07 March 2019

Restaurant Weeks Are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery) by Libby Klein Book Tour and Giveaway! @LibbyKleinBooks


Restaurant Weeks Are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery) by Libby Klein

 About the Book
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series 
Kensington (February 26, 2019) 
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages 
ISBN-10: 1496713079 
ISBN-13: 978-1496713070 
Digital ASIN: B07DBQBVYJ
Cape May, New Jersey, is the site of a big culinary competition—and the knives are out . . .
Poppy McAllister is happy about opening a Jersey Shore B&B—but working in a professional kitchen has always been her real dream. Now it’s coming true, at least briefly, as she teams up with her former fiancée, Tim—and his condescending partner, Gigi—during the high-profile Restaurant Week challenge. Poppy’s specialty is pastries, despite her devotion to a Paleo diet. But if anyone can make glorious gluten-free goodies, it’s Poppy.
Things get heated quickly—especially when some ingredients get switched and Tim’s accused of sabotage. Relatively harmless pranks soon escalate into real hazards, including an exploding deep fryer. And now one of the judges has died after taking a bite of Poppy’s cannoli—making her the chef suspect . . .
Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

About the Author

Libby Klein dabbles in the position of Vice President of a technology company which mostly involves bossing other people around, making spreadsheets, and taking out the trash. She writes culinary cozy mysteries from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard.
Author Links
Purchase Links 
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TOUR PARTICIPANTS
February 25 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
February 25 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
February 26 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW
February 26 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 27 – Mythical Books – GUEST POST
February 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
February 28 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 28 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
March 1 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT  
March 1 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
March 2 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
March 2 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
March 3 – That’s What She’s Reading – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 3 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST
March 4 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 5 – FUONLYKNEW – REVIEW
March 5 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
March 6 – Laura`s Interests – REVIEW
March 6 – Sapphyria’s Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
March 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, RECIPE
March 8 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 9 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
March 9 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 10 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

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Claiming My Place By Planaria Price with Helen Reichmann West Book Tour and Giveaway! #ClaimingMyPlace #PlanariaPrice #HFVBTBlogTours @hfvbt



Claiming My Place
By Planaria Price with Helen Reichmann West

Publication Date: March 13, 2018
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Hardcover, eBook, AudioBook
Genre: YA/NF/History/Holocaust/WWII
A Junior Library Guild selection Claiming My Place is the true story of a young Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust by escaping to Nazi Germany and hiding in plain sight. Meet Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrkow Trybunalski. As the war escalates, Gucia and her family, friends, and neighbors suffer starvation, disease, and worse. She knows her blond hair and fair skin give her an advantage, and eventually she faces a harrowing choice: risk either the uncertain horrors of deportation to a concentration camp, or certain death if she is caught resisting. She decides to hide her identity as a Jew and adopts the gentile name Danuta Barbara Tanska. Barbara, nicknamed Basia, leaves behind everything and everyone she has ever known in order to claim a new life for herself. Writing in the first person, author Planaria Price brings the immediacy of Barbara’s voice to this true account of a young woman whose unlikely survival hinges upon the same determination and defiant spirit already evident in the six-year-old girl we meet as this story begins. The final portion of this narrative, written by Barbara’s daughter, Helen Reichmann West, completes Barbara’s journey from her immigration to America until her natural, timely death. Includes maps and photographs.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Praise

“Price has boldly elected to tell the story in Basia’s own first-person, present-tense voice. The result is a dramatic, suspenseful account of survival in extremis, told in collaboration with Basia’s American daughter.” ―Booklist

  “Price's rendering of West’s mother’s early life reads like suspenseful historical fiction, telling a rarely heard side of the Jewish experience during WWII . . . Family, friendships, and romance give poignancy to this unique coming-of-age story, which is further enhanced by maps, a glossary, and afterword.”―Publishers Weekly

 “A rich exploration of a Holocaust survivor’s sheltered childhood, the atrocity that failed to destroy her, and her later life as an immigrant.” ―Kirkus Reviews

  “I was completely engrossed by this drama of survival. Barbara Reichmann's story is quite extraordinary. It is sad, and terrible, and yet somehow captivating. The whole story of those who survived the Shoah by passing as Christians and working in Nazi Germany is an often forgotten part of the historical record.” ―Kai Bird, Executive Director, Leon Levy Center for Biography at CUNY Graduate Center, and co-author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer 

 “As occurs with The Diary of Anne Frank, this book merges the dire circumstances of the Holocaust with the tenuousness of being a teenager. But Claiming My Place expands the view provided in the diary for one critical reason. Anne Frank’s story is told within an isolated cocoon. In Barbara’s story, however, the Holocaust is in full view as her experiences unfold.” ―David H. Lindquist, Ph.D., IPFW College of Education and Public Policy / Regional Museum Educator, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

  “This frightening true story of a young Jewish girl's flight from the deadly grip of the Nazis celebrates the surprising ingenuity and raw courage found only in the depths of the human spirit. Risking what few others dared, Barbara Reichmann, née Gucia Gomolinska, speaks with wisdom and uncommon self-awareness through her detailed, colorful, and evocative recollections from earliest childhood. In the final portion of this book, her daughter, Helen West, continues Barbara’s journey in an insightful and loving overview of Barbara’s life from the family’s arrival in New Orleans in 1951 until her death in 2007. This is a great read with the suspenseful, inspiring and uplifting appeal of a novel, about a character who will capture the reader’s heart.” ―Allan Holzman, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director and editor (Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Holocaust, Old Man River, The Native Americans)

  "Thanks to the detailed memories and the conversational tone, this book provides an engaging and informative reading experience with as much appeal as a fiction title. Recommended for most YA nonfiction collections." ―Magdalena Teske, West Chicago Public Library District School Library Journal 

 "This book was truly a celebration of the human spirit. What a gift she has for putting you in the story. Her way with words, plus her weaving of the actual events recounted to her by the unbelievably courageous Basia and her daughter Helen, was nothing short of magical. The included photographs and epilogue served to fully round out this amazing tale. I never wanted this book to end!" ―Rabbi Lynn Brody Slome

About the Author

After graduating from Berkeley and earning a Master's Degree in English Literature from UCLA, Planaria Price began her career teaching English to adult immigrants in Los Angeles. She has written several textbooks for University of Michigan Press and has lectured at over 75 conferences. In addition to her passion for teaching and writing, Planaria has worked with her husband to save and restore over 30 Victorian and Craftsman homes in her historic Los Angeles neighborhood. Claiming My Place is her first book for young adults. For more information, please visit Planaria's website at www.planariaprice.com.

Blog Tour Schedule

Friday, March 1
Interview at Passages to the Past
Sunday, March 3
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Monday, March 4
Interview at The Book Connection
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Tuesday, March 5
Feature at The Book Junkie Reads
Feature at To Read, Or Not to Read
Wednesday, March 6
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Thursday, March 7
Review at Peppermint Ph.D.
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews
Friday, March 8
Feature at T’s Stuff
Review at Hopewell’s Public Library of Life
Sunday, March 10
Review at Clarissa Reads it All
Monday, March 11
Feature at Coffee and Ink
Review at Jathan & Heather
Review at Impressions In Ink
Tuesday, March 12
Feature at Maiden of the Pages
Wednesday, March 13
Review at Just One More Chapter

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we will be giving away a signed copy of CLAIMING MY PLACE! To enter, please use the Gleam form below. Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 13th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to the US only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen. 

 Claiming My Place Tour 

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06 March 2019

Cries of a Dying Waterhole by Wa’qaar A Mirza Book Tour! @fayerogersuk @authoright @waqaaramirza #CriesOfADyingWaterhole


Summary:
It was that one fateful meeting in Arlington cemetery that started a chain reaction. The outcome that no one could predict. Covert operations, hostages, chaos around the planet, world leaders at loggerheads… and this was just the beginning. Can Harry Firstone - despite his colourful past - pull off a geopolitical coup that could bring change to the social imbalances across world? Just as the spinning plates of his emotions start to wobble with incredible consequences. Does truth have any value? And is there anything that money can’t buy? Politicians, media, bankers. We live in a world where we choose to believe in lies, but it’s in the dirtiest of swamps that beautiful lotuses bloom. This book is set to inspire you. It will make you get up and do something good. Let your conscience take you on a roller-coaster ride and uncover something you never thought you could.
Information about the Book
Title: Cries of a Dying Waterhole
Author: Wa’qaar A Mirza
Release Date: 28th February 2019
Genre: Fiction
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing

Read an Extract!
He had a habit of being on time. He was never late. And despite leaving home with plenty of time, he always rushed to the station in the morning to catch the tube. That morning, he just about managed to squeeze in in time, feeling the doors graze past his back and slide shut. In the background he could hear the station assistant who had a strong Polish accent talking through the loudspeakers:
“Ladies and gentlemen the next train is one minute behind,” but no one cared. It was still so early. There was hardly anyone there. The only people on the platform were people finishing nightshifts. Night-time construction workers, hospital workers, police officers, firefighters, bar men and security officers mingle with drunks and drug addicts who would sit and stare in exhaustion at the curved, tiled wall of the underground. The tube jolted and lurched and then whizzed into the black, dark gaping hole screaming widely in front of them. Juddering speedily through the darkness for what felt like no time at all, the tube finally creaked, ear-piercingly screeched and clanked its way to his stop.
*
He ran up the stairs of the tube station and outside where right near the entrance was a small park. He sprinted to it swiftly before pausing for a moment as though in slow motion. The tube, as always, had been stifling. He wanted to let the growing warmth of the autumn sun shine upon his face and warm his cheeks, blowing away the suffocating subterranean soot that still clung to him. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt the rosy pink of the morning sun hit his eyelids. The memory of the still-burning stars he had gazed at that morning when the world was still young still buzzed around his mind when it was allowed a moment’s peace. Then he remembered how he had woken up that morning. It was exactly the same as every morning he had ever known.
*
Ever since he was a child, a recurring vision had haunted him. It was more than just a dream that was trapped in his mind like a song going round and round. It was like a kind of twisted lullaby; he went to sleep with it and like an alarm clock he woke up with it. And today had been no different. It was very unsettling to him, a man with the soul of a poet, he thought to himself.
It was very early morning. The moon was still up, clinging desperately on to its crowning spot in the sky. Harry had positioned himself as usual in front of the half-open bedroom window, to soak up the last of the cool blue moonlight to enjoy its fading serenity on his face. He had sat like that for a while just enjoying the silence.
He remembered the deep breath of icy air he had taken in as he peered outside at the gentle magic of the dawn sky and the still, still air. In that moment everything had seemed so pure, so clean, so new and so full of promise. Cloaked in the world’s pre-dawn silence, he had felt far more in control, far more in harmony with the universe than at any other point. It was as if he and the stars had aligned as he had gazed up at their slow vanishing of the sun. He had wondered whether they might even be listening to him, listening for his hopes and aspirations, and wondered whether every atom in the world might be able to answer his prayers. He was convinced of it.
Waking up early is something that he had done for a very long time. Even in the icy black of the dark winter mornings, the dawn chorus of spring, the breeze of autumn and the dazzling light of summer, he’s up before anyone else. Master of all he surveyed; he looked on the world as if it was his for the taking. These moments of tranquillity set him up beautifully for the rest of the day. Today was a very important day; the 2nd of October, his birthday. It was a special day for another very significant reason too.
*
After a few moments like this enjoying his thoughts, he opened his eyes, and found that the whole world suddenly seemed crisper, clearer and more vibrant. The buildings stood taller, more defined, more purposeful than just drab concrete obstacles blocking his path from A to B. Pockets of red and ochre leaves looked for one brief moment like miniscule bonfires blazing at the roadside. Acknowledging the sunshine always brought life to his surroundings. That was something he missed about not living in the Middle East. Harry loved the sunshine. For him, the sun gave people a reason to be happy, energetic, creative even, but most of all, a reason to smile.
He was stood in what he knew was an important area of East London. It was steeped in a kaleidoscope of rich history. As he thought about all of the many different lives that the area had touched over the centuries, it was like being struck across the face. Disturbing his thoughts of the past came the sound of the call to prayer from the mosque across the road and the smell of an ensemble of herbs and spices from Turkish and Indian food being cooked in the homes that lined the streets. Then the stimulating aroma of a little coffee shop nearby, a shop without a name on the front, hit his nostrils, blasting away the aroma of spice that had previously been wafting around him.
As he carried on with his walk, he noticed the traffic. It was in another typically chaotic crush. Drivers battled impatiently and raged, trying to force their way through angrily. Everyone believing that their own journey was the only important one being made that day, no one else mattered. Out of nowhere, an abrupt metallic roar made everyone jump. Harry felt his body vibrate with the roar of car exhausts, the rumble ripping through his chest as two Aston Martins whizzed past. The disinterested drivers were dressed immaculately in expensively tailored suits and were all clutching mobile phones to their ears. Harry watched them fly into the distance in the luxurious cars. As he turned to continue his walk, he noticed a filthy old man slumped on the pavement. A large flattened empty cardboard loo paper box was his soggy cushion. He had the worst voice that Harry had ever heard. He was begging for a few pennies by hoarsely croaking Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’. The smell of the tramp made Harry’s stomach lurch. Harry walked quickly past him desperately trying to escape the sickening smell of dirty flesh, sweat-soaked filthy clothes and cheap spirits.
Author Information
Wa’qaar A. Mirza has worked in business consultancy and marketing for over thirty years, with companies including PwC and British Telecom, where he held senior marketing positions before moving to the HSBC group’s financial services product development team. Mirza has developed businesses of his own — selling both a marketing firm and an internet company — and franchise concepts for clients. He has written for numerous business journals and presented a business radio show in the Gulf. He has consulted on business development, private equity, and investment funding and brand development internationally. A former member of the BBC Advisory Council, he has also served as a trustee and director of the Royal Voluntary Services (RVS) where he met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who is the President of the charity. Mirza is a trustee of TBAP national special needs schools and of Worlds, Orphans into Work (WOW).


Tour Schedule
Monday 25th February
Tuesday 26th February
Thursday 28th February
Friday 1st March
Sunday 3rd March
Tuesday 5th March
Wednesday 6th March
Thursday 7th March
Friday 8th March
Sunday 10th March


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Saving Ferris By A.R. Kennedy Book Spotlight!


Saving Ferris
By A.R. Kennedy

ISBN-10: 1718150709

ISBN-13: 978-1718150706
Independently published
Paperback: 394 pages
September 23, 2018, $9.99
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Also available for Kindle
After Cecilia’s husband dies, she’s forced to become Ferris’s caregiver, something she does not immediately warm to. But when his life is threatened by an intruder, she shoots the intruder to save the golden retriever. Police Chief Holden Owens thinks Cecilia acted lawfully, but few agree. The prosecutor feels that Cecilia has committed murder, not self-defense. In the eyes of the law, one can use lethal force to protect themselves and others, but not property. Pets are considered property. Holden loses his fight with the prosecutor and is now in a new fight—his undeniable attraction to Cecilia. Celebrity defense attorney Wyatt Sewell identifies a sympathetic defendant, a case he can win, and a way to garner more acclaim. When he learns of Cecilia’s motive, to save Ferris, he sees a blockbuster case that can set legal precedent. He forces the jurors to ask themselves— Is your pet property or family? Will saving Ferris's life cost Cecilia her freedom? And a second chance at love?

 Read an Excerpt

 Cecilia woke up. She’d never get used to the darkness of country nights. She rolled over to return to sleep and heard the noise that must have been the cause of the early wake-up call. A small yip from the window. She mumbled her displeasure and slapped her husband’s side of the bed.
“Joey, wake up.” No response. “Joey.” She reached for him again and found nothing but his cold pillow. A small yip again. “Dumb dog,” she mumbled. She was fully awake now, remembering why her husband’s side of the bed was empty. Why it would forever be empty. 
Cecilia sat up at the edge of the bed and hung her head. She no longer wanted to be in the empty bed. A low growl emanated from the dog. “Okay, Ferris. I’m coming.”
She snapped on a nightlight and shielded her eyes from the small, yet bright, light. In the city, she could have seen the bedroom without such an aid. Some people called it light pollution. Cecilia called it the life of the city.
She could make out the profile of Ferris, staring out the window onto their backyard. He stood tall enough that his head rested on the windowsill. She often found the golden retriever looking out any window of the house like this. Waiting for Joey to return, she assumed. She had done it for weeks too. 
But tonight, he stood at alert. 
“Do you want to go out or what? Remember, I’m not the one who likes you, so hurry up.”
He turned his head briefly and looked at her, then returned his attention to the backyard. “I am not taking you out in the middle of the night to chase a squirrel.” The backyard’s motion sensor light was on and she cursed the squirrel that must have triggered it.
She started to lie back down and return to her dreamless sleep. The dreams, in reality and in sleep, had disappeared with Joey. The call of nature diverted her and she headed to the bathroom instead. 
With the door to the hallway open and the rest of the house now available, Ferris took off and ran down the stairs. “I’ll take that as I got to go now too, woman.”
Putting Ferris’s bathroom needs before her own, she followed him downstairs to the kitchen’s sliding glass door, his exit to the spacious backyard. It was far more likely he’d have an accident than she and she didn’t want to spend the rest of the night cleaning up his mess.
She snapped on the kitchen light. Now that she was fully awake, the light no longer caused discomfort. She doubted she’d return to sleep again tonight anyway.
“Calm down,” Cecilia told the dog as she struggled to put on his leash. “I know Joey lets you run around but I’m not chasing you at two in the morning.” It was no surprise that Ferris continued to move. Listening was not his forte. It was how he got homed here. 
Cecilia finally got the camouflage leash on Ferris’s collar and opened the sliding glass door. Ferris squeezed through before she had it fully open, pulling her through as well. An alarm beeped and she reached for the doorframe to stop her momentum. “Ferris, come on!” 
Ferris had a lot of flaws but pulling her on their walks was not one of them. Holding the leash in one hand and firmly placing her foot over the doorframe, she quickly punched in the alarm code. The incrementally louder and faster beeping stopped. She stepped onto the patio and Ferris pulled her onto the backyard’s grass. “You really are a pain in the tush tonight.”
The motion light flicked on as Ferris pulled her into the middle of the yard. He stopped and surveyed what Cecilia figured he imagined as his kingdom. Again, he was in high alert. 
She looked around the yard but could only see as far as the backyard’s light illuminated. She couldn’t see the fence that ran around the acre of land. She couldn’t see her closest neighbor’s home. She couldn’t see anything but Ferris. And her breath in the cool night air. 
“What’s wrong with you?” She patted him on his back. Usually when she petted him on his back, he squirmed in glee. Tonight, she didn’t think he even noticed the touch. 
With the damp grass soaking through her socks, Cecilia wished she had put on shoes. The chill ran up her body and she regretted not putting on a jacket as well. Joey’s T-shirt and boxers did little to keep her warm. Hoping to generate a little warmth, she told Ferris, “Come on, one lap and we’re back in.” Several pulls on his leash yielded no movement. With no motion, the yard’s light flipped off. Suddenly engulfed in darkness, Cecilia let out a short scream. 
Ferris twirled around, yanking Cecilia with him. As the light flipped back on, Cecilia screamed again.
Alicia Kennedy
A R Kennedy was born and raised on Long Island, New York. (And no, she doesn't have that Long Island accent). The finale of her Nathan Miccoli Mystery series, the 8th in the series, is expected in 2019. 

When not working on her next novel, she works full time in healthcare to feed (and sometimes clothe) her two little dogs. Both are named after her favorite fictional characters from British entertainment, which few friends and neighbors understand. 


The Nathan Miccoli Mystery series is her debut series.
Her next book, Saving Ferris, is expected September 2018.

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