Saturday, March 29, 2014

At long last and finally...The China Doll is live! (Book Three of The New Pioneers)


BOOK THREE
The China Doll
By Deborah Nam-Krane
Genre: Mystery/suspense

Hypocrisy, half truths and lies... 
 
Sick of being treated like she's going to break, Jessie Bartolome is back to her old ways and calling everyone on their hypocrisy. Sheesh! One little breakdown and even easygoing Martin Shepard thinks she's too fragile to handle their age difference. Good thing her older and equally yummy teaching assistant Robert Lester thinks otherwise…right? 
 
After spending so long cleaning up after everyone else, Jessie's cousin Richard has never had the time to start a life of his own. However had he managed to find his girlfriend Zainab? So what is Richard going to do now that everyone else has grown up? Marry Zainab and start a family? Things have never been that easy for a Hendrickson…just ask his cousin Michael.
 
Richard's mother, Lucy, is one of the most powerful women in Boston... so when is she going to put a stop to the blackmail ruthless Alex Sheldon has been holding over her for years? And if Richard knows more than he's letting on, why hasn't he gone after Alex himself? The question is, how much does he- or anyone else- really know? 
 
Welcome to the Bartolome/Hendrickson family. 
 
The China Doll is Book Three in The New Pioneers Series
 

EXCERPT
 
“My dad drowned. My mom died in her sleep.”
“How old was she?”
“About twenty-six.” Jessie shuddered just a little bit. “Just a little older than Miranda is now.”
“That’s awfully young to die in your sleep.”
“Heart condition, they said.”
“Who’s they?”
“Richard and Lucy.” Jessie shook her head. “No. Just Richard.”
“What did your aunt say?”
“Nothing,” Jessie said quietly. “She just let Richard do all the talking.”
“How old was he?”
Jessie sighed. “Thirteen, I think.”
“And how old were you?”
“Four.”
“So how do you know you remember it correctly?”
Jessie looked at him square in the eye. “Because you know when you’re that age. When you’re a little kid, you don’t have to go through the apologetic BS you do when you’re older. When you’re eight, even. You just get it. And people think you’re crazy or in the way or rude because you get it and then you say it. So then no one wants to talk to you or they send you to your room. Then you start making up excuses for why they must be right and you must be wrong. Then you grow up, and you realize that you had it right back then, and if your world seems messed up, it’s because you bought into someone else’s lies. So don’t lie anymore, and everything will be just fine.”
“And when did you come to that nugget of wisdom?”
“When I was fifteen,” Jessie said quietly. “And I’ve been very happy ever since.”
 


BOOK ONE
The Smartest Girl in the Room
Genre: Coming of Age

Nineteen year old Emily wants her college diploma fast, and she's going to get it. But when the perfect night with perfect Mitch leads her to a broken heart, Emily is blind to her vulnerability. When the person she cares about the most is hurt as a result, Emily's ambition gives way to more than a little ruthlessness. She's going to use her smarts to take care of herself and protect the people she loves, and everyone else had better stay out of her way. But shouldn't the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she'd cross the line for would do the same for her?



BOOK TWO
The Family You Choose
Genre: Family Saga

Miranda Harel has been in love with her guardian Alex Sheldon since she was five years old, and Michael Abbot has despised them both for just as long. When Miranda finds out why she wants both men out of her life for good and questions everything she believed about where and who she came from. Finding out the truth will break her heart. Without family or true love, will her friends be enough to bring her back?
 


BOOK TWO AND A HALF
An Engagement: A New Pioneers Short Story
Genre: Family Saga

Annabelle Hendrickson always knew Alex Sheldon couldn't be trusted, but even she couldn't have guessed how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted. 

No one was as decent as her brother Jim, but Stephen Abbot had a kind soul behind his mischief. She could accept his reprobate father- he'd be dead soon anyway- but she would never accept his longtime friendship with Alex, her father Gerald's ambitious employee. Annabelle knew it was just a matter of time before he stepped on someone she cared about. 

What a pity she didn't realize who that person would be- and who was going to give him the opportunity. 

An Engagement is Book 2.5 in The New Pioneers series. What happened to Michael Abbot and Richard Hendrickson's parents in 1980 is going to affect everyone three decades later.



ONLY 99CENTS!



AUTHOR INFO

Deborah Nam-Krane is a writer living in Boston proper who has been storytelling since she was a little girl and writing those stories down since she was eight. Any given day will find her reading, writing, reviewing, editing and, just for fun, homeschooling her three school-aged children (she’s very grateful the fourth is now college-aged).
 
The China Doll is the third installment of the New Pioneers series, the sequel to The Smartest Girl in the Room (March 2013) and The Family You Choose (September 2013). While her long-suffering editor works her magic on the fourth installment Let’s Move On, Deborah is working on the fifth. That book will be set in the world of Boston and Massachusetts politics, and her job will be to tone down the true stories she’s heard so they seem believable.
 
Deborah is all over the place on the internet- no, really- but the best way to keep in touch is to follow her blog Written By Deb and subscribe to her newsletter (only publishing news, never spam).

@dnkboston
 
A big, huge thanks to Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba for making this happen!
 
GIVEAWAY
$10 Amazon gift card
5 copies of both The Smartest Girl in the Room and The Family You Choose

Friday, March 28, 2014

When An Unreliable Narrator Needs A Little Help...on Mystery Writing is Murder!

In anticipation of The China Doll's release- tomorrow(!)- I write a little bit about why Jessie Bartolome kept me on my toes as the main character in a mystery. (Would we expect anything less from Jessie?)

I am pleased beyond measure that Elizabeth S. Craig, who keeps one of the best writing blogs on the internet, agreed to let me post my thoughts there. So, if you'll be so kind, please jump over to Mystery Writing is Murder and let us know what you think.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

An Engagement: A New Pioneers Short Story

Folks, writing Annabelle Hendrickson Abbot's final scenes in The Family You Choose was pretty intense. It didn't make sense to give her a big role in The China Doll (although we do get a glimpse of her), but I was haunted by her for a couple of years until I gave her a story of her own.
You are cordially invited to An Engagement, where you'll find that knowledge isn't always enough.



Annabelle Hendrickson always knew Alex Sheldon couldn't be trusted, but even she couldn't have guessed how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted.

No one was as decent as her brother Jim, but Stephen Abbot had a kind soul behind his mischief. She could accept his reprobate fatherhe'd be dead soon anywaybut she would never accept his longtime friendship with Alex, her father Gerald's ambitious employee. Annabelle knew it was just a matter of time before he stepped on someone she cared about.

What a pity she didn't realize who that person would beand who was going to give him the opportunity.
An Engagement is Book Two and a Half in the New Pioneers series.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Bargad by Suhash Kommuru (Review, Excerpt and Giveaway)





Title:  Bargad

Author:  Subhash Kommuru

Illustrator: Sujata Kommuru

Published: December 4th, 2013

Publisher:  Kommuru Books

Word Count:  2,000

Genre:  Children’s Book

Synopsis:

A tree that has used its branches to keep people safe for many decades now needs help from those same people to save itself. In Hindi, Bargad means Banyan Tree, the national tree of India. Bargad is a compelling story of love, compassion and gratitude that incorporates the Banyan tree as a way to teach children how to care for and respect many things - from family to the environment, in a way that is easy-to-understand. While this wonderful old tree has withstood all the challenges of time, will it now be able to withstand modernization and will any of the people in the small village come to its aid to help save it the way it has helped save them over generations?




About the Author:

Subhash and Sujata hail from India. They migrated to the United States along with their memories of childhood and youth. Now that they are parents, just like every immigrant they crave to introduce their child to the culture and values of their upbringing. Yet it is challenging to teach something while you are in the midst of adjusting to a different culture yourself. Subhash and Sujata both work in different disciplines and have different styles and backgrounds, but it is the upbringing of their son that brings them on the same page. That exact place where they meet is captured and reflected in their stories, where Subhash can express in words, and Sujata can illustrate them beautifully. Where he puts it in black and white, she adds color to it. You get the idea! These stories are their attempt to share a glimpse of their childhood days with their son. He is their inspiration to write short stories that have meaning to them and provide teaching in some shape or form.





My Review

This is an adorable, fanciful children's book that tells the story of how an ancient Banyan tree (or Bargad) managed to endure through the ages and become the center of its communities life. But can Bargad survive modern ambition? And what's going to happen to the citizens of his community if he doesn't?


Between the short length, easy rhyming and fanciful crayon illustrations, this would probably be best for three to six year olds. However, parents will definitely enjoy reading it to their child as well.
 


Giveaway Details:

There is an International tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:

Ebook copy of Bargad