99c Summer Sale on Backlist Books

With the release of The Freedom Club, I decided it would be part of the celebration if I put a whole lot of my backlist books on a 99 cents Summer Sale Special.
Summer holidays are here for some and fast approaching for others. There is nothing better than reading a good book next to the beach or swimming pool.
I don't know about you, but I devour books when I'm on holiday. It's the best way to relax after a busy school year. I stock up my Kindle so that I don't run out, and I make sure I include some new indie authors I haven't read before. Let the summer holidays begin!

Not Telling summer sale price of 99c on Amazon.
Review
Some books and stories stay with you long after you've read them. Not Telling by Cindy Vine, is one of those that will stay with the reader for a long time. It's not always a feel good book, the warm and cuddly kind, but a very real gutsy piece of fiction that by the time you've read the whole story will get under your skin. Rape is a difficult subject matter for any author to handle. However, Cindy Vine handles it expertly in unfolding a tale, although fiction, that resonates the very real stories experienced by many women around the world everyday. This is a story we all need to hear

Defective summer sale price of just 99c on Amazon
Although Defective is fiction, it was inspired by real events in 1974 in the Western Cape in South Africa.
Reviewed by Bob MacKenzie for Readers Favorite
"Quirky and intriguing, this story is clean and tightly written. For readers who prefer their books to be intelligent, thought-provoking, and challenging, "Defective" will be an ideal choice."
Review
What I love most about this book? No matter how you expect it to end you'll be shocked when all your ideas are for naught. This story haunts you long after you finish it and you don't know exactly how to feel about the outcome, which keeps you thinking. You feel so many different emotions for the individual characters it's simply astounding.
Cindy Vine is an excellent writer and I cannot wait to read more from her. This book had it all; murder, mayhem, insanity, phobias, abuse, manipulation. It's a feast of the worst qualities that makes people so vulnerable and you get an idea of just how dangerous the human mind can be when pushed to the limits. This is a true must-read book! It will leave you with your jaw hanging open at the end.
-Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club

Survival Tips for the Suddenly Single summer sale price of 99c on Amazon
Review
I am so happy I came across this book. It answered a range of questions about relationships, men and women that bothered me for long time. Lots of things described in this book were wide eye-opening for me. It made me actually look at my previous relationship from a completely different angle.
When we are in love we very often tend to overlook lots of important signs in our partner's behaviour that literally tell us to run away which could save us from another heartbreak. The great thing is that this book helps us to identify those signs on early stages to prevent us from falling into a trap again and suffering for years. What I also love about this book is that it gives you real life practical strategies on how to pick up your pieces after a break-up, get ready to date again, boost your self-confidence, sex tips and other valuable advice on how to get back on track.
If you are suddenly single and feel really down, this book will definitely boost your mood as it is full of humor! )
I appreciate the author of this book Cindy Vine for covering so many aspects of relationships, for wisdom and humor and great practical tips I needed so much. This book is easy and fun to read and I would recommend it to anyone without a hesitation.

CU@8 special summer sale price of 99c on Amazon
Fenella and Suki are two single middle aged mothers. Best friends since the age of two. There children are all grown and have left the home to start their own lives and careers. But Josh Suki's son is a cocaine- addict who has supposedly fathered a baby when he visited the U.K, and Kirsty Fenella's daughter has just been dumped once again and is miserable. Suki and Fenella decide to step in and help their children. They hatch a plan to get Kirsty a new man someone suitable, and to sort out Josh's mess . After trying to interview some suitable men for Kirsty at Waves restaurant and bar, they discover a good man is hard to find. I truly loved this book it's a fun light read. A real page turner i couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I look forward to reading more books by Cindy Vine

The Case of Billy B now on summer sale on Amazon for 99c
Review
This book was pretty good, I could not put it down, I loved the way his dad stepped up to take care of his son, when his mother didn't care about anyone but herself. Billy was very smart for his age... he was a good kid, who never complained, just went with the program... Until his dad moved in with the devil woman......lol. READ THE BOOK YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED.
I found this book sad and couldn't help but feeling sorry for Billy B from the beginning . What chance did he have even though his dad tried to be there for him and no doubt will go on to have a difficult life because of whom he was born to. Its a book that makes you think about life and the children in the world and how easy it all is to get caught up in a system .It was not depressing though.

Hush Baby will be on Amazon Free Promotion from the 
26-30th June
Hush Baby by author C. Vine is a gripping tale surrounding Kyle Rushton and his sour relationship with his live-in girlfriend Marlene. They have a son, Max, who is three years old. Max means the world to Kyle. Unfortunately, Kyle's see-saw relationship with Marlene was taking a toll on him and Kyle made the difficult decision to leave Marlene and Max and move in with his sister Sylvie. 
Hush Baby is an interesting read about personal relationships. Author C. Vine did an excellent job developing the plot. The story began at a slow pace, however, it quickened in the latter half of the novel. I love the unexpected twists that were included in the story. In my opinion, the story literally took on a different feel and transformed into a suspense thriller. This tactic is very cleverly orchestrated by author C. Vine. It propels the reader to become more engrossed in the plot. I did not want to put down the book! The language is simple and easy to understand. What was refreshing was that the novel was written from the viewpoint of a male as opposed to a female. Normally, most stories outlining relationship woes are slanted in the favour of females. This welcome diversion from the norm speaks well for equality of the sexes. I loved the descriptive passages in the novel. I applaud author C. Vine for keeping her readers on their toes, wondering how the story would finally end. The staccato formatting of the final chapter was a good move. It suggests that the reader should accept unpredictability in the plot. I recommend this book to all readers who love suspense.

The Freedom Club Latest Release!
There will be an Amazon Giveaway from 26-30 June!

Follow the Book Tour from 2nd-27th July

Review
This is a thought provoking read , on the angst and challenges that teenagers face on a daily basis within the school system. It is a book that will speak to adults and children alike. 
The unpredictable ending is brilliant.
Highly recommended.

Watch the Book Trailer here.




Cindy Vine is a South African author currently living and working in Norway.  She is the mother of 3 adult children who have inherited her love for travel.  Cindy has been in education for 30 years and has seen  and heard a lot of stories about the challenges children face which has inspired her writing.  It's hard to believe the hardships many children have to go through, while those in control turn a blind eye.  And this happens worldwide in places you would never expect.  All Cindy's books are available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback format,

Indian author explores the dark side of humanity

Here's a new author for those of you who are into the dark and are a little adventurous.  Kshitij is from India.  Read about his latest book, Agony, over here.

BLURB:

Set in a small county of Ireland, Agony depicts the struggle of Kewy, a young high school art teacher. Kewy find herself tormented by a series of haunted dreams, one connected to another. The dreams take her to a god forsaken place filled with evil and surrounded by death, fear and hopelessness. Even when she’s awake, she hears strange voices and eerie knockings at her doorstep. Things buried in her past, start communicating with her in the form of nightmares, sickening her soul and questioning her existence.
Kasper is a grocery boy who works at Finke’s- a popular shopping store in Louth. He has never seen anyone as mysterious and charming as Kewy. Einin is a catholic teen studying in Kewy’s art history class. She just needed a look on Kewy’s face to understand her agonies. Kasper and Einin, quickly become comfortable with Kewy and get involve in her problem, not knowing what they are getting into, not having the slightest idea that what waits for them in those dead woods. But as the three entered into Reinhardt County- the place from Kewy’s dream, they realize it was never about the fear and survival. The truth was earth shattering, but it becomes too late to get away from it...

BIO:

KSHITIJ lives near New Delhi, India. He loves writing and reading fiction, particularly the ones that envision the dark corners of human mind. He loves travelling and exploring the cultures and people through the medium of reading, travelling and watching. He was born in 1986 in Agra.

ONLINE LINKS:

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kshitij-Author/220807118113560

Twitter  @PartridgeIndia 

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21484068-agony?from_search=true

BUY NOW LINK:

Amazon   http://www.amazon.com/Agony-Kshitij/dp/1482819627

B & N  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/agony-kshitij/1118899267?ean=9781482819625&itm=1&usri=9781482819625

 

 

What if you could interview the main protagonist in your book?

Title: Stepping Off A Cliff

The St. Augustine Trilogy: Book II

Author: Doug Dillon

Length: 321 Pages

Genre: YA Paranormal

Released: November 11, 2013

Presented by: As You Wish Tours

Doug Dillon Interviews fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden

(Location: The Athena Restaurant, St. Augustine, Florida)

Doug: Jeff Golden! Good to see you. Have a seat. Want anything to eat?

Jeff: Nah, nothing for me thanks. I’ve only got a few minutes. Gotta meet Carla over at the research library. So what’s up, author man?

Doug: Oh, I just wanted to get your views on the paranormal now that you’ve had a lot of experience with it. I’m starting to write Book III of The St. Augustine Trilogy and . . .

Jeff: Oh no! Come on, Doug. To be honest, I’ve had way to much experience with that stuff.  You really piled it on me and Carla in Books I and II. I really don’t want to talk about it right

Doug: Mmm, OK, I understand but I don’t want to misrepresent your outlook.

Jeff: Just as I figured. You’re going to add tons more paranormal crap in your next book and put Carla and me in even more danger.

Doug: Uh, well, that’s kind of the idea in fiction.

Jeff: Yeah, great. Easy for you to write it that way but hell on us. Did you ever think about that?

Doug: But you’ve both learned so much from Lobo and your paranormal powers keep

increasing. Doesn’t that make you feel less afraid and stressed out no matter what happens?

Jeff: You just don’t understand. To you, the scary fictional situations you create in these novels

are reality to us. We actually live it. Did you ever think about that?

Doug: Sounds like you resent me even creating these novels at all.

Jeff: It isn’t that. You’ve given us life but then you ignore that we truly have our own reality.

Doug: I never thought about it that way.

Jeff: OK, so think about it now, please. I’m sitting here talking to you, right? I’m not just a

made-up piece of your imagination any more.

Doug: So does Carla feel the same way?

Jeff: Yes and no. She doesn’t like it any better than I do but she says you’re just doing your job.

Doug: I see. So then, Jeff, what would you have me do differently in the last book of the trilogy?

Jeff: I don’t know, really. I guess I would just ask you to remember that you truly do create the

reality that we, your characters, have to endure. We can feel it when you don’t.

Doug: Really? And how should I do that?

Jeff: It’s what’s in your mind that counts. You don’t actually think of us as real. What you don’t

get is that by creating us we truly exist in a parallel universe. Otherwise, I couldn’t be sitting here

Doug: Uh, you’ve got me there.

Jeff: Good. Maybe that understanding will shake you up enough to treat us as equals instead of

some kind of subhuman beings.

Doug: Ouch! Guess I deserved that.

Jeff: Just work with us, Doug, that’s all we ask. Sorry I didn’t answer your question. Let’s set up

another interview and we’ll try again.

Doug: Will do. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thanks.

Jeff: Cool. Gotta go. Carla’s waiting.

Stepping off a cliff by Doug Dillon

An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.

Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.

In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient, Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and

encounter what they come to realize are the true walking dead.

Book Trailer by Book Dragon Designs

A former award winning educator, Doug writes about things paranormal and historical. His interest in the paranormal comes from personal experiences as detailed in the nonfiction adult

book he and wife wrote titled, An Explosion of Being: An American Family's Journey into the Psychic. Out of those events and extensive historical research, he then created Sliding Beneath the Surface for young adults, Book I of the
St. Augustine Trilogy. Doug set his trilogy in the oldest and most haunted city in the United States, St. Augustine, Florida.

