Travel > Giveaways

[close] I have 5 copies of my newly released novel 'Hoofing It.' to give away. It is a rite of passage European road movie set in 1996. It will make you laugh and cry, that is a money back guarantee - and what more could you want from a book?

This is the first in a trilogy, the second is with the editor. [close]

[close] Wherever Gannon & Wyatt go, adventure follows in this action-packed middle-grade series!

When Gannon and Wyatt arrive in Botswana for an African safari, they find themselves tangled up in much more than a family vacation. After receiving word that a poacher has shot and wounded a lioness, they set off into the wild in the hopes of saving the mother and her cubs before the poacher finishes the job. While on this amazing journey, they encounter Africa's Big Five--elephants, rhinos, cape buffalos, leopards, and lions--only to discover that the most dangerous predator in the African bush is not the king of beasts, but man himself.

In the tradition of the historic journals kept by explorers such as Lewis and Clark, Dr. David Livingstone, and Captain James Cook comes the adventure series Travels with Gannon and Wyatt. From Africa to the South Pacific, these twin brothers have traveled the world. You never know what they will encounter as they venture into the wild, but one thing is certain--wherever Gannon and Wyatt go, adventure is their constant companion.

You can find Gannon and Wyatt s blog, photographs, and video footage from their real-life expeditions at travelswithgannonandwyatt.com. [close]

[close] Receive a signed copy of one of Amazon's top selling Memoirs!

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Within weeks of arriving as a volunteer in a remote corner of South America, Crawford got a lot more than he bargained for: a narrow escape from a kidnapping plot hatched by the people he was sent there to help. Then things only got stranger.

In his quest to find adventure, Crawford undertook a savage journey of danger, drugs, sex, and alarming illness. What resulted is The Gringo: one part literary tale of two lonely years in the Amazon jungle and one part gonzo-journalism account of life in the Peace Corps, an agency wandering aimlessly through the twenty-first century. Filled with sharp humor and eye-opening observations about the human condition, this is an unforgettable story that grabs the reader and doesn't let go. [close]

[close] Surprise, shock, and a shift in her comfortable life tumble into Katherine Price’s world when least expected. The future she has imagined suddenly vanishes, leaving little to focus upon beyond her career and the caregiving her elderly widowed mother might require.

Fate has other plans.

June in Provence is full of promise when Katherine arrives from Canada, eager to feel renewed by her surroundings. Endless rows of lavender prepare to burst into pink and purple blooms. Fields of sunflowers flow in golden waves among vineyards and olive groves. Ancient hilltop villages beckon. It’s the postcard setting she envisioned, but is that all she needs?

After a year of heartbreak, Katherine has impulsively agreed to a home exchange in the south of France. Colorful locals, a yellow lab named Picasso, and the inspiring beauty of the countryside breathe new life into her days.

Seeking to shed the pain of betrayal and loss, she struggles to recapture her joie de vivre and searches for the answer to a haunting question: is it too late to begin again?

As Katherine explores the romantic cobblestone lanes of medieval towns, discovers the intoxicating pleasures of Paris and savors the sun-kissed Côte d'Azur, she begins redefining the possibilities in her life.

An enduring story of hope and change in life’s later years is woven through the author’s love-letter to France. Like a well-travelled friend, Patricia Sands invites readers into a world she loves and entices them to linger.


"Be prepared to fall in love with Provence! This is a story that will draw you in with its vibrancy in setting and characters. A must read for any woman with a desire for romance and travel." Steena Holmes, author of Amazon bestseller Finding Emma(



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[close] Informative book about cruising the Caribbean on a sailboat or trawler. A series of articles based on the author's experiences during a 10 year cruise of the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Eastern Caribbean islands, Trinidad and Venezuela. Packed full of helpful hints, anecdotes and information for armchair cruisers as well as sailors in the planning stages. The author addresses such subjects as pets on board cruising boats, weather information, obtaining crew, and boat fix-it projects. This is how to find out what cruising is really like.

If you like the book, a review on Amazon and Goodreads is appreciated. [close]

[close] Max Scratchmann was born the son of a Dundee jute wallah and spent the first six years of his life in India before being taken "home" to Scotland in the bitter winter of 1963.

In Scotland for Beginners he tells the often painful, but very funny, story of growing up in the bleak grey-harled bungalows of Dundee's newly-built suburbs and learning to adapt to his native land in an era when the very fabric of the nation was changing.

Told as a series of humorous vignettes, Scotland for Beginners takes us on a sentimental journey through "auld Dundee" as Max struggles to decipher Scots dialect; buys school clothes from the formidable Miss Hannah at the Peter Street Co-op, and heroically endures the tortures of organised games at the Junior Boys Brigade.

Then, as the Sixties become the Seventies and the country is plunged into darkness by power strikes and the Three Day Week, the teenage Max goes girl-chasing at the Ice Rink; falls in love with Sally the prompter at the church drama group, and finally blunders into a dodgy drug deal in a garishly-painted tenement in the Hawkhill.

"Vivid, well observed and very, very funny…"
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[close] Max Scratchmann was born the son of a Dundee jute wallah and spent the first six years of his life in India before being taken "home" to Scotland in the bitter winter of 1963.

In Scotland for Beginners he tells the often painful, but very funny, story of growing up in the bleak grey-harled bungalows of Dundee's newly-built suburbs and learning to adapt to his native land in an era when the very fabric of the nation was changing.

Told as a series of humorous vignettes, Scotland for Beginners takes us on a sentimental journey through "auld Dundee" as Max struggles to decipher Scots dialect; buys school clothes from the formidable Miss Hannah at the Peter Street Co-op, and heroically endures the tortures of organised games at the Junior Boys Brigade.

Then, as the Sixties become the Seventies and the country is plunged into darkness by power strikes and the Three Day Week, the teenage Max goes girl-chasing at the Ice Rink; falls in love with Sally the prompter at the church drama group, and finally blunders into a dodgy drug deal in a garishly-painted tenement in the Hawkhill.

"Vivid, well observed and very, very funny…"
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[close] In this first book of the bilingual Janjak and Freda series, cousins Janjak and Freda go with their godmother on an exciting adventure to Haiti's famous Iron Market. While there, they make many new friends, taste new fruits, and show the value of helping others when a runaway goat causes havoc in the market. The colorful text and beautiful illustrations will leave children dreaming up their own adventures.

This story is told in such a way that the characters, scenery, and plot will be meaningful to both English speaking children and Creole speaking children. Rather than a literal translation, the Creole text has been rewritten by Wally Turnbull to provide the most authentic experience for Creole speakers. [close]

[close] ENTER TO WIN A FREE ADVANCE COPY!

In this inspiring, delightful memoir, a young woman decides to escape the daily grind and turn her “what if” fantasy into a reality, only to find work—and a man—she loves in one fell swoop, all in a secondhand bookstore in a quaint Scottish town.

Jessica Fox was an ambitious twenty-six-year-old filmmaker, but she was stuck in a rut and couldn’t take it anymore. Living in Hollywood and working a high-stress job at NASA, she was seized by a moment of inspiration one night and typed “second hand bookshop Scotland” into Google. She clicked on the first link she saw. A month later, she crossed the Atlantic to the west coast of Scotland, and knocked on the door of the bookshop she would be calling home for the next year…

The rollercoaster journey that ensued—involving Scottish Hanukkah, a swoon-worthy love story, yoga on Galloway’s West Coast, and a waxing that Jessica will never forget—would both break and mend her heart. It would also teach her that before we can write our own stories, we must have the courage to travel the path less taken.

If you’ve ever wondered how you could change the course of your life, Jessica’s charming story will entertain, enlighten, and inspire you to begin your own journey of self-discovery. [close]

[close] 75 games for families to play at the beach, mostly aimed at children ages 2 to 10, with some for teenagers. Most of the games require nothing more than items found naturally on the beach. [close]

[close] From a young age, Amanda identified with her father, a heavy smoker with food issues who starved himself until he was skeletal. She, in turn, developed a severe case of anorexia that led to hospitalization. A year after she recovered, he died of lung cancer. Desperate to escape his ghost, Amanda fled San Diego to pursue acting and writing in Manhattan, where she eventually became so obsessed with and disturbed by the concept of language that she suffered a mental breakdown and moved back into her mother’s house. After a year of ineffective psychotherapy, she felt intuitively pulled to study massage therapy and, while massaging a cancer survivor, discovered that easing the pain of others was a powerful way to find reprieve. Amanda moved back to New York to resume creative pursuits but soon found herself lost again. Frantically searching for inner peace, she left to travel alone through ten cities in India and Nepal. As a tourist amidst extreme poverty, exotic beauty and charged spirituality, internal whirlwinds raged. After weeks of constant motion and changing scenery, Amanda landed in a quiet Indian ashram surrounded by green fields, mountains and endless sky. There, as she trained to become a yoga teacher, she reflected deeply on mortality and the workings of her mind, learning to let go and surrender to the present moment. [close]

[close] The House of Sö’ has been at war with the Zelinites for nearly a thousand years, and there have been many battles fought, many victories, and costly losses on both sides. The Zelinite struggle for power and control over the home planet of Ackturra is one that cannot be lost for Ackturra has one great treasure that is within the Mountains; the power crystals. These ancient crystals and their secrets are only fully understood by those who are in possession of a power crystal. It is these power crystals, and their essence within that gave Ackturrians their extended life expectancy. The Crystal Mountains have been restricted to everyone, with the exception of the few members of the high council. If a power crystal were to fall into the enemy hands of the Zelinites, the war would surely be lost. Jhahnahkan has returned from the outer rim on a mission to find allies to help them with their failing war with the Zelinites. He has been given the honor of a seat on the high council next to his power hungry and jealous brother. Every council member has taken possession of a power crystal, only found on Ackturra. These power crystals give the user special abilities, but Jhahnahkan senses that there is something about them that doesn't seem right.

Jhahnahkan must discover the hidden secrets in order to overcome the evil that is upon them. Will he uncover the Secret of the Crystal before his evil brother takes over the high council and launches genocide on the Zelinites? Brian Larson dramatically depicts a magical world in this epic story of good versus evil. Join Jhahnahkan in the amazing adventure of Secret of the Crystal.

Brian Larson received his master’s in business administration. He works as a regional service technical delivery manager for a large computer manufacturer. His passion for writing gave him the strength to work through his dyslexia to write this novel. Brian lives with his wife, Diana, in the State of Washington. Learn more at http://www.secretofthecrystal.com. [close]

[close] Happily, Filipino author Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., has written a blurb for the back cover of Sundays in Manila. Here are a few lines from the blurb. "Bob Boyer offers affectionate--often intimate--portraits of Filipino life and cluture, formed over many visits to a country that many, if not most, Americans know only in the broadest terms.... It's hard to imagine how a visitor from the snowbound American Midwest could connect so well with sun-baked Pinoys, but Bob Boyer did--and does again, through this eminently enjoyable book." An added feature of the book are the 37 sketches, often humorous, sometimes poignant, by the Filipino artist June Poticar Dalisay. [close]

[close] For Andrea Lieberman, life began at 26. Growing up with parents so protective they made a convent seem like a Sandal’s resort, she developed a catalog of phobias so large, going into a church seemed risky business. Finally, Andrea had had enough; she wanted to live rather than fear dying. Without hesitation, she accepts a photography assignment for a magazine traveling through England and packs up her camera, her pepper spray and every insecurity she accumulated since birth. Excited but petrified to reveal the news to her boyfriend, he intercepts with news of his own – a marriage proposal, leaving the lingering question of their impending nuptials as she travels abroad.

Upon touching down in England, Andrea flops around like a fish out of water. The magazine’s staff – the idiot, the slut, and the mute – offer little comfort outside of a pint of beer until she’s assigned two blokes as travel companions – a tight-arsed copywriter and a drop-dead gorgeous art director with movie star charm. These two men help Andrea push herself beyond her comfort zone while testing the limits of her fortitude and her relationship with her boyfriend. The photographic journey becomes a comedy of errors thanks to unforeseen obstacles at every turn. As Andrea struggles to complete the assignment, she discovers the most revealing picture she finds will be of herself. [close]

[close] 3 SIGNED COPIES TO BE WON!

“English rain smelt and tasted of nothing at all. It had none of the fury, the passion of the monsoons. Instead, it was weak; half-hearted.”

Exiled from her family in India for more than a decade, Shirin and her husband lead a comfortable but empty life in London.

Memories of her childhood – exotic fragrances, colours, stifling heat and tropical storms – fill Shirin with a familiar and growing ache for the land and the people that she loves.

With the recollections though, come dark clouds of scandal and secrets. Secrets that forced her to flee her old life and keep her from ever returning.

Thousands of miles away, in Bangalore, the daughter of Shirin’s brother discovers a lost, forgotten photograph. One that has escaped the flames.

Determined to solve the mystery of an aunt she never knew, Reena’s efforts will set in place a chain of events that expose the painful trauma of the past and irrevocably change the path of the future.
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[close] From the acclaimed author of the novels The Immortals and Freedom Song: a spellbinding book that combines memoir, reportage, and history in an intimate, richly sensual portrait of the city of Calcutta.

Amit Chaudhuri has been consistently praised for the beauty and subtle power of his writing and for the ways in which he makes "place" as complex a character as his men and women. Now, he brings these gifts to a chronicle of two years in which he made Calcutta his home. In a mesmerizing narrative he takes us into the heart of a metropolis relatively untouched by the currents of globalization but possessed of a "self renewing way...of apprehending life." The narrative moves through the city's vibrant avenues and its derelict alleyways, introduces us to its homeless and its well-heeled, describes its architecture and food, its sounds and smells, its past and present politics, and makes abundantly clear the complex reasons for the author's passionate attachment to the place and its people. It is an unusually beguiling, eye-opening journey that evokes all that is most particular and extraordinary about the city. [close]

[close] Adelante follows an unfulfilled young man as he leaves his home in New York City and finds work at a winery in rural South America. He makes friends, makes an enemy, and falls in love. After some friction with his girlfriend drives them apart temporarily, they commit to a new life together and move to her family’s vineyard where they live and work together. When continuing in his new life means raising the child of another man, he is forced to reexamine his notion of an ideal existence.

Partly a love story, mostly a story about how we deal with change and uncertainty, Adelante explores what really defines meaning in life.

Interspersed with images of wine country and a winery at work, Adelante will appeal to wine aficionados and non-drinkers alike. If read carefully, Adelante offers the reader a wealth of information regarding the process and production of winemaking. Readers less interested in the specifics will appreciate a glimpse into the daily working life of rural/industrial workers in South America.

Adelante is a book unlike any other. It isn’t memoir, it isn’t non-fiction, it’s a novel for our times, about how we live today and how we can reach for a more fulfilled tomorrow. It’s about finding meaning in unexpected places. [close]

[close] "Bernard writes movingly of the northern climate and landscape, of solitude and distance, of feeling utterly transformed. ... An illuminating quest to understand his fascinating ancestor and himself."
—Booklist

Alaska looms as a mythical, savage place, part nature preserve, part theme park, too vast to understand fully. Which is why C.B. Bernard lashed his canoe to his truck and traded the comforts of the Lower 48 for a remote island and a career as a reporter. It turned out that a distant relation had made the same trek northwest a century earlier. Captain Joe Bernard spent decades in Alaska, amassing the largest single collection of Native artifacts ever gathered, giving his name to landmarks and even a now-extinct species of wolf. C.B. chased the legacy of this explorer and hunter up the family tree, tracking his correspondence, locating artifacts donated to museums, and finding his journals at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Using these journals as guides, C.B. threw himself into the state once known as Seward’s Folly, boating to remote islands, hiking distant forests, hunting and fishing the pristine landscape. He began to form a landscape view of the place that had lured him and "Uncle Joe," both men anchored beneath the Northern Lights in freezing, far-flung waters, separated only by time. Here, in crisp, crystalline prose, is his moving portrait of the Last Frontier, then and now. [close]

[close] The author challenges readers to find their own "travel wings" in this humorous account of a trip to one of the largest remaining virgin rain forests in the Amazon basin. Join her and 11 plucky strangers from 5 different countries who speak no one language in common, but respond to a hand-lettered notice tacked to their hostel doors. They band together in a trek down the eastern face of the Andes in load trucks and enter the heart of Manu National Park in Peru by canoe. Their destination is unimaginable; their calendar, bounded only by hunger; their likelihood of reaching the goal, nebulous. For the totally foolhardy, this book will serve as a great survival guide.

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[close] Thirteen humorous holiday tales, of food and frivolity. Laugh at all that can go wrong on a Christmas trip, the perils of threatening Santa, and why National Fruitcake Month is the new threat from outer space. [close]

[close] When Lana returns to Greece, the last thing she expects is to fall in love. After all, this was the country in which her marriage and psyche had dissolved. But on an exotic Greek island, surrounded by the topaz brilliance of the Mediterranean, Lana discovers that truth really is stranger than fiction.

This mini-memoir closes the Lana Penrose travel/love trilogy but can absolutely be enjoyed as a stand-alone title.

Lana Penrose is the bestselling author of 'To Hellas and Back' and 'Kickstart My Heart'.

'Addicted to Love' is a haunting page-turner you’ll devour in one sitting.
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[close] Lena Wallace was supposed to go to Italy on her honeymoon. That was sixteen years ago. Instead, she settles for cooking Spaghetti Bolognese for her two children while her husband, Alex, is on yet another business trip to Florence without her. Lena deals with his absences in the same stoic way she deals with all her responsibilities. And then comes the call that changes everything—the one from Alex's Italian mistress.

Stunned and heartsick, Lena flies to Florence to confront Alex. The city is every bit as beautiful as she imagined, from its glittering fountains and cafés to the golden sunsets over rolling hills. But the further she goes to salvage her marriage, the less Lena recognizes herself—or the husband she's trying to win back. Instead, she's catching glimpses of the person she once hoped to be and the life and family she truly wants. Most of all, she's wondering if the real journey is only just beginning. . .

In a novel as warm and vibrant as its rich Italian setting, author Mary Carter explores the intricacies of marriage, the ways love can both liberate and confine, and the journey to happiness that begins with one surprising step. . .
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[close] Win a *signed* advanced copy of DOON, the first in a new YA series of Brigadoon reimaginings from HarperCollins! A romantic modern-day fairytale you won't be able to put down!
Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months. But the Scottish countryside holds other plans. Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for ... or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.
For more information go to www.doonseries.com [close]