The Cooperating Witness by Barbara Laken

The majority of this novel is transcriptions from recordings, so you immediately feel like your reading something you probably shouldn't be. Top secret stuff; the things you watch on TV the FBI, CIA and etc keep closed up and filed away from public eye.

In The Cooperating Witness, you first hear a telephone conversation between Jamal Hassim and his wife. They are discussing their Islamic charity program which they also work in partnership with an US Aids program. Their phone call is being accidently picked up by the NSA, things start go go awry. Certain words are chosen from that phone call that make it seem like there is a hidden message, a planned terrorist attack. Be careful what you say, you never know who is listening.

The FBI sends Conner Skilling, a cooperating witness from East Asia to find out what the Hassim's are up to. A cooperating witness is a criminal who helps out the FBI in leiu of punishment. I didn't know what a cooperating witness was until I read this book! Who knew?

Anyways, Conner is a retired con man who sets up a series of phone calls to find out the true motives of the Hassims. But what is uncovered will blow your mind. An international conspiracy with so many fingers in the pie, it's hard to deflect fact from fiction. A superb action thriller with legal ramifications. It takes a while to get used to the type, but once I did, I flew through the pages. I felt like I was in the inner circle of something big brewing. Definitely worth a read!

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Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Release Date: March 16, 2010


Description: In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestelling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world…no matter how out of place they feel.

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life.

Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.

Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she’s lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother’s past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily’s growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby’s most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she’s found so far are more questions.

Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love?
In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels…different.

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Bitter Night: A Horngate Witches Book by Diana P. Francis

Max used to be your normal girl with a normal life until the day her college roommate turned on her. While drinking one evening, her roommate, Giselle, asked Max if she would like to stay young forever, be stronger and other fairy tale questions. Half drunk, Max said yes. Unfortunately, when she woke up, she was something not quite human.

Giselle is a very powerful witch, and its the Shadowblade who guard her and the coven. Max is now bound to Giselle with spells so tightly wound, she cannot be away from her witch for long. A slave, she cannot wait for the day she can kill Giselle and get her freedom.

But Max is not like other Shadowblade guards. She has a few drops of witch blood in her, which make her even more powerful. When the Guardians decide that they want to scourge humanity from the earth with the witches serving them, Max needs to decide between saving humanity or getting her freedom.

Bitter Night is an excellent beginning to a wonderful new urban fantasy series. I couldn't put it down, I was so immersed in the story!! Max is a strong character who has so many layers, it will be interesting to see how she evolves. I wanted to hate Giselle, but there is some humanity there that makes it hard to do so, although I loved to hate her. The Shadowblade that serve under Max make for some interesting background stories and it will be interesting to see how they develop. The world is set much like ours today so it made it easy to follow; the focus the characters and storyline and not the world building. If your looking for a new gritty, action-packed magical urban fantasy, Bitter Night is a must read. Absolutely fabulous!!

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Triple ARC Pack Give Away!!

Yep, I'm still cleaning. It's amazing that my books keep piling up instead of dwindling, no matter how much I read. I absolutely love it :) Anywho, here's another triple pack that will go to ONE Winner!



In Coburn's third novel (after Owl Island), mid-30s landscape architect Stevie Pollack has just fled a failed project in Chicago and a failed relationship in New York to be with Hank, her querulous, dying father, in her Hawaiian hometown. Every turn of events—every argument between father and daughter, every meeting with a lover, every sleepless or dream-filled night—seems to be watched over by the book's most colorful and passionate character, the swirling wonder� that is the island, whose prophetic creatures and therapeutic beaches add eccentric splendor. Coincidentally, in Chicago, Stevie meets her cousin, Margo, who reveals that Stevie's father has a hidden sister. Reconnecting with Margo gives Stevie the chance to talk story,� or reminisce, about Hank's family life, giving Stevie some much-needed perspective on her contentious relationship with the old man. As her own icy edge melts in the presence of a lost puppy, an approachable veterinarian named Japhy, childhood friends and a blossoming appreciation for Hawaiian folklore, Stevie becomes an engrossing character who makes up for a predictable plot and a cascade of unlikely coincidences.





