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An Irish Immigrant Story Book Blitz

March 18, 2021 theblindscribe

Viking Historical Romance

Cultural Heritage Fiction

Date Published: November 19, 2018

Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc

Johanna Cashman and John McCarthy, along with over a million others, immigrated to America to escape a devastating famine. They left behind family members who faced starvation to come to a land that would give them a new opportunity for a good life. They were soon made aware that they were not welcome in this new land and that every day would present a new struggle for survival. Johanna and John got married, determined to raise a family in their adopted country. In spite of all the obstacles they encountered, including John’s untimely death, the family grew and found success. The second generation used their success to lend assistance to the country their parents were forced to leave in Ireland’s drive for independence from its oppressor. This historical novel brings the reader through the heartwarming story of a family that overcomes adversity to thrive in America. At the same time, it details the movement in the country they left to find its own independent place in the world.

About The Author

Jack Cashman’s career has put him in a number of roles, although the title of “author” is a relatively new one. Coming from a background of small business ownership, real estate, and insurance, Cashman was first elected to serve in the Maine House of Representatives in 1982. After five terms in office and some time away from state government, he returned to public service in 2003 in a variety of roles with the administration of Maine Governor John Baldacci. Cashman’s first book, An Irish Immigrant Story, was published in 2018 as a historical novel based on the story of his own family’s journey from Ireland to the United States during the time of the Potato Famine. Cashman’s unique background of business owner, elected office-holder, and government official combine with his creative mind to bring together a collection of stories unlike any author working today. Jack has spent nearly all of his life in Maine, and currently lives in Hampden with his wife of nearly 50 years, Betty. They are the proud parents of two sons and grandparents of five granddaughters.

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Book Blitz, Uncategorized

Wake The F*** Up Book Blitz

March 18, 2021 theblindscribe

Nonfiction / Humor / Satire

Date Published: September 24, 2020

Publisher: MindStir Media

Wake the F**k Up!

Based on humor and satire, Wake the F**K UP is a book for the parents of teenagers, anyone who has been a teenager or just knows one for that matter. The struggle that surrounds teen-life is real and we can all use a little more laughter in our lives.

About The Author

Barbara Long is a registered nurse and graduate of University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She is married to an emergency medicine physician and together they lead hectic lives with their two teenagers, three dogs, two ducks and a rabbit. They now live in Virginia and enjoy all of the love and laughter that life has to offer.

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Book Blitz, Uncategorized

Seven: The Rescue Book Blitz

March 16, 2021 theblindscribe

Young Adult Sci-Fi

Date Published: September 30, 2020

Publisher: MindStir Media

A childhood in isolation is an awful childhood, what’s worse? One in a test laboratory as a guinea pig. Thousands of years after humans left earth and relocated to a neighboring solar system this story follows the emotional and physical journey a small band of teenage brothers will take to set free the family they never knew they had. Escaping from a testing site they set in motion a journey that will use all of their brains, their brawn, and awakened powers they never knew they had.

Praise for Seven: The Rescue

“A. A. Salter’s debut novel, Seven: The Rescue, is a fast-moving sci-fi adventure dropping the reader right in the middle of the action. You’re front and center as a band of six teenaged brothers, each with unique powers and abilities, discover there’s a seventh and resolve to rescue him from ruthless corporate controllers bent on exploiting his gifts. With hints of X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy, Seven delivers it all with video-game-style intensity.”

–J.J. Hebert, #1 Amazon Bestselling Author

About The Author

A.A Salter grew up on the southeast coast of Georgia near Savannah. Growing up with five brothers and one sister proved to never contain a dull moment. Writing has always been their passion and they are excited to take you on this journey into their imagination. A journey that started many years ago.

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Book Blitz, Uncategorized

Jenny On The Street Book Blitz

March 16, 2021 theblindscribe

And Other Tales of Reverence and Revolution by a Very Young Man

Literary Fiction, Short Stories

Published: January 2021

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

“Dark and twisted a bit like Stephen King,” is how one reader recently described “Jenny on the Street: And Other Tales of Reverence and Revolution by a Very Young Man.”

A desperate young woman lost on the drug-infested streets of London, an insane revolutionary holding the devil in a jar, an indifferent truck driver forced to run over cats and a reverent grandmother looking for God in a rock. All of them are among the unforgettable characters inhabiting these 13 short stories set amidst the magic, majesty, mystery, and mayhem of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a surreal era of extreme idealism, exaggerated exuberance, ferocious fearlessness, and foolish folly. A period in which the scent of change permeated every tree, town, and tent. A time, in other words, much like our own.

Excerpt

THE SUN’S TRUMPETER

Mornings you could see him from the boardwalk. See him, that is, if you happened to be up that early. A tiny, upright silhouette bathed by the endless orange of the sunrise over the sea. You couldn’t tell what he was doing all alone on the beach at that hour. Probably nothing, you’d think. Perhaps he was just walking. It’d make a nice photo; wish I had my camera, you’d think. And then you’d hurry on your way because it had been a wicked all-nighter and you were eager to get home for some much-needed sleep.

But long after you had gone, long after you lay dreaming comfortably in the mahogany bed next to your wife, the sad silhouette remained on the beach. Remained, outlined by the increasingly brilliant sunrise, like a stubborn matchstick in the corner of a fireplace refusing to be consumed by the fire it had kindled.

The first time Sean ever saw the gleaming trumpet, it had been sitting in the window of George’s Loan & Music Co. on King Street. The boy’s eyes had lit up, but he said nothing. Sean seldom did say anything. But it was enough to catch the attention of his grandfather, who stayed finely attuned to virtually any emotion that clawed its way to the surface of the young boy’s face. “Do you like that trumpet?” the old man asked. “Would you like to take it home?” As usual, nothing erupted from the boy’s mouth. But the light in his eyes seemed to flare for an instant, just long enough to spark a decision on his grandfather’s part. “Let’s go in,” he said. “Let’s take a look.” And that was the beginning of Sean’s obsession with the ancient trumpet someone had hawked, and his grandfather had bought.

About The Author

David Haldane, a former Los Angeles Times staff writer, authored the award-winning 2015 memoir “Nazis & Nudists.” In addition to his journalism, essays and short fiction, Haldane has written and produced radio features for which he was awarded a Golden Mike by the Radio & Television News Assn. of Southern California. He currently divides his time– with his wife and two children–between homes in Joshua Tree, California, and Northern Mindanao, Philippines, where he writes a weekly newspaper column called “Expat Eye.”

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Book Blitz, Uncategorized

Eternal Promise Book Blitz

March 16, 2021 theblindscribe

The Soul of Mary Stuart

Historical Fiction

Date Published: February 2021

Publisher: Churchill Publishing

Eternal Promise, The Soul of Mary Stuart is an intimate version of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, told with fresh eyes and an open heart. Journey with this Queen as she lives through a breathtakingly pure love, heartbreak, and relentless betrayal. Author Holly-Eloise Walters infuses this telling with warmth, compassion, and love.

About The Author

Holly-Eloise Walters is an author from Bristol, England. She debuted with her first book The Most Happy in October of 2019. Holly grew up in Bristol and dedicates her life and inspiration to her Nan, who raised her and taught her to look beyond the immediate for answers.

Holly has recently joined the Churchill Publishing team as Director in England.

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Book Blitz, Uncategorized

The Bifurcation of Dungsten Crease Blitz!

March 15, 2021 theblindscribe

Science Fiction

Date Published: March 15, 2021

Publisher: Del Sol Press

In the course of a morning, Dungsten Crease resurrects his neighbor’s dog, is arrested by TSA for carrying a weapon which never existed, and drowns a woman at an airline ticket counter—or could he be hallucinating? In his panic he locks himself in the men’s room of a coffee shop only to find a strange man in cycling togs sharing the space. The lanky intruder claims to be Dungsten’s neurally implanted concierge unit who has two disturbing messages. Dungsten is a Shaper—an obsolete, genetically programmed tool created by a bankrupt galactic corporation to terraform planetary experiences for vacationing clients; and the woman he inadvertently killed at the airport with his Shaper abilities will be the love of his life. Attracting government agents who want to weaponize him and Galactic Business Council assassins who want to terminate him, fear drives the Shaper within to inadvertently bifurcate, a second Dungsten also now running from his pursuers. But bifurcation comes at a price: loss of appetite, swelling of the hands and feet, an erection lasting longer than four hours, loss of bladder control, rectal bleeding, psychosis, convulsions, and sudden death. To pull himself back together and if he’s lucky, survive, he must master his Shaper abilities before he becomes a victim, or worse, accidentally destroys Earth and everyone he loves along with it.

Excerpt

Hiding in the darkness, door locked, he wanted to feel safe, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he wasn’t alone. As if to ward off the demons, he spoke aloud.

“I am not being followed. They don’t even know where I am.”

“Did they get a good look at you?”

A voice, someone else’s voice, had echoed off the bathroom walls.

Dungsten scrambled away in terror, his movement switching the lights back on and revealing the source of the voice. “Aaah! Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?”

His bathroom companion, for lack of a better term, was tall and lean with an Adam’s apple giving his neck the appearance of being double-jointed. He wore a black Rolling Stones “Sticky Fingers” T-shirt, black baggy biking shorts, emerald green leggings covering long, spindly, knobbed-kneed legs, and gold bike shoes. Atop his head sat a red cycling helmet aerodynamically constructed to give the impression of forward motion. The entire ensemble gave him the appearance of a deformed giant leprechaun.

He smiled a big toothy grin. “Calm down.”

Dungsten moved to a corner by the sink, looking to no avail for a weapon.

“Calm down? You pop in here like Captain Picard and I’m supposed to calm down? How did you get in here?”

“You let me in, Dungsten.”

Let him in. No, I didn’t let him in. I’ve been curled up in this bathroom scared shitless. I haven’t moved an inch. “Let you in?”

“Yes.”

“How? And you better do some explaining because, well, my day so far has been off the chart weird. I’ve killed…I think. Yeah, I’ve killed, and I imagine it will be pretty easy to kill again. So, don’t mess with me.”

“Dungsten.” The giant leprechaun balanced against a wall with one hand, grabbing his foot from behind to stretch his quads. “I guess I could say you let me in here with your mind.”

About the Author

Richard Hacker, lives and writes in Seattle, Washington after living many years in Austin, Texas. In addition to the science fiction/fantasy novels, which include The Alchimeía Series, his crime novels ride the thin line between fact and fiction in Texas. Along the way, his writing has been recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. As a judge in literary contests shuch as PNWA and ChicLit, and as a freelance development editor, he enjoys the opportunity to work with other writers. In addition, he is the Sci-Fi/Fantasy editor for the Del Sol Review. When not writing he’s singing jazz and creating visual art.

Del Sol Press books by Richard Hacker are available at Amazon

The Alchimeía Series

DIEBACK: Book One

VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD: Book Two

Other books by Richard Hacker:

Nick Sibelius Crime Series

KILL’T DEAD OR WORSE

BUZZARD BAIT

ALL HAT AND NO CATTLE

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Website

Facebook

Blog

Instagram: lifejazz0526

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Uncategorized

The Kitten Escapades Part 1

March 14, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Sunday bookish people! I hope everyone’s weekend has been lovely. Today my story is going to be one of the (many!) things that our kitten has done – he’s a crazy ball of fluff, very curious and very mischievous. He knows what things he shouldn’t do he just does them anyway. So, I’m probably going to turn this into a series, that’s why this is part one, because he’s almost definitely going to be doing naughty things for a while yet.

We got him, I say ‘we’ – he’s my Sister’s kitten but he loves me more, in October of 2020. My Sister’s friend had a cat called Luna who had four kittens (Trigger, Rusty, Opal and Shadow) three boys and one girl. Then unfortunately Luna was hit by a car and the kittens were left motherless. My Sister and her friend then hand reared the four kittens and one of them became very attached to my Sister and we got to keep him! Now we have a black and white kitten called Shadow. He’s afraid of everything and he likes to wake up at nighttime and play with his toys that have bells on them.

So, last week I was in the bath, and it was warm and relaxing and lovely. except for the slight breeze coming through the door that has to be left ajar. Shadow doesn’t like being shut out of rooms, he cries and cries at the door if you do. He especially doesn’t like being shut out of the bathroom because he likes to curl up on the purple flower mat that we have in there. If it ever goes really quiet in the house we would probably find him asleep there on the bathroom mat. So that’s why we have to keep the bathroom door open if any of us are in the bath – well, actually my Mum and I are the only ones who keep it open because we can’t resist the cute little kitten.

I’m in the bath, the door is open, and in comes Shadow. I could hear him purring but I couldn’t see him from where I was so I assumed he was just getting comfortable and then he would go to sleep. This is not what he did. It went very quiet and again I assumed he was asleep and I’d just have to be careful not to stand on him when I got out of the bath. So I’m washing my hair and for some reason I do this with my eyes closed, don’t ask me why because honestly I have no idea. Then all of a sudden I open my eyes and a black and white blur shoots over the edge of the bath. The front half of it starts to land on the edge next to me. But then it slips. And suddenly there’s a kitten in my bath. He does not like water and as soon as he hit the water he was already trying to get out, unfortunately for him there was something in his way from doing that. My leg, it was my leg in the way because he had fallen on it and now he was scratching it in his rush to get out. He did manage to get out. I screamed, he meowed, everyone downstairs heard and he showered me in water droplets and cat hair when he was firmly on the bathroom mat again. I might start closing the door from now on…

That’s it for this story! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I’m going to be posting some book reviews today as well so come back to read those if you are interested. Also, the kittens in the picture are not mine, I wasn’t able to post a photo of my kitten for safety reason but there are going to be photos on my instagram @the_blind_scribe if you want to see him!

Uncategorized

The Birthday List Bickers

March 7, 2021 theblindscribe

So.. if you don’t know my birthday is in March (I’m going to be 22! – That feels strange) and, as she does every year, my Mum asked me to write a birthday list. It takes me multiple days to write a list, one – because I have a lot of things to write on the list and two – because I have very few things to go on the list.
Meaning – I end up with a list of about 50 books (not even half the books that I ACTUALLY want) but the only thing on my list is books.
Every year my Mum and I have the same conversation “is that it?” “Mum, there’s like fifty books on it” “but it’s only books” “yes Mum, that’s all I want”.

This year I’ve branched out a bit, now don’t get too excited – I haven’t had a personality switch and asked for clothes or films or a garden patch (although I did very unrealistically ask for a greenhouse every Christmas between the ages of five and fifteen). I asked for a book cart. A green one, obviously because green is the best colour and the thing that is going to hold my most precious items (books – in case you hadn’t guessed) needs to be the best colour, in other words not one I’m going to get bored of anytime soon. There was a beautiful yellow one but my family acted like if I got that one they’d have to permanently wear sunglasses to enter the room it was in. It wasn’t that bright. I am looking forward to getting it, it’s sea green and it reminds me of the colour of the Little Mermaid’s tail. It is going to go next to where I sit in the living room and then all I have to do is just reach out my hand and grab a book! Easy Peasy! Much easier than having to climb up my bed (yes, I have to climb a ladder to get into my bed I usually imagine I’m scaling a castle wall don’t judge me.)
Fair warning, once I get my book cart it’s going to feature in pretty much all of my Instagram photos for the foreseeable future because I’m already in love with it and it hasn’t even arrived yet…

Has anyone else got a book cart? Also, I’d take a guess that the book cart is going to be as tall as me, maybe even taller… I’m a very short person and they look pretty big. That will be an interesting experience trying to push that around – like a tea trolley lady except you can’t see them behind the cart so it’s just like a voice without a body.

That’s it for today’s post I hope you all liked it! Comment and let me know if you like it, or if you didn’t, or if you just want to talk about books (or anything really) I’m always happy to talk and make friends!
My next post is going to be tomorrow, Monday, and it is going to be my first book review on the blog, come back tomorrow and check it out if you are interested.

Monthly TBRs, Uncategorized

March TBR

March 1, 2021March 3, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy 1^st of March. This year is going so fast!
So… last month’s reading was pretty poor but this month seems to be going better already. The 1^st of March and I read the first book on my TBR this morning and I must say it was an enjoyable read. I’ve given myself a huge TBR so hopefully I’ll make it through at least most of them before this month is out.

March is a great month, and not just because it’s got my birthday in it…. Okay that’s probably the main reason but also- there’s six of my highly anticipated books of 2021 coming out this month.
Exciting!
I’ll list them at the end of this post so if you’re interested in that keep reading until the end.

So, onto my TBR!

What A Way To Go by Julia Forster – I anticipate this being a three star for me
Uprooted by Naomi Novik – This could well be a four star, I’ve heard great things about it
The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige – I’m not sure if I will enjoy this book or not. I got it in an Illumicrate box and I know it has witches in it so fingers crossed I will enjoy it.
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman – does anybody else LOVE books about books? and libraries of course. This book should be right up my alley.
Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson – I do like a good murder mystery… maybe a four star.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – I have been putting off reading this book for over a year and I think it’s about time I read it.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow – I really enjoyed her first book the Ten Thousand Doors of January so hopefully this one will be the same amount of enjoyment if not more.
Nine Perfect Strangers by Lianne Moriarty – again, love a good murder mystery, and I heard that Luke Evans has been cast for a TV/film version of this book so that will be interesting.
The Map of Days by Ransom Riggs – I have all of the Miss Peregrines books and I cannot wait tog et back into that world.
The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo – I have actually read this at five am this morning and I rated it four stars. I will put up a book review of it very soon!
The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith – Libraries?! I’m there!
Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu – My friend bought me this because it sounded good so I am looking forward to seeing if I find it as good as it sounds.
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare – I have Chain of Iron on pre-order so I think it’s time I dive into this first book.
Finally, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer – okay I will admit it – this was definitely a cover buy but I am very interested in the story as well.

Releases march 2021:
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
Ravage the Dark by Tara Sim
The Queen’s Secret by Melissa De La Cruz
Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab

That’s it for my TBR of this month, let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought about them and at the end of March I will post a wrap up and see how well I did!

Monthly Wrap Ups, Uncategorized

February 2021 Wrap-Up!

March 1, 2021March 3, 2021 theblindscribe

We have reached the end of February. February was a very busy month for me.
I had appointments, University classes with issues about who was going to be teaching those classes when the original teacher missed four sessions and didn’t keep in contact…stressful. I started a new job in February! – Which I am enjoying. Also, I finished and sent off my application to study a PhD so fingers crossed I get onto that course.

Because of this it was a pretty terrible reading month for me, I mean I did get some reading done but not half as much as I would have liked. My goals for this blog are to (hopefully) post about four times a week and one will be a book review, so each week I should put up a new book review. Anyway, February’s TBR looked like this:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley – I did read
Magonia by Maria Daevana Headley – I did not read
A mood read that I never ended up choosing a book for…
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black – I did read
Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell – I started to read but did not have time to finish
The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone – I did not read
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena – I did read
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – I did not read
Furyborn by Claire LeGrand – I did not read
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I did not read
The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa De La Cruz – I did not read
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – I did not read

What I read: I only managed to read three of the books on my TBR this month which were: The Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena, The Guest List by Lucy Foley and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories. Book reviews for this will be coming shortly but I will say I did enjoy all of these books although none of them were five stars for me.

My favourite read of the month was How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, it was my first read of the month before my schedule got a little hectic and I spent a good couple of hours throwing myself into the collection of stories. I was very excited beforehand knowing that I got to go back to the world of Cardan and Jude and although I enjoyed the book, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Most disappointing reads: I was very surprised that my most disappointing read was the Guest List by Lucy Foley. I went into the book with very high expectations, I’d seen lots of people on Booktube and Bookstagram absolutely loving this book and I am always up for a good murder mystery, but the constantly changing POV’s and the way the book went left me feeling underwhelmed. As I said my book review for the Guest List will be going up soon if you are interested in hearing more of my thoughts on this book.

Current Reads: currently I am in between books and deciding which book off my March TBR to start reading later today!

On another note – who else is loving the snippet of Six of Crows in the Netflix Shadow and Bone trailer?!