Are you a book blogger and like to review books? Pump Up Your Book, an innovative online book tour company, is offering the following books for review. If interested, please email Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@yahoo.com. Include the name of your blog and the link in your inquiry. Thanks!
Thom Hunter is touring in May with his Christian nonfiction book, Surviving Sexual Brokenness: What Grace Can Do. A man with his wife at the table on the other side of the restaurant is polite but distracted. A woman at work stares out her office window with a blank expression, her mind far away. A father wraps his arm around his daughter in the church pew; his eyes are on the pulpit, but his mind wanders. What about the college student on the soccer field or in the library? The doctor prepping for surgery? The realtor showing the house next door? The mailman on your front porch. Your Sunday school teacher . . . perhaps even your preacher. These people may be dominated by some form of sexual brokenness, from pornography to adultery to unwanted homosexual temptation. They share a secret they hope and pray will never be revealed. The urge to “act out” in their brokenness is destroying them because it conflicts with a life they have already chosen. They don’t know how to live with it; they don’t know how to be rid of it. They may not know what caused it; they only want to “cure” it. “Am I just a misplaced homosexual?” “Did God make me this way?” “Why won’t He change me?” Surrounding them are the ones who sense something is amiss but have no clue what to do or where to find help. They may be confused by the teachings of the church: love the sinner; hate the sin. This seemingly Biblical response can actually send the message to the struggler that he is, in fact, unlovable because his identity seems inseparable from his sin. Surviving Sexual Brokenness examines the roots and the roadblocks and provides understanding, encouragement, hope and help through Biblical truth and Christian compassion for the freedom-seeker and those who travel alongside.
192 pages
Visit his website at www.thomhunter.com.
Buzz Bernard is touring May 16 – June 17 with his suspense novel, Eyewall. Eyewall takes you on a dramatic ride into the eye of a major hurricane and the lives of the people who challenge it. Major Arlen Walker is on his final mission with the Air Force Hurricane Hunters. As commander of a WC-130, he’s been tasked to recon Hurricane Janet just off the Georgia coast On paper, the flight looks like a milk run. In reality, it turns out to be anything but. Walker, having been briefed that the hurricane is weak, penetrates the storm hat low altitude. Too late, he realizes Janet has turned savage and that he’s chosen a death wish flight level. The hurricane pummels the plane. The aircraft, spewing fuel, limps into the calm eye but is so severely damaged, Walker cannot fly it out. He and his crew are trapped in the center of a catastrophic storm as it swirls toward the mainland.
You can visit Buzz’s website at www.buzzbernard.com.
B.A. Chepaitis is touring in May with her sci-fi mystery with romantic elements, The Fear Principle.
On Prison Planetoid Three, Jaguar Addams and Alex Dzarny rehab the worst criminals by telepathically making them face their fears. Their current case is hitwoman Clare Rilasco, emotionless, beautiful, and part of a death machine plot that threatens to take over the world. Jaguar can’t tell who the bad guys are anymore, as she’s dragged into her own terrifying past by Clare’s telepathic tricks. While the search for the man behind the mirror continues, Jaguar and Clare are enmeshed in a relationship of seduction and trickery that makes Jaguar face her own deepest fears.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This book has adult situations and language. There is one scene of abuse at the end of the book.
190 Pages
If you would like to review The Fear Principle, please email us by clicking here and filling out the form or emailing Jaime at jmfictionscribe(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)au.
Dave Zeltserman is touring in May 2011 with his thriller, Dying Memories.
A woman shoots a man to death on a crowded street in Boston, claiming that he raped and murdered her eleven-year old daughter. Except he didn’t, because this woman never had a daughter. Another man stabs an MIT professor to death in front of a crowd in Harvard Square, saying he witnessed the professor running down his wife in the street. Except the MIT professor was three thousand miles away when the man’s wife was killed.
Reporter Bill Conway discovers that these victims are connected to ViGen Corporation, a shadowy pharmaceutical company. When he tries to investigate ViGen Corporation and their role in these deaths, he soon finds himself framed for murder. And that turns out to be the least of his problems…
380 pages
You can visit the author’s website at www.davezeltserman.com.
