Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Feb 16

18

Giveaway: The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea by Christopher Meeks

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on February 18, 2016
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , | 3 Comments

Middle-Aged Man and the SeaThe ebook and print book of ‘The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea’ has been out since 2006.  However, it has just been released on Audible as an audiobook.

In celebration of the Audiobook release, Christopher Meeks is offering one Audible code to download the audiobook for free from Audible!  Why is he offering this?  He is hoping that the winner will enjoy it and will post a review on Audible.

Description of Middle-Aged Man and the Sea by Christopher Meeks


Here is a story collection about love, death, humor, and the glue called family. In one narrative, a man wakes up one morning to find the odor of dead fish won’t go away, but no one else can smell it. In another, a couple’s visit with friends to watch the Academy Awards has the protagonist envying his friends’ lawn and lifestyle. In these and eleven other stories, Christopher Meeks balances tragedy and wit.

As novelist David Scott Milton explains, “In this collection, Christopher Meeks examines the small heartbreaks of quiet despair that are so much a part of all our lives. He does it in language that is resonant, poetic, and precise…. If you like Raymond Carver, you’ll love Meeks. He may be as good–or better.”

Praise for the book/ebook of Middle-Aged Man and the Sea by Christopher Meeks


“Christopher Meeks bounces onto the literary scene as a vibrant new voice filled with talent and imagination. THE MIDDLE-AGED MAN & THE SEA is one of the finer collections of short stories that will rapidly rise to the top of the heap of a battery of fine writers of this difficult medium.

There isn’t a weak story in the thirteen works here.  Biting and sassy, eloquent and intelligent, this collection of short stories is excellent reading. Meeks knows his craft: these tiny microcosms of living offer proof that his novels, soon to come, will be works to watch. Very Highly Recommended.”-Grady Harp, Top 100 Amazon Reviewer & Hall of Fame

“Why can’t all writers be like Christopher Meeks.  I’ll admit that I’d started reading THE MIDDLE-AGED MAN AND THE SEA during an evening, becoming so engrossed in its chapters that I’d wanted to finish it off in one sitting. I couldn’t — Fairies and Dreamland were calling — but that was the sole reason I hadn’t.
Middle-aged Man is *that* compelling. Meeks has this uncanny ability to thrust you right into the center of his characters’ sundry dilemmas, desires, and demands — as if you’re standing right there next to them, or sitting one bar stool over listening to their wonderful chats about wine, their musings about the wisdom of the next Shuttle launch, or their ebullient waxing about the velveteen smoothness of Breyer’s coffee-flavored ice cream.”- Adam Daniel Mezei, Amazon Reviewer

“I usually read literature by female authors because I feel they understand me as a woman. There are a few male authors that also have this ability, such as Raymond Carver and Larry McMurtry. And now I have found Christopher Meeks. His stories might seem depressing to some, but to me they were true to what life brings us. He captures old age, regret, disappointment, divorce, starting over, marriage, loss and more and does it in a loving and sensitive way. His humor helps balance the pain, as it often does unexpectedly on our journeys. I loved these stories and these people and I will gratefully read more of this talented and lovely writer.”- gypsygirl1925, Amazon Reviewer

About Christopher MeeksChristopher Meeks


Christopher Meeks first published short fiction in a number of literary journals, and the stories are available in two collections, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons. Recently, he’s focused on crime novels.  His first, Blood Drama had a graduate student writing a thesis on David Mamet in a struggle with a ruthless killer and bank robber. The new A Death in Vegas is a mystery based on the death of a young woman and the wrong man charged with it. Visit Christopher Meeks online at chrismeeks.com.

Giveaway of Middle-Aged Man and the Sea by Christopher Meeks

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada and ends on March 4, 2016 12 am pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aug 15

18

Giveaway: Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on August 18, 2015
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , , | 6 Comments

Valerie MartinThanks to Lauren Weber of Doubleday, I am giving away one print copy of Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin.

Description of Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin:


From the bestselling author of Mary Reilly and the internationally acclaimed Property, a brilliant collection featuring Valerie Martin’s finest short stories to date.

For four decades Valerie Martin has been publishing novels and stories that demonstrate her incredible range as a writer, moving between realism and fantasy while employing a voice that is at once whimsical and tragic. The twelve stories in this collection showcase Martin’s enviable control, precision, and grace and are organized around her three fictional obsessions—the natural world, the artistic sphere, and stunning transformations.

In “The Change,” a journalist watches his menopausal wife, an engraver, create some of her eeriest and most affecting works even as she seems to be willfully destroying their marriage. In “The Open Door,” an American poet in Rome finds herself forced to choose between her lover and a world so alien it takes her voice away. “Sea Lovers” conjures up a hideous mermaid whose fatal seduction of a fisherman provides better reason than Jaws for staying out of the water. In “The Incident at Villedeau” a respected gentleman confesses to killing his wife’s former lover, an event that could be construed as an accident, an impulsive act, or a premeditated crime. Exploring themes of obsession, justice, passion, and duplicity, these drolly macabre stories buzz with tension.

Read An Excerpt from Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin:


Read the short story, ‘Spats’, here.

Praise for Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin:


“An insightful look into the evolution of Martin’s writing and her talent for depicting our darker natures. Varied, engaging, and often shocking”-. Kirkus

Praise for Valerie Martin:


“A wonderful novel, vivid, revealing”-Carol Shields

“The writing – so prised and clean-limbed” – is a marvel-Toni Morrison

“Wonderfully ingenious, compelling, convincing and exciting”-John Banville

“A writer of immense talent and insight”-Yann Martel

“Fluently written, vividly imagined, moving and genuinely, chillingly spooky”- Daily Mail

About Valerie Martin:


VALERIE MARTIN is the author of ten novels, including The Ghost of the Mary Celeste, The Confessions of Edward Day, Trespass, Mary Reilly, Italian Fever, and Property; three collections of short fiction; and a biography of Saint Francis of Assisi, titled Salvation. She has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as the Kafka Prize (for Mary Reilly) and Britain’s Orange Prize (for Property).

Giveaway of Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin:


This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on September 1, 2015.  Entries accepted only via Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jul 15

8

Giveaway: A Paris Affair by Tatiana de Rosnay

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on July 8, 2015
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , | 10 Comments

Tatiana de RosnayThanks to Brittani Hilles of St. Martin’s Press, I am giving away one print copy of ‘A Paris Affair’ by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Description of ‘A Paris Affair’ by Tatiana de Rosnay:


From the internationally best-selling author of SARAH’S KEY comes an irreverent yet heartfelt collection that examines our most intimate and forbidden desires

“Before she goes, she removes her wedding ring, and places it delicately on the hood of the car, without a word.”

Does a fruit taste its sweetest when it is forbidden? Is that which is prohibited always the most pleasurable? In this passionate and perceptive collection, Tatiana de Rosnay paints a portrait of the most forbidden of loves, in many different shades—sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, sometimes heartfelt, always with a dry wit and an unflinching authenticity. A PARIS AFFAIR is an enjoyable “undressing” of intimate delights, where laughter mingles with compassion and the

About Tatiana de Rosnay:


Tatiana de Rosnay

Photo Copyright: Philippe MATSAS/Opale – Date: 20090902

Tatiana DE ROSNAY is the author of ten novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Sarah’s Key, an international sensation with over 4 million copies sold in thirty-five countries worldwide that has now been made into a major film and released in spring 2011.

Together with Dan Brown, Stephenie Meyer, and Stieg Larsson, she was named one of the top ten fiction writers in Europe in 2009. Tatiana lives with her husband and two children in Paris, where she is at work on her next book.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada and ends on July 27, 2015.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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