Friday, June 30, 2017

Book Review: Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield





Title: Paper Butterflies
Date Published: October 1, 2017
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Pages: 320
Format: Ecopy
Source: Netgalley


Purchasing:









Stand By Me meets We Were Liars - a heartbreaking and stunning breakout novel for teenagers from the award-nominated author of Seed.
June's life at home with her stepmother and stepsister is a dark one - and a secret one. Not even her father knows about it. She's trapped like a butterfly in a net. 
But then she meets Blister, a boy in the woods. And in him, June recognises the tiniest glimmer of hope that perhaps she can find a way to fly far, far away from home and be free. Because every creature in this world deserves their freedom . . . but at what price?
Paper Butterflies is an unforgettable read, perfect for fans of Lisa Williamson's The Art of Being Normal, Jandy Nelson, Sarah Crossan and Louise O'Neill.
Lisa Heathfield launched her writing career with Seed, her stunning YA debut about a cult. Before becoming a mum to her three sons, she was a secondary school English teacher and loved inspiring teenagers to read. Paper Butterflies is her beautiful and heart-breaking second novel. Lisa lives in Brighton.



I was extremely intrigued when I read the synopsis of this book. Let me start by saying that the content of this book may not be for everyone. It focuses on abuse of a child and I know that that may be hard for some readers. And to be honest it was extremely hard for me. But the writing is excellent, and I continued reading hoping that June would prevail.

June's mother dies in a tragic accident and her father, Bradley, marries Kathleen who has a daughter (Megan) who is June's age (10 at the beginning of the story). June is half black and while her father tells her she is beautiful, Kathleen and her daughter tell her how ugly she is all the time. The level of abuse that June suffers at the hands of her step-mother is horrific and was hard to read. And the involvement of her step-sister was also hard to read. And while she makes some attempts to tell people what is happening to her, it falls on deaf ears to everyone, including her father. That is until she meets Blister.

Blister is her one true friend, and to see how their relationship blossoms throughout this novel was one of the few things that kept me reading. It was the light in a book that is littered with dark. Blister is the one person June can turn to, and even his family accepts her. But she knows she has to keep him hidden or her family will ruin the one positive thing she has in her life.

There were enough twists and turns in this novel to keep me turning the pages, my only complaint is that it seemed a little rushed at the end and not quite as detailed/fleshed out as I would have liked. But, other than that it was a great read with a hard topic. 







Before becoming a mum to her three sons, Lisa Heathfield was a secondary school English teacher and loved inspiring teenagers to read.

Lisa Heathfield launched her writing career with SEED in 2015. Published by Egmont it is a stunning YA debut about a life in cult. PAPER BUTTERFLIES is her beautiful and heart-breaking second novel. 

Lisa lives in Brighton with her family.










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Interview with Children's Picture Book Author Miri Leshem-Pelly


Miri Leshem-Pelly is the author-illustrator of 14 children’s books. She’s also illustrated 14 books for other writers. When Miri isn’t writing she can be found speaking at schools, kindergartens and libraries. She is invited to do more than 200 presentations with her books per year. Miri is also a Regional Advisor for SCBWI (Society of Children’s book writers & illustrators).

Miri is represented by Olswanger Literary Agency.

Miri’s works have won awards and her illustrations have been shown on several exhibitions.
Miri lives in Israel with her husband and two children, and loves reading books and going on nature hikes.

Her latest book is Scribble & Author.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK




About the Book:





Scribble & Author is written as a dialogue between the main character, Scribble, and the author who created her. 
Scribble's journey starts on a peaceful shore called THE BEGINNING, continues to the rough, adventurous MIDDLE, and leads finally to the gate of THE ENDING, but it’s not at all what Scribble expected… Scribble is a scribble and Author is an author, but who really gets to tell the tale?
A picture book about finding your own voice, making your own decisions, and writing your own story.
Watch the book trailer at Vimeo.

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As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books.  How did you come up with the idea for your book?


The idea for the book Scribble & Author came when I was thinking about the interesting conflict between authors and their characters. On one hand, we love our characters with all our hearts. On the other hand - we make them suffer… We make our characters face problems and challenges, then make the situation even worse for the poor protagonists. We, authors, have to do it, because that’s what makes the story interesting. So I imagined a situation where an author and his character meet and interact. How would the character react when the author puts him/her into trouble? How would the author react when his character doesn’t want to follow the story line? This thought led me to begin writing the story of Scribble & Author.


Can you tell us what your book is about?


Scribble & Author is the story of a character who is a little scribble on the page. The author is also a character in this story. He creates the land of story for Scribble to explore and talks with Scribble as he is creating the story. Scribble walks on the path of story and enters the gates of Beginning, Middle and End. Scribble wants, more than anything, to find a friend. On her journey, Scribble walks through some challenging places such as The River of Questions and the Mountain of Challenge, but she must finds creative solutions to overcome the obstacles if she wants to find her promised friend. Would she find him?


Can you tell us a little about the main characters of your book?


Scribble, the main character, is just that - a scribble. The book starts with a description of how Scribble is created:
“A color spot,
some pencil lines,
and here you are…
Scribble!”

Scribble is a child-like character, curious to discover the world. She is very creative and imaginative, and her solutions for problems and obstacles on her way are very surprising. Her biggest wish is to find a friend, and for that she is willing to go through challenges and overcome fears. She doesn’t always follow the rules of the story, and that’s one of the most interesting parts of this book - who really gets to tell the tale, the author or the character?

The second character in the book is Author, which is the author-illustrator who creates the story of Scribble. We do not see him in the illustrations, only “hear” his voice as he is talking with his character, Scribble. He is encouraging and supportive of Scribble, and doesn’t solve the problems for her. In the illustrations we see his tools: the pencil, the brush, the eraser etc. Scribble uses these tools, sometimes in an unexpected way.


If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would that be?


I would tell my younger writing self to learn the craft of writing a story. When I started writing, I didn’t learn how to write. Now, after attending several writing courses and conferences, I know how much it helps to know the structure and elements of stories. I wish I did this learning when I started writing.


What would you say is one of your interesting writing quirks?


I’m not sure if that counts for a writing quirk, but I do a lot of day dreaming and careful observations of the littlest details around me, and I think that these things effect my writing a lot, even though they happen outside of the house. I think that a big part of the writing happens not in front of the computer, but inside my head, while I’m doing other things.


Do you hear from your readers?  What do they say?


I do a lot of school visits (around 200 per year) so I get to meet my young readers all the time. For me, this is the best part of being an author. Sometimes kids come to me, all excited, and say things like: “I read your book and now I want to become an author when I grow up.” I think it’s is such an honor to inspire children.


What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?


One of the toughest things for me as an author is getting rejected by agents or publishers. I’ve experienced that a lot. It is very hard, after you put your heart and soul into writing a story, and it is scary to send it out to other people. Then, when you get a rejection, it hurts. But with time, I learned to deal with it, and realized this is an inevitable part of the process of getting published. You get to hear many NO’s until you finally get that one YES.


What has been the best accomplishment?


I’m glad to say that it is hard for me to chose one. I won several illustration awards, I got accepted to a great literary agency, I now got my new book, Scribble & Author, published by an American publishing house, even though I live in Israel. And yet, nothing compares to this moment, as I described before, when I’m talking to a child who’s read my book and I feel how my book touched that child. Those moments feel to me like my biggest accomplishment.


Do you Google yourself?


Sometimes I do… I sometimes google my name or titles of my books, and discover interesting surprises such as reviews I didn’t know about, or Youtube videos of people reading or recommending my books. These are fun discoveries!


How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?


I write a lot of stories, and I’m part of a critique group, who’s very helpful by the way. Participating in a critique group gives you deadlines, when it’s your time to submit to the group, so I’m motivated to write all the time. Most of the stories I write don’t end up as a story I’m even submitting, because not all of them are good enough. Some of the stories I submitted got rejected to the point that I gave up on them, and only a few have been published. I never counted all of them, but I guess there are a few dozens of stories which are not published and would probably never be. But that’s part of the process to get to the few good ones.


Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to your readers?


My readers are children, as well as parents and educators. So if you are a parent or teacher I want to say to you: Don’t give up on books. Today children have many other attractions, but there is nothing like a good book to open up their minds and hearts. At the young age, parents can sit with their children and enjoy the best quality time of reading a story together. This activity would stay with your child forever, so don’t give up on books.


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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Book Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover


 

Inside the Book:


Title: Hopeless
Author: Colleen Hoover
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audiobook


From the NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author of SLAMMED and POINT OF RETREAT.

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past she wishes could just stay buried.  

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

"Every word this author writes demands to be read. HOPELESS has such an impact that it will squeeze your heart tight, leave you breathless and make you feel." -Totally Booked Blog

"An intense, emotional read with just the right amount of "dark" and "light" to wrench your gut and make your heart sing. I devoured it." -Maryse.net

"Hopeless is a heartbreaking, yet beautiful tale that has been woven deeply into my heart. A definite must-read!" Autumnreview.com










I did something I almost never do when I read a book - I read some of the review about it. Not too many, and not those with a lot of detail. I also heard a lot of friends and fellow bibliophiles talking about it and decided it was time for me to bite the bullet and read it.

I enjoyed the story and the relationship between Holder and Sky. And while I did figure out some of the plot there were still some surprises in there that tugged at my heartstrings. The character that I connected with the most was Holder, although Sky was extremely well written and very believable. And I wish Breckin was in the book more as I think he is a character that has quite a bit of depth and could easily carry a storyline on his own.

I would recommend this book and hope you enjoy it if you pick it up to read. 







Meet the Author:



Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels and five novellas. Hoover’s novels fall into the New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance categories.

Hoover published her first novel, Slammed, in January 2012. Since then, all her eligible works have become New York Times best sellers.

Colleen Hoover is published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Colleen also has several self-published titles.

In 2013, Colleen’s third novel, Hopeless, was the first self-published novel to reach #1 on The New York Times, where it remained for several weeks. Hopeless went on to become one of the top 20 bestselling ebooks of 2013.

In 2015, Colleen’s novel CONFESS won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. That was followed up in 2016 with her latest title, It Ends With Us, also winning the Choice Award for Best Romance.

Her novel CONFESS has been filmed as a series by Awestruck and is due to release this spring on go90. Katie Leclerc and Ryan Cooper star in the series.

Ugly Love is slated to begin filming in late 2017.

Colleen founded The Bookworm Box, a charity subscription service and bookstore, with her family in 2015. The Bookworm Box is a subscription service that provides readers with an exciting opportunity to receive signed novels in the mail each month from authors all over the world. All profits from the subscription service are donated to various charities each month. To date, The Bookworm Box has donated over $850,000 to help those in need.

Colleen’s next release is WITHOUT MERIT, a contemporary romance novel due to release through Atria Books in October, 2017.

Colleen’s current work-in-progress is an exciting revisit to a previous novel, not yet announced, due to release in early 2018.



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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

BOOK FEATURE: TAPPED OUT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS BY KELLEY PRYOR AMRIEN & BECKI STEVENS




Title: TAPPED OUT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS: STRESS RELIEF USING EFT
Author: Kelley Pryor Amrein & Becki Stevens
Publisher: Creative Spirit Books
Pages: 236
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help/Stress-Relief

Book Blurb:

You’re in college and college is stressful. Your stress impacts every facet of life, from classes to grades to work commitments. Even your physical health can be affected. Studies show that college students like you now face more stress than ever, leaving you with less time for relaxation and self-care. When you’re already overburdened, the idea of finding a way to relieve stress sounds like one more way to add extra stress to your life. But, what if you can relieve the stress of college in minutes? What if homework didn’t have to be so hard, and you did have time for school and fun? Tapped Out For College Students: Stress Relief Using EFT, is a guidebook that empowers college students like you, allowing you to reduce your level of stress and opening the door to success in college and in life.

In Tapped Out, college students are introduced to our unique BESD (Because, Emotions, Sensations, and Distress) system, which easily guides them through the tapping process. Once you’ve defined your personal BESD related to a specific issue, you can easily translate this into a tapping session. The book is full of tapping scripts relating to the most common stress-inducing issues you face in college. Students can tap through the scripts as they are written, or they can personalize them, using the responses they develop using the BESD system. 

The Table of Contents is the perfect starting place, allowing students to pinpoint their issue and flip to the appropriate section of the book. Some of the topics covered in the book include time management, homework, exams, relationships, money, health, and preparing for the real world following college.
Students no longer have to be stressed throughout their college career. With Tapped Out as a companion, college students can face the college landscape calmly. This unique book, intended to be used as and when needed, empowers students to control their reactions and respond to each situation successfully. College is stressful. Tapped Out for College Students can help.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Book Excerpt:


What is Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is a do-it-yourself healing tool that alleviates stress, reduces physical pain and increases your potential for success. It is a non-invasive energy therapy using gen- tle finger tapping on specific meridian points beneath the surface of the skin. The meridians come from Chinese medicine. They create pathways through which Qi (chee), or energy, flows to all parts of the human body. The meridians form the basis of the practice of acupuncture. This idea of energy flowing in the body is, then, certainly not a new one, and it is this theory that EFT works from. In fact, EFT is often termed acupuncture without the needles.
So, how does EFT actually work? EFT’s magic rests in its ability to smooth out disruptions in your energy system. EFT was developed in the 1990s by a Stanford University-trained engineer named Gary Craig. Gary Craig was a student of the forefather of EFT, Roger Callahan, who had previously developed a system of meridian tapping called TFT or Thought Field Therapy. Gary Craig took TFT, a process which used tapping on specific meridian points depending on the emotion you were feeling, and simplified it. He designed the system to stimulate the major meridian points in an unchanging sequence. It does not matter what emotion you are feeling because the tapping remains the same whether you are experiencing anger, fear, sadness or pain. By tapping on the points identified in EFT, you are able to access all the major energy circuits and find relief.
The underpinning of Gary Craig’s work is his discovery statement, which says, “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.” Using EFT, we tap on the negative emotions from a specific event, for instance the overwhelming stress we feel due to an upcoming examination. Tapping on the stress, the negative emotion, allows the emotion to be released and the energy disruption is then straightened out. This release of the negative allows the flow of positive energy back into your life. With the brain no longer feeling overloaded you are then able to retrieve the information needed to ace the exam.
Here comes the science part of this explanation. Part of the human brain is ancient and has been in operation, working to keep our species alive, for thousands of years. The limbic brain is the oldest, most primitive part of the brain and a part of the limbic brain is a small, almond shaped area called the amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain triggered when you are in danger, the relay station that sends out the message for your fight or flight response to kick in. When this response is activated, it signals the body of danger and the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released. In ancient times, when this part of our brain developed, it was essen- tial for our survival. The release of adrenaline and cortisol fueled our ancestors who were able to flee rather than being eaten by a tiger for lunch. Good for them then, and for us; we’re still here, after all.
You might wonder how this relates to your exam. After all, you are not running from a beast. Interestingly, however, this primitive portion of your brain, the amygdala, cannot detect real “tiger” danger from imagined “stress” danger. Your body senses exam stress as a danger and releases the same fight or flight hormones our ancestors needed to stay alive. Keep in mind that our ancestors did not have stress on a daily or even hourly basis like we do. The brain reacts to this modern-day stress just as it did to the tiger stress; it causes adrenaline and cortisol to be released.
Cortisol has been deemed public enemy number one. When cortisol floods our bodies, we have to physically move to get rid of it. But when there is no tiger to fight or flee from, when the danger is, instead, exam stress, all the stress hormones in our bodies have nowhere to go. The cortisol hangs out and wreaks havoc on our minds and bodies, weakening our immune system, causing damage on a cellular level, leaving us vulnerable to infection. Tapping on the meridian points calms the fight or flight response, allowing our bodies to relax and cortisol levels to drop.
Dr. Dawson Church has done several studies on how tapping affects our bodies. In one randomized controlled study conducted by Dr. Church and his peers, cortisol levels and psychological symptoms of eighty-three patients were tested before and after treatment. The patients were divided into three groups. One group received no therapy but only an hour of rest. Another group received one hour of conventional talk therapy. The third group had a one-hour session of EFT tapping. Subsequent testing revealed that the symptoms in the EFT group decreased more than within the other groups and cortisol levels also dropped significantly. The group which received talk therapy had a reduction in cortisol of 14% while the group receiving EFT had an average reduction in cortisol of 24%.
Another interesting study was released in Energy Psychology Jour- nal in 2013. In this study, a group of college students was divided into two groups to work on various emotional responses using either mindfulness techniques or EFT. The purpose of this work was to determine whether EFT worked or was, instead, simply a placebo effect. The research found that the students using EFT experienced a greater increase in positive emotions and a greater decrease in negative emotions.The students did not experience any significant change in emotions using mindfulness techniques. The conclusion of the researchers was that EFT is not a placebo and can be effective for students experiencing emotional conditions.
EFT has been shown to be effective time and again in scientific studies. It is not a placebo but is an effective energy psychology technique that calms your amygdala, causing a reduction of the stress hormones in your body. Reducing stress may result in relief from physical pain and emotional suffering because stress is often an underlying part of any problems you are facing.
As you tap on the meridian points used in EFT, you will be saying negative statements. You may feel that saying something nega- tive only reinforces its negative power. Actually, that is not true. Imagine that you fail your most important exam of the year. Of course, this has an impact on your GPA and you know you and your parents will not be pleased. So, you decide not to tell your parents about this grade and hope that it all goes away. After all, you are an adult and no one is going to send a note to your folks tattling on you.
Your plan works fine until, somehow, the truth comes out. Maybe you never recovered from that grade. Perhaps it had further reach- ing repercussions than you had anticipated. Whatever the reason, your parents find out. Now what do you do? Perhaps you are relieved. After all, a secret is a big burden to carry. That is how it is with stress and negative emotions we hold inside. They don’t go away until we face them. There is a sense of relief when the secret, or the emotions, are finally revealed.
Tapping is a little like revealing the secret. You cannot feel truly good inside until you face the negative emotions holding you back. Once you recognize and acknowledge the negative it can finally go away.
We follow the expression of our negative emotions with a state- ment of acceptance. This statement could be as simple as “I accept myself.” The acceptance statement is important because, in order to heal you have to accept, or be okay with yourself, right where you are at the moment. This can be a difficult statement for some people to make. If you are having a tough time saying “I accept myself,” use a different statement, one that may be less triggering, such as “I am okay” or “I am open to accepting myself ” or “I accept the situation and am open to change.”
EFT works energetically by releasing the disruptions in your ener- gy system to quickly and easily reduce stress, ease pain, and return you to a calm state. EFT is an energy therapy and, as such, allows your system to heal naturally and easily. It’s time to learn how you can use this technique in your life.
How to Use EFT to Tap It Out!
EF T is easy to master. It doesn’t require any special tools, just your fingers and your words. With a little practice, you’ll be tapping away emotions like stress, anger, sadness and fear as well as physi- cal sensations, like pain or butterflies in your stomach, in no time. This part of the book is designed to give you an introduction into the mechanics of tapping. Here, we’ll show you where you tap, called the tapping points. We’ll talk about how you measure your tapping success. And we will tell you what to say by providing sample tapping scripts. When you are ready, you can add your own words. This is easy and we will take you through the process step- by-step. Soon you will be tapping it out, on your own, like a pro, whenever and wherever.
The BESD: Because, Emotions, Sensations, and Distress
There are four quick steps to follow before you tap; 1) Discover the Because, the situation that has triggered a response or emotion; 2) Identify the Emotion associated with the Because; 3) Notice any physical Sensations associated with the Emotion(s) you’ve identi- fied; 4) Assess your current level of Distress.
Before you begin a tapping session, it’s helpful if you can take a couple of minutes to sit quietly and evaluate what’s going on. Relax and take a deep breath. Ask yourself what’s troubling you right now. It is possible that you will be in a public place and your circumstances may not lend themselves to this part. And some- times the situation and the associated emotions are easy to figure out and you can start tapping immediately. This is especially true once you’ve tapped a few times. But if you aren’t quite sure what’s bothering you, try to find a place to be still and tune into yourself.
Maybe the first thing that comes to mind is the fight you had with your significant other or your roommate. Or maybe you have a test coming up and you have no idea how you’re going to get all the studying done that you know you need to do. You’ve identi- fied what’s bugging you. We call this the because, the situation that triggers an emotional response. Once you know the because, you can find the emotion that relates. Let’s break this out further.
As an example, we will use the upcoming exam as the because. This examination is big; it counts for fifty percent of your grade. It is the one covering a million chapters and pages of notes. Yikes. The test is the because, but what is the emotion you feel when you think about that test? Maybe the emotion is fear. Maybe it’s stress or ten- sion and a resulting sense of overwhelm. All of this is important information to have before you begin to tap.
Let’s talk a minute about the physical sensations that might accom- pany the emotional reaction to your because situation. Maybe you don’t associate your pounding headache or sore shoulder muscles with your emotions, but guess what, they are definitely related. Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, has found that emotional pain contrib- utes to the chronic pain his patients experience. He believes that approximately 20 percent of chronic pain is sensory but 80 percent of the pain is actually emotional.13 So pay close attention to any physical sensations that arise before or during your tapping. Also, notice if any physical issues get better after EFT. You might recog- nize that your shoulders feel looser or that nasty headache is gone. Yep. EFT can take care of that and more.
We’re almost ready to tap, but before we get started let’s assess the level of distress you feel associated with the exam and the corresponding emotion. Because stress is a common emotional re- sponse to test-taking, let’s use stress in this example. To assess your level of distress, once again take a moment to tune in to your body and ask yourself how bad the stress is on a scale of 0 to 10. Zero equals no stress, which is the goal you would like to achieve through tapping. Ten equals intense stress, as intense as it can get. This scale is called the Subjective Units of Distress or SUD in EFT. In this book, we will simply refer to it as Distress.
No two people respond to something in the same way. Plus, you may feel like your stress is a 5 one moment and it bumps up to an 8 in the next. Additionally, you may feel something is an 8 while someone else may feel it is a 3. EF T empowers you to take control of your emotional response to any situation. It’s okay. Be honest, acknowledge your feelings, and tap them out. Your goal with tap- ping is to reduce your distress level to a point that it’s no big deal.
I Have So Much Homework
Homework and studying can become overwhelming, especially when something is due in every class. Below we’ve designed a general script that you can use to release the stress you’re feeling around homework. If you want, add in the class that is worrying you or the specific homework or exam that you are concerned about. Being more specific is always best.
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out. Tune into how you are feeling about all the work you have to do for your classes. Focus on the emotions and body sensations that you feel. Rate the distress level and begin tapping.
1.  Because: I have so much homework and I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done (add in specific class or home- work)
2.  Emotions: Stress, feeling overwhelmed
3.  Sensation: Tension in my neck, headache
4.  Distress: 0-10 ______
KC: Even though I am stressed and overwhelmed because I have so much work to do, I accept myself.
KC: Even though I am so stressed because I have so much work to do and I have no idea how I’m going to get it all done...it’s overwhelming, I accept myself.
KC: Even though I have so much work to do, I am so stressed out...my neck and head hurt, I accept myself.
EB: I have so much work to do
SE: I don’t think I’ll get it all done and I’m so stressed
UE: All this work (specify class or homework)
UN: I just can’t keep up, it’s overwhelming
CP: I’m never going to get it done on time
CB: All this homework and studying makes my neck and
head hurt
UA: How do other people get it all done?
TH: All this work...(specify class or homework)
EB: How in the world will this apply in real life?
SE: I’m so stressed, I just can’t do it all
UE: So much homework
UN: What if I fail?
CP: What if I do it all wrong?
CB: What if I work so hard and still get a bad grade?
UA: This sucks! My neck is so tight and I have a headache from all this stress...
TH: I’m never going to get through all this homework...
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out. Tune into the feeling and reassess your distress level. Let’s try getting more specific and tune into where you feel the stress in your body. Again, add in your specific class, homework, exam or project.
EB: All this work...(specify class or homework)
SE: I feel the stress in my body
UE: I feel tension my neck
UN: All this stress and tension give me a headache
CP: I’m never going to get all this work done
CB: All this homework and studying for (specify class or homework)
UA: I just want to relax or hang out with my friends
TH: All this stress, I feel the tension in my body
EB: I feel tension in my neck and it’s causing a headache
SE: All this work to do; I’ll never get it done
UE: This sucks so much!
UN: My body is really feeling this stress
CP: I’m never going to get this work done (specify class or homework)
CB: And I won’t get to hang out with my friends with all this work to do
UA: Sometimes I just hate college and all the work I have to do
TH: All this homework, I feel the stress in my neck and head
Take a deep breath and assess your level of distress. If it is higher than a 2 keep tapping through the script above.


About the Authors

Kelley Pryor Amrein is a writer and EFT practitioner. Kelley first discovered Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) in 2007. She used EFT personally and with her family before becoming certified as an AAMET Level Two practitioner in 2014. As a coach, Kelley has witnessed the power of EFT to release negative emotions, relieve stress, and lessen physical pain. As the parent of college students, Kelley believes that Tapped Out is a much-needed resource on college campuses, where stress levels are on the rise. The book provides students with a life-long tool, allowing them to easily alleviate stress and enjoy a healthy and successful life.

You can find Kelley on Amazon at amazon.com/author/kelleyamrein and amazon.com/author/kdpryor




Becki Stevens is an AAMET certified Advanced EFT Practitioner. For the past two years she has owned a successful EFT practice in southern New Hampshire. She works with people of all ages, including college students, to ease their physical and emotional distress. Becki focuses on how a person’s emotions can sabotage their success. Becki believes that Tapped Out For College Students is an empowering introduction to EFT for college students, giving them a tool they can use throughout their lives to relieve stress and foster healthy relationships, creativity, and overall health.

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Monday, June 26, 2017

Book Feature: THE DEVIL'S GIFT by Laura Landon




ABOUT THE BOOK:


THE DEVIL’S GIFT by best-selling author Laura Landon is one of twenty-five titles—all historical romance—that all carry the Union Jack Heart. Featured authors also include Christina McKnight, Ava Stone, Deb Marlowe, Meara Platt, Julie Johnstone, and more! Romance, deception, murder...happily ever afters you won't want to miss. Look for titles that carry the Union Jack Heart.

Publication date: June 25th, 2017

Genre: Victorian Romance

Jackson Rafferty, second son of the eleventh Earl of Devlin, held his dying brother in his arms and swore he’d avenge his murder. That pact made in blood led him to the back halls of Kingston Manor and the woman who would stand between him and pursuing the man Jack knew had killed his brother. That man was her father.

Miss Jenevieve Kingston has a secret. Keeping it is the only thing keeping her father alive. When a rogue by the name of Jack Dawson comes dangerously close to spoiling everything, Jenna forces him from her home. But not before he has worked his way into her heart.

Now he’s back, proving he is not who she thought he was. But how can she trust him after weeks of deception?

EXCERPT:

“It’s rather funny, don’t you think?” the Earl of Devlin said as he continued to make his way down the street. “Father thought if you were gone, I would step in to take your place. He thought your absence would make me assume some responsibility in running Devlin Downs. Instead...”
“Instead, what?” Jack asked, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.
When Sheridan stopped on the sidewalk and turned, Jack felt a cold chill race down his spine. The color left his brother’s bronzed face and a haunted look filled his eyes.
“Refusing to marry Kingston’s daughter is probably the first selfless act I’ve ever committed.”
“How can you say that?”
Shad paused and Jack knew his brother was weighing how much he should reveal.
“How much do you know about Kingston?”
“Very little. I only know about the agreement he made with Father for you to marry his daughter.”
“A pact made in blood,” Shad said barely loud enough to be heard. “Marrying into that family would have condemned us all. Or worse.”
“What are you talking about? If there’s something we should go to the authorities with—“
Shad dropped his head back and laughed. “The authorities. Oh, that’s rich, Jack. You’ve been in government service too long. The authorities are the last ones you can trust.”
“That’s not true, Shad. I have connections that have nothing to do with the local authorities. Tell me what you know and I’ll figure out what to do.”
The Earl of Devlin smiled sadly at his brother. “You always could fix everything. I should have known to come to you right away.”
“Yes, you should have. Now, what do you know?”
Sheridan hesitated as if knowing what he was about to do was the same as stepping off a ledge. Once you took the first step, there was no going back.
“Promise you’ll be careful, Jack. I don’t know all the details. In fact, I’m confused on some of them, but somehow the Kingston name is behind it.”
“Behind what?”
“Behind—”
A nondescript carriage clattered noisily by on the far side of the street. A few yards further on a drunken trio assaulted a familiar tune. Shad’s words halted abruptly. At the same moment Jack saw the surprised look on Shad’s face he heard a muffled pop and knew instantly what was happening. In horror he saw Shad’s features sag as he crumpled to the ground in front of him.
Jack threw his body over Shad but no second shot came. Jack cautiously lifted his head and looked around. In the faint light he focused on the area from which he felt the shot had come. All was quiet. The street was empty.
Jack knew that even if he left his brother to race after the assassin, he wouldn’t find anyone. Whoever had shot Shad was long gone.
“Shad, how badly are you hit?” Jack asked, kneeling beside his brother. “Can you—”
Jack stopped. He was going to ask if he was able to stand, or if Jack should send for a doctor. But he knew the answer. Shad couldn’t stand. And it was already too late to send for a doctor.
Shad was dying.
“Hold on, Shad. I’ll take care of you.”
Shad lifted his trembling hand and pulled Jack down to whisper.
“Don’t let...”
Shad coughed through the rattle in his throat.
“...get you...
“...too.”




Buy now on Amazon! http://a.co/4XPaOjx
This book is free for Kindle Unlimited readers.




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ABOUT LAURA LANDON:


Laura Landon is a Prairie Muse Platinum, Kindle Press, and Amazon Montlake bestselling author. Laura enjoyed ten years as a high school teacher and nine years making sundaes and malts in her very own ice cream shop, but once she penned her first novel, she closed up shop to spend every free minute writing. Now she enjoys creating her very own heroes and heroines, and making sure they find their happily ever after.

A vital member of her rural community, Laura directed the town’s Quasquicentennial, organized funding for an exercise center for the town, and serves on the hospital board.

Laura lives in the Midwest, surrounded by her family and friends. She has written nearly two dozen Victorian historicals, thirteen of which have been published by Prairie Muse Publishing and are selling worldwide in English, one in Japanese, and several in German. Two are Scottish historicals.

In October 2012, Laura experienced an amazing day when Amazon’s Montlake Romance published not one but three of her newest novels. Two of these have been optioned for publication in Russia and Turkey. Several are also available in German. To date Montlake had published seven of Laura’s Victorian historicals and Kindle Press three.

Always beautifully set and with a mysterious twist or bit of suspense, Laura’s books average over a million and a half pages a month read by her loyal readers.

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