Emily's House by Natalie Wright Book Tour & Giveaway

 Title: Emily's House

Author: Natalie Wright

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: * * * *

Publishers Date: Nov 7, 2011

Paperback: 320 pages

ISBN:0615560628

Fourteen-year-old Emily Adams is flunking math - and life. But Emily has a secret, one that she has kept even from her best friends. Soon the ancient legacy coursing through her veins will force her secret to be revealed. Dormant for over a thousand years, an evil has arisen and this time, it will destroy anyone - or anything - that stands in its way.
 Three teens embark on a dangerous journey and risk everything. For Emily, the fate of her friends - and her world - lies in her hands.

 In a place where anything is possible, will Emily finds the skills - and courage -she needs to save the world from darkness?

Emily's House is a tale that blends Celtic mysticism, spirituality and ancient secrets with science and modern technology. Travel with Emily as she unlocks the secrets of her Celtic ancestors on a mystical journey to the inner house and beyond.

I spent my formative years on a farm in Ohio, a fertile place for an inquisitive mind and active imagination. I have always enjoyed writing, drawing and creating and in my earliest years I wanted to be a book writer and illustrator. I have an undergraduate degree in Art Education but chose to go to law school rather than teach. I spent almost 20 years in the legal field but never lost my thirst to create. I believe that having worked in the field of Family Law and Divorce Mediation has provided valuable inspiration for my character development and dialogue.
My first novel, "Emily's House," was over three years in the making and I enjoyed the process every step of the way! What started out as a vision of a gold arm bracelet hovering over a green field became a story about two generations of magical women, born a thousand years apart.
"Emily's House" is the first in a series of three. Book 2, "Emily's Trial," should be available in the Fall of 2012 and Book 3, "Emily's Heart," will follow in 2013.
In the meantime, look for Natalie's foray into Science Fiction with her debut Sci Fi novel, "The Deep Beneath," due out late Spring, 2012.
While I grew up on a farm in the midwest, I now live in the high Sonoran desert of Tucson, Arizona with my husband, young daughter and dog, Molly. I enjoy traveling and had the great fortune to win a trip to Ireland in 2010 - a trip that I greatly needed to do research for Emily's House. I gather inspiration from nature and from observation of the human experience.
I enjoy interaction with readers and welcome your questions and comments on my blog, NatalieWrightsYA.blogspot.com or on Facebook, Facebook.com/NatalieWright.Author or on Twitter, @NatalieWright_


If you like time travel, Celtic references, mysteries, and a kick butt red head, you're going to love this book. I just love the stance of Emily on the cover. You can see her courage and slight cockiness in those crossed arms and determined stance. Emily's had a tough life since her mom died at the age of seven and she's been raised by her evil aunt and totally oblivious dad. Travel with her on her adventures to save her friends and her world.
I guarantee you won't regret it.

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WELLLLL - WE'RE WAITING WEDNESDAY # 29

What's your WELLLL- WE'RE WAITING book for this week?

GIVEAWAY—INVISIBLE SUN BY DAVID MACINNIS GILL

Now for your chance to win an ARC of this amazing book! It's easy! Two things to note...

1) This giveaway is open until 11:59 on March 10, 2012
2) Contest is US and Canada only!

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form here.

Spirited Trailer.mov

Second Skin by Judith Graves

Second Skin is now available online via Amazon and
 here’s the Second Skin trailer for your enjoyment!

Brought to you by ROBERT--How Old Is Grandma?

How Old Is Grandma? 

 

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away. 

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. 

The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general. 

The Grandmother replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before: 

' television 

' penicillin 

' polio shots 

' frozen foods 

' Xerox 

' contact lenses 

' Frisbees and 

' the pill

There were no:

' credit cards 

' laser beams or 

' ball-point pens 

Man had not yet invented: 

' pantyhose 

' air conditioners 

' dishwashers 

' clothes dryers 

' and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and 

' man hadn't yet walked on the moon 

 

Your Grandfather and I got married first, and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. 

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, "Sir." 

And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir." 

We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. 

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. 

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. 

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. 

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. 

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. 

Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started. 

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends -not purchasing condominiums. 

 

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CD's, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. 

We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. 

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey. 

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk. 

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. 

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. 

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. 

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. 

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards. 

You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600, but who could afford one? 

Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon. 

In my day: 

' "grass" was mowed, 

' "coke" was a cold drink, 

' "pot" was something your mother cooked in and 

' "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby. 

' "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,

' "chip" meant a piece of wood,

' "hardware" was found in a hardware store and.

' "software" wasn't even a word.

 

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. 

No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap. 

How old do you think I am? 

I bet you have this old lady in mind. You are in for a shock! 

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

Are you ready????? 

This woman would be only 59 years old, Born in 1952.

GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. 

PASS THIS ON TO THE OLD ONES. 

