Saturday, July 27, 2013

I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE




Ship's Log  07.27.2013  






Alien Pirate Clip Art



Ahoy Mateys! Today I be tellin' ye about an upcoming release by MaryLu Tyndall. It be the second book in her Escape To Paradise series. And let me be tellin' ye this much...if ye haven't read book one, ye need to be gettin' it. The first book, Forsaken Dreams, is the doorway to a wonderful adventure that will span out over two more books in the series. I cannot wait to be gettin' me hands on the second book, Elusive Hope. Yep, that be the new release I be talkin' about. ----------------------------------------------->

Now, I haven't yet read Elusive Hope, but I am still goin' to be gettin' the word out about it. And rest assured, yer Chappy will be squawkin' about it again once I be readin' it.




Elusive Hope 
by MaryLu Tyndall

                                                                                                           
Embark on an exotic adventure in Book 2 of the Escape to Paradise series from bestselling author MaryLu Tyndall. In the fledgling colony of New Hope, their friends struggle to create a Southern utopia in Brazil soon after the Civil War. But Hayden is seeking revenge—relentlessly. And Magnolia is seeking a way out—desperately. They both seek to use the other for their own purposes—deceptively. Falling in love was never part of their plans. . . .




RELEASES NOVEMBER 1, 2013





The excitement is building!!!!!!









We can hardly contain ourselves!!!!!






MaryLu left us hanging with Forsaken Dreams ......so now we must beg for more!!!!






Hearing about the new release brings a smile to our faces.....




Oh my! Just look at the gorgeous cover! I cannot believe my eyes!!!







Head over and pre-order yer copy today, Mateys!  And while yer at it, pick up a copy of Book One, Forsaken Dreams, if ye haven't read it yet.....ye can't have one without the other.


Pre-Order :   HERE



GIVEAWAY!!!!!!  MARYLU HAS GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO GIVE AWAY A PAPERBACK COPY OF FORSAKEN DREAMS TO ONE COMMENTER!!!!! SO LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW WITH YER NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS, SO I WILL KNOW HOW TO REACH YE!!!! THIS GIVEAWAY WILL END ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 1ST AT MIDNIGHT(PACIFIC TIME) AND THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON ME BLOG ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 3RD!!!! 






Well Mateys, I be sayin' all I need to be sayin' fer now!!!! I will be talkin' about this book again soon...once I be readin' it. Thanks fer comin' aboard! God bless.






                              
    Available now!                                                       Pre-order  










Thursday, July 25, 2013

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH A TWIST WINNER!!!!




Ship's Log  07.25.2013





Ahoy Mateys! It be time fer me to announce me favorite caption. I won't make ye wait any longer....

Drum roll please...



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                           *
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Double Trouble!!!


Congrats Johnette fer havin' the winnin' caption, Matey!!! Ye be winnin' a copy of me and MaryLu's devotional!!! It can be for ye or fer someone else of yer choosin'.....I will be contactin' ye soon!!!!







Thanks fer playin' everyone! Make sure ye be comin' back next week fer another picture to caption!!!



God bless.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH A TWIST




Ship's Log  07.24.2013  






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Ahoy Mateys! It be me WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH A TWIST post. Before we get to our caption contest, I wish to announce the winner of me I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE drawin'. There be only four entries fer this drawin' so yer Chaplain be feelin' a bit generous! I will be sendin' all four Mateys a copy of Kathi's ebook! Congrats to ye all! 


Ist Giant Smiley Big Smile Image




Now for me Wordless Wednesday With A Twist!





Okay Mateys, ye know what to do......


Caption this:








This be a picture of me hubby, Jack, walkin' wit' our grandson, Lucas.....I want ye to post a TWO WORD caption fer this photo! What say you? 




SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!!! I will be givin' away a copy of me and MaryLu's devotional ebook to the Matey wit' me favorite caption!!! If ye already have our devotional, I will send the copy to the person of yer choice!!!! I will announce the winner tomorrow on me blog!!!! 



Thanks fer stoppin' by, Mateys!   God bless!!!






                                                     

Saturday, July 20, 2013

I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE





Ship's Log  07.20.2013 







Alien Pirate Clip Art





Ahoy Mateys! It be time again fer me I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE post. Today I be sharin' a great short story wit' ye. It is part of a series, but it stands alone.





Meet the author:
Kathi Macias








From her Facebook page:

A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and recently won the prestigious 2008 member of the year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) at the annual Golden Scrolls award banquet. Kathi  lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their free time riding their Harley.

"Though I'm a wife, mother, grandmother, and yes, great grandmother, I also ride on the back of my hubby's Harley and am known as 'Easy Writer.'"




The Book:
SAFE HOUSE



Description:

Nathaniel Johnson is 11 years old, the son and grandson of ardent abolitionists. His mother, though not a supporter of slavery, believes they must obey the law—even laws that allow people to be bought and sold as chattel, and for those who help them escape to pay a great penalty. Caught between fear and the desire to do the right thing, Nathaniel is forced to come of age when the slavery issue ceases to be theoretical and becomes quite personal.



This book is awesome. So well written and compelling. I did not want it to end! Here is an excerpt:


“It’s your legacy,” Grandpa Johnson had stressed to him, more than once. “Your pa and I have dedicated our lives to seeing our fellow human beings set free. One day you will have to take up the torch and carry on where we left off.”
The possibility raised goose bumps on the back of the child’s neck, even in the simmering heat. The thought that some people had no say in how or where they lived or what they did, that they were beaten and tortured, bought and sold, forcibly separated from loved ones, made his heart ache. Somewhere down deep a desire to live nobly and courageously and to do the right thing wrestled against the fear of what he’d heard could happen to those who were caught trying to help the slaves escape.


Here is my review of SAFE HOUSE:

This story grabbed me from the first sentence and kept me reading until the very end.  The majority of stories I’ve read have had the usual heroes….grown men or women. Kathi changed things up by making the hero of her story a young boy.  This is a wonderfully written story about freedom and sacrifice. My heart went out to Nathaniel as he faced a very frightening and life changing situation. I highly recommend this story. It may be a short story, but it will impact you in a big way. 

You can purchase a copy of this book Here



GIVEAWAY!!!

I will be giving away 2 copies of Safe House
( Kindle version) to 2 commenters. Leave a comment with your name and email address to be entered! Contest ends Monday, July 22nd, at midnight (Pacific Time) Winners will be announced on my WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH A TWIST post...on the 24th.




Thanks for dropping by and God bless!





  




Thursday, July 18, 2013

Wordless Wednesday With A Twist Winning Caption





Ship's Log  07.18.2013






Ahoy Mateys! There be only 3 captions fer me to choose from, but I be pickin' me favorite. And the winner be:











I was picturing a princess looking out her castle (or tower) window and saying "Someday my prince will come." :)




Congrats to Sarah! Great caption, Matey!




Thanks fer droppin' by me blog.....come back aboard on Saturday fer another I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE book review.



God bless.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH A TWIST





Ship's Log  07.17.2013   






Purple-hair Silly Face Clip Art





Ahoy Mateys! It be me WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH A TWIST post. Before we get to our caption contest, I wish to announce the winner of me I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE drawin'. The winner will receive an ebook copy of A Heart Deceived by Michelle Griep. It was Michelle's Fun Friday videos that inspired me to video tape me contest drawings.  ...here be the video:









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Ooooops! So sorry Mateys, but I had some technical difficulties wit' me video. So, I will simply tell ye who won.....ye can be trustin' me, the drawin' was fair.



And the winner be:



Ladette!




Congrats Matey! I will be contactin' ye soon! 





Now for me Wordless Wednesday With A Twist!

                                                     Ist Giant Smiley Big Smile Image




Okay Mateys, ye know what to do......


Caption this:










Now, use yer imaginations, Mateys! Me little granddaughter, Cassie (she be much bigger now), she be ponderin' somethin'....What say you? I want to know what ye think she be thinkin' as she stares out the window. 




I will announce me favorite caption on me blog tomorrow!




Thanks fer stoppin' by! God bless.

Monday, July 15, 2013

I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE





Ship's Log  07.15.2013  





Alien Pirate Clip Art



Ahoy Mateys! It be time again fer me I SPY WIT' ME LITTLE EYE post. Today I be sharin' a great book wit' ye. It be written by a great lady and author, Michelle Griep.




Meet the author:
Michelle Griep




From Michelle's website....her words:

A Pen and Ink Fanatic
Dare I be so bold as to call myself an author? Being that I’m one of those freaks who attended poetry workshops instead of summer camp during my formative years, yes, I will. While other teens busied themselves throwing parties when their parents weren’t home, I was the nerd holed up in my room with pen and paper.
A Relative
Relatives. Can’t shoot ‘em. It’s against the law, although I bet my husband and four children have been tempted now and again to put me in their crosshairs. I’m a wife of twenty-something years and mother of two sons and two daughters. And yes, it’s true…boys are way easier than girls, unless drama is something you crave.
An Anti-Establishment Rabblerouser
I am one of those library-card wielding, mini-van driving, let’s-take-a-jaunt-to-the-grocery-store and call it a field trip kind of homeschoolers. But allow me this disclaimer: I don’t wear denim jumpers, and I farm out anything related to science or math. Bonus disclaimer: The last of my nestlings has flown the homeschooling nest, but I continue to tutor writing and history at a local high school homeschool co-op. You can read some of my views on homeschooling at:
http://www.crosswalk.com/homeschool/1349201/ 
A Princess
No, I’m not currently on medication for delusions of grandeur. I am a daughter of a King. Seriously. I take the Bible as inspired truth and that’s what it says (Romans 8:16, 17).  
A Boxer Lover
I’m not talking Fruit of the Loom vs. Hanes. I’m talking stubby-tailed, fuzzy muzzled, bundles of face-licking love. As the great philosopher Groucho Marx once said, “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” Click here to see photos of my current canine companion.
An Anglophile
What’s the deal with me and Great Britain? Beats me. I’m as passionate about anything English as I am about chocolate and java. Oddly enough, I prefer Bronte over Austen, and if you’d like to debate the qualities of Typhoo versus PG Tips, feel free to e-mail me.
A Sci-Fi Geek
As a matter of fact, that was me squirreled away in the backseat of the school bus with my nose plastered in a Bradbury book. Throughout junior high, I escaped classmate alien abductions by reading Asimov, Vonnegut and Wells. And I’m doggone pleased to be living in the same metro area as Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore.
A Chef
Sorry, I did not graduate from the Cordon Bleu. I didn’t even cough up the cash to attend. I am, however, a veteran of once-a-month cooking, and you can be, too. Check out Once A Month Cooking. Also, if you’d like to email me, I’ll send you my favorite brownie recipe. Just go to my contact page and gimme a holler.



Check out her website here: http://michellegriep.com/

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Michelle puts a smile on my face every time I visit her blog. I truly enjoy her writing and I know you will too. 



To get to know her a little better.....Here are a few questions she was nice enough to answer for me:



Question One: When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?

When I discovered Crayolas and blank wall space. Seriously. Ask my mom. There was a season, however, when I kicked around the idea of becoming an astronaut. Two problems with that, though. First off, I hate science and math, both of which are slightly necessary to succeed in an aerospace career. Secondly, it was a total deal breaker when I found out that astronauts don’t actually wear cool Lt. Uhura uniforms.


Question Two: When you sit down with a good book, what genre do you prefer? Any favorite authors you can recommend? (I know that's two questions)

I love me a good historical romance with dark undertones…hence my love for Jane Eyre. But honestly, there’s really not a genre I won’t read, and I also have a definite bent toward YA and sci fi. Go figure.

If you’re looking for a fantastic British historical, there’s a debut author coming out this fall that I’m SUPER excited for the world to discover. Jessica Dotta is her name. Her series is The Price of Privilege and the first book is Born of Persuasion (which you can already pre-order).

YA authors I love are Jill Williamson, Travis Thrasher, and Lisa Mangum. And if you’re looking for some snarky dialogue, Tim Downs is my fave.


Question Three: Your blog is very entertaining, you are a very funny lady. Did you find it difficult curbing that humor while writing the darker parts of A Heart Deceived?

Not hard at all. Guess I’m a creeper at heart, eh? Actually, I’ve been through some very dark times in my own life—as we all have. As tough as they are, that’s when God shines the brightest. I want people to know that He can and does show up when you think you have no hope left.


Question Four: I feel like this book could easily have a sequel. Did that thought ever enter your mind, or do you feel like you wrapped everything up with nowhere else to go?

Aack! I wish you were my publisher! I do have books 2 & 3 already mapped out, and even started writing book 2. Yes, there is indeed more to say about these characters, but for whatever reason, my publisher has declined my sweet offer to get them in print. Such is the industry. But (and I’ve always got a big but)…that doesn’t mean I can’t self-pub them (cue evil laughter).


Question Five: One final question....If you could live the life of ANY character from ANY book, who would you choose and why?

Don’t even have to think about this one. Cassie Larson from UNDERCURRENT. Who wouldn’t want to live with Ragnar?


*******


Don't you just LOVE her answers? Michelle is such a pleasure......make sure you visit her blog, especially on her Fun Fridays! Her videos will put a smile on your face.


Now, on to the book!



A Heart Deceived





Before I share my review of A Heart Deceived, here is a description of the book:


Miri Brayden teeters on a razor's edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Yet if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he'll be committed to an asylum—and she'll be sent to the poorhouse. 

Ethan Goodwin has been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law ... from God. After a heart-changing encounter with the gritty Reverand John Newton, Ethan would like nothing more than to become a man of integrity—an impossible feat for an opium addict charged with murder. 

When Ethan shows up on Miri's doorstep, her balancing act falls to pieces. Both Ethan and Miri are caught in a web of lies and deceit—fallacies that land Ethan in prison and Miri in the asylum with her brother. Only the truth will set them free.



Sound good? Here is a little excerpt to whet yer whistle:


"Up you go, maggot. I hope they tie the rope 'specially tight 'round your neck." Mr. Handy put some muscle into heaving him upward, above and beyond what was necessary.
Ethan plunged forward, smacking his chin on the wooden planks of the cart. Behind him, a door clanged shut, followed by a rough "Haw!"
The cart lurched, and Ethan used the momentum to swing into a sitting position. Either it was exceptionally dark in there, or he was about to pass out-possibly both, and either a good thing. "Did you commit murder?"
The question shot out from nowhere and everywhere. Was God in the cart too?



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Now that ye have had a taste of this book, here is my review of A Heart Deceived:


After reading Michelle’s previous book Undercurrent, I was expecting nothing less than a great read. Well, I was not disappointed. Michelle has definitely stepped it up a bit with this new release. A bit on the darker side, but so intriguing and well written. There is so much going on in A Heart Deceived, you may ask “Will I get lost?” The answer is no! Michelle does an excellent job bringing all the different aspects together and making a perfectly harmonious story…..Murder, addictions, insanity, uncertainty, heartbreak…..add to that, forgiveness, love, compassion and heroism. You will also get a close up look at what went on inside Asylums in those days….so sad. 
Best of all, Michelle brings the power of God into her story in a way that will give you goosebumps. I truly think the story ended too soon. I would love to see a sequel to this book.  I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a story that stirs the soul and makes your heart pound. 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, but was under no obligation to give a positive review. 


You can purchase a copy of A Heart Deceived here.


GIVEAWAY!!!!  I am giving an ebook copy of A Heart Deceived to one of my commenters. Leave a comment with your name and email to be entered. Contest ends Tuesday, July 16th at midnight.(Pacific time) I will announce the winner on my Wordless Wednesday With a Twist post.

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I wish to thank Michelle for being my guest this week on my blog! Thanks Buddy!





Thanks fer comin' aboard, Mateys! God bless!