Category: Guest Author

Guest Author Franz Douskey

OK…trivia questions.  Who comes to mind with the “crooner”?  What about “ole blue eyes”?  The “RAT PACK”?   I know some of you remember, I know I do.  That’s why when Jaime, from Finn Partners, contacted me regarding today’s guest, I wanted to meet and also have the opportunity to introduce you to, today’s guest.  Please help me welcome Mr. Franz Douskey to CMash Reads!

FRANZ DOUSKEY

Franz Douskey’s work has appeared in nearly 200 publications, including: Rolling Stone, The Nation, The New Yorker, New York Quarterly, Las Vegas Life, and the Minnesota Review. His fourth book, West of Midnight, reached number 24 on the Amazon Best-Sellers list in 2011 and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Douskey, who taught creative writing at Yale University for five summers, served as president of IMPAC University, in Punta Gorda, FL. Douskey resides in Hamden, Connecticut.
Visit Mr. Douskey at his website.

GUEST POST

The Close Ties of THE RAT PACK by Franz Douskey

 Let’s start with Sammy Davis, Jr. In the late 1940s Sammy performed with his father and his uncle in the Will Mastin Trio, a very energetic and talented musical group.  Frank first saw the trio in Las Vegas.  While in Vegas, the Will Mastin Trio, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, and many other famous African American entertainers were not allowed to stay in the hotels or casinos where they performed.  Even if they were booked for shows over several nights, they were required to find lodging elsewhere. When Frank learned about this, he told Jack Entratter, manager of the Sands Hotel, if Sammy and Nat can’t stay here when they’re booked, then I don’t play here.

Frank had a lot of swag.  If he went, that meant all of Frank’s pals would stop coming around too.  Frank had a powerful impact and inspired change.

In November 1954 Sammy Davis Jr. lost his eye in a car accident. He was so depressed that he considered quitting show business. Unwilling to allow his friend to give up, Frank set Sammy up in his house, took care of his expenses and got him back on track.  This is how one link of the Rat Pack got to be close.

Frank knew Dean Martin from his years performing with Jerry Lewis.  Dean and Frank became close friends, a friendship that never wavered until Dean passed away.

Peter Lawford and Frank were under contract with MGM in the late 1940s.  Peter’s position became strong when Peter brought his brother-in-law, future President John F. Kennedy, to Vegas and introduced him to Sinatra.  Kennedy and Frank became fast friends, with Frank campaigning for him in 1960 and chairing the inaugural committee in 1961. However, their friendship didn’t last very long. President Kennedy was coming to visitCalifornia and planned to stay with Sinatra. Frank built an addition at his house for JFK that included a helipad.  Bobby Kennedy told JFK that Frank was associated with the wrong people and advised him it was a bad idea to stay with Sinatra.  It was Lawford’s job to call Frank and tell him that Kennedy was going to stay at Bing Crosby’s house instead.  When Frank hung up he went outside with a pickaxe and began to tear up the concrete helipad. Frank never spoke to Peter again, and that was the end of his short reign as a member of the Rat Pack.

The fifth member of the Rat Pack was Joey Bishop.  A quiet taciturn fellow, Bishop didn’t like parties, didn’t like staying out late, didn’t like booze and did not get involved with any of the young women who were always around.  Joey was there for a few years, then faded away.

Frank, Sammy, and Dean remained life-long friends. There was a brief time when Sammy was doing cocaine and Frank told him right out not to come around while you’re on that stuff.  Frank did not approve of drugs nor did he trust anyone who was involved with them. Sammy, Dean and Frank went on one final tour, The Summit, but Dean really wasn’t there.  Since his son’s loss in a plane crash, Dean had become more distant, almost ghostlike.  Frank told Dean, “Look, if you’re not going to give the people what they came here for, just go home.  I understand.  I’ll say you had stomach problems and are going into a hospital.”  Dean went home, but The Summit went on, and Liza Minnelli replaced Dean.

Despite their ups and downs, for a few good years Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter and Joey were THE RAT PACK, the wild bunch who could do no wrong and had a great time doing it.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Walter Winchell, a popular and influential 20th century newspaper and radio commentator, once wrote: “The closest person to Frank Sinatra is Tony Consiglio.”  Tony’s full account of his relationship with the iconic crooner has never been revealed – until now. Sinatra and Me: The Very Good Years is based on dozens of hours of interviews over the span of eight years, concluding with Tony’s death in 2008.  

Sinatra and Me, which features dozens of never-before-published photos of Sinatra and Consiglio, and details a period of time that spans from the 1930’s into the 1970’s. It takes an up-close and personal look into the exciting world of one of America’s greatest icons.

Not many people were allowed inside Frank Sinatra’s inner circle. But Tony Consiglio was a boyhood friend of Sinatra’s who remained his friend and confidant for over sixty years. One reason Sinatra valued Tony’s friendship is that he could be trusted: Sinatra nicknamed him “the Clam” because Tony never spoke to reporters or biographers about the singer. From the early days when Sinatra was trying to establish himself as a singer to the mid-1960s, Tony worked with Sinatra and was there to share in the highs and lows of Sinatra’s life and career. Tony was with Sinatra during his “bobby-soxer” megastar days in the 1940s, and he remained loyal to Sinatra during the lean years of the early 1950s, when “the Voice” was struggling with a crumbling singing and acting career-as well as his tumultuous marriage to Ava Gardner. Tony also had a front row seat to Sinatra’s comeback in the 1950s, starting with his Academy Award–winning role in From Here to Eternity and a string of now-classic hit recordings. Tony’s friendship with Sinatra allowed him to rub elbows with the Hollywood elite, including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Kim Novak, Ava Gardner, and many others. It also brought him close to the political world of the early 1960s, when Sinatra campaigned for John F. Kennedy and then helped plan the Kennedy inauguration. Tony was even at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts, when the election results came in. Sinatra and Me will shed new light on the real Frank Sinatra-from the man who knew him better than anyone.
Watch for my review in the near future.

Purchase links:    Amazon     B&N     IndieBound

THANKS TO JAIME, FROM FINN PARTNERS, I HAVE
THREE (3) COPIES OF THIS BOOK TO GIVEAWAY
OPEN TO U.S.  AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY

CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTRY PAGE

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 affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author Stephen Bradlee

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are winding down and some are facing the long, cold days of winter, it’s time to snuggle up with a good book.  Today’s guest contacted me and I invited him to visit us here at CMash Reads.  It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Stephen Bradlee!

STEPHEN BRADLEE

Stephen Bradlee is the pen name for a Hollywood film executive. He has ghostwritten celebrity autobiographies and has worked primarily as a script doctor. He is married and lives with his wife, their daughter and their dog.
You can visit Stephen at his website, Facebook, Twitter and GoodReads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sherry Johnson is young, beautiful, bright and athletic. She has everything going for her, except for one thing.
She is addicted to love. Her life is a vicious circle of nightly trysts and morning regrets.
Her addiction got her kicked out of college, cost her the love of her life and has left her in complete despair.
But still Sherry keeps falling in love. And falling. And falling.
Finally, as Sherry struggles to pull herself up from a bottomless abyss, she realizes that she will have to
learn to love the one person she has loathed for most of her life. Herself.
Based on the True Story of a Young Woman’s Battle with Sexual Addiction.

Read The Prologue:
PROLOGUE“I have a great story for you.”This is a sucker line for every writer. Almost everyone thinks that their life would make a great story but few of us live lives that are the stuff of great drama, and even less have material for its counterpart, great comedy. Still writers listen, at least for a few lines, because we are always looking for that great story.The caller was Candice, an old friend whose own life story actually was worth telling. A century ago, her family was among America’s richest but alcoholism had wracked every generation, dissipating the wealth until now it was nearly gone. I had known her through years of pristine sobriety and years of hard drinking and nothing in between. Now, here she was, sober and saying she had a great story.“What is it?” I asked curtly. I was on a deadline and didn’t have time to chat. I knew she would never tell her own story and who knew if she could spot great material any better than the rest of us.

“She’ll be in New York this weekend,” Candice shot back. “She wants to talk to a writer. Confidentially. When can you meet her?”

I hadn’t yet said that I would meet her. I snapped, “Two o’clock, Friday. Figaro’s.” Figaro’s was a Greenwich Village café. I was already afraid that this rendezvous would turn out to be a waste of time but I had a three o’clock meeting two blocks away. At that hour, Figaro’s would be fairly deserted and I had a side table that I sometimes used as an office cum cappuccino.

“Fine,” Candice replied.

“What’s her name?”

“She’ll find you. She’s seen your picture.”

“Why me?” I asked. Candice knew other writers.

“Just be there. I’m late for a meeting.”

“Is she some kind of whistleblower?” I asked but Candice had already hung up.

I had three days to mull over the meeting, deciding whether or not to cancel it. But in the end, I knew I’d show up. I was a writer, a sucker. Maybe this time.

At two-fifteen, I was sipping a cappuccino and scribbling notes on a manuscript when she walked in. She looked in her early thirties, with auburn hair, aquamarine eyes, and was breathtakingly beautiful. She looked so perfect that it seemed hard to imagine that her life wasn’t also perfect but that gave me hope. Nobody’s was.

She walked up to me like an old friend. “Hi, Stephen.”

“Hi,” I said, rising. We shook hands. She didn’t offer her name.

She sat down and ordered an herbal tea as we made small talk about her trip to New York. She was even more beautiful close up but her eyes gave her away. Although large and soft, they revealed that they had probably seen a lot more life than thirty years worth. She asked me several questions about myself. I answered them all. She answered none of mine except her name. “Sherry.” Her story might be great but she didn’t seem ready to tell it.

Purchase links:  Amazon     B&N      Smashwords

THANKS TO AUTHOR STEPHEN BRADLEE,
I HAVE ONE (1) EBOOK TO GIVEAWAY.
OPEN TO ALL

CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTRY PAGE

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 affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author Cindy McDonald

I am sure everyone is busy with last minute shopping and the hustle and bustle of  Christmas.  Have a reader on your list who likes a good suspenseful read?   I am here to help, you still have time to purchase today’s guest’s novel.  She is taking time, out of her busy schedule, to visit as she begins her virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours.  Please, help me in giving a warm welcome to Cindy McDonald!!

CINDY McDONALD

For twenty-six years my life whirled around a song and a dance: I was a professional dancer/choreographer for most of my adult life and never gave much thought to a writing career until 2005. Don’t ask me what happened, but suddenly I felt drawn to my computer to write about things I have experienced (greatly exaggerated upon of course) with my husband’s Thoroughbreds and the happenings at the racetrack.
Surprised? Why didn’t I write about my experiences with dance? Eh, believe it or not life at the racetrack is more…racy. The drama is outrageous—not that dancers don’t know how to create drama, believe me, they do but race trackers just seem to get more down and dirty with it which makes great story telling—great fiction.

I didn’t start out writing books, The Unbridled Series started out as a TV drama, and the Hollywood readers loved the show. The problem was we just couldn’t sell it. So one of the readers said to me, “Cindy, don’t be stupid. Turn your scripts into a book series.” and so I did!
In May of 2011 I took the big leap and exchanged my dancin’ shoes for a lap top—I retired from dance. It was a scary proposition, I was terrified, but I had the full support of my husband, Saint Bill. It has been a huge change for me. I went from dancing hard five hours a night to sitting in front of a computer. I still work-out and I take my dog, Harvey, for a daily run. I have to or I’d be as big as a house. Do I miss dance? Sometimes I do. I miss my students. I miss choreographing musicals, but I love my books and I love sharing them with you.
Visit Cindy at her website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and GoodReads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Vic Deveaux’s glory days as a winning jockey have ended, but he refuses to accept that pile of horse hockey! When the West family asks Vic to take an easier position at their Thoroughbred farm, Westwood, he becomes enraged and teams up with two greedy stable hands in a scheme to kidnap the youngest son, Shane. Things turn ugly when Vic discovers that his new-found friends have murder on their minds. Suddenly Vic finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He has betrayed his good friend, Eric West, but will he participate in his son’s murder as well? Not content to sit at home and wait for her men to bring her brother home, Kate West convinces homicide detective, Carl Lugowski, to check out a hunch at an old abandoned mansion. Soon they’re trapped in a hornet’s nest of a notorious biker gang. Oh yeah, Vic’s deception has placed the West family in more danger than they know what to do with!

Purchase links:   AMAZON link     GoodReads link  
Read an excerpt:

The fading sunlight seeped through the curtains, shimmering over the silky white Persian cat, Stella, sleeping on the window sill. The candles on the vanity flickered, sending a waft of vanilla throughout the room, camouflaging the smell of sex. Ava West’s auburn hair cascaded across her shoulders, and her breathing was shallow and steady against Carl Lugowski’s chiseled chest.Lieutenant Carl Lugowski worked homicide for the Rosemount Police Department. He was normally a light sleeper as most cops are. Subconsciously prepared for that emergency phone call from the station that jolts them from their bed, because a body had been found in some dark alley, or a domestic argument had gone terribly awry, resulting in murder. But today his sleep was deep and his gentle snore was restful, holding Ava’s beautiful naked body in his arms, after their afternoon of abandoned love-making.

God she knew how to get to him. He had taken a half day off, they were supposed to see a matinee, but when he arrived at her apartment, Ava had other plans. Not a problem. Nosiree, Bob. She answered the door in a dark blue lace Teddy, accentuating the swell of her round breasts and her stiff nipples peeking through the sheer delicate fabric. Her sultry green eyes had a “come on” look, and her plump lips curled, begging to be kissed, hard.

Ava didn’t flirt. When she wanted sex, she was shameless. She opened the door and pressed her lips to his, running her hands over his chest, unbuttoning his shirt. There was no fumbling. The buttons slipped open with unerring precision. He slipped the strap of the Teddy from her shoulder, baring her beautiful breast, running his tongue over the pebbled nipple, feeling the undeniable pressure of his erection. Her smile turned devious, pushing him away. Ava was like that. She teased. He knew what she was about.

As gracefully as a dancer, she swooped up two glasses of wine from the hall table, strutting toward the bedroom. Her long silky hair caressed her back as she moved. Lord have mercy, how he loved to watch her walk toward that bedroom where pleasure would rule the afternoon, and where once would never be enough to satisfy her desire. Ava was a demanding lover, and he aimed to please and please and freakin’ please. Who needs a damned movie?

Their clothes lie on the floor, and the daylight was gently giving way to the purple whisper of twilight. They were spent. The sheets lightly covered their warm moist naked bodies, until suddenly the surreal quiet was broken by Lugowski’s cell phone buzzing and vibrating against the lamp on the nightstand. Damn it. His eyes dragged open slowly, rotating toward the meddling reverberation. He let out a low grouse, and then begrudgingly reached for the phone. Ava tugged at his arm.

“Let it go to voice mail,” she murmured.

Not a bad idea. In fact, he was seriously considering it, when his eyes caught the name on the screen: KATE WEST.

Game changer.

His relationship with Ava meant the world to him. He had wanted that woman since well, forever. He wanted her when they were in high school. He wanted her while he was away at the academy, and he still wanted her when he returned to find that she was Mike West’s wife. But now she was exactly where he always wanted her to be, in his life, and in his bed.

Wrangled and rocked beyond his control, his heart helplessly skipped a beat when Kate West was around, hell, when Kate West’s name was merely mentioned. She stirred something inside him that he couldn’t explain. He couldn’t wrap his head around, it confused and quite frankly scared the hell out of him.

She wasn’t the clichéd blue-eyed, blonde-haired, “girl next door”. But she was definitely a woman any man would want to come home to, wrap his arms around, and make love to night after night. Kate West was what Lugowski would define as “a keeper”.

WTF? He was in bed with the woman of his dreams. He should really let the call go. Yeah, really, that’s what he should do. She was squeezing him, why would she be calling? They didn’t have anything but a professional relationship. So…

“I need to take this. Sorry, baby,” he said, sitting up, pressing the phone as tightly and as covertly as possible to his ear. “Lugowski…” he announced, making sure he sounded authoritative, official.

“Carl, I’m so sorry to bother you. This is Kate West.”

Ava groaned, dragging her fingers through her hair, perking her ears when she detected a slightly familiar female voice, filtering through the receiver. It made her brows furrow and her lips purse. Suspicion was mixing it up with jealousy, fast. Lugowski had successfully muffled the voice, but she tilted her head against the pillow, narrowing her eyes, engaged. The voice sounded like Kate’s, and that was definitely an unacceptable intrusion on her afternoon delight.

“What’s going on?” Lugowski asked, recognizing the disquiet in her voice.

“I don’t want to talk about it over the phone, but it’s really important, Carl. Can we meet at McDonald’s?”

Coffee, he had had coffee with the lovely blonde at McDonald’s several times, usually at his request, and it had become almost a code between them-never anything sexual, and he wasn’t sure what he would do if it ever did. Shit. What was he thinking? Kate was Mike West’s little sister, and Ava’s ex-sister-in-law. It was too complicated, too weird, too out-of-control…

“I’m on my way,” no hesitation, the words spilled right out of his mouth, as he ended the call, pitching the sheets aside, swinging his legs over the bed, and reaching for his boxer briefs.

Briskly sitting up, Ava grabbed his arm. The black satin sheets slipped to her waist. Her breasts bobbed delicately into glorious view, “What? Wait a minute, where are you going?” She demanded in a high-pitched annoyed tone, and it only took a nanosecond for her green bedroom eyes to morph into a jaded glower.

It was a justified question that he knew he couldn’t give an honest answer to; unless he was absolutely sure he wanted to endure the repercussions. Ava would be furious, to say the least, if she knew he was leaving her bed to go to Kate’s aid, or whatever it was that he was going to, he wasn’t sure.

He just knew that he had to go.

Follow Cindy’s tour here, where you can enter to win a copy of Dangerous Deception!

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 affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author Jeffrey Blount

Today I am taking a big step, no make that a huge step.  When our friend Rebecca, from The Cadence Group, contacted me about today’s guest, I read the synopsis and thought this sounded like a great read!  Then I realized it was in the genre of YA.  But am thinking you will also agree with me, once you hear from the author.  I ask,  that you help me in welcoming, Jeffrey Blount to our group!

JEFFREY BLOUNT

Jeffrey Blount is an Emmy award-winning television director and an award recipient for scriptwriting on multiple documentary projects.  Born and raised in rural Virginia, he now lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Jeanne Meserve. They have two children, Julia and Jake.
Connect with Mr. Blount at his website, Facebook and Twitter.

GUEST POST

Shared Emotions

For me, writing is an emotional endeavor.  I don’t see how it could be any other way.   I sit alone with my plot line and my characters and I create a world.   Inside that world are feelings like passion, fear, anger, hurt, love and joy.   I have them, like items in a museum, strategically laid out to create a coherent experience for the reader.  If I do it well, then readers should, as they read, experience emotions similar to those I experienced as I wrote.   I believe I was successful at this with my recent young adult novel, Hating Heidi Foster.

 It is a novel filled with raw ecstasy and despair.   Many times, I found myself overcome with emotion.  Sometimes before I even began writing, knowing in my head what I was about to put my characters through; sometimes as scenes unfolded, the characters growing and reacting in ways that I hadn’t foreseen.   At any rate, when it was done, I was worn out.   I was simply drained.  But it was a good kind of exhaustion.

I am happy to say that readers are feeling the same way.  One reviewer wrote, “Heart wrenching and then heartwarming story.  A good but highly emotional read.”  Others have written, similarly moved.  Others I have spoken to about all the emotion and here’s where I’m going with all of this, the part that really saddens me.  As the author, I am not always able to share in the moment.  Why?  Because I’ve been there already.   Many, many times.

What I would really like is to experience what the reader is feeling as they tell me about a passage or a scene that touched them.  I want to feel what they feel at the moment we are having the discussion.  To share.  But, for the most part, I can’t.  Because I have lived with the characters for so long and altered their journeys so many times, I’ve lost much of the emotion.  This fact leaves me wanting and missing something in these precious moments.   It’s the only part of the writing process that I wish to be different.   However, I still want and really need these shared moments, because every author wants to know, not only that they succeeded in bringing something special to the reader’s life, but how.   If only because it makes us better at our craft.

ABOUT THE BOOK

From the Author:
As Hating Heidi Foster begins, Mae McBride stands by on a riverbed watching as her mother offers up the ashes of her father to the river’s fast moving current. She thinks of the great loss in her life and the cause of that loss. She thinks of Heidi Foster, her best friend since second grade.
Heidi Foster is home alone listening to music through her ear buds when fire sneaks into her bedroom and she has nowhere to run but her closet. There she waits for the painful end she knows is about to happen, but she is saved by Eddie, the father of her best friend. Heidi makes it out of the burning house, but Eddie does not. When Mae finds out, she blames Heidi for not being smart enough to get out of the house. She blames her father for putting Heidi ahead of her. She blames her friends for taking Heidi’s side. She begins to unravel amid that blame and her uncontrollable and atypical anger.
At the same time Heidi is beset by guilt, falls into depression and stops eating properly. She is wasting away physically and emotionally while waiting for Mae to let her back into the friendship that she misses so dearly.
Mae, consumed by her hatred of Heidi, the confusion regarding her father’s motives, the perceived desertion of her friends and her mother’s grief, loses more and more of herself.
What could possibly bring these two teenagers back to each other? A miracle?
Note: With the holidays coming up, this would be a great gift idea
for teenage daughters and granddaughters.
Purchase Links:   Amazon    B&N    IndieBound

THANKS TO REBECCA, AT THE CADENCE GROUP, I HAVE ONE (1)
COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.   OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY

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

Guest Author Rebecca Yount

The holidays, is the time of year, when family and friends gather and today 2 such friends are stopping by.  They were here back in June and stopping by to tell us about the latest book.  So please help me give a warm welcome back to Caitlin from Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and author Rebecca Yount!!!

REBECCA YOUNT

REBECCA YOUNT trained from childhood as a concert pianist, is a published poet, and worked in education reform in Washington, D.C., but she always wanted to write. Coming from a family of writers, it wasn’t hard for her to put pen to paper, but it took an actual unsolved murder to give her the idea for her first novel. On a home exchange in England — something she and her husband regularly do — a villager told her about a local murder that remained unsolved, even by Scotland Yard. Sitting under a tree in a fallow field one day, she began to imagine what might have happened. The result was A DEATH IN C MINOR. In 2010 Rebecca underwent open heart surgery, which left her unable to write for two years. When she returned to writing she decided to publish the entire Mick Chandra series herself as e-books. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband, author and columnist David Yount.
Her website iswww.rebeccayount.com.

GUEST POST

MIND THE GAP:
TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU FIRST VISIT ENGLAND

I was forty-eight before I first visited England.  Career, child rearing, and mortgage and college tuition payments postponed the holiday that my husband, David, and I had long dreamed of.

Although I traveled extensively across North America as a young teen and later as part of my job, I had yet to set foot in Britain and Europe.  On the plus side I had yet to suffer from jet lag.

When we first arrived in London in March, l990, I told David, “I’ve come home.”  Indeed, I can claim forebears in England, Scotland, and Normandy, harkening back to the 9th century.  But even my ancestors could not save me from the mind-dithering effects of jet lag getting to the Old Sod.

After checking into our B & B, we hastened to a neighborhood pub that David had found in the Michelin guide.  I was determined to eat “English,” so I ordered steak and ale pie with chips and peas — two standard sides.  The publican asked me, “Would you like fresh garden peas, or mashed peas?” For some reason — probably prompted by the jet lag — I could not even begin to wrap my head around that.

“What’s the difference?” I asked.

She actually rolled her eyes.  “Well…mashed peas are garden peas that are mashed.

So, number one on my list of ten things to prepare for is:

l.  Know your peas:  The English eat peas by the load, so be certain to specify which kind of peas you prefer when the publican asks.  That way, you are spared the eye-rolling.

2.  And, for heaven’s sake, know your English:  What’s the difference between chips and French fries?  There isn’t any, except the former is English, the latter American.  Here are some other “Englishisms”:

0 Plaster = Bandaid;
0 Bap = A sandwich bun (not to hit);
0 Bonnet = hood of a car or other vehicle (not a hat);
0 Boot = trunk of a car (not footwear);
0 Hob = kitchen oven;
0 Boob tube = a woman’s tight, strapless dress top (not a TV);
0 Rubber = eraser (not condom);
0 Brilliant = okay, good, under control (not intelligent);
0 Cheers = thank you, have a good day, excuse me (not the bar in Boston);
0 Mate = male friend, (not partner, husband, or lover);
0 Bang on = harangue or nag (not hit on something);
0 Fry Up = full English breakfast consisting of two eggs (any style), toast (brown or white), baked beans, grilled tomato and mushrooms, bangers (English sausage), and back bacon           (lean, not streaky, bacon);
0 Snog = make out;
0 Frogs = the French.

And these are just a few examples of Englishisms.  It is not a bad idea to carry a portable English slang dictionary with you, as one would carry a French dictionary in Paris.

George Bernard Shaw got it right: England and America are two countries divided by a common language.

3. Be prepared to weather a heat wave:  Yes, yes, I know.  You mainly hear about the cold, rainy weather in England.  But what you may not realize is that the occasional spring or summer can be sweltering.

A few years ago David and I exchanged homes with a couple in Aylesbury, just north of London. After two perfect summer days, the weather turned viciously hot and the temperature rose, in fahrenheit terms, to three digits. This would not be an all-out disaster in America because we have access to air conditioning.  To say that there is no a/c in England is an exaggeration, but not much of one.  David and I were reduced to standing in the frozen food section of the local supermarket to try to cool down.

Then there’s the story about how it rained 19 out of 21 days when we were staying in Durham for a three-week exchange. But that’s for another time.

4.  In rural areas, beware of three-legged pets:  This is a back-handed way of warning the traveller about narrow, visibility-challenging roads.  England is a country that offers one-way rural roads for two-way, speeding traffic.  And heaven help you if a combine comes at you in the opposite direction. Since combine drivers are disinclined to apply their brakes, your only recourse is to drive into the nearest field.

Three-legged pets are domestic animals who have been struck by vehicles on these narrow, winding roads, lose a leg to surgery, then hop around on three appendages (competently, I might add).  In my crime novel, A Death in C Minor, I honor these brave beasties by having a three-legged dog, Molly, discover the murder weapon.

