Guest Author and Review Mark Smythe

Cold weather is here in New England, which means snow is right around the corner.  So when Rebecca from The Cadence Group contacted me to read, review and have the author stop by, I thought it would be fun.  So without further ado, please help me welcome, Mr. Mark Smythe!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Smythe resides in a small, rural town located in the beautiful Southern geography of Western New York State.  It is a lovely and quaint agricultural community, just South of Buffalo, New York.


He, his wife Sandra and their two children, Cassandra and Alexander, live on a picturesque, turn-of-the-century farm complete with a charming old white farmhouse, quaint red barns and wooden pasture fences.
Mark is an Interior Structural Fire Fighter with a local Volunteer Fire Department, and is also a member of the Emergency & Rescue Squad.
The concept for this particular book began years ago, as an original bedtime story that he made up for his own children, which they always asked for and seemed to like, especially on those cold and snowy winter nights, so reminiscent of the Northeast.
You can visit Mark at his website.

MY REVIEW

THE SNOWMAN'S REVENGEby Mark Smythe

Illustrations by Mike Motz

Published by Mark Smythe

ISBN-13: 9780982270400

At the request of The Cadence Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from the author): The snow's piled up high and school's cancelled, so let's play outside and, of course, build a snowman! Now, what if you were left out in the cold snow all by yourself, like that poor snowman? Would you be mad? Of course you would!

Well, this snowman is out for revenge, especially after he sees those kids in the nice warm house, eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate! So, let's see what happens in this delightful story, nicely flowing with rhymed verse, very beautifully illustrated and quite humorous indeed.

So lovable, it's sure to be an instant favorite and a timeless classic with "kids" of all ages.

My Thoughts and Opinion: When I was approached to read and review this book, I thought it would be fun, especially with the holidays just around the corner. But in fairness to the author, I must admit, that since I did not have the opportunity to read it to a young child to obtain a reaction of a little one, it is based solely on my opinion of the book. The book is written in a rhyming fashion. I found the illustrations to be vivid and colorful which I would think would keep a child's attention. However, the premise of the story is of the revenge of one angry snowman. I thought that and the images to go along with that part of the story line, a bit scary for a child, but again, that is my opinion. Because it has been many years that I have had the pleasant experience of reading to a youngster, I don't feel that I am qualified to give this book a rating, only my opinion.  

THANKS TO REBECCA FROM THE CADENCE GROUP,

I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO

THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

 DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,

in exchange for my honest review.

No items that I receive

are ever sold...they are kept by me,

or given to family and/or friends.

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE "THE SNOWMAN'S REVENGE" BY MARK SMYTHE ENDED

NOVEMBER 30th to DECEMBER 14th, 2011

THE SNOWMAN'S REVENGE

by MARK SMYTHE
Illustrations by MIKE MOTZ

SYNOPSIS:

The snow's piled up high and school's cancelled, so let's play outside and, of course, build a snowman! Now, what if you were left out in the cold snow all by yourself, like that poor snowman? Would you be mad? Of course you would!

Well, this snowman is out for revenge, especially after he sees those kids in the nice warm house, eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate! So, let's see what happens in this delightful story, nicely flowing with rhymed verse, very beautifully illustrated and quite humorous indeed.

So lovable, it's sure to be an instant favorite and a timeless classic with "kids" of all ages.

THANKS TO REBECCA AND THE FANTASTIC
PEOPLE AT THE CADENCE GROUP

I HAVE ONE ( 1 ) COPY OF THIS
CHILDREN'S BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*ALL COMMENTS TO BE SEPARATE*
AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME 
YOU MADE A SNOWMAN?*

*EXTRA ENTRIES*

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS 
  BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).
*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK.
*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.
*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

*U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*
**HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS DECEMBER 14th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold...they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

W.W.W. Wednesday

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading 

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Teaser Tuesday

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

*Grab your current read

*Open to a random page

*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Maybe the heart is like an expandable file, filling to accommodate everything you need to carry with you.

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE "ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS" by Ben Buchholz ENDED

NOVEMBER 28th to DECEMBER 12th, 2011

ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS

by BENJAMIN BUCHHOLZ

SYNOPSIS:

   After 13 years in America, Abu Saheeh has returned to his native Iraq, a nation transformed by the American military presence. Alone in a new city, he has exactly what he wants: freedom from his past. Then he meets Layla, a whimsical fourteen-year-old girl who enchants him with her love of American pop culture. Enchanted by Layla's stories and her company, Abu Saheeh settles into the city's rhythm and begins rebuilding his life. But two sudden developments--his alliance with a powerful merchant and his employment of a hot-headed young assistant--reawaken painful memories, and not even Layla may be able to save Abu Saheeh from careening out of control and endangering all around them.
   A breathtaking tale of friendship, love, and betrayal, One Hundred and One Nights is an unforgettable novel about the struggle for salvation and the power of family

THANKS TO ANNA  AND THE AMAZING 
PEOPLE AT THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP

I HAVE THREE ( 3 ) COPIES OF THIS
BREATHTAKING TALE TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*ALL COMMENTS TO BE SEPARATE*
AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: FROM READING THE SYNOPSIS,
WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK?*

*EXTRA ENTRIES*

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS 
  BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).
*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK.
*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.
*REMEMBER TO INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ALL ENTRIES.

*U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*
**PER PUBLISHER**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS DECEMBER 12th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold...they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

Monday Memes

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading 

Today's question:

Will you be buying books for the holidays, this year? If so, for whom, and why?

My response:

Yes!!  Am so excited about it that I have already purchased them.  (Hoping the recipients aren't reading this.)  

When my boys were small, reading was part of our daily routine.  Plus they always saw me with a book, we would take walks to the local library and when we went to the mall, we always stopped in to B&N or Borders where they were allowed to pick out books to add to their R.L. Stein collection or any other books they wanted to buy.  But then they became teens and books for pleasure got shoved under the bed along with all their other trash.

Now that they are older, so has that old habit returned.  My younger son reads while on the train to and from his job.  And recently when hubby had his surgery, my oldest was able to drive in and be at the hospital with me, and I was stunned to see as we waited, he was sitting there reading a book.   YES!!!!!  So my hard work all those years ago paid off.  So one of their little gifts to open is a book that I hope they both will enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed buying for them.

November is being hosted by Holly from Wonders and Marvels 

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.

According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”

                      The Hachette Book Group                        Author

And the winner is.........

............of the $15.00 AMAZON GC FOR THE GRATITUDE GIVEAWAY

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

165

Timestamp: 2011-11-28 13:50:03 UTC

kalea_kane said...I follow you via GFC kalea_kane

Thank you for the giveaway!  165

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that visited and entered.

WooHoo

Yes...I see it...Its getting clearer!!  Yes!!!   I am positive!!!  A blog is starting to get busier!!!  And......that blog..is....it's getting clearer.....is .....A Novel Challenge, which means only one thing........more challenges!!!!!

I just added 2 more.....I am so excited!!!  I think the reason being too is that I am starting to fall back into my old reading habits, 2 books read this past week.  Things are getting back to normal (said typed in a whisper so as to not jinx myself).  Back to the challenges...the 2 I just signed up for are the following:

Serial Killers Reading Challenge 2012

HOSTED BY MARCE FROM TEA TIME WITH MARCE

January 1,2012 – December 31,2012

Serial Killers Reading Challenge 2012:
When you read a book about a serial killer, are you fascinated, scared, intrigued, paranoid........ then join the Serial Killers Reading Challenge and share the best of the best.  It may be the detectives, profilers or the serial killer that keep you up reading long into the night. 
This Challenge is not about how many you read but finding the best of the best and 'remembering' to link your review.
Here are 2 links to use to help you choose but any book from any genre involving a serial killer counts towards the challenge.
NPR Audience - Top 100 Killer List
Goodreads Listopia - I like Serial Killers
Details:

* Challenge Dates: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012
* All Genres are Welcome
* All forms of books will count - eBooks, Audiobooks, etc
* You do not have to list the chosen books ahead of time and your choices can crossover into other challenges you have joined.
* If you participate in this challenge please sign up below. Either post and link back here with your direct link to your intro challenge post or put Challenge Button on sidebar linking back here please.
* Surprise Giveaways - Only those that have posted review(s) will be entered
In the comments below, tell us what serial killer book you have found to be the best.  This is one of my favourite books and movie - Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.
Note - I will keep a list of all favourites and 5 star reviews to create a 'Personalized Bloggers List' for future years.
Thank you for joining - Review Post will go up first week of Jan

And the second one is a perpetual challenge that I found via Bev's blog, My Reader's Block (which I might add has already signed up for 16 challenges.  Not to worry, I have put in a call to Dr. Drew for an intervention for our dear blogging buddy and am awaiting a return call  lol)

Challenge–Read your OWN Library

HOSTED BY JNCL FROM THE BEAUTY OF ECLECTICISM

Monthly – perpetual

If you fit the profile of the average bibliophile, then you probably already own more books than you will read in a lifetime, without darkening the doors of another bookstore or library ever again. The goal of this monthly challenge is to apply yourself to whatever amount of your backlog is realistic for you at one go

Rules:

• Read at least one book every month that you've owned for 6 months or more and have never read previously, then write us a post about it. Please write at least a minimal review (no spoilers!), and any interesting anecdotes you have about how you came to own the book in the first place are always appreciated.
• The linky here will open at 12:00 a.m. (US Pacific) on the 5th day of every month, and will remain open until 12:00 a.m. on the 8th. Simply add your text link TO THE RELEVANT POST ONLY to the linky list, place the Challenge badge on your site, and try and visit as many of the others' links as possible. (Html code for the Challenge Badge can be found in the right sidebar.) Please leave comments wherever you visit--silent hovering depresses me.
• Choose from the three possibilities the level of backloggedness from which you suffer, and follow the guidelines accordingly. Please indicate your level in each Library Challenge post.

Levels of Backlog: 

1. Running Behind--You need to catch up on your reading a bit, and feel this challenge would be a good motivator to do so. You are committing to read one book per month that fits the requirement, and nothing else.
2. Sinking Fast--You feel swamped and hemmed in by the books, which are beginning to take over your life by conquering most of the flat surfaces in your home. You are ready to commit to not buying any more books each month--including e-books!--until AFTER you've read that month's challenge book.
3. Biblio Rehab--Every time someone in your family hears you mention a new book you've heard about, they hide your wallet and car keys, dead-bolt the front door, and put you on buy-or-borrow watch. Admit to yourself that you MUST NOT set foot in a bookstore or library until AFTER you've finished a challenge book for the month.

Review Megan's Way by Melissa Foster

MEGAN'S WAY by Melissa Foster

Published by Outskirts Press

ISBN-10: 1432744429

ISBN-13: 978-1432744427

At the request of the author and WOW Tours, a digital edition was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (from Amazon): What would you give up for the people you love?

When Megan Taylor, a single mother and artist, receives the shocking news that her cancer has returned, she'll be faced with the most difficult decision she's ever had to make. She'll endure an emotional journey, questioning her own moral and ethical values, and the decisions she'd made long ago. The love she has for her daughter, Olivia, and her closest friends, will be stretched and frayed.
Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Olivia's world is falling apart right before her eyes, and there's nothing she can do about it. She finds herself acting in ways she cannot even begin to understand. When her internal struggles turn to dangerous behavior, her life will hang in the balance.

My Thoughts and Opinion: Let me tell you right up front that I am going to have difficulty reviewing this book because of the heart wrenching premise and the moving emotions that were conveyed. Miss Foster's writing style was flowing and allowed the characters to come to life from the very start. The friendships, so detailed and poignant yet flawed. Friendships that were so loving and loyal yet secretive with bits of betrayal. Decisions that are truly thought provoking, asking oneself "what would I do in that situation?". This reader, as in real life, had tears of happiness and silliness but at other times sadness and grief. There is also a spiritual connection between mother and daughter. I think if you believe in an after life, Ms. Foster, describes one that is something we all hope for. An emotional block buster!! Highly Recommend!!!

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,

in exchange for my honest review.

No items that I receive

are ever sold...they are kept by me,

or given to family and/or friends.

I surrender.....

Yes...I surrender.  As hard as it to say, I must and the numbers show it.   This year had many real life personal challenges that took priority over everything, even reading. And even though my reading was affected, including my challenges, I am looking forward to, being optimistic and getting excited about 2012.  I have started setting up my Challenge page, stalking blogs for more challenges and getting ready for the new year.  So I thought I would start cleaning house, removing the challenges that I failed at, and making room for new ones.

I entered 18 Challenges in 2011.  I know...I am a Challenge Addict plus a button addict.  That's why Gina from Hott Books and I are once again co hosting the Challenge Addict Challenge, for those of us who have this somewhat little, run of the mill, large, whopper of, in need of an intervention addiction. lol 

To date I have only read 45 books, so embarrassed, but there were months, that I was lucky if I finished one book.  The following Challenges I am surrendering, knowing that I will not be able to complete within a month.

            2 of ?                                                3 of 5                                             1 of 4    




           20 of 50                                        1 of 12                                         1 of 3

However, even with the little I did read, I did manage to complete some of my 2011 Challenges!!   I am excited that some of the challenges I was hoping for are returning and I am signed up and ready to go, then there are others that I am anxiously awaiting to see if they get posted on A Novel Challenge in hopes they will be returning and while I am stalking the site, I am finding new challenges too.  2012 is going to be my year of reading!!!!  

And now.....my TBR bookcase, Sony EReader and Kindle are full and no doubt will have many more titles added throughout the year, thanks to everyone's reviews and the memes that I participate in, and now I sit and wait for  the New Year!!!   

.