Book Review: Venom by K.C. Grant

Book Description:

Samantha Evans is determined to make a name for herself in the cutthroat world of advertising. Newly hired by a prestigious ad agency, she volunteers to work on location in Mexico City as a personal assistant to the beautiful and driven creative director Katrina Edwards. At first the association seems promising. But Ms. Edwards seems preoccupied in a way that makes Samantha increasingly uneasy. In fact, many in the group seem like they are not being completely open about the project, including David Ayala, the mysterious and moody photographer for whose attention the two women find themselves competing. After several strange accidents and numerous appearances by an unknown man, Samantha discovers the truth: not everyone on the team is in Mexico to create a stellar advertising pitch. When her sleuthing leads to her abduction, she is brought to the pyramids of Teotihuacan and comes face-to-face with the venomous evil of the South American crime boss known as The Serpent. Now Samantha must not only fight for her life, but she must also discover if she can trust the man she's come to love.

When I first began reading, I wondered how on earth we were going to go from coffee runs, copy-editing and credit card theft to an abduction in Mexico. I didn’t have to wait long. The author quickly and thoroughly establishes Samantha’s background story complete with perfect parents, challenging roommate, and serious romantic shortcomings. But her sense of determination and love for the Hispanic people she once served on her mission give her strength of character that will immediately endear her to readers.

The most beautiful part of Samantha’s struggle is how she learns to couple her ambitious nature with her spiritual side. Fine. Fine. The guys are pretty hot, too. But the things she learns not only help her to grow in strength and understanding, but help her to avoid more than one perilous scrape during her two week adventure.

The rich descriptions match the beauty of the country the author is describing, depicting her vast knowledge of the both the culture and language. I loved how organically she embeds the Spanish language with its perfect translation, working to bury the reader as deeply into the experience as Samantha herself. It was so beautifully done that I could only bear to put the book down twice: once to sleep and once to write this review. That’s not to say that I didn’t re-read the ending multiple times before finally putting it down. I just couldn’t help myself!

To purchase a copy of Venom for yourself you can visit here. And to get to know more about the author, K.C. Grant, be sure to check out her website here.

Kudos to K.C. for a gorgeous book of mystery and romance!!

Happy reading everyone!

Book Review: RetirementQuest: Make Better Decisions by John Hauserman, CFP

Finances are a part of my everyday life as my husband and I raise a large family with growing needs. Balancing current needs with those of the future can be a tricky balance on the best of days. Many of us who wish to retire will be ill prepared when the day arrives. After weddings,college, and music lessons, how much will be left for us to enjoy?

In RetirementQuest: Make Better Decisions, John Hauserman takes more than 20 years of experience as a financial planner to explain some key components that will help future retirees, like me, to prepare.

• Where are you getting your financial advice?

• How do you know your interests are being safeguarded?

• How do you know that your advisers are competent?

• How can you know they’re putting your interests first?

The 124 page guide details the various questions, options, and pitfalls retirees will face and the knowledge they will need in order to retire comfortably.

Reviewing RetirementQuest was an eye-opening experience for me, as it painted a much broader picture of the struggling economy outside my own home. From personal savings to the complex world of investments and social security, Hauserman explains in detail how each one works.

Bold-faced statements pose key thoughts that the reader/investor should consider carefully, accompanied by detailed charts illustrating the more complex topics. Topics such as the impact of “safe” versus “risky” investments and the ramifications of leaning too heavily to either side.

Given the serious nature of finances and the usual accompanying stress, I loved the sprinkling of humor he uses throughout and the powerful anecdotes he shares in the later chapters. The car wreck posed an apt analogy of both the fluctuating economy today and our own financial habits if not watched carefully. The personal responsibility mentality of the 1940’s also sheds an interesting light on our current day.

While some of the jargon was beyond my current understanding I found the Adjustments section to be perfectly clear. It spoke towards my future goals, that of my children, and what changes I should make in my spending now to secure my future.

In essence, there is no crystal ball to see what the future holds, but one needs not worry if they are adequately prepared.

To purchase your own copy of RetirementQuest, you can visit Amazon here. To learn more about the author, his book, and the financial services he offers you can visit his website here.


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John Hauserman, CFP, is the chief executive officer of Retirement Journey, LLC. He oversees the details of the RetirementQuest planning experience. Baltimore Magazine named John a five-star wealth manager, based on nine criteria, including customer service, integrity, knowledge and expertise, communication, value for fee charged, and overall satisfaction. In 2011, John was named the Baltimore area regional ambassador serving on behalf of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

Doing Hard Stuff

Sometimes I think how hard it is to be a mother of seven. How hard it is to be in school full time...while being said mother of seven. Sometimes I think how impossible it is that my husband travels while I'm in school full time while being a mother of seven. Whew!

You may be thinking, "Well, yeah! That WOULD BE hard!"

But then one of my teenagers comes home and I think how EASY my life is. I'm not trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, or what instrument to play, let alone what college to choose. I'm not devastated when someone criticizes my clothes, because adults don't really do that (even when you're wearing socks with sandals--um, yeah).

But that WAS me once.

That's why I write for Young Adults. Because I remember all too well what it's like to be a kid. To not be the one in control. And if I need a reminder? Well, my teens do a good job of throwing the occasional reality check right smack dab in the middle of my smug little "woe is me" face.

The hard part about being a teen is that you're not sure who is right and how often to listen. There are so many voices yelling at you to be this and be that. Kind of makes it hard to hear your own voice sometimes. No wonder teens sometimes act like they're deaf. They're just after some quality me time. And I totally get that.

How do I know? Because I was there. So were you.

I dealt with the noise by running and reading. I ran track and cross country and listened to music. I would disappear into my own little world and talk to myself, using my time "alone" to make plans for the future. Then I'd come home and read a book. Or do homework. Mostly read books. I could disappear into books for hours on end.

I found strength in the characters who were just like me, struggling and trying to survive their own trials of life. And they did survive. Heck, some of them even learned some good lessons. What a concept! It gave me courage to branch out on my own. To take risks and think about what I wanted to do. Who I wanted to be. So as a teen I began writing my own story, both in life and on paper.

And I'm still doing it today. Not only for myself but for teens...past and present. And you know life as an adult isn't really so different. Just more expensive. But hey! You get to wear sandals with socks!!

Happy writing and reading everyone!

Book Review: Cold River by Liz Adair

Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district--until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning denizens of a tiny district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She's determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. And though she has to literally swim through perilous waters, she finds a reason to stay and chance the odds.
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As if sleeping on a couch, having no cell phone service and having someone trying to murder you isn't enough to make Mandy's move to Limestone, Washington difficult, she finds herself falling in love with the man whose job she stole. Not that she meant to steal it. In fact, if she had known that her running away would land her in the middle of a family feud...and a river...perhaps she wouldn't have left Albuquerque.

While Liz was busy burning down houses and firing up stills, I lost sleep worrying about "what happens next!" and "who'd done what!" :) I burnt the midnight oil on this fantastic tale of acceptance and love, unable to put down the book until the very end. And what an end...

From page one I admired Mandy's quiet confidence that had almost the entire town eating out of her cream-filled-loving hand. That is, once they stopped hating her for taking over hunky Grange Timberlain's job as superintendent. Not an easy task considering Grange is one of their own--just one of the many Timberlains who "run" the town.

Mandy's credentials did not prepare her for the rich history of Limestone and the ties that bind the town together. Mandy only wants what's best for the kids, but in order to do that she must first become the student. Out of all her "teachers" I love Mo the best. Despite his quiet demeanor he reveals so much plot! His hidden talents and charisma continue to jump off the page, lending both intrigue and authenticity to the Northwest "character." The rest of the towns people are no different, with each character so delightfully mysterious, that it hurts for the reader to consider any one of them as Mandy's would-be killer.

I was so into the story that I found myself wanting more detail in certain scenes, lingering just a little bit longer on some of the more pivotal moments. Especially the ending, but perhaps that's because I didn't want the story to end. :)

The setting and mood were so beautifully illustrated, that such detail could only be accomplished by one who has lived and experienced such a place. Liz clearly expresses the love she has of both the people and area she details here, exposing the rich culture and heritage that is tucked away for others' discovery.

If you're ready and eager to explore Limestone for yourself you can purchase Cold River here. You can also learn more about Liz and her other numerous works here at her blog, perhaps investigating her Spider Latham series next if you need some more mysterious fun!

Happy Reading!

NaNoWriMo... for Teens

November is nearing a close which also means the same for NaNoWriMo. What's NaNoWriMo, you ask? Glad you did.

National Novel Writing Month was created about 11 years ago by a fellow named Chris Baty in an effort to put aside all inhibitions towards writing a novel and just go for it.

And they gave themselves 30 days. That's it. 30 days: 50,000 words. That's a lot of words per day folks. About 1,667. Including Thanksgiving. How do I know? I've done it. Multiple times. And yes, some of the stuff I wrote was actually worth keeping.

This year I took a bye due to another writing project I'm working on, but I've been watching two of my children take on the challenge. They're participating in the Young Writer's program which allows them to set their own goal. Use their imagination. And stop being afraid to express themselves (though mine were never afraid of that). And they have their own NaNo page that is totally awesome. Seriously. I have to say that I like visiting the Young Writer's page more than the adult page. But I guess that's why I write YA fiction.

So far the combined total of all these kiddos' around the world is 169,987,950 words. That's a lot of creative genius folks. That's a lot of missed video game and tv watching. And my kids are happy.

It's exciting to see my childrens' bright eyes light up when a new idea hits them, and to hear their little fingers typing madly at the keys trying to get the words down fast enough. Today one child was typing while simultaneously trying to get on a shoe and mumbling at the bus they could hear rolling up to the curb. Talk about determination!!!!

My children have seen me participate for years now, so it's been nice to take a turn at cheering them on. Their friends are begging them to share their stories and I can't blame them one bit. It's good stuff. Seriously. Makes me ask the question, why aren't teens the ones writing books for teens?!?! :)

Well? Get on it guys. Yes, you! And you. November is waiting...but only for another two weeks. :)