So far...

...this year I have read at least 12 books. I've posted them in the widget below.

I know. Compared to some of you, that's not very many. But, add these books to my already overstuffed schedule (teaching, teaching karate, doing karate, raquetball, baseball, softball, children's clubs, conferences, graduation, etc,) I'm sure you'll allow me the indulgence of feeling like I've accomplished something! ~8^P

Being a writer, I feel it's of the utmost importance to be a reader. When I read, I'm learning how to better craft stories for my own readers. No, I don't take other author's words and use them, I learn how to better express character nuances, how to show rather than tell, and even how not to structure sentences and scenes.

Yes. There have been those that I didn't really care for. Books I've had to force myself to get through.

No. You won't find a review from me about the books I didn't care for. Why? Because I was taught that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. Plus, being a writer myself, I look at those books as priceless learning opportunities...on what not to do.

I wanted to share my list of books I've read so far this year.
Some of these I liked better than others. Some will make it onto my favorites of 2013 list.


Have you read any? Did you like them? Come on, let's share our thoughts. Leave a comment! 

@KimVogelSawyer “Sweet Sanctuary” Cupcake Club Giveaway and Facebook Party! {4/30}

To celebrate the release of  Sweet Sanctuary Kim Vogel Sawyer is giving away a Cupcake Club membership (monthly cupcake delivery!) from the amazing Magnolia Bakery in New York and hosting a Facebook Author Chat party {4/30}!

One "sweet" winner will receive:

• Cupcakes from NYC’s Magnolia Bakery delivered to your door every month. (Eat them all yourself or share!)
• Sweet Sanctuary by Kim Vogel Sawyer for you and four of your friends. (Start a book group — cupcakes and a "sweet" read!)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 29th. Winner will be announced at the "Sweet Sanctuary" Author Chat Party on 4/30. Connect with Kim, get a sneak peek of her next book, try your hand at a trivia contest, and chat with readers just like yourself. There will also be fun giveaways - gift certificates, books, and more!

So grab your copy of Sweet Sanctuary and join Kim on the evening of April 30th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book - don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun, RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 30th!

Psalm 2 Audio Bible Series

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Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd ~ Book Review

About the Book:
In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth's circle. But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen's downfall, Helena is forced to choose between her unyielding monarch and the husband she's not sure she can trust--a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.

Vividly conjuring the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, Roses Have Thorns is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.


My Thoughts:
Historical fiction at its finest. 
When I want to read historical fiction, I don't want to feel as though I've picked up an encyclopedia and started reading it. I want to feel as though I have been transported back in time and am a part of that particular era. This is not an easy thing to do for any author. Sandra Byrd is one of the very few that can accomplish this. Too often, historical novels become places with major information dumps and I get bored. Quickly. And then I never want to return to the book. This one? In my opinion, this one is even better than To Die For.

I have my favorite books and authors. Sandra Byrd is at the top of the list.

This story is full of intrigue, suspense, and stratagems almost entirely within your own family.
Everyone smiles.
Everyone bows or curtsies.
Yet almost everyone wants you dead.
The solution? Surround yourself with brilliant counselors and ladies in waiting that you can trust. And even then, you may make a terrible mistake.

Taking a piece of history that is in itself fascinating, Ms. Byrd went the extra distance. She found and expounded on a tiny fractional piece of history about a person many people didn't even know existed, and gave her her own voice. Her own story. And it was captivating. Thrilling. And I was sorry to see this one end.

If you're looking for cardboard characters, limp plots and scenery? Don't waste your time on this book. If you're looking for something to chew on and think about for weeks to come? Even do a little research on your own just to see how much of this could be true? You'll want this book.
Highly recommend.

*My thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review. I was in no wise obligated this review be positive. These thoughts are my own.*

Duchess from Susan May Warren! Kindle Fire HD Giveaway!

Susan May Warren is celebrating the release of Duchess with a Kindle Fire HD Giveaway.

One "glam" winner will receive:

• A brand new Kindle Fire HD
• Signed copies of Duchess, Baroness and Heiress

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 4th. Winner will be announced on 5/7/13 at Susan's blog.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

New Short from Deeanne Gist! Tempest in the White City ~ 99¢ for a limited time

Deeanne Gist’s E-Short gives readers a peek inside the world’s fair. Tempest in the White City is a digital short story available from online retailers for 99 cents.

Deeanne Gist fans won’t have to wait until the April 30 release of It Happened at the Fair to read her latest work! On March 19, readers will be able to purchase the e-short, Tempest in the White City, a 40-page short story prelude to It Happened at the Fair, for 99 cents from all online retailers. While the characters from the short story are not carried over into the full-length release, audiences will get a taste of the awe-inspiring backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and will be anxious to spend more time exploring the exhibition.

In true Gist form, Tempest in the White City combines her trademark humor with romance. Hunter Scott is one of the elite. A Chicago World’s Fair guard specifically chosen for his height, physique, character and ability to serve and protect. When Hunter is overcome with debilitating abdominal pain, he stumbles to an infirmary in the Fair’s Woman’s Building only to discover the doctor is female—which he is none too happy about. But even worse, she has the nerve to diagnose him—the toughest man west of anyplace east—with constipation.

The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair overflowed with the latest innovations welcomed by a throng of people from all around the globe. This setting replete with history, intrigue and wonder caught Gist’s attention and is sure to draw readers of both releases in as well. “I’m always drawn to events in our country’s past that are strangely absent from our history classes. Why the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition has been left out, I don’t know, especially since it was such a pivotal event for us,” explains Gist. “We were able to wow the world with our scientific innovations, and it gave women their first official board position recognized and approved by an Act of Congress (all before we had the right to vote). But it was technology which claimed the day as it nipped at the heels of horses, buggies and man-powered tools.”

More about It Happened at the Fair: Young inventor Cullen McNamara gambles everything, including the family farm, in order to make his family proud—and earn his father’s entry money to the Fair Expo back—by selling his design for an automatic sprinkler system inspired by his mother’s death in a mill fire. Struggling with hearing loss from his previous life on the farm, McNamara finds it difficult to communicate with potential buyers over the din in the Fair’s Machinery Building. In an act of desperation, he hires attractive Della Wentworth, a teacher of the deaf, to tutor him in the art of lip-reading. Much like the newly invented Ferris Wheel, Cullen is caught in a whirl between his girl back home, his dreams as an inventor and his unexpected attraction to his new tutor. Can he keep his feet on the ground or will he be carried away?

Kindle Pocket - Sewing Tutorial

eBooks are all the rage at the moment. 

Have you noticed?

There are iPads, Nooks, Samsungs, Kindles, and more that I don't even know about, so if I left your particular device out, I do apologize.

I've also noticed, that there is a shortage of cute pockets that fit your personality. Well, there are a few that include a hefty price tag. 

Sheesh. It's not like you just dumped money on the reader, now you must pay over $30 for protection for it? Ha. Not for me. So I thought I'd figure out a way to make my own. 

See a need? Fill a need!

I was so thrilled with the end product, that I wanted to share it with you.

Psalm 1 - Audio Bible Series

Welcome to my new Sunday Devotionals! 

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The Legacy of Deer Run by Elaine Marie Cooper

The Legacy of Deer Run 
By Elaine Marie Cooper

The Year is 1800.

A young man makes weapons for the defense of America, still a fledgling nation. He also protects his heart from the allure of a young woman who seems so far above his station in life that he cannot win her.

The lady fights her own war against loneliness and grief. Despite her finery and airs, she is drawn to the young armory worker, who is distant yet disarming.

Love is the not the only entanglement. The nation's enemies are afoot. They creep within the very walls where America’s defenses are being forged. Who are they? When will they strike? Who will survive their terrorism?

Intrigue of the heart and intrigue of the times are only part of this compelling story—Book 3 of the Deer Run Saga. This series finale is a gripping mix of romance and deception, faith and forgiveness, transgression and trial.

What others are saying about the Legacy of Deer Run ~
This is a stellar read of the early American period. Elaine Cooper is a gifted wordsmith who brings the era to life vividly and leaves you wanting more. — Laura Frantz, Author, Love’s Reckoning

“A plot to wound the baby nation of America, trusted friends who turn into enemies, death, faith, and life, all blend into a tragic yet beautiful tale of life and passion in 1800.” — Lisa J. Lickel, Author, The Map Quest

“It's no wonder Elaine Marie Cooper is an award-winning author. Her writing shines with an artistic flair to blend deep-heart issues with light romance, love and adventure. Danny and Susannah capture the heart with their innocent love, yet honor and faith. Their story resonates with courage, commitment, faith and victory.” —Janet Perez Eckles, Author, Simply Salsa
 
Legacy of Deer Run is a truly beautiful, heart-warming tale that will appeal to readers who enjoy historical romantic Christian fiction. — Lynn Dove, Author, the Wounded Trilogy

Meet the Author ~

Elaine Marie Cooper is the author of The Road to Deer Run (Finalist in Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Religious Fiction, Honorable Mention in Romance at 2011 Los Angeles Book Festival) and The Promise of Deer Run (Romance Winner for 2012 Los Angeles Book Festival, Finalist in Religious Fiction for ForeWord Review Book of the Year). 

Cooper is also a contributing writer for Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home by Edie Melson. Look for her upcoming short story, “The Tea Set,” that will appear in a soon-to-be-released Christmas anthology called, I Choose You (Dec. 2012) She is a wife, mom, Grammie to triplets, and a registered nurse.

Contact:
http://www.facebook.com/elainemariecooper
http://www.facebook.com/ElaineMarieCooperAuthorWebsite: http://DeerRunBooks.com

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com

        

Every Hill and Mountain ~ Book Review

About the Book:

Visiting another century…not the summer vacation she had planned.

“Time-surfing is better than actually being there,” Abby explained. “It’s like reading a good book, where you know everything the characters are thinking and feeling. And if you miss something, you can always rewind their lives.”

Since the program worked so well for the Old Dears’ family tree project, Abby’s college roommate Kate hopes it will help her find out more about her ancestor Ned Greenfield. And Kate’s fiancé Ryan thinks the program has lucrative commercial potential. 

Abby and John reluctantly agree to help Kate, but only on the condition that she and Ryan promise to keep the program a secret, because if it fell into the wrong hands…well, no one wants Big Brother invading their privacy.

My Thoughts:

Get ready for an interesting and informative Historical ride, 

back to the Pre-Civil War era. 

Ms. heal did a very good job in blending the present with the past. She even piqued my curiosity enough that I did a little research on my own after I was finished with the book. This is the first historical fiction novel to make me want to dig a little deeper to see if something that was written was fact or fiction. Kudos to you, Ms. Heal, for that!

While the book was clean and the characters were upstanding Christians, this does have a fine theme of more adult situations toward the end. Because of this, I'd recommend this for 16+ teens and older.

I would add this to my list of homeschool books to read for this particular era.

*My thanks to the author for sending me a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion. These thoughts are my own and I was not required they be good.*

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Scrappy Saturday ~ Giveaway and Freebies with MyMemories!

Who doesn't love freebies? Anyone? I didn't think so. 

The team at MyMemories Scrapbooking Software are very generous with their freebies. 

Always keeping you on your toes and visiting their website. It's a great way to do it, because you almost always walk away spending money on one or two (or three or four) packs you didn't see until the freebie.

If you haven't tried the MyMemories Suite 4 Software yet, you can purchase your own and 

Use Code STMMMS80722 to Get $10 Off MyMemories Software (Super cool, isn't it?) 
Better yet, why not enter my Rafflecopter giveaway, and WIN the software for yourself? Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

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*please check the price before downloading to ensure they are still free. Thanks!*

A Year of Book Marketing ~ Book Tour

by Heather Hart

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was an author. This author was a world-class, bestselling genius and all that blessed author had to do was write his stories. Publishing houses were offering him contract upon contract. Adoring fans were beating down his doors, demanding the next book of his series.

And then he woke up and realized times have changed.
No longer was it possible for him to stay at home and never, ever market his own books.

No. Things were much, much different. Now, all of a sudden, there were thousands upon thousands of new authors, clamoring for attention that had been given him. He asked himself, "How could something like this happen? I was once King of the World!" But he had to face facts.

The king of the world had been dethroned. Why?

Because of books like A Year of Book Marketing by Heather Hart had taken and shown the not-so-well-known authors how to market their books.
And they were thriving.

Are you an author? Do you find yourself struggling in the murky marketing water? Or do you get overwhelmed by all the things you could, and probably *should* be doing to market your book?

Well, grab hold of your eReaders, because there's a new book on the market to help you hone your marketing abilities. If they're non-existent, no worries. If you're a marketing pro, great ~ why not refresh yourself with this delightful book?

A Year of Book Marketing, available at Amazon.com as well as Smashwords to fit every eReader

Book Marketing Tips for you to Try 

by Heather Hart

Become established in your niche: If you really want to sell books, becoming a “go to” person in your niche is a great place to start.  Becoming known as someone who writes great novels, or knows a ton about fly fishing will help readers feel more comfortable purchasing your books. Ways to establish yourself could be through book reviews, blogging regularly, or getting endorsements from other high profile people.   

Use keywords: Make your marketing count by using keywords that will help it rank higher in searches. It’s simple enough if you know what you are doing. You can spend a little bit of time researching your niche to find popular keywords and phrases and it will really pay off in the long run.

Build trust: Don’t post and run, but instead, make yourself available to your readers. Respond to comments and e-mails. Be open and honest – be real. 

Put in the time: It takes time to market your book. You won’t start seeing crazy sales over night, and you won’t ever successfully market your book if you don’t put time into building your following, learning your niche (to become an expert), building trust, and learning how to use things like keywords to your advantage. Put in the time to learn and apply some marketing tactics and then keep at it until you see success.

Generate traffic: Even if you do all of the above, you can’t successfully market your book if your website has no traffic. Taking the time to build a following, but also to continue to grow your sphere of influence will help you gain more exposure and do better overall.

Following the above tips won’t necessarily guarantee your book becomes a bestseller, but it will help you market your book more successfully. I hope you find them useful on your marketing journey. If you’d like even more tips, consider checking out my newest book, “A Year of Book Marketing.” Besides including general book marketing information, it provides a daily reading to help you market your book each and every day. You can learn more about it at: http://authorheatherhart.blogspot.com/p/book-marketing.html

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Helping other authors since 2009, Heather Hart is the author of “Book Marketing 101” among other titles. She lives in Texas with her husband, Paul, where she fills her days caring for their four young children, typing away on her computer, and brainstorming new marketing ideas. Heather works as a self-publishing-coach.com liaison, author, and authors assistant whose desire is to glorify Christ through her work and to help other authors do the same.

If you're looking for even more help marketing your books, check out "Book Marketing Success" where Shelley Hitz and Heather Hart work together to give authors inside access to marketing their books on a shoestring budget.

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com

        

Make Your Own ~ Body Powder

Make Your Own Body Powder

Easy Business Card Holder

I was setting up my table at a book signing over an hour away from home. I thought I had everything.

Turns out, I was wrong.

I had forgotten one of the most important of display needs. A basic business card holder. See, you can just leave your cards on the table...

If you don't want anyone to pick one up.

But that's not what I wanted. I needed people to look me up on the internet, and if I didn't want to hold business cards all day, I needed to come up with something...FAST!

And the following idea was born...

Scrappy Saturday ~ Family Album

Good morning, friends!
I hope your Saturday is going
FaBuLoUs!

This morning, I wanted to share an album I created for my family using the 

MyMemories Suite 4 Digital Scrapbooking Software.
This is the
Side By Side Album Template

Use code STMMMS80722 to get $10 off

Don't forget to enter the software giveaway going on now! 

It's easy to enter, and it's worth $39.97 ~ what have you got to lose?

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Don't want to wait to see if you won? No problem! You can save $10 if you use my code

STMMMS80722 

to purchase the

MyMemories Suite 4 Software.

Just click the link and paste in the above code to save $10!

JRR Tolkien ~ Book Review

Have you ever wondered what made someone tick? Or, why someone was a certain way? No? Drat. I do it all the time.

Like when our son decides it's the perfect time to go feed the dog while he's supposed to be doing his math lesson. Yeah, it's times like those that I wonder what he's thinking. 

But, living with the little guy, I'm at an advantage. I can pretty much tell you why he's feeding the dog instead of doing Algebra ~ because he doesn't want to do it. Shocking revelation, wasn't it?
I didn't think so.

Be that as it may, there are just sometimes I want to know a little bit more about some of my favorite people ~ authors especially. Was so and so an instant success or did they have to struggle? Did they ever feel as though they had achieved something in their lifetime? What was their purpose in writing these things?

When I was offered a chance to review the book, J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Legend, I jumped at it. He's one of my favorite authors, so why wouldn't I, right?

They say, write what you know.

But what if you happen to write about things like Orcs, Hobbits, and Elves? Do you really know this enough to write about it?  In a way, yes, JRR Tolkien did write what he knew. Or, more like it, the way he saw the world. Overcoming tremendous odds, he gave us some of the best loved stories that still thrive today.

When you read this book, you're getting an intimate peek inside a complex individual that was molded by his fair share of life, death, loss, and love. Be prepared for emotional turmoil that followed him thru his life. Cheer for him when he finds his one true love, and pity him when he ultimately sets aside that love because of the wishes of another.

Not only will you meet the man behind the Hobbit, but the story of JRR Tolkien's perseverance through hardships will inspire you when you thought your hope was gone.

JRR Tolkien had a gift. He was a romantic. I know. Many a man would shudder to be labeled a romantic, but he saw life differently than most. When the regular person would see only an ordinary tower, JRR saw not a normal tower, but a different time and place with evil and good, fighting against one another and that tower, a pinnacle that holds it all in the balance.

Conjuring stories and poems on a whim, he was an immensely gifted man. A creator not only of worlds and words, but of entire languages. 

But why would he desire to write such stories as The Hobbit? To reignite a love for fairy tales to a new readership. 

He has succeeded in this and his stories live on and will continue to do so for generations of romantics to come.

Amanda Stephan~Christian Author

BooksByAmanda.com