BOOK SPOTLIGHT: "Twisted" by Lola Smirnova

In the corrupt economy of post-Soviet Ukraine opportunities are scarce.
Young and eager sisters – Natalia, Lena and Julia – harbour dreams of a better life.
         Naive and tempted by the allure of ‘quick’ money the girls set off on an adventure that changes their lives forever…
Can they stay out of trouble enough to fulfill their ambitions?
Can they hold on to their idealism in a world where depravity and danger are constant companions?
How far are they willing to go to make a buck?
TWISTED is a true life shaped into fiction story of vulnerability, courage and the art of making a living in the sex trade.

Purchase Twisted via:

Amazon / CreateSpace

*Look for my review this summer!*

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Scott Pinsker

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

Hmm…  Is a writer who you are?  Or is it what you do?
If it’s who you are, then I’ve always been a writer, Kelly.  Even when I wasn’t writing, I was still a writer, hijacking my skill-set for other endeavors.  Being a storyteller is a transferrable talent: From high school run-ins with angry teachers to smoke-filled single bars to PR clients in dire need of crisis communications advice, there’s a great deal of versatility to storytelling.
For decades, I did my best to avoid being an author of books, however.  Lord how I tried!  Writing books – at least for me – is an arduous, painful, dreadfully unpleasant task.  Speechwriting for others is easy: It’s their life, their story, and I’m happily shielded from the consequences.  But writing a book?  Telling a story that’s truly a piece of me – and letting total strangers poke around, meet my alter-egos and dissect my inner-most thoughts?  Aaahh!!  It’s like standing naked on a city corner!  Writing is a form of exhibitionism… and Kelly, I guess I’m naturally shy. 
I don’t enjoy being exposed like this… but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake this God-awful compulsion to share these stories…
So more than anything else, I guess I became an author because I had exhausted all other options.

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

When I was younger?  Too many to count, but one of the great things about being a Daddy (I have two boys, eight-year-old Daniel and six-year-old Micah) is that I get to relive my childhood by sharing the books I loved as a kid.  Bedtime reading is a family tradition.  We’ve already read Judy Blume’s “Fudge” series, Beverly Cleary’s “Ralph Mouse” series, the best works of Roald Dahl and we’re halfway through the final book in Tom D. Fitzgerald’s “Great Brain” series.  Together, we’ve met the Boxcar Children, got lost in the Phantom Tollbooth, mourned when My Brother Sam Is Dead, and we have vacation plans to visit The Island of the Blue Dolphins.
My four all-time favorite “grownup” books are Frederic Bastiat’s The Law, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Brain Droppings and Richard Bach’s Illusions.  I know that’s an odd combination, but what I adore about all four books is that they kind of stick with you, long after you close the final chapter.  Even when you disagree with the author – or, more accurately: ESPECIALLY when you disagree with the author – the ideas and theories linger in your brain for quite a while.  I like that.  It’s something I sought to emulate when writing The Second Coming: A Love Story.

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel, The Second Coming: A Love Story?

I developed the concept about 15 years ago, while attending law school in Washington, DC: According to Christian theology, the Devil is thousands of years old and deviously brilliant.  I remember wondering one night, if such a creature didn’t want you to know who he was… how would you know?  How could you out-think a creature that’s not only smarter than you, but also thousands of years more experienced and capable of supernatural powers?  We get fooled by ordinary people every day – and most of the time, they’re not particularly clever!  So what “prayer” would we realistically have to outwit the Prince of Darkness?
Then I had a further thought: If the Devil really wanted to con mankind, he wouldn’t appear with a pitchfork and horns.  All those horror movies have it wrong; that’s far too obvious!  Instead, his best option would be to appear as a holy man – and to attach himself to the faith of his target audience. 
Because if I were Satan’s publicist, that’s what I’d recommend.
But hypothetically, what if we raised the stakes even further, and now there were TWO self-declared saviors – one who preached to Red America, the other to Blue America?  And what if all the key characters in the story were modern day updates of the major characters from the Bible?  What would happen then?  How would you know who is God and who is Satan?
This late-night “thought-experiment” became the basis of my debut novel – The Second Coming: A Love Story.

4. Religion has, and always will be, a touchy subject. You managed to make it fictional while not being satirical or offensive. In your opinion, what is it about the topic that is so personal that it has literally initiated wars?

I appreciate that, Kelly.  I respect religion, and when researching and writing The Second Coming: A Love Story, it was never my intent to apostatize for any one ideology.  I have no interest in arguing to the death about what happens after we die. 
That’s your burden, not mine.
But religion has – and will always be – deeply, passionately personal.  It has to be.  Religion attempts to answer our most personal questions, and clearly, people don’t take kindly to being told that they’re wrong.  Rejecting someone’s faith is tantamount to rejecting the essence of who they are – and nobody likes being rejected.
In fact, some respond quite poorly.

5. Many films and television shows have put an original spin on Satan, particularly Supernatural, which made Lucifer look as normal as anyone else. What has been your personal favorite representation of the Devil?

I sort of liked the Devil in Charlie Daniels’ song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”  Great tune!  Satan is capable of commanding demons, destroying souls and waging war against God Almighty – but for whatever reason, he’s apparently not a very good fiddle player.  (With all those decadent, drug-fueled rock stars burning in Hell, you’d think someone could’ve given him music lessons.)

6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life (not religion)?

Absolutely.  You’ll notice parodies of today’s most influential talk-radio personalities, cable news anchors, TV evangelists and other celebs making guest-appearances throughout the story: For example, the character of bombastic talk-show host Nate Konrad has clear shades of Don Imus and Howard Stern – plus an ample dose of Rush Limbaugh.  But there’s a deliberate purpose to this: In today’s culture, celebrities – and the way we consume media – have become an extension of politics, and politics is an extension of religion. 
Let me explain:
Just 30 years ago, American households only had three or four TV channels, one or two daily newspapers, and a dozen-or-so radio stations.  The Internet didn’t exist.  There was an extremely limited number of media options, and this fostered cultural cohesion.  You, me – everyone – we all sampled and shared the flavors of society’s top tastemakers.  Red America and Blue America overlapped constantly; it was unavoidable.  Everyone knew about The Beatles, who shot J.R., Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, and why Johnny Carson hated Joan Rivers.  Jews, Catholics, Protestants, atheists, Republicans, Democrats – it didn’t matter.
Today, we’re hopelessly tribalized by our interests and our ideologies.  A conservative / traditionalist in Red America will see, read, hear and think something completely different than a liberal / secularist in Blue America.  This insularism further separates us, expanding the cultural divide.  It’s the difference between Rush Limbaugh and Jon Stewart; FOX News and MSNBC; CMT and BET; Ted Cruz and Al Franken.  Especially now with social media, we spend more time in our self-constructed echo chambers than in the outside world.
There is no more popular culture, Kelly.  It’s all just cult-culture… and who better to take advantage of cult-culture than a cultist? 
This is the very real backdrop of The Second Coming: A Love Story. 

7. You've ghostwritten speeches and written for various reputable news sources in the course of your career, and now you're a fiction author. What other forms of writing (or other fiction genres) would you like to try your hand at?

With apologies to Brian Williams, sometimes it seems like the most creative forms of fiction ARE on the “reputable” news outlets!  (I kid, I kid!)
This might sound weird, but I’ve always loved poetry.  Especially British poetry: Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Blake in particular. None of the critics or reviewers have picked up on this yet, but I wove-in dozens of homages to both poets in The Second Coming: A Love Story.  Phrases like “sinking like lead into the sea” (Rime of the Ancient Mariner) or “forests of the night” (The Tyger) or describing Hell as having “canyons measureless to man” (Kubla Khan) – you could almost make a drinking game out of all the references.  (And if Coleridge was still alive, he’d probably participate!)
I’ve actually written a book of poetry, but I’m hesitant to publish it.  There’s not much of a marketplace for poetry anymore.  I mean, I’m proud of it, and I honestly think it’s good… but it sort of seems self-indulgent and egotistical, doesn’t it?  At least a little bit?
(Or maybe that’s just my own insecurities rearing their ugly head…)

8. What would you do if you were in your story?

That’s an interesting question, Kelly.  In a way, I am in the story.  We all are: This is a story about today’s culture – how ideas, faiths, politics and social movements are orchestrated and manipulated.  It’s a theological-thriller in an ultra-realistic setting, and we’re all living in it.
So what would I do?  I’d guess I’d write something…

9. Would you like to see Second Coming as a film? Who do you want to see play your characters?

Oh, I’d absolutely love to see a film adaptation!  And y’know, it wouldn’t bother me one bit if a studio changed around the story and modified the characters.  The book is MY story; the movie would be someone else’s.  To me, that would be fun: To see how others adapt what I’ve already written.  Lots of writers are fearful of this, but I think the process would be fascinating.
As for actors and actresses?  One reviewer recommended FOX News’ Megyn Kelly for the part of Margaret Magdala.  I hadn’t thought of that before, but it would be a bold choice.  I don’t know if she has the acting-chops to pull it off, though.  If Heath Ledger was still alive, he’d be brilliant as one of the two saviors.  To make this story work, you really need someone who can be charismatic, moralistic and ambiguous all at the same time, and Ledger had those attributes in spades. 
Who else?  Hmm… Breaking Bad was genius: maybe Bryan Cranston as Reverend Phil Pharis and Aaron Paul as Michael Waters?  Jonah Hill or Seth Rogen as David Shepherd?  Or maybe something entirely different? 
What do you think, Kelly?  Who would you cast? [Heath
Ledger would've been perfect! Maybe Martin Freeman as Shepherd, Felicity Huffman as Margaret, and the rest of your casting is pretty spot-on!--KSR]

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

In ten years, my boys will be 16 and 18!  I can’t even wrap my head around that... and sadly, I don’t think they’ll be letting me read them Judy Blume books anymore.
I don’t know where I’ll be – or what I’ll be doing – in ten years.  I sure couldn’t have predicted the last ten years!  I’m (cautiously) hopeful that I’ve finally found my place in the cosmic ocean: Instead of battling against the celestial tide, maybe in another decade I’ll be exactly where I’m meant to be?
Maybe.  Maybe not.

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

Walking around with half-a-head, ‘cause without writing, my head would explode.  I don’t know how else to describe it, but sometimes I get these strange thoughts ricocheting around my skull.  If I ignore them, they’ll ricochet faster and faster – and then BOOM!!
Without writing, I couldn’t excise my demons.  I’d be a scary person to be around.

12. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

The Second Coming: A Love Story is the first book in a trilogy.  I’m completing the second book, Three Days Later: A Revenge Story.  (I’m holding-off releasing it until more people read the first book, so PLEASE help me get the word out!)

13. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I’d like to work with Bill Shakespeare.  (I know he usually goes by William, but I’m pretty sure he’d be cool with Bill.  We’d be pals, after all.)  Stan Lee would be exciting, too – he’s the guy who either created or co-created Spiderman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Hulk, Iron Man, Darevedevil, the Fantastic Four and on and on.  He doesn’t receive nearly enough mainstream credit for his achievements, but he might be the most influential storyteller who ever lived.  Yeah, okay, I can feel your eyes roll, but I’m serious: I’ll bet more people worldwide are familiar with the characters and stories Stan Lee helped create than any other single author.  It’s a mind-blowing accomplishment, when you stop and think about it: Arguably, the most prolific storyteller in human history is living right now!  And instead of leaving his mark in a “respectable” art form like a novel, opera or scholarly tome, he did it with flippin’ comic books!  Isn’t that wild? [Just a note here, I most certainly did NOT roll my eyes! I agree with everything said here!--KSR]

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

My pleasure, Kelly – and thank you for the opportunity.  How about this:

1.      When I did PR for QB Mike Vick and was overseeing a photo-shoot Vick was doing with Maxim Magazine – this was back when he was still an Atlanta Falcon – I mentioned to a certain person in his entourage that I had just adopted an American Mastiff puppy.  This person’s eyes lit up: He told me that Mike LOVED dogs, and that Mike had a big, sprawling property where he stayed during the entire off-season… along with his 40+ pit bulls.  “You never have to worry about Mike getting in trouble, Scott!  He spends all his time on his property in the middle of nowhere with his beloved dogs!  Say… do you think you could hook Mike up with one of those American Mastiffs?  They get real big, don’t they?”  That’s right, folks: I was asked to get a dog for Mike Vick!  I’m VERY glad to say that I never did.  About a year later, the dogfighting scandal broke and Vick went to jail.  (BTW, my American Mastiff puppy is now 10+ years old, weighs 220 pounds, and my little boys love to hand-feed him Cheerios.  Terrific dog.)
2.      I once did a (horrible, awful) National Lampoon movie with Kato Kaelin and a young Olivia Munn: National Lampoon’s Strip Poker.  The filming took place at Hedonism II in Negril, Jamaica – the world’s most infamous nudist resort.  I also starred in Academy Award-nominated director Brett Morgen’s film Ollie’s Army, and appeared in the Academy Award-nominated documentary A Perfect Candidate.  (Alas, neither of these documentaries were filmed at Hedonism II.  Nor did they include Kato Kaelin.)
3.      Whenever the movie Road House appears on TV, I’m compelled to watch it.  (HELLO, PEOPLE!!  HE TEARS SOMEONE’S THROAT OUT!!  BOOYAH!!  GO GET ‘EM, DALTON!!)  Also: Buffalo wings are the greatest invention ever created and nachos are a close second.  (Pepcid AC is third.)

 

Find Mr. Pinsker online via:

 The Second Coming: A Love Story on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KT6B3G0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SecondComingNovel

Twitter: @ScottPinsker

BOOK REVIEW/BLOG TOUR: "Reaper Madness" by Nessie Strange

Book Description:

This isn’t the afterlife she expected...

Jen MacLellan can’t get the hang of being a reaper. She’s been separated from Jack, the man she loves, and is stuck with an annoying telepathic link to her ill-tempered mentor, Sam. Now Death is breathing down her neck, promising to remove that annoying link if she gives him what he wants. But when reapers begin to disappear back on earth, leaving behind walking, talking dead people, Jen and Sam are thrust into a dangerous mission to recapture the souls, and a passionate physical relationship that complicates everything.

Jack Norris has no memory prior to waking up on the half-demon Nulcifer’s couch six months earlier. As he begins to investigate his past, he discovers a string of past lives tied together by a beautiful, mysterious brunette. Who is she? And why does finding her seem like a life or death proposition?

When Sam falls victim to fate during a routine visit to earth, Jen’s devastated. Desperate to get him back, she runs smack into the man she never thought she’d see again—Jack. She tries to keep her distance, but there’s no time to be awkward if they want to save Sam. When sinister plots are revealed, and betrayals threaten everything, she’s forced to make some tough choices—and learns that life is just as difficult when you’re dead.

Excerpt:

Sam wasn’t kidding when he said I had no idea what I was getting into. And now, as I stared Death in the face—literally—from an uncomfortable black leather executive chair, it occurred to me for the first time that I was in way over my head. Between the pinstriped suit and dark, slicked-back hair, he resembled a character from The Godfather more than a deity who ruled over the dead and dying. Death was one scary motherfucker. And he was smiling.

“Care for a drink, Jennifer?”

I shook my head, but he rose anyway, retrieved two glasses from the cabinet behind him, and filled both with amber-colored liquid. “Relax, I’m not going to bite.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about.

“Now, how long have you been with us? About six earth months?”

I cleared my throat. “Ah yes. About that long.”

“I find it intriguing,” he said. “You have been telepathically linked to one of my reapers this entire time, yet you really demonstrate no capability when it comes to this job. One would think that would give you an edge, hmm?”

Ouch.

“You’d think,” I laughed. OK, I sucked at it. It was only recently I’d been allowed to travel back to earth to help retrieve souls. Sam did most of the work, while I trailed behind, like one of those ankle-biting little purse dogs. What I wanted to know was why he’d insisted I do the job in the first place. I’d never asked to be a reaper. It wasn’t like I wanted this.

“The occupation listed from your most recent incarnation on earth was a mortician, was it not? So you should be accustomed to working with the deceased and the sensitivities that go along with it.”

“These two jobs are absolutely nothing alike.” Shit. I’d reacted again, lost my cool because of something he said. Now that my brain had caught up with my mouth, the fire snuffed out and with it went my nerve. I needed to learn to bite my tongue. Considering the habit crossed over with me from my last life, maybe that was wishful thinking. “Well, I mean, because when I was a mortician, those people didn’t talk back to me.”

Death studied me. “No, I don’t imagine they did.” He scrunched his lips up, his brow furrowed—the only hint of emotion I’d seen from him—but it quickly faded. “What exactly is it that’s holding you back or hanging you up? I’m just trying to understand here.”

“Well, I guess some of it is that I feel bad for them. I want to make things easier, but Sam’s all about scaring them and intimidating and manipulating them. It doesn’t seem right. I mean, we’re their first point of contact with the afterlife; why does it have to be frightening?” I was doing it again. OK, I needed to breathe. “I just… I see the fear in their faces, and it tears at me. It doesn’t feel right. It’s not me.”

Bio:

Nessie is a Massachusetts native and mother of two who has dabbled in everything from abstract painting to freelance sports reporting. She also loves a good story, whether it’s reading or writing one. Living Dead Girl and Reaper Madness, the first two novels in her urban fantasy Living Dead World series, were published by Etopia press in 2014.

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MY REVIEW FOR LIVING DEAD GIRL:

 How does love go so wrong so fast? How do emotions get so twisted so badly? Jen is a mortician, and Jack is a rich bad boy in a punk band. Due to odd circumstances, they meet and it's loathe at first sight...until they decide that maybe the other isn't so bad. But when a jealous ex gets revenge on Jen, and kills her, things get weird.
For a paranormal novel, it took quite a long time for the paranormal elements to show up. When I hear "paranormal" in a description, I expect the ghosts and ghoulies to show up at least by chapter three, but it took more than half of the book for things to get freaky. Not that I minded too much. The chemistry between Jack and Jenny is so tangible the reader feels it. It's a sweet, funny NA version of romance. Until Jen decides that she wants revenge for her death and makes a deal with a reaper to go back into her body, even though it's decomposing.
I really liked that it was almost a look inside the mind of the zombie, how she felt being trapped in a body that was dying, unable to speak or move like she wants to. I thought that it was very interesting and made the story feel authentic.
The best part? The cliffhanger ending!
I loved reading this, even though it was a very slow burn. I can guarantee that you'll love it, too!

4/5--a different way of telling a paranormal romance.

MY REVIEW FOR REAPER MADNESS:
*contains spoilers from Living Dead Girl*

I'm trying very hard not to give away too many spoilers here, but it's going to be difficult. The ending of Living Dead Girl was full of surprises!
Now that Jen is facing her punishment, being a reaper herself and bound to her mentor Sam, she's getting used to being undead. But she can't find Jack, and she desperately wants to see him. Jack, however, has amnesia, and doesn't even know who he was before the events that ended his life at that club on Halloween. To top it off, reapers are disappearing, leaving behind zombies!
Opposite of its predecessor, Reaper Madness is filled with the undead: the reader is thrust right into the afterlife with Jen and Jack. Nessie Strange easily weaves in mythology between the horror and angst, making the book more authentic and proving that she is a serious writer with a deep appreciation for the paranormal.
As the books go on, we grow along with the characters and the writer, making this a unique experience as we live Jen' life alongside her.
I think these are some of my new favorite books and I can't wait to recommend them to everyone I know!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Rival Gates

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?
 
My father was a magazine editor and he would have an editorial in every issue.  From a young age I can remember rushing to open the new magazine and looking for my father's name.  It didn't matter what he was writing about.  Often times it was about atomic energy and I couldn't even pronounce all the words.  I  only cared that my father's name and picture were in print.  Dad used to tell me, "Once you're in print, you live forever."  To be able to pass something on to future generations would be a great accomplishment.
 
2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?
 
I have never made any secret of the fact that I loved C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.  There was some science fiction in there as well like Ray Bradbury but I simply loved fantasy.  I have been reading and eclectic mix of suspense, science fiction, fantasy, and even my first romance!  (It was quite graphic.)  Mostly, I want to experience new things so I can grow as a writer.
 
3. What was the inspiration behind your the Sapphire Chronicles series?
 
I'm a writer that starts with an obscure reference and snowballs it.  This all started after I had an idea for this awesome sword made from the thigh-bone of the Queen of the Falcons.  The sword would be sharp as her talons, stronger than steel and light as a feather giving it great blade speed.  Into this sword the dying bird would pour its soul and serve one good man.  The sword itself was neither good or evil.  It was a predator but wanted to be handled only by the honorable man (and later his son) who tried to save her life.  The sword's name was Falconfeather.  Then I needed to create a character, and a task to do , and a reason to do it, and a world to do it in, and so on.
 
4. How many books will the series span?
 
It will span 9 books as it stands right now.
 
5. You stated that your love of writing came from telling stories with your family as a child. Do you think that, had you not had such a supportive environment, you would have written the Sapphire Chronicles?
 
Ironically, my father tried to dissuade me from writing.  He told me how terrible my work was.  That only strengthened my resolve to do better.  My mother was supportive but warned me never to expect to make a living off it and that the big author's made their money after their deaths.  My siblings openly mocked me and thought I was a foolish child.  Deep down inside, though, I knew I had a great story and I knew I could tell a great story.  I learned from my family but took on writing by myself.
 
6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?
 
The cousins in the book were based on some relatives of mine and then given personalities from my brothers.  Anvar was actually based a fair amount on my mother's teachings.  Linvin is the character I always wanted to root for in movies.
 
7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?
 
Science fiction has always had a close place in my heart.  The problem was always that the science in the books I would read was beyond my comprehension.  Now the genre has become less technical and more story based.  I would like to try my hand at it and have some ideas.
 
8. What would you do if you were the General?
 
That's a good question.  If I were the goblin general in the first chapter I would have sent my best troops in first to mow down Linvin's infantry and used my other goblins to cover the rear of the formation.
 
9. Was there any intended symbolism behind the Red Sapphire being an all-powerful tool caught between good and evil?
 
I wanted to show what an equal amount of power could do in the hands of a good person and what it could do with a bad one.  It is similar to a police officer or a criminal each being given the same gun.  What difference would be made?
 
10. Would you like to see The Sapphire Chronicles as films or a TV show? Who do you want to see play your characters?
 
It is a dream of mine to have my books made into movies.  As a cast I would want a relatively unknown group who could become known for their roles in the movies.  There would be one exception.  I love the work of John Rhys-Davies.  He would make a wonderful Anvar.
 
11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?
 
I will finish the series and hope to become a well-known writer.  Once my work is self-sustaining I could devote all my time to writing and my family
 
12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?
 
I'm a dreamer and storyteller but what I would definitely have given a shot is standup comedy.  I used to do it when I was younger and think I could be pretty good at it.  See, I just made you laugh!

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?
 
Well, my third book is at the publisher and ready for editing.  It should be out in the next 3 months.  Right now I'm about half way through the fourth book.  It's heavy in action which always excites me.  There are some twists no one is going to believe, much less see coming.
 
14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?
 
A good friend of mine is Angel Dunworth.  I bounce a lot of ideas off her.  I also talk with Todd Embry, Kate Collins and Mel Massey.  
 
15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?
 
Three things you would be surprised by: 1) I have a severe and permanent case of vertigo. 2) I played Dungeons and Dragons a lot growing up, 3) I have every Green Bay Packer victory on tape since 1992.

Find Rival Gates online via:

Official site (has all links)

BOOK REVIEW: "The Second Coming: A Love Story" by Scott Pinsker

Two men claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. Each claims the other is Satan in disguise. But only one is telling the truth.
In The Second Coming: A Love Story, the devilish new novel by Scott Pinsker, the culture war between Red America and Blue America turns shockingly real when two self-declared saviors appear on earth. The first “messiah” attracts legions of liberal and secular-progressive followers with his message of New Age brotherhood, quickly becoming the darling of the left. The second “messiah” preaches fire-and-brimstone traditional Christianity, gaining a grassroots army of conservative worshippers ready to battle to the death.
It’s finally happened: Red America and Blue America are headed for Armageddon!
First-time novelist Scott Pinsker is a Tampa Bay-based celebrity publicist who has also written for FOXNews.com as a marketing expert. As Pinsker tells it:
“Late one night I had an unsettling thought: If the Devil truly wanted to con mankind, he wouldn’t have a pitchfork and horns. All those horror movies have it wrong; a pitchfork and horns are bad marketing. Instead, his smartest strategy for activating new followers would be to appear as a holy man – and claim the faith of his target audience. Because if I were Satan’s publicist, that’s what I’d recommend.”
Scott Pinsker has worked with a long list of athletes and entertainers, ranging from scandal-plagued NFL stars to Saturday Night Live alums to Grammy-winning icons. While he insists that his story’s characters are wholly fictional, he freely admits that the Red America/Blue America political divide is directly ripped from the headlines:
“We’ve become so polarized that we automatically assume the worst about our opposition. The most sinister explanation becomes the dominant narrative – and each side is skilled at exploitation. So in The Second Coming: A Love Story, you have conservatives firing-up the Tea Partiers on talk-radio shows, and liberals decrying their ‘extremism’ and ‘lack of inclusion.’ You have evangelicals, businessmen and born again Christians waging a multimedia Holy War against secularists, urbanites and liberal activists – and neither side will cede an inch. Sadly, none of this was a stretch: since we’re already predisposed to believe that the other side is evil, an all-out apocalypse is simply the natural progression.”
Divinely provocative and wickedly intelligent, The Second Coming: A Love Story will keep you guessing who-is-who until the very end… 
…and possibly even after that.

If you judge a book by its cover, you'll either think to disregard this book because A) you're not interested in religious mumbo jumbo, or B) you're so religious you are afraid that the story will be blasphemous. You'd be wrong regardless. In fact, you don't need to have a solid opinion on God and Satan to read The Second Coming: A Love Story.
Let's just remember one thing before you read further: no matter how much research went into this novel, it is fictional. You don't need to study all of its implications to enjoy the tale.
That being said, as a Roman Catholic-raised girl, and still liberal Christian, I enjoyed the heavy homework that Mr. Pinsker must've done to make this book as well-rounded and interesting as it is. When you know an author took their time when writing, to ensure that they got everything right, you also know that the book will be a great one. Passion is key in writing, just like religion, and we see Mr. Pinsker's passion plainly on the pages.
The tale of Jesus's second coming is an old one, as is the belief that Satan already walks the earth and they will inevitably meet and cause the Apocalypse (see Supernatural season five). What we usually don't get is a detailed analysis of the implications of two people claiming they are the Second Coming, and how it effects humanity. There are socio-political, pseudo-religious and sociological humanities issues tackled here, as Republicans and Democrats are pitted against each other under a guide who could turn out to be the Enemy. I won't give too much away, but I've had long political talks with many different people, and I've always heard a popular opinion on just who the Devil is. This author seems to share in this view, which is quite interesting. (Yes, I am a believer in the true second coming and that the Devil will try to lure us all away before then. Don't judge me.)
I read this twice: once as a serious novel to study, and once purely for entertainment purposes. Both times I read a different, but no less interesting, book. It takes a lot of talent to do that, and I can honestly say that I recommend this book to everyone. Not all of you will like it, but I think you should at least try to read it, no matter your beliefs and background.

5/5--unique and makes you think!

Purchase The Second Coming: A Love Story via:

Amazon

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Mary McCoy

(NOTE: This interview was originally supposed to take place at Long Beach Comic Expo today, but due to personal unforseen circumstances on my end, I could not attend. Ms. McCoy was kind enough to finish these today via email and get them to me in time to start my biannual Long Beach Comic Con week! Enjoy!)

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

I've wanted to be a writer since I was 8, but didn't really get serious about it until a few years ago. And by "serious," I mean "a person who finished things." I did National Novel Writing Month in 2010, wrote a crappy, but complete 50,000 word book, then rode that daily writing momentum into finishing Dead To Me seven months later. I haven't stopped writing since.

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

Some of my favorite authors when I was younger were Lois Lowry, Ellen Raskin, Betty Smith, and Anne Tyler. Today, my favorite writers are Jennifer Egan, Kate Atkinson, and Maria Semple.

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel Dead To Me?

I used to write for the 1947 project, which was a crime-a-day blog about Los Angeles history. And L.A. history is insane. You don't have to look very far to find stories about cults and gangsters and police corruption and madams and murder plots. You hear these stories and you think they have to be made up, but then it turns out they're true. Between that and my love for detective novels, film noir, and Veronica Mars, I had to write Dead To Me.

4. Who are your favorite actors from old-time Hollywood?

Bette Davis, Montgomery Clift, Betty Hutton, and Humphrey Bogart are my favorites.

5. The cover tagline, People who live in the nicest houses have the dirtiest secrets, rings very true for most people. Why do you think there is so much truth behind that statement?

Rich people get away with things. It's not fair, and it's not right, but it's true.

6. Why decide to make this a young adult book instead of an adult novel?

I always wanted it to be YA instead of adult fiction. Not only is Alice trying to find the person who attacked her sister, she's also investigating what her sister has been up to for the four years since she left home. During that time, Alice has become a very closed off person, and she's finally forced to take a good hard look at herself, her relationships, and the fact that she might not be a very nice person. It's the way Alice deals with those things that I think makes the book YA.

 
7. One of the things you said you'd read recently was the comic book C.O.W.L. by Kyle Higgins. What other comic books do you enjoy?

I really like crime comics. Some of my favorites are 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello, Gotham Central, Criminal by Ed Brubaker, Tumor by Josh Fialkov, and Incognegro by Mat Johnson.

 
8. Has working with the Los Angeles Public Library helped or influenced your writing career?

The two biggest ways it's influenced me are its amazing collections and my brilliant colleagues. When I was writing Dead To Me, I referred to the library's online Photo Collection, Map Collection, and newspaper databases all the time. And the librarians I work with are wonderful and inspiring people. Two of my colleagues have written LA history books of their own: Christina Rice's Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel and Glen Creason's Los Angeles in Maps.

 
9. Would you like to see Dead To Me as a film? If so, who do you want to see play your characters?

Of course I would! My friend and fellow 2015 debut novelist Michelle Levy (Not After Everything) is also a casting director, and she helped me cast the book. Here's what she came up with - I think it's brilliant:

Alice (the main character): Abigail Breslin
Annie (the big sister): Saoirse Ronan
Jerry Shaffer (the tough-talking private eye): Joel Edgerton
Vivian and Nicky Gates (the Hollywood insider wannabe parents): Jennifer Connelly and Bradley Cooper
Ruth (one of Annie's shady acquaintances): Jennifer Carpenter
Conrad Donahue (the psychopathic movie star): Chris Pine

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

I have no idea what I'll be writing in ten years but I know I'll be writing. 

11. What would you do if you were Alice in your book?

I don't know if I could be as brave as Alice is. I am also much worse at cryptography than she is.

 
12. Will we ever see these characters again in the future?

One of the rules of noir is this: no sequels. If I ever did, I know what it would be about, but I feel like I left my characters exactly where I wanted to leave them.

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

Probably baking.

14. Can you tell KSR readers what you're working on next?

I'm working on another YA novel. It's not historical fiction, but I still manage to cram a lot of history in to it. 

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

Thing 1: I used to play bass in an all-girl punk band.
Thing 2:  My best celebrity impression is of Civil War historian Shelby Foote.
Thing 3: I have an astonishingly large collection of vintage cookbooks.

Find Ms. McCoy online via:

Official site (has all social media links AND purchase links for Dead To Me)

BOOK BLITZ: "The Line" by William Galani

  NOW AVAILABLE: The Line by William Galaini.  Time travel like you've never read it before -- and an ending that will leave you breathless.

Get it here: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo

About The Line

Suspended in the nothing between timelines, the station Janus is an unseen marvel: the greatest technological achievement in human innovation. From Janus, Gustavo and his hand-selected team of historians and engineers venture into the past and observe history, unseen and unnoticed. But they are not alone. Another traveler is shattering history. Unhindered by desires to remain scientific and uninvolved, the intruder’s technology is far advanced with methods more brutal and a present more terrifying than anything Gustavo and his team are prepared for. As they apply their intellects and skills towards solving the mystery of the ferocious interloper, they discover that they have its full attention.

Add The Line to your TBR list on Goodreads!

Why I wrote The Line

It was in my tenth-grade history class that I first got angry with American history. Each lynching and church bombing made me furious because the perpetrators got away with it. Emmett Tiller’s murderers confessed to the media with delight in killing the boy six months after they were found not guilty. Leo Frank’s lynchers not only walked free, but a few launched local political careers based on their crime. The more I learned about history, either in class or on my own time during my compulsive reading, the more I learned that history is a masculine tale of the privileged employing brutality in order to preserve their power. But what if something meaner was out there? What if something with complete knowledge of history had the ability to not only time travel, but strike the timeline like steel on an anvil? Would it enact vengeance on the inhumane? Could it embody my personal anger? How would the world change if something suddenly appeared, slaughtered a band of KKK during their malicious acts, and vanished just as quickly? So I wrote The Line: a novel about a team of time travelers that have to ask themselves that question once they discover a mysterious party is doing just that.

About William Galaini

William Galaini grew up in Pennsylvania and Florida. His mother gave him an early love of reading, especially when it came to the great classics of science fiction. He is also a history buff and fascinated by mythology and folklore. His various vocational pursuits include being a singer in a professional high school choir, manager of the call center at a luxury resort, U.S. Army medic, prison guard, and middle school English teacher. As such, he is perfectly suited to breech a solid metal door, humanely restrain the enemy within, and politely correct their grammar all while humming Handel’s Messiah and drinking a lovely cuppa tea. He currently hangs his hat, rucksack, and tweed smoking jacket in Northern Virginia. Find out more about William on his website, Facebook, or Twitter!

BOOK REVIEW: "Preserver" by Chris Reardon

17-year-old Corey not only has to deal with his mother’s disappearance, but recurring nightmares horrifying him to no end. Each and every night, an old man constantly begs for his help. He pleads for assistance escaping a murderer keeping him hostage in another world. 
Corey, according to the old man, is the only one that can stop this monster. After all, he does know the spell. Melody, an unpredictable, no-nonsense girl from his math class, has also been having horrific nightmares with this same old man. She, however, is not willing to talk about it. Melody also refuses to believe any of his pleas. 
When Corey and Melody are thrust from their homes by a mysterious woman, they embark on a journey through a mystical land. From battling demons to escaping prison chambers, they realize they’re part of something much bigger, and hiding from their duty is no longer an option.

Preserver by Chris Reardon is a dark, YA fantasy novel that is (literally) out of this world. In another dimension, to be exact. Teens need to save the world from utter destruction by a crazed god, with only a strange short sonnet of sorts to go by, and a very harsh and reluctant teacher.
I don't know if Mr. Reardon intended this, but I know teens will be able to relate to these kids on more levels than one. They come from different backgrounds, deal with their raging emotions and have strange tasks set for them by adults who aren't inclined to help in any way...except to criticize and press upon the importance of said task. Sounds like what many high school kids are going through on a daily basis. And if they fail, adults make it seem like the end of the world. They need to make adult decisions while still feeling like they're kids at the same time. Just like these characters.
That doesn't mean that adults won't enjoy the book, too. I loved it. It was short, sure, but I really enjoyed reading it and think that it is definitely and underrated story. It's emotional, exciting and gripping. Anyone over the age of fourteen should definitely add this to their TBR list!

5/5--a hidden gem!

Purchase Preserver via:

Amazon
Goodreads

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: "Ilmarinen" by Marilla Mulwane

Title: Ilmarinen
Author: Marilla Mulwane
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Illusio & Baqer

Blurb:
Altana Burrows has always been special.

She’s smart, talented, and quick to learn. She also has a secret, and whenever she tries to tell anyone about it—her friends, her family, the school psychiatrist—they accuse her of letting her imagination run away with her. They don’t believe her. They don’t understand.
They don’t know about Ilmarinen.

They don’t know about the prophecy, or the role Altana will play in it. But the people of Ilmarinen know, and they will help her: a young hunter with a dangerous secret; a talking horse who loves to play; a little girl with a big axe; a beautiful woman in a red dress. Eventually, they will all play a part in Altana’s story, and the fate of a world will rest in their hands.

That is, if they can figure out how to kill a god.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ilmarinen-Marilla-Mulwane-ebook/dp/B00NJ0PU6C/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424363041&sr=8-1&keywords=Ilmarinen+by+Marilla+Mulwane

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20648108-ilmarinen?ac=1

Author’s Bio:
Marilla Mulwane is a small town girl that loves to write, read, craft, and play video games. All the best things to do in a small town! She just wants people to read her work. If it leads to fame, fortune, and world domination, she'll take it.

Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5994258.Marilla_Mulwane
Website: http://marillamulwane.weebly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marillamulwane.author

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Krysten Lindsay Hager

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

I have been creating stories since I was a kid and it was really the only thing I ever wanted to do. I pursued journalism as well, but writing always came first in my heart .

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

I remember getting The Great Mom Swap when I was in the fourth grade and loving that book. Good-bye, Glamour Girl by Erika Tamar was another book that made an impression on me. I read all the different series books as a kid: The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, etc. I still read YA and middle grade along with women’s fiction, and classics. And I love biographies and memoirs, too.

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel True Colors?

When I was growing up I was convinced everyone had it all together…and then there was me. I saw all these magazine covers and TV shows with the tight-knit group of friends and the perfect looking teens (who you just knew were leading perfect lives) and thought they all were in on some sort of secret that I didn’t know. What I didn’t realize is that everyone feels that way. I decided to write this book to show a character, Landry, who has all these same feelings and insecurities and wonders where (and if) she fits in. As a teen, I was stuck between wanting to fit in and stand out, which is why I have Landry feeling the same way. It’s a struggle a lot of us face—even as adults.
I wrote the book wanting teens and women of all ages to see they weren’t alone in feeling this way and I put in humor because I think the best way to get through life’s difficult times is with a sense of humor. I have Landry go through the same situations we’ve all been through with the “frenemies,” passive aggressive comments, mean girls, trying to get noticed by the popular crowd, the impossible crushes, and all those insecurities we go through. I think it’s even harder for teens now with Facebook and Instagram showing the “perfect” side of everyone, so teens and tweens today are faced with even more of those “perfect life” images that made me feel insecure as a kid.

4. Will we ever see any of these characters again in the future?

Yes, the sequel to the book will be coming out March 24th. I still can’t believe I have a series! The series is called, Landry’s True Colors and book two is titled, Best Friends…Forever? I am working on the third  book right now. The books pick up right where the previous one leaves off because I hate when I pick up the next book in the series and so much has happened off the page.

5. Were you ever or did you ever want to be a model?

I started modeling when I was a little younger than Landry. I stopped for a while and then in college I was doing some internships and people kept telling me I should try it again, but my first shoot made me feel so uncomfortable and I realized I had to rethink it. I try to be very realistic in showing modeling and not making some glamourous fantasy world.

6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?

I do use real life experiences as inspiration, but just as inspiration. All the characters are made up because it’s much easier to create a character whose backstory and motivations I can make up. Real people are far too complex and ever changing. However, I feel all Landry’s emotions when I write the scenes. I can remember what it was like to talk to a crush and all those anxious feelings come back as I write the scenes where her friends turn on her. One thing that’s different is I that I never got nervous modeling and she does. However, lots of other things make me nervous—like the first day of school! I’d rather walk a runway in front of a crowd and trip and fall on my face than to ever do another first day of school again. First days are the worst! Actually, second days are no picnic either. And in book two you’ll see her visit a high school and it mirrors my own experience—total culture shock. Landry and I both went to small, private schools, so visiting a big public high school and wondering what you’re in for the next year was terrifying to her and to me.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I also write older YA, women’s fiction, but I’m interested in doing a humor memoir.

8. What would you do if you were Landry?

I would like to say I’d stand up to Erika (her main frenemy), but at that age (and the way Landry’s personality is) I wouldn’t be able to—just like most of us aren’t. I like to think I’ve gotten better at this myself, but just today I was on a call where someone made a little passive aggressive dig at me and instead of saying, “That’s offensive,” or, “What did you mean by that?” I was defending myself to them instead of stopping and putting them in their place. So I’m still very much a work in progress on that.

9. Were you trying to make a statement about high school politics, bullying and the like? What do you have to say to young readers who are being bullied in school?

I think some of the things we go through in school goes under the radar of adults/teachers/school admin like the mean girl stuff— especially if the girls it’s coming from are supposed to be your friends. I went to a small grade school (kindergarten-8th grade) and I know how Landry feels when she lets things go because in a small school you have less people to turn to if you do tell someone, “Hey, back off, I’m not taking that from you anymore.” Adults often don’t pick up on that sort of thing when they see it’s coming from someone the person is friends with. They notice the outright bullying, but the more subtle mean girl stuff gets past them.
For kids who are going though that themselves I’d say to realize what these people are saying to you has NOTHING to do with you or what you are about—it is all a reflection of the person (bully or frenemy) saying that. Well-adjusted people do NOT go around tearing other people down for fun. Hurting people hurt people, so as hard as this is to believe, just know it’s not personal. If you have a teacher or adult you can go to for help, reach out.

10. Would you like to see True Colors as a film. Who do you want to see play your characters?

I think that would be amazing! I had a cast list made up where I picked more current people to be the characters (you can see that and the original inspirations on my Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/true-colors-inspiration/ and on my website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/ ) For Vladi, I could see Ross Lynch playing him. Maybe Bella Thorne as Peyton. I often say I could see Zendaya as Ashanti, but I always picture the original Ashanti, a singer/actress named Letoya Luckett in my mind when I’m writing scenes with her. As for Landry, I picture her as a younger Ashlee Simpson or maybe Elle Fanning. Selena Gomez could be Devon. And for Devon’s older action hero crush? Liam Neeson!

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

I’ll still be writing. I can’t see myself ever stopping. A lot of readers have expressed to me that they’d love to see Landry grow up throughout the series and even take her into college and the adult years! So maybe I’ll still be writing Landry stories as well as pursuing my other ideas.

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

Probably working as a journalist for newspapers or TV. That’s where I started out and I do have a curiosity about everything. I have a strong desire to get to the truth and get both sides of the story.  When I was interning (and then working in news), I always read at least four newspapers as well as news magazines and watched local, national, and international news broadcasts to get a bigger picture. I was a news junkie, but when I’m writing I do try to step away from it a bit. I used to have my favorite news programs, but when I moved overseas, a lot of those shows weren’t available there, so I’d watch international news but I watched less. I will say working in news made me see things are almost never black and white and to look closely and bring in all the facts.

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

I’m working on the third book in the Landry’s True Colors series, which has been a lot of fun to write. I’m also working on another upper middle grade book and more YA and doing a rewrite of a women’s fiction novel.

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I call F. Scott Fitzgerald my literary boyfriend. I love his essays, fiction, and quotes. There’s a vulnerability to his prose. I met Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High creator and author of the Victoria books) once and I choked up. I have no idea if she noticed or not, but the good news is that she didn’t call security and she let me take a peek at the Sweet Valley High “bible” she used for the series. Yes, I touched it. And for your follow up question, yes, I did eventually wash my hands after that. I didn’t want to, but health codes being what they are…

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

I once lived on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
I have strong intuition and often times things I’ve written will come true. I keep a notebook of some of these coincidences. Sometimes I’ll see something play out just like I wrote it and all I can do is sit there with my mouth open. My family is getting used to getting calls where I say, “You are not going to believe this!” My friends tell me I should write about myself and them winning the lottery. I did write that once, but it didn’t happen…well, yet anyway. Stay tuned.
I won my first school wide writing competition when I was in the first grade.

Find Ms. Hager online via:

Website
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Twitter
Pinterest
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Goodreads