Where Oh Where is Barnaby Bear - book review & giveaway

 I recently received a children's book. It is called, Where Oh Where is Barnaby Bear. 

When it comes to creating a world where children feel safe to explore and learn, children’s book author, illustrator, and entrepreneur Wendy Rouillard has a touch of magic. Rouillard, who first brought Barnaby Bear to life for her senior thesis in college, has created more than 25 adventures for her furry white companion. The latest is titled, WHERE, OH WHERE, IS BARNABY BEAR? (March 23, 2021; Andrews McMeel Universal). In these trying times, Barnaby provides a consistent friend who represents loyalty, comfort, trust, and reassurance, who they can turn to time and again.

 

 

The limitations of the pandemic hasn’t kept Barnaby from making new friends or trying new things. In his latest explorations, Barnaby is rambling around his home island of Nantucket. The joyfully colored pages of this board book spring to life as the little bear goes sailing with a whale, sips tea at a café, takes a nap in the daffodils and visits a beehive. Where, oh where, is Barnaby Bear? We're searching for him everywhere. Has he flown to the moon? Is he in a balloon? Is he up in a tree? Is he down by the sea? He's everywhere a bear should be!

 

People unfamiliar with children’s literature often make the mistake of thinking that a kid’s book is easy to write. However, due to the limited number of words and the need to convey complex ideas with sparkling simplicity, writing children’s books is as challenging as writing poetry. Rouillard and her furry muse have been crafting endearing stories for her appreciative audience for 20 years. And if Barnaby has anything to say about it, there are far more adventures ahead.

 

WENDY ROUILLARD created the Barnaby Bear children’s book series, and her artwork and stories have graced the covers and pages of many magazines, newspapers, and more than 25 children’s books. She has appeared on the Today Show, CBS News, HGTV, FOX Boston, NBC Miami, and West Orlando.

 

OOLA: FIND BALANCE IN AN UNBALANCED WORLD FOR WOMEN #giveaway

Everyone, I've got a cool book and giveaway to share with you. It is called OOLA: FIND BALANCE IN AN UNBALANCED WORLD FOR WOMEN. Written by:  Dave Braun and Troy Amdahl.

info on book:

After the release of their first book, the OolaLifestyle has become a sensation with readers who are trying to seek balance in an unbalanced world. Dave and Troy have built their entire phenomenon through social media, and now have more than 700,000 followers. The idea for creating a movement solely for women came when they realized their social following was primarily female. OOLA FOR WOMEN consists of more than 40 stories by inspiring, everyday women living the OolaLife. You can check out Dave and Troy in action here as they travel on their 16 city book tour across the country.

Washington Power Play: Book review and #giveaway

Hey all, I've got a cool book review and giveaway for you. It is for the book Washington Power Play, by Allan Topol. 

Here is some info for you about the book:

What does FBI agent Kelly Cameron’s college sweetheart, the dashing Xiang Shen, have to do with her latest case? As Cameron digs deeper into China’s influence on the presidential race, Shen’s romantic overtures might not be quite what they seem. What does this Chinese diplomat have to do with the influence of a foreign power on a national election? And who is targeting Cameron and her daughter?

In Allan Topol’s inimitable style, WASHINGTON POWER PLAY spins a tale of international intrigue, deception, and corruption at the highest levels of power.

Kelly Cameron has just thwarted a terrorist attack on the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, and is now in charge of a task force to find a mole in the U.S. government. She soon finds evidence of a plot initiated by the Chinese government supporting General Darrell Cartwright to promote his election as the president of the United States.

Cameron’s efforts to thwart this plan are hindered by Shen, and Andrew Martin, a powerful Washington lawyer who has strong ties to the Chinese. At stake in this Washington power play is nothing less than the global balance of power.

Bashert: book review and #giveaway

Hey guys. I just finished a really cool book. It is called Bashert, by Herb Freed.

Here is some info on book:

Bashert (Yiddish): a person’s ideal and predestined soulmate; destiny.

In the Jewish faith, there’s a belief that the universe hinges on predetermined people finding the one person who completes them, their bashert. In BASHERT (Bellrock Press; February 14, 2017) author, director, screenwriter and former Rabbi, Herb Freed, spins the intimate and heart-wrenching true tale of what it truly means to find your soulmate, your bashert.

Dan Sobol is a rabbi turned director, who’s known for his cinematic television commercials. He meets Marion Gladstone, a writer and film editor, at a screenwriter’s event in Los Angeles, and as soon as she hears Dan’s voice, she just knows. It’s bashert. Soon they become partners in business as well as life; he directs, she writes and edits, and life becomes an amazing adventure. Until Cancun, where Marion has an eerie premonition that could change everything.

Book Review: Midnight In Berlin

Amazon.com


Hi all, I just finished the book, Midnight in Berlin by James MacManus it was just released last month. First here is some info on book:

One night, Macrae stops by the Salon, a local bar and restaurant, where he meets a beautiful German-Jewish woman named Sara. The two fall in love and Sara reveals that she is being blackmailed by the Nazis who are torturing her twin brother who is a prisoner in a concentration camp. Macrae vows to do whatever it takes to help his beloved escape Germany.

As the Nazis speed toward the genocide of the “Final Solution,” Macrae becomes the target of the Gestapo, which has him in its crosshairs. He’s caught up in a deceitful web of shifting loyalties, corruption and shocking indifference by the British government. Can he hold onto his humanity in order to save not only the woman he loves, but also himself? The answer lies in a single bullet that he plans to use to assassinate Hitler.

Martin Chitwood - The Influence of the English Common Law​ #Review​

Today I am reviewing the book The Influence of the English Common Law on the Law of Commonwealth West Africa, by Martin Chitwood.

About the book:

"This treatise is a study of revolutionary law reform. It examines the manner and extent to which the English common law has augmented and supplanted the indigenous legal system of commonwealth West Africa." (Chapter I Introduction) 

My Thoughts on book:


This is a very interesting book. I was not familiar with the subject matter before this. But I found this very informative. I do not usually read history or law books but was fascinated by The Influence of the English Common Law.

If you are interested in finding out more information on this subject, then I would really recommend this book to you. It is very well written and an excellent resource for those that would like to learn more about this subject.

About The Author: Martin Chitwood, Partner at Chitwood Harley Harnes LLP, has served as lead or co-lead counsel in more than 40 class actions nationwide and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars for investors and other class members. He is considered the plaintiffs’ lawyer in the state of Georgia. He has also been recognized as a Georgia “Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics each year since the inception of the award.


You can Purchase on Amazon

disclosure:This review was created in partnership with Mom Buzz Media. All views and opinions expressed above are my own and are not influenced in any way. *may contain affiliate links

#BlogTour and #Giveaway book: BEAUTY, BEAST, AND BELLADONNA by Maia Chance

Hi guys the newest book on the blog tour is: BEAUTY, BEAST, AND BELLADONNA by Maia Chance

Here is an excerpt from the book:

BEAUTY, BEAST and BELLADONNA

Beware of allowing yourself to be prejudiced by appearances.  –Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, “Beauty and the Beast” (1756)

1

The day had arrived.  Miss Ophelia Flax’s last day in Paris, her last day in Artemis Stunt’s gilt-edged apartment choked with woody perfumes and cigarette haze.  Ophelia had chosen December 12th, 1867, at eleven o’clock in the morning as the precise time she would make a clean breast of it.  And now it was half past ten.

Ophelia swept aside brocade curtains and shoved a window open.  Rain spattered her face.  She leaned out and squinted up the street.  Boulevard Saint-Michel was a valley of stone buildings with iron balconies and steep slate roofs.  Beyond carriages and bobbling umbrellas, a horse-drawn omnibus splashed closer.

“Time to go,” she said, and latched the window shut.  She turned.  “Good-bye, Henrietta.  You will write to me—telegraph me, even—if Prue changes her mind about the convent?”

“Of course, darling.”  Henrietta Bright sat at the vanity table, still in her frothy dressing gown.  “But where shall I send a letter?”  She shrugged a half-bare shoulder in the looking glass.  Reassuring herself, no doubt, that at forty-odd years of age she was still just as dazzling as the New York theater critics used to say.

“I’ll let the clerk at Howard DeLuxe’s Varieties know my forwarding address,” Ophelia said.  “Once I have one.”  She pulled on cheap gloves with twice-darned fingertips.

