Tywebbin Virtual Book Tour Presents: Unresolved Issues by Wanda B. Campbell

Stacelyn thought her life was complete the day she married Dr. Derrick Garrison. The fairytale life she envisioned quickly vanishes, however, when Derrick's late nights and unexplained absences cause her to question his motives for marrying her. As secrets from the past and emotional wounds are revealed, Stacelyn discovers the hard way that it takes more than love to build a marriage.

Alone and bitter after Derrick's sudden departure, Stacelyn is forced to face hard truths about the man she married. In the process, she discovers her own unresolved issues. Will the revelations drive her to her knees, or send her seeking comfort from the enemy?
Will the revelations drive her to her knees, or send her seeking comfort from the enemy?
About The Author:

Wanda B. Campbell is an extraordinary and talented writer who brings creativity, a new sense of hope, and restoration through the healing power of God to the Kingdom, by way of Christian fiction. She uses real life everyday issues to exhort, motivate, and give comfort.

Wanda B. Campbell believes there is nothing too hard for God and through His love and power, He can heal you in EVERY area you hurt. Wanda believes with God’s help our darkest time can become our brightest moments. Her primary mission is to encourage everyone to experience the unfailing love of Christ. Wanda is not limited by race, age, sex, denomination or organization; believing the liberation that comes from Christ is free to all.

Wanda B. Campbell’s literary achievements include: Mommy’s Present, a short story appearing in the anthology The Midnight Clear, November 2006, First Sunday in October, January 2007, Crusin for Christ I Short Story Contest winner with Illusions, which landed a multi-book deal with Urban Christian. Illusions, the novel, February 2009,Right Package, Wrong Baggage, August 2010, and Silver Lining, August 2011. Her fourth novel, Unresolved Issues, is scheduled for release August 2012.

Wanda is a two-time winner of the Urban Reviews Top Shelf Book Award, two-time winner of Coffee Time Romance’s Critical Review Award, and a three-time Black Expressions Book Club Bestselling Author. She has appeared on the BCNN1/BCBC National Bestselling List multiple times and was nominated at the 2011 African American Literary Awards Show in the Christian Fiction category.

Wanda is a mother of three and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband of twenty-two years and two sons and enjoys spending time with her grandson.



My Review:

What a great fast pace ...nail biting read. Read this in one day, couldn't put it down. The book is filled with action, Love of The Lord, Family and Friends. I wanted to move in and become one of them.
The main people in the book are Staci and Derrick Garrison, who have been together for 8 years and married for one. Staci had been warned by her family and if she had been listening by God, not to marry Derrick yet. Derrick had been born to a wonderful woman Coraline, an unmarried woman, and a Surgeon who had nothing to do with him. Thus he had a lot of unresolved issues.
There marriage has not been very happy, and Staci should have listened! When Derrick moves out she is devastated, and find comfort in a "friendship" with Malcolm. Now comes the part that should never have happened. They start to make their own decisions without prayer, and leaning on the Lord.
You will wonder if Staci will ever have the children she wants, if she will get back with Derrick, or will Malcolm win her over.
Don't miss this great read, and good points to live a Godly life!

I received this book from the Author Wanda B Campbell, and Tywebbin Virtual Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

TLC Book Tours Present: Woodrow For President: A Tail Of Voting, Campaigns, And Elections by Peter W. Barnes, Cheryl Shaw Barnes

Election year is upon us and what better way to teach children about campaigning, voting, and the election process than through Cheryl and Peter Barnes’ critically-acclaimed book Woodrow for President!

Featuring Woodrow G. Washingtail, a civic-minded mouse with presidential ambitions, Woodrow for President follows Woodrow as he runs for president of the United Mice of America.

Taking children on a journey from Woodrow’s schoolmouse days full of hard work and community service to his time as governor of Moussouri to his bid for president of the United Mice of America, Woodrow for President introduces children to campaigning, elections, volunteering, and more through this fun—and educational—story of one mouse’s dream to become the nation’s “Big Cheese.”

