Review, Guest Post and Tour/Giveaway: The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner

One of the things I love about reading historical fiction is the glimpse we get into times long past.  The Tudor Secret was an amazing story surrounding the Tudors, full of political intrigue and secrets.

I loved that this story largely surrounded a young man, who spent his youth surrounded by the Dudley brothers, who often found ways to pick on him.  They leave the household, and he is later called to court by Lady Dudley to serve her son Robert.  At this point, his life is changed forever, as he is pulled into court intrigue, where he stays with the hope of eventually finding out who he really is.

Hard to put down and well researched and written from a fresh perspective, this will be a great book club pick as well as highly enjoyable by anyone who enjoys historical fiction.



The Tudor Secret (The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles)
by C.W. Gortner
St. Martin's Griffin (February 1, 2011) ~ 352 pages
Fiction / Historical Fiction

Edition Reviewed: Paperback - Review copy received courtesy of the publisher and Pump Up Your Book Promotions, many thanks for sending me a copy to review!

About the Book:

The era of the Tudors was one of danger, intrigue, conspiracy, and, above all, spies.

Summer 1553: A time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, is reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, Prescott finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the king’s brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Brendan is soon compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth’s protector, William Cecil, who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.

A dark plot swirls around Elizabeth’s quest to unravel the truth about the ominous disappearance of her seriously ill brother, King Edward VI. With only a bold stable boy and an audacious lady-in-waiting at his side, Brendan plunges into a ruthless gambit of half-truths, lies, and murder. Filled with the intrigue and pageantry of Tudor England, The Tudor Secret is the first book in The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles.

Guest Post from C.W. Gortner:

Interweaving Fact with Fiction: On Writing THE TUDOR SECRET

In my latest novel, THE TUDOR SECRET, Book One in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles, I set myself to a challenge that proved more daunting than I originally thought. Despite its shorter length, compared to my other novels THE LAST QUEEN and THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI, THE TUDOR SECRET is deceptively complex, interweaving three storylines—a factual one; a “What if?” one; and a fictionalized one. This was also the first time I decided to work with fictional characters interacting with historical ones, and these interactions were both unexpected and exciting.

My first storyline is factual, based on the tumultuous events surrounding John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and his familial conspiracy to replace Princess Mary Tudor in the succession following the untimely death of Mary’s brother, Edward VI. Though this event, known as the Succession Crisis of 1553, has often gotten short thrift in both biographical accounts of the lead players and in other Tudor-themed novels, I’ve always found it fascinating— a dramatic coup d’état staged by a powerful courtier, aimed at the Catholic heir to the throne, who was herself an embattled survivor of her father’s rupture with Rome. Northumberland had risen through the ranks to the pinnacle of success. In control of the realm after the execution of Edward’s uncle, he was resolved to protect his interests at any cost. Northumberland’s frantic race against time to secure the throne offers riveting contrast to Mary’s emergence from the shadows as the stalwart granddaughter of the famed warrior-queen, Isabella of Castile. Though many initially thought her cause hopeless, history proved differently.

My second storyline focuses on: “What if?” Though it’s established that Mary did in fact visit court to see her ailing brother several months before his demise, less is known about their sister, Elizabeth. Many believe Northumberland refused Elizabeth the same privilege, thus relegating her to her country manor, isolated from the events about to unfold. But my imagination was stirred by the idea of what if she’d ignored Northumberland’s refusal. Hindsight is everything when reconstructing historical events; we now know what Northumberland planned, yet what if Elizabeth, unaware of the extent of the duke’s plot, arrived unannounced in London, determined to see her brother? Rumors of Edward’s demise ran rampant and Elizabeth was known for being both headstrong and fiercely protective of Edward. The possibilities that opened before me as I envisioned this bold nineteen year-old princess descending upon Northumberland and his clan proved irresistible.

The last storyline is fictional. The idea for this series was to explore the birth of the grand era of Elizabethan espionage. I also wanted to envision this world through the eyes of an ordinary man, a foundling (as many were) who is brought to court to act as a squire. My lead character, Brendan, only seeks to persevere in his new post, perhaps even gain his freedom from servitude. Disdained by the noble family with whom he has spent his life, still mourning the death of the woman who cared for him, but also keen and observant, if ignorant of the treachery of the court, Brendan is the perfect vehicle for my story: a seemingly every-day youth who, unbeknownst to him, carries a secret that could overturn everything he believes in. His fateful meeting with Elizabeth as she seeks an answer to her brother’s disappearance throws these two characters into a labyrinth of deceit that will test their mettle and forge a lifelong alliance.

Lastly, THE TUDOR SECRET pays humble homage to my lifelong admiration of the spirited historical adventures of Alexander Dumas, Rafael Sabatini, Lawrence Schnoover, and the swashbuckling films of the 1950s.  I hope you enjoy this foray into the underworld of the Tudors— a place where dukes battle princesses, betrayal is rife, and one man fights to save a future queen from destruction while unraveling the secret of his own mysterious past.

Thank you so much for spending this time with me. To learn more about me and my books, as well as access special features, please visit me at: http://www.cwgortner.com. Happy reading!

About the Author:

C.W. Gortner is the author of the acclaimed historical novels The Last Queen and The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. He holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis on Renaissance Studies from the New College of California. In his extensive travels to research his books, he has danced a galliard in a Tudor great hall and experienced life in a Spanish castle. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights and environmental issues. Half-Spanish by birth, he divides his time between Northern California and Antigua, Guatemala.

The Tudor Secret is the first book in Gortner’s The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles series.

You can visit the author online at www.cwgortner.com or his blog at http://historicalboys.blogspot.com/.

Giveaway Details:

One lucky Wendi's Book Corner reader will win a copy of The Tudor Secret. It will be shipped directly from the publisher.  Open to the US and Canada.

To Enter: (Leave a comment for each, please include your email so I can contact you if you win!)

1. Simply leave a comment!
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The drawing will be held February 25th. Winner: I will send you an email, please reply with your address so I can forward it to the publisher!

~ Wendi

Review and Tour: Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro

Sins of the Flesh
by Caridad Pineiro
Forever (October 27, 2009) ~ 336 pages
Fiction / Romance / Paranormal Romance

Edition Reviewed: Paperback - Review copy received courtesy of the publisher and Pump Up Your Book Promotions. Many thanks to the author, the publisher and the people at Pump Up Your Book Promotions for sending me a copy to review!

Perfect for : Personal Use

My Thoughts: Sins of the Flesh is a heart pounding romance filled with mystery, suspense, and a mercenary who may have a heart to match his brawn when it comes to the slightly less-fortunate Cat Shaw.

Caterina Shaw, a famous cellist, has been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, and has agreed to an experimental gene treatment as a last hope. When one of the doctors is found murdered and Cat is missing, she becomes the main suspect.

With the police looking for her, Dr. Edwards has hired mercenaries to find and return Cat to him as he can't risk his experiment (or her strange new abilities) falling into the wrong hands. When Mick finds her, he is faced with a woman he was not expecting, bringing more questions than answers. She is wounded and confused, and he can see that she has been abused, so he finds himself determined to shelter and help her instead of turning her over to Dr. Edwards.

There is definitely a burning attraction between Cat and Mick, and as the story progresses, it becomes clear that they will have to trust each other and work together to stay alive and safe.

I really enjoyed the fast pace of the book, as it had no problem keeping my attention, and I was overjoyed to read that there is already a second book in the series.

Characters: Filled with strength and a desire to find the truth. Filled with chemistry that keeps the readers attention.
Story-Line: Picks up quickly and doesn't slow down!
Readability: Easy to read, hard to put down.
Overall: A great start to a new series by author Caridad Pineiro!

About the Book:

Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment – a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body — and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.

Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

Excerpt:

The day the music died, Caterina Shaw did as well.

Not physically, although she understood the death of her body was inevitable. She had come to terms with that reality some time ago. She had even managed to deal with the blindness caused by the tumor eating away her brain. But then the pain had become so great that it had silenced the music, stealing away the only thing that had made life worth the anguish.

“You understand this treatment is new and uncertain,” Dr. Rudy Wells explained, his voice smooth and comforting. The touch of his hand, warm and reassuring, came against hers as it rested on her thigh.

“I understand,” she said and faced the direction of that calming voice.

Another person abruptly chimed in, his tones as strident and grating as a badly played oboe. “We’ll begin with laser surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor followed by two different courses of gene therapy.”

Two? she wondered and sensed Dr. Wells’ hesitation as well from the tremble that skated across his fingers. He removed his hand from hers and said, “Dr. Edwards believes that we can not only shut down the tumor growing in your brain, but possibly regrow the portion of your optic nerve that the tumor damaged.”

Caterina’s only wish when considering the experimental treatment had been to stop the pain so that she could play her cello once again. So that her last months would be filled with the vitality her music provided.

It was through her music that she lived. That her mother lived, Caterina thought, recalling the passion she had felt as a small child when her mother had played the piano for her; the way her mother’s fingers had coaxed life from the keys much like she now did with a stroke of her bow and the deft touch of her fingers on the strings of her cello.

Or at least like she had up until the cancer had put an end to her music, bringing her life to a close. Except now she was being told something different.

Caterina had never thought about eliminating the tumor. Every prognosis so far had been that she was terminal. Now these new doctors told her not only that might she live, but that she might actually see again too. She didn’t dare believe that she would be able to get her old life back completely, as well as her sight but . . .

“You think I’ll be able to recover? To see again?” Caterina asked, needing to be sure she had understood correctly.

“The risks are great, my dear,” Dr. Wells urged gently.

“But you qualify for the human trials because of the advanced state of your illness, Ms. Shaw,” Dr. Edwards added, annoyance at his partner evident in the staccato beats of his voice.

Her advanced state which could possibly bring death even with this treatment, Caterina thought. Not that she feared her end. What she did fear was letting the pain in her head rob her of the one thing she could not live without.

Her music.

She knew without hesitation that it was worth any risk to regain that part of her. To drive back the illness so she could play her cello once more and reanimate her heart for as long as she had left if the treatments couldn’t stop the tumor.

“What do you need me to do?”

Copyright © 2009 by Caridad Pineiro. All rights reserved.

About the Author: (from the publisher's site)

New York Times and USA Today bestseller Caridad Pineiro wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project – to write a book for a class lending library. Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her passion for the written word through high school, college and law school. Shortly after the birth of her daughter, Caridad’s passion for writing led to a determination to become published and share the stories she loved with others. In 1999, Caridad’s first novel was released and a decade later, Caridad is the author of over twenty novels and novellas. Caridad hopes to continue to share her stories with readers all over the world for years to come.

When not writing, Caridad is an attorney, wife and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista. For more information on Caridad, please visit www.caridad.com or www.thecallingvampirenovels.com.

Extras

For Behind the Scenes blogs where readers can find out about the places where the book is set, you can go to: http://www.caridad.com/books/paranormal/sins-of-the-flesh/










Caridad Pineiro’s SINS OF THE FLESH VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 will officially begin on Nov. 2 and end on Nov. 27. You can visit Caridad’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of November to find out more about this great book and talented author!

Review and Tour: 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live by Robert Tuchman

The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live: An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Sports Experience of a Lifetime
by Robert Tuchman
BenBella Books (March 17, 2009) ~ 337 pages
Non-Fiction / Sports / Sporting Events / Reference

Edition Reviewed: Paperback - Review copy received courtesy of the publisher, many thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review with a tour on Pump Up Your Book Promotion!
Perfect for : Personal Use, Gift for Sports fan

My Thoughts: This is a great book for travelers and for sports enthusiasts! Robert Tuchman must have spent a lot of time compiling all the information in 100 Sporting Events you Must See Live. The book is very similar to a Frommers type travel book: it includes everything you need to know about the sporting event, how to get there, where to stay, where to eat,important things to know, history, etc.

Robert Tuchman acknowledges the easy by which today's sports fans have the ability to watch events (cable, tv, internet, etc), but he also stresses that there are some events you simply have to attend in order to get the best experience, and he has included 100 of the top events (plus 6 extras). He also gives readers the inside information on the best way to purchase tickets, good websites to visit for each event, and some great quotes, significant historical facts, notable figures, records, etc.

Not only is this a great guide for what the author considers the top sporting events, but he includes a checklist (for those of you who might want to see how many events you can make it to!), and I also think this guide can also function as a sort of fact finder... such as:

From pg. 124: "Even thought the Rugby World Cup started in 1987, the idea goes as far back as the 1950's.

Content: Information on 100 sporting events, plus 6 honorable mentions, Top 10 Cities for Hosting Events, Checklist
Format: Each event contains a lot of information, including (when appropriate) Where, When, Significance, Who attends, History, Notable Athletes/MVPs, Records, Things to know before you go, How to get there, Tickets, Accommodations, On-site hospitality, Travel packages, Dining, Airports, Sports Travel Insider's Edge, Notable quotes, and Relevant websites.
Readability: Easy to use, enjoyable to read... I just wish there was an index in the back where you could look for events based on city/location.
Overall: A great book for the sports fan in your life!

About the Book:(From the Tour page)

What do running with bulls in Pamplona, watching contestants scarf down record numbers of Nathan’s hot dogs and witnessing the crowning of the newest Vincent Lombardi trophy recipient at the Super Bowl all have in common? According to Robert Tuchman, they all deserve to be in his new book, The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live: An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Sports Experience of a Lifetime, published by BenBella Books this month.

As president of Premiere Corporate Events, Tuchman has spent most of his years traveling to hundreds of events on the top of any sports fan’s ultimate wish list. While at these events, organizing and accomplishing corporate outings, he gained very valuable information about said events. He spent two years researching details for the 337-page book, a veritable Frommer’s guide for sports travel fanatics who want to delve the live sports events world but do not know where to start.

Using live appeal as the main criteria, Tuchman breaks down one hundred events in more than 30 states and 15 countries into an easily readable list format. His pick for the top place: the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta. In the 100th spot? A no holds barred Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas. Also included: the Tour de France (#13), the Rose Bowl (#26) and a basketball game at Harlem’s legendary Rucker Park (#76).
“It doesn’t matter if you eat, sleep and breathe sports, or if only learned what the Iditarod was during last year’s presidential campaign,” says Tuchman. “There’s something in here for everyone.”

Video:


About the Author: (From the Tour page)

When Robert Tuchman graduated from Boston University, Tuchman was quickly forced to abandon his dream of becoming a sports reporter. Applications to sports producers across the country were ignored and eventually he accepted a position as an investment advisor at Lehman Brothers in New York.

Still wanting to break into the sports industry, he joined Sports Profiles after reading about them in Entrepreneur magazine, working out of his apartment selling sports magazine advertisements. Quickly realizing that everyone to whom he sold ads wanted the perks (tickets to games or luxury trips to events) more then the ads, he decided to start a business that catered to this niche called Tuchman Sports Enterprises (TSE).

Within two years of working out of that tiny one-bedroom Upper East Side apartment, with one phone and a fax machine, his company was named to the annual Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest growing privately held companies and as one of the top 100 promotion agencies by Promo Magazine. He started TSE with no money and no investors and ended up selling it in a ten figure equity deal to Premiere Global Sports. Last year PGS earned over $70 million dollars in sales. Robert Tuchman now serves as President of that division, still guiding his company in its new form.

He writes a monthly column for Entrepreneur.com. He also writes for Incentive magazine, an industry magazine for incentive and meeting planners. He is the author of The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live, a sports travel book as well as Young Guns, The Fearless Entrepreneurs Guide To Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out on Your Own. His articles have appeared in ESPN.com and Sports Business Journal.

A favorite commentator on the sports industry, you may have seen him recently discussing sports business on “Anderson Cooper 360” or the “CBS Morning News.” A frequent guest on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” he has also appeared on CNN, the “CBS Morning News,” BET, and has been featured in USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur.

100 SPORTING EVENTS BLOG TOUR ‘09 will officially begin on November 2 and ends on November 27. You can visit Robert’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in November to find out more about this great book and talented author!

Review and Tour: Laced With Magic by Barbara Bretton (Excerpt Included)

Laced with Magic by Barbara Bretton
Berkley Trade (August 4, 2009) ~ 352 pages
Fiction / Contemporary Romance / Paranormal Romance

Edition Reviewed / Special Thanks: Paperback ~ Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Dorothy of Pump Up Your Book Promotions for sending me a review copy.

Perfect for : Personal reading, Book club read, Take it on a vacation, Read it during a commute

In a nutshell: Laced with Magic is a fun and entertaining story of half-human, half-sorceress Chloe Hobbs, as told from three viewpoints: Chloe, Luke (her boyfriend) and Karen (Luke's ex-wife). Set in the picturesque town of Sugar Maple, Vermont. The town is full of witches, werewolves, shapeshifters and faeries, among other non-human beings. Thanks to a protection spell cast by one of Chloe's ancestors, the townsfolks differences have been overlooked by the outside world.

Chloe is in love with Luke, the town's sherrif, and the only full human to live in Sugar Maple. Things seem to be going well. . . until Luke's ex-wife shows up in town looking for some help. She is being called on the phone by their daughter. . . who is dead. . . and who's spirit is being held hostage by Isadora, the Fae leader who has been banished (in book one of the series Casting Spells). While still learning about her magic, Chloe must make a risky decision - to help Luke and Karen's daughter by bringing Isadora back, or leaving their daughter's spirit in the hands of the cruel Isadora.

I really enjoyed the gentle romance, humor, and challenges faced by the characters in this story. It was also an interesting twist to read the story from the three different perspectives, each adding bits and pieces to the story overall. One thing to note: this is the second book in the series, and Barbara Bretton has done a wonderful job of filling readers in on what has happened so far, but there is at least one more book following this one. This one has a great ending, but certainly leads up to the next book!

About the Book: (From Pump Up Your Book Promotions)

Knit shop owner and sorcerer’s daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise—including the trolls, selkies, or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then out of nowhere Luke’s ex-wife suddenly shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie—a daughter Chloe knows nothing about.

Steffie’s spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if Chloe weaves a spell to free her spirit, her nemesis will also be free—free to destroy her yarn shop and all of Sugar Maple. But if she doesn’t, Steffie won’t be the only one spending eternity in hell. Chloe’ll be joining her, cursed with a broken heart.

Excerpt: (From Pump Up Your Book Promotions)

Chloe

Did you ever have the feeling that you were exactly where you were meant to be, that the Fates had finally got it right and the rest of your life was going to be clear sailing? That was how I felt the first time Luke MacKenzie and I kissed: like I was seeing the world through new eyes.

The first time our hands touched over a basket of alpaca roving, sparks flew. Bright silver-white sparks that shot from our fingertips and lit up the night. It was every love story I had ever read, every romantic movie I had ever wept over, all of my hopes and dreams wrapped up into one tall, dark, and handsome package. It didn’t even matter that he was one hundred percent human and I was the daughter of a sorceress. I believed that now that I had finally found love, the rest would fall into place like magick.

Crazy? I wouldn’t bet against it. Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, I still believed I was on my way to the storybook happy ending none of the women in my family had ever managed to achieve.

I mean, I even made a sweater for him and every knitter on the planet knows you never knit a sweater for the one you love until you had the ring on your finger.

What was I thinking?

I guess the truth is I wasn’t thinking at all. All those romantic movies and novels I had devoured over the years hadn’t prepared me for the real thing. Luke and I had gone from zero to sixty in a nanosecond, from strangers to lovers to living together in less time than it took most people to shake hands.

But then this wasn’t the real world. It just looked like it.

By the way, I’m Chloe Hobbs, knit shop owner and de facto mayor of Sugar Maple, a tiny little town tucked between two mountains in the northwest corner of Vermont. We’re a classic New England hamlet, famous for scenic views and great shopping but, trust me, there’s more going on in Sugar Maple than meets the eye.

Up until Luke, a former police detective from Boston, showed up in early December to investigate the drowning death of his friend Suzanne Marsden, I had been the only resident human. Well, half human to be precise but without magick the sorceress side of my lineage hardly mattered.

Remember the old TV show The Munsters? Marilyn was the all-American blonde who stuck out like a sore thumb in her family of irregulars. I guess you could say that was the part I played here in Sugar Maple. When the real world came calling, I was the one who answered.

And even I had to admit I was the logical choice.

A tenth generation witch owns the Cut & Curl across the street from my knit shop. The hardware store is run by the sweetest family of werewolves you’ll ever meet. The Sugar Maple Arts Playhouse is under the direction of shape shifters who serve as their own repertory company. Faeries keep the Inn’s restaurant fully booked and I guess it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that the town funeral parlor belongs to a happily married couple who happen to be vampire.

And that doesn’t count the trolls, selkies, goblins, sprites, spirits, and mountain giants who call our town home.

The unexpected success of my yarn shop had brought even more attention to Sugar Maple than our white picket fences and picturesque village green. My shop had been rated New England’s number one knitting destination two years running and if the blogosphere had anything to do with it, we were about to make it three for three. A protective spell cast over our town by one of my ancestors made it possible for us to hide in plain sight but when that spell started wearing down last year—well, that was when the troubles really started.

My ancestor Aerynn had fled Salem during the infamous witch hunts and found sanctuary here with other outcasts in search of a home. Aerynn was a sorceress, and she expressed her gratitude by casting a protective charm over Sugar Maple designed to keep the village safe from the sharp eyes of the real world as long as one of her female descendants walked the earth.

I was the last descendant of Aerynn and, in the eyes of almost everyone in town, pretty much of a loser. Oh, they loved me but I don’t think even my closest friends believed I would ever come through for Sugar Maple. I mean, I was almost thirty years old with no husband, no kid, and no magic. Even worse, I had no prospects of any kind. The only thing I had going for me was the ability to knit and spin like my foremothers, but even I didn’t think I could stockinette my way out of the mess the town was in.

And then Luke showed up and everything changed.

Who would have guessed that love would trigger my inner sorceress and awaken powers I didn’t know existed. Suddenly I had everything I had ever dreamed about: magick and love and enough yarn to last ten lifetimes.

And who would have guessed it wouldn’t be close to enough to save us.

About the Author: (From Pump Up Your Book Promotions)

Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 40 books. Her most recent title, Laced With Magic, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world and have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries.

Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette,among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.

Her awards include both Reviewer’s Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.

Barbara loves to spend as much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books.

You can visit Barbara’s website at www.barbarabretton.com, her blog at http://bmafb.blogspot.com or connect with her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/barbarbretton.com.

If you have reviewed this book and would like me to add a link to your review, please include a link in your comment!

Review: The Obama Revolution by Alan Kennedy-Shaffer

Title: The Obama Revolution
Author: Alan Kennedy-Shaffer
Pages: 266
Publisher: Phoenix Books (March 1, 2009)
Genre: Non-Fiction / Political Science
Edition: Paperback - many thanks to Dorothy from Pump Up Your Book Promotion for sending me a copy to review!



Perfect for : Personal Use, The person who wants to know more about "behind-the-scenes" from the Obama campaign

In a nutshell: Alan Kennedy-Shaffer's book, The Obama Revolution, is an insider's look at the policies and campaign promises made throughout the 2008 Presidential Election. He shares what he learned about President Obama's beliefs regarding our country, our status in the war, and our economic troubles. He also shares what it was like to be involved in the political campaign itself. I was particularly interested to learn about the 50-State Strategy, and what the author considered to be 10 pivotal speeches made throughout the campaign [p. 105]. Throughout the book, Kennedy-Shaffer has shown that this was a campaign of hope, and that a lot of hard work and effort went into the success of this campaign. The book includes the 10 speeches mentioned above [p. 157-233], and I really enjoyed being able to read them, especially the Yes We Can speech because of the tone it sets.

Extended Review:
Content: The book starts with an introduction and progresses with: Change We Still Believe In, A Green Deal, 50-State Strategy, Community Organizing, Generation Change, The Rhetoric of Hope, The New Faith, Obama's America. There are also sections that cover: Obama's Speeches for Change, Notes, Bibliography and Acknowledgements.

Format: Written from his experiences, Alan Kennedy-Shaffer has included plenty of quotes and verifiable facts.

Readability: I will admit that I skimmed through various sections of the book, mostly the beginning, where the author talks about the war in Iraq. Regardless of how a person feels about the war, it is a topic that has been beaten to death, and I only care about our men and women who are involved in the war and how they will be treated and supported in the future. I also ignored the slightly less favorable comments about President Bush. Otherwise, I found much of the information interesting.

Overall: Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican (or have other Party affiliations), this book will provide you with some insight into what Obama claimed to stand for throughout his campaign, and will show you the inner workings of a political campaign.

From the Pump Up Your Book Promotional Tour:
The first book to be written by a campaign staffer and offering rare insider glimpses, The Obama Revolution explores how a generation of believers and the politics of hope won the presidency for Barack Obama and changed the world.

The Obama Revolution carefully examines what Obama plans to do as president, how Obama clinched the Democratic nomination and won the general election, and why Obama’s evocative rhetoric inspired millions of Americans to create a political revolution that toppled the status quo and changed the face of American politics forever.

Drawing on both first-hand campaign experience and scholarly analysis, the author delivers everything from personal stories of grass-roots organizing and grueling all-nighters to candid assessments of the Obama campaign’s strengths and weaknesses. Insightful and powerfully written The Obama Revolution offers an enlightening, annotated, documented overview of Obama’s path to the White House and what it means to every American.

Learn how Obama used policies of change, strategic vision, and the rhetoric of hope to transform the campaign into a political movement. Discover how field organizers (most under 30), using cell phones and the Internet, mobilized and energized a whole new generation of voters. Follow the author as he registers voters, spreads the word and is touched by the people he meets.

Anyone wondering whether America's flame still burns brightly needs to read this book and be inspired by the hope, the promise, and the ardor of Barack Obama and “Generation Change”—the future of America—as they work hand-in-hand to fulfill the legacy of change that is the Obama Revolution.

About the Author: (From the Pump Up Your Book Promotion Tour)
Alan Kennedy-Shaffer served as a regional field director for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in Virginia. Educated at Yale University and William & Mary Law School, Kennedy-Shaffer is the author of Denial and Deception: A Study of the Bush Administration’s Rhetorical Case for Invading Iraq. Kennedy-Shaffer’s writings have also appeared in The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Washington Post, the Patriot-News, the Daily Press, and the Virginia Gazette. Alan lives in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. You can visit his website at www.alankennedy-shaffer.com.


If you have reviewed this book and would like me to add a link to your review, please include a link in your comment!

Guest Post: Katherine Center, Author of Everyone Is Beautiful

On Friday, I posted my review of Everyone Is Beautiful by Katherine Center. I absolutely loved this book, and was thrilled that I also get to share a guest post with the author with you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Katherine Center’s second novel, Everyone Is Beautiful, is featured in the March issue of Redbook. Kirkus Reviews likens it to the 1950s motherhood classic Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and says, “Center’s breezy style invites the reader to commiserate, laughing all the way.” Booklist calls it “a superbly written novel filled with unique and resonant characters.” Katherine’s first novel, The Bright Side of Disaster, was featured in People Magazine, USA Today, Vanity Fair, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others. BookPage named Katherine one of seven new writers to watch, and the paperback of Bright Side was a Breakout Title at Target. Katherine recently published an essay in Real Simple Family and has another forthcoming in Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers on the Mother-Daughter Bond this April. She has just turned in her third novel, Get Lucky, and is starting on a fourth. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two young children.

You can visit her website at http://www.katherinecenter.com/.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lanie Coates’s life is spinning out of control. She’s piled everything she owns into a U-Haul and driven with her husband, Peter, and their three little boys from their cozy Texas home to a multiflight walkup in the Northeast. She’s left behind family, friends, and a comfortable life–all so her husband can realize his dream of becoming a professional musician. But somewhere in the eye of her personal hurricane, it hits Lanie that she once had dreams too. If only she could remember what they were.

These days, Lanie always seems to rank herself dead last–and when another mom accidentally criticizes her appearance, it’s the final straw. Fifteen years, three babies, and more pounds than she’s willing to count since the day she said “I do,” Lanie longs desperately to feel like her old self again. It’s time to rise up, fish her moxie out of the diaper pail, and find the woman she was before motherhood capsized her entire existence.

Lanie sets change in motion–joining a gym, signing up for photography classes, and finding a new best friend. But she also creates waves that come to threaten her whole life. In the end, Lanie must figure out once and for all how to find herself without losing everything else in the process.

Katherine Center’s Everyone Is Beautiful is a hugely entertaining, poignant, and charming new novel about what happens after happily ever after: how a woman learns to fall in love with her husband–and her entire life–all over again.

And now, without further ado. . . a guest post from Katherine Center:

Comedy and tragedy are not the same thing. Of course not. We all know that. Comedy is funny and tragedy is—um—not.

They’re opposites. One is happy and the other is sad. One is hopeful and the other is hopeless.

In the novel I’ve just finished writing (which won’t hit the stores for a year) two characters—sisters—talk about love and hate between men and women:

She raised her eyebrows. “Hate is kind of the same thing as love.”

“Not really,” I said.

“They’re two sides of the same coin.”

“Sure,” I said. “Except one side is love and the other side is hate.”

The sisters talk a little more, and then one concludes that hate, because it’s a strong emotion, is good.

“Listen to yourself talking,” I said. “Hate is not good. It’s the opposite of love.”

“No,” she said, making sure I held her gaze. “The opposite of love is indifference.”

Some people don’t think comedy and tragedy can be mixed up together in the same novel. It’s like a story must either be serious or lighthearted. But my favorite stories are often both at the same time. I love novels that can make you laugh and make you cry. I love stories that examine that intense connection between opposites—funny and sad, light and dark.

Real life is that way. It’s jam-packed with opposites. Humor makes heartbreak bearable, and heartbreak gives meaning to humor. They are not the same, but they exist together. They need each other. They help us make sense of the world.

My husband is the funniest person I know. He has many gifts, but one of them is that he can find humor in almost any situation. And in the years since we’ve been parents, there have been plenty of occasions to use that gift. Once you have babies, your heart is so naked. You love them so desperately, and they are so tiny and so hard to understand. So much is out of your control.

When my son was a baby, our doctor thought he might be very sick. He turned out to be fine, but for months and months we didn’t know. We just had to watch him and hope for the best. And I was almost overcome with worry then. I just walked around all day with my entire body squeezed into a fist.

Many things about that time in our lives amaze me, looking back. The fact that I even made it through the day, for one. But also: The amount of joking we did. The way we sought out ways to laugh about our sorrows. The way that laughter kept us all afloat. It was impossible that we were laughing. But we did it. And that’s how we carried on from one moment to the next.

Review: Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

Title: Everyone is Beautiful
Author: Katherine Center
Pages: 256
Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 17, 2009)
Genre: Fiction / Chic lit
Edition: Received from Dorothy of Pump Up Your Book Promotion



Note: I hope you will stop by on Monday, when I'll have a guest post from the author of Everyone is Beautiful, Katherine Center.

Perfect for : Personal reading, book club read, sharing with a good friend

In a nutshell: Its not often that I find myself enthusiastically nodding my head in agreement to something I'm reading in a fiction book, but there was just something about this book that made me do a double-take! Either the author has experienced life in a similar way that I have, or she has done her homework! Katherine Center has written a beautiful book that is full of life, and not just some fantasy life, but a real life, and one that I can relate to, with the perfect amount of reality and humor! Any mom out there will appreciate this book, both for the challenges that children and family life provides, and for the way we see ourselves. This is a truly wonderful story of a woman who is first and foremost a wife and mom, and now she is trying to re-discover herself as well. Let this beautifully written story help you to re-evaluate life by taking a look into the life of Lanie, and learning to look at life from a beautiful perspective, and the fact that sometimes you have to take a step back and look at the special things in your life from another angle. Everyone is Beautiful should be read by. . . EVERYONE!

Extended Review:
Characters: With a friend like Amanda to periodically surprise her and challenge her thinking, Nora, the "mean witch" from the apartment below theirs, and a husband to love who just might be a little too focused at times, you will absolutely love Lanie Coates and the characters she interacts with. Lanie, Peter, the boys, Nora, Josh, Amanda . . . each person is beautiful in their own way.

Story-Line: Lanie seems to be a smart woman who has become derailed from herself. She lives for her husband and kids, and hasn't really taken the time to focus on herself. The family moves to support her husband's job, and she starts to find ways to re-focus on herself a little (going to the gym, enrolling in a photography class).

Readability: This book has the perfect mix of life (both the ups and the downs) and humor. Easy to read, and hard to put down!

Overall: The story is a life-affirming one, that will help you to re-focus on the things that are really important in life. I highly encourage you to get a copy of this book, and share it with the women in your life! Show them how beautiful they really are.

From Amazon:
Lanie Coates’s life is spinning out of control. She’s piled everything she owns into a U-Haul and driven with her husband, Peter, and their three little boys from their cozy Texas home to a multiflight walkup in the Northeast. She’s left behind family, friends, and a comfortable life–all so her husband can realize his dream of becoming a professional musician. But somewhere in the eye of her personal hurricane, it hits Lanie that she once had dreams too. If only she could remember what they were.

These days, Lanie always seems to rank herself dead last–and when another mom accidentally criticizes her appearance, it’s the final straw. Fifteen years, three babies, and more pounds than she’s willing to count since the day she said “I do,” Lanie longs desperately to feel like her old self again. It’s time to rise up, fish her moxie out of the diaper pail, and find the woman she was before motherhood capsized her entire existence.

Lanie sets change in motion–joining a gym, signing up for photography classes, and finding a new best friend. But she also creates waves that come to threaten her whole life. In the end, Lanie must figure out once and for all how to find herself without losing everything else in the process.

Katherine Center’s Everyone Is Beautiful is a hugely entertaining, poignant, and charming new novel about what happens after happily ever after: how a woman learns to fall in love with her husband–and her entire life–all over again.

About the Author: (from Amazon)
Katherine Center is the author of The Bright Side of Disaster. She graduated from Vassar College, where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize, and received an MA in fiction from the University of Houston. She served as fiction co-editor for the literary magazine Gulf Coast, and her graduate thesis, Peepshow, a collection of stories, was a finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. A former freelance writer and teacher, she lives in Houston with her husband and two young children.

www.katherinecenter.com



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Necromancy Never Pays