Reading, Reviewing, Guest Authors, Giveaways and more.
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I have the honor and privilege to introduce you to today’s guest, as she kicks off her virtual tour with Providence Book Promotions at the request of Doubleday Publishing. I ask that you help me in welcoming Ms. Brenda Ashford to CMash Reads.
Brenda Ashford is a graduate of Norland College, a world-famous institute for British nannies. For sixty-two years, she cared for more than one hundred children, making her Britain’s longest-serving nanny. She lives outside London.
Connect with Ms. Ashford via Doubleday at 
“I had puzzled many times over the ingredients for a perfect recipe for a happy home. Throw in some stability, a dash of routine and respect. Sprinkle some fun and imaginative games and stir well. But the most vital ingredient is the mother. The mother is truly the heart and soul of a family.”
“As for fussy eaters? I don’t stand for it. I have taken a hard line on this topic. This is a home, not a restaurant and you will jolly well try it before you turn your nose up at it.”
“If a child has sufficient breakfast, lunch and dinner they shouldn’t need a snack. I don’t really like it today when I see children being wheeling along in a pram stuffing things in their mouth. ”
“Children cannot get up to your level, so you have to get down to theirs; try and understand how the world looks through their eyes.”
“If we respect little people then they in turn will grow up to respect others.”
“Put a book in a child’s hands or plant them in an empty field or park, and suddenly the world opens up and becomes a fantastical place of make believe and adventure.”
“Never let a house define you. You can make a home anywhere from an air raid shelter to a shed, if you have to. Riches and wealth don’t matter a jot.”
“I was always honest with my charges. In fact in every area of my life I have been most careful to never tell a lie. Why can’t everyone be more careful to tell the truth? At least we would all know where we stand in life.”
“Little folk deserve a childhood that’s full of fun. It’s the single most valuable lesson in my eyes. I have always encouraged children to have a giggle wherever and whenever they can.”
PEARLS OF WISDOM FROM A Spoonful of Sugar: A Nanny’s Story by Brenda Ashford * 9780385536417 *On Sale April 2, 2013Strung Together During 60 Years of Devoted Service as a Nanny
Brenda Ashford is the quintessential British nanny. Prim and proper, gentle and kind, she seems to have stepped straight out of Mary Poppins. For more than six decades Nanny Brenda swaddled, diapered, dressed, played with, sang to, cooked for, and looked after more than one hundred children. From the pampered sons and daughters of lords ensconced in their grand estates to the children of tough war evacuees in London’s East End, Brenda has taught countless little ones to be happy, healthy, and thoroughly well bred. In this delightful memoir, Brenda shares her endearing, amusing, and sometimes downright bizarre experiences turning generations of children into successful adults.
From the moment Brenda first held her baby brother David she was hooked. She became a second mother to him, changing his nappies, reading him stories, and giving him all the love her warm heart contained. Knowing a career caring for children was her calling in life, Brenda attended London’s prestigious Norland College, famous for producing top-notch nannies. It was a sign of privilege and good taste for the children of the well-to-do to be seen being pushed in their Silver Cross prams by Norland nannies, who were recognizable by their crisp, starched black uniforms with white bib collars, and their flowing black capes lined with red silk. And what skills were these trainees tested on daily? Lullaby singing, storytelling, pram shining, bed making, all forms of sewing, cooking simple meals, and dispensing first aid—including knowing the best way to help the medicine go down.
In A Spoonful of Sugar, Brenda recalls her years at Norland and her experiences during the war (after all, even if bombs are dropping, there’s no reason to let standards slip), and recounts in lovely detail a life devoted to the care of other people’s children.
Sprinkled throughout with pearls of wisdom (you can never give children too much love, and you should learn how to sew a button, for goodness’ sake), this delightful memoir from Britain’s oldest living nanny is practically perfect in every way.
Genre: Memoir
Published by: Doubleday Publication
ISBN: 978-0385536417
Number of Pages: 320
Publish Date: April 2, 2013
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ADDENDUM
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I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
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March is being hosted by Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums
Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on
Wednesday: Friendship makes the heart grow fonder by Lisa Verge Higgins from GCP/ The Hachette Book Group
It has been a very busy week here at CMash Reads. And last, but not least, I have the privilege to introduce you to today’s guest author, Mr. Wix Simon! Welcome!!
Wix Simon worked for the Environmental Protection Agency for many years and is now a consultant. His scientific training provides him the basis for understanding modern police work, which is heavily rooted in science and technology. Wix learned about police work from Mickey Lloyd, the lead investigator for the APD in the Atlanta Child Murders that occurred between 1979 and 1981. He is the author of the novel A Toxic Assault; he also plays the fiddle and enjoys black-and-white photography.
Visit Mr. Simon at his website here.
Writing and Reading:
-Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
I use personal experiences to shape character and motivation. I think some about current events for plot, but usually I start the plot with an idea I’ve had for several years.
-Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I never know where the book is going. How boring would that be! Instead, I start the plot and then as I get to know the characters, they act out the plot through their motivations and desires. Every character I create, even Rusty Nails in “A Lost Gun”, has some aspect that engages me.
-Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
When I’m writing a novel, I either think about the book or write for about 45 minutes while I sit in my kitchen drinking coffee. I use a small computer to write novels and it’s easy to fire it up in the morning.
-Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
I work as a consulting scientist. I have a solo practice as a consulting toxicologist. As a toxicologist, I’m writing a text book on environmental risk assessment. It’ll end up about 110,000 words. I write it when I can. Much more time consuming than writing a novel–after all, I can’t just make it up for the text book. I can talk further about my work if you wish.
-Who are some of your favorite authors?
for thriller/suspense: James Lee Burke, Oliver Potzch, Gillian Flynn, Lee Child, James Elroy for literature; Thomas Pynchon, William Gaddis, Joseph Heller, William Faulkner for philosophy: Karl Popper, Friedrich Neitzche, Soren Kirkegaard, David Hume, Robert Pursig
-What are you reading now?
The Beggar King by Oliver Potzch and a biography of the photographer Edward S. Curtis.
-Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
I completed about 80 pages before starting on the text book. In that story, Detective Bud Prior goes after a serial killer. This is the story in which he meets his first wife Sandi. Sandi drove a friend to an abortion clinic and was waiting for her. She was reading Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary. Bud is a reader and was intrigued by her choice of books. That was how they met.
Fun questions:
-Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
In “A Lost Gun,” I’d cast Rooney Mara as Jessie, Jude Law as Bud Prior, and Keith Couture as Ron Niles.”
-Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
I like both books and movies–the choice is driven by content. The last movie I saw out was “Django Unchained.” It was great. I’d read another Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, but I think he’s likely burned out. I read “Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn recently. I’d read another by her in a NY minute.
-Favorite food?
I have food allergies and am gluten free. I eat to live rather than vice versa. I like good sushi.
-Favorite beverage?
Coffee, what else?
Other interests:
I do traditional black-and-white film photography and play the violin.
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No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
Hosted by Kathy @ I Am A Reader Not A Writer
I thought this would be a fun meme to participate in. So here goes…my first time joining in. Care to join me? Click above.
From Kathy’s site:
Each week I will pick 5 questions off of my author interview lists to answers.
I invite you to share your answers to these questions as well. You can share them as a comment on this post or share them on your own blog and link up to this post.
This Week’s Questions:
What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
I have been blessed in this area. There have been so many times, that family and friends, have been kind to me that it would be unfair if I just named a couple. However, I will mention one that happened recently, which brought me to tears. As some of you know, my youngest son is getting married this year, which is taking place out-of-state. A few weeks ago I received a surprise text from my future d-i-l. When I opened it, it was a picture of her trying on wedding gowns and asking what I thought. The fact that she thought of me in wanting to share this special day, brought me to tears. She is going to make a beautiful bride.
What is most memorable about your high school years?
Being with friends, my 11th grade English teacher (we had to read/review a book every week), travelling abroad twice, getting my driver’s license. However, there was an event that overshadowed my HS years, and that was the loss of my father.
Have you ever gotten up early for a “black Friday sale”?
LOL…never have..never will
Were you named after anyone?
No
Would you bungee jump, skydive or something similar?
Another LOL…since I have a fear of heights, that will never happen!
So glad you stopped back. Yesterday you saw the book and entered the giveaway, and today, you will meet the author. Just in case you missed yesterday, check it out here. And now, without further ado, Ms. Lee Mims!!!!
Lee Mims is and always has been a North Carolina farm girl. She played outdoors from dawn to dusk, built forts, drank water from garden hoses and ran with sticks. And for 25 years, she raised and trained Quarter Horses.
She was often sick as a child, and it was while staying home with her mother that Mims learned the beauty of words. Together they read endlessly: short stories, fairy tales and adventure novels.
Because of her love of the great outdoors, she later earned a master’s and bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and worked as a field geologist. And as a popular wildlife artist, Mims owns her self-named studio where she does both portrait and fine art oil paintings. She has two pieces on tour with Paint America and recently sold a painting to Ms. Andy Griffith for his museum.
Books never escaped her, and her geology background inspired Hiding Gladys, the first of the debut author’s Midnight Ink-published Cleo Cooper Mystery Series. Busy writing the next installment, Trusting Viktor, Mims is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
She lives on a family farm in Clayton, NC with her husband.
Visit Lee at her website here, on Twitter @LeeMims1, on Facebook Lee Mims or GoodReads Lee Mims
SYNOPSIS:
What’s a live rattlesnake doing sunning itself in the back seat of field geologist Cleo Cooper’s Jeep? Nothing good, you can be sure — but the dilemma of how it might have gotten there isn’t as crucial to her as making certain it doesn’t stay. Yet, alarming as such an uninvited passenger might be, more disturbing to the plucky, single-minded Cleo is the need to nail down her deal for mining rights to a rare, vastly valuable North Carolina granite deposit.
The problem is that the property owner, Gladys Walton, has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, while neglecting to sign the final documents.
First, a murder interferes with locating her: is the woman’s body found dumped in a well that of the missing Gladys? Amid the wooded, rocky countryside, suspicious misdeeds multiply and Gladys’s conniving relations all behave extremely badly.
The increasingly provoked Cleo sees her dog shot, the progress at her job site dangerously disrupted and, finally, is made witness to another death. Whom can she trust? And what kind of distractions should she allow herself when so much is at stake? Both her charming but exasperating ex-husband and an even more seductive former lover are both on hand competing to rescue her; it’s clear to Cleo, though, that she must go it alone and risk the consequences.
DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
I am switching things up a bit for today and tomorrow. Samantha, from JKS Communications asked if I could do a 2 day showcase and when I read the synopsis, well, how could I say no. Today I will be featuring the book, along with a giveaway. And mark your calendars, you have to stop by again tomorrow, so that you can meet the author, Ms. Lee Mims.
SYNOPSIS:
What’s a live rattlesnake doing sunning itself in the back seat of field geologist Cleo Cooper’s Jeep? Nothing good, you can be sure — but the dilemma of how it might have gotten there isn’t as crucial to her as making certain it doesn’t stay. Yet, alarming as such an uninvited passenger might be, more disturbing to the plucky, single-minded Cleo is the need to nail down her deal for mining rights to a rare, vastly valuable North Carolina granite deposit.
The problem is that the property owner, Gladys Walton, has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, while neglecting to sign the final documents.
First, a murder interferes with locating her: is the woman’s body found dumped in a well that of the missing Gladys? Amid the wooded, rocky countryside, suspicious misdeeds multiply and Gladys’s conniving relations all behave extremely badly.
The increasingly provoked Cleo sees her dog shot, the progress at her job site dangerously disrupted and, finally, is made witness to another death. Whom can she trust? And what kind of distractions should she allow herself when so much is at stake? Both her charming but exasperating ex-husband and an even more seductive former lover are both on hand competing to rescue her; it’s clear to Cleo, though, that she must go it alone and risk the consequences.
BOOK DETAILS
Paperback
$14.99
ISBN: 978-0738734231
Fiction/Mystery
264 pages
Llewellyn Worldwide, MIDNIGHT INK
Jan. 8, 2013
YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM
DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
Start popping that popcorn…it’s movie time!!!
Brought to you by and thanks to Marissa, from Grand Central Publishing / The Hachette Book Group.
The film adaptation of ADMISSION, directed by Paul Weitz and starring Tina Fey, Paul Rudd and LilyTomlin, will be released by Focus Features on March 22nd, 2013.
ISBN-10: 0446540706
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: April 13, 2009
For years, 38-year-old Portia Nathan has avoided the past, hiding behind her busy (and sometimes punishing) career as a Princeton University admissions officer and her dependable domestic life. Her reluctance to confront the truth is suddenly overwhelmed by the resurfacing of a life-altering decision, and Portia is faced with an extraordinary test. Just as thousands of the nation’s brightest students await her decision regarding their academic admission, so too must Portia decide whether to make her own ultimate admission.
Admission is at once a fascinating look at the complex college admissions process and an emotional examination of what happens when the secrets of the past return and shake a woman’s life to its core.
JEAN HANFF KORELITZ
Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of the novelsADMISSION, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS, as well as a forthcoming novel, YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, to be published in early 2014. She has also written a novel for children,INTERFERENCE POWDER, and a collection of poetry, THE PROPERTIES OF BREATH. Her non-fiction has appeared in various anthologies and in publications such as Vogue, Real Simple, Reader’s Digest and The New York Times.
Born and raised in New York City and educated at Dartmouth College and Clare College, Cambridge, she lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, Irish poet Paul Muldoon, and their children.
YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM
DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
