Bookaholic Ramblings Blogging and Rambling about Books Menu Skip to content Home About Review Policy Book Review “Rescued” by Arlene Lam Posted on November 20, 2012 0 Title: Rescued Author: Arlene Lam Genre: Historical Romance, Interracial Romance Links: Website | Facebook | Amazon The fire that burned when they were together was consuming. Her whole life Amelia was told what to do obediently following the rules her domineering aunt set forth. Right down to letting the woman choose the man she was to marry. However this was about to change because from the moment she laid eyes on Jordan Bradford the shy young maid was lost. But loving a man like him was beyond dangerous for more than the obvious reasons. However Amelia found herself throwing caution to the wind and willing to risk everything for just one kiss. Intriguing and honest Jordan was drawn to Amelia instantly. Shy and witty Jordan knows that deep down there is a woman just waiting to be set free if only those around her would let her. Still he knew pursuing her was not an option. And even if it was she was already promised to another man. Yet every time she was near that knowledge was lost to him. Wasn’t forbidden fruit always sweeter? It was an added luxury that whenever he was in her presence his past seemed just that, the past. Just one look and a flame long though extinguished was awakened in him. So much so that Amelia was a woman Jordan decided needed to be rescued. Book Review: Amelia is a colored girl living with her half-sister and supposed to get married to a sixty-year-old man, who she despises. Afraid no one will love her and eager to please her sister, she agrees to the marriage anyway, and does her best to make the old one happy so he’ll go through with it. However, when her employer, Mr. Bradford, returns to his estate and shows an interest in Amelia, that awakens feelings she never knew hse was capable of feeling. Mr. Bradford, young, handsome and charming, is completely different from what she’s used to. And to Jordan (Mr. Bradford), Amelia is completely different from the kind of woman he’s used to dating. She is the kindest soul he’s ever laid eyes upon, and soon he finds herself trapped in her spell of love. Wow. Rescued certainly was a rollercoaster of emotions, leaving me breathless by the end. Amelia is a great heroine, kind and friendly, but willing to stand up for herself when absolutely necessary. Jordan was charming, mysterious, gorgeous. I liked their relationship – a bit clumsy at the start, teasing each other, but trusting and mature toward the end. The book never stops. The pace doesn’t slow down. If one conflict is solved, another arises. Jordan and Amelia are never granted a moment of peace, and I felt sorry for them that instead of being able to enjoy their love they had to fight like hellcats to be able to stay together. An excellent historical romance, recommended to all fans of the genre. Book Excerpt: Jordan told himself no but felt himself leaning in and pulling her closer to him, lifting her up slightly, his body seemingly took on a will of its own and before he could stop it his lips crashed down upon hers. He was gentle at first leaving a few feathery soft pecks here and there. And amazingly enough she let him, not pulling back as he had expected. He let his arms circle around her waist to aid him in lifting her for better access. Amelia felt her feet now barely touching the ground and knew that at any moment her heart would leap out from her chest or she would fall out in a dead faint, and that’s when it happened. Her legs nearly gave out on her; surely it had to be a sin for anything to feel so good. Jordan tightened his grip on her not wanting her to slip, but didn’t stop his sweet assault—he had barely begun! Gently he tried prodding her mouth open but she kept it shut firmly, there were ways around that, slowly Jordan sucked and pulled at her bottom lip and by and by she let herself forget, clenching her teeth together. Dipping his tongue in slowly he proceeded with his intoxicating torture coaxing her to try her own exploration and little by little she did. Amelia felt herself control start to fade and let a soft moan she had been trying desperately to stifle escape her body. Morgan’s slovenly attempts at kisses were nothing like this. Jordan was the first to pull away breathless. What the hell was he doing? Looking down at her in the moonlight he had to stop himself from kissing her again her soft lips now swollen. Amelia nearly gasped, the whole world seemed to be spinning, who knew a kiss could be so good? Posted in Book Review Tagged book review, historical, interracial, romance Release Day Party Creepy Christmas Posted on November 15, 2012 0 We’re hosting a release day party for “Creepy Christmas”, a MG fiction book by author Jaimie Admans. You can get the book for free for a limited time from Amazon (from November 15th to November 17th) so get it while you can! About Creepy Christmas Title: Creepy Christmas Author: Jaimie Admans Genre: MG Fiction “Strange things are occurring in the neighbourhood. A mysterious snowfall, one Santa too many, and eyes of coal that watch you wherever you go. Ten-year-old Kaity is busy trying to get rid of her mum’s creepy new