Amanda Roberts launched her career as an author with the publication of her first novel, The Roots of the Tree, in 2014. It took several years to write, with many re-writes and revisions along the way. And she says this was certainly necessary. “I’ve always been a writer, but writing reports and features for the business-to-business sector, where the use of any adjectives or metaphors is frowned upon, is very different to becoming an author and writing creatively. My first draft was a bit like the Reduced Works of Shakespeare – Hamlet in two minutes!”
The Roots of the Tree is based on a true story – the emotional story of a woman (my mother) who, when in her early 60s made the devastating discovery that the man she had believed all her life to be her father actually wasn’t. The Roots of the Tree combines fact and fiction as my fictitious family delve into the past to unravel the truth, something that we didn’t do for various reasons.
This is a page-turner that will appeal to anyone interested in family history, ancestry and the way those skeletons in the family cupboard can have serious consequences for future generations.
Amanda Roberts is now working on a series of children’s stories based on the myths and folklore of a tribe of people who live on the banks of the River Nile. These stories are co-written with a good friend who grew up as a member of one of the tribal clans. The aim is to publish them as a compendium of stories from this tribe with illustrations targeted at the 10-12 year old reader.
And, a second novel. The concept of this novel has changed entirely since I first started writing it and the words are now flowing easily. It focuses on the life and relationships of four women in a small English village. “I’m hoping to finish the first draft by the end of this year.”
To read a detailed interview with Amanda Roberts go to: https://toofulltowrite.com/2017/01/12/author-interview-amanda-roberts-the-roots-of-the-tree/
Except the rather large, 120-year-old alligator snapping turtle, I don't think I want to be friends with him.
Last weekend, we finally put Cole's Christmas present from me to good use. Muse tickets! Since the concert was in Tulsa, we decided to make a day out of it and make a pit stop at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks.
Holy star fish! There was lots to see. There also was lots to touch! One of the first exhibits was a set of small ponds and streams where you could stick your hands in the water and touch the fish, shrimp, and horse shoe crabs (yes, these were the exact same size and shape of a horse's hoof - and yes, I am qualified to make this statement).
While I had my hand in the stream, patiently waiting on Nemo to swim up to me (he was really close, guys, no lie!) I may or may not have let out a very loud shriek. That huge yellow fish in the picture to the right came OUT OF NOWHERE, and swam between my fingers. I kid you not. It was scary ya'll.... Like fish nibbling on your toes in the middle of the lake kinda scary. To the lady behind me that jumped about ten feet in the air when I screamed, I sincerely apologize... but you woulda done the same thing!
One thing I really loved about this Aquarium is that it was broken up into sections such as "Aquatic Oklahoma" and "The Ozark Stream," which allowed you to view animals and fish that are found in your area, much like the way the Oklahoma Zoo is set up. Wow, Oklahoma, you are full of some monster catfish. I guess thats why Noodling is such a big hoo-rah?! Did you know Alligators are found in Oklahoma, too? Yikes. That makes me second guess swimming across the cove at the lake.......
Of course, like any good Aquarium now-a-days, there was a large supply of Nemos and Doris to make sure it gets the kid's stamp of approval Thanks to Nemo, however, I now have a lot of trouble saying the word "anemone." I just can't spit it out! B, T, DUB, did you know anemones are sticky? Yeah, thats right, your fingers stick to them like white on rice (they had an anemone touching exhibit, too, thats how I know!).
In addition, the Aquarium had a giant walk through shark tank, a turtle feeding station, a sting ray feeding pool, an Extreme Amazon tank that kids could climb through and stand inside of (I was too big to fit through the hole, sad face), and your fair share of creepy crawlies like electric eels and water snakes. Yuck! My absolute favorite, however was the beaver. I had no idea beavers were so cute and playful!! I could have watched him for hours. He was a showoff, swimming back and fourth and doing flips in the water, always coming up to the glass to say hello. Mr. Beaver, thanks for putting a smile on my face!
After the Aquarium, we headed to dinner at Brooks. Creamy mac and cheese shells, you make my heart flutter... Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches don't hurt much, either (so not Paleo, tisk tisk). Then it was off to the concert! If you like strobe lights, this is the concert for you. Even if you don't know the songs, Muse is still well worth seeing live. They put on a great show and can truly be called "entertainers." Don't believe me, Beiber fans? See for yourself:
*Thanks to my good photog friend Mitch Alcala for making this post possible by helping me recover these photos.
Tip: Learn from my mistakes... make sure you hit "import all" instead of "delete all" next time you are importing pictures!
Tank | Sports Bra, Similar Here | Similar Shorts (40% off) | Knit Throw (sold out, from Pottery Barn, similar here) | Coffee Mug (old, from Target, similar here) | Happy Home Pillow | Glasses are RayBans | Lips, shade is 'Rose'
I love it when people ask for book recommendations on Facebook or when my favorite bloggers do book reviews! I always look up the books on Amazon or download the sample in iBooks, read a few pages, and add the ones I like to my reading list. I put "read more for fun" on my 30 Before 30 list and have been thoroughly enjoying it. I planned on reading a book a month in 2017, but I'm already a few ahead of schedule!
I know everyone has different taste in books, so first let me tell you what appeals to me. I have a reeeeally hard time getting into books....like, the first few chapters might take me a week or two to get through. But once I'm hooked, I can't put it down! My favorite genre is Murder/Mystery or Psychological Thrillers (think: Gone Girl, Girl On The Train). I also like a little love story thrown in there from time to time!
If we're being honest, this wasn't my favorite read. The writing was very short and choppy so it didn't flow very well. It was a serious page turner and it made your mind work, but the ending was terrible! It was one of those "what the heck??!" moments that makes you regret taking the time to read it. The story begins when a couple is at their neighbor's house for dinner - they left their baby at home next door with a monitor and are checking on her regularly throughout the evening as she sleeps. When they return home at the end of the night, the baby is missing. Secrets and lies unravel as the search for the baby takes place. You will be trying to figure out who took the baby throughout the whole story.
I read this book while in Belize! It was a great beach reach because it didn't take a lot of concentration and it was easy to put down whenever I wanted to jump in the water. It's not a Psychological Thriller or a page turner like I normally prefer, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it! There are few mysterious secrets + a murder that you are stuck trying to figure out throughout the whole book - when you do, it's shocking! I found myself laughing regularly because so many things in the book correlated to real life. I loved the book so much that I immediately came home and watched the HBO series starring Reese Witherspoon! I was a little disappointed in the show (I mean, that's what happens when you read the book first, amirite?) because they changed a little bit of the dynamic and added/took out some things, but it was still good overall. The story revolves around three very different women whose kids are starting kindergarten together. It focuses on parents acting like children (drama, drama!) but underneath it all, there are a lot of deep, dark secrets revealed.
Let me start by saying, these books are not for everyone!! They are similar to the 50 Shades series and R-rated, if you catch my drift, but WAY better written than 50 Shades, in my opinion. The story is brilliant and filled with unexpected twists, turns and levels. I purchased them in the iBooks app because they were pretty inexpensive. I've only read the first six so far, but I LOVE them! I've had to space them all out because I will literally read them for hours at a time, I just get lost inside! I often find myself caught up in the storyline throughout the day, thinking about the characters and the plot. The chapters are really short, though, so it's easy to just read a few chapters if you only have a few minutes of free time! The story as a whole starts off when Jade moves to Colorado after she was stood up at the alter. She moves in with her best friend and ends up falling for her bestie's brother, Talon Steel. Talon has a lot of secrets that cause him to be extremely dark, brooding, and mysterious. The rest of the series uncovers the darkness as Jade and Talon fall in love. The first three books are about Jade and Talon, books 4-6 are about Jonah, Talon's older brother, and his love interest, and the last three are about Ryan, the youngest Steel brother and his love story. I can't wait to finish the series and get some closure! Ah! There is love, passion, mystery, abuse, murder, kidnapping....everything that makes a good book IMO!
Alright you guys...I hated this book. Not for me. I knew this wasn't my usual Mystery book, but it had decent reviews so I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I tried and tried and tried, ya'll. I got through the first five chapters or so and finally gave up. The chapters are reeeeeeeallly long; I'm super busy throughout the week and only have a little bit of free time here and there to pick up a book...I could never even finish a chapter in one sitting! The worst, though, was the story line. I still don't know what it was even about? It tells the story of Lotto's childhood as he grows into himself and meets Mathilde, who he marries. That's about all I got. The book is so pretentious and very over-written, it's like the author is trying way too hard to create a literary masterpiece (and failing). It's worse than the books I was forced to read in high school English.
This book didn't really suck me in until the last few chapters. It wasn't the best thriller ever, but it was still enjoyable. The protagonist, Bryn, was recently in a terrible car wreck and has spent all summer recovering with the help of her new husband, Guy. Bryn is still haunted by terrible dreams of the accident and believes that her nightmares are trying to tell her something. Guy hosts a work dinner party at their home, and the next day, the caterer is found dead. From that point on, disturbing incidents occur and Guy becomes very secretive and standoffish. Bryn feels as if their marriage is collapsing and she knows, somehow or another, that it has to do with the murder. Throughout the book, she pieces everything together from the cause of the wreck, to discovering the killer.
If you read any book on this list, pick this one! I read my first B.A. Paris book, Behind Closed Doors, at the beginning of the year and LOVED it. I've been anxiously awaiting on The Breakdown to be released ever since. This was another book that stuck with me all day; I thought about it constantly while I was at work and tried to figure it all out. And guess what? I got it right!!! This was the first mystery book that I ever solved before the protagonist did and I was so incredibly pleased with myself! The story begins with Cass on her way home in the middle of a storm. She sees a car on the side of the road in the woods and contemplates stopping to help - but she keeps driving. The next day, she discovers that the women in the car was killed. From then on, Cass is terrified that the murderer is after her. You are left wondering if she is actually in danger or if she is imagining it all. It is such a good read; it really sucks you in! I cannot recommend it enough.
Have you read any good books recently? I have a very long flight coming up next month, so I'd love some suggestions! So far, I have The Perfect Stranger, Dark Places and The Husband's Secret on my reading list.
On another note, how cute is this tank? My friend Claire found it and we both ordered it immediately. We are both crazy dog ladies so it described us to a T! Coffee and dogs are without a doubt two of my most favorite things in life. I love the simplicity of the shirt; the text is nothing too over the top so I can wear it over and over again! It works as a PJ top, with cut-offs and sneakers on Saturday, or under a cardi! I linked a couple of other similar tanks in the widget below.
If you like this type of post, be sure to let me know in the comments so I can keep it in the rotation. Have an incredible weekend everyone!