Literature and Poetry Reviews, Home of the Virtual Poetry Circle
Out of a mere 12 entrants, Random.org selected 1 winner of K.L. Brady’s The Bum Magnet.
Heidi of Sweepstakes & Contest List Directory
Thanks to everyone who entered. Check out the other giveaways here and on other blogs in the right sidebar.
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on links and book covers lead to my Amazon Affiliate page; no purchase necessary.
Out of more than 30 entrants, Random.org selected two winners of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World
by Abigail Reynolds.
1. Staci of Life in the Thumb
2. Laura of Calico Critic
Congrats to the winners.
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.
K.L. Brady’s The Bum Magnet is local chicklit for Washington, D.C., residents and stars the bum magnet herself, Charisse. She’s a real estate agent with a serial dating problem, always seeming to attract the wrong kind of man and hanging onto them. Dwayne, Lamar, Sean, and Marcus are just some of the bums in this book, but are they all bums? That’s what Charisse has to figure out, if she can get past her own hangups.
“‘Charisse, a good man is like Santa Claus, believing in him feels real good until you find out he doesn’t really exist.'” (Page 1)
Brady’s debut novel uses a lot of colloquial language and delves into the wrong relationships of her characters through journal entries and flashbacks, but readers may not feel a connection to Charisse right off. She’s a bristly, independent woman on the one hand, but a dependent, lonely woman on the other. Like all of us, Charisse has her strengths and her weaknesses, but she seems to have a hard time recognizing the obvious and in many ways she goes off the deep end.
“No, to me, spying on a boyfriend was not only justified, it was a requirement. Hey, I keep it real. To ask me not to spy on a scheming boyfriend would be like asking a lion not to hunt, a dog not to bark, or babies not to throw up. ‘Verification’ was an instinctive to me (and all womankind), as giving birth.” (Page 61)
As she makes the decision to focus on herself and analyze her past relationship failures to improve her relationship capabilities, she stumbles upon the man of her “dreams,” Dwayne, shortly after breaking it off with Marcus. Things are soon spiraling out of control for Charisse when past flames reappear and past mistakes rear their ugly heads.
“I hoped she wasn’t crazy. For some reason, I’d always attracted crazy people. Not eccentric crazy, but wear aluminum foil as a fashion accessory crazy. They always shared their life stories with me. Did I have an inviting demeanor or a friendly face? Perhaps. Although I had a deep-rooted fear that crazy people might just be naturally drawn to other crazy people, which would make me one of them.” (Page 122)
The Bum Magnet has a lot of drama, and Charisse attracts it like wildfire. Readers will either enjoy the roller coaster ride or wonder when they can get off. Brady has an active imagination and the dialogue will have readers giggling. Brady’s writing is entertaining and has great potential.
FTC Disclosure: Thanks to K.L. Brady for providing me with a free copy of The Bum Magnet for review. Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.
K. L. Brady is a D.C. native but spent a number of her formative years in the
***International Giveaway Details***
1. Leave a comment on this post about what new author you’ve found in the new year.
2. Blog, Tweet, Facebook, or otherwise spread the word about the giveaway and leave a link on this post.
Deadline Jan. 14, 2010, 11:59PM EST
This is my 1st book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.
Also, this another stop on the Literary Road Trip.
For the U.S./Canada giveaway of Jennie Shortridge’s When She Flew (click for my review), I had 30+ entrants and Random.org selected:
Susan from All the Pretty Pages
However, my copy for an international reader is still up for grabs, so…
To Enter:
1. You must live anywhere in the world except the United States and Canada
2. You must leave a comment on this post about why you want to read When She Flew
.
3. You must include a way for me to contact you quickly.
4. For additional entries, please blog, tweet, or facebook this giveaway and leave me a link here.
Deadline is Jan. 15, 2010 at 11:59PM EST
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title links and images will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.
Abigail Reynolds’ Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World examines what it would have happened in Pride & Prejudice
by Jane Austen had Elizabeth Bennet not refused Mr. Darcy’s marriage proposal. Lizzy is stuck in a situation in which she is forced to accept Darcy’s proposal, or at least she feels that is the case. The marriage happens quickly and Lizzy is filled with anxiety about her role as Mrs. Darcy, what to expect from her husband, and how to overcome her prejudice against her him.
“Was his pride so great that it did not occur to him she might refuse him? Elizabeth opened her mouth to deny his allegation, but before any sound could emerge, she recognized the danger.” (Page 6 of ARC)
Reynolds has a firm grasp of Austen’s work and her Pride & Prejudice
characters, and that knowledge shines through as we follow Lizzy and Darcy into their alternate universe. From misunderstandings to barbs, Darcy and Lizzy spar with one another and hide their true feelings as they fear the other’s reproach. The servants and the housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, are just as they should be — hovering on the outskirts and ready to lend help when necessary.
“But when he turned his head sideways on the pillow, his eyes clouded with the drug, she leaned towards him to meet his lips with her own. It was a gentle kiss, but his lips were hot against hers. Elizabeth almost shook with the emotion of it.” (Page 108 of ARC)
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World is a treat that will transport readers into regency England with a set of new and old characters. Lizzy and Darcy may be one of the greatest classic love stories, and Reynolds‘ spin on the love story reads like a classic. Lizzy is still strong-willed, but tentative in her new marriage and her new circumstances. Darcy is a bit harsh at times, but readers will forgive him his transgressions. Readers should be cautioned that there are some intimate scenes that give this novel a more contemporary feel. All in all, this is a delightful variation.
***Giveaway Details***
Sourcebooks is offering 2 copies of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World to U.S./Canadian readers of this blog.
1. Leave a comment on this interview about what you would like to ask Abigail Reynolds.
2. Leave a comment on my review of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
3. Blog, tweet, Facebook, etc. this giveaway and leave a link here.
Deadline is Jan. 11, 2010, 11:59PM EST
FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy from the Sourcebooks for review. Clicking on titles or images can bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.
This is my 1st book for the Jane Austen Challenge 2010!
Abigail Reynolds, who wrote Pemberley by the Sea (which I reviewed), has written other variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice characters and situations. In her latest novel, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World, Reynolds examines what would have happened had Elizabeth Bennet not refused Mr. Darcy’s proposal.
Abigail took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few interview questions for her tour stop here. Please give her a warm welcome, and stay tuned for giveaway information.
1. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World is just one of a number of Pride & Prejudice variations you’ve written. Is this the first one you’ve published through Sourcebooks? How did that come to pass?
The first variation I published through Sourcebooks was Impulse & Initiative
, and this is the second. There are four more on the way, including the brand-new Mr. Darcy’s Obsession coming out in October 2010. I took an unusual road to publication. I wrote the variations for fun and posted them on the internet, then eventually self-published them just for myself and for some of my online readers. To my astonishment, Deb Werksman, acquiring editor of Sourcebooks, found them on the self-publishing site and bought the publication rights. Now Sourcebooks is gradually bringing out the entire series. I’d never have guessed in a million years that I’d be published!
2. Your variations on Pride & Prejudice look a significant turning points in Jane Austen’s novel and asks the question “What if?” (such as the ill-fated proposal from Darcy to Elizabeth, which she promptly refuses). Do you have other major scenes from other Austen novels in mind for a similar series of books?
I love all of Austen’s novels (well, maybe I don’t exactly love Mansfield Park
, but I admire it), but none of them play out in my head the way Pride & Prejudice does. Part of the appeal is that I love the characters so much. When I’m writing, my characters take up residence in my head for months on end, so it’s helpful if they’re characters I like! I’m not sure I could put up with, say, Emma in my mind for such a long time, given that I always want to strangle her when I read Emma.
3. Do you have any particular writing habits, like listening to music while writing or having a precise page count to reach by the end of each day or week?
I tend to write late at night, often with solo classical piano playing in the background because it puts me in a Regency frame of mind. I often pick up Pride & Prejudice or Jane Austen’s letters and read a couple of pages to get the rhythm of her language going, and sometimes I even type some of it out to get myself started.
4. Who is your favorite Jane Austen hero and why?
Mr. Darcy, with Colonel Brandon as a close second. Darcy’s shift from his early unpleasant behavior to his later changes fascinates me, and of course his devotion to Elizabeth for her wit and intelligence rather than her beauty is a major item in his favor!
5. Most authors using classic characters and stories to spur their own creations fell in love with those characters and stories early on, but wanted something more. Is this how you felt about Pride & Prejudice? What motivated you to craft your own tale based upon Jane Austen’s story?
I’ve always thought that Pride & Prejudice was too short for my taste, and I wish Jane Austen had written out all those scenes she refers to in passing, just so I could have a little more Elizabeth and Darcy. You won’t be surprised to hear that Pride & Prejudice is my favorite book, and it’s gotten to the point where I sometimes talk back to the characters. One day I was re-reading the scene at the Lambton Inn for the umpteenth time. When Darcy left giving Elizabeth only a long, serious look, I wanted to scream, “No! Don’t do it! Tell her how you feel! Give her some hope! She can’t read your mind, idiot!” I was so annoyed with him that I sat down and started writing From Lambton to Longbourn
, just to show Darcy what I meant. Yes, sometimes I’m a little too obsessed with Pride & Prejudice!
6. Why choose Jane Austen novels versus other classic authors’ novels.
Sheer love of the characters and of Jane Austen’s voice and world view. As one of my characters says in Pemberley by the Sea
, I like my coffee with cream and my literature with optimism. There isn’t that much classic literature that deals with loveable characters and ends happily ever after. I like books that can be comfort food of the soul. I don’t think I could take the darkness of Charlotte Bronte for long, for example.
7. Which books have you been reading lately, and are there any you would like to recommend?
I’ve just finished Marilyn Brant’s delightful According to Jane
, which tells the story of a modern young woman who has Jane Austen giving her advice in her head. Another recent favorite is Robin Kaye’s hysterically funny Romeo, Romeo
. I’ve also been reading Maria V. Snyder’s Poison Study
series with my teenage daughter. I’d happily recommend all of those!
8. Finally, following Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World, do you have any other projects in the works? Do they deal with other classic literature or do you see yourself flourishing in the Pride and Prejudice market?
I’ve finished the first draft of another Pride & Prejudice variation, and I have some ideas for a Pride & Prejudice sequel in my mind. I’ve been working on a series of modern novels that continue the story of Pemberley by the Sea (which is being re-released in mass market paperback in Spring 2010 as The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice
) but aren’t directly Jane Austen-related, but it remains to see if those will ever see the light of day because the market for general contemporary romance isn’t strong these days. I write for love more than for the market, so I write whatever my muse sends me, but the Pride & Prejudice related stories are the ones that are most likely to be picked up by a publisher.
Thanks for inviting me!
Thanks Abigail for answering my questions and for writing fun novels with our beloved Elizabeth and Darcy!
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on image and title links will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate Page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.
***Giveaway Details***
Sourcebooks is offering 2 copies of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World to U.S./Canadian readers of this blog.
1. Leave a comment on this interview about what you would like to ask Abigail Reynolds.
2. Leave a comment on tomorrow’s review of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
3. Blog, tweet, Facebook, etc. this giveaway and leave a link here.
Deadline is Jan. 11, 2010, 11:59PM EST
Please welcome Jennie Shortridge, author of When She Flew (click for my review). Today, she’ll be talking about her writing and her inspiration for her latest novel.
Here’s the thing. I am an organized, neat person when it comes to the vast majority of my life. My car is always clean (on the inside), my house is always relatively picked up and presentable. So why does my home office look like a paper recycling plant exploded all over it?
I’m a piler. I have piles and piles of very important things to do. Some day. I have piles that represent the current book I’m writing, the last book published which I’m usually still promoting, ideas for future books, contacts I need to save and really should do something about, book events coming up, events that I’d like to do, friends’ pages I need to read, students’ work I need to read, complete strangers’ work I will never read but feel I need to at least consider before realizing that’s ridiculous and I really need to concentrate on what’s most important: writing.
I wrote my first book in a nice home office in the foothills near Denver, where I looked out my window at a brown dusty landscape. I wrote my second book largely in bed on my new laptop, in Portland, OR, where we’d recently moved. I wrote my third book in a home office in Seattle, where we’d again recently moved, because I’d hurt my neck writing my second book in bed. I wrote my fourth book, When She Flew, in same said office, but also on the train between Seattle and Portland, where I went to do research into the true story that inspired it.
In 2004, Portland police found a Vietnam vet raising his daughter in the woods. I was fascinated by the story, and not just of the man and girl. One of the police officers chose to help the two in an unconventional way, possibly putting his job and reputation at risk. I contacted this police officer and spent the next year and a half visiting him in Portland, asking him questions, listening to his stories, hiking in the woods, and dreaming my fictional story. The result is When She Flew, the story of an Iraq war veteran raising his 13-year-old daughter in the Oregon woods and a single mom cop is on the search team to find them. Told in the alternating viewpoints of the female cop and the young girl, it’s my most action-packed story yet, and my least personal, yet it touches on themes that are very personal to so many of us: how we raise children, the connections between parents and kids, and issues of safety and security in today’s society.
And now, I’m writing my fifth book back home in my messy office. I thought I’d clean it out between books, but I never did. Maybe it would feel too sterile if I did, and dampen my creativity. Um . . . yeah. Let’s go with that. I don’t have time to clean.
Thanks for sharing your writing and your inspiration with us. If you’d like to win a copy of When She Flew, follow these guidelines. This giveaway is US/Canada only! However, if you would like a copy and live abroad, email me! The first one to email me will receive a copy of the book.
1. Leave a comment on this guest post with an email.
2. Leave a comment on my review for a second entry.
3. Blog, Tweet, Facebook, etc. about the contest, and leave a link here for a third entry.
Deadline is Jan. 3, 2010, 11:59PM EST
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on links to titles will take you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary.
Jennie Shortridge’s When She Flew is a beautifully written novel about pivotal decisions and their unexpected consequences. Told from the point of view of Officer Jessica Villareal and Melinda aka Lindy Wiggs, the novel shifts from the legal ramifications of Villareal’s decision not to split up Melinda from her family and Melinda’s experiences with her Iraq War veteran father, her drug addicted mother, and her new home. The novel is peppered with beautiful imagery and a number of passages with birds, which emphasize flight and escape.
“Pater keeps looking out the windows, walking from on to the other, hitching up his pants. he reminds me of a finch, all nervous and fidgety, eyes darting this way and that.” (Page 255)
Lindy’s narration focuses mainly on the love of the forest in which she lives, of her father, and even of her mother whom she left behind, but there are glimpses into the terrible events of her life under the guardianship of her mother while her father served his country. She misses her mother, but for the most part there is a sense of contentment until one day she follows a blue heron too far.
“The central library was my favorite building. It’s like going to a palace full of books. I feel like a princess or an important person when I walk up the steps toward that huge brick building with its pretty windows and a roof that looks like a steeple, and go inside the tall oak doors, and the man in uniform smiles and says, ‘Good afternoon.’ I feel even more like royalty when we glide across the shiny stone floor. Everything is so elegant that I want to just stand and look but Pater always says to hurry along.” (Page 14)
Officer Villareal is a mother who hasn’t exactly lived up to her own expectations as an officer or as a mother, but she copes with her circumstances by working and burying herself in memories of her daughter Nina, who escaped her mother’s tight supervision to live with her father and raise her own son.
“The dirt dwellers she dealt with were like subterranean worms and bugs: drug dealers and pimps, abusive parents, gangsters and thieves. She had tried for years not to notice them when off duty, but she couldn’t help it.” (Page 5)
Shortridge’s prose is gorgeous and immediate, sucking readers into the world she’s created in the wilderness of Oregon and the small town outside the forest. When She Flew is about finding one’s convictions to break the mold and follow the right path. It is about striving to be better and to find the freedom to grow. Shortridge’s writing will blow readers away.
As an additional treat, later today, Jennie Shortridge will visit with us and talk about her writing, so stay tuned. Oh, and there will be a giveaway!
FTC Disclosure: Thank you to Jennie Shortridge and Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting fpr sending me a free copy of When She Flew for review. Links to book images and titles will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchases are necessary.
I wanted to reveal the winners of the 25th Virtual Poetry Circle giveaway!
1st place: Toni of A Circle of Books; Here’s what she won:
1. One copy of Poet Lore, a magazine of The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Md.
2. A copy of John Amen’s At the Threshold of Alchemy and More of Me Disappears
3. Fair Creatures of an Hour by Lynn Levin
4. Carta Marina by Ann Fisher Wirth
5. Green Bodies by Rosemary Winslow
6. One book of classic poetry — she selected John Keats!
2nd place: Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here; Here’s what she won:
1. Apologies to an Apple by Maya Ganesan
2. Becoming the Villainess by Jeannine Hall Gailey
3. Rubber Side Down Edited by Jose Gouveia
4. Mainline to the Heart & Other Poems by Clive Matson
5. One book of classic poetry (your choice)
3rd place: Anna of Diary of an Eccentric; Here’s what she won:
1. Dear Anais by Diana Raab; we had to substitute a book here because she already had this collection; so Anna selected Holocaust Poetry by Hilda Schiff
2. City Above the Sea & Other Poems by Stephen Alan
3. Human Dark With Sugar by Brenda Shaughnessy
4. One book of classic poetry; she chose The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry (Penguin Classics) by George Walter
Winner of Dragon House by John Shors also was selected by Random.org:
Deb K of Debs Here
I hope you all have a great holiday! Happy reading everyone!
Normally, I don’t review children’s books here on the blog, but I’ve made an exception (yes, they do happen). I remember buying a set of Ivy + Bean books for The Girl from Diary of an Eccentric because one of the books had to do with dinosaur fossils and I had read on someone’s blog (not sure who) that these books were fantastic. The Girl, suffice to say, loved them and told me all about the straws up the nose (actually it’s the mouth) and other little tidbits from her books. Before I dazzle you with my review, interview with The Girl, and the giveaway, let me show you a little video:
Ivy and Bean are typical second-grade girls who are willing to try just about anything, and they sometimes find themselves getting into trouble or at least over their heads. In Doomed to Dance
, the girls read a book about ballet and decide that they should take ballet, so they can become ballerinas in Giselle. The only problem is that ballet is not as fun or easy as it seems.
“‘She doesn’t leap like a kitty. She leaps like a frog,’ Bean whispered to Ivy.” (Page 24)
“‘We can’t be squids if we break our arms,’ said Ivy. ‘Remember what Madame Joy said? We’re supposed to wave our tentacles gently to the passing tide. No way can we do that if we’ve got broken arms, Right?'” (Page 40)
While Ivy and Bean get into trouble — and what kid doesn’t? — they always manage to find the positive in their situation or make amends. Some of the funniest scenes in this book are when Ivy and Bean try to get sick on purpose, having other kids cough and sneeze all over them. Young readers will laugh out loud at the antics of these young girls, and parents will enjoy these books because of the lessons they teach about responsibility and imagination. Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance is a fun read at nearly 130 pages, and these characters will worm their way into kids hearts easily.
Onto my interview with The Girl:
Which girl would you rather be, Ivy or Bean? And why?
I would you like to be Bean because she is funniest.
Why do you think Bean packed salt in her backpack before they went to the aquarium?
Because you need salt to stay alive and helps the blood flow.
What would you have packed in your backpack for the aquarium trip?
I would pack clothes, food like sandwiches, water, juice, and ice pack. If there is still room, I would take some small books.
Would you ever take ballet? Why or why not? What type of dancing would you take?
No, because I’m not into ballet. I would take tap dancing because the noise from the shoes is cool, and it looks like fun. You have to have skills for it, and I have skills.
Which of the Ivy + Bean books have you enjoyed most?
The book with the ghosts — The Ghost that Had to Go
, Book 2. Break the Fossil Record
, Book 3.
To learn more about the series, check out the Website. If you’re looking for crafts and fun activities, go here.
To enter the giveaway for 1 copy of Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance (US/Canada):
1. Leave a comment here about why you want to win the book.
2. Become a follower and leave a comment here for another entry.
3. Tweet, blog, spread the word and leave a comment here with a link.
Deadline Dec. 28, 2009, 11:59 PM EST.
FTC Disclosure: I want to thank Chronicle Books for sending me a free copy of Doomed to Dance for review. Clicking on title and image links will go to my Amazon.com Affiliate page; No purchase necessary.
Out of more than 30 entrants into the giveaway, Random.org selected the two winners:
Stacy of Stacy’s Books
and
Jan
Congrats to the winners. I hope you enjoy the book.
We still have a couple giveaways going on right now, check out the right sidebar.
“Iris felt as if a unique cultural experience occurred on the back of scooters. She reflected that in America, people drove their cars and rarely even opened their windows. Within cars people tended to be isolated, listening to the radio or maybe talking on the phone to a friend. Cars were people’s places of refuge, highly personalized sanctuaries within which Americans often sought escape. Driving a scooter in Vietnam was a completely different experience. In addition to the ease of conversation, the lack of lanes and laws almost mandated that people acted in cooperation. Drivers didn’t cut one another off or blast their horns. Though they drove quickly, always looking for the fastest route, if an old woman was trying to cross an impossibly busy street, people braked and weaved around her without a second glance.” (Page 184 of ARC)
Iris is just one of the main characters in John Shors’ Dragon House and she’s had a tough childhood with a mostly absent Vietnam veteran father. Noah, her childhood friend and also a veteran but of the Iraq War, accompanies her to Vietnam as Iris strives to fulfill her father’s dream. Through a shifting narrative, readers are shown glimpses of what it means to live on the streets of Vietnam as orphan children with Mia and Minh or as a grandmother Qui raising her leukemia-ridden granddaughter Tam by selling books to American tourists. Dragon House examines how these cultures are misunderstood on both sides and how they clash with one another even in times of peace. Shors deftly mixes sadness with hope to reveal the beauty beneath the grime and compassion inherent in humanity.
“Iris thought about her father, about how he also came home shattered from a war that wasn’t of his making. A marriage and a daughter hadn’t saved him from his demons. Why would Saigon save Noah? Though Iris was unsure, she knew what her father would say, knew he’d want her to bring Noah.” (Page 13 of ARC)
Readers will be blown away by the vivid descriptions of Vietnam and the evolution of the novel’s main characters as they find themselves in a foreign land and repurpose their lives to meet the needs of others and fulfill a dream. Shors uses description in a way that conveys deep emotional scarring and how that damage is repaired over time.
“The city was a kaleidoscope of old versus new, memories versus ideas, stone versus chrome.” (Page 15 of ARC)
Mia and Minh, who sell fans and gamble with tourists over games of Connect Four, display strength amidst adversity, but like Noah, even the strongest of us have our breaking points. Qui and Tam also display significant strength. In a way these characters offset the deep desolation felt by Noah because they continue to survive and hope, while Noah is steeped in blackness and hopelessness, finding solace in whiskey and pain pills. There is more going on in Dragon House than meets the eye with Iris and Noah preparing a children’s center for opening and these children living on the streets. Readers will be absorbed in Shors’ world and turn the pages hoping for the best resolution possible.
If you missed my interview with John Shors and the giveaway for Dragon House, please check it out.
John Shors’ novel would make an excellent gift for the holidays for the readers among your family and friends, and a portion of the proceeds from book sales are shared with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation (click for more details). Also, check out this write up in the Denver Post about the charity.
FTC Disclosure: I want to thank John Shors for providing me with a free copy of Dragon House for review. Also, thanks to Diane Saarinen of Book Blog Tour Guide for setting up the blog tour. Clicking on images or titles will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase required.
