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REVIEW: Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel by Ginger Scott
We're celebrating the release of Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel by Ginger Scott! One-click your copy on all platforms today and add it to your TBR! You won't want to miss this twisty romance!
I've read this novel twice now, y'all, and you'd think knowing what's going to happen the second time around would make it less twisty in my head, but NOPE. Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel is layer upon layer upon layer of WTF.
As many reviewers will show in their reviews--it's better not to say too much because the more you explain, the more you give away, so I won't do that here. What I will say is that it's an interesting mix of romance and action and M. Night Shyamalan-esque stuff going on--light on the romance and heavier on the other aspects. Other things I can share is that it's a stand alone novel; there's a resolution at the end and that the characters are older teens (I can definitely see my students intrigued by this novel).
The last thing I can share that isn't a spoiler is that this is something completely new from Ginger Scott. It is absolutely crazy different from anything she's ever done--it's the thing we love about her: she is fearless about taking risks and trying to challenge herself and her readers. So while you may feel a little nervous about going into this one blind, we definitely suggest that you do and we think you'll be glad you did.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083Z3J1PP
Apple: https://apple.co/2RzbcEq
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cowboy-villain-damsel-duel
BN: http://bit.ly/3aoZ4Pi
Google: http://bit.ly/2twkp8J
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/CVDD
Don't forget to add it to your TBR! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48840620-cvdd
RIVERDALE meets INCEPTION in this twisty and unique Ya coming-of-age romance by Ginger Scott
Quarterback.
Class president.
Burnout.
We all have our identities.
Most of the time, they come from our circumstances. They're made by others—shoes for us to walk in whether they fit or not.
But what if?
What if we could take off those shoes.
What if we could wear a different pair?
What if those boxes we put ourselves in are better…worse?
And what if, when we do…we're trapped there for good?
They all call me Cowboy.
She's the damsel who doesn't need to be rescued.
And him…he's the villain.
This is our story. And this is how we want it to be told.
Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, and A Boy Like You.
A sucker for a good romance, Ginger's other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She's also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.
When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).
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Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com
Tags: #NewRelease, #Review, Cowboy, Damsel, Duel, Ginger Scott, Villain
COVER REVEAL: Mum's the Word by Staci Hart
Mum's The Word, the third in the Bennet Brothers series from Staci Hart, is coming March 31st. Check out the beautiful cover for this upcoming spring release. I love the vibe of this series and the covers are to die for! Mark your calendars and get ready to fall in love with Marcus Bennet!
Falling in love with a Bennet is not an option.
My mother has summoned me home to take my place at Bower Bouquets, and as the heiress, I'm expected to do as I'm told. I'm expected to sit by her side as she does her best to decimate the Bennet family and their flower shop, Longbourne. I'm expected to play by her rules, or she'll ruin me too.
But the day I crash into Marcus Bennet changes everything. And the kiss seals the deal. If my mother finds out, I'll lose everything—my family, my life, my security. Worse, she'll make sure the Bennets pay for my mistakes.
But I might not have a choice.
Pre-order your copy of Mum's the Word from your preferred retailer today!
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | AppleBooks | Goodreads
Want something to read while you wait? The first two standalone books in the Bennet Brothers series are both LIVE!
Everyone hates parts of their job.
Maybe it's the paperwork. Maybe it's the day-to-day grind. Maybe it's that client who never knows what they want, or the guy who always cooks fish in the microwave.
But not me. I love every corner of the Longbourne Flower Shop, every flower, every petal, every stem. I love the greenhouse, and I love Mrs. Bennet, my boss. I love creating, and I love being a florist. I don't hate anything at all.
Except for Luke Bennet.
The Bennet brothers have come home to help their mom save the flower shop, and Luke is at the helm. His smile tells a tale of lust, loose and easy. He moves with the grace of a predator, feral and wild. A thing unbridled, without rules or constraint. When he comes home to save Longbourne, I almost can't be mad at him. Almost.
He doesn't remember that night I'll never forget. That kiss, touched with whiskey and fire. It branded me like a red-hot iron. But it meant nothing to him.
Everyone hates part of their job, and I hate Luke Bennet.
Because if I don't, I'll fall in love with him.
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They say there's no such thing as perfect.
But I've built my life to perfection—the perfect boyfriend, the perfect apartment, the perfect career planning celebrity weddings. My job—my only job—is to make sure every event is absolutely and completely perfect.
What's not perfect? Kash Bennet.
And I wish I didn't find that so appealing.
I could have told you every perfectly imperfect thing about the gardener at Longbourne. Like his hair, lush and black and far too long. Or his nose, the flat bridge of a Greek god, bent a little like it's been broken. Or his size. Beastly. Roped and corded with muscles, gleaming with sweat and peppered with dirt. There's no escaping him, not if I'm going to use his family's flower shop for my events.
But nothing is what it seems. And in the span of a heartbeat, my perfect life is turned inside out. They say the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody new. When Kash offers his services to the cause, it sounds like the perfect plan.
What's not part of the plan? Falling in love with the gardener.
But they were right—there's no such thing as perfect.
And I'm the fool who finds out the hard way.
Gilded Lily is available for a little while longer in Kindle Unlimited!
Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife, though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey. When she's not writing, she's reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.
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Tags: #coverreveal, Mum's the Word, Staci Hart
COVER REVEAL: The Guy in the Middle by Kate Stewart
We're so excited to reveal the cover for The Guy in the Middle by Kate Stewart! The sign ups are open to bloggers, and we would love for you to join us for the upcoming release events!
Stand Alone
Designed by QDesign
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40944080-the-guy-in-the-middle
I was born to play and bred to win.
My priorities were instilled in me early on—family and football. Those ideals led me to TGU and a coach whose ironclad principles mirrored my own.
With one last college season to play, my goal was singular—get drafted. By realizing my NFL dream, I could save my family, our ranch, and the only home I'd ever known.
Two birds, one ball.
Playing hard was my only option, but there's always a wild card.
For all of my planning and hard work, I never anticipated falling for the coach's daughter. Harper was a fair catch, but who knew loving her could be the one play to throw my career before it started or that the weight of our secret would change the game.
*The Guy in the Middle is a stand alone novel in the Underdog Series. This is Lance's story.
Blogger Sign ups!
Teasers: Feb 4, 11, 18, 25
Excerpt reveal: Feb 12
Release day: Feb 29
Review tour: Feb 29-Mar 7
USA Today bestselling author and Texas native, Kate Stewart, lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance, as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense. Kate's title, Drive, was named one of the best romances of 2017 by The New York Daily News and Huffington Post. Drive was also a finalist in the Goodreads Choice awards for best contemporary romance of 2017. Her works have been featured in USA TODAY, BuzzFeed, and translated in five languages.
Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
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Tags: #coverreveal, Kate Stewart, The Guy in the Middle
REVIEW: A Favor for a Favor by Helena Hunting
"This book has it all—explosive chemistry, feel-good fun, and loads of banter."
—Kendall Ryan, New York Times bestselling author
A Favor for a Favor, all-new enemies-to-lovers standalone sports romance from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting, is available now!
After reading A Lie for a Lie I wondered who would be the focus of A Favor for a Favor and felt completely validated when I guessed right: Bishop, the mysterious new disgruntled player mentioned at the end of the first book in this series, and Stevie, RJ's sister. These two had a bumpy start--lots of wrong perceptions and hilarious one upping of each other to provoke snarking and I was totally here for it. It was fun to know what was going on while the characters didn't and then to see them go from prickly personalities to these really warm yet somehow assholish characters. It was an interesting journey. On the one hand I thought they were both jerks at some point or another and then they'd each do something completely endearing and wonderful. Somehow it all worked and I zoomed through their book completely entertained and am now just tapping my fingers waiting for the third book in this series (King's book--and it looks to be equally entertaining!).
Helena Hunting's books are a fun, light escape from the daily grind and has definitely got me on a romcom reading kick.
A new stand-alone romance about trading favors, battling wills, and winning love.
When I joined Seattle's NHL expansion team, I thought it was the start of something great. But nothing ever goes the way you expect. Take my introduction to my new neighbor. She came rolling in on the hot mess express at midnight, making a racket while she tried to get into my team captain's apartment. Did I mention that he's married to a woman who definitely was not her?
Imagine my surprise when I end up with an injury that has me out of the game for weeks, and she's the one to offer to help me. I should probably add that she's not the captain's mistress. She's his sexy, pastel-haired younger sister.
So we come up with an arrangement: she rehabs me so that I can get back on the ice sooner, and she can add a professional athlete that isn't her brother to her client list. Seems simple enough. As long as I can keep my hands to myself and my hormones in check.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/31LPGjq
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/AFFAF
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2msA1pY
Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/2Gh4xtv
Audio: https://amzn.to/2kYpUZr
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2m17XK2
About Helena Hunting
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.
