Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Covey Jencks ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours Promo, Audio Book Review, & Giveaway!

COVEY JENCKS
by
SHELTON L. WILLIAMS
Narrated by Kathy James
Genre: Mystery / Social Thriller
Publisher: Southern Owl Publications, LLC
Publication Date: February 10, 2018
Number of Pages: 229 pages
Audio Book Length: 6 hours, 38 minutes

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE GIVEAWAY! 


Covey Jencks is a murder mystery with a social conscience. Set in West Texas with a cast of colorful and humorous characters, it follows a young lawyer from Washington, DC back to his hometown of Odessa, Texas. He wants and needs to solve a murder case from 1979 in 1993. The problem is that the Odessa Police Department has already found its man, and no one wants to re-visit the case of a black prostitute whose life was seemingly of no consequence to anyone. But Freddie Mae Johnson’s death matters to Covey, and eventually he discovers an old flame, JayJay Qualls, who also knew and loved Freddie. Together they undertake an investigation that uncovers not only the truth about Freddie but also the secrets of Odessa’s south side, Mexican gangs, a Boston mobster, and the fallacy of unexamined assumptions. Finding out who killed Freddie is one thing, but preventing their own demise is quite another! 
CLICK TO BUY PRINT


CLICK TO BUY AUDIO

PRAISE FOR COVEY JENCKS:

Williams seamlessly braids a murder mystery with a love story and a drama about the pervasiveness of racism in the South... The author’s prose is buoyantly eccentric, both insightful and self-effacingly humorous. And the clues Covey and JayJay track down are meted out to readers with impressive judiciousness: The author never prematurely surrenders so much information that the conclusion is rendered foregone while the tale’s swift pace prevents it from becoming tedious. An engrossing crime drama that’s both entertaining and provocative. -- Kirkus Indie


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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio/Print combo review. My first introduction to Covey Jencks was when it was featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours in April. I was enticed by the premise and hooked after reading all the great LSBBT reviews, so the book was dutifully placed on my ever-toppling to-be-read (ETTBR) pile. There Covey sat until June, when I read its rave Kirkus Review, and I moved it back to the top of my ETTBR pile – then sadly saw it buried along with most of my pleasure reading books. Imagine my thrill when the author requested a new book blog tour to promote the newly released AUDIO BOOK! Hallelujah! 

I first read Covey Jencks with my ears and heard the story unfold via narration by Kathy James. Initially, it was odd to hear all the front-matter and the table of contents read aloud. Then it threw me for a loop to hear a female voice narrating a book with a primarily male main character and point-of-view. However, I got over that quickly because James’s expression and voicing of main character, Covey, is excellent and ended-up being my favorite voice. And let me tell you, there is a HUGE cast of characters in this book, so voicing them all distinctly is no small task.  I toggled back and forth between regular and 1.25x speed, with the former being a bit slow for me but the latter making everyone sound a bit too excited. I am rarely satisfied with the speed of audio recordings, so this is one of those “maybe it’s you, not them” kind of things, I think.  My only real gripe is that James’s accent doesn’t sound remotely Texan to this life-long Texan’s ears. That, and her mispronunciation of some words (primarily “Odessa,” a frequently occurring word given it’s the main setting of the story), rubbed my rhubarb a bit, but I do understand there’s a fine line between sounding authentic and ridiculously Texan.

As is often the case when I listen to audio books, I listened while multi-tasking, so I re-played pieces of the audio when I got too distracted and got confused. But I still felt like I was missing some of the nuances of the story – and the story is so completely fun that I didn’t want to miss a thing. So, I pulled out my print copy and re-read the book. Ka-ching! Best of both worlds and truly, reading with my ears and then my eyes were two completely different story experiences.

“Damn, life is infinitely messier than a mystery novel.”

Though the “Cast of Characters” of Covey Jencks is read aloud on the audio, having that list in print is very helpful as a reference as the story progresses and the connections between players becomes clearer.  And truly, the theme of how people of all walks of life are connected is the crux of the story. Author Shelton Williams makes the people of the story feel achingly real and their lives are vividly described within equally vivid settings from the ‘70s to the ‘90s. I desperately want JayJay to exist in the real world! What a fabulous character with spunk and wit and charm a’plenty. And as if the diverse and fascinating characters aren’t enough, running beneath it all, there are mysteries to be solved, y’all!

Williams's writing style is super-casual, which makes it feel intimate and like readers are sitting with the characters. That style, the cover, and the book’s formatting, with plenty of white space and large margins, makes it seem fluffy at first glance. But don’t be fooled: Williams’s social commentary, delivered through his characters’ ruminations about life and humanity, pack a punch you don’t want to miss. Plus, there is a significant Afterword that ties the author’s personal experiences to those in the book. Again, Williams is all about the connections, whether you’re six or sixteen hundred miles removed from West, by God, Texas.

For this and others in the grammar police squad, the audio is a good choice because it allows freedom from the typos and errors in the print version; however, the print version provides a richness and depth that is missed in the audio if you aren’t able to fully focus on it. I have no qualms highly recommending either or both formats of Covey Jencks, and I anxiously await another installment in the series. (By the way, those final four words are a FABULOUS way to end the story, Mr. Williams!). 

Thank you to the author and Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing me a print copy and an audio download, respectively, (and shoot, I bought the book on Kindle, too!) in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.


Shelton L. Williams (Shelly) is founder and president of the Osgood Center for International Studies in Washington, DC. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and he taught for nearly 40 years at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He has served in the US Government on 4 occasions and he has written books and articles on nuclear proliferation. In 2004 he began a new career of writing books on crime and society. Those books are Washed in the Blood, Summer of 66, and now Covey Jencks. All firmly prove that he is still a Texan at heart.


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Kathy James. My first part time job while I was in high school was announcing at the local radio station, and I had fun being "on the air” and using my sarcastic sense of humor.  I worked in the radio business for more than twenty years. My favorite pastimes are teaching figure skating, getting lost in a great book, and watching movies.  I narrate and produce audio books in my home studio, and I truly enjoy bringing an author’s characters to life with an audio book. I currently reside in Minnesota with my slightly overweight cat and two childlike golden retrievers.  



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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
FIVE WINNERS!
One Winner: Get One Signed, Print Copy & Give One to the Library of Your Choice
Two Winners: Audible Audio Book Copies
Two Winners: eBook CopiesNOVEMBER 27-DECEMBER 6, 2018
(U.S. Only)



VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
11/27/18
Review
11/27/18
Excerpt
11/28/18
Audio Review
11/29/18
Guest Post
11/29/18
Playlist
11/30/18
Audio Review
12/1/18
Author Interview
12/1/18
Character Interview
12/2/18
Review
12/2/18
Scrapbook Page
12/3/18
Review
12/4/18
Audio Review
12/5/18
Excerpt
12/6/18
Audio Review
12/6/18
Review





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Monday, November 26, 2018

Audio Alert! AudioFile Magazine's Best Young Adult Audio Books of 2018!

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AudioFile Magazine’s
2018 Best

Young Adult
Audio Books


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A NOTE FROM HALL WAYS: I am a huge audio book fan (and former school librarian), so when AudioFile noticed and contacted me to help further share the love, I jumped at the chance! Just in time for that Cyber-Monday and holiday shopping, here's a great list of recommended young adult books to read with your ears! I've added them all to my TBR list! Want to read reviews of ALL 50 TITLES, listen to audio clips, and watch exclusive narrator videos? Click to view AudioFiles 2018 E-ZINE for FREE!
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CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi, read by Bahni Turpin









HOPE NATION by Rose Brock [Ed.], read by Michael Crouch, Kate Rudd, Bahni Turpin, Tavia Gilbert, Nancy Wu, MacLeod Andrews, Adenrele Ojo, Erin Spencer, Kyla Garcia, Mozhan Marno, Prentice Onayemi, Rebecca Soler, January LaVoy, Guy Lockard, Chris Andrew Ciulla





I HAVE LOST MY WAY by Gayle Forman, read by Sunil Malhotra, Michael Crouch, Nicole Lewis












THE LADY'S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY by Mackenzi Lee, read by Moira Quirk







THE POET X: A NOVEL by Elizabeth Acevedo, read by Elizabeth Acevedo












Thursday, November 22, 2018

Showcasing the Lone Star Book Blog Tours Blauthors!


WHAT'S A BLAUTHOR, YOU ASK? It's a Blogger-Author (see what I did there?) -- and there are NINE of them on the Lone Star Book Blog Tours Blogger Team! (And several more who have works-in-progress!) 

Fiction and non-fiction, juvenile to adult, romance, history, fantasy, and photography, they've got your favorite genre, sub-genres, and topics covered! Check 'em out! (Listed in alpha order by author, of course.)

The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the (Holiday) Tub by Melissa Bartell. A collection of essays celebrating the good, the challenging, and the magical aspects of the winter holidays. 

(Currently FREE on Kindle Unlimited)


You Do You including Jenn Belden, contributing author, is a collection of essays by authors age 12-60, sharing their stories of what it’s like to be a daughter, a mother, a sister, a friend, a woman today and yesterday and for the future. With a broad range of voices, from the cynical, to the ugly-cry, to the outright hilarious, YOU DO YOU is a love-fest for the females in our lives.   LSBBT reviewer Jenn Belden is a contributor, sharing her struggle of raising a daughter to ignore those whose words are used to hurt when, admittedly, she didnt learn to do it herself. This is a book for anyone in middle school to middle age. 



The Inevitables by Amanda Borroel. Welcome to a world that is seeping with the inevitable. These are the stories that you think about at night when you can't sleep. The thoughts that seep into your mind when you're daydreaming in class or at work. These are the things you write about, sing about, and dread about. These are the inevitables. A short story collection from different walks of life who must face their own inevitable. 





The Blue Unicorn's Journey to Osm by Sabrina Durant. A unicorn fairy tale from the unicorn's point of view.  Great little story for all unicorn lovers. Illustrated.







Silver Taps by Max Knight is a very personal memoir written for his children and grandchildren following the death of the author’s father. The book’s title pays homage to Texas A&M University. The institution, The Corps of Cadets, and its time honored traditions serve as the backdrop for the inspirational tribute to a man who served his country in three wars: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. It fondly remembers their relationship while exploring the terrible effects of Alzheimer’s disease, and it examines faith in the context of how it gives hope to some and raises questions in others.  
(Currently FREE on Kindle Unlimited)

Palo Duro by Max Knight. Westward expansion following the Civil War ushered in an era of increased conflict between the Southern Plains Indians and white settlers. The Comanche, the Southern Cheyenne, the Kiowa, and the Apache all fought to protect their customs and homelands. The clashes were characterized by savagery on both sides - Indian and white. However, finite numbers and options would ensure the tribes’ defeat; they faced certain death or forced relocation, and their days were numbered. Palo Duro recalls this struggle. It is the story of the Southwest United States towards the end of the nineteenth century. 


Boracay Vows by Maida Malby. To fulfill one vow, she has to break another. Krista Lopez has five days to fulfill her Turning-Thirty Vow—the promise to do something life-changing in celebration of this milestone birthday. Her plan: give in to her attraction to her Irish-American hunk of a boss Mr. Blake Ryan, who is conveniently vacationing in the same posh resort in Boracay. When he proposes a one-week affair, she accepts. It’s only a fling, after all. Krista will not fall for an American. She can’t. She promised her mother.



The Inner Silence by Christena Stephens. An introduction to Christena Stephens black and white photography, The Inner Silence was a solo photography exhibition held at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas in 2015. It was a compilation of photographs taken by Christena during her travels to New Mexico, Arkansas, Colorado, and throughout Texas from 2011 - 2014. The book showcases the twenty exhibition photographs along with stories about each of the photos. The photos showcase unique places and wildlife.


Book Three
Book One
Book Two
The Cicada Series by Belle Whittington. Cicada (Book One).  
Summertime for Blair Reynolds and her friends had always been carefree and fun ...until the summer they happened upon something that was not human. As they band together in a fight for their lives, Blair's true love becomes something more than human. Something unnatural. And their survival depends entirely upon their ability to keep a secret. Also, Firefly (Book Two) & Monarch (Book Three). 

Inner Landscapes including Sydney Young, contributing author. Adults, Teens, and Children respond in prose and poetry to ten samples of artist Virginia Dehn’s work in this volume. Virginia and her husband Adolf Dehn belonged to a group of artists who influenced the course of American Art in the mid-twentieth century. Her work has been exhibited in shows and galleries throughout the country and paintings of hers are part of many public collections. The imagination leaps from image to word and back again in this inspirational collection.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

The Big Inch ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours Audio Book Review, Audio Clip, & Giveaway!

THE BIG INCH
Misfits and Millionaires #1
by
KIMBERLY FISH
Narrated by Sydney Young
  
Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance / WWII Spies 
Publisher: Fish Tales Publishing
Date of Publication: August 1, 2018
Length: 10 hours, 22 minutes

Scroll down for the giveaway!

Fans of Pam Jenoff, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Kate Quinn will want to read the first book in a sparkling WWII historical fiction series, The Big Inch. Lane Mercer is a spy recovering from a disastrous mission in France when she’s assigned to protect the interests of the new federal project sending American oil to the Allies. Thrown into the high-stakes world of Texas oilmen, she’s inventing maneuvers on the fly to outwit would be counter-intelligence and Fascist sympathizers. Complicating her mission is a handsome con-artist who manages to be under her feet at the most inopportune times. Trapped between trusting her gut or trusting her informers, Lane has to learn to navigate a town that is laced with more intrigue than she’d ever have guessed, and she soon discovers that the life she might have to save. . .is her own.

Kimberly Fish’s well-researched writing drops readers into the colorful world of the American home front known so well to those who lived alongside the Greatest Generation. Buy The Big Inch today to begin this exciting first novel in a WWII series set in Texas.

PRAISE FOR THE BIG INCH: 
“Narrator Makes Book Exciting!” 
-- 5 Stars Review on Audible

“Kimberly Fish’s writing style snatched me out of my easy chair.” 
-- Vickie Phelps, author of Moved, Left No Address

“Kimberly Fish has a gift for combining conflict, emotion, and characterization to create a compelling story.” 
-- Louis Gouge, author of Love Inspired Historical Four Star Ranch series

CLICK TO PURCHASE
◆ Amazon ◆ Audible 


HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. 4.5 Stars. I rarely re-read books. True, it’s mostly a matter of time constraints and finding the time to read a book even once, but it’s also a matter of been there, done that. No matter how much I enjoy a story, I mostly don’t feel the need to re-visit it. Plus, there’s always a stack of new temptations waiting for me in my ever-toppling to-be-read pile. But then, The Big Inch was released as an audio book.  Since I’d reviewed the print format of The Big Inch (a fan-girling, gushing, rave review) for Lone Star Book Blog Tours, I wasn’t scheduled as a reviewer for the audio book tour.  But I couldn’t resist, bought myself an audio book copy anyhow, and listened to it the next day…straight through.  The Big Inch is a wonderful exception to my unwritten rule, and since on my second reading of the book I read with my ears, it was like a whole new story. As if immersing myself in Kimberly Fish’s world isn’t treat enough, listeners are also treated to the professional narrating debut performed by Sydney Young. 

“In her world, when trust was broken, it was final.”

When I first read The Big Inch (did I mention fan-girling and gushing?), one of the things that I loved was how author Kimberly Fish could say so much by dropping seemingly innocuous one-liners, but which careful readers would notice were loaded with information. Narrator Sydney Young picks-up on these subtleties -- and all the nuances of words spoken -- and expresses them to perfection.

“Living with her memories was no pardon at all.”

Young gets nuance and subtlety: in her delivery of the wide cast of characters, she not only gives each character a unique voice, but through her diction, varied pacing, and inflection, she projects extra layers to the characters’ personalities. The difference between Young’s delivery of main character Lane Mercer’s internal monologue versus her voice in dialogue is the perfect example. Listeners hear the contrast and see that despite Lane’s introspective, observant, and troubled mind, she has a perkier façade for the outside world.

“Though she’d never stepped on a grenade in France,
she didn’t trust Texas.”

One of the lovely aspects of Sydney Young’s narration is the authenticity of her southern accent. Certain words (soil and oil, to name two) are thoroughly Texan, others reveal just a trace of the accent, while others have a regional flair to them -- exactly right for the mixture of people from around the state who were coming to Longview during the war.

Technically speaking, the quality of the recording of The Big Inch is excellent. There are just a few glitches with uneven sound and one scene that seems spliced, but it’s thoroughly professional and what I would expect in an audio recording.  I found listening at regular speed just a little too lazy for my enjoyment, so as is the norm for me with audio books, I increased speed to 1.25x.  Sometimes, this was a little too fast (especially with Emily Tesco’s lines), but it was especially better for listening to Theo’s Boston accent.  The faster speed resolved some minor issues with too-long pauses and words with peculiar emphasis placed upon them. However, as Lane gets more emotional towards the end of the story, the faster delivery makes her sound panicked, when in reading the text, Lane seems to keep her cool.  Overall, the faster speed is a more natural pace for impatient me, but it isn’t the perfect answer.

As I do with the print version of The Big Inch, (refer to fan-girling, gushing, rave review), I highly recommend the audio book version, too. Kimberly Fish and Sydney Young make a terrific team, and I thank them for taking me to a different world for a day.  I sincerely hope that there are plans for them to reunite and bring Harmon General, book two in the Misfits and Millionaires series, to brilliant audio life.   You’ve got your first sale right here.

I bought this audio book on my own, without any strings attached. Thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours for giving me a bonus spot on the tour where I can voice my honest opinion – the only kind I give. 
  
Kimberly Fish has been a professional writer in marketing and media for almost 30 years. In the course of research for the Longview Chamber of Commerce 100-year compilation, she stumbled across a 1940s federal works project that was too good, too war-winning, not to be retold to modern audience. In 2017, she released The Big Inch, her first WWII spy thriller detailing the crazy, big pipeline project that fueled the Allies to a win in Europe. The Big Inch has also been released as an audio download on Audible. That eye-opening novel was so consumed by readers, she quickly followed it with a second WWII spy thriller set in Longview, Harmon General. Both of these novels will be helpful to her work with the City of Longview’s 150th birthday celebrations which begin in January of 2020. Comfort Plans, a contemporary novel also set in Texas, continues her love of history by weaving old letters into the renovation of an iconic Hill Country farmhouse. 
Kimberly enjoys speaking on the value of weaving history and nostalgia into our plans as we grow our communities for the future. 
 ║ Website ║ Facebook  Twitter InstagramGoodreads 
║ Pinterest Amazon Author Page   


Sydney Young is a lawyer, award-winning writer and audio book narrator from the Lone Star State. Her next theatrical project will be directing “SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE,” for the Paris Community Theatre stage (Feb. 2019), while her novel “I AM HOUSTON,” is being submitted for publication by the Loiacono Literary Agency. Sydney has long been a reading advocate, including with her readings to an adopted second grade class each year. She loved voicing THE BIG INCH for all of its authentic Texas voices and true characters, all while she learned the history of the East Texas oil effort for World War II.  Visit Sydney’s website for more information on her writings, theatre, and audio books.

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
ONE WINNER! 
Choice of Audio or Signed Print Copy of The Big Inch 
+ $25 Amazon Gift Card + a WWII Themed Surprise Gift!
NOVEMBER 5-12, 2018
VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
11/5/18
Joint Guest Post
11/6/18
Audio Book Review
11/7/18
Audio Book Review
11/8/18
Narrator Interview
11/9/18
Audio Book Review
11/10/18
Audio Book Review
11/11/18
Guest Post
11/12/18
Audio Book Review
11/12/18
Audio Book Review
11/13/18
BONUS Audio Book Review



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CLICK FOR HALL WAYS PRINT COPY REVIEW