I learned about The Smiley Book of Colors through a WOW Blog Tour and there’s still time to follow Ruth to a few more stops. Check out their Blog Tour Calendar on The Muffin Blog.

Author: Ruth Kaiser

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Golden Books (March 13, 2012)

Check out Ruth’s fun video here. This is not your average book trailer. This is the kind of thing that goes viral so get in on it now! And don’t forget this chance to win a free copy of her book open to WOW readers only.

Treasure Hunt Time!
Now it’s time to start searching for Smileys in your neighborhood! When you find one snap a pic and upload it to Spontaneous Smiley
on the “Share Your Smiley” page using “WOW” in your Smiley title.

Just one Smiley makes you a Smiley Captain! Not only will you brighten people’s day with your Smiley AND help raise money for Operation Smile, a non-profit organization that helps children with facial deformity receive the surgery they need, but you’ll be entered in a contest just for Ruth’s WOW friends to win a copy of The Smiley Book of Colors. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 17! Now grab your camera and start searching for Smileys!

Margaret is giving away three grand prizes:

• a 30-minute free life coaching session by phone (US winners only)
• a paperback copy of her memoir When Ties Break (US winners only)
• an e-book copy of her memoir When Ties break (all addresses)

To enter the contest, visit any of the following blogs and leave a comment. You can enter at as many blogs as you like! Each blogger will choose one semi-finalist and Margaret will choose the three winners from those semi-finalists and announce the winners on her blog March 2.

Feb. 6—Margo Dill’s Read These Books and Use Them!
Feb. 8—Healthy N’ Fit Granny (Margaret’s blog)
Feb. 10—WOW!’s The Muffin (Fri. Speak Out)
Feb. 13—Words from the Heart (Linda Rhinehart Neas’s blog)
Feb. 15—Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Feb. 17—Thoughts in Progress (Mason Canyon)
Feb. 20—Hot Off the Wire (Kelly Thompson)
Feb. 23—Chynna Laird’s Lily Wolf Words
Feb. 24—Colloquium

Want an extra entry?

Tweet about the contest or why you love being the age you are and use the hashtag #Celebrate60!

Any questions should be sent to the marvelous Margo Dill, Margaret’s publicist, at margo@margodill.com. Hmmm, I think that should be the name of Margo’s pr firm: Marvelous Margo!

But if a sneak peek isn’t enough, you’re in luck! Cleo Coyle is offering a hardcover copy of Murder by Mocha, the tenth book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. And she’ll personalize it for you or your favorite mystery aficionado! Just let her know who the book is for. You have until midnight, November 29 to enter by leaving a comment and I’ll be announcing the winner on the last day of the month, November 30.

Murder by Mocha

Author: Cleo Coyle

Hardcover: 384 pages (also available as e-book, large print, audiobook)

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (August 2, 2011)

Synposis:

Clare Cosi, manager of the Village Blend Coffeehouse, is a bit nervous about teaming up with the company Aphrodite’s Village to develop and release a coffee based product “Mocha Magic Coffee” that supposedly has aphrodisiac properties. But her boss, Madame Dubois, knows one of the developers and promises Clare it’ll be great exposure for the Village Blend. Of course, that was before the women who run Aphrodite’s Village started getting murdered left and right! And could it be that Madame, or at least one of her former employees, has a motive for murder?

Review:

Put any group of women together and you’re likely to come up with a reason for murder! Have them competing against each other to head a company and they’ll definitely have murder on their minds! Cleo Coyle has delivered another fine Coffeehouse Mystery complete with a mystery character whose identity we can only guess, a trip back into Madame’s mysterious past, and a touch of romance for both Clare and her daughter Joy. Not to mention a pretty sexy scene thanks to that aphrodisiac floating around disguised as coffee and candy! As always, there are plenty of surprise twists to keep you reading wondering, “What?!”

I was happy to see the return of Joy’s on again-off again cop boyfriend Franco. His character developed a bit more…I’d love to learn more about the skeletons in his closet in a future book! This series seems to get better and better.

It seems Cleo Coyle NEVER counts on her built-in audience from past books to sell her latest book. She makes sure you fall in love with her characters and her writing with each book she releases. To use a coffee metaphor: The last cup of coffee in Cleo’s literary coffeepot is just as fresh, delicious and enthralling as the first cup!

If you’re dying to read this new murder mystery don’t forget to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment by midnight on Nov. 29. In keeping with the series, why don’t you tell us how you take your coffee? Or, if coffee doesn’t run through your veins, tell us your favorite hot beverage!

Mitzi is providing a copy of Classic Revenge, the first in her Silver Sleuths Series, as a giveaway. Just leave a comment–we’d love to hear about one of your favorite mystery series/authors and follow me. US addresses only!

And Mitzi will be releasing the second book in the series, Deadly Policy, in April of next year(which is JUST around the corner!) Although Avalon is still fussing with the book cover here’s the basic story:

Michelle Matson is worried that an investigation of her boss at Security Insurance is going to reflect badly on her. And when Michelle is worried so is her mom–and that mom happens to be Millie, one-third of an investigating trio. The ladies try to unravel why so many car theft claims are moving through Michelle’s office and end up tailing a stolen car all the way to Mexico! The ladies eventually unravel a car theft ring with the help of a reluctant cop, a car thief, and the theme from the TV show Cops.

Classic Revenge: A Silver Sleuths Mystery

Author: Mitzi Kelly

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Avalon Books (June 24, 2010)

Synposis:

The tragic accident claiming the life of Susan Wiley had been classified as just that, an accident. Then why is her husband being charged with her murder? The very thought is ludicrous. But Chief of Police Henry Espinoza doesn’t agree, refusing to listen to arguments that Sam’s neighbors, Trish Anderson(ages 40+), Edna Radcliff(aged 60+) and Millie Morrow(aged 80+) present regarding his character and the relationship he had with his wife.

Angry at being dismissed so easily, the women resolve to prove Sam’s innocence, not only to help their friend, but to show Henry they are not ready for a nursing home just yet. Using the experience, determination, and pigheadedness their combined ages of 193 years afford them, they rush headlong into danger and intrigue, learning something about themselves during the process. They seem to have a knack for this detective stuff!

Jodi’s Review:

Too often, the mystery books I’m reading lately follow a formula that goes along the 30-something single woman stumbles upon body and tries to find the murderer from among her acquaintances because A. it looks like she did it or B. it adversely affects her business while juggling two men fighting for her affections. Well, Classic Revenge isn’t anything like that.

Kelly turns the cozy mystery on its head by offering us the most unlikely group of detectives.Edna and Millie are definitely “active seniors” with Trish, a 40+, WAH single gal along to do the driving. They aren’t good at this investigating stuff. Most of their ideas come from novels and TV shows they watch. They only motive driving them is friendship. They aren’t eager to play detective(well, maybe Millie is). They’re investigating people they barely know in areas they can barely get to without getting lost. And that is the charm of the whole book. You’re rooting for the three musketeers to succeed–not so much to bring justice to their neighborhood–but to show the doubters(basically everyone) that they can unravel the mystery.

Classic Revenge is great fun for all lovers of the cozy mystery…after all, even if you aren’t an “active senior” you know plenty of them. And if you are an “active senior” I’m sure you’re yelling, “Finally! A book about me!” Can’t wait for the next bumbling investigation by this crazy trio.

Don’t forget, Mitzi is providing a copy of Classic Revenge, the first in her Silver Sleuths Series, as a giveaway. Just leave a comment–we’d love to hear about one of your favorite mystery series/authors and follow me. US addresses only!

WHEN
When did you begin writing? Is Classic Revenge your first book?

MITZI: I began writing way back in middle school. I loved creating short stories for assignments and my teacher at the time encouraged me to keep it up. When I was older, I started writing feature articles for a couple of magazines, but I never really enjoyed it. I wanted to create – not report on what someone else was doing. It was at that point that I started working seriously on novels. I completed a romance manuscript and received many favorable comments on it but the plot wasn’t quite strong enough. In the middle of re-working it, I came up with the idea for The Silver Sleuths. Pushing the romance novel aside, I immediately began to work on Classic Revenge, which became my first published book.

WHAT
A little birdie told us you have a three-book deal with Avalon. What did you do to get that coveted three-book deal?

MITZI: Yes, and I am absolutely thrilled! When I queried Classic Revenge to Avalon Books, I was fortunate to have my initial editor, Chelsea Gilmore, fall in love with the idea. In my mind, I always saw this book as a continuing series and she agreed. I pitched a couple of additional story lines and landed a three-book-deal. My current editor, Lia Brown, is so much fun to work with and she also loves the series, so it will be around for as long as I can dream up trouble for the amateur sleuths!

WHERE
Where do you get the ideas for your books? I was wondering if you start with the idea for the murder first or did you develop your unforgettable characters first?

MITZI: The characters definitely came first. They were jumping around in my mind, impatiently waiting for their traits to be put down on paper so they could get to work! This sounds ridiculous, but it really is the way this series was born. The incidents—the plots of each book—are easy to develop when you have characters that are so eager to interfere with the crime-solving professionals. With characters like these, you can see any scenario—real or imagined—which they can plop right in the middle of and make their presence known.

WHO
Who are you most like: Millie, Edna, or Trish? Or are you a little bit of each?

MITZI: When I think about it, I really am a little bit of each. I’m similar to Trish in that I’m self-employed, hate to diet and exercise, and tend to get embarrassed when I’m around someone like Millie who I also share some minor characteristics such as believing age doesn’t have a darn thing to do with anything. And, I can relate to Edna in the fact that I am deeply in love with my husband, cherish my friends and hate to hurt anybody’s feelings. I also share a major habit with each of them . . . I drink coffee 24/7!

WHY
Why did you decide to write in the mystery genre? Why not romance, or children’s, or chick lit? Or will you be branching out into another genre?

MITZI: My first choice in selecting reading material is a good mystery. I’m not much into horror—scares the daylights out of me!—but I love suspense. It can be very serious dramatic suspense, or light and fun—it doesn’t matter, so it was a natural and enjoyable experience to create a mystery series. I also enjoy romance as long as there is more to the storyline than creative sexual positions. I love the ‘getting to know each other’ aspect of romance and I am currently working on a romance trilogy along with the third installment in The Silver Sleuths series. My biggest fear is I will have Millie falling in love with one of the criminals in the mystery series while my heroine in the romance novel witnesses a murder!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to learn more about Mitzi’s first two books and enter the giveaway!

Author: Linda Yellin

Genre: Memoir

Paperback: 336 pages (also available in Kindle format)

Publisher: Gallery Books (October 4, 2011)

Synposis:

Linda’s first husband broke her heart twice: first he divorced her and then he died a tragic death with her by his side. She’s fairly certain she’ll spend the rest of her life as “fun Aunt Linda” although, considering the effect her first husband had on her, neither her nieces and nephews, her friends, nor the men she meets think she is that much fun.

But her friends persist and want to introduce her to a another nice guy. For Linda it’s a worry free relationship. After all, it stands 0 chance of succeeding. He’s in New York; she’s in Chicago. He has a soon-to-be ex-wife and two kids; she isn’t even responsible for a goldfish. But she dives in with a “what the heck” attitude for one more dip in the dating pool.

Review:

The Last Blind Date is honest. Prince Charming isn’t always that charming. Occasionally, you’re rooting for him to follow the first husband so Linda can find a better guy. Sometimes Linda’s thoughts resemble that of the classic evil stepmother…although more often she’s the clueless stepmother. The Fairy Godmother(Linda’s best friend) is sometimes great, sometimes goofy. The kids are annoying, loving, self-centered, and confused in turn. In other words, these are real people. Yellin didn’t “spin” them to make them fit a perfect character. They just are who they are.

I’m not always a fan of memoir. Whiny memoirs, that is. But Yellin manages a balance of tragedy, joy and lots of humor to keep you turning pages. She’s written a memoir that many of us could see ourselves starring in: second chance love and starting over in more ways than one. In the end I did get a “happily ever after” feeling from The Last Blind Date. And I liked the smile it left on my face.

Mysteriously, I received two copies of The Last Blind Date so I’m giving one away–US addresses only. All you have to do is be a follower and answer this question:

Have you ever been on a blind date? How did it go?

Collectibles store: While looking through a stack of Life magazines, I came across the 1945 cover photo of a young woman described as “Florida’s Prettiest Girl.” Inside I learned that she was a high school girl from St. Petersburg, Florida, my hometown. I found her living in retirement in Seattle. The Life gig turned out to be the only modeling experience of her life. A much more significant achievement, she thought, was teaching American literature at LSU.

Parent’s crawl space: You never know what you’ll find in a crawl space, or what might reach out and grab you. Usually, folks store things in crawl spaces they no longer need but do not want to throw away. With time, they are forgotten. So imagine my joy when I went spelunking in my parents’ crawl space and put my hand on a cardboard box that turned out to be a treasure chest of children’s books. My formative library. I have written a dozen essays inspired by that collection.

An elevator in Copenhagen: I found myself not long ago in a small hotel elevator in Denmark with a beautiful young woman. Elevator etiquette demanded that I look down when I noticed she was wearing a pair of familiar looking athletic shoes. “You know,” I said to her, “I wore a pair of those back in 1965.” The shoes were Converse All-Star sneakers, old school basketball shoes, “Chucks,” named after their inventor Chuck Taylor. Back in the day, the style was low and black, like the Boston Celtics wore. Hers were sassy and stylish, an orange plaid. She explained to me that these were all the rage in Europe. A low tech obsolete basketball shoe had found a new life on the feet of stylish men and women, boys and girls, the world over.

In my left hand: For many years, I wore my grandmother’s wedding ring. Over the course of 25 years or so, I began to realize that not many men – gay or straight – wore their granny’s jewelry. I began to contemplate what was behind that gold band, and I came to realize that it symbolized a special heritage that came to me through my grandmother. Although I was raised in a Catholic family and educated in Catholic schools, I would discover that my grandma, born Sarah Schoengold, was Jewish. My explorations led to the creation of “Sadie’s Ring,” a serial narrative published in several newspapers, including the Miami Herald.

On the golf course: I’m not a camping and hiking kind of guy. In fact, my idea of roughing it is spending the night in a motel. But in seven years of golf in Florida, I’ve seen some astonishing encounters between hackers and nature. I’ve seen alligators rest near my wayward golf ball; a crow pick up a ball from the fairway and flying it into a tree for safekeeping; an osprey dropping a good sized fish on the seventh green. But nothing comes close to a crafty raccoon who does business at the Vinoy Golf Club. Not only did the critter steal my friend’s cheese crackers from his golf cart, he stole his watch!

Help! for Writers: 210 Solutions to Problems Every Writer Faces

Author: Roy Peter Clark

Hardcover: 304 pages (also available in Kindle format)

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (September 21, 2011)

Synposis:

One of America’s most influential writing teachers offers 210 solutions to the biggest problems writers face.

The craft of writing offers countless potential problems: The story is too long; the story’s too short; revising presents a huge hurdle; writer’s block is rearing its ugly head. In Help! For Writers, Roy Peter Clark presents an “owner’s manual” for writers, outlining the seven steps of the writing process, and addressing the 210 most urgent problems that writers face. In his trademark engaging and entertaining style, Clark offers 10 short solutions to each problem.

Out of ideas?

Read posters, billboards, and graffiti.

Can’t bear to edit yourself?

Watch the deleted scenes feature of a DVD, and ask yourself why those scenes were left on the cutting-room floor.

Help! For Writers offers 210 strategies to guide writers to success.

Review:

I knew writers had a lot of problem but finally Clark has narrowed it down for me…210. Now if I could just master these 210 problems it should be smooth sailing for me. Pulitzer Prize, here I come. Before I start, I must confess I’m going through some crazy times in my non-writing life so I may not have given HELP! my best reading. Personal stuff kept cropping up between paragraphs. Because of that it felt like it took me FOREVER to read this book–but that was me, not the writing or the subject. Sorry, Roy.

We’re all familiar with the problems HELP! addresses: writer’s block, organization, interviewing, all the standards. This book isn’t about Clark revealing any ground-shaking new problems but in how he suggests we deal with those problems we all know only too well. You may say to yourself, “Oh I know how to deal with THAT problem.” And maybe you do. But even problem solving can fall into a rut. And when you fall into a rut things just don’t work like they used to work. HELP! presents new ways of looking at problems and new ways of solving them. Many times during the reading I found myself saying, “I would never have done that” about a suggestions solution. Somewhere in those 210 problems you’ll find many that you’re struggling with and often, new ways of looking at the problems, ways that may solve the problem for you.

I loved the chapter titles for HELP!.

• My middles sag.
• I can’t stop procrastinating.
• I can’t think of anything to write.

I’m giving away a copy of HELP!. All you have to do is be a follower and tell us the weirdest place you’ve ever found a story idea by Sept. 29. Alternately, tell us about the weirdest story (fiction or nonfiction) you’ve ever read. Can you tell I’m in a weird mood? Winner will be announced on Sept. 30. US addresses only.

