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The House on The Cliff

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Facing mortality for the first time in its life, a two-hundred-year-old house vividly recalls, in its own words, two of its beloved families.

Magnus Quinn, a reclusive sea captain, whose heart has been marred by a horrific tragedy, hesitantly agrees to marry Audrey, a pregnant woman with whom he shares a volatile past. As they forge a tentative bond, their relationship is hampered by secrets—one, long-buried, one, still raw—which threaten to tear them apart, along with Quinn’s brooding and vindictive brother Callum, who will stop at nothing to end their marriage.

Charlie Montgomery just turned thirteen and shares a bedroom with her younger brother Travis and his invisible friend Billy. She lives with her divorced mother and grandmother, who reads palms to help make ends meet. Notably missing from her family unit is her older brother Tyler, who has been sent to fight in Vietnam, and her estranged father, who’s in a rock band that no one has ever heard of.

As Charlie tries to traverse the perils of middle school, as well as the challenges of growing up in an eccentric family, she is suddenly bestowed a gift that follows the line of her grandmother. When this gift allows her to see a disaster that threatens to end the very existence of her family, she must come to terms with a life she never wanted in order to try and save them.

In the present day, Wren Sutcliffe has suffered an unspeakable crime that has left her unable to cope and in fear for her life. Taking refuge inside House’s darkened rooms, she spends her days working her way toward the bottom of a bottle as she struggles to make a fresh start. When her twin sister Zoe shows up: penniless, jobless, and needing a place to crash, Wren welcomes her with open arms, but the pair’s fragile relationship is immediately put to the test when their diverse personalities knock heads. As Wren begins to spiral out of control, the special bond that holds her and Zoe together starts to unravel when certain childhood secrets come to light, and she learns that a dangerous man from her past may have followed her to Echo Point.

My Review:

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars  Life lives on despite aging

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2024

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Life lives on despite aging. One can think that metaphor applies to human life only, but in the real world it can apply to mostly inanimate objects such as a house. This novel reads as a point of view from a house itself, one two centuries plus old. A house in which, if one is sensitive, can feel the heat and energy soar throughout and knowing that the house is alive!!! That is why you want to read this book. Two plus centuries of different people and family that have lived inside come to life. I was mesmerized while reading.

2024 PenCraft Book Awards

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Hi Mary,

We are pleased to announce that our judges of the 2024 PenCraft Book Awards for literary excellence voted your book “Heart of Evergreen: Christmas in Evergreen,” as our Fiction – Drama Genre’s Winner. We want our PenCraft Book Awards to represent true book winners, and your book was indeed one that met those criteria. Books that win our competition are examples of literary excellence and have demonstrated notable popularity with readers. This year’s competition was daunting, with around 1400 book entries to compete against, showcasing an impressive array of talent and creativity across numerous genres. Each entry brought something unique to the table, making the judging process both challenging and exhilarating. Being a winner in the 2024 competition is certainly something to crow about – you’ve not only beaten out many contenders but also distinguished yourself among a pool of exceptional writers and storytellers. This achievement speaks volumes about your hard work, and dedication, as an author.

To select our winners, the many PenCraft Award submissions are culled down by using a judging criterion that incorporates a recommendation from the initial AuthorsReader’s reviewer or PenCraft Book Award reviewer and then finalized by further evaluation by our judges. Their final evaluation considers not only how well the book was written and crafted but also, among other things such as the book’s marketplace popularity and how professional the book’s cover looks. The promotional effort taken by the publisher or author is another yardstick considered. From this entire process, the winners of each category are determined. Some book categories lacked winners because the submissions received did not meet our required literary standards.

David Hearne

Editor In Chief

PenCraft Awards

409-656-4625

Deals on 23 of 54 Books!

If your Kindle is hungry, I’ve got you covered. I’m giving out FREE ebooks on the above 23 books from now to December 31, 2024. Easy, peasy. Contact me here and I will get back with you as soon as I can during this busy season. Thank you!

Merry Murder

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From Amazon:

The cookies are baked. The tree is trimmed. The shopping? Well, it’s almost done, and Fiona’s parents have finally returned home for a holiday visit—along with some unexpected unruly friends. Yep, Fiona’s perfectly planned Christmas is coming together, but how could’ve she planned for her favorite uncle’s murder? Who could possibly kill a sweet old man who’s played Santa at the local mall every year without fail? Fiona’s boyfriend, Detective Nathan Landry, is determined to find out—before Christmas day arrives. There’s only one problem: Nancy Quinn. Fiona’s mom is just as determined as the detective to catch the murderer, and she isn’t shy about getting the job done—even if it includes breaking a few pesky laws! Will Fiona and her mother find the killer first or will the killer find them?

My Review:

I loved this book! It was great to finally read one of the first two books in this series! I gained a bit of backstory and a lot of laughs at the antics of some characters and pint-sized little dogs. Add in Christmas, one murder, and a drug cartel, and the mystery around all of it makes for a great read!

Alphabites

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From Amazon:

Alphabites is a friendly frenzy of fun with letters and words. Children will love the alliteration on each page. This book will make learning the alphabet exciting and engaging; a cute little monster represents and introduces each letter. Words galore spill out on every page. The Alphabites throughout the book will make your child hungry to learn. At the end of the book, there are pages provided to ignite and fire up a passion for reading and words. The authors offer pages to practice upper and lower case letters. They’ve also provided pages to write their favorite word for each letter of the alphabet. What kid doesn’t like drawing at some point? Pages are also provided to transform each letter into a neat little monster or animal. Oh, what fun the kiddies will have. Alphabites is the perfect book to have on your kid’s bookshelf.

My Review:

Top reviews from the United States

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2024

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This is a fun book for both kids and adults. Each letter is used, of course, yet uniquely written with tongue twisting words along with words for what each letter sounds like. Adults will like this book, too. The illustrations are great.

Anything’s Possible

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From Amazon:

You think about it all the time; what do you want to be when you grow up? Some of you know what you want, but sometimes, for whatever reason we lose focus. This book can be your guide. You don’t have to wait until you’re older to start planning what you want to do. Why not start now? Your future is important, although it may seem far away. This book dares you to believe that anything is possible.

My Review:

This is a nice book that provides guidance and positivity to children. Dreams of what you want to be in life can be helped by talking to those in the profession, parents, teachers, anyone can offer advice. Not as applicable for those who are in ghetto housing and such, as they simply don’t have the access to venture out and be able to do some of what the author wrote about. Additionally, this is not for little kids, but kids a bit older, pre-teen due to the language and terms used.


This entry was posted on October 16, 2024. 1 Comment

The Vow

Book Title: The Vow

Author: Jude Berman

Publication Date: October 15th, 2024

Publisher: She Writes Press

Pages: 368

Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @cathiedunn @MaryLSchmidt

Instagram Handle: @jude.berman @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #TheVow #AngelicaKauffman #WomenInArt, #HistoricalFiction #ArtHistory #BlogTour #BookBlast #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2024/09/blog-tour-the-vow-by-jude-berman.html

Book Title and Author Name:

The Vow

by Jude Berman

Blurb: In a stunning work of feminist historical fiction for readers who loved Dawn Tripp’s Georgia and Whitney Scharer’s The Age of Light, Jude Berman brings painter Angelica Kauffman to life.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/br2a8w

Publisher’s Buy Link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Vow/Jude-Berman/9781647427887

Author Bio:

Jude Berman has a BA in art from Smith College and an EdD in cross-cultural communication from UMass Amherst. After a career in academic research, she built a freelance writing and editing business and ran two small Indie presses. She lives in Berkeley, CA, where she continues to work with authors and write fiction.

In her free time, she volunteers for progressive causes, paints with acrylic watercolors, gardens, and meditates. The Die, metaphysical speculative fiction about saving democracy, was published in 2024.

Visit judeberman.com for Jude’s books and judeberman.org for her art.

Author Links:

Website: https://judeberman.com/

Art website: http://www.judeberman.org/

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

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jude.berman/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jude.berman

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jude-Berman/author/B0C9N4GDVJ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/50381.Jude_Berman

This *Release Day* Espresso Book Blast will take place on Tuesday, October 15th, 2024.

This is a Spotlights only tour.

Blurb:

In a stunning work of feminist historical fiction for readers who loved Dawn Tripp’s Georgia and Whitney Scharer’s The Age of Light, Jude Berman brings painter Angelica Kauffman to life.
Accused of dressing as a boy to study in the prestigious galleries of eighteenth-century Italy, child prodigy Angelica Kauffman has set high goals for herself. She is determined to become a history painter, a career off-limits to women. To ensure her success, she has vowed never to marry.
When a new patron invites her to London, Angelica befriends famous artists, paints portraits of Queen Charlotte and other royalty, and becomes a founding member of the Royal Academy. While still in London, an alluring but mysterious Swedish count makes her an offer that may be too tempting to resist. Then, upon returning to Italy, she meets Wolfgang von Goethe.
Time and time again, Angelica faces the insurmountable obstacles and great personal sacrifices that come with being an independent woman. The vows she makes, big and small, are repeatedly challenged. Will she break free from the traditional male/female binary and the many oppressive social dictates of her time and learn to “paint with her soul” . . . or is a vow of a different sort necessary if she is to answer the deepest call of her heart?

This entry was posted on October 15, 2024. 1 Comment

Survivor’s Mind : When Childhood Trauma and Poetry Collide

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From Amazon:

A dark and poetic look into the world of childhood trauma, family secrets and into the mind of a survivor. Written through tears and empowered by strength, each poem amplifies the voices of the shame, secrets and silence that accompanies the lifelong struggles of being a statistic in a world full of abused children. A window into her upcoming memoir, A Childhood Tragedy Under A Mother’s Watch. May these poems bring comfort and strength to those who can relate and an understanding to those who don’t.

My Review:

Top reviews from the United States

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars What pain was held inside

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2024

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Mellon has taken on a challenge of writing poetic verse regarding childhood abuse of all kinds. And they are about her own experiences. No child should be abused, ever! No child should have one parent a monster and the other act blind about what was going with their very own child. Society says abuse is wrong, yet society also does not want to get involved, a large percentage of the time. To have repressed memories come forth from buried deep within oneself, Mellon has overcome what she endured, and now she writes books and poetry to express what horror she endured, and to help others is similar situations.