I have read other books about the Lost City, so I am eager to see D V Berkom’s spin on it. I do love traipsing through the jungle, with danger lurking, looking for lost treasure.
Martin is concerned about keeping the discovery quiet and the location secret, to protect it from those who would endanger the site and the people who live around it. Nancy, his daughter, is more interested in academic pursuits, wanting to share it with the world, which opens them up to those who want it for themselves.
She drank the Kool-Aid.
Enter Leine Basso…a kickass ex-assassin that takes name and leaves no prisoners. She is pulled from her comfy cozy bed, where she was nestled with Santa, her detective boyfriend, in Los Angeles and on her way to the jungle deep in the heart of the Amazon.
The head bad guy betrays anyone and everyone to get what he wants and I hope and pray he gets a healthy dose of Karma.
I am loving Shadow of the Jaguar and the Indiana Jones vibe I’m picking up. We have action and adventure, loyalty and betrayal, treasure found, and lives lost.
I love books that add the ecological aspects that would accompany a discovery such as this, including theft, clear cutting, eco terrorism and things that would damage the jungle and the people who live there. To me it adds a realistic aspect to the fiction.
The pacing flowed smoothly, making it easy to read on, totally captivated by the characters, trying to figure out who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. I was worried and I wonder…could a good guy do a bad thing and still be a good guy?
I love that D V Berkom has Leine and her daughter on the adventure together. They both work for SHEN, which is an organization that deals with human traffickers and there is never a dull moment. They are well equipped to handle whatever gets thrown at them and it is a pleasure to be along for the ride.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shadow of the Jaguar by D V Berkom
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Leine Basso is back in Shadow of the Jaguar, an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning action-adventure thriller.
A lost civilization. A woman’s abduction. The promise of unimaginable treasure.
Deep in the heart of the Amazon, an expedition finds evidence of a fabled lost city of gold. It isn’t long before a ruthless drug trafficker learns of the possible find and kidnaps an expedition member, threatening to kill her and the rest of the expedition unless he’s given the coordinates to the city.
Former assassin Leine Basso and her daughter are called in to rescue the kidnapped woman, who also happens to be a good friend’s niece. But in the jungle, danger lurks at every turn, and nothing is as it seems…
ABOUT D V BERKOM
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.
Britney King has done it again in her psychological thriller, The Book Doctor. The Prologue smacked me in the face, made me duck and cover, and had me rapidly turning the pages to find out what in the hell is going on.
George is a writer with a book deadline months past due and a wife with severe mental issues and the story takes off. It quickly becomes a twisted mess and I’m wondering what is going on with Liam. And his wife? My head is spinning.
George is living in hell.
A terrifying look into the life of a mentally disturbed woman and the man who cares for and keeps both of them safe. An impossible task, I believe.
Great job, Britney. You had me til the end and what a wild ride it was. I went down the path you led me and walked into crazy town. You had me questioning the characters actions, feeling something was a little bit off, and I never saw the ending coming.
I love books with serial killers and this led me down a murky path. The pacing kept me turning the pages, having to know what comes next. I can highly recommend every book of hers I have read.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Book Doctor by Britney King.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From the bestselling author of The Social Affair and HER comes a riveting new thriller about a writer desperate to make a comeback who realizes that success may cost more than he can afford to pay when a stranger arrives at his door.
George is bitter. As he should be. Once a household name, George is dying to make a comeback, and death may be the only option left to get the public’s attention. Ask anyone, his life is unraveling at the seams. Meanwhile, his new apprentice is everything he is not.
The enigmatic man his publisher sends to help is young and ambitious, with looks that could kill, and possibly do.
When George discovers that his apprentice’s talent extends beyond fixing broken plots, that his winning formula may, in fact, be a result of making the crimes in his novels come to life, George has to ask himself how much he is willing to overlook to achieve mainstream success.
Perfectly paced, The Book Doctor is an electrifying psychological thriller about a life’s work, obsession, and the dangerous places ambition can take you. Full of enough tension and twists to make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.
ABOUT BRITNEY KING
Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes
psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
Currently, she’s writing three series and several standalone
novels.
The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have
known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy,
dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on
revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female,
and Basic Instinct.
The Water Series follows the shady love story of an
unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been
compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
Around The Bend is a heart-pounding standalone, which traces the
journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks
to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to
keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about
unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and
apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it
has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless
couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For
fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel
explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is
reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me.
Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this
gig. You can find Britney online here:
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her
mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb
into your browser.
I was soooo excited when I won a fabulous signed hardcover for Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton and a paperback copy with a pile of goodies for Colel by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.
Kira Jane Buxton has definitely delivered on this original, unique glimpse into her zombie world where animals are the saviors and humans are the ones in need of saving. They can’t do it as individuals, it takes a murder to save a village. Hollow Kingdom is filled with every emotion I can think of, terror and fear, sadness and happiness, lost and found, tears and smiles, despair and hope.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.
S.T.,
a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with
his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle’s wild crows (those
idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.
Then
Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like
something isn’t quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies–from
beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim’s loyal but
dim-witted dog, Dennis–fail to cure Big Jim’s debilitating malady. S.T.
is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into
a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he
discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local
wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming
Seattle. Humanity’s extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one
determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the
world around him comes from his TV-watching education.
Hollow Kingdom
is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the
apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow
can become a hero.
As soon as I opened the cover I began laughing and never quit. Colel is naive in the romance department, and when she meets the one…what to do… Especially seeing she is the Mistress of the Bees…and they aren’t liking him at all, and…he’s allergic. Delightfully sexy romp with evil gods and goddesses, vampires, mermaids, humans….and so much more.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a Standalone, Romantic Comedy a la Paranormal…
COLEL(Book #5, The Immortal Matchmakers, Inc. Series).
WARNING: This
book contains foul language, gratuitous sex against a truck,
outrageously rude immortal warriors in leather pants, snow, pigheaded
gods, a sexually frustrated goddess, a very hot and hunky florist guy
with a bad attitude and a big secret, Brutus bubble baths, a sneaky
invisible unicorn, unrequited love, bees, bees, and more bees, and
chocolates.
SOMETIMES LOVE BITES AND SOMETIMES IT STINGS.
Colel,
the Goddess of Bees, has been looking for Mr. Right for over seventy
thousand years. So when she meets the hunky owner of a small-town flower
shop and explodes with flutters and tingles, she’s almost certain that
he’s the one.
Only two problems: her tiny black-and-yellow army
suddenly won’t let her anywhere near him, and…is that a freaking
epinephrine pen in the fridge? “Dear gods! He’s allergic to bees? Say it
isn’t so.”
If simply dating the guy will kill him, how will she ever know for sure if he’s really the one?
Colel has a solution, but it’s drastic. Even for her. And what if he says no?
I am a huge fan of Michael F Stewart and was excited when I got my hands on Heart Sister, an amazing story that is a perfect example of The Butterfly Effect in Chaos Theory.
The wonderful cover for Heart Sister definitely fits the story inside.
I love the cover and it definitely relates to the book and means so much more after reading Heart Sister by Michael F Stewart. Michael speaks from the heart in this fabulous story of a young boy that searches for the people that received his sister’s organs.
The characters are fully developed, richly detailed and I love how Michael F Stewart shows them growing and changing. Emmitt steals the show. It’s not awful enough that he lost his sister, but he lost his twin sister.
The movie that Emmitt is making was a different take on the story than I expected, but a wonderful way to tell the tale. Anything more, you will want to learn for yourself.
My heart goes out to him. I love him. He is doing everything for his mother, to pull her out of her paralyzing depression, but so much happens and many lives are changed. His sister gave them life, he helps them live it.
The butterfly effect is an idea that is more commonly used in chaos theory. it shows that a small change can make much bigger changes happen; that one small incident can have a big impact in the future. The ripple in the pond….
I cannot say enough about this novel, which is inspired by Micheal F Stewart’s own life.
Heart Sister has it all…fun and games, grief and misery, laughs and tears..and the way Michael presented it was heartbreakingly and heartwarmingly wonderful.
