Sandra Nachlinger's Blog, page 55
April 11, 2013
Boomer Lit
Boomer Lit FridayA weekly blog hop event for Boomer Lit writers
Thanks for stopping by to participate in Boomer Lit Friday. Every week authors of books featuring Baby Boomers post excerpts on their blogs. Click HERE to connect to more.
Our snippet today is from I.O.U. SEX, the story of three lifelong friends who make a pact to track down their high school boyfriends. June and Kiki have found their high school steadies, but Peggy hasn't been as lucky.
Peggy sat on the patio by the pool eating Krispie Kreme doughnuts and drinking a Coke, wondering what Kiki and June were up to. She hadn’t heard a peep out of either woman since their lunch, and she was dying to hear the latest in their boyfriend saga. These days, their lives rivaled “As the World Turns” for drama, and she hated to miss a single episode.
Since their last conversation, Peg had attempted to find where Mark was living without any success. She’d tried Kiki’s approach and done a computer search, typing “Mark William Smith” in the Google search box. When she hit “enter,” millions of hits popped up. Overwhelmed, she clicked on the big “X” and turned off the confounded machine. Given her computer ineptitude, she knew she’d probably done it wrong somehow. With only Mark’s name to go on, finding him on the internet would be like searching for a needle in a haystack the size of Texas.
The solution came one sleepless night when Peggy turned on the TV and saw a “Rockford Files” rerun.
“Why didn’t I think of hiring a professional before?” She said the words out loud to the empty room.
She wondered how much an investigation would cost, and what she would tell the detective. Peggy laughed, imagining herself explaining Kiki’s crazy idea of payback sex to a complete stranger. The guy would probably fall off his chair laughing at the idea that a fat broad like her even had such fantasies, much less intended to act on them.
And what would she tell Ken? Not that her husband paid much attention to what she did, but she’d need to come up with some plausible story for how she spent the money, just in case he noticed.
Peggy decided to go for it. She went to the kitchen to find the Yellow Pages to see if private investigators were listed.
I.O.U. SEX is available in paperback and eBook formats from
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Thanks for stopping by to participate in Boomer Lit Friday. Every week authors of books featuring Baby Boomers post excerpts on their blogs. Click HERE to connect to more.
Our snippet today is from I.O.U. SEX, the story of three lifelong friends who make a pact to track down their high school boyfriends. June and Kiki have found their high school steadies, but Peggy hasn't been as lucky.
Peggy sat on the patio by the pool eating Krispie Kreme doughnuts and drinking a Coke, wondering what Kiki and June were up to. She hadn’t heard a peep out of either woman since their lunch, and she was dying to hear the latest in their boyfriend saga. These days, their lives rivaled “As the World Turns” for drama, and she hated to miss a single episode.
Since their last conversation, Peg had attempted to find where Mark was living without any success. She’d tried Kiki’s approach and done a computer search, typing “Mark William Smith” in the Google search box. When she hit “enter,” millions of hits popped up. Overwhelmed, she clicked on the big “X” and turned off the confounded machine. Given her computer ineptitude, she knew she’d probably done it wrong somehow. With only Mark’s name to go on, finding him on the internet would be like searching for a needle in a haystack the size of Texas.
The solution came one sleepless night when Peggy turned on the TV and saw a “Rockford Files” rerun.
“Why didn’t I think of hiring a professional before?” She said the words out loud to the empty room.
She wondered how much an investigation would cost, and what she would tell the detective. Peggy laughed, imagining herself explaining Kiki’s crazy idea of payback sex to a complete stranger. The guy would probably fall off his chair laughing at the idea that a fat broad like her even had such fantasies, much less intended to act on them.
And what would she tell Ken? Not that her husband paid much attention to what she did, but she’d need to come up with some plausible story for how she spent the money, just in case he noticed.
Peggy decided to go for it. She went to the kitchen to find the Yellow Pages to see if private investigators were listed.
I.O.U. SEX is available in paperback and eBook formats from
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
April 9, 2013
Teaser Tuesday - Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer
I've just started reading this memoir by Marsha Roberts, and so far I'm enjoying it a lot. She has a great sense of humor, and her recollections are like something you'd read in a letter from a friend. Look at the face in that photo. Doesn't Marsha look like a rascal? Each chapter contains an inspirational message at the end. Today's excerpt is from the book's introduction. (I fudged and included three sentences, just this once.)
