REVIEW…Ransom Canyon by Jodi Thomas

reviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing5 out of 5 quills  reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing   A Review  ** Ransom Canyon by Jodi Thomas

Jodi.book.coverCrossroads, Texas.  A 4-way intersection with one signal light.  Turn south to Abilene, north to Amarillo…you get the idea. Just a stop in the road to where you need to go.  As you sit at the light do you ever wonder about the people that populate this little one-horse-town?  Of course you don’t…your thoughts are about how big this state is and ‘will I ever get out of Texas?’ Come on, you know we’ve all thought it!

Thomas tells you all about the folks in the little village of Crossroads in a new series entitled Ransom Canyon Romance. And it’s great reading.  In my mind it’s not just about Staten and Quinn, two star-crossed lovers.  There were several main characters that stole this reader’s heart.  Yancy, a new parolee, Grandma Kirkland, and Lucas.  But that’s all I’m going to say as this reviewer does not write spoilers and give you the whole story, chapter and verse.

This is a charming and entertaining read and I highly recommend it as I do with all of Jodi Thomas’ books.

Jodi wrote in an e-mail: “Like most writers I get the same question again and again. “Where do your ideas come from? Sometimes I have no idea where the seed of an idea started to grow in my mind. But, then I get out Grandma Kirkland’s button box….
When I was little, her big box of buttons always fascinated me. I played with it for hours. Now, in an upstairs room off my office, I gather the grand-kids (6,5,4,2) around the old sewing machine. They all get excited as I open the box and let each one pick a button. Old rusty ones, bright diamond bling, tiny pearl ones, some still have tiny pieces of fabric connected from worn out clothes.
Continue reading “REVIEW…Ransom Canyon by Jodi Thomas”

FREE BOOK GIVE-A-WAY! The World of Murder

Frnt.COVER.tasteofmurder_11OCTThe Taste of Murder‘ has just been released and ‘The Art of Murder‘ (revised) has a new cover and two new chapters.

YOU CAN WIN A FREE BOOK!  Just like my page on Facebook www.facebook.com/writeratplay
and follow me on Twitter  @writeratplay4.  Write a comment about this post letting me know which book you would like to receive and your USA mailing address. artofmurder_cover (2)A contact email would be good.

In Book 5 in the series The World of Murder, Detectives O’Roarke and Garcia have a cold case dumped on their desk. Despite their objections that they ‘don’t do cold cases’ their Commander tells them that they do now since the new Mayor has asked for them…. Continue reading “FREE BOOK GIVE-A-WAY! The World of Murder”

Winners Announced in the FREE book Give-away!

Cover.Susan.new.book4-7We are so pleased to announce the winners of a signed, copy of Susan Elia Macneal’s new book, ‘The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent’.

CONGRATULATIONS!!   The winners are:  Sara Hyman and Micheal Nelson

Fans of Susan’s should check out my interview with her done last year.  This author brings back the WWII experience and Winston Churchill’s glory days  so vividly that readers will feel that they are there during the London Blitz, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the hot political climate of the day.

Susan.MacN

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!  

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

Winners Announced Later Today!

fiction, women, flappers, prohibition, San Francisco, roaring twentiesThe Winners of the Weekend Book Give-away will be announced later today.  If you are a winner, drop us a message and tell us whether  you want a signed paperback or an audio version of your book.  For a paperback, we will need your mailing address.

CONGRATULATIONS to OUR WINNERS!  Like my page so you don’t miss future drawings!

After reading Wild Violets, I would really appreciate your writing a short review on www.amazon.com.  It helps the book’s rankings.  Thank you for all the ‘likes’ and ‘follows’!

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!    Dean Koontz is my June author.

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

FREE BOOK Give-a-way!! This weekend!

fiction, women, flappers, prohibition, San Francisco, roaring twentiesIt’s easy to win a copy of my novel, “WILD VIOLETS” this weekend.   Just  1) LIKE my page at www.facebook.com/writeratplay  2)  start FOLLOWING me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/writeratplay4.  and 3) SHARE this Post.      Tweet me or ‘message’ me with your entry.

The (5) prize books are available, to the winners,  in audio or a signed paperback.  Winners will be selected randomly.

 “Wild Violets”   It’s the roaring twenties in San Francisco, a decade famous for hot jazz and bath tub gin. 

After  documenting my mother’s colorful childhood in the primordial forests of Washington State, I went on to write about Violet as a grown woman with children of her own.  She has left her small home town in the Pacific Northwest to pursue a successful basketball career and with her earnings, she bought a bar and grill.   She is a ‘flapper’ in every sense of the word; working all day and playing all night.  While her teenage daughter raises her seven year old son, Violet is out on the town with her latest man de’jour. Dressed in her signature red dress, she is the toast of the town and owner of a speakeasy where she hosts the cream of San Francisco’s society, city politicians, bishops, and Hollywood celebrities.

But there is an underbelly of corruption, grifters, the mob, excess, and neglect in Violet’s life.  Her two children are an afterthought and she chooses her men over their well being time and time again.  Their childhood needs are always trumped by her self-indulgent desires.   The two children are possessions that she can put down or pick up again on a whim, showing them off to her current beau or friends and then forgotten.  And when they get in her way, she gets rid of them.
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Wild Violets- Prologue   Sample AUDIO
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!    Dean Koontz is my June author.

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

FREE Audio Book…Enjoy the Act of Murder for free!

Act.Murder.Cover.Book3   “The Act of Murder”  Book 3 of the World of Murder Series is now available in AUDIO books!

FREE Download!   Write me here at https://www.writeratplay.com/contact-me/ and I’ll send you the promotional code.

Take a Listen:  Act.Sample.ActoM–RAS

In Book 3 of The World of Murder series, O’Roarke and Garcia are called when a famous Broadway director dies. It appears that everyone hated this man, making the murder cops’ job just that much harder. They have their pick of suspects as everyone within a five mile radius of Broadway had a reason to want this guy dead. From the jealous stage manager, to the resentful actors, to a disappointed and hurt lover. From a scorned understudy, to his ex-wives, any one of them could have done it. This mystery takes the reader back stage into the tumultuous, gossip ridden, world of the theatre. Continue reading “FREE Audio Book…Enjoy the Act of Murder for free!”

‘Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bullies’ FREE on Kindle today and tomorrow!

children's story books, fairy tales, bullying, literacy, new books for kids    FREE TODAY AND TOMORROW!!!  Click here to get yours: 

Available on your Smartphone, Kindle, Nook!

 

Bertie, the bookworm is the fabled forest’s elder and teacher. Every week he has a spelling and reading circle where everyone is welcomed. Slam, the badger and his gang of bully boys are forever teasing, disrupting, and bullying Bertie and the group of faeries and woodland creatures. Pansy, the pixie is a new character in this third of the Fabled Forest series. She is a defender of reading, truth, and Bertie. Cheets, our beloved elf from past books joins the wrong crowd and his friends are worried that he will become the newest member of the Bully Boys.

Continue reading “‘Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bullies’ FREE on Kindle today and tomorrow!”

Do you like free stuff? Read “Stanley, the Dragon” FREE

fairy tales, dragons, books for children, children's new fiction,fables          Offering a promotion to read “Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon” for FREE August 10, –August 14, 2012.  Go to Amazon.com’s Kindle KDP Select  Don’t miss this opportunity. Go to Kindle’s “Lending Library” at the link above.

Synopsis:  Stanley, a very young dragon, has run away from home. He feels that he is a failure. As dragons go, he probably is. He’s kind, soft spoken, a good friend and can’t for the life of him, breathe FIRE! The story is full of wonderful characters. A lady bug, named Persnickety is Stanley’s best friend and side kick. Emma, an earthling girl who lives on a farm and plays in the forest, with her magical friends. The loveable villain is a raven named City Slick, the Third. Thomas, the pedantic, sea turtle, and Cheets, the elf, are just a few of Stanley’s new friends.

One dark night Slick lures Stanley away from the forest and sells him to the circus. He is left chained, alone in a tent, until he breathes fire. The Queen of the Faeries gives Donald and Emma a quest; to go and find Stanley and rescue him.

While this is an adventure story full of laughter, it teaches children that no matter what, it is never a good idea to run away from home and is frequently very dangerous. The fable addresses bigotry, greed, loyalty and kindness to others. Ages: 2–12