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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 all that entered!

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,
I HAVE ONE (1) EBOOK EDITION TO GIVE AWAY.
PLEASE FILL IN RAFFLECOPTER BELOW.

THIS GIVEAWAY/ENTRY WILL END ON SEPTEMBER 13TH
AND IS BEING HELD AS PART OF THRILL WEEK.

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As women, we all have struggles in life, some more difficult than others.  I know I have.  So when Nicole from Tribute Books contacted me regarding today’s guest and her book, I wanted to learn more.  So please help me in welcoming Ms. Annmarie Kelly as she tells us about her powerful novel.

ANNMARIE KELLY

Author Annmarie Kelly is a professional speaker, workshop leader and victory strategist, who has firsthand knowledge of the transformative power which determination and motivation, the stuff of victory, can have in a person’s life.

Growing up in her Italian-Catholic home, Kelly wasn’t a natural go getter but rather a shy and introverted girl – a “good girl” who felt invisible and insignificant and powerless to deal with family problems including alcoholism, sibling abuse and mental illness.

In her early twenties, a broken engagement and her father’s reaction to it, caused Annmarie to look at her life and where she was going. After a couple “dark” years, she realized she had a purpose but that she was following a path that would only give her more of what she already had: disappointments, regrets and lost opportunities. Annmarie understood that she needed to make a change; she decided to start on a new track.

Through the rest of her twenties and thirties, step-by-step, she changed the way she thought about herself and her future, set major goals, and let go of many of the limitations that were holding her back, from kicking the undesired habits of smoking cigarettes and being a couch potato to getting honest about her own sabotaging behaviors. She also let go of people and environments that became obstacles to her efforts.

While leaving the comfort of the familiar for something better was what she wanted, it wasn’t easy. But in time the effort paid off. The decisions Annmarie made then have enabled her to BE more and DO more than she ever thought she could and HAVE more of the kind of life that, on her old path, would only have been a dream.

Not content to keep that kind of empowerment and success to herself, Annmarie Kelly has made it her life’s mission to help other women find the same confidence, inner power, and most importantly the “feminine victory” within. Whatever she does, whether she’s speaking, teaching, writing, blogging or coaching, she shows women just how much power they have over their own lives, encourages them to LIVE VICTORIOUSLY – out loud and in living color – and shows them the skills they need to do it!

Annmarie Kelly owns and manages SkillBuilder Systems, a training and development firm specializing in management development and communication skills. She is also the founder of The Victorious Woman Project which focuses on the information, resources and skill building which help women empower themselves so they can live their best life.

Annmarie is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTDPhl), The Press Club PA and the National Association of Female Executives.

Her services include:
– Keynotes for Corporate Events and Association Conferences
– Training Workshops (SmartWoman@Work and New Beginnings)
– Retreats
– Seminars, Teleseminars, Webinars
– Individual coaching
– Group coaching (Victory Teams)

Annmarie Kelly is available for interviews in the Greater Philadelphia area, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Washington DC, and by phone anywhere.
You can connect with the author at her website, Facebook, Twitter and GoodReads.

GUEST POST

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………of Life Drawing For Beginners by Roisin Meaney

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An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered!

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

Today’s muse:
Have you ever considered writing a book before? What genre would you write?

My response:
No, however my husband has said on many occasions that I should.  It would be a memoir.  And those who know me and know my story, have said that they can’t believe all I have lived through.   Not a normal, typical, average life.

I will share one incident that happened when I was approximately 8-9 years old, that even to this day, I can recall every minute of an eight month period because of it’s impact it left on me.  My father, a business man, was approached by the state police, to tell him that there was credible information that my family was a target by people who had been following my parents, knew our life and who would shoot to kill if necessary.  They then asked if they could set up a sting operation.  My father agreed.  The next 8 months were terrifying as to the things we had to do, knowing we were being watched, seeing the police laying in wait on the floor in our dining room with their guns aimed at the doors and enough ammunition to “take the side of our house off”.   There is much more to this story, that could fill at least 4 chapters, except it wasn’t fiction it was my reality.  I did state, not a typical 8 year old’s life.

September is being hosted by BookNAround 

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 text to read synopsis via IndieBound

Wednesday:  I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson–won from Bookin’ With Bingo
Saturday:  Low Pressure by Sandra Brown–The Hachette Book Group

Hosted by Acting Balanced 

1. What was the toughest job you ever had?
One that I didn’t get paid but received the greatest rewards for and that was being a parent and raising my sons. I was lucky to be a SAHM and quite honestly, those were the happiest years of my life. The hard part was being structured and with consistent follow through. It would have been so much easier giving in but I knew it would pay off in the end. Today my sons are men, with successful jobs in their fields, presently working on their Master’s and my oldest bought a house on his own and my youngest  just got engaged.

2. What one characteristic makes a good boss?
Respect

3. How did you celebrate ‘the end of summer’?
Getting ready for the movers tomorrow that will be bringing furniture from my Mom’s house here and to the assisted living facility where my sister lives.

4. Do you follow the fashion rules about Labour Day being the end of wearing white etc?
Not sure if that rule exists anymore. But I usually don’t wear white so it doesn’t apply to me.

5.  Any special plans for today?
Working around the house, hopefully get some posts drafted, and some work done for Partners In Crime Tours.

Hosted by Marce  at Tea Time with Marce

 It is all about Networking with Bloggers and Authors who love to read and write Thrillers, Mystery, Suspense and/or Horrors. The goal is to find new blogs and bloggers with similar interest in those genres and of course add to our huge TBR and Wishlists.

Yesterday started the Blog Hop, it will stay open all week, feel free to join, go here. respond to the Thrill Ride Questionnaire, link up and network.

Thrill Week Brain Teasers

Day 2
Many enjoy being Detective, put your skills to the test, can you guess the answer to these Mystery Brain Teasers?

Mystery Brain Teaser 1
The Notes

Detective Brown reviewed the information they had on the case so far. A lady was found shot and they already had a list of suspects – John, Mark, Sarah, Henry, and Carol. Plus, there were five notes that were found that were from the killer. The first was found in a supply room. The second was found in an art studio. The third was in a restroom, the fourth in an animal shelter, and the fifth at the harbor. All of the notes read the same thing, “The clues are where you find the notes.” Yet, nothing was found at anyplace the notes were.

Taking one more look at all the clues, Detective Brown immediately solved the case.

Who did it?

hmmm..This is why I love mysteries, however, I usually don’t figure them out until the end.  I was thinking John because of the location of the third note but then thought it might be Mark, (lol not my son Mark) because the killer was leaving his “mark” at each site. 

Detective Wesley carefully examined the scene before him. He was in a hotel room about 3 miles from the victim’s home. The victim’s body lay in front of him peacefully on the bed. It was January 7th, 3:15 PM, the body was discovered by a hotel maid. The man’s name was Sean Donovin. He was in his late twenties, a successful business owner, a Sunday school teacher, and was soon to be married. The detective shook his head in disgust. He whispered to himself, “Why would anyone commit suicide when they had everything going for them?”

The detective saw this as suspicious. The only potential suspects would have to be people he trusted. According to testimony from his coworkers and friends, he only trusted 3 people: his sister, Hannah, who was very close with the victim and who often assisted him while he taught at the local church; his brother, John, who owned a smaller, semi-successful business; and his fiance, Jenna.

The apparent cause of death was by injection of poison. At least his death was peaceful, the detective thought. The detective continued to search the hotel room, when he stumbled upon a suicide note. It read:

Jan 04/2009 4:10 AM

My loved ones,

Jenna, Sis, John, I would just like to tell you how sorry I am. Blame God for why I am to die today. Blame Him. Seek Him if you want to know why I did leave you. Do not mourn my death. Please move on.

Goodbye,
Sean

The detective saw this letter as somewhat suspicious. His last words were abrupt, almost impersonal. Why would a Sunday school teacher blame God?

The body was taken in for medical examination. Days later, the coroner would determine that the body died from a poison which killed instantly. The coroner would also determine that the body was only dead a mere 3 hours before it was discovered.

The detective then realized that the date and time used on the note were completely false. All 3 of those mentioned in the letter agreed the handwriting was indeed Sean’s.

The detective realized that the identity of the murderer was given inside the suicide note. After a thorough examination of the note, Detective Wesley quickly arrested the murderer.

Who was it?

I’m thinking that is John, his brother because the note said “seek Him” and there was only one male on the note.