Showing posts with label Blog Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Tour. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Excerpt and Giveaway for: Are You Still Kidding Me? by Stacey Gustafson





*About Are You Still Kidding Me?*


Ever finish your kid's homework? Netflix cheat on your husband? Try to explain Alexa to your mother?

If so, you’re not alone—Stacey Gustafson’s back at it again with Are You Still Kidding Me? In this hilarious and heartwarming sequel to her #1 Amazon bestseller Are You Kidding Me? My Life with an Extremely Loud Family, Bathroom Calamities, and Crazy Relatives. Gustafson tackles the foibles of modern family life—from toddlers and teens to empty nesters—with wry wit and plenty of humor.

Grab a cup of coffee, ease into the easy chair, and be prepared to laugh out loud along with Gustafson—she may not be your new best friend, but you’ll feel like she is by the time you’ve finished these forty-five stories of family life, written by a mother who’s seen it all.


Excerpt



I Netflix Cheated on My Husband

I tried ways to end my deception, but nothing worked. To protect my indiscretion, I routinely deleted my Internet browser history, shredded phone bills and swore my friends to secrecy. I Netflix cheated on my husband.
            How did this begin you ask? I blame it on the old-fashioned dinner-and-a-movie routine. Our choices had boiled down to The Lego Batman Movie and Fifty Shades Darker. Why were we wasting our money on this crap? So, we traded a night out for a night in.
            It all started so innocently.
            Cable television options are limitless. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Now, the list goes on. No need to go to the theater when you can indulge in more than fifty hours, or five seasons of thirteen episodes. Intriguing shows like Shooter, Stranger Things, Dexter, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and House of Cards sucked us in faster than a fur ball to a Dust Buster.
            Netflix, where’ve you been my whole life?
            We clicked through cable channels and realized we’d only scraped the surface of the Netflix barrel.
            On Saturday night, we trolled the channels and found The Killing, a crime drama based in Seattle, featuring homicide detective Sarah Linden and her sidekick, Holder. It had more red herrings than a fish farm, and we were addicted by the first hour.
            “Man, this is good,” I said, after three episodes. “One more.”
            “No can do,” said my husband, shaking his head. “Got to get up early.”
            “Come on,” I said, batting my eyelashes. “Please.”
            “Fine, one more. But that’s it.”
            Season One, Episode Four, here we come.
            By Sunday evening, we squeezed in Episodes Five and Six.
            “Got to call it quits now,” he said, rubbing his eyes and giving me a glassy stare. “Up for work by six.”
            “Okay,” I said, fidgeting on the sofa. “I’m going stay up a little and read. Night.”
            “No cheating. We agreed to watch this together.”
            Think again, sucker.
            The glow of the television beckoned. What would it hurt? I slammed shut The Girl on the Train and clicked on Episode Seven. I snuggled into my soft throw blanket, popped a can of Coke and let the drama begin. Heck, I’d rewatch it the next time we were together. He’d never know. But I knew I’d crossed the line.
            I had become a Netflix cheater.
            After he left for work the next day, I thought, “What would it hurt to take a little peek?”
            Bam, hooked again, and I binged-watched five more episodes.
            Around 6:00 PM, I texted him, “What time you coming home for dinner?”
            “Thirty minutes.”
            Oh crap, he’ll be here soon.
            “Can you pick up some milk and…um…um…pimentos?”
            He’ll be searching for hours.
            I needed to buy some time to finish Season One. I couldn’t stand not knowing what was happening. Would they catch the real killer? What’s that new evidence they keep talking about?
            Suddenly, I detected the slow hum of the garage door. How the hell did he find the damn pimentos that fast? With a loud bang, the door clanged shut on the concrete floor. I hit “off” on the remote.
            He strolled into the room, and his green eyes scrutinized the screen.
            “Were you watching The Killing?”
            “No way. We promised to watch together.”
            “Where did we leave off anyway?” he said, trying to trip me up with probing questions. He clicked on the three-way light on the end table next to me.
            “Hey, turn that off,” I said, holding a hand to cover my eyes. “So bright.”
            What is this Guantanamo?
            “Well?” he asked again.
            “I think it’s the one where they discover that kid in the teacher’s apartment,” I said, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants.
            “Wrong.”
            “Um, I’m not sure,” I said, as I leaned in and heard the distinct drip of the kitchen faucet. My armpits sweated more than a hot flash.
            “Did you watch more episodes?” he said, eyebrows pinched together, as he squeezed in between the arm of the sofa and my body until our thighs touched. “You can trust me. I won’t get mad.”
            “Fine,” I blurted out. “I couldn’t help it. I Netflix cheated.”
            Seriously, dude, you’ve been out of town so much I had to get my fix.
            “Why?”
            “I’m sorry,” I said, staring down at my feet. “It’s just so good. Never planned it to go this far.”
            “Promise not to watch anymore?” he said, cocking his head to one side.
            I vowed to keep my promise, turned on the television and started scrolling for something else to watch. We’d considered binging on Shooter after watching the previews on Netflix, a drama series based on a former military sniper called back into action to prevent a plot to kill the President.
            But when I clicked on it, I noticed that the red bar underneath, the one that indicated if it had been recently viewed, had disappeared.
            What?! Holy cow, he’s Netflix cheated on me!
            I lost all sense of remorse and settled in for hours of binging on Shooter. Two can play this game.



*Find the Book*

Are You Still Kidding Me? is 99 cents now through September 30th!



  
*About Stacey Gustafson*

Amazon best-selling author Stacey Gustafson is a guest speaker, humor columnist, and blogger who has experienced the horrors of being trapped inside a pair of SPANX. Her blog, Are You Kidding Me? is based on her suburban family and everyday life. Her short stories have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul and seven books in the Not Your Mother's Book series. Her work appears in Midlife Boulevard, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, ZestNow, More.com, Pleasanton Patch, Lost in Suburbia, Better After 50 and on her daughter's bulletin board. 

She writes about parenting and daily frustrations like her dislike of the laundry, self-checkout lanes, public restrooms, Brussels sprouts, roundabouts, and being middle-aged. Her book, Are You Kidding Me? My Life With an Extremely Loud Family, Bathroom Calamities, and Crazy Relatives, released Sept. 2014.

To learn more, visit:



*Giveaway Link*


Monday, September 11, 2017

The Penitent Part II Blog Tour and Giveaway



Genre:  Young Adult, Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
The next novel in The Immortality Wars series continues . . . Her parents are viciously murdered by a band of killers. Hidden in the bottom of a roadside ditch as a baby in swaddling clothes, Evangel is only steps away from them. An old hermit, Matthew Greatworth, finds her the day after this tragedy unfolds. She is touched by a rare spiritual power and raised by Matthew in the heart of a sylvan wilderness. Evangel grows up in the quaint hermitage Matthew built years ago. In her 17th year, outlaws terrorize Matthew while she is away. The young girl reaches him just as his eyes are carved out of their sockets and placed on a stump before him. The miracles and struggles against those seeking to kill her, as well as those disbelieving the power of her presence, all come together in a battle of good versus evil. In a vision of clarity and prescience amidst her struggle for survival and meaning, she finds her future soul mate, Pall Warren, on a battlefield of death, and casts a prayer of protection around him. Evangel's remarkable journey to save herself, her newfound friends and then those who believe in her, brings to the reader a hauntingly beautiful and startling tale of wonder.



My Thoughts:


This book far exceeded my expectations, I loved the premise when I read it. The characters are so well developed. It is extremely believable.  I love both Matthew and Evangel.  Their spiritual growth and strength are what you want to read about in a book like this. At one point, Evangel sees a wolf give birth. The mother and all but three of the pups die. She takes the pups home where she and Matthew raise them.  It was at this point as the story began to unfold I was reminded of C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe".  The wolves had a role I had not foreseen which made this so endearing.  I really don't want to say too much. I had not read the first book in this series. I did purchase it because I loved this one so much and I wanted to find out what came before. This one reads as a stand-alone book, so if you have not read the first one you will be pulled in from the very first page. I had not heard of this author before. I will definitely recommend this book to others.





A. Keith Carreiro's Bio: A. Keith Carreiro earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard Graduate School of Education, with the sequential help and guidance of three advisors, Dr. Vernon A. Howard, Dr. Donald Oliver and Professor Emeritus, Dr. Israel Scheffler. Keith’s academic focus, including his ongoing research agenda, centers upon philosophically examining how creativity and critical thinking are acquired, learned, utilized and practiced in the performing arts. He has taken his findings and applied them to the professional development of educational practitioners.

Earlier in his teaching career he was a professor of educational foundations, teaching graduate students of education at universities in Vermont, Florida, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor of English at Bridgewater State University, as well as teaching English, philosophy, humanities and public speaking courses at Bristol Community College.

He lives in Swansea, Massachusetts. He has six children and 13 grandchildren. He belongs to an eighty–five–pound golden retriever, an eight–pound Maltese, and an impish Calico cat.

Due to his love of family, he has seen his fervor for history, as well as his passion for wondering about the future, deepen dramatically.

Starting on May 23rd until October 9th of 2014, he sat down at his computer on a daily basis and began writing the first book of a science fiction/fantasy thriller in a beginning series about the quest for human immortality. 

Links:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, June 5, 2017

Adunni Dares to Dream by Taiwo I Ajao

Genre: Children, Historical Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.




Write Now Literary is pleased to announce Adunni Dares to Dream by Taiwo I Ajao, Virtual Book Tour, June 5-30, 2017.

My Review:
This was a wonderful book, full of hope and faith. This is the true story of a young girl who with the help of her family and friends realized her dream of going to school.  Throughout the book, we see how God worked in her life to bring her dream to reality.  We also see how God worked in the life of a young man who loved her for so many years. Both of them realize their dreams. This is a book I would willingly put on the shelves of my middle-grade classes.  It is a simple biography, historical fiction, yet has a message every child should hear. If you really want something, then you need to reach for the stars and let nothing stand in your way.


Author/Illustrator Bio
The Dr. Ajaos are a husband-wife, doctor-nurse team who have a joint passion for health literacy, preventative healthcare, and education for at-risk groups in the Global setting. Mrs. Taiwo I Ajao, the Author, is a Registered Nurse with a Master’s in Public Health in Maternal and Child Health, while Dr. ‘Wale Ajao, the Illustrator, is an internationally-trained medical doctor with a Master's of Arts in Communications & Producing for Film and Video. Together, The DrAjaos intend to address health literacy via it’s most fundamental forms: using the arts of writing, entertainment, and communication to educate children and their parents. Adunni Dares to Dream is the beginning of a beautiful merger of not just a celebration of educational achievement, but also of Faith, Hope, Love and Miracles.
About The Book
Adunni Dares to Dream is the true tale of a poor African girl who just wanted to go to school. Although she was a part of a very hardworking family, Adunni just could not have the finer things in life, like school, books, & literacy. In her culture, girls were just expected to look pretty, get married and have children. But Adunni wished for something more.
As Adunni dares to dream , she inspires many others to dream too, including a handsome young man who couldn't stop dreaming about her! So Adunni has choices to make. Does she give in to her society's expectations? Does she chose the status quo? What are Adunni's dreams and where do her dreams take her?
Excerpt
Whenever Adunni brought up the idea of school, somehow Mama found a way to end it. Despite the fact that she was illiterate, Mama was sharp, hardworking and very resourceful with money. Mama had married young, as was common in the culture, and she started to bear children as a teenager. It was unfortunate, however, that she experienced the loss of many of those children during childbirth. Only Adunni and her sister had survived, and Adunni wondered often about what she could have done to save those who hadn't made it. Adunni was tearful as she remembered how her mother had nearly died last year during childbirth. Was every girl expected to get married and have children, even if it killed her? Adunni didn’t want to be like other girls: she wanted to be great! Adunni believed that to be great, she must be smart and be able to read, and learn great things. 
Amazon Link 
Tour hosted by Write Now Literary

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Remembrance by Carolyn Twede Frank Review and Blog Tour




Remembrance Book Blog Tour
December 1 Carolyn Twede Frank - franklycreative.blogspot.com
December 2 Sheila Staley - whynotbecauseIsaidso.blogspot.com
December 3 Susan Tietjen - susantietjen.blogspot.com
December 4 Sandra Stile - themusingsofabookaddict.com
December 5 Christy Frazier - pocketcheerleader.com
December 6 Christy Monson - christymonson.blogspot.com
December 7 Kathryn Olsen - kakiolsenbooks.com
December 8 Donna K. Weaver - weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com




Genre:  Young Adult, Christian, Adventure
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

It seems that Josh Sawyer finds him even when he is trying to do the right thing. Josh loves his drama class but hates that they are singing in the Christmas Gala. Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus has been sung as part of the Gala for decades.  This year they have been told they can’t sing the “Hallelujah Chorus”.  They have been given permission to choose another song that doesn’t have a religious meaning.  While joking around with the new kid Zane, Josh sarcastically declares they should sing the song he hates the most, “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”  To his horror, Mrs. Kowalski agrees that is the song they will sing.  Then she takes her frustration out on the class by assigning them reports on classical musicians.
Josh’s girlfriend Ester invites him to use her Uncle’s Literary Loom to research the musician. I loved the idea of the literary loom Ester’s uncle invented a way to live a book, to travel through it through the character. This trip to learn about Handel is just the inspiration Josh needs to spur him into action to try to save the traditions of the school’s Christmas Gala. There are so many story lines throughout this book. We see a young man who is searching for the meaning of God.  We learn the secret Zane had been keeping. As Josh travels through the Literary Loom several times, he learns more about the meaning of Christmas. He questions why more people don’t celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.

This is a fabulous book to read at any time of year. It was perfect for right before Christmas. This book really hit home with me. I see more commercialism each year. I had a student ask me a couple of weeks back if we could have a Christmas party. I teach in a public school. I told him we didn’t have parties in middle school. He said, but it’s a Christmas party we need to celebrate Christmas. I told him we weren’t allowed to celebrate religious holidays in the classroom. He still didn’t get it. I told him we were not allowed to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.  He said, “What does Jesus have to do with anything? I want to celebrate Santa.”  It is books like this that allow me to introduce kids to God’s messages.

I have not yet read the first two books in this series. I can assure you I will.  I will also be purchasing the series for my classroom library. It is difficult to find faith-based messages in books for classrooms.  I am looking forward to sharing this one with my students.  I just really wish the Literary Loom were real.  

Purchase on Amazon
Find out more about the author here
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Monday, February 22, 2016

The Doll's House by M.J. Aldridge



Genre: Adult, Thriller
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
The bestselling author of Eeny Meeny and Pop Goes the Weaselbrings back Detective Helen Grace, who is hot on the trail of a twisted serial killer in this gripping new thriller.

Detective Helen Grace is on the trail of a twisted serial killer in this gripping thriller in the “taut, fast-paced”* international bestselling series.

Ruby wakes up in a strange room. Her captor calmly explains that no one is looking for her. No one wants her. Except him.

When the body of a woman is found buried on a secluded beach, Detective Helen Grace is called to the scene. She knows right away that the killer is no amateur. The woman has been dead for years, and no one has even reported her missing. But why would they? She’s still sending text messages to her family.

Helen is convinced that a criminal mastermind is at work: someone very smart, very careful, and worst of all, very patient. But as she struggles to piece together the killer’s motive, time is running out for a victim who is still alive... 

My Thoughts:
Let me start off by saying that I loved this third book more than the last one.  This one kept my heart pounding.  I felt like I was in that room with Ruby.  I felt the fear/terror she felt every time her captor was there. He expected her to behave in a normal manner at times. This in my opinion was part of his delusion. This book starts off with our favorite detective finding a body buried on the beach, then later two more. She knows it isn't a coincidence. This serial killer was more terrifying to me. He kept his victims for prolonged periods of time and even after they were dead he kept their loved ones believing things were okay because they received text messages from them. That scared me realizing that this could and has happened in our present time.

When Helen discovers Ruby Sprackling has disappeared she is sure that Ruby has fallen victim to this same serial killer. She is determined to do everything in her power to make sure Ruby comes home.  I found myself often holding my breath. There is so much tension in this book. If you haven’t read this series I would suggest you pick this series up and get started.