Hosted by An Island Life

From An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

This past weekend, I announced that my youngest son got engaged. They live out of state (5hours away) and they are driving in tonight leaving on Sunday. Since family and friends want to see them, my DH and I are having a pool party on Saturday so that people can stop by, whenever they can, to see them.

So my question is:

When you are having a large gathering, how many days in advance do you start preparing for it?

……..of Tea With Death by Joel Andre

4 Erica Haspiel Szlosek Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

25 heather c Tweet About the Giveaway

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.

Hi everyone!!  

I had previously signed up for, and stated earlier this week, that I would be participating in the High Summer Read-A-Thon, hosted by Michelle from  Seasons Of Reading  and  The True Book Addict.  However, the reason why there is no progress sticky post is, and I am embarrassed to say, that I haven’t even opened a book this week.  Real Life has interfered but this is something that I am truly excited about.  On Sunday, I announced that my son, Mark, proposed to his gf, Jess.   Well….they will be home tomorrow, they live out of state..5 hours away, and leaving on Sunday.  Since all their friends want to see them, including Steve and I, because he hasn’t been home since Xmas, we thought that we would have a pool party Saturday so that everyone can come here.  I have been extremely busy preparing for that plus have been busy with Partners In Crime Tours.  Hopefully I will get back on track with my reading starting next week.

http://btt2.wordpress.com

Today’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Vampira2468 asks:
Series or Stand-alone?

My answer:
Both!  However, with a series, I like it if it can also be read as a stand-alone.  My opinion, that if that can be accomplished, that is some great writing.

What about you?  Series or Stand-alone?

I am a very happy camper today because I have the opportunity to introduce and share with you an awesome author who is visiting.  Erin, from Meryl L. Moss Media/The Book Trib, contacted me to read and review today’s showcased book and let me tell you, it was a page turner!!  So without further ado, please meet and greet Ms. Andrea Kane!

ANDREA KANE

Andrea Kane’s psychological thriller, THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED TWICE, became an instant New York Times bestseller, continuing her long string of smash hits.

It debuted Forensic Instincts, an eclectic team of maverick investigators, each with different talents and personalities, all with one common bond—a blatant disregard for authority. THE LINE BETWEEN HERE and GONE is the encore novel in the Forensic Instincts series. Armed with skills and talents honed by years in the FBI, Special Forces, and training in behavioral and forensic psychology, the Forensic Instincts team solves seemingly impossible cases while walking a fine line between assisting and enraging law enforcement.

With a worldwide following and novels translated into more than twenty languages, Kane is also the author of eight additional psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romances. She lives in New Jersey with her family, where she is conspiring with Forensic Instincts on new ways to disrupt the status quo.
Visit Ms. Kane at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Q & A WITH AUTHOR, ANDREA KANE

1. 1.      Q: Describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer.

A: A mother is desperately searching for the father of her newborn baby – hoping that he’s alive and is a donor match to save her critically ill son.

1. What inspired you to write THE LINE BETWEEN HERE AND GONE?

A: As with all my books, THE LINE, started out as flashes of the characters’ lives playing out in my head. I saw a flash of an important male character who vanished without a trace and a critically ill infant whose life was integrally tied to his.  But I didn’t know why or how that would factor into FI’s caseload.  Those answers came later, after the baby’s mother crystallized in my mind.

1. Q: What sort of attachment do you have to your characters?

A: They become part of me, like family.  The ending of a book is bittersweet.  My characters are fully formed, have achieved some resolution in battling the trials and tribulations of life.  Just when I’m ready to enjoy their creation, it’s time to say goodbye.  Fortunately with Forensic Instincts, I get the chance to stay attached and further the FI team’s characters and stories in their next book.

1. Q: Where do you do most of your writing?

A: Wherever my Pomeranian lets me.  It’s amazing where he can place his snout, his paws, his tail and his body on my laptop to prevent me from writingJ

1. Q: Do you have an inspiration board for each book? Maybe a scrapbook? What inspires you when you’re writing?

A: No boards, no scrapbooks.  I’m a pretty cerebral person.  For me, the inspiration comes from within – characters with a story they’re excited to tell!

Want more?  Follow Andrea Kane on her tour here.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.

Or was he?

One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches onto for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.

Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge.

A behaviorist. A former Navy SEAL. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A retired FBI agent. A human scent evidence dog. Together, they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.

The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further the team digs into Paul’s past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all.

Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the Congressional halls of Washington D.C. to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.

Little do they realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends The Line Between Here and Gone.

Excerpt:
She didn’t really care if she had any messages. But she had to check – even if it was just to seek out some pie-in-the-sky miracle that would answer her prayers.
No miracle.

Read my review here.
Purchase links: Amazon, B&N, IndieBound.

THANKS TO ERIN, FROM MEDIA MUSCLE, I HAVE ONE (1) COPY
OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.  U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY.

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.

*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL

ADDRESS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: FROM READING THE SYNOPSIS, DO

YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT IT IS OK IN CERTAIN

SITUATIONS, TO “PUSHING ETHICAL AND LEGAL

BOUNDARIES  WHENEVER THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS“?.*

*U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

**HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Line Between Here And Gone by Andrea Kane
Published by: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN-10: 0778313379
ISBN-13: 978-0778313373
Pages: 400
Review Copy from: Meryl L. Moss Media(The Book Trib)
Edition:  ARC TPB
My Rating: 4

Synopsis (from author’s website):
Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.
Or was he?
One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches onto for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.
Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge.
A behaviorist. A former Navy SEAL. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A retired FBI agent. A human scent evidence dog. Together, they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.
The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further the team digs into Paul’s past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all.
Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the Congressional halls of Washington D.C. to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.
Little do they realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends The Line Between Here and Gone.
My Thoughts and Opinion: Four hundred pages that is packed with a fast paced “ticking time bomb” plot and twists and turns throughout. The book pulled me in right from the start with the introduction of Justin, a newborn who is fighting for his life in the hospital’s pediatric bone marrow transplant unit. From there the reader is presented with a fairly large amount of characters. However, the author does a superb job of allowing the reader to not become overwhelmed and keeping the characters straight and creating the imagery in one’s mind, due to the uniqueness of each person and their role in the storyline. The descriptions and details of the suspenseful plot start off slowly and builds to a crescendo within the first quarter of the book and the intensity doesn’t let go until the last page is read. After reaching a certain point in the book, I could NOT put it down and had to finish reading it. The author pulls the tale and characters together in a culmination that the reader does not see coming. The fictional team of Forensic Instincts, was introduced in the book The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, which I plan on purchasing, but this book could be and was read as a stand alone novel.  Even though it is 400 pages, once the action reaches a certain level, it is a definite page turner. Highly recommend!!

(2012 Challenges: FreeReads, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

…..of The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart

42 Maureen Carol Tweet About the Giveaway

49 pamela james Tweet About the Giveaway

 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.  More giveaways to come.

This is the first time in my life that we haven’t had a dog as part of our family.  And if you do have pets, you know, that they do become a family member.  Plus having been in the medical field, I have seen the amazing effect dogs have with patients.  So when Nicole from Tribute Books contacted me, it was an instant yes for me to host the author of this book.  So please help me welcome Barbara Lampert and Charlie to our group.

BARBARA LAMPERT and CHARLIE

Barbara Lampert is a Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in relationships. She’s been in private practice in Brentwood, California for over twenty years. She considers her work a calling and loves what she does. She has a doctorate in medical sociology and two master’s degrees – one in psychology and one in sociology.

Barbara has adored dogs her whole life. They’re her passion! She considers them the magic on the planet. Barbara has had dogs most of her life and hopes to have at least one by her side always. She notes that for a lot of people, their dogs are their best friends. She loves helping people know that’s ok – that a soul-satisfying relationship may be found with any being and needs to be treasured.

Besides her love of dogs, Barbara is an avid gardener and finds herself gardening in much of her spare time. She sees her garden as a work of art. She loves being in nature – the miracle of growth, the ever-changing landscape, its beauty.

Today Barbara lives happily in Malibu, California with her husband David (married twenty-eight years!) and their six-year-old Golden Retriever, Harry.
The blog tour site is:
Barbara hopes that Charlie: A Love Story will be a tribute not only to a magnificent dog but to all dogs everywhere.
The blog tour site is:   http://charlie-a-love-story.blogspot.com/

GUEST POST

CMash:  I have seen where dogs are brought to nursing homes. So a post either about and/or the premise of “How, why, and what animals can provide and what the effects are when used in that type of setting.”

Thank you so much for having me on your site and giving me an opportunity to discuss bringing dogs into nursing homes and the benefit of dogs in that setting. Nursing homes were the first to make use of therapy dogs. To the best of my knowledge, that practice began about thirty years ago.

Have you ever visited a nursing home? For the most part, they are not happy places, so anything that can be done to bring joy and love into them and to the people who inhabit them is wonderful. To bring dogs into this setting is extraordinarily intelligent. But it has to be the right kind of dog – not every dog will be able to handle this type of setting.

Commonly known as therapy dogs, dogs who visit nursing homes must first have passed the Canine Good Citizen test, which means that they have to be well-mannered and comfortable in a variety of situations and with a variety of people.

The most essential attribute of a therapy dog is a good temperament – being friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease in all situations. When a dog lacking a good temperament is put under stress, poor behavior will surface. Most people believe that a therapy dog is born and not made, though it is not impossible to teach some better behaviors. But I tend to agree with the “born and not made” theory. I am a psychotherapist, licensed twenty-two years, and have been curious about people all my life. As near as I can tell, temperament doesn’t change. Behaviors can, but temperament no.

Having had dogs most of my life, I can think of only two of them who would have made good therapy dogs. Their temperaments were perfect for the role. Both were Golden Retrievers, were calm in the face of chaos, loved all kinds of people, were fine in and actually looked forward to new situations, had a calming effect on people, and made people feel better just by their presence. The effect that both of these dogs had on people was a sight to behold. People they encountered would within a few seconds of meeting them have big smiles on their faces. These two would have been perfect therapy dogs in nursing homes.

Another characteristic of good therapy dogs, I’ve heard, is that they should not be too attached to their owners but instead should be more interested in exploring the world and the people in it. Again thinking of those two dogs of mine, that makes sense to me.

While in one respect Charlie, my Golden Retriever who is the subject of my book Charlie: A Love Story, would have made a good therapy dog, because he was so emotionally wise and intuitive and loved to make people laugh, he was much too attached to me. Far more interested in being with me than being out in the world meeting people and exploring new situations. Lucky me! How blessed I was to have had this magnificent being bonded with me! My very own therapy dog!

A good therapy dog offers comfort and companionship, soothes the agitated and fearful, engages with the isolated, and may even bring laughter to the sad and lonely. A good therapy dog does not discriminate against someone in a wheelchair, or the really old or disheveled but rather gives abundant, unconditional love and acceptance to such people, which in turn can not only calm but heal. It can be very soul-satisfying for a disabled or elderly person to pet the fur of one of these dogs and experience at least a connection, to express affection to some living being who in turn gives this person unconditional love. For a brief moment, this individual may be transported to a happier place, the day-to-day sadness and loneliness temporarily interrupted. Healing? I’d say so.

Again, thank you! It’s been a pleasure discussing this very good topic about man’s (and woman’s) truly best friend.

CMash:  First, Thank you for visiting.  Very interesting post, which I enjoyed and hope my readers do as well.  Being a former RN and my last job was working in geriatrics, I did see, on many occasions, the Big Smile that you mentioned.  The Nursing Home where I worked did utilize Pet Therapy on a routine basis.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Charlie: A Love Story tells of the beautiful love between Charlie, a Golden Retriever, and the author, Barbara Lampert. It takes place in Malibu, California. When Charlie turned eleven years old and started having some health problems, a journal Barbara was keeping about her garden quickly became mostly about Charlie. Charlie: A Love Story is an intimate look at an incredible connection between a canine and a human. And as a psychotherapist who specializes in relationships, Barbara brings that sensibility and understanding to Charlie’s story as well. Charlie was Barbara’s loyal confidante and best friend. He was indomitable, had a zest for life and an uncanny emotional intelligence. Charlie: A Love Story is about devotion, joy, loss, and renewal, about never giving up or giving in. But mostly it’s about an extraordinary dog and an extraordinary relationship.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, BARBARA LAMPERT, AND
TRIBUTE BOOKS, I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS
BOOK TO GIVEAWAY. U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.