9/19/17

Heading Away on a Trip? These 5 Things Demand Your Attention

Now is a great time to be heading away on a trip. Traveling is more fun in the fall and winter because people less likely to be traveling with kids because they’re going back to school now. If you are planning to jet off and have a break from your regular life, here are the 5 things that demand your attention.

Backup Planning. Having a strong backup plan in place in case something goes horribly wrong on your trip is most definitely a good idea. You will then be able to make sure that you know exactly what you will do and how you will deal with the situation if things don’t turn out as you planned. This does happen, and you don’t want all your plans to go up in flames completely as a result of something like that. So, it’s worth thinking about and planning for if you possibly can. Learn more about this at http://travel.allwomenstalk.com/survival-tips-for-holiday-travel/4.

Insurance.  The right insurance will back you up and dig you out of trouble if you get unexpectedly sick or injured while you’re on your trip. Head to https://www.gobear.com/ph if you want to compare insurance deals. It’s important not to just skim over this because you can never be sure what will happen while you’re traveling. And it’s better to pay for that security than to be let down when something does happen.

Research.  No matter where you’re heading to on your trip; you should do some research before you actually get there. The more you know about the area, the language, the customs and the climate, the more you’ll enjoy your trip. This is especially important if you’re heading to a part of the world that you’ve never been to before. Knowledge is power, and never is this truer than when you’re heading out on a foreign trip.
 
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Transportation Needs.  Don’t assume that the transportation networks in the place that you’re heading to are going to be as comprehensive as they are back home. All countries and regions have different transportation arrangements, and that applies to public transport too. Find out what the situation is like the location you’re heading to. That way, you will be able to make sure that you know what you’re doing when you get there. Plan out your routes and have it all clear in your mind.
 
Health Concerns.  You definitely need to be thinking about your own health before you head away on a big trip. It can be put at risk if you don’t pay attention to the things that can go wrong on your trip. First of all, follow the travel advice for the place that you’re heading to. If you find that there is a need for vaccinations, be sure to get them before traveling. You don't want to put your health in jeopardy. Even basic things like hydration and sun protection should be given considerable attention.

Traveling is a lot of fun, and it gives you the chance to see something new. But that doesn’t mean should dive in without being properly prepared, so make the most of these things.

Blackout Book Spotlight Tour & Giveaway

Today, I am featuring a new crime/detective novel in our book spotlight!  Check out Blackout by Lawrence Johnson, Sr.--and enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post!

About the Book




Alexander Steele is a private detective turned night club owner in the city of Philadelphia. Steele and his longtime girlfriend Shakia's plans for him to retire are derailed when his cousin brings him an encrypted travel drive. The drive is opened by Steele's hacker friend Stan. A few days earlier every transformer in Canada had been shut down by the terrorist. The drive in Steele's possession gave details as to how the event would happen. What made it even more frightening was that the documents on the drive were created 3 months before the actual event; Steele finds himself drawn into the well-crafted mind games of a madman known as Chameleon an American terrorist.

His goal is to shut down the country by collapsing the economy of the United States. From the snow cover streets of Montreal to the tropical beaches of Nassau Steele follows a trail of clues and dead bodies. As he gathers more puzzle pieces Steele inches closer hoping to reveal and thwart the plot to bring down the U S government. He finds himself narrowly surviving constant attempts on his life. The dramatic face-off between Steele and Chameleon takes place in downtown Philadelphia. How will it end? Find out in Blackout, now on Audible.


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Meet the Author:


Born and raised in the city of Brotherly Love I have been writing for nearly 10 years. I am the author of the 2012 scifi novel Escape 2 Earth. In early 2009 I completed the second installment in the the Escape 2 Earth trilogy called Return 2 Earth also several short stories including a fantasy story titled Dimensions in Time and a sci fi story titled Planet of Doom.

In 2011 I completed my first detective novel called Blackout. Before writing Escape 2 Earth I began putting together a collection of inspirational and motivational quotes titled Observations from the Edge of Society. I am currently working on the final book in the Escape 2 Earth series called Earth 2, Redemption which will be completed in 2017.

Connect with the author:Website ~ Twitter ~  Facebook  ~ Instagram 


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The Jane Harvest Book Spotlight & Giveaway

This morning, I am excited to feature the first book of A. Nicky Hjort's The City science fiction series.  Check out The Jane Harvest and enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post!

The Jane Harvest
The City Book 1
by A Nicky Hjort
Genre: SciFi Fantasy

Winning battles means Ink honors, prestige, and life itself. …Yet nobody understands what losing truly means.


On another planet two hundred years in the future, twenty-one-year-old Isla Jane struggles helplessly to figure out who she is and what her world really means. Marked with a forbidden tattoo of the rising sun, she is a natural champion of humanity and a gifted warrior in Heats– lavish battles fought in the conjoined minds of the participants for the morbid amusement of the masses.

Despite Isla’s desire to fade into the background, she emerges as an obvious leader of her people when the senseless assassination of a youth forces her to face the truth. Her volatile world, disguised by its elaborate battles and constant mayhem, is a prison without bars and a coffin, the lid already half-closed, that they must escape.

But when she vows to find a way to bring her people back home, Isla will have to deconstruct consciousness and the very nature of the space time continuum to unravel good from evil, truth from lies, and survival from true love.


Welcome to the City–where it takes lives to save lives…





A. Nicky Hjort is originally from Arlington, Texas- the second of five siblings, all of whom have strong creative talents. She currently lives in coastal central California where she practices medicine as an Ob/GYN. In between being a lovingly devoted mother and delivering babies, she writes stories that cross multiple genre lines- from Sci Fi to high fantasy, but all of her stories have thriller and strong romantic components. And for her clever reader, all of her manuscripts are subtly connected to each other, with their purpose to explore all facets of Love and Light. She likes to say that her stories write themselves, and in the process, often write her, or at least the next version of her hoping to emerge. A lover of all the arts, A. Nicky Hjort hopes her stories might inspire you to find your inner creative genius.
As for her heroes- they are as varied and eclectic as her choice of narrative genres, but when pushed to list her favorite influences, she would say James Patterson, Barbara Kingsolver, Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koonntz, Gene Roddenberry, Shel Silverstein, Suzanne Collins, and Walt Disney.
She thanks you for your attention to her work.



Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!

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Nerve Damage Book Tour & Giveaway

Today, I am featuring a psychological thriller from J.L. Myers.  Check out Nerve Damage and enter for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post!

Nerve Damage
by J.L. Meyers
Genre: Psychological Thriller

A fatal car crash. The sole survivor. And the dark hooded stranger that wants her dead.

When a terrible accident—not accident—stole my parents’ lives, my whole perfect life changed. My memories are hazy, and there are scars on my wrists. I’ve been locked away for my own protection…until I prove my sanity, until I lie. There was no hooded figure on the road that day, no one standing over me as I lay paralyzed watching my parents burn.


I am Cassidy Lockheart…20-year-old orphan.

Determined to free my caged mind, I find myself far away on an unexpected trip to help return my forgotten past. The snow was part of my life before, but now it’s like a blank slate, until an avalanche changes everything. But I’m not alone. These other ‘lucky’ trip winners may not be the strangers they pretend to be. And my hooded attacker…I see him everywhere.

Is this real? Or delusion caused by head trauma?

Either way, I’m being watched. I can sense it. I can feel it. Someone is after me; maybe they’re after us all. The avalanche was no accident. It was staged to deliver us to this abandoned place. A place where the walls whisper dark secrets of a sinister past…a past no one can escape. Trapped, this snow won’t let up…it won’t let us leave. My lost memories hold clues, but they’re buried so deep, polluted and twisted in my every waking nightmare. What is real? I don’t have the answers. But I need them. Time is ticking and if I don’t figure this all out soon it will be too late.

The past is coming for us all…and it wants blood.



Warning - This book contains some graphic scenes that are only for an adult audience.
Psychological Thriller / Horror


"Think of the tension of Silence of the Lambs combined with the horror of Carrie and you have Nerve Damage. This is a psychological thriller that won’t let you put it down, yet you are almost too scared to turn the page!”

Diane Richmond (devoted bookworm) ★★★★★

This chilling tale from J.L. Myers is a suspenseful and twisted addition to other great psychological thrillers from the likes of Sarah A. Denzil, K.L. Slater, and Dot Hutchison.




Jessica L Myers' vivid imagination and quiet demeanor as a child led her to the imaginary worlds of books. Even at a young age, her love for the supernatural was prevalent, with her first loved books being R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. Following that she took an interest in other non-fantasy fiction, including Virginia C. Andrews series Flowers in the Attic.



In her teen years, Jessica spent many school hours writing poetry and dark short stories and took up sketching some of the terrifying things that came from the graphic night terrors she’d grown up with.

As an adult and after meeting the love of her life, Jessica got married and started a small construction business with her husband. With the birth of her son, Jessica suffered PPD and found escape in her books and their fantasy landscapes. It was at this time that her need to write flourished. In 2009 the decision was made and the first words to her New Adult Paranormal Romance novel What Lies Inside were written.

When Jessica isn’t immersed in writing about extraordinary characters with dangerous abilities and deadly obstacles to overcome, she likes to spend time with her two kids and husband, curl up with a good book, or watch anything and everything supernatural.




Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

9/18/17

Don't Let Your Bathroom Redesign Get Flushed Down the Toilet

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Okay, let’s talk about toilets! I know you don’t want to. Nobody wants to. We’ve all but eliminated it from our popular lexicon. When we say we’re ‘going to the bathroom’, it’s unlikely that we’re actually going to take a bath but we avoid the ‘t’ word because the English language lends itself so well to euphemism. We all know what they’re for, yet we’re understandably reticent to talk about its importance. While it’s unlikely to be at the forefront of your mind when redesigning your bathroom, there are undeniable stylistic and logistical considerations to bear in mind. After all, the worst thing about toilets is what happens when they go wrong.

While many sites such as Home Spa Select will be able to furnish you with a plethora of examples of ideal toilets, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. To mitigate the chance of insufficient flow, blockage or just plain not having enough legroom, we’ve compiled this handy dandy list of things you should look for when buying a new toilet.

Size. Toilets are available in various sizes, with much greater variation than you might expect. The size of your perfect toilet will be decided by the size and layout of the bathroom. This should be your primary consideration. There’s little point in falling in love with a perfect design if you find yourself without the space to accommodate it. Choosing a larger toilet for a small bathroom will dominate the space giving the suite a strange sense of disproportion. You will also need to decide on a size of toilet, that suits your size and body weight. If you’re larger in build you don’t want a dainty toilet that looks dainty and beautiful but feels like sitting on a razor blade.

Design. Some people want to make a statement with their toilet, others want it to look as innocuous as possible. It depends on personal preference as well as the space you have to work with. You should also consider the lines and details of your bath and sink if you’re buying a toilet that’s separate from your existing or chosen bathroom suite. Colors should complement the wall color and / or the color of the rest of your suite.
 
Flushing mechanism.  Don’t you just hate when a toilet is set to ‘stun’, not ‘kill’? You want a robust flush with the water pressure to completely clear the bowl without leaving stray sheets of toilet paper floating on the surface. Some toilets have a visible water tank, some tanks are concealed (this is usually the case in wall mounted toilets). Some toilets have a single flush, some use a dual flush. Single flushes use more water whereas dual flushes are more conservative. A single flush, therefore may be more robust but a dual flush is a more environmentally and money conscious choice while still providing a powerful enough flush for most users’ needs. 

Trap Way.  Finally, your trap way should be considered. They come in two varieties and it’s important to know which is right for the location of your bathroom. ‘S’ traps are designed to connect to the plumbing at ground level while a P trap is designed to be connected to a wall, making it more suited to upstairs toilets. 
 
Who knew toilets could be so complicated? But by bearing these 4 simple factors in mind you can guarantee yourself years of stress-free flushing.


 
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