Win money for your favorite book store! (and win a book)

Sourcebooks Launches Reader Voting Campaign to Grant Money to Community Bookstores

NAPERVILLE IL (January 5, 2016) — Independent publisher Sourcebooks announces the “Readers, Recommend Your Bookstore” campaign, which will give grant money to three nominated bookstores. The “Readers, Recommend Your Bookstore Campaign” is inspired by the phenomenal support booksellers have given The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald, which was selected as the #1 Indie Next Great Read for January 2016. 

Katarina Bivald’s international bestselling debut novel, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, is a charming, big-hearted story about the joy of books and the transformative power of community bookstores. 

“Bookstores are the heart and soul of their community and have enormous impact on readers’ lives,” said Dominique Raccah, founder and CEO of Sourcebooks. “The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend inspired us to create a campaign that will not only give back to a few deserving bookstores, but hopefully highlight all the many wonderful bookstores that service communities across the country.”

Anyone can nominate their favorite bookstore at http://books.sourcebooks.com/readers-recommend-your-bookstore-sweepstakes/. Sourcebooks will award the winning bookstore with a $3,000 prize; two additional bookstores will each receive a $637 prize (the population of Bivald’s fictional Broken Wheel, Iowa). In addition to bookstores receiving prizes, weekly giveaways for those who nominate will be held throughout the campaign. Voting began January 4, and runs until February 19, when the winning bookstores will be announced.

This fabulous opportunity is being offered by Sourcebooks publishing, who brought us The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. Want to see what the good folks of Broken Wheel have to say? Here's your chance for a giveaway! Enter the rafflecopter below and check back here January 26th to read a Guest Post from the maestra herself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway .

Author Interview and Giveaway: Amani's River by David Hartness

DAVID HARTNESS is an award winning author and freelance writer. An avid traveler, inspired by many cultures, David enjoys using this subject in his blog "A Small Perspective." 

Raised on Vashon, a small island in Puget Sound, Washington, David learned the values of life and hard work to pursue his ambitions. This led him to travel internationally, serving a small school in Ebukolo, Kenya. While in Kenya, he lived in a mud hut with no running water or electricity. Mr. Hartness had ambitions to make lasting change while in Kenya but ended up learning more from the experience than he gave back. 
He later served in the U.S. Peace Corps as an education volunteer stationed in Namaacha, Mozambique. Upon leaving service, David continued his education, receiving an MBA from Walden University, and currently enrolled in a DBA program. 
Amani's River is David's first full-length novel.
Buy on Amazon

The Interview:

What events or works inspired the story of Aderito?
Several events inspired the wok of Aderito. First and for most the Mozambican civil war, was an even that I needed to tell. Second, many news stories have come out about child soldiers, and I felt the need to tell their story. There are currently 250,000 children serving in wars around the world, and I wanted to give them a voice. I wanted to tell a story about the war that ended in 1992, but a story that was still relevant in today’s world. As a result, Aderito was born.

You didn't pull any punches in Amani's River. Was it hard putting Aderito through so much turmoil?
It was very hard. There were many moments that I had to stop writing, or editing and walk away for a few minutes to clear my head. What was harder, was hearing the countless stories of child soldiers during the war, from people who lived through the experience. A little piece of their life was told through the eyes of Aderito.

Tell us about your day job.
Well, I am an author, but I also wok in the education sector. I work for an NGO, and just moved to the DC/Maryland area.

This is your first novel length work. Can we expect more from you in the future?
I have actually just started my next novel. This novel will deal with bullying. I worked with the National Burn Foundation while working at Waskowitz Outdoor School, and I remember the pain they had and the stories they shared. I wanted my next character to deal with these issues, and deal with severe bullying at school. I then wanted to bring in another character who is blind, and who is able to understand the inner beauty in everyone, and is not consumed by the physical presence of others. The story was inspired by the Burn Foundation, but also a Mark Twain quote, “kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” It is a work in progress, but I think very few novels dive into this subject matter and bring these two complex characters together to face their fears and issues. It would be an honor to bring this to the literary community.

Growing up, I had to censor my darker works for the sanity of my teachers and family. Are you worried about your son reading this work, or has he already?
I am worried about it, but he will read it soon. I am starting to become okay with it, because it is a story about an event that took place. As long as I am there to talk him though some of the scenes, things should be okay.

You were an education volunteer in the Peace Corps. Do you still teach?
Yes, I still teach, but these days I am working for Non-government organizations.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Never give up. You may enter a very complex and competitive market, but you have a story to tell, so go and tell it. Don’t be afraid of what people may say.

How accurate is the history in Amani’s River?
Amani’s River is accurate, in terms of dates and events. Everything that happened in the book did happen to someone during the war. Most of the events happened, but the characters are fictional. However, child soldiers were real, what they forced them to do, was real, and the horrific events that they lived through were real. 

Why did you decide to have the main character come from the USA?
The novel was made for a US market. I thought by taking the fictional character from the US, giving a real and plausible reason for moving to Mozambique; this would resonate to the audience. Violence, in a war or domestically, can afflict anyone. I wanted to shock, make people think and resonate with the character, and I felt this character would do the best job.

Anything else we should know?
Amani’s River is an a Historical Fiction novel based on the Mozambican civil war, which follows Aderito through the brutal violence that forced him into the rebel movement only to become a child, soldier. Based on historical facts, but told through the eyes of a fictional character, allows the reader to see the travesty of war.

The unique story is based on the real-life events of the civil war, but unlike other war novels, Amani’s River tells the story as is, and spares nothing when describing the atrocities of being a child soldier. Also, Amani’s River is as relevant today as it was during the 1990’s because there are roughly 250,000 child soldiers currently serving rebel and government armies around the world.

Armies around the world have found using child soldiers to be cost effective because they eat less and are vulnerable enough to not question authority. Given the relevance of today, Amani’s River is an important novel to read to shed light on an important issue. Developing countries need to come together to put an end to the atrocities that children face every day.


The Giveaway: (Winners will be announced 9/3)



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win a book!

ATTENTION: The rafflecopter isn't working for some of you. The required entry is to tell me something that made you smile down in the comments.

Hey everyone! I've decided to participate in a giveaway, and this is my favorite one.

There will be three winners, drawn randomly. The first I pick gets their choice of prizes and has 24 hours to respond after I announce the winner. The second will be contacted and has 48 hours to respond (24 hours after the first has claimed their prize) and the third will get whichever absolutely lovely book is left and has until the 31st to contact me.

Can you tell this is my first time doing a giveaway?

Anyway, the prizes:

(physical, paperback)

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

I'm just misunderstood.
Of course, that's not how the judge saw it.
That's how I wound up at freaky Blackthorn Academy. Talk about boring. There isn't even a mall nearby. I mean, what did they expect a girl from Beverly Hills to do?
Also, from the start I could tell there was something really weird about Blackthorn:
The headmaster, Mr. Kim, knew way too much about me.
The class schedule features Intro to Code Theory and Microelectronics.
A whole section of the school is off-limits.
Then the FBI showed up ... and Mr. Kim disappeared.
Well, here's something Mr. Kim didn't know about me: Rachel Buchanan never gives up when there are secrets to uncover. Watch out, Blackthorn Academy.




And an e-copy (Kindle) of Incarnate! If you don't have a physical kindle, don't freak out. Go to amazon and they'll give you a download of Kindle for your iPod or Computer, completely free.

New soul
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
No soul
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Heart
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

The rafflecopter:


a Rafflecopter giveaway



The linky:

Guess what's coming in march!?

That. the Kick Butt Characters giveaway hop! I have read a splendid amount of books with characters that kick butt, so I'll be joining in this one too. ^_^

Come by here around March 23rd and enter.