Book Review and ARC Giveaway: Believe it or Not by Tawna Fenske

This story is really great fun!

Believe It or Not
by Tawna Fenske

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140225718X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402257186 

      Genre:  Romantic Comedy
      My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Product Description
Do you believe in...accounting?
Numbers never lie, so Violet McGinn found safe haven in the most boring profession she could find. Until her renowned psychic mother lands in the hospital and Violet has to run her business. Now you can have your taxes filed and your aura read, in one convenient location.
Do you believe in...music?
Drew Watson is the jaded owner of the local hot spot next door, and doesn't need a single thing except a good crowd to dance to what he's spinning on Saturday night.
Do you believe in...love?
The only thing Violet and Drew seem to have in common is that neither believes in that psychic hoo—hah. Except Drew seems to play exactly the right song at exactly the right time. And truth be told, it makes Violet's heart dance just a little ...

Review:
Violet has returned from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon to help her mother, Moonbeam. Violet selected a career in accounting and moved far away to distance herself from her rather eccentric mother who is a new age, hippy type psychic.  Moonbeam fell and is in the hospital so Violet has to manage her psychic business. The problem is that Violet doesn’t really believe in psychics.  The only way she is managing the psychic appointments is with fitting clues provided by the music she hears from the neighboring bar.

Drew owns the bar that shares building space with Moonbeam’s shop/parlor.  He doesn’t believe in Moonbeam’s abilities and she complains because he has male strippers at the bar and he makes a habit of dating bimbos.  Drew is impressed with Violet’s vibrant, violet eyes but he thinks he’ll keep his distance since she seems like such a business professional; too much like his lawyer ex-wife.  And he isn’t too happy that she is going to be faking to carry on her mother’s business. For fun though he gives her a magic 8 ball to help out.

Violet thinks Drew lives an alternative lifestyle considering he runs a bar with male strippers and his main helper is “Sam.”  She is rather disappointed since she finds him very attractive!  It’s a good thing that Moonbeam’s doctor is interested in Violet and he is wholesome, healthy, single and “normal.”

The exchange between Violet and Drew is deliciously fun. She asks four questions in a row and he gives the answers in a row... which is much more fun than that sounds. They would be all over each other if they weren’t fighting the attraction so hard.

Violet has done a reading that has angered the landlord and he’s threatening to sell the building.   She’s also influenced one of Drew’s employees upsetting him and she has another reading that might effect his business. Meanwhile Moonbeam continues making mischief from her hospital room.

The writing is light and the momentum snappy.  Ms. Fenske shares a lot of humor with her quirky characters and unique plot circumstances.  My only disappointment was the ending because I wanted more multiple questions with multiple answers and more background music for psychic answers. :-)  I recommend this fun, easy story, and Ms. Fenske's first novel, Making Waves, as perfect reading to bring smiles and chuckles.



The first meeting question and answer routine (at page 9):
     He saw her blink in the dim light as she gripped the statue in one hand. “Who’s that? Are you looking for money? How did you get in here? What do you want?"
     He cocked his head to one side. “Drew. No. Key. Mice.”

A later question and answer routine (at page 289):
     Drew covered the distance to the end of the bar in just a few steps, his heart racing stupidly. “Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Drunk? Why are you here?”
     She grinned at him .... “Yes. No. No. To seduce you.” 

Thank you to Sourcebooks for this book to read and review.

This is set in Portland, Oregon for my Where Are You Reading Challenge.  I will also add it to my ARC Challenge.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for the ARC copy: 
 1. Visit the author's website and tell me something that interests you there. This is required for entry.

2.  For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

3. For two more entries, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Four total entries possible.)

THERE WILL BE ONE WINNER.

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

* Limit one win per household.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on April 6, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries and announced on April 7 with 72 hours to complete the winners form.

Q&A Interview with Tawna Fenske, Author of Making Waves

Today I welcome Author Tawna Fenske.  You can get a good sense of her humor from her interview answers. :-)

Q1.  I'm always interested to discover the story behind the story. Where did the inspiration for Making Waves come from?

TF: The story started brewing in my brain on a sailing trip around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, though at that point it was the equivalent of, “wow, men on boats are kinda hot.” The plot didn’t come together in my mind until the economy tanked and tons of people around me started getting laid off. I began mulling the crazy lengths people might go to if they were unfairly sacked by a shady employer. A high seas diamond heist organized by the four most unlikely pirates on the planet seemed like a good start.

Q2. What inspired you to write romantic comedy?

TF: I come from a family of hysterical people who are always cracking jokes and laughing, so you’d think it might have occurred to me earlier to try writing comedy. Hey, I never claimed to be the sharpest meatball in the pot. I started off writing women’s action/adventure several years ago, sold a book to Harlequin/Silhouette’s Bombshell line, and wrote two follow-ups that hadn’t made it to contract when I got “the un-call” from my editor saying the line was being canceled a month before my scheduled debut. It was my 32nd birthday. And the day my cat died. Oh, and the same day my employer threatened to fire me if I kept disobeying the hosiery policy (I did, they didn’t). As all this stuff was hitting me, I thought, “it’s actually kinda funny.” Realizing I could find the humor in something like that got me started finding the humor in my writing, too.

Q3.  Do your work career/hobbies/interests influence your writing (maybe your dogs)?

TF: Everything around me is a source of inspiration, but I sometimes have to look for it. I’m a natural introvert, so I’m vigilant about dragging my lazy self out of the house to experience something besides the squish of the chair under my butt. There was a period where I tried to do the full-time writer thing, but I realized pretty quickly that my brain shrivels up like castrated sheep testicle when I don’t have regular human interaction. I now work part-time in marketing/PR where there’s plenty of day-to-day silliness to inspire me.

Q4.  Did you do any "hands on" or other unusual research for Making Waves?

TF: Are you asking if the Strip Battleship scene has been fully researched and tested? A lady never tells (so of course!)

Q5.  Do you have a favorite mentor or author that you have learned from?

TF: Too many to count! If I narrow it down just to my genre, my favorite romantic comedy authors are Jennifer Crusie, Lani Diane Rich, and Kristan Higgins. All are hysterically funny, but in completely different ways.

Q6.  If you were to start your writing career over, what would you do first?

TF: There were a lot of stumbling blocks on my road to publication, from that first ill-fated book deal I mentioned, to an early agent relationship that didn’t work out. Tough as those experiences were at the time, I wouldn’t do things any differently. Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way to really appreciate the good stuff when it comes along.

Q7.  What is your most or least (you pick) favorite aspect of promoting?

TF: In some ways, I’m lucky that my day-job for the last 12+ years has been in marketing/public relations. It makes me fairly well-equipped to handle the promotional aspects of being an author, but the downside is that I let myself get too consumed by it – sometimes at the expense of actual writing.

Q8.  What do you hope your readers get out of your books?

TF: At least five or six good, hard belly laughs and the occasional inappropriate tingly sensation.

Q9.  I think you could have fun with this:  if you could write the “fortune” in a fortune cookie what would it be?

TF: I’m drawing a complete and utter blank on this one (blame it on the double deadline I’m up against right now). I will say that I’m a big fan of reading any fortune I get and adding the words “in bed” at the end. You know, “You will find great prosperity and happiness…in bed.” That sort of thing. It really never stops being funny to me.

Q10.  If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be? 
TF: The last time I laughed really hard, it was because…

Thank you so much for sharing at my blog.
Martha

MAKING WAVES BY TAWNA FENSKE – IN STORES AUGUST 2011

She always wanted to belong… Just not to a dysfunctional pirate crew…

Juli has trouble fitting in, though she’d prefer to keep the reasons to herself. But when she mistakenly stows away on a ship of misfit corporate castoffs, her own secrets become the least of her concerns…

He knows plotting a diamond heist may be considered unusual behavior…

But Alex isn’t feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb. Meeting Juli doesn’t do much to restore normalcy to Alex’s life either, but it sure is exhilarating!

As Alex and Juli bare their secrets—and a whole lot more—they find that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tawna Fenske traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek. An avid globetrotter with a fondness for the sea, she shares her heroine’s violent allergy to seasickness medication (though, sadly, has never stowed away on a pirate ship).Tawna is the author of the popular daily blog “Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing” and lives in Central Oregon, where she is working on her next novel, Believe It or Not, in stores March 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.tawnafenske.com/ or follower her on Twitter @tawnafenske. 

Check out my review and the giveaway for a chance to win this fun, fun book!

Book Review and Giveaway: Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

This book is a treat and perfect summer read!

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140225721X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402257216

Genre: Romantic Comedy
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

Product Description
When Alex Bradshaw's unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb after 20 faithful years as an executive with the world's largest shipping company, he sets out to reclaim his dignity and his pension. Assembling a team of fellow corporate castoffs, he sails to the Caribbean to intercept an illegal diamond shipment. None of them counted on quirky blonde stowaway Juli Flynn, who has a perplexing array of talents, a few big secrets, and an intoxicating romantic chemistry with Alex...

Review: This story hits the spot for laugh out loud, fun reading!
Juli is a an attractive, thirty something, woman who has apparently jumped around a lot in her career life.  It’s sort of okay she is in between jobs because she now has a mission to deliver her uncle’s ashes to a watery grave in the Caribbean. Juli decides to play in a newlywed game the night before her charter cruise.  It doesn’t matter that she just met the man - the prize is $1000.00 and with a quick system they can at least try.

Alex is an executive VP who has just been laid off months before being vested in his pension. He and three other laid off employees have devised a plan to intercept an illegal diamond shipment from their former boss.  They figure they’re owed the money and they’ll get some revenge.  The night before they head out on their heist he meets this crazy woman who pulls him into a newlywed game. This behavior is a bit impulsive, but what the heck...why not?

The next morning a dopey Juli stumbles onto what she thinks is her charter boat but instead is the boat Alex and his mates have engaged for pirate purposes.  They have their secret plans and don’t want a stranger joining, even if Alex says she’s “his wife.” They don’t believe Juli is innocent and in truth she has her own secrets which are revealed in surprising circumstances. The crew decide to let her ride along rather than have her blow the whistle on them before they can implement their act of piracy.  Juli’s unexpected talents come in handy and she starts to feel like she could maybe “fit in” for a change.

The other crew members have quirky personalities too.  I especially like the former football player, Cody, who has found his niche as the crew’s creative gourmet chef. Along the adventure they run into real, but unusual, pirates.

Alex is clearly attracted to Juli but he tries to resist since this isn’t a good time to start a relationship. Then they have the problem of being consistently interrupted when things do heat up!

This story starts out off beat and kooky and stays light-hearted and wacky all the way through. It's a quick read that had me grinning and chuckling. I will be hoping for more fun romance from this author.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing this book for reading and review and for providing two copies for Giveaway!

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:

1. Visit the Author's website and tell me something you found interesting.This is required for entry.

2. For two extra entries, comment on the Author Interview.

3. For another two entries, complete the Author's sentence at Interview Q10.

4.  For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

5. For two entries, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Eight total entries possible.)

THERE WILL BE TWO WINNERS!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

* Limit one win per household.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on August 19 , 2011.
The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED on AUGUST 20 and will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winner's form linked in the announcement.