Get ready to have fun and learn all about talent, skill and luck, with Alycat and the Tournament Tuesday.
About Alycat and the Tournament Tuesday
A “Mom’s Choice Award Winner”! Alycat’s brother, Bugsy, is playing in a golf tournament with some of his friends, and wants to use his lucky ball to win the game. But when Alycat forgets his lucky ball at home, Bugsy learns what luck is really all about. Can Bugsy win the tournament without his lucky ball? Alycat and the Tournament Tuesday is part of the Alycat Series: alycatseries.com.
Our Thoughts
This is a super sweet book that both parents and children can appreciate. Do you have a lucky pair of socks or underwear? A lucky hat? Or perhaps a ritual that may seem silly to others but is something that you swear by? That item that you have to have, otherwise you feel that you will lose?
I think we can all appreciate the concerns of Bugsy in this story. He swears by his lucky ball for when he plays golf. He truly believes that he needs that ball in order to succeed and win. It doesn’t matter that he was encouraged by his parents and sister that it isn’t the ball that makes him win – that it is his natural skill and how much he practices. In a twist of events, his lucky ball was left at home and his sister wanting to help him tries to trick him but was unsuccessful when he realizes her trick. Can he still win? Can he find the courage to belief in himself?
I loved this beautiful story. It was easy to read to my child and the illustrations helped capture his attention. But more importantly, it was the plot itself that was so important. Even at the young age of six, my son felt he needed to have a certain lucky item on his person during his soccer games. He is a wonderfully talented soccer player who practices daily, so I was surprised that he felt (and still feels), he needs his lucky item in order to win. I want him to understand and believe that it is HIM that will decide the outcome of his success, not a physical item on his person. This story sparked a great conversation of ‘lucky items and superstitions’ and how it is us, as a an individual, who decides our future. This is a fantastic read for all young children that I strongly encourage parents to read and speak to their child about. It doesn’t matter if your child is an athlete – a lot of times they carry over these beliefs into tests, assignments, presentations. It is so important for children to be empowered and to know that they hold the key to success.
Alysson Foti Bourque is the author of the award-winning Alycat series. Alysson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Juris Doctor degree from the Southern University Law Center.
After practicing law for six years, she traded in writing trial briefs for writing children’s books. Alysson enjoys public speaking opportunities at schools, conferences, and festivals nationwide. She hopes to inspire people of all ages to follow their dreams and believe in themselves wholeheartedly.
In this tale of love, passion, and self-discovery, three Jamaican men become caught up in a 1960s revolution that reveals injustices, oppression, and a purpose for one of them.
About A Reason for Living
It is the mid-1960s in Kingston, Jamaica, and the country is steeped in social, political, and economic inequities. Howard Baxter, the heir to a real estate empire, has no interest in seeking or managing wealth. Painting and deflowering Jamaican maidens are his passions. As he combs the streets looking for greater meaning in his pathetic life, it soon becomes apparent that Howard’s journey will not be easy. Bernaldo Lloyd, a member of the Baxter clan, is a medical student who is sensitive to the hopelessness of the Jamaican masses. Inspired by his close friend and Howard’s cousin, Ras Robin Pone, and their ties with the Rastafari movement that calls for social and economic equity, Bernaldo is determined to overthrow the corrupt government. As Howard, Bernaldo and Robin become influenced by The American Black Power and Civil Rights movements demanding equal rights for African Americans, the women in their lives both love and criticize them. But when revolution breaks out, Howard finally discovers a purpose for his twisted life that leads him in a direction he never anticipated. In this tale of love, passion, and self-discovery, three Jamaican men become caught up in a 1960s revolution that reveals injustices, oppression, and a purpose for one of them.
My Thoughts
This is a powerful story told during an important time of change. The story circles around three men: Howard, Bernaldo and Robin but I feel that Howard takes the centre stage and he is the central piece that the story hinges on. It is his actions that bring about change and connect all of our minor characters together.
This novel exposes the difficult side of life in Jamaica in this time period. I think when we view this beautiful country, we don’t stop and understand enough the struggles of their people and what they have endured. This book encouraged me to do some of my own research into the political movements during this time frame and I found a new appreciation of the struggles and triumphs of the people.
Through this novel we are exposed to the poverty, inequality and the lack of hope of the people at this time. The extreme poverty seen in this story leads to a desperation, or even a lack of hope for the future. We see this in the relationships between our main characters and the ones that are explained to us in the story. We see characters sell their bodies, or have frequent partners – which was explained to us that this was done out of boredom (with no future to rise out of poverty, what should they be doing?). While they make up the majority of the population in Jamaica – they are the poorest in the country. The wealth of their country is held in the hands of a few, elite individuals who do not have the interests of the majority at heart. The government is corrupt and in the hands of the wealthy, instead of looking after their people, they send the wealth out of the country. Change is needed but how do we create change? Our characters, especially Howard, become the catalyst needed for change in their country.
Howard is a difficult character – he is an artist with a troubled past. He holds on to the pain of losing his Mother and so many times throughout the novel seems both lost and found. He has been abused by others and has used others. He wants to see a better future for his people but at times, I am not sure if he can see what that picture is in his own mind. He is rash at times but always with a sense of purpose. My heart was sore for him at times and at other times angry at him for his actions and hurting those around him. But you also felt sorry for him because he doesn’t know any better because of his own past. You want to see him succeed but he is also his own worst enemy. The ending was hard – I thought he may have finally found peace but we were left hanging.
This is a well written, thought provoking novel. I found it difficult to follow at first but about a third of the way in, I could not put it down. There were difficult scenes to read and some parts that left you angry at the treatment of the female characters but when you begin to look at the root cause of these actions, it really makes you think. The novel is geared towards adults and mature young adults due to the content.
Raymond Arthur Julian Reynolds aka Julian Jingles, is a writer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur and operates in New York, USA, and Jamaica, W.I. He began his writing career in 1966 at 16 years old, writing A Reason For Living about a family caught up in a revolution in Jamaica in the mid-1960s. It was written in three drafts and completed in 1968.
He pursued a career in journalism at the Gleaner Company in Kingston, Jamaica writing extensively on the Jamaican music industry, cultural, and social issues. At age 22 he was a columnist writing Merry Go Round, and In the Saddle for the Gleaner, and Record Shop for the Star. He has published several articles, short stories, and essays in Swing, and Cooyah, magazines, the Abeng, and Public Opinion newspapers, in Jamaica.
He immigrated to the United States in 1972 to write two screenplays, “Half Breed,” and “One Way Out.” In New York he has written for the New York Amsterdam News, the Jamaica Weekly Gleaner (NA), Everybody’s magazine, JET, the Daily Challenge, the New York Daily News, the Carib News, and as a foreign correspondent for the Gleaner in Jamaica. He developed an interest in film and television production, and received training in script writing, film, theater, and television directing and production, with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and wrote and produced three documentary films, “Jamaican Gun Court” (1974), “It All Started With The Drums” (1987), and “Jammin’ In Jamaica–With The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari” (1996), and directed the latter two. He has also worked as production manager on several music videos with performers such as Kool & the Gang, the Manhattans, and Steel Pulse.
Between 1998 to 2018 he contributed frequently to the In Focus section of the Jamaica Sunday Gleaner, writing on socio-economic and cultural issues. He has been an entrepreneur as he pursues his literary career, involved in business consultancy with the National Minority Business Council in New York, and the importing, exporting and distribution of agro-products between Jamaica and the United States, and have produced several music concerts, and stage plays in New York, and Kingston.
He was married in 1972 to Charmaine Jasmine, who is deceased. He has three children, 11 grandchildren, and one great grand, and continues living in New York, and Jamaica.
New York executive Julie Tate knows what it takes to win in the financial world, but her big-city success could never prepare her for her latest career move.
About A Jingle Valley Wedding
New York executive Julie Tate knows what it takes to win in the financial world, but her big-city success could never prepare her for her latest career move. When her brother abandons the failing family farm, Julie hopes its salvation lies in transforming it into western Massachusetts’s newest premier wedding venue. With her social-savvy friend Freddy in her corner, Julie feels infallible. But as their bank account dwindles and one obstacle after another crops up, the business partners wonder if their venture is doomed for failure before the first bride walks down the aisle. Maybe the best way to succeed in a business based on romance is to find one.
Martha Reynolds was raised in Rhode Island, spent a year of college in Switzerland, and is always planning a return visit. She completed an accomplished career as a fraud investigator and decided it was time to do something she really liked.
She now writes full-time and has set a personal goal of releasing a book a year until she dies. Her writing has appeared in Magnificat magazine and her very short poem was read by journalist Connie Schultz during NPR’s Tell Me More poetry challenge.
Her novel VILLA DEL SOL won the 2018 Book Award in Literary Fiction by the Independent Publishers of New England.
Three years ago, the nation gasped in horror when the President of the United States barely escaped an assassination attempt that left two dead—the vice president’s wife and the attempted assassin.
About The Nutcracker Conspiracy
Three years ago, the nation gasped in horror when the President of the United States barely escaped an assassination attempt that left two dead—the vice president’s wife and the attempted assassin. Even after numerous investigations proved otherwise, conspiracy theorists argue that the assassin was acting on orders from the CIA, FBI, and every federal agency within a hundred miles of the capital.
Aspiring Author Dean Conway is the last person Lieutenant Commander Murphy Thornton wants to spend his Saturday afternoon when they end up at the same wedding reception table. While their wives tend to bridesmaid duties, Murphy is trapped listening to Dean’s latest work-in-project—completing the manuscript of an investigative journalist who’d disappeared months earlier.
“She was number twelve,” Dean says.
“Twelve?” Murphy asks.
“Twelve witnesses connected to or investigating The Nutcracker shooting have died either in an accident or suicide.”
Two days later, Dean dies suddenly―but not before sending a text message to Murphy: “13”
My Thoughts
Wow – this is one INCREDIBLE novel that I could not put down. It had me on the edge of my seat and I can honestly say that I never saw the end coming. It was full of suspense, action but also humour (done in a way that only Lauren can accomplish).
The book starts off with the murder of the vice president’s wife which led to the Nutcracker Conspiracy – that someone wanted the President dead and somehow the CIA, FBI and law enforcement were all in on it. Following her murder, eleven additional people were murdered. Their murders or disappearances were never solved and were thought to be connected to the original murder. Dean, an aspiring author but not a nice person, gets his hands on a book around this conspiracy but is murdered before he can publish his book – which forces Murphy to begin to look into the murders much closer. What he uncovers, will blow your mind away.
What begins to unravel is an intense, well thought out plot – which definitely keeps you on your toes as you are introduced to new characters, new plot twists and history. The story takes off fast and keeps on moving, drawing you in deeper to the story and feeling a deeper connection to the characters. They solve the original crime but also keep good friends of theirs from being criminally punished for something they did not do.
I loved this book from start to finish and would say this is by far one of her best written works. It has a little bit of everything with some well planned humour to lighten the mood. It is well written, an excellent, never before read plot with lovable characters. The Nutcracker Conspiracy is a definite must read, that does not disappoint!
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Chris Matheson Cold Case, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty-five titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
A popular speaker, Lauren is also the owner of Acorn Book Service, the umbrella under which falls iRead Book Tours. She lives with her husband and two spoiled rotten German Shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
When a blizzard traps them with a murderer, who will be left to kiss at midnight?
About Killer Resolutions
In a remote lodge in northern Wisconsin, friends gather for a festive, New Year’s Eve weekend. When a blizzard traps them with a murderer, who will be left to kiss at midnight?
Five years ago, a tragedy shattered the friendship between Dani, her older brother, and their college pals. When her brother invites the old gang for a weekend of outdoor winter fun at a remote lodge, she sees it as a chance to reconnect and heal. But when her friends are murdered one-by-one, Dani must determine whom she can trust before she becomes the next victim.
Contains profanity, violence, and mild sexual content.
My Thoughts
The tragic death of one young woman comes back to haunt a group of friends and family in this fast paced novel.
The death of her older brother’s girlfriend has haunted Dani and their once close group of friends. A night of drinking got out of hand and instead of caring for their friend, Dani became side tracked by her brothers friend and Crystal choked and died on her own vomit.
Her death causes the group to draw away from each other and each individual deals with the death in their own way. That is why they were all shocked when they received an invitation to reunite at a remote lodge from Dani’s brother, Rob. The group has changed – some have gotten a bit wilder, some have grown apart and some have noticed their attraction to each other has only grown stronger! What they weren’t ready for was that Rob’s new girlfriend is identical to Crystal (although not as nice of a person!).
Things turn quickly sour, as one by one dead bodies start to appear. The remaining members of the group fear for their life but are not sure who to trust – is the murderer one of them? The weird owner? The group has to think quickly in order to stay alive – a hero emerges among them, an individual who has spent his last few years on quite the journey. I was definitely not expecting the ending and the discovery of the identity of the murder. This is a fast paced novel that is easy to follow and I enjoyed the suspense as the characters try to uncover the murder while staying alive.
Elizabeth McKenna’s love of books reaches back to her childhood, where her tastes ranged from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to Stephen King’s horror stories. She had never read a romance novel until one Christmas when her sister gave her the latest bestseller by Nora Roberts. She was hooked from page one (actually, she admits it was the first love scene). Her novels reflect her mercurial temperament and include historical romances, contemporary romances, cozy mysteries, and dark mysteries. With some being “clean” and some being “naughty,” she has a book for your every mood. Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband, two beautiful daughters, and a sassy Labrador. When she isn’t writing, working, or being a mom, she’s sleeping.
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