Even though Heart Sister is aimed at middle grade, to me, Michael F Stewart’s novels are excellent for all ages. He sends a subtle message that I hear loud and clear.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Heart Sister by Michael F Stewart.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
After Emmitt’s twin sister, Minnie, dies in an accident, his world goes sideways. He’s lost his best friend and it feels like his family is falling apart without her. But Minnie was an organ donor and Emmitt soon receives an anonymous thank you letter from one of the transplant recipients. Inspiration strikes, and he decides to try and put his sister back together, in spirit. He’s going to track down each organ recipient and film them to show his parents Minnie’s selfless act and help them move on. But when each recipient falls short of his expectations and the star of his film, the girl who received his sister’s heart, refuses to meet him, Emmitt has to turn to extreme measures to find her. What he doesn’t know is that his “heart sister” is hiding an agonizing secret, one that could push Emmitt to the breaking point.
ABOUT MICHEL F STEWART
Michael F. Stewart is winner of both the
2015 Claymore Award and the 2014 inaugural Creation of Stories Award
for best YA novel at the Toronto International Book Fair.
He likes to combine storytelling with technology and pioneered
interactive storytelling with Scholastic Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand’s, anti-cyberbullying program Bully For You. In addition to his
award winning Assured Destruction series, he has authored four graphic
novels with Oxford University Press Canada’s Boldprint series.
Publications of nonfiction titles on Corruption and Children’s Rights
are published by Scholastic and early readers are out with Pearson
Education.
For adults, Michael has written THE SAND
DRAGON a horror about a revenant prehistoric vampire set in the tar
sands, HURAKAN a Mayan themed thriller which pits the Maya against the
MS-13 with a New York family stuck in the middle, 24 BONES an urban
fantasy which draws from Egyptian myth, and THE TERMINALS–a covert
government unit which solves crimes in this realm by investigating them
in the next.
Herder of four daughters, Michael lives
to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s first Writer
in Residence. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit
his website at www.michaelfstewart.com or connect via Twitter
@MichaelFStewart.
I shared Ashes and Blood by Katie Zaber for a tour, but I didn’t read and review it until the author asked me if I would like a copy. Of course, I said yes and I am so glad I did.
I have a thing for trees and love the cover. How about you?
I was first drawn to Ashes and Blood by Katie Zaber when I saw the cover. I love trees, whether real or fantasy.
What would you do if you are ambling along a familiar trail, and all of a sudden, you find a tree that was never there before? I think I would run, but before they can decide to do the same, things begin to change with every step they take and they are whisked away, into another world.
Sarah, Dana, Ciara and Megan are in for the time of their lives and I am along for the ride. Katie Zaber did a fantastic job creating a world filled with wonder and magic. I quickly became immersed in her world, created in vivid detail with characters I immediately became involved with.
Of course, we have to have one who is in the spotlight and that will be Megan, though all peripheral characters have very important parts to play to make this book a whole. Each has their own personalities and talents that will come in handy. They are tight and their ‘family’ grows as the adventure moves along.
Action and adventure abound and they find their destiny in a place they never could have imagined. Of course, we have to have a bad guy, and he hits very close to home, but there is someone involved who never shows their face. Are they there to save her, or want her for themselves. AND why do they want her? I am curious about who this ‘person’ is and maybe I will find out in the next book, which I hope Katie is rapidly writing.
As I searched around, Ashes and Blood is the only book I have seen by Katie Zaber. If this is her debut novel, she did a bang up job and I can only imagine what is to come. I plan on being along for the ride.
If you are looking for a story to get lost in and escape the real world for a while, I highly recommend Ashes and Blood by Katie Zaber.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Ashes and Blood by Katie Zaber.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
“I’ll start at the beginning. Long ago, before roads, before we built structures, before medicine was discovered, before the government was created, before man gained any knowledge, there were The Five. Independent from each other, The Five had a mutual respect for one another. They knew their roles in the world and their duty. They were gods…”
An adventure begins when an otherworldly tree captures the attention of Megan and her friends. The environment morphs around them, transferring them to an exotic planet. Stuck in a rural town still maimed by the plague, a chance encounter with a familiar face gives Megan and her friends some security during their adjustment period.
