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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Orangeberry Free Alert - Swimming with Maya - Eleanor Vincent

 

Swimming with Maya - Eleanor Vincent

Amazon Kindle UK

Amazon Kindle UK

Genre - Memoir

Rating - PG13

Free until 1 April 2013

Previously available only in hardcover, Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.
Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor's life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya's fate.
Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya's organs. Years later, she is able to hear Maya's heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as Eleanor's traumatic life as a child and young woman. In a story that has been called "heartbreaking and heart-healing," Eleanor Vincent illuminates the kind of courage, creativity, faith, and sheer tenacity it takes to find one's balance after unthinkable tragedy.

Review: Lessons from the Lemonade Stand: A Common Sense Primer on Investing by James Berman

Lessons from the Lemonade Stand: A Common Sense Primer on InvestingLessons from the Lemonade Stand: A Common Sense Primer on Investing by James Berman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What lesson did you learn from the story? Don’t invest money in something until you read this book and learn what to do and not do.

Who do you think the author intended to read this book and why? People who want to learn about investments.

Is the title a good one or a poor one and why? It’s a good title. The title is exactly what the book is about.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author.

View all my reviews

Lessons from the Lemonade Stand by James Berman


Lessons from the Lemonade Stand explains investing, stocks and bonds, risk, diversification, commodities, and other sometimes mystifying topics in the context of that most classic of all American businesses: the corner lemonade stand. 

Rooted in the fundamental truth that common sense is the best investment tool, this book slices important concepts into simple sections, sweetening them with folksy, easy-to-read language.
The trials and tribulations of lemonade stand owner Lucinda highlight every concept from interest rates to retirement accounts to leverage. Readers learn investment basics as they follow Lucinda Lemonade Inc. along its sweet (and sometimes sour) journey as a start-up, from the squeeze of the first lemon to its initial private equity deal and its eventual foray into tech, all in the tidy town of Lemonville. 

Lessons from the Lemonade Stand simplifies investment concepts without watering them down. A stock, for example, is not defined in financial gibberish but for what it truly is: a slice of the business that entitles the stockholder to a little drop of every dollar Lucinda Lemonade Inc. earns. 

The book introduces ten simple Lemonade Laws:
1) Every topic in the investment world can be broken down to the basic concept of supply and demand.
2) If someone claims an investment is risk-free, run the other way.
3) Bigger returns mean bigger risks.
4) Hedging may help, but there’s always a cost to it.
5) As Warren Buffett says, “If you’re smart, you don’t need leverage; if you’re dumb, it’ll ruin you.”
6) You may not be able to count on your stocks, but you can always count on your taxes.
7) By the time you invest in a foreign country, it shouldn’t be foreign to you.
8) Owning a home is (still) the best investment of all.
9) Investing without work is gambling: treat the market like roulette, and you’ll land on zero.
10) Counterintuition, not intuition, is the investor’s best friend.

Entertaining and fun, Lessons from the Lemonade Stand supplies readers with the ingredients they need to become savvy investors.

“By abstracting out the ‘hard’ stuff about investing and focusing on the most simple of businesses, Berman (a finance prof at NYU and an investment advisor) is able to gradually introduce more complicated concepts without overwhelming the reader with jargon. Really, Lessons from the Lemonade Stand encompasses much of an introductory finance curriculum in book form that reads, well, more like a book of fiction than one on investing.” 

Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Business & Investing
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Connect with James Berman on Facebook & Twitter

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Orangeberry Spring Fling - Dark Lady of Doona by Christine Frost


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Known as “Granía of the Gamblers,” Granía O’Malley makes a high-stakes bet to buy her freedom and the ability to continue her livelihood as pirate queen on Ireland’s west coast. She enters into a dangerous agreement with Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, and soon finds herself caught up in a web of intrigue that is plunging her country, as well as her family, into chaos. 

At war with a cruel governor while serving as one of Walsingham’s many spies, Granía struggles to maintain stability within her family and fleet and provide an enduring legacy for her heir to the seas. A story full of adventure and passion, Dark Lady of Doona portrays the life of a formidable woman who defied traditions by commanding her own fleet of ships and leading her loyal followers into rebellion.

Buy at Amazon
Genre – Historical Fiction (R)
Connect with Christine Frost on Facebook & Twitter

Orangeberry Free Alert - Black Hole Sun - David Macinnis Gill

No one, except Durango.

Genre - YA

Rating - PG13

4.0 (20 reviews)

Free until 1 April 2013

Mars stinks.

IThe air reeks of burning fuel; the rivers and lakes seethe with sulfur. In the shadows, evil men plot terror and beasts hunt the innocent. Out on the barren crags of the terraformed planet, there is nowhere to hide. No one to heed a call for help.

Author Interview – Thomas Sullivan

How do you promote this book? I blog regularly at Humor Outcasts, a humor site run by Donna Cavanagh. It’s a fun site with a wide variety of humor styles. I use Twitter to post links to my pieces at Humor Outcasts, as well as other pieces that I publish in lit journals. If anyone wants to visit the site, it’s at www.humoroutcasts.com

Who is your favorite author and why? Nick Cave wrote a book a short while ago called The Death Of Bunny Monroe. It’s a total hoot about a struggling salesman. I like authors with a knack for combining the darkness of “failure” with compassion for a character. Because we’re all doing well at some things and flailing at others. The other writer who is masterful at this is Jess Walter.

What are your current writing projects now? I’m focusing primarily on my writing at Humor Outcasts. I’m delving into “bigger” topics like congressional gridlock and debt and trying to offer ridiculous “solutions” to these topics. But I’m also writing about smaller things like gardening mishaps when they arise. My posts can be seen at: http://humoroutcasts.com/author/thomassullivan/

What are some of the best tools available today for writers, especially those just starting out? I think it’s important for newer writers to find places where writers help each other hone their craft. I like the site Figment.com, where you can post pieces and have others provide feedback. There are similar things like writers groups on Facebook and Google. And once writers feel comfortable they can submit to literary journals. There’s a lot of rejection in that, but the advantage is that they can see what works in their chosen genre.

Do you have any advice for writers? I think it’s important to find a voice and stick with it. Your voice is the genuine you, and trying to be something you’re not to fit into a market is counter-productive. We hear that a lot, but it’s true. I’d also recommend sending writing to any venue, regardless of its size or status in the writing world. You find people who help you in some of the most unexpected places.

Do you have any specific last thoughts that you want to say to your readers? First, a big thanks for reading this and anything I’ve written. And secondly, if they’re writers, to never drop a topic because they think people won’t be interested in it. I’ve had a really nice response to a piece that includes a Flowbie. That’s ridiculous, but that’s why it’s fun.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Humourous Essays

Rating – PG

More details about the book

Connect with Thomas Sullivan on Twitter & Google Plus

Website http://www.thomassullivanhumor.com/

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Lindsey Pogue – The Footsteps I Follow

The Footsteps I Follow: Authors I admire

by Lindsey Pogue

I never received high praise from my high school English teacher for my attempts at using figurative or descriptive language, nor did I take creative writing classes in college. Instead, I’ve always been a voracious reader, and it was an eclectic mix of speculative fiction authors like David Eddings, Kim Harrison, Robert Jordan, and Roald Dahl who served as my teachers. From them, I learned everything I know about writing…and will continue to learn. Here’s a list of the top nine authors whose written words have helped to make me the writer I am today.

9. Jasper Fforde (The Thursday Next Novels) – JF taught me the power of wit. He is a literary genius, and though I come nowhere close to him, I still try.

8. Deborah Harkness (The All Souls Trilogy) – DH taught me how a little, well-researched historical mystery mixed with the paranormal and mythological can add a new level of finesse to the paranormal romance genre. I absolutely adore the attention to detail DH put into Diana’s research at Oxford. And then there’s Matthew…

7. Karen Marie Moning (The Fever Series) – KMM taught me the art of anticipation, how prolonging the sexual tension can make a story SO much better. There were times during the series where I was thinking, “If Mac and Barrons don’t get it on in the next three chapters, I’m throwing this book across the room!” Which, would have sucked for me because I was reading the series on my kindle and I would have missed the awesomeness that is Shadowfever. But, my sister told me to stick with it, that it would be worth it in the end. KMM built the tension up…and up…and up…and then she delivered. It’s masterfully done.

6. Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me) – TM taught me that authors are real people, both through her blog and by talking to her at a book signing. That’s not to say that I wasn’t still star-struck in her presence, but it made me realize that, just maybe, I could really do this too. It was actually on the car ride home from the signing that LP (Lindsey Pogue)  and I came up with the idea for After The Ending.

5. Kim Harrison (The Hollows) – KH taught me the power of using the first person and of giving your character a strong, distinct voice. Rachel Morgan is so extremely…Rachelly, that you can’t help but feel like you really know her. I was so upset when a certain man I won’t name for the sake of being spoiler-free died that I put the series aside for about six months. I eventually picked it back up and read the entire thing from beginning to almost end…because it’s amazing, and I love Rachel.

4. Roald Dahl (The Witches, Matilda) – RD taught me that sometimes the most magical things are those that could be hiding in our everyday world. I read both Matilda and The Witches early in elementary school and whole-heartedly believed that both stories were real. Honestly, his witches still scare me.

3. Robert Jordan – RJ taught me SO much—world-building, character-building, how to write from multiple perspectives without confusing the reader too much, and how to create hundreds of characters who are all individuals. His talent is sorely missed in the fantasy world, but his words lives on.

2. C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) – C. S. Lewis taught me the importance of building a world that was so realistic that someone could believe in the magic that might be laying just around the corner…or in his case, through a puddle or a wardrobe. He made Narnia so real to me, that there were moments when I was younger—and some when I was not so young—when I would peek into my closet, hoping the wall wouldn’t be behind the clothes and that I could enter a magical world.

1. David Eddings (The Belgariad) – I read Pawn of Prophecy when I was a sophomore in high school. I read the other fifteen books that take place in the same world before the school year was over. Since then, I’ve reread them twice and have read every other fantasy book DE ever published. DE taught me about the path of the hero, and about how it is compelling characters that keep a reader coming back for more.

Honorable Mention: Joss Whedon. He’s a genius. ‘Nuff said.

There are many, many more authors and writers who I admire and who have been my unknowing teachers, but by far, these have been the most influential to me.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – R

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Lindsey Pogue on Facebook & Twitter

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day - The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan



Murdered artists. Masterful forgeries.
Art crime at its worst.

A straightforward murder investigation quickly turns into a quagmire of stolen Eurocorps weapons, a money-laundering charity, forged art and high-ranking EU officials abusing their power.

As an insurance investigator and world renowned expert in nonverbal communication, Dr Genevieve Lenard faces the daily challenge of living a successful, independent life. Particularly because she has to deal with her high functioning Autism. Nothing - not her studies, her high IQ or her astounding analytical skills - prepared her for the changes about to take place in her life.

It started as a favour to help her boss' acerbic friend look into the murder of a young artist, but soon it proves to be far more complex. Forced out of her predictable routines, safe environment and limited social interaction, Genevieve is thrown into exploring the meaning of friendship, expanding her social definitions, and for the first time in her life be part of a team in a race to stop more artists from being murdered.

Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Mystery
Rating – PG13
More details about the author
Connect with Estelle Ryan on Facebook

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Orangeberry Spring Fling - Playing the Genetic Lottery by Terri Morgan


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"Caitlin’s story touched me deep in my soul" ~ Marina

"Terri Morgan's depictions of the disorder are realistic as well as haunting." ~ Allizabeth Collins

At fifteen, Ava ran away from home and changed her name to Caitlin to escape the chaotic childhood of having two schizophrenic parents. However, she lives with the constant fear of what lies in her DNA. Will she succumb to the disease that robbed her of a normal childhood? Will her children be the next victims of the family curse?

"its a roller-coaster ride of emotions" ~ Sandra

Looking for an emotional and touching story of human strength and overcoming obstacles? Read Terri Morgan's fictional memoir PLAYING THE GENETIC LOTTERY.

Buy at Amazon
Genre – Fictional Memoir (PG13)
Connect with Terri Morgan on Facebook

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day - Only A Glow (The White Warrior) by Nichelle Rae



What if the world was ending? What if only you had the power to save it? And what if your power wasn't in your control? Welcome to Azrel's dilemma. "Only A Glow" is the first book in an epic new fantasy series, The White Warrior. Join Azrel, her brother Rabryn, and her best friend Ortheldo as they journey across their land to try to save the world from another age of the Shadow Gods rule. Along the way they try to find out what's wrong with Azrel's magic, because her magic is the only power that will cause the Shadow Gods to stumble and fail.

Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Epic Fantasy 
Rating – PG13
More details about the author & the book
Connect with Nichelle Rae on Facebook & Twitter

Orangeberry Book Tours – Daimones by Massimo Marino

Dan and his family awake one day in a world where everyone is dead but nothing points to a cause. Initial searches for survivors yield nothing and, in panic, the family turns their house into a stronghold. Eventually, they find Laura, a survivor who wins their hearts…and leads Dan to temptation. Laura describes her panicking encounter with strange entities which Dan recognizes in his childhood hallucinations. He forces himself to find and confront them: An older power controls the fate of men.

A few selected will face the ultimate quest: a painful genetic transformation and work toward the rebirth of a new human race, or oblivion and death in isolation.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with Massimo Marino on Facebook & Facebook Page & Twitter

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Orangeberry Spring Fling - Tongues of Angels by Julia Park Tracey


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Author Julia Park was married to a Roman Catholic priest for several years and heard many stories of wonder and woe. From those tales comes a novel, Tongues of Angels, an insider's view of the Catholic Church and the priesthood as it stands today.Tongues of Angels:Meet Rob Souza as he faces the challenges of the priesthood-gossip, innuendo, church politics, public scandals-and Jessica, a young woman with a secret past. Meet Lawrence, Rob's best friend, a gay priest who somehow becomes the third in this odd love triangle. While Jessica finds hope and healing, Rob and Lawrence discover that, despite their best intentions, a promise of celibacy is hard to keep. Tongues of Angels offers a peek behind the curtain of the priesthood, offering a funny, poignant look at Catholic angst and ambiguity. Based on a true story, Tongues of Angels is a canny, warm and surprisingly spiritual novel for our time.

Buy at Amazon
Genre – Romantic Suspense (PG13)
Connect with Julia Park Tracey on Facebook and Twitter

Daimones by Massimo Marino

Daimones (Daimones Trilogy, #1)Daimones by Massimo Marino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

List the characters and describe them. Dan - Husband and father. He was a physicist and he was fired from his job. Mary - Wife, mother and school teacher. Annah - 12 year old daughter of Dan and Mary. Laura - Young, pretty student at the university. She lived with Dan's family.

What was the mystery was and how it was solved. Dan met with the aliens. They told him, what happen and why. Then told him why he was one of the selected ones.

What problems does one of the characters have, and how does he or she solve it? Dan goes out into the stores to collect supplies for him and his family.

Where did the story take place? It takes place in Geneva.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author.

View all my reviews

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Orangeberry Free Alert - Temptation (Under Mr.. Nolan's Bed) - Selena Kitt

undermrnolansbedtemptationare

Buy @ Amazon Kindle US

Genre - Romance

Rating - MA

4.4 (29 reviews)

Free until 29 March 2013

"Lead us not into temptation..." ~Matthew 6:13
What happens when you fall in love with your best friend's father?
Leah is a good, Catholic girl, and she and Erica have been best friends since their first communion. Sure, Erica's father is handsome and charming, but Leah spends so much time at the Nolan's--just Erica and her famous, photographer father now, since Erica's mother died--that she's practically part of the family.
Both girls have led privileged, sheltered lives and are on the "good girl" track at St. Mary Magdalene's Preparatory College, Leah pursuing her love of dance and Erica sating her endless curiosity as editor of the newspaper. Neither of them could have ever imagined that one fateful discovery will not only push the boundaries of their strict, repressive upbringing, but the bonds of their friendship as well.
Leah certainly never could have imagined finding herself torn between her best friend and her best friend's father. Sure, Leah's mother had always talked about Mr. Nolan as "a catch," but Leah herself had never thought of him as anything other than just Erica's dad--until the girls discover something darkly erotic under Mr. Nolan's bed, a deep, shameful secret that will not only lead them into temptation, but will deliver them into a far greater revelation than any of them could ever have imagined.

EXCERPT:
She danced with the memories, she danced the sin and shame of her own lust, the final acquiescence to her body's need, and the sweet triumph of reaching that peak. The dance was hers now, no longer anything she had learned. It was the pure expression of her essence, every feeling and thought that had been running through her head on some endless loop.
When she finally collapsed in a heap in the middle of the floor, breathless and panting, she felt like crying, as if her body had been filled to bursting and it must now have some sort of deliverance. The dance she had hoped would exhaust and deplete her had simply served to energize her further. Leah lifted her head, opening her eyes slowly, and saw him standing there in the shadows, like a dream.
Her heart fluttered to her throat like a trapped butterfly and her hand leapt there, as if she could catch it. He was watching her, just outside of the circle of lamplight, leaning against one of the tall supports she and Erica used to dance around that ran floor to ceiling throughout the warehouse.
"Mr. Nolan?"
She heard the click of his throat as he swallowed dryly. "You're so beautiful."
The look on his face was the one straight from her imagination, like he worshipped her, and at the same time, like the big bad wolf accosting an innocent red riding hood, like he wanted to eat her all up.
"I didn't mean to wake you." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I just... couldn't sleep..."
"So fucking beautiful."
She was stunned to silence, lips parted with words she couldn't speak, staring at him as he took a step toward her, the light on his face now, a wolfish look in his eyes making her skin bristle all over. She had never heard Mr. Nolan swear before. Ever.
"Leah..." Her name on his lips was like a caress. His gaze moved over her, no tights, no leg warmers, no toe shoes. He'd seen her like this a hundred times of course, but she had never felt so naked. The look on his face changed when he met her wide eyes. She saw the emotions cross his features, from horror and shame to something like anger. "Jesus. Go to bed."