Featuring a contract for voting between parents and kids as well as fun activities such as “find the secret service agent” in every illustration, Woodrow for President is perfect for any child in K-4 who might one day aspire to be the “Commander in Cheese.”

About The Author and Illustrator

Peter W. and Cheryl Shaw Barnes Peter W. and Cheryl Shaw Barnes are the founders and owners of VSP Books, an Alexandria, Va., children's book publisher. It publishes educational books for children about special and historic places. Its work has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, CNN, Child magazine, the National Council for the Social Studies and other news and educational organizations.

Cheryl Barnes.Cheryl is a self-taught artist who was born and raised in Alexandria. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Women's College with a bachelor's degree in political science. After working in the Washington, D.C., area, she moved to Los Angeles, where she co-founded an architecture firm. There she developed the love and appreciation for architecture reflected in her books. She and her family returned to Virginia in 1990. She is currently the Executive Director of the Wheelchair Foundation, a non-profit group that distributes free wheelchairs to developing countries. She is an honorary member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a teachers sorority, and is a member of the board of Northern Virginia Reading Is Fundamental.

Peter Barnes.Peter is a Washington-based broadcaster and journalist. He currently is the Washington Bureau Chief of Hearst-Argyle Television, which operates 27 network affiliate TV stations. Previously, he worked for TechTV and CNBC. In 1997, he won an Ace Award, the cable television industry's highest honor, for a documentary on the crisis in America's retirement system. He was born in Rochester, N.Y., and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. He graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor's degree in political science and earned a masters degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Peter has also worked for several other news organizations, including the Wall Street Journal. He was a member of the board of directors of Kids Voting USA, Tempe, AZ, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to teaching children about the political process.

The Barneses have two children and live in Alexandria.

I found this book to be a great and timely one in this election year. Read this with our 5 and 7 year old boys, and the oldest was especially interested. What captured both boys were the drawing, they were really interested in finding the Presidential Seal...kind of like an Ispy.
As we traveled through the White House, the rhyming prose gives a look at the House and the Election Process. They rhyming is excellent and does not seem forced, and the Children stayed attentive.
The back of the book is for the Parents...filled with some interesting facts and resources. I also think that you can share some of the tidbits that are offered here with the children.
While the beautiful illustrations are sometimes small, after a teacher has read this to her class, the book could be passed around in single or in pairs to look them over and maybe find the Seals.
I actually would give this book a 4+ stars...found it so interesting and full of great facts.

I received this book from TLC Book Tours, and the Publisher Little Patriot Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

Pump Your Book Virtual Tours Presents: A Leprechaun's Lament by Wayne Zurl

A stipulation of the Patriot Act gave Chief Sam Jenkins an easy job; investigate all the civilians working for the Prospect Police Department. But what looked like a routine chore to the gritty ex-New York detective, turned into a nightmare. Preliminary inquiries reveal a middle-aged employee didn’t exist prior to 1975.
Murray McGuire spent the second half of his life repairing office equipment for the small city of Prospect, Tennessee, but the police can’t find a trace of the first half. After uncovering nothing but dead ends during the background investigation and frustrations running at flood level, Jenkins finds his subject lying face down in a Smoky Mountain creek bed—murdered assassination-style.
By calling in favors from old friends and new acquaintances, the chief enlists help from a local FBI agent, a deputy director of the CIA, British intelligence services, and the Irish Garda to learn the man’s real identity and uncover the trail of an international killer seeking revenge in the Great Smoky Mountains.

About The Author:

Wayne Zurl worked as a police officer for twenty years and retired from New York to East Tennessee. In 2006 he began to write crime fiction. Seven of his novelettes have been published as audio books and Kindle books. In January 2011, his first novel, A NEW PROSPECT, will be published in book form. The story follows the adventures of an ex-New York detective who finds a job as police chief in a small Tennessee city.

