Ski-Wee's Book Corner: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

LOVE ME ANYWAY by JL Redington

Forest Ranger Greyson Beauchene is Park Ranger for Denali National Park and a serial killer has left his mark of a sealed casket in a secluded area of the park found by a group of three men hikers. Beauchene contacts the Governor who in turn contacts the FBI who sends Profiler Aspen O’Connell and two agents named Shayne Maddox and Tim Duncan to the crime scene. Greyson and Aspen immediately clash over Aspen’s abrasively rude manners and demanding orders to him and his associates Grant Mulvane, an Alaskan Native tracker and Tony Sampezi, an emergency survival skills expert.

While the combined teams hunt the ‘Evergreen Killer’ gathering evidence to apprehend the perpetrator, the turbulent working relationship between Greyson and Aspen begins to smooth out the rough edges as the Evergreen Killer changes horses in the middle of the stream causing chaos and confusion in the FBI investigation. The serial killer decides he wants to add Aspen to his list of victims because she is closing in on finding his true identity and his reasons for the slayings of his victims that eventually puts the team in danger.

JL Redington’s novel if full of mystery, suspense, and action adventure as she takes you through the efforts of a determined FBI profiler who is the best in her profession to capture the deranged killer. You will not be disappointed with this thriller as you constantly turn the pages to see what is happening next with Greyson and Aspen or Grant, the Native tracker, who can smell the scent of the Evergreen Killer. I recommend to all thriller and suspenseful mystery aficionados to read this novel when you have the time to read straight through because you will not want to put it down until the end (at least, that is what happened to me).

I received this book free from CLP Blog Tours in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

HUNGRY MOTHER CREEK by Heather W. Cobham

Maya tries unsuccessfully to convince her husband Steven to delay his trip with friends to New Orleans for the weekend because of the impending hurricane headed straight for that area. After living in Raleigh, North Carolina since Hurricane Katrina and Steven’s death Maya and her sister Kate plan a retreat in Oriental, North Carolina. Maya likes the town where she is on a retreat and decides to move into the small community with its serene and calm setting different from the noise of the city where she lives.

Maya is received and accepted into her new community and invited to join a special group that shares self-healing testimonies in a secluded area of Hungry Mother Creek started by the Neusiok Tribe women who were early settler inhabitants. Friendships grow from the group especially with her landlord Hazel who is leader of the spiritual ritual. Other friendships outside of the group is with Bay who is bossy and does not have many friends in Oriental and Travis who teaches Maya the basics of kayaking and who holds a personal secret. These three individuals help Maya learn the healing process to overcome the guilt she has over her happiness after Steven’s death and their broken marriage and the meaning of sisterhood among women.

Hungry Mother Creek tells the story of broken marriage, handling the death of loved ones, and relationships in a steady paced plot. Even though the character depth was there in the main character of Maya, for some reason I could not connect emotionally. My favorite character was Hazel the property owner with her motherly and quirky ways. However, I recommend to booklovers of drama novels looking for a relaxing read.

I received this book free from CLP Blog Tours in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

AUTHOR GUEST POST - Where I Write by Heather W. Cobham

Where I Write

As I write this blog I’m at a writer’s retreat in the mountains of North Carolina. I’m in a beautiful, natural setting, the closest town is 25 minutes away down a steep and winding road and the internet and phone access is limited. I’m surrounded by 120 other writers. We are here to create our own work but also collaborate, support and inspire one another. This is a perfect place to write and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here. It helps my creativity immensely to have time away from the daily responsibilities of life to focus on my writing. My two favorite places for retreat are here at WildAcres and at Mepkin Abbey monastery on the Cooper River in South Carolina. The ideas and inspiration garnered from my time away sustain me for many weeks to come.

In my real life, I live in Oriental, N.C., the setting of my novel Hungry Mother Creek. Oriental is where the Neuse River empties into the Pamlico Sound and water is everywhere. You can’t drive more then a few miles without crossing a bridge over river, creek or marsh. We live on the water and my favorite place to write is on our deck. Nature is my muse and a recurrent theme in my writing so being outside is important to me.

From my writing chair on the deck

I watch rabbits and turtles

venture out of the undergrowth beside the creek to eat the clover

in our grass. I see squirrels scampering in the Live Oaks

that line the water.

Sea gulls, Osprey, Hawks

and all types of song birds

entertain me

with their flight patterns

and along with the insects,

provide background music for my writing.

On the water

the commercial fishermen empty their crab pots,

the mullet jump in their version of a happy dance

and if I’m lucky the dolphin will swim by in search of lunch. Some writers like the distraction of

a coffee shop to write,

I prefer the distraction of nature.

I will jot down ideas on my computer or a note pad if I’m inspired during the day but only get substantial writing done when close to nature. When the weather is too cold, wet or windy to write outside, I sit in our sun room which offers the same view as the deck. I always crack the sliding glass door just a bit to allow in some of the sounds and smells of the natural world.

Some writers need hotel rooms,

room darkening curtains, a favorite chair.

Me,

I prefer the play of light on the water,

the smell of the earth,

the birdsong and the breeze

fluttering my papers.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

BLOOD & ROSES, Episode 1 by Rhys Christopher Ethan

Book Title: Harvest, Episode 1.1

Book Series: Blood & Roses: A Sci-Fi Adventure

Author: Rhys Christopher Ethan

Synopsis:

Dorothy meets universe in this stellar adventure of pain, survival and freedom and in the middle of all, a girl trying to find her place among the chaos and death that threatens her politically corrupt galaxy.

Yv is forced out of her home planet after a tragic incident, but before she has time to grieve for her loss, she is up against the lethal flora of the moon she is imprisoned at.

Yv is completely unprepared for the wonders and treachery of the universe. Will a childhood memory save her life or get her into bigger trouble than she already is?

Rhys Ethan presents Blood and Roses, a sci-fi serial adventure like nothing you have ever read before.

About the Author

Rhys Christopher Ethan is by no means a scientist, but he is an architect of his own fantasy worlds; an illustrator of emotional and multi-dimensional characters; a doctor of creativity and inspiration and a chemist of genres; mixing two or more, to find the perfect fit for his creations. He lives in a small, dusty lab he calls Home in London and works hard to bring his experiments out into the world. His companions (for now) are his pet-Laptop and his coffee-Booster and a bunch of notes, digitized and paper-wise.

LINKS

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BOOK BLAST: Strangers on a Bus

How far can they get on a bus ride anyway?

Publication Date: March 29, 2011

Genre: Romantic Comedy/Memoir

If you liked When Harry Met Sally, you'll fall in love with Robb and Gertrude from Strangers on a Bus...

Robb is crushed by a failed relationship with the love of his life and finds himself unexpectedly on a long bus trip from his adopted home in the U.S. back to his native Canada.

At the first stop in NYC, a girl gets on and so begins a contemplation of life, love, and strange events that will bring tears of laughter and heartache streaming down your face.

Is this girl Robb's real true love or just a rebound? How far can they get on a bus ride anyway?

This is a true story.

Chapter 4 (part 2)
A Rose by Any Other Name

For the past half hour or so I’ve been casually working the name Gertrude three or four times into every sentence I possibly can. I want Gertrude to get used to her name. I’d be a little embarrassed calling out to Gertrude and having her ignore me. I’d hate to have to start hitting her on the nose with a rolled up newspaper every time she failed to answer to Gertrude. I’d do it, but I don’t want to.
Five minutes ago Gertrude stopped talking to me and now Gertrude is pretending to be fascinated by staring out the window.
Absolutely ridiculous. If UFO’s landed bearing Leprechaun pilots, that still wouldn’t be as interesting as talking to me.

But it’s a nice break, and allows me to catch up with you, dear readers. Gertrude’s arrival in my life has given me a lot to write about, but having so much fun with Gertrude has cut into writing about Gertrude.
Gertrude is a skilled liar, and within three minutes of meeting her she had already worked in a Star Wars reference. Add in what I’m sure is a surgically enhanced chest and I’m suitably impressed. Let’s move on…
The potential great before picture for Jenny Craig was waddling towards me with all the grace and poise of a chimpanzee in a donkey costume at a fancy black tie rabbit’s sweet sixteen party, and wheezing and panting to such an extent that if I recorded his mouth breathing symphony I could probably sell it for $2.99 a minute on an adult chat site.

With big cow eyes he looked at me. I nodded, and moving as slowly as a turtle quickie, I began stowing my carry on in the overhead compartment. I wanted the dyslexic anorexic to have every opportunity to find a more pleasant riding companion. He deserves better than having to endure dirty looks, eye rolling, and exasperated sighs from me for hours on end.
That’s when I heard the voice of redemption. My lying angel came to my rescue. Gertrude said, “Do you mind if I sit with my boyfriend?”
It took me a couple seconds to catch on, but I don’t think I’ve ever been more relieved. I felt like a drowning man who got that last minute call from the Governor. Instead of spending hours being sweated gravy on, maybe I’d get the chance to maybe do the sweating myself.

I automatically reminded myself I have a girlfriend I am in love with, and then I remembered I didn’t have a girlfriend anymore, then my heart hurt a bit.
I believe a relationship is like a credit card that you don’t know the limit on. Before I got on the bus I cried and cried and cried for all my girlfriend and I had shared, for all the things we would never share because I’d never hear her laugh again, because I’d never see her smile again.
I cried and cried and cried.
Then I stopped crying.
I hit the limit, the next transaction was declined, and I couldn’t purchase even one more tear.

There’s a big hole where she was repossessed because I couldn’t make the minimum monthly payment anymore, and a big place in my heart where the good times we had before the card was cut up live, but emotionally that card just got maxed out.
But I’ll never forget the fun we had with that Amex Platinum, and I never thought at the time there was a limit. I’ll always love her.

I’m proud of that last bit! I’m going to call this the end of a chapter and Dr. Phil better not rip off my Relationship Credit Card philosophy.

Purchase the Book at Amazon (US) (UK) (CAN)

Robert Manary is an international playboy and man of mystery, with the charm and sophistication of James Bond shaken not stirred with a couple ounces of Cyrano de Bergerac, a dash of Rasputin, and garnished with the rapier wit of Thurston Howell the Third.

That’s how he sees himself, anyway.

The truth is Robert Manary is a construct created to protect the dubious reputation of his Clark Kent like mild mannered writer/puppeteer/the man pulling the levers and breathing life into the Great and Powerful Oz (don’t look too closely behind the curtain).

Manary is an award winning blogger, an erotic romance novel writer, the author of a pretty decent romantic comedy, and for a brief period in the early nineties served as dictator of a small South American country.

Most of that is true.

Manary is also an experimental artist who has no clue how to write an Author’s Bio, and definitely no idea how to end one.

P.S. He is also a shameless plunderer of pop culture.

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Susan May Warren's newest book in the Christiansen Family Collection, When I Fall In Love, has won over readers' and critics' hearts alike. With critical reviews like, ". . . an exquisite romance. Profoundly touching on the topic of facing fears, this book is a true gem," and more than 60 five-star reviews at Amazon, When I Fall in Love is sure to please.

Susan has teamed up with some amazing food bloggers for a fun food challenge and a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

A KitchenAid Mixer
The first three books in the Christiansen Family Collection.
Melissa Ringstaff’s Kitchen Planner
Jackie Brown's Freezer Inventory sheet

Grab your aprons and wire whisks and buzz on over to the When I Fall in Love website to learn more and enter the Hawaiian Chef Showdown! Susan is challenging you to make a Hawaiian-inspired dish using coconut, mango, or one of the other ingredients mentioned in the book. You’ll get extra points for creating your own recipe—plus she might share it on the When I Fall in Love site! Or if you're not up for an adventure in the kitchen just click one of the icons below for easy entry.

Hurry, the giveaway ends on August 10th. All winners will be announced August 13th at Susan's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Susan's blog on the 13th to see if you won!

Monday, July 28, 2014

THE POINT by G Nykanen - #PointTour

Nora and Jake attend the same university who love each other but neither wants to be the first to express it verbally before leaving the university for summer vacation until the fall semester. Nora and Jake depart for vacation without a conclusive decision regarding their relationship as to whether they are exclusively dating each other leaving the door open to see other people.

Nora returns home to her father and the memories of her mother who passed away when she was teenager that prompts Nora to visit her mother’s gravesite where she meets Dane who is the groundskeeper supervisor. Nora is immediately attracted to Dane and his charming ways but in a state of confusion over the love she has for Jake in how the status of their relationship not clearly defined to be exclusive. The relationship with Dane begins normal until his appetite for sexual pleasure changes to disturbing urges ultimately causing their breakup after Dane physically attempts to murder Nora. The police dropped alleged criminal charges brought by Nora against Dane because there were no witnesses to his attempted assault on Nora.

Meanwhile Jake returns to the university for the fall semester to find Nora is not there and leaves the university to travel to Nora’s hometown trying to mend the fences that he broke during the summer vacation break. Jake reunites with Nora who has drastic personality changes he does not recognize and unknowingly becomes a pawn in Dane’s sinister plans to feed his abnormal desires.

This novel is nothing what is seems to be in the first few beginning chapters but quickly pulls you in until the last page leaving you in awe of this very capable thriller. I recommend this novel to thriller and suspense aficionados who will not be disappointed in fulfilling their fix in this suspenseful thriller drama.

I received this book free from Masquerade Blog Tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

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MASQUERADE BLOG TOUR - The Point by G. Nykanen - #PointTour

A dark journey through madness...

Publication Date: May 30, 2014

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Befuddled by her current relationship woes, Nora Reynolds leaves college at semester’s end to drive north of nowhere to her hometown of Iron Bay. Vulnerable and on the rebound, she is the perfect prey for fledgling felon Dane Buchman. Dane takes advantage of the unaware young woman, feeding his appetite for mischief until a rather violent shift in their relationship reveals to him what he’s really been craving. Driven by his new found hunger, Dane feels unstoppable, until former high school rival and town deputy, Doug Sanders, navigates the trail of Dane’s destruction.

The Point is a dark thriller that will allow you to witness a truly dangerous sociopath wander through madness guided by a treasured family heirloom, and a pensive young woman find her way after discovering, that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. With echoes of the Coen brothers’ Fargo, the folksy town of Iron Bay and the nearby north-woods community of Deer Lake are the destinations for Mr. Buchman’s many misdeeds.

She kept Jake tucked in the back of her mind, her loneliness masked by the company she was keeping with Dane.

Two weeks had passed and the budding relationship seemed to consist of brief phone calls and intensely physical escapades, which were great. Who doesn’t like rolling around on the beach in the dark, Nora thought as she stirred milk into her Darjeeling. Her hand continued to blend, the spoon clinking slowly and methodically against the bottom of the ceramic cup. She stared blankly into the rolling eyes of the Kit-Kat clock. He makes me feel incredible when we’re together, but I feel so empty when it’s over…I need substance. She stopped stirring, realizing she’d drifted off.

“Why are you always judging me?” she snapped at the smug plastic feline, her stirring hand now jabbing the spoon in its direction.

The Kat continued to arbitrate, his tail wagging with a tsk-tsk, like the finger of a grandmother in mid-scold.

“I know, I know,” she conceded to the ticking custodian, her conscience burdened by the sins of her flesh. I need to stop being such a slut, she thought, unwilling to say that out loud (especially in front of the Kat).

“I just need to talk to him…clear this whole situation up.”

Nora set the cup in the sink and grabbed her keys. “Be back soon,” she assured Badger, who was licking crumbs from under the table. “And keep an eye on that Kat until I get back,” she ordered, with her thumb pointing in the clock’s direction.

“We’ll continue this when I get back,” she stated to the Kat with rebuke, her palm flat and moving in a circular motion, a gesture meant to clarify what this encompassed.

She was still thinking about the cold, rolling eyes of the Kit-Kat clock as she rounded the block to Dane’s house. Her mother had found that clock in one of the local shops. “Don’t you just love the curious look on his face?” she asked, like she already knew the answer. “Its like he sees and knows all.”

Goodreads | Amazon

G. Nykanen was born and raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This small, rural land mass seems to cultivate a wide variety of colorful characters who provide a plethora of inspiration. The Point, Nykanen’s first novel, is filled with nuances of these local characters and the landscapes one might find in the north woods.

Well traveled thanks to her husband’s government career, she has lived in Europe and many of our United States over the last twenty years. She has recently returned home, moving back to her beloved Upper Peninsula where she resides with her husband and three children.

With The Point now completed, she will continue working on her next novel, Accumulation, along with continuing to develop other stories in the works.

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CLP BLOG TOURS presents Deadly Assets by Wendy Tyson

An eccentric Italian heiress from the Finger Lakes. An eighteen-year-old pop star from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Allison Campbell’s latest clients seem worlds apart in every respect, except one: Both women disappear on the same day. And Allison’s colleague Vaughn is the last to have seen each.

Allison’s search for a connection uncovers an intricate web of family secrets, corporate transgressions and an age-old rivalry that crosses continents. The closer Allison gets to the truth, the deadlier her quest becomes. All paths lead back to a sinister Finger Lakes estate and the suicide of a woman thirty years earlier. Allison soon realizes the lives of her clients and the safety of those closest to her aren’t the only things at stake.

Author Bio:

Wendy Tyson is a corporate lawyer and former therapist whose background has inspired her mysteries and thrillers. She’s the author of three crime novels. Her latest, DEADLY ASSETS, the second Allison Campbell mystery, was released on July 22. The first Campbell novel, KILLER IMAGE, was named by Examiner.com as one of the ten best mysteries for book clubs in 2014. She’s also written THE SEDUCTION OF MIRIAM CROSS. Wendy lives near Philadelphia with her husband, three sons and two muses, dogs Molly and Driggs.