Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Eight Hundred Grapes - Review & Giveaway

Review by Melinda Garza
In Laura Dave's novel, Eight Hundred Grapes, one will discover all kinds of secrets. They are secrets that one shares and ones that one hides but we all know, secrets are really never secrets. Georgia grew up on her family's very respectable vineyard with her parents and twin brothers. Their family is complex yet as things start to fall apart, the love they encompass and the strength they hold is tested.
                                
For one, Georgia's engagement to Ben is definitely tested when she learns first hand of a secret he has kept from her for a long time. What she can't believe is that she learned of it a week prior to their wedding and their move out of the country. Can Georgia accept and forgive this secret and still marry Ben or does she walk away?

Secondly, she becomes aware of another secret her mom holds, the truth behind the family vineyard, and news about her dads health.

Lastly, she also learns about her brothers troubling relationship and an event that can potentially tear the twins apart.

What becomes of this family and their imperfections? Mrs. Dave's novel brilliantly conveys the power of family and love and that with a families love, one can deal with the deepest of secrets.
This book, for me, was a page turner and I was hooked to this story from page one. Just as one thinks the story is going one path, one is turned towards another. It's raw but very much real. This is one read that definitely will not disappoint any reader.

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About the Author:
Laura Dave is the international bestselling author of Eight Hundred Grapes, The First Husband, The Divorce Party and London is the Best City in America. Her novels have been published in fifteen countries and three of them, including Eight Hundred Grapes, have been optioned as major motion pictures. Dave's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Glamour, Self, Redbook and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Santa Monica.

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A print copy of Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave
US Only

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Monday, June 29, 2015

Finding Lucas - New Cover Reveal & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel
Thirty two year old Jamie Ross has been in a stale relationship with Derek for three out of the last five years.  The carefree man that once wanted to travel the world with just a passport and the clothes on his back was now the poster boy for metro sexual men everywhere!  It’s amazing how much one person can change when their controlling mother comes sauntering back into their life.  Traits that were once considered endearing to Derek were now just plain annoying.  But Jamie makes no apologies for her taste in discount clothing, her job as an assistant producer for one of Chicago’s sleaziest talk shows or for her family’s eccentric lifestyle.  With the support of her family and friends, Jamie decides to put her big girl panties on and leave the safe lifestyle that she has been living with Derek.  And that’s exactly what it was … Derek’s lifestyle. 

With Derek no longer in her life, Jamie sets out to find her long lost love, Lucas.  Okay, maybe love is a bit of an exaggeration.  Sex buddy is more of an operable term for it.   Although she hasn’t seen or talked to him in ten years, he has made a lasting impression on her.  But how would she find him?  Where would she start?  Then an idea came to her.  She was in the process of searching for long lost loves for a segment on the talk show she works for.  Why not use the same resources to find Lucas?   Of course there are some concerns.  Will he be the same guy she remembers?  Will he be disappointed when he sees her?  Will they rekindle what they had?  Come join Jamie on her adventure to find Lucas. 

Finding Lucas is author Samantha Stroh Bailey’s debut novel.  It is a laugh out loud, funny, and extremely enjoyable book.  You will fall in love with Jamie and her zany family and friends.  Each character has their own quirky attributes which makes them so loveable, relatable and fun.  I could easily see my friends and myself doing something like this.  Jamie and I have similarities right down to our shared love for discount clothing.  Our friends are very similar whereas they are fun, down to earth and always there for us.  The book was extremely well written and I really enjoyed the comedic aspect of it.  I hated having to put the book down and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.  I look forward to reading future novels from this author and would definitely recommend this book to others.  I give this book a five out of five star rating!  Go out and get this book.  You will not be disappointed!

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About the Author:
SAMANTHA STROH BAILEY has been writing stories ever since she was old enough to pick up a pen. Her first manuscript was rejected when she was ten years old, but a lifelong passion was born. Born in Toronto, she received her B. Ed from McGill University in Montreal and M. Ed from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. As a freelance journalist and professional writer/editor, Samantha owns Perfect Pen Communications and her work has appeared in Now Magazine, The Village Post, Oxford University Press, Abilities Magazine, Kobo Writing Life, and many other publications. Samantha is also co-editor of the fiction anthology, A Kind of Mad Courage, to which she contributed the short story “Hide and Seek” and co-founder of the author/reader live event “BookBuzz.” When not writing and editing, she’s devouring books, listening to people’s conversations, and watching as much television as she can in the name of character development.

