Future Tour: All the Difference by Kaira Rouda
Kaira will be on tour April 1-19 with her novel All the Difference Beautiful Ellenabandons her life as a successful fund-raiser for that of isolated…
Write From the Heart by Heather Hummel
Heather Hummel is on tour with her novel Write from the Heart. I did a tour with Heather for her first book in the Journals from the Heart series titled Whispers from the Heart, and really enjoyed the story. I was eager to read another from her. Write follows Samantha Sounder, who abruptly quits her job as an office manager and decides to really get what she wants out of life. During her therapy sessions, her therapists encourages her to go through past journals. Samantha is trying to figure out why so many of her relationships with men have failed. While immersed in that project, Samantha also decides that she needs to take her dream of becoming a novelist seriously. She determinedly starts writing her first novel, Winter’s Truth, and receives help from a Craig, a man she meets at a coffee shop. Samantha and Craig are soon heading into their own romance, but Samantha isn’t sure if that is the right decision. After much soul-searching, journaling, and never giving up, Samantha’s life finally seems to be turning around, all because of her go-get it attitude and some positive thinking.
I liked what Samantha’s journey was all about – taking life in your own hands and making something happen for yourself. I harp on that lesson all the time. Samantha was a very sweet main character, someone who always wants to do the right thing but has a hard time finding a break. Craig was a delicious male lead, I was a big fan of his right when he entered the story. Sometimes, I thought the writing was a bit too loose and I had to question some of the dialogue, and how many times the word “Universe” was written. I also thought the ending came together really easily for Samantha. As a writer myself, I thought her journey to being published seemed very easy. But I don’t want to get on that subject too much, because really the focus of the story is about being positive, and how little moments of reflecting on positive thoughts can really help change a life. I really believe in that lesson as well, and I’m glad Hummel wrote such a fine story about it.
[Rating: 3.5]
Future Tour: Blue Straggler by Kathy Lynn Harris
Kathy will be on tour April 16-30 with her novel Blue Straggler A blue straggler is a star that has an anomalous blue color and…
In My Mailbox: Week of February 26
In My Mailbox: Week of February 26
Title: Home Front
Author: Kristin Hannah
Received: For the SheKnows Book Club
Synopsis: In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.
All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .
Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life—children, careers, bills, chores—even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own—for everything that matters to his family.
At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.
Title: Vivid
Author: Andrea Murray
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: When Vivian Cartwright was five years old, she witnessed her mother’s death.
Now, sixteen-year-old Vivian only wants a normal life—hard to accomplish when you possess the power to control energy. Her entire life she has feared her power and its connection to her mother’s murder. She has kept her ability a secret from everyone except her guardian, Charlotte, who has hidden Vivian from the man responsible for her mother’s murder.
Her secret is safe until Vivian subconsciously defends herself at school using her power. After this first use of her gift in many years, Vivian’s power seems to take on a mind of its own, increasing in strength and demanding to be used. This increase in power also brings dreams of her mother’s death and the mysterious man connected with it. When she is assigned to tutor the would-be boyfriend of Trista Parmer (a.k.a. the biggest diva in school), Vivian cannot deny the electrifying connection that she feels for the boy, Easton Garrett. In her desire to get Easton away from Vivian, Trista doubles her efforts to humiliate Vivian, forcing Vivian to use her supernatural gift over and over. With each use, Vivian fears she is losing control and discovers her powers are growing—maybe too much—bringing her unknowingly closer to the man who murdered her mother.
Title: Run Rabbit Run
Author: Kate Johnson
Received: From Choc Lit
Synopsis: Sophie’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday.
Sophie Green’s an ex-spy, or trying to be. You wouldn’t believe the trouble she’s in. An MI5 officer has been shot with her gun, her fingerprints all over his office. And no, she didn’t kill him.
But she has gone on the run.
Now Sophie’s desperately seeking whoever’s trying to frame and kill her. She’s being forced to work with the least trustworthy man in Europe, MI5 is following her every move, and she’s had to leave the tall, blond, god of a man she loves behind.
Luke Sharpe works for MI6. Or did, until his girlfriend became a murder suspect.
Doing nothing wasn’t an option, so he started investigating. Who cares if it is means jeopardising his career? Sophie’s everything he used to say he never wanted. Young, irresponsible, bright and mad. Now she’s just everything – and she has to live.
She will live, won’t she?
In Sara’s Mailbox:
Title: Miracle’s Pain
Author: JT Keitt
Received: From Lauren @ AuthorRight
Synopsis: From the beginning, Patricia Ann Hall knew she had a secret. Within a darkness of shouting voices that only she could hear, inside a world only her eyes could see, she grasped onto a deadly Miracle that although cruel and deceptive, offered her the only escape. Sex was the weapon. Money was the bait. Sanity was the vehicle. And someone had to suffer. Patricia s daughter Symphony finds that even she can t erase the melody of the madness as her past catches up to her, and everything she thought was real reveals its true identity. But is it too late? Miracle s Pain is part two of Secrets of my Soul, the novel that began this twisted tale of mystery; a trilogy that leads to A Promise Fulfilled.
Title: The Book of Lost Fragrances
Author: MJ Rose
Received: Lindsay @ Media Muscle
Synopsis: A Secret Worth Dying For …
Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by visions of the past, her earliest memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up with as the heir to a storied French perfume company. These worsened after her mother’s suicide until she finally found a doctor who helped her, teaching her to explore the mythological symbolism in her visions and thus lessen their painful impact. This ability led Jac to a wildly successful career as a mythologist, television personality and author.
When her brother, Robbie—who’s taken over the House of L’Etoile from their father—contacts Jac about a remarkable discovery in the family archives, she’s skeptical. But when Robbie goes missing before he can share the secret—leaving a dead body in his wake—Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.
Traveling back to Paris to investigate Robbie’s disappearance, Jac discovers that the secret is a mysterious scent developed in Cleopatra’s time. Could the rumors swirling be true? Can this ancient perfume hold the power to unlock the ability to remember past lives and conclusively prove reincarnation? If this possession has the power to change the world, then it’s not only worth living for . . . it’s worth killing for, too.
The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion and suspense in an intoxicating web that moves from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. This marvelous, spellbinding novel mixes the sensory allure of Perfume with the heartbreaking beauty of The Time Traveler’s Wife, coming to life as richly as our most wildly imagined dreams.
Shelly Bell Fundraiser
SHELLY BELL HOSTS FUNDRAISER
During 25th Annual National Eating Disorders Awareness Week,
Themed Everybody Knows Somebody, Feb. 26-March 3
Observing 25 Years of Working for a World Without Eating Disorders
Farmington Hills, MI— February 23, 2012 — For Immediate Release — Shelly Bell will host a Fundraiser during the 25th annual National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAwareness Week) in an effort to bring public attention to the critical need to raise awareness and funding to battle eating disorders in the U.S.
WHAT: For each digital copy of A Year to Remember sold during NEDAwareness Week, Shelly will donate one dollar ($1) to the National Eating Disorders Association.
WHEN: February 26, 2012-March 3, 2012
WHERE: A copy of A Year to Remember can be purchased for $4.99 at www.soulmatepublishing.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com.
During NEDAwareness Week, thousands of people come together in communities across the country, hosting events to raise awareness about body image and bring national attention to the severity of eating disorders, which are mental illnesses (not lifestyle choices) with devastating, often life-threatening, consequences. While there is hope and recovery is possible – particularly with early intervention – many people suffer from long-term effects of these illnesses.
Themed Everybody Knows Somebody in 2012, some of the many events planned for the week include presentations and health fairs in schools and on college campuses; screenings of informational films; fashion shows featuring men and women of all body types; art shows; The Great Jeans Giveaway; and NEDA Walk fundraisers.
NEDA encourages individuals to get the conversation started in every community by pledging to do just one thing to raise awareness and provide critical information on eating disorders and related issues. Everyone can participate by planning and/or getting involved in local NEDAwareness Week events and activities; providing information and resources; and by encouraging community members to model acceptance and celebration of diversity in body shapes and sizes.
For information on how to get involved during NEDAwareness Week: www.myneda.org
U.S. Statistics on Eating Disorders: As many as 10 million females and 1 million males in the U.S. battle anorexia or bulimia. And as many as 13 million more struggle with binge eating disorder. Millions practice disordered eating due to an obsession with dieting ● Four out of 10 Americans either suffered or have known someone who has suffered from an eating disorder ● For females between 15- and 24-years-old-old who suffer from anorexia nervosa, the mortality rate associated with the illness is 12 times higher than the death rate of all other causes of death ● 40% of newly identified cases of anorexia are in girls 15-19 years old ● There was a significant increase in incidence of anorexia from 1935 to 1989, especially among young women 15-24 ● There has been a rise in incidence of anorexia in young women 15-19 in each decade since 1930 ● Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting and taking laxatives ● Girls who diet frequently are 12 times as likely to binge as girls who don’t diet ● 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner ● 81% of 10 –year-olds are afraid of being fat ● The average American woman is 5’4” tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5’11” tall and weighs 117 pounds ● Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women ● 46% of 9-11 year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets and 82% of their families are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets.
Shelly Bell’s debut book, A Year to Remember, follows a food addict’s road to recovery as she searches for her soul mate under the watchful eye of the nation. A recovering compulsive overeater, she wrote A Year to Remember to share her strength and hope with compulsive overeaters and food addicts everywhere.
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), headquartered in New York City, is the leading U.S. non-profit organization supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. NEDA serves as a catalyst for prevention, cures and access to quality care. Each year, NEDA helps millions of people across the country find information and appropriate treatment resources through its toll-free, live helpline, its many outreach programs and website. NEDA advocates for advancements in the field and envisions a world without eating disorders. For more information, visit www.NationalEatingDisorders.org
For Treatment Referrals, Visit www.NationalEatingDisorders.org
Or Contact NEDA’s Live Helpline: 800-931-2237
Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (EST)
Contact:
Shelly Bell — (313) 550-3313
Sbell987@aol.com
Debut Authors and Titles – March 2012
Debut Authors and Titles – March 2012
Title: Losing Clementine
Author: Ashley Ream
Release Date: March 6
Synopsis: In thirty days Clementine Pritchard will be finished with her last painting and her life.
World-renowned artist and sharp-tongued wit Clementine Pritchard has decided that she’s done. After flushing away a medicine cabinet full of prescriptions, she gives herself thirty days to tie up loose ends—finish one last painting, make nice with her ex-husband, and find a home for her cat. Clementine plans to spend the month she has left in a swirl of art-world parties, manic work sessions, and outrageous acts—but what she doesn’t expect is to uncover secrets surrounding the tragedy that befell her mother and sister. In an ending no one sees coming, will we lose Clementine or will we find her?
A bold debut from an exciting new voice, Losing Clementine is a wonderfully entertaining and poignant novel about unanticipated self-discovery that features one of the most irresistible, if deeply flawed, characters to grace contemporary fiction in years.
Title: How to Eat a Cupcake
Author: Meg Donohue
Release Date: March 13
Synopsis: Free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clairs’ housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls oblivious to class differences could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.
A decade later, Annie bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death, and a painful secret jeopardizes Julia’s engagement to the man she loves. A chance reunion prompts the unlikely duo to open a cupcakery, but when a mysterious saboteur opens up old wounds, they must finally face the truth about their past or risk losing everything.
Title: A Surrey State of Affairs
Author: Ceri Radford
Release Date: March 29
Synopsis: Constance Harding’s comfortable corner of the Home Counties is her own little piece of heaven. Her time is spent party-planning (disastrous), matchmaking for her startlingly well-dressed son Rupert (catastrophic), and dreaming of the hat aisles at John Lewis. But she’s about to learn that her perfect home conceals scandal that would make the vicar blush. Her Lithuanian housekeeper’s polyester underwear keeps appearing in her husband’s study, her parrot has gained a troubling new vocabulary and her daughter is turning into a Lycra-clad gap-year strumpet. As her family falls apart, Constance embarks on an extraordinary journey. From tripping in Ibiza to riding with a handsome Argentinean gaucho whose only English words are ‘Britney’ and ‘Spears’, Constance discovers a wider world she thought it was too late to find …
The Pub Across the Pond by Mary Carter
The Pub Across the Pub by Mary Carter follows Carlene Rivers, a reliable young woman living in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother passed away at a young age, and Carlene helps watch over her father – who is living with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Carlene is someone definitely in need of a break, and that break comes when Carlene wins a raffle – and the prize is a pub on the west coast of Ireland! Carlene packs her bags and hops on the plane, nervous and excited for this new chapter in her life. While in Ireland she meets Ronan McBride, the black sheep of the McBride family who owned the pub Carlene has just won. Ronan places too many gambling bets, and one caused him to lose the pub. Carlene and Ronan try to fight the romance brewing between them, and Carlene tries desperately to fit in with the Irish community.
The Pub Across the Pond wasn’t my favorite book. The prologue had me a bit baffled, and I thought it was a pretty typical romance novel with no real surprises along the way. A decent read, but nothing really popped out at me. Besides the bizarre fact of how Carlene wins a pub – in Ireland. I think I was drawn more to the supporting cast then to Carlene or Ronan, but I did like the bit of mystery that was thrown in. I don’t think this is a bad book, just nothing that really sparked my interest and made me want to keep reading. If you like a sweet romance novel, then I would recommend this book.
[Rating: 3]
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
On Tour: Write from the Heart by Heather Hummel
Heather will be on tour February 27-March 19 with her novel Write from the Heart Journals are a woman’s best friend… When Samantha Sounder quits…
Blog Tour Sign Up: A Year to Remember by Shelly …
When her younger brother marries on her twenty-ninth birthday, food addict Sara Friedman drunkenly vows to three hundred wedding guests to find and marry her soul mate within the year.
After her humiliating toast becomes a YouTube sensation, she permits a national morning show to chronicle her search. With the help of best friend, Missy, she plunges head first into the shallow end of the dating pool.
Her journey leads her to question the true meaning of soul mates, as she decides between fulfilling her vow to marry before her thirtieth birthday and following her heart’s desire. But before she can make the biggest decision of her life, Sara must begin to take her first steps toward recovery from her addiction to food.
