Happy Halloween!!

I love Halloween and here are some of my favs for the holiday!

Awesome Halloween Light Show

Happy Halloween everyone! 

Author Post: Heather Hummel ~ Whispers from the Heart

 Enter my giveaway for Deep Blue Secret - ends November 1st.

I am so excited to have Heather Hummel visiting The Book Bag today! She is the author of Whispers from the Heart, one of the books in her Journals from the Heart Series. Her book Whispers... is currently on a Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour

I read her book and posted my thoughts yesterday. I loved this story and can't wait to read her other Journals from the Heart book, Write from the Heart.

So Heather ~~ I have heard other authors say that they 'hear voices in their head' and that is how they write their books, the characters are telling their stories. I think that is a very interesting concept. 

When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others become writers. How do you come up with your stories?

The Voices

This is true! Characters have the tendency to crawl inside an author’s head, set up shop and not leave until the book is complete. Then there are the unexpected guests. The ones who decide to ring the doorbell of your brain in chapter, oh six or seven. Phil in Whispers from the Heart, did just that to me in chapter seven. I was writing along quite merrily with Madison, Michael and Olivia leading the way, telling me just how each chapter would all go down, when suddenly, in chapter seven, on a Friday night while they’re out at a pub, a dashing oceanographer friend of Olivia’s boyfriend (Gregory) shows up! The discussion over their beers on tap is now about Phil’s upcoming trip to California due to a grant he received to study elephant seals. Little did I know when this handsome stranger appeared that he would play a pivotal and very important role in Madison’s life; as such he ended up being a most welcome character.

There are task driven authors who outline their chapters, create character descriptions that can go on for pages (or often as Post-It-Notes stuck to their four walls), and draft chapter summaries, all before writing their book. And then there are authors like me who count on their muse, mine is cycling, to develop a plot, storyline and characters. A good portion of my best ideas about a book’s concept, characters, or a line in a chapter have often come to me while cycling. The trick to having a muse that sets in when you’re anywhere from two to ten miles from your laptop is to remember what you thought of so when you do arrive home, you can jot it down. I’ve trained myself to really think a thought through once an idea pops into my head. That way I’m more likely to remember it an hour or so later. 

I have been invited to ride my bike with groups of other cyclists, and 99% of the time I decline. People think I’m riding alone, but in actuality, and as you suggest in your question, I am not alone! I can have as few as one or as many as three or four sidekicks as I pedal. Except, they’re inside my head…telling me how it’s all going to go down in the chapter I’d be writing that evening.

When the chatter of characters stop, that is when I’ll need the medical attention. In the mean time, they are quite welcome and have become some of my most favorite people.

Thanks Heather - you shared some very interesting insights into your writing. People, this is a great book - you need to read it! 

Heather Hummel is the author of the Journals from the Heart Series. She is an award winning author and celebrity ghostwriter. 

Her published works include:
Journals from the Heart Series: Whispers from the Heart (2011 eBook) and Write from the Heart (2011 eBook)
 

Nonfiction: GO BIKE & Other Signs from the Universe (2011 eBook) and  Gracefully: Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age (McGraw Hill, 2008), - Merit Award of the 2009 Mature Media Awards,

Heather's books have appeared in newspapers such as: Publishers Weekly, USA Today and the Washington Post; and in magazines that include: Body & Soul, First, and Spry Living, a combined circulation of nearly 15 million. 

Visit Heather’s website at http://www.heatherhummel.net/

Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherHummel
"Like" Heather's Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/HeatherHummelFanPage

Blog Tour: Whispers from the Heart by Heather Hummel

Enter my giveaway for Deep Blue Secret - ends November 1st.

Whispers: The heart's way of speaking...

Madison Ragnar is a high school English teacher determined to connect with her students, to finish the next running race with a respectable time, and to avoid ever falling in love again.

But life has other plans for Madison. A man named Michael shows himself in the most unexpected places, raising questions from her best friend, Olivia, and issues around Madison's last relationship.

In the classroom, the death of a student prompts her grieving ninth graders to depend on her for answers. They turn to journal writing as a form of understanding the weight of what's happened in the walls of their teenage existence.

When Madison meets Phil, who throws a wrench in her declaration to not fall in love, it seems that her escape through miles of running is the only real footing she has in life.

Will fate determine Madison's life? Or will she have a say in its outcome? 

My thoughts about Whispers from the Heart ~~

I loved this book! The author is a great writer and I loved the world that she put me in. Madison is a high school English teacher and I so wish I could be in her class. She is an awesome teacher and just a really nice person! Her students really admire and respect her. 

Madison leaves a not-very-nice situation and as a reader, I was always on the edge of my comfy couch worrying when that bad element was going to show up in her life. The author did a great job with that suspense.

Madison has to go through some tough times but I was rooting for her all the way - I just wanted her to be happy in her life. I really cared about her - another kudo to the author's writing. 

Whispers from the Heart is a great book and I highly recommend it! I am also very excited to see that Heather Hummel has written another story in this series and I will be reading that one very soon. She is an author I will be watching, to see what she writes in the future!

Tune in tomorrow for a guest post from Heather ~ it's a great one!   

**AND if you purchase your copy of Whispers from the Heart between September 12 and October 31, and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card!**

Heather Hummel is the author of the Journals from the Heart Series. She is an award winning author and celebrity ghostwriter. 

Her published works include:

Journals from the Heart Series:
Whispers from the Heart (2011 eBook)
Write from the Heart (2011 eBook)

Nonfiction
GO BIKE & Other Signs from the Universe (2011 eBook)

Gracefully: Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age (McGraw Hill, 2008), - Merit Award of the 2009 Mature Media Awards,

Heather's books have appeared in newspapers such as: Publishers Weekly, USA Today and the Washington Post; and in magazines that include: Body & Soul, First, and Spry Living, a combined circulation of nearly 15 million.

Visit Heather’s website at http://www.heatherhummel.net/  
Follow Heather on Twitter: @HeatherHummel
"Like" Heather's Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/HeatherHummelFanPage
 

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

 Enter my giveaway for Deep Blue Secret - ends November 1st.

This true story about the love between a spiritual mentor and his pupil has soared to the bestseller list for many reasons. For starters: it reminds us of the affection and gratitude that many of us still feel for the significant mentors of our past. It also plays out a fantasy many of us have entertained: what would it be like to look those people up again, tell them how much they meant to us, maybe even resume the mentorship? 

Plus, we meet Morrie Schwartz -- a one of a kind professor, whom the author describes as looking like a cross between a biblical prophet and Christmas elf. And finally we are privy to intimate moments of Morrie's final days as he lies dying from a terminal illness. Even on his deathbed, this twinkling-eyed mensch manages to teach us all about living robustly and fully. Kudos to author and acclaimed sports columnist Mitch Albom for telling this universally touching story with such grace and humility.~~synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts about Tuesdays with Morrie ~~

I read this book some time ago for one of my book groups. It actually was the second time that I had read it. It is a very short book with some very big messages - some amazing life lessons. It really made me stop and think about what is really important and what I can and should just let go of. There was a movie made with Jack Lemon playing the part of Morrie. It is a great movie. So between the book or the movie, you should be able to learn the messages of Morrie. I highly recommend both! 
 
Author's website

Guest Post: Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe & Giveaway

I am so happy to have Anne McAneny here on The Book Bag today, sharing with us a little bit about how story ideas come to her from her memories. Thanks, Anne! 

Check out my thoughts on Anne's book.  

Memories Grow Like Weeds (or Big Lies & Other Truths)

Remember that time you stacked cans behind the 7-11’s back door and then crank-called the manager to report a dumpster fire? And he ran out and crashed through the biggest pile of cans this side of a Budweiser factory? Got news for you. It was more like a dozen cans and the manager dawdled out - to find the kids who crank-called him. But you’ll never know that. In your mind, the old geezer smashed through that tin mountain, arms and legs akimbo, cash drawer in hand, screaming like he’d been poked by a diaper pin. What a baby!

That’s the great thing about memory. It’s completely unreliable, endlessly malleable, and fun to manipulate. I’d swear I was an eyewitness to my sister poking my infant brother with a pool cue to see if he’d roll. My mother found him covered in blue dots and rushed him to the doctor. And I could testify under oath about the time my dad dropped a punch bowl just as guests arrived for a New Year’s Eve party. Truth is, both things happened before I even put a down payment on my mom’s womb.

Writers treasure memories... and then completely disregard them. They take a kernel of an incident – witnessed or not - roll it around in their grimy childhood hands, throw in a helping of hyperbole, and then grind it into the ground to see what else they can dredge up before spitting it all out like a big lie to a teacher... “Dog? What dog? See, my brother volunteers at an animal shelter and this crazy lady with one eye and four fingers brought in her pet boa constrictor, and my brother took it home for the weekend and he’s so dumb, he used my homework to line the cage. Well dang if that six-foot monster didn’t eat the lining which was, you know, my homework. Who knew that snakes liked fiber?”

Now I could research all sorts of neurological, long-term-memory, frontal-lobe yakkety-yak, but I already know the results (plus, I’d rather hug a porcupine than do research). Every story starts with the seed of a memory, then grows fifty-fold until it’s good enough to share, and a hundred-fold if one hopes to get a laugh.

I mean, really, where would THE WORLD’S GREATEST-KICK-THE-CAN-STORY be if I’d only freed a dozen kids on that childhood day? Or if the guy guarding the can hadn’t stood 6’3” with arms like logs and a history of eating small children for lunch? And what if his feet hadn’t grazed mine as I slid my 70-pounds of wispiness through the wet grass, kicking that can clear into the neighbor’s yard while the huge crowd on the porch leapt to their feet cheering my name? (Yes, it really happened. Just like that. No, I can’t produce any witnesses – just take my word for it.)

Memories grow like weeds. The longer you let them fester, the bigger, faster, stronger, and more resilient they become. And they sprout the greatest stories. Somewhere, there was a pig in E.B. White’s memory bank. Maybe E.B. even saw a web that appeared to spell something. But imagine if Charlotte and Wilbur had composed only one message? Or if Harry Potter had settled for Hogwart’s School of Agriculture? Or if the one that got away in Melville’s memory had been a cod and he’d left it at that? Life – and story - would be boring, tedious, and really, not memorable at all. So pour on the fertilizer, let your imagination take root, and go out and tell a good story today. And heaven help you if it’s true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anne McAneny lives in Virginia with her husband, children, two ferrets and a cat who currently answers to Mythical Flarb or Food. In addition to three e-books, Anne has written several screenplays that float through Hollywood on a regular basis. 

Her latest chick-lit novel, Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe, features Stuffed Cupcakes and Belgian beer... she really should have called it "Personal Nirvana." Her previous chick-lit novel, Chunneling Through Forty, sold well enough to gain the interest of literary agent April Eberhardt, who now represents her. 

Not limited to one genre, Anne has also written Foreteller, a mystery-thriller that takes readers on a heart-pounding journey into the past with a doomed archaeologist who must fight to ensure her own future. 

Anne loves to hear from readers and wishes everyone HAPPY READING!

**GIVEAWAY: For everyone who leaves a comment on the blog tour page, you will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card. For those who purchase their copy of Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe by November 6 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com will receive five bonus entries! Also, that winner will receive a shipment of one dozen medium cupcakes courtesy of STUFFED CUPCAKES (Nutley, NJ). Please note this giveaway will be limited to the US due to shipping requirements. Comment away- I know you want to win this scrumptious prize!**

Blog:  www.AnneMcAneny.blogspot.com

Facebook Fan Page: Books by Anne McAneny

Kindle Author Page:  www.Amazon.com/-/e/B004G774Z2

Twitter: @AnneMcAneny

Blog Tour: Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe & Giveaway

A wedding order at The Secret Lives of Cupcakes Shop is always reason for Millie Morris to celebrate; except when the groom is her ex-boyfriend and the bride is the woman he dumped her for. Still, it's business for her mom's shop. Millie even makes a good-faith effort to shoo the groom away when he confides his doubts about marriage. But when Millie's job as a crime reporter finds her covering a big court case, she must choke down her unresolved feelings like a burnt cupcake slathered in bitter frosting; because the bride is the lead lawyer on the case.

Unexpectedly intertwined on multiple levels with both her ex and his fiancée, Millie must choose to either remain in her half-baked state of existence or finally rise above it. ~~ synopsis from Goodreads.


My thoughts on Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe ~~

On my! ~~ What a fun book! And isn't that cover great? I loved this story and loved the characters in the story. They were all very believable and down-to-earth. Some of them maybe are a little quirky? But I love quirky!! And talking about cupcakes all through the book ~~ yummy!

This story is very well written and held my interest until the very end. Some characters I loved and others, well not so much. But that's the way some authors intend it, right?~~ Good guys and bad guys (or gals as the case may be).

I loved how I was not sure what decision Millie was going to make concerning her love life until the very end. I could see her going one way and I just wanted to scream at her. And then another way, rooting for her all the way! But I was just never sure where she was headed. Great job on that, Ms. McAneny!

I highly recommend this book - it's a great read!

**GIVEAWAY: For everyone who leaves a comment on the blog tour page, you will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card. For those who purchase their copy of Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe by November 6 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com will receive five bonus entries! Also, that winner will receive a shipment of one dozen medium cupcakes courtesy of STUFFED CUPCAKES (Nutley, NJ). Please note this giveaway will be limited to the US due to shipping requirements.

Comment away- I know you want to win this scrumptious prize!**

Blog:  www.AnneMcAneny.blogspot.com

Facebook Fan Page: Books by Anne McAneny

Kindle Author Page:  www.Amazon.com/-/e/B004G774Z2

Twitter: @AnneMcAneny 
Nook Page: www.barnesandnoble.com/s/anne-mcaneny

I received this e-book from Chick Lit Plus for the blog tour in exchange for my honest opinion. 

WWW Wednesdays October 19

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next? 

 

What are you currently reading?  

 

I am currently reading Island Girl by Lynda Simmons.

 

 

What did you recently finish reading?

 

I recently finished Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe for Anne McAneny's blog tour. My thoughts will be posted here tomorrow with a guest post on Friday. What a fun read! I also finished reading Outcasts United by William St. John.  

 

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

 

Next I will be reading Whispers From the Heart by Heather Hummel. 

 

 

Happy reading, everyone!  

 

 

Huge Giveaway / Unabridged Andra

There is a massive giveaway going on over at 

Unabridged Andra! Go check it out!

http://unabridgedandralyn.blogspot.com/2011/09/500-followers-giveaway.html
 
A stack of books is going to go to one of her followers. The winner will definitely get The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and Lola and the Boy Next Door. 

Stephen King 11/22/63

I am a huge, huge fan of Stephen King. And I remember JFK's assassination. I am so excited to read King's take on the event! It'll be good! The book comes out on November 8th. 

Description

ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, THREE SHOTS RANG OUT IN DALLAS, PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED, AND THE WORLD CHANGED. WHAT IF YOU COULD CHANGE IT BACK?

In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away—a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning's father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life—like Harry's, like America's in 1963—turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake's new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there's Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying. 

Check out the book trailer 11/22/63 Enhanced eBook Trailer  

Read more:  Excerpt 1

Simon & Schuster Audio and StephenKing.com will be releasing seven audiobook samples from 11/22/63 every Monday and Friday through October 24th. These samples will be posted at 9:00 AM EST each release day and will include much of the first chapter of Stephen King's epic tale.

50+ Followers! Deep Blue Secret Giveaway!

Whooo! hoooo! I reached 50+ followers!! 

It is time for a giveaway! 

This snuck up on me when I wasn't looking! I was gone for about a week when I went over the 50 followers mark. I was at our state's library association conference and then I attended the Festival of the Book in Deadwood, South Dakota. 

Basically it was 5 whole days full of librarians and books! It doesn't get any better than that, folks!!

So, to celebrate my 50+ followers, I am holding my very first giveaway! 

I am giving my copy of a great book that I just read and reviewed, Deep Blue Secret. Read more about it and my thoughts. Christie Anderson wrote an amazing book and I was lucky enough to be a part of her blog tour.

I want to share this book with others!

What a beautiful cover!

Hopefully it will be as much fun on this side of the giveaway as it has been on the entering/winning side. 

Fill out this form to enter. 


I will select a winner on November 1.

A comment is not required but is always welcome! 

WWW Wednesdays October 12

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?  

What are you currently reading?  

I am currently reading Outcasts United by Warren St. John. This book was chosen by our University as the Common Read for this year. One of my book groups decided to read it too.

 

I am also reading Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe by Anne McAneny. I am participating in the blog tour for this book and will be posting my review on October 20 with an author guest post on October 21. 

 

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Not so crazy about it but we had a great discussion at my book group. 
  

I then devoured Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich. Loved it! My thoughts about the book are here.

I also finished Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson for it's virtual blog tour. My thoughts were posted yesterday. Great book! And it's only book one, there will be more! 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Next I am going to be reading Island Girl by Lynda Simmons and Mile 81 by Stephen King.

Happy reading everyone!

Can't wait to see what everyone else is reading.

Blog Tour: Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson

Synopsis ~~ California teen, Sadie James, thinks her life couldn't get any better. She has great friends, an energetic mother she adores, and the beach practically in her own backyard. But her carefree life is turned upside down when she's rescued by a mysterious and strangely familiar boy who won't even tell her his name. 

Each time the boy appears, Sadie's unexplainable attraction to him deepens along with her need to unravel his secrets. The boy is there to protect her. But as wonderful and exciting as it might be to have an irresistible boy with crystal green eyes protecting her every move, every minute of the day...why does Sadie need one? 

As Sadie finds answers, she realizes her life isn't as perfect as she thought. Not only is she caught in a world of dangerous secret agents she never knew existed, but it turns out her true identity may be the greatest secret of all.

My thoughts on Deep Blue Secret ~~ 

First of all, I have to say right up front, that this cover is so beautiful! Even if I wasn't reading this book for it's blog tour, it would have caught my eye. I am so shallow sometimes, a beautiful cover always gets me!

And then the book grabbed me! The story starts off pretty intense, with someone trying to escape from the area that he has been condemned to and left to die. He does manage to escape and the story leaves you wondering what he did and why he was there. 

After that, we are taken into the life of a high school girl, Sadie, who is trying to understand why things are changing in her life and why she, herself, is changing. Sadie has a great life, a wonderful, caring mother and good friends. But then things start to happen and a certain someone comes into her life. She is just trying to understand it all.

I immediately liked Sadie very much and admired how mature she was. Things become very tough for her but she just kept on going with her positive outlook.  

The last part of the book is very fast paced and action packed. I found myself reading much later than I should have because I just had to find out how it ended. I love that in a book! 

This is book #1 in The Water Keepers series. I cannot wait for book #2!! The author is currently working on it. 

Hurry up, Ms. Anderson! 

Watch the book trailer on YouTube ~~ It is amazing!

Author's website ~~ Christie Anderson

Purchase from Amazon ~~ eBook is only $.99, paperback $9.99

$.99 - really? It is so worth it! 

You better go get it - seriously!!

Thanks to Tristi Pinkston Blog Tours for a free review copy of Deep Blue Secret. 

Opinions expressed here are totally my own.

The Last Page: Review and Author Post and Giveaway - Oh My!

Today, I have the privilege of having Lacy Camey here for a guest post, in addition to my review of her latest book, The Last Page. Be sure to check out the details of an awesome giveaway - a chance for a $10 Amazon gift card - after Lacy's comments.You also have the opportunity of earning bonus entries to better your chances!


First of all, here is a short little bio about Lacy ~~

Lacy Camey is a fiction writer and 
lives in Houston, Texas with her musician/producer/songwriter husband, Joel, and has a cat who acts like a dog, named Blue. When she isn't writing, or collaborating with her husband, she enjoys being outside, running, working out, reading, cooking, is a huge movie buff and loves watching reality shows on Bravo, especially The Real Housewives franchise. She loves having fun, enjoying the life God has given her and loves to encourage others to follow their bliss. She secretly dreams of going on the Amazing Race with her husband on CBS but is still trying to convince him to audition.

• I asked Lacy to talk about how she gets her story ideas. I have heard some authors say that they 'hear' voices in their heads and that they are just telling the story of those voices. Let's see what Lacy has to say - take it away, Lacy!

Thanks for having me today! My first book idea that I wrote as a teenager originated out of a lifeguard stand. Since I was a lifeguard at a country club in a relatively small city (70k people), sometimes the pool was completely empty and there I would be, sitting. Bored! So, out of my boredom, a story was created. With this particular story, it was more character-driven. I saw this character and what she was going through and I could hear her southern bell-drawl. She would say at the opening of the story, “I, Eliza May, clearly despise William Taylor. Why, eva since I’ve eva known him, he’s been nothin’ but a pure breed nuisance” (think southern, historical romance, haha).

Moving on to The Last Page, my latest release, this book idea originated out of necessity for a script-writing class I took in college. I had to come up with an idea about something and write one half of a screenplay for my final. So I had the premise of the general story idea, but it changed over five years as I grew as a person.

Other story ideas come to me in a dream, at times. I’ve had a few dreams where I wake up and think how it would make a good story, so I file it away.

Other ideas that I have just honestly come to me. I’m always living in the “what if”. What if this happens? What if this girl is living here, and then this happens and she has to…”

I just can’t help it. My imagination is very active, to say the least. Just the other day, I was getting gas for my car, and I watched an altercation happen inside the gas station. In my wild imagination, I thought, “What would I do if he pulled a gun out and started firing inside and I was a witness.” I started thinking about how I would just immediately run as fast as I could and leave my car just as it was. I would call the police and this is what I would say… I’m always imagining crazy scenarios!

The complicated and difficult part is growing that “one liner” idea. You’ve heard of writers probably who wait on inspiration. If I waited, it would be forever. Nothing would ever get written. Getting the ideas to grow is by trial and error and putting pen to paper, fingertips to keypad. Sometimes, it’s a little hard, honestly. Okay, sometimes it’s very hard! But that’s where trusting the story will come and just going over it, over and over.

When I’m stuck in a story line, I try and think about it as much as possible. Out of really thinking about it, at the park, in the shower, cooking, driving, usually small ideas come and out of working with the small idea, the larger idea follows.

I also pray and ask God for creativity and witty ideas. I trust that He’s responsible for those ideas that seem to drop from the sky and appear in my dreams.

I’m looking forward to seeing in my lifetime the device where you attach to your forehead and simply “think” your novels, and your thoughts are transcribed onto the page. Maybe that will happen when I’m 80? That would be crazy!

If you want to know more about me or stay up to date with my books, please visit my website. I’d love to hear from you!

Lacy would love to stay in contact with her readers. Feel free to visit her blog and website at www.lacycameywrites.com or follow her on twitter @lacycamey or Facebook or e-mail her: lacycameywrites (at) gmail (dot) com

For every book written by Lacy Camey, purchased by others, a portion goes to supporting an orphanage in South America. Lacy has plans to build an orphanage very soon with proceeds from her books. You can stay updated on the process at her blog at www.lacycameywrites.com  

And now - the details about the giveaway! Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card! From now until the end of Lacy's blog tour (Oct 10th), if you leave a comment on her blog tour page, you are entered to win: Lacy's CLP Blog Tour Page. That's all you have to do! If you buy the book and email a copy of the receipt to Samantha at CLP, you get a bonus entry!

You can buy The Last Page at these places ~~

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

My thoughts on The Last Page ~~

Let me just say that I loved this book!! And I am so glad that there are 2 more books coming to finish out this series. I can't wait to get caught up again in the lives of Norah, her best friend Cloe and her sister Maycee. Lacy has made her characters so very believable and real that I felt like I was part of this group of women. This is chick lit at it's finest! I can't wait for book #2!!

Thanks to Lacy and Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours for asking me to be a part of The Last Page blog tour! Check out the Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours webpage for more stops on the tour.

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list.

Short on time to find evidence proving the killer’s identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it’s time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both and choose a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Grandma Bella, Morelli’s old-world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts “the eye” on Stephanie.

With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke. ~~synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts on Smokin' Seventeen ~~

O-M-G - this book might be one of Evanovich's best! I have read all 17 books in the series so far, over the years. I have to admit that I was about 'done' with them around book 10. (Ten Big Ones). I was beginning to feel like, been there, done that. I was almost to the point where I was thinking about not reading any more. But I loved the older ones so much, they are so hilarious, that I thought 'just give her another chance'. So I did and they have just been getting better and better.

I was totally hooked after One for the Money and recommended it to everyone I knew that loved to read. Why, just today, I talked about this series with another person that had not read them yet. I know, how is that possible? 

So -- I am recommending them to you, if you have not read them yet! Be sure to start with the first one - this is a series that is best read in order so that you know where the characters are coming from and how they got to where they are now. I can't read these books without constantly having a smile on my face and bursting out with some laugh-out-louds. There are so many crazy, quirky characters that you can't help but fall in love with!!

Smokin' Seventeen has am amazing 'cliff-hanger' ending - grrrrrrr! I was so mad when the book ended. I couldn't believe it was over. I need to know what Stephanie decided!! And then I found out that Explosive Eighteen comes out November 22. Yea!! I don't have to wait very long to read the next installment.

And then to make this winter even better, the movie One for the Money comes out in January 2012!! I can't wait to see these hilarious characters on the big screen! Can you tell I am excited?

Check here for the One for the Money trailer  

Can't wait!! January!!!! Whoo hooo!!