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One lucky winner will receive an e copy of
Finding Lucas by Samantha Stroh Bailey
Open Internationally!

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Thursday, June 25, 2015

Summer Secrets - Review #SRC2015


When a shocking family secret is revealed, twenty-something journalist Cat Coombs finds herself falling into a dark spiral. Wild, glamorous nights out in London and raging hangovers the next day become her norm, leading to a terrible mistake one night while visiting family in America, on the island of Nantucket. It's a mistake for which she can't forgive herself. When she returns home, she confronts the unavoidable reality of her life and knows it's time to grow up. But she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to earn the forgiveness of the people she hurt.
As the years pass, Cat grows into her forties, a struggling single mother, coping with a new-found sobriety and determined to finally make amends. Traveling back to her past, to the family she left behind on Nantucket all those years ago, she may be able to earn their forgiveness, but in doing so she may risk losing the very people she loves the most.
A story that could only be told by the likes of Jane Green.  This book portrays how one’s actions can change the course of their life.  It’s both dramatic and a perfect reflection of relationships, betrayals, forgiveness and coming to accept what we can’t change, but finding the strength within ourselves to change the things we can.  And, through it all, having the courage in yourself to ride out he waves that life throws at you.

Another amazing book by the talented Jane Green that’s sure to be on just about everyone’s To Be Read list!

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About the Author:
She is published in over 25 languages, and has over ten million books in print worldwide. 

A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green filled two of her books, Saving Grace and Promises to Keep, with recipes culled from her own collection. She says she only cooks food that is “incredibly easy, but has to look as if you have slaved over a hot stove for hours.” This is because she has five children, and has realized that “when you have five children, nobody ever invites you anywhere.”

She lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks. A malignant melanoma survivor who also lives with Chronic Lyme Disease, she believes gratitude and focusing on the good in life is the secret to happiness.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Worthy - Review #SRC2015

Review by KT Sullivan
Virginia works in a diner and lives for the times Aaron comes in with his four year old son, Buddy. It’s silly to have a crush at her age, but she can’t help it. They have yet to have an actual date, but Virginia dreams of marrying him. The diner is suddenly for sale and Virginia is afraid about losing her job. Buddy suggests she buy it and run it herself. On the way home, Aaron is killed in an accident and Buddy is injured. His maternal grandparents come to pick him up from the hospital to live with them. Nineteen years later, Buddy, whose real name is Jody, is back living in the secluded cabin of his youth with his senile grandfather. Jody is at his wit’s end about his grandfather’s care. Jody’s unemployed and not well. Being back makes him uneasy and the sight of the diner scares him, but he doesn’t know why. The winter weather makes the roads icy. Jody goes out in search of firewood and sees a truck pull up by the lake. A man drags a dog out and leaves him to freeze to death. Jody stumbles his way down, saves the dog, and takes him home. T-Rex is Virginia’s dog and Lloyd is her soon to be ex-fiancĂ©. Virginia posts signs around town reporting T-Rex missing. Jody’s grandfather dies, leaving Jody and Worthy, T-Rex’s new name, alone in the cold. When the police come to help, one notices the dog. A chain of events brings Jody and Worthy to Virginia’s diner in a terrible storm. They discover their shared past and plan a future together.

This is a sweet story because Worthy brings two lonely people together. Jody needs a parent’s help and Virginia has always wanted children. The town rallies around both of them and makes for a heartwarming read.



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About the Author:
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 30 published and forthcoming books.  An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she has just released her first book of photos, 365 DAYS OF GRATITUDE: PHOTOS FROM A BEAUTIFUL WORLD. She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation, and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton. 

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Untamed - Excerpt & Giveaway

Excerpt:     

