Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Review for A Comedy of Erinn by Celia Bonaduce!!!


Title:  A Comedy of Erinn
Author:   Celia Bonaduce
Published:  September 19th, 2013 by Kensington Publishing
Word Count:  approx. 75,000
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Content Warning:  None

Synopsis:
Erinn Wolf needs to reinvent herself. A once celebrated playwright turned photographer, she's almost broke, a little lonely, and tired of her sister's constant worry. When a job on a reality TV show falls into her lap, she's thrilled to be making a paycheck--and when a hot Italian actor named Massimo rents her guesthouse, she's certain her life is getting a romantic subplot. But with the director, brash, gorgeous young Jude, dogging her every step, she can't help but look at herself through his lens--and wonder if she's been reading the wrong script all along...




THE REVIEW:

I could not stop laughing while reading this book!  Erinn Wolf is a playwright, who takes herself WAY too seriously!!  

When she gets a job working as a producer, she's excited about the change.  She needs the money, and the job desperately.  What she doesn't like is most of the people she's working with are twenty years younger then her.  Including the director Jude Rapheal, who she met when he came to see her guest house.  

He's young, built and very goodlooking.  Also, he's extremely annoying for Erinn to have to deal with.  When she finds out that she'll be working with him, she's very happy.  There's an attraction there that she tries to ignore.  She doesn't want to start anything with a man she's working with.  

Also, she has just rented her guest house to a very attractive Italian named Massimo.  Since she has a weakness for Italians, she rents to him instantly.  Knowing it is fate that she ran into him!  

While she is away on a shoot with Jude and two other producers, Carlos and Gilroi, she releazes how behind the times she is.  It causes her to see herself in a different light, and release that she doesn't really have to be so serious all the time.  

I really liked this book!  I even read it through a sinus infection that is right now pounding it's way through my head!  I found extremely funny, and I loved Erinn!!  Honestly, I see myself correcting people if they speak grammtically wrong as well!  I hate it!! 

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THE AUTHOR:

Currently a Field Producer on HGTV’s House Hunters, Celia Bonaduce's TV credits cover a lot of ground - everything from field-producing ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to writing for many of Nickelodeon’s animated series, including Hey, Arnold and Chalkzone.

An avid reader, entering the world of books has always been always a lifelong ambition. Kensington eBooks’s The Merchant of Venice Beach, first in The Rollicking Bun book series, will be available August 1st, 2013.


THE EXCERPT:
Excerpt from A Comedy of Erinn by Celia Bonaduce:

“You’ve made your point. Now let’s go,” Jude said, trying to take the camera case out of her hands.
“Oh? And exactly what is my point?”
“That you’re the teacher’s pet…the good little camera girl who won’t let a blizzard stop her. Now let’s get out of here!”
The wind picked up and Erinn almost lost her balance. She realized that the ground was starting to freeze underneath them. She admitted to herself that there was no point in being out – she’d never get a shot worth having, even if they didn’t freeze to death.
“When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield,” Erinn yelled to Jude.
“Whatever, dude. Let’s bounce.”
Jude threw the gear in the back and felt his way to the passenger side. They both got in and Erinn started the car. She hoped Jude would stay quiet. She was feeling so shaky.  Not from the cold, but from the realization that she was not being a good producer. To put it in Jude’s vernacular, she sucked!
Erinn tried to pull out onto the road, but the wheels just spun on the ice. Erinn and Jude looked at each other.
“Are we stuck?” Jude asked.
“We can’t be,” Erinn said. “This is an SUV. It must be four wheel drive.”
“Not necessarily,” Jude said. “Do you see any kind of lever or button or anything that would let you switch to four wheel drive?”
“No. There isn’t anything. Are we doomed?”
Doomed? Jesus, Erinn. You are a glass empty kind of girl, aren’t ya?”
“Actually, I’m a “the glass is the wrong size” kind of girl…woman…but I think that’s beside the point right now. What should I do?”
“Start rocking the car. Put it in first, then reverse, then first, then reverse. Then give it a little gas and see if we can get out of this.”
Erinn started shifting gears and made a mental note. Next time, she wouldn’t settle for anything less than an SUV with four wheel drive.
Miraculously, the car shot forward. Erinn gasped and Jude slapped her on the shoulder approvingly. Erinn turned slightly towards what she hoped was the road…it was so covered in snow that she couldn’t actually see a road, but it must be there. Making sure no one was coming – fat chance, she thought - she started inching the Explorer through the ice and snow. She was creeping forward, when the car became completely unresponsive and started sliding towards the right. Pushing the gas did nothing. Turning the steering wheel did nothing.
“Oh, no,” Erinn said.
“What?”
“The car has lost traction. We’re skating on the ice.”
Erinn frantically turned the wheel to right and then to the left. The car continued to slide.
“Stay cool, Erinn. We’re on flat ground. Nothing can happen. Just chill.”
Erinn tried to relax, but the car kept sliding sideways, the weight of the vehicle causing it to pick up speed. Clearly, they weren’t on completely flat ground or the SUV wouldn’t be hurling itself sideways, but Erinn decided now was not the time to argue this point.
Erinn felt the vehicle tipping. She was jolted violently sideways and caught, suspended, by the seatbelt. She craned her neck to look at Jude, who was looking UP at her from the passenger seat. The SUV was completely on its side, like a gigantic dead beast.
“Now, we’re doomed,” he said.
Erinn tried without success to free herself from the seatbelt. With every gyration, the belt tightened around her neck. She tried to hold still. She craned her neck and watched Jude brace himself against the passenger door with his right arm. This gave his seatbelt some slack and he was able to release the lever. He thudded against the passenger door, but at least he was free. Erinn felt her breastbone pressing into the seatbelt as she hung sideways. She watched as Jude twisted himself around, crablike, and faced her. She looked into his eyes.
“The camera case,” she said.
Jude sat back on his heels.
“Dude,” he said. “Seriously? Forget the gear right now. We’re in deep shit.”
“The camera…” Erinn breathed heavily. “Check the camera...”
“What are you…one of those freaks who needs to record their own death?
“His or her own death,” Erinn corrected, gasping. “ ‘One freak’ is singular.”
“You are so pushing your luck, lady,” Jude said.
Erinn was running out of breath, and she hung limply forward.
“Come on, Tin Lizzy,” Jude said, wedging his back against her.
He must look like Atlas with me on his back instead of the world.
She had her eyes closed, but she vaguely sensed that he must be standing on the passenger window…or the passenger arm rest. What if he broke one of them? Would the rental company charge them? Did she buy the right insurance? Weren’t they in enough trouble having skidded into a ditch?
Erinn heard Jude’s voice through the fog. His back was to her.
“When I lift you up, you need to unhook your seatbelt. Come on, Erinn, you can do this.”
Jude gave the faintest of pushes, but not enough to lift her.
“Crap,” Jude said. “I can’t get enough traction with the console in the way.”
Jude turned around so that he was facing her. Their eyes met.
“The camera case,” she said.
Jude ignored her, and tried to lift her off the seat belt, but there was no way around the console.
“Shit! Crap!” Jude said.
“Jude…there’s a knife…” Erinn croaked.
“…in the camera case!” he said.
Erinn could hear him scramble to the back of the SUV and unlock the camera case. Erinn was reminded of sounds one hears when one is drifting off to sleep. Every noise sounds strangely amplified – and yet the sound is of no interest. She had the vague sensation of falling and when her head cleared, she was laying on Jude, up against the passenger window. Jude was panting for breath, knife held aloft. She could hear the slit seatbelt clanking behind her.
She reached around Jude’s neck. His expression changed, softening. She touched the passenger window behind his head.
“Thank God it’s not broken.”
“Lady, I have a knife.”
Erinn was suddenly very aware that she was pressed up against Jude. She tried to lift herself off him, but each time she thudded back against him.

