Five Questions With - Sarah Jio, author of "The Violets of March" - Plus a Giveaway!

It's Happy Release Day to author Sarah Jio, whose charming book "The Violets of March" comes out today!

Sarah was sweet enough to take a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about her writing and upcoming projects!

Sharon: At what age did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Sarah:  From birth! No, probably as early as the first grade. This is when I wrote my very first “book.” I’ll tell you the title, but don’t laugh, OK? Ready? The book was called “A Tug Boat’s Dream.” Back then, I thought that tug boats were pretty swell. Turns out, though, that this little book one me an award in a Young Author competition way back when on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. And, as crazy as this is, 25 or so years later, I’m going back to that same campus, to Garfield Book Company, where I’ll be reading from my very first novel, published this month by Penguin. Talk about a full-circle moment!



See the end of this post for your chance to win a copy of this wonderful book!



(Here’s a link to the event info for Northwest readers - http://luteworld.plu.edu/ePOS?store=541&item_number=W47496&form=shared3%2fgm%2fdetail.html&design=541)

Sharon: At what point in your career did it finally sink in – “hey, I’m famous,” and did it make a difference in your writing?

Sarah:  Oh my goodness, I actually have the opposite experience. Instead of feeling famous, I have “imposter syndrome.” I feel so shy calling myself a “novelist” or even an “author”--like I’m 9 years old trying on my mom’s high-heeled shoes. I recently sold my second novel, The Bungalow, again to Penguin, so I figure the title is bound to sink in at some point. :)
  
Sharon: Who are some of your favorite authors? Who inspires you?

Sarah: I have a zillion favorite authors, as so many of us do. The great Maeve Binchy, as well as L.M. Montgomery have been lifelong faves, but I’d add Tracey Chevalier, Audrey Niffenegger, and Tatiana de Rosnay to the list, too. In terms of inspiration, the people who provide the most of it, for me, are my family members. It is in their smiles and stories that I find glimmers of new novels brewing.

 
Sharon: What do you have coming up in the future?

Sarah: My second novel, The Bungalow, will be out in April of 2012. I am so proud of and excited about this book, which is the story of a woman, who, at the very end of her life receives a letter that forces her to confront the haunting and bittersweet memories of her past in the South Pacific during World War II—particularly an unfinished love, an unspeakable tragedy and a mysterious beach bungalow at the heart of it all. I’m also at work on my third novel, which I just can’t wait to tell you more about. For now, I’ll just share that it’s my most emotionally gripping novel yet. The story is making me weep as I write it. I’ll be thanking Kleenex in the acknowledgement pages for getting me through.
 

Sharon: What advice would you have for anyone wanting to break into the writing biz today?

Sarah:  My advice would be to only sit down to write a novel that you LOVE. In other words, if the story you’ve thought up/are trying to write doesn’t grab you and absolutely haunt you to your core, then it’s a.) probably going to be a big pain to write, and b.) readers will likely be able to tell that you didn’t love it (and if you didn’t love it, why should they?!). I’ve scrapped several starts to new novels because I didn’t fall in love with them the way I should have. For a writer, finding the right story is a little like dating. You kiss a lot of frogs before you find THE ONE. And when it’s love, you know. So when it comes to stories, don’t settle for less. Wait until magic happens. And, with patience, it will.


To read my review of Sarah's amazing book - http://sharonsgardenofbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-violets-of-march-by-sarah-jio.html

GIVEAWAY!

To help Sarah celebrate her release day, I have one copy of "The Violets Of  March" to giveaway to one commentor of this post! 

Just leave your name and email address on a comment below, and I'll draw for a winner on Sunday, May 1st!

Review: The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen

An author friend asked me a while back if I had heard of a new author named Rebecca Rasmussen who had written a book, "The Bird Sisters," that was being talked about as the "hit" book of the Spring 2011 books. Curious, I sought out information on the author and her book, and am I ever glad I did!

Released on April 12, Rebecca Rasmussen's highly anticipated "The Bird Sisters" is finally out in the public's hands and is being received with the rave reviews that it so richly deserves!

About The Book:

When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds' heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can't, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who've brought them. These spinster sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.

But back in the summer of 1947, Milly and Twiss knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn't change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that God didn't exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly's eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever.

There comes along once in a great while a book that just grabs hold of your heart and will happily remain in your memory for the rest of your days. "The Bird Sisters" is such a book!

I was competely enchanted from the first page with the story of Milly and Twiss, the two eccentric, but lively elderly sisters who have lived their lives in each other's pockets. Coming to the end of their lives, both Milly and Twiss find themselves reflecting back on their pasts, and wondering if their lives would have been different if decisions had been made differently.

Debut author Rebecca Rasmussen takes her readers on a journey that will include happiness, tragedy, great love and great loss. There is a little something for every reader in this fascinating story - a little mystery, a little romance, and a whole lot of heart.

I look for "The Bird Sisters" to be on every favorite book list of 2011! I know it will be on mine!

About The Author:

REBECCA RASMUSSEN teaches creative writing and literature at Fontbonne University. Her stories have appeared in Triquarterly magazine and the Mid-American Review. She was a finalist in both Narrative magazine’s 30 Below Contest for writers under the age of thirty and in Glimmer Train’s Family Matters Contest. She lives with her husband and daughter in St. Louis.  This is her first novel.

Visit her at http://www.thebirdsisters.com/.

Here is a video of Rebecca discussing her book and the inspiration behind it!

Knit The Season: A Friday Night Knitting Club Novel by Kate Jacobs

The holidays always bring about a special amount of stress for most people, and in her book, "Knit The Season," author Kate Jacobs captures the hectic chaos that rolls around from Thanksgiving all the way to New Years Day!

For Dakota Walker, this year’s celebratory season has one stress-filled event after another piled on top of each other. Not only is she struggling to keep her mother’s legacy at the Walker and Daughter knitting shop and the Friday Night Knitting Club intact, but she is also helping her 80-year old surrogate grandmother Anita prepare for her wedding, as well as taking on a cooking internship at one of the hottest hotels in New York City. With so much to do and prepare for, Dakota’s family and friends urge her to take a moment to slow down and consider what all is going on in her life before everything explodes or implodes!

Matriarch of the group Anita Lowenstein is once again planning her oft-postponed nuptials to her beloved Marty, this time to take place on New Year’s Eve – whether her oldest son Nathan likes it or not! Sophisticated antique shop owner (and Georgia’s best friend) Catherine is eagerly anticipating the arrival of her Italian lover Marco and hoping maybe he’ll be inspired by all the wedding preparations to pop the question. Peri, the manager of the knitting shop and pocketbook designer, has an offer that will make her dreams come true, if she dares accept it; Darwin is busily raising her twin babies, Lucie is juggling her elderly mother and her lively daughter, and KC is bemoaning it all, when she secretly desires to have a piece of the happiness pie herself.

But the main story revolves around Dakota as she matures into a talented and sought-after chef-in-training. She struggles to please everyone, including her father who has surprised her with a Christmas trip to see her beloved great-grandmother in Scotland, but when she is offered a chance to intern over Christmas in one of the snazziest restaurants in town, Dakota is conflicted over which she should choose – family or career. Her choice will surprise and delight readers.

In “Knit The Season,” author Kate Jacobs continues her stories of the strong and fascinating women of the Friday Night Knitting Club. The group, first organized by Dakota’s mother, the late Georgia Walker, is still going strong and being supportative to each other in their various adventures, romances, crises and more. Jacobs’ imaginative storytelling skills gives life to each of the female characters in this series, and it’s intriguing and heartwarming to read of their development over the three books that began with “The Friday Night Knitting Club.”

Fans of Kate Jacobs’ books will be charmed with this continuation of a beloved series. Here’s hoping for more stories of the Friday Night Knitting Group down the road!

 

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

At the height of strawberry season in New Hampshire two baby girls are born on the Fourth of July, 1950, in the same little hospital. Dubbed “birthday sisters” by one of their mothers, Ruth Plank and Dana Dickerson’s futures would be forever intertwined as their families dance in and out of each other’s lives from that day forward.

In her new book, “The Good Daughters,” author Joyce Maynard follows the lives of two girls who don’t seem to fit in with their families. One artistic and dreamy, the other solid as the earth – but in true Maynard fashion, the suspense leading to a surprising development at the end will keep readers guessing.

Ruth Plank was the youngest of five daughters born to farmer Edwin Plank and his wife, Connie. While the other girls were content to learn how to become good farm housewives, Ruth always had her head in the clouds, always with a pencil or crayon in hand, sketching life as she sees it. Edwin calls Ruth his “hurricane baby” since she was conceived during a wild and stormy night. Ruth loves her father dearly, but has a hard time connecting with her mother, who has an almost obsessive interest in the Dickerson family and their daughter Dana.

Dana Dickerson’s life is far different from Ruth’s normal one. With a father who is always looking for the next “sure” thing in money-making schemes, a mother who is wrapped up in her artwork, and a brother, Roy, who checks out when ever trouble loams, Dana grows up moving from town to town with her dysfunctional family. A highlight of her life each year is when the family stops by the Plank Farms roadside stand, usually during strawberry season, and Dana has a chance to walk the fields with Edwin and learns to love the land as much as he does.

All through their lives, Ruth and Dana struggle to understand who they are, and as they get older and finally are privy to the secrets both families have held close do the answers come bursting forth – a relief for one, a shock for the other, but a turning point for both that will mark both lives forever.

Joyce Maynard steps back and allows her characters to tell the story of “The Good Daughters.” In alternating chapters the voices of Ruth and Dana are employed to create this mesmerizing tale of secrets and self-discovery. Maynard uses the comparison of the girls’ lives to the “good daughters” (the strongest offshoots from the “mother” plant) of the strawberry plants that Edwin Plank so tenderly tends to, and by mixing in the earthiness of the farm life with the artistic side that influences both families, she offers a fascinating account that will stay with the reader long after the book has been put down.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. I was not compensated for my opinions.

I am an Amazon Associate, and may received a small renumeration if this book is purchased through this link.

Rockin' the Reviews once again! Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro

Had a horrible computer week with my beloved laptop dying - but I'm back up and running with a brand, spanking new desktop and I'm ready to rock the reviews once again!

One of the most clever, imaginative books I've read in a while is Laurie Nataro's SPOOKY LITTLE GIRL! It is just a delight -

Lucy Fisher has lots of plans for straightening out her life – too bad she’s dead – but that’s not going to stop her from trying to make a difference!

In Laurie Notaro’s hysterical novel, “Spooky Little Girl,” death truly becomes Lucy as her stint as a fledgling ghost will mean the difference between going to her heavenly reward and being stuck in limbo.

Lucy’s life fell apart when she came home from her pre-wedding Hawaiian honeymoon for herself. She finds all her belongings scattered outside her fiancé’s home, that she is being accused of embezzlement at work, and her life careening down the toilet with no brakes to be applied. She flees to her sister’s home in Flagstaff only to wind up on the losing end of an argument with a city bus. When she comes to, Lucy is shocked to find out that she’s dead, and enrolled in ghost school – where she will have learn how to go back and make a difference in order to go on to the next phase of afterlife.

So, with a little help from her dearly departed, also ghostly grandma, Lucy takes up residence at her former boyfriend’s house where Lucy is determined that she may be gone, but she certainly isn’t going to be forgotten – not if she can help it!

Part mystery/part paranormal and a whole lot of fun, “Spooky Little Girl” is one of the cutest ghost stories I’ve encountered in a long time. Notaro’s wicked sense of humor shines through in this creative tale, and is just a juicy, delicious delight to read.