Chapter 1
It took forever to get anywhere, Stanton Rourke fumed. He was sitting at the airport on a parked plane while officials decided if it was safe to let the passengers disembark. Of course, he reasoned, Africa was a place of tensions. That never changed. And he was landing in Ngawa, a small war-torn nation named in Swahili for a species of civet cat found there. He was in the same spot where a small commercial plane had been brought down with a rocket launcher only the week before.
He wasn’t afraid of war. Over the years, he’d become far too accustomed to it. He was usually called in when a counterespionage expert was wanted, but he had other skills, as well. Right now he wished he had more skill in diplomacy. He was going into Ngawa to get Tat out, and she wasn’t going to want to let him persuade her.
Tat. He almost groaned as he pictured her the last time he’d seen her in Barrera, Amazonas, just after General Emilio Machado had retaken his country from a powerful tyrant, with a little help from Rourke and a company of Ameri­can mercs. Clarisse Carrington was her legal name. But to Rourke, who’d known her since she was a child, she’d al­ways been just Tat.
A minion of the country’s usurper, Arturo Sapara, had tor­tured her with a knife. He could still see her, her blouse cov­ered with blood, suffering from the effects of a bullet wound and knife cuts on her breast from one of Sapara’s apes, who was trying to force her to tell what she knew about a threat­ening invasion of his stolen country.
She was fragile in appearance, blonde and blue-eyed with a delicately perfect face and a body that drew men’s eyes. But the fragility had been eclipsed when she was threatened. She’d been angry, uncooperative, strong. She hadn’t given up one bit of information. With grit that had amazed Rourke, who still remembered her as the Washington socialite she’d been, she’d not only charmed a jailer into releasing her and two captured college professors, she’d managed to get them to safety, as well. Then she’d given Machado valuable intel that had helped him and his ragtag army overthrow Sapara and regain his country.
She did have credentials as a photojournalist, but Rourke had always considered that she was just playing at the job. To be fair, she had covered the invasion in Iraq, but in human-interest pieces, not what he thought of as true reporting. After Barrera, that had changed.
She’d signed on with one of the wire services as a foreign correspondent and gone into the combat zones. Her latest foray was this gig in Ngawa, where she’d stationed herself in a refugee camp which had just been overrun.
Rourke had come racing, after an agonizing few weeks in Wyoming and Texas helping close down a corrupt politician and expose a drug network. He hadn’t wanted to take the time. He was terrified that Tat was really going to get her­ self killed. He was almost sweating with worry, because he knew something that Tat didn’t; something potentially fatal to her and any foreigners in the region.

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About the Author:
Diana Palmer, AKA Susan Spaeth Kyle, was born in 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, the eldest daughter of William and Eloise Spaeth. She and her younger sister, Dannis, were raised in Chamblee, where Susan graduated from Chamblee High School in 1964. The family moved to Cornelia, Georgia, in 1965. Susan married James Kyle in 1972. They have a son, Blayne, who is married to the former Christina Clayton. They are both graduates of Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. They live in Tennessee and have a daughter, Selena Marie Kyle, born in February, 2009.

In 1991, Susan returned to college and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia, in 1995. She continues to work on her master’s degree in history as time permits. Her first novel as Diana Palmer was published in 1979. She has over 115 novels in print. She has written historical novels as well as contemporary romance, and has produced science fiction, with her novel THE MORCAI BATTALION appearing in hardcover in 2007. Two sequels to this book have been released as eBooks. THE MORCAI BATTALION: The Recruit and THE MORCAI BATTALION: Invictus are both available from all eBook retailers now. Her latest hardcover novel is INVINCIBLE by HQN, released in August 2014 and mass market paperback novel is WYOMING STRONGby HQN, released November 2014.

Susan’s hobbies are gardening, knitting, crocheting, astronomy, archaeology, and animals. She has dogs, cats, birds and lizards. She enjoys getting mail from her readers, but is slow to answer it.

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Friday, June 19, 2015

Healed By Love - Review & Giveaway



Healed By Love
The Bradens at Peaceful Harbor # 1 (The Bradens #13)
By: Melissa Foster
Releasing June 11th, 2015
World Literary Press

Blurb
The Bradens at Peaceful Harbor are the newest addition to the award-winning Braden series and the Love in Bloom family, joining the Snow Sisters, the Bradens, the Remingtons, & Seaside Summers, (Voted BEST BOOK SERIES by Supportive Business Moms, UK).

Fall in love with Nate Braden & Jewel Fisher in Healed by Love.

Nate Braden has loved his best friend’s younger sister Jewel for as long as he can remember, but between their age difference and his respect for Rick, he’s always kept his feelings at bay. Now he’s back in Peaceful Harbor, and Jewel is no longer sixteen years old—but there’s an even bigger obstacle standing in his way. Nate and Rick joined the military together eight years earlier. Nate came home a hero, but Rick didn’t make it out alive.

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher

Review by Marlene Engel
For as long as he can remember, Nate has been secretly pining after Jewel.  But being the little sister of his best friend, Rick, he always felt like she was off-limits.  When they were overseas serving in the war, there were many times when Nate wanted to ask Rick’s blessing to date his sister, but it never seemed like the right time.  Then, when Rick was gunned down by a sniper, Rick’s dying words were for Nate to watch after his family.  But, before he could profess his love for Jewel, Rick took his final breath.

Now, back home and out of the military, Nate is more conflicted than ever.  He’s determined to keep his promise to Rick, but his feelings for Jewel are still strong.  He also has a secret that’s been haunting him for years now.  A secret that could keep him and Jewel from ever being more than friends.  A secret that may have her considering if she even wants that from him. 

This book was so emotionally charged.  From coping with death, guilt and an internal battle of right versus wrong where love is concerned, this book takes you on an emotional roller coaster.  I found myself rooting for Nate in his quest to tell Jewel how he feels.  And, at the same time, crying at both the physical and emotional pain that not only he, but Rick’s family faced throughout the years.  Powerful and riveting, yet consumed with love so strong that it’s palpable, Healed by Love is a story that could only be told by the likes of Melissa Foster.

Author Info
Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the  World Literary CafĂ© and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine. 

Melissa hosts an Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


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Love in Bloom/Bradens Series Ebook of their Choosing

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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Savannah Page Shares 12 Things About Herself and Is Giving Away Books!

Blurb:
Sisters Gracie and Juliette Bennett, once the best of friends, have grown apart over the years, each following her own life’s path. But with the passing of their beloved grandmother Mimi their paths intertwine in the most unexpected and peculiar way. 

Gracie and Juliette are set to inherit Mimi’s house—the charming Santa Barbara Craftsman, a family heirloom three generations old. But there’s a catch. In order to inherit their home away from home the sisters must live at 1402 Laguna Lane for one year…together. 

Now under one roof, Gracie and Juliette have a chance to reexamine their relationship and confront their pasts. Over the course of the trying year ahead they will learn that Mimi’s clever plan is about more than preserving a piece of family history. 

But will they overcome their differences, perhaps even become the kinds of friends only sisters can be? Loyalties will be tested and secrets revealed. And in their darkest hours Gracie and Juliette will have to decide if a sister’s love is what they need to get through the year. If a unique friendship between sisters is what they’ve needed all along.

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“Twelve Things About Savannah Page”

1. A homemade latte a day keeps the doctor away.
2. Fave New Find Online: Barre3
3. When I’m not writing women’s fiction, chick lit, and romance novels I blog about wedding floral design. Two girly-girl jobs for a very girly-girl.
4. Speaking of wedding florists, the brilliant and super-sweet florist and designer Preston Bailey was one of my very first readers and reviewers. I’m still pinching myself.
5. Five Feel-Good, Good-for-Anytime DVDs I’m surprised haven’t burned up from overplay: Jaws, Pillow Talk, Baby Boom, North By Northwest, and Three Men and a Baby (and a Little Lady, so I guess that makes six).
6. Reading an ebook on my Kindle is the only way to do cardio at the gym.
7. Fave New App: Headspace
8. Always in my luggage after a trip home to the States: organic crunchy peanut butter and the latest issue of The New Yorker
9. I’ve been an American expat in Germany for 5 years and this summer my husband and I are moving into a house we’ve been building for the past year in Berlin. I think we’re here for the long haul… Sorry, Mom!
10. I say orange when I mean yellow and yellow when I mean orange. (Anyone else have this problem? It’s a thing, isn’t it?) And everyone who’s ever heard me say orange says I say it funny. Uh, what??
11. Currently I can’t get enough of re-watching Lost, shopping for unique hanging lamps, the album Retisent by Cambio Sun, and finding out via social media all the coolness that is Colleen Hoover’s The Bookworm Box. (<—Check it out! It’s awesome. She’s awesome. Her books are awesome. It’s all just awesomeness.)
12. Every novel I write is pure fiction, but the seed that starts it all is something very real. I think that’s quite common for many writers. Just what the real something is is the greatest secret…

Author bio:
Savannah Page is an American expatriate living in Berlin, Germany. Savannah is the author of the brand new stand-alone novel A Sister’s Place, and the seven-novel When Girlfriends collection, heartfelt women’s fiction that celebrates friendship, love, and life sprinkled with drama and humor. She is also the author of her premier book—a personal / travel narrative, Bumped to Berlin.

