A Life Through Books

Friday, September 20, 2013

Erotic Paranormal

Release Week: Begging For Forgiveness

Release Week: Begging For Forgiveness
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Begging For Forgiveness - Release Week Blitz
By Astrid Cielo
Erotic Paranormal Romance
Date Published: 9/17/2013

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When Aspen Clarke saw Skylar Ashmore for the first time, her cougar screamed that this wolf would be hers.  But Aspen can't trust the mating call because she knows all too well that sometimes fate can get it wrong.  After a steamy night with Skylar, Aspen is broken-hearted to find that her worries are founded when she awakens alone and confused.  So, she runs back to Pinewood Creek and her old pride that’d always made her feel welcome, unlike her own parents.  Little does she know that she carries more with her than emotional baggage.  Now faced with motherhood alone she's decided that she doesn't need a mate.

Skylar just wanted to forget his last assignment, so like he had for the past six months after he was forced to execute yet another shifter he stopped at the little restaurant a town over from his apartment to lose himself in good food.  He never expected to lose himself in a female.  He took the beautiful Aspen to bed the moment he caught her scent, his wolf beside itself wanting to claim its mate.  But after it was over he knows he's made a mistake...because he's already mated.  So, he runs and hopes he can beg his mate for forgiveness.

Xavier had never felt a betrayal as deep as when Skylar slid into bed beside him smelling of a female, not even when his old pack had nearly beat him to death.  But soon that feeling of betrayal faded to confusion, then surprise when he realized that whatever female his mate had taken was also his mate.

Now Skylar and Xavier will hunt for their missing mate.  But little do they know, Skylar's last assignment has a loose end that's just waiting for the right moment to strike--and it's set its sights on Aspen.  

Can Aspen accept the man who left her pregnant and doubting mating all over again?  Can Skylar and Xavier convince her to mate with not one, but both of them?  Will Aspen survive to forgive?
Astrid Cielo

Astrid Cielo is a Mississippi girl who enjoys a variety of things. By night, she is a nurse in her local ER, and by day, she is spilling her imagination out on paper.
Astrid began writing when she was a child her stories featuring a variety of characters (including her imaginary friends). When she was in high school she wrote her first completed story and was published twice in poetry anthologies. Gathering her courage, Astrid self-published her first book, Surrender Serenity, Salin's Salvation, Book 1 and enjoyed every minute of it.
Now she balances her time between being a nurse (which she loves) and writing down the scenes that play out in her mind. She also plays World of Warcraft (which all of her friends think is weird)!

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review

Blog Tour: Genesis Deflowered by Matthew Stillman

Blog Tour: Genesis Deflowered by Matthew Stillman
6:43 AM0 Comments


Biblical Erotica
Date Published: 8/1/2013

Where many see the Bible as the pathway to Heaven, others say it should be covered in a brown paper bag because it is so, so filthy.
There are hundreds of sex acts implied in the first book of the bible and none initiated by a woman. How can that be? How has nobody ever described how each of them would have played out in biblical language? If the writers and translators of the Bible had been a little less prudish we might have an entirely different relationship between sex and religion than we have now. In Genesis there is sex before marriage, threesomes, incest, group sex, kinky fetish cuckolding, gay sex and more.
Isn't it time that you read the Bible for the dirty parts? Using the seminal King James Bible in its Elizabethan English as spring board,"Genesis Deflowered" makes the beginning of the Bible come out as a sexy, readable and fun erotic novel.
"Genesis Deflowered ": equal parts holy scripture and blaspheming scandal



My Review:


This story is a bit taboo and is probably not for everyone. That being said, I really did enjoy Matthew Stillman's writing style as well as the pacing of the characters. It was an interesting read and I'm glad I gave it a chance.


Matthew Stillman, born & bred New Yorker, ran program development at Food Network for many years. 

He conceived of & produced the film "The End of Poverty?" that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival & went to 40 film festivals. He spoke at the UN four times about the film. 

A lifetime with literature, inner spiritual work from different traditions, creativity & play, he has written "Genesis Deflowered" in a genre that he may have just made up - Biblical Erotica written in Elizabethan English 
Website: stillmansays.com
Twitter: @stillmansays
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Action Adventure

Blog Tour: Hostages by Terrence Crimmins

Blog Tour: Hostages by Terrence Crimmins
2:00 AM1 Comments



Action/Adventure/Drama
Date Published: Sept 2013

A young man who has just graduated from Georgetown is finishing up his part time job delivering pizza and ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and is taken hostage by a Middle Eastern terrorist.  After he survives this adventure he goes on a media tour around the country with another former hostage, amidst lingering international intrigue.


