Tag Archives: love

July 22, 2022 · 7:00 am

Peace Dreamer: A Journey of Hope in Bad Times and Good by Cheryl Melody Baskin (Book Review)

Discovering yourself is part of life’s journey and honors the saying, “peace begins with me.” Peace Dreamer offers inspiring wisdom, life coaching, healing techniques, self-discovery tools and soul searching meaning. It helps you answer, “Who am I? What are my dreams for myself? What are my dreams for the world?”

Feed your inner spirit with hope, happiness, love, dreams, idealism and optimism even as you struggle with everyday challenges.

Peace Dreamer encourages you to never give up on yourself or the world, no matter how messy life becomes. True activism begins in our core. Our soul of souls. It begins from inside-out.

Let it begin now for you.

Buy the Book:
Amazon
add to goodreads
 
 
 
I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
 
Peace Dreamer: A Journey of Hope in Bad Times and Good contained many beautiful quotes by famous historical or pop culture figures. It also housed several inspirational quotes by Cheryl Melody Baskin. I want to share one with you. 
 
“Every positive action that shines love and stands for love is all that is needed to create a compassionate and inclusive world. The time is now to elevate humanity to a new awakening.”


Cheryl is correct; this world needs more acts of love and kindness. We need to stand together. Be united. Embrace inclusiveness.


Cheryl talks about many subjects in the book: Covid-19, George Floyd, and the last presidential election, to name a few. Each of these events caused a rift in society. Hate was the emotion filling up many souls. We judged each other. She admitted to judging others when it came to the masks. Her journal entries were honest and reflected a person’s true feelings regarding turbulent times. Cheryl encourages peace and healing of the world through love. We need more peace in the streets, in our government, and behind closed doors (schools, businesses, grocery stores, etc.) 


Cheryl Melody Baskin spoke about chakras in-depth. I admit I knew of the word, but I couldn’t tell you which charka went to what body parts, color, purpose, etc. Therefore, the sections dedicated to this topic intrigued me incredibly. I learned much from her. Thank you, Cheryl, for educating me. 


Cheryl also surprised me with the song lyrics. She is a talented songwriter. BTW: I did find a couple of her songs on Youtube. I couldn’t sing in front of a crowd, so I applaud anyone who can. 


Cheryl listed several questions for you to answer if you decide to start a journal. If you’re not a journal-keeping person, maybe consider mentally answering them instead. I did. 


There is so much inside the book, too much for me to cover in one review: examples of positive affirmations, self-care reminders, and stories from the “Shift of Heart” Facebook community. I could’ve read their contributions for hours. <3


I highly recommend those reading this review to read Peace Dreamer: A Journey of Hope in Bad Times and Good. 


Let’s all work together to live a more peaceful life—internally and externally. 
 

 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤
 
Amazon
add to goodreads
 
 
Meet the Author:

Cheryl Melody Baskin is an award-winning author. Her motivational self-help books include “Peace Dreamer: A Journey of Hope in Bad Times and Good,” “Heart-Dreamer: Stepping into Life, Love, Creativity and Dreams – No Matter What” (an International Silver Medal Winner from Readers Favorite), and “Shift of Heart: Paths to Healing and Love.” She is also a recording artist, performing artist, spirituality and peace educator, sound healer, intuitive life coach, and facilitator and founder of the FB community, Shift of Heart. She recently received a Life Achievement Award from The Visioneers International Network.

 
connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ goodreads
 
 
 
 
 
 

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July 5, 2022 · 7:00 am

The Nikki Bryant Cozy Mysteries by Lauren Carr (2 Book Spotlight)

KILLER DEADLINE (a Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery) by Lauren Carr

 ​
“I love this cozy mystery! It is full of suspense, action-packed, fast pace with that small-town feeling. I love the characters, I have to admit, I fell in love with Elmo on the spot! I loved Nikki’s spunk and determination. She keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire book! And I usually try to pick up all if the clues and figure out whodunnit but this story kept taking twists and turns that I was surprised. This is just type of cozy mysteries I love to read.” – 5-Star review by Splashes of Joy

“An excellent blend of mystery and suspense with comic relief and romance…. Lauren has a great way of balancing this without taking away from the story. We have well-developed characters, that you can’t help but feel a connection to. I loved Nikki’s character but also her connections to her hometown, her family and her lost love.” – review by Working Mommy Journal

 
 
Book Series Description:
Folks in the small town of Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, claim that where Nikki Bryant goes, trouble is not far behind. Her refusal to back down from a challenge has made Nikki Bryant a top investigative journalist.

After years of chasing mysteries around the globe, Nikki Bryant returns home to Pine Grove to take over managing WKPG-TV and reconnects with her first love, Ryan Spaulding, the chief of the state police crime lab.

It doesn’t take long for Nikki and her family to realize that you can’t keep this ace reporter and her boxer dog Elmo behind a desk–especially when a mystery is afoot.

 
Buy the Series:
Amazon.com
 
 
 
Meet Nikki Bryant!
KILLER DEADLINE (a Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery) by Lauren Carr
 
 
“Here we go! Carr is a master storyteller who always offers a plot full of twists and turns, a bit of humor to offset the dark, and a unique cast of characters. In Killer Deadline that cast includes – handsome Ryan, her first love (who is now her step-brother); a mysterious social media friend called Nerdy Guy; Elmo, a super smart dog, a boxer, she rescued who has become a social media star and has a penchant for cleaning; a TV station full of suspicious employees; and more.

“This book is a wonderful read to pick up at the end of a long day. It truly is a “cozy murder mystery.”  I promise, it’ll draw you in right from page one and keep you turning the pages until you reach the very last page. I can’t wait for the second book in this series.” – Marilyn R. Wilson, Olio by Marilyn

 
 
Book Description:

​Folks in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, claim that where Nikki Bryant goes, trouble is not far behind. Her refusal to back down from a challenge has made Nikki Bryant a top investigative journalist.

When an online friend nudges her to join him in a pact to reconnect with their first loves, Nikki and her boxer dog Elmo leave the bright lights of Las Vegas for the charming town of Pine Grove. There, she must face the biggest challenges in her career and life—the first love she had left behind and her father’s unsolved murder.

But before she has time to unpack her car, Nikki stumbles upon the dead body of local news anchor, Ashleigh Addison, her childhood rival. Could Ashleigh’s death be connected to an explosive news story that she had teased about airing live? Did that explosive story have anything to do with the murder of Nikki’s father?

With the clues in her father’s cold case hot again, Nikki intends to chase down the story of her life until she catches his killer—no matter what it takes. 

 
Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Audible ~ BookBub
Add to Goodreads
 
 
 
Nikki Bryant’s Next Case Takes Her to
THE WRONG SIDE OF MURDER!
THE WRONG SIDE OF MURDER (a Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery) by Lauren Carr

 
Book Description:

One spring morning, Jodi Gibbons got up and went to school as she did every day. Her young life went sideways though when the police found that her mother had been brutally killed during the night.

Twenty years later, many in Pine Grove believe Jodi got away with murder. After all, how could she have possibly slept through her mother’s violent death in the very next room?

After decades of silence, Jodi accepts investigative journalist Nikki Bryant’s invitation to tell her side of the story. However, before the interview can take place, someone silences Jodi permanently.

Now it is up to Nikki Bryant and her friends to uncover the secret that Jodi Gibbons has been protecting—a secret someone believes it is worth killing to keep from being revealed.

Pre-Order the Book:
release date: July 21
Amazon
 
 
 
Meet the Author:

Author Lauren Carr and Sterling

​Selling over half a million books worldwide, Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Thorny Rose, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and Nikki Bryant Cozy Mysteries—thirty titles across five fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor. 

The owner of Acorn Book Services and iRead Book Tours, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, and virtual book tour coordinator for independent authors.  

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. 

She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

connect with the author: 

website ~ blog ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ twitter ~ pinterest
 
 
 
 
 

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June 20, 2022 · 7:00 am

Shadows in the Aftermath by Marianne Scott (Book Spotlight)

SHADOWS IN THE AFTERMATH by Marianne Scott

 
Ruby Draker has found new strength and is ready to move on after Felix Szabo devastated the Draker estate in Nice, France. Three Drakers are dead leaving Ruby in grief and with thoughts of revenge. The Drakers are a family built of survivors; each rescued from Felix Szabo, a psychopath, who sought to murder his former agents at the CIA whom he believed betrayed him. The Drakers’ sole mission is to stop Szabo from adding more victims to his list, and although he also perished during the invasion, his legacy continues to haunt them. When the Drakers learn that Robert Draker, presumed dead since the shoot-out at Robert’s farmhouse, may be alive and at a rehab clinic in Portland, Maine, the Drakers know it could be a setup, but they have no choice but to try to nd him and bring Robert home.

​Shocked that Robert may be alive, the family head from France to America to find him. It’s only when they arrive in the west that they realize finding Robert won’t be as easy as they thought. Szabo has found a way to terrorize the Draker family, even after death. His outstanding debt with a Corsican crime family means the Drakers must now find and deliver a shipment of plutonium, which will likely be used by terrorists to create a nuclear bomb, to get Robert back. As Ruby struggles with the decision to save her brother or North America, she must also evade the CIA, who are trying to stop the Drakers from delivering the plutonium. 

 

BUY THE BOOK:
Friesen Press Bookstore
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com

 

 
 
 
Meet the Author:

Author Marianne Scott

Marianne Scott is the Canadian author of four mystery thrillers and is currently finishing an edit on her fourth novel, a murder mystery. She has a BA and a Diploma in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, CA. She studied creative writing through Conestoga College and Humber College. She enjoys writing workshops such as those offered by Brian Henry, publisher of the blog, Quick Brown Fox, and One Lit Place, a writers’ hub by creator/editor Jenna Kalinsky. She has an author’s website and blog is the president of The Cambridge Writers’ Collective and is a member of the Guelph Genre Writers. In September of 2018, she completed a fourth-year course in Writing Fiction at the University of Guelph under the expert teaching of Lawrence Hill. Her novels, Finding Ruby Draker and Shadows in the Aftermath are self-published. She is actively seeking representation to break into the traditional publishing world with her third and fourth novels.  
 
 
connect with the author: 
website ~ twitter ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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May 1, 2022 · 7:00 am

Love Is Love: Picture Book for Gay and Lesbian (LGBTQ) People with Dementia by Laurette Klier (Book Review)

 

Love Is Love is a beautifully curated collection of 21 vintage photographs paired with 21 classic love poems to engage and delight LGBTQ elders living with dementia. Nostalgic poetry is an invitation into the past with representation, compassion, and joy. Love Is Love invites conversation and connection, to affirm identity and awaken the spirit within. Designed to read aloud, read along, to share as a ‘picture walk’ with a friend, neighbor, family member, or allied health professional.


The NANA’S BOOKS series is recommended by ALZ Authors and ALZ Speaks. Featured resources in the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Teal Room, NANA’S BOOKS are the winner of a Maude’s Award for Innovation in Dementia Care for Making Connections.

 

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery.  I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Love Is Love: Picture Book for Gay and Lesbian (LGBTQ) People with Dementia by Laurette Klier is a heartfelt mixture of poetry and black/white/gray photography. 

Laurette Klier chose poems written by notorious authors in the literary field, such as Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Lord Byron, expressing love between partners in same-sex relationships. Even without the poetry, the love is evident in every single photo. 

A subtle touch. 

A kiss. 

A twinkle in their eye.

A laugh. 

A loving embrace. 

Some photographs also captured couples in a more serious manner, but expressionless faces were the norm in certain periods. 

No matter the tone of the photographs, it was lovely to see a collection featuring same-sex couples from years past. 

My favorite male/male image was of the two gentlemen wearing hats and smoking cigars. They have a look on their face where I imagine they’re holding back laughter, and once the photo was taken, they break out in boisterous laughter. They also have a mischievous look in their eyes. I bet these two men have/had a lot of fun in life.

My favorite female/female photo is the neighbors kissing over their shared fence. I wonder how many times did they meet there? Did anyone know of their passion? I can almost hear their giggles when they call for each other. The woman with one foot up is posed in a famous romance swoon position. Love it! 

I loved all the works of art, textual and visual. 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

 

Meet the Author

 

Nana’s Books is an award-winning series designed to engage and delight people living with dementia and their care partners through nostalgic art and verse. Nana’s Books are crafted to ease conversation and to awaken the spirit within. Nana’s Books bring back connection… one page at a time.

Reedsy Link

 

 

 

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March 29, 2022 · 7:00 am

They Called Him Marvin, A History of Love, War and Family by Roger Stark (Book Spotlight)

THEY CALLED HIM MARVIN by Roger StarkContent Rating:  PG-13: No sex scenes, six mild profanities, depictions of war scenes.
 
 
 
They were just kids, barely not teenagers, madly in love, desperate to be a family, but a war and a B29 got in there way.

Three hundred ten days before Pearl Harbor, buck private Dean Sherman innocently went to church with a new friend in Salt Lake City. From that moment, the unsuspecting soldier travelled a remarkable, heroic path, falling in love, graduating from demanding training to become a B29 pilot, conceiving a son and entering the China, Burma and India theater of the WW2.

He chronicled his story with letters home to his bride Connie that he met on that fateful Sunday, blind to the fact that fifteen hundred seventy five days after their meeting, a Japanese swordsman would end his life.

His crew, a gaggle of Corporals that dubbed themselves the Corporalies, four officers and a tech Sargent, adventured their way across the globe. Flying the “Aluminum Trail” also called the Hump through the Himalayas, site of the most dangerous flying in the world. Landing in China to refuel and then fly on to to places like Manchuria, Rangoon or even the most southern parts of Japan to drop 500 pounders.

Each mission had it’s challenges, minus fifty degree weather in Mukden, or Japanese fighters firing away at them, a close encounter of the wrong kind, nearly missing a collision with another B29 while flying in clouds, seeing friends downed and lost because of “mechanicals,” the constant threat of running out of fuel and their greatest fear, engine fire.

Transferred to the Mariana Islands, he and his crew were shot down over Nagoya, Japan as part of Mission 174, captured and declared war criminals.
​
Connie’s letters reveal life for a brand new mother whose husband is declared MIA. The agony for both of them, he in a Japanese prison, declared a war criminal, and she just not knowing why his letters stopped coming.

 
 
 
Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Indiebound 
​add to goodreads
 
 
 
Meet the Author:
Author Roger Stark

 
I am, by my own admission, a reluctant writer. But there are stories that demand to to be told. When we hear them, we must pick up our pen, lest we forget and the stories be lost. Six years ago, in a quiet conversation with my friend Marvin, I learned the tragic story of his father, a WW2 B-29 Airplane Commander, shot down over Nagoya, Japan just months before the end of the war. The telling of the story that evening by this half orphan was so moving and full of emotion, it compelled me to ask if I could write the story. The result being They Called Him Marvin.

My life has been profoundly touched in so many ways by being part of documenting this sacred story. I pray that we never forget, as a people, the depth of sacrifice that was made by ordinary people like Marvin and his father and mother on our behalf.

 
 
connect with the author: 
website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
 
 
 
 
 

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