GIVEAWAY: Paperback Sets by Michael Bradley

I am excited for the release of Michael Bradley's new book, Deadlines. It will be available on February 18, 2013. This will be the second book in the Brian Wilder series. 

You can read my review of the first book in the series, Black and White and Dead All Over here. I will be  posting a book review of Deadlines soon! In the meantime, Mr. Bradley is generously offering FIVE paperback sets of both books! Enter below - 

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Tour Stop & Book Review: Impossible Compassion by Edward Mannix

Impossible Compassion

By Edward Mannix

Paperback: 192 pages

Purchase Link: Amazon

Book Description

How do we end suffering in our own life and on the planet? How do we bring about seemingly impossible outcomes such as miraculously healing our self from a fatal disease, saving the environment or ending violence and war?

In his second book, Edward Mannix takes on our assumptions about what is possible and impossible for us as individuals and as a species, and he provides us with a new paradigm and new tools that enable us to achieve that which was perviously unachievable.

The new paradigm he presents includes two key concepts the author calls metaphysical causation and interlocking karma.

Metaphysical causation at first sounds a lot like the Law of Attraction but ends up being quite a bit different. According to the author it is not our thoughts that create our reality, but rather it is our karma or karmic imprints that are projected onto the movie screen of our life by the powerful projector of our soul. By moving the discussion away from the potency of our thoughts to something more difficult to observe - our karmic imprints - the book reveals to us important hidden aspects of the creative mechanism of life, and offers us the opportunity to intervene in this causal process in a new and powerful way. For those readers who have tried the Law of Attraction and found it sometimes effective and other times ineffective, it is likely that the information presented in this text will illuminate why those techniques often fall down.

Impossible Compassion provides a missing link of sorts, helping us identify and change our karmic imprints through the use of simple tools and processes that fall under the heading of what the author calls directed compassion. By utilizing our own compassion to alter the karmic imprints on the film of our soul - which the book teaches us how to do in specific detail - we can literally re-write the script of our life, leading to rapid and potentially miraculous changes in our external world.

And, while according to metaphysical causation we each sit at the center of and in some way create our own universe, we are also all connected to one another and part of each others' created universes. In his discussion of what he calls interlocking karma, the author illuminates this critical paradox that is so often misunderstood or entirely missed by students and teachers of modern spirituality. In so doing, he gives us further insight into the process of reality unfolding, and it is with an understanding of interlocking karma that we can see how giving our self compassion can influence the physical health of a loved one or help bring about major changes in our collective reality, e.g., ending violence and war. 

My Review

Edward Mannix’s passion and excitement for compassion are evident in Impossible Compassion. The title perfectly defines the contents of his book. Edward wants to guide individuals on how to make what is thought impossible possible.

Mannix has organized his thoughts into two main sections –

Part I: Basic Techniques, First Precepts, and Learning To Utilize Directed Compassion To Help Ourselves

Part II: Deeper Concepts, More Advanced Topics, And Learning To Utilize Directed Compassion As A Force Of Goodness And Healing In The Lives Of Others And In The Life Of Humanity

I appreciate how Mannix could take some deep concepts, like using directed compassion to not only heal our mental and physical wounds, but to also transform the world, and present them in a way that is easy to comprehend. He also includes samples of utilizing directed compassion and step-by-step techniques.

I feel as though Impossible Compassion is an important read because it's common for people to complicate the process of healing and compassion by being overwhelmed on where to start or how to be successful in restoring their lives. Mannix emphasizes that we need to go back to our younger selves and pinpoint where the trauma initiated.  It makes sense. Once we learn how to be compassionate with ourselves, we can begin to heal our wounds. Once we become stronger, more confident individuals, we can spread our compassion and healing to others and the world around us. 

Tour Stop & Book Review: The Second Daughter by J. Jeffrey

The Second Daughter
by J. Jeffrey

• Print Length: 275 pages
• Publisher: Top Press; 1 edition (January 3, 2013)
• Purchase Link: Amazon

Book Description

YOU try turning out all right after you overhear your mother wishing you hadn’t been born.

It had started out well. Umbrellas tangled. A storybook romance followed. A wonderful wedding. A beautiful, sweet first daughter. They were complete, a family, happy.

And then they went and had another daughter.

Her charming and witty fraud of a father Theodore starts disappearing, then worse, coming back. Her once allegedly sweet older sister Regina angrily resents her, and the sisters are at constant war. Her poor harried mother Helen is so busy what-iffing about the life she might have had that she overlooks the life she is actually having. Everyone blames younger daughter Debra for pretty much everything as the family slowly, then quickly, then one day explosively disintegrates. Along the way there are secrets and lies, heartbreaks and betrayals, plus the dramatic unexpected death of a central character at a pivotal moment. Debra, now a young woman, finds herself living awkwardly alone with her embittered mother when the phone rings—and her mother’s secret past suddenly crashes back into the present. Their life may be about to change forever; or rather, perhaps, revert back to what it should have been all along.

But not exactly because of that phone call, as it turns out.

Because of the remarkable second daughter. For what Debra Gale has is unyielding determination. What she has is an irrepressible capacity to love.

And now at last what she has is a chance.

The complex dynamics of a changing family. Mother, daughters, sisters, and the father who both divides and unifies them. That dramatic unexpected death, plus a fair amount of banana cream pie. Welcome to The Second Daughter: a funny but poignant, and ultimately unusual but beautiful love story.

My Review

Young couple, Helen and Theodore Gale are quite opposites, but maintain a magnetic attraction to each other. What one lacks in the relationship, the other one more than compensates for. After their first daughter, Regina, is born, everything seems to be falling into place for the Gales. That is until their second daughter, Debra, arrives. Life is turned upside down. The family encounters jealousy, death, and financial woes.

While growing up, Debra is aware that she is blamed for her family's misfortunes and treated differently than her sister. It isn’t until their father abandons the family for another woman, that Debra begins to build a strong connection with her mother.

I long for stories that carry me away and do not bring me back to reality until the last word is read. J. Jeffrey did just that with The Second Daughter. From the start, I was wrapped up in Helen and Theodore’s sweet and unusual romance. I followed along as Theodore was the doting father to Regina and loving husband to Helen. Then, Jeffrey spun the table rapidly when Debra came into the picture. The mood quickly changed, and I felt the emotional turmoil the family, mostly Helen, was dealing with. 

The Second Daughter gave me everything I want and need from a book. I connected to characters, I easily visualized them, and I felt for them. This story contains many ups and downs, but it reveals hope in the most bleak situations. Jeffrey shares the unique story between a mother and her two daughters, and the competitive relationship between the sisters.

Author Info

J. Jeffrey stands about six foot three and likes poetry. He has been known to climb the occasional mountain and tame the occasional lion. He sings opera as an amateur but is trained as a masseur, and he is extremely partial to his wife’s green tea perfume. He drinks too much coffee, and gets lost a lot. Two words: Florence, Italy. Pastry for breakfast, over the crossword puzzle, preferably after noon. Soup for lunch, preferably late afternoon, over another puzzle (the first having been solved). His favorite drink (after coffee) is red wine. He knows a word or two but will not play scrabble. Regrettably, he believes he might be happy if only you would think him as funny as he thinks he is. But most importantly, he is not to be trusted. He writes biographies full of lies, or are they novels full of truths? Such a fine line.

Contact Info

www.theseconddaughter.com

Twitter: @JJeffrey6589

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theseconddaughternovel

Follow The Second Daughter Virtual Book Tour:

January 27th My Devotional Thoughts 
January 28th Bookworm Brandee 
January 30th Four A’s & a D.
February 1st  The Book Barn 
February 1st Storeybook Reviews 
February 3rd Le' Book Squirrel   
February 4th Every Free Chance Book Reviews 
February 6th Aspired Writer 
February 7th Read Your Writes Book Reviews 

100 Things in 2013

A friend posted her list of 100 Things to do in 2013. I thought it was an awesome idea & decided I wanted to make one, too.

100 Things in 2013

1. Take myself out to lunch.
2. Write a new zine.
3. Attend at least two library events.
4. Watch the entire series of Six Feet Under again.
5. Make homemade garlic bread.
6. Visit Astoria.
7.  Spend an afternoon at Portland Button Works.
8.  Go to Powell’s Books.
9.  Make Luna a cat toy.
10.  Paint something for my bedroom.
11.  Self-publish my novel.
12.  Participate in NaNoWriMo.
13.  Take the free tugboat tour in Olympia.
14.  Take my photo with the kissing couple downtown.
15.  Knit something.
16.  Table the Portland Zine Symposium.
17.  Read five classics.
18.  Do random acts of kindness.
19.  Finish FAT-TASTIC #3.
20.  Read tarot cards for someone other than a family member.
21.  Take myself to the movies.
22.  Make vegetarian stuffed cabbage
23.  Visit the Experience Music Project in Seattle.
24.  Take the kids to a U-pick farm.
25.  Grow a new vegetable.
26.  Volunteer.
27.  Go to Procession of the Species Celebration.
28.  Walk around Capitol Lake
29.  Fly a kite on the beach.
30.  Add one original piece of art to my Etsy shop every month.
31.  Wash my van.
32.  Go to the top of the Space Needle.
33.  Participate in bookcrossing.com
34.  Take a spontaneous trip with the kids.
35.  Make a zine for 24 Hour Zine Thing.
36.  Watch an entire season of Gilmore Girls with Emily & Bella in one day.
37.  Volunteer with the kids.
38.  Take the kids to Heritage Park Fountains.
39.  Make a piece of mosaic art.
40.  Visit a lighthouse.
41.  Write 30 letters in 30 days.
42.   Rework Our Lady of Guadalupe tattoo
43.  Go on a coffee date with a friend.
44.  Post 30 pictures on my blog in 30 days.
45.  Table an event that I’ve never been to.
46.  Hold signs in support of Planned Parenthood outside of their clinic.
47.  Make my own sugar body scrub.
48.  Own a record player.
49. Own a cassette player.
50. Volunteer at Heath’s school.
51.  Find a cheaper place to live in Olympia.
52.  Paint with watercolors.
53.  Learn to fix my serger.
54.  Make art for Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon, duh)
55.  Go to the ABQ Zine Fest!
56.  Take the train somewhere.
57.  Volunteer at the library.
58.  Make a split zine with Jami.
59.  Make a split zine with Nicci.
60.  Sew cloth napkins.
61.  Own a cursive typewriter.
62.  Own a pair of black boots.
63.  Eat an avocado.
64.  Go to the drive-in.
65.  Use my typewriters to write letters.
66.  Get water from the artesian well in Olympia.
67.  Weekly board game fun with the kids.
68.  Read tea leaves.
69.  Get my tarot cards read.
70.  Go to Mount St. Helens.
71.  Get a super rad picture of Mt. Rainier.
72.  Get a Mt. Rainier tattoo.
73.  Take the kids to Olympia Harbor Days.
74.  Submit art & writing to compilation projects. *Making progress!
75.  Run a mile.
76.  Spend the day with Bradley in Portland.
77.  Get my passport.
78.  Adopt-a-Farm Animal (farmsanctuary.org)
79.  Get fit for a bra. (yay!)
80.  Listen to an audiobook. (really listen to it)
81.  Read 60 books.
82.  Trade artwork with friends.
83.  Make eco-friendly dryer sheets.
84.  Organize my inbox.
85.  Switch my distro inventory to Excel.
86.  Own an awesome hoodie.
87.  Get my astrology birth chart.
88.  Go to a Zumba class.
89.  Give away more books.
90.  Organize family photos.
91.  Start & organize keepsake boxes for the kids.
92.  Make a lot of handmade envelopes.
93.  Clean & organize spice cabinet.
94.  Compliment someone every day.  *Making progress!
95.  Compliment myself every day.
96.  Drink more water.
97.  Buy floor mats for my van.
98.  Use my juicer more.
99.  Eat at Bearded Lady Food Co. in Olympia.
100. More writing & art makin’ in my print journal.

Book Review: INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders By L. Leander

INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders
By L. Leander

Purchase Link: Amazon

• Print Length: 229 pages
• ASIN: B008FD5O1E

Book Description

Bertha Maude Anderson has no inkling of how famous she will become. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina in the year 1843. Her world changes forever when she is enticed to join The Romanoff Brothers Circus and her name is changed to Inzared, Queen of the Elephant Riders. Inzared discovers her true calling while learning to live with the nomadic Gypsies. From the hatred shown by some of the performers to the love she finds along the way, Inzared finds herself immersed in the rich folklore and customs of the misunderstood people who call the circus their home. Her one constant is Cecil, the elephant, and together they form a bond that no one can break as Inzared finds herself lured into the world of the Gypsies while clinging to her own roots and trying to break free of the chains that keep her from her destiny.

My Review

Bertha is a 17-year-old farm girl from the Appalachians. Her life consists of working on the family farm and preparing to marry a local farm boy and start a family. When a Gypsy circus visits her home town, Bertha finds herself getting whisked into the wonders of this foreign culture. Her uneventful life swiftly turns into an awesome adventure.

I really enjoy the time period of this story and the setting. L. Leander does a wonderful job creating a story set in 1843 in the desolate mountains of North Carolina. I enjoy the descriptions of the farm life as well as the colorful environment surrounding the nomadic gypsies.

After running away with the The Romanoff Brothers Circus, Bertha transforms into INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders. She bonds with the Cecil, the circus’ elephant, and his trainer, Paytre. Inzared has to prove herself to be worthy of traveling with the family of gypsies, since it is taboo for Gaji and Gypsy to mix.

Unexplainable things begin to happen to the circus animals, and the performers realize there is someone trying to sabotage the Gypsies. The book is overflowing with mystery, adventure, and passion. Inzared faces hardships, discovers truths, and becomes an unstoppable woman.

Book Review: Chessman: And His Nine Lives On Death Row By Terrance W. Cooney

Chessman: 

And His Nine Lives On Death Row

By Terrance W. Cooney

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Outskirts Press (August 23, 2012)
• Purchase Link: Amazon

Book Description

On May 2, 1960, on its ninth attempt, the State of California finally executed Caryl Chessman. Terrence W. Cooney's Chessman, told in the liberating form of a factually-informed novel, introduces the reader to all the players in a long odyssey that brought such infamy to the state and country. From Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown to Chessman himself and to the landscape of a fast-changing California, Cooney anchors a chapter of the state's history that for too long has meandered a-sea. Many of the facts of this hysteria-inducing ordeal were gleaned from archival histories, both oral and written. And while much of he dialogue is imagined, the times, attendees, and days of the meetings that hosted such conversations are not. 

In 1956, the author was appointed by the California Supreme Court to serve as counsel representing a defendant who had pleaded guilty to two murders. It was, Cooney knew from the start, a death penalty case. Cooney argued that the arbitrary imposition of the punishment violated the 1791 Eighth Amendment of the Constitution's Bill of Rights against "Cruel and Unusual Punishment." His argument was rejected. Subsequently, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted that position in 1972 when it so ruled that the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment. 

Four years later, still unable to shake the case, Cooney had become engrossed by the Caryl Chessman affair that had started to become deadline news throughout California and beyond. In 1960, Cooney produced the documentary: Justice and Caryl Chessman. The film was shown in more than 1,500 movie houses throughout the United States alone, and in countless theatres worldwide. During the filming of the documentary, Cooney met Chessman who was, at the time, the most famous resident of San Quentin's death row. In the process, Cooney also met and conversed with Chessman's attorneys, prosecutors, investigators and jailers. 

My Review

Chessman: And His Nine Lives On Death Row follows San Quentin inmate, Caryl Chessman, during the last few months of his life on death row. Author and attorney, Terrance W. Cooney has compiled facts, history of the case, and the recollections of those involved, including Chessman. This novel isn’t just about Caryl Chessman receiving the death penalty despite never committing a homicide, but it also sheds light the judicial system and capital punishment.

Chessman: And His Nine Lives On Death Row is a great read and an eye-opener to some of the behind-the-scene workings of the California court and prison system during the 1950s. I would imagine that present day court cases face similar issues. While the book specifically follows the case of published author, Caryl Chessman, readers catch a glimpse of the mentality behind the decision-making in this infamous case.

It was frustrating to jump through the hoops along with Chessman’s lawyers as they attempt to beat the clock to save him from the gas chamber, or at the very least, extend his life. While Chessman was not an innocent man, there seemed to be insufficient evidence that he was guilty of the crimes that ultimately led to his death sentence. Cooney’s book is an emotional roller coaster ride that is abundant in information and intensity. 

Book Review: The Miracle Inspector by Helen Smith

The Miracle Inspector
by Helen Smith

Paperback: 252 pages

• Publisher: Tyger Books (September 4, 2012)

Purchase Link: Amazon

Book Synopsis

A darkly comic literary novel set in the near future. England has been partitioned and London is an oppressive place where poetry has been forced underground, theatres and schools are shut, and women are not allowed to work outside the home. A young couple, Lucas and Angela, try to escape from London - with disastrous consequences.

My Review

Lucas is a twenty-something miracle inspector during an oppressed time in England. Life in the future is bleak for women, and those involved in the arts. Men disappear without warning and women are barred in their homes most of their lives. Lucas and his wife Angela dream of escape and starting over far away. Readers follow the young couple as they try to survive during these trying times in London. Being a miracle inspector seems to be a safe job and like the other local women, Angela stays at home and aims to keep her husband happy.

When crisis strikes their household, we see a shift from Lucas being the protagonist of the story to Angela who is the main focus the remainder of the novel. I was intrigued by the futuristic world that author Helen Smith had created. The oppression that females and freethinkers experienced seem to be something that could very well occur if the modern world as we know it collapsed. I really liked how Smith described an environment that felt hollow and lacking of vibrancy and freedom. She captured the somber mood of London during that period. 

Blog Tour: The Dreamer by May Nicole Abbey

The Dreamer

By May Nicole Abbey

Purchase Link: Amazon

Book Description:

A dream in the night. A leap of faith. A quest for truth and treasure.

From term papers and instant coffee to blood-thirsty pirates and buried treasure, Rachel Madera, a gifted university professor, finds herself travelling through time on a journey of discovery and danger, all because of a simple dream. Despite the threat, Rachel is undaunted, certain she holds the keys to unlock the mystery of a Pharaoh’s treasure … and alter the course of history.

The only thing that stands between her and peril is Captain Mallory Tucker, a man with a tragic past and intractable moral code. Born of the sea, he is among the leading mariners of 18th century Europe. But the derelicts who make up his crew and the capriciousness of the ocean have taken their toll, and Captain Tucker is tired and jaded. The last thing he needs is a precocious young woman dropping onto his ship and creating havoc. But he’ll fight to the death for her honor, her beliefs…and her love.

Author Bios

Caroline Gregory and Shawnette Nielson were born in Southern California to a tight-knit family. Caroline earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Brigham Young University in 1999, supervising and managing a bookstore during and after college. She currently has three children’s picture books that are in the process of getting published.The first one, Puppy Stew, can be found on Amazon. Now a stay at home mom, she resides in Oklahoma with her husband and four young sons.

From gymnastics and acting to wrestling and construction work, Shawnette quickly realized that she had a flair for the unusual. At the age of 13 she started gymnastics only to switch it out for wrestling on the boy’s team her sophomore year in high school. After graduating she held a variety of jobs and worked as a nanny in the summer months. Although in essence a tomboy, Shawnette always longed for a feminine role model in modern media. At the age of 21, she went to St. Louis, Missouri to serve a mission for her church. She now lives in Arizona with her husband and three children.

Frustrated with the morals and messages found in much contemporary fiction, unable to find heroines with which they could relate, and discovering many of their family and friends felt similarly, Caroline and Shawnette teamed up to write a wholesome story that contained page-turning adventure and passion, but with a strong, moral message of God and honor. 

The sentence, “I had a dream once that I flew” came to Shawnette’s mind one summer afternoon in 1997. Rushing around for a pen and paper, and unable to find either, she finally settled for a computer with a printer that was out of ink. The words tumbled forth without control and Shawnette’s fingers flew to keep up. Thus was born the beginning of “Once I Flew”. In later years, she read those first few pages to her sister Caroline, and together they developed the character of Rachael (POV) as well as the adventurous story and path of growth that she goes on. They both feel Rachael will be an inspiration to many.

Follow The Dreamer as it goes on a virtual book tour!

• January 5th Bookworm Babblings
• January 7th Aspired Writer
• January 9th My Devotional Thoughts
• January 12th A Write to Review
• January 13th Every Free Chance Book Reviews 
• January 16th For The Love of Film and Novels
• January 18th Beauty But a Funny Girl

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