Connect with Helena
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Tags: #NewRelease, #Review, A Favor for a Favor, Helena Hunting
REVIEW: HOW TO KILL A ROCK STAR BY TIFFANIE DEBARTOLO
Written in her wonderfully honest, edgy, passionate and often hilarious voice, Tiffanie DeBartolo tells the story of Eliza Caelum, a young music journalist, and Paul Hudson, a talented songwriter and lead singer of the band Bananafish. Eliza's reverence for rock is equaled only by Paul's, and the two fall wildly in love.
When Bananafish is signed by a big corporate label, and Paul is on his way to becoming a major rock star, Eliza must make a heartbreaking decision that leads to Paul's sudden disappearance and a surprise knock-your-socks-off ending.
Paperback, 417 pages
Published September 1st 2005 by Sourcebooks Landmark
OUR REVIEW: (ETA: this review has been sitting in our drafts folder for FIVE YEARS!!! Oops!)
I read this novel after God Shaped Hole and I'd highly recommend that you follow the same order. Why? It's a lighter read than God Shaped Hole, even with its angsty moments it's not quite as heavy as GSH--it's really quite different. In this novel rather than explore the relationship of two people working through issues of love and family and living in the world, we explore the unnecessarily complicated love affair of Eliza and Paul and their place in the world of music.
Unnecessarily complicated? Yes, though if it hadn't been complicated I guess we wouldn't have had quite the story we did. Why do I think it was "unnecessarily complicated"? Because Eliza made decisions for people in this novel without fully thinking about what they would want or like or ...ugh. Do I think her heart was in the right place? Yes, but good lord...what a CF. What Eliza intended to do was selfless but controlling and the consequences were far and wide reaching. I know I'm making Eliza seem ...well, not great..but I did like her, even when I wanted to shake her, and I know that she was trying to do the right thing. Speaking of trying to do the right thing, Paul made decisions with that same desire to "do the right thing" in mind. He ignores his instincts and allows himself to be pressured into things he truly didn't want because he thought it would be right for his band and the impact of his decisions resulted in a craptastic results, ultimately. I know you're thinking..WHY WOULD I WANT TO READ THIS NOVEL, THEN?
Even though Eliza and Paul are a hot mess, I liked them. They're funny and observant and flawed.
I also loved Tiffanie DeBartolo's fears and observations on the state of music/America/pop culture, as seen through her characters, and I found myself nodding my head a lot at what Paul said (especially the younger, more idealistic version of me) while appreciating the more mellow and accepting/resigned position of Loring. I can easily see these concerns about art and artistry existing as long as humans exist. It's that push/pull of wanting to express and evoke emotion and wanting to stay true to your art versus needing to afford to live versus commercialism versus fame versus industry machines controlling the manifest destiny of EVERYTHING. oh my gosh. Let me just stop now.
If Tiffanie DeBartolo ever writes anything else, I wouldn't even have to think about it, I'd snatch it up immediately. I love her prose, the observations her characters make, and the obvious care she takes in crafting her works of fiction.
BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2MRHwRx
Tags: #Review, How to Kill a Rock Star, Tiffanie Debartolo
REVIEW: A Lie for a Lie by Helena Hunting
I read the first two books in this series back to back and it was interesting to see how different they were in some ways and yet how very Helena Hunting they were in others.
In A Lie for a Lie, the narrative was told partially in the present and partially in the past. Initially I was admittedly a little put off by the flashback because I was eager to get into the 'now' part of the story but that was dumb on my part. Having the context and the background helped establish RJ and Lainey's history and connection and had that been glossed over, I definitely would've felt like the novel was missing something. That being said, I was impatient to get to see how RJ and Lainey would work out once they reconnected and let's just say it didn't go as smoothly as RJ would've liked; Lainey really made him work for every ounce of attention she gave him and even though how they initially remained separated was really neither of their faults, I understood why she was so pissed and hurt.
What made A Lie for a Lie different was that the big reveal and conflict seemed to happen earlier than I expected and so it made the aftermath and resolution really feel developed and concluded by the end. I enjoyed the heart of RJ and the quirks of Lainey and immediately jumped into A Favor for a Favor to see which characters would get the Helena Hunting treatment next.
BUY IT: https://amzn.to/30DbYVh
Sometimes I need an escape from the demands, the puck bunnies, and the notoriety that come with being an NHL team captain. I just want to be a normal guy for a few weeks. So when I leave Chicago for some peace and quiet, the last thing I expect is for a gorgeous woman to literally fall into my lap on a flight to Alaska. Even better, she has absolutely no idea who I am.
Lainey is the perfect escape from my life. My plan for seclusion becomes a monthlong sex fest punctuated with domestic bliss. But it ends just as abruptly as it began. When I'm called away on a family emergency, I realize too late that I have no way to contact Lainey.
A year later, a chance encounter throws Lainey and me together again. But I still have a lie hanging over my head, and Lainey's keeping secrets of her own. With more than lust at stake, the truth may be our game changer.
Tags: A Lie for a Lie, Helena Hunting
REVIEW: Blitzed by Alexa Martin
Go ahead and sign me up for every single thing that Alexa Martin does.
Writing another book in this series? I'm there.
Writing a new series? Sign me up.
Writing the back of a shampoo bottle. Yes. Give it to me.
What can I say? I've really enjoyed everything Alexa Martin has done, including the newest book in this series of stand alones, Blitzed. Brynn is funny and strong and her counterpart, Maxwell, is sweet and attentive and together they make for a fun and swoony read.
The standout thing for me is how Blitzed shows us how empowered women empower women. Brynn is a woman's woman. She's supportive and encouraging to her girlfriends and clients and even strangers. She's exactly as awesome as I hoped she'd be when we met her two books ago...maybe even more so because in those books she was so put together and in this one we get to see her clumsy self, her interior monologue, and that even she has moments of failure. And while we never get to be in Maxwell's head, he's doing all the right things, saying all the right things, and I will happily volunteer as tribute should he ever need a fictional best friend.
Finally, we can't talk about these novels without talking about the absolutely hilarious Lady Mustangs. These women are the kind of women we all need in our lives--they call you on your shit, they support you no matter what, and they do it with humor, kindness, fierceness, and style. Damn what I wouldn't give to be their newest friend.
Y'all don't skip this series. Every book is entertaining as hell--lots of heart, romance, and laughs. Please, Alexa Martin, get to writing; we need more!
BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2Fp6mUB
Maxwell Lewis has to make the play of his life in order to breach the woman of his dream's defenses in this new football romance from the author of Fumbled.
Brynn Larson owes a lot to reality television and professional athletes. Her bar hit new heights of success after becoming a local haunt for the Denver Mustangs players and their WAGs. But although she's grateful, that doesn't mean she's crazy. And that's exactly what she would be to ever consider dating a professional athlete. Even if it's Maxwell Lewis, whose shy smile makes her wonder what going on behind those beautiful brown eyes.
Maxwell knew from the moment he met Brynn that she was going to change his life. It was only a matter of time. But when he finally makes a move, fate conspires against him and everything goes wrong. Now he has to show her that their potential is real. Too bad for him, Brynn isn't fooled by his glamorous NFL life, and when ghosts from both their pasts make a sudden reappearance, she must decide who she can trust. But when the person she's most afraid of is herself, navigating life's tackles is harder than anticipated.
Tags: #Review, Alexa Martin, Blitzed
Headliners by Lucy Parker
The London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker has consistently been one of my favorite series; the characters never fail to interest and entertain me and I just love feeling like I'm behind the scenes of broadcast or play productions. In the case of Headliners I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers tension between Sabrina and Nick. Their snark and sniping at each other was hilarious and made their falling for each other that much more fun to read. Throw in all the shenanigans happening on their live broadcast and their future contracts connected to their mutual success and I just could not get enough of them. I have no idea if there are more couples to explore in this romcom series but if this is it, sign me up for whatever Lucy Parker is writing next because I have a feeling I'll love it.
BUY IT HERE: https://amzn.to/2QoS5xQ
Sparks fly when two feuding TV presenters are thrown together to host a live morning show in Lucy Parker's latest enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance.
He might be the sexiest man in London, according to his fan site (which he definitely writes himself), but he's also the most arrogant man she's ever met.
She might have the longest legs he's ever seen, but she also has the sharpest tongue.
For years, rival TV presenters Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have traded barbs on their respective shows. The public can't get enough of their feud, but after Nick airs Sabrina's family scandals to all of Britain, the gloves are off. They can barely be in the same room together—but these longtime enemies are about to become the unlikeliest of cohosts.
With their reputations on the rocks, Sabrina and Nick have one last chance to save their careers. If they can resurrect a sinking morning show, they'll still have a future in television. But with ratings at an all-time low and a Christmas Eve deadline to win back the nation's favor, the clock is ticking—and someone on their staff doesn't want them to succeed.
