Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category:

New Book for Review: Humor ‘Sitting on Cold Porcelain’ by Rose A. Valenta

Rose A. Valenta will be touring January 3 – February 25 with her humor book, Sitting on Cold Porcelain.  Political unrest…government scandal…corruption…extortion. What do all these things have in common? They are perfect fodder for satire! In Sitting on Cold Porcelain, you will find an amusing, perceptive, and laugh-out-loud take on the state of our country and our world, on celebrities and politicians, and all the events that make us all roll our eyes and groan. Some of the satirical essays within the pages of Sitting on Cold Porcelain include “Giuliani’s Gaffe Could Qualify for Political Darwin Award,” “Rush Limbaugh: The Don Rickles of Radio,” “State of The Union
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New Book for Review: Urban Fiction ‘Respect the Jux’ by Frank C. Matthews

Frank C. Matthews will be touring January 3 – February 25 with his urban fiction novel, Respect the Jux.  A young man obsessed with obtaining the American Dream, forms a fraternity of thieves to fulfill it. MEET CAT. In Jamaica . . . he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder.MAKE THE GANG. In New York City . . . he created The Order: a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how
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New Book for Review: Medical Thriller ‘Final Mercy’ by Frank Edwards

Frank Edwards will be touring January 3-28 with his medical thriller, Final Mercy.  Dr. Jack Forester, director of the New Canterbury University Hospital emergency department, is about to win an ongoing battle to modernize the ED when he’s stymied by the power-hungry dean, Bryson Witner.  Then someone tries to murder Jack’s mentor and the former dean, setting it up to look like suicide. Bit by bit, Jack uncovers facts that suggest several other recent tragic accidents may not have been in the least accidental.  The deeper he digs, the closer danger creeps, and the phrase “life or death” begins to take on a new and very personal meaning. 286
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Easy as Pie at Bobby’s Diner Virtual Book Tour Dec. ’10 – Jan. ’11

Join Susan Wingate , author of the women’s fiction/mystery novel, Easy as Pie at Bobby’s Diner (Blue Star Books), as she virtually tours the blogosphere December 6 ‘10 – January 14 ‘11 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Susan Wingate Award-winning author, Susan Wingate, gets a monthly column about writing and the publishing industry in her local newspaper, The Journal of the San Juan Islands. She will also be posting weekly discussions about the writing industry for the regional online newspaper, the PNWLocalNews.com site. You can view Wingate’s discussions by clicking on the “Entertainment” tab and then finding Wingate’s discussions under the “Blogs”
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Saying Goodbye Virtual Book Tour December ’10 – January ’11

Join Mike O’ Mary and Julie Rember, editors of the literary collection, Saying Goodbye (Dream of Things), as they virtually tours the blogosphere December 6 ’10 – January 14 ’11 on their first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Mike O’ Mary Mike O’Mary is series editor of the Dream of Things anthologies including Saying Goodbye, an anthology of true stories about people saying goodbye to the people, places and things in our lives with grace, dignity and good humor.  He is founder of Dream of Things, a book publisher and online retailer. He is also author of The Note, a book about the power of
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The Barrett Company Hollywood Publicist Virtual Tour January 2011

Join Charlie Barrett, national book publicist and owner of the publicity company, The Barrett Company, as he tours the blogosphere January 3 – 25 2011 on his first virtual blog tour with Pump Up Your Book. About Charlie Barrett Professional national book publicist Charlie Barrett formed The Barrett Company in 1992 as a full service media relations and media marketing / communications agency.  The Los Angeles headquartered firm offers 21st century integrated media outreach and media marketing expertise with an emphasis on the publishing and entertainment industries serving authors/publishers, Hollywood celebrities, motion pictures and television. Since the firm’s creation TBC has served authors with such companies as Simon &
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Shelly Frome

Shelly Frome is a Professor Emeritus of dramatic arts at the University of Connecticut. A former professional actor and theater director, his writing credits include a number of national and international articles on acting and theater, profiles of artists and notable figures in the arts, books on theater and film and mystery novels. His books include The Art and Craft of Screenwriting, Tinseltown Riff, Lilac Moon, The Actors Studio, Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Playwriting: A Complete Guide to Creating Theater and his most recent, The Twinning Murders. Q: Thank you for this interview, Shelly.  Can you tell us why you wrote your book, The Twinning Murders? A dramaturge
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Sheila Roberts

Sheila Roberts lives in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have appeared in Readers Digest Condensed books and have been published in several languages. Her novel Angel Lane was an Amazon Top Ten Romance pick for 2009 and her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas is slated to be a Lifetime Channel movie presentation this December. When she’s not hanging out with her girlfriends or hitting the dance floor with her husband, she can be found writing about those things dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate. Her latest book is The Snow Globe. You can visit Sheila at her website (http://www.sheilasplace.com). You can also find her on Twitter
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Kristy Haile

Californian Kristy Haile earned an Associate’s degree in Dental Hygiene from Northeastern University in Boston and then worked as a hygienist in Massachusetts and California. She moved from her hometown of Turlock, CA to Los Angeles, where her two children became actors on TV (The Office, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives), movies (Chihuahua: The Movie) and in commercials. At age 4, son Ty came to believe he was Santa Claus. Haile kept a journal of the funny and unusual things her son said and did over the next two years, as well as of people’s reactions to his self-identification as the “new real Santa Claus.” That journal was the basis
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Dear Sparkle Virtual Book Tour December ’10 – January ’11

Join Sparkle, author of the humor pet book, Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice from the World’s Foremost Feline Columnist (Adams Media) as she virtually tours the blogosphere December 6  2010 – January 19 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Sparkle Sparkle is an award-winning author, blogger, advice columnist and supermodel. She is also a cat – a ruddy Somali of champion lineage, in fact, whose father, GC Tajhara’s Miles Davis, was twice on the cover of Cat Fancy. Sparkle’s first book, Dear Sparkle: Advice from One Cat to Another, won the Wild Card category at the 2007 Hollywood Book Festival and honorable mentions
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Let’s Talk Virtual Book Tours with Holiday Fiction Author Kristy Haile

Californian Kristy Haile earned an Associate’s degree in Dental Hygiene from Northeastern University in Boston and then worked as a hygienist in Massachusetts and California. She moved from her hometown of Turlock, CA to Los Angeles, where her two children became actors on TV (The Office, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives), movies (Chihuahua: The Movie) and in commercials. At age 4, son Ty came to believe he was Santa Claus. Haile kept a journal of the funny and unusual things her son said and did over the next two years, as well as of people’s reactions to his self-identification as the “new real Santa Claus.” That journal was the basis
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with M.M. Bennetts

Educated at Boston University and St Andrews, M.M. Bennetts is a specialist in the economic, social and military history of Napoleonic Europe. The author is a keen cross-country and dressage rider, as well as an accomplished pianist, regularly performing music of the era as both a soloist and accompanist. Bennetts is a long-standing book critic for The Christian Science Monitor. The author is married and lives in England. Bennetts’ latest book is Of Honest Fame. You can visit the author’s website at www.mmbennetts.com. Q: Thank you for this interview, M.M. Can you tell us why you wrote your book? Well, I had begun Of Honest Fame and then set it
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Joel M. Andre

Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry. Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection, Pray the Rain Never Ends. Knowing there was something deeper and darker inside of his soul, Joel decided to take a stab at commercialism. Releasing the dark tongue in cheek, A Death at the North Pole, created a dark world among the death of Kris Kringle. Ultimately providing a tale
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Sounds Like Crazy Virtual Book Tour Dec. ’10 – Jan. ’11

Join Shana Mahaffey, author of the women’s fiction novel, Sounds Like Crazy (Penguin) as she virtually tours the blogosphere December 6  2010 – January 14 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Shana Mahaffey Shana  Mahaffey lives in San Francisco in an Edwardian compound that she shares with an informal cooperative of family, friends and five cats. She’s a survivor of Catechism and cat scratch fever, and is a member of the Sanchez Grotto Annex, a writers’ community. Her work has been published in SoMa Literary Review and Sunset Magazine.  She welcomes all visitors to her website www.shanamahaffey.com, and is happy to meet
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Literarily Speaking Virtual Book Club Selection – Invisible Path Giveaway

 Marilyn Meredith, author of Invisible Path, the latest book in her award-winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, will be our featured guest Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (November 15th – 17th) at Literarily Speaking. Marilyn will be participating in our Virtual Book Club Selection, a special feature that gives readers a chance to sample excerpts from a book, answer book club questions, and be entered to win a copy of the book being spotlighted. To become eligible to win, all you have to do is ask a question or leave a comment on all three days. One lucky reader who comments with their email address is put in a pot to win the book.
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The Killing Storm Virtual Book Tour December 2010

Join Kathryn Casey, author of the mystery novel, The Killing Storm (St. Martin’s Minotaur), as she virtually tours the blogosphere December 6 – December 17 ‘10 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Kathryn Casey Kathryn Casey is an award-winning, Houston-based novelist and journalist, the creator of the Sarah Armstrong mystery series and the author of five highly acclaimed true crime books. SINGULARITY, the first in the Armstrong series, debuted in June to rave reviews. It was a Deadly Pleasures magazine Best First Novel of 2008 selection, was included on Vanity Fair’s Hot Type page, won stars from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and the
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A Death at the North Pole Virtual Book Tour December 2010

Join Joel M. Andre, author of the horror novel, A Death at the North Pole, as he virtually tours the blogosphere November 15 – December 17 ‘10 on his third virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Joel M. Andre Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry. Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection, Pray the Rain Never Ends. Knowing there was
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The Tiny Angel Virtual Book Tour December ’10

Join Nancy Carty Lepri, author of the tween chapter book,  Tiny Angel (Guardian Angel Publishing, November 2009), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in December on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book. About Nancy Carty Lepri Nancy Carty Lepri, born and raised in Massachusetts, earned an AA degree in Visual Art from Cape Cod Community College and a BA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in writing from Western New England College. In addition, she was a freelance reporter for several local newspapers. In 1995, Nancy and her husband Art relocated to Wilmington NC where her publishing credits included the Wilmington Magazine as well as two national and international
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The Babysitting SugarPaw Virtual Book Tour December ’10

Join VS Grenier, author of the children’s picture book,  Babysitting SugarPaw (Halo Publishing Int., July 2009), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in December on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book. About VS Grenier VS Grenier is an award-winning author and editor who learned how to hone her writing skills at the Institute of Children’s Literature, and has been a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators (SCBWI), the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), the League of Utah Writers (HWG chapter), and Musing Our Children. Her works include Babysitting SugarPaw, the Best of Stories for Children Magazine Volume 1 anthology and over 30 short stories,
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The All’s Fair in Love and Law Virtual Book Tour December ’10

Join the sister writing team of K.M. Daughters,  author of the romantic suspense novel, All’s Fair in Love and Law (The Wild Rose Press), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in December 2010 on her second virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About K.M. Daughters Sisters, Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare write as K.M. Daughters. Their penname is dedicated to the memory of their parents, Kay and Mickey, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. All’s Fair In Love And Law is the fourth book in the author’s acclaimed Sullivan Boys romantic suspense series. K.M. Daughters writes romantic suspense for The Wild Rose Press, inspirational romance for White Rose
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The Red Ink Virtual Book Tour December ’10

Join Kathi Macias, author of the Contemporary/International Thriller, Red Ink  (New Hope Publishers, October 2010), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in December 2010 on her sixth virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Kathi Macias Kathi Macias is a blogtalkradio host and an award-winning author of more than 30 books, including her popular Extreme Devotion series from New Hope Publishers and Valeria’s Cross from Abingdon Press. A wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Kathi lives in Southern California with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their spare time riding Al’s Harley—hence, Kathi’s “road name” of Easy Writer! Her latest release is Red Ink, the third book
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Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle Virtual Book Tour December ’10

Join Nicole Weaver, author of the trilingual children’s picture book,  Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle/María y su amiga la Tortuga del mar/Marie et son amie la Tortue de mer (Outskirts Press), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in December on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book. About Nicole Weaver Nicole weaver was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She came to the United States when she was ten years old. She is fluent in Creole, French, Spanish and English. She is a veteran teacher of French and Spanish. She is the author of a children’s trilingual picture book titled Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle. The story is
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Mark Oetjens

Mark Oetjens was born in 1971. He grew up in suburban Chicago. As a child he was diagnosed with Dystonia, a debilitating neuromuscular disorder. Though there is no cure for Dystonia, surgeries and rehabilitation allowed him to walk with only a slight limp by the time he started high school. He received a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Anthropology, both from Northern Illinois University. As an adult a brain tumor, completely unrelated to his Dystonia, threatened to disable him a second time. Thanks to radiation therapy the tumor has disappeared.  Mark currently lives in Phoenix, AZ. Mark’s latest book is the science fiction novel, The Staff of
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Book Trailer: ‘Of Honest Fame’ by M.M. Bennetts

Title: Of Honest Fame Author: M.M. Bennetts Paperback: 432 pages Publisher: diiarts.com; First paperback edition (December 12, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1907386238 ISBN-13: 978-1907386237 On a summer night in 1812, a boy sets fire to a house in Paris before escaping over the rooftops. Carrying vital intelligence about Napoleon’s Russian campaign, he heads for England. But landing in Kent, he is beaten almost to death. The Foreign Secretary, Lord Castlereagh, is desperate for the boy’s information. He is even more desperate, however, to track down the boy’s assailant – a sadistic French agent who knows far too much about Castlereagh’s intelligence network. Captain George Shuster is a veteran of
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Pump Up Chats with Mary Maddox – Author of Talion

Mary Maddox grew up in Utah and California. A graduate of Knox College and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she now teaches at Eastern Illinois University. She lives in Charleston, Illinois with her husband, film scholar Joe Heumann. Her interests include dressage and tournament Scrabble. Mary’s short stories have appeared in a number of magazines including Farmer’s Market, Yellow Silk, and The Scream Online. Her writing has been honored with awards from the Illinois Arts Council. Talion, her debut novel, is available at Barnes and Noble online and at Amazon.com as a trade paperback and as a Kindle book. You can visit her at her Web site www.marymaddox.com,
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Interview with Nonfiction Spiritual Book Author Nicholas Oliva

Nicholas Oliva (O-lee-va’) has been a musician, writer, poet, photographer, an audio engineer, an Entertainment and Technical Director for over twenty-five years.  This is his second book. The first entitled “Only Moments” published in 2007, ( www.onlymomentsbook.com ) was a novel that followed the lifetime journey of the professional musical career of a husband and wife team to the year 2020. ‘Finding God: To Believe or Not To Believe” ( www.tobelieveornot.com ) is a non-fiction book based on his own experiences. Mr. Oliva’s other websites are:  www.onlymoment.wordpress.com You can find him on Facebook as well on the Facebook page  Finding God: To Believe or Not To Believe http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=151624104854808 He
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Let’s Talk Virtual Book Tours with Children Book Authors K.D. Hays & Meg Weidman

K.D. Hays and Meg Weidman are a mother-daughter team who aspire to be professional roller coaster riders and who can tell you exactly what not to put in your pockets when you ride El Toro at Six Flags. Meg is studying art in a middle school magnet program. For fun, she jumps on a precision jump rope team and reads anything not associated with school work. K.D. Hays, who writes historical fiction under the name Kate Dolan, has been writing professionally since 1992. She holds a law degree from the University of Richmond and consequently hopes that her children will pursue studies in more prestigious fields such as plumbing
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Motivational Self-Help Author Judi Moreo

Judi Moreo, CSP, is the publisher and one of the 26 authors in this book, Life Choices: Putting the Pieces Together. She is also the author of the best selling book, You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power, and its companion, Achievement Journal. She is a Certified Speking Professional (fewer than 10% of the speakers in the world hold this designation), an award-winning businesswoman and motivational speaker. Her superb talent for customizing programs to meet organizational needs has gained her a prestigious following around the world. Her passion for living an extraordinary life is mirrored in her zeal for helping others realize their
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Interview with Suspense Thriller Author John L. Betcher

John L. Betcher is a University of Minnesota Law School graduate and has practiced law for more than twenty-five years in the Mississippi River community of Red Wing, Minnesota.  He possesses substantial first-hand knowledge of the Prairie River Nuclear Plant’s real world counterpart, as well as Red Wing’s airport and the flight rules around the nuke plant. In addition to The 19th Element, he has published a second book in the “Beck” series entitled, The Missing Element, A James Becker Mystery.  The second book is available everywhere. The author has also been a long-time supporter and coach of youth volleyball in and around Red Wing and has authored three
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New Book for Review: Women’s Fiction ‘Sounds Like Crazy’ by Shana Mahaffey

Shana Mahaffey will be touring in December and January with her women’s fiction novel, Sounds Like Crazy. Though she doesn’t remember the trauma that caused it, Holly Miller has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her personality has fractured into five different identities, together known as The Committee. And as much as they make Holly’s life hell, she can’t live without them. Then one of those identities, the flirtatious, southern Betty Jane, lands Holly a voiceover job. Betty Jane wants nothing more than to be in the spotlight. The rest of The Committee wants Betty Jane to shut up. Holly’s therapist wants to get to the bottom of her broken psyche. And
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