Thursday Memes

CMash May 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

http://btt2.wordpress.com/

This week’s question:

Do you ever feel like you’re in a reading rut? That you don’t read enough variety? That you need to branch out, spread your literary wings and explore other genres, flavors, styles?

My answer:
At times yes. But than on the other hand, there are so many books that I want to read in the genres I enjoy, and honestly feel that I will never get to all of them, that I don’t feel I am missing out on anything.. I have one large 5 shelf packed bookshelf that are divided into one shelf of my requested reviews, the rest are all of my personal personal tbr books. So when I deplete this bookcase, I will consider another genre lol.

Hosted by Lori from Dollycas’s Thoughts

From Lori’s site:
It struck me recently how much time I spend on this computer every day, blogging, chatting or playing games on Facebook, emailing friends and relatives, making cards and calendars, etc. etc. etc.
We depend on each other for book reviews, giveaways, encouragement, friendship, but how well do we really know each other?
So that is what this meme is all about, getting to know each other.

WEEK 39 QUESTIONS

1. If you could meet a famous person who would you like to meet?

This is definitely a hard question and so many possible answers but because this milestone just occurred yesterday, I would say Oprah.

2. Are you planning a summer vacation?

Since we just got back from vacation, our summer plans will be to spend it by our pool.

3. What is your favorite television show?

Piers Morgan Tonight and since the Casey Anthony trial has begun, I do watch Nancy Grace to get the recap of what happened in court.

Guest Author

Guest Author Helen Hanson

CMash May 26, 2011 3 Comments

I don’t know about you, but when an author contacts me and asks if I would read and review their book or even that I might consider if they could stop by and visit, to share with my visitors, about their novel, I take that as a compliment and an honor. And today we have just that kind of visitor. So I ask, to help me welcome Ms. Helen Hanson to my blog today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Hanson writes thrillers about desperate people with a high-tech bent. Hackers. The CIA. Industry titans. Guys on sailboats. Mobsters. Their personal maelstroms pit them against unrelenting forces willing to kill. Throughout the journey, they try to find some truth, a little humor, and their humanity — from either end of the trigger.

Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the Redwood Curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.

She is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. Helen and her husband spent their first anniversary with their flight instructor studying for the FAA practical. If you were a passenger on a 737 trying to land at SJC in 1995, she sends her most sincere apologies. Really.

Born in fly-over country, Helen has lived on both coasts, near both borders, and at several locations in between. She lettered in tennis, worked as a machinist, and saw the Clash at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium sometime in the eighties. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, and a dog that composes music with squeaky toys.

Her first novel, 3 LIES, is now available on iBooks, Kindle, Pubit, and Smashwords. Her second novel, DARK POOL, is due for release in Spring 2011, and her third novel is brewing. While Helen writes about the power hungry, she genuinely mistrusts anyone who wants to rule the world.

If you enjoy her books, please consider writing a review: Goodreads, iBookstore, Kindle, LibraryThing, Pubit, Shelfari, or Smashwords. If you don’t, please be kind.

GUEST POST

In my youth, I loved watching the old film noir and gangster flicks of the 40’s and 50’s. When I see them now, though, the dialogue seems stiff. In my opinion, the worst situations in life are best medicated by a dose of levity. As long as the dramatic tension never crumbles into farce, I want a side of humor with all my pathos. The stories and dialogue I write reflect an appreciation of wit: a little sarcastic, occasionally caustic, and always relevant to the character’s situation.

It may sound hedonistic, but I aim to please myself when I write. Creating a ninety thousand word novel takes months to accomplish, and I expect to be entertained. When I finish, though, I’m going to ask readers to part with a bit of coin and a lot of personal time. I want to make sure they feel both are well spent with one of my novels. If I wince over a character’s plight or laugh at one of their quips, chances are good that my reader will too.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:
At CIA headquarters, a young officer discovers that terrorists may have commandeered their computer systems to launch an unauthorized mission. Elsewhere, conspirators abduct nine people to manipulate the rules of their game. Two disparate ambitions — Clint Masters becomes the reluctant link in the chain of danger.

Ever since Clint’s almost ex-wife dumped him, he bobs along the Massachusetts coast in a sailboat with his black lab for company. He avoids all forms of technology, a counterintuitive effort for the burned-out founder of CatSat Laboratories. Tired of clutching the brass ring, he needed to untether, step off the corporate treadmill, and smell a flower. Fortunately, he met one, a beautiful, unspoiled woman who doesn’t treat him like a commodity. His relationship with Beth offers more promise than his marriage ever did, even if she is on dialysis for her recovering kidneys, until she disappears.

In spite of the evidence, her family refuses to admit she’s in danger. Without routine dialysis, she won’t survive. As Clint realizes that he loves Beth, damn-near ex-wife Paige sashays back into his life with disturbing news.

While the CIA young gun tracks his quarry, Clint enlists the help of two men to find Beth, a blithe Brit named Merlin, and Todd, his playboy partner-in-tech. But Clint must find Beth before her kidneys fail. And before someone unloads a bullet in his head.

THANKS TO THE KINDNESS OF THE AUTHOR,

MS. HELEN HANSON, I HAVE FIVE (5) EBOOK

EDITIONS OF THIS SUSPENSEFUL BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

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.

No items that I receive

are ever sold…they are kept by me,

or given to family and/or friends.

Giveaway

INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE "3 LIES" ENDED

CMash May 26, 2011 34 Comments

MAY 26th to JUNE 9th, 2011

3 LIES

by HELEN HANSON

SYNOPSIS:

At CIA headquarters, a young officer discovers that terrorists may have commandeered their computer systems to launch an unauthorized mission. Elsewhere, conspirators abduct nine people to manipulate the rules of their game. Two disparate ambitions — Clint Masters becomes the reluctant link in the chain of danger.

Ever since Clint’s almost ex-wife dumped him, he bobs along the Massachusetts coast in a sailboat with his black lab for company. He avoids all forms of technology, a counterintuitive effort for the burned-out founder of CatSat Laboratories. Tired of clutching the brass ring, he needed to untether, step off the corporate treadmill, and smell a flower. Fortunately, he met one, a beautiful, unspoiled woman who doesn’t treat him like a commodity. His relationship with Beth offers more promise than his marriage ever did, even if she is on dialysis for her recovering kidneys, until she disappears.
In spite of the evidence, her family refuses to admit she’s in danger. Without routine dialysis, she won’t survive. As Clint realizes that he loves Beth, damn-near ex-wife Paige sashays back into his life with disturbing news.
While the CIA young gun tracks his quarry, Clint enlists the help of two men to find Beth, a blithe Brit named Merlin, and Todd, his playboy partner-in-tech. But Clint must find Beth before her kidneys fail. And before someone unloads a bullet in his head.

THANKS TO GENEROSITY OF THE

AUTHOR, MS. HELEN HANSON

I HAVE FIVE (5) EBOOK EDITIONS OF THIS

SUSPENSEFUL BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*ALL COMMENTS TO BE SEPARATE*

AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN

*LEAVE COMMENT: DO YOU THINK THAT THE INTERNET

IS SAFE FROM TERRORISTS AT A HIGH SECURITY LEVEL?*

*EXTRA ENTRIES*

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS
BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU THAT
YOU RETWEETED THIS GIVEAWAY (LEAVE LINK).

*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

*INTERNATIONAL–EBOOK*

*GIVEAWAY ENDS JUNE 9th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG

AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL AND WILL

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,
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.
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.

Thursday Memes

CMash May 26, 2011 4 Comments

http://btt2.wordpress.com/

This week’s question:

Do you ever feel like you’re in a reading rut? That you don’t read enough variety? That you need to branch out, spread your literary wings and explore other genres, flavors, styles?

My answer:
At times yes. But than on the other hand, there are so many books that I want to read in the genres I enjoy, and honestly feel that I will never get to all of them, that I don’t feel I am missing out on anything.. I have one large 5 shelf packed bookshelf that are divided into one shelf of my requested reviews, the rest are all of my personal personal tbr books. So when I deplete this bookcase, I will consider another genre lol.

Hosted by Lori from Dollycas’s Thoughts

From Lori’s site:
It struck me recently how much time I spend on this computer every day, blogging, chatting or playing games on Facebook, emailing friends and relatives, making cards and calendars, etc. etc. etc.
We depend on each other for book reviews, giveaways, encouragement, friendship, but how well do we really know each other?
So that is what this meme is all about, getting to know each other.

WEEK 39 QUESTIONS

1. If you could meet a famous person who would you like to meet?

This is definitely a hard question and so many possible answers but because this milestone just occurred yesterday, I would say Oprah.

2. Are you planning a summer vacation?

Since we just got back from vacation, our summer plans will be to spend it by our pool.

3. What is your favorite television show?

Piers Morgan Tonight and since the Casey Anthony trial has begun, I do watch Nancy Grace to get the recap of what happened in court.

Winners

And the winners are……

CMash May 25, 2011 Leave a Comment

……….for THE GUARDIAN by Margaret Mallory

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6 28 4

Timestamp: 2011-05-25 22:04:49 UTC

*Gigi Ann said… 6 Without a doubt my Knight in Shining Armor is…Mr. Knightley in Jane Austen’s “Emma”.

*winnie said… 28 My knight in shinning armor (literally wise) would be Bones from the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost because it’s my favourite book series.

*Gina Hott said… 4 I’m a Twitter Follower!

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

5/27/11 ADDENDUM
Due to a duplicate win, another winner was chosen.

Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2011-05-27 23:11:22 UTC

Congratulations to:
holls said… 11 How could I not say the my wonderful husband is my shining
An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Winners

And the winners are……

CMash May 25, 2011 1 Comment

……….for THE GUARDIAN by Margaret Mallory

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6 28 4

Timestamp: 2011-05-25 22:04:49 UTC

*Gigi Ann said… 6 Without a doubt my Knight in Shining Armor is…Mr. Knightley in Jane Austen’s “Emma”.