Chad Coenson is touring in May 2011 with his sci-fi thriller, Me and Bobby McGee.
Prepare to embark on a thrilling comedic adventure seen through the booze-blurred eyes of Keesey Cypher, a government-trained killer with an ill-fated abundance of classified memories who has since resigned himself to a regrettable existence, sipping away his tainted past. It is this powerful thirst coupled with Cypher’s hunger for games of chance that leads him to New Orleans’ coziest dive-bar the day after Fat Tuesday where one night of seeming misfortune leads to a frighteningly funny reality of subversive politics, corporate greed, backwards logic, and star (double)-crossed romance. In this gripping social satire of modern times, Me and Bobby McGee pokes fun at the inane absurdities ingrained in our society, proving that freedom is truly subjective and karma is not just a philosophy, but a fate that is unwavering. And as an added bonus, for the careful reader and music fan, there are subtle connections throughout the novel to the classic folk song that inspired its title. In a world of terrible truths and impending doom, find out what happens when the only man with the power to stop it… decides not to.
282 pages
You can visit the author’s website at www.chadcoenson.com.
Vincent Zandri is touring in May with the Kindle edition of his thriller, Godchild.
He wanted justice, truth, revenge…whichever came first.
Prison-warden-turned-P.I. Jack “Keeper” Marconi understands the criminal mind. And he knows what it takes to break a man. His own life came apart the day a black Buick broadsided his car–and his wife died horrifically in the seat beside him.
Years later, on the eve of his second marriage, Marconi catches a split-second glimpse of the driver who killed his wife. Suddenly hurtled back into the past, he is determined to take one last shot at hunting him down. That is, until he is offered a job he can’t refuse: to bust a beautiful woman out of a hellish Mexican prison. Now Keeper’s chase through Mexico follows a trail of bodies and lies back home: to the truth about a woman on the run, to a man sitting behind the wheel of a black Buick, and to a story that someone will kill to bury….
You can visit his website at www.vincentzandri.com.
Dr. Labib Mikhail is touring in May with his New Testament non-fiction book, The Virgin Mary: In the Light of the Word of God.
For those not well acquainted with but interested in Christianity and its true historic beliefs, you will find a straight-forward declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel that leads to the eternal and abundant life our God always intended for mankind, through the saving and sanctifying work of Jesus Christ. For the committed Christian, you will find an edifying presentation of the true Gospel and of sound doctrine.
The book is a balanced and Biblical portrait of the Virgin Mary. It is a relevant study clarifying Mary’s role and significance.
176 pages
Visit Dr. Mikhail online at http://nordskogpublishing.com/book-virgin-mary-in-light-of-gospel.shtml
Kai Strand is touring from May 9th – May 20th, 2011 with her middle grade fantasy novel, The Weaver.
In a town of word weavers, Mary suffers through her third year of Novice Word Weaving. Mary thinks her troubles are over when she meets a gnome-elf who grants her a wish. But instead of weaving a better story, she’s weaving strange yarn charms to accompany her still pathetic tales.
94 pages
Visit Kai online at www.kaistrand.com or at her blog, Strands of Thought, www.kaistrand.blogspot.com.
Mitch Stephen is touring in May with his nonfiction book, My Life & 1000 Houses. This autobiographical tale is perfect for entrepreneurs and a must-read for anyone aspiring to be a real estate investor. Beginning with a handful of credit cards, he mastered the art of the purchase and sale of single and multi-family residences, small commercial properties, manufactured homes, raw land and lots, and eventually was honored by the San Antonio Real Estate Investors Association. Combining commonsense, experience and technology, he merges real estate and Internet marketing. With fifty one informative chapters, including an eye-opening introduction to “Adversity University,” and powerful food for thought in “Escaping the Debt Trap” and “The Moat Theory: Keep Something Sacred,” this book provides insight far beyond deal making. In the second half of the book, he delivers eighteen anecdotes such as “So What Can a Dollar Buy?” and “The Art of War,” stories about real life in the real estate trenches. You simply can’t make this stuff up. While everyone’s struggles are different, you are sure to connect with the author’s tumultuous and rewarding journey. You don’t need a college class ring to be a success but a successful person’s education never ends. Continue your education on a deeper level and read the book My Life and 1,000 Houses.
