Browse: Page 22
By J. Timothy King on December 9, 2010
When French equestrian Claire Delacroix loses her fiancé in a tragic accident, she comes to live at the Paris Opera during its 1890s heyday. Life is not easy for a woman in fin de siècle France, where her rights are determined by a male guardian. Claire, both intelligent and independent, chafes under the strictures of her time. Whilst working at the opera, she meets a mysterious, masked stranger: Erik. Is it possible that the two of them will heal the pain of each other’s past?
I’m giving away a paperback copy of this book by Sharon E. Cathcart, In The Eye Of The Beholder: A Novel of the Phantom of the Opera, which I enjoyed immensely. Sharon has also sent me an autographed card to include with the giveaway. Continue reading “Book Giveaway: In the Eye of the Beholder, by Sharon E Cathcart”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, giveaway, In the Eye of the Beholder, Sharon E. Cathcart |
By J. Timothy King on December 8, 2010
Photo © 2006 idogcow CC 2.0 BY
I really wanted to put up a blog post or two this week. After all, I’ve been absent, due to the large amount of work it takes to give away loads of books, together with the energy I’ve been spending trying to untangle one of the most confusing messes of a software spaghetti that I’ve ever seen. (There’s only one other software codebase that I’ve worked on that approaches this one in its poor quality.)
So, to sum up: Been gone. Busy developing software. For money (not for fun). Giving away books. Need to blog. But about what?
I have a few stories in my queue: how my Firstborn daughter got into a cool new school, how I totalled the second car I ever had almost-brand-new, how I watched You, On a Diet and realized I need to lose 3½” from my waist, how I’ve been cutting back on stress and caffeine and have had fewer headaches as a result (probably), how I sent a package to the wrong address (and how it helped restore some of my faith in humanity), how I discovered that Edie Brickell is married to Paul Simon— And where I have been all these years that I never knew that before?
Eh. Didn’t really feel like writing about any of them. Continue reading “Could You Ever Work at Starbucks?”
Posted in About Tim King | Tagged Hanukkah, Starbucks, Thanksgiving |
By J. Timothy King on December 8, 2010
Determined to turn her life around, Gaby Flores moves to a beachfront loft, takes on a new motto–Be gullible no more–and begins to rebuild her flower store while searching for Mr. So Right. But when a lawsuit, an eviction notice, a near-empty bank account, and quirky neighbors invade her beachy world, not even chocolate can solve her worries as her fledgling faith is put to the test.
I’m giving away a new, autographed copy of this Christian beach read, Truffles by the Sea, Julie Carobini’s debut novel, which arrived a couple weeks ago, direct from Julie’s online beach shop. This is the sequel to Julie’s debut novel Chocolate Beach, which I’m also giving away, in another post. Continue reading “Book Giveaway: Truffles by the Sea, by Julie Carobini”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, giveaway, Julie Carobini, Truffles by the Sea |
By J. Timothy King on December 7, 2010
Stolen away from their families, they are slaves, women with no names and no futures. Every moment of their days controlled by the avatars of the stone Eyes–Obsidian, Emerald, Raxinan, Ruby, Windcrystal, Sapphire, Sunspar, Tigereye. And the most powerful of them all, Hawkspar, the eyes of time. Kings and despots come to her to know their futures, and she wades in the river of time, pulls apart its sticky threads, to arrange the world to her satisfaction. But she too was once a slave, plucked from her home, chosen by the Eyes to live in service to them, as much a slave now as she ever was. And with her sight into past and future, she can see the secrets of the Eyes–and the evil of the Eyes. Before the death of Hawkspar, another must be chosen by the Eyes–but the avatar has her own plans, and chooses a slave for her courage and rebelliousness, rather than her dedication to the goals of the Eyes. This slave is put to trial, but time after time, she is protected by forces unseen. Once she has swallowed the bitter liquid and has her eyes pulled from her head and replaced with the Eyes of Hawkspar stone, she can slip into the streams of time… and use time to her own ends — to free the slaves once and for all, and destroy the Eyes, even if it means destroying herself in the process.
I’m giving away a new hardcover copy of Hawkspar, which I’m still reading, but which I’m loving. Of course, I knew I was going to enjoy it. Holly Lisle is one of my favorite contemporary authors, because all of her books are worth reading. Hawkspar is not really a sequel to Talyn, a copy of which I’m also giving away, but it’s set in the same world, set some time after the events of Talyn took place. Continue reading “Book Giveaway: Hawkspar, by Holly Lisle”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, giveaway, Hawkspar, Holly Lisle |
By J. Timothy King on December 6, 2010
A conscripted warrior-mage, lover of the outlander who ended her country’s 300-year war, rescues her nation’s worst enemy from death to battle her lover and end imposed peace.
Yeah… I guess that sums it up, if a book like Talyn can be summed up. But that short description really does the story no justice.
The cover blurb is a little better, which begins: “In a world where technology is magic, and war is the only way of life, Talyn is a soldier, one of thousands trained from childhood to protect her country from the monarchist Eastil, who would take away the personal freedoms of the Tonk.”
This is a story about the love of freedom, the abuse of power, the illogic of war, civility enforced at the muzzle of a gun, self-defense and defenselessness, and the forces that bring down mighty nations, and form and destroy cultures.
Today, I’m giving away an original hardcover copy of Talyn. And I’m giving away a copy of Hawkspar, the second book in the series, in another post. Because these titles prove the point that an author’s latest work should be the best she’s ever written. They don’t make these hardcover copies of Talyn anymore, but I managed to get my hands on one. Truthfully, I’m tempted to keep it myself. I opened the package and swooned, wowed, sniffed the pages— you know, all the things you do to a beautiful, new book. Besides, my mass-market paperback is already wearing out, and by the time I get done re-reading it and re-re-reading it, it’ll be in tatters. Continue reading “Book Giveaway: Talyn, by Holly Lisle”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, giveaway, Holly Lisle, Talyn |
By J. Timothy King on December 3, 2010
“His back was amazing. You could see all these lines, sinews, muscles or whatever… I felt like licking them.”
Okay. That’s still a wild quote.
Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her private blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme. Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan, the former geek, who’s morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician. They decide to be so-called friends-with-benefits. But it’s Novan, with his poems and riddling passages on his own, public blog, who backs out.
Jess C Scott’s EyeLeash: A Blog Novel captures self-discovery in the twenty-first century, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves, and what’s really in their hearts.
I’m giving away a paperback copy of EyeLeash, and Jess has said she’ll send a free autographed postcard to the winner. Continue reading “Book Giveaway: EyeLeash, by Jess C Scott”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, EyeLeash, giveaway, Jess C Scott |
By J. Timothy King on December 2, 2010
True story: A teenage runaway. Alcoholism. Life as a strip-dancer. A child of divorce. And the ultimate search for reconciliation, inspired by the same family that she had left behind.
When I emailed Jen Knox and told her that I was giving away a copy of her memoir Musical Chairs, she replied: “I’ll donate a signed copy. If you’d like, two; just send me the winner’s info & I’ll mail it out.” (And of course, I hope to do the same deal with Love through the Eyes of an Idiot on on her blog.)
So we’re giving away two copies of Musical Chairs. I’ll get to how to enter the giveaway in a moment. First, a couple comments about the book.
Says Randall Radic in his review: Continue reading “Book Giveaway: Musical Chairs, by Jen Knox”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, giveaway, Jen Knox, Musical Chairs |
By J. Timothy King on December 1, 2010
Meet Bri Stone, a laid-back beach chick from Ventura, California. Bri has it all: the man of her dreams and their surf-ridin’ teenage son, a chocolate-loving best pal, an adorable beach bungalow, and a kicky job as a Southern California tour bus host. She also has a few things she didn’t ask for: a know-it-all friend, a snobby mother-in-law, and a Fabio-meets-Dilbert boss. Ack! All three of them seem eager to share their strong opinions and suspicions about Bri’s relationship with her husband, Douglas. When Bri’s rose-colored sunglasses crack after she finds evidence that Douglas has grown tired of her carefree ways, she resolves to win him back. Can she reinvent herself—and recapture her husband’s heart?
I’m giving away a new, autographed copy of this Christian beach read, Chocolate Beach, Julie Carobini’s debut novel, which arrived at my home office this past weekend direct from Julie’s online beach shop. See the bottom of this post for instructions on how to enter the giveaway. Continue reading “Book Giveaway: Chocolate Beach, by Julie Carobini”
Posted in Books | Tagged Big Book Giveaway 2010, Chocolate Beach, giveaway, Julie Carobini |
By J. Timothy King on November 30, 2010
I actually read Julie Carobini’s debut novel Chocolate Beach some time ago. But I’m doing a teaser on it today, because I’ve got a beautiful, brand new, autographed copy of it, which I will be giving away in a post that’s going up tomorrow.
Chocolate Beach is what Julie calls “beach-lit,” or what I had been calling “Christian chick-lit.” As Julie explained in an interview she did with me last year on a different blog:
I began using the term beach-lit around the time that my first book, Chocolate Beach, was released because my heroine, Bri, was more of the “anti-chick.” By that I mean she wasn’t the usual pink-clad gal who loves name-brand shoes and high-end fashions. She was a working mom who preferred flip-flops and casual hoodies— and of course, being at the beach.
So instead of focusing on the “chick” I focused on the location, the beach. More than that, though, my stories tell of how God offers “Waves of Grace” to those who love and serve him.
Continue reading “Teaser Tuesdays: Chocolate Beach”
Posted in Books, Teaser Tuesdays | Tagged Chocolate Beach, Julie Carobini |
By J. Timothy King on November 17, 2010
Photo © 2010 Elyce Feliz CC 2.0 BY NC ND
Some time ago, I was on the receiving end of a massive screw-up at one of my previously favorite restaurants and WiFi hotspots, Panera Bread in Chelmsford, MA. I have not been back.
Ironically, the screw-up itself hasn’t kept me away, because we all screw up sometimes, because we’re all only human. I can’t hold an honest mistake against someone. But how the organization handled the mistake demonstrated that it probably learned nothing from it. So why go back? I might just experience the same sort of foul up again. And then I realized that this is a dysfunction of US society, including the way we educate our kids and the way we run our businesses.
Here’s what happened: I walked into the restaurant, my laptop in one hand, as I frequently do. Waiting in line, I chose a salad from the menu. A very friendly employee then told me she could take my order, which she did. She then asked if I had a MyPanera card, which I did not. But of late, I’d been eating more frequently at the restaurant chain, so I asked if it was a simple process. Indeed, it was. She asked me my name, scanned in a new card, and explained that I could go online to register the card in order to get bonuses and discounts. Kewl! She then gave me my receipt and a pager, which would buzz when my food was ready so that I could get it at the pick-up counter. Continue reading “When You’ve Screwed Up”
Posted in Customer Relations, Professionalism | Tagged Panera Bread |
