Giveaway – The Ghost Of Shantel Thompson by Curtis Maynard @GoddessFish @CurtisMaynard12

Amazon / Goodreads

THE GHOST OF SHANTEL THOMPSON by Curtis Maynard

GENRE:  Paranormal Thriller

BLURB

When the Riggs family in Mobile, Alabama, faced the mysterious death of their adoptive daughter Shantel Thompson, they never imagined her ghost would linger for decades…

In Curtis Maynard’s heart-stopping paranormal thriller, ‘The Ghost of Shantel Thompson,’ a new family, fifty years later, grapples with a haunting legacy where the line between life and death is hauntingly thin.

Just as they begin to settle into their new life, their own young daughter is gripped by chilling visions of Shantel. It’s not just fleeting shadows—she’s entangled in a vengeful spirit’s relentless quest for justice, a quest that spans generations.

As whispers from the grave reveal long-hidden secrets, this new family faces a terrifying truth: some ghosts refuse to be silenced. Now, they must confront the mystery of Shantel’s death before her ghostly agenda consumes them all.

Dare to uncover the truth? ‘The Ghost of Shantel Thompson’ awaits to send shivers down your spine

EXCERPT

Hours drifted away as they immersed themselves in the accounts of the murder day, meticulously examining interviews with the neighbors. It was during this exhaustive search that Sarah stumbled upon an article that sent a shiver down her spine. Her face turned pale, and she repeated the word “no” in disbelief.

Concern etched on his features, Damian inquired, “Honey, what’s wrong?” His worry grew as he witnessed his wife’s deteriorating condition.

Handing him the article, Sarah whispered, “Read it. It’s about the little girl who was murdered. She was adopted, just like Alicia. And look at the name. Shantel.”

Damian’s trembling hands held the article as he absorbed its contents. Shantel had been ten years old, the exact age their daughter had been when they had adopted her and moved to this very town. The uncanny similarities between the two girls sent a chill down his spine.

“D-Damian?” Sarah attempted to regain her husband’s attention, her voice quivering. “Damian?”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, placing the article down. “It’s just… It hits too close to home. I mean, what are the odds that we would move into the very house where she was killed?”

“And the name, Damian. Shantel. How could Alicia possibly know about her? We never disclosed the fact that a murder had occurred in our home,” Sarah lamented.

“Do you think she found out from someone else?” Damian posed the question, searching for answers.

“Who, Damian? She hardly leaves the house, except to go to school. Yet somehow, she learned about Shantel. Unless… never mind,” Sarah dismissed a fleeting thought, her anxiety evident. “I’m letting my imagination run wild again. I’ve watched one too many horror movies,” she chuckled nervously, masking her unease.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Curtis Maynard is an independent filmmaker, screenwriter, and author passionate about suspenseful storytelling. Enthralled by the paranormal, his mysteries and thrillers feature everything from hauntings and visions to cryptic messages from beyond the grave. Curtis currently resides with his wife and son in Alabama, a setting rich with inspiration for his novels and short films. He hopes his stories will leave you spellbound, disquieted, and suspicious of the slightest shuddering shadow.

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Library Borrow – To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee #harperlee #tokillamockingbird

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I quickly discovered why To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a classic and won the Pulitzer Prize. I was immersed in the struggles of a lawyer, a widowed father, raising two young children, while defending a black man charged with raping a white girl.

All the darkness of the times came through the story, racism, classism, and violence in the Deep South during the 1930s. My disgust and anger brought a tear or two to my eye.

Scout, an eight year old girl had me in stitches. Her older brother, Jem, matures as the story develops.

I was smiling and laughing at their thoughts, their innocence, and their vivid imaginations.

“Maybe he died and they stuffed him up the chimney.”

The sophistication of the writing stands the test of time!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel – a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

  • Genre: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
  • 331 pages, Kindle Edition
  • First published July 11, 1960
  • Literary awards:

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1961), Audie Award for Classic (2007), The Quill Award for Audio Book (2007), National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (1961), Alabama Author Award for Fiction (1961)

Original title: To Kill a Mockingbird Series

To Kill a Mockingbird (#1)Setting

Maycomb, Alabama (United States, 1933), Alabama (United States)Characters

Scout Finch, Atticus Finch (The Sanibel Sunset Detective Returns), Jem Finch, Arthur Radley, Mayella Ewell, Aunt Alexandra, Bob Ewell, Calpurnia (housekeeper), Tom Robinson, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Judge John Taylor, Dill Harris, Heck Tate, Stephanie Crawford

ABOUT HARPER LEE

Harper Lee, known as Nelle, was born in the Alabama town of Monroeville, the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who served on the state legislature from 1926 to 1938. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote.

After graduating from high school in Monroeville, Lee enrolled at the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery (1944-45), and then pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-50), pledging the Chi Omega sorority. While there, she wrote for several student publications and spent a year as editor of the campus humor magazine, “Ramma-Jamma”. Though she did not complete the law degree, she studied for a summer in Oxford, England, before moving to New York in 1950, where she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC.

Lee continued as a reservation clerk until the late 50s, when she devoted herself to writing. She lived a frugal life, traveling between her cold-water-only apartment in New York to her family home in Alabama to care for her father.

Having written several long stories, Harper Lee located an agent in November 1956. The following month at the East 50th townhouse of her friends Michael Brown and Joy Williams Brown, she received a gift of a year’s wages with a note: “You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas.”

Within a year, she had a first draft. Working with J. B. Lippincott & Co. editor Tay Hohoff, she completed To Kill a Mockingbird in the summer of 1959. Published July 11, 1960, the novel was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. It remains a bestseller with more than 30 million copies in print. In 1999, it was voted “Best Novel of the Century” in a poll by the Library .

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Giveaway – The Key To Circus Mom Highway by Allyson Rice @ireadbooktours @CircusMomHwy


 

Book Details:

Book Title:  The Key to Circus-Mom Highway by Allyson Rice
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+) ,  270 pages
GenreContemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
PublisherThe Total Human Press
Release date:   Jan 3, 2023
Content RatingPG-13 + M because one of the characters swears a lot, and she drops some f-bombs. Also, there are short flashback scenes that reveal the mom’s history and it includes rape (not graphically depicted in the novel)
Book Description:

In an attempt to secure an unexpected inheritance—and hopefully find a few answers—two estranged sisters and their newly discovered brother embark on a comically surreal trip through the Deep South to retrace the life of the mother who abandoned them as infants.

On a Tuesday afternoon, sisters Jesse Chasen and Jennifer McMahon receive a phone call notifying them that their birth mother has died, leaving behind a significant inheritance. But in order to obtain it, they must follow a detailed road trip she designed for them to get to know her—and that includes finding a brother they never knew existed.

For the next week, this ill-assorted trio treks across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia to meet their mother’s old friends, from circus performers to a juke joint owner, each of whom delivers a shocking vignette into the life of a young mother traumatized by loss and abuse. Along the way, these three siblings—Jesse, whose fiery exterior disguises a wounded, drifting musician stuck in a rut; Jennifer, whose carefully curated family life is threatened by her husband’s infidelity; and Jack, whose enigmatic Jackie, Oh! persona in the New Orleans drag queen scene helps him escape the nightmares of Afghanistan that haunt him at night—must confront their own demons (and at least one alligator). But in chasing the truth about their real mother, they may all just find their second chance.

This uproarious debut novel is a reminder that sometimes, the family you’d never have chosen may turn out to be exactly what you need.
Buy the Book:
Amazon
B&N ~ Kobo ~ Target ~ 
BookBub
add to goodreads

Meet the Author:

Allyson Rice is a writer, mixed media artist, and a producer with Atomic Focus Entertainment, currently splitting her time between Los Angeles, CA, and Rehoboth Beach, DE. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication. After spending many years as an actress on stage and on television, she left acting and spent the next decade running yoga/meditation retreats, women’s retreats, and creativity retreats around the country. After that, she pivoted to focus on her own creative work. In addition to her writing and art, she’s also a photographer.

Some random bits of Allyson trivia:
  1. She’s been skydiving, paragliding, bungee jumping, ziplining through a rainforest, and scuba diving with stingrays;
  2. she has an extensive PEZ dispenser collection;
  3. she played Connor Walsh on As the World Turns for seven years;
  4. she’s been in the Oval Office at the White House after hours;
  5. she’s related to the Hatfields of the infamous Hatfield/McCoy feud; and
  6. her comedic rap music video “Fine, I’ll Write My Own Damn Song” won numerous awards in the film festival circuit. 

Also available from Allyson is her line of women’s coloring books (The Color of JoyDancing with Life, and Wonderland), and The Creative Prosperity PlayDeck, an inspirational card deck about unlocking and utilizing your creative energy in the world. They’re available on www.Allyson-Wonderland.com.

She’s currently at work on her second novel and her fourth women’s coloring book.

Also, anyone who signs up for Allyson’s periodic author newsletter on her website will be entered in a drawing to have a character in her next novel named after them, and a free book will be given away in each newsletter to a subscriber!

connect with the author: website Allyson Wonderland ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ instagram ~ instagram pinterest ~ goodreads bookbub

Enter the Giveaway:
The Key to Circus-Mom Highway by Allyson Rice Book Tour Giveaway



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Florida’s Gulf Coast – Fishing The Local Waters by Jim Hoskins #JimHoskins

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Fishing the Local Waters: Gulf Shores to Panama City

Amazon / Goodreads

Fishing the Local Waters is a great introduction to fishing on the Gulf Coast: the types of fish, prime areas to fish, equipment to fish with, the different methods of fishing and delicious recipes to cook those fish. Includes, maps and GPS coordinates. I do enjoy fishing and would recommend this tacklebox size book packed with useful information.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Two local fishermen share their favorite spots and special techniques in this tackle-box sized guide to angling in Florida’s gulf coast waters. From inland jaunts to shore fishing to a day trip on a boat, the chapters cover everything a tourist or curious local needs for a fruitful outing. Information on the best bait, tackle, and methods are included, as are important safety tips, maps showing choice fishin’ holes, and local recipes for cooking up the catch of the day. LORAN coordinates to more than 50 proven spots to drop a line are included, and a directory of fishing businesses on the Emerald Coast completes this angling guide.

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Here I Go Again! Tropical Storm Delta #hurricane #tropicalstorm @whitesnakeblog

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Haven’t even taken care of the issues from Sally and here we go again. Have everything crossed and hoping it stays west. Sorry everyone, but I have had enough.

Tropical Storm Delta Expected to Become a Hurricane Danger to Gulf Coast

Redneck Riviera – Saved at the Alabama Florida Line by Chris Warner #florabama #chriswarner

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Mr Wonderful and I are frequent visitors to The Florabama, which is known as the Refneck Riviera. We have spent many wonderful hours drinking Bushwackers and Bloody Mary’s, alone and with friends, watching the waves roll in. Every year they have one of the world’s largest beach parties, the Mullet Toss, where people come from all over the world.

One day I walked in and immediately stopped at Chris Warner’s table…books…

Saved at the Alabama Florida Line jumped right off the table and into my hands. I loved signed copies and bought two books, hoping to see him again some time and buy more.

Have you every visited The Florabama on the Gulf Coast?

Saved at the Alabama-Florida Line

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love books that take place in a familiar location and Saved at the Alabama Florida Line by Chris Warner describes the place perfectly. I have visited The Florabama many times and we always take any visitors we have to share a cocktail and enjoy the view.

I walked into Florabama one day, me and Mr Wonderful were there for our Florabama fix and a delicious Bushwacker. I walked in the door and saw Chris Warner with his books and I immediately snatched a couple, getting them both autographed. With Covid going on, my hope to see him again and grab some more books from him went out the window.

All that being said, Saved at the Alabama Florida Line brought back memories of when I first moved to Alabama. I packed my dog and everything that would fit in my car and I drove to….Alabama.

I have visited the Redneck Riviera many times, I worked at Trinity’s and have the T shirts and sweat shirts to prove it, bought my first Mardi Gras ball gown at a small specialty shop in Fairhope, went to a party for the Kenny Stable Golf Tourney at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, spent a Mullet Toss weekend on Ono Island, have traveled 65 to 59 into Bay Minette and on to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, had a cocktail at Pink Pony Pub and bought the sweat shirt (it was chilly that day), went to a Jimmy Buffet concert on the Gulf Coast to raise awareness of the BP oil spill.

I remember my first glimpse of the white, sugary sands of Florida and thought, oh man, that looks so much like snow. It’s hard to describe unless you see it and walk through it yourself.

We travel from Point Clear to Seville Quarter here in Pensacola, with many stops along the way, enjoying cocktails, music and fun. After a little bit of partying, the Waffle House is a must stop to soak up the alcohol. Luckily, there is one right across the street from The Florabama.

Saved at the Alabama Florida Line has so many factual truths with a love story on the side. Who knows how many people have met there and gone on to have a love story of their own. I personally know of one couple, a good friend of ours and a woman we met at the Mullet Toss are still going strong years later. Ya just never know.

I loved traveling down memory lane, especially because I cannot be there due to Covid. I miss those moments of relaxation, with no cares, now worries. I long for those times and maybe a reread is in order because it will be a long time before I step through the doors again.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS

Johnny Glass has had it with Nashville. Its many posers, pimps and politicians preyed on him for four difficult years, leaving him disheartened. A talented, struggling singer-songwriter, he still yearns to make a living doing what he loves, writing and singing songs. A former band mate lives in a broken down Airstream camper on the Florida-Alabama State line near the sparkling Gulf of Mexico—for free. Playing music and singing songs at the world-famous Flora-Bama Lounge and Package Store on the beach is his everyday gig. Johnny has a standing offer to join his buddy anytime, as the owner of the place is a lover of singer-songwriters, and could certainly use someone with his skills.
Lucy Whitman is a sophomore debutante at the University of South Alabama and the privileged daughter of an Alabama State Senator. Uninterested in her life as a university student and sorority girl, Lucy tilts to the wild side on the weekends where she sings, unbeknownst to her overbearing parents, in a bona fide honky-tonk band at America’s Last Great American Roadhouse, the Flora-Bama. Instead of planned summer school, she has decided to spend the entire tourist season singing; and if it goes well, she likely won’t go back to South.
For Johnny and Lucy, it’s love at first sight. Through joined artistry their relationship grows, and they become a popular on-stage duo. They enjoy each other and the creative fulfillment the partnership brings. However, Lucy’s mother and powerful father want nothing of their daughter playing a honky-tonk joint in Orange Beach. After gently trying to win her favor, they make their strongest, connected attempt toward altering her brazen life path; and it has devastating consequences—not only for Lucy’s music, but for everyone living on Pleasure Island: The beloved Flora-Bama may be shuttered—for good.
Lucy’s father uses his political connections to deploy an army of state government agents against the beach bar, trumping up dozens of unfounded charges resulting in its indefinite closure. Already in financial trouble stemming from bad outside investments, a great recession and an unprecedented manmade environmental disaster, the bar cannot afford to be closed during the lucrative tourist season.
Johnny and Lucy, the locals and the rest of the musicians join forces with the Flora-Bama’s loveable owner and come up with a plan to save the quintessential beach bar, and the community it faithfully supports. In doing so, Johnny and Lucy realize the grand futility of commercial success, and the bountiful wealth they already possess—from living and enjoying life, making music and many friends, in a beautiful, unforgettable place like no other.
Saved at the Alabama-Florida Line is a romantic, satirical tale of forbidden love that seeks to draw semblance to Southern living, art, failed politics and pop culture.

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Doo Dah Day Pictorial #doodahday #animals #photographs

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I am experimenting with Nextgen Gallery. I have had it for a long time, just never really used it. Now is the time, seeing Mr Wonderful is scanning images from our photo albums before they fade too badly. Unfortunately, the negatives have become damaged due to all the humidity down here and it is even more important to save them now.

Mobile, Alabama holds a Doo Dah Parade every spring and these are from 1997. I can tell this was still in the film days, because I had to limit how many photographs I took due to cost. I still like film the best, but I can click away with digital and that is an advantage I revel in. There are ups and downs to everything.

This is a slide show, but you can click on the individual photograph to see it better, then scroll through them using the buttons below the photograph.

I hope you enjoy.

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Sherry’s Shelves #193 – Weeks Bay, Alabama #PitcherPlants

Sherry’s Shelves #193 is my weekly update from 7.14.19 – 7.20.19.

LATEST HAPPENINGS

Hello fellow bloggers. I have missed posting Sherry’s Shelves for the past few weeks. Not enough time in the day for doing everything and I knew I wouldn’t be able to respond to you in a timely fashion. Commenting and email take up so much time and I find it hard to stick to a schedule to make it easier for myself. How do you find the time?

Mr Wonderful had a freelance fishing gig and saw this sign and went in to investigate. Weeks Bay, Alabama. Now that he’s found it, he has to take me there! Pitcher Plants…I kept trying to remember what we called them as kids. We would find them in the woods around our house in Michigan…Jack in the Pulpits is what we called them. Fascinating plants.

Image may contain: Eric Fundin, smiling, tree, sunglasses, outdoor, nature and closeup
Image may contain: plant, flower, grass, outdoor and nature
Pitcher Plants
Image may contain: plant, flower, grass, nature and outdoor
I love the ‘veins’ in this beautiful Pitcher Plant
Image may contain: plant, tree, sky, grass, outdoor and nature
I have got to visit this boardwalk.

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

COMING UP ON fundinmental

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Christmas In July – Winter Wonderland by Jane Blythe
  • Christmas In July – Merry Me by Amanda Siegrist
  • Fact & Fiction – River Passage by P M Terrell
  • Books From The Backlog – Ghost Storm by Jessie Costin
  • Purrfectly Pawsome Cozies – Summer Snoops Unleashed
  • Fact & Fiction Collide in Zombieland – Law and Addiction by Mike Papantonio
  • Giveaway & Review – A Monster of all Time by J T Hunter

What are you up to this week? Reading any good books? Watching any good movies?

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Sherry’s Shelves #181- Golf & Senior Bowl #Senior Bowl

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Sherry’s Shelves #181 is my weekly update from 1.24.19 – 1.30.19.

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Hi Everyone. Hope you had a great week and managed to stay warm at this cold weather hits. The sun may be out here in Florida, but, man oh man, it is chilly. I get goose bumps if there is a slight breeze and it’s under 70. I forgot to look at the grass this morning, but the temp was under 40. Yesterday we had frost, YUK! That’s just wrong

I don’t know if I am having allergy attacks or getting a cold, OH NO. I started last year with a horrible case of the flu, so I am leery of being out and about this time of year. Looks like maybe I wasn’t careful enough, you know, WASH YOUR HANDS, DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE, type of stuff.

Oh well, such is life…and there is lots of blogging to do. Let me know what your week has been like and I hope you have a good one.

We played golf on Tuesday and this is how I felt.

Image may contain: Eric Fundin and Sherry Snider Fundin, people standing, tree, golf, sky, grass, outdoor and nature

This is how Mr Wonderful felt.

Image may contain: Eric Fundin, smiling, standing, outdoor and nature

And I gave up…

Image may contain: Sherry Snider Fundin and Eric Fundin, people smiling, hat, closeup and outdoor

What you can’t see…I had a car blanket wrapped around my legs too. LOL

And…the Reese’s Senior Bowl is in town so we made a quick stop in Mobile, Alabama. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and the rain finally moved in. Didn’t bother me. I was so cold, I was over it anyway. LOL Damn this getting older. When I was even 5 years younger, this wouldn’t have stopped me. Now it’ been there, done that, have the T-shirt…and I do have the T-shirt. LOL

Image may contain: sky and outdoor
Image may contain: one or more people, people playing sports, stadium, football, basketball court and outdoor

How about you? Are you a cold weather lover, or is the steamy tropics for you?

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

THIS WEEK ON fundinmental

I will be adding more as the week goes on.

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Monday Mini Review – Mermaid’s Carol by Abigail Keam
  • Review – Gypsy Bride by Lawna Mackie
  • Review – The More Things Change by Perry Prete
  • Friday 56
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