Liv Rancourt's Blog, page 22
September 28, 2014
Taming Ryder – Release Day Event
Book Title: Taming Ryder (Souls of the Knight, #2)
Author: Nicola Haken
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: September 2014
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions
You met Ryder Richardson in Being Sawyer Knight. Now, this is his story.
I’ve done it. I’ve stuck a whopping two fingers up at my parents, I’ve made a name for myself as one of the world’s biggest porn stars and I’ve finally found a family I belong in.
Life is amazing. I get paid to do all my favourite things. Fuck. Party. Travel the world. What’s not to love?
And then he comes along. Mason George – Back Door Studio’s newest exclusive model and the guy who has the potential to either fuck it all up, or take me on the best ride of my life.
~ Ryder
I’m desperate. I’ve got nothing and nobody left. Entering the daunting world of adult entertainment is less of a dream and more of a necessity. Signing as Back Door Studio’s latest model has the ability to either ruin or make me, but I made a vow at my first audition never to let myself regret it.
I continue to question myself each day, but no amount of what’s, why’s or what ifs will change where I am or where I’m heading. Am I strong enough to do this? To embrace it? To enjoy it? I have no idea.
The only thing I’m certain of, is that if anyone can teach me who I’m supposed to be, it’s Ryder Richardson.
~ Mason
“Because the most exciting things in life always happen via the back door”
Author of the New Adult/Contemporary novels Missing Pieces, Saving Amy and the Take My Hand series, and m/m erotic romance Souls of the Knight series.
I live in Rochdale, England with my wonderful family and when I’m not playing with my imaginary friends I can usually be found looking after my four adorable (sometimes!) children (six if you include the dogs, seven if you include the hubby!) or stalking gay porn stars!
All in all I’m just an ordinary mum with an addiction to reading about hot book guys, writing about hot book guys, tattoos and Pepsi Max! Oh, and if my kids ever ask… I moonlight as the Pink Power Ranger 
“Perfect! You’re getting into the spirit faster than I thought you would.”
“Why’d you say that?”
“I just get the feeling this isn’t your first choice sometimes. The porn I mean.”
Mason’s eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowing as he contemplated my words.
“Maybe it’s not. But I chose this, and as with every other job I’ve ever had I will give it my everything. To say I’m doing this because I’ve no other choice, like I’m being forced into it or only doing it because I’m desperate is disrespectful to both the industry and to me.”
“Hey, that’s not what I meant,” I said genuinely, worried I’d offended him.
“Oh I know you didn’t. I just wanted to put it out there, that’s all. I don’t know many people, but of those I do I know they’ll judge me for this when they find out. Too many people assume going into this industry means we’re either damaged, desperate or fucking whores who deserve to be seen as nothing more than a walking fuck hole.”
“Well fuck ‘em. Anyone who doesn’t see you for who you are isn’t worth knowing. We’re all in it for different reasons, and those reasons are no one else’s goddamn business. It’s just a job. A fucking great job, but still a job nonetheless.”
“You really think it’s a great job?”
“Sure I do! I love sex, and I get to fuck hot guys for a living. Who wouldn’t love that?”
“But it’s different, no? I know I’ve only done one scene, but it’s a whole different ballgame than when you’re intimate with someone.”
“I don’t do intimacy, so I wouldn’t know.”
“So, you’ve never had a relationship?”
“No. Not something I’m looking for.”
“You don’t think it’d work? Being in porn?”
“It’s got nothing to do with the porn. A few of the guys are in relationships. Gio’s been with his guy almost a year and they’re still going strong. It’s just not something I want, regardless of the career I’ve chosen.”
“You must get lonely though. We all do. Don’t you hope to find someone you can just… I don’t know, share things with one day? Be there for you?”
“No,” I said curtly, hoping my tone would be enough to stop him probing further.
September 22, 2014
What Have I Been Reading?
Here’s the blurb…
Once the night comes . . .
Will Thorne is living a nightmare, his sanity slowly being drained away by a force he can’t control. His talents have made him the perfect assassin for hire. But as he loses his grip on reality, there is no calming him-until he finds his next target: the mysterious Holly Evernight.