*winnie said… 28 My knight in shinning armor (literally wise) would be Bones from the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost because it’s my favourite book series.

*Gina Hott said… 4 I’m a Twitter Follower!

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

5/27/11 ADDENDUM
Due to a duplicate win, another winner was chosen.

Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2011-05-27 23:11:22 UTC

Congratulations to:
holls said… 11 How could I not say the my wonderful husband is my shining
An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Guest Author

Guest Author Meg Mitchell Moore

CMash May 25, 2011 Leave a Comment

Anna, and the fantastic people from The Hachette Book Group, have made this Wednesday very special by giving me the opportunity of introducing this very talented author to everyone while she stops by while on her virtual tour. So, please, let’s make her Wednesday just as special, by giving Ms. Meg Mitchell Moore a very warm welcome.

ABOUT MEG MITCHELL MOORE

Meg Mitchell Moore worked for several years as a journalist. Her work has been published in Yankee, Continental, Women’s Health, Advertising Age and many other business and consumer magazines. She received a B.A. from Providence College and a master’s degree in English Literature from New York University. The Arrivals is her first novel. Her second novel will be published by Reagan Arthur Books in 2012. Meg lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her husband, their three children and a beloved border collie.

You can visit her at her website: MegMitchellMoore.com
Follow her on Facebook
Follow @Mmitchmoore on Twitter

GUEST POST
Making it Personal

One thing I’ve learned as a debut novelist is that a few questions come up frequently. Among those questions: how much of my book, The Arrivals, is based on personal experience. I think this is a great question, and it’s one I always enjoy answering. In The Arrivals, three adult siblings return to their parents’ home in Burlington, Vt., over the course of a summer, bringing their grownup problems with them.

My answer to the question of “Is this based on personal experience?” is: not really. Lillian, the eldest Owen sibling, arrives on her parents’ doorstep, a three-year-old and an infant in tow, to escape a marriage that’s in jeopardy. (Unless there’s something nobody is telling me, my marriage is in pretty good shape.) Stephen, the middle sibling, brings his pregnant wife for a short visit that is extended by weeks due to pregnancy complications. (My three pregnancies were relatively uneventful.) Rachel, the youngest sibling, is fleeing heartbreak and personal financial disaster in New York City. (I did live in New York, well, okay, Hoboken, New Jersey, in my twenties, and I sure wasn’t rich, but my situation was less extreme than Rachel’s.) I guess what I’m getting at here is that my life is considerably more boring than those of my characters. My life would make for a pretty dull novel.

Still, I guess you could say that some of the circumstances within the situations—mini-situations, let’s call them—have roots in personal experience. Lillian’s daughter Olivia, who is three, is in some ways a composite of all the three-year-old girls I have known, and I have known plenty. I have three daughters, all of whom by now have passed through the Olivia stage (though the youngest was only one when I started writing the book three years ago). I have dragged my children to my parents’ house on more than one occasion, and I’m sure I have created there the sort of chaos Lillian creates in the Owen household. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine a living room strewn with little baby socks and chirping toddler toys, or a washing machine suffering from overuse, or a kitchen never completely clear of the detritus of somebody’s last meal. And my parents do currently live in Vermont, though not in Burlington, where the book is set. So, I guess my answer to the question above is, as I said: not really. But sort of.

My next book, due out next year, features characters who aren’t anything like me: one is a thirteen-year-old girl, one is a fifty-seven-year-old woman, and one is an Irish immigrant working in domestic service in the 1920s. Their situations are foreign to me, but as I wrote them I sat down and did what any fiction writer tries to do—and, on a good day, achieves—I tried to mine the universal emotions from somebody else’s specific experiences.

ABOUT THE BOOK

SYNOPSIS:

It’s early summer when Ginny and William’s peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood – only this time around, their children are facing adult problems.

By summer’s end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family – and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

THANKS TO ANNA AND THE FANTASTIC

PEOPLE AT THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP

I HAVE TWO (2) BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY.

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.

Giveaway

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE "THE ARRIVALS ENDED

CMash May 25, 2011 Leave a Comment

MAY 25th to JUNE 8th, 2011

THE ARRIVALS

by MEG MTCHELL MOORE

SYNOPSIS:

It’s early summer when Ginny and William’s peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood – only this time around, their children are facing adult problems.
By summer’s end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family – and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

THANKS TO ANNA AND THE FANTASTIC

PEOPLE FROM THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP

I HAVE TWO (2) COPIES OF THIS

BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*ALL COMMENTS TO BE SEPARATE*

AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN

*LEAVE COMMENT: DO YOU BELIEVE THE ADAGE

“ONCE A PARENT, ALWAYS A PARENT?*

*EXTRA ENTRIES*

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS
BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU THAT
YOU RETWEETED THIS GIVEAWAY @ WHAT NAME.

*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

*U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY*

*NO P.O. BOXES*

**PER PUBLISHER**

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 JUNE 8th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG

AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL AND WILL

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,
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.
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