Month: November 2016

November 14, 2016

A Letter to My Sixteen Year Old Self #StreamTeam

Wow it’s weird to look back over the last fifteen years of my life – to remember my fears, hopes, anxieties and dreams. My life has changed, some things turned out very differently then I had planned for but I would not change anything. As women, we are strong, powerful and independent. We are loving, caring, open and full of life. As women, we sometimes forget to celebrate these unique traits we have and appreciate how far we have come from our teen years to our adulthood. Taking some inspiration from some leading ladies from trending Netflix shows (think the Crown and Chelsea), here is a letter to my sixteen year old self with all the things I wish I could tell my sixteen year old self to help guide myself through some of the most difficult years of becoming a woman.

Dear Carla,

Spend more time with your family. They are the most important thing in the world, appreciate every moment you have with them. You never know when those precious moments will be taken away from you, so cherish each moment.
Be kind to your parents – there is so much that they do for you that you will never fully understand or appreciate until you become a parent. When you become a parent you will be shocked and amazed at just how much your parents gave and did for you (and maybe even more shocked that they had three kids!).
Focus on school but still have fun. Education is important but so is living in the moment – don’t worry about getting 100% on each test, those grades will no longer matter when you have graduated. Work doesn’t care what your grade point average was but you will remember those missed opportunities.
Always tell the truth – no matter what it is, tell the truth. Honesty will get your further in life.
Be wise with your money – do you really need those $100 jeans? Trust me you don’t! Instead save that money for your education, a trip or your down payment on your house (I know weird to be thinking about a down payment but trust me the earlier you start saving the better off you will be).
Ignore the hurtful comments of others, their opinion of you, your clothes and style does not matter. If and when it becomes too much, reach out for help. Never ever be afraid to ask for help from your family, friends or a counsellor. Everyone wants you to succeed but know when you need the help and ask for it.
Live in each moment, eat the ice cream, poutine, cake, go on the scary ride, go for the hike – don’t turn down opportunities because of fear or lack of time. You never know when you may get another chance.
LOVE YOURSELF! Never, ever stop loving yourself no matter what. Do not let anyone take this away from you.

Carla, enjoy and cherish each moment of your life. You are special and unique. There will never be another you so never let anyone dull your shine. Live your life to the fullest.

Love,

Your Much Older (but still feeling young) Self

xoxoxo

Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 14, 2016

Westobou Gold Spotlight Tour

In Westobou Gold, the Indian Queen would risk torture and worse to keep her secrets from these barbarians in suits of metal and their search for cities of gold.

About Westobou Gold

The Indian Queen would risk torture and worse to keep her secrets from these barbarians in suits of metal and their search for cities of gold. They never found the gold. Empires rose; empires fell, the centuries passed. Legend became fireside myths, but no treasure was ever found. Yet, among the grey-green drapes of wisteria and wild jasmine along the misty shrouded lowlands of bayous and marshes of the Westo River, the folktales persist.

In the lazed creep of a near-tropical dawn lit the pungent Turkish coffee permeates Moccasin Hollow. Beyond the kitchen door Lucky, Craige Ingram’s German shepherd gnaws a favorite bone. Looted burial mounds seem a world away until plundered mounds on Moccasin Hollow land brings amateur archaeologist PI Craige Ingram into the cross-hairs of kidnapping. Stealthy hideaways are concealed in old colonial brick-lined river grottoes beneath the big house of Ardochy plantation. Sex-tape underage blackmail and thrill killings on federal land spur a medical examiner’s preliminary postmortem to more than a hired cleaner’s quickie cover-up passed off as drug deals gone sour. Greed tangles a witch’s pigswill of illicit affairs and murder-to-hide-murder. Shady investigators and shadier politics stir an unexpected concoction that threatens the lives of those at Moccasin Hollow in a spiteful plot against ex-SEAL Craige Ingram and the woman he loves.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

About the Author

Internationally acclaimed author and public speaker, Hawk MacKinney began writing mysteries for his school newspapers. He served in the US Navy Reserve for over 20 years, and was a tenured faculty member at several state medical facilities, teaching postgraduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem, Israel. Since retiring Hawk has authored several novels that have received national and international recognition. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel, was nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. The Cairns of Sainctuarie, his science fiction series, includes The Bleikovat Event and The Missing Planets, with a third book in the works. Hawk’s latest project focuses on The Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series. Book 1 in the series, Hidden Chamber of Death, was released early 2016.

You can connect with Hawk on his website.

The Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 8, 2016

Trust My Heart Book Review

In Trust My Heart, Grant McAllister arrives in Murphy, North Carolina, with one aim: to sell his inherited property and leave as quickly as possible.

About Trust My Heart

The big-city lawyer has no interest in his late, estranged grandparents or the dilapidated mansion he just acquired. After his high-profile divorce, he should be avoiding perky reporters, too. But Jami Carlisle is honest, funny, and undeniably appealing.

After breaking up with her safe-but-smothering boyfriend, Jami is determined to ace her first big assignment. A story about the McAllister estate is too intriguing to ignore—much like its handsome, commitment-phobic heir. Thanks to her digging, the pieces of Grant’s fraught family history are gradually fitting into place, but also upending all his old beliefs.

The two draw closer as they share their dreams, until misread signals and misunderstandings begin to test their trust. But in the unspoiled beauty of the Smoky Mountains, there’s healing and forgiveness to be found. And for Grant, this unplanned detour may be just what’s needed to finally guide him home.

My Thoughts

It is so incredibly hard to learn to trust and love again once our heart has been broken. We become cautious and not as willing to trust again. New relationships become difficult as we can read the wrong meaning into something innocent as we judge the new person by old standards. This is very true in this story, as Jami was hurt when her Father left her at a very impressionable young age and Grant’s ex-wife left more distrust then good feelings after their divorce.

The story is very real, raw and painful. Sometimes you want to give the two of them a shake and to learn to trust each other, but we also know just how hard that can be. Lucky for these two, they have quite the determined and scheming friend in their small town who is hard at work to ensure these two find happiness.

Trust My Heart is an excellent story of faith, trust, forgiveness and finding peace. The journey to this is difficult and full of hard lessons but we have to face each one in order to be the stronger person we are at the end. I loved every moment of this special book.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

From medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special-events decorating company, Carol J. Post’s résumé reads as if she hasn’t yet decided what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love of writing. She started as a child composing poetry for family and friends, then graduated to articles for religious and children’s publications. Now she pens fun, fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book award and selected as an RT Top Pick. When Carol isn’t writing, she enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. She also plays the piano and sings with her music-minister husband. Their two grown daughters and their grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all her nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 8, 2016

Loreena’s Gift Book Review

In Loreena’s Gift, a blind girl’s terrifying “gift” allows her to regain her eyesight but only as she ferries the recently deceased into the afterlife.

About Loreena’s Gift

Loreena Picket thinks she knows herself. A blind young woman who lives with her uncle, a reverend at a small-town church, she’s a dutiful niece and talented pianist for the congregation.

But they’re both hiding a terrible secret. Loreena can kill people with the touch of her hand.

While her uncle sees her as an angel of mercy, helping usher the terminally ill members of his flock into the afterlife, Loreena has her doubts.

Torn between doing her uncle’s bidding and the allure of the fleeting moments when her eyesight returns on the journey to the other side, Loreena cooperates with her uncle until her troubled older brother returns to town. When she reveals her power by saving him from a local drug dealer, she is drawn into a sinister and dangerous world that will test the true nature of her talent and force her to consider how far she is willing to go to survive.

My Thoughts

A very powerful and thought provoking novel. Loreena has a gift that some made not even refer to as a gift. She has to hide it every day of her life, having simple relationships is difficult for her and even trusting people with the truth is difficult for her. Who can believe this gift and if they do how can they not be terrified? That the simple touch of her hand could kill those she loves and those she does not know.

Her Uncle tries to get her to see past the outside aspect of her gift (the killing) and realize that in some ways it can be a blessing in disguise, especially for those suffering from terminally ill diseases. These people in the novel are suffering a pain that so many of us can not even begin to understand. Loreena’s touch and guidance into the afterlife is a special gift that only she can give. She is there with them as they cross over into their heaven, which for so many of them is a return to the happiest moments of their lives. These moments are actually quite beautiful in the beginning of the novel.

When the wrong people find out about her gift, she is kidnapped and forced to do something she never wanted to do – kill on demand any of their enemies. She was no longer helping the terminally ill, instead she was forced to do the will of an evil person to even more evil people. You can feel the toll this takes on her. She was already conflicted about her gift and this pushes her over the edge. The story really speeds up here as she tries to escape and an unexpected person comes to her aid. This was an exciting, suspenseful and though provoking novel.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository and Chapters.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Colleen M. Story writes imaginative fiction and is also a freelance writer, instructor, and motivational speaker specializing in creativity, productivity, and personal wellness. Her latest novel, “Loreena’s Gift,” was released with Dzanc Books April 12 2016. Her fantasy novel, “Rise of the Sidenah,” is a North American Book Awards winner, and New Apple Book Awards Official Selection (Young Adult). She is the founder of Writing and Wellness (writingandwellness.com) a motivational site for writers and other creative.

Connect with her on: Website and Twitter.

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The Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 7, 2016

CHIHULY Toronto: A Magical World of Glass and Imagination

The CHIHULY exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto is an amazing display of creativity, passion and allows you to see the world through a whole different perspective. This exhibit, which runs from June 2016 to January 8th, 2017, features the work of internationally acclaimed artist Dale Chihuly. He uses glass, light and colour to bring his art to life.

The exhibit at the ROM features several works that were designed specifically for the museum by Dale in order to fit the space, which gives it that extra special feel when you are walking through the exhibit. The exhibit features eleven installations that includes: Lime Crystal Tower, Boats, Laguna Torcello, Jerusalem Cylinders, Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds, Red Reeds on Logs, Persian Ceiling, Persian Trellis, Fire Orange Baskets, Icicle Chandeliers and Towers and the Northwest Room.

My personal favourite work was the Red Reeds on Logs. You find logs laid out as they would be in nature with brilliant, bold glass red reeds reaching to the ceiling bursting forward from the logs. You can almost see this exhibit as it would look like in nature and the contrast between the logs, red reeds and the dark backdrop is breath taking, I just fell in love at first sight. My sons also loved this one too but mainly because they thought that the reeds were actually spears (our youngest is still convinced they are spears not reeds). This piece of work was first created in 1995 and I was so impressed by the fact that in order to create the almost three metre long reeds, the glassblowers pulled hot molten glass downwards from a mechanical lift!

The exhibit is in dim lighting (I wasn’t expecting this) which really helps to bring his work in focus and to the fore front (it really would not be the same with full lighting). The bright glass just pops in contrast to the dark background and really puts the focus on his work and not allowing for any distractions. You can stroll from one room to the next room at your own pace, go back to a piece and even at one point lay down on the couches on the floor and look up (trust me you have to do this!). There is also a great video presentation at the end of the exhibit that I highly recommend you take a couple minutes out of your day and view it, you will be thoroughly impressed.

We all fell in love with the abundance of baskets that are located throughout the exhibit. They are stunning in their design, shape and colour. It brought back great memories for me when I visited Venice and watched glass blowing in action. The amount of skill and patience needed to create these works of art is incredible. The design makes you just want to reach out and trace the edges and feel his work.

ROM CHIHULY Quick Facts

This exhibit is open Monday to Thursday 10:00am- 5:30pm, Fridays 10:0am to 8:30pm, Saturday and Sunday 10:00am to 5:30pm. Admission is free for Museum members, $29.00 for adults, $21.00 for children and free for children under three years of age. Tickets can be purchased online, in person or by phone.

About the Artist

Dale Chihuly is an American sculptor who has mastered the alluring, transparent qualities of ice, water, glass and neon, to create works of art that transform the viewer experience. He is globally renowned for his ambitious site specific installations in public spaces and in exhibitions presented in musuems and gardens worldwide. Major exhibitions include Chihuly Over Venice (1995-96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), Garden Cycle (2001 – present), de Young Museum in San Francisco (2008), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (2011), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (2013) and the Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center that opened in 2012.

If you are in Toronto before the exhibit ends on January 8th, 2017, I highly recommend you take some time out of your trip and pay a visit to the CHIHULY exhibit at the ROM. It is a breath taking display of light and design that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Disclosure: I received tickets to view this exhibit. All opinions expressed are my own.