Thursday Trailer/Blog Tour: Past Tense: 365 Tools for Putting Stress Behind You by Shawn Kilgarlin

Past Tense: 
365 Tools for Putting Stress Behind You 
by Shawn Kilgarlin



Hardcover: 452 pages
Publisher: American Screening Corp (April 1, 2013)
Amazon Link


About the Book:

Stress Relief is right here, in your hands.
Are you tense and need a break? You will love this book! Open it to any page on any day. You'll find guidance and useful tips that are positive, fun, light-hearted and profound so you can get the peace of mind you really need - right now. Whenever you feel bothered and annoyed, fearful, insecure, angry or frustrated, it is probably from on of these:


•Daily Hassles - traffic jams, lost keys, bills to pay, unruly children
•Workplace - office politics, lack of respect, unemployment, helplessness
•Environmental - noise, pollution, harsh lighting, crowds
•Life Changes - college, marriage, divorce, aging, emergencies, grieving
•General Anxiety - holidays, peer pressure, addictions, feeling inadequate
Don't worry, we have you covered. Designed for easy reading and fast relief, Past Tense gives you 365 engaging "page-a-day" stories to put your stress to rest. Each one brings you a healthy does of feeling better every day of the year. Sprinkled with inspiring quotes, thoughtful sayings and profound wisdom from the world's great philosophers, modern thinkers, and major religions, Past Tense give soothing, down-to-earth advice for people of all ages. Use it to get "past tense" right away - and stay that way for life!

Work Stress. Management Stress. Money Stress. Life Stress!

They’re All Part of Everyday Life, BUT…

There are practical solutions and secrets that you can start using right away:

Fundamental understanding and management of stress is within your grasp.

With its 365 engaging, “page-a-day” stories, Past Tense offers a healthy dose of stress relief for every day of the year. The book covers every stress-generating scenario imaginable while teaching: the full impact of stress on your life; how to react to any crisis with composure; ways to read the warning signs of stress burnout; and tips on becoming a master of new behavioral patterns that help you live a highly stress-reduced life.

Past Tense is guaranteed to provide guidelines for creative problem solving while giving you positive-habit-forming techniques for tackling difficult situations. In its alternately fun, light-hearted, yet profound pages, you’ll discover ways to reduce harmful stress and increase productivity across the spectrum in areas including:

• Daily challenges (traffic, lost keys, workplace woes)
• Workplace pressures (office politics, lack of control, job loss)
• Environmental stressors (noise, pollution, harsh lighting, crowds)
• Life changes (college, marriage, divorce, aging, grieving)
• Stresses related to family, holidays, peer pressure, addiction, and much more

Sprinkled with quotes, sayings, and profound wisdom from ancient philosophers, modern thinkers, and the world’s major religions, Past Tense offers down-to-earth, common sense advice that speaks powerfully to readers of all ages and cultures. Use this lively stress-handling encyclopedia to get “past tense” and stay that way – for life! 

Book Giveaway: SHADOW ON THE CROWN by Patricia Bracewell

A rich tale of power and forbidden love revolving around a young medieval queen

In 1002, fifteen­-year-old Emma of Normandy crosses the Narrow Sea to wed the much older King Athelred of England, whom she meets for the first time at the church door. Thrust into an unfamiliar and treacherous court, with a husband who mistrusts her, stepsons who resent her and a bewitching rival who covets her crown, Emma must defend herself against her enemies and secure her status as queen by bearing a son.

Determined to outmaneuver her adversaries, Emma forges alliances with influential men at court and wins the affection of the English people. But her growing love for a man who is not her husband and the imminent threat of a Viking invasion jeopardize both her crown and her life.

Based on real events recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Shadow on the Crown introduces readers to a fascinating, overlooked period of history and an unforgettable heroine whose quest to find her place in the world will resonate with modern readers.

GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY

Penguin is giving away a paperback copy of SHADOW ON THE CROWN. This is open to readers and bloggers from the US and must be 18 years old and above.

  

To join the giveaway, just leave a comment with your email. Extra points will be given to those who will follow Bookingly Yours and share this post thru Facebook and Twitter with the link/s included in the comment section. Giveaway ends on February 20 and winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

GOODLUCK!!

Guest Author/Blog Tour: Rena Fruchter

Procrastination

So…my next book is due in eight months.  The sequel to this one.

That’s PLENTY of time.  More than enough time to write a book or two.

Let me first take care of the 2,427 emails that have piled up in my Inbox.  Not to mention the mail and bills that are all over the dining room table, with nobody else taking care of them. 

Well, I can certainly spare a couple of weeks, right?

Very important to get things organized first, before plunging into the next book.
My clothes are all over the place.  What?  These clothes aren’t even the right season.  All I have to do is pull out the drawers filled with summer stuff and replace them with winter stuff.

Really…I only need six months to write this book.  I can do it.  I’ve only got two trips to make during that time, two big events that need planning, and a few other projects.
OKAY.  Got to start.  Today.  Should I start at the beginning? Or plunge right into the middle of the book.  Maybe Chapter 23 would be good.  I know what’s going to happen in the middle.  I can always go back to the beginning later.  Then it won’t read like I started at the beginning and it got better later in the book.

I think I’ll have to start tomorrow. I just need to get another dog first.  My dog is lonely.  She really needs a companion.  I’m sure my husband won’t mind.  Well, it might take a little of the time I really need to work on the book, but the new dog can keep my old one company while I’m ignoring them both, locked in my study working on the book.

Argh.  Can’t move into the study just yet.  All my notes from the last book are still taped to the walls, with scribbling all over them.  And the various drafts of the cover, so I could look at them for a few days before deciding which worked best.  Admittedly that was months ago.  All I need to do is go to the store and pick up a couple of plastic storage boxes for all the old notes from the last book.

After I go to the pet store and see if the perfect dog is there.

Do I really need more than five months to write this book?

I’ll write one sentence first! Then at least I will have started this book. 

But what if it’s the world’s worst sentence, as bad as “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Best to wait one more day so I can think of a really good sentence!

The Orchestra Murders
By Rena Fruchter

Paperback: 390 pages

Publisher: AUK Authors (October 22, 2012)

Amazon Link

Kindle Edition

File Size: 1041 KB

Print Length: 390 pages

Publisher: AUK Authors; 2.0 edition (October 10, 2012)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Amazon Link

Synopsis:

Superstar conductor Sir Gregory Langhorne and his globe-trotting, violin-soloist son Jonathan Langhorne are the best of friends—until a brutal murder shatters their lives and Jonathan becomes the prime suspect.

Six years later, Sir Gregory is now the music director of the world famous Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and has finally reconciled with his son Jonathan, just as members of the orchestra are being killed off one by one.

The challenge for brilliant young hotshot Philadelphia Detective Cynthia Masters is to solve not only the orchestra murders, but the question of why murder seems to follow the Langhornes. Has Masters finally met her match—a case that cannot be solved? Set in London and Philadelphia, this dramatic story of murder, infidelity, and the abuse of money and power establishes Cynthia Masters as a world-class detective in this thrilling and unusual mystery.

About the author: 

Rena Fruchter is the author of three books—two critically acclaimed books in the biographical genre—Dudley Moore—An Intimate Portrait, and I’m Chevy Chase…and you’re not. And now, her exciting and soon to be released book: The Orchestra Murders—A Cynthia Masters Mystery

Ms. Fruchter is a renowned pianist, writer and educator, and director of an arts organization. Her performances have taken her throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and the Far East in both solo and ensemble appearances. She made her solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of six, performing the Haydn Piano Concerto in D Major. Appearances with other orchestras and on radio and television followed. At age eleven, she gave her first performance with the Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler at the Esplanade, later returning to perform the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Boston Pops in Symphony Hall.

For twelve years, Rena Fruchter was a music columnist for the New York Times. She was also a music critic and an arts commentator for New Jersey Public Television, the London Music Correspondent for the Boston Herald and a contributor to many other publications. Her radio interview series, “Backstage Portraits,” was broadcast throughout the United States.

A graduate of Brandeis University, Rena also holds degrees in both piano performance and pedagogy from the Royal College of Music in London, England, where she studied with Louis Kentner and Lamar Crowson. She also studied with two distinguished Nadias--Nadia Boulanger in France and Nadia Reisenberg in New York.

Rena is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Music For All Seasons, an organization that presents musical programs for people confined in institutions including hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and special facilities for children. The organization also runs “Voices of Valor,” which provides workshops for veterans to write and record their own songs. The organization was co-founded by Rena and her husband, Brian Dallow. Dudley Moore was the Founding Advisory Board President of Music For All Seasons, which is now in its 21st year.

Rena is CEO of Martine Avenue Productions, a company co-created with Dudley Moore to bring his musical works to the public. The company has produced seven CDs, the latest, the two-CD set Dudley Down Under—unabridged, the complete live Dudley Moore Trio concert at Sydney Town Hall (Australia) on May 2, 1978. This CD is produced in honor of Dudley on the tenth anniversary of his death.

The company donates a portion of its proceeds to two charities designated by Dudley—the international research fund of the US-based “Cure PSP” and “Music For All Seasons, Inc.”

With long-time friend and colleague Dudley Moore, Rena toured the United States and Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East in two-piano performances.

Rena Fruchter is the author of the critically acclaimed book Dudley Moore—An Intimate Portrait, published in 2004 by Ebury/Random House/UK and subsequently published in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Her popular book I’m Chevy Chase…And You’re Not, an innovative biography presenting the American comedy icon in a fascinating and revealing look at his life and work, was published in the UK and US. The only authorized biography of Chevy Chase, it provides a comprehensive view of the brilliant and complex actor, comedian and writer.

Her new book has just been published and is called The Orchestra Murders—A Cynthia Masters Mystery.

Rena is married to Brian Dallow, and they are the parents of four adult children, including a set of triplets. They live in New Jersey.

www.renafruchterbooks