Winner of A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY GIVEAWAY!

People:

Ya’ll amazed me yesterday. I was worried that my giveaway would be unpopular. I was worried that no one would enter. I worried that I’d have to claim the book for myself. Or beg someone to enter.

I WORRIED FOR NOTHING.

Thank you for the turnout! Thank you for entering! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The winner is:

STACIE AMELOTTE.

She has been notified and accepted the title of winner- and cannot wait to receive the book!

If you DID NOT win, I’m sorry. I really am. However, fear not- because there are other blogs giving A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY away – and I’m sweet enough to provide a link! HERE is the link!

Special thanks and snaps to Kate Carlisle and Cozy Mystery Reviews

Thanks again for the turnout- you all rocked my socks off!

Best,

Traveling With T

The Original 1982 by Lori Carson (TLC Tour 5)

Lori Carson, author of The Original 1982, writes a book that is daring- yes, I say daring. The Original 1982 based on book cover and synopsis has the potential to sound like a perfect beach read- but this book is a book that is more. It’s daring, and has these sections of honesty, real life feel. To find out more about Lisa, her music and other things, please visit her website or connect with her on Facebook.

The Original 1982

ISBN:978-0062245298

Paperback:240 pages

Publisher: William Morrow

Purchase: Amazon, Indiebound, Barnes and Noble

Source: TLC Books

The Original 1982 is a story of a choice- a choice that was made to appease a lover; not because it is what Lisa wants. Lisa is pregnant and her lover, Gabriel, does not want to a father. The story that follows is a 2-sided look at life- what really happens in Lisa’s life after the choice and what could have happened if she had not made that particular choice.

The story is written in almost a diary format- a diary to Lisa’s unborn child. Lisa writes about life- her daughter being born, daily struggles and more. As Lisa tells the story, she sometimes begins speaking of how things really happened instead of how she dreams life to be.

However, Lisa does not make the life she did not choose easier. Lisa writes a realistic life for a single mother in the 80’s in New York City. Later, the book allows the reader to see, in part, what made Lisa consider what would have happened if that crucial choice had not been made.

Lisa’s story, the story to the daughter, the re-writing of life- is partly bittersweet, but mostly daring. With The Original 1982– readers are exposed to 2 worlds- and the differences, yet similarities in how life could have played out.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

From the cover and the description, I thought of this book as more “chick lit” and was curious about the book. Then I opened the book and began reading- this is not “chick lit”- it’s not a fluffy beach read. The Original 1982 is more serious- alternating between the 2 lives, with each life being a viable and fulfilling option- and shows how life happened for Lisa. The topics introduced in The Original 1982 are serious and the ending is fitting for the type of story that Lori Carson wrote.

Did I like this book? Yes, yes, I did. I have no regrets about reading The Original 1982. Do I wish that it was the fluffy beach book I envisioned? No, not really. I think Lori Carson did a terrific job with the writing- and had it been any other way- it would not have been meaningful. This book is a book to add to the TBR list.

A Cookbook Conspiracy by Kate Carlisle (Author Q&A and Giveaway)

Today on Traveling With T, I have an Author Q&A with Kate Carlisle and a giveaway of her latest book, A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY (June 4th). Take some time, read the Q&A and then enter the giveaway!

Kate Carlisle, author of the Bibliophile Mystery series, says that a life-long love of books lead her to the writing of the Bibliophile Mystery series. To find out more about Kate, visit her website or her About Me page. To connect with Kate, check out her Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages. To see the list of Bibliophile mystery books, visit her Books page.

To buy A Cookbook Conspiracy, visit Amazon, Indiebound or Barnes and Noble.

To read an excerpt of A Cookbook Conspiracy, read HERE.

Author Q&A with Kate Carlisle:

1. What drew you to writing cozy mysteries? What inspired you to write the Bibliophile mysteries?

I’ve always loved to read mystery series, where you really get to know the characters. After the first book, they feel like friends, so it’s a reunion and a celebration when the next book in the series comes out. I love that the culprit is always caught, I love the humor in the genre and the fact that the violence is not the sort of gore you get in thriller novels.

