INTERNATIONAL-EBOOK ENTRY GIVEAWAY PAGE “ENTERING THE BLUE STONE” by Molly Best Tinsley ENDED

CMash June 25, 2012 5 Comments

JUNE 25th to JULY 9th, 2012

ENTERING THE BLUE STONE
by MOLLY BEST TINSLEY

SYNOPSIS:

What happens when one’s larger-than-life military parents–disciplined, distinguished, exacting–begin sliding out of control? The General struggles to maintain his invulnerable façade against Parkinson’s disease; his lovely wife manifests a bizarre dementia. Their three grown children, desperate to save the situation, convince themselves of the perfect solution: an upscale retirement community. But as soon as their parents have been resettled within its walls, the many imperfections of its system of care begin to appear.
Charting the line between comedy and pathos, Molly Best Tinsley’s memoir, Entering the Blue Stone dissects the chaos at the end of life and discovers what shines beneath: family bonds, the dignity of even an unsound mind, and the endurance of the heart.

THANKS TO AUTHOR, MOLLY BEST TINSLEY

I HAVE ONE ( 1 ) EBOOK EDITION OF THIS
MEMOIR TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*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: HAVE YOU HAD TO

AND/OR ARE CARING FOR YOUR AGING PARENTS?*

*INTRNATIONAL—EBOOK EDITION*

**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.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS JULY 9th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
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.

I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

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

Continue reading “INTERNATIONAL-EBOOK ENTRY GIVEAWAY PAGE “ENTERING THE BLUE STONE” by Molly Best Tinsley ENDED“ →

Mailbox Monday, Meme, Monday Memes, Musing Mondays

Monday Memes

CMash June 25, 2012 8 Comments

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

Today’s question:
Do you set goals for yourself, while reading? For example, “I want to get this book finished this weekend“, or “I will read __ pages today“, etc. Why, or why not?

My answer:
I think this is a great question!! I do, however, I don’t always succeed. Because I had a very bad reading year in 2011, I wanted to try to read at least 2 books a week. But, of course that doesn’t always happen depending on RL, size of book and Partners In Crime Tours work. Another reason I try to put goals in place is due to the problem of not being able to say NO to a book. At times I have more books coming in than me finishing, and then I become anxious that I am getting back logged. I tend to be more disciplined with my goals if I sign up for a Read-A-Thon, which I have been trying to participate in more this year to reach my goal of one of my challenges, which is Outdo Yourself.

What about you? Do you set reading goals?

June is being hosted by Alternative Read

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.”

ARC–Simon & Schuster

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is………

CMash June 23, 2012 2 Comments

…….of Buying America Back by Alan Uke

11 Chel Pay Tweet About the Giveaway

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

Guest Author, Showcase, Sparkpoint Studio, LLC

Guest Author David Klein

CMash June 23, 2012 1 Comment

Lisa from SparkPoint Studio contacted me regarding today’s guest and asked if I would read and review his book. But since I am behind AGAIN, I disappointingly had to pass at this time. Oh how I wish I was a speed reader. There are just too many books I want to read and today’s guest has written one of those books. It is definitely on my TBR list. Welcome David Klein!!

DAVID KLEIN

David Klein is the author of the novel Stash, also published by Broadway Books, and his short fiction has appeared in a variety of literary magazines. He currently lives in upstate New York.
Visit David at his website, on Facebook and Twitter.

GUEST POST

For Better or Worse

There really are no gray areas when it comes to traditional wedding vows. ‘For better or worse’, ‘Richer or poorer’, ‘In sickness or in health’, ‘Until death do us part.’

There’s no mistaking the intent of those vows, or the range of blissful and brutal conditions, emotions, and situations under which you promise to stay married.

In writing my most recent novel, Clean Break, I spent a long time thinking about the language of traditional marriage vows, and how those vows applied to my main character, Celeste. When the novel opens, she’s been struggling for several years with the level of commitment she “owes” her husband. The problem for Celeste is that the first years of marriage were all on the better, richer, and healthy side of the scale. But then her husband, Adam, fell under the spell of gambling. He lost all of their assets, poisoned their marriage, and emotionally damaged their young son, Spencer. And he lost his temper.

Their marriage had gone from better to worse, from health to sickness, from richer to poorer. Does Celeste really need to stick around because she’d made that promise to her husband ten years ago? The difficult question for her is whether Adam is truly ill, or has developed a nasty, addictive habit and a mean streak. You wouldn’t leave your spouse who is suffering from a disease. But you might leave that same spouse if he won’t stop a destructive behavior.

When talking to his son, Adam tries to tell Spencer he has a disease, “like grandma’s cancer,” and that the doctors are treating him so he gets better. But Celeste tells Spencer that no one chooses to get cancer, no makes a decision to get sick, yet Adam chose to gamble. He placed his bets.

Behavioral problems among adults get a lot of attention these days. In many cases, they’re positioned as addictions: gambling addiction, sex addiction, Internet addiction—you name it. Health professionals often prescribe prescription drugs to help sufferers, which some people argue serves to “medicalize” human distress or a person’s lack of accountability.

Even the mental health profession struggles in this gray area. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is used by health professionals, researchers and policy makers to identify, classify and plan treatment for mental disorders. Proposed revisions would add “gambling disorder” to alcohol and drug problems as a “substance use and addictive disorder” that insurers and others would use to make decisions about treatment and coverage.

Better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health—yes. But the gray areas that life presents? Hard to say. For Celeste, like many spouses who may be stuck in an awful situation, it’s hard to know where commitment ends and survival begins. What are your thoughts on this topic?

ABOUT THE BOOK

Can you make a clean break from a troubled past and start a new life?Four lives intersect when Celeste Vanek leaves her husband, Adam. His compulsive gambling and physical threats have poisoned their marriage and emotionally damaged their young son. Celeste moves to a small rental across town, works to gain financial security, and helps her son navigate his fantasy life.

But she quickly finds that starting over is not easy.

Adam demands his family back, and things get out of control. Jake, who witnesses a violent struggle between Celeste and her husband, becomes Celeste’s ally and friend, while struggling with his own emotional and ethical issues. Jake carries a history of failed relationships—one of them with Sara, a married and childless police detective who has a private agenda to pursue when a crime is committed that links these four characters together and changes their lives forever.
Amazon purchase link here.

THANKS TO LISA FROM SPARKPOINT STUDIO, I HAVE ONE (1)
PB 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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble and/or any other retail/wholesale
outlets either online and/or elsewhere.
I am providing this link solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.
I do not receive any monetary compensation from any parties

Giveaway, SparkPoint Studio

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “CLEAN BREAK” by David Klein ENDED

CMash June 23, 2012 20 Comments

JUNE 23rd to JULY 7th, 2012

CLEAN BREAK
by DAVID KLEIN

SYNOPSIS:

Can you make a clean break from a troubled past and start a new life?
Four lives intersect when Celeste Vanek leaves her husband, Adam. His compulsive gambling and physical threats have poisoned their marriage and emotionally damaged their young son. Celeste moves to a small rental across town, works to gain financial security, and helps her son navigate his fantasy life.
But she quickly finds that starting over is not easy.
Adam demands his family back, and things get out of control. Jake, who witnesses a violent struggle between Celeste and her husband, becomes Celeste’s ally and friend, while struggling with his own emotional and ethical issues. Jake carries a history of failed relationships—one of them with Sara, a married and childless police detective who has a private agenda to pursue when a crime is committed that links these four characters together and changes their lives forever.

THANKS TO LISA, AND THE AWESOME

PEOPLE AT SPARKPOINT STUDIO —

I HAVE ONE ( 1 ) PB COPY OF THIS
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*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 THINK IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE A CLEAN

BREAK FROM A TROUBLED PAST AND START A NEW LIFE?*

*U.S. 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.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS JULY 7th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
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.

I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review, The Hachette Book Group

Review “Tumbleweeds” by Leila Meacham

CMash June 22, 2012 2 Comments

Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: June 19, 2012
ISBN-10: 1455509248
ISBN-13: 978-1455509249
Pages: 480
Review Copy from: The Hachette Book Group
Edition: HC
My Rating: 5

Synopsis (from IndieBound):
Recently orphaned, eleven-year-old Cathy Benson feels she has been dropped into a cultural and intellectual wasteland when she is forced to move from her academically privileged life in California to the small town of Kersey in the Texas Panhandle where the sport of football reigns supreme. She is quickly taken under the unlikely wings of up-and-coming gridiron stars and classmates John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall, orphans like herself, with whom she forms a friendship and eventual love triangle that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Taking the three friends through their growing up years until their high school graduations when several tragic events uproot and break them apart, the novel expands to follow their careers and futures until they reunite in Kersey at forty years of age. Told with all of Meacham’s signature drama, unforgettable characters, and plot twists, readers will be turning the pages, desperate to learn how it all plays out.

My Thoughts and Opinion:
This was the first time that I read the work of this author and it will not be the last. Matter of fact, I now have Roses on my TBR list. As far as Tumbleweeds, three words, I loved it!!! I have to be honest that when I received it, and saw that it was a 480 page novel, I had feelings of ambivalence about picking it up to read, as I am in the group of readers who tend to shy away from large novels.

Tumbleweeds inserts the reader into the lives of the three (3) main characters from their young age when their friendship blossomed in a small town of Kersey, Texas and continues to follow the paths they took until they were in their forties. The writing style of the author brought everything to life including all of the characters in the book, the small town where High School football reigned, the settings, the emotions palpable and perceptible as if I was sitting on the sidelines and part of this close knit community. Every page read, I became more invested into their very believable lives. In my opinion, there was absolutely no “fluff” within the 480 pages. Every word written injected me deeper into the story line and had me turning the pages. Not only did the author pen a fantastic and enjoyable saga but also included suspense that had twists and turns and an ending I didn’t see coming. This book is engrossing and “transports” the reader right into the middle of the plot, that it is a “hard to put down” read. I highly recommend this captivating novel!!

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.

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

Aloha Friday, Friday Blog Hop, Friday Memes, Meme

Friday Memes

CMash June 22, 2012 9 Comments

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!

Summer is here!!!
My Question:
What do you enjoy doing most during summer?

My Answer:
Reading either by the pool and/or in the pool on my float..

Hosted by Jennifer from CRAZY FOR BOOKS

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!
Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.