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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Things You Can't Take by Erin Lockwood Book Tour & Giveaway


Things You Can't Take
by Erin Lockwood
Genre: Contemporary Fiction


How far would you go for your best friend....


Abigail and Kessia shared a childhood bond that couldn't be broken. Challenged, yes—but never broken.

Born into Hollywood lineage, Kessia understood the risks and pressures of celebrity life and willingly dedicated hers to serving and protecting her best friend’s rise to stardom. But when Abigail learns of Kessia’s own behind-the-scenes battles with a predator, her sense of friendship drives her down a path that blurs the lines between loyalty and revenge at all costs.




Erin Lockwood grew up in Castro Valley, California and attended the University of Oregon, where she graduated in 2003 with a degree in journalism. From there she moved to Denver and spent the next seven years searching for the love of her life and building the family of her dreams.


It wasn’t long until, with children starting preschool and more time on her hands, Erin refocused on her career, beginning with a successful entry into the world of residential real estate as a Realtor. Free time was spent reading book after book (and binge-watching the subsequent films) in the New Adult genre. Feeling hopelessly in love with her husband, she wrote him a short story leading up to their fifth wedding anniversary. That’s when she discovered her tireless passion to share her experience of falling in love through fictional characters. That story evolved into the first novel in the Angles trilogy.

Erin still lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Phil, and their three children.





Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!







Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz Book Tour & Giveaway


Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction
Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries Book 1
by Amy Metz
Genre: Cozy Mystery
253 pages

When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle. 


A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready. 





Heroes & Hooligans in Goose Pimple Junction
Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries Book 2
299 pages

Goose Pimple Junction is just recovering from a kidnapping and a murder, its first major crimes in years, when trouble begins anew. Life is turned upside down in the quirky little southern town with the arrival of several shifty hooligans: A philandering husband intent on getting his wife back, another murderer loose in town, a stalker intent on frightening Martha Maye, and a thief who’s stealing the town blind of their pumpkins, pies, and peace. Together, they’re scaring the living daylights out of the residents and keeping the new police chief busier than a set of jumper cables at a redneck picnic. Suddenly, he has his hands full trying to apprehend a killer, stop a stalker, and fight his feelings for the damsel in distress.



Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction
Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries Book 3
127 pages

This is not your average Southern town. With a hint of mystery and a lot of laughs, you'll catch a glimpse of everyday life in Goose Pimple Junction in this short story compilation. Five short stories, one novella, and three recipes will give you more of the unique charm of Goose Pimple Junction, make you laugh, and have your mouth watering. If you want a feel-good read, you've come to the right place. Grab some sweet tea and escape to Goose Pimple Junction.



Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction
Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries Book 4
246 pages

Sweet Southern belle Caledonia Culpepper and hit woman in training Wynona Baxter come up against crooked lawyers, restless husbands, a teenage hoodlum . . . it seems there are rogues and rascals everywhere you look in Goose Pimple Junction. When their paths cross, they prove there isn't a rogue or a rascal who can keep a good woman down. Mama always said there'd be days like this . . .




Amy Metz is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. She is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not writing, enjoying her family, or surfing Pinterest, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky and loves a good Southern phrase.



Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!



Drinking the Knock Water by Emily Kemme Book Tour












Drinking the Knock Water: A New Age Pilgrimage
Emily Kemme

Genre: Chick Lit

Publisher: Arrowhead Publishing

Date of Publication: January 27, 2017

ISBN: 0983740127
978-0983740124
ASIN: B01MTE7QGJ

Number of pages: 288
Word Count: 107,532

Cover Artist: Mia Kemme

Tagline: “We all live with ghosts. . . Some are those of people who’ve never been born.”




Book Description:

“We all live with ghosts. . . Some are those of people who’ve never been born.”

So begins Drinking the Knock Water: A New Age Pilgrimage, the second novel by award-winning Greeley, Colorado author Emily Kemme.

Loosely based on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the novel takes on life itself as a pilgrimage. One of life’s biggest struggles is fitting in with the rest of the human race, and an aspect of that is having children. It’s not meant for everyone and yet, true to Darwinian forces, it’s almost expected. Giving birth and then raising a child to maturity is one of the bravest tasks we take on. 

On what was supposed to be a day to celebrate, another cruel outburst from Holly Thomas’ sister-in-law begins a spiral of events that would leave Holly questioning every choice she’d ever made and every belief she held as truth.

Had she done the right thing by her unborn child? Had she given enough, or too much, freedom of choice to her son? Did she truly, deeply know her husband and clinic partner, Roger? And what right had she to counsel infertile couples after her own pregnancies?

With the Fertility Tour only weeks away, a group of unlikely and disparate pilgrims look to her for guidance. But Holly’s life has unraveled in ways she could not have imagined, including a restraining order against her. Will she be able to find her footing and make peace with her choices and herself? Will visiting the religious and sacred feminine sites in England help her regain control or only tear her further apart?


Reviews

"Today exists for you to let your mind wander, let it free, all week long. This is the time for reflection and evaluation."

Deeply traumatized after her daughter, Arella, is born dead, fertility counselor Holly Thomas struggles to achieve inner peace. Roger—Holly's supportive husband and a prominent fertility doctor—accepts her grief-induced eccentricities, but his intolerant Christian family resents her and her Jewish roots. When Edward, Roger's brother, openly belittles the Bar Mitzvah of Daniel, Holly's son, tensions escalate, and her whole world threatens to fall apart. To overcome heartbreak and reflect on self-discovery and relationships, Holly and Roger take a group of patients from their clinic on a fertility tour. This tour becomes a spiritual pilgrimage for unrealized truths.

Kemme elegantly examines the complicated aspects of life and relationships. Using Holly's experiences with a failed pregnancy, her in-laws, and Roger, Kemme focuses on how pain can shape and enlighten us. That religious intolerance can inflict significant emotional damage is depicted through Roger's family members who weaponize words to hurt Holly. This, along with Holly's emotional fragility, causes strain in her marriage. However, Roger's unwavering love helps Holly stay somewhat balanced, letting her emotionally heal many patients who cannot conceive. Some of these couples include Leah and Rachel, the Rhanjhas, the Chandlers, Burbages, and Jane Brown and her mother. As Holly and Roger take their chosen couples on a fertility tour to England, various colliding elements within the patients' lives emerge, thereby projecting how relationships bless or burden us. Pain becomes a recurrent theme in the novel, neutralized by the healing touch of water as a metaphor. Arella's grave is near water, and the visit to the sacred sites of England serves as ritual cleansing for the characters. Artistically nuanced language and the sincere, soothing tone bring out the true beauty of this literary novel. This is an introspective, gentle novel that illuminates and rejuvenates in the same breath.

RECOMMENDED by The US Review of Books


Fertility doctors confront the lingering effects of personal and cultural emotional trauma. Holly and Roger Thomas have a stable marriage, fulfilling careers, and a son practicing for his bar mitzvah. Holly insists on throwing a birthday party each year complete with gifts for their stillborn daughter, but Roger doesn't complain. His Catholic brother and sister-in-law, however, find fault with Holly, primarily because she's Jewish. Her religion haunts her, almost as much as the death of her daughter. . .
. . . the author often beautifully depicts Holly s self-doubt as she explores different aspects of overcoming trauma. . . [in a] positive tale of moving forward through unexpected circumstances.

-- Kirkus Reviews

Dr. Roger and Holly Thomas run a successful fertility clinic in New York City. Roger tends to the patients' physical needs while Holly ministers to their emotional and psychological ones. The couple cherish the routines of their partnership and their happy marriage as they struggle with the pain of a lost child. Holly continues to throw their daughter birthday parties long after the child's been buried. This painful ritual causes her in-laws to question her sanity and is a source of annual familial strife.
Then the Thomas's son, Daniel, decides to complete his Bar Mitzvah. While Holly was born Jewish and Roger was born Catholic, neither parent practices his or her childhood religion. They've exposed Daniel to both religions for the sake of their families, but neither of them expected him to take it this far. Roger's devoutly Catholic family cannot accept Daniel's sincerity, and harsh words are said at his birthday party. Holly and Roger's resulting fight has surprising and unintended consequences.
All this turmoil takes its toll on the workings of the clinic. The Thomases have hosted something they call the Fertility Tour for over a decade. It's an opportunity for their clients to connect to one another outside of their familiar surroundings. Holly conducts the tour; she chooses the participants, orchestrates ice-breakers, and mediates conflicts. Normally she's a skillful operator, but she's lost her confidence. This year's tour is populated by an odd and ill-matched assortment of individuals. Needless to say, this tour does not run smoothly. Roger and Holly must find a way to reconnect with one another in order to salvage the retreat.

The Thomases deal with people at their most vulnerable. Fertility is closely tied to an individual's identity, and both men and women find it difficult to process the inability to have a child. While Holly and Roger have never encountered problems with conceiving, they have suffered a loss and are sympathetic to thwarted expectations. This closeness to struggle and their ongoing religious turmoil provide the pair with a lot of philosophical ground to cover. Is religion necessary to cope with the vicissitudes of life? Is God responsible?

Drinking the Knock Water is at heart an exploration of the role religion plays in the life of an individual. Faith in a god can both connect a soul to others and sow discord. In the end, it's up to the reader to decide if faith is essential or composed of empty rituals.

-- Manhattan Book Review

About the Author:

As the award-winning author for her novels, Drinking the Knock Water: A New Age Pilgrimage and In Search of Sushi Tora, and on her lifestyle blog, “Feeding the Famished”, Emily Kemme tends to look at the world in all its rawness. She writes about human nature, and on her blog shares recipes and food for thought along with insights about daily life. She is a recipe creator but winces when labeled a foodie. She is the Food and Lifestyle Contributor for the Greeley Tribune’s Dining column and also writes features for the newspaper and its magazine, #Greality.

"I write about what I ate for lunch only if it's meaningful," Emily says. "Mostly, I'm just hungry.”

Emily also writes because her degrees in American and English History, followed by a law degree from the University of Colorado, left her searching for her voice. She also suffered from chronic insomnia.

“Writing helps clarify my mind, erasing clutter, and makes room for more impressions. My thoughts can seem random and disconnected, but once they flow onto paper, a coherency and purpose emerges, directing patterns into story. I sleep much better, too.”

As an author who lives in Greeley, Colorado, she celebrates people’s differences, noting that the biggest problem with being different is when it’s deemed a problem. Emily often identifies with the underdog, focusing on humanizing the outsider, showing there is not only one right way to be or to live. Through her writing she hopes her audience will be open to new ideas, the acceptance of others, and will recognize the universalities of human experience in a non-judgmental way as they meet her characters and follow their stories.

Her first novel, In Search of Sushi Tora, was awarded as Finalist for First Novel in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and her second novel, Drinking the Knock Water, was awarded as a Finalist in Chick Lit in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received two CIPA EVVY awards.  Emily is currently working on a children’s book series, Moro and The Cone of Shame, a collaborative project with her daughter-in-law, Mia. She is also writing her third novel, The Man With the Wonky Spleen, a story about human idiosyncrasies.

Professional Memberships: PEN America










January 29 SImply Kelina        
http://simplykelina.blogspot.com/                 

January 30 Lisa-Queen of Random    
http://www.Lisas2900.blogspot.com            

January 31 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too!

January 31 Jazzy Book Reviews         

February 1 Must Read Faster    
http://mustreadfaster.blogspot.com               

February 2 Reads 2 Love

February 5 T's Stuff (Interview)

February 6 Don't Judge, Read

February 7 Books Direct (Guest Blog)

February 8 Lisa’s World of Books
         
February 9 Roxanne’s Realm (Guest Blog)

February 12 Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog     

February 13 Lisa's Loves Books of Course

February 14 Fang-tastic Books

February 15 JB's Bookworms with Brandy Mulder

February 15 Paranormalists

February 16 The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom (Guest Blog)

February 19 Saph’s Books

February 20 The Book Junkie Reads (Interview)

February 21 Mello and June, It's a Book Thang!

February 22 Ramblings of a Book Nerd

February 23 Silver Dagger Scriptorium
                                        
February 26 Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer (Interview)

A Better Place To Be by David Wind Book Tour & Giveaway


A Better Place To Be
Based on the Harry Chapin Song
by David Wind
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
166 pages

A story about life, though perhaps not the one you would choose to live. 


inspired by the characters from the Harry Chapin song of the same name, 'A Better Place To Be’ is a story of love, loss, and the ability to overcome the worst that life can throw at someone and come out the other side.



Reviews-
Wow.
     That word just comes to mind over and over, in regards to this book, along with the phrase, heart-wrenching. It's good though - incredibly, in a  makes-you-feel-things-and-think-things brilliantly good.
       Upon first meeting John, he's likable enough. He soon turns out to be sweet and the reader would have to be dead to not feel his love for Claire - and it is mutual. So the two of them have this great, comfortable thing...until tragedy strikes. Then the reader is treated to a gut-wrenching, realistic, accurate view of what happens all too often to too many people. I doubt there's a person alive who cannot relate to this... Still, Wind puts it all so simply and so realistically, it's like nothing I've ever read or am likely to read again. 
     Not only does he repeatedly rip out my heart and stomp all over it - and I like it somehow, so apparently I'm some kind of sadist - but he perfectly portrays a good - better than average actually- man turning into completely something different, as a result of the bulls--- that life has thrown at him....
....Point is, if you want a book that's real and will make you think, this is the one.
If you don't want to think but like a book that'll give you all the feels, this is also the one. It's well detailed with perfect continuity.
And did I mention it's based on a song? 'A Better Place to Be' by Harry Chapin, a song that'll never be the same for me. It seems completely natural as if the book IS the song and  the song IS the book. Brilliantly perfect. -------- J.L. Redding, Reviewer


David Wind has written a 5 Star story about a wonderful couple – so happy and in love - and then surprises us with one of life’s heaviest blows. The reader indeed becomes “John Edghes” as John endures one of the cruelest fates that life can impose - tremendous loss, resulting in utter despair, loneliness, and addiction. He descends into an addiction as a means to cover up the horror of it all. John goes down that black hole (amazing how deep that hole can get) and he must make a decision to climb out in order to survive or go further down into that bottomless pit. After all, life goes on, with or without you.

John faces seemingly endless challenges as he makes his way back into life.

John eventually learns he is not the only lonely person in the world. People need people and life does indeed go on.

This is a story about life. A message for us all. The cold reality that life does end and the living must go on living.

  • Amazon Reviewer



David Wind has published thirty-nine novels, including science fiction & Fantasy, mystery, thriller, noir, and suspense novels. He lives and writes in Boynton Beach, Florida, and shares his home with his wife, Bonnie, and dog Alfie, a sub-standard poodle (email David for an explanation). 


His newest novel is A Better Place To Be based on the Harry Chapin song of the same name. Not his usual genre, this is a story of love, loss and facing to the worst life can throw at you and still be standing. 

Born To Magic, the first book of his sci-fi fantasy series, Tales Of Nevaeh, was released in 2015. All three books have reached into the Amazon Top 100 best seller rankings in several categories including Young Adult. Both the second book of the series, The Dark Masters , and the third Book, TRINITY: The Battle For Nevaeh, have all received high praise. 

David's fantasy, Queen Of Knights, was a #2 best seller on the Amazon bestseller lists for historical fantasy and medieval fantasy, and his sci-fi paranormal, Infinity’s Doorway, has received wide acclaim.

When David formally left traditional publishing to become an independently published writer, he published Angels In Mourning, his ‘homage’ to the old time private detective books of the 50’s and the 60’s. Angels is a modern day take on the old style hard-boiled detective. In April of that year, Angels In Mourning, won the Amazon.com Book of the Month Reader’s Choice Award.

His previous suspense thrillers are The Hyte Maneuverv, (a Literary guild alternate selection); The Sokova Convention ,, and The Morrissey Manifest ,. David's Mystery suspense novels include: And Down Will Come Baby, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, and Out of The Shadows.





Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!





Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Coldwater by Samuel Parker Book Review










Coldwater

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About

The vigilantes behind him are nothing compared to the enemy within.
Having forfeited his youth to the state prison system, Michael moved back to the still vacant house of his parents in a town with one stoplight. A town that hated him. Had always hated him. And was ready to pick up where the prison system had left off.

Now he's on the run from men who've tried to kill him once; but Michael is more than an ex-con. A powerful, sinister force skulks within him, threatening and destructive. What--and who--it will destroy next is the only real question.

From the bold voice that brought readers down Purgatory Road comes a new pulse-pounding, spine-rattling tale of vengeance and justice.


Praise for Purgatory Road
"Exceptional."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Will grip suspense aficionados from the first page."--Library Journal, starred review

"A scorcher."--Killer Nashville

"A skillfully written, gripping thriller."--Booklist

"Not for the faint of heart."--BookPage


Samuel Parker is the author of Purgatory Road. Born in the Michigan boondocks, he was raised on a never-ending road trip through the US. Besides writing, he is a process junkie and the ex-guitarist for several metal bands you've never heard of. He lives in West Michigan with his wife and twin sons.

The Author

  1. Samuel Parker

    Samuel Parker

    Samuel Parker is the author of Purgatory Road. Born in the Michigan boondocks, he was raised on a never-ending road trip through the US. Besides writing, he is a process junkie and the ex-guitarist for several metal bands you've never heard of. He lives...
    Continue reading about Samuel Parker

Reviews

Praise for Purgatory Road
"Parker, unlike lesser suspense writers, succeeds in making the reader feel the tragedy."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Parker's dark debut thriller will grip suspense aficionados from the first page."--Library Journal, starred review

"Seamlessly melds elements of thriller, suspense, and the supernatural to create a scorcher."--Killer Nashville

"This is a skillfully written, gripping thriller, well supported by the author's fine eye for setting and ear for dialogue."--Booklist
"Not for the faint of heart, Purgatory Road is a compelling story that suspense fans are sure to love."--BookPage


My review;
"Coldwater" by Samuel Parker is a book that will grab you from the very first pages and not let you go until you finish the last page. Michael is a man who has spent time in prison for his deeds. Just when he wants to start again the same people who wanted him dead and even tried are going to try to succeed this time. Who will be able to help him? This story is very fast moving and I really enjoyed the story. I give this book a 5/5. I was given this book for a review from Revell Publishing and all opinions are mine.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Searching For Gertrude by D. E. Haggerty Book Blast and Giveaway

 




Searching for Gertrude by D.E. Haggerty

Searching for Gertrude
Historical Romance Self Published (January 22, 2018) Print Length: 278 pages ASIN: B077P28WDK
While growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Rudolf falls in love with the girl next door, Gertrude. He doesn’t care what religion Gertrude practices, but the Nazis do. When the first antisemitic laws are enacted by the Nazi government, Gertrude’s father loses his job at the local university. Unable to find employment in Germany, he accepts a position at Istanbul University and moves the family to Turkey. Rudolf, desperate to follow Gertrude, takes a position as a consulate worker in Istanbul with the very government which caused her exile. With Rudolf finally living in the same city as Gertrude, their reunion should be inevitable, but he can’t find her. During his search for Gertrude, he stumbles upon Rosalyn, an American Jew working as a nanny in the city. Upon hearing his heartbreaking story, she immediately agrees to help him search for his lost love. Willing to do anything in their search for Gertrude, they agree to work for a British intelligence officer who promises his assistance, but his demands endanger Rudolf and Rosalyn. As the danger increases and the search for Gertrude stretches on, Rudolf and Rosalyn grow close, but Rudolf gave his heart away long ago.
I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book. Searching for Gertrude is my twelfth book. Website:  -  Blog:  - Facebook: - Twitter:  - Instagram:  - Goodreads Amazon author page - Newsletter signup - Google+  - Pinterest

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