Castle: Pitbull vs. Hammer

There were so many awesome things about this episode of Castle.  Aww moments, funny moments, and light-up shoes for a start.

The show begins with some guy running down an alley and a car chasing him. He gets cornered and even though he tells the guy who gets out of the driver's seat that they can work it out, they really can't. Dun, dun, dun.

Cut to the loft where Kate is testing Alexis on definitions for an exam.  Alexis rushes out and Kate tells Castle that Alexis has a really great brain and will be a good lawyer. He says he loses enough arguments to her and then asks if Kate regrets not getting her law degree. Kate says she likes taking the bad guys down instead of getting them through the system. Then the call comes in about the murder.

When they get down there Castle is trying to get some details on Ryan and Espo's number for a policeman's event that they've won for the last two years. The boys aren't budging, though, and Castle is reduced to saying that if he had been allowed to participate, he would have killed it.  Lainey is there and giving them details about the victim when Castle recognizes him as Richie "The Pitbull" Falco, an ambulance chaser type lawyer.  Caskett go down to his office where there are a lot of people in the waiting room and talk to the secretary.  She said he'd been acting weird the last few days, but he cared about his clients. Apparently he was in that particular area of town the night before because there's a hospital up there where he trolls for customers.

Back at the morgue Lainey tries to get details out of the boys about their number, but she also has no luck.  She finally just tells them that their victim had been in the country because he had some pollen on his pant leg.  He'd also been tasered before he died, as in tortured. Ew.

Captain Gates interrupts the team going over the clues in the bullpen and says that Kimmel had to drop out of the police event so they need a celebrity for a draw and asks Castle to do it. He says on one condition---he can compete for the trophy. She agrees and there is so much smack talk going on between Espo and Castle it is FUNNY.  Castle volunteers Kate to do a number with him and WIN against the boys, (it is so ON!) but she's not thrilled at all that he didn't ask her.  Not to mention they don't have a number and the boys have been practicing for months.

Ryan gets some footage of Pitbull being pushed into a car and the license plate is registered to a NFL has-been. They pull him in for questioning, but it's a dead end and the guy just affirms that Pitbull was acting weird. The smack talk is ramping up about the competition between the team and the betting begins. If the boys win they want Castle's next book dedication to say they're smarter and more handsome than him. If Caskett wins, the boys will call him King for a month. Haha At first Caskett doesn't want to bet, but Espo calls Kate a chicken and makes chicken noises so it is accepted.

The next person they interview is the victim's ex-wife that Pitbull called before he died. She has no new info, just that Pitbull had a Harvard law degree, self-destructed with drinking, and they divorced. She hadn't heard from him in years.  The team gets called back to Pitbull's office that has been trashed and his files stolen. Ryan is at the diner where the NFL guy dropped Pitbull off and says the waitress remembered Pitbull having an argument there with his nemesis, Archie Bronstein, the Savannah Hammer. The Hammer says yeah he got into it with Pitbull over client poaching, especially an easy win of a girl who had three bits of metal shoot into her chest when she was hit by a truck.

Back at the law office they find a hidden panel with chloroform, alarm schematics, night vision goggles, and glow sticks that were recently used.  The goggles have a name of a PI on it so they question him and he says Pitbull asked him a bunch of questions and borrowed his goggles, but he didn't know much else. Oh, except he did ask about the best way to hide a body.  Which leads Tori to ping Pitbull's last phone call to see where he was and it was a forest outside of the city. Caskett go there and find the flowers the pollen on Pitbull's pants came from. And there's fresh dirt. They start digging and talk about how they snuck in to observe the interrogation room where the boys were practicing their number. It was good. Kate is worried about being a disaster in front of everyone and not being taken seriously.  Then they find the body bag. They pull it out and someone pulls a gun on them from behind. They're tied up and the body stolen. Castle says he saw on Youtube how to get out of zip ties by slamming your wrists into your behind. It takes a few tries, (and is funny to watch!) but it works. Haha.

Martha helps Rick and Kate work on a number, but when Castle goes to raise the stakes with Espo, Kate confides in Martha that she has terrible stage fright but doesn't want to let Castle down. Aww. Before it goes too far, though, Kimmel is back on the schedule as the celebrity and they are let off the hook. Kate is relieved.

A wildlife camera catches the body thief on camera and it was the PI. They catch him with the body bag in the trunk of his car, but when they unzip it, it's just a crash dummy. I was not expecting that. The missing law office files are in the PIs apartment, too. Weird.  He's not talking, though, so they ask Lainey to look over the dummy. She sees the three holes in the chest area and Castle says where have we seen that before? The potential client in the ER that Pitbull was poaching. They go talk to her and she tells them about another lady that came to see her the day before. They start tying all the pieces together.  The victim was driving a Modesto sedan. Pitbull used to work on the Modesto car company account. He'd realized the airbags are defective and cause projectiles to enter the chest and the dummy proved that the company knew it, but covered it up. Pitbull was trying to make things right, but of course the car company would be out millions and wants to keep that secret.  The insurance lady that came to visit the victim was really the ex-wife, the current lawyer for the car company. But she didn't kill Pitbull because she wouldn't hire someone like that PI. But hey, the PI was talking to "the Hammer" outside the hospital.

And that's the final piece of the puzzle.  Caskett talks to the Hammer and he says that Pitbull didn't realize that dummy was worth millions to the car company to get it back, but all Pitbull wanted was justice. They have blood evidence from the guy's car and handcuff him.

Back at the precinct, the boys have got themselves another trophy (with light up shoes and weird hats!) and Castle says their number would totally have won, so Espo challenges him to dance-off right there.  Castle declines and takes the good-natured ribbing. Kate realizes that Castle heard her confession and since he's friends with Kimmel got him to come through for the police event.  The final scene is them singing (in shadow) in the shower. Cute!

I thought it was a fun episode with a twisty case. Did you watch? What did you think?

Book Review: House Divided

Tour Schedule

Today I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for House Divided by Jennifer Peel.  I stayed up soooo late reading this book just to see how it ended.

We first meet Ella when she's describing the rules that rule her life and her town.  You have to be an Auburn fan or an Alabama fan, you don't ever wear a crown, and you don't associate with the Jackson family.  Ella breaks the biggest of those rules when she falls in love with Brady Jackson.

They are cruelly torn apart as teens and then the book fast forwards to ten years later.  Ella has come home to take care of a family situation and Brady seems to be everywhere she is.  Ella is trying to reconcile her buried feelings and hurt and betrayal from their breakup years ago, as well as unravel the mystery as to why the rules were there in the first place.  That is what kept me up late.  While I loved the romance between Ella and Brady, I just had to know why those rules came to be.  And it was worth the wait. So tender.

