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 

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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.

 

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

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

 

“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.

Buy the Book

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

IndieBound

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

Spotlight at Historical Readings and Views

Monday, January 12

Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, January 13

Spotlight at Layered Pages

Thursday, January 15

Interview at Teddy Rose Book Reviews

Friday, January 16

Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Monday, January 19

Spotlight at Susan Heim on Writing

Tuesday, January 20

Review at Book Nerd

Thursday, January 22

Review at Just One More Chapter

Friday, January 23

Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Saturday, January 24

Spotlight at Historical Fiction Obsession

Sunday, January 25

Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Monday, January 26

Review at Boom Baby Reviews

Wednesday, January 28

Review at Carpe Librum

Thursday, January 29

Interview at Mina’s Bookshelf

Interview at Books and Benches

Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Friday, January 30

Review at Brooke Blogs

Friday, February 6

Spotlight at Passages to the Past

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bon Appetit with Abby Green, Author of Fonseca's Fury

Bon Appetit with Abby Green

author of

FONSECA 'S FURY

 

A fiery romance novel deserves a flaming cocktail to accompany it and USA Today bestselling author Abby Green’s new tale, FONSECA’S FURY, is no exception. The book has the perfect ingredients for a steamy love story—a Brazilian stud who happens to be a billionaire, a sweet and charitable heroine and a passionate anger that ignites them both. This cocktail is FONSECA’S FURY in liquid form.

The Flaming Fonseca

1 oz. Dark Rum

2 oz. Pineapple Juice

2 oz. Apple Juice

½ oz. Bacardi 151

Gold Cocktail Rim Sugar

Lime

Run a lime along the rim of a highball glass and dip into gold cocktail rim sugar to coat. Pour dark rum, pineapple juice and apple juice into the glass and float Bacardi 151 on top and carefully light the top layer using a long match.

 

 

FONSECA’S FURY

By USA Today Bestselling Author

Abby Green

 

 

The last time Luca Fonseca saw Serena DePiero, he ended up in a jail cell. The Brazilian billionaire has since clawed back his reputation, but he's never forgotten her. So when Luca discovers Serena's working for his charity, his anger reignites.

Serena has changed. Finally in control of her life, she refuses to let Luca intimidate her. She'll deal with whatever her new boss throws at her—from a rain-forest trek to the social jungle of Rio. But she can't handle the passion that flares hotter than Luca's fury—especially when it threatens to consume them both.

 

 

Praise for Abby Green

 

“Green writes an entrancing romance, where vulnerable characters transform as their love grows.”

–Sabrina Madan, Romantic Times

 

“Abby Green reads have always been about deep emotion…and blazing hot heat.”

–Desere Steenberg, Romance Book Haven

 

“Abby Green has got a marvelous ability of making exotic locations come splendidly to life…”

–CataRomance

 

“Green’s captivating love story is full of intense emotions and a dynamic pair that share an electric passion.”

–Sandra Garcia-Myers, Romantic Times

 

ABBY GREEN spent her teens reading Mills & Boon romances. She then spent many years working in the film and TV industry as an assistant director. One day while standing outside an actor's trailer in the rain, she thought: there has to be more than this. So she sent off a partial to Harlequin Mills & Boon. After many rewrites, they accepted her first book and an author was born. She lives in Dublin, Ireland and you can find out more here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Lessons Learned with Andrea Laurence, Author of Snowed In With Her Ex

Love Lessons Learned

with Andrea Laurence

author of

SNOWED IN WITH HER EX

Ian and Bree’s story is a classic second chance romance that plays on all our youthful dreams and expectations, and what happens when life doesn’t turn out the way you plan. They broke up not because they weren’t in love or were incompatible, but because they let their relationship suffer when life’s dramas interfered. When Ian loses his dream of being a musician, he scrambles to find a new dream, and in throwing himself into that, he alienates Bree and becomes the one kind of man she never wanted to date – one just like her workaholic father.

When brought back together nine years later, they have to come to terms with the fact that they didn’t handle any of it well and let those past fears and expectations go. Just because he works a lot doesn’t mean he’ll become just like her father. Just because she encouraged his music doesn’t mean she wouldn’t love him if he stopped playing. They also have to find the balance in their relationship and in their lives. He can play music without being a rock star and she can love a man who is passionate about everything in his life, not just his music. In finding that balance, they can find a future together that may not be what they’d envisioned back when they were eighteen, but will be far more sustainable and healthy for them.

I think a lot of couples experience these growing pains, especially when they start dating at a young age. People change, ideals get crushed, dreams fall apart... all that affects who we are as people. If you’re not willing to allow your relationship to evolve and grow as each of you evolve and grow, you’ll end up growing apart. You have to work hard and growing together, and that’s what Ian and Bree learn to do.

—Andrea

SNOWED IN WITH HER EX

By Andrea Laurence

Wedding photographer Briana Harper never expected to run into her ex at an engagement shoot and when a blizzard strands them alone in a remote mountain cabin, she knows she's in trouble. She's never forgotten Ian Lawson, but none of the reasons they broke up have changed. He's still a workaholic—and now he's an engaged workaholic.  But Ian is also still a man who knows what he wants and what he wants is Briana. Untangling the lies of his current engagement leaves him free to indulge, but proving he's changed may be this music mogul's toughest negotiation yet.

Praise for Andrea Laurence

“Charming, fun stories and nicely drawn characters make for a great read.”  –RT Magazine

“Her writing style is witty and keeps you in your toes, while weaving a tale with the perfect amount of sweet romance.”

–Two Moms Reading Blog

“The romance is the perfect combination of emotions and passion. The amazing chemistry between the characters also helps.”

–Harlequin Junkie

“I fell in love from the first line of the book, and my joy continued throughout the entire story.”

–Barbara Vey, Reviewer

ANDREA LAURENCE has been devouring books since she learned to read at the age of 3. An old portable typewriter got her started writing in her room at 8 and she's been writing ever since. Her practical nature led her to pursue a master's degree and a career that would pay the bills, but the writing bug continued to bite. She started working ferociously in her spare time to become a published author and has become an active member of her local RWA chapter, Heart of Dixie. After eight years and 11 completed manuscripts, she finally made the leap and got "the call" from Harlequin Desire on May 31, 2011.

A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, Andrea is working on her real-life "happily ever after" with her boyfriend of 10 years and their collection of animals including two cats, two mutts and a Siberian husky that sheds like nobody's business.

SNOWED IN WITH HER EX

By Andrea Laurence

Harlequin Desire; January 15, 2015

$5.25 US; 192 pages

ISBN-13: 9780373733620