Category: Book Publicity Services

Book Review | “Recipes and Road Stories: Life on the road with sisters Hannah & Caroline Melby” (of the duo) #HanaLena

Posted Friday, 2 October, 2015 by jorielov , , , 1 Comment

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: I  was contacted by Kelsey @ Book Publicity Services in regards to a non-fiction journal account of a sister duo in country music who journalled their experiences on the road whilst touring. I received a complimentary copy of “Recipes and Road Stories” direct from the publicist via Book Publicity Services in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

I love fiddles and folk music – I am a champion of bluegrass and outlaw country, and I tend to have my own mind about where I ‘fit’ inside Country music where I most likely am on the fringes rather than being on the ‘inside edge’; however, this personally suits my fancy! I love cross-over artists (Country to Pop) and I love the originality of musicians who can belt out a ballard and write the lyrics which resonate on a heart-pulse the beauty of their message.

When I first learnt about this memoir by a duo of bluegrass who were traditionally trained and who have a natural rhythm of joy surrounding them as they play, I couldn’t find a reason not to accept this book for review! I’m a foodie girl at heart, if you follow my exploits under my #TheBookishFoodie featured cookbook reviews, you’d know how seeing a fusion of home-spun stories of family life, faith-centered journalling of life experiences, and the quirky addition of recipes woven together into a memoir of a rising duo of bluegrass – truly, what isn’t to love?

Book Review | “Recipes and Road Stories: Life on the road with sisters Hannah & Caroline Melby” (of the duo) #HanaLenaRecipes and Road Stories: Life on the Road with sisters Hannah and Caroline Melby of the Duo HanaLena
by Hannah and Caroline Melby
Source: Direct from Publicist

Recipes and Road Stories: Life on the Road with sisters Hannah and Caroline Melby of the duo HanaLena blends touching and rollicking road stories with an assortment of tasty recipes, and then tops everything off with plenty of exciting photographs.

Also contributing recipes are friends they made on the road, including Rhonda Vincent, a 5-time Grammy nominee who has been called the "Queen of Bluegrass", and Clarie Lynch, who is the reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Association.

On the road they have opened for stars such as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and performed with Grand Ole Opry member Charlie Louvin and the "King of Bluegrass" Jimmy Martin, who was a frequent performer at the Opry before his death in 2005.

In their off-hours, the sisters focused on the business end of music, with Hannah receiving a degree in public relations from Mississippi State University and Caroline receiving a degree in music business from Belmont University in Nashville.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Published by Sartoris Literary Group Inc

on 15th September, 2014

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 336

 Published By: Sartoris Literary Group, Inc.

Available Formats: Trade Paperback & Ebook

Interview about developing Recipes and Road Stories | The Clarion-Ledger

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

HanaLena Summer Tour via HanaLenaBand

jump in the car and ride along with the sisters! beautiful vocals overlay the footage!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Converse on Twitter via: #HanaLena

About Hannah and Caroline Melby

Hannah and Caroline Melby; HanaLena

By the time Hannah was in the 11th grade and Caroline was in the 7th grade, the Melby sisters were touring the country in bluegrass bands, with Hannah on fiddle and Caroline on mandolin. Today the sisters are front persons of a very popular Nashville-based country music touring band named HanaLena.

The sisters, who grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, performed from an early age - Hannah is now 28, Caroline is 24 - evolving from bluegrass to progressive country as they perfected their songwriting and performance skills out on the road. In 2008 they won the "Best New Act in Country Music" competition at the Colgate Country Showdown in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville - and took home a check for a cool $100,000 presented by country music star LeAnn Rimes.

Photo Credit: Cathy Waugh

Hannah @hannahmelbyns Caroline @carolinemelby

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Posted Friday, 2 October, 2015 by jorielov in Anthology Collection of Stories, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Publicity Services, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Discussions, Bookish Films, Cookbook, Cookery, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Documentary on Topic or Subject, Indie Author, Memoir, Music Video, Non-Fiction, Short Stories or Essays, Siblings, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, The Bookish Foodie, Travel Narrative | Memoir, Travel Writing, Travelogue, Vignettes of Real Life

Book Review | “Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold” (Book 1: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency) by Iain Reading

Posted Friday, 30 January, 2015 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading

The Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency series by Iain Reading

“In the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series the heroine finds herself in a new geographic location in each book. The series will eventually have a total of 13 books in it (maybe more) and her flight around the world will be completed in the end,” says Iain. “The books are sequential but one could definitely read any of the later ones before reading the earlier ones.”

A Self-Published YA Book Series
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Add to Riffle

Converse on Twitter via: #KittyHawkFlyingDetectiveAgency

Acquired Book By: I  was contacted by Kelsey @ Book Publicity Services in regards to the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency series, wherein I learnt about this wicked new YA book series! I received a complimentary copy of “Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold” direct from the publicist via Book Publicity Services in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

I grew up playing “Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?” which was an action-adventure and geographical sleuth solving game where you had to uncover clues whilst sorting out riddles or puzzles to stop henchmen from stealing national or well-known landmarks, artifacts, and other curious odds and ends! I loved the mystery of it but also the educational backdrop of having a cultural map of the world threaded throughout the game itself. When the game (as I was a gamer via the computer versions) went live on tv, a part of me wanted to try out for it and a part of me held back a bit because like the other game shows I watched as a kid, I simply never had the confidence to apply! In the case of Double Dare it had more to do with not wanting to be slimed! Laughs.

I have a natural bourne curiosity about the world around me, inasmuch the world which is why I was drawn into reading adventure fiction as a young child; one of my favourite series by far were the previously mentioned Cooper Kids Adventures series on my review of Ash Mistry. My readings of young adult adventure novels has started to whet my palette of interest again, as when I was reading about the Cooper Kids, I was reading the Cassandra Mysteries where an intrepid American adventuress exchanged postal letters with her British friend prior to the pair travelling and solving crimes! It was quite the wicked fun adventure a teen would love to devour, and I was one of them! Sadly, the series ended as a quartet and I never could sort out which well-known author was behind the pen-name of Jennifer Austin! It only took me 10 years to sort out a way to collect the remaining three novels via out of print book searches across the United States!

One of the things I am always keenly hopeful to find in an adventure fiction series (especially within the world of Middle Grade to Young Adult) is an absence of strong language and graphic violence. I like finding authors who encourage a young person’s mind to grow without having to sacrifice their innocence and their natural ability to see the good in the world. Whilst I did my research about the Kitty Hawk Flying Adventure Agency series I felt as though I had finally found what I was looking for all along! Sometimes you have to remain patient and believe a writer will understand what children of all ages are seeking when they want a hearty mystery interlaced with an adventure and a solid world in which to fall in love with to where a series of 13 potential novels will sweep you away into their folds!

Book Review | “Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold” (Book 1: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency) by Iain ReadingKitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold
by Iain Reading
Source: Direct from Publicist

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new young adult series of adventure mystery stories by Iain Reading. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.

After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales, Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada. As the plot continues to unfold, this spirited story will have readers anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is a perfect book to fire the imagination of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn and experience more for themselves.

There are currently four books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold (book 1), Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost (book 2), Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue (book 3), and Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic (book 4). Each book can be read as a standalone.

Genres: Action & Adventure Fiction, Young Adult Fiction



Places to find the book:

Series: Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency, No.1


Also in this series: Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters


Published by Self Published

on December 2012

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

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Posted Friday, 30 January, 2015 by jorielov in Action & Adventure Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Publicity Services, Book Review (non-blog tour), First Nations of Canada, Native American Fiction