I enjoyed the southern touches the author uses, they felt genuine, I liked the small town setting, and the characters were endearing, especially Brady.  I love second chance romance stories and this one did not disappoint.  A great afternoon/evening/half the night read!

(You should scroll all the way down to read an excerpt AND for the giveaway!)

Here is the back copy:

There is a law irrevocably decreed in the state of Alabama that you must choose a team. You're either an Auburn fan or an Alabama Fan. There is no fence sitting or waffling. It’s one or the other. However, it doesn't mean that you can’t fall in love with someone from the opposing side. They even have a name for it ... House Divided. Ellie Eaton and Brady Jackson were just such a couple, but unfortunately they were separated by more than just their loyalty to a university. Against the odds and against the rules, Ellie and Brady dove right into the forbidden current of friendship and then love. Their sweet, innocent romance was one for the storybooks, but old rules and family prejudices ultimately tore them apart, just as they were each ready to depart to their beloved universities, Ellie to Auburn and Brady to Alabama. But years later, when near tragedy strikes, they're brought together again and given a second chance at love, this time with help from some very unlikely sources. House Divided is a sweet romance filled with southern charm, a dash of humor and, for good measure, a pinch of lies and intrigue.

AMAZON

Praise for the Book "House Divided was one of those books that made me want to ignore my children, my to-do list, my need for food, and pretty much anything else that would keep me from reading. Jennifer Peel has a real gift for depicting first love, heartbreak, and hope." "A tender, soft, story that truly is a gem to read." "Ms. Peel has created a story that stands as a tribute to true southern gentility, it's foibles and strengths. Truly a beautiful read that gives heart and meaning to true devotion. She truly knows how to weave a story that has beauty and true southern charm."

   

 

Author Jennifer Peel I'm a Colorado native who currently calls Alabama home. I'm the mother of three amazing children who have grown up way too fast. I enjoy the mountains, vacations at the beach, date night with my husband, late night talks with my kiddos, touring model homes, and pink bubblegum ice cream. I grew up on the Western Slope in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I learned to love the beauty of the outdoors, but not camping--unless staying overnight at the Marriott counts. I met my husband while living in Denver and then several years later we traded the beauty and majesty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains for the art and culture of Chicago, Illinois. My family and I enjoyed living near this world class city, despite the crazy cold winters, but new adventures awaited in Northern Alabama--just six hours away from Orange Beach, Alabama. These three magical places (the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Chicago, and Orange Beach) are the inspired locations used in several of my books.

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$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/12/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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EXCERPTS

I was so thrilled that Brady was in my home that I didn’t notice he wasn’t acting like himself. I pulled him into our drawing room where the fireplace was lit and the twelve-foot high Christmas tree sparkled in the dimly illuminated room. Under the tree sat my wrapped present for Brady. I retrieved the present and sat in front of the fireplace on the floor. Brady sat next to me, and before I could say a word, he pulled me to him and kissed me like he never had before. It was like a man kissing a woman, not a boy kissing a girl. I could barely breathe when he was done. His breathing was ragged too.

 "Well, Merry Christmas," I said. That was present enough for me. He smiled that country boy smile I loved so much, but it was then I noticed it didn’t touch his eyes like his smile always had. "What’s wrong, Brady?"

 He pulled on my hair, like he always had. "Ellie …"

 "Brady?" He took a deep breath and looked at me with his baby blues. "We can’t be together anymore," he quickly blurted out. I just shook my head. Surely I had heard him wrong, but I knew I hadn’t. I backed up, and he scooted closer. The tears welled up in my eyes and in his. "Please, Ellie, just listen to me."

 "My name is Ella," I replied bitingly.

 "Ok … Ella. I’m so sorry, but being with you is tearing my family apart, and with my daddy so sick … I … I have to … I have to do this for my family. Can you please understand that?"

I was speechless. I loved him. I had broken my aunt’s rules and heart for him. And he, he was the one who pursued me and who had to shout it to the world that we were together. How could he just end it like that? I didn’t understand. The tears began to flow. He tried to wipe them away, but I wouldn’t let him. I didn’t want him to touch me.

He stood up, but before he left, he looked down at me. "I love you, Miss Ellie." How could he? I just stared up at him blankly. "Don’t worry, Ellie, you don’t have to say it back. I love us enough for the both of us."

Friday Freebie

Today's Friday Freebie is Just My Luck by Jaclyn Weist.  Sure, it looks like more of a St. Patrick's Day book, but you can never have too much of that, right? It's middle grade and I'm excited to read it with my kids.

Here's the back copy:

Adam Crenshaw is tired of living in his little sister’s shadow. She wins everything, and he gets the leftovers. Big brothers are supposed to be the role models, right?

Then one day, all that changes. Louie is a leprechaun who offers him all the luck he could possibly want—for a price. The offer is tempting, but Adam refuses to work with him. To teach him a lesson, Louie steals all of his luck, and Adam’s life is turned upside down. He now has a choice between giving in to the leprechaun’s demands, or losing everything that matters to him.

To download your free Kindle copy click here

Royal Date Review And Giveaway!

I am SO EXCITED to tell you about this book.  I first heard about it when the author asked me to help her with her back cover copy.  It was honestly one of the most fun I had writing back copy (the subject matter intrigued me) and then the book got picked up by the Kindle Scout program and Amazon mostly kept what I had written! Yeah, I loved that.

So, when I finally got my copy of the book I delved right in.  I wanted to know more about the characters that we'd been teasing on the back cover!  And it didn't disappoint.  Kat is such a fun, witty, sarcastic character that has such a great dose of realism around her.  I loved how she interacted with the prince from the beginning to end. Nothing felt contrived and I was laughing out loud at some of their scenes and sighing in contentment as her relationship with the Prince progressed.  Of course there's some pretty awesome obstacles for them to overcome, but I was totally rooting for them the entire way through.

The prince is described as "Superman's hotter Italian cousin" and I could just imagine.  I loved how he handled his relationship with Kat from the very beginning.  Getting down to who he really is and if he can actually have Kat in his life was quite the journey.  I loved his family, as well, and they rounded out a great secondary cast.

This is the kind of book that you stay up reading for.  It has it all---romance, wit, and a couple that makes you want to believe in happily-ever-afters. I highly recommend this one.

Here's the (amazing) back cover copy:

This Cinderella didn’t plan on a prince . . .

Kat MacTaggart is a girl who has a plan for everything—including her holiday ski trip to Monterra with her best friend. Everything is going according to plan until she finds herself careening out of control down a mountainside and being rescued by a guy who looks like Superman’s hotter Italian cousin.