406 pages
You can visit his website at www.mitchstephen.com.
J.J. Hebert is touring in May with his inspirational/Christian fiction novel, Unconventional. YOUNG JAMES FROST just knows, deep in his bones, that he’s a writer. He writes far into early mornings, after his wearying hours of scrubbing toilets and sweeping floors. He loves writing that much. But it’s not only the joy of words that keeps him grinding; it’s his desire to retire the janitor’s mop. He sees being published as the key to living an improved life. James has another deep-seated conviction: that he’s not good enough. He secretly longs to be accepted. However, the conventional others in his life seem all too willing to remind him that he’s wasting his time. Then he meets and falls in love with Leigh, the one bright spot in his endless misery of self-doubt. A quiet but resolutely religious girl, she has to fight off disapproval of her own from overly critical parents, whose insults are countered by James’s often-voiced admiration of her. Likewise, Leigh’s faith in his talents begins to build his confidence, eventually allowing her to introduce him to a different way to help himself: relying on God. Ultimately, James’s newfound faith is sorely tested to the point of doubt when his dream to be published seems to melt into a mirage, smothered by countless rejection slips from agents and publishers. His faith is also battered by having to fight highly emotional battles and suffer fear and loss. Just when James appears hopelessly sapped by devastating events, one last door opens, and he’s rocked by an epiphany. UNCONVENTIONAL is designed to inspire readers to reach for their dreams. Buy this book. Read it. Share it with everyone you know. You—and they—will be glad you did!
332 pages
You can visit J.J.’s website at www.jjhebert.net.
Alexandrea Weis is touring in May and June 2011 with her romantic suspense novel, Recovery. Recovery by Alexandrea Weis is the second novel in the wildly sexy series featuring the enigmatic Nicci Beauvoir. A thrilling read, this character-driven book boasts a whodunit mystery, sultry seductions, and an unforgettable cliffhanging twist. Once a darling of New Orleans society, Nicci pens a novel about her departed love, the artist David Alexander. While promoting her book in the Big Apple, she’s approached by David’s former boss, Simon La Roy, who has a theory about David’s death that devastates Nicci. She learns David’s murder may be linked to someone from her past. Enter Dallas August, an elite member of Simon’s organization of corporate spies prized for his ruthless ability to get the job done. Playing the part of Nicci’s lover, Dallas returns to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans with her to flush out the killer. But everything is not what is seems in the Big Easy, and soon the couple finds themselves trapped in a psychotic’s twisted game of revenge. As the danger grows, Nicci’s relationship with the handsome spy turns from adversarial to amorous. On the run for their lives, Dallas and Nicci must confront their tormentor before it is too late. It’s a deadly decision that could cost Nicci everything, but it is her only chance for finally revealing the identity of the murderer. Just as the truth behind David’s death is discovered, another more compelling mystery is unearthed. It’s an unexpected turn of events that rocks Nicci’s world.
302 pages
Visit her website at www.alexandreaweis.com.
Heather Haven is touring in May 2011 with the first book in her humorous Alvarez Family Murder Mystery series, Murder is a Family Business. Just because a man cheats on his wife and makes Danny DeVito look tall, dark and handsome, is that any reason to kill him? The reluctant and quirky PI, Lee Alvarez doesn’t think so. But the 34-year old ½ Latina, ½ WASP and 100% detective has her work cut out for her when the man is murdered on her watch. Of all the nerve. Set in the present, Murder is a Family Business is the first in a series of humorous mysteries revolving around Lee Alvarez, a combination of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone and Janet Evanovitch’ Stephanie Plum, and rest of the Alvarez Family, detectives all. Seemingly light and frothy on the surface, the novel nevertheless explores familial love, the good, the bad and the annoying. Completing the family is Lee’s Never-Had-A-Bad-Hair-Day aristocratic mother, Lila; computer genius brother, Richard; beloved uncle “Tio;” and her energetic orange and white cat, Tugger. When this group is not solving murders, they run Discretionary Inquiries, a successful Silicon Valley agency that normally deals with the theft of computer software. The love, humor and camaraderie shared within this family are what set this series apart from others.
