Archive for the ‘Writers Block!’ Category

Sunday Saver – Kindle Freebie Alert!

August 29th, 2010

Happy Sunday All,

I only found 2 freebies this week that I thought may be worth your time, but no worries… I compromised. In addition to your 2 NEW reads, below you will find 3 books that are ALWAYS free for Kindle (so no big rush in the download department.) Pride & Prejudice, Anna Kerenina, and Dracula are just 3 examples of classic literature that shaped modern writing. Each have strong original characters and themes that were unheard of in their era.  If you have yet to read them, please take the time to do so… you won’t be sorry.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: A little dust never hurt anyone.


Being bad never felt so good-

After being jilted by her former master, Jane Porter looks to end her year-long celibacy by attending a bondage-themed event. Thanks to her ex-boyfriend-s stunning betrayal, she isn-t looking for happily-ever-after, just a master who-s willing to explore the depths of her passion and teach her what the BDSM lifestyle is all about.

Antonio Villareal was a wanted man. Single, rich and good looking, he-s on the hunt for a submissive to share his world. The moment he sees Jane on the arm of another man, he wants to possess her body and soul. The only problem is; Jane makes it clear she isn-t a forever kind of girl.

Can Antonio convince Jane to give him a chance?


After one of the most harrowing weeks of Henry Parker’s life, night has finally come. Settled in with Amanda Davies, he sleeps before preparing to chase a story alongside his mentor, Jack O’Donnell. Meanwhile Jack sits on the other side of town, fresh out of rehab, hoping to salvage a once-great career derailed by public humiliation. This is Jack’s last chance to leave his mark. Elsewhere in the city, two killers are on the move. They are brutal, calculating, and after tonight their decade’s long plan will come to fruition. But before the morning comes they have a few stops to make… THE HUNTERS: The thrilling lead-in to THE DARKNESS




For over 150 years, “Pride And Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen herself called this brilliant work her “own darling child.” “Pride And Prejudice, the story of Mrs. Bennet’s attempts to marry off her five daughters is one of the best-loved and most enduring classics in English literature. Excitement fizzes through the Bennet household at Longbourn in Hertfordshire when young, eligible Mr. Charles Bingley rents the fine house nearby. He may have sisters, but he also has male friends, and one of these — the haughty, and even wealthier, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy — irks the vivacious Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the Bennet girls. She annoys him. Which is how we know they must one day marry. The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and Darcy is a splendid rendition of civilized sparring. As the characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, Jane Austen’s radiantly caustic wit and keen observation sparkle.


When beautiful, aristocratic, and married Anna falls madly in love with the dashing Count Vronsky, their affair shocks Russian society, tears her family apart, and leads, inevitably, to tragedy. Count Leo Tolstoy’s epic story of passion, infidelity, vengeance, and retribution has held readers spellbound since it was first published in the late 1800s. Set against the fatal attraction of Anna and Vronsky, unfolding in perfect symmetry, is another love story: of the melancholy nobleman Constantin Levin and his devoted wife, Kitty. In doubt about the meaning of life, haunted by thoughts of suicide, Levin’s struggles echo Tolstoy’s own spiritual crisis. Filled with unforgettable characters, rich in history and social realism, “Anna Karenina” is a masterpiece of world literature, a story that fires the imagination and touches the heart.


The punctured throat, the coffin lid slowly opening, the unholy shriek as the stake pierces the heart—these are just a few of the chilling images Bram Stoker unleashed upon the world with his 1897 masterpiece, Dracula. Inspired by the folk legend of nosferatu, the undead, Stoker created a timeless tale of gothic horror and romance that has enthralled and terrified readers ever since.

A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation, language, and culture to become one of the most popular novels ever written. It is a quintessential tale of suspense and horror, boasting one of the most terrifying characters ever born in literature: Count Dracula, a tragic, night-dwelling specter who feeds upon the blood of the living, and whose diabolical passions prey upon the innocent, the helpless, and the beautiful. But Dracula also stands as a bleak allegorical saga of an eternally cursed being whose nocturnal atrocities reflect the dark underside of the supremely moralistic age in which it was originally written — and the corrupt desires that continue to plague the modern human condition.


KindleObsessed Celebrates 1 year!!

August 22nd, 2010


Hello my lovely Kindle-ites!

