Based on her own experience with Heather, her daughter, labeled with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder, and her extensive research into effective treatment regimens, Tami Goldstein’s compassionate tale of Heather’s progress to functioning recovery and independent living offers hope and practical advice to other parents of children similarly labeled.

From her daughter Heather’s original diagnosis to a veritable smorgasbord of difficulties, Tami did her own research into Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism and sought out a therapeutic approach that actually worked.  After comprehensive research, Tami found and accessed successful protocols for Heather which can be used by other parents of children with High-Functioning Autism.

Tami shows exactly how a sensory lifestyle was developed to provide and maintain Functioning Recovery and she provides examples of projective trials that show benefits pertaining to sensory support.  CranioSacral Therapy and Bio-Medical supports are explained as well as their value in recovery is documented as Tami illustrates how a sensory lifestyle gives crucial support for school, employment and independent living.

Tami also explores the controversy between the educational and the medical aspects of Autism and questions the legality of educational discrimination in these cases.  She reports in detail the opinion of one attorney who charged her $17,000 to form a legal judgment on the matter.

A portion of the profits of Coming Through the Fog will be donated to the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation, which expands the knowledge, fosters the awareness and promotes the recognition of Sensory Processing Disorders.

Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but I wanted to read it because my stepson has Asperger’s and while he is very high functioning, there are still things that we are learning about him since his diagnosis was so late in life.

This book is one mother’s journey in finding help for her daughter so that she could lead as normal of a life as possible.  I was appalled at the school districts and the actions of staff and administration.  I realize that Heather was in school in the early 90’s to late 90’s when Autism was really becoming more and more prevalent in society and many people didn’t understand or know what Autism or Asperger’s was, much less how to deal with a child with the disorder.  However, to blatantly lie?  WOW!  But kudos to all of the teachers that did help Heather and helped make at least part of her education a less stressful event in her life.

The book has a lot of great tips and they are compiled at the end of the book so you don’t need to try and remember what they were or write them down anywhere.  There are also a lot of resources that I wish we had access to many years ago. I was surprised that one huge resource was omitted, that of Autism Speaks.  Perhaps because the organization wasn’t founded until 2005 and wasn’t utilized by Tami?

I wasn’t sure about part of the title where she speaks of Recovery because to me that means cured.  Tami does a good job of explaining that it means being able to function as normally as possible given all of Heather’s issues.

Overall, I thought this was a good book explaining one family’s journey and we give it 4 paws.

About Tami

When her youngest child was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, Tami spent the next few years in a tailspin trying to find ways to help her daughter. She watched in amazement as a more holistic, all natural approach did what no western medicine techniques could accomplish. Some of those approaches included various techniques to stimulate the sense of touch.

Tami started by studying Reiki Therapy. Reiki a Japanese word meaning universal life energy. The first part Rei, refers to our spiritual dimension or soul. The second part Ki, means vital life or energy. This ancient natural method of healing touches the body without physically touching the body. (How else do you connect with a child who feels pain when you touch them?)

The benefits this approach provided opened Tami’s eyes to try other techniques. While she worked toward a Master/Teacher level in Reiki, she also sampled Yoga, learned Feng Sui, and began receiving regular massages & CranioSacral treatments, Chiropractic adjustments and Acupuncture.

Tami became so fascinated with the benefits provided by Massage Therapy and CranioSacral Therapy she decided to become certified and is currently State and Nationally certified in Therapeutic Massage, Bodywork and in CranioSacral Therapy. Her daughter’s Functioing Recovery is maintained by a Sensory Lifestyle and CranioSacral Therapy.

Since 2005, Tami has been State and National Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and she continued her training in Cranio-Sacral Therapy with the Upledger Institute in Florida. Tami became certified in CranioSacral Therapy in January of 2013. Trained in Massage Therapy, CranioSacral Therapy (CST) I and II, Somatic Emotional Release (SER) I and II,CST Pediatrics, and The Kolden Technique & Body Therapy, Reiki Master/Teacher. She is also a Certified Infant Massage Instructor.

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The Pitcher

“I never knew I had an arm until this guy called out, “Hey you want to try and get a ball in the hole, sonny?” I was only nine, but mom said, “come on, let’s play.” This Carney guy with no teeth and a fuming cigarette hands me five blue rubber balls and says if I throw three in the hole we win a prize. He’s grinning, because he took mom’s five bucks and figures a sucker is born every minute. That really got me, because we didn’t have any money after Fernando took off, and he only comes back to beat up mom and steal our money. So I really wanted to get mom back something, you know, for her five bucks.”

A boy with a golden arm but no money for lessons. A mother who wants to give her son his dream before she dies. A broken down World Series pitcher who cannot go on after the death of his wife. These are the elements of The Pitcher. A story of a man at the end of his dream and a boy whose dream is to make his high school baseball team. In the tradition of The Natural and The Field of Dreams, this is a mythic story about how a man and a boy meet in the crossroads of their life and find a way to go on. You will laugh and you will cry as The Pitcher and Ricky prepare for the ultimate try out of life.

Review

This is a great book!  It is about one man’s past, one boy’s dreams and a mother’s hope.  But along with those are lessons to be learned by the characters and the reader alike.  For Ricky, if you want something bad enough work for it and don’t let anyone stand in your way.  For Maria, don’t be too proud to accept help.  For the Pitcher, life could be a lot worse and don’t hide yourself away from the world.

These three main characters have a lot to learn from life and becoming involved with each other enables the characters to learn and grow and become better people.  There were times when each of the characters gave up, but another came along to push them so that they would see their value and worth.  I thought this book was motivating and is definitely worth reading!  Sometimes I thought that the story was set in the past, but it is set in modern times as evidenced by music, television and politics.

This book is a Junior Library Guild Selection for Fall and well deserving of that selection.  I think everyone could learn something from this book and that isn’t something I say all the time.  We give this book 4 1/2 paws

 

Author William Hazelgrove

William Hazelgrove is the best selling author of five novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks Mica Highways and Rocket Man and The Pitcher His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly, Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications. His latest novel Rocket Man due out May 1, 2013 was chosen Book of the Year by Books and Authors.net. He runs a political cultural blog, The View From Hemingway’s Attic. A forthcoming novel, The Pitcher will be out Sept 1, 2013. He lives in Chicago.

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Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 10/27/11

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, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 

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Synopsis

Nobody talks about it, but it happens all the time. Twelve percent of medical doctors admit to having had at least one affair with a patient.

Until the night of her first asthma attack, Heather Morrison is a successful New York City executive in the process of adopting a daughter from China. On the first night in her newly-purchased condo on the Upper West Side, she awakens in a panic, fighting for breath.

Moments later, her panic-stricken eyes meet those of Dr. Jeffrey Davis, a pulmonary specialist. Jeff gets Heather’s breathing under control, but their mutual attraction is undeniable. Despite the fact that he is married, Jeff Davis soon steps beyond the bounds of ethically correct behavior to pursue Heather, resulting in a late-night tryst in his office that escalates quickly into a passionate but dangerous affair.

Despite her increasing discomfort with the situation, Heather rationalizes her relationship with Jeff, hoping for a happy ending she knows deep down won’t occur. Six months into it, Jeff’s wife discovers his involvement with Heather, driving him to abruptly break off the affair, but not before Heather begins, with the help of friends, to understand the ethical and legal impropriety and seriousness of what has transpired. Emotionally overwrought and fragile after the breakup, Heather also struggles with an addiction to several medications Jeff prescribed while she was under his care.

With initial misgivings, she begins the process of bringing Jeff to justice, discovering to her horror after initiating legal action that by doing so, she has jeopardized her chances of adopting the daughter she has dreamed of adopting for so long. Heather’s life comes crashing down around her as she sinks into the depths of humiliation and despair, only to find the strength within her, through the help of friends and compassionate professionals, to fight her way back into life.

A MEDICAL AFFAIR is a story that must be told.

About the Author

Anne McCarthy Strauss is a versatile writer, researcher and public relations professional.  She is also an avid supporter of victims’ rights.  She has spent the last decade educating women and men on the seldom revealed but all too frequent occurrence of affairs between doctors and their patients.  Her novel, A Medical Affair, is the story of a doctor who violates a sacred trust by having an affair with one of his patients.

A lifelong New Yorker, Anne lives on Long Island with her husband and their two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.  The mother of one son, she has written for both consumer and trade magazines including Old House Journal, Waterfront Home & Design, Design Trade Magazine, Design New England, Distinction, Log Home Design Ideas and Florida Design Review.  She has been a regular contributor to Martha’s Vineyard Magazine and Vineyard Style.  She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

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Synopsis

In Small Town Trouble, the first in my mystery series, you get acquainted with Kim Claypoole’s irreverent ways of dealing with the peculiar characters and events that seem to follow her around. Claypoole’s misadventures begin as she leaves her home in the Smoky Mountains to help save her kooky mother Evelyn’s from financial disaster. Setting off to assist Evelyn, AKA “The Other Scarlett O’Hara,” with her newest personal crisis, Claypoole leaves her Gatlinburg doublewide and the Little Pigeon, the restaurant that she owns with her partner and sometimes best friend Mad Ted Weber as well as a steamy love affair with TV diva Nancy Merit.

Claypoole’s savior complex leads to more trouble when she bumps into an old flame in her hometown who asks for help clearing her hapless brother of a recent murder charge. In true Claypoole fashion, she gets more than she bargained for when she gets dragged into a complicated quest to find the true killer that involves topless dancers, small-town cops, a stream of backwater character and even a meeting with the Grim Reaper. We’re never sure if Claypoole can muddle her way through the murky depths of this bizarre murder mystery before it’s too late. With biting humor and wit, Small Town Trouble will leave you guessing what’s around the next corner in the quirky world of Kim Claypoole and looking forward to her next adventure.

About Jean Erhardt

I was raised in the small rural town of Amelia, Ohio, about twenty five miles out of Cincinnati.

I wrote my first mystery story when I was in fourth grade. It was about a kid a lot like me who heard strange noises coming from the attic and became convinced that the attic was haunted. Eventually, the mystery was solved when she investigated and found a squirrel eating nuts in a dark corner. It wasn’t a terribly exciting conclusion, but my teacher gave me an A anyway.

As a teenager I worked at a lot of different jobs. I worked at a gift shop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which is a frequent locale in my books. I was a swimming instructor and a lifeguard where my primary goal was to never get wet. I did a stint in a stuffed animal gift shop at the Kings Island amusement park where I actually sort of met the Partridge Family when they shot an episode there. After graduating from high school, I went on to attend Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, a stone’s throw from the Great Smoky Mountains.

In high school and college I played basketball and I graduated from Maryville College with a degree in Phys Ed. I went on to teach at Amelia Junior High, the same junior high that I had attended. There was something a little weird about passing by my old school locker every day when I walked down the hall as a teacher. Plus, some of the teachers I’d had back when I was in junior high were still working when I started to teach. Some of them had been none too fond of me as a student and I don’t think they were much fonder of me as a teacher! I coached the girls’ basketball and volleyball teams which was the best part of my job.

In my late 20’s I moved to the West Coast to get a broader perspective on life or something like that. I ended up working in retail security, or loss prevention, as it is now known, at an upscale Northwest retailer. I kept getting promoted and with each promotion, the job became less and less fun. It was a lot more fun catching shoplifters than sitting in endless meetings and crunching budgets. After ten years of that, I quit to try my hand at some serious writing. I wrote two books of fiction (not mysteries), Benny’s World and Kippo’s World, as well as a book of not-especially-reverent poetry called A Girl’s Guide to God and numerous short stories, articles and poems which have appeared in The Sonora Review, The Quarterly, Word of Mouth, Blue Stocking and 8-Track Mind.

After that, it was time to go back to work. I got my private investigator’s license and hung out my shingle. At first, I took a lot of the cheaters cases. It seemed to me that if a guy thought his woman was cheating, he was usually wrong. On the other hand, if a woman thought her guy was cheating, she was almost always right. Eventually, I moved on to take mostly criminal defense investigation work which often involved trying to figure out what the client did and didn’t do and then minimize the damage of what they usually did do. There were so many crazy ways that people could get themselves in trouble. In one case, the attorney I was working for represented a wife who had gotten so enraged about all of the time and affection her husband lavished on his pet iguana that she shot the poor iguana and killed it. The husband was furious and wanted the district attorney to press charges. The wife was eventually charged with reckless endangerment and took a pretty sweet deal because even the DA felt sorry for the fact that she was married to such a schmuck.

It was an interesting ten years. Somewhere in this time period I began to write the Kim Claypoole Mystery Series, which was a great distraction and a lot of fun. I liked the idea of having many of the same characters appear in each book. So here I am now, working on the fifth book in the series. I hope you’ll come along for the adventures of Kim Claypoole.

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Title: The Curse Giver
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Dora Machado
Publisher: Twilight Times Books (September 16, 2013)
Pages: 510
Language: English

Synopsis

Lusielle’s bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when her husband betrays her and she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn’t commit. She’s on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.

Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.

Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their ends.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON or at Barnes and Noble.

Chapter One

Dread stared at Lusielle from the depths of the rowdy crowd. Concealed under a heavy hood, only the stranger’s black eyes dared to meet her gaze among the growing throng. The man’s eyes refused to flinch or shift from her face. His stare was free of the hatred she had gotten from the others, but also devoid of mercy. He held on to her gaze like an anchor to her soul, testing her fortitude, knowing full well her fears’ vast range.

She had always been meant for the fire. Even as she had escaped the blaze that killed her parents and burned the inn to the ground, Lusielle had known that the flame’s greedy god would return to claim her life. But she hadn’t expected it to happen after days of torture, surrounded by the raging mob, found guilty of a crime she didn’t commit, betrayed and condemned.

The town’s cobbler, one of her husband’s best customers, tightened the noose around her neck until it cut off her breath. She had waited on him countless times at the shop, and had always padded his order with a free measure of coriander to help with his wife’s cough.

But none of the town’s inhabitants seemed to remember any of her kindnesses as of late. On the contrary, the crowd was booing and jeering when they weren’t pelting her with rotten fruit. They treated her as if she were a common thief.

The brute who had conducted her torture shoved the cobbler aside, tying her elbows and wrists around the wooden stake. Orell. She remembered his name. His bearded face might have been handsome if not for the permanent leer. Like the magistrate, he wore the king’s burgundy colors, but his role had been more vicious. Had he been granted more time, he might have succeeded at extracting the false confession he wanted, but the magistrate was in a hurry, afraid of any possible unrest.

Orell yanked on the ropes, tightening her bonds. The wound on her back broke open all over again. She swallowed a strangled hiss. It was as if the thug wanted her to suffer, as if he had a private reason to profit from her pain.

But she had never seen him until three days ago, when he and the magistrate had shown up unannounced, making random accusations.

Lusielle couldn’t understand any of this.

She knew that the king’s justice was notoriously arbitrary. It was one of the main reasons why she loathed living under King Riva’s rule. But she also knew better than to express her opinion. Ruin and tragedy trailed those who dared to criticize the king. That’s why she had never mentioned her misgivings to anyone.

What had she done to deserve this fate? And why did they continue to be so cruel? After all, she wasn’t fighting them anymore.

True, she had resisted at first. Out of fear and pride, she had tried to defend herself. But in the end, it hadn’t mattered. Her accusers had relied on the testimony of the devious liar who had turned her in—Aponte Rummins—her own husband.

The mock hearing had been too painful to bear, too absurd to believe. Aponte swore before the magistrate that Lusielle was a secret practitioner of the forbidden odd arts. It was ridiculous. How could anyone believe that she, who had always relied on logic, measure and observation to mix her remedies, could possibly serve the Odd God’s dark purposes? And how could anyone believe Aponte’s lies?

But they did, they believed him as he called on his paid witnesses and presented fabricated evidence, swearing that he himself had caught her at the shop, worshipping the Odd God. In the end, it had been her husband’s false testimony that provided the ultimate proof of the heinous charge for which Lusielle was about to die.

Burning torch in hand, the magistrate stepped forward. Still in shock, Lusielle swallowed a gulp of bitter horror and steeled for the flames’ excruciating pain. She didn’t want to die like a shrieking coward. But nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

The magistrate offered the torch to Aponte.

“The king upholds a husband’s authority over his wife in the kingdom,” the magistrate shouted for the crowd to hear. “There can be no protests, no doubt of the wisdom of royal justice if a husband does as he’s entitled to do by his marital rights.”

Aponte could have forgone her execution. Considering the magistrate’s proclamation, he could have chosen a different punishment for her. Instead, he accepted the torch and, without hesitation, put the flame to the tinder and blew over the kindling to start the fire.

“Go now,” he said, grinning like a hog about to gorge. “Go find your dark lord.”

Lusielle glared at the poor excuse for a man who had ruined her life many times over. She had known from the beginning that he was fatally flawed, just as he had known on the day he claimed her that she couldn’t pledge him any affection.

But Aponte had never wanted her affection. He had wanted her servitude, and in that sense she proved to be the reluctant but dutiful servant he craved.

Over the years he had taught her hatred.

His gratification came from beating and humiliating her. His crass and vulgar tastes turned his bed into a nightmare. She felt so ashamed of the things he made her do. Still, even if she loathed him—and not just him, but the slave she had become under his rule—she had tried to make the best of it.

She had served him diligently, tending to his businesses, reorganizing his stores, rearranging his trading routes and increasing his profits. His table had always been ready. His meals had been hot and flavorsome. His sheets had been crisp and his bed had been coal-warmed every night. Perhaps due to all of this, he had seemed genuinely pleased with their marital arrangement.

Why, then, had he surrendered her so easily to the magistrate’s brute?

Aponte had to have some purpose for this betrayal. He was, above all, a practical man. He would not surrender all the advantages that Lusielle brought to him—money, standing, common sense, business acumen—without the benefit of an even greater windfall.

Lusielle couldn’t understand how, but she was sure that the bastard was going to profit handsomely from her death.

The scent of pine turned acrid and hot. Cones crackled and popped. The fire hissed a sinister murmur, a sure promise of pain. She didn’t watch the little sparks grow into flames at her feet. Instead, her eyes returned to the back of the crowd, seeking the stranger’s stare. She found him even as a puff of white smoke clouded her sight and the fire’s rising heat distorted his scarred face’s fixed expression.

The nearing flames thawed the pervasive cold chilling her bones. Flying sparks pecked at her skin. Her toes curled. Her feet flinched. Pain teased her ankles in alarming, nipping jolts. Dear gods. They were really going to burn her alive.

Lusielle shut her eyes. When she looked again, the stranger was gone from the crowd. She couldn’t blame him. She would have never chosen to watch the flame’s devouring dance.

A commotion ensued somewhere beyond the pyre. People were screaming, but she couldn’t see through the flames and smoke. She flinched when a lick of fire ignited her shift’s hem. A vile stink filled her lungs. Her body shivered in shock. She coughed, then hacked. Fear’s fiery fingers began to torment her legs.

“Come and find me,” she called to the God of fire.

And he did

The Curse Giver Tour Page

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About the Author

Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, coming this summer from Twilight Times Books. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a love for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazing readers who share in her mind’s adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.

Her latest book is The Curse Giver.

Visit her website

Connect & Socialize with Dora!

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Blurb

An accountant’s calculated attempt to fit in entangles her with Hollywood’s hottest tattoo artist who thrives on standing out.  Worlds collide as the two decide what is truly permanent.

 

What is Permanent?

Always on the outside looking in, accountant, Lindsay Stevens, has calculated her transformation from a small town, nerdy bookkeeper to a sleek, high-powered accountant down to the last penny.  With all her checks finally in balance, she moves to California to start a new life free of her embarrassing past she never wants revealed.

As Hollywood’s hottest tattoo artist, Shane Elliott thrives on standing out.  Charismatic and free of commitments, he travels through life with a wink and a smile, hiding the letters he receives from the IRS as if they don’t exist.  Now with bills to pay and tax collectors breathing down his back, for the first time in his life Shane can’t charm his way out of his situation.  However, when his new neighbor literally falls into his life, he knows he has struck gold once again.

Though Lindsay tries to keep her distance, she suddenly finds herself trying to hide her true self as she thrust into a world she doesn’t think she belongs, but can’t resist.  In his good-time life, Shane must discover there is more to life than a party if he wants something more.

With their lives intertwined, the two must learn accept each other, themselves and their love.

Worlds collide as they decide what is truly permanent.

Permanent is the first book in the Indelibly Marked Series that follows the lives and loves of those surrounding Permanent Tattoo.

Excerpt

An entire entourage, including a few people she didn’t know had joined in her search party, but she could only focus on Shane as he guided her into the driveway and sprinted to her car.

She barely threw the transmission in park before Shane opened the door and practically got inside with her. Though she wanted to protest, or tell him he was making too big of a thing out of it, her body disobeyed and she wrapped her arms around his neck. This time she denied herself nothing and purposely leaned in and took a big long whiff of his soap. She was done for. “Oh God.”

“We’re never going to do that to Shane again, are we?” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek, grazing the corner of her mouth.

She didn’t realize she’d held her breath until her lungs demanded air and she gasped and grabbed Shane’s leg. When her hand grazed across his jeans, she swore she’d never felt anything quite so supple and pliable, a well-worn fine nap not unlike the most expensive velvet beneath her fingertips. Beneath his jeans she could clearly make out the definition of his toned thigh. The contrast of textures overloaded her senses.  “Did you know the 5 freeway and the Golden State freeway are the same?”

He chuckled but didn’t move away from her. In fact, his dark blue eyes stared so intently that she studied his arm tattoos. One thing about Shane was that every part of him was interesting to look at.

“Why were you on the 5?”

“I was trying to get back from Orange County.” She admitted it like she’d committed a felony, and stared at his forearm. His smooth skin gave him the perfect showcase to display his personal artwork. Without really thinking, she touched his arm and used her nail to trace one of the leafy vines that trailed and curled around his forearm. “I’m sorry, it was for work.”

“What did you think of it?”

“I thought it was very repetitive.” She took in a black panther’s paw. The tattoos were all part of him and her mouth dried, causing her voice to sound strained. “Why was Orange County off limits?” Her finger made it around the back of the panther, and then almost as if she awakened from her trance, she stopped.

Shane put his hand over hers. “Finish.”

“Why didn’t you want me to go to Orange County?” She looked up at his face, his focus clearly on her hand and she allowed her finger to resume its trek.

“I didn’t want you to like it there.”

Her hand made it back to where it started and she shook her head. “Everything there was too much the same.”

“It’s good to like things that are a little less conventional.” His voice lowered.

She licked her lips to impart any moisture she could into her arid mouth. With Shane in her car in front of a tattoo shop in downtown Los Angeles, she doubted her problem was being conventional. Her problem was that she didn’t have the data to deal with the unconventional.

 

About the Auth0r

Kim Carmichael began writing eight years ago when her love of happy endings inspired her to create her own.

A Southern California native, Kim’s contemporary romance combines Hollywood magic with pop culture to create quirky characters set against some of most unique and colorful settings in the world.

With a weakness for designer purses, bad boys and techno geeks, Kim married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running and finally admitted handbags were an investment.

Kim is a member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as some small specialty chapters.  A multi-published author, Kim’s books can be found on Amazon as well as Barnes & Nobel.  From alcohol to makeup to infrared cameras and even scientific lasers studying the atmosphere, Kim has worked in some aspect of sales and marketing for over twenty years.

When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.

Previous books

• Hands On Me – Keith Publications – 9/12 – Part of the Tramp Stamp Line
• Closure – Hot Ink Press – 11/12 – Explores a second chance at a first love.
• Eternity – Keith Publications – 1/13 – My fallen cupid story.
• The Promise – Hot Ink Press – 2/13 – My sexy demon story.
• Trifecta – Hot Ink Press – 7/13 – A typical Romance that just happens to have three people.
• Interchangeable – Decadent Publications – 7/13 – Part of Decadent’s 1Night Stand Line.  Explores a M/F/M love story.
• Permanent – Book One of the Indelibly Marked Series – 10/13.   Permanent was chosen as a finalist in the Assent Publishing Great Romance Contest.

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Synopsis

A shocking page-turner that explores the dark side of the multibillion-dollar porn industry. Ashley Hale was a rising star in the adult entertainment world before she abruptly moved to the other side of the country, leaving behind money, fame, and excitement for a nine-to-five bank job and a sensible apartment. But there was one tie to the industry she could not sever. Her sister, Tara, was also a porn star. Two years later, when Tara supposedly commits suicide, Ashley must return to the San Fernando Valley and the life she thought she’d left behind. Now she’s not sure who she can trust-especially the handsome new video editor who seems intent on helping her. But she won’t leave Los Angeles until she’s proven Tara’s death was a murder. And until she’s faced the killer. One of the most thrilling and original novels of the year, Hardcore crackles with sexual tension, great characters, and enough twists to keep mystery and thriller fans turning pages until every secret is revealed

Review

WOW! is about all I can think of to say about this book.  A mystery set in the porn industry with its bad rap and seamy individuals.  I’m not sure what I was expecting but this book had everything that a reader could want – shady characters, murder, lies, sex and even some romance.  The characters are well developed and I know that I kept wondering who was someone worthy of trust and who wasn’t.  I will say that I was surprised many times by those that I thought were good but were bad, and those that were evil but were actually good. Plus there was even some romance thrown in to the mix that while seems like a good thing, quickly becomes a little terrifying for Ashley at first before learning the truth about those she thought were helping her.

While I’m not sure if there could be a follow up book with the same cast of characters, I would love to read more by Larry and hope that he has more books coming out in the future!

This is a must read for all mystery lovers!  We give it 5 paws and recommend picking up a copy.  If you have an e-reader it is only $3.99 on either Amazon or B&N.

About the Author

Larry A. Winters is a writer of mysteries and thrillers.  When not writing about porn stars, FBI agents, cops, and killers, he can be found living a life of excitement—reading in his La-Z-Boy, playing video games, and hanging out with his family.

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Title: Maybe This Time

Author: Chantal Fernando

Genre: New Adult

Release Date: October 14, 2013

 

Synopsis

Moving in with my half-brother Xander, I had no idea what to expect.

But nothing could have prepared me for this.

My brother’s friends are wild, protective, secretive, always around.

And drop dead gorgeous.

Out of all of them, there’s something about Reid Knox.

Brooding, temperamental, guarded…

And I want him more than anything I have ever wanted in my life.

 

 

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About the Author

Chantal Fernando is 26, a mother of three beautiful little boys and lives in Western Australia.

Chase is her debut novel, followed by Kade, Ryder, James and Maybe This Time.

She is currently working on a few other projects.

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Murder at the Maples (A Flora Lively Mystery: Book 1)
Mirrorball Books (September 16, 2013)
Genre: Cozy mystery
Number of Pages: 274

Synopsis

A tragic death. A reluctant sleuth. A childhood prank that went horribly wrong.

When Flora Lively inherits her father’s business she’s totally out of her depth. Shakers Removals is in trouble, and manager Marshall isn’t helping one bit – the ex-pat American delights only in winding her up. But Flora has other things on her mind, like Joy: surrogate grandmother and resident of the Maples Retirement Village. When Joy’s pet pug has a brush with death, Flora is pulled into a series of bizarre incidents at the Maples, where fear is starting to take hold.

Could harmless old Mr. Felix really be the boy from Joy’s past, determined to exact his revenge, or is it Joy’s guilty mind playing tricks on her? And what about the Captain’s death? Accidents happen, even to the most careful people, but Flora’s not convinced the old man simply fell down the stairs … Playing detective seemed like a good idea at first, but before long Flora realises the stakes are far higher than either she or Joy imagined.

Full of warmth and humour, this gripping puzzle will appeal to fans of M. C. Beaton and Edie Clare.

Review

Murder at the Maples is a cozy set in England and is about a moving company that seems to specialize in moving seniors from their homes into a retirement community.  Running the company after her father’s death, Flora has some big shoes to fill and has a manger, Marshall, that while related somehow, is from the US and sees business differently than Flora.  Not that either is right or wrong, they just have opposing viewpoints on how to run the company.  Flora has a degree in psychology and it comes in handy when dealing with the seniors that are moving into the Maples retirement home, in fact she has befriended Joy and is maybe a little too invested in the happenings at the home.  However, this comes to be a benefit when seniors start dying and Flora starts questioning what is really happening.

This book did take a little for me to get in to, but once I did and fell into a rhythm, I couldn’t wait to read what might come next.  Some of the “evil” characters were rather obvious to me, but may not be to everyone.  I think I knew that they were bad in some respect but didn’t know all of the details as to why.  It is a good start to a new series and we give it 4 paws.

About The Author

Joanne Phillips lives in Shropshire, England with her husband and young daughter. She’s the author of commercial women’s fiction Can’t Live Without and The Family Trap, and the Flora Lively series of cozy mysteries. Can’t Live Without was an Amazon top 100 bestseller in 2012 and her books regularly appear on category bestseller lists.

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