Small mishaps on set start adding up, and Sabrina and Nick find themselves—quelle horreur—working together to hunt down the saboteur…and discovering they might have more in common than they thought. When a fiery encounter is caught on camera, the public is convinced that the reluctant cohosts are secretly lusting after one another.
The public might not be wrong.
Their chemistry has always been explosive, but with hate turning to love, the stakes are rising and everything is on the line. Neither is sure if they can trust these new feelings…or if they'll still have a job in the New Year.
Tags: #NewRelease, #Review, Headliners, Lucy Parker
REVIEW: The Fight for Forever by Meghan March
At the end of the second book in this trilogy, House of Scarlett, all hell had broken loose and that's exactly were The Fight for Forever picked up--hell breaking loose in Gabriel Legend's office and let me tell you that those first pages set a tone. A tone of me fighting a desire to flip to the last pages of the book to find out what happened. I was a hot mess--what was going to happen next, how would it happen, and who would be behind it--but once I decided not to spoil the ending for myself, I settled in for a fun ride. Gabriel and Scarlett are such a force to be reckoned with--completely enamored with each other, supportive of each other, and a power couple not to be effed with. I liked how it was them against the world, instead of them against each other, and I liked that Meghan March made the source of conflict and tension one that came at them instead of one that came from them. Their romance was so much sweeter than I anticipated --an unexpected treat. If I could offer one wish, it would be to see Scarlett's dickish dad and her ex really get what's coming to them. Maybe Flynn or Q or one of the other secondary characters will nudge Meghan March's writer brain and we'll get to see that happen? In the meantime, if you've been holding out to read this series until all the books are released, now's your chance. We think you'll enjoy this sweet and sexy romance.
BUY IT:
http://meghanmarch.com/the-fight-for-forever
Amazon: mybook.to/MMFight
Apple Books: http://bit.ly/AppleTheFightforForever
B&N: http://bit.ly/MMTheFightforForeverNook
Kobo: http://bit.ly/TheFightforForeverKobo
Google Play: http://bit.ly/37qt22M
ABOUT MEGHAN MARCH:
Making the jump from corporate lawyer to romance author was a leap of faith that New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Meghan March will never regret.
With over thirty titles published, she has sold millions of books in nearly a dozen languages to fellow romance-lovers around the world.
A nomad at heart, she can currently be found in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, living her happily ever after with her real-life alpha hero.
She loves hearing from her readers at meghanmarchbooks@gmail.com.
Meghan is represented by Bookcase Literary Agency.
Tags: Meghan March, The Fight for Forever
REVIEW: Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
"I really need to get my daughter a copy of this book."
"I know a ton of my students would love reading this."
These were the thoughts that I had on repeat once I got about a third of the way into the novel and could tell that my enjoyment was going to endure through the duration of the reading. Tweet Cute was very cute with more complexity than I think the name led me to believe. Don't get me wrong--it's sweet and funny and adorable, just like Jack and Pepper, but it also delved into the pressures students feel from school and family and social media and even their friends. I enjoyed how the journeys of our main characters paralleled each other in many aspects and how she resolved the conflicts that arose because of one less than thoughtful tweet and the exchanges that followed. By the end, I was happy with where each of these characters ended up and found myself wishing I could peep in on them one more time, just to see how they were doing.
This was definitely not an angsty teen drama; Tweet Cute was clever and layered and sweet and the perfect addition to my classroom library.
BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2tT06Cl
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger's massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper's side. When he isn't trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin's shadow, he's busy working in his family's deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma's iconic grilled cheese recipe, he'll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All's fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack's spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they're publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they're also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can't ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.
Tags: #NewRelease, #Review, Emma Lord, Tweet Cute
REVIEW: RICOCHET by Krista and Becca Ritchie
REVIEW: (ETA: this was written several years ago and been sitting in our drafts folder so.....)
SPOILERS to the first book...be warned...
The Ritchie sisters officially have a new stalker..ahem...fan in me. It started with Addicted to You and I'm actively trying to squeeze in every book in this series between the books we're obligated to read and review. I guess you could say this series is becoming my addiction...yeah I know..sooooo clever.
In Ricochet we live through the months of Lily and Lo's separation due to Lo's stay in rehab. It's the ultimate challenge: can he make it without alcohol and can she make it without sex? I'm not telling you. NOT TELLING..you must read it. I will tell you, though, that if the first one was hard to read because of how dysfunctional and co-dependent they were, this one is hard because of the struggle to deal with choices and decisions and to see Lily embark on her discovery of who they are and why they are. Her discomfort and day to day struggle was painful to witness and yet something that had to be done. I loved the way they handled her story and some more pieces of the Lo + Lily history came into the story. I loved that we learned even more about Rose and Connor and Ryke and Daisy..and even Lily and Lo's parents.
I think of all of the things I'm loving about this series is that the subject matter of addiction is almost the main character in this book. It's taken seriously and it's hard to read and I loved that it's never, ever taken lightly. It's never belittled (by those who matter) and that Lily's struggle to deal with the truth, and her truth, was painful. I loved that the Ritchie sisters put her in real situations and made her live through them and deal with the hard stuff. I loved how honest Rose, Connor, and Ryke were. And I loved seeing Lo begin to take positive steps to recovery..and seemed determined that Lily do the same.
I also loved seeing the evolution of their love. Her fear, his strength...the anxiety and worry and need for the other one to be okay--I was rooting for them both the entire way.
It's really such a fantastic series. It's unlike anything else I've read and I'm eager to see what the other books have in store for us. Thanks so much Becca and Krista for writing these books; I love that you've given me (and your readers) something to think about.
Buy it: https://amzn.to/2ttbxjC
As a sex addict, Lily Calloway must do the impossible. Stay celibate for 90 days.
Cravings and fantasies become her new routine, but while Loren Hale recovers from his alcohol addiction, Lily wonders if he'll realize what a monster she really is. After all, her sexual compulsions begin to rule her life the longer she stays faithful to him.
Progress. That's what Lily's striving for. But by trying to become closer to her family--people who aren't aware of her addiction--she creates larger obstacles. When she spends time with her youngest sister, she learns more about her than she ever imagined and senses an unsettling connection between Daisy and Ryke Meadows.
With Lily and Lo's dysfunctional relationship teetering and unbalanced, they will need to find a way to reconnect from miles apart. But the inability to "touch" proves to be one of the hardest tests on their road to recovery. Some love brushes the surface. Some love is deeper than skin.
Lily and Lo have three months to discover just how deep their love really goes.
Tags: Krista & Becca Ritchie, Ricochet
REVIEW: Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
I've enjoyed every single Colleen Hoover novel that I've read so it's a little crazy that I haven't read them all, I think. I don't know why I haven't read them all--maybe a fear that I'll find one I don't like? I don't know. What I do know is that the last few things I've read from her, I've devoured.
Regretting You is my first read of 2020 and I stayed up way too late reading it and probably was way too invested in the story and characters than I should be, as noted by my inability to stop thinking about anything but how pissed off I was at both Morgan and Clara at different points in the novel when I should've been planning for my classes. Or how when I got to the 80% mark on my planning period I was stressed out at how close I was to finishing and how much more story I wanted instead of running to the front office to make sure I got give a make up exam later this week. Or how I legit got to the last 5% and felt like the choice to stop reading so that I could spend a little more time with these characters was a hard one. Obviously I had absolutely zero will power and squeaked out the last of the reading before my last class of the day which just left me in a fog of Clara and Morgan and Jonas and Miller and thinking about what would happen next and where they all would end up.
So who would like this novel that I've given an endorsement but not really analyzed it deeply? I think teenagers and readers with teens or readers who had challenging parental relationships may identify with some of the conflicts Morgan and Clara had. I think people who like YA fiction or romance will find this an enjoyable read. And I definitely think you have to like reading from two perspectives, as this is how the novel is structured. Finally, if you like really wonderfully kind male characters, you'll love Miller and Jonas.
BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2QwuKdv
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn't have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan's husband, Clara's father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she's been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
Tags: #Review, Colleen Hoover, Regretting You
REVIEW: Release by Aly Martinez
OUR REVIEW: It's been a while since we've read an Aly Martinez novel so when I saw she was releasing a stand alone novel, I thought it would be a good opportunity to read her latest.
I went in blind so I didn't realize that after the prologue we'd be primarily reading about the origin story of Thea and Ramsey, building up to how he ended up in prison. Once I quit looking for the more current chapters and just let their story build and grow, I settled in for a sweet story of how Thea and Ramsey went from childhood frienemies to best friends to lovers; how they helped each other in neglectful circumstances and became a little family who could count on each other to get through the tough days and laugh on the easier days. It was only around the last 40-ish percent that the reasons for Ramsey's imprisonment and their estrangement started to click into place and his reactions to her made more sense. While there were a few more surprises and tense moments in this last half, ultimately this romance was a sweet one.
