Why purchase an e-reader? Books are better, aren't they? Well... yes and no.
Nothing beats a wonderful new book. Listening to it crack the first time you open it, and the smell of the ink and paper - oh, I'm swooning just thinking about it. What about an old book? That smell - nothing can compare! You just can't beat curling up with your favorite book and a cup of tea on a cold rainy day. Throw in a favorite chair, cat and a nice warm afghan, and you are as close to heaven as you can get! Yes, I love books.
Before I started reviewing books, I never even considered an e-reader. I saw the Kindle on Amazon and thought it was the dumbest gadget ever created. Who would give up a book for a cold, hard electronic device? I hated reading long articles on the PC, so why on earth would I consider that thing?! I certainly wouldn't fork that kind of money out for something so silly.
Then I started reviewing books. I was thrilled to become part of the reviewing community, and got involved with different book promoters. As time went on, I stumbled upon NetGalley, and thinking it was just like other PR places, signed up and requested my first book. At that time, one could request printed galleys, so that's what I thought I'd get. Every publisher that approved my request gave me a book in electronic format. That wasn't going to work for me at all. I hate reading on the PC! I forgot about NetGalley - well, as much as they'd let me. I kept getting emails for books I would love to read and review, and they continued to tempt me. Then a few emails came in offering books to review, but only in electronic format. I declined.
Little by little I found more electronic books being offered in places like the library, tons of free books all over the net, and places like Barnes and Noble offering free books to read even if you didn't have their e-reader. You could download and read on your PC. HUH!! Free books... Yah, but I hate reading on the PC!!
Well, I caved in and asked for an e-reader for my birthday. I had searched and searched on what type was best for me. I decided on a Nook. This device could read epub and pdf format besides Barnes and Noble's exclusive format just for Nook. That would work in all the places that I saw the free books, NetGalley and the library as well. It certainly sounded like it would do all I wanted and needed.
Hubby heard my request and bought me a Nook along with a nice cover (like the one in the photo) for my birthday/Mother's Day present. Honestly, I had huge reservations about asking for one, but after having it in hand, I've never looked back. I love my Nook. It's easy on the eyes, I can read books faster on it than I can with regular books, and the best part... It saves me money!
Yes, you read that correctly. The Nook saves me money. I know you are asking how, especially with all the talk about how e-books are more expensive than real books. Yes, sometimes that is true. Why, I haven't a clue, but the publishers decide on price and until they get things figured out, the prices will keep me from buying some of the new e-books. OK, so how does that save me money? It led me to look elsewhere to obtain books.
On top of the numerous free books that Barnes & Noble offers, the run some very nice promotions. Every Friday, they offer a free book for a limited time. That news comes in on your Nook or you can find it on the blogs at the B&N Book Clubs message boards. For example: Today's free book is "Weddings Can Be Murder" by Christie Craig.
Barnes and Noble also did a few other promotions this summer where they gave away an e-book a week for 5 weeks. One needed to visit a physical B&N store, however, they allowed one to pick up more than one coupon and give the extra one to a friend!! The other great promotion went over the 4th of July weekend. You could download up to 21 different Barnes & Noble Classics for free! Yes, they came from a selected batch, but wow! Have you ever seen a B&N Classic? They are fantastic with a lot of extras - not just the book itself. There's info on the author, the book and great timelines. My children have used them more than once for classes.
Speaking of classics, have you been to Project Gutenburg yet? One can download FREE books from over 33,000 public domain books. They are well formatted and so much nicer than those that you can get from those on Google. My son is a volunteer proof reader for them, so I know how much work goes into making these books as error-free as possible.
Another place I like to browse is Smashwords. Some of the authors I review for have their books posted there, and while many are there to buy, there are many that are free. Right now, they have an exciting sale going on called the Summer/Winter Sale, and it runs from July 1-31. With a coupon code, you can download some ebooks at a great savings - including a 100% savings on many books! There are a few that I downloaded that look like they will be really good reads.
For those that love the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, Baen Free Library has many cool books to download. I love this place!!
The last place I'm going to focus on is the library. The library is a place where one can always get free books to read with a library card, so why would I care about free e-books from there? One trip to my library costs us about $10 in gas for a round trip. For me to borrow books, it costs a total of $20 - to pick them up and to return them. If I decide to get more, well, I'm forced into making a trip every 3 weeks. You can see how expensive that would get for me, so the library is more of a luxury and I haven't visited it in quite a long time. Now, with my Nook, I can sit at home and visit the library after everyone goes to bed. I can browse the shelves, pick out the books I want to read, and have them on my Nook within minutes. I can leave my computer, crawl in bed and start reading and never have to leave here, find a parking space, wait in line, and worse... be disappointed that the book I went for is no longer available or worse, put on a shelf somewhere else in the library by some inconsiderate patron. Another plus - no more library fines if I forget a book!!!
My Nook will pay for itself quickly, and if I sat down and figured it out, it probably already has. (and that was before their more than $100 price reduction!) What is really cool is, I can read books I might not have read because of finances, and I have a huge, huge library of free books at my fingertips at any moment. If one thinks about it, I could read free for the rest of my life (ok - the rest of the Nook's life) by using just the above resources!!
So what about new books? Yes, I still buy them - I'm a book nut, but now I buy those I really want to keep, instead of just those that are on sale.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Cathy Hickling of Whitaker House for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
With Cherokee heritage and such ancestors as James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, Tammy Barley inherited her literary vocation and preferred setting: the Wild West. A longtime freelance writer and editor, Tammy is also an accomplished equestrian who homeschools her three children. Book One of her Sierra Chronicles, Love’s Rescue, sold out its first printing within a week of its release in 2009.
List Price: $9.99 Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Whitaker House (August 3, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1603741097 ISBN-13: 978-1603741095
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Western Nevada Territory
May 1864
“Would you care to rest awhile, Jess?”
Withholding a smile, Jess leaned forward in the saddle as her horse clamored beside Jake’s to the top of the rocky bank. When the ground leveled out, she glanced at the progress of the small herd of Thoroughbred stallions close behind, then tossed a lightly accusing gaze to her husband.
“Rest awhile? Are you coddling me, Bennett?”
In the shadow of his hat brim, Jake’s whisky-brown eyes sparkled at her as he grinned the crooked grin she loved. “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t dare.” He nodded sagely to Taggart and Diaz, the hired men with bandanas pulled up against the rising dust, who wrangled on the opposite side of the herd. “But the boys haven’t stood on their own feet twice since sunup, and they’re looking peaked.”
“Peaked?” Jess looked to the burly, orange-haired Irishman and the sinewy, born-in-the-saddle Spaniard and burst out laughing. “Those two wouldn’t walk to their dinner plates if they could ride!”
The sleek, long-limbed Thoroughbreds continued, heads bobbing, toward the mountains, whistled on by the two cattlemen. From her position riding flank, Jess took in the beauty of white nose blazes and white socks flashing amid the bays, chestnuts, and blacks, framed by the red earth and green pines of the Sierra Nevadas.
They were going home.
Jess quieted, but her smile remained. “I couldn’t stop now, Jake. We only have ten miles before we reach the ranch.”
Ten, out of seventeen hundred, she mused, and eight months since she had seen this part of the country. When they left the ranch, they hadn’t been married and she hadn’t been certain she’d ever come back. Even so, she hadn’t forgotten the beauty of the mountains, her love of the ranch in Honey Lake Valley, and her dream to raise horses with the good man beside her.
Jess’s horse stumbled, then recovered. Amid the scattered rocks and fragrant clusters of gray-green sagebrush around them, desert flowers added brilliant splashes of purple, red, and orange. When they left the ranch, the land had been brown, dry from a year of heat and draught. Clearly winter snows and spring rains had come, for now life bloomed everywhere.
Well, almost everywhere. With a twinge of sadness, Jess pressed a gloved hand to the flatness of her stomach.
She and Jake had married in the fall, on one of the most beautiful autumn days God had ever created. As a wedding gift, Jake had given her the herd of Thoroughbreds, which grazed in the Bennetts’ paddock while the pastor stood with them beneath an arch of trees and joined them as husband and wife.
All she had wanted was to give Jake a child in return. And now, it seemed, she was barren.
“What do you suppose they’re thinking, your horses?”
Jess dropped her hand and smiled. “Our horses,” she corrected. “They’re probably wishing they had taken a train instead.”
Jake chuckled, his broad shoulders threatening the seams of his white cotton shirt. “Is that what you wish, Jess? That the transcontinental was nearly finished instead of only beginning?”
“No, I wouldn’t want to be packed into a noisy passenger car any more than you would. I’d rather see the land, be a part of it.”
“Well this land looks as though it’s seen some rain this year.”
“I was just thinking the same.”
“What else were you thinking?”
Jess glanced at him. Since the day they met in Carson City more than a year before, she’d often been startled by how closely he paid attention, how he seemed to know her thoughts. “Mostly I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the ranch,” she evaded. “Ho Chen, Doyle, all the Paiute women, and Two Hands. I wonder how many of the mustangs Lone Wolf was able to breed.”
The Bennett Mountain Ranch. Their ranch. Tickled by the thought, Jess laughed out loud in pure joy.
“Jess?” The curiosity in Jake’s voice pulled her gaze to his.
“We’re going home,” she said, a pleasant tightness in her chest. “I feel . . .” She lifted a hand, uncertain how to describe it. “I feel like a young falcon, about to leap into the wind for the first time.”
He smiled his understanding, then suddenly turned tense, alert. He drew his Remington. An instant later, Taggart and Diaz did the same.
“What—?”
A rock burst on the ground beside Jess. The sharp report of rifle fire echoed across the desert. All at once shots exploded, pelting the road around them with shattered stones and dust plumes. Drawing her own revolver, Jess whipped her mare around and looked past Jake to an outcropping of rocks where rifles barked and gun smoke curled away.
The mare abruptly jerked then reared high, spilling Jess’s hat and tumbling her long braid free. The horse teetered on its hind legs then went over backward.
