Tuesday 28 May 2013

Prince of Shadows by Nancy Gideon

Title:  Prince of Shadows        

Series:
  Moonlight Series, book 8

Author:
  Nancy Gideon      

Genre:  Paranormal 

Date of Publication:  May 27, 2013 

Number of Pages: 384

Buy Links: 
Amazon      Barnes and Noble

Book Description:  A gentle female held hostage in a deadly play for power, Kendra Terriot’s only means of survival for herself and her family is to play to a careful courtship game. The one she chooses from her clan’s dangerous heirs will inherit the coveted crown, keeping her their prisoner forever . . . unless she can retain her virtue until rescue arrives.

Favored son of their brutal Shifter leader, the only calm in Cale Terriot’s violent world is a childhood love for his delicate distant cousin whom he’s pledged to make his queen. With Kendra at his side, he knows he can become the kind of ruler his clan needs, but first he must learn how to become the kind of mate she desires.

In a treacherous race for control, where weakness means death, Cale must prove he’s not the beast his beauty fears and still protect her, especially once her unrequited love returns to free her. The only way to win her respect could mean surrendering his throne.

The only way to win her heart could mean letting her go…even if she no longer wants to be saved.


 

About the Author: 

Nancy Gideon is the author of over 54 novels ranging from historical and contemporary suspense to paranormal with a couple of horror screenplays thrown in. When not at the keyboard or working full time as a legal assistant, she can be found feeding her addictions for Netflix and all things fur, feather and fin.


Website       Blog      Facebook        Twitter       Goodreads


 

Sunday 26 May 2013

Q & A with Samantha Durante

Title: Stitch

Series: Stitch Trilogy, book 1

Author: Samantha Durante

Page Count: 314

Published:  August 1, 2012

Read It & Reap Date: September 1, 2013

Book Description:  Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.
 
Add Stitch to your Goodreads shelf!




Q & A with Samantha Durante
Q:  Tell us a little bit about your main characters.
A:  At the beginning of the book, we meet Alessa in her first year of college, and she’s having a rough time. Her parents died a year ago in a tragic accident, and as much as she’s trying to throw herself into school and sorority life to help herself move on, Alessa just can’t seem to shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right in her life – that she just doesn’t belong there. And on top of that, she keeps seeing this ghost around her sorority house, a handsome guy about her age, and despite being terrified, she also finds herself drawn to him, and is quickly sucked into an obsession with finding out who he is. Alessa has one great friend at school, Janie, whose bubbly, sarcastic personality shines a little light on Alessa’s gloom, and Janie is doing what she can to help Alessa try to find some sense of normalcy while her life is upside-down. And then there’s the ghost, Isaac – I can’t say *too* much about him without spoiling the twist, but I’ll just point out that he’s NOT at all what Alessa thinks he is. In fact, there’s a stronger connection between Isaac and Alessa than either of them know, and the story is about how the two of them come to realize the truth and then find a way out of the dangerous situation they’ve unknowingly been living in.

Q:  What was your favorite scene to write?
A:  Definitely the scenes during the climax. The beginning of the book starts out with this sort of slow burn as you’re introduced to Alessa’s life and bumble along beside her as she’s trying to put all the pieces together, but once the big twist is revealed, it’s like BAM! The action just takes off, the characters kick into high gear, and you’re thrust into this entire new world as the truth comes to light and Alessa and Isaac make their escape. And then the next book in the series picks up right where we left off, so I really enjoyed writing pretty much that whole book – it was super fun to have all the background out of the way so I could spend more time exploring the setting and bringing in the romance and action and deepening the plot.

Q:  How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
A:  I always try to write about things I know, since I feel like I can do a better job putting the reader inside the book/character if I can recall things from my own experience. So the college campus in Stitch is a lot like my alma mater, only bigger (after reading the first few chapters, one of my good friends from college was like, “So, I guess Alessa goes to Penn?”) and there are some scenes where Alessa is walking outside after an unexpected snowfall or passing notes to her friend in class and these are all things I took directly from my own experience. In addition, personality-wise I think Alessa is a lot like me – she’s had a much rougher ride than I ever did, but when I’m thinking about her reactions and how she thinks about things, I just drop myself into her shoes and ask, “What would I do?”

Q:  What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
A:  I work full-time as a freelance business writer during the week, so my fiction writing is all done on the weekends, whenever I can squeeze it in. Things get busy for me in the spring/summer/fall, so must of my writing thus far (for Stitch and its sequel, Shudder) has been done during the dead of winter, from January-early April. I’m definitely most productive in the mornings, though I’ll write the whole day through if I can, and I basically try to do 3-4 chapters a weekend (though I had a couple marathon weekends with Shudder where I did 5-10!) – that generally allows me to finish the first draft in 3-4 months.

Q:  If you could be any character from your book, who would you be and why?
A:  Haha, the characters in my books are NOT having a fun time! I honestly wouldn’t want to be in *any* of their situations! But if there was someone I could be more like, it would be Janie – she’s just always so upbeat and positive, lighthearted, genuine, and absolutely there for the people she cares about. Janie is who I try to be when I’m in a crowd, but the people who know me best know that I’m really more serious and more of a loner than that, even though I’m very loyal and very determined – more like Alessa. :-)

Q:  Do you have any hidden talents?
A:  I actually always joke that if I was going to be in a talent show, I have no idea what I’d do. I haven’t played an instrument (the baritone horn) since middle school, my singing is mediocre at best (I have the same range as a boy band, so I can do that well but not much else!), I’ve played a lot of sports (basketball, rugby, lacrosse, field hockey, roller derby) but I’m not exactly a star in any of them, I can’t juggle or do magic tricks or anything. I’m book smart, but that’s boring, and my biggest talents are my organization/time-management skills – which are legendary – and my writing – which many of my friends actually considered a “hidden” talent since I went to school for business/engineering did nothing relating to writing – but how can you show those off at a talent show?? I’m hopeless in the hidden talent department, lol.

Q:  If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A:  I would stay *right* where I am. :-) I’ve done a lot of traveling (and living) all over the place, and I’ve realized that there’s nowhere I want to be more than my home, in New York. It took a long time to get back where I belong, but I’m finally settled in an adorable little dream house, with my cat on my lap, my husband by my side, and the rest of my family just around the corner. I really have no desire to leave ever again – I don’t even want to go on vacation, I’m not kidding. My life is better than any vacation I can imagine. I’m very lucky to be able to say that.

Q:  What book are you reading now?
A:  I’m in the middle of re-reading the Game of Thrones series, currently on Book 3 – I’m trying to follow along with it as the TV show progresses this season, which I find is helping me digest the story a lot better. The first time I read the series, I plowed through all of them so quickly (like in two weeks!) that I forgot all the details, and then when I watched the show I was like, “Wait, what happened again??” So now I’m trying to take it more slowly and really enjoy it and think about the story. And since I just finished the first draft of Shudder, I’m in a short break while my beta readers read it and plan to devour a bunch more books before I go back to revise, so I’ll have a lot more to add to that list soon!



About the Author:
Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.





 

Thursday 23 May 2013

Superstition Mountain Trilogy by Stacey Thompson



Superstition Mountain
Superstition Mountain Trilogy Part One

by Stacey Thompson

Paranormal Romance Western

The Order has been around for as long as Demons have roamed the earth, but when the first Demon starts a war, there are only a few left to finish it.

Ami's different and one of the best Monster Slayers there is, but she's not ready to face the dark with the one person who knows her best, Wesley the one who trained her. She might just fall in love with him


Blood and Dust
Superstition Mountain Trilogy Part Two

by Stacey Thompson

Paranormal Romance Western

Protecting the world against evil isn't easy when you are cursed with evil yourself. Ami is between the dark and the light. Will she be able to save herself and those she loves? Or will Price take her to the dark?



Truth in Lies
Superstition Mountain Trilogy Part Three

by Stacey Thompson

Paranormal Romance Western

Wesley thought the search was over, but finding Ami was just the start of his problems. When a shady Witch joins them, trouble is all they get. Can Wesley bring Ami back from the darkness that's trying to take over her, or is she their new enemy?






 
 
 
Excerpt:  Superstition Mountain, Part One 
 
Ami

     Ami opened her eyes to a clearing in the middle of the woods. She watched a

woman  franticly looking for a place to hide the bundle she had in her arms. Ami

took a couple of  steps closer to see what it was she was carrying until she could

see it was a baby.

     The woman finally seemed to find a place she could put the child. She threw

some  branches back in a bush and revealed a small open space. She carefully slid

the baby in it and placed a green stone in his blankets. Ami watched the stone glow

a faint green and then  fade back to it's original color.

     Ami watched the woman as she tried to run, but something was coming. She

looked into the woods and finally saw what it was that was hunting this woman and

her baby. Price.

     She felt her breath catch and waited. Price caught sight of the woman and smiled

as he ran for her. She tried to get away, but wasn't fast enough. Price grabbed her

arm and flung her into a nearby tree. The woman fell and tried to crawl away, but

she didn't get far. Price picked her up and slammed her against the tree, holding her

there by her throat.

     “Where's the child?” He held her there as he spoke, but she didn't answer. “I'll

find the Monster Slayer bloodline and snuff it out with or without your help.” He

smiled and bit her neck. She screamed, but it wasn't long before the life was drained

from her.

     Ami looked back to the bush, but the vision was fading in front of her. In only a

minute, there was nothing but darkness.

Wesley

     Wesley tried to push the Vampire away from him, but she was clearly a lot

stronger and only laughed at his attempt to get away.

     “Is that your choice?” She pulled him to her and kissed his lips hard before

finishing her thought. “That's too bad. I liked you.” She held the knife to his throat

and pressed slightly. She was going to drag this out and make his death long and

painful.

     Wesley took a breath and hoped for a quick end when the door suddenly flew

open. The Vampire turned and held the knife at her side. Wesley couldn't see who it

was, but guessed Maggie had finally showed up to save his ass.

     He saw the gleam of a gold blade as it came down at the Vampire's neck. She

dodged it and swiped with her blade. Wesley finally could see who it was that was

fighting off the bitch.

     Jason, his father.

     Wesley didn't waste any time in retrieving his gun from the table on the other

side of the room and shot at the Vampire as Jason tried to take her head. The blade

was large and easy to see coming, but she didn't expect the bullet that hit her in the

chest. Jenna fell to the ground with her mouth open in a silent scream. The men

watched her body burn from the inside out until there was nothing left but dust.

     “Are you alright?” Jason turned his head to see Wesley as he spoke. Wesley was

uneasy that Jason had followed him, but maybe he felt a little loyalty to his own son

and that was enough for him.

     “I'm fine,” Wesley answered, trying to stay upright. His head was hurt and he was

clearly bleeding, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle or had in the past. “Why

are you even here?” He said it before he thought about it.

     “I thought you'd need some help,” Jason said plainly. Wesley raised his

eyebrows in response, but didn't say anything more. “We need to get Maggie and

get out of here.” Wesley felt the same way so he nodded and grabbed his hat from

the floor. He was glad he wasn't alone in this and had people that were willing to kill

this Demon Vampire and get the one thing he would never live his life without. He'd

die before he'd leave her to this thing even if he had no idea how to kill Price.

Ami

     Ami could feel the wind on her skin before she even opened her eyes. When she

did finally open her eyes, the first thing that caught her eye was the dark sky above

her and then the house. She knew where she was this time. She was at the home

she grew up in, but she wasn't sure why. The house looked the same as it had

when she was younger. The wood was weather stripped and the door was flimsy,

but kept the elements out. The windows still had the glass in them and a faint light

shown from one of the closer ones.

     She took the few steps it took to get to the door and opened it slowly. Ami saw a

familiar scene from the last night he mother was alive.

     A man wearing a dark hat was standing in the middle of the room. Another man

was holding her mother against the wall by her throat. The same as the woman in t

the vision Ami saw.

     Ami wanted to run up and pull the man off of her mother, but she couldn't move.

Everything she remembered as a child was being challenged and the past was

becoming clear.

      “Where's the child?” The man in the dark hat said, not taking his glowing green

eyes from her mother. That's when it clicked for Ami. This wasn't just another

Demon. This was Price. That's when he caught sight of a younger and more

vulnerable Ami. “That's the one we're looking for.” He took a step towards the girl,

but she ran.

     Ami was screaming in her own head for the younger self to run faster and never

look back, but she knew how it ended and now she knew everything she ever

thought about herself was true. She wasn't just a girl chosen to fight as a Monster

Slayer. She was a born Monster Slayer. Her blood was connected to the first one

and the line that Price wanted to kill so many years ago.

      The thought made her want to run as the vision started to fade and she closed

her eyes. Ami didn't want to wake up to a new nightmare that no one had ever told

her about.






About the Author:
Stacey has been writing since she can remember. She primarily writes Edgy Paranormal and Paranormal Romance, but has dabbled in the Horror and Young Adult Genres.

She is a mother of three and lives in the beautiful state of Wyoming. You can find her at her blog and Facebook page.

www.staceythompsonauthor.info

www.blog.staceythompsonauthor.info

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stacey-Thompson/133494070000357
 
@staceytg

 
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Wednesday 22 May 2013

Q & A with Pete Planisek

Title:  Frankenstein A Life Beyond (Book 1)

Author:  Pete Planisek 

Published:  August 1, 2012 

Read It & Reap Date:  June 11, 2013 

Book Description:  Ten years after the loss of his entire family to madness and death, Ernest Frankenstein finds himself compelled to return to the city of his birth, Geneva, in order to discover if his elder brother, Victor, might still be alive. Only Victor can provide the answers to questions, which have long plagued Ernest. The quest for answers will force Ernest to confront demons, both internal and external, from his past, which refuse to be at peace and which ultimately will endanger both he and his new family. Hunted across Europe their only hope may lie with a French spy, Ernest’s childhood friend, and a mysterious gypsy girl whose people believe that Ernest will lead humanity to its salvation or final destruction.

Frankenstein A Life Beyond by Pete Planisek is the first direct sequel to Mary Shelley’s iconic story, Frankenstein, which examined Victor Frankenstein’s quest to both create and kill an unnamed creature that ultimately destroys all but one member of the Frankenstein family, Victor’s brother, Ernest. Frankenstein A Life Beyond explores many of the issues left open by the original, while establishing new characters and mysteries. 


Add Frankenstein A Life Beyond to your Goodreads shelf!
 
Buy Links:  Amazon  ~  Barnes and Noble  





 
Q & A with Pete Planisek

Q:  Tell us a little bit about your main characters.
A:  Frankenstein A Life Beyond is really a story about family, trust, and justice. These are issues the main character, Ernest Frankenstein, must confront after ten years of trying to out run his family’s dark past. His young Irish wife, Ailis Tierney Frankenstein, who is key to Ernest’s personal rebirth, must confront choices that may destroy both herself and her unborn child. Her mysterious half-sister, Abrielle, must decide if she is more loyal to her masters in Napoleon’s Imperial France or to the family that abandoned her.

Victor Frankenstein’s creature seeks justice from Ernest Frankenstein and will draw Ernest and his family into a deadly war between two rival groups of gypsies who fight to control the outcome of an ancient prophecy involving Ernest and the creature. One of these groups is lead by an imposing gypsy named Jal, whose daughter, Baseria, has been rejected by her people but may hold the key to humanity’s salvation or final destruction.

Q:  We all know the classic tale of Frankenstein. Why did you choose to write this sequel?
A:  Like many readers I was first exposed to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel when I was in school. In college I took a, at the time, new course at Ohio University that studied works of Gothic literature. This was my real introduction to Shelley’s classic tale but it wasn’t until I was teaching Frankenstein for the first time to my own students in late in 2004 that I asked myself an essential question that sparked my own creative flame. In the original novel there is only one survivor among the Frankenstein family, the middle child, Victor Frankenstein’s brother Ernest. The question I had was a basic one: What would surviving the events in Frankenstein do to someone; especially when the person who lives has no idea why these horrible events happened in the first place?

With this in mind I decided to focus Frankenstein A Life Beyond (Book 1 of 3) on Ernest Frankenstein because I wanted to explore the answer to my question. I also felt that the creature's story was incomplete and wanted to see how the events of his past would shape his future. The creature in my novel is not the infant/adolescent character we meet in Shelley's book. He has matured and changed, as we all do when we grow up.

So why continue the storyline of Frankenstein? Aside from an exploration of victimization, the importance of family, and trust, I feel that Shelley’s tale has never been more relevant. We live in an age where science and technology continue to push new frontiers and compel us (willing or not) to face new questions of morality, wisdom, and even justice.

Q:  This is book one of three; what situations are the other two books going to cover?
A:  The creature has real power in this story. Does he seek to help, corrupt, or destroy Ernest and his family? How did he rise to power and what are his ultimate goals for both himself and humanity? Both Ernest and Abrielle must attempt to survive challenges of the heart and the soul as they confront their own dark pasts while trying to save their family and friends. As a dark, Romanian nobleman rises, what role will Baseria and her mysterious abilities play in resolving the prophecy of her people?

Essentially this is one epic story that I’ve separated into three books. I decided early on that it was more practical to present the story in a series of books rather than as a massive tome.

Q:  How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
A:  Fortunately I was brought up in a stable, loving, supportive environment. I was always encouraged to try new things, to listen to others, be involved in the community, and to read. I’ve always had people around me who believed in me and my dream of becoming a writer. This encouragement has been essential to my growth as a person and as a writer and given me the confidence to be willing to take risks as an author and to share my work with others.

Q:  What about the horror genre interests you?
A:  To me, horror is not about necessarily about gore; it's about possibilities. I enjoy putting characters into mysterious, even fantastical, situations that they may not fully understand and seeing what choices both they and their antagonists choose to make. Horror is freeing in the sense that you get to slowly peel back the layers of a character and gain a deeper understanding of who they truly are and what beliefs guide them in this world and hopefully in doing so make the reader consider their own life as well.

Q:  What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
A:  Some of it depends on the type of writing I’m doing. I have several children’s books written that I’m looking for an illustrator for so they can be completed. Most of those stories (and my poetry) evolve fairly quickly and can be very freeing writing exercises.

With novel length or script projects I tend to be more methodical. I like to map out (to a degree) my characters, major plot points, and the end of the story before I sit down and actually begin composing. Even though I take these steps I think it’s important to remain flexible because life (and writing) is often more interesting when you stray off the path from time to time. Never be afraid to embrace change if it enriches the narrative, characters, or world you are creating.

I typically write something everyday; it really depends on what I’m able to draw out of myself. I have days when I sit down and easily compose ten or more pages and I have others when I’m doing good to produce a paragraph. Sometimes struggling directly with a story produces great results; however, if I feel perpetually stuck with one project I might switch to another for a time before returning to the previous one. The subconscious mind is truly an author’s best friend, as is the editing process.

Q:  Do you have any hidden talents?
A:  I enjoy doing different voices – everything from The Simpsons, to movie characters, to politicians. People are usually amused when I break into one of these out of nowhere. I also co-host an entertainment podcast called Hindsight is 20-20 where we dissect films and discuss other directions a story could have gone. I’m hoping to complete an audio version of Frankenstein A Life Beyond and release it before 2014. I also run a small ebook publisher called Enceladus Literary LLC.

Q:  What book are you reading now?
A:  I’ve got two novels I’m currently trying to complete: The Three Musketeers and A Lesson Before Dying and my to read list keeps getting longer.


 
About the Author: 

Pete Planisek lives in Columbus, OH, where he teaches English, runs Enceladus Literary LLC, and is co-host of an entertainment podcast called Hindsight is 20-20. He received his Masters from Ohio University where he founded a student literary arts magazine called Recently Eclipsed. He has published newspaper articles and is a member of SCBWI. He served for seven years as adviser/co-adviser to a NCTE award winning student literary arts publication. Frankenstein A Life Beyond is his debut novel.


Enceladus Literary:  http://www.enceladusliterary.com/

Author page:  http://www.enceladusliterary.com/?page_id=123

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pplanisekauthor?filter=1

Twitter:  @peteplanisek

Book Daily:  http://www.bookdaily.com/book/3501281/frankenstein-a-life-beyond-kindle-edition

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Trust: A New Beginning by Cristiane Serruya

Trust: A New Beginning (Trust #1)Trust: A New Beginning by Cristiane Serruya
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trust is a complex story that is wonderfully developed with enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader guessing the whole way through. The character development in Trust was fabulous. The characters have their own issues, are not perfect, but are wonderful each in their own way. They were easy to relate to, especially Sophia, and by the end of the story I felt that I knew them personally. Their stories were interesting to say the least, and once they crossed paths their lives were woven together in an exciting, breathtaking way.

Sophia is a young, beautiful, rich widow. She is also very intelligent, which is a characteristic you do not often see in female leads. Ethan and Alistair are equally rich playboys. Either of them could have any woman they wanted – and they both want Sophia.

The author's writing is beautifully descriptive, sometimes overly so; it is nice while reading a story for some of the little things to be left up to the imagination. The brand name dropping was a bit much as well. However, the emotion the author was able to put into the story through her words was incredible, full of ups and downs. I really love book that makes me feel for the characters. And after that ending, I will definitely be looking for book two in the Trust series.

I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.


View all my reviews

Monday 20 May 2013

So Many Reasons Why by Missy Johnson

So Many Reasons Why (So Many Reasons, #1)So Many Reasons Why by Missy Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emma is stuck in the past, dealing with the aftermath of a devastating attack from her childhood. She has not left her house willingly in the ten years subsequent to the attack and has continuing nightmares. Taking classes online, Emma finds an unlikely friend in one of her professors.

Simon is significantly older than Emma, her college professor, assistant DA, and divorcee with a young child. Emma and Simon's relationship seems to be doomed from the start, but you just cannot ignore the sizzling chemistry between them. Though he knows technically his relationship with Emma is wrong, Simon just cannot stay away from her. Ultimately he plays a large role in Emma's moving forward with her life. Ultimately, though, some things follow you even when you try to leave them behind. After her attacker is released from prison, Emma must find the strength to face her nightmares and overcome her fears.

This story was not about pitying the victim or forgiving the one who hurt you, but rather celebrating life and the fact that it will go on when you're willing and able to let go of the past. I really liked Emma. You would think that having agoraphobia would be a weakness, but Emma was a strong character despite that. She was a lot of fun, and adding Simon and his amusing personality to the mix made the story was overall enjoyable. The author was able to throw in a mix of fun, drama, happiness, tears, fear, and surprise into this story.

Two things could have made this story even better – 1) There needed to be distinct transition points between one scene and the next. Often times I found myself having to back up a sentence or two because I had not realized that the scene/day/speaker had changed, and what I was reading was not making sense. Better transition between scenes would have made the overall flow of the story more continuous and ultimately smoother. 2) The book is set in America, but there is a lot of English speak in the story. It would have been much more realistic if Emma had been English and living in America or the story was set in the UK. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this story very much.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.


View all my reviews

Sunday 19 May 2013

Q & A with Mary Holland

Title:  The Bone Road

Author:  Mary Holland

Page Count:  374

Published:  2012 

Read It & Reap Date:  June 25, 2013


Book Description:  A divvy, a dying woman, and a promise.

Rhona has the divvy gift; with only a touch she can tell if a baby will be fertile or a sterile Shun, destined to be killed or outcast. The people of the Deom depend on the divvys for survival, but it is a hard and brutal gift. As long as Rhona’s mother was alive, Rhona had followed the old ways, but now her mother is dead and Rhona is free to live her own life. She has one last obligation to fulfill: honor her mother's dying wish to find a woman named Selina and offer her help.

Rhona has no idea who Selina is, but the best way to find anyone on Deo is to travel the Bone Road, the trade highway paved with the remains of their ancestors. And follow it Rhona does, accompanied by her young son Jak, straight into a twisted conspiracy of vengeance, death, rebirth, and the mystery of the Riders, men who never die and are bent on closing the Bone Road forever.

Buy Links:  Amazon  ~  Smashwords  ~  B&N



Q & A with Mary Holland

Q:  Tell us a little bit about your main characters.
A:  Rhona is a very important woman in her society, but she has many responsibilities and obligations she is oath-bound to fulfill. She has, as the story opens, one last act to perform before she is free to do as she wants. She’s an extremely strong woman, emotionally, and she isn’t afraid to take chances and make decisions. Her son Jak is very centered and secure in himself, and he’s curious about everything. We meet him when he is twelve and he grows up during the story. The third main character, Aniles, begins the story being motivated only by revenge. That’s a hard dry place to be, and she spends a lot of the story fighting off things that try to mellow her or distract her from vengeance.

Q:  What was your favorite scene to write?
A:  The scene in the graveyard with Jak and Rhona, where she discovers what he’s done. It still makes the hair rise up on my arms when I read it. And my least favorite scene to write was the first chapter of Part 2: In The Nursery. I rewrote that bit about ten times before I was satisfied with it.

Q:  How would you describe your writing style?
A:  Straightforward and unadorned. I’m always going back and putting bits of description in, because I must remember the reader can’t see what’s inside my head. Someone once said no matter how well a scene is described in a story, the reader will default to the familiar. In other words, I can describe a house in great detail, but the house the reader sees will be one in their memory. In some cases you have to let the reader provide the embellishments, but you must give them somewhere to start.

Q:  Who designs the covers for your books and what is that process like for you as an author?
A:  Rhea Ewing has done my covers, both for The Bone Road and Matcher Rules, my first novel. I love working with her. I have the artistic skills of a moldy potato, so I tell her what I see on the cover and she tactfully steers me to something about 500 times better. We just finished the revision of the Ebook cover of The Bone Road. I thought it was hard to see in thumbnail size. So the Ebook and the paperback have different covers, but there are no changes or revisions in the text. Promise.

Q:  What do you see as influences on your writing?
A:  I’ve been reading genre fiction for years, especially fantasy, sci-fi, and mysteries. I admire Lois McMaster Bujold, Sheri Tepper, Dave Duncan, Elizabeth Lynn, and Ursula K. LeGuin, to name only the first few names in fantasy. In science fiction I go for character and plot over the science every time, so Theodore Sturgeon, Alexsi Panshin, and C.J. Cherryh, to name a few. I admire mystery stories, especially the classics by Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham, but I’m not sure they have influenced my writing except in the sense that everything I read influences it. I’d encourage anyone who is interested in genre to read the masters: John D. Macdonald, Peter O’Donnell, Lawrence Block, Georgette Heyer. I hate this slicing and dicing of genre into categories which get smaller and smaller every year. A good story is a good story whether it’s fantasy or a thriller or science fiction. Or Regency romance.

Q:  Where do you hope to see yourself in the next five years?
A:  I want to be right here, writing. I hope to have another three books out, and I want to have as many readers as it is possible to have.

Q:  What do you do to unwind and relax?
A:  Read. Or actually, reread. I have about 3,000 books in this house and I reread stories all the time. Familiarity with a good story does not breed contempt. I also play various addicting and time-wasting games on my Ipad. My husband and I spend a lot of time watching movies and television series. We’re currently hooked on “New Tricks”, a detective series from England. Thank heavens for the BBC. And we are watching, along with the rest of the universe, season 3 of Game of Thrones. I’ve read all the books so I know what’s coming but he hasn’t, so I have to be careful what I say.

Q:  What book are you reading now?
A:  Oh, dear. I’m reading about six books not quite simultaneously. The current stack includes Megan Whelan Turner’s The Thief series, Humphrey Carpenter’s biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks, the Daylight War by Peter Brett, and The Sharing Knife: Passages by Lois McMaster Bujold. I’ve always been a very fast reader and I’ve never had any problem keeping plots and characters straight from book to book, so I stack them up by the best chair and grab whatever I feel like.


About the Author: 

Mary Holland writes fantasy and science fiction. She's more interested how people would live in alien worlds than in the rocket ships they arrived on. She doesn't do vampires or dragons although that could change at any moment. She lives in the Santa Cruz mountains with several cats and a husband.


Website:  http://www.mary-holland.com

Email:  
mary@mary-holland.com

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

Q & A with L. Sengul

Title: The Danfians Prophecy
Author: L. Sengul

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Page Count: 353

Published: November 12, 2012

Read It & Reap Date:  September 24, 2013

Book Description: Chloe Rose discovers that not only is she a human but also a Danfian and a Sofayan...spirits from another planet. She must leave everything she knows as her life is in danger.

Chloe is being pursued as she is the one prophesied to destroy Ivan, the leader of Sofayans who control this world.
Chloe is captured by Alexander, a Sofayan who is a bounty hunter. She ignites a passion within his heart, that lay dormant for centuries. And Chloe feels as if she has been cast under his spell.

Will they stay loyal to their cause or will they give in to their hearts?


Buy Links: Amazon ~ Amazon UK
 

 
About the Author:
I've always had a colourful imagination where I would often see stories play out in my mind. It's almost like having my very own movie on the go and how it pans out is up to me! I am inspired by life and all the challenges that we as a human race have to overcome, which will hopefully show in my writing.
I have a beautiful family that keeps me on my toes and my feet very much grounded. Some of my favorite authors include but not limited to are: J.K Rowling, MC Scott (Manda Scott), Khaled Hosseini, Tim Willocks, Stephanie Meyers, Anne Rice, Virginia Andrews, Andrea Levy. As you can see my reading taste fits into many genres, but nothing feeds my mind like a good sci-fi/fantasy that has a romance element to it.
 


Q & A with L. Sengul

Q:  Tell us a little bit about your main characters.
A:  My main characters are Chloe Rose and Alexander Cruz. Chloe is not your typical 21 year old. She keeps herself to herself. She has always felt like something has been missing in her life. And when strange regime changes start taking place, she starts to feel alive as if an emptiness in her will be filled. At this point Chloe discovers that not only is she human, but a Danfian and a Sofayan (species from another world). Upon the discovery of the prophecy her world is shattered. She has to go on the run and gather an army of Danfians to defeat Ivan the leader of Sofayans. Alexander Cruz is a hardened bounty hunter, who works for Ivan. He is ordered to capture Chloe and bring her to him. However when he sees Chloe, she looks very much like his first love causing him to think differently of Chloe and whether or not he should take her to Ivan.


Q:  What was your favorite scene to write?
A:  There were many favorites, but the most one I feel attached to is the first paragraph of the first chapter "Insight". That was the first scene I started to imagine, before I even knew what the story was going to be about. I could clearly see a girl looking longingly at her one and only love from a distance as he is her enemy, whilst the guy looked like he was in anguish searching for the girl. And from there the characters of Chloe and Alexander developed

Q:  How would you describe your writing style?
A:  I like to write from the point of view of the main characters, I feel this gives a better insight to the characters. As if they are talking to the reader directly, making the reading experience more intimate.

Q:  What do you see as influences on your writing?
A:  I've always been drawn to characters whether fictional or not that have a strong woman lead or a strong female personality, perhaps because my mother is very independent, who raised 3 daughters on her own after her divorce. Especially coming from my background and culture, these types of personalities are suppressed, my mother rebelled and so did I. So in order for me to write a story there is no doubt that my own life experiences influenced me to write a strong female lead and yet the lead is still vulnerable enough to fall in love and be naive to it's complexities.

Q:  If you could be any character from your book, who would you be and why?
A:  I would be Sheena, a Sofayan. Because she enjoys life with a carefree attitude. She is incredibly strong and has a strong telepathy connection with other Sofayans. There is more depth to her character than it first seems and she appears to come across a certain way but behind it all she has a wonderful wisdom about her.

Q:  As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A:  Ok - I remember clearly my teacher asked me in nursery what I wanted to be and I answered with all seriousness "A Princess". I cringe every time when i think of it.

Q:  What book are you reading now?
A:  I am not currently reading anything now. I have a rule that if i'm writing my own book I can't read another one as I find it too distracting. But I can say the next one on my list will be Catching Fire from Suzie Collins.