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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Saturday Snapshot- family photo


Saturday Snapshot
It’s easy to participate – just post a picture
that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

(left-right) Marc, me, my Dad, my Mom, Mitch, and Amber

This photo was taken last Sunday, a day before my oldest son had to head back to Okinawa.  It was a bittersweet day and it went by way too fast. But I'm thankful for the time that I was able to spend with Mitch and with my family.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

I Thought You Were Dead (audio) - Bookish Thoughts #21


What I Thought You Were Dead is about:
For Paul Gustavson, a hack writer for the wildly popular For Morons series, life is a succession of obstacles. His wife has left him, his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, his girlfriend is dating another man, he has impotency issues, and his overachieving brother invested his parents' money in stocks that tanked. Still, Paul has his friends at Bay State bar, a steady line of cocktails, and a new pair of running shoes (he’s promised himself to get in shape). And then there’s Stella, the one constant in his life, who gives him sage advice, doesn’t judge him, and gives him unconditional love. However, Stella won’t accompany Paul into his favorite dive bar. "I'll roll on dead carp, I'll even eat cat turds, but that place grosses me out." Stella, you see, is Paul's aging Lab-shepherd mix, and she knows Paul better than he knows himself.

Why I wanted to read it: Since I've decided to dive into audio books this year, I have been religiously (seriously) going through Diane (Bibliophile by the Sea) and JoAnn's (Lakeside Musing) past posts about their favorite books they've listened to. Both of these wonderful ladies write such thoughtful and well constructed reviews and they have not steered me wrong. I picked this one from Diane's blog because I'm a huge dog lover and thought the whole concept of a dog being able to communicate with its owner was so very clever!

Source: Purchased from Audible.com

  • I loved the narrator on this audio. He did such a great job of delivering Paul's voice and making him at times sound so sad, and then so very pathetic! I also thought he nailed Stella's character perfectly. She just came across to me as a dog with huge personality. I believed it when Stella spoke and what came out of her mouth had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.
  • At first glance this book could really sound dumb...I mean talking dog and all, right? That is so not the case. This is such a touching story and I cried on more than one occasion. It's really all about the human experience of love, loss, family, forgiveness, and moving on. 
  • I found myself rooting for Paul and I loved how he tried to reach out and have a relationship with his father even though it was via IM on the computer and his father was limited in answering yes or no to Paul's questions.
  • Stella is an old soul. I loved her so much...her story made me cry.
This was one of the best audio experiences I've had to date and the story itself was wonderfully articulated by Josh Clark. I loved listening to this one daily and I honestly didn't want the story to come to an end. If you're looking for great audios, do yourself a HUGE favor and visit Diane and JoAnn's blogs. You will not be disappointed!

Bookish Thoughts #21
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Crooked House (audio) - Bookish Thoughts #20



What Crooked House is about:
In the sprawling, half-timbered mansion in the affluent suburb of Swinly Dean, Aristide Leonides lies dead from barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely. In fact, suspicion has already fallen on his luscious widow, a cunning beauty fifty years his junior, set to inherit a sizeable fortune, and rumored to be carrying on with a strapping young tutor comfortably ensconced in the family estate. But criminologist Charles Hayward is casting his own doubts on the innocence of the entire Leonides brood. He knows them intimately. And he's certain that in a crooked house such as Three Gables, no one's on the level...

Why I wanted to read it: I'm on a huge Agatha Christie roll right now. I can't seem to stop myself!

Source: Public Library

  • Before I check out any AC's on audio I make sure that Hugh is the narrator. I absolutely love his voice and he really just does a phenomenal job! 
  • This is one story that I just couldn't get enough of! Normally, I hate driving ,but I couldn't wait to jump in my car so that I could get back to this riveting story.
  • I loved every single aspect of this audio book and if you can believe it or not...I figured out who the murderer was!! I still can't believe it but I did figure it out! 
  • This one has a bit of a creepy gothic feel...not only because of the crooked house but also because of some of the characters. 
Agatha Christie has a way of keeping the reader on their toes and leading them astray with just little tidbits that make the reader second guess their own intuition. I love her writing and her clever twists in her stories! This one will be a top favorite for me!

Bookish Thoughts #20
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea
 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book
 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).
 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!

My selection this week is from The Snow Child , a book that I've seen around the blogosphere and was instantly intrigued by the blogger's reviews!!!



Wolverine River, Alaska, 1920 

  Mabel had known there would be silence. That was the point, after all. No infants coing or wailing. No neighbor children playfully hollering down the lane. No pad of small feet on wooden stairs worn smooth by generations, or clackety-clack of toys along the kitchen floor. All those sounds of her failure and regret would be left behind, and in their place there would be silence.

Would you continue reading this one
 based on the opening paragraph?


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What Are You Reading?


Mailbox Monday 
is a gathering place for readers to share the books that
came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

March Host is 


The Poison Tree and The Dark Rose by Erin Kelly- I won these from Kaye@Pudgy Penguin. I love the synopsis of both of them...can't wait to read them!
----------------------------------------------------


Hosted by
We discuss the books that we've read 
and what we're planning to read for the week.
Last Week's Bookish Thoughts:
The Language of Flowers- stunning debut book, great read!
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe- another Agatha Christie audio..good, but not my fave!

Books I will be talking about this week:
Crooked House- Agatha Christie (audio)
I Thought You Were Dead- (audio)

In My Book Box:
Rush Home Road (Kaye's recommendation)
Deep Down True (Library pick)
King's Agent- Tour Book

Thursday, March 22, 2012

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (audio) - Bookish Thoughts #19

What One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is about:
What reason would an amiable dentist like Dr. Morely have for committing suicide? He didn't have emotional difficulties, money problems, or love trouble. What he did have was an appointment with Hercule Poirot, who is not persuaded by the suicide story and has therefore taken it upon himself to questions the good doctor's patients, partners, and friends. All he's come up with is the numbing fear that Dr. Morely wasn't an unlikely victim at all. Nor the first.


Why I wanted to read it: Because I'm addicted to Agatha Christie right now! Can not get enough!


Source: Public Library

  • I absolutely love Hugh Fraser as a narrator. His voice is wonderful and the pronunciation of his words are so sharp and crisp. I feel like I'm right in heart of England when I'm listening to him tell the story.
  • I liked Poirot a lot in this story and found him to be a very engaging character. I love it when someone ruffles his feathers just a bit and he gets a bit huffy...Fraser really brings him to life!!
  • This was a very complicated plot and at times I found myself struggling to keep the players all in line in my brain. I had absolutely and I mean...ABSOLUTELY no clue who the murderer was in this one. And I had such high hopes for myself! 
In my opinion this one wasn't a favorite for me. I think it may have been that at the end I found the reasons for the murders really strange and almost implausible. I'm glad that I listened to it though and I can now cross off another Christie book from my list!

Bookish Thoughts #19
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Language of Flowers- Bookish Thoughts #18



What The Language of Flowers is about:

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness

Why I Wanted to read it: Because so many of my trusted book friends raved about this one!

Source: My Library

  • I never knew that flowers could convey so many feelings and be interpreted in many ways.
  • I loved the way the author took the reader back in time to when Victoria was younger and then the next chapter being in the here and now. 
  • Reading about Victoria being bounced from home to home broke my heart...unfortunately, I know a lot of kids like Victoria.
  • I thought the story was beautifully executed and when I wasn't reading the book I was thinking about it and what would happen next. I absolutely loved how the flowers were their own character in this story...it was such an unique way to bring all of the story lines together.

I am so glad that I belong to such a wonderful community of book lovers! If I hadn't read glowing review after glowing review from Laurel-Rain, Ti, Sheree, and Diane, I might not have experienced this fantastic debut novel!!

Bookish Thoughts #18
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea
 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book
 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).
 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!

My selection this week is from Rush Home Road, a book that comes highly recommended from my dear friend Kaye @ Pudgy Penguin. 



It stinks of piss in the room. Sharla Cody breathes it in, thinking it's a sweet stink. Reminds her of the little white flowers Mum Addy planted instead of grass on the square out front of her trailer. They keep coming up, those little flowers, year after year. Sharla likes the notion of seeing them each spring, like an expected but unreliable guest.

Would you continue reading this one
 based on the opening paragraph?

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What Are You Reading?


Mailbox Monday 
is a gathering place for readers to share the books that
came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

March Host is 

When all that's left of Me is Love by Linda Campanella- sent to me by the author for an upcoming TLC  Blog Tour
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


We discuss the books that we've read 
and what we're planning to read for the week.


Last weeks Bookish Thoughts and Reviews:
A Stolen Life: a memoir- this is a must read. Jaycee Dugard is an amazing person!
The Odds- first encounter with O'Nan will not be my last..loved it!

Books I will talking about this week:
The Language of Flowers
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

In my Book Box:
The King's Agent
Glow
The Lost Daughter



Friday, March 16, 2012

The Odds by Stewart O'Nan


What "The Odds" is about:
Jobless, nearly homeless, and with their marriage on the brink of collapse, Art and Marion Fowler flee their Cleveland home for one last Valentine's Day hurrah at Niagara Falls. Their days are spent sightseeing, but at night they risk what dwindling resources they have left at the roulette wheel to fix their finances.  A tender yet honest exploration of faith, forgiveness and last chances. The Odds is a reminder that love and life are always a gamble.


Why I wanted to read it: Because so many of my book friends love this author!

Source: NetGalley


  • Even though this is a short novel it packs a wallop and I thought the entire story was superb!
  • I immediately felt a connection with both Art and Marion, especially about the way they were both feeling in regards to their marriage and their own lives. I've been married seventeen years and even though it hasn't been as long as theirs, I have experienced many highs and many lows. 
  • Art tried so hard to make Marion love him again...to bring romance back into their life and for that alone I enjoyed his character.
  • We (as spouses) don't realize how easily we hurt each other. After years of living with our partner we tend to give them less of ourselves and at times treat them callously. Art and Marion have moments where they each recall how much in love they were at one time and wonder if they could ever get back to that place again.
  • I really liked how each chapter started with the odds of some event occurring.....great device to foreshadow what was to come in the story.
  • The ending....it was fitting!

I will certainly be adding O'Nan books to my future reading stacks. I loved his writing style and the way he told the story. He made me feel for the characters and at times I wondered if he read my own mind.....wonderful story and highly recommended!

Source: NetGalley and Penguin Group USA
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 179
Published:  January 2012
*Uncorrected ARC

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group USA for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel. 

Book Review #8
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

A Stolen Life: a memoir- Bookish Thoughts #17



What A Stolen Life is about:


In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen. 
For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse. 

For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation. 

On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim. I survived. 

A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it



Why I wanted to read it: I was browsing the shelves in the library and saw it. I knew that at some point I wanted to read her story but wasn't sure if I was strong enough to get through it. Then I realized I was being stupid...she was STRONG enough to endure the abuse for eighteen years....she was STRONG enough to write down her story. I owed it to her to read it!

Source: Public Library


  • I remember when Jaycee went missing and it broke my heart to even try to imagine what her family was going through. I was soon to be a new mother myself and the whole thought of child abduction scared me beyond belief! 
  • I could only imagine the hell that she endured but it was an entirely different thing when I read what actually happened to her. At times I just sat there and cried....I wanted to hug her.
  • I was ANGRY at the number of times someone could have saved her! The Parole officers never once looked in the back yard..HELLO PEOPLE! One time she was even seen by a parole officer. Why didn't they question the existence of a young girl in the house of a registered sex offender???? WHY!?
  • The neighbors! Are you serious, can you honestly say that you never heard or saw anything strange going on over there??? 
  • Her notebooks broke my heart...can I just say that they seriously broke my heart. 
  • Jaycee is one of the strongest women I've ever read about! I'm amazed at her resilience, her courage, her fierce love for her daughters, her forgiveness of her abductors, and her ability to move on.
This is a book that needs to be read. Her story needs to be heard and I honestly feel that we all have a duty to read it, ....to arm ourselves better about predators and warning signals. We need to quit worrying about pissing off the neighbors or rocking the boat. If we sense something is wrong we need to go with our gut-instinct. I believe God gave it to us for just this purpose...to protect the innocent!

Bookish Thoughts #17
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Guest Post: Author M.J. Rose talks about fragrances




M.J. Rose:  I've been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances... since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother's dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination... (researched and described  with the help of the perfume writer  Dimitrios Dimitriadis)





ROGER & GALLET - VERA VIOLETTA

Long-standing perfume and toiletries giants Roget et Gallet launched Vera Violette in 1892 at the height of La Belle Époque… it was also the first violet perfume to combine natural violet leaf oil and synthetic alpha and beta ionones. Vera Violetta was released as a parfum essence in highly concentrated form. Its pretty, saccharine opening of violets veil a deeper, huskier core. A swelling herbaceous accord swims beneath the surface alongside a husky dry-grass note which furnishes the perfume with fathomless depth. There is a slightly animalic leathery facet which, whilst fleeting, renders this perfume an "abstract" of violets, and an incredible one at that. Sadly, whilst it has been reprised several times over the decades since, Vera Violetta has now retired and remains to this day a perfume pillar of yesteryear.


To find out more about Rose's newest release, The Book of Lost Fragrances, please visit the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour website.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea
 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book
 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).
 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!


My selection this week is from These Girls, a review book that I'm really excited about reading because this is my first experience with author, Sarah Pekkanen. 



"Hold it!" A voice commanded.
  The elevator was already crowded- at a few minutes before 10:00 a.m., everyone was heading for the upper floors of the Manhattan skyscraper that housed office space for a half  dozen glossy magazines- but Cate Sommers instinctively reached out and prevented the doors from closing.
  "Thanks."
  The air cracled with energy as Trey Watkins stepped inside, and Cate saw one young woman nudge another. Trey wore faded jeans, hiking boots, a green henley shirt, and his cheeks were slightly windburned, as if he'd just finished scaling a mountain. Which he probably had, right before he'd started a fire by rubbing two sticks together, and, Cate thought as she managed to avoid rolling her eyes, possibly shimmied up a tres to save a stranded bear cub.

Would you continue reading this one
 based on the opening paragraph?



Monday, March 12, 2012

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday....What Are You Reading?


Mailbox Monday 
is a gathering place for readers to share the books that
came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

March Host is 

Wild Thing- the ever gracious Jill@Rhapsody in Books sent this to me because I told her it sounded like a great book that my oldest son and I could read together. Thanks so much, Jill!
The Golden Hour- I won this one from Anna@ Diary of an Eccentric. Can't wait to read it!
-----------------------------------------------


We discuss the books that we've read 
and what we're planning to read for the week.

Last Week's Bookish Thoughts and Book Reviews:
Ryan's Reviews- he loved The Maze Runner and gave it a perfect 10!
The Book of Lost Fragrances- loved this author's style...I'll be back for more!
On Chesil Beach- understated and spectacular all at the same time!

Books I will be talking about this week:
The Odds by Stewart O'Nan
Stolen Life: a memoir by Jaycee Dugard

In my Book Box: (still working on these)
These Girls
The Song Remains the Same
The King's Agent


Sunday, March 11, 2012

"Be The Match"- Life Update in the Thumb


Hi Friends!
I wanted to take just a minute to tell you about some exciting news that is happening within my family. My oldest son joined The Match Registry when he was going through boot camp. Last year he was contacted because he was an initial match to be a donor. Well, several months and multiple tests later  he found out that he's almost a PERFECT match! He flew in yesterday from Okinawa and is in the D.C. area with his wife. I will be flying down later this week to be with him during his procedure and once he's done we will be coming home together on Saturday evening. He's so excited to be able to do this for someone. He's in great shape, takes good care of himself, and I know his recovery may be a bit painful but he's prepared for it. I will be there to hold his hand because his wife has finals this week for her college classes. I'm so thankful that I can do this for both of them....how did they turn into adults already???  His gift of life has inspired me to join the Match Registry!

Please keep my son and the person he's donating to in your thoughts and prayers this week. I pray for 100% success for the transplant and that this will give the Leukemia patient a new lease on life!

Thanks so much for your support and love!
Staci


**I will be out of commission Wednesday - Saturday and will catch up with all of your blogs next Sunday!


Saturday, March 10, 2012

Saturday Snapshot- June and Ward


Saturday Snapshot
It’s easy to participate – just post a picture
that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

TRUE LOVE

I have been blessed in my life with wonderful role models of love, commitment, and marriage. The two people above have been my second parents during my entire life. I don't really know what I would have done without them. I affectionately call them June and Ward Cleaver because they are so down-to-earth, wholesome, and the All-American married couple! My Aunt Delta and Uncle Gary were high school sweethearts. They married right after my aunt graduated and they've been together close to 50 years!!!!!!! 

Friday, March 9, 2012

On Chesil Beach - Bookish Thoughts #16


What Chesil Beach is about:
It is July 1962. Florence is a talented musician who dreams of a career on the concert stage and of the perfect life she will create with Edward, an earnest young history student at University College of London, who unexpectedly wooed and won her heart. Newly married that morning, both virgins, Edward and Florence arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their worries about the wedding night to come. Edward, eager for rapture, frets over Florence’s response to his advances and nurses a private fear of failure, while Florence’s anxieties run deeper: she is overcome by sheer disgust at the idea of physical contact, but dreads disappointing her husband when they finally lie down together in the honeymoon suite.


Why I wanted to read it:
I picked this book because it was a favorite read of 2011 from JoAnn's (Lakeside Musings) list. Read her review here.

Source: My Public Library

  • I loved the author's writing and found myself instantly engaged in the story. 
  • I felt drawn to Edward and at times Florence, but then she would withdraw her affections from Edward and I would be left wondering why in the world she ever wanted to get married in the first place.
  • It seemed as if they were both playing house....and then SEX came barging in to blow their ideal world into pieces.
  • I loved, loved, love the ending!!!
This is my first encounter with McEwan's books and I can say that it won't be my last. Right when I was getting comfortable with his style the book came to an end.  I thought he captured the human struggle perfectly and what I loved the most was that the characters came to life in my mind. 

A huge thanks to JoAnn for introducing me to lovely writing and an author that I more than likely would never have read.

Bookish Thoughts #16
© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose- Blog Tour Review


What "The Book of Lost Fragrances" is about:
Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.  Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac  becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a  scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream infused perfume?  The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra's Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet's battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac's quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.                                                                                                            
 First thought after finishing: "Why is this the first time I've ever read this author??? I love her writing!"

I was instantly and I mean INSTANTLY intrigued and pulled into the story with the very first page. I have always been curious about reincarnation and the whole idea of a scent evoking memories of a former life is one of the most original plots that I've read in the past few years. I love stories that involve Egypt on any level and Rose has certainly done her research. I thought this was a wonderful mixture of adventure, mystery, thriller, and  love story! The characters were well developed and each one brought something important to the story!

Recommend? ABSOLUTELY!  This is probably one of the most enjoyable reads that I've experienced in a long time because the author brought so much to the table with the fascinating countries and cites, the complexity of the story, the intricate weaving of perfume making and how scent can become very deeply rooted in ones memory, and a cast of characters that kept me turning the pages!

Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours/Atria Books/NetGalley
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 416
Published:  March 13, 2012





Click here for tour schedule


M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THEBOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012.  Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio.  Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors -Authorbuzz.com.  The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.  She is also the co-founder ofPeroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.


Disclaimer:Thank you to Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

Review Book #7
© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.