FEEL GOOD FRIDAY!!!

Hosted by: Erika, the girl next door grows up

Welcome to

Feel Good Friday!!!

Erika had found that a lot of her bloggy friends reading posts about being positive, so she thought she might try her very own meme. She just wanted everyone to feel good and have some happy thoughts as you begin the weekend.  Go over to her blog for the details.

"The Girl" is busy constructing a new website so for the time being this feature is being hosted by lia sophia tomgirl.  She has a great blog, be sure to check it out!

What made me FEEL GOOD this week?

Last Saturday night I attended the 50th Birthday Bash for my high school graduating class.  You may remember from last week's post I was really nervous about going. Well I went and I had a blast!!! My anxiety melted away as soon as I saw my friends.

There was a really good turnout!
That's me front row on the left.

This definitely describes all of us!!!

Great Time Catching Up With Friends

There was a DJ with Karaoke and Tommy sure could sing!!!

My Favorite Photo Of The Night!!
Kevin was always the life of the party and he hasn't changed a bit,
I think he caught Colleen a little off guard!!

   

A Couple of Crashers from 1978,
but it was a great joy to see them too!!

Gigi and Elisa Planned This Wonderful Party

There is no picture of my best moment of the night.  My girlfriends were all on the dance floor and I was very happy sitting on the sidelines when a friend came over and grabbed my hands and started dancing with me.  My wheelchair didn't faze him one bit.  I had a blast and probably haven't have that much exercise or fun in years. For those few minutes I forgot about my disability and felt like my old self again. He doesn't follow my blog and is not on Facebook so he will probably not even know the effect those few minutes had on me until maybe we see each other again at the next reunion.  

Thank you Gigi and Elisa for a wonderful idea!!! 

It was a night I will never forget!!

We plan to get together again in three years for another reunion.  It shocks me to think it will be 35 years since our high school graduation.  Hopefully we will get an even bigger turnout.  I can hardly wait!!!

Now tell me

What made you Feel Good this week?

I hope you will take a moment to share!

Louisa and the Missing Heiress by Anna Maclean

Louisa and the Missing Heiress: The First Louisa May Alcott Mystery 
Obsidian
Published by New American Library
A Division of The Penguin Group

ISBN-10: 0451233247

ISBN-13: 978-0451233240

Also availble for Kindle

Louisa and the Missing Heiress: The First Louisa May Alcott Mystery takes place in Boston in 1854 long before Louisa gains the fame from her book Little Women.  Back then she was writing a children's book and "blood and thunder" mysteries. Her father was a philosopher and would never approve of her literary pursuits.  Her mother was a very frugal woman but very independent.  The family followed some very risky pursuits for the time.

But the life she was leading in no way prepared her for the death of her friend, Dottie, a young newlywed, barely home from a year long trip abroad.  She was clearly changed when she returned. Louisa was trying to find a way to spend time with her friend to determine what had caused this change, but she was too late.  Dottie was found dead in the Boston Harbor. Accident... suicide... no it was murder. Suddenly Louisa feels as if she has been thrust into one of her mystery writings and she needs to find out who killed her friend and why.  There are definitely many secrets and strange happenings. Louisa must sleuth out the truth before she falls victim herself.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this story.  Stories behind the scenes of any famous person are always fun.  It appears to be pretty historically accurate and reads much like something written my Louisa May Alcott herself.  She was definitely one of my favorite authors while growing up.

Maclean takes us effortlessly back in time with a great mystery plot and true to the facts characters.  It is books like this the remind us of authors who wrote wonderful classics and brings them back to life for yet another generation of readers.  

The next book in this delightful series, Louisa and the Country Bachelor will be released October 4, 2011. I venture to say that after reading these stories you will probably feel like rereading some of Alcott's classics or reading them for the first time if you haven't before.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Obsidian. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

  

     

I chose this book this month to read Just For Fun because it has been shouting from my To-Be-Read stacks since it arrived and the new one is coming out next month.  Louisa May Alcott was one of my favorite authors growing up when all my reading was "just for fun" so I had to continue the tradition!!

The Diva Haunts The House Giveaway Winners!!

Click Here For Images  &
Happy Halloween Pictures - Pictures

I know it is not Halloween yet, but this book 

and giveaway sure put me in the Halloween Spirit!!

The Grand Prize Winner of an autographed copy of 

 

plus an awesome haunting candle

and other swag is

Carol W. (Texas)

Christine J. (Utah)

&

Donna S. (North Carolina)

have won copies of 

 

and some wonderful swag!!!

This is was a really popular giveaway.

I wish I could give you all prizes!!

Winners chosen using Random.org

There will be many more

Book Reviews, Recommendations,

Random Thoughts & Giveaways 

always here at Dollycas's Thoughts

so be sure to stop by often!!

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Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Crunch Time: A Novel of Suspense 
A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery
16th in the series
William Marrow
An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Goldy Schultz, Colorado caterer, is in hot water again as she tries to help her friend, employee and fellow chef, Yolanda Garcia.  It seems Yolanda is having a bit of bad luck after breaking up with her "boyfriend".   The rental she is sharing with her great aunt Ferdinanda burns to the ground and arson is suspected.  Then they move in with cop turned private detective Ernest McLeod. Shortly thereafter Ernest is killed and his house goes up in flames.  Goldy, Yolanda, Ferinanda and nine puppies rescued from a puppy mill, barely escape with their lives.

Goldy takes them all in thinking that her house will surely be safe since her husband is a cop but they are not even safe there.  The house is almost burglarized but Golldy's son foils that attempt.  Then another body is found.

Goldy decides it is  Crunch Time and jumps from the frying pan into the investigation of the fires and the murders. Can she stay one step ahead of the killer and keep herself from being their next victim?

My Thoughts

I have enjoyed this series since Catering to Nobody (Goldy, Book 1) but by the 16th installment it must get harder to write for characters. I really had a hard time finishing this book.  The main plot and subplots were very good and I love these characters but the book seem so dragged out and really long. It is over 400 pages and 100 could have easily been cut. The last installment came out in April of 2009 which leads me to believe the author may have struggled a bit with this one and it shows.

An the positive side, Aunt Ferninada is hilarious, her little digs and her amazing wheelchair carried this story.

If you are a fan of this series you will want to read it to keep up with the characters you love but I recommend picking it up at the library unless you have the whole series collected on your keeper shelf.  It will be interesting to see if this is the last we read about Goldy Schultz or if the author brings back a new installment more like the previous editions I loved.

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Amazon Vine Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

 

  

     
  

COZY WEDNESDAY - With Author Ella Barrick (Giveaway too!!)

Dancing With The Stars premiered Monday night, I was really impressed by Chynna Phillips. The results were announced last night but I am writing this in advance so I don't know who was sent packing, but I think it is awesome that Ella Barrick is her today talking about her brand new book Quickstep to Murder. It is the first book in the new Ballroom Dance Mystery Series.  Put on your dancing shoes and help me welcome Ella!!!

Hi Ella!!!

Hi Everyone!!!

I am happy to be here!

Series-ous Inspiration

By Ella Barrick

One of the questions I get asked most frequently at book events is “Where do you get your ideas?”  Frequently, I can’t pinpoint where a particular plot or character idea came from, but in the case of the Ballroom Dance mystery series, I can say with certainty that I got the idea from watching Dancing with the Stars.

For those of you who might not know the show, ABC airs it on Monday nights and it features famous (or infamous) non-dancers paired with professional ballroom dancers.  The pros and their partners perform a different ballroom dance—tango, waltz, salsa, etc.—each week and get scored by three judges and voted on by the American public.  The last pair left standing gets a cheesy mirror ball trophy at the end of the season.

Part of me hesitates to confess to liking a reality show, but the truth is my daughters and I enjoy the show, and my mom even comes over on Monday nights to watch with us.  My husband tolerates it. I don’t know if it’s the glitzy costumes and make-up, or the Cinderella-ish idea of transforming an actor or astronaut or athlete into an elegant, electric ballroom dancer, but the show sucked us in around Season Five or Six and we’ve watched ever since.

It might seem like a leap to go from liking DWTS to setting murder mysteries in a ballroom dance studio and having a professional ballroom dancer as the amateur sleuth who must find the killers, but I think there’s some logic to it.  There’s a lot of passion in ballroom dance; in fact, there’s a lot of emotion involved in any competitive endeavor.   Viewers can see the anger and frustration and jealousies playing out every Monday night between professional and “star” partners, between dancers and judges, and between the competitors themselves.  It didn’t take much imagination on my part to envision a murder happening in the world of ballroom dance.

My protagonist in Quickstep to Murder: A Ballroom Dance Mystery, Anastasia “Stacy” Graysin is a professional ballroom dancer who co-owns a studio, Graysin Motion, in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.  Her success at sleuthing comes not from any knowledge of detective techniques or investigative practices, but from her intimacy with the ballroom community.  She’s not a cerebral Nero Wolfish or Sherlock Holmesian sort of detective; she’s impulsive, physical, intuitive.  Her thought processes, to some extent, reflect her dancing.  

When the co-owner of Stacy’s studio, Rafe Acosta (who happens to be her ex-fiancé), turns up dead on the ballroom floor, the police immediately suspect Stacy.  He cheated on her, they quarreled over the studio, and he was shot with her gun.  An open and shut case, the detective thinks.  To keep the cops from waltzing her into the nearest jail cell, Stacy must find the real killer.  Throughout, she must continue teaching her dance classes, practice with students who pay for private lessons, compete in ballroom competitions, and find ways to keep Graysin Motion solvent.

   

Going from the idea of creating a mystery series in the world of ballroom dance to actually learning enough about the sport—it’s called dance sport, sometimes, in an effort to reflect the athleticism and discipline necessary to compete successfully—to make it come alive for readers took a lot of research and effort.  But that’s a whole ’nother blog post . . . 

If you’re a DWTS fan, or a fan of mysteries with humor and fun characters and a twisty plot, check out Quickstep to Murder.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll drag your spouse down to the local ballroom dance studio and sign up for foxtrot lessons before Stacy uncovers the murderer!

~Ella

Thank you Ella, my daughters and I are big DWTS fans and every year we think we are not happy with the chosen stars but we keep watching and loving it.  Let's face it with Maks and his brother on this year how could we not watch!!

About This Author

Ella Barrick grew up in the South, but has since migrated West.  She spent some time working for Uncle Sam and taught English at the college level before turning her hand to writing mysteries. She also writes under another pseudonym too, or this is a pseudonym and she writes other stories under her real name.  One of the joys of being an author. 

Ella and her husband took exactly two ballroom dancing lessons on the quickstep before Ella’s bruised ankles and crushed feet forced them to retire.  (Her husband is a wonderful guy, but he doesn’t have a single ballroom dance gene in his whole body.)  Thus, Ella relies on the kindness of competitive ballroom dancers and friends who foxtrot fabulously for the dance details in her Ballroom Dance Mysteries. And, of course, as she said above, she watches Dancing with the Stars for costume and choreography ideas! 

Besides writing, Ella enjoys reading, gardening, home decorating, traveling, and long walks or hikes. 

My Thoughts on Quickstep to Murder

I rarely give a first book in the series 5 stars but this book embraced me from the first page. The setting was something I knew I would like as soon as I heard the title and the characters and the mystery plot did not disappoint. They were perfectly choreographed with all the right moves and set the perfect tempo, fast.  Once you start this book you will not be able to put it down. 

The staring character Stacy was very multifaceted dealing with the grief of her ex being murdered in the middle of her studio and strong when she had to be to keep the business going, dealing with wide range of problems with students and instructors.  But the true treasure was when he softer side just started to break through in the end when she could let her guard down a bit.

I can't wait until June for the next installment of this series, Dead Man Waltzing. It will be a true delight to take another twirl on the dance floor and have Ella lead us into her next mystery.

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Would YOU like to win a copy of this wonderful book?

Thanks to the wonderful people at Penguin 

I have 2 copies to give away

U.S. & Canadian Residents Only

Followers will get 2 bonus entries!

Leave a comment for Ella and receive 5 bonus entries!