Love must cast aside the shadows
Holly cannot fathom who would put a contract on her life, yet the moment she touches Will, the connection between them is elemental, undeniable-and she’s the only one who can tame his bouts of madness. But other assassins are coming for Holly. Will must transform from killer to protector and find the man who wants Holly dead . . . or his only chance for redemption will be lost.
My thoughts…
I wanted to love this book. I really did. It’s by Kristen Callihan, so I knew it would be well-written. I’ve read other books in the series, so I knew I loved (LOVED!) her Victorian-steampunk-paranormal world. The hot bits are hot, and the cool bits are cool, but in the end, I only gave the story three stars.
Why?
Quick caveate: I’ve read a couple of other reviews that said variations of “well, this is a good book for a silly paranormal romance”, and yeah, I can sort of see that point. I have trouble with that attitude, though, because the book (and the series for that matter) takes itself pretty seriously. There’s not a lot of humor, or irony, or snarkiness, or other qualities that would make me cut it some slack. Because if a books going to take itself seriously, I’m going to review it seriously (and with spoilers, so be careful).
I’m going to start with a couple positives. I like Holly Evernight, the heroine, quite a bit. She’s smart and strong and she has that gift really intelligent people often have, the one where they never try to pretend because it simply never occurs to them not to be anything but themselves. At the start of the story she’s suffering from a fairly debilitating phobia as a result of trauma she suffered in book 4. She hasn’t been able to leave her house for a year, though she recovers – rather miraculously, thanks to Will, the hero – and pretty soon she’s (literally) kicking demon a$$. The moment when she confesses to Will that she’d hired a professional to relieve her of her virginity might have been my favorite in the whole book, and at the end she takes down the Big Bad too, saving the hero in the process. Kudos to Ms. Callihan for creating such a strong, interesting heroine.
I also liked the interaction between Holly and Will. He’s a Sanguis demon (read: vampire), and he’s gorgeously decadent- a sharp contrast to Holly’s intellectual restraint. The little snippet below is from Holly’s POV, right after she’s been in a fight with a demon…
Holly stopped short, grabbed hold of Thorne’s lapels, and hauled him close, setting him off balance. They both stumbled back, her shoulders meeting the cold wall of the tunnel. “Touch another one of my inventions without my express permission again, Mr. Thorne, and I’ll cut off your cods and feed them to the dogs.”
Heat flared in his eyes as his lips curled into a smile. Irritating man. He leaned into her, caging her smaller frame by bracing his arms against the wall on either side of her head. He watched her, not at all cowed but as if he’d soon gobble her up for his dinner. “We don’t own dogs, love.”
She gave him a little shake, wanting to push him away, yet somehow bringing those smiling lips closer. “I’ll bloody well purchase some then.” She let him go before she did something irrational, like kiss him.
Yeah, Holly, kissing Will Thorne could create all kinds of trouble, but it’s also kind of the whole point of the book. They finally do get to it, and as I mentioned at the beginning, the hot scenes work pretty well. Holly and Will are funny together, and the bond that grows between them is believable.
What is less believable is, well, the plot. Even by the sometimes creative standards of paranormal romance/urban fantasy, there were several moments that had me scratching my head. (Watch out for SPOILERS!) Why did Will go visit Jack Talent, then leave abruptly and go kill a bunch of people who had little to do with the proceedings? Why wasn’t there any mention of the Big Bad – Mab – until near the end of the book? And if Mab turned Will into a human, then started breaking his bones, how did he miraculously return to his Sanguis/platinum self when Holly destroyed Mab?
In addition to the plot quirks, I spent a good deal of time trying to connect all the relationship dots. I think having read the previous books was almost a handicap. A couple reviewers who hadn’t read the earlier books and thought Evernight worked fine as a stand-alone. I’m a reasonably intelligent person, and it hasn’t been that long since I read book 4 – it’s on my Pinterest page of books I’ve read this year – but I spent much of the first few chapters confused. The connections between the characters have become so complex, it’s hard to keep track of them anymore. I started this series with the second book, Moonglow, and had no problem figuring things out. But this one? Damn. Color me perplexed.
The changing points of view didn’t work particularly well for me, either. There’s a short bit from Syn’s POV near the beginning of the novel with very few clues as to WHO he is. Turns out, his older sisters starred in the first three books, and he definitely got mentioned, but it took me a while to put it together. I had this disoriented feeling, like I was watching the first episode of Buffy Season Five, the one where she has a little sister Dawn who hadn’t existed before. There was suddenly this character who had a relationship to Holly, Daisy, Poppy, and Miranda, and it took till midway through the book for me to stop feeling clueless.
So this wasn’t a bad book, but I think it could have been a better one. It’s worth reading simply because Holly Evernight is such a compelling character and her relationship with Will is a lot of fun. If the rest of the book had been as strong as the two main characters, it would have really rocked.
Let me know if you give it a read, and if you’re a fan of steampunk, suggest something for my TBR pile.
Thanks!
Liv
September 16, 2014
Teaser Tuesday! with @KateDeveaux
September 14, 2014
Love In A Small Town Release Day Blitz!
Congratulations to all my lovely Crimson Sisters on the release of their Small Town bundle! And all for only $0.99!!!
Love
in a Small Town: Ten Homespun and Heartwarming Contemporary Romances (Crimson
Romance Bundle)
California Sunset: Casey Dawes
Divorced mother Annie Gerhard meets rugged new
bookstore owner John Johnson at the worst possible time in her life. Her high
tech company is threatening to lay her off if she doesn’t move from California
to New Jersey and her 15-year-old son David is causing trouble. The recession
has hit Silicon Valley hard and there are no jobs for a middle manager, even if
she hates what she does. And this is no time for romance, no matter how good
the man looks in his jeans.
John has escaped Montana memories of a deceased wife
and betraying girlfriend by buying an independent bookstore in California. He’s
got bigger problems than falling for a spunky woman with control issues.
Keeping a bookstore afloat in a recession and finding a home where he can
stable his horse are all he can handle right now.
Unless . . .
John and Annie must both face their pasts in order
to greet the future. Can they risk it?
Contemporary romance author Casey Dawes is an award-winning writer who believes in Casey
Dawes contemporary romance authorthe power of friendship and love to change
lives. Her novels are filled with real-life situations where people discover
how to change their lives for the better to achieve real love.
Living in the beautiful state of Montana gives Casey and her husband plenty of
opportunity to hike, camp, and photograph scenery, animals, and birds. When
weather keeps her in, Casey also enjoys quilting, knitting, and cooking.
Slow Ride: Kat Morrisey
Kyla O’Grady hit the gas and drove her Mustang out
of Rock River, Pennsylvania with one goal in mind: find somewhere to start
over. Her life had gone sideways back home and Kyla needs something new,
something fresh, and she needs to find the music again. But on a stretch of
road off the coast of Maine, her car has other ideas. Broken down just inside
the town limits of Ashten Falls, Maine, Kyla is stranded.
Cooper Moretto has a problem. In fact, the whole
town of Ashten Falls has a problem in the form of a corrupt town official.
Cooper had enough on his plate to last a lifetime, but on a stretch of highway
heading into the town he spots a ’67 Mustang Coupe and does what any decent
mechanic would do: stop to help. But getting this car back on the road is the
last thing on his mind when he sees its owner, singing as if she weren’t in the
middle of nowhere.
Kyla is speeding away from her past, unsure how to
move forward. Cooper has been on cruise control, just hoping to get through
every day without being arrested or harassed. Can the two slow down long enough
to see that maybe the answers to both their problems lie in each other? And can
they survive when enemies that are lurking in the shadows try to destroy them
both?
Kat Morrisey lives in a small town in central New York State where she splits her
time between her family, her jobs as both teacher and lawyer, and the fictional
characters she writes about. She can often be heard on social media talking
about a wide range of topics, including Highlanders, book boyfriends, happily
ever afters, Jane Austen, hockey, fictional characters, men with beards, and of
course, zombies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found on twitter,
@KatMorrisey, and Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/KatMorriseyAuthor
Coming Home: Christine S. Feldman
No woman ever really forgets her first love. Callie
Sorenson is no exception. Hers was tall, tanned, and – as her older brother’s
best friend – completely off limits.
Danny McCutcheon.
It’s a name that Callie hasn’t spoken in years, even
if the man to whom it belongs has never really been all that far from her
thoughts. Or her heart. But now a twist of fate will bring her back to the
childhood home she left behind years ago, and to the hometown boy for whom she
secretly longed.
When her mother takes a bad fall and breaks her hip,
Callie leaves the bright lights of New York City to fly back west and help with
the rehabilitation. It’s a tense homecoming due to a long time estrangement
between mother and daughter, and it drives Callie to confront both a painful
personal loss and her unanswered questions about the father who abandoned her
when she was just a child. It also brings her face to face with Danny again,
and Callie quickly realizes that old feelings die hard.
But for Danny, it’s new feelings that are a problem.
Callie is not the young girl he remembers but a woman now, and a very desirable
one. They both have reasons to fight the growing attraction between them, but
the temptation may just prove to be too much to resist, despite some very real
risk to their hearts. The past casts a long shadow over the future, though, and
Callie will have to overcome it or else face losing the one man who means the
most to her.
Christine S. Feldman writes both novels and feature-length screenplays, and she has
placed in screenwriting competitions on both coasts. She lives in the Pacific
Northwest with her ballroom-dancing husband and their beagle.
Begin Again: Christy Newton
What if one night changed your life forever?
Maisie Scott lost not only her husband and unborn
child in a tornado two years ago, she lost her will to live. Keeping busy is
the only way she can get by. This small town waitress won’t let herself get
attached to anyone . . . until Ryan, the new veterinarian for exotic animals,
starts making regular trips to her diner. As hard as she tries not to feel
anything, Ryan ignites a spark in her broken heart.
Ryan Tucker craves a happy family of his own more
than his momma’s apple pie. Getting over his fiancée leaving him six months
ago, he moves to Pleasant Valley for a fresh start. When he meets Maisie and
notices the sadness in her eyes, he is determined to put a smile on her pretty
face.
When another dangerous storm hits, Ryan stays by
Maisie’s side. She fills the missing piece in his heart, but will Ryan share
his secret? Can Maisie move on from the past and learn to begin again?
Christy Newton is a hopeless romantic and writes many genres of romance. She just might
be the only author out there that doesn’t drink caffeine, but dark chocolate is
her must have. She falls in love with each of her heroes and hopes you will
too!
Learn more about her at www.christynewton.com,
on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Christy-Newton/359791990763912,
and on Twitter @CNewtonAuthor.
Lake Effect: Johannah Bryson
Shelby Aylesworth knows what real love feels like.
She also knows the pain of losing that kind of love. With her faithful collie
dog, Norman, she takes refuge on Whiskey Island to try to put her life back together.
When Norman arranges a most unusual introduction to the island’s newest
resident, Shelby finds herself wondering if it isn’t time to stop grieving and
start living.
Wyeth Packard has come to Whiskey Island under the
guise of restoring and making profitable an old vineyard and manor house. What
he really wants is some peace and quiet away from the fast pace of NYC. Being
considered one of the city’s most eligible has thrown him into the path of
every gold digging society princess out there. He longs to find a balance but
has given up on ever finding a woman who will love him for who he is, not what
he has.
Together they navigate the slippery slope of what it
means to begin again. Can a new love fill the void left by an old love?
Johannah Bryson lives in NE Ohio, near the shores of fabulous Lake Erie. In addition to
writing she’s also a Certified Personal Chef. She shares her home with her
husband, a ten year old collie and a three year old Border collie. When she’s
not writing or cooking, she and her husband love to explore the amazing food
and music scene of Cleveland and the surrounding area. She loves to hear from
her readers: johannahbryson@gmail.com
All About Charming Alice: J. Arlene Culiner
Alice Treemont has given up hope of meeting the
right man and falling in love. Living in depopulated Blake’s Folly, a community
of rusting cars, clapboard shacks and thirsty weeds, she cooks vegetarian
meals, rescues unwanted dogs and protects the most unloved creatures on earth:
snakes. What man would share those interests? Certainly not Jace Constant whose
life in Chicago includes elegant women, fine dining and contemporary art. He’s
in Nevada doing research for his new book but definitely won’t be staying: he
hates the desert’s bleakness, the dust on his fine leather shoes and the dog
hair on his cashmere sweaters. As for snakes — they terrify him.
So why does the air sizzle each time Alice and Jace
meet? Why are they so fascinated by each other? Their feelings might go deeper
than raw desire, but any long-term relationship is clearly doomed.
In need of juicy gossip, the other 52 residents of
Blake’s Folly have decided Alice has been alone for long enough. The attraction
between her and Jace is so obvious, why worry about differences? If you trust
in love, solutions do appear. But don’t those solutions call for too many
compromises, too much self-sacrifice?
Born in New York, raised in Toronto, J.Arlene Culiner has spent most of her life in
England, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Hungary and the Sahara but now resides in a
300-year-old former inn in a French village of no real interest. Much to
everyone’s dismay, she rescues and protects all living creatures — especially
spiders, bats and snakes; her wild (or wildlife) garden is a classified
butterfly and bird reserve. She can be found at: www.j-arleneculiner.com and at: www.jill-culiner.com
Broken Wings, Soaring Hearts: Beverly A. Rogers
Hailey Holman is a woman determined to keep her
dad’s memory and his dream of reopening their small-town Texas base station
alive. Jack Stinson is looking for a peaceful place to escape the rat race of
the big city life and big city business of his own family’s airplane
manufacturing business.
What a perfect match. Other than the fact that her
mom hates the flying business with a passion and fights Hailey’s every effort,
and Jack’s dad fought his every effort to make the break, then disowned him for
leaving. Throw in two town bullies who insist on opening a base station of
their own and reeking havoc on Hailey’s plans and her own determination not to
get personally involved with the employees, and it’s anything but smooth
sailing.
But these two focused pilots might just be surprised
how things can work out with enough stubbornness . . . and faith.
Beverly A. Rogers is a Texas girl who writes with a heart as big as the Lone Star
State. Her idea of a romantic man isn’t someone who will promise her the moon
and the stars. It’s someone who will walk on the beach holding her hand,
watching the moon and the stars from her eyes . . . and never complain about
sand in his boots. Learn more about Bev at www.BeverlyARogers.com.
Charmed: Inés Saint
Jamie Sullivan is a fun-loving, widowed mother of twin five-year old boys. A creative goldsmith
with her own line of designer charms, she is determined to forge her own unique brand of success.
Jamie guards a painful secret that leads her to be emphatic about not letting a man into her life.Nick Grey is the gorgeous, charming, and daydream-inducing headmaster of the private
elementary school Jamie’s children will attend. After single-handedly bringing up his daughter
while earning his doctorate and proving himself to the school’s board of directors and the community,
he feels burned out. Come the end of the semester, Nick is taking a year off to travel the world.
When they meet, an instant attraction blazes through both. Nick and Jamie soon find their hard
earned peace of mind threatened by meddling matchmakers, old rivalries, and children who can’t
keep their feet out of their mouths. But Nick’s not interested in starting over and raising kids again,
and Jamie’s sure she can’t trust her heart. Will they be able to nurture their friendship and attraction
into something that can last forever?
Ines was born in Zaragoza, Spain and have moved approximately twenty times. I went
to school in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico and I’m bilingual and
bicultural. I’ve spent the last ten years raising my fun, inspiring little boys
and sharing my life with the man I’d always dreamed of. My greatest joys are
spending time with family and close friends and coming up with characters and
interesting situations.
Angel Without Wings: Mari Manning
A war widow at twenty-six, Linnea Reyes is haunted
by the soul-shattering fight she had with her husband just before he led his
detachment into the ambush that killed him. When one of the wounded soldiers
from her husbands battalion asks her to help save his family’s farm, she jumps
at the chance for redemption. Unfortunately, she runs straight into a six-foot
roadblock – the soldier’s older brother who has plans of his own.
After resigning from a promising army career to help
his mother and wounded brother, Jesse McCormick is at the lowest point in his
life. Now they are about to lose the family’s organic farm and only one plan
will earn him enough money to get his family out of debt and him off the farm –
a dangerous assignment with a paramilitary group. He can brush aside the
protests of his worried family, but the good intentions of Linnea Reyes prove
to be more than he can handle.
