Bedtime Read and Rhyme Bible Stories By Bonnie Rickner Jensen

Bedtime Read and Rhyme Bible Stories

By Bonnie Rickner Jensen

I found this bible book to be perfect for beginning readers as it has small words and lacks long words with difficult meanings. For non-readers it is a great bible book for parents to read to young children. The pictures are well done and do not detract from the words instead they mirror the words perfectly. Each page contains its own story that is well written and well illustrated. I was sent this book for free for only my honest and unbiased review.

Dreaming Sophia : Because Dreaming is an Art by Melissa Muldoon

Dreaming Sophia is a magical look into Italy, language, art, and culture. It is a story about turning dreams into reality and learning to walk the fine line between fact and fantasy. 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Dreaming Sophia: Because Dreaming is an Art by Melissa Muldoon
Category:  Adult Fiction, 232 pages
Genre: Literary
Publisher:  Matta Press
Release date:   August 2016
Available for review in: print and ebook (ePub, PDF, mobi) 
Will send print books: USA & Canada
Tour dates:  Nov 21 to Dec 16, 2016
Content Rating:  PG (Mild profanity, and mild religious expletives, exploration Italian swear words, kissing - oh my!) 

Book Description:

Dreaming Sophia is a magical look into Italy, language, art, and culture. It is a story about turning dreams into reality and learning to walk the fine line between fact and fantasy. When tragedy strikes, Sophia finds herself alone in the world, without direction and fearful of loving again. With only her vivid imagination to guide her, she begins a journey that will take her from the vineyards in Sonoma, California to a grad school in Philadelphia and, eventually, to Italy: Florence, Lucca, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Val d’Orcia.

Through dreamlike encounters, Sophia meets Italian personalities—princes, poets, duchesses, artists, and film stars— who give her advice to help put her life back together. Following a path that takes her from grief to joy, she discovers the source of her creativity and learns to love again, turning her dreams into reality.

Buy the Book:  

Amazon – print
Amazon / Kindle – ebook
Create Space
I-tunes – Apple Store-ebook
Barnes & Noble – ebook
Inktera-ebook

Melissa meets Sophia Loren in March 2016!

Watch as Melissa talks about her debut novel: 

Meet the Author:

Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta-the crazy linguist! In Italian, "matta" means "crazy" or "impassioned". Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master's degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.

Melissa promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog, Studentessa Matta (studentessamatta.com). Melissa began the Matta blog to improve her command of the language and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, "Tutti Matti per l'Italiano" and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy.

Dreaming Sophia is Melissa's first novel. It is a fanciful look at art history and Italian language and culture, but it is also the culmination of personal stories and insights resulting from her experiences living in Italy, as well as her involvement and familiarity with the Italian language, painting, and art history.

As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she'd never need it again but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That "thing" was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event! Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency-a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways.
Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married and has three boys and two beagles.

Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Dreaming Sophia. She also designed the Dreaming Sophia website and created the character illustrations that can be found in the book and on the Dreaming Sophia websites.

Connect with the Author:
Website  ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Youtube ~ Pinterest

A New Way to Dinner

A new Way to Dinner is exactly that; it is a completely new way of cooking with a cook book. The book is split up into weeks. Each section begins with a list of recipes for the entire week with shopping lists and a list of steps taken in advance. Then you have all of the actual recipes. They are all wonderfully organized. It was a bit complicated for me though as I prefer simpler recipes.

Threading the Needle

THREADING THE NEEDLE (Book #3)

Milan. Bianca’s curiosity gets a young university student murdered, but not before he gives her a file that details a secret weapon under development with defense contractor Adastra. Guilt may drive her to find justice for the slain Charlie Brooks, but she is warned by the mysterious Loki to stay away from this case that runs deep with conspiracy. Bianca must find a way to uncover government secrets and corporate alliances without returning Italy to one of its darkest hours, the decades of daily terrorism known as the “Years of Lead.”

“It is even more to Gabriel Valjan’s credit that with Threading the Needle he, as an American, was nonetheless capable of unusual insight into the Misteri Italiani, the Italian Mysteries, without taking any prejudicial standpoint, one way or the other, or putting the blame on anyone, but rather inviting readers to judge for themselves.”

—Claudio Ferrara, Italian journalist and translator

“But after the first few pages, I knew I was committed to the end of the book ... and would be reading the two earlier books…Characters, plot, ideas, background: In Threading the Needle, Valjan weaves it all into an international crime novel worth the read.”

—Beth Kannell of Kingdom Books, a specialty mystery bookshop in northeastern Vermont.

Meet the Author:

Gabriel lives in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the Roma Series, available from Winter Goose Publishing. Gabriel has also written numerous short stories and essays found online and in print.

Connect with the author:  Website ~Twitter  ~ Facebook

Threading the Needle My Review

So far I have read and reviewed the first two books in the series and after reading each book I was left with the thought of what could possible be better than this book. Yet each time I read the next book I seem to end up  being surprised as each book is better than the last. One of the things I really like with reading this series is with each book I can to know the characters better and better as I gain more insight in them as people and I learn about how they react to different stressors and situations. I am going to start reading the next book in the series shortly and if they books stay true to the trend then the next book will be even more amazing then Threading the Needle was!

I was sent a free copy of this book for free by the publisher or author.

The Perfect Tear by Connie Lansberg

Book Details:

Book Title: The Perfect Tear by Connie Lansberg
Category: YA fiction,   324 pages
Genre:  Fairytale / Fantasy
Publisher: Rockit Press
Release date: Dec 15, 2015
Available for review in:  ebook (mobi, ePub)
Tour dates:  Oct 31 to Nov 25, 2016
Content Rating:  G (This book is family friendly)

Book Description:

Eleanor, a timid orphan, has no clue to her real purpose, but she also has no desire to become a subservient old maid, like the miserable nuns she is forced to with. Eleanor believes Edward, whom she loves, will save her from being forced to take vows. She knows Mother Superior has no intention of letting her leave–her songs are the only thing keeping the grey mist at bay. Her devastation is complete when she discovers Edward is a prince and heir to the throne, but it is the impetus she needs to leave the safety of the abbey and go in search of her long lost father.

She doesn’t get far before discovering her true destiny. With only her instincts to protect her, she must match wits with a powerful being intent on the destruction of her world. If she does not find The Perfect Tear and release its healing power into the land, she will become an accomplice in the destruction of all she loves.

Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble

Watch the trailer: 

Meet the Author:

Connie Lansberg is a singer/songwriter, scriptwriter and now author with the publication of her first book The Perfect Tear. Connie studied script writing at AFTR and has had songs placed in major Australian TV series. She has just complete an album of songs connected to the book and will be performing these live at her weekly jazz gig in Melbourne.

Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook  ~ Pinterest  ~  Instagram

1. What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?

The first is to find the most brutal editor you can and thank your lucky stars if you find one. Proof read! My publisher told me she had proofed the book and I immediately found a mistake on page one. After that, I took it into my own hands using text to speech on my computer and in 120 hours and three passes I had an error free book. It is astounding what the human eye will fill in.

2. What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book?

I’d give everybody in the world a free e- book if I could. I really want my movie to get made and that will only happen with the readers help.

3. Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?

I am definitely a revise as you go kind of girl. Because I do a beat sheet for every movie and every book, I know where I’m going. I’m more interested in whether I chose the right word and whether I’ve been clear. I tend to start each day by reading what I wrote then see how much further I can get. Of course, there were times the story took off by itself. That’s the most fun.

4. What do you do when you’re having writer’s block to “shake” it off?

I never really have what I consider writer’s block. I’m pretty certain it’s all there, ready to come out, but if I come to a really hard bit and I know my brain is tired, I stop. There’s no point in going on. I start again in the next day.

5. What do you find fascinating about the fantasy genre?
I’m so old fashioned. I love language. I don’t cope well with slang and hipness. I also meditate a lot and things come to me. There is no other genre in which to write these things. Sometimes I think it’s almost like spiritual science fiction. I was writing in a round about way, about string theory and I didn’t even realize it. I have a deep instinct about music and it’s real purpose. So of course, I have to call it fantasy.

READ AND SHARE LOOK, I'M READING! BIBLE STORYBOOK

READ AND SHARE LOOK, I'M READING! BIBLE STORYBOOK

READ AND SHARE LOOK, I'M READING! BIBLE STORYBOOK is the perfect beginner reader book for a child. The cover itself is very cute especially with how all the little pictures on the border are labeled. It really makes for a very cute cover. The book is written using words a child could learn to read and could understand with general ease. I was sent this book for free for only my honest review.

Date Like a Girl, Marry Like a Woman

Book Description for Date Like a Girl, Marry Like a Woman:

Navigating our romantic lives can be filled with incredible highs and unfathomable lows. Everyone enters relationships with a unique idea of what makes connection work. But even with our differences, we have a common thread running through all of us: the deep desire to love and be loved.

Based on her experiences, and with the help of her closest friends and the men in her life, author Jessica R. Bunevacz created a series of guidelines for women looking to enjoy dating and romance and avoid common pitfalls and difficulties.

Whether you're dating, getting ready to walk down the aisle, or are already married and looking to take your marriage to the next level, it's profoundly important to celebrate where you are on your journey and make every day special and meaningful for yourself and those around you.

Date like a Girl, Marry like a Woman incorporates Bunevacz's own stories of love, dating, and marriage with practical advice for today's modern relationship and reminds readers not to settle for anything less than the best.

Buy the book:   Amazon  

Author's Bio:

What do you get when you mix a strict Catholic upbringing, a strong curiosity for the opposite sex, and the need to grow up quickly? If you are lucky you get an outcome like Jessica Bunevacz, the vivacious first time author behind "Date Like a Girl, Marry Like a Woman: The Polished Woman's Guide to Love, Romance and Sex."

Jessica is a former actress and fashion model born and raised in the Philippines, and currently living in Los Angeles. A happily married mother of three, she has made the journey from MANnizer to the quintessential polished woman. Utilizing her own past experiences and a passion for helping others, she will quickly become the best friend you wish you had! 

Connect with the author: Author Website ~ Book's Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest   ~  YouTube

DATING AND COMMITMENT by Jessica R. Bunevacz
You (hopefully) wouldn’t buy a car without test-driving it or agree to buy a house without seeing the inside and having it thoroughly inspected. The same logic needs to apply to someone that you’re thinking about dating even in the short term. Based on this you need to make sure that the two of you are going to be compatible in key areas.13 It’s not enough to ask a potential partner if they like some- thing, or are willing to try something, what’s important is that you actually experience these things with them.

I’m convinced that one of the main reasons people cheat is they’re not being satisfied by their partner in some crucial way. This can be especially true when it comes to the more physical aspects of a relationship like when you choose to first become intimate or how frequently you kiss, etc. However, you should understand that the things you deem important are things that you want your partner to view as important, too.

Don’t fully commit to him until you’re certain that you’re actually compatible. This goes for whether it takes you two dates or twenty, or some number in between or beyond. Figure out what it is you want in a partner and narrow it down to the qualities that are the most important. This list should be realistic and based on both the lifestyle you have and what you have to offer. If the man you’re currently dating doesn’t exhibit those qualities, it doesn’t mean you should dump him, instead talk to him and see if he’s willing to try some things out. If he’s unwilling to even try, then it’s better that you both learn those things early on before either of you becomes too emotionally invested.