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Author Spotlight: Talia Hibbert

3/23/2021

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I'm introducing a new feature to my blog to spotlight my favorite authors in various genres. Sometimes you come across an author that you cannot help but love everything they put out into the world. 

The author I'm bringing to you today is Talia Hibbert. She has become more well known with her Brown Sisters series, but she has been in the game for quite some time now. 

My love story with Hibbert's books began with a gorgeous novel called A Girl Like Her. It is the first book in the Ravenswood series. 
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A Girl Like Her  is probably the first book I ever read that included a leading female character that was not only Black, but was also on the Autism spectrum. Ruth is considered the "black sheep" in Ravenswood and she's keen to stay away from the world in her apartment filled with comic books. Ruth's new neighbor, Evan, slowly and oh-so-patiently gets to know her and eventually, you guessed it, falls in love with her.

I loved this book for many reasons. Like I mentioned before, the MC is a Black female on the Autism spectrum. However, I also loved this book because Ruth has family that does not give up on her and are quirky and lovable on their own. And Evan. I loved Evan. I loved him for his emotions, for his patience (though, if you were to ask him, there was no thanks needed because he just is with Ruth), and ultimately for his ability to think about people other than himself. I love that in my imaginary and real people. 

Then there are the books that Hibbert has become widely known for, the Brown Sisters series. With this we have:  Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and ​Act Your Age, Eve Brown. 
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The main characters in these three books are sisters, they are Black, and each has an internal battle. Chloe has chronic pain and feels she should live life more. Dani is a commitment-phobic academic focused completely on her academic career. Eve is constantly being told to focus on finding a career and never feels good enough.

Each of these books stole my heart for different reasons. If you look about Instagram and people's posts about these stories, you'll find that people try and identify which Brown sister they are most like. I, to my great amusement, am a bit of each for various reasons. However, if I were like any sister...I'm an Eve, through and through. 

These books are funny and heartfelt. Eve Brown in particular really hit me. It is not difficult to identify with feelings of doubt, not being good enough, or not trusting your own judgement because of what others have told you in the past. 

Just like in A Girl Like Her, the leading men in each of these stories has their own emotional journey. They are, or eventually become, comfortable with talking about their own fears and doubts. The men in Talia Hibbert's world are allowed to feel and communicate and I love it. 

Something to add about Hibbert is that her books ALWAYS have a list of possible trigger warnings at the beginning of the book (I wish more authors would do this). And also, do not let the cartoon covers fool you - these books are damn sexy and a bit dirty in the best of ways. 

Hibbert has many other stories that I have yet to read (and a novella entitled Mating the Huntress that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. It's Halloween themed!). Believe me when I say this, I will read them all. And you know what? You should try them out too ;)
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Book Spotlight: Aggravated

3/22/2021

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AGGRAVATED
BY MICHAEL SIROIS

Publisher: Truth Boots Publishing, LLC
Pages: 389 Pages
Pub Date: December 11, 2020
Categories: True Crime / Criminal Procedural Law

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Description: In 2006, the author's brother, Steve Sirois, was sentenced to serve 35 years in a Texas prison for a horrendous crime, aggravated sexual assault of a child -- a crime Steve swore he didn't commit. After the conviction, Michael started helping Steve write his appeals, but what he saw in the trial transcripts made him question how a jury could have convicted his brother based on that testimony.

Steve's accuser originally gave vague dates for the crime but soon abandoned those dates and even replaced the details of her claims with new ones. There was no forensic evidence, no DNA, no physical evidence of any kind: nothing but his accuser's words. The author wondered if he could prove that her accusations were false. But how?

Using affidavits, court transcripts, and interviews, along with additional evidence from public information requests and other factual data, the book lays out a devastating portrait of an untruthful accuser, an overzealous prosecutor, a jury that made a deal to swap votes in order to gain a conviction, and the series of lies that led to that outcome.

Purchase: Amazon 






Michael Sirois was reading by the age of four and was writing quirky short stories by the third grade. In high school he added acting to his bag of tricks. After graduating from the University of Houston, he taught writing, drama, and technology in the middle school trenches for two decades, but continued to act and write, placing well in competitions like the Writer's Digest Short Story contest and the HBO Project Greenlight series. His first novel, The Jagged Man, was published in 2015, and a two-book series, If a Butterfly, is slated to be published in late-Spring 2021.

After running educational outreach programs at Rice University for seven years, he retired and lives with his wife, Minay, in Spring, Texas, where he is hard at work on a thriller, The Hawthorn's Sting, and a mystery/thriller, Murder Between Friends, hoping to have a first draft of at least one of them by late-2021. Ideas for a few more are also floating around in that scary place called his brain. Stay tuned.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

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Review: All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone

3/12/2021

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ALL THE COWBOYS AIN'T GONE

BY JOHN J. JACOBSON

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Pages: 352
Pub Date: February 23, 2021
Categories: Historical Fiction / Action Adventure / Western


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All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone is the rollicking adventure story of Lincoln Smith, a young Texan living at the beginning of the twentieth century, who thinks of himself as the last true cowboy. He longs for the days of the Old West, when men like his father, a famous Texas Ranger, lived by the chivalric code. Lincoln finds himself hopelessly out of time and place in the fast-changing United States of the new century. When he gets his heart broken by a sweetheart who doesn’t appreciate his anachronistic tendencies, he does what any sensible young romantic would do: he joins the French Foreign Legion. 

On his way to an ancient and exotic country at the edge of the Sahara, Lincoln encounters a number of curious characters and strange adventures, from a desert hermit who can slow up time to a battle with a crocodile cult that worships the god of death. He meets them all with his own charming brand of courage and resourcefulness. 

Purchase: Bookshop.org


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​Before I go into my review, there’s something I should clue you into. I am very much a mood reader. There are times where I fly through a book, and others where I’m enjoying a book, but I can’t seem to breeze through it as easily. When it came to All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone by John J. Jacobson, it was a book I had a harder time breezing through, but I honestly think it’s because I am a total mood reader and this book was full of Indiana Jones-style action...and I am sadly not a particular fan of Indiana Jones. *cue the boos* Yes, I get that a lot. 

Okay *takes a breath* I am glad to have gotten that off my chest. There are several aspects that I did enjoy from All the Cowboys. Primarily, the writing was wonderful. So, while I did lose my focus at parts in the story, it was the writing itself that got me through. Jacobson was able to give me the perspective of Lincoln Smith, a true old soul if I ever read of one. Although I am not a lover of all things western and the kind of action and adventure, dreams and reality, that can come along with it, I was able to enjoy this story because of the life Jacobson’s words gave to it. 

Lincoln is a great character and it was interesting to read about him and his engagement in the cowboy life. I mentioned earlier that the book was full of Indiana Jones-style action, and I meant it. Lincoln was a great character to go along that ride with. Lincoln brought integrity and commitment to the cowboy life to the table. I’m not a reader of cowboy stories, but Lincoln is a great character that is easily likable. Readers of all-American cowboy stories and watchers of thrilling old school action flicks would certainly enjoy this story. 
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Though John J. Jacobson didn’t join the French Foreign Legion after being jilted by a girlfriend, or over his displeasure of missing the last great cattle drive, he has, borrowing Churchill’s phrase, lived a rather variegated life. He was born in Nevada, grew up in the West, surfed big waves in Hawaii, circled the world thrice, survived the sixties and seventies, corporate America, and grad school. Among other degrees he has an MA in Renaissance literature from Claremont Graduate University. 

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads / BookBub/ 





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3/9/21

Review

Book Bustle

3/9/21

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StoreyBook Reviews

3/9/21

BONUS Promo

LSBBT Blog

3/10/21

Review

The Clueless Gent

3/10/21

BONUS Promo

Hall Ways Blog

3/11/21

Review

Reading by Moonlight

3/12/21

Review

Bibliotica

3/12/21

Review

Book Fidelity

3/13/21

Review

The Plain-Spoken Pen

3/13/21

Review

Julia Picks 1

3/14/21

Review

Carpe Diem Chronicles

3/15/21

Review

It's Not All Gravy

3/15/21

BONUS Promo

All the Ups and Downs

3/16/21

Audio Review

KayBee's Book Shelf

3/16/21

Review

Forgotten Winds

3/17/21

Review

Jennifer Silverwood

3/18/21

Review

Missus Gonzo

3/18/21

Review

Tangled in Text



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Cover Reveal: Far From Perfect

3/10/2021

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​Far From Perfect

By Kristina Horton
Genre: Memoir, Self-help, Anxieties & Phobias
 
In 2010, at the age of 40, Kristina experienced a complete mental, physical, and emotional breakdown. Far From Perfect details the aftermath of the breakdown and her painful climb out of the pit of anxiety and despair. Her story is riddled with normalcy, tragedy, and humor. 
Over the past decade, Kristina has been on an expedition of discovery and healing by seeking answers to the questions “Why am I like this?”, “What can I do differently?”, and “Will I ever be rid of this horrible disorder?”. Along the way, she realized that she is not “broken” and she doesn’t need to be “fixed”. She also determined that hiding her “dirty little secret” of dealing with anxiety and panic attacks only made them worse. 
As much as she was anxious about sharing her story, Kristina knew that if it helped just one person know that they aren’t alone, and that someone else does understand what they’re going through, then she had to write this book. Included is a compilation of various methods and products Kristina has tried, as tools, to help manage, and alleviate, symptoms of the anxiety and panic disorders.
 

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About the Author
Kristina Horton is a licensed professional land surveyor, currently working in the public sector. Being a native of the Pacific Northwest; she and her husband – together since high school - settled into their hometown after a decade in Alaska. She rarely passes up a chance to pet a dog, or share a laugh. She recently fell in love with traveling to historical sites in Ireland and the UK; with of course a few stops at local pubs along the way, for a pint of Guinness. 
Far From Perfect, released in early 2021, is her debut book. It’s the story of her journey living with anxiety and panic disorders since childhood, and the sharing of the wisdom and knowledge she picked up along the way. 
 
Instagram (@kh_author) - https://www.instagram.com/kh_author
Twitter (@HortonKris) - https://twitter.com/HortonKris
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kristina.horton.315
 
Website: https://www.kristinahorton.com

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Book Blitz: Knock! Knock!

3/5/2021

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KNOCK! KNOCK!
Lessons Learned and Stories Shared 
by DOUGLAS THOMPSON

Categories: Nonfiction / Motivational Stories / Positivity / Relationship Building / Integrity / Time Management / Entrepreneurship
Publisher: Lucid House Publishing
Date of Publication: January 8, 2021
Pages: 154

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Knock! Knock! is a fast-paced, fun-filled journey through the author's career in sales that not only teaches you how to be better at selling but to also have a ton of fun while you are doing it.

Knock! Knock! invites you to join Doug on what salespeople call "a ride along," which is where a senior salesperson shows a newbie the ropes. This book delivers a winning sales philosophy learned through years of experience and is illustrated by real-life stories that Doug shares -- along with multiple Knock-Knock Moments (or lessons and revelations learned) that have fueled his career and that he believes will help yours.

Every one of us is in Sales. If you deal with people, you are in sales. Knock! Knock! teaches you how to get out of your Comfort Zone to believe in yourself and to believe in the product, services, or message you are trying to sell. But it also teaches you to have a great time while you are doing it.


Purchase: Amazon | Main Street Reads

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Douglas Thompson's passion for improving the customer's experience as well as the sales profession continues to drive him as he comes up with new ideas to answer this question: How can we make the sales process better? Starting out as an insurance agent going down the street selling accident insurance by knocking on doors, Doug quickly moved into the management side of the life and health insurance industry, hiring and training agents to be successful doing the same. His ability to build successful sales teams caught the eye of the corporate leadership of several major companies. Doug became the vice president of sales and marketing for Conseco and was recruited to do the same for Pacificare, UnitedHealthcare, American Republic, Tranzact, and Humana.

Currently, he is the marketing director for a large national insurance wholesaler that recruits and trains insurance agents and agencies in the senior marketplace across the country, and he continues to build his own general agency, which offers life and health products to the senior population. He is known nationally for his innovations in the sales industry and frequently speaks and trains on his favorite topic of sales.

Doug and his wife Shirley own a Bed & Breakfast in Jefferson, Texas.

Follow Douglas Thompson on: Facebook | Website |Goodreads



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