Book Spotlight: Sweet Eats: A Healthy Twist on the Classics by Marcia Slawson

May19

Sweet Eats: A Healthy Twist on the Classics
New eCookbook offers 50 delicious & nutritious gluten-free or whole grain dessert recipes

 

Finally, you can have your cake and eat it too! Sweet Eats is packed with your favorite classic dessert recipes, but unlike other cookbooks each recipe has a healthy twist. While many dessert recipes claim to be healthy, they are usually loaded with refined sugar and rarely include the trifecta of nutritious ingredients you will find here. Each mouth-watering recipe within Sweet Eats uses whole grain or gluten-free flours, natural low-glycemic sweeteners, and healthy fats.

“Desserts are so much more enjoyable without all the guilt that comes with eating them,” says author and nutritional counselor Marcia Slawson. “If you want a cookie, make it nutritious!”

Brimming with 50 delectable dessert and topping recipes, Sweet Eats is available in two versions—gluten-free or spelt and wholegrain. In addition to the recipes, each edition of Sweet Eats details the nutritional value of the ingredients used, provides information about where to purchase ingredients, and offers tips for healthy baking success.

“Many of the ingredients used in my dessert recipes are quite exceptional—like coconut palm sugar,” says Marcia. Coconut palm sugar is low-glycemic (safe for diabetics), rich in vitamins and minerals, and very low in fructose. “Now healthy desserts don’t have to taste mediocre at best. Many of my recipes use this outstanding natural sweetener and other healthy ingredients to make the most delicious and nutritious desserts!”

                                               ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Inspired by the health improvements she saw in her son who was put on a wheat-free diet at a young age, Marcia has been passionate about healthy cooking and baking for more than 20 years. When she couldn’t find recipes that met her criteria for both healthy ingredients and delicious taste, she set out to create her own. Marcia currently lives in New Jersey and has two sons.

For more recipes and healthy cooking information, please visit Marcia online at www.momshealthyeats.com For a review copy of Sweet Eats: A Healthy Twist on the Classics, ($7.95 each; $11.95 for both) or to interview Marcia, please contact Mariko Drouin.

 

 

 

A Special Note From the Author:

My story is not an uncommon one. Nineteen years ago, my son was put on a wheat-free diet to help alleviate his asthma symptoms, which were quite severe. In just three weeks, we saw an incredible improvement. So began my quest to learn everything I could about nutrition and how to bake and cook without using wheat.

 

Back then the term “gluten-free” wasn’t even on the radar. We didn’t have access to an endless amount of information from the Internet, so I began seeking out recipes from the few cookbooks available. My choices were limited, and everything I made tasted like it was missing something. I had no choice but to improvise and create more delicious versions of these mediocre recipes. Like everyone, I was using refined sugar in those days, not knowing how harmful it was to our health, so it wasn’t too difficult to make great tasting meals and baked goods. In fact, some of the baked goods were so good that the entire family devoured them.

 

Interestingly enough, my son always had beautiful clear skin, while many of his friends had acne. My younger son was not as fortunate; he had one of the most severe cases of acne I had ever seen. Eliminating wheat and processed foods from his diet cleared up his skin problem, improved his general health, and helped him lose some excess weight as well.

 

Now it was time for me to get on board. I took all my self-taught knowledge about nutrition and turned my kitchen into a healthy eating haven for all of us. I became a regular at the health food store, and even took it one step further; I enrolled in and completed a Nutritional Counselor Certification program.

 

I love good food and I don’t like to feel deprived! When I couldn’t find recipes that met my criteria for healthy ingredients and delicious taste, I set out to create my own. I have had a lot fun using all natural ingredients to make traditional recipes healthier and delicious. My family and friends think the recipes I have created are the best they ever tasted and encouraged me to make them available online.

I’m thrilled to be able to share my recipes with you on this website and in my dessert recipe eBooks, as well as to provide you with up-to-the minute healthy eating information.

 

I want you to have fun with food and healthy eating, and I want you to be able to eat in the real world. Most of all, I want you to enjoy good health!

Win An E-Copy Version of This Cookbook!!

*Simply visit Marcia’s Website and look at the free recipes.

Then, post a comment on my blog mentioning the recipe that you would most enjoy tasting :)

*One winner will be selected using Random.org

Giveaway ends May 31, 2012.

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Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

May8

Product Details

  • Print Length: 355 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0399254129
  • Publisher: Speak; 1 edition (March 22, 2011)
  • Sold by: Penguin Publishing
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004H4XCTQ
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Genre:  Young Adult, Historical
  • Click to Purchase.

Synopsis:

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch.

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina’s father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.

Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experience in her art and writing. She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive.

It is a long and harrowing journey, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

Between Shades of Gray is a riveting novel that steals your breath, captures your heart, and reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit.

Click to Purchase.

My Review:

I remember being in 8th grade and going to my school library.  I was immediately drawn to the book, “The Diary of Anne Frank” because I thought it was fascinating how a diary could be  made into a book.  Yes, I knew absolutely nothing about the book nor Anne Frank and was immediately drawn into the life and struggles of Anne’s life.  This book, “Between Shades of Gray” is this generations “The Diary of Anne Frank”.

One word.  Unforgettable.  This is a story that I read in 2 days.  Some of the scenes are forever etched in my heart and mind.  Seriously.  There are very few books that leave that huge of an impact on my life and “Shade of Gray” is one of them.  While this is a YA book, as an adult I could appreciate the details and really connected with Lina, a brave and beautiful soul that draws what she sees and feels.  Trying to stay strong for her mother and brother, her sole focus is to reunite with her father, who is at a concentration camp away from their work camp.

As the Soviet’s NKVD came into homes to take away families and separate families, kill them, resume their identities and homes, the world was transfixed on the evil Hitler was doing.  Under Stalin’s regime, mass genocide was happening to the Baltic people.  Ruta brings the issues and shares the horror these families faced.  I was absolutely captivated and there were many moments I just had to put the book down and grieve.  I cried, I laughed, and my heart ached for Lina and the others who meet Lina along the way.

Through Lina’s bravery and perseverance, she documents what she witnesses and experiences as a testament to what they experienced.  While Lina and those around her struggle to survive, this book shows that the heart and spirit of someone cannot be imprisoned.

As a parent, there are many wonderful teaching opportunities for our children.  It is a book that adults and children alike can read and learn about war, stereotypes/discrimination, socialism, and the human spirit.  Above all, it is a book that needs to be read as a reminder of what can happen and to give voice to the millions who died during Stalin’s regime.

I highly recommend this book and is a personal favorite of mine!  Everyone should read this book…that is how great it is written and the message is something we all need to hear and learn from.

Memorable Quotes:

“Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.”

“We’d been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.  I realized that if we boosted one another, maybe we’d get a little closer.”

“Mother told me to feel sorry for the person, that they had been pushed over the edge of their identity.”

“I scanned the group. Faces spoke to their future. I saw courage, anger, fear, and confusion. Others were hopeless. They had already given up. Which was I?”

*These are just a few…there are so many!! I just don’t want to give too much away and take from your reading experience.  I just hope with reading some of these quotes that it will stir your heart to read this book.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Michigan, Ruta Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. The nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia disappeared from maps in 1941 and did not reappear until 1990. As this is a story seldom told, Ruta wanted to give a voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during Stalin’s cleansing of the Baltic region. Ruta lives with her family in Tennessee. Between Shades of Gray is her first novel.

Visit the Author:

                              Website

                               Facebook

                                Goodreads

                                  Read An Excerpt of “Shades of Gray”

                                     Click to Purchase.

**Confusing one book for another, something quite wonderful has happened!!  People are buying this book and learning and loving “Between Shades of Gray”!  Click here for the article.

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Cheap E-Reads Group: Solo by Sarah Schofield

May5

Our book club, Bay Area Book Club, created a Cheap E-Reads Group, that reads a book from a new author and/or self-published author.  Cheap e-books are typically freebies, but we are willing to spend anything up to $2.99….hence the name “Cheap E-Books” ;)

It’s really just a fun meeting where we decide if we liked the book enough to recommend it to others.

Product Details

  • File Size: 438 KB
  • Print Length: 295 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1466280638
  • Publisher: M.O.I. Publishing (December 17, 2011)
  • ASIN: B006NFB5BY
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Genre:  YA
  • Click to Purchase.

Synopsis:

As a military brat, Eliana Davis is no stranger to moving from place to place. However, moving in the middle of her sophomore year to the small Oregon town where her parents grew up is something she never expected. Knowing she will only be there for a year, she is torn between making new friends or keeping to herself. Will she listen to her heart or keep flying solo?

Reviews from Book Club:

Overall, the group consenus was that this book is meant for an older age group.  Looking at Young Adult Novel Guidelines, it states that a good rule of thumb for the minimum age of the reader is the age of the protagonist.  The storyline was quite good and we thought it took us back to our own first crushes.  While we all thought Eliana was a bit angry, we felt it was due to her abrupt move from California to her mom’s hometown.  Also, we felt the mom was a bit aloof, which could have been due to her being depressed and worried for her husband (as he had been deployed).  With the exception of the prom incident, we thought the storyline was quite relevant and gave teens a way to understand and learn ways to cope with bullying.  We are all eager for the next book, Duo, and hope it will tie up loose ends the first book had. There were minimal grammatical errors, however nothing that truly impacted the overall reading process.

We’d recommend this book to older teens and college age students, as well as those who love a great YA book.

*This is a cookie rating not associated with Books in the Burbs, but with Bay Area Book Club.

 

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Book Spotlight: Sign of the Times by Susan Buchanan

May3

Product Details

  • Publisher: Susan Buchanan; 1 edition (March 16, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • ASIN: B007LM0KY6
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Genre:  Contemporary Fiction (Romance/Drama)
  • Click to Purchase.

Synopsis:

Twelve people. Twelve star signs.

Sagittarius – Holly, a travel writer, visits Tuscany to research her next book. Seeking help when her car breaks down, she gets more than assistance when Dario, a vineyard owner, puts temptation in her path. Disappearing without explanation, he proves elusive. Bruised, Holly tries to put it behind her until a chance encounter brings her feelings to the surface again.

Capricorn – Holly’s fiancé, Tom misses her while she is in Italy and turns to an internet chat room for solace. His construction business is under threat, but could foul play be at work?

Gemini – Holly’s sister, Lucy, a serial man-eater finally meets her match, which puts her long-term relationship and career in jeopardy. Cheating she discovers, can have devastating consequences.

Libra – Holly’s uncle Jack, an eminent prosecutor, juggles a difficult teenage son with his high profile career and finds himself lacking. When his son’s school work starts slipping, he decides he needs to take control, but it’s not long before the balls all come tumbling down and Jack finds his family on the wrong side of the law.

One event binds them all…

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Read what one blogger thought about the book: Me, My Books, and I

Read an interview with Susan here.

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About the Author:

Susan Buchanan lives in Central Scotland with her partner, Tony. Sign of the Times is her first novel, published Mar 2012. Her second novel, The Dating Game  is expected to be released late 2012.

Follow the Author:

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Book Giveaway:  The Book Club Cookbook ends  May 19, 2012.

Review: Never See Them Again by M. William Phelps

May3

 

Product Details

  • File Size: 1742 KB
  • Print Length: 385 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 075827338X
  • Publisher: Kensington Books; 1 edition (February 28, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B005QFC6VA
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Genre:  Non-Fiction
  • Click to Purchase

Synopsis:

An affluent community of high-achievers, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, is home to oil company execs and NASA employees. But in the summer of 2003, a life of good fortune came to a violent end for some of its most promising residents. In this gripping true story of betrayal and murder, national bestselling author M. William Phelps, star of the hit TV series Dark Minds, delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood—until now.

The heat was oppressive on July 18, 2003, with the threat of a torrential downpour. Mild gusts were whipping around the yellow police tape that surrounded a well-tended contemporary home. Something so horrific had taken place inside that house, no one, it seemed, could come to terms with just how bad the scene truly was.

What lay beyond the front-door threshold was a shocking sight—the bodies of four young people, viciously slain: eighteen-year-olds Rachael Koloroutis and Tiffany Rowell, along with Marcus Precella and his cousin, Adelbert Sanchez. The social bar at Clear Lake High School was set high, and Rachael and Tiffany had stood at the top, beautiful, intelligent, and beloved. But tragically, their kindness ultimately made them targets—because when a killer came knocking that lazy afternoon, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well…

Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was a shy, awkward girl who endured cruel taunts throughout her youth—until Rachael and Tiffany befriended her. With their guidance, Christine blossomed. It was no wonder it took police three interminable years to discover she was behind the cruel murder of the girls she called her best friends. What had gone so terribly wrong? And how had a teenager managed to elude police for so long?

Drawing on nearly 100 hours of interviews he conducted with scores of sources, and thousands of pages of documentation, Phelps unravels the mystery of this unlikely killer’s troubled mind. And as only he can, Phelps delivers a heart-pounding narrative and brilliantly insightful account of parents crazed with grief, puzzled law enforcement, and the soul of a shattered community.

My Review:

Although a Houstonian and the amount of press this case received, I had not heard of this quadruple murder that took place in the heart of Clear Lake City.  It was the year that I graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with masters in Family Therapy and watching television was not a luxury I could afford as I prepared for my state licensing exams.

However, one of the greatest benefits of belonging to a book club, is learning what my fellow members are reading.  My curiosity peaked when a friend in the book club mentioned this book she had just checked out from the library.  Being quite familiar with the area and neighborhood, I couldn’t wait to borrow it from the library and purchased it onto my Nook reader immediately!

William Phelps, author of this book, has a true gift for writing.  Staying true to the events and reviewing every report, watching all the interviews and providing his own research and interviews, William brings together this sadistic and horrendous crime to life.  There were quite a few times I had to put the book down and just process what I had read.  Where there were moments of joy as family member recounted good memories of their children, whose lives were tragically ended in a violent and sadistic manner.  William also brings to light the depression, mental illness, and other issues that could have contributed to the reasons behind those who murdered friends.  There are quite a few dark moments in this books and as a reader, I could sense the darkness that enveloped the murderers as they were tortured and continued to self-inflict through drug use.  However, William doesn’t make excuses nor does he try to reason why they murdered their friends. Rather, he simply lays out all the pieces of the puzzle and helps bring closure to the family members left behind.

This is an excellent book that every parent should read.  As a parent, it just solidifies my stance on the importance of being actively involved in knowing who our children are friends with and being proactive in teaching our children about drugs/alcohol.  That is not to say that the parents of those murdered didn’t do that, however it is a reminder of how vigilant we need to be for our children.

Follow the Author

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Giveaway Winners!

May2

Book Giveaway Winner:

Anita Y.

2 Perfume Samplers- Giveaway Winner:

Mindy W.

Please Note:  Winners of giveaways will be notified via email.  Winners will have 48 hours to claim their freebie. After that, another winner will be selected.

Thanks!

Don’t forget to enter for a free book:

The Book Club Cookbook by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp

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Pump Up Your Book Spotlight: Unconquered by J.D. Davis & Kindle Giveaway!

May1

Product Details

Synopsis:

The Saga of Cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley

In 1935 and early 1936, three cousins were born into tight-knit families in Ferriday, Louisiana. Rare piano talent, strong parental relationships, the Pentecostal church, family struggle, and a variety of musical influences worked together to produce men who changed twentieth-century music and culture. The individual stories of these three cousins illustrate their varied paths from small-town America to a world stage. Woven together, the collective story becomes even more compelling and amazing.

UNCONQUERED is a story so unlikely that it would not be believable if written as fiction. It tells of rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, and country music star Mickey Gilley. These very different men, raised in the same time and place, with similar talents, were fated for entirely different destinies even as their lives would always be profoundly intertwined. Born into poverty, each man, in his own way, would become an iconic figure blessed with the ability to thrill and inspire.

The story’s touchstones of music, perseverance, and faith could wield such force only in the American South. There, in the Louisiana lowlands’ Concordia Parish, their story began in the midst of the Great Depression.

~~~ WIN A FREE KINDLE! ~ ~ ~

Author, J.D. Davis is giving away a FREE KINDLE!  Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to win!  This giveaway is only open to U.S. and Canada citizens.  Deadline is June 1 and announced on June 2.  If you are the winner, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife (at) gmail.com or Tracee Gleichner at tgleichner (at) gmail.com.  You have 48 hours to reply.  If we do not hear from you in 48 hours, another winner will be selected.  Thanks and good luck!

Click here to go to the Rafflecopter Form!

About the Author:

J.D. Davis was raised in Quitman, Texas, a quiet community in the northeast part of the state. Having grown up in a small town in the rural South—similar in many ways to the cousins’ hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana—with many similar influences as the cousins, he has meaningful insight into these three men.

Davis attended the University of Texas on a full academic scholarship, received a B.A. with highest honors in economics, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He later received a master’s degree from SMU.

As a successful businessman, Davis achieved the highest credentials as an actuary and became a principal in a large firm while still in his twenties. He currently manages an employee benefits consulting practice that covers the southern region of the United States, with offices in four cities.

Davis remembers his father watching Jimmy Swaggart on television and being intrigued by the evangelist’s magnificent piano talent. As a teenager, Davis became a huge fan of Jerry Lee Lewis. He first attended one of Lewis’s live performances as a college student and was awe-struck to see this man put on a breathtaking performance. Davis grew up listening to country music of the seventies and eighties, when Mickey Gilley was consistently producing number one country hits. He became fascinated by the ways these three very different cousins achieved and dealt with eventual success and has been a dedicated fan for years.

Davis has worked with a talented team of many. His editors included Elizabeth Kaye, an award winning journalist who has often written about southern music and southern preachers. As a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, she interviewed Sam Phillips and gathered firsthand experience of Jerry Lee Lewis when covering sessions at which he played with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison. As a contributing editor to John Kennedy’s George magazine, Kaye wrote extensively about Billy Graham and his son Franklin, traveled on several missionary trips with Franklin, and worked with ABC’s 20/20 to produce and write a major Billy Graham profile.

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You can visit his website at http://www.unconqueredthebook.com.

Visit his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/UnconqueredTheBook

Visit his Twitter page at https://twitter.com/Unconqueredbook

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Book Giveaway: Sinners & Saints by Victoria Christopher Murray and Reshonda Tate Billingsley

Apr25

Product Details

  • File Size: 1108 KB
  • Print Length: 290 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1451608152
  • Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (January 10, 2012)
  • Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc.
  • ASIN: B004T4KQYI
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • Click to Purchase.

Synopsis:

TEAM JASMINE or TEAM RACHEL?

Bestselling and award-winning novelists Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley bring their favorite heroines together in a novel that will delight their legions of fans.

Jasmine Larson Bush and Rachel Jackson Adams are not your typical first ladies. But they’ve overcome their scandalous and drama-filled pasts to stand firmly by their husbands’ sides.

When a coveted position opens up—president of the American Baptist Coalition— both women think their husbands are perfect for the job. And winning the position may require both women to get down and dirty and revert to their old tricks. Just when Jasmine and Rachel think they’re going to have to fight to the finish, the current first lady of the coalition steps in . . . a woman bigger, badder, and more devious than either of them.

Double the fun with a message of faith, Sinners & Saints will delight readers with two of their favorite characters from two of their favorite authors.

_________________________________________________________________________

Giveaway Details:

Fill out the form below.

One winner will be selected using Random.org

Giveaway ends April 30, 2012.

_________________________________________________________________________

About Victoria Christopher Murray:

Victoria Christopher Murray always knew she would become an author, even as she was taking an unlikely path to that destination. A native of Queens, Victoria first left New York to attend Hampton University where she majored in Communication Disorders. After graduating, Victoria attended New York University where she received her MBA.

Victoria spent ten years in Corporate America before she tested her entrepreneurial spirit. She opened a Financial Services Agency for Aegon, USA where she managed the number one division for nine consecutive years. However, Victoria never lost the dream to write and when the “bug” hit her again in 1997, she answered the call.

Victoria originally self published Temptation. “I wanted to write a book as entertaining as any book on the market, put God in the middle, and have the book still be a page-turner. I wasn’t writing to any particular genre – I didn’t even know Christian fiction existed. I just wanted to write about people I knew and characters I could relate to.”

In 2000, Time Warner published Temptation. Temptation made numerous best sellers list and remained on the Essence bestsellers list for nine consecutive months. In 2001, Temptation was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literature.

Since Temptation, Victoria has written nine other adult novels, including: JOY, Grown Folks Business, The Ex Files, and the popular Jasmine Cox Larson Bush series. She was a contributor to the first Christian fiction anthology, Blessed Assurance and the Contributing Editor for the Aspire Women of Color Bible published by Zondervan. Victoria has received numerous awards including the Golden Pen Award for Best Inspirational Fiction and the Phyllis Wheatley Trailblazer Award for being the pioneer in African American Christian Fiction. Since 2007, Victoria has won six African American Literary Awards for best novel, best Christian fiction and Author of the Year – Female.

In 2008, Victoria’s first novels in her Christian fiction teen series – The Divine Divas – were published. “I was concerned with what our young ladies were reading. I decided to do something about that – give them stories full of drama, but with a message.” The Divine Divas has already been optioned to become a television series.

Victoria splits her time between Los Angeles and Washington D.C. In Los Angeles, she attends Bible Enrichment Fellowship International Church under the spiritual tutelage of Dr. Beverly “BAM” Crawford and in Washington, D.C., she fellowships at Metropolitan Baptist Church under Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. She is also a member of the Long Beach Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

You can find out more about Victoria on her website, HERE! Or, you can visit her on Facebook, HERE!

About Reshonda Tate Billingsley:

ReShonda Tate Billingsley always did have an active imagination. From making up stories to crafting award-winning poems, the national bestselling author has always maintained a love for telling stories. After numerous rejections from publishers, ReShonda stepped out on faith, established her own publishing company, and released her debut novel, My Brother’s Keeper. The book caught the attention of one of the country’s top literary agents, who secured a deal for ReShonda with megahouse publisher, Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books.

A former television and radio news reporter, ReShonda has been in the journalism business for more than two decades. Currently, she is the co-host of From Cover to Cover literary talk radio show, a freelance reporter, an editor for the Houston Defender Newspaper, as well as a professional editor, ghost writer and literary consultant.   ReShonda recently added ‘actress’ to her impressive resume, starring in the national touring stage play “Marriage Material,” along with Allen Payne, Tank, T-Boz, Michael Colyar and Jill Marie Jones.  ReShonda has worked as a reporter for The National Enquirer and as an anchor and reporter for NBC, ABC and FOX television stations in Beaumont, TX, Oklahoma City, OK and Houston, TX. She left her job at FOX 26 News in Houston in 2007 to write full-time.

And write she does…

ReShonda is the national bestselling author of 21 titles (Eight adult novels, eight teen novels, one non-fiction, three anthologies and one poetry book). Her sophomore novel, Let the Church Say Amen, is being made into a movie of which she is Executive Producer and actress Regina King is the director.  Her teen books, Nothing But Drama and Caught up in the Drama are also being made into movies.

A much sought-after public speaker, ReShonda has won numerous awards for her journalism, fiction and poetry writing skills. She is a five-time winner of the National Association of Black Journalists Spirit in the Words competition. Considered one of the top Inspirational Fiction authors in the country, her books have appeared on the Essence Bestseller’s list more than 20 times, as well as The Washington Post and Dallas Morning News Bestseller’s lists. Her books have also been featured in USA Today and Ebony Magazine as Summer Sizzlers and she was recently inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, along with R&B singer, Ne-Yo.

ReShonda’s upcoming projects include A Good Man is Hard to Find (Mar. 22, 2011), Saints and Sinners (collaboration with Victoria Christopher Murray, Jan. 2012), Say Amen, Again (July 2011) and A Little Bit of Karma (March 2012). Her current books include: Holy Rollers, The Devil is a Lie, Can I Get a Witness, The Pastor’s Wife, Let the Church Say Amen, Everybody Say Amen, I Know I’ve Been Changed and My Brother’s Keeper. Her teen novels include Drama Queens, Caught Up in the Drama, Nothing But Drama, Blessings in Disguise, With Friends Like These, Getting Even, Fairweather Friends, Friends ‘Til the End, and Caught up in the Drama. And the anthologies Have a Little Faith and Four Degrees of Heat. She has one non-fiction title, Help! I’ve Turned into my Mother.

A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, ReShonda is married with three small children and was recently voted a Top 25 Woman of Houston by Rolling Out Magazine.

You can find out more about ReShonda on her website, HERE! Or, you can visit her on Facebook, HERE!

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Check out my other giveaways!

*Perfume Giveaway ends April 30, 2012.

*The Book Club Cookbook Giveaway ends May 19, 2012.

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The Sunday Salon

Apr22

Book Bloggers: Is There Such As A Thing As Too Many Books?

The best part about being a book blogger is receiving books to review. I LOVE reading, so reading for free, is even better.  Well, not necessarily free.  With every book that I receive and read, I provide a review on my blog, Twitter, and Facebook.  I also post it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and Library Thing.  Whew!  That is a lot.  However, I feel that it’s important to the author to post a great review on as many sites as possible.

However, I have a stack of books waiting to be read.  Is it possible to have too many books?  I actually sat down and wrote every down every book I have agreed to review.  I have about 15 books waiting to be read and reviewed.  I also made myself a schedule by which to post my reviews. These are books that are not included in my book club picks that I also read to participate in our monthly meetings.  Nor, are these are also books that I have personally purchased for my own personal reading.  However, I do post book reviews for all the books I’ve read because I truly enjoy posting reviews.

So, how do you balance reading, writing reviews, and deciding what order to post them (unless a date has already been issued)?

 

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Review: The Runaway Debutante by Elizabeth Chater

Apr22

Product Details

  • File Size: 288 KB
  • Print Length: 145 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Chater Publishing (February 20, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Service
  • ASIN: B007BJTMQ6
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Genre:  Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Matilda’s father loses everything in a gambling debt, including her, but she courageously flees for her freedom, becoming the personal chef and the delight of Major Bruce. As their love grows for each other, Matilda’s past comes back to haunt her.

Review:
This is more of a short story, or novella, to me.  With only 145 pages, the author doesn’t include enough detail to help the reader understand the revolution happening in Scotland or the reasons behind the horrible person Lord Tark is and the reason why he is in a hurry to marry and produce an heir (although the writer alludes to one reason being his age).  While the overall premise of a young girl falling in love with a knight in shining armor is cute, I did feel there was something missing.  Again, I think this has a lot to do with the gaps in the books because of the lack of adequate pages to explain a Historical story.  There were a few typos, but the reader could still understand the overall story.  While the story wasn’t a huge hit for me, I was most intrigued by the author and her life.  From my understanding, her family is reissuing her stories and I’d find it quite amazing if they all chose to write a story about this wonderful matriarch in their family :)
*I won this book through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest opinion.

About the Author

Elizabeth Chater was the author of more than 24 novels and countless short stories. She received a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and an M.A. from San Diego State University, and joined the faculty of the latter in 1963 where she began a lifelong friendship with science fiction author Greg Bear. She was honored with The Distinguished Teacher award in 1969, and was awarded Outstanding Professor of the Year in 1977. After receiving her Professor Emeritus certificate from President John F. Kennedy personally, she embarked on a new career as a novelist with Richard Curtis as her agent. In the 1950s and 60s she published short stories in Fantastic Universe Magazine and The Saint Mystery Magazine, and she won the Publisher’s Weekly short story contest in 1975. She went on to publish 22 romance novels over an 8 year period. She also wrote under the pen names Lee Chater, Lee Chaytor, and Lisa Moore. For more information, please visit elizabethchater.com.

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