Book Feature: Sweet Carolina Morning by Susan Schild

 

Inside the Book:

Title: Sweet Carolina Morning
Author: Susan Schild

Release Date: August 2, 2016 

Publisher: Lyrical Press 

Genre: Contemporary Women

Format: Ebook/Paperback

Life down South just got a whole lot sweeter in Susan Schild's new novel about a woman whose happily-ever-after is about to begin...whether she's ready for it or not.

Finally, just shy of forty years old, Linny Taylor is living the life of her dreams in her charming hometown of Willow Hill, North Carolina. The past few years have been anything but a fairy tale: Left broke by her con man late-husband, Linny has struggled to rebuild her life from scratch. Then she met Jack Avery, the town's much-adored veterinarian. "And she's marrying him.

" Everything should be coming up roses for Linny. So why does she have such a serious case of pre-wedding jitters? It could be because Jack's prosperous family doesn't approve of her rough-and-tumble background. Or that his ex-wife is suddenly back on the scene. Or that Linny has yet to win over his son's heart. All these obstacles-not to mention what she should wear when she walks down the aisle-are taking the joy out of planning her wedding. Linny better find a way to trust love again, or she might risk losing the one man she wants to be with-forever...

"Charming, funny, feisty.I totally loved this novel." --Cathy Lamb, author of "My Very Best Friend "on "Linny's Sweet Dream List"

Meet the Author:

Susan has an undergraduate degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree (MSW) from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has used her professional background as a psychotherapist and corporate trainer to add authenticity to her characters.

Susan is a wife, a stepmother, and a dog lover. She and her family live near Raleigh, North Carolina where she is busy finishing up the third novel in the Willow Hill Series.

 

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Tour Schedule

Monday, August 8 - Book featured at 3 Partners in Shopping

Tuesday, August 9 - Book featured at Mello and June

Book featured at From Paperback to Leatherbound

Wednesday, August 10 - Book featured at A Title Wave

Thursday, August 11 - Book featured at Bound 2 Escape

Guest blogging at Voodoo Princess

Friday, August 12 - Book featured at CBY Book Club

Interviewed at The Writer's Life

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Monday, August 15 - Book featured at Bookjunkie's Book Blog

Tuesday, August 16 - Interviewed at The Review From Here

Book featured at My Bookish Pleasures

Wednesday, August 17 - Book featured at The Literary Nook

Guest blogging at Write and Take Flight

Thursday, August 18 - Book reviewed at Southeast by Midwest

Interviewed at Literal Exposure

Friday, August 19 - Book featured at A Room Without Books is Empty

Cover Reveal: The Hitman Who Loved Me by Shady Grace

About the Book:

Title: The Hitman Who Loved Me

Author: Shady Grace

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Genre: Women's Fiction

Format: Ebook

Is that a gun in his pocket or…?

Jamie Fields can hardly refuse a free vacation. Jobless and broke, the struggling single gal is in need of serious stress relief. Sure, the set up is suspicious—no one gives away a trip to exotic Cuba—complete with 50,000 dollars cash—just for delivering a package. But once Jamie’s enjoying sunny beach days and exhilarating tropical nights, she’s too happy to care. Especially when she finds herself hotly pursued by a sexy stranger…

The McCoy empire is under siege, and Sam Hayes has been tapped to take care of the culprit. Sam knows better than to get involved with his target, but there’s something about Jamie that keeps him from simply finishing the job and moving on. Maybe the hard-bodied hitman just can’t wrap his mind around the fact that the first woman to set his soul on fire is a common criminal. The only thing Sam can do is keep her close. An easy enough task—if Sam doesn’t do something stupid. Like fall in love with the bombshell he was sent to kill…. 

    

Meet the Author:

Shady Grace makes Northern Ontario her home, where the bush is so thick you can’t see two feet past the tree line. Perhaps the mystery of the woods was what initially sparked her need to write. She adores strong alpha males who fall for fiery, independent women, in settings with humorous dialogue and action-filled plots. Shady believes love and sex should be exciting and unforgettable. Being able to write about it is better than cheesecake.

Shady Grace is the new pen name of multi-published erotic author BL Bonita, who earned a starred review fromPublishers Weekly for Dark Sun Rising. Visit her website at shadygrace.weebly.com, and find her on Facebook at facebook.com/shadygraceerotica.

 

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Tour Schedule

The Review From Here

The Silver Dagger Scriptorium

All Inclusive Retort

Inkslinger’s Opus

Literal Exposure

I’m Shelf-ish

A Title Wave

A Taste of My Mind

Voodoo Princess

My Bookish Pleasures

Harmonious Publicity

Write and Take Flight

From Paperback to Leatherbound

My Bookish Pleasures

The Hype and the Hoopla

Interview with Mira Peck, author of My Men

Inside the Book:

Title: My Men 

Author: Mira Peck 

Publisher: iUniverse 

Pages: 322 

Genre: Fiction 

Format: Ebook

Alina Sherwin has had to fight for every victory in her life. Raised in Poland, she moves to Australia with her family as a young girl. There, in the early 1970s, she becomes the first woman in her state to graduate with an engineering degree and quickly finds that her new industry won’t employ her. Undaunted by rejection from the Australian scientific community and encouraged by her new American husband, Wayne, Alina decides to move again, in hopes of finding what she desires in his homeland.

To her distress, Wayne’s unconditional love is marred by his desire for an open marriage. She is shocked—and intrigued. Convinced that Wayne would make a great father, she resolves to have a baby with him, as long as his yearning is limited to words. On a return visit to Poland, Alina regains confidence in her abilities and finds peace in leaving her childhood behind. The American society that spawned a secular constitution and a vibrant feminist movement, promises to be an inspiring new home. Alina is ready to seek fulfillment once again.  

The Interview:

What was the hardest part about writing your book? 

Fashioning a coherent plot.

Do you have a favorite excerpt from the book? If so, can you share it? 

The ending: “Poland would forever claim my affection as the place where I blossomed, and now it was time to move on. America had its own dark elements, but a society which spawned a secular constitution and a vibrant feminist movement promised an inspiring new home. Would I be lucky yet again? I was ready to find out.”

What do you hope readers will take away after reading the book? 

That women can be smart, strong and kind.

Who or what is the inspiration for the book?

People who defied stereotypes, such as Dr. Rosalind Franklin, Amelia Earhart, and Bella Abzug.

Have you had a mentor? If so, can you talk about them a little? 

I had a mentor during my corporate career, but my writing benefited greatly from the constructive critiques of my writing group and several workshop leaders, especially Catherine Doty.

I have heard it said in order to be a good writer, you have to be a reader as well? Do you find this to be true? And if you are a reader, do you have a favorite genre and/or author? 

I am a voracious reader in many genres: poetry, fiction, history, autobiographies, detective stories. Some favorite authors are Jon Krakauer, Howard Fast, Erica Jong, Maya Angelou, Louis de Bernieres, John Irving, Richard Zachs, Wislawa Szymborska, Julian Tuwim.

Meet the Author:

Like Alina, her protagonist in My Men, Mira Peck grew up in Poland and Australia and built a career in the United States. She has degrees in chemical engineering, business, and law. She has received a Goldfinch Prize twice for her writing (prose, 2010; poetry, 2011), and from the San Francisco 2012 Book Festival for Sour Cherry Tree, a multi-genre collection. She and her husband, David, have two children and live in Denville, New Jersey.

Cover Reveal: Driven to Distraction by Olivia Dade

About the Book:

Title: Driven to Distraction (Lovestruck Librarians)

Author: Olivia Dade

Release Date: January 17, 2017

Publisher: Lyrical Shine

Genre: Women's Fiction

Format: Ebook

IF THE BOOKMOBILE’S ROCKING . . . 

Constance Chen is not the demure kind of librarian. Sure, her high-horsepower ride is Big Bertha the Bookmobile, but Con swears a blue streak, does her own home improvement, and wears steel-toed boots. She has a tight circle of friends, a demanding, beloved sprawl of a Chinese-American family, and a strict hookups-only policy when it comes to men. Her life is just how she wants it. Except for one maddeningly sexy footnote. 

Sam Wolcott, her friend’s baby brother and the library’s IT star, has been throwing sparks with Con since he moved to town. To everybody else, he’s a thoughtful, sensitive sweetheart. To Con, he’s a cantankerous pedant, because if they don’t fight nonstop their clothes will spontaneously combust. Sam needs a commitment Con won’t—can’t—give. And neither of them will chance their hard-won bonds for pure lust. 

Too bad Con and Sam have a whole week in a very tiny, very private space to sustain their dumb arguments. Alone. What happens in the Bookmobile might take their resistance right out of circulation . . . 

“Love is never out of reach for the librarians of the Nice Country Library System...Sarah's charm and humor are perfectly suited to a beach read.” --Publishers Weekly on Ready to Fall

    

Meet the Author:

While I was growing up, my mother kept a stack of books hidden in her closet. She told me I couldn’t read them. So, naturally, whenever she left me alone for any length of time, I took them out and flipped through them. Those books raised quite a few questions in my prepubescent brain. Namely: 1) Why were there so many pirates? 2) Did women really get kidnapped that often? 3) Where did all the throbbing come from? 4) What was a “manhood”?5) And why did the hero and heroine seem overcome by images of waves and fireworks every few pages, especially after an episode of mysterious throbbing in the hero’s manhood?

Thirty or so years later, I have a few answers. 1) Because my mom apparently fancied pirates at that time. Now she hoards romances involving cowboys and babies. If a book cover features a shirtless man in a Stetson cradling an infant, her ovaries basically explode and her credit card emerges. I have a similar reaction to romances involving spinsters, governesses, and librarians. 2) Yes, at least in romantic suspense novels. And it’s still gloriously dramatic.3) His manhood. Also, her womanhood. 4) It’s his “hard length,” sometimes compared in terms of rigidity to iron. I prefer to use other names for it in my own writing. However, I am not picky when it comes to descriptions of iron-hard lengths. At least in romances. 5) Because explaining how an orgasm feels can prove difficult. Or maybe the couples all had sex on New Year’s Eve at Cancun.

During those thirty years, I accomplished a few things. I graduated from Wake Forest University and earned my M.A. in American History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I worked at a variety of jobs that required me to bury my bawdiness and potty mouth under a demure exterior: costumed interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, high school teacher, and librarian. But I always, always read romances. Funny, filthy, sweet—it didn’t matter. I loved them all.

Now I’m writing my own romances with the encouragement of my husband and daughter. I found a kick-ass agent: Jessica Alvarez from Bookends, LLC. I have my own stack of books in my closet that I’d rather my daughter not read, at least not for a few years. I can swear whenever I want, except around said daughter. And I get to spend all day writing about love and iron-hard lengths.

So thank you, Mom, for perving so hard on pirates during my childhood. I owe you.

Visit her website: https://oliviadade.com

 

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Tour Schedule

The Silver Dagger Scriptorium

Dog Eared Publicity

The Review From Here

All Inclusive Retort

Inkslinger’s Opus

Literal Exposure

I’m Shelf-ish

A Title Wave

A Taste of My Mind

Voodoo Princess

My Bookish Pleasures

Harmonious Publicity

Write and Take Flight

From Paperback to Leatherbound

The Literary Nook

Confessions of an Eccentric Bookaholic

Book Feature: The Bomb That Never Was by J.R. Shaw

 

Inside the Book:

Title: The Bomb That Never Was

Author: J.R. Shaw

Publisher: iUniverse

Genre: Alternative History

Format: Ebook/Paperback

Praise for The Bomb That Never Was “Hitler has the bomb, and it's headed for the USA. This meticulously researched historical novel will have you asking, ‘What if?' This is an intelligent, fast-paced page-turner that will make you forget that you already know how it all turns out. Provocative, informative, and entertaining—I couldn't put it down.” —Joseph P. DeSario, author of Limbo and Sanctuary and coauthor of Crusade: Undercover Against the Mafia & KGB “Authoritative and credible in its attention to detail, The Bomb That Never Was captures the spirit and temper of the WWII years and raises some deep philosophical questions about loyalty, treason, and commitment to country. A page-turner … tough to put down … a story well told.” —Robert L. Aaron, journalist and public relations executive

Meet the Author:

J. R. Shaw is a pseudonym for a person who likes privacy, preferring to remain in the shadows. If you're interested in reading the next book, please turn to the back of this book and enjoy reading an excerpt from The Pieces. The Pieces will be out in 2016.

Book Feature: Mark Christopher by Stan Matthews

 

Inside the Book:

Title: Mark Christopher 

Author: Stan Matthews 

Publisher: iUniverse 

Genre: Coming of Age 

Format: Ebook/Paperback

As Mark Christopher grows up in a small railroad town during the Great Depression, he dreams of doing something special with his life. Instead, he must face one tragedy after the other as war looms. First, his parents die and then his brother while serving in the Pacific. When the war in Europe ends, Mark's sister sends him to live with their grandmother and her son. To please them, Mark is baptized in a Baptist church. While enrolled in college, he befriends a Wallabot Indian who unsuccessfully tries to save Mark's soul. Despite their religious differences, their friendship continues as Mark is offered a post-graduate scholarship contingent upon his admission to the ministry. Although Mark applies, he secretly believes he is unsuited. After he accepts a student pastorate position in a nearby church, he falls in love and marries. But when he shuns church leaders' advice and leads a group of black migrants to integrate the county fair, Mark is thrown in jail where he is forced to reflect on his life, his choices, and whether what has been done can be undone. Mark Christopher is the tale of one man's faithful journey through poverty and war and tragedy and opposition as he searches for his destiny and meaning in his life.

Meet the Author:

Stan Matthews is a veteran investigative reporter and retired pastor who has worked for both Canadian and American newspapers and served as a fund raiser for many institutions, including churches, colleges, hospitals, American Cancer Society, Easter Seals and PBS.

Guest post from Jena C. Henry, author of The Golden Age of Charli

 

Inside the Book:

Title: The Golden Age of Charli 

Author: Jena C. Henry 

Publisher: iUniverse 

Genre: Fiction 

Format: Ebook/Paperback

Charlotte McAntic spent her thirties, forties, and even fifties in peace and harmony aligning her marriage, mortgage, careers, and children. As she stumbles into a new phase of life—also known as the Golden Years—Charli cannot help but wonder where the gold and her husband, Pud, are hiding. Pud is happily cruising down the retirement path that, for him, leads straight to the golf course. While Charli spends her days at home cleaning out closets and the basement, she yearns to gaze deeply into Pud's blue eyes and remember all the reasons why she fell in love with him thirty years ago. Unfortunately, the only thing Pud is eying is the next fairway. Knowing there is more to savor in retirement than silver-hair shampoos, senior discounts, and hernia surgery, Charli embarks on a quest to do whatever it takes to spend retirement in the embrace of the man she loves. But is it too late for happily ever after? In this humorous novel, a high-energy wife and her solid guy must learn to adjust to a new chapter in their lives and find their way back into each other's hearts after their retirement begins with a jolt.  

Guest Post

A sunny day, saddle shoes, a group of bubbly kids on a school playground- do you remember jumping rope during recess? Two kids twirled the long clothesline rope as the girl who was poised and ready to jump in held her arms chest high and bobbed to the beat of the swishing rope. As she bounced in and jumped we all started to chant: 

Billy and Susie sittin’ in a tree, 

K-I-S-S-I-N-G! 

First comes love, 

Then comes marriage, 

Then comes Susie pushing the baby carriage.

If you remember that skipping rhyme, then you are like me and we both acquired our roadmap for life in the third grade. Like the directions on a GPS, we started on our journey with a boyfriend and K-I-S-S-I-N-G. At our first stop we found Love, a little further on the road of life we entered Marriage, and far off on the horizon we could see the Baby Carriage. The road was straight, wide open, no chance we could get lost. 

And that’s how life unfolded for me. What about you? I enjoyed it all except the road trip went by too fast. The Baby Carriage was left behind miles ago. What’s next? The grade school jumping jingle didn’t plot the land beyond parenthood. The song ended and I kept on rolling down the road. 

What is this uncharted area on our life road map called R-E-T-I-R-E-M-E-N-T? We didn’t sing about the R word on the playground. That’s what I was thinking about when I decided to write a novel. In my first book in a planned series, The Golden Age of Charli-RSVP, we meet Charlotte, known to family and friends as Charli. She has spent thirty years in peace and harmony with her solid husband. Then Charli and Pud jolt into retirement- what happens next? 

Who was this stranger in my house? I’d had high hopes that when we retired, we would have fun together. But what exactly should we do? Just take it easy and binge watch multiple TV seasons? I didn’t seriously expect that we would spend dreamy hours of bliss in twin hot tubs sighing at the ocean view, but I did crave some romance now that we had time together after the busy years. (The Golden Age of Charli- RSVP) 

Charli embarks on a quest to do whatever it takes to spend retirement in the embrace of the man she loves. But is it too late for happily ever after? Come stroll with Charli as she laughs and tells you all about life and love in retirement. 

  Meet the Author:

Jena C. Henry holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Akron, presents writing workshops, and loves good times with friends. Now retired, Jena and her husband, Alan, live in tropical Ohio where they enjoy their two adult children and extended family, friends, and darling dog. This is the first book in The Golden Age of Charli series.