Today is KindleObsessed’s 1 year Blogiversary and I’m SUPER excited!! Now…before I bore you with the milestones I have reached this year I first wanted to thank all of you who have made KO such a success. Without dedicated readers, and authors like yourself I would not be here; instead I would be just another random chick that reads a lot, and bitches to much, so… *Hugs* to all of you for not only giving me an outlet, but actually listening to my advice on what to read and what to avoid.  This year has been a whirl wind for me, I never expected KO to take off quite like it did, but I don’t regret a single moment of it.  I have met a boat load of talented people, gotten to share opinions with some of the best in the business, and have become friends with people I only every dreamed about. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.  So again…thank you for letting me enjoy the ride!

Much Love! – Misty

These are the milestones I felt warranted a shout out… enjoy!


1 Year of KO History~ 8.22.09 thru 8.22.10


  • KO has had 8,139 site visits & and whopping 14,996 pageviews
  • Those visits include layovers from over 100 countries and all 52 states (<–that includes Puerto Rico and DC)
  • My readers? I have 138 Facebook Fans, 212 Twitter followers, 100 Shelfari friends, 252 Myspacer’s & 50 Amazon subscription holders!
  • I have been a featured panelist on Book Chatter with Stacey Cochran twice
  • KO won the “Versatile Blogger” award, and was also named #27 in the “50 Awesome Blogs for Kindle Addicts
  • I also had the pleasure of (not only) interviewing 2 very well known authors (Chadda & Shorts) but being interviewed myself by David Wisehart!
  • KO has had 226 post and a WHOPPING 128 of those were book reviews!


Paying It Forward

 

Whew! Ok… now on to the moment you have all been waiting for.  In honor of YOUR dedication to KO over the last year I wanted to give you a little something.  At the end of the week I will make a list of ALL of my FACEBOOK FANS, throw your names into a hat, and randomly pick 9 winners!! What can you win exactly?


A signed copy of:

















Or… The AUDIO Version of:









Would you rather have a sassy series about a kick-butt girl? OK… how about this: I have The complete “Alexis Stanton Series” in both Digital and Signed Paperback!









Still not satisfied? Ok… have it your way.

A copy of EVERY KINDLE book in my library!!

What does that mean? Well… it means you will get a digital copy of approximately 128 books!! Scroll to see the list (Or the best list I could provide on short notice… I’m sure I missed a lot + I still have authors sending me copies! *wink Kippoe*)


Morganville Vampires Books 1-8

Vampire Academy Books 1-5

Temperance Brennan (Bones) Novels 1-11

Southern Vampire Tales (Sookie Stackhouse Series) Books 1-11

The House of Night Series Books 1-7

Percy Jackson & The Olymians Books 1 & 2

Complete Fade Series

Riley Jensen Series Books 1-4

Evernight Series Books 1-3

Bite Me Series Books 1 & 2

Mortal Instrument Series Books 1-3

Shiver Series Books 1 & 2 by Maggie Stiefvater

The Forest of Hands and Teeth Series Books 1 & 2 by Carrie Ryan

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Calling Home by Janna McMahan

Folly by Marthe Jocelyn

The Apothecary’s Daughter by Julie Klassen

My Name is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder

The Crossroads Cafe by Deborah Smith

Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith

Exposure: A Novel by Brandilyn Collins

Murder Takes The Cake by Gayle Trent

Summer of the Midnight Sun by Tracie Peterson

Gypsy Legacy: The Marquis by Denise Patrick

Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon

Wit’ch Fire by James Clemens

Already Dead: A Novel by Charlie Huston

The Pawn by Steven James

The Demon Awakens by R.A. Salvatore

Unbreakable by Sydney Somers

When Night Falls by Maragret Daley

MetaGame by Sam Landstrom

Paradox I by Rosemary Laurey & JC Wilder

Urge to Kill by John Lutz

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

The Wild’s Call by Jeri Smith-Ready

My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Captivate by Carrie Jones

His Eyes by Renee Carter

The Pace by Shelena Shorts

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Paper Towns by John Green

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Whisper by Phoebe Kitandis

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

Beastly by Alex Flinn

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

I Heart You, You Haunt me by Lisa Schroeder

Need by Carrie Jones

Light Beneath Ferns by Anne Spollen

Sea Change Aimee Friedman

Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jink

The Den of Shadows Quartet by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

Uninvited by Amanda Marrone

Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Rules of Attaction by Simone Elkeles

Willow by Julia Hoban

Stealing Bradford by Melody Carlson

Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson

Always Watching by Brandilyn Collins

Beyone the Reflection’s Edge by Bryan Davis

The Goddess of Fried Okra by Jean Brashear

Take Me There by Carolee Dean

The Shunning by Beverly Lewis


If you see something you really want be sure to tell me, and if you see something you could care less about, let me know that as well… I would love to give the appropriate people a chance at their desired prize! Also… I still have gifts coming in, so who knows… I may keep adding more gifts, and more chances to win as the week progresses!

Again… thanks so much to ALL of you, and HAPPY READING!

Kindle Freebies Alert!

August 14th, 2010

Happy Saturday Kindle-ites!

I will have a review later today for “His Eyes” and tomorrow will be “Eat Pray Love” but until then I wanted to give you a heads up on some Kindle freebies I found today. Now… I get tons of emails throughout the weeks that say ‘Misty!!! I thought you said these were free, why does it say $9.99?” Well, just because it is free today, does not mean it will be free tomorrow, so if you see something below that peaks your interest be sure and download it TODAY! 1 days worth of dawdling may cost you a free read, and that’s just no fun.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Make your own plot… don’t follow someone elses.


A City Gripped By Fear. . .

Seattle newspaper photographer Nick Wilder has snapped his fair share of gruesome homicide scenes. But when a serial killer dubbed the Street Butcher takes his sick crimes to new depths of depravity, Nick finds the case suddenly getting to him in more ways than one. . .

A Killer Who Knows No End. . .

With each new murder Nick is shocked by what he won’t soon forget. But the deeper he digs, the closer he gets to his own disturbing past–and the more he must risk to unmask an unpredictable, deranged psychopath. As the motives multiply and the suspects mount, the cold, stark Seattle winter is about to turn even chillier. . .


Flowers For Elvis is quirky Southern fiction with a literary edge, surprising humor and an uplifting spirit. In 1956, Olivia and her twin sister are born to a nun an old auto parts store turned convent in rural Mississippi. Little Olivia doesn’t survive the day, but her spunky spirit hangs around and takes on the role of ethereal watchdog over her twin. When the Reverend Mother-and holy guilt-convince the nun’s sister (a young pregnant newlywed) to secretly raise the baby as the twin of her own soon-to-be-born child, Olivia realizes the urgency of her presence and support. Not only is her aunt a fanatical Elvis fan, she’s a renegade Southern belle, bent on self-indulgence and desperate to safeguard her multitude of sins. Without revealing which girl is her twin until the end, Olivia takes the reader on a flower strewn tour of misguided love and maternal betrayal which culminates at Elvis’ funeral, where they finally discover the truth of their parentage and unravel the generations of secrets that shadowed their lives.


The Blues were born out of need, anger and pride. Murder comes from those same dark places. Memphis has both. One of Memphis’ most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she’s off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening. What begins as an ordinary day’s work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider’s web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy’s own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves.




Mid-Year Paranormal Preview

August 8th, 2010

Dear Paranormal Junkies,

I’m sorry! Can you ever forgive me? I have been so focused on cleaning out my inbox lately that I have been a tad bit neglectful towards you.  Well… the buck stops here, and to prove it… I have put together a list for you.  Here are the biggest of the big slated to come out in the next few  months.  Most of them can be pre-ordered for your Kindle, all of them can be pre-ordered in hardback.  So, here is to making amends, and forging a new path.  My promise to you is this. Every 3rd book I review will be a paranormal. Guaranteed. (Because to be honest… I kind of miss them too.)

Click the book Image for additional details, Click the TITLE to view the book trailer.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: I love you :)


2010 End of the Year Paranormal Must Buys!


Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Release Date 8.31.10

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces.

Is love a great enough power against evil?





Beautiful Darkness By Kami Garcia

Release Date 10.12.10

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena’s family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan’s eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there’s no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town’s tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.


The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Release Date 8.31.10

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.


The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Release Date 9.21.10

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a ReplacementÑleft in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when TateÕs baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.


Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date 10.19.10

The sequel to the New York Times Best selling phenomenon, Hush, Hush!

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can’t figure out if it’s for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father’s death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn’t answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?


Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Release Date 9.7.10

Descended from dragons, the draki’s ability to appear human protects them from hunters. Jacinda lives with her pride in the Cascades, but she chafes under her special status as the only fire-breather in hundreds of years. Recklessly breaking the “no-fly” rule, she attracts hunters; mercifully, one hunter, a beautiful boy who looks upon her with wonder, lets her escape. After this, the pride intends to hobble her rebelliousness, and Jacinda is forced to flee. But while twin sister Tamra, who never manifested and was shunned, is happy with the move, Jacinda feels only anguish within Nevada’s desert climate. Then she meets Will and, despite recognizing him as the same draki hunter, feels herself come alive. Jordan’s compelling addition to the supernatural star-crossed lovers theme is equal parts taut suspense and sensuous romance, with visceral writing and believable relationships among characters, particularly among Jacinda’s family. A foreshadowed twist and a thrilling confrontation in the end pages leave Jacinda heartbroken and in trouble, and readers will howl for more. Grades 8-12. –Krista Hutley


Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Release Date 8.31.10

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.




Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Release Date 10.19.10

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she’ll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters’ laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything–including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?







100 Fan Book Give-A-Way #5

July 31st, 2010

Hello All! Well, it’s been a long 5 weeks, and Bookapaloosa is finally coming to an end, but before me move on let’s give a great big congrats to Rick Wise who won last weeks give-a-way, lets hope he learns from his new books advice, but never has to actually use it.

Now, on to the good stuff. Since this is the final week I decided to shake things up.  Several of you (shakes head in shame) have let it slip that you haven’t read the classic “Pride & Prejudice” and while I refuse to give away my copy (it’s kinda falling apart anyways) I decided to share my love with you in a new medium.  Recently Marvel has started adapting classic novels into GRAPHIC novels and they are FANTASTIC!! So in order to spread the comic book love I am giving 1 lucky winner the trade paperback version of P&P (aka… all five issues, beautifully hardbound and ready for reading.) All you need to do to be qualified is comment below and viola’

Happy reading!! :-) Misty

 

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife… Tailored from the adored Jane Austen classic, Marvel Comics is proud to present Pride & Prejudice! Two-time Rita Award-Winner Nancy Butler and fan-favorite Hugo Petras faithfully adapt the whimsical tale of Lizzy Bennet and her lovable-if-eccentric family, as they navigate through tricky British social circles. Will Lizzy’s father manage to marry off her five daughters, despite his wife’s incessant nagging? And will Lizzy’s beautiful sister Jane marry the handsome, wealthy Mr. Bingley, or will his brooding friend Mr. Darcy stand between their happiness? Collects Pride & Prejudice #1-5.


 

 

Here are a few examples of the Art Work

(Click to enlarge)

Did Someone Say Free Downloads?

July 30th, 2010

Well since so many of y’all seemed to LOVE the instant access to Free Kindle Downloads the last time I did it,  I figured… WHY NOT… so here are the most recent that I found. (Well… at least the ones that look worth the effort.)  Happy Free Reading!

(Click the Image to get more details!)


Brown, author of the Navy Justice Series and a former U.S. Navy lawyer, has written a book destined to top Christian fiction lists. A rogue Indonesian general and his army of terrorists attack oil tankers in the Strait of Malacca in order to profit from oil futures and buy nuclear weapons to establish an Islamic superpower. Navy JAG officers Zack Brewer and Diane Colcernian race against the odds and a 24-hour deadline before nuclear attacks hit the United States. Departing from the sea of books barely better than soap opera romance and using the frantic pacing of suspense fiction, Brown glides flawlessly among global hotspots of terrorism–including the United States–and the book’s principal settings in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The plot surges headlong with energy; characters–from various cultures–are both believable and accessible; rich dialogue flows. A Bible-quoting evangelical Christian president in the war room is over the top, and while evangelical hot-button issues may please some readers and turn others off, Brown has penned another winner.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From an extraordinary new voice in fiction comes a haunting, powerful novel about mothers and daughters, choice and regret, the mistakes we make and the ones we hope we can correct before it’s too late.

Nothing much ever happens in Falling Rock, Kentucky. So when Virginia Lemmons’ husband takes off in his Trans Am to take up with a beautician, there’s not much to do but what people in rural Kentucky have always done–get on with it. Now, overwhelmed and unsure, Virginia’s got her hands full trying to keep it together, body and soul, while raising her two teenage kids–eighteen-year-old son, Will, and her spirited fourteen-year-old daughter, Shannon.

But Shannon has her own ideas for breaking free of Falling Rock, and in her reckless, wild-child daughter, Virginia sees echoes of herself and her own painful past. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep her daughter from making the same tragic mistakes, and saving what’s left of her fragile family just may be the biggest fight of Virginia’s life.

In this compelling, heartbreaking first novel, Janna McMahan brings to authentic life the dreams, passions, and troubles of one southern town, where choice isn’t always easy to come by, and living the hand you’re dealt with is a grace all its own.

“A beautifully wrought novel populated by a vivid cast of characters. . .Janna McMahan takes us completely into the lives of these people and their small town, presenting this world with authenticity and dignity. I absolutely loved this book and will carry it with me for a long time.” –Silas House


Sixteen-year-old Nathan Shepherd has a great life traveling where the careers of his father, an investigator, and mother, a renowned violinist, take him … until his parents are found murdered. Left with only a mirror and notes from his father’s last case, Nathan goes into hiding at the remote country home of Tony, his father’s college buddy, and Tony’s teenage daughter, Kelly. The mysterious mirror must be a clue to what happened to his parents, and when images appear in it—people and things that don’t exist—Nathan and Kelly painstakingly gather evidence. But the killers want the mirror too, and danger threatens the teens at every turn. As it becomes evident that Nathan’s father had stumbled upon dark forces at work in the world, several questions arise. Could it be that the mirror is a portal to a parallel world? Could this technology be used for evil purposes? And could his parents still be alive, trapped in another dimension? Nathan and Kelly struggle to solve the mystery before they too become victims. This chilling, hair-raising adventure is jam-packed with action in a fantastical world where nothing is as it seems, and even mirrors tell lies.


Grief. Hope. Love. Sword fights. And the crisp glory of fried okra. Ex-cocktail waitress and “convenience story professional” Eudora “Pea” O’Brien is filled with grief and regret, low on cash and all alone. Headed down the hot, dusty back roads of central Texas, Pea is convinced she’ll find a sign leading her to the reincarnated soul of the sister who raised her. A sign that she’s found her place in the world of the living again. At least that’s what the psychic promised. In an unforgettably funny and poignant journey, Pea collects an unlikely family of strays-a starving kitten, a pregnant teenager, a sexy con man trying to go straight, and a ferocious gun dealer named Glory, who introduces Pea to the amazing, sword-wielding warrior goddesses of Texas author Robert E. Howard-creator of the Conan the Barbarian novels-and celebrated in festival every year. Six foot tall, red-headed Pea looks good with a sword in her hand. Glory, the goddesses, and a grandmotherly café owner become Pea’s unlikely gurus as she struggles to learn swordplay and the art of perfect fried okra. She’ll have to master both if she’s going to find what matters most-her own lost soul. “Jean Brashear writes with warmth and emotion truth. The depth of her understanding of human nature marks her as a writer to watch, a writer to read and a writer to enjoy.” –Debbie Macomber, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author “THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA is a fabulous read. Riveting. Original. Those characters grabbed my imagination and didn’t let go.” –Cathy Maxwell, NY Times Bestselling Author

100 Fan Book Give-a-Way #4

July 24th, 2010

Happy Saturday!!! You know what that means… Week 4 of Bookapaloosa.

I have to say… 4 weeks of giving away books from my own shelves and it doesn’t even look like I’ve touched them. :-) Anyways…First up, a big ‘ole Congrats to Tina Norman who was last weeks Movie Tie-In’s winner!

Now on to business. This week I’ve decided to target those of you that house the more “serious” read gene. There was a period in my life where I became obsessed with the human psyche. I wanted to understand why people did what they did, how they would react in the most severe of situations… what made them tick. The 3 novels I picked for this weeks give-a-way combined all of these. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Simply leave a comment below and you will be entered to win!

(Dear Kindle Subscription holders… don’t forget you have options too! Stop by my site www.kindleobsessed.com or shoot me an email at misty@kindleobsessed.com)

 

Popular writer and Outside columnist Sides (Stomping Grounds) interviewed participants in one of WWII’s little-known exploits: the rescue of 500 American and Allied POWs from Cabanatuan prison camp on the Philippine island of Luzon. This gripping account intertwines the tale of these prisoners, who were survivors of the horrible Bataan Death March in 1942, and 121 officers and men of the army’s Sixth Ranger Battalion. Led by Colonel Henry Mucci and Captain Robert Prince, these Rangers, who had yet to taste active combat, trekked 30 miles behind Japanese lines to effect the rescue, haunted all the while by the knowledge that if their secret mission was leaked, the POWs would probably be massacred by their captors. Sides includes the heroic efforts of Claire Phillips and other resistance fighters to keep the Americans supplied with accurate intelligence, and the scores of villagers who helped the POWs to safety. Some Alamo Scouts and two Filipino guerrilla groups provided no small assistance to Mucci and his men. The raid itself was almost anticlimactic as the Rangers burst into the POW compound, eliminating the garrison and bringing out the inmates in less than half an hour. It’s a tale worthy of a Hollywood movie (and film rights have been optioned by Universal). The author’s excellent grasp of human emotions and bravery makes this compelling book hard to put down. (May 15)Forecast: This is for fans of Flags of Our Fathers who have been waiting for another installment. First serial rights have been sold to Esquire, and the author is booked on the Today Show. With more exposure like that, and with blurbs coming from the likes of David Halberstam and Jon Krakauer, this should sell hugely.

 

On October 12, 1972, an Uruguayan Air Force plane carrying a team of rugby players crashed in the remote snowy peaks of the Andes. Ten weeks later, only sixteen of the forty-five passengers were found alive. This is the story of those ten weeks spent in the shelter of the plane’s fuselage without food and with scarcely any hope of a rescue. The survivors protected and helped one another, and came to the difficult conclusion that to live meant doing the unimaginable. Confronting nature at its most furious, two brave young men risked their lives to hike through the mountains looking for help — and ultimately found it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Brokaw goes out into America to tell – through the stories of individual men and women – the story of a generation, American’s citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to bud modern America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 Fan Book Give-A-Way #3

July 17th, 2010

Happy Saturday!! First… A great big congratulations to Jennifer MacRostie who is the winner of last weeks Bookapaloosa give-a-way!!! Hope you love them.

This week I decided to go with the movie-tie in theme. We all know that I am horribly OCD when it comes to movies made out of books. I CANNOT see the movie unless I read the book first, so naturally I have a ton of these lying around. Here are 2 of them.

All you have to do is leave a comment saying you want one, and (THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART) either Retweet or Facebook-Share this post. Happy Reading and Good Luck!

(Dear Amazon Subscription Holders – Don’t forget to join in on the free book fun by either stopping by www.kindleobsessed.com or shooting me an email at misty@kindleobsessed.com)


P.S. I Love You

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From Publishers Weekly

Ahern, the mediagenic 22-year-old daughter of Ireland’s prime minister, debuts with a sweet, sentimental tale of a young widow’s trials and triumphs in the year after her husband’s death. Soul mates Holly and Gerry married in their early 20s; when Gerry dies of brain cancer at 30, Holly is utterly bereft. But Gerry has a final gift: a series of letters, which Holly is to open on the first of each month from March to New Year’s, and which will guide her on her journey from grief. Gerry correctly predicts that Holly will not have gone through his belongings by June, found a new job by September or considered falling in love again by December, but with his posthumous epistolary encouragement she does all those things. She also enters a karaoke contest, takes a beach vacation and dances at a holiday ball she’d always attended with Gerry. The months pass as close friends help prop Holly up; around her, a marriage falls apart, a couple gets engaged and a friend announces her pregnancy. Within her tight-knit family, Holly’s youngest brother makes a revealing film of her birthday party, her elder brothers change places in her allegiance and her parents take in one stray grown child after another for stays short and long. Ahern’s speed (she wrote the book in three months) and her youth do show-the wisdom in evidence owes much to Nicholas Sparks and Sophie Kinsella-and her prose is pedestrian. She boasts a natural storytelling talent, however, resulting in a compelling tale sparked by an unusual premise.


The Time Traveler’s Wife

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From Publishers Weekly

This clever and inventive tale works on three levels: as an intriguing science fiction concept, a realistic character study and a touching love story. Henry De Tamble is a Chicago librarian with “Chrono Displacement” disorder; at random times, he suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. This leads to some wonderful paradoxes. From his point of view, he first met his wife, Clare, when he was 28 and she was 20. She ran up to him exclaiming that she’d known him all her life. He, however, had never seen her before. But when he reaches his 40s, already married to Clare, he suddenly finds himself time travelling to Clare’s childhood and meeting her as a 6-year-old. The book alternates between Henry and Clare’s points of view, and so does the narration. Reed ably expresses the longing of the one always left behind, the frustrations of their unusual lifestyle, and above all, her overriding love for Henry. Likewise, Burns evokes the fear of a man who never knows where or when he’ll turn up, and his gratitude at having Clare, whose love is his anchor. The expressive, evocative performances of both actors convey the protagonists’ intense relationship, their personal quirks and their reminiscences, making this a fascinating audio.

Amazon Kindle Freebies!

July 16th, 2010

Hello Everyone! It has been a really long time since I have posted one of these so I thought I would give y’all a headstart for the upcoming weekend.


Kindle Freebies!!


Dark Fever (The Fever Series)

by Karen Marie Moaning

MacKayla “Mac” Lane is a small-town southern girl living a life of suntans and shopping. All that changes when her sister dies in Ireland and a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone raises disturbing questions about the nature of her sister’s death. Mac follows the lead to Dublin and the strange life her sister led, on to the darkly dangerous book-dealer Jericho Barrons, and a burgeoning war with deadly Fae that humankind doesn’t even realize has begun. Time-travel-romance maven Moning reshapes her Celtic lore for a radically different and engaging new dark fantasy series. Mac’s first-person narrative is more than point of view; it’s a true recounting of how a sheltered young girl grows to accept the role fate has dealt her. And while moments of sexual awareness hint that a relationship between Mac and Jericho could complicate matters in the future, wisely there is no full-blown romance here to distract from the complex introduction to Moning’s new world. 


The Heir

by Paul Robertson

It’s a familiar plot: the death of a filthy rich relative-who of course altered his will just hours before his sudden demise-results in instant wealth for an heir no one expected. In this debut novel from Robertson, a computer programming consultant, young mogul Jason Boyer discovers that his newly minted fortune is tainted by his deceased robber-baron father’s legacy of corruption, scandal and power brokering in New England. Will Jason find the moral courage to clean his corporate house and do something meaningful with his millions? And was his father’s fatal car crash really an accident? Pacing is a problem throughout much of this story, which doesn’t hit its stride and become a bona fide suspense novel until the final 50 pages. Most of the characters are routine stock figures-the upwardly mobile wife; the corpulent and scheming attorney-with only Jason’s innocent younger brother Eric breaking the mold. Robertson offers some strong observations on greed and human nature, and adopts a refreshingly soft approach to religious faith. The humor, which could work well in another context, feels adolescent in such a dark tale. Despite promising themes and a decent plot, this God-and-mammon novel would benefit from stringent editing and stronger supporting characters.

 

Light of Eidon (Legends of the Guardian King Bk 1)

by Karen Hancock

*Starred Review* Hancock’s intriguing Arena [BKL Ap 15 02] drew a great deal of praise for the originality and starkness of its alternative universe. In The Light of Eidon, she begins a fantasy series called Legends of the Guardian King that is more clearly a Christian allegory but is so crisscrossed with subplots and deceit that exactly where the light of Eidon shines may baffle the reader. It certainly baffles young Abramm Kalladorne, Hancock’s hero. He is the little-valued fifth son of the king of Kiriath, a vivid kingdom that seems a bit like medieval England, with a bit of ancient Rome. Abramm is drawn to the religious life, but after eight years as a novitiate, he discovers that his spiritual leader is a fraud and that the true path to Eidon’s light lies elsewhere. But upon leaving the monastery, he finds himself in the middle of court intrigues, and his brothers sell him into slavery in a faraway, barbarous land. For a while, Hancock’s novel seems like a gladitorial epic, but then Eidon, or Jesus, makes his truths known. A great battle ensues, but victory is not complete and many questions remain. Readers will certainly return for the second installment. 

 

Mozart Blood

by Louise Marley

Marley, a musician and writer, has produced a stunning drama inspired by the life of Teresa Saporiti, the first Donna Anna. Teresa, an aspiring singer, was turned into a vampire by a Czech aristocrat. As bad as
the need for blood are the memories of the victims, which remain with the taker. Teresa has learned to deal with them, but Mozart, whom the baroness bit at the same time, never did and died painfully because he
could not bring himself to satisfy the unnatural thirst. In San Francisco in 1906, Teresa meets Ugo, a Silician werewolf with a very curious past of his own. They become partners, guarding each other’s backs.
In twenty-first-century Milan, an egoistic baritone thinks he has figured out Teresa’s secret and abducts Ugo to obtain the blood that holds Mozart’s memories. The story covers four centuries, but the shifts
between the past and the present are seamlessly handled, and the development of Teresa and Ugo over those centuries is impressive. An engrossing piece, from overture to final chord.

100 Fan Book Give-A-Way #2

July 10th, 2010

Hello Everyone!!! I hope you had a fantastic week.  First up, I would like to congratulate Kippoe for being the 1st Bookapaloosa winner.  He is now the proud owner of “The Skin Gods” by Richard Montanari.

Ok… on to the good stuff.  This weeks Bookapaloosa is a 2fer.  Since y’all have been such great fans this week I’m giving away both “Eternal” by Cynthia Leitich Smith and “A Certain Slant of Light” by Laura Whitcomb to 1 very lucky reader.  All you have to do is leave a comment telling me the title of YOUR favorite book.

Cheers and good luck! :-) Misty

(Dear Amazon Kindle Subscription Holders, I don’t want you to miss any of the freebie fun, so feel free to stop by www.kindleobsessed.com and leave a comment or drop me an email at misty@kindleobsessed.com for your chance to win.)


Eternal

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Product Description

This dark romance is told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of 17-year-old Miranda and her guardian angel, Zachary, in an alternate America in which vampires and werewolves exist. Early in the novel, Zachary falls from grace as punishment for materializing in his full radiance in a failed attempt to save Miranda from being bitten by a vampire. The tale resumes a year later with the now-vampire Miranda a revered princess living among vampire royalty and feasting regularly on humans. Zachary, meanwhile, has sunk into a life of aimless debauchery and is resigned to never regaining his wings when an archangel suddenly gives him the opportunity to become Miranda’s personal assistant. Determined to save his former ward, with whom he has fallen in love, Zachary takes the job. Miranda finds herself drawn to him, and the murders she has carelessly committed begin to weigh on her conscience. With his help, she is determined to find a way to redeem herself and help him return to grace. The plot is occasionally choppy and frequently grisly, and the dialogue seems forced in places. Neither Miranda nor Zachary is particularly likable, and the ending, while logical, is not one that romance fans will favor. The story lacks the elegance of Stephenie Meyer’s hugely popular novels, but serious vampire buffs will undoubtedly add the novel to their must-read list.–Leah J. Sparks, formerly at Bowie Public Library, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

 

A Certain Slant of Light

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Produce Description

Grade 9 Up–Helen died 130 years ago as a young woman. Unable to enter heaven because of a sense of guilt she carried at death, she has been silent and invisible but conscious and sociable across the generations. Her spirit has been sustained by its attachment to one living human host after another, including a poet and, most recently, a high-school English teacher. While she sits through his class one day, she becomes aware of James and he–unlike the mortals all around them–is aware of her as well. James, who also died years earlier, inhabits the body of a contemporary teen, Billy. James and Helen fall in love, he shows her how to inhabit the body of a person whose spirit has died but who still lives and breathes, and the two begin to unfold the mysteries of their own pasts and those of their adolescent hosts. Jenny, whose body Helen now uses, is the only child of strict religious parents who controlled her beyond what her spirit could endure. Billy’s spirit left his body after a string of tragedies resulting from drug abuse and domestic violence. James and Helen court in both modern and old-fashioned ways; here is a novel in which explicit sex is far from gratuitous or formulaic. Whitcomb writes with a grace that befits Helen’s more modulated world while depicting contemporary society with sharp insight. In the subgenre of dead-narrator tales, this book shows the engaging possibilities of immortality–complete with a twist at the end that wholly satisfies.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


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