While settling into new, promising lives, they are attacked and stalked by planet Dalya’s humanoid inhabitants, who focus on Megan. One dark night, after an epic, magical attack, the Fae King’s knight is sent to fetch Megan. When she wakes up a prisoner, she learns that there is much more to this strange world, and it is oddly more like her own than she ever would have expected.
ABOUT KATIE ZABER
Katie Zaber is originally from Southern New Jersey. Her childhood home is just minutes from the Long Beach Island Bridge. When not writing, Katie can be found at wine tastings, sun bathing at the beach, going for hikes, screaming at Six Flags, reading, or in her favorite place, her kitchen, baking desserts and breads. She currently lives in Morris County, New Jersey with her boyfriend.
Such a great cover and tagline for Laying Ghosts, The Secrets of Selkie Moon #0.5 by Virginia King, I couldn’t resist grabbing it. It’s a quick read at 48 ebook pages.
Selkie’s home along, after declining an invite to spend time at a beachside resort with her honey, Andrew, who has to attend a conference. She has no use for beaches, other than to fear them and stay as far away from them as she can BUT…
She ends up at the beach anyway, when she receives a text:
Help me at Crystal Cottage. Rina.
She had lost touch with Marina, when she left with Frank and his band to go to London. Something doesn’t feel right and she has very bad memories of Crystal Cottage, but that won’t stop her.
Most of the characters leave a lot to be desired, even the possessive Andrew, who monitors her every move.
Wow, that was every which way of weird and surprising. I was tossed here and there, never knowing where I was going until I got there. I want more of Selkie…a lot more.
Love it!
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Ghosts used to moan. Now they … pho-o-ne.
A strange message, a deserted beach house, a shocking incident from the past … Selkie Moon’s life with change forever.
When
a text message from a long lost friend lures Selkie Moon to Crystal
Cottage, the chilling events from a house-party four years earlier wrap
her in ghostly fingers and turn her life upside-down.
A prequel to the Selkie Moon Mystery Series plus your bonus first chapter of The First Lie.
Read Laying Ghosts for a standalone 60-minute adrenaline rush or as a taste of the Selkie Moon Mystery Series: The First Lie, The Second Path, The Third Note and The Fourth Door
ABOUT VIRGINIA KING
When a voice wakes you up in the middle of the night and tells you to write a mystery series, what’s a writer to do? That’s how I came to create Selkie Moon, after a massage from a strange woman with gifted hands was followed by this nocturnal message. I sat down at the keyboard until Selkie Moon turned up — a modern woman with a mythical name. Soon I was hooked, exploring far-flung places full of secrets where Selkie delves into psychological clues tangled up in the local mythology.
Before Selkie Moon invaded my life, I’d been a teacher, an unemployed ex-teacher, the author of over 50 children’s books, an audio-book producer, a workshop presenter and a prize-winning publisher. These days I live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney with my husband, where I disappear each day into Selkie Moon’s latest mystery. Bliss.
Mr Wonderful and I are frequent visitors to The Florabama, which is known as the Refneck Riviera. We have spent many wonderful hours drinking Bushwackers and Bloody Mary’s, alone and with friends, watching the waves roll in. Every year they have one of the world’s largest beach parties, the Mullet Toss, where people come from all over the world.
One day I walked in and immediately stopped at Chris Warner’s table…books…
Saved at the Alabama Florida Line jumped right off the table and into my hands. I loved signed copies and bought two books, hoping to see him again some time and buy more.
Have you every visited The Florabama on the Gulf Coast?
I love books that take place in a familiar location and Saved at the Alabama Florida Line by Chris Warner describes the place perfectly. I have visited The Florabama many times and we always take any visitors we have to share a cocktail and enjoy the view.
I walked into Florabama one day, me and Mr Wonderful were there for our Florabama fix and a delicious Bushwacker. I walked in the door and saw Chris Warner with his books and I immediately snatched a couple, getting them both autographed. With Covid going on, my hope to see him again and grab some more books from him went out the window.
All that being said, Saved at the Alabama Florida Line brought back memories of when I first moved to Alabama. I packed my dog and everything that would fit in my car and I drove to….Alabama.
I have visited the Redneck Riviera many times, I worked at Trinity’s and have the T shirts and sweat shirts to prove it, bought my first Mardi Gras ball gown at a small specialty shop in Fairhope, went to a party for the Kenny Stable Golf Tourney at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, spent a Mullet Toss weekend on Ono Island, have traveled 65 to 59 into Bay Minette and on to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, had a cocktail at Pink Pony Pub and bought the sweat shirt (it was chilly that day), went to a Jimmy Buffet concert on the Gulf Coast to raise awareness of the BP oil spill.
I remember my first glimpse of the white, sugary sands of Florida and thought, oh man, that looks so much like snow. It’s hard to describe unless you see it and walk through it yourself.
We travel from Point Clear to Seville Quarter here in Pensacola, with many stops along the way, enjoying cocktails, music and fun. After a little bit of partying, the Waffle House is a must stop to soak up the alcohol. Luckily, there is one right across the street from The Florabama.
Saved at the Alabama Florida Line has so many factual truths with a love story on the side. Who knows how many people have met there and gone on to have a love story of their own. I personally know of one couple, a good friend of ours and a woman we met at the Mullet Toss are still going strong years later. Ya just never know.
I loved traveling down memory lane, especially because I cannot be there due to Covid. I miss those moments of relaxation, with no cares, now worries. I long for those times and maybe a reread is in order because it will be a long time before I step through the doors again.
4 Stars
GOODREADS
Johnny Glass has had it with Nashville. Its many posers, pimps and politicians preyed on him for four difficult years, leaving him disheartened. A talented, struggling singer-songwriter, he still yearns to make a living doing what he loves, writing and singing songs. A former band mate lives in a broken down Airstream camper on the Florida-Alabama State line near the sparkling Gulf of Mexico—for free. Playing music and singing songs at the world-famous Flora-Bama Lounge and Package Store on the beach is his everyday gig. Johnny has a standing offer to join his buddy anytime, as the owner of the place is a lover of singer-songwriters, and could certainly use someone with his skills. Lucy Whitman is a sophomore debutante at the University of South Alabama and the privileged daughter of an Alabama State Senator. Uninterested in her life as a university student and sorority girl, Lucy tilts to the wild side on the weekends where she sings, unbeknownst to her overbearing parents, in a bona fide honky-tonk band at America’s Last Great American Roadhouse, the Flora-Bama. Instead of planned summer school, she has decided to spend the entire tourist season singing; and if it goes well, she likely won’t go back to South. For Johnny and Lucy, it’s love at first sight. Through joined artistry their relationship grows, and they become a popular on-stage duo. They enjoy each other and the creative fulfillment the partnership brings. However, Lucy’s mother and powerful father want nothing of their daughter playing a honky-tonk joint in Orange Beach. After gently trying to win her favor, they make their strongest, connected attempt toward altering her brazen life path; and it has devastating consequences—not only for Lucy’s music, but for everyone living on Pleasure Island: The beloved Flora-Bama may be shuttered—for good. Lucy’s father uses his political connections to deploy an army of state government agents against the beach bar, trumping up dozens of unfounded charges resulting in its indefinite closure. Already in financial trouble stemming from bad outside investments, a great recession and an unprecedented manmade environmental disaster, the bar cannot afford to be closed during the lucrative tourist season. Johnny and Lucy, the locals and the rest of the musicians join forces with the Flora-Bama’s loveable owner and come up with a plan to save the quintessential beach bar, and the community it faithfully supports. In doing so, Johnny and Lucy realize the grand futility of commercial success, and the bountiful wealth they already possess—from living and enjoying life, making music and many friends, in a beautiful, unforgettable place like no other. Saved at the Alabama-Florida Line is a romantic, satirical tale of forbidden love that seeks to draw semblance to Southern living, art, failed politics and pop culture.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith is a prolific writer and her Spookie Town Murder Mystery series has been a big hit for her. She is currently working on Book 7. Woo Hoo. Congratulations Kathryn.
Interview with Kathryn Meyer Griffith
What’s
next for you as a writer?
