Thursday, January 24, 2019

Book Tour, Review, & Giveaway: Hometown Girl After All by Kirsten Fullmer


Hometown Girl After All
Hometown Series Book 2
by Kirsten Fullmer
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Julia lost everything while she was ill. Self-conscious and alone, she’s moved to Smithville, determined to hide away in her rundown Victorian house. Little does she know, she can’t hide anything in a small town, including her interest in the deliveryman. 



Resolved to keep his life simple, Chad has his hands full running his delivery business and supporting his adopted family. So why can’t he get that withdrawn city girl, Julia, off his mind?

Will the eccentric but well-meaning Smithville folk push Julia and Chad to open up, or will the emotional toll drive them both back into seclusion?



Review
Julia has moved to the small town of Smithville with her dog Ringo. She's looking for a place to hide after a serious illness that's left her debilitated but soon finds that small towns aren't good for being left alone. For starters, local deliveryman Chad has an eye on her as well as his employee Bobby and a mysterious black and white cat. But Chad has issues of his own that brought him back to town, and Julia's complications aren't what he wants - or does he?
This is a lovely story about recovering from illness after losing everything and finding a home. I especially liked the author's characterization of Julia who can be depressed and ornery but is still likable as she finds her true self while not losing the steel that imbued her former personality. Chad's a nice guy who takes care of others but has been a bit lost and finds his true home in Julia.
There are some funny incidents that made me laugh out loud but fit into the story well. I can relate to George's 'illness' as I had the same thing happen in my past. 
I recommend a visit to Smithville; you won't regret it.



Hometown Girl at Heart
Hometown Series Book 1

Hometown Girl Forever
Hometown Series Book 3

Christmas in Smithville
The Hometown Series Book 4

Hometown Girl Again
Hometown Series Book 5


Kirsten grew up in the Western US and graduated from high school in 1984. She married soon there after and quickly built a family. With three young children and number four on the way, she returned to college in 1992. Her career as a draftsman included many settings ranging from a steel fabrication shops to prestigious engineering firms. Balancing family life with the workplace forced her to become the queen of multitasking. In 2001, bored with the cubical life, she moved on to teach drafting in technical college, then to opening her own consulting firm teaching 3D engineering software. Due to health problems, Kirsten retired in 2012 to travel with her husband for his job. She now works writing romance novels and enjoys spoiling her three grandchildren. Since 2017 Kirsten has lived and worked full time in a 40' travel trailer with her husband and her little dog Bingo.



Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!





Monday, January 21, 2019

Book Tour & Giveaway: Uncle and Ants by Marc Jedel


Uncle and Ants
A Silicon Valley Mystery Book 1
by Marc Jedel
Genre: Cozy Mystery 

Mysterious attacks. Mischievous nieces. Can a clueless uncle catch a tech-savvy killer … and be home before bedtime?
When a freak accident hospitalizes Marty Golden’s sister and condemns him to babysitter duty, he thinks it’s just another case of hardwired bad luck in Silicon Valley. Until a suspicious murder suggests the mishap was no mere coincidence. Something must be done.
Too bad this quirky, fashion-backward uncle isn’t exactly hero material.
Convinced his sister is in mortal danger, this amateur sleuth follows clues to an oddball array of suspects. Armed with nothing but an eye for detail and powers of self-delusion, Marty tangles with gangsters, a cantankerous school secretary, and a perplexing woman he can’t help but fall for. Glitches in his investigation seem like a piece of cake compared to dinner-prep and bedtime stories with his two precocious, pre-teen nieces.
Can Marty catch the culprit, save his sister, and get his life back in order before he gets unplugged?
Uncle and Ants is the first novel in a refreshingly modern mystery series set in Silicon Valley. If you like clever humor, sassy side characters, and average Joes facing extraordinary circumstances, then you’ll love this twisty mystery.
Buy Uncle and Ants to login to a fresh, funny mystery today!




Chutes and Ladder
A Silicon Valley Mystery Book 2

Can super-agent (in his own mind) Uncle Marty solve not one, but two mysteries without becoming a victim himself? Will he ever be forgiven for bringing Buddy, the Labrador, into his sister’s house?
All your favorite characters from Uncle and Ants are back in a crazy, new adventure. Plus, introducing a new member of Marty’s family!


Coming Soon!


Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. In his high-tech marketing roles, he's also written fiction. These are just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.

In his family, Marc was born first — a fact his sister never lets him forget, no matter what milestone age she hits. For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. Some, especially when he was young, involved his sister as the villain. As his sister’s brother for her entire life, he feels highly qualified to tell tales of the evolving, quirky sibling relationship in the Silicon Valley Mystery series.

Family and friends would tell you that the protagonist in his stories, Marty Golden, isn't much of a stretch of the imagination for Marc, but he proudly resembles that remark.

Like Marty, Marc lives in San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley, where he writes within earshot of the doppler effect of the local ice cream truck. Unlike Marty, Marc has a wonderful wife and a neurotic but sweet, small dog, who much prefers the walks resulting from writer’s block than his writing.

Visit his website, marcjedel.com, for free chapters of upcoming novels, news and more.




Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!




Thursday, January 17, 2019

Book Tour & Giveaway: Delusions by Amy Crandall


Delusions
by Amy Crandall
Genre: YA Psychological Thriller

As she waits to give her statement in one of the interrogation rooms of Arcata Police Department, Abigale recites the same line over and over inside her head.


I did not kill anyone.

I did not kill anyone.

But there’s a trail of bodies, and it leads straight to her. The events that brought her to this very moment all point to one thingher guilt.

She must convince Detective Collins of her innocence, but how can she explain her ties to the victims, and the evidence that has her name written all over it?

Then there’s the mysterious Facebook profile. DarkHeart434.

Who is DarkHeart434? And why does it seem like this person has all the answers, including the identity of the real murderer?

As pieces of the puzzle start to come together, everything about Abigale’s life begins to unravel—her past, her presentand even her self-proclaimed innocence.





Amy Crandall is an avid reader and novelist born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. She began writing in elementary school, publishing her first story on Wattpad.com at the age of thirteen. With the support of her loved ones and newfound friends on the site, Amy continued to share her thoughts and interests in the form of storytelling.


Before her Wattpad.com days, she was published in A Celebration of Poets - Summer 2012 (Creative Communication, 2012) for her poem My Garden. That experience only drove her desire to further pursue writing. Her first full-length novel, "Delusions", was a featured story on Wattpad.com, reaching #7 in the mystery/thriller genre, and surpassing 115,000 reads, before its publishing.

When she isn't envisioning a new story plot, Amy can be found camping with loved ones, getting lost in a great read, jamming to her favourite tunes, or giving in to her craving of Timmies' iced lemonades.





Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!






Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Trad Tuesday: Green Grow the Rashes sung by Dougie MacLean



Green Grow the Rashes is a song with lyrics by Robert Burns. It is the first of his poems to be set to music. Dougie MacLean's version is one of my favorites.
Lyrics
there's nought but care on every hand
in every hour that passes o
what signifies the worth o' man
and 'twer na for the lasses o
green grow the rashes o
green grow the rashes o
the sweetest hours that e'er i spent
were spent amang the lasses o
the wardly race may riches chase
and riches still may fly them o
when at last they catch them fast
their hearts can ne'er enjoy them o
gie me a cannie hour at e'en
my arms about my dearie o
and wardly cares and wardly men
can no' gae tapsalteerie o

Book Tour & Giveaway: The Allegiance Series by Erin McDermott


Captive Rebel
The Allegiance Book 1
by Erin McDermott
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

In a world where Greek Gods rule over the Allegiance, Marylyn O’Conner struggles to survive. 


Marylyn is a rebel, forced to do the rebellion’s bidding until an unforgiving family debt is paid. A pawn in the war against the Allegiance, she is obligated to become a rebel spy, or her family will suffer. 

When word spreads that an Allegiant Prince, Ariston, has escaped rebel captivity vowing to hunt down rebel spies, Marylyn realizes her only hope is to escape Allegiant territory. 

While on the run, Ariston captures Marylyn, preventing her from any chance of returning home. Desperate, she knows she needs to escape her alluring captor or risk the safety of her family. 

But Marylyn can’t keep herself from falling for the mysterious prince as she finds that he can empathize with her troublesome past - a past no ally has understood before.





Immortal Rebel
The Allegiance Book 2

He is scarred by betrayal, she lives by deceiving others...


Betrayed, rebel Michael O’Conner blames himself for the Allegiance laying waste to the rebel town Pyke. After Pyke’s destruction, a curse of immortality was placed on him by the three Furies. Ashamed, he vowed to live a disconnected life, undisturbed by anything occurring outside his seclusion.

Phoibe is an Allegiant bounty hunter, circumstances forcing her to collect bounties or lose her only home. When she is tasked with capturing a girl named Marylyn O’Conner, for a promising reward, Phoibe agrees. To aid in her mission, she creates an alliance with the isolated immortal, Michael O’Conner.

After learning his sister has been taken captive by an Allegiant Prince, Michael O’Conner realizes he can no longer hide from the world. He agrees to join Phoibe and save his sister, completely unaware of her ulterior motives.

Phoibe knows she needs to keep everything a secret from the handsome immortal, or risk losing her only home. Phoibe only hopes she can handle the heartache that will come with betraying a man who has already experienced so much betrayal in his past.





Forgotten Rebel
The Allegiance Book 3

She will do anything to save him, even risk her only chance to return home...


Fanny is an exiled princess of the Allegiance, a faction favored by the Greek Gods. She was exiled for loving a rebel, but now he has gone missing. She will do anything to find him - even place her trust in the mysterious yet enticing stranger, Adonis.

He promises Fanny he knows where the rebel, Charles, has been taken, but refuses to explain how he knows. Seeing that he is her only hope, she follows him on a journey to the Allegiant capital, hoping Charles is still alive.

The only catch? Adonis does not know Fanny is exiled. She needs to feign Allegiant royalty if she wants his help. Desperate, that is exactly what she does.





Erin McDermott was born and raised in New Jersey. She graduated college with a bachelors degree in History. If she's not in her room writing, you may find somewhere on the Jersey Shore with her family. She has been writing stories since 3rd grade. It was not until after experiencing the fast-paced life New York City had to offer that she decided to finally take the plunge and finish her first book, CAPTIVE REBEL (The Allegiance, Book 1).


During her years in college she expressed a deep interest in Greek Mythology, which she incorporates into The Allegiance Series. She is incredibly grateful to her family for supporting her throughout the trials and tribulations of the independent publishing process.




Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!







Sunday, January 13, 2019

Book Review: The OCD Games by Kayla Krantz

This is a sweet novella about a subject I haven't seen covered much in fiction, especially in the romance genre. Erica suffers from OCD, mostly having to replicate action three times. Ms. Krantz does a nice job explaining her compulsions and how Erica tries to cope with them. She attends her support group and sets up mechanisms to help her when she gets a new job. Her friend Kara helps though sometimes Kara seems manipulative, pushing her at Blaine, a guy at her new job.

I know little about this disorder but the subject matter is compelling. My only quibble is the book was too short. I would have liked to hear more about Blaine and seen an exploration of their relationship as it grew. Also, while dealing with Christmas lights is covered, I'd have liked to see how Christmas stresses someone with OCD. Still, it's a nice quick story and well-worth reading.

Link to Amazon

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Book Tour & Giveaway: Starburst by Kae Galla


Starburst
A Place To Call Home Book 1
by KAE Galla
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Nova spent years in a world she didn’t belong, never knowing who or what she is. Years of questions and confusion, but the time has come for her to find out who she really is and where she belongs. Does she have a family that misses her? Have they been looking for her all along? Are there others like her? What could possibly have happened to bring her into the human world when she was so young?

The answers to all her questions are out there somewhere, and it’s time she found them. It won’t be easy, it may even be dangerous, but it’ll be worth it. Finding her family is only the first step, from there she will have to piece her life back together as she learns the differences between who she is and who she was meant to be. What will happen when she’s thrown into a world she knows nothing about?







My name is KAE Galla and I've loved writing since before I knew how. I'd sit with my mom and grandma telling them exactly what I wanted my story to be, and they would write it down under misshapen scribbles I tried to pass off as art work. It wasn't until years later that I finally decided to go full throttle with my passion and share it with the world. Now, thanks to the support of my loving family, great friends, and an amazing team, my dream of becoming an author are reality. My heart is in Paranormal Romance, and Romance in general, but I love challenging myself and broadening my horizons so you can bet there is more to come!




Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!