Now Showing: Harvest Treats

Learn more about Harvest Treats at Goodreads. Available in paperback September 25.

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From the TBR Pile: The Mango Orchard

The extraordinary story of parallel journeys, 100 years apart, into the heart of Latin America, for fans of Sandra Cisneros's Caramelo, Tim Butcher's Blood River, and Bruce Chatwin

As a child, Robin Bayley was enchanted by his grandmother's stories of Mexican adventures—of bandits, wild jungle journeys, hidden bags of silver, and a narrow escape from the bloody Mexican Revolution. But Robin sensed there was more to these stories than anyone knew, and so he set out to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather. Undaunted by the passage of time and a paucity of information, Robin seeks out the places where his great-grandfather Arthur "Arturo" Greenhalgh traveled and lived, determined to uncover his legacy. Along the road Robin encounters witches, drug dealers, a gun-toting Tasmanian Devil, and an ex-Nazi diamond trader. He is threatened with deportation, offered the protection of Colombian guerrilla fighters, and comforted by the blessings of los santos. He falls in love with a beautiful Guatemalan girl with mystical powers and almost gives up his quest, until a sense of destiny drives him on to western Mexico and the discovery of much, much more than he had bargained for. From Goodreads.com

About the Author:

Robin Bayley had a successful career in children’s television, when one morning he decided to leave his job and sell his apartment to travel and follow his muse.  

Praise for The Mango Orchard:  

"Bayley’s free flowing prose is so easy to read and you are quickly drawn up into his story and adventures." ~ Book Thingo 

"I read it in one sitting and after I finished I just sat there, letting the extraordinary story wash over me." ~ Allison, Goodreads.com

"A beautiful telling of a fantastic story." ~ Rachel Cotterill, Goodreads.com

Connect with the Author:

website 
Facebook 
Twitter

Find The Mango Orchard:  

Goodreads
IndieBound
Amazon   

 

 

What a Ride: All the Pretty Girls

All the Pretty Girls by J. T. Ellison
audio book, Narrator: Joyce Bean
Published: April 2010 by Brilliance Audio
ISBN13: 9781441838407
Listened: September 2012
Source: Digital Library
Find it at Goodreads, IndieBound, Amazon

What a thrill ride this book was. I was not familiar with this series. I found it when searching the digital library for the Percy Jackson series. All the Pretty Girls is the first book in the Taylor Jackson series.

I didn't check it out right away because I was afraid it would be too close to horror for my liking. And it did start off pretty gruesome - a dead body with severed hands.

It was a little hard to follow on audio as the cast is kind of large and there isn't one crime, but two crimes being investigated. There is the main murder mystery - the Southern Strangler. Then there is serial rapist - the Rain Man. The secondary crime seemed a little odd. I had to check to make sure this was the first book in the series. In some ways, it was as if we should already know the players and we are dropped more into the middle of the investigation. I'm not sure what the point of having this second story except to divide the reader's attention.

The primary murder mystery had a number of twist and turns. At about 60 percent, I was sure I knew who the Southern Strangler was. But then the cops thought so too and the doubt began to creep in. There was a curve ball thrown and I'm not sure if missed something or if it really was out of left field. The ending was shocking.

I definitely want to check out more of this series. I like Taylor and Baldwin (who I hope is in the rest of the books). Unfortunately it doesn't look like the digital library has any of the others and a quick search of my library's online catalog showed none there either.

Looking for an excellent crime thriller? Pick up a copy of All the Pretty Girls.

FlashFiveFriday: Giving

I LOVE Shel Silverstein's poetry. During a poetry unit in high school we had to make a collection of poetry based on a theme. I chose humor so I could use as many of Silversein's poems as was allowed. I also discovered Odgen Nash, while his poems are hilarious I wouldn't want to read them aloud (he's a fan of made up words).

Since today's theme is Giving, I was reminded of one of Silverstein's more serious poems - The Giving Tree. It is quite the touching story; one that everyone should read (and re-read). Last year a video that is thought to possibly be the original animated film of The Giving Tree made it's way through the internet. So if you missed out on this story, now is your chance to hear it.

#FlashFiveFriday is a weekly flash fiction / flash blogging prompt.
The rules are very simple if you’d like to take part:
1) Write for no longer than five minutes
2) No upper or lower word limits
3) You must write something new
4) You can prepare your post ahead of time but the 5 minute limit still applies
5) If you add your blog post to the weekly linky you must visit five other blogs that week too to show your support

Visit The Indie Exchange for links to other great posts.

Friday Fun with Keira Michelle Telford

In the spirit of Fun Friday, this is a guinea pig:

Sorry. That was a completely irrelevant distraction.
This post has nothing whatsoever to do with guinea pigs.

I know. It’s shocking. If you’ve been reading the other guest posts I’ve been leaving all over the interwebs, you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m incapable of talking about anything else.

Fine. Be like that, then.
I’m actually here to talk about rutabagas.

Now that’s just plain rude.
But you’ve made your point: rutabagas are boring.
Guinea pigs it is, then.

Believe it or not, the inspiration for this:

Came from this:

See the resemblance? No? Well, you don’t have to live with her. Seriously though, she does have a lot in common with the monsters—the Chimera—in my books.

I modelled all Chimeran behavior on the behavior of guinea pigs.

Truth.

From the way the Chimera sway their bums from side-to-side when they’re trying to intimidate someone, to the way they huff air through their nostrils right before they attack, it all goes on in my dining room. The shrilling for food (‘wheeking’ in guinea pig language) is something I hear every day, every time a bag rustles. The purring and gurgling is something I hear every time one of my girls decides to get a bit bossy with her cagemates. And the list goes on.

So, how’s that for something fun and interesting to brighten up your Friday?

Ugh. I give up.

About the author:

Michelle is a British ex-pat, now living in British Columbia, Canada. She is the author of a 10-book series of post-apocalyptic, dystopian science fiction books, all centering on the lead character of Ella 'Silver' Cross. The first book (a novella) in this series, Acheron, was released Nov 2011. The next book, A New Age dawns (the fourth book in the series), is due to be released later this September.

JOIN THE FIGHT! Connect with the author:
www.keiramichelle.com
www.ellacross.com
www.facebook.com/thesilverseries
www.facebook.com/silver.acheron
@mylostanddamned 
www.goodreads.com/keiramichelle

Giveaway!

2342 CE Dishonorably discharged from the Hunter Division and banished for crimes she did not commit, Silver struggles to come to terms with her new prison-like surroundings: a segregated area of the city called the Fringe District, populated by murderers, thieves and rapists. Starving, and desperate for money, she reluctantly accepts the Police Division's invitation to enroll in a covert Bounty Hunter program: an initiative devised to infiltrate the criminal underworld of the Fringers, and to force the very worst warrant dodging law-breakers to meet their fate—death. Unfortunately, Silver doesn't realize that the Police Division is about to up the ante. They need more than little snippets of information and arrests—they need someone to pull the trigger. They need an executioner. From Goodreads.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  

Now Playing: Jewel of Ramstone by J. M. Powers

Find Jewel of Ramstone by J. M. Powers at Goodreads and Amazon.

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