HRH Prince Nico is intrigued by the woman he saved on the slopes and her refusal to date him. He offers Kat a deal—let him show her his country and he’ll pay her to write articles that will help Monterra’s tourism industry. Kat agrees, but given her past and lingering distrust of men, she has one condition—absolutely no kissing.

Thanks to the claims of a jealous British noblewoman and the schemes of a meddling paparazzo, Kat’s rule doesn’t seem to be a problem at first. But the more Kat gets to know Nico and the people around him, the harder it is to remember her keep-your-distance plan. Should she stick to it or risk everything for a chance at happily ever after?

You can find it on Goodreads here

And you can purchase your copy herefor $3.49 (but I understand you get 50% off if you use the discount code ScoutOne)

And scroll down for your chance to enter a giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card!

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Writer Goal Wednesday And A Cover Reveal!

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc

I had some really awesome things happen this week that threw off my goals!  But that's okay. Writers have to be flexible, right?

The first thing is, I got my new cover for On The Edge.

*drum roll*

TA-DA!

Don't you love it? The details of the little bio-hazard symbol in the eye of the camera really appeal to me.  And that guy means business!  Here's the back copy for that book:

Dylan Campbell, a CSIS officer, has been undercover hundreds of times before and is ready to get out of the game.  But before he can tell his bosses at the Canadian spy agency, he discovers a terrorist plot that could take him―and millions of others―out permanently.  Getting the information up the chain of command proves complicated, though, when Dylan's cover is blown and he's captured and thrown in an African prison. Will he be the first test subject for the new and deadly virus about to be unleashed on the world?

American CIA officer Elizabeth Spencer is undercover for one reason―to find the virus being weaponized at a private hospital in Africa.  When she meets Dylan, a Canadian photojournalist, she uses him to strengthen her story that she's only there to help.  But the more she works with Dylan, the more the lines between professional and personal get blurred. She knows better than to get involved with someone while on assignment and the reason for that rule hits home when the terrorists’ move up their timetable and Dylan is put in grave danger.  Can she stand by and watch him die?

 With everything on the line, Dylan and Elizabeth have one chance to stop the terrorist attack before it reaches North America―but they have to make it to Greece. Can they break Dylan out of prison and stay alive long enough to prevent the release of the virus? Or will one or the other be called upon to offer the ultimate sacrifice?

The second thing was that I had two reviews come in for my novella Falling Slowly!  

Aimee at Getting Your Read On said, "In Falling Slowly we get a follow-up on Rafe and Claire's romance. I loved it." You can read her entire review here.

Julia Lance at Book Reviewing Rocks said, "This story is such a great one and so sweet."  You can read her entire review here

So, as you can imagine, getting new covers and new reviews has kept me busy.  The print version of On The Edge should be available today and I worked really hard on that!

But what were my goals from last week?  Let's refresh our memories.

Continue working on my press kit.

Do another pass of On The Edge

Finish up details for Falling Slowly and All Fall Down audiobook blog tour.

Well, I finished my press kit and it looks beautiful if I do say so myself.  You can see it here

Obviously I finished On The Edge and am so happy with how everything turned out!

I am still finishing up some minor details on the blog tour, but will have some announcements for you soon.

Whew!  No wonder I'm tired! I did a lot this week.  

My only goal for next week is to launch the audio book for All Fall Down and my novella Falling Slowly.  

How did you do on your goals this week?

Castle's Ryan Episode

Last night's Castle shows what a gem we have on the team---Kevin Ryan.  A family man, trying to earn a little extra money for his daughter's college fund when everything goes sideways.

We start off the show with Ryan in a bathroom, pacing back and forth, his shirt obviously bloody. He looks in the mirror and then punches it.  Flash back to six hours before.  The team is in the bullpen and Castle is chiding the boys for telling him that the training session they sat through was going to be interesting when it wasn't.  They all make plans to go to the Old Haunt, but Ryan says he has another security gig and can't go.  They ask him who he's guarding and and he says he can't tell them. (That's a bad sign.) Castle asks if it's One Direction because he likes them and that made me laugh.

Ryan is talking to his brother-in-law Frank, the owner of the security company, while they drive Congressman Lopez to a fundraiser. Frank is chatting up Ryan, saying how security is safer etc. etc. They go over the pictures of protesters and people who might want to crash the party and embarrass the congressman. Ryan is ready for anything.  He gets a little introduction to the Congressman, his wife, and his chief of staff. They head into the event and Ryan actually sees one of the protesters in the crowd that they were supposed to be on the lookout for. Ryan takes away a vial of blood from the guy before he can do anything.  The party heads backstage to get the Congressman ready for his speech.  Before Ryan knows it, shots ring out and the fundraising lady is shot and so is the Congressman. Ryan sees a guy running and gives chase, but NYPD stops Ryan since he's got his gun out and is wearing a bloody shirt. The guy gets away and Ryan is feeling mighty guilty because the fundraising lady (Carolyn) dies.

Beckett calls him to see how he is and Ryan isn't doing great.  He wants to be in on finding the shooter.  He's the only witness and is trying his best to remember any details he can.  He does recall a blue press pass, so that gives them a starting place. They interview the congressman who gives them a description of the guy that Ryan saw running away from the scene.  He was one of the protesters. Espo and Ryan go to his home, and they're waiting for the tac team when the guy appears and recognizes that there's police in a car in front of his house. He runs. Ryan chases him down and they bring him in, but he isn't talking.

Tori the tech pulls up all the pictures from the fundraiser where the protester guy appeared in it. There was a five minute time gap while he was near a storage room.  And there was also a hotel worker near it, so they go to question him. The hotel worker says he hid when the protester came in and was seen talking to a little grey-haired man. A billionaire who hates Congressman Lopez. Caskett try to interview the billionaire for more info or an alibi, but get nowhere.

Espo finds Ryan standing in front of the murder board after everyone has gone home. Ryan says he thinks that something isn't adding up and Espo encourages him to go home and get a good night's sleep.  Next scene is Kate looking at her ringing phone and realizing Castle isn't with her in bed. She goes to the hotel where Ryan has set up a ballistics scenario. Apparently he has a theory and texted Castle about it. Kate says why didn't you text me and Ryan is all, um, you don't call the voice of reason when you have a crazy theory. Haha.

Ryan thinks his test proves the protester guy wasn't the shooter.  Ryan wants to go talk to the shooter in lockup.  He tells the protester (I forgot the guy's name!)  that he knows too much now and whoever set him up is going to take care of the loose end. (Seamus Dever is so good in these scenes. He's deadly and earnest and plain awesome.)  The protester finally cracks and tells Ryan how he got the press pass delivered to his mailbox with the info on how to get backstage. Tori pulls up footage of the mailbox and the guy who delivered the press pass is . . . Frank, Ryan's brother-in-law! Twist!  (I didn't see that one coming!)

Unis try to bring Frank in, but he runs.  Ryan goes to see his sister to get her to tell him where Frank is and she does.  (They had a great brother/sister scene, too.)  He goes to visit Frank near an underpass and Frank says he didn't kill anyone, he just makes extra money getting people backstage. He doesn't want to go to prison and walks away, but Ryan pulls his gun and the police pick him up anyway.

Kate goes through Carolyn's purse and finds some texts revealing that Carolyn and the Congressman were having an affair.  They piece together some fingerprints off the envelope that Frank got with the money in it, and it belongs to congressman's wife. They confront her, but she has an alibi. Who else has access to that account and that stationery? The chief of staff girl.  She was about to be let go from the congressman's staff on Carolyn's recommendation, so she took care of Carolyn, and catapulted the congressman into the national spotlight when he was shot.  Double whammy.  (And I totally called the killer from the beginning. Go me!)  (Also, the guy playing the congressman had the weirdest look on his face while the girl made her confession.  Like he was suddenly at a loss of how his face should be reacting. haha.) They already searched the girl's apartment and found her coat with gunshot residue on it, so Ryan arrests her.

Back at the precinct Kate is putting away the pictures from the murder board and Castle sees the study guide for the captain's exam. She's going to take it and see where that goes.  Cut to Ryan with his brother-in-law outside his apartment. Frank is scared to go in and face his wife, but she opens the door and hugs him.  It's going to be okay, they'll figure it out together. Aww.

A great Ryan episode. I was on the edge of my seat, loved the way he played the suspects, and then we had the bonus of meeting his sister and seeing a bit more of Ryan's background.  So awesome.

Did you watch? What did you think?

Double Book Review--This is Jesus and Loving Helen

Today I have two books I want to tell you about.  The first is to help us get ready for Easter and is called This is Jesus.  It has chosen scriptures from the events preceding the atonement and crucifixion and selected events immediately afterward.

It is simplistic in its approach, but the beautiful artwork in it by J. Kirk Richards makes this book special.  His artwork reminds me of art I've seen in museums before, where the subject's face is sketched in, but not really clear, leaving room for the viewer's imagination.  The thing that sets this apart for Mr. Richards, however, is that he clearly portrays the emotion of those near Jesus during this time, as well as the Savior Himself.

I was glad that I could read this book with my children and enjoy the artwork, answer their questions about a certain person in a picture, or talk about something the scripture brought up while we were reading.  Even my youngest child enjoyed the time we spent reading it.

This definitely added to our Easter preparation and is sure to become a treasured family book.

You can buy your own copy for $24.99 here

Here is the back copy:

The life of the Savior is portrayed in stunning fine art pieces by award-winning artist J. Kirk Richards. These striking new images were created by the artist exclusively for this book. Accompanied by a harmonized account of the Saviors ministry, Atonement, and Resurrection, these exquisite paintings reflect a deep reverence for Christs mission and sacrifice. Each page is beautifully designed to complement the unique style of the artist. A perfect reminder of the true reason we celebrate the Easter season, this handsome volume will be treasured by the entire family for years to come.

The second book I want to tell you about today is Loving Helen by Michele Paige Holmes.  This is the second book in the Hearthfire Romance series and is a companion novel to the first one, Saving Grace.  This is definitely not a stand-alone book and in order for it to make the most sense, you really have to read Saving Grace first since this one takes place at the same time.

That said, I really enjoyed the romance between the main characters in Loving Helen. There were just enough misunderstandings to build the tension and the addition of Helen's relationship with Beth really showed off the real Helen---the one who's not jumpy and afraid.  I loved that Helen is fleshed out as a real character who has overcome so much in her life to bring her to this point and that Mr. Preston doesn't feel an insta-love for her.  It made it very realistic, even through their faux-engagement when those tender feelings are beginning to take root. I loved Mr. Preston in the first book and loved him even more in this one.  This is a clean romance, of course, but I have to say there is one "kissing scene" that was totally sigh-worthy. Since I don't want to give away any spoilers, however, I'll stop there.  I also thought the author did a great job with the secondary characters and really made the entire cast relatable and believable. I'm excited to read the third book in the series!

You can download your copy for $3.99 here

Here's the back copy:

Eighteen-year-old Helen Thatcher grew up under the protection of her older siblings, Grace and Christopher. Living in their shadows and keeping to herself suited Helen just fine—until she met widower Samuel Preston. Watching Mr. Preston care for his young daughter and seeing his concern extend to her own family, Helen felt her reserve slipping away, as she learned first to trust him and then realized she had fallen in love with him. But instead of returning—or even noticing her affection—Mr. Preston developed his own tender, and unrequited feelings, for Grace.

In the midst of each silently nursing their broken hearts, Helen and Samuel are faced with a daunting task—reuniting Grace with her fiancé, Nicholas Sutherland. Now it is Helen who must look out for her sister and sacrifice her own fragile heart, as she and Samuel pretend to be engaged. Helen finds the role surprisingly easy to play, allowing herself to imagine that Samuel’s loving remarks are sincere. As the time for their charade to end draws near Helen must summon her courage and tell Samuel the truth of her feelings, or risk losing him forever.

Nearly Freebie Friday

Today's Nearly Freebie Friday is The Fortune Cafe by Julie Wright, Heather Moore, and Melanie Jacobson.  (It's a novel in three parts and I loved this book!)  You can read my review here

And then you can download your copy for only .99 cents here!

Here's the back copy:

The Fortune Café
A Tangerine Street Romance
(a novel in three parts)

Welcome to Tangerine Street

Tangerine Street is a must-see tourist stop with a colorful mix of one-of-a-kind boutiques, unique restaurants, eclectic museums, quaint bookstores, and exclusive bed-and-breakfasts. The Fortune Café, situated in the middle of this charming collection of shops and cafés on Tangerine Street, is a Chinese restaurant unlike any other because, well, to be honest, the fortunes found in the cookies all come true…

MIS-FORTUNE: Emma, a waitress at The Fortune Café will do anything to avoid opening a fortune cookie. Each fortune is rumored to somehow magically come true. Being a girl grounded in reality, she doesn’t have time for that kind of nonsense. But when trying to prevent a food fight at the café, Emma accidentally cracks open a fortune cookie: “Look around, love is trying to catch you.” If there is one thing that Harrison, her former best friend in high school is good at, it’s catching her unaware.

LOVE, NOT LUCK: Lucy has always been lucky . . . until her parents meet her fiancé’s parents at a disastrous lunch at The Fortune Café, and she breaks her lucky jade necklace. Even worse, her fortune cookie reveals that “True love is for the brave, not the lucky.” How is she supposed to read that? She’s always considered it lucky how she met her fiancé. But after breaking her necklace, Lucy’s luck takes a dive. And when her fiancé dumps her, the only person she can turn to is Carter, the unluckiest guy she knows.

TAKEOUT: Stella is content in her new life of taking over her mom’s jewelry shop. No more boyfriend to worry about, and as long as she stays busy, she doesn’t have to dwell on her non-existent love life. When Evan comes into the shop with his young daughter, Stella is charmed. But she is reluctant to complicate her straightforward life, so when she reads her fortune after ordering takeout from The Fortune Café, she completely ignores it. After all, how can a fortune as vague as “Do the thing you fear and love is certain,” apply to her?

Other books in the Tangerine Street Romance series: The Boardwalk Antiques Shop

Press Kits For Authors

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm working on a press kit.  A couple of people have asked me what a press kit is, so I thought I'd write about it!

A press kit is a one-stop shop for the media to find out about you and your books.  (So you're not writing for readers now, your press kit is to convince bloggers, journalists, etc., to take a second look at your work and help you promote it.)  It's convenient for when you are contacting bloggers for a blog tour, or perhaps a radio or TV station is looking at you and your books, then they can click on your press kit and find everything they need. (And it looks really professional for the author to have that available.)

Here is what you should include in a basic press kit for authors:

• An author photo--provide a high resolution photo of yourself to add a little personal flair to your words.

• A short bio--something about you that could be used on social media, like a little info blast about three sentences long.

• A long bio--this one tells a little more about you, your accomplishments, things that let readers get to know you a bit better. A few paragraphs at least.

• Book covers--provide high-resolution images of your book covers.

• About the books--give short summaries of your books.

• Awards and praise for your books--who has endorsed your book?  What awards have you won?

• Media Appearances--have you appeared on television or radio? Been interviewed by a magazine or newspaper? Tell about that here or provide the video/audio!

• Interview Questions--you can provide sample interview questions with your answers.  Sort of like a little Q&A with yourself.  Great info for bloggers.

• Contact information--this is critical to have up-to-date contact info. No one can ask you for interviews if they can't get in touch with you!

And just FYI, most professional press kits are available as a PDF on the author website.

So, that's what I'm working on this week.  I know press kits can be a great marketing tool when they are done right and that's my goal!

Writer Goal Wednesday

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc 

Boy these weeks are flying by. It feels like we were just discussing my goals for this week! And yes, it was another busy week for me.

I got the new cover for my book Ashes Ashes. Did you see it?

I love this one. But, with a new cover, that meant I had to update all my sites, my social media, and the vendors, so that took some time.  But it was sooooo worth it. I've gotten a lot of great feedback on this one.  

I also finished negotiations with the narrator for Through Love's Trials. He is so dedicated, he's already submitted the first fifteen minutes for my review, made the tweaks, and gone on to start the first few chapters. I know you will love his voices for Emma and Kenneth. I can't wait for you to hear it!

I finally finished all the metatag updates for my books. Whew! That was a bigger undertaking than I thought, but I'm interested to see if it really makes a difference in sales or not.

I started on a press kit this week and I'm having a lot of fun with that. I'll keep you posted!

Okay, what were my goals from last week and how did I do?

My goals were:

• Finish negotiations for Through Love's Trials audiobook. CHECK! Finished this one.

• Keep updating metatags.  CHECK! Finished this one.

• Do another pass of On the Edge Did not finish this one.  It's definitely going to be a process to get this one done I think!

• Work on the blog tour for Falling Slowly and All Fall Down's audiobook.  I worked on it but am not finished. It will go on my list for next week.

So, what are my goals for next week?

• Continue working on my press kit.
• Do another pass of On The Edge
• Finish up details for Falling Slowly and All Fall Down audiobook blog tour.

How did you do this week?

Castle--The Comparison Game

The show starts off with a jogger going through a bunch of fog on a dark night. My thought was, why is he jogging late at night in the fog? He sees someone bent over a body and instead of running in the opposite direction to call the police, he jogs over to confront them.  Um, yeah, not the smartest guy on the block.  The gunman raises her gun to his face and we cut to the loft.

Beckett is in bed reading about a fellow academy student who is being made a captain.  She's feeling like she should probably be in a leadership position by now and Castle is trying to reassure her as they get the call about the murder.  As they walk to the murder scene Kate is thinking that maybe she should have stayed in DC with the AG's office, but Castle reminds her she didn't want to play their games.  The boys walk up and give her the rundown on the murdered man.  His name is Henry Graham and the killer took his keys and cell phone, but left his wallet.  And they have a witness. The jogger is still alive! He IDs the killer as an Asian woman.

Caskett go to interview Henry's boss and find out that Henry was a repo driver and was constantly threatened.  His boss also mentions that Henry was acting weird and came back from lunch the day before really upset, but no one knows where he went for lunch.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Espo go to Henry's apartment, and show the manager the sketch of the Asian woman.  She says the woman was there ten minutes ago, so the boy run up to Henry's apartment. The door is ajar so they creep in, guns drawn.  As Ryan comes around a corner, he is relieved of his gun and the Asian woman tells him to drop it. Before he can, Espo is there with his gun, but the woman quickly takes that away from him, too. Super fast and really awesome.  So she's got a gun on both men.  Espo tells her she's making a mistake, they're cops and she points to her badge and says I am, too.

They take her back to the station for questioning (and Castle keeps bringing up how she got both their guns, haha) and find out that her name is Jong, and she's the head of a Chinese/American task force based out of San Francisco. She's got a lot of commendations and is the youngest woman to be made a Chief Inspector.  She tells them that Henry was her friend and that he'd called her to meet, but then changed his mind. She was worried so she flew out and found him dead. She was investigating his murder.  She found a restaurant receipt in his pocket, so, after deciding to work together, Caskett and Jong head to the Chinese restaurant, where Jong immediately takes over the interview.  Kate is showing Castle Jong's family picture--she's married to an action movie hero, has two cute kids. Castle can see where she's going with this and comparing herself to Jong, so he says he's seen cuter, haha. Jong, however, is across the room, finding out from the waitress that Henry had an argument with an average white guy in his 40s.  They track him through the restaurant's free wifi.

The guy that fought with Henry is an FBI agent named Glassman and they bring him in but he lies and stonewalls.  (The FBI gets a bad rap in a lot of these eps, haha). Ryan mentions that they found formaldehyde on the bottom of Henry's shoes, but no one knows what that means.  Jong and Kate go to a shooting range for a girls' night, (which Castle doesn't think is a good idea, but the boys urge him to give Kate some space) but it ends up just being Kate comparing herself to Jong. (Just as Castle predicted.) Jong works at the Hague, Jong can shoot some amazingly accurate patterns.  When Kate is telling Castle about it, she just sounds so insecure, it shocked me a little bit. I mean, she's Kate Beckett! She's pretty amazing. And yet most women I know play the comparison game. It never ends well and Castle does try to point out to Kate that she's comparing herself to a Jong that doesn't really exist. I mean, they hardly know the woman. Which is something every woman should remember. Don't compare yourself to what you think another person is like because you don't know their struggles and no one is as perfect as they may seem. What's that saying? Don't compare your behind the scenes self with someone else's highlight reel. Words to live by.

Anyway, back to the case.  Jong finds some surveillance footage of Henry's apartment that show him being shoved in a black SUV. The SUV belongs to Billy Hicks, (wasn't that the name of a character from Elmo's Fire? Rob Lowe's character? But I digress) and Billy is a drug runner and Henry was his former enforcer.  Before they can confront him, though, Captain Gates informs them the FBI wants them to back off and not to mess up the case they're building against Hicks.  Jong is mad and disappears from the precinct to show up at the gym that Hicks runs.  She takes down six men on her own, and by the time Beckett gets there, she's holding a broken bottle to Hicks' throat.

Hicks admits that he was helping Henry by supplying him with half a kilo of cocaine and dropping him off at a parking garage.  The boys head over there and find the X5 car that Henry had asked for codes for at work.  Its owner, Jeffrey Waldow, (where's Waldo? haha) had been nabbed with half a kilo of cocaine in his car and was at Central Booking. Beckett goes to talk to him and he is so relieved that someone else believes that he was framed.  As the team looks into his life, they realize that he's won a lot of real estate bids recently and beat out the owner of the Chinese restaurant that Henry went to before he died.

When they question the Chinese restaurant owner, it alllll comes out. Henry was in love with the waitress, but she owed a lot of money to the restaurant owner for bringing her over from China. Henry wanted to pay off his girlfriend's "debt" so he was going to plant the drugs on the restaurant owner's nemesis for her because once Waldow was out of the way, she could buy up all that real estate. The girlfriend was supposed to meet Henry in the park that night, but she got a message that he'd cancelled.  Poor Henry just wanted a life with love in it.

But then comes the twist. The restaurant owner didn't kill him! Henry's girlfriend, Sue Ying, had a best friend, Mae Woo, and Caskett call Mae Woo in for questioning.  She gave Sue Ying a false message and went to the park to kill Henry herself.  Sue Ying was all she had in the world and she wasn't going to let Henry take her away.  Sad.

Well, with the case closed Jong says goodbye to Kate.  She'd let it slip that she's separated from her husband, that she isn't the mother she should be, and is always busy. But she's trying to find balance. Kate takes this to heart and goes home with Castle to make a list of new goals, and new mountains to climb.  She also says she doesn't want to compromise her priorities or leave behind what matters most and Castle says, "you can't leave behind what is always at your side."  Awww. I love them.

Did you watch? What did you think?

Book Review: The Continuous Atonement For Teens & Practicing For Heaven

If you've ever heard Brad Wilcox speak, you know you are in for a treat.  He's funny, he's real, and he can teach you something without being preachy about it.  He has two new books out that I want to tell you about today.

The first one is The Continous Atonement for Teens.  It is written to explain the Atonement in a way that teenagers will understand.  Mr. Wilcox uses personal experiences that touched my heart, questions that he answers honestly, and quotes from church leaders that add clarity.  I especially loved that each chapter was broken up into smaller bits, to better explain certain aspects.

The book covers so many things about the Atonement in ways that I'd never thought about before. Questions that were asked, were answered, and things that might not be clear, were explained.  I loved the picture this book presented of the Savior and how His mission and Atonement applies to everyone and once we understand it, we can better use this gift in our lives. I know I will have my teenagers read it, but it will be on my keeper shelf for when I want to have a little refresher course.

Here is the back copy:

Brad Wilcox's The Continuous Atonement is a landmark work that helps to clarify what the Atonement is—and what it isn't. It corrects misperceptions and offers hope to those who struggle again and again.

This teen adaptation will help teenagers better understand and apply the Atonement in their lives and help them teach the nuances of the Atonement to others, whether on a mission, at home, or with friends. As they better understand and apply the Atonement, its transforming power will have a lasting effect in their lives.

Each chapter opens with a teen-appropriate question and includes subheadings to clarify content, new stories relevant to teens, and a Prepare to Teach section to help readers internalize and share what they're learning. This shorter edition will be printed in paperback, perfect for teens to carry with them through their busy days.

You can get your copy herefor $9.99

The second book is Practicing For Heaven: The Parable of The Piano Lessons.  This parable goes right along with the ideas in The Continuous Atonement, but it's to help teach younger children about the Atonement.

It is also written by Brad Wilcox (and Wendee Wilcox Rosborough) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was so relatable! I currently have a child in piano lessons and we were chuckling and nodding our heads through the whole thing.  The way it likens piano practice to what we're trying to do as followers of Christ was so original.  We also loved the illustrations and how realistic they were.  A great book for family home evening and a family keepsake for sure!

You can buy your hardback copy herefor $17.09

My New Cover Is Here!

I am so excited to show you all the new cover for my novel Ashes Ashes! I love it and can't wait to hear what you think.

*drum roll*

TA DA!!

Isn't it gorgeous?

Freebie Friday

Today's Friday Freebie is Over You by Christine Kersey.  It's a romantic suspense and looked good!

Here's the back copy:

When Jessica Stevens temporarily moves in with her elderly aunt to help care for her, she plans to use the time to heal from a recent break-up. But when her aunt decides to do some remodeling on the old house, Jessica is dismayed to discover that the contractor is her ex-fiancé, a man who dumped her several years before.

Helping distract her from her troubles are mysterious fifty-year-old letters she finds in her aunt's attic. The contents of the letters spur Jessica to do some digging, but as the truth of the past begins to be revealed, Jessica regrets ever finding the letters.

Over You does not contain any profanity or sexual content.

If this sounds interesting to you, download your free Kindle copy here

Last Two Weeks For This Boxed Set

Too Deep, the boxed set of three full-length novels including my award-winning novel All Fall Down, will only be available for two more weeks! For only $2.99, you can get three great romantic suspense books. If you want to download your copy before this deal is gone click here

Here's the back copy:

TOO DEEP: A TRIPLE TREAT ROMANCE BOX SET
Three Bestselling Authors, Three Romantic Suspense Novels, One Great Price

HOME BEFORE DARK by Amazon bestselling author Christy Barritt

Nothing good ever happens after dark. Those were the words country singer Daleigh McDermott’s father always repeated. Now her father is dead, and Daleigh fears she’s returned home too late to make things right. As she’s about to flee back to Nashville, she finds a hidden journal belonging to her father. His words hint that his death was no accident. Small town mechanic Ryan Shields is the only one who seems to believe that Daleigh may be on to something. Her father trusted the man, but Daleigh’s instant attraction to Ryan scares her. She knows her life and career, however dwindling it might be, are back in Nashville and that her time in the sleepy North Carolina town is only temporary. As Daleigh and Ryan work to unravel the mystery, it becomes obvious that someone wants them dead. They must rely on each other—and on God—if they hope to make it home before the darkness swallows them whole.

ALL FALL DOWN by Amazon bestselling author Julie Coulter Bellon 

Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes we all fall down… That simple rhyme turns negotiator Claire Michaels’ current hostage situation into an international incident. As the crisis escalates, Claire realizes she’s dealing with an al-Qaeda operative with the potential to attack America. Can she overcome her scars of the past in order to get the hostage out alive and possibly stop an assault on U.S. national security? Navy SEAL Rafe Kelly is on leave to recover from a knee injury he suffered during his tour in Afghanistan and he doesn’t expect to be fighting terrorists on his home turf. But when he is taken hostage and his brother is kidnapped, Rafe teams up with a hostage negotiator in order to stay alive and get his brother back. The situation quickly turns from desperate to deadly. Will Rafe be able to save himself and his country without anyone he loves getting caught in the crossfire?

THE RECKONING, the Writer’s Digest International Award winning book by Tanya Parker Mills 

Journalist Theresa Fuller has epilepsy, but this hasn't slowed her search for stories of injustice to broadcast to the world. When she and her cameraman, Peter Cranston, are captured inside Iraq, she is cut off from her medication. Seizures resume, and dreams and visions of her American childhood in Baghdad begin to trouble her. Tormented by the relentless Colonel Badr, she is forced to focus on her own father's death years before in a Baghdad prison. The strain of her own captivity is relieved only by her growing attraction to Tariq al-Awali, the Iraqi captain who took charge of her capture. The more she learns of him and his family, the clearer her haunting dreams become, and the more puzzling her past. Before American bombs begin to fall, and all of Iraq is thrown into even darker chaos, Theresa must find a way to escape the cruelty of Colonel Badr, and save those she cares for most.

Writer Goal Wednesday

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc 

Well, this has been another super busy week.  I tried a new book marketing thing that I thought I'd share with you since it was, well, interesting in its results.

I came across this new thing Amazon is doing called the Amazon giveaway (sort of like a Goodreads giveaway) and thought it might be fun to host one for my books to see what it was like.  

So here's what I did: I offered four print books of my award-winning novel All Fall Down and all they had to do to enter was follow me on Twitter.  The giveaway is scheduled to go for a week or until all the prizes are awarded so I thought I would have plenty of time to advertise it.  

The time of the giveaway to start came around and I was really surprised by how many entries I got and how quickly I got them.  I didn't have time to advertise the giveaway because it was over in THIRTY-TWO MINUTES.  So crazy.

At least I know for next time that I should pick a different algorithm for the prizes to be awarded.  I got a lot of new Twitter followers out of it, but the best perk was that my print book went from languishing in low rankings to shooting up to be ranked in the 30,000s.  I also got several sales from it so I'm happy with how it turned out overall.  

Another awesome thing that happened this week is that I found a narrator that I really liked to do the audio book for my novel Through Love's Trials. We are currently in negotiations. Woot!

On to my goals that I accomplished for the week.

• I updated the metadata tags for two more of my books.
• I finished the major overhaul of On the Edge. I plan to do another pass.
• All the ARCs for Falling Slowly were handed out and the book is now available! Woohoo!

So, what are my goals for this coming week?

• Finish negotiations for Through Love's Trials audiobook.
• Keep updating metatags
• Do another pass of On the Edge
• Work on the blog tour for Falling Slowly and All Fall Down's audiobook

I'm really excited about all my upcoming projects.  How did you do this week?

Falling Slowly Is Now Available!!

My new novella, Falling Slowly, is now available for purchase on Kindle! Woohoo!  I love release days!  (For my Nook friends, that should be available in the next day or two.)

This is the novella that features Rafe and Claire from my novel All Fall Down and takes place right after they get home from Afghanistan (so right after All Fall Down and before Ashes Ashes.)

Here's the cover:  (So pretty!)

Rafe Kelly never thought he’d fall in love with Claire Michaels, the hostage negotiator sent to get him out of a life or death situation.  Though it was easy to see from the beginning that Claire was good at her profession, Rafe quickly realized she was even better for him personally―and that they might have a future together. 

When they get back from their mission in Afghanistan, however, Claire goes back to the Hostage Negotiation Team and Rafe is left to deal with the huge hole in his life after leaving the SEALs.  Trying to balance an uncertain future with a new relationship is made even more complicated when a family crisis strikes.  Will Rafe and Claire be able to turn to each other for strength or are they over before they’ve really begun?

And you can buy your copy for $1.99 here

I'm so excited to see what you all think of this little glimpse into more of Claire and Rafe's story! 

A Double Book Review: A Christ-Centered Easter & Real Moms

Today I have two books to tell you about. Both are amazing!

I've been looking for something to help us with new Easter family traditions, and since I enjoyed Emily Freeman's book about a Christ-Centered Christmas, I was excited to see she had one out about Easter.

Celebrating A Christ-Centered Easter isn't like any other tradition book I've seen. It doesn't concentrate on the days leading up to Christ's crucifixion---it concentrates instead on the people who surrounded Christ before his crucifixion.  Lazarus, Simon, the Women, Joseph and Nicodemus, and Thomas to name a few.  I loved how the author took the individual experiences these people had with the Savior and suggested ways we can use their experience to better our own lives.  The stories are made so personal and brought a whole new meaning to them. They were short chapters, but each one was filled with ideas and wisdom that I thought about long after I'd finished the book.

The author also includes short family home evening lessons you can do after each chapter which I really appreciated. I'm going to do the "forget" knot tonight.

I think this is a touching book that offers a unique perspective into our Easter traditions and what they could be.  I loved the ideas, I loved that it is diverse enough for anyone to read---individuals or families.  Definitely going on my keeper shelf!  If you are looking for a way to make your Easter more meaningful, this is the book for you.

