Showing posts with label Dawn Greenfield Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dawn Greenfield Ireland. Show all posts

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Hot Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Hot Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Visit Dawn:
Amazon
Website
Artistic Origins
Facebook
Goodreads
Google+
LinkedIn
Twitter @dawnireland

Published: 2011
Publisher: Artistic Origins
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Paperback: 460 pages
Rating: 4

Hot Chocolate series:
Hot Chocolate
Bitter Chocolate
Spice Chocolate - released in 2016

Meet the middle-aged Alcott sisters: Madge, Lila Mae and Dorothea, heiresses to the Alcott Chocolate fortune and mavens of Houston’s elite River Oaks.

Madge ambushes Lila Mae with Dorothea’s manipulative plea: she can’t care for Bernie, their 92-year old father, any longer. Lila Mae explodes in a hissy fit—she had warned Dorothea years ago that they should put Bernie in an assisted living center.

Robert, Lila Mae’s astrologer, warns of impending problems and he’s rarely wrong.

The sisters call a meeting with Walter Branson, their solicitor. They discuss Bernie’s nurse Bambi Chaline, a blonde bombshell who looks more like a hooker than a nurse.

Arrangements are made for Bernie to be transferred over to Lake Sides Assisted Living Center in the Uptown Galleria area and a severance package is drawn up for Bambi.

Jimmy Ray Chaline, Bambi’s bowling alley husband, is enraged that Bambi was let go. He hires ambulance chaser Mark Slade to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

The suit is thrown out of court further fueling Jimmy Ray’s rage. Bambi had been more than satisfied with her bonus, letters of recommendation and praise from the Alcott clan.

When Jimmy Ray fails to return home from the bowling alley that night, a series of events unfold that shocks the entire Alcott family and their extended members.


My two-bits:

I found this first book in the Hot Chocolate cozy mystery series to be quite cozy indeed.

The cast of three sisters and their family, friends and acquaintances with their individual quirks are introduced in amusing ways.

The mystery is solved in a gentle way - meaning that it felt like a side note and getting to know these characters and community was the main story.

fyi: recipes for some delightful yummy treats included.

~*~

* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge

* review copy courtesy of book tour for Bitter Chocolate, book 2 in the series - check out the other stops here for more details on this book and goodies sponsored by Premier Virtual Author Book Tours and signup for giveaway

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Guest post for Bitter Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Bitter Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland
just released: June 2014
Amazon | Goodreads

The characters you loved in Hot Chocolate are back with more escapades of life in Houston's wealthy River Oaks.

Lila Mae is in a tizzy over the Chocolate Ball - a huge event that she and her sisters, Dorothea and Madge, host every year. But due to unusual circumstances, Dorothea and Madge dump everything in Lila Mae's lap. If it weren't for Julian Gillespie of Event Is King, the Chocolate Ball would have melted.

Bernie, the Alcott sisters' 92-year-old father, decides he wants his Bentley back. The sisters and Bambi are horrified. They hire Joseph's cousin Chewie as Bernie's new chauffeur.
Wolfram, Lila Mae's new astrologer, gives clues of things to come. This leaves Lila Mae and her sidekick Amelia with brows furrowed.

On her day off, Amelia decides to bake a chocolate blueberry pie. She discovers she needs to make a grocery run. When she returns home, she discovers her kitchen door is slightly ajar. Arms loaded with groceries, she toes the door open.

Three things catch her attention: a vase of flowers on the kitchen island that was not there when she left the house, her marble rolling pin covered with blood... and a dead body on her kitchen floor.

Amelia's eyes drift toward the dining room and beyond - is the house empty, or is there a murderer inside? She backs up, turns and hurries outside. After setting the bags on the ground, she slips back into the kitchen and snaps a picture of the dead guy. Then she calls Detective Chance Walker, Lila Mae and finally... 9-1-1.


~*~

About the author:

Dawn Ireland is the CEO of Artistic Origins Inc, a 100% woman-owned publishing and technical writing service company that has been doing business since 1995. She's an award winning independent publisher and author of The Puppy Baby Book , Mastering Your Money, and Amazon Best Seller Hot Chocolate (the first in the series, and her fifth novel). The Hot Chocolate audio book was awarded theAudioFile Earphones Award on Valentine's Day 2014.

Her family feature film screenplay A Girl and Her Dogwas awarded a Kids First! Endorsement by the Coalition for Quality Children's Media in October 2012 and optioned by Shadow Cave Productions in February 2013.

Originally from Feeding Hills, MA, Dawn migrated to San Antonio in 1968, then when her first son was one years old, her family moved to Houston where work was more plentiful. After 40+ years of heat and humidity, she has her sights on the Pacific NW.

Dawn is the co-author of the animated screenplay Memoirs of a Dog which won the Spirit Award of the Moondance Film Festival (children's category) September 2011. Her dark comedy Plan B was a finalist in the Table Read My Screenplay script competition in 2010 and years before that, Standing Dead won the Women in Film and Television (Houston Chapter) screenplay award.

Stay tuned for The Last Dog (futuristic/sci-fi 2015), and Spicy Chocolate (2016).

Visit Dawn:
Amazon
Website
Artistic Origins
Facebook
Goodreads
Google+
LinkedIn
Twitter @dawnireland

Guest post:
Origin of my Chocolate Inspiration for the Hot Chocolate series
Bitter Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland ~ Virtual Book Tour

When I came up with the idea of Hot Chocolate, I was going to call it The Alcott’s. But luckily one of my friends intervened and said since Lila Mae concocted café mocha, and it was so loved by everyone in her family, Hot Chocolate would be a much better title. And let’s face it … I could go through the whole gamut of different chocolate flavors before ever running out of good titles.

The actual hot chocolate/café mocha drink stems from my very own breakfast drink.

I needed an empire for the family. Being set in Houston, Bernie could have been an oil baron. That just didn’t seem to work – it seemed more like a cliché, so I decided chocolate would be their wealth builder. If Hershey’s could be an empire, why not Alcott Chocolates?

There are only a few people I have come across that do not like chocolate. I wonder about them – sort of like not trusting people who don’t like dogs or cats, know what I mean?

I grew up in a family of chocolate lovers. My mother had Hershey’s bars with almonds stashed everywhere. She also pulled out a box of chocolate covered cherries at special occasions. We dove in. If my parents were alive now, they’d love the fact that I created an entire series where chocolate was the main focus.

--~ eBook Giveaway courtesy of tour ~--

WIN a copy of this eBook!

Open to all.

Offer ends: July 16, 2014

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. ADD this book to your GoodreadsWant To Read list.

OR

Tweet about this giveaway.

OR

Recommend this on Google using the mini-button at end of this post (g+1).

OR

Facebook or Instagram or Pinterest or Tumblr the Book Cover image.

2. TELL me what you did in comments.

AND, leave your email.

***optional: leave a comment or question for the author.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Contest has ended - winner is here

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

~*~

* guest post courtesy of book tour - check out the other stops here for more details on this book and goodies sponsored by Premier Virtual Author Book Tours.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Bitter Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Bitter Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Visit Dawn:
Amazon
Website
Artistic Origins
Facebook
Goodreads
Google+
LinkedIn
Twitter @dawnireland

Just released: June 2014
Publisher: Artistic Origins
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Paperback: 400 pages, with recipes
Rating: 4

Hot Chocolate series:
Hot Chocolate
Bitter Chocolate
Spicy Chocolate - to be released 2016

The characters you loved in Hot Chocolate are back with more escapades of life in Houston's wealthy River Oaks.

Lila Mae is in a tizzy over the Chocolate Ball - a huge event that she and her sisters, Dorothea and Madge, host every year. But due to unusual circumstances, Dorothea and Madge dump everything in Lila Mae's lap. If it weren't for Julian Gillespie of Event Is King, the Chocolate Ball would have melted.

Bernie, the Alcott sisters' 92-year-old father, decides he wants his Bentley back. The sisters and Bambi are horrified. They hire Joseph's cousin Chewie as Bernie's new chauffeur.

Wolfram, Lila Mae's new astrologer, gives clues of things to come. This leaves Lila Mae and her sidekick Amelia with brows furrowed.

On her day off, Amelia decides to bake a chocolate blueberry pie. She discovers she needs to make a grocery run. When she returns home, she discovers her kitchen door is slightly ajar. Arms loaded with groceries, she toes the door open.

Three things catch her attention: a vase of flowers on the kitchen island that was not there when she left the house, her marble rolling pin covered with blood... and a dead body on her kitchen floor.

Amelia's eyes drift toward the dining room and beyond - is the house empty, or is there a murderer inside? She backs up, turns and hurries outside. After setting the bags on the ground, she slips back into the kitchen and snaps a picture of the dead guy. Then she calls Detective Chance Walker, Lila Mae and finally... 9-1-1.


My two-bits:

This was my first cozy mystery read. I found it to be a kind of mashup of chick-lit and light mystery.

Book 2 in this series continues to follow the details of daily living of a family with the main characters being three middle-aged sisters in a small community in Houston, Texas. I like how they stick together and are involved with each others lives despite the craziness of life.

It was interesting to get perspectives from the large cast of characters and especially amusing to get the point of view of Lila Mae's dog at times.

There are touches of new age, astrology and food references (including recipes).

I had an overall pleasant experience with this read.

~*~

* stay tuned for giveaway of this book tomorrow - signup here

* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge

* review copy courtesy of book tour - check out the other stops here for more details on this book and goodies sponsored by Premier Virtual Author Book Tours

Monday, July 7, 2014

Bookish Bingo Challenge: Summer

Bookish Bingo Challenge
Summer: July to September 2014
hosted by Great Imaginations
details here

Just joined this book challenge again!

The Rules:

Sign-ups close on July 14th here

One square per book. For instance, Mockingjay starts with M and is also a series finale, but can only count for one square.

All reading must be done during the months of July, August, and September.

There will be a giveaway again!

Extra entries will be awarded for multiple bingos and a fully covered card earns +5!


Books read:

Square - magical realism
The Future for Curious People
by Gregory Sherl
my review

Square - A Middle Grade Novel
Bone by Jeff Smith
(graphic novel)
my review

Square - Asian MC
The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
my review

Square - MC is LBGTIA
The Red Sheet by Mia Kerick
my review

Square - Road Trip
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
my review

Square - Music theme
Rock Angel by Jeanne Bogino
my review

Square - Pink Cover
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
my review

Square - Thriller
Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes
my review

Square - Set on an Island
The Vacationers: A Novel by Emma Straub
-set in Mallorca
my review

Square - A Retelling
Ariadne by S.D. Hines
my review

Square - Set during the Summer
This One Summer
by Mariko Tamaki
my review

Square - Water on Cover
Serenade
by Emily Kiebel
my review

Square - Sky on Cover
These Broken Stars
by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
my review

Square - Set in Europe
-France
The Penny Thief
by Christophe Paul
my review

Square - Starts with M
My Last Kiss
by Bethany Neal
my review

Square - Featuring an animal companion
Hot Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland
-Lila Mae's dog, Louie
my review

Square - Strong Sibling Relationship
Bitter Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland
-three sisters
my review

Square - Blue Cover
I Become Shadow
by Joe Shine
my review

Square - Summer Release
Burning Bright
by E.J. Stevens
my review

Square - Stand Alone
The One and Only
by Emily Giffin
my review

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Stacking the Shelves - 7.5.14

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~

Bought:

The Time of Their Lives
by Maeve Haran
-british chick lit
Amazon

For Review:

Bitter Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland
-cozy mystery
courtesy of tour
Thanks Teddy!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Fortune Hunter
by Daisy Goodwin
-historical, romance
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Alison!
Amazon | Goodreads

My Last Kiss
by Bethany Neal
-mystery, paranormal, romance, YA
courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2014
Thanks Janay!
Amazon | Goodreads

Library:

The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey
-aliens, dystopia, YA
Amazon | Goodreads

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.


I am listening to the audio version of this and it is sucking me in!

~*~

* some of these may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Stacking the Shelves - 4.12.14

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~

Bought:

Queen of Hearts:
The Crown
by Colleen Oakes
-fantasy, YA, Alice in Wonderland theme

For Review:

Exposure
by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
courtesy of author
-Shakespeare (Macbeth), YA
Thanks Kim!

Hot Chocolate
Dawn Greenfield Ireland
-cozy mystery
courtesy of the author and tour
Thanks Dawn!

Jane's Melody
by Ryan Winfield
-romance
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Bobbilyn!

Unplug & Play! 50 Games That Don't Need Charging
by Brad Berger
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Laura!

Whip Smart:
Lola Montez and the Poisoned Nom de Plume

by Kit Brennan
-action, historical, romance
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Jillian!

Library:

Where'd You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple
-humor, women's fiction

~*~

From Powell's Indiespensable club package (details):
Powell's subscription club delivers the best new books, with special attention to independent publishers. Signed first editions. Inventive, original sets. Exclusive printings.... Every six weeks, another installment to read and admire.

Plus, every package is stocked with exciting surprises!


This is package #46.


The Blazing World
by Siri Hustvedt
-art, feminist

We Are Not Ourselves:
A Novel
by Matthew Thomas
-Irish American family
WIN this on Goodreads here -offer ends April 21

~*~

* review copies may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

 
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