Raining Fools by Jackie Castle

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About the Book

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Bekka Winters hung up the phone. Ethan, her brother, needed her help with his new music production studio. She stared at her already packed bags. Why not? She’d just graduated from college and didn’t exactly have a job to go to. Besides, a music video might look good on her resume when she looked for real work.

Stephen Gaines couldn’t believe Ethan had called him after their last blow up. They’d been music partners once. Stephen had ruined that. It was his expertise to wreck relationships especially those he had with women. Fortunately, Ethan didn’t know about him and Bekka. She was the one woman that had broken through to the deep parts of his heart. If only… how many times had he said that in the past? A fresh start is just what he needed.

Bekka’s mind bubbled with ideas for Ethan’s studio. Not to mention she couldn’t wait to see Ethan and Haley, the woman who’d captured her brother’s heart. But when she pulled into the drive and saw the familiar fancy car that Stephen drove, her heart dropped. There was no way she’d let him back into her life.

My Review

This book was different in some ways. I really loved the photography, the art, the filmmaking, and visual effects and the music, not necessarily in that order. All those scenes were very well written. This book focuses mainly on two couples and their relationships with each other and their families. There were lots of ups and downs, people coming from broken backgrounds, solid backgrounds, mixed backgrounds, abuse both physically and from drugs, as well as just plain not having a relationship with God. 

I never quite figured out why the title is what it is, but I was happy with the ending and how the relationship resolved, the way the secrets were handled. What remains with me the most, however, is the imagery of when the film was shot, and the music, and the interspersed message of God’s redeeming love.

About the Author

Jackie Castle looks for the extraordinary in every ordinary day that she experiences. She is the author of The White Road Chronicles a fantasy series, The Sentinel Archives for school-age readers, and newly released Madison Creek Bed & Breakfast romance series. She has also published articles and short stories in numerous magazines. She’s enjoyed many crazy adventures from working as a hairstylist, to her bravest quest: teaching children in daycare and elementary schools. Eventually, she settled down to a somewhat safer pursuit of being a Story-weaver.

 Now she lives in her comfortable Texas home where she spins entertaining tales and enjoys relaxing in the evenings with her husband Bob, their children and grandchild.

Her favorite pastime, besides reading, is traipsing through her imaginary worlds in search of another story.

 Find out more about her shenanigans over at Jackie Castle’s Story World: www.jackiecastle.com. There you can also sign up for her monthly newsletter.

Guest Post from Jackie Castle

I’m best known for my fantasy series, The White Road Chronicles, and I love the make-believe world of Alburnium. But as these stories have traveled towards the ending, I’ve decided to venture into a more modern world. I enjoy a good, clean romance as much as anyone else, and I love writing stories about communities where people band together for the greater good.

So, I came up with Madison Creek, a small town on the verge of dying out. But the people there aren’t ready to give up. They decide that if they band together, maybe they can revive their little lakeside town and make it thrive. 

My husband is from Michigan. I’m from California. We met in the middle: Texas. He’s adapted quite well to the south, loving the hot summers, hot food, and well, he simply likes being warm. Though I miss my moderate California, I’ve also grown to love Texas. 

Whenever we travel up north to visit his family, we lament over to lack of flavorful food and the ability to stay warm. (Even in the summer we’ve had to wear winter coats!!) 

We are often teased by his family for how we put two syllables into words such as fire, dead and y’all. (Yes, he’s been in Texas long enough now to have developed a bit of a twang). I don’t know how many times we’ve talked about moving up north to open a BBQ joint so there’d be somewhere good to eat. Except, we both hate the cold and I’m sure I’d never survive a Michigan winter. I spent two weeks up there once in December, and swore I’d never do that again. I mean, 4 feet of snow in one night? Good Lord have mercy! 

Basically, that’s how I came up with Haley Madison, the blond Texas gal who inherited her grandpop’s farmland in Madison Creek, Michigan. Her life has been one big mess after another and she’s determined to take this opportunity to set things right. She’s lived on ranches for over half her life and loves to cook a lot of food for folks. (My family was always big on cooking lots of food at holiday gatherings, so it just seems natural.) 

Haley ends up meeting Ethan Winters, who she calls the handsome Yankee that plays a violin. The first book, Snow Belle is about how they meet. The second book, Raining Fools, continues Ethan and Haley’s story in the background. But in Raining Fools, you’ll meet Ethan’s sister Bekka and his best friend, Stephen Gaines who have a history with each other that neither cares to remember, except those old feelings they had for each other refuse to go away. Bekka, though strong in her faith, is uncertain about what God wants her to do with her life. Stephen, a playboy with a troubled past, appreciates his friend’s strong faith, but believes God doesn’t care about the ‘little people.’ At least, not until a series of mishaps has him taking a second look at the Winters’ beliefs. 

What I hope people take away from my story beside an entertaining tale, is that God loves them. That they belong to a kingdom that’s bigger than themselves. That we are stronger together than apart. These are themes that readers can find in my stories. 

I have several more ideas for novels and novellas that will continue Haley and Ethan’s story while we meet various people who visit the B&B when they come to Madison Creek hoping to start a new life. My hope is that readers will come to enjoy visiting this quirky little town as much as I do when I write the stories. Texas might have its spicy food and natural ruggedness, but I do love Michigan’s wild beauty and kindhearted folks. I just love it more in the summertime.

Blog Stops

November 3: Quiet Quilter

November 4: Bibliophile Reviews 

November 5: Daysong Reflections

November 6: Proud to be an autism mom

November 7: Reviewing Novels Online

November 8: Janet Pecorella

November 8: The Power of Words (Spotlight)

November 9: Moments Dipped in Ink

November 10: A Greater Yes

November 11: Blogging With Carol

November 12: inklings and notions

November 13: Carpe Diem

November 14: Mom Is Forever

November 15: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner 

November 16: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

Giveaway

In honor of her tour, Jackie is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card! Click the link below to enter; be sure to comment on this post to claim your nine bonus entries for this giveaway! https://promosimple.com/ps/a81d

A Week of Werewolves, Faeries and Fancy Dresses by Nicki Chapelway

To purchase your copy, click here.

About the Book

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Chelsea Welling is a completely normal fifteen year old girl… well normal except for the pesky fact that she thinks she is going crazy. Either that or she really is being transported to a magical world known locally as Amar. However when Chelsea is transported to Amar with her friend Easton, she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that these little trips are more than figments of her imagination. Then the unthinkable happens. Chelsea, Easton, Chelsea’s brother Clint, and their mutual friend Bobby are all stranded in Amar. They cannot return to Earth until they finish a dangerous quest that their fathers set out on over twenty years ago.

Chelsea is in for one trying week as she flees from werewolves, faces down faeries, and fits into fancy dresses- all while she struggles alongside her friends to fulfill the all-but-impossible tasks of finding out what the quest their fathers set out on was, and succeeding where their fathers failed. 

My Review: 

This young author has some promising work ahead of her. I loved the premise of this book, which drew me in very quickly. This book is written in a first person teen-age style. Most of the time, I found that fun. 

 My only issues with this book came from places where the entire story line jumped without a clue as to why, or what really happened. That bothered me a good bit, it made me feel very lost at times, and I still have questions that don't have answers. I hope those answers will be addressed in the next book so that I can understand why several things were out of sync. Those parts left me feeling like something got deleted or moved and that is confusing. A few characters vanished and reappeared without explanation. 

 Past that, this book has plenty of fantasy creatures, and four very determined teens who have been sucked into another world in order to finish a mysterious quest that was started by their fathers. What a mission they are on! They don't even know all the details, so we are learning them along with them. It's a mystery that will not be solved without the rest of the story, which  I hope I will be able to read in the future.It's the first installment of much more to come! 

Carol :)

About the Author 

Nicki Chapelway is the pseudonym used by a completely ordinary- as in you could pass her in the street and not be the wiser- teenage girl. She is only fifteen years old- I know, a real child prodigy- and this is the first of- hopefully- many stories written by her. She enjoys reading, writing (she wrote this book for her own entertainment- not yours; you just get to benefit from her hobby), swimming when she can, and obsessing about other peoples’ stories almost as much as her own. She also enjoys watching TV, her favorite movies and TV shows include: Doctor Who, Avengers, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Nicki currently resides in Ohio with her family of eight and two dogs, Rylie and Zoey. She is now working on the next books in this series- when she’s not distracted by other stories (both hers and others’). You can contact her at http://pausefortales.blogspot.com

Guest Post from Nicki Chapelway

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to write. I wished this even before I enjoyed reading (I actually spent the first half of my childhood hating to read and avoiding books like the plague).

I believe that the desire to write was inspired by my older sister (an author herself). When I as younger she would tell me stories that took place in the books that she was writing. In my eyes these books were the coolest things in the whole wide world, and my sister was one of the smartest, cleverest, most ingenuous people I have ever known (besides my parents of course) to have come up with them. I wanted to be just like her. The only problem?

I couldn’t write.

While my sister was writing great works (at least to my young mind) like Julien and Juliet I was trying to write lame stories such as The Princess in the Sewer. I thought it would be a great idea to write about a princess living in a sewer (you know ignoring the whole disgusting-ness of it all). However, that was as far as I ever got. As soon as I tried to come up with the prince and the villain, or at the very least an explanation what the princess was doing living in a sewer I realized that I was in way over my head.

After that I didn’t give up on writing per se but I certainly stopped trying so hard. I contented myself to simply play with myself, devising worlds and making up bad guys for myself to fight. I acted this all out, using my imagination to transform my Living Room into an enchanted forest. I devised whole worlds with interesting characters, strong heroines (played by mwa), and evil villians. Little did I know that I was world building and creating stories, something that I had previously thought impossible for me to do.

Fast forward some years and now I’m eleven years old. It’s two months till my sister’s birthday and a crazy idea comes to me. I can write her a story for her birthday based off of a game we played together called The Blue Butterfly. I figured that since it was already a reasonably well-developed story I would be able to just write the story without getting caught on the thing that always got me every time I tried to write a book, my inability (or so I thought) to come up with a story and a plot all my own. But it didn’t exactly work like that, I surprised myself by taking my own path while writing the story, changing some things and developing a different plot. I was shocked that the ideas for writing a story actually came to me. Then I realized something, I had been doing this all along when I had been playing my games, and if I truly wanted to be an author I could just write what I had been playing all these years.

At this realization, flood gates opened. Suddenly whole worlds- worlds that I never thought possible for me to see- were opened to me. All at once I got ideas for half a dozen books, and it seemed that everything I looked at gave me at least two other ideas. To a person who had spent her whole life up to this point in time simply languishing to come up with one doable idea this was all quite overwhelming.

I no longer had problems coming up with ideas, no my problem was now quite the opposite. I was bombarded by ideas. I spent three years simply flitting from idea to idea never able to settle on one long enough to actually write it before I was distracted by something new and shinier.

Finally the summer of my fourteenth year I sat myself down and told myself that I was going to have to come up with a book idea and stick with it until I finished it, and so My Time in Amar book one A Week of Werewolves, Faeries, and Fancy Dresses was born. Which I am so excited to have on a blog tour at Celebrate Lit. I really want to thank everyone on the Celebrate Lit team who made this possible, most especially Sandra, as well as everyone who is a part of this tour.

And to all my future readers, I hope you enjoy the book!

Blog Stops

October 25: A Baker’s Perspective

October 26: Simple Harvest Reads

October 27: Blogging With Carol 

October 28: Book Babble

October 29: Through the Open Window

October 30: Blossoms and Blessings

October 31: Genesis 5020

November 1: Ashley’s Bookshelf

November 2: A Readers Brain

November 3: Bukwurmzzz

November 4: Book Reviews From an Avid Reader

November 5: It’s Storytime With Van Daniker

November 6: The Power of Words (Spotlight)

November 7: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

Giveaway

In honor of her tour, Nicki is giving away a signed copy of A Week of Werewolves, Faeries, and Fancy Dresses as well as a signed copy of Nicki’s soon-to-be-released second book! Click the link below to enter; be sure to comment on this post to claim your nine bonus entries for this giveaway! https://promosimple.com/ps/a5f0

The Domino Effect by Davis Bunn

Finances, we have them, use them, the world runs off them, but just how deep can one financial thriller go? This book took the concept and ran with it.

Esther is trapped in a job where she is a "yes" girl. She just says yes to high stakes risks in a massive financial market when her boss says for her to do so. Thus is her life as a risk assessment person for Charlotte First Mercantile Bank. The problem, she sees so much more risk than anyone would admit to. In fact, Esther sees the beginning of the end coming.  When she starts presenting what she sees, she pretty much becomes a whistle blower. The problem being a more global one, and if the first domino falls.... Well, we all know what that leads to; udder and total economic and financial collapse. 

So, can one woman, who is an introverted highly stressed genius stop the entire domino effect from happening? Will people listen? Will anything change? Is Esther Larson a modern day biblical Esther, or is it all going to fall apart? 

This was a interesting book, a rather scary book, and deeply financially based. I understand the stock market, but this takes it very deep, as well as other major things that were happening. It's like a behind the scenes into big banking and global and world economy. I did get a little lost a few times, but recovered quickly. 

Over all, a way too real scenario to be an easy reading book, or even a thriller. It's a deep thinking read. 

About the Book:

Esther Larsen, a top risk analyst at one of the country's largest banking institutions, is becoming more and more convinced that she has uncovered a ticking bomb with the potential to make the 2008 market crash look minor by comparison. And as her own employer pursues "investment" strategies with ever-increasing levels of risk, she becomes convinced she must do something. But Esther is only one person; can she stand up to an international conspiracy of greed? And if she does, will anyone take her seriously? 

Every moment of indecision edges the markets closer to a tipping point--the teetering first domino in a standing row that circles the globe. And when Esther finds her voice, those she seeks to expose will not sit idly by. With global markets on the brink, and her own life in danger, Esther is locked in a race against the clock to avert a financial tsunami that threatens worldwide devastation. 

Davis Bunn is the award-winning author of numerous national bestsellers with sales totaling more than seven million copies. His work has been published in 20 languages, and his critical acclaim includes four Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. Davis also writes fantasy under the pseudonym Thomas Locke (tlocke.com). He and his wife, Isabella, divide their time between England and Florida. Learn more at www.davisbunn.com

The Devoted by Suzanne Woods Fisher

To purchase your copy, click here.

About the Book

Click to Purchase.

Restless and adventurous, Ruthie Stoltzfus is right on the cusp of leaving her Amish home. Secretly, she’s earned her GED, saved her money—but she can’t quite set her journey into motion. Just as everything falls into place, along comes Patrick Kelly.

Patrick is a young man on a journey of his own. He’s come to Stoney Ridge to convert to the Amish and has given himself thirty days to learn the language, drive a buggy, and adapt to “everything Plain.” Time is of the essence and every moment is to be cherished—especially the hours he spends with Ruthie, his Penn Dutch tutor.

Ruthie’s next-door neighbor and cunning ex-boyfriend, Luke Schrock, is drawn to trouble like a moth to a flame. Rebellious, headstrong, defiant, Luke will do anything to win Ruthie back—and Patrick Kelly is in his way.

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to Stoney Ridge for a story of dreams deferred—and the promise of hopes fulfilled. 

My Review:

I'm happy to return again to the world of the Inn of Eagle Hill. I have throughly enjoyed the other books in this series, and frankly, most of what I have read from this author. This book got my attention in the first few pages. A strange man needs shelter for the night. In the morning he is dead. Was he murdered? Boom! That is the start and just the very start of this book. Ruthie doesn't feel like she fits in anymore. Her feelings of what to do with her life are ones that many of us, myself included, can relate to from at least once in our lives. Sometimes when you think things are going to go one way, they go another way. I have had that happen more times than I can count, and on those levels I connected to Ruthie. 

Patrick Kelly has left the "world" to come be one of the Plain. He is doing just the opposite of what Ruthie has been wondering if she should do. He has come and given up his old life, and has decided that in a tiny thirty day time frame, he will be able to speak this new language and become as Amish as possible. My first thought were what is this man running from for him to become Amish and hide in this town. Then things are even more complicated, because Ruthie is the one teaching him, and he could be the right man for her. Well, that is IF he becomes Amish, and IF he turns out to be who he should be, and IF....  Patrick was instantly likable to me, and also instantly someone to be a wee bit suspicious about. Devotion being a huge theme in this book, it takes some major devotion to leave a life behind and transform into another life in any length of time, much less in just one month. 

Now this is just the tip of the depth of so much more in this book. Life, death, reconnecting with characters from prior books, and more. Yes, Hank still yells. LOL! Dok was amazing. 

This was an excellent read, that didn't disappoint me at all. 

5 stars for sure! 

Carol :) 

About the Author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is an award-winning, bestselling author whose most recent novels include Anna’s Crossing and The Inn at Eagle Hill series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and The Heart of the Amish. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Twitter @suzannewfisher.

Blog Stops

October 18: cherylbbookblog

October 18: Blogging With Carol

October 18: Mary Hake

October 19: Reading Is My SuperPower

October 19: Books,Dreams,Life

October 20: Singing Librarian Books

October 20: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

October 21: Seasons of Opportunities

October 21: Daysong Reflections

October 22: Back Porch Reads

October 22: Southern Gal Loves to Read

October 23: Lighthouse Academy

October 23: The Power of Words

October 24: Bigreadersite

October 24: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner

October 24: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

October 25: Artistic Nobody

October 25: Donna’s BookShelf

October 26: Pause for Tales

October 26: Christian Chick’s Thoughts

October 26: Bukwurmzzz

October 27: Splashes of Joy

October 27: Bibliophile Reviews 

October 28: ASC Book Reviews

October 28: Vic’s Media Room

October 28: inklings and notions

October 29: Jeanette’s Thoughts

October 29: Book Bites, Bee Stings, and Butterfly Kisses

October 30: A Baker’s Perspective

October 30: Book by Book

October 30: Quiet Quilter

October 31: Two Girls and a Book

October 31: Blossoms and Blessings

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Suzanne is giving away a copy of The Devoted and an iPad Mini 2 16GB! Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a60b

Time Trap by Danele J. Rotharmel

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book

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When problems arise during a field exam, Director Peter Matthews and Dr. Laura Nelson are sent through a time portal to investigate. While they search for their missing cadets, they encounter an enemy who is calculating and brutal—a mysterious nemesis who is holding a grudge against the TEMCO program. As Peter and Laura race to unravel clues directing them to their kidnapped cadets, their own survival comes into question. A deadly trap has been set, and they are forced to pit their wits against a serial killer who is intent on playing a deadly chess game through time itself. 

My Review:  

WOW! So, when I started this book I though that it was a wee bit confusing. A few chapters later, I was becoming familiar with characters and was sucked into the plot. Chapters later it was so incredible I didn't want to put it down. This book has many characters. Multiple couples and a mystery as well! There are time travel cartages and Cadates in training for time travel, and Time Trapper devices and that is the tip of things. Of course, no one traveling can do the wrong things, or it will set off a Time Tunisia. That is a familiar concept from time travel, and a rather logical one. This one is a bit different, you could meet the younger version of yourself. 

So, while Gil and Dan are having a baby, we have two missing Cadets. Now things pick up like crazy! Someone is targeting Cadets, and or time travel members of this group. (TEMCO)  It shouldn't be someone from the future, but who this could be, an why, it a total mystery. Peter and Laura go to find out why, and now your not going to be able to put this book down during the action and mystery part. A murder is on the loose, traps are set, a mystery to solve, people to protect, relationships falling apart, relationship coming together, and in the middle of all this there are scriptures and lessons to learn. 

This is a long book, and I had not read the first one. That is probably why I was lost at the front, but trust me, this can stand alone. Once it is rolling, the long part is a boon! The characters are very realistic and I love the way they are working to council youth and keep them out of jail in the future, etc... Most of the theology was pretty good, and the scripture and people working on forgiveness was excellent. 

I found a new series, a new author, and I want to read all of them! Totally a 5 star read. 

About the Author

Danele Rotharmel grew up with a love of the literary word, and by age five, she knew she wanted to be a writer. However, her life took an unexpected turn when a mysterious illness brought her close to death. Eventually, she learned that a low-level carbon monoxide leak from a faulty furnace in her home was slowly poisoning her. This poisoning triggered severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and partial amnesia.

During this time, the hardest thing she faced was a crisis of faith. She had to quit her job and stop going to church. She couldn’t write, couldn’t drive, and could barely remember who she was. To say she was upset with the Lord was an understatement. She began reexamining her faith in light of her illness, and eventually, she came to the firm conclusion that God is real, God is good, God is interested and involved, and God is trustworthy regardless of tragedy.

When her illness became even more severe, she was put into quarantine and could only talk to friends and extended family through the glass of a window. This quarantine lasted for seven years. During this time, she wrote the first six books in The Time Counselor Chronicles.

Danele currently lives in Colorado where she continues to write. Although her journey back to health was long and difficult, it provided her with the opportunity to grow closer to God and to write her books. For that, she is forever thankful.

You can learn more about Danele by visiting her blog at https://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/

Guest Post from Danele Rotharmel

I’ve always loved to read, but I hate that horrible moment when a good book comes to an end. It’s torture saying goodbye to characters I’ve come to love. One of the best things about being an author is having control over your own stories. I wrote The Time Counselor Chronicles while I was extremely ill and enduring seven years of quarantine. During that time, I didn’t have control over many aspects of my life, but I did have control over my fictional characters. I found extreme pleasure in the fact that since I was the author, I didn’t have to say goodbye to the TEMCO crew—I could just write them another story.

Time Trap is the second book in my series. It can be read as a sequel to Time Tsunami, or it can stand alone. Time Trap was written for one reason only—I was enjoying myself, and I didn’t want to say goodbye to the people I’d created in Time Tsunami. And that’s why the other books in my series were written as well. By the time I finally sought publication, I’d completed six books. Writing, for me, was an act of pure enjoyment. When I began, I wasn’t thinking about publishers or reading audiences, I was simply thinking about what type of adventure I wanted to write next. My books brought me joy, and that was all that mattered. For years, I didn’t let anyone know I was writing. TEMCO was my personal world—my escape hatch from illness and pain. I was afraid that if I let others into my imaginary world, it would crumble away. As it turned out, the exact opposite was true. Knowing that people were enjoying my stories filled my life with incredible happiness!

I always fill my books with suspense, romance, action, faith, and comedy. I keep them clean, and I work hard to make them full of page-turning fun. Communication is such a wonderful thing. I love that fact that we can relay our ideas, hopes, and dreams to each other. My books are more than just stories, they symbolically chronicle the way I stood up to my illness and fought it. They speak about the value I place on love and friendship. They show that humor can be found even in the midst of great difficulty. And most of all, they demonstrate that a crisis of faith isn’t the end—it’s simply the first step to understanding God on a deeper level. Life isn’t easy, but I’ve learned that even in the middle of tragedy, God is faithful and trustworthy. That’s what each of my characters eventually learn, and that’s what I hope my readers will take away from my books.

Blog Stops

October 6: A readers brain

October 7: Simple Harvest Reads

October 8: Book Reviews From an Avid Reader

October 9: Through the Open Window

October 9: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

October 10: CTF devourer

October 11: History, Mystery & Faith

October 12: Pause for Tales

October 13: Blogging With Carol

October 14: Donna’s BookShelf

October 15: Carpe Diem

October 16: Petra’s Hope

October 17: henry happens

October 18: Vic’s Media Room

October 19: A Baker’s Perspective

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Danele is giving away a package that includes an autographed paperback copy of both Time Tsunami and Time Trap, a Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord” journal, a lovely coffee cup, and a 4X4 picture frame. Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a5da