Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Help the Bartles Family Save Their Home

Imagine coming home after three years away ... only to discover some devastating damage to your home.

Then imagine getting the phone call from your insurance agent telling you they won't cover the damage.


That's what happened to author Veronica Bartles and her husband Philip, a member of the United States Air Force. 

The writing community has come together to auction off critques and signed books to raise money for repairs. Organized by master organizer Brenda Drake, the auction features literary agents, editors, and authors giving what they do best to help the Bartles family get through this travesty. 

If you don't want to bid on an item, there's a Go Fund Me account where you can donate. Every little bit helps.

Philip serves our country. Veronica is battling a brain tumor. 

Open your heart and give. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Amanda Bingson: Love Yourself

I'm a bigger girl. Always have been. In high school, I was also an All-State athlete. I threw the shot put in track, was undefeated in districts and conference, and went to the state meet every year. 

Numerous times I was called fat. I pretended it didn't bother me. I pretended to shake it off. But really it cut me to the core. Even my doctor told me I needed to lose weight. He never considered the amount of muscle I had. He only cared about the number on the scale. 

Well, the scale was full of shit. 

I lifted weights. 

I ran.

I worked my ass off to become a better athlete so I could get a scholarship and go to college. 

And I did. 

But I was still fat. At least according to most of the people I knew.

I still struggle with body image to this day. As an adult, I've accepted the things I cannot change. My inner child, however, has not.

Today, I heard about US Track & Field hammer thrower Amanda Bingson. I wish someone like her would've been around when I was a teen. She's an inspiration for all of us.

Amanda is 5'5" and 210 lbs. And she's an amazing athlete. She holds the American record in the hammer throw, an event that's only been in the Olympics for women since the 2000 Sydney Games. The first World Record for women was recorded in 1994. The hammer throw is a relatively new event for women.

Here's the best thing, Amanda's fine with her body type. She embraces herself. In this day and age of photoshop and celebrity overkill, Amanda Bingson is someone we all should get to know.

We definitely should follow her lead. We are who we are. Embrace your body. Love it. Don't try to change who you are. Amanda is a role model. There should be more like her in the world.

Every girl should read the latest issue of ESPN, if only to read Amanda's story. 


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Book Blast: Fractured by Lisa Amowitz!!!!!


FRACTURED, Book 1.2 in The VISION SERIES

Bobby's a hick who sees visions. Jeremy's a smartass who sees dead people. Together, they have a weekend to stop a murderer...if they don't kill each other first. Sparks fly when the worlds of Lisa Amowitz’s BREAKING GLASS and VISION collide.

Excerpt:


“Hey. You were the kid that played with that amazing redhead. Not bad, man. Not bad.”
“Um, thanks.”
“Not from around here, are you?”
“No. I mean, I’m not, really.”
The guy smiled and extended a hand. “Sorry. Just a little cranky tonight. I came in this morning on an epic bus ride from Duke just to see my girlfriend and she’s stuck in a study group with a bunch of other assholes. Oh. I’m Jeremy Glass.” He lowered himself on the bench next to me and massaged his leg. “Too much walking today. Damn.”
I tried to keep my eyes from going wide as the guy lifted the cuff of his black jeans. Instead of an actual leg there was only a hydraulic metal pole.
Jeremy Glass looked at me and smiled. “Veronica’s been sticking a little lately. I think I’ll have to bring her back to the shop. What’s your name?”
I glanced from his face to the metal leg. “Bobby. Bobby Pendell,” I choked out. It wasn’t the leg. It was just hard to breathe around him, like he was sucking up my share of the oxygen.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know how Jeremy Glass had lost that leg, though I was pretty sure he’d be happy to tell me. I thought about bolting back inside the club, but that would be rude.
Instead, Glass said breezily, “You were awesome, dude. Where’d you learn to play guitar and sing like that? Man, all I can do is run.”
I bit back on the obvious response. How could a guy with a fake leg run?
Glass laughed. “Ha! Most people are too polite to ask, but I’m not shy about it. I was a sprinter. Fastest in my school. Until—well, until the accident. But now I’ve got a Teflon blade and I’m the fastest on the team. Technology is awesome, huh?”
I cleared my throat. Something about this guy was making my skin crawl. Maybe it was his fast talking. Or the way his eyes twinkled but looked steely and cunning all at the same time. I felt like he was silently laughing at me. Like his brain worked two and a half times faster than mine did. He eyed me with one eyebrow raised, as if he didn’t actually expect a response. 
“Um, it was nice to meet you. But I really should be getting back inside,” I said, and finally got up to leave.
Glass stared calmly back at me. “Who’s your friend, then?”
A shiver rolled up my spine. I had to get away. Ever since my last brush with Agent Maura Reston on the Scratch Lake dock, I’d had the distinct feeling I was being watched. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but this guy seemed to be probing me for something.
“What friend?”
His gaze shifted over my left shoulder. “That guy.”
The blood froze in my veins. I pivoted and saw a brief white flicker, a disruption, then empty air.
Glass laughed. “Yeah. You’ve got to learn to ignore them. They’re everywhere.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Glass’s smile vanished. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But I can always tell when I meet someone like me.”
“Like you?” I backed away toward the club entrance, cold sweat trickling from my scalp down the back of my neck.
“You can see them, too. Things no one else can.”
He pressed a card into my hand. My mouth went dry. The sidewalk tilted. I pressed my palm to the glass of the club window to steady myself.
I didn’t have to look down to know what it said. 
He’d seen the thing that I’d seen. He was like me.
He was working with Agent Reston and her paranormal goon squad.



UNTIL BETH
Releasing September 29, 2015

Paperback: 260 pages
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (September 29, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 163392033X
ISBN-13: 978-1633920330




She doesn’t just play, she kills it.

Talented rock guitarist Beth Collins has been barely holding herself together for months, ever since her boyfriend and bandmate became the latest victim in a string of suspicious disappearances. When her brother is injured an accident and she sees something dark billowing around him as he hovers close to death, she’s convinced her sanity is collapsing for good. 

Then she's accepted by a boarding school for the musically gifted. All of her new friends are bursting with talent, but they're also keeping secrets. Can she trust Vincent, who's so sweet that his very touch makes her fears melt away? Or Xavier, who's trying to tell her something but is hiding even more?

And will anyone be safe when her true Talent comes out? 

Expected publication: September 29th 2015 by Spencer Hill Press


  
VISION

Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (September 9, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937053997
ISBN-13: 978-1937053994


The light is darker than you think… 

High school student Bobby Pendell already has his hands full—he works almost every night to support his disabled-vet father and gifted little brother. Then he meets the beautiful new girl in town, who just happens to be his boss’s daughter. Bobby has rules about that kind of thing. Nothing matters more than keeping his job.

When Bobby starts to get blinding migraines that come with scary, violent hallucinations, his livelihood is on the line. Soon, he must face the stunning possibility that the visions of murder are actually real. With his world going dark, Bobby is set on the trail of the serial killer terrorizing his small town. With everyone else convinced he’s the prime suspect, Bobby realizes that he, or the girl he loves, might be killer's next victim. (less)

“Haunting and intense, VISION grabbed a hold of me in the very first scene and never let me go”
—Kate Brian, author of the bestselling PRIVATE, PRIVILEGE and SHADOWLAND series





  
BREAKING GLASS
Lisa Amowitz
Young Adult Fiction
Spencer Hill Press, July 2013
ISBN: 978-1937053383

On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he’s not sure whether they’re real or if he’s losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.

Available at:

Praise for BREAKING GLASS




Praise for Breaking Glass:


THE SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL says
Posted on 12/01/2013
Gr 9 Up—"This novel is an edge-of-your-seat thriller with a supernatural twist. Jeremy Glass is the star runner for his high school track team, has a stellar GPA, and is in love with his best friend Ryan's girlfriend, Susannah. He's also a secret alcoholic. He uses vodka to escape the nightmares that have haunted him since his mother drove the two of them off a cliff. However, for the past year, he's found himself relying on alcohol to dull his desire for Susannah, as well. The night she discovers Ryan cheating on her, Jeremy follows them to the gorge where they are engaged in a heated argument. Hoping to mediate, he leaps from his car directly into the path of an oncoming truck. He awakens in the hospital with a crushed leg and to the news that Susannah is missing. Once he is released, he begins to receive links to videos and cryptic messages indicating that she is dead and becomes determined to find her killer. In a fog of pain killers combined with alcohol, Jeremy risks his life to uncover a past murder that involved his mother, Susannah's mother, and Ryan's wealthy and influential father. Amowitz does an exceptional job of portraying the fragile mental state of a young man who has faced three devastating losses. Readers will wonder if he is truly solving a murder or experiencing a mental meltdown."—Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA


USA TODAY says:
“Jeremy's story is gritty and suspenseful, and at times downright spooky, but his intelligence, tenacity and quick, sarcastic sense of humor brightens the darker moments. The novel is also about hope and a young man who prevails in the face of insurmountable challeges. BREAKING GLASS is an impressive debut from Lisa Amowitz.”
Full review from USA TODAY


JUST JARED JR. says:

“This book is a suspenseful mystery and you’ll find yourself trying to figure it out before you actually do. There are tons of twists and turns and you won’t put the book down until you solve it all.”
Full review from Just Jared Jr.


ForeWord Reviews says:
“Every character has a secret in this intricately plotted YA paranormal mystery that delivers a wild and rewarding ride for teen readers.”


 “Betrayal, addiction, murder . . . and of course, a ghost . . . Just when you think you know what's happening, BREAKING GLASS punches you in the gut and leaves you breathless!”

~Jennifer Murgia, author of the ANGEL STAR series & BETWEEN THESE LINES
*

"A dark romance that will keep you up at night with its twists and turns, BREAKING GLASS is a must-read debut. Lisa Amowitz has burst onto the YA scene with this intriguing novel. You'll be hooked from the first page - I certainly was! The characters are drawn with depth and sensitivity, and the plot is heart-pounding. Don't miss this one.”

~ Christine Johnson, author of Claire de Lune, Nocturne and The Gathering Dark

*

“Breaking Glass was a surprise addition to my reading list for July . . . definitely a book that will keep you guessing right until the very end. It wasn’t a matter of if I was going to read the book, but when and how much I would like it.”

~ Shelley (Gizmo Reviews)
*

“From the first page I was hooked. Lisa Amowitz has a writing style that made me feel sad I had social engagements because all I wanted to do was sit down and read this book from start to end.”

~ Emily, On Emily’s Bookshelf



Author bio:
Lisa Amowitz was born in Queens and raised in the wilds of Long Island, New York where she climbed trees, thought small creatures lived under rocks and studied ant hills. And drew. A lot. She is a professor of Graphic Design at her beloved Bronx Community College where she has been tormenting and cajoling students for nearly twenty years. She started writing eleven years ago because she wanted something to illustrate, but somehow, instead ended up writing YA. Probably because her mind is too dark and twisted for small children. Lisa is represented by Shannon Hassan of Marsal-Lyon Literary Agency. shannon@marsallyonliteraryagency.com

BREAKING GLASS, released in July, 2013 from Spencer Hill Press, is her first published work. VISION, the first of the Finder series was released September, 2014. FRACTURED, a novella combining the worlds of BREAKING GLASS and VISION releases as an ebook only, June 7, 2015. UNTIL BETH, the first in the Life and Beth trilogy will be released September 2015.

Lisa Amowitz is available for guest appearances, Skype visits, school visits, libraries & interviews. Please contact her for scheduling.

Website:

Email: mommatoo@optonline.net
Social Media:

















Do the Math: $2 million is LESS THAN $35 million

I was browsing Twitter, as I'm apt to do quite often, when I saw this post:
Naturally, I went to the article. And I read the accompanying article. Seriously, you have to do some research these days or you'll end up saying something wrong. Have you seen that Andy Griffith died? It's been going around Facebook lately. He passed away in August 2012, yet people are posting it now without reading when it actually happened. My point is you need to follow up on these types of articles to see how accurate they are.

Unfortunately, this one is accurate.


The question is, as a fan of any sport, how do we change this?

The answer is rather simple. Go to the games. Show your support. If you don't have a women's team around you, try to watch it on TV. And we have to do this ALL THE TIME. Not just during the World Cup or the WNBA championship.

These women are incredible athletes. They should be treated AND paid as well as their male counterparts. And the leagues need to recognize this. Just like they do in tennis.

Right Serena?

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Enter to win NEIGHBORS!

I'm in such a giving mood this week. :)




I mean, we ALL love to win stuff. So, in addition to the GOODREADS giveaway of ONE MORE DAY, the 1st chapter and query critique... 
I'M ALSO GIVING AWAY AN ECOPY OF NEIGHBORS!




Don't forget to enter the giveaway for ONE MORE DAY over on Goodreads...



Goodreads Book Giveaway

One More Day by L.S. Murphy

One More Day

by L.S. Murphy

Giveaway ends July 11, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter Giveaway