Read an Excerpt



My Review:

Chief Sam Jenkins a thoroughly enjoyable and loveable character...he is in charge of the Prospect Police Department in TN. What an adventure you begin from the start of the book to the very end! He is engaging and a people's person...and loves his wife! Love how he flirts in a comforting way...others would have gotten in trouble!
What begins as an innocent request for funds under the Patriot Act...a security check on employees, ends up as an international killer being loose in TN. Murray McGuire the office equipment repairer, seems to not have existed for part of his life?
We have the FBI called in, with the way the Chief works his magic way of getting what he wants. When the FBI also comes up with dead ends...he also has a friend in the CIA. From there we use British Intelligence, and the Irish Garda.
We travel along on a page turning read....really wild and entertaining. The way things turn out is nothing less than amazing. I love it. There are also some unanswered questions...and don't know if they will be answered in the future? I for one will be reading more of Chief Sam Jenkins mysteries!!

I received this book through Pump Your Book Virtual Tour and the Author Wayne Zurl, and was not required to give a positive review.

Litfust Blog Tours Presents: The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher

When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision–one that goes against her very essence. Yet it’s the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.

Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation–and his relationship with Sadie.

College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons–courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.

The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie’s heart.

Once again, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher intrigues and delights with a story that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and true love. Readers will enjoy every surprise in Sadie’s story as they search for the truth hidden within these pages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suzanne Woods Fisher’s interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate many of their principles–simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily– into your life.

When Suzanne isn’t writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

To Suzanne’s way of thinking, you just can’t take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth. Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

Win a Kindle Fire or Nook Color from @SuzanneWFisher in "The Haven" Giveaway! RSVP for Live Video Chat on 8/30! Celebrate the newest book in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series with Suzanne by entering her 4 eReader Giveaway and Facebook Party and RSVPing for the Live Video Chat on 8/30! 

See what folks are saying about The Haven!

Four grand prize winners will receive:

• A Brand new Kindle Fire or Nook Color 
• $25 Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble.com Gift certificate 

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 29th. Winner will be announced at Suzanne's Live Author Chat Party on 8/30. Suzanne will be hosting an author chat (party will start on Facebook AND then be Live from her website) and giving away books, gift certificates and several Burt's Bees® Nourishing Radiance Kits!!

So grab your copy of The Haven and join Suzanne on the evening of the August 30th for a fun chat (both on Facebook and via Live Video), trivia contest and lots of giveaways. 

Don't miss a moment of the RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 30th!

My Review:

This book continues where The Keeper left off...I recommend you read that book...but you can read this one alone. Enough facts are given to make this a great read. Sadie Lapp arrives home to see people all over her farm. She is a quiet soul and does not like attention. When Mary Kate sees her, the rest of the family do too. We find that Sadie is not alone, she has brought a basket with a baby in it?? M K does what Mary Kate does best and starts the Amish Grapevine going. Poor Sadie is beside herself, but she does not want to part with the baby. Also new to the farm is Will Stolfz...he is there to help on the farm, and to watch the Falcons, which look like they are going to nest. Hence the many people on the farm...looking to see these rare birds.
Gid Smucker has loved Sadie forever, and is thrilled to have her home, but does Sadie still have the same feelings for him?
This one has a lot of questions being asked, and it finished with more questions. Will Sadie be shunned? Does she choose Will or Gid, also will Amos declare his feelings for Fern? or will Ira win her heart?
Don't miss this book, you will wish it would never end..a real page turner. Enjoy....and then pray for the next book to be out soon!!

I received this book from Litfuse Publicity Tours, and the Publisher Revell, and was not required to give a positive review.

Litefuse Publiciity Blog Tours Presents: Hope for Today, Promises for Tomorrow: Finding Light Beyond the Shadow of Miscarriage or Infant Loss by Teske Drake

No mother ever expects to grieve the death of her child before or immediately after the child is born. But the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reports that as many as 31 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. When the unthinkable happens, where do women turn for help?

Written from the perspective of one grieving mommy to another, Hope for Today, Promises for Tomorrow is a ten-week study that will encourage and challenge women to delve into a deeper understanding of God's Word. As women engage in biblical teaching, they will learn to embrace God's promises of love, goodness, purpose, comfort, peace, refinement, restoration, hope, and eternity.

"Hope for Today" verses peppered throughout each chapter, journaling cues, prayers, and the stories of other women who have experienced loss will help readers move from grieving in silent solitude to living life in the richness of God's love.

While other books suggest a one-size-fits-all method for grief management or focus on understanding specific causes of child loss, Hope for Today, Promises for Tomorrow offers comfort for the reader, whatever her situation, by helping her focus on the light of the ultimate Promise, the hope of a Savior, Jesus Christ.

About Teske Drake

Teske Drake (PhD, Iowa State University), is mommy to three babies in heaven, mom to two on earth, and wife to her one and only. She is cofounder of Mommies with Hope, a biblically based support group for women who have experienced infant loss.
Find out more at www.mommieswithhope.com.

Live Webcast Event

In coordination with the launch of their fall releases, Kregel will be hosting a live webcast event on September 20 at 8 PM EDT featuring authors Kim Ketola (Cradle My Heart), Teske Drake (Hope for Today, Promises for Tomorrow), and Dawn Scott Jones (When a Woman You Love Was Abused). The webcast will allow women to come together to share their struggles and fears in order to move toward healing and hope. Women will able to support one another and discuss shared experiences in a non-threatening, open and loving environment.

Cat Hoort of Kregel says, "We are seeking to provide safe means for Christian women to be vulnerable with each other, to seek help and guidance from authors and counselors, and to find encouragement from those who have shared similar experiences. Our hope is that the Women Redeemed webcast will become a forum for hurting women as well as for those who can help. Kim, Teske, and Dawn are all survivors and their stories will surely inspire and equip other women to move toward healing and hope."


My Review:

I wish I had had this book many years ago. My daughter died 77 days after she was born. She never came home, and I have fleeting memories of what she looked like. At the time it was hard to understand the why? She had a 2 year old sister, and you imagine how close they might have been. It was a very hard and difficult time in my life.
I would have loved to have this in the time I needed the healing. I did have the solace of her dying on Christmas, and becoming whole again with our Heavenly Father. I felt the Jesus had pity on her on his Birthday, and her suffering was over. Teske Drake has presented this wonderful book in such a great way, and I will pass it on when the time is right. I know that at the time it helped me to talk about what happened, and 18 months later we brought home her brother. One child does not replace another, but it does help in the healing.
I thank God for his many mercies.

I received this book from Litfuse Blog Tours, and the Publisher Kregel, and was not required to give a positive review.

Revell Blog Tour Presents: Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney

Lorena McCourtney has spun a fast-paced and witty romantic mystery in her new book, Dying to Read. From the very first chapter, she grabs your attention and keeps you hooked until the very end.
Cate Kinkaid is just dipping her toe into the world of private investigating until one of the many résumés she has floating around lands her a real job. All she has to do is determine that a particular woman lives at a particular address. Simple, right? When the big and brooding house happens to contain a dead body, this routine PI job turns out to be anything but simple. Is Cate in over her head?

About the Author
Lorena McCourtney

Lorena and her husband Jim live on rural acreage in southern Oregon. They do some traveling in their motorhome, but more often they just like to go over to the Oregon coast, which is a favorite setting for Lorena’s writing. She enjoys reading, hiking and beachcombing.



Dying to Read
By Lorena McCourtney
978-0-8007-2158-9 $14.99
Paperback
320 pages
Pub Date: August 2012
For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com


My Review:

Dying to Read is an action packed book. Cate Kincaid is now living with her Aunt Rachael an Uncle Joe, after trying a number of job, she is now trying a hand at being a PI. Uncle Joe trusts her, and gives her a case to find a missing niece of a man from TX.
She ends up at the last place Willow lived and ends up at a murder scene. This is just the beginning of the adventure we are about to embark on. Once started you have to read to the end to find out the ins and outs of what is going on. Throw in a bit of romance...may two, new friends and foes. There is a lot of action going on...and your going for a great ride.
Enjoy this great mystery, and you will have trouble figuring it all out ahead of time. I recommend this book to cozy up with.

