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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Dismantling Vindictiveness" by Lillian R. Melendez

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After reading Auditory Viewpoint, I eagerly dove into Dismantiling Vindictiveness, by Lillian Melendez. It's quite difficult to find a good crime novel now. I still read Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
But Ms. Melendez succeeded in writing great, quick fiction that leaves the reader wondering, "What will happen next?"

In Dismantiling Vindictiveness we meet a very involved cast of characters who work at, respectively, two different architechture firms, a local paper and a gift shop.
Both firms are having disparate troubles and the CEOs decide to merge...even though it didn't work out well years before.

But slanderous stories start appearing in the paper about one of the firms, and the CEO's ex goes undercover to investigate those, which center around missing money, and the mysteriously deliberate hit-and-run murder committed on an employee.
All while one young employee receives mysterious letters warning him about something untoward happening.

This is a classic whodunnit with a story so involved it seems like Agatha Christie decided to write an episode of General Hospital (and I mean that as a compliment!).Check this book out as soon as you can if you enjoy crime novels. It's a fast, fun, head-scratching read!

4/5--great!

Purchase Dismantling Vindictiveness via:

Amazon

Goodreads

YouTube (trailer)

Barnes And Noble

Google Books

Monday, December 30, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Beg Me To Slay" by Lisa Kessler

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Lisa Kessler has given us vampires, werewolves and jaguar shifters. Now, in her latest book Beg Me To Slay, she brings us demons, slayers and witches.Tegan was attacked by a demon four years ago, but she didn't know what be was at the time, and when she sees he followed her to San Diego, she knows that she needs to do something to stop him from finishing her off, so she hires a private investigator/paranormal investigator.
Gabe is sexy as Hell, but the truth he reveals to her sends her world into a tailspin: demons are real, they're looking for her and his real occupation is as a demon slayer, keeping humans safe from the evil tgat inhabited the Earth.
But WHY is Tegan so important to the demons? And does her father's Welsh bloodline hold the key to saving them all or destroying the human plane?

I've read every single book Mrs. Kessler has released, and I can say with utter confidence that this is her best work yet! Perhaps it's because I've always enjoyed stories about demons and demon hunters, or perhaps it's her colorful demonic cast, but I think it is because in Tegan and Gabe she created two of the most intense, realistic and emotional characters yet.
Aside from a good amount of violence and steamy sex, this is a story about survival, and never letting your past dictate your future. It's about fighting for your life, your love and your world.For fans of her previous works, horror television/film and stories with great meaning.

5/5--magnificent!

Purchase Beg Me To Slay visas the following:

Amazon (US)

Barnes And Noble

Goodreads

Amazon (UK)

Google Books

iBooks

COVET RELEASE DAY BLAST: 12/30/13















Covets have all the sexiness, emotion, and happily ever after that readers have come to expect and love from Entangled. They are firmly grounded in the contemporary world, but each novel brings in supernatural twists, breaking the contemporary and paranormal rules, alike. To find out more about their titles, chat with authors, participate in special events, and to find out what books you’ll be coveting next, visit the Entangled website, follow them on Twitter, LIKE their Facebook page, and join the Book Club.





Today I'm happy to be featuring Covet's December releases:

























Beg Me to Slay by Lisa Kessler







He’ll slay her demons, but it may cost her heart…




Four years ago Tegan Ashton was attacked. Determined never to be a victim again, she devotes her life to martial arts and self-defense. When her assailant returns to finish what he started, only one person can help her.




Gabe is a private investigator by day and demon slayer by night. After losing loved ones, he vows to defend people from a threat they don’t realize exists.




The relationship is supposed to be strictly business, but fighting demons together stirs up emotions they never expected. Turns out demon slaying is a breeze compared to facing their scarred pasts and even worse - hearts.











































Ashes by Sarah Gilman




Journalist Ambrosia Pellerin accepts an assignment involving the legendary phoenix, expecting, if nothing else, a little entertainment. Instead, she winds up pregnant—by a surprisingly human-looking firebird, Reece Bennu.




As the Phoenix prince, Reece is next in line to the throne and expected to marry a purebred royal. A common human such as Ambrosia is not in the cards. He swears, though, he’ll never be an absentee father.




As Ambrosia’s due date grows closer, so do the soon-to-be parents. But will their tentative love survive the prejudice of Reece’s grandmother, who will stop at nothing to tear the two apart?





















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Saturday, December 28, 2013

"The Struggle Anthology" Interviews

Great Big Jar Blog

Above is the link to read the interviews of so many of the talented contributors of The Struggle Anthology, a collection of today's best indie authors & poets.

The blog talks about the process each author had in his/her part of the book.
Included in the blog are links to each author's websites and, , I have included purchase links courtesy of Lily Luchesi .

Purchase The Struggle Anthology via:

Amazon (UK)

Amazon (US)

Goodreads

Facebook

Blogspot

Monday, December 23, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Weird War One" by Mat Devine

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"EVERYONE'S life is a gift."

That's just one of the many quotes from Mat Devine.
Some of you may know him from his popular band Kill Hannah (known for their songs "Lips Like Morphine" & "From Now On", amongst others), which he has led since his days at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994.

If you don't know him, here is your chance to get inside the mind of this talented man.

For years Mr. Devine has run an online blog/community called The Raccoon Society (he explains why in the book), a place where his fans can gather, talk to each other & talk with him as well.

It started because of a blog he did with FUSE TV and grew & grew into a place where he gives us advice, talks about his experiences on the road with KH and in life.

This book is not just for his fans: this is a book for anyone who needs to smile, laugh & remember that they are worth more then they know.

Filled with advice, questions previously submitted by fans (my mother and I are in there, as well, under an old Twitter handle), photos and stories, this short book is a must-read for anyone who has been bullied, ostracized, and felt left out.

With The Raccoon Society, Mr. Devine created a place where we all belong, its essence captured in Weird War One: Antihero's Guide to Surviving Everyday Life.

5/5--inspiring!

Purchase Weird War One via:

iTunes

Raccoon Society

Thought Catalog

Amazon

Google Books

BOOK REVIEW: "Auditory Viewpoint" by Lillian R. Melendez

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Lillian R. Melendez's novel about a blind woman trying to solve a crime is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read in a while. Its writing is different; doesn't read like a typical crime novel.

Gloria is a popular radio-show host whose most recent interview is with an IT professional named Benjamin.
What you realize about Gloria is that she is blind, and that sets the tone for the entire novel.

Gloria's sister, Anna, has her identity stolen, but it goes deeper than that: people want her dead. Bodies show up at Anna's apartment and, when someone tries to warn her about an impending attack, be gets stabbed as well.

The police do the best they can, but it isn't enough. Gloria knows she must take charge the only way she knows how: by using her other four senses to "get" things people with sight don't.

With Benjamin's help, can she help save her sister? Or is Benjamin an enemy, too?

In Auditory Viewpoint, the reader gets an inside look at what it's like living without sight and always having people doubt you. Anna constantly makes Gloria seem,t just blind, but stupid as well, which is obviously not the case at all.This look inside their relationship (Anna is younger but has always had to be the older-acting sibling) is also unusual in a suspense novel, but it is welcome. It gives it a much more personal effect.

I also loved the intense detail Ms. Melendez put in when Gloria was training Anna to use her other senses. It went beyond what others might put, and, as a gal with an eye for detail, it was more than appreciated that she took the time to add in the little things.

You won't know you are reading a novel that is about 150 pages until you finish it and say, "I want more".

Great story, unique ciscumstances and excellently portrayed emotions. Give it a read, you'll agree!

4/5--great!

Purchase Auditory Viewpoint via:

Amazon

Goodreads

Barnes And Noble

Smashwords

Sony Ebook store

Find Malena PR online:

Official Site

Twitter

Facebook

Monday, December 16, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Touched By Fire" by Catherine Spangler

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Touched By Fire is the second book in Catherine Spangler's Sentinel series, published by Berkeley Sensation.

In the first book, Touched By Darkness, we were introduced to the residents of Atlantis, who now inhabit human bodies to defeat the Belians, who are evil Atlantian spirits that possess humans.

In Touched By Fire, we learn more about that secretive world and meet new Sentinels: the sexy Luke Paxton and his "boss", Aaron Masters, as well as get reacquainted with Damien and Kara, the main characters in Touched By Darkness.

We also meet sisters Marla and Julia Reynolds, conductors who are empaths and precognitives, respectively...and also "matches" for Luke and Adam. But it isn't easy for them to trust the men, as both sisters were brutally attacked and Julia was raped eleven years prior.

