#ChocLitSaturdays vs #ChocLitSaturday : Two ChocLitUK features of #JLASblog in 2015! (Exciting news!)

Posted Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by jorielov Amanda James, Berni Stevens, ChocLitUK, Dance Until Dawn, Henriette Gyland, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Up Close 1 Comment

Last year, in late 2013 I made quite the extraordinary discovery, as I had found this wickedly delightful Indie Publisher for Romance Novels hailing from England called ‘ChocLitUK’! I started to host for them as a book reviewer, and quickly realised that I wanted to host their lovely authors as well, which is why I started to offer Guest Posts and Author Interviews! I had meant to keep the author features running in conjunction to each ChocLit novel I was reviewing, but due to different reasons I mostly posted the book reviews without the extras!

Then, in Spring 2014 in the middle of my weekly chats in the twitterverse, I had this scathingly wicked idea! Perhaps I should help promote my #ChocLitSaturdays book reviews & guest author features by hosting my own hour-length (an approx. time, we do like to chat past noon!) weekly chat! I will be forever grateful to the inspiring encouragement of the collective known as #StoryDam as they not only helped me realise what my idea involved but they were the ones who originally turnt me onto using Canva for creating my own blog banners, Twitter cards, and other badges you see throughout my tweets and bookish blog! (such as the main header’s on Twitter like the new one for #ChocLitSaturdays!)

The main idea behind creating #ChocLitSaturdays was explained previously, but what I wanted to explain today is why I am separating the two hashtags: #ChocLitSaturday vs #ChocLitSaturdays! The main hashtag I used from the beginning was #ChocLitSaturdays, as a way to encourage romance readers & romance writers to realise I was celebrating a genre I am truly passionate about on the weekends! However, when it comes to Twitter chats, the only way to safeguard your hashtag is to create a supporting account, hence why I created @ChocLitSaturday! You’ll notice the ‘s’ is missing? Apparently, the name ‘ChocLitSaturday’ is the full amount of available letters your allowed to use! Thereby, no one can ‘take’ the tag in theory as there is no way to create an account to lock it in! I was thankful to have this safeguard in place for both #ChocLitSaturdays and as a back-up #ChocLitSaturday!

One of the hiccups in hosting a chat on Twitter, is that due to the fact hashtags are public and able to be used by absolutely anyone who finds them, I started to notice a lot of non-kosher tweeting happening on the weekends for #ChocLitSaturdays, on interests outside the scope of where a book blogger like myself would like to see the tag promoted! I am not entirely sure why the weekends are a bit dicey at times for promoting “Romance Novels” as this has only been after the popularity of the chat #ChocLitSaturdays started to have more tweets & convos flying through the twitterverse! Laughs.

I have known about #Nurph (@Nurph) ever since I started chatting regularly with #LitChat (@LitChat) where readers & writers of fiction across the board (with a direct empathsis on literary fiction) meet-up to converse with each other on Wednesdays. Nurph is a pro-positive platform for tweet chats because if the host (such as myself) has any issues whatsoever, all I have to do is ‘tweet’ @Nurph and I have immediate assistance! Nurph also monitors the hashtag and tries to only keep the chatters in the visible stream! Chatters can RSVP through the “Upcoming Chats” section and I can alert those who attend #ChocLitSaturdays of when new chats will be hosted in quite an easier way than having to CC everyone on Twitter!

Nurph also allows a ‘replay’ option when chats have ended which help for archiving purposes, but I also know they are easier to find if I archive them myself, which is a bit of why all my archiving time has been lengthened for nearly half a year! In truth, there have been a lot of technical issues between Summer & Autumn; making it quite hard to archive the chats and I sort of fell behind to be honest! It is hard to archive a chat if you cannot even get a ‘tweet’ to stick inside a transcript! A few chats are still amiss, but I’m going to be releasing all the ones I have up to this point!

One of the hardest things to remember when tweeting in a weekly chat is to ‘add the hashtag’ and this is why I previously advocated for platforms such as Twubs, or tchat.io or even TweetDeck. However, in the months since I hosted my first #ChocLitSaturdays, I have discovered a few things:

Twubs has (supposed) email support with a support team who never responds back!
Twubs is easy to set-up but if a problem occurs your blocked from entering again!
Twubs was simply abandoned due to never being able to login!
tchat.io was brilliant until I realised my account was nearly hacked & compromised! ack!
TweetDeck is quite lovely but has become unstable & unreliable in high volumes!

In regards to using Nurph, I have never experienced anything but a soothing chat, where you can easily click the “favour”, “re-tweet”, or “quote” options per tweet as the chat is happening! It is easy to login as you just click the link and authorise Nurph to be used. The hashtag is auto-added to your tweets and therefore it provides any easy streamlined experienced! The main reason I hadn’t used Nurph originally is due to not opening the supporting account on Twitter until late Autumn, early Winter 2014! I also wasn’t sure if I should change the hashtag or spilt the tag between the blog features & the weekly chats, until I realised it was getting difficult to separate the two from each other!

At long last, I feel the best way I can help promote my passion and love for ChocLitUK is simply to have two different channels of threaded conversations:

#ChocLitSaturdays | tweeted mostly through @JLovesAStory will anchour my book reviews and author guest features (which are resuming in 2015!)
#ChocLitSaturday | is the new hashtag for the weekly chat on Saturdays which is explained here:

JOIN US:

~~http://nurph.com/choclitsaturday~~

Full Archive of #ChocLitSaturday Chats via my blog

To be added lateron today! Drop back when you see my updated tweet!

I look forward to hosting #ChocLitSaturday throughout the coming New Year, and seeing where the bookish conversations take all of us next! I am welcome to suggestions for topics of discussion which can be pitched to me in the comment threads below! Be sure to bookmark the new Nurph Channel for visiting & chatting with us on Saturdays! And, I will be tweeting out the book reviews via this account as well as a cross-promotion between my blog’s Twitter account and this one for the chats!

I have a special surprise for everyone who is enjoying my ChocLitUK book reviews! I am going to be posting my final three book reviews for ChocLit in 2014 between today and New Year’s Eve! The books you will be finding threaded through my @JLovesAStory tweets and my blog are as follows:

I am truly blessed with getting to know three authors I haven’t previously read, with the exception of Ms. James as I previously posted my book review on behalf of her time travelling series A Stitch in Time with the first novel “A Stitch in Time”! Her sequel published in December 2014, Cross Stitch!

I cannot think of a better way to close 2014 than by expressing my thoughts on these lovely novels! I am going to be reading through the library of Christina Courtenay throughout January & February as I have her full collection of historical novels set during the high sea epics I adore reading so very much! There is a lot to celebrate with ChocLit, including the lovely ‘ChocLit Treats’ or super short stories which you can receive by email direct from ChocLitUK! I have somehow managed to forget to blog my bliss with these lovelies, so if you want a bit of ‘ChocLit’ in your Inbox, be sure to sign up to receive their ‘ChocLit Treats’!

{Sources: #ChocLitSaturday header created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sebastian Boguszewicz. #ChocLitSaturday 2015 badge created by Jorie in Canva. Book covers for “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”, “Up Close”, and “Dance Until Dawn” were provided by ChocLitUK and used with permission. Twitter Header Banner for #ChocLitSaturday created by Jorie in Canva. Photo credit: Sebastian Boguszewicz (Public Domain Image via UnSplash).}

Posted Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK

Blog Book Tour | “Sugar-Free Mom” by Brenda Bennett a cookbook with the advantage of being sweeter by using natural sources of sugar rather than processed!

Posted Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by jorielov Brenda Bennett, Cedar Fort Inc, Front Table Books, Sugar-Free Mom 5 Comments

Sugar-Free Mom by Brenda Bennett

Published by: Front Table Books (@FrontTableBooks)

an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)

Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook

Converse via: #SugarFreeMom, #sugarfree, #gfree & #glutenfree

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Sugar-Free Mom” direct from the publisher Front Table Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

Originally, I had mistakenly thought this was a baking book devouted to cookies, bars, cakes, pies, and all the lovely homemade snacks or deserts a person would love to make ‘sugar-free’ or with sweeteners whose glycemic index is low (even for non-diabetics who want to monitor their sugar intakes); however, somehow I made a bit of a gaffe in not realising this was a bonefide cookbook full of traditional savoury foods you can modify for your health-conscience diet!

My father’s health has been afflicted for over a year due to different factors affecting his wellness, but the last of which had a major part in his day-to-day observations was how sugar was projecting an impact on his blood pressure. For this reason, we were absolute hawks, trying to sort out how to temper the sugar being consumed yet being mindful of alternative ways in which to sweeten his life a bit as my Dad has had a sweet tooth since before I was bourne! This is one main reason I was keenly interested in Sugar-Free Mom from the first moment I started to read about it! On my previous segments of “The Bookish Foodie” wherein I have talked about my passionate love for Front Table Books cooks and the recipes they give us to try at home in our own kitchens have chronicled my own path towards wellness and my parents at the same time.

Rather than focus directly on this particular subject, I wanted to do a special spotlight focus on one recipe I had originally meant to bake during the wee hours of Christmas Eve and surprise my parents & the church pot luck (for Christmas Day community luncheon) where I took the recipe for “Gram’s Butter Balls” and with a few ingredient switches (due to budget and simply trying to use what I had on hand) I was able to create a delightfully addictive treat with a pinch of sweetness without the added worriment over how sweet the cookies could have been if I hadn’t made a few changes!

Without further adieu, here is my special focus on this recipe by which I tweeted and have blogged the journalling of trying for the first time!

Sugar-Free Mom: Naturally Sweet & Sugar-Free Recipes for the Whole Family
by Brenda Bennett
Source: Direct from Publisher

Sugar-free no longer equals taste-free! Popular food blogger Brenda Bennett uses natural sweeteners like honey and coconut sugar to create delicious and wholesome recipes that will satisfy even the pickiest of eaters, such as French Toast Sticks, Crock Pot Pulled Pork, and Chocolate Fudge Tart. You and your family will finally enjoy all the foods you love- without the guilt.

Genres: Baking, Cookery, Cooking & Baking with Natural Sweeteners, Gluten-Free Cooking & Baking

Places to find the book:

Published by Front Table Books

on 31st December, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 206

About Brenda Bennett

Brenda Bennett’s passion for cooking began at the age of 5 kneeling on a chair by her grandmother’s side helping roll homemade gnocchi’s on a flour covered butcher block table. Her love affair with cooking was a mere hobby while teaching as a special educator and earning a Masters Degree in Education. After the birth of her second child, she had to give up sugar. With sear determination and a deep desire to still enjoy chocolate, her love affair with food embarked on a new journey learning to develop recipes free of refined sugars and flours. After discovering peanut ,tree nut and soy allergies in 2 of her 3 children making homemade healthier versions of the treats they loved became a necessity. She transitioned to the position of homeschooling mom of 3, recipe developer, food writer, photographer and blogger. She focuses on wholesome delicious food free of processed flours and sugars to feed her family and share with friends and fans on www.sugarfreemom.com. She lives in RI with her husband, 3 children and their dog, Ruby. When she isn’t cooking, blogging or writing she can be found at spin class, camping, volunteering in cub scouts, or in the position of transportation engineer shuttling her children to karate, dance, boy scouts, soccer or softball.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Go Indie

Posted Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Cookbook, Cookery, Debut Author, Gluten-Free Foods, Healthy Baking, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, The Bookish Foodie, Using Natural Sweeteners

Blog Book Tour | “Snow Angels” by Lezlie Anderson a short story filled with a lot of heart anchored by community, faith, and the blessings of Christmas!

Posted Tuesday, 23 December, 2014 by jorielov Cedar Fort Inc, Lezlie Anderson, Snow Angels, Sweetwater Books 0 Comments

Snow Angels by Lezlie Anderson

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #SnowAngels & #Christmas #ShortStory

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Snow Angels” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

Short stories have truly inspired me each time I snuggle inside them as by being a book blogger I developed a keen awareness of their joyfulness of being read! Prior to book blogging, I must confess the short story eluded me, but as you will find throughout my Story Vault, there are quite a few short story collections of anthologies as much as individual short stories or novellas that have sparked a genuine interest in my literary heart to consume!

This particular short appealed to me as I grew up giving back to those in need as much as I was raised to be aware of others in my neighbourhood and community. This was a grounding of humility as much as it was an awareness of the greater good can be directly impacted by small acts of charity, kindness, and the joy of giving not being dependent on gratitude or a return of a reward. Kindness is sparked out of the beauty of joyfulness and a giving heart whose only return should be the warmth of how it feels to give without expecting anything given back to the giver.

I believe this is why at the core of who I am as a knitter, is a charity knitter who loves to accept donated yarn in order to spin new patterns of fiber sequences which will uplift the receiver of my finished projects. I like to knit in joy as I stitch whilst laying thought to prayer especially when I am knitting prayer shawls but also with other small projects which once given I hope will carry with them a small fraction of the joy I had in stitching the pattern together, one stitch at a time. Outside of knitting, I have had such a wonderful warmth of spirit overtake me when I have given to someone in need or have acted in a way that gave an unexpected joy to someone who never felt they’d receive an unexpected gift from someone they knew or didn’t know personally.

Christmas and Thanksgiving are two of the best holidays as they seek to establish a way of slowing down and highlighting the bounty of blessings we receive each year in all the small ways people affect our lives. We each have the capacity of giving joy and happiness to another person, and the gifts we give do not even have to be contained in an item of what can be seen but can be as rewarding as a simple smile given out of a moment of grace or a spontaneous conversation knitted out of a common thread of interest. We uplift each other in numerous ways, but also through our contributions of service where we are helping someone in a way that they might not even expect a need was needing to be fulfilled.

In this way, and numerous others I am not highlighting a story about a family who was inspired to contribute to their neighbourhood in a way their neighbours would not expect truly gave me a wink of a smile and a mirth of joy in finding it!

Snow Angels
by Lezlie Anderson

At Christmastime, a little charity can be contagious. . .

Tired of their kids grumbling through family night, one Mom and Dad decide to take action - by giving them ski masks! Donning their masks, the family goes out to shovel snow anonymously for a few neighbours. But with a little Christmas magic, these 'snow angels' end up changing their whole neighbourhood.

Share the joy of service with your friends and family. This sweet story is the perfect size to give to everyone on your list and makes a great reminder of the reason reason for the season.

---

Reader's Note: This short story is considered to be a 'booklet' rather than a novella or a short story. It is printed and bound just like a print copy of a book, with a beautiful front cover and back jacket! The author's biography is the last page of the booklet and the story pages are surrounded by snowflakes! On the publisher's (Sweetwater Books) site, this story is related to being happily read by readers of two other holiday stories I've recently reviewed:

Because of Love by Shauna V. Brown

A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom by June McCrary Jacobs

I whole-heartedly agree with the publisher, as each of these stories brings you such an uplift of joy! The publisher went on to express readers might be appreciate reading two other titles I have not yet heard of myself which is why I am sharing them with you! I believe these are two short stories or booklets similar to the ones I have already read and reviewed!

Jenny's Christmas Gift by John Pontius

A Christmas Thief by Carol Lynn Pearson

Genres: Christmas Story &/or Christmas Romance, Short Story or Novella

Places to find the book:

Published by Sweetwater Books

on 7th October, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 12

About Lezlie Anderson

Lezlie Anderson has loved books since she learned to read at age four. She and her sisters used their wild imaginations playing in their backyard as princesses to being attacked by giant grasshoppers. The first books she remembers loving are “My Father’s Dragon” and “The Trouble with Miss Switch.”

Lezlie is married to a wonderful man, Steve, and they have three great children, 3 crazy cats, one tortoise, and a fish that has survived more hazards than should be possible. She loves chocolate, Dr. Pepper, and anything that her husband BBQ’s.

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Go Indie

Posted Tuesday, 23 December, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Literature for Boys, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Mother-Son Relationships, School Life & Situations, Short Stories or Essays, Siblings, Small Towne USA

Blog Book Tour | “An Uncommon Blue” by debut #Dystopian novelist R.C. Hancock

Posted Monday, 22 December, 2014 by jorielov An Uncommon Blue, Cedar Fort Inc, Colourblind series, R.C. Hancock, Sweetwater Books 2 Comments

An Uncommon Blue by R.C. Hancock

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #AnUncommonBlue

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “An Uncommon Blue” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Interested in Reading:

Initially when I saw An Uncommon Blue come available for book bloggers to host on it’s blog tour, I had a few thoughts on the subject float through my mind. As this isn’t my first dance at the rodeo so to speak for either YA or Adult Dystopian Lit — the more infamous attempt I made to dig inside Dystopian worlds is when I took on a Seventh Star Press debut novelist in 2013 whilst reading The Boxcar Baby. In both Sci Fi November 2013 + 2014 I included a Dystopian category of literary focus, and both years I unfortunately was not able to read the titles I had selected.

They included the following:

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Across the Universe by Beth Revis

There were other selections made, but these were my top three choices I wanted to focus on for a second year in a row; and technically speaking, I am still posting the remaining contributions I have for SFN 2014 between the end of December and the early bits of January, before shifting fully into my showcases for Sci Fi Experience 2015! I am not a stranger to science fiction but I am a bit of a conservative reader when it comes to attempting to read Dystopian Lit, as this is what I had to express when I joined the blog tour for An Uncommon Blue:

This one is a step outside my comfort zone as although I love reading YA Fantasy, this one has a plot and a story thread that I generally have not read exclusively. I am always attempting to sort out stand-alones and series that dip in/out of Dystopian narratives as well as the elements found inside this story. I am not even sure the proper thematic to mention, but what convinced me was not only the enthused note by the author but the information I found about this novel on his website. I like to read novels that challenge me and this one at its core has a strong message I think warrants being read.

I pitched a curious idea to Asti (a wicked awesome host of this year’s SFN!), where I told her as I start to read more science fiction over the course of the next year leading up into the 2015 Sci Fi November month of lovelies, I’m going to hold back the reviews I feel would best be shared with the collective of who has become the foundation of the event’s month long sci-fi fest! Therefore, I am not sure if as I read the three books I mentioned I will blog about them in January (as a cross-post between SFN + SFE) or if I will hold off until revealing my thoughts until November 2015!

One thing is for certain, I do share one common thread with Mr. Hancock (as I read his new website and portions of his old blog before he received his contract to publish this novel) which is simply to say, I am seeking out wicked quality stories fit for children and teens. I have the tendency to avoid most of the hyper popular novels (including a few I saw he had blogged about or referenced himself) as they do not align with my own reading tendencies and habits, but the fact that we both have an eye on Children’s Lit with the intention to bring out the best of the pack, in this, I can relate to him directly! This is one reason my Children’s Lit page will start to carry with it a lot more selections from 2015 – forward! I’ve only just begun so to speak, as I’m currently a 2nd Year Book Blogger whose found her wings! Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Go Indie

Posted Monday, 22 December, 2014 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bullies and the Bullied, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Dystopian, Good vs. Evil, Indie Author, Mother-Son Relationships, Prejudicial Bullying & Non-Tolerance, School Life & Situations, Sci-Fi November, Science Fiction, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, The Sci-Fi Experience, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Young Adult Fiction

Blog Book Tour | “Pierced by Love” by debut novelist Laura L. Walker an INSPY Contemporary Romance honestly portraying how a heart can heal through the power and conviction of love entwined with faith!

