Worlds Elsewhere by Andrew Dickson - Giveaway #Shakespeare400

WINNER - RAQUEL MUNIZ

Today is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and I have a special giveaway for you!

A book about how Shakespeare became fascinated with the world, and how the world became fascinated with Shakespeare - the first book of its kind

There are 83 copies of the First Folio in a vault beneath Capitol Hill, the world's largest collection. Well over 150 Indian movies are based on Shakespeare's plays - more than in any other nation. If current trends continue, there will soon be more high-school students reading The Merchant of Venice in Mandarin Chinese than in early-modern English. Why did this happen - and how? Ranging ambitiously across four continents and 400 years, Worlds Elsewhere is an eye-opening account of how Shakespeare went global. Seizing inspiration from the playwright's own fascination with travel, foreignness and distant worlds, Dickson takes us on an extraordinary journey - fromHamlet performed by English actors tramping through Poland in the early 1600s to twenty-first-century Shanghai, where Shashibiya survived Mao's Cultural Revolution to become an honored Chinese author.

En route we visit Nazi Germany, where Shakespeare became an unlikely favorite, and delve into the history of Bollywood, where Shakespearian stories helped give birth to Indian cinema. In Johannesburg, we discover how Shakespeare was enlisted into the fight to end apartheid. In California, we encounter him as the most popular playwright of the American frontier.

Both a cultural history and a literary travelogue, the first of its kind, Worlds Elsewhereexplores how Shakespeare became the world's writer, and how his works have changed beyond all recognition during the journey.

Praise for Worlds Elsewhere
“There were very few pages on which I didn’t learn something new or revelatory. A must-read for anyone interested in Shakespeare’s impact around the globe.”
—JAMES SHAPIRO, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

“Brilliantly original. Absolutely engaging, witty and irresistible. What’s most remarkable: he’s said something new about Shakespeare. ” —MICHAEL PYE, author of The Edge of the World

“Immensely well-informed and highly readable. A revelatory journey of cultural exploration. ”
—PROFESSOR STANLEY WELLS, General Editor of the Oxford and Penguin Shakespeares

“This book is much more than just a hugely entertaining travelogue. In its strikingly original, engagingly idiosyncratic way, Dickson’s action-packed global quest amounts to a substantial new contribution to Shakespeare scholarship.” —THE GUARDIAN

“An extraordinarily exhilarating book, like no other Shakespeare criticism you have ever read... [Dickson] is a serious scholar, and his cross-cultural insights into Shakespeare are remarkable.”
—MARGARET DRABBLE, New Statesman

“More than just a hugely entertaining travelogue… a substantial new contribution to Shakespeare scholarship. ” —ANTHONY HOLDEN, The Observer

“A joy, full to bursting with surprising incidents, stories and insight. ”
—DOMINIC DROMGOOLE, The Sunday Times

“Eye-opening and engrossing.” —NICK CURTIS, Mail on Sunday

“A rousing and insightful tour through the global manifestations of Shakespeare's works with plenty of information that will even stun even those who thought they knew it all... an eloquent testimony of how cultural motifs gets transmitted, changed to alien climes and still flourish.” —THE TIMES OF INDIA

“Dickson proves himself a genial guide to Shakespeare's huge influence and legacy. A frequently illuminating investigation of Shakespeare around the world. ” —KIRKUS REVIEWS

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

The theatre was packed, people jostling for position. As I watched, three men detached themselves from the crowd and began slowly to climb the steps. A ripple of applause washed over them as they came up on to the stage. Acknowledging it, they glanced around – surprised, bemused to find themselves here in the flat grey light of an English summer afternoon. They were decently dressed, if perhaps a little shabby: long perahantunics in grey and mud- brown, loose trousers, jackets, rubber sandals. Orange security lanyards flapped at their necks. They carried bags; one had a rug slung across his arm. They looked fresh off the plane, and dusty with tiredness.

They settled themselves down, cross-legged, on one side of the stage. Ceremonially, the rug was laid out. The carry-on bags disgorged a series of unlikely objects: a small drum, a case of wooden flutes, a much larger rug. One of the men unzipped what looked like a violin case and produced an Afghan lute, the colour of fresh honey, bristling with pegs and frets. After a few lazy skitterings up the fingerboard, he glanced towards his colleagues. The crowd hushed. Somewhere nearby, there was a brief splash of birdsong. Quietly, insistently, the musicians began to play.

Goodreads

About the author

Andrew Dickson was raised in Yorkshire, and studied at Cambridge. He is currently an honorary fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, a former visiting fellow at the University of Warwick, and has contributed toThe New Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare. Formerly an arts editor at the Guardian in London, he continues to write regularly for the paper and has also written for The New Yorker online and The New Statesman. He makes regular appearances on BBC radio and TV as a presenter and reviewer.

Visit Andrew's website WorldsElsewhere.com

Visit above site for purchase links.

GIVEAWAY: Open to U.S. entrants only. To enter, please leave a comment telling me which work of Shakespeare is your favorite. If you haven't read any of his work, but would like to, which would you read first? Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact the winner. Giveaway will end on Saturday, April 30th at 11:59 pm CT. Good luck!


Watch for my review...coming next month!

Never miss a post!

The Tiger and the Dove Trilogy - Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale!

Books 1 and 2 of the Tiger and the Dove trilogy will be 99 cents (each) on Amazon for Kindle this Friday (tomorrow) through Monday! You don't want to miss this excellent historical fiction series. It would make a great gift for the Kindle book readers in your family, or among your friends. (And Book 3 will be on sale next week!)

The reviews speak for themselves. 4.6 out of 5 stars from 33 reviews for The Grip of God and 4.5 out of 5 stars from 14 reviews for Solomon's Bride.

Book 1 - The Grip of God  Buy the Book
The Grip of God is the first novel in an epic historical trilogy, The Tiger and the Dove. Set in the thirteenth century, its heroine, Sofia, is a young princess of Kievan Rus. She begins her story by recounting her capture in battle and life of slavery to a young army captain in the Mongol armies that are flooding Europe. Not only is her life shattered, it is threatened by the bitter rivalries in her new master’s powerful family, and shadowed by the leader of the Mongol invasion, Batu Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson. How will she learn to survive in a world of total war, much less rediscover the love she once took for granted? Always seeking to escape and menaced by outer enemies and inner turmoil, where can she find safe haven even if she can break free? Clear eyed and intelligent, Sofia could be a character from The Game of Thrones, but she refuses to believe that life is solely about the strong dominating the weak or about taking endless revenge. Her story is based on actual historical events, which haunt her destiny. Like an intelligent Forrest Gump, she reflects her times. But as she matures, she learns to reflect on them as well, and to transcend their fetters. In doing so, she recreates a lost era for us, her readers.

Book 2 - Solomon's Bride  Buy the Book
Solomon’s Bride is the dramatic sequel to The Grip of God. Sofia, the heroine, a former princess from Kievan Rus’ was enslaved by a Mongol nobleman and then taken as a concubine by the leader of the Mongol invasions, Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. Now, having fled the Mongols with a price on her head, Sofia escapes into Persia and what she believes will be safety, only to fall into the clutches of the Assassins, who seek to disrupt the Mongol empire. In a world at war, both outer and inner, the second phase of her adventures unfolds. Can she ever find safe haven, much less the lost love and family that was almost destroyed by the Mongols?

Never miss a post!

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night: Gone Reading for Christmas

Book lovers, have I got a Christmas gift for you! I was recently in touch with Brad from Gone Reading and he offered me a selection for review. More on that later. First, I'd like to talk about the great work behind the scenes of Gone Reading. Brad, their founder and CEO (and all around great guy) says:

"If you’re like me, you just can’t imagine living in a world without reading. Unfortunately, for almost a billion people today, that’s exactly where they find themselves. There are countless villages, towns and vast regions of this planet where the power of reading has yet to shine its light.

Gone Reading International, LLC was founded to counter these problems and spread the magic of reading. We believe that when people have open access to great reading materials, life always changes for the better. When libraries and reading materials are made available, people and their communities thrive through increased opportunity and self-empowerment.

That’s why Gone Reading International has pledged 100% of our after-tax profits to provide new funding for reading-related charities. By purchasing GoneReading brand gifts and merchandise, you’re treating yourself and the world at large to a wonderful gift. All purchases from GoneReading help contribute to our philanthropic work.

We donate to great non-profits such as READ Global, Ethiopia Reads and BiblioWorks, amazing organizations with proven models, long track records, and dedicated teams on the ground. Such groups partner with local villages and communities in the most underdeveloped parts of the world to create new libraries that effect real change."

Pretty awesome, huh? They have hit a great target market because us bookish types are all about good causes. Right? And this time of year is the perfect time to help spread the hope and love to those who are less fortunate.

Now, about that little item I chose to review. My choice was It Was A Dark & Stormy Night: A Game About Books!

Mom and I have played it several times since I received it just a few days after placing my order. We also played it with my sister and niece over the Thanksgiving holiday. It is great fun for anyone who loves books. A little healthy competition amongst bibliophiles. HaHa!

If you're looking for some great gifts for the bookish people in your life, or even for yourself (and at the same time supporting a great cause), then you need to head over to Gone Reading and do some Christmas shopping.

Cross the Ocean by Holly Bush

Book Excerpt

Chapter One

London 1871

“Pardon me?”

The starch in Mrs. Wickham’s black dress seemed to wilt as she quivered. The soft folds of her jowls shook. “The Duchess is not coming down, Your Grace,” she repeated.

The Duke of Wexford stood stock-still. The guests were to descend on his ancestral home in a matter of moments. The candles lit, the buffet laid, the flowers had bloomed on cue. The last remaining detail was the receiving line.

“Mrs. Wickham. There is a small matter of greeting two hundred and fifty guests arriving momentarily. The Duchess needs to attend them,” Blake Sanders, the Eighth Duke of Wexford, said sternly to his housekeeper.

When the woman had announced his wife would not be joining him, Sanders was certain he had not heard correctly. The Duchess knew her duties, as did he.  He turned abruptly to the staircase and stopped as a shiver trailed down his arms. He turned back. The rotund woman had not moved other than the flitting of small hairs peeking out of her mobcap.  After twenty-five years of service to his family, he supposed she stood rooted for good reason.

The Duke spoke quietly. “Is there a problem conveying this message, Mrs. Wickham?”

The woman swallowed. “Yes, Your Grace. There is.”

“What is it, Mrs. Wickham?” he asked.

It was then he noticed a folded piece of paper in the woman’s hand. As with most lifetime retainers, he had seen worry, seen anger and joy in her face. But never fear. And it was fear indeed that hung in the air, widened her eyes and had the missive shaking in pudgy fingers.

A lifetime later, in his memory, he would envision the slow transfer of this note as it made its way from her hand to his. The moments stretched out when life was sure – before he read it. With the reading, life changed, flopped perversely like some great beached sea turtle. So memory or God or mind’s protection lengthened the seconds until he read.

In the present, he snatched the note, unfolded it and recognized his wife’s script. He dared not glance at the still-present servant.  Blake Sanders read to the final line, folded the paper neatly and met Mrs. Wickham’s eyes. Had he been six, he may have hurled himself in the great black comfort of her skirts. But he was not a boy.

“The contents of this note, I gather, you read?” he asked.

The mobcap nodded. “Twas open and lying on Your Grace’s pillow.”

“Very well,” he replied and stared at the ornate wall sconce and the shadows the candles threw. The butler’s distant voice broke through his emotional haze. He knew he must ready himself for the onslaught of guests but not before he made clear his wishes with Mrs. Wickham.

“We must be certain the Duchess is left alone with such a malady.” His eyes met hers with a dark intensity. “You will be the only one in her attendance tonight.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The housekeeper nodded to leave and turned back with tears in her great gray eyes. “The children, Your Grace? What if . . .?”

“I will handle the children tonight, Mrs. Wickham,” he answered.

She nodded and hurried away.

The composure he had been born with, cultivated, and that now ruled his life, wavered as he slowly made his way down the staircase to his butler. Briggs stood sentry near the newel post as he had done for as long as anyone could remember.

“The guests are arriving, sir,” the butler said.

“The Duchess is unwell, Briggs. Lady Melinda will stand attendance beside me.” “Very good, Your Grace,” Briggs replied.

Somehow Blake found himself between his children in the receiving line. On his left stood his seventeen-year old daughter, Melinda. Fifteen-year-old, William, the heir to the title, was to his right. Donald, the youngest, was certainly fighting his nursemaid to escape and peek through the balustrade at the splendor of the upcoming ball.

“Where is Mama?” Melinda asked softly.

“Terrible headache, sweetheart. She needs to stay abed,” he said and made yet another crisp bow. Melinda would make her come-out in a few short months, but she had not as of yet. Blake had made the decision to have her play hostess in an instant, not knowing what else to do.  “You are doing beautifully in her absence.”

Between greeting the next guests Melinda whispered to her father, “I’ll go to her as soon as I can. You know how . . .”

“No,” he shouted, startling guests in line and his daughter. Her look of shame and surprise shook him. His menacing gaze softened as he turned to her. “I didn’t mean to snap, my dear.”

Melinda’s lip trembled until an aging matron shouted in her ear. She turned a practiced, polite face the dowager’s way.

Moments in every life indelibly etch in the mind. The birth of a child. A father’s grudging respect seen in a wrinkled face. The first time love is visible in a woman’s eye. But that evening and all its details were a blurry mass of glad tidings and lies. Conversations muted amongst his thoughts leaving his mind only capable of a nod or the shake of his head. One stark moment glared. Blake’s longtime friend and neighbor, Anthony Burroughs, looked at him quizzically as he repeated his wife’s excuse. The man’s eyes bored into his, and Blake nearly spilled the details of his dilemma in the midst of the glowing ballroom. He shuttered his feelings quickly, but he knew Anthony was not fooled.

William and Melinda were so exhausted by night’s end that he had no trouble convincing them to wait to the following morning to regale their mother with the evening’s excitement. For himself, he could have cried for joy when the last guest left at nearly four in the morning. He sent his valet to bed, untied his neck cloth and slumped into the dark green damask chair in front of a wilting fire.

He would be a laughingstock. The Wexfords took their pride seriously today in 1871 the same as they had in 1471. The current Duke of Wexford had spent his entire life guarding against any impropriety that might sully that pride or good name. Married at twenty-four by decree of his father to Lady Ann Murrow, and a beautiful fair child, Melinda, was born nine months to the day from the date of his wedding. The heir, William, two years later with the spare, Donald, arriving seven years ago.

Blake did not over indulge at the game tables or with drink. He kept a trim figure, and while not vain, was never seen without proper attire. His estates were in order; he treated his servants fairly and generously and reaped the profits hence.

My life has been a model to the English aristocracy, Blake thought. Until now.  He withdrew the letter from his pocket and read again, that which his eyes saw but what his mind refused to believe. “I’m leaving you ...” What in his life had he done or not done to deserve such treatment, especially from his wife, the mother of his children? The Duchess of Wexford for God’s sake, he railed silently. He continued reading. “He’s a well-to-do merchant...” Not even a peer of the realm.

Would Ann stop at nothing to humiliate him? How would he show his face in town? The English peerage took delight and excruciating pains to reveal or revel in another’s debacle or misfortune. They tittered about the smallest transgression – a loss at the game table, a stolen kiss exposed before the banns were posted. He would be branded, bandied about, laughed at behind his back until his last breath and beyond.

Blake wondered that when the Earl of Wendover heard this story, he would withdraw the arrangement for Melinda to marry his son. Blake had not told Melinda of the agreement because he had wanted her to enjoy her come-out without a cradle betrothal to dampen her spirit. Let her dance and meet young people and then tell her about the long ago made plans. But Blake admitted to himself there may be no triumphant union of two of England’s oldest families after the Duchess’s betrayal became public.

The sun was peaking over rolling hills he saw as he gazed idly out the window of his bedchamber. How would he tell his children? When their nursemaid had died, he had gone off to town rather than deal with their tears. Let their mother handle these things. But there was no mother. The scheming wench had gone off and left her own children without a word.

There was a horse at Tattersall’s he’d been eyeing. Blake wondered if he should go now before everyone knew of this scandal and he’d be forced to deal with the ton’s whispers and stares. I’ll deal with the children first. I must. It’s my duty. He rang for his valet and wondered if Mrs. Wickham would be the better person to explain things. The housekeeper was a soft soul, and the children adored her.

Benson helped him bathe and dress, and he sat down bleary-eyed at the breakfast table. His morning regimen was placed in front of him as he was seated with a footman’s help. Blake was suddenly so angry, so horrified, at the situation he found himself in, he merely stared at his oatmeal. Tea was being poured on his right. The morning paper carefully folded to the business section on his left. All seemed the same, should be the same. But it wasn’t. Ann would not glide down the stairs this morning. She would not inquire politely how he had slept. She would not explain her plans with the dressmaker or morning calls. As if he’d cared. But even still . . . it wouldn’t be the same. He would not kiss her cheek and tell her she looked lovely with his dismissal.

About the book

1871 . . . Worlds collide when American Suffragist, Gertrude Finch, and titled Brit Blake Sanders meet in an explosive encounter that may forever bind them together. Gertrude Finch escorts a young relative to London and encounters the stuffy Duke of Wexford at his worst. Cross the Ocean is the story of an undesired, yet undeniable attraction that takes Blake and Gertrude across an ocean and into each other’s arms.

About the author

Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject.

Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West in the mid 1800’s. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer’s group.

Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, and former vice-president of her local library board and loves to spend time near the ocean. She is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.

www.hollybushbooks.com 

Twitter - @hollybushbooks
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Holly-Bush/247399131941435
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D381HR6/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb 

Happy Birthday, Page Turner Book Tours!

PTBT opened their doors a year ago and has grown from strength to strength working with some amazing authors along the way. This year the official .com site was opened, a dedicated team of graphics designers joined the team and PTBT became the official host for all tours under 5 Prince Publishing.

The story doesn’t stop there…

There are already plans for further improvements and many more tours to be held in the future along with further charity work. 

We hope that you will check them out at this link: http://pageturnerbooktours.com

During July PTBT are offering the following discounts:

1 week tour - 1 additional day

2 week tour - $63.75 - 2 additional days

3 week tour - $85 - 3 additional days

4 week tour - $170 - 4 additional days

These discounts are good for a year AS LONG AS the tour is booked and paid for in July 2013.

“Working for Page Turner Book Tours has been amazing. I have met some amazing people, worked with some fantastic books and been privileged to be part of some amazing journeys. I know there will be great things to come for PTBT and I am excited to meet every request, author and to discover the wonderful books that I work with. Thank you to everyone on the past year who has worked with PTBT you are all amazing and I am so have been part of your journey. Here’s to the next fantastic year!” ~ Kate, Owner/Tour Coordinator PTBT

“I have been blessed to have had a long professional relationship with Kate and Page Turner Book Tours. Her organization of the tours and cover launches has always exceeded our expectations. She is thorough and knows what she’s doing. I believed enough in the company that Page Turner Book Tours is the official coordinator for 5 Prince Publishing. Kate sets up tours for our cover/book launches, for each of our authors, as well as book tours. Her prices are very fair and that helps individuals and small businesses. I give Kate and Page Turner Book Tours 5 STARS, for their consistently good service, well managed tours, and comfort level when working with them. If you are looking to promote yourself or your book I highly recommend Page Turner Book Tours.” - Bernadette Soehner, CEO, 5 Prince Publishing, Lost And Found Tour Details

“I enjoyed working with Page Turner Book Tours in 2012 for my second Lash Series Book, Shadow Man. Kate was able to arrange far more stops than I’d initially hoped for, and also garnered my book several five star reviews! The spreadsheet she gave me to work from had all the relevant contact information to write tailored engaging posts for each site, and she fulfilled every part of the agreement to create and deliver signature prizes for the tour. She tried her very best to make my tour the best it could be. The best recommendation is that I will be using her services again this summer to promote another coauthored work!

Service: At least half of service is value for the money spent. Kate gives great packages and I feel I got a very good value for the money I spent with her. She was knowledgeable and answered my questions in a timely fashion. I especially appreciated the reviews as part of the package, of which almost all were favorable.

Communication: the other half of service for this type of promotion is communication, and Kate was very good in that aspect as well. For my tour, I had a total of 5 interviews to complete, along with 12 guest posts. She got me info for topics and interview questions as soon as she had them, which helped me stay ahead and on time with my side of the tour.

Overall tour running: 5 stars” Tara Fox Hall, Author, Lash Tour Details

“I have had the pleasure of working with Page Turner Book Tours for just a few short months. When I first contacted Kate and told her what I was looking for, she helped walk me through everything that they could do, what it would entail on my part as well as what was to be expected from her and Page Turner Book Tours. 

Every time I have any questions Kate is sure to replay quickly. I have not encountered many problems while working with Page Turner Book Tours other than a few Bloggers did not follow through on their end. Which, I by no means, hold against Page Turner Book Tours. 

Kate does a wonderful job communicating what is needed by all her bloggers, if you are interested then you just let her know and she does the rest. All you have to do as a blogger is set it up to go on your scheduled date. 

Overall I think Kate and Page Turner Book Tours do a wonderful job with their Press Releases, Interviews, Book reviews and scheduling who needs to be where and what time. I would give Page Turner Book Tours 5 out of 5 stars!” ~ Marie, 5 Prince Publishing

“Page Turner Book Tours is a great resource for authors and I have personally found Kate and her tour company to be worth their weight in gold! I have worked with Kate on book tours for myself and I have even joined book tours for other authors as a host. Each time I have found Kate to be absolutely wonderful to work with. With many tours running consecutively Kate is adept and masterful as she customizes each tour to the specific author and his/her book.

Kate is a marvelous coordinator and I can’t wait to work with her in the future on a book tour. If you are looking for a company to schedule a tour, than I recommend working with Kate at Page Turner Book Tours. She will customize a tour specifically for you and work with book bloggers making your tour run as easy as possible leaving you with a sense of satisfaction and a great tour experience!

Page Turner Book tours is definitely a five star company!” M.M. Shelley, Murder On Mars Tour Details

Summer Kindle Fire Giveaway!!!

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT! Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HD 7".

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

  Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

  Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

 

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
2. Feed Your Reader
3. New Adult Addiction
4. Jessabella Reads
5. The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Somthing Year Old Girl
6. Books Unhinged by StacyHgg
7. S.A. Larsen - Writer's Ally
8. Author Inger Iverson
9. The Geeky Gamers
10. annakyss
11. Everyday Word Magic
12. Candance's Book Blog
13. Page Flipperz
14. SMI Book Club
15. Laurie Here
16. Feed Your Fiction Addiction
17. Phantasmic Reads
18. The Book Bellas
19. Please Don't Remove MarGreat's Glasses
20. Author Jennifer Laurens
21. J.C. Valentine
22. Holly Hood
23. Young Adult Novel Reader
24. Author Heather Bixler
25. Literary Meanderings
26. Suspense Author Kim Cresswell
27. Mother Daughter & Son Book Review
28. Meredith's Musings
29. Auggie Talk
30. Author Camelia Miron Skiba
31. Author Lena Sledge
32. LoriTheAuthor
33. Author Dianne Venetta
34. Curling Up with A Good Book
35. MyLadyWeb
36. Fae Books
37. Bea's Book Nook
38. Girls with Books
39. Ketch's Book Nook
40. Turning Pages
41. Bookhounds
42. Karey White
43. My Devotional Thoughts
44. Author Talia Jager
45. Author Helen Smith
46. Sher A Hart: Written Art
47. Author MK McClintock
48. Word to Dreams
49. Buku-Buku Didi
50. Tasty Book Tours
51. Readerlicious
52. Romance Bookworm's Reviews

  Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire. Sponsor a future Kindle Fire Giveaway by signing up HERE. Ends 8/15/13 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 http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Coming in October: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS

By Elizabeth Gilbert

Viking; On-sale October 1, 2013; $28.95; 9780670024858

“There is much pleasure in this unhurried, sympathetic, intelligent novel by an author confident in her material and her form.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Gilbert's sweeping saga of Henry Whittaker and his daughter Alma offers an allegory for the great, rampant heart of the 19th century…The dense, descriptive writing seems lifted from pages written two centuries past, yet it's laced with spare ironical touches and elegant phrasing…Characters leap into life, visible and vibrant… Multiple narrative threads weave seamlessly into a saga reminiscent of T. C. Boyle's Water Music…A brilliant exercise of intellect and imagination.”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Gilbert triumphantly returns to fiction with a big novel, about a big century, written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time. Alma Whittaker is born into perfect Philadelphia privilege; an independent girl with a thirst for knowledge, Alma quickly comes into her own within the world of plants and science. Her father, Henry Whittaker, is a willful and charismatic botanical importer and pharmaceutical magnate whose vast fortune belies his lowly beginnings as a vagrant in Kew Gardens. Her mother, Beatrix, a strict woman from an esteemed Dutch family, has a grasp of botany that is equal to any man's. Her saintly stepsister, Prudence, is one of unparalleled beauty and decorum. 

As Alma's careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love, a mysterious painter of orchids named Ambrose Pike, draws her into the opposite direction – into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist of dogged perseverance, Ambrose a utopian artist who longs for purity and communion. But what unites this couple is a shared passion for knowing – a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all of life. She is a witness to history, as well as a maker of history herself. She stands on the cusp of the modern, with one foot still in the Enlightenment Age.

Brilliantly researched and lovingly crafted, THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS carries the reader breathlessly across the globe. It is a work of extraordinary faith and of deep scientific reflection. Perhaps above all, it is the story of an irrepressible woman, determined to satisfy her most powerful urges toward both love and knowledge. A novel immersed in all the great questions of the nineteenth century, THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS is also very much a novel for our times.

Please visit www.elizabethgilbert.com and follow her on Twitter @GilbertLiz, for more information. 

About the Author

Elizabeth Gilbert is the acclaimed author of five books of fiction and nonfiction. Her 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, was a #1 New York Times bestseller; it has been published in more than thirty languages and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, and in 2010 was made into a major motion picture starring Julia Roberts. Gilbert's novel Stern Men was a New York Times Notable Book, and her most recent work, Committed – a memoir of marriage – was a # 1 New York Times bestseller. In 2008, Timemagazine named Gilbert one of the most influential people in the world.

New Release! The Diabolist by Layton Green

The third book in the Dominic Grey series, The Diabolist, was released on June 4th. Publisher Thomas & Mercer is re-releasing The Summoner and The Egyptian. All three novels are available now as ebooks and paperbacks. As are the others, The Diabolist is a standalone work and can be read independently of the others.

About the book:
In this gripping thriller, the bizarre murder of a Satanic priest in San Francisco draws Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults, to the scene. Witnesses claim a robed figure, seemingly able to appear and disappear at will, set fire to the priest. When the leader of another Satanic cult in Paris dies under similar circumstances, the case only grows stranger… and more dangerous.

Convinced that a charismatic New Age prophet is behind the murders, the investigators undergo a perilous journey into the world of the occult as they try to penetrate the prophet’s inner circle. From the catacombs of Paris to London’s nefarious East End, from the haunted walls of York to a monastic fortress in the Sicilian wilderness, the case plunges Viktor and Grey into a vortex of black magic, ancient heresies, and the dark corners of their own pasts.

The Diabolist is a chilling novel that not only pulsates with action and suspense, but also mines a trove of fascinating historical, philosophical, and paranormal research to probe some of our closest held beliefs. From the opening pages to the astonishing conclusion, this latest installment in one of today’s most original new thriller series is not to be missed.

Get your copy at Amazon.

About the author:

In addition to writing, Layton attended law school in New Orleans and was a practicing attorney for the better part of a decade (even though he still resents having cut his hair for that first interview). He has also been an intern for the United Nations, an ESL teacher in Central America, a bartender in London, a seller of cheap knives on the streets of Brixton, a door-to-door phone book deliverer, and the list goes downhill from there.

He has traveled to more than fifty countries, lived in a number of them, and has a burning desire to see every country, city, beach, moor, castle, cemetery, twisted street and far flung dot on the map. Religion and cults, as well as all things spiritual and supernatural, have also been a lifelong interest. Combine the travel and the religion with fifteen years of Japanese Jujitsu training, and the Dominic Grey series was born.

Visit his website.

Watch for my review...coming soon!

Read my review of The Egyptian.

Premier Digital Publishing’s Fall Releases Signed ARC {Giveaway}!

Win Signed ARCs of Premier Digital Publishing’s Fall Releases. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter at the end of the post. Good luck!

3 Gates of the Dead

Jonathan Ryan is a novelist, blogger and theologian. “3 Gates of the Dead” follows Aidan Schaeffer, a young assistant pastor whose fiancé is a victim in a series of ritualistic killings. Aidan investigates but threatens to corrupt his very soul with the otherworldly truth behind the slaughter of innocents.

A Reign Supreme

Richard Crystal is a novelist, producer and accomplished jazz musician. In “A Reign Supreme” a musician discovers he is half-brother to a Kenyan King who needs his help to save his people from genocide and the greed of corrupted officials, when a copper deposit is found on their ancestral lands.

A Thousand Perfect Things

Kay Kenyon is the author of eleven science fiction and fantasy novels. “A Thousand Perfect Things” is set in an alternate 19th century Earth, where a war rages between scientific Anglica and magical Bharata. Tori Harding, an aspiring botanist must journey into the world of magics to claim her fate.

Board Stiff: Xanth #38

Piers Anthony is a New York Times bestselling author twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read by millions. In “Board Stiff” a young woman makes a wish for adventure and excitement because she is board stiff. The mischievous fates in turn transform her into a plank of wood. 

Charisma

Barbara Hall is an award-winning novelist and television producer. In “Charisma” Sarah Lange is plagued by heavenly voices and a desire to go “home”, after a near death experience. Frightened by her desire to die, she enlists Dr. David Sutton, a scientist who struggles to save Sarah and to believe.

Merrick

Ken Bruen is hailed as one of the most prominent Irish crime writers of the last two decades. “Merrick” is a noir crime story set in New York City about a rogue ex-cop from the Irish Guarda, who is actually a serial killer wanted for murder in Ireland.

No Way Out

A new Karen Vail novel from bestselling author Alan Jacobson. When a firebomb destroys an art gallery in London, FBI Profiler Karen Vail is sent overseas to work with Scotland Yard. Vail discovers the motive behind the attack—an explosive 440-year-old manuscript that political radicals will destroy at all costs.

Rubber Soul

Greg Kihn is a rock star, radio host and author. “Rubber Soul”, inspired by interviews that Greg conducted with The Beatles, is a rock murder mystery that takes readers on a ride through Beatlemania—from the early days in Liverpool to six sold out shows per night in Hamburg.

Soul Numbers

Michelle Arbeau is a celebrity numerologist, TV host and author. “Soul Numbers” teaches readers how to decipher the message behind any number sequence and how to apply that information to successfully navigate their lives. In these times of great global shifting, Arbeau’s Soul Numbers reveal the deeper meaning behind numbers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My New Glasses! {A Firmoo Review}

Firmoo is a new global online optical store. They offer a wide assortment of prescription eyeglasses, as well as prescription sunglasses and specialty eyewear. They even offer a Virtual Try-On System. You can even try on with your own photos. 98% of our customers have found their perfect match glasses this way. I used their try-on system when I was shopping and it worked great!

Here I am wearing my new glasses...

The glasses I chose were model #CP6074. They are a unisex frame with a cool black and white design on the inside of the frame temples, or "arms." They are a lightweight plastic with a 1.50 single vision lens. Here is an image of my glasses from the Firmoo site. Nice, huh!? You can also see several views from different vantage points by clicking HERE.

Firmoo also has a first pair free program. You can read all about it here:  http://www.firmoo.com/free-glasses.html

My video review:



I really LOVE my new glasses! I will definitely order from them again in the future. I mean, with prices as low as $16, how can you go wrong?

Disclaimer:  I received a free pair of glasses in exchange for my honest review. I did not receive monetary compensation from Firmoo.com.

Happy Release Day! Wildish by Robert Parry

Sending out a warm congratulations to Robert Parry on the release of his new book, Wildish! Robert is hosting The 'Wildish' Masquerade in honor of release day so head on over and check out the festivities.

Watch for my reviews of Robert's The Arrow Chest and Wildish coming up within the next 30 days!

Releasing in paperback! The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

The Book of Lost Fragrances is being released in paperback with a gorgeous new cover! I reviewed this wonderful book last year and you can check out that review HERE.

Paperback Publication Date: March 13, 2013

Publisher: Atria Books
Paperback; 384p
ISBN-10: 1451621485

SYNOPSIS: A Secret Worth Dying For.

Jac L’Etoile is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind when her brother, coheir to their father’s storied French perfumery, makes an earthshattering discovery in the family archives, and then suddenly goes missing— leaving a dead body in his wake. In Paris to investigate his disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend of the House of L’Etoile. If there is an ancient perfume developed in Cleopatra’s time that holds the power to unlock memories of past lives, possessing it is not only worth living for . . . it’s worth killing for, too.

Fusing history, passion and suspense in an intoxicating web that moves from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris, this marvelous, spellbinding novel comes to life as richly as our most wildly imagined dreams.

Read an EXCERPT.

