I am excited to share Heather L Reid’s Pretty Dark series.
Just look at the beautiful cover and you can see why I couldn’t resists checking it out further. Then, I read – All it will cost is her blood – in the synopsis. Hmmm…
So let’s get to my review and the giveaway. You too can have a copy for your very own.
Title: Pretty Dark Sacrifice (Pretty Dark Nothing #2)
Publication date: July 28, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Heather L. Reid
MY REVIEW
Pretty Dark Sacrifice by Heather L Reid is Book II in the Pretty Dark series, but I will do my best to only share my feelings and not include any spoilers.
Pretty Dark Sacrifice picks up where Pretty Dark Nothing left off.
Quinn still hasn’t mastered her powers and I am wondering if she needs a swift kick in the ass and to be told to “man” up. At least that is how I felt in the opening pages, but she quickly proved me wrong. She grew to be stronger, both physically and mentally.
Her best friend, Reese, is normally a happy go lucky girl and the kind of best friend we all wish we had, but her secrets were driving a wedge between them that she thought could not be avoided. Reese deserves a normal life and I want it for her.
Will Quinn fulfill the prophecy? Will she be the savior or the bringer of doom?
As Lilith inserts her evil presence, the story’s pace increases for me. I begin to feel a sense of danger and suspense. Just what I’ve been waiting for. I was enjoying the story, but wanted some of that extra kick. You know what I mean.
Humans, demons, sentinels, immortals and Lilith. The box, Eve and angels.
The angels make me think of the TV show, Supernatural. Just because they’re an angel, doesn’t make them good.
Can you change your destiny? Aren’t we given the power of choice?
A love story that lasts for eternity.
As the story develops the clash between good and evil threatens the humans very existence.
Quinn has grown and developed, gained confidence and fights doubts, determined to accomplish her goal – to save Aaron.
I was given a copy of Pretty Dark Sacrifice by Heather L Reid in return for an honest and unbiased review.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
It’s been five weeks, two days, and eight hours since the demons forced Quinn to throw herself into the raging river, since Aaron sacrificed himself to save her, since his body disappeared without a trace.
Everyone wants Quinn to move on, but she can’t, not after a spirit appears to her at Aaron’s memorial, convincing her he’s still alive.
When a mysterious box materializes on the very spot Aaron disappeared, Quinn finds she’s at the center of an ancient prophesy of betrayal, revenge, and sacrifice that takes her to the depths of the underworld to face Lilith—Adam’s first wife.
If Quinn can stop Lilith from unleashing the demon horde Eve, trapped inside the box during the Battle of Eden millennia ago, she will save the human realm and free Aaron from an eternity in torment.
All it will cost is her blood.
ABOUT HEATHER L. REID
Heather L. Reid is both American and British and has called six different cities in three different countries, home. Her strong sense of wanderlust and craving for a new adventure mean you might find her wandering the moors of her beloved Scotland, exploring haunted castles, or hiking through a magical forest in search of fairies and sprites. When she’s not venturing into the unknown in her real life, she loves getting lost in the worlds of video games or curling up by the fire with good story. For now, this native Texan is back in the Lone Star State, settling down with her Scottish husband and writing new tales of fantasy and horror.
BAD TRAFFICK named a 2012 Top 5 Indie Pick by BloodWrites and a Top Pick by Night Owl Reviews! Also recently named a semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Review Best Books of 2013!
Although Bad Traffick is part of a series, it is a standalone novel and can be read by itself.
I am a huge fan of Leine Basso, a strong female protagonist, and DV Berkom. Her thrillers will leave you eagerly anticipating the next one. And I am ready, so bring it on.
Judging by the cover of Bad Traffick, I think DV Berkom will be having me gritting my teeth and hanging on the edge of my seat, hoping and praying that Leine Basso will find the girl before the traffickers. And I am not wrong.
Bad Traffick grabs my attention from the opening page and never lets me go. DV Berkom has the ability to put me in a state of suspense from cover to cover, rooting for the good guys…and maybe one not so good gal, while wishing the worst on the criminals and evil that spread their cancer to the young and innocent.
Leine Basso is an ex assassin and is now working security for an actor, Miles Fournier. His long lost sister comes to him for help to find her twelve year old daughter, Mara, who has been kidnapped by traffickers.
Leine is a strong female protagonist who is a suspect in three cold murder cases. She and Jensen, a detective for the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division, have the hots for each other, but with her being a murder suspect, they have to communicate on the down low. Will Jensen risk everything to be with the babe magnet?
Leine has a special relationship with her twenty one year old daughter, April. They have much more in common than your average mother and daughter. They had both been abducted. Now, April wants to learn “the business.” Hmm, could that be a story for another book? I guess we will have to wait and see. In the meantime…
There is much more going on than trafficking and I am very suspicious. Who can you trust? I found myself holding my breath, leaning forward in my seat with my hands tightly clenching the book as over and over again someone tried to kill her. Is it the same person or group? Is there more than one? I know it can’t happen, but I find myself yelling and talking to her, because even I do not know who she can trust.
Bad Trafffick is the second book in The Leine Basso Series, Serial Date being the first. They stand alone, so no cliffhangers or waiting to find out the ending. Still, I can hardly wait to begin the third book in the series, The Body Market, that sits patiently on my side table saying, “Read me.” DV has also just released the fourth book in the series, Cargo.
I received a copy of Bad Traffick from DV Berkom in return for an honest and unbiased review.
5 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Dangerous obsessions take center stage when a former assassin and a homicide detective race against the clock to find a missing girl before she’s lost forever.
Identified as a person of interest in three cold case murders she didn’t commit, ex-assassin Leine Basso accepts a temporary position as a bodyguard for A-list actor Miles Fournier as a favor to Detective Santiago Jensen.
Soon, a woman contacts Miles claiming to be his long-lost sister and confides that her daughter has been abducted by traffickers. Leine must confront her own demons as she races to rescue the girl before it’s too late.
DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.
Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves (and several years) later, she now lives just outside of Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, an ex-chef-turned contractor, and writes every chance she gets.
For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.
The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 1 box set (includes the 1st four novellas in the series).
(The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 2 includes Cruising for Death (#5), YD, and AOWTTD, all for $8.99 (bought separately they would be 12.99)
***all covers link to amazon, I am an affiliate***
Check out all these beautiful covers for the Kate Jones thrillers by DV Berkom.
GIVEAWAY
DV Berkom is offering an ebook from her backlist to one individual commenter. International. All you need to do is answer the following question and leave your email:
“I am a *cover girl*. What is your favorite thing about the cover for Bad Traffick by DV Berkom?”
Sally Ann Melia caught me totally off guard with this awesome story of two young boys lives, in the Guy Erma and the Son of Empire series.
I have read and reviewed the first book, Kidnap, and fell in love with it., so now I am sharing Exile, Part III in the series. You can see my review for KidnapHERE and my review for HunterHERE.
Spoiler Alert: Even though Exile is Part Three of the Guy Erma and the Son of Empire series, I have tried to keep my comments general to keep from giving away any of the goodies contained between the pages.
Exile is Part Three of the Guy Erma and the Son of Empire series. If you are a fan of action and adventure with some science fiction thrown in, this is a series for you. Each book picks up where the other left off. I was fortunate enough to receive Hunter and Exile before I was done with Kidnap, so I was able to continue reading this fantastic series.
The artwork by Sally Dickson will help you see things as they really are, whether it be a character or one of the creatures. We have both probably watched some of the same movies that help to visualize the world and some of the action sequences Sally Ann Melia has created.
I love the combination of fashion, politics and thrills. At times I cannot help but smile and sometimes a chuckle passes over my lips. At least the characters will be fashionable dressed while they are fighting.
Each boy contributes a vital component that brings them together as friends and leaders.
My mother is visiting from out of state and I was very bad. I ignored her so I could finish this series and I loved it.
Kids of all ages will love meeting Teo, Guy, Des and Sebastian. I had characters that I rooted for and characters that I wanted to get what’s coming to them. Sounds like real life.
I find myself lost in the world of Freyna and want to return there as soon as possible. I was lucky enough to have all three of these, but now I have to wait. 😥 How many books will there be? When is the next one due out? Inquiring minds want to know.
I received Exile by Sally Ann Melia in return for an honest review.
5 Stars
SYNOPSIS
13-year-old Teodor has found a way to escape from kidnap, how long before he is safely home?
13-year-old Guy Erma has run away from everything he has even known and no longer knows what the future holds.
They escaped through dark tunnels and back alleys but they also discovered a hidden terror that now threatens their entire planet.
Two boys as different as two boys might be. Their adventure has forged an unexpected friendship, but do they really trust each other?
Dare they share their darkest, deepest secrets?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author was born in Wallasey, England, in 1964, and moved to the South of France when she was eleven. She spent her teenage years living in the cosmopolitan city state of Monaco and became immersed in its many languages and cultures. An English girl in a French school, for three hours each week she would sit at the back of the class as her colleagues learnt English. To pass the time, she wrote stories. This led to a lifetime of writing novels, scripts, stories and articles.
In her working life, Sally writes marketing communications and manages large international websites.
In 2010, Sally joined the Hogs Back Writers, a club located on the outskirts of Guildford, and she set about turning an old manuscript into this novel: Guy Erma and the Son of Empire. Sally currently lives in Farnham, and she is married with two children.
New Thriller Ignites Orange County with Mysterious Murder,
Glamorous Intrigue, and Family Secrets
Author Timothy Patten explodes onto the literary scene with a sleek, action-packed thriller that takes us into the dark heart of one of California’s most exclusive communities, perfect for lovers of NCIS and Criminal Minds. The mystery ignites around a beautiful corpse, a family of billionaires, and one man who must beat the clock and the system to clear his name in an enclave rife with secrets, lies, and betrayal—MONEY, FAMILY, MURDER (TMP Novels, LLC, $24.99, Hardcover, July 14, 2015).
I am thrilled to have Timothy Patten here today talking about his debut novel. I love learning about the characters and how the author feels about them, so let’s dive in.
Guest Post by Timothy Patten
Author of Money, Family, Murder
The Ladies of Money, Family, Murder
In my fiction novel, there are several female characters who play an important role in the plot, but the most dominant is Janice Martland, the Orange County District Attorney. After hearing from the local police and FBI in Newport Beach, California, which is one of the most safest, well-policed cities along the prestigious Pacific Coastline, she finds out that a murder had taken place and that the lead suspect is a multi-billionaire named Johnny Barnes.
Since her term as the Orange County District Attorney was up for reelection, she makes it her goal to take Barnes down and put him away forever. She’s a power hungry, egotistical politician that doesn’t take no for an answer. You would never want to disappoint Janice or cross her or you’d be either fired or get crushed by her looks that could kill. You do not want to be public criminal #1 in her county!
Janice grew up in a medium sized family with three older brothers who used to emotionally and sometimes physically beat her up as kids. Instead of causing emotional issues, they drove her to want to be “one of the guys” and become ruthless especially if it had to do with her jurisdiction in Orange County. She grew up to hate sentimentality and affection and never married. She would never hug or cry or offer her forgiveness to any of her siblings for what they did to her growing up.
That is why she became a lawyer in the first place because she saw law so peaceful. If she had it her way, then the whole world would be dis-passionate as well. So Janice wanted to beat her chest and pose in front of the FBI and Newport Beach police on TV and in front of the media cameras to show that SHE is the best DA that anyone could ever be.
In her mind, it was important that justice have a face attached to it, a powerful, intelligent and attractive looking woman from Orange County in a wealthy Mediterranean like city in Southern California.
She knew all of the tricks of the trade and even wrote all of her topics and questions that were asked by the media interviewers. And Janice loved the attention and focus on herself in the process.
Ms. Martland is so determined to get reelected and keep her high profile position that she stakes everything on putting Mr. Barnes away by bending some rules and evidence along the way to make sure that she is the winner when his case comes to trial for the murder of his family trustee, Eva. But she wasn’t afraid to lie her way to the top like she did in the past. In fact, Janice was used to lying, but she was used to not getting caught at it!
So if she was an actress in a movie today, then who could play her role?
Award winning actresses like Meryl Streep, like in The Devil Wears Prada, and Kate Winslet, like she played in Divergent, come immediately to mind. And as Sandra Bullock continues to expand her acting horizon in the film Gravity, I can see her playing this role if it should ever become a film. And never forget Glenn Close in Damages as another great actress.
Do I know anyone like Janice today? No. With as many metropolitan areas in the country like Southern California there may be someone out there that may think and act like Ms. Martland, but it’s up to you to decide!
Timothy Patten’s debut novel, Money Family Murder, is a great read that combines politics, money and power and all the dirt and corruption that can come along with it. I love the vibrant colors of the cover and the yellow dress with the red blood is an awesome touch. It just screams, “Take me to the beach with you, please.”
District Attorney Janice Maitland is a blood thirsty politician who wants to use Eva Proliasky’s murder for her own political agenda. I wonder, would she have went as far as she did if the woman wasn’t from one of the most influential families in the United States?
Johnny Barnes never saw it coming. I can’t say I blame him, because why would he? He’s nobody special. Johnny is the kind of guy to hang out at a library, not a gym. Why would someone frame him for her murder?
Janice was incompetent, but driven. She went after him with all she had and then some. He didn’t stand a chance. She would do whatever it takes to win. Her narrow, narcissistic vision doomed him. Or did it?
I am so angry for John. I know life is not fair, but come on. The nerve of some people. No sense of right or wrong, just ME and MINE. It is obvious he will need to find his own answers, but I wonder if anyone will listen even if he does.
I was surprised when John went hunting. It seemed an out of place thing to do with the situation he was in. I thought he wouldn’t have done it for many reasons. I knew what was going on, didn’t he? Or is it one of those things, it’s too far out there for John to believe. It was hard for me to buy it, so the rating suffered…a tad. I get why Timothy Patten did it, but it just didn’t work for me.
The characters are great and Johnny’s kids…well what can I say…kids will be kids no matter what their age. We have the normal girl, a young woman named Mary. Then we have Mark, a computer nerd turned college playboy who knows how to throw a party. I couldn’t help but laugh along with…someone who shouldn’t (?) be laughing at the situation. I love a little humor to lighten the mood of murder. LOL
Andrew, not only is he an idiot, he is…well, you will have to read the novel yourself to find out what happens.
Money, Family, Murder is a novel that evokes emotions of rage at the injustice of the system and the people that play it. It also reminds us, when you come close to losing everything, the things most important come to light.
Predictable, it’s obvious to me from the beginning who is pulling the strings. But some predictability is to be expected. It’s very hard to come up with a story that hasn’t been written, but it is nice when Timothy Patten adds some nice twists at the end that, along with the mystery of the outcome, kept Money, Family, Murder by Timothy Patten as a novel worth adding to your reading list. Did you do it? I see more mystery coming from Timothy that I will be sure and read, so why not come along on the adventure with me?
I received Money, Family Murder by Timothy Patten in return for an honest and unbiased review.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
In the picture-perfect community of Newport Beach, violent crime is virtually non-existent—until the beautiful bookkeeper of Newport’s wealthiest family is found strangled in her bed.
Johnny Barnes—loyal husband, dad, and philanthropist—is arrested for a murder he didn’t commit.
He is released on $20 million bail, but the tide of public feeling turns rapidly against him: from the power-hungry DA to a perspicacious police detective to his own influential and unscrupulous in-laws.
With his luck and resources running out, Barnes must battle a corrupt system to conduct his own investigation. His journey takes him from Montecito to North Dakota to Key—and draws him into a dazzling and dangerous web of intrigue, self-dealing, exhortation, and murder.
Racing again the odds and the clock, Barnes will be sent to prison—unless he is able to identify the true murderer and clear his name in time.In the picture-perfect community of Newport Beach, violent crime is virtually non-existent—until the beautiful bookkeeper of Newport’s wealthiest family is found strangled in her bed. Johnny Barnes—loyal husband, dad, and philanthropist—is arrested for a murder he didn’t commit.
He is released on $20 million bail, but the tide of public feeling turns rapidly against him: from the power-hungry DA to a perspicacious police detective to his own influential and unscrupulous in-laws. With his luck and resources running out, Barnes must battle a corrupt system to conduct his own investigation. His journey takes him from Montecito to North Dakota to Key—and draws him into a dazzling and dangerous web of intrigue, self-dealing, exhortation, and murder.
Racing against the odds and the clock, Barnes will be sent to prison—unless he is able to identify the true murderer and clear his name in time.
Packed with heart-pounding intrigue and exhilarating twists, Timothy Patten’s debut novel will leave you on the edge of your seat, begging for mercy — and begging for more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TIMOTHY PATTEN is retired, grew up in Highland Park, Illinois and graduated from University of Miami, Florida with a BBA and MBA in marketing. He volunteers and supports a few local charities in Orange County, California.
Tim and his wife, Kathy live in Irvine, California for over twenty-seven years with their grown children and golden retrievers.
The fantastic book trailer for Method 15/33 only gives you a glimpse of what is to come. As she sits on the bed and raises her head, I thought of Poltergeist. I expected her to reach out and…
Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk is an amazing, top shelf, must read suspense thriller that will have you wondering, will the prey become the predator. I can hardly believe Method 15/33 is a debut novel for Shannon Kirk, it is so damn good!
Winner Of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award For Suspense!
Finalist in the 2013 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition as novella 15/33. Method 15/33 is now a full-length novel coming from Oceanview Publishing.
I heard about Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk through a friend and reached out to her. The novel sounded like one of my favorite type of reads and I could hardly wait to pick it up. The suspense had me holding my breath, rooting for her, then afraid of her.
She is a pregnant teenager, abducted and held captive. Her mother had filled her with self esteem and confidence. Is she a sociopath? She is able to turn her feelings on and off, like a light switch. As Shannon describes her attempts to mimic feelings and doing the right thing, it makes me think of Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory.
The vivid detail of the trip to her cell makes me able to picture the wild daisies and devil’s paintbrush on the side of the road. I felt the breeze as she prepared to exit the van. I could smell his stale body odor and his sewer breath.
No matter, she loves her baby and will not give up. She has hope. Her hurt and rage would help her to do what is necessary to exact her revenge. Escape wasn’t enough. They would pay and pay dearly.
My first asset is terra firma…thus begins her plotting – Escape/Revenge Plan 15.
It had been 20 days, but she was constantly thinking, planning. As she runs through scenarios, it made me think of the computer in Person of Interest, going through scenarios, changing them, ruling one out and trying another. She knew she could outwit him.
Alone, locked in a cell, praying the butterfly in the window will calm her, save her. She doesn’t know what loneliness feels like, is this it?
Butterfly (c) Sherry Fundin
She may have her issues, but I love her. My empathy is such, that I want to wrap my arms around her and offer her comfort. She tries and means well…sometimes. Isn’t that what we all do? Even dysfunctional families have their moments of humor, love and togetherness.
Shannon Kirk’s words allow me to feel HER pain, HER loneliness, HER anger and HER rage. I want to scream, yell and cry with her.
FBI Special Agent Roger Lui and partner, Lola were assigned the case. They have been together for five years and know each other better than a spouse would. He is a flawed hero, carrying heavy baggage with his failure to find Dorothy Saluce, an abducted, pregnant teen, deja vu. Lola is someone I can relate to, a tough, no nonsense, one of the guys kind of woman.
She counts seconds, minutes, steps, inches, plotting, planning…a piece of elastic, a pail handle…She didn’t know what would be valuable, so she collected it all. I wonder if she used to watch MacGyver too.
The kidnappers…a fantastic surprise. Twisted. Evil.
She makes herself sick and Shannon Kirk’s mastery of words makes this so gross and disgusting it makes me want to puke too.
33 is water. You will be surprised at its use and importance.
They escape, but OMG, Shannon, you didn’t. My heart fell. I can’t believe it. What an awesome twist. I felt complete terror for her, wanted to yell, hurry, hurry, what the hell are you waiting for? As if it isn’t bad enough, Shannon makes it even worse. How can that be? It just keeps coming and coming, the badness rolling over me like a tsunami wave. Overwhelming, the pacing gripping me as if I’m on a runaway train and hanging on for dear life.
Method 15/33 keeps getting scarier and scarier, the badness goes on and on…out of the frying pan and into the fire.
I love the characters, right to the end, especially HER. This 16 year old sociopath stole my heart.
I don’t know what to say about the emotion roiling inside me as I reach the end. I can’t help but just sit…thinking…thinking…
Shannon wove an awesome story that has left me screaming for more.
To love someone so much you are heartbroken just to look at them.
This, is to have a child.
5+++++
I received a copy of Method 15/33 from Shannon Kirk in return for an honest review.
GUEST POST
I am so excited to have Shannon Kirk here today. I love her debut novel, Method 15/33 and I could not help but fall for the main character, Lisa Yyland. I also, would like to congratulate Shannon on Method 15/33 is being devloped for a feature film. How cool is that? I, for one, can hardly wait to see it!
LET’S TALK ABOUT PSYCHOPATHS
-By Shannon Kirk
Let’s talk about psychopaths. Or, maybe you prefer sociopaths. I’m no psychiatrist, so what I’m talking about are persons whose brains are physiologically wired in such a way that they do not experience emotions as others feel joy, fear, excitement, happiness, remorse, guilt. I’m not talking about people who may be deemed “sociopaths,” not from the physical construction of their brains, but because of environment, a traumatic childhood for example.
What I understood from reading the non-fiction book, The Sociopath Next Door, is there are persons who simply do not understand the sensation of effervescent bubbles rising in your chest when a baby giggles at you, and you giggle back. They might, however, understand the action of smiling in reaction to a baby smiling, the simple physical learned act of social parroting, which is very different from feeling the urge to giggle or smile because of that elusive thing called happiness.
As a lay person, far from being a licensed psychiatrist, I had to read articles and books of the very real medical condition of psychopathy so as to form some basis for the main character in Method 15/33. She holds the traits of a clinical psychopath; for example, she disassociates, lacks empathy, feels no remorse, and plans actions in a way to benefit herself and minimize risk. She’s exceptionally practical in all she does and thinks.
We see this type of character all over popular culture. Hollywood just loves the psychopath. But psychopaths are very real, and indeed, as suggested in The Sociopath Next Door, could be living right next door. The book suggests that some folks who seek out management and politics might hold the common traits of the psychopath or the sociopath. Is this any surprise? How could a billionaire business baron axe 25,000 jobs and the next day be golfing in Tahiti, a smile on his face, and a mai tai with umbrella in his hand? I’m not saying all bosses and all politicians are psychopaths, but when I’ve raised this premise to any group, someone always raises their hand and says, “Oh damn, that’s my boss. He totally fits those traits.”
What got me thinking after reading articles and books on psychopaths was how this condition can exist simply by how someone’s brain is constructed. And if that is so, what natural variations exist in our population? We know that not all psychopaths are “evil,” not all kill women for sport, and not all stalk and kill bad guys according to some “code” (Dexter). So is there a spectrum of psychopathy? On one end you would have Heath Ledger’s Joker or Christian Bale’s American Psycho, on the other you’d have Ms. Whiney Crybaby. You know, the girl who cries at every Kleenex commercial, who yells and stomps and throw pillows and jewelry if her man so much as looks at another woman. No emotion vs. Too much emotion. So what’s in the middle of the spectrum? Normalcy? There must be a middle and ripples from there. This idea, I got stuck on this idea.
I wanted to explore the idea of a spectrum of psychopathy in a fictional way. For example, what if a psychopath was wired in such a way that she could choose to feel emotions? If a person can be wired in a such a way that they physically cannot feel emotions, then why couldn’t a person exist who can control when they feel certain emotions? Also, what if there are people who sometimes slip into a form of psychopathy, while at other times are fully emotionally functional. Have you ever been so absorbed in a work project that you cannot understand why a person is crying in your doorway about the same work project until you stop what you’re doing, calibrate your mood, take a minute to absorb, and then when you take a breath or two, you finally empathize? If that is possible for most everyone, then what if such moments of disassociation are prolonged in certain people? I have to believe this is possible. In the very least, the idea, this spectrum of possibilities with psychopathy, is a breeding ground for fiction.
In my novel Method 15/33, I chose to contort the medical condition of psychopathy and create a character that controls emotions. She often chooses not to feel any emotions, and because of this, like true psychopaths, has had to “learn” appropriate social reactions. I then wanted to meld with this condition another condition in psychology having to do with “cross modal neuroplasticity”—essentially, how a person who loses one sense, gains a “super” sense in something else, such as how a deaf person might have exceptional eyesight. What I wanted to explore, again entirely on a theoretical fictional basis, basically I just made it up, was a psychopath character, who controls emotions, and her emotions are “senses”, such that since she often lacks them, her other senses are somewhat enhanced. For example, although she is blindfolded, because she is not experiencing fear or any other emotion, her smell of the air and her feel of the temperature, the precise weight of her steps on the ground, tell her the type of terrain she’s on, how long a stretch of forest is through which she is forced, what specific trees scrapes her arms, and what the nature, climate, look, and use of the land is where she is taken, as if she were seeing it with her very eyes.
So while any psychiatrist could probably poke a thousand million holes in my writer’s theory, I do actually believe that in our world, there is a wide spectrum of psychopathy, of cross-modal neuroplasticity, and that emotions just may be some form of “sense.” Who knows if we’ll ever crack the code to our brains, and frankly, I hope we don’t. It’s just too much fun to make up stories, twisting the boundaries of psychology we think we know.
SYNOPSIS
Kidnapped, pregnant teen turns the tables. Who is the victim and who is the aggressor?
.
Imagine a helpless, pregnant 16-year-old who’s just been yanked from the serenity of her home and shoved into a dirty van. Kidnapped…
Alone…Terrified.
Now forget her…
Picture instead a pregnant, 16-year-old, manipulative prodigy. She is shoved into a dirty van and, from the first moment of her kidnapping, feels a calm desire for two things: to save her unborn child and to exact merciless revenge.
She is methodical—calculating— scientific in her plotting. A clinical sociopath? Leaving nothing to chance, secure in her timing and practice, she waits—for the perfect moment to strike. Method 15/33 is what happens when the victim is just as cold as her abductors.
The agents searching for a kidnapped girl have their own frustrations and desires wrapped into this chilling drama. In the twists of intersecting stories, one is left to ponder. Who is the victim? Who is the aggressor?
Praise
“Method 15/33 is crowded with fascinating characters—even the spear carriers pop off the page—but the standout is the kidnapped pregnant teenager. Her captors want her baby. Little do they know they’ve brought an insanely brilliant, angry, vengeful, borderline sociopath under their roof. Somebody’s in big trouble… and it isn’t the teenager.” —F. Paul Wilson, New York Times best-selling author of Santa Jack
“Completely original and totally kick ass! Shannon Kirk pulls no punches in this adrenaline rush of a thriller where the victim is the one to watch, while the kidnappers learn to fear. Loved it!” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times best-selling author of Fear Nothing
“What happens when infant traffickers kidnap the wrong pregnant teen? You get Method 15/33, a cross between The Lovely Bones and Silence of the Lambs. Shannon Kirk’s debut thriller is a dark, literate page-turner, utterly compelling. I read it in one sitting.” —Leonard Rosen, Award-winning author of All Cry Chaos and The Tenth Witness
“Wow. Ridiculously good. Crazy good. Brilliantly heart-stoppingly nail-bitingly original, this is a true thriller tour de force. Shannon Kirk is an instant star.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan Agatha, Anthony winning author of Truth be Told
ABOUT SHANNON KIRK
Shannon Kirk is a practicing attorney and a law professor. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan and St. John’s Universities, is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, and was a trial lawyer in Chicago prior to moving to Massachusetts. She has been honored three times by the Faulkner Society in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, a physicist, and their son. Method 15/33 is her first novel.
ALERT: Due to illness, I was unable to promote this properly so I am extending the giveaway for another week. Be sure and enter know for your chance at a copy of Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk.
Shannon Kirk is offering a a print autographed copy of Method 15/33 to a US or Canadian resident. To enter, leave your email and answer the question:
What would be your first response if you were kidnapped?
Sally Ann Melia caught me totally off guard with this awesome story of two young boys lives, in the Guy Erma and the Son of Empire series.
I have read and reviewed the first book, Kidnap, and fell in love with it., so now I am sharing Hunter, Part II in the series. You can see my review for Kidnap HERE.
Spoiler Alert: Even though Hunter is Part Two of the Guy Erma and the Son of Empire series, I have tried to keep my comments general to keep from giving away any of the goodies contained between the pages.
Hunter is Part Two of the Guy Erma and the Son of Empire series. If you are a fan of action and adventure with some science fiction thrown in, this is a series for you. Each book picks up where the other left off. I loved Kidnap, Part One, so much, that I grabbed Hunter and started to read as soon as the package arrived.
I have watched movies that enable me to visualize the world Sally Ann Melia has created with her detailed and descriptive writing. Also, the artwork by Sally Dickson will help you see things as they really are, whether it be a character or one of the creatures.
We have a Dome, flying discs, fashion shows and models, cysects, poison pills, borgs and so much more.
There is political intrigue, betrayal, telepathy, thought control, even a telepathic shapeshifter that you better keep your eye on.
Sometimes your enemy will be your friend and ally, so do not be too quick to judge.
Would a romance among an unlikely pair save the Dome?
I love the world of Freyna that Sally Ann Melia has created. The characters, even though they are young, are brave and heroic. Even the bad ones are well developed and end up winning me over, except for the evil….well, I don’t want to spoil anything so I will leave it to you to find out.
Sally Ann Melia’s imaginative and descriptive writing describing the fight is amazing and I couldn’t put the book down until the last word was read. I have the next one, Part Three, Exile, and I want to pick it up right now, but it is late and tomorrow is another day.
My only complaint, Hunter seemed to start out a bit slow, but the ending was fantastic!
I received Hunter by Sally Ann Melia in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
How dare you? How dare you hold me captive?
13-year-old Teodor was taken by the vicious Battle Borgs of Dome and now he must fight to survive.
13-year-old Guy Erma has been offered a chance to fight for his place in the Dome Elite. Only who will be his opponent? Will he face a Battle Borg of Dome?
Once they were heroes. These men died as heroes in battle. Now they have been reincarnated as the fearsome vanguard of the Dome Elite. They are the Battle Borgs of Dome.
Two boys as different as any two boys might be. They face the same enemy, the same danger, the same fear – dare they trust each other?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author was born in Wallasey, England, in 1964, and moved to the South of France when she was eleven. She spent her teenage years living in the cosmopolitan city state of Monaco and became immersed in its many languages and cultures. An English girl in a French school, for three hours each week she would sit at the back of the class as her colleagues learnt English. To pass the time, she wrote stories. This led to a lifetime of writing novels, scripts, stories and articles.
In her working life, Sally writes marketing communications and manages large international websites.
In 2010, Sally joined the Hogs Back Writers, a club located on the outskirts of Guildford, and she set about turning an old manuscript into this novel: Guy Erma and the Son of Empire. Sally currently lives in Farnham, and she is married with two children.
Welcome to my stop for this fun and cozy mystery, Footprints in the Frosting by Laura Pauling.
Footprints in the Frosting
by Laura Pauling
MY REVIEW
I love the vibrant and fun cover of Laura Pauling’s Footprint in the Frosting, so I will follow the Footprints…to the conclusion.
Holly Hart’s new business, Just Cheesecake opens with a dead body in her dessert. With the help of her faithful companion, Muffins, she decides they must investigate the murder themselves. Right off the bat, I am smiling.
Her scruffy dog, Muffins, has a habit of leading her to the rich, hunky Mason Carlton. First he catches her in her pajamas and they share a cup of coffee, then he catches her lurking around his mansion. Muffin has good instincts about people, but why does he keep leading her to Mason? I think it’s too obvious for him to be the killer.
There is a lawyer who could be Santa Claus.
Charlene is the small town’s crazy cat lady. At first I don’t know whether to hate her or love her, but she kinda grew on me. She is quite the character. Will she become a friend or foe? I think we both know. Did she hide her smarts under a crazy layer? I couldn’t help but chuckle when Charlene talks about old people diapers. I will leave it to you to discover for yourself. It is worth your time.
The writing caused me to burst out in laughter now and then. Even the cop has a great sense of humor. The dialogue was sharp, snarky and witty, especially Holly’s part.
I left my Footprints, in my walk through Fairview’s cast of characters, as Holly investigates the murders. There are more than enough suspects, but none of them appear to be the real one…even Millicent. And how about a mystery book club? Holly will have a little more help now.
Food fight – a little cheesecake here, a little jello there.
Footprints in the Frosting is a fun and light summer beach read that will brighten your mood and keep you entertained. I hope the people around you don’t think you’re crazy when you break out in laughter.
I received Footprints in the Frosting by Laura Pauling in return for an honest review.
3 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Cheesecake, Love, and Murder!
It’s the Grand Opening for Holly Hart’s new business, Just Cheesecake. When footprints in the frosting lead to a body facedown in one of her cheesecakes, Holly becomes a prime suspect.
With her opening day delayed, Holly deals with a nosy no-good reporter and the local cop, the handsome Officer Trinket, as she puts her sleuthing skills to the test to save her business and her name. With the help of her dog, Muffins, she needs to find the real murderer, before the killer looks to frost someone else.
About the Author
Laura Pauling writes about spies, murder and mystery. She’s the author of the young adult Circle of Spies Series, the Prom Impossible Series, the time travel mysteries, Heist and A Royal Heist, and the Holly Hart Cozy Mystery Series: Footprints in the Frosting and Deadly Independence with more coming.
She lives the cover of a suburban mom/author perfectly, from the minivan to the home-baked snickerdoodles, while hiding her secret missions and covert operations. But shh. Don’t tell anyone. And she may or may not actually bake cookies. You decide.
Visit Laura at http://laurapauling.com to sign up for her newsletter and receive a free Holly Hart cozy mystery novella.
The fun title, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades by Amanda Lyles, jumped off the page at me and when I read it was about mermaids, I wanted it even more. I had not seen the cover when I picked this up, but I love it.
So, come on all you paranormal lovers and let’s dive into the world of Nina Garnet.
The title, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades by Amanda Lyles, jumped off the page at me and when I read it was about mermaids, I wanted it even more. I had not seen the cover when I picked this up, but I love the beautiful cover and mermaid stories. This one read, almost, as if it was real…at times humorous, at other times dangerous.
Nina Garnet had left home and was hiding out, trying to keep a low profile. I will not tell you why she left or about her home, Zephyr Island, because I think you need to find out for yourself. Nina lives on a houseboat called The Star Puzzle. She is good at acting human, but has mermaid needs…water and lots of it. She helped the police out when they needed to locate a body in the water, using scuba gear so they did not become aware of her ability to function without it. Now, the other supernatural beings, that she knew were around, requested her help to locate some of their members believed missing in the water.
Mermaids, dragons, the FBI, werewolves, witches, vampires, faeries, supes galore…Oh yeah, I am loving every minute of it. The creative writing had all the supernaturals working together to achieve a common goal but Amanda Lyles kept me guessing who was friend and who was foe.
Nina is shot at, mugged, stalked and attacked. I bet Jaws wouldn’t mind nibbling on a mermaid or two. Could that be why sharks mistake humans for food, they think we are merpeople?
“You;re leaving? Seriously?”
Tobias said, “Oh, I’m sure you boys will get along just fine without me. I won’t be long…Try not to eat the human. I’m sure there’s food inside.”
The sometimes humorous writing went well with the serious side, murder and magic. From the opening page, when Nina is singing Karaoke and I couldn’t help but laugh at what happens, I knew I was going to love this.
Will there be romance? I have come to appreciate a romantic entanglement in my stories. I think it lends that something extra, along with a feeling a reality and an ability to connect more closely to the characters…of which there are a lot of wonderful ones.
“Almost only counts in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.”
I think most of us have heard of that phrase.
