is up next for you?

I’m writing a novel now titled The Time Keeper’s Room. It’s set in southern Spain and features a young woman just starting university who gets very interested in her own family’s deep past. She has visions of figures out of medieval Spain, and these figures enter into her own life in ways that aren’t science-fictional. Her boyfriend comes from a different kind of family from her own, and he too becomes interested in the distant past. The two of them learn a great deal about themselves, their families, and their country’s history by a combination of love in the present and sympathy with the past.


Book Spotlight: The Last Dinner Party by Carly M. Duncan

I was supposed to review this book today, but I had to reschedule to February 19. Love what I have read so far!


When Jeanie D'Alisa is found murdered in her bedroom after hosting a dinner party in her home, detectives Anna Cole and Kristy Hicks are called to investigate the crime. Known within her community for her generous, yet unpredictable nature, Jeanie's secrets unfold as family, friends and neighbors become suspects. Anna and Kristy discover stamped passport pages revealing travels unknown and a curious relationship between Jeanie and the charming salesman who frequents the apartment building. Meryl, Jeanie's devoted and needy friend, further complicates the investigation when she phones Jeanie's sister who is studying abroad and lies to her about the cause of death. Through a muddied pool of misdirection and betrayal, will Anna and Kristy be able to assemble the clues in order to bring Jeanie's killer to justice? The path to solving the mystery becomes tangled with faces of loved ones who are revealed to be foes in this story about the lengths people will go to in order to save themselves.

Book Excerpt:

She opened her eyes only once she heard the apartment’s front door close. She couldn’t even bring herself to turn over in the bed despite her discomfort, for she didn’t want a single mattress coil’s shift to alert him to the fact that she was awake. She waited a moment, lying in her bed, pausing in case he had forgotten anything, but the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.

Meryl Brunetti had been awake for twenty minutes, but she wasn’t prepared to begin the day. Not until he was gone. She didn’t want to see him, she didn’t want to talk, and she certainly wasn’t prepared to deal with anything they’d discussed the night before. She needed more time, and she needed to figure out how she felt.

Instead of waking up at seven o’clock to make him breakfast as usual, to start his day on a pleasant note, and see him out the door, she slept. Or, rather, she pretended to sleep. She’d been unable to sleep the night before. Her mind twirled with anger, despair, and uncertainty.

When she heard the sound of the shower signally the beginning of his day this morning, she felt drowsiness weigh on her eyelids, as though his impending exit might cause her relief. She felt her mind quiet, and forced herself to keep her eyes shut. She wouldn’t rise and she wouldn’t make a sound. She couldn’t bear to see his face. Not after last night. She’d have to pretend later that she’d accidentally slept in.

Maybe she could blame oversleeping on the alcohol. She’d need some excuse, given the average schedule she kept, which rivaled military rising hours. She might be able to blame a hangover for her tardiness depending how closely anyone was counting her cocktails last night. As a rule, she vowed always to have a drink in hand at any social gathering both as an accessory (she could never figure out a comfortable, natural place for her hands), and an ordinary pause in conversation (she often took a sip when she couldn’t think of the next thing she wanted to say.) As a result, she appeared to always have a glass in hand, but she rarely drank with the same fury as some of her louder, and more entertaining friends.

After he left their home, when she heard the click of the lock in place behind him, she emerged from the bed and walked with purpose to the coffee maker. She brewed the first pot of coffee for the day. There would be at least one and perhaps two that followed, depending on her afternoon.

The morning light that flooded into the apartment seemed excessive this particular morning. On any other morning, Meryl would relish in the beautiful daylight that overtook her home, but today she had the beginning of a headache, perhaps from lack of sleep, and she pulled the living room curtains closed.

She wanted to spend a rare day in her pajamas without responsibility, but she couldn’t afford such a day. She never could. Every day, there were endless duties to address. There was the grocery shopping, preparing for her next book club meeting, picking up or dropping off the dry cleaning, meeting with other mothers on various committees, baking for fundraisers, and sometimes making multiple trips to the high school to drop off a meal or some piece of sports equipment that her son had forgotten.