I am in a very different place than most
younger writers. I’m at a different part of my life and my writing career. I’ve
been writing now for over 48 years (that’s not my age…that is how long I have
been actually writing) and I’m slowing down. The feverish obsession to write
has faded some and I am very aware of the preciousness of time in a person’s life.
I’m almost 70 now and I want to enjoy my everyday existence as well as play in
my make-believe worlds. So…will I write my 30th novel, or 14th short story? I
do not know. If God allows me to, I will. I have been writing Dinosaur Lake and
Spookie Town Murder Mysteries now for over 10 years and I do miss my horror.
Perhaps I’ll write one more really scary vampire/witch/demon/ghost book before
my curtain comes down. Perhaps.
What
is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. Keep writing. Write what you love to read.
Read. But…make time in between your writing to LIVE your life, make friends,
have fun. Believe me, life goes so quickly.
Anne Rice
Stephen King
Dean Koontz
Peter Straub
Michael Crichton
Jane Austen
Ray Bradbury
Robert Heinlein
Do you have
any unusual writing habits?
I love to write on my couch, on my laptop, with the TV on
and a cup of coffee or chocolate coffee to drink, or snacks. Some writers can
write with music playing…I can’t. But TV, yes.
What is the
name of your latest book and what inspired it?
All Those Who Came Before…is my 29th novel and the sixth
of my Spookie Town Murder Mysteries. People seem to love my quirky town cozy
murder mysteries so I just keep writing them, even though I am actually a horror/thriller
writer.
If you were
going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with
you what books would you bring?
The Bible
The newest Stephen King book
The newest/best-selling Murder Mystery
Newest best-selling SF book
What’s next
for you as a writer?
I am in a very different place than most younger writers.
I’m at a different part of my life and my writing career. I’ve been writing now
for over 48 years (that’s not my age…that is how long I have been actually
writing) and I’m slowing down. The feverish obsession to write has faded some
and I am very aware of the preciousness of time in a person’s life. I’m almost
70 now and I want to enjoy my everyday existence as well as play in my
make-believe worlds. So…will I write my 30th novel, or 14th short story? I do
not know. If God allows me to, I will. I have been writing Dinosaur Lake and
Spookie Town Murder Mysteries now for over 10 years and I do miss my horror.
Perhaps I’ll write one more really scary vampire/witch/demon/ghost book before
my curtain comes down. Perhaps.
Do you have
any advice for new authors?
Never give up. Keep writing. Write what you love to read.
Read. These days…advertise, advertise, advertise!
What is the
best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. Keep writing. Write what you love to read.
Read. But…make time in between your writing to LIVE your life, make friends,
have fun. Believe me, life goes so quickly.
THE HISTORY OF MY 5 BEST-SELLING DINOSAUR LAKE BOOKS:
I started the first DINOSAUR LAKE over 28 years ago and it
(stupidly titled back then as Predator…a title I fought with my publisher to
change, but they wouldn’t) and Zebra Paperbacks was supposed to publish the
first one in 1994. Last minute, though, after it was slated to go on the stands
in 6 weeks, covers printed and final editing done, they dumped it; dumped a lot
of their so-called horror authors and my book (which was to be my seventh
published novel; fourth with Zebra). Zebra said “no one wants to read
about a dinosaur.” Yeah? Jurassic Park came out soon after that. Oh well.
Anyway, disgusted at that time with publishers and everything to
do with writing I stuffed the manuscript into a drawer. Then in 2012 I decided
to try self-publishing and remembered that old manuscript. I took it out, rewrote
it and used it as an experiment in self-publishing. And boy did my readers love
it and buy it. So, over the next eight years I wrote 4 sequels: Dinosaur Lake
II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV:
Dinosaur Wars, and Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors. They are still among some of my
best-selling and beloved books; second only to my 6 Spookie Town Murder
Mysteries. Want to read more about my dinosaur books, look here: tinyurl.com/ycp5gqb2
The Prologue for All Things Slip Away filled me in on the highlights of the Spookie Town Murder Mystery Series Book I, Scaps of Paper, and thank goodness. It has been a while since I read it, so I needed a refresher. You could begin reading here, but I am loving this series so much, I would highly recommend beginning at the beginning. 🙂
NOW…it’s ten years later and Frank Lester, a Chicago Homicide detective that moved to Spooky town, has found the serial killer he thought he had taken out is back, and he is on the hunt…for revenge.
I read a lot of Young Adult novels, so it is refreshing to be meeting some older characters that carry baggage and memories, and lust does not override their emotions. The romance is a slow burn, but smolders throughout the pages.
There is so much more to the killer than meets the eye. He has his own issues and problems that he cannot overcome. He is driven to seek revenge. The villain is one of those bad guys that can evoke a moment of sympathy for him.
Abigail is Frank’s love interest, but he is not alone in his desire to date her.The sheriff has his eye on her too. Myrtle is a neighbor and she is quite the character. She gave me some laughs and I love some humor with my murder. My heart went out to Laura and Nick, and the rest of their family, two children whose mother is ill and they struggle to even feed themselves. The two kids broke my heart, yet put a smile on my face.
The suspense is ramping up as the pacing takes me to the next event and I am eager, yet apprehensive about HIS and Frank’s next meeting.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s has an ability to draw me into the story so deep that I feel like I am walking in Abigail’s shoes, being stalked, feeling like someone is following me, watching me, having me looking over my shoulder, ‘hiding out’, keeping low.
I love that Kathryn can stretch the story, all the while keeping me on edge. It has been months since HE has been seen…life goes on…but, we all know it isn’t over. The tension builds as I wait, wait for the explosion that is about to come.
Well, I guess you can tell how much I loved All Things Slip Away. The story is fabulous and kept me totally engrossed, the characters came to life on the pages through Kathryn’s words and I fell in love with them. The peripheral characters became just as important to me as the main ones. The mystery, yeah, we know who he is, sorta but that does not take away anything from the story.
I highly recommend any of her work. Kathryn has never disappointed me.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of All Things Slip Away by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Ten years ago Frank Lester, a Chicago homicide detective, thought he had rid himself forever of the Mud People Killer who’d kidnapped and murdered six people. Frank had shot him as he’d fled through a snowy night; had killed him, he believed, though a body was never found. But the killer wasn’t dead. He’d only been waiting to take his revenge on Frank and those he cares about now…ten years later. Frank retired early and is living back in his hometown of Spookie when the killer resurfaces to take up where he left off. Kidnapping more innocents and tormenting Frank and the people he cares about. Unless Frank and his artist girlfriend, Abigail Sutton, can find and stop him before he kills more people and perhaps both of them.
SPOOKIE TOWN MURDER MYSTERIES: FROM THE AUTHOR for Author Central:
I started writing this SPOOKIE TOWN MURDER MYSTERY (I called the town Spookie as a tip-of-my-hat to my horror roots…I began my career in 1984 as a Leisure & Zebra horror paperback writer) series way back in 2003 (that is why there are no iPhones and laptops in the first few books…I wanted to keep the timeline pure) for Avalon Books as hardcovers and since then, because people loved the stories so much, I have written six more and self-published them all in eBooks everywhere, paperbacks and audio books. Scraps of Paper (The First Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (The Second Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (The Third Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (The Fourth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (The Fifth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (The Sixth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), When the Fireflies Returned (The Seventh Spookie Town Murder Mystery, which will be out in December 2020). Since 1984, I have published 29 novels (horror, romance, time-travel, paranormal and thrillers)and 13 short stories.
Thank you, the author Kathryn Meyer Griffith
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer
for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short
stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback
horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on
to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance,
thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her
thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II: Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars, Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical short story Christmas Magic 1959.
I have had my eye on the Lizzie Borden: Zombie Hunter series for some time now and was sooooo happy when she asked me if I wanted to review the books. YAY!
Are you ready? Let’s start by checking out this fabulous cover by Jaun Villar Pardon.
I have been following C A Verstraete for a little while now, and was ecstatic when she asked if I wanted to review Lizzie Borden: Zombie Hunter and my reply was a resounding…YES.
Want to know what really happened in the Borden household on that fateful night? It’s not what you’re thinking and I love what the author has done with this familiar story of murder and betrayal. Sooooo, be prepared for a savage tale of survival.
Lizzie Borden: Zombie Hunter by C A Verstraete was a lot of what I expected, but the author has treated me to some twists and turns, suspense and savage do or die fighting that makes this an action packed story that kept me flipping the pages.
I loved watching Lizzie grow and change throughout the story, becoming the zombie hunter she knew she could be. The battles to survive are savage, brutal, with blood and heads flying along with the bullets.
I wondered how Christine would twist the story, and a conspiracy fits very nicely.
I love the ending and want to see what happens in the next sword slashing, gun blazing zombie killer story.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Lizzie Borden: Zombie Hunter by C A Verstraete.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Every family has its secrets…
One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become zombies?
Thrust into a horrific world where the walking dead are part of a shocking conspiracy to infect not only Fall River, Massachusetts, but also the world beyond, Lizzie battles to protect her sister, Emma, and her hometown from nightmarish ghouls and the evil forces controlling them.
ABOUT C A VERSTRAETE
Christine (C.A.) Verstraete is an award-winning author and journalist from Wisconsin who loves writing odd little stories with a touch of the macabre!
* New stories in 100 Word Bigger Zombie Bites! New stories in anthologies – 100 Word Horrors 3 and 100 Word Zombie Bites.
Now out! LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER 2: The Axe Will Fall!!! – Lizzie is back, swinging her axe again! Sequel to LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER!
* COMPANION NOVELLA: * Was Lizzie Borden’s doctor haunted by what he saw that day – and by Fall River? THE HAUNTING OF DR. BOWEN, A Mystery in Lizzie Borden’s Fall River
* My story, “Thirteen Horses” is in the anthology, Descent Into Darkness. (#1 Bestseller!)
** Check my website for news, https://www.cverstraete.com and my blog, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com. Or see my minis blog: http://candidcanine.blogspot.com.
When she’s not writing (when is that?), Christine also enjoys creating in miniature. She is author of DOLLHOUSE DECOR & MORE, Vol. 1 with Joanna Campbell Slan and IN MINIATURE STYLE II. (MSII will be re-published and updated later.)
It’s good to be back with the girls, watching how they have grown since being sold into slavery by their parents.
Diamond had awakened in the mansion the girls had been brought to, but they had been quickly separated, so she has no idea if they are still there or sold off to some pathetic excuse for a human. She thought of escape, but it was impossible, considering the metal collar she wore was chained to the wall. Diamond is the oldest and feels responsible for her sisters, but how could she save them, if she can’t even save herself? She has been abused and tortured, but she will not give up.
Then….she heard voices.
Jane Blythe’s ability to tell a story keeps me flipping pages, eyes rapidly scanning the pages as the suspense builds and I wait for the next tragedy to befall one of these wonderful women who strive to find a bit of happiness after the tragedies that Jane heaped on them.
The characters come to life on the pages, making me worry and fret about who will be hurt next, how badly, and why?
Diamond won’t quit. She has kept HOPE alive through her worst moments and even more so since she has Elijah and Archer.
Jane Blythe does not make it easy to figure out who wants Diamond dead, and the pacing creates a sense of urgency. Action packed. I took a moment in the lull of the action to catch my breath while I was allowed to see Diamond and Eljah’s innermost thoughts and fears, but I knew Jane Blythe had much more to come.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Fractured Diamond by Jane Blythe.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Betrayed. Sold. Tortured. Now she’s fighting to rebuild her life.
Diamond Hatcher was always the quiet girl—the shy one. Her ordeal at the hand of human traffickers left her more reserved, expressing through her paintings what she cannot put into words. She took the biggest risk of her life when she let Detective Elijah Newton know she was interested in him, but he didn’t return her feelings.
Elijah’s life was turned upside down in a way he never could have expected, and although he has feelings for Diamond, there is no way he’s going to drag her into the mess his life has become. Until fate forces his hand. When someone starts using Diamond’s paintings as inspiration to commit murder, there isn’t anything he won’t do to keep her safe, including tell her his biggest secret.
↝ Trigger warning – mature content, issues of sexual assault/abuse, violence ↜
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
Jane
has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark
and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in
because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series,
Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.
When she’s not writing Jane loves to
read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies.
She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears.
She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and
Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!
