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The virtual book tour for my whale poacher children's book, A Sandy Grave flew by! It's hard to believe the end has come of traveling through cyberspace. Cheryl Malandrinos of Pump Up Your Book organized a terrific tour and she was with me every step of the way. I highly recommend Cheryl and Pump Up Your Book for your book promotion efforts! 









Now without further ado I'm pleased to announce the winner of the $50 Barnes and Noble Gift Card…. Carla Bosch!!! Congratulations! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carla, I emailed you privately for your snail mail address.

Thank you one and all for your interest in my latest children's book, A Sandy Grave and for visiting me throughout the tour. Your time is appreciated! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Readers Favorite Five Star Review 

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Readers Favorite Five Star Review 

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Readers Favorite Five Star Review 

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+


A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

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I'm over the moon to announce the Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour for my latest children's book, A Sandy Grave, commencing March 3 through April 25. 

Exciting $50 Barnes and Noble gift card giveaway. Entry details below….

Thank you one and all for hosting me during the March and April. I'm looking forward to staying connected with you all! Here's the schedule….


Thanks for your time and interest!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author

Connect with Donna McDine on Google+

A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

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Welcome to the Book Blog Tour of Too Many Visitors for One Little House by Susan Chodakiewitz!


With brightly colored illustrations by Veronica Walsh and story by Susan Chodakiewitz, Too Many Visitors For One Little House will surely charm kids and adults alike.

The story begins with the neighbors of El Camino Street who are comfortable and set in their ways. They don't like pets, kids, big families, noise and disruptions. So when the young family with three kids and a fish move in, the neighbors watch out for trouble. Their worst fears are realized when a large camper pulls up next to the little house and unloads the grandparents with prune juice, aunts and uncles with dirty laundry, teens with music, skateboards, and arms full of clothes.

But with the chaos, the neighbors find that guests also bring laughter, music, good food, and good cheer.

Lighthearted and fun, Too Many Visitors for One Little House is an enjoyable read. It's release is well timed to coincide with visits these upcoming holidays.

Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (February 11, 2009), 40 pages.
Review copy provided by the author and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Tours.

About the Author:
Susan Chodakiewitz is a writer, composer and producer. She is the founder of Booksicals Children’s Books- Encouraging the love of reading through the arts. Through her company Booksicals she has created the Booksicals on Stage literacy program which is currently presenting musical performances of the picture book Too Many Visitors for One Little House at schools, libraries, and special events.

Susan lives in Los Angeles in a lively household filled with music, three sons, a husband, a Dalmatian and lots of visitors. Susan loves picture books and when she wrote a musical based on one of her favorites, she realized it was time to start writing her own picture books. Too Many Visitors for One Little House is Susan’s debut book. You can visit her website at www.booksicals.com.

Thank you to Susan, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Tours for this review opportunity!

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Please join me in welcoming Dianne Castell, author of Hot and Irresistible, to Starting Fresh! Thank you so much, Dianne for sharing your thoughts on "North or South...Which one are You?"

oOo

North or South... Which one are You? by Dianne Castell

One of the reasons I wrote Hot and Irresistible was to set a book in the South and not just geographically but in characters and language and food! Characters in NY are way different than characters in Savannah . You won’t hear the doorman at the NY Hilton say Y’all come back now, ya’ hear. And food? Just try getting a cream egg in Savannah or sweet tea in Manhattan.

I’m more Savannah then Manhattan. Not that I don’t looove NY City, I do. But I live in Cincinnati and feel connected to the South. I fry chicken and make cream gravy and make my own pumpkin pie. I don’t have a hidden tiara in my panty drawer but I do subscribe to Southern Living, think Paula Deen is the cutest thing on earth and have actually waited in line for two hours to eat at Lady and Sons. Yep, it’s worth the wait! And I can twirl a baton!

I have a pair of white gloves in my drawer and use cloth tablecloth and napkins and set the table proper with flowers for Sunday dinner. If my kids don’t mind their manners they get “the look of death” from their mama and I buy hair spray two bottles at a time and wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without putting on my face.

I love the South. My heart is there...except for those Palmetto bugs. I’m sure they are what keep me from moving south of the Ohio River. Sweet mother, are those things ugly as sin!

So, who are you? North or South? Even if you’re Midwest you probably lean more one way or the other and I’m willing to bet you have a little Southern in you just begging to get out. Let me know and I’ll give away two Hot and Bothered T-shirts from the answers.

Thanks for chatting.

oOo

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by, Dianne! The civility of the South sounds lovely. Congratulations again on the launch of Hot and Irresistible!

About the Author, courtesy of her publicist:

USA Today best selling author Dianne Castell writes for Kensington Books. She also writes a monthly editor interview column for Romance Writers Report. Her books have won Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, been on the cover of Romantic Times Magazine and included in Rhapsody Book Club, Doubleday Book Club and have made the Waldenbooks Bestseller list.

The second book in her Savannah Sizzles series for the BRAVA line, Hot and Irresistible, hits the shelves Nov‘09. Dianne lives in Cincinnati with her two cats and will do just about anything to get out of housework. You can visit her website at www.diannecastell.com or email her at dianecastell AT hotmail DOT com.

Thanks again to Dianne Castell, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Tours for this opportunity!

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Welcome to the Book Blog Tour of Hot and Irresistible by Dianne Castell organized by Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

The blurb:
In a city of history, mystery, and more than a few ghosts, four best friends who have never fit in anywhere except with each other are about to get close - and closer still - to four sexy bachelors with some very alluring secrets...Bebe Fitzpatrick's hard upbringing taught her how to take care of herself, how to tell true friends from false, and how to be a good cop. She can also sweet-talk a man like she means it...until she stumbles into the arms of a damn sexy Yankee who's gunning for Savannah's favorite shady entrepreneur...As far as Donovan McCabe is concerned, the main obstacle to his investigation is the one thing he can't help wanting in his way. Bebe's smart, sassy, and utterly oblivious to her own appeal. Add the fact that a Boston cop trying to arrest one of Savannah's best-loved citizens is about as popular as the reincarnation of General Grant. What Donovan needs is a better game plan. What he's about to get is southern "hospitality" that'll make his toes curl...

Review:
Hot and Irresistible mixes the danger and mystery of an unsolved murder and a missing heirloom diamond necklace with spicy romance. Four mysterious adoptions, gambling casinos, boats, a squeaky clean judge, a missing baby, suspicious deaths, and packed with action, Hot and Irresistible is a fun escape.

Publisher: Brava (October 27, 2009), 352 pages.
Review copy provided by Pump Up Your Book Tour.

Thank you so much to Dianne Castell, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Tour for this opportunity!

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Synopsis:
Night of Flames begins in September 1939, as Germany invades Poland. Through the characters of Anna and Jan Kopernik, Douglas Jacobson takes us through the days of Poland's occupation, the bravery of vastly outnumbered Polish troops, the overwhelming force of the German military, and the heroism of the underground resistance.

Jan Kopernik, an officer in the famous Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade, a.k.a. the Polish cavalry, is a career officer sees firsthand the gaps in their intelligence sources. After barely surviving disastrous battles with German troops, Jan escapes to Britain to assist British intelligence. He is sent back to occupied territories on several undercover missions. While back in Poland, Jan searches for his missing wife, Anna.

Anna Kopernik was with her Jewish friend Irene and Irene's son Justyn when the Germans began the blitzkreig. Narrowly surviving the nighttime bombings of Warsaw, Anna leads Irene and Justyn from Warsaw back to Krakow. The granddaughter of a Polish nobleman, daughter of a law professor and a professor in her own right, Anna might have been safe in Krakow, even after the "open city" succumbed to German control. But when the Germans rounded up the intellectuals, Anna's father was dragged to a concentration camp and Anna's position becomes precarious. Her friends Irene and Justyn are ordered to wear armbands with yellow stars identifying their Jewish heritage. Offered travel visas out of Poland, Anna, Irene and Justin attempt the dangerous journey.

Years later, Justyn comes across an American aviator in the fields of the village Warempage, Belgium while checking out "drop sites" for the Allied Forces. Anna helps bring the young American to the safe house operated by the Comet Line. So begins Anna's involvement in the Comet Line and the White Brigade.

Review:
Suspenseful, engrossing, and skillfully executed, Night of Flames brings us a close look into Polish resistance movement during World War II. Douglas W. Jacobson artfully combines a complex plot with deep and sympathetic characters. The bravery and heroism of ordinary citizens in the face of grave personal danger and overwhelming odds will stay with you long after you've finished the book.

Publisher: McBooks Press; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2008), 384 pages.
Review copy provided by Pump Up Your Book Promotion.


About the Author, courtesy of his website:
Douglas W Jacobson is an engineer, business owner, and World War Two history enthusiast who has traveled extensivley in Europe. Night of Flames was inspired by the war-time experiences of his Belgian relatives and his own Polish heritage. Doug and his wife, Janie, live in Elm Grove, WI.

Thank you so much to Douglas Jacobson, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion for this opportunity!

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I am excited to be one of the tour hosts for the Book Blog Tour of Night of Flames: A Novel of World War II by Douglas W. Jacobson. When I first read about the book Pump Up Your Book Promotion, I couldn't wait to sign up!

Today, I'd like to welcome the author, Douglas W. Jacobson who will share what he loves about war stories and the people that we celebrate through these stories of war.

Why I love war stories . . .

by Douglas W. Jacobson

I must correct myself straight off. I don’t really love war stories as much as I do stories about the people caught up in them. War is as much a part of the human experience as breathing. Throughout history there have always been conflicts among people and there always will be. It is part of our nature as fallible human beings.

War is an extension of conflict taken to the extreme. And the ultimate tragedy of war is that the people who suffer the most are the common people swept up in it, those who had nothing to do with starting it and whose only desire is for the strength and good fortune to live through it.

In his book, World Crisis, Winston Churchill wrote, “Thus when all the trumpets sounded, every class and rank had something to give . . . but none gave more, or gave more readily than the common man or woman.” In those eloquent words lie the essence of the story I endeavored to tell in writing Night of Flames. Through the characters in the story—Anna Kopernik, a university professor in Krakow, Poland and her husband, Jan, a cavalry officer—I have attempted to pay tribute to the countless acts of nobility and courage performed by common people caught up in the catastrophe of humanity’s darkest hour. What Anna and Jan endured during the long night of Nazi occupation is exactly what hundreds of thousands of real life people endured during this greatest and most damaging of all wars. I have tried, through this work of fiction, to honor their bravery and their memory so that future generations may know the real tragedy of war.

In closing I would repeat the quotation from the legendary general of the 1^st World War, Ferdinand Foch, which has served as an inspiration in my writing; “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul of fire.”

Douglas W. Jacobson is an engineer, business owner and World War Two history enthusiast. Doug has traveled extensively in Europe researching stories of the courage of common people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. His debut novel, Night of Flames: A Novel of World War Two was published in 2007 by McBooks Press, and was released in paperback in 2008. Night of Flames won the 2007 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association. Doug has also published articles on Belgium’s WW2 escape organization, the Comet Line; Poland’s 1st Armored Division; and the liberation of Antwerp. Doug has just completed his second novel set in Europe at the end of WW2. You can visit his blog at www.douglaswjacobson.blogspot.com.

Thank you so much, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the chance to participate in this book blog tour. Come back tomorrow to read my review of Douglas W. Jacobson's Night of Flames.

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I'd like to welcome F.W. vom Scheidt, author of the financial thriller Coming For Money. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about how you'd come to write your first book. Without further ado, let's all welcome F.W. vom Scheidt to Starting Fresh!

I have always been drawn to writing because I have always been drawn to a search for some understanding of this human life.

At my last count, there are not many literary writers originating from the financial world. I wanted to write from personal experience. I wanted to write from what I know best.

Investment decisions must be accomplished with brutal honesty; because, with money, you are either making informed decisions, or you are investing out of greed or fear. There are no other possibilities. But putting investment decisions into action requires people. Maintaining sensitivity to people in an insensitive environment helps bring them to a common focus: on value, on integrity, and on success.

I sat down at the keyboard. Although I have always been a literary writer, I had no idea how I would capture my experiences in international finance in literary fiction. Without thinking, the first sentence came to me. I typed it. Then I looked at that sentence for a long time.

Instinct told me that the sentence had risen from something that was deeply absorbing me, and that it was something I had to tell. I knew I had to find some way to tell it truthfully. From that point, I knew there was no way out . . . except to construct the novel.

While Coming For Money is a story that advances from chapter to chapter along the corporate intrigue that beats at its heart, and continually mirrors the financial headlines of our daily newspapers, it is much more. It is an illustration of what happens to us as human beings when we lose emotional connectiveness, when we lose emotional logic.

And this was how Paris Smith came to me - because he is tragically, if admirably, flawed. He is not flawed in the classic Shakespearean sense of a noble man who is brought to ruin by his won avarice or rage. His weakness is not that he lusts after wealth or power or flesh. Rather, and far more important for us in these times, he is flawed in that he never learned the great lesson of his generation: don't become emotionally involved. Paris Smith's weakness is that he needs, and has always needed, emotional involvement in order to sustain his life. It is for him - as, ultimately, it is for us all - as necessary as breathing.

As Paris Smith refuses to relinquish his search for emotional connectiveness, he becomes a character we learn to appreciate and admire. In the sometimes stubborn, sometimes creative, battles he wages against other men in his corporation who are pitted against him, Paris Smith becomes ever more conscious of how he could stem his personal pain and loneliness by simply retreating emotionally and victimizing those around him. Or he might learn anew how to offer up his own emotional involvement. I'll leave it for readers to see how this plays out in the end, and decide what they may want to take away from his quest for human meaning in our contemporary world. But I hope readers will appreciate Paris Smith as much as I do.

oOo

About the Book, courtesy of the Author:

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I'm excited to participate in the Blog Tour of The Target: Love, Death and Airline Deregulation by J.R. Hauptman. Thank you so much to the author, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Blog Tour!

Synopsis:

Set in the airline deregulation period of the 1980s, The Target captures the tumultuous first years of airline deregulation and the effects this had on the industry and people who worked in it.

Corporate raider and union buster Carlo Clemenza is generally recognized as the most hated man in the airline business. Working with Wall Street, Clemenza uses junk bonds to finance acquisitions that are made profitable through a winnowing of the ranks, union busting, and large scale budget cuts that increasingly reduce safety measures. Clemenza's methods and unpopularity have resulted in death threats and several attempts on his life.

Arguably, as a class it is the pilots that have been most affected by Clemenza's various takeovers. With the abrogation of union contracts, many pilots chose to strike - and subsequently faced unemployment. Those that returned to Clemenza's Centennial Airlines did so at large reductions in pay and benefits. Those that sought work at other airlines ended up scrounging for work outside the majors and with regional players, air freight, jet charters or similarly less prestigious and lower paying jobs.

A pilot at Centennial Airlines at the time of Clemenza's takeover, Captain Ivan Jasaonovich had followed the union's stance at great cost to himself. After lost half of his retirement in a failed travel agency and unemployed, Ivan had plenty of time to consider Clemenza's role in the continuing decline of the airline industry. Believing that removing Clemenza would halt the airline takeovers and slow down the mismanagement of airlines, Ivan is willing to take down "the Target". Ivan's military training and industry contacts give him an edge not available to many others. The Target follows Ivan as he plans, stalks, and confronts Carlo Clemenza.

Review:

Full of twists and turns, The Target is a detailed and well constructed thriller that gives the reader a fuller understanding of the changes brought by the deregulation of the airline industry in the 1980s. I couldn't help but sympathize with Ivan and his colleagues - I hadn't understood the full impact of airline deregulation. This was a great way to gain insight into that period while enjoying a fast paced thriller. I found The Target a fun and fascinating read.

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (January 8, 2009), 320 pages.
Courtesy of the author and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Blog Tours.

About the Author from the book:

J.R. Hauptman has been a professional pilot for nearly half a century. Barely twenty years old, he began as a military pilot and for almost two years, he flew combat support missions in the Vietnam War. Upon Leaving military service, he was hired by a major airline and was initially based in the West Coast. His flying career was interrupted by the turmoil that racked the airline industry during the early days of deregulation. In the interim, he worked as a travel agent, as a stock broker and even trained dogs and horses. In the late 1980s, he returned to aviation, flying jet charters and air freight. He concluded his career flying corporate jets and now lives in Florida. He is completing his second work, a non-fictional social commentary and surfs every day, waves or not. His marketing website is http://stores.caddispublishing.com/StoreFront.bok

Thank you so much to the author, Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Blog Tour for this opportunity!

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Welcome to the Meggie's Remains Virtual Book Tour courtesy of Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

I'm happy to introduce Joanne Sundell, the author of Matchmaker, Matchmaker, My Name's Amelia, The Parlour House Daughter, The Quaker and the Confederate series, Hearts Divided, Hearts Persuaded, and her latest book, Meggie's Remains. Joanne shares with us her thoughts on How To Make Your Characters Believable. Welcome, Joanne and thank you so much for spending this time with us!

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"When the new family on the block moved in -- a mom, a dad, three kids, and a fish -- the neighbors kept an eye out for trouble. Yet life remained as usual...until the day the visitors arrived." - Too Many Visitors for One Little House by Susan Chodakiewitz, illustrated by Veronica Walsh

Family get-togethers and reunions are a popular summertime activity. We receive an invite to at least one family reunion each summer. The families all mingle together, a crazy-quilt of individuals brought together by relation and catch up on a year's worth of updates. The kids run around and eat the dessert on their plate first. Our reunions always involve potlucks, for better or worse. Sometimes we play outdoor games. Most of the reunions we attend are held in a park shelter building, though once and awhile the reunion takes place at a relative's home. You can bet I won't be volunteering to host anything like that for quite some time though. Too much happy chaos for me!

Happy chaos is a good term for what occurs in the children's picture book, Too Many Visitors For One Little House by Susan Chodakiewitz. A family with kids moves into the quiet El Camino Street neighborhood and nosy neighbors keep watch for signs of trouble. Nothing out of the ordinary happens until the day a huge camper pulls up in front of the house and a whole bunch of people spill out and head into the house. Not fond of any sort of noisy ruckus, the nosy neighbors get ready to report the disturbance to the city complaint department, all the while proclaiming "Too many visitors for one little house!"

Susan Chodakiewitz's debut and self published picture book includes everything you'd expect to find during a high-spirited family gathering involving kids and parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and even a scraggly, stray dog. The really interesting thing about this book is that some of the events depicted actually occurred. One summer after moving to a new home, author Susan Chodakiewitz did have numerous, rather boisterous family members all stay at her home and her neighbors reported the "suspicious activity."

The book contains a lot of stereotypes, and Walsh's slightly caricature-like illustrations help bring out the exaggerations. Readers see a fashion-crazed teen, grandma carrying prune juice bottles, grandpa lugging a plunger and toilet paper and a nanny in a wheel-chair with her fresh apple strudel. While it is obvious to adults that the characters are meant to be a bit outrageous, I took the time to point out some the stereotypes to my daughter. (I'm not bringing up the topic of prune juice though...some things are better left unsaid to preschoolers.) My daughter liked the lively pictures and the repetition of the phrase "Too many visitors for one little house," but her very favorite part of the book was the addition of the scraggly dog. The main message of the book deals with friendship and is a good one to learn...a message of inclusion rather than exclusion.

Too Many Visitors For One Little House by Susan Chodakiewitz, illustrated by Veronica Walsh. BookSurge Publishing (February 2009); 40 pages; ISBN 9781419654701; paperback
Book Source: Review copy provided by Pump Up Your Book Promotion

Additional related information:
Chodakiewitz also developed a musical version of the book. You can visit her website Booksicals to learn more about how the characters are brought to life using acting, song and dance. She is planning a sequel to the book featuring the scraggly dog. Readers can help name the dog by entering the Booksicals "Name the Dog Contest."

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