TEASER:
You know how when your jeans start getting tight, you tell yourself you had the dryer set too hot and they shrunk? Deep down you know you're gaining weight, but you just can't bring yourself to admit it.
That's how I was dealing with what was going on in the lives of me and my family.
Genre: Memoir
Number of Pages: 205
Amazon Link: HERE
Synopsis and Reviews: HERE
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasersLeave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.
April 4, 2013
Boomer Lit
Boomer Lit FridayA weekly blog hop event for Boomer Lit writersThank you for stopping by for another excerpt from I.O.U. SEX, the story of June, Kiki, and Peggy, three Baby Boomers who search for their high school boyfriends.
Through an Internet search, Kiki has discovered that her old boyfriend Greg is now a televangelist, but she's having a hard time getting in touch with him. This scene shows her frustration.
Kiki lounged in the white leather recliner at the Pink Door Spa. She'd spent the morning getting her hair trimmed and her gray roots tinted red, then dozed while an herbal masque cleansed her face. After a hot stone massage, the manicurist completed her work. While the nail polish dried, Kiki used a pencil to punch buttons on her cell phone, trying the number she'd copied from the "contact us" section of Greg's website.
The woman who answered was not helpful.
No, she could not connect Kiki to Reverend Houston.
No, she could not give out his home address.
No, she knew of no mailing address other than the one on the website--the one where donations should be sent. It seemed to Kiki as if the only question that would solicit a yes from the old broad was "Do you take credit cards?"
To buy an eBook or paperback copy of I.O.U. SEX, click here: I.O.U. SEX on Amazon
For links to more outstanding BOOMER LIT books, click here: BOOMER LIT FRIDAY
Facial photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Facial_mask.jpg
Through an Internet search, Kiki has discovered that her old boyfriend Greg is now a televangelist, but she's having a hard time getting in touch with him. This scene shows her frustration.
Kiki lounged in the white leather recliner at the Pink Door Spa. She'd spent the morning getting her hair trimmed and her gray roots tinted red, then dozed while an herbal masque cleansed her face. After a hot stone massage, the manicurist completed her work. While the nail polish dried, Kiki used a pencil to punch buttons on her cell phone, trying the number she'd copied from the "contact us" section of Greg's website. The woman who answered was not helpful.
No, she could not connect Kiki to Reverend Houston.
No, she could not give out his home address.
No, she knew of no mailing address other than the one on the website--the one where donations should be sent. It seemed to Kiki as if the only question that would solicit a yes from the old broad was "Do you take credit cards?"
To buy an eBook or paperback copy of I.O.U. SEX, click here: I.O.U. SEX on Amazon
For links to more outstanding BOOMER LIT books, click here: BOOMER LIT FRIDAY
Facial photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Facial_mask.jpg
April 1, 2013
Teaser Tuesday - The Fortune Quilt
I love to quilt, so it's no surprise that a book titled THE FORTUNE QUILT caught my eye. But this novel really isn't about quilting. The quilt connection is with a psychic who envisions an idea for a quilt, creates it, and then waits until the person it "belongs to" shows up. Then she gives a psychic reading, reflected in the quilt's design. The plot is about Carly McKay, a woman who is the recipient of one of the psychic's quilts.I love Lani Diane Rich's voice - her characters are quirky but believable- and I had a great time reading this funny book.
TEASER: Hiking is not walking. Walking is something you do on a nice, level surface--like a sidewalk, or a path, or a floor--to get from Point A to Point B. If Point A and Point B are too far apart, you get in a car and drive, the way God intended.
(at 49% on my Kindle)
262 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction / Contemporary Romance
Amazon Link: THE FORTUNE QUILT
Goodreads Synopsis:
When Tucson Today segment producer Carly McKay visits the quirky artist’s community of Bilby, Arizona, to do a story on a psychic quiltmaker, she receives an odd reading... and her life falls apart in eerie harmony with what the quilt foretold. Her best friend professes his undying love; her show gets canceled; and the mother who disappeared seventeen years ago appears on their doorstep, getting instant forgiveness from the entire family... except Carly.
Carly rushes off to Bilby to return the cursed quilt, and then surprises herself; she stays. She rents a cabin, gets a job, and meets an artist who shows her new ways to look at life, and love. Can she run away and start a new life, or should she go back and stitch her old one back together?
And why is it so hard to get a straight answer from a psychic, anyway?
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasersLeave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.
March 26, 2013
Ireland Dreams
Have you ever dreamed of visiting Ireland? This trailer from EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS OF AN IRELAND TRAVELER by Rosemary "Mamie" Adkins will make you grab your passport and pack your bags. Click on the link below the book's cover to start your adventure.
Extraordinary Dreams of an Ireland Traveler
Rosemary's book is available on her website: HERE
and as an eBook on Amazon: HERE.
Extraordinary Dreams of an Ireland Traveler
Rosemary's book is available on her website: HERE
and as an eBook on Amazon: HERE.
March 21, 2013
Boomer Lit Friday - March 23
Thank you for stopping by to participate in Boomer Lit Friday, the meme where authors of books featuring Baby Boomers get together and post excerpts from their works.
Our snippet today is from I.O.U. SEX. Reading June's high school diary inspired three friends to search for their old boyfriends to make amends for vetoing sex when they were teenagers. Divorced from Stan for about a year, in this scene June is getting dressed for her first meeting with Denny, her high school steady, when thoughts of her ex-husband intervene.
She added silver hoops to her ears and straightened her shoulders for a last look in the mirror. She turned sideways, patting her not-so-flat stomach, frowning at her not-so-perky breasts.
Stan's criticisms nagged: Is that cellulite on the back of your thighs? Now she answered him in words she'd never spoken aloud. "Shut up, Shithead, and get out of my mind. I may not be perfect, but for a woman my age, I look pretty damned good."
Boomer Lit FridayA weekly blog hop event for Boomer Lit writers
To read excerpts posted by other Boomer Lit authors, click HERE.
To connect to the Amazon link for I.O.U. SEX, click HERE. For more info about I.O.U. SEX, click on the tabs above this post.
Our snippet today is from I.O.U. SEX. Reading June's high school diary inspired three friends to search for their old boyfriends to make amends for vetoing sex when they were teenagers. Divorced from Stan for about a year, in this scene June is getting dressed for her first meeting with Denny, her high school steady, when thoughts of her ex-husband intervene.
She added silver hoops to her ears and straightened her shoulders for a last look in the mirror. She turned sideways, patting her not-so-flat stomach, frowning at her not-so-perky breasts.
Stan's criticisms nagged: Is that cellulite on the back of your thighs? Now she answered him in words she'd never spoken aloud. "Shut up, Shithead, and get out of my mind. I may not be perfect, but for a woman my age, I look pretty damned good."
Boomer Lit FridayA weekly blog hop event for Boomer Lit writers
To read excerpts posted by other Boomer Lit authors, click HERE.
To connect to the Amazon link for I.O.U. SEX, click HERE. For more info about I.O.U. SEX, click on the tabs above this post.
March 18, 2013
Teaser Tuesday - The Monday Night Needlework & Murder Guild
Teaser Tuesday again and that means more introductions to good books for my Kindle. What a treat!
I've just started reading
THE MONDAY NIGHT NEEDLEWORK & MURDER GUILD by Kathleen Valentine, and I'm loving the author's voice. I think you'll see what I mean in today's excerpt. Retired school teacher Miss Cecelia McGill is narrating.
TEASER:
Eulalia was the sort of woman who needed a man, that was obvious. Poor Edgar barely had time to cool off properly before she flew to Sweden and spent a chunk of his fortune having all her body parts put back where they were when she nailed him.
(From 20% on my Kindle)
Title: The Monday Night Needlework & Murder Guild
Author: Kathleen Valentine
Novella Length: 99 Pages
Amazon Link: HERE
Goodreads Synopsis:
Over fifty years ago Miss Serena Pitts founded The Monday Night Needlework and Murder Guild in the town of Pitts Crossing, Massachusetts. Members got together every week to share cookies and gossip while they did their needlework and discussed the latest murder mysteries. But when an unscrupulous lothario starts seducing and fleecing some of its members, the guild begins falling apart. That is until retired teacher, Miss Cecelia McGill, decides this cannot go on. With a blend of small town charm, dark comedy, and psychological suspense, Kathleen Valentine has created a "whydunnit" featuring a heroine readers will find hard to forget.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasersLeave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.
March 14, 2013
Boomer Lit Friday - March 15
Thanks for dropping by to read our latest Boomer Lit Friday excerpt from I.O.U. SEX. June, Kiki, and Peggy have recently made a pact to track down their high school boyfriends, and now they're meeting for lunch. In case you can't tell from Peggy's lunch order, I.O.U. SEX is set in the South. The excerpt is from Page 54 (14% on Kindle).
The next day, Peggy sat across from her two friends, studying the restaurant's menu and having a hard time deciding which entree to order. Finally, she told the waitress to bring her favorite meal--chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, and a large Coke. A look passed between June and Kiki, but they said nothing, other than to ask for grilled tilapia with steamed veggies and iced tea. Peggy sighed, wishing she had their willpower, wondering if she could change her order, but the waitress had already taken their menus and left.
Kiki took a sip of water and smiled at the others before speaking. "So, how goes the great search? What's the latest?"
"Search? Wa...wait a minute," Peggy stammered. "Are you talking about your wild idea to find our old boyfriends? I thought that was just a joke. June, you're not searching for Denny, are you?"
June's cheeks reddened.
To connect with other Boomer Lit Friday authors and read excerpts from some terrific books, click HERE.
To connect to the Amazon link for I.O.U. SEX, click HERE. For more info about I.O.U. SEX, click on the tabs above this post.
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cou...
The next day, Peggy sat across from her two friends, studying the restaurant's menu and having a hard time deciding which entree to order. Finally, she told the waitress to bring her favorite meal--chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, and a large Coke. A look passed between June and Kiki, but they said nothing, other than to ask for grilled tilapia with steamed veggies and iced tea. Peggy sighed, wishing she had their willpower, wondering if she could change her order, but the waitress had already taken their menus and left.
Kiki took a sip of water and smiled at the others before speaking. "So, how goes the great search? What's the latest?"
"Search? Wa...wait a minute," Peggy stammered. "Are you talking about your wild idea to find our old boyfriends? I thought that was just a joke. June, you're not searching for Denny, are you?"
June's cheeks reddened.
To connect with other Boomer Lit Friday authors and read excerpts from some terrific books, click HERE.To connect to the Amazon link for I.O.U. SEX, click HERE. For more info about I.O.U. SEX, click on the tabs above this post.
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cou...
March 11, 2013
Teaser Tuesday - The Day After Yesterday
Seems like I usually read women's fiction, and that means the stories are almost always told from a woman's point of view. Although THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY was written by a woman, in this case the protagonist is a man. His dramatic story kept me reading late into the night.
My two sentences are taken from the book's opening chapter (1% on my Kindle). They are the reader's first introduction to the main character.
"The man stood just inside the doorway, blinking dazedly as if astounded by the diner's light and warmth. He was white-faced and soaked through -- he might have emerged from the sea, which of course was impossible given the storm-tossed tide."
Number of Pages: 466
Amazon Link: Here
Link to My Amazon Review: Here
(I gave it five stars.)
Amazon Synopsis: The events of a single night can change a life forever, as musician Daniel Whitman discovers when he loses his family and home.
Overwhelmed by grief, unable to find solace in his music or accept comfort from his friends, he flees up the California coast. Daniel thinks he’s leaving everything behind, but his journey will take him to the places and people that will help him find his way back.
The Day After Yesterday is a story of hope, friendship, and the redemptive power of music.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasersLeave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.
My two sentences are taken from the book's opening chapter (1% on my Kindle). They are the reader's first introduction to the main character."The man stood just inside the doorway, blinking dazedly as if astounded by the diner's light and warmth. He was white-faced and soaked through -- he might have emerged from the sea, which of course was impossible given the storm-tossed tide."
Number of Pages: 466
Amazon Link: Here
Link to My Amazon Review: Here
(I gave it five stars.)
Amazon Synopsis: The events of a single night can change a life forever, as musician Daniel Whitman discovers when he loses his family and home.
Overwhelmed by grief, unable to find solace in his music or accept comfort from his friends, he flees up the California coast. Daniel thinks he’s leaving everything behind, but his journey will take him to the places and people that will help him find his way back.
The Day After Yesterday is a story of hope, friendship, and the redemptive power of music.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasersLeave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.
Are You a Baby Boomer?
To learn the warning signs, visit my post on the Boomers & Books blog (here.) The post may make you laugh, and your thoughts on the subject are welcome!
