WELCOME RACHEL VAN DKEN

RACHEL VAN DYKEN

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor. She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lose a bet, lose your heart…

What is it about a junior-high crush that can send an otherwise intelligent woman into a tailspin? TV reporter Char Lynn wishes she knew. Jake Titus is too rich, too handsome, too arrogant: a trifecta that once lured Char into the best night-and worst morning-after-of her life. Now they’ve been thrown together in a wedding party. It’s awkward, but survivable . . . until Jake stops acting like a jerk, and starts acting like the man she’d always hoped he could be.

If watching your brother marry your best friend is weird, being attracted to your best friend’s other best friend is downright bizarre. Unfortunately for Jake, Char hasn’t forgotten how he once tossed her aside. Worse still, Jake’s already-nutty grandma is even crazier about Char. Cue meet-cute shenanigans and all manner of meddling, and somehow, Jake’s falling. For Char. Now all he has to do is make her believe it . . .

Read an excerpt

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
E-book
Number of Pages: 299
ISBN: 9781455554201

PURCHASE LINKS:

   

THANKS TO JESSICA AT GCP/FOREVER,

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THE FOLLOWING PRIZES:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

WELCOME KEN GOLDSTEIN

KEN GOLDSTEIN

Ken Goldstein advises start-ups and established corporations in technology, entertainment, media, and e-commerce. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of SHOP.COM, a market leader in online consumer commerce acquired by Market America. He previously served as executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online, and as vice president of entertainment at Broderbund Software. Earlier in his career, he developed computer games for Philips Interactive Media and Cinemaware Corporation, and also worked as a television executive. He is active in children’s welfare issues and has served on the boards of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, and Full Circle Programs, and is currently actively in local government. He speaks and teaches frequently on topics of management, leadership, and creative destruction. He and his wife Shelley, who teaches English as a Second Language, make their home in Southern California. He received his BA in Theater Studies and Philosophy from Yale. THIS IS RAGE is his first novel.
Connect with Ken at these sites:

Q&A with Ken Goldstein

Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
My first novel, This is Rage, is purely a work of fiction, but it is both intensely personal and drawn from current events.  The entire plot is made up, as are all the characters, but the events are extracted from my experiences on the front lines of managing teams through creative and technical innovation and some awfully nasty conflict.  I use references to existing companies in the competitive arena today, but only to set a tone of realism, which I then take license to stretch to the absurd.  It’s meant to be plausible, but exceedingly outrageous, a form of grounded satire which is essentially the way I talk.  Creative destruction is a force I know well and acknowledge as tangible, essential, but unruly.  And then the question becomes, could it happen?  My answer is – well, you know, I’ve seen stranger.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I started with a premise – what if the unlikely collision of a failed radio talk show host and a voracious venture capitalist resulted in extraordinary impact on the economy at large?  I thought I knew how I wanted it to end, but then character development took over and pushed me to a different place.  Dialogue comes easier for me than expository, and plot is more fun for me than inner monologue, so I am always challenged balancing what I want to write with what I need to write.  About half way through the first draft I got a bit stuck holding story and character development in balance, and a wonderful friend referred me back to Anne Lamott’s inspirational Bird by Bird.  Anne joyfully reminded me it was okay to keep writing only as far as the headlights illuminated.  That was a lifesaver, albeit the cause of tossing out and replacing about 50,000 words, a lot of rough months.

Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
I wish I had a routine.  I am working on that.  As a former CEO and now board member I am very structured about my calendar, but just because I block several hours of writing time doesn’t mean any decent words emerge.  I am now doing my calendar backwards, when I do write, I enter the block of what I did on the calendar as if I planned to do it, so reading forward, it looks like I blocked out all the time perfectly.  Yeah, sure.  A bit of self-delusion isn’t all that bad, is it?

Is writing your full time job?  If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Writing is now what I consider my main job, but it’s not my only job.  I tried that for a year and I just couldn’t make all the time work hard enough, although our dog did get to listen to a lot of dialogue read aloud.  I love to be with people, and I love business, so I stay attached by teaching an executive coaching workshop, sitting on a few company boards, and consulting for several start-ups.  I’d say I have one and a half full time jobs, and writing is about half of that, so ¾ of one full-time job, fully mathematically sound.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Tom Wolfe has been a voice for me since I was in junior high school, the whole New Journalism thing resonated with me out of the gate.  I think Michael Lewis is consistently brilliant and engaging.  Hunter S. Thompson will always be an influence.  I mentioned Anne Lamott and I adore her style.  I came up through the theater so I’m penetrated by Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, and most of the crumpled notes scribbled by Lenny Bruce and George Carlin.  I’m also a philosophy geek to the core so there are regular revisits with Plato, Aristotle, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Sartre.  There are a few top executives turned business writers I admire like Andy Grove, whose concepts I include in the workshop I teach.  And when I am most lost, I often wander back to Mark Twain.

What are you reading now?
I am re-reading Bonfire of the Vanities because it’s just so well-written and resonant for me.  I am just about finished with Mark Leibovich’s This Town, and about half way through Kurt Andersen’s True Believers.  Also the Wall Street Journal, six days a week, 52 weeks a year, source material for several lifetime.

Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little about it?
“Working on” is too strong a description.  I have agreed with my publisher on my next two titles, if all goes according to plan the next book will be non-fiction, and the next novel behind that based on a screenplay I wrote in my 20s that has a remote setting and an interesting main character who is unconventionally heroic, deeply flawed, and in big trouble.

Do you have an excerpt I can publish on the site?
See below.

Your novel will be a movie.
Who would you cast?I don’t want to say because what if it happens and I say the wrong people, don’t want to upset anyone who might want to get onboard.

Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Handwritten notes are everywhere, on post-its, in notebooks, I keep lists of lists and then stick them in steno pads. But composition is always at the keyboard so I can generously DELETE!

Favorite meal?
Anything, anywhere, as long as I am sitting across from my incredible wife.

Favorite food?
Pizza, the geek inside lives on.  No question.  And no meat!

Favorite beverage?
Red wine.  But I repeat myself.  If it’s wine, it ought to be red, no?

ABOUT THE BOOK

This is the story of Investors, Bankers, and Operators in Silicon Valley and the variation on real they’re creating for our consumption.

This is the story of a disgraced shock jock turned Internet radio phenomenon and how he becomes the catalyst he never imagined being.

This is the story of two entrepreneurs-turned kidnappers-turned anti-heroes.

This is business in the Twenty-first Century.

This is the unpredictability of the human element.

This is rage.

Read an excerpt

BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 530 pages
Publisher: Story Plant, The
Publicatiom Date: October 8, 2013
ISBN-10: 1611880718
ISBN-13: 978-1611880717

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

THANKS TO MARIA AT MARIAN BROWN PR,
I HAVE THREE (3) COPIES TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 14th AT 6PM EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

WELCOME PATRICIA HALE

NAME

Patricia Hale is a graduate of the MFA program at Goddard College in Vermont. She is a member of Sister’s in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, NH Writer’s Project and Maine Writer’s and Publisher’s Alliance. Her essays and articles have appeared in New England literary magazines and the anthology, My Heart’s First Steps. When not writing, she enjoys hiking with her dogs and kayaking on the lakes near her home. Patricia lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two German shepherds.
Connect with Patricia at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

So Assistant DA Cecily Minos waits, eager to see the guy in her courtroom. When Amelia meets a man who has the tattoo the girls remember seeing that day, they think they’ve finally caught a break. But the police refuse to reopen the case, and it’s up to Cecily and Amelia to pursue their suspect.

Their investigation soon uncovers secrets best left buried. But the law is slow, and they’ve waited long enough for revenge…

READ AN EXCERPT

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Published by: Carina Press
Publication Date: July 15, 2013
Number of Pages: 280
ISBN: 978-14268-9584-5

PURCHASE LINKS:

       

If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by our sites and sign up today!

Follow the Tour:

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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

WELCOME ERIC JAMES FULLILOVE

ERIC JAMES FULLILOVE

Eric James Fullilove is the global Chief Financial Officer for World Vision International. Originally from Newark, New Jersey USA, Fullilove now splits his time between Los Angeles and London and travels extensively for his job; he has visited 59 of the 100 countries in which World Vision is active. Fullilove is of African American origin and his grandmother, Maggie Shaw Fullilove, was one of the first African American women to become a published author in the US in 1918; his father was a prominent physician and his mother a prominent civic leader. This is Fullilove’s sixth novel; other works include Blowback which was published by HarperCollins. Narcolepsy by Eric James Fullilove (paperback published by CreateSpace RRP £6.39 ebook published by KDP RRP £3.22) is available online from Amazon from 23rd September.
Connect with Eric at these sites:

GUEST POST

Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
I draw from both current events and personal experiences.  Since I travel extensively, I use the knowledge I have of locations to inform my writing.  Narcolepsy is very much a current events driven book as it is focused on the on-going European/Euro financial crisis.

  -Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I know the beginning and I know the end when I start.  The fun part is the middle, and in the middle it’s pretty much where the story takes me.  I may start with an outline, but stories have a rhythm. I write to the rhythm of the story, meaning, the way the characters interact, the focus on the characters, the pace of the plot, all these things have a rhythm that the flow of the story dictates.  As long as the rhythm feels right, the story is generally okay.

  -Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
I write pretty rapidly, but I tend to do it in chunks.  It is often helpful to me to check into a hotel room for a weekend and simply focus on writing.  Since I’m paying for the space and every meal is expensive, it helps to force me to focus, but at the same time, the amenities, particularly the exercise room and the pool, help me relax between sessions and think about the plot.

  -Is writing your full time job?  If not, may I ask what you do by day?
It is not my full time job.  I am the global CFO of World Vision International, the nearly $3 billion Christian, child focused, humanitarian relief organization that works in 100 countries around the world.  Our programs help 100 million people every year, which sounds like a large number but is only 5% of the 2 billion or so that live in extreme poverty.  I travel extensively for my job, and am based in both London and Los Angeles, where I have a significant number of staff and my wife.

  -Who are some of your favorite authors?
Lee Child, John Sandford, David Baldacci, Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, J.D. Robb (pen name for Nora Roberts) Stephen Hunter, Linwood Barclay, George Pelecanos, Elmore Leonard, Tananarive Due, Barry Eisler, and Paolo Bacigalupi, David Brin, and Ben Bova are some of my favorite authors, to name a few.

Lee Child’s character, Jack Reacher, is my favorite recurring character in a series.  I was hopeful when Tom Cruise played him in the film, even though purists were upset that Cruise looks nothing like the physically imposing Reacher, because I was hoping with Cruise starring more films would be made.  But while I write novels that are easily converted to movies, most books have a difficult time making the transition to the big screen.

  -What are you reading now?
Steve Alten’s “The Omega Project”

  -Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little about it?
I am moving my novel “Credible Threat” through the publishing process.  Credible Threat is about a presidential assassination threat that claims to have roots going back to the Kennedy and Martin Luther King’s assassinations, which initially raise questions about the “credibility” of the threat.

The assassin claims to have been a kid during the Kennedy assassination, and the real story is that in the 1960’s he was a prodigy with a gun.  His father had something on Jack Ruby, whom the conspirators needed to kill the patsy, Lee Harvey Oswald.  So they take the kid to coerce the father, and stick the kid on the grassy knoll in Dealy Plaza, which at least one writer believes is an impossible shot with a rifle at a moving target.

And then…the assassination goes awry, as Kennedy is supposed to be killed when the motorcade first turns into the square headed towards the Texas Book Depository.  As the motorcade turns onto Elm, the plotters realize that the assassination is slipping away, and the only option they have is the kid with the impossible shot…on the grassy knoll…

Fun questions:
  -Your novel will be a movie.  Who would you cast?
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.

  -Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
Read.

  -Favorite food?
The well executed hamburger

  -Favorite beverage?
Generally, Diet Coke, particularly when returning from the developing world.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Narcolepsy is the fast-paced thriller from established author Eric James Fullilove. Fullilove delves into a financial underworld where those who are really in charge of the banks are not their CEOs. Narcolepsy unravels expeditiously over four days; it is a surging thriller which charts the dark and duplicitous events which will lead to a new world order where corruption will be commonplace. The sequel to the book is due out at the end of 2013 and will pick up where Narcolepsy left off.

BOOK DETAILS:

PB Published by: Createspace
EBook Published by: KDP RRP
On sale at Amazon: Sept. 23, 2013

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO KATY AT AUTHORIGHT,
I HAVE TWO (2) EBOOKS (KINDLE FORMAT) TO GIVE AWAY.

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 10th AT 6PM EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

WELCOME MEGAN HART

MEGAN HART

When she was in the third grade, Megan Hart fell in love for the first time. Not with a boy (that would wait until fourth grade), but with a story. The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury leaped out at her from the pages of a library book, and she tumbled head over heels. In the dark ages, before the days of photocopiers, the only way for her to keep a copy of this story was to copy it out by hand so she could read it over and over again. Something funny happened, though, as she carefully printed it on lined notebook paper.

She made “improvements.”

At age 12, reading Stephen King’s The Stand for the first time one memorable summer, it occurred to her that people really did write books for a living. That’s when she decided to become an author.

Megan began writing short fantasy, horror and science fiction before graduating to novel-length romances. In 1998, as a stay-home mom, Megan took up writing in earnest, attending her first writing conference and getting her first request for a full manuscript. In 2002, she saw her first book in print, and she hasn’t stopped since.

Published in almost every genre of romance fiction, Megan also writes fantasy, science fiction, women’s fiction, horrifyingly awful screenplays and continues to occasionally dabble in horror.

Megan’s goal is to continue writing the kind of books she’d like to read. She spends too much time playing the Sims. Her dream is to have a movie made of every one of her novels, starring herself as the heroine and Keanu Reeves as the hero. Megan lives in the deep, dark woods with her husband and two monsters…er…children.
Connect with Megan at these sites:

Q&A with Megan Hart

Writing and Reading:  
-Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Of course. I like to say about my work that everything is fiction, and all of it is true. I don’t do everything I write about, and I don’t experience everything I write about, but I usually know someone who has. Drawing from personal experience means keeping ears and eyes open to other people’s experiences, too.

-Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I most often start at the beginning, know the ending, and discover the middle along the way. I used to write in order, but now I’ll write scenes that move me, even if they’re not in order, then put them together in the revision process. I’m not a huge plotter. I like to discover the story as it unfolds.

-Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
I sit at my computer and…write. Sometime I write on my laptop. Very rarely, by hand. I listen to music and drink Coke Zero and sometimes coffee or tea. I procrastinate on the internet and then write some more.

-Is writing your full time job?  If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Writing is my full time job! Hooray!

-Who are some of your favorite authors?
Jacqueline Carey. Robert McCammon. Clive Barker. Stephen King. Gary Jennings.

-What are you reading now?
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett.

-Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little about it?
I’m working on the final part to my horror serial, The Resurrected, and I’m about to start final revisions on Flying, my next erotic fiction release from Mira. Flying’s about a woman who, in order to block out some pain in her life, flies to various airports and meets men and has one night stands. Then she meets a man who changes her life, and they begin a passionate affair! Hooray!

Fun questions:
-Your novel will be a movie.  Who would you cast?
For Tear You Apart, Will is definitely Norman Reedus. I can’t even pretend otherwise. Elisabeth (if I can’t play her, because um, hello, she’d get to kiss Norman Reedus) I’d like to see Gillian Anderson.

-Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
Depends on the book or show!

-Favorite food?
Steak

-Favorite beverage?
Coke Zero!

Thank you for stopping by CMash Reads and spending time with us.

Thanks so much for having me!

ABOUT THE BOOK

I don’t know which stop I got on at; I only know the train is going fast and the world outside becomes a blur. I should get off, but I don’t. The universe is playing a cosmic joke on me. Here I had my life—a good life with everything a woman could want—and suddenly, there is something more I didn’t know I could have. A chance for me to be satisfied and content and maybe even on occasion deliriously, amazingly, exuberantly happy.

So this is where I am, on a train that’s out of control, and I am not just a passenger. I’m the one shoveling the furnace full of coal to keep it going fast and faster.

If I could make myself believe it all happened by chance and I couldn’t help it, that I’ve been swept away, that it’s not my fault, that it’s fate…would that be easier? The truth is, I didn’t know I was looking for this until I found Will, but I must’ve been, all this time. And now it is not random, it is not fate, it is not being swept away.

This is my choice. And I don’t know how to stop.

Or even if I want to.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Erotic Fiction
Published by: Harlequin Mira
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780778314776

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

THANKS TO ANNA AT HARLEQUIN,
I HAVE TWO (2) COPIES TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. and CANADA RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS XOCTOBER 8th AT 6PM EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

WELCOME CARLA NEGGERS

CARLA NEGGERS

Carla Neggers is the New York Timesbestselling author of more than 60 novels, with translations in 24 languages. Born and raised on the western edge of the beautiful Quabbin Reservoir in rural Massachusetts, Carla grew up with tales of her father’s life as a Dutch sailor and her mother’s childhood in northwest Florida.

At a young age, Carla began penning her own stories on a branch high up in her favorite sugar maple. Now she enjoys spending time at the family homestead (now a tree farm) with her six brothers and sisters and their families.

When she’s not writing, Carla loves to travel, hike, kayak, garden, and, of course, dive into a good book. She lives with her family in Vermont, near Quechee Gorge.
Connect with Carla at these sites:

Q&A with Carla Neggers

Writing and Reading:  
-Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?

I can’t always pinpoint what sparks an idea, but I can with Declan’s Cross. On one of our trips to Ireland, my husband, Joe, and I decided to visit Ardmore on the south coast, in the heart of Saint Declan country. Saint Declan is one of the ancient Irish saints, and seeing the ruins of his monastery and walking along the cliffs of this gorgeous part of Ireland appealed to my imagination. Of course, I wasn’t imagining Emma and Colin, my two FBI agents, taking a romantic stroll on the beach. I was asking myself, “What if an American turns up dead on the cliffs and Emma and Colin are sucked into the investigation?”

-Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
At the beginning, but it’s not that simple. I don’t just start on page 1 and keep going page by page until I type The End. I’m not that linear a writer. There’s a lot of back-and-forth in my process.

-Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
I’ve come to understand that my writing has a natural rhythm that works for me, but it doesn’t involve a rigid regimen. X number of pages per day or X number of hours per day. At the beginning of a book, I’m up and down from my desk a lot. I’ve done some of my best “writing” while hiking or kayaking! Once the story establishes itself, I have a more predictable “routine.” At the end…I could write 20 hours a day!

-Is writing your full time job?  If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Yes, writing is what I do. My first “day job” was cleaning motel rooms as a kid. That was great experience for an aspiring writer!

-Who are some of your favorite authors?
I have a long, long list of favorites, including many writer friends. I love to reread “classics” by Mary Stewart, Rex Stout and Alistair MacLean. I’ve also just started buying the reissues of Helen MacInnes’s novels.

-What are you reading now?
COLD by Stella Cameron. It’s the first book in her new Alex Duggins mystery series set in the Cotswolds in England. Joe and I are visiting the Cotswolds soon, so it’s perfect timing. Fabulous book!

-Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little about it?
I’m deep into the next Sharpe & Donovan novel, HARBOR ISLAND, and I’ve put the finishing touches on CIDER BROOK, my next Swift River Valley novel set in a small town in New England not unlike the one where I grew up. A “treasure hunter” comes to little Knights Bridge, but things don’t go as planned from day one when a volunteer firefighter rescues her from a fire at an abandoned cider mill that just might have the answers to a 300-year-old pirate mystery. I love writing both series!

Fun questions:
-Your novel will be a movie.  Who would you cast?
Oooh…wouldn’t that be fun? I have no idea. I’d love to hear what readers have to say!

-Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
Almost always read, especially when traveling, but I love to dive into a good movie or TV show.

-Favorite food?
Depends on my mood. Right now it would be almost anything with apples since they’re in season. Yum!

-Favorite beverage?
Coffee in the morning and a glass of good red wine in the evening (although not every evening!). Then there’s a good Irish whiskey, but that’s only for special occasions.

Thank you for stopping by CMash Reads and spending time with us.
Thank you for having me. Happy reading!

ABOUT THE BOOK

For marine biologist Julianne Maroney, two weeks in tiny Declan’s Cross on the south Irish coast is a chance to heal her broken heart. She doesn’t expect to attract the attention of FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan—especially since a Donovan is the reason for her broken heart.

Emma and Colin are in Ireland for their own personal retreat. Colin knows he’s a reminder of everything Julianne wants to escape, but something about her trip raises his suspicion. Emma, an art crimes expert, is also on edge. Of all the Irish villages Julianne could choose…why Declan’s Cross?

Ten years ago, a thief slipped into a mansion in Declan’s Cross. Emma’s grandfather, a renowned art detective, investigated, but the art stolen that night has never been recovered and the elusive thief never caught.

From the moment Julianne sets foot on Irish soil, everything goes wrong. The well-connected American diver who invited her to Ireland has disappeared. And now Emma and Colin are in Declan’s Cross asking questions.

As a dark conspiracy unfolds amid the breathtaking scenery of Declan’s Cross, the race is on to stop a ruthless killer…and the stakes have never been more personal for Emma and Colin.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Suspense
Published by: Harlequin Mira
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780778314639

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

THANKS TO ANNA AT HARLEQUIN,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO US and CANADA RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 4th AT 6PM EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

WELCOME CYNTHIA BRIGGS

CYNTHIA BRIGGS

Cynthia Briggs celebrates her love of cooking and writing through her cookbooks, “Pork Chops & Applesauce” and “Sweet Apple Temptations.” She has authored two e-books titled, “The Adventures of Lily and Leon: A Soppy Fish Tale” and “Bumper Crop: Beginning with Apples.” Cynthia wrote a nostalgic cooking column for seven years, she’s published in seven “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, “Woman’s World Magazine” and numerous on-line publications. She enjoys speaking to women’s groups, critiquing cookbooks, and coaching budding authors.

Cynthia makes her home in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Ed, and their favorite dachshund, Leon.
Connect with Cynthia at these sites:

GUEST POST

Confessions of a Country Chef

If you talked to my kids they’d tell you their childhood was riddled with cooking mishaps. They claim we had zucchini for dinner every night, and in their opinion, any meal that included zucchini was a blatant error by the chef. Aside from my zucchini phase of cooking flops, I will confess (for the sake of this article) to my share of cooking faux pas.

My first big goof was in my early teens when I made Spanish rice. The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups cooked rice and I put in 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice. Needless to say, with the additions of so much water and tomato sauce, we ate Spanish rice every night for a week. The family never let me forget the blunder. I learned to read directions more carefully.

Not too many years later, I watched a cook in a small restaurant douse an enormous prime rib with a thick crust of salt and roast it for 3-hours. When the opportunity arose for me to make my first roast, I poured a very thick crust of salt over a 2-pound beef roast and put it in the oven for 3-hours. It came out of the oven a salty, inedible cinder. I learned to under salt rather than over salt.

Another time, I was living far away from my family when I made my first Thanksgiving dinner. I purchased an 8-pound turkey and baked it for 8-hours, “like Mom always does.” I was depending on the new-fangled cooking indicator to pop-up when the turkey was done. The doneness indicator failed, dry turkey jerky was the result. I put a good ‘cookbook with a meat cooking chart’ on my Christmas list.

Then when I was old enough to know better, I made probably my biggest culinary mistake. My husband and I had just gotten married. Beef stroganoff was one of my hubby’s favorite meals, so one night I served picture-perfect beef stroganoff over a bed of egg noodles.

We both filled our plates and before taking a bite I left the table to fill our water glasses.

When I returned, Ed was slowly eating the stroganoff and looking red-faced. “What’s wrong, Honey?” I asked him.

“The stroganoff tastes different than any I’ve ever tasted.” He replied reaching for his water glass.

I took a bite and, to my horror, I’d used cayenne pepper in the stroganoff instead of paprika. I learned to read labels more carefully.

This last 4th of July I tried making homemade baked beans by using black beans instead of white. Experience told me to make the beans ahead of time in case they didn’t turn out; experience knew what she was talking about. I calmly told myself, “nothing ventured, nothing gained” and made something different.

Over the years I’ve bungled my share of appetizers, entrees, desserts, side dishes and snacks. I’ve added too much mustard to the deviled eggs, roasted the turkey with the giblet packet still inside its cavity, and once I forgot to put baking powder in the baking powder biscuits.

My kids and their dad were the recipients of many culinary experiments in the early days, but I think they’ll agree that the successes far out-weigh the failures. Most of my cooking and baking skills have been learned through trial and error, yet culinary misses can make the difference between a mediocre cook and an excellent cook.

Thankfully, I’ve learned from my kitchen missteps. These days I can honestly say I haven’t charred meat or fowl, haven’t overused the salt shaker or used cayenne pepper instead of paprika…but then…the day isn’t over yet.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Cynthia Briggs message in Pork Chops & Applesauce is about focusing on what’s important in life; and how taking a break to reflect upon memorable family gatherings and the sharing of dinners provides a respite from the fast pace of living in today’s hectic world. Cynthia says, Your Roasted Garlic Potatoes are in the oven baking along with your Surprise Parmesan Meatloaf. The Pear Pie with Crunchy Pecan Crust is cooling on the counter. The dishes are done, the cut flowers are in a vase on the dining room table, and the whole house smells like paradise! Now, before your guests arrive, it s time relax and read one or two of the nostalgic and often humorous stories that introduce many of the recipes in Pork Chops & Applesauce. Enjoy!

BOOK DETAILS:

Publisher: AuthorHouse; 2nd edition
Publication Date: July 14, 2004
Number of Pages: 193 pages
ISBN-10: 1403381658
ISBN-13: 978-1403381651

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF
PORK CHOPS and APPLESAUCE
VISIT THE MUFFIN AND ENTER.

WELCOME BACK ALLAN TOPOL

ALLAN TOPOL

Allan Topol is the author of eight novels of international intrigue. Two of them, SPY DANCE and ENEMY MY ENEMY, were national best sellers. His novels have been translated into Japanese, Portuguese and Hebrew. One was optioned and three are in development for movies. His new novel, THE RUSSIAN ENDGAME, is the third in a trilogy of Craig Page novels, following the successful CHINA GAMBIT and SPANISH REVENGE.

In addition to his fiction writing, Allan Topol co-authored a two-volume legal treatise entitled SUPERFUND LAW AND PROCEDURE. He wrote a weekly column for Military.com and has published articles in numerous periodicals including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Yale Law Journal. Currently, he is a blogger for Huffington Post.
Connect with Allan at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Following on the heels of The China Gambit and Spanish Revenge, national bestselling author, Allan Topol, returns with THE RUSSIAN ENDGAME. This time he offers a riveting conclusion to a dangerous three-part game of international conspiracy, politics and greed. When former KGB agent Dimitri Orlov orchestrates an alliance between two world powers bent on domination, he unleashes a powerful chain of events that will rock the Western World. The agenda? Eliminate the President of the United States and seize classified military weaponry capable of shifting the balance of world power. But before this nefarious scheme can reach fruition, Craig Page, joined by Elizabeth Crowder, is on the scene, ready to confront a painful past and the enemies that helped create it. But can the indomitable Director of Counterterrorism emerge victorious? Finding himself facing an old enemy unexpectedly catapulted into a lethal position of power, Craig is pushed to the limit in an effort to foil his enemy’s deadly plans and keep potentially devastating military technology out of the hands of those prepared to destroy the world as he knows it.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Espionage/Intrigue
Publisher: SelectBooks; 1 edition
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN-10: 1590799992
ISBN-13: 978-1590799994

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

THANKS TO TRACY AT MEDIA MUSCLE,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 2nd AT 6PM EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM