BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - WINTER IN THE SOUL BY JENNIFFER NOVOTNEY

Winter in the Soul by Jennifer Novotney

 In a world divided by power and greed, seventeen-year-old Lilika harbors an intense desire to return to Winter in the Soul, the place her family left to escape the darkness that was manifesting from a coldness of the soul. When she meets Talon, their connection is evident right from the start, and together they travel through the Black Kingdom to recover Lilika’s stolen locket. And in search of an answer to the mystery behind Winter in the Soul. Lilika holds the key to stopping the darkness from spreading. The fate of their world lies in her hands. Will she stop the Black Kingdom before its darkness overtakes them all, or will they succumb to the darkness that is spreading across the land?

 

Praise for the Book

“This book is original, cleverly written and most of all a great read.” 

 “This novel is very suspenseful and can be enjoyed by young and old alike.” 

 “I really, really liked the story line, it is fresh take in the high fantasy/magic genre.”

DO WOMEN WRITE BETTER THAN MEN?

I don't particularly agree with stereotyped considerations and cliches or generalizations, but this survey proposed by grammarly.com sounds interesting. Have a look and feel free to share your opinions and comments below. Do women write better than men?

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE THIRD TWIN BY C.J. OMOLOLU

The Third Twin by C.J. Omololu

When they were little, Lexi and her identical twin, Ava, made up a third sister, Alicia. If something broke? Alicia did it. Cookies got eaten? Alicia’s guilty. Alicia was always to blame for everything. The game is all grown up now that the girls are seniors. They use Alicia as their cover to go out with boys who are hot but not exactly dating material. Boys they’d never, ever be with in real life. Now one of the guys Alicia went out with has turned up dead, and Lexi wants to stop the game for good. As coincidences start piling up, Ava insists that if they follow the rules for being Alicia, everything will be fine. But when another boy is killed, the DNA evidence and surveillance photos point to only one suspect—Alicia. The girl who doesn’t exist. As she runs from the cops, Lexi has to find the truth before another boy is murdered. Because either Ava is a killer . . . or Alicia is real.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE CRYSTAL KEEPER BY LAURISA WHITE REYES

The Crystal Keeper by Laurisa White Reyes

Fourteen years before The Rock of Ivanore… Jayson lives among the shadows of Hestoria, his sole purpose for staying alive – to protect his half of the Seer’s crystal. Exiled from his homeland for loving the king’s daughter, Ivanore, Jayson is now pursued by two opposing factions: the Vatéz (League of Magicians) who intend to use the crystal for their own selfish gain, and the Guilde, the ancient guardians of the crystal. Meanwhile, Ivanore flees from her father to Hestoria in search of Jayson. As the Seer, she is plagued with visions of him being tortured and is determined to rescue him. When the Vatéz capture her, however, she unwittingly jeopardizes everything Jayson has vowed to protect. He must now make a terrible choice: Should he save Ivanore or save the crystal? The Crystal Keeper trilogy is available in print or digital formats.

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - MIRANDA'S CHOICE BY MYA O'MALLEY

Miranda's Choice by Mya O'Malley

Have you ever felt that the grass is greener everywhere else? Meet Miranda James. Miranda has a problem. Her friends and family are wrapped up in themselves, so clueless. With divorced parents, a mother who is always on her case and a new step-mother on the horizon, Miranda wishes that everybody would just grow up. In a moment of magic, Miranda is mysteriously pulled into the life of a charming mermaid and her adventurous daughter. Why can’t her life be so carefree and exhilarating? Why can’t her own mother be more like Abigail, the mermaid? Be careful what you wish for though. Only through self-realization can Miranda figure out that perhaps the grass is not always greener. Held captive in an underwater paradise, Miranda wishes to desperately recapture the life she used to have. Through many twists and turns, Miranda is caught up in a whirlwind of emotions, including finding her first true love. Miranda is faced with making a decision that will not only affect her own life, but also those around her. What would you choose?

Amazon

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE RULES OF ROME BY A.L. SOWARDS

The Rules in Rome

With Hitler’s forces firmly entrenched in Europe, countless heroes seek to end the madman’s reign. Bastien Ley is one of the best. Working in Italy for the Office of Strategic Services, he’s been tasked with sabotaging German convoys. When his team kills an officer headed for Rome, the man’s similarity to Bastien is undeniable, and seeing an opportunity to turn the tide of the war, Bastien makes a bold decision: he will assume the dead officer’s identity. He becomes Dietrich, an Iron Cross–wearing German officer—an ideal position from which to infiltrate the Nazi ranks in Rome. To help with his stressful assignment, his superiors send him a reinforcement in the form of the lovely Gracie Begni, an intelligent and eager radio operator with absolutely no undercover experience. With a gulf of resentment between them, these two agents must find a way to portray a couple in love. Soon their reluctant alliance becomes much more as Bastien and Gracie find themselves getting lost in their feelings for each other. But as they engage in battle against the deadliest foe the world has ever known, the pair quickly realizes their love may be doomed. As the Rome Gestapo threatens to destroy all they’ve worked for, will Bastien and Gracie survive their charade?

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords * Deseret Book

  Praise for The Rules in Rome

 - Readers who hunger for a great espionage thriller with an extra helping of romance will devour The Rules in Rome. A.L. Sowards is at the top of her craft with this terrific WWII suspense novel. It is definitely a book not to be missed! Gregg Luke, author of Bloodborne and Deadly Undertakings   

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - SALLY SMITH O'ROURKE, DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Days of Future Past by Sally Smith O'Rourke

It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think of as our present existence, as a dream. --Edgar Allen Poe Fate sometimes conspires to right a decades-old wrong. And the 6.8 earthquake that strikes Southern California one warm March night is the fateful event that brings family therapist Ann Hart and trauma specialist Ted McConaughy back together. In search of her cell phone after the tremor, Ann picks up a shard of vintage cut glass from a collection she and her husband gathered during the four years of their marriage. 

For the millionth time she thinks about the day six years ago when he disappeared on a search and rescue mission in the Sierra foothills. Sitting atop the shattered crystal, a small silver cigar lighter glistens in the beam of her flashlight. Gently she returns the Victorian piece to the shelf. What does it mean that something she and Ted, her ex-fiancé, bought together survived when Alex’s beautiful glass is smashed to dust? Ann tells herself that it doesn’t mean anything more than glass breaks and silver doesn’t. Sara Jane McConaughy has never experienced a strong earthquake, and as her father comforts his 16-year-old daughter, his mind is flooded with memories of the Northridge quake in 1994. 

He was living with his fiancée, his ex-fiancée, and even after all these years he doesn’t know what caused the split, but he always loved her. And he’d been sure she loved him. Volunteering with the American Red Cross in the aftermath of the earthquake brings Ann and Ted face-to-face for the first time since their break-up, twenty years ago. Angry, flustered, excited, and bewildered by Ted’s sudden appearance and unusual behavior while she’s teaching a small group of people relaxing exercises, Ann demands he leave. Just as excited and bewildered, Ted rushes away. His exit leaves both of them wondering about … everything. 

JEFFREY PERREN, THIS WRITER'S LIFE - MEET THE AUTHOR OF COSSACKS IN PARIS

Up before dawn — tea for me, coffee for the wife, pet the dog. Check emails, correspondence with beta readers, and miscellaneous.

So far, that doesn’t sound very exciting. But that’s the business side of things. I leave as much of that as I can to my publicist — remembering how blessed I am to have one who loves my work.

Later, write or edit the latest story. It will be a re-telling of the William Tell legend and later a trilogy set in the Age of Discovery.

