Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon


Could anyone have secrets on the Hindenburg with its size and carefully patrolled space?

It appeared that everyone had a personal secret, but one of the public secrets was the worry about a bomb threat.

The passengers had heard of a bomb threat, but it was down played.

Emilie, Max, Werner, Edward, and Leonhard and Getrude Adelt are the main storytellers.  Emilie was the only female crew member on board, Max was the navigator, Werner was the cabin boy, Edward was an American, and the Adelts are journalists. 

FLIGHT OF DREAMS tells of the three-day flight of the Hindenburg and its fire on the third day as it neared its landing spot of Lakehurst, New Jersey.

We follow the days and nights of the passengers as the Hindenburg makes it way across the ocean at 600 feet and as it drops to 200 feet to make a mail drop in Cologne before heading out to the ocean.

Ms. Lawhon takes us into the private as well as public lives of the passengers and makes the three-day trip across the Atlantic both technical and personal.  The skillful way Ms. Lawhon wove the personal stories of the characters with the technical aspect of the Hindenburg made FLIGHT OF DREAMS a captivating, intriguing, mysterious read.

Ms. Lawhon did marvelous research for her book​, and the passengers were an interesting group.

I enjoyed Emilie and Max's connection and their love story.

Werner was my favorite simply because he was so young, so happy to be a crew member, and such a hard worker.

Edward, the American, seemed to be causing the most grief and seemed to be a bit evil. 

The Adelts were an interesting couple simply because of their curiosity and wanting to find out facts like every good journalist does.

It was fascinating to me how the Hindenburg actually stayed in flight. It is a piece of history I had ​known of but never knew much about.  I learned quite a bit about the Hindenburg from Ms. Lawhon's marvelous book and wanted to learn more.  I found plenty of information about the Hindenburg itself, the flight, the crew, its passengers, and the crash.

Could one of the passengers purposely have caused the crash or was it a mechanical malfunction?  Did historians really know what happened? 

FLIGHT OF DREAMS is a well-researched and cleverly carried out book about the Hindenburg that will hold your interest.

What a wonderful way to learn more about this historical event. 5/5​

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.



Monday, February 22, 2016

You Have To Be Kidding? Really?


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There is an article in our local paper that says: 

THERE'S SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT TOUCH TYPING IS OVERRATED

This actually infuriated me.  

Ask anyone who doesn't know how to type if they wish they did know how to type and how long it takes them to type something.

The article says you can develop your own way of typing as long as you keep your hands static, your fingers are moving, and you use the same fingers to type the letters.  

Dah!!  Isn't that what touch typing is?

As a business teacher this really upset me.  Without a doubt, touch typing is much more efficient.

I have gotten so many comments from people saying typing class was the most valuable class they ever took in high school.

Any thoughts?

If you do know how to type, aren't you glad you know how to type

If you don't know how to type, don't you wish you did know how to type? 

Here is the online article:

http://triblive.com/lifestyles/morelifestyles/9967102-74/typing-touch-hands
 
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Try either of these sites for learning to type...fun and educational.

They are the same site, but different levels of progression

It doesn't matter whether you are a child or an adult, you will learn how to type if you work with these sites.

http://www.kidztype.com/

http://primarygamesarena.com/Play/Dance-Mat-Typing-2012 

And of course, there is Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing...CD's should be available. 

*Image courtesy of:  http://pursuitmag.com/





Review and Giveaway of In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson


Is Lia coming back to her roots?

Is Lia coming back to do research?

Is Lia coming back to France to try to heal her broken heart and find out more about how her husband died?

Is Lia coming back to find secrets she didn't know about people she trusted and people she shouldn't trust?

Lia Carrer probably came back to Languedoc because of all of those reasons and wasn't aware why she felt the need to return. She did know that being with her friend from college and her friend's family in beautiful, laid back Southern France was comforting.

A few of the people she found and things she saw were not comforting and hard to believe, though.

Could a few of these people have been reincarnated from 1208?

IN ANOTHER LIFE pulls you in with the detailed descriptions of the landscape and the beauty of Southern France and its vineyards.

We learn some history and bask in the love Lia finds as well as marvel at what Lia finds out about a centuries-old murder and her husband's death.

I am not sure if I can call this book historical fiction, women's fiction, or paranormal which I normally do not read. I am going to go with all three.  I am not familiar with the historical part, but it was interesting to learn about this event.

The cover is gorgeous. the story line is good but confusing at times, and Ms. Johnson's writing flows beautifully and is very detailed. It is a marvelous debut novel in all aspects.  


IN ANOTHER LIFE has love, mystery, murder, and history all rolled into one.  

The blending of the two time periods and especially the book's ending is a bit chilling, but oh so good.  4/5

Giveaway is at the end of this post...best of luck.
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About the Author:


Julie Christine Johnson’s short stories and essays have appeared in several journals, including Mud Season Review; Cirque: A Literary Journal of the North Pacific Rim; Cobalt, and the anthologies Stories for Sendai; Up, Do: Flash Fiction by Women Writers; and Three Minus One: Stories of Love and Loss. She holds undergraduate degrees in French and Psychology and a Master’s in International Affairs.

Her second novel, The Crows Of Beara, a finalist in the Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature, has sold to Ashland Creek Press for publication in fall 2017. In this work of women's fiction, a struggling American PR executive and an enigmatic Irish artist face off over the development of a copper mine in rural Ireland, finding love and redemption amid the rugged, mystical land.

A runner, hiker, and wine geek, Julie makes her home on the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State with her husband. In Another Life is her first novel.

Website:      juliechristinejohnson.com
Facebook:      facebook.com/juliechristinejohnson
Twitter:      @JulieChristineJ
Goodreads:    goodreads.com/author/show/14132699.Julie_Christine_Johnson

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Another-Life-Julie-Christine-Johnson/dp/1492625205/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1444683553&sr=8-2&keywords=in+another+life

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-another-life-julie-christine-johnson/1121772416?ean=9781492625209

Publicity Contact:


Suzy Missirlian
Twitter: @Suzy4PR
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What readers are saying . . .

“Delicate and haunting, romantic and mystical, IN ANOTHER LIFE is a novel with an extraordinary sense of place. Fans swept away by Diana Gabaldon’s 18th-century Scotland will want to explore Julie Christine Johnson’s 13th-century Languedoc.”

— Greer Macallister, author of The Magician's Lie

“In this lovely novel, Johnson shows us the redemptive power of love and second chances through the ages. Evocative of Outlander, In Another Life is a thrilling combination of romance, adventure, and history.”

— Margaret Dilloway, author of Sisters Of Heart And Snow and How To Be An American Housewife

“Johnson’s heartbroken researcher wends through the lush landscape and historical religious intrigue of southern France seeking the distraction of arcane fact-but instead, like the reader, is transformed by the moving echo of emotional truth. An imaginative, unforgettable tale.”

— Kathryn Craft, author of The Art Of Falling and The Far End Of Happy
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GIVEAWAY

USA and CANADA
February 22 - 29

Enter here

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Thursday, February 18, 2016

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz


Had Tanya​ ​killed her husband or did she just happen upon him and panic about what to do?

After she found her husband dead at the bottom of the stairs, Tanya took off and met a bad-news bartender named Blue. After ​she met Blue, Tanya ​could be found running from city to city​, scanning the obituaries, visiting funeral homes, and stealing wallets and credit cards to get herself a new identity.

THE PASSENGER will keep you turning the pages as fast as Tanya moved from place to place and changed her identity...and that is quickly.​  You will be guessing ​her story ​until the last page.​

I truly enjoyed THE PASSENGER.  Tanya wasn't really likable just because and Blue was a bit scary.  Both were very resourceful and crafty.

THE PASSENGER was clever and a book that will make you wonder what Tanya's real story is and how she does escape every situation.​  Her escapades will have you on the edge of your seat.

Every time you turned the page a new twist and surprise was there to greet you.​  As every review has said: "It was a "wild" ride" and a ride that I really enjoyed.

This is my first book by Ms. Lutz, but she definitely packs a book with intrigue, a terrific storyline, and interesting characters.

​Mystery lovers and lovers of psychological thrillers won't want to miss reading THE PASSENGER. 

The book had me glued to the pages and had me wanting to know what Tanya would do next.  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation in return for an honest review.




Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Giveaway of The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston



To celebrate the paperback release of THE SILVER WITCH by Paula Brackston, Jessica Preeg of St. Martin's is offering one lucky read a paperback copy.


 Giveaway:


Join in the fun, and enter here.
February 17 -  February 24

USA Only

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Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day!!


❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤
I hope you are reading a good book!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤
*Image Courtesy of Bitmoji 
Get your own with the Bitmoji App
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