Check out Laurie's website at www.idiotgirls.com for more information on this book and her other projects!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Villard Books.

She's Gone Country by Jane Porter

It’s hard being the mom of boys, especially teenaged boys. Trust me - with four of my own - been there, done that, got the t-shirt!

This little fact of life has hit Shey Darcy hard as she tries to make a new life for herself and her three sons. But this gal is Texas born and bred, and despite the odds, she’s determined to give her boys the quality of life they need to become good men, no matter how daunting the task seems.

In her new book, “She’s Gone Country,” author Jane Porter takes her readers to North Central Texas – where the men are handsome, independent and stubborn and the women are beautiful and feisty!

Picking up the pieces of her family’s shattered life that was devastated by her husband of 17 years’ announcement that he was leaving her for another man, Shey Darcy heads back to the Texas ranch where she grew up, her boys in tow. But coming home isn’t always easy, and Shey soon finds that a whole new world of drama and trauma opens up as she attempts to make peace with her past and looks forward to a new future for herself and her family.

While her older boys Hank and Bo have trouble adjusting to small town living, Shey’s youngest boy Cooper takes to the ranch life like a duck to water. When he announces that he wants to learn to be a bull rider and take lessons from World champion Dane Kelly, Shey is shocked to feel a little piece of her heart begin to open up again as the man who changed her life so many years ago steps back into her life. Struggling with her renewed feelings for Dane, Shey is also dealing with hard-headed brothers, a meddling momma, family feuds, and an interfering soon-to-be ex-husband as she tries to resurrect her former modeling career at the ripe old age of 39.

You gotta be tough to be a Texas gal!

Jane Porter beautifully captures the warmth of family togetherness, along with the exquisite flutterings of a renewed romance with “She’s Gone Country,” her sixth mainstream novel. Set in the heart of North Central Texas in the fictional town of Parkerfield (located somewhere around Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Stephenville, but not quite!), Porter shows that she has a good idea of the lifestyle of the area with the closeness of small town life with the access to the big cities of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Porter also includes a couple of side stories – one dealing with teenage depression and the other with family violence – that give the novel a deeper grounding in the realities of life today. Fans of her work, which includes “Flirting with Forty (which was made into a movie starring Jennifer Aniston),” “Odd Mom Out,” and “Easy On The Eyes,” will recognize characters from those stories who make appearances in “She’s Gone Country.”

If you like romantic fiction, you’ll adore this story, and if you like tales of Texas life, you will enjoy it as well. Slip on your boots and go a little country too!

Check out Jane Porter's website at http://www.janeporter.com/ for information on Jane's books, and two incredible contests that she is running in conjunction with the release of "She's Gone Country."

I received a copy of this book from Book Sparks Public Relations.

Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me by Maya Jax - Book Blog Tour Stop!

I'm thrilled to host author Maya Jax today as she stops by to promote her new book, "Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me."

About Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

The Scene: Aspiring screenwriter Lelaina Zane finally lands a Hollywood break, but it’s cut short when her dad has a heart attack and she has to return to her hometown. Now that she’s back, her parents want her to stay, show some responsibility and join the family law firm.

Her Ex: Her first love, first kiss, first… you know, and first guy she caught with another woman. Full of apologies and a proposition, he wants her to stay and be with him.

Her Dilemma: With one embarrassing disaster after another, a devastating blow from Hollywood and four weeks until the Bar Exam, Lainey has to decide if she’ll stay and have it all — career, love, money — or return to LA to pursue her impossible dream.

Check out this book trailer:






Read the Excerpt!

There’s a chance that while refraining from singing, I may have slept with Conner. It’s a little fuzzy, but consciousness just crept in and we are laying on the basement couch tangled up almost naked with each other.“I’m going to the bathroom. Do you want anything while I’m up?” he asks, kissing my forehead.“A glass of water, please.”I watch him shuffle out of the room, then I drift back to sleep.The heat from the sun causes me to roll over and open my eyes. I sit up and survey the basement. I’m alone. Groping around on the floor, I find my purse and cell phone. It’s six thirty in the morning. He went to the bathroom three hours ago. Where is he? I gather my clothes and throw them on. My underwear is no where to be seen, which worries me a little, but I think the most important part right now is finding Conner before his parents find me.I call his cell phone. It rings from under the couch. I start to panic. I’m in his parents’ house. His very Catholic mother is upstairs. She’s bound to come down here eventually. And I don’t imagine she’ll be thrilled to see a hungover, partially dressed, black-eyed me in her basement.

About The Author:


Loving spy and mystery novels, Maya Jax entertained the idea of being a secret agent and started working at an embassy overseas while doing her master’s in international relations.

During this time, she finished her first screenplay, an action/thriller about spies and nuclear weapons. She pitched it to a friend in Hollywood, who told her she had talent, but to never – ever – show anyone the script again. Realizing her love for writing was stronger than her desire to spy and fight crime, she attempted a second screenplay focusing on what she knew best — trying to make it as a writer. The screenplay turned into a manuscript and the result was chick lit novel Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me. You can read more about Maya at http://www.mayajax.com/.

My thanks to Maya Jax and Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the review copy of this book.

The One That I Want by Allison Win Scotch

Small town living can be a dream come true, or it can seem like a prison. In Allison Winn Scotch's new book, The One That I Want, she delves into one small town that holds the secrets of many, the dreams of a few, and the gift of clarity for one.

Tilly Farmer is pretty content with her life. She is a high school guidance counselor at the school she graduated from in her home town of Westlake, Washington, she married to Tyler, her high school sweetheart and they are trying to have a baby, and she is surrounded by her family and friends.

What could get better than this?

When attending the local carnival, Tilly runs into her old friend Ashley Simmons, who is running the psychic booth. Instead of giving her a reading, Ashley claims she has given Tilly a much bigger gift, the gift of clarity, to see things as they really are. Confused, Tilly stumbles from the tent, but when things begin to go awry in her family, her friend’s lives, and in her own life, Tilly wonders if Ashley had really put some kind of spell on her.

In Allison Winn Scotch’s charming new book, “The One That I Want,” she examines the life of a small town girl and how an odd gift opens her eyes and heart to the way things really are around her. Scotch does a great job relating the story of Tilly, her background of growing up and taking care of her family after her mother’s death and her father’s retreat into the bottle, and telling the story of how Tilly had always been a “fixer” for everyone around her.

Now when Tilly looks at a picture of her sisters or her friends, she is able to mysteriously sees how their life will be in the immediate future, and it’s not always bad news. She sees her middle sister Lulu having a healthy pregnancy; she see her friend Suzanne meeting someone new after a devastating divorce; and she sees her baby sister Darcy coming back to help her with the high school musical production of “Grease” – a miracle in itself.

But she also sees her father falling off the wagon and driving home drunk, and she sees her own life collapsing around her when she glimpses into Ty’s photo, the unhappiness that is conveyed to her as she watches him leaving her so overwhelmingly painful for Tilly.

But through the confusion and the upheaval, the gift of clarity enables Tilly to find the strength, joy and love that will pull her through to find new kind of happiness for herself.

Allison Winn Scotch has crafted a book that adults will love, and is also appropriate for mature young adults. She imparts important life lessons through the book, but none more impacting than the following:

“The years are long and the roads are winding, and dreams float out there to be captured, but only if you are brave enough to reach up and grasp them.”

My Thanks to My Thanks to Crystal Patriache at BookSparks PR for the review copy of this great book. I was not compensated for my opinion.

Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

I long to visit Tuscany - and now after reading Jenny Nelson's new book, "Georgia's Kitchen," I desire to go there even more! The beauty of the land, the delicious foods, the people...sigh....until then, I'll live vicariously through such wonderful descriptive words such as Jenny employs in this lovely story!

As the head chef of a posh Manhattan eatery, Georgia Gray was at the top of her game, and life seemed pretty good. But with the stroke of a key, a less than stellar restaurant review sends Georgia’s career careening into the stock pot. And if the day wasn’t bad enough, the discovery of a packet of cocaine in her fiancé’s pants pocket causes their relationship to be sliced and diced. Suddenly Georgia’s life was like a bowl of bad gravy – lumpy and unpalatable.

Licking her considerable wounds, Georgia accepts an offer from her former culinary instructor to come to Italy for the summer and cook for the new restaurant she is opening in Tuscany. Upon her arrival, Georgia is embarrassed to learn that she will not be the head chef, as she had imagined, but sous chef to Bruno, an overbearing bear of a man. But she taps down her fury and sets her mind to learning all she can about running the kitchen and cooking to please the customer.

She meets Gianni, the handsome winemaker next door, who sweeps her off her feet with offerings of the best wine and food experiences that Italy has to offer, and takes her mind off her failed relationship with Glenn. Gianni even arranges for Georgia to become the head chef of a top-rated resort in Sicily, but always lingering in the back of her mind is her dream of opening her own restaurant back in New York and redeeming her reputation. So, at the end of the summer, she heads back home to follow that dream.

After a chance encounter with Bernard, the general manager of her former restaurant, finds them both longing for the same thing – their own place to make a mark in the culinary world of New York, they decide to jump into the frying pan and take the risk. Working together, they find financing, though some of it shady, to achieve that dream, but will their hard work pay off in the end as the customer start to roll in?

Author Jenny Nelson takes her audience inside the fascinating world of professional cooking with her debut novel, “Georgia’s Kitchen.” She gives an in-depth look at the behind the scenes action of a busy restaurant, as she journeys from the hectic energy of New York, to the gentler, but still fast-paced world of Italian cooking and back again. With authentic, likeable characters, and genuinely heartwarming situations, Nelson invokes a magical, emotional draw with her storytelling skills that will delight readers and earn a legion of fans who anxiously await her next book.

About The Author:

Jenny Nelson grew up in Larchmont, NY and graduated with a BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Denver. A former web editor and producer, she worked for companies such as iVillage, Vogue.com and Style.com. She lives with her husband, twin daughters and dog in Millbrook, NY and Manhattan. Georgia’s Kitchen is her first novel.

My Thanks to Crystal Patriache at BookSparks PR and Kristin Dwyer at Simon and Schuster for the review copy of this great book.

I was not compensated for my opinions.

Music: "Speak Softly Love" (Theme from "The Godfather") instrumental by Slash of Guns and Roses; vocal version by unknown singer. "Promise Me You'll Remember" (from The Godfather III) by Harry Connick, Jr.

Love Finds You In Victory Heights, Washington - Blog Tour Stop

About Love Finds You in Victory Heights , Washington:

The war has stolen Rosalie’s fiancé, Vic, from her forever. But rather than wallow, Rosalie distracts herself by cramming her days full of activity—mainly by shooting rivets into the B-17 bombers that will destroy the enemy.

When a reporter dubs her “ Seattle 's Own Rosie the Riveter,” even more responsibility piles up. Her strong arms bear all this, but when intense feelings surface for Kenny, the handsome, kind-hearted, and spiritually unwavering reporter, the fear of losing another love propels Rosalie to leave.

It’s only when Rosalie realizes that God has brought her to this place—and this person—for a reason, the sparkling grace of God compels her to let go of her own strength and lean on His, as well as open her heart to love.


My Thoughts On This Book:
I absolutely fell in love with the World War II era story featured in "Love Finds You In Victory Heights, Washington. Focusing on the women who were left behind to carry on the work during wartime while the men were away fighting to keep our country free, this romantic tale is a tribute to these ladies and the adversities they overcame. The authors, Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss, obviously did their research on this subject and period in time, and I was delighted to find that they captured the essence of the era perfectly.


My father fought in World War II and although he didn't talk much about what he saw while in the Fourteenth Air Force Group, the American Volunteer Group and the Flying Tigers who fought in China, India and Burma, he did share his love of the music of the time. Glenn Miller, the Andrew Sisters, Bing Crosby and others were a part of my childhood, and seeing that they are incorporated into this fantastic novel was a real treat.

Take some time to sit down and enjoy "Love Finds You In Victory Heights, Washington" and see if you don't come away with a feeling of pride for the ladies, all the "Rosie The Riveters" and her sisters who kept their chins up and enabled this country to carry on during trying times.

About The Authors:



Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty-four books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family.

Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in Little Rock , Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife. For more on Tricia visit http://www.triciagoyer.com/

About Ocieanna Fleiss:


Ocieanna Fleiss is a published writer and has edited six of Tricia Goyer’s historical novels. She lives with her husband and their four children in the Seattle area. For more about Ocieanna visit her blog.


Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Finds-Victory-Heights-Washington/dp/1609360001/ref=sprightly-20

Contest info: Tricia is giving away 5 Victory Prize packs during the blog tour. This contest is open to both you and your blog readers so please share it in your blog post too. That info can be found on this blog post (which will be live on August 14th). http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2010/08/win-victory-prize-pack.html


Blog tour schedule:
Check out this list of blogs that will be featuring and review this book in days to come.

http://www.litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/love-finds-you-in-victory-heights-washington.html

My thanks to Amy at Litfuse Publicity Group for the review copy of this book. I was not compensated for my opinion of this item.

A Thread So Thin by Marie Bostwick

With her “A Cobbled Court” novels, author Marie Bostwick shares the stories of a group of women who find friendship and support at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop.

Owner Evelyn Dixon opens her cozy shop to all, and over the past two books, “A Single Thread,” and “A Thread of Truth,” readers have become familiar with Evelyn along with the rest of the Quilting Circle members Abigail, Ivy, and Margot.

In her latest book, “A Thread So Thin,” Bostwick tells the story of youngest Quilting Circle member, Liza Burgess.

Liza is a soon-to-be graduate art student who faces a dilemma on which way her life should go. She plans to return home to New Bern to work on her art and at the quilt shop, but when her fiancé Garrett proposes to her on New Year’s Eve, Liza feels her carefully made plans come unraveled. Even more so when her art professor offers her a job in Chicago as assistant curator at a prestigious museum.

Caught up in a whirlwind of wedding plans being made by her formidable aunt Abigail, Liza must stand up for herself to make some big decisions on what would make her happiest, and where. But the risk of hurt feelings and rejection have her scared silly, to the point of making herself ill.

Meanwhile marriage is in the air as Evelyn and her beau, the handsome Irish Charlie, ponder their own commitment to each other, and poor Margot continues to chase after her gold ring from Arnie. Only Ivy has sense enough to stay out of the romance department for now.

“A Thread So Thin” is a lovely visit back to old friends of Marie Bostwick’s making. The continuation of the storyline is full and vibrant, and will leave readers happily looking forward to the next installment of adventures at Cobbled Court.


Thanks to Kim Miller and Nancy Berland Public Relations for the review copy of this book. I was not compensated for my opinion.

BEACHCOMBERS by Nancy Thayer - Book Blog Tour Stop!

I am so pleased to be hosting a blog tour stop for the fabulous book, “Beachcombers” by Nancy Thayer. This is one of those summertime books that readers are sure to really enjoy – full of friendship, romance, and hot sexy encounters … who can ask for more!

About The Book:

Abbie Fox hasn’t seen her father or two younger sisters in almost two years, during which she’s jetted around the world and experienced life, if not love. But now Lily, the baby of the family, is sending Abbie urgent emails begging her to return home to Nantucket.

Their middle sister, Emma, has taken to her bed, emotionally devastated after the loss of her high-powered stockbroker’s job and a shockingly unexpected break-up with her fiancé.

Also, Lily is deeply worried that Marina, the beautiful, enigmatic woman renting their guesthouse, has set her sights on the sisters’ widowed father, Jim. The Fox girls closed ranks years ago after the haunting, untimely death of their mother, but seeing their dad move on with his life forces each of them to take stock.

Over the course of the summer, the sisters’ lives grow as turbulent as the unpredictable currents encircling Nantucket. When Abbie encounters an incredibly appealing married man, she breaks her own rules in the name of love, fearing all the while that she’ll regret it.

Meanwhile, type-A Emma learns a new definition of success, and strong-minded Lily must reconcile her dreams with reality. Even Marina, who has come to Nantucket to forget heartbreak and betrayal, faces an astonishing turn of events that will find her torn between fate and freedom. At summer’s end, these unforgettable women will face profound choices—and undergo personal transformations that will surprise even themselves

My Thoughts:

“Beachcombers” is one of those books that when you are through reading it, you want to pass it along to one of your girlfriends to share because it is so good!

Nancy Thayer has created a cast of memorable characters in the Fox girls, the men who adore and lust after them, their handsome father Jim, and the charming and mysterious Marina. Following their adventures, triumphs and tragedies, readers will soon feel as these folks are old friends and neighbors. You’ll find yourself cheering for the Fox family and booing the few folks they have problems with.

And it is rare that an ending of a book touches me as much as the ending of “Beachcombers.” It was one of those shivery, lovely feelings – a satifying conclusion to a charming story.

“Beachcombers is definitely a book you want to savor and enjoy this summer – whether you’re at the beach, or on your own front porch. Just don’t forget to pass it along to a friend.


About The Author:

Nancy Thayer is the New York Times bestselling author of Summer House, Moon Shell Beach, The Hot Flash Club, The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again, Hot Flash Holidays, The Hot Flash Club Chills Out, and Between Husbands and Friends. She lives on Nantucket. You can visit Nancy Thayer’s website at www.NancyThayer.com.

Check out this video as Nancy reads a passage from "Beachcombers."

My Thanks to Dorothy Thompson and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for inviting me to host this blog tour stop! For more information on other authors and book blog tours, check out their website at www.pumpupyourbooks.com

I received a copy of this book from the book promoter in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my opionion.

Book Blog Tour - Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook

“There is a New Age” notion that every seven years you shed your skins and become a completely new person, sort of a seven year switch.”

Today, I’m so delight to be hosting author Claire Cook as she tours the blog-o-sphere with her new book, “Seven Year Switch.” This charming, unique book is sure to be the summer beach read of the year!




For Jill Murray, the past seven years have been not quite as she expected. Seven years ago, her husband Sean took off and left her and their little girl, Anastasia, alone and broke. And it has taken every one of those seven years for Jill to make a new life for her and her daughter, and she is right at the point of being somewhat content with her life. She works part-time as a cooking teacher at the local community center, and answers the phones for her friend Joni’s Great Girlfriends Getaways travel company. Anastasia is happy and thriving, and Jill has even met bike store owner Billy Sanders, a pretty nice guy she is doing some freelance cultural coaching for.

Then … bing ... seven years … time for things to change.

And change they do! Wandering husband Sean shows up out of the blue, wanting to see Anastasia, and wanting a fresh start with his family. Suddenly Jill’s world is turned upside down.

In Claire Cook’s new book, “Seven Year Switch,” she has created a charming, sometimes hilarious story of one woman’s journey to accepting who she is and how she begins to grow into what she truly wants to be.

With everything in chaos, Jill takes a once in-a-lifetime opportunity to help lead one of the Great Girlfriend Getaway trips to Costa Rica. And with her best girl pals by her side, among the lush jungle, the fragrant orchids, the crashing waves on the beach, and yes, even with a terrifying tarantula leering at her, Jill uses this time to think out how she wants her life to proceed and exactly who she wants in it. It’s time to make the seven-year switch and make a few dreams come true.

“Seven Year Switch” is Claire Cook’s seventh novel, and in it she employs her life coaching skills to weave an inspiring, motivational message to her readers while entertaining them with a delightful, fast paced tale. Heart-warming, laughter-inducing, and thought provoking, “Seven Year Switch” is destined to become one of the hottest, most-talked-about books of the summer.

In celebration of the release of “Seven Year Switch,” Claire Cook is sponsoring a wonderful giveaway at her website. For more information, and to enter, go to http://www.clairecook.com/author/GIVEAWAY.html

And check out this cute book trailer for “Seven Year Switch”




EXTRA!:

My book buddy, Sheila at Book Journey, is also hosting Claire on her book blog tour today. Stop by and see what Sheila thought of "Seven Year Switch," and check out her author chat with Claire!
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/



My thanks to Voice Books and Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the review copy of “Seven Year Switch.” I was not compensated for my opinions.

Hope In A Jar by Beth Harbison

Do you remember Bonne Bell Lipsmackers lip gloss, Body on Tap shampoo, Love’s Baby Soft perfume and Sun-In hair lightener?

Did you have posters of Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett on your bedroom walls, or were you a secret David Cassidy fan?

If you remember these things, you’re probably a baby-boomer, and you will probably absolutely adore Beth Harbison’s novel, “Hope In A Jar.”

With her twenty-year high school reunion looming, Allie Denty suddenly finds her life falling apart. She catches her boyfriend in bed with another woman (a homely woman at that), she’s overweight, and she wonders if life is passing her by. She was once the pretty girl at school, but now Allie just feels drab and unloved.

Her best friend from high school, Olivia Pelham, was the smart girl, kind of plain and mousy, but driven by a need to explore the world. Twenty years later, Olivia is the senior beauty editor at a major magazine, lives alone and wonders where the years went.

When their friend Noah persuades both of the girls to come to the reunion, the evening sets in motion a series of events that would lead to heartache, reconciliation, tragedy and forgiveness. And through it all, the three friends find that their friendship, while flawed for years, will ultimately see them through to a brighter future for everyone.

Youthful, painful secrets from the past and an agonizing situation in the present brings the story together for a satisfying and heartwarming conclusion.

Beth Harbison delivers a delightful story of friendship and romance with “Hope In A Jar.” Following Allie and Olivia from their seventh grade year through high school in alternating chapters, Harbison captures the youthful excitement and angst of their teenage years. In the present day chapters, she also presents the women as they remember back to their youth, and how they would do things differently if they could. And throughout the story, Harbison brings quotes from the advertisements of our youth to weave her story together.

So, grab a nice cold Shasta, smear on your favorite Lipsmacker, put on your 45 of “Da Do Run Run,” and sit back to enjoy “Hope In A Jar.”

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my opinion.

The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook

In preparing for Claire Cook's new book, "Seven Year Switch," to come out, I thought I'd check out her "The Wildwater Walking Club." I am so glad I did! What a fabulous book!

Noreen Kelly’s ordered life came to an abrupt end when she took a buyout from her job with a major shoe manufacturer that was facing a take-over. Instead of having a job to get up everyday for, she was faced with nothing but time on her hands.

What’s a girl to do with so much time? Well, go walking!

Claire Cook’s hilarious book, “The Wildwater Walking Club,” is a delightful look at how to handle middle-age gracefully, courageously, and with a great sense of humor.

After taking her redundancy package and being dumped by her boyfriend all in the same day, Noreen decides to pick herself, buy herself a pair of “Walk On By” shoes made by her former company, and walk her way into a new, healthier life.

She’s joined by her Wildwater Way next-door neighbor Tess (a serious clothesline advocate), and Rosie, the owner of the local lavender farm, and the three ladies begin a walking routine that would lead to a tight friendship. After all, if you find friends who wear the same size 8 ½ shoe as you, you keep them!

As the women walk and talk, they share secrets, commiserate over life’s tragedies such as handling sullen teenagers, husbands who don’t understand, and mothers who push their daughters to get married – all while they tally up the number of steps they’ve taken. Needing something to encourage them to keep up their new routine, Noreen and the girls decide to make a goal of walking a certain number of steps will earn them a reward of a trip to a world-famous lavender festival in Washington State, a trip that will remain in their memories for years to come, for the sheer excitement and hilarity of it all.

Claire Cook taps into the time-honored tradition of women’s friendships, strengths and resilience with “The Wildwater Walking Club.” She mixes in a blend of humor with just a touch of romance to create a story that will touch the heart and tickle the funny bone at the same time. Cook also includes some great ideas for using lavender sprinkled in among the chapters.

This is a perfect book for book clubs to discuss, for friends to share with one another, or to just enjoy on a hot summer day with a cool glass of lavender lemonade by your side.

(This book was from my personal collection.)

Here is an easy herbal lemonade recipe! Nothing brings in the summer better than the taste of lemons and lavender. (*not from the book.)

Lavender Lemonade

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lavender leaves, chopped
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
Ice cubes

Preparation:First, heat the first measures of water and sugar to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Add lavender and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Strain out the lavender. In a pitcher, add lavender infusion to second measure of water and lemon juice. Stir and add more sugar to taste.

Chill and serve lemonade over ice. Serves 6-8

Be sure to stop back by on July 21st (my birthday!) when Claire will be stopping by to talk about her new book, "Seven Year Switch."

On Folly Beach by Karen White - a perfect beach read!

Since the first man picked up a weapon against another, and in times of war, the strength and courage of women always manages to shine through in the face of tragedy.

In her latest book, “On Folly Beach,” author Karen White brings a story of two grieving women who are struggling in times of war, albeit sixty years apart, and how they find the strength and courage to carry on their lives after the loss of their beloveds.

In 2009, Emmy Hamilton is mourning the loss of her young husband who had died in the Iraq/Afghanistan war. When her mother suggests that a change of location to her childhood hometown of Folly Beach, South Carolina where she might buy and run the town bookstore, Folly’s Finds, might be the ticket for moving on with her life, Emmy is reluctant to leave her familiar surroundings.

But when a mysterious box of books from Folly’s arrives, Emmy is intrigued by a series of messages she finds left and written in the old books, plus the picture of an old-time bottle tree much like the one her mother owned. So she decides to pack up and give Folly Beach a try if only to solve the mystery of the love letters.

In 1942 Maggie O’Shea has her hands full with running the family general store/bookstore Folly Finds, raising her little sister Lulu, and comforting and keeping out of trouble her recently widowed cousin Catherine. Catherine’s husband Jim had been killed at Pearl Harbor, and the 19-year old widow was anxious to move on with her life, and dragging Maggie with her. When Maggie meets a mysterious young man, Peter Nowak, at a town dance, she is mesmerized by the attention he showers upon her. As their attraction grows, Maggie never realizes that Peter’s attentions made with nothing but love – a mistake she would soon realize much too late.

Present-day Emmy meets Maggie’s sister, Lulu, now an elderly, cranky woman, when she moves to Folly Beach. Lulu, an artist known for her fascinating bottle trees, keeps her studio outside of Folly’s Finds, and as Emmy tries to unravel the mystery of the love letters, she finds Lulu just might be a great source of information about the past and the meaning of the cryptic messages.

Karen White is known for her Southern-based fiction, and with “On Folly Beach” she delivers a down-home story that weaves the lives of two women, separated by decades, but with similar tragic events that changed their lives forever. Heartwarmingly tender, with a bit of mystery and intrigue, and the feel of the Carolina ocean breezes, “On Folly Beach” makes the perfect summertime reading choice.

I received a review copy of "On Folly Beach" from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my opinion.

Hearts On A String by Kris Radish

A cell phone down a toilet in a busy airport terminal is enough of a crisis to bring together five women, strangers to each other, who rally together in order to rescue the communication device. The absurdity of the situation soon finds the five laughing and getting to know each other briefly.

But when an announcement of the cancellation of all flights out of Florida due to a freak nationwide storm causes widespread panic throughout the airport, the five ladies band together to rent possibly the last rental car and take off to ride out the storm in the luxury of a hotel suite on the beach. What could be nicer?

Well, these particular five women all have more than a few deep, dark secrets, and eccentric personalities that are sure to cause a few catfights over the duration – and thus, you have a story!

Bestselling author Kris Radish spins a wild tale of friendship, heartache, and romance with a dash of international intrigue thrown in for good measure in her latest book, “Hearts On A String.”

Nan Telvid, owner of the cellphone and provider of the hotel suite, is a stressed out financial businesswoman whose marriage is crumbling and who has a secret that could devastate all those around her.

Cathy Girard is the sex-kitten Wendy’s executive who Nan knows has some sort of connection with Nan’s husband, but Cathy doesn’t want to reveal how she really knows him. She is the party girl of the bunch who keeps the conversation lively and the booze pouring.

Patti Nuttycombe is an aging lounge singer who longs for the security of a steady job and a home of her own. She finds herself as the voice of reason among the group, a position that she is puzzled by but accepts.

Margo Englestrom is the earth mother who keeps close tabs on her family but has a mysterious side to her that the others can’t quite figure out yet. She keeps the group fed and semi-happy.

And finally, there is sweet, plump Holly Blandeen, the shy hairdresser from Aberdeen, Ohio who has never had an adventure in her life and soon finds herself blossoming under the guidance of the four older, wiser, and nuttier women. Holly’s life will never be the same after this weekend!

With a lively cast of characters and a dizzying plotline, Kris Radish takes her readers on a rollercoaster ride of storytelling, incorporating a convention of psychics, a hurricane-force storm, a mysterious stalker, and a roomful of hormonally challenged women into the mix. It’s a firecracker of a novel.