Meryl loved to be busy. The constant buzz of her life made her feel like more than the housewife she was, but she sometimes secretly dreamed of a day off from cooking dinner, and wished she didn’t have to have the answers to every question her family members posed. They trusted her to know all, and she usually did, but the exhausting task of running more lives than her own was far too much for her to think about today. She wished she could sleep away her thoughts and responsibilities.

For More Information




Carly M. Duncan is a television producer and writer. Working in television, she has prolifically created visual narratives for more than a decade for networks including TLC, Discovery Health, MTV, NatGeo, Travel Channel, FYI and more.

Her writing career officially began when one of her short stories, First Place, was published when she was a high school student in California. Her first two novels, Marcie and Behind You, are mysteries that touch on family bonds and the events that can strengthen or destroy them.

Her third novel, The Last Dinner Party, introduces a pair of female detectives who will return in future stories. In addition, she is a mentor and editor to other writers as well as an avid reader. Her favorite authors include Agatha Christie and Stephen King.

Carly lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.

For More Information




Friday, January 8, 2016

Interview with Carly M. Duncan, Author of The Last Dinner Party


Carly M. Duncan is a television producer and writer. Working in television, she has prolifically created visual narratives for more than a decade for networks including TLC, Discovery Health, MTV, NatGeo, Travel Channel, FYI and more.

Her writing career officially began when one of her short stories, First Place, was published when she was a high school student in California. Her first two novels, Marcie and Behind You, are mysteries that touch on family bonds and the events that can strengthen or destroy them.

Her third novel, The Last Dinner Party, introduces a pair of female detectives who will return in future stories. In addition, she is a mentor and editor to other writers as well as an avid reader. Her favorite authors include Agatha Christie and Stephen King.

Carly lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.


For More Information


Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a wife, mom, television producer, writer, friend, aspiring yogi, avid reader, and at-home-dance-party enthusiast.

When did you begin writing?

I started writing in high school. I was part of a small writing group that would send comedic stories and anecdotes to each other from our days. It was essentially blogging to a highly specific audience before blogging was a thing.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I’m afraid I can’t commit myself to long writing sessions, as much as I would love to. I write any moment I have in between. Sometimes I have an extra twenty minutes in the morning. Sometimes when the kids are in bed, I take an hour or two to devote to my writing. Other times, I keep an e-mail draft open throughout the day at work and jot lines or ideas in it as I go. I have to seize every minute I have, and word by word I eventually get to the finish line. It’s tedious, but rewarding.

What is this book about?

The Last Dinner Party is about two detectives, Anna & Kristy, who are tasked with getting to the bottom of the death of Jeanie D’Alisa. There are many suspects with a variety of motives, which makes their job highly challenging and twisty.

What inspired you to write it?

Inspired by a family story, I initially wrote a short piece from the murderer’s perspective. I loved what came to the page, but it was ultimately too violent and aggressive for the kind of stories I usually tell. I realized I couldn’t tell a sympathetic story from the murderer’s perspective (no matter how legitimate their motive might be), and I started to play with the multiple views of Jeanie that her friends and neighbors might have.

Who is your biggest supporter?

I’m so lucky to have a network of supportive family and friends. I have a core “team” that I can turn to when I’m stuck with a story. I can send drafts to them and they’ll return with questions or comments that really help me continue to keep chugging along. I also have some very solid co-workers who helped with offering their opinions when I was struggling with cover design and who have been so wonderful with supporting the book now that it’s out.

Who is your favorite author?

I love Agatha Christie. She hardly ever fails, and there’s so much content to absorb. Patricia Highsmith is a master of suspense. No one does it like she can. Gillian Flynn is my favorite author for all of her twistiness. Wally Lamb is an incredible storyteller on an epic level. And Paulo Coelho is my favorite author for more spiritual and inspirational tales.

Do you have an agent or are you looking for one?

I don’t have an agent, but am looking for one. This is my third novel, and I have more up my sleeve, so I’m confident someone will pick me up eventually!

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

The Last Dinner Party is available on Amazon.

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

To connect with me, visit carlyduncan.com. I’m also on Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter @carlymduncan.com.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

The best advice I can offer to aspiring authors is merely to write. Just do it. Don’t think too hard about whether or not you will finish or succeed. If writing is what you love to do, than do it. Commit to yourself, and don’t be fearful of the outcome because the product will change so much through the course of your process. But start. Don’t procrastinate.

