Friday, July 3, 2015

Friday's Film Adaption: The Crossing by Howard Fast


Summary:
Nobody has written more passionately or more vividly about the American Revolution than Howard Fast. The legendary living author of Freedom Road and Citizen Tom Paine, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Spartacus and the triumphant survivor of Hollywood's notorious blacklist of the fifties, Howard Fast is a part of American history.

It is an amazing testament to Washington's leadership of the young volunteer army fighting in summer clothes against the bitter cold, the snow and the almost impassable Delaware River.

Criss-crossing through Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, this is also the tale of Colonel John Glover, the leader of a band of New England fishermen, of Tom Paine, the first American war correspondent; and the dreaded German Hessians themselves

Dispelling the myths of history, Howard Fast has written an unforgettable and true account of a key event in America's struggle for independence that all Americans should know and understand.




Film:
A dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the British forces at Trenton.
Original channel: A&E (US)
Original release: January 10, 2000 (USA)
Running time: 89 min.
Cast:
Jeff Daniels as Gen. George Washington
Roger Rees as Gen. Hugh Mercer
Sebastian Roché as Col. John Glover
Steven McCarthy as Alexander Hamilton
John Henry Canavan as Gen. Henry Knox
Ned Vukovic as William Alexander, Lord Stirling
David Ferry as Gen. Nathaniel Greene
Nigel Bennett as Gen. Horatio Gates
Karl Pruner as Gen. John Sullivan
Duncan McLeod as Williams
Andrew Kraulis as Billy
Kelly Harms as Tommy
Jonathan Watton as Cadman
Kris Holden-Ried as Capt. Heineman
Julian Richings as McKenzie




It's been a while since I have seen this film but for a made-for-television production it's very well done.  The acting is superb, the story is well written, and Jeff Daniels does a remarkable job portraying General George Washington.  With not many American Revolutionary films, especially those adapted from books, this is a definite viewing must.

RATING: 

Author Bio:
Howard Fast (1914–2003) was one of the most prolific American writers of the twentieth century. He was a bestselling author of more than eighty works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. The son of immigrants, Fast grew up in New York City and published his first novel upon finishing high school in 1933. In 1950, his refusal to provide the United States Congress with a list of possible Communist associates earned him a three-month prison sentence. During his incarceration, Fast wrote one of his best-known novels, Spartacus (1951). Throughout his long career, Fast matched his commitment to championing social justice in his writing with a deft, lively storytelling style.


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Re-Release Blitz: Just Like in the Movies by MB Feeney

Title: Just Like in the Movies
Author: MB Feeney
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 3, 2015
Summary:
Ava Jones has settled for a life that she’s not sure she wants anymore, but won’t admit it. Her best friend, Erica Davidson talks her into taking a break on the Isle of Wight. Her days on the island are spent thinking things through, and arguing with Morgan whom she hates on principal. Is it so wrong for her to want a life that follows the script of a honest to God romance film?


Losing myself in the titles, covers, and blurbs, I faintly heard footsteps behind me.

“Hey, can I help?”

I turned to face quite possibly the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His light brown hair had been bleached by the sun, and the bundle of messy curls made my fingers itch to tangle them among the chaotic strands. The man’s hazel eyes regarded both me and the slim book in my hand. His tall, lean figure was clad in skinny jeans, with an open, oversized shirt over a t-shirt and well- worn biker boots. He looked a little out- of-place among the surfer types I had noticed wandering around town.

“I’m just looking, thanks.” I couldn’t help but blush when he gave a slight smirk at the sight of the Mills & Boon book I held.

“If you’re after more . . . err . . . books in that particular genre, there’s a wider selection over here.” He indicated a bookcase to his left.

“This? Oh, no. This isn’t my type at all. I was just moving it out of the way to get at the new James Patterson.”

He cocked an eyebrow and his smile grew at my obvious lie. “Yeah, okay. I’ll leave you to . . . peruse.” He chuckled to himself as he made his way back behind the counter.

I slammed the bright pink book down so I could grab the James Patterson, the one I’d initially been after, and walked over to pay. “I’ll take this one.” I thrust my card at him and waited while he ran it through. I knew it was a simple misunderstanding, but it rubbed me the wrong way. Why couldn’t I just accept that he thought I wanted the Mills & Boon book? It was an easy mistake to make, I guess.

“Are you sure you don’t want the other one, too? It seems a bit more . . . your style.” He looked me up and down, taking in my denim shorts, skimpy vest top, and flip-flops.

His scrutiny made me nervous. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair to calm myself. “What would you know about my ‘style’?” I demanded, snatching the book out of his hand and clutching it to me, almost as if it were a security blanket.





Author Bio:
M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. Currently at university studying for her BA (Hons) in primary teaching, she procrastinates on her assignments by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open. She is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.

Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has multiple projects under way whilst Honour, a compilation of her own military based shorts, was released in November 2013 and her short novel, The One That Got Away was released February 2015. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.

Her main reason for writing is to not only give her readers enjoyment, but also to create a story and characters that stay with readers long after the book is finished, and possibly make someone stop and think “what if...”


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Just Like in the Movies

Dear Diary

Honour
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One Night by Lorhainne Eckhart

Title: One Night
Author: Lorhainne Eckhart
Series: Kate and Walker: Deadly Dangerous & Desired Series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Summary:
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Lorhainne Eckhart brings you ONE NIGHT, A high-stakes suspense and sizzling, red-hot romance!

A blind date goes deadly on a night she’ll never forget!


     Going home with Detective Walker Pruett could have been one of the most exciting things she’d ever done if it weren’t for the fact that she had a psychotic woman on her trail, a woman who had somehow figured that Kate was the one thing standing between her and Ryder Connelly—a man she didn’t know, had met once, and wasn’t dating! Kate hadn’t argued with Walker about going with him, because the fact was that she felt much safer staying with the hunky detective than with her parents.
     He parked outside an older two-story house with a small porch out front. It had a tree in the neat front yard and a lone straight-back chair sitting outside the front door. She followed him up the stairs in the dark and waited while he unlocked the door. It squeaked as he opened it and then flicked on a light. It was quaint. A sofa and chair and a sixty-inch flat-screen TV greeted her from the living room. A pool table was in the dining room instead of a table, and the art on the walls consisted of various Native pieces, completely clashing with this entire man-cave thing he had going on.
     “So no missus here?” she asked, because it would have been just her luck.
     The look he gave her answered that question. “Seriously, Kate?”
     “Okay, just checking. With my track record, it wouldn’t surprise me if you had some Big Love thing going on with a couple of sister wives.” Now she was being ridiculous, she knew that, and she wondered what it was about Walker that made her say things she’d never say to anyone else.
     “Do I look like the type of guy who has women stashed away? Good God, one woman is a handful. Now you think I have a harem.”
     “Sorry, my experience with men is somewhat jaded.”
     He grunted and allowed his gaze to linger on her breasts before meeting her eyes. “I’ll show you the bathroom upstairs if you want to shower.” He was already on the stairs, going up. If she didn’t follow, she was pretty sure he was going to just leave her there, so she trotted after him, up the stairs, until she was right behind him. He didn’t look back, though. “I’ll get you a T-shirt to sleep in, and you can take my bed.” He was giving orders suddenly, so cold, changing from a man who’d stopped her with one of the most breathtakingly hot kisses she had ever had to a man who was all business, who couldn’t get away from her fast enough. What had she done now?
     The stairs squeaked. She figured the house had to be sixty years old, give or take a decade or two. It had dark wood and white walls. Even the floorboards creaked when she walked. The bathroom was dated but surprisingly clean, for a guy.
     “There’re extra towels in the cupboard in the bathroom.” He pointed at the door as if giving a tour and kept walking.
     She followed on his heels, past one of the two bedrooms upstairs. The first door was open and had boxes on the desk and other junk piled in it.
     “And this is my bedroom,” he said. It was small and had a four-poster bed, neatly made, covered in a dark blue quilt, with one pillow. He opened a chest of drawers and pulled out a white shirt. She didn’t miss how neatly folded his shirts were—a far cry from hers. Most things were jammed in her drawers, and she could barely close them.
     “Wow, it’s surprisingly clean. I would have expected something not so neat.”
     He gave her an odd look, the expression on his face almost unreadable. “Really, you mean like the trail you left at your place? First your red dress—which, by the way, is a work of art on you—then your lacy black bra and underwear. What did you do, step out of everything and drop them as you walked to your bedroom?”
     How had he known? She swallowed, because that was exactly what she’d done. She gripped his T-shirt closer, feeling her bare nipples brush the inside of the sweatshirt. Even though she was wearing shorts, as well, she felt absolutely naked in front of him. And, right now, she didn’t want to be anywhere else.
     He was so close to her, and he made no attempt to move back or away. Seemed to her he really enjoyed invading her space. There was something about the way a man smelled when she was attracted to him that was better than hot fudge—and she loved fudge, anything chocolate, deep and sweet and rich. He raised an eyebrow when she didn’t answer.
     “Okay, so I’m not the neatest,” she said. “Can I just say, in my defense, I was on my way to take a shower?”
     The way his gaze drifted down over the bulky sweatshirt she was wearing to her bare legs and then lower, taking in all of her, was the most intimate gesture she’d ever experienced. She had to squeeze her legs together. Good God, what would it be like to have this man fuck her? She had no doubt he’d know how to do it right—and no doubt she’d think she’d died and gone to heaven. He gazed at her lower lip as she slipped her tongue out and over it. She wanted him to lean in and taste her, kiss her hard and fast and deep as he did.
     Then he had her pressed against the wall, her arms above her head, and he held them with one hand in a grip she knew she couldn’t get away from, not that she wanted to move one inch from this man. No, she wanted him closer, feeling every hard inch of him pressed into her. She heard a sound and realized it was her. She’d whimpered.
     “You want me hard and fast or tender and easy? Come on, Kate. Tell me what you want,” he said. He slipped his leg in between hers, and he was thick and long, pressing into her. His breath was warm as he stared so close, his eyelids heavy, eyes filled with desire. Yeah, he wanted her too.

Author Bio:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart’s books have been described as Longmire meets old-school Dallas, and she recently received the 2013 Readers’ Favorite Award for Romantic Suspense for her title Lost and Found. With over thirty five titles under her belt, her big family romance series have become a fan favorite. She is frequently a Top 100 bestselling author in multiple genres, such as romance, western, military and mystery/suspense. She has written multiple series, including The Outsider, Walk the Right Road, The Wilde Brothers, Saved, The Friessens, and her two newest additions, Married in Montana, and her high-stakes suspense and sizzling, red-hot romance series, Kate and Walker, Deadly, Dangerous and Desired.

If you are interested in finding out how to get your hands on early advanced release copies of all her upcoming books, or receiving exclusive access to weekly giveaways, special limited time promotions you can join her newsletter list and all those details will be delivered right to your inbox.


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Release Day Blitz: For the Night Box Set by CJ Fallowfield

Author: CJ Fallowfield
Series: For the Night
Genre: Erotica
Release Date: July 3, 2015

***Warning: Contains Adult Themes ~ Suitable for 18+ Only***
Summary:
My name is Logan Steele. I’m devilishly handsome, seriously ripped, well hung, charismatic and highly sexed. Women just can’t resist me. So when I lost my job in the construction industry and was struggling for cash, I decided to put my assets to good use.

By day I’m a private personal fitness trainer. By night I’m a high class escort. Logan Steele, licensed to thrill.

I don’t advertise my sexual services anymore, I have a long client list that come to me through word of mouth. I’m that good, I’m booked months in advance. Scores of women pay me extortionately high fees to fulfil their fantasies. And for the most part I do. I have a strict set of rules that I abide by, which are provided in the full contract that you’ll receive along with the booking form, if accepted. Just so we’re clear, my absolute number one rule, is full payment up front, which is non-refundable. No exception. There is no requirement for a refund clause, I never fail to perform.

So, now you’re aware of my rules for the night and are about to email me to book your fantasy, all that remains to be asked is, “Who do you want me to be?”

Will Logan continue in his profession, or is there a woman out there for him, one that can fulfill all of his own fantasies?


The Box Set contains: 
Strangers for the Night
Virgin for the Night
Filthy for the Night
Ménage for the Night
Sophisticated for the Night
Biker for the Night
Dominant for the Night
Actor for the Night




Author Bio:
CJ is a 45 year old female from the United Kingdom and lives in the wonderful countryside of Wales, surrounded by rolling hills, trees and fields full of sheep and cows. Her writing aids include chocolate, Ben & Jerry’s and copious amounts of coffee, wine or cider. Reading was her main pastime, until she discovered the joy of creating hot, erotic, romantic fiction, and now romantic comedy, but she still tries to set aside time to indulge her appetite for steamy reads by other authors too.


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