Margaritas & Murder September 10th - 17th, 2016

 Margaritas & Murder By author CeCe Osgood 
Genre: Cozy Mystery Release Date: September 9th 2016

Blurb: Stephanie Plum meets Bridget Jones in this hilarious yet suspenseful cozy mystery featuring Sunny Truly, a brand-new apprentice private investigator in Austin, Texas.

 

When a long ago childhood friend is found dangling in a tree—with a dead man in her apartment—Sunny is hired to prove the friend innocent of murder. Frumpy, earnest and stubborn, Sunny goes undercover as a glam-girl to ferret out suspects at the club where her friend worked. With the aid of her wise-cracking boss, Cleve Haylock, and swoon-worthy police detective John Rock, Sunny uncovers an ugly secret with deadly consequences. Will Sunny be the next victim?

Buy the Book:

AmazonUS AmazonUK

About the Author:

 

 CeCe Osgood

Bio:

CeCe Osgood lives in Texas after many years in LA working in the film industry. Her writing career includes magazine articles and screenplays as well as being a freelance story analyst (main client HBO). She also has had two screenplays optioned. Being a novelist has been her lifelong dream, and now it’s becoming her reality. She loves red wine and hates pretzels.

CeCe’s first novel, THE DIVORCED NOT DEAD WORKSHOP, a chick-lit romantic comedy was awarded a Crowned Heart by InD’tale magazine.

Find her here:

www.ceceosgood.weebly.com Facebook Twitter GoodReads Amazon Author Page 

Check out all the stops on the Tour:

Sept 10th

Enrayn - Book Review Hello...Chick Lit - Book Promo Post

Sept 11th

Cafinated Reads - Book Excerpt Gin, books and blankets... - Book Reivew/Author Q&A

Sept 12th

Steamy Book Momma - Book Promo Post Writing Pearls - Book Review Novelgossip - Book Review/Excerpt

Sept 13th

Judging More Than Just The Cover - Author Q&A Sylv all about books and films - Book Promo Post Christa Reads and Writes - Book Review/Guest Post

Sept 14th

Cynful Books To Read - Author Guest Post/Promo Post He Said Books or Me - Book Review/Excerpt

Sept 15th

Grass Monster - Amazon/GoodReads Book Review One More Chapter - Book Review

Sept 16th

BookLoverWormBlog - Book Review Turning Another Page - Book Review/Author Q&A

Sept 17th

JenaBooks - Book Review/Excerpt Book Lover in Florida - Book Review/Excerpt

Tour arranged by:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Kids Books

Hi Everyone! 

Just stopping by with another Top Ten Tuesday!  This week's topic is Top Ten Tuesday is one in which you get to talk about your favorite books in a particular genre. For this week's topic, I have decided to feature my Top Ten Favorite Childhood Books. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with me!

1) Chicken Soup with Rice
Remember Where the Wild Things Are? Yep, same guy. Great book.

2) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Who doesn't love a great story?

3) The Cat in the Hat

Dr. Suess is always a pleaser. I had a stuffed cat in the hat when I was a little girl.

4) Miss Nelson is Missing

Unruly kids? Miss Nelson came up with a plan to get them back on track :)

5) Corduroy

This bear is adorable.

6) The Poky Little Puppy

This puppy is adorable.

7) Little Bear

He was so curious. I loved that about him!

8) Curious George

Did you know that this book is turning 75 this year? Crazy!

9) Amelia Bedelia

She made me laugh with things that she would get into!

10) Goodnight Moon

The perfect goodnight story! :)

What were you're favorite books as a kid?

Happy Reading!

Book Tour and Giveaway!: The Story Book Knight

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to be here to share with you another children's book. This is The Story Book Night and let me tell you about this one!

First of all, the promotion for this tour was super adorable. I was not sure what to expect when a foam dragon showed up on my door step. I did not expect it, but it was a nice touch :) (Good job promo team!)

The book itself is well written and creative. The story is one that is well written and is sure to encourage kids to want to read books. Which is something I love!

However, the absolute best part of this book was the beautiful, colorful illustrations.

I shared this one with my niece as well and she seemed to really like it. I think she was drawn to the dragon and with the images, I am not surprised. I enjoyed the story/plot as well. I think this is the perfect type of book for sharing with someone else!

All in all, I enjoyed this book and it was well worth the read! You can also download an educator or activity kit.

I am glad that I had the chance to review this book. While I was provided a copy, all opinions are my own. Thank you for the opportunity!

You can find more information here:

Storybook Knight landing page: 

Allows you and your readers to join Leo’s Storybook Knights, pledge your allegiance and receive a certificate of membership, and download and share Twitter, Facebook and blog images.

Author Links:

Thomas Docherty: www.thomasdocherty.co.uk

Twitter: @TDIllustration

Helen Docherty: www.helendocherty.com

Twitter: @docherty_helen

And now the best part! 

Rafflecopter: Enter for a chance to win an original sketch of Leo and Ned by illustrator Thomas Docherty!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review and Giveaway!: Max at Night

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited to be here today to share with you a Children's Book that I think you will love! This book is about Max the cat, who is having some problems with sleeping. He goes on an adventure and gets some useful information along the way. I know that is sort of vague, but as you know we don't do spoilers on the blog! Let me just tell you the story is a good one.

This book is worth the read. If you are looking for a cute book for your child, for a gift, or just to give to other children, then this is one you should definitely consider! I shared with my niece and she loved it. She said "He even gets to meet a dog!" I think she enjoyed it as much I did.

Plus check out cute the images are:

Have I convinced you yet? Here is a link to an activity kit that goes along with the story. 

You can also get more information about the book here. 

All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book and it seemed like my niece did too.


Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

Information about the Author:
Website: http://www.edvere.com/

Twitter: @ed_vere

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ed_vere/

But now the best part...I have a chance for you to win too! Feel free to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win an original sketch by author and illustrator Ed Vere and a copy of Max at Night! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reading Recap

Hi Everyone!

Just stopping by with a couple of mini reviews on the books that I have been reading lately. :)

Firefly Lane
This is the story of two best friends who meet when they are very young. The book follows the two through the ups and downs of their lives. The book was an interesting read. For those of you who enjoy Gossip Girl, the best friends have a very Serena/Blair relationship. I don't want to give away too much without spoiling it.

Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge
This book is written by Cliff Simon who was born in South Africa. More information can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Simon Not only do we get some insight about Cliff’s early life in South Africa in this book, we also get to hear about his experiences and his love for dancing at the Moulin Rouge in France. While doing so, we hear about his love for the city and love for the work he is doing. Ultimately though it is the love of a woman who settles Cliff down and their story. I enjoyed this book and developed a deeper understanding of the infamous location, what conflicts are in South Africa and Cliff’s life. An interesting read.

Eleanor and Hick
An insider's look at Eleanor Roosevelt and the relationship with her dear friend, Hick. Hick came to live with her and FDR at the White House. Some speculated that there was more to their relationship than friendship. It was an interesting read.

The Island House
The latest book by the talented Nancy Thayer. This is a book about Courtney, who returns to the Island for one more summer. She has returned to discover if James really has feelings for her or not. Though her 'island family' is more complicated then it appears, the summer takes on a series of events that reveals secrets and helps them realize the significance that they all have on one another. An interesting read.  

Stars So Sweet
In the end to the trilogy, we finally get to find out how Gladys will tell her parents her secret. When her aunt comes to town, she finds comfort in having her assistance. I enjoyed this series and I was happy to get resolution to the story. I really appreciated these books. 

Lily and the Octopus
Oh my goodness. This book was something else. As someone who is a dog mom and my fur babies are my kids this one hit me hard. The book was very well written, but it made me cry. I enjoyed the story and I am so glad that the author had a chance to write this all down. This book is not for the faint of heart. 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Happy Reading!

#VASRP Wrap Up

Hi Everyone!

Just stopping by to wrap up the program I was hosting, the Virtual Adult Summer Reading Program (#VASRP) with Octavia at @ReadSleepRepeat. I cannot believe that it is already over! I hope that those of you who participated had a great time. I sure did and now I can successfully say that I have co-hosted a readathon. This was a first for me and I am so glad that I got to try out this side of the readathon process. I have discovered that I really enjoy it!

Here are a few things I learned along the way...



1) Creating a plan ahead of time was great. This helped me to know where I should go at all times and this was key to the success of the project.

2) 3 months is a very long readathon. It was fun and I am glad we had the mini-challenges, but sometimes when things last that long it is easy to get 'distracted.'

3) The Twitter chats were awesome and so much! I am so grateful for Octavia's help in those. She kept the conversation flowing!

4) Having helper bees to get the word out like @brittany_reads was awesome! :) Thank you!

5) The participants were the best part of this program! Thank you guys for taking a chance on this and trying this out with us. You're the best!

In addition to co-hosting, I read along with the program. While I enjoyed that, I think at times it was hard to stay focused on doing both. I am happy though with the 12 books I finished.

Did you participate in the program? What did you think?

Happy Reading!

Blog Tour: Shouting from the Summits Guest Post

Hi Everyone! 

I am excited to have a Guest Post today here from Kala Ramachandran! Her book Shouting From the Summits will be released on September 13th. 

Please help me in giving her a warm welcome to the blog!

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 There are lots of short stories in my book about my stammering experience and how my dad, teacher reacted towards me. My stammer made me a person full of anxiety and nervous in my daily life. But, the climbs I have led gave me inner confidence to find my voice. I did talk about my dad’s mental illness in the book.

The book will inspire readers to achieve their own dreams even if despite their disability or any sort of illness.

There are great advices and motivational and inspiring chapters in the book and every one should read this.

Extract

One day in 1983, a tall young teacher, Stephen, joined my school. He lived in the same town and Dad gave him a lift in our car. He walked into my classroom and he introduced himself as our new Tamil teacher. He knew I was the brightest child and a teacher’s daughter, with some intelligence, so he asked me to stand up and read a passage in Tamil. I stood up proudly. I started to read the passage and all of a sudden a word from the passage would not come out of my mouth. I paused. I perspired. I tried to move my mouth. I said the word. After that it was a fluent reading. I puzzled the whole day thinking, “What has happened to me?!” At that time, I did not even know the words ‘stammer’ or ‘stutter’ or ‘blocked speech’. We were not encouraged to talk to parents. I thought it might be just a one-off.

The same week, Dad, who was my geography teacher, asked me to read a whole passage from my geography textbook. I stood up and I started to read. Again, a word would not come out. I paused. Then, I read again. Dad raised his voice. I could hear my heart beat so loud in my ears. This time, many words did not come out of my mouth. My heart was racing very fast. I wept. I trembled. My tears rolled down my cheek. Dad shouted, “Sit down.”

One day, Dad mentioned that the first woman to climb Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain in the world (8848 metres), was a Japanese lady – Junko Tabei; and that was what went into my mind. In my mind, I said “I will be the next one.” That’s where my search for my life purpose began.

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Book Blurb

'Living proof that a stammer need not hold you back'. Leys Geddes

Kala Ramachandran struggled with a stammer and it became so debilitating, she thought it would be with her her whole life. But then she embraced mountaineering. And finally found her voice. This is her story.

'It is a given we will have obstacles in life, some of us from the very beginning. Kala's story is one of perseverance; of overcoming; of hope. The world she grew up in didn't include Asian women who climbed mountains. Now it does thanks to Kala never letting go of her dream.' Warren Macdonald         

    

Purchase from Amazon UK - 

Purchase from Barnes & Noble - 

About the author: Mountaineering enthusiast Kala Ramachandran spends her professional life working for the finance department for Brent Council. She has been a member of the British Mountaineering Council and the British Stammering Association for XX years the latter to whom she will be donating 20% of the royalties from all her book sales. Today she lives in Stanmore, London with her two sons. 

Thanks Kala for coming by the blog today! Happy Reading!