Laina Turner-Molaski is  business woman, mom, author, Professor and a major supportr of shopping.  She has an undying love for shoes and coffee, which is why she created her min character and lter-ego Presley Thurman.

With a lot of letters after her name and a ton of student loan debt, she is always working to pay the bills.  While she enjoys her day job, her passion is writing, and she uses a lot of company time writing her fiction or working on her social website for women, Chiczogtrnic.com.  She us hopinhg to sell her book before she gets fired from her day job for goofing off.

Laina is currently living in Indianam with her family, and is always writing something, whether it’s blogs, articles, business, journals and books or ideas for her next novel.  She is cntinuously doing what she loves which is writing or drinking coffee.
You can visit her website here:  http://www.lainaturner.com/

Who am I? It kind of depends on the day. I am a human compendium of unrelated things. I used to think I was just weird, had shiny ball syndrome and couldn’t focus, scattered, you name it. Then I decided it was OK to be all over the place as long as each avenue I wanted to explore had meaning and purpose or was fun. So I embrace the fact I am a college professor (Go Capella), a writer of fiction and non-fiction, promoter of other authors, human resource professional, business consultant, and all around interesting person (according to my closest friends).

There is so much I want to accomplish before I die and it isn’t going to happen if I do things one at a time. In 2011 it’s my goal is to accomplish the following things:
1. My official iPhone app launch (that in itself has raised my coolness factor at least 20 points according to my kids)
2. Official release of Chiczofrenia – crazy is an art form
3. Release of But It’s my Business iPhone app and website
4. Get in shape and look hot for when I turn 40 in June
5. Go to Europe or Australia or Rio de Janeiro for my 40th birthday
6. Release of Fragments by Tracy Bull, the first book published by my publishing company, Five Seas Ink, that’s not mine.
7. Release of the Multiple Sclerosis awareness iPhone app, website, and book
8. Release of the novel, Don’t Write in my Notebook
9. Release of the 2nd Presley Thurman novel – title TBD
10. Meet Eminem
….and that’s just to name a few. It’s going to keep me busy and hopefully out of trouble. Well, maybe.

When I’m not working toward my goals I like, ok fine, LOVE wine, coffee, shopping, and books. I enjoy my kids, they are awesome. I hate the cold but yet live in the mid-west. Vegas is one of my favorite spots as I love to people watch and if I ever get married again it will definitely be in a drive through chapel by a fake Elvis.

Who was I last year

BIO 2010
Laina Turner-Molaski is a business woman, mom, author, Professor, and a major supporter of shopping. She has an undying love for shoes and coffee, which is why she created her main character and alter-ego Presley Thurman.

With a lot of letters after her name and a ton of student loan debt, she is always working to pay the bills. While she enjoys her day job, her passion is writing, and she uses a lot of company time writing her fiction or working on her social website for women, Chiczofrenic.com. She is hoping to sell her book before she gets fired from her day job for goofing off.

Laina is currently living in Indiana, with her family, and is always writing something, whether it’s blogs, articles, business journals and books or ideas for her next novel. She is continuously doing what she loves which is writing or drinking coffee.

Synopsis (borrowed from B&N)
Presley Thurman, a sassy, thirty-something red-head, was looking to reinvent herself. She didn’t allow the fact she was recently fired to bother her – she was ready to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Presley is a lover of shopping and Starbucks, and even though she sometimes had bad taste in men, she always had great taste in clothes. Not looking back on corporate America, Presley decided to follow her dream. With her feisty nature and a spirit to not “sweat the small stuff,” she was ready to tackle any challenge (even if she had no idea how she would pay the bills). When her friend Trevor offered her a job with his online magazine to interview public figures, she jumped at the chance. However, the new job turned into something unexpected when the U.S. Senator she was slated to write about was murdered – in her home town! Presley was excited – she hadn’t seen so much buzz since the spring sample sale at Saks. She was ready for this adventure, even if it didn’t seem to fit neatly into her life. She couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in the middle of the buzz. Presley was determined (not to mention curious) to find the killer and write her story. After all, she couldn’t afford her shoe habit without a job and she was certainly not one to shy away from danger. The only thing standing in her way was an old high school fling, Cooper Sands, head of the Senator’s security. He was not actually standing in her way, but because of his good looks, he was the biggest distraction and one she was having the hardest time overcoming. Cooper felt it was too dangerous for Presley to look for a killer and tried to distract her with reliving the past; which Presley found more dangerous than any killer. While she attempted to resist Cooper’s good looks and charm, Presley was able to discover the Senator’s wife, Helen, had been having an affair… with her best friend’s boyfriend! Did Helen kill the Senator? Or was it the Senator’s love of gambling that got him killed? And what was Cooper’s secret tie to the mob boss Garrison Palazzo? Presley was betting her favorite pair of Manolo’s she will find the killer… but will time run out!
DON’T MISS OUT:
Visit the secret Nurturz Tour Book Special page to get your paperback copy of Stilettos & Scoundrels for $5.00 or your Kindle copy for $1.90.

Don’t miss out on these fantastic savings!
Be sure to use secret access/key code: 134438
For the most recent updates in the book tour schedule, please visit the author’s book tour page at: http://nurtureyourbooks.com/vbtblog/?p=317



*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 @WHAT NAME .

*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

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Children had always been powerless, but never more than now when, despite Merell’s intelligence, she possessed nothing with which to defend herself.
  “You’ll never be sent to a foster home, Merell, I promise you that.  You’re surrounded by people who love you.  Nothing bad will happen to you or your sisters.”

  Mourning the recent loss of his mother, twentysome­thing Benicio—aka Benny—travels to Manila to reconnect with his estranged father, Howard. But when he arrives his father is nowhere to be found—leaving an irri­tated son to conclude that Howard has let him down for the umpteenth time. However, his father has actually been kid­napped by a meth-addled cabdriver, with grand plans to sell him to local terrorists as bait in the country’s never-ending power struggle between insurgents, separatists, and “demo­cratic” muscle.
  Benicio’s search for Howard reveals more about his father’s womanizing ways and suspicious business deals, reopening the old hurts that he’d hoped to mend. Interspersed with the son’s inquiry and the father’s calamitous life in captivity are the high-octane interconnecting narratives of Reynato Ocampo, the local celebrity-hero policeman charged with rescuing Howard; Ocampo’s ragtag team of wizardry-infused soldiers; and Monique, a novice officer at the American embassy whose family still feels feverishly unmoored in the Philippines.
  With blistering forward momentum, crackling dialogue, wonderfully bizarre turns, and glimpses into both Filipino and expat culture, the novel marches toward a stunning cli­max, which ultimately challenges our conventional ideas of family and identity and introduces Yates as a powerful new voice in contemporary literature.

*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.

*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

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.
According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
                     Monday                                    Tuesday                               Friday

  Mourning the recent loss of his mother, twentysome­thing Benicio—aka Benny—travels to Manila to reconnect with his estranged father, Howard. But when he arrives his father is nowhere to be found—leaving an irri­tated son to conclude that Howard has let him down for the umpteenth time. However, his father has actually been kid­napped by a meth-addled cabdriver, with grand plans to sell him to local terrorists as bait in the country’s never-ending power struggle between insurgents, separatists, and “demo­cratic” muscle.
  Benicio’s search for Howard reveals more about his father’s womanizing ways and suspicious business deals, reopening the old hurts that he’d hoped to mend. Interspersed with the son’s inquiry and the father’s calamitous life in captivity are the high-octane interconnecting narratives of Reynato Ocampo, the local celebrity-hero policeman charged with rescuing Howard; Ocampo’s ragtag team of wizardry-infused soldiers; and Monique, a novice officer at the American embassy whose family still feels feverishly unmoored in the Philippines.
  With blistering forward momentum, crackling dialogue, wonderfully bizarre turns, and glimpses into both Filipino and expat culture, the novel marches toward a stunning cli­max, which ultimately challenges our conventional ideas of family and identity and introduces Yates as a powerful new voice in contemporary literature.

*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.

*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

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.
According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
                     Monday                                    Tuesday                               Friday

I would like to explain how this came to fruition. Hubby and I were having a discussion about the old days, (for the young’ens reading this..a little history lesson) but before the dark age. When Sundays were special and had traditions and rituals. Sunday mornings Church, come home to a big gravy (sauce) cooking on the stove, a big Sunday dinner, then either off to visit relatives/friends or wait for relatives/friends to drop by. We would spend the afternoon sitting around the table, talking, catching up, having coffee, pizza, calzones, etc etc, dessert. And now, how sad, all those traditions are gone. And then I got to thinking, why not have something similar here on my blog. This past year, I have met so many amazing and wonderful people (some I now call friends) through blogging, and how I am in awe of what they do and accomplish. How much respect I have for them, for their honesty, integrity, credibility and so enjoy when a bit of their personality shines through. So every Sunday, here at my place, the coffee will be on, the dessert is on the table and friends will be stopping by. And I will be rolling out the red carpet for my Sunday Shining Star Blogger guest.

I was told when I first found this community of book blogging that “book bloggers were the nicest bloggers there are” and I have never forgotten those words. And over the past year, I have truly met the nicest people. I also believe, even though we live behind a screen, a bit of our personality shines through. That is one of the reasons I am having so much fun with this weekly event, and hoping you are too, because we are getting to know those “nicest bloggers” around and about bloggyland a little bit better.

Hi everyone!!  I’m so glad our Sunday sessions are back because I honestly missed our weekly “gab sessions”.  I know that they say, at least here in New England that it is Spring but I haven’t seen many signs of it, but then that gives us more time to sit around visiting instead of being outdoors enjoying the weather.  However,  the “boys”Jeff (Lori’s hubby aka Dollycas’s Thoughts) and Steve (my hubby) might be late in delivering the pastry as I overheard something about a round of golf!!!

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing a newbie to our community.  She contacted me not that long ago with so much enthusiasm and many questions (which I love) and has put together a beautiful blog.  I am excited to get to know her and hope you do too.  Today our guest is REBECCA from CONFESSIONS OF A PAGE TURNER.

Awww, thank you so much, Cheryl!! I can’t believe how kind and welcoming the book blogging community has been…I’m so honored to be a part of it! I’m thrilled that you have so graciously agreed to mentor me…I’m sure I will have questions along the way! I will definitely be keeping up with your blog frequently as well :).

When and why did you start blogging?
A dear friend of mine began a personal blog when her first baby was born, and urged me to create a personal blog of my own. Once I did, I realized how much fun blogging could be and started wondering what other kind of blogs were out there. As soon as I did some searching, I realized that there was this incredible book blogging community out there, sharing about their love of literature and I knew right away that I wanted to be a part of it! It has taken me awhile to get started because I was such a novice when it came to technology and computer lingo. But fortunately, after a lot of determination and devotion, I think I’ve started a blog that will be interesting and a lot of fun not only for me, but for my followers as well!

Name of blog?
I wanted something that was unique and catchy! Confessions of a Page Turner just popped into my head one day and was approved by the hubby! 🙂 It’s kind of a play on words…My “confessions” on the books which I read, but also the page turner’s (books) themselves who are divulging their secrets and lessons to us. It also sounded kinda girly, and I’m all girl!

Content of blog?
Books, books, and more wonderful books! With some movie reviews thrown in now and then for good measure.

Genres?
When it comes to books, I like a little bit of everything. Variety is the spice of life so they say! I do of course have my favorites, which are fantasy and historical fiction. My love of fantasy began when my dad read The Hobbit out loud to my sister and I when we were little and ever since then, it’s had a place in my heart. I also still cry sometimes over the fact that there will be no more Harry Potter books haha! I really think my blog will have a little bit for everyone, though. Look for reviews on everything from YA to mystery to non-fiction.

Advice for new bloggers?
Well, I’m a newbie myself, but what I’ve learned so far is that you just have to have patience. I started out as a total novice not even really being sure what a blog was! Now, I’m getting lots of great feedback on my very own blog and reviews! Also, reach out to other more established bloggers. It never hurts to ask questions and you will be amazed at how friendly and eager to help many bloggers are!

Things to know about me:

1. I was born and grew up in Ohio…It really is the heartland of America. Filled with quaint towns, and people who are the salt of the Earth. And yes, there is more than just cornfields there! 🙂

2. My husband is a medical resident and we are currently living in Oklahoma while he finishes his residency. We hope to relocate soon so he can set up his practice in either Maine or New Hampshire…I’m excited about living near the sea and seeing that incredible New England fall foliage you always hear about!

3. I’m an aspiring writer! I’m currently at work on two books. My dream is that maybe one day someone will be reviewing my books!

4. I like sparkly things.

5. Hubby and I have two “literary” dogs, Zeddicus and Atlas. Zedd or Zeddy as he likes to be called is named after the wizard in Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. Atlas is named after the book, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

6. I adore the scent of roses.

7. I think I might be addicted to chai tea!

8. I watch the pbs version of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea once a year…it’s like comfort food for the soul!

9. My favorite quote is: Life is the greatest fairytale of all by Hans Christian Anderson

10. I’m the proud aunt of a new baby girl, Adeline Frances!

Rebecca, welcome to the wonderful world of book blogging.  I am sure you are going to meet fantastic and create fabulous friendships.  I am also sure, now that you have been introduced into this neighborhood, and told us that your dream of being an aspiring writer, there will be a line of bloggers who would love to review your books.  You are right, ask questions, they will be answered.  The best advice my mentor gave me was just that.  Thank you for sharing with us today and being my guest.  I believe that you are a rising Shining Star in the awesome world of book blogging.