Review - Patterns of Evidence Exodus DVD

Releases on DVD August 4, 2015
Run Time: 119 minutes
Special Features: Cast Profiles & 17 Extra Interviews
Behind the Music
From Film to Book
Additional Books and Resources
Host a Patterns of Evidence Movie Event
Trailers
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR

About Patterns of Evidence Exodus:

For more than 50 years, the vast majority of the world's most prominent archaeologists and historians have proclaimed that there is no hard evidence to support the Exodus story found in the Bible. In fact, they say that the archaeological record is completely opposed to the Bible's account. This view of extreme skepticism has spread from academia to the world. The case against the Exodus appears to be so strong that even some religious leaders are labeling this ancient account as historical fiction. Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney begins with the questions, "Is the Bible just a myth, or did the archaeologists get it wrong?" He decides to tackle this issue wit a deliberate scientific approach. After examining the details in the biblical text, he journeys across the globe to search for patterns of evidence firsthand. The result is the most in-depth archaeological investigation into the Exodus from Egypt ever captured on film. This scientific documentary's goal is to communicate the TRUTH of the Bible and help equip believers with defending their faith and the Bible.

The DVD features stunning animations and a cast including narrator, Kevin Sorbo (God's Not Dead, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), interviews with leading archaeologists including Israel Finkelstein, Kent Weeks, and David Rohl, and guest appearances by Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres.

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SOCIAL • C O R N E R

Twitter: @PattofEvidence

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatternsofEvidence?fref=ts

Official Website: http://patternsofevidence.com

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2assFIyLInE

Official Website to Purchase: http://shop.patternsofevidence.com

Blog featuring interviews with director Tim Mahoney and an article by Anne Graham Lotz: http://patternsofevidence.tumblr.com

My Thoughts: I'm not big on documentaries but when given the opportunity to review this video I jumped at the chance. The animations were awesome and I enjoyed how it gave equal value to each side of the debated issue and not just a one sided display of why they think it's not so. I never had/have any doubts of The Bible being accurate but enjoyed hearing the facts to back it all up.

Blitz - Forced to Remember by Samantha LaFantasie

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Forced to Remember by Samantha LaFantasie

Series: Nepherium Novella Series #3

Genre: Adult, Fantasy

The weight of the world feels heavy on my shoulders. Desperation touches everything. Memories forgotten, truths untold. Humanity is threatened. Their safety granted in exchange for me. But I won’t go without a fight.With strange occurrences taking place in the city, it’s up to Elsa and her team to discover why. But an odd encounter at an abandoned warehouse leaves the team with more questions than answers. Just when the team least expects it, Alexander returns, and he’s not alone or without demands: the world’s safety in exchange for Elsa. They have only one week to decide while the world falls under Alexander’s wrath and his powerful army of followers. Avalon seeks help from every Nepherium that can be spared and hope it will be enough to stop Alexander.

Amazon | Kobo

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Excerpt

The commons was designed as a place for officers and elites
to enjoy simple recreation and eat without cause for ridiculous ceremonies,
such as saluting and acknowledging every single rank beneath them. It was also
open all hours of the day to accommodate the various schedules, whereas the
mess hall operated during normal meal times only. As I entered, I found it
packed with all ranks, eyes glued to the TV lowered from the ceiling in the
center of the room. The volume was so high it echoed through the halls. Even
the shower room on the basement level picked up a low murmured hum just above
the buzz of lights when I went to clean up after another workout.

It appeared the news stations had somehow caught wind of the
mysterious happenings there. Strange lights, voices, people in dark vehicles
coming and going at all hours of the day and night. That wasn’t news to me, and
I didn’t want anything else to do with the place. Rarely did the media tell the
truth on what really happens. It was better I ignored the report altogether.

I squeezed and pushed my way to the fridge to pull out a
pimento sandwich and bottle of water then managed to wiggle my way to the
cabinet on the far end for a small bag of chips. Deciding it would be better to
eat in my room, I made my way to the door. Right as I reached it, I realized
the room fell silent. Looking up, I met the eyes of every soul in the crowded
room. They seemed to wait for my reaction.

Then my eyes lifted to the TV, narrowing in on a set of orbs
that were like empty black pits with a sprinkling of brown. The single dimple
on his cheek remained put as he flashed his arrogant smile to all the cameras
surrounding him. My lungs constricted, expelling what seemed like the last of
the air left in the room. A black rim dotted my vision and a strange swishing
in my ears overwhelmed every other sound. Something crashed to the floor with a
loud clatter that echoed too much. My vision faded, and my legs gave out from
under me. 

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About the Author

A Kansas native, Samantha LaFantasie spends her free time with her husband and three kids. Writing has always been a passion of hers, forgoing all other desires to devote to this one obsession, even though she often finds herself arguing with her characters through much of the process. She’s primarily a fantasy writer but often feels pulled to genres such as sci-fi, romance, and others.
Among her writing credentials, a member of the Kansas Writer’s Association and has authored works such as Heart Song (her debut novel) and Made to Forget.Samantha loves to take time to enjoy other activities such as photography and playing her favorite game of all time, Guild Wars 2.

Want more from Samantha? Keep up with her at any of her digital hangouts.

Goodreads | Facebook Fan Page | Author Central | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest

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Giveaway

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Giveaway/Q&A - Dragon Fall - Katie MacAlister

About DRAGON FALL

For Aoife Dakar, seeing is believing-and she's seen some extraordinary things. It's too bad no one else believes that she witnessed a supernatural murder at an outdoor fair. Returning to the scene for proof, Aoife encounters a wise-cracking demon dog-and a gloriously naked man who can shift into a dragon and kiss like a god. Now thrust into a fantastical world that's both exhilarating and terrifying, Aoife is about to learn just how hot a dragon's fire burns.

Kostya has no time for a human woman with endless questions, no matter how gorgeous or tempting she is. He must break the curse that has splintered the dragon clans before more of his kind die. But his powerful attraction to Aoife runs much deeper than the physical-and there may be more to her than even his sharp dragon eyes can see. To survive the coming battle for the fate of his race, he needs a mate of true heart and soul.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1gDE624
B&N: http://bit.ly/1gDE6iR
iTunes: http://apple.co/1HwU07n
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1HwTTZz
BAM!: http://bit.ly/1V7fn6l
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1OgIlfg

*********************Q & A***************************

1) If you had to live out the rest of your life as a character in one of your books which would it be and why?

Just one character? That's cruel and unusual punishment, since I have crushes on all my heroes, and would be happy to step in at any time to replace one of the heroines. You know, if they had to go somewhere. Or if someone (*cough*) sent them on a long trip on the other side of the world. Yeah. I'd totally sacrifice myself to keep aaaall those heroes happy. Especially Christian. And Baltic. And Nikola, and Iain, and Corbin, and Benedikt, and...whew. A little warm in here, isn't it?

With more than fifty books out, it's really impossible for me to pick just one book to step into. I can say that I'd probably lean toward one of the paranormals, simply because I love me some dragons and vampires. And Viking ghosts. And Celtic gods. And doppelgangers...great, now I'm off again. *sigh*

2) Would you consider yourself a "salty", "sweet", or "sultry" person and why?

Oh, I would love to be a sultry person. I want to be a sultry person. Sultry is sexy and mysterious and spicy and all sorts of enticing. But alas, I'm a salty person. I'm not overly sweet, but I do try to provide something that people need in their lives (like salt): humor. The world would be a plain, tasteless place without humor! Viva la salty people!

3) What is one food you literally could not live without?

Chocolate. Oh, pizza and taco salads run a close second, but chocolate is an absolute must have (in moderation, alas).

4) Other than writing what are some other jobs you have had in your life?

I've been a check sorter at a bank, a cashier at a college bookstore, a customer service peon for an art museum, a bird skeleton cleaner for a natural history museum, a Fortran coder, and a physics peer instructor at a university.

5) When you're feeling blue or down what are some things that help make you feel better?

Oddly enough, submerging myself can be helpful for blue days. I recently lost my old boy dog, and during his last couple of days (when I knew I was going to have to let him go) and shortly thereafter, I wrote like a demon. It was a way to avoid looking at his empty dog bed, although I did give myself a day to do nothing but cry. For non-tragedic blue days, I generally baby my muse with video games, black and white mystery movies, and reading.

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About Katie MacAlister

For as long as she can remember Katie MacAlister has loved reading, and grew up with her nose buried in a book. It wasn't until many years later that she thought about writing her own books, but once she had a taste of the fun to be had building worlds, tormenting characters, and falling madly in love with all her heroes, she was hooked.

With more than fifty books under her belt, Katie's novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and are regulars on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. A self-proclaimed gamer girl, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her dogs, and frequently can be found hanging around online.

http://katiemacalister.com/
https://www.facebook.com/katie.mac.minions
https://twitter.com/katiemacalister

******************Giveaway**********************

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Review - Good Intentions (The Road to Salvation, #3) by Pembroke Sinclair

Synopsis: Katie has been through Hell—literally—and discovered that it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, she kind of enjoyed it. She got to be with Josh, found out about her past, and discovered who she wanted to be as a person. Katie didn’t care that her actions went against social norms. She was happy.

But things are changing—again. Wes has come back into her life, and that can only mean trouble. His presence threatens to unravel her new-found happiness. She can’t allow that. She won’t let him back in. Yet, Katie can’t push him away.

Thrown back into a state of confusion and uncertainty, Katie is once again forced to pick sides, and in the process, she may lose herself.

My Thoughts: Let me begin by saying if you have not read the first two books of this series I advise it before trying to jump into this one so you will have an idea of what is going on. They are quick and fast reads so it wont take you long to get caught up. (The Appeal of Evil Review), (Dealing with Devils Review)

The story has gotten better and better in each book and now we have made it to another crescendo as we go into Good Intentions. We left off with Katie being asked by Wes "What have you done?" Yep Wes is back and although Katie can't decide if his motives are pure she begins having doubts where Josh is concerned "FINALLY".

I still find Katie infuriating but she has "grown" a bit throughout the series or at least has started having a better thought process. She has began questioning her decisions and why she felt certain ways so I have to give her that at least.

I really loved this series, after I got past Katie being so childish, but must say the last book, Good Intentions, was my favorite of the three. I enjoy how everything came together at the end. Was on pins and needles a few times as it seemed things were not going to go as I had hoped but everything worked out for the best.

I'm not sure if this is the final book or not as there was no cliff hanger at the end like the first two but there is certainly room for more action should the author decide to continue it. I would enjoy reading more for sure but if not I am totally satisfied with the ending.

*About Pembroke Sinclair*

Pembroke Sinclair is a literary jack of all trades, playing her hand at multiple genres. She has written an eclectic mix of fiction ranging from horror to sci-fi and even some westerns. Born in Rock Springs, Wyoming--the home of 56 nationalities--it is no wonder Pembroke ended up so creatively diverse. Her fascination with the notions of good and evil, demons and angels, and how the lines blur have inspired her writing. Pembroke lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with her husband, two spirited boys, a black lab named Ryder, and a rescue kitty named Alia, who happens to be the sweetest, most adorable kitty in the world! She cannot say no to dessert, orange soda, or cinnamon. She loves rats and tatts and rock and roll and wants to be an alien queen when she grows up.


You can learn more about Pembroke Sinclair by visiting her at:

Blog: http://pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicarobinsonauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PembrokeSinclai
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+PembrokeSinclair/posts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3522214.Pembroke_Sinclair
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Pembroke-Sinclair/e/B007RFYJ6W/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1434565860&sr=8-1

Sacrifice by Jennifer Snyder

Title: Sacrifice

Author: Jennifer Snyder

Series: Succubus Kiss #3

Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance







Amazon | Smashwords

The battle between Kenna Blake and the wraith isn’t over…



As the wraith grows stronger, Kenna is forced to follow the devastating path she has struggled to avoid since becoming a succubus. Her desire to free herself from him increases—but the cost of riding herself of the wraith comes at a shocking cost she isn’t willing to pay.



Once she commits an unspeakable act while overtaken by the wraith, Kenna fears he has won and that she is out of options, as well as time. It is after this devastating moment occurs that a savior steps forward, willing to sacrifice eternity for her salvation.



Will Kenna change her mind and allow someone to pay the ultimate price for her soul?

Kiss of Awakening (Prequel, currently FREE!)

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

Seduce (Book #1)

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Savor (Book #2)

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Excerpt

          Dear God, I had become one of those girls. The type I hated most. The kind who acted as though they couldn’t breathe without their boyfriend shoved up their ass. This was what I thought about as warm hands slipped beneath my tank top to caress against my stomach. Randal had mentioned the need to visit Red River, as well as run a few other errands, and instantly, my heart pounded. The desire to ask if I could tag along burned across the tip of my tongue, but I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to keep the words at bay.

          When had this happened to me? When had I become one of those girls?

          If I thought hard enough—and was completely honest with myself—I could pinpoint when. It happened after returning home from Avalon Bay. Something inside of me changed during that trip, and not for the better. The search for Lexy Bloom—who happened to be the only witch I knew of with the power to rid me of the vile wraith taking up residency inside of me—had gone well. We had found her little shop, Bloom’s Garden, without trouble, and after pleading my case to her, she had agreed to help with minimal resistance. While I had felt horrible once she informed me of the toll performing a spell of this caliber would take on her, the feeling disappeared the second she elaborated on what the spell would cost me.

          My soul.

          No matter how you twisted it, that was the price I would pay.

About the Author

Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon Author Page

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Review - Expiration Day by William Powell

Synopsis: What happens when you turn eighteen and there are no more tomorrows?

It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction…. Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.

Review: I liked the overall story but I did feel as though there were a few holes here and there that could have been explained in a bit more detail like why are "human" females who are able to carry children taken from their families and never allowed to keep any of their children? I found that kind of harsh and made me feel like they were no better off than the teknoids in the story no matter if they were pampered where they wound up. I don't see where being a birthing cow would be any cool career. What if the female refused? How can you make a female have a baby and not get to decide if she wishes to keep it herself?

Another mishap is I never really could "connect" with Tania until towards the ending because she really came off as sounding more like a teenage boy than a young girl. It thru me off and kept the story from flowing as well as it should have.

As I mentioned about some holes in the story there were also some places that I could have done without...like all the musical jibber jabber. I mean I get she was in a band and they played gigs but I didn't care to know about the beats, cues, and ect...

There were times I wanted to just put the book down and leave it be but if at all possible I hate to DNF a book so I trudged on and while it did pick up towards the end and tie up and explain a few things I still couldn't give it more than a 3-star rating. With that being said I still look forward to more works by Mr. Powell.

Review: The Ruthless Greek's Return by Sharon Kendrick

Synopsis: The jewel in his plan

Once Loukas Sarantos was bodyguard to the world's richest men. Now the ruthless Greek is a CEO with bodyguards of his own. And his most recent procurement means he can finally take revenge on Jessica Cartwright—the only woman to ever walk away from him.


As the face of Loukas's new luxury jewelry company, formerly out-of-his-league Jessica now has to answer to him—and he will relish every second of having her under his control! But as the embers of their former fire reignite, Loukas begins to realize Jessica may be the most precious jewel in his possession…

My Thoughts: I found this to be a quick read and read it almost in one sitting. Although I really didn't like Loukas in the beginning because of his agenda after hearing his story I grew to appreciate him and his feelings better. Jessica on the other hand I kinda wanted to smack a few times because even though I could really understand her insecurities I felt like they were childish at times. Alot of hurt could have been avoided had she simply asked Loukas what she wanted to know instead of just always assuming the worst of him.

The chemistry is very apparent between the two main characters and they played equally well against one another. I mean the story wasn't so one sided like many are. This one throughly explained or gave you a general picture of the background between Loukas and Jessica and where they both were coming from.

Received free for an honest review.

Highlight - Soulspark by Eliza Tilton

Title: Soulspark

Author: Eliza Tilton

Genre: YA, Romance

Publication: May 2015

Dealing with the loss of her mother, seventeen-year-old Jessica Stone tries to find an escape from the pain by secretly medicating herself with Xanax, but the anxiety increases, crushing her and her grades.

Then she meets Caleb Jonas, the pastor’s son at her mother’s church. Between his cute dimples and love of fast cars, Jessica is completely smitten, and the feeling is mutual. But dating a Christian boy isn’t easy. He doesn’t party, and he never goes past first base. Jessica struggles with his faith, since it makes her question her own, but for the first time since her mother’s death, she can breathe. Life is finally shifting into a state of happiness.

But that happiness shatters when Jessica catches Caleb kissing her ex-best friend—and step-brother’s girlfriend—Rachel, the girl who used to be like her sister, and the same girl who betrayed her once before.

While her stepbrother hints at a deeper connection between the two, Caleb insists it was a one-time mistake and begs forgiveness. With contradicting stories coming at her, Jessica isn’t sure who to believe, but sometimes the truth is better left undiscovered and she’s about to find out why. 

Purchase on Amazon

When he spoke, his gaze traveled all the way to my toes. He reached over and pushed one of my flyaway curls behind my ear. “Counting keeps my mind busy.”

Butterflies more potent than first day jitters fluttered in my stomach. “Busy from what?”

His lips curled into a grin. “Thinking of you.”

He said it like thinking of me was the most dangerous thing in the world.

Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.

I shut my eyes and savored each precious touch of his lips. He snaked his hand around my neck, gently brushing it. Every piece of my soul connected to his. When Caleb's lips were on mine, his hands circling my body, the world could explode and I would still be safe.

Eliza graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her YA stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a hot romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull.

Her novels, Broken Forest and Wicked Path, are published by Curiosity Quills Press.

Find Eliza online:

Website / Twitter/ Facebook / Goodreads / Instagram / Pinterest / Google+

One beautiful handmade water lily infinity scarf and a signed paperback of Broken Forest. Enter on the Rafflecopter below!

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Review: Burning Blue by Paul Griffin

Synopsis: How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?

When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice.

But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole.

Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.

Goodreads Page

My Thoughts: I didn't think I would like this as much as I did but I found myself immersed in the pages and couldn't finish it fast enough. I guess I just went into it feeling like I "knew all the answers" about who done it and so forth but boy I was smacked in the face royally when the actual culprit is revealed! I totally did not see that one coming!

I figured it would be another "geek boy in love with high school princess" story but it was so much more. In fact it hardly had much romancy stuff in it. It was more a mystery of who done it and why which was very refreshing.

The characters were very down to earth every day folks which made them easy to relate to. I didn't think I would like Nicole because I figured she would be the basic obnoxious drama queen who only cared about how she looked and if she broke a nail it would be the end of the world but it was refreshing to find out how much she hardly cared about her looks and how mostly it was her mom who had always pushed her into doing beauty pageants and so forth.

The story is told from Jay's point of view with a few of Nicole's journal entries mixed in. Jay has always felt like an outsider or freak and knows how Nicole must be feeling about now because of losing her perfect appearance so he decides to do his own investigative work to figure out who the perp is. He soon realizes his job is not gonna be easy because almost everybody is a suspect meanwhile Nicole begins to have feelings for Jay because he is the first person in her life to seem to like her and be nice to her simply to be nice and not because she is beautiful or rich or whatever.

Very quick fun read!

Limited Edition Make-up Collection ~ One Direction

Created for—and inspired by—fans of the world's biggest band, this limited-edition beauty collection is fun, bold and a tad mischievous, just like ONE DIRECTION.

5 Limited Edition Tins are available (1 for each band member). Tins include:

Eye Shadows:
Nobody Compares- Metallic silver
Tell Me A Lie- Metallic nude pink
Same Mistakes- Metallic mint
I Would- Smokey brown shimmer
Summer Love- Smokey purple haze
Everything About You- Smokey black shimmer

Eye Pencil:
I Want- True matte black

Lip Gloss:
Loved You First- Bubble gum pink
One Thing- Frosted pink ice
Irresistible- Shimmered pearl
Heart Attack- Creamy rose shine

Lip Gloss Top Coat:
Over Again- Silver glitter sparkle

Nail Varnish:
Stole My Heart- Magenta pink shimmer
Alive- Multi-coloured glitter flakes


These new sets are available in stores November 15th at:
Sears USA
Kmart
Target
Walmart Canada

See Liam working on the line and Niall looking through the line.


One Direction on Facebook

I LOVE One Direction and was so excited to get to try out their make-up line. I was sent three tins with different guys on each one but the make-up is all the same in each tin. The only difference is the inside covers have different doodles and images and are each sporting the band members name. Each of the eye and lip colors are song titles from One Direction! I think that is so cool!

I enjoyed trying out the make-up and my favorite things in the tin were the top row of eye shadows and the glittery lip top coat. Everything was so simple and easy to apply and blend. Perfect for any One Direction fan or young person. I feel it would be best for folks just starting to experiment with make-up and not the more experienced.

I will have some of these wrapped and under the tree as gifts this year because they are just to cool and my girls are gonna love them for sure!



My favorite song by One Direction