Posted Sunday, 21 December, 2014 by jorielov Bonneville Books, Cedar Fort Inc, Laura L. Walker, Pierced by Love 5 Comments

Pierced by Love by Laura L. Walker

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #PiercedByLove

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Pierced by Love” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read & a Conversation with the author:

Being a book reviewer for Cedar Fort Publishing & Media is a true joy of mine, as I know what to expect when I select the stories I am reading from them as I haven’t been shocked, startled, or curiously surprised by what I have found in each of the books I have read by them; there were only two I can think of which I wouldn’t necessarily consider my absolute favourite of reads, but nonetheless I have not yet been properly disappointed either! Considering how many books I have started to read per year as a book blogger compared to as a regular reader without a blog, even I am a bit surprised which publishers I find more appealing to read on a regular basis and which ones irk my ire a bit.

On the Indie side of the ledger, my top three favourite publishers are: Seventh Star Press, ChocLitUK, and Cedar Fort Publishing & Media (and their imprints therein). I appreciate each of them equally for different reasons but the consistency of what they publish is at the top of my list of appreciation on their behalf. The interesting part of this blog tour started before the tour knitted together on the schedule, as I had the opportunity to converse with the author, Ms. Walker prior to setting a date for my review. This goes back to August, long before December was even a wink of a breath in sight!

We started to have an open exchange on the differences of our walk in faith (as she is LDS – Morman; I am Protestant; yet we each share a root of faith on similar grounds), what inspired me the most is how she wanted to help me understand the LDS side of the novel, yet in return I wanted to assure her I have read a considerable amount of stories by Cedar Fort since Spring 2014; of them, at least one or two have had LDS story-lines inside them but what I appreciated by the passages of those novels is how they lead the inspirational bits of the story through sharing the walk of faith of the characters by (internal) thoughts or through the actions they took inside their lifepaths therein. I always appreciated inspirational stories which are rooted in faith-driven story-lines to be soft spoken and light when it comes to including religious undertones; even though I do occasional find myself drawn into traditional INSPY which gives a firmer rooting of the origin, background, and faith life of the characters.

I find Cedar Fort to publish stories which uplift the spirit, enliven the mind, and are gentle enough to incur a wanting of reading their stories without fear of strong language or any images of graphic violence that might prove a bit too unsettling to take in all at once. If your a regular visitor or reader to my blog, you know where I stand on language and violence; therefore, each time I pick up a Cedar Fort novel, I instantly know I’m either in for a thrilling adventure, a mind-numbing suspense, or a sweet romance or romantic drama which is going to engage my heart as much as my mind!

The main reason I wanted to share this today, is because although my religious background is not LDS, I have felt nothing but a peacefulness to reading the stories published through Cedar Fort. They are as inspiring to me as Heartsong Presents (novellas in print editions – from Contemporary to Historical) or any other published INSPY Romance or Historical fiction novel. The reason I applaud the fact they offer suspense, science fiction and fantasy — is because they are an open-minded publisher in regards to the breath of choices they encourage of their authors — the stories themselves are not strictly centered around LDS backgrounds (as I have read Icelandic, Native American, Japanese, Protestant, etc faith-driven story-lines) but in each of the novels, there is a central thread of core: honest and real characters facing life situations and circumstances any person of any walk of life can relate too, with a realistic premise and at times an emotional connection that does not soon leave your memory. Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Go Indie

Posted Sunday, 21 December, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Contemporary Romance, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Deception Before Matrimony, Divorce & Martial Strife, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Mormonism, Mother-Son Relationships, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Siblings, Singletons & Commitment, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, Sociological Behavior, Sweet Romance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Wisdom of Life Threaded in Devotions