Twofer Murder Review (iRead Book Tours)

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by iRead Blog Tours. This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.




I read TwoFer Murder, in exchange for honest review from iRead Blog Tours. I received the audible version of the book. The book was written by Lauren Carr.

Audiobook Details:



Book Title: Twofer Murder by Lauren Carr

Narrated by: Anita Alger / Mike Alger

Length: 13 hours 20 mins

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Acorn Book Services

Release date: Jan 2018

Available for review in: audiobook (Audible code)

Tour dates: Feb 12 to 23, 2018

Content Rating: PG + M (Please be aware that TWOFER MURDER is a murder mystery. There are depictions of murder and some violence--though easy on the gore contents. No f-words but there may be some mild profanity, and mild religious expletives such as "damn", "hell" and "Oh God!". Some depictions of brief sexual content (kissing).



Book Description:

Twofer murder? What’s a twofer murder?

Twofer Murder is a treat for fans of best-selling author Lauren Carr’s fast-paced mysteries! Lauren’s latest novel contains the main characters from her three successful series: Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose mysteries. The guys go away for a fishing weekend only to get caught up in the murder of a journalist investigating fraud at a timber company. Meanwhile, the ladies are spending the weekend in the presidential suite at a posh resort where Jessica Faraday is to accept a lifetime achievement award for her late grandmother at a murder mystery writers conference. But before they have time to get their facials, they get wrapped up in their own real mystery when an up and coming author ends up dead!

Lauren Carr’s Twofer Murder is a 2-for-1—making it a must-read for any mystery fan!
To read more reviews, please visit Lauren Carr's page on iRead Book Tours.

About the Author:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.




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Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

My Review:

I was lost when I first started listening to the book. Lots of characters, drama, and a murder, but it drew me in eventually. A bunch of women gathered at a murder mysteries writers conference to celebrate an award for one of their grandmothers. While the men are on a fishing trip and someone ends up dead. There is a change in narrators when it switches over from the mens' point of view to the womens.' I love the narrator's Southern voice of one of the characters. 

I would listen to the book when you have a moment of peace. The book has a lot of characters. I got lost because I was cleaning my house when I was listening to the book. I may have to buy the book and follow along with the audio. What drew me in was the writer's conference. I also liked the scene where someone was on the plane to check in on a friend in another country, when the friend died before she arrived. I liked the concierge, Garth, I believe and how nothing surprises him. I also like how there is a storm arriving on weekend of the conference.

The book is available in Kindle,  Kindle Unlimited, Paperback, and Audible format.

Buy the Book:

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Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway Ends March 3, 2018

Twofer Murder Spotlight (iRead Book Tours)

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by iRead Blog Tours. The post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Book Details:

Book Title: Twofer Murder by Lauren Carr

Category: Adult fiction, 400 pages

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Acorn Book Services

Release date: November 17, 2017

Tour dates: Nov 1 to 30, 2017

Content Rating: PG + M (Please be aware that TWOFER MURDER is a murder mystery. There are depictions of murder and some violence--though easy on the gore contents. No f-words but there may be some mild profanity, and mild religious expletives such as "damn", "hell" and "Oh God!". Some depictions of brief sexual content (kissing). No drug use or underage drinking among the protagonists.)



Book Description:

Twofer murder? What’s a twofer murder?

Twofer Murder is a treat for fans of best-selling author Lauren Carr’s fast-paced mysteries! Lauren’s latest novel contains the main characters from her three successful series: Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose mysteries. The guys go away for a fishing weekend only to get caught up in the murder of a journalist investigating fraud at a timber company. Meanwhile, the ladies are spending the weekend in the presidential suite at a posh resort where Jessica Faraday is to accept a lifetime achievement award for her late grandmother at a murder mystery writers conference. But before they have time to get their facials, they get wrapped up in their own real mystery when an up and coming author ends up dead!

Lauren Carr’s Twofer Murder is a 2-for-1—making it a must-read for any mystery fan!

Buy the Book:

Amazon

Add to Goodreads

Watch the trailer:

Meet the Author:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.















Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

What are readers saying about Lauren Carr's mysteries?

Enter the Giveaway!

Ends Dec 4

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Lessons From A Difficult Person Book Spotlight (iRead Book Tours)

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by iRead Book Tours. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links and images.

Book Description: 

Elliston is a highly successful workshop leader and trainer, who offers wisdom learned the hard way—by experience – as well as through rigorous study and certification in many areas of professional training that aid her in her work -- Values Realization, Parent Effectiveness Training and Reality Therapy. She is a faculty member of the William Glasser Institute. Glasser is an internationally recognized psychiatrist and developer of Reality Therapy, a method of psychotherapy that teaches people they have a choice in how they choose to behave.


The methods Elliston offers in her book end the trauma and the drama, and minimize the possibility of confrontation. She gives YOU, the reader, the ability to take a strong, positive, confident—yet compassionate--stance with the “difficult person”—whether that is a relative, coworker, friend, one of your children or anyone else for that matter.


Elliston demonstrates how to:


• Identify the ways to talk to a “difficult” person

• Incorporate true incentives to help people change

• Make real the consequences of the “difficult” person’s action

• Increase success through acceptance and belonging

• Avoid being triggered by the “difficult” person allowing you to neutralize those hot buttons and communicate without judgment


Elliston lays out a proven script for peacefully transforming the difficult person’s behavior and the environment. She gives you the tools for successfully initiating and engaging in a conversation with a difficult person that would lead to change.

You can purchase the book here or enter to win using the link in the giveaway section.

Author Bio: 

Sarah (Sam) Elliston is an expert in the art of Dealing with Difficult People. She is a top workshop leader and a member of the faculty of the William Glasser Institute, which espouses “Reality Therapy” to foster behavioral change.

But her instructional career began long before she even became aware that she was herself a “difficult person,” traits that began in Lincoln MA, where she grew up. For more than 30 years she has been teaching and training, first as a high school teacher in Ohio and Cincinnati—and then as an administrator in the not-for-profit sector.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Giveaway

Prize: One winner will receive a copy of Lessons from a Difficult Person and a $10 Amazon gift card (open to USA & Canada)

Ends Feb 25

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America is an Idea Book Review (iRead Book Tours)

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by iRead Book Tours. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate Links.



I received America is an idea and the American Dream is for everyone: Why We Built empowr.com: The Experiment to Democratize Social Media, in exchange for honest review from iRead Book Tours. The book was written by Michael Cyrus Pousti.

I wanted to review the book because I am a member of empowr.com, even though I am still learning the site. Still confused on a few things, such as the auctions and how to generate money. I have money in the empowr bank, but not sure about the ins and outs of how I earned it.

Empowr.com a social media site, similar to Facebook. You can add people as fans and somehow monetize your network, similar to Tsu. The layout is similar to Facebook's home feed. You can post statuses, photos, and videos. You can also like other people's content.

You somehow earn money and your balance is sent to your email on a daily basis. The website does have video tutorials, which helps explain the site. I am still going through the tutorials.

On to the book review:

The author of the book, I first learned, was the founder of the former collegeclub.com. I used to be a member of College Club when I was 18 years old. He started Empowr to help change social media. The site also offers a form of virtual currency. Pousti has this concept called Democratic Social Economy, which provides a way for people to pay for things online. This was before credit cards became the norm for paying for things online.

Next, the author discussed how democracy plays a part in social media. With democracy, people should not get comfortable in their roles/positions or stagnation kicks in. People may lose their passion and drive. They may not perform to expectations. Companies get stuck in a downward trickle and corruption may occur. A change in management and staff may occur to get the business revived again.

The author also discusses education, economics, world conflict, and information technology. He doesn't really discuss the website until about 1/4 to 1/2 through the book. First, I learned Empowr allows people to earn money without having any starting capital, products, or services. You also can start a blog on the site and generate ads to earn money. You can cash out after your balance is 90 days matured. Next, you can earn money by posting statuses, photos, and videos. You also can buy items and turn around and sell them for a profit. (I am still confused on the buying and selling system). I also learned you can order food online, using your empowr balance.

You can purchase the book in Kindle and paperback format. The TOC is not hyperlinked so you can jump back and forth through the book. The book is prime-eligible.

How to Blog a Book Review (iRead Book Tours)

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

I read How to Blog a Book Revised and Expanded Edition: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time, in exchange for honest review from iRead Book Tours.

About the book: from media kit

Transform Your Blog into a Book!

The world of blogging is rapidly changing, but it remains one of the most efficient ways to write and share your work with an eager audience. But how do you purposefully hone your blog content into a uniquely positioned book that will be noticed by an agent or a publisher?

How to Blog a Book Revised and Expanded Edition is a completely updated guide to writing and publishing a saleable book based on a blog. Expert author and blogger Nina Amir guides you through the process of developing targeted blog content that will increase your chances of publication and maximize your visibility as an author.

In this revised edition you’ll find:

• The latest information on how to set up, maintain, and optimize a blog
• Steps for writing a book easily from scratch using blog posts
• Advice on how to write blog posts
• Tips on gaining visibility and promoting your work both online and off
• Current tools for driving traffic to your blog
• Extensive information on how to monetize your existing blog content into a book or other products
• Profiles with authors who received blog-to-book deals, including four new “from blog to book” success stories

Author Bio: 

Nina Amir, the bestselling author of How to Blog a Book and The Author Training Manual, is a speaker, a blogger, and an author, book, and blog-to-book coach.

Known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach, she helps creative people combine their passion and purpose so they move from idea to inspired action and positively and meaningfully impact the world as writers, bloggers, authorpreneurs, and blogpreneurs.

Some of Nina’s clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She is the founder of National Nonfiction Writing Month, aka the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge, and the Nonfiction Writers’ University. 

As a hybrid author she has published 15 books and had as many as four books on the Amazon Top 100 list at the same time.

My Review: 

The book is about turning your blog into a book. I have heard of blogs into books before and this was an interesting book to read. Of course, the first step is having great content, maybe a variety of content. The first part of the book discusses what a blog is, for those, who don't know. The book also goes into the basics of who can write a blog and who can write a book. Please note: just because you publish a book or a blog, doesn't mean you will rake in the money overnight. I received a .10 cent check from Audible before. You will have to promote and market your book to get more people to support you as a writer and to buy your books. 

We skip ahead to chapter 4, where it discusses writing a business plan for your book. You need to write down a pro forma table of contents; synopses of each chapter; and a general book overview. You also need to consider where to market and promote your book. Don't forget to set up a social media account(s) for yourself or your books. Tip from me: clean up your social media before publishing. 

I had a friend, who started a great charity to help military veterans. I wanted to write about him and his charity for an assignment for school. I always ask for social media links when I want to interview someone. When I checked his social media, his Twitter feed was filled with links to pornography and retweets from porn stars. I did not feel right, writing about his charity, when I can't link his social media on my blog. 

I also recommend if you are doing a kindle book, hyperlink your chapter titles into your table of contents. This means every title and subtitle, needs to be in heading format (h1, h2, h3, so forth). So when you do an automatic table of contents, all the headings will show up in order. This also helps if you reading a kindle book, you can jump to the chapters needed.

The author also discusses pages. You will need to consider how long do you want your book to be. From experience, some sites, such as Amazon, recommends a price based on page counts. Some book formats are not available until you reach a certain page count. 

Finally, I am going to discuss the section on costs. You may need photos, web hosting, audio narration for audio books, art work, internet connection, and permission to use certain content. 

You can purchase the book on Amazon, using the link above. 

