tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50890080913409426852024-03-05T02:30:53.173-05:00My Love for BooksQuality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.comBlogger682125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-88543620066577026972015-02-04T08:00:00.000-05:002015-02-06T02:15:05.647-05:00Loni Flowers Thanks #Author Laura Kentowski, Shares Past Jobs & More #AmWriting #SelfPub #Romance<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What else do you do to make money, other than write? </b><i>It
is rare today for writers to be full time. Monday through Friday, from
8am- 5pm. I am a supervisor at a bank. Is it what I want to be doing
full-time? Nope. But it pays the bills.</i></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">What other jobs have you had in your life?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><i> Cashier for a grocery store, Printer at a print shop.... both were extremely exciting! (Not!!)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Not sure of the exactly place, but it would be someplace tropical. I LOVE the beach!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><i>Laptop usually and from the comfort of my reclined couch!</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><i>Author
Laura Kentowski. She has been on this writing journey with me from day
one. She pumps me up, gives me encouragement whenever I feel like I'm
the worst storyteller in the world (and there are quite a few days like
that), but she also keeps me grounded. Tells me what I need to hear,
when I need to hear it. And if that means tough feedback, she gives me
that too. I love her to pieces!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><i>Successful
writing is completing something I'm proud of and knowing I did my
absolute best. It's having a story that--for a little while-- takes the
reader out of this world and into another and they enjoyed the journey.
That’s what a successful writing career is to me. And if I make a little
bit of money in the meantime, well then, that’s an extra bonus.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Tell us about your new book? What’s it about?</b><i>After
seven years in the Witness Protection Program, Abigale Peterson felt no
safer now than she did when she was seventeen. Especially when the
person she was being protected from was one of the world's worst crime
lords. Then she meets Max Smith. He’s the only one who seems to get her.
He calms her fears and comforts her from her nightmares. But he also
sees right through her lies.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">What’s your favorite meal</b>?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Shrimp pasta alfredo</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">What movie do you love to watch?</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Dirty
Dancing. Yes it's old. But it's a classic. I've seen it too many times
to count, but will watch it every time I see it on TV.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">How do you feel about social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter?</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Are they a good thing?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Yes
I believe that are an awesome tool to have as a writer... if it's used
correctly. These social sites help me reach a much wider audience to
spread the word about my books, but they also allow me to interact with
other readers. Gives me the ability to talk about that cute picture of
someone's dog, talk about a favorite book or movie. Find new songs to
fall in love with and in general, have fun talking to like-minded
individuals on any topic under the sun!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg"><img alt="Witness to my Heart" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41881" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<br />
Keep
a low profile. That's what Abigale Peterson was supposed to do,
especially when the person she was being protected from was one of the
world's worst crime lords. After seven years in the Witness Protection
Program, she felt no safer now than she did when she was seventeen.
Revenge was rarely forgotten when it came to a professional criminal
like Zerilli.<br />
<br />
Low profiles meant no social life and definitely no love life.<br />
<br />
Paranoia
and lies became daily habits, going against everything Abigale believed
in, but they kept her safe. They kept everyone safe.<br />
<br />
Until
a house fire puts her out of that safety and into the arms of a
stranger. Max Smith is sexy, smart, and has major attitude. He’s the
only one who seems to get her. He calms her fears and comforts her from
her nightmares. But he also sees right through her lies.<br />
<br />
Before
Abigale can stop, she’s in too deep; confiding too much and breaking
the one rule she promised herself to uphold: Never fall in love.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-my-Heart-Loni-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00MLN4IFW" href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-my-Heart-Loni-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00MLN4IFW" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary Romance</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Loni-Flowers/e/B00JOF1XYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Loni-Flowers/e/B00JOF1XYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Loni Flowers through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoniFlowers" href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoniFlowers" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/LoniFlowers" href="https://twitter.com/LoniFlowers" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-38529633114918722332014-11-27T08:30:00.000-05:002014-11-30T11:43:04.958-05:00Sue Parritt Shares Her Inspiration for "Sannah & the Pilgrim" @OdysseyBooks #AmReading #Dystopian <i><b>What inspired me to write my book?</b></i><br />
<br />
Anger,
abhorrence and disbelief motivated me to write Sannah and the Pilgrim. I
was and remain appalled by past and present governments’ policy on
refugees and asylum seekers. News bulletins and current affairs
programmes helped fuel my deep concerns about the direction our country
is heading. From a country that welcomed scores of displaced people
after the Second World War, we are becoming xenophobic, rejecting those
that have fled what for most of us are inconceivable terrors. As a
migrant myself, I tried to imagine how I would have felt, if instead of
paying my ten pounds and travelling here on an ocean liner, I had been
forced to flee my homeland, hand over my life’s savings to greedy people
smugglers and risk my life by boarding a leaky overcrowded boat.<br />
<br />
My
thoughts then turned to a different category of refugees, those we can
expect in the not so distant future. Low-lying Pacific islands are
already under threat from accelerating climate change, about which
wealthy first-world countries have so far failed to act. Soon there will
be a flood of environmental refugees seeking a safe haven in our
sparsely populated and prosperous nation. How will our government react
then, when turning back the boats won’t be an option?<br />
<br />
I
felt my option as a fiction writer was to draw on contemporary
government policies regarding refugees and climate change to create a
portrait of a future Australia that is, to my mind, entirely possible.
The idea to divide the country into zones according to race of origin
came from a thinly veiled proposal made by an ultra-conservative
politician some years ago. Research into climate change led me to place
my characters in the most inhospitable part of twenty-fourth century
Australia, the extremely hot, humid and disease-ridden north. Confined
to the Brown Zone (formerly Queensland) the people, descendants of
Pacific environmental refugees, are forced to cultivate the remaining
fertile coastal strip to produce food for White Southerners, whose zone,
although more suitable for human habitation, is too arid to support
agriculture.<br />
<br />
I was inspired to create the role of
storyteller for my protagonist, Sannah, by the manner in which
information is often distorted by both the media and government in order
to provoke certain reactions. For instance, fears of being swamped by
refugees are intensified by using terms such as ‘illegals’ and concerns
over rising utility costs assuaged by promises to repeal the Carbon Tax.
Sannah’s people are kept in ignorance through a steady diet of Tales (a
weird blend of historical fact and fiction) delivered by
government-trained storytellers. In similar fashion, we are fed only
what governments and multinational companies want us to hear and it
takes a great deal of effort to uncover the truth. Lies ensure
compliance in both twenty-first and twenty-fourth century Australia.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;" style="font-size: x-small;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sue-Parritt-author-pic.jpeg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sue-Parritt-author-pic.jpeg"><img alt="Sue Parritt author pic" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-42296" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sue-Parritt-author-pic-300x255.jpeg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sue-Parritt-author-pic-300x255.jpeg" height="255" width="300" /></a> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;"><span lang="EN-US">About the Author:</span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Sue
Parritt is an Australian writer, originally from England. Her poetry
and short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies in
Australia, Britain and the USA. After graduating BA University of
Queensland 1982 (majors: English Literature, Drama and French), Sue
worked in university libraries until taking early retirement in 2008 to
pursue her long-held dream of becoming a professional writer. Since
then she has written<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Sannah and the Pilgrim,</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>numerous short stories and poems and</span><span lang="EN-US">‘</span><span lang="EN-US">Feed Thy Enemy</span><span lang="FR">’</span><span lang="EN-US">,
a feature film script set in Naples in 1944 and 1974 and based on a
true story (Sue is currently seeking a producer). She recently completed
a second novel<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Safety Zone</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and is now writing a sequel to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Sannah and the Pilgrim<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></span><i><span lang="EN-US">–</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the working title is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Pia and the Skyman</i>.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Sannah-and-the-Pilgrim-by-Sure-Parritt.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Sannah-and-the-Pilgrim-by-Sure-Parritt.jpg"><img alt="Sannah and the Pilgrim by Sure Parritt" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41955" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Sannah-and-the-Pilgrim-by-Sure-Parritt.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Sannah-and-the-Pilgrim-by-Sure-Parritt.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
When
Sannah the Storyteller, a descendant of environmental refugees from
drowned Pacific islands, finds a White stranger on her domestep, she
presumes he’s a political prisoner on the run seeking safe passage to
egalitarian Aotearoa. However, Kaire’s unusual appearance, bizarre
behaviour, and insistence he’s a pilgrim suggest otherwise.<br />
<br />
Appalled
by apartheid Australia, Kaire uses his White privileges to procure
vital information for Sannah and her group of activists regarding new
desert prisons that are to be built to house all political prisoners.
The group plans sabotage but needs help, and Kaire is a willing
accomplice. But when Sannah turns Truthteller and threatens to reveal
the country’s true history, even Kaire’s White privilege and advanced
technology cannot save Sannah and her daughter from retribution.<br />
<br />
<b>About Sannah and the Pilgrim:</b><br />
<br />
Sannah
and the Pilgrim is a tale of courage, defiance and deceit that asks the
reader, ‘Would you risk death by telling the truth about your country,
or would you play it safe and spend your life as a storyteller?’<br />
<br />
Are
you concerned about our governments’ (both past and present) failure to
act on climate change and the detention and inhumane treatment of
refugees? I am, so I have drawn on contemporary conservative attitudes
to present a dystopian view of a future Australia in my speculative
fiction novel Sannah and the Pilgrim. Read it and discover what could
happen to our‘lucky’ country.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;"><span lang="EN-US">General Information -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i><span lang="EN-US">Sannah and the Pilgrim</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by Sue Parritt</span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">ISBN: 978-1-922200-14-3</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Genre:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Speculative Fiction / Sci-fi / Dystopian</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Release Date: 26 April 2014 (Paperback and ebook)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Publisher: Odyssey Books (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a data-mce-href="http://www.odysseybooks.com.au/" href="http://www.odysseybooks.com.au/" target="_blank">http://www.odysseybooks.com.<wbr></wbr>au/</a>)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Amazon:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://amzn.to/1kBKqan" href="http://amzn.to/1kBKqan" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/1kBKqan</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Kobo:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/sannah-and-the-pilgrim" href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/sannah-and-the-pilgrim" target="_blank">http://store.kobobooks.com/en-<wbr></wbr>US/ebook/sannah-and-the-<wbr></wbr>pilgrim</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">B&N:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a data-mce-href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sannah-and-the-pilgrim-sue-parritt/1119209936?ean=9781922200143" href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sannah-and-the-pilgrim-sue-parritt/1119209936?ean=9781922200143" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/<wbr></wbr>w/sannah-and-the-pilgrim-sue-<wbr></wbr>parritt/1119209936?ean=<wbr></wbr>9781922200143</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">iTunes:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sannah-and-the-pilgrim/id872478599?ls=1&mt=11" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sannah-and-the-pilgrim/id872478599?ls=1&mt=11" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/<wbr></wbr>book/sannah-and-the-pilgrim/<wbr></wbr>id872478599?ls=1&mt=11</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Goodreads:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21883471-sannah-and-the-pilgrim" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21883471-sannah-and-the-pilgrim" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/<wbr></wbr>book/show/21883471-sannah-and-<wbr></wbr>the-pilgrim</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Facebook:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/sue.parritt" href="https://www.facebook.com/sue.parritt" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/sue.<wbr></wbr>parritt</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">LinkedIn:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://au.linkedin.com/pub/sue-parritt/60/622/301" href="http://au.linkedin.com/pub/sue-parritt/60/622/301" target="_blank">http://au.linkedin.com/pub/<wbr></wbr>sue-parritt/60/622/301</a></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-15677410971953791602014-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:002014-11-20T07:54:56.501-05:00LUCIFER & THE INDIGO KIDS - In My Cell by @Lord_Ra_Krishna #Goodreads #Poetry #AmReading<span style="font-size: large;"><b>In My Cell</b></span><br />
<br />
Sitting in my cell / meditating, half dreaming... <br />
See a picture on the wall / black girl in bikini<br />
<br />
And we’re both looking happy / we embrace and we smile <br />
<br />
As I got my eyes closed smoking on a black and mild...<br />
<br />
Better yet / a cigarette<br />
I wish I had one now<br />
<br />
Meditate a little harder...<br />
Then I crack another smile...<br />
<br />
Cause I'm back on the beach<br />
Sun shining on my face…<br />
<br />
Ask me what did I learn?<br />
Most of all / appreciate<br />
<br />
Every moment... every second...<br />
Every thought... every breath...<br />
<br />
While they’re killing all the prophets / I'm the last one left...<br />
<br />
With a wrist full of beads <br />
And a neck full of crystals...<br />
<br />
And the city that I'm from busting Shots with their pistols…<br />
<br />
But I'm sitting in my cell / and my soul's in outer space<br />
<br />
As I astral project / sun kissing on my face…<br />
<br />
Now I'm back on the beach<br />
With my son and my daughter<br />
<br />
And my son thinks’ he's God <br />
So he’s walking on the water…<br />
<br />
And my daughter thinks’ she God<br />
Cause that's what daddy told her...<br />
<br />
And they both think that they could save the world when they get older....<br />
<br />
As I'm sitting in my cell, <br />
My body's there but I'm not in it<br />
<br />
Tell my babies "Not to worry" <br />
I'll be home in a minute <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4_w5b43Q_YU_rYsHFHecZyzxEUcxkE_TpqRHT0En0qTj9ZT8vhILuo7EkK8MfOnUJVg-QvJua5y4Ll0QK2fcEEfcFmsYpzRgssGj2VsQQm6iXCKIEA1_vIz0exisIRwlXwC-0WBplKoR/s1600/10543606_799244456762857_1951121046706555738_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4_w5b43Q_YU_rYsHFHecZyzxEUcxkE_TpqRHT0En0qTj9ZT8vhILuo7EkK8MfOnUJVg-QvJua5y4Ll0QK2fcEEfcFmsYpzRgssGj2VsQQm6iXCKIEA1_vIz0exisIRwlXwC-0WBplKoR/s1600/10543606_799244456762857_1951121046706555738_n.png" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
"This
“new age” book of poetry reflects the diverse views and philosophies of
it’s author Ra Krishna EL. It’s an intimate, humorous and thought
provoking group of poems intended to evoke strong emotion. To quote the
German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, this style of poetry can be
called “Zukunfts poesie“ which translates into “Poetry of the future”,
where truly original ideas are presented thru poetry. Also known as post
Nietzschean poetry.<br />
<br />
It’s subjects include society, pop
culture, love, religious dogma, God and the new age of Aquarius. This
book was written and published during the false incarceration of its
author in Chicago’s notorious Cook County Jail, the largest jail in the
country."<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-indigo-kids-Last-Prophet-ebook/dp/B00L3VL7E8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406567843&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+and+the+indigo+kids" href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-indigo-kids-Last-Prophet-ebook/dp/B00L3VL7E8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406567843&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+and+the+indigo+kids" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Poetry, Philosophy</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Lord%20Ra%20Krishna%20EL&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Lord%20Ra%20Krishna%20EL&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Connect</b> with Lord Ra Krishna EL on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Ra-Krishna-El/729737850380185?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Ra-Krishna-El/729737850380185?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Lord_Ra_Krishna" href="https://twitter.com/Lord_Ra_Krishna" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-38042696643221949402014-11-08T12:00:00.000-05:002014-11-09T08:35:42.660-05:00Scott Moon Shares His Thoughts on #Amazon Ranks & #BestSeller Status @ScottMoonWriter #WriteTip<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During
the last two years I have read countless books, blogs, Facebook posts,
and tweets on the the topic of book marketing. One of the strangest
revelations was that being a <i>bestseller</i> is not clearly defined.
Growing up with dreams of writing success, I’d always assumed there was
one list. Everyone knows about the New York Times Bestseller list.
Clearly, if you are on this one, you can justifiably use the distinction
in your promotional efforts. Amazon ranks books by sales (total sales
and category sales rank) and popularity. (1) (2) Amazon also uses other
criteria such as “movers and shakers.” This last metric is based on a
spike in sales during a specific time frame.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
was unable to find exactly what makes a New York Times bestseller with
mere Google research, though it seems it is not as straight forward as I
had assumed. (3) As an independent author, it appears I could set my
own criteria for calling my novels bestsellers, but would this be
honest, or just a promotional scheme. More importantly, could there be
negative repercussions?</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
reason I ask this question, is that I see a lot of “bestsellers” I have
never heard of and thus rarely consider reading, unless the book
description and reviews catch my interest.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
blog post is less to express my thoughts or conclusions on the subject,
and more to start a discussion. Should there be a strict criteria for
claiming bestseller status? Do readers resent overblown claims of a
book’s popularity? And does labeling a book in this manner increase
sales?</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
related concern is unknown books with extraordinarily high numbers of
reviews. I read a book review that brought this up, and the author of
the review wondered how the book achieved nine-hundred five star
reviews. After reading the book description and a dozen other reviews, I
shied away from making a purchase and chose to add it to my wish list
instead–with plans to read the sample provided by Amazon before spending
time and money on the title.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
had serious reservations about posting this blog, because I don’t want
to disparage authors and their promotional efforts. However, both indie
and traditionally published authors are serious about the craft of
writing and the industry. No one invests hundreds or thousands of hours
in a project without self-sacrifice and courage. Like all artists, they
take their vocation seriously and would like others to do the same.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
admire all writers, no matter where they are in their journey. I also
realize there are a lot of books promising to make people rich quickly
in the self-publishing arena. Have you ever bought a “book” only to find
it was eight pages long? I have, and I wasn’t happy. Eight pages isn’t a
book. It’s not even a pamphlet. People who try this stunt should not
call themselves authors.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most
books on book marketing start with the admonition to write the best
book possible. No one argues with this advice. For long term success,
this is infinitely more valuable than slapping a bestseller label on the
cover.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1) What Defines a Bestseller? (Irene Watson) <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Defines-a-Bestseller-in-Books?&id=3491920" style="text-decoration: none;">http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Defines-a-Bestseller-in-Books?&id=3491920</a></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2) Amazon: What Does the Amazon Sales Rank Mean and is It Significant? <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Amazon:-What-Does-the-Amazon-Sales-Rank-Mean-and-is-It-Significant?&id=166716" style="text-decoration: none;">http://ezinearticles.com/?Amazon:-What-Does-the-Amazon-Sales-Rank-Mean-and-is-It-Significant?&id=166716</a></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3) What Does Bestseller Title Really Mean? <a href="http://dearauthor.com/features/letters-of-opinion/what-does-bestseller-title-really-mean/" style="text-decoration: none;">http://dearauthor.com/features/letters-of-opinion/what-does-bestseller-title-really-mean/</a></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/enemyOfMan.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
Lost Hero</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Changed
by captivity and torture, hunted by the Reapers of Hellsbreach and
wanted by Earth Fleet, Kin Roland hides on a lost planet near an
unstable wormhole.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When a distant space battle propels a
ravaged Earth Fleet Armada through the same wormhole, a Reaper follows,
hunting for the man who burned his home world. Kin fights to save a
mysterious native of Crashdown from the Reaper and learns there are
worse things in the galaxy than the nightmare hunting him. The end is
coming and he is about to pay for a sin that will change the galaxy
forever. </span></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
Books</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Enemy
of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland was written for fans
of military science fiction and science fiction adventure. Readers who
enjoyed Starship Troopers or Space Marines will appreciate this genre
variation. Powered armor only gets a soldier so far. Battlefield
experience, guts, and loyal friends make Armageddon fun. </span></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
Movies</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If
you love movies like Aliens, Predator, The Chronicles of Riddick, or
Serenity, then you might find the heroes and creatures in Enemy of Man
dangerous, determined, and ready to risk it all. It’s all about action
and suspense, with a dash of romance—or perhaps flash romance. </span></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
From the Author</span></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for your interest in my novel, Enemy of Man. I hope you chose to read the book and enjoy every page. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have already read Enemy of Man, how was it? Reviews are appreciated! </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have a great day and be safe.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Man-Chronicles-Kin-Roland-ebook/dp/B00DAIQO9A?tag=booaremag-20" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Science Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Moon/e/B0082VIWL8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Scott Moon on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scottmoonwriter" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/Scottmoonwriter" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-5699572736769953122014-11-07T10:30:00.000-05:002015-02-06T02:25:22.495-05:00Hank Quense on Unknown Authors & Book Signing Horror Stories @hanque99 #AmWriting #SelfPub<u><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Book Signing Horror Story</b></span></u><br />
<br />
Two
years ago, I had a new novel released and I was determined that I was
going to sell a pile of paperback copies locally. I contacted a few
libraries and two of them agreed to let me have a book signing
appearance. The libraries did a great job and produced flyers to hang
around the library.<br />
<br />
At the first one, i sat behind a
table with a pile of books and waited while the library’s patrons
ignored me. Finally, an elderly man approached and looked over the
books. I sensed a sale. I gave the guy a description of the book and
he picked one up and sat down. He browsed through the book and read
several scenes over the next ten or fifteen minutes. Then he stood up,
said, “I didn’t bring any money,” put the book down and left. He was
the first and last potential buyer at that signing.<br />
<br />
A
few weeks later, I had the second signing at a bigger library in a
bigger town. Only one guy showed up, a member of a write group I belong
to. We spent an hour chatting after which I decided to give up and go
home. The other writer did graciously buy a copy of the book.<br />
<br />
I
think the biggest hurdle an unknown writer has to face is his unknown
status. A flashy flyer in a library announcing appearance by an author
no one ever heard of simply does not attract a crowd. A writer needs
more than the flyer and best good wishes of the library staff. The
writer needs to get a message out through the community because a lot of
people don’t go to the library, or if they use the library, they may
not stop to read the flyer. The flyer should be in local stores and
other public places.<br />
<br />
I haven’t had a book signing since
then, but I’m willing to try one more time with Moxie’s Problem. This
time, in addition to the flyers the library makes up, I’ll produce my
own flyers and announcements and then make the rounds of the local shops
and venues to spread the word. I’m hoping more than one guy shows up
this time around.<br />
<br />
I’m also exploring a different situation in which I join forces with one or two other authors and make it a joint signing.<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg"><img alt="Moxie's Problem" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-42271" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Do
you enjoy untypical coming-of-age stories? Well, you won’t find one
more untypical than Moxie’s Problem. Moxie is an obnoxious, teen-age
princess who has never been outside her father’s castle. Until now. The
real world is quite different and she struggles to come to grips with
reality. The story takes place against a backdrop of Camelot. But it
isn’t the Camelot of legends. It’s Camelot in a parallel universe. So,
all bets are off!<br />
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Moxies-Problem-Hank-Quense-ebook/dp/B00MK5UA80/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409836365&sr=1-1&keywords=hank+quense" href="http://www.amazon.com/Moxies-Problem-Hank-Quense-ebook/dp/B00MK5UA80/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409836365&sr=1-1&keywords=hank+quense" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/448914" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/448914" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Genre – Fantasy, Sci-fi</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Hank-Quense/e/B002BM76IE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hank-Quense/e/B002BM76IE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Connect with Hank Quense through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline" href="https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/hanque99" href="https://twitter.com/hanque99" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold !important;">Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://hank-quense.com/wp/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29hrxwzFyEMQY_AGYyT9ew6gPqByA" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://hank-quense.com/wp/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29hrxwzFyEMQY_AGYyT9ew6gPqByA" target="_blank">http://hank-quense.com/wp/</a></b></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-42435016536428088522014-10-29T09:30:00.000-04:002014-11-06T23:28:18.484-05:00The Closed Room & Narrow Stairs of an Author's Mind by @MHartnerAuthor #AmWriting #Historical<b>Inside the Mind of An Author</b><br />
<br />
In the Darkness
brought on by a closed room and narrow stairs, I slowly ascend to the
top and push the attic floorboard to the side. This stairwell,
conveniently hidden in a second floor wall, has been very dusty and full
of cobwebs. I’m really not sure what to expect when I go into the
attic. I have, however, heard strange noises.<br />
<br />
Climbing
up into the attic, into the mind of this author, I look around. The
walls are cluttered with post it notes, and most of them had small
symbols and some writing. There were papers that had fallen to the
floor, and the whole area looked like an old bomb shelter.<br />
<br />
I’m
immediately dodging the many different children who are running around.
The voices that each one uses to taunt the others are all different.<br />
<br />
I stop one of them. His name is James.<br />
<br />
“Are there any others around?”<br />
<br />
“Oh, there are plenty.”<br />
<br />
“Where are they?”<br />
<br />
“Sitting in a corner of the filing room in the back. They’re waiting for their opportunity to come join the fun.”<br />
<br />
“What are they waiting for?”<br />
<br />
“Why,
everyone knows that they’re waiting to be heard. Not all of us
characters can be heard at the same time. Sometimes, he listens to
three or four of us for a short time, and sometimes he listens to one of
us for a long time. But, we’re all here. Waiting for our chance to
be heard.”<br />
<br />
“So why are you three out here running around?”<br />
<br />
“We’ve
already been heard. He’s concentrating on us right now, and it’s our
chance to play and rest while he figures out what he wants us to do
next.”<br />
<br />
“How many are in the back room?”<br />
<br />
“The
last I checked, the room was crammed, and the waiting list was endless.
Lots of voices like us want to be heard. We want to tell our
stories.”<br />
<br />
James escaped from my vision and went back to running around.<br />
<br />
When
I saw them return, I also saw them carrying long sticks, using them as
play swords. I beat a hasty retreat from the mind of this author.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg"><img alt="IJames" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41780" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Crofter was ripped from his family at age 11. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Within a year the prince was a pauper in a foreign land. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Is nature stronger than nurture? And even if it is, can James find the happiness he so richly desires? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/I-James-Eternity-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MQHIG0Q/ref=la_B009VJQBEA_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409891856&sr=1-5" href="http://www.amazon.com/I-James-Eternity-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MQHIG0Q/ref=la_B009VJQBEA_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409891856&sr=1-5" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Historical Fiction, Romance</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Hartner/e/B009VJQBEA/" href="http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Hartner/e/B009VJQBEA/" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Mike Hartner on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hartner-Author/368690356556759" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hartner-Author/368690356556759" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MHartnerAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/MHartnerAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-77831114178437905332014-10-21T09:00:00.000-04:002014-11-06T23:38:43.333-05:00Kirsten Mortensen Says Love of Dreaming is Related to Her Writing @KirstenWriter #AmWriting #Fiction <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Writing and Dreams. Not That Different</b></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Kirsten Mortensen</span></span></i></div>
<br />
I
love to dream. And not just because it’s so night to get a good night’s
sleep. I love to dream because I’m utterly fascinated by the experience
of finding myself in a strange world—often occupying a strange
identity—that seems utterly complete and coherent while I’m inside it.
What a marvelous thing, consciousness is, to be able to send us into
dream worlds!<br />
<br />
I also believe my love of dreaming is very closely related to my writing.<br />
<br />
In
fact, I think writing—especially writing fiction—is very similar to
dreaming. You might even say that writing fiction is a kind of
controlled, waking dream.<br />
<br />
Think about it.<br />
<br />
When
you dream, you relax. You turn your attention from everyday life. And
you let another part of your mind—one that exists independently of the
mind where you live while you’re awake—take over. It creates characters,
settings, plots, story lines. Things “happen” that cause you to react
emotionally. Problems present themselves—and so do solutions.<br />
<br />
Now
think what happens when you write fiction. You relax your waking mind,
and turn your attention away from everyday life. You let another part of
your mind take over. And it starts creating characters, setting, plot
twists . . .<br />
<br />
With me so far?<br />
<br />
Now how
about this: suppose that paying attention to your dreams helps you to
build bridges between the part of your mind you use to create fiction,
and your waking consciousness—the part of your mind you need to capture
what you’ve created and write it down.<br />
<br />
Isn’t that an intriguing thought?<br />
<br />
I
know that I’ve been paying close attention to dreams my whole life, and
during many periods of my life I’ve kept dream journals. And something
else: there are times—especially when I’ve been getting enough
sleep—when I’m able to consciously control my dreams. Sometimes I
realize I’m dreaming (an experience known as “lucid dreaming”). Other
times, I feel like I’m a movie director. If I don’t like what’s
happening, I’ll change it.<br />
<br />
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve
come to believe that this practice has helped me as a writer. It’s very
subtle, but I can feel it when my mind “switches” to a different mode,
the mode where I’m generating fictional characters, fictional worlds.<br />
<br />
I
believe there’s a connection. Scientists know today that when we
practice any task—whether its navigating city streets, doing Sudoku
puzzles, or memorizing poetry—our brains become better at that task.<br />
<br />
I’ve written about this topic at length in a non-fiction book I published, called Writing, Dreams, and Consciousness.<br />
<br />
And
I believe that the work I’ve done as a dreamer is one reason that the
world I created in my latest novel, Dark Chemistry, is so vivid that
readers tell me it makes a strong impression on them. That world really
does exist—I know. I’ve dreamt it!<br />
<br />
So here’s my
proposal: paying attention to dreams—keeping a dream journal, for
example, and writing down what we can remember of our dreams when we
wake in the morning—is a way of training our brains to create fictional
worlds.<br />
<br />
What do you think? Do you remember your dreams? Have you ever kept a dream journal?<br />
<br />
And if you decide to try, to see if it helps you develop a writer, please let me know. I’d love to hear about your experience.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg"><img alt="darkChemistry" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41412" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A woman's worst nightmare</span></span></h1>
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drugged by something...that makes her think she's fallen in love.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All Haley Dubose has ever known is beaches and malls, clubs and cocktail dresses.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>But now her father is dead.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if she wants to inherit her father's fortune, she has to leave sunny Southern California<br />for a backwater little town near Syracuse, New York. She has to run RMB, the multimillion dollar<br />chemical company her father founded. And she has to run it well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep
RMB on track, and she'll be rich. Grow it, and she'll be even richer.
But mess it up, and her inheritance will shrink away before she gets a
chance to spend a dime.</span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Donavon Todde is her true love. But is it too late?</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He's RMB's head of sales – and the more Donavon sees of Haley, the more he's smitten.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure,
she comes across at first as naïve and superficial. But Donavon knew
Haley's father. He can see the man's better qualities stirring to life
in her eyes. And Donavon senses something else: Haley's father left her a
legacy more important than money. He left her the chance to discover
her true self.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Donavon has demons of his own.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b><br />He's
reeling from a heartbreak that's taking far too long to heal. But he's
captivated by this blond Californian, and not only because of her
beauty.<i> It's chemistry.</i> They're right for each other. But has
Donavon waited too long to woo this woman of his dreams? Because to his
horror, his beautiful Haley falls under another spell.<i> Gerad's spell.</i></span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A web of evil.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gerad
Picket was second-in-command at RMB when Haley's father was alive. And
with Haley on the scene, he's in charge of her training. But there are
things about RMB that Gerad doesn't want Haley to know.</span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And he must control her. Any way he can.</span></span></h2>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Romantic suspense for your Kindle</span></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will Haley realize that her feelings are not her TRUE feelings?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does Donavon have the strength left to fight for the woman he loves?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will the two of them uncover Gerad's plot to use RMB pheromones to enslave the world?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And even if they do – can they stop it?</span></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Chemistry-Kirsten-Mortensen-ebook/dp/B00KEYP3QI/" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Chemistry-Kirsten-Mortensen-ebook/dp/B00KEYP3QI/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/422146" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/422146" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Romantic suspense</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Mortensen/e/B001JP7X50/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Mortensen/e/B001JP7X50/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kirsten Mortensen through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten-Mortensen-Writer/195344590544496?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten-Mortensen-Writer/195344590544496?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>& <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Kirstenwriter" href="https://twitter.com/Kirstenwriter" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://kirstenmortensen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29OlqrTvuWJGs0Xbb3RDK_7VviC8A" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://kirstenmortensen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29OlqrTvuWJGs0Xbb3RDK_7VviC8A" target="_blank">http://kirstenmortensen.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-67655917538980738332014-10-17T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-18T10:54:59.416-04:00 #Excerpt from ANNA'S SECRET by Margaret Westlie @MargaretWestlie #Historical #AmReading<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Angus
paused at the top of the rise that overlooked Anna’s house. Its setting
was framed by the distant blue of the Northumberland Strait. The
whitewashed house, trimmed in red, nestled in the hollow, flanked by the
two barns and the workshop, also whitewashed. A long row of tall fir
trees grew close behind, protecting the little farmhouse and its
outbuildings from the vicious winter winds that could sweep across
Prince Edward Island burying small houses, such as this, in drifts up to
the eaves, and freezing a person to his very marrow. Angus shivered and
hastened down the track.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">I
helped Ian build the big barn, and my father and my grandfather helped
his father build this house, he thought. Anna planted those chestnut
trees by the front door the day they were married. They’ve grown tall
since then, but they’ve never produced nuts. A strange thing. He rounded
the corner of the house and knocked on the door.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Are you home, Ian?” He pushed the door open with the toe of his shoe.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“I am.” Ian’s voice sounded tired and far away.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Angus
stepped into the sunlit kitchen, the bloody axe forgotten in his hands.
His friend looked ill, weary-faced and worn, his eyes were red-rimmed
and blood shot. His thick grey beard was still streaked with black and
the hair on his head was grey too, except for the cowlick of black
springing up from the front above his right eyebrow. He seemed rumpled
and unkempt, and a little wild. He hunched his broad shoulders as if to
ward off a blow.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Where’s Donald?” asked Angus.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Finishing
the chores.” Ian was standing by the unlit stove, his hands busy
shaving kindling off a stick of wood with the kitchen knife. “Have you
found her, then?” He stared hard at the axe in Angus’ hands.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“We
found her. Neil found her. They’re bringing her soon.” Angus followed
Ian’s gaze, for the first time realizing that he still held the weapon.
He almost dropped it in his haste to conceal it behind his back. “I’m
sorry, I forgot to set this down.” His ruddy cheeks turned a darker
shade of red.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“She’s dead, is she?” Ian stopped making kindling and stood waiting for the answer.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“She’s been murdered.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Ian stood silently taking in the words. “It was bound to happen,” he said at last.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Now why would you say that?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Ian
looked back at his friend, his blue eyes filled with tears. He blinked
hard. “I knew about her from the very first time, and every time after
that.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“You didn’t…?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“I
suppose that’s what they’ll all be saying when the word gets around.”
He sighed. “No, it wasn’t I, though I have more reason than anyone. Is
that the weapon?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“It would seem so.” Angus drew the axe out from behind his back.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Whose is it?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“I
don’t know. I’ve never seen it before. I suppose we’ll have to notify
the constable. This thing’s too big for us. Though what good he’ll be, I
don’t know.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Ian
stood in silence for some seconds, then said, “I was just making Donald
and me a bite of breakfast. Will you have some?” He turned toward the
stove.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“I wouldn’t trouble you at a time like this. I should be making you breakfast.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Ian shrugged. “We must go on, and to do that we must eat.” He began preparing the meal.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/annasSecret.jpg" /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anna
Gillis, the midwife and neighbour in Mattie’s Story, has been found
killed. The close-knit community is deeply shaken by this eruption of
violence, and neighbours come together to help one another and to
discover the perpetrator. But the answer lies Anna’s secret, long
guarded by Old Annie, the last of the original Selkirk Settlers, and the
protagonist of An Irregular Marriage. Join the community! Read Anna’s
Secret and other novels by Margaret A. Westlie.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IEEXUMO" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/418795" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Fiction, mystery, historical</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Westlie/e/B00HZRKK10" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Margaret Westlie on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/margaretwestlienovelist" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/MargaretWestlie" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.margaretwestlie.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29ilE1Iu2yMnk-3FJ1ZhE-qq3C3Qg" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.margaretwestlie.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-23837493736446534502014-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:002014-10-14T08:00:11.505-04:00#Excerpt from WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE? by Cheryl Rice @RiceonLife #Memoir #NonFictionFeeding myself would mean acknowledging my mother was gone—forever—as in not ever coming back. I wasn’t ready. I did not approve. The lost and abandoned child in me was convinced that if I got thin enough, or sick enough, she’d have to come back to feed me. That’s what moms do.<br /><br />They feed their children. They don’t leave them. Surely she would see how much I still needed her. She wouldn’t let me. <br /><br />Eventually, though I desperately wanted my mom to save me, it was my commitment to my stepdaughter, Becca, that did. I realized I could continue my hunger strike and starve myself—possibly to death—but not only would doing so not bring my mother back, it would threaten my ability to nurture Becca at a critical time in her young life. I would be a terrible role model for a girl just growing into her own adolescent body. She had already been deeply affected when the mother of one of her closest friends was shipped to an eating-disorders clinic on the other side of the country for three months. If I didn’t stop this protest and begin eating (and eventually learn to feed all of my hungers), I would have to leave Becca too. And while my mother was gone, the mothering instinct in me was not.<br /><br />So I made the first truly nourishing decision of my motherless life and began to eat. <br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg"><img alt="Where Have I Been All My Life" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41809" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />Where
Have I Been All My Life? is a compelling memoir recounting one woman’s
journey through grief and a profound feeling of unworthiness to
wholeness and healing. It begins with the chillingly sudden death of
Rice’s mother, and is followed by her foray into the center of mourning.
<br /><br />With wisdom, grace, and humor, Rice recounts the grief games
she plays in an effort to resurrect her mother; her efforts to get her
therapist, who she falls desperately in love with, to run away with her;
and the transformation of her husband from fantasy man to ordinary guy
to superhero. In the process, she experiences aching revelations about
her family and her past—and realizes what she must leave behind, and
what she can carry forward with her.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-Been-All-Life/dp/163152917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405965204&sr=8-1&keywords=where+have+i+been+all+my+life%3F" href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-Been-All-Life/dp/163152917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405965204&sr=8-1&keywords=where+have+i+been+all+my+life%3F" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Rice/e/B00J5OWIGQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Rice/e/B00J5OWIGQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Cheryl Rice through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="%20https://www.facebook.com/yourvoiceyourvision " href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-admin/%20https://www.facebook.com/yourvoiceyourvision" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/RiceOnLife" href="https://twitter.com/RiceOnLife" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.yourvoiceyourvision.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-KsIroKPbTLpqZOg7K5rhGXAchzg" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.yourvoiceyourvision.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-KsIroKPbTLpqZOg7K5rhGXAchzg" target="_blank">www.yourvoiceyourvision.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-50114661149286984232014-10-11T09:00:00.000-04:002014-10-13T11:30:51.309-04:00#Excerpt from LOCK READY by James Rada Jr. @JimRada #Historical #CivilWar #AmReading <b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
excerpt shows how conditions were in the many Civil War hospitals and
Elizabeth Fitzgerald’s compassion for those soldiers in her care.</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elizabeth
sat next to a young soldier who wouldn’t meet her gaze. He looked young
enough to be George’s age, though she suspected he was older.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“How are you?” Elizabeth asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
young man didn’t reply. He glanced at her and then looked away.
Elizabeth wasn’t offended. She was used to seeing shell-shocked
soldiers. The problem would be if he remained that way.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She set down a clean uniform on the edge of the bed and gently pulled back the blanket. The soldier didn’t resist.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“We
need to get you out of those filthy clothes and dress you in some clean
ones. You’ll feel a lot better once we get all of that dirt off of
you.” The nurses had all learned to carry on a one-sided conversation
with the soldiers. Hearing a woman’s voice had proven to be soothing to
the wounded soldiers. It reminded them of home and their wives and
mothers. It encouraged pleasant memories and helped keep their minds off
the horror they had endured.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
Elizabeth began undressing the young soldier, he grabbed her hand. She
looked at him but didn’t say anything. His eyes were wide with fear. She
gently pried his hand off of hers. He didn’t resist her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s
all right. It’s going to be a little embarrassing for both of us, but
probably you more than me. I’ve been trained to do this. You need to be
clean. It will help you get better,” she said softly.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elizabeth
had probably been more scared than this soldier when she undressed her
first wounded man. She wasn’t sure how she would react. Would she gag at
the man’s wounds or stare at his private parts? Her hands had shaken
throughout that first washing and she had done her best to allow the man
his dignity by focusing her attention on his face. Luckily for her, the
man had been unconscious. Those were the only men Mrs. Carlyle had let
her clean at first. That had been four months and a couple hundred
soldiers ago.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elizabeth
slowly pulled the soldier’s uniform off. It was still caked with blood
and dirt. It had quickly become obvious that the soldiers who were kept
clean after an operation tended to survive better. Elizabeth would
rather be embarrassed than see a soldier die so she let her face turn
red but washed until the soldiers’ skins were clean of dirt and blood.
She paid particular attention to cleaning any festering sores and burns.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
was particularly careful not to cause the young soldier any additional
physical pain by irritating an unseen wound. It was best to try and
salvage the uniform so it could be washed and given to another soldier,
but sometimes that was impossible. Shrapnel and simple wear and tear
turned a uniform into threads. Elizabeth tossed the man’s shirt and
jacket into a pile on the floor. They could both be reused once they had
been washed a few times. They just might not be reused by the original
owner. When soldiers left the hospital, they were given a uniform that
fit, not necessarily the uniform that they had come into the hospital
wearing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next,
she started wiping off the man’s legs. He had taken shrapnel in both of
his legs, which had also ripped up his pants. The cloth was so dirty
that he could barely tell that it had been blue. The legs had been
bandaged. Maybe he would be able to keep his legs since the doctors
hadn’t amputated them. If there was any doubt, the doctors usually
amputated the limb. She would have to watch him closely for any signs of
gangrene.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While
his legs might have been saved, his pants were a loss. Elizabeth cut
them off of him with a pair of scissors so she wouldn’t have to move him
around.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
used a cloth dipped in warm water to wash the soldier as he stared at
the ceiling. She could feel his muscles twitching nervously as she slid
the cloth from his chest to his stomach. Elizabeth kept the man’s
private parts under the sheet and did her work as quickly as she could.
She talked to him about things happening in Washington and her family as
she worked. It helped keep both their minds off of what she was doing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When she finished, she dressed the man in a clean uniform and changed the sheets on his bed so they would be dry and clean.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“There that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Elizabeth said as she stood up to go.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The soldier grabbed her arm again. He didn’t squeeze it. He simply clamped onto her wrist.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elizabeth
smiled at him and patted his hand. “I wish I could stay longer, but
I’ve got to help with all of the other wounded. I’ll be around, though. I
promise I’ll come back and visit. After all, I want to see you walk out
of here on your own.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The soldier let his arm drop down to the bed. Elizabeth turned and walked away.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lockready.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Civil War split the United States and now it has split the Fitzgerald
Family. Although George Fitzgerald has returned from the war, his sister
Elizabeth Fitzgerald has chosen to remain in Washington to volunteer as
a nurse. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
ex-Confederate spy, David Windover, has given up on his dream of being
with Alice Fitzgerald and is trying to move on with his life in
Cumberland, Md. Alice and her sons continue to haul coal along the
184.5-mile-long C&O Canal. It is dangerous work, though, during war
time because the canal runs along the Potomac River and between the
North and South. Having had to endured death and loss already, Alice
wonders whether remaining on the canal is worth the cost. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
wants her family reunited and safe, but she can’t reconcile her
feelings between David and her dead husband. Her adopted son, Tony, has
his own questions that he is trying to answer. He wants to know who he
is and if his birth mother ever loved him. As he tries to find out more
about his birth mother and father, he stumbles onto a plan by
Confederate sympathizers to sabotage the canal and burn dozens of canal
boats. He enlists David’s help to try and disrupt the plot before it
endangers his new family, but first they will have find out who is
behind the plot.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lock-Ready-A-Canawlers-Novel/dp/0692211454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400758482&sr=8-1&keywords=lock+ready+rada" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Historical Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=James+Rada+Jr.&search-alias=books&text=James+Rada+Jr.&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with James Rada Jr. on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rada" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/jimrada" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://jamesrada.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28d4iaix3UBtVx6pNwPpNkw3GcEKA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">jamesrada.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-49702169725146390712014-10-10T11:30:00.000-04:002014-10-30T03:18:05.720-04:00#Excerpt from "What Freedom Smells Like" : A #Memoir by @AmyLewisAuthor #AmReading #BookClub<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Transformation
doesn’t happen overnight. It takes decades to shed our childhood
conditioning – the beliefs and thoughts that pieced together like not so
colorful charms on a bracelet determine our destiny. But sometimes one
moment pierces a hole so large in our consciousness, we can’t continue
living as we once did. Seeing my husband’s dead body was that moment for
me.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Religion
meant very little to me growing up. I was raised Episcopalian. Like
Catholic but without the confessional. I attended Sunday school for
about a year as a young child. My parents felt obliged to send my sister
and me off to church, not because they believed in any of it, but
because it seemed proper. After about a year, I think they grew weary of
pretending and announced church was no longer required. At fifteen when
I could drive, I went back a few times on my own. I liked the church
and its 1960s mid-century design. It felt peaceful to me. And, I liked
the priest. He was cute, and at 15 older men did something for me. I
would kneel in the pew enjoying the atmosphere and fantasize about the
priest – romantic fantasies, not sexual ones.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dad
was an atheist although he would never use that word for it. My mother
was more of an agnostic. We never talked about God in our family
although we did say grace, always the same prayer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Come Lord Jesus be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.”</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We
must have said it a thousand times. We didn’t have a backup grace, and
we never free styled it. That was the only time we ever mentioned Jesus,
and I think we only said it to please my father’s mother. I got most of
my views on religion, God and Jesus based on my fathers’ negative
tirades about his sister. She was a born again Christian. My father
thought the whole thing utterly ridiculous at best and highly dangerous
at worst.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
never spoke of death. We never spoke of souls. We certainly never spoke
of eternity. I had a clear picture of death: darkness. Death was
pitch-black darkness. The coffin lid closes, the lights go out, and it’s
over - forever. I remember staying awake for hours in my preteen years
thinking about infinity. I would lay stiff like a corpse and imagine
what death would be like. Pitch black darkness forever and ever and ever
and ever and ever. The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>and evers</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>would
torture me. I couldn’t stop obsessing night after night. I decided I
would stop thinking of death. From that moment onward, I became
terrified of death. The thought, the image, the mere mention of the word
made me go numb.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
stood by the door of his room. I had no concept of time so I can’t tell
how long. Then my body decided to move, and I took one step and another
and another and with my fourth step I found myself right next to
Truth’s body, which was slightly slumped to the left.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
I witnessed when I looked into his eyes was the beginning of my own
personal revolution. If seeing was believing, then I couldn’t believe
what was before my eyes. My husband, whom I had never spent a day apart
from in four and a half years, was no longer there. He was dead. Yes, I
knew that. His body, which the nurse insisted I say goodbye to, was not
him. I knew it instantly when I looked into his eyes. He was nowhere to
be found. Who I knew him to be had disappeared. Gone. I couldn’t believe
what I saw and what I felt in every pore of my being.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>He was not there, but his body was.</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So to whom was I saying goodbye?</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
realize all this may sound elementary to those who were raised to
believe in what I was just embarking on. I had no idea. My belief system
told me it was him but dead. But it wasn’t him. Was I going crazy? I
found my presence there pointless. He wasn’t there. I knew it just as
much as I knew he<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>had</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>been there a few hours ago. So I left.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg"><img alt="whatFreedomSmellsLike" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41176" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Diagnosed
with Borderline Personality disorder, Amy struggled with depression and
an addiction to sharp objects. Even hospitalization didn't help to heal
her destructive tendencies. It took a tumultuous relationship with a
man named Truth to bring her back from the depths of her own self-made
hell.Amy's marriage to dark, intriguing Truth was both passionate and
stormy. She was a fair-skinned southern girl from New Orleans. He was a
charming black man with tribal tattoos, piercings, and a mysterious
past. They made an unlikely pair, but something clicked. During their
early marriage, they pulled themselves out of abject poverty into wealth
and financial security practically overnight. Then things began to fall
apart.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Passionate
and protective, Truth also proved violent and abusive. Amy’s own
self-destructive tendencies created a powerful symmetry. His sudden
death left Amy with an intense and warring set of emotions: grief for
the loss of the man she loved, relief she was no longer a target for his
aggression.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conflicted
and grieving, Amy found herself at a spiritual and emotional
crossroads, only to receive help from an unlikely source: Truth himself.
Feeling his otherworldly presence in her dreams, Amy seeks help from a
famous medium.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
spiritual encounters change Amy forever. Through Truth, she learns her
soul is eternal and indestructible, a knowledge that gives Amy the
courage to pursue her own dreams and transform herself both physically
and emotionally. Her supernatural encounters help Amy resolve the
internal anger and self-destructive tendencies standing between her and
happiness, culminating in a sense of spiritual fulfillment she never
dreamed possible.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An amazing true story, What Freedom Smells Like is told with courage, honesty, and a devilishly dark sense of humor.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Amy Lewis through <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" target="_blank">www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-86294161018720707252014-10-09T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-24T12:16:54.219-04:00Prologue from HUSH by Kimberly Shursen @KimberlyShursen #Thriller #GoodReads #BookClub <div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>-Prologue-</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>June 21, 1997</b><b> </b></span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thirteen-year-old
Ben Grable stared out the window of his father’s car. He wished he
could close his eyes and be somewhere—anywhere else—just not on the way
to the nursing home.He hated today.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every
Sunday, his father dragged him to visit his grandmother. Two years ago,
the woman who had laughed at all of his jokes, baked him chocolate chip
cookies, and played Chutes and Ladders with him growing up was given a
death sentence. It wasn’t fair to his Nana or the people who watched her
die an inch at a time.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Come on, son,” his father said when he parked his car in the lot. “Put on that smile your Nana loves to see.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
one-story, all-brick building sat on an acreage surrounded by pine
trees. The scene was serene, but the moment Ben stepped inside, the
smell of urine and decay was overwhelming.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Old
people with crinkled faces and withered hands who had shrunk to a
portion of their original height sat in chairs lined against the wall
saying nothing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Nothing.</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The
years had sucked the life and voices out of them. Nursing assistants
offered cookies and a smile along with a pat on the patients’
decomposing backs and told them it was a beautiful day. What did they
care if the sun was shining or a tornado was about to sweep them away?
Every moment of each day was the same. Pain. Loneliness. Humiliation.
And fading memories of who they once were.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Nana?”
Ben said, and walked to the elderly woman sitting in a wheel chair that
faced the window. Even before he reached her, he noticed the spastic
movements of her hands and head were worse. He bent down next to her in
the room the size of his closet, a crucifix hanging on one wall.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
tired, puffy eyes stared at him, and Ben’s heart sank when he realized
she didn’t recognize him. He could have been Batman or a poodle, and she
wouldn’t have known the difference.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a few minutes of trying to understand what she was saying, Ben turned to his father. “I’ll be back in a minute.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His father gave him an understanding nod.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He’d
wandered down the hallway, blinking back tears of anger and pain. Angry
that his grandmother was never going to get better and the pain of
knowing he’d already lost her.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On
the other side of the nursing home, he spotted another set of double
doors. Staring inside, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Babies,
children, and young adults filled the long, narrow hallway; some lay
flat on their backs on bare mattresses, their heads rolling back and
forth in slow-motion succession. Others traipsed the floor mindlessly
with unblinking, glazed eyes, their backs hunched over. Heads too large
for their bodies—slanted eyes, some missing limbs, a couple with wide,
open gashes in their upper lips.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Where did these monsters come from, and why were they here?</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nurses
changed diapers, or knelt beside mats and held baby bottles for
children who looked as old, or older, than Ben. Long, guttural moans and
helpless cries filtered through the doors, the smell of feces was
disgusting.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He jumped when he felt something touch his shoulder.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Sad, isn’t it?” a young nurse said.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“What’s wrong with them?” Ben asked, tasting his own sour bile.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She shrugged her shoulders. “Different things. Most were born this way, and their parents just couldn’t take care of them.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Why are they here? In a nursing home?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Part
of the building is for a nursing home and”—she nodded to the other side
the window—“this part is controlled by the state. There are so many
nursing homes for old people and not enough institutions for people like
this that a few months ago we started taking in the overflow.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Will they ever get better? Go home?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The nurse shook her head. “I’m afraid not. This is the only life they’ll ever know.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
he looked back through the windowed door, he gasped and jumped back. On
the other side of the window, only inches away from his face, a pair of
eyes pleaded with Ben for help.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s okay. They won’t hurt you,” the nurse told him.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ben
shook his head back and forth slowly, tears welling in his eyes. He
turned and raced through the halls toward the front door of the
building. The face on the other side of the door burned into his
memory—the bulging, watery eyes, the slobbering drool running down the
glass, the hopeless and far-away look of misfortune and doom.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Heart
racing, his temples throbbing, he was going to vomit. Breathless when
he reached his father’s car, he found it locked. Panicked, he pulled at
the handle over and over. “Open, please, open!” he sobbed
uncontrollably.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
turned, leaned back against the door, and slowly sank to the concrete.
If his friends saw him, they’d call him a sissy-boy. It didn’t matter.
Those things, those sad, awful looking creatures weren’t human. His
parents had always told him that all of God’s children were created
equally. But it wasn’t true.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
brought his knees up to his chest and covered his tear-streaked face
with his hands, trying hard to get the images out of his mind.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It just wasn’t true.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></span>
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg"><img alt="hush" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41080" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" id="outer_postBodyPS" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon
after Ann Ferguson and Ben Grable marry, and Ben unseals his adoption
papers, their perfect life together is torn apart, sending the couple to
opposite sides of the courtroom.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Representing
Ann, lawyer Michael J. McConaughey (Mac) feels this is the case that
could have far-reaching, judicial effects -- the one he's been waiting
for.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Opposing counsel knows this high profile case happens just once in a lifetime.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And
when the silent protest known as HUSH sweeps the nation, making
international news, the CEO of one of the top ten pharmaceutical
companies in the world plots to derail the trial that could cost his
company billions.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Critically
acclaimed literary thriller HUSH not only questions one of the most
controversial laws that has divided the nation for over four decades,
but captures a story of the far-reaching ties of family that surpasses
time and distance.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>***
Hush does not have political or religious content. The story is built
around the emotions and thoughts of two people who differ in their
beliefs.</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b>EDITORIAL
REVIEW: "Suspenseful and well-researched, this action-packed legal
thriller will take readers on a journey through the trials and
tribulations of one of the most controversial subjects in society
today."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Katie French author of "The Breeders," "The Believer's," and "Eyes Ever To The Sky."</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Kimberly-Shursen-ebook/dp/B00HZKBGW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1404820465&sr=1-1&keywords=hush+and+kimberly+shursen" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Kimberly-Shursen-ebook/dp/B00HZKBGW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1404820465&sr=1-1&keywords=hush+and+kimberly+shursen" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Shursen/e/B00C7ZBTIS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Shursen/e/B00C7ZBTIS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kimberly Shursen through <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Shursen-Author/286879094678995" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Shursen-Author/286879094678995" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/kimberlyShursen" href="https://twitter.com/kimberlyShursen" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-uex70LjIEkr9CbwWbuB4zDHIOKw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-uex70LjIEkr9CbwWbuB4zDHIOKw" target="_blank">http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-36771373534338946842014-10-07T08:00:00.000-04:002014-10-07T08:00:06.236-04:00KS Ferguson on Sub-Genres Multiplying Faster Than Rabbit #WriteTip #AmWriting #FantasyDo you read fantasy? Which kind? Back when I started reading
fantasy—just before the invention of the printing press—fantasy was all
wizards with staffs and cloaks, kids with magical objects that allowed
them to fly to the moon, or crazy professors making trips to the center
of the Earth. I don't recall there being separate sub-genres. If there
were, the librarian didn't tell me about them.<br />
<br />
Now
days, sub-genres seem to multiply faster than rabbits. You've got your
epic fantasy, your sword-and-sorcery fantasy, steam-punk, dark,
superheroes, and urban, just to mention a few.<br />
<br />
I just
have to ask—why urban? I mean, isn't that a tad discriminatory? Is an
urban setting somehow superior to a suburban setting? No witchcraft
going on behind those perfectly trimmed hedges? No summoning of demons
from the sinkhole that's just opened in the back yard?<br />
<br />
Don't
get me started on rural settings! No one thinks it would be amusing if
the shape-shifter hero morphed into a dairy cow to blend into the herd
or gored the baddie to death? No possessed pocket gophers taking over
the town? If pocket gophers aren't a creation of the Devil, I don't know
what is!<br />
<br />
When I wrote Touching Madness and published
it, retail sites insisted I classify it according to their prescribed
list of genres. Because it involves traveling to alternate realities, it
might fit the fantasy alternate histories category. But it's not about a
single alternate reality.<br />
<br />
Touching Madness isn't epic,
sword-and-sorcery, or steampunk. It's sort of urban fantasy. But it
isn't strictly confined to an urban environment. While River spends most
of the book in Centerville, Kansas, important chapters see him in a
Raptor military camp, snowy winter woods, and an underground compound of
unknown origins.<br />
<br />
So in keeping with current trends,
I'm proposing a new category: contemporary,
alternate-dimension-hopping-magic-advanced-technology-and-demons
fantasy. What do you think? Will it catch on at Amazon?<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg"><img alt="Touching Madness" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41637" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Light
bulbs talk to River Madden; God doesn't. When the homeless
schizophrenic unintentionally fractures a dimensional barrier and
accidentally steals a gym bag containing a million dollars, everyone
from the multiverse police to the local crime boss—and an eight-foot
tall demon—are after him. Can he dodge them long enough to correct his
mistakes and prevent the destruction of three separate dimensions? If he
succeeds, will the light bulbs stop singing off-key?</span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H9QPLA" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H9QPLA" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary, Urban fantasy</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=K%20S%20Ferguson&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=K%20S%20Ferguson&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ksferguson.net&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28uYLnWK2puPbkhz-G_C7dYRTpoBw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ksferguson.net&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28uYLnWK2puPbkhz-G_C7dYRTpoBw" target="_blank">http://www.ksferguson.net</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-36121396768898751182014-10-04T07:30:00.000-04:002014-10-23T08:09:24.030-04:00Madi Brown on a #Book Cover Designer That Fits Your Needs @Madithe1brown #Wwed #SelfPub <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Why Book Covers Are So Important</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Unless
you don't have eyes, people are visual. If there's a handsome guy
sitting across from me during my daily commute on the train, I'm going
to look. If I'm away on vacation, I'm going to appreciate the beautiful
sights around me, because I know that I'm there to relax. If my mom
bakes one of her yummy peach cobblers, I'm going to feast on it with my
eyes first, and then I'm going to devour it. In the world of books, book
covers work in the same way. There are probably millions of them out
there, but most readers are only looking for one title. Just think, your
book cover is going to be the very first thing that a buyer will see.
If you're suddenly feeling the pressure of of just how important a book
cover really might be, then continue to read on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">“I've
penned a stellar novel. People are going to love me once they read what
I've written.” Plenty of authors are probably thinking the exact same
thing. But how are you going to let people know about this stellar body
of work that you've just created? I'll tell you how. You're going to
have a fabulous book cover that will make your book stand out from the
rest. And don’t worry, I get it. Writers aren't book designers, but
here's where you bring in someone to help with bringing your vision to
life. Outsourcing can be your new best friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>How to Find a Book Cover Designer That Fits Your Needs</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I'm pretty infatuated with the book cover for my debut novel,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>The Truth About Emily</b>,
but it wasn't a one step process of knowing what I wanted straight
away. It started with me doing research. Think about your storyline or
nonfiction topic. Jot down some ideas so that you have a place of
reference to pull from. Do you have a title already? Great. If you do,
then keep that in mind too, because it's another source. Now go online
and begin looking at other people's book covers. Are they popular
authors? Ask yourself what it is, if anything, that's drawing your eyes
to it. How do you feel about the colors, the images, the font style, and
the font size? Also, check out some of the books that you've previously
purchased; specifically on the strength of its book cover. What caused
you to click on buying it? Next up, what you want to do, is take all of
that information and keep it somewhere safe. We'll come back to it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Now
you'll need to find yourself a competent book cover designer. Fiverr
(an online company that will do almost any task for you for $5.00) has
loads of people on there who can assist you for a bargain, but just
remember that most of those people specialize in quantity over quality.
By this, I mean that you might end up with a book cover identical to
someone else or it may have an appearance that looks manufactured. This
isn’t to say that there aren’t some gems on there, but you'll have to
diligently seek them out. As for myself, I chose to go with a
freelancer. I was drawn to the element of selection in having access to a
host of talented designers with exceptional portfolios and being able
to make a choice based on a price that I’ve set. My final winning pick
was Gavin Pledger, Creative Soutions King).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">By
now ,you’ve found yourself a book cover designer (as far as the work
contract is concerned, make sure that you add in how many times they’re
willing to revise. Negotiate a flat fee). The first thing that they’ll
want to know is what creative direction you’d like them to go in. This
is when you whip out the notes that you’ve been compiling for your
project. It’s your starting point. Don't be afraid to let them know what
works for you, and what doesn’t. A really good book cover designer will
be as excited as you are in getting right!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg"><img alt="truthaboutemily" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41632" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"If you LOVE New York, if you’re a
name-dropping, fashion fiend careerist; fed up with serial dating,
plagued with a thirst for sex, then you’ll totally stalk me for what
I've penned.” - Author, Madi Brown</span></span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Description</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">29-year-old
Emily Greene looks the part, but she’s still working on becoming a
modern-day woman. Not that she’s one to back down from a challenge, but
living as an eternal work-in-progress wasn't exactly the goal that she
had in mind. It’s a harsh but true realization---the idea that that time
isn't on her side, and the notion that wanting to have it all, doesn't
mean getting it. The verdict is in; with zero prospects for a
relationship and a stalled blogging career, Emily has every reason to
believe that she’s been living a life too humdrum for her own good.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Making
the change won’t be easy. She’ll have to do whatever it takes; start
dating like a man, become more selective about which RSVP's she accepts,
and work even harder at getting her dream job.The payoff’s huge; a
modern twist on a storybook ending, but gains don’t often come without
risks. In the here and now Emily just may be forced to choose...It’s got
to be one or the other----the profession that she’s always wanted, or
the love that she’s never had.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">˃˃˃ Praise for Madi Brown &amp; </span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">her debut novel, The Truth About Emily</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The
added depth of character promises complexity but wraps everything in
the saucy cloak of Emily's evolving personality and newfound beliefs
about life, love, and the real nature of happiness. And this is where
The Truth About Emily outshines many competitors, making it a
recommended read for those seeking more than a standard romance novel." <i>- D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"This
book has just about anything a girl would love to read about. If
there's anything Emily Greene has is ISH and lots of it, oh the
ending... This book is a total keeper, just anything about fashion to
relationships to friends and family." <i>- Y. Sanchez, Goodreads</i></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Emily-Madi-Brown-ebook/dp/B00MNIL5TW" href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Emily-Madi-Brown-ebook/dp/B00MNIL5TW" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Genre – Contemporary Women's Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rating – PG18</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Madi-Brown/e/B00MNMD2ZS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Madi-Brown/e/B00MNMD2ZS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Connect</b> with Madi Brown on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/Madibrown.combooksandblog" href="https://www.facebook.com/Madibrown.combooksandblog" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &amp; <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Madithe1brown" href="https://twitter.com/Madithe1brown" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-7485360052278028862014-09-26T08:00:00.000-04:002014-09-26T08:00:01.026-04:00Hearts Unfold (Miracle at Valley Rise) by Karen Welch #AmReading #WomensFic #Saga <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
actual miracle occurred—and she had no doubt it had been a miracle—when
she’d stood beneath the stars and whispered her own name into the
darkness. In the cold night wind, the fog that had for so long bound
her mind began to clear, and she looked up to the sky, a broad black
bowl over the valley filled with stars she hadn’t seen in years. The
wind rustling in the branches above her seemed to whisper words of calm
and comfort, as if to say don’t rush, take time to be very certain of
each step.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
thought then of her father’s words. “You,” touching her hand with a
trembling caress; “farm,” shaking his head sadly. And finally, after
what seemed a herculean struggle, “home.” There had been tears in his
eyes, as though it grieved him to have to remind her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking
up to the sky again, she felt the surge of her reviving spirit.
Overhead, familiar constellations winked in place. A sliver of a moon
hung low over the trees, too pale to compete with the brilliance of the
stars. This would have been the perfect cinematic moment for a star to
arc from its orbit and trail to the horizon, she mused. But nothing
moved, save the gentle twinkling and one small cloud sailing just below
the moon. This, she believed, was the sign she’d prayed for. The sky
she’d gazed up at as a child was unchanged. The hills had not shifted
their positions. The winter cold had arrived in the proper season.
Some things, the most essential of things, remained constant. In her
short life, so much had changed. So much that she’d almost been
uprooted and lost herself. In this familiar place was the direction
she’d been seeking, the peace and stability she craved. Had her parents
been standing with her there, she could not have felt more confident of
the path she saw opening before her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
remained was accepting that with this decision came a binding
commitment. This was more than merely taking possession of what was
already hers. Any plan to return to this place, to make it her home and
build her future here, would not only include the promise to care for
the house and the land. She must also submit herself to be further
shaped by what was here. Just as it belonged to her, she knew she
belonged to the farm. She would not be free to go elsewhere. It would
always need her care, her companionship. It would be her family, her
responsibility. Maybe this was why Pop had been so sad. What if she
hadn’t wanted this?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/HeartsUnfold.jpg" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>~~Miracle at Valley Rise Series~~</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Hearts Unfold~Book One</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Entreat Me Not~Book Two</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Heart of My Own Heart~Book Three</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Offered for Love~Book Four</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
secret Christmas homecoming, a blinding snowstorm, and in the course of
one night two shattered lives will be changed forever.Nineteen-year-old
Emily Haynes had lost almost everything she loved. Relying on what
seems to be guidance from her invalid father, she returns to her past in
hopes of discovering some sign toward the future. What begins as a
joyous homecoming quickly becomes a nightmare when a badly injured
stranger stumbles on the scene, his brief presence threatening to alter
everything Emily believes about herself and the plan for her life. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
less determined girl might have been shaken by such an experience, but
not Emily. She is certain she’s made the right choice, so certain that
in the following three years, she almost convinces herself.Superstar
violinist Stani Moss appeared to have everything–fame, fortune and a
career guaranteed to bring more of the same, until one hasty decision
placed it all in jeopardy. Terrified and confused, Stani struggles not
only to recover his former skill, but to find answers to the questions
which haunt him. Throughout his slow journey back, one image lingers in
his buried memories of that fateful night–the vision of a girl he’s
never met. The journey will eventually lead him to Emily, and beyond
that day, everything about his life will be transformed.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Set
in the years around 1970, Hearts Unfold begins the saga of two people
whose paths should never have crossed, who defy the odds to create a
place they can share. The first of four volumes in the Miracle at Valley
Rise Series, this novel could stand alone as a triumphant tale of
romance, but there’s much more to the story, as Emily and Stani reveal
their pasts and strive to bridge the distance between their worlds.
Follow their progress, be entertained by their adventures, and perhaps
be inspired by their unwavering belief in the transforming power of
love.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Unfold-Miracle-Valley-Rise-ebook/dp/B006YDIXVK/ref=zg_bs_7588887011_62" style="text-decoration: none;">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Women’s Fiction, Saga Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Welch/e/B007ILHX90/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Karen Welch through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Welch/535693969790765?ref=hl" style="text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blog <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://valleyrise.blogspot.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2_I9LZ7GxnS4CQeo6480Ct_90TqYA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://valleyrise.blogspot.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-54253365572738122772014-09-25T08:30:00.000-04:002014-09-25T08:30:02.535-04:00My Conversations with God by Carlos Aranda @Losman1976 #AmReading #NonFiction #Christian<div style="font-family: "Open Sans"; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Protecting the Gates</b></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In
Matt. 12:34, it says, “You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good
things when you are evil? For out of the heart the mouth speaks” (amp).
So if we put anger in our heart, anger will be displayed out of our
mouth. How do we get into the heart? The first way is by the ear gates.
This can happen through listening to secular music ongoing or even
surround ourselves with people that cursing is there first language.
(That was me back in my days. Thank you, Jesus, for changing me.)
Secondly, we can reach the heart by through our eye gates. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This
happens through watching inappropriate shows on TV or other such things
as pornography or violence on a computer. Final way is through the
mouth gate. If we speak anger, we then will hear anger. Anger will
eventually find its way to our heart. In the same way, if we speak
negative things about ourselves or others, once again we hear them, and
they will find their way to our heart. These are just a few examples of
what may happen if there is no watchman at these gates. If we take a
defensive stand, our offense can never be beaten. Now we give God more
room to operate. Just because the enemy is at the gate does not me we
are obligated to let him in!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ConversationsWithGod.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This
book is a biblical perspective on how God wants us to see and get
through the trials that life brings our way. It is a book of
conversations and things brought to our attention that we may not always
see and how through scripture God wants us to get through them.</span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Conversations-God-Carlos-Aranda/dp/1627466835/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378737331&sr=8-1&keywords=my+conversations+with+god+by+carlos+aranda" style="text-decoration: none;">Amazon</a></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Genre - Christian Living</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Carlos-Aranda/e/B00EZRK7KW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Connect with Carlos Aranda through <a href="http://www.facebook.com/author.Carlosaranda" style="text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> & <a href="http://www.twitter.com/losman1976" style="text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Website <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://carlosaranda.tateauthor.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-iL9ZUgeF3xvZ0WPyZIT0EWRJQeg" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://carlosaranda.tateauthor.com</a></b></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-10456995485838011042014-09-25T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-07T07:22:12.274-04:00The Girl Who Came Back to Life by Craig Staufenberg @YouMakeArtDumb #Excerpt #MG #Fiction<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sophie
woke at the table the next day before the sun rose and let habit and
obligation drag her from her seat and pull her to the bakery. Setting
her body in front of the floured marble table and searching her chest,
she found a hole where her heart used to beat, and when she dove into
this abyss she felt something close to cold, but far from feeling
itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
That morning her dough would barely budge when
she touched it and the loaves she handled wouldn’t rise an inch and the
bread she placed in the oven left their fires cold and flat and dead no
matter how long they spent among the flames.<br />
<br />
The baker
saw this and responded to her as if she were a stubborn slab of dough.
She pressed patiently and consistently and with constant motion, asking
Sophie this and that, pushing and pulling at her, all without mentioning
her failures, without forcing a point, yet unrelenting and unwilling to
toss her to the side.<br />
<br />
Yet despite this care, by the
end of the morning, Sophie’s failures at the simple, mundane tasks built
up and tore through her. Her frustration broke as she pulled a final
frozen lump from the fired oven and a small tear arrived in her eye as
she held the uncooked dough in front of her chest.<br />
<br />
The
baker stepped over to her and took the dough from Sophie and placed it
on the table with a thud. She admonished Sophie, without any hint of
anger or malice, “Cry if you need to, but don’t cry into the bread.”<br />
<br />
Sophie
stood there, that single tear still caught within her eye, her arms and
hands still held up in front of her. The baker took each of Sophie’s
raised, empty arms, one at a time, and placed them down at her sides.
She took one of her own weathered hands and guided Sophie to the table
and pulled up a stool and motioned to Sophie to sit. Sophie set her
elbows down on the floured marble table and leaned across its surface.<br />
<br />
The
tear finally fell from her eye and dropped down onto the table,
creating a little wet crater in the flour that lay sifted across the top
of the marble table. The baker reached out a thumb and smudged the
crater across and smiled to herself, then went to the front of the shop
and picked up a small olive loaf from the day-old bin. She held it in
one of her hands and opened the oven door with the other and let a whiff
of the blasting hot air spill out and wash over Sophie. The baker
commanded her, “Take out some butter, if you would.”<br />
<br />
The
baker reached her hand into the oven and held the loaf above the flames
for a moment as Sophie walked to the side counter and pulled out the
pan of thick yellow butter that sat there. She brought it to the table
and returned to her seat.<br />
<br />
The baker left the oven door
open, warming the room. She pulled up another stool and sat next to her
and placed the now-steaming loaf down. The woman tore off a chunk and
slathered it with the rich butter, which melted on contact and found its
way into the bread’s hidden corners. She handed the bread to Sophie,
then she tore off and buttered a second hunk for herself.<br />
<br />
Sophie
took a bite of the bread, and that bite sank into her. The half-stale
loaf crunched in her mouth and the butter pressed through her body as
surely as it soaked through the bread.<br />
<br />
As they ate for a
moment in silence, the baker continued to pull off pieces of the bread
and butter them, handing one to Sophie first then taking one for
herself. She ate in silence as the dry heat of the oven filled the back
of the shop, until Sophie broke the quiet and spoke first. She
apologized for her shoddy work.<br />
<br />
The baker nodded her response. “It’s alright. I had a lot of bad days too when my parents died.”<br />
<br />
Sophie looked over at the sturdy woman with surprised eyes and asked when the woman’s parents had passed.<br />
<br />
The
baker replied with a soft smile, “Some time ago. I was a little older
than you but I was baking by that point… and for a long time my bread
wouldn’t rise either.”<br />
<br />
The baker deepened her smile as
she lifted her hunk of bread into the air and inspected it for a moment,
then took a bite and continued as she swallowed, “Clearly it was a
temporary problem.”<br />
<br />
Sophie couldn’t stop herself from laughing. She asked the woman what fixed her troubles.<br />
<br />
The
baker thought for a moment. “Time.” She placed her elbow on the table
and scratched at her cheek. “As the days passed I found myself again.”
She paused, her finger rested against her cheek. “But my bread wasn’t
this good again until I went north and Sent them.”<br />
<br />
Sophie looked over and was about to speak but the baker stood up and cut her off firmly. “Come. We need to open the shop.”<br />
<br />
The
baker gathered the few loaves she managed to salvage from Sophie’s
empty heart and sighed out loud, “Here’s hoping for a slow day…”<br />
<br />
She
smiled then pushed her to clean the oven, as she always did, and from
there the afternoon proceeded as it always had. Sophie took on her
chosen chores, straightening the shop, cleaning, organizing and
restoring order as the baker took her seat at the counter where her
customers purchased their bread. When her grandmother arrived, Sophie
avoided her gaze. Aside from a lingering moment when the baker stepped
to the desk and spoke for a moment longer than usual to the old woman,
the day proceeded as it always had, right until the sun began to set and
the baker asked Sophie and her grandmother to come to the counter to
receive their day’s wages.<br />
<br />
The old woman placed her
payment in her purse, and as she stood for a moment to wait for her
granddaughter to receive hers, the baker told the wrinkled woman, “I
need to speak with Sophie for a minute longer, you don’t need to wait
for her.”<br />
<br />
The old woman nodded and said goodbye and
left through the shop’s swinging doors as the baker asked Sophie to
stand there for a moment. She held still and watched as the woman came
out from behind her counter and walked through the shop, examining the
little touches Sophie added to it throughout the afternoon. The baker
inspected the organized loaves and gave a small approving nod, then
examined the swept floor and made a minor appreciative grunt, then noted
the neatly stacked bags of flour with a lingering look, before she
returned to the counter and opened her drawer and began to count out
Sophie’s wages. As she did, the woman spoke to herself, loud enough for
Sophie to hear, “Let’s see…”<br />
<br />
The baker set down
Sophie’s usual wages. Sophie thanked her and reached for the bills lying
there. The baker stopped her hand and spoke, without looking up, “The
shop looks better than ever lately.”<br />
<br />
She turned her eyes to Sophie. “You’ve been working a little later than necessary for some time now.”<br />
<br />
Sophie
looked at her feet, embarrassed, as the baker pulled some paper and a
pencil from beneath the counter and set them down and continued, “I used
to hire someone to tidy up the shop as you’ve been doing. I can’t quite
remember what I used to pay them.”<br />
<br />
The baker marked a
few calculations onto the paper and reached into the cash drawer and
placed a few extra bills on top of Sophie’s normal wages and looked down
at her paper.<br />
<br />
“That doesn’t seem right. You’ve been
working late every single day for some time now… Let me check the math
again. Oh, I shouldn’t have let your grandmother off, she’s better with
the numbers than I am.”<br />
<br />
The baker made a few more marks
on the paper, performing some simple math, adding up the days and
Sophie’s extra wages, reaching into the drawer and pulling out more
money and placing it on the counter, before checking her math again and
pulling out more and adding it to the growing pile, speaking loudly and
absent-mindedly the whole time.<br />
<br />
“This afternoon your grandmother told me she plans on heading north soon, and that she’ll be gone for some time.”<br />
<br />
The
baker looked casually at Sophie. “It’s to be expected, of course. She
never said so but she adored that man.” The baker looked back down.
“Though now I’ll have to find someone else to take care of the books for
me.”<br />
<br />
She placed more money on the counter. “As I said, I’m not very good at math.”<br />
<br />
She
returned to her paper, then scanned the neatly ordered shop, then added
even more money to Sophie’s thick pile. The woman looked back down and
spoke some more to herself.<br />
<br />
“I’ll have to find someone to help me with the oven and the store too, while you are traveling with her.”<br />
<br />
Sophie’s
heart returned to her chest for a moment, before rising and getting
caught in her throat as she looked at the thick stack of money on the
counter.<br />
<br />
The baker rolled her eyes up at Sophie with
lightly arched eyebrows. “Though only temporary help, of course… as
you’ll resume working here when you return…”<br />
<br />
Sophie nodded yes, yes, yes. The baker sat back in her chair and pushed the money towards her.<br />
<br />
“And
I’m sure if my math was wrong and I’ve overpaid you now, then you’ll
work the remainder off when you return.” Sophie pressed her heart down
her throat and back into her chest and released a soft, “Of course.”</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg"><img alt="The Girl Who Came Back to Life" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40597" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
you die, your spirit wakes in the north, in the City of the Dead.
There, you wander the cold until one of your living loved ones finds
you, says "Goodbye," and Sends you to the next world. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />After
her parents die, 12-year-old Sophie refuses to release their spirits.
Instead, she resolves to travel to the City of the Dead to bring her
mother and father’s spirits back home with her. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Taking
the long pilgrimage north with her gruff & distant grandmother—by
train, by foot, by boat; over ruined mountains and plains and
oceans—Sophie struggles to return what death stole from her. Yet the
journey offers her many hard, unexpected lessons—what to hold on to,
when to let go, and who she must truly bring back to life.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Came-Back-Life-ebook/dp/B00JQRR0JM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402517344&sr=8-1&keywords=craig+staufenberg" href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Came-Back-Life-ebook/dp/B00JQRR0JM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402517344&sr=8-1&keywords=craig+staufenberg" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Middle Grade</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Craig-Staufenberg/e/B00J4CHMX8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Craig-Staufenberg/e/B00J4CHMX8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>with Craig Staufenberg through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/YouMakeArtDumb?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/YouMakeArtDumb?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/YouMakeArtDumb" href="https://twitter.com/YouMakeArtDumb" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://craigstaufenberg.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-DrQ3iDj9YlxIz66ffrjCdBEDC8Q" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://craigstaufenberg.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-DrQ3iDj9YlxIz66ffrjCdBEDC8Q" target="_blank">http://craigstaufenberg.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-44812315077153685192014-09-13T10:00:00.000-04:002014-09-13T18:15:27.107-04:00Mikey D.B. on Being Inspired, Writing & Marketing @mikeydbii #AmWriting #AmReading #Area38<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomAPHt6GNY_pYQBz7UuqmD10HhSAfy2C0jdgQL60GiKD08T7PNE4hAhtnjKKwzVkih3-4dicvOQGGxIsWq7aAVyyW5so5ncDuTZsB6F5kP1S_nNTt9KkStMLe1W4H3G_lNpqLrh3YoeM/s1600/XmCEP1vq.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomAPHt6GNY_pYQBz7UuqmD10HhSAfy2C0jdgQL60GiKD08T7PNE4hAhtnjKKwzVkih3-4dicvOQGGxIsWq7aAVyyW5so5ncDuTZsB6F5kP1S_nNTt9KkStMLe1W4H3G_lNpqLrh3YoeM/s1600/XmCEP1vq.jpeg" height="320" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>How did you develop your writing?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>By
writing. When I was a personal trainer, I had this client that would
tell me “I want to have a dancer’s body” which I then preceded to tell
her “You want a dancer’s body? Then be a dancer.” I came up with
exercises that would help her with dance technique and what not, but in
the end, if you want to be something, then be it. You want to develop
your writing, sit down and write. Write a poem, who cares if it’s hard
on the eyes and ears. The key is to write something everyday.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Where do you get your inspiration from?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>Movies
and Netflix mostly. Music too, but for the most part, when I see how
the world has inspired an artist and then that inspiration being
reflected in their work, that’s inspiring to me.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>For
me? Marketing, hands down. I’m not a very social person to begin
with. I can be content being alone, and because of that I hate…no,
strongly dislike social media. It freaks me out to some extent, but for
the most part, I don’t like the mess that can come from being social
and what not, and since marketing is a very social process, I struggle
with it.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Do you plan to publish more books?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>Most
definitely. At least three. “Saga of the Nine: Five” “Saga of the
Nine: The Reformists” & “Saga of the Nine: The Original Nine”.
After that, I have no idea. Maybe I’ll try a screenplay.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time…</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>I
work at a labeling manufacturing company. We make the labels you see
on vitamin bottles, chapstick, watter bottles, the things granola bars
are wrapped in. That’s us. I’m also an onsite manager with my wife for
a student complex at BYU and I coach high school football. It sounds
like a lot, but it’s all about time management. My hope is that one day
my writings will make enough that I can be job optional.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>What other jobs have you had in your life?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>I’ve
been working since I was 14 and back then I helped an elderly lady in
my neighborhood take care of her house. After that, I worked at a movie
theater, which I hated, and then moved to the labeling manufacturing
company I’m at now. I’ve moved around in the company, but it’s not
something I want to make a career with. It’s getting my wife and me
through college, and for that, it’s been a blessing. At one time I was
also a personal trainer. I loved working with my clients, but I slowly
found out how corrupt the company was and it went under shortly after.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>If you could study any subject at a university what would you pick?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>The truth of the matter is, I love to learn. I love it, and writing gives me an excuse to learn about the most random things.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Why are you learning about Russia? Are you a communist?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No, I’m a writer.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Oh, it’s okay then.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s
one thing that attracted me to writing a novel, is that you have to
learn if you want to sound credible. I’m not a perfect writer by any
means, but to answer your question, I don’t know. I’ve changed my
degree three times and it’s simply because I want to know everything.
So many people go through the motions and get a degree because they are
told they have to, and then they have no idea how to apply what they’ve
learned and wind up in their mom and dad’s basement. If money wasn’t an
issue, I’d spend as much time as I could at a university learning
everything I could. Unfortunately, money is an issue, so I turn to
Google instead.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>Laptop,
for sure. I have a little notebook I carry around everywhere as I go
throughout the day, jotting down ideas and cool things I see, and then
when I get home, I put those ideas into my laptop. It’s a nice little
system for me, merging handwritten thoughts into digital ones.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>I
know a few writers in the industry, Sarah Eden being one of them, but
for the most part, I’m kind of a pioneer in my circle of who I know. My
family and wife give me the most support, but they don’t really know
how this industry works. That’s where Sarah Eden lended me a hand.
Once I got going though, my little sister decided she wanted to write a
book, I’m proofreading some stuff for my friend’s wife, and I’m just
helping out where I can; I’m giving support where I didn’t feel I really
had any.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>I
love movies, video games of course. Reading is fun, but it’s not
really relaxing because I am constantly dissecting what I read, movies
and games too. But I like to be active where I can. Working out,
boxing, training, that is therapeutic for me and relaxing believe it or
not. Writing is such a cerebral activity that in order for me to relax,
I need to do something physical.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg"><img alt="Saga of the Nine" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41059" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" id="outer_postBodyPS" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Change
affects everyone and it is no different for Jackson. Living in Area 38
for as long as he can remember, he knows of no better way to exist than
under the tyrannical rule of Christopher Stone, son of Stewart Stone
from The Nine of The United Governmental Areas, aka The UGA. This all
takes a dramatic turn when Jackson finds a red, metal box buried in his
yard, filled with illegal artifacts—journals, a Bible, CDs, etc.—that
are from a man of whom he has no recollection of: Mica Rouge.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The
year is 2036 and Mica, unlike Jackson, does know of a better way of
life but is torn apart as he sees his country, The United States of
America, crumbling from within by group known as The Political Mafia.
The Mafia has infiltrated levels upon levels of governmental resources
and it is up to Mica and a vigilante group known as The USA Division to
stop them and their dark Utopian vision. To their demise, and at the
country's expense, The Division fails and has no choice but to watch The
Constitution dissolve and transform into The UGA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
a final stand, having not given up hope, Mica and what is left of The
Division, give one final fight in Colorado, or better known as Area 38.
However, all is lost as The Division is betrayed by one of their own,
Stewart Stone. Mica is left with no choice but to hide in exile, leaving
what little history he can of himself and the great United States of
America, with his wife, long time friends, and newly born son in hopes
that they will one day finish what he could not.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jackson,
having found this legacy twenty-seven years later, decides to start the
war that will end The Nine, and he with an outcast group known as The
Raiders, begins his fight with Christopher Stone in Area 38. Filled with
betrayal, unity, despair, hope, hate and love Area 38 follows both Mica
and Jackson in their attempts to restore what they believe to be true
freedom, and where one fails, the other rises to the seemingly
impossible challenge.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Nine-Mikey-D-B-ebook/dp/B00I3I8R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391036693&sr=1-1&keywords=mikey+d.+b." href="http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Nine-Mikey-D-B-ebook/dp/B00I3I8R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391036693&sr=1-1&keywords=mikey+d.+b." target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mikey%20D.%20B.&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mikey%20D.%20B.&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Mikey D. B. on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-D-B/193122724228568?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-D-B/193122724228568?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/mikeydbii" href="https://twitter.com/mikeydbii" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mikeydb.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29rFXKoKCy5nHRPTeDOI1JD41dROQ" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mikeydb.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29rFXKoKCy5nHRPTeDOI1JD41dROQ" target="_blank">www.mikeydb.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-77245424475199583462014-09-12T11:00:00.000-04:002014-09-13T18:22:30.353-04:00@GeorgiaLeCarre on Happiness & Character Strength #AmReading #AmWriting #Romance <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. How do you work through self-doubts and fear?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Self-doubt
and fear usually come from being too invested in the outcome. Best way
I have found to deal with them is by taking a step back and looking at
the ‘What Is The worst That Can Happen?’ scenario. A heap of one star
reviews, everybody hates it, nobody buys it, failure – and so what? Do
something else then!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2. What scares you the most?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
general – the threat of any kind of physical pain. I am such a coward I
can’t even throw myself overboard a boat. The water looks so flat and
hard that I have to gently ease myself into the water. LOL. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>3. What makes you happiest?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
know I should say when my dog puts his head on my lap, but the truth is
when my bank account looks healthy and all my bills are paid, and I can
get on with the delicious business of enjoying my dog putting his head
on my lap.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4. What’s your greatest character strength?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I haven’t truly tested it, so don’t quote me if it ever proves otherwise, but I think I’m a forgiving person.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5. What’s your weakest character trait?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bone-lazy tendencies.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6. Why do you write?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because it is miles easier than working in slaughter house or a chicken farm.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>7. Have you always enjoyed writing?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No,
I never thought of being an author. I consumed a lot of other people’s
words and one day I guess, it just spilled out onto some paper.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/42Days.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/42Days.jpg"><img alt="42Days" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-32050" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/42Days.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/42Days.jpg" height="200" style="border: 0px none; cursor: default;" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beyond the seductive power of immense wealth lies... Dark Secrets</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Devastatingly
handsome billionaire, Blake Law Barrington was Lana Blooms first and
only love. From the moment they touched his power was overwhelming.
Their arrangement quickly developed into a passionate romance that
captivated her heart and took her on an incredible sexual journey she
never wanted to end.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The future together looked bright until Lana made a terrible mistake. So, she did the only thing she could... she ran.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Away
from her incredible life, away from the man of her dreams, but she
should have known a man such as Blake Law Barrington was impossible to
escape. Now, he's back in her life and determined that she should taste
the bitterness of his pain.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shocked
at how rough the sex has become and humiliated that she is actually
participating so willingly in her punishment, she despairs if she will
ever feel the warmth of his touch--the solidity of his trust again? And
even if she can win his trust, loyalties are yet to be decided, and
secrets to be revealed--secrets that will test them both to their
limits.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will Lana be able to tear down the walls that surround Blake's heart, and break him free of the brutal power of immense wealth?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Can Blake hold on to Lana's heart when she discovers the enormity of the dark secrets that inhabit the Barrington family?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lana has always believed that love conquers all. She is about to test that belief...</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Forty-2-Days-Billionaire-Banker-ebook/dp/B00HWKW7K2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1392551191&sr=1-1&keywords=Georgia+Le+Carre" href="http://www.amazon.com/Forty-2-Days-Billionaire-Banker-ebook/dp/B00HWKW7K2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1392551191&sr=1-1&keywords=Georgia+Le+Carre">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Erotic Romance</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-18</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Georgia-Le-Carre/e/B00FXN8N0S/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Georgia-Le-Carre/e/B00FXN8N0S/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Georgia Le Carre on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/georgia.lecarre" href="https://www.facebook.com/georgia.lecarre">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/GeorgiaLeCarre" href="https://twitter.com/GeorgiaLeCarre">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-31865768445012255152014-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:002014-10-31T12:14:33.623-04:00#Excerpt from Across Worlds: Collision by S. A. Snow @BooksBySnow #Erotica #SciFi <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stepping
out into the hall, Usnavi started in the opposite direction that Jane
had been facing. While they walked, Jane reached over and grabbed zher
arm, both her hands wrapping around the leathery flesh of the alien.
Usnavi shivered. Zhe tried to shake the hold by pointing out different
places on the ship, hoping to get Jane excited about something other
than zhim, but each time she saw something new, her grip tightened.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shockwaves
rolled down zher spine, pooling in the backs of zher legs with each
passing step. Once they reached the observation room, where Jane would
be able to sit and wait with a view of the passing stars, Usnavi shook
her off and stepped back out of her reach.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I will return quickly,” zhe stated.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Wait,” Jane whined.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I will be back in a short period of time. However, I must speak with my superiors about your exploits on the ship.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jane
lifted one delicate red eyebrow as Usnavi backed out of the observation
room, staring at Jane until the doors shut. She waited thirty seconds
for zhim to return before she set about exploring the newest room she
had to herself—luckily this one was much larger than the last. The
windows were huge and made up three walls of the room, and a half dozen
chairs identical to the one in her room were placed carefully in the
middle of the open space. On the last wall without windows, there was
the door and a computer station, which sat unattended.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unable
to help herself, she darted across the room to the computer. She
reached out hesitantly and touched the keyboard filled with unfamiliar
symbols. The screen went from black to white and a box appeared with a
blinking cursor inside it. She didn’t have to speak the language to know
it was asking for a password, which she didn’t have.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
sighed deeply and went back to the window. Hesitantly, she lifted her
hand and touched it. Instead of glass, she discovered it was a
plastic-rubbery material that had a slight give when she pressed on it.
Curiosity piqued, she extended one finger and poked it.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
finger moved the material nearly an inch before it pushed back. Her
brows knit in confusion, and she studied it carefully. Definitely not
any sort of glass available on Earth. She made a mental note to ask
Usnavi about it when zhe returned. She smiled softly—there were a lot of
things on that list.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pressing
her face to the moveable glass, she tried to find any constellations
she was familiar with. Her eyes searched for the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia,
or Orion, anything that she would recognize. When she couldn’t even
figure out which one was the North Star, she amused herself by finding
new shapes in the inky sky. She found what looked to be a teddy bear, a
dragon, and a sunflower before the door opened with a slight noise and
her alien entered.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg"><img alt="AcrossWorldsCollision" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40725" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jane expected six months undercover to be hard; she expected it to be lonely and bleak. She didn’t expect to find love. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Jane
Butler, a CIA operative, is assigned the task of infiltrating the
Xanthians and determining if they’re a threat to humanity. Going
undercover as a Xanthian mate, she boards the transport ship and meets
Usnavi—her new mate. After spending six days traveling through space,
Jane is ecstatic to explore the Xanthian station and soon sets out to
complete her mission. The only problem? Usnavi—and the feelings she is
quickly developing. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Fumbling
their way through varying sexual expectations, cooking catastrophes,
and cultural differences, they soon discover life together is never
boring. As Jane and Usnavi careen into a relationship neither of them
expected, Jane uncovers dark secrets about the Xanthians and realizes
she may no longer be safe. When it becomes clear she’s on her own, Jane
is forced to trust and rely on Usnavi. Simultaneously struggling with
her mission, her feelings for Usnavi, and homesickness, Jane faces
questions she never imagined she would have to answer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-Worlds-Collision-S-Snow-ebook/dp/B00MANJM2M" href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-Worlds-Collision-S-Snow-ebook/dp/B00MANJM2M" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Blended Science Fiction, Erotica</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – NC17</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Snow/e/B00MARDKL2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Snow/e/B00MARDKL2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with S. A. Snow on <a data-mce-href="http://www.facebook.com/booksbysnow" href="http://www.facebook.com/booksbysnow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-133319366143674462014-09-06T09:00:00.000-04:002014-12-29T02:22:19.082-05:00Erin Sands on #SocialMedia, Writing & Reading @TheDunesBook #AmWriting #AmReading <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg"><img alt="5DmkII_2226" class="aligncenter wp-image-40866" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5DmkII_2226-198x300.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5DmkII_2226-198x300.jpg" height="193" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="127" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">B</span>orn
in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California,
Erin grew up with an innate love for dance, theatre and the written
word. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Erin began her career
in the arts as an actress and choreographer. After booking several
notable roles in television and film, Erin began to use her gift of
writing in blogs featuring political and social commentary, as well as
developing content for theatrical use.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Dunes</i>,
is a divine departure from Erin’s previous writings it is by far her
most cherished work to date. “I wrote The Dunes initially as self
therapy because I needed to release some painful experiences and
disappointments from my past. I had this thirst to walk in the complete
fullness of life with joy as my constant companion. I had no idea what
effect it would have on other people. But when I saw people read it and
be released from fears that had held them back for years…when I saw
people forgive and be able to walk in the freedom forgiveness
brings…when I saw people commit and serve and how those things opened up
new opportunities in their life, I was just humbled. Humbled by the
awesome power of God and humbled that I had been allowed to go along for
the ride”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When asked<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>why</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>she
writes, Erin pauses and reflects on the truth of her heart. “I write
because although I am only now beginning to truly love the process, I
have always loved the outcome. Like a composer, words become my notes. I
string them together in song eliciting the response of my reader,
grafting a picture of my soul. Where besides the written word can you
effect change so utterly and so succinctly? What besides the written
word can pierce the universal collective mind? Everything begins with a
thought, but it isn’t until that thought is articulated in written word
and those words passed down can life changing movement happen. It must
be written, it must be expressed on tablet, and when it is, we all
become greater, whether the writing be genius or fatuity, it has evoked
thought and debate. Why wouldn’t I want to be apart of that phenomenon?
Why wouldn’t I want to share my story, give my testimony…add my paradigm
to the mix? Whether it is a novel, a poem, an essay or an article, it
is humanity visited. An insight into a new or sometimes shared truth.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>And with that I live my life”.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What are you most passionate about? What gets you fired up?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
am passionate about issues that concern the health, wealth and pursuit
of happiness for humanity. Whether it is policy based or related to
opportunities being fairly provided for all, you will find me at the
front line, marching and championing human rights. I love exchanging
ideas with critical thinkers who look at life outside the box. I love
faith driven passionate people who are open to new ideas and who realize
the importance of giving back. I love creative people who use their
talents to entertain and enlighten. These are the topics, the endeavors
and the kind of purposed living that excites me and makes my heart sing.
These are my passions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How do you feel about social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter? Are they a good thing?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
with everything under the sun, social media has its good aspects and
its not-so-good aspects. The great thing about social media for indie
authors like myself is the ability to promote our books and connect with
readers in a much broader way. It is literally a global stage for ideas
and promotion. Social media does not discriminate. It has leveled the
playing field for content creators. I can promote my book on Twitter and
Facebook the same way a more established, well-known author can.
Ironically, the bad thing about social media, is the very same thing
that is great about social media, it does not discriminate. No matter
what your thought (how hateful or intolerant it may be) you can share it
with the world. It gets equal billing along with all of the other
thoughts and posts circulating out there. In terms of social
interaction, Facebook helped me to get in touch with childhood friends
that I had not seen in years. It also allows me to keep in touch
through pictures and posts with family members who live out of state.
It’s like one big block party. I see far more positive outcomes with
social media than I see negative outcomes. It is such an intrinsic part
of local, national and global communication now that I can scarcely
imagine life without it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Do you find the time to read?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
of the many things I looked forward to after the completion of my own
book was catching up on my reading. I am an avid reader and I love
biographies, fiction books as well as books based on history and public
policy. When I am not promoting my own book, writing blogs or working
out the logistics of another creative endeavor, I am reading. The two
books I am reading right now are: Guns, Germs, and Steel…<i>the fate of human societies</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by Jared Diamond and Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing
The Dunes reinforced the most important and yet the most painstaking
quality of writing, which is re-writing. I really cannot tell you the
number of times I have re-written The Dunes. I’ve lost count. But if you
want to be a good writer you must become comfortable with this very
necessary truth. Writing is re-writing and your first draft is just
that…a “draft”. Excellence requires writing, re-writing, re-writing that
and then re-writing again and that’s before the editor takes a pass at
it. There were times when I was completely blocked and I would write
something down on the page just so I could move on to the next thought.
Luckily my husband wouldn’t let me get away with it. He would take one
look at it and shake his head “no” and give it back to me. I can’t tell
you how infuriating that was! How many times I wanted to yell and scream
at him but I am so grateful he did not let me fall victim to my
impatience of wanting to be finished with my book. He knew that I could
express the idea in a better way for the reader and he made me stick to
it. The funny part is, my husband wasn’t even my editor, these were just
the challenges I went through before I gave my manuscript to my editor.
Who upon receiving it made even more suggestions on how to make the
book better. Writing is re-writing and in the end when you have a book
that you are proud of from cover to cover, you know that it was so worth
it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://bit.ly/1pwryZK" href="http://bit.ly/1pwryZK">http://bit.ly/1pwryZK</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How did you come up with the title?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
came up with the title for The Dunes because in southern California in
the city of Manhattan Beach there is a 100-foot sand dune that people
come from miles around to use as a form of exercise. It is incredibly
steep and the sand gives such a loose traction that it is extremely
challenging to climb to the very top. Years ago I was one of the many
who would go there in the blazing sun and attempt to make it to the top.
The journey and the pay off were so intense that it made an impression
on me. So when it came time to write the allegorical part of my book I
instantly gravitated to that memory in terms of a character overcoming a
hurdle in their life and the feeling of victory that comes from being
able to conquer your “mountain” so to speak.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How much of the book is realistic?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Dunes consists of 7 chapters that are referred to throughout the book
as “Revelations”. Each revelation sheds wisdom and advances the journey,
which is composed of an allegory, a personal testimony from me, journal
questions and a challenge for the reader. Although the first part of
each revelation is an allegory, I think the story is very realistic in
terms of its relatability to human nature. The rest of the book is
really about the reader and their journey and as honest as the reader
wants to be will define how “real” their transformation is.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://bit.ly/U9LRSz" href="http://bit.ly/U9LRSz">http://bit.ly/U9LRSz</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Where do you see yourself in five years?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today
I am a daughter, a wife an activist and an author. In five years I will
add to this list mother, producer and working actor. I took a break
from some creative endeavors to focus on my book. Some things require
100% and The Dunes was one of them. But I am looking forward to acting
again and I am in the works to produce a script that I have written. I
am a creative person and a critical thinker so I hope to continue to
grow and expand in those areas. But I think by far my greatest
production will be that which I will share with my husband through the
birth of new life and parenthood.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
writing The Dunes has made me “realize” in terms of fulfilled dreams
and legacy, is who I am and what I offer. I have always been the friend
who people told their inner most secrets too. I have always been the
friend that asked probing questions that made people think on a deeper
level. I have always been the friend that challenged those I love to be
brave. These are all of the things I do in The Dunes. I just do it on a
larger scale now. So writing The Dunes has made me realize my purpose in
life, who I am and what I offer on an intimate level. I can now say,
that a very real part of my purpose has been fulfilled and it is a gift
to know that.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://bit.ly/1pwryZK" href="http://bit.ly/1pwryZK">http://bit.ly/1pwryZK</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
the onset of my book, my very first page, I dedicate my book to my
mother. I thank her for “teaching me how to fly”. Obviously I mean it as
a metaphor but in so many ways as a woman she has taught me to believe
in myself and to spread my wings and strive to meet my fullest
potential. She is an extraordinary woman and I will always be grateful
that God gave her to me. I could not have written my book without my
husband. He was my encouragement during the more challenging parts. He
was my first editor. He was the one I bounced sentences and story ideas
off of. He was the one when I was being impatient and would write
something down that wasn’t worthy of The Dunes, who would give me a
look, shake his head “no” and give the manuscript back to me, forcing me
to push myself to be better. My mother and my husband have been my
biggest support and a great extension of Gods unconditional love during
my writing process.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How do you work through self-doubts and fear?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s
funny but writing a book sharing your experiences and insights about
overcoming self-doubt and fear in no way exempts from moments of
self-doubts and fear in your own. I think it is something that on one
level or another, as long as you are growing and challenging yourself,
you will sometimes encounter. I do think the difference will be how you
deal with it. Hopefully with grace, class and a very introspective
insight into your triggers. Nowadays when those feelings come up for me I
face them head on. I take a minute to truly examine what it is that is
making me feel that way. Is it irrational? Is it motivated by an
experience from my past? Is it blocking me from fully experiencing life?
When I locate the source of my feelings, I pray about it and do it
anyway. I do “it” whatever “it” is in spite of any fear or trepidation.
If I am feeling insecure, I do it anyway. If I am feeling scared about
the outcome, I do it anyway. I determined long ago that although I may
not be able to control my feelings, I do however, have control over my
actions and I do “it” afraid.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://bit.ly/U9LRSz" href="http://bit.ly/U9LRSz">http://bit.ly/U9LRSz</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg"><img alt="Dune" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40719" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If there was a journey that could masterfully change your life in seven revelations...would you take it? <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />In
life, sometimes the kernels of wisdom and the richness of revelation
can be found in the most innocent of stories; and so it is with The
Dunes. Join one man and one woman in an exquisitely simple yet
remarkably profound journey as you discover with them that the mountain
you must climb in order to live the abundant life of your dreams is
located squarely within your heart. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Illuminated
in seven revelations; The Dunes carries the reader on a journey to not
only examine the obstacles that are holding them back in life but to
conquer and over come them as well. With each revelation The Dunes
intimately calls on the reader as the journey companion to face a
challenge…a dare if you will that requires an uncompromising commitment
to change. In the family of faith-based self help books, The Dunes
stands alone, simultaneously taking the reader from fiction to life and
back again, equipped with a tailor made journal for the readers inner
most secrets and reflections. The Dunes is part allegory, part testimony
and part journal, but the best part is the healing it offers your
heart. When you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and step into
the miracle of your life…The Dunes awaits. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />CAUTION:
Readers of this book are subject to significant changes for the better.
Side effects may include frequent smiling and enjoying life in every
season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Dunes-Release-Fears-Restore-Renew-ebook/dp/B00KO43L2Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1403131233" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dunes-Release-Fears-Restore-Renew-ebook/dp/B00KO43L2Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1403131233" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Non-fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Sands/e/B00M5ZWIM6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Sands/e/B00M5ZWIM6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Erin Sands on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/thedunesbook" href="https://www.facebook.com/thedunesbook" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.twitter.com/thedunesbook" href="http://www.twitter.com/thedunesbook" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thedunesbook.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29-Z7bqviUDISeSGG7sYWToCfcGIg" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thedunesbook.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29-Z7bqviUDISeSGG7sYWToCfcGIg" target="_blank">www.thedunesbook.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-22598910475391957812014-08-29T10:30:00.000-04:002014-11-11T09:52:13.140-05:00A LIFE LESS ORDINARY by @VicBernadine #Excerpt #ChickLit #Contemporary<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Manny
laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling and waiting for sleep. She
plucked restlessly at the blanket and wished she could relax. Tomorrow
was Steph’s first staff meeting. Today she’d reacquainted herself with
everyone in the office then spent the rest of the day with Manny being
briefed on the details of the work of the branch and any current issues
she’d need to resolve within the next few days. That meant Manny’s own
work had been delayed, and tomorrow it would be delayed again–and Manny
would have to leave early in order to meet Rebecca and Daisy at the
lounge for drinks before heading to the club.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Manny
took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It wouldn’t be too bad, she
staunchly told herself. Steph was young, energetic, and had a shrewd
intelligence almost obscured by the cleavage-revealing shirts, short
skirts and a figure that could stop traffic–and probably did. Manny
wondered if Craig truly understood what he’d gotten himself in for by
promoting Steph rather than Manny.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cleavage and legs.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She mentally rolled her eyes at Harvey’s dry, cynical tones.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Maybe–but that’s not really fair to him, is it? He’s not a bad guy.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>But he is just a guy.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>She
does bring a new perspective–a new way of thinking about things. She’s
not a bad choice–and I can’t argue with Craig’s idea that shaking things
up could make things better.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>And where does that leave you?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>No worse off than I was before.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>And no better.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>If you’re not going to be helpful…</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Harvey
glanced down at his suddenly ruffled shirt opened to the middle of his
muscled chest and skin-tight breeches. He glanced back at her with a
ruefully amused smile.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Watched the Ice Pirates again, did you?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Oh, shut up–it’s a classic no matter what anybody else thinks!</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I’m
just sayin’–if I was real and regularly wore pants this tight, I’m not
sure I’d be of any use to you. If you know what I mean.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Manny
groaned and shook her head, and Harvey blinked out of existence. She
wondered when she’d managed to lose control of a figment of her
imagination–one she’d eventually felt compelled to name after an
invisible rabbit.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She groaned again, rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. It was going to be another long day tomorrow.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Complete with dancing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ALifeLessOrdinary.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div id="outer_postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For
the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good
girl. She turned her back on her youthful fancies and focused on her
career. But now, at the age of 45, she’s questioning her choices and
feeling more and more disconnected from her own life. When she’s passed
over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny’s life
will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she’s quit
her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she’s leaving
town on a six month road trip.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she’s joined in her
mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and
most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke’s
true goal is to expose Manny’s journey as a pitiful and desperate
attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the
same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now,
armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an
out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny’s on a quest to
rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMJBOSQ" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299257" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – ChickLit, Contemporary Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Bernadine/e/B00AN2VS5G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Victoria Bernadine on <a href="https://twitter.com/VicBernadine" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blog <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://victoriabernadine.wordpress.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2_NZu0iup6n2vJwBd--NRvslbSPnw" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">victoriabernadine.wordpress.com</a></b></span></span></div>
</div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-31456052078681372562014-08-29T07:00:00.000-04:002014-09-20T01:24:12.334-04:00Marilyn Holdsworth on Why She Writes @m_holdsworth #AmWriting #AmReading #Contemporary <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/15/97/44078a95157c0ad8986cb6.L._V393916356_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/15/97/44078a95157c0ad8986cb6.L._V393916356_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As a novelist, I draw on many real life experiences to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">provide
background for my books. After completing studies in Literature and
History at Occidental College, I became a staff writer on a travel
magazine, and throughout my career I have traveled extensively all over
the world. </span><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Because
I love horses, I owned and trained them. I support horse rescue and
wild mustang preservation. Based on my experience with horses and my
research on abuse issues, I wrote Pegasus.</span></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As
a descendant of James Monroe, I did extensive research at the James
Monroe Museum in Virginia about him and his wife Elizabeth Kortright
Monroe. I also visited their home, Ashlawn/Highland in Albemarle County.
This resulted in my novel, The Beautiful American. </span><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Making Wishes, was based partly on my experiences as creator, owner and operator of a greeting card company.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Why do you write?</b><br />I
enjoy writing. I like to create characters, stories and word pictures. i
am a much happier person when i am writing and creating. It's an
important part of who I am.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have you always enjoyed writing?</b><br />Yes. I have enjoyed writing since I was a little girl.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What are you most proud of in your personal life?</b><br />My family.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What books did you love growing up?</b><br />I
loved horse stories like The Black Stallion by Walter Farley and all
the books by Margarite Henry. I also loved the Nancy Drew Mysteries.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Where do you get your inspiration from?</b><br />I observe people and situations everywhere I go and I keep files of ideas from articles in newspapers and magazines.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Do you plan to publish more books?</b><br />Yes. I plan to continue writing and publishing. I am currently writing another novel.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How do you write?</b><br />I
keep a tablet and pen with me always. And I keep paper and pen next to
my bed. I often wake up with ideas. Also, I work on my computer.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What is the last book you purchased? Tell us about it.</b><br />The Countess and the King by Susan Holloway Scott.<br />It's
the story of Katherine Sedley, the Countess of Dorchester and King
James II of England. It's an interesting historical novel about a lady
who was ahead of her time and lived by her own rules. It gives a much
more sympathetic portrayal of James II than I had always thought of him.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What is your favorite quote and why?</b><br />"There
is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so." William Shakespeare. I
am a firm believer that attitude and how you look at things makes all
the difference.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life?</b><br />Raising my two wonderful children.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Making-Wishes.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Making-Wishes.jpg"><img alt="Making Wishes" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-23817" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Making-Wishes.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Making-Wishes.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elloree
Prince is an attractive, creative young woman who marries a wealthy
businessman, Tom Randall. After courting his bride with unrelenting
determination, Tom moves her into old-moneyed Oak View, where
generations of Randalls have lived for years. Outwardly, Elloree appears
to settle into raising their two sons within Oak View's stifling social
structure, but inwardly, she yearns for her artistic work. </span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An
unexpected phone call from Mark Williams, her former employer, offers
her the career opportunity of a lifetime, and she must make a choice.
She is torn between her devotion to her sons and her love for her work.
Her decision to return to Wishes, Inc. brings dramatic life changes to
her and the people she loves.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Wishes-Marilyn-Holdsworth/dp/1481707523/ref=sr_1_3_title_2_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369262924&sr=1-3&keywords=Marilyn.+Holdsworth" href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Wishes-Marilyn-Holdsworth/dp/1481707523/ref=sr_1_3_title_2_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369262924&sr=1-3&keywords=Marilyn.+Holdsworth" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Women's fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/beautifulAmerican.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/beautifulAmerican.jpg"><img alt="beautifulAmerican" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40292" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/beautifulAmerican.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/beautifulAmerican.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Abby
Long is thrilled when she offers the winning bid for an antique desk at
an auction. With its intricately inlaid woods and elegant style, the
desk is perfect for Abby; it is the gift she promised herself to finally
celebrate her thriving antique business. She has no idea that the
antique desk holds a secret that will lead her on a fascinating,
life-changing journey back in time.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
Abby discovers a hidden diary stuffed inside a secret compartment in
the desk, she can hardly wait to read the spidery, faded script. As she
carefully turns the tattered pages, she reads the captivating story of
two remarkable women from opposite backgrounds who somehow manage to
form an unforgettable bond against the backdrop of a fledgling America
struggling to find its place in the world. Elizabeth Kortright Monroe,
the wife of James Monroe, and Jasmine, a young slave girl, develop an
extraordinary relationship as they are united by pivotal historic
events, political intrigues, and personal tragedies.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From
a bucolic Virginia plantation to the bloodied, starving streets of
post-revolutionary Paris, this powerful tale follows the lives of two
courageous women from the past as they quietly influence—and inspire—a
woman of today’s world."</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-American-Marilyn-Holdsworth-ebook/dp/B0080D41BI/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-4&qid=1402430694" href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-American-Marilyn-Holdsworth-ebook/dp/B0080D41BI/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-4&qid=1402430694" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Historical fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pegasus.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pegasus.jpg"><img alt="pegasus" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40293" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pegasus.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pegasus.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Widowed
at thirty, Hannah Bradley is a successful journalist focusing on animal
abuse issues. An accidental meeting introduces her to lawyer, Winston
Caughfield III. Drawn to Hannah’s gentle beauty and fierce commitment to
her work, Win joins her in a fight to save wild mustangs from
slaughter. Together they rescue a badly injured horse with a mysterious
background. Hannah’s search to discover the animal’s true identity leads
them into a web of black marketeering and international intrigue. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Action
packed with crisp colorful dialogue the story propels the reader to a
race against time conclusion. Marilyn Holdsworth delivers a gripping
tale of mystery, adventure and romance guaranteed to hold the interest
and capture the heart. She brings true-life characters together with
real-life issues to create a fast-paced irresistible story.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Marilyn-Holdsworth-ebook/dp/B004S2LVYA/ref=la_B006LTHMZK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405682556&sr=1-2" href="http://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Marilyn-Holdsworth-ebook/dp/B004S2LVYA/ref=la_B006LTHMZK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405682556&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Contemporary fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Holdsworth/e/B006LTHMZK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Holdsworth/e/B006LTHMZK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Marilyn Holdsworth on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.holdsworth.7" href="https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.holdsworth.7" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="http://twitter.com/m_holdsworth" href="http://twitter.com/m_holdsworth" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b>Website </b> </b><a data-mce-href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/" href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/" target="_blank">http://marilynholdsworth.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blog</b> <a data-mce-href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/blog/" href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/blog/" target="_blank">http://marilynholdsworth.com/blog/</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-13377264327234077252014-08-26T08:00:00.000-04:002014-09-08T08:47:21.807-04:00The Truth According to John Smith (#Microsoft Wars) by Roland Hughes #Fiction #Dystopian <div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: I ask again, what was the truth according to John Smith?</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Later in life, when people were counting the number of wells and
starting to not buy the “dead Dino” story, scientists made an even more
ludicrous claim. They claimed the jungle and forest, which covered all
of the land during the age of the dinosaur, was also decomposing and
creating large pools of oil.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: Why was this so ludicrous?</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS: Admittedly, plant and animal life will share <i>some</i> mineral content, and all things will create <i>some</i> kind
of goo when they reach that liquefying stage of decomposition.
However, I do find it a stretch that both would end up creating crude
oil, no matter how much heat and time were applied, unless crude is a
very tiny subset of minerals that survive decomposition. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Eventually,
scientists started claiming crude was caused by decaying plant and
animal life. I guess fish never played into the formula. Scientists
really had no choice. They had to explain to an increasingly skeptical
public why some crude was yellow and some black. Some crude was
fast-flowing liquid and other crude was a solid brick.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: I ask again, what was the truth according to John Smith?</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Crude oil is decomposing humans from earlier cycles. Each cycle lasts
an unbelievably long time, as far as human life is concerned. Humans,
by and large, have a need to build communities. As the cycle
progresses, these communities become cities of a massive scale. When
the earth shifts and heaves its continents around, these cities are
buried deep in a matter of hours, if not seconds. They are buried deep
without air or the nutrients needed for bacterial decomposition.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
steel eventually reverts back to iron and carbon; the concrete, to
limestone and sand. I’m not certain what happens to the glass other
than the fact it is crushed into pieces so tiny one wouldn’t notice them
coming up with the drilling mud. The humans and their pets,
though—they are crushed and eventually, the heat of the earth cooks them
into crude.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK:
That is a disgusting thing to say. We have one of those oil sites
oozing stuff out of the ground near our city! People use it for all
kinds of things.</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Humans are useful in a variety of forms. Have they invented a product
called petroleum jelly yet? It’s kind of greasy, helps cuts heal and
looks a lot like animal fat.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: Oh! I cannot believe I’m being forced to sit here and listen to this!</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS: Do you think I’m the first to point something like this out? I suppose you have never heard of cannibalism either?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: Another disgusting tale to frighten children!</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Oh no. It was real and existed in various forms around the globe.
Even in large cities, where everybody claimed it never happened, you
would see the occasional news report that someone had been arrested with
pieces of humans in their fridge or freezer. There was even a movie
about the earth running out of food and governments taking it upon
themselves to make cannibalism palatable to the masses.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: I simply cannot accept the premise anybody would believe such a story.</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
The story became a legend. They would simply herd people to different
areas of each city. One area would be selected for recycling. The
people would be processed and turned into little food squares of
“Soylent Green.” There were lots of different colors of food squares
made from the various forms of food still available but there wasn’t
enough to go around.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/johnSmith.jpg" /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“John
Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” is one big interview.
It is a transcript of a dialogue between “John Smith” (who, as the
title of the book implies is the last known survivor of the Microsoft
wars) and the interviewer for a prominent news organization.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Smith-Known-Survivor-Microsoft/dp/193973200X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-smith-roland-hughes/1102176003?ean=9781939732002" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">B&N</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Roland+Hughes&search-alias=books&text=Roland+Hughes&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://johnsmith-book.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-70oxuHXvWgcvombsi9GJmpfL5eA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://johnsmith-book.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089008091340942685.post-39547966856299597612014-08-23T09:00:00.000-04:002014-09-04T08:04:56.308-04:00INSIDE/OUTSIDE #Excerpt by @JennyHayworth1 #AmReading #Memoir <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
2004 I had commenced studying for my bachelor of nursing degree at
university. I completed nine units over a twelve-month period and then
decided it was not for me. When considering other careers, I decided to
transfer to social work as I was allowed to do eight subjects of another
discipline as part of the degree, so I wouldn’t have wasted a year of
study. However, the university had closed the midyear intake, and I did
not wish to wait until March the following year to commence studying. I
looked at psychology and transferred my nine subjects over to that
degree and commenced straightaway. I was living in a small town and
working part time at the local hospital as well as studying.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
read an advertisement in the local paper asking for volunteers. I had
not forgotten in the past years how many times the Lifeline counsellors
had been there for me in my darkest hours, and I was determined to give
back for all I had taken. It was an inner force driving me. I had always
known, from the first time I had been encouraged by the mental-health
support nurse to enrol and do the course, that I would return one day
and work on the phones. Now, looking at the advertisement in the paper, I
decided it was time.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
applied to do the telephone-counselling course and was accepted. During
the following three months, I completed 120 hours of role play
education and learnt the art of reflective listening. My journey of
personal growth at that time was extraordinary. Once again I felt in awe
of this agency, set up to help normal, everyday people help other
everyday people in distress. I loved the fact that it didn’t matter what
faith or belief you had; as long as you agreed with the foundation
principles, you could be trained to be a telephone counsellor.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
completed the course and loved every minute of it. I found much of it
challenging, as we had to learn to listen actively and reflectively and
support people who were suicidal, self-harming, or in dire need of a
listening ear for all different reasons. People who had been victims of
domestic violence or sexual assault, or who suffered from mental
illnesses, came and spoke to us, which personally challenged any
preconceptions and biases we might have held. I learnt so much from the
role playing and having a group reflect back to me about how I
performed. The feedback from others, on such things as tone of voice and
my effectiveness in how I used each of the skills we needed to learn,
was invaluable.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
learnt how I had to put aside my own experiences, background, and
preconceptions even if I had experienced some of the issues that clients
raised on the phone. I had to truly listen and be there with people, by
their sides, as they poured out their personal pain. I learnt so much
about myself and more importantly, about how to truly be with someone
else who was going through personal crises or was in emotional pain.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
passed the course and was approved to move on to practical experience
on the telephones. There were plenty of support people on hand to sit
with me for as long as I required. I found that knowing what had helped <i>me</i> the
most when I had been the one calling helped me now to a certain degree,
but the most important thing was to be fully available emotionally to
the person on the other end. The Egan method of counselling, which is
the basis of Lifeline training, is a person-centred therapy. The tools
they taught us in regard to how to listen and guide another actively
through the maze of often-conflicting options and emotions were
invaluable.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
encountered every situation you could think of in these few months.
Most who were suicidal had attempted suicide before and been in
hospital, or they felt suicidal and were in extreme emotional pain that
they didn’t feel they could share with their families or friends. Some
had actual suicidal plans, and yet something had made them ring instead
of carrying through with them at that particular time.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many
were just plain lonely to the bone and had no one to listen to them or
to talk with. I was surprised that just a hearing ear was what most
people wished for. Nearly all who phoned had no trouble talking, and
they let me know when they had talked enough, felt better and more able
to cope, and could carry on.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many
people said they had told secrets they had kept for years—things they
had done they were ashamed of and didn’t feel they could live with if
anyone found out, conflicted emotions about partners and children and
parents. They spoke about things they were scared to voice out loud to
those around them but needed to be heard and to say. They needed to have
a chance, in a safe place with a safe person they couldn’t see, to say
the words and work out their own path in the telling.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone had a story.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
particular night I went on my shift as usual. From the time the phone
rang and I picked up the call, I knew I had a young woman on the line
that was serious about taking her life.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Hello, Lifeline. How can I help you?” I answered.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
first there was only silence. I sat quietly listening as I had been
taught, and I could hear music in the background, and the soft sounds of
someone breathing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s okay, take your time. I am right here when you want to start talking.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
heard the sound of a deep intake of breath. Gulping, ragged sobs filled
the earpiece of my phone, and the sound of someone trying to suck back
in all the pain echoed in my ear. I could identify it was a female
crying although no words had been spoken by her yet.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I allowed about fifteen more seconds to go by whilst I listened to her crying.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You
don’t have to start at the beginning. Sometimes it’s too hard to know
where to start. It’s okay not to know,” I said. Sounds of more crying
filled my ear, louder now and less controlled. It was the sort of crying
that occurs when someone is absolutely bereft, exhausted, and in
despair. The wailing was coming from the depths of someone’s soul, the
sound of someone who had lost everything and had nothing remaining.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
allowed a few more seconds to go by until I heard a lull in the crying
as the person struggled to get their breath. “I am right here with you.
You are not alone,” I said. The wailing was less intense, and I could
tell she was listening to me. “I can hear you are in enormous emotional
pain. It is okay to cry. You’re not alone anymore.” I stayed quiet for a
few seconds. “What is your name?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Karen.” Sobs started slowly building up intensity again.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Karen, can you tell me what is happening for you right now? What made you pick up the phone and ring me tonight?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I
just want to die. I just want to die.” The female voice wailed loud and
high, frantic and nearly shouting. “I can’t do it anymore. It’s just
too hard. I just want to die. I can’t take anymore. It’s too much. It’s
all too much.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
identified exhaustion, slurring, lack of hope, and the clink of what
sounded like a glass. I pushed the “alert” button and, at the same time,
dialled the number for my supervisor on the mobile phone I had next to
me. I left the phone on the bench and kept talking.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Where are you right now? Are you at home?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Where is home, Karen?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It doesn’t matter. I want to die. I just want to die.” Her voice rose again to a crescendo.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Karen, have you been drinking?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Vodka.
It is my favourite drink. I’ve nearly finished the bottle.” Her voice
was slurring, and my concern elevated another notch as her ability to
self-moderate and respond to reasoning would be compromised. Suddenly
her voice slipped into the hushed sing-song tones of a little girl. It
was so soft, and her words so slurred, I was finding it hard to pick up
the meaning of what she was saying.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m touching me. I’m touching me. Oh, there’s blood all over everywhere. I can taste it.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soft
moaning filled the air. The strains of music in the background muffled
her voice. “Daddy, Daddy. Oh, I am so turned on. Why are you doing this
to me? Why?” Her moans changed to a high-pitched sob, and her gulp for
breath filled my ear.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Karen, are you cutting yourself?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes. There is blood everywhere. I am going to die. I want to die.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Karen,
can you please put the knife or razor down whilst you are talking to
me? Karen, have you put down what you are cutting yourself with? I need
you to put it down whilst you talk to me.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Karen,
I hear that you want to die. I believe you. But part of you picked up
the phone and rang me tonight. Part of you must want to live, as you
rang me tonight. I need to talk to that part of you that wants to live.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No,
I want to die.” Her voice suddenly changed back to that of an adult.
“All of me wants to die. I can’t take it anymore. My daughters will be
better off with me dead. I’m no good to them. They should stay with
their father all the time. They would be better off. I am useless to
them.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I
hear you say you believe your daughters will be better off with you
dead. I hear you say you want to die.” I allowed a few seconds’ silence.
Her breathing was noisy and raspy. “Why did you ring me tonight, Karen?
Why did you ring me on the night you want to die?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
voice, interlaced with sobs, shouted down the phone at me. “Because I’m
scared. I don’t want to be alone when I die. I want someone with me.” I
waited a few seconds until her loud, frantic sobs started to die down.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I
hear you’re scared, Karen. Karen, if I could wave a magic wand and take
all your emotional pain away, would you still want to die? If all the
emotional pain was gone, would you still want to die?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No,
but you can’t. No one can. I’ve tried. I’ve tried everything, and
nothing works. This is going to work. It is all going to end tonight.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Tell me about your emotional pain, Karen. Tell me why it feels so bad.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everything
else in the room and in my life ceased to exist except for her voice,
her words, her story, and the phone against my ear. I tried to stay with
her as she went to some dark places and took me with her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
was currently separated and had two young daughters. They lived with
her full time, but this weekend they were staying with their father. She
said he was a good father, and her daughters enjoyed going. She
sometimes spoke in a normal-sounding voice and then would switch to a
voice that sounded like a little girl’s as she regressed in time and was
living a reality back from when she was a child. She was drinking vodka
as we spoke and sometimes masturbating. She kept on picking up the
razor and cutting herself. She was in her bedroom with loud music
playing whilst she was cutting the top of her leg deep down to her
femoral artery.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She wanted to die.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
had made up her mind that it would happen this weekend, and her
ex-husband would find her on the Monday morning after he had dropped
their daughters at school and come around to drop off their gear. She
was a victim of long and sustained childhood sexual abuse by her father.
She kept drifting in and out of consciousness toward the end of the
call. She was in an altered reality because of emotional pain,
intoxication, and sedatives and was cutting and masturbating to try to
alleviate some of her tension while stating she wanted to die. Her
memories of childhood and adult emotional pain intermingled.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My
supervisor had come in and had called the police in the caller’s area
twice already. Unfortunately, as police had taken her suicidal to
hospital some months previously, they were in no hurry to get to her.
They were prioritising other calls, not realising the seriousness of the
situation. This was not an unusual situation for us on the phones. Many
police were escorts for the mentally ill and suicidal, taking them to
hospital, and most had regulars in their areas that they got to know
well. This sometimes made them act with less urgency.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However,
my supervisor kept ringing and conveying to them that I was an
experienced counsellor, and she trusted my instinct that this girl was
actively attempting to suicide and would bleed to death if no one
reached her soon. All my gut instinct was screaming out to me that this
was so. I channelled all my energy and every fibre of my being down that
phone to her; I was a hundred percent focused on trying to say the
right words to convey to her to live and not to die, and that I was
there for her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
appealed to her as a fellow human being, through her daughters, through
the young self she kept slipping into, that there was hope, there was a
reason to live, there was a way out of this pain, there was a way to
have the emotional pain stop and end without her having to die. She
wanted the emotional pain to end, but that didn’t mean her life had to
end. Her daughters would not be better off with her dead. When she
didn’t have the emotional pain to deal with, she could be there for
them. She could be the mother she wanted to be. She could build a new
life once the pain was gone. She could trust people again.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
asked her what had happened this particular weekend that was the final
straw that had made her decide to kill herself. She had received a bill
in the mail that she said she could not pay. It was added to the other
bills, and it was the breaking point for her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
was all too much. She had no one to share her pain with or to support
her through her marriage breakup, being a mother, or her own abuse
memories that were flooding her now that she was on her own. She did not
feel she could cope as an adult in this world any longer. She did not
feel she could be an adequate parent and role model for her daughters
when she could barely get out of bed each day. She didn’t want them to
see her like this. She didn’t want to frighten them. She was starting to
behave in ways she did not like. She felt they would be better off
without her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
tried to ask her what had helped her get through these times in the
past, when she had previously been this distressed and suicidal. But it
was nearly impossible to reason as an adult with her when her
rationality was not in charge, and her younger, seemingly emotional self
was in charge.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
therefore said that Karen the adult needed to look after Karen the
child. Her child self didn’t need to be cut and hurt. Her child self
didn’t need sexual stimulation when she was drunk and scared. Her child
self needed the adult Karen who had rung Lifeline to put down the razor,
put down the alcohol, and just let her sleep, let her lie down and
rest, as she had been through enough.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
stopped talking, and I no longer knew if she was conscious. I just kept
talking and talking, hoping she could hear me and hoping something I
was saying in a calm, soothing, nonjudgmental voice was getting through
to her.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
police arrived at the house; I could hear through the phone that they
were breaking down the door. One of the police picked up the phone and
started talking to me. He said she had cut down to the artery, and it
looked like she had nicked it. There was blood everywhere. She was
unconscious, but the paramedics had arrived, and they were taking her to
the hospital.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was so relieved.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
hung up the phone, and suddenly there was just silence where there had
been intense energy and focus. All the energy just drained out of me,
and I felt myself start to shake. She was alive. She was going to make
it—for that night anyway. I prayed and hoped someone at the hospital
would relate to her and help her. That she would find a doctor or
therapist who could help her find a way out of the maze and trap she had
found herself in with no hope.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On
the way home, in the dark and quiet, I suddenly had to pull my car
over. I thanked the whole universe for letting me be the one to sit with
Karen during her pain, for the police and paramedics who had gone to
her assistance, and for the doctors and nurses who would be attending to
her. I had intensely related to her. I understood her switching between
her child self and adult self. I understood her use of masturbation and
alcohol to try to alleviate the intense aloneness and emotional pain. I
understood the cutting and thumping music for the same reasons.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then
I just sat in the dark, in the stillness and the silence, and with my
whole heart wished and prayed she would find a way in the coming weeks
and months through her emotional pain so she could find a reason to live
again and be wholly there for her daughters as she grew older. As
people had been there for me when I was at my lowest.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
felt something click together in my head and heart. It was a physical
sensation and a feeling of completeness that washed over me. Something
closed up in me that I had not realised until then had still been open. A
feeling of fullness and wholeness filled me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
prayed to the universe to watch over the young woman, and in my mind’s
eye I handed over the responsibility for her healing and destiny to the
universe. I trusted that her journey and mine had collided for a reason,
but that reason was completed now. I let go of her figurative hand. I
felt the anxiety connected to what might have been happening with her
leave me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
started the car again and drove home. I felt deep within my bones that I
had fulfilled a karmic debt, and the circle was complete.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was released.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/insideOutside.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">***Award winning book (finalist) in 2014 Beverley Hills International Book Awards***</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jenny
Hayworth grew up within the construct of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which
she describes as a fundamentalist cult-like religion. She devoted her
life to it for over thirty years. Then she left it. The church
“unfellowshipped” her-rendering her dead to those family and friends
still committed to the church.Hayworth is a sexual abuse survivor. The
trauma changed her self-perception, emotional development, trust, and
every interaction with the world.</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Inside/Outside
is her exploration of sexual abuse, religious fundamentalism, and
recovery. Her childhood circumstances and tragedies forced her to live
“inside.” This memoir chronicles her journey from experiencing comfort
and emotional satisfaction only within her fantasy world to developing
the ability to feel and express real life emotion on the “outside.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
is a story that begins with tragic multigenerational abuse, within an
oppressive society, and ends with hope and rebirth into a life where she
experiences real connections and satisfaction with the outside world.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those
who have ever felt trapped by trauma or circumstances will find
Inside/Outside a dramatic reassurance that they are not alone in the
world, and they have the ability to have a fulfilling life, both inside
and out.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Foreward
Clarion Review – “What keeps the pages of Hayworth’s life story turning
is her honesty, tenacity, and sheer will to survive through an
astounding number of setbacks. Inside/Outside proves the resilience of
the human spirit and shows that the cycle of abuse can indeed be broken”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkus
Review – “A harrowing memoir of one woman’s struggle to cope with
sexual abuse and depression while living in – and eventually leaving –
the Jehovah’s Witnesses”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Readers Favourite 5 Star Review – “The book is an inspiring story for those who are going through traumatic times…”</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Outside-Womans-Recovery-Religious-ebook/dp/B00I08IY3E/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-3&qid=1390284848&tag=booaremag-20" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jenny-Hayworth/e/B00HWV6K8Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Jenny Hayworth on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Hayworth/201860833330961" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="http://twitter.com/JennyHayworth1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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