THE YOUNG ONES WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

A 

Mad Men Season 5 Poster Revealed

Now tell me this poster doesn't 

have you wondering what

 MAD MEN 

have in store for us this season!

Brought to you by ROBERT-WHAT CAUSES ARTHRITIS????

WHAT CAUSES ARTHRITIS????

A drunk man, who smelled of liquor, sat down on a subway next to a priest.  The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick,
And a half-empty bottle of gin was sticking
out of his coat pocket.

He opened his newspaper and began reading.

 After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, 'Say Father, do you know what causes arthritis?'

The priest replies, 'My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of a bath.'

 The drunk muttered in response, 'Well, I'll be damned, '  Then returned to his paper.

 The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. 'I'm very sorry.
I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?'

 The drunk answered, 'I don't have it, Father.
I was just reading here that the Pope does.'

MORAL: Make sure you understand the question before offering the answer.

Who Needs A Vacation???? 2 Night Vacation In Estes Park Colorado Giveaway - Ends 3/12

Who Needs A Vacation???? 2 Night Vacation In Estes Park Colorado Giveaway - Ends 3/12

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BOOK TOUR

WELLLLL - WE'RE WAITING WEDNESDAY #28

What's your WELLLL- WE'RE WAITING book for this week?

PRIVATE BY JAMES PATTERSON

Title: Private
Author: James Patterson
Genre: Crime Drama
Rating: * * * 1/2
Publishers: Little, Brown and Co (6/28/10 )
Hardback: 400 pages
ISBN: 0316096156
FTC Disclosure: Paperbackswap


Former Marine and CIA agent Jack Morgan inherits his father's renowned security and detective business--along with a case load that tests him to the breaking point. Getting to the bottom of an NFL gambling scandal and an unsolved LAPD investigation into 18 school girl slayings would be enough. On top of all that, Morgan takes on solving the horrific murder of his best friend's wife.

As Morgan fights the urge to exact brutal revenge on that killer, he has to navigate a workplace imbroglio that could blow the roof off his elite agency. And it's an especially explosive situation . . . because the love affair is his own.


 While admittedly I've been a little disappointed in the last few Patterson books I've read and while this wasn't one of those that I rambled on and on about how great or how crappy it was to my friends, I did enjoy it. It was a good read just not awesome. It wasn't one of those that you read from start to finish in one seating but I did enjoy the fast paced action and the multiple cases going on,  though they did seem to wrap up rather effortlessly. Not much in the way of a twisted surprise ending either.  
I try not to  get hung up on the fact that it is a JAMES PATTERSON book but admittedly I  do enjoy his older Alex Cross books, that weren't co-authored much better. I've been wanting to read his Women's Murder Club series but as I loved the TV show and these are co-authored books, I thought I'd leave it till the show fades a bit more from my memory. Once reading a series I kinda have a picture in my mind of the characters and don't want to mess with the Lindsey Boxer image. Alex Cross will always be Morgan Freeman to me which probably ramps up the expectations on any of the books in this series.
That said, one thing about Patterson, he sells a hella of a lot of books, so I'll continue to pick them up used on a swap site rather than buying new at over $20 a pop. 

Series Info

Jack Morgan (with Maxine Paetro)

1. Private (2010)

2. Private: #1 Suspect (2012)

Divergent By Veronica Roth--FREE READ

• Divergent By Veronica Roth

  Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0062024027

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

If like me you are one of the few who haven't read this book, Harper/Teen is offering it free on their site.

Click HERE to read it free

Brought to you by Robert--PISS POOR DEFINED

If you're young and hip, this is still interesting.

NOW THIS IS A REAL EDUCATION

Us older people need to learn something new every day...

Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.

Where did "Piss Poor" come from? Interesting history.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot.

And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...

They "didn't have a pot to pee in" and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature

Isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500's

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,

And they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell,

brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water,

Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.

Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. 

Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.

It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals

(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.

Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings

Could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.

That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.

Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery

In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing..

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door,

It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.

Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.

Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables

And did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers

In the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:

"Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests

And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes,

so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status..

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,

and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky.

The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.

Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.

They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around

and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom; "holding a wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had ben burying people alive.

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be,

“saved by the bell" or was "considered a dead ringer."

And that's the truth.

Now, whoever said history was boring!!!

So get out there and educate someone! 

Share these facts with a friend.

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering,

"What the heck happened?" 

We'll be friends until we are old and senile.

Then we'll be new friends.

Smile, it gives your face something to do!

INBETWEEN by Tara Fuller- Cover Revel

Entangled Publishing asked if I wanted to be part of the cover revel for this awesome book and boy did I jump at the chance.  Excuse me while I slip out and add this to my wishlist.

Title: Inbetween
Author: Tara Fuller

Genre: YA Paranormal

Paperbackback: 400 pages 

Publisher: Entangled Teen (Aug 7, 2012) 

ISBN-10: 1620610833


Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s
life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving
“accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so
Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling
in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate
has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him
hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before,
and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves
from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the
only thing he has left…his soul.

Tara Fuller writes novels. Some about grim reapers. Some about witches. All of course are delightfully full of teen angst and kissing. Tara grew up in a one stop light town in Oklahoma where once upon a time she stayed up with a flash light reading RL Stine novles and only dreamed of becoming a writer. She has a slight obsession with music and a shameless addiction for zombie fiction, Mystery Science Theater, and black and white mochas. Tara no longer lives in a one stop light town. Now she lives with her family in a slightly larger town in North Carolina where they have at least three stoplights.


Pre-Order at Amazon| Add on Goodreads| 
Follow Tara Fuller on Goodreads

Brought to You by Robert-Who Remembers these!!!

Have your sound on.....

 Here's one for you ... Burma Shave with the Statler Brothers.
You may need to watch it twice; once to watch the Burma shave signs change and once to catch all the pictures plus listening to the music of the Statler Brothers.
I am sending this to my "older friends" (because most folks under 50 would have no idea what they are singing about) and to my kids (so that they understand why we are the way we are). Too bad they missed it!




Click:   http://oldfortyfives.com/DYRT.htm <  

 Named after a brand of tissues, the four members of the Statler Brothers did not in fact share a fraternal bond; what they did share, however, was the distinction of being one of the most successful vocal harmony groups in the history of country music. Formed in the group's home base of Staunton, VA, in 1955, the Statlers were originally a church trio comprised of bass vocalist Harold Reid (born August 21, 1939), baritone Phil Balsley (August 8, 1939), and tenor Lew DeWitt (March 12, 1938). In 1960, Reid's younger brother Don (born June 5, 1945) signed on to take the lead vocal reins, and the quartet performed gospel music under the name the Kingsmen.


For more on The Statler Brothers go HERE.

Win $120 CASH With ContestChest!!!!! PLUS Find the BEST Giveaways to Enter!!! Ends 3/15

Win $120 CASH With ContestChest!!!!! PLUS Find the BEST Giveaways to Enter!!! Ends 3/15

Review--Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Title: Her Fearful Symmetry
Author: Audrey Niffenegger 
Genre: Ghost Story
Rating: * * * 
Publishers: Scribner  (Sept 29, 09  )
Hardback: 416 pages
ISBN: 1439165394
FTC Disclosure: Paperbackswap


Audrey Niffenegger's spectacularly compelling second novel opens with a letter that alters the fate of every character. Julia and Valentina Poole are semi-normal American twenty-year-olds with seemingly little interest in college or finding jobs. Their attachment to one another is intense. One morning the mailman delivers a thick envelope to their house in the suburbs of Chicago. From a London solicitor, the enclosed letter informs Valentina and Julia that their English aunt Elspeth Noblin, whom they never knew, has died of cancer and left them her London apartment. There are two conditions to this inheritance: that they live in it for a year before they sell it and that their parents not enter it. Julia and Valentina are twins. So were the estranged Elspeth and Edie, their mother. 

The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders the vast and ornate Highgate Cemetery, where Christina Rossetti, George Eliot, Radclyffe Hall, Stella Gibbons and Karl Marx are buried. Julia and Valentina come to know the living residents of their building. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword-puzzle setter suffering from crippling obsessive compulsive disorder; Marijke, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including - perhaps - their aunt.

I've got to admit, despite the rather lukewarm reviews that this book had received, (and I try not to read too many as I don't want to spoil 

the storyline,  just get a general feel for the book),  I had to get it as it was written by the author of  The Time Travelers Wife, my all time favorite of any  genre I've read. But the reviewers were right. It was NOT the TTTW! (sigh)

That said, though I felt like I had to struggle at times to stay interested in this book, I was determined to solve the mystery despite feeling like I knew what was going to happen. Let's just say I was right but oh so wrong too! I won't rehash the whole synopsis of the book but in general two girls, twins, inherit a flat in London from their, until now, unknown aunt who is their mom's twin. They must live in the flat for a year before selling it and their parents are restricted from entering it ( I just had to know why Elspeth felt so strongly about this).The younger twins weird, almost incestuous, commitment to one another was a bit unsettling at first but very necessary for the telling of the story. At times I felt like the book was much longer than it was as it dragged on and on (and not in a good way). While the ending was and wasn't a surprise, the journey there was arduous. And the trip IS the most important thing. The characters were fascinating, at first, though at times seemed more like 13 year olds than 20 year olds, and the descriptive locale made me feel I was wandering the streets side by side with the twins. Had I not had such great expectations for it after TTTW, I probably would have enjoyed it more. Definitely a check out of the library or get used (like I did) read. And though I was disappointed in this book, I'll be back for another of Niffenegger's works but will pay more attention to the reviewers. 

BOOKS I’VE BOUGHT, SWAPPED OR WON FOR THE WEEK 2/19 # 68

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