Category Archives: Recommended

December 13, 2013 · 7:44 pm

Saturday Steals. Get Shopping!

Happy Holidays! As Christmas Draws Near it is time you get serious about finding those gifts. You can always give the gift of books. Whether choosing an author you know your friend loves, selecting a book you love to share or a gift certificate – get shopping.

I have found Classics, Children’s Books, Favorite Movies and more.
Bell Bridge Books event Vampires in America 7 days of giveaways. Vampire fans you have a chance to win books and more starting Friday 12/13/13.Give Away!

Classics. You can never go wrong with a classic and I have found some Steals. Kindle E-books for $0.99. A Steal.

Children’s Books. You know I love Dover Publications. I have a Steal. Check out the other marvelous Christmas books for young and old..

Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck. A Treasure!
Rob wants to get his father something special for Christmas this year — something that shows how much he really loves him. But it’s Christmas Eve, and he doesn’t have much money to spend. What could he possibly get? Suddenly, Rob thinks of the best gift of all…
Author of nearly a hundred books for children and adults, and winner of both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, Pearl S. Buck has captured the spirit of Christmas in this elegant, heartwarming story about a boy’s gift of love. Originally published in 1955, this classic story is now being issued, for the first time ever, as a picture book with glorious full-color art by acclaimed artist Mark Buehner. A welcome addition to everyone’s holiday collection, this timeless treasure will bring the true meaning of Christmas to the entire family for generations to come.

MOVIE Classics! My Seasonal Favorites.

You can’t go wrong with a gift card from Amazon either.

Check out the Christmas Wallpaper for your computer below. Happy Holidays!

Favorite photos I found of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

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December 6, 2013 · 6:15 pm

Christmas Saturday Steals

I have searched over the river and through the woods for some Christmas theme Saturday Steals.

First is Vicki Batman. Vicki is a friend with a kind heart. I recommend her work and we have 2 Christmas offerings. Further along when we reach Grandmother’s house we have anthologies and cookie recipes. Merry Christmas to All, and to All Good Reading!

The Great Fruitcake Bake-off by Vicki Batman. $2.50 from Smashwords.com or Amazon – The Great Fruitcake Bake-Off A STEAL!

When a five-time champ teams up with her new neighbor for The Great Fruitcake Bake-off, they discover baking a prize-winning entry is complicated, bad guys are plotting to take the crown, and first prize isn’t just about a ribbon.

Twinkle Lights by Vicki Batman. $2.50 from Smashwords.com. or Amazon
Twinkle Lights A STEAL!
A do-gooder joins forces with a reformed delinquent turned lawyer to run a Christmas tree stand benefiting the children’s hospital. When the money goes missing, fingers are pointed.

Also by Vicki Batman:

Man Theory and Other Stories by Vicki Batman. $0.99 from Smashwords.com or Amazon Kindle: Man Theory and Other Stories A STEAL!

Three fun, quick reads from Sassy Writer Vicki Batman “Ouch” – Who knew a yoga class would be so dangerous…and romantic? “Man Theory” – When a geeky co-worker espouses his theory on love, a friend risks her heart. “Tommy and the Teacher” – A young boy steals from the school’s book fair causing interesting possibilities to arise.

Little Birdie Who…and Other Stories by Vicki Batman. $2.99 from Smashwords.com or Amazon Kindle Little Birdie Who…and Other Stories
“This is NOT Working”: A day at a new job when nothing is going right until the new boss steps in. “Check Her Out”: Gum: it’s a sticky situation, especially between the store manager and Auntie Caren when her nephew has to pay for the package he stole. “Little Birdie Who… “: A new town, a new friend, a new beginning. Who would have thought a little bird could bring two people together?

The Heart of Christmas by Patricia McLinn, Judith Arnold and Kathryn Shay. A STEAL! AT $.99.
In Wyoming Wildflowers: The Beginning, discover how it all started in this much-anticipated prequel novella to the bestselling and award-winning Wyoming Wildflowers series by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn. Ed’s and Donna’s worlds couldn’t have been any more different – a rancher from Wyoming and an up-and-coming Broadway musical actress on a national tour. What could have been a momentary encounter sparks desire . . . and more. But can there be anything but heartbreak ahead when they have only days before their dreams pull them apart?

In Almost An Angel, Conor Malone manages to hold things together for his daughter Amy after his wife’s death, until someone tells her Santa will bring her mother back for Christmas. How can Conor force Amy to accept reality without ruining her holiday? With help from Eliza Powell, the alluring new school psychologist—and the Daddy School.

In Flashover, Nick Evans, a captain in the Hidden Cove fire department, believes he committed the worst of crimes, even if it was to protect his little sister. He’s not ready for a relationship with Stacey Sterling, a firefighter’s widow who’s determined to help him heal. But on Christmas, Nick learns the meaning of redemption and love.

Christmas Hearts Anthology by Sadie Hart and Kodilynn Calhoun
also available at

Smashwords a STEAL at $2.99.

And FREE! by Sadie Hart for Christmas: Silver Bells

A STEAL AT $2.99.

And for FREE!

Shop Amazon – Get the New Kindle Fire HDX Tablet

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December 1, 2013 · 1:46 am

Sunday Shout Out 12/1/13

A new Meme that I am all about. I read so many books but getting reviews done for all of them is a challenge. You can participate too, just check out the Meme rules below, and check my Shout Out!

Is there ever such a thing as too many books? I don’t think there are too many books to read, but there can definitely be too many to review. If you are sent more books than you can review or read or the TBR pile is a mountain than Sunday Shout-Out allows us to acknowledge books and the publishers.

Sunday Shout-Out is a bookish meme hosted by Monique of Write Note Reviews. If you’re a book blogger and you want to join in, just:

Share the title, author, blurb and image from a book (or more than one) you want to acknowledge.
Share the genre, price and link to the publisher so readers can follow-up if they like the sound of the book.
Ping back to Write Note Reviews in your post. And if you can pingback to me, thank you.

This week I want to give a shout out to a book stacked in my TBR. I have scanned this book, want to read and but haven’t as yet. There are certain non-fiction books I am a fan of, one category is language. Years ago I read The Mother Tongue – English And How It Got That Way
and thoroughly enjoyed. But many linguists believe Bryson, while an excellent travel author and storyteller, has it wrong. There are not 24 or whatever number of words for snow in the ‘Eskimo’ language as Bryson asserts. If you enjoy learning about word origins, as I do check out this book.

The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax and Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language
by Geoffrey K. Pullum.

How reliable are all those stories about the number of Eskimo words for snow? How can lamps, flags, and parrots be libelous? How might Star Trek’s Commander Spock react to Noam Chomsky’s theories of language? These and many other odd questions are typical topics in this collection of essays that present an occasionally zany, often wry, but always fascinating look at language and the people who study it.

Geoffrey K. Pullum’s writings began as columns in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory in 1983. For six years, in almost every issue, under the banner “TOPIC. . .COMMENT,” he published a captivating mélange of commentary, criticism, satire, whimsy, and fiction. Those columns are reproduced here—almost exactly as his friends and colleagues originally warned him not to publish them—along with new material including a foreword by James D. McCawley, a prologue, and a new introduction to each of these clever pieces. Whether making a sneak attack on some sacred cow, delivering a tongue-in-cheek protest against current standards, or supplying a caustic review of some recent development, Pullum remains in touch with serious concerns about language and society. At the same time, he reminds the reader not to take linguistics too seriously all of the time.

Pullum will take you on an excursion into the wild and untamed fringes of linguistics. Among the unusual encounters in store are a conversation between Star Trek’s Commander Spock and three real earth linguists, the strange tale of the author’s imprisonment for embezzling funds from the Campaign for Typographical Freedom, a harrowing account of a day in the research life of four unhappy grammarians, and the true story of how a monograph on syntax was suppressed because the examples were judged to be libelous. You will also find a volley of humorous broadsides aimed at dishonest attributional practices, meddlesome copy editors, mathematical incompetence, and “cracker-barrel philosophy of science.” These learned and witty pieces will delight anyone who is fascinated by the quirks of language and linguists.

Happy Thanksgiving and Saturday Steals

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for the friends I have made and the wonderful people who stop by my blog. I hope you have a warm and loving holiday with loved ones.

If You are a Crafter, stop by my blog So Many Crafts – I have crafting deals and some holiday crafting ideas!

Thanksgiving is bringing many wonderful STEALS this week. I am posting early because some of these steals end Sunday.

Dover Publications is a wonderful site. If you have never visited take a look. And take advantage of this STEAL valid until 12/1/13. $20 off an order of $40 or more! Use code THNKS. Dover has educational books, how to draw, postcards, engineering, math, crafts, classic literature and more. I am a big fan of the coloring books.

The Wild Rose Press is offering 50% off all digital books www.thewildrosepress.com and download the 2013 Holiday Garden Gourmet for free. I see no listing on how long this sale lasts but I know it is valid today and Black Friday. Free shipping on paperbacks with a minimum order of $50 or more, use code FSPB10. STEAL!

Ordinary Grace: A Novel By William Kent Krueger. Amazon Kindles Daily Deal is a STEAL at $2.99 and a joy. Recommended.

“That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.”

New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president.

But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family— which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother— he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

Tucker’s Way by David Johnson.
FREE!

Tucker’s childhood was steeped in abuse and poverty, therefore she trusts no one and lives as isolated a life as she can. But Tucker needs help or she risks losing her grandchildren she is raising.

Into Tucker’s private life steps Ella, whose childhood was a life of privilege but her marriage was a private life of abuse. As Tucker’s new neighbor, Ella’s openness about her life crashes headlong into Tucker’s closed-door attitude and Tucker is forced to rethink her view of the world.

It is Tucker’s four-year-old, mute granddaughter, April, that becomes the fulcrum that pries open the vault door on Tucker’s heart and allows Ella to step inside.
Tucker’s Way, a tale set in the rural south, is an inspirational story about overcoming incredible odds.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Coming Soon Pre-Order. Weeks 11/25 and 12/2

Some marvelous books are on the radar for release in the next two weeks. Enjoy the start of the holiday season with some good books.
The Supreme Macaroni Company: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani. Available November 26, 2013.

In The Shoemaker’s Wife Adriana Trigiani swept her readers across generations of an Italian family, from the Italian Alps at the turn of the twentieth century to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy. In The Supreme Macaroni Company, she weaves a heartbreaking story that begins on the eve of a wedding in New York’s Greenwich Village, travels to New Orleans, and culminates in Tuscany. Family, work, romance, and the unexpected twists of life and fate all come together in an unforgettable narrative that Adriana Trigiani’s many fans will adore.

Command Authority (A Jack Ryan Novel)by Tom Clancy. Available December 3, 2013.
There’s a new strong man in Russia but his rise to power is based on a dark secret hidden decades in the past. The solution to that mystery lies with a most unexpected source, President Jack Ryan.

Robert Ludlum’s (TM) The Bourne Retribution (Jason Bourne) by Eric Von Lustbader. Available December 3, 2013.
Jason Bourne is one of the most popular and compelling characters in modern fiction. Originally created by bestselling author Robert Ludlum, now New York Times bestselling writer Eric Van Lustbader carries on Ludlum’s legacy with a new novel about the rogue secret agent who has lost his memory.

Home For the Haunting: A Haunted Home Renovation Mysteryby Juliet Blackwell. Available December 3, 2013.

No good deed goes unpunished.
San Francisco contractor Mel Turner is leading a volunteer home renovation project, and while she expects lots of questions from her inexperienced crew, she can’t help asking a few of her own—especially about the haunted house next door…the place local kids call the Murder House.

But when volunteers discover a body while cleaning out a shed, questions pile up faster than discarded lumber. Mel notices signs of ghostly activity next door and she wonders: Are the Murder House ghosts reaching out to her for help, or has the house claimed another victim?

Now, surprised to find herself as the SFPD’s unofficial “ghost consultant,” Mel must investigate murders both past and present before a spooky killer finishes another job.

Other books in the series include: If Walls Could Talk: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery (Haunted Home Repair Mystery), Dead Bolt: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery (Haunted Home Repair Mystery) and Murder on the House: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery (Haunted Home Repair Mystery).

Dangerous Women Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. Available December 3, 2013. Original work from Jim Butcher, Diana Gabaldon, Sherrilyn Kenyon and more.

All new and original to this volume, the 21 stories in Dangerous Women include work by twelve New York Times bestsellers, and seven stories set in the authors’ bestselling continuities—including a new “Outlander” story by Diana Gabaldon, a tale of Harry Dresden’s world by Jim Butcher, a story from Lev Grossman set in the world of The Magicians, and a 35,000-word novella by George R. R. Martin about the Dance of the Dragons, the vast civil war that tore Westeros apart nearly two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones.

Also included are original stories of dangerous women–heroines and villains alike–by Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Sherilynn Kenyon, Lawrence Block, Carrie Vaughn, S. M. Stirling, Sharon Kay Penman, and many others.

