Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Clear Angel Chronicles Character Spotlight: Kat Anderson

This is one of the stops in the Clear Angel Chronicles November Virtual Book Tour, prepping for the launch in the second book of the series, Angel's Dance, which releases November 25th.



Psychic Clear Angel hasn’t seen or heard from her one-time lover Detective Grant Anderson since their first case wrapped up six months ago, and that is perfectly fine with her! But when he shows up on her porch in the rain and in tears, she cannot hold her ground.  No matter how she feels about Grant and her “gift”, she can’t ignore the visions already pouring in.
Grant knows that he is no good for Clear, and has respected the distance she has kept. But when his daughter goes missing and the Chicago police have no leads, he turns to Clear and her unique abilities.

This next adventure puts Grant and Clear in close quarters as they find themselves once again fighting their feelings for one another.  Thrust into the dark underworld of performance art, they strive to track down a ballerina who keeps taunting Clear in her visions.  As they delve deeper into one studio, the grisly visions that haunt Clear may be more than she can handle. Can Clear hold it together to help find Grant’s daughter before it is too late?  


Today is a character spotlight on Kat Anderson, the daughter of Grant Anderson.


Kat Anderson

Brief physical description: Kat is a lithe and fit fifteen year old girl. With dark straight hair, deep blue eyes, and a strong features, she is a perfect blending of her father and mother. 

Who would play her in a movie. You know, it is hard to say. I think that I would love to see Chloe Moretz audition. She is very talented. I try not to spend too much time thinking who would play each character, because things change so quickly in Hollywood! 

Courtesy of Jobspapa.com


Strengths: Kat is a patient and very grown up young woman who is good at managing the adults around her. I would hesitate to say that she is manipulative, but she does manipulate her parents. Finding ways to meet their desires while still achieving her own desires. It is a tricky tightrope, especially when they are a bit absorbed in their own problems, yet Kat manages is gracefully. 

Weaknesses: Having grown up so quickly, Kat misses out a bit on typical teenage things. Her parents divorce has left her with a bit of a hole in how relationships work. She recognizes this and avoids boys because she doesn't want to end up like her parents. 

Quirk: Kat has so many! Acting tough when she is most vulnerable is probably my favorite. As any good teenage girl, she does a fair amount of eye-rolling. Tugging on her ear when she is glossing over her feelings is another one of my favorites, but you won't see that one until the next book! 

Inspired by: Interestingly Kat's maturity and grace for her age is inspired by my dear friend Linda, which is why I thought her spotlight on Linda's blog was so perfect! Linda and I grew up together, two girls without dads and with younger siblings. We kind of took on the mother role for our own mothers, as they took on the responsibilities of being single parents. I always admired Linda's maturity and responsibility. Her patience and graceful manipulation of her sister to get her to comply. I was much more direct with my brother, and it never went well! 


Like what you have learned about Kat? Want to learn more about the series? Follow the virtual book tour by hopping over to Heidi Angell's Blog post: 

And here are some little goodies for you! 

Feel free to enter
a Rafflecopter giveaway to get a 20X24 in poster for the series:


Or to win a psychic eye pendant inspired by the series


Enter  a Rafflecopter giveaway to win either a Grant Anderson Bookmark, or a Clear Angel Bookmark


Go check out the series today!!





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Monday, August 26, 2013

Kids' Korner: Suddenly Supernatural Books 1 & 2

Published February 10th 2009

Genre: Children's Chapter book, Fiction, Paranormal

Synopsis: School Spirit - Kat's mother is a medium and talks to spirits. Kat has never wanted to invite friends over because, undoubtedly, something weird would happen at her home. She finally finds a friend, Jac, who doesn't seem to mind. Unfortunately, Kat notices she is seeing spirits as well; specifically, she is seeing one in her school that she and Jac must help cross over.
Scaredy Kat - Kat realizes that when lots of spirits begin seeking her out for help, it can be pretty scary. She has to learn how to control her power despite and angry spirit living in the abandoned house next door. To make things worse, there is a spirit like none she had ever seen in the second floor of the abandoned house that she must figure out how to help without the angry spirit harming her or Jac. Somehow, the story of a missing boy is connected as well so Kat and Jac must figure out how to solve this mystery and save the boy.

These were both very cute stories. My 5 and 7 year old absolutely loved them! They love haunted, spooky stories so the ghosts in this one added an extra level for them and they LOVED it! :)

Author: To learn more about Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, visit her website here http://www.codykimmel.com/


Rating: **** Four Stars
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Monday, August 19, 2013

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles 2) by Marissa Meyer

Hardcover454 pages
Published February 5th 2013 by Feiwel and Friends
Genre: Young Adult, Fairy Tales, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic from book 1, is trying to break out of prison so she can save the world from the Lunar People. If she succeeds, she'll be the most wanted fugitive in all of the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Scarlet's grandmother is mission. She runs into a streetfight named Wolf who offers to help her find her grandmother. Scarlet quickly learns there was much she didn't know about her grandmother and everything she discovers only leaves to more questions. They run into the cyborg fugitive and together they must find a way to save the world from the lunar queen before Prince Kai becomes her husband and her prisoner and she gains power over the entire Commonwealth.

This book was just as good as the first one. LOVED it!! I was sad Cinder wasn't in it as much but as I got to know Scarlet, I was no longer disappointed. I enjoyed following both their story lines and going back and forth between them in the book. So fun and such an addictive book! I didn't want to put it down. :)

Author: To learn more about Marissa Meyer, check out her website here http://www.marissameyer.com/.  

Rating: **** Five Stars


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Monday, August 12, 2013

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Hardcover1st Edition387 pages
Published January 3rd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis: In a futuristic Earth, a plague ravages the people. The Lunar people watch from the moon for their chance to take over the people of earth with their powers of the mind. There is one hope of a lunar princess who may still be alive to stop the lunar queen. Of course, the odds of that are very small. Meanwhile, on earth, is a young girl named Cinder who is a Cyborg, a second class citizen who meets Prince Kai when she, being one of the best mechanics of New Beijing, repairs his robot and learns of something she should not be privy to. Soon, she finds herself in an impossible situation as she discovers information about her past and must made decisions about her future that could affect the rest of the world.

Who doesn't love a good fairy tale....er.... a good sci -fi.... er.... a good romance.... er... this book!  I seriously LOVED this book. It's the first of a series and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of it. It's based off the story of Cinderella only it's much more gritty and intense than the fairy tale we are all used to. I love reading stories that are based off fairy tales, I love sci-fi and fantasy and love a clean romance. This had all of them rolled up into one book. My perfect dream book! haha! I totally recommend this book.

Author: This is Marissa Meyer's debut novel. She lives in Washington with her fiance and cats. To learn more about her, visit her website here http://www.marissameyer.com/

Rating: ***** FIVE STARS
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Monday, June 10, 2013

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Genre: Children's Chapter Books, fiction, Fantasy, Juvenile

Synopsis: Minli, a young girl of Fruitless Mountain, dreams of a better life. Her father's stories fill her mind and she decides she must go in search of the Man in the Moon to ask him how to change her family's fortune. It's a quest that leads to many friends and magical beings but also to self discovery and heroic acts and Minli finds out a way to find the fortune she seeks.

My family loved this story. It was fun and each day we read it there was a new story. It was filled with many legends told within the main story line which was great fun for the kids and my husband but I found it confusing. haha! I give it THREE Stars! *** It was fun and I liked it but all the stories within the story were too confusing for me.



Author: To learn more about Grace Lin then visit her blog here http://www.gracelinblog.com/.
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Friday, June 7, 2013

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal, Romance

Synopsis: This is a trilogy consisting of three book, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess. A young woman, Tessa, crosses the ocean from America to find her brother, Nate, living in Victorian England. When she arrives she is quickly snatched up by the Dark Sisters who know of a power Tessa has but is completely ignorant of. They work for one who also wants to claim the power as their own, or as belonging to his wife. Tessa finds herself in a world she never knew existed. She also finds herself pulled between two young men whom she never would have met if she hadn't learned about this power. Meanwhile, dark forces are created an indestructible army that only her new found power can defeat. She must learn to control it before the entire world is destroyed and the love of her life disappears forever.

I really did enjoy these books. They weren't a fictional masterpiece or anything but the story was fun. I enjoyed this series more than the City of Bones series which is based in the same world but at a different time. It was fun reading about the ancestors of some of the characters also in the City of Bones books. This was a very fun read that I will give FOUR STARS **** to. :)

Author: To learn more about the author, check out her site here http://www.cassandraclare.com/
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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Kidz Corner: Holes by Louis Sachar

Paperback233 pages
Published September 2nd 2000 by Scholastic (first published August 20th 1998)
ISBN
0439244196 (ISBN13: 9780439244190)
edition language
English
original title
Holes

Genre: Children's chapter book, fiction, mystery

Synopsis: My children loved this story, especially my 7 year old. Of course, when we were finished, we had to watch the movie. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the movie followed he book. It's about a young man whose name is Stanley Yelnats. It's a family name so the first name is the last name spelled backwards. Stanley's family was, unfortunately, cursed by a pig farmer hundreds of years ago. Stanley endures a series of unfortunate events that lead him to a juvenile delinquent facility. There is something more going on than just to rehabilitate troubled teens. There is a secret. Enjoy reading as Stanley accidentally uncovers the secret, revealing information about his past as well.
My kids loved loved loved this book and the movie!! Such a fun read and adventure for children. I recommend this book for anyone... young or old. My kids give it FIVE STARS *****
Author: To learn more about Louis Sachar, visit his website at http://www.louissachar.com/.
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Red Gold by Ian Miller

This guest post is provided by Heidi Angell, the author of The Hunters, Royal Prince Vince , and Creative Exercises to Inspire. Visit her blog at www.anangellslife.blogspot.com

 Genre: Sci-fi

Synopsis: It is the future, and Earth's Government has decided to populate Mars. In an effort to keep Corporations out of Mars, the first settlers must be small business people. Enter our main character, David Gill. He owns a small food farm in New Zealand, but he got into business with a shady character, Robbie, who does a lot of get-rich-quick business. One of these deals landed his main board in serious trouble with the main food corporation of Earth, Foodbund. Now David finds himself being forced into going to Mars or losing his business (among lots of other nasty things.) On a plus note, David is pretty entrepreneurial and has a way of turning something bad into gold! Bad side, his slimy business partner will be with him every step of the way... and making trouble as he goes.

Review: Red Gold is a very complex sci-fi story. As is quite common with these types of stories, the author did massive amounts of research and world building. Unfortunately, there were times when the tech speak was too much for me. I couldn't picture what the author was describing (or quite frankly, didn't care!) But you can't skip over these long details, because most of them become relevant to the plot later. (Which made it even more confusing to me. I found myself having to go back and re-read the descriptions that had boggled me early, trying to make sense of what was happening.) I can't say that this is necessarily bad, as a lot of sci-fi books (Honor Harrington series is the first that comes to my mind.) do this. But there are so many that do it more seamlessly. I kind of prefer those. On a plus note, in between all the technical jargon and complex information is a very exciting story! The world constructs that the author comes up with are quite plausible to me. The shady business dealings, the murder, espionage, and intrigue make the novel feel like a sci-fi Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

 I liked David. He is what I think most of us strive to be. Honest, straightforward, hard-working, and forward thinking.You find yourself rooting for him, and despising his business partner deeply. And yet, the dichotomy is not Good vs. Evil, it is more complex than that. Really, Robbie's character is a fairly typical businessman. He is a money manager, shifting funds around from business to business, trying to make more money and often losing it instead. Yeah, he starts up some immoral businesses on Mars: prostitution, gambling, and entertainment ventures; but his motivations are to make money. Towards the end he becomes so consumed with his greed that he does stuff that is pretty evil, but he doesn't start out that guy. It is a fascinating descent and moral lesson to observe how this character's choices determined his fate. At any point, even up to the very end, Robbie could have changed his choices and thereby changed his outcome. The same could have been said for David. Very good stuff!

About the Author: (taken directly from Amazon Author's page)

Ian J Miller was born in 1942 at Hokitika (New Zealand) and received degrees (BSc Hons1, PhD) from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He became Head of Applied Chemistry at Chemistry Division, DSIR (NZ) before leaving to set up his own chemical research company. His involvement in ventures to make pyromellitates (for heat resistant plastics) and seaweeds led to his becoming a Director of two ICI joint venture companies. He has also self-published two sets of ebooks, together with 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers. His scientific work has involved seaweed polysaccharides, liquefaction of biomass, photochemistry, as well as theory. His work on scientific theory has led to two ebooks entitled "Elements of Theory", which show how to form scientific theories by using the methodology known as induction. The author is now semi-retired, he lives in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, and is mainly working on completing a series of science fiction/thriller novels involving a futuristic history.
The author's experience with negotiations with politicians, business leaders and financiers has been used to give authenticity to those aspects of the plots, while his experience during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, including the smuggling of a petition out of the Iron Curtain, has helped with the thriller aspect. He has also had a life-long fascination with theories in the physical sciences, and his work on planetary science has been used to provide realistic backgrounds, particularly for the novels involving Mars, and to provide illustrations of how science works. Following the 1980s financial crisis, he began to write a sequence of futuristic science fiction novels that are intended to offer something for those who wish to think. The series starts with the premise that exponential growth cannot continue indefinitely on a finite planet, and eventually there will be resource constraints. Everyone could share the pain, everyone could work together to provide a better future, but the underlying concept is that there will be sufficient greed that this will not happen. He also writes two blogs, a scientific one at the Royal Society of Chemistry, and a more general one relating to his experiences and his writing at Wordpress. 
(And now I see why my review is totally legit!) 

Review: *** 3.5 out of 5 stars. 
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Where the Four Winds Collide by Hildie McQueen

This guest post is provided by Heidi Angell, the author of The Hunters, Royal Prince Vince , and Creative Exercises to Inspire. Visit her blog at www.anangellslife.blogspot.com

 Genre: Historical Western Romance?

Synopsis: When Adeline flees her abusive father and despicable fiance, she bounces from bad, to badder, to worse... or maybe better? From a brothel, to a whirlwind trip across country, to passing out into a handsome pair of arms, to waking up married... and so much more!

Review: I'm not really sure what happened here, because I am not really a fan of Romances... but I am a fan of Westerns! They give me nostalgic memories of my childhood curled up watching Westerns with my dad.  But the Westerns we watched weren't quite like this one! Maybe Hildie just caught me at a sentimental moment. Or maybe her writing was so wonderful that I got sucked in against my will.

Whatever the reasons you may contrive for this occurrence  I really enjoyed this novel. I think because it is a mish-mash of several different categories and therefore it can pick and choose what to keep and what to dispose of from each category. And in doing so, Hildie managed to remove some of the more annoying aspects of Romance stories for me. Unfortunately, I can't really go into too much detail without giving the story away. Needless to say, the dryness that tends to come with Historical pieces, does not trouble this little tale. The contrived nature of Romance stories is carefully counterbalanced by the nature of Westerns. It was a lovely and appealing experience.

About the Author: (taken directly from her Amazon Page)

Hildie loves the strange and unusual, pair that with humor and you've got an idea of what her writing is like.
She makes sure action, intrigue, and sizzling romance add up to an escape that her readers won't soon forget. Hildie is a member of Georgia Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America. She resides in the beautiful small town Georgia with her super-hero husband Kurt.
She lives in a small town in Georgia, where everybody knows everybody. It's the kind of place where you get a "Hey Hildie" from across the street while walking into a favorite shop. The girl behind the counter asks about my books and the next customer in ends up introducing themselves if you haven't met them yet. I love it! After growing up in the huge city of San Diego and living all over the world as a soldier and later government contractor, it's nice to live in a place like this.

Rating: *** Three out of Five Stars (for a romance, that is a REALLY good rating from me!!)
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Thursday, February 14, 2013

The Lost Heroes by Rick Riordon


Genre: Mid-grade, Fantasy

Synopsis: Jason awakes on a bus, holding a girl's hand, and not knowing who he is, where he is or what is happening. Things only get weirder from there as he faces Venti trying to kill him, his apparent girlfriend, and the guy who says he is his best friend. From that point, Jason, Piper and Leo are brought to Camp Half-blood and sent on a quest. Through all of this, Jason feels that somehow his being a Greek Demigod is... wrong. His Roman markings, his ability to speak Latin, and many other odd little things tell him that there is more going on than he knows. To get his memory back, and to save the people he cares about, he must defeat a giant and stop Gaea from awaking.

Review: I LOVE Rick Riordan! Seriously, I think I love him almost as much as Orson Scott Card! And this story did not disappoint. The way that Riordan ties together the Greek and Roman mythos is quite brilliant. The story had my boys on the edge of their seat the whole time. Jason is not simply a Roman copy of Percy, (though they do share a lot of similarities)  he has his own identity, thought process, and apparently his own weaknesses. I enjoyed another fun and tough girl in Piper Maclean and as much as I adore Annabeth, I think I relate to Piper more. But my favorite new character to the series is Leo Valdez. I think because in so many ways, he reminds me of my youngest son. Always cracking jokes to distract attention from his inadequacies, constantly fiddling with things, and a brain that never really stops or stays on topic for any significant amount of time. Leo is such a precious and loving character. His desperate need to fit in, to prove himself, just makes my heart ache as a mom. We are incredibly eager to read the next two books in the series!

About the Author: (Taken directly from his Amazon Author Page)

Rick Riordan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus. He is also the author of the multi-award-winning Tres Navarre mystery series for adults.
For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. In 2002, Saint Mary's Hall honored him with the school's first Master Teacher Award.
While teaching full time, Riordan began writing mystery novels for grownups. His Tres Navarre series went on to win the top three national awards in the mystery genre - the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. Riordan turned to children's fiction when he started The Lightning Thief as a bedtime story for his oldest son.
Today over 30 million copies of his Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus books are in print in the United States, and rights have been sold into more than 35 countries. Rick is also the author of The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, another #1 New York Times bestseller. In 2011, Rick received the Children's Choice Book Award for Author of the Year.
Rick Riordan now writes full-time. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and two sons.

Rating **** Four (and 1/2) out of Five stars!
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Overcoming Any Personal Obstacle Including Alcoholism by Lee A. Eide

 Genre: Non-fiction, Self-help

Synposis: The author shares lessons he learned while battling alcoholism and how to move on with his life, heal, and accept responsibility while finding peace and happiness.

Review:  It is hard to review a book like this. On one point, you cannot criticize the method, because according to the author it worked for him. That is irrefutable proof that it is technically a valid method. And yet, for me, the method is sort of a cop-out. Now, maybe that is unfair; I have never dealt with an addiction on the level of alcoholism. I have witnessed it first-hand. My dad was an alcoholic. I have struggled with my own "addictions" and issues such as a desire to succeed, perfectionistic tendencies, and a need to have control. In that aspect, I can relate to the author's points. And from that perspective, I have to object to the main theme of the book. Acceptance.

Now, maybe this is my flaw. Maybe my perspective and attitude are the problem, not the philosophy that the book teaches. Since my life is far from perfect, and I can acknowledge that a large number of the problems that I face are because of MY attitude, then perhaps you can take this review and shove it. That being said, the idea that one should accept one's lot is patently offensive to me. No offense to the author, or Wal-mart employees around the world; but to me if you have worked hard to get a degree and have established a career, as the author had; being content working for Wal-mart as a sales associate and doing the best you can at the job just couldn't be something that I would accept. Don't get me wrong; I would take a job at Wal-mart, or even a fast-food place (I have done it, and would do it again) in order to make sure my children were fed. I would absolutely do the best I could at the job I was working, because that is how I was raised. But I could not be content at that. I would spend almost every waking moment looking for another job, or pursuing other ventures. (As this author is clearly doing, since he is publishing books!)

I do admire that he talks about taking responsibility for the effects his choices had on others around him, and not dwelling in guilt but moving forward from that point. Yet, at the same time a particularly lazy individual. (and I speak from the experience of having such an individual in my life) would take this author's words and use them as an excuse. An excuse not to strive for success, an excuse not to make different choices as long as he owned up to his mistakes. Then he would demand that we let him move forward drifting in a useless and pointless, but HAPPY life. None of which, I suspect, were the author's intended messages, yet messages that one could take from his book, if one were so inclined.

That is the danger of self-help books. They are only as useful as the person willing to use them can make of them. Sadly, I've known a lot of people who use self-help books as a way to justify their choices, rather than the intention: an act of self-improvement.


About the Author: (Directly from Lee's Amazon Author's Page)


My self-help book, "Overcome Any Personal Obstacle, including Alcoholism, by Understanding Your Ego", was just released by Lulu.com. It's an essential road map for the soul, a sort of GPS for the spiritual seeker, especially for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Inspired by Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" and my wife Amy's premature death from alcohol abuse, the book features The Seven Insights of Enlightenment and traces the root cause of the Seven Deadly Sins to the ego. Book also provides guidance for taming your ego and making it possible to develop the Seven Virtues (opposite of Seven Deadly Sins).
My other published book is a spiritual suspense novel, "Dead Man's Plan", that's been critically acclaimed by multiple reviewers. For details, go tohttp://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.aspx?bookid=60704. My most recent published writing has appeared on GEOPALOOZA! -- Save Time! Save Money! Save the world. The article, "Save the Planet While You're Shopping, is athttp://www.geopalooza.com/blog/view/save-the-planet-while-you-re-shopping.
Last May, I attended John Truby's 3-day "Master Storytelling" seminar in New York City. Shortly after that, I wrote "Stone's Throw From Hell", a movie script which received an average 8.75/10.00 and a perfect 10 in dialogue from www.screenplaycoverage.com and was featured on an October 2011 episode of "Acting Up", a talk show about the film industry on AM1680 hosted by Skyler Caleb and Steve Moulton. To see excerpts from their stellar coverage and to learn more about my writing, go to http://www.leeaeide-writer.com.
My first published article, "He's Paid His Dues", appeared in the August 1997 issue of REFEREE magazine, a nationally-syndicated publication for umpires and referees.
I completed three writing courses, including the Novel Writing Workshop, from the Writer's Digest School, way back in early 90's before the Internet's rise in popularity. Strange but true: back then we mailed our assignments to the instructor, who mailed them back after grading and making comments.
To read my re-release of my critically acclaimed sci-fi/horror/fantasy novel, "The Darkness Below", and my other two blogs, go to:
https://atcontent.com/Profile/lee.a.eide/Publications/
My latest completed movie script is "After The End", a tale of the last two survivors of a nuclear war. The man, Ivory Blackman, must conquer his inner demons in order to keep the human race going. He and his lover Rhodna battle assassin from outer space to protect unborn child. Zombies, creative killing, attempted suicides, cool kitty and much more. Hopefully coming to a movie theater near you in 2013. That's assuming the end of the world as we know it doesn't happen on 12/22/12.
Lastly, besides writing, I love animals -- have a 16-year-old Rat Terrier named Indy and a 3-year-old Orange Tabby named Shaggy II -- and enjoy bicycling, bowling (in a league even), golfing and playing tennis.

Rating: Not fair to rate self-help books, in my humble opinion. Too much of the rating process is directly reflected on the individual reading the book. 
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby

Genre: Historical Fiction (according to Amazon.)

Synopsis: Spare change is actually two tales that come together. The first tale is about Olivia Westerly, an independent woman who is very superstitious, and her journey to find love, only to lose her husband on her honey moon, all because of superstition.  The second story is about a young boy named Ethan Allen Doyle, who grows up in a poor, Southern, dysfunctional family and ends up witnessing his parents murdered because of their dysfunctional lifestyle. Then their worlds come together.... but I can't tell you more or it will ruin the story.

Review: This is hard, because this book is a good book... it is just not my cup of tea. This book is like a Lifetime movie meets The Lottery Rose. It is too real, too painful. I read to escape from that kind of stuff! Having spent the last several years living in the South, I can tell you that I have met people that are so much like Crosby's characters, that in some ways it hurts. It hurts to know that although this book is fiction, bad stuff like this happens every day. And just like real life there are some who survive this mess, and some who don't. I do admire Olivia and her friends. I do love the message of the story, and I admire Crosby for tackling such tough subject matter. If you like Lifetime movies, then this book is definitely for you. If you don't, refer it to a friend who does!


Author: Award-winning novelist Bette Lee Crosby brings the wit and wisdom of her Southern Mama to works of fiction--the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away.

Crosby's work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. Since that time, she has gone on to win several more awards, including another NLAPW award, three Royal Palm Literary Awards, both the 2011 and 2012FPA President's Book Award Gold Medal and most recently the 2010 Reader's View General Fiction Literary Award, Southeast Regional Fiction Award and the Jack Eadon Best Contemporary Drama Book Award.

Born in Detroit and raised in a plethora of states scattered across the South and Northeast, Crosby originally studied art and began her career as a packaging designer. When asked to write a few lines of copy for the back of a pantyhose package, she discovered a love for words that was irrepressible. After years of writing for business, she turned to works of fiction and never looked back. "Storytelling is in my blood," Crosby laughingly admits, "My mom was not a writer, but she was a captivating storyteller, so I find myself using bits and pieces of her voice in most everything I write."

Her published works to date are: Girl Child (2007), Cracks in the Sidewalk (2009), and Spare Change (2011). She has also authored a memoir for Lani Deauville, a woman the Guinness Book of Records lists as the world's longest living quadriplegic. Scheduled for release in March 2012, the book is titled "Life in the Land of IS." (Taken Directly from Amazon)

 Rating *** 3 1/2 out of 5




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Monday, January 7, 2013

A Lost Kitten by Jessica Kong

Genre: Sci-Fi (scifi romance, but I don't think that is really a category?)

Synposis: Sea Base ten of the Seannan Empire is attacked by unknown forces and Seacat John McCall crash lands on a foriegn planet outside his empire's sphere of influence. He cannot send a Mayday for fear of endangering this planet's inhabitants (because, he is just that noble!) He has no money and no way to get home. So he works in the local in hoping to find some way home. Then a Seeker from Surreal offers him a ride. John is suspicious because there is no payment required, he just has make a stop at Surreal first.

Surreal is a planet that was attacked by a different group of baddies 20 years earlier, and half of it inhabitants now exsist in the mist (which is apparantly better than being dead, but only just.) These people of the mist can only regain their true form when their soul mates claim them.... but it is more complicated than that. The seeker knows that John is destined to be the soul mate of one of the people of Surreal, but he cannot (or will not?) explain this to John. He meerly must stall and hope that John embraces his soul mate.

And buddy do they embrace!

Review: I love the world that this author has created! It is this fascinating conglomeration of familiar and unique. The Seacat people remind me of Honor Harrington's Cat people, but more human like. (Especially hottie half-breed John!) The author has several fascinating different races represented in the book and this whole back world that is even more interesting than the main focus of the story (which was a whacky, crazy, heart-wrenching story in and of itself!). And that was my main frustration with the story. I want to know more about the big picture!! Kong gives us just enough to keep this plot moving without leaving us completely lost, but I see so much potential for future books in the series (which unfortunately are not out yet!) This is one of the reasons that I hate reading series that aren't finished yet. Hurry Ms. Kong and write more books so we can read them!!It is self-published and although it is much better edited than a lot of the self-published stories I have read, there were still some typos and word usage points that left me a bit bewildered. Kong found a clever way to adjust for those. You see, there are several different languages in the book, and most of the characters speak Earthlish, but just like people in the Midwest pronounce things differently from people in the South, and have different words that are unique to their location, a lot of the characters in the book do the same thing. Once I got into the story, it was easier to gloss over a lot of these as being just how John's world is different from our own.

The only other warning I will give readers is that there is sex. And not the brush over it and you know something happened, but we aren't going to tell you just what, type sex. There were scenes that left me blushing when my kids ran in the room. You've been warned, you may not want to read in public!


Author:
Jessica Kong is an avid reader of both young and adult fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romances. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Alan, of twenty years. She is the proud momma of fourteen year old triplets, Ashley, Brandon, and Christian. As a family, they love to travel and share the beauties of the outdoors. When at home, Jessica is either working hard on her writing or stealing the xbox from her boys so she could relax playing games. (Taken from Amazon)

A lost Kitten is her debut novel. To learn more about the stories she has coming soon (hopefully!) check out her website at http://seaanan.com

Rating **** Four out of five stars.  
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