…of Extraordinary Rendition by Paul Batista

11 Jason D Nickolay Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

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

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

This week’s question:
For this week’s Musing Monday, I’m going to give you the option to answer any of the following questions — or, if you prefer, you can answer them all! Have fun! {questions were supplied by my readers when asked for suggestions}
• If you had to choose only 3 books to read forever, which ones would you choose? {source}
• Is there a character that you absolutely love but that you cannot get a good mental picture of? {source}
• Make a plea for your favorite book. Make others wanna read it! {source}
• If you could create a soundtrack for a book you’ve read recently, which songs would you use and why? {source}
• Do you read outside your preferred genre? Has your preferred genre changed? {source}
• Do you have a favorite book/movie combination? {source}
• Name a book that you thought you wouldn’t like much, but you ended up loving. {source}
• If you were Book Czar of the world, is there one book you would like to require every kid to read? {source}

My pick and answer is:
Today, those that participate in the meme, can choose any or all questions to answer.  I will be responding to 2 of them.  They are:

• Do you read outside your preferred genre? Has your preferred genre changed?
I have always been a mystery/suspense reader, however, I have broadened into different genres over the past few years.   Contemporary literature, especially with family/friend dynamics, I now find to be enjoyable reads.  Another genre, that has interested me that never had, are memoirs.  The ones I have read has left an impact on me.   But one genre, which seems to be very popular, I have no interest in or think I would enjoy is fantasy, PNR, YA etc.   That genre is way out of my comfort zone and think that it will stay that way.

• Name a book that you thought you wouldn’t like much, but you ended up loving.
I tend not to read any espionage or where the synopsis is about international government agencies and that have a lot of legalese, etc.  But have read 2 books by author Mark Gilleo, with some of those elements, and they blew me away.  Both Love Thy Neighbor and Sweat were page turning reads.  Love Thy Neighbor, a debut novel with 400+ pages and a story line of international terrorists, would have been a book that I wouldn’t even think of picking up.  But due to it touring with PICT, I had to read and was dreading because of the plot, a debut novel and number of pages, proved me wrong.  It read as if it was written by a seasoned author, even though it had 400+ pages, I read it in a couple of days because I could not put it down.  The author, Mark Gilleo, is now on my “authors to be read” list.

What about you?  What question would you like to answer?

November is being hosted by Edgy Inspirational Romance

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.
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 Amazon

Tuesdsay:  Kiss And Tell by TJ Cooke from Author
Tuesday:  Sinatra And Me by Tony Consiglio from Finn Partners

……of Run The Risk by Lori Foster

12 winnie 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 ebtered.

I am humbled, to have been asked by Jodi from WOW! Women On Writing, to host and introduce you to today’s guest.  A fitting tribute for Veteran’s Day and to respect and honor all those that have selflessly fought for our freedom.  So I ask, to help me give a warm welcome to Karen Fisher-Alaniz!

Karen Fisher-Alaniz

Karen Fisher-Alaniz was born and raised in Washington state. She taught special education for fourteen years before embarking on a new path as a writer. Although she’d been writing for fun since first grade, she’d never considered writing a book until her father handed her a collection of letters on his 81st birthday. Since then, she’s toured bookstores and other events signing her book, inspired audiences with her public speaking, and was even interviewed by NPR’s Audie Cornish for the Weekend Edition. She lives in Walla Walla, WA.
Visit Karen Alaniz’s at her website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

On his 81st birthday, without explanation, Karen Fisher-Alaniz’s father placed two weathered notebooks on her lap. Inside were more than 400 pages of letters he’d written to his parents during WWII. She began reading them, and the more she read, the more she discovered about the man she never knew.

They began to meet for lunch every week, for her to ask him questions, and him to provide the answers. It was through this process that she discovered the secret role he played in WWII. Karen’s father was part of a small and elite group of men who were trained to copy and break top-secret Japanese code transmitted in Katakana.

Through this journey, with painful memories now at the forefront of his thoughts, Karen’s father began to suffer, making their meetings as much about healing as discovery. Thus began an unintended journey–one taken by a father and daughter who thought they knew each other–as they became newly bound in ways that transcended age and time.

“It’s a story that left me covered with goosebumps time and again and eventually moved me to tears…” ~ J.A. Jance, NY Times Bestselling Author  

Just Thought You Should Know:
Breaking the Code is a double memoir, the journey of Karen’s father during World War II and Karen’s journey half a century later as she struggled to find the real truth about her father – for her sake and for his. To celebrate this unusual memoir giveaway copies will contain bookplates signed by both Karen and her 91 year old father.

Amazon link

THANKS TO AUTHOR, Karen Fisher-Alaniz, AND WOW, I HAVE
ONE (1) COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVEAWAY. OPEN TO ALL FOR
EBOOK AND/OR PRINT COPY FOR U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
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.

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MEMBER WHO FOUGHT IN WWII?*

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Am I the only one, who wishes, that I knew how to speed read?  There are so many books that I want to read but real life keeps interfering.  And today’s guest has such a book, that is now on my TBR list.   I wanted to introduce you to him so that you will also put him on your list.  So without further ado, meet T.J. Cooke!!!

T.J. COOKE

TJ Cooke, otherwise known as Tim, was formerly a legal executive in London, specialising in criminal law.

He became the legal advisor to the BBC’s most popular drama Eastenders, before going on to write many episodes of broadcast drama himself. He has notched up writing credits for some of UK’s most popular series, including ‘London’s Burning’, ‘The Bill’, ‘Bad Girls’, ‘Family Affairs’ and ‘Madson’ with Ian McShane.

Tim has dovetailed his screenwriting career with advertising copywriting and freelance journalism. He has written numerous television and radio commercials for a variety of well known companies, and compiled features and articles for magazines and newspapers.

Writing under TJCooke, his debut novel, ‘Kiss and Tell’ has been hailed as innovative and inventive crime fiction. It introduces us to unorthodox lawyer Jill Shadow who some say is a cross between Kay Scarpetta and Erin Brockovich.

The book will be available on Amazon Kindle this Autumn, with TJ Cooke’s second novel to follow.
Visit T.J. at his website here.

GUEST POST

Inspiration and motivation…

I now work as an advertising copywriter, mostly writing radio commercials.

My very first job however was as an ‘outdoor clerk’ at a busy legal firm inLondon. This mostly involved helping lawyers prepare cases for trial. If they were criminal cases it invariably meant organising visits to remand prisoners in Brixton, Wormwood Scrubs and Holloway. The firm also represented victims of domestic violence, tenants in dispute with their landlords and individuals who had been either been injured or unfairly treated by their employers.

This job was supposed to last six weeks! It was a post-university ‘filler’ and I was meant to be following a career in advertising; in fact I’d been offered a job at a prestigiousLondonagency. However, as it transpired, I ended up spending ten years working in the law, mostly as a legal executive, and largely focussing on crime in deprived areas.

I had a vast range of clients and cases, and every now and again one would come along that left an uneasy feeling. Though I still like to think that our justice system is by and large a sound one, there are cases that seep through the cracks, sometime leaving the guilty unpunished and the innocent unfairly convicted. It’s these grey areas that have always interested me… and this is often where the most compelling stories can be found.

Looking back now I realise I always wanted to write for a living, but until another opportunity presented itself I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I had long since realised that I was not a lawyer by choice, or desire.

It was a chance meeting, atLondon’s famous ‘Old Bailey’ Court that was the catalyst. I had a client on a murder trial, who had a character witness who happened to be the then producer of BBC’s Eastenders. The client was actually acquitted after only fifteen minutes of jury deliberation, one of the quickest on record. He had been attacked himself by two muggers in South London, but he’d fought back and stabbed one mugger with the mugger’s own knife, as it transpired fatally.

After the case had finished the show’s producer told me she was looking for an advisor, someone who could help with their criminal storylines and in particular the upcoming murder trial of character Nick Cotton. That’s how it all got going. I went to the set at Elstree, met all the cast and crew and before long was pitching scripts for the show. As it happened ITV’s The Bill offered me a script first, so I went to their studios in Merton and worked for them for a while. Then I got a tv agent and worked on Family Affairs,London’s Burning, Bad Girls and a few others.

Though I enjoyed the tv work I had a bug to write something original and thought this could best be expressed in novel form. This coincided with my move to Devon six years ago, which is when I first set about writing ‘Defending Elton’ and then ‘Kiss and Tell’… and the story goes from there…

Though I enjoy crime fiction I found that there was a certain template that many writers stuck to. It’s one that often involves a serial killer at large and one or two detectives who ultimately ‘get their man’. These stories can be great in their own way but they weren’t for me.

I deliberately set about creating narrative and character that approached crime fiction from a different angle. I guess I’ve always been a creative person and whether its writing adverts for radio listeners or books for readers I always try to create something original.

Hence Jill Shadow was born. A maverick protagonist, someone who doesn’t always get things right, or pursue matters in an orthodox way. What Jill Shadow does have though is a steely determination, to fight any injustice and to dig out the truth.  She has no agenda either, she doesn’t work for the state, has no political affiliation and no particular axe to grind. She treats everyone as equals and will take on any client, just as if she was a cab driver and they were in a queue at a taxi rank.

This has its own risks. Jill won’t be bought, won’t toe the line regardless and won’t take no for an answer. It’s as likely to lead her into scrapes with authority as it is with the underworld… and in ‘Kiss and Tell’ it does both, with plenty of twists and turns along the way…

ABOUT THE BOOK

Down to earth lawyer Jill Shadow has overcome a traumatic past, one kept hidden from both professional colleagues and her 12 year old daughter Hannah. When imminent danger sees Jill transferred to a safe house, and her daughter abducted from school, Jill soon realises it’s a past she must confront…

Desperate to piece things together, Jill knows there are two key events which might help the authorities trace her missing daughter…. her involvement in the Bella Kiss drug case, and the release of her former partner Jimmy Briscoe from a lengthy jail term.

With time running out, Jill takes matters into her own hands…setting out to find her missing daughter and discover where the real truth lies…

Review:
With his first novel, TJ Cooke introduces us to Jill Shadow, the accidental lawyer with a past she wants to stay hidden. But despite her best efforts, it catches up with her at the speed of a hurtling train and threatens not only her but her daughter Hannah. The various strands of both her personal and professional life slowly become inextricably linked until all becomes clear as the book reaches its climax. This is a crime thriller with soul and a page-turner to boot. I am sure this is not the last we’ll see of this tenacious lawyer. Highly recommended! Tim Kevan – Bloomsbury Author and former Times and Guardian blogger

Purchase link: Amazon

THANKS TO AUTHOR, T.J. COOKE, I HAVE ONE (1) EBOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO ALL

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.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK “THE REAL TRUTH IS”?*

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PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
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AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

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