Bethany House; 320 pages; $15.99; Amazon

It's been a busy 24 hours for me. I meant to have this review written and posted last night, but I ended watching the movie "The Foreigner" instead. Instead of procrastinating (again), here I am writing my review for the mystery-thriller Dark Deception by Nancy Mehl. It's the second book in the Defenders of Justice series. I had reviewed the first book, Fatal Frost, yesterday. You can read my review here!

Dark Deception centers a woman named Kate O'Brien, who has been living in Shelter Cove, Arkansas. Four years ago, she and her twin sister were attacked by a serial killer. Her sister was murdered, but she survived. The killer was caught, tried, and sentenced to prison. Kate's life has never been the same. Not only did she lost her sister, but she also had to leave behind her entire life and join the witness protection.

Suddenly new evidence comes forward that suggests the man who was sent to prison wasn't the real killer, which means Kate will have to come out of hiding and testify in court again.

Tony DeLuca is assigned to escort her back to St. Louis. He's the same deputy marshal who protected her during the original trial. Tony is excited about his new assignment, as he has romantic feelings for Kate. Of course this is supposed to be a thriller, so there isn't too much time for romance, as he must protect Kate from an unexpected threat.

Now available on Paperback, Kindle, and Nook is the hilarious novel Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet by K.C. Hilton. The author has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk about her newest book.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Since I was young, I had always expressed my creativity through photography. "A picture says a thousand words," I was told, but I wanted more. A picture may say a thousand words, but a book will give you the details of the story. About ten years ago, I had a dream. Two months later, I decided to write about the dream in detail. It wasn't long before I realized I had a story to build on. So, I began researching and learning the art of writing. That story was 90 Miles to Freedom.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book published was actually the second book I wrote, which was The Magic of Finkleton.

What inspired you to write Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet?

I own and manage a used car lot with my husband. The experiences in my real life make for excellent material in the Julia Karr Series. I'm a used car dealer by day and a writer by night. I don't get much sleep. I was actually in the middle of writing another young adult book, when Barbie came to visit. That afternoon, I decided to write a book from the perspective of a female car dealer.

What character in Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

That's easy! Julia is basically me, in every way.

What is your favorite part in Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet?

My favorite part would be Romeo and Julia's home life. The love they have for each other and the amusing things they say and do at home. It balances out the crazy stuff that happens on the car lot.

What was the hardest part to write?

That would be the story about the car jacker. Recalling that memory was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Just writing that chapter took me two days and had me shook up for a week. I wondered if writing it was even worth it.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

As a career, I'd choose to be a Dental Hygienist, because I literally fall short of the height requirements to be an Airline Stewardess. However, working at Disney World would be much more fun, in my opinion. Although, some people might consider that a job, not a career.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Bethany House; 304 pages; $14.99; Amazon

Yep, I'm back with another Review Catch Up Marathon! review. Once again, my plans for finishing these reviews were put on a hold around Thanksgiving, as I was just too busy with other reviews, holiday posts, and other stuff.

Today, I'm reviewing Fatal Frost, book one in the Defenders Of Justice series, by Nancy Mehl. I fell in love with the author's stories after reading the first book in the Road To Kingdom series a few years ago. Fatal Frost was published in 2016 and I read the book shortly after reviewing an ARC, but I never got around to writing the review for it. Last night, I reread the book and then this morning I reread the second book Dark Deception.

Fatal Frost centers on U.S. Marshal Mercy Brennan, who is recovering from being shot while on the job. Out of nowhere, her estranged father makes contact with her, which gets the attention of the most powerful gang in St. Louis. For her safety, her boss assigns Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark St. Laurent to protect her.

While on the road away from St. Louis, a sudden ice story strands Mercy and Mark in a remote location, where they have no contact with the U.S. Marshal department. As the storms worsens, and with her father's enemies hot on their trail, Mercy must rely on Mark to survive.

Zondervan; 333 pages; Amazon

I have a bad habit of signing up to review books just because it's set around the Amish. Yes, I do like reading Amish fiction, but there are good ones and then there are the ones that aren't so great. I keep telling myself to try a different genre, but here I am reviewing the book A Place At Our Table by Amy Clipston, and as you have probably have guessed, it's an Amish romance tale.

Set in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the novel centers on two main characters - Kayla Dienner and Jamie Riehl. Kayla has had her handful trying to stop her younger brother, Nathan, from becoming a firefighter. Their older brother had died in a fire and she'll do anything to keep Nathan safe and sound. The last thing she has on her mind right now is love, but this is a romance story. Isn't it?

When Jamie Riehl isn't busy working on his family's farm, he's volunteering at the local fire department. Shortly after meeting Kayla, he starts to fall in love with her. However, her feelings aren't exactly the same, as she trying to protect herself from getting hurt.

Thomas Nelson; 306 pages; Amazon

New American Library; 374 pages; Amazon

Ink and Bone, book one in The Great Library series, has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for awhile now. I believe I had received the book through the Blogging for Books program. I knew nothing about the series prior to reading the book last Friday, well, except for the fact that's it's written by Rachel Caine, the author of the Morganville Vampires series.

The novel is set in a world where the Great Library is available in every city. While people can have access to the wide-range of books in the library, you cannot own any books. Alchemy (aka the government) wants to control what written knowledge is available to the people.

The main character is Jess Brightwell, who believes in the value that each book possesses in the library. However, most of his knowledge came from the illegal books owned by his family.  At the request of his father, Jess joins the Library training program, which is located in Alexandria. Of course his father has other reasons for why he wanted Jess to join, such as stealing books.

The training program is led by Scholar Christopher Wolfe, who doesn't want to teach a bunch of teenagers the way of the Great Library. One by one the students are kicked out the program, but Jess makes it to the final assignment, which involves searching for lost books in a war zone area.

Book Boss Publishing; 276 pages; $15.99; Amazon

I know I keep saying that I'll finally catch up on all my "needs-to-be-review pile, but I really mean it this time. Well, at least that was one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2018.

For my first review of the year, I'm reviewing the book Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet by K.C. Hilton. I've had this book sitting around for awhile now. I've attempted to read it several times, but something always comes up and I have to set it aside.

Loosely inspired by the author's own life, the novel is more or less a series of short tales centering around Julia Karr, a used car lot owner. It's a hilarious look into the life of a business owner who must deal with rude, odd, and just downright weird customers. Then's there's Julia's quest to buy a toilet that can flush multiple golf balls.

It's only the 6th day of the year and I've already gotten a several things I wanted to get done done! Yes, this is includes working on my procrastination issues, which I have talked about on this blog several times. Exercising - well, that's a completely different story. Originally, I wanted to begin a new workout program on the 1st, then I told myself to start on the 2nd, and well, as you can probably guess, I keep talking myself out of it. Now, my plans are to begin a new workout program tomorrow morning.

What program am I going to start?

Who knows!

I haven't made that decision yet. I still have a subscription on Beachbody On Demand, so I will probably start one of their programs.

Anyhow, the Book Blogger Hop landing page has been updated with new questions for the entire year. I've brought back the thumbnail link widget, which costs $2.99 per month. While I prefer to use the free widget, it only allowed me to schedule future hops a month in advanced. I went ahead I got the subscription, so I can schedule the hop for the entire year, as there has been a few times where I just had forgotten to post the weekly hop on time. This way I won't have that problem this year. I have all the hop's posts set up as a 'drafts,' but I have only three months completed so far. I hoping to finish scheduling the rest of the posts over the weekend.

By the way, if you haven't noticed, this is a new weekly post called "Saturday Mornings," where I'll talk about anything and everything. While I'm writing this I'm listening to Nelly Furtado's album "The Ride" and drinking a cup of Green Mountain Coffee: Pumpkin Spice. I love this brand of coffee, but their K-Cups are extremely expensive. Luckily for me, I found a 18-count box on clearance at Walmart for under $4 yesterday.

Now available to purchase on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, and Target is the fantasy novel CrossTown by Loren W. Cooper.




The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk about his new novel CrossTown.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

As early as I can remember, I hung on family stories, I read voraciously, and I told myself stories in play or for relaxation. It took me until college to think about writing for publication.

What was your first book/story published?

First short story published was Eyes of Yesterday in 1995.

What inspired you to write CrossTown?

The initial scene with the Jigsaw Man came to me after seeing a horror movie done badly. It made me want to write a scene with similar elements where it was done well.

What character in CrossTown is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

The White Wolf is the most fun to write. He captures my smartass element. Unlike me, he feels little need to filter his acerbity.

What is your favorite part in CrossTown?

The setting itself. All the myriad Ways of Possibility branching out through time and space.

What was the hardest part to write?

The setting. CrossTown blurs character and setting. Capturing the breadth and depth of it is impossible. You can only shoot and hope to get close to the target.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

This year will mark my ninth anniversary of blogging! Yes, I've been blogging for almost a decade. I guess time really does fly by quick when you keep yourself busy like me. For those of you who have followed me from the beginning, my blog started out strictly as a book review blog, but over the years I have expanded my reviews into other territories, such as movies and certain products that fall into my own personal niche. Additionally, I've worked with a few companies on several sponsored posts. (Yes, your blog earn money!)

While having your own blog domain is the right direction to go if you want to look professional, you don't have to start out with one at the beginning. I didn't have the budget to purchase a domain when I first started out, so I went the simple and cheap route by created a free blog on Blogger, which you'll be given a blogspot.com URL. There's also weebly.com, wix.com, squarespace.com, and many other free blog platforms you can choose from.

Once you get some content (aka - posts) and some followers/readers, then I would recommend getting a domain. Use your blog's own stats platform, an analytics website, or a consumer growth platform to determine how many followers/readers your blog is receiving.

The biggest question on every newbie blogger's mind is, "What do I blog about?" Well, that's an easy question to answer, blog about what you know. If you like to read Stephen King novels, then you should review Stephen King novels! If you like to read romances, then you should review romance novels!

When I first started out, I reviewed the books that I already owned. My goal wasn't to the get the attention of publishers or authors; I just wanted to share my love of reading with others. However, my reviews caught the attention of authors and publishers, which lead to me reviewing Advanced Reader Copies.

If you want to receive free books to review on your blog, the only thing you have to do is review the books that you own or have checked out at the library! Eventually, you're blog will attract readers and loyal followers.

Time. It is the most elusive thing. It is a luxury of which some of us are willing to beg, borrow, and steal for. People wish for more of it, convinced if they had just a few minutes more the results could be life-changing. 

It's true. We are busy people. Our schedules leave us exhausted, delirious, overwhelmed. To survive, we are constantly juggling, balancing, shifting, always dangling just above the edge of a looming deadline.

I loose count of how many times I hear the words, "There's just not enough time in the day to get everything done." It pains me most when it's my voice saying them.

We are a breed of our own: the busy.

To achieve this livable state of sleep deprivation, we make caffeine our favorite food group, existing in a jittery existence of the fear and consequences of nodding off. We are masters of the to-do list, the weekly calendar, the span of 24-hours.

This constant battle against the clock must be universal. Surely, others feel the tremble of the ticking constantly beating beneath every step they take through their mine field of a day. We constantly avert any possible social scenario that can pose a threat to our down-to-the-second agenda, knowing if we stop long enough to smell those ridiculous flowers the less-busy always talk about it, we're doomed. 

They say the early bird catches the worm, time waits for no one, time is money, and there's no time like the present. We are constantly bombarded by the 

insistence to do more, be more, live more. This is our fuel.

And then there's writing.

I recently had an online discussion with two fellow writers in which time was our topic, specifically how to find more of it. As creative people with unconventional lives and schedules, we are often time-shamed. Example A: "When you're done with your little writing thing, do you think you can actually spend time with your friends and family? We miss you."

To ask someone who is not a writer to understand how we work and why time is everything to us is asking for the impossible. Non-writers can view our desire for writing time as selfish; our writing – and the time we need for it – can inconvenience many people. We are expected to keep a more world-friendly schedule by only tapping into and channeling our creativity during business hours - and never on weekends.

Finding the time to write can become the most challenging aspect of a writer's life. It certainly is for mine. We can tape as many Do Not Disturb signs on our home office doors we want, but that tiny flicker of guilt still remains each time we sit down at our laptops and the world continues to happen without us, hopefully missing us. It is indeed a high price to pay.

Yet, the results can be life-changing - or, more specifically, career-changing. Many of us dream of one day writing for a living, of reaching a point in which our talent and creativity sustains us. But we cannot get there without time.

The discussion with my writer friends ended with the conclusion that each of us need to be more protective of our schedules, that we collectively have to guard our writing time. We are soldiers, protecting our own very precious turf. Because every second really does count, as much as every word we write. 

The struggle against the clock, our own lives, and the demands we must meet can be a difficult one to endure. Yet, in the end, those few moments in which the world around us slips away and nothing else matters but the words on the page - they make the pace worth it. It's usually then we feel like we won. And, as they say, even the smallest victory counts.

What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2018?

Like probably many other people, one my New Year's Resolutions is to lose weight . And like almost everyone that makes this resolution, I have failed each and every year. For 2018, my gain goal is get back into a daily exercise routine, get into shape, and feel better about myself, so basically next year will be all about me.

To begin my new "A New Me in 2018" posts, I'm featuring a review on two new protein products from Ancient Nutrition. The products are called Keto PROTEIN and Organic Bone Broth PROTEIN!

Getting the proper amount of protein is important if you want to gain strength and build muscles. While you can get extra protein from food, many people prefer to get it from a pre-workout or post-workout drink or shake. Sadly, many of the protein powders and mixes have way too much sugar in them.

Keto PROTEIN (retails for $54.95) is available in a variety of flavors, but I was sent the "chocolate" flavor. It was created for ketogenic dieters, students, gamers, and anyone looking to boost their mind and increase their strength. Each serving has 11g fat, 15g protein, 1g sugar and 3g carbs that all comes from high quality chicken bone broth and coconut MCTs. It also contains antioxidant and adaptogenic herbs. It's free of soy, grain, dairy, and gluten.

Ingredients include: Chicken Bone Broth Oil, Chicken Bone Broth Protein Concentrate, Organic Chicken Protein Concentrate, Medium Chain Triglycerides (coconut), Organic Ashwagandha Extract (root), Hydrolyzed Bovine Collagen Peptides, Cocoa, Organic Coffee Fruit Extract, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Fermented Organic Ginger (rhizome), Fermented Organic Black Pepper (fruit), Fermented Organic Long Pepper (fruit), and Fermented Organic Reishi Mushroom Mycelium (Ganodema Lucidum).

The tub sent to me is 19oz and contains 17 servings (1 heaping 32g scoop). It can be mixed with 12 ounces of water, plain almond milk, coffee, or tea. It's not meant to be a meal replacement, but it can be taken as a workout drink or as a snack.

The Keto PROTEIN Chocolate mixed with hot coffee.

Being the big coffee drinker that I am, I naturally added the chocolate protein to my morning cup of coffee. It blends really well with the hot coffee and it tasted great! I couldn't even tell it was made from bone broth! There's nothing better than drinking chocolate coffee on a cold winter day.

The Organic Bone Broth PROTEIN (retails for $57.95) is an organic superfood powder made from real bone broth. It's available in several different flavors, but the sample tub (16 oz) sent to me is the "Savory Herbs" flavor. There are 17 servings (one scoop) per container (tub). Each serving has 100 calories, 0 sugar, and 20g of protein!

What character or characters would you not mind sharing a New Year’s kiss with?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
  

My Answer:

I would kiss Sookie Stackhouse from the Sookie Stackhouse mystery series by Charlaine Harris. However, it probably wouldn't be a good idea, as she's a mind reader.