The Eyes Die Last, By Teri Riggs: Book spotlight and Giveaway!

Today, as a part of Sage’s Blog Tours, I’m hosting a book spotlight and a giveaway! You can read all about the book, and enter to win an E-book copy as well as a canvas tote with the book cover printed on it!

 

Synopsis:

The Las Vegas Mayoral race is heating up, and the incumbent doesn’t have a prayer. Wealthy real estate speculator Nick Campenelli, who wants to legalize prostitution in Clark County, and former pastor Louis St. Louis, running on a 'clean-up-Vegas-by-getting-rid-of-the-whores' platform, are the front runners.

They’re also front runners on the suspect list for a string of murders. Kennedy O’Brien, four-year detective with cop blood running in her veins, and her partner Wilder “Wild Thing” James, a veteran, are determined to find the man who’s murdering prostitutes who work the wrong side of the street, and they don’t care how important or politically active he is.

The killer is a man with a mission. He stalks the women before he kills them, leaving a “BEFORE” photo on their bodies, and sending an “AFTER” shot to the local news hound. Ed Hershey, an aging newscaster with just the right amount of grey in his hair, is determined to turn this story into a network gig, and his interference, along with the LVTVS legal team, are making Kennedy and Wilder look bad. Campenelli’s good looks and charm, and St. Louis’ vitriolic hatred of prostitutes are muddying the waters too, and now the killer seems to have taken a liking to Kennedy.

About the Author:

Teri Riggs was destined to be a writer.  As a small girl she didn’t read bedtime stories, she made up her own.  Who needed Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs when there were so many great tales bouncing around in her head?  When she grew up and became a mother to three little girls, she continued the tradition of making up bedtime stories.  On the occasions she chose to tell conventional fairytales, Teri usually gave them a bit of tweaking here and there or added a new ending.  Her girls loved it.

After her daughters had the nerve to actually grow up and leave home, Teri discovered she had a passion for writing and jumped right in.  It came as no surprise she chose to write mysteries and happily-ever-after’s since that’s the genres she loves to read.

Teri lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, one of her daughters and two dogs that seem to think they rule the world.  And some days Teri thinks maybe they do.

Teri still frequently tells herself stories as she falls asleep.  The only difference now is she wakes up the next morning and turns her bedtime stories into books.

You can purchase her book on Amazon for $2.99. 

Follower her on Twitter.

Like her page on Facebook.

Add her book to your ‘To Read’ shelf on Goodreads.

OR

You can enter below to win an e-book copy for FREE!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Six Weeks To Yehidah

• Author: Melissa Studdard
• Pages: 170 
• Published: August 2, 2011
• ISBN-13: 978-0984651702

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Book Description:

Annalise of the Verdant Hills is one of the most delightful protagonists to skip through the pages of literature since Dorothy landed in Oz. Join Annalise and her two walking, talking wondersheep as they travel to ever more outlandish places and meet outrageous and enlightening folk on their journey to discover interconnectedness in a seemingly disconnected world. Discover with them how just one person can be the start of the change we all strive for. A book for all ages, for all time: wonderful, wacky, and bursting with truth!

My Review:

Annalise is imaginative and wise beyond her years. She wanders away from home, following a mysterious light. It leads her into what appears to be an alternate world. The reader is left trying to figure out where she is, and why. At first it appears to be a dream world. Later in the book, however, it is revealed that not everything is what it appears. 

Annalise is on a spiritual journey. The story has a certain simplicity that helps smooth over the complexity of exploring your spirituality. There are numerous important life lessons within this book. The situations that Annalise finds herself in help her learn to trust her inner wisdom. Her eyes are opened to the true appearance of the characters that she meets. We as the readers are to understand that our Earthly life has veiled our view of others. 

It took me a few chapters to really grasp the full meaning of the storyline. Once I understood what the book was about, it was an easier read for me. I’ll admit I was a little thrown off by the child-like fantasy of it all at first. I actually read it a second time just to let it sink in. Six Weeks To Yehidah is a wonderful book for adults of all ages who would like to explore their spirituality without the religious aspect. There is no preaching or Bible thumping...just a girl on a journey trying to find a deeper meaning to the life she is leading, but also learning how to choose to live a more meaningful life after her adventure. 

Six Weeks To Yehidah is available in paperback and Kindle edition on Amazon.

Getting Roosevelt-A Homeowner’s Nightmare

This is my very first book review as a part of Sage’s Blog Tours!
I am so excited to be a part of my friend’s amazing venture in the blog world!

Getting Roosevelt -- A Homeowner's Nightmare

by Yvonne Mikell
Author's website: http://www.yvonnemikell.blogspot.com
Date Published: January 2012
Pages: 238
ISBN -13: 978-1469958569

Book Synopsis

Roosevelt, an old Victorian nestled on the border of upscale Chestnut Hill and middle-class Mt. Airy, is the obsession of two people, Elizabeth Samms and Gordon Roosevelt. Gordon is a realtor who likes to flip properties. Handy man Donovan Smith helps his employer, Gordon Roosevelt eliminate prospective buyers who do not live up to his standards. Protagonist Emma Samms and her autistic son love the house and are willing to fight for it. Will Gordon relinquish control?

My Review:

Elizabeth Samms is a widow of six months with a six year-old son, Desmond. While her husband was alive, they used to drive by a house and dream about living there. In his death, he provided enough money to take care of his wife and son. Coincidentally, their dream home, Roosevelt,  comes up for sale, so Elizabeth purchases it so she and Desmond can live there....or so she thinks. There are hurdles and obstacles standing in her way, but Elizabeth is willing to fight for the home of her dreams.

Yvonne Mikell does a wonderful job of creating complex characters. You get to see multiple sides of each one, which helps you better understand each person. She keeps you guessing as the story unfolds. You’re never quite certain exactly who is behind the lies and deceit.  I would love to see more from Mikell. She developed a great story line with depth and detail. The way she ends the book leaves it open for a possible sequel, so I’m excited to see what she comes up with!

About Yvonne

“I love writing. I love to write about the ups and downs of life. Most of my stories are fiction with facts loosely weaved in. These facts can come from my own life or from news headlines. My first novel, Getting Roosevelt--a homeowner's nightmare, is a combination of all three. My novels also tend to portray a protagonist with a lot on her plate. This mirrors my own life, I'm always performing a juggling act. I currently write three columns for Examiner.com. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.”

Getting Roosevelt is available in paperback and Kindle Edition on Amazon.

Click here to view Yvonne's Blog Tour Schedule.  

Summer Whirlwind

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me. I visited my family for a week. I came home for a few days, then my sister and two friends stayed with me for another week. We had fun times, but it was a relatively busy time for me. I thought I might owe my followers a new post.

My next adventure is going to be making homemade baby food for Little A. I’m reading a book right now called, The Wholesome Baby Food Guide. It is chock-full of yummy recipes for little ones. I think I’ll post a few pictures so you can follow along with me.

On a completely different note, I have been sucked into reading the Fifty Shades trilogy. I’m almost finished with the third book now. It has taken me less than a week to read them. I’m pretty sure I’m going to reach my personal goal of reading 10 books over the summer. That makes 6 for me so far!

Banishing the Whiney Shopper

  Today, I took Big A shopping for school clothes. She didn’t need a lot, but I want her to start her 3rd Grade year with confidence.

   Let me preface this story by shedding a little bit of light on her ‘style’ situation. I can’t say that she doesn’t have a sense of style, because most  of the time she picks out cute stuff. It’s when she tries to pair up outfits that makes me cringe. As far as her taste goes, she's inconsistent and it DRIVES ME CRAZY! She will wear the heck out of a shirt with hearts on it, but she won’t wear the jeans with hearts embroidered on them, and loves the jeans with butterflies on them. She picked out tennis shoes that were black and pink last week when we were shopping. Today, I found a pair almost identical to last week's pair, and she said they were ugly. Fickle. The child is fickle.

  Any of you with a child of any age knows that when they see something they want, they turn into some kind of whiney mutant with a high-pitched voice that says, “Pleeeeaaaassseeee, Mom!” about 12,398 times, even after you said no. Big A is that child. No matter how many times I say no, there’s always a, “Pleeeeeassse, Mom!” after it.
Every.Single.Time.
Today, I was bound and determined to have a day without the whiney ‘Please, Mom!’s’.  My plan worked.
I feel like friggin’ SuperMom right now. Bow to my greatness, all of you!
OK--Really, people have been doing this for years, but I decided to give it a try.
I went to the ATM and withdrew $100, handed it to Big A, and told her that’s all she gets for the day. She asked, “If I run out, will you pay?” My response was, “No. That’s it. When it’s gone, it’s gone. You’re done shopping." I only required that she bought at least 2 pairs of pants, the rest can be spent on whatever she wants, as long as it can be worn to school. Of course, the child was in heaven. She’s thinking she’s got the jackpot in her hand. I could see the dollar signs roll into her eyes like a slot machine.
Our first stop was Old Navy. They have great jeans for kids, and Big A is a tricky kid to buy jeans for. I have to buy her slim sizes because regulars are too big. Old Navy has kids’ jeans $30 for 2 pairs, so that’s where we went! When we finished there, we headed for the mall. I was tempted to stick to big-box department stores since they’re cheaper. In the end, I decided to try the mall anyway.
We went to no less than 10 stores while we were there. Usually after about the second or third store, the whiney mutant comes out, but Big A was on a mission. She had seventy dollars to spend! We actually had fun shopping instead of arguing over what she could and couldn’t buy. There were multiple times she debated over certain items and ultimately put them back on the rack because the price wasn’t low enough for her. At one point, she saw a pair of high tops she just had to have in a store window. We went in to check out the price and they were $54.99. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “I only have fifty dollars left,” then turned and walked out. I am so glad, too. Those were probably the ugliest shoes I had ever seen in my life!
At the end of the day, she ended up with 7 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and less than a dollar in change. She spent every dollar and learned how to make good decisions with money along the way.

   

Where Did Summer Break Go?

I feel like summer is just beginning, and really it is. Summer officially started only three weeks ago. Unfortunately for us (and the rest of our county) school starts in just 16 days!  AAACK! I mean, seriously? Who came up with this school schedule? This is not at all the calendar that I voted for last year. From what I can tell, based on quite a few conversations with other parents in our school system, almost no one voted to start school on August 1st. 

BOO! BOO, I say! 

We live in Metro-Atlanta. It’s freakin’ 100ºF outside during the summertime! Last I checked, August is STILL summer. Our kids are going to roast on the school bus and during recess.

Whatever. I guess they ask the parents to vote on a school calendar to give us the illusion that our opinion counts. 

__________________________

Stepping off soapbox now....

We have been staying busy since school got out. We had a week of Vacation Bible School, the girls and I visited my family for a week, we took a trip to Helen, GA. In between, we’ve had play dates, trips to the library, and trips to Six Flags White Water. Lots of fun! 

I’ve been slacking from my blogging because, quite frankly, my kids come first. Sorry, readers. If I’m wrapped up in doing something with or for my kids, that’s what I’m focusing on. I do have some new things in mind for my blog. I’m working on a weekly (or bi-weekly) video segment that Big A and I will be doing together, as well as more DIY projects and tutorials. I can’t wait to share my new ideas with you.

Meanwhile, I’ve already become involved in a new and exciting thing! 

I’ll be part of a group of blogs that will be reviewing books at the request of the authors,  and sharing them with our followers. I am super excited about this! I love reading, so I am absolutely honored to be part of a wonderful project that my great friend Sage has put together! My first book review will be coming in about a month, so keep an eye out for it! 

Wordless Wednesday