My tagline is “Smart. Funny. Murder.” and I think that really captures the feeling I so love when reading – and writing – cozy mysteries.

As for what inspired me to write the Bibliophile Mysteries, book binding has been a hobby of mine for many years. I try to take at least a couple of classes in book arts every year. The process of restoring well-loved books has always fascinated me. I wanted to write a book series that centered around books in a different way than any other author had done. And so Brooklyn Wainwright, world-class bookbinder, came to be.

In each Bibliophile Mystery, Brooklyn is asked to restore a different rare book. She can bring any book back to life. Sadly, she doesn’t have the same power to revive the murder victims she finds. Somehow, their death is linked to the book she’s restoring, and Brooklyn is doggedly determined to bring the killer to justice.

2. Do you have a favorite character in your series? A character that is fun to write?

I adore so many of the characters, it’s hard to choose just one! I love writing Derek Stone, Brooklyn’s love interest. Derek is a British security expert – like James Bond, but without the license to kill and without the fear of commitment. He’s smooth, sexy, and he has an edge of danger that I personally find irresistible. So does Brooklyn!

I also love writing Brooklyn’s parents. Jim and Becky Wainwright followed the Grateful Dead on tour for years and named their six kids after the place each was conceived. When they got off the road, they raised their kids on a wine country commune. Through hard work and smarts, they helped the commune thrive, so that now all its members have beautiful homes and plenty of cash.

In A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY, the character I really enjoyed getting to know better was Brooklyn’s sister Savannah. Savannah is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef who specializes in vegetarian cuisine with gourmet flair. When Savannah is discovered over her ex-boyfriend’s dead body with a bloody knife in her hand, Brooklyn knows instantly that she must prove her sister’s innocence. But it won’t be easy – there are so many people with a grudge against the obnoxious celebrity chef, that Brooklyn will have a tough time figuring out which one took that final, irreversible step. All she knows is that it wasn’t her sister.

** For the giveaway- please make a comment and leave your email address (you may use the AT and DOT to help prevent spam). The giveaway will end Monday night, 11:59pmEST. A winner will be randomly selected from the eligible entries (Sorry! US Only)

While, it will not add extra chances to your potential of winning- I do hope that you’ll consider either following the blog or “liking” me on Facebook- that would be the extra sprinkles on my ice cream sundae of a day 🙂

Literary Friday, ya’ll…..

Friday. Ahhhh…..

1. Deep South Mag and their #literaryfriday: Sinning across the South, book signings and more!

2. Boston Herald reveals it’s Summer Book Club: 10 hot reads to pack in your beach bag. The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan made the list- which I’m super excited about because I won an ARC from the adorable Sarah McCoy, author of The Baker’s Daughter. Look for my review of The Engagements to be posted in a couple of weeks!

3. A Novel Review is giving away Sarah Jio’s newest book, The Last Camellia!

4. She Reads featured today The Blog Network Recommends– 3 great sounding books were recommended- The Last Camellia, The Third Son, and The Outcast.

5. Drey’s Library is also giving away The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (plus she has a fabulous interview with her!)

6. Today, Traveling With T, began Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club– come join in the fun as we talk about Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight. The questions for Week 1 discussion have been posted- so plenty of time to join in!

7. ICYMI: I reviewed Never Tell by Alafair Burke and Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman this week.

8. My #fridayreads are Reconstructing Amelia and A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White.

9. Traveling With T will have #giveaways next week! Come and visit 🙂 A Cookbook Conspiracy by Kate Carlisle will be given away MONDAY JUNE 3rd. Don’t miss it!

Happy Reading!

Reconstructing Amelia- Week 1 Questions/Thoughts

It’s here! It’s here! The day we thought would never arrive! Throwing confetti in the air, pouring glasses of champagne kind of day- Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club begins!

Reminder: We’ll only be discussing the assigned reading for the week- and this post (Week 1) is the place to discuss. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

I began reading last night on the Kindle- and I’m enjoying so far!

Questions and Thoughts:

1. From the first page- I’m getting the feeling that RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA has a Gossip Girl/The Skulls/possibly a Mean Girls feel- is anyone else picking up on those movie/TV shows feelings?

2. Let’s talk about first thoughts of this cover: It’s dramatic. It’s interesting. It’s fitting for the book (at least my first impressions). Sometimes a cover does not match up with the book- did the cover art folks for Reconstructing Amelia nail it or not? (It’s ok if you change your mind later on- we’re going on first impressions here!)

3. The title- Reconstructing Amelia- a simple, yet poignant title. Reconstructing means to put something back together in the simplest terms- so the title is telling. However, is there a possibility that there is going to be more to this title?

4. We’ll discuss this as the month goes on; but what are your thoughts on teenagers, social media, and their parents? Is the teenagers just having normal “teenage rebellion”? Or is social media adding an extra layer to the normal “teenage rebellion” and making interactions between teenagers and parents harder?

5. What do you think of how the school environment is portrayed? Is this an accurate look? Or is this more of an East Coast prep school type portrayal that we see in books and movies? Is it a stereotype or is it accurate?

I can’t wait to see everyone’s thoughts and opinions!

Thursday Mashup

Mashup- Giveaways, 36 hours spent in Jackson, MS, 30 Hot Books for Summer and more…

#giveaways

She Reads is giving away Marybeth Whalen’s newest book, The Wishing Tree!

Love At First Book is giving away A Dual Inheritance by Joanna Hershon!

The Book Wheel is giving away A Complicated Marriage by Janice Van Horne!

Book-Alicious Mama is giving away Letters from a Whoremonger’s Wife by Danita Clark Able.

#travel

Jackson, MS was featured in the NY Times Travel section- 36 Hours in Jackson, MS!

For more information on planning a visit to Jackson (or other place in Mississippi)- check the website Visit Mississippi

#bookrecommendations and #hotbooks

USA Today reveals it’s list of 30 Hot Books for Summer. Bookmagnet has revealed her list of books for June in it’s It’s a June Books Boon– and 1 of the books she lists, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls by Anton Disclafani, also made the USA Today list! Two of the books I listed for Beach Bag Reads (The Tao of Martha: My Year of Living or Why I’m Never Getting All the Glitter Off The Dog by Jen Lancaster and Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger ) also made USA Today 30 Hot Books for Summer.

Everyone is a busy bee, but me!

Thanks Melinda 🙂 It’s getting rather book-ish at Traveling With T- but there will be some pictures of Eudora Welty’s camellias and Tennessee William’s house soon 🙂

melindamcguirewrites

It seems like everyone I know in the writing, editing, blogging, crafting, creating sphere goes into overdrive during the spring and summer months (except for me!).

photo credit: Cheng I via photopin cc

Here are some of the people that I am connected with and what they are doing right now. Maybe it will provide you with some inspiration. It just makes me want to take a nap for them — I know they must be tired!

Let’s start with this busy lady – Tamara – and her blog Traveling with T. Goodness – she is off and running – a book club, book reviews, travel updates, book tours. Let’s just say she is rather bookish these days 🙂

Next up is a woman who I know cannot possibly sleep. She just cannot do it. Andi Kay Klemm and her blog Anakalian Whims – in addition to…

View original post 294 more words

1 day till RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club begins!

It seems like it was forever ago that this idea began, that people started expressing interest, that I finally got the lead out and decided to do this! But, here we are- 1 day away from the discussion beginning!

Thanks to all my Twitter friends, Jen S, and everyone else who just saw this and decided to say they wanted to join- this is going to be a fun discussion!

Just 1 quick little note: I’ll be posting the questions and thoughts every Friday- but that does not mean that Friday is the only day of discussion! Think of Book Lovers Unite like a cocktail party- you come in, grab your drink, begin chatting with people. Then perhaps you need to take a break and go catch a breath of fresh air- just come back to discuss when you can!

Here is a link from a previous post- think of it like a FAQ/Guideline thing that you should look over!

One last thing: Just before this starts, let’s just be sure to be respectful of each other. I don’t expect a problem (because we’re adults who like to read and discuss books- and we understand that each person has their own opinion!)

See ya’ll tomorrow- I can’t wait!

Never Tell by Alafair Burke (TLC Tour 4)

Photo credit: TLC Book Tours

Alafair Burke, author of Never Tell, has 2 series featuring women leads- one is Ellie Hatcher and the other is Samantha Kincaid. Alafair Burke writes her characters and stories based on her experience as a former prosecutor. Alafair’s interest in crime stories could be directly related to the fact that when she was a child- she lived in the area that the criminal known as BTK used as his stalking ground. To find out more about Alafair Burke- her reading interests, future books and more- please visit her website, like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Never Tell

ISBN: 978-0061999161

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Harper

Purchase: Amazon, Indiebound, Barnes and Noble

Photo credit: TLC Book Tours

Ellie Hatcher is called on the scene of a posh New York townhome and finds a young teenage girl, in a bathtub with wrists slit and a suicide note- it’s hard to not state the obvious fact- that this girl, Julia Whitmire, no matter how much she appeared to have- must have been deeply unhappy and wanted to end her life. Ellie feels “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck- then it’s a duck”. However, Julia’s parents do not believe their daughter would kill herself and they call in favors and connections to make sure the NYPD is doing their job. As Ellie and her partner go back to scene- a discovery is made that makes the NYPD detectives want to question this case a bit further.

As Ellie attempts to get to the bottom of this case- was it a homicide or suicide- she crosses paths and rubs elbows with all different kinds of people- the prep school that Julia attended that has quite a distinguished alumni group, the homeless kids that Julia and a friend of hers liked to hang out with, and many others. Ellie is still fairly convinced that it’s a suicide until the computer tech at NYPD turns up some interesting findings that show Julia may have been engaging in cyber-bullying.

With each day that passes Ellie wonders if her and her partner will unravel the strings that are tying this case. With a little luck and a lot of persistence- they find the clues that are needed to solve this case. But by the time the case is over, Ellie is left to ponder that sometimes there are no answers to the questions- and asking the questions can sometimes do more harm than good.

Traveling With T’s thoughts:

A story that starts off with the question of a suicide or a homicide would have the reader thinking that this was the major crime of the story. Not in Never Tell, though. While Julia Whitemire’s death is what sets this story in motion- it’s the way the death happens and the deep, dark secrets behind it that make this a compulsively readable book. Each time, I thought I had this storyline figured out, Alafair Burke added another twist. Enjoyable, suspenseful, and Ellie Hatcher is a great character. I look forward to reading other Ellie Hatcher books- just to see how her mind works!

Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman is a sweet book that combines family, antiques, love of rural land and the charming town of Charleston.

Teddi Overman is a girl that likes garage sales, estate sales, and finding broken pieces and making them beautiful again. Teddi, while living in Kentucky with her family, dreams of a life elsewhere- a life where she can restore antiques and sell them. Teddi’s brother, Josh, wants a life where he is at one with nature- that is his place, where he is truly happy. Teddi always figures that Josh will become a park ranger- a job where he could help animals, keep the wildlife safe and have a hand in keeping the evils of modern life from the sanctuary of nature. Then Josh disappears- and people begin to fear the worst.

Teddi is living her life in Charleston, owns her own antique store, and has friends and generous people in her life. Josh’s disappearance is still a hole in her life- a hole that she hopes to be able to fill one day by finding out once and for all what happened to Josh. Even though common sense dictates that Josh met an untimely death- Teddi’s heart will not let go of the thought that he is alive somewhere.

When Teddi finds herself back in Kentucky, dealing with unexpected issues- she begins to look at her family’s belongings- and in the process of deciding what to keep and toss- Teddi finds things that show different sides to the family she thought she knew everything about. Learning new things puts her relationships in different lights- and let’s Teddi know that even if love is not expressed in the ways one would want, it is there. Once she arrives back in Charleston- Teddi knows that it is time to live life- to not hold back. With that idea- she finds life in Charleston becomes a richer, more fulfilling experience, and one she was more than ready for.

Beth Hoffman, writing about love, loss, finding yourself, and letting go, creates a story that is a reader’s dream. It has something for everyone, is well-written and very enjoyable. Grab a copy of Looking for Me, sit down and read Teddi’s story. You can thank me later.