From Danielle’s blog:
We all leave our “footprint” on the world, in one way or another. We each, individually, do something or are someone that makes the world a little better just by being here. I created this weekly meme to get to know the blogging community I love just a bit better. To know what makes them tick, outside of books, that is. Each week I will post a question to be answered in the following week’s “A Bit of Me(Me)”. Check back each Saturday to get the info for next week’s post and link up with your current post right here.
This week’s question: What’s your earliest memory?

  S. J. Parris returns with the next Giordano Bruno mystery, set inside Queen Elizabeth’s palace and steeped in period atmospherics and the strange workings of the occult.
  It is the year of the Great Conjunction, when the two most powerful planets, Jupiter and Saturn, align—an astrologi­cal phenomenon that occurs once every thousand years and heralds the death of one age and the dawn of another. The streets of London are abuzz with predictions of horrific events to come, possibly even the death of Queen Elizabeth.
  When several of the queen’s maids of honor are found dead, rumors of black magic abound. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the crimes. While Dee turns to a mysterious medium claiming knowledge of the murders, Bruno fears that some­thing far more sinister is at work. But even as the climate of fear at the palace intensifies, the queen refuses to believe that the killer could be someone within her own court.
  Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to give the queen the proof she needs without putting her, England, or his own life in danger?
  In this utterly gripping and gorgeously written novel, S. J. Parris has proven herself the new master of the historical thriller.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS
  BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU
  RETWEETED THIS GIVEAWAY (LEAVE LINK).

*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
agent and/or author. This blog hosts the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed



In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

MY QUESTION:

Are you following the Casey Anthony Murder Trial

and if so, have you decided on guilt or innocent ?

MY ANSWER:

Yes.  I have been following this from when Caylee

went missing and think that the mother is guilty.

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!
Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

This week’s question:

This week’s question:
“Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!”

My answer:
Most definitely it is an event I host every Sunday called Sunday’s Shining Star.  Each week I showcase a book blogger, which they have answered a previous questionnaire that I sent them.  When I first started blogging, my mentor told me that “the best bloggers were book bloggers” and right she was.  And it has taken on a life of it’s own.  It is now like a weekly “get together” where we have virtual coffee and pastry and just gab.  Lori from Dollycas’s Thoughts was my first guest and her husband made the mistake (in a fun way) of calling our weekly visit our “hen party”.  Well…from there it went to a “hot chick get together and Jeff (her hubby) has been part of our virtual visits whereas he delivers the pastry, even though he eats some on the way, or when we travel, he carries the luggage.  And then Lori decided to add my hubby, Steve, into the party.  It is such a fun event that I look forward to.  If you haven’t stopped by, please do.  Or if you would like to be showcased or would like to see a blogger showcased, please contact me. HERE.

  S. J. Parris returns with the next Giordano Bruno mystery, set inside Queen Elizabeth’s palace and steeped in period atmospherics and the strange workings of the occult.
  It is the year of the Great Conjunction, when the two most powerful planets, Jupiter and Saturn, align—an astrologi­cal phenomenon that occurs once every thousand years and heralds the death of one age and the dawn of another. The streets of London are abuzz with predictions of horrific events to come, possibly even the death of Queen Elizabeth.
  When several of the queen’s maids of honor are found dead, rumors of black magic abound. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the crimes. While Dee turns to a mysterious medium claiming knowledge of the murders, Bruno fears that some­thing far more sinister is at work. But even as the climate of fear at the palace intensifies, the queen refuses to believe that the killer could be someone within her own court.
  Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to give the queen the proof she needs without putting her, England, or his own life in danger?
  In this utterly gripping and gorgeously written novel, S. J. Parris has proven herself the new master of the historical thriller.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS
  BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU
  RETWEETED THIS GIVEAWAY (LEAVE LINK).

*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
agent and/or author. This blog hosts the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed



In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

MY QUESTION:

Are you following the Casey Anthony Murder Trial

and if so, have you decided on guilt or innocent ?

MY ANSWER:

Yes.  I have been following this from when Caylee

went missing and think that the mother is guilty.

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!
Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

This week’s question:

This week’s question:
“Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!”

My answer:
Most definitely it is an event I host every Sunday called Sunday’s Shining Star.  Each week I showcase a book blogger, which they have answered a previous questionnaire that I sent them.  When I first started blogging, my mentor told me that “the best bloggers were book bloggers” and right she was.  And it has taken on a life of it’s own.  It is now like a weekly “get together” where we have virtual coffee and pastry and just gab.  Lori from Dollycas’s Thoughts was my first guest and her husband made the mistake (in a fun way) of calling our weekly visit our “hen party”.  Well…from there it went to a “hot chick get together and Jeff (her hubby) has been part of our virtual visits whereas he delivers the pastry, even though he eats some on the way, or when we travel, he carries the luggage.  And then Lori decided to add my hubby, Steve, into the party.  It is such a fun event that I look forward to.  If you haven’t stopped by, please do.  Or if you would like to be showcased or would like to see a blogger showcased, please contact me. HERE.

Visiting us today is a very distinguished, busy, talented and debut author who has recently received the Nautilus Silver Book Award for The Collectibles.  Please help me welcome The Honorable James Kaufman.

The Collectibles, his debut novel, draws heavily from his experiences in law, his dealings in the business world, and his interactions with people from widely different backgrounds. Kaufman lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with his wife, Patty. He is currently working on writing his second novel.

In addition to his writing, Kaufman is CEO of The Kaufman Group, Ltd, a company that assists financially troubled businesses across the United States through strategic turnarounds. Mr. Kaufman is also a member of the Board of Imaging The World (ITW), a not-for-profit health care company delivering ultrasound services to Uganda and other underserved populations, and in the process saving many lives.
You can visit his website at: http://www.jamesjkaufman.com/

Readers often tell me how much they appreciate the characters in my book. Many have said they have thought about the characters long after they finished the book. Some men have told me they would like to be more like Joe. Others have asked why did Joe befriend the people he did? Why did he pick those people as “Collectibles”? In one way or another, people who have read my book were moved by the characters.

The story starts with two central characters, Joe and Preston. We meet them as 15-year old boys from different worlds who make life defining promises. These pledges become the common thread intertwining their lives. Joe promised himself as an orphaned teenager, that he would be uncommon. Now in his 40’s, highly regarded for his professional achievements, Joe has reached a pinnacle. Then tragedy strikes.

A child of wealth and privilege from New York’s Upper East Side, Preston’s financial empire is falling apart. He finds himself in middle age, unable to keep his teenage vow to avoid the failures of his father. When Preston seeks an attorney who can save him, he finds Joe, who accepts the challenge but only after extracting a promise that Preston will fulfill an unspecified condition when called upon in the future.

Joe calls in his unconventional IOU. The self-absorbed Preston balks when Joe tells him he must meet, earn the trust of and care for several people, each of whom has a serious personal challenge and none of whom Preston would ever want to know. These “Collectibles” include Johnny, a mentally-challenged dishwasher, Tommy, a gambler, Missy, a battered wife Vegas showgirl, Corey, an elderly yacht maker suffering from Alzheimer’s, and Harry, a bi-polar photographer.

Can Preston meet the challenge? Who are the people that will influence Preston and will his relationship with them become the bridge leading to his self discovery and change? The “Collectibles” and other characters in the novel all play a part in Preston’s journey. In creating these characters, I drew upon my own experiences with a wide variety of people and a broad range of business and legal experience. I have come to know these characters well, in the court room, in the world of business, and throughout life.

A child of wealth and privilege from New York’s Upper East Side, Preston Wilson harbors a fear of financial failure. When that fear threatens to become reality, Preston tracks down the one attorney who might be able to save him. Joe reluctantly decides to help—but only after extracting a promise that Preston will fulfill an unspecified condition when called upon. Preston, desperate, agrees.

Too soon, Joe calls in his unconventional IOU. The self-absorbed Preston balks when Joe tells him he must meet, earn the trust of and care for several people. Each of Joe’s “collectibles” –none of whom Preston would ever want to know—has a serious personal challenge. Can Preston find the integrity to make good on his promise to Joe? Does he have a choice?