Double Negative by C. Lee McKenzie
Published by: Evernight Teen
Publication date: July 25th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Synopsis:
“My life was going, going, gone, and I hadn’t been laid yet. I couldn’t go into the slammer before that happened.” Hutch McQueen.
Sixteen-year-old Hutchinson McQueen is trapped between an abusive mother and an absentee father. Shackled by poor vision and poor reading skills, he squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. After another suspension from school and suffering through one of his mother’s violent attacks, he escapes to a friend’s house that turns out to be a meth lab. The lab is raided and Hutch lands in juvenile detention. When the court sentences him to six months in a new juvenile program, he meets a teacher with Alzheimer’s who will change his life and hers.
AUTHOR BIO
In my other life–the one before I began writing for teens and younger readers–I was a teacher and administrator at California State University, San Jose. My field of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication has carried me to a lot of places in the world to explore different cultures and languages. I can say, “Where’s the toilet?” and “I’m lost!” in at least five languages and two dialects. Go ahead. Pat me on the back.My idea of a perfect day is one or all of the following: starting a new novel, finishing writing a blockbuster novel, hiking on a misty morning trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains, saying Namaste after a great yoga practice, sipping a cappuccino topped at a bustling café, reading in front of a fire with snow outside, swimming in an ocean someplace.
I’ve just set out my perfect life. Day after day after day.
Hi Everyone. I just saw this posted on Parajunkie’s blog and I knew I just had to take part. Rachel always comes up with the Book Blogger Challenges that are always fun and as I was reading the lesson plan below I knew this was one challenge I wanted to take part in.
There is still plenty of time to sign up. All links will close August 30th.
Today’s topic is: IT’S TIME TO STAND UP IN FRONT OF THE CLASS AND SHARE WITH THE REST OF US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU!
I have to admit that I use to hate having to stand up in front of the class so thankfully we have a computer screen between us.
I am a Canadian book blogger. I am currently in la belle province du Quebec (Montreal). I have been here almost 19 years. Before that I lived in a little rural community in northern New Brunswick. I have been blogging for almost 6 years now. My bloggiversary is coming up next week. (Oh no, I have nothing planned!)
I am a stay at home mom and have been for the last 11 years.
My little man is 11 years old and will be starting the 6th grade in about two weeks. He is very active and keeps us busy. During the winter time he plays hockey and does curling. In his free time he is a huge reader (just like me) and loves to read Geronimo Stilton books along with other books as well, he is a huge lego fan, loves doing crafts, obsessed with Minecraft and just recently decided he wanted to start a youtube channel (although he would be mad if he knew I mentioned that).
I do have a significant other and we have been together for quite some time. He is a private person so there is no photo’s online and he isn’t into social media (no facebook and no personal email accounts). He isn’t a reader and that is probably due to the fact he reads alot for work.
During the school year I volunteer at my son’s school in the library and for field trips if needed. So when I am not doing that and reading I love to bake, listen to music, watch movies & tv and doing cross stitching and crafts.
What else can I say? If you have any questions please leave them below and I will answer them.
Thanks Rachel for coming up with this fun challenge. Be sure to CLICK ON THIS TEXT to see the links of the other participates.
This is an erotic fairy tale inspired by Beauty and the Beast.
FROM HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY At twenty-one years old, third-generation movie star Cal Hammond was on top of the world. He had more money than God and more women than any man could need. But when a night of debauchery ends in tragedy, he forfeits a life of luxury for a ten-year prison sentence at La Rosa, California’s most violent prison.
TO A BRUTAL BEAST Eight years later, a ruthless, cunning man runs La Rosa from the inside. He is known simply as BEAST. All the wardens fear him. All the gangs obey him. He speaks to no one but his inner council. What he says is law.
NOW ONLY SHE CAN SAVE HIM Annabelle Mitchell’s father is the warden at La Rosa. He deals as dirty as his trustees, and after years of smooth relations with Beast and the gangs he runs, Holt lands on the powerful prisoner’s hit list. That very afternoon, Annabelle pays a surprise visit to her father’s work, hoping to use her new counseling license at a place she thinks she could make a difference. When she catches Beast’s eye, he releases the warden and grabs the daughter. The price for the warden’s error is not death. It’s his precious Belle.
Ella James is a Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together they are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone’s parents go to war over the placement of a comma.
Ella’s books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Movers & Shakers list and the Amazon Top 100; two were listed among Amazon’s Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012.
To find out more about Ella’s projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage and follow her blog, www.ellajamesbooks.com. Questions or comments? Tweet her at author_ellaj or e-mail her at ella_f_james@ymail.com.
Alec by L.A. Casey
(Slater Brothers #2)
Publication date: August 17th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Keela Daley is the black sheep of her family. She has always come second to her
younger cousin Micah. Even in the eyes of her mother, Micah shone bright, and Keela
faded to black. Now, in adulthood, Micah is a bride-to-be and the spotlight is
solely on her. Keela is a low priority…or so she thinks.
Alec Slater is a bachelor, never one to bed the same woman, or man, twice. He is a
free agent who does what he pleases and answers to no one; that is until a fiery
Irish redhead with a temper to match her hair colour knocks him on his arse.
Literally.
She hates to admit it, but Keela needs a favour from the cocky Slater brother, a
huge favour. She needs him to not only escort her to Micah’s wedding, but to also
pose as her boyfriend. Alec agrees to help Keela, but has certain conditions for her
to abide by. He wants her body and plans to have it before anyone can say I do.
What he doesn’t plan on is losing his heart as well as the possibility of losing his
family when someone from his past threatens his future.
Alec owns Keela, and what Alec owns, Alec keeps.
Palace Hills by S. Briones Lim Published by: Limitless Publishing Publication date: September 9th 2014 Genres: New Adult, Romance
Synopsis: Palace Hills. The very name struck shivers down the spine of the affluent city of Goldendale.
Unfortunately, eighteen-year-old Nina Sharman has no choice but to call the poverty-stricken neighborhood her new home.
Life seems bleak until a chance meeting with Conner Hale changes her mind and captures her heart, leading her to believe that maybe Palace Hills wasn’t so bad after all.
However, one tragic case of mistaken identity changes everything and leads to an event so horrifying that Nina believes she could never recover.
Choosing to leave Conner behind, Nina vows never to return to Palace Hills again.
Five years later, Nina has a new home, a new boyfriend and a new life. Yet, still haunted by the ghosts of her past, Nina finds she must return to Palace Hills to put an end to a nightmare, which has haunted her for years.
Upon her return, one vital slip in judgement threatens to bring the life she had worked so hard to build to come crashing down.
AUTHOR BIO Thanks to her Mom’s unwavering devotion to read a bedtime story to her every single night throughout her childhood years, S. BRIONES LIM’s love for books began before she could even speak. Author of the Life Force Trilogy, S. Briones Lim’s other obsessions include time with family, POPCORN, sketching, movies and her pug, Tobi. She currently lives on the East Coast with her husband and continues to write everyday.
Shades of Chaos Authors: Alexia Purdy, Cameron Jace, Chrystalla Thoma, Katie Salidas, Megan Duncan, Nadège Richards Publication date: June 11th 2014 Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult
Synopsis: Dare yourself to enter into post-apocalyptic future with this gritty collection of first-in-a-series books by six bestselling authors! Discover unique worlds packed with non-stop action, adventure, and suspense set against a gritty, futuristic backdrop.
NOTE: Together, these books have over 320 5-star reviews on Amazon! Over 1400 pages of stories, with *exclusive* content from Alexia Purdy, Katie Salidas, and Chrystalla Thoma! Best for ages 16 and up~ I AM Alive: I am not my heart rate. I am not my skills. I am not how I look like. My name is Decca Tenderstone. I live in a future America where teenagers are ranked on a scale from 1 to 10 on graduation day. There has never been a 10. Those below the rank of 5 are considered Monsters, a liability to society. The system says I am a Monster. I will not let them kill me. I will survive.
Initiation: Being a Vampire is a crime punishable by eternal servitude in the arena as a Gladiator of the Iron Gate. Mira, a newly turned vampire, must prove she has what it takes to survive in the human’s world. It’s kill or be killed. Immortality is not guaranteed. Dissension: In the aftermath of the great cataclysm, vampires are enslaved by humans and used for blood sport as gladiators in the arena. Mira is undefeated, uncompromising, and unbreakable, but when an escape attempt leads her into the path of the city’s Regent, her destiny is changed forever.
Finding Hope: After the death of the one person he called mother, Elei leaves the Trashlands of Ost for the city – looking for other people and for answers. But he soon finds out that people are complicated and answers hard to come by… Rex Rising: In a world where parasites create new human races, Elei leads a peaceful life as aircar driver — until a mysterious attack on his boss sends him fleeing with a bullet in his side and the fleet at his heels.
Resonant: As the first days of the end of humanity tumble across the City of Las Vegas, turning everyone into vampire-like creatures, April Tate will find out what it really means to survive. Reign of Blood: April Tate is a seventeen-year-old ferocious vampire killer who lives in the remains of Las Vegas one year after a viral epidemic has left the world decimated. After her family is abducted, her world tilts when she discovers they’re not truly alone. Released: After a demon apocalypse kills everyone they know, 17-year old Abby Phillips, her brother and her friend Max flee their home to travel through the wastelands of America, chasing a radio transmissions of a resistance offering shelter. But soon enough Abby and her companions discover what awaits them is much worse they could have ever imagined. Burning Bridges: In a world divided between Hunters and Warriors, where prisoners are forced to fight in the arena until death, young Princess Echo must fight to find out who she really is and to put a world that has been swallowed by lies back together again.
Purchase links: The book is on sale at $0.99 for a limited time!
You know summer is almost coming to an end when the Shrine Circus comes to town.
We have been going to the Shrine Circus now for almost five years give or take a few years. Michael loves going and he always has so much fun.
This year little did Michael know but he was going to be in for a surprise of his life. I was lucky enough to be contacted and get invited to the media event that was going to happen opening night. With this media access we were going to get to speak with the ring master, Richard Curtis and his wife, Kimberly and get a back stage tour.
We were greeted at the entrance by Richard and Kimberly and the group proceeded inside the big tent. Did you know that the tent is hand stitched and that 216 pegs were drilled in to hold the tent? Alot of work goes into putting up the big tent and that everyone wears multiple hats. Richard said that along with being ring master that he does other work such as helping to set up and even driving one of the 18 wheelers.
We also got to see Marie and Shelly get their pre-show baths.
ShellyMarie
What beautiful elephants they were. They were so calm and well behaved. The both really enjoyed their pre-show showers.
The tour was quick because Kimberly and Richard had to get ready for the show but they were very gracious to answer any questions we might have had and posed for some photos with us.
I was hoping to catch a better picture of Michael because he was thrilled when he found that we had ring side seats. We have never sat in that section before and always said next year we will do it and never did and I have to say that I think this will be our choice of seats when we go again. These are the best seats in the house even though every seat is good this is by far the best.
We managed to get a quick bite in before the show began and by this time we were really excited for the show to begin.
The pop corn was delicious and also the caramel corn was to die for as well. Neither Michael or myself are big cotton candy fans so we didn’t get that. But I did hear that the nachos were delicious. hmm next time I plan on getting some of those.
Before the circus began there was elephant rides. Michael didn’t do that because will we were in line he told me his stomach hurt. Thankfully it wasn’t anything serious and he was just excited.
The show began with all the performers coming out to greet the audience and this is the first part of the circus.
The opening act was suppose to be the Human Cannonball with Saturn Garcis but due to technically difficult before hand he was unable to perform. Hopefully they will bring this act again.
The first performers we saw were the Zamperla Zoppe. The horse was beautiful and Gino, Ernes and Nathaniel performed balancing acts, juggling, and so much more on horse back. It was amazing to watch then.
One of all time favorites is always the Videla Family. They have been a part of the circus since we have been going. I believe Piolita is the dad. This is one of many of their acts.
This was also included in this act and funny enough Piolita actually drove that little bicycle for a bit.
If you follow me on twitter you might have seen my tweet about RRRR there are pirates in the building. These are a Zerbini family and they did sword balancing (which is being done in this photo), knife balancing, and juggling. Robert was amazing to watch.
Gabriela took my breath away with her juggling. Juggling is one thing but add fire and it brings it to a whole other level.
I was in total awe of watching Shelly and Marie do their act. They were so graceful. They are such beautiful animals. This was one of Michael’s favorite acts.
I was hoping that I could have gotten some pictures of this act but with them moving the pictures came out blurry. This is the Videla Duo and they did an aerial act on this star. It was so beautiful to watch them perform above us.
Another great act that left us speechless was the Dragomir Troupe from Romania. They did all kinds of jumping off of ladders on to see saws throwing the girls into the air and getting flying in the air. I am always amazed when they can balance poles on their heads and hold it.
The last act before intermission was Piolita and his company of clowns.
During this act they grabbed four people of the audience to help them out. I think this is always the funniest act because you never know what they will do. They had the guys dancing around and yes they even did the YMCA. During this act Piolita and his son don’t speak but use whistles to communicate.
Michael laughed so hard during this performance. This is his all time favorite act.
The last act before intermission is the Wheel of Destiny with Saturn Garcia. This is one of those acts that I literally watch through my fingers because I am covering my eyes up. My heart is always in my throat when I watch this. So much can go wrong in a split second.
We are now half way through the show and it was intermission time. During this time they were once again doing elephant rides, the kids could get their face painted, grab some snacks, grab some autographs, pictures and run to the bathroom if needed.
The Gino Brother’s returned this time they performed a comedy acrobatic table act. These guys were so funny and you had no idea what was going to happen. I heard Michael laughing quite a lot during this performance.
I have to say that I think the act of Gabriela Zerbini was my favorite of the night. The aerial cast came out at first and with the lighting it made it so beautiful. When Gabriela came out from her cast she was beautiful.
I wish I could have gotten a better picture of Gabriela in the outfit below because under the lights its was beautiful. The orange just glistened. It was breathe taking. Her act was all aerial and I admit a few times I felt like I was covering my eyes.
Sadly this picture doesn’t do the outfit justice but please take my word it was beautiful under the lights.
The Videla family makes another appearance but this time as musical clowns and this was so much fun listening to them play.
When the oldest son went to play on the keyboards I thought it was going to be this funny act but it wasn’t. This kid can sing and he did a beautiful job of it. I wish I could remember the songs he sang but I can’t. He rocked and that’s all I can really say.
I managed to zoom in because Richard was in the back ground listening to him sing. Doesn’t this picture just show how proud he is of the act?
You know the show is almost coming to an end when Ericka Zerbini comes out. This horse and pony were so cute. They were both so graceful and elegant. If I could I probably would have jumped into the ring just to pet them both.
This is the year of the horse and it was a tribute to that. After this act was done out came these beautiful horses.
Its always a joy to watch these horse perform. I believe the horses range in age from 4 to 18 if I remember correctly. It was funny as they were performing there was one horse that would constantly try and bite the horse in front of him/her. Then at one point he/she seemed to get distracted on the far right of the ring. I was thinking that it was perhaps a light stick but not quite sure. They performed amazingly and Erika was a pleasure to watch. She was constantly smiling and beaming.
We are now almost to the end of the show. The last act was once again Dragomir and they performed all kinds of acrobatics that had the crowd oohing and aahhing. It was so much fun to watch them.
The end of the show brings out the entire cast to wave good bye for another year.
We had so much fun and I just want to quickly thank The Shrine Circus for inviting us to run away and join the circus for one night.
Thank you to the Zerbini Family for putting together such an amazing show and happy 251st Anniversary to you. Wishing you a happy anniversary and hears to another 251 years.
Thank you once again to Kimberly and Richard for giving us a sneak peek into what happens back stage at the circus. Hope to see you next year under the big top.
*Please note that I was provided tickets to attend the circus. These are my own personal thoughts and opinions and in no way was I influenced to write a positive review.*
FROM HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY
