Giveaway...

A while back I posted a review on fellow author J. Timothy King's "From The Ashes Of Courage" ~ An Ardor Pointe Novel. Well, Tim has graciously agreed to provide a copy of the book to be given away to one lucky reader. The giveaway is posted over at my TreasureLine Books & Publishing Blog. Hope you'll take a minute to jump over there and enter. You can do as little as leave a comment to enter or there's a box with extra entry potential items that you can check off. "From The Ashes Of Courage" is a great book with a unique storyline that touched the heart of this hopeless romantic. You won't want to miss the chance to own your own copy. Just click on TreasureLine Books & Publishing Blog above and you'll be on your way...

From the Ashes of Courage...a review

I first encountered J. Timothy King when he emailed to ask if I’d like to do an author interview on his blog. I was more than happy to do so, returning to him an outrageously long response…which he ended up posting in its entirety, telling me he liked the content or feel too much to cut it or something along those lines. Whatever it was, it stroked my ego which is something I believe we all enjoy. Beyond that, however, it drew me into the world of an author I had previously not known. As I always do, I searched for information on Tim King. I crawled around his blogs and websites, learning all I could about this other author.

One thing jumped out at me on Tim’s sites: A book cover. Imagine that! Along with that cover came a blurb (taken directly from Tim’s website): Gail Bishop, a headstrong, driven, single-minded businesswoman, struggles with the meaning of success, and finds it in a long-lost relationship, when she accidentally gets set up on a blind date with her fun-loving ex-husband, who is struggling with his own secret problems. Romance and a unique situation. I was hooked. It sounded like my kind of story so I ordered it.

Now, as a publisher/editor/formatter/and so on, I have to tell you I am not 100% thrilled with the “look” of Tim’s book (sorry, Tim). There were a few things I found bothersome, like the use of left justification (I like a “square” look) and hyphens (can’t stand to see them in a pleasure book). Tim did use a nice sized font and the spacing in the book made it easy to read…I didn’t feel as if there was so much on a page I was overwhelmed, although I would have left a little more room at the top below the headers and at the bottom…just a tad. I would have liked to have seen the cover text a bit smaller. It seemed stark as opposed to blending yet standing out…if that makes sense! None of it was enough to set me off. I still wanted to read it, and did.

To the meat…I truly wanted to like this book/the story. Again, I did. There were a couple of parts that left me scratching my head. One for instance: when Gail, the main character, is somewhat “attacked” by her business partner and her ex-husband’s mother. It left me wondering where that came from. These two women go off at each other in these little cat fights that seem peculiar to me. They do serve a purpose in the book. They simply don’t flow quite as well as the rest.

Whew! Issues out of the way…I did love the story. And Tim’s ability to throw in lines that struck a cord with my heart was wonderful. I wanted this story to work out, wanted to help these two find each other as well as coming to terms with themselves. I felt their anguish, reservations…all of it. Tim pulled me in and held me until the end. The overall “feel” of the story was good and I very much liked and identified with his characters. The story seemed as if it could be real -- though that is not necessarily one of my own personal requirements to make a good story. Most importantly…the story left me with the feeling that these two could have happy-ever-after; my personal favorite.

My take: I’ll give it 4 stars because I did enjoy the story. I do wish the mechanics would have been better (had a bit of an eBook feel on paper). I would definitely read another of Tim’s fiction books. I have read some of Tim’s short stories/eBook offerings and enjoyed them as well. I would say it would be worth your time to take a look around Tim’s blogs/websites, read his work, and order his books. I’ve heard the Love Idiot one is a great read. It’s on my list.

Thank you, Tim, for bringing “From the Ashes of Courage” to life in a way that others could enjoy.

Rambling With A Purpose...The Making of a Great Day

Yesterday was one of those days that, even though I didn't accomplish many of the things needed to be done, it can be ranked as a really great day. It started by a prominent radio personality from Tulsa emailing me to tell me she'd just finished painting the bookshelf for her baby's room and my children's book, How Sadie Learned To SMILE, was the first one on it. Lindsey Bauer is the only woman out of a 4 man team that hosts the Wylde Wake Up Show on 106.9. She is an avid campaigner for Tulsa's ARF featuring their pets in need of forever homes on her blog and showcasing them on the radio. Her wit never ceases to amaze me as, day after weekday, she humorously wrangles the guys. I have to admit, I began listening to K-HITS to research a book that will be coming out in the future about a young starlet attempting to do the right things in a world where "right" is anything but black and white. The first time I tuned in I lasted all of 20 minutes! Today's music is a bit different from what I was used to. However, as time went on I found that I not only liked a lot of the music, but the hosts of 106.9 were awesome. It's no wonder they're number one! Someday I will suggest Lindsey write a book called "Happy Tails...Tulsa ARF Success Stories" by Lindsey Bauer, radio personality and ARF spokesperson, with Linda Boulanger (see how I got that in there!!!). I think it could be a great fundraising project for the organization. But for now, Lindsey's mind is undoubtedly more concentrated on the bedding she just purchased for her upcoming arrival! I love babies. Just glad they're someone else's nowadays :)

Then, I reconnected with an old friend after many, many years, took my younger two to McDonalds where they played for over 2 hours and I wrote to my little heart's content. Funny thing, a little boy came up to me and said "You're that author that came to our school. You brought the dog..." He was so excited. He was also right. I often take the "real" Sadie with me to readings and author visits. Although the book is fiction, I used Tracy Freeman's rescued pet as my inspiration. They're both sweethearts.

Checking my FaceBook I noticed I could get a free ebook of Lori Newman's Poetry Book Looking To Be Seen. Fellow author Lori Finilla wrote on her FaceBook: You need to read this unbelievable heart touching book. The first poem made me cry. I can't wait to read it! I also got hold of Jaimey Grant's Regency Romance Redemption. I don't usually read ebooks because I spend so much time on the computer editing/formatting for myself and others as well as writing and, of course, social networking but I'm pretty excited about these. I noticed Lori Finilla is changing the name of one of her books from "My Brain Injury" to "The Last Day I Was Me". I think that's a great change. A photograph of Lori and snippets of information I've read on her life have inspired the idea for another novel. I've been making notes while working on A Marriage of Necessity and yet another novel. My mind never stops working!

To end the day I received an email containing the parts of one of my handwritten novels that I'm having typed up into a "properly formatted electronic version"...that's exactly what it says under Transcription Services on my One Stop Publisher site. Yep, I'm using my own company. Isn't that good of me?!!! Anyway, I did a bit of spot reading and got all excited about the story all over again.

I almost forgot....almost :) Author Tim King has interviewed me for his blog. The interview will be posted rain, shine, or bus accident (sorry...inside joke between Tim and I) on Thursday, March 25th so mark your calendars and pop over to read it and comment. Tim made me feel good. I gave him permission to hatchet away at my responses, however, he said "I probably should have taken a hatchet to it, as you suggested...but I love the content..." Bookmark Tim's blog: http://blog.jtimothyking.com/ Tim's book From The Ashes Of Courage is on my reading list. I love the idea of this story and can't wait to read it.

I went to bed contented and slept well. Okay, so I went to bed contented and ended up writing in my mind most of the night! This new story is demanding to be let out. What's a girl to do?!! I love living on the line....on the lines of my notebook or a story, that is. Happy weekend friends!