Author: CMash

An avid reader for many years. Married for 31 years with 2 fantastic adult sons who I am so very proud of with great gfs. Am disabled. Found this wonderful community of book blogging in approximately December 2009 and have loved every minute of it. Am now a reviewer for authors, publishers, publicists, etc. And am also a partner in a Virtual PR tour company, Partners In Crime Tours for authors of novels of mystery, suspense and crime (www.Partnersincrimetours.net)

W.W.W. Wednesdays

WEDNESDAY
Photobucket
Photobucket
A couple of announcements before getting to today’s meme.(this was predrafted Tuesday evening for a “just in case” situation and will be published as a “scheduled post” since this corner of the world is expecting a blizzard around midnight with high winds).
One, is that late yesterday afternoon, as New England was preparing for a Nor’easter, I was feeling warm and fuzzy again, due to a very kind blogger.  Teacher/Learner from  Whatcha Readin’, Books?: A Teacher/Learner’… Blog presented me with this award:
Photobucket
Thank you so much for thinking that my blog is stylish, it means a lot to me.  I am, however, going to take the liberty of passing on the rules, since I just did this 2 days ago and don’t want to bore you all again.  But Thank you Teacher/Learner from the bottom of my heart.  And please, take the time and stop by her blog and say hi!! 
And, as I mentioned, New England is preparing for another Nor’easter whereas, EMA, State Officials have already had Press Conferences, announcing closings of businesses, roads, bridges, schools, etc etc with anticipation of 1+ feet of snow and high winds, which could mean power outages across the state.  Thank goodness for books and candles, so I’m all set.  But if it’s quiet from this corner of the blogosphere, you will know why.  I will be curled up, with my warm throw, a hot chocolate, and my current read!!
Photobucket
Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading
What are you currently reading?
Galley

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?
ARC-Monthly Guarantees

Teaser Tuesday

TUESDAY
Photobucket

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

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!

When the doors on the Land Rover suddenly open, one at a time, and the silhouettes of two men appear–one tall and thin, the other short and stocky–both packing shotguns, she knows she’s reached the proverbial point of no going back.
Photobucket
by Vincent Zandri (galley) page 10

Teaser Tuesday

TUESDAY
Photobucket

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

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!

When the doors on the Land Rover suddenly open, one at a time, and the silhouettes of two men appear–one tall and thin, the other short and stocky–both packing shotguns, she knows she’s reached the proverbial point of no going back.
Photobucket
by Vincent Zandri (galley) page 10

Help is on the way!!!

Now that ball has dropped and everyone has watched 2011 be ushered in, still trying to get used to writing 11 instead of 10, and more importantly saying, OMG!!!! I signed up for how many challenges?”  Well………

need help
I found another mini challenge, ( I know, just what you needed) but this is a Read-A-Thon via Bev’s blog, My Reader’s Block, and thought I would share it with all of you.  I have already signed up and hope to get a lot of reading done, at least until Bloggiesta starts, because Gina from Hott Books felt that I needed to do this challenge too.
Here is the info for the Read-A-Thon:
  Michelle from The True Book Addict is hosting.
Photobucket

The read-a-thon is one week away and I’m super excited…can’t wait for an excuse to sit around and read! I don’t care what needs to be done around the house (aside from my writing goals). I’m going to read, read, read! Here are the dates and times for the read-a-thon: Monday, January 17 at 12 am until Sunday, January 23 at 11:59 pm (adjust your time zone as appropriate…I’m on central time). As I’m pretty sure there are no other read-a-thons that week (I checked and double checked so as to not intrude on someone else’s event), we will be using #readathon hashtag on Twitter. I would really appreciate any help in spreading the word. Also, if there are any bloggers and/or authors out there who would like to host a mini-challenge/giveaway during the event, please email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom. Also, please email me or leave a comment if you have any questions. You can sign up and participate at any time during the read-a-thon…this is a flexible event. I hope you will join me for a week of reading fun!

My first of 2011 !!!

It is freezing here in New England, and as I sit at my desk dressed in sweats AND a sweater, with a Yankee Candle burning (today it’s Sparkling Vanilla–hubby’s favorite), surrounded by my books, the heat cranked and I still feel like an ice cube

until a few minutes ago when I received a comment on my blog.  Have you guessed why?  Yup…that’s right…it’s that warm and fuzzy feeling when one of our peers inform us that they have an award for us.  And not only has Zakiya from Butterfly Feet Walking On Life has presented me with this honor, it is my first award for 2011 !!  If you haven’t visited her blog before, please take a minute, stop by, say hi and tell her CMash sent you.  The award is:
Photobucket
Thank you so much Zakiya!!!  I still get excited as much as I did when I accepted my first award!!
And now for the criteria: (which I will be taking some liberties with, as we all know that accepting and passing on awards take quite a bit of time and with Challenges just starting, we should all be reading  lol).
1) Thank the person who gave you the award, and link back to them in your post.

2) Tell us seven (7) 5 things about yourself.
3) Award 15  5 super-stylish bloggers this award 😀
4) Contact those bloggers and let them know they have won.
OK…Warning…Boring part coming up…you have my permission to skip this part!!!
  1.)  I am a homebody at heart
  2.)  I hibernate in the winter..I despise the cold.
  3.)  As stated above, I do my part by keeping Yankee Candle in business.  I have a candle burning every day.
  4.)  It amazes me that hubby and I will be married for 30 years come April, where did the time go?
  5.)  We thought we would have a hard time accepting the fact that we were going to be empty nesters, that lasted about 3 days and now we are loving it  lol.
And now I pass the torch to the following, in no particular order:

Gina from Hott Books

Help is on the way!!!

Now that ball has dropped and everyone has watched 2011 be ushered in, still trying to get used to writing 11 instead of 10, and more importantly saying, OMG!!!! I signed up for how many challenges?”  Well………

need help
I found another mini challenge, ( I know, just what you needed) but this is a Read-A-Thon via Bev’s blog, My Reader’s Block, and thought I would share it with all of you.  I have already signed up and hope to get a lot of reading done, at least until Bloggiesta starts, because Gina from Hott Books felt that I needed to do this challenge too.
Here is the info for the Read-A-Thon:
  Michelle from The True Book Addict is hosting.
Photobucket

The read-a-thon is one week away and I’m super excited…can’t wait for an excuse to sit around and read! I don’t care what needs to be done around the house (aside from my writing goals). I’m going to read, read, read! Here are the dates and times for the read-a-thon: Monday, January 17 at 12 am until Sunday, January 23 at 11:59 pm (adjust your time zone as appropriate…I’m on central time). As I’m pretty sure there are no other read-a-thons that week (I checked and double checked so as to not intrude on someone else’s event), we will be using #readathon hashtag on Twitter. I would really appreciate any help in spreading the word. Also, if there are any bloggers and/or authors out there who would like to host a mini-challenge/giveaway during the event, please email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom. Also, please email me or leave a comment if you have any questions. You can sign up and participate at any time during the read-a-thon…this is a flexible event. I hope you will join me for a week of reading fun!

My first of 2011 !!!

It is freezing here in New England, and as I sit at my desk dressed in sweats AND a sweater, with a Yankee Candle burning (today it’s Sparkling Vanilla–hubby’s favorite), surrounded by my books, the heat cranked and I still feel like an ice cube

until a few minutes ago when I received a comment on my blog.  Have you guessed why?  Yup…that’s right…it’s that warm and fuzzy feeling when one of our peers inform us that they have an award for us.  And not only has Zakiya from Butterfly Feet Walking On Life has presented me with this honor, it is my first award for 2011 !!  If you haven’t visited her blog before, please take a minute, stop by, say hi and tell her CMash sent you.  The award is:
Photobucket
Thank you so much Zakiya!!!  I still get excited as much as I did when I accepted my first award!!
And now for the criteria: (which I will be taking some liberties with, as we all know that accepting and passing on awards take quite a bit of time and with Challenges just starting, we should all be reading  lol).
1) Thank the person who gave you the award, and link back to them in your post.

2) Tell us seven (7) 5 things about yourself.
3) Award 15  5 super-stylish bloggers this award 😀
4) Contact those bloggers and let them know they have won.
OK…Warning…Boring part coming up…you have my permission to skip this part!!!
  1.)  I am a homebody at heart
  2.)  I hibernate in the winter..I despise the cold.
  3.)  As stated above, I do my part by keeping Yankee Candle in business.  I have a candle burning every day.
  4.)  It amazes me that hubby and I will be married for 30 years come April, where did the time go?
  5.)  We thought we would have a hard time accepting the fact that we were going to be empty nesters, that lasted about 3 days and now we are loving it  lol.
And now I pass the torch to the following, in no particular order:

Gina from Hott Books

Review "Resurrecting Anthony" by Linda and Tony Cole

RESURRECTING ANTHONY by Linda Cole and Tony Cole
Published by Alexandra Publishing, LLC
ISBN 978-0-9843226-0-2
At the request of Meryl L. Moss Media, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book): Tony and Linda Cole were living the American Dream-a successful national training and consulting company, a nice home, a close-knit circle of friends and a loving family.
  Then came the call every parent dreads.
  Their twelve-year-old son Anthony had collapsed on the school playground. In the ensuing panic-stricken moments Anthony lay motionless, unconscious, not breathing. These critical minutes without oxygen left his brain damaged. In one heartbreaking afternoon their idyllic world was shattered and the son that Tony and Linda Cole knew was gone.
  Resurrecting Anthony is the true, inspiring story of an unexpected tragedy that steals a child from his family and initially leaves them full of grief and sorrow. It reveals the Cole family’s incredible devotion and determination-despite the medical evidence and advice of health professionals-to return Anthony to his previous self.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: If you have followed my blog for a while you will know that this is not the typical book that I either read or review. However, when Tricia contacted me and I read the synopsis, I thought it would be an interesting read on so many levels and I accepted. And I’m glad I did for many reasons. This book should be on everyone’s tbr list, for if and when you or someone you know, has to face a challenge . Hopefully, not something like the Cole’s had to endure but any of life’s trials. This book shows the resolve and personal strength that these parents exhibited in a time of a crisis and the honest emotions that they went through. It taught me, how not to take each and every minute for granted because, life as we know it, can change drastically in the next minute. This thought provoking and heart wrenching story was told through the father’s perspective, which at first took me by surprise but after thinking about it, how often do we get to understand a male’s emotions through a traumatic experience. The courage, love, perseverance and hope that these parents reveal is extraordinary. The ending, as a mother, could I let go of the past and accept the future? The ending is the beginning!!!

Photobucket
Addendum:  I am currently hosting a giveaway for this book, please check sidebar to enter!!
DISCLAIMER

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.