on Just Publishing Advice: In general, you don’t use a comma before because in most sentences. When you add a second clause to a sentence starting with because the meaning is usually quite clear. You are explaining the reason why something happened in the first clause. For example, I’m always hungry now because I’m on a […]

Why You Need A Comma Before Because After A Negative Clause – by Derek Haines… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

From Amazon: The Light of Love pours down on Frilly. It shines so brightly that she quails and runs away. Upset with herself for feeling scared, she wakes her good friend Mawson and pours out her confusions. She wants to learn how to be bold and is convinced that she can do this by going on a quest. With muddled help from Mawson she sets off into the great Out There. But is a quest to find oneself really the answer?

My Review: This is an interesting book for children. Frilly wants to find who they are as a stuffed animal, and thus sets out on a quest. The photography illustrations are cute and blend well with the narrative. Five stars for sure.

Found on Amazon: Main Street is bustling in Snowberry, Minnesota, and nobody knows that better than the owner of the iconic bakery, the Liberty Belle. Handed the key to her namesake at barely twenty-one, Liberty has worked day and night to keep her parents’ legacy alive. Now, three years later, she’s a hotter mess than the batch of pies baking in her industrial-sized oven. Photographer Bram Alexander has had his viewfinder focused on the heart of one woman since returning to Snowberry. For the last three years she’s kept him at arm’s length, but all bets are off when he finds her injured and alone on the bakery floor. Liberty found falling in love with Bram easy, but convincing her tattered heart to trust him was much harder. Armed with small town determination and a heart of gold, Bram shows Liberty frame-by-frame how learning to trust him is as easy as pie.

My Review: Mettler has outdone herself yet again in this unique contemporary romance. As a nurse, I pay close attention to the medical facets in each of her books I read. Mettler is spot on in providing information about multiple sclerosis without the narrative being overwhelmed in medical speak. Emotions run high and happy endings do exist side by side with chronic illness, various disabilities and the like. I loved the aspect woven into the story about a teen with Downs Syndrome, high functioning at that. What a romance. Five stars!!!!!

From Amazon: In her twenties, single and with the Covid-19 pandemic almost behind her, Abigail should be living her best life. Which she is, as long as it’s within the confines of her own home. The problem is, Abi can’t bring herself to leave the house. Suffering from agoraphobia, her life now revolves around her work as a freelance web designer, her art hobby business, and her infrequent chats with her attractive delivery driver, Sean. When things progress towards a relationship, Abi’s happy to welcome him into her home, but what will happen when Sean wants to take her out? A story of courage and limitations, of anxiety and baby steps, interwoven with sweet romance and more than a sprinkling of hope. There are no miracle cures or quick fixes in this standalone novella, just support, understanding, and a whole lot of love!

My Review: This was an interesting short story. Phobias can be completely overwhelming and sink an individual into complete despair. I liked that this story brought to light some of what a person feels when struck with a phobia that wouldn’t let the protagonist leave her home. Hope is a beautiful thing, and anyone with a phobia needs reinforcement to overcome their fear.

In Unicorn Dreams, children learn how to pretend play. It’s important for children to learn the concept of, and how to pretend play (make-believe or imaginative play), as this fosters a child’s creativity and sparks discussions with your child, which in turn helps your child’s thinking skills when working out a new situation during play. Imaginative play contributes to the development of all children. Oftentimes, children may pretend to cook with toy dishes, or engage in tea parties with a friend, and some might pretend play when alone with a parent at home. A parent can provide a safe environment for a child to act out things that they cannot do in real life, such as having two dolls get married. The opportunity to interact with your child/children in this positive environment helps children with language and learning social skills with other children and adults.  Pretend play also allows for play in which not all children will receive what they want (not all can be a king or queen), and parents help their child learn positive behaviors. Unicorn Dreams teaches children to pretend play and gives children positive thoughts before naptime or bedtime.  

Originally posted on Plaisted Publishing: Dear Publisher,  Amidst significant uncertainty in the global supply chain, IngramSpark is committed to supporting the book industry with the best possible service through the busy holiday season and into 2022. Over the past several months, the publishing industry has seen several cost increases for consumables, such as paper and…

Price Increases from Ingram Spark — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

From Amazon: Pumpkin brothers Paddy and Pete are waiting to chosen to fulfil their Halloween destiny. The brothers would like to be chosen together but one day they are separated. Will they find a way to be together for Halloween?

My Review: The drawings are adorable and the rhyming of the narrative makes for a happy book for children. Two pumpkins wonder if they will be chosen for Halloween as kids come and go choosing pumpkins. As one pumpkin searches for pumpkin food, the other one is taken by a girl. No worries as the chosen pumpkin rolls back to his brother and the child ends up taking both home with her.

From Amazon: You’re everything my mind didn’t realise my heart was praying for’ When tragedy strikes an already vulnerable Kate Winters, she retreats into herself, broken and beaten. Existing rather than living, she makes a journey North to try to find herself, or maybe just looking for some sort of closure. Cameron McAllister has known his own share of grief and love lost. His son, Josh, is now his only priority. In his forties and running a small coffee shop in a tiny Scottish fishing village, Cal knows he is unlikely to find love again. When the two meet and sparks fly, can they overcome their past losses and move on towards a shared future, or are the memories which haunt them still too real? A story of hope and longing, of despair and doubt, can Kate and Cal find their happily ever after? The first in the ‘Found in Fife’ series, this story can be read as a standalone novel.

My Review: This is a wonderful romance story. What makes this romance unique is that the heroine lost her first love in a tragic accident, yet she found her true soul mate the second time romance called out to her, wrapped with the confines of poor mental health, and addiction to pain killers that almost killed her. This story will resonate with others who have loved and lost. Five stars.

on Anne R. Allen: Author Agreements: Know the Legal Terms For authors who are given a book contract and may not have an agent or attorney, here are a few tips that may help you in negotiating against the publisher. Continue reading HERE

5 Tips for Authors When Negotiating their Author Agreements – by Joseph Perry… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

If we humans aren’t giving away our personal information (as we do on FB, Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter and every other social media outlet), we’re having it stolen without our permission and sold to those who mean us harm. This is a bigger deal for writers than most because: 1. we have copyrighted files that provide […]

6 Ways Writers Protect Their Online Privacy – Virtual Book Blast For Laws of Nature & Guest Post by Jacqui Murray… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog