Author Profile: Bella Andre

bella andre

Bella Andre

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Bella Andre is one of the rare self-published phenomenons who has become an ebook millionaire.   She recently signed a groundbreaking 7-figure print-only deal with Harlequin MIRA for her Sullivan series.  They will be released in mass market paperback in a global launch with continuous back-to-back releases from June 2013 to April 2014.

She started out writing songs, then non-fiction books.  When she wrote her first Romance novel, she knew she’d found her perfect career.  She’s a savvy marketer who works non-stop to improve the sales of her titles.  When she released her first original self-published story in July 2010, she wrote a personal email to everyone who had ever written to her in the last five years to get the word out.  She is known for her sensual stories with sizzling alpha heroes and strong women.

Besides writing, her favorite things to do are reading her favorite authors, hiking, and swimming.  She is married with two children and splits her time between Northern California and a 100 year old cabin in the Adirondacks.

Available (or soon to be) at our library:

Sullivan Brothers Series

The Look of Love

From This Moment On

Can’t Help Falling In Love

*Coming Soon*

I Only Have Eyes for You
If You Were Mine
Let Me Be The One
Come A Little Bit Closer
The Way You Look Tonight
Book 10    coming Fall 2013

Also Available:

Hot As Sin

Never Too Hot

Wild Heat

Ebook (Overdrive Catalog) – Candy Store

From the Children’s Room – Teens Read to Tots

Another summer session of Teens Read to Tots has come to an end. Cheshire Library has been running this popular summer program for many years. The program pairs “tots” ages 3-5 with “teens” ages 12-17 for stories and crafts.  It’s hard to say who has more fun, the younger kids or the older ones, and some wonderful bonds form over the 6-week program. IMG_1608 IMG_1609 IMG_1613 IMG_1614IMG_1615It’s a labor of love!

Jenn Reads: One Mississippi by Mark Childress

One Mississippi was a book club pick for the book club I run with girlfriends outside of the library.

One mississippi, two mississippi…

Imagine: It’s 1973. Your favorite television program is The Sonny and Cher

One Mississippi by Mark Childress

Show. Desegregation has just happened in your school. You’re moving to a new home, in a new state, for the upteenth time. And you’re a junior in high school. Could it get any worse?

It does.

Written by the author of Crazy in AlabamaOne Mississippi is the story of Daniel Musgrove, a junior in high school in Minor, Mississippi. He’s moving with his family from Indiana (Yankee country, he believes) to Mississippi. The schools have just been integrated (seems a bit late to me) and they’re having their first interracial prom. Finding himself an outsider, Daniel gets a new best friend in Tim Cousins.

Things spiral quick out of control after the prom, when Arnita Beechman, is named prom queen, the first black prom queen in the school’s history, and she is involved in an accident. A small lie becomes a big lie and lives are forever changed.

While there were many moments of seriousness, there were moments of humor, wit, and “oh geez”. Childers wants us as readers, to remember what it was like to be in high school. We all had moments we’d like to forget, but we all also have moments we’d love to relive. A few of my favorites included Daniel and Tim meeting Sonny and Cher at a concert and Daniel’s house blowing up (you’ve got to read it!).

Unfortunately, Childers tries to stuff too many issues into 400 pages. There’s racism, teen sex, gay issues, bullying, Vietnam, etc, etc. As a group we felt if he had focused on just one issue, the book may have been more cohesive. Personally, I felt the storyline with Daniel’s brother Buddy, who goes off the Vietnam, was hugely ignored.

This is in no way a “teen” book, although it could be read by teenagers. And neither is it a book for those who lived in the 1970’s. My girlfriends and I, all in our mid-20’s enjoyed this book for a glimpse into life during that time period. While our own high school experiences were not as problematic as Daniel’s, we related and sympathized.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

On Our Shelves: New Picturebooks

Are you running out of picturebooks to share with your youngest book lovers, or just sick and tired of re-reading the same story over and over again?  Well, here are some of the most recent arrivals in our collection that you may want to check out.

That is NOT a Good Idea!

That is NOT a Good Idea!, written and illustrated by Mo Willems is reminiscent of silent movies, with the classic damsel in distress. The story starts with a hungry fox inviting a plump goose for dinner and as the story continues in a familiar fable-like arc, a young chick (and young readers and listeners) repeat in growing volumes that they think the choices made are NOT a Good Idea. Full-color illustrations, the repeated phrase, and the unexpected ending will make this a fast favorite and a requested re-read.

Little Mouse

Little Mouse by Alison Murray is a picturebook about a young girl who has the nickname of ‘Little Mouse”. However, sometimes she is annoyed by the nickname and wishes it was not hers. Sometimes she likes to be as loud as an elephant, waddle like a penguin, or be as fierce as a lion. But then again, sometimes, like when she wants to cuddle with her mother, the nickname is just fine.

Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom

Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom by John Rocco is a fun picturebook about a boy and his friends that play superhero a lot. Rocco believes that his super powers come from his hair, and that the crazier his hair gets, the more powerful he becomes. One day Rocco is dragged to the barber and gets a haircut. In his despair about the loss of hair, and possibly his powers, he discovers that the rest of his crew and their crazy hair, have all met similar fates. In the end, Rocco discovers that he is just as super as ever.

[Cover]

The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot

The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! by Scott Magoon is a clever twist on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. It is told from the point of view of an unexpected narrator and, through snappy text and lighthearted illustrations, demonstrates the value of telling the truth, the importance of establishing trust, and (of course!) the possibility that a beast you created to get attention can become a real-life friend.

The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf

The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague Three pigs spend their money on different things: potato chips, sody-pop, and building supplies. It comes as no surprise that a wolf is able to blow down the first two pigs’ houses. When the wolf can’t blow down the third pig’s brick house, everyone comes together and the fun begins. The first two pigs give him potato chips and sody-pop, and the third pig makes everyone a healthy meal. Since only one pig has a house left, the other two pigs and the wolf move in with her. The somewhat bad wolf is no longer hungry.

Some of my other new favorites include Cheetah Can’t Lose by Bob Shea, Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? by Julie Middleton and Russell Ayto, Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, If You Want to See a Whale by Julie Fogliano and Erin Stead, The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten by Maureen Fergus, and Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira and Poly Bernatene.

Do you have a new favorite or discovery that you want to share?

2013 RITA Awards Honor the Best in Romance

Each year the Romance Writers of America (RWA), the trade association for aspiring and published romance fiction authors — recognizes excellence in romance novels and novellas. The 2013 Rita Awards were announced in July, here are some of the titles now available at Cheshire Library.

Contemporary  Romance Winner

The Way Back Home by Barbara Freethy. Ex-Marine Gabe Ryder has lost a lot in his life. His mother died when he was a toddler. His father succumbed to alcoholism. And a week before their last day of service, a horrific firefight takes the life of his best friend. Gabe must fulfill his friend’s dying wish by helping Rob’s twin sister, Alicia.

Historical Romance Winner

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean. The scintillating story of a disgraced Marquess reduced to running a London gambling hall who hopes to restore his good fortune by marrying a very proper lady who’s secretly drawn to sin. The first book in the new “Fallen Angels” series.

Inspirational Romance Winner

Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden.  Lydia Pallas, a translator for the U.S. Navy, is hired by Alexander Banebridge, or “Bane,” a man who equally attracts and aggravates her, to translate a seemingly innocuous collection of European documents, and finds herself in the middle of a secret war against some of the most dangerous criminals on the East Coast.

Romantic Suspense Winner

Scorched by Laura Griffin. When her investigation of a find from a remote Philippines dig leads her to the scene of her ex-fiancé’s murder, forensic anthropologist Kelsey Quinn turns to Navy SEAL Gage Brewer for help in unraveling a deadly conspiracy.

Young Adult Romance Winner

The Farm by Emily McKay. Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible. Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices. Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. He has valuable knowledge of the outside world, But like everyone on the Farm, he has his own agenda.