Savannah, a native southern Californian, studied at The University of Tulsa in Oklahoma where she earned Bachelor degrees in English Literature and German, and a Master’s degree in English Literature. There she further honed her writing skills and explored her growing interest in German studies. During her senior year she studied abroad in Germany, and after a visit to the country’s capital she made a promise that one day she would call Berlin home. (Because every girl must have a dream.) She also told her English professors that her goals for her writing career involved either writing for a German soap opera or All My Children, or becoming a chick lit author.

Today, Savannah resides in Berlin (because dreams really can come true!), with her German husband, where she enjoys writing, reading, practicing Pilates, and living the life of an expat. When Savannah isn’t writing…she’s writing. She splits her time in her home office working on her latest novel and blog, and professionally blogging for wedding vendors. She is the owner of a small blogging business that allows her to combine her experience in the wedding industry with her passion for writing.

Recently, Savannah has published her ninth book, a women’s fiction novel about sisterhood and friendship (A Sister’s Place). If you’re curious about what else is coming from the desk of Savannah Page, you can subscribe to her Blog feed or keep in touch via social media. She loves hearing from her readers!

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Savannah is giving one lucky winner:
When Girlfriends Break Hearts (print copy)
When Girlfriends Step Up (print copy)
A Sister’s Place (e-copy)
Open Internationally!

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Monday, June 15, 2015

The Happy Hour Choir - Review, Interview & Giveaway

Review by Melinda Garza
Beulah Land, the daughter of a Baptist deacon, led a life not envied by others. She had a sad and difficult childhood. When she got pregnant as a teenager, she became estranged from her family. When no one else would care for, she was brought in my Ginger. Ginger, who played the piano at church, gave her a home and most of all love. Tragically, Beulah lost her newborn son. She then spent most nights playing the piano at a local bar called The Fountain. It was across the street from the local church, County Line.

Ginger, who had cancer, was no longer able to play the piano at church and asked Beulah to take over her position. That did not sit well with Beulah much less with some of the church's members but she agreed to play out of respect for Ginger. Just as much, she also clashed with Luke, the County Line’s new pastor. As Luke is trying to get more members to attend church, they are not too pleased with Beulah's piano selections. She then decides to put together a choir and since she plays at The Fountain, she decides to get her new choir members from the bar. Hence, the Happy Hour Choir is born. As time goes by, more people come to worship and Beulah's choir blossoms. Luke then forms a bible study that meets weekly at The Fountain. It also succeeds and most of its members are from the choir. During all this transition going on at the church, Luke and Beulah try to fight a chemistry between them that does not go unnoticed. Is Beulah able to accept love that she does not think she deserves?

Ginger then decides to bring in another pregnant girl into her home. Her name is Tiffany. She worked with Beulah at The Fountain for a while. She also did not live a childhood to brag about but through the love of Ginger, the two young ladies find they have a lot more in common than they thought.

Sally Kilpatrick nailed her debut novel. It contains both hope and love and was a book that I could not put down. Each page kept me wanting to read more. I really enjoyed how Sally tied together all the characters with both the church and the local bar.

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“12 Things About Sally Kilpatrick”

Wow. This is going to be tough because. . . .

12. I have a propensity to share all the things on social media including, but not limited to, that time I took pole dancing lessons and the spring we battled hair pets.

11. Once upon a time I had a pet cow named Bambi. I asked for a horse, and my father said in no uncertain terms that they were a waste of money. Then I got the cow instead. As long as I helped feed the cows and drove for him while he hauled hay, I got the revenue from her calf each year. Some of that money paid for my college textbooks. True story.

10. The first published author to ever critique my work was the southern grand dame, Elizabeth Spencer. Her take on my first-person journal account of the Salem Withcraft Trials: “And this? I don’t know what this is.”

9. I almost became a lawyer but decided to major in things that don’t actually earn you a living instead: English (major) and Women’s Studies (minor). At least I picked up a second lucrative minor: Spanish.

8. I taught high school Spanish for eight years. I called my students “mis angelitos.” Sometimes it was ironic, but usually it wasn’t.

7. Even though I write southern fiction, I critique with Tanya Michaels (contemporary romance), Jenni McQuiston (historical), Romily Bernard (YA/middle grade), and Anna Steffl (fantasy). Obviously, I don’t think you have to critique with someone who writes the same thing as you. It might even be better for your voice if you didn’t.

6. All of my stories are set in the same small town. I had written four of them before I realized what I’d done with a “Holy sh*t!” epiphany while leaving car pool one day. Thank goodness Her Majesty was already out of the car.

5. I’ve met both Harry Connick, Jr, and Jimmy Carter but not on the same day and not at the same time. I was only tongue-tied for Harry. Okay, fine. I have a crush on Jimmy Carter, too.

4. Going back to grad school to get my Master of Professional Writing was a Christmas gift from my husband. Best. Christmas present. Ever.

3. My mother has her doctorate in education. Sometimes I ask her to take off her Nana cap and to put on her Doctor cap when I have problems with the kids’ schools.

2. I really did take piano lessons, and I really have sung all of the songs in The Happy Hour Choir, but nothing else about the novel is real. Except the part where Beulah has her shirt safety-pinned to hide her cleavage and is forced to apply mascara. Those are based on a true story.

1. The Happy Hour Choir was the book I wrote because I’d become frustrated trying to write a book that would sell. Listen to your Aunt Sally, kids: write the story you need to write. Then, and only then, can you figure out the hows and wheres of trying to sell it. As they say in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

About the Author:
Sally Kilpatrick lives in Marietta with her husband, Ryan, and her two children. We shall call these precious and precocious children The Hobbit and Her Majesty.

Her debut novel, The Happy Hour Choir will be released by Kensington on April 28, 2015. The Happy Hour Choir won the Duel on the Delta, finaled in the Maggie Awards for Excellence and was a 2012 Golden Heart® finalist. Sally has two other novels coming down the pike—think Shakespeare with cows (Starcrossed and Moonblind) and It’s a Wonderful Life in a funeral home (Giving up the Ghost, a 2013 Maggie finalist).

A former Spanish teacher—because that’s what you do with an English major—Sally took an extended sabbatical when her husband gave her an application to Kennesaw State University’s Master of Arts in Professional Writing Program for Christmas 2007. (Best Christmas Present Ever!)

Sally is also the current president of Georgia Romance Writers.

For fun, Sally likes to read, write, run, and—you guessed it—sing in her church choir.

Connect with the author at:

Kensington Books is giving one lucky winner
A print copy of The Happy Hour Choir
US Only

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Friday, June 12, 2015

Things You Won't Say - Review

In this timely and provocative novel, internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen takes us inside a family in crisis and a marriage on the brink after a tragic shooting.

How far would you go to save your family?

Every morning, as her husband Mike straps on his SIG Sauer and pulls on his heavy Magnum boots, Jamie Anderson tenses up. Then comes the call she has always dreaded: There’s been a shooting at police headquarters. Mike isn’t hurt, but his long-time partner is grievously injured. As weeks pass and her husband’s insomnia and disconnectedness mount, Jamie realizes he is an invisible casualty of the attack. Then the phone rings again. Another shooting—but this time Mike has pulled the trigger.

But the shooting does more than just alter Jamie’s world. It’s about to change everything for two other women. Christie Simmons, Mike’s flamboyant ex, sees the tragedy as an opportunity for a second chance with Mike. And Jamie’s younger sister, Lou, must face her own losses to help the big sister who raised her. As the press descends and public cries of police brutality swell, Jamie tries desperately to hold together her family, no matter what it takes.

In her characteristic exploration of true-to-life relationships, Sarah Pekkanen has written a complex, compelling, and openhearted novel—her best yet.

Review by Meg Munson
I have read all of Sarah's books and I just love this one!  This book is about a tragic shooting and how it affects everyone.  While this is the main story in the book, you also get to meet other characters and she how their lives mix into the event as well.  I love how the author introduced you to several different types of relationships between the characters.  They all had their twists and turns and their love/hate moments.  In the end, it all works out just the way it should.   Without giving anything away, I did love the little bit of mystery involved in what really happened during the shooting.  It did leave me guessing and questioning certain events in the book.  This is a great read and you will love it too!

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About the Author:
Sarah is the mother of three boys, which explains why she wrote part of her novel at Chuck E. Cheese. Seriously. Sarah penned her first book, Miscellaneous Tales and Poems, at the age of 10. When publishers failed to jump upon this literary masterpiece (hey, all the poems rhymed!) Sarah followed up by sending them a sternly-worded letter on Raggedy Ann stationery. Sarah still has that letter, and carries it to New York every time she has meetings with her publisher, as a reminder that dreams do come true. At least some dreams - Brad Pitt has yet to show up on her doorstep wearing nothing but a toolbelt and asking if she needs anything fixed. So maybe it's only G-rated dreams that come true.

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