The 5 May 2023 Friday Finds are here with Indie Author Announcements, Blogger of the Week, Cinco de Mayo recipes, Book Recommendations, and a Heartfelt Gift idea.
Hello, my friends & welcome to the 5 May 2023 Cinco de Mayo Fun! I have so much to tell you about today. First, Carol is the winner of the Question of the Week contest for April! She will be my blogger of the week and receive a small token of appreciation. Be sure to comment each week to increase your chances of winning. Prizes are chosen to match the winner. If contests are not your thing, leave a comment without worry. You may always decline the prize.
The 5 May 2023 Question of the Week: What is your favorite social media site?
The Daugment Review Raffle ended at midnight last night. The winner of a digital copy is Kathleen (notified by email). They will have one week to claim their prize, or an alternate winner will be chosen. Congrats!
I finally got a chance to visit the Wisconsin grandkids. I’m having a great visit. Yesterday, we picked them both up from school, took them out to a historic diner in Milwaukee for dinner, then went home to enjoy the rest of the beautiful spring day.
Don’t forget if you are a newsletter subscriber, you get email-only bonuses every week! This week it was a link to 30+ FREE historical romance novels and a family taco night recipe! Sign up today to enjoy those perks. (Form in the sidebar)
Please let me know your favorite finds in the 5 May 2023 Friday Finds post.
Peace & Love
Note: I will share purchase links on all recommended items if possible. Every purchase made through my links helps support this blog.
Friday Finds | 5 May 2023 | Indie Author News
Do you have a new book releasing soon, a special promotion coming up, or any other news I can share with my readers?
In the reported book and author news this week…
Mark J. Engels announced:
I’m over the moon about the outstanding job the fine folks at Ebook Launch did! I believe this is just the sort of cover that will engage those readers most inclined to enjoy my book. There’s still time to join them ahead of its May 20, 2023, launch date. You can read the book’s first chapter—or download the whole thing when you sign up to be an advanced reader—in either .epub or .pdf format from my shiny new BookSirens page. (An honest review on Amazon come launch day would be enormously helpful and greatly appreciated.)
And watch this space for an announcement of the ebook’s availability on Amazon for the special pre-launch price of just 99¢ US!
GL Robinson announced:
My new book Negotiating with Mary, is on pre-order.
Mid-thirties Mary won’t sell the bookstore that’s been in her family for four generations. A millionaire developer wants her to sell, her “boyfriend” wants her to sell, and even her customers want her to sell. How can she please everyone and live with herself?
Tom Tracy announced a new Kickstarter project for his next Scootchie & Skiddles children’s book. Learn more about this project HERE.
From Mim Eichmann:
My publisher has reduced the price on all three of my e-books — A Sparrow Alone, Muskrat Ramble, and Whatever Happened to Cathy Martin — to just $.99 through June 1st. This is an across-the-board sale, not just Amazon.
Friday Finds | 5 May 2023 | Books
Repeat After Me: Big Things to Say Every Day
From parents and actors Jazmyn Simon and Dulé Hill comes a picture book filled with beautiful, inspiring affirmations reminding kiddos of their infinite wonder. Perfect for children of any age!
I am worthy. I am loved. I am enough.
Every child, no matter their age, needs to know how loved they are and, more importantly, should love themselves. In this gorgeously illustrated book of affirmations, young readers are told how cherished, deserving, and gifted they are.
In their tender picture book, actors Jazmyn Simon and Dulé Hill tell children about the magic of self-love and standing firm, regardless of outside voices and doubt. Children will feel their confidence grow as they repeat the encouraging words on the page, take in the warm illustrations, and learn to believe in themselves!
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Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?: A Novel by Crystal Smith Paul
REESE’S BOOK CLUB MAY 2023 PICK
A multigenerational saga that traverses the glamour of old Hollywood and the seductive draw of modern-day showbiz
When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions.
Elise St. John, a celebrity in her own right, would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could―and between a cheating fiancé and the fallout from a controversial social media post, there are plenty.
The truth behind Kitty’s ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed, and debatable crimes that could, with one pull, unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them.
As Elise digs deeper into Kitty’s past, she must also turn the lens upon herself, confronting the gifts and burdens of her own choices and the power that the secrets of the dead hold over the living. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine, an insightful and nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race, and gender―and the choices some women make to break free of them.
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The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret
The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving her father’s death, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.
A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.
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Repeat After Me: Big Things...Shop on Amazon 
Did You Hear About Kitty Ka...Shop on Amazon 
Negotiating With Mary: A Bo...Shop on Amazon 
The Covenant of Water (Opra...Shop on Amazon
Scoochie & Skiddles: Scooch...Shop on Amazon 
A Sparrow AloneShop on Amazon 
Muskrat RambleShop on Amazon 
Whatever Happened to Cathy ...Shop on Amazon
Friday Finds | 5 May 2023 | Recipes
A Quintessential Spring Recipe from Pillsbury
This sunshiny treat brings the taste of spring to your kitchen—and it comes together in under half an hour with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
Find out what it is HERE.
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Easy Taco Melts for Cinco de Mayo
A tender, flaky biscuit wraps around your favorite taco fillings in an easy, flavor-packed hot sandwich.
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Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Brunch Ring
This showstopping Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Brunch Ring is the perfect centerpiece for a delicious family meal. It’s also a hassle-free breakfast solution that requires under half an hour of prep. Stuffed with all your favorite breakfast foods—crispy bacon, creamy eggs, and lots (LOTS) of melty cheese—this is one meal that’s sure to make your morning. Serve your bacon, egg, and cheese crescent roll ring with a side of salsa and a dash of cilantro to really impress.
Friday Finds | 5 May 2023 | Creative Projects
Do you need a unique gift for Mother’s Day, birthdays, or to say I love you? Check this one out.
Friday Finds | 5 May 2023 | Gina’s Blog Roundup
What are some of your favorite blogs to visit each week? I love surfing through an eclectic mix of blogs. It’s a rabbit hole I fall into frequently!
The Critiquing Chemist is a lovely website to visit.
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If you missed one of my reviews in the past week, here’s an easy link to find them all, or click on the image & links below. Be sure you check out the giveaways. There are some great prizes this week!
Lifeline to a Soul by John K. McLaughlin | Spotlight ~ Author Guest Post ~ $25 Starbucks Card
What would you like to see in next week’s Friday Finds?
Thanks for reading this week. Peace & Love!
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I hesitate to say I have a favorite social media site … but I’m only really on one social media platform, and that is Twitter. If that counts?
I also think you asked a while ago about what bloggers people follow and frequent. And I couldn’t really think of many for some reason, but one that posts a lot of interesting stuff (but rather irregularly) is Pro Story Builders. I don’t think I remembered them last time.
Twitter is the place to be for books, authors, and readers!
That’s awesome you got to spend time with your grandkids!
I actually do not really like social media much at all. I’m tired of it. If I was forced to pick only one I’d probably have to pick FB because it seems like everyone else is on there.
Your reviews sound better all the time! Can’t wait to catch up on my reading, so you can tempt me with something new!
Thanks, Eve!!
Thank you so much for featuring my book, Gina! So grateful for your steadfast support.
Especially this being my werecat family saga series opener.
I’m excited for your release, Mark! Happy to help.
So happy to hear you are visiting your grandkids, how wonderful to spend time with them. I make a lemon, zucchini and blueberry pound cake that is a big hit with my family. The only social media I really use is Facebook. I use it to keep in touch with out of town friends and family, so that would be my favourite. Of course I don’t count wordpress, but I do spend a lot of time on there for sure. Happy Cinco De Mayo, Gina.
Happy Cinco de Mayo, Carla!
Wow! Thanks for the shout out, Gina! 🙌
You are most welcome, Carol!