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Praise for THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the March 2012 Indie Next List

Selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery/Thrillers Spring 2012

"Compelling... suspenseful tale. Once you catch a whiff, you will be enchanted". —Associated Press

"Rose has entered another realm and written what is bound to be one of this year's best books." —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"From 18th-century Egypt and France to present-day Paris, New York, and China, Rose's deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense smoothly melds a perfume-scented quest to protect an ancient artifact with an ages-spanning romance. Rose imbues her characters with rich internal lives in a complex plot that races to a satisfying finish." —Publishers Weekly, Starred and Boxed Review

"Amazing... utterly engrossing. Elegantly written, with unforgettable characters. Will keep you up all night—and leave you with powerful feelings of revelation, wonder, and the infinitude of human possibility." —New York Times best selling author Douglas Preston

"A simmering brew that mingles the erotic sensuality of Patrick Suskind's Perfume with the dark and timeless obsessions of Rider Haggard's classic, She." —New York Times best selling author Katherine Neville

About the Author
M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her onFacebook and Twitter.

99 AUTHORS 99 BOOKS 99 CENTS $990 PRIZES!!!

These prices are available on Amazon only.

For a listing of books offered and to enter to win, click here!!

 

{Book Tour} Guest Post: Kathy Leonard Czepiel, author of A Violet Season

One of the pleasures of doing research for my historical novel A Violet Season was the unexpected gems I found along the way. By “gem” I don’t necessarily mean something beautiful, but rather something valuable to the story. In my case, one of those gems was the laundry.

I knew that doing laundry used to be a lot harder than carrying a basket down to the basement and piling clothes into the washing machine. But I honestly didn’t realize how hard until I did my research. What I learned was so surprising that it became the centerpiece for a full chapter in A Violet Season. In 1898, when the novel takes place, doing a family’s weekly laundry took two full days. The first day involved boiling and lifting huge pots of water, scrubbing and rinsing multiple loads, then running them through a hand-cranked wringer and hanging them on a clothesline to dry. The following day would be spent ironing all of the outer garments, which were wrinkled and misshapen by the wringer. Women who could afford it hired a laundress instead. When my protagonist, Ida, is looking for a way for her daughter to earn money, the last thing she wants her to become is a laundress.

Kathy's cat--not how laundry was done back then  ;O)

I was unexpectedly fascinated by these issues of women’s work—not just the laundry, but sewing, canning, wet nursing (nursing other women’s babies for a living), and, of course, picking and packing violets. A Violet Season is set on a violet farm in the Hudson Valley, where I grew up and where violets were once the cash crop. The industry has disappeared today, but I wanted to bring back to local memory what life on a violet farm might have been like.

The answer is that, like anything, it was hard work. The violets were a cool-weather crop, grown in greenhouses that could keep them just warm enough over the winter. In order to maximize space within the houses, beds were planted deeper than a person’s reach. That led to an unusual method of picking. Narrow wooden boards were hooked onto a heating pipe along the greenhouse wall and rested on the edge of the bed. The pickers would then lie on their sides on these boards and reach down into the beds to pick the violets, tying them in bunches of fifty or more with string which they kept around their necks. Picking violets was often women’s work. Women also worked in the packing room, where they arranged a skirt of galax leaves around each nosegay, fastened it with string, attached a “boot” to keep the arrangement fresh and packed it in a shipping box with waxed paper for protection. Standing at the packing table all day was probably preferable to lying on the picking boards, but not by much. And the women, of course, would go home from this work to their usual household chores. 

Historical fiction is best when it turns us back on ourselves, when something that happened in 1898 resonates with us today. Women still work hard, whether that work is paid or not, and it isn’t too much of a stretch for us to picture ourselves bent over a washtub full of cold water and bluing. It’s interesting to realize how far we’ve come and then to notice how much we still have in common with our sisters of a century past.

About the book:

A mother’s choices in a time of crisis threaten the one person she means to protect—her only daughter—and force her to make the boldest move of her life.

The violet industry is booming in 1898, and a Hudson Valley farm owned by the Fletcher family is turning a generous profit for its two oldest brothers. But Ida Fletcher, married to the black sheep youngest brother, has taken up wet nursing to help pay the bills, and her daughter, Alice, has left school to work. As they risk losing their share of the farm, the two women make increasingly great sacrifices for their family’s survival, sacrifices that will set them against one another in a lifelong struggle for honesty and forgiveness. Vivid and compelling, A Violet Season is the story of an unforgettable mother-daughter journey in a time when women were just waking to their own power and independence.

Price: $15.00 paperback, $9.99 ebook

Pages: 272
ISBN: 9781451655063
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release: July 10, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Simon & Schuster | Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook | iBookstore

About the author:

Kathy Leonard Czepiel is the recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and teaches writing at Quinnipiac University. Her short fiction has been published in numerous journals including Cimarron Review, Indiana Review, Calyx, Confrontation, and The Pinch. A native of New York State’s mid-Hudson Valley, she now lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

Visit the author:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK

TWITTER | GOODREADS

A Violet Season Goodreads page

Visit other stops on the Tribute Books tour:  TOUR SITE | FACEBOOK