Marla, a curvy 30-year-old, must fight her fear, post traumatic stress disorder and repressed desire in order to help Luke track down a Belian who bombed a full school bus, and now plans to hit churches in Dallas.

Can they all work together and stop him before it's too late?

This book was a joy to read. I loved that Luke is attracted to Marla not in spite of her weight but because of it, reconfirming to us ladies who don't look like "Barbies" that we don't have to: people will love us for being simply who we are.

The story was a total mystery and you really don't know what's coming next, from beginning to end. It was great that Damien and Kara were not forgotten about entirely and that there was a large cast of distinctive characters to learn about.

PTSD, as I've mentioned, is a very debilitating disease and I'm glad it was used in an educational and informed way in this book. The characters don't come off as victims to be pitied, but as strong women to be cheered on.

There was one thing, however, I must mention. I do not know if it was meant as an anti-LGBT statement or just a poorly put way of saying Sentinels and conductors are always "balanced" sexually, but it is repeated an uncertain amount of times that sex is only between man and woman.

While I respect everyone's individual opinions, as a bisexual, I found its decisively stated way a bit unseemly. It made me feel as if I and others were abnormal.

As I said, I'm not in Ms. Spangler's mind, so I don't know how it was actually meant. It's my job as a review to give an honest review, and I'm letting readers of the LGBT community know that they may also feel as if they were slighted. I don't think that "successful sex" only occurs in heterosexual relationships. If, however, it was meant as "only males & females can have conductions", I understand completely.

That aside, I find Ms. Spangler to be a superb author and the Sentinel series is one of the best I've come across in a while.

4/5--great!

Purchase Touched By Fire via:

Goodreads

Amazon (ebook & print)

Barnes and Noble (ebook & print)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

GUEST BLOG: "The Horror" From Author David Dean

If you've heard of the prestigious Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, (referenced, most famously, in the film Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp and based on the novella by Stephen King on joss collection For Past ) then ours highly likely you'll have heard of David Dean, whose stories have graced their pages for over four years, most recently in their latest issue, just released in December.
Mr. Dean wrote his first full-length novel, The Thirteenth Child, earlier this year, published by Genius Books.
You'll read my review of the book on January, song with an exclusive interview with Mr. Dean, but here you'll read a short history of the horror genre in literature and in film, including a look behind the workings of Mr. Dean's own monster, Gabriel.
Enjoy, readers!

The Horror!  The Horror!

When the renegade and terrifying Kurtz, of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, utters the famous words I’ve borrowed as a title to this piece, we are left pondering his true meaning.
Is he speaking of the unpredictable nature of the world, the sudden and bewildering twists and turns that transform us against our will?
Or is he, instead, bewailing the weak nature of man, that despite his best intentions, is so easily warped and corrupted, reveling in evil for its own sake, exalting his own black heart while sinking ever lower into the pit?
Though his classic tale of slavery, madness, and power is a far cry from the traditional horror story, Conrad has crystalized for us the existential horror that haunts us all, as well as having utilized a literary convention that very many horror stories contain regardless of the setting, time, or place—the seduction of terror.
In that granddaddy of horror literature, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s optimistic hero discovers (with all best intentions) the secret to creating life from death.
A young scientist born to a world at the cusp of the industrial age, an age of enlightenment and science, he is unable to resist following his intellect to its logical goal—a new, and therefore, better man—Prometheus unbound!

Of course, everyone remotely interested in the horror genre knows what follows.
Even if you’ve not read the book, you can hardly have escaped the numerous retellings in both literature and film.
Poor Frankenstein unleashes a monster that preys not so much on the greater world as on Frankenstein himself.
And in the end, after having lost his reputation, wife, and home, he pursues the shambling horror to the vast Artic reaches where he also sacrifices his life to rid the world, and himself, of his creation.      In that other touchstone of horror, Dracula, we find that it is the supernatural being at the heart of the novel that provides the seduction.
Though the title character is anything but attractive in Bram Stoker’s description of him, he nonetheless exercises a fascination on all that he encounters.
The hapless Jonathan Harker falls into his clutches through a financial arrangement brought on, in part, by his own desire for advancement within his firm—the seduction of success and money. Later, the beautiful heiress, Lucy Westenra, succumbs to what one senses is a far more carnal desire during Dracula’s secret visits to her bedchambers.
Even the lunatic, Renfield, responds to Dracula’s siren call, with its promise of overwhelming power and terror for all those opposed to his will, and by implication, all those that would confine and restrain Renfield—vengeance and justification!
And yet what temptations do the protagonists of today’s horror literature and film scene face?
Confronted by hordes of decomposing corpses intent only on making a meal of them, and not much else in the way of conversation happening, what, other than fleeing, would they be tempted by?
The same thing poor Robert Neville, Richard Matheson’s hapless hero of his ground-breaking sci-fi novel, I Am Legend, faces day after lonely day—the temptation to cease the endless, and soul-crushing, fight against these creatures that were once his fellow human beings, and simply join them.
Of course, in Matheson’s classic tale from the 1950’s, the threat was a world populated by vampires, not zombies, but vampires entirely unlike the intelligent, and actively malevolent, Dracula.
These horrors were once neighbors, family, and friends, now somehow resurrected by the same mysterious plague that has killed them; resurrected and sent forth in a restless nightly search for the blood of any left living; failing that they turn on the weak amongst themselves. George Romero’s seminal zombie film, The Night of the Living Dead, owes much to the first film version of Matheson’s novel titled The Last Man on Earth, a movie that still remains the best of the three films made of it, in my opinion.
Romero’s contribution was to turn the shamblers in the darkness into gory, rotting, cannibals, more suited perhaps to an age in which savage serial killers were edging their way into the public’s awareness and nightmares. Their staying power suggests they continue to occupy a psychic niche.
In the current era of terrorism and suicide bombers, zombies are not such a far cry from the hordes of fanatics willing to stagger into the midst of shopping malls and village bazaars in order to slaughter perfectly innocent men, women, and even children, though it cost them their own lives—that’s a truly ravenous appetite for blood and flesh. Another temptation that the living dead and their ilk provide is to respond in kind, trading violence for violence, blow for bloody blow; a downwardly spiraling cycle that risks one of the greatest horrors—becoming that which you fear and loathe the most—a killing machine much like your entrails-eating enemies.
Yet to acquiesce is to become one of them—to join their ranks.
The balance between maintaining one’s humanity, while at the same time surviving the maelstrom, becomes the ultimate challenge, and a metaphor for man’s brief and brutal time on this earth. In my own book, The Thirteenth Child, which Kelly was kind enough to review [that post will be up early January--Kelly], the horror of temptation is also a theme.
In this case, Preston Howard, a former professor of English literature and now the arrogant, if intellectual, town drunk, is tempted by the creature he has chanced upon in the autumn woods of Wessex Township.
“Gabriel,” as he has dubbed him, is neither zombie, supernatural, or man-created, but a product of millions of years of evolution—a predatory counter-point to man himself.
The last of a line of hominids that have shadowed man since his earliest days, preying on him and snatching his children.
Just human-looking enough to pass for man in the dim light of dusk, he is able to close and strike; he is the source of dozens of legends and myths around the world, a hundred fairy tales.
He is the troll under the bridge, the brownie who snatches the baby, the pied piper of Hamlin; Rumpelstiltskin.
He is the reality of that faint ancestral memory shared by peoples and cultures around the world—a shadowy figure at the edge of the campfire that, at first, we mistake for one of us.
Gabriel possesses no supernatural powers—he cannot fly, change shape, or walk through walls.
He is, however, uniquely adapted to his purpose—his own continued existence and survival at the expense of man. Preston’s greatest desire is to redeem his broken, shattered status within the community by revealing, and “owning,” the mystery and revelation that is Gabriel.
As in most horror stories, this is not to be; Gabriel has his own plans, and exposure is certainly not one them.
Though he lacks the more developed reasoning of a fully human being, he senses Preston’s weakness very keenly and uses his pride to blind him to Gabriel’s own plans for the children of Wessex Township.
It is only after a heart-wrenching encounter with Gabriel’s handiwork that Preston is able to slough off the blinders he has placed on himself, and begin to rediscover his own humanity, an epiphany shared by most of us at one time or another, though hopefully, under less horrific conditions.

GUEST BLOG: "The Horror" From Author David Dean

If you've heard of the prestigious Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, (referenced, most famously, in the film Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp and based on the novella by Stephen King in his collection Four Past Midnight) then ours highly likely you'll have heard of David Dean, whose stories have graced their pages for years, most recently in their latest issue, just released in December.
Mr. Dean wrote his first full-length novel, The Thirteenth Child, in October 2012, published by Genius Books.
You'll read my review of the book on January, song with an exclusive interview with Mr. Dean, but here you'll read a short history of the horror genre in literature and in film, including a look behind the workings of Mr. Dean's own monster, Gabriel.
Enjoy, readers!

image





“The Horror!  The Horror!”

When the renegade and terrifying Kurtz, of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, utters the famous words I’ve borrowed as a title to this piece, we are left pondering his true meaning.
Is he speaking of the unpredictable nature of the world, the sudden and bewildering twists and turns that transform us against our will?
Or is he, instead, bewailing the weak nature of man, that despite his best intentions, is so easily warped and corrupted, reveling in evil for its own sake, exalting his own black heart while sinking ever lower into the pit?
Though his classic tale of slavery, madness, and power is a far cry from the traditional horror story, Conrad has crystalized for us the existential horror that haunts us all, as well as having utilized a literary convention that very many horror stories contain regardless of the setting, time, or place—the seduction of terror.
In that granddaddy of horror literature, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s optimistic hero discovers (with all best intentions) the secret to creating life from death.
A young scientist born to a world at the cusp of the industrial age, an age of enlightenment and science, he is unable to resist following his intellect to its logical goal—a new, and therefore, better man—Prometheus unbound!

Of course, everyone remotely interested in the horror genre knows what follows.
Even if you’ve not read the book, you can hardly have escaped the numerous retellings in both literature and film.
Poor Frankenstein unleashes a monster that preys not so much on the greater world as on Frankenstein himself.
And in the end, after having lost his reputation, wife, and home, he pursues the shambling horror to the vast Artic reaches where he also sacrifices his life to rid the world, and himself, of his creation.      In that other touchstone of horror, Dracula, we find that it is the supernatural being at the heart of the novel that provides the seduction.
Though the title character is anything but attractive in Bram Stoker’s description of him, he nonetheless exercises a fascination on all that he encounters.
The hapless Jonathan Harker falls into his clutches through a financial arrangement brought on, in part, by his own desire for advancement within his firm—the seduction of success and money. Later, the beautiful heiress, Lucy Westenra, succumbs to what one senses is a far more carnal desire during Dracula’s secret visits to her bedchambers.
Even the lunatic, Renfield, responds to Dracula’s siren call, with its promise of overwhelming power and terror for all those opposed to his will, and by implication, all those that would confine and restrain Renfield—vengeance and justification!
And yet what temptations do the protagonists of today’s horror literature and film scene face?
Confronted by hordes of decomposing corpses intent only on making a meal of them, and not much else in the way of conversation happening, what, other than fleeing, would they be tempted by?
The same thing poor Robert Neville, Richard Matheson’s hapless hero of his ground-breaking sci-fi novel, I Am Legend, faces day after lonely day—the temptation to cease the endless, and soul-crushing, fight against these creatures that were once his fellow human beings, and simply join them.
Of course, in Matheson’s classic tale from the 1950’s, the threat was a world populated by vampires, not zombies, but vampires entirely unlike the intelligent, and actively malevolent, Dracula.
These horrors were once neighbors, family, and friends, now somehow resurrected by the same mysterious plague that has killed them; resurrected and sent forth in a restless nightly search for the blood of any left living; failing that they turn on the weak amongst themselves. George Romero’s seminal zombie film, The Night of the Living Dead, owes much to the first film version of Matheson’s novel titled The Last Man on Earth, a movie that still remains the best of the three films made of it, in my opinion.
Romero’s contribution was to turn the shamblers in the darkness into gory, rotting, cannibals, more suited perhaps to an age in which savage serial killers were edging their way into the public’s awareness and nightmares. Their staying power suggests they continue to occupy a psychic niche.
In the current era of terrorism and suicide bombers, zombies are not such a far cry from the hordes of fanatics willing to stagger into the midst of shopping malls and village bazaars in order to slaughter perfectly innocent men, women, and even children, though it cost them their own lives—that’s a truly ravenous appetite for blood and flesh. Another temptation that the living dead and their ilk provide is to respond in kind, trading violence for violence, blow for bloody blow; a downwardly spiraling cycle that risks one of the greatest horrors—becoming that which you fear and loathe the most—a killing machine much like your entrails-eating enemies.
Yet to acquiesce is to become one of them—to join their ranks.
The balance between maintaining one’s humanity, while at the same time surviving the maelstrom, becomes the ultimate challenge, and a metaphor for man’s brief and brutal time on this earth. In my own book, The Thirteenth Child, which Kelly was kind enough to review [that post will be up early January--Kelly], the horror of temptation is also a theme.
In this case, Preston Howard, a former professor of English literature and now the arrogant, if intellectual, town drunk, is tempted by the creature he has chanced upon in the autumn woods of Wessex Township.
“Gabriel,” as he has dubbed him, is neither zombie, supernatural, or man-created, but a product of millions of years of evolution—a predatory counter-point to man himself.
The last of a line of hominids that have shadowed man since his earliest days, preying on him and snatching his children.
Just human-looking enough to pass for man in the dim light of dusk, he is able to close and strike; he is the source of dozens of legends and myths around the world, a hundred fairy tales.
He is the troll under the bridge, the brownie who snatches the baby, the pied piper of Hamlin; Rumpelstiltskin.
He is the reality of that faint ancestral memory shared by peoples and cultures around the world—a shadowy figure at the edge of the campfire that, at first, we mistake for one of us.
Gabriel possesses no supernatural powers—he cannot fly, change shape, or walk through walls.
He is, however, uniquely adapted to his purpose—his own continued existence and survival at the expense of man. Preston’s greatest desire is to redeem his broken, shattered status within the community by revealing, and “owning,” the mystery and revelation that is Gabriel.
As in most horror stories, this is not to be; Gabriel has his own plans, and exposure is certainly not one them.
Though he lacks the more developed reasoning of a fully human being, he senses Preston’s weakness very keenly and uses his pride to blind him to Gabriel’s own plans for the children of Wessex Township.
It is only after a heart-wrenching encounter with Gabriel’s handiwork that Preston is able to slough off the blinders he has placed on himself, and begin to rediscover his own humanity, an epiphany shared by most of us at one time or another, though hopefully, under less horrific conditions.

Find Mr. Dean online:

Genius Books Publishing

Facebook

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Doctor Sleep" by Stephen King

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Heeeeere's...Danny?

The Overlook Hotel may have blown up, but its malevolent essence has haunted Dan Torrance since be was a little boy who was almost murdered there by his drunken father, John, in Stephen King's 1977 epic horror novel The Shining.

Danny learned how to control his unusual powers with the help of the Overlook's chef, but it proves too much to bear and he goes down the old road of Alcoholism. He is a drifter, working when be can and drinking all the time. His "bottom" comes when he does cocaine with a woman while he was too drunk to remember. He then steals the woman's money after trying to get her toddler away from the leftover coke, which the kid thinks is candy.

It haunts him until he finally settles into a small New Hampshire town and works as an orderly, helping old people pass away as "Doctor Sleep". But, a few miles away, a little girl named Abra is born, who will take Dan for the ride of his live.

Abra has "the shining", very strongly. So strong, a group of nomads wants her for her "steam", which is her shining taken form after she is tortured to death. These people, the True Knot, have been living on steam for centuries, but supplies are short. They need Abra, but they have no idea what tge little girl and her family have in store for them...

I have been a King fan since I was a young teen, and remember my first time reading The Shining. As much as I love his work, I didn't think much of a sequel to this epic novel, but I bought the book because he is my favorite author.

I should've known better than to underestimate the Master!

Doctor Sleep starts out strong and gets stronger page by page. While admittedly not as frightening as its predecessor, I found this novel to be better! As Mr. King himself says in the author's note, he is not the same person who wrote The Shining, and I, as a Constant Reader, wouldn't want it any other way!

This is a psychological thriller filled with murder, magic and spirits, with some of King's strongest characters and deepest emotions. Just when you think that you know what's going on and maybe even what's going to happen next, King throws you a curveball that will leave you speechless.

Brava, Mr. King, you did it again and still hold fast to your title as the Master of Horror, though you are so much more!

5/5--literary perfection!

Purchase Doctor Sleep wherever books and ebooks are sold!

Monday, December 9, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Tuned To A Dead Channel" (Anthology published by Dagda Publishing)

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Dagda Publishing may be a relatively new name coming from the UK, but I think that readers will do best not to forget it.

They asked me to review their "dystopian anthology", a roughly 200 page book featuring 15 amazing stories from thirteen very talented UK-based writers.

Dystopian sci-fi is a difficult genre to write about as a novel, but as a short story, the difficulty doubles. It hasn't been overdone, but its basic themes have been used in novels and films time and time again, so what I went into this looking for was, above all, originality; a fresh take on a popular and, seemingly limitless, theme.

I received more than orginality, I received a masterful collection featuring stories that ran the gamut from simply intriguing (a living city that will coddle its residents) to disturbing (a boy murders his bully by forcing him to breathe futuristic toxic air) and even touching (a teen girl trying to save her grandfather from being murdered because be can't afford to buy more years to live).

Each author brought a unique voice to all of his/her characters and almost all of the stories have a frightening sense of reality; we could very well end up run by a popular department store or have our air poisoned by dirty manufacturing companies.

Though these stories are entertaining pieces of fiction, I think readers will find a lot of appeal in their theme of corporate self-destruction. I know I did!

Collections by various authors so often contain a few duds. Tuned To A Dead Channel does not. It is a full-running battery of powerful stories that could stand alone if tried.

For fans of dystopian, steampunk or just a good story, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed!

5/5--excellent!

Purchase Tuned To A Dead Channel via:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Dagda Publishing Official Site

Thursday, December 5, 2013

BOOK TEASER: "Reconnected" by Lisa Calell (Teaser #3)

Here is the final EXCLUSIVE teaser for Lisa Calell's upcoming book Reconnected, the sequel to her bestseller Disconnected, which I reviewed.
To learn a but more about tots book, visit my previous posts featuring Ms. Calell's exclusive interview with me and two previous teasers.
As soon as more information on the book's release is made available, you can be sure that I will post it here, so check back soon!

Not surprisingly, "Orphan" became a best seller, Danielle had been right, it appealed to both adults and children and suddenly I was globally famous. My life was in a whirlwind of travel and interviews, always with the question "How did you come up this book, what inspired you?". I wasn't about to tell them that my heart had been ripped out and left in the street to be trampled on daily by crowds of people. No, I always used the same reply "Everyone experiences loss in their lives, everyone feels empty and lonely from time to time. I just wanted to take that pain from them and put it in writing. Something the reader could understand and relate to but it be someone else with the sorrow instead of them. At the same time giving them something to cry over to release their agony." Each time I said this, the interviewer would nod, having experienced the loss I described - the emptiness and loneliness. They could feel my pain - it would seem the whole world could now feel it.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Regina Puckett Talks Horror!

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In October I reviewed a beautiful romance novel titled Concealed In My Heart. Yesterday, I reviewed a horror collection by that same author, Regina Puckett.
She talks here about going from romance to horror so effortlessly and reveals the inspiration behind her chilling stories!

1. What made you want to pen a horror collection?

I never planned on writing an entire collection of horror stories. In 2012, I decided to try my hand at writing a short horror story. I wanted to try something different from romance and horror seemed to be just about as different as I could get from writing about love. My oldest daughter loves ghost hunting and has been investigating a deserted hospital for the last couple of years. That seemed like a good backdrop for a horror story so that was how my short story, "Mine", was born. The second story came about when I was searching to buy a picture to use for the cover of "Mine". My co-worker was looking over my shoulder and saw a creepy picture with dolls in it and told me I should write a story about dolls. My first thought was that theme had already been done to death, but the longer I thought about it, the more I became convinced I could put a new spin on an old theme. Before I knew it, "Crying Through Plastic Eyes" was written. One thing lead to the next and then to the next, and I soon had enough short stories to put together as a collection.

2. Out of all the stories, do you have a favorite?

I had the most fun writing "Will Work for Food". I laughed when I wrote the ending to it even though it’s in such bad taste. I never knew black humor was my thing but it still cracks me up every time I think about its ending. I always let the ladies at work read my short stories before I publish them, and I knew exactly when each one of them had finished reading that story. There would be a loud groan echoing down the hallway that would quickly be followed with a, “Regina!”

3. Can you tell readers about the inspiration behind some of the individual stories?

My inspiration for "Paying the Hitchhiker" came to me while my husband and I were driving from Tennessee to Myrtle Beach. I didn’t actually see anyone hitchhiking but a thought came to me about how I could put an interesting twist on the tale of a woman hitchhiking and finding trouble in doing so.
I saw a group of college age kids on the side of the road begging one day, and that is how "Will Work for Food" came about being written. I had a totally different ending in mind when I first started writing, but out of the blue, it hit me what needed to done to make it into a really twisted finale.
"Pieces" came to me one Sunday morning, while I was on my way to church. I was thinking about using the storyline of an abused woman finding true love, but right in the middle of church service it came to me how I could make the story into a tale of horror instead. Of all the stories in my horror book, this is the one that brings a few tears, whenever I hear it being read on the audiobook. It’s horrifyingly touching in a strange way.

4. Will you ever write an entire horror novel?

I joined forces with my youngest daughter, Charity Parkerson, to write a three book horror/erotic series for Ellora’s Cave.  The first story, "Bedroom Games", is a short story but the next two are full length books.
In Bedroom Games we introduce the demon named Septem. He is the ruler of the seventh level of hell and a collector of souls. While I enjoyed writing these books, I’m not certain I’ll ever write another full length horror book again. I’m not saying I won’t, but I never know from one day to next, if I’m ever going to write another story of any genre again until another idea strikes out of the blue.
I’m not even going to pretend to be Stephen King, but if the right storyline came to me, I would definitely try to make it into something that sends grown men screaming out into the night.

5. Would you like to see any of the stories made into short films, as so many have been in the past?

I don’t know of an author alive who wouldn’t want their book made into a film. I was approached last year by a German film student who wanted to film "Paying the Hitchhiker" for a class. I don’t know if he ever did or not but I would have loved to see how it turned out.
If you ever meet Steven Spielberg, be certain to tell him that Regina Puckett’s Short Tales of Horror would make six great movies.

Visit Regina Puckett on her website , where you will find all of her books and links to her social networks!
Enjoy!

Monday, December 2, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Regina Puckett's Short Tales of Horror" by Regina Puckett

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Allow me to say something pertaining to my review: when it comes to horror, I am case-hardened. I watched Scooby-Doo and was angry when the monsters turned out to be humans in masks when I was in preschool. I used to draw vampires eating people alive when I was seven. I've been reading Stephen King since I was about fourteen.

I know horror. I love horror.

Regina Puckett asked me if I'd read her collection of short horror stories, and I readily agreed. I was already a fan after reading her sweet romance novel Concealed In My Heart.

The book opens with a story called "Mine", a modern ghost story about ghost-hunting gone awry. That one was enjoyable, as I know paranormal investigators and have had some ghost encounters myself. Not as scary, but it kept you wondering "what will this crazy ghost do now?", which is A+ in my book.

A story called "Pieces" was by far my favorite, about an abused wife murdering her husband. The ending of that...I honestly don't think anyone could've expected it.

I have one word to tell you about "Crying Through Plastic Eyes": dolls. I have been terrified of dolls since I watched The Twilight Zone when I was a kid. Oh, yes, and this story features a clown doll. The best descriotion I can give you is "Talky Tina" meets Stephen King's It. I wouldn't call this scary, I'd call it spine-tingling. Don't read it before you go to bed!

"Paying The Hitchhiker" seemed to me like a new version of "The Ghostly Hitchhiker". This hitchhiker is alive and dangerous. I found it innovative and could see a novel detailing Susan's "adventures".

The final story, "Inheritance", reminds me of a plot TV horror show Supernatural. Crazy old lady dies after locking her granddaughter up in the basement, telling her of a family inheritance and curse. What's the inheritance? Perhaps you don't want to know...

But the best is titled "Will Work For Food". It intrigued me, it interested me and it succeeded in shocking and disgusting me. I thank Regina Puckett for this story for those reasons. If there is more furniture like this inside her mind, I truly look forward to reading it some day...hopefully soon!

There is something for everyone, from ghost-lovers to gore-seekers. I think you will be very happy with this collection reader. Just remember, if you read it with the lights out before bed...don't say I didn't warn you!

4/5--chilling!

Purchase Regina Puckett's Short Tales of Horror at:

Amazon

Goodreads

Google Books

Audible (audiobook)

Author's website

Sunday, December 1, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Those Devils" by James DeSantis

In between the first and second books in James DeSantis' Exterminators series, he has decided to give us all a taste of what else is rattling around that creative mind of his, and that is the short story Those Devils.

In this narrative we meet a man who claims to be fighting "devils" who have been hunting him for years. It switches off between his point of view and third person to go amongst the group of "devils" hunting him.

I can't say much because I don't care to spoil the story for you, reader, but this story transcends genres to go from horror, to theological and even slightly to sociological. Mr. DeSantis writes (in just 32 pages!) about God, gods, demons, angels, racial profiling and mental illness (not to mention murder) and takes the reader on a quick, enjoyable roller coaster ride.

If you already love any form of horror or if you're just testing the waters, so to speak, download Those Devils from Amazon todayand have at it!

Also, be sure to be on the lookout for the next book in the Exterminators series, due out January 14th, which I wool be reviewing!

5/5--great!

Purchase Those Devils on:

Amazon

View it on:

YouTube

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Catherine Spangler

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I am happy to bring you all an exclusive interview with bestselling RITA-nominated author Catherine Spangler, who penned the Shielder & Sentinel series, the former a sci-fi romance and the latter paranormal romance.
Enjoy this look inside her mind!

1. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer and why?

I've always made up stories, even when I was in elementary school. In high school, a creative writing teacher singled me out and gave me special writing assignments because he thought I was way ahead of the class. That's when I really thought about writing. But it wasn't until I was thirty-something with two children, that the desire to write took off. It was triggered by a college catalog coming in the mail. There was a one-day writing course listed inside, and I knew immediately I wanted to take that course. After that, I was fully engaged in writing. I think it was the universe giving me a nudge.

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What authors do you enjoy today?

When I was younger, I devoured Nancy Drew, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then I moved on to Kathleen Woodiwiss, Johanna Lindsey, then Linda Howard, and so many others. Some of my favorite authors today are Nalini Singh, J.D. Robb, Kay Hooper, J.R. Ward, Jim Butcher. There are many more, but I can't name them all here.

3. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I don't know about the career, because this is such a tough business. I do hope I'll never stop writing, so I'd like to think I'll have more books written in ten years.

4. In Touched by Darkness, instead of making the situation be about only the leading male & female characters, you turned it into a family thing, with Kara's son. Why did you decide to incorporate that extra level?

I don't normally give children large roles in my books, because my stores are romances and focused on the hero and heroine. In this case, Alex needed to be part of the story. I have to write a story as it speaks to me, and as my inner voice tells me it needs to be. In this case, Alex was pivotal to the story. There aren't any children in the other Sentinel books.

5. Why Atlantis? You not only did a lot of research to write this, but you also had to fabricate quite a bit. What was it about Atlantis as opposed to other mythological places and inhabitants?

I have been fascinated with Atlantis all my life. No one really knows if it existed or what it might have really been like. But I've ready many books on Atlantis, and have even written an article, based on the Edgar Cayce readings. The Sentinel books are also based on the Cayce readings.

6. Were any of your wildly unique and different characters based on real people?

Not directly, except for Touched by Light, where Tami Lang is a very real person, and I portrayed her pretty accurately. I do think some of every author's real life experiences flavor their characters and their stories.

7. If there were to be a movie made featuring your stories, who would you pick to play your creations?

I am terrible at stuff like this, because I don't even know who the current hot young actors are. If anyone reading this has some ideas, please be sure to contact me and let me know.

8. So far, you've written three Sentinel novels. Do you foresee more in your future?

I do. I have two on the "drawing board", Barrie's story (she's introduced in Touched by Fire), and Matt's story (the missing Sentinel in Touched by Light).

9. After you wrote Touched by Darkness, did you originally plan on writing more novels or were you sort of surprised into it?

I'm always surprised into it! I actually sold Touched by Darkness to Berkley as a two-book deal, but had no idea what the second book would be about. I'm an organic writer, a "pantster" and I discover my characters and the story as I write.

10. Your previous Shielder series earned you a RITA nomination. Can you tell the readers more about that series?

These are science fiction romances set in another world, with the main focus on the Shielders, a race of people facing annihilation. It sounds grim, but all the books have happy endings. Shadow Fires was the book that received the RITA nomination, and while the heroine was a human Shielder, the hero was part reptilian. It was an intriguing but difficult book to write. The Shielder books will be reissued online in the next few months.

11. What made you change from that to the Sentinel series and what is the biggest difference between the two, in your opinion?

It was time to do something different, and the Sentinel stories were starting to speak to me. The biggest difference between the two series is that the first was set in another galaxy, and outside of the main characters, was populated with odd, non-human creatures. The Sentinels are in human bodies, on current day Earth (although they do have super powers).

12. Do you have any other books in the works? If yes, can you/are you willing to share anything with us?

I have more books planned. Possibly a sixth Shielder book, and I'm also working on a dark fallen angel series.

13. Your bio says you like to have football games as background noise while you nap. Are you a football fan and, if yes, will you never incorporate than fandom into your writing one day?

I'm not a huge football fan, and the Dallas Cowboys haven't been playing very well! I think the background noise of a game is perfect for napping!

14. Kara has dealt with a lot of loss, heartache and single motherhood. Is there anything from her story that you would like readers to take; any message or lesson?

It's a message that runs through all of my books: the human spirit is strong and resilient. We can endure tremendous suffering and trauma, yet we can also heal, rise above it, and find happiness and joy.

15. Thank you for participating in the interview! Can you please leave the reader with three things that may surprise them about you?

Thank you so much for interviewing me.
Wow. I've got to say I'm really not a surprising person. Okay, here goes:
1) I do accounting in my day job. 2) I'm an avid poker player (all in!). 3) I've studied many metaphysical topics, am knowledgeable in astrology, and used to read Tarot cards.

Find Ms. Spanglervia the following:

Official Site

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Monday, November 25, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "Touched By Darkness" by Catherine Spangler

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The Lost City of Atlantis has always been a thing of intriguing mystery to all who have an interest in mythology. In Catherine Spangler's romance novel, Touched By Darkness, we learn that, while Atlantis might be lost, its residents are still among us.

Kara Cantrell is a doctor in the small Texas town of Zorro, mother to her six-year-old son, Alex and she is also one of the few humans who can "conduct" for Sentinels, the heroes of Atlantis.

Her husband, Richard, had been a Sentinel, dedicated to protecting Earth until a Belian, a servant of the evil being Belial, killed him before his son had even been born.Kara doesn't want anything more to do with Sentinels after the insurmountable pain and grief she'd gone through, but with Alex starting to exhibit...unusual behavior and evil energy surrounding a murder in town, she is dragged back into the Atlantian world by the sexy Sentinel Damien Morgan.

Together, they must identify whom the Belian is possessing and destroy it before any more innocents can be killed. But becoming a conductor again is much easier for Kara than dealing with the emotions Damien is rousing within her.

Can she deal with breaking her heart again?

I absolutely adored this story, which was fast-paced and not overly emotional as some supernatural romances can be. It was filled with interesting information about Atlantis, fantastical fictional addendums by Ms. Spangler and had just enough action to make it enjoyable, as opposed to being overdone or underdone.

Kara was a character with quite a lot of depth. I think many women, especially mothers, will identify with her. Alex was quite adorable and, of course, damien is truly delectable.

After all, who doesn't love a tall, dark, handsome stranger who also has a hero complex and prefers to sleep in the nude? Haha!

Overall, I am so glad I began to network with Ms. Spangler on Twitter! This was a unique twist to the typical paranormal romance; it takes the reader inside the mind of the Belian and keeps up a steady stream of mystery, romance, sex and danger.

5/5--wonderfully unique!

Purchase Touched By Darkness at:

Goodreads

Amazon (ebook & print)

Smashwords

Google Books

Barnes And Noble

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Nadine Keels

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1. When did you decide to start writing professionally and why?

This lifelong bookworm and writer wrote her first complete book,Yella’s Prayers, at the age of seventeen, and while I did intend to get it published at some point, I didn’t see myself as a “real author” who qualified for publishing yet. Professional writing came in the picture in 2009, after I self-published (with a team of helpers!) my first book of poetry, The Song of Nadine. I was having all kinds of trouble getting a job, but I knew I was a good writer and a good editor to boot, so I founded my communication company, Prismatic Prospects, to offer editing services to other authors, and I got Yella’s Prayers published some months later. A cycle took off from there, where I’d spend months applying for jobs and come up empty-handed, so I’d write and publish a book; then more months of no-go’s on jobs, so I’d write and publish a book… Today, I’m writing and publishing because I’ve accepted the fact that I’m simply a writer, through and through, and since other authors have helped me so much through their literature, I in turn want to use my literature to help people.

2. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

Not living, probably. I write to live and live to write. Even if I wasn’t publishing, I’d still be writing. It’s just in me to do it.

3. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What authors inspire you today?

From my childhood into my young adult years, I was most inspired by Beverly Cleary, with her Ramona books and more, and by L.M. Montgomery and her Emily books. I could see so much of myself in Ramona and Emily, and what better experience for readers than for them to see themselves in the literature they read? Today, I’m still inspired by Montgomery’s timelessness, as well as Henry James and Davis Bunn for their command of language, Janette Oke for the simple ways she can get at a reader’s heart, and J.E. Keels for how he can take you on a philosophical trip in such an entertaining way that you don’t feel like the trip was hundreds and hundreds of pages long.

4. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

Still writing, still publishing, and with a whole lot more readers whose lives I’m helping, if it is to be. I also plan to have a screenplay or two under my belt, since some of my literature would do well to be put on the screen. I’m about as big a film lover as I am a bibliophile.

5. What was the inspiration for The Movement Of Crowns?

I started drafting scenes for The Movement of Crowns while I was a senior in high school, at the same time I was tinkering with my initial versions of Yella’s Prayers. I was inspired by the thought that although my generation was young, we weren’t precluded from aiming toward greatness. It’s taken some years of growth, as a writer and a human being, for me to be able to convey the Crowns story as I see it.

6. Why did you decide to write a sequel [The Movement Of Rings]?

I decided to write The Movement of Rings one spring afternoon this year when the idea and the basic plot just hit me all at once, something that doesn’t happen to me with most of my stories. I’m usually pretty open to the thought of sequels, in case I want to revisit a world or characters I’ve created, and one day I was intrigued with the notion of telling the “other side” of the Crowns story, where Munda is concerned. Hence, out came the Rings.

7. I loved the strong characters in Crowns. Were they based on real poeple or wholly imaginary?

I have a way of putting myself and other people I know into my characters, whether intentionally or by accident, but as far as The Movement of Crowns goes, I didn’t intentionally base the characters on anyone in particular. I undertook the task of imagining how people living in an “epic” time and setting might think, speak, and feel, and they began to just seem like people, to me. Human beings with human thoughts, emotions, aspirations, and hopes I wanted to write about. Besides one short story I wrote , from my book Love & Eminence: A Suite of Stories), writing Crowns would be my first time serving as an interpreter for a group of characters, since Diachonians and those in kingdoms neighboring them don’t speak English. It was something of a challenge to reconcile the “epic” way that educated people from another time might express themselves with the relaxed language they were bound to use sometimes, as human beings tend to do, but making the attempt was fun for me.

8. Constance is a very tough, mature girl. Did she start out as being so determined or was she a different sort of character?

I pretty much always saw Constance the way she is as a character, though she started off with a different name in the first scenes I drafted as a teenager. The name “Constance” turned out to fit her better, being a solid match for her personality as well as being a suitable choice for the sentiment her parents would have put into naming her, a sentiment the reader should have a good idea of by the end of the book.

9. In Crowns, the council is reluctant to accept Constance because she is a very young female, but she perseveres. Did you want to make a statement about women's rights and the equality of the sexes?

Yes, I wanted to make a statement about equality as well as ability and genius. People spend so much of their lives hearing about how they’re not male enough or not female enough, they’re too rich or too poor, too short or too tall, too black or too white, too smart or too stupid, too fat or too thin, too young or too old, and the list goes on. Yet, when you have genius for something, you have it, and there must be some way you can and should put that genius to work, no matter what race, body type, era, or whatever else you've been born into. Beyond standing as the “radiant symbol of all that is still hopeful and pure” about Diachona, Constance has a genius to lead, and she’s determined to put that genius to work for the benefit of the world she lives in.

10. Constance gets two suitable men (the prince from Reêh and Chieftain Greenly), but only wants Commander Staid Alexander. Was their relationship always obvious or did it surprise you, as the author, as it developed?

I knew about Constance and Staid from the get-go. Their first scene together, in Topaz’s marketplace, was the first scene I drafted of the story, when I was seventeen.

11. Queen Grace suffers from a form of mental strain, known now as depression or, as a deeper form, social dissociation, but improves as the story goes on. What made you want to write in a character like that?

My own past experiences with depression played a part in creating Queen Grace, and I also wanted to use her as a type of symbolic foil for Constance: how even when the circumstances surrounding it may be difficult or painful, grace gives you the space to become yourself.

12. After Rings, will you write more about these characters in the future?

I’m working on the third and final book of the Crowns series now, planning to have it finished this coming winter. There’s just a little more this overarching storyline needs to say.

13. You've written numerous other books. Could you pick a favorite or are they like children: you love them all equally?

In a way, it seems like my “favorite” book tends to be whatever I published last, but simultaneously, all of my books retain a favorite status. For instance, Yella’s Prayers is my favorite for being the first book I ever wrote. The Song of Nadine is my favorite for being the first book I ever published. The Order of Things is my favorite for being the first book I ever wrote, designed, and found a way to publish without a personal team telling and showing me how to go about it. The Crowns books are my favorites for being my first series of epic fiction as well as my first series period. I could go on, but all of my books are my “favorites” for different reasons.

14. Are there any other books/stories in the works? Can you give us a little insight if yes?

As I mentioned, I’m writing the third Crowns book, and in it I’m working on something I’ve never had in any of my novels or novellas before: a male protagonist. I love writing male characters as much as female ones, but besides the leading man in a short story of mine ("Come to Yourself", Mr. Jones, also found in Love & Eminence), women have always had the leading roles in my fiction. Yet, after writing about King Matthias, King Aud, Commander Alexander, and some of the other men in the Crowns series, I felt it’d be great to put a man in the lead role of the closing story. And so far, I dig the new dude I’m writing. (*Giggle*—not in a “book boyfriend” way or anything, as I, being my characters’ maker, wind up digging all of them for one reason or another, but, hey, you get it.)

15. Thank you for participating in this interview! Can you please leave the reader with three things that may surprise them about you?

Well, firstly, even with all of my love for, say, Jane Austen and sweetness and romance and Janette Oke-like prairie women stories, I’m a zealous and competitive football fan. (#GoHawks #12thMan #LegionofBoom.) I seriously considered going out for the football team when I was in high school, and if it hadn’t come down to knowing that those guys out there would crush my girly little stick of a body into unrecognizable pieces, I would have done it. Secondly, I love tomatoes—raw tomatoes, cooked tomatoes, tomato-based sauces in pasta and on pizza—but I’m disgusted by the sight and smell of ketchup. Thirdly, I was out walking one day a few years ago when a lady’s big, mean dog got away from her and came chasing after me in the street, barking. The dog ran up behind me, taking a snap at the back of my leg. He missed my actual flesh but got close enough for me to feel the heat of his breath flash across my leg, and his snapping teeth got my jeans wet. I kept on walking, laughing the whole time. I didn’t consider until later that my happy-go-lucky-ish response to almost getting my leg bitten off by a big, hostile beast was probably a strange response indeed.

Find Nadine Keels online via the following:

Website

Goodreads

Amazon

Twitter

Monday, November 18, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: "The Movement of Crowns" by Nadine Keels

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Novellas are a strange territory to me. I reviewed the short story collection, The Struggle, a few weeks ago, but otherwise I've only reviewed novels. But The Movement of Crowns sounded interesting in Nadine Keels' proposal, and I decided to read it.
Very glad that I did!

Princess Constance has finally reached adulthood in her kingdom of Diachona, and has numerous trials ahead of her: chiefly being the fact that, since she is the king's only child, will she be accepted into the Council?

Moreover, now that she has come of age, many eligible suitors are calling on her: the prince of ally Reeh, the Cheiftain Greenly and...Commander Staid Alexander, her childhood friend and the man she truly loves.

But he is called to give military aid to Reêh and Diachona must decide, with Constance's help, if they should go to war with Munda, a volatile neighboring country.Through it all, Constance worries that she might wind up mentally "adrift", as her very own mother, the queen, is.

With many plot twists (especially for a 115 page novella), deeply expressed emotions of love, fear and grief and a wonderfully crafted lead heroine, this ebook is one many will want to pick up.Personally, I loved that this was based on emotions rather than physical relations, I quite enjoyed that a large portion of the story focused on Constance proving that she was worthy of her Council place despite her age and gender.This book can be read by anyone, but young women especially should pick this up, and its sequel, The Movement of Rings.

Great characters, stunning plot and a thought-provoking message make this a story worth reading.

5/5--great!

Purchase The Movement of Crowns via:

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Friday, November 15, 2013

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jeffrey Kaufman

I am very excited to present to you my first interview with a comic book writer, Jeffrey Kaufman.
As a lifelong fan of comics, I was excited & pleased to have been asked by Malena Public Relations to review his work & interview him.
If you're a comic fan or not, you'll enjoy this interview, reader, and I hope that it gets you interested in the comic book industry of you're new to it!

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1. What made you decide to get into the comic book industry?

"FFL", Fanboy For Life. I've been a comic book reader and a storyteller all my life, and always dreamed of putting the two together. I got my start in the industry representing artists and writers. A couple years later I decided I wanted to do more and went after it.

2. What were your favorite comics growing up? Whose work do you enjoy today?

I remember one of my first books was DC's Adventure Comics with a character called The Spectre.  The cover was awesome, but I'm a big Spider-Man fan with the dream of one day controlling Peter Parker for a couple pages. I guess if I had to choose a current writer it would be Ed Brubaker. His work on a book called Winter Soldier was fantastic.

3. What made you decide to start Big City Comics, as opposed to inking a contract with one of the existing companies?

Well, the first thing is that most new writers don't have the skills and/or the opportunity to write for an existing company. A writer really has to fail a lot before they find their true voice.

4. Can you please tell the readers a little more about how BCC and Zenescope work together to produce your comics, as many of them are new to this world?

I'm really fortunate in that I have developed a good relationship with the guys over at Zenescope. I send them over the completed book and they publish it. I would rather wake up with a baseball sized kidney stone and a mutating STD than have to be a publisher again.

5. Though you talk about it in the introductions to both books, can you please tell us what inspires Whore and Angel Falling, respectively?

One of the reasons I haven't done a sequel to any of my graphic novels is that each story I write is a struggle. Not in that they are hard to write, but they all come from ideas jockeying for position in my head fighting to come out.  I just feel each book I write has to be better than the last.
Whore was fun to write. Dealing with a guy who does anything for money, was simply too easy and lead into some ridiculous situations. Angel Falling, being the book that followed Whore had to be completely different in feeling and form since I couldn't beat Whore in the same genre. In Angel Falling, writing about a character with autism, I felt I needed to remove all the sex and swearing which was difficult for me, but I felt it was necessary.

6. Autism is a personal topic to you, since your son has the disorder. Did you ever vacillate with your decision to include it as subject matter in Angel Falling?

I didn't vacillate. I was terrified. I created the main character because of the issues he suffers with, but I wanted the character to be someone you respected and didn't pity. There was no way I could have lived with myself if I thought I hurt or offended some one in the Autism community. Also, anything that could have come back and hurt my son was so unthinkable that this book did cause me a lot of emotional issues.

7. Murder is a recurring topic in your graphic novels. What is it about trained killers that appeals, not just to you, but to your readers?

Murder deals with the finality of a life which makes it the most serious topic out there. When we see or read about death, subconsciously, we are reminded of our own mortality, and that makes the issue so interesting.

8. How did you come to work with the various artists, colorists, etc. who appear in your work?

For the last nine years, I have worked hard building relationships in the industry. While I made more than my share of mistakes, making sure I was financially responsible with the people I worked with was always a priority.

9. In Whore, you feature many people whom you personally know. What made you decide to do that?

I actually posted the opportunity on our Facebook page and those who followed up with a picture and signed the release got in. I only missed one of our fans, and still owe that person an appearance which I'll make up for in the next book. I think it was a cool opportunity for our readers and most of them were really surprised to see themselves in the book. Believe it or not, some of them thought I was screwing with them.

10. Two extremely high-profile people are used as character material in Angel Falling. Were you ever concerned about getting into either legal trouble, or having people criticize your decision?

"Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell" protects a person when they parody public figures in their stories. If Larry Flynt can get away with making fun of the idea of Reverend Jerry Falwell's first sexual experience being with his mother, drunk in an outhouse then I think I'm good.

11. You're also a powerful lawyer and have made appearances on numerous legal television programs. How do you balance your careers and home life?

I don't know about "powerful". Let's go with a quote from A League of their Own, and say, "I've seen enough to know I've seen too much".
As far as balance goes, I think it's less about balance and more about fitting things in. On this planet, we have twenty four hour in a day, no more, no less. Our daily physical requirements are air, sleep and food and water. Outside that, my number one priority is my family and how I provide for them. That probably sounds like a stupid answer, but when put into context it works.
Using myself as an example, I take 24 hours then I subtract 8 hours for sleep, then 8 hours for work, then 2 hours for eating, and then 3 hours for family which leaves me 3 hours for whatever I want to do, whether that's writing, watching television, exercising, or screwing around on the Internet. I am a true believer that any problem can be solved using fifth grade math.

12. Does your legal occupation influence your writing at all?

Everything influences my writing. Did representing thousands of criminal and civil clients effect the way I write? Absolutely!  While practicing law, I have seen love, hate, good, evil, kindness, selfishness, life, death, sickness, happiness, sadness, justice, injustice, and about every possible emotion, relationship and situation our world has to offer. Writing about something you have seen or experienced usually comes off more honest with the reader.

13. Are you working on any new projects at this time? If yes, is there anything you can tell KSR about it?

I finished a book called The Finders (22 page) for Conspiracy Comics that should be out by March 2014.
Chip and Gorro our Children's Book should be in the can by the end of December and out by March 2014. Our graphic novels New Jack and 9/11 (GN) should be finished by July for preview at the San Diego Comic-Con. I'm also currently working on a Peter Pan theatre script. Like I said, "you got to fit it in".

14. Where do you see yourself and your writing career in the next ten years?

I think if things keep moving forward some of my properties will go to the next level. I'd also like to be writing for Marvel and DC while also writing and producing for television and film.

15. Thank you for participating in this interview! Can you please leave the reader with three things that may surprise them about you?

1. I spent 3 years as a paratrooper in the Army in 82nd Airborne as a line medic in an infantry unit.
2. I worked for eight years at Disney World doing character work...
3. ...Which in a weird way got me on Court TV's 20 Most Outrageous Moments.

Find Jeffrey Kaufman & Big City Comics via the following:

Official Site

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Twitter

Find Malena Public Relations via the following:

Official Site

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: "Angel Falling" by Jeffrey Kaufman

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If you read my blog way back in June, you'll recall my review for the comic book The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys. I did not write that because I love [writer] Gerard Way's music (though I am a My Chemical Romance fan), but because since I could read, I have been obsessed with comics.

I grew up with Archie, Sonic the Hedgehog and then went on to read nearly everything DC Comics released in the past 10+ years.

So, when Malena Public Relations asked if I could review two graphic novels, I jumped at the chance!

While about 98% of the comics I read are superhero-based, I do enjoy the efforts of those who write truly original work. It takes a lot of talent, vision, drive, determination and balls. Jeffrey Kaufman, creator/writer of Angel Falling (also of Whore and Terminal Alice TA) has all that and more!With a team of talented artists (Kevin West; Justice League of America), colorists (Tom Chu; X-Men), and inkers (Mark McKenna; X-Men, Batman), Mr. Kaufman created a genius, moving, action-packed and surprising graphic novel, one that gives me hope that the comic industry (original comics in particular) isn't going down the toilet completely.

A woman wakes up on top of a dumpster, half naked and with amnesia. The reader learns along with her that she is no ordinary human, as she easily dispatches the rowdy men who try to rape her. Since she doesn't know who or what she is, she has to trust the young man with autism to help her survive being hunted by people she can't remember ever knowing?

But is it wise to run from who she is, especially since she herself doesn't know? And is Connor really her best option?

Jeffrey kaufman of Big City Comics is a talent I highly suggest all readers check out now, because, if I were a betting gal, I'd bet his popularity will only continue to grow with this graphic novel full of intrigue and plenty of surprises!

If you were concerned that maybe you won't enjoy a comic book, fear not, and give Angel Falling a try.

5/5--genius!

Purchase Angel Falling:

Amazon

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GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: "Whore" by Jeffrey Kaufman

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I know, I know, you're all probably thinking, "What the Hell is she reviewing?" My answer, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the most controversial-sounding graphic novels ever to be released.

Jeffrey Kaufman (also the writer of Terminal Alice TA & Angel Falling; all three books tie in to each other in one way or another) had an idea about a graphic novel about a promiscuous male CIA agent down-sized to the private sector, but the title, it seemed, had been an issue. So he created Terminal Alice TA, but couldn't get Whore out of his mind.
So, he created it, along with Marco Turini (formerly an artist with Marvel Comics) and colorist James Brown (Transformers/IDW Publishing) and input from Dave Stewart (Dark Horse Comics, including Hellboy and The Umbrella Academy).

As I said, it is about a CIA agent who is "down-sized" to work in the "private sector". He is also, to put it in layman's terms, a man-whore.He has to survive by taking any job be can, from the (seemingly) mundane as being a prize-winning dog's handler, to protecting a teen heartthrob who's being stalked and in the closet, and he even tells a VERY high-powered politician to "grow a pair" and send our troops home (guess who!).

With a murder on nearly every page and a naked woman on the rest, I can't say I recommend this to everyone, but if you can handle that (honestly, it is nothing very graphic, but some sensitive souls may not be able to handle even this much) then please hurry and purchase Whore (published by Zinescope and produced by Big City Comics).

Like Angel Falling (that review is being posted next), this one has a few shocks and a very hard to predict ending.5/5--masterful!

Purchase Whore:

Amazon (US)

Official Site

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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Sara Bain

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1. When and why did you decide to become a writer?

I’ve been a newspaper journalist for over 15 years and an editor of professional books before that, so writing has always played a significant role in my life. When my children were very young, I was at home and read a lot. One day I was reading a fantasy novel and, by the end, was really disappointed, almost angry. Although I liked the world that the author created, I couldn’t empathise with any of the characters: in fact, I didn’t like them at all. It was then I decided I would write my own fantasy and fill it with characters I could relate to. I’ve always been passionately interested in fantasy and all those escapist stories that explore brave new worlds away from the realities of everyday life: it’s all about experiencing the best of many worlds as well as my own.

2. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

I am also a photographer and graphic designer, so I would probably be creating visual stories.

3. What books/authors inspired you when you were younger? What do you like to read today?

I grew up with the classics: from the early works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dunne and Milton, to the 18th and 19th century English novelists like Fielding and Hardy. The 19th century romantic poets, in particular, really inspire me, even though I don’t particularly associate myself with romanticism. My favourite is John Keats who had a very magical way with words.
My interest in fantasy began, as it did with most people, with The Hobbit and then The Lord of the Rings trilogy which I expected to be a sequel to the children’s story. It’s occasional darkness shocked me but kept the pages turning.These days I have very little time to read, unfortunately, but can say that I love Anne Rice for her beautiful descriptive prose and Joe Hill for his amazing ability to terrorise his readers from the first few opening paragraphs.
As well as a good story, it is quality in writing that particularly inspires me. I think I’ve been a sub-editor for too long. I can’t read badly written or poorly edited books, even if the story is strong. I can usually tell from the first few lines whether I’m going to read the book or not.
I am currently reading Attrition: The First Act of Penance by a young author called SG Night, who I met on Goodreads. I’ve only just started it but the author shows all the signs of being a very good writer.

4. What was the inspiration behind The Sleeping Warrior?

As I have said, I’m a fantasy author and mainly write in the epic fantasy genre. I did send my first novel out to a few publishers but, although they all (that is, those who bothered to respond) agreed that the book was well-written, with good characterisation and storyline, it didn’t quite fit into the regular genre classifications of fantasy fiction that libraries and bookshops use – not enough faerie beings or magic systems - so they didn’t know how they could sell it.
In a fit of rebellion, I decided to write a book that would cross as many genres as possible, populate it with as many anti-heroes of modern fiction I could squeeze in and place the story against a contemporary setting of places I know.
I took one of the characters out of my big fantasy and shoved him in the midst of all this to see what he would do. The result was very pleasantly surprising.
Half way through writing it, I lost my confidence and wondered what on Earth I was doing. For some reason, however, it all came together as if it was always meant to be. That’s how my writing tends to lead me.

5. Aside from the main plot, you have little sub-plots like Libby's affair with her boss. Why did you decide to make there be so many elements to the story?

Humans, by their very nature, are multi-dimensional and highly complex beings. Sentiment and the way in which we cope within our personal environment has a knock-on effect on the lives of others.
Libby, being the main protagonist, had to be the most well-developed. The focal impact of the story is the effect of the events on her from a personal perspective, so her character had to contain more than a one or two-dimensional element for readers to empathise with her or dislike her, as the case may be.
When I begin a book, I start with a name and let that person develop through setting a scene and adding other people. I have little inclination as to what will happen or who that person is until they begin to interact with their environment. It’s a bit like watching a film.
Oddly enough, despite a full cast of seemingly bad characters, Carl is my least favourite. I did try and kill him off early in the plot, but he worked too well and only served to enhance it.
In life, everyone’s story is based on a multitude of components that make it a whole. Without those elements, human beings would be pretty dull.

6. Why did you decide to name a character after Stephen King's screenplay Rose Red?

This may sound a little implausible, but, although I had read some of Stephen King’s novels and seen a few of the films, I had never heard of the name before I wrote it. Of course, there may be some subliminal explanation but it wasn’t until a few months later when I was looking up the Russian equivalent to the words that I noticed Rose Red was the name of a King novel that has been widely televised. I didn’t change it because I felt Rose befitted her association with a horror story.

7. You could've gone in so many directions with this novel. Did you never envision it going differently before, ultimately, deciding with the route you took?

My writing technique is a bit unusual. I tend to begin with a blank canvas and go where the characters take me. It is they who decide the outcome of my novels, not me.
I know this sounds very far-fetched but that’s the way I write. I don’t make notes or lists; I don’t plan out plots or even have a definitive ending or beginning in mind. I start with a character and a place and allow the story to evolve organically.
I have tried to change the direction of characters to fit my plots but that often doesn’t work: it’s as if they won’t let me.
I’ve heard other writers say this too, so I don’t believe I’ve lost the plot (pardon the pun).

8. Will you ever write a novel featuring some of the characters from The Sleeping Warrior?

I will write a sequel eventually. I like the paranormal aspect to the story and may expand on that in subsequent titles. I’m concentrating on my big fantasy at the moment, so any spin-off from The Sleeping Warrior will have to be placed on the back burner for now.

9. In your bio on Amazon it says you're working on a fantasy novel. Can you give the readers any insight on the book, please?

This is a book I have been writing for a good few years. When I wrote the first book, I was very green, over-enthusiastic and believed I would find a publisher immediately. I sent a few samples off to a small selection of publishers and Harper Collins asked me for the rest of the manuscript. I sent it and got a really nice rejection. When I look back, I realise why. My writing was terrible, the story rambled on to nowhere and I hadn’t even finished it! I’m happy to say that I have matured a lot since then, found a voice and am a lot more professional about my work.I love heroes and The Scrolls of Deyesto features a group of extraordinary warriors tasked with saving their world from evil. It’s the usual tale of traditional epic, set inside a dark, medieval-style panorama, but written in a very different way. I like to be different.
As with The Sleeping Warrior, The Scrolls is also very multi-dimensional and a complex tale of human nature. Everyone is capable of extremes of good and evil and, I believe, it’s the balance between the two that underlies life.

10. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I would like to see myself as a publisher of quality fiction. I have set up my own publishing company called Ivy Moon Press and hope, not only to publish my works, but also to publish those of others. I’m not too bothered about genre, so long as the books have a fantasy element (no matter how small) in the theme.
Of course, I would also like to see myself as a very successful, highly respected fantasy author.

11. Were any of the characters in The Sleeping Warrior based on real life or were they all creatures of your imagination?

Although the scenes are set in places I know – like London and Scotland – none of the characters are based on anyone I know, but produced from a very vivid imagination and an understanding of human nature.

12. Did being from Scotland influence the book more (because of location, etc.) than if you'd lived elsewhere, do you think?

Living in Scotland has definitely influenced the setting of the book. The life in rural Scotland is a world apart from the rush of London and it is the contrast that I wanted to convey in the story. Life’s a lot slower here, the scenery beautiful, and there’s plenty of time to relax and reflect. You don’t get that kind of opportunity in London unless you get out of it at the weekends.

13. What, if anything, would you like for fans to take from the book?

At a superficial level, I just would like them to enjoy the read. Secretly, though, I hope that readers will understand the underlying symbolism and concepts of the book: for example, identity and the importance of a name. The title is also an allegory. The Sleeping Warrior is a famous view of the mountains of Arran from the Ayrshire coast; the male hero of the story; and the dominant warrior spirit within us all.

14. Do you have any influences outside of the literary world?

Many. The whole of life influences me. The place where I live, friends, family, travel, work. Fantasy artwork and music can have a powerful influence on a theme or inspire an idea.

15. Thank you for participating in this interview! Can you please give the readers three things that may surprise them about you?

I am an English barrister.
I understand computers and they understand me.
I have four children who are all at university.

Find Sara Bain via the following:

Official Site

Blog

Publisher Blog

Goodreads

Amazon UK