Monday, July 6, 2009

Here we Go!!




I've got a few things going on here today

chicks, so make sure you scroll all the way down to see the whole post!

First,

Marie Force,

author of Love at First Flight and Line of Scrimmage

is joining us today with a Guest Post and a giveaway!






Together Forever?
By: Marie Force
I recently read a review of my new book, Love at First Flight, written by a woman who was rocked to the core by something that happens in the book. The reviewer, married for more than twenty years to her high school sweetheart, wasn’t expecting a storyline about a man who’d been with the same woman for ten years (since he was seventeen) and had begun to wonder if he was missing out on something.

When we meet Juliana in Love at First Flight, she’s on her way to Florida to spend the weekend with her longtime boyfriend Jeremy. Together since their junior year of high school, the two are now twenty-seven and have been living together for four years. Until they are forced to spend an interminable year apart when Jeremy’s company sends him from their Baltimore home to do a job in Florida, Juliana had never given much thought to why they never married. But as the months of separation unfold, tiny cracks begin to appear in what she’d always viewed as an idyllic relationship.

During their weekend together, Jeremy confesses to his curiosity about other women, which tips Juliana’s world upside down. In writing their painful conversation, I tried to convey the epic struggle Jeremy has waged with wanting to remain faithful to the woman he has loved his entire adult life while contending with the uncertainty of whether he’s prepared to remain faithful to her forever. Jeremy’s curiosity results in Juliana suggesting they take a three-month break from each other to make sure they are both prepared to go forward together. Ironically, during their break it’s Juliana who finds new, unexpected love with a man she met in the airport on her way to see Jeremy.

The reviewer couldn’t help but see her own marriage through Jeremy’s eyes. Does her own husband wonder what he’s missed out on by being with the same woman all his life? Days after finishing the book, she continued to view her husband through different eyes and was unsettled by these new thoughts. We talked about it on her blog, and I urged her to talk to her husband, who would no doubt put her mind at ease.

I have friends who’ve been together nearly thirty years—since our freshman year of high school. In fact, they were our class couple. We’ve recently been closer than we ever were in school because our daughters became friends. After spending time with them, I’m amazed at how devoted they continue to be to each other even after all these years. It can happen. Lightning can strike at a young age, and the electricity really can last a lifetime. As I watch my children, now almost 14 and 11, grow up I wonder if their lifelong loves are just around the corner or further down the road. How will it happen for them?

How did it happen for you? Anyone out there married to their high school sweetheart and happily content? Do you ever wonder what you might’ve missed out on?
To find out what Juliana decides to do, you’ll have to read Love at First Flight, now in bookstores. If you wish to discuss all the rules I broke in the book, join me Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog (
http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com) for a book club



Marie has been kind enough to offer one copy of each of her books to one lucky winner!


All you need to do to win is leave a comment with your email!!




Next up:




Product Description From Amazon:



It is 1498, the dawn of the Renaissance, and Venice teems with rumors of an ancient book that holds the secret to unimaginable power. It is an alchemist's dream, with recipes for gold, immortality, and undying love. Everyone, rich and poor alike, speculates about the long-buried secrets scrawled in its pages and where it could possibly be hidden within the labyrinthine city. But while those who seek the book will stop at nothing to get it, those who know will die to protect it.
As a storm of intrigue and desire circles the republic that grew from the sea, Luciano, a penniless orphan with a quick wit and an even faster hand, is plucked up by an illustrious chef and hired, for reasons he cannot yet begin to understand, as an apprentice in the palace kitchen. There, in the lavish home of the most powerful man in Venice, he is initiated into the chef's rich and aromatic world, with all its seductive ingredients and secrets.
Luciano's loyalty to his street friends and the passion he holds for a convent girl named Francesca remain, but it is not long before he, too, is caught up in the madness. After he witnesses a shocking murder in the Palace dining room, he realizes that nothing is as it seems and that no one, not even those he's come to rely on most, can be trusted. Armed with a precocious mind and an insatiable curiosity,
Luciano embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth. What he discovers will swing open the shutters of his mind, inflame his deepest desires, and leave an indelible mark on his soul.
Rich with the luxurious colors and textures of Venice, The Book of Unholy Mischief delights the senses and breathes fresh life into an age defined by intellectual revival and artistic vibrancy. A luminous and seductive novel, it is, at its heart, a high-spirited tribute to the fruits of knowledge and the extraordinary power of those who hold its key. In a world of violence an d in trigue, who guards the truth?



WHAT I THOUGHT:This book is different from anything I've read since...well..I can't remember when...I liked it, it had sort of a fairy tale feel to it that was fun and interesting. The author does a really great job of developing the characters and making you want to know more about them and paints a really beautiful picture of Venice.



That's it for today!


READ ON CHICKS!!



45 comments:

doverdi said...

The review on "Love at First Flight" certainly has me intriged. I'm always looking for a new author/book to enjoy. Thanks for the heads up.

Booklover1335 said...

I would love to win a copy of Marie's newest "Love At First Flight". I have seen nothing but glowing reviews for this love story and can't wait to read it!

cldivineATyahooDOTcom

Beth (BBRB) said...

This looks fun! Please enter me!

BethsBookReviewBlog AT gmail DOT com

Jackie said...

Please enter me for "Love at First Flight" Packerchick216(at)live(dot)com

Anonymous said...

oh! Please count me in!!! Looks fantastic!
bjwaldron@gmail.com

Pam said...

I have to say, I was older when I met and married my husband (30 when we met, 32 when we married) so maybe that makes a difference, but I never wonder whether I missed out. I think I married the most wonderful man out there for me and am thankful every day that my search is over.

melacan at hotmail dot com

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

Love at First Sight sounds good,
count me in, thank you for this
awesome giveaway.

The Brunette Librarian said...

Oh my gosh, this book looks AWESOME!! Please count me in. I'll do a little dance :)

rachie2004 AT yahoo DOT com

Lyoness2009 said...

They both look GREAT!! Please count me in, I would love to read them!!! :D

lyoness2009 @ hot mail *dot* com

Anonymous said...

I so want to read this one !!!

mollytucker(at)hotmail(dot)fr

Marie Force said...

Hi everyone,
Thanks for coming by today. Glad to hear the book appeals to so many of you!
Marie

Unknown said...

What a great book I will be adding to the tbr pile. Thanks for the heads up.

annmariebro(at)hotmail(dot)com

scottsgal said...

I'd like to read Love at First Flight - sounds like a wonderful book
msboatgal at aol.com

Lisa N. said...

Sounds like a great book. Count me in!

rocket_kay at hotmail dot com

cqueen2 said...

sounds great!!
thanks
wadesherry@hotmail dot com

Lee P said...

Sounds like a great book to read. Please count me in. Thanks for this giveaway.

chinook92(at)gmail(dot)com

Cairine said...

Please enter my name for the Love At First Flight contest. I would love to read this book. It makes you wonder about relationships and why some work.

chey said...

All the reviews I've seen for Love at First Flight have been great. Please enter me.
chey127 at hotmail dot com

Fedora said...

Hi, Marie! Thanks for sharing today! I'm actually thankful I *didn't* marry my high school sweetheart--I think that may have turned into a huge disaster! Timing is everything though, right? I didn't marry my husband the first time we dated (instead, I waffled and dumped him repeatedly... Thank God that he's persistent!)

Anyway, please don't enter me--can't wait to read LaFF, and definitely loved LoS!!

Jess said...

sounds like a great book! Can't wait to read it! stampmaniac at gmail dot com. Thanks!

Mari said...

Please enter me, would love an opportunity to win this.

runningmatey at hotmail dot com

I ♥ Book Gossip said...

I would love to win a copy of Love at first flight. Sounds great!

cindyc725 at gmail dot com

I ♥ Book Gossip said...

I would love to win a copy of Love at first flight. Sounds great!

cindyc725 at gmail dot com

tina werner said...

love to win a copy!
thanks for the chance to win!

stampitchick at yahoo dot ca

LuAnn said...

Add my name to the drawing, please!

reading_frenzy@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

cognrats on the book and blgo tour

would love to win
kh
kimehak@yahoo.com

throuthehaze said...

count me in please!
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

Marie said...

It sounds like a great book! I would love to read it.

marielay@gmail.com

Jenny N. said...

Thanks, I would love to read one of marie's books

jen4777[at]hotmail.com

sharon54220 said...

Great review. Makes me want to win it more. Please enter me.

Thanks

sharon54220@gmil.com

Anonymous said...

This book sounds interesting. I would like to enter

mynglin(AT)hotmail(DOT)com

donnas said...

Love at First Light sounds very good.

I would love to be included.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

Natalie W said...

Would love to enter!
nataliew2 at gmail dot com

Kelly said...

That's awesome!

kamijisatsu@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Could I please be entered into the drawing? This looks like a great read.

Pam S
pams00@aol.com

Belinda M said...

Please include me in your giveaway.

Canadian Contests, Freebies, Coupons, Deals, Games and Chat - join us at CoolCanucks.ca


bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com

Danielle said...

Sounds great! I'd love to get my hands on some good summer reads!

danielle78@comcast.net

CherylS22 said...

Please count me in - these books look great!

Thanks,
megalon22 at yahoo dot com

Ashley Newell said...

These look like some great books!

actressangel at gmail

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I would love to win Love at First Flight! Sounds like a great book.

Mary

meah56 at gmail dot com

mrsshukra said...

I love Marie Force, please count me in!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I have been wanting to read this one count me in please!

Pam S
pams00@aol.com

Anonymous said...

I would like to be entered.
calcamanin AT gmail DOT com

DCMetroreader said...

Looks like a great read. Please enter me.
Thanks for the giveaway!
kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com

Marie Force said...

Reminder to everyone about the Love at First Flight book club meeting on my blog (http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com) tonight, at 7 pm EDT. Warning, there will be spoilers, so make sure you read the book before the party! I’ll be giving away some great prizes to participants.