Daniels's resolutely grim portrayal of the unclassified the oversimplified the target market the failing demographic early to mid-'90s first surfaced on Myspace and became something of a self-published hit. The loosely autobiographical narrative follows the tormented young Luke, a white kid with dreads who clings to a tattered copy of Black Boy throughout his passage from grungy teen to father of a very fragile, sick little boy. Saddled with a miserable home life, Luke attends Peckerbrook High and finds solace with Rocky Horror Picture Show fans, Nirvana freaks (who go into shock when Kurt Cobain kills himself), booze and drugs. He drops out and holds a series of dead-end jobs, gets high and prowls for girls, but manages, by the end, to learn how to live again. Though Daniels's prose often feels too self-satisfied, his characters' misanthropic adventures will speak to disenchanted youth.







From the gothic eccentricity of Asheville, North Carolina to the terrifying recesses of the Appalachian wilderness, from modern demonology to ancient Cherokee mythology, SOUL CATCHER follows the tormented journey of folk artist Livia Belane, who has been stalked through many lives by a sadistic and vengeful demon.

Livia and her loved ones, including her frontier-era soulmate and husband, Ian, a Soul Hunter, have never beaten the demon before. Now, in this life, he s found them again.


Hello From Deborah Smith, now writing as Leigh Bridger. If you know me from my women's fiction novels like A PLACE TO CALL HOME, SWEET HUSH, A GENTLE RAIN, THE CROSSROADS CAFE, ON BEAR MOUNTAIN, and others, you may wonder why I've taken off in this new direction, under a pen name.


One Winner - USA Only

Leave a comment with an email for one entry
Leave a comment about your most memorable/favorite halloween costume for an extra entry.

Deadline to enter is October 23rd - Winner Announced October 24th.

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Moon Rise by Marilee Brothers

The sequel to Moonstone opens with Allie still without her powers. Allie is the chosen one, the girl who is the Star Seeker of an old gypsy prophecy. Her boyfriend Junior Martinez went on a trip to Mexico and still isn't back, and to beat it all, she has to attend school counseling sessions because of the big T (trauma) she had a while back. Then there is her dad, Mike Purdy, who still hadn't told his wife and kids about her. He is the one who is educating Allie about the prophecy and her new powers. He takes her to the Star Seeker meetings, where everyone there has the star on their palm.

Then there's the new boy at school, Beck Bradford. He's hot, he can heal Allie, and he's half demon. He and Allie become close, and he wants to fight all her battles. He helps her regain her powers and try to keep the moonstone safe. That's the pendant Allie wears and the Trimark, the darker polar opposite of the Star Seekers, wants it badly and they will do anything to get it, even kill.

The second book in the Unbidden Magic Series is absolutely wonderful! Allie's world is extended with the addition of more information about the prophecy and the addition of some unique and versatile characters. The action is page-turning and their are some gasp out loud surprises. I'm looking forward to the next in the series to see what happens in Allie's world next! Her supernatural world is expanding and she is learning how to find her place in it. Magically delicious!

You can read an excerpt of Moon Rise here

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Self-Help Arc Pack Winner

The winner of Nurtureshock and I Love You, Now What? is J.T. Oldfield. In the event J.T. doesn't respond to email within 48, a new winner will be chosen. Thanks to all who entered, and please be on the look out for the next arc pack going up soon.

Congratulations J.T. !!

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The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer - Give-Away!

Joyce Meyer is not satisfied with the status quo. She believes that we each need to become a revolutionary and practice love every day. And if Joyce has her way, the revolution will spread - person by person, house by house, town by town, until the old culture of selfishness and greed gives way to a new culture of concern for others.

The book is a revolutionaries' manual, a hands-on primer for bringing the Golden Rule to life in the twenty-first century. Meyer starts out by giving some stunning statistics. Right now...210,000 children will die this week because of poverty; 640 million children do not have adequate shelter; every day, 3,000 children are abducted into the sex-trafficking industry; every day, 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. She goes on to say that although crisis is global, the solution is local. We can't solve the world's problems, but that isn't a reason to remain idle.

LOVE REVOLUTION focuses on personal behavior on the local scale. It's not just a call to action; it is a call to being: being the person who goes out of your way to encourage someone who's out of hope; being the one who smiles at a stranger; being the one who is willing to do something for nothing. The paradox: when we do something for nothing, what we often get is something far greater.

Hatchette (those folks are great!) are allowing me to give-away five (5) copies!

USA and Canada Only - NO PO Boxes

Please leave an email in your comment to enter.

Deadline to enter is October 13th - Winners announced October 14th.

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