Writes Gardner Dozois in his Introduction, “Here you’ll find no hapless victims who stand by whimpering in dread while the male hero fights the monster or clashes swords with the villain, and if you want to tie these women to the railroad tracks, you’ll find you have a real fight on your hands. Instead, you will find sword-wielding women warriors, intrepid women fighter pilots and far-ranging spacewomen, deadly female serial killers, formidable female superheroes, sly and seductive femmes fatale, female wizards, hard-living Bad Girls, female bandits and rebels, embattled survivors in Post-Apocalyptic futures, female Private Investigators, stern female hanging judges, haughty queens who rule nations and whose jealousies and ambitions send thousands to grisly deaths, daring dragonriders, and many more.”

Beneath This Man (This Man Trilogy) by Jodi Ellen Malpas. Available in paperback November 26, 2013. Currently available as an ebook.

Jesse Ward drowned her with his intensity and blindsided her with his passion, but he kept her away from his dark secrets and broken soul. Leaving him was the only way Ava O’Shea could survive. She should have known that Jesse Ward is impossible to escape–and now he’s back in her life, determined to remind her of the sensual pleasures they had shared. Ava is equally determined to get at the truth beneath this man’s steely exterior. That means letting herself get close to the Lord of the Manor once more. And it’s exactly where Jesse wants her–within touching distance.

Also available This Man
. and This Man Confessed (This Man Trilogy)
The third book will be released as a paperback 1/21/2014 but is available as an ebook now.

I recommend Amazon Prime.

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November 24, 2013 · 11:41 am

Review: The Forest Bull

The Forest Bull by Terry Maggert. See interview with author in next post.

The author’s synopsis from my interview request:

“Three lovers who stalk and kill the immortals that drift through South Florida (tourists are a moveable feast, after all) are living a simple life of leisure until one of them is nearly killed by woman who is a new kind of lethal.

When Ring Hardigan isn’t making sandwiches for, and with, his two partners, Waleska and Risa (they’re cool like that), he’s got a busy schedule doing the dirty work of sending immortals to the ever after. Wally and Risa provide linguistics, logistics, and finding the right place for him and his knife together, they’re a well-oiled machine, and they’ve settled into a rhythm that bodes ill for the Undying. Warlocks, vampires, succubae and the odd ghoul have all fallen to their teamwork. Life is tough, but they soldier on killing the undead, liberating their worldly goods for charity, and generally achieving very little.

Until Ring wakes up after nearly dying at the hands of a woman who may or may not be the daughter of Satan. Ring’s a tough character, for a boat bum (killing immortals sort of rubs off on you that way), but twelve days of comatose healing are enough to bring out the ugly side of his temper. When a letter arrives asking for their help finding a large collection of stolen heirloom jewelry, they form an uneasy friendship with the last Baron of a family hiding in a primal European forest.

Cazimir, the Baron, has two skills: Jeweler and preserver of the last herd of forest bulls. It’s an odd occupation, but then, Ring, Risa and Wally aren’t your everyday career folks, and Cazimir’s lodge might be sitting on something that looks a lot like hell, which, according to a 2400 year old succubus hooker named Delphine, is currently on the market to the strongest immortal. The Baron’s impassioned plea to find the jewelry comes with some conditions – he doesn’t want the collection back as much as he does the thief, Elizabeth, who happens to be his daughter – and the woman who nearly sent Ring to his grave.

In a tapestry of lies, it’s up to Ring, Wally and Risa to find out what is evil, who is human, and exactly who really wants to reign over hell.”

I don’t need to provide a synopsis as the author has given a thorough synopsis, so onto my thoughts and feedback. The first chapter begins with a bang dragging the reader into the world of Ring. A fantastic beginning! Also the author weaves his words well and reminiscent of poetry.

Reading the book you learn a great deal about the author. Mr. Maggert is a history teacher and this is revealed throughout the book. My degree was in history so the descriptions of European politics from the author’s point of view didn’t bother me as a historian, but as a reader the digression did not add to the story. The novel is heavy with description, for this reason the book falls more into literary fiction than genre fiction. However the topic of the novel is a combination of genres, horror and fantasy. A dark and nasty fantasy where immortals are primarily unrepentant predators. The Forest Bull, Cazimir is confusing. Is he Satan? Is his daughter Elizabeth Satan? Is the lodge hell. The lack of clarity can be maddening or intriguing depending on what type of reader is partaking of the novel.

The characters all have a questionable morality. Ring, Wally and Risa live a lazy and somewhat decadent lifestyle. As they begin to question what they believe and know I was disappointed they did not come to the conclusion that they may be as evil as the villains. A comparison to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake can be drawn here. Blake saw all vampires as evil at the beginning of the series but changes as it continues.

The immortals are bad and have a wealthy Euro-trash lifestyle. They are vicious sociopaths. They are not teenage angst vampires nor well- dressed business clients with a taste for blood as in Hamilton’s Anita Blake or Sookie Stackhouse’s lovers as written by Charlaine Harris’s. All the characters, including Ring and roommates, lifestyles create an entirely disturbing atmosphere.

The introduction of Delphine adds a different spin to immortals. She is a succubus and as she reveals her history to Ring I could not put down the book. The writing and revelation made the book more intriguing. An introduction to a lone immortal hunter from the Midwest adds further texture to the story.

The Forest Bull is a fresh spin on horror and fantasy. Other than the heavy description of places and history which detracts from the story, the reader will be compelled to find out what happens next. Recommended.

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November 23, 2013 · 11:27 pm

Saturday Steals 11/23/13

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful day after shopping experience.
Most of the steals I list are books I recommend or want to read. I have a diverse reading spectrum. Would you rather I sort my Steals and Recommended from the Coming Soon PreOrder by Genre? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Pastor Chris by S. A. David. $2.99 from Smashwords.com

In Pastor Chris, reality began with reality and metamorphosed into déjà vu; and déjà vu changed to jamais vu. Jamais vu became etre vu; and etre vu bounced back to reality. And reality ended with a hard reality.

A STEAL at only $2.99. I can’t wait to read. Jamais and etre are French just as deja vu.

Jamaiz vu: Often described as the opposite of déjà vu, jamais vu involves a sense of eeriness and the observer’s impression of seeing the situation for the first time, despite rationally knowing that he or she has been in the situation before. Jamais vu is more commonly explained as when a person momentarily does not recognize a word, person, or place that they already know.

Etre vu: My translation is To Be Seen.

Next some Amazon Kindle Countdown deals.

Grave Girl by Amy Cross. Today it is a STEAL at $0.99. Tomorrow the price goes up to $1.99 – Still a great price.

When Sam Marker ran away from her old life, all she needed was a job and somewhere to live. Anything would do. And then, one fateful day, she saw that the town of Rippon was looking for a new gardener…

Unfortunately for Sam, the ‘garden’ is actually a cemetery, and it just so happens to contain the deadliest grave in the world.

As she tries to adjust to her new life in the sleepy little town, Sam finds herself increasingly drawn into a strange double life. Dark forces are gathering in Rippon, seeking access to the Devil’s grave, and soon she finds herself trapped in the middle of a struggle that could decide the fate of the world.

Originally published in serial form, Grave Girl is now available in this omnibus edition. Total word count is approximately 130,000. Contains swearing, violence and mild sexual references.

A Certain Threat (The Merriman Chronicles)
.By Roger Burnage. A STEAL today at $1.99, tomorrow price will go up to $2.99 finally price is $4.50. Literature for Steal pricing through Amazon Kindle Countdown.

With French Revolutionary agents travelling freely but secretly between Ireland and England and war with France inevitable, the English government of Mr. Pitt is desperately anxious to uncover any plots between Irish rebels and the French.

Lieutenant James Merriman with his ship, the sloop Aphrodite, is ordered to the Irish Sea to assist the principal Treasury agent Mr. Grahame in this work. Merriman is plunged headlong into the world of espionage and when Grahame is seriously wounded it falls to Merriman to carry on the investigation.

Young James Merriman must keep all his wits about him to foil these plans especially when his adversary is revealed to be an exceptional French agent Henri Moreau who hopes that by helping the Irish to throw off the English yoke, France will be able to use Irish ports from which to attack England.

Whiskey Sour – A Thriller (Jack Daniels Mysteries) by J.A. Konrath. A STEAL today at $0.99. Will eventually go up to $3.99 so grab your mystery steal today.

Itsy Bitsy Spider (Emma Frost #1)
by Willow Rose. FREE! A savings from the print price of $12.44. And you can read a new mystery series – yippee for series.

Emma Frost inherits a house on Fanoe Island when her grandmother dies. She decides to move there with her family, much to her teenage-daughter’s regret. One morning a wealthy old woman in her street is found murdered and soon Emma finds herself wrapped in a mystery uncovering the island’s dark secrets that not only runs deep within the history of the island but also within her own family.

From the author of the International Bestselling books, the Rebekka Franck-series comes a new Scandinavian Mystery destined to keep you up all night. It is the first in her newly released Emma Frost-series and is followed by MISS POLLY HAD A DOLLY and RUN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN.