Fun Interview hosted by Steve DeWinter of Old Dog New Trx.

I just had the pleasure of being a guest on Steve DeWinter's YouTube channel. It's called Old Dog New Trx and features authors from all walks of life. I had a blast and the hour just flew by. We talked about my books and the writing process as well as the amount of research that goes into writing a well grounded and accurate story. I won't go on and on about it, I'll just sit back and let you watch the interview and make up your own mind. Although I do think I look like an evil elf, the camera is not my friend. No not at all! LOL

Click here to view the interview.

If you're looking for great Christmas gifts, my books are available at Books We Love. Just scroll down, click on a cover and it will take you to the book store.

Don't forget to pick up the five Christmas novellas which just released on November 1, 2015. My contribution is A Longview Christmas. It's Christmas Eve at Mary and Luke Cassidy's and match making Mary is in fine form. Don't miss out on the hilarious goings on.

Welcome Rave Reviews Book Club Spotlight Author TC Booth!

TC Booth

Rave Reviews Book Club

Spotlight Author

TC Booth


Teen Bullying

I rocked big hair and spandex as a teenager. My vocabulary

contained the phrases like totally, no duh, phsyc, take a chill

pill, and I’m sure. Gotta love the 80’s. Things have changed

since then, but one constant the remains a constant among

generations of teens is bullying.

While writing To Be Honest, I researched how bullying today is

different from the days I remember.  The main difference I found

is that today rumors and nasty comments meant to humiliate you

can be posted online for all to see.

Both boys and girls experience bullying.  There are

differences in the way they're bullied, but the outcome is the

Here’s what I found out:

 Boys are more likely to be bullied physically, but girls

are more likely to be bullied by rumors or being left out.

 Girls bully to feel a sense of importance and control.

 Boys usually get bullied by other boys, whereas girls tend

to get bullied by both boys and girls.

 Girls experience bullying on school property more often

 81% of teens say it’s easier to bully someone online than

 70% see frequent bullying online

 90% of teens who have seen bullying online say they ignore

 Girls are more likely to fall victim to online bullies than

The good news is that there is more of an awareness of the

seriousness of bullying today. Dosomething.org is an excellent

resource for teens who need support. My character Starla had a

good support system otherwise she may have needed to check it

To learn more about TC Booth or to purchase her books, please visit:

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/TCBooth

Website http://www.tcbooth.com

Twitter handle: @BoothTammi

FantasyCon Mini-Interview with Justine Manzano

A FantasyCon Mini-Interview with Justine Manzano, not to be confused with Megan who you all met yesterday. Justine is a Reader, Blogger and Author, and I think these ladies might be sisters. If so, they are a talented family.

Q: Are you a Reader, Author, Blogger, or Artist?

A: Reader, Author, and Blogger. As for art, I'm strictly a stick figure gal.

Q: What first drew you to fantasy?

A: I love to escape. The real world can be difficult. The challenges can wear you down. But in fantasy, the challenges can be overcome with a little bit of magic, a little twist in the way the world is perceived, a little bit of strength you wouldn't normally have. I love fantasy because with it we have the opportunity to explore things we never would have the chance to in our regular lives. Things we couldn't even dream of. I was a fantasy fan before I even understood what it was. I just loved making things up that could never possibly happen.

Q: If you were trapped in a fantasy realm with no escape, where would you want to be and who would you want to be your best friend?

A: Does it have to be an existing realm, or can it be one I've made up? Something with unicorns and phoenixes and elves, where nobody is strange and everybody is accepted. Katniss would be a helpful hunter, I suppose.

Q: Have you written any stories? If so, please tell us about them.

A: The Order of the Key, my YA Contemporary Fantasy is due for release in 2016. It follows a girl, Jacklyn Madison, as she joins an organization designed to defend people from inter-dimensional creatures and close rifts between dimensions. However, that organization is not what it seems, and Jacklyn finds herself becoming a weapon in a battle for leadership between the group's leader and her idealistic son.

The Order of the Key is Book 1 of the Keys & Guardians series. I am currently outlining Book 2 and have plans for the story to span 6 books.

For more information on Keys & Guardians, as well as my other various projects, like my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/justinemanzanoauthor

Welcome to Rave Reviews Book Club's "SPOTLIGHT" Author Blog Tour with"SPOTLIGHT" Author, Peggy Hattendorf!

How Did I Decide To Write My Book?
Blog

The notion of writing a book started about nine years ago with a concept of a beautiful and wealthy young woman who flitted around the world socializing in the circles of the international elite from the worlds of business, politics, sports, fashion etc. She was the “jet setting” consummate “party girl.” As I continued to conceptualize my intended protagonist – the character fell flat and I couldn’t break through and write about her seemingly frivolous existence. She was shallow and one dimensional.

The idea of writing a novel was shelved for a long time, as I surmised if I was bored with the character my potential readers too would lose interest. I still brainstormed ideas – but I couldn’t write through my blockages. Frustrated and fraught with self doubt, I figured the whole book writing process best be left to highly creative individuals.

But I was still motivated and something continued to gnaw at me – providing a glimmer of hope that maybe this wasn’t just a pipe-dream or unrealistic pursuit.

It was still long in coming but finally I had the striking realization - to recast my main character. While not abandoning the idea of a female lead, diligently I set out to craft the character with more depth and substance. She would be armed with a pedigree education starting in Swiss boarding school and culminating with advanced degrees from Harvard and Wharton. A step into the business world brought her to the family founded multi-national worldwide conglomerate, Barrington Holdings International. Groomed for this since she was a small child – it was all she ever knew. As the only child of Elizabeth Matthews Barrington and Jonathan Robert Barrington, she’s the presumed heir apparent. With a defining career in the makings, she labors with the tensions and discord of the contentious relationship with her father. Jonathan as the antagonist provides the perfect counterpoint. This entangled relationship spills over into her personal life as well as she continues not only to meet but exceed all his expectations. For the first time, I gave my character her name - Christiana Lynn Barrington.

This was pivotal in deciding to write – Son of My Father – A Family Dynasty. From that point forward, characters and storyline started to be defined and the book was formulated.

I welcome your comments or questions and am reachable at:
Peggy@peggyhattendorf.com
Author – Son of My Father – A Family Dynasty
Travel Editor – hers Magazine


Author Bio:
Peggy’s earlier careers helped cultivate and enrich her interest in writing. In her executive positions in the non-profit field, she had the opportunity to compose technical and operational handbooks for staff and volunteers for a number of name recognized organizations. Her management experience guided her to a multi-decade second career in the travel industry highlighted with the co-founding of a nationwide marketing consortium and independent contractor network. With over 5000 members, generating $180 million in annual sales, she wrote daily travel updates and news briefs distributed electronically to the membership. Today, she maintains an ambitious travel schedule and is the Travel Editor for hers Magazine where she writes travel feature articles and Hotel Review blog posts. In addition, she still serves on a number on non-profit boards. Her background with upscale and luxury travel products served as cornerstones in the character development and storyline of her first novel – “Son of My Father – A Family Dynasty.” She is currently working on her second book.


Author Contact:
Twitter: @peggyhattendorf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/peggy.hattendorf
Website: www.peggyhattendorf.com

RRBC June Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week with my guest Harmony Kent by Nancy M Bell

Welcome Harmony! Please share a bit about yourself.

Indie Author Harmony Kent has written a number of books. The Battle for Brisingamen, her first novel, is a work of fantasy fiction and was approved by Awesome Indies within weeks of its release. Her second book, The Glade shows her equally at home in the realms of mystery, suspense and thriller – with a dash of magical realism. This book has also been approved for the Awesome Indies List. The Glade was awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion in July 2014. Harmony’s third book (Elemental Earth) is Young Adult Fantasy Fiction, and was published 31st July 2014. With more books already in progress, she is well on her way to being a firmly established multi genre author. As well as being an avid reader and writer, Harmony also offers editing, proof reading, manuscript appraisal and beta reading services. As well as reviewing and supporting her fellow indie authors, Harmony works hard to promote and protect high standards within the indie publishing arena. She is always on the look out for talent and excellence, and will freely promote any authors or books who she feels have these attributes.

Well, that’s the official biography … Harmony also has violent tendencies and forced me to add a not quite so official version …

Harmony Kent is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She lives in rural Cornwall with her ever present sense of humour and quirky neighbours. She is single and not admitting to her age.

Here are ten things she thinks you ought to know about her …

Born in 2013 (at least the author was …)

Really boring

Has absolutely no sense of humour

Biographer is a compulsive liar

Reads … a lot

Writes … even more

Completely sane(in)

Neighbours are nuts

If you’re feeling extra brave she’s around

Online …

Harmony is the author of some great books. Check them out right here!

Slices of Soul

Slices of Soul is a collection of contemporary poetry from author Harmony Kent that will both delight and call for deeper reflection. ‘Phantoms’ gives a gritty account of pain that you can never catch. ‘Enough’ expresses the contentment of Zen. ‘Diamonds’ shows the beauty to be found on a drab and rainy day. While ‘The Alchemist’ shows you how a guitar can turn lead into gold. This wonderful arrangement of fifty poems takes you from the abstract of Zen to the melody of music, and will reach into your mind, your heart, and your soul.

Finding Katie Check out the trailer!

I killed someone, you see. I killed the girl, who used to be me.

I’m Kate … Kate Charlesworth. I’m seventeen, and self-harming. This time I cut too deep, and I’m in hospital. I hadn’t meant for it to be so bad—it just sort of happened. I needed a lot of distraction that day.

You’ve had bad days, right? Days it hurts too much to think. Days you just wanna stay in bed. Days when the world needs to go away for a while. Right?

What do you do when you’ve hit rock bottom? When there’s nowhere left to turn?

This one little mistake lands me back on a psych unit—the last place I wanna be. Only this time, the nurse I end up with isn’t content to stick on a band-aid and send me home. She wants me to face my demons. But to do that, I’ll have to face who I am … who I used to be … I’ll have to find Katie.

Polish Your Prose

Polish Your Prose is a powerful new guide that gives essential editing tips for authors. Lots of books have been written on the art of writing, and here—at last—is a guide that will teach you the essential techniques of editing your own book. This will help you turn a promising manuscript into a published novel. And, it does this without the jargon. You don’t need to know all the grammatical terms in order to make use of this book. You don’t need to know the definition of a split infinitive, a comma splice, or a ‘to be’ verb, as this manual explains these in detail in easy to understand terms, and a lively and engaging style.

Chapters on Passive Writing, Tense, Point of View, Dialogue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an editor would go through to polish and perfect your manuscript. Good writing is nothing without good editing. Learn the secrets of good editing and writing with this essential author reference, which offers so much more for so much less.
Harmony Kent is an award winning author, and accomplished editor and proofreader. Her passion is helping Indie Authors to successfully achieve their goals and dreams.

The Glade See the trailer!

ou are being arrested for the murder of your husband…You have a secret you can’t tell…The evil is gathering…

The Wenstrops have it all: health, wealth and happiness. But then it all begins to fall apart. Helen is arrested for murder, yet is either unable or unwilling to give a defence. During her detention, vital evidence goes mysteriously missing and tensions are running high. Helen finds herself surrounded and yet alone: not knowing who she can trust or how she can tell her enemies from her friends. Helen has to work through her self-doubts and fears, in order to know whether her suspicions and misgivings are valid or simply products of an overwrought mind. There are those who would like to encourage her confusion, and those who would help her – but how to know one from the other? And then there are those who actively mean her harm. Meanwhile, malignant forces in the forest are gathering power, ready for a final assault. Helen finds herself in a battle of life and death, and faces having to lose everything in her attempts to thwart the evil that has insinuated itself into her very existence – but is she ready to make the ultimate sacrifice?
This sensational second novel by acclaimed author Harmony Kent will have you alternately laughing, crying and gripping the edge of your seat as this roller coaster ride of a plot unfolds. It will keep you guessing through its many twists and turns, and hijack your attention right up until you turn the final page. This book has it all: murder, intrigue, the supernatural, a broken marriage, a love affair, courage against impossible odds, suspense, and high drama.

Elemental Earth

“You turned the god of gnomes into a garden ornament?”
Sarah looked closely, but couldn’t tell if her dad was annoyed or amused—perhaps he was both …
Whilst 15 year old Sarah may be struggling to regain her feet, after being ripped from her everyday mundane life and ending up in a whole new dimension, she still knows how to have a bit of fun along the way. The Earth Elemental isn’t the only one whose feathers she manages to ruffle, and it’s only been four days. Meanwhile, her best friend is missing, and big trouble is brewing. She soon has a lot more to worry about than what happened to her phone or iPod, or even how much of an idiot Caleb obviously thinks she is.
Elemental Earth is the first book in The Mysteries series, and is aimed at Young Adults. Even if you’ve already reached an age where the young ones might call you ‘old enough’, if you’re still young at heart then you’re bound to enjoy these books just as much as the next—err—younger adult.
Age aside, perhaps we should be more worried about what further havoc Sarah’s antics might be about to wreak on the universe as we know it? We’d probably all be sleeping a lot more soundly if she’d only stuck to applied maths and the odd pillow fight. But no, sadly the lure of the proverbial rabbit hole proved just a tad too much. And now she’s taken the plunge, there’s no turning back.

You’ll have to wait until you’re 16 to read Harmony’s other two books: The Battle for Brisingamen and The Glade. In the meantime, you can occupy yourself with the second book in this series: Air-Born (The Mysteries: Book 2). Coming soon.

The Battle For Brisingamen

here is a World not too Far Away …

Beneath the north sea a land of magic lies undetected. The lives of many are drawn inexorably closer together in a race against time, as both energy companies and evil beings attempt to destroy the magic which is protecting not just this land but all worlds. The unwitting protagonists have no idea of how suddenly and irrevocably their lives are about to change.

It is a race against time to try and recover the lost necklace, Brisingamen, which holds the ancient power of the Goddess Freya, and to prevent the undersea drilling from taking place. Are Aart, Matthias, Gemma and Dirck up to the challenges they now must face?

Here there be Dragons, and all manner of Creatures …

You can find Harmony on her website, on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @harmony_kent

RRBC June Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week with my guest Carl Stevens by Nancy M Bell

Welcome to Come Walk With Me, Carl. It's very nice to have you come and visit. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Jack London lamented that he had spent his life as a working class intellectual rubbing shoulders with the underprivileged on tramp steamers, in gold mining camps, on wharves and in warehouses while reading extensively and writing books of serious social and philosophical merit only to be renowned for writing about dogs. It irked him yet inspired me decades later. Eighteen-wheelers, psych wards, factory floors and the halls of academia and corporate America may not be perfect matches to London’s, but they have all been part of my own working class adventures. I have lived in numerous careers the fiction that each was intrinsically important while in fact each was merely research for the role of Carl Stevens, Writer.

Professor-in-training (in three fields so far, philosophy, history and psychology), nurse in a psychiatric facility, long-haul truck driver, security guard, waiter, bartender, clerical worker, manual laborer, engineer - they were all facades I presented while my true life’s work went on behind the scenes, reading and writing and incorporating life experience with the scholarly to create the self-identity that is now creating novels.

Four novels speak for the success of this creative self-identity. If a hundred years from now people neglect the layers of substance and only praise my exciting tales of humor and adventure and if I am still alive, then I will be proud to have failed like Jack.

Speaking of his work, Carl says:

I wanted to write a classic regular folks would actually read. I wanted to write an adventure academics would find resonant with meaning. You tell me how well I did.

Below is some information about Carl's books. You can find them on Amazon.com

The Time Travelers Fool

In a dialogue over six days between a psychiatrist and a man claiming to be a time traveler you decide if he is a lunatic, a time traveler, a murderer, a victim, all of the above or none. Start reading convinced that he is insane and end satisfied that you were right all along. Start reading convinced that he travels through time and end satisfied that you were right all along. Then begin the endless discussion with yourself or others about how both readings can be right or must be wrong.
Whoever he may be he is an articulate weaver of tales hilarious and horrible which include writing love poetry in the body of a shepherd boy wooing his first love, leading a small group of would-be legionaries in the body of a commander who has gotten them into a royal mess in the desert, fleeing a lynch mob in the body of a slave who may have been better off before a helping hand (or mind) and much more.
The Time Traveler's Fool is a rollicking good read but the reader who cares to dig deeper will also find serious literary themes of reality, perception, identity and the unintended consequences of good deeds.

The Charging Bull of Terry County

Bicentennial Day for America is going to be a long one for LarryTreegarden. There’s a fifth of Southern Comfort to kill before noon. There’s all the memory other people won’t let the fifth kill off. The woman who’s divorced him three times wants to talk. His older son wants to publish Granddad’s Civil War Journal. Everyone wants to talk war history with a World War II vet. The mayor wants Larry’s crane to lift the statue of a fictional hero into place in time for the fireworks. The only person not bothering him is his younger son shipped home from Viet Nam and resting for five years under a plain flat stone on the edge of town. This day will resonate with history – of one person, of one family, of one nation shaped by war– and all Larry wants is a little peace.

The Call Me Merlin Sherlock


Everything you thought you knew about sex, society and family is wrong and once you’ve stopped laughing at the 182 year old wizard who looks like a 26 year old kid, you might just realize you’ve learned something -- something more than whodunnit in the latest merry mystery of Thaddeus and Melda.
They Call Me Merlin Sherlock is Thaddeus’ lament and an attempt to convert his fellow wizards from mockery of to admiration for his application of wizard’s lore to such mundane endeavors as the recovery of an English baronet’s stolen tea pot valued at half a million pounds. Along the way he acquires a skeptical American assistant and they meet enough English eccentrics to fill a loony bin or a conference of wizard’s, if anyone can tell the difference.

The Canterbury Tales In Neverland

THE CANTERBURY TALES IN NEVERLAND makes a post-apocalyptic detective thriller resonate with literary history and ask what it means to be well-read . . .and to get the joke. This is a post-apocalyptic mystery wherein the detective's need for hard facts clashes with a culture's need to reinvent itself on the ever shifting sands of story telling. There are two main stories. In one, Jackson Thomas, a former mayor of a small town known as The Ville, is trying to avoid being stoned to death on false charges of conspiracy to incite riot and murder. He is hampered by being under arrest and dependent on a friend to wear out shoe leather poking into what really happened. Meanwhile Jackson's son and several of the son's friends have all talked themselves into believing that the wisest solution to Jackson's dilemma is to trek across a hostile landscape in search of angels and a miracle. Both stories work on multiple levels. They are each an adventure on their own, a detective thriller in town, a road trip through chaos in the wilds. They are also each a metaphor for the epistemological quandries of story telling. Jackson is trying to find his way through a dark woods of conflicting witness accounts. His son and fellow travellers are finding their way through a physical wilderness while sharing with each other the stories which make up their culture . . .and enough puns to choke The Bard.

You can find Carl on Facebook and visit his webpage/blog. Follow Carl on Twitter @carlstevenswrit

RRBC June Bethany Turner Play It Forward Week with my guest Rhani D'Chae by Nancy M Bell

Rhani D'Chae lives in Tacoma, Washington, and has set the majority of her writing projects in the Pacific Northwest. Rhani D'Chae has always been an avid reader and began writing in her early teens. Her first 'novel' was a Star Trek adventure that she freely admits was a disaster but she learned from it and never stopped writing. Shadow of the Drill is her first published novel, and is the first in a series that revolves around an unrepentant enforcer and the violent life that he leads.

She enjoys chatting with readers and fellow writers via Social Networking sites, and loves getting comments and other input from those who have read her work. She is on Facebook, and also on Twitter, @rhanidchae. Ms. D'Chae is currently working on Winter of the Drill and hopes to have it completed by early 2015.

Rhani's latest novel, Shadow of the Drill is receiving rave reviews on Amazon. Here's a bit about Shadow of the Drill.

A brutal experience transforms an unproven young tough into a ruthless killing machine. For fifteen years he waited, building his body into an unstoppable weapon so that vengeance would be had through the strength of his will and the power of his hands.

On the bloodstained streets of a northwestern city the enforcer known as the Drill stalks his prey. Judge, jury, and executioner; he seeks out those who target the weak and the vulnerable, condemning them to the kind of justice that has made him a legend.

Here are a few snippets from the reviews to whet your whistle:

There’s only one word I can use to describe Rhani D’Chae’s writing of SHADOW OF THE DRILL and that word is… WOW!!! There was a time when I could honestly say that the majority of the reads I was picking up, were just poorly written pieces of junk. Based on the masterpieces that I now have listed on my page here, I am feeling my luck turn around in the Indie Read department, and it seems, each book gets better and better and better. TruthBTold Amazon.com


Shadow of the Drill had me hooked from the first page, right through to the very last. I hated when I had to put it down.
M Abbott Amazon.com

You can find Rhani D'Chae on Facebook and on her blog.

Rave Reviews Book Club Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week Author Traci Saunders

A big welcome to Traci Saunders, today's Rave Reviews Book Club Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week Author.

Let's find out a bit about Traci - in her own words:

Author and mother of three, Traci Sanders has been composing poetry, songs, and children’s stories since the young age of ten. In 2003, she opened her home to young children in her community offering “beyond the basics” teachings. In 2008, she was recognized by the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency as Family Childcare Provider of the Year and was featured in two local newspapers.
In 2010, she furthered her education by earning her Child Development Associates degree and was a recipient of the FIRST (First Incentive for Raising Standards among Teachers) Award presented by the Child Care Commissioner of her state. She continues to shape the young minds of the future through her home-based childcare program. Her daily interactions with these children provide constant inspiration for her writing and she plans to continue on this path until her story has reached “The End.”
Her first book was published in January 2013 titled ‘Welcome to “Poop Camp”: The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth about Potty Training’. She released her first children’s book about family child care in May 2013.
To date, Traci has published five books, including her latest foray into adult fiction titled, ‘When Darkness Breaks’. She is an avid reader and writer, and finds inspiration all around her.
Currently Traci is writing her second adult novel, a light paranormal romance, titled ‘UNSEVERED’.

Let's check out Traci's work, shall we?

Little Sponges

Whether you are a stay-home parent striving to prepare your child for preschool, or an early childhood professional who needs a boost in creativity; you will find a multitude of ideas and resources in this book to ensure your child receives the right start before entering the school environment.
In this book, Sanders provides a host of ideas for hands-on activities to enjoy with your child in teaching them all of the basic concepts – shapes, colors, letters, and numbers.
Your child will master these concepts very quickly through the songs/fingerplays, art/craft ideas, and the step-by-step instructions that Sanders offers.
Children’s brains are like little sponges. There is no limit to how much knowledge they can soak in, but it is the job of caring adults around them to ensure that no important information falls through the holes.


Right At Home

Every parent, at some point, is faced with the need for some type of child care. Whether it’s hiring a nanny, leaving your child in the care of a family member or friend, or enrolling them in a child care setting.
With more than twenty years of experience in various arenas of child care, Traci Sanders shares her knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of environment to allow parents to make an informed decision about where to place their child for care.
In this book she reveals:
*All the options for child care explaining the benefits and drawbacks of each one.
*The three most important S’s in choosing a child care setting.
*What type of daily schedule a parent should expect their child to have from birth to twelve years and includes suggestions for age-appropriate toys, materials, and activities.
*The top twenty questions a parent should ask ANY caregiver when interviewing.
*The top twenty things child care providers wish parents knew.
*Strategies to make the right decision for the location and price of your child care setting.
*Ways to build a relationship with your child care provider to ensure your child’s needs are met and your concerns are addressed.
*How to ease the transition for you and your child into a new care setting.
Making the decision to leave your child in someone else’s care is never an easy one but with the strategies and tips found in this book, you can at least make an informed decision.
Take back your power as a parent and make the RIGHT choice for your child.

When Darkness Breaks

Local news anchor, Amber Woods, seemed to have it all – a thriving career, two beautiful children, and a doting husband named Drake. Life was perfect…until her world was turned upside down in one fateful night. While the incident causes Amber to renew her priorities; unable to deal with what happened, Drake begins sinking into a deep depression laced with infidelity and alcohol.
Hoping a change of scenery will salvage her quickly deteriorating marriage, Amber agrees that a move to New York may be just what they need. Unfortunately, she quickly discovers that you can’t outrun your problems and the past is not always left in the past.
Can Amber save her marriage without losing herself along the way? What will she do when darkness breaks her will to keep trying?


Welcome to Poop Camp

Okay, there are hundreds of books on potty training available on Amazon and you feel as though you have read them all. So why should you spend your valuable time and money on one more? Here are a few reasons:

*Most potty training guides on the market are either written by a child psychologist, a stay-home parent, or a pediatrician who has physically had a hand in potty training their own children and maybe a couple more at best.
This book is written by a seasoned family child care professional who has successfully potty trained MORE THAN THIRTY children in her career, encountering practically every scenario that can arise during the process – training boys, girls, and even twins; training older and resistant children, and even dealing with issues such as a child with-holding urine or BM.
*The author has excellent parental testimonials to back up her stated results and offers a direct email address to allow readers to contact her with specific questions or concerns about the process.
*The author offers one particular potty training secret that will most likely not be found in any other potty training manual on the market. This one simple trick makes the process less messy and produces rapid results.

Potty training really can feel like boot camp, but if you follow the steps laid out in this book, you will begin to see results almost immediately. Some of these answers can be found practically anywhere you search on the internet, but why waste all that time and energy when you have a proven method to follow here in this short, easy-to-read guide?
“Here’s wishing you much success and many less diapers!”

Just Like Home

Whether she is baking cupcakes with her child care provider, Ms. Christy, or playing in the dirt with her best friend; three year old Abby is always having fun and learning something new at her family child care home. What adventure will she have today?


Traci also writes poetry. Take a peek here.

To find out more about this talented author, please visit Traci's website, A Word With Traci.

Follow her on twitter @tmsanders2014 and @tlckids4915

If you like what you're seeing, please consider joining us at Rave Reviews Book Club. Authors supporting authors.

Rave Reviews Book Club Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week Author Robin Chambers

Please welcome Rave Reviews Book Club Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week Special Author Robin Chambers.

My guest is a bit shy, but I did manage to find this picture of him!

Let's get to know Robin a bit better. In his own words:

I was born a long time ago, in the middle of the Second World War, a few hundred yards from Gladstone Dock - then the biggest dry dock in the world, and a prime target for the German bombers. The Liverpool Overhead Railway started from there, and ran all the way to the Pier Head.

My mum and I lived at 126 Knowsley Rd. For two years we must have had each other for close company most of the time. My dad lived there too, but not until he came home from the war. My brother lived there as well, of course, but he didn't come along until 1945...

I mention these facts because they have had a major bearing on my life.

My final year at Bootle Grammar School for Boys provided me with another formative memory. There was some joint occasion held at the Girls' Grammar School one evening that required me to stride around importantly in my little gown keeping my troop of prefects and (knowing me) everyone else in order. A girl I'd never seen before walked up to me and asked me my name. I probably arched my eyebrows as I told her and watched a look of profound disappointment cross her face. "Oh," she said. "You're not a bit like I imagined."

I hadn't known before that that I had been "imagined" by anyone.

I plodded on through University as well - as far as I know the first person in my family ever to do so: getting a good Honours degree in English at London University (plodding into the top 20 of 400 or so English graduates in 1964) and then spending another three years on a Ph.D. ploddingly entitled "Chaucer's Poetic Uses of his Native Vocabulary".

The grant ran out in 1967, and my Ph.D. was so massive I needed another year to finish it. What to do?

In those days you could walk straight into secondary school teaching without having a teaching qualification. Comprehensive schools had just come about, and Dunraven School in Streatham needed a suitably (i.e. academically) qualified "teacher" to take their new 'A' level English class (and of course a whole heap of other classes as well. I needed a part-time job, and they needed a .9 teacher (i.e. 4½ days out of the 5 day week). "I can do that," I thought, with the blissful naivety of total ignorance. "I'll have the evenings, and the weekends..." It's embarrassing to think of that summer in 1967 and wonder how I could have had the gall. Even more than that, how could they have let me do it?!

For a brief period in the early seventies, while I was Head of English at Hackney Downs School, I had tried my hand at writing stories. I won't say too much here about how that came about; but if you'd like to know, click on My Blogs at the top of the Homepage and read the one entitled "Was that True?" I had been successful enough at it to make me think that I should give it a serious go sometime, once I had retired from my all-consuming profession.

I did the sums and discovered that I could retire on a full pension in the summer of 1993 at the age of 51. I had been in the profession just 25 years, but with that ten year enhancement I had 40 years and 19 days of pensionable service to my credit. It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

So why didn't I start writing for children again, when I got my life back in the 1990s? Because, as so often happens, other events intervened. I won't go into detail here and now; but if you'd like to know a little more about what happened between 1993 and 2011, click on My Blogs at the top of the Homepage and read the one entitled "Finally Getting Round to it."

I finally got round to writing again for children 17½ years after retiring from teaching in order to be able to do so. Between January 2011 and October 2012, I wrote pretty much eight hours a day, seven days a week. The first four books in the Myrddin's Heir series emerged...

Okay, let's take a look at some of Robin's wonderful books, shall we?

Myrddin's Heir

Blurb for Myrddin's Heir

“Gordon Bennett was born on 7th August 1999 with extraordinary powers. Where have those powers come from? Who – or what - is “Zack”...? His mother begins to notice that Gordon is different when he speaks his first words at just 5 months old and that's before the really strange things begin to happen!
Fun, refreshing and certainly different, A Wizard Of Dreams is Book 1 in The Myrddin’s Heir series by author Robin Chambers. Written at a quick, entertaining pace it’s a potent blend of magical intrigue and adventure and whilst the theme is familiar, Chambers has a unique style of writing that sets his work apart. Much more than a trite fantasy plotline his young protagonist is defined in a realistic and empathetic way that pulls the reader through the story with him, and when Gordon interacts with Zack there is always much to be taken from these well observed exchanges. With well-defined characters, Chambers demonstrates a meticulous eye for detail that makes them instantly identifiable and whilst some are more endearing than others they are all very memorable. Each captured with a distinctive tenor that adds greatly to the thematic undertones of his tale. A tale that not only entertains, but encourages thought and timely reflection.
Original and highly engrossing, A Wizard Of Dreams is a wonderful read throughout and sets the tone for a series that undoubtedly deserves your attention. It is highly recommended.”


Amazing Grace

“Amazing Grace” chronicles the way in which a girl born on 25th December 1998 plays an increasingly important part in Gordon’s life (and he in hers). Grace can read minds, and she has healing hands...

Could her father really have been a God? How can she have two mums? And what has the most powerful wizard our world has ever known to do with all this?

The answer lies in the Land of the Forever Young (and of the Dead); but they can only get there by leaving their bodies behind...

How will Gordon’s parents react when he tells them the whole truth? How important in the scheme of things are their best friends Nick and Miranda? And quite importantly: how can the four of them help YOU to write really good stories...?

Can the clock be turned both backwards and forwards? And can their guardian angels help Gordon’s dad catch a serial killer...?

Book 2 ends on 27th March 2011 (so they are still in year 7) in a “magical” dell in Wales: where Gordon and Grace aren’t - though their bodies are. And what has Nick just found at the end of a rainbow...?

I hope that this story will make you laugh quite a lot, but I must be honest and tell you that in places it makes me cry...

You will know from reading Book 1 that the Myrddin’s Heir series sets out to challenge you. One of my most important questions therefore remains: “Are YOU still up for the challenge?”

Quality of Mercy

“The Quality of Mercy” picks the story up precisely where Book 2 left off. Where were Gordon and Grace, while their bodies were in that dell in Wales...?

How do fairies cope with growing old...? And what has that to do with the wedding of William Wales and Catherine Myddleton...?

Can Gordon and Grace take on the combined might of wicked wizardry and witchcraft in Chester? And what very interesting discovery about Miranda and Nick does Gordon make along the way...?

Why is someone trying to kill them all? And what do Nick’s father and Miranda’s mother have in common...?

How do The Fantastic Four sidestep The Famous Five to become The Super Six? And who do Gordon and Grace find themselves rescuing...?

So much happens in Book 3 that it has taken 13,000 more words than Book 1 and 4,000 words more than Book 2 to tell you about.

This book will challenge you, perhaps even more than Books 1 & 2. It’s not an easy thing – to make the world a better place. With human rights go human responsibilities...

But if you’re anything like me, it will still make you smile a lot, laugh out loud here and there, and just once or twice feel the tug of tears.

It’s called catharsis.

Gifts From the Gods

“Gifts from the Gods” will give you some idea of what can happen when “gods” decide to show themselves...

How on earth can Gordon help hominids on a planet many light years away...?

When is a pony not a pony? And what is Groc the Knocker up to now...?

They need to team up; but how can they when the girls are in the grounds of a haunted stately home in Scotland and the boys are in the dungeons of a mediaeval Castle in Ireland? The answer has a lot to do with Lucifer’s rod...

What has the evil Goddess Morrigan LaFaye kept screaming for centuries at the top of a tall tower, where the walls ooze oil and look eerily like skin? And why does the God of the Sea feel the need to get involved?

And if that wasn’t enough, this is the part of the story where The Super Six become The Eight Team. What are Gordon’s sixteen greats grandmother and a lost soul from the sixth century doing getting in on the act?

What “gifts” might the gods be disposed to give: to help in the fight to make the world a better place...?

The aliens are inching their way out of the closet...
There is an explosion of happenings in Book 4. Gordon, Grace, Nick and Miranda are only 41 days older by the end of it. Of course, I can’t be that sure about time, where Zack, Zoë, Kate and Sweeney are concerned...
Just HOW many more books is this story going to take to tell? I did ask Zoë, but she just smiled, and wasn’t telling.
Remember to keep an eye on www.myrddinsheir.com. Other clues can turn up there, and there are quite a few things you can do to help...

When The Cat's Away

Book 5 begins on the same evening that Book 3 ends. It tells you a lot more about the Council of Thirteen and how its members react to Octavius Mortlake’s death.
What plans does Adolfo Aragon have to inherit Mortlake’s crown? And how much help might he get from the Capo dei Capi in London – the infamous Enzo Potenza? Just how evil ARE some of the other members of the ruling clique?
Carmen, Goddess of The Damned, does not take the loss of her daughter lying down. How will she be revenged? And how next will she seek to destroy the children who were born to heal the world?
Gordon and Grace return from holiday and find out their houses have been bugged while they were away. Soon after that they find out what happens when you don’t fight back.
They are left with no choice. They have to go to war…


You can find out more about Robin Chambers and his books by visiting him at his webpage Myrddin's Heir, on Twitter @myrddinsheir, and on Facebook.

Don't wait, get every book in this amazing series. Join the journey!

Rave Reviews Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week Featuring Harmony Kent

Welcome to Rave Reviews Book Club Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week special author Harmony Kent!

Let's get to know this talented author a bit better. In her own words:

Harmony Kent is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She lives in rural Cornwall with her ever present sense of humour and quirky neighbours. She is single and not admitting to her age.

Here are ten things she thinks you ought to know about her …

Born in 2013 (at least the author was …)

Really boring

Has absolutely no sense of humour

Biographer is a compulsive liar

Reads … a lot

Writes … even more

Completely sane(in)

Neighbours are nuts

If you’re feeling extra brave she’s around

Online …

And now...for the Official Biography - again in Harmony's own words:

Indie Author Harmony Kent has written a number of books. The Battle for Brisingamen, her first novel, is a work of fantasy fiction and was approved by Awesome Indies within weeks of its release. Her second book, The Glade shows her equally at home in the realms of mystery, suspense and thriller – with a dash of magical realism. This book has also been approved for the Awesome Indies List. The Glade was awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion in July 2014. Harmony’s third book (Elemental Earth) is Young Adult Fantasy Fiction, and was published 31st July 2014. With more books already in progress, she is well on her way to being a firmly established multi genre author. As well as being an avid reader and writer, Harmony also offers editing, proof reading, manuscript appraisal and beta reading services. As well as reviewing and supporting her fellow indie authors, Harmony works hard to promote and protect high standards within the indie publishing arena. She is always on the look out for talent and excellence, and will freely promote any authors or books who she feels have these attributes.

Well, that’s the official biography … Harmony also has violent tendencies and forced me to add a not quite so official version

I might mention this author has a wicked sense of humour.

Harmony Kent is the author of a number of wonderful books. I am currently reading Finding Katie which is extremely well written and deals splendidly with a very difficult subject. I won't spoil it for you, but I strongly recommend you consider it for your next read.

Blurb for Finding Katie

I killed someone, you see. I killed the girl, who used to be me.

I’m Kate … Kate Charlesworth. I’m seventeen, and self-harming. This time I cut too deep, and I’m in hospital. I hadn’t meant for it to be so bad—it just sort of happened. I needed a lot of distraction that day.

You’ve had bad days, right? Days it hurts too much to think. Days you just wanna stay in bed. Days when the world needs to go away for a while. Right?

What do you do when you’ve hit rock bottom? When there’s nowhere left to turn?

This one little mistake lands me back on a psych unit—the last place I wanna be. Only this time, the nurse I end up with isn’t content to stick on a band-aid and send me home. She wants me to face my demons. But to do that, I’ll have to face who I am … who I used to be … I’ll have to find Katie.

See the fantastic trailer for Finding Katie here

Other books by Harmony include:

Slices of Soul- Poetry by Harmony Kent

Slices of Soul is a collection of contemporary poetry from author Harmony Kent that will both delight and call for deeper reflection. ‘Phantoms’ gives a gritty account of pain that you can never catch. ‘Enough’ expresses the contentment of Zen. ‘Diamonds’ shows the beauty to be found on a drab and rainy day. While ‘The Alchemist’ shows you how a guitar can turn lead into gold. This wonderful arrangement of fifty poems takes you from the abstract of Zen to the melody of music, and will reach into your mind, your heart, and your soul.

Polish Your Prose - a help book for writers

Essential Editing Tips for Authors

Polish Your Prose is a powerful new guide that gives essential editing tips for authors. Lots of books have been written on the art of writing, and here—at last—is a guide that will teach you the essential techniques of editing your own book. This will help you turn a promising manuscript into a published novel. And, it does this without the jargon. You don’t need to know all the grammatical terms in order to make use of this book. You don’t need to know the definition of a split infinitive, a comma splice, or a ‘to be’ verb, as this manual explains these in detail in easy to understand terms, and a lively and engaging style.

Chapters on Passive Writing, Tense, Point of View, Dialogue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an editor would go through to polish and perfect your manuscript. Good writing is nothing without good editing. Learn the secrets of good editing and writing with this essential author reference, which offers so much more for so much less.
Harmony Kent is an award winning author, and accomplished editor and proofreader. Her passion is helping Indie Authors to successfully achieve their goals and dreams.



The Glade - thriller/murder mystery

You are being arrested for the murder of your husband…You have a secret you can’t tell…The evil is gathering…

The Wenstrops have it all: health, wealth and happiness. But then it all begins to fall apart. Helen is arrested for murder, yet is either unable or unwilling to give a defence. During her detention, vital evidence goes mysteriously missing and tensions are running high. Helen finds herself surrounded and yet alone: not knowing who she can trust or how she can tell her enemies from her friends. Helen has to work through her self-doubts and fears, in order to know whether her suspicions and misgivings are valid or simply products of an overwrought mind. There are those who would like to encourage her confusion, and those who would help her – but how to know one from the other? And then there are those who actively mean her harm. Meanwhile, malignant forces in the forest are gathering power, ready for a final assault. Helen finds herself in a battle of life and death, and faces having to lose everything in her attempts to thwart the evil that has insinuated itself into her very existence – but is she ready to make the ultimate sacrifice?
This sensational second novel by acclaimed author Harmony Kent will have you alternately laughing, crying and gripping the edge of your seat as this roller coaster ride of a plot unfolds. It will keep you guessing through its many twists and turns, and hijack your attention right up until you turn the final page. This book has it all: murder, intrigue, the supernatural, a broken marriage, a love affair, courage against impossible odds, suspense, and high drama.

The Glade is an IndieB.R.A.G.Medallion honoree!

Elemental Earth - Book One in the Mysteries Series

“You turned the god of gnomes into a garden ornament?”
Sarah looked closely, but couldn’t tell if her dad was annoyed or amused—perhaps he was both …
Whilst 15 year old Sarah may be struggling to regain her feet, after being ripped from her everyday mundane life and ending up in a whole new dimension, she still knows how to have a bit of fun along the way. The Earth Elemental isn’t the only one whose feathers she manages to ruffle, and it’s only been four days. Meanwhile, her best friend is missing, and big trouble is brewing. She soon has a lot more to worry about than what happened to her phone or iPod, or even how much of an idiot Caleb obviously thinks she is.
Elemental Earth is the first book in The Mysteries series, and is aimed at Young Adults. Even if you’ve already reached an age where the young ones might call you ‘old enough’, if you’re still young at heart then you’re bound to enjoy these books just as much as the next—err—younger adult.
Age aside, perhaps we should be more worried about what further havoc Sarah’s antics might be about to wreak on the universe as we know it? We’d probably all be sleeping a lot more soundly if she’d only stuck to applied maths and the odd pillow fight. But no, sadly the lure of the proverbial rabbit hole proved just a tad too much. And now she’s taken the plunge, there’s no turning back.

You’ll have to wait until you’re 16 to read Harmony’s other two books: The Battle for Brisingamen and The Glade. In the meantime, you can occupy yourself with the second book in this series: Air-Born (The Mysteries: Book 2). Coming soon.


The Battle for Brisingamon

There is a World not too Far Away …

Beneath the north sea a land of magic lies undetected. The lives of many are drawn inexorably closer together in a race against time, as both energy companies and evil beings attempt to destroy the magic which is protecting not just this land but all worlds. The unwitting protagonists have no idea of how suddenly and irrevocably their lives are about to change.

It is a race against time to try and recover the lost necklace, Brisingamen, which holds the ancient power of the Goddess Freya, and to prevent the undersea drilling from taking place. Are Aart, Matthias, Gemma and Dirck up to the challenges they now must face?

Here there be Dragons, and all manner of Creatures …



To learn more about Harmony and her books please visit her on the web.

Website: www.harmonykent.co.uk

Twitter: @harmony_kent

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarmonyKentOnline

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/HarmonyK

Amazon US Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Kent/e/B00CO0AR7U/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Amazon UK Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harmony-Kent/e/B00CO0AR7U/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

4Wills Publishing Author Page: http://4willspublishing.wordpress.com/our-authors/author-harmony-kent/

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me and this talented author. Run and get your Harmony Kent books now!