Friday, February 28, 2014

Book Release and Contest: Twist of Luck by Jaclyn Weist

Welcome to the Twist of Luck blog tour!


Jaclyn Weist's book, Twist of Luck, releases on March 1st and we're here to celebrate with her! This is the second book in her Luck series.



Every day a different blog will post a question. When you find the answer, send an email to me at:   jaclynweist@gmail.com

I will draw a winner each day from those that got it correct. You can find the answers on Wikipedia.

The answers will also be posted the next day on the next post in the tour, along with the next trivia question. Some questions deal with colors of the rainbow. Other questions deal with leprechauns. 

And, of course, at the end of the rainbow, there's a pot of gold. In that pot of gold will be an Amazon gift card! Those that answer questions by sending me an email will be entered to win the gift card on the last day.


And don't forget to purchase a copy of book one, Stolen Luck. The great news is that it's $.99 right now! That link is here


Today's Question:

What color did leprechauns originally wear?

The prize:
   Leprechaun Loot!!


About Twist of Luck: 

Megan finally has her luck back and hopes that life will return to normal. Unfortunately, the magical world has other plans. Suddenly, she find she has fairies following her to provide security, dragons become a constant threat, and an imp tracks her every move. As if that wasn’t enough, her luck begins to manifest itself in ways she could never imagine.

About Jaclyn:

Jaclyn is an Idaho farm girl who grew up loving to read. She developed a love for writing as a senior in high school, when her dad jokingly said she was the next Dr. Seuss (not even close but very sweet). She met her husband, Steve at BYU and they have six happy, crazy children that encourage her writing. After owning a bookstore and running away to have adventures in Australia, they settled back down in their home in Utah. Jaclyn now spends her days herding her kids to various activities and trying to remember what she was supposed to do next.

Find the answer and tomorrow's question at

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Special Discount for My Readers

Some of you will remember a few years back when I had some pens and pencils made up with "The Secret Sisters Mysteries" on them. Those were so fun, and I enjoyed handing them out at book signings, using them as swag for contests, etc. Many of you still have your pens, and you think about me whenever you use them. I admit, that was part of my plan all along.  :)

I was contacted by the folks at PensXpress this last week with a special offer specifically for readers of my blog. If you go to their site and enter the promo code, you can order pens at a 10% discount, and that's good on any order. This discount is available for the next six weeks - isn't that awesome?

So whether you're an author seeking to make your name first and foremost on everyone's minds or someone who needs some awesome pens for a variety of other reasons, go check out the site and see what cool things they have.

PensXpress
10% off any order - discount code cp4ed10

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Book Review: Patchwork Reality by Pauline Hansen

I've been a friend of Pauline Hansen's on Facebook for a while now and read some of her touching blog posts, so when I was approached about reviewing her book, Patchwork Reality, I was pleased to accept.

What would you do if your husband was diagnosed with schizophrenia?

For years, Pauline didn't know what was wrong. It started out slowly, with her husband, Curtis, telling her that there were good people in the community who were watching out for them and would see to it that they had what they needed. That was a comforting thought, and this didn't raise any red flags for her. However, over time her husband became paranoid, talking about how they were pawns in a game and that they could win millions of dollars if they did everything exactly right. They could only visit so many stores when they ran errands, or put so many items in their grocery cart. Whenever Pauline would ask him why this was so important, he would take her on walks so they wouldn't be overheard, and he'd explain that it was a new rule in the game.

In some ways, it was easy to pretend that everything was fine, but as his illness progressed, relationships became endangered. He refused to speak to their children because he believed they were clones sent in by their enemies. He stopped speaking to his co-workers for the same reason. He eventually lost his job because he was spending hours locked in a closet at work, communicating with a machine that would give him more information about the game. On and on it went, with Pauline feeling lost and completely helpless to know what to do.

When they finally reached a diagnosis, treatment began, and now things are much smoother. Through it all, Pauline stayed by her husband's side, and in fact, the subtitle of the book is "happily married to a schizophrenic." This is a story of overcoming a debilitating illness as a family, seeking to hold on to eternal ties even when mortal things seem to be falling apart. Her blog continues that theme by relating struggles and yet incorporating moments of love and humor.

What I liked about this book - it was really interesting to read about his symptoms from her perspective, what she noticed and how it impacted her and the family. She was totally in the dark as to what was going on, but did her best to work with him even when she didn't understand. The love this couple has for each other was very evident throughout the story.

What I wished - I felt the book ended too abruptly. We go on a journey with this family and see the situation grow worse and worse until the issue is diagnosed, and then we get a very quick epilogue and we're done. I would have liked to see them go through treatment and find the right medication and start to put things back together before the book came to a conclusion. As I read, I kept thinking, "This will be a valuable resource for those who are struggling in the same way," but at the end, I thought, "If we'd seen more of that path to recovery, it would be an even greater resource so people could have an idea of what to expect when they seek treatment."

Overall, this was a fascinating read. This author has a clear writing style that was easy to follow and relate to, and I became emotionally invested in the people involved (part of what made it hard not to follow them through treatment). It's not an easy read, but it's quick because it grabs you and holds your attention. I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you're concerned about the well-being of a loved one and are seeking more information about how to help them.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Wanna Come to a Party?


What's more fun than releasing a new book? Having a launch party with friends, of course!

I've been looking forward to the start of a new series for a long time, and that's what will be happening on March 15th - I'm starting off the Omni Orchids series with the first book, Tulips and Treason. It's everything you loved about the Secret Sisters, including Ida Mae, Tansy, and Arlette, but you'll also get to know Jack and Molly, FBI agents who are going undercover to run a floral shop and pose as Mormons. This is a super-fun book and I can't wait to share it with you.

In addition, my friends Laura Bastian, Andrea Pearson, and Jaclyn Weist will also be premiering their new books, and we've decided to celebrate together. So come to the American Fork library and win prizes, eat treats, buy books, and get some of the luck o' the Irish if you wear green!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Book Review: A is for Abinadi

Today I’m delighted to bring you my review of A is for Abinadi, a new children’s book published by Cedar Fort, written by Heidi Poelman and illustrated by Jason Pruett.

ABC books for children abound. You walk into any children’s bookstore and they’re all over the place. But A is for Abinadi stands out from the others.

First of all, each letter of the alphabet stands for a distinctive figure from the standard works of the scriptures. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants are all represented here. In addition, we get a quick synopsis of who that person was and are reminded why they are significant.

Second, I was pleased to see both men and women represented. You might think that “H” would be Helaman, but it was actually Hannah. Other women in the book were Eve, Mary, Queen Esther, and Rebekah.

Third, I really enjoyed the humor in the illustrations. Not only are the pictures cute, but they’re funny. We see a camel spitting on a kid on Rebekah’s page, and apparently the sons of Mosiah were issued missionary name tags when they were sent out to serve. Who knew?

Another fun feature—and I admit, I was a little slow to notice this—but on each page, there are several things to find that start with that letter. For instance, when you look at Samuel the Lamanite’s page, you see people throwing skunks and scissors at him. You and your child can have fun finding all the things that start with the letter S while you’re reading that page. At first, I thought, “Oh, hey, that’s awesome. They’re throwing random stuff at Samuel—that’s funny.” But then I realized that it all started with the letter S. (Hey, I said I was slow on the uptake today.) 

On a more serious note, I appreciated the V page. That one stands for "Visiting Angel," and talks about Moroni coming to see the young Joseph Smith in the night. This picture shows Joseph sharing a room with his brothers, and they’re all asleep while the angel talks to Joseph. You may wonder why I appreciate this. Well, I love history, and I know from Church history that Joseph Smith never had a lot of money . His home in Vermont where he was born was about the size of my living room, no lie. The pictures we traditionally see of Joseph Smith receiving a visit from Moroni show him alone in his bedroom, and yet, from what we know of his history, odds are that he never had a bedroom of his own. Therefore, I appreciated seeing other siblings in the room in this picture book—it felt more real to me.

Daniel having a ton of fun in the lions' den.
I think this picture book would be a great resource for any home with young children. It teaches the alphabet and letter recognition, it helps children identify items that all begin with the same letter, and it introduces them to people in the scriptures in a simple way so they can begin to establish familiarity with the names and events they will be studying in greater detail as they get older. This one's definitely a keeper in my book (pun intended).

You can purchase A is for Abinadi at any LDS bookstore, or online by clicking here


Wednesday, February 05, 2014

May I Introduce You ...

Yeah, I've written a lot of books, and I have several more in the hopper. I've been blessed to have the ability to publish in a couple of different ways, and it's hard to keep track of all I've got going on. Trust me - being me is downright confusing a lot of the time.  :)

I'd like to take a second to make sure that one of my book series isn't getting lost in the shuffle. I've spent a lot of time marketing the Secret Sisters Mysteries and you all know about that one, but I wonder if you know Estelle Watkins.

Estelle is the heroine I created for BigWorldNetwork, a website that features chapters of books one per week, like watching television but in book form. I'm now on my fourth book with BWN, and the first two are available in paperback and on Kindle. The third book will be coming out in print and on Kindle soon.

I think you'd really like Estelle. She's a fun little lady of slightly advanced age, although not as advanced as Ida Mae. She lives in Ruebensville, Virginia, a town which doesn't exist in a state that does. She's a little bit absent-minded, but has a best friend named Vera to keep her pointed in the right direction. Other characters include Sam, Estelle's husband; Andrew, their son; Tony, the private eye who comes to their aid; and Mabel, the president of the local Ladies' Aid who likes to give Estelle and Vera a hard time about their crime-fighting adventures.

These books aren't written for the LDS market, but they are clean and family friendly. They're shorter than my Secret Sisters novels and a little less intricate. They're quick, fun reads that are perfect for the beach or the pool or a lazy afternoon.

If you'd like to give them a try, here's where you can find them:

Book One - Taking Out the Trash - purchase on Kindle and paperback

Book Two - Taking Care of Business - purchase on Kindle and paperback

The third book is set in the exciting world of ballroom dancing and is called Taking the Floor. Stay tuned for more information on that one!
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