THE WIFE MAKER BOOK BLAST + GIVEAWAY

The Wife Maker by Karey White

Charlotte has spent years as the husband maker, sending every guy she dates off to enjoy marital bliss with the next girl he dates. But things have now changed, and she's determined to use her husband-maker abilities one last time--on herself. And she finally knows exactly who she wants. Angus has loved Charlotte since they were teenagers, but he's tired of waiting for her to realize how good they could be. She's broken his heart one too many times, and it's time to move on with his life. Maybe a position halfway across the country will be just what he needs to get over her. But when Charlotte won't let him go without a fight, Angus has to decide if he's willing to let her in again or if she's too late.

Amazon

DIFFERENT SHADES OF LOVE - WHAT WILL ITALIAN VALENTINES SEE TODAY?

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Both to those of you who will celebrate and those who won't, May this day be filled with love, of any type,  for anyone and anything. 

Many girls will spend part of this day with their beaus today and may possibly  convince them to join them and  see a romantic movie,  a beautiful love story to warm up a very special date. 

What are the romances my fellow Italian movie-goers in love will find in their cities'  theatres?

FIFTY SHADES OF ... GRAMMAR!

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson star in Fifty Shades of Grey 

Well, we can shout our dissent in a hundred different ways, anyhow Fifty Shades of Grey will be as successful on screen as it was in print. It has been released in theatres just in time for Valentine's Day and it'll be seen by millions of enthusiastic fans and many others will join them following the hype. 

You know, dear critics and detractors (me included),  all your attacks and hammering against it have only made it a bigger event. 

Now,  it is time we give it a break and accept the fact that so many people like or even love this peculiar (may I say that?) love story.

When I read the first book in E L James's  trilogy to discover what all the fuss was about, I was totally puzzled by the poor quality of the writing. It was even worse of the worst fanfiction I had ever read. But, the Grammarly team doesn't agree with me and reviewed the book for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, learning that — although there were some mistakes — the errors were in alignment with similar gaffes in celebrated romances!

They have sent me the results in this amusing infographic below. Check out some of the most frequent grammar mistakes from Fifty Shades of Grey, as well as some quotes from classic romances that also make these mistakes. The language of love really is a language of its own!

WAITING FOR THE OSCAR NIGHT - THE IMITATION GAME (2014)

Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing - The Imitation Game

"Sometimes it's the very people who no one imagines anything of 

who do the things no one can imagine"

Alan Turing was a prodigy endowed with incredible stubborness and will power. He succeeded in an apparently impossible enterprise saving thousands of lives during WWII: he invented a machine to decrytp  Enigma, the Germans' secret code, thus boycotting many of their deadly attacks on Britain. He saved all those lives  thanks to his ingenious intuition, algorithms and computing being almost a game to him . He contributed to change the outcomes of a horrifying war,  designing his machine which could compute thousands of figures at a speed a human mind could have never achieved, neither the most brilliant. He is now considered one of the fathers of computer science and a war hero. 

BLOG TOUR - DIAMOND RINGS ARE DEADLY THINGS BY RACHELLE J. CHRISTENSEN + GIVEAWAY

 

Tour Schedule

Diamond Rings are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen

Adrielle Pyper knows how to plan a wedding, and she is especially good at pleasing bridezillas. But when her biggest client and best friend is murdered just three days before the wedding, Adri’s world falls apart. She moves to the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, and starts from scratch. Thanks to Adri’s impeccable taste and unique style, she lands two celebrity clients, and her business seems headed for success–that is, until someone vandalizes the specialty wedding dresses she imported from overseas. The race is on to uncover a secret hidden within the yards of satin and lace before Adri becomes the next victim. With a delightful blend of mystery, toe-curling kisses, humor, and spine-tingling thrills, Diamond Rings are Deadly Things is a romantic suspense novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.  

Amazon

Praise

“I love Rachelle J. Christensen’s stories and characters, and Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things is another thrilling mystery to add to my collection. Don’t be surprised if you have to stay up all night to finish he book!” ~Rachel Ann Nunes, author of Before I Say Goodbye 

DEFINING CONTEMPORARY ART - A BOOK, A VIDEO

25 years in 200 pivotal artworks

(by guest blogger Thomas K Brent)

In terms of contemporary art, people often feel lost. What makes a very great masterpiece of design? Why is usually this painting better than that just one? What will be the qualities people should be seeking? When can be an artist faking it? As a result people are always researching to sharpen the mind, to assist to produce a better see and expand the setting. That’s why people adore Defining Contemporary Art, a fresh book posted by Phaidon. Eight well known curators choose 200 pivotal artworks from the last 30 years along with explain why those performs changed the lifetime of art. Big surprise: even a few Belgian painters made your cut.

MERYTON PRESS SHORT STORY CONTEST - SUMMER LOVIN'

BEGINS – 9:00 a.m. Feb 1, 2015 (US Pacific time)

ENDS – 11:59 p.m. March 15, 2015 (US Pacific Time)

Meryton Press is conducting a contest to find the best short stories.

The theme of the contest, “Summer Lovin’,” represents the summer season. The interpretation of the theme is left to the writer’s imagination; the story may have summer as a backdrop or may convey a sense of happiness and light. It might be a romantic comedy set in the South Pacific, a thriller in the everglades of Florida, a romance in Queen Victoria’s summer court, an ode to the ocean and Elizabeth Bennet, or a mail -order bride in the Old West—anything your summer muse suggests.

Any genre is acceptable as long as there is ROMANCE. Austenesque is a plus, but is not required. In other words, so long as there is a commonly accepted or acceptable interpretation of the theme embedded in the plot, it works for us. However, this contest is not for children’s stories. Our target audience is readers over 18 years old.

The contest will be judged by a panel of independent judges, and the results will be announced by mid-April 2015.

DREAMING OF VENICE WITH LAURA MORELLI'S TRAVEL GUIDE BOOKS + AWESOME GIVEAWAY

Planning a trip to dreamy Venice? Just dreaming of being there one day? Or you've already been there and would like to leaf through your beautiful memories? These wonderful travel guides by Laura Morelli will be of great help and I'm really glad to give you the chance to know more about them and even win them in the giveaway you'll find right below this post. Good luck and happy dreams, everyone!

Traditional Arts of Venice

( guest post by Laura Morelli) 

By its very nature, Venice is a walking city. Devoid of automobiles and bikes, Venice requires your feet—and occasionally a boat—to get where you want to go. The city is replete with opportunities to window-shop, to pause and chat with a shop owner, to linger over unexpected treasures and finds among the maze-like streets and squares in which you will find yourself inevitably lost.

When I stroll along the alleys and quaysides, my mind flashes with images of what Venice must have been like some five hundred years ago: a city-as-artisanal-factory, its doors open to the streets, its wares spilling out onto the cobblestones. It is easy to conjure the ring of the blacksmith’s hammer and aroma of hot coals from the forge; to envision glassblowers twisting molten shapes at the end of their blowpipes; to imagine woodworkers, painters, and gilders sweeping sawdust flecked with red pigments and gold out into the alleys from the thresholds of their doors. That’s because, in spite of cycles of decline and renewal in its artisanal enterprises over the past three hundred years, Venice maintains its place as a world capital of the handmade, the beautiful, the richly colored, the impossibly ornate.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... REBEL QUEEN BY MICHELLE MORAN + GREAT GIVEAWAY

Out on March 3rd!

I'm really happy to share this awesome upcoming release with you all: Rebel Queen,  a new brilliant historical fiction novel by the internationally bestselling author of Nefertiti and Cleopatra’s Daughter, will be out on March 3rd! Michelle Moran is back with the breathtaking story of Queen Lakshmi—India’s Joan of Arc—who against all odds defied the mighty British invasion to defend her beloved kingdom.

Below this post you can enter a great giveaway contest: it is open internationally, you can win and receive a signed hardback copy as well as gorgeous bangles directly from the author. If you participate in this giveaway, you can receive a free signed bookplate clicking  HERE and entering your details. The giveaway ends on February 9th. Good luck!

About the book

When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the mid-nineteenth century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge.