Saturday, January 31, 2015

Album Review; A Softer Place To Land


Softer Place To Land is Keri Noble at her finest. She's one of the best artists you've probably never heard of, but you should.

The Solo in the title is there for a reason too. This is album is just Keri and her piano.

The first two tracks "Dancing In The Morning" and "Make Me Crazy" feel like they could be the plots for brilliant romcoms.

Keri's lyrics are always so visual and real.

"Dancing In The Morning" could be about anyone. There's nothing glamorous about the songs Keri writes. That's why the average listener can relate to them. She doesn't sing about bling. She sings about real life.

"Pray For You" is the song about that person in everyone's life that is all about drama. This is a great emotional and bluesy song. Keri's piano conveys the angst of the song perfectly.

If you are in the mood for a ballad, "Back To Before" is your song.

The title track is the song that stands out on the album. This is the type of song that makes you think of the 90s and Lilith Fair.

"Your Ring" is the most emotional song and probably the best song to be played at a wedding.

Keri Noble always delights the ears. Her lyrics not one weave stories that make you want to go on listening, but her melodies stick in your head. She's more than just another girl with a piano. She's an artist you shouldn't miss.


Thursday, January 15, 2015

Easy On The Ears

I admit that I have a soft spot for country pop. A few years back, I discovered Zac Brown Band, and it was love at first listen.

When I saw they had a new single out, I had to grab it right away.

I'm not disappointed either.

I think Zac Brown mix country and folk so well. They are like a cross between James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett. They can do slow and serious as well as fun.

Homegrown, is more on the fun side. It is one of those songs that I want to burn to a cd so I can play it really loud while I'm driving.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Farewell Miranda

I finally got to watch the final to episodes of Miranda Hart's fabulous sitcom.

I've always identified with Miranda, because she's clumsy and just unlucky at life and love.

The final two epis see her getting her life together, especially on the romantic front.

I was so happy for this character, mostly because I've found Miranda's love interest, Gary (Tom Ellis) to be smoking hot...and always have

See


I've loved this series since I discovered it a few years back. I'm glad it got a proper send off too. Most people in the US know Miranda Hart from her role on Call The Midwife, but for me I'll always love the silly sitcom. It always made me laugh, and though the final two episodes had me sniffling a bit, I still got plenty of laughs, plus there was a cameo with Gary Barlow too!

I'll miss Miranda.

I wish BBC America would choose to air the whole series at some point, because everyone deserves to see this show.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Goddess Fish Promotions Author Interview:


What is your favorite chocolate confection?

I am a self-proclaimed chocolate snob, so anything decadent, dark, with a soft center works for me. Wait a minute…I like that in a man, too!

What is your favorite Godiva chocolate?

It’s a toss up between the Double Dark Chocolate Truffle and the Chocolate Lava Cake Truffle. But truly, I’ve never met a Godiva that I didn’t like.

Could you go a day without chocolate?

I do when the good stuff is not around. But when it is, look out! My hubby calls me a Godiva junkie, and he’s not wrong.

What was your inspiration for Fat Girl?

Growing up with insecurities about my body, I wanted to write a sexy romance involving a real heroine with real issues. A woman I thought other women could relate to on some level.

Whether a size 6 or 26, most of us have a fat girl whispering untruths in our ear. She’s the voice that tells us we’re not good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, perfect enough. She compares us to the unrealistic version of perfection and tells us that we don’t quite measure up. That somehow we are less desirable, less worthy, less lovable. And for far too long, just like my character, Dee, I listened to her. Seeing what was wrong with me, instead of what was right.

Fat Girl is a provocative romance about the tumultuous and passionate relationship between former lovers; the secrets that ripped them apart and the family ties that re-connect them. But it is also the story of a woman’s journey to find what we all want and need, unconditional love and self-acceptance.

I found inspiration among the pages of Dee and Micah’s story, and I hope readers will too.

Why do you think that most novels feature the media “ideal” of what a woman should look like, when it comes to heroines?

I am starting to see more diversity in body types amongst heroines. Real bodies. However, there have been few mainstream breakout novels that feature such characters. I surmise it’s because as a society we are body-ideal obsessed, so that’s what sells.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. A curvy Marilyn Monroe was once the epitome of beauty and skinny was considered unattractive.

Either way, it’s a problem. Both promote one body type as being better than the other. I would like to see women empower ourselves to feel healthy and beautiful in our skin, no matter our size. We do not need to be cookie cutter versions of each other.

As an author, I have the chance to feature diverse female characters and promote body acceptance over body perfection. It’s a great platform and one I strongly believe in.



Can you give us a teaser on your next book?

Sure, I loved to.  A Naked Beauty, coming soon, is the conclusion to Fat Girl. In part 2, Dee and Micah are dealt another curve ball that threatens their second chance at happiness.

Just as they are moving forward, Micah’s fame comes back to haunt them. Thrust into the media spotlight, having her privacy exposed and the body she is struggling to accept photographed, tweeted about and publically criticized is worse than Dee expects. Torn between the man she loves and the life she doesn’t want, Dee must make a choice.

Will she finally find the self-confidence to feel comfortable in her own skin and fight for her heart or is she destined to do what Micah fears the most—walk away again?


Fat Girl
by Leigh Carron

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Years after fleeing small-town Springvale, Illinois, Deanna Chase has picked up the pieces of her shattered heart and built a new life for herself as a child advocacy lawyer. Her food addiction is quasi under control, her secrets are buried, and she has even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body. Until…

Micah Peters—the very sexy and now famous man she fled— walks through her office door and sends Dee reeling. His demand that she help a young boy caught in a custody battle will reunite her with the past she left behind.

Torn between duty and self-preservation, Dee isn’t easy to convince. But when obligation wins, the former lovers get more than they bargained for—a searing passion that burns hotter than ever and startling revelations about what really happened the fateful night she left.

Will the truth set Dee free to love again? Or will past hurts and lingering insecurities destine her to walk away from her heart again, this time for good?

Fat Girl is the first book in this provocative two-part series about love and self-acceptance.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Excerpt:

“Hello, Deeana.”

His voice, deeper with age, packs an unfair sexual punch. Just like the rest of him. 

As handsome as he was at eighteen, it didn’t come close to his appearance at thirty-three. People magazine has called it right. Micah Peters is the Sexiest Man Alive. No amount of shock or disdain could deny him that.

Partly Brazilian, on his mother’s side, he is blessed with exotic good looks. Short black waves carelessly styled, caramel skin that doesn’t pale even in winter, and espresso-brown eyes fringed with the darkest, thickest lashes I have ever seen.

Like his body, his facial structure is harder—more masculine, more defined. And the inky stubble framing his strong jaw and full, gorgeous mouth only adds to the instant, powerful impact.

But I’m not that naive girl anymore. I’ve taken my knocks and know all too well that the quality of a man’s character doesn’t lie in the quality of his looks. The fact that time has been unjustly charitable to him only fuels the resentment I’ve kept secret and locked away for fifteen years.

It takes every ounce of my trained composure to push civility past the bile rising in my throat. I lean against the wood frame for support and manage to say, “This is a surprise.” The fake calm of the words burns my tongue.

If he’s affected, it doesn’t show in the easy strides that move him toward me. The delicious aromas of leather and earthy cologne fill my senses. As he comes closer still, I struggle not to breathe him in. Mustn’t let him think he has any effect on me either.

Without smiling, his dark gaze slides over my every feature, studying them one by one, as if comparing them with his memory. “It’s been a while,” he says.

Not nearly long enough to forget or forgive. “Several years,” I reply.

Now he smiles. A mocking grin that tells me he knows I remember just how long it has been. That I remember the very night I left him—and everything else that mattered to me—behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

About Me: An American living in Canada. Chocolate snob. Recovering yo-yo dieter. Devoted mom and wife, blessed with a brilliantly witty daughter and unintentionally humorous husband. My wacky family feed my creativity and fuel my passion. Most nights, you will find me either curled up with a great book or, more often, sitting at my computer, tapping out the countless visions in my head. 

To me, there is nothing better in a narrative than perfectly flawed but strong characters and intense romance that is sexy, deep, and sensual. Mm…I liken such stories to a box of Godiva. Decadent and delicious! You can’t stop at just one. In fact, I’m now hard at work on my next novel—A Naked Beauty, the conclusion to Fat Girl.

Stay Connected at:



Twitter:@LeighCarron








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