Archive for August 30, 2013

tag you're it photo: Tag!  You\'re It! AnyOccasion-TagYoureIt-May2007.jpg

A funny thing happened while I was reading The Twelfth Child. I became so engrossed in the story, I forgot to take notes for my review. I always keep pens and scraps of paper handy wherever I am when reading.

I was so into Bette’s story, I plum forgot my notes. So. smiling happily, I dove right back in and read the complete story again.

All of Bette’s books are laced with her southern prose, making me feel at home, looking for an old rocking chair to sit in while I read, with a glass of iced tea handy, the condensation dripping down the sides.

Come up on my porch, pull up a chair and get comfortable.

I have many things to say about The Twelfth Child and a really great giveaway too!

The Twelfth Child

goodreads-badge-add-plus

Abigail Anne Lannigan couldn’t marry a boy she didn’t love. She ran away to escape and it broke her heart, knowing her father would never forgive her.

Seventy years later, Abigail is in her twilight years but still going strong. A chance meeting with Destiny, the young lady who moved in across the street, is the beginning of a lasting friendship.

Destiny is young and determined to make it on her own. She just moved in, has little money and not much to start a home with. As her friendship deepens with Abigail, she accepts her gifts of unused furniture, but insists on working for it.

What started as just a helping hand here or there, becomes more nurturing as Abigail’s health begins to fail.

About this time, a young man named Elliott enters the picture. He claims to be a distant cousin from Abigail’s long lost family. He wastes no time in making life difficult for Destiny.

He knows the old woman has a million dollars stashed away and being a money hound, he figures Destiny is trying to steal it.

He accuses Destiny of absconding with the million dollars and she’s hard pressed to prove otherwise, hiring a dashing lawyer to defend her.

Only Abigail knows what really happened to the million dollars and she’s not in a position to tell.

One thing I always enjoy about Bette’s writing is her ability to take you into the past and flash you forward to the present in her stories without a glitch and as always, her characters are authentic, they live and breathe.

Abigail’s early years were fascinating and her brave young heart was still the same so many years later. Some of the things she said, the words she used had me cracking up. I just wanted to hug her. If I had a friend like Abigail I would be so lucky.

Destiny is happy-go-lucky. You could say she has a rosy personality, always seeing the best in people. She’s sweet and funny, a joy to be around.

I was scared for her when Elliott accused her of stealing Abigail’s money.

She is loyal, nurturing and honest. A tender soul facing a horrible accusation.

And every story needs a bad guy. Someone to loath. Elliott is just that guy. A real stinker.

Elliott is greedy, selfish, manipulative, and a big fake. I wanted so bad to give him a swift kick in the you know what, hard!

I always feel welcome and at home in Bette’s stories and become so attached to the characters that I share their emotions. I care what happens to them, laugh with them, cry with them, and fall in love with them.

Bette added just a little bit of the supernatural to this story, making it that much more fun.

5 Stars

~~~

Winner of The National League of American Pen Women Award for Fiction

~~~

About Bette Lee Crosby

Bette Lee CrosbyBette Lee Crosby’s work was first recognized in 2006, when she won the National League of American Pen Women Award for unpublished fiction with What Matters Most. Her novel, Cracks in the Sidewalk, received the 2009 Royal Palm Literary Award and then went on to win the 2011 FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal. In 2011 Spare Change received the Reviewer’s Choice Awards and it garnered a second Royal Palm Literary Award. Her books have earned numerous five-star ratings with readers acclaiming them as heartwarming and captivating.

Most recently, Bette completed a memoir written for Lani Deauville, a woman the Guinness Book of Records lists as The World’s Longest Living Quadriplegic.

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway giveaway.gif

Bette is giving away one signed copy of The Twelfth Child (US Only)

And one e-book (International)

***When entering, please specify if entering for the signed copy or ebook and answer this question:***

“Have you ever had a friend you were so close to you would call them family?

This is a Tag Team Event hosted by myself and Sherry at fundinmental. You can visit Sherry’s blog for another chance to win and see what she thinks about The Twelfth Child HERE.

Giveaway ends September, Friday the 13th!

~~~

AMAZON TOP 100

SPARE CHANGE and THE TWELFTH CHILD are both in the top 100 HISTORICAL MYSTERIES

CRACKS IN THE SIDEWALK is in the top 100 FAMILY SAGA

You can find all of Bettes books HERE.

12768566

Winner of Five Literary Awards,BookBundlz Finalist, Voted Goodreads Best Unknown Fiction, FPA President’s Book Award Silver Medal

MY REVIEW

~~

17563299

Winner of a Royal Palm Literary Award for Women’s Fiction

MY REVIEW

~~

16149663

Winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award and FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal

Reviewing Soon

~~

15985329

Reviewing Soon

~~

13553210

Reviewing Soon

~~

And keep an eye out for her newest release coming soon!

18371641

Reading as soon as I get my hungry hands on it!!

~~~

tag you're it photo: You're awesome tag-game-awesome-friends_zpscce89964.jpg

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways go HERE.

I have just the book to keep you company tonight!

**FREE** FAIR PLAY is FREE August 29th & August 30th

by jannashay

dividerline1326

FAIR PLAY, the first book in the Diamond Series, will be *FREE* at Amazon for 2 days, Thursday, August 29th and Friday, August 30th.  If you haven’t read it, please grab a copy.

Amazon

dividerline1326

Add Shudder to Goodreads

.

My Review

.

SYNOPSIS

Forced to live a clandestine life, Danielle “Dani” Jordon believes she has found a safe haven in Las Vegas until she meets devastatingly handsome casino owner Jace Diamond. With his compelling sexual magnetism and mind-numbing kisses, Dani finds her world turned upside-down. Resisting the most compelling man she has ever met proves to be a task she doesn’t have the strength to fight.

Inexplicably drawn to her, Jace embarks on a relentless pursuit to make Dani his. It isn’t long before he finds himself irrevocably in love, but can he convince Dani that she belongs with him?

Trapped in her life of deceit, Dani is afraid to admit her love for Jace or believe in a life without fear. Can she take the chance and trust him to provide the sanctuary she so desperately needs, or will that trust lead to exposure of her secrets and destroy her life?

AMAZON

dividerline1326

EXCERPT

Dani stopped halfway in the room. She felt like she’d just been undressed with his eyes, but instead of making her feel disgusted as she had with Martin Pace, he’d caused her body to warm with pleasure. She hated that he could control her reactions to him, so she said indignantly, “One look wasn’t enough the last time, so you needed a repeat performance?”

He rose to his feet and smirked. “If I recall, we were supposed to exchange notes. I was just refreshing my memory.”

“Tonight I escaped the mauling of one pervert. Do I need to defend myself from another?”

His eyes flared with anger at her words, but he replied calmly, “Don’t put me in the same category as that excuse for a man.”

“Sorry. That was totally uncalled for.” Her gaze fell to the floor. “It’s been a tough night.”

He circled the front of his desk to face her.

She raised her head and followed him with her eyes and couldn’t help scrutinizing his body as he moved. He was tall. She figured him to be at least 6’3”, with broad shoulders, a lean body, and long legs. He had a really great body and so much male sexuality pouring from him, she figured women threw themselves at him all the time. No wonder he was so self-assured and arrogant. Her reaction to him was no different than other woman. No matter how much she denied it, she was very attracted to him.

She had to make sure Jace never learned of her attraction. It would be a very dangerous weapon to put in his hands. When her eyes returned to his, she realized he was watching her.

He crossed his arms and grinned. “Refreshing your memory, too, I see? Do you like what you see?”

Dani’s face instantly heated as she realized what she’d been doing. A few minutes ago she’d berated him for leering at her, and she was doing the same thing. Damn! She was treading on dangerous ground. Jace didn’t seem to be a man to be played with.

“Forgive my rudeness. You wanted to talk to me about something?”

dividerline1326

About Janna Shay

Janna Shay is a native Californian who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and miniature schnauzer.  She is a mother of seven grown children and has twenty-three grandchildren, with all her children living in nearby Northern California communities.

Janna was introduced to books at the age of five, which began a lifelong love of reading.  As a child she would spend endless hours at the local library pouring through all genres of books.  It wasn’t until her teens that her love of romance novels blossomed.

When Janna isn’t following her dream of writing or enjoying her love of reading, she can be found engaging in her other love, which is activities with her family.

Janna is a member of Romance Writers of America and San Francisco Area Romance Writers of America.

Contacts

Website – http://JannaShay.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/JannaShayAuthor

Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/@jannashay

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13651928-fair-play

dividerline1326

RuinBlitzBanner

Okay, I must confess.

The first thing that attracted me to RUIN was the cover art.

And the problem with the cover art is my eyes keep wandering south!

I’m always saying if you put some sexy abs on the cover, please give me a sensual mouth and brooding eyes too!

In this case, I’m not really looking at his face. My eyes are looking below the belt.

Then I happened to spot the dreary house in the background with the clouds looming heavily in the sky.

A girl forbidden to be with a guy.

A guy with secrets.

A strong attraction.

Plenty to make me curious.

Ruin_500x750

goodreads-badge-add-plus

Ruin by C.J. Scott (A Summer in Winter Novel 1)
Publication date: August 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
~~~
Synopsis:

Kate Bell isn’t perfect. Not even close. The things she got up to in college would cause her parents to fall off their pedestals in shock. Home for the summer vacation, Kate settles in for a long, boring break in the tiny backwater of Winter with folks who still treat her like she’s twelve.
Then Ben Parker arrives and suddenly Winter gets interesting. He’s hot, mysterious and good with his hands. Kate falls for him instantly, but her cop father warns her to stay away. But how can she stay away from someone as compelling as Ben? Someone who thinks she’s perfect just the way she is?
When Ben’s secrets catch up to him, not only is Kate’s heart in danger of being broken, but Ben’s entire future could be ruined.

~~~

Here’s a peek inside Ruin

“So Ben Parker, if I want you and you want me…what’s the problem?”

“You don’t like to beat around the bush, do you?”

“We don’t have time for that. We only have one night.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Don’t I know it.”

I turned so that I was fully facing him, one elbow on the railing. “Is that why you’re reluctant? Because you’re leaving tomorrow?”

“No. Yes. Partly.” He shook his head. “It’s complicated. I’m complicated.”

“You’re a guy. You can’t be too complicated.” I smiled and he smiled back sadly. “I’m listening if you want to explain all your complications to me.”

He shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Look,” I said. “I get that stuff has happened in your past that you want to forget.”

He straightened. “What makes you think that?”

“You’re traveling around the country with only one bag and no money. Not only that, but you got off the bus in a place with no jobs. If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d say you’re trying to lose yourself.”

He leaned on the railing again, his hands dangling over into nothing. He looked out to the garden, but it had grown darker in the last few minutes, and it was difficult to make out more than just shapes. “You’ll make a great criminologist, Kate. I have no doubt you’ll go far in whatever you decide to do.”

“Thanks. That’s very sweet of you. But it has nothing to do with the question at hand.”

“The question?”

I leaned over until my lips were near his ear. My breath fanned his hair. “Will you kiss me, Ben?” It was the wine talking. It had to be. I’d never been so brazen with any man before. I never made the first move, never took a chance on being rejected.

But I knew Ben wanted me. I just didn’t know why he pushed me away.

***To read the extended version of this scene and discover what Ben has tattooed on his shoulder, check out C.J.’s website http://www.cjscottbooks.com

~~~

Purchase: Amazon / B&N
~~~~
C.J. Scott
ruin author CJ
C.J. loves reading stories that take her away to another world. If she’s in the middle of an amazing book, she’ll keep reading while cooking or cleaning (when she can be bothered doing either).
She likes interesting artwork but can’t paint, sketch or make anything more complicated than a snowman from plasticine. She enjoys beautiful gardens but hates gardening. She also hates housework, cooking (see above) and writing about herself.
C.J. loves connecting with readers. The best place to interact with her and other fans is via her Facebook page. That’s where she posts teasers and other stuff from her books. Author links: Website / Goodreads / Facebook
.
~~~
giveaway photo: Giveaway giveaway.gif
.
Now for the giveaway!
I have one ebook copy of Ruin to give away!
All you need to do to enter is leave your email address and comment about Ruin or C.J.’s fun author bio!
~~~
f4c34-xbthostbutton2
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
For all of my giveaways go HERE.