I received this book from the Publisher Revell, and was not required to give a positive review.

Pump You Book Presents: The Things I Do For You by Mary Carter

What happens to a marriage when a husband buys a lighthouse behind his wife’s back?

Bailey Jordan has loved her husband, Brad, since they were ten years old. She’s followed him on every adventure–opening a sweater store in Seattle, a café in Colorado, a surf shop in Santa Monica. Each time, she’s picked up the pieces when things fell apart. But now, it’s her turn. Bailey has a successful real estate career in Manhattan, and she’s eager to start a family–until a car crash leaves Brad in a coma and changes their lives forever.

Awakening after his near-death experience, Brad has a new mission. He buys a lighthouse on the Hudson River, planning to turn it into a B&B. Grateful to have Brad alive, Bailey tries to make his dream her own. The lighthouse is beautiful, but the challenges–renovating, bringing in supplies by boat, navigating the locals and guests–are enormous. And then Bailey discovers a secret in Brad’s past that compels her to question her husband, her marriage, and how far she’ll go to keep them both. . .

Thoughtful and moving, The Things I Do for You exhibits a rare understanding of the joys, compromises, and small rebellions that lie at the heart of every marriage, and of the resilience and surprising power of love.

ABOUT MARY CARTER
Mary Carter is a freelance writer and novelist. The Things I Do For You, is her sixth novel. Her fifth novel, The Pub Across the Pond, was July’s pick of the month with Barnes and Noble online book club, and is also available as an audiobook through Blackstone Audio. Her other works include: My Sister’s Voice, Sunnyside Blues, She’ll Take It, and Accidentally Engaged. In addition to her novels she has written three novellas: A Very Maui Christmas in the New York Times best selling anthology Holiday Magic, The Honeymoon House in the New York Times best selling anthology Almost Home, and A Kiss Before Midnight (in an anthology collection headlined by Janet Daily) which will be out in the Spring of 2013. Mary is also excited to announce that she has started, The Writers’ Den, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where she will be teaching the exact writing course that helped her write and publish her first novel. Aspiring writers in the New York City area can go to www.themanhattanwritersden for more information.

Readers can visit Mary at www.marycarterbooks.com.
To get your paperback copy of THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU by Mary Carter at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Things-Do-For-You/dp/0758253370/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
To get your ebook copy of THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU by Mary Carter for your Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Things-For-You-ebook/dp/B007C738BC /ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
To purchase a copy of THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU by Mary Carter at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-things-i-do-for-you-mary-carter/1105389647?ean=9780758253378
Like Mary Carter on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Carter-Books/248226365259
Follow Mary Carter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marycarterbooks

My Review:

Bailey and Brad Jordan have tried and failed at several business. They now live in NYC and Bailey is selling real estate to support them. While she is about to show a penthouse and make a big commission, she gets a frantic call. Brad has been in a fatal accident along with his Aunt Olivia. While his Aunt does not make it...Brad who was clinically dead for 13 minutes, is brought back to life. Brad has had a near death experience.
His personality has changed and Bailey is worried that she will not get HIM back. Aunt Olivia has left everything to Brad....a thrifty odd individual...she was a closet gambler. Brad ends up with a Jaguar, they didn't even know she had, and a half a million dollars.
What he does with the money without even consulting Bailey...he goes to an auction and spends everything and buys a Light House on the Hudson River! Bailey begins to come around, and they move forward and plan to change the Light House into a B&B. She is just so happy to have her Brad back.
Pretty soon unexplained things start to happen, and there is a rumor that someone hanged them self in the attic.
You will love the things that go on...Brad not wanting to get rid of Old Aunt Olivia's ashes...some really different clients that come to visit the B&B. A lot of surprises are ahead!! and I love that there was an epilogue!

I received this book through Pump Your Book Virtual Tours, and the Author Mary Carter, and was not required to give a positive review.