Another Interesting Article from PW: Amazon to Drop Free Books from Kindle Bestseller List

Check out the Publisher's Weekly article by Rachel Deahl here. (I don't want to step on any copyright toes by publishing it here).

So what do you think - will splitting the Amazon bestseller lists between the ones people are buying and the ones people are downloading for free make a difference?

I think it will be interesting to look at and  hopefully it won't hurt the promotional benefits of the free books.  I admit I love the free books especially when it's an earlier book in the series that is free and trying to promote the newest book.  I have no qualms about buying books for my Kindle and love the free books to try new authors.

So I guess we'll see how it goes whenever they split the list.

Sewing Books on my wishlist

So my wonderful fellow readers - are any of you sewers as well?  I have been on a sewing kick as of late and just received some money for Mother's Day so I was perusing Amazon for sewing books.  I have a wishlist and I thought I would share what I have seen around with you.  Also if you do sew - what is your favorite sewing book or what is on your wishlist?  I would love to add more books to mine so if you know of a great book please share it in the comments.

So here are a few books on my current wishlist:

Vogue Sewing Revised and Updated

A trusted classic since 1975, Vogue® Sewing has remained a consistent bestseller and sewer’s favorite. Now it’s been fully revised and updated, with the latest information and all-new photographs and illustrations, introduction, and page layout.  From choosing a machine to mastering couture techniques, it covers everything stitchers need to know to make professional and fashionable garments. It’s certain to remain the premier sourcebook for sewers everywhere.

This technique-rich Vogue’® manual contains comprehensive instructions for understanding pattern markings, selecting fabrics and notions, hand-stitching and mending, pressing, and measuring to fit.  Everything’s beautifully laid out, with charts and detailed explanations. And as it teaches, it also steers you to the right project for your sewing level, with a plethora of photos that showcase different options for both beginners and those more expert with a needle.

PatternReview.com 1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts and Tips

Saw this on Patternreview.com this morning and I want it - trying to decide whether to preorder it or now.

This book contains the best hands-on insider sewing tips from the popular sewing website PatternReview.com, a community of more than 170,000 members. The entries are collected from the website’s enormous database of members’ shared comments and advice, rated by hits and reviews. Also included are five special how-to features by PatternReview.com's master teachers and pattern designers, who regularly conduct online chats and workshops (including Kenneth King, Susan Khalje, Sarah Veblen, Shannon Gifford, and Anna Mazur).

 

How to Use, Adapt, and Design Sewing Patterns by Lee Hollahan

This one looks good to me - has anyone read it or heard more about it - it has one 5-star review on Amazon.com.

Making clothes is fun, fashionable, and thrifty but how can you find a pattern that fits you just right? And how can you adjust it if it doesn't?

This book shows you how to get the most from sewing patterns—from choosing the right size to understanding all the different markings and translating flat shapes into wearable garments. You will learn how to change the shaping, length, and detailing to suit your own body shape, taste, and style.

Once you understand how to adapt a store-bought pattern you are well on your way to designing your own clothes. You'll understand how to make a new pattern out of a ready-made store-bought one, or draft your own from scratch.

 

Fit for Real People: Sew Great Clothes Using Any Pattern by Pati Palmer, Marta Alto

Presented in a new edition that adds updated pattern industry news and revised rules for selecting pattern size, this easy and practical fitting system requires no measuring, no drafting skills, no muslin mock-ups—and it works with all brands of tissue paper patterns. Real people of all ages are featured in photographs that explain the steps of cutting out pattern pieces, pinning them together, and adjusting the fit. Special attention is paid to tricky challenges such as accommodating a full bustline, adjusting sleeves, or reworking a garment to make it more flattering, as well as alternative fitting methods such as draping and computer design. Metric conversion charts, charts for comparing pattern company bodice measurements, and a history of American dress design (Just where did size 10 come from?) make this book a versatile reference.

One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Fabric Projects by Rebecca yaker, Patricia Hoskins

One-Yard Wonders will delight anyone who has ever fallen for fabric - from the novice sewing enthusiast to the lifelong seamstress. The book presents a delightful array of simple, stylish projects that can be made with just a single yard of fabric - from apparel to accessories, from plush toys to pet beds, from baby items to bags, and from home decor to "Happy Birthday" banners. Projects have a hip,contemporary flair, and most can be completed in a few hours. For each project, the book provides a full-color photograph, easy step-by-step instructions, and simple illustrations. Templates and pattern pieces are also included wherever needed, making this collection of 101 projects the best sewing deal ever.

Great fabric demands to be purchased, even if it's just a  yard or two at a time. But such tantalizing textiles should never hide in a closet; One-Yard Wonders promises gift-worthy solutions for that stash of irresistible fabric-store buys. At last, it's time to stop storing and start sewing!

Winner Catch-Up

In an effort to play catch-up on my blog after sickness and just plain busyness, here are two giveaways that I haven't announced winners for yet:

Weekend Wondering from April 17th - thank you so much each of you for your wonderful ideas for guest posts - you all had great ideas and ones I will keep in mind in the next few weeks as I plan for the summer.  The winner from the post is:

Fredamans

Also I had 2 copies of PACE: The 12-minute Fitness Revolution by Al Sears, MD to giveaway and the winners are:

Edmontonjb

Stacy

I will be contacting all of you, but if  you see this and haven't heard from me,  please contact me with your mailing address and I will get these in the mail to you.

CF Fundraising Winners

Thank all of you so much for your participation in my CF Fundraising efforts.  I raised $256 total for the team and I believe my Sister-in-law's team (which I was a part of) brought in over $2800 for the event.  This was our first year with her hosting the event on her own, so much was learned, but we brought in a nice amount of money for the CF Foundation and that is awesome!

So since there were actually more prizes than entrants I decided to have a grand prize winner who gets their pick of two of the prizes. And the first and second prize winner also get two of the prizes.

The grand prize winner is:  

Tori (Book Faery)  

I contacted her and she wanted both of the Amazon.com GC, one from me ($20) and one from author J.P. O'Donnell ($25)

The first place winner receives a set of the Gallagher Books from author J.P. O'Donnell and the choice of 5 books from my giveaway shelf:

Jessy

The winner of a set of Gallagher Books from author J.P. O'Donnell (which includes Fatal Gamble and Deadly Codes) and a set of the 4 Hachette Book titles is:

Bookie

The winners of the sets of the 4 Hachette Book titles (The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris, Corked by Kathryn Borel, Roses by Leila Meacham, and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith) are:

Aik

Donnas

Thank you all for your donation and tweets that have helped to make my first fundraising attempt a success!

Also thank you very much to the wonderful J.P. O'Donnell for donating 3 of the prizes.

And thank you to Hachette Books for also donating the sets of books.

Book Tour and Review: The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin

The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin

Publisher: Harper Perennial  

Publish Date:  May 1, 201

 Trade Paperback, 392 pages

My Review:
I was thrilled to be asked to review The Queen of Palmyra by TLC Book Tours.  I had seen it around the Waiting on Wednesday meme and knew it sounded good.  I live in the south so I love the authors who write about the south.  Also this time frame is one I am somewhat unfamiliar with.  You know how history class in high school goes, you always cover the same time frame and never seem to make it past World War I, at least that was how it was in my high school.  So I have a gist of what went on in the 1960s, but not a full understanding.

The Queen of Palmyra gave me more of a feel of the 1960s in the deep south.  It was entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time.  The characters came alive for me through the words of young Florence.  I found each one interesting.  Ms. Gwin does a magnificent job with both characterization and with the descriptions and the plot too.


I don't read much of what I consider to be general fiction, but books like The Queen of Palmyra make me want to read more of it.  Real, yet entertaining, The Queen of Palmyra hooked me from the beginning to the very last word.

My Rating:  4.5/5.0

About The Queen of Palmyra

In the turbulent southern summer of 1963, Millwood’s white population steers clear of “Shake Rag,” the black section of town. Young Florence Forrest is one of the few who crosses the line. The daughter of a burial insurance salesman with dark secrets and the town’s “cake lady,” whose backcountry bootleg runs lead further and further away from a brutal marriage, Florence attaches herself to her grandparents’ longtime maid, Zenie Johnson. Named for Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, Zenie treats the unwanted girl as just another chore, while telling her stories of the legendary queen’s courage and cunning.
The more time Florence spends in Shake Rag, the more she recognizes how completely race divides her town, and her story, far from ordinary, bears witness to the truth and brutality of her times—a truth brought to a shattering conclusion when Zenie’s vibrant college-student niece, Eva Greene, arrives that fateful Mississippi summer.
Minrose Gwin’s The Queen of Palmyra is an unforgettable evocation of a time and a place in America—a nuanced, gripping story of race and identity.

About Minrose Gwin

Minrose Gwin is the author of the memoir Wishing for Snow, cited by Booklist as “eloquent” and “lyrical”—”a real life story we all need to hear.” She has written three scholarly books and coedited The Literature of the American South. She teaches contemporary fiction at UNC–Chapel Hill and, like her young protagonist, grew up in a small Mississippi town.

 

 

Minrose Gwin will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on Monday, May 17th at 4pm EST.

Minrose’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Tuesday, May 4th: five borough book review
Wednesday, May 5th: The Bluestocking Society
Monday, May 10th: Rundpinne
Tuesday, May 11th: Natty Michelle
Wednesday, May 12th: Pam’s Perspective
Wednesday, May 12th: My Reading Room
Thursday, May 13th: The Book Lady’s Blog
Monday, May 17th: Crazy for Books
Wednesday, May 19th: Staircase Wit
Thursday, May 20th: Lit and Life
Tuesday, May 25th: Dolce Bellezza
Wednesday, May 26th: Take Me Away
Thursday, May 27th: Life and Times of a “New” New Yorker
Monday, May 31st: Green Jello

What are you Reading Monday - May 10

Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and join in!

Books Completed Last Week:

• Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard (for YA Bloggers Debut Book Battle)
• Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (Library)
• Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (library) 
• When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot (library)
• Scream by Mike Dellossa (library)

Reading Now:

• Rumor Has It by Jill Mansell (from Sourcebooks for review)
• The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (library)
• The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (review/audiobook)

Next:

• The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark (library)
• More Than Words Volume 6 by Joan Johnston, Robyn Carr, Christina Skye, Rochelle Alers and Maureen Child (Review)
• Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann

Summary -
This week found me off work most of the week, but I slept a lot due to a sinus infection.  Since I was tired, most evenings found me outside my back door in my chair reading, and I roasted myself in the sun a little while on Saturday afternoon and got a bit of reading in.  I also spent a fair amount of Mother's Day reading.  It was a wonderful day filled with hugs and special gifts from my boys.  They both even seemed to get along with each other for the day which allowed for my reading time.

I had a bunch of library books coming up due so that is mostly what I read this week.  Most were older and all were really good.  I think my favorite of the week was Scream by Mike Dellosso.

Audio Book Tour and Guest Post: One Night in Memphis by Allie Boniface

Please welcome Allie Boniface, author of One Night In Memphis to My Reading Room.  She has a great guest post for us today on her tour stop at my blog.

Allie will be giving away the winner’s choice of either the Lost in Paradise audiobook or One Night in Memphis audiobook to one randomly drawn commenter from the tour and to the tour host with the most comments, excluding duplicates or Allie’s responses. So comment away for a chance to win.  Now on to the guest post:

Book covers – ah, a delicate topic. As a small press author, I’m fortunate enough to have some say in what goes on mine (authors who write for big New York publishing houses aren’t usually that fortunate). But what do authors request, when the cover art form comes along? Typically, we’re asked to give physical descriptions of our main characters, along with an overview of the plot. We’re also asked if there’s anything we really do or do not want on our covers. I’ve always been really happy with my covers – but I do have a couple of stories that go along with them.

My first two covers with Samhain Publishing, One Night in Boston and One Night in Memphis, are night-time city scapes with clock hands imposed on them, suggesting the locale and intrigue of the plots, which is pretty accurate. They do not, however, suggest to a casual observer that they are romance novels. I was happy with this at first, because my stories are sweet rather than sensual or erotic, so I thought appealing to a wider range of general readers would benefit me. And it has, I think – to a certain degree. However, it has also, I recently discovered, run the risk of landing my book in the “wrong” hands. I have found that certain readers thought my books were more suspense than romance – and when they got halfway through, didn’t like the storyline after all.

So despite the cliché about not using book covers to judge, people still do, which means now I do believe that they really should suggest what genre your book falls into. Now, by the way, Samhain pretty much requires their covers to have people/faces/figures on the front. So my latest release, One Night in Napa, does. (I’ll admit: I really, really like it – it portrays the setting as well as the sensuality perfectly).

When I contracted my books with Audio Lark to produce them as audio books, I got new covers – how exciting! I love them both, and I think both suggest perfectly what to expect from the story. They are sweet love stories – but Lost in Paradise does have a hunky hero (check out the muscular back on the audio book cover!) and One Night in Memphis suggests the right amount of suspense and unfolding attraction.

But enough about me – what do you think? I’d love to know. Check out my audio book covers at http://www.audiolark.com/books/tag/allie-boniface/  or any of my print covers at http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/allie-boniface  and let me know your thoughts! Do covers sell books? Have you ever felt “misled” by a cover? Will you make a purchase decision based on the cover alone? Do tell!

About the Book:

What if a woman, tired of broken hearts and bad choices, traveled a thousand miles to the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, and spent a night forgetting her past in the blues clubs of Beale Street? What if a man who lost his wife to cancer ventured to Beale Street's social scene for the first time in over a year? And what if they met and realized love was still possible for them both?


Dakota James and Ethan Meriweather have both given up on finding happiness in a relationship. When they meet in downtown Memphis, at a crowded nightclub, neither has romance on the brain. But as the evening unfolds, and small talk turns to the stuff of hopes, dreams, and shared loss, a kinship grows that surprises them.

Before the night is over, though, Dakota's past will catch up with her in the form of a violent ex-boyfriend. As dawn approaches, and tragedy threatens to tear Dakota and Ethan apart, both will have to make a decision that could change their lives forever. Is new love worth putting your life on the line for someone you've just met?

Other Tour Stops:

April 29: Sherry Gloag
April 30: Word Wranglers
May 3: The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object
May 4: Liana's Place
May 5: You Gotta Read Guest
May 6: Book Junkie
May 7: My Reading Room
May 10: Marta's Meanderings
May 11: Nicole Zoltack
May 12: Perils of Pauline
May 13: Jacqueline Page