Don't you just LOVE a love story?

The Storm that Chased Me: A Moving Coming of Age Tale Wrapped Around a

Love Story

"The Storm that Chased Me offers readers a unique and moving tale, one which will both challenge and uplift. A man of faith, Maccagnone's writing and characters are true to life, his themes are adult and compelling, with no false pretense or socially polite fig leaf covering. Here is an author of depth and experience, with a story worthy of attention. 5stars!" -Vonnie Faroqui, Ink Slinger's Whimsey

The story covers the life of a Michigan man stricken for three years with a debilitating disease who yearns to return to the Texas and Mexico border in order to ask for the hand of his girlfriend. As his health stabilizes, he is forced to reunite with his reclusive father, a man who suffered from the same disease, in order to fulfill the promise he made to the girl of his dreams.

Narrating through the voice of Doopers Lanza, author Garasamo Maccagnone presents a moving coming of age tale in, The Storm That Chased Me. 

Life for Doopers has been tragically stunted. Suspended in a limbo of ill health and deteriorating emotional stability, Doopers agonizes over the tiniest muscle twinge or belch as potential signs of reoccurring colitis. Nothing in his routine ever changes and he lives in lonely isolation dreaming of his long-distance girlfriend, the virtuous and beautiful Maricela. He hangs, development suspended, a boy man hiding from the world. All that is about to change as chance dispute with his mother triggers a call which changes his life forever. 

Dooper's is shocked into wakefulness when a large RV bus arrives with his estranged father at the wheel. Living in California after their divorce, the now famous cartoonist has come to take Doopers out of his mother's begrudging care. The road before them brings father and son together as Tommy Lanza teaches his son how to live past disease, and about the true spirit of charity and compassion. Suddenly, Dooper's dreams of reunion with Maricela becomes a possibility as they turn the RV toward the southern border, where Doopers intends to claim Maricela's hand. The horizon darkens menacingly the further south they travel and Doopers begins to worry about the dangerous secret he keeps for Maricela. Time is running out in the game Maricela's is playing, a game she can't hope to win. The closer Doopers gets to her, the more perilous the storms around her become and the louder the thunder rolls.

From Michigan's Great Lakes to a desert border between the US and Mexico, Dooper's journey carries him across the country and into adulthood. What he learns from his father along the way will carry him out of the darkness waiting at the end of the road and beyond into life; it will give him the strength he needs and the courage to face the worst of gales.

About the author:

Garasamo Maccagnone is the author of the novel, St. John of the Midfield, the novella, For the Love of St. Nick, the collection of short stories entitled, Sentiments of Blue, and the children's book, The Suburban Dragon.

About the book:

The Storm That Chased Me by Garasamo Maccagnone

ISBN: 978-1466363267

Publisher: CreateSpace

Date of publish: October 2011

Pages: 204

S.R.P.: $15.65

FOUND by: Margaret Peterson Haddix

I had noticed that everyone at my school was reading this book, so I thought it must be pretty good . . . and boy was it!

Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he’s never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who’s also adopted, begin receiving mysterious letters.
Jonah, Chip and Jonah’s sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere—and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip’s lives.

Haddix leaves the end of the book (and each chapter) hanging. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and reading late into the night.

I've been very surprised with her books and how clean they are! Every book I've read by her has left out the swearing and other inappropriate things; unlike most books written today.

After raving about what an amazing series this is, my dad finally decided to read it. He wasn't disappointed! He's in the middle of the series, and can't wait to get his hands on the next book!

I would recommend this book for anyone one between the ages of 9 and 100!

The complete Missing series:

Book 1: Found

Book 2: Sent

Book 3: Sabotaged

Book 4: Torn

Personal Checks and Balances

It has been three weeks since New Years and I feel somewhat obligated to update everyone on the progress of my resolution, which was to have my first draft finished by January 31^st. I am proud to say that for the first time since I began this project I have written every single day. Some days all I can do is that fifteen minutes but most days I’m able to spend upwards of ninety. What has been really new and especially difficult for me is that I write without looking back; no deep editing of what I wrote yesterday. This has really taken the pressure off and allowed me to move forward with new ideas before they fade into the recesses of my brain.

I don’t mean to preach to the choir here, I’m just thrilled that I can fit the mold a little and what works for others is uncharacteristically working for me. I’m excited about this change in my work ethic and how much I’ve been getting done.

Unfortunately I’m still not as prolific as I would like to be. Even writing every day cannot compensate for my slow typing and thoughtful work. I can see now that my goal was a little lofty and I would have to completely ignore my other rolls as wife and mother to finish by the thirty-first, which I am not willing to do. But I’m not beating myself up over this because I really didn’t have any foreknowledge of what my personal steady pace was capable of. A goals soul purpose is for progression anyway right? So, for that reason I have moved my goal forward to a more realistic but still challenging date; the twentieth of February.

I should also note that I’m reading other works too; books that I think can inspire and help me move forward with my story. I’m currently reading Wuthering Heights for the first time. I don’t feel I need to review it because it’s possible that I’m one of the few who haven’t read it yet. But I will say this; it has broadened my vocabulary and sharpened my ability to describe events in my own work (not to mention grateful that I didn’t have to live in eighteenth century England). I highly recommend reading an old classic now and then. It’s kind of like swinging a ten pound bat before going to the plate.

I would really love to know how you are getting along with your own goals and resolutions. Any progress great or small is still forward movement and definitely worth sharing. Please!!!

UNEARTHLY

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?
Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Well...I was hoping to have this one finished by the time I had to post, but unfortunatelly, I did not.  My days end with me passing out on my bed, book in hand with good intentions of reading... .  But, so far the book is good and I'm intrigued by Clara's predicament. 

Her visions tell her that she has to save a certain boy named Christian.  She moves to Wyoming, just so she can achieve this Angelic duty of hers, but the guy doesn't give her the time of day, and he has a girlfirend. 
I really feel for her right now, and honestly, I can't wait to be able to read more! 

For those of you who have a Kindle, this book is currently on sale for $. 99  

Emma's Dragon: A Fairly Horrible Love Story by Ellen C Maze

Famous children's book illustrator, Emma Topp, saw a dragon while camping alone at Tom Bailey Lake. Should she tell anyone? Braving to share her sighting with handsome and dashing Deputy Trevor Lucas, Emma might have bitten off more than she can chew. Revealing  the truth brings love and surprise in a new kind of fairy tale.

In this short, Maze's vivid and colorful descriptions present dragons in a way you've never seen.  A great read for a quick thrill. The ending is pleasantly twisted and unexpected, but after you finish you'll want a sequel.

This is short that brings the full reading pleasure of a novel.. Emma's Dragon is a wonderfully written  fairly horrible love story that you will enjoy. Bestselling Vampire and Paranormal Novelist , Ellen C. Maze, does it again and you'll be glad she did.

Available on KINDLE.

http://www.kfridley.com/

Author questions spirituality, existence of gods in one man's international travels in fictional novel

In Tariel's Way: A Spiritual Adventure Michael B. Millard tries to answer questions about faith that have existed for years through adventures of a protagonist

Geneseo, NY - Dec 20, 2011 - Michael B. Millard's Tariel's Way: A Spiritual Adventure provides a skeptical perspective of religion with a story set in 12^th century B.C. in western Asia.Tariel is an elderly man whom young people go to for advice, and in return, he tells them hisstory to give them insight.

During his initiation ceremony into the Bronze Age Caucasian Mountain Tribe, a wolf bitesTariel. The man falls ill, and hallucinates that he is peaceful with the silver wolf. He has to leave his village, and when he tries to return to his village and his feeling of selflessness, he experiences a sequence of wild adventures all over the world.

Tariel gets the opportunity to have some intense spiritual experiences through these adventures and meets several religious figures along the way. The people he meets try to explain what is occurring to him, but the only person who can make him fully understand is Dang Ra, a Tibetan woman he met on his journey.

"This book investigates spiritual issues at a time before the advent of the great religions," Millard said. "It is my attempt to confront the most basic of all questions: do the gods exist?"

Millard believes that yoga students, people who practice eastern religions as well as anyoneinterested in a good adventure story will enjoy his book. He hopes that his fictional workencourages reader to explore some of the most important religious-centered questions that have plagued humans forever. 

About the author:

Michael B. Millard was born in San Francisco and raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He graduated from Washington University cum laude, and later received his doctorate in modern Russian history from the University of Rochester. He was a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch, but he now teaches literature as an adjunct professor of English at the State University of New

York at Geneseo. He and his wife, Frances Luce, have two sons, Clayton and Peter. 



About the book:

Tariel's Way: A Spiritual Adventure by Michael B. Millard

Purchase at: Amazon.com and Barnes and noble.com

Find the answers that are revealed by Michael B. Millard in Tariel's Way: A Spiritual Adventure.                                               

                                                                           ~The Ethereal Chick~