Well, life sure can throw some curveballs at ya but, I'm still standing. Fingers crossed, life has settled a bit and I can resume by blog duties. While I have still been reading, I have not had the time to post on my blog very often, due to those curveballs I mentioned. However, I am very excited to pick it back up. I might not post quite as often as I was, especially at first, but I will be posting. Some books/reviews will be for books that have been out a while. My NetGalley list has grown a bit over this last year or so, again, due to those curveballs.
Anyway, I appreciate all of your love and support and hope you will continue to follow me and pop in on Cat's Reviews.
Have an amazing day!
Cat
Showing posts with label #CatsReviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #CatsReviews. Show all posts
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Monday, January 21, 2019
Author Spotlight! BRENDA NOVAK! WITH A GIVEAWAY TOO!
Welcome to a new feature on Cat's Reviews - Author Spotlights!
Our Very First Author Spotlight is.....
BRENDA NOVAK!!
About Brenda....
It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career.
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Many of her novels have won or placed in contests such as the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Write Touch, the Award of Excellence and the Beacon Award for Published Authors.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. When she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking — she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
Links to Follow Brenda
COMING SOON FROM BRENDA...
Available
February 26, 2019
BOOK SUMMARY
New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak returns to Silver Springs, where no past mistake is so big the heart can’t find a way to fix it.
Jada Brooks couldn’t have known how her life would change when she fell for bad boy Maddox Richardson back in high school. She couldn’t have known his troubled brother would leave hers forever crippled. Or that she’d be forced to shun Maddox completely—only to discover she was carrying his child.
Although Maddox was devastated by the events that transpired that fateful night, losing Jada was the worst of it. He’s back in Silver Springs, ready to make amends and provide the kind of youth outreach that once saved him. If only he’d known Jada was in town too, he would never have come.
Jada’s returned to Silver Springs to be with family after her father’s death. But when she sees Maddox, every tough decision she’s made concerning their now twelve-year-old daughter begins to haunt her. Falling for him again is so tempting, but not only does she stand to alienate her family—if he finds out about Maya, she could lose what matters most.
TBR/BUY LINKS
APPLE BOOKS
BRENDA'S ONLINE BOOK GROUP
BRENDA'S ONLINE BOOK GROUP
I have been a member of Brenda's Online Book Group for a while now. It is a fabulous group with super friendly members that share their joy of books (especially Brenda's!) but always show support and love for one and all when needed. There is a monthly book club meeting, where, often Brenda visits the author of that month's read and interviews him or her. As members of the group, we can ask questions and get to watch it live. Brenda and her daughter, Alexa, are very active in the group and post and share all the time.
The next meeting is Jan. 24, 2019 - 5:00pm Pacific/8:00pm Eastern. Stop by and check it out!
Here is a summary from Brenda's website as well as the link to join!
"Welcome to my book group. This is an online group of avid readers that utilizes what’s called a Facebook “group” page. We are 13,300 members strong and are quickly becoming friends as we share our love of books. If you are on FB and haven’t joined yet, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brendanovaksbookgroup/.
When I got to meet Brenda!!
Last May, I attended the RT Convention in Reno, NV and Brenda was an attending author! I was thrilled! Not only did I meet her and her daughter, Alexa, (who is a huge part of the Book group) at the convention, but they organized a meet and greet for members of her Online Book Group (mentioned above) that were there at RT at a local donut shop. It was such a wonderful way to meet other booklovers in an informal setting (oh, and the donuts were quite yummy too!). Brenda, Alexa, and Brenda's husband were amazingly friendly and welcoming. Arriving and not knowing anyone can be a bit intimidating but the three of them made sure everyone felt as if we were lifelong friends. 😊
GIVEAWAY!! GIVEAWAY!! GIVEAWAY!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Fine Print: Brenda Novak is not involved with the giveaway, neither is Facebook or any other social media. It is strictly the doing of Cat's Reviews.
Monday, January 14, 2019
I'M BACK!!!!!
Hi Lovely Followers! 💓💓
I am happy to say that I will be once again posting about wonderful books (yes, mostly romance as that is my favorite genre).
Please forgive me for the hiatus. I believe I had previously posted about some health issues that arose last summer. It has taken me a while to get back on track and blogging just wasn't up there on the list while I dealt with, not only the physical aspects of my health, but mental and emotional ones too.