boyfriend and reunite her divorced parents, but her curiosity gets the better of her when she meets the new mall Santa and his enchanting daughter Blizzard. Can Kaity help them save Christmas from being destroyed by Anti-Claus – a pretend Santa who is a permanent member of the naughty list? It’s Christmas in the village of Chelferry, but this year the snowmen can move, the fairy won’t stay on top of the Christmas tree, and if you listen closely to the musical Christmas cards, you can hear the faint sound of screaming over the Jingle Bells… Creepy Christmas is a 50,000 word (approx 200 pages) novel suitable for ages 8 and upwards.” Read an Excerpt The next morning we wake up to white. The world that is. Unexpected snowfall has hit Chelferry, and it’s incredible. It’s a Sunday so we don’t get a day off school – we don’t get snow very often around here, maybe once a year, and the whole town literally stops still until it melts. School closes, public transport stops, and shops close, either because the staff can’t get in or because they realise that even if they did open they would have no customers. My little sister Pippa is bouncing on my bed at six o’clock in the morning, and for a minute I think I’ve lost the past four weeks and it’s Christmas Day already. Then I realise that she’s squealing about snow and it’s so dark outside that I don’t even know how she can see the snow, let alone get excited about it, but she does. I get out of bed and pad over to the window with her just to get her to be quiet so as not to wake Mum and Dad, and when I— Wait… It’s Mum and Seth now. Not Dad. How can I still forget even after all these months that Dad’s not here anymore? How can I forget that on the real Christmas morning, when Pippa goes careening into Mum’s room and bounces on their bed, that Dad isn’t going to be there? I wonder about Dad. How does he feel knowing that his daughters are going to be waking someone else up on Christmas morning? Well, okay, probably relieved given our tendency to wake up in the early hours at Christmas, but still. The thoughts suddenly make the snow less appealing. “I’m going back to bed for a couple of hours, Pips,” I say sadly. “You should too, it’s early.” She shuffles out of my room like she can sense the change in my mood, and I can’t help but wonder what she really feels about all of this. I’m finding it so hard to adjust and I’m five years older than Pippa. Either she’s too little to really understand what’s going on with our parents’ divorce, or she’s much more mature than we give her credit for and she’s handling everything much better than I am. I smile at the thought of her and snow. An overnight snowfall is almost as exciting as Christmas for Pips as she’s only just old enough to understand that snow means school closure and playing outside for hours on end and losing feeling in your extremities. I stay in bed but end up tossing and turning for a couple more hours. Just as it starts getting light, I decide to take Harry for his morning walk early, before every kid in the neighbourhood is outside having a snowball fight. Harry doesn’t particularly like kids or snow, so he can be a bit of a handful if the two are mixed. Mum and Seth aren’t up yet, and I can’t hear any signs of Pippa so I guess she went back to sleep too. Dad always used to be up early. It was always a rare occasion to come downstairs to an empty house, even on a Sunday. Dad would always be here because he said his body clock was used to getting up early for work. I never realised how much I liked coming downstairs to see Dad sitting at the kitchen table reading his newspaper. I sigh and try to shake myself out of these thoughts. I’m far too melancholy today. I grab my warmest coat, the one that makes me look like the Michelin man, attach Harry’s lead and walk out into the snow. I’m surprised to see the street totally deserted. I stand on our front step and survey up and down the road, and there isn’t a sign of anyone about. Okay, it is still early and it is a Sunday, but I’m surprised not to see any kids out here yet. Oh well, all the more space for me. I pull my wellies up and jump off our front step, landing knee deep in a snowdrift. The snow looks so beautiful as I shuffle down to the end of our driveway and let myself out the gate. Virgin snow with no sign of a footprint makes the picturesque street look like a Christmas card. That’s when I notice the snowmen. How strange. I guess I’m not that early after all as evidently half the neighbourhood has been outside building snowmen already. Every house, in every garden, there’s an almost identical looking snowman. Almost the same in size, with the same tree branch arms, coal buttons, coal eyes, and carrots for noses. There is even one in our garden, which is a bit of a cheek if you ask me, as I’m sure Pippa would have loved to build one, but someone’s already done it. Odd though that there are no footprints. Anywhere. I mean, I’m the first person making footprints this morning, and yet there are snowmen in almost every garden, so obviously people have been out and playing in the snow and probably just popped back in for breakfast. So why no footprints? I try to puzzle it out as I drag Harry off down the street, just to nip around the block so he can do his business and then go back. I love the snow but it is cold this morning. I try to glance into some of the houses, but they all look dark still, like the occupants are still sleeping with their curtains and blinds closed. And then I want to physically smack myself in the head for being so stupid. Obviously the reason that there aren’t any footprints is because we’ve had another snowfall since everybody came out. Fresh snow has obviously covered up all the previous tracks in the snow. Epic facepalm. Although I wasn’t really sleeping since Pippa woke me up, I was just lying there thinking, so I’m quite surprised I didn’t hear the kids yelling and shouting and playing in the snow. But that’s beside the point. Every house has a snowman. I can’t believe all these people were out here making snowmen and I didn’t hear a thing. I look at the snowmen as I pass and suddenly I get a chill up my spine. All of a sudden I feel very alone and small in the world, and I can’t help but speed up a little in my walking. I’m not far from the house and getting back there suddenly feels like it would be a very good thing so I hurry Harry along. I can feel their creepy coal eyes staring at me. I know it’s my imagination but I feel like the eyes follow me as I pass them. They’re all so eerily similar to look at. Almost military and uniform in their build, and I briefly wonder if maybe the families who built them all discussed how their snowmen would look and synchronized them. And how did they all manage to do that before eight in the morning and without me hearing? I speed up so much that I am almost running, not wanting to be out here on my own anymore. I turn the corner into our street again, not surprised to find it still completely empty bar the snowmen. I don’t want to look behind me, I’m too scared, and where did that fear come from? I feel that if I look back I will find twenty pairs of snowmen eyes staring at me, even though I know that’s not possible. Maybe this divorce is affecting me more than I thought. I’m clearly losing my marbles if I think snowmen are watching me. I’m bright red and panting as I race up to our house, dragging Harry behind me and still refusing to look back. I fall in the door and slam it hard behind me. “What’s up with you?” Mum is on her way down the stairs, yawning and rubbing her eyes tiredly. “Mum, there are snowmen everywhere. In every house.” “Well, the neighbours must’ve been busy.” “No, you don’t get it. There’s a snowman in every garden. Even ours. And we didn’t build it.” “Well, isn’t that nice, Kaity? Obviously one of the neighbours has been round and done it overnight.” “I don’t know…” “What a nice way to spread Christmas cheer. I wonder who it was?” “I don’t think—” “Pips! Kaity says there’s a snowman, do you want to come and see?” “Yaaaaay,” Pippa runs out of the kitchen shouting. I ignore her and shuffle up to my bedroom. I sit on the windowseat and watch Pippa in the front garden talking to the snowman, and Mum yelling at her to come back and get her coat on. I guess Mum is right. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Obviously someone has come round and built a snowman in every garden during the night. It actually is quite a nice way to spread Christmas cheer. And I suppose that if the same person has built them it would explain why they all look the same. I don’t know why they creeped me out. I guess I’m just reading too much into what is quite clearly a simple explanation. I glance out the window at them all again, lined up perfectly in each garden, and I can’t help the eerie feeling that creeps down my spine. Author Bio Jaimie is a 27-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. She has been writing for years, but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people. Creepy Christmas is her second novel and she hopes you like it! Links Website | Twitter | Facebook Creepy Christmas on Amazon UK | Creepy Christmas on Amazon US Get the Book for Free! You can get Creepy Christmas for free from Amazon for a limited time – November 15th, 16th and 17th. Go get your free copy while you still can! Posted in Release Day Party Tagged children's fiction, release day Book Review “Living The Thin Life” by Elle Meyer Posted on November 8, 2012 0 Title: Living The Thin Life Author: Elle Meyer Genre: Diet/Weight Maintenance Living the Thin Life – Creative Ways to Maintain Your Weight for Life was written to help successful dieters maintain their ideal weight. Each person is different, so everyone needs to develop his or her own personalized plan for fitness and weight maintenance. This book explains how to build that personal plan to take into account each individual’s unique eating personality. Tips for staying motivated, shaving off calories, and working exercise into an everyday routine are provided in a light-hearted manner. As an added bonus, over 50 healthy, low calorie recipes are included. The author, Elle Meyer, successfully lost weight ten years ago and came up with her own methods for keeping the weight off. She decided to write a book to tell her story and share strategies that really work. She interviewed many people who have lost and maintained weight and included their best ideas and suggestions. These tips are from real people, for real people. In addition to including common sense, effective diet techniques, Elle also describes some habits of her husband “Elvis” (name changed to protect his reputation). These habits provide examples of what not to do when trying to maintain a healthy weight. Book Review: I’ve always been struggling to keep my goal weight. I love snacks, in all shapes and sizes, so I tend to eat all day long if I’m not paying attention, and that’s not a good thing. Mrs. Meyer has a great way of explaining, simple and straightforward, what you can and can’t eat, and how you should cut back on this. She’s not a believer in a permanent diet, and neither I am. Instead, she mentions eating a hamburger but then chosing a diet coke and saving out on calories. Or going out and not ordering dessert but then eating a light, sugar-free dessert at home. Mrs. Meyer also gives some tips about exercise, which I enjoyed very much. I’m not a huge fan of exercise, except swimming, but I think I could swing in half an hour or so a day, provided the exercises were fun. I liked how the book was straightforward, and didn’t praise any miracle diets. It just said what you could do to help lose weight, or help stay at your perfect weight. The author also added some foodlogs she made herself, which I think was a great idea. I may have to start a foodlog myself. Posted in Book Review Tagged book review, diet, weight maintenance Book Review “The Escape of Princess Madeline” by Kristin Pulioff Posted on November 2, 2012 0 Title: The Escape of Princess Madeline Author: Kristin Pulioff Genre: YA Fantasy Publisher: Malachite Quills Publishing Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter The Kingdom of Soron is known for many things, its rolling landscape, haunting history, fiery sunsets, and its beautiful princess. Princess Madeline woke on her sixteenth birthday to realize that her future had been planned out, a life full of privilege, royalty, and boredom… a life with a husband and knight champion that she did not choose. Using her charm, strength and stubbornness, she defies the King at every turn, determined to keep her freedom on her terms. Freedom quickly turns to disaster as she finds herself seized by a group of wandering bandits. With the kingdom in turmoil over her capture- her Knight Champion eager to prove himself, a group of dedicated suitors determined to win her hand, and a group of exiled wizards join forces to rescue her. Follow Princess Madeline in this adventure to find freedom and love. Review: Princess Madeline wants nothing more than to be free. When her father announces that on her sixteenth birthday party, she’ll have to choose the man she’ll be with for the rest of her life – one of four possible suitors, none to her liking – she wishes the night to be over. Excusing herself and faking illness, she hopes to end the nightmare once and for all. But unfortunately, the next day the suitors are still there and Madeline is still forced to marry one of them, even though her heart lies elsewhere. After a tournament, she decides to run away. What she doesn’t know is that some people would move heaven and earth to get their hands on the princess of the kingdom… The story of The Escape of Madeline was fast-paced and fun, light-hearted and very fairytale-like. It had all the qualities of a fairytale: the reluctant princess, a hero coming out of nowhere, an overly-concerned father, and a magical kingdom. I enjoyed it very much, and it reminded me of my childhood and stories like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, although Madeline is a bit tougher than both of those. She’s not afraid to stand up for herself and fight for her rights, and that’s what I admired the most about her. The writing was fluent. The book is a bit of a middle grade story, maybe YA at times, but I’d definitely rate it MG overall. The story moved fast, and it’s not too long. The characters were intriguing, and their struggles seemed genuine. I liked how the writing wasn’t too flowery, but rather straight to the point. If you’re a fan of middle grade novels, or you have a middle grade kid who loves fairytales and the likes, this book is a must-read. Posted in Book Review Tagged book review, fantasy, middle grade, YA Release Day Party The Chick Flick Project Posted on November 2, 2012 0 We’re hosting a release day party for The Chick Flick Project, a romantic comedy novel by author Courtney Elliott, published by Senzuri Books. Read more about The Chick Flick Project, find out more about the author AND get a chance at winning an eBook copy of this delightful and fun read! The Chick Flick Project Title: The Chick Flick Project Author: Courtney Elliott Genre: Romance, Comedy Ally Nichols is fed up with constantly putting herself out there to only be rejected again and again. After her most recent failure, she comes up with a solution. She decides to start modeling her love life after all of the big screen’s most recognizable love stories. Hilarity, heartbreak, mishaps and mayhem ensue. She hopes that maybe one of them actually figured out the secret to true love. The only problem: no one ever told her that sometimes your Hollywood Happy Ending is where you least expect to find it. Author Bio Courtney Elliott lives in a small town in Texas called Cleburne. She has been writing stories since she was eight years old. She’s an easy person to get along with. She loves making jokes, most of which are self deprecating. She’s not ashamed of who she is therefore not afraid to be herself. She may be young, but does not believe age should be a factor, her writing should speak for itself. Links Goodreads | Author on Goodreads | Facebook | Courtney’s Blog | Senzuri Books Facebook Giveaway We’re giving away eBook copies of The Chick Flick Project to 5 lucky winners. Fill in the Rafflecopter form to participate! Click here to view the form! If the link doesn’t work, please fill in the form on Enchanted Book Promotions to participate. Posted in Release Day Party Book Excerpt from “The Chick Flick Project” Posted on November 1, 2012 0 bannerchickflick I’m glad to start off the tour for “The Chick Flick Project” by Courtney Elliott with an excerpt from her book! Book Excerpt The Chick Flick Project’s PROLOGUE No strings attached is always a bad idea. I repeat, ALWAYS a … Continue reading → Posted in Book Excerpt Post Tagged book excerpt, chick flick Book Review “Just Remember to Breathe” by Charles Sheehan-Miles Posted on October 29, 2012 0 Title: Just Remember to Breathe Author: Charles Sheehan-Miles Genre: New Adult Romance Publisher: Cincinnatus Press Publication Date: August 30th 2012 (eBook), November 12th 2012 (paperback) Purchase: Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | B&N Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions Alex Thompson’s life is following the script. A pre-law student at Columbia University, she’s focused on her grades, her life and her future. The last thing she needs is to reconnect with the boy who broke her heart. Dylan Paris comes home from Afghanistan severely injured and knows that the one thing he cannot do is drag Alex into the mess he’s made of his life. When Dylan and Alex are assigned to the same work study program and are forced to work side by side, they have to make new ground rules to keep from killing each other. Only problem is, they keep breaking the rules. The first rule is to never, ever talk about how they fell in love. Review: I’ve read a fair share of New Adult novels, so I know most of the clichés, the stereotypical characters and the rundown plots by heart. I don’t really mind these clichés, when they’re executed well. But Just Remember to Breathe steps away from the known, and ventures into unknown territory, offering an unique approach and look on the lives of college kids. The characters here have a past, a history that shapes them, that makes them more than you’d say at first glance. Dylan was a prime example of this: he was shaped by his past, by his drunk father hitting his mother, by the thought that he was never good enough. Then he goes off to fight in Afghanistan, and that experiences shapes him even more: he becomes very angry at life in general, an anger he can’t always control. Loss, pain and agony shaped him into the man he is at the beginning of the book. Alex on the other hand, is shaped by life as well, a victim of circumstances: with a controlling father and equally-controlling mother, with sisters vwho’ve scored brilliantly academically, she has a lot to live up to, and she’s unsure of whether she’ll reach those high expectations. I liked the characters. They were both very strong characters, with unique personalities, and a set of issues that helped define them. I’ve never read of a war veteran in NA books before, and I thought that was quite unique. Alex is more of a stereotypical character, although she doesn’t come across that way. Plot-wise, not that much happens, but that’s fine. After a love affair gone wrong in their high school years, Alex and Dylan find each other again at college. They immediately feel attracted toward one another, but to truly be together, they must come to terms with their past, and their present. The plot isn’t that original, but it’s the characters, these unique, intriguing people, that make the book worth reading. I enjoyed it from start to end. Highly recommended to New Adult fans. Posted in Book Review Tagged book review, new adult, romance Search Welcome to Bookaholic Ramblings! Welcome to my blog, and I hope you enjoy your stay here. I talk about books, books and oh, did I mention, books? I'm not accepting review copies for the time being, but please check back in the future. If you'd like to get in touch, leave a comment or try the contact form. :) Have a nice stay! Bookie Follow Blog via Email Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Join 2 other followers Categories Book Excerpt Post Book Review Giveaway Guest Post Release Day Party Disclaimer We receive no monterary compensation for reviewing any of the books mentioned on this website. We do not sell ARC copies, but we do sometimes use them in giveaways. I Host For… Blogroll Book Chick City I Heart Reading Parajunkee The Story Siren XPresso Reads Bookaholic Ramblings Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Lovebirds. Follow Follow “Bookaholic Ramblings” Get every new post delivered to your Inbox. Powered by WordPress.com

Another Interview I did. Thanks Majanka

Author Interview with Arlene Lam Author InterviewsNovember 19, 2012No comments I’m glad to feature author Arlene Lam on my blog today. Arlene is the author of historical romance / interracial romance novel, Rescued. The Interview 1) Where did you come up with the inspiration to write ‘Rescued’? I owe this story to a high school friend. She had remarked one day that there were no romance novels that reflected her relationship. I doubted her and went to find her one. I was met with empty shelves. The idea flourished after that and I began writing Jordan and Amelia’s tale. 2) Do you have any advice for newbie writers? Trust yourself and your work. Sometimes you can obsess and change things that were perfect to begin with. 3) If you could have a cup of coffee with three authors (dead or alive), which authors would you choose? That’s a good question. Let’s see, Stephen King, Judith McNaught, and Roald Dahl. 4) Why should everyone read ‘Rescued’? I feel that Rescued offers a love story that is not like any other, it takes you from the sultry bayous of New Orleans all the way to the upper crest of London all while on a wild journey of discovery to find a love unbound. 5) Do you plot everything beforehand or do you write ‘as you go’? I do both. I guess there is no method to my madness. I have a general idea of how I want things to go and how I plan to get there but there are always numerous detours along the way before I get there. 6) If you could do one thing differently about the entire writing process for ‘Rescued’, what would it be? I would not have removed several of scenes that I loved but for some reason (lack of trust in my own judgment) cut anyway. 7) Do you write every day, once a week,…? I try to write at least twice a week. I found that if I try to do more that I get off course and find myself with writers block or with a hundred different stories that I want to work on at once. 8) Do you have another novel planned? I have several. The Wedding a prequel to Rescued that is to be released in December as well as several others that are not related as well. I’ll be a busy woman in the coming months, but I couldn’t be happier. Thanks for the interview! About Rescued Title: Rescued Author: Arlene Lam Genre: Historical Romance / Historical Interracial The fire that burned when they were together was consuming. Her whole life Amelia was told what to do obediently following the rules her domineering aunt set forth. Right down to letting the woman choose the man she was to marry. However this was about to change because from the moment she laid eyes on Jordan Bradford the shy young maid was lost. But loving a man like him was beyond dangerous for more than the obvious reasons. However Amelia found herself throwing caution to the wind and willing to risk everything for just one kiss. Intriguing and honest Jordan was drawn to Amelia instantly. Shy and witty Jordan knows that deep down there is a woman just waiting to be set free if only those around her would let her. Still he knew pursuing her was not an option. And even if it was she was already promised to another man. Yet every time she was near that knowledge was lost to him. Wasn’t forbidden fruit always sweeter? It was an added luxury that whenever he was in her presence his past seemed just that, the past. Just one look and a flame long though extinguished was awakened in him. So much so that Amelia was a woman Jordan decided needed to be rescued. Visit Arlene’s Website | Like Arlene’s Facebook Page | Purchase from Amazon Tagged: author interview

A book review to Rescued

November 16, 2012 Book Review ‘Rescued’ by Arlene Lam Title: Rescued Author: Arlene Lam Genre: Historical & Interracial Romance Published: July 27th, 2012 Rating: 4 stars Amelia has a problem: she is set to marry a man twice her age and though she does not love him, she aims to please her domineering aunt and do what is expected of her. This changes when she meets Jordan Bradford, her handsome white employer. A man with everything—Jordan Bradford is interested in Amelia instantly and cannot for the life of him figure out why she lets those around her treat her as they do. He is determined to make her see her self worth but never dreamed that the pretty little maid could cause him such grief. Yet as time passes and they encounter each other more it is near impossible for him to keep his hands off the brown-skinned maid. Book Review Amelia is a young, black girl growing up in an era when there’s still a large difference between black and white, and all men are certainly not treated equal. Growing up with a sister who misses no opportunity to tell her she’s ugly, Amelia is a shy, timid girl with no self-confidence. When her employer, Mr. Bradford (Jordan) returns from a trip at seas and notices the shy maid, he feels an immediate attraction toward her. But being a ladies man, he disregards it at first. However, the longer he spends time with Amelia, the more attracted he feels toward her, until he can no longer resist. Mr. Bradford reminded me of the male roles in gothic romances – strong, intelligent men who hide a deep, dark secret and often have a dark streak to them. He’s also a lady’s man, another reminder of those gothic romances I used to read. I liked him, even when he acted a bit alpha, and his charming, feel-good personality. Amelia was a shy, quiet girl, but she could be quite witty toward Mr. Bradford, which I thought was amusing. I also liked how she was described as a clumsy person, especially when he was around. The side characters were well-described, and I had a certain interpretation of all of them. I liked Vivian, the governess, and George, Mr. Bradford’s little sister. I disliked Amelia’s half-sister, and Morgan, the old man who wanted to marry Amelia. Another bonus is how the issue of the interracial conflict back then are presented. Even if slavery was abolished, it was still frowned upon for a white man or woman to marry a black man or woman. I’m glad those days are over now, but it’s interesting to get a view of how that must’ve been liked for interracial couples.

Amazon Remittance Madness

Truly this is most perplexing,vexing and ridiculous. The story starts back in August when I was to receive my first payment from Amazon, it wasn't much but hey I was proud of it and planned on getting myself a nice Starbucks coffee. VENTI! I received the remittance letting me know that I was to receive the payment through direct deposit and waited ever so patiently. It never arrived. I figured hey maybe I missed it or spent it unwittingly after all as I mentioned before it was a very modest amount. Lets now fast forward to the month of Sept when a large chunk of change was coming my way. I wouldn't miss this one. Upon not receiving it I emailed Amazon as even though they are a large company they do not offer phone support for there KDP authors. A woman contacts me two day later to inform me that the funds had been deposited. How can this be? Confused I contacted my bank. They didn't see a deposit. Even more flustered I email my lovely KDP contact once again and she asks me to check my account info. The info is correct. I report back to her my findings. She does research on her end and finds that somehow the last two numbers had been transposed during processing! I needed to contact my bank to have them transfer the funds internally . Okay done and done. I ask my KDP contact will this be a issue in the future. NO was my response just go back into my account settings and save said info again so that it can be updated properly and the next remittance would be deposited into my account correctly. Again done and done and also I sent a update email to myself as it is an option. Moving forward to mid month KDP UK payment remittance arrives. I check account NOPE routed to incorrect account again! Are you serious. I contact bank they move funds but warn that this will be the last time unless they receive a indemnity letter. Okay understandable. I contact KDP ask them what do I need to do to have them put money into correct account. The response "At this time all we can suggest is that you have your banking institution transfer the funds internally or reject them." ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Didn't you update it already. DIDN'T I TWICE! So deposit day comes 10/30/12 and you know what, over a thousand dollars deposited into the wrong account. So now I must wait as they research the problem. GIVE ME MY INDEMNITY LETTER SO I CAN MOVE ON. Thank you so much KDP. END OF RANT!

New Age Mama: Book Spotlight - Rescued Arlene Lam

New Age Mama: Book Spotlight - Rescued Arlene Lam

Craking the top 100

So today I have made it to #11 o the Kindle Top 100 free! I'm so excited, when I decided to make Rescued free I didn't think it would go that far,but it did. So thanks to everyone who helped me get there. Now I'm going to get back to my countdown to Merlin season 5.

The Boy

The Boy

Can there be anything sweeter than hearing a child laugh. I know I for one can hear my son laugh and once he get's going it is infectious. If I'm down it will pick me. If stressed it's my immediate remedy. So when I went on vacation this year to Disneyland  feeling waist deep in stress and definitely not looking forward to the long drive you could say I wasn't to excited. Then I thought about it who doesn't like Disneyland for goodness sake and after all wouldn't I get to hear that laughter. The very same laughter that can turn a dark day bright. Yes I would and boy did he laugh. We had a ball and all that stress was evaporated in a warm smile. Here's to you Ian mommy love's  you.

Pretty day

HAPPY LABOR DAY

I'm wishing everyone a Happy Labor Day! I've been on vacation from this blog a while and I must do better! The reason however is that I've been plotting out The Wedding. I'm struggling with where I want it to go and end. I love the characters Margaret and Jasper. Especially Jasper, and as I've said before they are bound to become a part of the series I've been working on, it just that they are driving me crazy lol. Oh well I know it will come in time.

Book Trailer I'm trying out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IEnwDJ9bSI&feature=g-upl

Amelia's Interview

Today I had the great opportunity to interview on Vallory Vance's blog, but not as myself. As a character of mine Amelia. It was so much fun and I'm so glad I had the chance to do it. Thanks so much Vallory! Sunday Chat With Rescued's Amelia wp.me/p2frWM-7L

For those of you who read Rescued please enter the contest. It should be fun!

I was featured as an author and did an interview with Annie over on chompasaurus Reviews. It was so fun check it out. http://chompasaurusreviews.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/author-interview-with-arlene-taylor-lam/

Brick Wall

I've hit it, the brick wall. I can't seem to write a word. Save for this probably small blog post. I've been trying to work on The Wedding and I'm stuck. I know where I want to go with the novel, I'm just not getting there. Maybe I need to take a week break. It's so irritating the words are there they just are not flowing right. Oh well enough of my rant. I WILL GET THERE, and soon.

So its 7/27/12 Rescued is officially released. What journey, now to move on to the other stories in my head and improve my writing I hope.

The Tale of A Book and Three Covers

      When I first started writing Rescued I never once dreamed I would publish it. It was just something I was doing for my friends and finished for a great man who is no longer with us. He would always say, "You better finish that book June." June is my nickname for those who don't know. He would also say. "The day you finish this book I probably will be dead." How sad it is that this is true.
       Rescued holds a special place in my heart because I finished it for a good friend, my brother in law Kamal Moore, he passed away in 2002. I needed to finish it for him and I'm glad I finally did. The thing about it was however, once it was completed, it sat for awhile. How could I put it out there, what if people hated it? I asked myself this question up until several months ago when I decided to take a leap and just do it! I know he would be proud. I doesn't matter if it's a great success.
       Of course there is a but in there right. Yeah there is, all that being said, I wanted something that would look great on the outside and the inside and that journey has been a headache but well worth it! Formatting, editing all aside it was the COVERS THAT DROVE ME CRAZY!!!! It was so hard to have what I envisioned put into art.

Cover 1

      The cover for Flowers of the Bayou wasn't so bad to be truthful but Rescued was crazy. I spent over nine months and a lot of money of covers. Before I found the right woman for the job. Dawn was a miracle worker and below you will see why. She took what I described to her and made it come to life in a wonderful portrait. Now while some of the covers are not bad they just weren't for Rescued. Take a look and tell me what you think. Did I make the right decision?

Cover 2 HMMMM

Cover 3 I love this just not for the cover I still use it.

Cover 4 Love it just not for Rescued

I'm going to be giving away 3 copies of my new book Rescued. I'm very excited here's to hoping you all will enter the giveaway contest.

Out now on Createspace or Kindle for free.

Margaret/Louisiana Iris

     Her whole life Margaret knew she was going to marry Jasper. The trouble was convincing him of this fact. No longer the gangly spying child he once knew Margaret was determined to show Jasper that she was a woman. Even more than that the woman for him. Now if she could just get him to agree to a wedding.

Amelia/The Magnolia

    If someone asked her to give her right arm to get away from her Aunt Lorraine Amelia was sure she would do it. Trying to breath and live under the woman's rule was near impossible. And now that Jacob a man twice her age has set his mind on making Amelia his and Lorraine  could not be happier Amelia is sure that one day soon she would need to break free. Still for now all she could do was plan for an escape or perhaps just maybe she just might get rescued.

Jessie/The Wildflower

    No one told Jessie what to do and that went for Anthony Wilson as well! So when the man told her to stay in the house and he'd be back for her of course she had to follow him. What she found him doing in the backwoods was more than surprising. She'd never have guessed she would have fallen for a bayou bandit.

Dress up at work.

Eighties what a decade!

Contest

I decided I wanted to do a contest because I'm so excited about finally getting this blog up and setting a date for my novel Rescued. I've set a date of 7/25/12 as the release. So in honor of this achievement here we go a short and sweet contest!

Calling on all Historical Romance Writers and IR Romance writers!

Contests rules:
1. Submit a short 300 word account of what moment or event inspired you to want to write!
2. Your favorite Author and why
3. What you wish to achieve as an author.

The Prize $25 dollar Amazon gift card and feat on blog.

Getting Past Yourself

I’ve always enjoyed writing and have written numerous short stories and novels for a long time, however at first I found it very hard to find the courage to actually let others read my work for a long time. I’ve only recently come out of that funk and I’m glad of it because now I can share my stories with everyone and it’s more fun! I guess the point is you have to put yourself out there sometimes and even though it might not be everyone cup of tea at least you tried. You might even like what you find once you do!

My Favorite Book Of All Time

Must Read

This will be short I promise. I just wanted to share this with everyone. Have you ever read a book and it just made you want to write yourself? That’s what Judith McNaughts Once and Always did for me. Its a beautiful book that makes you want to laugh and cry and is just overall wonderful.

Refining your work.

So I know I'm not the only one who's done this. You've written down what you want to say and it's perfect and your proud. You get ready to publish or I dunno may give to someone this work and give it one last once over and it's riddled with mistakes you just somehow missed to your disbelief. I find that it's hard to correct one's own work. How can you really you know the words that are going to jump of the page before you complete the sentence. Sure I know some probably can but for me I find it daunting. Now that I've complete my first novel or should I say complete my first draft all I do is read and re-read and find mistakes in grammar. Its exhausting. Basically as I said before, at least in my case is darn near impossible so I came up with some times that I am going to follow feel free to try them out and let me know if they worked for you, but be warned they are pretty obvious tips :) 

Here are some tips I learned:
1. Don’t be to critical the more you read the more you change things, and not always for the best.

2. It’s okay to take a break and breath when weary.

3. This is most important, if you can get your hands on a good editor do so :) I’m excited to be working with you Mrs. Hamm.

Movie!

Today I just felt like sharing my top 5 movies go figure! They are all unique in there pairings or strong message.

I’m going classic with this list.
1. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner ( Original)
2. Imitation Of Life
3. Island In The Sun
4. West Side Story
5. Sayonara

Do you think that there is a lack of multicultural romance novels in the market?

Do you think that there is a lack of multicultural romance novels in the market?

So here it is my first post! I'm new at blogging and though I might not become a great success I'm happy to have the opportunity to share myself, my likes, and dislikes and of course my passion which is writing with others. So I thought I would begin with explaining how writing became so much of a staple in my life. Well its simple through reading. As a child that's all I did and as I grew from a child to a teenage and into adulthood this fact remained the same. I could not begin to tell you how many books I've read but what I can tell  you is that I intend to keep adding to the number! Okay so let me get back on track, because I read of course this can lead to writing, which it did in my case. I am and always will be a sucker for romance so that's the genre I delved into. As an  African American there is not much historical romance that is geared towards us or anyone else who might be interested in reading such material. I think this needs to change. I love historical romance. So that's what I write. My first novel which I hope to indie pub by July 25th is just that but with  a twist and i'll get into that another day. So there it is my fist blog I hope to share so much more!