"Two Little Girls In Blue" by Mary Higgins Clark

Two Little Girls In Blue by Mary Higgins Clark is gripping right from the start. It’s about Kathy and Kelly, a set of three-year-old twin girls being kidnapped for $8 million. The scheme is master minded by someone who is referred to as “The Pied Piper.” He had a brilliant plan in place and collected the ransom with no difficulty, making the FBI look like fools; however, one of his partners in crime decided to double cross him and changed the plan. An interesting part of Two Little Girls In Blue was the twins being able to communicate when separated.  This is a fast-paced page turner that I enjoyed very much!


I liked being “in” on the kidnapper’s actions all through the book and actually got to know them better than the parents of the girls. I must admit, I guessed wrong as to who the “Pied Piper” was. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good crime novel. This book is excellent!  I highly recommend it!  
(Karen's review)

Gerard read this a long time ago and liked it too.  He told me then I should read it because it was so good, but I didn't because I read "Daddy's Little Girl" by this author and didn't care for it all that much.  I liked this one much better. 

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"It Was A Dark & Stormy Night, Snoopy"by Charles M. Schulz

It Was A Dark & Stormy Night, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz is one of the Very best about
Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang.  This book will put a smile on your face and make you laugh and couldn’t we all use that?  I LOVED this book! (5+ stars)

(Gerard's review 2/4/10)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Whatcha Reading Wednesday Aug. 4 Blog Hop

This is how "Whatcha Reading Wednesdays" works this week...

Type in the first two sentences of the fourth chapter of your current book.

If it is a spoiler at all be sure to put **Spoiler Alert** at the top of your comment (like if the selection announces the death of an integral character or something).

Here is mine for this week: 

Margaret Frawley folded her hands around the steaming cup of tea.  She was so cold.

I'm currently reading Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark.  This is a very good book about Margaret's twin girls being kidnapped.   I'll have a review up by the end of this week!

This is sponsored by Outnumbered Mama

 

No-Go BlogHer Blog Hop

1. Answer the questions on your blog and then link up that post in the Linky that will be available on both ToBeThode or Musings of a Marfan Mom. (you only need to link up once)
2. Grab the button for the No-Go BlogHer party (it’s on my right sidebar) and place it on your sidebar during the duration of the party.

Here are the questions we want you to answer:

1. When did you start blogging?

We just started this blog in June of this year.

2. Why did you start blogging?

I started our book blog here for the following reasons:

• I wanted to delete some pages on my Personal News Network (PNN) Zemeks’ Updates blog to free up more space there.
• I also felt since Blogger had the affiliation with Amazon, that it made more sense to have my book blog on Blogger and make use of the Amazon ads, hoping to earn a little extra money blogging. It was an easy way to link to Amazon and get the picture of the book in the post.
• I was kind of bored and wanted to try out the new design templates Blogger now has available because I like to switch things up now and then. I feel sort of locked into my custom design at my personal blog.
• I really like being able to use my own pictures in my header and change it from week to week.

3. What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to BlogHer?

Spend time with my husband and our pets.  May go to the Browns Family Day scrimmage at the stadium or perhaps just to the park with our dog.

4. Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite.
About Us

Interview With New Author: Toye Brown, author of "Obsessive Obsession"

1.  Why did you write Obsessive Obsession? 

I wrote this book based on a short story I did back in high school.  I had to update it to meet with current events and technology of course.  My characters were already formulated and just waiting to be put to a story board.

2.  What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about writing their first book? 

I would recommend that they first have a plan.  Write about what you know.  Don't try to venture into areas you aren't familiar with.  If you spend all your time researching the unknown you will become frustrated and the joy of writing will become a hassle and you most likely won't finish your project.  Two, never be rushed; take your time and think it out.  If a story doesn't make sense to you it definitely won't make sense to your readers.  Three, use a good editing service.  When you edit yourself, you become immune to certain aspects.  You have read the story so much that you skip or overlook simple mistakes.  If you employ family or friends to help you edit, you might still want to have a person that is not connected with you or your storyline to read the whole manuscript to highlight or make suggestions before you submit it.  As a first time author, you will make mistakes.  Unless you are an English major or actually did editing in one form or another, there will be mistakes.  Some of the best authors in the business had errors in their books and if you self-publish there is a greater chance of those errors happening.  Editing is very time consuming and expensive so check pricing and find a person that is as dedicated to your work as you are. 

3.  Do you have a favorite character in your book?  If so, who and why? 

I tried to make all my characters equal but if I had to choose I would say Nayla.  Nayla proved to be the heroine because she was strong and not one to be pushed around while sticking to her values. 

4.  I thought it was funny you used the name Bea Taylor for the one cop.  Did you know Bea Taylor is the name of the nice grandmother on "The Andy Griffith" show? 

    

Yes, I knew that was her name but I wasn't thinking of that show when I put my characters together. 

5.  How long did it take you to write your book? 

  

It took about a year.  I did it in sections so I could place certain character scenes where I wanted them.  Working from the back forward helped me to develop my story line also.   I had to do some researching so working in sections was best for me.  I kept all four sisters on different story boards so I wouldn't confuse them or the direction I was going with them.

6.  What are story boards?

I made up boards and I would write what I wanted each character to do and how.  They were sisters but needed their own identity.  By making up a story board I could write for one character at a time and not have them lapse into the next character. Take Belle for example, she was the giving and nurturing sister, so she wouldn't have the same traits as Tina or Nayla. I kept her separate and wrote only for her on her board.

7.  Now that you have written a book, is there anything you would like to change or do differently next time? 

There is a lot I would do differently.  I will not be rushed into making decisions and definitely use an editing service.  I had other people reading for me but they got caught up in the story and missed the same mistakes I did it seems.  I plan to do a reprint of this book maybe next year and release it on Kindle.

8.  Do you plan on writing any more books? 

My next book is in the works titled "Nayla's Dilemma" and it picks up where this book left off.  I hope to finish a trilogy before branching off into other mystery novels.

 Stop by Toye's blog to learn more about her at Welcome to My Fictional World.