Now Seeking Reviewers

It's nearly harvest time in my little corner of the corn field. Right now, the corn is so high it's like a vast green wall protecting our house. I'll be sad when it comes down, but excited knowing our cows have delicious feed for winter. Speaking of being excited... I am SUPER excited to announce the launch of another book tour with WOW! Women on Writing.

Mary Maurice enjoyed last year's book blog tour for Burtrum Lee; so much so she scheduled a new tour for her latest work: The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe. Here are the details for this great tour:


Tour Dates: 9/17-10/17 2018

Synopsis:
Susan Jordan awakens at her Santa Fe apartment, cloudy and disoriented. Her clothing is unfamiliar. Where has she been? Her nose crinkles as she smells his scent. Jack's back! Rubber filled legs brace against the stone cold tile floor as she reaches for the pile of mail haplessly setting on the table. Dozens of letters! Jack Monroe never stops. Susan wishes he would just leave, take his advice and go back to Detroit. He's gaining to much control! He's taking over!

About Mary:
Mary Maurice wrote her first poem when she was in the ninth grade, and hasn't stopped writing since. Catching the fire at an early age, she continues to dedicate her time to the craft.Ms. Maurice has completed several novels of fiction and poetry, and has performed readings in distinct cities around the country. She presently resides in Sante Fe, New Mexico.


At this time, the author is particularly interested in participants who would like to do a review, so right now I don't have the list of guest post topics that I usually would. If you would like to participate in a guest post topic, and want me to reach out to you once I have those topics, please let me know.

If interested in doing a review, please provide:

1)your email address, so Mari at Artotems can email you a copy (let us know the eBook format you prefer) or your physical mailing address for a copy

2) The name and URL of your blog

3) The tour starts September 17th and lasts through mid-October. Please send me your first and second choices for the date(s) you would prefer.

7) Other housekeeping items:

If you are writing a review. it would be fabulous if you could post your review on Amazon/Goodreads as well as your own social media. This is greatly appreciated although not mandatory to participate in a book blog tour. Links to both will be provided in the media kit, sent at a later point.

As soon as all the dates have been filled and a calendar has been put together for each tour stop, I'll email a media kit to everyone involved. This kit will include the author's head shot and bio as well the book cover, official book summary and buy links for you to use. This email will also include the calendar for the tour and should be able to answer most (if not all) the questions you may have concerning tour participation.

Also, if there is anyone you think may be interested in this tour, please feel free to forward this information and/or have them email me at crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com or call 920-645-7529

Hugs,
~Crystal

Feel free to check back here often as this calendar will be updated regularly!

Monday September 17th  @ WOW! Women on Writing
Interview & Giveaway!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/

Tuesday, September 18th @ World of My Imagination
Nicole reviews The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe for readers at World of My Imagination. Don't miss this chance to learn more about Mary Maurice's latest work!
https://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, September 19th @ Beverley A. Baird
Beverley A. Baird reads and reviews Mary Maurice's latest work, The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe and shares her thoughts on this page turning novel!
https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/

Thursday, September 20th @ Choices with Madeline Sharples
Mary Maurice writes an intriguing guest post at Choices today. She talks about "    ". Don’t miss this post and opportunity to learn about The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe. 
http://madelinesharples.com/

Friday, September 21st @ Bring on Lemons with Crystal Otto
Crystal reviews The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe as readers of Bring on Lemons learn more about this latest page turner by Mary Maurice!
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 24th @ Cathy Stucker's Selling Books
Don't miss today's interview with Mary Maurice and learn more about her latest book The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe.
https://www.sellingbooks.com/

Tuesday, September 25th @ Words from the Heart with Rev. Linda Neas
Linda reviews The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe for readers at Words from the Heart!
https://contemplativeed.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, September 26th @ Bring on Lemons with Michelle DelPonte
Wisconsin mother Michelle DelPonte reviews The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe for readers at Bring on Lemons - will this be a lemon or some tasty lemonade?
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

Thursday, September 27th @ A Day in the Life of Mom
Ashley Bass reviews Mary Maurice's latest page turner, The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe. Don't miss her insight and thoughts on this exciting new book!
https://adayinthelifeofmom.com/


Monday, October 1st @ Strength 4 Spouses
Stop by Wendi Huskin’s blog Strength 4 Spouses where she shares her thoughts about Mary Maurice's The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe.
www.strength4spouses.blog

Tuesday, October 2nd @ Coffee with Lacey
Lacey reads and reviews the unusual and intriguing new novel by Mary Maurice - you won't want to miss her thoughts about The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe.
https://coffeewithlacey.wordpress.com/

October 12th @ Author Anthony Avina
Fellow author Anthony Avina reviews The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe by Mary Maurice!
http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com

Author Spotlight - JoAnn Simon and Her Memoir "Rose Colored Glasses"

Thank you WOW! Women on Writing for including us as a blog stop on the book blog tour of Jo Ann Simon's  Rose Colored Glasses- it truly is a pleasure!



Head over to JoAnn's blog for my complete review! 


And here's the short version:

If I had to use one word to describe Rose Colored Glasses by Jo Ann Simon, it would be INSPIRATIONAL – this is a story about love and hope and how they are woven together with loss and yet like a phoenix, Simon rises from the ashes even stronger than she was before. This is a lovely 5 star read if I do say so myself!

Dear Tom,
I'm back on Anna Maria Island... missing you.
But walking down these beautiful beaches reminds me of us and makes
me feel a little less far away from you. And that encourages me as I am writing our story.
Hopefully this will help other people who are feeling our pain too.
I love and miss you every day, darling.
Love,
Me

When he first saw me, Tom said that he would spend the rest of his life with me. To my surprise, he actually did. He was the love of my life. We shared a story that felt like a dream. Every moment was an adventure... and then Tom became ill. As his mysterious symptoms persisted we were hurtled through a maze of fear, tests, doubts and sorrow. But while doctors toyed with diagnoses--Lyme disease, ALS--we filled each day with joy, hope, good food, wine, music and travel. Even when death came to crush our storybook romance, we found that the human spirit is greater than the frailties of the body, greater than suffering and grief.

From the fateful tick bite on Block Island to central nervous system failure, to healing my grief and loss, I stayed afloat, upbeat, and connected to Tom through devotion, true love, and by donning my own special pair of rose-colored glasses.

Paperback:  288 Pages
Publisher:  WiDO Publishing (May 29th 2018)
Genre: Memoir
ISBN-10: 1947966049
ISBN-13: 978-1947966048

Rose Colored Glasses is available for purchase in print and as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.  



About the Author:

Jo Ann Simon, a corporate executive, is a lifelong nutmegger, living in various locations in the Nutmeg state of Connecticut. She is a constant traveler, exploring the world including her favorite country, Italy. When she is not traveling, Jo Ann loves spending time with her family, friends and her seven grandchildren. Her day job running a company, painting fine art, gardening and writing fill in the blanks of her life. Palm trees are essential in her personal landscape with beaches to match.

Find JoAnn Online:

Website: https://www.joann-simon.com/

Blog: https://forgetmenotjosi.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ForgetMeNotJoSi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joannsimonauthorpage/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-ann-simon-27626518/

Instagram: forgetmenotjosi




---------Upcoming Blog Tour Dates

Wednesday, August 8th @ Lisa Haselton
Lisa Haselton interviews Jo Ann Simon about her memoir Rose Colored Glasses (and more)!
http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 8th @ Margo Dill
Today's guest author is Jo Ann Simon of Rose Colored Glasses - and today's topic is "A Positive Attitude". Don't miss this blog stop!
http://margodill.com/blog/

Monday, August 13th @ Write Happy
Catherine Brown reviews Rose Colored Glasses a touching memoir by JoAnn Simon.
https://www.writehappy.net/blog

Monday, August 13th @ Coffee with Lacey
Lacey reviews Rose Colored Glasses by Jo Ann Simon. Don't miss the opportunity to learn more about this inspirational memoir about love, loss, and hope!
https://coffeewithlacey.wordpress.com/

Thursday, August 16th @ Ellen Valladares
Fellow author Ellen Valladares reviews Rose Colored Glasses by JoAnn Simon.
https://ellenvalladares.com/

Wednesday, August 22nd @ Linda Appleman Shapiro
Fellow memoirist Linda Appleman Shapiro shares her thoughts after reading Rose Colored Glasses by Jo Ann Simon.
http://applemanshapiro.com/category/book-reviews/

Thursday, August 23rd @ Bring on Lemons with Cathy Hansen
Wisconsin educator, mother, and business owner Cathy Hansen reviews the memoir Rose Colored Glasses by Jo Ann Simon.
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

Keep up with the latest stops by following us on twitter @WOWBlogTour.

Easy Apple Streusel Recipe

This afternoon, I cooked up a lovely German themed meal for our family - and about an hour before my husband came in to eat, I realized I forgot dessert! I whipped up this new streusel recipe that's guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser at your house - it was at ours!!!

There's 3 layers, so I'll break it down for you:

Crust Ingredients & Instructions:
1.5 sticks of room temp butter (use what you have - salted or unsalted, but if you use salted, just add a pinch of salt to the recipe)

1/3 C sugar (basic granulated)

1T vanilla extract

2C all purpose flour (or bread flour if you happen to buy it in 50lb bags and use it for everything - wink wink)

**depending where you live, you may also need to use an egg, but I didn't...the egg will help bind everything together, but if you have a cookie texture without it, you can leave it out.

Combine all crust ingredients listed above and press into a 9x13 greased baking pan - set aside

Apple Layer Ingredients & Instructions:
1 1/2C applesauce (of course home made is best)

6 medium sized apples of your favorite variety (peeled and cubed)

**my homemade apple sauce has a lot of cinnamon in it - if you are using plain applesauce, you may want to add some cinnamon if that's what your family enjoys.

Mix the apples and applesauce then spread evenly over your crust layer - set aside while you make your topping (now is when I preheat my oven to 350F, but if your oven takes awhile, then maybe start sooner)

Topping Ingredients & Instructions:
1.5 sticks of butter (again - just use what you've got, this is meant to be easy)

2C flour

1/2C brown sugar (I like dark brown, but whatever you have on hand is great, and if you only have white sugar, just add a splash of maple syrup or even pancake syrup)

Mix these ingredients with a hand mixer or stand mixer (takes forever by hand - but if that's your only option - go for it) until they're a crumbly mixture - then spoon and sprinkle onto the apple mixture. You should have plenty of topping, so be generous.

**Once everything is assembled in the pan and the oven is at 350F you're ready to toss this baby in the oven! I like the middle rack, but depending where you live, adjust accordingly. You don't want the bottom to get too hot, or you'll have that burnt cookie essence going on.

Bake for 45 minutes or until it looks absolutely fabulous and the house smells like heaven. Allow to cool a bit and then serve with a hearty scoop of vanilla ice cream!

ENJOY!!!!

Crystal is a council secretary and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their five youngest children (Carmen 11, Andre 10, Breccan 4, Delphine 3, and baby Eudora), two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at WOW!Women on Writing - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!