Book Blast Giveaway – Fathoms of Forgiveness by Nadia Scrieva

Posted on February 28, 2014 by fundinmental

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Mermaids in Fathoms of Forgiveness by Nadia Scrieva. I love mermaids so I wanted to share this series with you.

So…let’s dive right in and see what’s happening with Visola.

Fathoms of Forgiveness by Nadia Scrieva

BLURB

Meet the brave and fearless Visola; a woman unlike any you’ve ever encountered. Her wit and humor take her through the darkest of dangers with a smile always on her face–and her smile only grows larger as the odds become more impossible. With no concern for her own safety, Visola dives headfirst into the throes of battle to protect the people and country she loves, even if it means facing her worst enemy–the one man who can get inside her head and break her down like no other: her own husband…

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Apple / Smashwords / Google Play

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EXCERPT

When Visola awoke, she realized with a start that she was not alone. The warmth of another body so close to hers had made her sticky and uncomfortable, and she was quite sure that it was not a puppy cuddled up against her back. No, as advertised, it was one of Aazuria’s half-naked, well-muscled, exotic men indigenous to the Southern Continent. She groaned, and slammed her elbow backwards into the man’s stomach, shoving him away from her with disgust. He hit the floor with a loud crash and an oof as the wind was knocked out of him. At least I have a story to tell Sionna when we get home, she thought to herself. She snuggled back down happily between the sheets. Then it occurred to her that she was no longer on the beach.

He hit the floor? Visola frowned and opened her eyes. She saw the wooden patterning of her bedroom wall on the ship. This confused her as she had not remembered returning to the boat. She had brought a Yawkyawk man back to the ship? What had she been thinking? What about Aazuria? Visola was reminded of the fact that she should never party, because she always partied too hard. Was it really worth ruining days or weeks of her life over one night of pleasure? Pleasure that she could not even remember, for that matter.

The man she had accidentally shoved off her bed made a grunting noise. She turned over to face him, and propped herself up on her elbow so that she could speak to him in sign language.

“Please leave my room immediately,” she told him. Even as she commanded this, she observed his features and physique. He was wearing trousers, but unclothed from the waist up; she was surprised by her evidently impressive subconscious taste. She kept her face stern, and did not betray that she found his appearance pleasing. “I was drugged last night, and I apologize for anything I said or did, but I do not remember any of it, and I did not mean any of it. You must leave immediately or I will employ force to remove you from my quarters.”

The man rubbed his head where he had hit it on the floor. “God almighty, are you always this grumpy in the morning?”

“I am not gru…” Visola froze. He had spoken in English. With a thick British accent. She noticed his fair skin and precisely groomed black hair which was swept back into a small curled tail. “You are not a Yawkyawk man,” she said slowly.

“No,” he said, yawning.

“You’re King Kyrosed’s new advisor.”

He nodded, closing his eyes and stretching sleepily. “I tried to explain that to you last night, but you were convinced that I was a bird.”

“You swine!” she yelled. She pounced on the man, and punched him in the face viciously. “You scoundrel!”

“Now hold on a moment,” he said, grabbing her wrists. He was surprised to find that he could not easily subdue her. “You’re being a tad judgmental.”

Visola straddled him and forced his hands above his head, pinning them there with one hand before punching him in the face again. “I was delirious! I was drugged! I expect you to know better—you are civilized!”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nadia Scrieva lives in Toronto, Canada with no husband, no kids, and no pets. She does own a very attractive houseplant which she occasionally remembers to water between her all-consuming writing marathons.

Stalking Info for Nadia Scrieva

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Blog

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To get your copy of Fathoms of Forgiveness or another Sacred Breath novel by Nadia Scrieva, click on the cover below.

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GIVEAWAY

Nadia will be awarding the box set of Sacred Breath Series or the box set of Thirty Minutes to Heartbreak (winner’s choice)to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found by clicking on the image below:

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look below or on the right sidebar at Home and let’s talk.

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Excerpt – Blood and Gold by Hawk MacKinney

Posted on December 10, 2013 by fundinmental

This is one of those books where the title grabbed me at the same time as the cover.

Hawk MacKinney is a prolific writer and I am surprised I am not familiar with his work.

I must remedy that and I will start by sharing Blood and Gold with you.

BLURB

Blood and Gold, the third book in The Craige Ingram Mystery Series, once again tests the instincts and skills of retired Navy SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram. Lust, greed, body parts and unrestrained wild sex parties are what await Craige Ingram when he leaves the comforts of his South Carolina home to visit his former SEAL buddy, Detective Spinner Krespinak. Set in the Colorado underbelly of a sordid sable and faux glitz ski mecca, Detective Spinner Krespinak suspects drugs have made their way to the snowy playground that is Aspen. An Olympic ski hopeful is brutally murdered, Spinner vanishes, and Craige Ingram is shot as events spin out of control with a Catch-22 no one anticipates.

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EXCERPT

Spinner’s high mountain, ski slope bronzed hand ruffled through his hair. He flipped another page, “That’s the third one, counting the other mismatched body parts as one and two.” Frowned. “There’s not much more here than with the others.” Handed Craige Loopy’s prelims. “Take a look at those…lemme know what you think.” Krespinak brown eyes bayoneted the blue stick-‘em pasted to the center of his monitor, “…mm…interesting phone memo. Seems Hizzoner the Mayor is concerned. Wants to keep the lid on. Claims he doesn’t want to scare away business. Real fact behind his fume-an’-fuss is all about not wanting to scare away votes in the upcoming elections. Media’s already nosing around about this morning’s torch job—that ought to rattle his cage. Stroking a yancy politician doesn’t gripe me, but if he was serious we could use some additional personnel pavement pounding for answers.”

Ferron said, “Loopy said she hadn’t gotten the final results on the mitochondrial DNA runs. But from what she’s seen so far, she said it doesn’t look like this latest one even comes close to a match with any of the previous body parts. Time of death is iffy as well. If the body was left outside in the subfreezing temps, Loopy said it could stretch the time interval. Her best guess is within a week or two of the others. Only difference this time, we have a whole body.”

Craige asked Ferron, “When did the first one show up?”

Ferron thought for a moment, asked Spinner, “When did we get the first one? A little over two months ago?”

“Something like that…date’s logged in the case file,” Spinner said. “What bothers me most is not what we have, but what we don’t have. Along with no IDs and no statewide missing person reports, there’s not even a close to a match to any of the age ranges Loopy suggested.”

“You think the killings are random?” Craige said.

“No—I don’t think they’re random. But I’m one of the few who feels that way.” Spinner thought of the grisly pieces in the morgue cooler. He didn’t like prowling for motives. Liked it less their coming up empty with damn few answers. Sure didn’t like the doubts gnawing his innards. “I’m stuck at which came first—chicken or the egg quandary. Which victims were intentional targets? Which ones might’ve just been in the way; killed to make sure there were no awkward inconvenient witnesses. If they are serial killings, we’re not seeing any time-pattern between kills. There has to be a reason for the times between each victim, and why are we finding only pieces?”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention. Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

“Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy–these are the things that take Hawk’s main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation’s capital and across Europe and the Middle East.”

Barbara Casey, President

Barbara Casey Literary Agency

Website / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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To grab you copy of Black and gold, or any Hawk MacKinney novel, click on the cover below.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

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

A Christmas Treat Giveaway- Swept Away for Christmas

Posted on November 22, 2013 by fundinmental

SWEPT AWAY FOR CHRISTMAS

by MJ Fredrick, Tanya Michaels and Trish Milburn

BLURB

Christmas isn’t always snow-covered with a frosty chill in the air. Sometimes it’s sandy beaches with balmy breezes.

And sometimes we find love in the most unexpected places, a place like Starfish Shores.

Here Comes McBride

Shelby James has only truly loved one man — but Finn McBride broke her heart when emotional baggage from his past came between them. Now, Shelby is serving as maid of honor at a beach wedding where Finn is the best man. Will reuniting with Finn be a Christmas miracle, or the worst mistake she’s ever made?

Two Hearts a Leaping

After a break-up with her high school sweetheart, Harley Blume retreats to her brother’s home in Starfish Shores to lick her wounds and figure out what she’s doing next. But her brother is in the Coast Guard reserves and heading out of town, leaving her in the care of Liam Channing, his best friend since they played college football together. She’s never been able to keep her tongue in her mouth when good-looking, easy-going Liam is around. How is she going to find her way if she can’t keep her balance?

Cruisin’ for a Kiss

When Avery Phillips loses her magazine job right before Christmas, she heads back home to Starfish Shores to spend the holidays with the grandparents who raised her. The plan is to hit the job search hard so that she has a new position when the New Year arrives. What isn’t part of the plan is heading up a remodeling effort at her family’s beach motel or falling for the man helping to save the business into which her grandparents put a lifetime of work. As Christmas draws closer, will Avery stick to the original plan to leave town again or take a chance with Luke Taylor and a new life she never expected?

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EXCERPT

I chose this excerpt because it made me laugh out loud when I read it.

Two Hearts a-Leaping

by MJ Fredrick

The pole bent under the weight of the fish’s fight, and Liam put his hand over Harley’s to show her how to reel it in, how to let the fish play it out, then reel it back in. Impatient, she tugged the pole away and worked it herself, using the rhythm he’d showed her, a rhythm that he shouldn’t be thinking was like sex, with its give and take.

Seriously, Sam had been gone a little over twenty-four hours. Liam should have better self-control than to be lusting over his sister already.

He leaned over the edge of the boat, joined by Mia, to watch for the fish. A mackerel, most likely, and depending on the size, it might be good eating. He’d bet she’d let him clean it for her, if she wouldn’t let him help her bring it in.

“What is it?” she asked breathlessly.

“Don’t see it yet. You doing okay?”

She nodded shortly, concentrating on the pole and the reel and the rhythm. Her scarf had fallen loose and her hat was on the deck and her face was flushed, her eyes bright. God, he wanted to kiss her. Bringing her out here had been a bad, bad decision. At least in the bar, on the beach, he could walk away, she could walk away.

He needed to walk away now. He popped to his feet and crossed the deck to retrieve his fishing net. Mia followed, then headed back to the edge of the boat, her tail whipping furiously. Liam leaned over to look. Sure enough, she’d hooked a mackerel. He grinned.

“You want to reel him in, or grab him with the net?”

“I’ll reel him in.”

Liam reached over with the net, guiding the end of the pole to aim the fish, and scooped. He lifted the heavy flopping fish into the net so she could see it.

“Did you bring your phone? You could text a picture to Sam.”

She fished in her pocket and handed it to him. He traded her for the net, which she had to hold with both hands, while he opened the camera app and snapped a shot. Since she was bobbling the net, he tucked the phone in his own pocket and took the net from her.

“Dinner tonight?” he asked as she stared at it.

“Oh, no, I can’t eat him. Let’s throw him back.”

“Are you sure? He’s a good-sized one, and I have a chest right over there for our catch.”

“No, I don’t think I want to eat him.”

“If I catch something, will you eat it?”

“I guess, sure.”

He reached into the net and with some difficulty, snipped the hook from the fish’s mouth, and was about to dump him back into the ocean to swim away.

“Wait!”

He froze and looked over his shoulder at her.

“You said Mia would lick him.”

“Right.” He looked from woman to hopeful dog, reached into the net for the wriggling fish and grasped it in both hands before offering it to the dog.

Mia sniffed the length of the fish, then swiped her tongue along its length. Harley was still laughing when he tossed the fish back in the water.

And then Mia jumped in after it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

MJ Fredrick knows about chasing dreams. Twelve years after she completed her first novel, she signed her first publishing contract. Now she divides her days between teaching elementary music, and diving into her own writing—traveling everywhere in her mind, from Belize to Honduras to Africa to the past.

She’s a four-time Golden Heart Award finalist, and she won the 2009 Eppie Award with Hot Shot and the 2010 Eppie with Breaking Daylight. She was a 2012 Epic Award finalist with Don’t Look Back.

Website / Blog / Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter

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Four-time RITA finalist Tanya Michaels is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than thirty books. Her stories incorporate the same elements she values in real life—community, family and a sense of humor. Her current releases include the popular Colorado Cades trilogy for Harlequin American Romance.

She lives in Atlanta, GA with a very patient husband as well as two kids and a dog who are plotting against her. When not writing, reading, or spending time with her family, Tanya watches entirely too much TV. She’s also made Twitter her virtual home. Join her there to hear about her life as a writer and the outrageous things her kids say.

Website / Facebook / Twitter

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Trish Milburn is the author of contemporary romance for Harlequin American Romance, paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne, young adult fiction for Bell Bridge Books and indie publishes her romantic suspense, women’s fiction and other titles. She’s a two-time Golden Heart award winner, a fan of walks in the woods and road trips, and is a big geek girl, including being a dedicated Whovian and Browncoat.

Twitter / Facebook / Website

GIVEAWAY

The authors will award a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

What do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?

The tour dates can be found by clicking on the banner below.

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To get your copy of Swept Away for Christmas, or learn more about the authors, click on the cover below.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

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

Excerpt for Nymrod Resurrection by Hawk MacKinney

Posted on November 19, 2013 by fundinmental

The cover lured me in and the blurb finished me off.

What’s not to love about an ex-Navy Seal and PI, assassination and Armageddon?

The excerpt makes me think of a scene on Bones, the TV show that is based on real-life forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs.

The haunting cover screams of bad things to come.

BLURB

Investigating an unlikely murder, Ex-SEAL and part time PI Craige Ingram discovers an officially sanctioned assassination. His investigation quickly stirs beyond the dirty backrooms of the nation’s capital with more killings across Europe and the Middle East. The dead woman is somehow connected to stolen artifacts from a time before Babylon. As he probes apparently unconnected clues, he locks horns with an enigmatic enticing secret agent with her own agenda and her own way of doing things. Craige faces train wrecks and deadly assassins doing business with a rich mercenary selling biotoxins, rare stamps, deadly nerve gases, and smuggled nuclear material to the highest bidder. As Craige peels away at the shadowy Operation Nymrod, he finds an elusive power-hungry dead-set mind – a driven obsession with a frightful arsenal of bioweapons ready to fulfill ancient prophecies with a very personal Armageddon that makes the monstrous last day of the twin towers of the World Trade Center pale in possibilities.

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EXCERPT

On the second-floor landing I spotted familiar faces from the department’s forensic team. The smell was worse inside. With that first look I didn’t need to be told that the pulpy lump with swollen pumpkin dimples where eyes should have been was one very bloated dead body. The corpse was well into being recycled. It no longer looked human. The body had been cooking in the sweltering oven of a Dixie mid-August scorching summer in this dreary one-flight walkup of apartments with no AC and painted-shut windows. Near the peeling paint archway and a worse kitchenette beyond I spotted Gray huddled with just over five feet plus, roly-poly Coroner-Medical Examiner Fred Dinkins.

“What you got?” I asked.

Gray indolently heaved a getting-paunchier fried chicken and beer belly and idly mumbled, “We’re not quite sure….” threw me that MacGerald we-got-trouble look. “Right now all I know for sure is, it’s no run-of-the-mill homicide.”

There was more in his look than his words. It was all over his face that things weren’t going the way he liked. I’d known that from the moment I disconnected from his call. He wouldn’t have made the call for a squabble between drifters over street drugs or a grocery cart of scrounged throwaway clothes. When a corpse is concealed, long term or otherwise and left to rot, decomposition can alter forensic evidence until it tells other stories—but not usually ones you want to hear. Dinkins had his work cut out for him and his crew. It’s one way perps buy themselves time, and concealment usually means there’s considerable more that went down. In my wildest night-stalks I could never’ve imagined how right-on-the-money that would prove to be. Ignorance is bliss…our SEAL team learned real quick. It can also get you killed.

Without looking up Dinkins said, “One more pitiable devil that died alone.” Piercing blue eyes peered over his ever-present black wire-rim glasses perched unsteadily on the end of his nose. In low-key measured words, “Prelim exam leads me to believe the corpse is female, but we’ll wait till we get the body to the morgue, see what the autopsy and lab tests tell us. I don’t want any second guessing the evidence. Besides, we’re about finished up here.”

The dreary apartment was busier than it’d seen in decades with double shifts of the forensic techs bustling-sorting the whens and hows of death. The cracker box kitchen adjoined a corner next-to-nothing squalid dinette area furnished with a dirty Masonite wobbly table barely big enough for two. In the front room the melon-round, no-neck head squatted square on the bloated chest of the oozing corpse. The whole misshapen inhuman mess had sagged into the soggy sofa.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention. Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

Barbara Casey, President

Barbara Casey Literary Agency

Stalk Hawk

Website / Amazon / Barnes and Noble

To get your copy of Nymrod Resurrection, or to learn more about Hawk McKinney and his books, click on the cover below.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

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

Nature runs AMOK – Wild Times on Skidaway Island by Karen Dove Barr

Posted on November 6, 2013 by fundinmental

I am very happy to be a part of the tour for Wild Times on Skidaway Island by Karen Dove Barr.

I have so much to share that I hope you will take a leisurely tour through the post and enjoy all that Karen Dove Barr and I have to offer for your enjoyment today – Guest Post, Excerpt and My Review.

I have a small collection of travel books. Before going to a new place, I always buy a book to learn as much as I can and find the photo op places of choice.

The cover immediately drew me in and when I read that Skidaway Island is a part of Georgia’s Historic Rain Forest, I became intrigued.

I lived in Atlanta, Georgia for two years and loved it. I never made it to Skidaway Island, but if I had read this book while there I would have made it a point to visit.

Wild Times on Skidaway Island

by Karen Dove Barr

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SYNOPSIS

Wild Times on Skidaway Island, Georgia’s Historic Rain Forest, details life in a unique Audubon-designated, ecologically friendly refuge. There, golfers pitch balls around endangered great blue herons, mama raccoons march their babies across backyard decks where once Guale Indians trapped ancestors of the same raccoons, and residents dodge alligators and rescue snakes.

Even the vegetation is wild. Three hundred-year-old oaks dripping Spanish moss and poison ivy surmount an under-story of wax myrtle and holly. Carolina jasmine, Cherokee roses, and endangered orchids grow wild in the rain forest. The book examines choices residents make when stared down by a bald eagle, when a red-tailed hawk mistakes a golf ball for bird food, when wakened at midnight by deer munching hibiscus. Wild Times on Skidaway Island educates about the species that residents must adapt to on this historic island.

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GUEST POST

Why did Karen choose to write about this particular island?

Skidaway Island has been my home since 1989. When I first crossed the causeway and bridge to the island I didn’t know quite what to expect, even though I had lived in nearby Savannah for many years. Development is allowed on only a few of Georgia’s barrier islands. Skidaway had remained unbridged and mostly uninhabited in modern times.

A dappled herd of white-tailed deer grazed on the banks of the lagoon just inside the North Gate on my first trip to Skidaway Island, like shills for the real estate company. The saleslady neglected to warn that the thunder of hooves would wake us at midnight, when deer munched pots of hibiscus on our wooden deck.

After we built the house a mama raccoon descended from the fronds of a palm tree and marched her trio of kits across the wide back deck while we watched, open-mouthed.

I didn’t know the history of the island; only that James Oglethorpe left a few of his original settlers on Skidaway Island when he landed in Georgia in 1733. All the settlers died or left.

After Georgians struck down the English trustees’ prohibition against slavery men and women from Africa were brought to Skidaway and remained there for nearly one hundred years. By the end of the nineteenth century almost all were gone.

We built our house on land ringed by giant oaks but the center of our lot contained only dense, new-growth pine. Traces of an abandoned dirt road crossed one edge. When we dug our footings, we found shards of blue and white china. And when I moved in the spirits of previous residents filled our rooms.

Wild Times on Skidaway Island lets the world share the facts I’ve learned about this beautiful but sometimes uninhabitable place.

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EXCERPT

I chose this excerpt because it had me cracking up as I read it.

When Walt and Carol Culin topped their house at The Landings with a coated metal roof they were confident the roof would be problem-free for a hundred years. Walt’s contacts as head of an industrial coating company helped him get the latest technology. Even a hurricane shouldn’t destroy their unusual–looking roof.

But nothing in Walt’s Princeton-educated background prepared him for dryocopus pileatus, the pilated wookpecker.

Male pilated woodpeckers are fixated on the notion that female woodpeckers are attracted to the stud with the noisiest pecker. Usually the woodpecker has to be content with drumming on a hollow tree to resonate his sound. Walt and Carol’s metal roof, however, raised the bar for the local woodpecker population. Walt and Carol were regularly awakened by mate-seeking woodpeckers as soon as they moved into the house.

Walt ended up having to make a run to Toys ’R Us for rubber snakes. Glued to the chimney alongside a big fake owl, the snakes allowed Walt and Carol to catch some winks in the early morning during woodpecker mating season.

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MY REVIEW

What can I say? If you are a traveler that does your research before taking a trip, this is a book you will want to add to your collection before visiting Skidaway Island, Georgia’s Historic Rain Forest.

Karen Dove Barr made me think of Cape Cod as I read the book.

I could feel the mud oozing through my toes as she talked of the mucky river bottom. It has a very distinctive aroma, not pleasant, but all of us water lovers learn to love it. I always wonder what critters are under the muck waiting to nibble on my toes.

I could picture the kayakers riding the waves, the bikers pedaling through the scenic pathways, the noreasters blowing and the liquor smugglers trying to bring their wares to the thirsty residents without being caught by the man.

Skidaway Island Oceanographic Institute would be a must see on anyone’s list. The Oceanographic Institute is a 700 acre campus that is part of the University of Georgia. Photo from Skidaway Island Oceanographic Institute website.

The Island differs greatly from the Cape when it comes to the vegetation. The towering oaks can be over 100 years old, with massive branches that create an umbrella of shade . Even on the hottest days you can take some comfort in their embrace.

The critters abound and I love all nature’s gifts, from the flying squirrel, to the pesky deer trying to eat all your beautiful flowers. There are those irritating raccoons and even bobcats spying on whatever comes to the bird feeder. There are opossum, river otters, minks, rabbits, fox, bats and feral pigs.

Birdwatchers will love the abundance of flying creatures. The crows look down as if we are the novelty. I laughed when Karen talked about coming up on a snake while biking. It was actually an anhinga anhinga, a snakebird. Eagles have returned to Skidaway Island, so the residents must be doing something right. When you visit you may be lucky to have a Bald Eagle sighting yourself. Pilated woodpeckers – I have always wanted to see one of these. They remind me of a pterodactyl.

I love birds, but my favorite creatures have to be found in the water. And Skidaway Island does not lack for the variety, large and small, to be watched and photographed. They even have the knobbed whelk as their official state shell. How cool is that? There are also all the little critters that live in reeds and muck. For those weak at heart, you might want to wear your water shoes.

Skidaway Farms is a cooperative for growing vegetables, trying to keep the wildlife from farm-art-023 dining before the residents. There is a children’s garden and they even have a fall festival. Photo from Skidaway Farms website.

The flowers and vegetation are all around you, vibrant and in some instances protected, such as the green orchid, one of the few orchids to be able to endure frosty weather.

I became enamored with Skidaway Island. As Karen talked of her home, I was kayaking, (but not running, walking), biking, fishing, swimming, and just enjoying nature’s bounty. What a fantastic environment to be in. People just need to remember, it is nature’s home, we are the visitors.

Karen – your book made we want to jump in my car and cruise on up to Skidaway Island!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 5 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

I received this book from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Dove Barr, Attorney, was recently recognized by the Georgia State Bar for providing legal assistance to military families and service members. She has practiced in the field of family law in Savannah for 34 years.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website / Facebook

Amazon / Barnes and Nobles / Strategic Media Books

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To learn more about or to grab a copy of her books, simply click on the cover below.

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GIVEAWAY

Karen will be awarding a $25 Walmart gift card to FOUR (4) randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a Grand Prize of an Apple iPad to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Do you do any research before traveling?

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

The tour dates can be found HERE.

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

To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

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

Blast Giveaway & Freebie – Return To Audubon Springs by RoseAnn DeFranco

Posted on November 6, 2013 by fundinmental

Audubon Springs by RoseAnn DeFranco is FREE at AMAZON during the tour. Please be sure and check for the “0”.

RETURN TO AUDUBON SPRINGS

RoseAnn DeFranco

BLURB

When Emma Grant returns to her family’s Audubon Springs beach house to fulfill the stipulations of her father’s will, she has every intention of forcing her former lover out of the house for good. She’s never fit into her wealthy family and would prefer avoiding her past, but with her brother threatening to reveal her young daughter, she has no choice.

Rafe Iuliano has other plans. The wealthy Grants tried to bribe him out of Emma’s life years ago, but he’s determined to prove once and for all that a master carpenter is worthy of Emma and the house.

Their ridiculous and steamy battle for the house reignites the love and passion that bloomed between them years ago. But when Rafe discovers she’s kept their daughter a secret for two years, can he overcome anger and pride to claim his family and the love of his life, or will the deception drive a final wedge between them?

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EXCERPT

Emma would have looked adorable in the simple snug tank top and Bermuda shorts if it weren’t for the look of utter horror on her face.

“Have you lost your mind?” she screamed.

“Yes!” He turned off the saw, threw it on the ground, whipped off his protective goggles and tossed them as well. “Why do you ask?”

“You cut a massive hole in the back door!”

“This here is an example of our differences. You see a hole. I see a home improvement project. This is no ordinary square hole in a door, this is a doggie door.” He pushed on the large piece of cut wood until it fell and landed on the pantry floor inside with a loud clap.

“It’s about three times the size of a doggie door,” she stated flatly.

“Yeah, but I’m the dog. So Princess, what do you think?”

“I think you are insane.”

“I AM insane! You have MADE me insane! You threw all my stuff out front. You used my underwear for rags!”

“I couldn’t find anything else.”

“There is a basket full of rags in there.”

“None of them fit the occasion,” she said with a straight face.

“I must have lost my mind because that almost makes sense.” He gestured to the door. “Ladies first.” When she stared unmoving, he climbed through the cut door and opened it. “Just for the record, a caveman would have made you climb through.”

“Just for the record, I only changed the locks on the front door.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RoseAnn DeFranco grew up in upstate NY with her nose in a book and a song in her heart. Following the pursuit of a musical theatre career in NYC, she turned her creative energy to writing romance. RoseAnn blogs about her writing experiences with her critique partners at www.the violetfemmes.com. A NJ shore transplant, she enjoys time spent at the beach with her family. She would love to one day live in a quaint shore town like the fictional town Audubon Springs from her BROTHERS OF AUDUBON SPRINGS series.