On Tour: Grimm Woods by D. Melhoff ~ My Thoughts and an Excerpt

Visit other stops on the tour HERE.

Grimm Woods

Grimm Woods by D. Melhoff
Paperback and e-book 384 pages
Published by Bellwoods Publishing

A remote summer camp becomes a lurid crime scene when the bodies of two teenagers are found in a bloody, real-life rendering of a classic Grimm’s fairy tale. Trapped in the wilderness, the remaining counsellors must follow a trail of dark children’s fables in order to outwit a psychopath and save the dwindling survivors before falling prey to their own gruesome endings.

Drawing on the grisly, uncensored details of history’s most famous fairy tales, Grimm Woods is a heart-pounding thriller about a deranged killer who uses traditional children’s stories as tropes in elaborate murders. Set against the backdrop of modern-day Michigan, it’s a journey through the mind of a dangerous zealot and a shocking glimpse into the bedtime stories you thought you knew.

My thoughts about Grimm Woods ~~

(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 lines.)

First line—"One hacksaw. One hammer, six boxes of nails. Twelve Mason jars, four hunting knives, two pairs of handcuffs. Fifteen gallons of gasoline divided evenly among three dented jerry cans."

Yikes, with an opening like that, I had to wonder what kind of ride this author had in store for me. Let me tell you, it was an edge-of-my-seat, hide-behind-my-eyes, creepy, page turning, kind of ride. It was awesome!

How can something as innocent as fairy tales be so sinister? Prepare yourself.

This author is a new to me author but I am totally hooked on his type of stories. He has the creepy weirdness of Stephen King in that he can take something so sweet and innocent and turn it into your worst nightmare. I love SK and I believe I have found another favorite author in D. Melhoff.

I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Excerpt

July 7th, 5:44 a.m.

One hacksaw. One hammer, six boxes of nails. Twelve Mason jars, four hunting knives, two pairs of handcuffs. Fifteen gallons of gasoline divided evenly among three dented jerry cans.

It’s time.

A work glove hovered over the table where the objects were laid out side by side and began ticking the air as though marking off an invisible checklist. The chamber reeked of mildew, and the walls had no windows or electrical sockets—no lamps, no wires, no switch covers. A single red candle provided the only light, its crimson wax dripping down its shaft like blood.

The hand picked up a piece of paper from the table and slipped it into a blank envelope. Below, a beetle scuttled across the floorboards. The insect—its gangly antennae tuned to some foul frequency in the gloom—raced past the sole of a giant boot just as a drop of liquid fell through the air and struck it dead center, engulfing its body in a hot, gelatinous blob that filled its orifices and burned it from the inside out. Another droplet tumbled from the candle, plopping onto the envelope this time, and then a brass stamp came down and pressed the wax into a hardened seal.

Drawing in heavier, raspier breaths, the figure held the envelope up to a corkboard that was bolted to the wall. More than a dozen pictures of young men and women were tacked to the panel by their throats and foreheads, smiling in the shadows.

The figure pinned the envelope to the board and stepped back to take in the room again.

The table and the switchblade.

The book of matches.

The iron rods, the hatchet, the .22 Smith & Wesson.

The smiling faces.

Now, the figure mused, watching the photographs flicker in the bloodred light. Who’s the nicest, who’s the worst, who wants to hear a story first?

About the author 

D. Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town that few people have heard of and even fewer have visited. While most of his stories are for adults, he also enjoys terrifying younger audiences from time to time, as seen in his series of twisted picture books for children. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris, Stoker, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to horror. 

Connect with D.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

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Spotlight: Kill't Dead or Worse by R.W. Hacker, FREE, and a Giveaway!

Kill't Dead or Worse

Kill't Dead, or Worse: Sex, Murder, & Toxic Waste: Nowhere Else But Texas by R W Hacker
Paperback
Published December 12th 2016 by LifeJazz Media

After a murdered partner, a cheating wife and a lost job in Houston, Nick Sibelius sets up a private investigation business in a small Texas town hoping to find some peace and maybe, himself. When two lovers disappear and a fisherman turns up dead, he finds himself drawn into a web of crime and deceit involving MaryLou, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past; Junior, a failed farmer whose best intentions seem to always result in a dead body; and Barry, a sociopathic dentist turned illegal toxic waste entrepreneur with a violent right wing agenda.

