#FirstLineFriday – #GiveawayContest #FreeEBookDownloads

September 27, 2019September 27, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 7 Comments

Can’t believe it’s Friday again and time for you to dig down deep into your memories to see if you can pull up the correct title for today’s opening line. I’m making no predictions of any sort about this one, since my track record in that regard has been less than stellar. But I hope you enjoy seeing another first line that made the top 100 lists several times. And I also hope this time, some of you guess correctly. Please take a look at the rules, then email me if you think you’ve got it. Feel free to take a guess.

As always, the rules are simple:

Be one of the first five people to email me before the game ends at noon, with the title and author of the correct book.
Do not reply here on the blog. Email only: marciameara16@gmail.com
Honor System applies. No Googling, please.
Submissions end at noon, or when I receive 5 correct answers, whichever comes first.
Winners who live in the U.S. may request a free download of any one of my books for themselves, or for someone of their choice. OR, if they’ve read all of the offered books, they may request a free download of my next publication.
Winners who live elsewhere may request a PDF or Mobi file of the same books, since Amazon won’t let me gift you from the site.

Now, without further ado, here is your #FirstLineFriday quiz of the week:

“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.”

You can probably tell from this line that the book was NOT written in the 1800s. Other than that, I’m not going to divulge any clues. But good luck, everybody. I’d love to give away some books this week! 🙂

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – Twenty Years: After I Do by D. G. Kaye

September 24, 2019October 8, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 51 Comments

This afternoon, let’s welcome D. G. Kaye (alias Debby Geis) back to The Write Stuff with a new review of her memoir, Twenty Years: After I Do. I know you’ll enjoy this one, and will be happy to pass it along to all and sundry on your social media lists. Thanks so much for helping Debby get the word out!

Available on all the Amazons HERE

REVIEW:

Lauren Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars A Memoir On Love and Marriage: Love Without Limits
August 20, 2019
Verified Purchase

DG Kaye beautifully chronicles twenty years of her marriage and along the way encapsulates the heart of unconditional love amid life’s challenges. What I loved so much was her honest retelling of those years, both good and challenging. I found myself nodding again and again while I read as she honed into what the fundamental requirements were to maintain a healthy relationship. Respect, laughter, intimacy and patience are the cornerstones of a solid foundation that can withstand the trials of daily living. This is, or should be required reading for anyone in a relationship whether married or in a partnership. The author touched on so many issues that impact all relationships. This novel is a keeper and one I will return to over and over again. I extend a heartfelt thank you to the author for her candor and the gift to all of us for this remarkable book. Continue reading →

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – Soul Swallowers: The Shattered Sea Book 1 by D. Wallace Peach

September 24, 2019October 8, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 125 Comments

Please welcome our first guest today, D. Wallace Peach, who is sharing a great review of her novel, Soul Swallowers: The Shattered Sea Book 1. (I’ve read both Book 1 and Book 2 myself, and can attest to how good they are!) I know you’ll enjoy this review, and will remember to share it far and wide. Thanks!

REVIEW:
Mae Clair
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantasy Masterpiece!
July 25, 2018

Not only does D. Wallace Peach create phenomenal worlds, but she knows how to dish political intrigue with the best of them. In Soul Swallowers, the reader is immediately immersed into a fantastical world of royal hierarchies, caste systems, and a blending of the spiritual and physical as related to souls. The idea that someone can swallow the soul of another and inherit personality traits and skills from the deceased is utterly brilliant. There is very little in this world and carefully crafted tale that doesn’t pass for brilliance.

The central character, Raze, is born into privilege and power but turns his back on his societal status due to tragedy. One of the elements that made this book so appealing for me is the extensive cast of characters. This is Raze’s tale, but it’s also the tale of many others, each who have distinct stories of their own (including some thoroughly reprehensible villains).

Peach introduces numerous players whose lives eventually intertwine with each other and Raze. I was in awe of the political scheming and the multi-layered plot which is stitched as tightly as can be. You won’t find any holes here, but you will find superior writing, characterizations, and twists and turns that will have you swiping pages long into the night. The writing is at times lyrical, others grim, but always extraordinarily vivid. D. Wallace Peach has an uncanny ability to place a reader thoroughly in a scene by weaving word-spells with her descriptions. Lovely, lovely incantations of words. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year. I am so glad book two, Legacy of Souls is already available for pre-order. I’m headed there now! Continue reading →

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – Jazz, Winter Soups, Chocolate, New books, reviews and funnies

September 23, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 1 Comment

Another of my favorite weekly round-up posts, this time by Sally Cronin of Smorgasbord blog. What a busy week Sally had! Hope you’ll stop by and check it out, because I can pretty much guarantee there’s something for everyone here, from laughs to recipes to you-name-it. Be sure to pass it along, too, thanks. And as always, my thanks to Sally for making it easy for me to find all the goodies she posted over the last week. It sure helps me keep up with what’s going on! 🙂 ❤

Week In Review

September 23, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 3 Comments

Here’s Joan Hall’s weekly recap from last Friday. A couple days late, I know, sorry. But believe me, you’ll still want to take a look at all the great links Joan’s sharing. Thanks for passing them along to others, and thanks to Joan for posting them in such a convenient way. It’s very helpful for those of us who are always running behind these days! 🙂 Enjoy, folks!

#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed. Here’s the Answer to Today’s Quiz!

September 20, 2019September 20, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 21 Comments

Time to close this week’s quiz, and I wish I could say we have five winners. Alas, no one got this one, and that truly surprises me. This book is immensely popular, and has 7,949 reviews for a 4.6 average! Add a killer first line, and the fact that it was published relatively recently (2008) and I thought more people would recognize it. Especially with a clue like the Waystone Inn to jog the memory.

When you read this review, and see the accolades the book garnered from the biggest names in fantasy writing, you might wonder why you haven’t already read it. I’ve had it on my Kindle for at least two years, so I’m no one to point fingers. And I DO plan to read it very soon. I think it just got bumped to the top of my list, because how could so many people be wrong?

So, without further ado, here’s the answer to this week’s #FirstLineFriday:

“It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.” is the amazing first line of The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle Book 1, a fabulously popular fantasy by Patrick Rothfuss.

You can buy The Name of the Wind HERE

BLURB and Testimonial Reviews

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

DAY ONE: THE NAME OF THE WIND

My name is Kvothe.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature—the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man’s search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.

Praise for The Kingkiller Chronicle:

“The best epic fantasy I read last year…. He’s bloody good, this Rothfuss guy.”
—George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author of A Song of Ice and Fire

“Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous.”
—Terry Brooks, New York Times-bestselling author of Shannara

“It is a rare and great pleasure to find a fantasist writing…with true music in the words.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin, award-winning author of Earthsea

“The characters are real and the magic is true.”
—Robin Hobb, New York Times-bestselling author of Assassin’s Apprentice

“Masterful…. There is a beauty to Pat’s writing that defies description.”
—Brandon Sanderson, New York Times-bestselling author of Mistborn

Thanks for playing today, and I’m really sorry we didn’t have any winners, but I hope you all enjoyed reading another wonderful first line, and that it might help you when working on your own. Plus, if you enjoy fantasy at all, I suspect this one is a must-read. Check it out, and see what you think. I mean, could Martin, Brooks, Le Guin, Hobb, and Sanderson all be wrong? Doubtful! 😀

See you next week, and hope it’s YOUR turn to recognize that fabulous first line! 🙂

#FirstLineFriday – #GiveawayContest – #FreeEBook Downloads

September 20, 2019September 15, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 19 Comments

It’s that time again, folks, so grab your thinking caps! Our #FirstLineFriday quiz is here, again. This time around, I’m not going to make a single prediction (out loud) about whether this will prove to be an easy one, or very, very difficult. I’ll just judge by how fast the correct answers arrive in my Inbox.

As always, the rules are simple:

Be one of the first five people to email me before the game ends at noon, with the title and author of the correct book.
Do not reply here on the blog. Email only: marciameara16@gmail.com
Honor System applies. No Googling, please.
Submissions end at noon, or when I receive 5 correct answers, whichever comes first.
Winners who live in the U.S. may request a free download of any one of my books for themselves, or for someone of their choice. OR, if they’ve read all of the offered books, they may request a free download of my next publication.
Winners who live elsewhere may request a PDF or Mobi file of the same books, since Amazon won’t let me gift you from the site.

Now, without further ado, here is your #FirstLineFriday quiz of the week:

“It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.”

I’ll be on the alert for your emailed guesses. Good luck, everybody!

Book Review Tuesday: That Darkest Place by @MarciaMeara #bookishtuesday

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 22 Comments

It’s a great day, indeed, when you wake up to Mae Clair sharing a 5-star review of one of your books! I hope you’ll read what she has to say about my 3rd Riverbend book, That Darkest Place. Because of circumstances beyond my control, I didn’t get any marketing done on this one, and a review like this really does my heart good. I hope you’ll share it far and wide, thanks. And my heartfelt thanks to Mae, too! This made my day, my week, and probably the rest of my month, as well! 😀

From the Pen of Mae Clair

Welcome to Book Review Tuesday. Today, I’m thrilled to share another five star read. I’d like to clarify that I never publicly review a book unless I’m able to provide a minimum of three stars—which I consider an average read. That’s why you mostly see four and five star reviews on my blog with the occasional three star. Today’s book definitely earns five sparkly stars.

That Darkest Place
by Marcia Meara

The third book of the Riverbend series focuses primarily on Painter brothers, Jackson and Forrest, though youngest brother Hunter, is still a strong presence in his unique and quiet way. I fell in love with his character in book two.

At the end of Finding Hunter, Jackson was behaving horribly—lashing out at those around him, physically and verbally abusive. He ended up in a car accident believed to be the result of drunk driving. In That Darkest Place

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#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – The Magic Carpet by Jessica Norrie

September 17, 2019September 26, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 16 Comments

This afternoon, our guest is Jessica Norrie, who is sharing a great review of her book, The Magic Carpet. Hope you enjoy checking this out as much as I did, and will remember to share it all over your social media. Thanks!

REVIEW: (from Amazon.uk)
5.0 out of 5 stars A magic carpet ride!
24 August 2019
Verified Purchase

This heart-warming tale of separate lives, cultures and ultimately families is seamlessly woven together and leads the reader on a magic carpet ride through their lives. As a teacher and parent myself I can see the strains such a homework task can put on a family but what a joy it was to see how it brought the community together. I may even use this idea myself! A page-turner from the start, I couldn’t wait to see how the story and families developed and now have my own little scenarios for how their lives continue. A must-read for anyone with a young family, or with an interest in schools and diverse communities. Continue reading →

#ShareAReviewDay – The Heart of Applebutter Hill by Donna W. Hill

September 17, 2019September 26, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 35 Comments

This morning, I’d like to welcome Donna W. Hill back to The Write Stuff. Donna is sharing another review of her book, The Heart of Applebutter Hill. I know you’ll enjoy reading this one, and will pass it along on your favorite social media sites. Thanks so much!

REVIEW:

5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful combination of fantasy and reality
August 10, 2014
Wanda Fischer

In an age of confusion about refugees, bullies, standardized education, and what to do about people who can buy their way into anything in the world, “The Heart of Applebutter Hill” takes on all of these–and more–through the sensitive viewpoint of a 14-year-old blind girl who must confront not only these obstacles but also the day-to-day issues of adolescence. Being blind physically is not what holds Abigail Jones back; the virtual blindness of those around her–especially the adults–is an even bigger challenge. With the help of her wonderful guide dog, Curly Connor, and her best friend, she is able to take charge of more than one uber-difficult situation.

The author weaves a tale that is part Harry Potter, part Nancy Drew, part Dr. Who, and yet, completely original, because her heroine has to overcome a disability that the people in the world around her view as paralyzing. The reader, however, knows that Abigail is stronger and has better vision than those whose eyes have not physically failed them. She treats everyone she meets equally–until that person earns her distrust or disdain. And yet, she is also able to forgive those who would do her harm.

I was impressed with the way in which this writer was able to create new worlds, new ways in which the characters interact with each other and their pro- and antagonists, creative ways in which to solve problems, and ways in which to show how cruel people can be to others who are different and who may not “fit in.” The combination of fantasy and reality is just right. I think this is a book that would be excellent for sixth- or seventh-grade readers. The vocabulary is advanced enough not to patronize that age group, and teachers would also find that their students in that age group could learn new words–and maybe even some lessons about how to treat one another. Continue reading →