Pink Lemonade Review

Synopsis:  Dare to dream big with a full glass of lemonade.Pink Lemonade teaches girls to turn “life’s lemons” into lemonade through developing inner strength and confidence. This special life lemonade is unique to each individual, built on the idea that contributing positively to oneself and to others is the recipe for a joyous and successful life.

Even the very worst situations in life can be made into something that will one day help girls to build self-confidence. Pink Lemonade is filled with words of encouragement and inspirational advice, shared by successful women across the country. Readers will learn how to believe with intention, set out to accomplish great things and be the amazing girls that they already are.

Pink Lemonade shows girls how to keep their personal glass of lemonade both vibrant and full, and to forge a path in life that can lead to nothing but success. Not all days in life will be easy, but Pink Lemonade teaches readers how to make each one worth it."

My Review: Pink Lemonade is a beautiful keepsake for girls. The book is fast to read and one to keep on your bookshelf. Pink Lemonade is the type of inspirational book that you can read over and over again through life.  It is bursting with great advice,encouragement and uplifting words.

Here are a few of my favorites: 

• "Be yourself and listen to your heart; she is an amazing voice who guides you to new heights."

• "Smile.  A simple smile can change someone's day."

• "Stand Proud. If you stand tall with confidence, you'll never fall."

I can't wait to share Pink Lemonade with my girls.  Even though this book is for girls, there are messages that you can even share with boys.  Pink Lemonade would make a great gift for any occasion and perfect for any age.  

Meet the Author: Carey Grund is a mother of three young girls.  Her daughters were her source of inspiration for writing Pink Lemonade.  Carey teaches her girls to dream big, believe in their inner strength and turn life's lemons into something they can grow from.  Carey was a succesful corporate Mama for over a decade.  She followed her dreams and became Chief Mama and CEO when she founded SmilegramPaper.  Carey teaches that anything is possible with a dream, confidence, and of course, a full glass of lemonade.

You can connect with author of Pink Lemonade, Carey Grund and  founder of Smilegrampaper on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest,

Purchase It: You can purchase Pink Lemonade (and other Smilegram Paper products) online at Smilegrampaper for 8.97 (soft cover) or 4.97 (e-book). 

Love Anthony

I LOVE this cover!

My Review:  First, let me just say....I LOVE Lisa Genova's books!  Love Anthony, didn't let me down.  It is a MUST READ!  Her books just blow me away.  

Lisa Genova brings two different stories about two different women, going down similar paths for different reasons together at a cross road. Both women end their marriages for different reasons.  Beth's husband is cheating on her and Olivia and her husband grew apart over the years due to focusing on the care of their son with autism. When their son passes away, Olivia leaves her husband.  

Both women are grieving.  Beth is grieving over the end of her marriage, struggling to keep her girls' lives as normal as she can.  Olivia is grieving the loss of her son.  Both women are having to support themselves financially again.  Olivia turns her hobby into a business and takes family photos on the beach.  Beth returns to writing....but she is writing some else's story that is "spoken" to her.

Beth writes a story about a little boy with autism and what it is like for him from his perspective.  Through the story that Beth is writing we learn about Anthony, Olivia's son.  So many things regarding autism are explained through the story Beth is writing.  I learned so much from reading Love Anthony and have a whole new appreciation for those who have autism and their dedicated families.  It leaves me speechless.

Love Anthony's chapters alternate between Beth and Olivia, until near the end when they connect.  Olivia has been hired by Beth to take a "new" family photo on the beach, without her husband.  Beth learns that Olivia used to work for a publisher and asks her to read her book.  Imagine being Olivia and reading a story as if your son is talking to you.  It was so amazingly powerful and so beautifully written.  Have a box of kleenex near by when you read the final chapter of Beth's book.

Love Anthony is a book everyone should read.  There are so may great stories within one book. There is friendship, broken love, new beginnings, and healing after grieving losses.  Love Anthony is a MUST read book.  It would also make a great book club book and would provide a lot of discussion.

Still Alice is on my top ten books of all time list.  Left Neglected (review coming soon) is also a wonderful story.  Lisa has a very special gift for writing and is so talented.  She is currently working on her fourth book!  I can't wait to read it.

My Favorite Line: "I’m always hearing about how my brain doesn’t work right. . . . But it doesn’t feel broken to me."

Meet the Author:  Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is the author of the New York Times Bestselling novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, and Love Anthony.

Connect:  Connect with Lisa Genova online on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy It:  You can buy Love Anthony from Amazon for $26.00 ($15.69 Prime member and $7.99 Kindle version).

Next Year in Jerusalem - Guest Post

I am so excited to bring you the guest post on Net Year in Jerusalem!  I have this on my "to read list" (next year!) and can't wait to get started!

Life in the First Draft

Writing the first draft of Next Year in Jerusalem! Romance, Mystery & Spiritual Awakenings, was a most amazing experience.  It all started over lunch with a dear friend.  As we bemoaned the loss of a special spiritual teacher in our lives we began to imagine a movie around a similar woman's disappearance.  Before we knew it, I was writing a movie plot on paper napkins that involved two characters, much like ourselves, except younger and open to amazing adventures.

Those notes led to the first draft of the book, which I began to write on the computer late at night.  At first I really hated the two main characters.  Neither had enough life or depth to them once I left the napkins behind.  That was resolved when I got some mentoring.  I learned about creating a 'back story' even if all doesn't appear in the book and also how to work from what I knew, but yet make it fiction.

The plot and characters then moved along a great neck speed.  Over the next six months I wrote a few pages at a time a few times a week.   Six months later I had over 300 pages and realized that the plot was so dramatic as to qualify to be a cliff-hanger series.  Realizing I had a series, rather than a book, I went back to clean up what would be the first three books of the series.

The first draft really flowed from me.  The re-writes also did.  What was a bit of torture was the editing.  That was tedious and required professional help.  I probably spend at least 3 months just cleaning.  But the basic trilogy never changed.  Natalie and Maggie had determined what I would be saying and sharing about each of them.  And the mystery woman, also, Chaya Sarah, was  also able to let me know how the mysteries around her would develop.  What was the real shock for me was how Jack, Natalie's old boyfriend, (Natalie is married) would pursue Natalie.  Also, I was unprepared for all the romance that would happen to Maggie, who is divorced.

However, I just knew the characters had a better spin on their lives than I did, so I went with it.  I hope you will enjoy reading Part 1 of Next Year in Jerusalem!

Next Year in Jerusalem Book Excerpt

Natalie didn't tell David (her husband)about her other dream, the one about Jack, the Jewish fellow from Chicago who'd been around to save her from despair after she decided she wasn't moving to Iraq. A diamond salesman, Jack now lived in London and traveled back and forth to Israel all the time.

Natalie prided herself on staying in touch with lots of people from her past. Jack was one of them. Occasionally they e-mailed and he'd friended her on Facebook two years ago. Although they hadn’t written recently, if he read her Facebook page he would know she was going to Jerusalem. What if he tried to see her? What if there was still an attraction? Would she tell David? Would he care? Would she act out?

Her life with David was so good and stable and predictable. And boring!

Did I just say boring?

No, she must have meant solid. Or did she mean solid?

Oh, I'm a wreck. I'm miserable and I can't sleep, she continued to obsess. What about that cute secretary at the college? The one who has a sparkle in her eye whenever she talks to David? How old is she? Forty-two? Divorced and sexy. How would I know if something’s going on there?

I'm going crazy lying here, she began again. Where’s the Xanax? Already packed. Oh, that was dumb.

About Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, internationally known positive psychologist, inspires thousands with her ENCHANTED SELF®. Around the world people benefit from her techniques to enhance well-being, and to live up to their potential. Known for her ability to make complex psychological concepts easy to understand and to implement, she has now turned her talents to novel writing.  "A great fiction read is a great escape, and yet, it is more! It is the gateway to new ways of thinking and behaving."

Dr. Holstein received her Doctorate in Education from Boston University and her BA degree from Barnard College. Dr. Holstein has been a school psychologist and taught first and second grades. She is in private practice with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein, in Long Branch, New Jersey. Find her at www.enchantedself.com

 and www.next-year-in-jerusalem.com.

Her previous books include:

·       THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy

·       Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!

·       The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything)

·       Seven Gateways to Happiness: Freeing Your Enchanted Self.

Finding the Baby Jesus Book Blast + Giveaway

Finding the Baby Jesus by Kimball Fisher

After being forced to wear lederhosen for the annual holiday card picture, twelve-year-old Chris thinks that the least his parents can do is get him the Tony Hawk skateboard he wants for Christmas. But when he recovers the hand-carved Baby Jesus that everyone thought had been destroyed in a fire the year his Grandma died, Chris realizes that some gifts are even more important than skateboards.

When the author had to discontinue a cherished tradition of reading Christmas stories out loud with his family and holiday guests each week in December, he wrote Finding the Baby Jesus. He had been unable to locate enough meaningful stories that could be read in a single sitting with wiggly children.



Praise for Finding the Baby Jesus:
“Tender and true, this warm Christmas tale brought tears to my eyes.”

–Heather Vogel Frederick, author of the much-beloved Mother-Daughter Book Club series and Oregon Book Award winner for The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed

“A touching story that speaks to the importance of family, giving, and the true spirit of Christmas.”

–Matthew Kirby, author of Icefall, winner of the Edgar Allen Poe and the Pen Center USA Literary Awards for Children’s Literature

“Deeply moving. Poignant.”

–Deborah Halverson, former editor at Harcourt Children’s Books and author of Honk If You Hate Me, a Gayle McCandliss Literary Award Winner

"The perfect little book to tuck away with your Christmas things and bring out year after year to read with family. As mother to three boys, I can't imagine a better protagonist than Chris. His typical teenage attitude followed by the softening of his heart towards a friend teaches a poignant and very relatable lesson on the true meaning of Christmas."
–Amazon review

"After I read this short story I felt like I had read a novel--every sentence is packed with action and imagery. I was emotionally connected to the characters, and the story is touching. I didn't see the plot twist at the end coming! A great story to read every Christmas."
–Amazon review

Purchase

Amazon * Smashwords

Author Kimball Fisher


Kimball Fisher writes novels for young readers. He is also a best-selling business author, professional speaker, and management consultant. Some of his past jobs include: sailboat builder, ghost writer (not as scary as it sounds), illustrator, and factory manager (more scary than it sounds). For fun he builds furniture, stained-glass windows, and writing pens.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities (with minors in English, Asian Studies, and Japanese), and a Master of Organizational Behavior degree from Brigham Young University. He and his amazing wife Reenie live in Portland, Oregon, where they have seen pheasants, coyotes, and a bobcat in their own backyard.

Links

Website * Facebook

Blog Tour
November 23rd to December 21st

Tour Schedule

Blast Giveaway:

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/21/12

Open to anyone 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's permission. 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. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Good Women - A Brennan Sister Novel

Synopsis:  Is it possible to leave it all behind? 

The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being “the good woman” have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It’s here, alone together in an exotic city, far from “real” life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg.

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she’s ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something’s got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities—but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

My Review:  I am a fan of Jane Porter's, so I am really surprised at myself.  I would have assumed that I would have rated The Good Woman as "a must read."  While I liked The Good Woman, it just seemed to me that the story moved very fast - not to be confused with a fast read.  I was surprised at how quickly the affair happened, how quickly Meg's husband found out, how quickly he kicks her out of the house, how quickly she leaves her job, how quickly she accepted being kicked out instead of fighting, and how quickly her children/child turn on her.  

I couldn't connect with Meg in The Good Woman.  I felt Meg was weak, should have fought for her marriage (or Chad), not allowed her husband to pull her children away from her, or put up with her son's attitude.  I would have fought like heck.  Through the story of The Good Woman, we learn why Meg is the way she is and it is explainable, I just couldn't relate to her as easily as I could the other sisters.

I did really liked the Brennan sisters and all the different characters.  Jane has definitely set this up to be a great series, where each new book could be focus on a different sister and slightly build off the previous novel.  Each sister is so different, but yet connected to each other.

I loved how Meg's affair with Chad impacts each one of her sisters differently based on their own experiences they were going through. My favorite sister relationship was Meg and Kit.  I liked the changes that Kit went through and the support she had for her sister.  

For some reason....not sure why, except I didn't care for Jack, I really wanted Meg to end up with Chad.  I really liked him!  I am looking forward to the other Brennan Sister Novels since I connected with them much more than Meg.  Other Jane Porter books I would recommend are like Easy on the Eyes, She's Gone Country and Flirty with Forty!  

Meet the Author: Jane Porter, a native of Visalia, California, graduated from UCLA with a degree in American Studies and worked in sales and marketing before returning to school to earn a teaching credential and an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco. Since publishing her first romance novel in 2001, Jane has written and sold 39 novels, including her latest release, The Good Woman, the first book in her Brennan Sisters trilogy. A bestselling author, Jane has also been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2010 from Romance Writers of America, and her '06 release, Flirting With Forty, picked by Redbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, went back for seven printings in six weeks before being made into a December 08 Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear. Jane, her surfer husband, and three sons make their home today in San Clemente, CA where she's currently working on her next novel.

Connect: You can connect with Jane Porter on her website, Twitter, her Blog and Facebook. 

Purchase It:  You can purchase The Good Woman (Brennan Sister Novel) online at Amazon for $15.00 ($9>99 Kindle). 

Enchanted by Starlight

Synopsis:  Be careful what you wish for...Grace, Skylar and Alina are connected by destiny when an enchanted comet crosses the night sky. As their most secret ambitions ignite, their ordinary lives take a magical detour down a powerful but dangerous path.

Grace, emerging from her dejected childhood, develops the power to make men fall in love with her. Skylar leaves her impoverished past behind and pursues the social status she has always longed for. Without dreams of her own, Alina covets the power to unravel other lives and seeks revenge. As they crash into and slip away from each other in a cycle of envy, deception and love lost, these three women are forced to look deeper into their own hearts for the true meaning of enchantment.

My Review:  I really liked Enchanted by Starlight.  I would describe it as chick-lit meets paranormal - which is all the rage!  Enchanted by Starlight was fast paced, with great characters that were very relate-able, pulls you in from the beginning kind of book.  I really liked the Grace, Skylar and Alina and the way the story is told from the point of view of all three.  It provided a different kind of twist for each character.  

I think the character I liked the best was Skylar.  I think it would be so "fun" to have important social status (I can dream too, right?)  Not that I didn't like Alina or Grace either and easily identified with them as well.  Each story on the three women is woven and twisted together.....in a very creative way.  I don't think you will be disappointed in Enchanted by Starlight if you like chick-lit, paranormal or a great book!

Enchanted by Starlight was Tina Hook's first published book......sign me up for her next book.  I can't wait to read it!

Meet the Author: Tina L. Hook grew up in Orlando, Florida where she earned a Liberal Arts degree from Rollins College.  After her early career in South Florida, she eventually settled into small town life near Nashville with her husband and two cats.  When she is not daydreaming over a blinking cursor, she is blogging at GirlwithaNewLife.com.  This is her first novel.

Connect:  You can connect with Tina Hook on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Purchase It:  You can purchase Enchanted by Starlight online at Amazon for $14.99 (kindle version is $0.99).

The Hollow Man - TLC Book Tours

Synopsis:  Waking up on Hampstead Heath not far from a crashed squad car, Detective Nick Belsey wants out—out of London and out of the endless complications of his life. When Alexei Devereux, a wealthy hermit, vanishes, leaving behind a suicide note and his Porsche, Belsey discovers an opportunity—a new identity and a fortune—waiting for the taking.

Unfortunately, there are others who share the detective's interest in Devereux, including Scotland Yard. A dead rich man with suspicious financial holdings is bound to have some dangerous ties and a few ruthless enemies. Now, Belsey and his clever plan are about to be overshadowed by far more ambitious players with their own brilliant—and deadly—scheme.

Combining dark humor, dazzling twists, and a sharp narrative style, The Hollow Man is a tour de force of suspense—and the debut of an extraordinary new writer.

My Review:  The plot of the Hollow Man is like the streets of London - lots of twists and turns.  The Hollow Man is a complex novel that has many layers and evolves as the story goes.  One of the fascinating things is that as I tried to figure out each new intrigue, there was another waiting for me.  

Harris has set-up this drama with a real feel that gives the reader a sense of being there with the main character, Detective Beasley.  The Hollow Man is very well written and is a quick read for those that like to immerse themselves into a good book.

Meet the Author:  Oliver Harris holds an MA in Shakespeare studies from University College London and an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. He has worked in clothing warehouses, at PR companies, and as a TV and film extra, and more recently assisted with research in the Imperial War Museum archives. He writes reviews for the Times Literary Supplement.

You can connect with Olive on-line at his website and on Twitter.

Purchase It:  You can purchase The Hollow Man on-line at Amazon for $14.99 ($10.19 prime members and $8.89 kindle version).

Make sure you check out the other reviews on the TLC Book Tours!

Tuesday, October 23rd: Literary Feline  
Wednesday, October 24th: Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms 
Thursday, October 25th: Life In Review  
Wednesday, October 31st: Jen’s Book Thoughts 
Tuesday, November 6th: Seaside Book Nook 
Wednesday, November 7th: Book Him Danno!  
Tuesday, November 13th: she treads softly  
Wednesday, November 14th: Man of la Book  
Thursday, November 15th: A Bookworm’s World  
Tuesday, November 20th: No More Grumpy Bookseller 
TBD: nomadreader