Reading, Reviewing, Guest Authors, Giveaways and more.
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An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to the many that entered!
Ready? Another treat for you today! When Liz from Media Muscle contacted me about today’s book, not only did the synopsis sound like a great read but I was intrigued about meeting the authors. Father and daughter! So please help me in welcoming Mr. John Stuart and Ms. Caitlin Stuart!
Hiding in Sunshine is the work of a father and daughter duo who reside in the immediate area where these fictional events transpire. John Stuart is a successful high tech entrepreneur. Caitlin Stuart is a student and an aspiring writer with a lifelong love of reading and telling stories. This is their first co-authored novel- and is proof that a teenager and her dad can indeed collaborate amicably and productively! They have chosen to use pseudonym’s to protect their identity (going along with the nature of the book).
“Do the authors imagine that a scenario (like what happens in the book) could happen in the very near future? What would they do (or recommend to do) to prepare for something so catastrophic?”
Let us start by quoting Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. On October 11th, 2012 he said, “The United States was facing the possibility of a ‘cyber-Pearl Harbor’ and was increasingly vulnerable to foreign computer hackers who could dismantle the nation’s power grid, transportation system, financial networks and government.” He further continues, “An aggressor nation or extremist group could use these kinds of cyber tools to gain control of critical switches. They could derail passenger trains, or even more dangerous, derail passenger trains loaded with lethal chemicals. They could contaminate the water supply in major cities, or shut down the power grid across large parts of the country.”
Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins wrote an op-ed piece in New York Tines on December 6th, 2012: “A storm is surely gathering again, and we must resist the false sense of calm. The attack is not a matter of if, but when. It will not be launched from aircraft carriers, missile silos or massed armies. It will come through cyberspace and will strike our most vital computer systems, those that manage our electricity grids, oil and gas pipelines, telecommunications networks and financial markets.”
These cyber-attacks may strike us any time, and there is a possibility of occurring in the very near future. Enemies will attack when they want to. It’s not our choosing. Some of theprecautions one can take include keeping hard copies of monthly bank statements, 401K’s,and mutual fund statements. One should review credit card statements carefully and verify that there is nothing suspicious. Keep a summary of medications in printed form and routinely ask for a copy of medical records from the doctor’s office or the hospital. It’s not a bad idea to have at least one landline at home. It will be prudent to take the usual precautions for an extended power failure.
ABOUT THE BOOK“Living lives of quiet affluence in a historic suburban Boston town, Gavin and Lisa Brinkley had no idea how quickly and decisively their lives, and those of their two young daughters, could be upended. A series of events—a mysterious break-in at their home, some menacing tailgating on the highway from Boston, a startling visit from an F.B.I. agent warning of an imminent kidnapping attempt—leads to the family’s abrupt uprooting from its comfortable existence into a terrifying new existence on the run, under new identities. This taut thriller by a father daughter team follows the eleven-year odyssey of an American family on the run, in hiding through the mountain states of the American west, where survival skills and living off the grid are paramount, but so are friendship, cooperation, and resilience. The enemy, always lurking just out of sight, is a foreign cyber-criminal enterprise that launches breathtaking assaults on the American banking system and physical infrastructure, but the Brinkleys also know that the threat is deeply personal, reaching ever closer to them from the shadows of the past. At the same time, Gavin and Lisa discover the perils of wandering too close to the edges of the dark side, in the murky world of cyber-security. A compelling story of suspense and treachery, HIDING IN SUNSHINE is also a celebration of a family’s abiding love and courage—and a young girl’s faith in the triumph of the truth.”
THANKS TO LIZ FROM MEDIA MUSCLE, I HAVE
ONE (1) COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY
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.
JANUARY 19th to FEBRUARY 2nd, 2013
HIDING IN SUNSHINE
by JOHN SUART and CAITLIN STUART
**HONOR SYSTEM**
*GIVEAWAY ENDS FEBRUARY 2nd AT 6PM EST*
DISCLAIMER / RULES
YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM
Today I have the the honor and pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Frank Zaccari, as he stops by and visits, during his VT with Providence Book Promotions. Please help me welcome him to CMash Reads.
FRANK ZACCARIFrank Zaccari is a native of western New York. He received his bachelor’s in finance from California State University at Sacramento after serving as a military medic in the United States Air Force. He spent more than two decades in the technology industry, holding various positions from account representative to CEO. He also spent time specializing in turn-around management of companies under $100 million. Zaccari left the industry to provide primary care of his children, purchasing a small business that was more accommodating to his family. He presently owns an insurance agency in Sacramento, where he currently resides. “Five Years to Live” is not his only book for sale. He has also written, “When the Wife Cheats,” “From the Ashes: The Rise of the University of Washington Volleyball Program,” and “Inside the Spaghetti Bowl.”
Visit Frank at his website here.
ABOUT THE BOOKIt is the phone call every person lives in fear of receiving. There has been an accident and your loved one is paralyzed. A spinal cord injury is the single most devastating and life altering event. Based on a true story, Michael and Donna were young, successful, in love and planning their life together. That life was radically changed by a tragic car accident. Now a wheelchair user as a quadriplegic, with limited movement, constant infections and multiple surgeries, doctors projected Michael’s best case life expectancy to be five years. See how this young couple battles through his injury and spends his five years making a lasting impact on hundreds of people. It will make you realize what can be accomplished when a person does not let circumstances dictate their life.
Purchase Link: 
With terror in his voice, he said, “I’m not going to walk again, am I?”
“We don’t really know yet, like I said…”
Michael angrily cut her off “Answer the god-damn question. I’m not going to walk again am I?
“I don’t know Michael.” Tears began to will up in his eyes, and he looked at her, begging for an answer.
After she wiped the tear from her eyes she said “The odds are not in your favor.”
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.
Hi All: I haven’t been participating in memes lately for a couple of reasons. PICT and PBP tour companies have been keeping me very busy with all of our tours. I invite you to stop by and see what great titles have been booked. If interested in any of the titles and think you would like to participate, there is a form on either site to fill out.
And then, over this past weekend, had some major computer issues, which resulted in something I wasn’t anticipating, to purchase a new laptop since the old one crashed. I have been trying to transfer all of my files and sites to the new one to bring it up to speed. Not a fun task!! But getting there.
What’s new with you?
This week’s question:
It’s the depth of winter here where I live right now … what books do you like to read when it’s snowy and white? What books do you read to evoke a real feeling of winter (good or bad)?
My thoughts:
I have never been a seasonal reader when it comes to titles but am when it comes to reading habits. I also live in an area where it’s the depth of winter and, especially during a snow storm, love to get comfy in my reading chair with a fleece throw, a hot cup of coffee or chocolate and read. My reading room/office is set up so that when I am in my recliner, I can also glance up to look out the window to see the snow falling and blowing around. Matter of fact, this scenario played out yesterday. I have been in a reading slump and thought that this setting would help, which it would have, if I hadn’t dozed off lol. Unfortunately, the depth of winter flu bug, has come to visit at the Mash household. 🙁
37 Linda Peters Leave a Blog Post Comment
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.
I received today’s guest’s book in the mail and was surprised at the delivery. When I read the synopsis, I knew Linda from The Hachette Book Group, had sent me a book that I would enjoy. And then I had the ultimate honor to host this author, as she stops by and tells us about her book. Please help me give a very warm welcome to Lucretia Grindle!!!
LUCRETIA GRINDLELucretia Grindle was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up spending half her time in the United States and half her time in the UK. Continuing as she started out, she still splits her time, but now calls the coast of Maine home.
First, I’d like to thank you for inviting me. Being a guest author is a real honor. I’m always thrilled when readers enjoy one of my books, so I’d like to start by saying thank you for that, too. Although, strangely, once they are written, I always feel that they’re kind of ‘Out There On Their Own’, a bit like children who’ve grown up and, finally, left home. That having been said, I’m especially fond of Villa Triste. It’s a special book to me, and I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about why that is.
Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to write a trilogy of novels set in Italy. This sprang, in part, from my own realization of what I didn’t (and I’m sure still don’t) understand about a country I have come to love so much. It began with Italy’s role in World War II, which I had always found confusing, and in particular with a series of plaques that I began to notice in my wanderings around Florence. Almost all of them referred to The Partisans, whom I knew nothing about. As I began to discover more, I also began to look rather differently at the old lady who ran my green grocers, at the old man who fed the cats on the steps that lead to my favorite church, at the caretaker in the piazza around the corner from my flat, at the flower-seller and his wife who kept the kiosk on the corner. All of them were probably in their eighties; all of them had lived through 1943 and 1944. As my research grew deeper, I realized that many of them had probably fought their way through those years. More than one in four of the Italian Partisans were women. It began to occur to me that sweet old ladies, as well as sweet old men, might have very unexpected pasts.
While Villa Triste is a work of fiction, everything, down to the dates and locations of the Allied bombings, is based on fact. The two sisters are an amalgamation of several women, but the family I describe existed, as did everything that happens to Isabella and Caterina. Even the little red book is based on another tiny book kept hidden in the hem of a dress – although that one was in Milan. There was a radio circuit. It had a different name, but its fate was the same as is portrayed in the book. Villa Triste is simply my answer to what might have happened. I hope, too, that it is also the story of those very ordinary heroes who, when pressed with the moment, found such extraordinary courage.
Villa Triste is also important to me for a very personal reason. I’ve been married for the past fifteen years. My husband will be eighty-seven this year. In the course of my marriage, I have often been annoyed, and frequently infuriated, by the way older people are treated, the way they are patronized and too often, marginalized – patted on the head like sweet little creatures – or simply ignored, both in life, and in fiction. I’m sick of action heroes and heroines who are always and eternally thirty-five and beautiful. Who says beauty stops at fifty or for that matter sixty or seventy, anyway? Who says brains, guile, sneakiness, nobility and even evil stop at fifty-five or sixty-five or for that matter, ninety-five?
That’s one of my pet hates, or rather two of them – the trope of the youngish athletic overly qualified character with a weird name who steps forth to carry out derring-do, be it good or bad; and the idea that the elderly do not have Agency. And I’m sick of, and a bit sickened by, the increasingly bizarrely chopped up bodies of young women that are too often a feature of crime writing. In Villa Triste, the corpses are old men. The heroes and heroines are lost back in time, and with a few exceptions, the players who exist today are graying. Love, need, shame, courage, and fury – they bind into all of us and make us who we are, no matter what our age. To me, Villa Triste is a story about that as much as it is a story about anything. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it.
With all best wishes,
Lucretia
ABOUT THE BOOKFlorence, 1943. Two sisters, Isabella and Caterina Cammaccio, find themselves surrounded by terror and death; and with Italy trapped under the heel of a brutal Nazi occupation, bands of Partisans rise up.
Soon Isabella and Caterina will test their wits and deepest beliefs as never before. As the winter grinds on, they will be forced to make the most important decisions of their lives. Their choices will reverberate for decades.
In the present day, Alessandro Pallioti, a senior policeman agrees to oversee a murder investigation, after it emerges the victim was once a Partisan hero. When the case begins to unravel, Pallioti finds himself working to uncover a crime lost in the twilight of war, the consequences of which are as deadly today as they were over sixty years ago.
THANKS TO LINDA FROM THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
THREE (3) SIGNED COPIES OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY
U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY
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.
JANUARY 15th to JANUARY 29th, 2013
VILLA TRISTE
by LUCRETIA GRINDLE
**PER PUBLISHER**
*GIVEAWAY ENDS JANUARY 29th AT 6PM EST*
DISCLAIMER / RULES
YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM
