Wednesday, December 31, 2014
New Years Reading Resolutions...goals
This year was a great reading year for me. My goal for the year was to read 52 books, which is about a book a week. I ended up reading 86 books. I was very surprised by how much I had read. Looking at the last couple of years I find that I read a lot more when I have a goal. I have made reading more of a priority since it calms me and I enjoy it. I have also tried to stretch myself as a reader. I did a couple of reading challenges to help me select books that I would not typically pick up. So for 2015 there are some things I want to focus on as a reader.
1. Podcasts: I started listening to book podcasts this year and it really helped me get book recommendations and stay on top of any book news. So I want to continue listening to those.
2.Reading Goal: I want to read 52 books this year. While this is the same goal as 2014, I feel like one book a week is a realistic goal for me. I don't want to get to ambitious and stress myself out. This is a goal that makes it fun for me.
3. Book Tube: I would like to make more book tube videos. I think I need to wait till I get a better camera or at least figure out how to make better videos with the technology I have. So that is going to be something I will be working on this year.
4. Blog: I want to make sure I update my blog and website every week. So making the effort to write entries and become more consistent in my posting.
5. New books: I want to continue to stretch myself as a reader. I would like to read more books that I would not typically pick up. So I am thinking about what I am picking up and what I want to read.
6. I am also going to try not to buy as many books this year. I am going to use the library and set specific times to put in a book order to curb the book buying. I also have a subscription to Oyster so I can use that to read a large variety of books. So that is a goal I will be documenting as the year progresses.
So those are my goals for 2015 and I will be documenting my progress through the whole thing. Have a great New Year!!!
Friday, December 19, 2014
Nellie by Cynthia Woolf
Hello! I am very glad to be apart of Black Lion's blog tour! Below is all the information on the book including a synopsis. I really enjoyed this book. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I have not read many books set in the this time period so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I loved the characters and you could really feel for their struggles and see them grow through the story. I actually wished the book was a bit longer so I could read more about these charming characters. She creates a fantastic world for her characters. I am hoping to get more of a feel for the setting of San Francisco and the atmosphere these characters reside in in the next installments of this series. This is the first in a series of books, which I love when I can look forward to more books in a series.
I enjoyed this author's way of story telling and writing. It was very easy to picture the events and feel for the characters. I thought this was a wonderfully romantic story and had a good plot. The plot moved quickly and was interesting from the very beginning. I can't wait for the next book in this series to see if we get glimpses of Nellie and her family and had to the rich world she is creating.
Book information:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Nellie (The Brides of San Francisco I)
by Cynthia Woolf
Quick Facts
Release
Date: November, 2014
Genre: Historical Romance. Western
Formats to buy: Paperbacks and all ebook
formats
Book Synopsis
Nellie Wallace is a young widow with two children. In post civil-war New York, the men are scarce
and none want the burden of a wife with children. Her dead husband's family is wealthy, and
cruel. Desperate to escape their influence, and eager for a home, a husband, and a stable life for
her children, Nellie decides to make a new life in San Francisco as a mail order bride.
Saloon owner Blake Malone is a bachelor and likes it that way. He worked hard for everything he
has, but the San Francisco City Council won’t approve his plans to build a family emporium unless
he is a family man himself. The solution? A mail order bride from New York who will bring him a
ready-made family, stability, and the council's approval.
Blake expects his future wife to care for his home and, other than helping him impress the city
council, to stay out of his business. He expects life as usual. What he gets is an unexpected desire
to win Nellie's heart, a dangerous threat to his new bride, and a rich benefactor determined to
steal his new family out from under him. Blake believed his battle for success a hard one.
But he will discover that the battle to win Nellie's heart and keep his family safe is going to take
everything he's got.
Nellie Wallace is a young widow with two children. In post civil-war New York, the men are scarce
and none want the burden of a wife with children. Her dead husband's family is wealthy, and
cruel. Desperate to escape their influence, and eager for a home, a husband, and a stable life for
her children, Nellie decides to make a new life in San Francisco as a mail order bride.
Saloon owner Blake Malone is a bachelor and likes it that way. He worked hard for everything he
has, but the San Francisco City Council won’t approve his plans to build a family emporium unless
he is a family man himself. The solution? A mail order bride from New York who will bring him a
ready-made family, stability, and the council's approval.
Blake expects his future wife to care for his home and, other than helping him impress the city
council, to stay out of his business. He expects life as usual. What he gets is an unexpected desire
to win Nellie's heart, a dangerous threat to his new bride, and a rich benefactor determined to
steal his new family out from under him. Blake believed his battle for success a hard one.
But he will discover that the battle to win Nellie's heart and keep his family safe is going to take
everything he's got.
Excerpt:
PROLOGUE
April 28, 1865
RAP! RAP! RAP!If only she could fix her problems with a needle and thread she’d be set. Nellie looked up from the socks she was darning toward the knocking on the front door.Who could that be? She set aside the socks, straightened her dress, checked her reflection in the mirror on the wall in the hall, patted her blond hair back into place and then answered the door.“Mrs. Robert Wallace?” asked the soldier in dress uniform who stood at attention on her front porch.Oh, God. No. Please. No. “Yes,” she said, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. “I…I’m Mrs. Wallace.”The young soldier handed her an envelope. “I regret to have to inform you that Lieutenant Robert Wallace was killed at the Battle of Appomattox on April 8, 1865. I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Wallace.”Nellie didn’t know what to say over the lump in her throat. She always knew this could happen—from the first moment Robert joined, to his last farewell eight months before Violet was born.“I, uh, thank you, Officer…”“Black, ma’am. Sergeant Black.”“Thank you for letting me know, Sergeant.” Her grip tightened on the door knob. “I…I have to sit down now.”“Of course, ma’am. Do you need help?”Nellie shook her head. “No. Thank you. I’ll be alright.”The man saluted her, turned and walked down the sidewalk to the waiting carriage.How many of these calls did he have to make today? Was I the only one? I doubt it. Not in a city the size of New York.She closed the door and leaned against the wall next to it, her legs no longer able to support her, she slid to the floor. Tears left salty trails on her face, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember crying. Screaming, cursing God, yes, but crying, no. Even though our marriage wasn’t what I’d dreamed it could have been when I was a child, I shall miss him. He had his good side, he was funny and could make her laugh. He was gentle every where except…no I will not think about that now. I endured and have two beautiful children.How am I to tell Henry his father is dead? Violet was just a baby and didn’t know her daddy but Henry… Her son missed his father something fierce. Robert had doted on Henry. They spent so much time together that Henry cried for days when his father left the last time. And now I have to tell him his father is never coming home. How do I do that?She wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands, took the hanky from her apron pocket and blew her nose. No need to put it off. The task would be difficult enough, without waiting and making it harder. Perhaps she and Henry could grieve together. In any case, she needed to be strong for her son and daughter. She was all they had now.Taking a deep breath, she mounted the stairs to the play room and her children.
Get to know the author:
Cynthia Woolf is the award winning and best-selling author of ten
historical western romance books, one short story, and one novella in the
anthology Lost in a Kiss, with more books on the way. She was born in Denver,
Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden. She spent her early years
running wild around the mountain side with her friends.
Their closest neighbor was one quarter of a mile away, so her
little brother
was her playmate and her best friend. That fierce friendship lasted until his
death in 2006.
Cynthia was and is an avid reader. Her mother was a librarian
and brought new
books home each week. This is where young Cynthia first got the storytelling
bug. She wrote her first story at the age of ten. A romance about a little boy
she liked at the time.
Cynthia loves writing and reading romance. Her first western
romance Tame A
Wild Heart, was inspired by the story her mother told her of meeting Cynthia’s
father on a ranch in Creede, Colorado. Although Tame A Wild Heart takes place
in Creede that is the only similarity between the stories. Her father was a
cowboy not a bounty hunter and her mother was a nursemaid (called a nanny now)
not the ranch owner.
Cynthia credits her
wonderfully supportive husband Jim and the
great friends she's made at CRW for saving her sanity and allowing her to
explore her creativity.
WEBSITE
– www.cynthiawoolf.com
NEWSLETTER - http://bit.ly/1qBWhFQ
Other Titles by Cynthia Woolf:
GIVEAWAY:
Win a $50 Visa Gift Card
Monday, December 8, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)