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GIVEAWAY: What Came First by Carol Snow
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GIVEAWAY: What Came First by Carol Snow

First comes love, then comes marriage, then . . . things can get a little complicated.
Vanessa wants just one thing for her twenty-ninth birthday: an engagement ring from her longtime boyfriend, Eric. But when the ring turns out to be a mix CD and Eric turns out to be a guy who doesn’t want to get married or have children, Vanessa considers a new path to having a family.
When Wendy and her husband, Darren, couldn’t have children the old- fashioned way, a sperm donor seemed like the perfect solution. She never imagined she’d have out-of-control twins who’d drive her to cookie binges and scrapbooking while Darren escaped into the virtual world of computer games.
Single and career-driven, Laura didn’t need a man to have a baby – at least not one that she ever met. Thanks to an anonymous donor, she shares her life with her adored eight-year-old son, Ian. She’ll do anything for Ian – even fill their backyard with a bunch of noisy chickens. But the one thing Ian really wants is something Laura’s never been able to give him: a sibling.
Now, to grant Ian’s wish, Laura starts a search that will not only change her life but Vanessa’s and Wendy’s as well…

I have two print copies of What Came First by Carol Snow for giveaway! To enter, please leave a comment below. Please note this is for US residents only. The winners will be chosen on Friday, October 14th. Thank you to Alexandra at Penguin Group for sponsoring this giveaway!

October 8, 2011
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On Tour: Whispers From the Heart by Heather Hummel
CLP Blog Tours

On Tour: Whispers From the Heart by Heather Hummel

Heather will be on tour October 10-31 with Whispers From the Heart Whispers: The heart’s way of speaking… Madison Ragnar is a high school English…

October 7, 2011
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Blog Tour Sign Up: A Heart in Sun and Shadow by Annie Bellet
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: A Heart in Sun and Shadow …

In an ancient Wales that never was…
The twin brothers Emyr and Idrys are cursed to live as hounds; Emyr by night, and Idrys by day. The twins believe they will be trapped this way forever until they meet the fierce and curious Áine, a changeling woman born with fey blood and gifts struggling to fit into a suspicious human world.
Áine unravels the fate of Emyr and his twin as all three of them fall in love. To free her lovers from the curse, she embarks on a journey to the realm of the fey where she confronts her own unique gifts and heritage. Ultimately, she must decide where her heart truly lies and what she’s willing to risk to get what she desires most.

October 7, 2011
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Guest Post by Rebecca Coleman
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Guest Post by Rebecca Coleman

CONTACT: Meryl L. Moss Media Relations – 203-226-0199
Sarah Hausman/ sarah@mediamuscle.com

Before The Kingdom of Childhood

by Rebecca Coleman, author of THE KINGDOM OF CHILDHOOD

It’s difficult to pinpoint the moment when the story that would become The Kingdom of Childhood first kindled itself in my mind. Perhaps it began at the candlelight carol singing I attended at a Waldorf school when I was 14– the first time I had ever seen such a place– when the sensory beauty of the environment and my great fear of all the fire surrounding me came together in a story about both. Or it might have been on the playground of another Waldorf school 11 years later, as I watched my young son play joyfully with his classmates and realized that his teacher– this embodiment of quiet peace and thoughtful nurturing– had it in for him, because her perceptions of my wonderful son were so much at odds with mine. I lost a little of my idealism then, and even as I continued to love the Waldorf way, I never quite forgave that teacher’s ill judgment of my son.
But these impressions remained rootless until the morning when, as I folded laundry in front of the TV news, I saw an item about a teacher arrested for an affair with a young male student and decided that was a story I wanted to tell. Raise the stakes, goes the sage advice about writing fiction– always make the stakes for your characters as high as they can be. And so it didn’t take long for the notion to strike me that a Waldorf teacher would be the best– or worst– to cast in that role, because there is no other philosophy that places such a high value on the purity, even the sacredness, of childhood. The crime Judy commits in The Kingdom of Childhood is not only taboo; in her community, it’s nothing short of anathema.
What intrigued me in equal measure, though, was what it would be like to be the teenage boy playing opposite such a teacher. I knew what I didn’t want him to be– mature for his age, superficial in his thinking, experienced with girls or squabbling with his parents. All of those things would make his motivations too simple, and the joy of writing teenagers is that they are some of the most complex people in the world: so much bravado and pride, so much desire to be perceived as mature, and yet so thoroughly naive. On the news, we hear the names of the teachers involved in these scandals; we learn about their families, their awards, their reputations. Yet the boys remain a mystery, always. We tend to assume their motives are obvious: driven by their hormones, they are unfettered, willing victims. But when are human beings ever so simple?
Somewhere inside all of that complexity I found the story I wanted to tell: one about the collision of naivete and wisdom, comfort and fear. Life is lived in the contrasts, after all– but the stakes are never higher than when the line between those contrasts draws paper-thin.

October 7, 2011
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The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman
Chick Lit Review

The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman

I received an ARC for The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman, and though I agreed to read and review, I was a little worried about what my reaction would be. I do like to explore beyond the chick lit genre, and this one is definitely way out that realm. The main character is Judy McFarland, a typical suburban mom whose profession is a kindergarten teacher. She has one son, a senior named Scott, and a husband that is manic over his doctoral dissertation. Judy’s marriage has already begun to disintegrate, but she takes things to a new level when she begins an affair- with a sixteen year old student. Judy starts to mentor Zach Patterson, a high school student and friend of Scott’s, and they soon enter into a torrid affair. The time jumps around from when Judy is a young girl and key times in her childhood, to her adult life and the decisions she is making. The point of view also switches from Judy to Zach at times, which gives readers a nice insight on his thoughts and feelings on the relationship.
The beginning did start off a bit slow for me but about halfway through the novel, I was unable to put it down. You watch as Judy turns from a typical teacher, to a misguided lover, to an insane predator with just a few flips of the pages. I have seen the words “psychological thriller” being used to describe this book, and I would agree. My emotions were played with, I kept shouting out passages to my boyfriend, and I was engrossed until the end. The writing was masterful, and I thought the sub-plot of Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky was a great addition to the main story. I will say that when I was struggling through the beginning, I couldn’t tell what Coleman’s intentions were. Was she trying to say that teacher-student affairs are okay, that Judy was simply a lost woman looking for love? Was she trying to show why these affairs are common, how people can get away with it, and what happens after the relationship is discovered? I almost felt for awhile that is was the first, that readers were supposed to feel sympathetic with Judy. Her best friend has recently died of cancer, her husband was an absent a-hole and her life seemed to be coming apart at the seams. It wasn’t until the end, where the dots seemed to be connected (at least for me) that showed the disease she was suffering from. The last few chapters gave me goosebumps, but the very last section was a little confusing for me. Overall, a solid story that will make you keep thinking about the characters after you finish the book.
[Rating: 4]

October 7, 2011
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Hair Review: John Frieda Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight
Chick Lit Plus

Hair Review: John Frieda Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight

I have taken to my blog to complain about my frizzy hair many times and all the products that I have tried to tame it. From different shampoos, top of the line straighteners, gels, mousse, hair spray, etc, I have tried many, many products. My latest shot was given to John Frieda Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight Styling Spray. I had started to see the commercials on TV with the models with the gorgeous straight and shiny locks flouncing about, and then I saw the product for only $10 at my local Walgreens. Why not, right? So I bought it, eagerly went home and showered, then sprayed the product throughout my hair 15 times. The directions say to apply to damp or wet hair, with 7-15 sprays. My hair is always super frizzy, so I thought the 15 would really help. I also have long hair (halfway down my back) and it is very fine and thin, and the wavy kind of curly. Back to the spraying. Got the 15 sprays in, then blow-dried my hair, also according to the directions. After a thorough blow-dry came the straightening. I have an expensive Chi straightener, one that gets super hot super fast. When I got done straightening my hair looked….worse than it usually does! It was hard and clumpy and even though I had just showered, it looked oily and dirty. And was on frizz-overload. Fail.
Take two. I assumed that using 15 sprays was too much. I tried again the following week. Shampoo, condition, rinse, spray (10 sprays this time), blow-dry, straighten. Results…same. Gross looking hair, even frizzier than when I did my normal routine of just using a straightening gel. Fail.
Take three. This was going to be my final attempts with the spray. Tried only 7 sprays this time, thinking it was simply my fault for using too much product and that was causing my hair to look icky. But the results were once again the same. My hair looked even more frizzy (which I truly thought was impossible with the amount of frizz my hair showcases), it looked dirty, and it felt gross to touch.
My results were not at all pleasant. This spray has been chucked to the back of my linen closet in disgust. I won’t lie- I have heard some good things about John Frieda, and really held out hope that this was going to work for me. I have read the other reviews on Amazon saying it worked like a charm and I am dumbfounded. Not sure if you need a certain hair type to achieve the results. I know this spray is supposed to turn your curls to straight, but also reduce the amount of frizz. While it may have helped straighten the kinks a little bit, they straightness didn’t last for three days, and there is no way I could keep me hair unwashed for that amount of time looking as dirty as it did. I will not be recommending this product, and my quest to tame the frizz continues.
[Rating: 1.5]

October 6, 2011
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Future Tour: Chosen by Denise Grover Swank
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

Denise Grover Swank will be on tour October 31- November 21 with Chosen. Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one…

October 5, 2011
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Clothesline by Kate Supino
Chick Lit Review

Clothesline by Kate Supino

Kelly, Ana and Sera are three friends with a big problem- they have no money. The friends and co-workers decide to become entrepreneurs, because the three of them aren’t making enough working at the retail store Clothesline. Their big ideas include door to door selling, vending machines, and finally dog grooming. But Kelly has always had an eye for fashion and creating clothes, and a chance run-in with a major celebrity helps open the door for her. Armed with the help of her two best friends, the young women are able to find their happy endings.
Clothesline is the debut from Kate Supino, and I thought it was pretty solid. There were a few holes along the way that had me wondering, the biggest one being why the friends formed a friendship. I know they are co-workers, but the writing had me believing these are best besties, when in reality they actually don’t seem to know each other that well. Ana had a secret throughout the book that she refused to share, which really did hold my interest, but the friendship had me confused on a few occasions. There were a few other instances that had me wondering- such as the immediate help from a celebrity and some odd-sounding dialogue at times, but I enjoyed the story. I could relate to the women as they strive to become successful entrepreneurs, and the ending wasn’t quite what I expected, but in a good way. Overall, a good debut from an author that I will read more from.
[Rating: 4]

October 5, 2011
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Press Release: Launch for Musa Publishing
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Press Release: Launch for Musa Publishing

Contact Elspeth McClanahan Permission to forward granted
Phone 919-877-0375 For Immediate release
Email Promotions@MusaPublishing.com

Ebooks,Penumbra eMag, and so much More
Musa Publishing Opens its Electronic Doors

After months of editing, designing, contracting, and formatting Musa Publishing launches on October 1, 2011. The E-publisher opens with a large catalogue including Penumbra Speculative Fiction eMag, new works by three bestselling authors, and the full backlist of Aurora Regency, featuring traditional Regency romances and historical fiction.

Penumbra eMag http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=12

Penumbra’s inaugural issue is a collection of speculative fiction stories that encompass the arts–the arts we love and revere. Some of these stories deal with the arts we’re familiar with. Some create arts we haven’t thought of and some resurrect arts buried in the depths of the past. And yet, all of these offerings celebrate the creative process, which makes them a fitting theme to launch Penumbra–an enterprise that will showcase the creative work of speculative fiction authors each month with a new collection of works within the genre.
New Works by

Gini Koch
The Martian Alliance 1: The Royal Scam
http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=13

Things aren’t what they seem to be when Princess Olivia of Andromeda jumps aboard a spaceship to escape a loveless marriage.

Join the crew of the Hummingbird as they take on the rich, famous and sleazy of the galaxy. They’re also on a long-term secret mission, so it’s a good thing they’re the best con artists, spacers, and roughnecks in the Milky Way, because they need all their skills to pull off this particular Royal Scam.

Cindi Myers
West with the Wind
http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=19

More than gold awaits two lovers at the end of the trail.

Mariah Tate and her dog, Worthy, persuade veteran guide Campbell Jefferson to let them join his expedition headed to California. Camp can’t say no to the beautiful widow, but his need to protect her soon clashes with her need to keep secrets. Mariah left more than bad memories behind in Pennsylvania and her growing attraction to the stoic but surprisingly sensitive Camp forces her to face up to the consequences of the choices she’s made. Camp doesn’t know what Mariah’s hiding, but he’s determined not to let the only woman who ever made him want to settle down get away. He pursues her across the prairies, through stampedes, Indian raids, desert drought and mountain snows. In the gold camps of California, Camp will discover Mariah’s secret, and prove the love she wants most isn’t out of reach.

And the return to writing after five years for USA Today Bestselling Author

Sharon De Vita
The Estrogen Posse http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=20

“The Estrogen Posse is a hoot! I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down! For every woman who needs a pick me up, this is the book for you!”
Janet Evanovich, NYT bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum mystery series

Once upon a time Ellie Briotti had a quiet life as a suburban housewife.
Until…she confronts her wealthy husband Nicky about doing the pecker polka with another woman, and Nicky tosses Ellie out of his life like some misbehaved household pet.
Until…Gram Crackers, her dotty mother begins passing out house keys to homeless bums.
Until…Joey, her eleven-year old son starts on a new career path: breaking and entering.
Until…Rina, her best friend, a single, successful, entrepreneur learns she’s about to become a mother.
Until…Candi, Nicky’s 22-year-old mistress turns up murdered with traces of furniture polish on her bare backside!
A rip-roaring ribald mystery about a woman’s journey to discover what she really wants in life. Now, if Ellie can keep her son from becoming a second-story man, while trying to hide everything from the gorgeous cop who’s started sniffing around, Ellie might be able to get a new life.
That is—if she doesn’t go to jail for murder first!
Aurora Regency

Musa has acquired Aurora Regency and Aurora Regency Historicals. Within the next month over forty books in this line will be available to Regency and Historical Romance buffs to enjoy.

Stop by www.MusaPublishing.com check out the books already for sale as well as those coming soon. Over the next few weeks, Musa will offer literature geared for every reader’s tastes. Musa aims to offer well writing, interesting stories, all at a price that doesn’t bite into your check book.

“Hearts set upon song, spirits free from care”~ Hesiod

# # #

If you’d like more information about Musa Publishing, please contact Elspeth McClanahan at Promotions@Musapublishing.com or go to our blog http://musapublishing.blogspot.com/

October 4, 2011
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