Pain exploded through Jess’s back and lungs.
Then, darkness.
An image flashed through her mind—the ranch, only not as they left it. Where the workshop, supply shed, and stable had once sat, large black smudges marred the ground. Eerie dread filled her at the vision, and at the realization that though she could see the ranch compound, she heard no wind, no movement, no sound at all.
A flash of daylight, then Jess felt sharp rocks beneath her back and smelled the pungent tang of gun smoke. Pain seared her right arm. Beside her, its neck bearing a bullet hole and spattered with blood, her horse thrashed once more then lay still.
“Jess?!”
Her gaze shifted to the back of Jake’s boots which stood rooted a few feet away, his long legs and broad shoulders tense. Jake had positioned himself and his horse between her and the outcropping. The gunfire had stopped. “I’m all right, Jake. You?”
His hat shifted with his answering nod, but his attention remained fixed on the distant rocks. Finally, he turned and went down on one knee near her hip. “The gunmen are gone.”
“And the Thoroughbreds?”
“Taggart and Diaz just rode after them. They’ll bring them back.” With great care, he leaned over her and felt her ribs, but pain whorled through her side, and she winced and caught her breath. Then winced again. “Anything feel broken, Jess?”
“I don’t believe so, but my ribs hurt when I breathe in.”
He pressed gently on her left side where she indicated, shifted his big hand, then pressed again. “I can’t feel any movement through your corset. I suspect that contraption just saved you from anything worse than bruising. Your ribs will likely hurt for a few weeks, especially when you breathe in, but they should heal fine.” He glanced at the cut on her arm that had begun to burn like fire, then stood and retrieved a bottle of whiskey and a clean bandana from his saddlebag.
With her good arm, Jess carefully pushed herself up, forcing herself not to groan at the pain in her side. Ranchmen never complained, even when shot. She had become one of them, and she wasn’t about to fuss over a little bruising and a cut.
Jake walked a few paces to where her hat had fallen on the other side of the dead horse then hesitantly returned it to her. She pulled it on, sensing his concern for her with the simple gesture, and felt overwhelming relief that he hadn’t been injured in the attack. “Jake, those men couldn’t have been outlaws. They must have been Paiute.”
He looped his horse’s reins around his arm and handed her the folded bandana. “That was my thought as well. If they’d been outlaws, they would have gone after the horses.”
He’d known, Jess realized. That was why she’d seen him fire only warning shots into the ground; she and Jake had friends among the Paiute. Several families worked at their ranch.
“Bands of Paiute have been trying to warn off immigrants for the last few years,” he said, “shooting from the hills along the Lassen Trail and north of Pyramid Lake. Apparently things have gotten worse, and the Paiutes have gotten bolder. You’re wearing britches and your braid was up under your hat. When your hat fell and your braid came free, they took off, so apparently they’re just warning folks away. None of the Paiutes I’ve met have ever killed innocent settlers.”
“But why attack this far south? You’re not the only rancher around here who employs them.”
“I agree; it doesn’t make sense.” Jake looked to where Taggart and Diaz had regained control of the Thoroughbreds less than a mile away. One man rode on either side of the herd, heading toward them at an easy pace to calm the skittish horses. “Let’s see your arm.”
Blood had soaked into the blue flannel shirtsleeve along her forearm, and from the feel of it dripping down her arm and the throbbing pain, she knew it was more than a simple cut.
Something flickered in Jake’s eyes. “You were shot?”
“No, I wasn’t. I must have hit it on a rock when I fell. Come to think of it, I lost my gun.” She briefly scanned the ground for it, but then he eased the sleeve up her arm and she looked away, certain that if she saw the wound, it would hurt more. “How bad is it?”
Jake held her forearm in his hand and gently turned it from side to side. “It’s a gash, but I won’t have to stitch it.”
The cork made a dull thunk as he pulled it from the whiskey bottle. The bottle glugged, then searing liquid ran over her arm with the piercing sting of a branding iron. She drew in her breath. Her ribs screamed.
“Bennett!”
“Do you know you only call me Bennett when you’re put out with me?” He poured again.
Jess hissed through her teeth, then smiled a little at the tease in his deep, mellow voice. “I think it’s a habit.”
“To be put out with me?”
For the sake of her ribs, she fought against a chuckle. “No, to call you Bennett in front of the men.” Jess knew he intentionally kept the conversation light. “If the men hear me call you Jake, it might change your status in their eyes. They don’t need to see you as my husband; they need to see you as their boss.”
“Only on the range, Jess. When the doors close at night, there will only be you and me.”
Jess stiffened as though she’d been struck. He’d wanted to reassure her with his words, she knew, yet it was a painful reminder that she still wasn’t expecting after nearly seven months of marriage. But, she told herself, what mattered most right now was the ranch, and building it with Jake. A quarter of a mile away, Taggart and Diaz had stopped and stood talking together, keeping a casual watch on the desert while the horses grazed. Their horses, hers and Jake’s. Horses which would enable them to be less dependent on cattle for their income, and to be one of the first ranches in the northern Sierras to raise horses to sell. If only . . . Now that they were out of danger, she allowed herself to ponder the odd vision. The cold fear returned, and her knees and legs trembled.
“Jake, I saw something . . . in my mind, when I fell.”
In the shadow of his hat brim, his sun-bronzed face turned thoughtful. Jake corked and set aside the whiskey, took the cloth from her hand, and bound the wound. “What is it that you saw?”
“The ranch compound, except some of the buildings were gone, and two of the corrals,” she recalled. “Only one corral remained. Where they had stood, the ground was black as though barrels of gunpowder had spilled. Seeing it scared me, Jake. I only saw it for a second or two, but in that instant, it felt as real as if I was actually there. Then I opened my eyes and saw the horse beside me, and then you. I think something bad is going to happen.”
Rather than wave away or make excuses for what she’d told him, he remained beside her, elbow on his knee, as he considered. She loved him for always listening to her.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“No. I have felt strongly about the outcome of various events, though, so strongly that I knew what would or wouldn’t happen. A year ago, when Ambrose was listed as missing in the war, I knew my brother wasn’t dead. I knew it.”
“I remember. You also told me last autumn that you believed outlaws would attack the ranch, and then they did.”
“So you believe me?”
“I don’t doubt that you saw what you say you did. Yes, I believe you.” He briefly scanned the foothills; there was no unusual movement among the rocks and sagebrush. “Do you remember my pa’s neighbor, the older lady who walked with two canes?”
“I only met her once, but I remember her.”
“When I was a boy—no more than nine or ten—she hurried over one night in a fluster and told my pa a tornado was coming, no more than an hour out. Almost exactly an hour later, it struck and took out half our corn before it dissipated. Later she told my pa that she occasionally had feelings about such things, and even saw a number of events before they happened. Premonitions, I reckon. I’ve occasionally heard similar about other women, whether or not their husbands had the good sense to listen to them. No, I won’t discount what you’ve told me, Jess.”
“But you don’t believe it.”
“I won’t lie to you, Jess. I’m not sure if I believe it or if I don’t.” He reached over and lightly squeezed her good arm. “Let’s just take things as they come.”
Jess struggled with disappointment, but she was glad Jake had listened. Within hours, they would learn firsthand if what she envisioned had, in fact, happened.
As Jake helped her to her feet, she dearly hoped they would find the ranch to be just as they left it, but she didn’t believe it would be.
##
At Jess’s insistence that she would not ride double due to her injuries any sooner than Jake would in her place, Jake had pulled the saddle, bridle, and gear from Jess’s dead horse and saddled the Thoroughbred stallion he would ride while Jess rode his calmer quarter horse—the only concession she would make.
Jess was more willful and determined than a Chicago storm.
Lord above, he loved that about her.
Unfortunately, it also made his guts churn in agony.
When her horse went over and crushed her beneath, his heart nearly exploded. Then, injured and struggling to rise, the gelding rolled over her again before it thrashed then lay still beside her. Years ago, about twenty miles to the south of where they rode now, his first wife and their baby daughter were on their way to visit family when outlaws attacked and killed them both. He nearly died himself when he discovered their bodies, Olivia’s and Sadie’s. He couldn’t endure losing Jess or seeing her harmed again.
What she had said about a premonition sat like a passel of thorns in his mind. He could work through whatever came, but what about Jess? She had been raised the daughter of a horse breeder in Lexington, Kentucky, and when the Hale family had moved west, she had kept books for his import business. She had not been raised to this life. She was strong and determined now, but what if years of hardships of living and working on a ranch in the wilderness became too much for her as it did for many ranchers’ wives? The fear entered his mind weeks ago when he lost several of their Thoroughbreds to Plains Indians, and the gunmen’s attack—and what she suffered as a result—solidified that fear. Would he eventually lose her?
“Bennett? Your face has turned grim and stiff as iron,” she said. “You’re worried about something. What’s on your mind?”
Rimmed with long, sooty lashes, Jess’s sage-green eyes bore into his as she brushed loose strands of her brown hair from her face. Her soft, rose-red lips revealed she was all woman, though she rode with the ease a man, albeit having a care for an injured side. He and Jess hadn’t been alone a single moment in weeks, even after nightfall, and now her ribs were injured. Though he’d waited with great patience all this time to be alone with her in the ranch house, what he’d had in mind would have to wait until she’d healed. All that mattered was that he keep her safe and give her a horse ranch to replace the one she’d loved and left behind years ago in Kentucky.
He eyed her revolver which was holstered once again in the gun belt at her narrow waist. Seeing to it that she was safe and happy was no small task. Trouble seemed to follow her. That is, when she wasn’t out looking for it.
One of the Thoroughbreds started to break from the herd. Jake changed its mind with a quick wave of the coiled rope in his hand, and forced a new thought into his own mind so he could answer her without dishonesty. “Well, Missus Bennett, I was just hoping there’s been enough rain that the river’s running high again. I plan to sink right into it, boots and all.”
Jess’s rosy lips curved into in a smile. “You’ll rust your spurs.”
“Hardly. After riding for weeks behind this herd amid all the dust they’re raising, my spurs’ll need a good soaking just as much as I will.”
“Perhaps,” she agreed, “but that’s not what turned your jaw to iron, and a muscle in your neck stood out when you glanced at my gun.”
Jake sighed. A dozen or so yards ahead of him and Jess, Taggart and Diaz rode in comfortable silence, their attention on the herd they wrangled. There was little chance they would overhear. Even so, Jake discreetly lowered his voice.
“What’s on my mind is that for the past few years you held your family together despite the war trying to pull you apart, and you were strong for your ma before she died. You didn’t have anyone to depend on but yourself for a long time, and I respect all you did for them. But—”
“But I’m impulsive.”
“No. Courageous.”
Jess blinked. She hadn’t expected that.
“You weren’t born to this life, Jess, and the Almighty must have known you’d need plenty of courage, because He surely gave you a barrelful.” He grinned, then more soberly looked to the bandana he’d knotted as a bandage on her forearm. “I’d just like you to tell me if this life becomes . . . hard for you. I’ll do whatever I can to keep that from happening, even if we have to give up the ranch and move on.”
Her eyes flashed green fire. “Not born to this life? Bennett, do you think I’d rather be dungeoned up in the dank corner of a store tallying rows of numbers than be here with you? And what about Olivia? You married her.”
“Times weren’t hard for Olivia and me. Besides, she was born to this.”
“I grew up in the South amid political stirrings and secessions, and the knowledge that during my lifetime war would come and possibly destroy all I held dear. What would you reply if I had said that to you?”
Jake lifted a shoulder, acknowledging her point. “I probably would have said that trials build character. But I was brought up this way. You and I are different.”
“Look again.” Jess huffed indignantly. “I thought I was the one who fell off a horse and had the sense knocked out of—”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
At his confession, her anger abruptly vanished, and her face held only understanding and love. “Then I’ll be careful not to get ‘lost.’”
Jake returned his attention to their herd. Her words sounded nearly as soothing to his mind as the smooth, Southern accent with which she had spoken them.
Lord above, he loved that about her too.
##
“Hey, boss,” Diaz called over his shoulder to Jake. “Those vacas are on your ranch, but they don’ carry your brand.”
Jess peered at the herd of eighteen or twenty cows grazing about an acre’s length distant. Diaz was right. Instead of Jake’s sideways B brand with the flat side down, each red-and-white hide bore a circle with an M in the center. They leisurely enjoyed the Bennett Ranch’s bunchgrass as if they’d always called the place home.
The nearest ranch was located so far from their own that Jess had never seen another brand within a mile of the compound. That uncomfortable realization, coupled with the fact that none of their ranchmen, mustangs, or cattle were in sight, fueled her apprehension.
Something was very wrong.
The men whistled the Thoroughbreds on, and finally, over the tops of the sagebrush, the ranch buildings came into view. The massive stable should have been the first building they saw. It was gone, and no smaller structures that had once huddled beside it remained to block their view of the barn.
Jess felt rather than saw Jake tense beside her.
The Paiute village that had stretched along the riverbank lay dismantled and scattered, as if the wigwams had been forcibly torn apart and the branches dragged beyond the outskirts of the camp.
Taggart and Diaz exchanged troubled glances, but drove the horses the final distance into the compound.
Where the workshop, supply shed, and stable had once sat, large black smudges marred the ground. Only one of three corrals that Jake had built remained.
In silence Jake, Taggart, and Diaz guided the stallions into the sole corral, and, having a care for her ribs, Jess closed and latched the gate.
The men stepped to the ground then tied their reins over the top rail of the corral. While Taggart and Diaz began to unload and unsaddle their horses, Jake gently lifted her down.
Like the hired men, Jess untied her saddlebags and set them aside then loosened the cinch strap. Though the buildings that had stood on the east end of the compound had been destroyed, the barn to the north and the smithy and cookhouse to the immediate west of it seemed to be in good condition, though no inviting, fragrant smoke rose from the cookhouse chimney. South and west of the cookhouse, the bunkhouse lay low and long as it always had, and south of that—between her and the initial slope that led up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that she loved—rose the pine logs that formed the two stories of the ranch house. Its wide front window, brown with dust, would benefit from cleaning, and the porch and its two steps looked weathered and in need of repair.
By all appearances, the ranch had been deserted, except that to the west, beyond the bunkhouse, the garden had been planted, and beyond it, on what had been their property, someone had built a new house.
The silence shattered with the loud metallic cock of a shotgun.
All of them spun toward the ranch house.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed the storyline of "Hope's Promise", but I didn't read the first book of the series, and feel I've really missed things. This book appears to have picked up where "Love's Rescue" left off. It felt like I had "walked" into the middle of a movie or conversation, being somewhat lost but still enjoying what I part I was exposed to.
Jess is a strong woman who faces many problems and dangers. She loves fiercely, and lives in a time and place that is difficult for a man, let alone a woman. She goes to great measures to protect those that she loves, and what she does, makes the story quite exciting.
After reading this book, I really want to get my hands on "Love's Rescue". I crave the character development and learning about all the events that took place before "Hope's Promise". There are so many references back to things that happened before, that I feel this just doesn't work as a stand-alone.
Book was provided by FIRST for me to honestly review.
I'm very pleased to be able to participate in today's tour. We are hosting Amanda Scott and her new book "Tempted by a Warrior". There's a wonderful surprise in store for you today. Amanda has been kind enough to write a guest post and Hachette books has offered a copy of Amanda's book to 5 lucky readers of this blog!! (details below)
Romance Conferences
By Amanda Scott
I think conferences are very helpful, especially for unpublished writers who want to meet editors and agents and learn as much as they can about the business. They are also helpful to published writers in many ways, not least of which is the chance to become better known in the writing community by participating in panels or speaking. Professional writers’ conferences are also helpful for networking, keeping up with the ever-changing world of publishing, and just making friends with other published writers (which gives one a chance to let off steam and to get and share excellent advice). All that said, conferences are also incredibly noisy, frenetic, and fast-paced. Most writers prefer peace and quiet and less stressful surroundings, but many do thrive on the energy and just have a ball. I fall somewhere in the middle but, in all honesty, closer to those who prefer peace. I used to attend at least two a year. Now I tend to prefer other means of communication, but I do still attend them occasionally to talk with my editors and with other writers. I heartily recommend them to anyone trying to break into publishing, though. When I started, I didn’t even know that conferences existed. By the time I learned about Romance Writers of America (RWA), I had already published four books. My editor told me about the conference. I went and got to sit next to Janet Dailey at the book signing. Heady stuff. I also met a woman there from my home town, who was also a published writer, and she told me that we actually had a branch at home. The real kicker was that she lived right around the corner from me! Since then, I have met untold numbers of romance writers and writers of other genres, as well. It’s a wonderful community and well worth joining.
My latest book, TEMPTEDBYAWARRIOR will be published on July 1. You can learn more about me and my other books at AmandaScottAuthor.com. Thank you for having me on your site!
Tempted by a Warrior
Author: Amanda Scott
Publisher: Forever - Hachette Book Groups
ISBN: 9780446561327
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Historical Romance
About the Book (from publisher):
"Lady Fiona, wed in haste, has never known marital peace. When last she'd seen her cruel husband Will, he'd struck her - and she has no memory of what she did next - only that she woke later alone in her bedchamber. Will has gone missing, and Fiona fears that in her rage and terror she might somehow have killed him. When her husband's cousin Sir Richard comes to search for Will, Fiona is touched by his warm nature. A knight and warrior, Richard is drawn to Fiona's brave manner, quickly seeing in her an equal measure of inner courage. Confessing that she fears having killed Will, Fiona accepts Richard's offer to help her. Pursuing together the mystery of Will's disappearance, they fall in love. Meanwhile the English are reinforcing their garrison in the Scottish Borderlands, putting Fiona, Richard, and Scotland in peril...."
Five Fun Facts
1. The title Tempted by a Warrior, as with that of its predecessor, Seduced by a Rogue, can be read two ways, because the warrior can be either the lady Fiona or the hero, Sir Richard Seyton, Baron Kirkhill. The reader can decide which one it is.
2. I wrote most of this book last summer and fall while sitting on the porch of a rustic lakeside cabin in the High Sierras (meaning no internet, no road, no phone or electricity, but loads of peace and relative quiet), aided by nosy (and noisy) Stellar jays, assorted chipmunks and squirrels, and the odd glass of wine offered by childhood friends and neighbors who thought I ought to relax and enjoy real life more.
3. My hard drive crashed while I was at the lake, and my tech-brilliant nephew, whose cabin is across the lake, suggested putting my laptop in the freezer for a few hours and then trying to access the hard drive to save the book (and other sundry files) onto a flash drive that he would provide. See wine reference in #2 above. Fortunately, freezing the computer worked and a nearby (relatively) computer fixit place froze it again and managed thereby to clone my entire hard drive onto a much larger replacement hard drive. Amazing!
4. The information for the head injuries in this book comes from both research and personal experience.
5. Willie Magee, the uh…assistant who has insisted on helping me write for the past year, instead of climbing up my leg to get to the keyboard as he did when he was small, now leaps from the floor to my shoulder, drapes himself over said shoulder, and purrs loudly while watching my every keystroke. If I stop typing, he promptly reaches out a paw to the keyboard, clearly offering to continue in my stead. He also likes to play with the keyboard whenever I take a break, which has resulted in some interesting narrative, to say the least.
My Thoughts:
"Tempted by a Warrior" is book three of the "Dunwythie Trilogy", but no need to worry. This book works wonderfully as a stand-alone. I didn't read the first two books, and had no problems with feeling like I really missed out on things. Amanda did a wonderful job rounding out her characters and gave enough to the reader so that by the end of the book I was charmed by all.
The book is set in Scotland in 1377 and I was easily transported back to that time. The language took a bit of getting used to, as it had the Scottish "accent" and I could really "hear" it in my head.
This book is full of action, mystery, intrigue, deception, discretion, and romance. It was a fun read, and Amanda is a master at weaving her tale!! I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.