Amanda Lyles had me swimming with the fishes, literally. The characters had me laughing and worried at the same time. Amanda’s pacing and fresh take on a familiar story kept me entertained and engrossed. There is more than one storyline that had me trying to figure out the who and why. We find the answer to one, but the other is left for another time, which is my only complaint. But, The Hand That Rocked The Boat, Book II, is available, so no waiting is necessary.
I received Horseshoes and Hand Grenades from Amanda Lyles in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Nina Garnet works as a part-time diver for the Hawaii police. She’s also a mermaid but she has worked very hard for several years to hide this fact from everyone. She goes on what she thinks is a routine dive to recover a body tangled just below the surface. The very next day the supernatural world she tried to leave behind literally breaks into her house and leaves her a package that chills her to the bones by showing her that someone knows her secret.
Then someone attacks her and the F.B.I. agent she keeps running into and they are saved by the local werewolf pack. Caleb, the alpha, tells her that the body she recovered was part of his pack and was one of five missing men. He hires her to search for the remaining missing men and as she searches she find clues that point to the men being used in a ritual that, if completed, will wipe out all supes for hundreds of miles. With the help of a vampire, several weres, a couple of witches, and the F.B.I. agent she races to find the men before the ritual can be completed.
The title for The Beast of Bradley Downs by Stephanie O’Hanlon caught my eye, but it was the cover that finished me off. I love horror and this looked like a good one.
Check out this awesomely creepy cover for yourself. Simple, but it says so much.
The Beast of Bradley Downs by Stephanie O’Hanlon is a fantastically good debut horror novel loaded with action from the getgo.
Karoline Hale lives in the small town of Bradley Downs. The legend of mysterious deaths and the burning of the town were rationalized by its citizens, because no way could they conceive the truth. She had pale skin and her lipstick was a red slash across her face. She loves horror movies, but she doesn’t want to be in one.
Mitch is her best friend, but he would like to be more. The question is, does she? Sometimes the one you love is right in front of you, but you don’t see it.
She is on the run…from IT. Is that IT in the shadows? Is that IT making that noise? Is that ITs crunching footsteps behind her? Is that IT exhaling ITs hot breathe on her neck?
Stephanie O’Hanlon uses all the horror trickes, including my, er…favorite, the monster under the bed, reaching out to grab my foot…I mean YOUR foot. 🙂
The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. I kept waiting, waiting, knowing it was coming, just didn’t know when. Uh oh, she’s way too happy and it’s Halloween.
My biggest problem was buying the fact that the townspeople blew off the danger to everyone after numerous gruesome deaths. But, as I thought about real life, don’t we refuse to see the unexplainable? Besides, it is fiction and sometimes we need to let some things slide to make the story better. I let it play through my mind like a movie.
A lot of the story is predictable, but beware, every once in a while Stephanie will throw a surprise at you. The suspense of the threat of attack was felt throughout The Beast of Bradley Downs. I had a feeling that something I didn’t want to happen would, and darn it Stephanie, you did it! I feel that made the book even better, though I didn’t like it. LOL I had a feeling I knew the ending…yeah, right. Stephanie did it again. The ending knocked me for a loop and it was most definitely not what I thought it would be. I love that. How often does that happen to you? I will be looking for more of her work.
I received The Beast of Bradley Downs from Stephanie O’Hanlon in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Can Beauty outrun the Beast?
Karoline Hale is on the run. After witnessing her boyfriend get killed she abandons everything she once knew for a new life consisting of bus tickets and hotel rooms, a duffel bag full of old clothes, and a shotgun.
She isn’t running from any ordinary killer. She is running from the Beast of Bradley Downs—a creature that kills without judgment and is hunting Karoline. She can only run for so long before she needs to gather her strength and face the Beast that howls under the wind, prowls the night, and cannot be killed by modern means.
ABOUT STEPHANIE O’HANLON
Stephanie O’Hanlon graduated from the Toronto Film School in 2008 with aspirations of starting a career in film, but found herself drawn to writing.
Combining her love for writing and history, her preferred genre is historical romance, as seen in her EP title Affaire de Coeur, though she has also enjoyed the paranormal romance genre, as seen with her EP re-release Out of my Grave. Check out her New Adult horror title The Beast of Bradley Downs, now available from Damnation Books!
Now a full time writer, she lives in Ontario, Canada with her dogs, Judas & Dante, and beloved cats, Nevermore & Willow.
Keep an eye out for the first installment in her The Raven Series, A Swan Song for the Raven, to be released by Eternal Press.
Welcome to my stop for this fantastic gothic historical novel, The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M J Rose.
MY REVIEW
First off, I don’t do much erotica. But, I hate to miss something good, so every once in a while I will give one a try. 🙂 The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M J Rose is just such a book. I feel this isn’t hard core erotica, but most definitely an adult book. I think it is more about the horror. I was very surprised at how much I loved this dark supernatural story of possession.
Sandrine has left her husband and is hiding at her grandmothers place in Paris. These women characters are not your typical ladies of the 1800s. They refuse to accept the status quo and want more.
Paris is not good for Sandrine, especially after she sees Maison de la Lune, her grandmothers home. Sandrine cannot stay away and proceeds to defy her grandmothers request that she stay away.
As M J Rose describes Sandrine observing her surroundings as if to paint them, it made me think of myself doing the same thing, only as a photographic opportunity – forms, shapes, light and dark. When M J describes Monsieur Duplessi talking about studying a tree for inspiration for designing a house, I couldn’t help but let my smile over Sandrine turn into a big grin. I felt I was destined to read The Witch of Painted Sorrows. I have a passion for trees and believe if I look long enough I will see so much more than leaves, branches and roots, like looking at a cloud and deciphering what shape is hidden inside. Again, I can relate to looking for design, form and lines, light, dark and shadows.
Gothic novels can be hit or miss with me and I was surprised at how involved I became with the story. The Witch of Painted Sorrows has so many elements that interest me. Back in the day, women were expected to be and act a certain way. Sandrine loved dressing like a man, being her own person and having freedom to do what she likes.
Witches. Ghosts. The Grimoire. Evil. Possession. Keeps getting better and better. The historical elements are detailed and the vivid, well developed characters had me so involved in their lives, that I read The Witch of Painted Sorrows from beginning to end in one sitting, even though the beginning was a bit slow. The steady pacing kept me curious, but I didn’t feel that sense of urgency that makes me race through the pages. The story is wrapped up neatly and there is no cliffhanger.
I received an ARC of The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M J Rose in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
ABOUT THE BOOK
THE WITCH OF PAINTED SORROWS (Daughters of La Lune #1)
by M.J. Rose
Gothic Historical Fantasy
Published by Atria Books on March 17th, 2015
Cover: Alan Dingman
Possession. Power. Passion. New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.
Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.
Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.
This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul”, her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.
Praise for The Witch of Painted Sorrows
“This bell époque thriller is a haunting tale of obsessive passions.” —People Magazine
“Provocative, erotic, and spellbindingly haunting…will have the reader totally mesmerized cover-to-cover….a ‘must-have’ novel.” —Suspense Magazine
“A haunting tale of erotic love…. M.J. Rose seamlessly weaves historical events throughout this story filled with distinctive characters that will keep the reader captivated to the end.” —Examiner.com
“Rose has a talent for compelling writing, and this time she has outdone herself. Fear, desire, lust and raw emotion ooze off the page.” —Associated Press
“Haunting tale of possession.” —Publishers Weekly
“Rose’s new series offers her specialty, a unique and captivating supernatural angle, set in an intriguing belle epoque Paris — lush descriptions, intricate plot and mesmerizing storytelling. Sensual, evocative, mysterious and haunting.” —Kirkus
“Mixes reality and illusion, darkness and light, mystery and romance into an adult fairy tale. [Rose] stirs her readers curiosities and imaginations, opening their eyes to the cultural, intellectual and artistic excitement that marked the Belle Epoque period. Unforgettable, full-bodied characters and richly detailed narrative result in an entrancing read that will be long savored.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)
“An elegant tale of rare depth and beauty, as brilliantly crafted as it is wondrously told….melds the normal and paranormal in the kind of seamless fashion reserved for such classic ghost stories as Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw.” —Providence Journal
I did not cause the madness, the deaths, or the rest of the tragedies any more than I painted the paintings. I had help, her help. Or perhaps I should say she forced her help on me. And so this story—which began with me fleeing my home in order to escape my husband and might very well end tomorrow, in a duel, in the Bois de Boulogne at dawn—is as much hers as mine. Or in fact more hers than mine. For she is the fountainhead. The fascination. She is La Lune. Woman of moon dreams, of legends and of nightmares. Who took me from the light and into the darkness. Who imprisoned me and set me free.
Or is it the other way around?
“Your questions,” my father always said to me, “will be your saving grace. A curious mind is the most important attribute any man or woman can possess. Now if you can just temper your impulsiveness…”
If I had a curious mind, I’d inherited it from him. And he’d nurtured it. Philippe Salome was on the board of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and helped found the American Museum of Natural History, whose cornerstone was laid on my fifth birthday.
I remember sitting atop my father’s shoulders that day, watching the groundbreaking ceremony and thinking the whole celebration was for me. He called it “our museum,” didn’t he? And for much of my life I thought it actually did belong to us, along with our mansion on Fifth Avenue and our summerhouse in Newport. Until it was gone, I understood so little about wealth and the price you pay for it. But isn’t that always the way?
Our museum’s vast halls and endless exhibit rooms fascinated me as much as they did my father—which pleased him, I could tell. We’d meander through exhibits, my small hand in his large one, and he’d keep me spellbound with stories about items on display. I’d ask for more, always just one more, and he’d laugh and tease: “My Sandrine, does your capacity for stories know no bounds?”
But it pleased him, and he’d always tell me another.
I especially loved the stories he told me about the gems and fate and destiny always ending them by saying: “You will make your own fate, Sandrine, I’m sure of it.”
Was my father right? Do we make our own destiny? I think back now to the stepping-stones that I’ve walked to reach this moment in time.
Were the incidents of my making? Or were they my fate?
The most difficult steps I took were after certain people died. No deaths were caused by me, but at the same time, none would have occurred were it not for me.
So many deaths. The first was on the morning of my fifteenth birthday, when I saw a boy beaten and tragically die because of our harmless kisses. The next was the night almost ten years later, when I heard the prelude to my father’s death and learned the truth about Benjamin, my husband. And then there were more. Each was an end-ing that, ironically, became a new beginning for me.
The one thing I am now sure of is that if there is such a thing as destiny, it is a result of our passion, be that for money, power, or love. Passion, for better or worse. It can keep a soul alive even if all that survives is a shimmering. I’ve even seen it. I’ve been bathed in it. I’ve been changed by it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times Bestseller, M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice… books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it. Rose’s work has appeared in many magazines including Oprah Magazine and she has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, WSJ, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Reincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and currently serves, with Lee Child, as the organization’s co-president. Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.
Add me to Goodreads now.
4 Stars
Heather L. Reid is both American and British and has called six different cities in three different countries, home. Her strong sense of wanderlust and craving for a new adventure mean you might find her wandering the moors of her beloved Scotland, exploring haunted castles, or hiking through a magical forest in search of fairies and sprites. When she’s not venturing into the unknown in her real life, she loves getting lost in the worlds of video games or curling up by the fire with good story. For now, this native Texan is back in the Lone Star State, settling down with her Scottish husband and writing new tales of fantasy and horror.
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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.
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The author was born in Wallasey, England, in 1964, and moved to the South of France when she was eleven. She spent her teenage years living in the cosmopolitan city state of Monaco and became immersed in its many languages and cultures. An English girl in a French school, for three hours each week she would sit at the back of the class as her colleagues learnt English. To pass the time, she wrote stories. This led to a lifetime of writing novels, scripts, stories and articles.
TIMOTHY PATTEN is retired, grew up in Highland Park, Illinois and graduated from University of Miami, Florida with a BBA and MBA in marketing. He volunteers and supports a few local charities in Orange County, California.
Stephanie O’Hanlon graduated from the Toronto Film School in 2008 with aspirations of starting a career in film, but found herself drawn to writing.
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New York Times Bestseller, M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice… books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it. Rose’s work has appeared in many magazines including Oprah Magazine and she has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, WSJ, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Reincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and currently serves, with Lee Child, as the organization’s co-president. Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.