Posts Tagged ‘books for review’

Echo Falls Online Book Tour November & December 2011

Join Jaime McDougall, author of the paranormal romance novel Echo Falls as she virtually tours the blogosphere in November and December 2011 on her second tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Jaime McDougall Jaime McDougall is a citizen of the world, currently loving life in beautiful country Victoria in Australia. She loves eating sushi, kidnapping her husband and naming her pets in honour of science fiction authors. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: High School: The Real Deal and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Campus Chronicles. So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author’s Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging is her
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Black & Orange Online Book Tour December 2011

Join Benjamin Kane Ethridge, author of the award-winning dark fantasy horror Black & Orange as he virtually tours the blogosphere in December 2011 on his second tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Benjamin Kane Ethridge Benjamin Kane Ethridge’s fiction has appeared in Doorways Magazine, Dark Recesses, FearZone, and others. His dark fantasy novel BLACK & ORANGE (Bad Moon Books 2010) has won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel. Beyond that he’s written several collaborations with Michael Louis Calvillo, one of which is a novella called UGLY SPIRIT, available in 2011. He also wrote a master’s thesis entitled, “CAUSES OF UNEASE: The Rhetoric of Horror
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New Book for Review: Family/Relationships/Fiction ‘The Clara Ann Burns Story’ by Heidi Ann Smith

Heidi Ann Smith is touring November 1 – 23 with her family/relationships fiction novel, The Clara Ann Burns Story! In Heidi Ann Smith’s short novel THE CLARA ANN BURNS STORY, a woman who suffered child abuse looks back over her turbulent life as she approaches her fifties. Smith describes it as “a story of a young girl, Clara Ann Burns, who was tortured, abused and neglected by her family. When she was old enough to go out on her own, she got herself into situations that were not always the best. But in the end she raises her own family and holds onto the hope of healing and living
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New Book for Review: Business/Leadership “Fundamentally Different” by David Friedman

David Friedman is touring in November 2011 with his business/leadership book, Fundamentally Different. In Fundamentally Different, Friedman uses stories and examples from his 27 years of business leadership experience to make clear the connection between values and success in a way that’s as enjoyable to read as it is insightful. Is organizational culture just a New Age obsession that distracts us from the real work of business?  What role do values play in organizational success?  How can we create greater consistency between the values we say are important and the ones that actually show up in the routine behavior of our people?   What’s the most important common denominator found
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New eBook for Review: Christian-spiced Christmas Fiction ‘Slouching Towards Bellingham’ by Anneke Campbell

Anneke Campbell will be touring December 5 – 16 with her Christian-spiced Christmas fiction novel, Slouching Towards Bellingham! When a pregnant girl named Mary waddles into Bellingham, Indiana, she also wanders right into the hearts of its townspeople. Not to mention their imaginations: Because Mary’s a virgin! Joe the postman is the first to spot her, struggling bedraggled and dirty down the road into town. He introduces her to Violet, the waitress at his favorite diner, who has her own reasons to be kind. Next thing you know their friend Dr. Bob’s examined her and proclaimed her a virgin. And then the whole world wants a piece of her. News
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New Book for Review: Humor ‘The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey: A Journey of Extraordinary Ordinary’ by Deborah Barnes

Deborah Barnes will be touring November 14 – December 16 2011 with her humor book, The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey: A Journey of Extraordinary Ordinary! Combining a warm, humorous, and conversational style of writing with stunning photos and charming artwork, readers are immediately immersed into the world of Zee, a lovable male Maine Coon cat, and Zoey, a high-spirited female Bengal cat, as they share their amazing relationship and bond that formed between the two of them in The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey. What makes this story so compelling is that the author narrates the journey of the cats through the personal trials and tribulations of her
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New Book for Review: Contemporary Christian Fiction ‘Downtown Green’ by Judy Christie

Judy Christie is touring in March 5 – 30 2012 with her Contemporary Christian Fiction novel, Downtown Green! When the highway bypass around Green opens with much fanfare, downtown dries up faster than cement on the roadway. Businesses close and the hospital becomes a clinic. While the road is progress to some, it seems to be leading Green toward a national trend–a town that is merely a shadow of itself. With the town going backwards, Lois Barker Craig is determined to save Green while juggling life as a new mom and owner of The Green News-Item. But can her plan rescue the town from the path it’s on? And
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Pump Up Chats with Karen Simpson – Author of Act of Grace

Karen Simpson lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan and holds a Master’s in Historic Preservation. Writing, fabric art, and history are her passions. She’s a quilter and has taught African American quilting for over twenty years. As a historian, Simpson has designed exhibits for museums and other historical institutions that deal with issues of cultural diversity and racial reconciliation. The subjects and themes for her fiction are taken from the stories she discovers while doing research. In 2009 Simpson was awarded the Speculative Literature Foundation’s Older Writers Grant. Act of Grace is her first novel. Thank you for this interview, Karen.  Would you tell us briefly about Act of Grace
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New Book for Review: Family/Relationship Nonfiction ‘Inside the Spaghetti Bowl’ by Frank Zaccari

Frank Zaccari will be touring November 14 – December 16, 2011, with his family/relationship nonfiction book, Inside the Spaghetti Bowl! Like many of the “baby boomers” my family faced the difficult task of burying our Mother. This is our story, this is your story. It is a story for every beating heart that has loved or has been loved. It is the story about the struggles and pains endured by those virtuous individuals who poured their lives into ours and filled our years with intimate memories and a gladdened heart. It is the story you will want to pass down to your children and grandchildren. This is a book
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New Book for Review: Humor ‘Donations to Clarity’ by Noah Baird

Noah Baird is touring in November & December 2011 with his humor book, Donations to Clarity! The plan was simple: hoax bigfoot, then sell tours to bigfoot enthusiasts. The plan wasn’t brilliant, and neither were Harry, Earl, and Patch. The three chemical-abusing friends only wanted to avoid the 9 to 5 rat race, but their antics attract the attention of a real bigfoot. When the misogynistic Earl is mistaken for a female bigfoot by the nearsighted creature and captured; it is just the beginning of their problems. The U.S. Government has a plan to naturalize the mythical creatures living within the U.S. borders.  The problem is the plan needs
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New eBook for Review: Nonfiction ‘Writing Your Way: The Great American Novel Track’ by Julie Smith

Julie Smith will be touring December 5 – 16 with her nonfiction book, Writing Your Way: The Great American Novel Track! WRITING YOUR WAY is a no-nonsense, jam-packed book on writing fiction that came directly out of the author’s belief that most writing teachers need to cut their students a little slack. Edgar-winner Julie Smith’s approach is to help you find your own writing method, not bombard you with “unbreakable” rules. But make no mistake, she’s going to give you plenty of how-tos—on plot, character, setting, voice, point-of-view, dialogue, pacing and marketing.  As well as plenty of practice exercises. And lots of motherly advice. She also thinks most writing
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New eBook for Review: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal/Crime ‘Better Off Dead’ by Jason Krumbine

Jason Krumbine is touring November 1 – 23, 2011 with his urban fantasy/paranormal/crime novel, Better Off Dead, Book 3 in The Grym Brothers Series! They say dead men tell no tales, but that’s just because they’ve never worked as a Grim Reaper. Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife. Lori Standford’s mother died six months ago. Now she’s back, haunting Lori out of her home. Lori turns to her close friend, Emma Grym, mother of Thane and Mort Grym, for help. Now Thane
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New Book for Review: Thriller ‘Naked Addiction’ by Caitlin Rother

Caitlin Rother will be touring January 3 – 27 2012 with her thriller novel, NAKED ADDICTION! Police detective Ken Goode is tired of working undercover narcotics and wants a transfer to homicide. When the Camus-reading surfer finds the body of a beautiful woman in an alley, he gets the go-ahead to head a team of relief detectives and wins the chance to prove he’s homicide-worthy. As Goode explores the underbelly of the affluent coastal enclave of La Jolla and its neighbor, Pacific Beach, he clashes with the patrons and employees of a neighborhood bar: real estate agents and beauty school students who have possible ties to an escort service
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  • September 19, 2011
  • Authors on Tour, Featured
  • Comments Off on Act of Grace by Karen Simpson Online Book Tour October & November 2011

Act of Grace by Karen Simpson Online Book Tour October & November 2011

Join Karen Simpson, author of the contemporary speculative fiction novel Act of Grace as she virtually tours the blogosphere in October and Novemer 2011 on her first tour with Pump Up Your Book! About Karen Simpson Karen Simpson is passionate about the craft of writing fiction, the art of quilting, and the discipline of historical research. She received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Husbandry, M.A. in Foreign and International Trade and a M.S. in Historic Preservation. A historic preservationist trained in heritage interpretation and administration, the subjects and themes of her fiction are often taken from the stories she discovers while doing research for museum exhibits. In 2009 Simpson
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New Book for Review: Historical Romance ‘Winds of Change’ by Carole Eglash-Kosoff

Carole Eglash-Kosoff will be touring in December 5 – 16 and January 3 – 13 with her historical romantic fiction, Winds of Change! The racially charged love and conflict of the critically acclaimed When Stars Align become more entrenched after the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Amy had taken her daughter, nephew, and a son she’d had never been able to acknowledge, born from her love with Thaddeus, her colored lover, to San Francisco, as a refuge from the intense racial scrutiny of the South. They are forced to return to their old home, Moss Grove, a successful Mississippi River cotton plantation, as young adults.  They discover facts about themselves
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New Book for Review: Action Adventure ‘Served Cold’ by Chuck Waldron

Chuck Waldron will be touring December 5 – 16 2011 with his action/adventure novel, Served Cold! For two families, revenge served cold is not on the menu. Fuelled by a long-standing feud between the clan patriarchs, nothing less than hot-blooded vengeance will do… Called to the bedside of his dying father in Atlanta, a young man never expects what is waiting for him. In a hospital room the man who raised him, isn’t his father. Instead, he learns about his true parents and a feud that went horribly wrong. For years an uneasy balance of power between two powerful businessmen remained intact. But when one discovers his daughter is
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New Book for Review: Action Adventure ‘Tears in the Dust’ by Chuck Waldron

Chuck Waldron will be touring December 5 – 16 2011 with his action/adventure novel, Tears in the Dust! Tears in the Dust is a contemporary novel with gleams of hope intertwined within the despair of life. This is a story which serves to lift the reader up, only to take him back down into the darkness that lurks around the corners of one man’s life. Alestair “Alec” Ferguson beings a journey as a young man, off to enlist in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Samuel T. Harrison is a dark and warped detective with a deep hatred of communism. He is the dark and violent nemesis who makes
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New Book for Review: Fantasy ‘Remington & the Mysterious Fedora’ by Chuck Waldron

Chuck Waldron will be touring December 5 – 16 2011 with his fantasy novel, Remington & the Mysterious Fedora! Surprise is in store when, in the back of a strange used goods store, Josh finds an old Remington typewriter and a fedora with some very mysterious powers. As Josh embarks on his first novel writing adventure, he finds that his new hat has its own story to tell – of a time before history began – and is quite demanding of Josh’s attention. As the story consumes him, Josh’s life begins to unravel, and he soon finds he is unable to separate himself from the hat and the story.
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New Paranormal Romance Book for Review: Echo Falls by Jaime McDougall

Jaime McDougall will be touring in November and December with her paranormal romance novel Echo Falls. Running from a nightmare stalking her every move, Phoebe Martin arrives in Echo Falls hoping she has finally found a safe place to stop. But trouble has a way of catching up and soon the signs are there. After a vicious attack in an alley, policeman Aidan O’Bryan is left with Phoebe as his only path to understanding why the Echo Falls werewolf pack – his pack – is being attacked. When another pack member is killed, Phoebe is forced to confront her past before she loses Aidan and everything she has come
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New Book for Review: Black & Orange by Benjamin Kane Ethridge

Benjamin Kane Ethridge is touring in December with his dark fantasy horror novel Black & Orange. Forget everything you know about Halloween. The stories are distortions. They were created to keep the Church of Midnight hidden from the world. Every October 31st a gateway opens to a hostile land of sacrificial magic and chaos. Since the beginning of civilization the Church of Midnight has attempted to open the gateway and unite with its other half, the Church of Morning. Each year they’ve come closer, waiting for the ideal sacrifice to open the gateway permanently. This year that sacrifice has come. And only two can protect it. Martin and Teresa
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New Contemporary Romantic Comedy for Review: Teed Up for Love by Barbara Weitz

Barbara Weitz will be touring in December with her contemporary romantic comedy Teed Up for Love. SOMETIMES A WORKING GIRL BLOWS HER LID… Using her quick wit and take-charge attitude, Miranda Stiltgaard takes a marketing job for Stuart Golf Enterprises in Chicago determined to prove a well-educated girl raised in a small Alaskan town can succeed in a big city. WHEN ACCUSED OF A CRIME SHE DIDN’T DO… Embezzlement of company funds sends aloof London bachelor, Keegan Stuart, roaring into Chicago to ferret out a thief and protect the family business. THEN RISKS HEARTBREAK TO BOOT…. Miranda hates that this unreadable Brit sees her as a backwoods frontierswoman dragging
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New Thriller Novel for Review: Haunted by Douglas Misquita

Douglas Misquita will be touring in December with his thriller novel Haunted. FBI Special Agent Kirk Ingram’s life is torn apart when his family is brutally murdered before his eyes. Devastated physically and psychologically, he vows to destroy organized crime in all forms. In the Eastern bloc, a rogue dictator state is stockpiling Citex, a deadly nerve agent… Across the globe, an international trade house funnels Balkan organized crime activities through its business channels and now hatches a plot to distribute Citex to major cities in the world, creating a nexus with terror that threatens to bring the world order to the point of anarchy. And only one man
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New Book for Review: Contemporary Romance ‘It’s Simple’ by Michelle Richardson

Michelle Richardson is touring November 1 – 23 with her contemporary romance, It’s Simple! The general consensus is that relationships are easy to start but challenging to maintain. Although we may not think so, our choices ultimately determine the types of relationships we have. It’s truly funny how after we’ve contributed to the chaotic state of the relationship, we hire therapists to fix us, to tell us it’s not our fault when it typically is. The truth? Therapists don’t fix us; they provide tools that guide us. Ultimately, we find the solutions ourselves and, for the most part, we really need to forget what we’ve heard. Relationships can be
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Author Dr. Mitchell Gibson on The Passion of Writing

Writing is one of the greatest passions of my life. When I was eight years old, I wrote a two page short story describing the emotions that I experienced during my parents separation and divorce. My third grade teacher read the piece and was moved to tears. She drove to our home, read it to my mother, and insisted that she nurture my writing ability as much as possible. We didn’t have much money at the time, but my mother took what she had and purchased a set of World Book Encyclopedias. Those books were the greatest gift anyone had ever given me. They opened the world up to
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New Book for Review: Health & Fitness / Weight Loss Nonfiction ‘Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss’ by Nicolette Dumke

Nicolette Dumke will be touring December 5 – February 17 with her health & fitness/weight loss nonfiction book, Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss! Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss answers the question, “Why is it so hard to lose weight?” Because it’s hard to put a puzzle together if you’re missing some of the pieces. We’ve been missing or ignoring the most important pieces in the puzzle of how our bodies determine whether to store or burn fat. Those puzzle pieces are hormones such as insulin, cortisol, leptin, and others. In addition, we’ve been given some puzzle pieces that don’t belong or fit in the weight-control puzzle. Much
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November New Book for Review: Middle Grade Fantasy ‘The Door to Far-Myst’ by Mike DiCerto

Mike DiCerto will be touring November 1 – 23 with his middle grade fantasy novel, The Door to Far-Myst: The Adventures of Rupert Starbright (Vol. 1)! Rupert Dullz isn’t very happy. His grandmother’s coffus is getting worse, school is boring and there’s nothing to do on his days off but rake up endless piles of leaves. Everything in Graysland is, well, gray, and every day is just like the one before it, and the one before that. That is, until a strangely dressed man named Pie O’Sky swoops out of nowhere in his multicolored bagoon and offers a special reward to whoever can open his mysterious door. When Rupert
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New Book for Review: Historical Mystery ‘A Death for Beauty’ by Alberto Rios Arias

Alberto Rios Arias will be touring October 3 – 28 with his historical mystery novel, A Death for Beauty! Set during the Civil War, a troubled young woman struggles with her conscience after the suspicious death of her unfaithful husband. When her dreams of a new life seem hopeful, she ventures across the western plains with her sickly daughter in tow and an unscrupulous businessman who promises her a pot of gold. But the seeds of this dangerous venture—sown in blood—yield the unexpected and what she encounters along the fringes of the Oregon Trail in the dark corners of the prairies, will change her life forever. 297 pages You
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New Book for Review: Young Adult Urban Fantasy ‘Something Witchy This Way Comes’ by Veronica Blade

Veronica Blade is touring November 1 – 23 with her young adult urban fantasy novel, Something Witchy This Way Comes! Brainiac Tessa McClean’s newly discovered magical powers give her hope of an escape from her inadequate life. But the thrill of being a witch fades when she learns of a rival coven and begins to suspect her own coven’s objective. Evidence tells Tessa to trust one side, but instinct drives her toward the other. When Hayden Anders, the most delinquent kid in school — and the toughest — offers self-defense lessons in exchange for tutoring, the timing couldn’t be better. Though the idea of hanging out with a bad-boy
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October New Book for Review: Women’s Fiction ‘Veronica’s Nap’ by Sharon Bially

Sharon Bially will be touring October 3 – 28 with her women’s fiction novel, Veronica’s Nap! Veronica Berg has everything she needs to achieve her dream of becoming a painter including a charming home studio in Provence, a hard-working husband and a nanny who watches her two-year-old twins.  Yet instead of painting she spends her days secretly indulging in lengthy naps.  When her Moroccan-born, Sephardic husband grows impatient and challenges her to sell one painting, Veronica must find a way to break out of the seductive rut that’s overtaken her life.  Against the backdrop of the impending Iraq war, her journey reveals depression’s sunny mask and the dark side
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New Book for Review: Middle Grade Fiction ‘Dancing on the Inside’ by Glen Strathy

Glen Strathy will be touring November 1 – December 16 with his middle grade fiction novel, Dancing on the Inside! Sidelined by a paralyzing social phobia, a twelve-year-old girl uses determination and friendship to pursue her dream of becoming a ballet dancer in this uplifting novel for ages 9-12. Ever since her grandparents gave her a DVD of Swan Lake, twelve-year old Jenny Spark has wanted to be a dancer. But on her first day of ballet class, she suffers a panic attack and makes a horrifying discovery. She’s terrified of dancing in front of the other kids, and as for actually performing for an audience? Forget it. Yet
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