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February 19, 2018

My Sweet Friend By Helene Andrea Leuschel

My Sweet Friend by H.A. Leuschel Blog Tour


Publication Date: December 6, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/ Women's Fiction

Synopsis:

A stand-alone novella from the author of Manipulated Lives
A perfect friend … or a perfect impostor?
Alexa is an energetic and charismatic professional and the new member of a Parisian PR company where she quickly befriends her colleagues Rosie and Jack. She brings a much-needed breath of fresh air into the office and ambitiously throws herself into her new job and friendships.
But is Alexa all she claims to be?
As her life intertwines with Rosie and Jack’s, they must all decide what separates truth from fiction. Will the stories that unfold unite or divide them? Can first impressions ever be trusted?
In this original novella, H.A. Leuschel evokes the powerful hold of appearances and what a person is prepared to do to keep up the facade. If you like thought-provoking and compelling reads with intriguing characters, My Sweet Friend is for you.





MY SWEET FRIEND by H.A. Leuschel


Hello and thank you very much for inviting me to …
Lying is a symptom shared by the most convincing, cunning and ruthless individuals such as psychopaths and narcissistic manipulators. They have an invincible sense of self-importance and an addictive urge to project an image of power and perfection at all cost which are fuelled by the rewarding tools of charm, diversion and … clever deception. Like anything in life, whether the skill is morally laudable or not, skills require training, effort and hard work. The danger lies in the brain progressively adapting to the dishonest behaviour and the longer the lies, the harder it would seem to be able to change the conditioning of one’s sensitivity to telling the truth. The truth and nothing but the truth or at the very least the intention to do so most of the time therefore appears to be a basic requirement for any interpersonal trust. In my new stand-alone novella, I explore the idea that when crossing the line between truth or lie too often, it becomes a curse the person is eventually unable to shed …

Excerpt

I was brushing my teeth the next morning when Alexa called, crying over another nasty phone call from her ex. I was running late as it was but was unable to stop her barrage of insults against a man I didn’t even know the name of. ‘He’s driving me absolutely insane. I’ve really had enough,’ I heard her shout, the heels of her shoes clicking on the pavement. She was clearly on her way to work while I was only slipping my feet into my shoes. It had been her second frantic call that morning. ‘Listen. Alexa, calm down. I understand you’re upset but I’ll be late if you don’t stop.’ ‘I’m there for you when you need me but when I’m the one in need for once, you fob me off. Great, really nice, thanks.’ She hung up, leaving me in an angry sweat. I was her polar opposite - organized and calm - but lately I felt out of kilter myself. I’d missed out on seeing my mum because, for one reason or another, Alexa managed to ambush my attention. When I eventually rushed through the office door, Alexa was looking up at me indifferently, in deep conversation with Jack, who tapped his watch with pursed lips and raised eyebrows. I lowered my eyes, my stomach heaving with repressed fury. Alexa had crawled under my skin yet I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why and how it had all come about. I hid in the ladies’ toilets, panic rising to my throat, and utterly lost for words. I realised that if it had been Alexa running off, I’d have made sure I was giving her moral support, coaxing her back to work. Where was she now that I needed her? Was I getting hysterical, losing the plot?




Purchase My Sweet Friend Here: https://books2read.com/u/4AwM6d

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

Giveaway:
Enter for your chance to win a digital copy (Format of Choice) of My Sweet Friend

About the Author
Helene Andrea Leuschel grew up in Belgium where she gained a Licentiate in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. When she is not writing, Helene works as a freelance journalist and teaches yoga.








Tour Organized By:

http://www.rrbooktours.com


For more reviews, check out these blogs:



Feb. 19th
Reads & Reels (Feature Promo) http://www.readsandreels.com
Brizzle Lass Books (Excerpt) https://brizzlelassbooks.com
The Repeat Mom (Review) http://Thethreepeatmom.blogspot.com
Sinfully Wicked Reviews (Review) https://sinfullywickedbookreviews.wordpress.com
Nesie’s Place (Review) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com
Jill’s Book Blog (Review) https://jilljemmett.com
Feb. 20th
Books and Belle (Excerpt) https://booksandbelleblog.wordpress.com
Beware the Reader (Excerpt) http://bewareofthereader.com
Jenacidebybibliophile (Review) https://jenacidebybibliophile.com
Darque Dreamer Reads (Review) https://darquedreamerreads.wordpress.com
Cover to Cover (Excerpt) http://www.liisthinks.wordpress.com
Feb. 21st
Girl Masked (Review) http://girlmasked.wordpress.com
Didi Oviatt (Excerpt) https://didioviatt.wordpress.com
Book Reviews by Shalini (Excerpt) www.bookreviewsbyshalini.wordpress.com
The Starving Book Worm (Review) http://thestarvingbookworm.wordpress.com
Tranquil Dreams (Review) http://klling.wordpress.com
Feb. 22nd
Splashes Into Books (Review) http://splashesintobooks.wordpress.com
Kristin’s Novel Café (Review) https://knovelcafe.wordpress.com
The Bookworm Chronicles (Excerpt) https://www.muretbookworm.wordpress.com
Feb. 23rd
The Orangutan Librarian (Review) https://theorangutanlibrarian.wordpress.com
On the Shelf Book Reviews (Excerpt) https://ontheshelfreviews.wordpress.com
Love Books Group (Review) http://lovebooksgroup.blog/
Just 4 My Books (Review) https://just4mybooks.wordpress.com


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February 12, 2018

Blog Tour: The Shadow Girl by Misty Mount






Genre: YA/ Fantasy/ Coming of Age
Publication Date: December 28, 2017

 My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis:

Shy, thirteen-year-old Zylia has always known she was different. Most teenagers feel unnoticed and unseen, but for Zylia, it's something much worse. She's disappearing from this world and doesn't know how to stop it. At times, she's not sure she wants to. Until she stumbles across a family mystery surrounding the disappearance of her great-aunt Angelica years earlier. During her quest to unravel the mystery, Zylia discovers she's able to cross the boundary and enter the "in between" world. Now, it's up to Zylia to save herself before she's trapped "in between" forever.

Quote Selections

“I have always known that I am invisible—I had no idea that eventually I would fade away completely."

“Blackness. Nothingness. It was in the shape of a giant, hazy shadow, enveloping me, swallowing me, and digesting me into the unknown. It was my biggest fear and my ultimate fate.”

“As the freezing rain hit me, I could feel the stares...smoldering on my skin. I longed for invisibility. At times like this, the very curse that plagued me was also my protection.”

“...in school I felt more undetectable than ever. I walked through the crowded hallways like a human pinball, careening off one person and bouncing into another.”


Excerpt #1

“I did my best to fight and claw my way back to the life I once knew, but panic had taken over and colors were swirling and fading all around me. It was all turning into a great cloud of blackness, just like the one I had seen in my dream. The looming cloud of nothingness I had feared for so long was finally grabbing me, wiping my world dark and blank.


The darkness was thick and intense, an inky void that stretched to eternity in every direction. Eventually, my panic burnt itself out and I simply stayed there in the dark, feeling as if someone had drained my adrenal glands. I was no longer responding to the dark with fear, but acceptance. In fact, curiosity was beginning to take over.

The longer I let myself stare into it, the less dark it appeared. After some time, I realized that it was all different shades of murky black and foggy gray overlapping and undulating, just out of focus. I blinked mentally and suddenly she was there, standing above me with concern etched in sooty-colored lines on her monochromatic face.”

Excerpt #2

“Grandmother looked up just then, staring right into my face with those unblinking, birdlike eyes, and said, “Angelica, is that you?”


I tried to answer her, but my mouth wouldn’t even open. Besides, what would I have said if my voice were to have worked?

“Answer me, you. Why are you always hiding from me?” She was peering so intently that the beam of her vision was surely searing my skin.

The feeling of being watched had always been a phobia of mine, the curse of someone who is used to being invisible. Icy terror washed over me, although I wasn’t sure why. I was only sitting in the cabinetry, but if I hadn’t known any better, it felt like I was being caught in the act of murder, knowing my punishment would be the end of my freedom and life."

Purchase Links:
About the Author

Misty Mount has written since age five and was first published at fourteen. By day she’s a caregiver, wife, and mother to a young son but during the quiet hours of night she becomes a novelist. She resides in Wichita, Kansas.

@MistyAMount


Giveaway: 1 print copy of The Shadow Girl and 2 digital copies
*Print copy is available to North American residents only

 a Rafflecopter giveaway



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February 2, 2018

Date Nights That Include The Kids


Finding a babysitter for Valentine's dates can be tough to do. They do have lives after all. This can be fun, though. As a stay at home mom with three babies, I am hear to tell you, I know it's not easy. The fact that I have three girls brings ideas to me on how I can wisely use this time, though.

What girl doesn't want to be spoiled? I know I do! This is the perfect chance to show my babies how women should be treated on a date. If you have boys, this is a great chance for daddy to teach them how to treat a woman. My husband and I don't have much money to spend on a babysitter right now. Plus, I have a hard time trusting people I don't know with my kids. This is becoming an opportunity to test that feeling.

 We usually ask someone in the family to watch them for us, but since our move over 300 miles away from them has put a damper on that, we get to include our kids on our nights out.

It is hard to find the right places to take a family in a new city. Some restaurants aren't very kid friendly. Sadly, most of them here are this way. We have found a few with great service, though. We are figuring it out. I love taking my kids with us on dates.

I wanted to share a few dates you can go on when you have to include your kids. Some of these dates can happen without your kids, too. If you have any other ideas that I haven't included, please feel free to share them in the comments below so we can gain some perspective from you!


 1. Have a Picnic in the park.

I love doing this with or without the kids. Go get take out or pack all of your favorites. Take a blanket to sit on of course. It's peaceful and relaxing. The girls can play while me and the hubby watch and talk to each other without little ears. We like to take a stroll around the area. We do play with the girls, but we also get a few minutes to ourselves, too.

2. Visit a Museum.

 Some museums even have a children's exhibit. Some have live music or local art shows to support their community. We recently went to an art museum for a class assignment that I had and the girls loved it. My 7 year old was so into the Greek and Roman art work and even carried around the audio stick. She is just like her momma, lol. I had no idea how they were going to behave, but to my surprise it was great. We went and had lunch afterward at a restaurant of their choosing.

3. Go to the Movies.

 My girls love the superhero movies. So, choosing a movie isn't hard considering there is a new one ever couple of months. They would rather watch Avengers than go see a cartoon like Trolls. We used to go to a Drive-In Theater and curl up in the trunk of the SUV, but since we moved there aren't any close enough. They behave pretty well inside, too. We order our food and they are content. It helps with the newer theaters offering more than nachos and popcorn.

4. Hit the alley.

 The bowling alley, that is. We could spend all night having friendly competition. Bonus, the girls actually listen to "ROLL THE BALL" for once, lol. If you have friends with kids, invite them along. Get two lanes and let the kids use one while the adults use the other. We did this a lot when I was a kid. We went on Saturday night to Cosmic bowl. We had a blast dancing to the loud music in the dark and bowling. My parents loved it, too. Like pizza was a Friday night ritual, Cosmic Bowling became a Saturday night ritual.

5. Go golfing.

 Of course, I mean putt-putt golfing. This was another childhood favorite of mine. We rode the Go-Karts, played Laser-Tag, and putted to our hearts content. My girls love it, too. They get to choose what color putter they have and the matching ball. We never cared about score, either. It was all about getting it in to the hole. We would even try to block each others shots, lol.

6. Have a Party.

 This another one you could include your friends with kids in, also. Spend the afternoon making decorations to hang up around the house. Have dinner and bake special treats together. After eating, turn on some music and have a dance party. I actually did stuff like this with a family I babysat for during my early years in college. The mother had been kind enough to invite me to help out. I still do this during all of our favorite holidays with my kids.

7. Go out to eat.

 Take your kids to a nice restaurant. This is a great opportunity to teach them table manners and how they should be treated on a date. Get them dressed up nice like you do for a date. "Dress to impress," I've been told. Teach them how a man opens the door for a woman, he pays for the meal, he knocks on the door when picking up his date (My parents weren't the only ones who hated when my boyfriend came to pick me up and just honked the horn when he arrived. I sent him on his way.) Teach them what it means to be polite. There are a ton of teaching opportunities here.

8. Create.

Stay home. Get out the craft supplies. Let your kids create Valentine's for their favorite people. Make some for your favorite people. Learn how to make paper roses together and share them with a loved one. During our first years together my husband gave me a bouquet of roses with a fake one involved and told me, "I'll love you til the last petal falls." Romantic!

Now, remember, you can do these without kids, too. It is important to have some time to yourselves. But if you are stuck like I am, these are great ideas. Dates don't have to be romantic, they can be childish and fun, too. That's how my flame reignites.

People that know me know that I tend to be serious ALL THE TIME! Doing things like these helps me to let my guard down and relax. I sometimes forget what it's like to have fun. I get too busy adulting. Dating takes that pressure off.

Now, it's your turn. Add your ideas into the comments! Tell me what you think. What do you do with your significant other or the kids. I WANT TO KNOW!

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