Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Book Review and Giveaway - Book: Recorder Author: Cathy McCrumb On Tour with Celebrate Lit

About the Book

Book: Recorder

Author: Cathy McCrumb

Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction

Release date: November 8, 2021

Recorder-Hi-rez FINAL The Consortium is All. But Recorder Can No Longer Obey.

Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing for displays of bias.

Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.

With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, Recorder’s time is running out.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Cathy Hinkle Cathy McCrumb graduated from Biola University with a degree in English Literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children and currently live within the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While writing is one of her favorite things to do, she also enjoys reading, long hikes and long naps, gluten-free brownies and raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction movies with friends and family.

More from Cathy

When I was about three, my first imaginary friend, Sally from Clap-Hands-Land, threw a man’s hat in the air. At the time, I found her action uproariously funny, though I no longer remember why. As I grew older, speculative fiction—almost any variety of fantasy or science fiction—became my favorite stories to tell and read.

Once I had children, however, all I managed were practical lists on scraps of paper. I shoved down that desire to create until after my youngest was born, when a friend challenged me to write again. That first short story began a landslide of words and ideas about grace, worth, and the sometimes-bittersweet reality of daily life. Soon afterward, a story was born from a vivid dream set on a stark moonscape. As I wrote it down, the Recorder herself sprang into being, and Recorder became inextricably bound to her point of view.

For me, stories are fundamentally about possibilities. The tension between catastrophe and eucatastrophe plays out with relative safety on the page. I believe that when ideas and themes intersect, however, stories can reach deep within authors and readers. Indeed, if they do not touch the author, they are unlikely to impact anyone else. When failure, grief, and evil are contrasted with faith, hope, and love, the narratives inspire deeper connections with our own emotions, others, and God. Tales of light and dark challenge us with the opportunity to think through truths and lies without leaving home.

And yet, transformation itself isn’t safe, and therefore fiction can’t be, either. The risks inherent in change open the possibilities of growth and failure. Stories provide an exploration of becoming. They can open a divide through which we can glimpse something greater or worse than our own worlds. Fiction allows us a place where we can practice and triumph.

And maybe, perhaps, even throw our hats into the air.

My Thoughts

Recorder is written by Cathy McCrumb. This is a Dystopian Science Fiction book. This is book one in the Children of the Consortium series. I don’t think I have read anything by this author before. This is not my typical genre read, however I did enjoy the book.

Recorder doesn’t know her name, family, or anything about herself. She was donated to the Consortium before birth. She sustains damage when she returns to the medical bay. Even she is surprised at what a hit she took. Then she gets a chance to taste what it is like to be human. Suddenly everything that she has been working toward for her mission she is questioning. She starts to see the world with her own eyes, and not just to record data.

This book is well written, engaging and drew me in immediately. I found myself turning the pages in anticipation to what happens next. While this isn’t my go to genre I enjoyed the story.

I received a copy of this book through the Celebrate Lit Blogging Program. All thoughts are my own.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 20

Texas Book-aholic, November 21

Mary Hake, November 21

Inklings and notions, November 22

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, November 23

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, November 23

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 24

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, November 24

Blogging With Carol, November 25

Labor Not in Vain, November 26

For Him and My Family, November 26

deb’s Book Review, November 27

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 28

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 29

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 30

Through the fire blogs, November 30

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, December 1

Wishful Endings, December 2

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 3

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cathy is giving away the grand prize of a personalized, signed hardcover copy!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/137ec/recorder-celebration-tour-giveaway

Book Review and Giveaway- Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees by A. A. Cristi hosted by IRead

Join Us for This Tour from November 22 to December 10

Book Details:

Book Title: Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees by A. A. Cristi
Category: Children's Fiction (ages 3 to 7), 56 pages
Genre:  Children's Picture Book
Publisher:  Mascot
Release date:   November 2021
Formats Available for Review: print-hardback USA, e-book (PDF)
Tour dates: November 22 to December 10
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.

Book Description:

Bruce the Spruce has Christmas all wrong.

Thanks to his fancy decorations and adoring admirers, this artificial spruce tree doesn’t just wear a star at Christmas, he IS the star. But when his longtime family gets a new tree, it sends Bruce on a holiday adventure through New York City.

From a party in Brooklyn, to a run-in with rats, to a revelatory visit to Rockefeller Center, Bruce the Spruce takes an unforgettable journey to discover the true meaning of Christmas trees!

Buy the Book:
Mascot
Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble

Meet the Author:

A.A. Cristi was born and raised in the world capital of Christmas trees and musicals - New York City. By no small miracle, she has managed to make a living writing about both topics. When she is not dreaming up fantastic adventures for inanimate objects, she is covering the Broadway industry as a journalist and editor at BroadwayWorld.com. Though writing is her calling, her true passion is playing mother to a neurotic wiener dog named Jack and Aunt Rah Rah to two truly remarkable kids.

Connect with the Author: Author's Website ~ Twitter~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Author Interview

Growing with the Christmas Tree: The Origin of Bruce the Spruce

By: A.A. Cristi

Like most people, I started decorating Christmas trees as a child. Each year, a seven-foot synthetic spruce tree along with a series of plastic Rubbermaid bins would be drug up from the basement, and myself, my sister, Kara, brother, Emilio, and our first cousin, Kristina were summoned to the living room by my mother and aunt to begin the yearly trimming.

In our house, the decorating of the Christmas tree was an art that resulted in a department store-worthy masterpiece. With aesthetically gifted forewomen at the helm, tree trimming was not so much a holiday activity as it was an opportunity for us to inherit their appreciation for beauty and for them to pass down their hard-won holiday wisdom.

As a group, we spent many happy hours assembling our tree and, though I didn’t know it at the time, creating the inspiration for my debut children’s book, Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees.

As the years wore on, things changed. We lost some of our tree trimmers to adolescence and my aunt sadly left us far too soon. From there, the decorating duties fell to my mother and me.

As I grew older, clocking these many changes, my relationship to the tree evolved. A child decorating a Christmas tree sees nothing but potential and a near-future full of fun and festivities. As an adult, however, the decorating ritual becomes an exercise in reflection. Each and everyornament holds new meaning and illuminates old memories as the years wear on. The medallion we picked up on a family trip to Disney World. Lenox crystal baby angels commemorating each of our births. A Yankees jersey for Dad. The Beatles for Mom.

With each passing holiday season, these items, as well as the tree itself, came to represent a monument of our life as a family.

That’s the thing about artificial Christmas trees, the times may change and with them so do we, but for families who celebrate around fake firs, pines, and spruces, they remain an annual source of comfort and joy. Over time, they begin to feel like a member of the family. More than any other kind of Christmas tree and in more ways than one, they give literal meaning to the term “evergreen.” Ever lush, ever verdant, ever steeped in ever-present memories of our ever-evolving lives, forevermore.

When it came time to replace our old tree, which had fallen into disrepair after so many years of exemplary service, each of us lamented the loss. It became clear to me that despite all that had changed, each of us held fast to memories of happy holidays and the traditions that went with them. Bruce’s story now stands as a monument to the tree that, for so many years, stood as a monument to us. We grew alongside it, celebrated with it, and basked in its glow year after year, all the while learning to find beauty in change and joy in evergreen memories.

My Thoughts

Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees is written by A. A. Cristi. I was super excited to read this Children’s picture book with my sons who are 8 and 10. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio we had a holiday tradition downtown. In Tower City they had the grandest holiday display. This includes, Mr. Jingaling and Bruce the talking spruce. This book took me back to my childhood. This book is aimed at readers who are 3-7. However, I feel this will be a great holiday edition to our library.

Bruce the Spruce has been the star tree for his family for twenty years. Suddenly the family gets a new tree and has to leave. Bruce is overcome with a variety of emotions. He’s sad, scared, and nervous. Bruce then goes on an adventure of a lifetime. He goes to a home for one day, then back out to the curb for the garbage collector. He then meets a famous Christmas tree, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. Bruce then learns the true meaning of Christmas.

This is a beautiful written and illustrated children’s book. It’s a rhyming book which is perfect for early readers. My boys and I enjoyed it. My son wants to take it to school to share with his friends.

I received a copy of this book through the author and IRead Book tours all thoughts are my own.

Tour Schedule:

Nov 22 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Nov 22 - Laura's Interests – book review / giveaway
Nov 23 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 23 - Splashes of Joy – book review / giveaway
Nov 24 – Bigreadersite – book review / giveaway
Nov 24 - The Pen and Muse Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
Nov 26 –A Mama's Corner of the World – book review / giveaway
Nov 26 - The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway
Nov 26 -Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight
Nov 29 – Older & Smarter? – book review / giveaway
Nov 29 - Pick a Good Book – book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 30 – Because I said so -- and other adventures in Parenting – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 30 - Westveil Publishing – book review / giveaway
Dec 1 – Kam's Place – book review
Dec 1 - icefairy's Treasure Chest – book review / giveaway
Dec 1 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Dec 2 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / author interview / giveaway
Dec 2 - Lisa's Reading – book review / giveaway
Dec 3 - @twilight_reader – book review
Dec 6 – I'm Into Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 6 – Bound 4 Escape – book review / giveaway
Dec 7 - The Phantom Paragrapher – book review
Dec 8 – Sandra's Book Club – book review
Dec 8 - Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 9 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review / author interview / giveaway
Dec 9 - Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 10 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review / guest post / giveaway
Dec 10 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

Enter Competition

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Monday, November 29, 2021

Book Review and Giveaway- Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats by Derek Fisher

Join Us for This Tour: November 22nd to December 10th

Book Details:

Book Title: Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats by Derek Fisher
Category: Middle Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 86 pages
Genre:  Middle School Fiction
Publisher:  Securely Built
Release date:   July 2021
Formats Available for Review: print-softback USA, e-book PDF format
Tour dates: November 22 to December 10
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.

*** 2021 Family Choice Award ***

Book Description:

Halloween is here, and it is Alicia’s favorite time of year. What's not to like about dressing up in a costume and getting free candy? But there is something even more exciting happening this year. For the first time, Alicia and her friends are throwing a virtual party in TullyTown!

Putting together a party in TullyTown isn't easy, and Alicia and her friends want to do the best they can to make sure it is enjoyed by plenty of avatars in TullyTown. For one of Alicia's friends, getting ready to throw a TullyTown party leads to looking for easy treats. But what if it's a trick?

Alicia has been using her tablet for a while and is getting more used to how to use the technology. However, there is always something new for her and her friends to learn.

Buy the Book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble ~ Indie Bound

Meet the Author:

Fisher is an award-winning author who has spent decades in the computer engineering field, with the last 10 years in cybersecurity as a leader, speaker, and instructor. His passion has been to take complex security topics and make them simple and easy to understand. He holds several security certifications and teaches cybersecurity at Temple University, where he is also an external advisory board member to the cybersecurity program. Alicia Connected: Tricked With Treats is the second book in the Alicia Connected series. The first book, Alicia Connected: The Big Gift, was a second-place recipient of the prestigious Purple Dragonfly Award in the STEM category.

Connect with the Author: Author's Website ~ Facebook ~Instagram

Guest Post

Writing about cyber security

One of the unique challenges of writing this book was making sure that I wrote it in a way that is appealing to a broad audience of both children and parents while still trying to weave in topics about cyber security.

Since I teach secure software development at Temple University in Philadelphia PA, and I also lead a team that works to protectsoftware in a financial institution I know how dry to the topic of cyber security can be. In these roles, I have complex conversations around securing technology on a regular basis. Writing about this topic for a younger audience meant that I would have to subtly present security concerns in a way that is friendly and helpful. Most importantly, not boring.

In Tricked with Treats one of the characters is tempted to find an easy way to accomplish something that she really wants. This leads to some unforeseen problems that require her and her friends to put their heads together to overcome. This is not uncommon to what we all face online. There are certain things that we see that are too good to be true and in the vast majority of cases, they are too good to be true.

However, there are a lot of good things that children can use technology for, but there is an equal number of negative things. As parents we need to help children build that healthy distrustfor things online, as much of what is online is either false or looking to get something from us. In Tricked with Treats I didn’t want to dwell on the negative activity, but instead wanted tofocus on some of the concepts that can help parents and children build good technology habits.

My Thoughts

Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats is written by Derek Fisher. This is a middle grade fiction book aimed towards children that are 8-12 years old. I read this book with my 8 and 10 year old sons and we all enjoyed it.

I love the lesson that this book teaches. It is a great reminder how we have to be careful on the internet. My children and I talk all the time about dangers of the internet so I loved that this was a change from my lectures.

Alicia and her friends plan a virtual party in Tully Town - it's going great until someone tries to get free “Tully Bux” and suddenly they are locked out. They realize that the website stole the password. This book teaches how to be safe and touches on bullying which is so present in the age group this is geared towards.

My children and I enjoyed this book. My 8 year old was able to read without any issues. It lead to great discussion between us. While I strictly monitor what my children are doing there are real dangers out there.

I received a copy of this book through the author and IRead Book tours all thoughts are my own.

Tour Schedule:

Nov 22 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Nov 22 - Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Nov 22 - Splashes of Joy – book review / giveaway
Nov 23 – Bigreadersite – book review / giveaway
Nov 24 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 24 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 26 – The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway
Nov 26 - She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Nov 29 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review / giveaway
Nov 29 - Because I said so -- and other adventures in Parenting – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 30 –@twilight_reader – book review
Dec 1 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 2 – The Pen and Muse Book Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 3 – Kam’s Place – book review
Dec 6 – Laura's Interests – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 7 – icefairy's Treasure Chest – book review / giveaway
Dec 8 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
Dec 9 – I'm Into Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 10 – Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight

Enter the Giveaway:

Enter Competition

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Book Review and Giveaway- God Is Coming Author: Maggie Philpot On Tour with Celebrate Lit

God is Coming

About the Book

Book: God Is Coming

Author: Maggie Philpot

Genre: Children’s books, Christian books

Release date: October 15, 2021

Image 8-3-21 at 1.19 PM In a search for a book that presented the beauty and mystery of the advent season with elegance and simplicity meant to be enjoyed by the entire family, God Is Coming was born. This Advent Journey traces the story of God’s relentless pursuit of His children and all of the anticipation of the holiday season in simple, rhyme and meter. Children and adults alike will be touched by the reminders of the profound truths of the gospel and families will return to these stories and these iconic images year after year.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Maggie Philpotwrote her first children’s story when she was in middle school (a story about an egg named Eggbert) and she has been dreaming up stories ever since. She lives in Fort Worth with her spectacular husband (whom she calls Husband), her two precocious children, and a rather ridiculous dog, Tucker. She is passionate about anything and anyone who attempts to make beauty, order, and meaning in this crazy world. The simple act of writing is one way to do just that.

More from Maggie

In a search for a book that presented the beauty and mystery of the Advent season with elegance and simplicity, God Is Coming was born. This book traces the story of God’s pursuit of His children and all of the anticipation of the Christmas season in simple, rhyme and meter. This year available in a deluxe hardback edition with full-color illustrations, offering you the opportunity to bring home a truly heirloom-quality book to be a part of your holiday traditions!

My Thoughts

God Is Coming is written by Maggie Philpot.

This is a Children’s book that is perfect for the holiday season. This breaks down the month of December in a sing song way that is perfect for children to remember and understand.

Each day has a poem written with a scripture to tie into the day. My 8 and 10 year old really looked forward to each day to read together. The book is we written and beautifully illustrated. This will be added to our holiday countdown traditions.

I received a copy of this book through the Celebrate Lit Blogging Program. All thoughts are my own.