For those that love historical romances, make sure to pick this one up. I'm putting the first two books, "Tamed by a Laird" and "Seduced by a Rogue" on my to-read list. I want to read the whole trilogy now!!
Parental note: Book contains descriptive sexual content.
Author Bio
Amanda Scott, best-selling author and winner of the Romance Writers of America's RITA/Golden Medallion and The Romantic Times' awards for Best Regency Author and Best Sensual Regency, began writing on a dare from her husband. She has sold every manuscript she has written. More than twenty-five of her books are set in the English Regency period (1810-1820), others are set in fifteenth-century England and sixteenth-and eighteenth-century Scotland. Three are contemporary romances. Amanda lives with her husband and son in northern California.
If you'd like to learn more about Amanda or her books, please visit her website at: AmandaScottAuthor.com
Book was supplied by Hachette Book Group for me to honestly review.
GIVEAWAY!!!
Thanks to Anna at Hachette Book Group, five lucky readers of this blog will have a chance to win a copy of "Tempted by a Warrior"!!!
To enter:
1. You must be a follower of this blog.
2. You must leave a comment WITH your email address.
3. US and Canada only - no PO boxes.
BONUS Entries !! For extra entries (you must leave links for each):
* Follow me on Twitter - see sidebar for link
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* Follow me on Facebook - see sidebar for link
Contest ends July 25, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond. If no response, another winner will be drawn. Book will be shipped directly from the publisher.
I am pleased to be able to join the tour hosting Pamela Samuels Young, author of the legal thriller, "Buying Time". She has been kind enough to share a guest post with us today. Make sure to return on July 15th to read my thoughts about Pamela's book.
Crafting the Page-Turner
Don’t you just love reading a page-turner? As a mystery writer, I constantly strive to write books that readers have a hard time putting down. After much trial and error, I learned to write fast-paced novels by dissecting well-written, engaging books and studying how the author structured the story.
You, too, can write a page turner. Here are five tips I use that will help you keep readers turning the pages.
1. Create Characters the Reader Cares About.
To hook your readers, give them characters they can root for as well as root against. If your protagonist is an underdog with the odds against her, make sure there’s a reason for the reader to be in her corner. The same goes for your villain.. If he’s a real scoundrel, readers will want him to fail. So make sure that you build your plot so readers aren’t disappointed in the end. Your characters must be intriguing as well as believable enough that readers will relate to them and care what happens to them.
2. Conflict is Crucial!
It’s essential that you have conflict in every chapter of your novel. Conflict engages the reader and entices them to keep reading. Conflict doesn’t mean people are arguing or yelling at each other. For me, it means the presence of one force working against another. There’s a struggle or collision of interests. For example, the prosecutor wants the defendant to go to jail, but the defense attorney is determined to see that his client goes free. Every chapter must have conflict. No one wants to read a book that meanders along with a bunch of happy people.
Once you’ve set up your conflict, don’t tell it all! String the reader along. Explain that Misty has a secret in Chapter 1, but hold off on revealing the secret until later in the book. If you spill the beans too soon, you must incorporate something else to keep the suspense going. If you string the reader along to a big buildup, make sure you reward them with a bombshell that is believable and worth the wait.
3. Understand the Impact of Narration vs. Dialogue.
Generally speaking, dialogue and action (e.g., people saying or doing something) will speed up
the pacing of your novel, while extensive narration and description will slow it down. Literary fiction, which is character-driver and lauded for its poetic prose, is typically heavy on narration and description. Commercial fiction, which is plot driven, often includes more action and dialogue. Compare, for example, a James Patterson mystery like Run for Your Life (commercial fiction) versus a novel like the Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter (literary fiction). The latter is heavy on the narrative, the former has far more action and dialogue. If you feel your story is dragging, analyze the amount of narration versus dialogue and action and make the appropriate changes.
4. Hook Your Readers and Don’t Let Go.
Many readers who aren’t already familiar with an author will make a decision to buy a book after reading just the first few pages. Hence, your opening scene is your chance to grab their attention. But don’t stop there. Make sure you grab them throughout the book. You can accomplish this through conflict and suspense and by presenting engaging characters. You must end your chapters with a hook. That will make it hard for the reader to put down the book because he’s dying to know what’s going to happen next. If your protagonist narrowly escapes a tough situation, present him with another crisis. Keep your readers on the edge of their seats wondering, What’s going to happen next?
5. Record Your Book On Tape.
he last step in my writing process is to read my entire manuscript into a tape recorder and listen to it with pen in hand, ready to make any necessary changes. I often hear things that I don’t seewhen I’m simply reading the manuscript. I’ve discovered things like word repetitions that I missed, a lag in the pacing, and inconsistencies in my story line. After several hours of listening to my story, I’ve sometimes discovered that it takes too long to get to a pivotal events. So I go back to the drawing board.
If you’ve never listened to a book on tape, try doing so before you listen to your own book. Ask yourself if the story grips you and if not, figure out why. By the same token, if the book doesn’t grab you, analyze what the writer could have done differently to engage you. If you only follow one piece of advice from this article, please follow this tip! You will be amazed at how much you will be able to sharpen your manuscript as a result of this simple exercise.
About Pamela Samuels Young
Corporate attorney Pamela Samuels Young has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. Fed up with never seeing women or people of color depicted as savvy, hot shot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read, Pamela decided to create her own characters. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, Pamela accomplished her ambitious goal by rising at four in the morning to write before work, dedicating her weekends to writing and even spending her vacation time glued to her laptop for ten or more hours a day.
The Essence magazine bestselling author now has four fast-paced legal thrillers to show for her efforts: Every Reasonable Doubt (BET Books, February 2006), In Firm Pursuit (Harlequin, January 2007), Murder on the Down Low (Goldman House Publishing, September 2008) and Buying Time (Goldman House Publishing, November 2009). New York Times bestselling author Sheldon Siegel described Buying Time, Pamela’s first stand-alone novel, as a “deftly plotted thriller that combines the best of Lisa Scottoline and Robert Crais.”
Pamela has achieved a successful writing career while working as Managing Counsel for Labor and Employment Law for a large corporation in Southern California. Prior to that, she served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP in Los Angeles. A former journalist, Pamela began her broadcasting career as a production assistant at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, where she was quickly promoted to news writer. To escape the chilly Detroit winters, she returned home to Los Angeles and worked at KCBS-TV as a news writer and associate producer.
Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC, a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received her law degree from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is the Fiction Expert for BizyMoms.com.
Pamela is a frequent speaker on the topics of discrimination law, diversity, writing and pursuing your passion. She is married and lives in the Los Angeles area. To contact Pamela or to read an excerpt of her books, visit www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nancy Rue has written over 100 books for girls, is the editor of the Faithgirlz Bible, and is a popular speaker and radio guest with her expertise in tween and teen issues. She and husband Jim have raised a daughter of their own and now live in Tennessee.
Do you remember the "ABC After School Special"? It was a program that dealt with real life situations that no one talked about. This book reminds me of that series. "Boyfriends, Burritos & an Ocean of Trouble" deals with teen relationship abuse - something that most of us don't even think about, let alone consider.
The main character, 15 year old Bryn O'Connor, dates her "dream guy" who ends up being the boyfriend from a nightmare. He's controlling and abusive but even worse, popular. When it comes to light Bryn is being abused by him, no one believes her and she walks from one nightmare into another.
This is a wonderful book that I would highly recommend giving to every teenage girl. Bryn is a wonderful role model, going from meek to a strong character. She learns about love, trust and taking risks, both in her physical and spiritual life.
If there is one book your teen needs to read this summer, this is the one!! It's not only well written and entertaining, but really has a powerful message about relationship abuse.
Book was supplied by FIRST for me to honestly review.
The Weight of Shadows
Author: Alison Strobel
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 9780310289456
Genre: fiction, Christian
About the Book: (from publisher)
In The Weight of Shadows, by Alison Strobel, after a difficult childhood, Kim has built a successful life for herself … but she'd leave it all if it meant being rid of the guilt she harbors over a tragic mistake she made years ago.
When she meets Rick, she finds everything she needs—including a way to pay for her sins every time he hits her. Kim and Rick’s new neighbor, Joshua, knows more than Kim realizes about Rick, but Joshua has battles of his own to fight. Soon to intersect Kim’s and Rick’s lives is Debbie, who has saved countless women from abuse through the shelter she runs, but Debbie might be as desperate for love as the women she serves.
Meanwhile, as Rick’s wrath extends to their baby, Kim must decide if her penance is more important than protecting that innocent life—and if she should dare leave Rick when he has the power to bring her hidden crime to light.
Get a SNEAK PEEK inside "The Weight of Shadows"....
"The Weight of Shadows" is an extremely well written book about domestic violence and abuse. Alison delicately, but truthfully, handles the subject and makes this a book that every female should read. Although it has some disturbing situations, this one is going to be required reading for my daughter. Abuse is not always seen by the person involved until it's too late, and this book points out those signs, while incorporating them into a gripping story.
This is a book I couldn't put down. It was painful to read at times, but still one that kept me captive until the very end. To deal with domestic abuse and to be able to crawl inside the head of a victim is a gift. Alison was blessed with that gift. Kim, the main character, felt real - too real. Many times, I wanted to save her, to shake her and have her wake up. It was difficult at times to sit behind the pages of the book, knowing that there was nothing I could do except go along for the ride. Hmmmm - just like the real thing.... Watching an abused woman until she decides it is time to get help.
I highly recommend this book to all females. I would suggest that parents read this before giving it to their teens. It is full of information that should be discussed between parents and their children. Knowing that abuse it not the victim's fault and that they never deserve it, may just prevent a potential problem in their future.
Parental note: Contains domestic abuse, violence, cutting, discussions of women wanting to kill their husbands and living together outside of marriage.
About the Author:
Alison Strobel writes novels that explore life, love and faith. She lives in Colorado with her husband and two daughters. Visit her at www.AlisonStrobel.com
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