A Perfect Storm Excerpt and Shedding Light on Human Trafficking by Lori Foster

 Excerpt from A Perfect Storm by Lori Foster

She had a need to even the score with people already dead, the monsters who’d hurt her badly.

Suddenly she leaned forward. “Can you keep a secret?”

Damn, he didn’t want to play these games. “Depends.”

She scowled. “On what?”

“On whether or not keeping it is in your best interest.”

Sitting back in irritation, she demanded, “Why does that concern you?”

He countered with, “Why do you want to tell me?”

For long moments they stared at each other, and then she broke. “Fuck it. I don’t. Not anymore.” After downing the rest of her coffee, she scraped back her chair. “I’m outta here.”

Spencer caught her wrist. And of course, that got her going. 

My review of A Perfect Storm will be coming later today. 

The next stop on the Scavenger Hunt is: http://www.bookish-brunette.com/

Shedding Light on Human Trafficking by Lori Foster

 

I can’t say that any particular series has affected me in a great way. I’m a writer – I “make up stuff.” I know evil exists, but I also know love is there to help balance it. That said, obviously, after all the research, I’m more aware of human trafficking. It’s HERE, in our cities, our towns, sometimes our own neighborhoods. People you thought were safe, are not. Careers you considered mundane are intricately involved.

I have truck drivers in my family. GREAT guys. Totally trustworthy. Wouldn’t hurt a fly, and would do what they could to defend anyone abused.

Yet in my research I found that many sales of underage girls and captives happen at truck stops. Obviously, all truckers don’t take part, but enough do that it’s a key spot for surveillance when breaking down trafficking rings. I don’t know if the men are ignorant of the girl’s age and/or circumstances. Maybe they think these women are willingly taking part. Maybe they think the underage girls are older. Regardless, it’s unforgiveable.

I also learned that Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have a *wonderful* organization. http://demiandashton.org/  “We are committed to forcing sex slavery out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Freedom is a basic human right and slavery is one of the greatest threats to that freedom. No one has the right to enslave another person. Freedom - It's in our DNA.”

These days, I stop in to get my nails done, and I notice closed doors in the back, women who look like they’ve just awakened. I pass by shabby hotels or read about issues at restaurants, and wonder if one of the rooms is used to house innocents caught up in forced labor. I see kids on the street, and pray that they’re just out and about having fun, getting into the same mischief common to many youths. But I always worry now. 

Introducing Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight

Introducing the new member of the Nook family. I'm excited about the GlowLight while still keeping the E-ink technology.  I'm a Kindle owner, but I am seriously debating this one. What do you think about the new Nook? Do you have a Nook, do you like it?

You can pre-order today and it ships free, I believe it starts shipping May 1.

Book Review: The Discovery by Dan Walsh

The Discovery by Dan Walsh

Publisher: Revell Books

Publish Date: April 1, 2012

Paperback, 346 pages
Fiction, Historical, Romantic Elements
 ISBN: 978-0800719814

My Review: 

The Discovery captured me from the very first page.  First off you have a man who is celebrating the life of his grandfather.  He misses him, he's sad he has passed, but he's okay with it.  I also love that he's not money hungry and anxious about what he's getting and neither is his wife.  Yes they are excited (and they should be) once the will has been read but no one in the family is obsessed with the money part.  They all seemed to love the grandfather dearly.  So that endeared me to this first.  No arguing, bickering family members.  Yes there is Michael's sister who wants to know the family history, but there is really no arguing.

After the dust settles the real story starts, and the real story is not Michael's story, but a the book that Michael finds that Gerard wrote and never published.  I loved the book-in-a-book angle.  And of course you as the reader know it's Gerard's real story, but that doesn't take away from the beauty of the story or the wonder of finding out just what Gerard's story was.  Sharing this with Michael was amazing.  I was enthralled.  I must admit that I love reading about the World War II era so this was right up my alley.  It just seems like things were simpler then.  We had a national pride, we were behind the war and our soldiers.  I know things were tough and it was a harsh war, but I love stories set on our home soil during this time frame and this one was so different from what I was use to that it was completely refreshing.


While reading, this quote from the book really stood out to me and brought me to tears.  It's taken from a scene where Ben in Gerard's book is talking to a Catholic priest and he's trying to work through the secrets he carries, the priest responds with this quote which just struck me as very powerful at the time:

"Priests are just people. But the thing is, God see through it all. He sees our hearts as they are, That's why we don't have to play games with him, try to pretend we're doing okay when we're actually hurting inside. We can come in whatever condition we're in, knowing he loves us and knows exactly what we're thinking and feeling. I've been through something myself recently, where I've rediscovered just how true that is."

Wow, just wow.  And don't get scared off, the book is not preachy, in fact that's probably as preachy as it gets with this beautiful quote. 

The Discovery is sweet, there is action and adventure, there is romance, and there is a love that spans a lifetime and proves love can endure anything.  This book gave me hope, left me feeling happy and refreshed in the end and looking for my husband to tell him I love him.  Dan Walsh has done it for me again by writing another winner that I read from beginning to end in one sitting.  So come fall in love with Michael and his grandfather and make your own discovery while reading this book.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

About the Book:
Gerard Warner was not only a literary giant whose suspense novels sold in the millions, he was also a man devoted to his family, especially his wife of nearly 60 years. When he dies he leaves his Charleston estate to his grandson, Michael, an aspiring writer himself. Michael settles in to write his own first novel and discovers an unpublished manuscript his grandfather had written, something he'd kept hidden from everyone but clearly intended Michael to find. Michael begins to read an exciting tale about Nazi spies and sabotage, but something about this story is different from all of Gerard Warner's other books. It's actually a love story. 

As Michael delves deeper into the story he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well. Laced with suspense and intrigue, "The Discovery" is a richly woven novel that explores the incredible sacrifices that must be made to forge the love of a lifetime. Author Dan Walsh delivers yet another unique and heartfelt story that will stick with readers long after they turn the last page

About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
Dan Walsh's debut novel, The Unfinished Gift, rec'd a 4.5 Stars/Top Pick rating from RT Book Reviews magazine and won 2 ACFW Carol Awards. Oasis Audio released an audio book version in 2010 and it's since been released in several different countries.

The sequel, The Homecoming, released in June 2010 and also received a 4.5 Star rating from RT Book Reviews. They likened his writing to NY Times bestselling author, Nicholas Sparks. Collen Coble, CBA bestselling author called it, "One of the most delightful and touching love stories I've ever read."

Dan's 3rd novel, The Deepest Waters, released in April to more rave reviews. His 4th novel, Remembering Christmas, releases in September. Like Dan's first book, it received a 4.5 Stars/Top Pick rating from RT Book Reviews.

Dan writes fulltime, lives in the Daytona Beach area with his wife, Cindi, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. They've been married for 34 years and have 2 grown children and 2 grandchildren.

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Buy the book by clicking on any of these links (they will take you to B&N)


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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository, Alibris and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Guest Blog: Cutting and Pasting My Writerly Self by Jennifer Gooch Hummer

Today I welcome Jennifer Gooch Hummer, author of Girl Unmoored.  She's touring the blogosphere with BookSparks PR, so be on the lookout for other posts from the author and for reviews (I have one coming on the 26th).

Cutting And Pasting My Writerly Self.

Writing a novel is like trying to bend a spoon with your mind. Complete and utter long-term focus is required but, for me, seldom happens. If I had a wife like Ernest Hemingway did, maybe I too could write from 9-5. Hemingway has been quoted as saying that there were days (days!) he spent mulling over a single “the.” I can only dream of cutting and pasting a nice juicy “the” all day long. “The” is an awesome, powerful word that reigns King Supreme in some cases. “Get me the bread, please,” allows me to sit on my butt. “Get me bread, please,” means not only do I have to get up, I have to get in the car, drive to the store and buy some.

Unlike Hemingway, I do not have a wife. I am a wife. And the mother of three bread-eating non-drivers. None of these four people care where my “the” goes. In fact, they’ve never even seen my “the.” And they’re most certainly not going to wait for me to drive/feed/clothe/help them while I’m cutting and pasting it for eight hours straight.

But still, a writer must write. It’s taken me ten years to get GIRL UNMOORED published; two to write it, and eight more to finally get a “yes.” I didn’t talk much about my writing during this time. It was hard enough to get all those “no’s” in secret; I wasn’t about to publicly lament over them. But now that I’ve penned a book, I’m starting to talk. And it’s been so much fun to share my beloved characters. I’ll never get those eight straight hours, but the truth is I don’t want them. I like jumping back and forth between my two worlds. Or should I say cutting and pasting myself?

About Girl Unmoored

This sharp, quick-witted novel follows Apron, a young woman who has come unmoored by a sea of family drama and break-ups. But when she meets Mike, she’s met her mooring. Although Mike and his cantankerous boyfriend, Chad, don’t know what to do with her at first—Apron just seems to keep showing up, usually with a fat lip—they eventually offer her a job in their flower store. And then it’s smooth sailing for Apron, until she uncovers Chad’s secret. Suddenly Apron is forced to leave behind the safe harbor of childhood and navigate the stormy seas of a young adult. She knows what her real job is now, and it has nothing to do with flowers. 

 

About Jennifer Gooch Hummer

Jennifer Gooch Hummer has worked as a script analyst for various talent agencies and major film studios. Her short stories have been published in Miranda Magazine, Our Stories, Glimmertrain and Fish. She has continued graduate studies in the Writer’s Program at UCLA, where she was awarded the Kirkwood Prize in fiction. Currently, Jennifer lives in Southern California and Maine with her husband and their three daughters.

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Tens List: 10 Things We Didn't Know About the English Occupation of Wales by J. Anderson Coats

10 Things We Didn't Know About the English Occupation of Wales

10) The English occupation of Wales happened piecemeal over at least two hundred years between 1066-1284, and possibly longer depending on who you ask.

9) The English occupation of north Wales happened militarily over about eighteen months between 1282-84, and over the next several generations in the form of colonization.

8) It was made possible by the collapse of native Welsh government and the power vacuum that resulted from the battlefield killing of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and the execution of his brother Dafydd, the last Welsh Princes of Wales.

7) The English sought to ensure that the Welsh never caused trouble again, so they implemented an extensive - and expensive - castle-building, urban development and settlement program to maintain control of the area through extra-military means.

6) Caernarvon one of many castle towns planted by the English, and it was to be the new capital of the Principality of North Wales.  A small but growing Welsh settlement was leveled to make room for it.

5) On the surface, the aftermath of occupation beginning in 1283-84 was surprisingly lenient.  There were no wholesale executions of Welsh nobility and no attempts to ban the Welsh language or any other type of cultural expression.

4) There were, however, a number of quiet legal and economic sleights-of-hand that made it easy for the English to get what they wanted in other ways.

3) Which was the establishment of English hegemony by force of law and force of arms with an insidious eye toward economic subjugation and cultural assimilation.

2) The native Welsh nobility and landholders (who had kept their heads down and mouths shut) were completely aware of what was happening.  There was just nothing to do about it.  Until doing nothing was no longer an option.

1) By 1308, there was a Welsh sheriff of Caernarvon.  Time marches on.

About the Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats 

Cecily’s father has ruined her life. He’s moving them to occupied Wales, where the king needs good strong Englishmen to keep down the vicious Welshmen. At least Cecily will finally be the lady of the house.

Gwenhwyfar knows all about that house. Once she dreamed of being the lady there herself, until the English destroyed the lives of everyone she knows. Now she must wait hand and foot on this bratty English girl.

While Cecily struggles to find her place amongst the snobby English landowners, Gwenhwyfar struggles just to survive. And outside the city walls, tensions are rising ever higher—until finally they must reach the breaking point

Book Review: Unbroken by Jamie Lisa Forbes

 Unbroken by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Publisher: Pronghorn Press

Publish Date: May 20, 2010

Paperback, 324 pages
Fiction, Women's Fiction
 ISBN: 978-1932636611

My Review: 
I don't read many books about life in the west, but the books I do read appeal to me.  Something about learning about this tough way of life just brings me right into the book and into the plot.  The women are tough, they have to be, it's the only way they can survive, at least from what I can gather.  Unbroken is one of those books.  It spans the period of several years, a lot of heartache and learning and some really tough women who still need someone to lean on when the going gets tough.  It's a family saga of sorts, it's women's fiction of sorts, it's about ranching and it's about so much more.  I don't even think I can capture in this review the essence of this book, but it captured my heart and mind for the better part of a day. I thought it was well worth my time and I was wishing it didn't have to end.

The main characters of Unbroken are Gwen and Meg.  Both tough ranching women and both very different.  Meg is skittish, she's been hurt.  She's recently divorced, and she's raising her son on her own while making a go of a lifestyle that few women choose to do on their own.  Gwen is married with two kids and a father-in-law and she's at a point that she's feeling a little resentful of ranch life and the toll it takes on her, her children and her marriage.  Her friendship with Meg is a little forced at the beginning but over time the women become good friends.  I liked getting to know both Gwen and Meg through the elements of ranching and parenting.  It framed them and made them easy and interesting to get to know.  I also liked seeing how they grew and changed around each other.  How Meg admired Gwen and how Gwen admired Meg.  Both thought the other was strong.  It's always greener on the other side.  How very true in life.

As far as the plot goes, Ms. Forbes doesn't waste time, the story speeds along through time, the cattle give birth, winter comes and goes, various people die (I will admit to crying from time-to-time) and the big plot events happen.  And just when you think you have the story figured out, it takes a new turn and you learn to admire the characters even more.  This isn't a laugh a minute story.  It's tough, it's real, but that's what I liked about it.  No punches are pulled, but I liked the resilience of the characters and how they don't give up even when it would have been easier.  To me that was the great take-away value of the book, don't give up.

Unbroken was a very satisfying read for me.  I had an afternoon of peace with my husband and children gone and I was still recovering from being sick and I just relished reading this book.  I found myself putting off eating so I could read "just one more chapter" because I was so involved in the lives of the characters.  Ms. Forbes has a way of drawing you into the lives of the characters and making you feel like you are there living and working beside them, being friends with them.  It's wonderful and when the book is over you feel sad, because you want more of the story even though the story has come to it's conclusion.  But you want more because you don't want to leave the characters.  To me that is the mark of a good book, when the characters and the storyline stay with me after finishing.  When I'm still thinking about something they said or did or wondering about a point the author was making or even applying something to my life.  Unbroken has something for everyone.  Descriptions of ranching life, romance, friendship, parenting, tough decisions and so much more.  There is never a lull in the plot and I found it to be an amazing read.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:

Gwen Swan’s dreams of a life as a rancher’s wife have withered through years of 24/7 chores and warring family members. Bitterness has tarnished her outlook and troubles with her son, Rory, burden her hopes for the future.

Meg Braeburn, who has broken away from her family’s ranch, expects hard work when she takes a job on the place neighboring the Swans’. She is determined to leave a troubled past behind, yet she does not foresee how isolation will corrode her resolve. Over time, she is grateful for the friendship and support that Gwen extends to her.

But as the ranching seasons grind relentlessly onward, hearts seek comfort where it can be found and the womens’ bond is strained as both the Swan family and the Braeburn family find themselves struggling against the elements and each other to continue their way of life.

About the Author: 
Jamie Lisa Forbes was born and raised on a family ranch along the Little Laramie River in southeast Wyoming. After graduation from the University of Colorado in 1977, she studied and worked in Israel for over a year and then returned to Wyoming where she ranched and raised a family for the next 15 years. After the family ranch was sold in 1993, she moved to North Carolina and eventually began law school at the University of North Carolina. While in law school, she started her debut novel, Unbroken. Unbroken won the 2011 WILLA Literary Award for outstanding contemporary fiction featuring women in the West. Ms. Forbes practices law in Greensboro, North Carolina and is working on a second novel.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher from the author through VirtualAuthorBookTours.com for an honest review.  I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository, Alibris and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

Waiting On Wednesday (21)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I saw this in Shelf Awareness and was first intrigued by a YA offering by historical romance queen Phillipa Gregory.  Then I read the synopsis and I'm even more intrigued.  I have to read this.  What do you think?

Changeling by Phillipa Gregory 
Part 1 of Order of Darkness series
Simon Pulse, May 29, 2012
Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1442453443
ISBN-13: 9781442453449
Grades: 9 and up

Dark myths, medieval secrets, intrigue, and romance populate the pages of the first-ever teen series from #1 bestselling author of The Other Boleyn Girl.

Italy, 1453. Seventeen-year-old Luca Vero is brilliant, gorgeous—and accused of heresy. Cast out of his religious order for using the new science to question old superstitious beliefs, Luca is recruited into a secret sect: The Order of the Dragon, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate evil and danger in its many forms, and strange occurrences across Europe, in this year—the end of days.
Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft—and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.
Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.
The first in a series, this epic and richly detailed drama is grounded in historical communities and their mythic beliefs. It includes a medieval map of Europe that will track their journey; and the interior will include relevant decorative elements as well as an interior line illustration. And look for a QR code that links to a note from the author with additional, detailed information about the setting and the history that informed the writing. With Philippa Gregory’s trademark touch, this novel deftly brings the past—and its salacious scandals—vividly and disturbingly to life.

So what are you waiting on this week?