Monday, February 23, 2015

THE WITCH HUNTER'S TALE by Sam Thomas: Book Spotlight

THE WITCH HUNTER'S TALE

by Sam Thomas
Publication date: January 6, 2015
St. Martin’s Press
Formats: eBook, Hardcover
Pages: 320
Series: Book Three, The Midwife Mysteries Series
Genre: Historical Mystery
 
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About the book

Sam Thomas takes readers back to Puritan England with midwife Bridget Hodgson, hailed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as “one of the most fascinating detectives in contemporary mystery fiction.”
Winter has come to the city of York, and with it the threat of witchcraft. As women and children sicken and die, midwife Bridget Hodgson is pulled against her will into a full-scale witch-hunt that threatens to devour all in its path, guilty and innocent alike.
Bridget—accompanied once again by her deputy Martha Hawkins and her nephew Will Hodgson—finds herself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse against the most dangerous men in York, as well as her sworn enemy Rebecca Hooke. As the trials begin, and the noose begins to tighten around her neck, Bridget must answer the question: How far will she go to protect the people she loves?
 

Praise for the Midwife Mysteries Series


“Sam Thomas has created one of the most　fascinating detectives in contemporary mystery fiction—a crime-solving, wealthy, widowed midwife in embattled 17th-century York, England. . . . Bridget is as fascinating, fun and fierce as ever.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer on The Harlot’s Tale

"Besides making his heroine a plausible sleuth, Thomas conveys the challenges of midwifery without clumsy exposition.” —Publishers Weekly (starred) on The Harlot’s Tale
 
“As pleasurable as his mystery is, the true thrill here is Thomas’s lively portrait of 1644 York and his unique heroine.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer on The Midwife’s Tale
 
“A briskly plotted historical mystery starring a pair of brave, tenacious, intelligent women who take no prisoners and make no apologies.” —Lyndsay Faye, author of Gods of Gotham
 
“Thomas is a historian by profession and it shows in the wealth of detail with which he recreates the city of York amid the turmoil of the English civil war.” —Rhys Bowen, author of the bestselling Royal Spyness series
 
“A heart-stopping page-turner coupled with a gritty and realistic portrayal of two strong and contrasting woman characters vividly depicted against the backdrop of the besieged city of York.” —Cora Harrison, author of I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend
 
“The gripping story, fascinating characters, and intriguing era make Thomas’s debut mystery a reader’s delight.” —Priscilla Royal, author of The Killing Season
 
“Thomas’s fiction debut is packed with fascinating information about a midwife’s skills and life during the English civil war. The ingenious, fast-paced mystery is a bonus.” —Kirkus Reviews on The Midwife’s Tale
 
“Everything rings true in historian Thomas’s superb first mystery. . . Authentic details of life in 17th-century York complement the whodunit’s intelligently concealed clues.” —Publishers Weekly (starred) on The Midwife’s Tale
 

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About the Author



Sam Thomas is an assistant professor of history at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Newberry Library, and the British Academy. He has published articles on topics ranging from early modern Britain to colonial Africa. Thomas lives in Alabama with his wife and two children.
For more information please visit Sam Thomas’s website. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.




 



The Witch Hunter’s Tale Blog Tour Schedule


Monday, February 9
Review at With Her Nose Stuck In A Book
Spotlight at What Is that Book About
Tuesday, February 10
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Spotlight at The Lit Bitch
Wednesday, February 11
Review at Build a Bookshelf
Friday, February 13
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation
Monday, February 16
Review at Book Babe
Spotlight at Let Them Read Books
Tuesday, February 17
Review at The Emerald City Book Review
Wednesday, February 18
Review & Interview at Back Porchervations
Friday, February 20
Spotlight at Passages to the Past
Monday, February 23
Interview at Mina’s Bookshelf
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Obsession
Tuesday, February 24
Review at A Book Geek
Wednesday, February 25
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews
Thursday, February 26
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog
Spotlight at Brooke Blogs
Friday, February 27
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time


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Thursday, February 19, 2015

ITGIRL4LIFE: How To Bring Out Your Special Something & So Much More by Tamara Branch

Title: ITGIRL4LIFE
Author: Tamara Branch
Publisher: Heart Project Publishing
Pages: 98
Genre: YA/Self-Esteem
Format: Paperback/Kindle


About the book
Writer, artist and speaker, Tamara Branch serves up 40 bite-sized chapters on how to build unshakable self-confidence, honor your life, and shine bright in the world, in ITGIRL4LIFE: How To Bring Out Your Special Something & So Much More. Packed with sage advice, life-changing insights and affirmations to help you soar, ITGIRL4LIFE offers ideas, tools and principles that you can reference and build upon, supporting you in becoming your best. Get ready to fall in love with your own wisdom, beauty and strength.


My thoughts
In the uplifting and invigorating words of author and motivational speaker Tamara Branch, what you believe about yourself affects what you choose, and what you become. In order to be able to take charge of your own life and make a difference, you need to stop depending on the judgement and approval of others and start loving yourself, explore your potential, and value your uniqueness. You will then be able to see  your greatness, understand the purpose of your presence on this Earth , and build a life that is authentic, fulfilling, and productive. “Trust yourself. Your values and instincts will guide you to what feels right for you.”


ItGirl4Life is an inspirational handbook for “every girl who ever had a doubt” about their sense of self and worth. Although not fashioned as a traditional self-help guide (bite sized chapters and lack of a fully developed section of exercises and practical advices may suit readers who don’t have the opportunity to sit down for long reading sessions, but may not prove satisfying for readers who look for a more comprehensive and detailed roadmap to solidify their goals), Branch’s handbook remains a motivational tool of remarkable power. Its upbeat and fresh format will greatly appeal to readers in their teens, but I would recommend it to a young female audience as well as women of all ages who would like to provide their loved ones with an accessible mantra and self-confidence boost. 4 stars out of 5
***Review copy graciously offered by the author in exchange for an unbiased and honest opinion 


Buy links


Get social
Visit Tamara Branch’s website
Connect with Tamara on Twitter
Find out more about Tamara at Goodreads
Visit Tamara’s blog
Contact Tamara


About the author
“I believe in the power, beauty, strength and amazing potential of girls. I believe girls deserve to feel extraordinary. I believe that when girls shine their light, they are unstoppable!”
- ITGIRL4LIFE by Tamara Branch


Tamara Branch is from New York, born and raised in the Bronx. She is thrilled to share her first book release, ITGIRL4LIFE, kicking off the ITGIRL4LIFE self-esteem movement to empower girls to stand up, stand out and shine bright in the world.
Tamara has worked as a professional model and actor for almost two decades. She strutted down the runway for designers Calvin Klein, Donna Karen and Christian Dior, acted in a few independent films, co-hosted PBS New York’s education series, “What’s up in Technology” and appeared T.V. commercials and print ads for Levi’s, Old Navy, Hershey’s, Colgate, Kellogg’s Special K, Revlon, Hanes, Nike and many others. A Penn State alumnus and lifelong student of personal development, Tamara is deeply passionate about uplifting the human spirit.
After graduating from Institute for Integrative Nutrition, studying under Deepak Chopra, Dr. Andrew Weil and some of the top health and wellness experts in the world, she was inspired to raise the bar on her own ‘self care’ and support others in living more vibrantly. She is an abstract artist and teaches a dynamic dance class, where she gets to fuse her varied background, having trained in everything from jazz, ballet and modern to Afro-Caribbean and Salsa.
Tamara was recently asked to become a Female Visionary Author guest blogger for The Brave Heart Women Global Community.  She’s a SAG/AFTRA member since 1998, a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is represented by Abrams Artists Agency.
Tamara currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband of seven years and offers ITGIRL4LIFE workshops to assist girls on their self empowerment journey.
Her latest book is the YA/self-esteem book, ITGIRL4LIFE.

 


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Monday, February 9, 2015

All About Love: Valentine's ebook deals



In her intuitive's guide to finding and keeping love, I SEE YOUR SOUL MATE (St. Martin's Press, 2012, Amazon), life coach Sue Frederick claims that there are no outside circumstances that can keep us from finding true love: love is the energy we swim in, the fabric of our divine universe, the very essence of our DNA. "Heartbreak and loneliness occur not because of what anyone else has done to you, not because you're unattractive, and not because there aren't enough single people your age....Only YOU stand in your way." We experience pain and loneliness when we forget our life mission and stop embracing the person we came here to be. It's when we walk on the life path we were meant for that our chances to find true love enhance dramatically, and the best way to cross paths with The Right One is reclaiming our True Self.




Whether your approach to love and life is a fatalistic one (my 'other half' is somewhere out there and if I can't find  him/her I'll be doomed to eternal unhappiness) or you believe in your ability to control your life and to find happiness in yourself rather than in that one person the universe has supposedly intended  for you (because nobody can 'complete' us but ourselves; there is a multiplicity of people and experiences that can help us achieve that inner wholeness and chances are one of them will suit us and our life circumstances better than anyone or anything else), this time of the year inevitably turns into a wake-up call, nudging us to wonder if, when, where, and how we can attract fulfilling love relationships back in our lives.

Harper Collins is offering a few ebook deals for this Valentine's Day week, in the self-help, relationship, guide category. Grab these offers before they expire: they may help you turn your love life around and certainly won't hurt your wallet. Here they are:




THE SOULMATE SECRET will show you how to take control of your romantic destiny by using the Law of Attraction. Finding true love is possible for anyone at any age if you are willing to prepare yourself, on all levels, to become a magnet for love. Arielle Ford knows this from experience. She used the techniques in this book to bring her soul mate into her life at age forty-four. They were engaged three weeks later. The ebook is available for only $ 1.99




Love. We want it. We need it. We pay it homage with songs and poems and great works of art. And when we lose it, there's no pain as intense or excruciating. As the editor of a column about love for the New York Times, Daniel Jones reads thousands of stories about people's intimate relationships. In LOVE ILLUMINATED, he teases apart this mystifying emotion that thrills, crushes, and sustains. HarperCollins is running a ‬promo on this one: purchase from their website before February 10 and get up to 25% off.




With love,
Mina
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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Interview with Colin Falconer, Author of THE SCHOOL OF NIGHT (The William Shakespeare Detective Agency)



I have a very fascinating guest today on the blog! Please, meet Colin Falconer, author of The William Shakespeare Detective Agency series - historical mystery lovers, fans of crime fiction and Elizabethan history, you’re in for a treat. Read on and enjoy our author interview.

 Q. Welcome to Mina's Bookshelf, Colin! I have to say, I read your biography and I thought that your life  must be the main source of inspiration for your writing. So adventurous! Can you share with us your background and the 'hows' and 'whys' you became an author of historical fiction?


A. The why started with my Aunty Ivy when I was a little boy. Every week she took the train down from London to visit with us in (what was then) rural Essex, bringing with her a collection of Classics Illustrated comics. She must have picked them up in the markets in London. There were some Beanos and Victors mixed in, but I threw them out. My treasure was the cartoon versions of some of the world’s greatest literature. I read all of Jules Verne in an afternoon. By the time I was eight I had read Moby Dick, Doctor Jekyl and Mister Hyde, The Moonstone, The Black Tulip and Ivanhoe, was familiar with most of the major works of Alexandre Dumas (Père), Mark Twain and William Wilkie Collins and had even read most of Homer’s Odyssey (although I never found out how it ended because the last page had been ripped out). I don’t think Aunty Ivy knew she was giving me primers for my future career, for no one in my family had ever used their hands for doing anything other than making pies or fixing corner cupboards.


But those comic books were vital to me. I was an only child and though not particularly bookish – I was then, and still am, a sports tragic – it nurtured in me a thirst for great stories painted on broad canvas. So Aunty Ivy did not just give me the gift of something to read when it was raining too hard to play football. She helped stir a nascent imagination and at the same time gave me an undying thirst for travel and maybe doing adventurous things as well.


These little gems of comics also made me want to time travel, because many of the places I was reading about no longer existed. The only way I could revisit them was to recreate them in my head. Imagining them onto a page was the next logical step.


Q. Let's talk about your latest release, The William Shakespeare Detective Agency: The School Of Night. How did the idea of a detective cousin of William Shakespeare come about?


A. I love Shakespeare and I wanted to write about his life but you have to be careful there, you're messing with an icon of literature if you try and imagine things about him that didn't happen. Yet no one at the time thought of him as an immortal - he certainly didn't think of himself that way. It made me wonder how his family saw him - and so his bumbling, brawling, well-intentioned cousin was born. I also wanted to write some stories that gave an outlet for a touch of humour in an historical setting, while also giving a window on Shakespeare's actual life. Whew!


Q. Do readers need to be apasionadoes of Shakespeare and Elizabethan history to fully appreciate this series? Which elements (history, mystery, suspense, romance, crime) did you mix in to keep your readers engaged in the story?


A. I write about all periods of history and my approach is always the same: even if you don't know anything about the history - I often don't before I start writing and researching - it won't matter. The story comes first. You may learn interesting stuff about the period - indeed I hope you will - but my first job is to keep you awake at night turning pages.


Q. Are there any other books in the works?


A. The second book, The Dark Lady, has just been released. There will be 12 in the series by the time I'm done. I just need the time to write them! I have my print contracts to fill as well. But I love writing about Big Will and I have his future all mapped out for him. Poor bugger, if only he knew the trouble I'm about to cause him. I'm sure God must have had the same sadistic sense of humour when he planned some of the twists and turns in my own life.


Q. It's impossible for me to talk about Shakespeare without stirring the pot about the controversy on his real identity. Real or imposter? Which side are you on?


A. Oh I think some people need to get a grip. Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare. Ask Ben Jonson.


Q. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever had to do to research material for a book?


A. I don't know the craziest. None of it seems crazy when you're doing it, just interesting. The bus across the Taklimakan desert for SILK ROAD was a nightmare. Venturing into certain dingy parts of Mexico City and VeraCruz on my own for BLACK WITCH was perhaps ill advised. Pamplona and the Death Road - that was just for fun. I have much crazier stuff planned for the next 12 months.


Q. If you could be a Shakespearean play or character, who would you be?


A. Mercutio. (I actually think it would have been more interesting if he got the girl.)


Q. Your favorite line from a Shakespeare's play.


A. "Give me my Romeo. And when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun."


I absolutely agree with you on Mercutio getting the girl, Colin! It’s been such a pleasure to have  you on the blog. Thank you for your time and best of luck with everything :)
 
 
About the book
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Cool Gus Publishing
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 168
Series: The William Shakespeare Detective Agency
Genre: Historical Mystery
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“My name is William Shakespeare. No, not that Shakespeare; and no jests please, I’ve heard them all. I’m the other one, the ne’er do well cousin, the loafer, known to family and friends as the dunce, the one who could not recite Cicero or Horace, who could never be as good as his clever cuz, the one who has just come to Bishopsgate from Stratford with silly dreams in his head and a longing to make something more of himself than just a glover’s handyman.”
What he finds in London is Lady Elizabeth Talbot, who is willing to pass a few shillings to this blundering brawler if he will help her find her husband. Poor William does not realize the trail will lead to the truth behind the death of Shakespeare’s great rival, Christopher Marlowe – or to a lifelong love affair with a woman far above his station.
Each book tells the story of William’s adventures as England’s first gumshoe, set against turbulent Elizabethan politics; of his romantic pursuit of the impossible Elizabeth Talbot; while charting the career of his up and coming dramatist cousin, the bard of Stratford, but just Will to his family.

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About the Author

Born in London, Colin first trialed as a professional football player in England, and was eventually brought to Australia. He went to Sydney and worked in TV and radio and freelanced for many of Australia’s leading newspapers and magazines. He has published over twenty novels and his work has so far been translated into 23 languages.
He travels regularly to research his novels and his quest for authenticity has led him to run with the bulls in Pamplona, pursue tornadoes across Oklahoma and black witches across Mexico, go cage shark diving in South Africa and get tear gassed in a riot in La Paz.
He currently lives in Barcelona.
For more information please visit Colin Falconer’s website. You can also find him on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

The School of Night Blog Tour Schedule

Saturday, January 10
Monday, January 12
Tuesday, January 13
Spotlight at Layered Pages
Thursday, January 15
Friday, January 16
Monday, January 19
Tuesday, January 20
Review at Book Nerd
Thursday, January 22
Friday, January 23
Saturday, January 24
Sunday, January 25
Monday, January 26
Wednesday, January 28
Review at Carpe Librum
Thursday, January 29
Interview at Mina’s Bookshelf
Interview at Books and Benches
Friday, January 30
Review at Brooke Blogs
Friday, February 6
 

 
 
 
 

 
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