Thursday, August 29, 2013

Mini Review ~ Coconut's Guide to Life by Casey Lukatz

 


Title: Coconut's Guide to Life
Author: Casey Lukatz
Release Date: September 1st 2003
Published By: American Girl Publishing Inc. 
Page Amount: 32 pages, hardcover

GoodReads Blurb:

Meet Coconut, a playful pup and loyal friend. She's a little Westie on top of the world, learning lessons about life, just like you. From troubles to treats, Coconut follows her nose. Let her lead.

Review:
I was really into American Girl stuff when I was younger. I still have my American Girl dolls. (My favorite was Kit. Because she liked to write). Coconut was the little American Girl doll dog. I used to get American Girl related books. This was one of them. I remember looking through it but never sat down and read it all. (Or maybe I did, I just can't remember). So I picked it up to refresh my memory.

This book is very cute. It has a page about listening, about speaking or performing in public, several pages about friendship and being yourself as well as other little things that growing girls should know. And growing boys, in this case. I think it's a very cute read with some great little pearls of wisdom in it. It's meant for younger girls but I think that boys could get something out of the content too. I think even some grown-ups can. ;) 4 stars. 

<3 Amanda Leigh

Friday, August 23, 2013

I Have Another Blog!

Hello All! :) I have an announcement today!

This blog is about books and writing. However, there are many other things that I would like to blog about. Such as my daily life (a lot of medical things involved with this), more serious medical things, Cystinosis awareness, cooking, music, art. Things like this. So I decided to start another blog to post all of these things so this blog does not end up bombarded with all of that. Because I know some people are only interested in the books and writing. However, if you are interested in my other blog it is called The Life of a Chronic Bibliophile. www.lifeofachronicbibliophile.blogspot.com I only have a couple of posts up so far but I plan to soon have more. So go check that out if you're interested! Thanks! :)


<3 Amanda Leigh

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Trailer Reveal Book Blitz: A Missing Piece by Beth Fred

(Note: I can't the stupid white stuff around certain things to go away. It ticks me off. At least the links are there. I'm sorry).

 

A Missing Peace
by Beth Fred
Release Date: 09/01/13

Summary from Goodreads:
A turbulent, emotionally charged YA novel that breaks down barriers and challenges the status quo...

Angry, seventeen-year-old Iraqi war refugee Mirriam Yohanna hates her new life in Killeen, Texas, where the main attraction is a military base, populated with spoiled army brats like Caleb Miller.

Caleb has much to be angry about too, including Mirriam who turns him down flat in front of everyone. Eager for retribution, Caleb agrees to a dare that will see him take Mirriam to the prom and regain his pride.

But their relationship soon moves beyond high school antics. Mirriam and Caleb are bound together by more than location, and as they are forced to work closely together on a school assignment, they start to uncover an explosive story that has the potential to ruin lives — and both of their futures. One single truth changes everything and strengthens their bond.

When Mirriam's family discovers their relationship, they decide it's time to arrange her marriage to a proper Iraqi man. Caleb must convince Mirriam that he is in it for forever — or risk losing her for good.
Trailer Reveal:

 
About the Author:
I'm a full time ELF keeper and part time writer/blogger/writing instructor. I'm represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency. I like my tea hot, my romance sweet, and my guys chivalrous. Real men hold open doors, refer to you as ma'am, make promises they keep, and aren't afraid to profess their undying love. It's not breakfast if there aren't carbs(at least, not in the South). Fajitas, carnitas, and churros are just few of my favorite things. Bet you can't guess where I'm from ;)


Trailer Reveal Organized By:

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Cover Reveal ~ Holiday Hospital Stay Poetry Collection 2012 by Amanda Leigh!

Quite recently (the last week of July) my second self published poetry collection was released! :D This collection is entitled Holiday Hospital Stay Poetry Collection 2012. It is inspired by my hospital stay in December of 2012. I wanted to stay true to how I was feeling then. Even the loopy, sometimes incoherent, thoughts going through my head. So here is the cover! (Original photography by me! :)


 You can find a copy on CreateSpace if you're interested! :) If you decide to purchase, Happy Reading!

Find me online :)
Facebook: Author Amanda Leigh
Twitter: @APenAndADream
YouTube: AmandaLeighYA

<3 Amanda Leigh

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Book Blitz: Breaking the Reins by Juliana Haygert!


(Note: I'm sorry about the white stuff around certain parts of this. It drives me nuts. At least the links are there. Sorry). 

 

Breaking the Reins
by Juliana Haygert
Release Date: 08/19/13

Summary from Goodreads:
Horses, mansions, tea parties, and lies are twenty-year-old Hannah Taylor’s life. To others, her family and her relationship with Eric is perfect. But she knows the truth. She lives it.

After a fire takes her grandma's life and kills her horse, Hannah's immaculate life spirals out of control. Her father disapproves of her decision to run her grandma’s ranch instead of focusing solely on learning the family business; Animal Control brings her Argus, a mistreated horse that she can't turn away even though she's not ready for another horse; and her boyfriend, Eric Bennett, a world famous polo player, becomes possessive and authoritarian. Despite her best efforts to disguise it, Hannah grows wary of him.

Then, Leonardo Fernandes struts onto the polo scene. A cocky rookie with a messy life of his own, he’s drawn to Hannah and isn’t afraid of showing it, even when Eric makes it clear she is his and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Hannah suffers for Eric’s jealousy. The abuse only gets worse when Leo steals the title of best polo player in the world from Eric.

But the title isn’t enough for Leo. He wants Hannah too, and she can’t deny her attraction to him either. Somehow, she must find a way to break free from abusive Eric before he breaks every bone in her body.

**New Adult Contemporary Romance Novel**






Praise for Breaking the Reins:
“Breaking The Reins by Juliana Haygert is a real treasure. It’s a sexy, heartbreaking and romantic ride you won’t want to miss.” —Sawyer Bennett, USA Today Bestselling author of Off Side, Off Limits, Off the Record, and Off Course.

“A breath of fresh air in the New Adult market. Juliana Haygert’s new contemporary novel is one not to be missed!” —Magan Vernon, international bestselling author of The Only Exception

“A swoonworthy love interest and a fantastic backdrop make Breaking the Reins a New Adult read you don’t want to miss!” —Alyssa Rose Ivy, bestselling author of The Crescent Chronicles, Clayton Falls Series, and The Hazards of Skinny Dipping. 

Excerpt:
I got ready and returned to the exercise. I pulled Argus forward first, on a speedy walk, and he came with me. I stopped, he stopped. I went forward again, walking normally, and he kept up with me. 
Without halting first, I started walking backward. Argus instantly stopped.

“Come on, boy, you can do it.” I gently tugged on the reins.

He made a loud noise like a sigh and then, slowly, he moved backward.

I had to lock my body not to jump up and down, and held on to my hand before it stroked his white coat.

Calm, Hannah. He feels what you feel. Stay calm.

Argus and I played that game for over forty minutes, until he didn’t hesitate stopping or retreating when I did.

“Good job, boy,” I said, pulling the reins over his neck, so he could trot around the round pen without having them hanging and bothering him.

Whirling on my feet, I walked to where Leo was leaning against the fence, and noticed Argus was coming with me. Leo raised one eyebrow at me, and I smiled.

I took two more steps before stopping. Argus stopped too.

I put a hand over my mouth to help me suppress the happy laughter trying to come out. Oh damn, the horse was following me without any reins or ropes!

I walked in a circle, and Argus followed my every step. I sped up, and he caught up with me. I stopped again, and he did too. I retreated and he did too.

With a big grin, I strolled to Leo with Argus in tow.

“Impressive,” he said, his face alight.

“I’m impressed too,” I whispered, afraid of scaring Argus. I turned to the horse again. “You can go exercise, boy.” Instead of trotting away, he advanced one step. “What is it, boy?” I extended my arms to my sides, wary of moving too much, too sudden. Argus took another step toward me and nudged my forearm with his muzzle. I froze.

Slowly, Leo stood behind me, closer than necessary, clasped his hand around my elbow, and guided my hand to Argus’s neck.

I held my breath.

Until my cell phone started ringing. Argus neighed and trotted away, and Leo closed his arms around me and pulled me back, probably trying to get me out of the way, in case Argus advanced on me.
“No, no, no.” I cursed with some really nasty words in my mind as I reached for my phone in my pocket. Eric’s name flashed on the screen, and I only pressed the end button.

Leo offered me a knowing look. “Have you accepted any of his calls lately?”

Teaser:
Juliana Haygert is a New Adult author and contributor at NA Alley blog.
While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.




a Rafflecopter giveaway 
Tour organized by YA Bound Book Tours

Monday, August 19, 2013

Beat the Heat Readathon Wrap Up!!

 
Okay, I know this wrap up is late. I'm sorry. :/ Anyway, let's jump into it. This will be quick.

Goals:
I started out with the goal of finishing Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris and reading 50 more pages in The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Volume 1: Phantom. And then I realized that was just unrealistic for me while taking my classes online. So I changed it to: read up to 50% of Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris.

Results:
I made it to 44% through Taste the Heat. Not my goal but probably more than I would have read if not for the readathon. Not because I don't like the book, but because I'm busy with school work. 

Hope you did well if you participated! :) 

<3 Amanda Leigh

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Checking In/Update and Giveaway Winner!

Hello again everyone! I haven't blogged since August 6th! I've been busy with classes. Seriously, an entire semester in 5-6 weeks is intense. :) So I thought it was about time to check in with an update. 

Classes:

Classes are almost over. Creative Writing is over incredibly soon.Today actually. Our chapbook is due today. (What's a chapbook? "a small book or pamphlet containing poems, ballads, stories, or religious tracts" [dictionary]). And then my literature course is over next week. And then I am DONE! Completely done! 

Reading:

I haven't been reading much lately because of my classes. But I will soon remedy that.

Camp NaNoWriMo:

I revised my goal for the month of July. 50,000 words just wasn't realistic for me while finishing school. I made my goal 15,000 words. I knew that was probably more than I would do but I figured that I would set my goal high. However, making that word count while taking classes didn't work for me. My final word count at the end of July was 5,492. Not bad. I started out with around 2,200 words. So I wrote 3,292 words during the month of July. Not necesarily a lot and not nearly as much as I was planning but I'm convinced if not for Camp NaNoWriMo I wouldn't have written nearly that much of that project in July. 

Writing:

I recently finished my second poetry collection. It's called Holiday Hospital Stay Poetry Collection 2012 and you can find it on CreateSpace. It is inspired by my hospital stay in December of 2012. (You can find out more about this soon on my new blog - details on that soon).
I've also written a little bit more in the work in progress I was working on for Camp NaNoWriMo (Beauty of the Dark). 250 more words. Not a lot, but something. 
Once classes are done I'm going to get back to editing my romance novella (My Heart is Yours) and plan to be done within a month at the most.
I also have a secret project going on that very few people know the details of. All I will tell you is this: I am co authoring this with somebody and I am doing the photography. ;)

Blogging:

In about a week I will get back to regular blogging because that is when my classes are over. I have also started another blog called The Life of a Chronic Bibliophile. There will be a post on this blog soon about that. Another post soon to be up is the cover reveal for Holiday Hospital Stay Poetry Collection 2012. And I promise I will get back to and keep up with Book of the Month and Character of the Month. 

YouTube and Etsy:

I will start making YouTube videos in again in about a week, I promise. And I'll try to get on some type of regular schedule.
I also want to start selling my photography (and possibly other things) on Etsy because I've had many people tell me that they would purchase my photography. :) Thanks by the way!

Giveaway Winner:

The winner of the giveaway I held in honor of the one year anniversary of Thousands of Mornings (my first book) is Fatuma Hydara! (She knows this and has received the package already lol). Congratulations again! :) By the way, go check out her book blog, Book Rants. ;) 

Okay that is it! I'm sorry this post was so long! I didn't say that it would be a quick update! ;) Kudos to you if you read all the way to the end! What's going on with you guys? :)


<3 Amanda Leigh

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Beat the Heat Readathon Update!

 

I put up a post at the end of July (July 29th I think) about participating in the Beat the Heat Readathon. We are supposed to post at least one update post so here it is:

I'm taking the goal to read 50 pages in The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Volume One: Phantom off of that goal list. (I don't know if that's allowed...) I figured I'd set my goals high because 'What the heck?', you know? But hey, with school that is not going to happen. So I don't know if this is technically allowed either but I think I will revise this goal: to read up to the 50% mark in Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris by the time the readathon is over. I'm 30% through so that's 20% to go. The readathon ends on August 9th. Okay, wish me luck!

How are you guys doing with the readathon? 

<3 Amanda Leigh