You can buy your copy here for $8.08

Here's the back copy:

One of the few titles for adults on the Easter holiday, this beautiful gift book tells the story of Jesus from Crucifixion to Resurrection in short chapters, illustrated with line art, told in first-person narrative of seven disciples. Each section offers the author's commentary on the lessons learned from each disciple and suggests simple traditions to follow to remember how implementing the teachings of the Easter holiday can vastly enrich your life today.

Personal stories include

Lazarus
Simon
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome
Thomas
The disciples on the road to Emmaus
Jesus Christ

The second book I want to tell you about today is by Lisa Valentine Clark called Real Moms Making It Up As We Go.

Being a mom is full of tears and laughter and so is this book.  As a mother of eight, boy, do I have some stories I could tell you about motherhood.  It is the hardest, most rewarding job I've ever had (and yes, I know everyone says that, but it's true!) Ms. Clark really hits the nail on the head in this book.  I laughed so hard in pretty much every chapter, but there are some tear-jerking moments, too.

Every mom will relate with her chapters that talk about "all the things" (yep, I've got sooo much time on my hands) and "making it all up" and "you've got some advice."  I think my favorite chapter, though, was "shocking moments in motherhood." I could definitely relate and that made me laugh really hard because I've been there! I knew exactly what she was talking about!

This is a really fun book. I liked her easy, conversational tone, the wit, the truths and the side rants.  I loved her moments of clarity through the laughter and the tears.  And I loved how real it all felt to me. The author talks about the time her son first experienced the wind and how amazing it was. I remember the time my little boy first experienced a snowflake.  There is something incredible and amazing about seeing the world through the eyes of a child.  It is definitely one of the rewards of motherhood. (And there are many.)  This book just points out all the best parts of being a mom.

So with Mother's Day coming up, this book just shot to the top of my list to buy for the moms in my life.  You can get your copy herefor $10.49

Here's the back copy:

I didn’t have gold shoes, and I didn’t have time to go shopping, but I thought I could just spray-paint some heels I owned that I never really wore. I spray-painted them and tried them out for three hours at church where they held up perfectly. I felt pretty good about myself. “Suckers who buy gold shoes when they could just spray-paint them,” I thought, congratulating myself for my frugality and my foresight for testing them out.

As moms, we improvise. We get along. We make things word. And we make a lot of things up as we go along because, let’s face it, no manual is ever going to cover all the bases a real mom needs to touch. But if laughter and perspective and a renewed energy to face the day are what you’re after—if you too are a “real mom”—this is the book for you!

Nearly Freebie Friday

I've been hearing great things about a clean YA romance called Rewind to You by Laura Johnston, so I was happy to find it on sale for $1 and thought I'd pass it along to you!

Here's the back copy:

Wish You Were Here

One last summer before college on beautiful Tybee Island is supposed to help Sienna forget. But how can she? This is where her family spent every summer before everything changed, before the world as she knew it was ripped away.

But the past isn’t easily left behind. Especially when Sienna keeps having episodes that take her back to the night she wants to forget. Even when she meets the mysterious Austin Dobbs, the guy with the intense blue eyes, athlete’s body, and weakness for pralines who scooped her out of trouble when she blacked out on River Street.

When she’s with Austin, Sienna feels a whole new world opening up to her. Austin has secrets, and she has history. But caught between the past and the future, Sienna can still choose what happens now…

"A fabulous, fresh new voice in YA." —Kay Lynn Mangum, author of The Secret Journal of Brett Colton

"Laura Johnston scores a touchdown with this coming-of-age love story." —Kelly Nelson, author of The Keeper’s Saga

"This poignant, sweet romance gripped my heart from beginning to end."—Jennette Green, author of The Commander’s Desire

To download your Kindle copy for just a dollar, click here

Ebook Deal of the Day--The Inventor's Secret!

Sometimes it's hard to find a great book for my boys.  It seems like there are a ton of great ones out there for girls, but it's slim pickings for boys, really.  However, the Cragbridge Hall series by Chad Morris has been a gem that my boys have loved (and a lot of girls I know as well!) and the first book in the series, The Inventors Secret, is on sale for $1.99! (It's priced regularly at $7.99 so this is a steal!) The third and final book in the series just came out, too, so we are super excited to dig into that one. For your convenience, I've spotlighted all three for you today!

Here's the back copy for The Inventor's Secret

Imagine a school in the year 2074 where students don't read history, but watch it happen around them; where running in gym class isn't around a track, but up a virtual mountain; and where learning about animals means becoming one through an avatar. Welcome to Cragbridge Hall, the most advanced and prestigious school in the world.

Twins Abby and Derick Cragbridge are excited as new students to use their famed grandfather's inventions that make Cragbridge Hall so incredible. But when their grandfather and parents go missing, the twins must follow a mysterious trail of clues left by their grandfather. They must find out where their family is, learn who they can trust, and discover what secrets are hidden within Cragbridge Hall.

Abby and Derick soon realize they are caught in a race with a fierce adversary to discover their grandfather's greatest secret—a dangerous discovery that could alter both history and reality.

Click here to download your $1.99 sale copy of The Inventor's Secret!

Here's the back copy for Book 2, The Avatar Battle

The adventure continues when Abby and Derick begin their second semester at Cragbridge Hall, the most prestigious secondary school in the world. But when Grandpa Cragbridge admits them to the Council of Keys—a secret group of people who have keys to travel back in time—strange things begin to happen. One by one, members are found unconscious and unable to wake, their keys stolen. Now Abby and Derick must scramble to figure out who is behind the attacks before they become the next victims, which would give their enemy the power to change the past forever.

A page-turning, time-travel adventure that teaches powerful lessons about choice and consequence, believing you can do hard things, and valuing history.

Click hereto download your copy for $7.59

Here's the back copy for Book 3, The Impossible Race

In the final book of the Cragbridge Hall trilogy, Abby, Derick, and their friends must utilize their skills in time travel and technology to survive roving bands of dinosaurs, race through space, build robots, and fight virtual dragons.

It’s known as the Race—an annual tournament where teams of students compete in the hopes of winning an unbelievable prize. But before this year’s competition, Derick and Abby receive a terrifying message from the future: Charles Muns’s plan to control history is going to succeed. It will cost countless people their lives and change the destiny of the world. And there is nothing anyone can do to stop them.

Despite the danger, the twins gather their friends and enter the Race, ready to compete against the best of the best in order to claim what might turn out to be a key of ultimate power.

Can they compete the Race in time and stop Muns? Or has the future already been written?

A page-turning, time-travel adventure that teaches powerful lessons about choice and consequence, believing you can do hard things, and valuing our history.

Click hereto get your copy for $9.99