From Amazon: Milo Learns Mindfulness, is the third academic coloring book in the series. It serves as an interactive, noninvasive academic workbook on the mindful concept. It is designed to be used as a guided instruction tool or independent learning- educator approved for ages 7- 12. Included are academic application of mindfulness practices, coloring page affirmations, engaging vocabulary, journal prompts and much more. The Milo the Doodle Cat series books are one of a kind in children’s books publishing. Each book consists of unique adventures coupled with vocabulary words and discussion questions. The pages are left uncolored so that children may color them, immersing their individual creativity with the story. From the beginning, the Milo the Doodle Cat series doubles up creativity and learning in one space. Using her education background and experience with art therapy, April chose to create a unique stance with these children’s books.

My Review: Milo is a Doodle Cat and his friend Lex tore up his favorite toy – a ball of yarn by accident. Milo yelled at Lex and Mr. Owl heard the commotion. Mr. Owl got Milo and Lex to learn about taking responsibility for both actions and reactions. This book is more than my previous words as it goes more in depth on thoughts and feelings and mire. Children can color with crayon or colored pencils all of the drawings in this book and kids are encouraged to answer questions, draw their own doodles, and write down their own thoughts and feelings. Five shiny gold stars.

From Amazon: The latest advance in attaining success offers a revolutionary discovery by fully taking over the reins of what you think, feel and take action to break free from an unpleasant life that is wreaking havoc in your finances, relationships and self-esteem. As A Man Saveth (Heal Your World) by Laban T. M’mbololo, Esq. will envision a more invigorating life in your mind, empower and equip you through conditioning your belief system by tapping into the unimaginable potentialities of your mind to consistently say, do the right things at the right time and in the right way and that will make you accomplish twenty times more than what the average person would.

My Review: This book is about how one would best build their personal wealth for now and in the future. Different models are given and examples. I find that I already follow many of the different thoughts to build a safe financial future. Aside from savings and having a revocable trust, we spend from our checking account only. We have a mix of 401K’s, I run my own company and under that company I have different branches. Those include, but are not limited to an online art gallery, more than 30 books in print with many of them best-selling and award-winning. I use multiple online and brick and mortar businesses in which I sell. My successful blog receives numerous hits each day, I host book tours, I have IPO stock and crypto amounts from more than one type, plus stock bought from major businesses. That is a partial list. The key point is, once you have your main job in a secure manner, branch out, not with a second job, but a side business that runs with little involvement. I’m set up so that money earned under my company is directly channeled to my revocable trust. You can do a similar set up using your strengths.

From Amazon: Book 1 of a Trilogy! After a fateful dangerous night, a young anthropologist awakens traditional powers deep within for uniting a society and destroying an ancient, menacing evil. What would you do if you found out the balance of good and evil depended on your ability to make one simple choice? Kate Murphy, a headstrong, thirty-year-old, Midwestern anthropologist, is thrust into an unexpected reality where the balance of good and evil are dependent upon her abilities and decisions. After an attack that leaves her feeling out of control and helpless, she’s forced to reforge her identity, embracing the power within to unite an ancient society bound for protecting mankind. However, the ever-present evil, preventing her from this goal, has been relentlessly stalking her family-line for centuries, forcing her to dig into her family history. After a bit of research, unexpected advice from her childhood priest, and a series of unexplainable happenings, Kate finds herself challenged with some daunting tasks: become a warrior, heal a broken world, and unite a diverse group gifted with similar abilities — all while juggling a job, love-life, family, and friendships. Join Kate in her unexpected epic adventure!

My Review: I found this story to be rather interesting in how the elements of Catholicism, good white light, darkness, love, pure hearts, powers befitting a part fantasy story, romance, evil, and trust meshed and fought for the win of good over evil. I give this story five stars for how it is blended and twisted. It does need to be edited. Trigger Alert: The F word is used throughout. I was okay with this but I know some readers do not.

Book Title: Unlike Any Other

Author: Edward Londergan

Publication Date: 1st March, 2022

Publisher: White River Press

Page Length: 270 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @edlondergan @maryanneyarde

Instagram Handles: @edlonderganauthor @coffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2022/04/blog-tour-unlike-any-other-by-edward.html

Book Title and Author Name:

Unlike Any Other

By Edward Londergan

(Blurb)

The Story of An 18th Century Woman from A Prominent New England Family Who Went from A Life of Privilege to The Gallows

Bathsheba Spooner was the daughter of Timothy Ruggles, a general in the French and Indian War, president of the Stamp Act Congress, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and a leading loyalist in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War; the epitome of upper class.

Like her father, Bathsheba was smart, strong-willed, and a staunch British loyalist. Forced to marry a man she did not love, Bathsheba withstood her husband’s abuse for years until a young Continental soldier entered her life. But when this well-heeled mother of three small children discovered she was pregnant with the soldier’s child, her thoughts quickly turned to murder.

Based on a true story, the events that follow Bathsheba’s life, her decisions, and her ultimate demise will show readers that Bathsheba Spooner was, in fact, Unlike Any Other . . .

Excerpt:

The next morning, after everyone else was seated, the four of us were led in. The room smelled less of the human odor unavoidable in large gatherings of people sitting for an extended time. And it was filled again. Justice Cushing did not order the bailiff to close the doors; people streamed outside, down the steps, and into the street where hundreds more had gathered.

The jury deliberated for forty minutes. We stood at the railing, watching and waiting, as the justices talked amongst themselves. Mr. Paine and Mr. Lincoln sat at the attorney’s table, each scribbling notes and talking to the clerk now and then. I tried to catch Mr. Lincoln’s eye but he didn’t look my way.

Finally, the bailiff came into the room and spoke in a low tone to Justice Cushing. The justices sat imposingly in the chairs, their full authority on display. When the jury was brought into the room and seated, Cushing looked at them.

“Have you determined a verdict?”

“We have, chief justice.”

“Give the verdict to the bailiff.”

My heart was hammering in my chest as the piece of paper that would determine my future was handed by the foreman to the bailiff who delivered it to Cushing. The room was silent, the air eager with anticipation. I could feel the intense excitement flowing through the crowd.

Cushing read the verdict to himself, and then motioned for the other justices to move to a separate room to decide our sentence. They returned in less than ten minutes. Cushing looked at the bailiff, who motioned to the four of us.

“Defendants all rise,” the bailiff said.

We stood at the bar facing the justices.

Cushing sat magisterially, the paper folded in his hands.

“James Buchanan, William Brooks, and Ezra Ross, you are hereby found guilty of the murder of Joshua Spooner. Bathsheba Spooner, you are hereby found guilty of being an accessory to the murder of Joshua Spooner. The four of you are hereby sentenced to be hanged by the neck until your bodies are dead. Your execution date will be determined by the Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay. This trial is concluded.”

I hung my head, and my shoulders quivered as I began to cry, but it was only a moment before I regained my composure.

Brooks pounded on the bar, presumably angry at the judgment; Ezra stared blankly, as if in disbelief; Buchanan showed no emotion whatsoever.

“Justice is done!” someone yelled to the crowd outside.

A loud cheer went up from the people assembled in front of the courthouse.

“If I could only undo all that I have done,” I whispered.

When the sheriff and his men took us outside, the crowd went silent. They watched us with an unnerving intensity. Ezra was in the lead followed by Buchanan and Brooks. I was last. The air was still; the only sound was a single loud “Caw!” from a large raven sitting on the meetinghouse roof.    

Buy Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unlike-Any-Other-Ed-Londergan-ebook/dp/B09VCGWH22

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Unlike-Any-Other-Ed-Londergan-ebook/dp/B09VCGWH22

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Unlike-Any-Other-Ed-Londergan-ebook/dp/B09VCGWH22

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Unlike-Any-Other-Ed-Londergan-ebook/dp/B09VCGWH22

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unlike-any-other-edward-londergan/1140197760

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/unlike-any-other/edward-londergan/9781935052746

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unlike-any-other-2

Hudson Booksellers: https://www.hudsonbooksellers.com/book/9781935052746

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781935052746

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/search?filter=&id=8338934483810&query=Unlike+Any+Other+Edward+Londergan

Author Bio:

Ed Londergan is the author of the award-winning books The Devils’ Elbow and The Long Journey Home. Having researched American history for many years, he is a frequent speaker with a focus on colonial Massachusetts. A graduate of Holy Cross, he lives in Warren, Massachusetts.

Social Media Links:

Website: www.edlondergan.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EdLondergan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdLonderganAuthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edlondergan/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edlonderganauthor/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Ed-Londergan/e/B008LCGOK4%253

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60678836-unlike-any-other

So I did a thing over early spring of 2022. I donated three full boxes of books for children in Trinidad! The kids were still masking and Covid-19 has yet to become endemic, but I helped to brighten the kids’ lives and help with literacy. Honestly – knowing I made a difference is my personal satisfaction.

From Amazon: Mark Cooney grows up aware that there is something different about him and hopes that his parents will never find out. Mark’s best friend Dave disappeared when he was thirteen and returned ten years later. Mark became more and more vulnerable as they got closer. It came with a price. Tormented by his inner demons and refusing to be controlled by anyone, Dave reveals a secret that he has kept since childhood, which leads to a terrible misunderstanding that will have grave consequences for Mark and his family. The Complexities of Love is a coming-of-age story about Mark as he confronts the truth about his family and his identity. All he yearns for is for Dave to return his love, but will that happen, or will he find someone else?

My Review: This is a must read book for those inclined to read about events and social/personal situations of the LGBT community. I related with the main characters homelife as mine was abusive. As a teenager, he had normal fears and anxiety that teens do compounded by not being a heterosexual person. Kids can be and are cruel. No one knows anything about another person, no matter how close a sibling or friend, because if you haven’t LIVED it, you will NOT know it. Free. Perfect ending.

Book Title: The Mesilla

Series: The Two Valleys Saga, Book 1

Author: Mary Armstrong

Publication Date: 22nd April 2021

Publisher: Enchanted Writing Company

Page Length: 391 Pages

Genre: Western Historical Fiction

Twitter Handles: @authornotarthur @maryanneyarde

Instagram Handles: @contrarymaryauthor @coffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #WildWest #WesternHistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2022/03/blog-tour-mesilla-two-valleys-saga-book.html

The Mesilla

(The Two Valleys Saga, Book 1)

By Mary Armstrong

(Blurb)

At 14 years old, Jesus ‘Chuy’ Perez Contreras Verazzi Messi is too small and frail to work the land on the family farm near the Rio Bravo in Mexico. The local padre’s tutoring reveals Jesus’s unending curiosity and fertile mind. Noted Las Cruces, New Mexico attorney, and politician Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain, agrees to take his nephew under his wing. Jesus ‘reads law’ with his uncle and shares adventures and adversity with the Fountain family and other historic Mesilla and Tularosa Valley citizens. His coming-of-age story will take you into the wild southwest, a brewing range war, a territory struggling toward statehood, courtroom dramas, and the adventures and adversities of a boy’s quest for manhood.

*A fictional memoir by Jesus about the ten years leading to the notorious and unsolved Fountain murders.

Buy Links:

Universal Links for the series:

When the Doves Coo (A Prequel to The Two Valleys Saga): https://books2read.com/u/mKpegv

The Mesilla (The Two Valleys Saga, Book 1): https://books2read.com/u/3yKn8J

The San Augustin (The Two Valleys Saga, Book 2): https://books2read.com/u/menJWR

The Mesilla Buy Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mesilla-Two-Valleys-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B093CPZ71B

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Mesilla-Two-Valleys-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B093CPZ71B

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Mesilla-Two-Valleys-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B093CPZ71B

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Mesilla-Two-Valleys-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B093CPZ71B

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mesilla-mary-armstrong/1140770711?ean=9781737154549

COAS Books: https://bookshop.org/books/the-mesilla/9781737154501

Author Bio:

Mary lives in the heart of one of the ‘Two Valleys’ in Las Cruces New Mexico, with her husband Norman ‘Skip’ Bailey, Jr. and their Cavachon child-dog, Java. In 2017 she wrote the one-act play, “It is Blood,” which was selected for a performance by the Las Cruces Community Theatre. Whereas the Two Valleys series is a prequel to the notorious and unsolved murders of Albert J. Fountain and his eight-year-old son, “It is Blood,” is a sequel to those events.

After winning an award for her debut historic fiction novel “The Mesilla,” Mary has decided to focus on that genre — at least for the foreseeable future. Her writing is fast-moving, thought-provoking and with just enough wordsmithing to satisfy your artistic hankerings. While her writing has literary merit, she strives to capture the moment — the time and the place — and help you live in that moment.

Before releasing her debut novel, Mary dabbled in creative writing, including a weekly column in the Las Cruces Sun News. Since retiring from a diverse career in various planning and design fields, she has devoted herself more fully to her writing, being a good spouse, serving her dog Java, and slipping away to the golf course when left unchained to the desk.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://maryarmstrongauthor.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authornotarthur

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryarmstrongauthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-armstrong-590ab9211/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contrarymaryauthor/?hl=en

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mary-armstrong

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B093CZQNZS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21456893.Mary_Armstrong

From Amazon: Book I of The Breach Chronicles BROKEN BUT NOT LOST
The dark shadow cast by an ancient prophecy shatters an innocent family, but all that is broken is not lost and will rise again. Half-blood sorceress, Talia, had a unique childhood. Instructed in combat skills and trained to escape detection, she was schooled to face an unknown menace. Yet, when her family’s worst nightmare comes to pass, Talia finds her protected life spinning out of control. Everything she believes in, and everyone she loves, is cruelly snatched away. Talia is forced to flee the attentions of a mad king and denied her supernatural legacy. She chooses the path of retribution, devoid of love and friendship, but learns that sometimes love is received even if not sought. Broken is a tale about Talia’s coming of age, reuniting with her family and seeking vengeance. Most of all it chronicles Talia’s rise from the ashes and her journey into finding herself again. Read Talia’s epic saga of love, sacrifice, friendship, and discovering the hero within set against a background of time travel and supernatural forces.

My Review: Wow! What a book! Never have I read any book like this one. Love conquers but it’s not without pain and strife, endurance and perseverance. Add to this mix a place with other fantasy realms and creatures and those who think a woman belongs to him as a crazed king, and the men who love their women, the women who love their men and children, tons of torn sacrifices, magical and real life, dragons and swords, daggers and more, this story is for anyone age 14 up. Despite what I wrote above, this book is a clean story suitable for age 14 and up. I write age 14 but if a 12 year-old has a strong vocabulary, then this story is for them as well. Five gold stars.

I have been quietly working on a pet project, a picture book for toddlers, in collaboration with the very talented Thanasis Psaros. Here is a sneak preview: My experience with the wee one has shown me just how essential picture books are for young readers. They are building blocks that facilitate vocabulary skills, literacy, story […]

Why Picture Books Are So Important For Children — Nicholas C. Rossis

From Amazon: “Nothing is unconquerable; even our gods can die.” Brennus is destined from birth to become a warrior, despite his farmer’s life. But when the Hillmen kill his family and annihilate his clan, he now has the opportunity to avenge those who he loved. Brennus must survive endless hordes of invading Hillmen and magic-wielding sidhe, aided by only a band of shifty mercenaries, and an ancient bronze sword. Failure means his family and clan go unavenged. Victory will bring glory to Brennus and his ancestors. Hag of the Hills is a heroic fantasy novel set in 200 B.C. on the Isle of Skye, steeped in Celtic mythology and culture.

My Review: I found this book to be an awesome tale of a time in the past before history was recorded. If you like sword battles, Celts, Druids, Hillman, sworn oaths, and such this novel is for you. Celtic mythology at its best. The story as old as can be, the life hard lived, honor was honored as best can be, lives forever changed and evolving. This is not my normal read, but I was attracted to this story first due to my Irish ancestry and thus I read it. Obviously, once you read it, things don’t end how one may wish, but things do inevitably end one way or another. Five stars.