It’s #FirstLineFriday time again! Last week was a learning experience for me, but I think I’ve worked out most of the kinks. For full instructions, you may click the Rules & Instructions link in the black header bar at the top, but here it is in a nutshell: I’m about to give you the opening line from a famous/popular/well-known book. If you recognize it, EMAIL me at marciameara16@gmail.com—NO answers here, please–with the title of the book and the author’s name. (No Googling allowed.) The first 5 correct emailers win a free download of one of my books. It’s that simple. 

The contest runs Friday mornings from 8:00am to 12:00pm (noon) EST. At noon, I will close submissions, and announce the winners. If you already have all of my books, you can either gift your prize to someone else, or collect a credit for a free download of my next book.  

One more previously unbeknownst to me detail: Amazon will not let me gift a download to anyone not living in the United States, but will that stop our fun? NOPE. I will happily send you winners abroad a Mobi or PDF file of your book of choice, either of which can be read on Kindle. 

So. All that being said, are you ready? Today’s might be a bit trickier, so put on your thinking caps and let’s see how you do:

“The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.”

Just a quick reminder that I’ll be running our new #FirstLineFriday Trivia Quiz from 8:00am to 12:00pm (noon) my time (Eastern Standard Time). It’s easy, quick, and a chance to win a free download of one of my books (your choice).

If you recognize the opening line of the day, just EMAIL me with the title and author, and win! And great news! For some of the future quizzes, you’ll have a chance to win free downloads of books by other authors, as well. More on that as it develops! 

Just be sure to check the post early and get your answer emailed to me as soon as you can. First five correct answers win!

Honor system, please. No Googling!

See you in the morning with an opening line I think might be a wee bit tricky. Prove me wrong if you can! 😀 

This afternoon, we have the pleasure of reading a terrific review of Stevie Turner’s book, Partners in Time. I have no doubt you’ll all enjoy this one, and will be eager to share it with all your friends on social media. Thanks so much! (We’ll do the same for you when you share a review with us.)

REVIEW:
5 Star Goodreads Review by Stephen Bentley

One could argue the tagline for this excellent book could be ‘Emily is still desperate for a husband and children, and John is the answer to her dreams.’ The trouble is Emily and John are separated in time by over one hundred years.

Emily is introduced at the start of the book and at first, I thought I was about to read an excellent work of historical fiction as the setting, language, and social conventions are firmly placed in Victorian England. The other main characters are John Finbow and his wife, Kay, who are introduced in a modern-day 1990s setting. The rest of the story is told through the points of view of Emily, John, and Kay and most of the chapters alternate between those characters.

John Finbow is an apparently successful and wealthy screenwriter. He and his wife Kay move into Southcombe Rectory, a large Victorian house that has been empty since the 1960s. It had previously been owned by the Cuthbertson family who had lived there for generations. The ‘Emily’ referred to is the youngest of eight offspring of the late Reverend Arthur Cuthbertson and his wife Delia.

We soon learn about the strain in John and Kay’s marriage as 39-year-old John, would like to start a family, but Kay, 34, doesn’t relish the idea.

It is only after the Finbows move into the rectory we are treated to a brilliantly written paranormal novel. There are apparitions and other ‘out-of -this -world’ experiences which drew me in right from the start. Not only did they draw me in, but I was kept enthralled by the plot and the quality of the writing as I turned page after page. It was during my frenzy of page-turning, I thought this author should be renamed Stevie Page-Turner.

As the plot develops, we are also treated to a nice sub-plot: will John get arrested? [no spoilers from me]

This brilliant book is more than a paranormal novel as it operates at several levels including romance, urban fiction, and a good dollop of crime fiction. It’s worthy of turning into a movie.

As the book description says: One hundred and thirty years separate them. Will Emily and John’s love survive time’s relentless march?

You really do need to read it and find out for yourself. Highly recommended! Continue reading →

So happy to welcome today’s special guest, Jo Elizabeth Pinto, who is sharing a review of her book, The Bright Side of Darkness. I know you folks will all enjoy reading and sharing this review far and wide. Thanks so much! 🙂 

REVIEW:

Fantastic read!!! Changed my opinion of reading!!
January 5, 2019 Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

I cannot say enough about this book. It has changed this middle aged person’s view on reading for recreation and the power and excitement reading can bring to a person. I am a person who has struggled her whole life with ADD and reading skills, making picking up a book to just read a pretty disheartening experience most of the time. For the last 25 plus years, I have limited reading to work required materials only (or maybe something to help my daughter in school). When a very special person in my life suggested I pick up this book, I was very hesitant…another “have to” reading project.

I cannot believe how this book changed my opinion of the power of reading and the incredible picture of life the words could paint . I found myself looking forward to reading, thinking about the characters, being upset when I did not have time to read it and yearning to know how it ended and what would ultimately be the fate of the characters who had become my first literary friends. My mind was not wondering to anything else while I read. This author was able to describe the emotions and traits of these characters so deeply, bringing out both the good and bad in them as is true of all of us in real life. The characters were so real that I felt their pain, fear, hopelessness and ultimately their joy! The struggles seemed real and the outcomes seemed realistic, bringing me to moments of tears and laughter as I followed them in and out of the ebb or flow of their lives. She expresses her thoughts so clearly, and the details so brilliantly that I often thought these were real people in real neighborhoods for which she was just narrating their lives as they lived them.

Thank you very sincerely to this author for this positive and healthy experience with literature. Also thank you for so clearly and so very powerfully sharing the strength, courage and resilience of the human spirit, even when it seems to be against all odds. As a social worker, I have seen many things and worked with many people. I pride myself on kindness, persistence and empathy. But, this book allowed me to feel the characters struggles like they were my own, rather than walking beside those in their struggles as I have for many years.

This book will definitely not disappoint. What can I read next that will keep my excitement for reading alive? Continue reading →