Welcome to Bryan Cohen

author of

The Post College Guide to Happiness

Bryan Cohen here, guest poster and author, promoting my new book The Post-College Guide to Happiness for The Happiness Blog Tour.
I'm giving away free digital review copies of the book and doing a giveaway for paperback copies, audio copies and even a Kindle Fire! Read on and check out the info below the post. "To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him."
- Buddha

 Mental Strength Training
The sentiment expressed here by Buddha has since been confirmed by many studies and books. The most mentally disciplined people in the world, monks, have been tested and their brains have more activity in the sections connected to happiness and health. Does this mean you have to take a vow of silence and start wearing orange robes to be happy? No, because as with all areas of life, a little can go a long way. Studies have shown that genetics control about 50 percent of happiness. That means if you are predisposed to negativity, it's because the majority stakeholder of your joy is a big grump. To become happier you need to discipline your mind to fight back against genetics. People tend to become just like their fathers and mothers (in good ways and bad) because they let themselves. It's hard work to fight against your genes because it's like going against the current. Those who are the happiest and most successful, however, are the ones who build on their strengths and fight against their weaknesses. The first way to wage this disciplined war is to practice thinking. Open a word processor document or get out a sheet of paper and brainstorm about your life. I love brainstorming about ways to improve my health, increase my income and to enhance my peace. You should brainstorm about whatever is important to you. Thinking creatively allows you to begin to figure out ways to go beyond your DNA to break up your routine and push forward in your life. Secondly, it's important to improve your emotional intelligence. If the same incidents make you mad or upset over and over again, you need to train yourself to have a different reaction. Do you think that a monk gets bent out of shape when he gets stuck in traffic or gets yelled at during work? Nope. He's cool as a cucumber because he trained himself to be calm in the face of adversity. Enhance your calm by practicing deep breathing techniques, gratitude about the good you have going for you and using logic instead of emotion. Lastly, discipline yourself with positive and forward thinking goals. The happiest and most successful people have things to strive for and positively anticipate. Write down goals in all areas of your life to go along with your thinking and emotional intelligence to create the mental discipline you need for fulfillment.

 -- Bryan Cohen is giving away 61 paperback and audio copies of The Post-College Guide to Happiness and a Kindle Fire between now and May 7th, 2012 on The Happiness Blog Tour. All entrants receive a free digital review copy of The Post-College Guide to Happiness. Bryan hopes to give away at least 1,000 copies during the blog tour. To enter, post a comment with your e-mail address or send an e-mail to postcollegehappiness (at) gmail.com. Bryan will draw the names at the end of the tour. Entries will be counted through Sunday, May 6th. Bryan Cohen is a writer, actor and comedian from Dresher, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 with degrees in English and Dramatic Art and a minor in Creative Writing. He has written nine books including 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids: First Grade through Fifth Grade, Writer on the Side: How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job and his new book, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 25,000 visitors a month to push past writer's block and stay motivated. Feel free to follow along with the tour at The Happiness Blog Tour Hub Page or on the book's Facebook Page.

LIGHTNING TREE  by Sarah Dunster    published by Cedar Fort   available April 2012
received by NetGalley for honest review.

synopsis
After surviving the tragic deaths of her parents, her baby sister, and a harrowing trek across the plains to Utah, it's no surprise that Maggie's nights are plagued by nightmares. But after years of harsh treatment by her foster family and memories that seem to hint at an unthinkable crime, Maggie is forced to strike out on her own to separate the facts from the lies.

MY REVIEW 

Historical fictional account of Maggie Chabert. A young woman who doesn't know who she can trust.   She faces many of the uphill battles of most young girls today.  Amazingly, this book is set in the 1800's. Amazing because Maggie is not much different than young girls today.
Maggie is a true pioneer, a strong young woman who must take control of her own destiny.

This book is vastly different from anything I've recently read.  Not much action, no vampires, no mythological creatures...but it was still an enjoyable read.  The ending is a great twist, unexpected.

I look forward to more by Ms. Dunster

you can learn more about the book and the author at http://lightningtreebook.com/

Spotlight On Tax Today Publications By Author Cora Parks

BookLoversParadise would like to welcome Cora Parks, 

author of

REDUCE YOUR IRS PENALTIES.

Connect with Cora Parks on Twitter

Website http://www.taxtodaypublications.com/

Blog http://blog.taxtoday.info/

about the book:

All the information you need to reduce various IRS penalties you may be charged. If you have paid the penalty, learn how you may qualify for a refund!

About Cora:

Biography

Cora Parks is a lifelong Atlantan whose vision is to bring proactive tax counsel and personal responsibility to the masses in the area of taxation. She has published seven books on taxation topics, including How To Pay The IRS When You Are Broke, Your IRS Refund, and Reduce Your IRS Tax Penalties.

REMEMBER:

Tax time is right around the corner.  Take advice from someone who knows!  Read Cora's books.  She offers wonderful advice regarding the IRS (even the name invokes fear in most of us), and info about tax prep.  

Cora's books are available on Amazon.com

You can also visit her at

http://coraparks.com

Cora Parks

BOOKLOVERSPARADISE is proud to be part of the blog tour for

HERE

ON THE OTHERSIDE, BOOK ONE

by author

DENISE GROVER SWANK

published by 

Bramagioia Enterprises

blog tour organized by

AToMR BOOKS

about the book:

Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.

Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can’t ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.

sounds pretty intense doesn't it?  Well guess what?  We happen to have an excerpt from the book....read on...

HERE Excerpt 

I run from the school, down the street a half-mile and turn the corner down the two-lane highway that edges town. I ignore the ache in my leg that creeps up my thigh. My hair grows slick and heavy from the rain. My thin long-sleeved t-shirt plasters to my body. 

I push on despite the stitch in my side and the now-sharp pain in my leg. The gray stone church tucked into the edge of the woods comes into view. It’s my beacon, my anchor. Tears stream down my face and blend with the rain, which now falls at a steady rate. My breath comes in desperate pants, yet I refuse to slow down, refuse to stop until I’m there. 

My feet crunch against the gravel of the church parking lot and my gait falters. A black wrought-iron fence lies ahead. My hands fumble with the latch of the gate until it opens. The hinges creak as I rush through, toward the back of the cemetery where the fence and trees are almost one. I run past the older headstones, past the newer compact markers until I drop. The soft ground absorbs the impact as my knees hit the earth. I fall face forward before Monica’s headstone. 

“It should’ve been me,” I cry, my hands grasping the edges of the cold, slick stone. Gut-wrenching sobs rack my body. The rain falls harder, pelting my back. 

Warm hands wrap around my arms, pulling me off the ground. My body turns and my face presses into a firm, warm chest. I’m enveloped inside the opening of a warm coat. I sink into the warmth, my legs barely holding me upright. A voice whispers in my ear, “It’s okay, Julia. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay.”

A sharp pain stabs my neck and then there’s nothing.

if you are still onboard, we have a giveaway for you..

first things first, though.

Check out the link for other stops on the blog, other excerpts, reviews and other giveaways...

http://atomrbookblogtours.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/here-on-the-otherside-1-tour/

I love this cover...it just looks so spooky and mysterious.

Now, about the author...

Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning. Denise is represented by Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at www.denisegroverswank.com or email her at denisegroverswank@gmail.com You can also follow her on Twitter: @DeniseMSwank or  friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deniseswank

Now for the giveaway...

super easy

just leave your name, email address and what ebook format you would like

If you don't feel comfortable leaving your email address, you can send your information to

ljldml@gmail.com

a quick review:

I like books that are different.  This was just such a book.  A great story that doesn't really end.  

  

The characters are fascinating.  Julia is somewhat of an enigma throughout the story, but the guys...ooohhh la la!!!

Evan and Reece....perfect male characters.  I hope Julia ends up with Reece,  or Evan,  no Reece,  no make that Evan.  Well I'll be happy as long as she ends up with one of these guys. :)  No spoilers in this review, but as you can guess, a bit of a triangle involving the main characters.  

I'm waiting anxiously for book two.

4 stars