AUTHOR LINKS

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What motivates a writer?

Everybody has different motivations that make them do what they do.  Some people write because it was a childhood dream.  Others write to try and supplement their income.  Me I write because I genuinely love it.  Creating other lives, solving problems, it's a bit of a power trip where you control the world you create.  Michael Meyer, author of the thriller Covert Dreams, shares what motivates him as a writer.

Writing is a lonely avocation, just my trusty computer at my side, as I work hard to create people, places, and plots that other people might enjoy reading. Marketing one’s own writing is an extremely lonely business. Unlike having a traditional publisher and all of its clout behind me, I have only myself, and I am a writer, not a salesperson. I find it difficult to toot my own horn, though I know that it is essential in order to get word of the very existence of my work out to the reading public. So what keeps me going? The writing, of course, gives me a lot of enjoyment. I am actually like a reader as I write. I never quite know how things will turn out in the end, not only of the book itself, but also in specific scenes. I thoroughly enjoy working with words, stringing them together in a creative way. Language has always fascinated me. Can you goose a goose? Does a house burn up or burn down? If you are going to come visit me, are you coming or going? Why would you want to swipe your card at a cash register if you already own the card? There is a huge difference between snap to and snap at. The list can go on and on. I love to play with words as I write, and this can be seen in COVERT DREAMS.

            Marketing my own work, however, is a completely different ballgame. I am a good writer, but I lack a lot in the area of salesmanship. I do seek out as many reviewers, interviewers, and bloggers as I can, and I am very thankful for all of these people, but every hour I spend tooting my own horn could be spent creating, my real forte. So what keeps me plugging away at telling others about my work, you might ask? The answer is found in the wonderful reactions that readers have to my work. Their excitement serves to push me forward. I like people, and it makes me happy to see that they, in turn, like what I have created. Here are a few random lines from posted reviews of COVERT DREAMS on my Amazon author’s site as examples of what I mean:
            “This story will not disappoint as it sucks you right into these lives from page one and doesn't let go until the last page is turned.”
            “If you enjoy psychological thrillers and exotic locales, this is the book for you.”
            “This is the best book, bar none, that I've read in an eon. It grabbed me by the collar and wouldn't let me go…. I felt I was in the hands of a master.” 
            “[COVERT DREAMS] was like I was reading Robert Ludlum and the Bourne series.”
            “I'm looking forward to reading more from this wordsmith! Michael Meyer is a born storyteller!”
            “Covert Dreams is ‘I got captured’-reading, as opposed to ‘escape’-reading.”
            I think you can see what I mean. It is pretty heady stuff, the type of thing that helps me keep the faith. Michael Meyer.
Michael Meyer Author Bio
I have resided in and have visited many places in the world, all of which have contributed in some way to my own published writing. I have literally traveled throughout the world, on numerous occasions. I have lived in Finland, Germany, Thailand, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Saudi Arabia, where COVERT DREAMS is set. I gained the wanderlust to see the world, to experience other cultures, at an early age, and this desire has never left me. If anything, it has only gained in intensity as I have aged. I try to travel internationally at least once a year. In the interim, I spend lots of time traveling around both my home state of California and other nearby states.
            I spent my early years in the small town of Lone Pine, California, the home of almost every western movie, in addition to a wide variety of other genres, made in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. In fact, Hollywood still films parts of big-time movies there today. My dad, the town’s lifeguard at the time, personally knew John Wayne, Lloyd Bridges, and Lee Marvin, all of whom came to the town’s pool, the Memorial Plunge, at times to cool off after a hectic day of working in the sun. I was even an extra in a movie filmed there in 1957, MONOLITH MONSTERS, a B-cult favorite even today. I was ten years old at the time. Even though I resided in a small town hours from the big city, I was exposed to the excitement of action and heroes at a formative age, and, thus, my interest in writing novels of suspense such as COVERT DREAMS was born.
            As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, I now live in Southern California wine country with my wife, Kitty, and our two other cats. 

 

An interview with Miss Snark

Christmas time, the season to be jolly.  What people don't tell you is that the days before Christmas are spent rushing around like a blue-arsed fly trying to get shopping done and presents wrapped.  By the time Christmas day arrives you are exhausted, spent, and all you can do is smile inanely and thank your nephews for all those bars of chocolate they bought you as presents.  Even if your top New Year's resolution was to lose weight and get in shape for June's big European adventure.  The day after Christmas you wonder what happened.  Has Christmas already been and gone?  OMIGOD that means the year is nearly over! 2011 is nearly done and dusted.  Another year older and deeper in debt.  Wasn't that a song?  And then you remember.  Crap.  I had to read a book and write a review and post it on my blog on December 26th.  Surveying the dirty dishes from last night and rolls of unused Christmas wrap on the floor, I figure I'd better get started.  House cleaning can always wait.

Rachel Thompson is the Queen of Snark.  The Mancode: Exposed is her latest book and it is overflowing with snark.  I love it!  Straight-talking, shooting from the hip, calling a spade a spade.  This lady doesn't mince her words or disguise them in brightly colored Christmas wrapping.  She says it like it is, and if you can't understand what she is getting at, it is probably because you don't have a vagina.  God's truth.  That's what she said.
Rachel Thompson has an easy-to-read writing style.  You might think you were only going to read a quick chapter before doing those dirty dishes, but believe you me, you'll sit smiling and nodding your head in agreement as you read The Mancode: Exposed in one sitting.  Those dirty dishes can wait.  They weren't going anywhere and there are no such things as fairy godmothers who'd fly in, wave a magic wand and they'd be done.  They'll still be there waiting for you.  I promise.  From men's penchant for farting and hiding the remotes, disgust for directions and having cabinets installed in the garage, The Mancode: Exposed exposes it all in a very witty, snarky way.  Highly recommended for anybody who doesn't suffer from sense of humor failure.

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you Miss Snark herself, Rachel Thompson.  Can we have a drum roll here please?

Rachel, can you tell us why you started writing, what motivates you to write, etc.

How much time have you got? J
I started writing as a child after my fourth grade teacher read us The Secret Garden. I’d always been a reader from an early age. My mom always had her nose in a book – still does (well, a Kindle now). But when my teacher read that book to the class, one chapter a day, I thought I was going to die – I had to know what was going to happen to Mary and Colin! #deargod

On my first date with my husband, he took me to see The Secret Garden on Broadway, front row center. He’s a very, very smart man.

Though I have a degree in Communication Studies and Journalism, professionally, I made my living as a pharma rep (hated it) and trainer (loved that) for a good fifteen years so writing took a backseat, though I always kept journals and wrote stories and poetry.

As for writing as an adult professionally, I began my blog RachelintheOC.com in 2008, in addition to writing for The Examiner and Blogcritics, reviewing books, music, events and beauty products (I’m quite the makeup junkie). I didn’t find it fulfilling but marketing-wise, it gave me great exposure.

Once I expanded my social media platform and began my Mancode essays and really found my niche writing about men and women, the whole idea for my first book A Walk In The Snark formed. About that time, an old boyfriend (whom I almost married) reconnected with me on Facebook and within three month, committed suicide. This was in 2009. Though happily married, his death really threw me and my way of dealing with my grief was to write about it. A few of those essays made their way into the book.

Around 2010, I cofounded the Indie Book Collective also with Carolyn McCray and Amber Scott with the goal of helping authors learn social media and self-publishing.

While the book is primarily male/female humor, loss is a natural extension of love, and many people have contacted me with their own stories. It’s been an amazing experience.

The book reached #1 on the Kindle Motherhood list in September this year for the first time (during the first Indie Book Collective Indie Book Blowout event) and has hit at least 15-20 more times. It’s currently #1 right now! It’s also tops in Parenting and Family, and Family Relationships with an average 4.8 star-rating. I’m so honored.

As for my latest release, The Mancode: Exposed, I’ve become known as the Mancode chick. Those are clearly my funniest essays (as long as one HAS a sense of humor). There are plenty of cranky men who gave me a hard time with the last book who thought I was stereotyping men (though I’m not sure how citing actual examples of behavior is stereotyping but whatev) and became in some cases livid and even wrote me expletive-filled letters, unfollowed or gave 1-star reviews – surprisingly, I love those Mancode-type reactions because it just proves my theories #hehe.

I even gave one section of this book the title DNA & STEREOTYPES to deal with the detractors head on. I hope they realize that women are part of the reaction as well and I discuss chicks (Chickspeak) plenty in the book (“give us chocolate or we will cut you”).

I released the book right after Thanksgiving this year and it’s already reached Top 10 on both the Marriage and Parenting and Family Humor lists with an average 5-star rating. I hope you enjoy it.

In fact, I’m writing Chickspeak: Uncovered right now…ya know, why we say stuff we don’t mean, or how to interpret what we say when we’re in a chocolate coma. Why you should have taken AP Chick in high school. Like that.

I’d love to hear any questions from your readers or interact with them on Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook. My email is RachelintheOC@gmail.com, Twitter or Goodreads @RachelintheOC, or my Mancode: Exposed Facebook page.

Thanks Cindy for the time and opportunity to chat!

Seriously, if you want to read something that is full of light-hearted truisms that will make you smile and think "That is on the mark," then buy your copy of The Mancode: Exposed today. 
Hope you're recovering from the festive feasts!
Cindy Vine
How to Say No to Sex and other Survival Tips for the Suddenly Single

Introducing Kim Upstone - Writer and Motivational Speaker

It gives me great pleasure to introduce a brilliant motivational speaker, Kim Upstone, as a guest blogger on my blog.
Kim is one of 9 children born to a business entrepreneur father (still living) and a housewife (deceased). She has been married 32 years to her husband, Doug, who is a sports writer. She has I has two children, Melissa who lives in Hawaii, and Brent who is married and lives in Tempe, AZ and his wife. They are expecting their first child, Grace, in August. Kim and her husband care for her sister, Debbie (who is 5 years older than Kim). She has special needs and they have Frank, their 4 year old cocker spaniel! They moved to Arizona seven years ago to get away from the cold.


Kim Upstone is the owner of A New Day A New Vision which is not only the name of her company, but her life philosophy. Kim believes that each new day we can create a new vision for ourselves, home and environment. As an author, motivational speaker and intuitive designer she resides with her family in Scottsdale, Arizona. With a background in interior design and interest into the effects of environment upon individuals, accreditation in staging and feng shui soon followed. In addition, she has studied neuro- architecture. Her first book Step by Step To Sold and Feng Shui to Sell are reflections of those principals. Both books were written as guide for home sellers looking to prepare their home by combining Feng Shui and Staging techniques.

Feng Shui for Special Needs, her second book, is given out as a free ebook for people with life and learning challenges. Based on her own personal experience, the books help those who work with special needs children and adults to make enhancements to their environments all in an effort to allow them to flourish.

Her new book All I Want Is Everything released in December 2009 is drawn from her life’s journey of searching how to find her everything and learning to dance in the storm. All I Want Is Everything is a guide to help women reclaim happiness and peace in the search for their everything.
About Kim's Book in her own words:
What do you want from your life? Do you want to discover for yourself what your everything is and then be able to live each day of your life with happiness and joy no matter what the circumstances. Do you want to have each day a realization of the gift you have been given to be here. Do you want to creating for yourself the vision of who you want to be?

I wanted everything too and from the outside, it appeared that I had everything, a loving husband and two beautiful healthy children and strong faith. I have great house and all the things that go along with it. But even with all of those things I still felt something was missing. There was piece to the puzzle I needed to find. If I could locate that missing part I would then be complete and happy.

