Dear Abby - Videos Abby Likes: A Dachshund Dog Race

Dear Friends!

I hope you are having a good day! It is feeling more like Spring here every week, and I hope you are getting warmer weather where you live too.

I haven't had a lot of time online this week but I did find a fun, action filled (!) video to share with you. It stars Crusoe, one of the most famous dachshunds. He is in a dachshund dash race with three other dogs: Titan, Rain, and Jellybean. (I really like the name Jellybean!) There is a fun moment at the starting line when Titan stretches out to rest. The race is exciting and fast, though! Crusoe wins a gold medal and he falls asleep during the medal ceremony.

Here is the video for you to enjoy:

There are dachshund races across the country, often at rescue fundraising events. I've never been to one. I wouldn't want to race but might enjoy watching. Have you been to a dachshund race before?

Hope you have a good day! Thanks for coming by.

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - Rhapsody by Mitchell James Kaplan

My Review

Rhapsody is a historical novel set in the 1920's - 1930's. It tells the story of Kay Swift, a pianist who is married to banker James Warburg when she meets and falls in love with composer George Gershwin.

I wanted to read this novel because I love Gershwin's music and was curious about a book exploring his life. I also find the time period and setting (primarily New York City) intriguing.

This read started slowly for me as it filled in Kay's backstory. It picked up speed when she met Jimmy (James Warburg), and especially when George Gershwin entered the picture. By that point I was thoroughly engrossed in the storytelling and sat and read the rest of the book in an afternoon. I wanted to know what happened next!

The author does a wonderful job at setting the scene with music details, famous friends (like Dorothy Parker and Adele Astaire), and descriptions of the entertainment world and society life in the 1920's. There are vivid scenes like:

"The Century Theatre was closed to the public during the day. But the doorman recognized Jimmy, whose family had financed construction of the building, and the elevator operator whisked them up in his polished-brass cage to the enclosed portion of the Roof Garden Pavilion, where a disk was spinning on the Victrola while maintenance employees swept the floor and set tables. Eddie Cantor, backed by an orchestra, sang— Every lyric writer since the world began Has put in overtime in raves about the moon. And when the animals descended from the Ark They sang a song that rhymed with June And tune and spoon. Apart from the restaurant staff and the invisible singer and his orchestra, Jimmy and Katharine had the spacious glass room to themselves. As they proceeded to a table at the far end of the room, Katharine wondered whether Jimmy had not prearranged the entire scene, including the music. It all seemed too picturesque and dreamlike to be entirely spontaneous" (eBook location 1009).

Kay is a complex character - ambitious in a time when this was not encouraged for women, married to one man but in love/obsessed with another. I especially loved the detail of Kay reading The Great Gatsby and seeing some parallels between her fascination with Gershwin and Jay Gatsby's obsession with Daisy Buchanan.

One of the hallmarks of a good historical novel for me is learning more about historic figures or a different time period. Rhapsody provides a unique glimpse at NYC in the 1920's and Gershwin's life - both personal life and his artistry and work.

I enjoyed Rhapsody and recommend it for fans of historical fiction, especially for anyone interested in music, the 1920's - 1930's, old New York, and the life of George Gershwin.

Book Synopsis

One evening in 1924, Katharine “Kay” Swift—the restless but loyal society wife of wealthy banker James Warburg and a serious pianist who longs for recognition—attends a concert. The piece: Rhapsody in Blue. The composer: a brilliant, elusive young musical genius named George Gershwin.

Kay is transfixed, helpless to resist the magnetic pull of George’s talent, charm, and swagger. Their ten-year love affair, complicated by her conflicted loyalty to her husband and the twists and turns of her own musical career, ends only with George’s death from a brain tumor at the age of thirty-eight.

Set in Jazz Age New York City, this stunning work of fiction, for fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, explores the timeless bond between two brilliant, strong-willed artists. George Gershwin left behind not just a body of work unmatched in popular musical history, but a woman who loved him with all her heart, knowing all the while that he belonged not to her, but to the world.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indiebound

Author Bio

Mitchell James Kaplan graduated with honors from Yale University, where he won the Paine Memorial Prize for Best Long-Form Senior Essay submitted to the English Department. His first mentor was the author William Styron.

After college, Kaplan lived in Paris, France, where he worked as a translator, then in Southern California, where he worked as a screenwriter and in film production.

He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with his family and two cats.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway

We have 2 paperback copies of Rhapsody by Mitchell James Kaplan up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 12th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Rhapsody Tour

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - Haunted Hibiscus (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs

Book Synopsis

Tea maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.  

It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion. Known as the Gray Ghost, this dilapidated place was recently bequeathed to the Heritage Society, and tonight heralds the grand opening of their literary and historical themed haunted house.

Though Timothy Neville, the patriarch of the Heritage Society, is not thrilled with the fund-raising idea, it is the perfect venue for his grandniece, Willow French, to sign copies of her new book, Carolina Crimes & Creepers.  

But amid a parade of characters dressed as Edgar Allan Poe, Lady Macbeth, and the Headless Horseman, Willow’s body is suddenly tossed from the third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope. Police come screaming in and Theodosia’s boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, is sent to Willow’s apartment to investigate. But minutes later, he is shot and wounded by a shadowy intruder. 

Timothy begs Theodosia to investigate, and shaken by Riley’s assault, she readily agrees. Now, she questions members of the Heritage Society and a man who claims the mansion is rightfully his, as well as Willow’s book publisher and her fiancé, all while hosting a Sherlock Holmes tea and catering several others. 

But the Gray Ghost holds many secrets, as do several other key suspects, while this murder mystery plays out on the eve of Halloween. 

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

Author Bio

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs. 

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:  

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.  

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here! 

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Website – http://www.laurachilds.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

Purchase Links

Amazon   B&N   Kobo   Google Play   IndieBound

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dear Abby - Videos Abby Likes: Fainting Goats!

Dear Friends,

Happy Friday to you! It is March here and it already feels like Spring (most days, at least). Is it Spring-like in your corner of the world?

I have enjoyed learning about fainting goats this week. My friend Shari sent me a video from National Geographic that tells all about them (in a very short time). They are cute little goats that fall down when they are excited. They don't actually faint, but their legs lock up. Here is the little video with the story of fainting goats:

Here is another video I found on Youtube. It is about a fainting goat who gets excited and faints when he is on a swing! He is not hurt, though. 

I have never met a fainting goat but I think I want to now. I wonder if they like little dogs? Have you ever met one of these goats? My Momma has not, although she likes goats in general very much. We have goats in this area who "rent out" to graze on yards that have lots of greenery. Momma ALWAYS stops the car to take pictures. Here is a photo she took of a grazing goat that climbed a tree!  (He is facing the other direction but if you click on the photo you can see him in the tree.)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - The Earl's Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter

My Review

The Earl's Lady Geologist is a unique Regency romance set in 1817 England. It tells the story of Cassandra Linfield, who has a love of fossils and who wants to pursue this dream as a lifelong passion -- in a time when careers were not open to women.  She meets Edward, Lord Rothbury, who is a gentleman geologist. Although they have a common passion for geology, sparks fly constantly during their interactions. As Cassy spends time with the Rothbury family, she gets to know Edward better while they navigate a possible future together.

I wanted to read this novel because I love the Regency period. I found the idea of a woman pursuing geology during that time intriguing.

This book was such a delightful surprise!  Alissa Baxter has a fine knack for Regency detail, including delightful references to some Jane Austen novels and characters. 

Cassy's passion for fossils, which she learned from her parents who worked in the geology field together, was vividly drawn. I love when I learn things from a book and I enjoyed the little details about fossils and geology that were interspersed throughout this novel.

Cassy and Edward are one of my favorite pairings from recent reads. They truly seemed, on many levels, to have a marriage of true minds, although they both had some stubbornness and awkwardness that built stumbling blocks for a romance.

There was a mystery involved in the story that put the characters in jeopardy and added some additional excitement to the narrative.

The author even included details about women who pursued geology during the 1800's, both as characters in the novel and in the historical afterward. The historical notes after the novel were fascinating and I recommend that readers look for them.

I really enjoyed The Earl's Lady Geologist and look forward to reading future books in this series. I recommend this book for fans of Regency fiction, Janeites, and anyone who is interested in fossils or geology in general.

Book Synopsis

Cassandra Linfield is a lady fossil collector who declares she will never marry as no man will ever take her studies seriously. When circumstances force her to travel to Town for the Season, Cassy infiltrates the hallowed portals of the Geological Society from which she has been banned. She is horrified when she comes face to face with her nemesis, the infuriating Earl of Rothbury.

Lord Rothbury is a gentleman-geologist with a turbulent romantic past. After a youthful disappointment he vows never to fall in love again, and makes the decision, instead, to seek out a convenient wife when he returns to England from his geological travels abroad.

Brought together by their close family ties, Cassy and Rothbury collaborate on a geological paper and discover a powerful attraction. Marriage, however, is the one subject they cannot agree upon. But when Cassy’s life is threatened, the two realise that love matters more than their objections.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | Kobo

Author Bio

Alissa Baxter was born in a small town in South Africa, and grew up with her nose in a book on a poultry and cattle farm. At the age of eleven she discovered her mother’s collection of Georgette Heyer novels. The first Heyer novel she ever read was Sylvester and she was hooked on Georgette Heyer after that. She read and reread her novels, and fell totally in love with the Regency period and Heyer’s grey-eyed heroes! After school and university, where she majored in Political Science and French, she published her first Regency novel, The Dashing Debutante.

Alissa travelled overseas and worked as a flight attendant in Dubai before she moved to England, where she did an odd assortment of jobs while researching her second novel, Lord Fenmore’s Wager, which she wrote when she moved back to South Africa. Alissa’s third Regency novel, A Marchioness Below Stairs, is the sequel to Lord Fenmore’s Wager.

Alissa has lived in Durban and Cape Town but she eventually settled in Johannesburg where she lives with her husband and two sons. Alissa is also the author of two chick-lit novels, Send and Receive and The Blog Affair, which have been re-released as The Truth About Series: The Truth about Clicking Send and Receive and The Truth About Cats and Bees.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 26. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Earl's Lady Geologist