BOOK REVIEW: Goodnight, Campsite by Loretta Sponslor

Goodnight, Campsite

Author: Loretta Sponsler

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Publication Date: 20th November 2015

Book Description:

Children love books, almost as much as they love camping! “Goodnight, Campsite,” is the perfect place for young readers to start a great outdoor adventure and discover camping options along the way – options from tents to various recreational vehicles (RVs).

“Goodnight, Campsite,” is set in a beautiful nature park. The story follows visitors as they explore the park during the day (hiking, biking, fishing, etc.), and then returns with them to their campsite at night.

Preschool-aged children will love the beautiful and colorful pictures – and searching for the squirrel hiding in the pictures. Rhyming text will keep children engaged, as they build sound associations and phonemic skills.

Also included in the book is a Campsite Bingo game!

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

Good illustrations and rhymes but I think this one will miss the mark with the targeted audience. It wasn't exciting enough to retain one's full attention and it's focus on a camping experience for adults rather than for kids may not bode well with young readers. It was an okay read albeit somewhat tedious.

VERDICT

Rating: 2 Stars

Source: Own copy

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Rooster by Harley Wylde

Rooster

(Devil’s Boneyard MC)

Author: Harley Wylde

Published by: Changeling Press

Publication Date: June 11th, 2021

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

Alora – I’ve prided myself on being a strong, independent woman and not needing anyone. I didn’t become a bestselling author by the age of twenty out of pure dumb luck. I worked my tail off to get as far as I have. But there are few perks to having a man in my life. Laughter, romance, and companionship. Battery operated boyfriends can only do so much. Too bad the guy who sets me on fire is a bossy biker who wants to claim me. No way I’m letting him label me as property. Nope. Not happening. Doesn’t matter if he does make my knees weak and my heart race. I’m not giving in!

Rooster – Of all the women to capture my interest, it had to be the most stubborn, sexy, adorable woman on the planet. I love her mind, her sense of humor, and the way she fills out a pair of shorts. I don’t even mind that she’s an exhibitionist, as long as no one touches. Doesn’t matter to me her uncles were both rotten to the core. The Devil’s Fury may think she belongs to them, but I have other plans. Alora will be mine — no matter the cost.

WARNING: Rooster is part of the Devil’s Boneyard MC series. There are adult situations and bad language. No cliffhanger. Happily-ever-after and laughter guaranteed!

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo ¦ Changeling Press (save 20%) ¦ Bookbub

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Strict Confidence by Skye Warren

Strict Confidence

(Rochester Trilogy #2)

Author: Skye Warren

Publication Date: June 15th, 2021

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

Forbidden. Commanding. Mysterious. Beau Rochester has an entire house full of secrets. And those secrets are putting Jane Mendoza in danger.

She fell in love with the one man she can’t have. She should leave Maine to protect her heart, but the thread refuses to be severed. The brooding Mr. Rochester and his grieving niece are more than her job. They’re her new family.

She races against time to find answers and protect the people she loves. The cliffside grows dark with the misdeeds of the past. Her heart and her sanity fight a battle, but they are both at risk.

Will Mr. Rochester learn to trust Jane? And will that trust destroy her?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo ¦ Google Play

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Starfighter Command by Grace Goodwin

Starfighter Command

(Starfighter Training Academy, #2)

Author: Grace Goodwin

Publication Date: June 15th, 2021

Genre: Adult Romance / Science Fiction

Book Description:

I’m obsessed with the game.

I spend so many hours playing that I dream about dangerous missions on other worlds…and my gorgeous, in-game training partner, Kassius. That is, until I win. I beat the Starfighter Training Academy.

But is it a game? Or alien software designed to recruit new, unsuspecting soldiers for a war in another star system? Because when my hot as heck alien shows up at my workplace demanding I leave Earth and travel to the Vega system? What? When he informs me it’s my duty to fight Queen Raya and the Dark Fleet? Claims he wants me as much as I’ve craved him? Let’s just say things get crazy.

Facing the truth is never easy, but when I arrive at the Elite Starfighter base I learn that Kassius cheated the system, hacked into the game, and lied to everyone on two worlds to make me his.

Now who’s obsessed?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo ¦ Google Play

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Text in Show by Whitney Dineen & Melanie Summers

Text in Show

(An Accidentally in Love Story, #4)

Authors: Whitney Dineen & Melanie Summers

Publication Date: June 10th, 2021

Genre: Adult Comedy / Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

It’s a dog text dog world…

Autumn Jones is at a crossroads. With no job offers in sight, she can either return to Koshkonong, Wisconsin to work at her dad’s feed store or she can move to New York and help her older sister Helen coordinate the Manhattan Kennel Club Show. She and Helen may fight like cats and dogs, but Autumn would rather live with a thousand Helens than go home after seven years of college.

Jack Campbell is the veterinarian to Manhattan’s elite. Despite their adoration, he does not love them back. In fact, he’s vowed never to date anyone who walks through the front door of his clinic. He spends his days caring for pampered poodles sporting diamond encrusted collars and placating their high maintenance owners. When he meets Autumn, he assumes she’s going to be another client with more money than brains.

Autumn is thrown into a bizarre world of highly competitive rich women who will do anything to win the coveted title of Best in Show at Manhattan’s most exclusive competition. With her haughty sister breathing down her neck, and a high-strung poodle following her everywhere she goes, she doesn’t have time for love, even if she does find herself face-to-face with America’s hottest vet every day.

Will Autumn run back to Wisconsin with her tail between her legs? Will Jack find out that appearances can be deceiving? Will Helen’s dog Fifi win Best in Show? Find out in the hysterical fourth edition of the Accidentally in Love Series, Text in Show.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Cover Reveal - Honeybees & Sexy Tees by Katie Mettner

Honeybees & Sexy Tees
(Butterfly Junction, #2)
Author: Katie Mettner
Publication Date: July 20th, 2021
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance / Suspense

Book Description:
The devil is in the details, and the Lady of the Lake holds the clue.

Honey Blois is no stranger to pain. The lasting effects of an abusive childhood have made her life challenging, but it’s the ache of unrequited love she can no longer bear. When her confession goes unanswered, she has no choice but to fall out of love with her best friend.

Mathias Jørgensen is living a lie. The billionaire playboy buries the pain of loving the one woman he can’t have with flashy cars and bad decisions—until Honey’s letter comes to light. With renewed hope for the future, he vows to find his way back to the boy she fell in love with if it’s the last thing he does.

And it might be.

As the pair blurs the line between friends and lovers, his unscrupulous past demands a reckoning. To save the woman he loves from a watery grave, Mathias will have to remember every last detail of the life he’s desperate to forget.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

About the Author

Katie Mettner writes small-town romantic tales filled with epic love stories and happily-ever-afters. She proudly wears the title of, 'the only person to lose her leg after falling down the bunny hill,' and loves decorating her prosthetic with the latest fashion trends. She lives in Northern Wisconsin with her own happily-ever-after and three mini-mes. Katie has a massive addiction to coffee and Twitter, and a lessening aversion to Pinterest -- now that she's quit trying to make the things she pins.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Goodreads ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter ¦ Instagram ¦ Bookbub

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Broken Cowboy by Jamie Schulz

Broken Cowboy

(The Montana Men, #1)

Author: Jamie Schulz

Publication Date: June 7th, 2021

Genre: Adult Romance / Western

Book Description:

Two lives cross in a fateful roadside encounter. When ranch life turns deadly, will their unexpected love survive?

Addie Malory is struggling to improve the rundown farm she bought. And though she knows she can’t do it alone, she won’t tolerate men who think they can just take advantage of a single woman. Worried all her hard work will amount to nothing, both her hopes and her heart lift when she hires a hunky capable ranch hand.

Cade Brody’s past has left him broken. Drifting between rodeos after a shocking betrayal, he’s grateful to the pretty farm girl and her offer of a job. But after thugs vandalize the property and harass his gorgeous new boss, he puts aside his wounded heart as his protective instincts ignite.

With Addie’s dream in danger under a barrage of financially damaging attacks, she wrestles with the risk of her red-hot feelings for her rugged employee. And when his own past returns to haunt him, Cade may have to choose between protecting the woman he loves and the healing reconciliation he’s wanted for years.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo ¦ Google Play

Book Blitz & Giveaway - A Shifter's Sin by Debbie Cassidy

A Shifter’s Sin

(Wolves of Hawthorne Cove #1)

Author: Debbie Cassidy

Publication Date: June 3rd, 2021

Genre: Adult Reverse Harem / Romance / Urban Fantasy

Book Description:

A Lycan that can’t shift is no use to anyone.

