Archive for the ‘Literature’ Category

Welcome to Jessica Scott and her new release of The Long Way Home.

Enjoy the cover reveal and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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I’m thrilled to announce that after a long way, the cover for The Long Way Home is finally out. The fabulous Shawntelle Madison did an amazing job with this, didn’t she?

Make sure you check out the reviews on Goodreads and if you haven’t already, add it to your shelf!

Get your copy today: Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Amazon | Kobo

The rest of the bookstores links will be live soon!

Foreword

In 2009, I kissed my children goodbye and deployed to Iraq.

I thought deploying would be the hardest thing I’d ever do.

I was wrong.

Coming home from war is not an event, not a solitary moment on the parade field. I never knew what it would take to walk through my front door and become a mother after a year away.

This is my story of coming home from war. Of kissing my children and learning to be their mom again. Of taking command of my company and growing up from a smart-mouthed lieutenant to more thoughtful commander. Of being a wife at the end of the war.

A mom. A soldier. A writer. A wife.

If you’ve been following the journey thus far, thank you for joining me again. If you are reading it for the first time, I hope you enjoy.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QGT0_2asMQ]

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Excerpt

Unprepared

December 27, 2009

When you get home from deployment, the Army sends you through all of the reintegration training. Some of it is worthwhile, a lot of it is a waste of time and even more is a check-the-block exercise. I understand the intent behind it, but frankly, I didn’t need or want most of it. There was, however, one class that I really got a lot out of and it was taught by the chaplains. They discussed reintegrating with your families and I paid attention because honestly, I’ve been worried about reuniting with my kids.

They talked about expectations and reactions and how you and they are different now than when you left home. I knew all this but I still paid attention. There was a lot of anticipation within me about seeing my kids and getting the family back together.

I thought I was prepared.

So when we’re in the middle of a busy rest stop in New Jersey last night and my youngest starts crying out of the blue, I wasn’t prepared to hear why she was upset. She had real, painful tears, the kind of crying that sounded like her little heart hurt. When I asked her what was wrong, she sobbed, “I don’t think you love me.”

It was not a fake cry. It wasn’t even a cry for attention. And I had no idea how to react. Instantly. I started crying. In the middle of a rest stop, with people wondering what the heck was going on, I was trying to get my oldest’s coat on her while trying to get my youngest to understand that I did love her and I had missed her.

My husband freaked out when he walked up and saw me and our youngest both in tears. My oldest rested her head on my shoulder and told me she knew I loved her. But none of that helped until I could make my youngest understand.

It was a brutal episode and one I did not expect. They tell you about the babies not knowing you or your grade school kids wanting to talk incessantly but nothing prepared me for my three year old’s confusion and true heartache.

It’s better today. She’s back to normal and so am I, but the pain from last night lingers. So today, I’m hugging both of them more than telling them I love them. I’d already been doing that but apparently, it wasn’t enough to make up for a year of no hugs and no close “I love you’s.” The web cam was good but it wasn’t enough.

I don’t know if I can ever make up to either of them being gone. I don’t know what else is coming.

And more excerpts

Giveaway

One lucky commenter will win digital copies of Jessica’s entire backlist (romance and nonfiction).

Just leave a comment about the cover or the book along with your email address and you’re entered!

Thank you for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

Go here to view Jessica’s books.

About Jess

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Jessica Scott is a career army officer, mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs, wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. She is a terrible cook and even worse housekeeper, but she’s a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon and someone liked some of the stuff she wrote. Somehow, her children are pretty well adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.

Oprah has called her. True story.

Her debut novel BECAUSE OF YOU launched Loveswept, the first Random House digital imprint.

She’s written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View Regarding War, and IAVA. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of OIF/New Dawn and is currently a company commander stationed at Fort Hood.

Most recently, she’s been featured as one of Esquire Magazine’s Americans of the Year for 2012.

Connect with Jessica at

Website: http://www.jessicascott.net

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jessicascott09

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jessicascottauthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5131118.Jessica_Scott

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This is my own version of a bookhaul post where  I’ll be telling you about all of the books I got this week, whether print or e-book.

I got a few books this week, some free, some for review, and some I purchased just for my reading pleasure.

I also post reviews on another blog aknifeandaquill . It’s all about horror. If someone doesn’t die, we don’t do it here!

Here are some freebies I picked up to review on both blogs. Double exposure for the authors:)

Freebies for my blog fuonlyknew

Books I won.

I won The Confession from Kriss, the Alaskan Cabin Goddess.

Books for review

Books from Netgalley for review.

Books I’m reviewing next week. Keep checking back. I’ll be having giveaways with some of these awesome novels.


I also am reviewing two more books.

Shattered Edge by A.M. Hargrove. Due to be released Feb. 14th.

Shattered Edge

Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti. Also due to be released Feb 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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A very busy week for me. So many delicious reads! Some I’ve read and will be posting my reviews soon.

*****You can click on the covers to purchase any of these*****

So what did you get this week? See something you like? Do you have any of these? Leave a comment and let me know.

Would You???

Posted: December 20, 2012 in Literature, Reading Challenge, Zany
Tags: , ,

My TBR Pile

Thanks to modern technology it now looks a lot like this!

And I wouldn’t trade it for this!

Wellll……………

Adrift in the Sound

by Kate Campbell

Adrift in the Sound

It’s early 1973. The time of anti-war protesters, free love and dope.

Lizette is homeless and looking for a place to get warm. She winds up at Sandy’s place. Sandy is a snake dancer and srtips for a living. She lets Lizette stay as long as she cleans the house and takes care of her snake.

Next door is the crash pad for Rocket and some of the guys from his softball team, The Franklin Streetdogs. We’ll never know if they could be any good as all the guys do is get high and eat anything and everything.

Lizette spends her time between Sandy’s and Rocket’s. She is crushing on Rocket and he kind of likes her too, feels sorry for her. Her weird chirps and gestures don’t bother him, but the guys want her gone.

So Lizette finds herself out on the street again and this neighborhood is dangerous.

She can’t go home. Because of her mental problems, she’s estranged from her father. He can’t cope with her.

“My dad doesn’t want me,” she whispered. “He told me to get out. No one wants me.”

After she witnesses a murder and is viciously attacked and raped, she decides to head to her friend Marian’s place on Orcas Island. It’s the perfect place to hide and heal.

Marian is happy to see her and helps her get back on her meds and eating properly. She is eating for two now.

Lizette starts painting again and awaits the arrival of her baby.

This is only a small part of the story. There is so much to experience.

I really enjoyed learning about Orcas Island and meeting Poland and Abaya, the Lummi tribal leaders. They encourage Lizette and support her.

I liked Rocket. Not sure why. I have a feeling the author had something to do with that:)

Lizette is a sad character. She can also be sly and manipulative and surprisingly outspoken.

While doing my review research, checking my post-it notes in the book, I went back to the beginning and started reading to refresh my memory. Before I knew it I was at Chapter 12. Well, I had to keep going, and I read the whole book – to the end – again.

I got a lot more out of it the second time, enjoyed it even more, as I wasn’t taking notes for my review. I really got the full effect.

Kate’s writing is superb, her research shows in the details, and her characters, the ones I liked and the ones not so much, kept me captivated.

Adrift in the Sound tells of life in the early 1970′s, a time not often told about. The era of the hippie is ending and the time of the yuppie is coming soon. I was too young to experience it as an adult. I feel I experienced some of it with Lizette and the other characters.

I wasn’t kidding about reading this twice. When I told my sister about it, she laughed. She said I should see my face, I was so animated. That was when I knew my rating was going to be 5 Stars.

       

Adrift in the Sound is free for everyone from Nov. 20th – 22nd! Go here to get your copy.

Before I even finished writing my review this showed up in my inbox.

laura thomas,
Are you looking for something in our Literature & Fiction department? If so, you might be interested in these items.
Adrift in the Sound Adrift in the Sound [Kindle Edition] by Kate Campbell
Price: $3.99

Amazon, are you reading my mind?

About the author and where to find her.

Kate  Campbell

A novelist, a journalist, an adventurer, Kate Campbell grew up in San Francisco and has lived and worked throughout California and the West. Like every good Westerner, she can swim, ride and shoot. Her novel “Adrift in the Sound,” was a finalist for New York’s 2011 Mercer Street Books Literary Prize. Her new book for writers: “Between the Sheets: An Intimate Exchange on Writing, Editing, and Publishing,” chronicles the final editing of “Adrift in the Sound” through a spirited exchange with her editor and co-author Thomas T. Thomas. An award-winning journalist and photographer, Campbell’s environmental and political writing appears regularly in newspapers and magazines throughout the U.S. She lives in Sacramento and, in addition to writing fiction and poetry, publishes the Word Garden blog at http://www.kate-campbell.blogspot.com  .

Goodreads

Purchase Kate’s books by clicking on the images.