Motherhood Martyrdom & Costco Runs by Whitney Dineen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Funny, moving, honest, and hard to put down. Dineen will have you laughing and nodding as she shares her tales about motherhood and changing from a fast paced lifestyle to life in the Costco lane. Although the book will have you cracking up, she also shares the very real side of postpartum depression and dealing with family illness. This is a very funny and realistic book on parenthood. Would be great for book clubs!

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Mystical Lands. Epic Adventure. Enchanting Characters.

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Meet the Authors and their Stories!

Alicia Rades is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult paranormal fiction with a love for supernatural stories set in the modern world. When she’s not plotting out fiction novels, you can find her writing content for various websites or plowing her way through her never-ending reading list. Deep Waters Bree Waters has always known she's descended from mermaids, but when one washes up on the shores of Sea Haven beach, secrets begin to uncover themselves.   Cassandra Sky West is an award-winning journalist, veteran of the armed forces, and jane-of-all-trades. She lives in Idaho with the love of her life and their three kids. After writing day in and day out for ten years, her spouse strongly encouraged her to try to make a living out of it. Since then, she's written under various pen-names and sold several stories of werewolves, witches, and the arcane. She plans on writing until the day she dies. Possibly after, if that's allowed. A Fistful of Magic Immortal elves, dragons, gods, and spirits, oh my! Caitlin Vnois is the world's most recognizable elf. Heir to the bloodlines, princess of the royal Atlantean family, supermodel, shaman, the list goes on. Thomas Washington doesn't know any of this, all he knows is she's most beautiful woman he's ever met, and she saved him from drowning when a freak tsunami struck the island of Puerto Rico. The only problem is, he has no memory of arriving on the island. When the heir to the throne of Atlantis is kidnapped, Caitlin turns to Wash to help her find the crown princess. Wash, however, has a secret of his own, one he isn't even aware of. In a future where magic, spirits, shamans and gods walk the Earth, Thomas Washington finds himself trapped in a titanic struggle for a power he didn't know he possessed. With two sides fighting to use him or kill him, can he discover the truth about himself? Or will both sides play him to gain the magic he possesses?   Izzy Shows was the girl in school that got in trouble for reading too much, and now she spends her time fighting Orcs in Middle Earth, traveling dimensions, tricking sorcerers, and dancing with Fae. To make a long story short, she’s an Author. She writes urban fantasy novels with kickass heroines that get the job done, no questions asked. The Fallen Hunter A Fallen Angel. A Tainted Angel. A world on the brink of destruction.     Michelle Lynn has always tried to lose herself in books. Going through her teenage years with an episodic illness meant needing periodic escapes from her own reality. That illness has grown from episodic to fully disabling, but her escapes have also grown. She no longer lives in other people's minds, but instead, retreats into her own, creating the worlds that helped her so much. She writes dystopian, romance, and fantasy because each hold a piece of her heart. AND   Michelle Bryan: I wish I could say I've climbed Mt. Everest or ridden in a hot air balloon around the world, but alas I lead a very quiet life in Nova Scotia, Canada. The only adventures I go on are in my books. But what adventures they are! When I'm not reading or writing, I have a day job as a chocolate shop manager. So yes, I work with both books and chocolate! Living the dream. The rest of my time is spent with my three favourite guys; my hubby, my son and my crazy fur baby. We are a family of geeks; fans of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, lovers of books and players of video games. I wouldn't have it any other way. Prophecy of Darkness What was once stolen must now be regained for only magic can save them from what is coming. A curse, a prophecy, a forbidden love - theirs is an impossible mission that must not fail.   Frost Kay is a certified bookdragon with an excessive TBR, and a shoe obsession. Her goals in life include: Eating a five-pound bag of skittles in one sitting, creating worlds that sweep you away and leave you dazed, and preventing the cat from laying atop her computer while she writes. If you hate bewitching stories, epic adventures, untold secrets, dark promises, thrilling action, swoonworthy anti-hero's, and slow burning romance, her books aren't for you. If that's your cup of tea then you're in good company. Siren's Lure Legends. Trickery. Revenge. Nothing is ever black and white.   Meg Xuemei X is an award-winning author of steamy paranormal and sci-fi romance. She finds it dreamingly delightful to be around drop-dead gorgeous alpha males who are forever tormented by her feisty heroines, formidable alien angels, wild shifters, haughty fey, dark vampires, and cunning witches. The Siren Lucienne was born to rule, but her fight for love could steal her birthright... and destroy humanity in the process. The fallen angels are back to reclaim Earth, and her only chance to stop them has been hidden for millennia. Failure to find The Eye of Time will keep her from Prince Vladimir, her first love, and destroy the future of humanity. When Ashburn, a genius farm boy, discovers the ancient power and accidentally binds Lucienne to him, the end of the world seems inevitable. The last Siren has one chance to save her future, her love, and the fate of the entire world...   Jason Paul Rice was born and raised in the steel city of Pittsburgh. A strong work ethic was instilled in Jason from a very young age. Dedication and sacrifice were constantly exemplified by his mother, Judy, and that taught Jason that nothing comes easy. He uses the accumulated lessons from a crazy life, and puts heart and soul into his writing. Rice is currently in the midst of finishing The Pearl of Wisdom Saga. Jason’s true passion is helping people that are victims of circumstance. He would like to gain enough influence through writing to provide books and ereaders to the homeless and underprivileged children of the world. His mother always made sure that he got to the library or bookmobile to feed his appetite for books but Jason realizes that some people don’t have this option and would love to make literature readily available for everyone. Plight of the Perfect Prince Everything about the eighteen year old Prince's life was perfect...except for one thing. Axelle Chandler is an Australian Urban Fantasy author. She lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne dreaming up nail biting stories featuring bad-ass witches, hunky shape shifters and devious monsters. She likes chocolate, cat memes and video games. When she’s not writing, she likes to think of what she’s writing next. Crescent Rogue Every new beginning must come from an end, and with each defeat a new future is born. The first memory Boone has is running. Hunted by magical forces beyond his understanding, he crash lands in the forest outside the sleepy Irish village of Derrydun. It’s there he meets the odd and slightly eccentric Aileen, the last of the Crescent Witches…and discovers he’s lost who he is. Boone is a shapeshifter, a human born with extraordinary powers, and he’s wanted. By what or whom, he doesn’t remember. With his memory locked away by unknown forces, he soon learns there is nothing he can do to regain them…unless he steps outside of the protection of the ancient hawthorn and faces the darkness that awaits him. When he finally gathers the courage to cross the boundary, what he finds is only the beginning of his problems. Magic is being hunted…to extinction.   Joss Dey, a devoted fan of fantasy literature since age eight, dreamed of being able to create her own magic and did so for sixteen years as a graphic designer. However, the desire to follow in the footsteps of her childhood hero, Susan Cooper, never left her and, in her greatest act of rebellion, she pursued and received an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. Though she stopped “screwing around” and eventually “got a real job”, she never stopped writing, intuitively comprehending that she would never be happy if writing didn’t play a major role in her life. Luckily, she joined RWA in 2004, a move that happily confirmed that being a writer is an affliction from which there is no cure, at least there isn’t Joss’s case. Today, from her basement office in the ghetto in New Haven, Connecticut, she writes emotionally-driven urban fantasies that explore questions about love, family and self amidst bizarre creatures, odd goings on and the end of the world Undertow A world born of merged realities, turbulent and jagged and overrun with monsters...a woman infected with unruly magic, unknowingly using her soul to find love...   Samuel Stokes: Many people love to read a great fantasy book. I love to live it! When I am not glued to my keyboard busily writing my next work, I can be found clad head to foot in armor, LARPing like a mad man. For those not familiar with the notion, LARP stands for Live Action Role Play where people get in costume and armor and fight over real-life battlefields. It's action packed and amazing, which is exactly how I like to write. In my work, you will find yourself submerged in thrilling new fantasy worlds. Each coursing with conflict that transpires at an incredible pace. I draw on experiences from my life and time spent living in Australia, the U.S.A, and Japan to enrich the narrative of my books and provide you a taste of familiarity, as you plunge headlong into a scintillating new world. The Woman In The Wind The demands of duty, the pull of fate, the love of a lifetime. Eileen Enwright Hodgetts was transposed from England to Pittsburgh PA and couldn't be happier. She has also lived and worked in South Africa and East Africa. She has been a writer all her life (and that's quite a long time)and she has written mainly for the theater with many of her works winning national awards. Since she turned her hand to writing novels she has seen her Arthurian series Excalibur Rising climbing steadily up the Fantasy Best Seller lists. Her latest venture is to be screenwriter for a movie that will go into production in July 2017. Eileen owes her success to her husband who is the one who markets her books and keeps her nose to the grindstone. Phoebe and the Steel City Vampires Phoebe accidentally enslaves a domestic vampire; he’s great around the house but his master wants him back.   Author of over a dozen Fantasy, Steampunk and Science Fiction books, Steve Turnbull has been creating stories for as long as he can remember. He has a passion for female leads, diversity and inclusion, only exceeded by his desire to tell powerful and exciting stories. Technically he’s a London cockney but now lives in the north-west of England with the Pennine Hills as the view from his window (just across the road, in fact). He shares his life with his creative family, and some very distracting animals: a dog and cat who barely tolerate each other, plus three Australian Bearded Dragons and an indeterminate number of Giant African Land Snails. Rebel Dragon It's a crime to ride a dragon, but what if it insists? Kantees has been a slave for as long as she can remember but as a keeper for a racing dragon, her life is not too bad even though it’s a hanging offence for her to ride. When mysterious raiders infiltrate her master’s castle, she is forced to take to the air to raise the alarm and now lives in fear of being discovered. What’s worse, the youngest child of the family has been kidnapped and only she has the clue to the raiders’ origin. She is torn between preserving her own life and letting a child die. Or breaking all the rules to preserve a system that keeps her and her people in slavery.   CK Dawn: Have you ever watched a cat stare at a wall, tracking something’s movements-- something invisible that sent shivers down your spine? Did it seem as if they were able to sense dark shadows lurking where the veil between worlds and reality thins? That’s precisely where the idea for the Netherwalker Series came from for CK Dawn! Readers' Favorite award-winning author, coffee loving gamer girl, and Sci-fi enthusiast, CK Dawn always loved to snuggle up with her cat Hagrid (the shadow-seer) and read. But found writing was her bliss. So, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away CK let her unique modern tale of knights and Camelot dancing in her head take form and fly with Cloak of Shadows, her award-winning debut novel. Now, you can find CK writing in the witching hours with Hagrid by her side while being distracted far too often by social media. There's more to come in the Netherwalker Series so stay tuned. Seriously, the story has only just begun. Cloak of Shadows Sir Lancelot's Sexy Descendant A Kick-ass Huntress And a Snarky Sidekick What if all you've ever known of King Arthur's legend was a lie to mislead you from the truth? What if Camelot truly existed, but was destroyed to keep its secrets? And, what if there were descendants of the Knights of the Round Table defending us today from the creatures that lurk within the shadows? If the gloaming came looking for you would you answer its call?Fourteen year old Abigail Thorne answered the gloaming and it turned her life upside down. Along with her mentor Lourdes Reese, a seasoned hunter in the King's Court, they banish the evil shadows while most dociles sleep in their beds. Fighting hidden creatures that feed on humans, glimpsing fractures that lead to another world, and wielding magical weapons all before geometry? That's a normal day for Abbey now, and she loves every minute of it. As for Lourdes Reese, she has unique abilities that can't be explained and is the best hunter the King's Court has seen in over a thousand years. Abbey and Lourdie have no idea that being sent to Britain will unleash a chain of events that will change everything and everyone they love forever.A life will be lost, a life will be taken,and an unexpected new romance will emerge all while the fate of two worlds balance on the edge of a hunter's blade.   Kris Austen Radcliffe's contemporary romance series, The Quidell Brothers, brings her descriptive touch to the real world. Her fantasy and futuristic romance series, Fate – Fire – Shifter – Dragon, sets it free in the fantastic. She’s traversed many storytelling worlds—dabbles in film and comic books, time as a talent agent and a textbook photo coordinator, as well as a foray into nonfiction. But she craved narrative and richly-textured worlds—and unexpected, true love. Kris lives in Minnesota with her husband, two daughters, and Handsome Cat. Scent of a Dragon After Daisy Pavlovich's boyfriend abandons her in a small Wisconsin town, she stumbles upon a lonely young boy who claims to see dragons. Yet not all visions are real, nor is all that is real what it appears, and the boy’s unworldly isolation sparks painful memories of Daisy’s own childhood. When Daisy realizes the boy's true nature — and the true depth of the danger his Shifter father presents to both her and the child — Daisy runs headlong into a paranormal fire she should have left alone. But every child deserves a chance, and Daisy’s going to get the boy his even if it kills her….   Charlene A. Wilson is an author of tales that take you to other dimensions. She weaves magic, lasting love, and intrigue to immerse you into the lives of her characters. She began writing in her early teens when her vivid dreams stayed with her long after she had them. The characters and worlds were so amazing she brought them to life through her books. Charlene resides in a small community in Arkansas, USA, with her two beautiful children, husband, a cuddly Pekingese, and a very chatty cockatiel named Todder. The Transformation of Anna Obsession. Deceit. Reincarnation. “My life is a mirage of endless time. But you engulf me, rivet my mind, encompass my soul.” For centuries, Cole Shilo has harvested the homeless, wiped their memories, and delivered them as servants to the nobles of Cornerstone Deep. He despises what his life has become since he lost his soul mate so long ago. Still, Cole aims to please, doing whatever it takes to keep the noblemen content. When he is sent to harvest a second-class woman who has broken a new curfew, he expects indifference. But Anna Sinclair’s soul calls to him, and the moment their lips meet, Cole knows he’s made the biggest mistake of his long life. Reincarnation isn’t possible on Cornerstone Deep. Is it?   Yelena Casale is an award-winning author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, she moved to New York at thirteen. Being very curious, she has been a devoted reader and writer since childhood. As a 2nd degree black belt and instructor in Shotokan karate, an avid traveler, and history and art enthusiast, she weaves universal themes with martial arts philosophies into her stories. She lives with her amazing, supportive husband and the best Siamese cats. In her spare time, she reads, paints, watches cool shows on TV and tries to get more sleep. AND Tina Moss is an award-winning author of urban fantasy, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, and New Adult novels. She lives in NYC with a supportive husband and two alpha corgis, though all the males hog the bed and refuse to share the covers. When not writing, she enjoys reading, watching cheesy horror flicks, traveling, and karate. As a 5'1" Shotokan black belt, she firmly believes that fierce things come in small packages. A Touch of Darkness Cassie dreams of the darkness. And lives the nightmare. When mystery man, Gabe, walks out of her dreams and into her life, she'll need his help to beat back the darkness-spawned creatures invading her reality. As a bond grows between them, Cassie's deepest fear rests not in the demons but surrendering her heart to a powerful man fallen from grace.   Wendy Knight is the award-winning, bestselling author of the young adult series Fate on Fire and Riders of Paradesos. She was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, no touching the knives…you get the idea). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big—her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S. You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heels for whatever the occasion. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing. The Soul's Allegiance. Konstanz is pretty sure her best friend is a demon hunter. A demon hunter with a broken heart. That's a very dangerous thing indeed. Being the good friend that she is, Konstanz will protect Navi from any more heartache, even if it means putting up with Bryson, the guy determined to make Navi forget she ever hurt in the first place. Never mind that Konstanz can't stand him and he likes her even less. Until he doesn't. Feelings change, people change, and Navi's dangerous secrets put them all in danger. In the shadows of monsters, Konstanz loses her heart only to find that Bryson has dangerous secrets of his own. Secrets that threaten everything they've fought for. Monsters come out at night, but the truly evil? They don't play by Death's rules.   Jessica Cage is an international, award winning author. Born and raised in Chicago, IL, writing has always been a passion for her. She dabbles in artistic creations of all sorts but at the end of the day, it's the pen that her hand itches to hold. Jessica had never considered following her dream to be a writer because she was told far too often "There is no money in writing." So, she chose the path most often traveled. During pregnancy, she asked herself an important question. How would she be able to inspire her unborn son to follow his dreams and reach for the stars, if she never had the guts to do it herself? Jessica decided to take a risk and unleash the plethora of characters and their crazy adventurous worlds that had previously existed only in her mind, into the realm of readers. She did this with hopes to inspire not only her son but herself. Inviting the world to tag along on her journey to become the writer she has always wanted to be. She hopes to continue writing and bringing her signature Caged Fantasies to readers everywhere. Sphynx-The Untold Story Stories told of the sphinx, a monster with a head of a woman, the body of a lioness, the wings of an eagle, and a tail tipped with the head of a serpent. This beast was told to have been made to guard the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes. For each traveler to cross her path, a riddle was presented. If they could answer it correctly, access would be granted. What was her riddle? "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?" The price to pay for answering the riddle incorrectly, which of course they all did, was not a simple denial of entry to Thebes. Instead of turning them away, the Sphinx, monster that was, strangled them with her tail and devoured them whole. The story goes that when it finally came to pass that someone could answer her riddle and the consecutive ones to follow, she committed suicide. What else was a girl to do? Some say she threw herself down from the high rocks and fell to her death, while others say that she devoured herself, subjecting herself to the same punishment she dished out to all those who had failed before, a talented feat. The question remains however... what really happened to her?   Kassandra Lynn tells herself a bedtime story every night. When the plot gets too complicated and the cast overwhelming, she has to write them down into books that she hopes you will enjoy. Her favorite genres are fantasy and romance. She especially enjoys reading and writing about unique concepts, unpredictable plots, and protagonists who aren’t the typical protagonists. Vampire's Hunter     A Chinese Medicine Doctor and Martial Artist by trade, JC Kang would have never started writing fantasy stories save for two fluke coincidences. In the Christmas of 2010, while cleaning out childhood junk from his mom’s house, he came across his old Dungeons and Dragons campaign world. Before relegating the binder of maps and notes to the trash where it belonged, he decided to peek back and see what his 13-year old self had created. He couldn’t help but laugh at the silly ideas that had crossed his teenage brain. Rivers flowed uphill. Empires produced resources out of thin air. However, a few interesting premises had potential. He set off to study the craft, and learned advanced ideas like characterization, point of view and tension. After revising the first book, he wrote a prequel. After the prequel, he wrote a sequel. And finally, he wrote the prequel to the prequel: the Dragon Scale Lute. Dragon Scale Lute Only the lost magic of Dragon Songs can save the world. Only an awkward girl can rediscover it.   Sharon Rose Mayes lives in Lufkin, Texas with her two sons. She chronicles her daily life at her personal blog, Not Your Mom Blog, and has been active in the blogosphere for seven years. When she is not chasing her kids and participating in roller derby she writes and dreams of all of the places she can’t wait to travel. She loves to write Young Adult stories about vampires, vampire hunters, witches, reincarnation, paranormal, and even a little bit on the New Adult side under the name S.R. Mayes     D.N. Leo: I am a romance, science fiction fantasy author. I tell stories about love and relationship in multiversal setting (in space!), often with psychic and paranormal twists. I live to love, and would like to give my readers opportunities to do the same. Maze of Taurus When chased by fire to the point of no return, and the maze of taurus offers the only way to hell, Zach chooses to face the fire.       iv>

~~ More Beginnings ~~ by Iris Blobel

 
Zach Taylor, an escort in Sydney, living in Hobart, enlists the help of Natasha Peterson when his teenage friend, Mia, runs away. He soon finds out that the ‘dragon’ is really more of a kitten. And although Natasha, Mia’s teacher, is attracted to him as well, she has her own problems to deal with, not to mention her initial reaction to Zach’s occupation.

Will Zach’s job keep him from a chance to be with Natasha?

Life is good for teenager Mia Levesque. But when Darren Schuster shows up in Hobart, she knows something is up once Sophie and Mark cut their weekend away short and rush home in the middle of the night. When Sophie won’t answer Mia’s questions, emotions run high, and Zach confirms Darren’s identity to Mia. Disappointed, angry, and feeling alone, Mia runs away.

Will life settle back into a routine for Mia once she finds out about the stranger in her life?

 New Beginnings have given the Levesque girls a new start in life, will More Beginnings be another chance for them?


Iris Blobel was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only emerged recently, but now her laptop is a constant companion.
Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her two beautiful daughters.
Next to her job at a private school, she also presents a German Program at the local Community Radio.

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