08 ENDED

CMash April 14, 2011 25 Comments

APRIL 14th TO MAY 8th, 2011

MISS HILDRETH WORE BROWN

by OLIVIA deBELLE BYRD

SYNOPSIS:

While Olivia deBelle Byrd was repeating one of her many Southern stories for the umpteenth time, her long-suffering husband looked at her with glazed over eyes and said, “Why don’t you write this stuff down?” Thus was born Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. If the genesis for a book is to shut your wife up, I guess that’s as good as any.

On top of that, Olivia’s mother had burdened her with one of those Southern middle names kids love to make fun. To see “deBelle” printed on the front of a book seemed vindication for all the childhood teasing.

With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Olivia deBelle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms.

The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt Lottie Mae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama.

Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church, where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule—one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral.

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment.

THANKS TO THE KINDNESS OF THE

AUTHOR, MS. OLIVIA deBELLE BYRD

I HAVE FIVE (5) SIGNED 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 KNOW

A TRUE SOUTHERN BELLE?*

*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.

*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

*INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY*

*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 MAY 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

Thursday Memes

CMash April 14, 2011 4 Comments

http://btt2.wordpress.com/

This week’s qestion:

In a related question to last week’s–

I was reading the other day a quote from JFK Jr who said on the death of his mother, that she died surrounded by family, friends, and her books. Apparently, Jackie’s books were very much a part of HER, her personality, her sense of self.
Up until recently, people could browse your bookshelves and learn a lot about you–what your interests are, your range of topics, favorite authors, how much you read (or at least buy books).
More and more, though, this is changing. People aren’t buying books so much as borrowing them from the library. Or reading them on their e-readers or computers. There’s nothing PHYSICAL on the shelves to tell strangers in your home, for better or worse, who you ARE.
Do you think this is a good thing? Bad? Discuss!
My answer:

I remember John Jr. saying that and thinking that may be some day. Because if I were to have an illness that was lingering, I am sure, I would want to read to the very end. And those that would be with me at that time already know that reading is a very important facet of my life so it wouldn’t matter if they saw what the titles were, they would know that what has always made me happy and what I have always enjoyed, I continued to the end.

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 33 QUESTIONS

1. How often do you go to the hair salon or beauty parlor?

Hair..every 6-8 weeks Nails every 2-3 weeks (am way overdue)

2. Have you ever had a massage?

Yes (and loved it) hubby has booked us one for our one while on vacation….can’t wait

3. Have you even been able to enjoy a full day of pampering at a spa?

LMAO

Guest Author

Guest Author Michael Baron

CMash April 13, 2011 1 Comment

     I am beyond thrilled to have today’s guest stop by, spend some time with us, and talk about his newest novel.
     Before I introduce him, please indulge me so you can understand my excitement.
     When I was a new newbie on the block and my blog first went public in December 2009, Mr. Lou Aronica from The Story Plant, contacted me to read and review this author’s book, Crossing The Bridge. To say the very least, I was honored and excited, yet terrified, as it was one of the first “real requested reviews” but the book was outstanding that writing the review was a breeze. Then around May/June, Mr. Aronica contacted me again to ask if I would read and review Mr. Baron’s newest book at the time The Journey Home. There was no question in my mind, it was a yes. I had already become a fan of Mr. Baron’s work and looked forward to reading his latest novel. I received the book and to my shock, there in the front of the book, where there are the quotes of praise, is my name! My name in print! A blogger who not 6 months earlier even knew this world of blogging existed. And now, TODAY, he is visiting HERE!!!
     Please, help me give a big and warm welcome to the very talented author Mr. Michael Baron !!!!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

(and why no picture)

I grew up in the New York area and I’ve lived there my entire life. I worked in retail and taught high school English before I got my first book contract. I have gotten several additional book contracts since then, which is fortunate because I didn’t have the patience to work in retail and, while I quite enjoyed teaching, my approach was a bit too unconventional for most school systems. One school administrator told me that, “there are more important things than being a dynamic teacher.” Since I couldn’t name any of those things (at least in the context of school), I figured I didn’t have a long-term future in the profession. Hence, I became a writer, where I believe people appreciate a certain level of dynamism.

Though I started with nonfiction, I have always loved fiction and I have always wanted to write it. I’ve always had a particular affection for love stories. In fact, the very first book-length thing I ever wrote, when I was thirteen, was a love story. Mind you, it was the kind of love story that a thirteen-year-old boy would write, but it was a love story nonetheless. I have a deep passion for writing about relationships – family relationships, working relationships, friendships, and, of course, romantic relationships – and I can only truly explore this by writing fiction. These novels have given me a way to voice the millions of things running through my head.

My wife and kids are the center of my life. My wife is the inspiration for all of my love stories and my children enthrall me, challenge me, and keep me moving. One of the primary reasons I wrote my first novel, When You Went Away was that I wanted to write about being a father. Aside from my family, I have a few other burning passions. I’m a pop culture junkie with an especially strong interest in music, I love fine food (and any restaurant shaped like a hot dog), and I read far too many sports blogs for my own good.

You might have noticed that I haven’t published a photo of myself. This isn’t because I’m involved in the Witness Protection program or because I have an innate fear of cameras. It’s because Michael Baron is a pseudonym. I’m writing these novels “undercover” because they’re not entirely compatible with the nonfiction books I write and I didn’t want to confuse readers. We’re all different people sometimes, right? I just decided to give my alter ego another name.
You can visit Michael Baron’s site at: http://www.michaelbaronbooks.com/Michael_Baron_site/Home.html

GUEST POST

My new novel, Spinning, is about a man who has to deal with sudden fatherhood. Dylan Hunter’s girlfriend – who has only recently returned to his life – dies, leaving him to care for her three-year-old daughter. For a twenty-nine-year-old living a fast lifestyle and riding a rocket ship to the top of his career, this leads to an enormous change in plans.

In part, this novel was inspired by a reaction to the birth of my first child. It wasn’t my immediate reaction; my immediate reaction was to be smitten at a level I didn’t realize possible. This reaction came a couple of weeks later when I had a bracing moment of clarity amid the delightful fog of new fatherhood. Hey, I thought, I can’t just walk out on my job anymore if things tick me off. I can’t decide to move to the Yucatan now and become a snorkeling instructor. I have responsibilities. I’m locked in!

Now, really, none of this should have come as a surprise to me. It wasn’t as though I was unaware of what I was committing to when my wife and I decided to have a child. Meanwhile, I’d never once come close to walking out on a job because my boss ticked me off. And as lovely as the Yucatan is, I’d never even entertained the thought of living there…not to mention that snorkeling makes me skittish, so becoming an instructor wasn’t ever an option. The point, though, was that, while I wasn’t a particularly impetuous person, my days of impetuousness were officially over. This gave me pause for about four minutes, I told myself to get over it, and I got on with my day.

I never forgot that moment, though. I think there’s a little of Dylan in all of us. We all, to varying degrees, relish our independence and fantasize about living an untethered life. The idea that we can’t move around on the spur of the moment is something we all need to address at some point. Some of us do so with grace. Many of us even embrace responsibility, believing that we were less fulfilled before we had it. The overwhelming majority of us get to a stage, though, when we realize that we’re not only living for ourselves anymore. This can stop us in our tracks for four minutes, four weeks, or for the rest of our lives (as has happened with some people I know).

I guess in some ways Spinning was a way of revisiting a revelation I dismissed many years ago. It’s not giving anything away to tell you that Dylan doesn’t brush it aside nearly as casually as I did.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dylan Hunter has it made. At 29, he has great friends, a huge job, all the women he can handle, and no commitments. A public relations executive, Dylan has dashed up the ladder of success by mastering the art of the spin – bending the truth to his and his clients’ needs. But when a former lover steps back into his life with a three-year-old girl by her side (no, she’s not his), Dylan suddenly finds himself in a place he can’t spin himself out of. And when Dylan unexpectedly becomes the child’s sole guardian, he finds himself to be like a circus performer trying to keep all of his spinning plates from crashing to the ground. In what seems like a blink of the eye, Dylan Hunter’s life has changed completely…whether he’s ready for it or not.

Check out my review of Spinning here. A 5/5 !!!!!

THANKS TO MR. LOU ARONICA

FROM THE STORY PLANT

I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF

THE JOURNEY HOME TO GIVEAWAY

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 JOURNEY HOME" ENDED

CMash April 13, 2011 13 Comments

APRIL 13th TO MAY 9th

THE JOURNEY HOME

by MICHAEL BARON

SYNOPSIS:

Joseph, a man in his late thirties, awakens disoriented and uneasy in a place he doesn’t recognize. He sets out on a journey to find his home with no sense of where he’s going and only the precious, indelible vision of the woman he loves to guide him.

Antoinette is an elderly woman in an assisted living facility who has retreated inside her head. There, her body and mind haven’t betrayed her. There, she’s a young newlywed with a husband who dotes on her and an entire life of dreams to live. There, she is truly home.
Warren, Antoinette’s son, is a man in his early forties going through the toughest year of his life. With far too much time on his hands, he decides to try to recreate his memories of home by attempting to cook his mother’s greatest dishes and eat them with her.

THANKS TO LOU AND THE SUPER

PEOPLE FROM THE STORY PLANT

I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF THIS

DEEPLY MOVING BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

(with my quote)

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: WHAT WORD COMES

TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD HOME?*

*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. ONLY*

*NO P.O. BOXES*

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MAY 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

ADDENDUM:

REMEMBER TO PICK UP MICHAEL BARON’S NEWEST NOVEL.
A FANTASTIC READ!!! I GAVE IT A 5/5!!!

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

Guest Author

Guest Author Michael Baron

CMash April 13, 2011 1 Comment

     I am beyond thrilled to have today’s guest stop by, spend some time with us, and talk about his newest novel.
     Before I introduce him, please indulge me so you can understand my excitement.
     When I was a new newbie on the block and my blog first went public in December 2009, Mr. Lou Aronica from The Story Plant, contacted me to read and review this author’s book, Crossing The Bridge. To say the very least, I was honored and excited, yet terrified, as it was one of the first “real requested reviews” but the book was outstanding that writing the review was a breeze. Then around May/June, Mr. Aronica contacted me again to ask if I would read and review Mr. Baron’s newest book at the time The Journey Home. There was no question in my mind, it was a yes. I had already become a fan of Mr. Baron’s work and looked forward to reading his latest novel. I received the book and to my shock, there in the front of the book, where there are the quotes of praise, is my name! My name in print! A blogger who not 6 months earlier even knew this world of blogging existed. And now, TODAY, he is visiting HERE!!!
     Please, help me give a big and warm welcome to the very talented author Mr. Michael Baron !!!!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

(and why no picture)

I grew up in the New York area and I’ve lived there my entire life. I worked in retail and taught high school English before I got my first book contract. I have gotten several additional book contracts since then, which is fortunate because I didn’t have the patience to work in retail and, while I quite enjoyed teaching, my approach was a bit too unconventional for most school systems. One school administrator told me that, “there are more important things than being a dynamic teacher.” Since I couldn’t name any of those things (at least in the context of school), I figured I didn’t have a long-term future in the profession. Hence, I became a writer, where I believe people appreciate a certain level of dynamism.

Though I started with nonfiction, I have always loved fiction and I have always wanted to write it. I’ve always had a particular affection for love stories. In fact, the very first book-length thing I ever wrote, when I was thirteen, was a love story. Mind you, it was the kind of love story that a thirteen-year-old boy would write, but it was a love story nonetheless. I have a deep passion for writing about relationships – family relationships, working relationships, friendships, and, of course, romantic relationships – and I can only truly explore this by writing fiction. These novels have given me a way to voice the millions of things running through my head.

My wife and kids are the center of my life. My wife is the inspiration for all of my love stories and my children enthrall me, challenge me, and keep me moving. One of the primary reasons I wrote my first novel, When You Went Away was that I wanted to write about being a father. Aside from my family, I have a few other burning passions. I’m a pop culture junkie with an especially strong interest in music, I love fine food (and any restaurant shaped like a hot dog), and I read far too many sports blogs for my own good.

You might have noticed that I haven’t published a photo of myself. This isn’t because I’m involved in the Witness Protection program or because I have an innate fear of cameras. It’s because Michael Baron is a pseudonym. I’m writing these novels “undercover” because they’re not entirely compatible with the nonfiction books I write and I didn’t want to confuse readers. We’re all different people sometimes, right? I just decided to give my alter ego another name.
You can visit Michael Baron’s site at: http://www.michaelbaronbooks.com/Michael_Baron_site/Home.html

GUEST POST

My new novel, Spinning, is about a man who has to deal with sudden fatherhood. Dylan Hunter’s girlfriend – who has only recently returned to his life – dies, leaving him to care for her three-year-old daughter. For a twenty-nine-year-old living a fast lifestyle and riding a rocket ship to the top of his career, this leads to an enormous change in plans.

