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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Check Out this Fantasy Novels Prize Pack Giveaway!

I'm sharing this fabulous giveaway contest sent in from

Glass Road Public Relations



Fantasy Novels
Giveaway Contest

D. Barkley Briggs (Dean Briggs) loves fantasy novels. He is, after all, a fantasy novelist himself. He is about to make one fan's fantasy come true. Dean is giving away, not just one of his books, but a complete young adult fantasy library from 15 top authors.

"The Christmas 2011 Fantasy Prize Pack Giveaway" contains forty-eight (48) of the best YA Christian fantasy novels on the planet, plus a brand new Kindle Fire™...FREE! But that's not all. Second Place gets a FREE iPod™ Shuffle. Dean has also collected several mini-prizes, including dragon jewelry and children's books.

To enter, you must upload at least one photo of yourself reading a book from Dean's Legends of Karac Tor series (The Book of Names, Corus the Champion, or The Song of Unmaking) to Dean's Facebook page. The contest launches Nov. 1 and concludes Nov. 30. For official rules, visit to deanbriggs.com.


Briggs Prize PackUpload a photo and you're entered to win. It's that easy! Be creative with the photo and caption. Have your dog read the book if you want, or read standing in a public water fountain. Strike a pose and have fun, then describe what you love about the book! Photo can be taken in any setting except a retail bookstore or library. 
 Briggs Prize Pack

Join My Mailing List
Forward to a Friend


The Fantasy Prize Pack

48 Books, 15 Authors

D. Barkley Briggs
The Book of Names
Corus the Champion
The Song of Unmaking

Ted Dekker
Elyon
Infidel
Chosen
Chaos
Lunatic

Lisa Bergren
Waterfall
Cascade
Torrent

Donita K. Paul
Dragons of the Valley
Dragons of Chiril
Dragons of the Watch

Jeffrey Overstreet
Auralia's Colors
Cyndere's Midnight
Raven's Ladder
The Ale Boy's Feast

Wayne Thomas Batson
Sword in the Stars
The Errant King

W.T. Batson & 
Christopher Hopper
Curse of the Spider King
Venom and Song

Bryan Davis
Eye of the Oracle
Enoch's Ghost
The Last of the Nephilim

Dennis Jernigan
Captured

C.S. Lakin
The Wolf of Tebron
The Map Across Time

Scott Appleton
Swords of Six
Offspring

Jonathan Rogers
The Secret of the Swamp King
The Bark Of The Bog Owl
The Way of the Wilderking

BONUS BOOKS: DEAN'S PERSONAL FAVORITES
Madeleine L'Engle
A Wrinkle In Time
Wind in the Door
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Many Waters

Lloyd Alexander
The Black Cauldron
Book of Three
The Castle Llyr
Taran Wanderer
The High King

Susan Cooper
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark is Rising
Greenwich
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree

Book Review: The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

This is a story that makes you wonder about the future, the past and the "what ifs." I recommend it - especially if you like issues of time/future paradox.
by Thomas Mullen
  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Mulholland Books; 1 edition (September 28, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316176729
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316176729
     Genre: Sci Fi Thriller
     My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0
A fast-paced literary thriller that recalls dystopian classics such as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, from the award-winning author of The Last Town on Earth.

Zed is an agent from the future. A time when the world’s problems have been solved. No hunger. No war. No despair.
His mission is to keep it that way. Even if it means ensuring every cataclysm throughout history runs its course—especially the Great Conflagration, an imminent disaster in our own time that Zed has been ordered to protect at all costs.

Zed’s mission will disrupt the lives of a disgraced former CIA agent; a young Washington lawyer grieving over the loss of her brother, a soldier in Iraq; the oppressed employee of a foreign diplomat; and countless others. But will he finish his final mission before the present takes precedence over a Perfect Future? One that may have more cracks than he realizes?

Review:  I found this to be a good combination of engaging entertainment and thought provoking philosophy.

Zed is a “protector” of the future. His world of peace and well being resulted from the survivors of the great conflagration that destroyed the world of our present. Now Zed’s job is to make sure that events in the past (our present) occur as expected.  Zed travels to the past and follows instructions given by superiors to protect certain events. Zed insures that no “hags” interfere with the time stream.

Hags are other time travelers who are trying to stop the events that led to the great conflagration.
If the hags aren’t stopped they might go back and kill Hitler or prevent the 9/11 crashes. Although this would save thousands of lives, it wouldn’t allow the future to become what it should be... according to Zed’s handlers. There is a certain paradox that Zed is helping maintain tragic events but, in protecting the past, the argument is ‘the end justifies the means.’

The story also follows the paths of three present day people whose lives cross. Each character reveals a different view of corruption and a different sense of being alone. A common thread of the characters is their disillusionment with their jobs and their struggles to change circumstances surrounding them.  Eventually, or more accurately, finally, even Zed starts to question the instructions and limited facts that he is being fed.

Most of the story takes place in the present time and reveals pictures of Zed’s future world through comparisons.  Zed wonders if people appreciate the fresh air and the complex cities they live in. He marvels at the different races of people with their  prejudices and anger. He steps into the beautiful churches and thinks about the religions that cause such strife.  The reader gets a vision of a future world without races and without religion. But you also begin to see the restrictions in Zed’s world where they are not allowed to learn of the history before the great conflagration. They are not allowed to question their superiors.  Is it possible that Zed’s loved ones have been killed to eliminate their threatening inquires and to manipulate and control Zed?

Zed begins to learn more about the alias that has been established for him. As he uncovers the circumstances of the missing “Troy Jones” and discovers more events of that life it begins to cross over into parallels - or is it memory? - of Zed’s life.  Zed doesn’t know what to do when he realizes that he has always been able to look back at the facts given him and he has forgotten  what it is like to not know what the future holds. Manipulating the events of the past creates a point where one has to question which circumstances will change the future?  Could the future be better ... or worse? And who gets to make the decisions as to which events to protect or which might be better changed? With so much corruption abounding, who are really the revisionists?

This is a story that could probably benefit from a re-reading. I liked the writing which switches from first person for Zed to third person for the other characters. I read part of the book and  listened to part on Audible to speed the reading.  The narrator did a very good job and for me the easy but steady pacing blended with the puzzlement of the “what if” question.

                                               ###

I received the ARC for review from Mulholland Books, Little Brown and Company, division of Hachette.
I will probably add this to the ARC box after a bit. 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? November 7, 2011

This meme starts at Book Journey!
What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Whew- I had another busy week with more good reading - again I finished five books.  I posted five reviews, four with giveaways. I had another announcement for special offers from Sourcebooks; a Forever Romance Tour announcement and a "New Look" Announcement.  I posted my regular Friday Pick Giveaway; Saturday Sharing Beyond Books, and Sunday posts. 

I am going to have to keep posting at least five reviews a week to keep up with the reading! Yikes!

I did get to visit early in the week. After that my blog visiting and emailing went pffffft.
These were last week's posts plus a Winner post not listed.

Finished Reading:

1. Audio
This was really interesting with all the authors. I will post a review later this week.  I am reviewing this for Audiobook Jukebox and Simon & Schuster Audio.  



2. Print and Audible:
by Thomas Mullen
I enjoyed this "Time Cop" type Story.  
I plan to post the review Tuesday.
Read for Little Brown & Co.






3.  Print/Kindle:
by Cara Elliott
I really enjoyed this historical novel -great characters. The review with double giveaway is set for 11/10 blog tour. But I might post this one on 11/9 to space out the reviews. Read for Hachette - Forever Romance.





4. Kindle:
Sierra Bride
by Suzanne Barrett
This review and eBook Giveaway is linked above.
Reading for the Author.







5. Audible
Bone Crossed: Mercy Thompson, Book 4
I squeezed this in over the last few days while doing chores. :-) Another good book in the series. I may not get to post a review for a week with the other items lined up.
In a world where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters live beside ordinary people" (Booklist), it takes a very unusual woman to call it home. By day, Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic in Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shape-shifter with some unusual talents, Mercy's found herself maintaining a tenuous harmony between the human and the not-so- human on more than one occasion. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Line Edits/Releases: I had to handle clerical items so no releases this past week.


Currently reading:
1. Print:
Deliciously Sinful
by Lilli Fiesty

I am mid way on this one.
Great characters but a bit hotter level.
The review with double giveaway
is set for 11/10 blog tour.
Reading for Hachette - Forever Romance.
Book Description
November 22, 2011
Things are cooking in the kitchen...and the bedroom.
Restaurant owner Phoebe Mayle thought she had it all under control. Sure, her new chef has a bad-boy reputation - and a chiseled body to match - but she's positive she can whip him into shape.
But from the moment Nick Avalon roars into town in his Hummer, he makes her whole world sizzle. Now Phoebe has lost control of her kitchen, and Nick has taken over her mind and her body. His insatiable appetite for pleasure leaves her breathless with carnal cravings only he can satisfy. Yet can their hunger for each other be a recipe for a love that lasts?


2. Print:
by Shari MacDonald
This is our Church Book Club Selection 
to be read by this coming Saturday.
We picked something very light but it looks like fun.
Description:
Lucy Salinger has always been brilliant at making matches--for everyone else. But though she is owner and leading "matchmaker" at one of the most prestigious dating services in Los Angeles, Lucy finds herself withdrawing from every man who might be interested in dating her.
When handsome and successful behavioral psychologist Dr. Campbell Howard comes into her office...and Lucy proceeds to set him up on the most disastrous dates in dating history! Is Lucy just losing her touch? Or is she, on a subconscious level, choosing women she knows aren't right for Cam...just so she can save him for herself?


3. Print:
by RaeAnne Thayne
This is a Harlequin read for survey
that is to be completed by 11/13.
Book Description
Hqn May 24, 2011
Claire Bradford needed a wake-up call.What she didn't need was a tragic car accident. As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope's Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that's what she tells herself, especially when her best friend's sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police.
But when the accident forces Claire to slow down and lean on others—especially Riley McKnight—she realizes, for the first time, that things need to change. And not just in her own life. The accident—and the string of robberies committed by teenagers that led up to it—is a wake-up call to the people of Hope's Crossing. The sense of community and togetherness had been lost during those tough years. But with a mysterious "Angel of Hope" working to inspire the town, Riley and Claire will find themselves opening up to love and other possibilities by the end of an extraordinary summer….


4. Audio:
by Laini Taylor
I have seen a lot of buzz on this and was thrilled to get it on Audio for review. I will start listening tomorrow.
Book Description
September 27, 2011 Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?


I didn't get to start this and it will wait until after those I need for this week!
Print:
by Gillian Bradshaw  
I will start this at the end of the week.
Reading for Sourcebooks.
Book Description
October 1, 2011
Arthur Pendragon strives to unite a fragmented empire as his bastard son threatens to tear down the king, his queen, and their bravest champions. From the sudden death of innocence to a perilous campaign that strikes at the very heart of the empire, this third and final book of the acclaimed trilogy by Gillian Bradshaw offers the reader a front-row seat as Arthur's dream and his kingdom collapse around him.


I am also listening to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. 
I am at Ezekiel 3 and Hebrews 8.

Line Edits: I still have one more of the Dark Bride Anthology series; then many Smashword and print releases to work on.
November is another busy month
Scheduled Reviews and Tours:
11/10 Blog Tour: Forever Romance Turning up the Heat - two book Reviews and Giveaway
11/17 The Storm That is Stirling by Lisa Renee Jones with Author Guest Post - Sourcebooks
11/17 to 27th Gratitude Giveaway Hop - Mine will be International although the list currently says US
11/19 Blog Tour: Forever Romance Great Scots and Highland Heat - two book Reviews and Giveaway -     Highland Hero by Amanda Scott and The Sinner by Margaret Mallory
11/22 Embrace the Highland Warrior by Anita Clenney with Guest Post -Sourcebooks

Additional Publisher Books
 Sourcebooks:
         Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish by Grace Burrowes
         The Highlander's Heart by Amanda Forester
FaithWords:  Paper Angels by Billy Coffey
Hachette: Three Day-Town by Margaret Maron
Little and Brown:
         Help for Writers by Roy Peter Clark 
         Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

Remaining Author Selections - These are now into November and I am going to be pushing to get them in between the publisher selections.
Karen Wiesner - Love Is Blind and It Don't Pay the Bills Either (Denim Blues Mysteries, Book 2) (read)
Souls on (B)oring Street [Denim Blues Mysteries Book 3]
Anne Patrick Renegade Hearts
Nibi Soto - The Chronicles of Quant
Nathan Patrick Hardt - The Second Sonata
Suzanne Barrett - Gift of the Heart Christmas Novella

[To be posted:
These were read and ready for reviews for Authors. I am sending out interviews for these. I hope to post them all soon.
Quest for Magic by Jean Hart Stewart - Read; review to be posted with interview.
Seeing for the First Time (What You See is What You Get) and To See (What You See is What You Get) by Nicole Zoltack - Both Read; setting up author interview with reviews.
Steamrolled by Pauline Baird Jone. Read; review to be posted with author interview.]

Sunday Words of Encouragement November 6, 2011

Today our Pastor continued his messages on the Holy Spirit - specifically the Holy Spirit in us. Pastor pointed out that we may receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ but we don't always let the Spirit live - or act - through us.  I am paraphrasing our Pastor's message into a shorter message below.

We may be like a house with electricity lines running to it but there is no light unless we hook in to the power company and then turn on the switch and allow the power to flow. The Spirit is given for action, not to wear as a badge. We often resist the Spirit's move to act; grieve the Spirit by our action, or quench Him by inaction. Just as we put gas in our car on purpose for action, we must choose to allow the Spirit to be turned on in our lives for a purpose ... to serve.  We must be careful not to be ashes that show there once was fire but it has burned out. Does you life give beauty in the world or ashes?


We sang this as a praise song - it is new to me but speaks the thoughts of my heart!
Your love makes me sing!
(There were several versions...
I like the images on this even though it didn't have words so the words are beneath.)
Your love is amazing! Steady and unchanging!
Your love is a mountain firm beneath my feet!
Your love is a my'stry! How it gently lifts me!
When I am surrounded, Your love carries me!
(Chorus)
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! Your love makes me sing! (repeat)
Your love is suprising! I can feel it rising!
All the joy thats growing deep inside of me!
Every time I see You, all the goodness shines through!
I can feel this God song rising up in me!
Chorus(repeat)
How it makes me sing!
Chorus(repeat x4)
Your love makes me sing! Your love makes me sing! Your loves make sing!

A Verse for Today:
Ephesians 5: 18-20 New International Version (NIV)
  18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
When we worship I love feeling the "God song rising up in me!"  Today I pray that I would choose, each day, to allow the Spirit to show His light and power through me in whatever way He wills. 

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Blog Tour - Forever Romance Turning Up the Heat

Get ready - Forever’s TURNING UP THE HEAT blog tour begins next week!
Giveaway: Package includes 1 copy of each book to 3 winners.
Check back for my Review and Giveaway date: November 10. I'm thinking I might post the review for Too Wicked to Wed on the 9th and the review for Deliciously Sinful and the Giveaway on November 10.

Turning Up The Heat Tour.JPG
Follow the Tour:
Posting    Blog URL    Tour Participation
Mon Nov 7    www.thebookgirl.net    "Review, Giveaway"
Mon Nov 7    http://www.renees-reads.blogspot.com/    "Review, Feature, Giveaway"
Mon Nov 7    www.mybookaddictionandmore.com    "Review, Giveaway, Interview"
Mon Nov 7    http://bodicerippernovels.wordpress.com    "Review, Giveaway"
Mon Nov 7    http://www.sosaloha.blogspot.com/    "Review, Feature, Giveaway"
Mon Nov 7    www.rexrobotreviews.com    "Feature, Giveaway"
Mon Nov 7    http://www.justanothernewblog.com    Giveaway
Mon Nov 7    http://booksandmakeup.blogspot.com/    "Review, Giveaway, Interview"
Mon Nov 7    http://www.cuzinlogic.com    Giveaway
Tues Nov 8    www.smexybooks.com    "Review, Giveaway"
Tues Nov 8    http://paranormalromanticsuspensereviews.blogspot.com    Giveaway
Wed Nov 9    http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com    "Giveaway, Interview"
Wed Nov 9    http://hangingwithbells.blogspot.com/    "Review, Giveaway"
Thurs Nov 10    http://fictionvixen.com    "Review, Feature, Giveaway"
Thurs Nov 10    www.seductivemusings.blogspot.com    "Review, Feature, Giveaway, Interview"
Thurs Nov 10    my-book-views.blogspot.com    "Review, Giveaway"
Thurs Nov 10    http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/    "Review, Giveaway"
Thurs Nov 10    http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/    "Feature, Giveaway"
Fri Nov 11    http://teddyrose.blogspot.com/    "Feature, Giveaway"
Sat Nov 12    http://brokenteepee.com    Giveaway
Sun Nov 13    http://thefictionenthusiast.blogspot.com/    "Review, Giveaway"
Sun Nov 13    http://www.sarahsblogoffun.com    "Review, Giveaway"
Mon Nov 14    http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com    "Review, Giveaway"
Wed Nov 16    http://www.theepicrat.com    Review
Wed Nov 16    http://book-obsessed.com    "Giveaway, Interview"
Thurs Nov 17    http://www.lovetoreadforfun.com/    "Review, Giveaway"
Thurs Nov 17    http://romancingrakes.blogspot.com    "Review, Giveaway, Interview"
Fri Nov 18    http://bookslikebreathing.blogspot.com    Review
Fri Nov 18    marygramlich.blogspot.com    "Review, Feature, Giveaway, Interview"
Fri Nov 18    http://www.startingfreshnyc.com/    "Review, Giveaway"
Fri Nov 18    http://onebookshy.blogspot.com    "Review, Giveaway"
Fri Nov 18    http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/    "Feature, Giveaway"
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