Book review

Huber Hill and the Dead Man’s Treasure Blog Tour& Giveaway

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I have reviewed this book, ‘Dead Man’s Treasure’ by B.K Bostick not long ago over HERE. I did not expect anything in return. I wrote the review because the book was marvelous.

But the author have been so kind  and thoughtful to me, and sent me a replica of the gold coin from the story, and I thought it’s only fair that I participate in his blog tour.

B.K Bostick will also be giving away a gold coin/bookmark like the one I received to each of Over A Cuppa Tea readers who “like” his facebook page www.facebook.com/bkbostickauthorpage.

Without further ado, let’s carry on with the interview, shall we? The blog tour today is sponsored by Cedar Fort Inc.

Cleffairy: Welcome to Over A Cuppa Tea. Please tell us a about yourself.

I grew up in a small town, spending most of my Friday nights cow-tipping and blowing up ants with M-80’s. After high school, I settled around Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve been an elementary school teacher and jr. high school counselor. In addition to writing, I love spending time with my lovely wife and two dogs. In my spare time, I enjoy eating Cheetos and watching old episodes of the Twilight Zone.

Cleffairy: Do you recall when your interest in writing originated?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved to write. When I was in third grade, a teacher accused me of plagiarizing and used my paper as an example (only I didn’t plagiarize). I took it as a compliment and started writing more.

 

Cleffairy: Do you use paper and pen, old-fashioned typewriter, or computer/laptop? Is there a specific place that you like to write? 

I threaten my wife that I’m going to take a typewriter in the woods like Thoreau, but I use a laptop. I mostly write from my office (it has a great view of the mountains) and I need it to be absolutely quiet.

Who inspired you to write this book?

My Grandpa Jay did. When I was little, he’d tell me these wild stories about Spanish treasure hidden up in the mountains – conquistadors, cougars, traps, and Indians. He’d show me maps and books all about it. Just like the grandpa in the story, he was bed ridden and never could actually take me to search for the gold mines, so I just had to imagine we did. When I was a teenager, he passed away and I took some friends and using his old maps and books, we’d go searching and camping. We never found anything, but had a great time. Those memories and friendships were the real treasures gained on the outings. While we prospected, I started to think up the story of Dead Man’s Treasure. Fifteen years later, I finally sat down and wrote it.

Cleffairy: What was the hardest part of writing this book?

The first ten pages were the most difficult. Once I got that far, the juices started flowing and it became easier. The characters came to life and while I hate outlining, once I did, it helped because I knew where I was headed.

 

Cleffairy: Are any of the characters based on someone you know?

Grandpa Nick was based on my Granpda Jay. Scott is loosely based on a friend I had growing up. We were pretty much exact opposites, but for some reason ended up being the best of friends- even to this day.

I borrowed some characteristics of Hannah from my wife – strong, independent, but still feminine.

 

Cleffairy: Can you tell us a little about your current and upcoming writing projects?

Huber Hill is a trilogy. The second book, Huber Hill and the Brotherhood of Coronado will be released in October, 2012. The adventure will continue in Spain.

 

Cleffairy: Do you have any specific last thoughts that you want to say to your readers?

Thank you so much for investing your time in the story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Please check out the fundraiser I’m doing for my twelve year old neighbor who is suffering from cancer- www.treasureforalyssa.com. Every pre-order and book sale during the first two weeks will go to her.

Also check out the Dead Man’s Treasure trailer at:

You may also wanna see the interview of between Bryan Keith and B.K Bostick over here:

 

Cleffairy: Do keep in mind that every pre-order and book sale during the first two weeks will go to Alyssa who is suffering from cancer. Please spread the words. Thank you.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts

Bug Me Not

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Toddlers and young children are awful creatures. They throw nasty tantrums, they think like an alien, behave like an alien and sometimes, we mummies feel as if we can scream at them and ask them to stop bugging us. Unfortunately for us mummies, we can’t just scream at the toddlers cuz they don’t exactly speak the same language as us.

They’ll still bug us whether we tell them off or not and telling them off will only make things worst. The only thing we can do to make them give us some space and well deserved break every now and then is to keep them occupied.

Below is a guest post by Ms. Sharen Pearson on how to keep your toddlers occupied. Read on. It might be one of the way surviving your toddlers.

STOP BUGGING ME

Buggy Fun for Summer

By Sharen Pearson

Much to the dismay of their mothers, toddlers hold a relentless fascination for bugs. They follow, squish, catch and even eat them! Perhaps the novelty lies in the never-ending variety of creepy crawlers or that bugs are smaller than these little ones. Here are some simple buggy activities that will enchant your children this summer.

Bug Catcher

Save the net from your fresh produce. Lace a chenille wire around the top to support the sides. The net makes a tiny bug catcher for your child. Always help identify any bugs that might be dangerous. Catch, observe and release.

Butterfly or Dragonfly

Attach colored tissue paper wings to a toilet tissue or paper towel tube for wings. Slip a hair band over the tube and place on toddler’s wrist to flap and fly. For more advanced work, drop food color onto a wet coffee filter. Allow to dry and use for wings. Two filters for dragonfly and one for butterfly.

Big Bug

Fashion antennae with chenille wire and attach to your child’s head with clips. Gather a sheet of tissue paper at the center. Duct tape to the back of the shirt for butterfly wings. Fly away little butterfly!

Tot Cocoon

Give your toddler the end piece of a roll of toilet tissue. Have him gently spin to wrap the paper around and around forming a cocoon. If the paper breaks, just tuck the loose end in and begin again. Continue as your child is comfortable (most won’t let you cover the face). Count 1, 2, 3 and have your butterfly “hatch out” and fly away.

Lady Bug

Make a tiny ladybug from the cup of an egg carton. Cut the section. Paint red and add black dots. Tape twisted bits of paper on for antennae. For a counting activity: make five bugs and draw 1 spot, 2 spots etc. on the five bugs. Count the spots and the bugs.

Caterpillar

Cut a six-section length from an egg carton. Your toddler can glue cotton balls on each section for “fuzz.” Draw a face on one end of the section and add chenille or paper antennae. Punch a hole in the front and tie a string on to “walk your bug.” For more advanced work, paint each section of the caterpillar yellow or even a rainbow.

Bug Collage

Draw (or print from a website) several bugs on paper. Make a simple paste of flour and water. Your tot can glue on dry rice, macaroni, bits of colored paper and/or cake sprinkles to decorate the bugs.

Bugs in a tub

Pour 6 cups of dry rice into a large flat container. Add toy plastic bugs (or your ladybugs), measuring cups, recycled plastic containers, paper tubes and play as in a sand box. To protect the floor and give your activity a boundary, place the tub in the center of a sheet or shower curtain. Your child will play for hours.

About Guest Author:

Sharen Pearson’s Goof & Giggle classes and materials continue to provide a quality Mom/Tot interaction. Widely popular, Goof & Giggle’s child-focused play plans are offered in various Arizona communities. She’s also created a variety of Goof Juice DVDs and filmed episodes of Baby D.I.Y. and written workbooks for BabyFirstTV. Arizona Midday (NBC) tapes monthly segments with Sharen to provide their audience with a variety of original and creative “easy to do” activities for babies and preschoolers. Sharen’s creativity reaches a combined audience over 200 million viewers worldwide. Goof & Giggle classes and products encourage green living, repurposing materials from around the house into affordable objects for play and learning. Learn more at: https://sharenpearson.com/

Disclaimer: I am hosting this Blog Tour on the behalf of Kathy Carlton Willis Communications. I was not compensated in any ways for hosting this.

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Book review

Starting a Micro Business and Books Giveaway

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With unemployment rates high, the teen population is finding it harder and harder to find work. Adults are competing for the same minimum wage jobs. But there’s an alternative—starting a micro business. What is a micro business? It is a very small, one-person business that you can start easily and quickly with what you already know or own. No money needed, low risk and no debt! Students can spend as much time running a micro business as they wish and can even close it down during busy times. The best advantage for teens to own a micro business is that it not only brings in extra cash (often more than imagined), but students end up learning a great deal about business, money and themselves. It may lead to an entrepreneurial life or at the very least, prepare students for higher learning opportunities.

I’ve read the book, Starting a Micro Business by Carol Topp, and I found that it’s full with innovative ideas and very helpful for teens who wants to earn more money but do not exactly know how.

Spring Cleaning: A Time For a Teenager to Make Money

Guest post by Carol Topp
Here are some ideas for a micro business a teenager can start this spring:
  • House cleaning: Offer to tackle large jobs like washing windows, moving furniture, etc. Many people are grateful for a young, strong teenager to help them with heavy lifting. What is easy for you might be very difficult for them, especially if they are an older person.
  • Routine house cleaning: Some customers need regular house cleaning and may hire you on a weekly or monthly basis. Don’t wait for them to ask: offer to come weekly or twice a month and see what they say.
  • Attic cleaning: Offer to help people do a job that they put off, such as cleaning an attic.
  • Garage cleaning: A big job that can earn you big bucks!
  • Yard cleanup: Offer to trim bushes, pull weeds, plant flowers and spread mulch to spruce up a yard.
  • Car and van cleaning: People spend a lot of time in their automobiles and their cars and vans need frequent cleaning. Melissa gladly paid to get her van cleaned inside and out every week because her four children could really make a mess in it. You can make some cash by offering to clean a van inside and out.
  • Organize. Organize a house, playroom or garage. Charge the customer for any bins, tubs and labels that you purchase for them and then add on the value of your time. Take before and after photos to use on your advertising fliers.
  • Declutter: Do you love HGTV shows on organization? You might be able to find someone to hire you to declutter their house like you see on TV.
  • Garage sales: Advertise, organize and run a garage sale for your neighbors. Get several neighbors to participate together and really earn the bucks!
  • eBay sales: Offer to sell your neighbors’ stuff on eBay and take a cut for yourself. Combine the decluttering, garage sale and eBay tasks into a full package to help your customers profit from their excess stuff.
Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners though her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

For a chance to go into the draw to win a complete set of Carol Topp’s Micro Business for Teens series please leave a comment with a way to contact you by Thursday 21. Giveaways is International and winner will be notified via email.
GRAND PRIZE!
The Complete Set of Carol Topp’s Micro Business for Teens Series
(Winner will receive the four books shown below)
Starting a Micro Business
ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1
Retail price: $9.95
Running a Micro Business
ISBN: 978-0-09829245-1-8
Retail price: $9.95
Money and Taxes in a Micro Business
ISBN: 978-0-09829245-3-2
Retail price: $9.95
The Micro Business for Teens Workbook
ISBN: 978-0-09829245-2-5
Retail price: $14.95
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I received an ARC of this book from Kathy Carlton Willis Communications. I was not compensated in any ways for hosting this book tour.

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Book review

Beneath The Night Tree

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Do I have a child? Julia DeSmit knew she would face the question eventually, but she didn’t expect it now. At twenty-four, she is finally content with the way her life has unfolded. A single mother to her son and young brother, she works at the local grocery store while chipping away at a two-year degree. All her free time is spent with her unorthodox family—her boys, her grandmother, and her boyfriend of five years. It’s not perfect, but Julia is happier than ever.

So when she receives the cryptic e-mail from her son’s father, Julia’s world is turned upside down. She hasn’t heard from Parker since he left her in a college parking lot nearly six years ago. But one look at her son—the spitting image of his father—is enough to convince her that, for better or worse, Parker is a part of their story. Faced with this new reality and an unexpected tragedy, Julia begins a tightrope walk between what was and what is, what she hopes for and what will be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicole Baart was born and raised in a small town in Iowa, where she and husband now live with their three young sons. After the adoption of their second son, Nicole discovered a deep passion for global issues and is a founding member of a nonprofit organization that works with a church and orphanage in Liberia.

Nicole is the critically acclaimed author of three novels. After the Leaves Fall was published in 2007 and was followed by a sequel, Summer Snow, which was a Christy Award finalist. That was followed by The Moment Between, Nicole’s first stand-alone novel.

Visit her Web site HERE to find out more about her. 😀

ISBN: 978-1-4143-2323-7

Release: February 2011

MY REVIEW

I was rather skeptical when I this book in my mailbox. I thought it’s going to be another of one of those dreadful chic-lit that could put me to sleep the instant I skim through the pages. But I was wrong, very wrong, as Beneath The Night Tree is a very moving and beautiful story.

I was immediately drawn into the lives of the characters in the story, and I find myself being pulled into their world where I laugh along with them and cry along with them.

This book taught me one lesson: We may have our lives planned, but there’s always surprises and unexpected things that comes along the way. It may be good and it may be bad, and we all must learn to live our lives one day at a time.

You see, the main protagonist, Julia thought that she had it figured out and her life is well planned after her unexpected pregnancy. She had new life and new boyfriend now, and she looks forward to marry him. But oh, how wrong she was. The father of her child reappear in her life once again and seeks redemption. Julia knew that she couldn’t deny him the rights as a father.

Beneath the Night Tree was written in such a wonderful way that I felt really close to the characters, and I actually cried when Julia’s grandmother died. It made me think of my own late grandmother.

Overall, Beneath The Night Tree is a very lovely read, and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good inspirational family oriented story.

Thumbs up for Beneath The Night Tree and I rate this book 4 out of 5. I would definitely prefer it more if there’s a sequel to this book and I thought improvement ought to be made to the cover to make it look more lively and irresistible.

I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers. I was not required to give positive reviews. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do I have a child? Julia DeSmit knew she would face the question eventually, but she didn’t expect it now. At twenty-four, she is finally content with the way her life has unfolded. A single mother to her son and young brother, she works at the local grocery store while chipping away at a two-year degree. All her free time is spent with her unorthodox family—her boys, her grandmother, and her boyfriend of five years. It’s not perfect, but Julia is happier than ever.

So when she receives the cryptic e-mail from her son’s father, Julia’s world is turned upside down. She hasn’t heard from Parker since he left her in a college parking lot nearly six years ago. But one look at her son—the spitting image of his father—is enough to convince her that, for better or worse, Parker is a part of their story. Faced with this new reality and an unexpected tragedy, Julia begins a tightrope walk between what was and what is, what she hopes for and what will be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicole Baart was born and raised in a small town in Iowa, where she and husband now live with their three young sons. After the adoption of their second son, Nicole discovered a deep passion for global issues and is a founding member of a nonprofit organization that works with a church and orphanage in Liberia.

Nicole is the critically acclaimed author of three novels. After the Leaves Fall was published in 2007 and was followed by a sequel, Summer Snow, which was a Christy Award finalist. That was followed by The Moment Between, Nicole’s first stand-alone novel.

Visit her Web site at www.nicolebaart.com.

ISBN: 978-1-4143-2323-7
Release: February 2011

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