Orangeberry Book Of The Day – Playing Nice by Rebekah Crane

Martina “Marty” Hart is really nice. At least, that’s what people think.

It’s Marty’s junior year at Minster High. Minster’s a small town where making great grades, smiling pretty, helping old people, running the new-student Welcoming Committee, and putting up decorations for all the dances–including the totally awful Hot Shot fall hunting celebration–gets you … what? Marty’s not sure.

Instead of dreaming about a sororities-and-frats future at nearby University of Michigan, she’s restless, searching for a way out of the box her controlling mother and best frenemy Sarah have locked her in. When Lil–don’t call her Lily!–Hatfield transfers to Minster, Marty gets her chance. Lil’s different. She smokes, wears black, listens to angry punk records, and lives in a weird trailer with her mother. Lil has secrets–secrets that make her a target for all the gossiping and online bullying Minster can muster. But so does Marty. And Marty sees something different in Lil. Something honest. Something real.

Playing Nice is the achingly real story of a girl who’s been following the rules for so long she’s forgotten who she was when she started. It’s about falling in love with the wrong people and not seeing the right ones, about the moments in life when you step out of line, take a chance … and begin to break free.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Young Adult / Bullying

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with Rebekah Crane on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://rebekahcrane.tumblr.com/

Orangeberry Spring Fling – I Have People by Taylor Dean

 

 

OB-SPRING-FLING

 

 

ihavepeople thumb

Holly Sinclair is happily married to the love of her life, Gabriel. Young and in love, Holly hopes to have their first child soon. Of course, Gabriel wants to wait till Holly’s health is restored, much to Holly’s dismay. She feels perfectly fine. So what if she just woke up from an eight-month coma? So what if some of her memories are missing? She remembers Gabe and that’s all that matters, right?

That is, until HE enters her life again . . . she forgot about HIM.

Buy at Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Romance (PG13)

Connect with Taylor Dean on Facebook

Website - http://www.taylordeanbooks.com/

 

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Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas

 
Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas


Retta Heikkinen knows the unspoken rule of society: love between androids and humans is forbidden. A simple enough edict until Hemingway Koskinen spends an evening charming her with his intense gaze, bewitching smile, and sparkling conversation that hints at so much more than the usual obsessions of high school boys. Rules were meant to be cast aside, especially when love beckons.

If only it were as simple as being in love.

Trouble is brewing, not just for Hemingway--for all androids. Secrets have been kept, lies propagated, and Retta soon discovers that a frightening future awaits thousands of androids if she doesn’t do something to stop it. Worse yet, she will lose the one love she’s ever endangered herself for: Hemingway.



Praise

"Nothing like I've read before. A true original story! Everything is so well described. Now if they could make a follow up book and movie, that would be great!" ~Mrs. Z (Amazon)

"I was addicted to this book from the beginning. Life on Mars was very real and not at all a sci fi world I didn't understand . . . I found myself rooting for Retta and Hemingway from the very beginning. Easy reading, couldn't put it down and had it read in a weekend. Waiting for a sequel!" ~TNielsen (Amazon)

"The ending of this book is exceptional. While it was different from what I imagined, the way the author brought in a shocking revelation was amazing. I probably reread the last chapter 3 times letting it sink in and the meaning behind it. It was truly beautiful . . . I would love to see more of Retta and Hemingway!" ~Kat Meyer, (Goodreads)

"I love how the author populated Mars . . . so descriptive and comprehensive . . . I could clearly picture everything as if I was seeing the movie &/or was along for the ride. . . . Retta, the main character, is strong, opinionated, and a great champion for her cause." ~Megan (Amazon)

"I had been in the worst reading slump ever and came across this on Goodreads and thought I'd give it a try. Well, I was pleasantly surprised on how funny and exciting and mysterious it was . . . Mei, Retta's bff, had me laughing out loud quite a bit as well as Retta herself. I'd definitely hang out with those two." ~Deanneluvbooks (Goodreads)



Blue Hearts of Mars has made it to the quarterfinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

Readers are invited to download the excerpts (here) and rate and comment on the entries. So please, if you want to contribute, download and rate Blue Hearts! Your support is incredibly appreciated!


Or purchase the full version of the book here: Amazon




Author Nicole Grotepas

Nicole wrote her first fantasy novel in 7th grade on her mother's old Brother typewriter. It was never finished but it strongly resembled a Dragonlance plot and she's forever wondered what happened to the manuscript and Tonathan--the handsome elven protagonist. After living in Nashville where she worked as an editor, she returned to the Utah desert where she was raised. Nicole now lives near the Wasatch mountains with her husband. She writes and raises her son and three cats full time.
 


 

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Book Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 4/14/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Orangeberry Blast Off - Away From The Spotlight - Tamara Carlisle

away from the spotlight

In the closing weeks of law school, Shannon Sutherland meets handsome and charming Englishman Will MacKenzie. Initially swept off her feet, Shannon finds that Will has a secret that, once discovered and the consequences realized, could destroy their fledgling relationship. Will and Shannon take great pains to have a normal relationship but, ultimately, find it impossible to do so. Will the pressures of their careers and the temptations of others drive Will and Shannon apart? Can Will and Shannon live a happy life away from the spotlight?
Tamara Carlisle takes you on a romantic ride that explores the consequences of fame and a love that endures all.

Buy at Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Romance (PG13)

Connect with Tamara Carlisle on Facebook

Website - https://tamaracarlisle.com/

Check out this author’s book feature, guest post, Top 10 & interview

OB-SPRING-FLING

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Avery Snow Book Blast and Giveaway

Are you an Avery Snow fan?
The highly anticipated sequel to The Many of Lives of Avery Snow is here!
 
The Unraveling of Avery Snow 
by Christy Sloat
 
Enter below for your chance to win the ultimate fan prize pack
 
 
Chat LIVE with Christy Sloat
Twitter Party, March 26, 10 am EST
#AverySnow

And get your own copy of The Unraveling of Avery Snow
As Avery Snow settles into her life and relationships with those around her, she fights to forget her past lives. All of which she spent with Landon, who still has no recollection of who she really is. It seems better that way. Even though she still feels a draw to his soul, she chooses to ignore it.

For now everything is fine. Her boyfriend, Dallas, has opened a new restaurant. Her friends, Ianni and Kerri, are settling into their lives as well. But when news of a new Dark Guide is revealed, Avery is forced to start thinking about the life she truly leads. One that is very abnormal. One she is desperate to forget. This Dark Guide is determined to make Avery pay for the death of someone she held dear.

Now Avery’s life has gone from seemingly perfect to falling apart. What will be at stake next? Her life? Her love? And who will be there in the end to help her up off the ground?

Even the strongest love can unravel.

Will Avery be able to hold it all together, or will she just let go?
 
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Monday, March 25, 2013

Orangeberry Book Tours – Widow Woman by Julia Tagliere

 

It is 1962, the starting pistol for a decade of tremendous change. President Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba. Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Beatles record their first song together, and Illinois becomes the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults. For Audrey Randolph, a young Midwestern wife, 1962 also brings a personal tragedy: her mother dies suddenly, leaving behind a lifetime of letters, photos and unimaginable secrets.

Audrey, stunned by her mother’s death and the subsequent revelations of past loves and lovers, can no longer trust the reality she has always known. She must come to terms with dual losses, both her mother’s death, as well as the unanswered, nagging question: Was anything she knew real? Audrey turns to her estranged father, her family’s pastor, even her mother’s best friend, to uncover the truth. Through her desperate search to learn which lies, and which people, are forgivable, Audrey will discover a greater truth: that sometimes, forgiving yourself is the first step to letting go.

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Genre – Women’s Fiction

Rating – PG13

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Sunday, March 24, 2013

Orangeberry Book Of The Day – Gallows Ascending (Stone Quest) by Leigh Podgorski

 

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Gallows Ascending continues the saga of tracker and pyschic visionary Luke Stone in Book Two of the Stone Quest Series.

It has been thirteen years since Luke’s confrontation in the desert with his nemesis, black magician Armand Jacobi. Luke’s wife Consuelo, whom he met at Eppie Falco’s Desert Inn and Café has died, and Luke has placed himself once again in exile. This time, his wanderings have brought him to the seaside village of New Camen, New Hampshire.

Into his self-imposed solitude drops Dr. Bethany Rutledge. Accused of the murder of her eight year old daughter, stripped of her license to practice medicine, her marriage to politician Adrian Mountzaire in tatters, Beth Rutledge is haunted nightly by the chilling vision of a young woman’s brutal death by hanging.

Adding to this mix is the disappearance of an adolescent boy that appears to be centered in the tiny hamlet of New Camen. Then, Adrian Mountzaire turns up dead with his estranged wife Beth Rutledge lying in the sand beside him.

Despite his best efforts to resist the temptation, Luke is falling in love with Beth Rutledge, and she with him. Beth has unlocked the frozen reaches of his heart–the heart that was frozen when his beloved Consuelo was taken by breast cancer several years before and he could do nothing to save her.

Now, Luke must not only find the lost boy, but find the real killer of Adrian Mountzaire in order to save his beloved from the same fate that haunts her restless dreams.

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Genre – Metaphysical / Mystery

Rating – PG

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Orangeberry Book Of The Day– The Symbolon (The Sibylline Trilogy) by Delia Colvin

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The Symbolon is the passionate second novel of the addictive Sibylline Trilogy!

For 3000 years, Alex has dreamt of a life with his mortal beloved, Valeria. And it appears that they will at last have a chance for a life together!

But when they approach the ancient council of immortals, for approval of the marriage,
they discover that sinister forces object to their union. Soon they find themselves faced with terrifying threats including a devastating separation that neither may survive!

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Genre – Paranormal

Rating – PG

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Website http://www.deliacolvin.com/

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Saturday, March 23, 2013

Orangeberry Book Of The Day – Wildflowers by Schledia Benefield

Have you ever feared what may be hiding deep within you?

Darkness often skulks in the blood of unsuspecting victims, but Aster McGrath is acutely aware of the violence coursing through his veins. After all, he is the son of a murderer, and everyone in the town of Bayville, Mississippi says he will end up just like his father.

When Susan Blackman moves into town, Aster has already embraced his brutal nature, but her gentle spirit draws him in and slowly melts the icy exterior of his heart. Taming his savagery, she professes her love, but will the good within him be able to overcome the evil lurking deep inside? Or will the fiend break free of its fetters and seek blood?

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Genre – YA Contemporary Romance

Rating – PG13

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Blog http://schlediabenefield.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 22, 2013

Orangeberry Book Of The Day – Books by Eleanor T Beaty

On the Caribbean island of Maurray, spoiled-rotten, fifteen-year-old Hanna wakes up to a nightmare. She is not the daughter of an aristocrat but the orphan of a Gypsy. She is the descendant to a mystical Gypsy tribe. Their magic is strong and has lasted six hundred years. Ornella, the tribe’s guardian, arrives at the island with her mutt, Count Dracula, to guide Hanna. Hanna is told she must embrace her heritage or die at the ripe age of seventeen. But Hanna does the unthinkable, she chooses death. She hates Gypsies and would rather die. What she doesn’t know is that her death will destroy the entire tribe. What she also doesn’t know is how persuasive Ornella can be. The nightmare begins.

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Genre – YA / Paranormal

Rating – PG13

For sixteen years, Lya, has lived as a normal human, until her father, Walter, gets involved with the wrong people and puts Lya’s life at risk. During a visit to Miami, Lya’s older sister is kidnapped, and Lya and her father are subsequently taken hostage by Walter’s associates and forced to board a plane to India. When the plane lands in Delhi, Lya is rescued by three monks and taken to a Monastery. There her reality is shattered, when she learns the true identity of her rescuers and, even more surprisingly, herself. Lya is now faced with the toughest decision of her life. Can she live up to her ethereal destiny and save her family?

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Genre – YA / Paranormal

Rating – PG13

Alex’s life is turned upside down after his father’s sudden death. An old pamphlet found in his father’s belongings leads Alex and his mother, Charlotte, to a remote Polynesian island. His mother longs for a place untouched by past memories, and Alex hopes the trip will help her to heal.

Their arrival on the island elicits an eerie episode of déjà vu for Alex, and he begins to wonder about the pamphlet and his father’s past. Why did he have it? Had he been there before?

Alex senses something is off with the island. Progress is unwelcome by the inhabitants. A local girl reveals the history of the island and its dark spirits. She warns him to never be caught outside after dark, but Alex finds it all hard to believe… Until inexplicable and terrifying events begin to unfold. While digging for information, Alex finds his presence on the haunted island is not by chance. Rangur, the most evil of souls, aims to use him to acquire great power. There’s only one way Alex can stop him and for that he must uncover his father’s past connection to the island.

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Genre – YA / Paranormal

Rating – PG13

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Orangeberry Book Of The Day – The Book by Jessica Bell

This book is not The Book. The Book is in this book. And The Book in this book is both the goodie and the baddie.

Bonnie is five. She wants to bury The Book because it is a demon that should go to hell. Penny, Bonnie’s mother, does bury The Book, but every day she digs it up and writes in it. John, Bonnie’s father, doesn’t live with them anymore. But he still likes to write in it from time to time. Ted, Bonnie’s stepfather, would like to write in The Book, but Penny won’t allow it.

To Bonnie, The Book is sadness.
To Penny, The Book is liberation.
To John, The Book is forgiveness.
To Ted, The Book is envy.
But The Book in this book isn’t what it seems at all.

If there was one thing in this world you wished you could hold in your hand, what would it be? The world bets it would be The Book.

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Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Rating – PG13

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Website http://www.jessicabellauthor.com/

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Michael Meyer – Deciding the Setting for My Novel

Deciding the Setting for My Novel

by Michael Meyer

People often ask me how I selected the settings for my international thriller COVERT DREAMS. I got the traveling bug early in life, and it has stayed with me all these years. I love to travel internationally at least once a year. I have been a student overseas, and I have taught at universities overseas. I have visited, and know well, all of the locales in COVERT DREAMS, London, Rome, and the two major locales of Munich and Saudi Arabia. I have been to Munich so many times that I know it like the back of my hand. I can practically move about blindfolded and find my way. I love that city! As for Saudi Arabia, I was a professor for two years at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. I literally traveled all over the Middle East. The local color drawn in the book is real. I was there. I lived in both major settings. Authenticity is in all of the local color portrayed in COVERT DREAMS. Boisterous Munich and the mysterious burning sands of Saudi Arabia are portrayed in all their splendor, glory, mystery, and secrecy.

I have always been intrigued by the relationship the United States has had with Saudi Arabia, one of the most restrictive societies in the world, where I have been personal witness to the fact that life here and life there is as different as being on two separate planets. What we take here for a given is nearly always a no-no there. It is as if our two cultures come from completely different worlds, so the interaction between the two fascinates me and makes for a good suspenseful read.

The area of parapsychology has always intrigued me, and where better to deal with something such as this than in a very hidden-from-the-rest-of-the-world location. The mixture of live and let live as practiced in Bavarian Munich, coupled with the fervent zeal of Arabia, enhanced by American government involvement—and the plot just seemed to thicken, drawing me into it as I wrote, without my ever knowing precisely where or how it would end, but loving every minute of it. I was like a reader as I wrote. It was as if I were back in the two locations I have experienced so well in my real life.

The sites of London, the glory of Rome, the ebullience of Munich, and the mysteries of Saudi Arabia—the locations are all presented authentically since I have personally visited and /or lived in all of them.

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Genre – Suspense / Thriller

Rating – PG13

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Review: Covert Dreams by Michael Meyer

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Top 3 things I liked about the whole book. Action packed. Filled with suspense. Great fast read, never wanted to put it down.

Why would you recommend or not recommend this book? I would so recommend this read. It was exciting from the minute you turned the cover. It was full of mystery and endless twists and turns.

Secondary characters play an important role in this book. Dr. Fred - He was in on the experiments from the very beginning.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Author Interview – James Robinson Jr.

 

When did you first know you could be a writer? I realized that I could be a writer when I started writing Fighting the Effects of Gravity and something clicked for me; I discovered a style that of writing that I didn’t know I had. Writing non-fiction and writing about my own life gave me a new insight on writing. I realized that maybe non-fiction was a better fit for me because of my sense of humor and style.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? I’m in the process of writing a novella now which is challenging due to the elements of character and story development but I find that in all writing the hardest thing is getting started. I usually brainstorm with a pencil and pad before I sit down at the computer but that doesn’t make it a whole lot easier. First drafts can be absolutely dreadful! It seems like every time I write a first draft I read it over the next day and say to myself, there is no way this is going to work! I think when I was younger and wrote a first draft it may have stopped me from going any further because it was so bad. I have to keep reminding myself of something that the poet Maya Angelou once said to Oprah Winfrey: “I have never known writing to be anything other than hard work.” So, when I hear someone say how much they love writing I can’t help but think of what hard work it is and how awful those first drafts read!

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? Writing this book taught me a lot about writing and a lot about myself. It taught me that I have the perseverance to stay with a project for 15 years and see it through to its conclusion—to make a book a book as good as it can be. When I was first picked up by an agent to represent the book it was nowhere near ready to be published—the book wasn’t mature enough and I wasn’t mature enough as a person to make it good enough. With each edit, I thought the book was good enough but it took until 2012 to really get it right.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? There is no such thing as writer’s block just writers who don’t feel like writing for the time being.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? It seemed like a natural. I was reaching middle age and the story about my ill-fitting jeans came to me and seemed like I could center the book around that idea. Everything grew from there.

Who designed the cover? Jennifer at Hot Damn Designs along with her associate Kim Killion designed the cover. I originally had a cover that most of my friends and associates thought was a bit juvenile for the mature level of my subject matter so I decided to make a change. I gave Jennifer a photo and she actually found another photo that looked a little more suitable. I simply made suggestions and corrections as we went along and she did the rest.

 

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Genre – Non Fiction Memoir

Rating – PG

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