Archive for November 8, 2024

Join us for this tour from Oct 21 to Nov 15, 2024!

 

MY WAY HOME

by Holly Heaton

 

MY WAY HOME by Holly Heaton

Category:  Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7),  32 pages
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Publisher: Holly Heaton
Release date:  August 11, 2024
Formats Available for Review: print-softback (USA and Canada) and ebook (MOBI for Kindle and PDF) internationally.
Tour dates: Oct 21 to Nov 15, 2024
Content Rating:  G: The book follows Kit on a whirlwind of an adventure trying to reclaim a precious item and return it home all while facing external dangers.

Book Description:

​Enter the hidden realm of the Little Folk and follow Kit on a thrilling adventure. Can he reclaim an object precious to his people and return home to the Hollow Chestnut? Using his wits and environment, Kit embarks on this miniature odyssey through a lushly illustrated world.

Buy the Book:
Amazon 
add to Goodreads
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MY REVIEW

Kit is one of the Little Folk, tiny people who live in the forest. One day a fox attacks their home, Chestnut Hollow, and runs off with the tribes sacred crystal. The crystal provides bountiful harvests. Can a tiny boy go up against such a large adversary and retrieve the crystal? I couldn’t wait to find out.

This was a tale of bravery. Of ignoring your fear and persevering. It was also a grand adventure. And the beautiful illustrations added to my enjoyment. I’m sure young ones will be as enchanted as I was.

5 STARS

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Author Guest Post
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Public Speaking for the Introvert

Have you ever acted? Felt the hot light, cold sweat, heard the creak of an ancient stage under your hesitant foot, and the cough of the guy in the audience who’s already bored? You’re ready to break. Ready to run, ready to melt into a puddle of embarrassment right there in front of everybody. But instead, you speak. Yet you’re not you. You’re somebody else. With a giddy tremor, you suddenly relax as your character takes possession and the performance begins.

Writing fiction is a lot like that. As you develop your character, you find her voice. And with that voice you can do or say anything. You ease back from the computer and look at what you’ve written so far. Is it shocking? Tantalizing? Thrilling? Wonderful? How liberating, knowing her actions in no way reflect on you. You’re just the author, not the character.  It’s almost as delicious a feeling as pretending was when you were a child.

But again, that’s writing fiction. It’s an entirely different affair to write as oneself: to find your author’s voice.

“Well,” one shrugs, “not to worry. I’m not writing a chronicle or memoir”.  But what about your book’s forward? Afterward? Interviews? Guest posts? Ah, now the cold stone of fear settles in your stomach.

Remember those comparison questions from school: orange is to hobbits as dog food grease is to what?  Didn’t you hate those?  I loved them and offer this one: writing fiction is to acting as writing nonfiction is to public speaking.  And according to a source I didn’t fact check, 75% of people are terrified of addressing the public.

So, what’s a diffident author to do when the mic is leveled in her face?  Panic a little, then— like Kit in My Way Home— think.

Think of all the books, shows, blogs, and podcasts I read/watch/listen to. Am I not nearly as interested in the presenters as I am the material? Are their personal experiences enlightening and even helpful?

Perhaps relating my own tentative steps out of the comfort zone will encourage others grappling with their own discomfort.

If I’ve learned anything from stepping into Kit’s tiny moccasins, it’s just stop, assess, and take head-on the challenge before me.

I hope that Kit’s adventure will delight and encourage all of you, too.

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Meet Author Holly Heaton:

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Author Holly Heaton

Whether through pictures, words, or her dad’s castoff camcorder, Holly has spent her life telling stories. She can usually be found chasing exciting bits of history and spending time with her husband, sons, and dog, Wesser, in metro Atlanta.

connect with author: instagram goodreads

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MY WAY HOME by Holly Heaton Book Tour Giveaway

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Tour Schedule:

Oct 7 – @michellegodardricherauthor – book shout out
Oct 21 – Cover Lover Book Review – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 21 – @this.human.reads * – book review
Oct 21 – @savor.your.reads * – book review
Oct 21 – @acourtofspinesnpages *- book review
Oct 21 – @book_withquotes * – book review
Oct 21 – @adriftinfictionalworld – book review
Oct 22 – Faith And Books – book review / giveaway
Oct 22 – @adeela_books * – book review
Oct 22 – @bearyintobooks * – book review
Oct 23 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / guest post / giveaway
Oct 24 – @bookscape__ * – book review
Oct 24 – My Reading Getaway – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Oct 25 – Library Lady’s Kid Lit – book review / author interview / giveaway
Oct 25 – @bookameme * – book review
Oct 25 – @enjoyingbooksagain – book review
Oct 28 – Books for Books- book spotlight
Oct 29 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / guest post / giveaway
Oct 30 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book review / giveaway
Oct 31 – @thisreadergirl * – book review
Nov 1 – Liese’s Blog – book spotlight
Nov 4 – @Leannebookstagram – book review
Nov 5 – @onceuponamaltesereader * – book review
Nov 6 – Reading is My Passion – book review / giveaway
Nov 6 – @michellegodardricherauthor * – book review
Nov 7 – @nissa_the.bookworm * – book review
Nov 7 – Older & Smarter?- book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 7 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – book review / giveaway
Nov 8 – FUONLYKNEW – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 9 – @jilljemmett * – book review
Nov 10 – @readsandmusic * – book review
Nov 11 – Sandra’s Book Club – book review
Nov 12 – China Sorrows – book review / giveaway
Nov 12 – @kiv_coffeeandpages * – book review
Nov 13 – Kim’s Book Reviews and writing Aha’s – book review / giveaway
Nov 13 – @mariareadsfiction * – book review
Nov 14 – @onceuponafrida * – book review
Nov 14 – @alwaysreadingxo * – book review
Nov 15 – icefairy’s Treasure Chest – book review / giveaway
Nov 15 – @whatsenalireads * – book review
Nov 15 – @speedreadstagram * – book review

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Flamingo Cafe organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Jackie Kang will award a $20 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Flamingo Cafe

by Jackie Kang

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Genre: Women’s Fiction

Synopsis

A storm is brewing off the coast of Florida, but chaos has already made landfall for four women of Palm Beach society. Abigail, a self-appointed Cuban princess and queen of the WAGs, suddenly finds herself penniless and on the streets. Claudia, a Greek entrepreneur and CEO of a prestigious international clothing line, is entering her golden years only to realize secrets can weigh you down. Cassy, a barista and owner of the Flamingo Cafe, is doing her best to recover from a tragic past. Meanwhile her best friend, Bri, also harbors a secret: a romantic tet-a-tet with Cassy’s brother Nick. Each woman has played her part in a society obsessed with appearances and secrecy for years. So, when Hurricane Odette blows through town, exposing those secrets, it’s no surprise their lives collide like a clap of thunder. Only one thing is certain: if they don’t work together, Mother Nature will teach them the hardest lessons of their lives.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

I make my way into the bathroom, intending to splash some water on my face, but as soon as I flip on the light, I am confronted with the little pink box I picked up earlier—and all that it represents.

The circle of life.

The result is one of nature’s most rudimentary phenomena. For a species to be born, create a genetic replica of themselves, and leave behind indisputable proof they existed in the first place.

I study these miracles daily, from phytoplankton to marine mammals. But if it’s the backbone of our species, why then do I feel nauseous at the mere vision of pink?

Never once, until this very moment, have I felt the elusive “biological clock” ticking inside me. And even now, I’m not confident it’s the ticking clock I’m feeling. But rather a certain pulsing inside my body as adrenaline is released by intense fear, not a maternal yearning.

I try to control my rapidly increasing heart rate while contemplating what a positive result would mean. It would mean the responsibility of keeping another human being alive. A tiny entity that would rely on me to feed, bathe, love, and keep it safe. It would mean any semblance of my independence would be gone. A baby would forever link me to an endless stream of car seats, baby food, diapers, play dates, homework, and after- school activities.

I step forward and place my hands on the counter, not daring to pick up the box. As I avoid the mirror in front of me and stare at the accusing piece of cardboard, I search my memory for a reason or some traumatic event to connect me to my lack of maternal instincts. It would be so much easier if I had some obvious explanation for not having the desire to replicate my genetic code. But try as I might, I can’t come up with a single justification.

I was blessed with a loving family. I’m a product of two well-adjusted, mature parents. High school teachers by profession, who were dedicated not just to each other but to me, their only daughter. Whose only crime was providing me with a comfortable life and encouraging my love for learning. There wasn’t a book I couldn’t ask for my parents wouldn’t get for me. They always told me, “knowledge is power,” and “science holds all the answers to what we humans seek to understand.” If only they could give me a book to answer my concerns now.

At least they had each other when they were raising me—working as a tag team, they passed the baton seamlessly between work and life. I’m not so sure Nick and I will be able to recreate that kind of baton passing. I try to imagine Nick as a father. Nick, as the father of my child.

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About Author Jackie Kang:

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When not spending her time creating make-believe people and places, Jackie Kang lives in Kirkland, WA with her very real family of 1 husband, 2 dogs, and 3 children. In her past life, Jackie has held jobs as a personal trainer, a spa manager, a dental assistant, and an office manager, but her true love is writing and sharing a well-crafted story. Jackie is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Instagram 

Amazon

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.