Category: iRead tour

December 5, 2016

Life Outside the Box Spotlight

In Life Outside the Box, get inspired to step out of your box and embrace your potential.

About Life Outside the Box

Get inspired to step out of your box and embrace your potential. From the corporate world, to the arts, to working with the disenfranchised, the message is clear: there is no such thing as a normal way to live your life and no one right solution to any problem. Selected from over a hundred interviews, the stories shared here open a window on the journeys of seven women and three men who have charted their own paths, including Ruthie Davis–top US luxury shoe designer and the winner of the 2014 AAFA Footwear Designer of the Year award; and Geir Ness whose perfume is a staple in Nordstrom, Disney World, and on Disney Cruise Lines. Enjoy a glimpse behind the scenes into the unique ways these individuals have chosen to deal with life’s challenges and how they define success in their careers.

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

About the Author

Marilyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer and speaker with a passion for interviewing. Her career as a writer began in an unusual way, by answering a Craigslist ad. It was while conducting her first interview the world shifted – she had found her passion. Since 2006, she has interviewed over 150 people from as near as her hometown of Vancouver, Canada, and as far away as South Africa.

Whether through a random encounter on the New York subway or via a one-on-one interview with an internationally recognized artist, the goal is the same-to give wings to the unique journeys of inspiring individuals. This goal first led the author to co-launch a successful, innovative magazine focused on professionals working in the fashion industry paired with photography and illustrations by local artists. Then in 2015, Wilson took her passion to a new audience with the release of her first book, the first in a series featuring the lives of real people living real lives.

You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

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

November 22, 2016

The Stages of Grace Book Review

The Stages of Grace was written out of a desire to share with others who have loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease what I have experience as Grace’ caregiver and friend.

About The Stages of Grace

This book was written out of a desire to share with others who have loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease what I have experience as Grace’ caregiver and friend. I wanted to capture the emotions, the expected and the unexpected issues, the painful times as well as the humorous and loving moments that Grace and I have shared as a result of this disease. This is not mean to be a handbook for dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, but I hope that by sharing my feelings and experiences, readers may recognize they are not alone on this particular journey.

My Thoughts

The Stages of Grace is beautiful, open, honest look into the life of a caregiver and friend. This book had me in tears, laughing and wanting to give both Connie and Grace a hug. Connie writes in such an open and honest manner, that you feel as though you are right there with her having the conversations, talking about the joys and pains of life with a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is not an easy disease for anyone to deal with (not that any disease is but this one comes with its own ups and downs). It can be painful, it can be frustrating but at times beautiful and honest. We watch Grace travel down her road with Alzheimer’s and some times she is there in every moment while others you can feel how alone and scared she must be. I can’t even begin to imagine the fear that must come from not remembering those around you or what happened hours ago. The frustration and fear must be unbearable for the person involved.

The caregiver, in this case Connie, also goes through a great ordeal as they slowly lose parts of the person they love. That person is still there but the glimpses come in bursts. The love Connie has for Grace is beautiful and brought me to tears at many times. She is such a strong, beautiful and kind daughter.

This is the perfect book not only for caregivers but anyone that is dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. It is not a book to guide you on dealing with the disease but instead a way to share emotions, the good, the bad and the ugly. It will leave you smiling, with hope and at times in tears.

You can purchase a copy on Amazon and Amazon.ca.

Rating:5/5

About the Author

Connie Ruben is an entrepreneur with well-developed management skills. She has run several large companies, and prides herself on empowering others to work to their full potential. Connie also has an intimate knowledge of the challenges and joys of caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease, as her mother-in-law Grace was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s disease in 2003. While Connie still struggles to balance her work life and home life, her understanding of this disease has made it easier for her to negotiate the demands of being a caregiver, as well as a wife, mother, and employer. She has written this book in order to share the insights she has gained as Grace’s primary caregiver and friend. Most importantly, Connie wants this book to assure others that caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease can be enjoyable, life-affirming, and emotionally significant. You can connect with her on her website.

The Giveaway

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

November 21, 2016

Falling for the Stars Book Spotlight

In Falling for the Stars, we have a behind the scenes tell all about doubling for celebrity superstars and the compelling life story of an insecure Hollywood arrival who rises to the top of her field but pays a hefty price.

About Falling for the Stars

This behind the scenes tell all about doubling for celebrity superstars and the compelling life story of an insecure Hollywoo arrival who rises to the top of her field but pays a hefty price of addiction, chauvinism and big egos.

Discover the magic and the tragic stories of many great films & TV shows through the eyes of a stuntwoman. Dalton reveals what it took to hang over cliffs, get hit by a moving car, drop from five stories up, dodge an avenue full of speeding cars–and to ignore the Universe’s more gentle prompts that it was time to quit and follow her passion into acting full-time or teaching acting.

The resulting career-ending spinal injury has a story of its own, how she researched medical and alternative paths that form the heart of what she shares with the world today. “What stands out in this book is the indomitable spirit the author has, despite the extraordinary price she paid for her stellar career–including misogyny, a miscarriage, and a life-long back injury. And each juicy story she relays in her fascinating chronicle, brings home an important life lesson for the reader–one that she learned the hard way.

About the Author

From a bullied, dyslexic, messy, freckle-faced, klutzy pixie, Lisa Loving Dalton grew into a statuesque and skillful stuntwoman, actor, director, teacher, author, filmmaker, leadership and life coach, and ceremonial minister. Always seeking and finding the silver lining, she has made the most of whatever life threw at her. She says, “I spill stuff, trip and drip all of the time so I made a career out of it. My advice: Embrace what is as perfect.”

Dalton appeared in more than 200 films, television shows and commercials in New York, Hollywood and Texas, including work in Ghostbusters, Money Pit, Crocodile Dundee, Married to the Mob, FX, Legal Eagles, and Splash on the big screen and ER, HBO’s Carnivale, Dr. Quinn and Melrose Place among her many TV credits.

You can connect with her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.

The Giveaway!

This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only. Good luck!

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Disclosure: This is a spotlight tour, I did not receive compensation for this product. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 15, 2016

David Travels to the Past

In David Travels to the Past, David wants to learn more about the past and painting, his teacher finds a way for him to do so!

About David Travels to the Past

David is a young and restless apprentice painter who wants to know everything about painting. His intelligent teacher, the Master Messina, invents a way of transporting David through time to prehistory. They go there looking for the origins of art, but once they are there nothing will be as they thought.

In a second adventure they travel towards the unknown art of Mesopotamia. This time they won’t go alone. The sympathetic and intelligent Angela will travel to the past with them bringing her particular point of view.

My Thoughts

I love art and art history. I can spend hours pouring over books and at the museum taking in the art, its history and the culture of the people who came before us. David Travels to the Past is an excellent comic style book for older children to early teens (I even enjoyed it) as David learns first hand about art history.

David is your typical pre-teen (we don’t really know his age but he reminds me of a pre-teen/teen through his actions and words. He is frustrated with some of his work and his teacher decides to take him back in time to experience first hand the art and culture of the people. In the first part of this book, he learns about cave paintings, hunting and the rituals of their people. In the second part of the book, he travels to Mesopotamia and experiences a whole new set of art, a lion hunt and a new travel companion in the form of his teacher’s niece. Because of the nature of comic strips, they had to pack in a wealth of information in a smaller space but they did an incredible job of it! Not only were we able to learn about art history but we also got to experience David’s struggles and excitement of experiencing this very new world. There are two words that are in the book (hell and damn) which I feel would be okay for an older child especially in the context they are used (‘damn deer’) but I wanted to let you know in case this was something that made you uncomfortable. The book also addresses death in a beautiful way in the pre-historic ages as this was a very real part of their lives. This book is a great addition to your older child’s library that will inspire them to learn more about these important times in our history both in their art and culture.

You can purchase a copy of this book in the US through Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble. In the UK through Amazon and Kindle. In Australia, through Fishpond, Booktopia and Kindle.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author and Illustrator

María José is a teacher. She won international illustrations awards.Gonzalo has a degree in art history. He works in museums and as a tourist guide.

You can connect with them on website, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The Giveaway

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. 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.