“What will you do in New England?” Henrietta asked.  “Besides getting buried under snowdrifts and puritans?  I’ve been to Boston.  The entire city is like a mortuary.  No drinking on Sundays, either.”  She sipped her glass of poison-green cordial.  “Although, all that knuckle-rapping does make the gentlemen more generous with actresses like us when they get the chance.”

“Actresses like us?”  Ophelia went to her carpetbag, packed and ready on the opulent bed that might’ve suited the Princess on the Pea.  Ladies born and raised on New Hampshire farmsteads did not sleep in such beds.  Not without prickles of guilt, at least.  “I’m no longer an actress, Henrietta.  Neither are you.”  And they were never the same kind of actress.  Or so Ophelia fervently wished to believe.

“No?  Then what precisely do you call tricking the Count Griffe into believing you are a wealthy soap heiress from Cleveland, Ohio?  Sunday school lessons?”

“I had to do it.”  Ophelia dug in her carpetbag and pulled out a bonnet with crusty patches of glue where ribbon flowers once had been.  

RANSOM by Terri Reed #blogtour and #giveaway

I hope you have been enjoying the blog tour this week. Please read my other two posts here and here

Today's book is: 

Chocolate Soufflés:

3 tbs unsalted butter, divided

2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 Large eggs

2 tbs granulated sugar

Pinch salt

Pinch cream of tartar

Raspberry Sauce:

5 oz fresh or thawed frozen raspberries

2 tbs granulated sugar

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Use 1 tbs of the butter to grease two 8-ounce ramekins. Coat the ramekins with cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate and remaining 2 tbs of butter in 30-second bursts, stirring between each burst, until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla and egg yolks, one at a time.

In a clean bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar just until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate. Spoon into the prepared ramekins. Soufflés can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated at this point for up to 1 day.

Bake until puffed and set, about 20 minutes (25 minutes if baking directly from the refrigerator).

Raspberry Sauce:

While the soufflés are baking, purée the raspberries and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender, until smooth. Press the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

Garnish the chocolate soufflés with powdered sugar and serve immediately with raspberry sauce.

BULLETPROOF BADGE, #blogtour & #giveaway

Next in the February Harlequin books is: Bulletproof Badge

• Writing Space Tour:

I’m really lucky to have a very nice office. My husband loves to build things–the desk, the cabinets, sliding keyboard drawer–and has plans for a few more cabinets to hold gadgets. The shelves on the wall were built by my grandfather when I was a child and hold writing and family mementoes. Last year with my royalties, I found my “diva” chair. I have to fight my pups for sitting room.

COLTON’S SURPRISE HEIR #blogtour and #giveaway

Hi again, I have 3 books for you this week. This is the first one in the February Harlequin tour.

please read some fun info below:


Bon Appetit and a Book

They say that there are two types of people in the kitchen – bakers and cooks. If I had to put myself into a category, I’d definitely lean toward baker. I have a few dishes that have become part of my standing repertoire, but as a recent attempt at a ham and bean soup will attest, my skills lean toward those recipes that involve copious amounts of butter and sugar, NOT meat, veggies or starch.

I’m not a southerner by birth, but I first moved to Texas nearly two decades ago. In the years since, I’ve learned about the fine art of casserole making AND just how many wonderful ways there are to combine butter and sugar. So…without further ado, here’s a personal favorite. I first heard it called Chess Cake but Paula Deen has perfected it as “Ooey Gooey Cake.” Regardless of what you call it, I can promise you it will be a dessert everyone loves.

RUSTLER’S MOON Blog Tour & #Giveaway

Q&A with Jodi Thomas

Author of

RUSTLER’S MOON

1. This is your second book in the Ransom Canyon series. Tell us about the town.

In RUSTLER’S MOON the town of Crossroads has grown.  After allowing their museum to sit empty for a year, the book opens with a new curator coming.  The museum comes alive and brings the town together as Angela Harold wakes up to life and loving for the first time.  The quiet, shy curator carries a secret that will threaten the whole town and leave rancher Wilkes Wagner fighting for his life as he protects Angela.

2. We’ve heard you have an inspiration room for your writing. Tell us about the spot.

Ransom Canyon room:  When I began the series, I moved my computer to a little room out back of my house.  We call it the bunkhouse.  It’s not big, mission designed and almost a hundred years old.  I took down all the western art and put up white boards.  Removed all books except those on ranching, horses, Texas, or research I might need. Family histories of characters fill one wall.  Plot lines another.  When I step into the bunkhouse, I step into the world of Ransom Canyon.  One by one my characters come in and sit down to tell me their story.

I even have pictures of the flowers of Texas taped up in the bathroom and a Jack Sorenson print of horses running into the canyon on the door.

3. Are there any characters in the series you’d consider for a spin-off?

Yes.  There are characters outlined on one board of my study that may not make it into this series.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll find their way in the future.

4. If RUSTLER’S MOON were made into a movie, who would you cast as the lead characters?

Like many of my readers I spent my Christmas holidays snowed in and watching Hallmark movies.  Almost every movie I’d say, “That actor would be perfect as this character.”  I’d love to hear from my readers about who they see as playing Wilkes Wagner in RANSOM CANYON.

Her Mistletoe Cowboy #Giveaway

The next book on the December Harlequin series, Blog Tour is: "Her Mistletoe Cowboy," by Marie Ferrarella.

image courtesy of pixabay.com

Holiday Bon Appétit and a Book: When I think Christmas and everyone I know thinks of my mint chip brownies and my marzipan bundt cake. The brownies are more or less a standard recipe, except doubled (so the brownies are nice and thick) and add in lots of mint chips.  Here’s the marzipan cake:

Marzipan Cake

Blog Tour "An Amish Noel" by Patricia Davids & #giveaway

Hi, I am participating in the blog tour for the  December Harlequin Series Program.

Today's book is An Amish Noel. Below is the author's recipe and playlist to enjoy while reading this book.


Holiday Bon Appétit and a Book:

Merry Christmas from me, Patricia Davids. If you love pecans the way I do, you'll want to enjoy this delicious holiday recipe all year round. They are called Kentucky Pecan Bars and they are YUM. Pair them with a cup of hot peppermint cocoa and you'll have a real treat to savor while you enjoy my latest book, An Amish Noel.

Lucky Shot: Book Review, #Giveaway and Blog Tour

I'm joining the blog tour for the book, "Lucky Shot", by B.J. Daniels today. If you recall I read the previous book in the series which was the, Lone Rider.

DARK TURNS: Blog Tour & Book Review and #giveaway

Hey everyone, I have a great book review and even a giveaway for a copy of the book for you today too.

I am joining the blog tour for the book, "Dark Turns," by Cate Holahan.

Spotlight 3 books: The Eight, A Calculated Risk and The Magic Circle

Hi guys I have a post today for you about 3 books. The books are, "The Eight," "A Calculated Risk," and "The Magic Circle."

Harlequin Romance Series: Spotlight post on "Switchback"

Read the two other Harlequin series posts I did Here and Here.

Today I am spotlighting the book "Switchback," by Catherine Anderson.

Blog Tour: A Wanted Man: A Writer's Space

I posted the other day about another Harlequin book I read. Go here to read that post. I am a few days delayed writing this one. But want to let you know about the book a Wanted Man, by Jennifer Morey.

The author would like to share with you her Writer's Space:

Song Playlist for A Wanted Man:

The Heart Wants What it Wants – Selena Gomez

Treacherous – Taylor Swift

Enchanted – Taylor Swift

E.T. – Katy Perry

Stars Dance – Selena Gomez

How-to Tips for Aspiring Writers: Writing is the most important, of course. Know your grammar and how to tell a story. If you aren’t a natural, join critique groups and enter contests. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Learn as much as you can. I am still learning after having 16 books published! Easily taking offense to criticism will make your journey a lot harder. Stay positive and believe in your talent as much as you believe in yourself.

Writer’s Space: I write all over my house. My office is in a loft, and I have a living room with no TV that is open to the dining room.

Love Lessons Learned: Love heals all. Hands down.

Movie Star Cast: Ashton Kutcher and Kathleen Heigl – if she had dark hair.

Harlequin Series Blog Tour: A Seal's Temptation Bon Appetit and a Book

Hi guys - I  have a post for you today. And it is to let you know about the book I received. It is a Harlequin book called, "A Seal's Temptation," by Tawny Weber.

Here's a recipe from the author Tawny Weber:
Bon Appetit and a Book :

(click to enlarge)

Blog Tour: Between the Tides by Susannah Marren #BookReview

I recently received the book Between The Tides by Susannah Marren & am posting along with the Blog Tour for it.