My Review:

A Vivid and Thrilling Adventure all the way through. Terrence Crimmins has mananaged to pen a novel that kept me on the edge of my seat and never failed to hold my attention. This was one of those hard to put down novels for me.

 Great, smooth flowing plot. Characters were compelling and likable. Overall a great read! 



I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the youngest of nine children, eight boys and one girl.  The thing we lived by was Irish Catholic sarcasm, in a family that always found a joke to circumvent any upcoming tension.  A student at Catholic schools just after they stopped corporal punishment, I learned in the old fashioned methods that did not involve group work or student centered classrooms.  My greatest achievement in grade school might have been writing the class play in sixth grade, based on Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne.  I enjoyed high school, though I was kicked out of the honors classes when I spent all my time campaigning for George McGovern to beat Richard Nixon.  The other change that I made was quitting sports, football, diving and baseball, to be in plays, which was a fortunate decision, including meeting a lot more girls.  I skipped my senior year to go to Boston College, a fine Jesuit school.
There I learned how to drink beer, play rugby and read 600 page history books in small print.  I really enjoyed the academics of college, and professors inspired me.  They seemed to be on another level of consciousness, and I really enjoyed history and philosophy classes, which were my double major.  I wrote a senior thesis about the legacy of Walt Whitman, based on two semesters of independent study with my mentor, Alan Lawson.  Near graduation he cautioned me on the tale of the sorcerer's apprentice, and the image of the Disney cartoon with Mickey Mouse flying around the sorcerer's chamber screwing things up came to haunt me.  In time, it seemed, that I was more the artist than the straight and organized academic with the blue blazer, grey slacks, oxford shirt and red and grey striped tie.  On another front I took a class in Soviet Philosophy and wrote a paper making fun of my being in the class, having myself as a man who'd been kicked out of the Federal Writer's Project for not cracking down on the Communists and sent to England for a seminar on Soviet Philosophy led by Nikolai Nastuschen, who was a model of the professor, the late Peter Blakely.  At that time he was one of the editors of Studies in Soviet Thought, where he published my paper.
On graduation, when I wanted to do graduate work, the professors counseled me that I'd done a lot quickly, and that I should take a break for a while.  So I became a bohemian.  Back in the sixties, people used to talk about not selling out and leading the life as an artist, but if you actually did it they thought you were a lunatic.  Well, I was that lunatic.  I worked in restaurants for ten years, waiting on tables and tending bar.  There I met a lot of people from other countries, some of whom were the inspiration for characters in my novels.  I worked for a time in a restaurant that was managed by a man who was a veteran of the Special Forces of the Israeli Army, and a restaurant down the block was Middle Eastern, and owned by people from Lebanon.  Later I worked in a restaurant that had waiters who were natives of Chile, and I learned a lot about that country. These were very interesting people, and I'm grateful that I met them.  
In time I took up another profession that allowed time for reading, and that was driving a cab.  It was great, if you liked to read, and I did, where I got to explore all kinds of fiction and biographies.  I also met a lot of interesting people.  The majority of people who take cabs are the very poor and the moderately wealthy.  The very rich have limos, and the rest of us drive cars.  I drove a lot of poor people who rode at government expense, and it was interesting getting a take on that.  Most of these were medical fares, or from an emergency medical center where people were taken when they were found in the dark of night with delirium tremens, etc.  I also drove a lot of veterans, mostly from  World War II, on medical fares, and they were very interesting to talk to.   Eventually I was doing a lot of Kosher Food deliveries, and got so much that I didn't have to lease a cab anymore and did well using my own car.  But I had to get a real job eventually, so I went back to Boston College to get a Masters degree to become a teacher.
I really found it interesting to go back to my alma mater and see the changes that had taken place in the history department.  Most of the major domos I had studied under previously were being put out to pasture, and there were new professors running the show.  I revisited my thesis about Whitman, and did two more semesters of independent study with new professors, and studied pedagogical movements that started to answer the challenge that Whitman put to America in his essay Democratic Vistas, where he posited that American might be a materialistic bonanza but a cultural disaster if there were not a democratic cultural revolution to accompany the political one. Once again I enjoyed my time in academia, though, a little older, I wasn't distracted by keg parties and rugby games.  (I had moved on to camping trips and fly fishing in New Hampshire and Vermont.)
Since that degree I've been teaching in Baltimore for seven years, which is a bit of a trip, to say the least.  It has been quite interesting to see this unique American sub-culture, where they are many interesting characters.
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review

Blog Tour: Open the Mind: Exercise the Soul by John Cappello

Blog Tour: Open the Mind: Exercise the Soul by John Cappello
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New Age
Date Published: 10/2012

Open the Mind Exercise the Soul is the first book from internationally known psychic medium John Cappello. It links psychic ability with personal experiences and intellectual thought as it answers many questions about the relationship between religion, philosophy, and science with this controversial subject. This is an intelligent discussion offering a fresh, new look at psychic abilities.

 Have you ever wondered ...
• Why do psychic abilities exist?
• What is the proof?
• What is our soul's role in using them?
• How do I access my gifts?
• Can we connect with crossed-over loved ones?
• What is really going on?
Open the Mind Exercise the Soul will answer these questions and more. Explored with real-world examples and new techniques, it boldly challenges you to examine your own abilities and receive clarity. While guiding you through the development of your own psychic gifts, you will learn to embrace experiences you may have questioned and relate to the author as he discusses his own path in metaphysics. For practicing psychics or beginners, the book combines historical information with spiritual exercises to assist you in gaining insight.


My Review:
This was interesting read. For those who are interested in the psychic realm, I think they would find this very helpful. The way that it was written was honest and straight forward. The layout of the Novel was easy to follow.

This definitely shined a whole new light on the practices of Psychics. Food for thought.


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John Cappello, author of the 3 time award winning book Open the Mind Exercise the Soul, is a Psychic, Medium, and Visionary. While he has been working professionally in metaphysics since 1997, John has been interested in psychic ability and the study of existence "beyond the physical" since he was a child. John's has an extensive knowledge of Western Astrology and tarot, but his best work is done without the use of any tools.
Through the use of his Psychic abilities, John can provide a detailed description of past, present, and potential future situations and events. As a Medium, he is also able to bring forth loved ones who have crossed over. John sees a Visionary as a person who works to serve mankind through a vision of the future. His visionary work is about producing programs to help others and teaching others how to develop and use their own intuitive gifts.
Psychic
Known for his detail and accurate descriptions of situations, John's psychic work is very exciting. He uses all of his psychic abilities to tune into a person's energy field which gives him accurate and nuanced information about his client. This energy can be from the past, the present, or even a future event. By meditating on the person prior to a reading, the energy received lies around main issues and the reasons for the reading. Learn more about John's psychic work.
Medium
Mediumship is the aspect of John's work which is the most controversial. However, it is the area offering the most comfort to clients. The phenomenon of receiving information from crossed-over loved ones is the most compelling area of psychic work. The proof of life after death and the validation of information creates an environment for healing among those still living. This is the area in which John's work excels. Learn more about John's mediumship work.
Visionary
John offers workshops to teach others how to use their own psychic abilities. He has been very successful with his teaching techniques helping to develop many other successful psychics. The workshops include developing clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, intuition, psychometry, and mediumship. Each workshop is unique and gives a person perspective on each of these areas. Learning techniques to tap into one's natural abilities and the necessary encouragement to practice is an important element in the workshops.
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Monday, September 16, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review

Blog Tour: Love Waltzes In by Alana Albertson

Blog Tour: Love Waltzes In by Alana Albertson
2:00 AM0 Comments

Contemporary Romance
Date Published: July 15, 2013

GET READY WHEN LOVE WALTZES IN!

To her millions of fans, ballroom champion Selena Marcil seems to have the perfect life: a great dance partner, a hit reality show, and celebrity perks. But underneath the glamorous ball gowns, Selena longs to find someone to share her life with when the stage lights dim.

Selena’s childhood sweetheart, Bret Lord, hung up his dance shoes after winning two national titles with her as a teenager, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He never saw his former fiancée again, except on television and on the cover of men’s magazines. Ten years and three deployments later, Bret gets an offer to audition for Selena’s dance show. When the Marine Corps gives him temporary leave to appear on the series, Bret can’t refuse the quick cash that will enable him to provide financially for the widow of his buddy, even if it does mean coming face to face with his past.

When Bret shows up at her national championship, Selena is shocked. For years she searched for him to no avail. After spending time with Bret, Selena realizes despite their past romance, they have no future. He has no desire to live under a spotlight and she has no desire to leave it. Can Selena and Bret recognize when Love Waltzes In?

My Review:

Omg I just loved the premise for this novel. I am a sucker for dancing and I think that Alana Albertson did an amazing job of making me feel like I was watching the movement.

 The characters showed growth, especially with the back story. I always like reading a story and being able to connect with a character and watch them grow. 

 I think the pacing was very well done in this novel, it moved just quickly enough to keep me interested without feeling like it was skipping too much or rushing.

 Overall a well written and sweet Contemporary Romance.
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Alana Albertson is the former President of both Romance Writers of Americas’s Young Adult and  Chick Lit chapters and the founder of Academe Advantage, a college admissions & test preparation company. Alana Albertson holds a Masters of Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University. A recovering professional ballroom dancer, Alana currently writes contemporary romance and young adult fiction. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two young sons, and four dogs. When she’s not spending her time needlepointing,  dancing, or saving dogs from high kill shelters through  Pugs N Roses, the rescue she founded, she can be found watching episodes of House Hunters, Homeland, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review

Blog Tour: The Dream Metropolis by Miles Cressman

Blog Tour: The Dream Metropolis by Miles Cressman
8:50 PM0 Comments

Sci-Fi - Fantasy
Date Published: 8/15/2011

The Dream Metropolis is a science fiction novel that posits the idea of dreams becoming reality, and reality fading away into obscurity. It explores the relationship people have between their real lives and the escape that only dreams can provide. 
The Dream Metropolis delves deep into the mechanics of dreaming, all inside of an abstract, ever-changing city of dreams. The people inside this artificial dream world see everything before them as real, even though they do not know that they are dreaming of each other, of other real people. 
They are part of a project that works to exploit their limitless, dreaming imagination in an attempt to separate the mind from the body forever, to create a real world inside of the mind. 
However, for a drug addict named Ash spending his last moments inside the Metropolis, dreaming forever doesn't sound so appealing.
My Review:
I was really drawn into the world that Cressman created. Everything from the vivid imagery to the plot that kept me as the reader on the edge of my seat was well done. I think this was a great debut and wonderful Sci-Fi. 
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Miles Cressman was born in Arizona, but raised in Portland, Oregon, where he grew up enjoying complex fantasy and humanist satire such as Kurt Vonnegut. While attending the University of Oregon he started work on his first full-length novel, The Dream Metropolis, which would later go on to be part one of a four-part series entitled A Paean to Dreams, with its final, conclusive novel released in June of 2013. Miles graduated the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and now works on novels in his spare time. He has been featured in the Eugene, Oregon based literary journal, The Watercourse Journal, and has a short story featured in Kindle All Stars: Resistance Front, which also features the talents of Bernard Schaffer and Harlan Ellison.


Twitter: @Azure_Horizon
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Friday, September 13, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review

Blog Tour: Home World by Bonnie Milani

Blog Tour: Home World by Bonnie Milani
7:28 AM1 Comments

Sci-Fi - Romance
Date Published: 9/15/2013

 Amid the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Waikiki, Jezekiah Van Buren thinks he’s found a way to restore Earth – Home World to the other worlds of the human Commonwealth – to her lost glory. 
Ingenious even by the standards of the genetically enhanced Great Family Van Buren, Jezekiah has achieved the impossible:  he has arranged a treaty that will convert Earth's ancient enemies, the Lupans, to her most powerful allies.  Not only will the treaty terms make  Earth rich again, it will let him escape the Ring that condemns him to be Earth's next ruler.  Best of all, the treaty leaves him free to marry Keiko Yakamoto, the Samuari-trained woman he loves.  Everything’s set.  All Jezekiah has to do is convince his xenophobic sister to accept the Lupan's alpha warlord in marriage. Before, that is, the assassin she's put on his tail succeeds in killing him.  Or the interstellar crime ring called Ho Tong succeed in raising  another rebellion.  Or before his ruling relatives on competing worlds manage to execute him for treason. 
But Jezekiah was bred for politics and trained to rule.  He’s got it all under control. Until his Lupan warlord-partner reaches Earth.  And suddenly these two most powerful men find themselves in love with the same woman.   A woman who just may be the most deadly assassin of them all.
My Review:
Home world is Sci-Fi, but has Dystopian characteristics as well. 

 Bonnie Milani has found a way to ensnare readers into her world and connect them with her characters in a way that you feel trapped with them, in a good way. I felt what they felt and I understood their desires and motivations. 

 The Romance is superbly done. This is definitely a Sci Fi-ROMANCE. Often times when you get Sci-Fi you don't get too much Romance, as it takes a back seat, bot I  really felt the Romance was front and center, the way I love my Novels. 


Bonnie has taken what might be called the sandwich approach to writing.  She started writing early, winning state-wide writing contests in grammar school, publishing an environmental fairy tale under the aegis of the NJ Board of Education in college.  After earning her M.A. in Communication at Stanford, Bonnie freelanced feature articles for East Coast newspapers and regional magazines, from Mankind and Peninsula to Science Digest as well as how to articles for the late & much lamented fanzine Speculations.  She stopped writing completely after marriage while building a pair of businesses with her husband.  It was only with the successive deaths of each member of her family that she reclaimed her love of story-telling.  Home World is the result.
Today, Bonnie lives with her husband of thirty-six years in Los Angeles.  She is still a full-time benefits broker, specializing in employee benefits for entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. 



bonnie.milani@yahoo.com 
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