The Songbird's Call - #TheFriday56 and #BookBeginnings on Friday

    If you're in the mood for a contemporary romance with a small-town California setting, you'll definitely enjoy The Songbird's Call. In this story, Rachael Herron creates likable, believable characters with real life problems. Molly, the protagonist, has ongoing issues with her weight. She's "the fat one" of the three sisters, and she's recovering from a bad relationship, one in which she suffered from verbal abuse. 
    This is Book 2 in the trilogy, but it stands alone. However, I'm looking forward to reading Books 1 and 3 so I can learn more about Molly's two sisters, who are an important part of this book.
FYI: The book contains a couple of scenes of explicit sex, but they are between loving adults and not gratuitous. The whole book is nicely written.

Book Beginning:
    At one time in her life, Molly had liked a good old-fashioned country dive bar as much as the next singer-songwriter. Every honky-tonk smelled a little different, but they shared the same notes of pine dust and good tequila, of cowboy aftershave made of bay run and cloves mixed with the scent of bitters and quinine. Each bar sounded the same, too - bottle caps snapping off, Hank Williams wailing on the jukebox, balls clacking on the pool table, men trying to impress women who were laughing and pretending to pay no attention. 
    Molly inhaled deeply and then wished she was back on the cruise ship.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
The band broke up shortly thereafter when their father died. They'd all lost their voices, and their way. Molly took away one thing: she wouldn't be forced into situations. 

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Book Length: 297 Pages
Amazon Link: The Songbird's Call (Book 2 in the Songbirds Trilogy)
Author Website: Rachael Herron

Synopsis from Amazon:

    Once Adele, Molly and Lana were The Darling Songbirds, a world-famous country band. Now they're just three sisters who barely speak. But that's about to change. 

    Middle sister Molly arrives in town, and is immediately drawn to the neglected little café where she worked as a teenager. Could she dare to bring it back to life? As lead singer, Molly had always been the voice of the band. But caught between controlling big sister Adele and demanding baby sister Lana, she never felt heard. If she's going to reopen the café, she'll do it on her own terms, no more being bossed. 

    So the last person she should fall for is the handsome Sheriff Colin McMurty - the man whose job it is to tell people exactly what to do. 

                

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
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Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

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Hangtown Creek - A Tale of the #California Gold Rush - First Paragraph / First Chapter / Tuesday Intros and #TeaserTuesday

    In this epic saga, John Rose Putnam paints a real and gritty picture of life in the Gold Rush era through the stories of each of his characters. A red-haired woman, her husband and son dead from cholera; two army veterans; a widowed man and three sons; three ruthless killers - all of them heading for California. Their quests make for a gripping tale.
    My reading tastes are eclectic, and a good book will keep me up late at night, reading when I should be asleep. That was definitely the case with Hangtown Creek. Putnam drew me into the world of gold panning, saloons, traveling by horseback, and much more with his excellent storytelling, filled with memorable characters, vivid description, and historical detail. I'll be reading more books by this talented author.   

Genre: Historical Fiction / Western
Length: 288 Pages
Amazon Link: Hangtown Creek
Author Website: John Rose Putnam

First Paragraph:
Fall 1846
    The earth, rutted deep from hundreds of wheels, churned raw by thousands of hooves, bore witness to the recent passing of a large immigrant party - all save one battered wagon that sat alone and untended, a loose pot clanking in the cold north wind. Here the trail followed the Truckee River, strangled by a long, dry summer into a trickle of shallow pools, and looking as pitiable as the forlorn wagon.
[Read the rest of Chapter One on John Putnam's website: HERE]

Teaser from 13% on my Kindle:
    All week she had watched them as they mined along the creek. The older one, gray showing in his hair and beard, reminded her of her father, but it was the other one, the tall one with the broad shoulders, who had brought her hope, the same slim hope she carried week after week.

Synopsis:
The majestic landscapes of Brett Harte's California unite with Larry McMurtry's epic old west realism in an explosion of love, lust, murder and betrayal that comes to a powerful climax along a beautiful stream, home to the largest strike in the mines, where a burning barn ignites the passion of a gold rush boomtown and, in one dark night of revenge, earns that stream the name it bears to this day—HANGTOWN CREEK.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Jenn of Books and A Beat. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

Link at Books and A Beat

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Jewel - Teaser Tuesday and First Paragraph / First Chapter

Jewel by Bret Lott is an engrossing and beautifully written story. The author delves deep into the main character's fears and dreams, and he does a great job of portraying the reality of the Deep South in the 1940s and 1950s, especially regarding treatment of children with Down's Syndrome. Jewel is a book I won't forget.

First Paragraph:
     I was born in 1904, so that when I was pregnant in 1943 I was near enough to be past the rightful age to bear children. This would be my sixth, and on that morning in February, the first morning I'd known I was with child, I'd simply turned to Leston in bed next to me, the room gray from a winter sky outside the one window, that sky not yet lit with the sun, and I'd said, "There'll be no more after this one."

Teaser (from Page 80 in my hardback copy):
     But I let that fear hole up inside me until February, praying each day something might happen: that my baby would smile up at me when she came to, that she would roll over, that the sound of a baby's laugh might escape her and make its way into the house.
     Nothing came. Now she was five months old.

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction / Family Saga
Book Length: 358 Pages
Amazon Link: Jewel
Author's Amazon Page: Bret Lott

Synopsis:
In the backwoods of Mississippi, a land of honeysuckle and grapevine, Jewel and her husband, Leston, are truly blessed; they have five fine children. When Brenda Kay is born in 1943, Jewel gives thanks for a healthy baby, last-born and most welcome. Jewel is the story of how quickly a life can change; how, like lightning, an unforeseen event can set us on a course without reason or compass. In this story of a woman's devotion to the child who is both her burden and God's singular way of smiling on her, Bret Lott has created a mother-daughter relationship of matchless intensity and beauty, and one of the finest, most indomitable heroines in contemporary American fiction.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

Link at ADailyRhythm.com

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Christmas Cracker - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

     Outspoken private investigator Morgan "Morg" Mahoney and drop-dead-gorgeous heiress Heather Pierce are unlikely friends, and that's part of what makes Christmas Cracker so much fun. Morg's habit of putting her foot in her mouth adds humor to the plot, and when the two women take a trip from California to an English manor house, you know it isn't going to be dull. A series of murders and a kidnapping will keep you turning pages until the bad guy is revealed.  
     R. L. Cherry has recently released It's Bad Business, a second Morg Mahoney mystery. I'm looking forward to reading it too.

Book Beginning:
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy - 2002
Chapter 1
     Exercising is a pain in the ass. Any woman who says she likes it is crazy, lying, masochistic or some combination of the three. I do it, work out that is, but I hate it. I could claim that I exercise to keep in shape in case I ever have to kick some bad guy's butt. After all, it does take more than just putting "Private Investigator" on the door to be good at my job. And since private investigators are normally men, a woman in the field needs every edge she can get.

The Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
"If my life were threatened, I wouldn't pay one copper penny. Andrew, though, is my son. I cannot chance letting him die...."

Genre: Mystery / Women Sleuths
Length: 312 Pages
Amazon Link: Christmas Cracker
More About This Author: R. L. Cherry Website

Synopsis:
While private investigator Morgana (Morg) Mahoney leaves sunny Southern California to celebrate Christmas in a picturesque English manor house, she finds she cannot escape crime. What begins as a vacation soon becomes a murder mystery laced with threads of local history, race horses, the IRA, family secrets, and, of course, pure greed. In the land of Sherlock Holmes, Morg finds herself using some of the same methods as that first consulting detective to solve the case.
                         

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reader)
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Yosemite National Park - Saturday Snapshots

While looking through photo albums a couple of days ago, I came across pictures from our trip to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park (California) in July, 1990. The area is breathtakingly beautiful, so I decided to scan a few Yosemite photos and share with you. These pictures were taken with a 35mm film camera. (FYI: The park will celebrate its 125th anniversary on October 1, 2015.)

Rising more than 3,000 feet above the
valley floor, El Capitan is the largest
monolith of granite in the world.

Half Dome is perhaps the most recognized
symbol of Yosemite, rising nearly 5,000 feet
above the valley floor.

Here's another view of Half Dome,
taken from the valley floor.

Yosemite Falls (2,425 ft) flows approximately from
November through July. Since we were there in July,
the water flow was lighter but still impressive.

At the base of the lower portion
of Yosemite Falls, just one of many
beautiful waterfalls in the park.

You'll find more information about this magnificent national park here: Yosemite National Park

You should be able to zoom in and out on this map.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Boats and Floats - Saturday Snapshots

I love boats! The feel of the wind in my hair, the misty spray, the sparkling water. In celebration of things that float, today's Saturday Snapshot post features watercraft--from primitive to luxurious.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)

My son and I on a wild ride down the Taylor River,
Colorado. Great fun! (A long time ago.)
I'm the one wearing the yellow life jacket.

My son made this raft and poled it around
Lake Irwin, Colorado. I'm not sure how seaworthy
it was, but he didn't fall in! (Also long ago. He's 40 now.)

Punting on the Cam River,
Cambridge, England.
Same idea as my son's raft, but oh, so civilized.

Sailboat -- Quiet, tranquil, lovely.
Santa Barbara, California

Battleship Texas, dry docked at the
San Jacinto Battleground State Historic
Site, LaPorte, Texas

The Statendam, Holland America cruise of
Alaska's Inside Passage 

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

Web of Tyranny - Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday 56

From the very first pages of WEB OF TYRANNY by Laurel-Rain Snow, I felt empathy for the main character, Meg. The story takes us through the decades of the 1960s and early 1970s--turbulent times. Growing up, her family is ruled by an abusive, religious fanatic father who dictates every aspect of her life--her choice of clothes, hairstyle, friends, and all her activities. The mildest transgression from Meg results in punishment. When I was growing up, the most rebellious teens and young adults were the ones who had been severely repressed as children. It's not surprising that Meg's strictly controlled childhood affects her life choices later in the story.

FYI: Laurel-Rain Snow is a frequent participant in The Friday56 and Book Beginnings on Friday and is an excellent writer. Watch for her upcoming book INTERIOR DESIGNS.

Book Beginning:
For the first few seconds of every day, before reality hit, she felt her body floating in a cloudy tangle as she came up from her dreams. Beautiful dreams of sunny days filled with music, ice cream and lots of laughter. She could still remember a time when her days had been like that; she'd been much younger then, granted the indulgences of early childhood.

Friday 56 (at 56% on my Kindle):
All too familiar with the effects of a hangover from her partnership with booze, she was still a novice when it came to other substances. What exactly had she done last night? That niggling feeling of panic hovered hear the edges of her awareness.
[Yes, the main character is definitely rebelling against her upbringing!]

Genre: Fiction
Length: 610 Pages
Amazon Link: Web of Tyranny

More Books by Laurel-Rain Snow: Amazon Author Page

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Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. 

   Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts  

   (sponsored by Rose City Reader)

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Hank & Chloe - Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday 56

I just started reading this book yesterday and I'm almost finished. I'm loving the characters. The book was originally published in 1993, but it's still a good story today.
Here's what I'm talking about:

Book Beginning:
Answer the door after midnight and you might as well set a place at the table for trouble - Chloe Morgan's first thoughts when the knock came. Hannah, her shepherd, let out an initial throaty growl from her nest of blankets, then thumped her tail in the dark for the all clear. Tugging the horse blanket from her bed, Chloe padded barefoot across the rough plywood floor.

Friday 56:
In number seventy-two, the dark bay thoroughbred shifted his weight from hoof to hoof, his muzzle grazing the top rail of his stall. She parked the truck on the angle of the hill so that if she had to, she could start it by popping the clutch. Only her rubber mucking boots saved her jeans from the muddy manure. She walked carefully between stalls to her horse.

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction / Romance
Number of Pages:  310
Amazon Link:  Hank & Chloe

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Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. 

   Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts  

   (sponsored by Rose City Reader)

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   (sponsored by Freda's Voice) 
                           

Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday 56 - FASTER THAN THE REST

I do love western romances, and this second book in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain series is no exception. Outlaws, hunky ranchers, family bonds, a lifelong love - author Shirleen Davies combines all those elements to make FASTER THAN THE REST one heck of a good story.

Book Beginnings on Friday (opening lines from the Prologue):
"Stop right there, Wicklin." The man's voice came out of nowhere, hard and unwavering. It was well past midnight in the deserted wharf area of San Francisco, a time when people could disappear without a trace.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle): 
It has been almost a week - six days and nights - and no sign of him. She thought they'd started something together. They'd spoken of marriage.

Genre: Historical Western Romance
Number of Pages: 212
Amazon Link: Faster Than The Rest
Only $2.99 for your Kindle. Available in paperback too. The third book in the series -- HARDER THAN THE REST -- is due out in November.

Synopsis on Amazon: 
      Headstrong, brash, confident, and complex, the MacLarens of Fire Mountain will captivate you with strong characters set in the wild and rugged western frontier.
      Handsome, ruthless, young U.S. Marshal Jamie MacLaren had lost everything—his parents, his family connections, and his childhood sweetheart—but now he’s back in Fire Mountain and ready for another chance. Just as he successfully reconnects with his family and starts to rebuild his life, he gets the unexpected and unwanted assignment of rescuing the woman who broke his heart.
      Beautiful, wealthy Victoria Wicklin chose money and power over love, but is now fighting for her life—or is she? Who has she become in the seven years since she left Fire Mountain to take up her life in San Francisco? Is she really as innocent as she says?
      Marshal MacLaren struggles to learn the truth and do his job, but the past and present lead him in different directions as his heart and brain wage battle. Is Victoria a victim or a villain? Is life offering him another chance, or just another heartbreak?
      As Jamie and Victoria struggle to uncover past secrets and come to grips with their shared passion, another danger arises. A life-altering danger that is out of their control and threatens to destroy any chance for a shared future.

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Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. 

   Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts 

   (sponsored by Rose City Reader.)

   Find other Friday 56 bloggers here 
   (sponsored by Freda's Voice).