My search lead me to look in many different directions, mostly outside of myself for the answers. It wasn’t until out of desperation I asked for guidance and received it that I learned all the answers were all within me waiting to be discovered.

All I Want Is Everything, A Guide to Love, Peace and Happiness is my journey to find my everything. What I found was so much more than I could have ever hoped for. They were the questions that lead me to the answers only I could answer. What I have created is a guide for your journey. Questions for you to answer that will lead you to your everything. You too can discover the secrets hidden safely, waiting inside for you to choose to bring them into the light.

Website
http://www.anewdayanewvision.com/
Kim's book is also for purchase on her website. Kim will give a donation for each book purchased to Global Orphans Project.



Reviews of Kim's books
I was excited from the beginning when reading Kim Upstone’s “All I Want is Everything” when she took my favorite quote and expanded upon it.

No one can keep your light bright but you, and although a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle, you cannot keep another candle burning brightly by dimming yours.
And, I was not disappointed as I continued on reading. Ms Upstone hit close to home with her poignant examples of the ways in which we set ourselves up for failure and unhappiness, keeping our spirits empty by the ways in which we scramble to fill them. She is right when she says that disappointment and unhappiness become the norm. I see it everywhere in many people.

I love when these books give you exercises, as I feel like they are involving me in my healing process – a doing instead of telling – a practical application of the lessons. And, Ms. Upstone’s book is like chemistry for the real (social) world. I was so excited to see different exercises instead of the same old tried and true ones. In fact, the first exercise alone, even though I struggled to do it, led me to a profound discovery in my own personal life. She took something I have always known, have read over and over in various books and yet was still unable to do, and she put it into words that I could finally understand. It made sense, and is going to become my new mantra!

Now, shocking me, rather than just giving me a bunch of fancy worded vague advice ( I have read a lot of self-help books), she gave me not only practical advice of what to consider, and what not to consider…but also practical applications like suggestions of how to respond. Amazing. Actual words with which to respond so that those I encounter cannot steal my spirit, my light. I have written it down and I am going to carry it around with me until I learn to react that way instinctively! I mean so many times I have read to not surround yourself with people who are dark spirits, and Ms. Upstone does say this to, but also gives us ways to deal with them when we have to. It is really impossible to avoid them completely, I mean what about all the people you encounter just going to school events for your kids?

Well, now all this was written just after reading the first chapter! To my delight, Ms. Upstone kept up this pace throughout the book. In every self-help book there are things that touch each one if us depending on where we are at in our lives. And, this one touched me where I am out right now. Maybe not every word of it, but it was about the best I have read. I am putting her up there with my favorite, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer in effecting my life over-all. I have pages in my notebook of notes, exercise and now practical advice. Thanks, Kim Upstone!

was excited from the beginning when reading Kim Upstone’s “All I Want is Everything” when she took my favorite quote and expanded upon it.

No one can keep your light bright but you, and although a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle, you cannot keep another candle burning brightly by dimming yours.

And, I was not disappointed as I continued on reading. Ms Upstone hit close to home with her poignant examples of the ways in which we set ourselves up for failure and unhappiness, keeping our spirits empty by the ways in which we scramble to fill them. She is right when she says that disappointment and unhappiness become the norm. I see it everywhere in many people.

Roll on holidays

Schools out on Friday!  Yippee-dee-doo-dah or however you write that.  I should be more organised with an hotel booked but I'm not.  All I know, is that my big book signing/book launch which kicks off the start of my African Book Tour is at A Novel Idea, Slipway branch, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania on Monday 29th March at 6pm.  I haven't even decided yet, whether I'm driving to Dar on the Saturday or Sunday, or if after the book signing, we'll hop on a ferry and spend a few days in Zanzibar.  Apparently, after 3 months of no power, the power is finally back on in Zanzibar.  So what to do?  At the moment, I have no idea.  I'm so caught up in writing Not Telling, the story is so consuming, I think about it constantly.  I'm not sure how it ends yet, I'm hoping the characters will decide for me.
Hopefully, this week will fly.  I'm definitely ready for a holiday.  Quite a few people around me have been hit with malaria of late, so it's definitely in our area.  I might have to get some of that mozzie spray to keep them away.
I really have to start working on the planning for our drive down to Cape Town in June.  I have to get a carnet de passage, to allow me to drive my car through different countries.  The problem is, is that they like to keep your carnet at the border here which is going to be a problem as I'm going to be driving through a few different countries and coming back another route.  Hopefully, I'll be able to make them see sense, but I'm not holding my breath.  Money will probably have to change hands to make it work.
Well, breakfast for me and then I'm doing some more work on Not Telling.  Have a chapter to finish, and this one has to end in a twist so I need my wits about me.
Have a great week!
luv

Cindy

Welcome to my BookWorld!

There are times in my BookWorld when I feel as if I am finally getting somewhere.  I've managed to start to put my idea of a Book Tour into fruition.  I had this idea, seeing as I'm driving down to Cape Town from Tanzania, I may as well stop at bookshops along the way, and do a sort of an 'African Book Tour.'  The notion sounded rather romantic I thought.  Well, I have finalised my launch of this African Book Tour, it will be held at A Novel Idea in Dar-Es-Salaam on the 30th March 2010.  They are talking about getting in television and newspaper reporters, and while this sounds exciting, I am quite nervous.  I've never done anything quite like this before.  My book signing in Nanjing was small potatoes compared to this and they are treating me slike some kind of a celebrity, which frankly, I find quite frightening, being the quiet and reserved type of person that I am.

No sooner had I fanned my face as it was overheating with excitement from the Dar-Es-Salaam news, than I discovered the most amazing exciting thing ever on Amazon.com.  Someone has put up a great review for The Case of Billy B, which I have copied here.
5.0 out of 5 stars I had tears in my eyes, February 13, 2010

By Readers Favorite "Readers Favorite" (Hawesville, KY USA) - See all my reviews

Based on a true story, this is a fictionalized account of one boy`s history of child abuse. Born with a cleft lip, ignored by his mother for the first six months of his life, she walks out on him and his father. His Army father is now faced with the task of raising Billy by himself, trying to keep a roof over their heads, and feeding and taking care of Billy while trying to further his Army career. Finally, realizing there was no other choice, he leaves the service and vows that he and Billy will make it.

The women he goes out with only have one thing on their mind... Marriage. Billy`s dad finally becomes consumed with two things in his life,beside Billy, Sex and Vodka. Unable to hold a job, he is always on the move. Ending up in Michigan, he meets up with a woman who runs a day care center. Infatuated with Chris, she is very abusive toward Billy, becoming a very real threat in their lives. Not only does Billy suffer the abuse of Stella, his father is not much better. Mentally, Billy has withdrawn into himself and has seen and endured more then any child his age should.

One has to read this book with an open mind to see and visualize the sheer torment that this young child endured. Called a freak and a misfit, can there be any help for this struggling father and his son? As he and Billy are continually stalked by Stella, it seems Billy becomes a pawn in the game of survival. Can Chris save himself and provide a stable home for them.

I had tears in my eyes reading this just wanting to hold Billy and show him that there was love in this world and no need for the suffering he was going through. The ending of the book left me with open minded and cries sequel. This book is highly recommended, but be prepared for coarse language and sexual content. The book contains material not suitable for those 17 and under.
 
Besides all the good The Case of Billy B stuff, I've been working flat out on my new novel, Not Telling and also managed to publish a new hub on Hubpages.com Common mistakes make by women during sex, as a follow up to the one I did called Common mistakes made by men during sex.
 
This week is going to be a busy one as we have our evaluation visit from the IB.  Hope your St Villainstine Day was awesome!
love
Cindy