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of How to Blog a Book.  7 winners will be chosen. One winner will also win a $25 dollar Amazon gift card and another winner will win a free course from the Non-fiction Writers University. (Open to US and Canada). Perfect Chaos is not responsible for prize fulfillment.


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How to sell books by the truckload review (iRead Book Tours)

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.




I read How To Sell Your Books By The Truckload On Amazon.com, in exchange for honest review from iRead Book Tours. I wanted to review the book because I have written and published books for Amazon, Audible, and Kindle. I never figured my books would be a best seller. I never thought I would make a lot of money from writing, but there are authors, who do make a living from Amazon.

How to sell books by the truckload teaches authors how to tell more books. The book was written by Penny Sansevieri.

According to the media kit. the book teaches you how to

1. Get top visibility for your book on Amazon 
2. Increase sales through perfectly-timed pre-order campaigns 
3. Leverage a secret tool to get hundreds of reader reviews 
4. Use Kindle Unlimited to your greatest advantage 
5. Boost sales by knowing when to give away your e-book – it really works! 
6. Use keywords and book descriptions that puts your book in front of tons of buyers 
7. Identify and locate secret categories that drive bigger sales

About the Author: From Media Kit

Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU.

Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Social Media/Internet book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon and Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet."

AME was the first book marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically harnesses social networking sites, Twitter, blogs, book videos, and relevant sites in order to push an author’s message into the online community. AME has had over eleven books top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com.

My Review

As I said previously, I have published books on Amazon. I never expected to make money from doing what I love. I love to write. I have written poetry, short stories, and a diary type book on raising special needs kids. One of my most memorable royalty checks was .10 from Audible. I was rich. :-). I am not the author, who likes public speaking or buying a lot of books to sell on the corner, like my sister.

Yet, there are authors, who have an innate desire to make money from selling books. You have to consider pricing and promotions, such as enrolling your book in KDP select, where you get 5 free days per quarter.

Amazon has three main ways to publish: CreateSpace for paperback, hardback, and other items, such as dvds and cds. Then, you have Kindle Direct Publishing for Kindle. Finally, you have ACX, where authors can publish their books on Audible. Each has their own model for publishing, pricing, and promotions. For example, when you publish on Audible, you get a few free codes to hand out to family and friends.

Some ways Sansaveiri suggests to increase sales on Amazon include:

1. Offer your book in multiple formats, such as Kindle and paperback. 
2. Get your fans to help sell your books. Provide free swag as an incentive. 
3. Consider the keywords you will use in your book listing. I struggled with this and probably have the wrong keywords listed. You only have a limited amount of keywords, you can use for each book. 
4. Consider the description. The description helps sell books. (I also recommend reading reviews as well). 
5. Create your Amazon Author page. Also remember, when you publish each book to return to Author Central to add your new books to your profile. Update your social media as well, such as you can link your twitter to your Amazon author profile page. (my author page) 
6. Get people to review your book. There are bloggers, like myself, who love reviewing books, but there are also free daily book websites and giveaway forums, such as on Goodreads and LibraryThing. Just remember, on some sites, you may want a review, but they are not guaranteed. I did a giveaway on LibraryThing a while back. I gave away 100 copies, but only got 1 review. 

You can purchase the book on Amazon in paperback and kindle format. The book is also available for Kindle Unlimited. 

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Giveaway:​

Enter to win an Amazon optimization package, valued at $999. The giveaway is open to US and Canada.
Learn more about this program on How to Sell More Books on Amazon.

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Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning (iRead Book Tours)

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I read Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning, in exchange for honest review from iRead Book Tours.

About the Book: 

Two unlikely friends, an old woman and a boy with special needs, take an aging champion to Westminster Dog Show, and heal their troubled families.

Seventy year-old Bess Rutledge has fantasized about winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life, but now she has decided she is too old to follow her dream. She meets Benny, an angry fourteen year-old with mild autism and ADHD, who has a dream of his own: to impress his self-absorbed mother. He becomes convinced that winning Westminster with McCreery, Bess’ aging champion standard poodle, will finally make his mother proud of him. Getting Bess to go along with his plan, however, is not going to be so easy.

About the Author: 

Diane Daniels Manning is the co-founder and director of The New School in the Heights, a therapeutic school in Houston, Texas which helps children dealing with social-emotional challenges find success in school and life. She has a Ph.D. in Education and a post-doctoral M.P.H from Harvard and is a practicing child psychoanalyst certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association. Formerly, she was the Director of the Reading and Learning Disabilities Clinic at Tufts University, Lecturer and Research Associate in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Harvard, and Chair of the Department of Education at Tulane University. She learned the inner workings of dog show kennels by writing an authorized oral history of a lifetime President of the Poodle of Club of America. Her writing awards include the Faulkner-Wisdom Novella Prize and the Women in Film and Television Short Script Competition.

When not at The New School, Diane and her writing partners, a Standard Poodle named Misty and a rescue cat named Elvira, convene at the keyboard to share great thoughts and plan the dinner menu.

My Review

I wanted to read the book because I am the mother of two autistic boys. The book is about Benny, who wants a dog, but his father and step mother doesn't want him to have one. His parents told him he has to bring up his grades, but Benny struggles with making straight As. One day, Benny's mother forgets to pick him up from school and he walks home. On the way home, he runs into an abandoned dog kennel, near his home, because he heard a puppy whimpering. 

The book was a good read. I liked Manning's writing style. Even though, I am not a dog person, I wanted Benny to have a dog in the beginning of the book 

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You can purchase the book on Amazon in paperback or Audible format. The book is prime-eligible.

Aoleon the Martian Girl Book Review (iRead Book Tour)

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

About the book: from media kit

Crop circles magically appear in Farmer Johnson’s field. A mysterious light sweeps over the night sky and awakens Farmer Johnson and Gilbert, the boy next door.

Curious, Gilbert ventures out to discover the source of the light and stumbles into a beautiful Martian girl sitting in a crop circle. Farmer Johnson also investigates the strange light, and thinking that Gilbert and Aoléon are vandals, he chases them. But they sprint to Aoléon’s saucer and escape only to be pursued by the U.S. Air Force.

Gilbert has never been attacked by swarms of giant killer robots. Never met strange aliens from other worlds. Never skyboarded across a megalopolis hidden deep inside an extinct volcano. Never trekked across a vast Martian desert. And never been eaten alive by a gigantic slor (well, almost never, unless you count Billy the fat bully at school).

And luckily, he has never ever confronted an evil ruler of Mars bent on conquering the Earth to steal its cows.

Never...until now!

This may be the adventure Gilbert always wished for.

If only he can survive.

About the Author: from media kit

Brent LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.

My Review

I read Aoleon The Martian Girl: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Saga - Part 1 First Contact, in exchange for honest review from iRead Book Tours. I was provided an advance copy of the book. The book is Young Adult (YA). The genre is science fiction and fantasy.

Gilbert, the main character, starts the book, with a repeat nightmare. He wakes up suddenly, wondering why the nightmare keeps recurring. The dreams started when a crop circle mysteriously appeared on a neighbor's farm. The town has various theories about why the crop circles appeared, but none has provided valid proof.

Gilbert's parents are going through a divorce and Gilbert wants to escape. Little does he know, his wish was about to come true.

Aoleon, the martian space girl, from Terra was on her way to Earth.

The images in the book are on point. Very colorful, bright. Some appear 3dish.

The words in the book are simple enough for a child in middle school to understand. The words per page is also short enough to grab a child's attention. 

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Aoléon: The Martian Girl

Buy the Book:

Preorder Aoleon The Martian Girl: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Saga - Part 1 First Contact for $4.99. The book will be released January 15th, 2015.
​

Buy The Martian Girl Song:

Another World - Single, Featuring Élan Noelle

Download on iTunes