A Voyeuristic Journey into an Unstable Mind

Fatal Attraction set in the era of Facebook: fiery, passionate, engrossing, unsettling, manipulative, and graphic--a debut novel written as one woman's letter to the married man who has just dumped her, and upon whom she exacts a terrifying revenge

When her five year affair with the sexy television personality Clive Gooding brutally ends on a dime--his dime--Sally Islip is devastated. But with Sally, Clive has made on fundamental mistake: he has chosen someone who has less to lose than he has, and Sally will have her revenge--no matter what the cost to the people around them.

The cat-and-mouse tale that follows is told through the journals Sally's therapist has told her to keep. Sally, whose mental state is gradually unraveling, stalks Clive online and off, keeping him on an agonizing knife-edge of fear of exposure. In return, he mobilizes his underworld contacts against her. How far is he prepared to go to silence the woman he once loved "more than life itself"? What form will Sally's obsessive revenge eventually take? Who actually has final control, and who will end up losing everything?

I recently read The Mistress’s Revenge by Tamar Cohen, which I won in a Goodreads giveaway. As this was an ARC copy, I will be careful to be unspecific about the things I read as parts may have been edited or cut before release. The entire story is told through the journaling of the mistress. It is an interesting point of view, and Cohen pulled it off well. Not an easy feat, I am sure.

At times, it can be difficult to follow. This is due to the fact that we are reading the journal. We only hear the thoughts of the main character, Sally. But even then, we only hear the thoughts she wishes to share with Clive, whom she is ultimately writing the journal for. The difficulty to follow is not a bad thing in this book. It lends credibility to the deterioration of Sally’s mind as time progresses.

I was shocked and appalled by some of the things Sally confesses to doing. There were times I wanted to reach into the book and shake her myself. Cohen did an excellent job of showing how others were being affected by Sally’s decline, while maintaining the journalistic aspect and keeping it somehow obvious that it wasn’t front most in Sally’s mind.

Just when you think you know what will happen next, or you are sure that she won’t do what you think she is about to do, Cohen pulls another surprise from her bag of tricks. The ending was something I never saw coming. In all my predictions, in all the lead up, you will never guess where it all ultimately leads to. Cohen pulled it off smoothly and perfectly.

The Mistress’s Revenge is an excellent read for anyone who has loved and lost. All the times you’ve dreamed about hurting them the way they’ve hurt you. Follow one woman’s journey as she struggles to overcome a loss so great she feels she will never be whole again.

~Tiffany A. Higgins, children’s author

Enter to Win a Copy of "We've Seen Santa"

Goodreads Book Giveaway

We've Seen Santa

by Tiffany A. Higgins

Giveaway ends October 01, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

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Another "We've Seen Santa" Review

This is a nice little rhyming story of a brother and sister who can't sleep on Christmas eve and finds that jolly old elf downstairs filling under their Christmas tree with their presents. Will he be eating the goodies that they have left? Will he leave them coal in their socks if he hears them awake? Come join in the fun as these two spy on Santa and enjoy their holiday happiness.

This is a cute, short children's book that I will be sharing with my 2 year old grandddaughter if I can get her to sit still long enough. The illustrations are well-done for children this size to relate to and since most pages rhyme together, it should hold her interest. I think just the fact that these children in the story are catching Santa in the act will capture most young children's attention.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a Christmas picture book to share with a 2-4 year old.

I won this book through The Christmas Spirit blog and this is my honest review.

~Tracy Smith posted to Goodreads~
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/199457674

Found...

Recently, I was going through a box of my old books that I got from my mother's shed when we helped her clean it out. I was determining which books to pass along (or loan) to my son, now 13, and which books to hang on to for my daughter.

I was pleasantly surprised when I made it to the bottom of the box and found 5 floppy binders stacked beneath the books. These binders contain every poem I wrote during my high school years. Unfortunately, the poem I previously mentioned about friendship was not in there. My mother is currently searching for it in the scores of school papers she has from my sisters and me. Hopefully, she will have some luck in locating it.

I have not read through the poems that I found in the box, yet. I really cannot recall what is in there. But, no matter what they say, or how good they may or may not be, poetry was my form of journaling back then. So, it will be a walk down memory lane, good or bad. I thought that these books of poems were lost forever. What's the chances that they had spent all these years at the bottom of a box in my mother's shed all these years?

I am looking forward to reading them, and seeing if I actually had any real talent back then. The musings of a 15 year old mind...LOL. Perhaps, if I like any of them, I may post them or have them published. Time will tell. The truth is, no one has ever read any of them before. I always kept them close to the vest, just as any young girl's diary is private and unshared.

Finding Love and Coming Home

Lainie Johnson travels to the Lone Tree ranch in West Texas after her mother's death in order to meet her maternal grandfather--who doesn't even know she exists. Because of the twenty-five-year estrangement between her mother and grandfather, Lainie doesn't tell him who she is, wanting first to find out what kind of man he is before inviting him into her life.

But she finds that he isn't the only man she must contend with. Reed Smith, the bossy and cocky ranch foreman, figures that Lainie is the woman for him the first time he lays eyes on her. She feels the same about him but because of the secrets she's holding she fights it. So...just who's going to blink first?

I had the pleasure of reading Bobbie O’Keefe’s Lone Tree. As a Texas girl myself, it was like having a taste of home for me. I loved reading some of the things those guys would say, certain phrases that are so Texas. Later in the book, when Lainie returns to California, and everyone notices her accent, put a smile on my face. Having been well into my talking years before my family moved to Texas, I know how easily that accent is picked up, and all these years after leaving Texas, I still have my twang and key phrases that mark me as a Texas girl.

Lainie’s reason for visiting Texas was a powerful one. Every encounter between her and Miles leaves you holding your breath. You anticipate how this meeting will go. You may be wrong, but you are never disappointed. You are suspicious of everyone’s motives, actions and thoughts. At times, you want to scream at Lainie for the choices she is making, but she seems to have a good reason for each of those decisions.

Enter in the sexy, Texas cowboy. I love the way O’Keefe introduced him to the story. I wonder if she always planned for him to be a major part of Lainie’s adventure or if he was originally meant as a piece of eye candy for her to get a taste of Texas. Whatever her original intent, she did a wonderful job building his character and the secondary (or was it the primary) storyline.
Night after night, I hated to put Lone Tree down. I found myself lying in bed, speculating on where the Lone Tree Ranch was going to lead me tomorrow. When the story lines began to explode, one right after the other, it was in a totally unexpected way. I was caught off guard when Lainie was caught off guard. This is what makes a story all the better to me.

I try to anticipate where a writer is going; sometimes I have the whole story figured out within the first few pages. This was definitely not the case with Bobbie O’Keefe’s Lone Tree. She left me wanting to see more of life on Lone Tree Ranch. This is not to say the story is incomplete, rather that more stories could be told.

O’Keefe did an excellent job with this story. I recommend it to all who love a good romance or a good story of coming home again.

Readers Favorite Review of "We've Seen Santa"

Wonderful Illustrations


Tiffany Higgins created a wonderful story about a childhood happiness in seeing Santa Claus. This story takes me back to the time when I was a child, so filled with happiness in the excitement of Christmas coming. The biggest fear was knowing that there were times your behavior wasn't the best and how would Santa think about leaving you presents and knowing your behavior was not good? The child was certain that a bad action would give Santa the reason to leave a lump of coal under the Christmas tree. So because of how you wanted presents under the tree, there would be Christmas cookies and milk on the table for Santa. And of course the child would never get caught in seeing Santa.

This picture book is easy to read and a preschooler will enjoy the simple words and the wonderful illustrations throughout the story. The preschooler can learn to read the story along with you and it will be a delight to add some creativity to encourage the child to read along with the adult. I think this book is an excellent story for the preschool age genre, the story is exciting and is just right for a storytelling family gathering on Christmas Eve night before the preschoolers are in bed. I would also suggest a family time activity in helping the preschooler bake the cookies and set out the milk for Santa, so the story can be brought to life. This story can be the beginning or ending of an exciting night.

Reviewed by Lisa M for ReadersFavorite.com

Back to School

Like many parents, I am pulling my hair out as summer draws to a close. The children are restless. Summer is fun until you start feeling like you are doing the same thing you've done before. Then the children get bored.

I, for one, cannot wait until the first week of September, and the first day of school. My son starts high school this year. I am positive that he will have more than enough homework and activities to keep him out of my hair. How will he handle it? Only time will tell. My daughter starts kindergarten this year. Thankfully, it is full day kindergarten.

Let the shopping and planning and prepping begin. Today was the first in the month long preparations. We made a trip to the school. My son had to check over his schedule, pick up the sports physical form, and order his new uniform shirts (high school wears a different color than the rest of the kids). My daughter was a lot easier. She simply needed to order shirts.

During the next couple of weeks, my daughter needs her kindergarten physical, my son needs his sports physical, shopping needs to be done. She needs pants/skirts/shorts that will be a part of her uniform. They both have a list of school supplies to purchase. Paperwork must be filled out and filed with the office.

August 31st is open house night. We go, meet teachers, tour the school (for my daughter's sake as this is her first year) and make sure everything is all set to start school. Hopefully, we can keep them busy with school prep.

On the plus side of things, the weather seems to be settling back down. The temperatures outside are cooler. The rain is finally making it to us. All the reminders that school is just around the corner are in place. We just have to survive one more month. Then both kids will be at school all day, and I can once again find the time to actually accomplish something, or many somethings, when and how I want.

I am ready for back to school, are you?

Manners

One of my biggest pet peeves is a lack of table manners. People chewing with their mouths open, talking with food in their mouths or making other obnoxious sounds while they eat. I am a stickler for these manners and will harp on and nag my children when they forget their manners.

While I teach my children to always use their manners, actors and actresses contradict my efforts. I don't understand why television feels it is necessary for me to also hear the chewing. I can see that they are eating.

The commercials for honey nut Cheerios, for example, depict people moaning and chewing noisily. This does not incline me to run out and buy said cereal. How many TV shows have you watched lately where the cast is shoveling food into their mouths while arguing some point? If what you have to say is important, say it without the food in your mouth. Subway has recently added themselves to my list. The commercial with the firemen (and kid's voices) where they rock/paper/scissors for the chance to share the sub with it's owner. He says congratulations around a mouthful of food.

Then, there is the whole chewing with your mouth open. TV shows of all calibers are using this to show that their characters are eating. Really? Because we the people are too dumb to realize that the food around the table is food, and that when they put the fork in their mouth and suddenly their jaw is moving they must be eating? So, because of our ignorance, they chew with their mouth open? Get a clue Hollywood. Under no circumstances do I need to see or hear the food being eaten on TV.

The newer generations are growing up with no sense of proper manners. They don't understand that it is impolite to make disgusting noises with their food. And it doesn't matter what we the parents teach them. What we tell them daily. Why? Because the television tells them that we are wrong. That no one who is famous uses manners. And what kid doesn't have some hopes of being just like some actor/actress they see on TV?

I will continue to attempt to teach my children manners. I will continue to pound it into their heads. But when my 13 year old uses excuses like "No one at school uses manners" even though it is actually a lunchroom rule at his school, then I admit, it is probably a lost cause. But my never-ending quest for manners will continue.

Keeping Up

Keeping up with social media outlets is difficult. I feel like I spend more time bouncing between Facebook and Twitter than doing anything else all day.

On Twitter, I try to retweet for people, but everything gets lost in the shuffle. I appreciate all the people who have retweeted for me or suggested me to follow. I really have a difficult time following what's what on Twitter. It seems like some people have all the time in the world to constantly tweet. I might log in in the morning and the same person has posted 20 or more tweets to their account. How do they find the time?

Facebook is sometimes harder to keep up with. Status updates combine with all kinds of "check this out" articles, videos and links. Add into that all the new "you know your from _____" posts that are now spamming up my Facebook feed. Then, I need to keep up with the fan page. Sometimes, I feel like I am becoming a spammer, so I back off of the page. Then I start to feel guilty that I am neglecting those who have chosen to follow and support me. Is there a happy medium?

What do you do to keep up with the social media outlets? How do you know when and what to post to which sites? I am slowly learning. Well, at least I hope I am. There really is no one to tell me if I am doing it right or not.

Well, I am off to read some more. If you have any tips or suggestions for keeping up with social media and would like to appear as a guest post on my blog, I'd be happy to host someone who can give me (and they many others out there without a clue) some sound advice on who, what, when, where, why and how to keep up with social media.

Switching books for review...

So, I am switching books mid-review. First, let me say that although I am having trouble getting through Silent Enemy it is not me showing that the book is a bad book. It is well written. However, it is hard to get through. I do strongly recommend it, based solely on what I have read, to anyone who enjoys a good war story. I will get back to Silent Enemy eventually.

Now, as for why I am switching books, I am currently working on Lone Treebecause that is one I have been requested to do. I take the "job" of providing reviews very seriously. As much as I would love to work on my TBR stack, I feel it is far more important to review the books sent to me specifically in need of a review.

You can purchase Lone Tree to read along with me by following any of my Amazon links. (I do make a small profit if you purchase any of these books through any of these links). I read the first chapter today and I have to say I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I will post my review as soon as I have completed my reading.




Happy Reading to all you BookWorms out there.

Friendship-the real deal or just another scam?

Way back in the third grade, when we were studying and learning about poetry, I wrote a poem about friendship. I am currently looking for that poem, but there is a section of it that I have never forgotten, even more than 20 years later. So, here are those lines I once wrote about friendship.

A friend is someone always there,
Whenever you may need.
Someone you can turn to.
Just look for them, you'll see.
©1989

There is more to this poem. I do hope that I find it and can post the entire thing. Meanwhile, you may be wondering:

A-why I am posting it
B-what exactly does the blog title mean.

So, here's the thing. At 9 years old, I understood the truth about what it took to be a true friend. I understood the meaning of friendship. Recently, I have been seeing all kinds of posts on Facebook that basically say that true friends can pick up right where they left off and that it will be like no time at all has passed regardless of the time or distance between you. I am sure you have seen similar messages. It goes on to say something about how many of us have true friends like this.

The truth is that it is easy to pick up right where you left off. If you left off at high school graduation, then you will spend a certain amount of time recapping what has transpired in your life since you did graduate. Did you go to college, are you married, how many kids do you have, and where do you work can all be great questions to open up a conversation. Many people confuse this conversation with proof that this friendship is rekindled. But, it takes so much more than that.

Friendship, like any relationship, requires hard work. You must nurture it. It must be fed regular healthy doses of kindness, love and tenderness. You must actually be there for the person when they truly need you. But more than that, if you are truly their friend, then chances are they won't need to tell you that they need you. A strongly built friendship will leave you able to anticipate their needs. Do they need to be left alone? A true friend can understand this. When they are hurting, not only can a true friend see their pain, but they can also feel it.

So, how is it that at 9 years old, I understood what it took to be a friend, but so many adults don't seem to comprehend? I am sorry if that sounds awful or like I am being down on people, but I have watched so many people come in and out of my life as what we call "fair weather friends" meaning that they are there when things are going good, but when the "weather" turns and I truly need someone to lean on for just a moment, suddenly they are gone.

Facebook and other social media outlets have only added to this epidemic of "friend scams." It's the never ending quest to show how many people you know. In high school, everything was a popularity contest. I was never one to join in on these contests. I am me, will always be me and either you like me or you don't, but I won't change who I am for you or anyone else. This is my attitude, this is my belief. Like everything I believe in, it is unshakable. I will not bend myself to conform to anyone else's belief of who I should be.

So, do you participate in the friend scam? Do you collect people you don't really know just so your number of friends is bigger than the next guy's? Do you have a true friend out there? Is there someone that you know would always be there for you, day or night? Who would you call if your world was falling down around you? Would they answer? Could they give you what you need?