Showcase: Sophie Moss author of Seal Island Trilogy

First, I want to say CONGRATS to Sophie 
on the release of the newest installment in the 
Seal Island Trilogy 
entitled 
The Selkie Enchantress 
released TODAY!!!

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Sophie Moss writes modern-day Irish fairy tales. Her stories are full of magic, mystery, and romance. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. When she’s not writing, she’s tending to her garden. She has a strange knack for finding four-leaf clovers and writes best while sipping a Guinness.

Visit Sophie at her website: http://sophiemosswrites.com/ 

or Twitter @SMossWrites

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 Q&A

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A.  My best ideas come when I am outside, surrounded by nature. When I’m working on a new story, I spend hours in my rose garden and read everything I can get my hands on.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A.  Hearing from happy readers!

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

A.  Remembering to pull away from the computer. I tend to get obsessed once the story gets rolling.

Q.  If you could not be an author, what would you do/be?

A. A journalist. I love to meet new people, learn new things, and experience something new every day.  

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A.  Practical Magic. I know it’s already taken, but I think I’ll borrow it anyway. It pretty much sums up my life. I’m practical and realistic about the serious things in life, but I still believe strongly in magic and fairy tales. I’m always searching for ways to incorporate magic into everyday life.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A.  Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A.  Sally Owens from Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic. She loves to garden and is very close with her family. She’s steady and reliable and the one everyone turns to when things go wrong. She respects magic, but knows that the greatest healer of all is love, family and friendship.

Q.  What character from all of your books are you most like?

A. I sprinkle bits and pieces of myself into all my female characters, but I have yet to release a book where the heroine is a lot like me. Though, I would like to be friends with all of my female characters.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. Spring, because I can spend time in my garden again!

Released TODAY!!!!

Q.  What inspired your book covers?

A. I wanted my covers to invoke a feeling of magic, mystery, and romance.  I wanted there to be an element of fairy tale beauty and dream-like longing.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. I do most of my book promoting on Twitter, interspersed with loads of ridiculous conversations with some of the wittiest, silliest people I’ve ever met. I laugh out loud all day, every day on Twitter. It makes promoting a lot of fun.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A.  I’m working on the third story in the Seal Island Trilogy now. The Selkie Sorceress (Sam and Glenna’s story) will be released in early 2013!

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  I love to hear from readers! And I’m very chatty on Twitter, so pop over and say hi!

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Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2011

In this modern-day fairy tale romance, American doctor Tara Moore’s life is transformed when she travels to an enchanted Irish island and discovers she has the power to break a 200-year-old curse. At first, Tara laughs off the villagers’ speculation that she is descended from a selkie—a magical creature who is bewitching the island. But when a ghostly woman appears to her with a warning, Tara realizes it was more than chance that brought her to this island. Desperate to escape a dark and dangerous past, Tara struggles against a passionate attraction to handsome islander Dominic O’Sullivan. But the enchantment of the island soon overpowers her and she falls helpless under its spell. Caught between magic and reality, Tara must find a way to wield both when a dangerous stranger from her past arrives, threatening to destroy the lives of everyone on the island.

*Read Mandy's review of The Selkie Spell HERE

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2012

In this modern-day fairy tale romance, Irish islander, Caitlin Conner, has been in love with professor of Irish folklore, Liam O'Sullivan, for as long as she can remember. But just when he's starting to look at her as more than a friend, a mysterious woman arrives on Seal Island and captures his heart. As Caitlin discovers the truth behind the woman's lies, she realizes Liam is trapped in a dangerous enchantment and the only way to break the spell is to uncover a secret Irish fairy tale that has remained hidden for hundreds of years. But when the petals of a white rose grown in winter start to fall, the legend is set in motion. And Caitlin must find a way to change the ending before the last petal falls.

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Blog Tour: Rum Punch Regrets by Anne Kemp: Review/Q&A

Follow the tour HERE

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Author Bio:  Anne Kemp is the author behind the Abby George Series, which includes her debut novella, All Fruits Ripe, and first novel, Rum Punch Regrets, which is available in print and as an eBook. She is also the columnist behind “Anne In Progress,” which appears monthly in the Frederick News-Post, a newspaper in the DC-Metro area. As a blogger, she was nominated for a 2012 Bloggers Choice Award for Best Humor Blog, and is known for penning “The Ultimate Late Bloomer.”

Follow her on Twitter, @MissAnneKemp, or join her fans on Facebook for fun contests and giveaways. You can always find her at her website: www.annekemp.com.

*A portion of Anne's proceeds are donated to Lupus LA.

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Book Description.....

In just a few short weeks, thirty something Abby George has endured the death of her mother, was dumped by her fiancé, and got laid off from her job.

Stunned and seeking a shoulder to cry on, she turns to her perfect older sister, Leigh. But instead of comfort, Abby receives a surprise: Leigh needs her in the Caribbean to help with some mysterious personal business.

While assisting in the sale and repair of a bed-and-breakfast, Abby uncovers a few huge family secrets as she juggles an unexpected roommate, quirky locals, and nasty centipedes.

Abby's world is further complicated when two potential suitors enter her life. Can Abby get beyond her own psycho drama long enough to open her heart to someone new? Or will she neurotically make her romantic life worse?

Packing nothing but her suitcases and a sense of humor, Abby George travels down an unfamiliar road, but it's all she can do to hang on for the ride...

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My review:

I absolutely adored this novel.  It made me wish I could run off and hang out in the Caribbean, just for a bit!  I loved watching Abby stumble through the mystery adventure that her sister sent her on.  I loved watching her make friends (some quite fun), find her passion, balance love interests, uncover deep hidden family secrets and ultimately find herself.  When the novel ended, I found myself wanting more.  So that is a sign of a great 4.5 star novel.  I am excited to know that this is part of a series and the Abby George story will continue.  I am a new fan of Kemp and I cannot wait to see where this story will take Abby and her crazy cast of friends and family!!!

To view my review of All Fruits Ripe click HERE

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Q&A

Q.  What inspires your writing? 

My imagination. It's always been crazy active and I find myself making up little stories about people all day long. Most of the time, those stories bleed into characters for whatever I'm working on. My friends and family inspire me as well - you can usually find little bits of all of them showing up in my writing.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

That I now have an excuse to make up those little stories all day long. :) That, and I used the excuse "it's for research" when I was buying the Twilight DVD.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

Fighting distractions when I sit down to write. I love it when I hit my stride and get lost in the day. I'll look up and five or six hours have flown by. It's like finding your zen spot in writing and riding it home.

Q.  If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

I have always said I'd love to end up running a bed-n-breakfast. Maybe one day...

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

Starting on Monday

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

I'd have to go back to childhood and say anything from the Nancy Drew series. I read them all and loved every moment!

Q.  Which part of your book(s) was the easiest to write?

The flirty, romantic parts! I love those - I'm a romantic at heart so writing those scenes made me really happy. 

Q.  Which part of your book(s) was the hardest to write?

There's a scene where Abby talks about the death of her father - I believe that's in the novella, ALL FRUITS RIPE. I based it loosely on my own father's death when I was 15, so walking down that road once more made for a tough afternoon.

Q. Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind your book cover(s)?

While the island of St. Kitts lends itself to thoughts of sandy beaches, clear, blue water, and frosty, yummy cocktails adorned with fruit, I have to point the design finger at 

Kelly Hanna, who is the master designing the covers (and also did my website at www.annekemp.com)  and my agent Cynthia Manson. These two women truly have an eye for detail and were the best resources for the cover!

Q.  Which character from any book are you most like?

Well, I'd have to say Abby from RUM PUNCH REGRETS. She is totally my alter-ego. Except she has waaaay more fun!!

Q.  What is your favorite season?

Spring - everything is fresh and new again. When you walk outside, the world just smells and feels cleaner.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book(s).

I got to walk the red, well orange carpet at the Lupus LA Orange Ball in May the night before the book came out. My dress was adorable, kind of had a 1940's vibe, and my shoes were new, strappy black heels. I hit the plush carpet and came oh-so-close to landing on my butt in front of literally hundred of cameras! My heel got caught in the carpet and I did a little jump to catch myself. If I had fallen it would be so me. I am that girl!

Q.  Are you working on something new?

I'm wrapping up the next installment in the ABBY GEORGE SERIES which will be a novella, and then starting on the fourth, which will be another novel. It's a six book series in all.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

Thank you so, so much for stopping by - If we were all together in a room, I'd find a way to hug each one of you individually!

Q. Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind your book cover(s)?

While the island of St. Kitts lends itself to thoughts of sandy beaches, clear, blue water, and frosty, yummy cocktails adorned with fruit, I have to point the design finger at  Kelly Hanna, who is the master designing the covers (and also did my website at www.annekemp.com)  and my agent Cynthia Manson. These two women truly have an eye for detail and were the best resources for the cover!

Buy the books!

Review: I've Had it up to Here with Teenagers by Melinda Rainey Thompson

I absolutely loved this book.  Melinda's quick wit, straight forward talk and entertaining stories had me feeling like a normal mom by the time I was done with the book.  Melinda tells it like it is: mean mamas of the world unite.  In this book we learn the trials and tribulations of raising teenagers, it is a hard job but somebody has to do it.  I learned about the rooms, clothing choices, curfews, dinners, driving and attitudes of teenagers.  I feel justified in my mothering skills; its nice to know that mothers of teenagers can feel a kinship.  I would highly recommend this book to all of my friends with teenagers.  I give it 5 stars!!!!

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“For years and years of relatively smooth-sailing childhood, my kids followed my directives,” writes Melinda Rainey Thompson. “If I said, ‘Let’s go swimming!’ they fled down the hall to pull on their swimsuits, shedding their clothes along the way. If I said, ‘So sorry, the mall is closed today,’ they didn’t doubt my pronouncement for a moment—even if the parking lot was crammed.”

And now that her kids are mostly grown?

“I was good with babies. Teenagers—not so much,” Thompson admits. “I don’t get many hugs anymore. Any I do get are inevitably instigated by me while they stand there like martyrs tied to a stake. Recently, when I was the rare recipient of a spontaneous hug from my seventeen-year-old, I got so excited I dropped the basket of chocolate-chip muffins in my hands. I was anxious to hug back while it was still on offer. It was totally worth the muffin loss.”

Thompson’s three teenagers bury her under an Everest of laundry. They send her for groceries so often that she once heard a store employee cry, “Incoming!” They leave such a quantity of half-eaten sandwiches around their rooms as to provide a buffet for roaches. They complain for hours about 10-minute chores. They spend their parents’ money like it magically regenerates and hoard their own like it’s the last dose of the elixir of life.
To put it another way, they’re typical teens.

In her inimitable style, Thompson makes I’ve Had It Up to Here with Teenagers both a humorous rant against teens and a celebration of seeing them rise from the ashes of battle to become well-adjusted, responsible humans. “Parental love is fierce and illogical,” she writes. “I think it is the strongest force on earth. It trumps everything, thank God: sleepless nights, hard stadium seats, endless recitals, broken hearts, losing seasons, throw-up viruses, bad grades, poor choices, and everything else life throws at teenagers and their parents.”


*To view Melinda's guest post entitled "Time's Up" on MMBBR click HERE


Buy Melinda's books here:

Review: Hello, We're the Fuzzwippers by Maryilynn Halas

Review:
As a mother (and booknerd) I am always looking for books that have something of value to teach my children.  YOU ARE LOVED is such a wonderful thing to reinforce with children.  The Fuzzwippers are fuzzy little friends that connect with kids that need to feel needed, loved and wanted.  With imagination, beautiful illustrations and a cute story I really enjoyed this picture book.  

But it really isn't important what I think, here is what my boys think of Hello, We're the Fuzzwippers:

Braden (age 5):  "I like it.  I really liked that the friends learned to be good friends.  I also really liked the pictures.  The Fuzzwippers are really cute."

JD (age 4):  "I think the Fuzzwippers are fun and funny"

Well I guess the children have spoken!  They loved the Fuzzwippers as much as I did!  Check it out for your little ones today!

Review: The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion

Karen McQuestion grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second of four girls. As the daughter of two school teachers, she was required to get good grades and stay out of trouble, which she did, for the most part.

Later she got a really cool last name when she married Greg McQuestion. When they met, she was intrigued by the fact that he danced like Steve Martin and looked like Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones movies. Today he looks less like Harrison Ford except for his smile--a mysterious smirk. The dancing is the same.

Together they have three kids—Charlie, Maria, and Jack. They’re nearly grown, but still like hanging out with their parents, (or maybe they just like going out to eat and on vacation, and having someone else pay for it).

In 2009, after nearly a decade of trying to get her fiction published, Karen uploaded her books to be available on Amazon’s Kindle. What happened next was astounding. From the start, sales were good and supportive readers gave her books positive recommendations and reviews. As a result, one of her novels, A Scattered Life, was optioned for film in November 2009. And then, just when she thought things couldn't get any better, she got (and accepted!) an offer from Amazon's new publishing division, AmazonEncore, to publish the book in paperback. It came out in August 2010.

Today she has seven books under the AmazonEncore imprint, two of which are published in paperback by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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About the novel:  Four women bound by chance take the trip of a lifetime in Karen McQuestion's fifth novel The Long Way Home.

For Wisconsinites Marnie, Laverne and Rita, life isn't working out so well. Each is biding time, waiting for something better, something to transport them out of what their lives have recently become. And then there's Jazzy: bubbly, positive, and happy even though she hears voices of the departed. Brought together by a chance meeting, the women decide to join Marnie on a road trip from Wisconsin to Las Vegas where she intends to reunite with Troy, the boy she raised as her own—and who she’s been separated from since her boyfriend’s death. Little do they know that as the road trip unfolds, so will their lives—in directions they never anticipated. Humorous, heartwarming, and bittersweet, the journey has something special in store for each woman.

Heartwarming, funny, and occasionally bittersweet, The Long Way Home is a winning novel of friendship and love from best-selling author Karen McQuestion. 

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My Review:

This the first book I read by McQuestion and I have to tell you that I really enjoyed it. McQuestion has a genuineness that comes through the pages.  She tells a story that any woman can relate to.  The story is about how grief brought some very different women together and how each gave the other something that they did not even know they needed.  I marveled while watching the women evolve and create bonds while they traveled across the county.  I laughed, was moved, cheered and honestly, at times, wanted to yell at the ladies.  This novel speak volumes to how grief can take over your life and how friendship can transform you!!!   I highly recommend it and rate is 4.5 stars!!!!

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BUY THE BOOKS!!!!

Review: From Magnia to Murder by Caroline Mickleson

My Review:

I absolutely loved this cozy mystery by Mickelson.  The novel takes place in Littly Italy in 1946.  Sophia, the main character, is spunky, determine and wise.  She and her brother who run a private detective agency not only try to find the truth behind who killed Vincenzo, the extremely unpopular chef at a local restaurant, but also try to win a personal battle.  This novel has twists and turns, interesting characters and a great setting.  I am so excited that this is a series because I want to see what other precarious situations Sophia can get herself into.  If you love mysteries, you will love From Mangia to Murder.  I highly recommend it and rate it 4 stars.     

About Caroline:

 BIO * WEBSITE * CONTACT

Blog Tour: This Tangled Thing Called Love by Marie Astor: Excerpt

 

Follow the tour Here

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Author Bio: Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, This Tangled Thing Called Love,romantic suspense novel, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie Astor is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Transadonia: Silverboard Rider.

If you would like to find out more about Marie’s books, please visit Marie at her website: www.marieastor.com.

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Read an excerpt:

Back in the safety of her apartment, Claire locked the door behind her. Her face was burning crimson red – she had never lost control like this before.

She stumbled into the kitchen and put on the coffee pot – she was too rattled up to go back to bed now. Mechanically, she poured cereal into a bowl and splashed some milk over it. Taking a bite of her cereal, she cringed as she replayed the encounter in her mind – she could not remember the last time she had been this flustered. She liked to think of herself as a fairly rational person, and yet, just now she had behaved like a complete maniac. First, she had burst into a total stranger’s apartment, and then, she ogled his naked, incredibly muscular torso – at this thought Clair cringed again, hoping that her new neighbor had not noticed this lapse, and then, after he had tried to make small talk despite her unexpected appearance in his apartment, she nearly screamed at him for playing his music too loud. And to top it all off, after he had sincerely apologized, she snubbed his perfectly good-natured offer of a cup of coffee.

Reliving the memory of her embarrassing behavior was enough to make Claire burrow her face in her hands and pull on her hair. She was a grown woman and she knew how to handle tough situations. What on earth made her act like this? Sure, Alec’s devastatingly handsome looks could have been an explanation, but Claire knew full well that it was not the answer. A part of her wished it had been the answer – that would have made things so much simpler. But Claire was in love with David Lawson, and she was not the kind of woman who got smitten by a six-pack, no matter how hard, or dark eyes, no matter how piercing. No, the true reason lay in the music – the sultry, maddening tango music.

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 2012

Claire Chatfield has everything a girl could possibly wish for: looks, a promising career, and an engagement ring from one of New York's most eligible heir-bachelors! Life should be a dream and yet, it does not feel like one... When an enigmatic new neighbor, Alec Brunell, moves into an apartment above from Claire's, Claire is surprised to find herself wondering whether the choices she has made in her life are worth following through.

In order to secure his place as his father's successor, David Lawson must settle down with a wife befitting the future head of Lawson Enterprises - and who could fit the prerequisite better than lovely Claire Chatfield? There is just one glitch - David Lawson is in love with another woman.

Alec Brunell has never lacked for women's attention, but he finds himself at a loss when faced with his downstairs neighbor, Claire Chatfield. Still, her iciness only adds fuel to his fire, as Alec is determined to change Claire's view of him.

This Tangled Thing Called Love follows the story of four people searching for love - will they have the courage to find it?

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Connect with Marie Astor:  Amazon author page * Facebook * Good Reads

Books by Marie Astor:

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 Click HERE to enter to win several great prizes!!!

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