The Toughest Job On Earth

Parents stink. I mean that literally. For anyone who has children still at home you know how difficult it can sometimes be to squeeze in a shower. I was reminded of this on Labor Day, a rainy mess with the kids stuck mostly indoors. I had hoped to shower by 8am. The fact that I got one at all, by 2pm, was a minor miracle, aided by the fact that the kids were indoors and it wasn’t a typical day off when we were running all over town to and from activities, which usually prohibits showers altogether. Let me repeat: parents stink. I suppose this might apply to older parents too, empty nesters, who have learned to no longer care about stinking.

My point in actually saying all this is…well, I’ve quite forgotten because I have been distracted by my kids and I forgot what the heck I was going to say. Which does lead me to say that parenting is just tough stuff. I am reminded of something given to me by a friend all those years ago when I first became a parent. It was a “parent job description” akin to what you might find distributed by companies in the days when they actually hired people. This parent job description is very long, mind you, but here is the top part under the “Job Description” itself: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

The next paragraph proceeds to discuss responsibilities and it’s really long, so I will assume you know the routine. My favorite is the one that says: Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily (as in “you stink!!”) until someone needs $10…or a new iPod.

The remainder of the job description goes on to explain how the possibility for advancement in this position is virtually nil, as is the requirement for previous experience…it’s like one of those “learn-as-you-go” situations. Best of all, you don’t get paid for this job, you pay them!

All this sounds like a job most of us would avoid like the plague…if we only knew. Ah, if we only knew. But we don’t and frankly, I’m glad. Because in the end, there is no job on earth that delivers as much reward and opportunity for personal growth.

It’s why I wrote a book about parenting. My recently released novel, Fresh Heir, is literary fiction…part satire, part serious commentary on the challenges of parenting in the modern world. In particular, the story is about a gifted 12-year-old, and his obsessive father who is determined to compensate for his own lack of success in life by pushing his son beyond his limits. I had been attempting to publish my first novel for many years, trying historical fiction in my previous efforts because I love history. But it was the topic of parenting that set my writing passions on fire. I knew this was what I wanted to write about, exploring the serious challenges we face everyday within the scope of a light-hearted, humorous tale. (No rape scenes, or vampires necessary.)

In the end, the message I try to convey in Fresh Heir is that our kids often have as much to teach us as we have to teach them. Like I said: opportunity for personal growth. Even if that means at the expense of personal hygiene.

Which takes me back to Labor Day. I like to joke that once Labor Day hits, you might as well skip right to Christmas the next week, because that’s how fast it comes. I believe this is a function of the craziness that kids can bring upon us from their school projects to their sporting events to their general demands on our time. It teaches you to appreciate every day like Christmas and its pleasure of giving and receiving gifts. The greatest gift we have is the present moment with our kids, the here and now, and that includes all the challenges, all the frustrations and all the heartbreaks, along with the triumphs . If don’t practice living in the present, it will be gone before we have one single moment to enjoy it. And that really stinks.

Fresh Heir

Author: Michael Reilly

Paperback: 260 pages (also available in Kindle format)

Publisher: Fresh Heir (May 13, 2011)

Synposis:

Thanks to the Fresh Heir website for this synopisis.

Jamie Shoop is a twelve-year-old who has been labeled highly gifted. Good news, right? Except with it comes a cross-county car trip…with his ultra-obsessed dad…his annoying little sister…and a wacky educational consultant his dad has hired. Jamie could suggest better ways to spend his summer, and to live his life, if only someone would listen.

But his dad, Doug, can’t hear above the loud voices demanding nothing but the best for his son. Doug will do anything to give Jamie the leg up he needs to compete in a vicious world and get into an Ivy League school.

Michael Reilly’s hysterical road-trip in search of achievement is a wide-eyed satire about the pressures of modern parenthood. As they set out on the trip to San Francisco, where Jamie will attend a summer program for gifted youth, Doug’s enthusiasm and hyperkinetic desire to enrich Jamie at every turn leads to hilarious complications and enlightening predicaments.

A riotous portrayal of a father desperate to have the promise of his youth fulfilled through the life of his son, Doug’s journey is not unlike that of many parents in modern-day America. With good grades, extracurricular activities, and solid SATs no longer the benchmark for entrance into top colleges, the pressure and stress of giving children the best opportunities for success can often lead to misplaced motivations.

Accurately depicting the push-pull of parenthood and childhood and the need for adults to understand the voices of their children, Fresh Heir is a laugh-out-loud journey of self-discovery.

Review:

Anyone with a US address and who follows Words by Webb can enter to win a copy of Fresh Heir. Just leave a comment(and your email address) by September 26. The winner will be announced on September 27.