Now you see me...

...now you don't! That's because I'm guest blogging over at "Everyday Gyaan" today. See you there!

Want a FREE book? Join Goodreads' Before Ever After Giveaway Promo!

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Hi, US-based friends! Have you requested for a FREE copy of Before Ever After yet? There's ONE DAY more to go before Goodreads giveaway promo ends! 

Add Before Ever After to your Goodrads to-read shelf today and click HERE to join the promo!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Good luck! 

Koala Conga Time! More Praise for Before Ever After! Woohoo!

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G'Day! You may have noticed that our little van has been hijacked again. I really must set up better security for our Friday Field Trips. But what's a tour guide to do when not one - but TWO - amazing blurbs hop aboard the bus? Why, I start a Koala Happy Dance Conga line of course! (Can you tell that I'm still hungover from my recent holiday Down Under? Must have been all that Eucalyptus...)

But before you put on your dancing shoes, come and read what these wonderful authors have to say about Before Ever After:

Jill Smolinski, author of THE NEXT THING ON MY LIST and FLIP FLOPPED:

"I was absolutely enchanted by Before Ever After - it's a highly original and engaging mix of romance, mystery and magic that will challenge everything you think you know about happily ever after."

AND

Saralee Rosenberg, author of CLAIRE VOYANT, FATE & MS. FORTUNE and A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE


"In Samantha Sotto's high spirited debut, a young widow travels to a remote and distant island to answer the question, what price do we pay for eternal love. It is a mesmerizing journey transcending time and continents, all to remind that there are many ways to live on forever and to immortalize a marriage. Note to readers: Curl up with jasmine tea and savor the warm, rich writing, as delectable as the recipes for love found within every enchanting page."
 




(p.s. See you Monday for part 2 of our Adventure Down Under!)

Not-Quite-Friday Field Trip: Adventure Down Under!

G'Day mates! Greetings from Australia! I'm on vacation at the moment, but I was lucky enough to find a substitute guide for our Fill-in-the-day-the-WiFi-decides-to-cooperate-and-finish-uploading-my-photos Field Trip.

She's far more seasoned at this sort of thing than I am. Ah! Here she is now.

And it looks like she even brought her own photographer!

Are you ready? Just follow the girl in the pink backpack!

Hi, campers! This is where we'll be staying on  our trip to the Gold Coast.

Can you give me a second to figure out our first stop?

Hey! It looks like the perfect day for the beach.

Let's go!

And what would a trip to the Gold Coast be without a visit to one of its theme parks?

Dream World, here we come!

Oooh! This ride is just my thing! :)

Um...okay. Maybe not.

I didn't really want to go on it anyway.

Teacups are far more exciting.

They're almost as much fun as wrestling crocodiles.

And riding pink ponies.

But there's nothing better than feeding kangaroos. 

Well, except maybe for...

...white tigers!

Let's go for a walk and see what else we can find.

Hello? Anybody home?

"Welcome to my parlor!" said the spider to the...

...EEEW-guana.

Koalas are so much cuter than lizards. This one looks tired.

And so am I.

Shhh. Looks like out little tour guide needs a nap. Hopefully, she'll be up and about in time for Part 2 of our Field Trip. 

p.s. Don't forget to bring your life jackets. We're taking a duck...

 Happy Easter, guys!!! 

Gone Fishing...Sort of

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Three guesses where I am. Wifi willing, I'll see you on Friday for our field trip! (And don't forget to bring sunscreen.)

Friday Field Trip: My Deep Dark Secret

“A black-cloaked monk unlocked the library’s door. Ginger steeped with cloves. Shelley caught its scent in the spiciness of the weathered leather-bound pages that surrounded her. The smell reminded her of her father’s evening ritual up until the time he needed to use a feeding tube. Her mother continued to brew it for him just the same. And when he had gone, she still set a cup on his bedside table. Shelley remembered watching and breathing in the fragrant and frail wisps of steam rising from it. That was the only time she allowed herself to miss her dad. Her mother mourned him enough for the two of them. She didn’t think their house could hold any more grief. She was glad to get away. She scanned the library, desperate to remind herself of how far she was from home.” p. 126, Before Ever After

If you promise not to laugh, I’ll let you in on my deepest and darkest secret. Pinky swear? Great!

Okay…here it goes.

*whispers*  In sixth grade,  I…um…was president of….*takes a deep breath* …the Library Club.

There. I said it. Phew.

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I certainly did not earn any cool points by joining the club. (You wouldn’t be wrong if you likened it to Glee, but without the impromptu Lady Gaga song and dance numbers in the hallway.)  But I loved it.  I loved being surrounded by the smell of paper and ink. I loved the cool and quiet sanctuary of its little nooks.  I loved the little clicking sound the date stamp made when I pressed it against the book card.  *Looks around furtively for incoming Slushies*

No Slushie grenade? I love you guys. Thank you for not judging me. Now I don’t have to run home and change my shirt before our field trip.

To celebrate my coming clean, today we’re taking our little van to some of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Are you ready, Campers?  Follow the red umbrella and remember to keep your voices down, okay?

Strahov Philosophical Hall, Prague

Abbey Library St. Gallen, Switzerland

Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

The Library of the University of Delft, The Netherlands

The Central Public Library in Vancouver, Canada

George Peabody Library, Baltimore, Maryland, USA 

Main reading hall of the City Library of Stockholm

Our final stop isn't a actually a library, but I thought it deserved a place on the tour.  Can you guess what it is?

No, it isn't a theater...

....or a museum.

It's the Ateneo Grand Splendid

And it's a BOOK STORE.