Here's a bit of my story:
In July, I visited the doctor with a complaint of abdominal pain. She ordered a CT scan which discovered an abdominal mass. Now, in 2015 I had a complete hysterectomy so it was a bit worrisome since there were no parts down there! I followed up with a gynecological surgeon and the tentative diagnosis was endometrial cancer (which can occur despite the hysterectomy - sometimes some minute cells get left behind) Surgery was scheduled for August.
Surgery Day - once I was out, the doctor scanned before cutting and discovered that it appeared smaller then the previous scans. She decided to go in laproscopically first to see what was going on. Well, lo and behold, it wasn't a gynecological issue but was gastrointestinal one! The mass was attached to my small intestine! (the mass had fallen over which is why I felt it where I did and why it was believed to be gynecological).
Fortunately, one of the top GI doctors was in the next OR and came in to consult. It was successfully removed and recovery began. Now, overall the physical recover from the surgery went very well. I felt fairly good from day one and improved from there.
This is where the mental and emotional issues began. It was a cancerous tumor. After testing, etc., it was determined to be a Gastronintestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST). My prognosis is very good and, while I do need to have treatments, they are in the form of a daily pill. Not terrible but still, a bit overwhelming.
My doctors and additional staff have been fantastic - from the surgeons to my oncologist to the social worker and nutritionist to lab staff, etc. While it can still be overwhelming and there are moments it gets to me, I have a wonderful outlook that these amazing people have helped me achieve. Yes, it will lifelong fight but my odds are good and I am just so happy to live life and enjoy!!
So, there's a summary of why I was MIA these last several months. I already have a few books lined up to post about in the next few weeks - it might take me a bit to get back up to the rate I was posting but I am back and will post away!
I hope all is well with my lovely followers and wish everyone a healthy, happy and amazing 2019!
Cat 😻
I am happy to say that I will be once again posting about wonderful books (yes, mostly romance as that is my favorite genre).
Please forgive me for the hiatus. I believe I had previously posted about some health issues that arose last summer. It has taken me a while to get back on track and blogging just wasn't up there on the list while I dealt with, not only the physical aspects of my health, but mental and emotional ones too.
Here's a bit of my story:
In July, I visited the doctor with a complaint of abdominal pain. She ordered a CT scan which discovered an abdominal mass. Now, in 2015 I had a complete hysterectomy so it was a bit worrisome since there were no parts down there! I followed up with a gynecological surgeon and the tentative diagnosis was endometrial cancer (which can occur despite the hysterectomy - sometimes some minute cells get left behind) Surgery was scheduled for August.
Surgery Day - once I was out, the doctor scanned before cutting and discovered that it appeared smaller then the previous scans. She decided to go in laproscopically first to see what was going on. Well, lo and behold, it wasn't a gynecological issue but was gastrointestinal one! The mass was attached to my small intestine! (the mass had fallen over which is why I felt it where I did and why it was believed to be gynecological).
Fortunately, one of the top GI doctors was in the next OR and came in to consult. It was successfully removed and recovery began. Now, overall the physical recover from the surgery went very well. I felt fairly good from day one and improved from there.
This is where the mental and emotional issues began. It was a cancerous tumor. After testing, etc., it was determined to be a Gastronintestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST). My prognosis is very good and, while I do need to have treatments, they are in the form of a daily pill. Not terrible but still, a bit overwhelming.
My doctors and additional staff have been fantastic - from the surgeons to my oncologist to the social worker and nutritionist to lab staff, etc. While it can still be overwhelming and there are moments it gets to me, I have a wonderful outlook that these amazing people have helped me achieve. Yes, it will lifelong fight but my odds are good and I am just so happy to live life and enjoy!!
So, there's a summary of why I was MIA these last several months. I already have a few books lined up to post about in the next few weeks - it might take me a bit to get back up to the rate I was posting but I am back and will post away!
I hope all is well with my lovely followers and wish everyone a healthy, happy and amazing 2019!
Cat 😻
Friday, March 31, 2017
FOLLOW CAT'S REVIEWS
Hey Folks!
Don't miss out on all the wonderful tours and books featured here on Cat's Reviews. Be sure to friend/like and follow us on:
Don't miss out on all the wonderful tours and books featured here on Cat's Reviews. Be sure to friend/like and follow us on:
More tours and reviews coming soon!
Have a great day and enjoy the weekend!
Cat
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