When the felon who killed Nick’s partner in Houston joins forces with Barry, Nick must not only stop the toxic waste dumping while finding his client’s missing daughter, but keep from being killed in the process. In the end, MaryLou’s dark secret will either save him or kill him -- whichever comes first.

Kill't Dead or Worse

is FREE right now

only until January 22nd

********************

About the author

Richard Hacker has been writing most of his life, and professionally, in support of his work in management consulting, public speaking and training in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. In 2009 he moved, along with his wife, from Austin to Seattle, shifting his professional focus from business consulting to writing fiction full time. Wanted by authorities for smuggling Texas BBQ across state lines, he now writes and lives in Seattle.

His writing has been recognized by the Writer's League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. As a judge in literary contests such as PNWA and ChicLit, he enjoys the opportunity to give writers honest critique to move their craft forward. In addition, he is the science fiction and fantasy editor for the Del Sol Review, an online literary magazine.

Connect with Richard

Website| Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Release Day Blitz: In the Line of Duty by Carolyn Arnold ~ Guest Post and an Excerpt

Happy Release Day!

In the Line of Duty

In the Line of Duty by Carolyn Arnold

Series: Detective Madison Knight

Published by: Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc.

Release date: September 29, 2016

Approximately 292 pages

He devoted his life to seeking justice. But would she get any for him?

It was an ordinary day for police officer Barry Weir. It was the end of shift, he was tired, and he just wanted to get home to his wife and kids. But someone had other plans for him, shooting him down and forcing him to make the ultimate sacrifice.

When news of Weir’s murder reaches the department, it leaves Detective Madison Knight and every cop in the Stiles PD itching for revenge. It cuts Madison’s boyfriend, colleague, and Weir’s childhood friend, Troy Matthews, deepest of all, driving him away from everyone he loves just when they need one another the most.

With evidence pointing to a gang-related drive-by, Madison and her team investigate the town’s seedy underbelly in search of justice for their fallen brother. But the deeper they dig, the more convoluted the case becomes. Now they need to figure out if this was a random shooting as part of a gang initiation, a straight-up hate crime, or a targeted kill. But with members of the Stiles PD under attack, they have to do it fast…before more officers pay with their lives.

Purchase In the Line of Duty

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks

Kobo | Google Play | Author Website

About the Detective Madison Knight series

Murder. Investigation. The pursuit of justice. Do you love trying to figure out whodunit? How about investigating alongside police detectives from the crime scene to the forensics lab and everywhere in between? Do you love a strong female lead? Then I invite you to meet Detective Madison Knight as she solves murders with her male partner, utilizing good old-fashioned investigative work aided by modern technology.

This is the perfect book series for fans of Law & Order, CSI, Blue Bloods, Rizzoli & Isles, Women’s Murder Club, and Hawaii Five-O.

Read in any order or follow the series from the beginning: Ties That Bind, Justified, Sacrifice, Found Innocent, Just Cause, Deadly Impulse, In the Line of Duty, Life Sentence (Bonus Prequel).

For the Love of Police

Police officers and departments are especially hot topics right now, whether it be in regards to police brutality or the use of excessive force. It seems there is a clear line between people who respect them and people who despise them. But how does that choice come to be?

We all make decisions based on information that comes our way, but what if everything we read in the media about police taking harsh action isn’t correct? What if these articles are missing key intel? Unless we were in an officer’s shoes, how can we really know what transpired?

All of us have played—or at least are familiar with—the telephone game. In this, it’s easy to see how a message changes as it moves down the line. The same, too, I would suspect, is the case when it comes to reporting. But that’s only one way that information can get garbled, making it uncertain and difficult to claim as truth. Reports are also often colored by the viewpoint of a source. If that source is prejudiced against the police, it will immediately taint his or her reaction to a situation; before knowing any facts, the police will be cast in an unfavorable light.

I’m not saying that police always make the right decisions; they are human, after all. There are even some corrupt cops. However, I feel that people need to appreciate that unless they are there, in the moment, there’s no way of truly knowing why a certain course of action was taken.

As a result of my own respect for law enforcement, I have dedicated In the Line of Duty to all the fine men and women who serve or have served, and in memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. While most of us would run from gunfire, they run toward it. That right there is enough to warrant my respect. Just imagine what the world would be like without police. In two words, utter chaos.

—Carolyn Arnold
Author of In the Line of Duty (Detective Madison Knight series)

Excerpt from Chapter 4:

Madison walked through the station, feeling as though time was moving in slow motion as she first headed to her desk. Once there, she took a seat and opened the bottom drawer, nausea swirling in her gut as she pulled out a clear plastic Baggie. It was where she kept her mourning band. She’d hoped to never need it again…

She pulled it out, and for a few seconds, she held onto it, letting her fingers dip into the thin ribbing in the half-inch-wide black cloth. She unclipped her badge from its holder and slipped the band on, carefully placing it so that it ran horizontally across the center of her badge. As she stared down at the badge, thinking about what that simple band of black meant, a single tear crept down her cheek. But she didn’t have time to dwell on her fallen brother and grieve right now.

She swiped at her eyes and returned the Baggie to the drawer and headed for the briefing.

Even with her detour, she beat Sergeant Winston there. Sovereign and Stanford were already in the room along with about sixty officers. It was standing room only, and Madison scanned the crowd for Troy. But there was no sign of him or of her partner, Terry Grant. She didn’t see the police chief, either.

Andrea Fletcher, Troy’s older sister, had taken over the position almost seven months ago. To say she was a vast improvement over her predecessor was putting it mildly. Patrick McAlexandar was a chauvinist pig who had been in bed with the Russian mafia—the same mafia that almost killed her five months ago. And she was certain there was still a hit out for her. She couldn’t allow the passage of time to lull her into thinking it had gone away. If McAlexandar’s track record wasn’t bad enough, he also had aspirations to be the city’s mayor, but Madison would do whatever she could to sabotage his efforts.

Terry walked into the room then and came over to her. She hugged her partner without hesitation. As much as they teased and rankled each other, he was like the brother she’d never had.

“I didn’t see you at the hospital,” she said as she released him.

“We must have just missed each other. I got there as soon as I could. Dani’s still not sleeping through the night.”

“She is only two months old,” she reminded him.

Spoken like someone who knew kids…which she didn’t.

“That’s what Annabelle tells me, and she’s such a good mother. Besides—” Terry gestured around the room “—complaining about the lack of sleep doesn’t really seem like a big deal in light of everything.” He fell silent for a few seconds and then added, “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Me neither.” The nausea that had settled into the pit of her gut didn’t seem like it would be going away anytime soon.

Sergeant Winston entered the room, his mourning band also on his badge. Terry was working on getting his band in place, too.

The sergeant stood at the front of the room. He cleared his throat, and all the chatter stopped. “As you may have heard, Officer Barry Weir was shot and killed this morning.”

About the Author

Carolyn Arnold is an international best-selling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.

Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: Police Procedurals Respected by Law Enforcement™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.

Connect with Carolyn

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On Tour: Night Ringing by Laura Foley and an Excerpt

Visit other stops on the tour here. 

Night Ringing

Night Ringing by Laura Foley
Published by Headmistress Press on January 11th 2016
Genres: Poetry 

"I revel in the genius of simplicity" Laura Foley writes as she gives us in plain-spoken but deeply lyrical moments, poems that explore a life filled with twists and turns and with many transformations. Through it all is a search for a fulfilling personal and sexual identity, a way to be most fully alive in the world. From multicultural love affairs through marriage with a much older man, through raising a family, through grief, to lesbian love affairs, "Night Ringing" is the portrait of a woman willing to take risks to find her own best way. And she does this with grace and wisdom. As she says: "All my life I've been swimming, not drowning."-Patricia Fargnoli, author of "Winter, Duties of the Spirit, " and "Then, Something

"I love the words and white space of poetry. I love stories even more. In this collection, Laura Foley evokes stories of crystallized moments, of quiet and overpowering emotion, of bathtubs and lemon chicken. The author grows up on the pages, comes of age, and reconciles past with present. Almost. Try to put the book down between poems to savor each experience. Try, but it won't be easy. -Joni B. Cole, author of "Toxic Feedback, Helping Writers Survive and Thrive"

Plain-spoken and spare, Laura Foley's poems in "Night Ringing" trace a life story through a series of brief scenes: separate, intense moments of perception, in which the speaker's focus is arrested, when a moment opens to reveal a glimpse of the larger whole. Memories of a powerful, enigmatic father, a loving but elusive mother, a much older husband, thread Foley's stories of childhood, marriage and motherhood, finally yielding to the pressure of her attention, as she constructs a series of escapes from family expectations, and moves toward a new life. In these lucid, intense poems, Foley's quiet gaze, her concentration, and emotional accuracy of detail, render this collection real as rain. -Cynthia Huntington, author of "Heavenly Bodies"

Foley's voice rings with quiet authority undercut by calamity, examining a life so extraordinary, she seems to have lived several people's lives, setting a high bar for poetic craft she meets, in great mystery perfectly expressed in the tiny, quotidian, "spent matches pressed on wet pavement," to soulful beauty, "as wind lifts/every shining wave"; in wisdom rooted in humor, from the deliciously funny "Flunking Jung," to self-deprecating wit, misreading "poetic" as "pathetic," reminding us wisdom is love, grown from self-compassion. -April Ossmann, author of "Anxious Music"

Purchase Night Ringing

Amazon | Norwich Bookstore | B&N

Excerpt

Ode to My Feet

For years I’ve thought them queer,
hiding them
in steamy boots and sneakers,
but recently, I’ve begun to like
their well-worked lines, blue
veins, tapered, skinny elegance.
Funny looking, yes, oddly
protuberant, awkwardly angled,
unlike anyone else’s,
models for a medieval statue’s,
ancient granite feet
on a church facade,
thoroughly unmodern.
Yet, how well they climb steep cliffs,
work my slinky kayak’s rudder,
how they tingle, tapping to music
across a wooden floor,
dangling below me
when I sit on high seats,
and turning pink as we wade
the cool mountain pond,
warming, as they carry me
faithfully home to rest.

About the author

Laura Foley is the author of five poetry collections. The Glass Tree won the Foreword Book of the Year Award, Silver, and was a Finalist for the New Hampshire Writer’s Project, Outstanding Book of Poetry. Joy Street won the Bi-Writer’s Award. Her poems have appeared in journals and magazines including Valparaiso Poetry Review, Inquiring Mind, Pulse Magazine, Poetry Nook, Lavender Review, The Mom Egg Review and in the British Aesthetica Magazine. She won Harpur Palate’s Milton Kessler Memorial Poetry Award and the Grand Prize for the Atlanta Review’s International Poetry Contest.

Connect with Laura

Website | Goodreads

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On Tour: Memories of a Mad Man by Don Spector and an Excerpt

Memories of a Mad Man

Memories of a Mad Man by Don Spector

ebook

Published July 28th 2015 by Smashwords Edition

Mad Men. Don Spector didn’t just watch them on television. He was one of them.

Starting in a Madison Avenue ad agency in the ‘60’s, he actually lived the life captured in the TV show. In "Memories of a Mad Man" he shares with us an unforgettable era filled with humor, brilliance, wonderful heroes and big, bad villains.

The funny and fascinating stories he tells uncover the reality of the ad world behind the show.

• What was it like dealing with celebrities of the era?

• How did the advent of computers spoil one of the greatest boondoggles that Mad Men—and Mad Women—enjoyed?

• The Three Martini Lunch. True or false?

• What's the real truth about truth in advertising?

The book answers these and many more intriguing questions in this unique look into a unique profession.

Purchase Memories of a Mad Man

Amazon | B & N | KOBO | iTunes

Excerpt

I don’t know if it was like that before I entered advertising but by the time I did, the days of the fabled three-martini lunch were beginning to fade. And that was just as well because, frankly, I wasn't very good at handling my liquor. Even one glass of wine at lunch made me sleepy and, besides being unable to write much, I didn't relish the idea of someone coming into my office at three in the afternoon to see me snoozing at my desk. But I did occasionally make an exception. And once when I did, I learned a valuable lesson.

I went to lunch in a Madison Avenue restaurant with an agency producer I did a lot of work with. I don't remember what the occasion was but Ed suggested we have a drink and I agreed. I ordered a Bloody Mary while Ed ordered a scotch and soda. I was surprised.

“Ed,” I exclaimed. “When we get back to the office they’ll smell that booze on your breath. That's why I'm having a vodka drink.”

“Yes,” Ed said, “but you know that we're not going to stop at just one drink. And when we get back to the office, at least they'll know I'm drunk. They’ll just think you're stupid.”

I thought about his wisdom for a moment and called the waiter over. “Make that a scotch and soda.”

And from that day on when I did have a drink at lunch I made sure it wasn't vodka. I’d rather be thought of as drunk, not stupid.

About the author

Starting as a junior copywriter in a Madison Avenue ad agency in the ‘60s, Don Spector qualifies as a genuine Mad Man. Creating advertising for the agency’s high-profile accounts like Smirnoff Vodka and Tareyton cigarettes, he began his ascent up the creative ladder in several New York agencies. His commercials and print ads for advertisers like Xerox, the Yellow Pages and Jaguar ultimately led to an offer of a key position in Los Angeles-based BBDO/West where he was soon named Creative Director.

After moving to a similar position at Foote Cone Belding/Los Angeles, he eventually started his own agency where he served until his retirement. The advertising he created for dozens of companies like ARCO, Absolut Vodka, Bristol-Myers and S.C. Johnson won numerous awards. But, more importantly, it generated millions of dollars in sales for them.

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

Scorpio's Kiss

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

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

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On Tour: Scar Tissue by M C Domovitch

Scar Tissue

Scar Tissue by M C Domovitch

Paperback and e-book, 394 pages

Published February 10th 2016 by CreateSpace

When successful model Ciara Kelly wakes up in hospital, remembering nothing of the weeks she has been missing, her only clues are the ugly words carved into her skin. According to the police she was a victim of the Cutter, a serial killer who has already murdered three women. For her protection the police and her doctors give a press conference, announcing that because her amnesia is organically caused, her memory loss is permanent.

But, whether her memory returns or not is anybody’s guess. Overnight, Ciara’s glamorous life is gone. Her scars have killed both her modelling career and her relationship with her rich boyfriend. With nothing to keep her in New York, she returns to her home town of Seattle, moves in with her sister and goes about building a new life. But when her sister lets it slip that Ciara’s memory is returning, the killer comes after her again. If Ciara is to stay alive, she must keep one step ahead of the Cutter.

Purchase Scar Tissue

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 signed 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

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

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On Tour: The Memory Chair by Susan White

The Memory Chair

The Memory Chair by Susan White

Paperback and e-book, 155 pages

Published 2015 by Acorn Press

Thirteen-year-old Betony has always hated going to her cranky great-grandmother’s house. It’s old and stuffy and boring and the woodstove in the kitchen is always burning too hot. But her Gram doesn’t have any other family living close by on the Kingston Peninsula, so Betony ends up being dragged along all the time.

She’d rather be pretty much anywhere…until one day Betony sits on her Gram’s favourite chair. She is suddenly transported into the past, and is experiencing her Gram’s life as if it were in her own memory. At first Betony is excited and curious, and begins to develop a close relationship with Gram, even learning to cook and quilt. But after she has experienced a few more of her great-grandmother’s memories, she realizes she is slowly uncovering a terrible, shameful family secret.

Purchase The Memory Chair

Amazon | B & N | Indigo

My thoughts about The Memory Chair ~~

First of all, the cover. I love this cover and the simple, yet comfortable looking chair in the middle. It looks like a good reading chair to me. And it's full of memories. Sweet.

Betony has never been close to her great-grandmother, Gram, and she really doesn't like going to visit her. But when Betony sits in the big comfortable chair, she experiences parts of Gram's past as if they were her own memories. Through these memories, she comes to understand her Gram a little bit better and does what she can to heal the old woman and to bring the family back together.

'Each memory I had seen had brought me closer to Gram, and I now cared about her in a way I had never imagined possible.'

Part way through the book is the line 'I had never touched Gram before.' Reading that made me so sad, that this family could be so broken that this thirteen year old had never hugged her Gram. I loved watching the relationship between Betony and Gram grow and change.

I like the idea of remembering and sharing memories. I think it is really important for families to share memories and to keep the family stories alive. The Memory Chair is a wonderful story about the importance of family, the past, and forgiveness.

About the author

Sue White was born in New Brunswick and moved from one New Brunswick city to another. As a teenager her family moved to the Kingston Peninsula and she only left long enough to earn her BA and BEd at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. Settling on the peninsula, she and her husband raised four children and ran a small farm while she taught elementary school. Since retiring she is grateful to now have the time to work on her writing and the freedom to regularly visit her new granddaughter in Alberta.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

Connect with Susan

Website | Goodreads | Facebook

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On Tour: Forty Days at Kamas (The Kamas Trilogy #1) by Preston Fleming

Forty Days at Kamas

Forty Days at Kamas (The Kamas Trilogy #1) 

by Preston Fleming

ebook

Published January 12th 2013 by PF Publishing

Inspired by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s account of a Soviet labor camp revolt in Gulag Archipelago, Volume III, the story of Forty Days at Kamas follows political prisoners and security officials at a corrective labor camp in Kamas, Utah, where inmates seize control during the summer of 2024.

Kamas, Utah. 2024. In the totalitarian dystopia that America has become after the Unionist Party’s rise to power, the American West contains vast Restricted Zones dotted with ghost towns, scattered military garrisons and corrective labor camps where the regime disposes of its real and suspected enemies. Kamas is one such camp.

On a frigid March night, a former businessman from Pittsburgh, Paul Wagner, arrives at a labor camp in Utah’s Kamas Valley, a dozen miles east of the deserted resort town of Park City, which prisoners are dismantling as part of a massive recycling project.

When Wagner arrives, he is unaware that his eleven-year-old daughter, Claire, has set off to Utah to find him after becoming separated from her mother at the Philadelphia Airport. By an odd quirk of fate, Claire has traveled on the same train that carried her father into internal exile.

Only after Wagner has renounced all hope of survival, cast his lot with anti-regime hard-liners and joined them in an unprecedented and suicidal revolt does he discover that Claire has become a servant in the home of the camp’s Deputy Warden. Wagner is torn between his devotion to family and loyalty to his fellow rebels until, on the eve of an armored assault intended to crush the revolt, he faces an agonizing choice between a hero’s death and a coward’s freedom.

In Forty Days at Kamas, author Preston Fleming offers a stirring portrait of a man determined to survive under the bleakest of conditions and against formidable odds. Fleming’s gift for evocative prose brings the characters and events to life in a way that arouses emotional tension while also engaging the reader’s intellect with fundamental questions about the future of American society.

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About the author

Preston Fleming was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He left home at age fourteen to accept a scholarship at a New England boarding school and went on to a liberal arts college in the Midwest. After earning an MBA, he managed a non-profit organization in New York before joining the U.S. Foreign Service and serving in U.S. Embassies around the Middle East for nearly a decade. Later he studied at an Ivy League law school and since then pursued a career in law and business. He has written five novels.

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