Guest Post: Pandora Poikilos, Author of Frequent Traveller

I am so excited to welcome Pandora Poikilos, Author of Frequent Traveller, to Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf today. If you haven't checked out her book...follow the links at the bottom of the post!

Fame or Fortune - Which Would You Prefer?

By Pandora Poikilos

As I finished the imagery of Cathy Dixon's plush surroundings in Frequent Traveller, it was more than apparent that the adage "you'll never know the value of what you have until you don't have it anymore" is the pure truth. As much as we would like to avoid the complexities of loss, it is only through loss that we become rich. If I had to pick fame or fortune, I would pick fortune. But only the kind of fortune I am blessed with now, the kind that will keep you rich beyond your lifetime as you pay it forward. What am I on about? Here are a list of my fortunes.

My sight. I was diagnosed with IIH when it was found that I had double vision in my right eye. For weeks I was dazed, helpless and even clueless. Simple tasks such as reading and walking were a force to be reckoned with. These days even after a VP shunt my eyes are carefully monitored and is a treasure I can never put a price on.

My writing. Yes, I have a published book with number two on its way. While I look forward to making this work and to be successful, it is not the material that counts as much as the skill that is able to grow. And for this, I am grateful. Add to this a publisher and an editor who think of you as a person and not as another piece of paper they need to be done with, I am far richer than most writers I know.

My memories. It has been decades since my first article was published in a local paper and yet I know of only one person who has clippings of my early articles. It isn't the recognition that is the fortune, it is the thought that someone thinks your achievements count and allows you a sense of recollection. One of the famous kickbacks of IIH is that one can be prone to memory lapses. I have had several episodes where I have been barely able to remember where I live but to have the ability to hold on to your memories and have someone else nudge you along, that is yet another fortune.

People. I have been blessed with some of the worst characters the world can ever spit out. And yes, I say I am blessed to have met them because if I had not met them I would never understand the three great fortunes any other person can bring into my life and that is love, trust and acceptance. The sheer relief of hearing someone say, "it's ok to screw up, we'll love you anyway", that is a whole bankroll of fortune right there. These are the people you'll look upon and with absolute certainty smile in the knowledge that God does send angels to be with you.

And last but certainly not least, my biggest fortune is life. For everyday, I do not spend in a hospital, with a needle stuck into my spine or with the certainty that my shunt is about to fail and brain surgery will come knocking on my door again, I am rich in blessings and life.

I wish you all fortunes and blessings for years to come. Love and light.

Thank you so much Pandora for joining us today!  You are not only an inspiration but also a beacon of light....I can not agree more with the fact that we all need to take the time to appreciate the fortune that we have in our lives and pay it forward!

THE BOOK

Frequent Traveller

Catherine Dixon is everyone's dreamgirl. Girls want to be her. Men want to be with her. From her charming smile to her gentle voice, one always turns to take a second look at Cathy. Wherever she goes there isn't an ill-word spoken about her. Her job as Vice President of Communications at MoonStar, one of the world's top hotel chains is to make sure guests are happy to the point of perfection.

From the blue oceans of Antigua to the bustling streets of Vietnam, the racing adrenaline at the Green Hell, the devastating natural disaster in Japan and the stunning architecture in Germany, Cathy finds herself in a whirlwind of fine dining, plush clothes and sheer extravagance. But is perfection only a mask for untold disaster? In a job that deals so much with people, Cathy goes home to an empty bed. There are no pictures on her wall, no doting phone calls from a tongue tied lover and no family holidays to boast about.

What is Cathy's secret and how will her world change when the world knows? What is the significance of the blue pendant round her neck? Who is the mysterious man she is seen with every three months? What are the contents of the brown envelope delivered to her on the fifteenth of every month? Will her secrets ever catch up with her or will Cathy continue to sail alongside perfection in the world she has created for herself as a Frequent Traveller? 

Check it out here: GoodReads | Trailer
Buy it here:  Amazon 
Connect with Dora:  Her Blog | Her Website | Twitter| Facebook

Blog Tour Stop

In My Mailbox (16)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren to share whatever books and bookish goodies that you've bought, borrowed, won, or been gifted and have thus entered your home the previous week. You can show off books that you are excited about and it's also a great opportunity to showcase books that you may not actually have the time to read or review.

Added to my Bookshelf for Pleasure:

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have)

 

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Personalized and autographed copy of The Witch and The Devil's Son

Magic comes in all forms. 

Sixteen year-old Melody Blackstone is a witch. And in the Christian community of Welbourne, Kansas, she’s as welcome as The Devil. 

When she meets newcomer Van Masterson—intelligent, charismatic, but an outcast like herself—she’s dangerously drawn to him, unaware of his dark past and what wickedness he’s planning. 

Soon after his arrival, Melody struggles to understand why she sees little black imps, has visions of a graveyard interloper, and hears the whispers of someone else’s thoughts. A visit from her dead father leaves her with even more questions. 

Spells, incantations, rituals and a group of lost souls raising hell, stir up the quiet town. And the outraged residents of Welbourne are quick to point the finger at the Witches of Blackstone Farm. 

Even as Melody begins falling in love with Van, she’s forced to accept the critical role she plays in his objective—to become the Devil’s son, limitless in what his evil powers can do.

ARC of Other Waters: A Novel

Maya is an accomplished psychiatry resident with a terrific boyfriend, loving family, and bustling New York social life. When her grandmother dies in India, a family squabble over property results in a curse that drifts across continents and threatens Maya's life. Or so her father says-- Maya (being a modern woman, an American, and a doctor, for goodness' sake) doesn't believe in curses, Brahman, or otherwise. But when her father suffers a heart attack, her sister miscarries, and her career and relationship both start to falter, Maya starts to worry. A trip back to India with her best friend Heidi, Maya reasons, will be just what's needed to remove the curse, save her family, and to put her own life back in order. Thus begins a journey into Maya's parallel world-- an India filled with loving and annoying relatives, vivid colors, and superstitious customs--a cross-cultural, transcontinental search to for a chance to find real love.

Skeleton Letters (Scrapbooking Mystery)

Is nothing sacred? The last thing Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava expected to bear witness to in St. Tristan's Church was a crime. But now a beloved member of their scrapbooking circle lies lifeless next to a smashed statue of St. Sebastien-and a mysterious hooded figure has absconded with an antique crucifix. 

As Carmela and Ava are drawn deeper into New Orleans' French Quarter in search of the missing crucifix, they may need the help of more than a few patron saints. Because this is one killer they don't want to cross...

Sins of the Angels

 

A detective with a secret lineage. An undercover Hunter with a bullet-proof soul. And a world made to pay for the sins of an angel… Homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis answers to no one. Especially not to the new partner assigned to her in the middle of a gruesome serial killer case—a partner who is obstructive, irritatingly magnetic, and arrogant as hell. 

Aramael is a Power—a hunter of the Fallen Angels. A millennium ago, he sentenced his own brother to eternal exile for crimes against humanity. Now his brother is back and wreaking murderous havoc in the mortal realm. To find him, Aramael must play second to a human police officer who wants nothing to do with him and whose very bloodline threatens both his mission and his soul. 

Now, faced with a fallen angel hell-bent on triggering the apocalypse, Alex and Aramael have no choice but to join forces, because only together can they stop the end of days.

ARC of A Lady Awakened

 Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate and beloved servants from her malevolent brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. After all, if she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking all she knows of propriety, Martha approaches her neighbor, a London exile with a wicked reputation, and offers a strictly business proposition: a month of illicit interludes . . . for a fee. 

Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. Should be appalled. But how can he resist this siren in widow’s weeds, whose offer is simply too outrageously tempting to decline? Determined she’ll get her money’s worth, Theo endeavors to awaken this shamefully neglected beauty to the pleasures of the flesh—only to find her dead set against taking any enjoyment in the scandalous bargain. Surely she can’t resist him forever. But could a lady’s sweet surrender open their hearts to the most unexpected arrival of all . . . love?

One Island, One Ocean: The Epic Environmental Journey Around the Americas

On May 31, 2009, a committed team of sailors, scientists, teachers and conservationists joined forces on a voyage that was vast in scope and ambition but launched under the simplest of ideas: The continents of North and South America are a single island, surrounded by a shared ocean, and with a common set of challenges, communities, issues, and solutions. To put it in the simplest terms, we creatures of the land are utterly dependent on the sea around us, and we’d better take care of it, or it won’t take care of us. This book tells the story of that amazing adventure, and sounds a call to action for everyone who loves this planet.

In a journey that took 13 months, the Ocean Watch circumnavigated the Americas, documenting the beauty that exists, the peoples who rely on our oceans, and the changes that are happening all too fast.

Added to my Bookshelf for Review:

By Fire, By Water

Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada grows, so does the brutality of the Spanish church and the suspicion and paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s demise brings the violence close to home, Santángel is enraged and takes retribution into his own hands.  But he is from a family of conversos, and his Jewish heritage makes him an easy target. As Santángel witnesses the horrific persecution of his loved ones, he begins slowly to reconnect with the Jewish faith his family left behind. Feeding his curiosity about his past is his growing love for Judith Migdal, a clever and beautiful Jewish woman navigating the mounting tensions in Granada. While he struggles to decide what his reputation is worth and what he can sacrifice, one man offers him a chance he thought he’d lost…the chance to hope for a better world. Christopher Columbus has plans to discover a route to paradise, and only Luis de Santángel can help him. 

   Within the dramatic story lies a subtle, insightful examination of the crisis of faith at the heart of the Spanish Inquisition. Irresolvable conflict rages within the conversos in By Fire, By Water, torn between the religion they left behind and the conversion meant to ensure their safety. In this story of love, God, faith, and torture, fifteenth-century Spain comes to dazzling, engrossing life.

Added to my nook for Pleasure:

Entangled	Witch Way	Sweet Inspiration
Sweet Magik	The Magi	Christmas at Harrington's
Clues to Christie: The Definitive Guide	Honor Bound	Child of the Mist

Added to my nook For Review:

Enchanted Again

Marian's Christmas Wish

Head Over Heels (A Lucky Harbor Novel)

Another great week for me...I am so thankful for the amazing ARCS and winning Sweet Inspiration and Sweet Magik which look like they will be great fun holiday romances!  I'm also thrilled to have gotten the personalized and autographed copy of The Witch and The Devil's Son as a prize for helping to pick the new cover!

  And as usual...I downloaded way too many free e-books!!! 

Guest Post: Barbara Ehrentreu, Author of If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor

Today, I am pleased to welcome Barbara Ehrentreu Author of If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, to Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf. 

Thank you for inviting me, Melissa. We have all gone through high school and know the kinds of things you can encounter there. Add to this the joys of being an adolescent when your body is changing daily and you have the experience of a typical high school student. However, sometimes a student wants desperately to be popular and will do almost anything to get there. Add to this the fact that this student has been the brunt of the girl  who is the most popular. What if this same popular girl has a deep, dark secret that will stop her chances of being an Olympic hopeful? Carolyn Samuels on the first day of her freshman year in high school finds she cannot escape her enemy, the perfect and popular Jennifer Taylor. She figures the year will be a rerun of middle school when Jennifer taunted her every day for her breathing problem. Then an event changes everything. She finds that perfect Jennifer isn't so perfect after all. Jennifer has been bullying her and now she has a way to stop it once and for all. 

Bullying is a subject that is now being addressed by many schools. It has many forms and doesn't need to be physical. There is emotional bullying that is relentless and hurtful. Such is the case with Carolyn and Jennifer. Carolyn is taunted by Jennifer, who repeats the phrase, "Breathe, Carolyn, breathe." Carolyn never knows when Jennifer will say it to her and soon it becomes intolerable. Carolyn never says anything to anyone but her friends, Becky and Janie. But the bullying takes its toll and the first day of school finds Carolyn unable to get out of bed for fear of facing Jennifer Taylor. Bullying can sap a student of their joy and will to live and in some cases it has been fatal. Students have been bullied both in school and out of school  on social media like Facebook and a few have not been able to live with it. Being adolescents they didn't tell anyone and instead took their own lives. 

When I wrote this novel, I did not have the topic of bullying in mind, but as I thought about it I realized that my character had been bullied in middle school. So why does she want to be like this bully, Jennifer Taylor? What causes Carolyn to become friends with Jennifer and what does she learn? Now add into the mix Carolyn's crush on Brad Morrow, the hot Junior quarterback, who is of course, Jennifer's boyfriend. Yearning for Brad, Carolyn stumbles into a kind of friendship with Jennifer. The book is all about holding secrets and being popular. What will someone do to become popular and when is it not okay to keep a secret? 

For readers and teachers I have a guide on my blog:

http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/

THE BOOK

If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor

Blurb:

Carolyn Samuels is obsessed with the idea of being popular. She is convinced that the only thing keeping her from happiness is her too heavy for fashion body and not being a cheerleader. Hyperventilating when she gets nervous doesn’t help. When she is paired for a math project with the girl who tormented her in middle school, Jennifer Taylor, she is sure it is going to be another year of pain. With Carolyn’s crush on Jennifer’s hunky junior quarterback, Brad her freshman year in high school looks like a rerun of middle school. When Jennifer is the only student who knows why she fell in gym class, Carolyn is blackmailed into doing her math homework in return for Jennifer’s silence. Jennifer takes on Carolyn as a pity project since she can’t be seen with someone who dresses in jeans and sweatshirts. When Jennifer invites Carolyn to spend the night to make her over and teach her to tumble, Carolyn learns Jennifer’s secret and lies to her own friends to cover it up. Will Carolyn become a cheerleader and popular? Does she continue to keep Jennifer’s secret? Or will she be a target of this mean girl again?

Excerpt:

Feeling my old hatred of gym, I glance across the locker room and see Jennifer in red designer shorts and a tight sleeveless shirt to match. She's standing in front of the only mirror in the room turning back and forth.

Becky and I slide into our loose camp shorts and a T-shirt, and once they're on, we race onto the gym floor. Always better to be early for gym the first day.  You never knew what kind of teacher you'd have. My athletic ability is zero, so I don’t take chances. Once I was a few minutes late, and the gym teacher in middle school made me run around the gym ten times. It took me the whole gym period.

Becky and I sit on the low seats in the bleachers, but Jennifer and her group saunter into the gym and choose the highest seats avoiding the rest of us. Miss Gaylon, the gym teacher introduces herself and gives us a few minutes until the last stragglers come from the locker room.  For those few minutes, I almost feel comfortable. My breathing returns to normal. I hear giggles from Jennifer and her group, but I ignore it.

"Maybe it won't be so bad this year, Carolyn." Becky always tries to cheer me up now. This wasn’t true a few years ago. I had to cheer her up a lot. Becky’s brothers are just turning five, and they’re both in kindergarten. Her mom remarried after being divorced for ten years. Becky was just getting used to her new stepfather when her mom got pregnant. I remember how miserable Becky was the first year of middle school when her mom spent so much time with her twin brothers and didn’t have enough time to help Becky with her homework. Luckily, Becky’s stepfather is a history teacher, so she got very interested in history and current events.

"Right, Becky, and maybe I'll learn to be a gymnast in ten minutes. Reality check, remember last year?"

"Okay, I'm hoping it won't be so bad."

"You mean like the dentist finding you only have one cavity and filling it the same day?"

"You’re so lame, Carolyn. Since we're all older, maybe she'll treat us differently. People change over the summer you know."

"Look at her, Becky."

Becky turns to look over at the group at the top of the bleachers and then turns back to look me in the eye. “You know you have to put that stupid day behind you.”

I pretend not to know what she’s talking about. “What stupid day?”

Like I don’t remember every detail.

“The zip line day.”

“Oh, that day,” I say with a combination grimace and smile. “The day I wound up having to climb off the platform. I wanted to bore a hole into the ground so I wouldn’t have to walk past them but couldn’t, and everyone screamed at me: ‘Breathe, Carolyn, breathe.’”

“You have to admit it was funny the way the gym teacher ran up the ladder like a squirrel to rescue you. Everyone laughed at how stupid she looked. Jennifer got the whole class going with that ridiculous ‘breathe, Carolyn, breathe.’” Becky looks behind her to Jennifer. “You know I wanted to run over and punch her, but I couldn’t because I was still on the platform, and it was my turn to go.”

“Yeah, if I had a few more minutes, I would have been able to get up the courage to grip the zip line and hook myself to it. Stupid teacher didn’t give me a chance. This not breathing thing when I get nervous really sucks.”

Becky nods because she knows me so well.

“So then Jennifer started with that horrible chant, and of course, the whole class followed her, like always.” My eyes fill with tears as I remember, and my breathing is getting worse by the minute.

“I thought it was a dumb idea to do ropes course stuff in school. We did it at my camp the summer before, and no one was forced to do it. Anyone could get nervous with Jennifer in front of them,” Becky comforts me.

I continue talking as if I’m in a trance. “Remember how last year whenever I ran into Jennifer she would whisper ‘breathe, Carolyn, breathe,’ so no one could hear it except me. Once she did it just before I had to go up in front of the class in math.   Sometimes she would do it in front of everyone and, of course, get a big laugh while I wanted to turn into a piece of furniture.”

Becky grabs my arm.  “Do we have to go back over this again? You need to forget about it.” She takes her hand away from my arm as I continue to speak.