Part coming of age, part friends to lovers romance that focuses on a subject not normally seen in this genre: love after serious prison time, Release is a good weekend read that's warm and will quickly get you to that happily ever after.
Release, an all-new "mesmerizing" and "captivating" standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez, is available now!
Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal.
At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend.
At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss.
By sixteen, we'd fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon.
Love never fails, right?
But for Ramsey, it did.
Love failed him.
I failed him.
The entire world failed him.
At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me.
Move on,he wrote in his first and only letter from prison.
Start a new life, he urged.
I don't love you anymore, he lied.
There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever.
So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QOughI
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ReleaseAlyM
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2oGE1oo
It was funny. I'd spent almost half my life surrounded by the biggest, baddest criminals the state of Georgia had been able to capture. Yet, I was terrified of a five-foot-five woman who for some asinine reason was still in love with me. I couldn't be around her. Not if I wanted to keep my head straight and my eye on the prize. I had three years before I got off parole. I needed to get a job, tuck away some cash, and, the second I was allowed to leave Georgia, get the hell out of there. Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd be able to convince my sister to come with me. We didn't have to go far. We could stay in the south if she wanted. South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee—there were schools everywhere. Nora wouldn't have trouble finding a job. The hardest part would be convincing her to leave Thea. However, maybe if she did, Thea would finally move on with her life and stop obsessing about me. I'd known they lived together for a while. I didn't want anything to do with Thea while I was locked up, but I was happy as hell Nora had someone to lean on. I had been under the impression that Nora had gotten her own place when she found out about my release. I had been under that impression because Nora had straight-up told me she was getting her own place after I'd declared there was no way I was living with Thea. Now, I was hiding in my room, waiting for Nora to wake up, open my door, and escort me to breakfast like a damn bodyguard so I could avoid confrontation. Next up in my efforts to kill time was a workout. Sit ups, push-ups, planks, running in place. This was when I realized Nora hadn't bought me any deodorant. Another shower. Another naked lap around the bedroom, and this time, I managed to keep my hands off my cock. Finally, I got dressed. This required me to pick through a bunch of preppy shit Nora had bought for me to find tattered jeans and a fitted green tee that clung to my chest like a damn glove. In my closet, I found a belt and a pair of distressed brown lace-up boots that maybe could have doubled as combat boots if the war was taking place on a runway. But what the hell did I know about style? I'd been wearing orange or puke beige for almost half my life. When I was done with all of that and there was still no sign of Nora, I sat on the edge of the bed and decided to give the phone thing a try. I wasn't totally out of the technology loop. We had computers at the library and we were allowed to use them if we earned the privileges. But they might as well have been dinosaurs compared to the phone she'd bought me. I couldn't even get it to read my face with the fancy secret laser thing. I gave up trying pretty quickly. So there I was, bored out of my mind, starving, and poking at my newfound wrinkles in the bathroom mirror, when I heard a knock at my door. "Ramsey?" I froze, my eyes locked on the mirror, panic staring back at me. Thea. Jesus. I needed to find somewhere else to live. Leaning out of the bathroom, I stared at the door. If I was super quiet, maybe she'd think I was still asleep and go the hell away. When I didn't reply, she knocked again. Her voice was timid and sweet, not at all like the fearless girl I'd grown up with. I hated it. "Ramsey? You hungry? I'm making breakfast? I was wondering if you wanted something?" Everything from my name to the fact that she was making breakfast was a question, as if maybe she was asking permission to cook in her own house. My stomach was currently feasting on my backbone. Still, I said nothing. She sighed. "Okay. Well, if you change your—" There were several seconds of silence. I quirked my eyebrow at the door, trying to figure out why she'd abruptly stopped talking, and then cursed my inability to develop x-ray vision. I held my breath, hoping to hear her footsteps as she walked away. No. Such. Fucking. Luck. The door swung open and she came walking inside with her hands stacked over her eyes. "Look, I know you're awake. I heard you running earlier. I also heard you take at least three showers. Sorry, but the house isn't that big. Neither is the hot water heater. Are you at least dressed so I can open my eyes?" Brave. Unapologetic. And completely oblivious to boundaries. Now that was the Thea I knew. "Get out," I barked. "Dressed? Not dressed? Help me out here?" "Get. Out." She kept her eyes closed. "You gotta eat, Ramsey. You can't stay locked up in this room forever." I wanted to tell her to get the hell out again. Honestly, it was on the tip of my tongue. But it never made it past my lips because my traitorous eyes stole a head-to-toe of her lithe body. She was barefoot, wearing jeans—tight ones that tapered at her ankle. They looked like mine in the sense that they had a rip in the knee. They didn't look like mine in the sense that they hugged the curve of her hips and more than likely her ass too. A pink tank top stretched across her chest, and I swear on my life, fuck x-ray vision because I could see the pebble of her nipples beneath the fabric. It wasn't a ridiculous dress. It wasn't stupid fucking heels. She wasn't wearing a face full of clown makeup. She was just Thea. The nostalgia pumped through my veins like acid even as my cock stirred. Fuck, I should have jerked off again in the shower. "I'm dressed," I bit out, desperate for her to put her damn hands down and maybe use them to cover her tits instead. Her long, brown lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. Those fucking eyes had once owned me. As a huge smile lit her face, I felt the claim all over again. "Oh, look, you chose one of the outfits I picked out for you." Of course I had. Of fucking course. As soon as I got her out of my room, I was going to take the outfit off and light it on fire.
About Aly
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
Connect with Aly
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2RvbjCA
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2DUCq1Z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2We92eT
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2V32S4B
GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2UKGUOM
Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2DEpPAh
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2DUgzrJ
Website: https://alymartinez.com/
Stay up to date with Aly by joining her mailing list today:
http://bit.ly/2WnkxjS
Tags: #NewRelease, #Review, Aly Martinez, Release
NEW RELEASE: Release by Aly Martinez
REVIEW: Winter Tales by Tiffany Reisz


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True Form Midna (Exclusive)
First 4 Figures is proud to present the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - True Form Midna resin statue.
"What? Say something! Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" - Midna
NOTE 2: ORDERS PLACED DURING THE RESERVATION PERIOD NEEDS TO BE VALIDATED ON TUESDAY 15TH MAY 2018 11PM HONG KONG TIME TO GET YOUR LOW NUMBER AND DAY ONE BONUS
True Form Midna (Regular)
True Form Midna (Definitive Edition)
During the battle of Hyrule Castle, Link and Midna have struggled in vain to overthrow Ganondorf, self-styled king of light and shadow. As Beast Ganon is vanquished, Ganondorf's malevolence and power take on a form of their own. Midna, preparing to wield the Fused Shadows and potentially pay the ultimate price to defeat Ganondorf, teleports Link and Zelda to safety. When Ganondorf appears to the pair in Hyrule Field, he displays Midna's helmet as proof of her demise. Link and Zelda use the power of light to overcome the Dark Lord, and in turn Hyrule's Light Spirits restore Midna, now freed of the curse which bound her as an imp.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - True Form Midna EXCLUSIVE edition comes with the following:-
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - True Form Midna RESIN Statue (Body and Cloak 'green' patterns - Glow in the Dark)
Highly detailed base capturing the essence of the Mirror of Twilight from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. (Base comes painted with ultra violet paint)
LEDs - Long orange hair - Mode: Off, Always ON
Purchasing the The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - True Form Midna EXCLUSIVE edition at anytime during Day One after the launch starts (24 hours) will entitle you to the following extra free bonuses.
NOTE - You must come back to the website on 15th May 2018, log into your account and VALIDATE your order to confirm your Day One edition.
An additional Signature Card signed by Alex Davis.
A Day One edition Hologram Sticker.
Plus extra F4F Reward Points.
Limited Edition number will be set later on.
This PREORDER period will close on 12th June 2018.
This is the seventh statue in First 4 Figures' The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess line. If you already have authenticated the previous statue in the line (Ganon's Puppet Zelda) then you will be entitled to receive the same number for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - True Form Midna! (Where applicable)
*Prototype shown, final product may be slightly different. Product details can subject to change without further notice.
Subject to final approval.
Height - 17 inches (43cm)
Width - 9 inches (23cm)
Depth - 9 inches (23cm)
Ryan Oley and Kris Silva
• Beginning payments: February 06, 2023
• 1st scheduled payment: US$109.00 due February 06, 2023
• 2nd scheduled payment: US$109.00 due March 06, 2023
• 3rd scheduled payment: US$109.00 due April 03, 2023
• Amount payments (except the final one): US$84.00
• 1st scheduled payment: US$84.00 due February 06, 2023
• 2nd scheduled payment: US$84.00 due March 06, 2023
• 3rd scheduled payment: US$84.00 due April 03, 2023
• 4th scheduled payment: US$84.00 due May 01, 2023
• 5th scheduled payment: US$84.00 due June 05, 2023
• Final Payment: US$16.99* due Earliest Q2 2021
True Form Midna Launch & Giveaway
Legend of Zelda fans, it is time for the highly anticipated TRUE FORM MIDNA launch from First 4 Figu...
Read 632109 Times
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Zelda Launch Date Announced
A First Look at The Legend of Zelda™: Majora's Mask – Majora's Mask PVC Statue
You can never have too many Majora's Masks!
True Form Midna Pre-Order FAQs
Everything you need to know (and more) about the True Form Midna pre-order!
Recap: Friday Q&A with Chocks and A #73 (June 8, 2018)
This is a breakdown of the important (and not so important) topics of last Friday's (June 8, 2...
Recap: Friday Q&A with Chocks and A #71 (May 18, 2018)
This is a breakdown of the important (and not so important) topics of last Friday's (May 18, 2...
First 4 Highlights – May 2018 Issue
First 4 Figures May 2018 Recap

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home / News / Digital Signage Solutions from BrightSign and 22MILES Help Improve Campus Connectivity at Georgia Tech University
Digital Signage Solutions from BrightSign and 22MILES Help Improve Campus Connectivity at Georgia Tech University
June 17, 2020|Brian Gorg
Los Gatos, CA, June 16, 2020 – BrightSign, LLC®, the global market leader in digital signage media players, today announced its collaboration with 22MILES to improve campus connectivity at Georgia Tech University. Georgia Tech is a university of roughly 33,000 students, located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The university tasked its newly created digital signage department with managing and implementing a campus-wide digital signage system. Following a thorough vendor vetting process, 22MILES emerged as the solution provider to handle the project.
22MILES' approach to the project was to cement a collaborative partnership with the university's technology departments, bringing the resources of 30+ developers into the equation, as well as innovators in the digital signage space such as BrightSign, the industry's leading manufacturer of purpose-built media players.
"The integrated solution 22MILES offered with our partner BrightSign was the answer the university had been searching for," said Tomer Mann, Executive Vice President at 22MILES. "The adaptive nature of the BrightSign players paired with the 22MILES engine behind them made the installation and adoption from their digital signage department a very efficient process. Many of their team members have verbally expressed to us how easy the solution was to work with, and how happy they were to discover the flexibility and intuitive nature of the 22MILES system. This became even more clear to everyone involved in the project as they delved into the process of implementing over 325 displays."
The 22MILES/BrightSign solution provides ease and accessibility, with a focus on empowering users with a simple content management system to manage hundreds of signs across its dynamic campus.
22MILES equipped the university with a platform built for the future that pairs responsive technology with market-leading media players via its partnership with BrightSign. Feedback from Georgia Tech's digital signage implementation team has been that the system is straightforward to use. Most of the campus signs are lobby signs used for general purposes, spread out within buildings all over campus. More than 70 of those signs are dedicated to displaying room schedules and events.
Individual displays are accessible and sectioned based on the department. Team members can quickly add and edit curated information, including RSS feeds for events, emergency feeds for alerts, data lists for class schedules and festivities. Each campus department utilizes its respective section, with the team reporting virtually no learning curve even for more specific acts like scheduling media for news and updating dining services within the campus. The integrated channel feature makes it simple to quickly use any of the branded templates, while also having the ability to push different content to specific players.
The 22MILES/BrightSign solution is utilized all over campus. There are more than 325 digital devices active on Georgia Tech's campus today, with more on the way. The 22MILES/BrightSign solution affords the university the agility to leverage a comprehensive and scalable digital signage platform that fulfills its current requirements and anticipates the road ahead.
For more information about BrightSign's complete portfolio of digital signage products, visit http://www.brightsign.biz.
About BrightSign
BrightSign LLC, the global market leader in digital signage media players, is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, with offices in Europe and Asia. BrightSign manufactures media players and provides free software and networking solutions for the commercial digital signage market worldwide, serving all vertical segments of the digital signage marketplace. From entry-level BrightSign LS players to BrightSign XT players offering state-of-the-art technology and unsurpassed performance, BrightSign's products are known for their signature reliability, affordability, ease-of-use, and market-leading technology. For more information, visit www.brightsign.biz. Follow BrightSign at http://twitter.com/brightsign and http://www.facebook.com/BrightSignLLC.
← LAVNCH Week 2.0 – Digital Signage Day on June 26
New Videotel Digital Signage Solution Uses QR Code for Touch-less Interactive Technology →


Firefighters were told that children torched a much-loved beauty spot - sending flames leaping high into the sky.
Crews raced to Sutton Park after a major blaze was reported near the Banners Gate entrance just before 4.15pm on Monday, February 25.
A crew from Erdington and Perry Bar and an engine and brigade response vehicle were sent to the scene and could immediately see the flames as they entered the park.
An eyewitness said: "I was just walking my dog in Sutton Park and there was a huge fire raging.
White watch firefighter Alan Afridi told BirminghamLive: "We could see the fire as soon as we went in the park from Banners Gate, we could see it in the distance.
"We went in through a locked gate for which we have the keys.
"We then went off road for 200 yards and took a left towards the coppice [Queen's Coppice]. The fire was 20 yards from the coppice and near to the flying field.
"We used two hose reel jets - one from us white watch at Erdington and one from Perry Barr's brigade response vehicle. We put the fire out in 25 minutes. The area was about the size of two tennis courts.
It's quite unusual to get a fire at this time of year and we were quite fortunate that there wasn't a lot of wind. We checked the fire with a TIC (thermal imaging camera) and once it was all out we left.
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "We got a call around 4.15pm and sent two crews – one from Erdington and one from Perry Barr.
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police confirmed a fire in woods in the Banners Gate area of Sutton Park had been reported and officers were investigating.


Working out of your home can be stressful. Combine that with working with your spouse and you have a real challenge. Ian and I are now in our 20th year as innkeeper partners. I wish I could say it gets easier, but it doesn't. My fiery Scottish temper doesn't make it any easier. And unfortunately in such a close working environment, our staff are often witnesses to our differences of opinion.
I think they were relieved to walk into the kitchen and find Ian alive and well.


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An introduction to studying Archaeology at University. Including courses, careers and application tips. Featuring Durham University and the University of Winchester.
What to expect on an Archaeology course and an overview of your potential career opportunities.
Dr Niall Finneran
Reader in Archaeology at the University of Winchester
Application tips and reasons to study Archaeology
Dr Ben Roberts
Associate Professor at Durham University
This webinar is hosted by Jon Cheek, the Founder and Director of UniTasterDays. Guidance is provided for students to help them make good choices when considering university. The guest speakers for this event are Dr Niall Finneran, a Reader in Archaeology at the University of Winchester and Dr Ben Roberts, an Associate Professor at Durham university.
What to expect on an archaeology course and an overview of potential career opportunities
Niall speaks about what you can expect to study on an archaeology course at university, with content being broadly similar across different universities. Additional studies will depend on staff expertise he explains, and he touches on some first year introductory modules you will cover.
He goes on to talk about what you will look at in your second and third years at university, with more focus on themes and excavation work. Niall explains what a dissertation is in your final year at university and how you are able to undertake field work to strengthen this project. He goes on to speak about how you will be assessed on an archaeology course ranging from essays to placements. Finally, he touches on the skills you will gain at university and careers after you graduate.
Ben talks about the application process for university and what an archaeology course looks like. He explains what a personal statement is and what you should include in yours, highlighting how to demonstrate your motivation to admission tutors. He speaks about why you should study archaeology at university and the different kind of topics you can cover. Finally, Ben explains why studying the past matters and how archaeology is applicable to many disciplines.


Criticalinvestor.eu is an online mining platform specialized in junior mining companies. The editor is an avid and critical mining and mining related stock investor from Europe, with a MSc background in projectmanagement. Number cruncher, looking for high quality companies, strong short term catalysts and deep value. The aim is to get extensive understanding of all ins and outs of a possible investment opportunity, in order to be able to make the best possible risk/reward interpretations. Criticalinvestor.eu often discusses his research and analysis besides company management with other mining sector professionals like geologists, mining engineers, analysts, fund managers and others before publicizing any content, to make sure basic quality standards of the industry are met.
This intention is the result of a conviction that anyone should know all important/necessary details (as far as they can be identified of course) in order to allocate own capital with sufficient insight and awareness of risks. Especially junior miners experience a lot of hidden risks which tend to be easily overlooked, and don't always seem to be addressed adequately in for example rather optimistic sell side analyst reports. Without knowing necessary details, seeking alpha in resources could quickly end up in finding disaster. Looking for long term, deep value/growth investments and short term, catalyst driven opportunities.
In general: as the population of the world will continue to expand the following decades, so does the need for natural resources, as they are needed everywhere in our lives. Unfortunately, natural resources are not available in unlimited quantities. As the easy, near surface, high grade deposits are already exploited, new resources are becoming more and more difficult and expensive to locate and mine. Another reason for limited availability are geopolitics, when for example export bans are initiated by more or less supply dominating countries. Although it seems likely that the very strong growth of China has run its course and will probably follow a more moderated path, creating a bear market in commodities at the moment (2014-2016) the underlying thesis of a growing population versus growing natural resource scarcity will remain valid, and could offer strong future opportunities in the natural resource sector.
As very high returns in limited time periods on investment are possible with junior mining companies (accompanied by a very high risk of failure as well), Criticalinvestor.eu finds this sector to be the most interesting and challenging to analyze. Therefore a lot of junior mining companies are researched and contacted, looking for high quality candidates that could offer an attractive risk/reward ratio for investors. The resulting analysis is presented in articles and publications on this site (and on Seekingalpha.com), and besides this other sources of possibly useful information are offered like blogs, news, charts, tables, general information and links to other websites. As Criticalinvestor.eu is not a registered investment advisor, all information and opinions on this site are presented for information purposes only, so always do your own research.


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The Immigration Appeals System Revised – 2010 Version
Asylum, Legal Matters, Policy, Refugees
This Briefing Paper 8.30 substantially amends and brings up to date the previous version dated March 2005 (now deleted), taking account of recent changes in the law
1 The immigration appeals system has undergone major changes twice in recent years. Until April 2005 there was a two tier system, the first tier consisting of adjudicators sitting alone and the upper tier being the Immigration Appeal Tribunal. The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 [Referred to hereafter as "the 2004 Act"] created the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, which was in essence a single tier tribunal and began operation on 4 April 2005. This Tribunal has itself now been abolished and superseded by further reforms which took effect from 15 February 2010. The hearing and disposal of asylum and immigration appeals has been taken over by the unified tribunal service created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Please refer to Briefing Paper 8.35 for details of the new tribunal.


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To open science, destigmatize critique
Image credit CC BY 4.0 Jessica Polka
TabulaSynthase, the blog of Whitehead Institute, brings together ideas and perspectives from the Whitehead community and beyond.
Here we feature a guest blog by Jessica Polka, a visiting scholar at Whitehead Institute, Director of ASAPbio, and President of Future of Research.
Utopian visions about how the web would change science are as old as the web itself. In 1989, the same year that Tim Berners-Lee wrote his famed CERN proposal, William Allen Wulf introduced the concept of a "collaboratory," a "center without walls, in which the nation's researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, [and] accessing information in digital libraries."
While Wulf's vision is now entirely economically and technologically practical, it's still at odds with cultural practices and incentives. The ease with which we now record, share, and access digital information awkwardly bumps up against more traditional professional norms of the scientific community - imagine social media embargoes or poster photography bans at society meetings. Despite the fact that biologists are actually quite liberal with sharing findings prior to their formal publication compared to other disciplines, we protect those disclosures with varying levels of privacy. Therefore, the only thing that enters into the publicly accessible literature is the final, published paper. In order to tell a good story, those final papers leave out a lot of valuable information contained in slides, preprint manuscripts, posters, single figures, code, data analysis pipelines, and even lab notebooks.
If we were comfortable with sharing our interim research products early, our science could more rapidly inform the research of others around the world. We could get better (and broader) feedback to improve our work. We could identify collaborators and reduce needless duplication of effort, or we could channel that duplication into robust and well-planned independent replications. Science as a whole would become more efficient.
Barriers to sharing
Given these benefits, why don't we make interim research products available well in advance of formal publication? Certainly, the barriers are not technical, but rather social, and I'd argue they fall into three categories.
The first is that sharing early research results may run afoul of journal policies, and may prevent later "formal publication." Fortunately, however, with the rise of preprints in the life sciences, attitudes about what constitutes "prior publication" are rapidly changing, and an increasing number of journals no longer consider sharing results online a barrier to consideration, especially within established preprint servers like bioRxiv and arXiv.
The second perceived barrier is related to the first: that the community will not adequately recognize contributions when they are shared in the grey literature. Having been divulged without sufficient visibility, the data could be vulnerable to being scooped by a competitor who publishes in a more conventional and visible venue, perhaps after gaining some advantage from seeing (and not properly acknowledging) the work. As the visibility of interim research products increases, though, it stands to reason that scooping will become less of a plausible concern. After all, fixing work into a public, permanent, and time-stamped record is the best possible defense from scooping.
The third barrier to sharing interim research products is more fundamental than either of the two above: discomfort with being wrong or showing errors to peers.
Moving beyond the version of record
Of course, we share preliminary data with one another specifically to identify and correct errors and omissions. We spitball with our labmates and show messy data at lab meetings. We brainstorm with our collaborators and put preliminary data into talks or posters. But these behaviors fit into fairly proscribed concentric circles of permanence and privacy, and the mutable documents they produce rarely make it into public view.
By contrast, we think of publicly-shared papers as static documents, and in the days when they were printed, bound, and mailed, they essentially had to be. Perhaps as a result, their correction or modification is stigmatized, and articles can be retracted for problems affecting one part of a larger work. In turn, this stigma contributes to discomfort with sites like PubPeer, where criticisms of journal articles are publicly aired. After all, because papers are fixed and "final" objects, it's almost impossible for these critiques to have a positive outcome for the original author.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Digital technologies provide ways to organize many different versions of documents, from tracking changes in Microsoft Word to merging pull requests in GitHub. We are already familiar with the kinds of tools that would enable us to modify works previously thought of as set in stone. But again, the barrier is not technological but social. This would require us to admit publicly that we have been wrong - or at least not entirely right.
Destigmatizing uncertainty, errors, and iterative improvement
Admitting mistakes (or even uncertainty) is difficult for people in general, scientists included. That said, there are certain communities (for example, open-source software development or Wikipedia) where public corrections and collaborative contributions are a natural part of the system. If we want to shift our culture toward this state, there are two concrete steps we can take.
First, we can advocate for the publication of (anonymous) peer review reports, as many journals (including EMBO, eLife, Nature Communications, and BMC titles) are already doing. Reviewers and authors of a paper are privy to an animated discussion; hiding this from general view creates an artificial illusion of silence. If we were to make visible this vast, existing corpus of discussion, we might change expectations about where this discussion belongs and who can participate.
More immediately, we can post preprints and invite feedback on them. The comment section of bioRxiv is moderated and is home to many helpful exchanges. For one exceptional example, see the conversation between Helder Maiato and David Pellman underneath the latter's preprint. This type of dialog may happen in private, but bringing it into the public benefits the whole community. As Vincent Boudreau, a grad student in the field, tweeted, "seeing agreements and disagreements is way more valuable than reading any review." And it has the bonus effect of normalizing civil and constructive public dialog.
We may not get all the way to working in "collaboratories," but being more open about critique and feedback could make science more connected and efficient.
Jessica Polka, a visiting scholar at Whitehead Institute, Director of ASAPbio, and President of Future of Research


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A "Christian" Defense of Marriage Act?
by Wil LaVeist
Finally, a defense of marriage act that may be even timelier for today's church.
You've probably heard of Jacksonville-based preachers H.B. Charles, Jr., and Rudolph McKissick Jr. whose sermons against "shackin' up" led to mass weddings at their churches.
Three of the nine couples who participated in the mass wedding. (Photo Credit: News 4 Jacksonville)
Pastor Charles of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church told his members that "Anyone who wanted to actually take the commitment of marriage seriously, we would do whatever we could to help them by sponsoring this mass wedding." After six weeks of group counseling 14 couples tied the knot.
Bishop McKissick of Bethel Institutional Baptist Church told his flock, "You're saying we love the Lord too much to keep living out of His will as a couple. I want you to come to the altar right now." After weeks of counseling and with the help of volunteers such as, makeup stylists and florists, nine couples said, "I do."
Recent talks about marriage have focused on debating the rights of same-sex couples. But these sermons are more impactful because the preachers, instead harping on what people should not do, passionately and graciously emphasized to their members, what they SHOULD do according to the Bible. The preachers then left it to the couples to decide for themselves whether to do the right thing. They also delivered resources to help make the weddings happen. But is tying the knot instead of cohabitating truly necessary for Christians these days?
Culturally, it certainly seems that cohabitation is here to stay. U.S. Census data shows that in the 1960s some 450,000 unmarried couples (Christian and non-Christian) lived together, compared to more than 7.5 million now. Why do people choose shackin' over jumpin' the broom? The sexual revolution and improved birth control are typical explanations, but also finances. In previous generations, particularly for women whose career options were limited primarily to working in the home, marriage was a financial safety net. Many now see cohabitating as a money issue. If two people are dating and find themselves spending most of their time together at each other's homes, the idea of cutting two rents and cable bills down to one seems logical. Cohabitating is like being roommates with extra benefits. Couples don't necessarily plan to shack, they slide into it.
Another reason is that couples say they're giving their relationship a trial run. By living together you supposedly get to see what the other person is truly like, and whether you want to deal with them "until death do us part." However, studies indicate that women tend to see shackin' as a stepping stone to marriage, while men often see it as a way of enjoying the benefits without the commitment. Meanwhile, many who have shacked first and gotten married know first-hand that people STILL change once the rings are exchanged. Unrealistic expectations can still rise among husbands and wives. And unfortunately for many, divorce still happens even after shackin'.
Yes there are many couples who cohabitate successfully. The label of marriage CAN also increase pressure that can boil an otherwise peaceful home. These couples say that if the partnership ain't broke don't fix it with two rings and a certificate because that's what friends, family and the church say to do. Since God is omnipresent, God knows whether our hearts are committed, they say.
Both Pastor Charles and Bishop McKissick stressed the importance of counseling, which is the key. Their couples underwent weeks of sessions to help them truly understand what they were getting themselves into; that marriage is not an adult version of playing house; that marriage is not merely a financial arrangement, though money is often a major issue. For the Christian, marriage should be a spiritual journey, a covenant that enlightens us to the divine nature and unity of God, Jesus, The Holy spirit and the church.
Sadly, many of us Christians lack successful marriages in this holy image because we too often did not receive quality pre-marital counseling. We fail to grasp this deeper understanding of what we're truly engaged in. We often jump in and swim based on the models we saw from our parents (if we had two in the home) that were likely flawed. We go into marriage thinking of what we observed from other families or on TV. We get hitched for the children born out of wedlock, not realizing that we're unequally yoked. The cliché "If you keep the Lord in the middle, everything will be alright" becomes our guide. But how do you accomplish this? Quality pre-marital counseling can help light the way.
There are several Bible verses that illustrate God's stance on marriage and particularly Hebrews 13:4 touches on cohabitation too: "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all sexually immoral."
So why were these couples shackin' despite knowing what the Word says? The answer is in our own homes. We are ALL flawed. We have ALL sinned and fallen short of God's standards. We are ALL human wrestling with the "law of sin" as articulated by Paul in Romans 7 – doing what we know we shouldn't do. Many of the couples in the mass weddings said that they where planning to get married, but lacked money for the big ceremony that our culture says a wedding should be. For the Christian, though, the primary concern for marriage should be spiritual not carnal.
Adrian Thatcher, a religion professor at the University of Exeter, UK, urges the Christian church to return to the theological and doctrinal roots of marriage, in order to defend it as "indispensable for the regulation of sexual expression, the raising of children and the pleasing of God…"
Shout out to Pastor Charles, Bishop McKissick and the many other leaders out there who are preaching just that.
Lakita Wright	on December 25, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Will, great article! You point out what most people fail to realize. God didn't arbitrarily create laws that define "good" and "evil." What is good will bless you and what is evil will "jack you up," whether you are a believer or not. The laws of nature, like gravity, as well as spiritual laws are not a respecter of persons. We can rage, protest, or rebel against them if we so choose, but it is all in vain. In the end, while we presume to break His laws, inevitably His laws will break us. Moreover, there are numerous white paper studies that reveal these tragic consequences. Among them are, co-habitating couples: 1) have higher incidences of domestic violence than married, separated, or divorced couples, 2) have higher rates of child abuse, including sexual abuse, than married, separated or divorced couples — In some instances up to 44 times more frequent, and 3) Have higher divorce rates than people who don't shack up before marriage (civitas project). In Addition, these pastors who threw down the gauntlet, should be commended because they are not only preventing negative, or continued, consequences but are helping these couples produce the fruits that successfully married couples produce: 1) longer lives than co-habitating couples, 2) live physically healthier lives than co-habitating couples, 3) accumulate more financial wealth than co-habitating couples 4) have a greater since of purpose and well-being than co-habitating couples, and yes 5) HAVE MORE FREQUENT AND SATISFYING SEX LIVES! These facts were found in the largest study on marriage done in the last generation by the University of Chicago and published in the groundbreaking book, "Sex in America." Moreover, "by coincidence," Proverbs 3:1 (Amplified) states that the "fear of the Lord," will get you "a long life… riches, honor… pleasure, and peace." Wow! God really is smart. I've often heard it said, "if we new better, we'd do better," and unfortunately this information is not well know in our community. No wonder the Bible says, "for lack of knowledge my people perish." I hope this trend goes "viral" in our culture and we begin to see the fruits of more healthier marriages in our lives, communities, and the next generation


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Kate Sienko on Working in Publishing at Condé Nast
September 23, 2020 November 19, 2020 Categories Business, College and Career, Fashion, LifestyleFashion, Friends, WritingLeave a Comment on Kate Sienko on Working in Publishing at Condé Nast
Even wonder what the day-to-day at Condé Nast looks like? Yeah, me too! Read all about Kate's experience working for one of the biggest names in publishing.
When I tell you Kate and I got back, we go way back, having known each other for just over 8 years now! Kate is such an inspiration to me, having taken the working world by storm after graduating from Tufts University in 2017. She has worked on marketing campaigns for the magazines that we all know and love, including Vogue, GQ, and Glamour. Yes, you have 20/20 vision I wrote Vogue! An incredibly kind, driven, and hard-working, powerhouse woman, Kate has kindly offered to share with our blog community her experiences working at one of the biggest names in publishing. Take it away Kate!
Kate, tell us a little bit about yourself!
My name is Kate Sienko and I'm a twenty-something navigating the trials and tribulations that accompany adulthood in New York City. I work on the post-sale marketing team at Condé Nast, specifically producing branded content for brands such as Vogue, Glamour, Allure, GQ, Bon Appétit, and more. Prior to working at Condé Nast, I attended Tufts University and The Pingry School.
When did you first start working in publishing and how did you end up at Condé Nast?
I graduated from Tufts in 2017 with degrees in English and Communications/Media Studies. Throughout my internships at Bustle and Time Inc. and college experiences, I connected with colleagues, mentors, and leaders alike, who shared insights and learnings about the media industry and continued to connect me with key contacts that would lay the foundation for my career at Condé Nast.
Perhaps the most formative experience was a series of courses that I took at Tufts entitled "The Future of Magazines." The instructor during my senior year was the most chic, sophisticated, and all-around brilliant woman who had worked at Condé Nast for many years (and was also an alumna of Tufts!) – as she spoke about the magic that transpired between the walls of Condé Nast and brought in guest speakers from the company that shared similar experiences, I knew that I needed to experience that for myself: to experience the power of storytelling so deeply with the brands I had loved my entire life.
I graduated without a job, as the media industry is different from other industries and often only hires within two (2) weeks of start date – but I worked diligently within my network of mentors, who connected me with the people I needed to know to interview and ultimately secure a job at Condé Nast during July of 2017.
What was your first role at Condé and how does it differ from what you do now?
For the past three years, I have been on the marketing team at Condé Nast, specifically working with beauty clients such as L'Oreal, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Estee Lauder, and many more. I was first hired as a pre-sale marketer and have since transitioned to a post-sale role. As a pre-sale marketer, I was the brains behind the idea, strategizing with teammates to craft stories across platforms: branded content, experiential, video, print, podcasts, and more. As a post-sale marketer, I am the quarterback working cross-collaboratively to bring campaigns to life. Internally, I partner with sales, talent, and creative counterparts to ensure that we produce the best content possible. Externally, I manage all communication with our agency and client partners to ensure that the creative vision is coming to life as it should.
Although hard to pick a favorite between the two – I will say that I am tremendously fortunate to have learned about the campaign process from conception to completion so early on in my career. With this holistic experience, I feel well-prepared and poised to address anything that comes our way in the branded content production process.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
No two days are the same – especially during quarantine. Every day brings a new insight, challenge, or ask and it's my responsibility to keep everything going, no matter what. In post-sale, we are continuously problem solving (I often joke that I'm a firefighter), and no matter how difficult a situation may be, we always strive to be as positive and solution-oriented as we can in order to ensure the success of a campaign. From sourcing last minute product for a next-day shoot to learning back-end technical logistics for a virtual event to negotiating with edit and clients to achieve a balance of client + brand POVs, we do it all and apply our problem-solving skills to whatever is thrown our way.
What does a typical day look like for you?
During the pandemic, keeping to a routine has been key. My day-in-the-life goes like this:
7:30 AM Wake up
8:00 AM Work out with my mom (Monday & Wednesdays = Cardio, Tuesday = Arms, Thursday = Legs, Friday = Kickboxing)
9:00 AM Start the work day while eating breakfast (eggs, Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast, and fruit) and having coffee: read emails, write out the daily to-do list (I'm old fashioned), prep for meetings
10:00 AM – 5:30 PM Zoom Client and internal meetings to review status of current campaigns. (Some days we'll have shoots – these are a full-day occasion!). Review rounds of creative and route for approvals. Although I do miss the serendipitous nature of the office and seeing familiar faces in the halls and elevator, I will say that my team and I have managed to be quite productive. (Note: As great as Zoom is, I am actively campaigning to bring the phone call back).
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Walk around the neighborhood to get some fresh air
6:30 PM Help my parents cook dinner. I'm extraordinarily lucky that both my mom and my dad are excellent cooks and we've been eating quite well these past few months.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Dinner with my parents and my younger brother who is also home for the time being. Although I do sometimes feel like I'm 18 again living under my parents' roof, I will say that I am cherishing this extra time we all have together as a family.
8:30 PM – 10:00 PM Read or watch TV to wind down from the day. Recently finished reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and watching Love on the Spectrum on Netflix – both excellent!
What is the most compelling project that you have worked on in your career?
The times that I have felt most alive during my time at Condé Nast have been at our tentpole events, such as Glamour Women of the Year and Teen Vogue Summit. They are a celebration of each of the brand's ethos – who we are, what we stand for, and what we believe in.
At Glamour Women of the Year, we honor the game changers, the rule breakers, and the trailblazers who have paved the way for women across the country and around the world in their respective fields. Over the past three years, we've honored:
Greta Thunberg
Emma Gonzalez and the women activists from the March for Our Lives movement
Kamala Harris (Fun Fact: I was her seat filler when she went up to accept her award!)
The Women's March Organizers
One of the most special moments from WOTY 2019 was when Chanel Miller accepted her award on stage. Glamour had named Emily Doe, the anonymous sexual assault victim a WOTY honoree in 2016, and unbeknownst to the team, she had been sitting in the audience all along, listening to every word. For Chanel to come forward to the world, and then later on the stage at Glamour Women of the Year to publicly accept her award was awe-inspiring. As she emerged on stage in her golden gown, she immediately received a standing ovation – and when she proceeded to recite her acceptance poem: "I Don't Give A Damn" and there was not a dry eye in the house. I still get goosebumps thinking about that very moment and thinking this is what it's all about.
At Teen Vogue Summit, we engage in conversations and live workshops with leaders from fashion, politics, beauty, wellness, and activism for the next generation. I love being on the ground with these young people and hear firsthand what they're doing in their own communities to change the future. At Teen Vogue Summit 2019, Demi Lovato made her first public appearance post–break and the energy in the room shook when she made her way to the stage.
WOTY and Teen Vogue Summit are two of my favorite events of the year because the spirit of empowerment is absolutely tangible and awakens everyone sitting in the room to go out and do good for themselves, for others, and ultimately the world.
How has your role needed to adapt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
The names of the game in media are speed, creativity, and agility – and this is true now more than ever. So much of what we do is people-driven – be it photoshoots, video shoots, events, traveling, or client dinners where we're interacting, collaborating, and partnering with producers, directors, videographers, clients, talent, and more. And although things may look a little different now, the show must go on. And if there's a will, there is always a way.
In May, we worked with a client for Teen Vogue Prom and we filmed three videos with teenaged talent. Since this was the beginning of the pandemic, the shoot was entirely remote. We shipped product and equipment to the talent across the country and the director, producers, program managers, and clients all sat on a Zoom directing each talent as they captured their getting ready looks. The casting was incredibly important for this particular program because we needed to enlist talent that were skilled in capturing their own content – and they did beautifully!
Teen Vogue Prom was the following week and we had the time of our lives. Teen Vogue was the first brand to publicly announce that we would host a "virtual prom" for high schoolers and we had exactly one month to pour all of our passion into the program to bring it to life. We curated an evening with hybrid programming, allowing time for attendees to hang out with other classmates from their schools within individual Zoom rooms – and then we would broadcast the national livestream that featured drop-ins from celebrity guests like Charli & Dixie D'Amelio, CNCO, Emma Chamberlain, Lily Collins, Madelaine Petsch, Chloe x Halle, Becky G and more. Nearly fifty members from the Teen Vogue team volunteered their Saturday evenings to "chaperone" the prom, work the back-end technical logistics, and create a night to remember for thousands of high schoolers across the country – all while dressed to impress. I even squeezed into an old prom dress!
Most recently, we had a branded Vogue video shoot. Although finally able to get back on set, our video team had mandated strict guidelines to ensure the health and safety of both talent and crew. We were only able to have three people TOTAL on set – talent, director, and cameraman – (when there are usually 20+!) and thus took an incredible amount of preparation and coordination both before the shoot and during the shoot. On shoot day, the rest of the crew and clients dialed in from across the country, providing feedback while viewing the livestream link.
As the mantra goes, teamwork makes the dream work –– and as we continue onwards in this new normal, it is as important as ever to have a team that is both conscientious and committed to bringing a vision to life, no matter the circumstances – and I couldn't be more grateful to have just that.
If you could choose anyone or any company to work with, who would it be and why?
My dream client would have to be Nike. I grew up playing pretty much every sport – basketball, swimming, soccer, water polo – and the values of hard work, competition, perseverance, teamwork, and leadership have served as a foundation for all that I do, both personally and professionally. I grew up with a pinboard in my room with pages of old Nike advertisements from magazines and even today, they never cease to inspire, invigorate, and empower me to be the best version of myself.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone interested in working in publishing?
Change is inevitable. The media landscape is evolving every single day – and even over the past three years, I've experienced those shifts firsthand. Although countless headlines declare that "Print is Dead," I'd argue that perhaps the more accurate way to position this is "Print is Changing." The golden age of traditional publishing was marked by plentiful paging across books – particularly in September issues. I still have an archive of old issues of Glamour, Teen Vogue, Bon Appétit, Vogue and more – and some of them are as thick as phone books. While print issues may look a bit different now, especially with several titles shuttering their print editions (i.e. Glamour and Teen Vogue) – it's important to understand that print is only one component of a brand. With the introduction of technology advancements across digital and social media, print is no longer the sole star of the show; each brand that we work on within the Condé Nast portfolio consists of print, video, articles, social, podcasts, events, and so much more.
So yes, print is changing, but the tactile and immersive experience of print is so unique that print will never fully "die" in my opinion. As audiences and consumers alike continue to change how they consume content, we have a responsibility to continuously adapt and evolve to not only reach them, but perhaps more importantly, to resonate with them, too.
What do you think the future of publishing looks like?
Mark my words: the future of media is bright. Print may be "changing," but media and publishing are not going anywhere. The media industry is fueled by the power of storytelling – and as human beings, we crave stories that tell the experiences of ourselves and each other. My hope is that the media industry continues to work to be more inclusive, sharing real and raw journalism from people of diverse backgrounds – across race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, identity – and that technology helps us tell these stories in the most innovative and creative ways possible.
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Hancock, MA – Want to try skiing or snowboarding, but not sure if you want to go all in? Bromley Mountain in southern Vermont, Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, N.H., and Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in the Berkshires of Massachusetts are each offering free lift tickets and introductory Terrain- Based Learning (TBL) instruction on January 19 and March 15, 2015.
The mountains, all managed by the Fairbank Group based at Jiminy Peak, are encouraging beginners to learn to ski and snowboard on beginner-level features carved into the snow. Skiers and riders will progress through the learning playground's mellow rollers, camel humps, mini-halfpipes, banks, berms, and spines, all adding fun and excitement to a relatively flat beginner area.
As part of Bromley's Start Fun, Start Free promotion, skiers or riders will receive a Learning Zone lift ticket, rental equipment for the day, and access to instruction in the Learning Zone from 10:30 a.m. until noon – all at no charge. This offer is limited to the first 75 to register. Call Bromley Ski & Snowboard School at (802) 824-5522 x301 or visit www.bromley.com/winter/intro-to-ski-and-ride-free.
Cranmore's Free TBL Day is for first-time skiers and riders ages eight and above and includes complimentary rental equipment, a lower mountain lift ticket, and a 90-minute introductory lesson. Advanced reservations are required and availability is limited to the first 50 guests. Lesson times are 9 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Each participant will receive a gift bag. For reservations call (603) 356-5511 x333.
Jiminy's Start Fun, Start Free Terrain Based Learning program for Jan. 19 and Mar. 15 features rental ski or snowboard equipment for the day, access to instruction, and a mountain lift ticket valid for the easier Magic Carpet, Cricket and Novice chairs. New for the TBL slope this season is a Pump Track with gentle rollers with banked turns to help beginners gain confidence going downhill. Reservations are limited to the first 75 beginners. Call (413) 738-5500 x3002.