Check out Kris' website, http://www.krisradish.com/, for more information on her previous books

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation.

Hold Up The Sky by Patricia Sprinkle

Billie Waits and Margaret Baxter are sisters who grew up on their father’s diary farm in Solace, Georgia. But as they became adults, their lives each took decidedly different turns. Margaret married well, moved to nearby Marietta and lived the upper middle class life she dreamed of. Billie stayed home, got married, had a child and never left Solace.

But one summer, the two women’s lives would once again converge, and the bonds of sisterhood would slowly begin to intertwine them back together again. It wouldn’t be easy, and it was surely bound to be painful, but when it’s family, love always softens the way back home.

In Patricia Sprinkle’s new novel, “Hold Up The Sky,” she tells the story of redemption and reconnection in a warm, heartfelt tale that will leave the reader smiling through their tears when they are not weeping with laughter.

When Margaret Baxter’s husband leaves her and her two sons, she packs up the car and heads home to Solace, the last place on earth she wants to be but the only place on earth where she needs to be. Moving in with her widowed father, Maggie would soon relearn the country ways of her childhood but not without a few hard lessons in the process.

Although she never left, Margaret’s sister Billie had more than a few trials of her own. Her husband left her right after the birth of their disabled daughter, and has come up missing lately. As Billie struggles to get by, Luke, a childhood friend returns to lend a helping hand and Billie soon learns to open her heart to new possibilities.

As the sisters learn to readjust to living near one another again, their much-loved elderly housekeeper Mamie does her best to teach them life skills that would see them through the rest of their days. The ladies would be joined by Emerita, a Mexican immigrant stranded near the farm, and the foursome began relationships forged by the heat of a summer kitchen and solidified in places of the heart that only women can know so well.

“Hold Up The Sky” is a novel filled with humor, inspiration, love and romance. Patricia Sprinkle reaches her readers through her timeless storytelling skills, securing her place as a favorite and beloved author among women fiction writers today.

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."

~Linda Sunshine

The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers

Just a short update: Had my surgery Monday and am back home already. Dr. said it was succesful, other than a bit of nerve damage that is causing my eye to droop a little bit. But it should go away in a few months. Thank you for all your kind thoughts - I really appreciated them so much!

- Sharon

The sins of mothers and fathers often come back to rest heavily on the shoulders of their children. Nevermore eloquently has this message been delivered than through the debut novel, “The Murderer’s Daughters,” by Randy Susan Meyers.

Growing up in Brooklyn was no picnic for ten-year old Lulu and her little sister, Merry. Their mother was a dissatisfied woman who loved to flirt and look pretty, and hated her husband with a passion. Their father loved their mother with a hunger that couldn’t be quenched. After throwing her husband out, Lulu’s mother told her never to let Daddy back in the house again.

But one fateful day, Lulu did let Daddy in, and then watched horrified as he killed her mother, stabbed her little sister and then slashed his own wrists right in front of her. Merry survived the attack, but the two girls would be forever scarred by the actions of their father and mother.

Orphaned, and effectively abandoned by their mother’s family, Lulu and Merry grow up in less-than stellar group home where they had to fight daily for their very existence. Their only relative who would have any contact with the girls was their father’s mother, and she tried to encourage both of them to visit their father in prison – after all, they were his family. Lulu refused to go, but Merry made the trip with her grandmother to the Staten Island prison for the rest of the old woman’s life, and she continued the journey into her adulthood.

As they grew older, Lulu and Merry each handled their past in markedly different ways. Lulu choosing to brush the family’s secrets under the rug, while Merry dealt with it through a daze of alcohol, drugs and men. It’s not until the girls learn of their father’s upcoming release from prison that they must deal with the realization that the lies and secrets would soon become facts they would have to face together.

With “The Murderer’s Daughters,” Randy Susan Meyers has crafted a gut-wrenchingly powerful, emotional novel that takes a very real look at how today’s society handles crimes of passions and their consequences. She handles the subject with a tough-love, gloves-off approach that is both sensitive and practical, and as a result gives readers a look into a life that many live and deal with on a daily basis.

How Clarissa Burden Learned To Fly by Connie May Fowler

The summer heat can often make people do strange things. For Clarissa Burden, the weirdness of one hot day would change her life forever.

In Connie May Fowler’s new book, “How Clarissa Burden Learned To Fly,” she follows one day in the life of a thirty-something woman and how what once was considered normal and mundane would soon become unexceptable and intolerable.

In the little town of Hope, Florida, Clarissa is well known for her successful novels. No one who knew her would ever dream that her life was anything but idyllic, but Clarissa is suffering from writer’s block and her artist husband keeps her garden filled with nude young women who are supposedly his muses. Clarissa loves her home and garden, but feels an unsettledness that shadows her life and she longs to be free and creative once again.

As she meanders through town, encountering both present day acquaintances, ghosts from the past and freakish new strangers, Clarissa desperately seeks guidance to find her way back to the woman she used to be. Would that guidance come in the form of a fellow (and handsome) writer friend, an enamored housefly, a ghostly mixed-race family, or a one-armed angel – or it could simply be found among the carnival of dwarves that has just rolled into town.

Well known for her best-selling novel, “Before Women Had Wings,” Fowler treats her readers to a whimsical, emotional tale of a mid-life crisis gone strangely awry with “How Clarissa Burden Learned To Fly.” Her cast of characters in this tale are extremely unique, but all serve a purpose for guiding Clarissa along her way. The domestic situation is frustrating and enraging, and a sympathetic appreciation for Clarissa’s slip of her hold on sanity is quite understandable. A perfect read for those upcoming days of summer heat.

Check out Connie's website at http://www.conniemayfowler.com/ for more information on the book, and to check out the "I've Got A Secret: The Clarissa Burden Postcard Project." Pretty fascinating!