Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Blurb Blitz Tour and Giveaway: Merlin Raj and the Santa Algorithm by DG Priya


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter. Click the link to see the other stops on the tour.

My name is Merlin Raj. Usually, I only have to worry about being the best service dog. I help my boy, Matthew, walk at school. But when my human Mom has to go away for winter break, getting ready for the holiday becomes a mess. I might be a super-smart golden retriever who wears glasses, but could I help my best friend with more than a disability?

Gulp.

Will a class on algorithms get me barking up the right Christmas tree?

***


Merlin Raj, The Santa Algorithm is the first installment in the Merlin Raj, Computer Science Service Dog chapter-book series. With a Computer Science degree and a passion for preparing kids for the future, author D. G. Priya blends technology with animal stories to stimulate a desire to read. Each book in the series introduces a new programming skill, complete with study guides for educators. If you or your child like delightful dog tales, practical examples, and accessible learning tools, then you’ll love D. G. Priya’s tail-wagging adventure.

Read an Excerpt

As Miss Babbage said, a task could be done using an algorithm.

Algorithm 1: I could nudge Matthew into distracting Peter and throw the jingle-bell Sugar-O’s into the cart. Then, Dad would notice and throw them right back out.

So, algorithm 1 = fail.

About the Author:
D.G. Priya is the pen name of Bestselling Author Priya Ardis. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin, #6 in the world (Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2014) and #8 (US News, 2020) in Computer Science. Her advocacy of early education in computing and the challenges of childhood disabilities come from her experience as a parent and volunteer. Her love of dog stories comes from the antics of her own golden retriever.

Talk to me!

Website: http://www.dgpriya.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/dgpriya
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dgpriya
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/priyaardis
Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/priya_ardis
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/priyaardis

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DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THE TOUR AND COMMENT
ON EACH STOP TO EARN MORE ENTRIES TO WIN!

March 24: Books in the Hall
March 27: Just Books
March 31: The Avid Reader
April 3: Rogue's Angels
April 6: T's Stuff
April 8: Hurn Publications - review






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Blog Tour and Giveaway: Henrietta and Inspector Howard by Michelle Cox

 
 
Join Us for this Series Spotlight Tour from Mar 16 to April 3, 2020!
SERIES DETAILS:
Series Title:  Henrietta and Inspector Howard by Michelle Cox
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre:  Historical Mystery
Publisher:  She Writes Press
Release dates:   April 2016; April 2017; April 2018; April 2019; April 2020
Tour dates: Mar 16 to April 3, 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes (tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot. There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide, prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

SERIES DESCRIPTION:

A GIRL LIKE YOU: Beautiful Henrietta Von Harmon works as a 26 girl at a corner bar, Poor Pete’s, on Chicago’s northwest side. It’s 1935, but things still aren’t looking up since the big crash and her father’s subsequent suicide. Left to care for her antagonistic mother and seven younger siblings, Henrietta is persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance hall. Henrietta is just beginning to enjoy herself, dancing with men for ten cents a dance, when the floor matron suddenly turns up murdered. The aloof Inspector Clive Howard then appears on the scene, and Henrietta unwittingly finds herself involved in unraveling the mystery when she agrees to go undercover for him in a burlesque theater where he believes the killer lurks.

Even as Henrietta is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld, she struggles to still play the mother “hen” to her younger siblings and even to the pesky neighborhood boy, Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and continues to pop up in the most unlikely places, determined, ironically, to keep Henrietta safe, even from the Inspector if needs be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways. 


A RING OF TRUTH: In this second book of the series, Henrietta and Clive delightfully rewrite Pride and Prejudice―with a hint of mystery!

Newly engaged, Clive and Henrietta now begin the difficult task of meeting each other’s family. “Difficult” because Clive has neglected to tell Henrietta that he is in fact the heir to the Howard estate and fortune, and Henrietta has just discovered that her mother has been hiding secrets about her past as well. When Clive brings Henrietta to the family estate to meet his parents, they are less than enthused about his impoverished intended. Left alone in this extravagant new world when Clive returns to the city, Henrietta finds herself more at home with the servants than his family, much to the disapproval of Mrs. Howard―and soon gets caught up in the disappearance of an elderly servant’s ring, not realizing that in doing so she has become part of a bigger, darker plot.
As Clive and Henrietta attempt to discover the truth in the two very different worlds unraveling around them, they both begin to wonder: Are they meant for each other after all?


A PROMISE GIVEN: This third book in the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series provides a delightful romp through the English countryside and back.

Anxious to be married, Henrietta and Clive push forward with their wedding plans despite their family differences, made worse now by Oldrich Exley’s attempts to control the Von Harmons. When the long-awaited wedding day arrives, there is more unfolding than just Clive and Henrietta’s vows of love. Stanley and Elsie’s relationship is sorely tested by the presence of the dashing Lieutenant Harrison Barnes-Smith and by Henrietta’s friend Rose―a situation that grows increasingly dark and confused as time goes on.

As Clive and Henrietta begin their honeymoon at Castle Linley, the Howards’ ancestral estate in England, they encounter a whole new host of characters, including the eccentric Lord and Lady Linley and Clive’s mysterious cousin, Wallace. When a man is murdered in the village on the night of a house party at the Castle, Wallace comes under suspicion―and Clive and Henrietta are reluctantly drawn into the case, despite Clive’s anxiety at involving his new bride and Henrietta’s distracting news from home.
Delicately attempting to work together for the first time, Clive and Henrietta set out to prove Wallace’s innocence, uncovering as they do so some rather shocking truths that will shake the Linley name and estate forever.
Buy the Book:
Amazon.com~ Barnes & Noble ~ Apple iBooks
IndieBound ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

A VEIL REMOVED: Murder is never far from this sexy couple . . . even during the holidays!

Their honeymoon abruptly ended by the untimely death of Alcott Howard, Clive and Henrietta return to Highbury, where Clive discovers all is not as it should be. Increasingly convinced that his father’s death was not an accident, Clive launches his own investigation, despite his mother’s belief that he has become “mentally disturbed” with grief. Henrietta eventually joins forces with Clive on their first real case, which becomes darker―and deadlier―than they imagined as they get closer to the truth behind Alcott’s troubled affairs.

Meanwhile, Henrietta’s sister, Elsie, begins, at Henrietta’s orchestration, to take classes at a women’s college―an attempt to evade her troubles and prevent any further romantic temptations. When she meets a bookish German custodian at the school, however, he challenges her to think for herself . . . even as she discovers some shocking secrets about his past life.

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com~ Barnes & Noble ~ Apple iBooks
IndieBound ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

A CHILD LOST: A spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost little girl . . .

When Clive, anxious to distract a depressed Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank Davis for a case, he is assigned to investigating a seemingly boring affair: a spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town who is suspected of robbing people of their valuables. What begins as an open and shut case becomes more complicated, however, when Henrietta―much to Clive’s dismay―begins to believe the spiritualist's strange ramblings.
Meanwhile, Elsie begs Clive and Henrietta to help her and the object of her budding love, Gunther, locate the whereabouts of one Liesel Klinkhammer, the German woman Gunther has traveled to America to find and the mother of the little girl, Anna, whom he has brought along with him. The search leads them to Dunning Asylum, where they discover some terrible truths about Liesel. When the child, Anna, is herself mistakenly admitted to the asylum after an epileptic fit, Clive and Henrietta return to Dunning to retrieve her. This time, however, Henrietta begins to suspect that something darker may be happening. When Clive doesn’t believe her, she decides to take matters into her own hands . . . with horrifying results.

Release Date: April 28, 2020!

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as "Novel Notes of Local Lore," a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago's forgotten residents. She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. Coincidentally, her books have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and many others, so she might be on to something. Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn't have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade.

Connect with the Author:

website ~ facebook ~twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads

INTERVIEW
1. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
No, not really.  I didn’t ever see myself writing fiction.  I never had the courage to be a writer, though I was a great essayist.  In college, I briefly considered a career maybe as a journalist, but it sounded too scary and difficult.  Believe it or not, I decided to try to be a doctor because I thought it sounded easier than being a writer.  (Turns out, this is might actually be true.)  

Eventually, medicine went by the wayside, and I ended up following my real love and got an English Lit degree.  It wasn’t until much later in life, however, that I decided to challenge myself to try to write creatively.  

2. Since you came at writing later in life, what was the motivating factor that propelled you?
Oddly enough, it was when my oldest was diagnosed with ADHD, and then shortly after that, my second child was diagnosed with a different type of learning disorder.  It was a bit of a wake-up call for me.  I was a stay-at-home mom, but I had gotten very involved in a number of volunteer positions and committees, which took a lot of my time.  In a guilt-ridden panic, I quit everything across the board in order to have time to help my boys.  

It turns out that this knee-jerk reaction may have been a little extreme, however, because getting the kids the help they needed didn’t take as much time as I thought it was going to. So then I was strangely left with a giant glut of time. 

My thought was that I could either get a job, go back to volunteering, or . . . perhaps write the novel I always wanted to write. I stewed on this for a really long time, but when four different people from four different parts of my life out of the blue suggested I write a book, I decided it was the sign I was looking for.

3.  What happened next?
I wrote a gargantuan coming of age story set in Chicago in the 1940s.  Turns out it was triple the size of what a normal debut novel should be, so I found it nearly impossible to sell.  After trying for a year, I finally put it in a drawer and decided to start over.  This new project ended up being A Girl Like You, the start of my Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, and I haven’t looked back since.  

4.  If you could co-write a book with any author, who would it be?
Wow, that’s hard!  Someone living, I presume?  If so, I guess I’d have to say, Lauren Willig, Beatriz Williams, or Kate Morton.  I really love their books, and I think we have similar styles and themes.  

5.  What is your favorite book of all time?
Probably Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.  I love all of his novels.  I think he’s a master of character and plot twists.  Great Expectations is nearly perfect, in my opinion.  It has everything.  

 TOUR SCHEDULE:
Mar 16 – Working Mommy Journal – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 16 - Rainy Day Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 16 - Hall Ways Blog – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 17 – Corinne Rodrigues – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 18 – I'm Into Books – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 18 - Mystery Suspense Reviews – series spotlight / guest post
Mar 19 – Rosepoint Publishing – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 20 – Bookmark and fork – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 23 – Book Corner News and Reviews – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 23 - T's Stuff - series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 24 – eBook Addicts – series spotlight
Mar 24 - The avid reader – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 25 – Locks, Hooks and Books – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 26 – Jazzy Book Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 27 – Cheryl's Book Nook – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 30 – A Madison Mom – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 31 – @momfluenster – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 31 - Dab of Darkness Audiobook Reviews – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 1 – StoreyBook Reviews – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 1 - 411 on Books, Authors, and Publishing News - series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 2 – Library of Clean Reads – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 3 – fundinmental – series spotlight / giveaway
Apr 3 - My Chaotic Ramblings - series spotlight / author interview / giveaway

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

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Monday, March 23, 2020

Review: Blame the Dead by Ed Ruggero



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb: 

 The nurses of the US Army's Field Hospitals, mobile units that operate just behind the battle lines, contend with heat, dirt, short-handed staffs, the threat of German counterattack and an ever-present flood of horribly wounded GIs. At the 11th Field Hospital near Palermo, Sicily in the bloody summer of 1943, nurses also live with the threat of violent assault by one of their own--at least until someone shoots Dr. Myers Stephenson in the head.

Enter Eddie Harkins, a tough former Philadelphia beat cop turned Military Police lieutenant, who is first on the scene. Although he has never been a detective, Harkins soon finds himself the lone investigator, either because the Military Police are under-staffed or because someone in power thinks this rank amateur will never get close to the real killer. When the hospital commander tries to derail Harkins' investigation by transferring or harassing key witnesses, it becomes clear to Harkins that the unit is rotten to its core, that the nurses are not safe, and that patients who have survived Nazi bullets are still at risk after they arrive at this place that is supposed to save them.
Harkins fights--and worries that he is losing--multiple battles. He is driven to give hope to nurses who just want to do their life-saving work, to right at least a few of the wrongs around him, and to do penance for sins in his own past. The one bright note for Harkins is a rekindled relationship with Kathleen Donnelly, a nurse from Harkins' old neighborhood; but even that is complicated when Donnelly becomes a victim. 
My Review: 

 Blame the Dead is my first introduction to Ed Ruggero’s writing. I thought it was pretty good. It is set during the second World War at Palermo, Sicily in 1943. Readers are introduced to Military Police Lieutenant Eddie Harkins. He is investigating a murder of Dr. Myers Stephenson, who was found shot in the head. I was often left hanging as to who could possibly want the doctor dead. The plot is pretty fast paced that made me not want to put the book down. It was full of action, adventure, mystery and suspense.

I am giving Blame the Dead four and a half stars. I would love to read more by Mr Ruggero in the future. I think readers who enjoy Historical Suspense will definitely want to pick this one up.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

View all my reviews
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Blog Tour and Giveaway: GenTech by Dr Rick Chromey

 
We are uniquely shaped by innovations that influenced us during our "coming of age" years between 10 and 25.

It is the technological interactions in our adolescence and college years that guide our generational frames more than anything else, not the day we were born.We are generations of technology. We are GenTech.

- Dr. Rick Chromey

Join us for this tour from Mar 23 to Apr 3, 2020!

 Book Details:

 Book Title:  GenTech: An American Story of Technology, Change and Who We Really Are by Dr. Rick Chromey
Category:  Adult Non-fiction 18 yrs +,  328 pages
Genre:  History / Cultural & Technical History
Publisher:  Morgan James Publishing
Release date:   May 26, 2020
Tour dates: Mar 23 to Apr 3, 2020
Content Rating:  G : This is a non-fiction book about our technical history and how it has shaped our culture.

 Book Description:

 Every twenty years a new generation rises, but who and what defines these generations? And could current generational tags mislead and miss the point? In this insightful analysis of technology history since 1900, Dr. Rick Chromey offers a fresh perspective for understanding what makes a generation tick and differ from others. Within GenTech, readers learn how every generation uniquely interacts with particular technologies that define historical temperament and personality and why current generational labels are more fluid than fixed, and more loopy than linear. Consequently, three major generational constellations emerge, each containing four, twenty-year generations that overlap, merge, and blend:
  • The Audio Generations (1900-1950): Transportation-Telephone Generation (1900-1920), Motion Picture Generation (1910-1930), Radio Generation (1920-1940), Vinyl Record Generation (1930-1950)
  • The Visual Generations (1940-1990): Television Generation (1940-1960), Space Generation (1950-1970), Gamer Generation (1960-1980) and Cable Television Generation (1970-1990)
  • The Digital Generations (1980-2000): Personal Computer-Cell Phone Generation (1980-2000), Net Generation (1990-2010), iTech Generation (2000-2020), and Robotics Generation (2010-2030). Dive in and revel in this exciting, compelling, and novel perspective to understanding recent American generations with GenTech. 
Official Scheduled Release Date is May 26, 2020.
Pre-Order Now:
Amazon.com ~ Barnes & Noble ~ IndieBound
BAM ~ Powell's ~ Indigo ~ Rediscovered Books
Meet the Author:  
Rick Chromey is a cultural explorer, social historian and generational futurist. He’s also served as a pastor, professor, speaker/trainer, and consultant. In 2017, he founded MANNA! Educational Services International to inspire and equip leaders, teachers, pastors, and parents. Rick has a doctorate in leadership and the emerging culture; and travels the U.S. and world to speak on culture, faith, history, education, and leadership topics. He has authored over a dozen books on leadership, natural motivation, creative communication, and classroom management. He lives with his wife, Linda, in Meridian, Idaho.

 Connect with the Author: website ~ youtube ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ instagram
Guest Post:
What Goes Around Comes Around: How We View Younger Generations

They’re lazy, entitled, arrogant, non-committal, and disrespectful. That’s how many older people view the youth of today. In a 2019 survey of over 900 leaders, Carey Nieuwhof tapped into the frustration of many elders today.[1] Today’s younger generations are glued to their smartphone, lack loyalty to the company line and want now what took other people years to earn. Their reliance on social, cyber and digital media has created a general ignorance and arrogance. As one elder smirked, “They are experts at nothing but have an opinion for everything.”
One nation under Google
But these sentiments are nothing new. Four hundred years before Christ walked the planet, Socrates penned: “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”[2]
Socrates sounds like the average Boomer today.
And a Boomer should know
Back in their youth—the 1950s and 1960s—their G.I. Generation elders complained about their generation too. They were rebels without a cause. Beatniks and hippies. They were flower children and acid freaks. These Spock kids wore leather jackets, dungarees, and miniskirts. They greased their hair and listened to sexually charged music called “rock and roll.” They didn’t work as hard as their Depression-era elders, preferring to tune out, light up and drop in whenever they wanted. They were an opinionated anti-war generation raised on television (a.k.a the boob tube and idiot box).
In the 1980s and 1990s, Gen X became the new target.
The name “Gen X” says it all
Gen X carried negative monikers all their lives. They were Rosemary’s babies and Exorcist children. They were goonies, nerds, bad news bears and children of the corn. Later they were tagged the “dumb” generation, a nation at risk and slackers. Gen X listened to grunge, heavy metal and rap. They wore their baseball caps backward and their jeans (with holes) to their knees. They were tattooed and pierced. Gen X was raised on cable television, corporate rock and Sesame Street. They were an opinionated anti-institution generation.
Now it’s the Millennials turn to be dissed
And they don’t like it any more than we did.
Every generation matures to a point that it views youth (and youthfulness) with disdain. It’s natural and expected. Perhaps because, as we age, we pine for what was. We miss those days when we were carefree, irresponsible, reckless and impulsive. If we’re honest, we see ourselves in those kids…and cringe. And then we start sounding more like grandpas and grandmas…because we are.
What goes around, comes around.
It’s been that way since Adam and Eve lamented how Cain turned out.
GenTech is having a best seller party, Thursday, March 26, 2020, 7-8pm EST on Amazon and the book will be free for 1-hour. Join us, and please share!

Want to learn more about GenTech? Go to www.mygentech.us, and we are on Facebook: @authorrichchromey, Twitter: @MyGenTech2020, and Instagram @MyGenTech. You can reach Dr. Rick Chromey at rick@rickchromey.com.


[1] “5 Things Older Leaders Can’t Stand About Younger Leaders” by Carey Nieuwhof: https://careynieuwhof.com/5-things-older-leaders-cant-stand-about-younger-leaders/
[2] Socrates (469-399 B.C.): https://www.bartleby.com/73/195.html
Tour Schedule:

 Mar 23 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 23 - Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 24 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 24 - Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 25 - Rockin Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 25 - Celticlady's Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 25 – The Irresponsible Reader – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 25 - Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 26 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 26 - Library of Clean Reads – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 26 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – book spotlight / guest post
Mar 27 – The Avid Reader – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 30 – Books and Zebras – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 31 – T’s stuff – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 31 - Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight
Apr 1 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 2 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Apr 3 - Svetlana's reads and views – book spotlight / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

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