“Surviving the Titanic disaster and picking up the pieces” The Girl Who Came Home Hazel Gaynor Reviewed by Clare O’Beara The tragedy of the Titanic continues to fascinate us. This well-written story shows the point of view of some of the ordinary travellers aboard her – Maggie Murphy, leaving Ireland with her family, is one. THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME starts with her last moments in the only home she has known, a rural Irish cottage, as fourteen people from her small parish in County Mayo pack up and head off for a better life in America. Maggie is leaving behind a young man, Seamus Doyle, and she promises to write. Harry Walsh is a crewman, a steward with White Star Lines, proud to be working on the maiden voyage of such a fine vessel. He’s only assigned to the third class passengers, but he’s determined to give them equally as good a service as the millionaires aboard. The scale of the ship in dock is quite staggering to all viewing her in Southampton. Some of the wealthy people even bring their small dogs aboard. Fast forward to Grace Butler, darting admiring looks at a fellow student’s Converse sneakers during journalism…

I leave for a writer’s retreat on Wednesday. It’s a week at a Tennessee cabin with fellow writers Cindy Dees and Elizabeth Hoyt. I’m sure those on FB will see all sorts of interesting #Squidge pictures there. So here are a few interesting musing in (what is to become) my standard format. 1. We found this cabin a) while hiking. Elizabeth Hoyt broke her ankle and Cindy and I carried her to the door and met a god of a lumberjack who nursed her back to health. b) by googling “random cabin somewhere to hide and write.” Also known as drink and talk about fantasy men c) cabin choices are always filtered by superimposing Starbucks locations in a 2 mile radius. No retreat is possible without mochas. d) at the Brenda Novak auction Answer: D In truth, the idea of retreat in Tennessee sounded so good, we just bid without looking too closely at it. We’re not exactly sure how rustic it will be. Fortunately, there is a Starbucks nearby, so at least we’ll have coffee. Also…(A) did happen, but only in Elizabeth’s …um… nighttime musings… (And OBVIOUSLY, the god of a lumberjack was Mr. Hoyt. And she reminds me…

You’re home alone. The house is dark. The clock is reading 3:32a.m. That noise that wakes you from your sound sleep, it’s going to be one that pulls your butt from your warm bed and has you investigating the source. Because, as a tough chick heroine of any story, we don’t need weapon because we are tough enough on our own and our thoughts will direct us on the right path. Everything we needs is on us, in us. We has a reason for facing down whatever evil might lie ahead. In Poltergeist, Diane Freeling faced terrifying odds as her children were taken from her. In her determination was her motivation and she got them back and won. Her love of her kids was her driving force. For me, a self-defense enthusiast since the age of fifteen, it was a history that drove me to become the toughest soccer Mom that walked. Many bad things randomly happened to very nice people in the town where I grew up. I decided young I would never be one of those victims. I taught this lesson to my kids, enrolling them in Tae Kwon Do while other parents told us “But Chorus is…

Fresh Pick for Monday, April 7th, 2014 is THE RICH AND THE DEAD by Liv Spector #SuspenseMonday William Morrow March 2014 On Sale: March 18, 2014 320 pages ISBN: 0062258397 EAN: 9780062258397 Kindle: B00DB39Y14 Trade Size / e-Book Add to Wish List Thriller Paranormal – Supernatural, Suspense Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound The Rich and The Dead by Liv Spector   To solve the crime of the century, she’ll have to go back in time… Welcome to Star Island, where Miami’s wealthiest residents lead private lives behind the tall gates of their sprawling mansions. It’s a blissful escape from the hot and dirty city – or it was, until New Year’s Day 2015, when 12 of the most powerful people in the world were found murdered in the basement of a Star Island mansion. The massacre shocked the nation and destroyed the life of investigator Lila Day. Her hunt for the Star Island killer consumed her. But the case went unsolved, resulting in her dismissal from the Miami PD. Now, three years later, life hands Lila an unexpected second chance: reclusive billionaire Teddy Hawkins approaches Lila and asks her to solve the case. But how do you investigate a crime when…

On April 14, Carina Press is publishing six brand-new sports romances. Today Kat Latham is here to tell us about her rugby novel, PLAYING IT CLOSE. Hey, everyone! I’m so excited to be here today to introduce you to the world’s hottest rugby team, the London Legends. Now, I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that most of you have never been to a rugby match or watched one on TV. And, since there aren’t many of us authors writing about rugby players, you might not have read much about these men with unbelievable bums, abs and thighs, wearing tight uniforms and short shorts. Mmm… Sorry, I drifted away there for a second. I’m back. If you’d told me when I was a kid that I’d grow up to write about rugby players, I’d have said, “What’s rugby?” You see, I’m from California, and rugby’s not exactly a big sport there. But when I was 23, I moved to the Czech Republic and met the most wonderful British man—a man who’s crazy about rugby. And as I fell in love with him, I fell in love with his favorite sport. That’s why I created the London…

Fresh Pick for Saturday, April 5th, 2014 is WHITE HOT KISS by Jennifer L. Armentrout Harlequin March 2014 On Sale: February 25, 2014 304 pages ISBN: 0373211104 EAN: 9780373211104 Kindle: B00DSX0QRS Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Young Adult Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout   One kiss could be the last Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she’s anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever. Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul. But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with…

The Master Matchmakers #3 March 2014 On Sale: February 21, 2014 Featuring: John, Lord Hascot; Lady Amelia Jacoby 283 pages ISBN: 0373282583 EAN: 9780373282586 Kindle: B00FTQHW6U Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Inspirational Fiction RomanceBuy at Amazon.com #inspirationalFriday The Husband Campaign by Regina Scott A Marriage of Necessity The moment John, Lord Hascot, encounters a young woman sheltering in his abandoned stable, his future is sealed. To prevent scandal—and protect Lady Amelia Jacoby from her parents’ ire—he must propose. John’s ability to trust vanished when his former love married his twin brother. Yet he offers Amelia everything she could want—except affection. Amelia sees John’s true nature shine through when he cares for his horses. But the brooding aristocrat seems determined to keep her at arm’s length. Little by little Amelia will turn Hollyoak Farm into a home, but can she turn a marriage of convenience into a joyful union? The Master Matchmakers: Wedding bells will ring when downstairs servants play Cupid for upstairs aristocracy A horseman weds – from duty, not expecting love Previous Picks

Fresh Pick for Friday, April 4th, 2014 is THE HUSBAND CAMPAIGN by Regina Scott #inspirationalFriday The Master Matchmakers #3 Harlequin Love Inspired Historical March 2014 On Sale: February 21, 2014 283 pages ISBN: 0373282583 EAN: 9780373282586 Kindle: B00FTQHW6U Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Inspirational Fiction Romance Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound The Husband Campaign by Regina Scott A Marriage of Necessity The moment John, Lord Hascot, encounters a young woman sheltering in his abandoned stable, his future is sealed. To prevent scandal—and protect Lady Amelia Jacoby from her parents’ ire—he must propose. John’s ability to trust vanished when his former love married his twin brother. Yet he offers Amelia everything she could want—except affection. Amelia sees John’s true nature shine through when he cares for his horses. But the brooding aristocrat seems determined to keep her at arm’s length. Little by little Amelia will turn Hollyoak Farm into a home, but can she turn a marriage of convenience into a joyful union? The Master Matchmakers: Wedding bells will ring when downstairs servants play Cupid for upstairs aristocracy A horseman weds – from duty, not expecting love Previous Picks

I was the little girl who had chubby cheeks and a mushroom cut at seven years old. A smattering of freckles on my ski-slope nose, and corduroy skorts—a shorts and skirt combination–sewn by my Mum because we had no money, my dad in seminary to become a minister and working part-time at the skim milk factory. I didn’t speak until I was four, because we moved to Africa when I was two, and I was too busy eating mangos and watching the beautiful Congolese people to learn their language, but when we came back to Canada I began to find my tongue. And at seven I began to write poems, the kind that told the paper how sad I was because I had no friends. We were homeschooled and I’d moved ten times by then, and a seedling shrivels up if it has nowhere to plant roots. My blue ink scrawled across the page and maybe if it were pretty enough, maybe if the poems rhymed, maybe then Dad would see me, and Mum wouldn’t be so tired and we wouldn’t be so poor, maybe if I put them into words, good things would happen. They didn’t, and no matter…

Fresh Pick for Thursday, April 3rd, 2014 is VAMPIRES NEED NOT…APPLY? by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff #SupernaturalThursday Get Your BITE on! Accidentally Yours Forever April 2014 On Sale: March 25, 2014 416 pages ISBN: 1455546992 EAN: 9781455546992 Kindle: B00BOTU4A2 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Vampires Need Not…Apply? by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff Meet Dr. Antonio Acero. Heir to Spain’s wealthiest family, world-renowned physicist, and dedicated bachelor. While on vacation in southern Mexico, Antonio discovers an ancient Mayan tablet. Local legends say it contains magical properties, properties that could put his stalling research on the map. But is this really his lucky break? When Antonio attempts to put the tablet to use, he’ll discover that Fate has other plans. Her name is Ixtab, and she’s quite possibly the deadliest deity who ever lived. The Goddess of suicide sure knows how to break a seventy thousand year dry spell. Previous Picks