Saturday Sample: Rest Thy Head

Rest Thy Head is on sale for a limited time for only .99.

Buy link:http://www.amazon.com/Rest-Thy-Head-Elaine-Cantrell-ebook/dp/B00NTAXTOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429933118&sr=8-1&keywords=rest+thy+head

Fashionista Friday

Aviators Contest Entry-2 by atarituesday featuring zipper shorts

Print shirt
romwe.com

Le Temps Des Cerises zipper shorts
$54 - zalando.co.uk

Topshop shoes
$33 - topshop.com

Anya Hindmarch white clutch
$1,485 - selfridges.com

Summer earrings
$22 - hannahzakari.co.uk

Matthew Williamson mirrored sunglasses
$295 - matthewwilliamson.com

Paul Joe Beaute orange blush
beauty.com

Manicure tool
modcloth.com

Starlet's Man Book Review #StarletTour

Titles: Starlet's Man / Starlet's Web / Starlet's Run / Starlet's Light

Series: The Starlet Series #0.5–#3

Author: Carla J. Hanna

Publication Dates: 2012-2014 

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Series link:Goodreads 

                 Amazon

ynopsis–Starlet's Man

Lights, Cameras, and Lies. High school student athlete, Manny Biro, is caught between the boy he should be and the man he wants to become.

Everyone around him accepts the Hollywood life. He doesn't. Manny wants no part of acting. On the surface, his childhood best friends seem to have it all: money, power, success. Between the lines, they are all confused. Alan is a messed up want-to-be director focused on pushing scenes to their sexy potential. Beth is an athlete driven to escape from a dark past. Janet is Manny's kid sister caught up in fashion and trends. And Marie is a lonely actress exhausted by the culture that makes everyone's favorite stories.

What is the price of fame for all the characters? Conflicts and truths will unfold in this thought-provoking installment of Carla Hanna's young adult Starlet Series, Starlet's Man.

Synopsis–Starlet's Web

Love. Lies. Acting. A novel about celebrity influence & teens in Hollywood. What makes a star shine? Humility empowers the spirit. Sometimes.

Discover the Starlet Series for new adult college readers and uncover the life of a talented actress caught in Hollywood's web of lies.

I'm actress Liana Marie Michael. I won an Oscar at 17 but whatever. Celebrity is what it is: marketing a product. I'm part of a tight-knit group. I keep to myself and don't complain about my life. I've been happy until lately.

Evan dumping me leveled me. Matthew shocked me. I knew he couldn't hurt me with my bodyguard so near, but his eyes...so I have trust issues. Dating super-hot Byron didn't help clear the confusion either. I'm torn between going to church on Sunday and making a living from pop culture.

But experience builds perspective. My days of shutting up needed to end. First, I told Manuel. Then I told my mom. It turned out awesome until I learned the truth.

Now I'm screwed. Totally. Let's face it: Hollywood's web entangles everyone.

Synopsis–Starlet's Run

Love. Intentions. Acting. Life is more complicated than a Hollywood story.

Fictional actress Liana Marie Michael writes her second memoir, Starlet's Run, as she suffers through the Five Stages of Grief. But when Lia's scripts speak for her and drama becomes her life, can she find the strength to run her own lines and shape her new role?
~ - ~
I'm actress Liana Marie Michael. Hollywood's obsession with beauty made my actress-mother stay competitive. Athletes use steroids. Actors use plastic surgery and anti-aging drugs. So now I'm a physical mess inside, dealing with it, and starring in a major motion picture.

Of course I can't quit. I have brain surgery, feel alive at Grandma's Montana ranch, go back to Hollywood and act. My boyfriend, Manuel, and I want to get married. Everyone has an opinion. I ignore the millions of naysayers until consequences turn dire.

I believe that dwelling on pain is a waste of time. Indecision is exhausting. I want to write my own future. But I'm only eighteen years old.

In a world where an actress is a product and everyone is a critic, can our young love survive? Should it?

Synopsis: Starlet's Light

Love. Trust. Acting. Cancer survivor-actress gives up the fight until she sees the light. Liana Marie writes her third memoir as she struggles with trust and commitment and shapes the role she plays.

I'm actress Liana Marie Michael and am dying. In my last two memoirs, I show how I'm the ideal Hollywood product. In writing Starlet's Web and Starlet's Run, I realized that the drama in our stories affects the lies in our real lives. The thin, young ideal of beauty is as much of a lie as the plot twists and dialogue we create to hide our insecurities.

In this memoir, I make a mess of my love life while shooting a film in Great Britain. I dump Manuel for his own good. I love him with all my heart. So how could I not when he has a bright future? My dad visits and puts my past in perspective. I spend weekends in the hospital. I learn to rely on Franz, Evan and Amelie. Yes, I hook up with my Swiss billionaire-heir friend Pierre even though I miss Manuel every minute. But it all makes sense, especially since I am so done with acting.

We are all flies and spiders in a web of stories. If I live a more authentic life, can love prevail despite my many faults? Can truth alter Hollywood's web?

Carla J. Hanna lived in Santa Monica, CA where her children played with the children of celebrities. She mingled with plenty of nannies and a few good celebrity moms. Her award winning books, The Starlet Series, include Starlet's Man, Starlet's Web, Starlet's Run, & Starlet's Light. Starlet's End is scheduled to release September 2015, subject to change from publisher interest.

http://www.carlahanna.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CarlaJHanna
https://twitter.com/CarlaJHanna

MY REVIEW:

I reviewed Starlet's Man, the first of the Starlet Series. There were some things I liked about the book.
1. Even though I have no contact with celebrities, I feel sure that the book is fairly true-to-life. 
2.I think the author clearly showed how marketing young actresses and actors as a product produces some really traumatized young adults.
3.The story line was compelling enough for me to want to finish the book.
4.The main character is sympathetic and forgiving in situations that I'd have a hard time forgiving.
5.The author piqued my curiosity so that I want to see what ultimately happens to the heroine. 

There were also some things I didn't like.
1.I suppose this proves that I'm out of touch with the behavior of young adults because some of the things they accepted as normal bothered me.

2.I thought this was a romance, but except for one or two, I didn't see too much romance, just a lot of people who didn't really know the difference between romance and sex.

I think new adults would enjoy the book. It's written in a contemporary way I think they could relate to.

Giveaway:
The author is giving away a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble Gift Card or Book Depository Spree; One (1) Necklace (Based on Cover Image). Ends 5/1. Use the rafflecopter link below to win. You can find the tour schedule at http://www.masqueradetours.com/2015/03/new-signups-starlet-series-by-carla-j.html

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Rivers: Orders of the Sky #2

Rivers (Orders of the Sky #2)

I’ve always been fascinated by ghosts. They’re simply lost souls looking for the conclusion to their story. After years of chasing the phantom of Stone into the night, I’ve sought to live and love again in the new chapter of my life. I’m not the naïve girl I once was. I know what I want, what I need. But like the tortured spirits wandering the earth, can I find the happy ending I crave or will the apparitions of the past destroy any chance of everlasting bliss?

Excerpt from Rivers

“I told you that you shouldn’t smoke.” Drew came up behind me.

“Don’t scare me like that.” I jumped. “I almost threw the cigarette into the water thinking you were Jackson.”

“Here, let me do that for you.” He snatched the cigarette and threw it into the river.

“Hey! I was enjoying that immensely.”

“You don’t need to smoke. If you aren’t worried about your health, then be vain and worry about your looks. Smoking will age you.”

“It’s not like I chain smoke or anything,” I tossed my hair over my shoulder.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s a horrible habit to start.”

“Then what self-destructive habit should I take up?”

“Why do you need to destroy yourself?”

“Pattern of my life.” I stared out at the stars in the night.

“Are you that unhappy?”

“Right now, yes.”

He put his hand on my shoulder. “What can I do to make it better? Anything, you name it?”

“I’m not sure there’s anything you can do.”

“I can make you happy.” He twisted me around to face him. “Run away with me.”

“Be serious, Drew.” I sighed. “Come teach me to jitterbug. Dancing will clear my mind. Not to mention, if we’re caught outside together, tongues will wag.” The door creaked open across the deck behind us. “Too late.”

Beyond The Book: Cowgirl Food

Any cowgirl worthy of the title probably knew how to make Vinegar Pie. Wikimedia says it's a North American variation of Chess Pie. Some of you may recall that Laura Ingalls Wilder ate Vinegar Pie at Christmas in Little House in the Big Woods. I've eaten Chess Pie, but personally, I've never tried Vinegar Pie. I believe that this recipe was supposed to be made when you were out on the trail somewhere. Let me know how it tastes if you decide to indulge your cowgirl taste buds.

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup cold water
4 eggs, beaten
5 tablespoons vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons butter 

Combine sugar and flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and place in a saucepan. Cook until thick and pour into a prepared pie crust. Bake in a 375-degree oven until the crust is brown.

Rest Thy Head is now on sale for .99 at Amazon and B&N.

Wind Catcher

WIND CATCHER

by Jeffrey Altabef & Erynn Altabef

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Juliet Wildfire Stone hears voices and sees visions, but she can’t make out what they mean. Her eccentric grandfather tells her stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but he might as well be speaking another language. None of it makes any sense.

When she stumbles upon a series of murders, she can’t help but worry her grandfather might be involved. To discover the truth, Juliet must choose between her new life at an elite private school and her Native American heritage.

Once she uncovers an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep her safe, she starts to wonder whether there’s some truth to those old stories her grandfather has been telling her.

All she wants is to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but she has never been average—could never be average.

Betrayed by those she loves, she must decide whether to run or risk everything by fulfilling her destiny as the Chosen.

EXCERPT:

Everything about me is a lie.

My entire life is a leaning tower of lies that threatens to collapse at any moment and bury me so deep I may never climb out from under the rubble.

I slam the bathroom door and my hand trembles as the old-fashioned steel bolt slides into place.

Click.

The locked door offers no real safety. Locked doors can be broken, but it does give me a moment of privacy and a chance to breathe. So much has happened over the past few days. It’s like I’ve become a totally different person, someone unrecognizable.

The adrenaline that had been pumping through my veins has completely melted away now as I lean against the wooden door. My breath comes fast and ragged. My body feels heavy and weary and my legs weaken. Gravity pulls me down. Too tired to resist, I slide down the length of the door until the white marble floor rushes up to meet me.

I work hard to steady my breath and focus on taking in fresh air, expelling the old. It’s a simple process, yet it takes all of my concentration. When air starts to flow, my eyes close. Time slows and drifts by erratically.

Images flash through my mind—an eclectic group of memories: childhood birthdays, second place in a spelling bee, hanging out with Troy, rock climbing with Sicheii. Most are happy, but they’re all tainted now. The lies spoil them. They were never true. They were just part of a story, one that’s changed forever.

My weary mind reaches for sleep, but I resist. Too much time would be wasted. There’s too much for me to do. Too many loose ends need to be tied, so I open moist eyes and wipe away tears I don’t recall crying.

When my vision clears, crimson-streaked fingers flutter near my face as if directed by someone else. I thought blood looked like ketchup, but it’s darker and thicker than you would think. My hands spin in tight circles. Each finger is stained with thick, mud-colored smears.

Whose blood is on them?

A cold sweat coats my back and my chest tightens. This blood must be scrubbed away immediately. It starts to burn as if it’s alive, as if possessed by dark spirits, spirits that want to harm me. It freaks me out. I have got to wash them clean now, this second, immediately, before....

I turn the faucet and hot water tumbles over my skin. I frantically rub my fingers together and hope friction and water alone will make the blood disappear. The water in the sink turns red and then pink, but traces of blood stubbornly stay behind. A bar of soap rests on the edge of the porcelain sink. Lather squishes between my fingers—twisting and turning, scrubbing and rinsing. My skin turns raw from the rubbing, and when the water has lost all its warmth, I turn the faucet off.

Hard to find specks of blood cling to my flesh, but I still see them and feel them.

Will they ever wipe clean? I don’t think so.

A silent scream builds deep within me, which so desperately wants to be released it practically hurts, but no sound slips past my lips. I’m too tired to scream.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Wind Catcher: A Chosen Novel is a joint project between the father/daughter team of Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef.  Jeff Altabef is an award winning author who has two published thrillers. He has a column on The Examiner focused on writing, and a blog designed to encourage writing by those that like telling stories. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. Erynn Altabef is an avid reader, dancer, and community activist who has just earned her Girl Scout Gold Award. When she’s not in High School, she loves reading, performing in school musicals, baking, and watching movies with her friends.

http://www.jeffaltabef.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Altabef-Author

https://twitter.com/JeffAltabef

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7055582.Jeff_Altabef

http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Altabef/e/B00FNVK3NK

http://www.evolvedpub.com/team-view/jeff-altabef/

The authors are giving away a  $20 Amazon/BN GC, autographed print copy of Wind Catcher, or a digital copy of Wind Catcher. Use the rafflecopter below to enter. You can find the tour schedule at

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/02/super-book-blast-wind-catcher-by.html

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