5.  Demand your right to ice: Pubs in England are licensed by the government, so the amount of liquid served is regulated.  Every glass has a line at its top to indicate the required level of beer, wine, or soft drinks. Ice is regarded as an enemy by Her Majesty’s government, because it displaces some of what you are drinking. This poses an obvious dilemma to us Americans since, goodness knows, we want our drinks to be cold.

Instead of declaring to the publican, “Go ahead, cheat me.  Displace the liquid,” I have learned to ask for “an American Coca Cola.”  Invariably, the server will ask, “What’s that?” And I answer, “A coke with lots and lots of ice, and a slice of lemon.” Typically, I get what I want.  On home exchanges to Britain we take along our own ample-sized ice trays.  Forget automatic ice makers in England.  You’d have a better chance of finding the Holy Grail.  You can purchase bags of ice at supermarkets, but make haste on Friday and Saturday evenings, or the local revellers will beat you to the punch.

6.  Be polite:  Even when complaining, be nice about it.  The Brits already have a negative image of Americans as Neanderthals who don’t know which fork to use at the dinner table.  They will, however, respond positively to good manners. Tossing in some self-deprecating humor doesn’t hurt, either.

Once, while converting our American dollars to British pounds, I said to the cashier, “We’d like to exchange our worthless American currency for your inflated pounds, if you please.”  The poor man could scarcely stop laughing.  On another occasion, when David and I went to the old historic Haymarket theater to see a play, I looked around and said, “I wonder when the fire marshall was here last?”  Not only did the audience in our section laugh, but some actually gave me a round of applause.  So remember: good manners + self-deprecating humor.

7.  Never say “yuck,” when a Brit confesses a fondness for Marmite.  That would be equivalent to their disdain for peanut butter.

There are additional tips about traveling in England, such as: 8) don’t expect the men to be wearing bowler hats; 9) don’t expect thick fog, as in the Jack the Ripper movies; and 10) don’t expect to see charming Cockney chimneysweeps dancing on rooftops. Those are remnants of the past.

Finally, should you happen to encounter Her Majesty, do not speak until spoken to!

Otherwise, have a lovely time.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In THE ERLKING, New Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Mick Chandra is back in London. His American girlfriend, Jessica Beaumont, has moved in with him and is busy trying to revitalize her career as a concert pianist. Mick is setting up a drug sting operation when he learns he has been reassigned to the Yard’s Pedophile Unit.

Children in north London have begun to disappear. The situation is dire. With Mick’s record for solving cases the Yard hopes that adding him to the team will bring about a quick resolution.

Someone who calls himself “The Erlking” is behind the disappearances. Rumors abound that The Erlking is head of a ring in which a prominent member of the government is involved. Mick and his team need a big break.

To write this book Rebecca researched real-life cases and consulted Scotland Yard. In this new Mick Chandra mystery, she takes readers into a dark and disturbing world, reminding readers that while redemption is not always possible, justice is, especially when Chandra is on the case.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, REBECCA YOUNT,
I HAVE ONE (1) EBOOK TO GIVEAWAY

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

ENTRY PAGE “THE ERLKING” by Rebecca Yount ENDED

DECEMBER 19th to JANUARY 2nd, 2013

THE ERLKING
by REBECCA YOUNT

SYNOPSIS:
In THE ERLKING, New Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Mick Chandra is back in London. His American girlfriend, Jessica Beaumont, has moved in with him and is busy trying to revitalize her career as a concert pianist. Mick is setting up a drug sting operation when he learns he has been reassigned to the Yard’s Pedophile Unit.
Children in north London have begun to disappear. The situation is dire. With Mick’s record for solving cases the Yard hopes that adding him to the team will bring about a quick resolution.
Someone who calls himself “The Erlking” is behind the disappearances. Rumors abound that The Erlking is head of a ring in which a prominent member of the government is involved. Mick and his team need a big break.
To write this book Rebecca researched real-life cases and consulted Scotland Yard. In this new Mick Chandra mystery, she takes readers into a dark and disturbing world, reminding readers that while redemption is not always possible, justice is, especially when Chandra is on the case.
THANKS TO AUTHOR, REBECCA YOUNT,
I HAVE ONE ( 1 ) EBOOK OF THIS
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.
*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY
*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL
ADDRESS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: WHAT’S THE FIRST WORD THAT,
COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR SCOTLAND YARD?
*
*EBOOK-OPEN TO ALL*

**HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS JANUARY 2nd AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
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

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Author Katie Lane

How is everyone today?  Ready to meet today’s guests?  I know you know them because they were here 2 weeks ago.  That’s right!!  Jihan, from GCP/Forever and Ms. Katie Lane are stopping by today to talk about her latest book.  So without further ado, the very busy, Best Selling author, Ms. Katie Lane!!!

KATIE LANE

So here’s the thing. I love to write about fictional people, but I feel very uncomfortable writing about myself. So let’s dispense with the biography and I’ll tell you a story. And everyone knows that all the best stories start with . . .

Once upon a time there was a little girl who walked around with her head in the clouds. While the other kids paid attention to the world around them, this little girl (For clarity’s sake, let’s just call her Katie.) spent her days dreaming. The dreams varied. One day Katie might be a princess who was rescued by a prince on a three-legged horse (Perfection can be so boring.), and the next day she might find herself as an overworked mother of ten. (Mothers are wonderful heroines, don’t you agree?) This playacting was acceptable when Katie was little, but as she grew older, people started to take notice and think her a little odd. (Odd? What’s odd about a tall, skinny seventh grader pushing an overfilled doll stroller down the street?)

Luckily for her social standing, Katie gave up the play-stage for the written-page, spending hours writing down her daydreams in a spiral notebook. But over the years, her storytelling took a backseat to hormones and high school, and it wasn’t until her two exceptional daughters were grown (Ten seemed a little redundant after the first labor pain) that she returned to writing.

Now Katie spends her days at a computer daydreaming, while the rest of the time she enjoys hanging with her family, reading, going to the gym, playing golf, motorcycle riding, traveling, or just snuggling next to her snoring prince. (Snoring might seem like a minor imperfection when compared to a three-legged horse, but believe me it’s not) Because if the little girl of the clouds learned anything over the years, it was that every moment in life is a happily-ever-after just waiting to be fulfilled.
Visit Ms. Lane at her website, Facebook,  TwitterPinterest and GoodReads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

THERE’S A FOX IN THE HENHOUSE
Inheriting the most notorious house of ill repute in Texas can spell trouble for a girl’s reputation . . . especially when she’s Elizabeth Murphy, Bramble’s prim and proper librarian. Yet when she discovers a buck-naked cowboy handcuffed to a four-poster bed, she forgets all about the town gossips. Elizabeth has sworn off men, but the stranger’s kisses melt her resolve faster than ice cream on a hot summer day.
Waking up in Miss Hattie’s Henhouse isn’t how Brant Cates reckoned on getting to the bottom of his great-granddaddy’s murder. The plan was to solve the centuries-old crime, then get the heck out of Dodge. But after meeting Elizabeth and discovering that the buttoned-up beauty is a sexy siren in disguise, he just can’t pull himself away.
Now Brant needs Elizabeth to finally put his past to rest, but is she willing to risk her future on Bramble’s newest bad boy?
Purchase links:    Amazon    B&N    IndieBound

THANKS TO JIHAN, AT GCP/FOREVER, I HAVE TWO (2)
COPIES OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.  U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

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 affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

GIVEAWAY ENTRY “TROUBLE IN TEXAS” by Katie Lane ENDED

DECEMBER 18th to JANUARY 1st, 2013

TROUBLE IN TEXAS
by KATIE LANE

SYNOPSIS:
THERE’S A FOX IN THE HENHOUSE
Inheriting the most notorious house of ill repute in Texas can spell trouble for a girl’s reputation . . . especially when she’s Elizabeth Murphy, Bramble’s prim and proper librarian. Yet when she discovers a buck-naked cowboy handcuffed to a four-poster bed, she forgets all about the town gossips. Elizabeth has sworn off men, but the stranger’s kisses melt her resolve faster than ice cream on a hot summer day.
Waking up in Miss Hattie’s Henhouse isn’t how Brant Cates reckoned on getting to the bottom of his great-granddaddy’s murder. The plan was to solve the centuries-old crime, then get the heck out of Dodge. But after meeting Elizabeth and discovering that the buttoned-up beauty is a sexy siren in disguise, he just can’t pull himself away.
Now Brant needs Elizabeth to finally put his past to rest, but is she willing to risk her future on Bramble’s newest bad boy?
THANKS TO JIHAN, AND THE
WONDERFUL PEOPLE AT GCP/FOREVER
I HAVE TWO ( 2 ) COPIES OF THIS
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.
*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY
*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL
ADDRESS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: FROM READING THE SYNOPSIS,
DO YOU THINK ELIZABETH RISKS HER FUTURE?
*
*U.S.  RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*
 **PER PUBLISHER**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS JANUARY 1st AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
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

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway