I don’t do silence. I can’t. I grew up surrounded by chaos instrumented by three demons by the names of Ryan, Liam, and Trevor, my three younger brothers. These were not, and still aren’t, studious, well behaved darlings who liked nothing better than to sit down with a good book or play with her dolls like their angel big sister. No, these boys had enough energy and testosterone to supply an entire Starbucks and bodybuilding gym with some still left over to attempt to “kill” or “wrestle” their sister and each other. Screams, whining, and loud bangs on the television and walls were staples of my youth. So when I moved out on my own, I soon discovered I needed the noise. There is always a television or radio on, even as I fall asleep. This is true when I’m writing as well. I can write pretty much anywhere (if you have a strong desire to stalk me, see the acknowledgments page of my books to see where I write), but the one thing that helps get my creative juices flowing the most is music. The right song can make or break my scene, even inspiring me on some occasions.

As I’m writing, I find that certain songs really helped pump up the visuals and mood. They helped me get to a place where I needed to get inside my head to convey what was going on in my imagination and translate that to the page. Music just adds so much more to the experience. So I started compiling playlists for the books. Like the book, the soundtrack has a narrative flow in line with the book. You don’t have to like all the songs, I have eclectic taste, but at the very least if you sample them, you’ll get a feel for the book. Since this one, What’s A Witch To Do? is set in the South, and I am a closet country music fan, these selections are some of the best Nashville has to offer. Even if you don’t think you enjoy country music, just try one or two. We may make a country fan of you yet. So here it is:

Isosceles begins with nineteen-year-old Sean McIntyre finding his longtime best friend Trey Goodsby dead in the bathroom either intentionally or accidentally by his own hand. On the back of the toilet, a cell phone display reads, Missed Call From Madeline Edwards. Before determining the immediate circumstances that would bring the three of them to this scene, the pertinent question became where did they meet? I floated a few ideas around, but none of them seemed natural. One concrete thing was it needed to be a place where on the outset they could be equals. Ironically, the answer came to me as the first day of school. When many of us think of our school days, we think of struggling to fit in, to climb our way up the social ladder. Then I posited, that whatever lasting impressions these three had on each other should be seeded in this environment.

On a sunny autumn day, Sean walks into the classroom with a sea of children before him as an ironic homage to a scene in one of my favorite films, “Goodfellas”. There’s a famous tracking shot where the camera follows Ray Liotta’s character Henry Hill taking his girlfriend Karen played by Lorraine Bracco to the Copacabana through the back entrance. You see all the various people doing their thing, and Hill walks through like he belongs, almost like he’s royalty. However though Hill felt all that confidence, I wanted Sean to feel small and insignificant.

After that moment, I knew the next place to go was to introduce Madeline into his world in a surreal way. It had to contrast with the faces of his classmates whom he cannot put a name to, yet I knew it had to keep with the notion of his insecurity. When he sees Madeline in the sunlight and is completely transfixed, it was important to state she has an ethereal glow. This served a dual purpose, not just his attraction, but to establish her as someone whom Sean sees as above him.

Swept Away
By Mary Connealy
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0764209147
ASIN: B00AHY0T0A
Pages: 320
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/iwbMo
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/mconnealy

Review:

After enjoying the Kincaid Brides, I eagerly signed up to review Mary Connealy's first book in the Trouble in Texas series from Litfuse Publicity Group and Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

Luke Stone fought during the Civil War and now four years later he is returning to claim his family's ranch, S Bar S, but there is a slight problem ahead of him as his father had sold the ranch years ago to Flint Greer, or so he claims to. Greer's story has many holes in it as Luke has the deed to the ranch. He starts to wonder if Greer had anything to do with his father's death.

Ruthy MacNeil is traveling with her family to California by wagon and she isn't looking forward to it as she is informed that she'll be forced to marry her step-brother, Vernon. The family is already working her to death and being married to Vernon will probably kill her, so the only out is for her to leave. While she tries to make her escape, she is swept away at a river crossing, but out of nowhere, Luke rescues her.

Skipping the morning meal may give you extra time to get to class on time or beat traffic while heading to work, but you may be skipping out on some important vitamins and nutrients too. Fortunately, most of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that you need can be found in supplements; some of which need to be taken with some type of food or beverage, but a bagel or a glass of orange juice can take care of that without seriously slowing your schedule down.

Hazards of Skipping Breakfast

Skipping breakfast itself isn't bad, as long as you don't skip out on essential nutrients too. Having supplements instead of meal can have a significant impact on your overall productivity during the day. If you skip breakfast and do nothing to supplement the nutrients you are losing, you are more likely to make unhealthy eating choices during the rest of your day, according to research cited by the Society for Neuroscience. Other potential issues associated with skipping breakfast include:

• Raised cardiometabolic risk factors
• Elevated cholesterol levels
• Decreased energy levels 
• Reduced productivity

 
Choosing the Right Supplements 

Now that you know that you need supplements to get the nutrients you need for the day, the next step is choosing the right supplements. Everybody needs certain vitamins and nutrients to sustain energy levels throughout the day. Most of the vitamins you need to start your day can either be taken with breakfast or found in a supplement, which may include a protein shake, protein bar or a multivitamin. The basic vitamins and supplements that most people need on a daily basis include:

Shattered Circle
By Linda Robertson
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: January 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-1451648935
ASIN: B007EDYUWK
Pages: 384

Review:

Persephone Alcmedi (known as Seph to her friends and family) once again has her hands full in this sixth entry in the series. Her life is crazy with tarot reading, writing a newspaper column, dealing with her grandma, and kenneling werewolves. She is known as the Lustrata to the witches, while she is trying to handle the aftermath of magically marking Menessos, causing him to step down from his vampire clan. And there is this thing about her boyfriend Johnny being the king of waerewolves.

With all the chaos in her life, Seph is blindsided when her foster daughter, Beverly starts getting into a trouble by tapping into the magical world, something Seph wanted her to stay away from. One of Seph's magical artifacts calls out to the young Beverly, meaning she isn’t exactly human. This time around Beverly's life is in danger and Seph must rely on her friends to help save her.

The battle lines have been drawn and everyone is being challenged in Shattered Circle.

I believe the fat cat Garfield said it best, "I hate Mondays!" As that is exactly how I felt this morning after only getting about five house of solid sleep. The last four days have been crazy. My great-uncle died, another family member has been sick, and I have been dealing with a sinus/allergy infection. Of course I had to deal with a several review items not being delivered, so I had to send out a few emails and hopefully I'll be receiving the products by the end of the week.

The weekend is also a little busy for me, as I help my mother take my grandma shopping, then I do my own errands, etc. I didn't get much reading done as I planned on doing as my eyes were watery due to the allergies. I did get a chance to watch Wreck-It Ralph and Juno. The latter I saw parts of on television a few weeks ago and I ran across it in the five dollar bin at my local Walmart. I spent a good part of Sunday catching up on some much needed sleep. I watched Juno in the afternoon and I watched Once Upon a Time and The Walking Dead later that night.

Wicked Circle
By Linda Robertson
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: December 27, 2011
ISBN: 978-1451646955
ASIN: B004U7HSS6
Pages: 432

Review:

Persephone Alcmedi (aka Seph) pays the bills by reading tarot cards, writing a newspaper column, and on nights with a full moon she runs a waerewolf kennel in her basement. She has her hands full taking care of her foster daughter, Beverly, her grandmother and her recently found mother. And there is the little known fact that Seph is a witch.

The vampire Menessos comes back into the fold for the fifth installment in the series. The vampire counsel suspects that Menessos is planning a political move by trying to gain power. To make matter worse trios of truth-seeking vampire sisters have been sent to kill him. Needing help more than ever, he seeks the advice of his witch - Seph.

There is an almost unwanted connection between Seph and Menessos, but she is obligated to help him, no matter what the cost. This becomes a big issue between her and her boyfriend, Johnny the waerewolf. Between her home life, paying the bills, playing with magic, and dealing the warewolves, she has a lot of weight on her shoulder, but she agrees to help Menessos. Little does she know that there is a dragon awaiting her.