Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 107

Review: I SURVIVED THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis

The illustrations had a watercolorquality combined with the artsy style of the Golden Age. Some of the text was alittle small to read, but the images vividly expressed the story and what wasgoing on. 

The beginning was a little dulland you couldn’t really tell what was going on, but the art was so vibrant andexciting.

“Nothing can hurt this ship—noteven a mummy’s curse.”

Little George was trying to take apeek at the mummy when the ship struck the ice berg. Oh no! Now the ship wassinking. When he gets separated from his aunt sailing away on a lifeboat,George was on his own.

 

A nice illustration of harrowingevent!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: DELAYED REPLAYS by Liz Prince

The sketches were much too roughand amateurish. And, again, I could not read the handwritten and sloppy text.Just bad.

 

Rating:1 star

Review: LOOK BACK AND LAUGH by Liz Prince

The handwritten text was toosloppy and hard to read. The sketchy comics were pretty good, but not veryfunny. Eh, this was disappointing.

 

Rating:2 stars

Blog Tour: A SOLDIER'S REDEMPTION by Lorenzo Louden

 

A SOLDIER'S REDEMPTION

by Lorenzo Louden

 

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GENRE:  Memoir

 

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BLURB:

 

ASoldier's Redemption is a true, candid, no-holds-barred story of infamousformer gangster disciple Lorenzo Louden, a.k.a. "Shorty G." His storyimmerses you in the notorious world of gangs, taking you on a bone-chillingride through the streets of 1970s Chicago. While serving 17 years behind bars,his militant rule of the underworld expanded from the streets to the prisonsuntil a spiritual encounter directed his journey out of the darkness onto amiraculous path of purpose and possibility.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

For a longtime, I figured any book I ever wrote about my life would have to be writtenfrom my cell. In those days, I was known to the State of Illinois by a number,and to Folks in the Family as Shorty G. Plenty of the Folks are still doingtheir time. Plenty of them are still out there in their madness. Some of themare dead. Thanks to God’s grace and forgiveness, I was given a second chance.

 

Life sure doestake unexpected turns sometimes, and that’s how I come to be telling you mystory as a free man. And, when I talk about being free, I’m not just talkingabout being free from state prison. There are all kinds of ways for a man to belocked up in chains. But, I don’t want to get ahead of myself here…

 

I was born inLittle Rock, Arkansas, but my story really starts when I was a four-year-oldkid, living in Chicago with my mother and my baby sister, Grenada Janelle(Jan). My mother was an elegant, petite lady, who stood about five-foot-two orthree. Her style was real flashy and she liked nice things.

 

I never knew myfather at all. I was told he was in the military, but older people kept secretsin those days, so I never knew anything more than that. Mom never married theman, and had no contact with him. Looking back on my like a kid, it’s easy tounderstand how I ended up where I did.

 

The buildingwhere we lived was real noisy, and there were always people running up and downthe hallways. Day and night, you could hear them fighting, hollering, andcarrying on. I don’t remember other kids being around—just a lot of grownupsand a lot of chaos. There was no way to feel safe.

 

We had anitty-bitty efficiency apartment. It was one big room with a kitchenette, acouch, and a bed that folded into the wall. I slept on the couch, and my sisterslept with Mom in the bed. We lived above a tavern on a busy street, so therewas always traffic. At nighttime, I liked to stand at the window, listening tothe car horns and looking at the lights and the people down below. People wouldbe having fun—drinking, laughing and telling stories. That looked to me like agood time.

 

 

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Guest Blog: What do you hope readers will get from yourbook?

 

I hope my readers take from my book a story of a young kid who survived throughall the adversities in his life, growing up without love, wanting respect, andlonging for a family to call my own.  I also,want my readers to understand that this is a true story of a kid, not unlikethe many kids who are still suffering from similar or worst ordeals just tryingto survive.  As a youth my life was alwaysin survival mode. The things that I needed I was unable to receive from theadults in my life; therefore, I sort it elsewhere.  That is how I ended up getting involved withgangs because I believed that they loved me, protected me, and would always bethere for me.  It was the resilience andstrength in me that saved me, and education and maturity changed me.  I found that all I ever wanted was alwaysthere for me, but I was always looking in the wrong people and places.  If my book can help another kid learn thatwithout suffering as I did then I have accomplished my goal.

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Lorenzo Louden was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but grew up onthe notorious streets of the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, an area known asK-Town. He was raised in the foster care system until he was 14 years old.Lorenzo grew up on the streets and endured a lot of hardship as a youngteenager. As an adult, he believed that his past did not have to dictate hisfuture, so he strived to be the best he could be. During a 17-year stay, from1977 to 1994, courtesy of the Illinois prison system, he gained 4 degrees,including a bachelor's degree in business. In 2005 Lorenzo started a non-profitorganization called Tower of Refuge, dedicated to aiding and assistingreturning citizens. For the 10 years following, he and his team workeddiligently to ensure that these individuals had the services and support theyneeded to make a smooth transition back to society. The organization had a 96%success rating over that 10-year period. Lorenzo, a noted motivational speaker,who has positively influenced the lives of hundreds of detainees, is also thepublished author of "A Soldier's Redemption: The Life of Gangster ShortyG," an autobiographical account of his life as a gangster.

 

CEO of Black Chamber of Commerce of Illinois in Bloomington, IL;granted a contractual employee position for the Illinois Department ofCorrections for mentoring and educating individuals incarcerated prior to theirrelease; current owner of Illini Construction & Waterproofing, LLC; afather to three wonderful young adults that are contributing hugely to thesocieties that they are currently residing; loving brother, uncle, and friendto all who he has encountered.

 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lorenzolouden3196

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorenzolouden/

 

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GIVEAWAY 

Theauthor will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: MARIAN by Gayle Feyrer

 

MARIAN

by Gayle Feyrer

 

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GENRE:  Historical Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

Warrior.Spy. Marian Montrose dons silk or chain mail with equal aplomb. Sent by QueenEleanor on a mission to Nottingham, Marian is waylaid in Sherwood Forest by theinfamous Robin Hood. Her companions are stripped of their riches, but from her,Robin steals only one brazen kiss.

 

Seethingwith anger at the thief’s presumption and the haunting memory of his searingembrace, Marian arrives at the castle to find the sophisticated and seductiveSir Guy of Guisbourne a welcome distraction. Guisbourne would be the perfectally against the Sheriff and Prince John but he believes he’s already pickedthe winning side. Deft at games of intrigue, Marian discovers Guisbourne’s involvedin plans to steal the ransom meant to free King Richard the Lionheart.

 

Conqueringher misgivings, Marian returns to Sherwood and recruits Robin with the promiseof a pardon for him and his men. Now they are allies in the fight to return theking, but Robin wants far more from Marian. First she resists his almostmagical allure, then succumbs, then resists again, distrusting the elementalpower he has over her. Guisbourne may be lethally dangerous, but Robinthreatens to consume both her body and her soul.

 

Dangersurrounds them. Betrayal separates them. But desire—and fate—will not bedenied.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Simon of Vitrywas a dead man. His rush was telling on him. In his eagerness for the kill,Vitry had expended too much energy. As he thrust at her again, he stumbled overa root. He recouped before she could counterattack, but Marian regained herbalance and her surety. She saw that the great sword had grown heavy for him, showingits weight in his faltering backhand. Deliberately she edged around him,letting him follow with his strongest cuts, then quickly reversed direction,playing to his weakest maneuver. The backslash came at her, aiming to open herchest. She brought her own sword under his blade and turned it, then instantlydrove her point home, taking him deep in the belly. Vitry screamed, surpriseand outrage rising to a shrilling agony as she pulled her weapon free. With asurge of cold triumph she saw him fall to the ground. He lay at her feet,clutching the wound and thrashing. She did not answer when he begged her forhis death.

 

Implacable asfate, Marian sat by the edge of the pool and watched Vitry die, wondering ifher father had taken as long. After an hour it was over. Rising, she went tostand over his corpse. Though all around the bright May greenery fluttered inthe breeze, looking down on him she felt encompassed by winter.

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 GUEST POST

 

Topic: If you had aconversation with your main character, how would that go?

 

Oh dear! I’d have a mucheasier time of it with the artists and poets in my Paris mystery series! Pasde promblème—I could carry on with them for hours about Monet and Van Gogh,Baudelaire and Alexandre Dumas. Even my cop and my crime lord love art and literature.Oooh! And French cuisine. We could all eat together at some gorgeous BelleEpoque restaurant.

But in MARIAN? Well, Icould have a lovely chat with Alan a Dale and maybe convince him to actuallysing the troubadour poems I wrote for him.

And Marian herself? I’dknow better than to give Marian the emotional counseling she needs. I’m noteven sure she needs to be told to open up—she knows she needs to do. Butopening up her heart terrifies her, and only Robin can help her.

Since she’d glower atunwanted advice, we could talk clothes. She’d rather talk weapons or falconry,of course, but she does have an excellent fashion sense and awareness ofbeauty, and I think the clothes of that period were far more graceful andattractive than many other eras. I could see myself hanging out with Marian andAlan in Eleanor of Aquitaine’s palace, discussing courtly love and all the coolnew stuff being imported into Europe from the East, silks and spices and poeticforms. Forget algebra though. The banqueting could be interesting, roast swan,some nice salmon, marchepane.

And, if my life wasn’t atrisk, I suppose I could help Marian do some devious plotting—I’m far better atfiguring out other people’s plot problems than my own.

Guy I might try to grabfor a one night stand and then skedaddle before he put me on his hit list.

Robin—well, there’s a lotof magic in Sherwood. Maybe he could help me find that grove with thewaterfall. I might be tempted just to stay there.

 

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Gayle Feyrer began drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon andwriting when she was twelve. She holds a Bachelor's in Pictorial Arts fromUCLA, and MFA from the University of Oregon in Creative Writing. In her variedcareer, she has been a tie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramicbeasties, illustrator, fiction teacher, and finally, novelist. A Libra withScorpio Rising, Gayle’s romantic nature takes on a darker edge.  She hopes these shadows bring depth to herromances.

 

A world traveler, Gayle has visited Paris, England and Italynumerous times.  She lived for two yearsin Jakarta, Indonesia, with many trips around Asia. She currently residesacross the bridge from San Francisco, with her husband and their two rescuecats, Charlotte and Emily, the Flying Bronte sisters, half Siamese and halftabby.

 

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Gayle-Feyrer/author/B000APGOU0?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6836429.Gayle_Feyrer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YvesFey

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yves_fey/

 

Marian book trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFi8uI8UZM8

 

Troubadour song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWiwFccrehs

 

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GIVEAWAY 

Theauthor will award a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn host.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: TAKE THAT RIDE by Meg Benjamin

TAKE THAT RIDE

by Meg Benjamin

 

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GENRE:  Contemporary Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

They’veonly got a week. They need to make it count.

 

CoyBlackburn is an up-and-coming country singer, but right now he feels more likehe’s down-and-going. He’s at the end of a long tour, and his band is dragging.A week-long gig at the Faro tavern in Konigsburg, Texas, may get them back ontheir feet or it may be a disaster. For Coy, it feels like it could go eitherway.

 

LexiMarkham is living life on auto-pilot at the moment. As the main driver at herfamily’s tour business, she spends her days taking tourists around the Texaswineries and trying to get over her breakup with her lying fiancé. Now hersister has booked her to drive a country band around town, and she’s definitelynot feeling it.

 

WhenCoy and Lexi meet, sparks fly—and not it a good way. Still, trust the power ofmusic (and a back country cloudburst) to overcome a few bumps in the road. Butcan they even think about the future when they’ve only got a few days together?

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Lexi proppedherself against the doorway watching the band slide into the complete number.After a moment, Deirdre stepped up behind her. Lexi didn’t recognize the musicthe band was playing, but it must be one of their regulars, given the easy waythey seemed to be moving through the verse. As if they felt comfortable withwhat they were doing. After they’d played a few minutes that were strictlyinstrumental, Coy stepped to the microphone and began to sing.

 

The wordsweren’t familiar, but she found herself listening closely. Something about acouple that had broken up but still had feelings for each other. The man in thesong missed the way they’d been together, even though he didn’t exactly missthe woman herself. It was a complicated kind of lyric, a lot more complex thanshe might have expected.

 

Lexi wasn’tsure if she’d heard Coy sing before or not. The last time she’d heard them rehearse,she hadn’t paid much attention. She was fairly certain now she’d never reallyheard him sing. His voice was deep and resonant, but not exactly a bass. Morelike baritone. Something about the way Coy sang those complicated lyrics beganto reach deep into her senses. He wasn’t really living the song, but he madeher feel as if the feelings he described weren’t totally unfamiliar. As if heknew how to make her feel them, too.

 

A shivertraveled up her backbone, and her arms seemed to tingle. She checked to see ifshe had gooseflesh.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance. Meg’sKonigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and BrewingLove trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available fromEntangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Her new cozy mystery series,Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based inthe mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Along with contemporary romance,Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from BerkleyInterMix and the Folk trilogy from Soul Mate. Meg’s books have won numerousawards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, theHolt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the NewEngland  Romance Writers, and the Awardof Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.

 

Website: http://www.MegBenjamin.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1

 Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/megbenjamin

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/meg_benjamin

Twitter: http://twitter.com/megbenj1

Email: meg@megbenjamin.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Take-That-Ride-Konigsburg-Texas-ebook/dp/B0CB9BZBGT

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY 

MegBenjamin will award a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blast: HAPPINESS MOUNTAIN by Amal Indi

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Amal Indi will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Happiness is the most important experience that we as human beings seek throughout our entire lives. Yet there is no one clear definition of happiness in the world today.

How, then, can we expect to be happy to our fullest if we do not know what happiness is?

Everyone has happy moments in life. Suppose you are awake sixteen hours a day after eight hours of sleep—how much time are you truly happy in these sixteen hours?
If you are happy only 20 percent of your day, you will not feel truly happy in life.
If you are happy 50 percent of your day, you will feel like you have an OK life.
If you are happy 60 percent or above, you are living a happy life.
If you are happy 80 percent and above, you’re living a phenomenally happy life.
What if you could change the times that you are not happy to happy moments?

If you want to get better at something, you must study and become proficient in that subject. You do not know what you are missing if you do not learn. The same principle applies to happiness. If you want to be happier, study what happiness is. If happiness is important to you, master it.

By knowing happiness, you can consciously live a happier life. You can minimize the external factors impacting your happiness. You can get happiness under your control.

Irrespective of where you are in life today, by reading this book and following the happiness definition, philosophy, and methodology, you or anyone can live a happier life.

Read an Excerpt

The Happiness Philosophy

We as human beings find happiness in different ways: money, family, travel, meditation, exercise, material things, alcohol, pets, work, etc. We look for happiness from various activities while living busy lives with work, family, and other responsibilities. We all have times when we are unhappy and suffering while doing daily activities. We tend to look at happiness and daily activities as distinct moments of life.

Daily life is a collection of experiences from when you wake up to when you go to bed. By changing the philosophy of happiness to make every experience a happy experience, you can genuinely live a happier life. If you make every experience happy, naturally your whole day will be happy. If you focus on happiness daily, your entire life will be happy. You do not need to wait for something to happen or some future activity to be happy. You set the intention to be happy in the present moment, in every experience.

To live in this new happiness philosophy, you need a good understanding of happiness. Happiness Mountain’s happiness definition, philosophy, and methodology will help you with that. Why is a methodology critical? A methodology can be followed by anyone, and they will gain results. You do not have to reinvent a methodology for happiness. Instead, follow the Happiness Mountain methodology with ease. Irrespective of where you are in life today, by reading this book and following the happiness methodology, you or anyone can live a happier life.

About the Author: With over 20 years of experience working for financial institutions as a Solutions Architect, Amal set out on a mission to find true happiness. After researching happiness for many years, he is ready to share a definition, philosophy, and methodology for happiness so that anyone can follow and find true happiness with inner peace, joy, and fulfillment. He has written an incredible book called “Happiness Mountain – Make every experience a happy experience”. Amal is also a father of two kids and lives in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Amal’s mission is to heal the world and allow everyone to enjoy true happiness.

Find out more on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBSXPNHM

Or visit

http://www.happinessmountain.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amal-indi-6874064/
https://www.facebook.com/happinessmountain.inc/
https://www.spreaker.com/show/happiness-mountain
https://www.instagram.com/happiness_mountain/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: THE BABYSITTER’S CLUB: CLAUDIA AND MEAN JANINE by Raina Telgemeier

Two sisters. One was artistic andthe other was a genius. For Claudia, math wasn’t everything; after all, she hadher painting class and the babysitter’s club. Well, according to her parents,if she didn’t pass her math test, she might have to give those things up. 

Claudia and her sister were alwaysfighting. Even after their grandma had a stroke, they were still at odds. Inthis case, Claudia becomes Grandma’s tutor as she recovers from the stroke.

Loved the colorful illustrations!I especially liked the rope swinging in the barn and the dog bath. Too funny!Story had more babysitting fun as always.

Sometimes you want to pour punchon her head, but she was still your sister. Will the two sisters come to amutual understanding?

A sweet and fun read!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: THE BABYSITTER’S CLUB: LOGAN LIKES MARY ANN by Gale Galligan

Although the art was great (asalways,) the panels and text were too small to read. There just seemed to be alot going on with the pictures that it was hard to figure out the story. Youcan a good sense of the story, of course, but without being able to read thewords, you can’t get the full scoop.

 

It’s a decent read if you just goby the pictures, which you pretty much have to with the small text.

 

Rating:3 stars

Review: CAMP SPIRIT by Axelle Lenoir

This comic was very similar to thedry, sarcastic, no-personality Daria show. So, this Daria has to go to camp tobe a counselor for the summer. The art was cool, but some of the panels weretoo topsy-turvy and some of the text was too small to read. I didn’t quite getsome of the commentary. I also didn’t like the setting. Who would want to go tocamp anyway? Eh, this was a bad read.

 

Rating:2 stars