Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Giveaway September 30, 2011

Sorry to be late again with this post. We are back in Florida now although not yet home. It will be good to be home and get back on normal timing and internet.
I am still having trouble uploading pictures with the new blogger format but just figured out I can do them through html.
Thank you to all who entered September 23 Pick. There were Two Automatic winners this week (those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks).
PNR who chose Rides a Hero
Sarah E who chose Quentins

CONGRATULATIONS

to Winners from September 23 Pick:

Mona who chose Everywhere that Mary Went

and
Kulsuma gets a GC

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual or sexy +plus - I am currently low on just sweet.

We are back in Florida after a lovely trip. 

Maybe tomorrow I will post some trip pictures I wasn't able to upload while I was using the slow ship internet.

New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011

Double Set by Lori Copeland:
June (Brides of the West #2) (HeartQuest)
The Courtship of Cade Kolby (Avon Romantic Treasure)
Singles:
Rides A Hero by Heather Graham
One Night by Debbie Macomber
Tender Triumph? (I have to check) by Judith McNaught
Quentins by Maeve Binchy
Firestorm (Eve Duncan) by Iris Johansen
In the Prince's Bed (Royal Brotherhood) by Sabrina Jeffries
Everywhere That Mary Went by Lisa Scottoline
Legacy of the Dead (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries) by Charles Todd
A Far and Deadly Cry by Teri Holibrook
Cimarron Rose (Billy Bob Holland) by James Lee Burke
Lost Light (Harry Bosch Series #9) by Michael Connelly
A Maiden's Grave by Jeffrey Deaver
Blackwater Sound: A Novel (Thorn Mysteries) by James W. Hall


New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011

There are eight mysteries and I have asterisked nine books that are smaller and would be good for oversea choices if so desired.

Dead Jitterbug by Victoria Houston

Coffin Underground (Inspector John Coffin) by Gwendoline Butler

* Wolf to the Slaughter: An Inspector Wexford Novel (Mortalis)

by Ruth Rendell

* Point No Point by Mary Logue

The Cheshire Cat's Eye by Marcia Muller

Mallory's Oracle (Kathleen Mallory Novels) by Carol O'Connell

* I. O. U by Pickard, Nancy (spine creased)

* Resort to Murder: A Henrie O Mystery by Carolyn Hart

Stand by Me Anthology with Dallas Schulze, Roberta Leigh and Linda Randall Wisdom (spine creased)

Until We Meet Again by Christine McGuire (spine creased)

Bloody Good by Georgia Evans (spine creased)

* Undercover Pursuit (Love Inspired Suspense) by Susan May Warren

* The Glassblower by Laurie Alice Eakes

* Having Faith by Barbara Delinsky

* Easy On the Heart by Jodi Thomas

* Rogue Stallion (Montana Mavericks) by Diana Palmer

May, 2011 New Group of Pick books

Group #20

Pairs:

Debbie Macomber

Between Friends

Thursdays at Eight

Luanne Rice

Firefly Beach

Cloud Nine

Singles

Iced (Regan Reilly Mysteries, No. 3)by Carol Higgins Clark

A Price for Everything (Rosamunde Pilcher's Book Shelf) by Mary Sheepshank

Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins - Audio Cassettes

S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) by Sue Grafton

Poirot Investigates - Volume 1 Agatha Christie - Audio Cassettes

Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy

Hope Everlastin' by Mickee Madden

The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

The Hope Chest: Yesterday's Magic\Today's Secrets\Tomorrow's Promise (Signature Select) Anthology

Susan, Kearney, Julie Kenner and Jacquie D'Alessandro

Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey

Resistance: A Novel by Anita Shreve

Vanity by Jane Feather

3/25/11 I did get to set up a new group of books:
Group #19

Pair - James Patterson

1st to Die (The Women's Murder Club)1st to Die (The Women's Murder Club)

Kiss the Girls (2nd Alex Cross Novel)

Singles

And Then Came You: Sam's Story

Second Chance: A NovelSecond Chance: A Novel

Disguised Blessing

The Italian (Mira Historical Romance)

Rhapsody: A Love Story

A Sight for Sore Eyes

The Waterfall

Primary Colors - audio tapes

A Little Magic

See No Evil (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense #39) (black stripe on cover)

Note of Peril (black strip on cover)

2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!

Not all of these are two from a series but several are. Each pick gets two books.

Patricia Cornwell:

Cruel and Unusual

At Risk (Win Garano)

John Grisham

Bleachers

The Last Juror

Jack Higgins

Touch the Devil (1983 Signet Edition)

Thunder Point (Sean Dillon)

Fern Michaels

Final Justice: Sisterhood Series #5

The Jury: Sisterhood Series #4 (Revenge of the Sisterhood)

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

So far I have posted 22 groups of 16 books to find new homes!

I am continuing to include the full list updated with chosen books crossed off until I get around to deleting the crossed off books. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want! I am happy to say that so far about 233 books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the correct number sent out.

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $5.00 and $6.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy. :o)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings before the next Pick post.
WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. I will confirm receipt of the addresses. If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

1/14/11 New List
#17

Scavenger by David Morrell
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
Moonfire by Judith Redman Robbins
Four to Score (Stephanie Plum, No. 4) by Janet Evanovich
Turbulent Sea (Drake Sisters, Book 6) by Christine Feehan
Saving Faith by David Baldacci

12/3/10 Book Set:

#16

Best Of Enemies by Taylor Smith

Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart

Veils of Silk by Mary Jo Putney

Sleight of Hand by Robin Hathaway

Blueberry Hill by Marcia Evanick (small tear on cover)

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Uneasy Alliance (Famous Firsts) Jayne Ann Krentz (slightly worn)

List #15

Double Exposure (Brio Girls) by Kathy Wierenga

Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick

Imitation in Death by J. D. Robb

The Texas CEO's Secret (Silhouette Special Edition) by Nicole Foster

Silver Falls by Anne Stuart

Deadly Gamble by Linda Lael Miller

List #14

The Cobra Event by Richard Preston

Blood And Glory (Soldiers Of War) (Soldiers of War, Book 1) by Larson Reed

Off Season by Jack Ketchum

The Color of Law: A Novel by Mark Gimenez
Depraved Indifference by Joseph Teller
Lines of Defense by Barry Siegel
Must the Maiden Die (Seneca Falls Historical Myster) by Miriam Grace Monfredo
Gospel Truths by J.G. Sandom
The Summons by John Grisham - Audio CDs

Here is set #13 of Used books!

Anansi Boys by Neil Gairman

The Hellion by LaVyrle Spencer

Pearl Beyond Price by Claire Delacroix

This is a group of books I have had for several years but not gotten to read. Since it doesn't look like I will get to read them for another year (or more!) I am passing them on. Although as I type them part of me still says "But you may want to read that some day!" Yes, yes; along with the other 700 books I am housing! Must Let goooooo.....

Group #12

The Ripple Effect by Lynn Erickson

First King of Shannara (Shannara Trilogy, Prequel) by Terry Brooks

Seal Team One by Dick Couch

Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Saughnessy

Presumption of Death by Perri O'Saughnessy

Pandemic by Daniel Kalla

Lethal Practice by Peter Clement

The Undertaker's Widow by Phillip M. Margolin

The Burning Man by Phillip M. Margollin

Double Jeopardy by William Bernhardt

The Genesis Code: A Thriller by John Case

Group #11

Cat's Eyewitness by Rita Mae Brown

Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods - CD Audio

Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher

Looking Back by Belva Plain

The Ring on Her Finger by Elizabeth Bevarly

List #1 Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2

Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

The Crush by Sandra Brown

The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross

Pick #3

One Eye Closed by Karen Whiddon

Isle of Palms by Dorothea Benton Frank

Pick #4

Talking God by Tony Kellerman

Everything to Gain by Barbara Taylor Bradford

The Sixth Sense

The Shadow by Shelley Munro (PA)

The Forgotten by Faye Kellerman

Swear by the Moon by Shirley Busbee

Montana Bride by Barbara Clark (A)

Pick #5

See Jane Lead by Lois P. Frankel

Jake's Return by Liana Laverentz (A)

The Jester by James Patterson - Audio Tapes

The Daddy Spell by Patti Ann Cole

Misfortune by Nancy Geary

False Prophet by Faye Kellerman

Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - Audio Tapes

A Kiss of Fate by Mary Jo Putney (SC)

Pick #6

Tin Man by Dale Brown

The Marshall Takes a Bride by Renee Ryan *PA*

On Bear Mountain by Deborah Smith - Audio Cassette

Elusive Love by Catherine Lanigan

Mistletoe and Mischief by Patricia Wynn

Pick #7

In Her Defense by Stephen Horn - Audio Tape

A Perfect Gentleman by Barbara Metzger (slightly creased)

Scarred by William Heffernan (spine creased)

Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape

The Path to Her Heart by Linda Ford (Personally Autographed)

X-Men 2

Hunted by William W. Johnstone (spine frayed at top)

Princess Charming by Jane Heller (slightly creased)

Pick #8

(sc) = slightly creased on binding otherwise all in good shape

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes

Stormy Weather by Carl Haasen - Audio Tapes

Midnight Come Again by Dana Stabenow (sc)

Into the Forest by Jean Hegland - Audio Tapes (box creased but tapes good)

No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson - Audio Tapes

Vertical Run by Joseph R. Garber (sc)

Pick #9

Spyder Web by Tom Grace - Audio Tapes

Three Weddings and a Kiss - Anthology

Final Appeal by Lisa Scottoline (spine creased)

The Lost World by Michael Crichton - Audio Tapes

Evil Whispers by Owl Goingback

On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray

Runaway Heart by Stephen J. Cannell

Guardian by Dee Henderson - Audio Tapes

Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter - Audio Tapes

Pick #10

The Third Twin by Ken Follett (spine creased)

Double Blind by Ken Goodard

Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief by Dorothy Gilman - Audio Tapes

The Trouble with Mary by Millie Criswell

Dreams Gather by Kathryn Collins (sc)

Book Review: Tenderfoot by Amy Tupper

This story sets up for an intriguing series!
Tenderfoot 

by Amy Tupper

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 483 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Amy Tupper (May 20, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0051XZQGY

     Genre:  Fantasy, YA
     My Rating:  4.5 of 5.0

Product Description
Jules is running. With the death of her mother behind her, she arrives at college in Chapel Hill ready to focus on friends, classes, and Andrew, the sweetest guy a girl could crush on. But Nick, the campus rock star, is always around, pressing every last one of her buttons. Things get strange when Nick plays his guitar, and even stranger when Jules discovers he wears a pendant identical to her dead mother’s. She wants answers. When her family’s secret is revealed, Jules must choose between running away from the one person she has opened up to or running with him toward an unknown future.

Review:  The fantasy in this takes this book beyond just a YA read.

Jules has recently turned 18 and is settling into college at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Jules was born in Sweden, raised in New York City and then in her early teens she lived, with an older sister and her parents, in Paris for several years.  As many midteens she wasn’t happy to move away to Stockholm.  Her mother was killed in a car accident three years before and, to deal with her grief, she ran and rebelled through those tumultuous high school years.

Now Jules is looking forward to a fresh start at a college far away from family.  The first night she goes out with friends and is helped by a handsome guy. The next day on campus she meets a mysterious and compelling guy, Nick, who mesmerizes her with his guitar music.  Soon Jules discovers that the handsome guy is Andrew and he is a champion fencer. They have much in common including being dedicated students and runners.

Suddenly Jules begins to experience heightened senses: seeing long distances, hearing voices all over the dorm and smelling individual scents.  She doesn’t know what to think until she realizes that there is some strange connection with Nick who wears the same pendant that she wears - a pendant that her mother gave to her shortly before she died. Nick is “hot” and confusing especially since he seems to purposefully provoke her.

Jules and Andrew begin a sweet friendship, although Nick is continually stepping in and interfering.  Jules and Andrew are clearly drawn to each other but when Jules discovers her legacy includes unusual gifts and training with Nick, as a mischievous guardian, she isn’t sure that subjecting Andrew to Nick is a good idea.  Andrew is a super guy that any girl would like to have as a boyfriend but how will he react if he learns of her gifts and her special connection to Nick?

Jules’ dorm friends each have their own characters and together they create a fun and supportive group. They add realism to the freshman college setting.  Towards the end of the book you learn some of the history of Jules’ legacy but the purpose of her gifts and training remains a mystery for another book in the series.

The story reads smoothly, although there are a few minor editing errors. I like how the title has a double meaning for the freshman college student and Jules as a new trainee in her gifts. Since I don’t read lots of YA it took a little (very little) bit to get me into the story.  However, I liked all of the characters and once the unusual experiences began I was well engaged throughout the rest of the story.  I will be interested to read more adventures for Jules.

###

This EBook was provided by the author for an honest review.

Q&A Interview with Adina Senft, Author of The Wounded Heart: An Amish Quilt Novel

Please help me welcome Adina Senft author of  The Wounded Heart: An Amish Quilt Novel

 

I am looking forward to reading what looks like a beautiful story.

Adina:  I really hope you like it. And thank you for inviting me over to join you on the blog. Here, I’ve got an apple crumble pie that my heroine Amelia made this morning. Would you like ice cream on the side, or fresh cream overtop?

Oh yummy - I love ice cream with warm pie!

1Q.  When you started The Wounded Heart, did you plan to do a series and if so, did you have each book plotted out before you started or did the subsequent books flow from the first book?

Adina:  The Amish Quilt trilogy has always been three books. When I came up with the series idea, I knew the issues I wanted to explore with each central character’s struggle: The Wounded Heart would be chronic disease. The Hidden Life would be the perpetual spinster. The Tempted Soul would be emotional infidelity. But that was all I knew!

So for a month before I begin writing each book, I read everything I can get my hands on about those topics and about my Amish setting. Then I begin to do character work, and the plot grows out of that.  The fun part is weaving in hints about what will happen in the next books into the current one. It’s like planning a treasure hunt J

Ha- I never thought about it quite like that! I love treasure hunts and maybe that is why I really like series books. J

2Q.  What inspired you to write this genre?

Adina:  It was one of those things where the universe closes a door in your face, but you feel a breeze on the back of your neck from the window that opened behind you. I grew up in a plain house church (I wasn’t Amish, but was often asked if I was), but it never occurred to me to write from that viewpoint until my editor gave me an elbow in the ribs and suggested it. It was a real “aha!” moment mixed with a whole lot of “duh!”

I love when you get that nice breeze on the back of your neck. Your editor sounds like she encouraged you to look at writing from “what you know” even if it wasn’t exactly.

3Q.  Where did you get the idea for this story/series?

Adina:  I have a friend who suffered for nearly a decade, wasting away and losing control of various bodily parts. She almost died before she went to the dentist and he realized that she was suffering from mercury poisoning from the fillings in her teeth, not fibromyalgia or M.S. After he got all those out of her mouth, she entered a chelation program to cleanse her blood of heavy metals. Her story triggered the idea for The Wounded Heart … and the way the Amish care for each other’s health without help from government formed a nice avenue of conflict that I could use as my heroine pursued treatment.

 Oh my goodness. I am so glad your friend got a proper diagnosis before it was too late. That makes for a good plotline.

4Q.  Could you please share one surprising thing about your research or experience writing this book?

Adina:  There is so much to learn and enjoy about the Amish and the research curve is so steep that nearly everything was surprising to me, LOL! But the biggest thing I learned is how mistaken were my own preconceptions about their culture. There is a reason why they do the things they do and look the way they look. For instance, each piece of a woman’s clothes means something historically and says something about her service to God. The white organdy prayer covering (called a Kapp in Pennsylvania Dutch) is pinned to the hair with three straight pins. But where you pin it says something about how willing you are to submit to the Ordnung. If you wear it far back on your head so that your ears are exposed, maybe you’re having a hard time submitting to the community’s expectations. And if you leave your strings free and not tied, you’re really walking the edge J because the Amish feel the next step after that is to remove the Kapp altogether, and then your principle indicator of submission is gone. You’ll notice in the other Amish communities outside the Old Order, the Kapp is smaller, covers less, and some have no strings at all.

So the art department and I worked together closely when it came to the portrayal of my heroine, Amelia Beiler, on the cover of The Wounded Heart. In the first versions her Kapp was pushed back on her hair, and the strings hung loose in front. But we worked together, and through the marvels of Photoshop, she now looks exactly as she should.

 Thanks for sharing this tidbit - something I never knew.

5Q.  Did your family support you in becoming a writer?

Adina:  Oh, yes. My husband is my biggest fan. He doesn’t go anywhere without a bunch of postcards in the side pocket of the door of the truck, and there are always bookmarks for my latest release in his pocket. He talks to the people in the doctor’s office, in the checkout line, and recently, on his annual hunting trip, he gave one of my excerpt booklets to a fellow hunter miles from anywhere out in the bush!

How great to have supportive family.

6Q.  What kind of books do you enjoy?

Adina:  I’m an eclectic reader. I have healthy collections of women’s fiction by Kristin Hannah, as many of Donna Leon’s Venice-set mysteries and C.S. Harris’s historical mysteries as I can get my hands on, science fiction by Connie Willis, urban fantasy by Jim Butcher, romance by Jennifer Skully and Bella Andre, children’s books by Troon Harrison . . . you name it. At the moment I’m immersed in George R.R. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” books. Thank you, HBO. I read lots of Amish fiction, too, but not usually during the actual writing. I have a huge fear of being derivative and echoing someone’s book without being aware of it.

Now I have to go check the Martin books. Good thinking to keep your own voice and not echo someone even accidentally.

7Q.  What are some of the best tips you’ve received on writing?

Adina:  Jenny Cruise was the guest speaker when I was in the M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill University, and she said something about plotting I’ve never forgotten. Besides “Start where the trouble starts,” she said, “Two people are arguing about a coffee table. Remember that the table isn’t what they’re fighting about. It’s what’s under the table.” In other words, in important scenes, dialogue should have two levels of meaning—what’s on the surface and what is really bugging the characters down deep that they’re unwilling to come right out and say. I’ve never forgotten it. Of course, it took me the rest of my time in graduate school to figure out how to actually do that on the page.

Very good tip…that depth could make a big difference in how the dialogue and characters.

8Q.  What do you hope your readers get out of your books?

Adina:  If they can spend a couple of hours in my imaginary town of Whinburg, Pennsylvania, becoming friends with my characters and getting so involved in their lives that they forget the troubles and cares of their own, then I’m happy. That’s all I want. Company in my world. The coffee is on!

Oh yes… Sometimes I miss the quiet country of Pennsylvania where I grew up.  Next time maybe we could have Shoo Fly Pie.

Thank you for sharing with me and my blog readers.

Martha

Adina:  And thank you so much for the opportunity to visit. Have another slice of pie. I know I want one!

Adina