Book Giveaway-Foxy by Pam Grier

I have three copies of this book to giveaway. Please leave your email address below to enter. This contest is open to US and Canada only and no PO Box addresses. Winners will be chosen on April 21.

Summary:
Beautiful, bold, and bad, Pam Grier burst onto the movie scene in the 1970s, setting the screen on fire and forever changing the country's view of African American actresses. With a killer attitude and body to match, Grier became the ultimate fantasy of men everywhere. But she quickly proved that she was more than just a desirable film goddess. She had the brains, courage, and tenacity to sustain a career that would span more than 30 years. In FOXY, she chronicles the good, bad, and steamy highlights in her life and career.

Book Giveaway-The Remedy by Supa Nova Slom

I have three copies of this book to giveaway. Please post below with your email address. This contest is open to US and Canada but no PO Box addresses. Winners will be chosen on April 24.

Summary:
In this two-part health guide, Supa Nova Slom shares his cleansing program that revitalizes as it cleanses and restores balance by flushing and feeding your body. The second half of the book focuses on The Five Week Power Plan that provides amazing energy and the pathway to real weight-loss through healthy living and a green diet. With tasty recipes and lifestyle secrets from stars such as Erykah Badu, Chuck D, Hype Williams, Melyssa Ford, Tyson Beckford, and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, The Remedy will change your body and your life.

Learn more at TheRemedyBook.com
Visit SupaNovaSlom.com

Book Giveaway-The Pocket Therapist by Therese Borchard

I have three copies of this book to giveaway. Please leave a comment below with your email address. The contest is open to US and Canada only but no PO Box addresses please. The winners will be chosen on April 16.

Summary:
Whenever Therese Borchard was weathering a personal storm, and help was nowhere to be found, her one guiding light was the question, "What would a therapist say?" The result was a sort of therapy scrapbook for rough days--a quick reference for anyone who needs a dose of encouragement, support and tried and true ways to cope.

THE POCKET THERAPIST is a compact and accessible guide filled with techniques and advice to help combat everything from addictive behavior to negative thinking.

Book Giveaway-This Is Why You're Fat by Jackie Warner

I have three copies of this selection to giveaway. Please leave a comment below with your email. This is open to US and Canada only and no PO Box addresses. The winners will be chosen on April 10.

Summary:
"Being fat isn't your fault; staying fat is." That's what Jackie Warner, America's favorite no-nonsense celebrity fitness trainer tells her own clients, and that's why no one delivers better results than Jackie does. Now for the first time, Jackie shares her revolutionary program, showing readers the best ways to drop pounds and inches fast, without grueling workouts or deprivation, and keep them off for good! Her two-tiered approach provides a complete nutritional makeover and a failure-proof condensed workout routine PLUS all the emotional support and encouragement you need to get to the finish line and beyond.

Check out her website JackieWarner.com

Guest Blog-Lindon King

Lindon King, author of The Wounds Have Healed...the Scars Are Bleeding!, has graciously taken the time to write a guest blog post. Be sure to check out his book below the post.

Is there a specific time for us to help?

In my book; The Wounds Have Healed...The Scars Are Bleeding! I wrote about the people of Haiti who have been faced with so many challenges. I also made mention that they have been crying far too long and something has to be done. It is no secret that the country has been plagued by corruption because of the greed and the selfish behaviour of a few. In spite of the situation and circumstances they encounter, they are a good people with a fighting spirit and the desire to to survive.. When they gained their Independence, they reached out to the enslaved colonies and offered a place of refuge to those who managed to escape the hands of their cruel masters.
To add to their already crumpled life, in January of this year their world came tumbling down, many lives were lost and the lives of those who survived the quake came to a halt. The international communities reached out and assisted in many different ways but, the greatest and most admirable help that was offered was the help rendered among themselves. Yes, they are a good people and have always been trying to help themselves, but did it have to take the act of a natural disaster to reveal their cries and their many calls for help?
They have always been crying and asking for help, so many have tried to escape their crumpled world in search of a better life on other foreign shores. Many perished in search of that better life, but maybe it's just that we believe their cries were not loud enough. Is it too ambitious for one to try to achieve a better life? So many things have been said about the people of Haiti but their strength and courage to survive confirm that they are no less of a person than you and I.
Is there a specific time to offer our help to someone who has always been in need?

Thank you,

Lindon King

Book Giveaway-The River Kings' Road by Liane Merciel

I have one copy of this book to giveaway. Please leave a comment below with your email address to enter. This contest is open to US only and sorry but no PO Box addresses. The winner will be chosen on March 25.

Summary:
A thrilling new voice in fantasy makes an unforgettable debut with this "intriguiningly twisted tale of treachery and magic". Liane Merciel's The River Kings' Road takes us to a world of bitter enmity between kingdoms, divided loyalties between comrades, and an insidious magic that destroys everything it touches...

Book Giveaway-God Never Blinks by Regina Brett

I have three copies of this book to giveaway. Please leave a comment with your email address below to enter. This contest is open to US and Canada but no PO Box addresses. Winners will be chosen on April 2.

Summary:
God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours By Regina Brett
Already an internet phenomenon, these wise and insightful lessons by popular Cleveland newspaper columnist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and cancer survivor Regina Brett will make you see the possibilities in your life in a whole new way.

When Regina Brett turned 50, she wrote a column on the 50 lessons life had taught her. She reflected on all she had learned through becoming a single parent, looking for love in all the wrong places, working on her relationship with God, battling cancer and making peace with a difficult childhood.
It became one of the most popular columns ever published in the newspaper, and since then the 50 lessons have been emailed to hundreds of thousands of people. Brett now takes the 50 lessons and expounds on them in essays that are deeply personal. From "Don't take yourself too seriously-Nobody else does" to "Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift," these lessons will strike a chord with anyone who has ever gone through tough times--and haven't we all?
www.reginabrett.com
@reginabrett
http://tinyurl.com/reginabrettfacebook

Book Giveaway-Dark Deceptions by Dee Davis

I have five copies of this book to giveaway. Please leave a comment below with your email address. This contest is open to US and Canada but no PO Box addresses. Winners will be chosen on April 5.

Summary:
A-Tac is an elite CIA unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college. Brilliant, badass, and seemingly bulletproof, the members of A-Tac are assigned to the riskiest missions and the most elusive targets.

TORN BETWEEN DUTY AND DESIRE

Covert operations expert Nash Brennon has spent the last eight years trying to forget Annie Gallagher, his former field partner and the only woman he ever loved. Annie betrayed him when he needed her most, then vanished without a trace. Now suddenly she's back in the game - this time as a suspected traitor and threat to national security.

Annie's son has been kidnapped by political terrorists. The price for his life? Assassinate a UN ambassador. When Nash and his group find her, the smoldering passion between Annie and the man she swore she'd never contact again blazes out of control. But can Nash trust her? The stakes couldn?t be higher: Their enemy's endgame is personal, and one false move could cost them their lives.

Book Giveaway-Pendragon's Banner Trilogy

I hope that everyone enjoyed the guest blog by Helen Hollick and will sign up to enter a fantastic contest here. I have on set of the Pendragon's Banner Trilogy to giveaway. It will include The Kingmaking, Pendragon's Banner, and Shadow of the King. Please leave a comment below telling me about your favorite historical fiction. Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner. This contest is open to US and Canada only and the winner will be chosen on March 21.

Guest Blog-Hellen Hollick

Helen Hollick is an author that I have fallen in love with. She has written a guest blog here for the readers. Enjoy!

One of my first memories is running from the library clutching a book I had not read (or at least, someone had read to me) I was four years old. I was writing stories when I was thirteen, in every spare moment scribbling something, and I confess even during lessons at school I was sometimes secretively writing!

I became a library assistant when I left school, and discovered the factual history behind the legends of King Arthur after reading Mary Stewart’s Crystal Cave and Hollow Hills novels – I was hooked on Arthur, but not the Medieval chivalric knight in shining armour, the Holy Grail or gallant quests, for some reason I disliked those made-up stories. My interest lay in the reality behind the legends. If Arthur had existed what would he have been like? Where would he have fought his battles? Against whom? And was his queen truly an adulteress?

My problem then, was that I soon became dissatisfied with novels about Arthur. They either had too much fantasy which made them feel unreal, or I just did not agree with the author’s viewpoint. So there was only one thing for it. Write my own.

I made several false starts, but eventually, after almost 10 years of writing and researching in my spare time I ended up with the manuscript of what was to eventually become The Kingmaking and half of Pendragon’s Banner.

My good friend, Sharon Kay Penman, encouraged me and I was delighted when William Heinemann of Random House UK signed me up for a trilogy. All I had to do was polish and edit the material I had, complete Pendragon’s Banner and write the third part of Trilogy – Shadow of the King.

All? LOL :-)

The research for Shadow was particularly enjoyable, as I used old Welsh Legends that possibly made Arthur Lord of Brittany, which meant I could I venture on a three week expedition to Brittany and France in search of locations. What a wonderful career writing can be!

I then went on to write two other historical novels, Harold the King, the story of the Battle of Hastings, 1066 (which is probably the most famous date in English history) writing it from the English point of view and stripping away all the incorrect Norman propaganda – for instance, Duke William of Normandy had no right to the English throne, whatsoever, he was a usurping tyrant.

While writing Harold, I became fascinated by Queen Emma, Edward the Confessor’s mother, and wife to two different Kings of England. I decided she deserved her own novel, so wrote A Hollow Crown (UK title)/ The Forever Queen (US title).

Both Harold the King and A Hallow Crown are available now in the UK (or via Amazon) and they will be published un the US by Sourcebooks Landmark: The Forever Queen in November 2010 and Harold the King in March 2011!

I have also written the first three adventures in my pirate-based historical-fantasy Sea Witch series: Sea Witch, Pirate Code and Bring It Close, featuring my charismatic rogue of a hero, Captain Jesamiah Acorne and his girlfriend, the white witch, Tiola. Full to the scuppers fun and action – a sort of blend of Indiana Jones, Cpt Hornblower and Richard Sharpe – with a little magic added in for good measure! I wrote Sea Witch out of pure love for my character after watching the first of Johnny Depp’s Pirate movies (who can resist Jack Sparrow?) I wanted to read more pirate adventures, but there seemed to be only teenage and children’s books available. Beyond the wonderful Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier, I could find nothing for adult taste that included a touch of “adult” content. So, as with my Arthur stories, I researched the history of the Golden Age of Piracy, thought out my plot, invited my characters into my life – and wrote Sea Witch in about 3 months. Which included working on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day because I could not stop writing!

I am thrilled to discover that many readers are falling for my Jesamiah as much I did!



Helen Hollick

SHADOW OF THE KING BY HELEN HOLLICK—IN STORES MARCH 2010
They knew what was coming.
Man and beast knew what lay ahead.
After the war cry.
Bitter the grave.

At long last, the peace King Arthur was born to usher in has settled over the realm. But Arthur was also born to be a warrior… and all true warriors are restless without a fight. Yearning for battle and ever-loyal, Arthur is easily deceived into setting sail for Gaul to defend its territories—leaving his country vulnerable and leaderless.

A beacon of hope in a land of desolation, he was to be the Lord of the Summer Land for now and forever. But first, the Pendragon must face the ultimate test, one that will take all his courage, strength of will, and honor to survive.

Because once destiny is fulfilled, can you ever truly win again?

About the Author
Helen Hollick lives in northeast London with her husband, daughter and a variety of pets, which include several horses, cats and two dogs. She has two major interests: Roman / Saxon Britain and the Golden Age of Piracy--the early eighteenth century. You can Find Helen at the following places:

Main Website: www.helenhollick.net
Blog profiles: www.acorne.blogspot.com
Muse and Views Blog: www.helenhollick.blogspot.com
My Picture Diary Blog: http://helenhollicksdiarydates.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/helen.hollick
Monthly Journal: http://www.helenhollick.net/journal.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HelenHollick

Blog Tour-Bill Walker

Bill Walker, author of A Note From An Old Acquaintance, has given info for a blog tour on this new book.

Summary of the book:
Brian Weller is a haunted man. It's been two years since the tragic accident that left his three-year-old son dead and his wife in an irreversible coma. A popular author of mega- selling thrillers, Brian's life has reached a crossroads: his new book is stalled, his wife's prognosis is dire, and he teeters on the brink of despair. Everything changes the morning an e- mail arrives from Boston artist Joanna Richman. Her heartfelt note brings back all the poignant memories: the night their eyes met, the fiery passion of their short- lived affair, and the agonizing moment he was forced to leave Joanna forever. Now, fifteen years later, the guilt and anger threaten to overwhelm him. Vowing to make things right, Brian arranges a book- signing tour that will take him back to Boston. He is eager to see Joanna again, but remains unsure where their reunion will lead. One thing is certain: the forces that tore their love asunder will stop at nothing to keep them apart. Filled with tender romance and taut suspense, A Note from an Old Acquaintance is an unforgettable story about fate, honor, and the power of true love.

13 Things about A NOTE FROM AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE

1. Brian's Boston address, 334 Beacon Street, is an historical landmark and was once the residence of Clarence W. Barron (1855-1928), founder of Barron's Magazine and owner of Dow Jones & Company. The mansion was turned into condominiums in the 1980s.

2. 342 Newbury Street once housed a film company in the 1980s on its second floor. At that time, the first floor was occupied by an organic food store, Erewhon, which is an anagram for "Nowhere."

3. Brian's hometown, Nelsonville, Ohio, is the birthplace of the author's father, Bill Walker, Sr.

4. Like Brian, Bill Walker's first car was a 1982 Toyota Celica in silver.

5. Brian's prized guitar is a 1961 Gibson SG/Les Paul. The author has owned one of these guitars since 1984, and was previously owned by Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick.

6. Woodhaven is the name of an actual home on Lake Sunapee in New London, New Hampshire.

7. The author once stayed in room 264 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston.

8. When Brian tells Joanna: "hands are the hardest things to draw correctly," he is quoting film director William Grefé, whose father was Will Grefé, a well-known commercial artist in the early 20th Century, renowned for his cover paintings for The Saturday Evening Post and for his ability to draw strikingly detailed hair and hands.

9. The author, Bill Walker, worked as a Production Assistant on, and appeared in, William Grefé's 1977 film, Whiskey Mountain.

10. The Metropolis Club was modeled after the Metro Club (1980-1988) at 15 Lansdowne Street in Boston. This site was once known as The Boston Tea Party, a legendary venue that hosted performances by Cream, Bob Dylan, The Who, Led Zeppelin and other top bands of the era.

11. 49 Melcher Street is an actual address in Boston's Fort Point Channel area and overlooks the site of what was once The Channel Club.

12. Pete's Room, the site of Erik and Joanna's first date, is an actual room in the upper floors of New York's 21 Club. The endless Melba toast squares Joanna gorges on are one of the club's trademarks.

13. The Macallan 1926 Scotch whiskey Erik Ruby serves to Brian in his office at the climax of the book is the most expensive whiskey in the world. A bottle sold at a Christie's auction in 2007 for $54,000.

Guest Blog-Josi Kilpack

Josi Kilpack, seasoned author, has been gracious enough to do a guest blog about her writing.

About Josi Kilpack:
Josi Kilpack’s first LDS novel was published in 2000 and has since been followed by 6 additional LDS titles. Her seventh novel, Sheep’s Clothing, won The Whitney Award for Mystery and Suspense in 2007. LEMON TART, the first book in Josi’s new Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mystery series released January 2009; book two, ENGLISH TRIFLE was released in August 2009 and the third book, DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE will be out in Spring 2010. In addition to her writing, Josi enjoys reading, baking, traveling, and snuggling with her sweetheart, Lee. They now live in Willard, Utah with their four kids, a dog, and a varying number of chickens.



Over the last ten years, ever since my first book was published, I’ve come to know a lot of writers. Most of them knew from the time they were young that what they wanted to be when they grew up was a writer, an author, a novelist! I did not set that goal, I never considered becoming a writer, and I certainly didn’t follow the traditional path to becoming one. For me, my writing came as a direct result of two things—a love of reading and sheer boredom.

I grew up in a large family; there was always someone to play with, something to build, or something a sibling built that you wanted to take apart. I had no time or patience for books. I knew HOW to read, I just didn’t like to do it, much to my mother’s displeasure. My mother was a reader; it was her favorite pastime and you could always tell where she’d last sat down because that’s where her current book was. The library was her friend and reading was the hobby she made time for.

I made it through elementary school having read a pathetic number of books all the way through—I think there were four. The other books I would skim for enough information to write a book report when I had to but books, as a whole, were a bother to me—a chore. Then I went into 7th grade and was taught horrible things like symbolism and characterization. We had to do a book report each term, and had to answer questions like “What elements of characterization helped communicate the protagonists motivations?” and “What was the theme of this story?” It was a miserable assignment so I put it off until the day before it was due (did I mention I was 13?). My parents are both teachers and while they didn’t bully us into getting perfect grades, we knew that we had to turn in every assignment. I hadn’t read a book for years so I lamented to my mom my situation, hoping she’d help me and we could use the book she was reading, but she didn’t go for it and instead handed me a book. She said I could read it that night and get the book report done in time to turn it in the next day. The book was The Witch of Blackbird Pond and I knew from the cover that I would hate it.

I pouted into my room, started reading, and four hours later turned the last page to find that it was over. That was one of those ‘pivotal moments’ Dr. Phil talks about. I had become completely absorbed in this story to the point that I hadn’t stopped. When I put it down, I wanted more and from that day on I was a reader. Unbeknownst to me, and everyone else, it was also when I started my education in writing. Through reading a variety of books on a variety of topics over the course of many years, I came to learn the basic structure of a novel. I didn’t notice it, of course, but it was happening all the same. I didn’t pursue writing, but I did get better grades in English than I got in Math. I attended a year of college and filled my schedule with writing classes—which might be one of the reasons I didn’t keep going; I’d taken all the fun ones and was left with statistics and human physiology. I got married just a year after high school and my husband and I jumped feet first into grown-up life. Writing went from research papers, to grocery lists and scrap book entries, with the occasional strongly worded letter to a company I felt had ripped me off. Writing a novel was about as realistic as becoming an astrophysicist. Little did I know the first part of what would lead me to becoming a writer was being strengthened with every book I picked up—and I picked up a lot of books. Just like my mom, reading became my hobby—my recess.

The second catalyst to my becoming a writer was that I had horrible pregnancies that put me on bedrest for several weeks. During my third pregnancy, when my sisters and husband were running my household while I laid like a lump on the bed and read books all day, I had an idea for a story. Having nothing else to do, I started writing it, thinking it would be a short story. But it kept growing and growing and growing until it was 300 pages long by the time my son was six weeks old. I was absolutely stunned that I had done something so amazing. I belonged to a neighborhood book group at this time and when they found out I’d written a book, they asked to read it. They did, they gave me feedback, and I promptly ignored it all and submitted the book. Hearing people say they liked it and telling me I should try to publish it had given me a rather annoying level of arrogance. I thought I was a aod (well, goddess) and that the book was perfect. It wasn’t. I submitted it to publishers and they all rejected it, but one of them sent a detailed rejection letter telling me why they rejected it. After I cried over the letter for a few days, my husband suggested I use what they said to improve the book. What a thought.

I did as he suggested and submitted to a small press that published in the faith based market I had written the book for. They accepted the book based on me paying a portion of the publishing costs. It made perfect sense to me at the time, so I jumped at the chance to see my book in print and then waited for the royalty checks to start flooding in. To make a long, sad, dramatic story a short and to the point one, the book didn’t do well. The editing was not good, the marketing was spotty, and six months after it was released I was left feeling embarrassed and ridiculous. But I had loved writing that book and I was determined to do one more and make it be one I could be proud of before I threw in the towel. I spent 3 years working on the next book, attending writer’s conferences, reading writing books, and becoming a very critical reader of other people’s books. I ended up publishing my second book with the same publisher (knowing what I needed to do to make it work this time) and after six months, I was redeemed with good sales and positive reviews. It was a much better book, better presented, better marketed and I knew then that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to write books I could be proud of. Because of that I have continued to learn the craft of writing—I’m amazed at how much I didn’t know I didn’t know and continue to learn new things all the time.

To date I have published eleven novels. The most recent three are part of a culinary mystery series featuring a spunky fifty-something year old sleuth and cooking aficionado, Sadie Hoffmiller. The books combine two things I love—mysteries and food—and they have been so much fun to write and hear feedback on. The third in the series, Devil’s Food Cake, centers around a murder that takes place on stage at a library fundraising dinner which Sadie has helped organize. Having found herself in the middle of two other murder investigations in just a few months time, Sadie considers herself an expert and can’t help but get in the middle of things. It’s funny, fast paced, and includes recipes for things mentioned in the course of the story (such as Devil’s Food Cake and Evil Chicken). We plan to do at least three more books in the series before we published “Sadie’s Little Black Book” which will include all the recipes mentioned in the books as well as a few extras thrown in. While the books are officially a series, they stand alone and don’t need to be read I any particular order.

It’s interesting to look back on these years and see the journey I never would have imagined I would take and it affirms my faith in the fact that if you want something, and are willing to work for it, you can reach for things that seemed too far away to even dream about.

Be sure and check out her latest book, "Devils Food Cake."