“Becky, I can’t. The thing is it’s this bad movie in my brain looping the same horrible scenes. The funny thing is, most of the time, she would ignore me. I would never know what she was going to do. You have to admire someone so single-minded she managed to get to me at just the right time.

You remember don’t you? And today did you see how she wore the same outfit as me? It’s spooky.”

My funny breathing returns as Miss Gaylon tells us to line up on the yellow line alphabetically. I hope there will be someone to go between Jennifer and me. No luck. Jennifer is going to be behind me all year. I hold my breath. I couldn't stand more of the same this year. I pray for the day to end soon. A glance at my new watch shows me fifteen more minutes left of the period. Is Miss Gaylon's voice getting lower?  What is that pounding in my ears?

Jennifer turns to face me, and I hear, "Breathe, Carolyn, breathe.” Then my world turns black.

Check it out here: GoodReads
Buy it here:  Amazon | BN | Smashwords

About the Author

Bio:
Barbara, a retired teacher with a Masters degree in Reading and Writing K-12 and seventeen years of teaching experience lives with her family in Stamford, Connecticut. When she received her Masters degree she began writing seriously. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, Barbara’s first YA novel,was inspired by  Paula Danziger. Barbara is a NY Literature Examiner for Examiner.com with several articles for them. Her blog, Barbara’s Meanderings, http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/, is networked on both Facebook and Blog Catalog. She hosts Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio every 4th Thursday. In addition, her children's story, “The Trouble with Follow the Leader” and an adult story, “Out on a Ledge” are published online She writes book reviews for Authorlink.com. and several of her reviews have been on Acewriters and Celebrity Café. She is a member of SCBWI. Writing is her life!  


Connect with Barbara:  Her Blog | Twitter| Facebook

Blog Tour Stop

Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop

The hosts for this hop are Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer &  Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy.  The dates: December 2nd through December 6th. There are lots of blogs participating and each has their own entry rules and geographic limits, so be sure to read the rules for each one. 

Up for grabs at this stop is a brand new hardcover copy of Carolly Erickson's The Favored Queen:

Summary from Goodreads:

Born into an ambitious noble family, young Jane Seymour is sent to Court as a Maid of Honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s aging queen. She is devoted to her mistress and watches with empathy as the calculating Anne Boleyn contrives to supplant her as queen. Anne’s single-minded intriguing threatens all who stand in her way; she does not hesitate to arrange the murder of a woman who knows a secret so dark that, if revealed, would make it impossible for the king to marry Anne.  


Once Anne becomes queen, no one at court is safe, and Jane herself becomes the object of Anne’s venomous rage when she suspects Jane has become the object of the king’s lust. Henry, fearing that Anne’s inability to give him a son is a sign of divine wrath, asks Jane to become his next queen. Deeply reluctant to embark on such a dangerous course, Jane must choose between her heart and her loyalty to the king.


Acclaimed biographer and bestselling novelist Carolly Erickson weaves another of her irresistible historical entertainments about the queen who finally gave Henry VIII his longed for heir, set against the excitement and danger of the Tudor Court.

How to win:

• How to enter:
  1. You must use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter this giveaway.
  2. You must follow via GFC for the initial entry.  Additional options may be chosen for extra entries. You may choose one option or all options of the extra options. Each option is worth one entry into the giveaway.
  3. For each option you choose to enter with, click on “CLICK FOR INSTRUCTIONS” FIRST, follow the instructions, then click on “I DID THIS” and fill out the required information.
  4. The giveaway ends on Dec 6th at 11:59pm EST.
  5. At the conclusion of the giveaway, I will verify all entries.
  6. Once the verification process is complete, I will use the Rafflecopter widget to select the winnes and contact her/him.
  7. The winnes will have 48 hours from the notification email to respond with her/his full name and mailing address. If I do not receive a response, the prize will be forfeited and another winner will be selected. Please be sure to check your spam filters!
  8.  This Contest is for US addresses only!

 Please make sure that you have read my Giveaway and Privacy Policies Here

Have fun and visit all of the Other Participating Blogs!

Cat Thursday (7)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s) and then link up at the host's site: The True Book Addict.  It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy!

Piper snoozing on his Comfy Blanket!

Wishlist Wednesday / On My Wishlist–The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop hosted by Pen to Paper where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Summary from GoodReads:

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals. 

  

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side. 

  

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

My Thoughts:

This may be sad but I have a feeling that it will be so worth it…