HF VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS presents... The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen by Collins Hemingway - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're joining Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for a stop along a promotion already in progress.  It's a perfect fit for HF fans and Austenites alike as the author takes the life story of the authoress we know and love, and gives it a little twist of fate, if you will.  Being the first volume in the series, there's no better way to get acquainted with everyone and everything that's about to unfold, so ready or not, here we go!  Today's book of choice is....

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen

A Novel by a Gentleman, Volume 1

by

Collins Hemingway

9781504911023
Authorhouse

About the book...

Everyone should marry once for love – Even Jane Austen

Jane Austen, single and seemingly comfortable in the role of clergyman’s daughter and aspiring writer in the early 1800s, tells friends and family to hold out for true affection in any prospective relationship. Everybody, she says, has a right to marry once in their lives for love.

But when, after a series of disappointing relationships, the prospect of true love arrives for her, will she have the courage to act? The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen re-imagines the life of England’s archetypal female by exploring what might have happened if she had ever married. It shows how a meaningful, caring relationship would have changed her as a person and a writer.

It also takes her beyond England’s tranquil country villages and plunges her info what the Regency era was really about: great explorations and scientific advances, political foment, and an unceasing, bloody war.

In such times, can love—can marriage—triumph?

Amazon | Austen Books | Barnes and Noble

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What WOULD happen if Jane had fallen in love?  How would it have changed the writer or her writing?  In what ways would her world have been easier, harder, more fulfilling, or less?  Would we even have the stories we know like the back of our hands, or perhaps we'd have more, but in additional shades of splendor?   There's no simple answer, but oh so many suppositions that can be made...making this particular one as much a possibility as any other.

Though I've read several works fit for the Austenite masses, each one has its own charms.  In this particular undertaking, we have Jane receiving the attention of a familiar young man with his intentions as obvious as the day is long...at least to everyone BUT the intended.  Ah yes, Ms. Austen seems to be oblivious to that which is on offer from one Mr. Dennis, and yet, I can't help but second her second guessing nature.  Was it too much to ask that the question be asked plainly?  Was it too much to have some courtship, however frivolous it may seem, if not out of courtesy, than out of love?  Was it too hard to see that while not actively seeking another half, the appearance of what might be her perfect match would be as dis-settling as it was secretly welcomed?  No matter how level headed or practical a girl, pardon me...a woman is, it doesn't mean that all the romance should be swept under the rug...even when it comes to someone as wily with words as our dear Jane.

In the end, I enjoyed the trip through the early 1800's for the story as well as the company we kept. It's not every day you meet a young man trying desperately to impress a woman of which he is sweet on, only to have his efforts thwarted time and again by both the woman herself and outside forces (think hot air balloon ride turned cross country expedition!).  The scandal that follows was fitting for the times but enough to turn any modern woman red in the face in exasperation...as was the ensuing shunning of both parties, family, and friends.  The broken paths of relationships that follows, however brief and caste they may be, paves the way for a potential "one day" that'll find them in the right place, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind AND heart...while delivering a story that readers can believe in, as much as any fictitious story can become a truth.

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About the author...

Whether his subject is literature, history, or science, Collins Hemingway has a passion for the art of creative investigation. For him, the most compelling fiction deeply explores the heart and soul of its characters, while also engaging them in the complex and often dangerous world in which they have a stake. He wants to explore all that goes into people’s lives and everything that makes tThe hem complete though fallible human beings. His fiction is shaped by the language of the heart and an abiding regard for courage in the face of adversity.

As a nonfiction book author, Hemingway has worked alongside some of the world’s thought leaders on topics as diverse as corporate culture and ethics; the Internet and mobile technology; the ins and outs of the retail trade; and the cognitive potential of the brain. Best known for the #1 best-selling book on business and technology, Business @ the Speed ofThought, which he coauthored with Bill Gates, he has earned a reputation for tackling challenging subjects with clarity and insight, writing for the nontechnical but intelligent reader.

Hemingway has published shorter nonfiction on topics including computer technology, medicine, and aviation, and he has written award-winning journalism.

Published books include The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy, Business @ the Speed of Thought, with Bill Gates, Built for Growth, with Arthur Rubinfeld, What Happy Companies Know, with Dan Baker and Cathy Greenberg, Maximum Brainpower, with Shlomo Breznitz, and The Fifth Wave, with Robert Marcus.

Hemingway lives in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, Wendy. Together they have three adult sons and three granddaughters. He supports the Oregon Community Foundation and other civic organizations engaged in conservation and social services in Central Oregon.

For more information please visit Collins Hemingway’s website and blog. 

You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Goodreads.

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Special thanks to Amy at HF Virtual Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as to author Collins Hemingway for the signed copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the series, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now via Authorhouse, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today!  Stop by the other sites on the tour for more bookish fun.

BEFORE YOU GO....

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

Up for grabs...two paperback copies of The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen!
To enter, CLICK HERE to access the Gleam form...

Rules:

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on January 12th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

– Giveaway is open to residents INTERNATIONALLY.

– Only one entry per household.

– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.

– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

BARCLAY PUBLICITY LLC presents... A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev - EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY!

HI there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're joining a Barclay Publicity LLC blog tour already in progress shining the spotlight on a new Romantic Women's Fiction title that just so happens to be celebrating its BOOK BIRTHDAY today!  (*throws confetti*)  Add A DISTANT HEART to your TBR pile on Goodreads and keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE first look and enter the giveaway for a prize pack from Sonali that includes a $50 Amazon gift card and print copies of A Bollywood Affair and A Change of Heart! It's not the first time around the publishing block for this author but she is new-to-me (and perhaps you too!), so ready, set, READ!

A Distant Heart

by

Sonali Dev

9781496705761

Kensington

About the book...

Her name means “miracle” in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that’s exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai’s Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company. . . . Until one person dares venture into her world.

Tasked at fourteen years old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi’s windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi’s eyes to the outside world–and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.

As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into an organ black market ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul’s deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe–and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.

Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | BAM

IndieBound |  Walmart |  Hudson Bookseller

A Distant Heart Excerpt

Copyright © 2017 Sonali Dev

Freedom was a beautiful thing! Mumbai in all its grimy, gray, pre-monsoon glory flew past Kimi as her auto-rickshaw sped between cars and pedestrians with the zeal of a bastard child born of a Diwali rocket and an immortal god. She almost asked the driver to slow down, but with the wind whipping her ponytail and the driver’s mop of curls in a joint symphony she felt as recklessly brave as the whirring vehicle racing along on its three wheels. 

Emblazoned across the dashboard of the rickshaw was the goddess Durga dancing on the corpse of a demon like the evil-hunting badass she was. Bowing to her was Bollywood’s favorite superhero, Krish, with his muscles bulging like fat rubber balls and his hair coiffed high. In a perfect background score to Kimi’s life’s drama, the techno-beat-laden remix of an old Bollywood number drowned out the cacophony of horns the driver left in his wake. 

The combination was delicious and exactly worthy of what she had just done. What she was about to do. 

Freedom! 

You know who else was badass? Kimaya Kirit Patil, that’s who. 

There had been one hundred and twelve instances over twelve years when each breath had been a fight and her limbs had turned to mist. She had fought. Not like a warrior, because that would involve the use of said limbs, but like someone drowning, where all you could do is keep the water out of your nose, so it wouldn’t keep the air from your lungs. Breathe out. Breathe out. She had followed those breaths. Grabbed on to those thin wisps of air like lifelines and made herself live one grip at a time.

Then the cure she had waited twelve years for in a sterile room had come. A heart had become available. Surely that meant something. Someone had died, after all, so she might live. Someone with the exact kind of blood and plasma that would let a foreign heart beat within her chest with the confidence of an indegene. Surely that meant she could now have what she never thought she would—all that she had gazed upon from the windows of her room, sealed tight with every technology known to man, so no germ, no pathogen would dare venture into her world, let alone an entire human being. Except Rahul—he had ventured. And then gone on venturing until he was all the way inside. 

He’d helped her understand calculus and the nuanced stories of Premchand. He had known how atoms split, why Europe went to war twice within half a century, and the why and when of each invention that transformed the history of civilization. He had touched her, despite promises he’d made. Because it was exactly what she had needed. His gloved hand in hers. He had given her anything she had asked for when everyone else had been too afraid. And she had known that if she lived, if her parents got what they had sealed her in a room twelve years for—a daughter who lived—she would spend the rest of that life taking care of him. The way he had taken care of her. 

Except she hadn’t considered the most important part of her plan: him. She had returned from Hong Kong with her new heart and he had looked at her with those dark-tar eyes turned even darker by all that emotion when she ran to him. “You’re running,” he had said, as usual choosing the least words to say the most.

“Yes,” she had said, knowing exactly why every single hard-won breath had been worth it. But then she had told him her grand plan: the two of them living happily ever after. 

As always she had asked him for what she wanted. What she hadn’t for one moment considered that he didn’t also want.

He had thanked her for the offer to love him forever, and passed on it. 

The person who had kept her from being alone when she was locked up in a room had finally shown her what loneliness was when he walked away from her, leaving her alone in the crowded world she had craved for so long. 

No one had the right to that kind of power.

She leaned back into the overstuffed vinyl seat of the speeding auto-rickshaw feeling awfully light.

It only made sense that losing a part of yourself would bring lightness. 

No. She wasn’t doing that. She was not going all morose and doing the Tragic Princess shit anymore. That wasn’t her. No matter how people saw her, that was not her. Not anymore. 

Actually, it had never been her. Why the hell was she letting herself go down that path now? 

She was past the Rahul-induced sadness. Done with it. He’d made his intentions clear. They were no longer—well, they just weren’t anymore. Nothing, anything, they just weren’t.

Plato would ask if the fact that they weren’t anymore meant they had never been. Or was it Aristotle? You know who would know? The one person who she could not, would not, call for a fact check. This wasn’t a Tragic Princess thought, but here it was anyway: She had to stop thinking of life in terms of thoughts she saved up for Rahul like seashells collected on a walk along the beach. It was time.

Praise for A DISTANT HEART

“Dev crafts another thrilling story filled with intense drama, deep emotion, and well-developed characters; a can’t-put-down book.”—Library Journal, STARRED Review

“Thrilling action sequences and a complex, weighty romance propel this smart, sensitive story. A natural wordsmith, Dev dives into the psyches of disparate characters with voice-driven prose that includes both chilling insights and quirky humor… This poignant, sensual, and exciting tale captures a range of emotions and conflicts.”—Booklist, STARRED Review

“Award-winning Dev returns with another of her emotionally resonating stories that explore, in depth, the intersection of friendship, love, sacrifice and desperation… There is a tremendous richness to this story… A truly captivating tale of friendship and love. Dev always delivers!”—RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars, TOP PICK!

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About the author...

Sonali Dev’s first literary work was a play about mistaken identities performed at her neighborhood Diwali extravaganza in Mumbai. She was eight years old. Despite this early success, Sonali spent the next few decades getting degrees in architecture and writing, migrating across the globe, and starting a family while writing for magazines and websites. With the advent of her first gray hair her mad love for telling stories returned full force, and she now combines it with her insights into Indian culture to conjure up stories that make a mad tangle with her life as supermom, domestic goddess, and world traveler.

Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband and two teens who demand both patience and humor, and the world’s most perfect dog.

Sonali’s novels have been on Library Journal, NPR, Washington Post, and Kirkus’s lists of Best Books of the year. She won the American Library Association’s award for best romance 2014, and is a RITA® finalist, RT Reviewer Choice Award Nominee, and winner of the RT Seal of Excellence. She was hailed by NPR.org as a ‘stunning debut’.

Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Amazon

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Special thanks to Danielle at Barclay Publicity LLC for the chance to bring this tour to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information about this title, the author, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is IN STORES NOW via Kensington, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Follow your passion: Mamá Graciela’s Secret by Mayra Calvani

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're shining the spotlight on a new(ish) title from a Children's Storybook author I featured once upon a time.  Picture it...this blog, the year 2012 (have I REALLY been blogging that long? Whoa...), and a tale that moved your heart, or at least MY heart, entitled The Doll Violinist.  It was beautiful in imagery, and filled with the spirit of the season we strive so hard to capture as the years go by.  So...when I was contacted about another release from this author, I didn't hesitate to accept.  Ready to see what cat captured this virtual tongue (pun totally intended)? Great because here comes today's title in the spotlight...

Mamá Graciela’s Secret

by

Mayra Calvani

Illustrated by

Sheila Fein

9781365861536

MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing

About the book...

Mamá Graciela’s TENDER, CRUNCHY, SPICY bacalaítos fritos are the best in town... 

Local customers (including stray cats!) come from all over the island to enjoy her secret recipe. But when the Inspector discovers that Mamá secretly caters to so many cats and he threatens to close her tiny restaurant, Mamá must come up with a plan to save it—and all of the animals she loves.

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From the cover, you're thinking this is a story about cats.

From the synopsis, you're thinking it's a story about food.

You'd be wrong on both counts.

Know why?

Because you're thinking in the SINGULAR and this story deals with BOTH and so much more!

It begins as a tale of a one woman's quest to feed those hungry souls that crossed her path; be they man or beast, she saw no difference as a need was a need.  I applaud her open heart and the way in which she embraced ALL those in need.  Thing is...it got a little out of hand.  I mean, I love our four-legged friends as much as the next person, but when you're talking about dozens, hundreds, and perhaps thousands of feline friends...it's more a community than a few frequent travelers now isn't it?  When "the man" comes round after catching wind of what was happening, you can bet he wanted to put a stop to it...not because he was heartless, but because of health concerns.  Surprisingly though, this kick in the proverbial skirts was exactly what she needed to discover her true passion and start the next phase of her and her husband's lives in harmony.

With colorful illustrations to capture the eye and a story that will inspire many to reach for their dreams, author Mayra Calvani has struck just the right heart strings once again for a tale worth sharing across the generations.

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About the author...

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her children's picture book, Frederico the Mouse Violinist was a finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards; her anthology Latina Authors and Their Muses was a First Place winner at the 2016 International Latino Book Awards; her nonfiction book, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, was a Foreword Best Book of the Year winner. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications like The Writer, Writer's Journal, Multicultural Review, Bloomsbury Review, and others.

She lives in Belgium with her husband of 30+ years, two wonderful kids, and her three beloved pets. When she's not writing, editing, reading or reviewing, she enjoys walking with her dog, traveling, and spending time with her family. www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com

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About the illustrator...

Born in Queens, New York and living in Los Angeles since 1987, Sheila Fein has always been inspired by the changing world around her. Earning her BA in Design from Buffalo State College of New York, her concentration was on drawing, painting, printmaking, and photography. Sheila's education as an artist has taken her everywhere from Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia to Bath University in England. Today, Sheila Fein runs two figurative workshops, Imaginings Sketch in LA and People Sketchers in Thousand Oaks. She has been featured in numerous collections, magazines, books, solo and group exhibitions. Her paintings and drawings reside in public and private collections. Sheila loves to make the imagination of others a reality and has done so through her commissioned Fein Fantasy Portraits and Interactive Paintings. In addition to being a fine artist Sheila works as an illustrator. She just completed the book "Mama Graciela's Secret" for Maclaren-Cochrane Publishing.

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Special thanks to Author Assistant for reaching out regarding this title as well as the ebook for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the illustrator, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now in hardback and soft cover editions, and also in a dyslexic font version (ISBN: 978-1-365-86154-3) for easier reading for one and all.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!