So My Friend Wrote this Book... Buck's Landing

           Happy April! I hope you had a lovely Easter or Passover. Or if you celebrate neither, I hope you were able to enjoy this gorgeous spring weekend. Nearly all of the snow is melted here and the crocuses are blooming. The geese and ducks have returned to the pond on my street. Spring is FINALLY in the air.

           It's time to announce the winner of the firs “So My Friend Wrote this Book...” give-away. After gathering all of the entries and placing them scientifically into my favorite Red Sox cap, I've drawn the lucky name and she is...

Elizabeth Haney

           Congratulations Elizabeth. I look forward to sending out your swag! Don't worry. This is NOT an April Fool's prank.

           Today is the second edition of “So my Friend Wrote this Book...”. This week I'd like to introduce you to Cameron D. Garriety. Do yourself a favor and check out her blog http://camerondgarriepy.com/. Cam is one of the best fiction writers I've come across in the blogosphere. Her novel, Buck's Landing: A New England Seacoast Romance is a perfect beach read—or the perfect book for when you wish you could be reading on the beach.

           Sofia Buck returns to her childhood home in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire after the death of her father. She has spent her life running away from her painful past and simply wants to tie up the loose ends of her father's business and move on. Next door, small business owner, Silas Wilde is new in town. He left the big city and the corporate world behind to start over again in this small seaside town.

           As much as Sofia has always wanted to escape Hampton Beach, the town is Silas' refuge. Hampton Beach is not merely the location of this novel, it is almost one of the characters. Lush and evocative, Cam's descriptions paint the summertime tourist town for the reader perfectly. We can feel the sand between our toes and smell the ocean air. We can taste the fried dough and hear the cacophony of the vacationers along Ocean Boulevard.

           If you're one of those people who say, “I really don't read romance,” set that notion aside and give this novel a chance. Buck's Landing is a well-told story about interesting and believable characters. You'll be charmed by Sofia and Silas' early flirtations and gripped when tensions about the past and future arise.

           You can get Buck's Landing just about any electronic version as well as paperback. Of course, it would be great if you could get a copy for free, wouldn't it? Well, Cam has graciously offered to give a copy of Buck's Landing to one lucky winner. If you leave a comment below, I'll enter you once. If you can't comment because Blogger is acting up, send me an e-mail and I'll include you. If you tweet this post, I'll enter your name twice. Be sure to include @vic39first in your tweet. I'll pick a winner on April fourteenth.

           If you're an author and would like me to feature your book, drop me a line at victoriakp39(at)gmail(dot)com.

So My Friend Wrote this Book... Untouched

 

                   One of the great things about having LOTS of snow this winter (perhaps the only great thing), is the time I've had to read some wonderful books. And one of the great things about being a blogger is meeting other writers. So I decided to combine those two great things by creating new feature on this blog to help promote some of the fantastic authors I've come across in the blog-o-sphere. Welcome to the first edition of, “So My Friend Wrote this Book...”

                   This week I'm starting with the book that has been on my nightstand the longest. Sara Humphreys sent me a copy of her paranormal romance novel Untouched months ago. It is the third in her series about an ancient society of telepathic, dream-walking shape-shifters called the Amoveo. [You can read my review of the first book Unleashed here.] With so much going on in my life, Untouched sat on my nightstand far too long. So long in fact, the next book in the series is slated for publication in May! On the plus side, if you like it, you won't have to wait long for the next book.

                   All Amoveos have a predestined mate they must meet and connect with before they're thirty. Otherwise, they lose their abilities and die a slow and painful death. In the first two books we learn that for the first time, some Amoveo have found their mates among humans. These matings have created Amoveo-human hybrids. Often times, these hybrids grow up not knowing about their shapeshifting heritage. They do however, grow up knowing they are different than the other kids on the block. Such is the case with heroine Kerry Smithson. She wears gloves constantly and avoids shaking hands with people. The world believes Kerry, a well-known model, is an eccentric germophobe. She allows this misperception to flourish in order to hide the truth. She is a powerful telepath for whom human contact is excruciatingly painful.

Available at Amazon.com.

                   Then she meets Dante Coltari. Hired to protect her, Dante's touch is far from painful for Kerry. For the first time in her life, the human touch is not just painless, but deeply pleasurable. Dante has recognized Kerry is his predestined mate and initiates her into the world of the Amoveo. His job is to keep her safe from the purists who believe Amoveo-human hybrids are an abomination that weaken their race.

                   If you like your romance, with a side of paranormal, I encourage you to check out the whole series. There are great characters, drama, action, danger, and enough spice to heat up these chilly New England days. Maybe Mother Nature ought to read this series!

                   To celebrate the first in what I hope will be a long series, I am having a give-away! You could win this cool 39 For the First Time bag and copies of Unleashed and Untouched by Sara Humphreys. If you leave a comment below, I'll enter you once. If you can't comment because Blogger is acting up, send me an e-mail and I'll include you. If you tweet this post, I'll enter your name twice. Be sure and include @vic39first in your tweet. I'll pick a winner on April first.

                   If you're an author and would like me to feature your book on “So My Friend Wrote this Book...”, drop me a line at victoriakp39(at)gmail(dot)com.

Bah Humbug!

 

            I have a confession to make. I really don’t like St. Patrick’s Day. I am of Irish ancestry (among other things) and I love LOVE all things Irish. The only graduate level course I ever took was called The Celtic Heroic Age. My favorite vacation was exploring some of the ancient fortresses, cairns and castles of Ireland with my husband Dan. Our wedding rings have Celtic knotwork etched into them. Ireland is a country that took the language of it’s oppressors and made it sing with writers like James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Brian Friel, Sean O’Casey, John Synge and on and on. I am very proud of that heritage.

With a family tree that includes names like Gillen, Crowley, and O’Callaghan, you might think I’d celebrate like crazy on St. Patrick’s Day. But I really hate to see a culture so rich in history and tradition reduced to green beer and gross food once a year. For the record—the Irish don’t really eat corned beef and cabbage—Irish-American immigrants ate it because it was all they could afford.

            I know, I know, I KNOW… I’m a big-giant killjoy. The thing that really pushed me over the edge was the stuff my kids hear in school. Apparently leprechauns now leave those little chocolate gold coins in some children’s shoes the night before St. Patrick’s Day. Oh, Come on! I’m already Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. Now you’re telling me I’m supposed to be a leprechaun too? Leprechauns are not those cute benevolent little guys you seen on the cereal box. They are sneaky, scheming little tricksters who do NOT SHARE THEIR GOLD. In traditional stories about leprechauns, the humans usual come to a very bad end. Trust me, they may be little, but you do not want to mess with a leprechaun.

            I have a few suggestions for great books for kids that take a more authentic view of Ireland and it’s wonderful storytelling tradition.

 Tales from Old Ireland by Malachy Doyle and Niamh Sharkey

 Fin M’Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie dePaola

Daniel O’Rourke: An Irish Tale by Gerald McDermott

            And if you want to introduce your child to St. Patrick, you might start with Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola which chronicles St. Patrick’s beginnings as a slave through his life spreading Christianity in Ireland.

            I may be a bit of a St. Patrick’s Day scrooge, but if I find myself in a bar tonight, I’ll be sure and lift my glass to Ireland and my to my readers. Slainté!

Full disclosure: this is a bar in England, not Ireland but I do love to drink Guinness.

            Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go research a piece to write about St. Joseph’s Day, which is tomorrow. St. Joseph is the patron saint of Italy and if I don’t give equal time, another branch of the family may never forgive me!