A Special Featured Friday, Featuring Author Donna Jean McDunn, and A BOOK GIVEAWAY!

nightmares

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.

THE BIG GIVEAWAY IS FINALLY HERE!

Read on for:

  1. Information about how to enter a double giveaway multiple times;
  2. My review of “Nightmares”; and
  3. An interview with the author, Donna Jean McDunn!

Note that these will be presented in backward order, too! (Kind of like a countdown…) 🙂 Before you read on, let me preface this by saying I hope you all had a sPoOkY hAlLoWeEn last night! I’m so glad that we’re in a new, exciting month; the month of November is famed for being NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). If you doubt you can write a novel in one month, you should read this post. The numbers will amaze you. If reading is your thing instead of writing, READ ON, and meet Donna!

Meet Donna

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My #BookReview of “Meaning, Self and the Human Potential”

Kristine's book

A few months ago, Kristine Millar, author of Meaning, Self and the Human Potential guest posted on my blog. She and I met through LinkedIn, and became friends. We’ve Skyped, emailed, and chatted many times. She even sent me a copy of her book! (If you didn’t read her post,  The Silent Struggles of the Writer – Can You Survive or Thrive? you can read it now!)

Rather than telling you my version of what her book is about, I’m going to use the description of it that she uses on her website:

My book is a philosophical exploration of the ways in which we create meaning through our value systems, ideologies and perspectives. It includes an analysis of the psychological and cultural factors which contribute to the formation of values and meaning, and the anxieties we face when we lose meaning in life.

These anxieties reveal a great deal about our human motivations and our potentials both on a conscious and unconscious level. Further, they provide a window through which we can discover our true potential. The concept of self actualisation is explored as well as our capacity to lead a moral and meaningful existence without a reliance on a transcendental source. Central to my message is to overcome the fear of death and to believe in the human capacity for good.

Although the following review is posted on Goodreads, I wanted to include it here, to help more people become aware of her book.

Here is my review of Meaning, Self and the Human Potential: Read More

An Interview With Jen J. Danna, author of “Dead, Without a Stone to Tell It”

I am an avid reader of murder-mysteries, crime dramas, and novels that utilize forensic science techniques. I have favorite authors that I consistently read, but I also read books by authors whom I have previously not read, too, as long as I am somehow drawn to the plot or think that it will be a “good read”. Recently, I came across the website of a “new” writer, Jen J. Danna, who offers the first three chapters of her novel, Dead, Without a Stone to Tell It for the perusal of the general public.  I began reading it, and decided to contact her and strike a “deal” with her.

DeadWithoutAStoneFront 72dpi

Our Deal: I would blog about her book and write a review for her on Goodreads if she sent me an autographed copy to read. (I know I just wrote about this in another post, but I felt I needed to mention it again!)

I also asked her if I could do a casual “interview” with her, to glean some information about the publishing process, from a traditional publishing standpoint. (You may recall that I interviewed author Melissa Bowersock to learn about self-publishing.) I was very pleased when Jen J. Danna responded favorably to my request!

I had the opportunity to speak with Jen on May 31, 2013. We spoke for nearly an hour-and-a-half!

I learned a few things from her, which I will share with you. Read More

Autographed Books in Exchange for Reviews? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Is offering an autographed book in exchange for a review a sweet deal? I think it is, if it involves a book I want to read, and so did the three authors with whom I have struck deals! They all responded the same way: Yes! Yes! Yes!

In face, Lisa Jacskon herself saw this post, and took me up on my offer. She, indeed, sent me an autographed book! 🙂

A while back, I made some arrangements with a few authors. Basically, I offered to write a review and a blog post in exchange for an autographed copy of their book. Well, the reviews have been written and posted, and so now I am writing this to fulfill my final requirement.

PLEASE NOTE THAT, IN THE FUTURE, ALL REVIEWS WILL FOCUS ON ONLY ONE AUTHOR. (I was a “newbie” when I first started doing this, but now I see the importance and the value of devoting a post to each author I feature.)

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT BOOK REVIEWS WILL BE POSTED ON MY AUTHOR WEBSITE, TOO, INSTEAD OF ON WORDING WELL.

For now, I’m going to simply tell you about the books I’ve read already…

Drumroll, please…

These are the autographed books that were sent to me!

These are the autographed books that were sent to me!

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