Saturday, April 30, 2016

Book Spotlight Giveaway! The Confessor by Daniel Silva


This week, I have one of the books donated from my daughter. I know Daniel Silva is a very popular author but this is just not a genre I read. I have a hardcover copy of The Confessor by Daniel Silva, book #3 in his Gabriel Allon series for one of you to win! 

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!


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The Confessor

The Confessor by Daniel Silva
Series: Gabriel Allon #3
Hardcover, 416 pages

Published February 24th 2003 by Putnam Adult

Munich: The writer Benjamin Stern entered his flat to see a man standing there, leafing through his research, and said, "Who the hell are you?" In response, the man shot him. As Stern lay dying, the gunman murmured a few words in Latin, then he gathered the writer's papers and left. 

Venice: The art restorer Gabriel Allon applied a dab of paint carefully to the Bellini, then read the message thrust into his hands. Stern was dead; could he leave right away? With a sigh, the Mossad agent began to put his brushes away. 

The Vatican: The priest named Pietro paced in the garden, thinking about the things he had discovered, the enemies he would make, the journey before him. Men would surely die, and he wished another could take it for him. But he knew that was not possible. In the weeks to come, the journeys of all three men will come together, following a trail of long-buried secrets and unthinkable deeds, leaving each one forever changed. And with them, the lives of millions . . . 

Filled with rich characters, remarkable prose, and a multilayered plot of uncommon intensity, this is the finest work yet by a new master of the art.


About the author

Daniel Silva

Daniel Silva began his writing career as a journalist for United Press International (UPI), traveling in the Middle East and covering the Iran-Iraq war, terrorism and political conflicts. From UPI he moved to CNN, where he eventually became executive producer of its Washington-based public policy programming. 

In 1994 he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, a surprise best seller that won critical acclaim. He turned to writing full time in 1997 and all of his books have been New York Times/national best sellers, translated into 25 languages and published across Europe and the world. His latest book is The English Spy (Harper, 2015). He lives in Washington, D.C.

Connect with Daniel

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon





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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

On Tour: Sister Dear by Laura McNeill, My Thoughts, and an Excerpt


Sister Dear


Sister Dear by Laura McNeil
Publisher: HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson
Pages: 336
Genre: Domestic Suspense

All Allie Marshall wants is a fresh start. But when dark secrets refuse to stay buried, will her chance at a new life be shattered forever?

Convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, Allie watched a decade of her life vanish. Now, out on parole, Allie is determined to clear her name and reconnect with the daughter she barely knows.

But Allie’s return to Brunswick, Georgia, sends earthquakes through the small, coastal community. Even her daughter Caroline, now a teenager, challenges Allie’s claims of innocence.

Refusing defeat, a stronger, smarter Allie launches a campaign for the truth, digging deep into the past. Her investigation threatens her parole status, her own safety, and the already-fragile bond with her family. What Allie uncovers is far worse than she imagined. Her own sister has been hiding a dark secret—one that holds the key to Allie’s freedom.

For More Information

My thoughts about Sister Dear ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—In her final moments as an inmate at Arrendale State Prison, Allie Marshall's body pulsed with tension. Eyes averted, managing any movements with robotic precision, she remained on guard. Only moments to go.

Laura has written another suspenseful, exciting, and touching novel. Sister Dear is full of great characters, some that you just love to hate. Allie is sent to prison for a murder she swears she didn't commit. When she is released, she comes home with a mission; to find out the truth and to put the man responsible behind bars.

She also wants to rekindle her relationship with her daughter, Caroline, who was five years old when she was sent to prison ten years ago. Will her teenage daughter even want her back in her life after all this time? And then there is Allie's younger sister, who took Caroline in and raised her as her own daughter. She has her own secrets and she is not at all happy about Allie's digging around in the past.

Sister Dear was a wonderful page turner, just like I knew it would be. The storyline felt like it was going to be predictable but then there were twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. And the suspense kept me reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this story to the very end!



Excerpt

In her final minutes as an inmate at Arrendale State Prison, Allie Marshall’s body pulsed with tension. Eyes averted, managing any movements with robotic precision, she remained on guard.



Only moments to go.

A sliver of time. Not even a quarter hour. An unremarkable measurement, when held up against the billion other moments in any person’s natural life. But after a decade inside, those last twelve minutes seemed the longest span in all of eternity.

To her right, rows of monitors blinked and recorded everything across the sprawling campus in Habersham County. Though the angles differed, the subject never changed: women in identical tan-collared shirts and shapeless pants. Inmates on work detail, in the cafeteria, in dormitories.

A corrections officer sat nearby, her pale-blue eyes scanning the screens. To this worker, to all of them, Allie was GDC ID, followed by ten numbers. Nothing more. Inside the thick metal bars, Allie’s life was suspended, a delicate fossil in amber.

Until now. Ten more minutes.

Her reflection stared back, unblinking, in the shatterproof glass window near the door. Green eyes flecked with gold, dark-blonde hair tucked in a loose ponytail, barely visible brackets at the corners of her lips.

Maybe, Allie thought, she’d forgotten how to smile and laugh. Happiness seemed unreachable, as if the feeling itself existed on the summit of an ice-tipped mountain shrouded by storm clouds. Indeed, the rush of pure, unadulterated joy belonged only to those with freedom. Allie’s memories of it—her daughter’s birth, Caroline’s first smile, first steps—were fleeting and distant.

Instead, the perpetual motion of prison, the waking, sleeping, and sameness, all blended together, like a silent black-and-white movie on a continuous loop.

Until the news of her parole.

At first, the concept of liberty seemed impossible—a hand trying to catch and hold vapor. The judge had sentenced Allie to sixteen years, and she fully anticipated serving each and every one of them. She didn’t believe she’d be granted an early release—she couldn’t—until she stepped beyond the walls and barbed wire and chain-link fence, barriers that kept her from everyone and everything she’d ever loved.

Allie focused on breathing, stretching her lungs, exhaling to slow her pulse. Her own belongings, a decade old, lay nearby. Keys that wouldn’t open doors. A watch with a dead battery. A light khaki jacket with a photo of then five-year-old Caroline tucked in the pocket, one pair of broken-in Levis, and a white cotton shirt. Gingerly, with her fingertips, she reached for the clothing, then gripped the bundle tight to her chest.

A second guard motioned for Allie to change quickly in a holding room. With the door shut, she pulled the shapeless prison garb over her head and picked up the shirt. The material, cool and light, brushed against her skin like gauze. Allie shivered.

For ten years, all she’d known was the rasp of her standard-issue navy jacket, the scrape of her worn white tennis shoes along the sidewalk.

Back in Brunswick, Allie had filled her closet with easy summer shifts and crisp linen pants. Now her body was different too—the soft curves had dissolved, leaving lean muscle behind. The jeans hung loosely around her waist and hips. The top billowed out in waves from her shoulders.

Nothing would fit, she reminded herself. Not much in her past life would.

And that was all right.

When she walked out of Lee Arrendale State Prison, home to thousands of female inmates, Allie didn’t want reminders. No indigo tattoo inked down her back or neck. No numbers or symbols etched into her arms or fingers. The only external validation of time served was a faint scar that traced her eyebrow.

The real proof of her internment lay underneath it all. Below the seashell white of Allie’s skin, hidden in blood, tendons, and muscle, the experience indelibly marked on her soul. An imprint made by incident, mistake, and tragedy.

Evidence, and lack of it.

“I’m innocent,” she’d insisted to everyone who would listen. Her lawyers fought hard, rallied a few times, but in the end, the jury convicted her. Voluntary manslaughter.

A year later, Allie’s appeal failed. Then money ran out. Her father turned his attention back to his veterinary practice after his cardiologist warned the stress of another trial might kill him. Her mother did her best to minimize worry while Emma, her tempestuous and fun-loving sister, assumed the role of doting aunt and guardian to Caroline.

And there was Ben. Sweet, thoughtful Ben. The man who’d wanted to marry her, who said he would love her always. Even after her arrest, he’d promised to wait for her if the worst happened. Allie couldn’t live with herself if he’d sacrificed everything—his rising political career, his reputation, and his life for a decade or more. She’d broken it off, knowing it would wound him terribly. When he’d finally left, when she saw him for the last time, it was as if the very core of her being had been torn away, leaving a vast, gaping emptiness she couldn’t fill, despite how hard she tried. Allie closed her eyes. She’s convinced herself it was the logical thing, what made sense. She had done her best to forget him. It hadn’t worked in the least.

The days and months blurred. Entire seasons dissolved, shapeless and gray, like the ink of fine calligraphy smeared by the rain.

The squawk of the prison intercom barely registered in Allie’s brain. Sharp insults and threats were routine, eruptions of violence expected. Even along the brown scrub grass and wooden benches of the prison yard, there was no escape. Allie always tried to disappear—pressing her body close to the concrete walls, becoming a chameleon against the barren landscape.

The women in Arrendale weren’t afraid of punishment; most had nothing left. Some bonded with other inmates for favors; others paid for protection with cigarettes, food, and stamps. For those prisoners who had lost everything; inmates with little hope of parole, life was almost unthinkable.

Clutching her hands in her lap to keep from shaking, Allie watched as a woman collapsed in the cafeteria, stabbed in the jugular with a plastic fork. The next week, a fellow inmate in her dormitory was choked to death, purple fingerprints visible on the woman’s throat when the guards discovered her body. Allie was haunted with grief for weeks after a young girl, only four years older than Caroline, tried to hang herself with a scrap of fabric.

Despite it all, despite the desperation that seemed to permeate the very air she breathed, Allie had survived.

In another few minutes, her younger sister, Emma, would arrive, as bus service didn’t run from Alto to Brunswick. Tomorrow she’d meet her parole officer at noon. And like every parolee, she would receive a check, courtesy of the Georgia Department of Corrections, enough to buy shampoo, a bar of soap, and a comb for her hair.

Allie blinked up at the clock, almost afraid the time might start going backward. She forced her eyes away, squeezed them shut. If she tried hard enough, her mind formed a picture of her grown daughter’s face. In her daydreams, she’d imagined their reunion a million times, rehearsed every possible scenario. She worried about the right words to say, how to act, and whether it was all right to cry. The enormity of it was impossible to contain, like holding back the ocean with a single fingertip.

All that mattered now was seeing Caroline.

The buzzer sounded long and loud; its vibration shook the floor. The burly guard sighed and lumbered to her boot-clad feet. She stood inches from Allie’s shoulder, her breath hot and rank from a half-eaten roast beef sandwich.

Locks clicked and keys rattled. The barrier, with its heavy bars, groaned under its own weight. An inch at a time, the metal gate heaved open. Soon, there would be nothing but empty space standing between Allie and the rest of the world.

She felt a nudge.

In that moment, Allie heard four words, precious and sweet.

“You’re free to go.”

About the author


Laura McNeil is a writer, mom, travel enthusiast, and coffee drinker. In her former life, she was a television news anchor for CBS News affiliates in New York and Alabama. Laura holds a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and is completing a Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership at the University of Alabama. When she’s not writing and doing homework, she enjoys running, yoga, and spending time at the beach. She lives in Northern Alabama with her family.

Her latest book is the domestic suspense, Sister Dear.

Connect with Laura

Book Blast: Free of Malice by Liz Lazarus, an Excerpt, and a Giveaway!


Free of Malice

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Free of Malice by Liz Lazarus
Publisher: Mitchell Cove Publishing LLC
Pages: 274
Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Laura Holland awakes in the middle of the night to see a stranger standing in her bedroom doorway. She manages to defend herself from the would-be rapist, though he threatens to return as he retreats. Traumatized with recurring nightmares, Laura seeks therapy and is exposed to a unique treatment called EMDR. She also seeks self-protection— buying a gun against the wishes of her husband.

When Laura learns she could have gone to prison had she shot her fleeing assailant, she decides to write a hypothetical legal case using the details of that night. She enlists the help of criminal defense lawyer, Thomas Bennett, who proves to be well versed in the justice system but has an uncanny resemblance to her attacker. 

As the two work together to develop the story, Laura's discomfort escalates particularly when Thomas seems to know more about that night than he should. Reality and fiction soon merge as her real life drama begins to mirror the fiction she's trying to create.

Purchase Free of Malice

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Excerpt

Run. Run faster. As much as I strained my legs to move, they were immobile, like I was waist deep in quicksand.

Why can’t I move?

I tried to scream for help but my mouth was full, like it was stuffed with cotton—no sound would escape.

I felt something clutching my shoulder. No, it was someone. He was pushing me forward and then yanking me back. I tried to jerk away but he had a tight grip, like a vice.

I have to break free.

The tugging got harder, more forceful. He was calling my name— over and over. He knew my name.

“Laura, Laura.”

I jolted awake—my husband’s hand still on my shoulder.

“Honey, wake up. You’re having another bad dream.”

Slowly, I turned over in bed and looked at him—his dark brown eyes were fixated on me. I could see them clearly as the light from the bathroom brightened our bedroom.

For a month now, we had slept with this light on.

I could see the small wrinkle on his forehead. I loved that wrinkle though wished he didn’t have good reason to be so concerned. I was enduring the nightmares, but he had to deal with my tossing and mumbling in terror.

I remember when we first met—ten years ago in chemistry lab at Georgia Tech. He had walked up to me with those warm eyes and a charming, confident smile and asked, “Want to be partners?”

Two years later he took me to Stone Mountain Park, rented a small rowboat and, in the moonlight, he pulled out a diamond ring and asked me again, “Want to be partners?”

Life had seemed just about perfect.

Until now.

We looked at each other for a moment. Then he propped himself up on his elbow and said softly, “Laura, I feel so helpless. I know it’s only been a month, but...”

He hesitated.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s just as bad as that first night. After it happened. Look, I want to make you feel safe again, but I don’t know how.”

He rubbed his eyes and looked away. I waited, staring at him.

What isn’t he saying?

“I know you don’t want to see a therapist, but seeing someone doesn’t mean you’re crazy. Therapists don’t treat just crazy people. They help people who have been through traumas and you have. Hell, no one even has to know.”

He paused for a second.

“Don’t be mad at me, but yesterday I made an appointment for you. I was going to talk to you about it in the morning if you had another bad dream. I found a woman who is downtown by my office. She’s been practicing for about twenty years, got her doctorate from Emory and comes with really good patient reviews.”

He looked for my reaction and continued. “I made the appointment for you at 4:00 so we can go to dinner afterward. You know what you always say. You’ll try anything once, right?”

“I told you I don’t want to see a psychiatrist,” I pushed back. “I just need more time. I’ll bounce back. You know I almost came in the house on my own today. Besides, if I see a psychiatrist, on every job application I complete in the future, I’ll have to check the ‘Yes’ box when they ask if I’ve had mental health treatment.”

“Jesus. No you don’t. You’re too innocent sometimes.”

He gently tapped me on the nose.

“You can check the box ‘No.’ Besides, if that’s the only thing stopping you, I think you should give it a try. Her name is Barbara Cole. I’ll take you to Houston’s afterward,” he added.

I ignored the bribe. “But what can she do that you can’t? All she’ll do is listen and you do that for me already. Psychiatrists are for people who don’t have friends or husbands to talk to.”

Chris shook his head.

“Please? Do it for me.”

The tone in his voice was different—more helpless than normal. Chris had been so understanding, so comforting this past month, especially considering I had been waking him every night. How could I refuse his request?

I sighed. “Okay,” I relented. “I’ll go.”

“One visit. That’s all I’m asking. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go back. She’s a psychologist, by the way, not a psychiatrist. She does therapy, not drugs.”

He glanced at the clock. It was 3:30 a.m.

Chris grabbed Konk, my stuffed animal gorilla that I won at the state fair by outshooting him at the basketball game. He had sworn the scum running the game couldn’t take his eyes off my butt and let me win.

“Here’s Konk,” he said. “I’m going to finish my presentation since I’m up. I’ll just be in the office. Want the door open?”

“Yes,” I said as I wrapped my arms tightly around Konk.

“Hey, we’ll celebrate your first therapy visit and my signed contract, I hope, this evening.”

“You mean you hope my first visit?” I said with a playful smile.

He gave me a look—he was in no mood for jokes.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll go,” I assured.

“If you’re asleep when I leave, just come by my office after the appointment and we’ll head to dinner. Try to get some sleep. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”



About the author


Liz Lazarus is the author of Free of Malice, a psychological, legal thriller loosely based on her personal experience and a series of ‘what if’ questions that trace the after effects of a foiled attack; a woman healing, and grappling with the legal system to acknowledge her right to self-defense.

She was born in Valdosta, Georgia, graduated from Georgia Tech with an engineering degree and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern with an MBA in their executive master’s program. She spent most of her career at General Electric’s Healthcare division and is currently a Managing Director at a strategic planning consulting firm in addition to being an author.

Free of Malice is her debut novel, set in Atlanta, and supplemented by extensive research with both therapists and criminal defense attorneys. She currently lives in Brookhaven, GA, with her fiancé, Richard, and their very spoiled orange tabby, Buckwheat.

Connect with Liz



Liz is giving away a $25 B&N Gift Card 
& one autographed copy of FREE OF MALICE!! 

Terms & Conditions: By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old. Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 B&N Gift Card or one autographed copy of Free of Malice. This giveaway begins April 11 and ends on May 11. Winners will be contacted via email on May 12. Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!



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Monday, April 25, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? April 25, 2016


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

Click on the book image to read more on Goodreads.

What I'm currently reading/listening to

The Last Dreamer
The Last Dreamer
by Barbara Solomon Josselsohn
This is for book club this week and a new-to-me author. I am enjoying it so far.

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She Poured Out Her Heart
by Jean Thompson
Seems like other books are getting in the way of getting this one read.

If I Speak True (Flora, #1)
If I Speak True (Flora #1)
by Jessica L. Brooks 
(audiobook)

What I recently finished

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Sister Dear
by Laura McNeill 
Loved it! My thoughts will be posted later this week.

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Mind Games
by T.J. Moore
T.J. is a local author and met with my daughter's book group. I got the book read and was able to attend and meet him. I love meeting authors! 

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Better Off Dead in Deadwood (Deadwood #4)
by Ann Charles
(audiobook)

What I am going to read next

Mosaics 2: A Collection of Independent Women
Mosaics 2: A Collection of Independent Women
by 20 talented authors
I read Mosaics 1 and was blown away by the collection.

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?


Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Book Spotlight Giveaway! Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen


This week, I have a Kindle copy of Water for Elephants that I snagged when it was on sale. I've been saving it for just the right time. I loved this book and I loved the movie. I am so excited to share this with one of you.  

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Kindle Edition, 369 pages
Published May 1st 2007 by Algonquin Books

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out—orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act—in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. 

Surprising, poignant, and funny, Water for Elephants is that rare novel with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down; with characters so engaging, they continue to live long after the last page has been turned; with a world built of wonder, a world so real, one starts to breathe its air.


About the author

Sara Gruen

Sara Gruen is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of At the Water’s Edge, Water for Elephants, Ape House, Riding Lessons, and Flying Changes. Her works have been translated into forty-three languages, and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Water for Elephants was adapted into a major motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon, Rob Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz in 2011.

She lives in Western North Carolina with her husband and three sons, along with their dogs, cats, horses, birds, and the world’s fussiest goat.

Connect with Sara

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon



This is for a Kindle copy of Water for Elephants gifted from Amazon. So if you can redeem that, consider this giveaway international!



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Friday, April 22, 2016

It's My Birthday! Let's Have a Giveaway!

Happy Birthday to Me!!


Today is my birthday. 



I love birthdays! And I love to celebrate.
So how about let's have a giveaway?

It's my party and I can give a gift if I want to.



This giveaway is for a book of your choice, up to $15, from either Amazon or The Book Depository. And it's international! I'll pick a winner sometime next week and that person will have 48 hours to respond to an email or another name will be selected.



Comment on this post with your 
birthday greeting to me and you could win! 


Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

On Tour: Scorpio's Kiss by M.C. Domovitch

scorpio banner

Scorpio's Kiss

28689100

Scorpio's Kiss by M.C. Domovitch 
Published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
January 29th 2016
Genres: Romance, Women's Fiction 
Format: epub, mobi, paperback 

Scorpio's Kiss was first published in 2011 as two novels, Scorpio Rising and The Sting of the Scorpio. It has now been reedited and published as one complete novel.

Set in New York and Paris amid the glamorous and competitive worlds of art and real estate, Scorpio's Kiss takes the reader from the late 1940s to the 1960s through the tumultuous lives of its heroes.

There is Alex Ivanov, the son of a Russian immigrant and part-time prostitute. He yearns to escape his sordid life and achieve fame and fortune. His dreams of becoming a world-class builder are met with countless obstacles, yet he perseveres in the hope of someday receiving the recognition he craves.

Half a world away, Brigitte Dartois is an abused teenager who runs into the arms of a benefactor with an agenda all his own. When she finds out that her boss has an ulterior motive, she flees again, determined to earn her living through her art. This career brings her fame, but also the unwanted attention of her early abuser.

Domovitch’s novel, is a compelling tale, filled with finely etched characters and a superb understanding of the power of ambition. Scorpio's Kiss promises to resonate with all who once had a dream.


About the author


Monique was born in the small town of Hearst Ontario, the oldest of ten children. “You can’t imagine the pressure,” she says, laughing. “Anything I did wrong—and I did plenty—was sure to lead my siblings into a life of sin. I therefore accept the blame for any wrongdoings by all member of my family.”

When she was twenty years old she moved to Montreal, where she became a successful model, winning the prestigious Modeling Association of American Contest and continuing on to an international career. During this time, she worked with many top photographers and graced many designer runways. “Modeling was a wonderful career,” she says. “I met so many interesting and talented people. I travelled all over the world. After ten years of facing cameras and audiences, I became very comfortable with the public. I had no idea at the time, just how much this ability would serve me later in life.”

When Monique retired from modeling, she founded Beauties Modeling Agency in Montreal. Through her tutelage, many Canadian models gained international renown. “I wanted to accept my age rather than try desperately to look young for an unforgiving camera. That was the main reason I retired from modeling when I was still young.”

Later, she became a financial adviser and planner, and soon found herself hosting her own national television show about personal finance. After four years on the air, the series ended and Monique soon retired from her financial career, remarried and embarked on her new career in writing. Her success was almost instant. She was singed on by an agent within months of finishing her first novel and soon signed two contracts for a total of six books. She is now hard at work on her ninth, due out in winter of 2015.

Connect with Monique



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Monday, April 18, 2016

Release Day! Echoes of Mercy: A Lowcountry Novel by Kim Boykin and My Thoughts

Happy Release Day! 

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Echoes of Mercy

Echoes of Mercy: A Lowcountry Novel by Kim Boykin
Print and Kindle Edition, 232 pages
Published April 18, 2016 by River's Edge Media

How can you make up for something that you did as a kid that was both so stupid and so terrible, forty years later it still follows you like a pack of lost dogs? For Billie Warren, it means piling up more and more responsibilities, doing good for the community as the police chief of her Lowcountry hometown. Trying to be the best mother of a teen mom, and daughter to her mom with Alzheimer’s, that she can be.

But Billie’s fragile life is thrown into turmoil when the target of her biggest regret, Crazy Sadie, shows up claiming to have witnessed the only murder in the town's history. Sadie Byrd accuses the nearly dead and sainted Judge Norris of savagely beating his own little girl to death forty years ago. Could Miss Sadie be right? As Billie uncovers the terrible truth of stolen babies and bone-chilling corruption, she will have to risk everything when powerful people are prepared to do anything to keep buried.


My thoughts about Echoes of Mercy ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—Forty years of atonement ought to count for something. After all, Billie Warren was just nine years old when she did what she did.

So what did Billie do when she was nine that has been haunting her all these years? And has she done enough good in her life to make up for it? Getting answers to those questions I had made me keep reading.

I immediately liked Bille. She's the chief of police of her community and if that's not enough on her plate, she also has a mother with Alzheimer's and a teenage daughter with a child of her own. When Crazy Sadie comes back to town to confess what she knows about an unsolved murder, Sadie becomes wrapped up in a whole lot more than she bargained for and she fears for her loved one's safety.

Echoes of Mercy is a captivating and intense story that is very different from the other stories I have read by Kim. It proves that that she is a very versatile writer with the capability of capturing her readers attention, no matter what she writes.

Thank you, Kim, for the wonderful adventure in Billie's world.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

About the author

Kim  Boykin

Kim Boykin was raised in her South Carolina home with two girly sisters and great parents. She had a happy, boring childhood, which sucks if you’re a writer because you have to create your own crazy. PLUS after you’re published and you’re being interviewed, it’s very appealing when the author actually lived in Crazy Town or somewhere in the general vicinity.

Almost everything she learned about writing, she learned from her grandpa, an oral storyteller, who was a master teacher of pacing and sensory detail. He held court under an old mimosa tree on the family farm, and people used to come from all around to hear him tell stories about growing up in rural Georgia and share his unique take on the world.

As a stay-at-home mom, Kim started writing, grabbing snip-its of time in the car rider line or on the bleachers at swim practice. After her kids left the nest, she started submitting her work, sold her first novel at 53, and has been writing like crazy ever since.

Thanks to the lessons she learned under that mimosa tree, her books are well reviewed and, according to RT Book Reviews, feel like they’re being told across a kitchen table. She is the author of A Peach of a Pair (8/4/2015), Palmetto Moon and The Wisdom of Hair from Berkley/Penguin; Caught Up In You, Steal Me, Cowboy, Just in Time for Christmas, Sweet Home Carolina, Flirting with Forever, and She's the One from Tule

While her heart is always in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte and has a heart for hairstylists, librarians, and book junkies like herself. 

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