Authoright, Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase

Guest Author KELLIE LANE showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash April 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME KELLIE LANE

KELLIE LANE

Kellie Lane is a passionate communicator and orator of God’s Word with a great desire to motivate His people to reach their maximum potential in Jesus Christ. It is her heartfelt desire for all to connect with and experience God’s love and plan for their lives. She is a free lance writer, author, motivational speaker, prayer warrior, and minister of dance. Kellie graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Nursing with a Bachelor’s degree (2002) and Master’s degree (2006) in Nursing. She is currently completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree at the University of Mississippi. She is happily married with six children. She is a spiritual mother to many more.
Connect with Kellie at these sites:

Q&A with Kellie Lane

Writing and Reading:
Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Typically I draw from personal experiences as well as testimonies from others. Many chose to send their personal stories to me. Yet this is not always the case. At times something may grab my attention in the news and in turn I incorporate it into my writings.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I start with the introduction. I sometimes spend weeks fine tuning it. Once I am satisfied with its flow I can then progress with the book. I never know exactly how the story will end. I leave that part up to God.

Your routine when writing?
When writing I only need three things: My Jesus, My laptop, and my noise maker to tune out sound.

Any idiosyncrasies?
I wait to hear a particular sound. It’s a bit difficult to explain but someone may be speaking or a song may be on the radio and then all of a sudden whatever has been spoken inspires me. I then know that this is what I am to write about next. Perhaps something said is my next book title or simply a chapter title for that matter. Yet, I cannot write until I hear a sound. I know what it is when it happens.

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Writing is not my full-time job yet. I am a family nurse practitioner serving veterans on the daily basis. I’ve been in nursing for over a decade. What I have learned spills over into my writing because caring for others is a part of me. It’s who I am. In addition, I am a life coach ( niche is weight loss and relationships ) and a motivational speaker. I thrive off of empowering others.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
The apostle Paul. His writings in the new testament are simply awesome. Next I would say Cindy Trimm, Joyce Meyer, and Bishop T.D. Jakes.

What are you reading now?
The ESV study Bible. I feel that in order to be most effective I must continuously feed off of the Word of God. With it we are a force to be reckoned with. Without it, we lack power and control.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
Yes, my next release “Chosen: Know your Kingdom Assignment” will be released in Summer of 2014. This book guides the reader into discovering their unique task in the Earth realm assigned by God . Everyone has a purpose. God had a hope of what each of us would become. Chosen will help you get there.

In addition, my third book will be released in the Fall of 2014. It is titled “Internal Chaos: Battles of the Heart”. This book will serve as an eye opener and liberation tool for women who are or have been trapped in unfruitful relationships with men who make false claims to love them. This was my personal struggle for many years. I fell subject to spiritual manipulation and domestic misuse. Now the time has come to expose the tactics of the enemy. The reader will walk away empowered and equipped to be the virtuous woman spoken about in the book of Proverbs (31).

Fun questions:
Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
Internal Chaos will be a movie. It will depict the lives of four different women each experiencing Hell in their current relationship or marriage. Somehow they will find their way to Salvation and restoration. I would love to have one of the lead roles played by Sanaa Lathan and another by Gabrielle Union. It wouldn’t hurt to have Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey as well.

Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Keyboard

Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
I love exercising, listening to music, writing! Spending time with my family, traveling, and shopping!

Favorite meal?
Tilapia or salmon with mixed veggies. I love asparagus and mushrooms. Quiche is my favorite breakfast meal with spinach. Yes I am a health fanatic. Fitness is essential for prosperity!

ABOUT THE BOOK

What do you do when you’ve prayed and prayed and there seems to be no answer?

Kellie Lane knows what it is like to feel as though you are holding a ticket for a ride that’s never going to arrive.

Through personal experience and Bible study she has learned how to hold on to heaven’s promises–for yourself or others–when it seems like all hell is breaking loose.
You will discover why you may be waiting, where God is in this difficult season, and what you can do to cooperate with His plans and purposes for you.

If it feels like the heavens have turned to brass, let prayer warrior Kellie Lane show you how to position yourself to receive the gold that is coming your way through the fire of refinement.

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 112 pages
Publisher: Creation House
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN-10: 1621366774
ISBN-13: 978-1621366775

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO KATY AT AUTHORIGHT,
I HAVE THREE (3) COPIES TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. and U.K. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS APRIL 22nd 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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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.

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday

CMash April 7, 2014 1 Comment

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now hosted on its own blog.
According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Click on title for synopsis via IndieBound and/or Amazon (I am an IndieBound affiliate)

Monday: The Rich And The Dead by Liv Spector from Harper Collins
Saturday: The Argentine Triangle by Allan Topol from Media Muscle
Saturday: Justice For Abby by Cate Beauman from Author

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is……

CMash April 4, 2014 1 Comment

**…….of The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom**

CONGRATULATIONS!!

15 James Coyne Like Partners In Crime Tours on Facebook
An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Guest Author, Showcase, The Story Plant

Guest Author SUSAN ISRAEL

CMash April 3, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME SUSAN ISRAEL

SUSAN ISRAEL

Susan Israel lives in Connecticut with her beloved dog, but New York City lives in her heart and mind. A graduate of Yale College, her fiction has been published in Other Voices, Hawaii Review and Vignette and she has written for magazines, websites and newspapers, including Glamour, Girls Life, Ladies Home Journal and The Washington Post. Sheâ€™s currently at work on the second book in the Delilah Price series, Student Bodies.
Connect with Susan at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Delilah is accustomed to people seeing her naked. As a nude model – a gig that keeps food on the table while her career as a sculptor takes off – it comes with the territory.

But Delilah has never before felt this vulnerable.

Because Delilah has an admirer. Someone who is paying a great deal of attention to her. And he just might love her to death.

The debut of a shockingly fresh voice in suspense fiction, OVER MY LIVE BODY will work its way inside of you.

READ AN EXCERPT

I’ve gone from posing in one studio to posing in another in less than an hour. Ordinarily I don’t complain about the cold. I don’t move before I’m told to. I try to be the model I’ve never had the good luck to hire. But today I feel like I’m lugging around a portfolio of hypersensitivity along with my usual artist supplies and it’s not even justified. Here, I’m among friends.

The instructor of this class has drawn a chalk outline of where I’m supposed to lie and indicates the pose she wants me to strike, that of a classic come-to-my-casbah odalisque. I feel my calf muscles tighten as I scrunch up into the framework of the drawing on the floor. There are no new faces in this class, no surprises, I’ll be forgiven if I twitch or scratch an itch. Morgan, one of the best artists and my best friend, has brought poppy seed pound cake and stops what he’s doing to tiptoe over and feed me morsels of it. “Should be grapes,” the instructor says. Someone down the hall is playing Carmen on a boom box. “Should be Scheherezade,” Morgan says, winking at me.

The wink isn’t misunderstood, wouldn’t be even if Morgan wasn’t gay.
We artists are like a cast ensemble in repertory. Many of us have seen each other nude in classes. I’m dressed in the part I’m playing. It’s when I change locations, freelance in other schools, that I’ve felt uncomfortable and I’ve tried not to do that too often. I try not to, but sometimes I need the money to buy extra supplies or pay off mounting bills and I have to do it, like I did last night. I sometimes say never again, never again! What do I need this aggravation for? I feel smarmy; it makes me fight with Ivan more. Except, like a new enrollee in some 12-step program, I’m learning to recognize what I have and haven’t the power to change and ironically now that I’ve decided to kick Ivan and his half of the rent money out, I’m going to have to pay more bills than ever, starting with the new lock I’m having installed.

“Delilah, you moved!”

I look down and see my arm and leg protruding from the smeared outline marking where they’re supposed to be. “I’m sorry.”

“Delilah rarely strays,” Morgan says with a smile, holding a pencil up to me to gauge the span of my body stretched out in front of faded brocade. Another artist, Keith, moves in for a closer look, so close that I can smell the eucalyptus cough drop lodged in his cheek that I first thought was an abscess.
The others take turns approaching me, walking around me, appraising me with the dispassionate curiosity they would exhibit while looking at a piece on display in a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. The instructor, their tour guide, calls attention to my posterior as the center of gravity upon which all else rests. She points to my right shoulder with a well-sharpened Conté crayon and lightly touches it, then moves on to the sole of my right foot. My toes curl. “Notice how the light is distributed here and here, how opalescent these areas seem compared to this.” I feel the pencil glide along the base of my spine. “I want you to pay attention to these tonal differences in your drawings as if you were painting them because you will be.”

The door bangs open suddenly, unexpectedly; no one casually walks in and out of this studio. “Phone call downstairs for Delilah,” someone hollers, retreating down the hall.

“She can`t come to the phone right now,” the instructor bellows back. “Take a message.”

“Tell whoever it is I`ll call back,” I add, “unless it`s Ivan.” I know it’s Ivan.

One of the graphic arts students backs into the studio and looks around furtively, like one more step and she`ll be accused of breaking and entering. “He said he`d call back.”

“Who was it?”

She shrugs. “Beats me. He didn’t say.”

“Another member of your burgeoning fan club, Delilah. Maybe someone who’s seen your exhibits and wants to buy all your sculptures,” Morgan suggests, smudging the charcoal on the page with the heel of his hand.

“I wish.”

“Hey, you never know.”

I know it was Ivan on the phone. He’s the only person who has ever called me here. I can feel his heavy breathing impatience wafting all the way up from Wall Street. He knows a call from him will unsettle me, make me put my clothes on to rush to the phone at the very least and not be able to get back into the right pose and the right mood afterwards. He gets off on this. I`m not taking any calls until I`m through for the day.

“Delilah!” someone else calls. “Telephone!”

“Jesus, again? Doesn`t he take a hint?”

“It’s okay, take a five minute break, you’re marked,” the instructor says as I scramble to my feet clumsily. I grab a blue-and-white pinstriped man’s shirt from the back of Morgan’s easel and throw it on and pad down the cold corridor and down the stairs, pulling the shirt closed around me, grumbling, steeling myself for what I have to say to him and that is, “Leave me alone!”

“Is that any way to answer the phone?”

I look down at the way I’m dressed. Is that any way to answer the phone? “Who is this?” It’s not Ivan’s voice. He’s the only person who has ever called me here, but it’s not him. Someone he put up to calling me, though, I’m sure of it, one of his co-workers wearing an oxford shirt not unlike the one that I’ve got wrapped around me like a toga, only fully buttoned down and fit to be tied. “Get him to come to the phone.”

“You don’t want to talk to anyone else,” the voice declares. “It’s me you want.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Don’t say that!” the voice snaps. “You do. At least you will.”

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 280 pages
Publisher: The Story Plant
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN-10: 1611881188
ISBN-13: 978-1611881189

PURCHASE LINKS:

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.

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is…….

CMash April 2, 2014 1 Comment

**…….of Retribution by Anderson Harp**

CONGRATULATIONS!!

9 Katherine Ivan Like Partners In Crime Tours on Facebook
An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Giveaway, Guest Author, JKS Communications, JKS Communications, Showcase

Guest Author JONATHAN CURELOP showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash April 2, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME JONATHAN CURELOP

JONATHAN CURELOP

Jonathan Curelop is a graduate of the City College of New York’s Creative Writing Program. He has studied at Gotham Writer’s Workshop and the New York Writers Workshop. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in various publications, including Solstice, Amarillo Bay, Liquid Imagination, UMass Amherst Magazine, apt, Raging Face, The Melic Review, The American Book Review and Aura. Originally from Massachusetts, where he graduated from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst’s Theater department, he now lives in New York City with his wife, Pamela, and works as an editor and as a compliance officer at an international investment bank.
Connect with Jonathan at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Meet Jimmy LaPlante – sensitive, bookish, baseball obsessed – the neighborhood fat kid and easy prey for his bullying older brother. The story opens in Brockton, MA. It’s 1976. When Jimmy tries to stand up to Cliff, the verbal abuse turns physical and an accident occurs, sending Jimmy to the hospital with an injury that changes the trajectory of his life. TANKER 10 follows Jimmy during his pre-teen and teenage years as he struggles to understand the physical and psychological effects of his injury. Throughout this period, baseball is his outlet. By the time he begins high school, Jimmy is an up-and-coming right fielder on the freshman baseball team. Despite having no physical signs of his condition, he is so ill at ease with himself that he can’t help but feel like a freak. Jimmy spends his life grappling with what it means to be normal as he tries to find his place in his family, among his friends, and with his brother Cliff. TANKER 10 is a funny and heart-breaking story about self-acceptance in the wake of trauma. Readers will root for Jimmy as he struggles to understand that the key to becoming who you are is learning to get out of your own way.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: General Fiction, Sports
Number of Pages: 282 pages
Publisher: Book Case Engine
Publication Date: October 2, 2013
ISBN-10: 1628480327
ISBN-13: 978-1628480320

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO SAMANTHA AT JKS COMMUNICATIONS,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY (PRINT OR DIGITAL) TO GIVE AWAY.
PRINT~OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS DIGITAL~OPEN TO ALL

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS APRIL 16th 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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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.

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is…….

CMash March 31, 2014 1 Comment

**…….of Snickering Out Loud by Jenny Sauer**

CONGRATULATIONS!!

14 Anita Yancey Like Partners In Crime Tours on Facebook
An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Author, Book Review, The Story Plant

Review: PRESSED PENNIES by Steven Manchester

CMash March 31, 2014 1 Comment

Pressed Pennies by Steven Manchester
Published by The Story Plant
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN-10: 1611881358
ISBN-13: 978-1611881356
Number of Pages: 355
Review Copy from: Author
Edition: ARC
My Rating: 5

Synopsis via GoodReads:
Rick and Abby grew up together, became best friends, and ultimately fell in love. Circumstance tore them apart in their early teens, though, and they went on to lives less idyllic than they dreamed about in those early days. Rick has had a very successful career, but his marriage flat-lined. Abby has a magical daughter, Paige, but Paige’s father nearly destroyed Abby’s spirit.

Now fate has thrown Rick and Abby together again. In their early thirties, they are more world-weary than they were as kids. But their relationship still shimmers, and they’re hungry to make up for lost time. However, Paige, now nine, is not nearly as enthusiastic. She’s very protective of the life she’s made with her mother and not open to the duo becoming a trio. Meanwhile, Rick has very little experience dealing with kids and doesn’t know how to handle Paige. This leaves Abby caught between the two people who matter the most to her. What happens when the life you’ve dreamed of remains just inches from your grasp?

PRESSED PENNIES is a nuanced, intensely romantic, deeply heartfelt story of love it its many incarnations, relationships in their many guises, and family in its many meanings. It is the most accomplished and moving novel yet from a truly great storyteller of the heart.

My Thoughts and Opinion:

I seem to ask myself the same questions whenever I start to read the latest Steven Manchester book… can he do it again?… can he make me feel the emotions of his characters?…. will I relate to the cast?….will I imagine the settings from his descriptions?… will this read stay with me? …will this book be at the level of the bar that HE, himself set with his first book, Twelve Months?…what about his other books..Goodnight, Brian and The Rockin’ Chair? OK..let’s see so those questions can be answered!

From the first sentence, the reader is swept away to become one and part of the story because of the talented writing style by this author. Not only does Steven Manchester have the gift to pen stories about matters of the heart and relationships, I believe what puts him above many others, is that he truly writes from the heart. It is apparent that he writes about what he knows best, life, but he also has the ability to make his written words come to life in poignant stories.

The Cast: are believable and relatable even though I hadn’t experienced the situation of a divorce, which both Rick and Abby were going through when they were reacquainted, I could feel their emotions as the author described. I did know, and feel, the level of love between mother and child and kept putting myself in Abby ‘s shoes asking myself what I would do in this situation? Does a mother protect her child at the expense of personal happiness? (You will have to answer this question yourself)

There were so many other emotions, situations, experiences and feelings that were brought to mind in comparison and relatability to my own life, both present and past. One example, that brought back vivid memories and emotions of my childhood, of Christmas shopping with my Dad and sister in downtown Providence:

pg 126 Smiling faces, framed in woolen scarves and colorful earmuffs, released a chimney of steam into the starry night and most waved at him. Shop windows, adorned in the year’s latest clothing styles and ingenious toys, beckoned the masses…..Massive garlands, strung from lamppost to lamppost, dangled red-bowed wreaths at each center.

The Setting…it was easy for me to visualize since the setting mainly took place in southern New England with a quick getaway to Aruba, both places I personally have visited during different stages of my life. Places like Lincoln Park , a large amusement park that I haven’t thought about in years and has been long gone, Fenway Park, the corner neighborhood store and the beautiful beaches of Aruba. But I can guarantee that even if you don’t know this area, you will have no problem creating the exact imagery of what he describes.

The Answers: Yes to all!!! A lasting memory and a read that met the bar!! Once again Steven Manchester delivered!! As with all his books, they are written about love, compassion, parenting, growing, pain, relationships, family, disappointments, all the experiences and emotions of life as we all know it. Steven Manchester’s books are written with those very emotions and he allows his readers to remember, relive and feel. His books are timeless!

I have to be very honest, however. I did have one very big disappointment. It was when I started reading the final chapter and knew that the final word would be soon approaching. Why? For me, since I have read every one of his books, I now have to wait another year, waiting for his next novel Goosebury Island, which will be released in May 2015. I highly recommend and urge you to pick up this or any of his other books…..you won’t be disappointed. But like me, I’m sure you will become a Steven Manchester fan and waiting for and wanting more! In my opinion, PRESSED PENNIES, as all his books have, will be winning awards!

Bravo Mr. Manchester and thank you!

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