Back To School Bus Safety Reminder

My kids will be starting back to school towards the end of this month. My heart always breaks at the stories of kids that get hit by cars getting on or off the bus. As a parent I think there are things we can do to help our kids too.

When possible watch your kids until the get on the bus. Especially elementary school age. I do this not just because of the danger of getting hit by a car but also because of the kidnapping stories too. (So much to worry about anymore right?)

Teaching our kids about looking both ways before crossing the street. My kids don’t have to cross the road. They’re picked up at the bottom of our driveway but lot kids do have to cross at least one street to get to their bus stop or get home.

Password. I’ll be honest this isn’t one thing we’ve established yet but I really need to. I’ve heard stories of kids avoiding stranger danger because of using a password. The idea is to use a word they’ll remember and if someone tries to pick them up they ask them for the password. IF they don’t know they password the kid knows not to go with them.

Avoid putting your child’s name on their clothing and backpacks where it’s visible. I label my kids items but I’ll put it inside the backpack, inside their shoes, or on the tag of their shirt.

For driving safety tips for back to school check out my post on reedman toll blog.

FREE Sharpie 21 Pack After Cash Back! Just in Time for Back to School

For back to school you’ll need Sharpies to mark your kids belongings, for science projects, posters, and other projects. You may as well grab this 21 pack of Sharpie markers free after cash back. This deal is for new TopCashBack members only. This is one of the best back to school deals I’ve seen. Can’t beat free back to school items!

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Click on the pink “Get Offer Now” Button

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The Siblings O’Rifcan Series Book Tour & Giveaway

The Siblings O’Rifcan Series Books 1- 5 Boxed Set by Katharine E. Hamilton Genre: Clean Contemporary Romance FIVE sweet romances in ONE boxset! One family. Five incredible stories. Claron Tossing her belongings into a suitcase and escaping heartbreak seemed like the best idea for Rhea Conners. She’d simply travel across the ocean to visit her grandfather in Ireland and heal. Then she’d come back. Simple. But what she doesn’t expect is to find solace and healing in the form of the O’Rifcan family. One member in particular: Claron. Claron enjoyed his life farming the land his grandparents gifted him. He lived his life quietly and contentedly, until Rhea arrived. He’d steered clear of relationships and entanglements since his last heartbreak, but something about Roland’s granddaughter twists him up inside. Something about Rhea has him rethinking his life of solitude. Two hearts. One chance. Can Rhea and Claron overcome past hurts to make a new beginning? Riley Charm, beauty, and the promise of a new adventure had Heidi Rustler eagerly flying across the ocean to visit her best friend, Rhea Conners. Heidi needed a change of scenery, a change of pace, and a little excitement, and that is the promise that awaited her in Ireland. However, Rhea’s stories of the incredible family she’d come to know intrigued Heidi the most. Particularly the stories of Riley O’Rifcan. Riley loved his life. He spent his days traveling for work, loving on his family, and flirting with feminine faces. He never once thought about settling down. Until Heidi. The bold and beautiful woman from Texas stampeded into his world and challenged his commitment-free and easy-going lifestyle. Two hearts. One chance. Can Heidi and Riley recognize their opportunity for a new and different kind of adventure? Layla Beautiful, flirtatious, and charming are just a few of the words that describe Layla O’Rifcan, and she is proud of them. She enjoys the art of flirting and entangling the hearts of handsome men with her own. But with her eyes set upon starting her new business, she might just miss the one man that could change her life for the better. Delaney Hawkins loves his job. Yes, he may work too much, but he is happy with the direction his life is headed. All until he meets Layla O’Rifcan. The spunky O’Rifcan sister who bewitches him from the start has him trying to balance work with what he hopes to be a budding relationship. Two hearts. One chance. Can Layla and Delaney set aside their work and ambition to take a chance on love? Chloe Strong, sweet, and beautiful not only describes Chloe O’Rifcan but also the flowers she works with. As her brother’s wedding approaches, Chloe finds herself neck deep in wedding planning and projects that require the help of a dear friend. Conor McCarthy is one of the closest friends to the O’Rifcan family, but he’s also a talented carpenter hopping from one project to the next. But when Chloe asks him to build an archway for a wedding prop, Conor finds himself working hand in hand with the youngest sister, and he can’t help but be impressed by Chloe’s skill and her sweet heart. Two Hearts. One Chance. Can Chloe and Conor progress from family friends to more? Murphy Grit, determination, and independence had Piper O’Beirne setting her roots in Galway. The successful manager of one of the hottest pubs in the city, she never dreamed of moving or starting over. Until Murphy. Murphy O’Rifcan loved his work. He spent all his time grooming his pub to be the best in County Clare. However, the hectic demands of the pub had him looking for help from the one person he knew he could trust, but the one person he knew did not want to move to Castlebrook. He found his professional pursuit of Piper twisted along the way and he wished Piper would accept the job for other reasons. Him. Two Hearts. One Chance. Can Piper and Murphy learn to work together at the pub and in love? Grab your copy today! Goodreads * Amazon

Katharine E. Hamilton graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and uses her knack for research in all her stories. She is a Southern Belle with a pinch of sass, and when she is not writing she can be found chasing around her toddler son, driving around the ranch, or baking delicacies for local parties and events. Katharine currently resides on a ranch in South Texas where the skies and rivers, in all their beauty, rejuvenate the soul. Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway

If Nothing Else, Eve, We’ve Enjoyed the Fruit Book Tour & Giveaway

If Nothing Else, Eve, We’ve Enjoyed the Fruit by Elaine Pascale Genre: Horror

What happens when a kept woman refuses to take her ridatemp and begins thinking for herself? In If Nothing Else, Eve, We’ve Enjoyed the Fruit; she begins talking to bunches of grapes and cantaloupe that convince her to commit murder. Through her visitations with fruit, the woman learns that a gender war can be reversed by traveling back in time and eradicating the Tree of Knowledge and its villainous apples. The fruit persuade her by telling her four other stories: Boys Will be Boys: A spa is turned into a concentration camp: just don’t ride the elevators! Ripped to Shreds: Pregnant Jody Burkhoff’s body is changing rapidly, but not as quickly as the lupine metamorphosis of her husband. First the neighborhood animals are mutilated, then the neighbors are viciously murdered. Which proves to be more dangerous, a monstrous creature or a hormonal woman? O: Khaki Barlow enters a pageant in which only one woman survives. She must complete tasks that are both mentally and physically daunting, all while trying to learn the meaning of the words left by the eliminated: I am here. Does she face incredible fears? Does a one-legged duck swim in a circle? The Prison of a Man: Told as an ethnographical project, Lara Thomas researches the deaths of shoppers at a mall embedded in a small town, and encounters the legendary Goat Man. If Nothing Else (Prologue): Readers learn the final decision in the gender war. Goodreads * Amazon

Elaine Pascale has been writing for most of her life. She took a break from fiction in order to give birth to two children and complete a doctoral dissertation. She lives on Cape Cod, MA, with her husband, son and daughter. She teaches a variety of courses at a private university in Boston: from English Composition and Communications to a Vampire Seminar. Her writing has been published in Allegory Magazine, Dark Fire Magazine, and several anthologies. She is the author of If Nothing Else, Eve, We’ve Enjoyed the Fruit, and is also the author of the nonfiction book: Metamorphosis: Identity Outcomes in International Student Adaptation–A Grounded Theory Study. She enjoys a robust full moon, chocolate, and collecting cats. Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads

Let’s begin by telling the truth. Truth is different from belief: it is meatier, it has more bite. There
is no delight like being proven correct in one’s belief, and no conundrum quite like being proven
wrong. Ask any college professor who has been put on the spot by some arrogant post-teen.
Ask any researcher who has forsaken friends, family, and faith for decades, all for an elusive
hypothesis.
People feel one way about beliefs, mothers feel the opposite. Mothers want the deep-rooted
fears that gnaw at them with the bite of a St. Bernard to be refuted. These are the fears and
superstitions that they believe about their children, dread that seems so inevitable that an entire
life plays out like déjà vu. Mothers know things before they know them. Call it intuition, call it
perception, call it anything but true.
The desire to be proven wrong, the desire to slip into denial, can be powerful stuff. And when
belief becomes truth, that is when the gates of Hell swing open widely.
The truth is: Jody Burkoff’s husband had begun to change.

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

Eight Minutes Thirty-Two Seconds Book Tour & Giveaway

Eight Minutes, Thirty-Two Seconds by Peter Adam Salomon Genre: YA SciFi Thriller

Over eight billion people died when the world ended. Two survived. L and M don’t know why they’re alive. They don’t remember what happened. Addicted to a drug that kills them for eight minutes and thirty-two seconds, they risk the end of humanity in order to learn the truth. Amazon * Goodreads

Peter Adam Salomon is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Horror Writers Association, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, the Science Fiction Poetry Association, the International Thriller Writers, and The Authors Guild. His debut novel, HENRY FRANKS, was published by Flux in 2012. His second novel, ALL THOSE BROKEN ANGELS, published by Flux in 2014, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Young Adult fiction. Both novels have been named a ‘Book All Young Georgians Should Read’ by The Georgia Center for The Book. His short fiction has appeared in the Demonic Visions series among other anthologies, and he was the featured author for Gothic Blue Book III: The Graveyard Edition. He was also selected as one of the Gentlemen of Horror for 2014. His poem ‘Electricity and Language and Me’ appeared on BBC Radio 6 performed by The Radiophonic Workshop. Eldritch Press published his first collection of poetry, PseudoPsalms: Prophets (nominated for the Elgin Award), and his second and third poetry collections, PseudoPsalms: Saints v. Sinners and PseudoPsalms: Sodom (nominated for the Elgin Award), were published by Bizarro Pulp Press. In addition, he was the Editor for the first books of poetry released by the Horror Writers Association: Horror Poetry Showcase Volumes I and II. He founded both National Dark Poetry Day (Oct. 7) and the annual international Horror Poetry Showcase for the Horror Writers Association. Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

L had forgotten how many times she’d died.
Once more. Her repeated promise to M: just one more death.
L’s fingers shook where they rested on his arm, trying to pull the injector closer to the port in her forearm, waiting for her fix.
M pressed the plunger.
For a moment, she wanted to curse him for injecting her, for reminding her that, after she died, she’d forget her empty promises
of never dying again.
He’d heard it all before. He’d hear it the next time he killed her. And the next.
But that moment was fatally brief as the heat reached her heart and fire tore through her with the finality of flatlining.


The first seconds after dying were a vertigo death spiral, when the brain shuts down amid the inescapable sound of the last beat
of her heart.
Then, memory returns. She’d died before. She’d die again. On purpose.
Death had a reason.

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