(Review) The Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds

Posted on by Cindy

Title: The Joy Of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds (bk 1)
Author: P.J. Bracegirdle
Pages: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: August 2009
Source: Publisher

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Joy Wells is a proud resident of Spooking, the terrible town at the top of the hideous hill. At the bottom of the hill is Darlington, a plastic suburban “paradise” where Joy and her brother go to school. When the mayor of Darlington announces that a water park is going to be constructed over the Spooking bog, Joy is horrified. She decides that she has to save the mysterious bog and the endangered species in it-but someone is determined to stop her! The Addams Family meets Carl Hiaasen in this quirky mystery with an environmental twist.

I have to start off by thanking the awesome Michelle at Simon & Schuster Canada for contacting me about this book. When I read the synpopsis of the book I knew this would be something that I would really enjoy and be able to share with Michael.

I have to admit that I think the cover goes really well with the book but when I was looking up the books online I spotted the original covers and loved them. I just love the cover art of those books so much so that I have already started to look for them in. Although I have had a few people suggest to me that I should just print them and this way you have to cover and not another book. (I’m not sure that I am able to share those covers but if you go to a book site and search for the book you will see them.)

Fiendish Deeds was a pretty quick and fun read. The perfect read for a middle grader + and I am so happy that I got to discover this author and his books because up until now I have never heard of either or.

This is the first book in the trilogy.

Joy and her family (mother, father and brother, Bryon) live in a little town called Spooking and within eye sight is the picturesque town of Darlington. Think of the movie Stepwives here and you can see what the town of Darlington is like. I instantly thought of that as I was reading the book.

Joy and her brother are bused to school in Darlington and the clearly don’t fit in with the local residents especially Joy. She looks nothing like the girls there (she has blonde hair and it seems like all the girls there have dark hair) and she clearly doesn’t share the same interest or hobbies as these girls.

Joy is a huge fan of the author Ethan A. Peugeot. So much so that she is probably like most of us staying up all night to read the book to just find out what happens. Joy some how begins to believe that Ethan has actually lived or been to Spooking because of his writing about the bog and a monster that lives there. Joy soon discovers that this bog is soon to be no more because the town of Darlington plan to make it into a water park. Joy knows that her and her brother have to save it even if it means it them against the town.

Will they be able to save the bog? You can only image what they will over come.

I loved Joy and I think Joy beats to the sound of her own drum. She doesn’t let what others say affect her. She wears what she wants and does what she wants.

The Joy of Spooking:
  1. Fiendish Deeds
  2. Unearthly Asylum
  3. Sinister Scenes
You can also check out the The Joy Of Spooking website by clicking on the link.
Also if you happen to be in the Montreal area, Simon & Schuster Canada and P.J Bracegirdle have teamed up to do a booksigning for his latest and last book in the series, Sinister Scenes.

I have to send out a huge thank you again to Simon & Schuster for the invite for this and for sending his book as well as introducing me to a new and local author.

I will be there for the book signing as well as some other local bloggers. Come back on Sunday when I share with you some pictures and thoughts about the evening. It sounds like its going to be a fun evening.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Guest Post) Zachery Richardson

Posted on by Cindy

Today I am honored to have Zachery Richardson stop by to do a guest post for me.

Zachery is promoting his book:

About the book:
When you sacrifice the lives of your wife and children to prevent the world’s most powerful clan of assassins from unleashing the Apocalypse, what does that make you? And what do you do when you learn that it was all in vain? For Jin Sakai, that sacrifice turned him into a mere shell of a man, filled only with guilt and hatred. When he learns that it was a sacrifice made in vain, he instantly sets out on a violent one-man war to tear the assassins’ clan down around their ears. After all, who better to destroy them than the man who brought them together?

Things soon turn down a darker path as Jin uncovers the disturbing truth behind his family’s sacrifice; a truth he was never meant to learn. Undone by the revelation, Jin is consumed by doubt and confusion and very nearly loses his life. It is only later when he meets Leah Lawson, a woman with a past almost as dark as his own, that his doubt and confusion vanish and he begins to see a path that will not only lead him to his revenge, but to his redemption.

Unfortunately, there is far more going on behind the scenes than Jin realizes. Forces are at play that have been manipulating the course of his life ever since he was born. By setting out on his quest for vengeance, Jin unknowingly cements his destiny as one of the key warriors in the apocalyptic war that’s brewing just beneath the surface.

So without further hestiation please welcome Zachery to the blog.

What is a typical writing day for you? Tell us about a day in the life of you the writer, what’s your writing day like. Do you balance family and writing, or writing and a job outside the house, or writing, a job and family? What was it like for you to write this book along with your busy life?

It’s funny, because in thinking about how to describe my life, I’m realizing just how insular it is. I’m 22 years old, so I don’t have a family of my own to balance my writing with, but I recently applied for a job at my local Fry’s Electronics, so I may have to find a way to balance my writing with that.

A typical writing day for me usually consists of an early morning walk, an average of 5 hours of writing and 2 hours of video editing, playing some online games with friends, dinner and then sleep. I don’t usually get out a whole lot, so I like starting my day with a walk. The fresh air helps me keep my spirits up, particularly on days when I’m fighting with an especially difficult part of my books. There’s a nature trail close by that I like to walk through. Some of my stories get quite crazy, so I usually go there and let the peace of the place help me focus my thoughts and plan the chapter I’ll be working on that day.

On another note, I’m actually amused that this is the topic for my guest post because I’ve actually started doing a series of video blogs on YouTube called The Vlogging Author. I recently got a new high definition camera that fits in my pocket, so it’s fun to take with me and just film the different parts of my day. It’s one thing for an author to talk about their day with their fans. I thought it would be cool for my fans to actually be able to see my day. This is where the two hours of video editing comes from.My YouTube channel and vlogs can be viewed here and here, respectively.

When I’m done with my writing and vlogging, I usually hop on Xbox LIVE, Microsoft’s online gaming service, and play a few games with friends to unwind and have fun. The game we usually play is Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and it is amazing stress relief when my writer’s block decides to act up.

All in all, my life is pretty low-key, and even when/if I achieve the success I’m envisioning, I plan on keeping it that way. J

Book Information:
Title of Book: Chronicles of the Apocalypse: Revenge, Everything is Nothing. 
ISBN: 978-0-578-02176-8
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 20th, 2009
# of Pages: 291

Link to book on Amazon (or where it is sold): http://tinyurl.com/cota-rein

About Zachery Richardson
Zachery Richardson, casually Zach, was born in Seattle WA on August 8th, 1989, and was raised in Lake Oswego, OR. It is perhaps the greatest irony of all that his chosen career is that of an author when as a child, his second least favorite subject in school was writing. Math was number one, and their relationship remains strained to this day.

However, the switch was flipped in middle school when his teacher assigned a creative writing project. Having finally been given a productive outlet for his wildly active imagination, Zach dove headfirst into the world of author-dom and never looked back. By his freshman year of high school, he’d completed his first “book”; a 300 page fanfiction set in the Mobile Suit Gundam universe. Afterwards, he turned his attention to a series of wholly original works that would become Chronicles of the Apocalypse in the subsequent year.

While Chronicles of the Apocalypse (or COTA as he likes to call it) remains his central focus, Zach has also begun work on several other projects in the Young Adult and High Fantasy genres.

He currently lives in Wilsonville, OR.

You can visit Zach’s website at www.theauthorphoenix.com
You can also visit Pump Up Your Book to see where Zachery has visited a guest post or to read reviews of the book.

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to visit us Zachery and Pump Up Your Book for the chance to do this.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

An awesome morning spent with book lovers

Posted on by Cindy

This morning I was truly honored to be able to sit in on the Random House of Canada and McClelland & Stewart fall preview that is taking place at various Chapters across Canada.

I have to admit up until this morning I wasn’t sure that I would be able to attend because of the conflicting answers I was getting along with Lucy @ Moonlight Gleam’s Bookshelf about attending the event because some were saying its for employees only and others were saying its open to the public.

So I really have to send out a huge thank you to the person @RandomHouseCA for helping me out on twitter with finding out the info about the event this morning.

So without a moment to spare I ended up cabbing it to the Chapters because I knew with construction and the busing I wouldn’t have made it to the event in time. Once there I saw some of my favorite booksellers (waves to them if they are reading this) and then introduced myself to Jennifer and Mike. I wasn’t there long before they started show casing the fall books.

I have to say Jennifer showed so much enthusiasm for alot of the books that I have now added many more to my ever growing wish list based on her recommendations.

I should just add that Random House Canada is visiting various Chapters/Indigo bookstores and talking about a ton of great books that are already out or will be coming out this fall.

So without further adieu let me showcase some of these great books that have peaked my interest: (Sorry I had attempted to post descriptions along with the books but for some reason blogger is acting up on me and not letting me format it properly.)


-The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock (Release Date July 2011)
-Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong (Release Date August  2011)
-The Accident by Linwood Barclay (Release Date August 2011)

-The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (RD August 2011) Isn’t the cover pretty?
-Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters (RD September 2011) I have to admit at first this book didn’t peak my interest but after hearing Jennifer talk about it I want to read it.
-The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (RD September 13 2011) This cover & book is so much prettier in person. The next book I plan on getting.

-My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K Kelly Martin (RD September 27, 2011)
-The Art of Living: According to Joe Beef by Frederic Morin & David MacMillan (RD October 11/11) Local authors and chefs. The recipes are the exact same things they serve in their restaurant here in Montreal.
-Blood Sun by David Gilman (RD December 27/11) Book 3 in the series

-The Death Cure by James Dashner (RD October 11/11) The 3rd book in the Maze Runner Series
-Damned by Chuck Palahniuk (RD October 11/11) This sounds really good
-The Affair by Lee Childs (RD September 27/11) I book I will have to pick up especially after certain pages were mentioned.

-The Boy In The Suitcase by Lene Kaaberol & Agente Friis (RD November 8/11)
-Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly (RD December 27/11) Book 2 in the series. Love the cover.
Also here are some other books that are coming out from Random House that I am curious about:

  • Vital Signs by Tessa McWatt (RD July 2011)
  • Tell it to the Trees by Anita Ral Badami (RD September 20/11)
  • Natural Order by Brian Francis (RD August 2011)
  • Shelter by Frances Greenslade (RD September 2011)
  • End of Days by Eric Walter (RD September 27/11)
  • The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (RD October 25/11)
  • Off Stage On Stage by Michael Buble (RD October 25/11) Yes I admit it I like Michael Buble!

Now if hearing about all those great fall books wasn’t enough, they also had some authors stop by to talk to us about their books and those authors were:

  • Anita RAl Badami
  • William Marsden
  • Frederic Morion and David MacMillian

So looking at all those title this morning I think we are in for an awesome fall with some amazing books.

Thanks to Random House and McClelland & Stewart for coming into town to show us those great fall titles and a special thanks to Jennifer and Mike who allowed me to join in.

Happy reading everyone 🙂

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

It’s Monday, What are you reading? #35

Posted on by Cindy



It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers to see what they have read and what they are reading this week.

The wonderful host of this weekly meme is Shelia from Book Journey. You can check out Sheila’s blog to find out all the details on how to take part in this fun weekly meme. Although I should warn you that this can lead to an ever increasing TBR pile, wish list or borrowed books from the library.

I just realized that this is my 35th post for It’s Monday! What are you reading? Time is flying by .

It was another week that not much reading got done and I really thought that once Michael went back to school (Wed) that I would have done some reading but I ended up catching up on things that really needed to be done in the house, errands and being sick. (Once again!)

First day back to school. Aug 31/11 in front of our house.

So this week I am hoping to get into the following books:

To The Moon and Back
Fiendish Deeds (Joy of Spooking)

Just a reminder that if you live in the Montreal area (or surrounding area) P.J Bracegirdle will be signing his latest book Sinister Scenes, Sept 17th. I want to thank Simon & Schuster Canada for inviting me to attend the signing. I will be there along with some other Montreal Book Bloggers.

So this is what I am currently reading and hoping to finish this week.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Review) A Girl’s Life Online

Posted on by Cindy

A Girl's Life Online
Title: A Girl’s Life Online
Author: Katherine Tarbox
Pub Date: September 2004
Publisher: Plum ( a division of Penguin)
Pages: 192

Source: I got this book from Tina who blogs over at Bookshipper .

About the book:

Katherine Tarbox was thirteen when she met twenty-three-year-old “Mark” in an online chat room. A top student and nationally ranked swimmer attending an elite school in an affluent Connecticut town, Katie was also a lonely and self-conscious eighth-grader who craved the attention her workaholic parents couldn’t give her. “Mark” seemed to understand her; he told her she was smart and wonderful. When they set a date to finally meet while Katie was in Texas for a swim competition, she walked into a hotel room and discovered who-and what-her cyber soul mate really was.

In A Girl’s Life Online, Tarbox, now eighteen, tells her story-an eye-opening tale of one teenager’s descent into the seductive world of the Internet. Tarbox’s harrowing experience with her online boyfriend would affect her life for years to come and result in her becoming the first “unnamed minor” to test a federal law enacted to protect kids from online sexual predators.
In an age when a new generation is growing up online, Tarbox’s memoir is a cautionary tale for the Internet Age.

When I saw that Tina was offering this book up to anyone who wanted it I grabbed it because I was really curious to read it. I think this is a must read for any parents out there with kids and teenagers.
I admit I was cringing at times and just wanted to reach in grab Katie before she made a mistake that she would regret probably for the rest of her life.

Thankfully I grew up without computers so this was never an issue for my parents but being a parent now this really freaks me out and I worry but I think as parents we have to be diligent about what are kids are doing online as much as possible and try to keep an eye out.

Right now its not a problem because when Michael is online he is playing games on either Webkins or Lego. The one time he did go into a chat room on one of the sites he was on, he asked me about something and I came over and told him that if I ever saw him in a chat room again he wouldn’t be able to go on the computer again. We talked about the dangers of it and I told him that no everyone is who they say they are.

This is exactly what happened to Katie. At first she thought she was talking to someone who was 23 (she was only 13) and at first there conversations were harmless but still this bothered me because what 23 year old would take the time to really speak with  someone who is 13 unless he was after something.

Over the course of the book we quickly see him “grooming” her and before long Katie is actually starting to fall for this guy and even agrees to meet up with him at one her swim meets without anyone knowing it but her friend. Thankfully nothing serious happened to Katie but she quickly realized that he really wasn’t who he said he was.

I think so many young people don’t really realize that and are too trusting and willing to tell anyone anything as long as they are getting the attention they are looking for. Honestly if something doesn’t feel right then trust me its not right. Go with your gut instinct, trust it.

This really hit home for me because I actually went to school with someone who is now sitting in a US jail serving a long jail sentence for luring a child over the Internet. It was someone I never thought would do anything like this.

If your a parent then this is a must read for you and your teens.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Give Away) Amish Values for Your Family

Posted on by Cindy
Amish Values for Your Family

I have an extra copy of Amish Values for Your Family to give away to one lucky reader of mine along with some swag I got from Suzanne Woods Fisher. It includes some postcards and bookmarks.

All you have to do is comment in this post and tell me what you would do if you were given the chance to Amish for a week. Do you think you could handle it?

Please note that this give away is only open to Canada and the US (sorry shipping elsewhere gets to expensive).

Please leave your email address so that I have a way to contact you should you be the winner. The contest is open until September 5 at 11:59pm. You will have 24 hours to reply back to my email with your mailing address failure to do so within that time frame will result in picking another name.

Good luck everyone

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Blog Tour & Give Away) Amish Values for Your Family

Posted on by Cindy
Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life

Today I am very honored to be a part of the tour for Amish Values for Your Family. Thank you to Litfuse Publicity Group for allowing me to a part of the tour and for sending me a copy of the book.

I knew when I read this book that I wanted to do a review of Amish Values for Your Family but at the same time I had to think about a value or chapter that I wanted to incorporate into my every day life.

There are so many great values I could pull from the book that would be nice to add into our life but what one would make a difference the most and I realized that instilling a work ethic in Michael wouldn’t be a bad thing to work on. It would show him how important it is to be a part of something and that doing some chores isn’t a bad thing and that if we all do a little something to help each other out that there will be more family time for us.

I have started out with minor things and over the past few days he has asked me if there is anything else he can do to help so that we can do things quicker. He has realized that by helping means he can have more time with me then before.

Its nice to have someone set the table while I am cooking dinner and to have some clean up the table while I am putting away the left overs or helping fold the laundry (to the best of his ability). You can see the pride on their faces when they realized they are helping out and doing a good job.

About the Author:

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D.Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania,as well as to Ohio,a couple of times each year for research.

Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate many of their principles–simplicity, living with less,appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily– into your life.

When Suzanne isn’t writing or bragging to her friends about her first newgrandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne’s way of thinking, you just can’t take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

A chance to win:
Enter 8/15 – 8/31!

Suzanne Woods Fisher is thrilled to announce the release of Amish Values for Your Family, her latest non-fiction release. “It offers loving ways to bring your fractured home back to life-Amish style. Read it and apply generously! It’s a beautiful book-funny, charming, soulful, and beautiful.” -Mary Ann Kirkby

Read the reviews here.

To celebrate the release of Amish Values for Your Family, Suzanne has teamed up her publisher Revell Books to giveaway a Kindle, and with Bill Coleman (the amazing photographer used on Suzanne’s book covers) to give away a signed Bill Coleman original.

One Grand Prize winner will receive an Amish Values Prize Package (valued at over $200) and includes:

* A brand new KINDLE

* A Signed Bill Coleman original

* Amish Values for Your Family (for KINDLE)

Click on one of the icons to enter. Winner will be announced on 9/2 at Suzanne’s blog. Be sure to stop by the blogs on Suzanne’s blog tour – many have copies of Amish Values for Your Family to give away.
But, wait there’s more! Suzanne is running a Bill Coleman caption contest during the month of August on her blog. Title one of Bill’s gorgeous photos for a chance to win a print from Bill’s Amish Photo site and/or a copy of Amish Values for Your Family.

Tour Dates: You can click Here to see other reviews of this book from the tour before today’s date.

8/30
Renee at Doorkeeper http://reneeannsmith.com/
Brynna at Joy Filled Living http://joyfilledmama.blogspot.com
Amanda at Talbert Report http://thetalbertreport.blogspot.com

8/31
Debbie at Christian Stay at Home Moms http://csahm.com
Claire at Country Mouse In The City http:countrymouseclaire.blogspot.com
The Literary Mama http://www.preslaysa.com
Dawn at Guiding Light Homeschool http://guidinglighths.com
Leland at The Cross Is All http://annawood.wordpress.com/

9/1
Kristie at Family Scrapbooks & Coffee http://needcoffeeplease.blogspot.com
Prerna at The Mom Writes http://www.themomwrites.com

To buy the book click on this link

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.