Dec 052012
 

20 days until Christmas

 

Gregg Luke was born in Bakersfield, California but spent the majority of his youth in Santa Barbara, California. He served an LDS mission in Wisconsin, then pursued his education in Biologic Sciences SBCC, UCSB, and BYU. He completed his schooling at the University of Utah, College of Pharmacy.

In addition to his pharmacy practice, Gregg is an avid reader and writer. He has published in Skin Diver Magazine, the Oceanographic Letter, Destiny Magazine, Pharmacy Times, and the New Era. His fictional novels include The Survivors, Do No Harm, Altered State, Blink of an Eye, Bloodborne, and Deadly Undertakings, five of which were Whitney Award finalists. Visit him at www.greggluke.com.

Visit Gregg:  WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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LDSWBR: Do you top your Christmas tree with a star, angel, or something else? Does it have special meaning to you?

GREGG: We top our tree with an angel. I don’t know why we’ve always done so. I guess we’ve never found a star we really liked.

LDSWBR: What is your favorite Christmas movie? Why is it your favorite?

GREGG: I have two favorite Christmas movies: Seasons of the Heart and Christmas Vacation. The first because it expresses the true meaning of Christmas so well, and the second because it expresses the silliness that people get themselves into over the season.

LDSWBR: What Christmas gift have you been most excited to give?

GREGG: My favorite Christmas gift was being able to give my dad a book he’d been looking for for a long time. This was before the Internet and Amazon, so it was quite a challenge, but I was able to do it. I’ll never forget the look on his face. Priceless.

LDSWBR: What a great gift and memory. Thank you, Gregg!

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Purchase Deadly Undertakings

AMAZON | KINDLE | NOOK | DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK

 Being an assistant to the state midical examiner in Salt Lake City might sound like a dead-end job, but Rebekah Smith loves the mystery and challenge of determining the cause of death in the bodies delivered to their morgue. Tutored by her friend and boss, Dr. Sandeep Mahesh, she gains understanding not only for her job but also for how to mask her own troubled past.

While analyzing the corpse of a 100 year old woman, Rebekah discovers some disturbing elements: not only was the deceased woman a healthy centenarain, but she was also embalmed before anyone discovered she’d passed away. When two identical cases surface, Rebekah enlists the help of her boyfriend, special investigations officer, Josh Logan. Together they uncover shocking truths about the bizarre deaths, which eventually lead them to the nightmarish revelation they weren’t prepared for. Yet, unknowingly, the more they reveal, the closer they come to being the killer’s next guinea pigs.

 Do you have a silly “Christmas Vacation” memory in your family? What is your favorite scene in Christmas Vacation?

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To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012, leave a thoughtful comment below.

Be sure to comment on each Countdown to Christmas 2012 post for more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions below.

If you don’t already follow LDSWBR through email, Facebook or Twitter (those cute little book buttons on the sidebar) you may want to consider doing so during the contest so you don’t miss any posts or chances to enter the drawing. Following LDSWBR is not required but it is nice to know that our book reviews are useful to other readers. :)

If one of our LDSWBR reviews has ever helped you find a book you enjoyed, perhaps you would consider helping us spread the word about the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012. A link posted to your friends and family either in email or on your favorite social network would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2012, you agree to the contest rules below:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins December 3, 2012 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight December 23, 2012 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each posts required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected December 27, 2012 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winner will have until January 3, 2013 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments & questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Book Prizes (as of December 5, 2012 – more to be added to this list!)

  • Tres Leches Cupcakes by Josi S. Kilpack (signed paperback copy)
  • Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick (paperback or ebook)
  • Deadly Undertakings by Gregg Luke (personalized paperback)

Previous Countdown to Christmas 2012 posts:

 

Dec 042012
 

21 days until Christmas

 

Chantele Sedgwick grew up playing the harp and singing. Little did anyone know, she always had stories floating around in her head. After she had her second child, she finally realized she should probably write them down. Pursuing publication was something she only dreamed about, but now her dream is coming true.

The discovery of first love, first kisses, and the many emotions teens go through, pushed Chantele to find her niche in writing teen fiction. Some of her stories share a few of her own experiences, but most of them are just fantasies she wished happened to her as a teen. She’s a sucker for a great love story and always enjoys a happy ending. She tends to have a thing for the “bad boys” in books, unless they’re total jerks. Then she’ll root for the good guy.

When she’s not writing, Chantele can be found spending time with her husband and four beautiful kids, or driving her sisters crazy with random story ideas.

Visit Chantele: WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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LDSWBR: Do you top your Christmas tree with a star, angel, or something else? Does it have special meaning to you?

CHANTELE: We top our tree with a star. It doesn’t have any meaning, we bought it when we were newlyweds because it was cheap… Ha ha. It still works though and the kids like it. :)

LDSWBR: What is your favorite Christmas movie? Why is it your favorite?

CHANTELE: I LOVE Elf. It’s so hilarious and such a feel good movie for the whole family. And I love to laugh, so it works. :)

LDSWBR: What Christmas gift have you been most excited to give?

CHANTELE: I gave my hubby the Harry Potter audiobooks one year. He wanted them because he hates to read, so I surprised him with the whole set. He loved them and has listened to them twice now! :) I know, not that cool, but I was excited!

LDSWBR: No, that’s pretty cool. Thank you, Chantele!

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Purchase Not Your Average Fairy Tale

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK

 Ash Summerland has it all-good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings. Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. but when he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings- aka the head fairy godmother. Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a “happy ever after.” But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father’s death, she doesn’t want anything to do with Ash. And worst of all, she doesn’t believe in happy endings.

 Do you like listening to audiobooks? Do you have a favorite that you could listen to again and again?

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To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012, leave a thoughtful comment below.

Be sure to comment on each Countdown to Christmas 2012 post for more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions below.

If you don’t already follow LDSWBR through email, Facebook or Twitter (those cute little book buttons on the sidebar) you may want to consider doing so during the contest so you don’t miss any posts or chances to enter the drawing. Following LDSWBR is not required but it is nice to know that our book reviews are useful to other readers. :)

If one of our LDSWBR reviews has ever helped you find a book you enjoyed, perhaps you would consider helping us spread the word about the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012. A link posted to your friends and family either in email or on your favorite social network would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2012, you agree to the contest rules below:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins December 3, 2012 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight December 23, 2012 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each posts required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected December 27, 2012 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winner will have until January 3, 2013 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments & questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Book Prizes (as of December 4, 2012 – more to be added to this list!)

  • Tres Leches Cupcakes by Josi S. Kilpack (signed paperback copy)
  • Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick (paperback or ebook)

Previous Countdown to Christmas 2012 posts:

 

Dec 032012
 

22 days until Christmas

 

Josi began her first novel in 1998 and hasn’t stopped. Her novel, Sheep’s Clothing won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery/Suspense. Lemon Tart, the first book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series was a Whitney Finalist for 2009. Book nine in the series, Baked Alaska, will be released in February 2013. Josi is the mother of four and currently lives in Willard Utah with her husband and family.

Visit Josi: WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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LDSWBR: Do you top your Christmas tree with a star, angel, or something else? Does it have special meaning to you?

JOSI: Star. A cheap one I bought at Target. But it’s silver–cause I prefer silver–and I prefer the star simply because that was the first sign of the Savior’s birth.

LDSWBR: What is your favorite Christmas movie? Why is it your favorite?

JOSI: “It’s a Wonderful Life” not only is it my favorite Christmas movie, it’s the only black and white movie I like. I feel it’s such a great reflection of the impact each of us have in the lives of others, and a reminder that really, really, hard stuff happens to us, and it’s family that gets us through it.

LDSWBR: What Christmas gift have you been most excited to give?

JOSI: Last year my husband and I were able to give our daughter a new Saxophone for Christmas. She’d been playing it for years, first with a rental and then a cheap one we bought that was 20+ years old. It was the last Christmas where she’d be living at home with us, and she was planning to join the U of U marching band so giving her a brand new, bright and shiny Saxophone was a really fun gift that reflected her years of hard work, and the new beginning she was soon going to embark upon. It was expensive and really pushed us, and yet the stunned look on her face and sincere thanks afterward made it all worthwhile. Last month we got to go to a U of U game and see her play it amid the band; a great moment.

LDSWBR: What a great way to give the gift of music. Thank you, Josi!

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Purchase Tres Leches Cupcakes

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK | DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK 

Sadie Hoffmiller has relocated from Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is starting a new job as an informant for the Bureau of Land Management on an archeological site. The sun and dirt blocks her initial excitement about the job, but she makes the best of it, using her baking prowess to help her gather background information on her fellow dirt geeks. Being in the middle of nowhere and digging up artifacts from hundreds of years ago is supposed to keep Sadie out of trouble until recent burials are found on the ancient site. Before Sadie knows it, she’s arrested for starting a bar fight, a new friend is missing, and she’s worn out her welcome in Santa Fe in more ways than one. But when a trip to the annual hot air balloon fiesta in Albuquerque leads to even more danger, she begins to wonder if she’ll ever be safe . . . from herself.

 Are there any black-and-white movies that you love? Are any of them Christmas movies?

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To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012, leave a thoughtful comment below.

Be sure to comment on each Countdown to Christmas 2012 post for more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions below.

If you don’t already follow LDSWBR through email, Facebook or Twitter (those cute little book buttons on the sidebar) you may want to consider doing so during the contest so you don’t miss any posts or chances to enter the drawing. Following LDSWBR is not required but it is nice to know that our book reviews are useful to other readers. :)

If one of our LDSWBR reviews has ever helped you find a book you enjoyed, perhaps you would consider helping us spread the word about the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012. A link posted to your friends and family either in email or on your favorite social network would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2012, you agree to the contest rules below:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins December 3, 2012 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight December 23, 2012 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each posts required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected December 27, 2012 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winner will have until January 3, 2013 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments & questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Book Prizes (as of December 3, 2012 – more to be added to this list!)

  • Tres Leches Cupcakes by Josi S. Kilpack (signed paperback copy)

Previous Countdown to Christmas 2012 posts:

  • No previous posts – Josi is our first featured author!

Dec 022012
 

We are so excited to be putting together our fourth Countdown to Christmas. This month also marks LDS Women’s Book Review’s 7th anniversary. We can hardly believe that we have been reviewing books and interviewing authors for seven years. We love what we do and hope that we can continue for many years to come.

We have an amazing group of authors and books to spotlight in the coming weeks. You won’t want to miss out on any chances to enter the Countdown to Christmas 2012 drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card and some great book prizes. If you haven’t already, consider signing up to have LDSWBR posts sent directly to your email. The place to do that is on the upper right side bar on the LDS Women’s Book Review home page.

We love and appreciate all of you. We wish you and your loved ones a happy and safe Holiday Season. Merry Christmas and happy reading!

Sincerely, your LDSWBR reviewers,

Shanda, Sheila, and Mindy