I’ve made it my mission to be useful to my pack. As pack enforcer, I’m fast and strong, but when the time comes to bond with my mate, it isn’t enough.

Rejection means lone wolf status and isolation from the pack. But when a package arrives with an unexpected inheritance, the pack that wants to shun me, suddenly has a new use for me.

Turns out, I’m the proud owner of a house in mysterious territory, rumoured to be home to a pack of beautifully twisted shifters. Hawthorne Cove is Impregnable to Lycans, but not to a half human like me.

Now I have a second chance to be accepted by my pack.

All I have to do is infiltrate the Hawthorne pack, find the source of their power and steal it.

Easier said than done.

Because once I pass the mystical boundaries surrounding the town, I’ll be absolutely, and totally at the mercy of the wolves of Hawthorne Cove.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

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Blog Tour Spotlight - The Fire Inside: A Companion for the Creative Life

Wherever you are in your creative life---just tiptoeing in or fully immersed, The Fire Inside can be a source of encouragement and inspiration…

By Lucy Adkins & Becky Breed

The Fire Inside: A Companion for the Creative Life

Author: Lucy Adkins & Becky Breed

Publisher: WriteLife Publishing

Pages: 290

Genre: Creativity / Self-Help

Book Description:

The underlying principle of The Fire Inside is that we all have within us vast untapped reservoirs of creativity, and when we recognize and begin to connect with that potential, our lives will open in ways we cannot begin to imagine. Many books have been written about the art and craft of individual disciplines of creativity. Yet few are so inclusive, so welcoming as this book, offering insight not only for furthering ones abilities in the traditional arts, but also in our day to day creativity, which so enriches our lives.

Based on the authors’ combined fifty-five years of teaching, working with writing groups and providing workshops on writing and creativity, The Fire Inside is written in a spirit of warmth and generosity. It invites the reader to:

Say yes to creativity and the nurturing it provides

Choose to live a bigger life

Uncover inner sources of inspiration and discover how “the magic” happens

Become a part of the creative community

Let go of forces that try to limit you

Develop skills for what it takes to live more creatively

Locate the “sweet spot” needed to build your life as an artist and creative being

Wherever  one may be in his or her creative life—just tiptoeing in or fully immersed in the life of the imagination, The Fire Inside will be a companion in that life, a source of encouragement and inspiration. The manuscript is composed short essays designed to provide a daily dose of support and motivation. It includes anecdotes, inspirational quotations and end of chapter meditations and exercises which ask Why not me? What gets in my way of being creative? In what unknown ways am I waiting to blossom. 

More and more, we hunger for meaning and for opportunities of self-expression. The Fire Inside, in its bite-sized essays which can be read in five or ten minute increments, speaks to that hunger, and provides a source of the creative nourishment we all need.

Buy Links:

Indie Bound ¦ Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ iBooks ¦ B&N ¦ Kobo

Deep within us, we have a yearning, a passion, a desire to make and to do, to create something out of our hearts and imaginations that did not exist before. To bring forth something new upon the earth. It is innate in us, this intense wanting, and when we are engaged in the specific type of creativity we were meant to do—whether it be painting, writing, making music, or designing a new way to educate our children—we experience what Martha Graham calls “a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening.” It’s what puts the spark in our eyes, the skip in our steps. It is the fire inside.

         Do you know that fire? Sometimes it manifests itself as restlessness,a vague dissatisfaction, a feeling that there is something important you must do, you have to do, to be true to yourself. It is the little ache you feel when you read a story that is heartbreakingly true and think I want to do that, or when you see a painting that stuns you with its power, and your fingers itch to pick up a paintbrush. Maybe it isn’t exactly clear what is burning inside, what you want and are put on earth to do. Or perhaps you know in your bones that you must write poetry, you must dance or die, you must create gardens of incredible beauty, but maybe you’re afraid that if you try you will fall flat on your face. You doubt yourself and your abilities. This is the way we humans are, having an intense wanting on one hand, fear and doubt on the other. But let us accept as an essential truth that we are all creative, wildly creative, each and every one of us— that we have vast reserves of untapped talents and abilities—songs only we can write, sculptures waiting to be born from the unique spirit that is us; and when we accept that belief and act on it, oh, then! We wake each day with a new animation, a vibrancy and passion. We feel like children let out of a stuffy classroom into a blue-sky spring day, and we can’t wait to see what we can do with it.

         The fire inside is the “something” that fascinates you, intrigues you, so that you go to sleep and wake up thinking about it. You want to study it from all its interesting angles and make it central to your life, keep working at it, falling short in your aspirations at times, but trying and trying again. And if you are not currently involved with something that brings with it such zeal, if you’ve kept your fire tamped down, unable to act on your passion for whatever reason, know that it is still there—the beginning of days filled with intense purpose and meaning, waiting for you.

The Highest Kite

         Imagination is the highest kite that can fly.

         —Lauren Bacall, By Myself and Then Some          The human brain is a remarkable thing. It keeps the body going, stores knowledge, analyzes, remembers, puts two and two together to make sense of the world, and somehow allows for the miracle of imagination. When we were children, we lived in worlds rich in imagination, allowing us to transform a blanket draped over a chair into a cave, the tree-filled ditch behind the house into a secret forest. We carried out endless adventures in the worlds we created, the synapses in our brains sparking with delight and excitement.

         But when we become adults and take on duty and responsibility, we don’t invite imagination out to play as much as we used to. The good news—especially for those wanting to live more creative lives—is that we can become just as involved in flights of fancy as we used to be, rediscovering the world in all its beauty, its design as well as its asymmetrical magnificence. Ask yourself: if you were a little seed in the ground waiting for spring to warm you and pull the green livingness of you up to the sun, what would that be like? If you were a baby robin in a blue egg in a nest, how would it be pecking your way into the world? Crazy questions, maybe, but ones that can stimulate us to bursts of creativity, and as Lauren Bacall suggests, that is a joyous way of living in this world.

         So, if you haven’t exercised the muscles of your imagination lately, why not start now? Not that you have to embark on a novel, necessarily, or begin work on the next Mona Lisa; you can begin simply and joyfully as children do. Look at pictures of art and imagine stepping inside the frames. Who would you talk to and what would you see? Or look outside your window and take note of the different elements there. Maybe you see a bird flying or tree branches swaying in the breeze, then imagine a conversation with that bird or that tree. It may come haltingly at first, in fits and starts, but when you let whimsy back into your life, the brain begins to work in new ways, mapping out new neural pathways. And like muscles gradually becoming stronger as you exercise, so does the imagination become livelier and more free-wheeling. You will find your life opening up, becoming richer as your mind discovers ideas for your next artistic project in the pattern of the night sky or the sound of the wind before a storm. Imagination can be the be-all and end-all for you; it can be everything.

 

  

About the Authors:

Lucy Adkins earned her MFA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is a writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in many journals and anthologies, and her first poetry chapbook, One Life Shining, was published by Pudding House Press. She co-presents the Nebraska Humanities program “Diaries and Letters of Early Nebraska Settlers,” and is a frequent writing instructor for OLLI, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and the Larksong Writers’ Workshops. Her book, Two-Toned Dress, was the winner of the 2019 Blue Light Press poetry chapbook contest.

Author Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

 

Becky Breed, a veteran educator, poet, and essayist, co-wrote and facilitated “Women at the Springs,” a Nebraska Humanities program empowering women to live more courageously, as well as “The Intergenerational Project” connecting elders and teens through stories to promote communication, writing, and use of the media. She has an Ed.D. in Education, and in addition to teaching at the university level, was the principal of a Gold Star School which was awarded recognition for significant improvements in reading, writing, and math. The students’ resiliency and drive to be the best they can be helped shape the fabric for several of the enclosed essays.

Together the two co-authored Writing in Community: Say Goodbye to Writer’s Block and Transform Your Life, which was awarded an “IPPY” in the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Writing in Community, the first book in their “Essential Writing and Creativity” series, along with the impact of Adkins’ and Breed’s many presentations and workshops led to their being named winners of the 2020 Lincoln, Nebraska Mayor’s Arts Award in Artistic Achievement in Literature.

Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

WRITING IN COMMUNITY: SAY GOODBYE TO WRITER’S BLOCK AND TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE 

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