Mailbox Monday - Apr 13

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Happy Easter Monday! One of the local grocery store chains decided to close Easter Sunday and Monday to give its workers some much needed rest. Since this pandemic hit Massachusetts, grocery stores have shortened their hours, but that is because they needed time to restock. Every time I go into the store it is busy. God bless these people for being there in a time of need. They deserve more than two days.

Our Easter was nice, but much smaller than usual. My father-in-law is stuck at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke. It has been a month since we saw him. We sent my mother-in-law to live with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law when things started getting crazy around here since I still go out in public and work. We haven't seen her in a month either. At least we can still talk on the phone.

I spent the days leading up to Easter cleaning the house. I actually got down on my hands and knees and used a brush to get dirt out around baseboards. Don't think I've done that in at least a decade. Who had time? Though the house isn't perfect yet, I hope we can get closer to that by the end of the week.

My physical mailbox was empty again this week. I'm trying not to order to many things. It's a pain to leave boxes out on the porch and then disinfect everything that comes in. I did, however, order this book as a Kindle freebie Sunday.

Hope you will share your mailbox finds. Have a blessed week.

Mailbox Monday - August 29

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

How is it Monday again already? I swear last week just started.

Soccer practice has started and school begins Wednesday. After Labor Day violin and dance will kick off. It's nice to be back to our regular schedule, but it's hard to leave behind the lazy days of summer.

Not that I've been lazy this summer. I've sold a ton of real estate. If you're curious about the most recent real estate news, please visit me at Busy REALTOR(R) Mom.

Only a couple of free books this week, but they sound like great ones.

Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like rock star Kari Kingsley. But being a famous person's doppelganger hasn't turned out to be the teen fantasy you'd expect. People look at Alexia like she must be as ditzy as her counterpart. One day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she's offered a job as Kari's double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime--or at least a way to make some fast cash--but Alexia's mother has always warned her against celebrities. They can't be trusted. They'll use her.

Alexia can't resist the siren call of fame. Who could say no to Hollywood, hot guys, and . . . um, did we mention hot guys already? She flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she also romances the hottest lead singer on the charts and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

This Prince and the Pauper retelling is teen comedy at its best.

An old house + A new computer program =The travel opportunity of a lifetime...to another century.


The People

Abby Thomas is spending the summer in a run-down old house with a bratty pre-teen named Merrideth she is supposed to tutor. Not a dream job. But it does come with perks.

There's John Roberts, a devastatingly attractive neighbor who is almost too wonderful to be real.

And there's the new computer program Beautiful Houses--also too amazing to be real. No one knows how it works, but with it she can rewind and fast-forward the lives of all the people who ever lived in the house, including Charlotte Miles.

In 1858, the house is a train stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. And Charlotte is stuck there serving meals to the passengers, wondering if she'll ever get to have any fun. And then she meets two travelers who change her life forever.

There's James McGuire with whom she falls in love. And there's his boss, a young Springfield lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. His debate with political opponent Stephen Douglas catapults him onto the national stage. And it inspires Charlotte to take up the cause of abolition.


The House

A stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. A stop on the Underground Railroad.

Watching the house's history unfold, Abby and Merrideth gain a new perspective on their own lives as time and again they see God's loving hand in the lives of its inhabitants.

What was in your mailbox?

Mailbox Monday - November 16

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

Hope you had a nice week. It was another busy one around here. My family and I got together with my extended family over the weekend for a pre-Thanksgiving event we called FauxGiving. There were so many of us we needed to rent a hall!

Paul and I.

My oldest sister and her baby boy.

My middle sister and her two kids.

Take that, doctor who said at my age things won't heal as quickly!

I'll share more pictures later. Here comes the books. Well, the book, because nothing arrived in my mailbox last week, but I did pick up this freebie from Amazon.

Brooklyn Prescott (if that's even her real name) is the new girl at The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence, now that she's moved back to the States after two years living in London. Rosewood, a boarding school for children of the rich and famous and known for its celebutantes, is missing just one element important to any junior's education: boys. But luckily for Brooklyn, and the rest of the Rosewood girls, there's a boys' boarding school, The Westwood Academy, just a few miles away.

On her very first day, Brooklyn meets Will, a gorgeous and flirty boy on campus to help with move in. But is he who she thinks he is? And what about Brady, the cute stable boy? Or Jared, the former child actor with his grown-up good looks who can always make her laugh? As Brooklyn settles in at Rosewood, she's faced with new friends, new challenges and new opportunities to make herself into the girl she always wanted to be. Whoever that might be.

What was in your mailbox last week?

Beach Reads: Vacation Book Update

Vacation has been lovely. We are now in our second week at the Outer Banks. We've managed to avoid sharks; though a news report indicated we missed two guys hauling a shark up onto the beach a few hours before we were there one day.

One of the best parts of vacation is catching up on my reading. I'm almost done with Out of Control: Why Disciplining Your Child Won't Work...And What Will by Shefali Tsabary, PhD. I've also read, My Spouse Wants More Sex Than Me: The 2-Minute Solution for a Happier Marriage by Dr. Ruxandra LeMay, and am currently reading ’89 Walls by Katie Pierson and Guilt Free Motherhood: A 5-Step Guide to Reclaiming Your Time, Health & Well-Being by Amber Kahn.

What have you been reading this month?

The Friday 56 - Week 219

Welcome to Week 219!

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post to the Linky at Freda's Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

It all made sense: how he had so much power and control here in Whitechapel among stronger, meaner, older men than him...how he knew about me, including that I was a vampire hunter....

Learn more at Goodreads!

The Friday 56 - Week 196

Welcome to Week 196!

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post to the Linky at Freda's Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Visit the author's website.

The thunderous rapids ahead grew louder by the second. By now, they had traveled over twelve miles down the river with no foreseeable way out.

The Friday 56 - Week 195

Welcome to Week 195!

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post to the Linky at Freda's Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Add to your Goodreads shelf.

When they came downstairs a little while later, they were giggling like two teenagers who had snuck into their parents' liquor cabinet. 

Mailbox Monday - Sept 1

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

Well, it sure has been a while. We're home from Disney and I'm trying to get this blog back on track. It's been tough because I've been working more than I thought I would be right now.

I haven't been taking on many new books to review, so my incoming mail has slowed down. This one arrived while we were on vacation.

Many girls in elementary and middle school fall in love with the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. What they don’t always realize is that Wilder’s books are autobiographical. This narrative biography describes more of the details of the young Laura’s real life as a young pioneer homesteading with her family on many adventurous journeys. This biography, complete with charming illustrations, points out the differences between the fictional series as well as the many similarities. It’s a fascinating story of a much-celebrated writer.

I bought the following one right before we went away. I've been wanting to read this series for a long time.

Some summers are just destined to be pretty

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer — they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

What did you receive in your mailbox?

Mailbox Monday - July 14

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

It was a slow week around here. We got back from the Outer Banks on Saturday morning. Not as much mail this time as when we usually go away, which means I didn't have a ton of paper to plow through.

The newly released Four shipped to our place on July 8th and was waiting for our daughter when we got home.

Brace yourself for some numbers: Four is a collection of a quarter of short stories from the Divergent trilogy, each told from the point of Tobias Eaton, Divergent's “Four.” Collectively these stories, all of which were issued before as eBooks, serve as a revealing prequel to Veronica Roth's stirring series. By rendering the back-story of one of Divergent's prime movers, Four opens a portal to the mysterious time before Tris chose Dauntless. (P.S. This hardcover edition contains scenes that did not appear in the eBook versions.)

Also in the pile was A Wedding in Provence by Ellen Sussman.

What could be more idyllic than a wedding in Provence? That's what Olivia and Brody think when they invite their closest friends and family to spend their wedding weekend with them. But when Olivia's older daughter from her first marriage invites a man she met on the plane to join her, the delicate balance of the entire weekend is upset. Soon Olivia's best friend, the owner of the inn who is hosting the wedding, discovers that her husband has cheated on her. Then Brody's mother shows up without his father, who has gone into hiding. How can one choose love in the midst of chaos? Told from the point of view of Olivia and her two daughters, A Wedding in Provence is a moving novel about love, trust, secrets and family.

What did you receive?

Mailbox Monday - January 13

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

My mailman was kind to me last week and only sent catalogs. He knows I've got a lot of catching up to do. My Kindle Inbox, however, added a few new titles.

Eleanor Parkhurst is determined to get in the way of Nathaniel Naverly seducing her sweet cousin Rose. Nate has a history of treating girls badly and Ellie suspects his intentions are far from honorable. Getting Nate to switch his attention to her seemed like a good plan, but Ellie didn’t foresee that she might have to protect her own heart from his schemes as well. The game is proving a challenge. Midnight meetings, fighting or kissing, it’s all part of the fun of flirting. Set in an English boarding school, Ellie discovers that boys are more complicated than classes, and you have to play the game well or you might just get played!

Suitable Age Range: 12 - 18 yrs

After spending hundreds of years as a familiar to an abusive witch, Surla runs away to find freedom. But there's one catch! The Black Cats' Curse states she will have to switch bodies with the first lonesome soul to cross her path.

Painfully shy Cathy Phillips can't muster the courage to ask hot water polo player, Craig Nelson, on a date. Neither can she stand up to the three biggest snobs at Washington High. What's a girl to do? Could switching lives with a sassy, magical cat be the answer to her wishes?

The "curse" of being "BeSwitched" may just be the most purr-fect secret these new best friends could ever have!

Living on her own for her first time, Bible school student Jane cleans houses to make ends meet. But being independent brings big trials, like falling for a handsome professor, dealing with an obnoxious roommate, and then there's the dead bodies...

Who knew being housekeeper to wealthy owners of a Roly Burger franchise would mean sweeping up clues to their death, while ministering to the needs of their heirs?

This is one big mess that Jane is intent on cleaning up before things get even worse.

"I know it's a Bigfoot," Belle said. "It even smelled different. I hightailed it for Sam's when I saw shadows in the brush."

The 1918 holiday season brings mystery and adventure for orphaned eleven-year-old Belle and her Indian friend, Summer. Belle has adapted to her new home at Uncle Arden's fish camp at Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Known as the last wilderness territory in the United States, this water-filled landscape is populated with snakes, alligators, wild hogs, and now...a hairy outsider. At the Bone Field, she finds clues of a Bigfoot, but her uncle dismisses the signs. Belle and Summer set out to befriend the mysterious stranger with food gifts, but he has reason to stay hidden. Is he a real Bigfoot? How does Belle solve the mystery?

PG-RATED FUN

BAH, HUMBUG! (A Romantic Comedy Christmas Novella)

Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller.

For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer’s block--until he sees the snowman on his lawn and realizes it’s the perfect solution to his plot problem. He digs in and discovers two things: one, his villain’s weapon will fit inside a snowman's body, and two, this particular snowman was supposed to be the backdrop for Lexi’s next show.

From this improbable beginning comes friendship, but can there be a happy ending for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood?

Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

Teaser Tuesdays - October 1st (Guest Blogger)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

I'm handling things a bit differently today. In addition to Teaser Tuesdays, I am featuring Joe Sergi, author of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. He is my special guest blogger.

"Oh, it's not a coincidence; she's clearly here to torment me." DeDe slammed her locker hard, and the sonic boom echoed down the hallway."

~ Page 29 from the PDF version of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. 


Thanks for having me on The Busy Mom’s Daily to talk about my new book Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures is the sequel to Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy. In the first book, readers met DeDe Christopher, an ordinary teen with an extraordinary destiny to become Sky Girl. Being a teenage girl is hard enough, but for DeDe, it is proving impossible. In addition to cliques, books, and boys, she has to worry about capes, apes, and aliens. When we last left DeDe, she had just adopted the mantle of Sky Girl at the end of her sophomore year of high school. This book opens the day before she starts her junior year, so she's had the whole summer to practice and train with her best friend and self-professed comic geek, Jason. She’s actually gotten quite good at being a costumed adventurer—except for her banter, which still needs work. Now, DeDe must learn what it means to be a heroine as Sky Girl faces the all too real enemies and allies of SkyBoy, including the clever Quizmaster, the beautiful Penny Pound, the enigmatic Jersey Devil, and the magical MissTick. DeDe must also face personal challenges as she discovers the secrets of her late father and his connection to SkyBoy--secrets that will affect Sky Girl’s destiny.

Unlike the first book, which took place over the course of a week, this book covers the whole school year and allows for more diverse adventures. For example, Sky Girl faces off against Shadow, Jason faces off against Quizmaster, and they both have to face an angry horde of zombies. Each adventure stands on its own but is also part of a larger plot and expands on the mystery of what happened to DeDe's father and Evil Brain's plot for world domination. I guess the most important thing to mention is that you don't really need to read the first book to enjoy the second.

So I intended to write a post about a day in the life of DeDe, but I ran out of time. So, I snuck into my book and ripped a page out of her diary. I hope you enjoy it.

From the Diary of DeDe Christopher, July 15^th.

“How I spent my Summer Vacation”

Dear Diary,

Today was a weird day. Then again, “weird” has pretty much become “normal” since I found out I had super powers. Since I decided to become Sky Girl, Jason has been running me ragged helping me try to get a handle on my powers. He’s also obsessed with trying to find out what happened to Commander Chimp's Gorilla Army (in his defense, they did lock him up in the girl’s locker room). Don't get me wrong. If it wasn't for Jason, I would be completely lost, he's just so intense. I mean he's my best friend and I love him, but I think he forgets that we aren’t characters in one of his stupid comic books.

Take, for example, what happened today.  After two solid weeks of practicing and patrolling, I finally convinced him we should go down to the shore and hang out at Point Pleasant Beach.

So, there we were on the sand. I was in my one piece bathing suit trying to catch some rays and get a tan (which is harder than you think when your body is invulnerable to solar radiation.) What was Jason doing? He was sitting under an umbrella and reading a comic. He was wearing long pants and a black T-shirt that said "Come along, Pond!" in white lettering. Seriously, who goes to the beach in long pants and a black shirt?

In an effort to break the mood, I yelled over to him, "Hey geek boy? We should get a funnel cake."

Jason continued to read, "No thank you. I am reading."

I raised my voice, "But, I want a funnel cake."

He barely looked up from his book, "You always want a funnel cake. Besides, you are in training."

"I am not in training! I’m Sky Girl no matter what I eat." I yelled back. He rolled his eyes. Just then I heard the noise. "Wait, what was that?"

Jason put down his book, "Wait. I know. Is it your stomach growling for funnel cake?" Then he saw I was serious. He leaned forward out from under the umbrella. "What is what?"

There it was again. "A noise." I said, "Like a high pitched roar." I described.

"It sounds like a sea monster, someone is in trouble." Jason announced. I have no idea how he knows these things. But with his help, I was able to pinpoint the location. It was a cruise ship two miles off shore.

            "You better get moving." He said as he tossed me my purple backpack. "You are going to need this."

"You brought the suit?" I exclaimed.

"DeDe?"

"To the beach. You took my superhero costume to the beach?"

"DeDe."

"It’s my day off?"

"DeDe!"

“And I want funnel cake.”

"Can we argue about this later? Sea Monster!"

"But, funnel cake?"

"Sea Monster!"

He had a point. So, I grabbed the bag, ducked under the boardwalk, and changed at Sky Speed. Soon I was speeding out to sea in my costume: black spandex with matching purple cape, boots, skirt, belt, and gloves. (Pretty cool, I know-- I made it myself).

I have to admit, I’ve been flying for a while, but it still feels pretty cool. Kind of like when you nail a cool ballet move, but in the air.

We've also been trying some new masks. Today, I was wearing a leather purple tie with eye holes cut into it. (Another EPIC FAIL if you ask me). Through the eye holes, I could see the monster and the ship. I turned on my headset.

"The sea monster isn't doing anything. I think it’s sleeping." I announced. "I'm going to get a closer look."

"No, wait..." Jason started in the ear piece. But he was too late, I had landed on the creature.

"Yep it’s asleep." I observed. Then I saw something strange. "Hey geek boy, there are four monogrammed seats on this thing. Kind of like horse saddles"

"Saddles?" Jason asked.

I took a closer look, "Yeah. There are three little ones and one big one. The first little one has an H on it, the second has an L, and the third has a D.” I walked around and looked at the large one in the center. “And the big one says . . ."

"AD" Jason finished for me. I told you he knows these things. There was urgency in his voice, "Sky Girl, you have to get to the ship, this is not an attack. It is a robbery." And he says I’m a drama queen.

"Roger dodger." With a burst of speed I flew to the ship. My sky vision showed everyone was in one room tied up.

Then I saw them.

Three men dressed in what looked like those outfits Venetian gondolier drivers wear. Each one had a small black domino mask. Their leader was dressed in a bright yellow diving suit.

I relayed the information to Jason before landing on the deck. I put my hands on my hips and spoke in a deep voice, "It looks like the catch of the day is crime."

Jason groaned in my ear, "We really need to work on the one liners."

What? I was expecting a sea monster and not witty banter.

The yellow guy looked surprised. "Evil Brain was right. He's back!" (Yeah, he said “He.” How insulting). "You can't stop the Aquaduck."

Seriously, that was his name. The Aquaduck, I almost lost it. Jason told me later that he is "some grade Z villain from blah blah blah number blah."

Where was I, oh yeah, the Aquaduck pointed his yellow finger at me, "You will not catch me, SkyBoy. Get him boys." (Yup, he thought I was SkyBoy. I guess that diving helmet must be hard to see through.)

I didn't have time to react before the henchmen shot some kind of ray guns at me. Lightning-like beams came out from the guns and surrounded my body. I would guess it was about 1,000 volts that shocked me. I smiled at them and said, "It tickles."

Jason spoke in my ear, "Awesome reference to Superman #32." I had no idea what he was talking about. It really did tickle.

Soon, the guns exploded knocking out the henchmen. It's a good thing, too because the ray guns melted my leather mask so I couldn't see. I ripped it off and got it off in time to watch the Aquaduck running (more like hobbling in his heavy suit) across the deck. "Jason, he's getting away. But my mask is off." I stammered. "He'll see who..."

Jason's calming voice was in my ear. "Do not worry. The Auquaduck's vision is restricted by his suit. He needs a camera to see." I could hear his smile, "Now if only we had something that disrupted electrical equipment."

I smiled as I flew towards the running villain, over his head and landed between Aquaduck and the rail. I raised my hands and yelled "Lights out, ducky." Then I shot him with a Sky Pulse. His diving suit shorted out and Aquaduck fell over on the deck.

I could hear him murmuring, “Hello? I’ve fallen and can’t get up.”

Kind of anticlimactic, if you ask me.

After that, Jason made an anonymous call to the Coast Guard and gave them the location of the monster and the ship. I left the Aquaduck and his goons tied up in the anchor line with a note that read:

Dear Coast Guard Dudes,

The Aquaduck found out that crime isn't all it's quacked up to be. Please send them to the jail pond and find a nice home for their sleeping pet monster.

--ttfn

Sky Girl

As I flew back to the beach, I could see that the sun was going down. I was sure the funnel cake stand was closed--such is the life of a teenage superheroine: all sea monster no funnel cake.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Jason sitting on a bench with a of fried dough and powdered sugar on his lap. "Funnel cake?" he offered.

I did a quick change into my civvies (Jason’s word—not mine) and sat down on the bench next to my Jason.

I ate funnel cake with my best friend as we watched the sun go down over an ocean that I now knew was full of sea monsters. A great way to end the day, if you ask me.

Oh yeah Jason also told me about a new idea for a domino mask.

Hopefully, this one will work better, school starts next month and I need to be ready.

And that’s the end of the diary entry. Thanks for having me.

For those interested, Sky Girl is available at all online booksellers and can be ordered in brick and mortar shops and chains. It is also available directly from the publisher at www.martinsisterspublishing.com. I will also have copies and be signing the book at some upcoming show appearances, some of which include: The Collingswood Book Festival (October 5), New York ComicCon (October 10-13), and the Festival of the Book (October 19). These shows are great fun and a wonderful place to connect with readers. I’ve even had a few old and young cosplayers come up to my booth to show me their Sky Girl costumes, which was extremely flattering.

In addition, to the Sky Girl book, this year I edited a comic anthology called Great Zombies in History through McFarland Press. I also write regular articles on the history of comics and censorship for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF.org). Great Zombies in History is a new graphic novel anthology released from McFarland Press. I met a talented group of writers through Andy Schmidt’s Comics Experience writing classes and we decided to form an independent comic imprint called Elevator Pitch Press to showcase our work. We have released several anthologies that have ranged from horror (Don’t Be Afraid) to grind house (Girls with Guns) to science fiction (Aliens Among Us). Great Zombies in History is an anthology of historically accurate stories, but written to include zombies. For example, I wrote The Zombie War of 1812, which features the real reason that Washington, DC, was burned during the war. Rob Anderson, writer of the best-selling Big Dog, Inc. book, Rex: Zombie Killer and who acted as editor on the original project, did a story about how zombies helped King Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans hold their own against immeasurable odds.

I should also mention that I write regular articles for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF.org) on the history of censorship in comics. It takes a lot of work to do those columns, but I believe the CBLDF is an important organization and am glad to help them in their mission to protect comic creators against censorship. I recently did articles on the rise and fall of romance comics, a before and after analysis of the comics code on reprinted books, and detailed histories of Sheena, Superman, and Wonder Woman. People with an interest in discovering the history of comics or censorship should check them out.

My author site is www.joesergi.net; Sky Girl can be found at www.SkyGirlNovel.com, and the official site for Great Zombies in History is www.GreatZombiesinHistory.com my monthly articles can be found at www.cbldf.org. 

Joe Sergi lives outside of Washington, DC with his wife and daughter. Joe is an attorney and a Haller Award winning author who has written articles, novels, short stories, and comic books in the horror, scifi, and young adult genres. Joe is the creator of the Sky Girl series of novels and the editor of Great Zombies in History. His first novel, Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy was selected Best of 2010 by the New PODler Review. Joe is a life-long comic fan who regularly writes on the history of comics and censorship for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. When not writing, Joe works as a Senior Litigation Counsel in an unnamed US government agency and is a member of the adjunct faculty at George Mason University School of Law.

Guest Post and Giveaway: Starseed Blog Tour with Liz Gruder

Tour Schedule

Starseed

Author: Liz Gruder

ISBN: 978-1937178291

Publisher: WiDo Publishing

Published: February 2013


SUMMARY

Starseed concerns a sixteen-year-old girl who falls in love with a starseed boy who reveals that she, too, is half extraterrestrial, and is forced to choose her allegiance between Earth and her star family.

Kaila Guidry has always known she is different. When she meets Jordyn Stryker at school, she finds out just how different.

Jordyn was born and raised far from Earth, a starseed, one of six new students sent to Louisiana's Bush High to learn human ways. But Jordyn didn't count on meeting someone like Kaila.

When Kaila is pushed to her limit by high school bullying and cruelty, Jordyn awakens her to a new reality—and to love. But to prove herself, Kaila must look the other way as the real purposes of the starseeds unfold.

As the horrific plan behind the starseed visit to Earth moves inexorably forward, Kaila and Jordan, caught in an impossible love, must determine where their true loyalties lie.

Working Modern Day Topics (bullying) into a Sci-fi Setting by Liz Gruder

I set Starseed on Earth, taking place in high school, because when reading science fiction, it’s important to relate to the situation and characters. It’s also why I had the protagonist, Kaila Guidry, who is half-human and half-extraterrestrial, raised in Louisiana and unaware of her ET origins. Yet, from chapter one, it’s apparent to the reader that Kaila is different and has heightened abilities such as telepathy, as she can communicate with her dogs and receives a vision of her mother’s abduction with the aliens. The reader has a sense when Kaila rebels from homeschooling to go to school, that there will be problems. This is a science-fiction set-up for a real-life situation of bullying.

When I was in elementary school there was this boy who was overweight and stuttered. People made brutal fun of him. We had to give others a valentine and he tried to give me a heart necklace. He got so red and he stuttered “I-I-I” … He could not speak. I took the necklace and thanked him. He couldn’t look me in the eye and finally ran away, leaving the bullies to open prey. His discomfort stayed with me to this day.

When I asked my daughter about the worst bullying she’d seen in school, she told of a girl who had a "secret" crush on the quarterback. In our town, it’s a custom that players can get on the loudspeaker and make announcements if they win a game. The quarterback got on the loudspeaker and announced to the whole stadium that he knew this girl had a huge crush on him, but that she was the biggest LOSER and he wouldn't be caught dead with such a NERD and she should just DIE.”

I couldn’t imagine a worse public humiliation—being attacked in front of a packed football stadium. I used that scene in Starseed. So imagine being telepathic and an empath--to feel what another feels. Imagine that this girl is someone you know from your physics class and she’s sitting behind you while the quarterback calls her a LOSER and to DIE. What would you feel?

Though it’s not fair or right, we see people judged on how they look, how they’re dressed, how they think, what they believe. If you fall out of the mainstream notions of looks, interests or beliefs, you can subject yourself to ridicule—and there is nowhere this is more true than high school.

Kaila is a normal sixteen-year-old in that she wants to have friends and know what group she fits in. When she understands she is half human AND half extraterrestrial, this not knowing where she belongs grows worse. There’s this mentality that we have to have a “group” because that defines us, and gives a sense of security. That’s why I made Kaila’s friends, Melissa and Pia, as saying they are “undefinables” because they can hang with every group.

When Kaila goes to school, she meets Jordyn Stryker, who is a hybrid too, but he is part of a “hive” who was raised far from Earth. It’s not hard to imagine how he and his fellow aliens would view the school “groups” and bullying. But even within the alien students, there are differences and disagreements. Isn’t it alien bullying if you judge human students as primitive animals that you can rip out of their beds at night and do mind control experiments on them like lab rats?

I don’t take the stance that the aliens are either all good or all bad—there are both in Starseed. So by using this idea that we all judge each other, I believe it’s our task to soften our belief systems and open our hearts to create a more loving world—and universe. Without it, we can never hope for peace. And certainly not first contact. We’d likely bully the aliens away, calling them LOSERS, because they don’t look or believe like us.

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Author Liz Gruder

As a youth, Liz Gruder saw a series of UFOs with her best friend while riding bikes. Ever since, she’s held a fascination for the stars. An avid reader, she used to hide under her covers and read with a flashlight. She has degrees in English and Psychology from Tulane University, a nursing license and a yoga certification. After going through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Liz realized how short life is and is now slowly fulfilling her bucket list: she’s been to the Egyptian pyramids (totally awesome and thought provoking) and is now teaching yoga and writing speculative fiction. Starseed is her debut novel.

Goodreads * Twitter * Website * Blog * Facebook

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/10/13



Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Starseed Book Blast and Giveaway with Liz Gruder

Starseed

Author: Liz Gruder

ISBN: 978-1937178291

Publisher: WiDo Publishing

Published: February 2013


SUMMARY

Kaila Guidry has always known she is different. When she meets Jordyn Stryker at school, she finds out just how different.

Jordyn was born and raised far from Earth, a starseed, one of six new students sent to Louisiana's Bush High to learn human ways. But Jordyn didn't count on meeting someone like Kaila.

When Kaila is pushed to her limit by high school bullying and cruelty, Jordyn awakens her to a new reality—and to love. But to prove herself, Kaila must look the other way as the real purposes of the starseeds unfold.

As the horrific plan behind the starseed visit to Earth moves inexorably forward, Kaila and Jordan, caught in an impossible love, must determine where their true loyalties lie.

Praise

"You know from the opening paragraph that something very strange is going on… We see Kaila try to live the life of a normal teen, and we see her "otherness" pull her back into an increasingly tangled web of questions, deceit, and hidden intentions. Liz really shines as a writer, lining the closets and drawers of everyday life with spine-chilling suspense that springs out at you when you least expect it. Starseed is an entertaining read. I highly recommend."

--Patricia B. Smith. Author “What the Animals Tell Me” and “Fifty Shades of Santa” (clean romance fiction)

"Liz Gruder’s characters come alive through youthful, spunky narrative, and her headstrong heroine, Kaila Guidry, elicits a reader’s encouragement from the first page. Fans of Amanda Hocking will find themselves similarly transported into Gruder’s exploration of the dark sides of faith, love, higher dimensions, and, of course, high school."

--Jadie Jones, young-adult fantasy author

Purchase

Publisher * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Amazon Kindle

Author Liz Gruder

As a youth, Liz Gruder saw a series of UFOs with her best friend while riding bikes. Ever since, she’s held a fascination for the stars. An avid reader, she used to hide under her covers and read with a flashlight. She has degrees in English and Psychology from Tulane University, a nursing license and a yoga certification. After going through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Liz realized how short life is and is now slowly fulfilling her bucket list: she’s been to the Egyptian pyramids (totally awesome and thought provoking) and is now teaching yoga and writing speculative fiction. Starseed is her debut novel.

Goodreads * Twitter * Website * Blog *
 Facebook

Tour Schedule

Book Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 4/7/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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Book Spotlight and Kindle Fire HD Giveaway for Lucas Trent 3: Grand Theft Magic by Richard Blunt

After a field trip suddenly turns into a near catastrophe Lucas and the others shift into high gear to avenge their injured friend. But when an unexpected foe arrives at the scene they quickly find themselves in a life or death situation that not even their extraordinary skills can solve. Realizing that they have bitten off more than they can chew Lucas desperately starts looking for trustworthy allies, just to find out once again that things are never as easy as they appear at first.

Can they survive the battles at hand? Will they be able to tell friend from foe? Or will the epic quest they have stumbled into be too much for them to handle?

Follow Lucas Trent and his friends through an action-paced story of mysteries, secrets and deceptions and find out…

Purchase at Amazon!

Publishing under a pen name to keep his personal life separate from his writing life, Richard Blunt was raised in the heart of Europe, in a nation where English is not the native language. Like his heroes, Richard blunt is nothing more than a shadow – a specter that whispers a story for everyone to hear.

His latest book is Lucas Trent 3: Grand Theft Magic.

You can visit his website at www.lucastrent.com and his blog at http://richardblunt.blogspot.com/.

~ ~ ~ NEW KINDLE FIRE HD GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

Pump Up Your Book and Richard Blunt are teaming up to give you a chance to win a new Kindle Fire HD!

Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour. This promotion will run from December 3 – March 15. The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on March 16, 2013.

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If the Rafflecopter form does not load, please visit the Lucas Trent 3: Grand Theft Magic Tour Page at
http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2012/11/25/pump-up-your-book-presents-lucas-trent-3-grand-theft-magic-virtual-book-publicity-tour/ for your chance to enter and win. Good luck!

Lucas Trent 3: Grand Theft Magic Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

Tuesday, December 4

Interview at Literarily Speaking

Wednesday, December 5

Book Trailer of the Week at Pump Up Your Book

Thursday, December 6

Guest Blogging at The Story Behind the Book

Friday, December 7

Character Interview at Beyond the Books

Monday, December 10

Interview at Blogcritics

Wednesday, January 2

Book Trailer Reveal at Delphina Reads Too Much

Thursday, January 3

Book Trailer Spotlight at If Books Could Talk

Monday, January 7

Interview at The Dark Phantom

Wednesday, January 9

Interview & Book Giveaway at Laurie’s Non-Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews

Thursday, January 10

Interview at I Am a Reader Not a Writer

Monday, January 14

Interview at Between the Covers

Wednesday, January 16

Interview at As the Pages Turn

Friday, January 18

Interview at Broowaha

Monday, January 21

Book Review at Books Books and More Books

Tuesday, January 22

Guest blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner

Wednesday, January 23

Interview at Books Books the Magical Fruit

Friday, January 25

Book Trailer Reveal at Parenting from a child’s point of view

Monday, February 4

Book Trailer Reveal at Library Girl Reads

Wednesday, February 6

Book Feature at Book Marketing Buzz

Thursday, February 7

Guest Blogging at The Story Behind the Book

Monday, February 11

Book Trailer Reveal at Hardcover Feedback

Tuesday, February 12

Interview at Book Marketing Buzz

Wednesday, February 13

Interview at Examiner

Friday, February 15

Guest Blogging at The Top Shelf

Monday, February 18

Book Trailer Reveal at The Writer’s Life

Tuesday, February 19

Read-A-Chapter at As the Pages Turn

Wednesday, February 20

Guest Blogging at Literarily Speaking

Friday, February 22

Interview at The Writer’s Life

Monday, February 25

Interview at Bunny’s Reviews

Monday, March 4

Guest Blogging at Chapter by Chapter

Tuesday, March 5

Book Review at Offbeat Vagabond

Wednesday, March 6

Book Trailer Reveal at Celtic Lady’s Reviews

Friday, March 8

Interview at The Children’s & Teens Book Connection

Monday, March 11

Book Feature & Book Giveaway at The Busy Mom’s Daily

Tuesday, March 12

Book Spotlight at Plug Your Book

Wednesday, March 13

Interview at American Chronicle

Thursday, March 14

Guest Blogging & Book Giveaway at Bookhounds YA

Friday, March 15

Guest Blogging at YA Book Addict

Book Trailer Reveal at Miki’s Hope

Guest Blogging at PageTurners