In part, this novel was inspired by a reaction to the birth of my first child. It wasn’t my immediate reaction; my immediate reaction was to be smitten at a level I didn’t realize possible. This reaction came a couple of weeks later when I had a bracing moment of clarity amid the delightful fog of new fatherhood. Hey, I thought, I can’t just walk out on my job anymore if things tick me off. I can’t decide to move to the Yucatan now and become a snorkeling instructor. I have responsibilities. I’m locked in!

Now, really, none of this should have come as a surprise to me. It wasn’t as though I was unaware of what I was committing to when my wife and I decided to have a child. Meanwhile, I’d never once come close to walking out on a job because my boss ticked me off. And as lovely as the Yucatan is, I’d never even entertained the thought of living there…not to mention that snorkeling makes me skittish, so becoming an instructor wasn’t ever an option. The point, though, was that, while I wasn’t a particularly impetuous person, my days of impetuousness were officially over. This gave me pause for about four minutes, I told myself to get over it, and I got on with my day.

I never forgot that moment, though. I think there’s a little of Dylan in all of us. We all, to varying degrees, relish our independence and fantasize about living an untethered life. The idea that we can’t move around on the spur of the moment is something we all need to address at some point. Some of us do so with grace. Many of us even embrace responsibility, believing that we were less fulfilled before we had it. The overwhelming majority of us get to a stage, though, when we realize that we’re not only living for ourselves anymore. This can stop us in our tracks for four minutes, four weeks, or for the rest of our lives (as has happened with some people I know).

I guess in some ways Spinning was a way of revisiting a revelation I dismissed many years ago. It’s not giving anything away to tell you that Dylan doesn’t brush it aside nearly as casually as I did.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dylan Hunter has it made. At 29, he has great friends, a huge job, all the women he can handle, and no commitments. A public relations executive, Dylan has dashed up the ladder of success by mastering the art of the spin – bending the truth to his and his clients’ needs. But when a former lover steps back into his life with a three-year-old girl by her side (no, she’s not his), Dylan suddenly finds himself in a place he can’t spin himself out of. And when Dylan unexpectedly becomes the child’s sole guardian, he finds himself to be like a circus performer trying to keep all of his spinning plates from crashing to the ground. In what seems like a blink of the eye, Dylan Hunter’s life has changed completely…whether he’s ready for it or not.

Check out my review of Spinning here. A 5/5 !!!!!

THANKS TO MR. LOU ARONICA

FROM THE STORY PLANT

I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF

THE JOURNEY HOME TO GIVEAWAY

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.

Winners

And the winners are………..

CMash April 13, 2011 1 Comment

………..for THE SUMMONER by Layton Green

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

10 7 4

Timestamp: 2011-04-13 22:13:30 UTC

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Marjorie said… 10 I think it would be very interesting to investigate a cult. This storyline is super.

Tore said… 7 Please enter me in contest. I would love to read about occults.

Wanda said… 4 I sent you a follow request on Twitter
Linda Kish said… 9 I am a GFC follower

Do to a mix up…another winner needed to be chosen. All winners have been notified.

Giveaway

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE "THE JOURNEY HOME" ENDED

CMash April 13, 2011 15 Comments

APRIL 13th TO MAY 9th

THE JOURNEY HOME

by MICHAEL BARON

SYNOPSIS:

Joseph, a man in his late thirties, awakens disoriented and uneasy in a place he doesn’t recognize. He sets out on a journey to find his home with no sense of where he’s going and only the precious, indelible vision of the woman he loves to guide him.

Antoinette is an elderly woman in an assisted living facility who has retreated inside her head. There, her body and mind haven’t betrayed her. There, she’s a young newlywed with a husband who dotes on her and an entire life of dreams to live. There, she is truly home.
Warren, Antoinette’s son, is a man in his early forties going through the toughest year of his life. With far too much time on his hands, he decides to try to recreate his memories of home by attempting to cook his mother’s greatest dishes and eat them with her.

THANKS TO LOU AND THE SUPER

PEOPLE FROM THE STORY PLANT

I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF THIS

DEEPLY MOVING BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

(with my quote)

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: WHAT WORD COMES

TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD HOME?*

*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. ONLY*

*NO P.O. BOXES*

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MAY 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

ADDENDUM:

REMEMBER TO PICK UP MICHAEL BARON’S NEWEST NOVEL.
A FANTASTIC READ!!! I GAVE IT A 5/5!!!

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