Rachel Thompson

Jack Canon's American Destiny

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Orangeberry Book Of The Day – Playing Nice by Rebekah Crane

Martina “Marty” Hart is really nice. At least, that’s what people think.

It’s Marty’s junior year at Minster High. Minster’s a small town where making great grades, smiling pretty, helping old people, running the new-student Welcoming Committee, and putting up decorations for all the dances–including the totally awful Hot Shot fall hunting celebration–gets you … what? Marty’s not sure.

Instead of dreaming about a sororities-and-frats future at nearby University of Michigan, she’s restless, searching for a way out of the box her controlling mother and best frenemy Sarah have locked her in. When Lil–don’t call her Lily!–Hatfield transfers to Minster, Marty gets her chance. Lil’s different. She smokes, wears black, listens to angry punk records, and lives in a weird trailer with her mother. Lil has secrets–secrets that make her a target for all the gossiping and online bullying Minster can muster. But so does Marty. And Marty sees something different in Lil. Something honest. Something real.

Playing Nice is the achingly real story of a girl who’s been following the rules for so long she’s forgotten who she was when she started. It’s about falling in love with the wrong people and not seeing the right ones, about the moments in life when you step out of line, take a chance … and begin to break free.

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Genre – Young Adult / Bullying

Rating – PG13

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Website http://rebekahcrane.tumblr.com/

Orangeberry Book Tours – Widow Woman by Julia Tagliere

 

It is 1962, the starting pistol for a decade of tremendous change. President Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba. Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Beatles record their first song together, and Illinois becomes the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults. For Audrey Randolph, a young Midwestern wife, 1962 also brings a personal tragedy: her mother dies suddenly, leaving behind a lifetime of letters, photos and unimaginable secrets.

Audrey, stunned by her mother’s death and the subsequent revelations of past loves and lovers, can no longer trust the reality she has always known. She must come to terms with dual losses, both her mother’s death, as well as the unanswered, nagging question: Was anything she knew real? Audrey turns to her estranged father, her family’s pastor, even her mother’s best friend, to uncover the truth. Through her desperate search to learn which lies, and which people, are forgivable, Audrey will discover a greater truth: that sometimes, forgiving yourself is the first step to letting go.

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Genre – Women’s Fiction

Rating – PG13

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Orangeberry Spring Fling – I Have People by Taylor Dean

 

 

OB-SPRING-FLING

 

 

ihavepeople thumb

Holly Sinclair is happily married to the love of her life, Gabriel. Young and in love, Holly hopes to have their first child soon. Of course, Gabriel wants to wait till Holly’s health is restored, much to Holly’s dismay. She feels perfectly fine. So what if she just woke up from an eight-month coma? So what if some of her memories are missing? She remembers Gabe and that’s all that matters, right?

That is, until HE enters her life again . . . she forgot about HIM.

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Genre – Contemporary Romance (PG13)

Connect with Taylor Dean on Facebook

Website - http://www.taylordeanbooks.com/

 

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Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas

 
Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas


Retta Heikkinen knows the unspoken rule of society: love between androids and humans is forbidden. A simple enough edict until Hemingway Koskinen spends an evening charming her with his intense gaze, bewitching smile, and sparkling conversation that hints at so much more than the usual obsessions of high school boys. Rules were meant to be cast aside, especially when love beckons.

If only it were as simple as being in love.

Trouble is brewing, not just for Hemingway--for all androids. Secrets have been kept, lies propagated, and Retta soon discovers that a frightening future awaits thousands of androids if she doesn’t do something to stop it. Worse yet, she will lose the one love she’s ever endangered herself for: Hemingway.



