WHAT HAPPENED TO HANNAH by Mary Kay McComas

Congratulations to:

Joelle!

You have won a copy of What Happened to Hannah!

Please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com with your full name and address and I'll get a copy to you!

What Happened to Hannah

By Mary Kay McComas

OK, I’m back and I’ve got another book for you! This one is called What Happened to Hannah by Mary Kay McComas and it’s gotten some great reviews. I’ve zipped through the first part and already the characters are so real and I have the feeling that I need to dive in and get to know them and Hannah’s mysterious story. If only I could sit and read all day every day!

Nora Roberts said of What Happened to Hannah: “Blending poignancy with humor, crafting characters as real and recognizable as your next-door neighbors, Mary Kay McComas weaves stories that brightens the heart.”

Here’s the back-of-the-book blurb:

As a teenager, Hannah Benson ran away from home in order to save herself. Now, twenty years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her fifteen-year-old niece. 

Returning home to bitter memories and devastating secrets, Hannah must overcome her painful past to pave a future with her niece, the last best chance at a family for both of them. She begins to create a new, happier life with her niece and rekindles a relationship with Grady Steadman, one of the few people she’s ever called a friend. 


But she can’t forget what she cannot forgive, or lay to rest those ghosts that will not die. Will love and trust—and the truth—give her the strength to stand her ground and fight for what she deserves?

You can read the first pages here.

This has nothing to do with the book, other than the fact there is a teenager in the book, and that Hannah left home when she was a teenager. To enter to win a copy of this book, tell me something really dumb you did as a teenager? Here’s an example of something I did – I had to do a report on Athens, Greece. Instead of making copies of the photos in the encyclopedia, I cut the photos out of the book and used them instead. And I was in HIGH SCHOOL! Now, tell me something stupid you did for a chance to win What Happened to Hannah.

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books. 

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

Quick Update

Hi everyone -- sorry for no book reviews this week--more will be coming next week. I had a couple personal things going on this week and couldn't get to them! Also, will promise to choose winners from the recent book postings over the weekend too! If you haven't yet had a chance to enter them, there's still time!

Books are piling up, which means more great reads for you coming your way!

Again, apologies for the delay, but sometimes, even life gets in the way of a great read!

XO and PeaCe uP!

MaNiC

FOUR OF A KIND by Val Frankel

Congrats to:

EKB

Please email full name and address to stephanieelliot@gmail.com and I'll get your book to you!

FOUR OF A KIND

By Val Frankel

I’ve featured my online friend Val Frankel on here before, with her memoir, It’s Hard Not to Hate You, which is awesome and funny and if you haven't read it yet, you MUST get it now! She’s also the author of a bunch of novels too, and another memoir - the girl CAN WRITE!

Today, I’m happy to feature her latest, FOUR OF A KIND!

Besides the fact that their kids all attend the same fashionable Brooklyn Heights private school, Bess, Robin, Carla, and Alicia have little in common. Thrown together on the tony school’s Diversity Committee, the women impulsively turn their awkward first meeting into a boisterous game of poker. Instead of betting with chips or pocket change, however, they play for intimate secrets about their lives.

As the Diversity Commitee meetings become a highly anticipated monthly ritual, the new friends reveal more with each game. Picture-perfect housewife Bess struggles to relate to her surly teenage daughter and judgmental mother. Robin, a single mom, grapples with the truth concerning her child’s real father. Carla, an ambitious doctor, attempts to balance the colossal demands of her family with her dream of owning her own private practice. And to distract herself from her troubled marriage, shy copywriter Alicia fantasizes about an attractive younger colleague.

Putting all their cards on the table, the four women grow to rely on one another, bracing for one final showdown.

Read an excerpt here:

EXCERPT OF FOUR OF A KIND.

If you’d like to win a copy of Four of A Kind, since this is all about bonding with women you wouldn’t expect to bond with, have you met and bonded with a friend in an unconventional way? I met a friend at a party, who is still a friend today. She was talking about a guy she was dating, and when she said his name and where he was from, I shouted out loud, “OH MY GOSH, WE SLEPT WITH THE SAME GUY!” Turns out, at that point, she hadn’t slept with him, (she never did but we are still friends to this day! PS… she was smart not to go there. Me, not so much.)

So, tell me about how you met your friend in an unconventional way, and you could win Four of A Kind!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books. 

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

SPIN (Again!) by Catherine McKenzie

Congrats to:

Emily116

Please email full name and address to stephanieelliot@gmail.com so I can send you SPIN!

SPIN

By Catherine McKenzie

I’ve had Catherine McKenzie on MaNiC MoMMy numerous times previously, and have given away SPIN before, but this one is a killer book, I just love her writing and this book is NOW finally YAY, horray, out in the US! It was first published in Catherine’s home of Canada, but we who live in the lower 50 (is that what we say down here?) can now get it! I’m so enthralled with Catherine’s fast-paced and witty writing, and you will be too, if you’re not already a fan. She’s written Spin, Arranged, and another that will be debuting later this summer. I’ll be sharing all of them with you here on MaNiC. She’s truly a fabulous writer. Heck, everyone I feature is great, or else I wouldn’t be telling you about them, but I really, really adore Catherine’s writing. AND, she seems as warm and personable on FB and in emails as she does on the pages of her books!

SPIN: Katie is the typical party girl and goes out to celebrate her 30^th birthday, which also happens to be on the eve of a very important job interview for the music mag, THE LINE. When she arrives at the job interview still drunk from the night before, it’s no surprise she doesn’t get the job. What does surprise her is they ask her to go into rehab to follow IT girl Amber Shepherd, write the tell-all expose, and then they’ll give her the job she actually wants. What Katie never expected when she goes into rehab to get the goods on Amber, was that maybe she did need rehab after all, and that maybe she might just actually become friends with Amber. What she does when she gets out of rehab will surprise everyone, even Katie.

I loved SPIN because it was a little like peeking into the life of Lindsay Lohan in rehab, and the ways that Katie matures during her rehab stint shows that it’s possible for even the most skeptical to gain a little insight in rehab. And yes, there’s also a little love connection going on in rehab too, so you won’t want to miss out on SPIN!

Learn more about Catherine and her books here:

Website: http://catherinemckenzie.com/

Twitter http://twitter.com/cemckenzie1

If you’d like to win SPIN leave a comment telling me who your guilty pleasure celebs are to stalk? I always love to hear what’s going on in their lives, but really hate when a couple I think are going to make it file for divorce! NO one makes it in Hollywood! Which celebs do you love to read about? Tell me and you could win SPIN!

Don't FORGET to enter to win the previous book, Julia's Child, and also come back later in the week for Val Frankel's Four of a Kind!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books. 

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

JULIA'S CHILD by Sarah Pinneo

Congrats to:

qweska8402

Please email your address and full name to stephanieelliot@gmail.com so I can send your book to you!

Julia’s Child

By Sarah Pinneo

This will be a big week on MaNiC as I’ve got three books lined up – the other two are Spin by Catherine McKenzie and Four of a Kind by Val Frankel. SO make sure to check back during the week to enter for all of the books being featured!

Today’s book is Julia’s Child by Sarah Pinneo and not only is it a great concept of a book, I loved the clever title right from the start, and it ties into a clever story about a mom who wants to have it all – the business she’s always dreamed of, and the family she loves. Can she make it all happen?

Julia Bailey is a mompreneur with too many principles and too little time. Her fledgling company, Julia’s Child, makes organic toddler meals with names like Gentle Lentil and Give Peas a Chance. But before she realizes her dream of seeing them on the shelves of Whole Foods, she will have to make peace between her professional aspirations and her toughest food critics: the two little boys waiting at home. Is it possible to save the world while turning a profit?

Julia’s Child is a warmhearted, laugh-out-loud story about motherhood’s choices: organic vs. local, paper vs. plastic, staying at home vs. risking it all.

Sarah weaves in some pretty yummy recipes into the story too, even a few that I could see myself trying to whip up, and we all know that’s saying a LOT. So not only will you get a read fun read, you’ll also have some tasty organic recipes to try out as well when you read Julia’s Child!

To win a copy of Sarah’s book, tell me if you’ve ever gone organic or considered going organic? I wish I had the time, money and energy to go organic, but I just don’t! 

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books. 

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

Thanks!

THE LOST DAUGHTER by Lucy Ferriss

Congrats to:

EBrowning

Please send your mailing address to stephanieelliot@gmail.com so you can receive your book!

The Lost Daughter

By Lucy Ferriss

Got another one for you this week as promised and I’m reading it right now. The title and the cover struck me immediately and then when I read what it was about, I knew I had to share The Lost Daughter, by Lucy Ferriss with you. And then to find out that two of my all-time favorite male authors have offered blurbs for this book – Wally Lamb, and Tom Perrotta – well, then, of course, The Lost Daughter went on my list of MUST READS!

Wally Lamb says of The Lost Daughter: “From its harrowing prologue to its final sentences, I was emotionally engaged… a masterful storyteller.”

Let me tell you, the prologue in this story is OH MY GOSH, heart palpitating. I opened the book to just take a peek when I first got it, and I didn’t stop.

When Brooke’s high school boyfriend resurfaces after a divorce and a devastating loss, her world is turned upside-down as he’s the only one who knows of the secret they shared 15 years ago. Brooke now has a carefully-constructed and generally happy life with her husband Sean and daughter Megan, but now that Sean and his secrets are back in town, will he bring the truth to the surface and force Megan to confront all that she has carefully put behind her? And does he even have more secrets to tell Brooke? This is the current answer I’m dying to discover as I’m reading away!

I’m so excited to keep reading this book because THIS is exactly the type of book that I love – the ex-boyfriend coming back, long-ago kept secrets – it all makes for a juicy read with passion, mystery and secrets. I’m sure you’ll LOVE The Lost Daughter too. 

Here’s the OFFICIAL back-of-the-book blurb: 

Brooke O’Connor—elegant, self-possessed, and kind—has a happy marriage and a deeply loved young daughter. So her adamant refusal to have a second child confounds her husband, Sean. When Brooke’s high school boyfriend Alex—now divorced and mourning the death of his young son—unexpectedly resurfaces, Sean begins to suspect an affair.

For fifteen years Brooke has kept a shameful secret from everyone she loves. Only Alex knows the truth that drove them apart. His reappearance now threatens the life she has so carefully constructed and fortified by denial. With her marriage—and her emotional equilibrium—at stake, Brooke must confront what she has been unwilling to face for so long.

But the truth is not what Brooke believes it to be.

Trailer: 

The Lost Daughter Book Trailer

To enter to win a copy of The Lost Daughter, tell me what you think would be a cool name for a daughter, NOT a real name you already HAVE for a daughter, but one you would make UP! I know, totally cheesy, but that’s the question I want to ask TODAY! Hahah!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books. Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

Thanks!

Quick Book Update!

I'll have ANOTHER book for you tomorrow, and as long as there is NOT a winner's name highlighted above a post, you're welcome to enter each book giveaway! ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE!

It's looking like we're doubling up on the weeks - at least one book a week, but most weeks there will be two, and I'll give you PLENTY of time to enter!

Thanks for your patience!

For fun non-related book blogging, check out my posts on REAL MOMS GUIDE every day, along with some other talented, fun moms! And we don't always talk about the kids, I PROMISE!

PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS POST!

OUTSIDE THE LINES by Amy Hatvany

Congrats to a REPEAT WINNER!

Dani in Chicago!!

Please email me your full name and address so I can get your book to you!

See! It pays to keep entering! I've had quite a few repeat winners! Keep entering guys, and you CAN WIN!

Outside The Lines

By Amy Hatvany

Hey everyone, here’s one of my favorite authors you’ve seen on MaNiC MoMMy previously and I’m so happy to have Amy Hatvany featured again as her latest Outside The Lines debuts. I recently gave away an ARC of this fantastic book but it’s now available everywhere!

And since I last told you about Outside The Lines it has since been selected as a Target book club pick which is a huge honor so if you’re looking for a great book to buy for a friend, consider Outside The Lines … and come on, who isn’t at Target at least three times a month? Okay, or four or five!

Outside The Lines is a gorgeous book and a heartbreaker as I’ve mentioned before, but one that will have you fall in love with all of her characters. It’s the story of Eden and her search for her father, who deserted her when she was a young child because of his mental illness.

I loved this story because it’s told from Eden’s perspective when she was a young girl, and also when she is a grown woman. It also tells her father’s perspective too. This was one of those perfect-ending books, in a way that it ended perfectly, if not wrapped up in a perfect bow. Amy has a knack for storytelling and she has created a beautiful family portrait in Eden and David’s story in Outside The Lines.

About Outside the Lines:

When Eden was ten years old she found her father, David, bleeding on the bathroom floor. The suicide attempt led to her parents’ divorce, and David all but vanished from Eden’s life.

Twenty years later, Eden runs a successful catering company and dreams of opening a restaurant. Since childhood, she has heard from her father only rarely, just enough to know that he’s been living on the streets and struggling with mental illness. But lately there has been no word at all. After a series of failed romantic relationships and a health scare from her mother, Eden decides it’s time to find her father, to forgive him at last, and move forward with her own life. Her search takes her to a downtown Seattle homeless shelter, and to Jack Baker, its handsome and charming director. Jack convinces Eden to volunteer her skills as a professional chef with the shelter. In return, he helps her in her quest.

As the connection between Eden and Jack grows stronger, and their investigation brings them closer to David, Eden must come to terms with her true emotions, the secrets her mother has kept from her, and the painful question of whether her father, after all these years, even wants to be found.

Eden volunteered at the homeless shelter in Outside The Lines. I’m going Outside The Lines on this one and for you to win this book tell me if you’ve ever volunteered your time anywhere. If you haven’t been able to volunteer anywhere, tell me where you would like to volunteer. I have always thought it would be cool to read to children at a hospital or a library because whenever I read stories to little kids I have so much fun doing it.

Thank you to Amy for writing ANOTHER fabulous book in Outside the Lines. She has also written Best Kept Secret, and that was an incredible book as well. Her other novels, which were published under another name, are going to be republished and I’m excited to read those too, and you can bet I’ll be sharing those with you too. 

She’s an amazing author and I’m so glad to be able to share her books with you here! Amy will be going on book tour too, so check out her appearances to see if she’ll be in your neck of the woods. Sadly, she won’t be around Arizona, so I won’t get to meet her. But maybe you will get to say hi to Amy at one of these book signings and events!

You can still check back to the last three books to enter to win as I've been ill and haven't chosen winners yet so lucky for you! They are:

The Cell Phone Lot
Point, Click, Love
Falling For Me

(I will probably choose winners in a day or two)

ALSO, will have another great book for you later during the week!!!)

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books. You can check back on this post over the weekend to see if you’ve won the book!

THE CELL PHONE LOT by Stephanie Elliot ... ME!

Congrats to

Kristen27

You have won a $10 gift card to either Target, Starbucks, or for iTunes! Email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com and let me know where you want your card from and also your address so I can send it to you! Also, I will throw in a copy of THE CELL PHONE LOT if you haven't already read it! (If you want to read it?!) CONGRATS!

The Cell Phone Lot
By Stephanie Elliot

Here it is everyone, the debut of my little eBook novella, The Cell Phone Lot. I wrote this on the way to my Little Granny’s funeral and decided to put it up on amazon.com for just 99 cents. What can you buy for 99 cents these days? OK, maybe something in McDonald’s Dollar Menu, but believe me, The Cell Phone Lot is way more juicier than a cheeseburger!

Grant and Bridge didn't think their chance meeting at the cell phone lot would lead to anything, but after flight delays and a couple of beers, each starts to wonder if they were meant to find one another. But Grant's supposed to pick up a girl he's met online, and Bridge isn't quite over her ex-boyfriend. Is the timing right, or might this possible relationship just never take off?

I thought about giving away some copies here, but instead, I’m going to give away a $10 gift card to the store of your choosing – iTunes, Target or Starbucks (or somewhere else if you’d rather have it). This is because I would like you to BUY The Cell Phone Lot, FOR ONLY 99 CENTS! Plus, ten bucks is way more than 99 cents so it’s a bigger prize for YOU!

Here's the amazon link so you can BUY IT!

http://tinyurl.com/cellelliot

I’m not gonna bore you with anymore details, but to say thank you for always coming here to learn about the books that I share and to tell you I have a bazillion more to share this year. It’s turning out that, YES, I have way more than one book a week to offer to you, and I hope you’ll come back to read about the fabulous authors that I’ll be featuring!

If you want to win the $10 gift card, here's what you need to do. In The Cell Phone Lot, Grant and Bridge each take some risks. I may be taking a risk by putting this book out there, it's a scary thing to self-publish something, and to not know how people might or might not accept your work. Tell me about a risk you have taken in your life and a random winner will be chosen to receive the gift card. I'll choose someone over the weekend or later ... you know, whenever I get around to it -- that seems to be how I work these days! And as always, just come back here in a few days to see who the winner is highlighted on top of this post!

Please, please, please, don't forget to head on over to the latest book giveaways this week too! They are fabuloso books by two great authors - one is a memoir, and the other is a fun novel:

Point, Click, Love by Molly Shapiro

Falling For Me by Anna David

Thanks everyone!