Annual Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes Research

I have the opportunity again this year to provide auction items for the wonderful annual charity event organized by author Brenda Novak.

The auction is offering opportunities to bid on fabulous prizes this year, including:

• One Night Stay at NYTimes Bestselling Author Nora Roberts' Inn

• A Writer's Perfect Getaway (for up to 6) at NYTimes Bestselling Author Cherry Adair's Guest House

• 3 Night Stay in NYTimes Bestselling Author Susan Wiggs' Guest House

• Fabulous Stays in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, and Mexico

• Lots of Electronics...Kindles, Nooks, and even an iPad

• Lunches with Bestselling Authors Suzanne Brockmann, Diana Gabaldon, Karen Rose, Carla Neggers, Steve Barry and more!

Many authors (like yours truly) are offering signed books and manuscript critiques. I hope you will check out my auction items in particular because I’d like to help raise money for this great cause, and the more I can help raise, the better I’ll feel.

Why? Because this year, diabetes has become horribly personal. As I compose this blog, my sister Christina lies in the Critical Care Unit of our local hospital with double pneumonia, her breathing assisted by a ventilator. The pneumonia is a complication that occurred two days after she was transferred to a physical rehabilitation center following the amputation of her left leg, which became necessary after an ulcer on her foot became infected and seeded infection into her bloodstream.

My sister Christina is a diabetic, and I have seen the ravages of this disease through her eyes and suffered the anguish of sitting by her bedside this last week, watching a machine breathe for her and searching for hope in the faces of a hospital staff who are understandably guarded concerning the prognosis of the critical patient in their care.

I want to put on my steel-toed shoes and kick this disease in the butt. I hope you will help me. Please visit the auction site, find something among the many offered items that interests you, and BID!


Lisa Marie

Book Review: Unveiled by Courtney Milan

In 1837 England, battle lines are being drawn in a fight for a dukedom. Ash Turner, a distant cousin of the ailing Duke of Parford, has petitioned Parliament with proof that he is the legitimate heir, leaving the current Duke’s grown children, Lady Anna Margaret and her two brothers, to face the scorn of society and a bleak future as bastards.

While her brothers race to rally votes on their behalf in an upcoming Parliamentary session, Anna Margaret remains at Parford Manor and assumes the identity of nurse Margaret Lowell, with instructions to spy on the man attempting to steal their birthright.

Expecting a cold-hearted, ruthless opportunist, Anna Margaret is surprised to discover Ash Turner is a kind, intelligent man who harbors a grudge against her father. The more she learns about Ash and the injustices his family has suffered, the more difficult maintaining her familial loyalty to her brothers becomes, especially when Ash reveals a personal secret to Anna Margaret that could result in his own destruction.

Unveiled is one of those rare books where the human heart is revealed in all its complexity and the relationship between the hero and heroine develops in a believable, completely satisfying way. Major themes such as self-image, loyalty and trust are explored, and author Milan handles the intricacies of the English courts system of that period with a deft hand.

The only thing that keeps Unveiled from being a solid 5-star read is that it was difficult to believe Ash failed to guess nurse Margaret’s identity, despite the number of hints that were dropped and the fact that most of Ash’s business dealings were based upon his strong instincts and insight into people.


Lisa Marie