Author Archives: fundinmental

Who’s Afraid Of A Little Kitty Kat?

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9 Lives by George M. Moser

Nine Lives

Is it true cats have 9 lives?

A cat has nine lives – three to play – three to stray – and three to stay.

Author Unknown

Jenny could remember when her and Michael first met at the library. She was studying and he was with his friends, drunk. She told him the name of her dormitory house, the Mayflower, thinking he’d never remember. But he did. When she turned up pregnant, he was happy.

Jenny had called Michael at work telling him about the cat JR had found under the deck. It didn’t seem to be able to find its way out and needed rescuing.

He had a 66 blue Ford Mustang Shelby GT his dad had given him and he called it his cat’s meow. How ironic that would prove to be. While Michael and Max, his lab, were trying to scare the cat out its hiding place, it made a run for it. A chase ensued. Unfortunately, his attempt to catch the cat was a complete failure and he accidentally killed it. He hurriedly disposed of it before Jenny could see what happened.

Near the Valley of Kings in the Sahara Desert was an excavation site. Among the artifacts were small mummies of cats or maybe small dogs. Marty McAndrews was heading up the dig. He had accidentally stumbled upon the site and began digging illegally thinking to get the permit if they found anything.

Marty had found 250 cat mummies They were usually buried because they were loved or someone wanted to protect them. The door they had come across had a warning telling them not to go in, but Marty would anyway. He felt there was a great treasure inside, just waiting for him to come and take it.

They had not gotten the necessary paperwork done and Mohamed was trying to get Marty to slow down, use caution. Money would not buy them out of trouble this time, even though Marty’s arrogance had always allowed him to have his way before.

Michael called Shaun, Jenny’s brother, to come over and when he did, he gave him the cat in a plastic bag and told him to get rid of it. He was drunk, but took it to the forest preserve thinking it was a perfect place to dump it. He thought he heard it move, but nothing happened so he threw it in the bushes and left, not realizing a cop had seen him.

Cats, Animated Pictures, Images and Photos

After Shaun had left, the cop went to see what he had done. The saying “curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back,”, proved so true. Unfortunately for Steven Case. He opened the bag, sure the cat was dead, but it hissed and spat at him before he could pull his gun and shoot it.

Michael was waiting for Jenny to finish dressing for the block party. A cat jumped on the ledge outside the window. It looked like the one he killed,, but he knew it couldn’t be.

Everywhere he turned he saw the cat with its head bashed in and its funky eye, except now he brought a friend. He must be imagining it.

Ever since Michael got his promotion and accidentally killed the cat, his life began going downhill. He had been scratched by the cat and the scratches had become infected. He was getting rabies shots, just in case, but had told no one about it. Not even his wife.
fortune teller Pictures, Images and Photos

The fortune-teller at the party told him about the cat in the garbage and Krista, the town hussy. She mentioned other things, but Michael was not really paying attention. Who believed in fortune-tellers anyway?

His first day of work in his new position turned into a nightmare. When he left work he decided to stop for a bit to eat before heading home. He sat down by his favorite statue, Picasso, in the center of Daley Plaza. Cats began appearing from everywhere. As he ran, he kept turning back and saw all the cats still chasing him, but where were all the people? It was like in a dream, where you’re running as fast as you can, but it feels like slow motion.

The fortune-teller, Zara, had written down Reland, His car was parked on Ireland, was she behind this?  There was a man in the parking structure in a long black coat. His hat covered his face, just like the fortune-teller had mentioned. When lightning flashed, he saw the man was deathly pale with catlike eyes and fang-like teeth. Cats were swirling all around him. The man and cats vanished into thin air, but written on the windshield was Valafar. What or who was that?

He was caught in a nightmare and it just kept getting worse. Everywhere he went, the cats were there attacking him and getting meaner and meaner.

“Look, why would I take a cat from the zoo and release him into the Wagon, only to kill the damn thing in a blender? Sounds like a book to me.” Made me laugh, even through the gruesomeness.

“Snakes! I hate snakes” copied from Indian Jones.

funky blinking cat eyes Pictures, Images and Photos

Sneak up on prey – efficient, silent.

I think cats are already creepy, so go ahead and add a supernatural one. LOL

Techniques – stalk, run, pounce, ambush .

What’s not creepy about that?

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos    4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

Won on Goodreads First Read Giveaway. The author was gracious enough to sign it for me. Thank you. I have been wanting to read this book ever since it arrived in the mail, but I just got to it.

The cover is eye-catching. If I had been in the library, I would have pulled it off the shelf without even looking further. If I saw it in the book store, I definitely would have investigated further. And after reading the book blurb, I would have bought it. The blurb  put a smile on my face, but I’m not sure if it was appropriate considering the gruesomeness and horror of the book, even though I’m smiling as I write this.

What happens when you forget your dreams? So many people grow up and trade their dreams for the things it takes just to survive and provide for your family.

It seemed Michael did like most of us, put aside his dreams and entered the “real world”. But who’s to say what is right or wrong when you are talking about the rest of your life. Sometimes there will be a moment in our lives that will lead us to the path we wanted to take in the beginning.

He talked about pulling a Bruce Willis in Die Hard, strapping the gun to his back. Only real life isn’t like in the movies.

I really like that I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen next. The tension created by the anticipation of the cat’s attack kept building throughout the book. More than once I found myself saying to myself don’t turn around, don’t go there, don’t open the bag. I could feel the chills running up and down my spine and the hairs rising on the back of my neck as the cats stalked him, creeping around, unafraid and so bold.

Right up there with Stephen King and Dean Koontz, who are two of my favorite horror writers.

This is a caracal cat – one of the Kings of terror in 9 Lives.

About The Author

George M. Moser graduated from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa with a degree in Business Finance. He enjoyed a successful career in real estate in the Chicago area and became an active and upstanding member of the community, making charitable donations to local hospitals, churches and community projects. He lives with his wife and children just outside Chicago and spends his free time writing. Nine Lives is his first novel and he is currently working on a further two titles.

Website:    http://www.gmmoser.com

Author Profile Page:   http://www.gmmoser.com/the-author.html
  To order, simply click on the cover.

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Review of Changes by Charles Colyott

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Changes – A Randall Lee Mystery by Charles Colyott

Changes -- A Randall Lee Mystery

 

Photobucket

 

Yu Bei: Preparation.

Qi Shi: Begin.

Even after everything that has happened, I still practice Tai Chi every morning.

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I had heard the phone ring while doing my morning routine, but I let the answering machine pick it up. When I checked it, I found there were two calls from some cop, a Detective Knox. Said he had a few questions for me. After my shower, I grabbed another beer and headed down to the shop. I had told the detective to come on by in twenty minutes or so.

When a guy dressed like a character from Miami Vice walked in, I knew it was him. He was surprised that I was Caucasian. With a name like Randall Lee and  me running an Asian store, he thought I would be Asian.

When I was kicked off the police force, I opened a shop dealing with Asian remedies for health problems and treatments, such as acupuncture. I had grown up in Hong Kong, and during my time there, I had become proficient in both.

He told me there had been a murder of a Chinese prostitute and he needed a translator. No one would talk to him. The body had been found at the Taste of Asia shop in the bad part of town.  I could tell it had been staged as a mock funeral and they wanted her more than dead, they wanted her damned.

When I saw the body, she looked like a Smurf. The coroner said she probably died from a crushed larynx, but I knew he was wrong. Every blood vessel had burst. I told Knox I had seen something like this before. She was blue from head to toe because she was bruised, not  cyanotic.

Martial arts have some very specialized strikes. Things legends are made of. I showed them a pushing move that would compress and shatter the ribs, pop the lungs like balloons and crush the heart. The blood has nowhere to go, so it shoots outward and soaks into the muscles and tissues. If they were to check back later, they would see the blood had settled underneath her body. He had also missed that she was pregnant.

To me it was an assassination. A murder for hire. Who could be responsible? The Triad? It was unusual for something Triad related to happen in St. Louis.

When I returned to the store, Tracy and her friend were waiting. She had taken my business card and called back later to make an appointment. She had hurt her knee and was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt in treating it. She closed her eyes and I inserted the needle. She was amazed when she opened her eyes and saw I had done it and she never even felt it. I was having some very lewd thoughts about her and trying hard not to let them show.

When Knox stopped by the next day, he said Madam Chong, at the spa had kept saying deem mock. I told him it was just superstition, you know, the Death Touch. A secret deadly art. You touch someone in certain areas and they die hours later.  They had found her dead this morning. Heart attack. Yeah, right. With her dead, the investigation halted. When he left, he slipped me a copy of Mei Ling’s file. I guess, we both felt the same way, we weren’t done.

When I looked through my files, I saw where Madam Chong had come in for treatment. I had  never treated her for any heart problem. Back to the coroner’s office. Again I had to do his job for him. I showed him the one point that someone would have used to cause a heart attack and it wasn’t due to any martial arts. There was a hole in her elbow where someone had injected her with something. There was also adhesive around her mouth and wrists. I figured she was injected with Potassium, air or something similar, that couldn’t be traced.

Now we had two murders, one flashy and one not so much. One was planned and one was sloppy. Two different killers. Knox asked me why I would want to help and I, more or less, said why not.

Tracy came back for a check up and I sure was checking her out. I was old enough to be her father but was not having fatherly thoughts. I knew I couldn’t ask her out, but was surprised when she made the first move. I surprised myself even more by saying yes.

Triads are the Chinese Mafia. They start recruiting at a very young age. When I lived in Hong Kong, I used to get beat up a lot. One day a kid took a baseball bat to me. Someone stepped in to stop it. They called Wu Cai, a famous doctor, who used acupuncture, massage, and some herbs that allowed me to hide it from my dad.

I hung out at his place and bugged him so much, he took me under his wing. It all started with learning how to stand. I had to learn how to be still. I had to learn in stages, by standing I learned to relax, then I moved to a posture, then another posture. As I progressed he added Taoist texts and herbalism.

Tai chi is a health exercise, but Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art. It means Supreme Ultimate Boxing. It is an internal form of martial arts. There are meridians and acupuncture points, which are ways energy moves through the body, that can be used for or against you.

I never meant to get Tracy involved in the investigation, but she had served Mei Ling when she had come into the Outer Limit, the club Tracy worked at. She wasn’t likely to forget, because she paid with a hundred-dollar bill and told her to keep the change. Tracy and I became an item and she spent many a night at my place.

I told her how Mei Ling was killed. There are really two types of martial arts. External, like King Fu and Karate, rely on outer strength. The bigger guy usually wins. Internal, of which Tai Chi Chuan is the most well-known, uses kinetic energy, so it bounces around on the inside tearing someone up and breaking bones.

When they found Mei Ling’s apartment, they found a suitcase full of twenty-dollar bills four inches deep. What was going on with her? Blackmail? Selling inside information to the Eight Tigers? I found out she had another apartment in San Francisco. So I hopped on a plane to check it out. It looked like she had just walked out and was coming right back.

That was when Daniel found me. He took me to meet Tony Lau, her fiance. He was the son of Jimmy Yi Lau the boss of the Eight Tigers Society. They ran most of the rackets in San Francisco. The Taste of Asia parlors where Mei Ling worked belonged to him. But Tony was an artist and just didn’t seem the type to go around killing people. Could it be a revenge hit? But revenge for what?

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos     4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

The cover was very creative. Charles seems to have a knack for choosing cool covers. The title was appropriate, when you figure all the changes Randall went through as the book progressed.

It was well written and the plot was varied and detailed. Mixing humor with the martial arts, kept something very technical light and fun to read. The mystery and suspense lasted throughout the book, keeping me guessing as to who the real killer was.

When he talks about a carpet picnic (a picnic on the living room floor) it brought to mind Friday nights at my house when I was a kid. It was grocery night and after my parents got home from the store, my mother would spread a blanket on the floor and we were allowed to pick whatever snacks we wanted while we watched TV. We had a big family, so this was always a treat.

I loved his description of her cat –  looked like a wrinkly miniature gargoyle. It was a Sphynx, hairless and felt like a warm, dry peach. LOL

The characters were well-developed. The details Charles provided allowed me to picture each character as if I were actually seeing them. I like that Randall and Tracy hooked up even though there was such a large age difference. Made it seem very realistic. Who we love is out of our hands sometimes. It’s something we can’t control.

I don’t think there was a page, except in the very beginning, when Randall wasn’t beaten, battered, bruised, banged up, or broken. He appeared inept at times, as he stumbled his way through, not giving up until the mystery was solved.

I have read Black, by Charles, and this is quite different. I definitely will be looking for more books in the Randall Lee mystery series.

About the Author

Charles Colyott lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere (Illinois) with his wife, 2 daughters, cats, and a herd of llamas and alpacas. He is surrounded by so much cuteness it’s very difficult for him to develop any street cred as a dark and gritty writer. Nevertheless, he has appeared in Read by Dawn II, Dark Recesses Press, Withersin magazine, Horror Library Volumes III & IV, Terrible Beauty, Fearful Symmetry, and Zippered Flesh, among other places. He also teaches a beginner level Tai Chi Ch’uan class in which no one has died (yet) of the death touch.

You can get in touch with him on Facebook, or email him at charlescolyott@gmail.com.
Unlike his llamas, he does not spit.

Twitter:        @charlescolyott
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charle…
Website:     http://charlescolyott.wordpress.com/
Email:         charlescolyott@gmail.com

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Winners of Dark Passage: Chosen by M. L. Woolley

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I hope everyone had a good Labor Day and took the time just to enjoy yourselves.

Thank you to all who stopped by and entered the giveaway.

If you didn’t win and would like to order the book, simply click on the cover above.

I had a great response and would like to thank all who stopped by my blog. I hope you will continue to visit. I will be contacting the winners shortly and passing on your contact information to M. L. Woolley. Thanks again for your participation and enjoy the great read.

Now for what you have been waiting for. The winners are:

Paperback winner:   Jennifer Brelman

Ebook winners are:

April Grant

Ritesh

crysbookreviews

adelesymonds

coffeebrownbooks

Final Winners of the Undermountain Giveaway

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The Final winners of the undermountain giveaway are listed below.

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Is This Hanameesovenama (aka Shaggy)?

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The brilliant concept artist Cristof Grobleski created this stunning conceptual image of Hanameesovenama, one of the villains from The Undermountain Saga.

Hanameesovenama, of the bigfoot Council of the Strict (click for bigfoot sized view)

What do you think? Is that how you envision a bigfoot? I have to say, I totally love the robe.

View more of Christof’s wonderful artwork here.

If you missed the giveaway, you can still pick up your copy of Undermountain and Afterlife here. Simply click on the cover below, it is well worth the price.

I just want to take a moment to thank all of you who entered the Giveaway.

Now, on to the winners. Congratulations to all the winners and I hope you will enjoy Eric’s book and look for more from him. Thank you Eric for the opportunity to give away your book. I will be contacting the winners and Eric shortly. Due to the holiday, I delayed contacting everyone, feeling a lot of people would be busy with their families.

Rlovatt

Nicole M

Janna Shay

Kelan

D H Nevins

Jill

Jess

Anthony Chavez

Cher

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Are You Ready For Some Football – A House Divided

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It’s been a long month as I eagerly waited for football  to begin. And what a great way to “kick-off” the college football season.

 My husband, Eric, and I out on the town to watch the game. Check out the score, 41-14. Unfortunately, we got slaughtered, but Alabama is the National Champion of 2012.

Eric and I went to New Orleans for the 2012 Sugar Bowl, with underdog Michigan taking out Virginia Tech, 23-20.

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Once in a Blue Moon

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FULL MOON OVER FLORIDA

Please do not copy or use these photos without consulting Sherry Fundin.

 These photos were taken by Eric Fundin, my husband, in
Florida. The moon wasn’t really blue, was digitally manipulated. It does look really cool though, doesn’t it? You have heard of “once in a blue moon”, right? It just means it was the second full moon in the same month. This will be the last blue moon until 2015.

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Final Tiger Paw Winners

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The Final Winners of  the Tiger Paw Giveaway are listed below.

Tiger Cubs

I would like to thank Charles again for the giveaway of this awesome debut thriller.

Tiger picture

I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you who entered an let you know I wish you could have all been winners.

And now, a big shout out to those who did win – Congratulations. I will be emailing you and Charles to notify you of the results of the Giveaway.

Sharmishtha Basu

Donna Bobbs

Sam


If you missed the giveaway, this book is worth the price. Simply click on the cover to order
your copy today!

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The Monster Has Arrived In the Delta – Review

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Delta Legend by Kelan O’Connell

BLURB

When I first picked this book up all I saw was a monster in the water, super, right up my alley. I love these stories. As I read along, it became apparent it was much more than that. Kelan did a great job with the small town descriptions and details of the people lives that brings them together to save their town and themselves, detailing their acts of heroism, growth and change, bringing out the best in people.

Calvin was mechanically inclined and from early on he had been able to make broken things work, to take something apart and put it back to working order. He was the McGyver of the Ghetto.

He knew it was wrong to go out with Rashawn, his childhood friend, but he did it anyway. Rashawn had talked him in to hot wiring his Escalade, said it was his ride and he wanted it back. It had been impounded. Of course, they got busted. Angela, Calvin’s mother didn’t expect this kind of problem from Calvin because he had a mind of his own and didn’t follow the pack. She knew it had to be because of his loyalty to Rashawn. In Juvenile court, the judge told Calvin cocaine had been found in the car.

Angela was sending him away for the summer. His Uncle Samuel had a place in the Delta and he was to go there and give him a hand in his shop. Angela kept his Ipod and cellphone and put him on the bus to the Delta.

Samuel wasn’t too sure about having Calvin for the summer, but what could he do? He had a soft spot for his niece and her take no prisoners attitude. Calvin, with his mechanical abilities, might come in handy at Samuel’s Maritime Repair Shop.

When Samuel picked up Calvin at the Greyhound Terminal, he offered his hand. He liked that Calvin had a good handshake. It said a lot about him. He knew Calvin would feel like he had come to the end of the earth, but he hoped he would come to love the Delta just like Samuel had.

Samuel turned suddenly and drove down a dirt road to a produce stand. He thought Calvin would follow him out of the truck, but he ended up introducing him to the Cheng’s through the truck window. Mei-Li worked the stand with her mother and was happy to have a distraction. Dent, Mei-Li’s younger brother, quickly won Calvin over. As they pulled away from the stand, Calvin couldn’t help but look back and saw Mei-Li watching as they drove away.

Calvin and Jess were sitting in the cafe when someone came roaring up to the gas dock in their boat. It was obvious something was very wrong. They were shouting at the sheriff that he had to come see what they found – a woman’s mutilated head. As they tore off heading to Desperation Slough, Jess led Calvin on a tour of the marina.

A picture of California's Sacramento-San Joaqu...
A picture of California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, with Suisun Bay at left-center and the Carquinez Strait at far left (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jess took Calvin out on the water in the ski boat. When he radioed his mother to let her know, she knew he would be heading out to Desperation Slough. Calvin liked the speed of the boat as he sat on the back of the seat. Not bad, he thought.

As they passed a huge freighter, they rode the wake, flying through the air. Speed, machine, water. Calvin was really beginning to enjoy the day.

They kept going toward the Slough passing the rich boys on the way and came up on the Casa del Agua, which was overdue back at the marina. Jess thought it looked empty, but it was one of theirs and late, so they stopped to check it out. There was music playing and melted drinks and the dingy was gone, so Jess just figured they left the boat for lunch and headed on to Desperation Slough. As they reached the area of the Sheriff’s boat, Jess kept his distance, but picked up the binoculars to watch the sheriff scooping things from the water – body parts. As he watched, he saw them pull something red from the water and realized it was the dingy from the Casa del Agua. Jess called Sergeant Ray Cruz and told him he thought it was the rich Vegas couple who had rented the Casa del Agua. Jess figured it wasn’t a boat accident, there was no way a propeller would chop them up like that.

Crawfish : Single vector lobster isolated on white background.

When Heustus left the Crawdaddy Club drunk, Danny had kept his keys. He didn’t realize Huestus had a spare in his pocket. As he zigzagged down the road trying to light a cigarette, he didn’t see the turn and drove right into the levee. He was so drunk he got out to check under the hood, not realizing he was standing in water. The lights were still on and he saw something unusual in the water that sobered him up. He dove through the window of the car, but before he could pull his legs in, he was pulled back out of the car.

As Calvin settled in, he found it wasn’t so bad. He liked working in the shop, alone, late at night. He even got used to the quiet, with just the hum of the insects.

As Samuel finished up his phone call, Calvin was prowling around in the back of the shop. He uncovered an old Yamaha Wave Runner. Samuel told him he could have it to work on as long as the paying jobs came first. He told Calvin that Jess could probably help him, if he needed it. Jess invited Calvin skiing and used the loan of the tools to get him to show up. When Mei-Li arrived he tried to back out, but she was not going to have it. Jess smiled to himself as he started the boat.

When they came back in another dead body was being bagged. They were beginning to add up.

A lot of the kids would be going to One Plank –  the huge summer party. Even though some were forbidden to go, they snuck out anyway. Ray had the sheriff’s boat out , just close enough, in case of an emergency. Him and Burt, his deputy, were patrolling the area, but saw nothing unusual. He knew what was going on, had been at the party himself many years ago. It was harmless enough, just kids letting off steam.

Three of the kids wandered off on their own to a secluded cove. They were skinny dipping and playing Marco Polo. When Stocky jumped off the diving raft, he jumped right into the monster’s  mouth. What was it? The screaming brought the rest of the kids to the cove.

When the creature attacked them, Calvin couldn’t figure out why it didn’t eat them – the monster and Mei-Li were eye to eye and it left them to return to the cove.

Then Mei-Li took them to her grandfather who proceeded to tell them about the legend.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos    5 STARS

I won this book in a Giveaway on fuonlyknew’s blog. Thank you Kelan and Laura for the giveaway. It included some good swag.

I love creature stories, so it’s easy for me to rate this one very high. The cover was over the top. Simple, yet complex, as you delve into the eye trying to see what’s there. The cover and title related well to the book, it’s important to me that they do.

I really got a feel for the small town setting, where the cafe seemed to be the focal point and you could hear what was going on. The cops even hung out there. I used to visit a small southern town in Mississippi, and their local hangout was a gas station, where everyone would meet, drink colas and play checkers. Very quaint.

Characters were well developed, seemed very real, and I could picture them in my mind. I could relate to them. Some of the characters were hateful and disgusting, others so much like your next door neighbor. Just living their lives. When Kelan described Huestes as a Weeble, I busted out laughing . It brought back memories of buying them for my son when he was young. Can’t you just picture Huestes? “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.”

Laid a good base in the first half to crank it out in the second half.The suspense kept building and I kept waiting for the creature to appear. Every time someone went near the water, I was waiting for the monster to get them. Just like Jaws. Don’t go in the water. How many times do you have to be told, don’t go in the water. LOL!

Just like the  Loch Ness Monster,  Bigfoot, Aliens……would you believe it if someone was trying to tell you what happened if you weren’t there to see it for yourself?

There were two surprises at the end, one I saw coming and I figured Kelan threw that one in to distract me from the other one, which I didn’t see coming. lol  Even though there is a Book II, this tied things up nicely, while leaving it open enough to continue the story. I can hardly wait to find out what happens next, so I hope you are busy writing, Kelan.

The history leading to the legend was well-developed and detailed, going in to depth about Chinese history in relation to building the Transcontinental Railroad System and the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta.

I can absolutely see this as a movie. As I was reading along, the scenes played out in my mind as the story unfolded. I saw the ending as if I was watching it.

ABOUT KELAN O’Connell

As a young adult, Kelan O’Connell spent her summers aboard a family houseboat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Apparently, she still harbors suspicions about those deep murky waters. Though she’s been writing in one form or another since the age of 20, Delta Legend is her debut Young Adult Crossover novel.

Kelan began writing in college, creating character monologues as a way to stand out in auditions while also cranking out sketch comedy. She holds a degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University and has worked in the Entertainment Industry in Northern California and Los Angeles, among her many other day jobs.

She currently lives in Northern California with her partner, Sound Engineer/Producer Tom Size, and the incredibly spoiled pets of Camp Runamuck.

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/Kelan_OConnell

Be sure to visit Kelan’s blog: http://kelanoconnell.blogspot.com

and the Delta Legend website: http://deltalegend.com

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Dark Dealings Review

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Dark Dealings by Karen-Victoria Smith

.Dark Dealings

Micaela was driving to Bridewell to visit her Una when she saw Reece, the son of Chief Deerfield of Pokanoket, on the side of the road. He appeared bloody and beaten, maybe dead. She stopped and went back to check, but there was nothing there. Had her visions returned? Samhain was approaching and was the time of year when Spirits and people could move between worlds. Was Reece a spirit?

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Peggy, Reece’s wife was Yankee. She was at the house when Micaela arrived  and told her Reece was missing. Because of her “gift” , Micalela had been treated as a pariah but now that they needed her help, they wanted her to use her “gift” to find Reece.  She had buried it deep when she left Bridewell and wasn’t sure if she could pull it out at will. As she held Adam’s hands, she found her way to Reece. It was if she was really with him, not sitting on the porch with Adam. The horror was more than the mind could imagine and she told Reece to hold on, Peggy was pregnant and they were coming to save him.

Micaela returned to New York just in time for the party at the Metropolitan Museum. While she was there she met Francois Leveque, who tried to get her alone. She could tell he was afraid, but they were interrupted by Baron Vasilievich before they could talk. She arranged to meet him in a couple of days at his hotel.

She had a recurring nightmare for the past four years. She was fleeing something and ran into a clearing. Her Una and mother were there and told her they were glad she had come to take her rightful place, but there had never been a beast before.

Micaela was meeting Francois in his hotel room, but there was no answer at the door. As she knocked again, the door opened on its own. The living room was in a shambles. The bedroom was covered in blood, it was everywhere. Even though she didn’t want to, she went to the bathroom thinking he could still be alive. When she saw him in the tub, his throat and chest had been ripped out. As she fought the scream, she fumbled with her cell phone trying to dial 911.

Thank God her friend responded with the others. Nikki was a cop and her friend, there to help. She had accumulated time and said she was taking it. Micaela was determined to find out what happened and Nikki was going to help.

At first she was surprised when she looked across the room and saw Francois. They were having his wake at the Salmon Run Inn. What was he trying to tell her?

She headed back to Bridewell for some leisure time. She needed to regroup. She stopped at a diner for a quick bite. When she felt a tingle, she looked around to see why. Lately she had been having more and more psychic events and tried her best to control them. She spotted a Hummer she thought was following her. When he rammed into the back of her car, she thought of Francois. The road was abandoned and the police were too busy to respond to her call for help. When she gunned the Porsche to outrun the Hummer, two motorcycles took over the chase. She managed to lose them. The only thing watching her now was a large bird, black as night, as she headed to Bridewell and Una hoping she wasn’t bringing the bad to her.

When she arrived and was leaving the car, she saw a black feather on the dashboard and took it with her. It felt like it was humming to her and she looked up to see the Raven above her parents bedroom.

Everyone was there, Nikki, Liam, Una, Reece, the Pokanoket Ethan Lowell, Sons of Danu, Sean Murphy… What was going on? Whoever had been after Francois was now after her.

Liam and Micaela walked to the creek to talk, he told her she should come to the gathering in the Grove, that plans for Beltaine were set. She said no, she never came to the Grove but she would be at the Ceili.

She felt her gift was out of control, she had to talk to Una before she left again. Micaela told her about seeing the entire Grove when Reece was missing, seeing Francois beat up and dead, and how at the dance she was there, yet somewhere else. Una told her to remember what her father used to tell here while they were out sailing. “Don’t fight the currents or the wind, use them.” Una assured her the Grove was there to help her.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos    3 STARS – Would Recommend to Others

I won this in a Goodreads First Read Giveaway. Karen was gracious enough to sign my copy for me. Thank you Karen.

I liked the cover and the title. I always like a simple, clean look, with a little mystery. I like it when they make me think what the book might be about before I read the book blurb. I thought the cover and title both were relevant to the book.

Events start happening at the very beginning of the book. The suspense and mystery continue through the book, keeping you on your toes while you try to figure out what is going on. Karen doles the story out in small pieces so you can’t quite be sure of what will happen next.

Characters were interesting. Really had me wondering about Lowell and Ivan. Couldn’t quite figure out who was good or bad. Even when I thought I had them figured out, it kept twisting and turning making me unsure again.

“When she thinks the spirit world is a much a part of her childhood as the NE Patriots and the Boston Red Sox”, it made me smile. My husband is an avid Red Sox fan and his brother is a Patriots fan. It makes the story feel more real when I can relate to it in  a personal way.

Other than a few editing errors, nothing that interfered with the flow of the story in any way, I thought it was well written and easy reading.

  To order this book, simply click on the cover.

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/KarenVictoriaSmith

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Twitter Username: kvictoriasmith
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Thomas Magnum meet Casey Holden

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Falling Immortality  by Robert Downs.Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator

Casey Holden was a Private Investigator. His office was located in a warehouse in Norfolk, Virginia. His parents had died and left him wealthy, so money was never an object for him. He played as hard as he worked and took jobs by referral only.

Casey was sitting in his office when Felicity, the femme fatale, walked in. She said her husband died two years ago and the police had never found the murderer. She told me it was a freak thing, of course it was. Artis Farren, her husband, was at his local hangout when a guy walked in, shot him and walked back out. No one had seen anything. I could tell she was hiding something, but that usually goes without saying. She was chain smoking while she was telling me this, but all of sudden she abruptly got up and walked out without saying anything.

It had been two years and the police had gotten nowhere. I love cases that aren’t supposed to be solved, so I picked up the phone and called Ian Jackard, my best friend who is a cop. As always, he’s happy to hear  from me. I had to smile to myself as I said that.

Ian called back and said it had been Greg Gilman’s case, but I could come down and see the file. Me and Greg didn’t get along so well. I punched him out once and he wouldn’t forgive me for making him look like the fool that he is.

When Ian said I had more lives than a Siamese cat, I thought it was true, it had been the same for my parents.

I was in my office going over the file, what little there was. The autopsy report was missing which immediately raised questions in my mind.

I jumped in my car and headed over to the Hotspot to see if I could find out anything about Artis’ murder. I struck out, but when I left someone was waiting to follow me. I figured Tiny Watson, who was the bar owner, had put them up to it. I knew he was doing more than just running the bar. There had been an incident 3 years ago when 2 college kids ended up in the hospital and 2 bouncers in jail. That doesn’t sound like the type of place someone like Artis would hang out at.

I was going to check out the other witnesses, shake them up and see what happens. I had a pretty loose way of running an investigation. An investigation was like a puzzle, you put it together one piece at a time. I came up with zilch. I asked Ian to do a background check on Tiny Watson.

I had run into Gilman at the station when I went to pick up the file. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to pick at him. I should have known Gilman wouldn’t take our run in at the station lying down. I was pretty sure the cop had been following me around for a while  before he pulled me over and took me straight to Gilman’s office. When I told him to hand over the autopsy report and I’d be gone, he told me I was messing with the wrong dead guy.

Felicity had called and wanted to meet for dinner. Maybe she was ready to give me some necessary information. She proceeded to tell me her husband was a greedy criminal in love with the almighty dollar. Even if he was a criminal, his murderer still needed to to pay. When she went to the restroom, she never came back.

I was awakened at 4am to a threatening phone call, telling me to back off or else. Or else what, was my question.

After my coffee and run, I showered and grabbed my gun on my way out the door. Best to be prepared. Something was wrong about this whole mess and I wasn’t giving up until I had the answers.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos     3 STARS – Would recommend to Others

Won on Goodreads First Read Giveaway.  I would like to thank Robert who was gracious enough to autograph my copy. I was first attracted to the cover, red always seems to catch my eye. Then the title, Falling Immortality, how could you not want to look a little further to find out what the book is about? The blurb made me immediately think of Tom Selleck as Magnum P.I. and Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. The femme fatale genre. Light airy. Whimsical.

I love this kind of light mystery mixed with humor. Makes me laugh all the way through. I can just picture him as he walks into a world of hurt. The characters were what I expected and I was happy to visit with them.

I liked when he talked about internet surfing and Cox cable, I thought cool. I could really relate because I also surf the internet on Cox cable. How small a world is it?

2005 Dodge Viper SRT-10. Made me think of Magnum P.I. with his lackadaisical way of running his investigations and the juggling of all the luscious women all the while tooling around in a way hot car. I love cars with lots of power, who doesn’t?

About this author

Robert aspired to be a writer before he realized how difficult the writing process was. Fortunately, he’d already fallen in love with the craft, otherwise Casey might never have seen print. Originally from West Virginia, he has lived in Virginia, Massachusetts, and now resides in New Mexico. To learn more about the author or Casey, visit the author’s website: http://www.RobertDowns.net Look for Casey’s next adventure.

To order this book, simply click on the cover below.

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/RobertDownsBooks

Facebook:    http://www.facebook.com/RobertDownsBooks

Website:      http://www.RobertDowns.net

Email:          robert@robertdowns.net

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