We have met some incredible female authors through WOW!.  And Jodi is back today to introduce us to another awesome writer.  Welcome Ms. Sharon Simons!!

SHARON SIMONS

Sharon had a dream to become a mother which she was determined to follow. Her path was difficult but ultimately successful. Born in New Jersey and living in Delaware, she is married to her soul mate Rick and the very proud Mom to her two sons Dylan and Hunter.

Sharon struggled to become a Mom, dealing with the uncertain world of infertility including three In Vitro Fertilizations, Tubal Pregnancy, and the Loss of a Pregnancy with twin boys at 19 weeks. That loss only made her more determined to become a Mom. Thankfully that dream became a reality through the use of International Adoption.

Sharon Simons took her experiences and created Mom at Last, a community of women who struggled through their journey towards becoming a Mom, at Last! She also also written Mom at Last: How I Never Gave Up On Becoming a Mother, to inspire other women who are having a difficult time becoming a Mother. In addition to creating the Mom at Last Community & writing her Memoir, Sharon Simons has created theAdoptionApp, a Domestic and International Adoption Process Mobile App for iPhone and Android, and TheAdoptionKit, an Adoption Survival Kit to help you through the Adoption Process.

Connect with Sharon at these sites:

GUEST POST

My Proudest Moment

It took me quite a while to become one, through many trials, tribulations, and heartaches, but motherhood happened. My husband and I adopted two beautiful little boys. My proudest moment. I decided to share my story to give “mom’s to be” hope and strength to persevere.

The “Mom at Last” website is both a celebration of the various journeys leading to and through motherhood. I want to help other women with their struggles to understand that many women share the same struggles, emotion, pain and joy through the formation of a community and documentation of individual stories — as well as a resource for those starting on their path.

Through most of my life career came first, being a mom on the back burner, but eventually the urge grew to be irresistible. My husband and I met later in life when he was unable to conceive naturally. After agreeing to have children we went through the “in vitro” process several times, only to be met with tragedy. Our first attempt resulted in a twin pregnancy with two boys. The pregnancy went well for 19 weeks when I unexpectedly contracted amniocentesis. I became extremely ill with sepsis and lost both boys. After recovering as best I could both physically and emotionally, we decided to try again. Much to our surprise our next attempt also seemed successful, with a positive pregnancy test one week after embryo implantation. Unfortunately, to our chagrin the pregnancy was ectopic and had to be terminated. We again had to deal with pain and loss. After a short break, despite the cost and uncertainty we went ahead with our third try. Unfortunately, the third time was not a charm, no luck.

We then faced a major decision, a turning point in our journey. We decided to adopt. With time in short supply considering my husband’s age and the restrictions many country’s have regarding adoption, I plunged headfirst into the process. Fortunately my adoption process went quickly. I contacted the agency right before Memorial Day 2007 and was on my first trip to Russia July 4th, 2007 to meet the boys. I pushed full steam ahead with all the paperwork and was given a court date of Labor Day 2007.  My husband and I made our second trip to Russia and thankfully the judge approved us and we were awarded our children.  We are now the proud parents of the most beautiful and brightest boys in the world.

Along the journey I did not understand why we had so many disappointments.  I do now…if I did not follow my exact path I would not have my wonderful boys.

Adoption was my destination. These boys were not born to me physically but they were born in my heart.  They are my everything!!

ABOUT THE BOOK

From Amazon:
Her biological clock ticking louder each day, Sharon Simon felt her heart sink as yet another “Mr. Wonderful” turned out to be a frog—not the prince she was waiting for. But when the right man did come along, their journey toward parenthood seemed more like a machete trail through a jungle than the smooth path of her dreams. Enduring multiple failed IVFs and the loss of their unborn twins, Sharon and her husband decided to adopt—taking a whirlwind trip to Russia and navigating the rough waters of international adoption red tape. Their journey ended, or rather began, when two baby boys were placed in their arms for the long trip home.
Part love story, part adoption memoir, and all heart, Mom at Last is the story of one woman’s fierce determination to become a mother. Full of setbacks and emotionally devastating pitfalls, ultimately the journey leads her to true love and pure joy. Mom at Last will inspire women who find themselves on that sometimes difficult journey to motherhood, giving hope that motherhood is possible and encouraging women to never give up on their dreams. While every journey to motherhood is different, Mom at Last lets women know they are not alone in the struggle toward motherhood.

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BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing (August 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1614484422
ISBN-13: 978-1614484424

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO JODI AT WOW!,
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…of The Sixth Station by Linda Stassi

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29 Jason D Nickolay Leave a Blog Post Comment

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  THank you to all that entered.

Knowing by Laurel Dewey
Published by The Story Plant
Publication Date: Dec. 12, 2012
ISBN-10: 1611880491
ISBN-13: 978-1611880496
Pages: 394
Review Copy from: The Story Plant
Edition: Kindle
My Rating: 4

Synopsis:
After the life-altering ending in the third Jane Perry thriller, REVELATIONS, Jane Perry takes time off from the job to find the missing part of herself she never knew existed. But her journey is quickly hijacked when a wanted criminal, Harlan Kipple, steals her car. Kipple—accused of the heinous murder of a prostitute in a seedy motel—is on the run and desperate to stay that way. Jane’s personal plans take a back seat as she tracks down her stolen ride and discovers through an unusual source that Kipple may be innocent and is being framed by a nefarious group. When she trails Kipple and confronts him, every belief she ever had about this world and the next is put to the test.

Kipple, who by his own admission is not the “brightest bulb in the box,” received a heart transplant seventeen months ago. His life changed from the moment he woke up in the recovery room. In fact, he’s not so sure where he ends and his heart takes over. As strange as that sounds to her, Jane cannot deny what she witnesses after spending just two days with Kipple. It becomes clear that nothing is what it appears as Jane is drawn into a deep rabbit hole with dark webs and darker crevices that force her to operate on the other side of the law. With the police hot on Kipple’s tail and a devious faction intent on finding him first, Jane is caught in the middle and realizes that solving this crime could have fatal consequences.

With themes as diverse as immortality, regeneration, resurrection, transformation and death, author Laurel Dewey tackles this latest Jane Perry novel with originality and plenty of suspense. “Finding yourself” takes on a whole new meaning in KNOWING.

My Thoughts and Opinion: Brilliant!! This was the first full length novel featuring Det. Jane Perry that I read. I had previously read two (2) novellas, Unrevealed and Promissory Payback where Jane Perry was first introduced to me, and enjoyed the story line and the main character. So I was looking forward to reading this novel. I also read another novel by this author, Betty’s (Little Basement) Garden, which I also enjoyed.

In Knowing, Jane Perry has taken some time off to investigate a lead, but this is different, it’s personal.  However, trouble finds her before she can even make it out of state to begin her journey.  Instead she gets thrown into the middle of a murder investigation, one that will take it down many different roads, including harboring and assisting the murder suspect to clear his name. However, what she learns is a conspiracy, laid out in post cards, left behind by an organ donor.

The plot is ingenious and inventive touching upon many subplots including the murder investigation, organ transplants, a bit of paranormal and spiritual, altered states and the power of heart and mind, which keeps the reader turning the pages to find out all the answers. The action was non stop. The story line is profound, whereas the reader will ask the questions, do you believe in reincarnation, life after death and the capacity of the mind. A thought provoking murder mystery. Definitely recommend to adults only, due to the excessive language.  A read that will keep you on the edge of your seat!!

(2013 Challenges: Ebook, Count The Ways, A-Z, Where Are You, Mystery/Suspense, FreeReads, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, Read-A-Latte)

REVIEW DISCLAIMER
This blog was founded on the premise to write honest reviews, to the
best of my ability, no matter who from, where from and/or how the book
was obtained, and will continue to do so, even if it is through PICT or PBP.

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.

………of Falling In Love by Stephen Bradlee

37 Caitlin McClure Tweet about the Giveaway

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.

ADDENDUM  01/14/13
Due to no response from the winner within 48hrs, another winner has been notified.  The new winner has 48hrs to respond or another winner will be chosen.

27 Sandy Vandenberg Leave a Blog Post Comment

From our house to your’s

CMash Reads will be taking today off since here in the U.S., we will be celebrating Thanksgiving amongst family and friends.   I have been Blessed over this past year and have much to be thankful for.  I am looking forward to being surrounded by loved ones, eating delicious food (especially the dessert), laughing, talking, remembering those who are not with us this year, and celebrating life.   I hope your day is full of the same.

As some of you might have heard, Hurricane Sandy is affecting the East Coast of the U.S.  To all family and friends, that will be affected, please be safe!!!

Here in RI, we have been preparing.  As of right now, 10:30am Monday, we have all needed supplies, my Kindle is charged, and we are sitting here waiting to see what the impact on us will be.  Locally, they are predicting major power outages, which could be up to a week.   If you don’t see any daily activity, other than my prepared posts, you can assume I am offline.

 Stay safe!!!!

…of Murder Takes Time by Giacomo Giammatteo

1 Tea Time with Marce Leave a Blog Post Comment

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond with digital version requested or another winner will be notified.  Didn’t win??  You have a 2nd chance.  Stop by Saturday when Giacomo Giammatteo kicks off his virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours.    There will be another giveaway and another chance to win!!!!!!!

Hosted by Marce from Tea Time with Marce
(click above image to bring you to her blog)

Hi and Welcome to CMash Reads!!!

Marce invited me  to be today’s guest blogger for Thrill Week, and asked if I would talk about Partners In Crime Tours and a debut author that I have had the privilege of getting to know during the tour process.

First, a little bit about Partners In Crime Tours (PICT).  PICT was founded in May/June of 2011 by Molly from Reviews By Molly and it was during that time, that she extended the invitation to me to become a partner in the company.  This past July, the reins were turned over to me, with Molly assisting me when needed.  PICT is a virtual tour company for authors of mystery, suspense and crime novels.  Within this past year, we have grown, gained recognition and have become so busy that I had to hire a second Tour Coordinator, Gina from Hott Books.  I have had a vision for PICT for awhile and one of the ideas came to fruition last month, with the creation of a monthly newsletter.  If you would like to see the latest news from PICT, you can sign up for the bulletin on our site.

PICT recently teamed up with ITW (International Thrill Writers) and just finished a tour at the request of Harper Collins for the newest Laura Lippman, And When She Was Good novel.

Our hosts are phenomenal and we have over 120+ book bloggers on our mailing list.  They write professional, honest, credible reviews and blog with integrity.  And as I state in my invitation email, they choose which tours they want to participate in.   I truly think we have a great group and in appreciation, I will be running contests for our hosts, the active one is for a $50.00 GC to Amazon.

If you are interested in becoming a host/reviewer and/or would like more details, please contact me at CMash@Partnersincrimetours.net.  Hope to hear from you!!

Our clients range from publishers, authors and agents.  I have had the honor to coordinate tours, for both the publishers and authors with debut novels, that have blown me away!  One such author is Giacomo Giammatteo, Murder Takes Time, which his tour officially kicks off on Sept. 15th, here on CMash Reads.

SYNOPSIS:
A string of brutal murders has bodies piling up in Brooklyn, and Detective Frankie Donovan knows what is going on. Clues left at the crime scenes point to someone from the old neighborhood, and that isn’t good.

Frankie has taken two oaths in his life—the one he took to uphold the law when he became a cop, and the one he took with his two best friends when they were eight years old and inseparable.

Those relationships have forced Frankie to make many tough decisions, but now he faces the toughest one of his life; he has five murders to solve and one of those two friends is responsible. If Frankie lets him go, he breaks the oath he took as a cop and risks losing his job. But if he tries to bring him in, he breaks the oath he kept for twenty-five years—and risks losing his life.

In the neighborhood where Frankie Donovan grew up, you never broke an oath.

This book was amazing!!  Kept me turning the pages.  Since I am scheduled to post my entire review on Sept 15th, I will give a sneak peak for those participating in Thrill Week.

This book pulled me in within the first few paragraphs and never gave me the chance to get away.  I had to keep turning the pages.  It is a debut novel that was written as if it was penned by a seasoned author.  A debut writer that I am sure you will be hearing more about.

Giacomo has graciously accepted my invitation to be part of Thrill Week, and has not only written a guest post, but offered one lucky participant the chance to win and read his novel.

GUEST POST

The Impact of Reviews

I have always enjoyed writing, but I wasn’t one of the people you hear about who felt they were destined to be a writer since childhood. Even if I had been, it would have been tough. I got married at 17, and never finished high school. Back in those days, even dreaming of being a writer without an education was ridiculous.

So I took pleasure in helping my sister with her homework, and later, helping my kids. It wasn’t until my youngest son showed an interest in writing that I started thinking about actually writing something myself. We both loved reading fantasy books. We would read the books, and then discuss them. Dissect them, is more like it. Before long we decided we could write one, and started on a plot.

It was about that time that girls came into my son’s life, and I was left alone with the writing. Fortunately, I never lost the “bug.” I still didn’t give it serious thought, but after finishing three epic fantasies, I was happy with what I’d written. I made a few half-hearted attempts to get representation with agents, but met with the usual rejections, so I put the books on the shelf and went on with life.

The Bug Bites Again
A few years after that, I got the bug again, but this time with a different genre. My first book, Murder Takes Time, has a lot of my own life in it, but the story is built around a mystery. It was while writing this book that I felt, for the first time, that I had what it took to be a writer. There were scenes that brought tears to my eyes while I wrote them, and others that made me laugh out loud.

I finished the book in two months, took another few weeks to do a quick edit, and then sent it out to everyone I knew, asking for an honest review. I did more than ask for honesty, I begged for it. I told each one of them, “you don’t have to say anything nice, but you have to find something wrong.”

I was fortunate to get 29 beta readers for this project. Some of those were family members, but for those of you who are thinking, “oh yeah, family members,” all I can say to that is you don’t know my family; they were brutal.

Once I felt comfortable that I had a good story, I did several more rounds of editing and polishing, then I prepared it for submitting to agents. This time I felt certain I’d get scooped up by several of them. Stupid me. After 103 rejections, I finally decided that I was going to do it myself.

A New Strategy
Self publishing was a scary prospect, venturing into unknown territory, exposing my soul to readers and reviewers waiting to rip it apart. I was confident, but…at the same time, nervous. After all, 103 agents said it wasn’t good enough. Who was I to say otherwise?

It’s difficult to describe the anxiety after you put your “baby” out there, and wait on reviews. Even worse when you have to spend an hour or so each day working on trying to get reviews, and then wondering if they’ll be good or not. New authors live and die on reviews, so it’s more than just an ego thing, it’s a stepping stone to success.

The Impact of Reviews
Reviews are like drugs to an author. A negative one can, and will, bring your mood crashing down, and a positive review lets you walk in the clouds, if only briefly.

But out of everything that a good review does for an author, the thing that means the most to me, is reading a review that says they couldn’t put the book down. Or seeing someone talk about how involved they were with the characters, or how they could smell the food being cooked in Mamma Rosa’s kitchen.

The Bottom Line
Reading a review like that means more to me than anything, because it reminds me of how I feel when I read a good book. And to me there isn’t much better in life than that feeling. Except maybe my wife’s lasagna, with a good bottle of wine.

Ciao, and thanks for listening,
Giacomo

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of Murder Takes Time, and A Bullet For Carlos. He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 41 loving “friends.”

THANKS TO AUTHOR, GIACOMO GIAMMATTEO,
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No items that I receive
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or given to family and/or friends.