Praise

"Nothing like I've read before. A true original story! Everything is so well described. Now if they could make a follow up book and movie, that would be great!" ~Mrs. Z (Amazon)

"I was addicted to this book from the beginning. Life on Mars was very real and not at all a sci fi world I didn't understand . . . I found myself rooting for Retta and Hemingway from the very beginning. Easy reading, couldn't put it down and had it read in a weekend. Waiting for a sequel!" ~TNielsen (Amazon)

"The ending of this book is exceptional. While it was different from what I imagined, the way the author brought in a shocking revelation was amazing. I probably reread the last chapter 3 times letting it sink in and the meaning behind it. It was truly beautiful . . . I would love to see more of Retta and Hemingway!" ~Kat Meyer, (Goodreads)

"I love how the author populated Mars . . . so descriptive and comprehensive . . . I could clearly picture everything as if I was seeing the movie &/or was along for the ride. . . . Retta, the main character, is strong, opinionated, and a great champion for her cause." ~Megan (Amazon)

"I had been in the worst reading slump ever and came across this on Goodreads and thought I'd give it a try. Well, I was pleasantly surprised on how funny and exciting and mysterious it was . . . Mei, Retta's bff, had me laughing out loud quite a bit as well as Retta herself. I'd definitely hang out with those two." ~Deanneluvbooks (Goodreads)



Blue Hearts of Mars has made it to the quarterfinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

Readers are invited to download the excerpts (here) and rate and comment on the entries. So please, if you want to contribute, download and rate Blue Hearts! Your support is incredibly appreciated!


Or purchase the full version of the book here: Amazon




Author Nicole Grotepas

Nicole wrote her first fantasy novel in 7th grade on her mother's old Brother typewriter. It was never finished but it strongly resembled a Dragonlance plot and she's forever wondered what happened to the manuscript and Tonathan--the handsome elven protagonist. After living in Nashville where she worked as an editor, she returned to the Utah desert where she was raised. Nicole now lives near the Wasatch mountains with her husband. She writes and raises her son and three cats full time.
 


 

Tour Schedule





Book Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 4/14/13

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 author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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Julia Tagliere – What Inspired Me to Write My Book

What Inspired Me to Write My Book

by Julia Tagliere

Readers often ask fiction writers, “How much of your book is real, based upon people you really know or things that really happened to you?” I’ve had many readers of Widow Woman ask me those questions already, and I always give the same answer: my book was inspired by some real people and some real events, but it is entirely a work of fiction.

“Inspired by” is a tricky term. In my case, that expression takes me back to my childhood, a time when my newly-single mother was faced with the prospect of raising four children. Fortunately for her, and for us kids, she had a vibrant, strong, amazing group of women friends to support her. Whenever I think about that time in my life, I always think of fun, laughter, and above all, a sense of warm, familial kinship. But, as all kids do, I grew up. I went to college, moved away, and started my own life. I lost contact with those women, though I never lost those memories.

I learned after my mother’s death that two of those women, even as far back as those sunny days of my childhood, were lesbians—in fact, a number of her friends were. The knowledge took me by surprise; it had never occurred to me, ever, to think of them in such a light. I wondered what their children, all grown up now, too, thought when they learned about their moms. When did they find out? Had they always known? Were they shocked? Were they confused?

Did it even matter?

Those questions swirled around in my mind, mingling with my grief over my mother’s passing. In the months that followed, another question began tickling away at my writer’s mind—what if?

What if a young woman found out after her mother’s death that her mother had been a lesbian and had never told her? How would that feel? Would it change how she felt about her mother, about herself, about relationships, about love? The more I thought about those questions, the more I wanted to explore the answers to them.

The last few years have seen a terrific explosion in our culture’s comfort level with talking about gay and lesbian relationships. When I was growing up, people like Rock Hudson were still going to terrific lengths to hide their sexual orientation; I’m of a generation that remembers the seismic cultural shock for mainstream America when Ellen DeGeneres came out. We are more open as a society today than we ever have been before, but there are still so many people out there who react with fear and ignorance, as my main character initially does. I wanted to explore why those reactions still happen, the roots for them. I wanted to make people think about what is at the heart of all relationships—gay or straight. It’s love, pure and simple.

That’s what inspired me to write my book.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Women’s Fiction

Rating – PG13

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Julia Tagliere on Facebook & Twitter & GoodReads

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