Authors & Readers Book Corner’s Top Ten Books of 2015

The year is coming to an end and I have read some wonderful books in two thousand fifteen. This year I want to list my ten of my favorite books. In two thousand sixteen, you may want to take your chance on them.  I am checking my To Be Read list to get started on books for two thousand sixteen. Here are my favorites from two thousand fifteen:

1. Consequences by Aleatha Romig-has been the best psychological thriller I have read that had me rooting for both victim and victimizer.
2. Dirty Little Secrets by Liliana Hart-a mystery that will keep you turning the pages and then shock you in the end.
3. Wouldn’t Change A Thing by Stacy Campbell-this book pulled at my heartstrings. I was set on falling in love with Antoinette’s character but it was her mother, Greta who stole my heart.
4. The Mistreatment of Zora Langston by Lisa W. Tetting-I am proud to have read this book because Zora is stronger than a lot of adults that I know.
5. The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax- this was about truly have your friends back when she really needed it even if it is possible that it may backfire.
6. Hostile Eyewitness by Tyora Moody- nothing like a good mystery to get your investigative juices flowing.
7. The Fall of Prodigal by Michelle Lindo-Rice-isn’t it funny how you always have to go back to the ones you hurt for help.
8. Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf-this was a suspenseful book about a social worker getting a test of what her clients go through when it is her under the microscope.
9. The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon-a bond between sisters and a family secret makes for an intense journey when one sister finds out how truly different she is from the others.
10. By the Time You Read This by Lola Jaye-this book is a tear-jerker about a father bonding with his daughter through a journal he left for her.

Book Review: He Said, She Said: Writing Effective Dialogue by Laura E. Koons

 

He Said, She Said: Writing Effective Dialogue

Laura E. Koons

Genre: Non-Fiction

4 Stars=Great Page Turner

Beyond the Style Manual: He Said, She Said: Writing Effective Dialogue provides guidelines and teaches on how to write and incorporate dialogue into a story. Writers will have a clear understand on writing effective dialogue that fully represents character and story. The author provides examples for writers to follow.

I enjoyed learning how to acknowledge when each character is speaking so the reader does not get confused. The tags should be before or after the dialogue and action follows the same rules, as well as in the middle of the dialogue. I appreciate the author discussing how point of view relates to dialogue tags. It is a quick read, but will be a useful tool to have around as a reference. I recommend it to others.

Reviewed by Teresa Beasley

Excerpt Friday: Game Winner by Collette West

Playing center field for the New York Kings, Jake Woodbury has one of the most prestigious jobs in all of sports. To the world, he’s the good-looking, soft-spoken minister’s son who’s survived celebrity without a hint of scandal. But, inside, he’s reeling from a secret that seems destined to haunt him forever.

Scarlett Moore is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, famous for singing about her celebrity ex-boyfriends. The CEO of her record label has carefully honed her provocative image since she was fifteen. Sex sells, and Scarlett’s well aware that it takes more than talent to stay on top.

One thing is clear: She’s the last thing Jake needs. And he’s the do-gooder jock she should avoid at all costs. But when the game begins, all bets are off.

Excerpt

A lot of unanswered questions hang in the air, but for one glorious moment, when Scarlett’s voice pierced through my troubled mind and touched the innermost region of my heart, I was able to forget all about my ex, Roberta Bennett.

Jackson and Colt are wrong. The reaction I had to her voice was akin to something holy. Yeah, I’ve had strong feelings for a girl before, and I’ve been burned badly because of it. But there was something so remarkably pure and genuine about the whole encounter with Scarlett that I refuse to see it tainted.

I take a knee and face the outfield wall.

Bowing my head, minister’s son that I am, I begin whispering the quick prayer I always say before the start of every game.

“Dear Lord, please protect me and my teammates from injury and help us to play to the best of our ability in the field and at the plate.”

But, tonight, I don’t stop there. I add in one last request.

“And, God, if you really did send Scarlett Moore into my life for a reason, please give me a sign that she’s someone worth taking a chance on.” I release the breath I was holding. “Amen.”

I raise my head and immediately notice that Scarlett’s on the big screen again, only she’s somewhere in the stands this time, ready to watch the game. But, as the camera pans away, I put a hand down on the outfield grass to steady myself.

Turns out she’s sitting directly behind home plate, right next to Roberta.

Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1lxKESk

Nook: http://bit.ly/1Xo3zjC

iBooks: http://apple.co/1MLsBRO

 

About the Author

Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball’s biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette‘s impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.

Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as manygames as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she’s not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers. Email her at collette_west@yahoo.com.

She is the author of the New York Kings series which includes: NIGHT GAMES, GAME CHANGER, GAME ON, PERFECTGAME, INSIDE GAME and GAME WINNER.

Author Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Collette–West/537935442972229

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collette_West

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7539982.Collette_West

Website: http://eepurl.com/OetSj

Author Pat Tucker shares Somebody Has To Pay

From the author of Football Widows and Daddy’s maybe, a woman must face the consequences when she tells an unforgivable lie on national television.

After a very embarrassing appearance on the wildly popular syndicated show DNA Revealed, Dani Dawson is reevaluating her life. When she decided to identify Keeling as her daughter’s father, she didn’t think things would go as far as they did. Now she’s faced with mounting problems—and devastating consequences.

Keeling Lake’s life was flipped upside down for years after he was targeted by Dani in her carefully plotted paternity fraud. But now he’s out of jail, and he’s out to exact some revenge of his own. With his meddling mom at his side, Keeling may be headed for more problems than he bargained for.

As the schemes pile up and tensions rise, Dani and Keeling have a lot to learn about forgiveness and truth…before it’s too late.

Purchase Links

http://amzn.to/1LGb90u

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Pat-Tucker/73842239

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/author/pat-tucker/id366446748?mt=11

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pat-Tucker/e/B004FVLFZO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_10?qid=1446212633&sr=1-10

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/pat+tucker?_requestid=72005

 

Get To Know Pat Tucker

Pat Tucker’s novel Football Widows has been optioned as a full-length feature film. By day, Pat works as a radio news director in Houston, TX. By night, she is a talented writer with a knack for telling page-turning stories. A former television news reporter, she draws on her background to craft stories readers will love. With more than fifteen years of media experience, the award-winning broadcast journalist has worked as a reporter for ABC, NBC and Fox affiliate TV stations and radio stations in California and Texas. A Prolific writer, and much sought-after ghostwriter, Pat gets her greatest joy in creating her own stories. She is the author of 13 novels and has participated in three anthologies, including New York Times Bestselling Author Zane’s Caramel Flava. A graduate of San Jose State University, Pat is an active member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Pat loves to meet with book clubs, either in-person, by Skype or by conference call. You may visit Pat at http://www.authorpattucker.com on Facebook, or on twitter @authorpattucker

Often, you write about timely subject matters. Do you thick art imitates life? It’s only natural that art imitates life. As humans we are often touched by what happens to others. In many cases I write about subject matters that I feel passionate about. Sometimes the most unbelievable stories are inspired by real life and those are the ones I enjoy allowing my imagination to run wild with.

Contact

http://authorpattucker.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/166156.Pat_Tucker

https://www.facebook.com/authorpattucker

https://twitter.com/AuthorPatTucker