THE GIVEAWAY
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
·         3 x $10 Amazon Gift Cards (INT)
·         5 Print copies of A Comedy of Erinn (US Only)


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Book Blitz for The Truth About Us by TJ Hannah!!

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Synopsis

Twenty-one-year-old Sophia Ross has lived under the pressure of her parents expectations since the tragic accident that shattered their once perfect family. Determined to start over where no one knows her, she answers a housing ad on Craigslist and takes a job at a little bar in a town she has never heard of. All Sophia's looking for is a place to escape, somewhere she can hide behind her lies and keep herself distracted.
She just didn’t expect to be distracted by Corbin Kasey. Twenty-five-year-old Corbin Kasey is stuck in his hometown, his job, and his life, spending more time covering for his Dad’s problems than trying to fix his own. To take his mind off everything he has the wild Kayla, his stable roommates, and the calmness of swimming in Mills Lake. He always thought it was enough to keep him from drowning in himself, until he meets Sophia. Neither of them are prepared for their lies to be stripped away by a single kiss. But for Corbin and Sophia, the truth has consequences. *NA romance- Mature content*  

Meet TJ

TJ Hannah is a Canadian author working on her first NA novel, THE TRUTH ABOUT US, while juggling a few other personalities and living multiple lives. She loves to be outside or writing but preferably writing outside. TJ is also easily appeased with a good book, a comfortable couch, and a glass of wine.

Teaser

TTAU Teaser Pic  

 

Guest post by Gregory Carrico, Author of Children of the Plague!!!


BLURB:
In the darkest corners of lower Manhattan, a battle like no other rages. The city is home to a hidden group of survivors of the nanite plague, and a brother and sister born to defend their race. With a touch that can destroy nanites, Lanni, sister of Alex, is their last chance. Can she save her brother? Can she protect mankind's only hope? Or will she be responsible for the destruction of the last humans on earth? It's going to be another long day...
BOOK LINKS:
AMAZON
GOODREADS

THE GUEST POST:
What scares a horror author?
Want to know the scary secret of writing horror? Come closer. That’s it… closer. A little more… Now listen carefully.
“YAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRG!”
SCARYPIC.jpg
Alright, I guess that’s less scary in text than in person. I was going to say something like:
“The fundamental role of all horror is to scare people,” but that even bored me, and I wrote it.
Sure, it’s a lame secret. It is very un-profound, and everyone probably already “knows” it. Like many simple truths, it just makes sense, even if we don’t understand exactly why.
Here, take a breath mint and stay close, boys and girls, ‘cause your ol’ Uncle Greg’s gonna talk about some scary stuff, and if you survive, he’ll even tell what scares him.
Still with me? I think most of the normals just clicked back over to Facebook. That’s good. At least one of them must have taken a bath in counterfeit Polo cologne this morning. Whew! Now that it’s just us cool kids, I’ll stop referring to myself in the third person and get on with the scary stuff.
The thing that scares most people, after public speaking, of course, is dying. I think what they really mean, though is “not surviving.” We want to stick around and see what’s going to happen tomorrow, and being dead puts the Kibosh on that real fast. Maybe I’m over-simplifying this, but ask your friends, family, coworkers, or fellow inmates at your asylum what scares them, I can tell you what they’ll say and why. They may not come right out and say “not surviving,” but that’s what they mean.
Like all animals--except lemmings, I guess--we puffed up, technologified Cro-Magnons have an innate desire to not be eaten by other animals. It’s called “survival instinct,” and we are hardwired with it from the moment come screaming into this madhouse.
Looking at it another way, we are born with the gift of fear. Yes, tough guy, you too. So the next time you hear someone say “I ain’t afraid of nothin’,” don’t point out the real meaning of his words or mention double negatives. Just smile. He’ll probably stop surviving very soon.

Since we are all born with fear, it makes sense that so many of us fear the same things. So let’s take a peek at a list of things that scare most people. I’ll put them into nice groups for you.

Shall we start with critters?
Spiders and snakes
Folks will say “I don’t know why they scare me. They’re just creepy.” Balderdash! Spiders and snakes have venom. Venom makes us dead. Dead is not surviving.
Thus: Spiders & Snakes = Not Surviving

Rats, mice, & other rodents
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These cute little varmints are too small to fatally wound us, but…
1. They carry disease, which makes us dead.
2. They eat our food, which makes us hungry. And Dead.
3. They have large extended families. We can’t kill them all, so they’ll be back again to make us dead.
Thus: Rodents = Not Surviving.

Dogs & other predatory animals
Dogslipper.jpg
Come on. They want to EAT US! They are carnivores, and we happen to be made almost entirely of tasty meat. So I’m told.
Predators = not surviving

Flying & heights
This is an easy one. Falling = Landing on hard things that will wound us or, that’s right, make us dead.
Flying and heights = not surving

Other People
I’m going to assume that this hinges on the fact that we can never really know what another person is thinking. They could be crazier than we are, and want to hurt or kill us for reasons we can’t understand. Or maybe we have something they want, like airplane tickets or pet spiders and snakes, so they will kill us and take our things. “We fear what we do not understand,” I’ve been told. And we certainly don’t seem to understand each other a lot of the time.
Thus: People = unknown = not surviving

Other stuff:
The Dentist. Public Speaking. Clowns. Children.
Yes, people fear these things. It may sound silly, but these fit my formula, too. I think I can do this. Here goes…
Dentist = pain = health problems = unable to eat = not surviving
Public Speaking = scorn and ridicule = shunned by society = unable to provide for self = not surviving
Clowns = people (see above), but also = madness = anonymity = can get away with making us dead = not surviving
Children = … I, um… Brrr… Sorry, just got the shakes a little bit. Ok, Whew. I got this. Here goes.
Children = … Look, just keep your creepy little wide-eyed, high voiced, question asking, parasitic, alien spawn, failed cloning attempt away from me okay? OKAY? Have you ever looked at a little kid before? Really looked into their eyes? Then you know what I…

That’s it. I gotta go. It’s almost three o’clock. I have to get out of here before they…

THE AUTHOR:
AUTHOR BIO:
Greg Carrico is a former Dental and Practice Management Consultant, software trainer, and salesdude. Enduring years of torture in the dental and technology industries uniquely qualified him for his new career of writing horror and dark science fiction stories.

When not creating new worlds and plotting their destruction, Greg reviews indie books at his blog, Live the Story (www.gramico.com/blog). He lives his story in Central New York, with his wife and three small canine overlords, who he faithfully serves by trying to educate people about the horrors of puppy mills, and the joys of adopting the dogs rescued from them. You can read about Charlee, the Bichon Frise he and his wife rescued at www.gramico.com/dotherightthing.html.

AUTHOR LINKS:
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TWITTER
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
WEBSITE
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Release Day for Given To You by Carlie Sexton!!!

BOOK DESCRIPTION
To give is a virtue. But to give your very self, the ultimate bequest. Offered in love, it can be wondrous. Offered in desperation, it can be deadly.

In Book Two of this three-part epic, young and tempting Kate Simmons at last seemed to have reached a safe haven of happiness when she moved in with Neil, ambitious and persevering, both in his legal practice and his love life. Taking great care to protect his trophy and the surprise he had in mind for Kate, Neil hired security to accompany his soon-to-be fiancée on a scavenger hunt of a lifetime. As Book Three continues their saga, it is life itself that is in the balance when Kate becomes the hunted as the jilted Roger snatches his prey.

The obsessed minds of Neil and Roger now take aim squarely at each other — with a bare and exposed Kate directly in the crossfire. Knowing her very life will be the winner’s spoil, Kate stares agony in its ghastly face as it approaches for the death dance.

There is no time, no place, no safety in a war of fixation. A war in which the winner will be either the last one standing, or the last one to die.


BOOK LINKS:
AMAZON
GOODREADS

TEASERS:


THE AUTHOR:
Carlie Sexton has had a passion for reading her entire life. She loves it so that she dedicated her life to educating children. As a teacher, she has had the profound pleasure of teaching children to read and explore their imaginations through a good book. Just recently she decided to write a story that had been on her mind. Now she has several that she wants to turn into additional books. Writing has become a passion that she dearly loves.
Carlie lives with her handsome husband in Southern California. They enjoy the relaxed lifestyle that California provides. They have two beautiful dogs, but no children. 
You can connect with Carlie on Facebook via her author page at facebook.com/carliesextonauthor, email her at CarlieSexton@ymail.com, or visit her blog at CarlieSextonRomance.com to see what is next on her horizon. If you enjoyed part 1, then you will be happy to know that part 2, Taken by You is on its way for you to read it. It will be released no later than July 2013. It is the continuation of the story between Neil and Kate with many twists and turns.


Click HERE to find the other two books in the series!!

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OMG... I can not wait to read this!!!!  I still have to read the first two, but I haven't yet, because I didn't want to be left hanging when this one came out!!!!  It looks amazing!!!!!  

Monday, September 23, 2013

Dream World by SJ Hitchcock!!



Dream World. Book 1
By SJ Hitchcock
Genre: YA Romance
Due out: September 20, 2013
Publisher: Freaky Fiction Writing

Blurb:
Debbie who witnesses the death of her mother, and uses her dreams as a way to escape the real world.  Where she feels safe and loved, in Joshua Lawson’s arms, the guy from her favourite TV show Victor, and from her favourite poster above her bed.

Karen is ignored by all her family, she really just wants to be loved by them, and takes out her anger on her former best friend, Debbie and anyone who gets in her way. 


Lastly, Mark whose shipped off to the UK to live, while his parents are on tour for the next year. And Mark has always lived in the shadow of his cousin.

THE AUTHOR:
AUTHOR BIO:
Sarah Hitchcock was born in Norfolk, in a small town called Kings Lynn.  She always was a keen reader, and one day decided to attempt to write her own, and never looked back.  Today she has many novels in various stages of editing and re-writing.  Her current WIP, is in the final stages of editing, and will be out later this year as an ebook.
After finishing high school and then training to work with children, Sarah started her first job. She currently works as a pre-school teacher. 
Sarah has four children, and three dogs, and a partner who has had to put up with her rambling on about all her WIP’s.
She recalls spending hours thinking about her characters and their storylines.  To this day, she often falls asleep thinking about where she can take new and old characters.


LINKS:

******REVIEW TO COME*******

Cover Reveal of Take my Hand by Nicola Haken!!!

Cover Reveal button Take My Hand - High Resolution copy Synopsis Twenty-four year old Dexter Michaels has arrived in the UK for a fresh start - leaving everything and everyone he knows behind in the states. Determined to put right some of the wrongs he’ll never be able to forgive himself for making and make his Aunt Sarah – the only person left who still believes in him - proud, he lands in London with the intention of working hard, getting his degree and keeping himself to himself. He can’t destroy anybody else that way… His heart and his body have other ideas however when he finds himself sitting next to nineteen year old Emily Barton in his Psychology class. Moving down south to find her own New Life, Emily is shy, smart and beautiful – everything Dexter knows he should stay away from… everything he knows would be too easy for him to break. But she makes him feel things he’d forgotten even existed. She makes him laugh, smile, care… forget. Without her trying, and without him realizing, Emily has wound her way into the one place he swore to keep locked away forever – his heart. But can she stay there when she discovers the dark past he’s so determined to keep hidden from her? Or will he destroy her too, just like he always expected? (Not recommended for younger readers due to language, drug/alcohol abuse and sexual content) Meet the Author Nicola lives in Rochdale, England with her husband and four children (and dog!). She is the author of two stand alone novels, Inevitable and Saving Amy, and is currently having fun working on her first series with book one, Take My Hand, to be released in October. When not reading or writing Nicola can usually be found carrying out her daily slave duties – cleaning, feeding the mob, cleaning a bit more etc… or watching The Twilight Saga for the fifty-billionth time :-) Social Links
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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Review and Dream Cast for Back to Life by Danielle Allen!!



BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Sahara Lee has spent the last ten years living with the guilt of a tragic accident and its aftermath. That night irrevocably changed the outgoing, fun-loving college freshman into an introverted, workaholic with no social life. Sahara isolates herself from everyone and everything that reminds her of home in an effort to forget what happened. Using art as a substitute for love, Sahara throws herself into music and art as a way to feel something other than the guilt that haunts her. She accepts her lonely existence as penance for the role she played in the accident. That is, until she meets Tyree Barker, the good looking entrepreneur with baggage of his own.

Blindsided by a legal loophole, Sahara is suddenly forced to confront the past she’s been running from. Juggling the guilty feelings of her past and the unexpected feelings of her present, Sahara’s future becomes complicated as she heads down a path of forgiveness, love, and heartbreak…and not in that particular order.

Back to Life reminds you that living and existing are two completely different ways to go through life. Grief will break you but guilt, guilt will destroy you. And once that happens, what can bring you back to life?


BUY LINKS:
AMAZON

THE REVIEW:

I really loved this book!  I felt horrible for Sahara Lee, because she had to endure something that most people don't have to endure.  For ten years she feels the guilt for what happened to her best friend and her best friends brother.

Because of this guilt, she changes the way people see her.  She's not the outgoing girl from college, and's she run from the people who love her.  She's now introverted, and she works a lot.  Her co-workers thinks she's cold, but it's more a wall that she's put up to protect herself.  

Everything changes when she meets Tyree Barker.  From the very beginning, there are no pretenses with him.  He makes it clear that he knows she's hurting, and haunted by a tragic incident in her past, but also tells her that he is there when she wants to tell him about it.  Sahara, at first, resists telling him, but with their growing feelings for each other, knows she has no other option.  She's scared, thinking he'll leave her once he knows the truth.  

To her surprise, he's there at her side the whole time holding her hand, telling her it's going to be ok.  I loved Ty completely!  He was her rock, and didn't allow to shut him out like she was so used to doing to everyone else she met.  Sahara didn't let anyone in, but I loved the fact that Ty was able to get through the wall she had erected around herself.  

I really enjoyed this book, and when I'm up late reading it, I know it's good!!  This book was about forgiveness more then anything.  Sahara had such a hard time forgiving herself for what happened to people she loved, she almost lost who she was in the process. Ty, helped her get through the darkness that surrounded her.  

~~~~~~~~~
DREAMCAST FOR BOOK
Emanuel

Sahara

Ty

THE AUTHOR:

AUTHOR BIO:
I am a married event planner and life coach. My awesome friends and family and my amazing husband make my life sweet. I love to have fun and enjoy the life I’ve been blessed with. I love shopping and football with equal fervor. I’m an amateur movie critic (i.e. my husband and I watch and critique a lot of movies for fun). I love to read and I enjoy sharing my love of books with anyone who will listen. I love music. A good lyric with a good melody can paint a vivid picture and invoke such a range of emotions. I have a soft spot for most mediums of creative, artistic expression.

With degrees in psychology, human services, and marriage and family counseling, I have a unique perspective on life, love and the pursuit of happiness. As an author, I combine an active imagination and life experiences to create stories that are easily relatable and intentionally intriguing. I want to offer you a peek into someone else’s life and for you to get lost in their story, their trials, their triumphs. My ultimate goal is to create a character or a story that stays with you long after you’ve put the book down.

So in a nutshell: I plan. I teach. I read. I write. I watch. I critique. I shop. I play. I love.

To know me is to love me.

XOXO
Danielle

Author Links:

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