183 pages (e-Book only)
Visit Heather online at http://www.heatherhavenstories.com.
Borneo Tom is touring in 2011 with his nonfiction travel memoir Borneo Tom – In Story and Sketch: Love, Travel and Jungle Family in Tropical Asia.
Join award winning science teacher Tom McLaughlin (aka Borneo Tom) as he moves from America to Malaysian Borneo as he tracks orangutans, dances naked in an earthquake, swims with jellyfish AND MORE DANGEROUSLY…falls in love.
Walk with him through a cacophony of emotions including great joy when he finds the love of his life and marries in a village ceremony, reunites with one daughter after a divorce, travels with another and flies the entire family on his honeymoon in Bali. Oh, yes, did I forget? His vasectomy and his wife’s diagnosis of barrenness produces a son, Dzul Patrick, now a few months old.
Each stand alone chapter is humorously sketched by Water Front Niki, a familiar face to all who visit Kuching. Niki’s sensitive portraits of the national bird, the Hornbill, decorates living rooms world wide.
**Proceeds from the book go for items that support the Matang Wildlife Center that rehabs orangutans and other amazing wildlife.**
132 pages
You can visit his website at BorneoTom.com
Carla Malden is touring in May 2011 with her memoir, Afterimage: A Brokenhearted Memoir of a Charmed Life. Afterimage. It’s the ghost image that continues to appear, even after the source has faded away. It’s different from having a flashbulb catch you unaware when you’re having your picture taken. That leaves you momentarily blinded, violet and yellow dots kaleidoscoping in front of you. An afterimage is subtler, but more persistent, more enduring, more beguiling. Especially the afterimage that imprints itself on your heart. The one that occurs when your husband has died. As a generation, we declared ourselves forever young. We assumed it our life’s work to brand every stage of human experience with our own particular stamp. How did we get to widowhood so quickly? Too quickly — while we weren’t looking, while we were still busy trying to figure out how to be grown-ups. AfterImage is, at its core, a love story, as all real stories of loss must be. It is a story not solely about grief. It’s about battling the before and surviving the after, and dabbling in madness along the way. It is about the small moments that constitute a life well-lived. It is in those moments of human connection that we can search for gratitude through grief. AfterImage is a story of love more than loss, memory more than sorrow, life more than death. It is a personal story. It’s my story.
296 pages
You can visit her website at www.carlamalden.com.
Susan Kronick is touring in April and May 2011 with her autobiograhical paranormal novel, Sarah, They’re Coming for You. Restless spirits of the dead, torment the living for many reasons. But the dark hunters seek one thing. It is not God’s blessing, but a soul for eternity.
For years, Sarah was tormented by these seekers. Each passing year they gained strength. Guided by her great great grandfather Hermann-who intercedes on her behalf-Sarah had faith, but now, she feels her faith in Hermann is slipping, and she grows spiritually weaker. When a mysterious woman—a link from the past—enlightens Sarah of her journey, every thing falls into place. Sarah has a connection between her ancestral family and her own haunting from the rogue ghosts in the after life. They seek her in order to claim two family members with a single soul. One thing left to do for Sarah. Go to the family home in Austria and face the ghosts head on, or lose her soul forever.
You can visit her website at www.susankronick.webs.com.
PLEASE NOTE: SARAH, THEY’RE COMING FOR YOU IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT FOR REVIEW
Barbara Conelli is touring in June and July 2011 with her narrative travel nonfiction book, Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita. To live a dolce vita means living with an open heart and soul, indulging in life with all your senses. It means having the eyes to see real beauty, having the nose to smell intoxicating scents, having the ears to hear dreamy sounds, having the mouth to taste delicate flavors, having the body to perceive soft sensations. It means being aware of yourself, of your emotions and desires. It means finding happiness in ordinary yet unique things. There is a place where you can learn all this. A place scented with saffron where you can find a natural paradise among houses with flaked paint, where famous artists play on the streets, where men have not forgotten how to pay compliments, and where women seductively swing their hips. It is a place where people take the art of dolce vita to perfection. Where you can enjoy little pleasures, live every day as if it was your first and last, breath in the air of true freedom and be whatever and whoever you want to be. In this place, where the real Italian heart is still beating, where people are delightfully vain as well as childishly honest, and where passion is more than just a word, you realize that living the sweet life is not as hard as it may seem. Let’s wander together for a while along Milanese boulevards and the narrow winding streets of the surrounding villages. Let’s go on a journey that will take us to the atelier of untameable Carla, to the sweet heaven of irresistible Antonietta, among the peculiar characters of bohemian Brera, to the silk workshop of Maria Elena, to see Fernanda’s disobedient genius, to the famous La Scala with Francesco and Giovanna, and to the cradle of Milanese high fashion by madam Mila. Then to the hills that once belonged to pirates and today are owned by lovers. On to misty paths haunted by ghosts and then to secret corners that witnessed passionate stories of love, desire, and heartbreak. Let’s meet the delicious Milanese women, amazing and unique, whose lives have been irreversibly changed by Milan and who have also changed the face and character of Milan forever. Women whose fate has become entwined with the city’s present and past, with its everyday life, and its transformation throughout history. We can also meet the men who have succumbed to the temptation of sultry hips and mysterious voices in the dark. Who, isane from luscious lips andinspired by irresistible legs, have marked the world with their presence and made it a deliciously bittersweet place to be. Let’s simply uncover all the sweet, passionate, and dark Milanese secrets that have up to owremained unrevealed. The chique secrets that will teach you to live your own dolce vita no matter where i the world you are. Because la vita e bella, life is beautiful, and the most amazing wonders of this world often hide in the simplest things.
148 pages
You can visit her website at www.barbaraconelli.com.
Ray Ellis is touring in June with his thriller novel, N.H.I.: No Humans Involved. Half of Treasure City is controlled by a violent street gang. The other half is controlled by fear. A rookie detective, Nate Richards, is thrust between the two. Abyss, a mysterious street gang moves into the valley and people have started dying. Nate’s girlfriend suddenly disappears and the gang is being targeted as the cause. With his partner fighting for her life – the result of a vigilante’s bullet, political pressure from above, and time running out to find his missing girlfriend, Nate has to overcome the darkness that has taken over the city and threatening to consume his soul. Forced to fight to stay on the case, he has to work against his command and the elements of the streets while trying to hold on to his faith that seems to make less and less sense as details unfold. With darkness growing and evil seeming to swell, will Nate have enough time to solve the murder and discover the identity of the new gang leader before his girlfriend becomes the latest victim in the growing violent total? Will he succumb to get the job done by any means necessary, or will he become part of the problem and prove that there are No Humans Involved?
308 pages
You can visit his website at www.rayellis-author.com.
NOTE: THIS BOOK IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT.
Frederick Lukash, M.D., is touring in June with his nonfiction book, The Safe and Sane Guide to Teenage Plastic Surgery. The Safe and Sane Guide to Teenage Plastic Surgery, by Dr. Frederick N. Lukash, is the only complete guide to this ever-expanding phenomenon. Written by the American Society of Plastic Surgery‘s acknowledged expert and official media spokesperson on pediatric and adolescent plastic surgery, this book answers those tough questions parents of potential teenage plastic surgery candidates have: Will surgery increase their child’s self-esteem and help them fit in better? Or is it a dangerously easy solution to deeper issues? When is surgery right, and when is it not? Interviewed in The New York Times and featured on Discovery Health among many other media outlets, Lukash guides families through every step of the process, from finding the perfect-fit doctor and applying for medical insurance to surgery and finally to recovery and a changed life. A virtual, free consultation with a renowned expert in the field, the book doesn’t just offer easy solutions to teen’s body-image problems but helps parents understand the emotional, psychological and social dilemmas involved. Complete with action plans, real-life stories and pictures, The Safe and Sane Guide to Teenage Plastic Surgery offers advice on what can, can’t and shouldn’t be done—and on how to spot the doctors who will exploit a teen’s fragile sense of self-esteem as well as his or her parent’s pocketbook. Most important, Lukash provides a useful red light/yellow light/green light guide for considering teen plastic surgery.
246 pages
You can visit his website at www.drlukash.com and www.teenageplasticsurgery.com.
LL Reaper is touring in June, July and August 2011 with her thriller suspense novel, Black Widow and the Sandman.
Children in Cuba are suffering an agonizing death. The cause, a toxin released by a terrorist organization hell bent on genocide. The scientific community is at a loss, and the Cuban government can no longer hide the truth from its citizens. Cuba’s only chance lies in the capable hands of a reclusive scientist from the country they believe is behind this terrorist attack, the United States of America. Roman “The Sandman ” Tate is the most sought after mercenary in the world. When he is ordered to protect scientist Jeanette “Black Widow ” Mason, he finds she is much more than scientific equations. The two join forces to create an antidote and stop those responsible for the mysterious illness before more children die and Cuba follows through on its promise to retaliate.
282 pages
You can visit her website at www.llreaper.com.
Wayne Zurl is touring in June & July 2011 with his mystery detective novel, A New Prospect. Finding a killer in a small Appalachian community doesn’t look that difficult to gritty ex-New York Detective Lieutenant Sam Jenkins. Adjusting to the culture of rural Tennessee , dealing with shady politicians, powerful rich families, and colorful residents, makes Sam feel like a fish out of water, or a cop out of bourbon. But A NEW PROSPECT isn’t just about a homicide. Jenkins, the new police chief, is busy coping with his mid-life crisis, trying to patch the cracks in a department shattered by scandal, and looking for a new purpose in life. He barely finds time to concentrate on a murder investigation that requires him to revive his old skills as a detective. The victim, Cecil Lovejoy, a wealthy real estate developer, couldn’t have deserved it more. His death was the inexorable result of years misspent. And it appears to be no great loss to anyone, except the prime suspect is Sam’s personal friend. To resolve an impossible situation, Sam turns common police practice on its ear to insure an innocent man doesn’t fall prey to an imperfect system and the guilty party receives appropriate justice. Jenkins’ first adventure at Prospect PD is fictional, but the authentic procedures are based on Zurl’s twenty years of investigative and supervisory experience with the Suffolk County Police, one of the largest municipal departments in New York and the nation.
276 pages
You can visit Wayne on the web at www.waynezurlbooks.net.
Jane Rowan is touring in June 2011 with her memoir, The River of Forgetting. People don’t make up things like that for fun. That’s what Jane’s therapist tells her when Jane reports fragmentary memories from her childhood that hint at sexual abuse.
A busy, successful scientist, Jane at first fights the implications, but finally has to admit that something indeed happened. With help from a gifted therapist as well as creative arts, Jane taps into her own aliveness and reconciles with both her parents’ love and their betrayal. This deeply personal memoir invites the reader behind the closed doors of the therapist’s office and into the author’s journal and her very body.
Jane’s tender story shows how we can use the challenges of painful childhood traumas to transform our lives.
270 pages
Visit Jane online at www.janerowan.com and find out more about her memoir at www.riverofforgetting.com.
Hugh Aaron is touring in June & July 2011 with his collection of short stories, Stories from a Lifetime. Stories from a Lifetime carries readers through a widely diverse series of life’s peaks and valleys with poignant, clear-eyed vision and understanding that is only gradually gained across the course of a lifetime through endurance and honest appraisal of the emotional rollercoaster that we all ride.
These stories form a welcome, and increasingly rare, honest, grounded, and beautifully written collection that will touch nerves while sympathizing with what it means to be human.
Hugh Aaron delicately reveals the world through the innocent eyes of a young boy, through those of a soldier far from home during wartime, and those of a struggling businessman and faltering husband. He is unafraid to reveal panic beneath a façade of success, the deep and hollow sadness that may exist in an outwardly happy marriage, the yearning we feel to make a break for freedom from the rat race, the unexpected emotional responses that shift lives far beyond the expected course of events.
You can visit his website at www.stonespointbooks.com.
Douglas W. Jacobson will be touring in May and June ’11 with his historical fiction novel, The Katyn Order. The German War Machine is in retreat as the Russians advance. In Warsaw, Resistance fighters rise up against their Nazi occupiers, but the Germans retaliate, ruthlessly leveling the city. American Adam Nowak has been dropped into Poland by British intelligence as an assassin and Resistance fighter. During the Warsaw Rising he meets Natalia, a covert operative who has lost everything—just as he has. Amid the Allied power struggle left by Germany’s defeat, Adam and Natalia join in a desperate hunt for the 1940 Soviet order authorizing the murders of 20,000 Polish army officers and civilians. If they can find the Katyn Order before the Russians do, they just might change the fate of Poland.
368 pages
You can visit his website at www.douglaswjacobson.com.
Carole Waterhouse is touring in June 2011 with her literary fiction novel, The Tapestry Baby. Karin lives in terror that her child will be born a multi-colored version of the mysterious tattooed man she met one night. When Anna is born normal instead, she becomes convinced her daughter is meant to fulfill some special destiny that she herself can’t provide. A believer of signs and premonitions, she takes off on a journey with Vonnie, a writer friend who can’t complete any stories because the peacefulness of her own life leaves her without inspiration hoping she can make a decision along the way. The choice, however, may not fully be her own. Their lives are randomly connected with six other people. There’s Ward, a cross-dresser who chooses his lovers based on their ability to make him look good, and Daria, a photographer who wants to feel emotion with the same level of intensity she can show it in her work. Mrs. Brown is a librarian with a sordid past who masquerades in her own dowdiness and her secret admirer Ned, a music teacher experiencing a nervous breakdown who finds that his images of make-believe women are deteriorating as notes break on his piano. Pivotal are Reggie, a massive tattooed man who despite his best efforts lives in fear of destroying women the same way he once accidentally crushed a bird he held in his hand and Clarissa, a fake fortune-teller who is responsible for bringing them all together. The Tapestry Baby raises the question of whether any of us really has control over our own destinies.
You can visit her website at www.carolewaterhouse.com (under construction) or her blog at www.carolewaterhouse.wordpress.com.
Alexandrea Weis is touring in June & July 2011 with her romantic suspense novel, Recovery. Recovery by Alexandrea Weis is the second novel in the wildly sexy series featuring the enigmatic Nicci Beauvoir. A thrilling read, this character-driven book boasts a whodunit mystery, sultry seductions, and an unforgettable cliffhanging twist. Once a darling of New Orleans society, Nicci pens a novel about her departed love, the artist David Alexander. While promoting her book in the Big Apple, she’s approached by David’s former boss, Simon La Roy, who has a theory about David’s death that devastates Nicci. She learns David’s murder may be linked to someone from her past. Enter Dallas August, an elite member of Simon’s organization of corporate spies prized for his ruthless ability to get the job done. Playing the part of Nicci’s lover, Dallas returns to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans with her to flush out the killer. But everything is not what is seems in the Big Easy, and soon the couple finds themselves trapped in a psychotic’s twisted game of revenge. As the danger grows, Nicci’s relationship with the handsome spy turns from adversarial to amorous. On the run for their lives, Dallas and Nicci must confront their tormentor before it is too late. It’s a deadly decision that could cost Nicci everything, but it is her only chance for finally revealing the identity of the murderer. Just as the truth behind David’s death is discovered, another more compelling mystery is unearthed. It’s an unexpected turn of events that rocks Nicci’s world.
302 pages
Visit her website at www.alexandreaweis.com.