Fairy Wishes 1-2-3 by Michele Barrow-Belisle is currently on tour with Silver Dagger Book Tours. Get your copy now for only $0.99! The tour stops here today for my review, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
A tale of two little fairies of different ethnicities, backgrounds, and environments, who are envious of the things the other gets to do … from catching shooting stars to playing the guitar.
They decide to trade places, but soon realize that being someone else isn't as much fun as they thought. The girls quickly discover the importance of just being themselves.
Excerpt
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“Beautifully Illustrated, fast-paced and Precious.[…] I imagine little children & emergent readers would enjoy this, night after night in bed - relishing in the vibrant illustrations and witty rhyme of Fairy Wishes 1,2, 3.” ~ Jennifer C. Lopez
“A delightful little tale about being happy with who you are. With colorful, fun illustrations and a sweet, rhyming story, this one captured my little's attention and even inspired a few questions about these entertaining fairies and the lesson they learn as they switch places. This is a great length for a bedtime read and is captivating enough for even the shortest of attention spans. Definitely a hit in this house.” ~ Becky Baldridge
Two fairy friends from different backgrounds think that the other has the better life, and they decide to swap places. But they discover that it’s always best to just be yourself.
This is a lovely story with a beautiful message: we are all different and we should celebrate our differences. The gorgeous illustrations, also by the author, have a magical, ethereal quality which is just perfect for the subject matter.
A great gift idea for your little fairy.
About the Author
A dreamer at heart, Michele Barrow-Belisle has always lived with one foot in this reality and one foot in another, one of her own imagining. So it follows that she would grow up to write about and sculpt the characters from those enchanting worlds she knows and loves so well. As a fan of everything romantic, her young adult novels are populated with witches and vampires and faeries. Michele resides in southern Canada with her hubby and son who indulge her passions for writing, reading, lattes, and most of all chocolate.
She also loves shoes.
Did we mention the chocolate?
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a signed hardcover copy of Fairy Wishes 1-2-3 by Michele Barrow-Belisle.
This book is for anyone with chronic pain looking for answers. It will give you a place to start. You don't have to resign yourself to a life of pain and pills.
In this book you will learn:
·What is causing your pain and how to eliminate it.
·How to find a practitioner that will help you gain back your health.
·What's in your food? Organic, conventional, GMOs processed, fast, canned, dairy, factory farmed meat, soy, water. Identify your sensitivities and heal your leaky gut.
·Identify the toxins in your life. in your cosmetics, over the counter drugs, in your kitchen, in your body. Learn how to purge them.
·34 stress busting ideas, and four simple exercises to reduce your stress.
·32 suggestions from leading functional experts on how to get a good night's sleep.
·How to recognize a toxic relationship and make it work or walk away.
·How to tame Anxious Negative Thoughts "ANTs".
·The importance of movement, even for people who don't like to move.
·How to take control of your health, reduce your inflammation and feel great again!
Book Video
Excerpt
Before we begin, the most important thing you can do for your body, your skin, your teeth, your nails and your hair is to heal your gut. Go back to my chapter on autoimmune disease to learn how to do that. Healing your gut will clear your acne, eliminate eczema, psoriasis, and it will help you have healthy hair, healthy nails, a healthy attitude (which is part of beauty). There is no beauty product that can substitute for overall good health, and good health depends on a healthy biome. Remember, you are what you eat!
Go back to my chapter on Food to understand more about how to do this. But each chapter in this book has to do with creating health, and doing that allows your beauty to shine through.
There are an incredible amount of toxins lurking in your cosmetics and personal care products. Who knew? It doesn’t matter if they are from the drug store (almost all toxic synthetic ingredients) or very expensive brands (still often loaded with toxins). Cosmetics are not regulated, and since our skin is our largest organ, what we are putting on our skin can be very detrimental to our health.
Cosmetics have never particularly been regulated.
Until recently, The Cosmetic Act of 1938 was the only guideline for the FDA. This law came about because mascara sold before 1938 had rat poison in it and blinded the consumer. According to Wikipedia, “Under the Act, the FDA does not approve cosmetic products, but because the Act prohibits the marketing of adulterated or misbranded cosmetics in interstate commerce, it can remove cosmetics from the market that contain unsafe ingredients or that are mislabeled. The FDA can and does inspect cosmetics manufacturing facilities to ensure that cosmetics are not adulterated.” It counted heavily on the Cosmetic industry to monitor itself. Yikes.
That has been it for the last 80 years. Last year, a bill was finally passed to add some regulation to the cosmetic industry. The Personal Care Product Safety Act of 2015. "Strong provisions in the bill would advance the FDA's ability to protect Americans' health by improving current law in the following areas:
– Directing the FDA to assess the safety of a minimum of five cosmetics chemicals a year;
– Requiring companies to register their facilities, products and ingredients with the FDA;
– Requiring companies to comply with good manufacturing practices;
– Closing labeling loopholes by requiring full ingredient disclosure for professional salon products and web-based sales of cosmetics; and
– Giving the FDA mandatory recall authority to get unsafe products off the shelves.
Bottom line, it is a start, but it doesn’t do enough.
You have to take responsibility to do your own research for your own health, to keep the toxins out of your house and off of your skin. This government regulation is not going to protect you.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
This book has won the following awards to date:
·3rd place CIPA EVVY Health/Wellness
·2nd Place CIPA EVVY Illustrator in a non-children's book
·New Apple Summer Digital sole winner in Health/medical
·The Living Evergreen Award Gold winner for books that exemplify better living
·It is in the top 10 from Write your Own Dream Book, November 17, Institute for Integrative Nutrition
·TOP 12 Books on the Spirited Woman Fall Equinox 2017 book list
“It Feels Good to Feel Good, learn to eliminate toxins, reduce inflammation and feel great again” is written by Cheryl Meyer, a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition®, where she completed a cutting edge curriculum in nutrition and health coaching taught by the world’s leading experts in health and wellness. I recommend you read this book and be in touch with Cheryl (Cheryl M Health Muse) to see how she can help you successfully achieve your goals.” ~ Joshua Rosenthal, MScEd, Founder/Director, Institute for Integrative Nutrition
“If you want to truly feel better … clean up! Just one tip from Cheryl’s book will change your life. She has written the ultimate source for getting well through detoxification.” ~ Suzy Cohen, RPh, Author of Drug Muggers: Which Medications Are Robbing Your Body of Essential Nutrients and How to Restore Them
“You have taken putting soap in the mouth for naughty words … to a New Level! LOL Who knew we were surrounded by so many toxins. I’ve pretty much finished your book now working on giving sections to my family and friend that I think will especially appreciate certain chapters! YOU, my Dear, have found your calling, YOU make this rather ‘dull’ subject a Very Good, interesting read, with fun personal touches along the way. I LOVE your book; I hope people will embrace it. Why worry so much about health care if we keep killing ourselves with poison. We can all start with eliminating the toxins out of our lives.” ~ Val Peterson
“As a Functional Medicine Doctor who partners with patients to deal with the root causes of their symptoms, it was a pleasure to read a book that offers such a comprehensive yet simple approach to improve health, reduce inflammation and pain, lose weight and increase energy. This is a great reference to keep in reach on your own journey to optimal wellness. If you are struggling with chronic symptoms like digestive problems, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune disorders, this book may really help you. It lays out practical tools that you can use right away and at your own pace, everything from how to change your shopping choices to getting more comprehensive medical testing to reduce your toxic burden. Her simple to understand, well researched and easy-to-adopt tools can be helpful to even the busiest among us.” ~ Dr. Shilpa Sayana, Founder and Medical Director, Sayana Wellness Centers
“Cheryl has been not only been an exemplary patient, she has made it her mission to inspire and help others with her experience and knowledge!” ~ Susan Spizer, MTCM, L.Ac.
“She writes like she talks, straight and with passion. What you will read here will surprise you. A helpful read that you will refer back time and time again for reference.” ~ Scott Lee, Master, Body and Brain Yoga, Monrovia
“My friend, Cheryl Meyer has written a book that I recently finished called It Feels Good to Feel Good. It has a lot of common sense solutions (many that you would never think of) to healthy, toxin free living designed around the reduction of inflammation through what you put in and on your body. Most of this is from her personal experience. I know Cheryl to be one of the finest people you’ll ever know. Cheryl’s also a big proponent of ‘functional medicine’. If you are unfamiliar with this form of medical practice, you need to read her book. It will change the way you think”. ~ Frank Jones
“Cheryl’s book is as timely as it is informative. This is an excellent read for those seasoned in the holistic lifestyle as well as those just beginning. There is something for everyone. Her material covers everything from probiotics, house cleaning materials, and abdominal massages, to which teas to drink for better sleep. She has the latest information on metal detoxing and extensive research on the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Cheryl provides real solutions that can be implemented far beyond the basics with a bend toward functional medicine. I personally ordered three products within hours of reading her book. I’m especially thrilled with the depth of her research around relationships and those that can be toxic. Make sure to read this book and hold onto the ‘not to miss points’ at the beginning of each section.” ~ Shannon Eavenson, Author, & Physical Therapist/Health Coach
In her search to alleviate the pain caused by inflammation, the author
has conducted her own internet research over the last five years. As she
herself states: “There is nothing in this book that you could not find on your
own by researching online. But this information is scattered all over the
place. It has taken me five years to find all of this and to go through the
trial and error of finding what works for me. I wanted to give you a place to
start with all of the information that I have found by locating it all in one
spot.” I commend her for her efforts, however, while this book provides a good basic
start, it needs more in-depth information. It is extremely repetitive, and the
first 20% of the book is full of rhetoric but not much substance. It all just feels
like one big advertisement to hire the author as a health coach.
The basic take-aways:
·Eat a meal of three quarters organic fruit and vegetables and one quarter
pastured meat
·Do not eat genetically modified food, processed food, sugar, canned food,
soy products (with the exception of fermented soy), vegetable oils
·If you must have dairy products, only consume full fat organic dairy
products
·Eliminate toxic cosmetics, fragrances, cleaning products, heavy metals,
relationships
·Consume more water but make sure it's filtered
·Get moving
Editing problems include: punctuation, capitalization, misused words,
missing words, spelling, poor sentence structure, inconsistencies with bold and
italicized text.
Formatting problems include: the green text boxes are difficult to
navigate, there are numerous broken hyperlinks both in the text and endnotes,
any appearance of "ants" as part of any word is italicized (this may
be deliberate but is annoying and unnecessary), endnotes should be hyperlinked
for easy access, not all referenced articles are hyperlinked in the text, not
all articles have endnotes, there are no hyperlinks to the organizations we are
asked to support.
From my own reading in this area, I suggested you read the following
books instead:
Whatever your approach, there is no denying that “it feels good to feel
good.”
About the Author
Five years ago, Cheryl got sick, really sick. It was a perfect storm: she was working 24/7; her long-term relationship imploded; economic changes slowed her business; she got Type II diabetes; she was taking care of everyone else; her stress was out of control.
Then one morning … voila, Cheryl woke up in incredible pain that didn’t go away. Her doctor didn’t recognize what it was and thought it was in her head.
Cheryl didn’t want more pills, so she embarked on her own journey to find wellness. When she started, she didn’t even know what she was looking for. She was stunned to find toxins in every aspect of her life that were poisoning her. She discovered the Functional Medicine community. She was tested for food sensitivities.
This book shares everything that Cheryl learned to reverse her inflammation and put her autoimmune diseases at bay. This is the get well manual that she wishes had been available when she got sick. The book is about first identifying that toxins that were a significant cause of her leaky gut, then she identified what the toxins were and finally she shares what she replaced them with. She addresses the toxins in our food, in our cosmetics, our cleaning supplies, our kitchen utensils, our water, our over the counter drugs, and even in our heads, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, lack of movement and finally toxic relationships. She wants to help others find a path to wellness.
Cheryl is now relatively pain-free, but still considers herself a work in progress. She avoids the foods and spices on her specific, long list of problem foods. She has purged toxins. She has released stress and nagging worry. She has learned to find joy in movement. She has found love. She is grateful.
Cheryl believes that following her journey will help you live a long, happy and pain-free life.
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win paperback copy of It Feels Good to Feel Good by Cheryl Meyer OR a highlighter pen and bookmark OR a purse-size Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 card.
When seventeen-year-old Johnny moves to a sleepy new town and meets the enigmatic Marco, the glamorous Mary, and the punk princess Jemma, his summer nights are soon filled with friendship and love.
Excerpt
From a distance, I could’ve sworn I saw the ghost of Marilyn Monroe.
There was a beautiful woman standing next to Marco in the parking lot of the 50’s hamburger palace. They were leaning up against the side of his vintage car, waiting and doused in the shadows of slow pulsing neon lights. His arm was draped around her shoulders. It appeared she was propping him up. She laughed when she steadied him and the sound was sweet and melodic. She was a platinum blonde, dressed in a black pencil skirt and a low-cut white angora sweater. There was a red chiffon scarf tied around her neck. She exuded power in her black stiletto heels. She was a movie star in the making, a glamorous goddess just waiting for someone to discover her and catapult her to fame. If anyone had been born for a life on the silver screen, it was her.
She pried herself away from Marco and stepped in my direction. “You must be Johnny,” she said. I nodded in reply, mesmerized by the seductive green color of her eyes and the tenderness of her voice. She leaned in, kissed my cheek, and then spent the next few seconds trying to wipe her lipstick off my skin. Her touch was soft and comforting.
“Are you Marilyn Monroe?” I asked. My words fell into her cleavage.
“You’re close,” she said. “I’m Mary.”
“Yes,” I said. “Marco mentioned you.”
“He’s like a brother to me,” she whispered. “Be gentle with his heart.”
Marco moved to us, wrapping an arm around us, connecting and cementing us as a trio. “I’m a lucky guy,” he said. “I get to spend the night with my two favorite people.”
“Marco doesn’t have many favorites,” Mary explained. She was clearly his interpreter. “So, I guess that makes us the lucky ones.”
Marco gently guided us in the direction of his parked car. “I wish we could go to Vegas,” he announced.
“Why don’t we?” I challenged.
He shook his head. “We wouldn’t make it there until dawn.”
“Dawn’s a lovely time to arrive in Vegas,” Mary said. “You can sleep all day and then be ready for the night.”
“Are we vampires?” I asked, with a small laugh.
“In another life, yes,” explained Mary. “In this one…”
Marco glanced up to the dark, starlit sky and said, “We’re the ones everybody else wants to be.”
Mary shook a finger at him, reprimanding. “Careful, Marco,” she said. “You almost sound smug.”
“Do you think they know?” he asked. “About how much we’ve been through?”
They looked into each other’s eyes when Mary spoke. “If they did,” she said, “they wouldn’t care. But our sorrow would ruin the façade.”
“Façade,” he repeated. “I like that word.”
Mary insisted on sitting in the backseat, but not before pulling me aside. “You belong up front now,” she explained, in a hushed tone. “Next to Marco. He needs you by his side.”
“But you were here first,” I reminded her.
“I appreciate your chivalry,” she said. “But you’re new.”
I slid across the bucket seat and into the shelter of Marco’s arms. He pulled me closer to him. “There,” he said. “That’s better.”
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“I felt like I was reading this coming-of-age romance while looking through the lens of a motion picture camera. Everything was so visual, the colors, and descriptions all pulled me in.” ~ Todd Wylie
“Painted like an Edward Hopper night scene, with backdrops reminiscent of Giant, Riding with James Dean is a chrome-plated, nostalgic look at adolescent infatuation populated with a backseat full of colorfully-drawn, bigger-than-life characters.” ~ Wayne Goodman
“Riding with James Dean is a beautiful coming-of-age story riddled with the excitement, romance, and fear that accompanies first love. Written in beautiful prose that cloaks the story in dreamlike veil, the reader is transported into Johnny's new world, filled with unique characters who embark upon a journey of self-discovery that will leave you wanting more.” ~ RJ Harris
About the Author
David-Matthew Barnes is the award-winning author of several novels and collections of stage plays and poetry. His acclaimed screenplays have earned many accolades including a 2017 Los Angeles Film Award. David-Matthew has written over fifty stage plays that have been performed in three languages in ten countries. His literary work has appeared in over one hundred publications. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. He has been an educator for more than a decade.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win one of twelve ebook copies of Riding with James Dean by David-Matthew Barnes.
