Literarily Speaking

Thursday, September 30, 2021

First Chapter Review: BANDITS OF BASSWOOD by E.P. Bellows #firstchapterreview

thewriterslife September 30, 2021 0 Comments

Thanks for visiting Literarily Speaking! Today's post is a first chapter review for BANDITS OF BASSWOOD, E.P. Bellows' exciting new children's fantasy. First, a little about the book....

John William Drake was born an explorer; just like many, many Drakes before him. His adventure really began with the discovery of a book hidden in the ceiling, followed by the mysterious disappearance of his father. He lived every day in misery until his twelfth birthday. A new friend gave him an invitation he could not turn down… follow me and change your destiny.

He never imagined being captured by bandits and taken to a ship riddled with river rats was part of his fate. Not just any bandits – the Bandits of Basswood; known to be a ruthless and wild crew of thieves. Trying to escape would be a ridiculous idea. No one has ever escaped and lived to tell about it. Uncovering traces of his missing father gave him hope and upped the stakes. John William was determined to get off the ship alive and search for the missing pieces of the puzzle. The chase out of Basswood was on. He took a chance to change his destiny and ended up on a wild ride to solve the most important mystery of his life.

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

"The guardian dragged his feet toward the lantern’s glow, desperately hoping the medallion was somehow lost in the tree trunk. He knew it was a long shot; but the Copian Medallion in the wrong hands meant unleashing unimaginable evil." I loved this quote because it said everything of what the book is all about.

BOOK COVER:

Loved the cover. So whimsical!

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

I have full intentions on reading the whole book, but here is my review of the first chapter. Stay tuned for the full review!

In this first chapter, we have John William Drake, an explorer, walking through the woods when he gets attacked by what he calls shadow jumpers who end up taking the prized medallion that if left in the wrong hands could spell trouble. This first chapter was exciting and a keeper on any child's bookshelf. So how is John William Drake going to get the medallion back and if he can't get it back, what kind of trouble is up ahead? Full of excitement!

KEEP READING?

Of course I would and I fully plan to!

Pick up your copy!

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3okMyYh

A few random things about me…

Um, let’s see… when I was eight, I had a pet turkey. I used to take it with me on my very short lived paper route. Needless to say, I was terrible at delivering the paper. No one wanted a “Dollar Saver” with turkey poop splattered across the front page. Apparently that’s where the best coupons are.

Books… well, “Treasure Island” is a fantastic pirate tale. I love just about anything by Roald Dahl. I would also like to thank C.S Lewis for sending me on an unrelenting childhood quest for portals to amazing worlds (even in the most unpleasant locations, e.g… the older brother’s closet, etc…)

I write fantasy stories for children. Yep – I am a HUGE fantasy geek. I can’t help myself! It’s too darn awesome to escape to another realm with sorcerers and wizards. The underlying theme in my stories is empowerment, self love, and living purposefully.

When football is on I turn into a different person. I may even use a curse word or two… or three. I enjoy running; which is a good thing because I need to do it in order to fit into my jeans.

I love to cook and really, really love to eat. I have a theory that avocados actually contain super powers and have the amazing ability to make any snack epic. I also love garlic… which, according to my loved ones, also has an unfortunate super power … the pungent breath-inator… or something of that nature.

Few things make me smile more than chocolate, cheese… AND, if the Chargers would make it to the Super Bowl again – just once:)

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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# First Chapter Reviews

Sunday, September 19, 2021

First Chapter Review: MY FEATS IN THESE SHOES by Ronda Beaman #firstchapterreview

thewriterslife September 19, 2021 0 Comments

Thanks for visiting Literarily Speaking! Today's post is a first chapter review for MY FEATS IN THESE SHOES, Ronda Beaman's latest memoir. First, a little about the book....

If memoirs, done right, tap the right sort of personal journey to ignite fresh insight and inspiration into the human journey, then what better way to humorously and poignantly illuminate the sequential steps and stages of life than with shoes?

“My Feats in These Shoes” is an exuberantly spunky woman’s spirited and irrepressible romp—slips, missteps, leaps, scuffs, and twirls—toward becoming something bigger, something better, something more.

Far from serving up trauma porn (or emotional bunions), this memoir is an upbeat, humorous, affectionate and affecting coming of age memoir that ends each chapter with a ‘Put Yourself in My Shoes’ section for readers to consider their own strides in pursuing an out of the shoe box life.

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

I have never known anyone great who didn’t face hundreds of pebbles in their shoes as they climbed their mountain of purpose, contribution, and meaning. What do they do? They untie their shoes, pick out the biggest pebbles, throw them underfoot, put their shoes back on and then put all their weight into pulverizing the remaining gravel holding them back or down—and then they keep climbing.

BOOK COVER:

Loved the cover. Very different and quite eye-catching!

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

I have full intentions on reading the whole book, but here is my review of the first chapter. Stay tuned for the full review!

In this first chapter, Beaman gives us an inside glimpse into why she thinks shoes are so important and for the reasons she gives, she has every right to think so going back to our first pair of shoes proudly in bronze and displayed in our living rooms. She goes into a little bit of her past history with quite colorful family members. I like the part where she says, "You can blame parents, teachers, whoever and whatever for your depression, failures, anxiety, lack of focus, and ongoing heartache. Heck, blame someone else for every wrong, every slight, every set back you have faced. How’s that been working for you so far? I’ll answer that—all you’re getting from the blame game is emotional bunions!." How right is that?

After reading this first chapter, it gave me a glimpse of her writing style which was fun and easy to read. I could imaginize (is that a word?) her family....sounds like they were about from the same time period as mine. I do remember those darn bronze first shoes!

KEEP READING?

Of course I would and I fully plan to!

Pick up your copy!

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2UjPvgX

Dr. Ronda Beaman has been Chief Creative Officer for the global research and solution firm PEAK Learning, Inc., since 1990. As a national award-winning educator, Dr. Beaman is Clinical Professor of Leadership at The Orfalea School of Business, California Polytechnic University. She is Founder and Executive Director of Dream Makers SLO, a non-profit foundation granting final wishes to financially- challenged, terminally-ill adults, and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Pay It Forward Foundation. She was recently named a Stanford Fellow at the Distinguished Career Institute.

Her national award-winning book, You’re Only Young Twice, has been printed in five languages. Her memoir, Little Miss Merit Badge, was an Amazon bestseller and was featured at The Golden Globe Awards. Her children’s book, Seal With a Kiss, is designed to improve skills for beginning readers and is offered at Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers internationally. My Feats in These Shoes will be released in Spring 2021.

Dr. Beaman is an internationally recognized expert on leadership, resilience, fitness, education, and life coaching. She has conducted research in a host of areas, written many academic articles and books, and won numerous awards. She was selected by the Singapore Ministry of the Family as their honored Speaker of the Year and named the first recipient of the National Education Association’s “Excellence in the Academy: Art of Teaching” award. She has been selected as a faculty resource for the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) university in Argentina, Kyoto and India, where she received the highest speaker ratings among 36 elite faculty. She has been featured on major media including CBS and Fox Television, USA Today, and is a national thought leader for American Health Network.

Dr. Beaman earned her doctorate in Leadership at Arizona State University. She is also a certified executive coach and personal trainer with multiple credentials from the Aerobic Research Center. Her family was named “America’s Most Creative Family” by USA Today and she won the SCW National Fitness Idol competition.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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# First Chapter Reviews

Thursday, September 16, 2021

5 Things You Should Know About Honeymoon Roulette by Irene Woodbury @irenewoodbury #5Things

thewriterslife September 16, 2021 0 Comments

5 Things You Should Know About Honeymoon Roulette

1. Roxy had a twin sister named Rochelle, who died in infancy. After that, Roxy’s parents, Tom and Margo Drake, became over protective helicopter parents. This leads to problems when she meets Connor and they establish their relationship and sort of cut the parents out. Tom and Margo resent this. It leads to their hiring the private detective before the wedding. Earlier versions of the book went into a lot of detail about how Tom and Margo tried to stage manage every aspect of Roxy’s life. When she runs from her wedding, she’s running from them as much as Connor.
1. Roxy was spotted by someone from her hometown while she was in the audience at one of Jake’s comedy shows at Paris Las Vegas. The person follows her into the ladies room. When Roxy realizes who they are and what’s happening, she runs and this person chases after her, but never catches her. Roxy starts wearing wigs after that when she comes to Jake’s shows on the Strip. Jake’s mom, Sharon, is a breast cancer survivor, so she has some wigs around the house and Roxy borrows them.
1. When Connor and Roxy are in Havana, they run into Rusty and Holly at the Floridita, where Hemingway hung out. As Connor and Rusty are leaving, a drunk Rusty is yelling at Holly, who’s standing near the bronze statue of Hemingway sitting at the bar, “Hey, Babe, give Papa a lap dance!” I wish I had left that in.
1. Jake had a neighbor named Shanny. She’s a dancer-stripper who works in the Crazy Girls’ show at Planet Hollywood. She and Jake dated for a while. She moved into the house next door. Then he broke up with her. When she sees that Roxy is living in the apartment above Jake’s garage, she becomes super jealous. One night Shanny sneaks into Jake’s house to wait for him to come home from his show. Roxy didn’t know Shanny was in the house. She thought it was an intruder. She called the police and Shanny got taken to the police station for breaking and entering. Jake went to the police station the next morning and got her out, no charges. To get revenge on Roxy, she leaves a dead rat on her doorstep, which Roxy finds one day when she comes home from work at Circus Circus. Shanny is a horrible vixen who will do anything to get back together with Jake. Roxy always fears Shanny will find out she’s a missing person and report her to the cops. All the Shanny stuff got cut!
1. The morning after Roxy disappears, Connor gets on the flight the two of them were going to take to Miami to board their honeymoon cruise ship. He wants to see if she might be on the plane. She isn’t. Connor flies to Miami and goes to the dock their ship was going to leave from and waits to see if she shows up. She doesn’t. By then she’s on her way to Summerlin with Jake. Connor then returns to Vegas. He and Roxy’s parents and the entire bridal party search the Strip for Roxy for the next week. Then they go back to Illinois and keep in touch with the Vegas cops. The Vegas cops are sort of casual about Roxy’s disappearance. She’s 25 years old and left voluntarily. Plus there are so many missing persons in Vegas, this case just doesn’t seem that urgent to them. It’s part of the reason Roxy’s able to stay under the radar for 2 years plus.

About the Author

Luckily for all you fans of romantic fiction, Irene Woodbury knows that what happens in Las Vegas doesn’t have to stay there. The Denver-based author has captured the heart and soul of Sin City in four colorful, suspenseful novels.

In the gritty, engrossing Romeo Stalker (2021), a Vegas showgirl’s life is plunged into stalker-hell when her ex returns from prison and learns she has a new boyfriend. Love and Payback (2021) is a dark, dramatic look at a married woman’s mysterious death in Sin City, where she has gone to meet an Internet love.

In the darkly humorous Honeymoon Roulette (2021), a bride goes rogue after learning her handsome fiance may have killed his first two wives. And A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis (2021) is the vibrant, funny story of a mixed-up newlywed who goes to Vegas for a girls’ weekend that never ends.

Irene, a successful travel writer whose favorite destinations are London and Las Vegas, is currently working on another novel.

You can visit her website at www.irenewoodbury.com or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Book Description:

Title: HONEYMOON ROULETTE
Author: Irene Woodbury
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 180
Genre: Women’s Fiction / Dark Humor

BOOK BLURB

To marry or not to marry Connor J. Barrington? That is the question Roxy Drake faces one hour before her wedding, when she discovers her handsome fiance may have murdered his first two wives. Did Connor kill Annie and Charlotte, or simply let them die? Does Roxy become wife number three, or the runaway bride from hell? Find out in the darkly funny Honeymoon Roulette.

PRAISE

“Honeymoon Roulette is funny and off the average track of love and romance stories. Honeymoon Roulette was a very quick and fun read. It was impossible not to love Roxy and share in the troubles she got herself into at every turn. There is plenty of romance but no vulgar sex scenes or cursing going on, only lots of good clean reading. This book is perfect for an afternoon at the pool or a relaxing day snuggled in front of the fireplace. Irene Woodbury has created great characters and a plot that leaves you wanting more. I am hoping for a second book so I can continue to follow my new friend Roxy’s life. Do not pass up Honeymoon Roulette – it is a winner.”

Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Review

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://tinyurl.com/cjbrcb2u

Smashwords → https://tinyurl.com/3sr6vd7m

Thursday, September 9, 2021

5 Things You Should Know About My Feats in These Shoes #5Things

thewriterslife September 09, 2021 0 Comments

5 Things You Should Know About My Feats in These Shoes

1. If memoirs, done right, tap the right sort of personal journey to ignite fresh insight and inspiration into the human journey, then what better way to humorously and poignantly illuminate the sequential steps and stages of life than with shoes?

2. Far from serving up trauma porn (or emotional bunions), this memoir is an upbeat, humorous, affectionate and affecting coming of age memoir that ends each chapter with a ‘Put Yourself in My Shoes’ section for readers to consider their own strides in pursuing an out of the shoe box life.

3. “My Feats in These Shoes” is a vintage piece, an historical retrospective and an inspirational and motivational series of stories that will guide readers to think about their own feats and the accessories of achievement that made them possible.

4. My Feats in These Shoes is engaging and poignant with a strong call for us all to continue taking giant steps toward who we want to be and what we want to do.

5. The stories in 'My Feats in These Shoes' sparkle and shine with wit, warmth, and lessons for anyone looking for a place to not just fit in but stand out.

About the Author

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wideworldhome/

Book Description:

Title: MY FEATS IN THESE SHOES: A SOLELY ORIGINAL MEMOIR
Author: Ronda Beaman
Publisher: Adelaide Books, NYC
Pages: 190
Genre: Memoir / Inspiration

BOOK BLURB: