Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 119

Review: ALASKA ADVENTURER by Ann Omasta and Callie Love

An Alaskan recluse was not incharge of his estranged niece and nephew after the death of their parents? Saywhat?! Oh, this oughta be good.

“This grumpy mountain man doesn’tappear to have a gentle or caring bone in his body.”

Both Quinn and Boone seemed to bein a hot-potato game with the kids—neither one of them wanted to take them. Ashe keeps trying to kick them out, she continues to make herself at home withthe kids. The story of the pet wolf was so touching. It’s funny how the kidsfreak out when there’s no Wi-Fi. I don’t blame them. Alaskan mountains weremuch too remote for me. Seriously, over an hour from the next town? Will thekids be able to live in Alaska? Will Quinn give up her life in New York for themountain man?

A sweet and sexy romance!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: COLORADO COWBOY by Ann Omasta and Callie Love

 

A dead wife. Her will dictatedthat the ranch go to her sister and her husband to share. A cowboy and a citygirl. They were like fire and ice. It would never work. What was Maddiethinking?

With the sisters looking so alike,was it any wonder why Colt ended up kissing Sadie?

“Lusting after my dead sister’shusband is not on my agenda.”

Perhaps Maddie really did knowwhat she was doing and wanted them to be there for each other.

This was a sweet romance, but italso had a bit of mystery with Maddie’s secret.

A good read, for sure!

 

Rating: 5 stars

Blog Tour: EXCELLENCE THROUGH MENTAL STRENGHT by Lionel Baugh

Excellence through Mental Strength

by Lionel Baugh

 

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GENRE:   Self-help / personal development

 

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BLURB:

 

Haveyou ever felt like your weaknesses were holding you back from opportunities inlife? Or feared you don't have the skill set to tackle new experiences? Perhapsyou've even worried about just not being as naturally talented as the peoplearound you?

Excellence Through Mental Strength will not only dispel your concerns but willalso teach you how to reframe your perception of self. You're already morecapable than you realize, and this step-by-step guide will show you how torecognize the true power of your strengths-so you can 'make the shift' into agrowth mindset and take back control of your future.

Never let your perceived 'weakness' into the driver's seat of your life again.Bolster your mental strengths instead and pave the road you want to travel withgrounded confidence in who you are, where you're going, and what you bring tothe table.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

How you manage your attention is at the heart of mentalstrength. Like everything you learn, your ability to do so improves withpractice. Imagine the following: Katrina was having a lively conversation withfriends at the office. She wanted to buy a new car. One of her friends,Charles, always opinionated, made a strongly worded recommendation: ‘Katrina,based on your profile and personality, there’s only one car for you—A VW Golf!’On the way home, a curious thing happened. Generally uninterested in cars,Katrina began to notice VW Golf ’s in the traffic. The traffic was slow. It wasas if all the other vehicles were just vehicles. Cars, vans, SUVs blurred intoa mass of noisy movement. This was the mass migration of rush-hour. However, VWGolfs kept showing up, on her left, in front, just a little to the right, inher rear-view mirror. Gray ones, blue ones, old models, new ones. The trafficsteadily seemed to become a river full of 25 VW Golfs. She even noticed oneparked at a strip mall, another getting its gas refilled. As she arrived at herdriveway, she noticed that even her next door neighbor had a VW Golf.Previously, it had been just a ‘car’. She took this as an omen and bought onethe next Saturday. ; Katrina was amazed by what happened because she’s notaware of how the brain works. The brain is largely a giant filtering machine.It maintains focus by eliminating what you don’t want to notice so you canfocus on what you do. If this wasn’t so, we’d live in a state of perpetualconfusion.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

LionelBaugh Born: 5/25/53 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nationality: British/US CitizenEducation: Trinity College, Dublin University Lives in: Solis, Uruguay Speak:Both English and Spanish, without preference. I’m an executive coach. In 2009,I completed a long career in financial services and made a life changing andcomprehensive career shift. My banking career had a lot of diversity to it. Ienjoyed assignments in New York, Lima, Manila, Hong Kong, Oslo, SanAntonio-Texas, and Miami. Professionally that took me through commercialbanking to capital markets and eventually to wealth management. In 2008, I leftMerrill Lynch, and by early 2009, I was certified as a business coach. Thisopened up a whole new world, unleashing a passionate desire to help people growand a fascination with what works in life. As my coaching career advanced, Imoved from business coaching to executive coaching, where most of my existingpractice lies. The fundamental difference is that executive coaching focusesmore on 143 behavior and mindset than on entrepreneurialism. Behavior andmindset are where my passion lies. (Having said that, most entrepreneurialsuccess is also about mindset, but you do spend time on things like themarketing strategy and the cash-flow forecast.) I became a sponge for learningand have obtained certifications in Emotional Intelligence and in the Red2Bluemindset model. I have read too many books to number or list, and the subjectsrange from psychology to therapy to emotional intelligence, agility, andself-awareness to mindfulness, stoicism, and more recently, anything I canlearn about performance under pressure. My ‘why’ is sustained by a strongbelief that everyone has excellence in them. I’m curious to discover eachperson’s unique ‘hidden genius’. I’m very motivated to help identify thatexcellence, polish it, and display it to the world in all its splendor. I haveclients throughout the Americas and the UK whom I coach via Zoom. I also dofrequent webinars and in-person workshops.

 

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Excellence-through-Mental-Strength-Lionel/dp/B0BY4CR8LY/

 

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GIVEAWAY :

Lionel Baugh will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnesand Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: ELVIA AND THE GIFT OF PASSION by Ruthy Ballard

 

Elvia and the Gift of Passion

by Ruthy Ballard

 

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GENRE: Middle grade sciencefantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

Adventurous ten-year-old Elvia is sick of her dull-as-dishwaterexistence, suffocating under the stifling watch her overprotective parents. Shelongs for a different life, with more freedom and fun. But she gets more thanshe bargains for when she discovers an alarming family secret and is swept awayon an adventure 64,000 light years from Earth. Tanzanian witch doctors,child-eating lions, and submarine exploration on a two-mooned planet enliventhis science fiction fantasy adventure, the third in Ballard’s award-winningTales by Moons-light series.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Alive returned the book back to the shelf and decided toexplore the bedframe next. It was riddled with dozens of small, intriguingdrawers. Each contained a miniature treasure: a colorful seashell, a pebble oftranslucent sea glass, a figurine carved out of driftwood, a button made ofmother of pearl. But the little note she found in the sixth drawer, neatlyprinted in a child’s hand, made her catch her breath: “To the Next Findling: Iwas a findling, too. I hid some loot in the galley. Don’t let Rats get it first!– Immi (London, England).”

 

Alive wondered—only briefly—if she should share the notewith Lacie, but quickly decided against it. The message was for her, afindling, not Lacie, an uppy. It was a private message. A secret message,though she had no idea what it meant. She knew that “the galley” was thesubmarine’s kitchen, but Immi’s use of the word “loot” seemed odd. Wasn’t lootjust for pirates? And were there really rats aboard The Sunken Treasure, thefinest boat in the Cairntip Fleet? It seemed impossible! Surely, Captain Parkerwouldn’t allow it.

 

She folded the note and squirreled it away inside Life inthe Arimana Trench, where it would be safe from Lacie’s prying eyes. The bookwas about mining in the deep ocean. She knew Lacie wouldn’t be the least bitinterested in reading it. “There’s a mystery aboard this submarine,” shethought, as she continued to ponder Immi’s cryptic message. The idea thrilledher, and she couldn’t wait to explore the rest of the boat, to learn more.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Children’s bookauthor Dr. Ruth (Ruthy) Ballard is a scientist by trade who never thought she’dbe one. Intimidated by science as a kid, she almost gave up on pursuing it as acareer though she found it fascinating. Fortunately, a mentor stepped in and showedher the way. Now, she’s passionate about doing the same for the next generationof science shy, but creative, smart and capable kids. Her award-winning sciencefantasy adventures lure children in with compelling characters andentertaining, twisty plots that incorporate science in fun, accessible ways.

 

When Ruthyisn’t writing, she is “Dr. Ruth Ballard,” a forensic DNA consultant and aprofessor at Sacramento State, where she runs a forensic biology research andtraining program while consulting with attorneys across the country on criminalcases involving DNA evidence. She’s also a folk artist who loves to draw,illustrates her own books, and enjoys hiking and camping with her husband andtheir four dogs near their home on the Oregon coast.

 

Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvNsOhYVGUl_5pHLGyLG8NA

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

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

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16577223.Ruthy_Ballard

Amazon authorpage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ruthy-Ballard/author/B06Y6KVX5D

 

Buy Link: The Book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour

 

Amazon buylink: https://www.amazon.com/Elvia-Gift-Passion-Tales-Moons-Light/dp/0997853212/ref=sr_1_1

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GIVEAWAY 

The author will be awarding a $25Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: HEART OF DECEPTION by Gayle Feyrer

Heart of Deception

by Gayle Feyrer

 

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GENRE: Historical Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

Intrigue and treachery stalk the grimy streets and the royalcourts of Elizabethan England. Returning from war, Rafe Fletcher finds hisfamily accused of conspiring to murder Elizabeth and place Mary, Queen ofScots, on her throne. His only hope to save them lies in infiltrating thecriminal underworld of nefarious siblings Nick and Vivian Swift.

 

Rafediscovers it’s Viv who is the mastermind of the duo. Bold, clever and ruthless,Viv is also loyal and fiercely passionate. Rafe fights the intense magnetismthat pulls him ever closer to destruction. But desire defies every warning hegives himself and they begin a blazing affair--until murder and betrayal severstheir newly formed trust. Restoring that trust may be the only way Rafe cansave the Queen, his own family, and the woman he’s come to love.

 

Theiradventure takes them from the fledgling theatres of Shakespeare’s London to thedesperate corridors of Bedlam, from the deadly backstreets of the Clink to theglittering court of Queen Elizabeth. It is a world of dark secrets and darkerintrigues. Will the fire of their passion burn bright enough to incinerate thelies, and illuminate the truth?

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Prickling with the awareness of being watched, Rafe lookedup to the house, his search stopping at a shadowy form behind the great bowwindow. He stared up at the window until the shadow moved forward. Circularpanes sparkled in the sun as the central casements opened to reveal a womanwatching. Dark and slender, she looked clothed in flame, her velvet gown ablaze of scarlet slashed with black. A shock went through Rafe as her glitteringgaze met his own, then slowly browsed him from head to toe.

 

Used to seductive appraisal, flirtatious or serious, stillhe flushed at the flagrant assessment, and the heat that flashed through himseemed to ignite in her eyes, bright within their dark. Rafe had never seen alady with so bold a glance, which mocked as it weighed, invited as itchallenged. But no lady would be here among these criminals, though the womangazing down at him knew how to dress the part. Rubies burned at her throat, andropes of sparkling jet draped her vivid scarlet bodice. The distinctive garb,the total presumptuousness of the woman, made him tense with suspicion. Slowly,her gaze swept his body, scanning the breadth of his shoulders and assessingthe strong muscles of his thighs. … The black eyes sought his again, and hestared back defiantly, icy anger running in cold currents against his hotarousal. Rafe felt more than provoked—he felt deliberately tested to see howlong he could stand in the fire.

 

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GUEST POST

Topic: what drivescharacters in your story and how do they develop in the story?

 

    Rafe Fletcher is deeply conflicted, andonly half realizes it. He was indulged and adored by his dashing actor fatherand the mother who’d abandoned a Puritan family to run off with him. But sheread Rafe the bible every night. He is very much the child of both.

    After Rafe is caught stealinggingerbread, his father confronts him: “Raphael, that wide-eyed gaze couldmake the angels believe your innocence. Perform so on stage and you will be agod.” He was whipped, but not as if his father meant it. Rafe was proud of thetheft, his lie, his beating, until he faced his mother’s accusing eyes. It washer shame, her icy reproach, that secured his repentance.

     Then his parents die of the sweatingsickness and Rafe’s sent to a different world. A Puritan world.

Butwhile his grandparents were stern in their judgments, still they offeredrefuge, a stability he’d never known in his vagabond life. Craving theiraffection, he learned to hide the wildness they feared. Slowly, his life flowedinto the narrower channel they set. He learned to swim more deftly, seldomcolliding with the hard walls of their faith. But like sunken treasure, thememories of his childhood glittered just below the surface.

Rafe’sbroken free of that rigid life to a great extent, first with his friendGabriel, and then in integrating himself into Vivian’s world. But there’s stilla bit of the prude mixed with the sensualist. And since he always had to hidethe sensualist from his grandparents, he’s been an actor his whole life. Becomingan undercover agent for the crown is a boon. He’s seeking justice for hisfamily and his murdered friend, but he gets to be bad in service of goodness.

In lovingViv he comes the closest he ever will to integrating those warring facets andsimply being himself. He can define his own moral code and reclaim theglittering treasure.

Viv hasvery little inner conflict. She’s always known who she is and what she wants.The problem is that she’s a woman she’s not allowed to have it and is expectedto want something else. Some women in Elizabethan England were similarpowerhouses who knew how to play the game or had enough power to break therules. Viv might have triumphed in the world she was born into, or she may havebeen, not broken, but imprisoned within its limitations.

    But Viv and herbrother are on the run for murder. That same childhood catastrophe frees her tobecome her most dynamic, her most ruthless self. There remains a lingering fearof discovery and wariness of betrayal. Given the hidden crime in her past, the dailyviolence and treachery of the world she’s slowly mastered, she gives her trustsparingly. There’s only her brother, who’s pulling away from her because he’sfallen in love, Izzy, who rescued them both from the streets, and one or twohenchmen who’ve been tested enough to be trusted.

    And then Rafe, whoshe only meant to play with, not love. Not trust.

    And he breaks herheart.

    Viv’s courageous,even reckless, but always aware, always weighing the odds. She has a violenttemper that she indulges too freely. She likes power, likes controlling others,but it’s less for its own sake than for the sense of security it gives her. Shelikes having wealth but has a generous hand. Life is a game, albeit a deadlygame, and Viv likes to play. A little more over the edge and she could be atrue villain, but has empathy for others, her own sense of justice, and acapacity for love she’s seldom been able to offer. Loving Rafe, forgiving Rafeopens up the generosity of her nature to a depth and height she have been ableto reach on her own.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Gayle Feyrerbegan drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and writing when she wastwelve. She holds a Bachelor's in Pictorial Arts from UCLA, and a MFA from theUniversity of Oregon in Creative Writing. In her varied career, she has been atie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramic beasties, illustrator,fiction teacher, and finally, novelist. A Libra with Scorpio Rising, Gayle’sromantic nature takes on a darker edge. She hopes these shadows bring depth to her romances.

 

A worldtraveler, Gayle has visited Paris, England and Italy numerous times.  She lived for two years in Jakarta,Indonesia, with many trips around Asia. She currently resides across the bridgefrom San Francisco, with her husband and their two rescue cats, Charlotte andEmily, the Flying Bronte sisters, half Siamese and half tabby.

 

TygerbrightPress – Novels of Romance and Mystery: https://tygerbright.com/

https://www.facebook.com/YvesFey

Gayle Feyrer(@yves_fey) • Instagram photos and videos: https://www.instagram.com/yves_fey/

https://www.pinterest.com/yvesfey

 

Book Video: https://youtu.be/zLQ_AydxEyE

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Deception-Gayle-Feyrer-ebook/dp/B0BSP8JMMW/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-deception-gayle-feyrer/1143302694

 

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GIVEAWAY 

Gayle Feyrer will be awarding a $25Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: CHILDREN WHO DANCE IN THE RAIN by Susan Justice

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Children Who Dance in the Rain by Susan Justice
Category:  Children's Fiction (Ages 3-8),  32 pages
Genre:  Children's Picture Book
Publisher:  Compassion Project Press
Release date:   May 2023
Format available for review:  print-hardback (USA), PDF
Tour dates: May 15 to Jun 2, 2023
Content Rating:  G for all kids.Book Description:

Sophie gets bored quickly and won’t even eat her food without looking at her tablet. She’s thrilled to hear of her family’s upcoming trip to a magical place called India, a land she’s only heard of in stories. Once there, she quickly realizes that the underprivileged children living in the mud colony possess a joy and contentment she can’t explain. Sophie sets out on a journey of discovery, but what she finds may change her world forever. This tale about the true meaning of happiness and the power of gratitude is based on true events.Buy the Book
Amazon 
B&N 
(coming soon)
add to goodreads

Review: Meet Sophie, who will take youthrough her day. The day started off with a crabby Sophie. She didn’t want toget up, she didn’t want to eat breakfast, and she certainly didn’t want to goto school. When she got home, her parents told her about their upcoming trip toIndia. Wow, India! Sophie just couldn’t wait. The excitement of the trip soonbecame tapered by the reality of the village. It was just awful.

“Can we go some place nice?”Sophie asked.

“Where else will you see thesemythical creatures?” And they were stunning creatures.

I just loved the vibrant andcolorful illustrations, which just popped from the pages. They were soexpressive and detailed.

Soon, Sophie opens her eyes andsees a whole new world she’s never seen. She saw the grim reality of thechildren’s lifestyle. So poor. So minimal. So downtrodden. The kids here oftenhad no food, no clothes, and no school. These kids had practically nothing.This brought guilt upon Sophie for not appreciating what she had back home.

“Although the children had notoys, during the shadowy nights, they played in the stars.”

Still, the children remained happyand care-free.

“Their mud homes were empty, buttheir hearts were filled with joy.”

A wonderful story about seeinglife in a different part of the world. It encourages gratitude and sharing.After getting through this book, you’ll learn what the word “privilege” reallymeans. The illustrations were just the best! Highly recommend this book.

Rating:5 stars

Meet the Author:

Susan, a legal advocate for children’s rights, has long harbored a dream of crafting a tale that would empower young readers to understand and champion the rights of their peers. Drawing upon her own experiences as a young person comprehending privilege, she was inspired to write a book that would not only entertain but also inspire her readers to consider pressing social issues and to actively strive to make the world a better place for all children.

connect with the author: website ~ instagram ~ instagramEnter the Giveaway:CHILDREN WHO DANCE IN THE RAIN Book Tour Giveaway

Blog Tour: CLARISSA by Jean Jacobsen

Book Details:

Book Title:  Clarissa: A Clean & Wholesome American Historical Romance by Jean Jacobsen
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+) ,  324 pages
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Jean Jacobsen
Release date:   Feb 2020
Content Rating: G: WholesomeBook Description:

Tragedy brings them together. Will love tear them apart?

New York City, 1832. Clarissa Tanner is carefree and lighthearted until the sudden death of her parents. Forced to pay off family debts or lose her horse farm, she's given one choice: auction off her beloved horses or reluctantly enter 1830s New York Society social season to face the dreaded marriage market.

Nicholas is a man on a mission, searching for his missing brother. Fearing Liam may be the victim of foul play, Nicholas needs to keep a low-profile while conducting his search. He takes a position as a dance instructor, providing refresher lessons to the beautiful but distracted Clarissa.

Clarissa and Nicholas find a connection through grief and movement as they fight their attraction to one another. Will they give in to their desires and find true love or will family obligations keep them apart?Buy the Book:
Amazon  
Bookbub

Review: “An orphan and a grandmother lostin a sea of despair.”

In an instant, Clarissa’s parentswere gone, and the control of the manor would be revealed at the will reading.To everyone’s surprise, Clarissa was named as the rightful heir. But was she upfor the full responsibilities of management and finances?

The narrative was nice and simple,certainly relaying the story in fine detail; however, the progress was much tooslow for my taste. It was admirable how Clarissa was willing to put in the timeand effort it took to learn the family business. The premise was interesting,the language was fitting, and the character was certainly strong, but, overall,the read felt long to me. It’s definitely a worthy read for historical romancereaders.

Rating:3 stars

Meet the Author:

Jean Jacobsen is an award-winning storyteller of Sweet, Historical Romance. Featuring strong female characters, roguish heroes, and 19th Century adventure tales. She pens stories that transcend the heart and always have a happy ending. Because of Jean’s deep passion for history, she includes real events from the time period, making her stories come to life as they transport you to a by-gone era. Join her on the next adventure.

connect with the authors: website ~ facebook ~ bookbub ~ goodreads 
Enter the Giveaway:Clarissa by Jean Jacobsen Book Tour Giveaway

Blog Tour: GIRL HIDDEN by Jesse René Gibbs

 

Girl Hidden

by Jesse René Gibbs

 

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GENRE:   Memoir

 

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BLURB:

 

Echoing among the Blue Ridge Mountains werethe cries of newborn babies that disappeared into the night. The screams ofchildren nearly drowned out by the sound of crickets. A girl, hidden andwaiting to be found, terrified, and confused. The fireflies sparkling in thewoods, bringing light to darkled places.

The bulk of Jesse’s memories were of growing up inthe farm country of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. The farm folksstayed pretty much outside of town, except for visits to the feed store causingrandom tractors to travel down Main Street. There were beatings and abuses,manipulation and terror carried out in spaces breathtaking in their beauty. Therewere twenty-seven Baptist churches, three non-denominational churches, and oneCatholic Church.

There were annual Ku Klux Klan rallies on thestreet where they would walk right by all the black families who came out towatch and the white folks who came out for moral support—whether of the blacksor the whites, no one knew for sure. Black people did not marry white people ina civilized society, and so were rarely seen socializing. There was a youngwoman who was pregnant with a black man’s baby, so her parents disowned her.Jesse’s family was accused of killing the child and burying it on theirproperty.

There was the Berkley House Bed and Breakfasttoward the end of town, with gold plated silverware and hardwood floors,rumored to be the local sex worker house. There was a mansion up on a hill thatoverlooked the other humble houses in the town. In the local cemetery, therewas “Will B. Jolly” carved into the graves used by bootleggers back in thetwenties. Everyone had some form of thick southern drawl, though the length ofthe “aw” would extend the further south you went. There was a tiny baseballfield and a tinier fire department. There was an old lady in the foothills thatlet the family raid her garden during the summer. And in exchange, Jesse’s familyhelped her husband bring in the hay for their animals every year.

There was a black snake in the attic—the dooropened inside the closet next to Jesse’s bed. She would find his shed skinsleft behind in the summer months measuring close to seven feet in length. Therewas a creek with crawdads and a moss-covered bridge. There were mulberry andpecan trees that filled her and her siblings’ aching bellies as the weatherturned.

There were hot summer days and freezing coldwinters. There were dogs that were best friends, cats that kept her warm atnight, and a cow that committed suicide. There was red clay instead of dirt,hayfields instead of grass, and a favorite swimming hole: Lenny’s Mill, thelocal grain mill on a glacier-fed creek where you could take a dip if you werebrave enough to challenge the frigid waters.

Girl Hidden is the story of an unwanted child, bornnonetheless and forced into servitude, desperate to protect her siblings andfind her way out from under the vicious, manipulative abuses heaped on her bythe one person who was supposed to love her unconditionally: her mother.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

He was standing with his hands over his face. His back wasshaking. Jesse slowly walked in front of him and stood there, silently watchingas the sobs wracked his body. She reached up and touched his arm, startling himfor a moment. Tears filled her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and heldher tightly. She started weeping, her tears dripping onto his shirt. They heldeach other for a moment as the world seemed to stop turning around them.

 

Jesse pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. Robert lookeddown at her and stuttered a little as he tried to put words to his feelings.

 

She looked up into his eyes. “Poppa,” she said, stopping hisattempts to speak. “I cannot be the grown-up for both of us. I’m not… I’m notstrong enough!” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, washing away the last ofthe makeup that she had so meticulously applied earlier that day. “Please,Poppa.”

 

Jesse took a deep breath, pulled herself together, liftedher chin, and walked back into the room with the black-and-white tile floor.Robert stood in the hallway and watched her go. His stepdaughter would neverdepend on him again. His heart broke a little more, but he knew that there wasnothing he could do about it. He forced himself to wipe his eyes again and walkback into the room.

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 Why this is important: 

Upon sharing a personal story on TikTok, a comment was made that made me pause and reconsider how I viewed my mother's actions. The comment suggested that my mother was a human trafficker, which made me question whether this was true. My mother had a specific agenda of collecting young unwed mothers to talk them out of having an abortion or keeping their babies and then gifting the babies to families who wanted them. However, my mother's narcissistic tendencies led her to feed off the pain of others, regardless of whether she believed she was doing the right thing or not. It's important to acknowledge that her actions may have caused harm to the women and children involved, and that even if she believed she was justified in her actions, it doesn't excuse any harm caused.  

Even through all the healing that happened in the course of writing my book, I’m still discovering things that are harmful that I have to walk through. With healing, there’s always more to do. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Myname is Jesse René Gibbs and I am the author of Girl Hidden. I am an artist,designer, dancer and survivor. I am a stepmother to four, Amma to four more andblessed beyond measure with the family that I chose.

Thisbook is based on the true story of my life, gleaned from years of my mother’swritings, my grandmother’s journals and my own experiences. I did my best toshowcase the depth of damage that growing up with a narcissistic parent canhave on a person, and how hard it is to come to terms with the amount ofgaslighting that comes with that life. My siblings all have their own storiesof being played against each other, bullied and even emotionally tortured byour parents. We were trained to not trust our own intuition, raised in a lifeof poverty, a lack of privacy and the endlessly traumatizing purity culture.

I washunted in my own home by the man my mother married and escaped at nineteen onlyto land in an intentional community in Chicago that did nearly as much damage.My best friend in the book is also real, and she did more to walk me through mytrauma, and she is the main reason that these stories were finally published.

My new life in Seattle didn’t start untilwell into my thirties, and I’m still working on deconstructing my life up tothat point. I wrote this book to organize my life in my own mind and to undoyears of lies. I also wrote it because others need to know that they are notalone.

 


Email: contact@girlhidden.com


Website:
https://www.girlhidden.com/

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


Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/girlhidden


Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@girl_hidden

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Hidden-Jesse-Ren%C3%A9-Gibbs/dp/0578988127/

 

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GIVEAWAY :

Jesse Ren'e Gibbs will be awarding a $25 Amazon orBarnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during thetour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: CALIFORNIA CRUSH by Ann Omasta and Callie Love

Where does a woman that’sliberated and free go to live life? California, of course!

The first thing she wants to do issplash in the Pacific Ocean, where she meets a cocky millionaire. Inspired byher departed friend to “live in the moment,” Vella does what she can to enjoythis fine specimen. It was sweet how the rich guy was entranced by thefun-loving Plain Jane. The two share an explosive night together, but the nextmorning doesn’t seem too bright when it seems the sweet girl might’ve stolenall of Brody’s money. Oh no!

Can Vella show him that she canlove him even without the money?

A nice, sweet read!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: TANTALIZING TALES by Tory Richards

One hot weekend to settle a debt.Yowza! Could a weekend of mind-blowing sex make two people realize their lovefor each other?

A woman gets the best 50thbirthday gift ever.

Stories were mildly enjoyable. Alittle too long for most of them, but worth a read.

 

Rating:3 stars