What is up next for you?
I have a chick lit novel in progress, but it’s been in progress for years and years, so I make no promises there. I also have two ideas for future Anna & Kristy mysteries. Lastly, I’m working on an outline for another mystery based on an incident that happens at a wedding when two couples reunite after having met at another event six months earlier.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I hope you enjoy The Last Dinner Party as much as I loved the journey in making it. I collect photos of the book in your hands and homes, so please sent my way! I’d love to see them.

For More Information



Thursday, January 7, 2016

Book Spotlight: Burn, Do Not Read by Kevin Flanders


Jack Gibson was never the same since the tragedy. He moved across the country, living alone in a little house in the middle of the woods. He didn’t want any visitors. And his phone conversations with family members became progressively shorter over time…and stranger.

Now Jack is dead, but his friends say something was very wrong in the weeks leading up to his death. He refused to leave the house and claimed he wasn’t feeling well, though it seems an illness was the least of his problems.

Following the funeral, Jack’s children and grandchildren experience for the first time his remote house in the woods. What they encounter there is unimaginable, even for a family prepared for the worst. All of the windows are covered by newspapers, the doors sealed by duct tape – but why? Reluctantly, apprehensively, the investigation must begin.

Will the family’s discoveries shine a light on what was ailing Jack? Or is the house simply too dark with clutter and confusion for the truth to be illuminated?

File Size: 2399 KB
Print Length: 368 pages
Publication Date: December 16, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B019HJM7T6


Available now at Amazon!

* Blogger's note: I had a chance to read this story in draft form. It's amazing. Anyone who enjoys horror stories needs to get this one.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

"Waiting On" Wednesday: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

New years are so exciting because they bring a bunch of "firsts" into your life. This is the first "Waiting On" Wednesday post of 2016. Out of all the books I want that are releasing in early 2016, this one is what I want the most. Sherlock Holmes has always fascinated me. This book is a way to keep his spirit alive and make the subject fresh for readers.



"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for this week is:


The last thing sixteen-year-old Jamie Watson–writer and great-great-grandson of the John Watson–wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s enigmatic, fiercely independent great-great-granddaughter, who’s inherited not just his genius but also his vices, volatile temperament, and expertly hidden vulnerability. Charlotte has been the object of his fascination for as long as he can remember–but from the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else.

Then a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Holmes stories, and Jamie and Charlotte become the prime suspects. Convinced they’re being framed, they must race against the police to conduct their own investigation. As danger mounts, it becomes clear that nowhere is safe and the only people they can trust are each other.

Equal parts tender, thrilling, and hilarious, A Study in Charlotte is the first in a trilogy brimming with wit and edge-of-the-seat suspense.

10 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Book Tours by Dorothy Thompson, Founder of Pump Up Your Book


10 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Book Tours
By Dorothy Thompson, CEO & Founder of
 Pump Up Your Book

By now, most authors know what virtual book tours are or at least have heard of them.  They’re that wonderful marketing tool that should be a must have in every new book’s campaign.  With each new book I write, I’m making a game plan before the book is even published, and a virtual book tour is the first promotional venue on that list.

While most of us know what they are, there are still a few authors who might have heard of them but have no idea what they involve.  I give you my top 10 things you need to know about virtual book tours so you know what to expect.
  1. Virtual book tours are the BEST way to get the MOST online exposure for your book. Not only are you presenting your book--and yourself--to thousands of people, all of your interviews, guest posts and reviews are archived, which means months down the road you’re still selling your book because of that one tour.
  2. Virtual book tours ARE a lot of work. Not only are you searching for the perfect blogs to host you, you are acting as the middle man between you and the blogger unless you are using a paid service, such as Pump Up Your Book, who will do all that work for you.  Even if you do sign up with Pump Up Your Book, there is still work to do--filling out interviews and writing guest posts (unless you choose an all review tour).  Even though it requires a little bit of your time to fill out interviews and write guest posts, it’s well worth it.
  3. You will learn more about your book than you ever did. I had an author tell me that through the interviews and guest posts she had to complete she learned so much about her book, which caught her off guard.  Now, when she is interviewed on radio shows and makes television appearances she is better prepared.
  4. Virtual book tours will build up your author platform.  No matter if you’re a fiction author or a nonfiction author, virtual book tours will build up your author platform using your key search words.
  5. Your reviews are guaranteed. Offline publicists, while they mean well, do it all wrong.  They query a book blogger, make arrangements to send the book, then that’s where it stops.  The review is not a guaranteed thing.  The reviewer can post the review anytime they see fit.  With virtual book tours, your review is guaranteed on a certain date unless the reviewer jumps ship, which rarely happens.  I had an author tell me she signed up with an offline publicist who sent out tons of books, but only one or two reviewers actually came through for them.  That was money lost for the author.  Books don’t come cheap these days, so scheduling a date the reviewer can agree upon guarantees that review will happen.
  6. Many reviewers now take eBooks, which save you money. Thank goodness someone was smart enough to invent a device that automatically loads a book in a few seconds (no waiting to go to the book store anymore, my friend) and makes it fun to read.  When Amazon lowered their price of the Kindle, sales soared and book lovers started talking about getting one.  It opened up a wonderful way to get these books to the book reviewers quickly and less expensively.  Have you noticed how much books are and how much it takes to ship them?  Not saying all reviewers will take eBooks, but as time goes on, most will have an e-reader and might prefer an eBook.
  7. More website hits, more blog hits, more Twitter hits and more Facebook Fan Page hits. All authors should have a website or blog and accounts at Twitter and Facebook.  No matter if you think they’re all a waste of time.  A virtual book tour will definitely give you more hits at all places--as long as your links are in your bio.
  8. Going on a virtual book tour raises your Alexa rankings. What is Alexa?  Alexa measures how well you are doing in the search engines.  When you go on a virtual book tour, your website and blog links are included in every bio (or should be!) whether it be an interview or guest post.  Those are incoming links that Alexa uses to measure your ranking.  The more your website or blog link shows up on other sites, the more valuable your site is to them, and thus, your rankings soar.
  9. You will learn how to sell your book through media exposure. Not all authors take advantage of their interviews and guest posts by gearing them toward their audience, thus luring them to their book and/or website/blog.  I’ve had many authors on tour. The ones who really take the time to make their interviews and guest posts effective selling tools are the ones who profit the most.  The key thing here is to make your audience curious.  One liners, in the case of interviews, may not cut it.  Of course, there are only so many ways you can answer “What’s your book about?” but take your time and get your audience’s curiosity piqued so that they make their way over to your website or your book’s buying link.
  10. Virtual book tours teach you how to connect well with others. There is no better way to learn how to network.  All these wonderful book bloggers who agree to host you are your new friends in your extended network, and they will be there for you the next time you have a book to promote (unless they completely panned it of course).  You’ll also learn how to use the social networks effectively as you study how to get people over to your tour stops with persuasive wording.  Remember to talk to your audience, not at them.

There you have it.  Ten things you need to know about virtual book tours in a nutshell.  If you have a tour coordinator as opposed to setting one up yourself, she will walk you through it so that your tour will be a fun experience for all.  Your book will thank you for it.

Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book, an award-winning public relations company specializing in online book publicity.  You can visit her website at www.PumpUpYourBook.com or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pumpupyourbook and Facebook at www.facebook.com/pumpupyourbook.



Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Resolutions I Have For 2016


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.



Welcome to our first Top Ten Tuesday post of the year. I love participating in this one because it talks about resolutions, which fits in well with all the goal setting everyone does around the first of the year. 

I thought it would be fun to review last year's Top Ten Resolutions before moving into this year's.

1. Catch up on my TBR Pile. Ha, ha, ha. Didn't happen.
2. Catch up on writing reviews. Have reviewed all the books I've read. 
3. Re-organize my books. Didn't happen, but I did purge some throughout 2015.
4. Reconsider my blogging duties. Done. I got rid of one blog and reduce my blogging duties on two others. 
5. Finish my middle grade novel. Only 14 chapters in, but this is on my writing goals list for completion this year.
6. Get in shape. Never even came close to happening, though I did exercise occasionally. 
7. Clean out the basement. Don't make me laugh. There is more crap in there than ever. 
8. Seriously look at self-publishing. Read a couple of books, but tabled this until I have something to self-publish that isn't a picture book requiring illustrations. 
9. Re-organize my closet. Did some, but really needs to be totally emptied and tidied up.
10. Stage my house. Nope, and probably won't happen this year either.


Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2016
(can be bookish, personal resolutions, "I resolve to finally read these 10 books, series I resolve to finish in 2015, etc.)

  1. Catch up on my TBR Pile. I need to do this. I can't stand being overdue on reviews. I won't get to all my books, but by the end of the year I want all the books on my floor that I have promised to review to be gone. 
  2. Finish my middle grade novel. It's either this year or never. I've set my goals and have a plan on how to achieve them. By May 31, 2016 is slated to be done, but I will give myself some leeway if the real estate is profitable this year (and no reason to think it won't be).
  3. Get in Shape. Already on it. Today I started the New Year's Resolution Solution. I ate more fruits and vegetables than I have in years. This was also the first day I went without a can of soda. Oh, and I exercised too. My plan is to lose 10 pounds by the end of June.
  4. Daily Bible reading. Even if I only get in one verse, I'll be happy. I need to spend more time in the Word. 
  5. Dedicate more time to family. My in-laws are in their 80s and my kids are 28, 14, and 12. If I don't remember how quickly Johnny Boy went from baby to man, I can see it in how tall and mature the girls are getting. Need to time block the calendar with family time.
  6. Be a more dedicated spouse. Dad has his hopes and dreams, just like I do. I can't say I've always done everything I can to help him out. Marriage should be 50/50, so I need to bring it to the table. I'm sure this will require prayer to get me moving.
  7. Read more business and writing craft books. I buy them, but I don't always read them. I want to commit to reading one a quarter.
  8. Double my real estate business. I closed out 2015 by helping 14 people find new homes and 5 renters locate new rentals. I would like to be close to 30 home sales by the end of the year and still keep some rentals in the mix.
  9. Do one thing just for me this year. In 2014 I took a trip across the country to meet my friends in Wisconsin and embark upon a tour of most of the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites. For the record, I've never done anything like that before. I've never even been away from my girls for more than an overnight. I don't need anything this grand for 2016, but I want to do something special just for me--maybe a writing retreat. 
  10.  Let go of some volunteer duties. I simply do too much, and both my family and I suffer for it. It's time to reassess my life and let someone else take charge of things I don't have time for.  
Good luck with your goals for 2016. Feel free to share some of them in the comments. 

Monday, January 4, 2016

Musing Mondays - January 4



Musing Mondays is a weekly meme sponsored by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:
  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…
THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What do you do when you finish a book? Do you immediately start another one?

Welcome to the first Musing Mondays post of 2016! I hope you all had a great new year. My plan is to blog at least three times a week. It all depends on how many houses I want to sell. :)  I'll definitely never run out of reading material to talk about.

You can check out the reading challenges I am working on this year in my navigation bar or simply click here.

Staying in line with my writing goals, I bought some resources for children's writers last week. They arrived swiftly from Amazon and I already skimmed through them. One I will probably return, but these two are staying.







As to the answer to this week's question, it really depends. If I have reviews due, then I start a new book the minute I'm done with the last one. If the reviews are not time sensitive, then I usually wait a day or two so I can consider what I've read. I try to write up the book review while it's still fresh in my mind. 

Do you start a new book as soon as you finish one? 


Friday, January 1, 2016

Kindle Bargain: Murder Freshly Baked by Vannetta Chapman


The Amish Artisan Village of Middlebury, Indiana, might be the last place you would ever expect to find a murderer. But Amber has been managing the Village for decades and there’s nothing she hasn’t seen. Or so she thought.

When poetic notes begin appearing around the bakery, warning that some of the pies have been poisoned, Amber is as confused as she is concerned. Who poisons pies? And more to the point, who leaves poems of warning after they’ve done it? When Amber decides to help the police track down the sweet-toothed saboteur, she enlists Hannah Troyer for another round of Amish-style detective work.

Can Amber and Hannah help the police before the Poison Poet strikes? Both women will need to draw on their faith to preserve the peaceful community they’ve built in Middlebury . . . and to protect the girls who work in the Amish Artisan Village.

File Size: 2328 KB
Print Length: 340 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
Publisher: Zondervan (June 9, 2015)
Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
Language: English
ASIN: B00PFBNZQU


Purchase here for only $1.99!