Contest Ends October 5 at 11:59 p.m. CST

Winners will be chosen by Random.org

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, A Division of The Penguin Book Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen

Whistling In the Dark
New American Library
A Division of the Penguin Group
Published 2007

This book was recommended to me by author Rochelle Staab when we "met" discussing her new book coming out in November, Who Do, Voodoo?.  I was thrilled to learn she was from Wisconsin and she told me I had to read this book and that I would want to read it's sequel too, Good Graces. Thank you Rochelle!!!!

Whistling In the Dark takes place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1959, and is written from 10 year old Sally O'Malley's point of view. She has a little sister Troo, and a older sister Nell, her father was killed in a car accident, her mother then married Hall who is not much of a step father.  

Her mother ends up spending most of the summer in the hospital due to complications of surgery. Nell is caught up with her boyfriend and Hall is busy with another woman or has drown himself in liquor or both.  The two little girls are left on their own but it is back in the time when your neighbors knew everybody and everybody watched out for each other.  Sally and Troo were fed and taken care of my the good folks of the neighborhood.

The area is living in fear of a child molester and murderer.  Two little girls have gone missing and one was found dead in the park where Sally and Troo play everyday. Sally is sure she will be the next victim. She even believes she knows who the killer is and will do everything she can to keep her and her sister safe.

My Thoughts

There are so many reasons I loved this book.  First Sally has a very active imagination just like I was told I had while growing up so it was so easy to relate to her.  I wasn't born until 1961 but references in this book were true to what I remember or had been told as I grew up. The trips to the zoo brought back such memories. There must to be very few people from Southern Wisconsin that do not remember going to see the Gorilla named Sampson at the Milwaukee Public Zoo!

"The Ape That Made Milwaukee Famous"

Beyond the memories this story churned up, it is marvelously written.  Funny, surprising, and full of charm yet tragic in places. Sally's innocence will have you laughing one minute and wiping a tear from your eye the next. All the characters were wonderfully created. 

The story reminds us of simpler times, when kids played outside until the streetlights came on and the neighbors watched out and took care of your skinned knees or brought out a plate of cookies to share. I understand completely why it was a national bestseller. This book is definitely a must read, plus a sequel to the bookGood Graces that came out in September and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  I am anxious to read everything by this author.

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

THANK YOU ROCHELLE!!!

WISCONSIN

It's Monday!! What Are You Reading??

 This great meme is hosted by Sheila at

"Book Journey".

It's a great way to start the week and

find out what other bloggers are reading.

My To-Be-Read pile has grown to an

unbelievable number thanks to this meme.

Had a terrible reading week. Spent too much time dealing with Blogger/Amazon Associates issue that probably won't be resolved for a while.  You never realize how much you use something until it is gone.

This past week I 

FINISHED

Whistling In the Dark

by Lesley Kagen

This book qualifies for two challenges.

It is Set in Wisconsin and it was recommended to me 

by Author Rochelle Stabb, 

so it meets the 3R's challenge.

Review will be up tomorrow.

Crunch Time: A Novel of Suspense (Goldy Schulz)

for Review by Amazon Vine
Review will be up on Thursday!

Button Holed (Button Box Mystery)

by Kylie Logan

Kylie will be here on September 28 

for Cozy Wednesday!


CURRENTLY READING

Louisa and the Missing Heiress: The First Louisa May Alcott Mystery by Anna Maclean

ON DECK

 

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes 

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Release Date: September 28, 2011

With cats named Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Professor Moriarty how could I turn this book when it was offered to me for review.

 

India Black and the Widow of Windsor 

by Carol K. Carr

Release Date October 4, 2011

 

Children of Paranoia 

by Trevor Shane

BACK TO THE TO-BE-READ STACK FOR NOW

The Gilded Shroud (A Lady Fan Mystery)

by Elizabeth Bailey

Be sure to check out the giveaways in the left sidebar!

Stop Back For Cozy Wednesday

Quickstep to Murder

by Ella Barrick

Ella will be Guest Posting here and

we will be giving away 2 copies of this book!

I LOVED IT!!!

HAPPY READING EVERYONE!!!!

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent