Review - The Trouble with Cowboys by Denise Hunter

The Trouble with Cowboys by Denise Hunter
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: October 2, 2012
Pages: 304
Age Group: Adult
Acquired: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5
Author Site: Denise Hunter

I wanted to shake Annie so hard! It is clear Dylan is head over heels for her but she can't get over her misconceptions that all cowboys are trouble and refuse to let him get close to her. She tries so hard to put a man in between them that is comfortable to her but boring as day old soup. They so obviously are a mixed matched couple but Annie is so hard headed because of heartaches her family has had to deal with involving cowboys in the past. This always tends to gripe me about how folks stereotype others because of things somebody else has done.

Annie is a good person and awesome character that she tries very hard to do the right things but in doing so she comes off as hard and tight lipped especially to her younger sister which causes way more problems than it's worth. Thru the better first half of the story I felt she really needed a good roll in the hay to loosen her feathers a bit but she woulda probable done so with the stuffy banker, John whom I couldn't stand!

This story is about letting go of the reins and living a bit as well as understanding no matter how good your intentions you can't live another's life for them..all you can do is be there when they need you and let folks learn from their own mistakes.

Guest Post - Madeline Sharples

Leaving the Hall Light On charts the near-destruction of one middle-class family whose son committed suicide after a seven-year struggle with bipolar disorder. Madeline Sharples, author, poet and web journalist, goes deep into her own well of grief to describe her anger, frustration and guilt. She describes many attempts – some successful, some not – to have her son committed to hospital and to keep him on his medication. The book also charts her and her family’s redemption, how she considered suicide herself, and ultimately, her decision to live and take care of herself as a woman, wife, mother and writer.

A note from the author: I encourage you to read my book if you have been touched by bipolar disorder or suicide. And even if you have not, my book will inspire you to survive your own tragedies. As author Jessica Bell says: Leaving the Hall Light On is “a remarkable book and it SHOULD be read.” – Madeline Sharples

Guest Post - Challenges I Faced in Writing and Publishing My Memoir by Madeline Sharples
I didn’t set out to write a memoir. I started out with a pile of journal entries and a poetry manuscript.

However, my writing instructors and fellow workshop members urged me to get my story out there, and finally I took them seriously. Luckily I had help organizing my material and a talented editor who guided me in how to put my words into shape. It took me about eight years to turn my raw truths and deepest feelings into a memoir manuscript.

I also took several memoir-writing classes. One lesson I learned early on was that memoir is unreliable truth. I kept reminding myself of that as I struggled with how I would portray the events and the real live people in my story. I knew I was telling my truth, not anyone else’s, and that is what helped get me through.

Once I had what I thought was a viable and strong first draft ready to be seen by others, I began querying. That’s when the trouble began. The very first agent I queried asked to see my entire manuscript. But after three months she sent me a rejection note – the first of many over the next two years. Most agents sent me a form letter with the usual “not for my list” comment. The majority didn’t have the courtesy to answer at all. A few wrote encouraging notes, and others said, ”I don’t want to deal with such pain,” or “our past experience has been that very few books of this nature can make it through a publishing committee unless there is someone famous involved.”

The few small presses I contacted were just as discouraging – one said, “The subject matter is too hard to sell.” Another wrote, “Not a huge chance I’ll want to publish it. I’ve received lots of submissions written by mothers or spouses of deceased people, mostly written to honor the deceased it seems, and they are almost never strong enough to warrant publication.”

Still I persevered. After two years of querying sixty-eight agents and five small presses I finally had a contract with Lucky Press, LLC to publish my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. Lucky Press published a hardback edition in May 2011. Then just about one year later, this small traditional press went out of business, and I was back to querying again. This time in just a few weeks I contracted with Mike O’Mary, owner of Dream of Things, publishing to release paperback and eBook editions of my memoir. It turns out that what I thought was bad luck turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My book is in the best hands now.

Still the major challenge now is marketing. Although my story is specifically about how I lived with my son’s bipolar disorder and survived his suicide, I very much want to get my story read by people touched by any kind of tragic incident. So I work almost full time to let people know my story.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Memoir -- Rating – PG13

Connect with Madeline Sharples on Facebook, Her Blog, and Website

Guest Post - The Mancode: Exposed Rachel Thompson

Blurb:

***You will either LOVE this controversial book or you will HATE it. If you have no sense of humor, DO NOT BUY IT.***

I’m over forty. I don’t have a blankie. I have vodka. I’m no ‘ologist.’ I don’t give advice. If that’s what you’re looking for, go buy Dr. Suit And Tie’s book. I write about men, women, sex, & chocolate. My experiences, my truth, my martinis.

*Note: Thompson employs hashtags (i.e., the # sign) in her work. Google it. These are not typos, people #deargod.

Buy this book!

Can’t get enough of Thompson’s snarky humor? Purchase her first release, A Walk In The Snark, her #1 bestselling collection of essays released January 2011, hitting #1 on the Motherhood list September, 2011 and has stayed there. Find out why!

I’m a chick who writes stuff that makes you laugh. I released The Mancode: Exposed right after Thanksgiving 2011 and by January, it placed in the Amazon Top 100 Paid!

I’m a mom, a wife, and a recovering pharmaceuticals rep. It’s been a long process but I’m doing okay, thanks.

I also used to sell Trojan brand condoms. Yeah, it’s hilarious, I know. I did it for three years way back when, and I was their top salesperson in the Western Region, a dubious honor at best. My number-one customer was the Mustang Ranch. No, seriously. The Mustang Ranch. I couldn’t make stuff like that up.

The experience definitely gave me insights into the… er… ins and outs of men.

So it should come as no great surprise that I write about how men (The Mancode) and women (Chickspeak) approach most things differently. And since I did, in fact, grow past my Trojan days (in more ways than one or–insert your own joke here), I’ve thrown in a few tidbits about marriage, kids, being a mom, living in the OC (ya know-being a pale redhead living in a sea of blondes), coffee, and vodka. Not necessarily in that order, depending on the day.

Don’t read my books to find advice about how to be sweet or nice. I’m pretty much allergic to both of those words. Actually don’t read this book for advice on anything. (My lawyer made me put that in just in case you know, you thought I could save your marriage or something – not).

Or if you are looking for some light, heartfelt humor in everyday life (Erma Bombeck-style), well, I’m really not your girl, either. Nothin’ homespun about the Queen of Snark, baby. Mostly I just laugh at stuff and make up words (See “Refrigeratoritis and Manesia.”) Yet somehow it all seems to work.

And don’t call me cute. (Hint: Babies and puppies are cute. Grown women are soooo not.)

Special note to men: I write frequently about “The Mancode”–like how you guys do goofy stuff and we women try, and often fail, to understand. (Um, change the toilet paper roll much? Yeah, that’s what I thought.) If that offends your sensibilities, this may not be the book for you. Yeah, I’m crushed.

Like everyone, I’ve also had some rough times. I share those with you, too. Life can’t always be martinis and beaches. Wait, this is the OC (Orange County, CA, for those of you from Canada, or people on the East Coast who don’t know California beyond LA). Naw, not even here.

Purchase The Man Code: Exposed

Rachel's Facebook and Twitter Pages.

Guest Post By June White

One cannot deny the immense popularity of Dana White in the MMA community and business world. Dana has millions of fans around the world; he has been invited to speak at Oxford University in England, Harvard University and at Bill Gates yearly conference of the world’s 200 most noteworthy individuals. Dana has made himself a multimillionaire before the age of forty, and has received many awards since taking over as President of the UFC, but who is this individual.

Who is Dana White? What is known about Dana White outside of what he tells the media about himself?

This is a biography of Dana White, no myths, no lies, no tales, nothing but the truth about the boy, the man, the king, the dictator.

Guest Post By June White
Most of us have heard of the story of Faust or some variation of it. Faust unhappy with his life and the limited things he has makes a deal with the devil. An arrangement where he wants more from life and exchanges his soul, (his moral integrity) to achieve the things he longs for and are out of reach for him. He cares more about power, success and worldly pleasures and is willing to trade his soul to have them.

If this were truly an option for you to choose today how many would take the deal? If offered all the things money and power could provide you in your life now and for the next 24 years would you think it worth the final outcome? The final outcome being eternal damnation, your soul spending eternity in the fires of hell.

In this situation there is no debate over whether heaven and hell exist. The devil has approached Faust and offered him everything he could possibly want while alive; would you consider it? Would you take a determined amount of time on earth with unlimited money, power, and success?

The difference with this tale and people today who have attained these things in their life; money, power and success, is many of them don’t carry a strong faith and believe there is a heaven or hell. That what they have and do now is all there is, no consequences for their actions, once given to the earth that is our end. So at what cost are we willing to attain these things?
Money, houses, cars and other material possessions may be part of your life but is integrity, character and a sense of duty worth more than all of that? Should you take time to make a difference, to realize and understand relationships are more important than accomplishments if you’ve allowed those to take a back seat to material possessions. That a persons character is worth much more than power, money and success.

At what point is the cost too great?

I know from personal experience what my answer would be.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Biographies & Memoir

Rating – PG13

More details about the book

Connect with June White on Twitter

Website http://junewhitemma.com/

Product Review - Packaways

Packaways Storage Boxes are really cool. They are colorful and totally easy to use. They pretty much resemble your regular cardboard boxes except they are colored and made from durable corrugated plastic and can be used time and again for your needs because the boxes fold flat for storing and then when needed just press the corners and they quickly snap into place. They even have wipe away panels so you can jot down what the contents are if you want!

I love using them because I can box up my overflowing book shelves and color code the different genre's for easy grabbing!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.