Angel Without Wings is Mari Manning’s second book from Crimson Romance. She has
always loved small towns and romance … and writing. The result is Angel Without
Wings and her first book, Holding Out for a Hero. Mari has finaled in several
contests, including the Golden Claddagh and the RWA Valley of the Sun’s Hot
Prospects contest. She is also a member of RWA and the Chicago North Chapter
for which she serves on the board. Currently Mari is working on a three-part
series of romantic suspense set in the hill country of Texas and, in her spare
time, blogging at www.marimanning.com.
Breaking the Rules: Melinda Dozier
A forbidden love affair in the past has led Hope
Robinson, a middle school principal, to Harbor Bay, Florida, where she commits
herself to play by the rules. This can be difficult for a perpetual klutz,
who—even strapped in a cast—has to uphold a competent attitude at all times.
Luckily, she has Dr. Colin Calaway on her side, a
widower and father of a student, who is ready to give love another try. When
Colin convinces Hope they should explore the connection between them, a steamy
romance develops, though it could destroy them both. They must decide if their
jobs—and their hearts—are worth the risk.
Melinda lives in Guatemala, Central America with her husband and three boys. She
teaches English to middle schoolers during the day and finds time to write at
night. Melinda has always been an avid reader and writer, enjoys watching
reality tv, blogs, and relaxes with Zynga games. You can find Melinda at www.melindadozier.com or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/melinda.dozier
BUY LINKS:
Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iTunes
Crimson Romance
September 8, 2014
Teaser Tuesday Trifecta from @BookEnthusiast1
You have your choice of three teasers today. You could choose this one from Kate Deveau…
Title: Sail Away With Me
Author: Kate Deveaux
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: December 2013
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS | PINTEREST
Or this one from Leslea Tash….
Title: Bird After Bird
Author: Leslea Tash
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2014
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
On Sale today only for 99 cents
Or this one from Rich Amooi…
Title: Five Minutes Late
Author: Rich Amooi
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: August 22, 2014
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
AMAZON | B&N | KOBO | iBOOKS | GOOGLE PLAY
September 2, 2014
September 1, 2014
Cover Reveal: Love Undercover by @NanaPrah
I’m so happy to be part of this cover reveal!
Here it is!! Nana’s new one!!
Title: Love Undercover
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction (Sweet, Multicultural)
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Release Date: September 13, 2014
The last thing she expects is to fall in love with a prison guard…
Hotshot Secret Service Agent, Sarita Cerez is thrown into a medium security prison—for work. Her job is to protect the daughter of the president of South Korea. She never envisioned making friends with illegal immigrants or falling head over heels for one of the guards. Now the clandestine activity, which is integral to protecting her charge, may destroy her only chance at love.
He’s never fraternized with the inmates—until he met her…
Matthew Carter always plays by the rules, which includes maintaining a strictly professional relationship with the inmates in his charge. But when Sarita saunters onto the unit, all bets are off. Her status as a deportee with a permanent ticket to Columbia means they can never be together, but try as he might, this doesn’t stop him from risking his career for her.
He’s a man who values honesty above all else, and she lies for a living. Can two people from such different worlds find any common ground?
As inappropriate as the situation had turned out to be, Sarita was his. At least until she returned to Columbia in what? A few days? A week? No matter when, she would go. “No wife or girlfriend to hang out with.”
Her chest deflated with her released breath. He wished he could have taken her air into himself. I’m screwed. “What about you? Are you married or have a boyfriend waiting to break you out of here at the first opportunity?”
Her eyes blazed into his. “Single as single can be.”
The admission sparked something deep within him. He had to touch her. Nothing else mattered except having his fingers glide over her flawless mocha skin. The all-encompassing urge pushed him to stand.
With a controlled effort he strode to the area across from the television and leaned against the wall.
On every unit, one spot existed where neither the cameras nor inmates could see.
Management knew about it, but the cost of adding a third camera would be too expensive for the facility to contemplate so they left it. At least that’s the story Matt had been told.
He’d never used the spot, but as he waited for her to join him, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
He motioned her to him with a crook of his index finger. “Come here.”
Nana Prah is a multi-published author of contemporary, multicultural romance. Her books are sweet with a touch of spice. When she’s not writing she’s reading, indulging in chocolate, and enjoying life with friends and family.
Blog: www.nanaprah.blogspot.com
Twitter: @NanaPrah
Facebook: Nana Prah, Author
Goodreads: Nana Prah
Google +: Nana Prah
August 29, 2014
Review: Midnight Crossroads
Deciding which books to review for my blog is usually pretty easy. If I read a book and a few days or a week later there’s still something that I’m chewing over, then I’ll likely review it. That’s how it was with Charlaine Harris’s new book, Midnight Crossroads.
Now, to preface this review, I should say that I’m a HUGE Charlaine Harris fan. I discovered her books when True Blood first came out. On my way to a Gregorian Chant retreat – a weekend of chanting the monastic hours and silence – I stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up something for on of the kids. At the check stand, they had a display of Ms. Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries books. I knew I liked vampires, and I also knew that by the 2nd night of this retreat, I was going to need a break from the navel-gazing, so I picked up a copy of Dead Until Dark.
Changed my freakin’ life.
I read Dead Until Dark in front of this huge stone fireplace in an old Craftsman lodge, while my fellow chant-ees were watching a video about monks in Albania (or something). I finished the whole thing in one sitting and immediately started re-reading it. I stopped back at Barnes & Noble on my way home, to pick up books 2 & 3. I own all the Sookie books, most of them in hard cover, and I’ve read all the Harper Connelly books & the Lily Bard/Shakespeare books.
Loved. Them. All.
Okay, the later Sookie books might not have thrilled me as much as the first seven or eight, but still…
So I was excited to pick up a copy of Midnight Crossroads, and I was even more excited to see that one of the main characters was Manfred, the pierced and tattooed psychic from the Harper Connelly books. And I was even more & more excited to connect another main character, Bobo, with the Lily Bard books. One of Ms. Harris’s strengths as a writer is her ability to create quirky but believable minor characters, so for me the cast of Midnight Crossroads was like a chance to hang out with old friends.
It was a leisurely visit. The pacing is slow, giving readers plenty of time to get to know the eccentric cast of this paranormal-ish murder mystery. If you can buy the main premise – that a dozen or so people live in this tiny town on a crossroads in Texas – the rest of it falls into place. Every one of the characters has a secret, and the roots of the murder reach back into the Lily Bard series (which you don’t need to have read, but knowing those books added to my fun with this book). Overall Midnight Crossroads was an enjoyable experience, except for one small detail (and the rest of this post is kind of spoiler-ish, so be careful).
In Midnight Crossroads, Ms. Charlaine blends the worlds from two of her other series, which mostly worked for me. She’s done it before, though to a lesser extent, when Lily Bard (a private investigator) showed up in Dead as a Doornail to interview Sookie about Debbie Pelt’s murder. The thing that bugged me was the for all the mixing and re-purposing, she ignored the underlying premise for the Harper Connelly books.
Harper was struck by lightening as a teenager and from then on, whenever she stands on a place someone died, she flashes back to the last few seconds of their life. She and her stepbrother/husband (it’s not as icky as it looks on paper) travel around the southeast consulting on murder investigations. Manfred the psychic knows her because they’ve worked together on cases. She has her own website, fer crissake.
And though the good people of Midnight, Texas are struggling with the fall-out of a terrible crime, never once does Manfed think, “Hey, I should call my friend Harper and see if she can swing by and help us identify the murderer.” He drops Harper’s name early on, mostly to give long-time Charlaine Harris readers a little “A-ha, I thought so” moment, but he doesn’t link her skills to the situation he and the others are facing.
Harper doesn’t have to be available. She could be solving crimes in California or Frankfurt, Germany or something. The plot could still go forward as written. It just seems to me Ms. Charlaine missed an obvious connection.
I haven’t read the reviews on Amazon and don’t follow the author’s website much any more, so maybe this issue has been discussed already. It’s also possible I was asleep at the wheel for that paragraph. (But I don’t think so.) Despite my little quibble, I would still recommend Midnight Crossroads. It was fun to read about a bunch of interesting people doing entertaining things. The plot is well-constructed and the ending was satisfying. I hope she writes a sequel!
Can you think of another book that blends existing series like this? If you had the power, which two series worlds would you like to bring together?
Food for thought…
Happy Weekend!
Liv
Oh, and before I forget (like I was really going to forget), my new novella Between the Sheets came out this week. It’s getting some good reviews, and only $0.99!! Jump HERE to check it out.
August 21, 2014
Bad Traveler #romance #contemporary
I’m so happy to welcome Lola Karns to the blog this morning. She has a fabulous new contemporary romance called Bad Traveler – you can check out my review HERE - and she agreed to answer a few interview questions…
LR: What’s the most compelling thing about Bad Traveler, the thing that’s kept your butt in the chair through hours of writing and revising?
LK: I entered the first ten pages to an anonymous critique workshop shortly after I finished the first draft. I sincerely doubt she remembers the work, or me for that matter, but historical romance Joanna Bourne singled out my story as the “best written.” She praised my use of detail as well, but said the pacing needed work. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about craft – I think I edited those ten pages into one. Also, best-selling author Judi McCoy read an early version of Bad Traveler. After she read the manuscript, every time I saw her she’d shout, “When are you going to get out that book with the baby?” Judi passed away in 2012, but the other day I heard her voice clear as a bell say “Finally.” Does that answer the question?
LR: On Facebook, your profile lists bartender, secretary, and doctoral candidate as past occupations (among other things!). Did you have a favorite, and how does it influence your writing?
LK: Graduate school probably shaped me most as a writer although what I write has nothing to do with my academic studies. The people fascinated me. On some level, the students I taught shared the same goal – to pass the class-but the motivations and conflicts were unique.
LR: Clutter or quiet? Describe your perfect writing situation.
LK: I’m a terrible clutterbug except when it comes to my work space. I bought the smallest desk I could find. There is only enough space for my laptop, a cup of pens, a post-it-note pad and my coffee mug.
LR: If you had to recommend one writing resource, either a class or a book or a workshop, what would that be?
LK: The Emotional Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.
LR: For most writers, the hardest part is finding time to get the words on the page. What’s your strategy for finding balance?
LK: I struggle with finding balance. I find it hard to write new words unless I have two hours or more to commit. On days where I have less time, I focus on editing and research.
LR: What’s your favorite non-writing activity? Like, are you a closet movie fanatic? Could you crochet a house-cozy if you had to? Maybe you secretly want to appear on American Idol?
LK: No-one would want me to sing. I’m a big music fan though and I love using internet radio to discover new-to-me tunes. Swedish radio is the best.
LR: What’s next on your horizon? Describe your current WIP(s) or other upcoming project.
LK: I’ve spent the summer doing revisions on my Dodgeball romance. I’m trying my hand at a novella set in the mountains of North Carolina and a short story set in Minnesota. The kids go back to school soon so I’ll have more time to get new words on paper.
Thanks for having me, Liv. I enjoyed these questions.
In honor of Bad Traveler’s release, here’s one of Gwen’s favorite cookie recipes…
Gwen said she wouldn’t share her brownie recipe unless I sell one million copies of Bad Traveler. Instead, she offered her recipe for Aggression Cookies.
From the kitchen of Gwen Jones
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 cup Chocolate chips (I also like a blend with butterscotch)
Dump all ingredients into a large bowl. Mash, squish, pound, punch until thoroughly mixed and you’ve mostly forgotten why you were mad in the first place.
Roll into 1 ½ inch sized balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. If you’re still mad, you can smash them into place with the side of your palm dipped into sugar.
Bake 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven
A warm cookie and a glass of milk will ease any left-over hostility.
Blurb…
Take single mother Gwen Jones, her infant daughter and a business plan for a small town bakery. Combine with an eventful cross-country flight, chance encounter with Kyle Collins, her college crush turned basketball coach, and a dash of motion sickness. Stir in a few nuts, or family members, and large quantities of chocolate. Will this recipe be a delicious keeper or an oven oops?
Published by Decadent Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Small town Romance, Foodie Romance, Heat Level 3
Available from Amazon and other find ebook publishers.
Excerpt…
“Or we could go to my shop, drink some coffee or have cookies and milk. I have my keys.”
“Perfect.” His heart thumped as he put the car in gear. No one would bother them. They would be alone in a cozy space she’d created. The absence of students left the streets virtually empty. Her gloved hand covered his for the five-minute drive. After a few turns, they parked behind the store and entered through the kitchen.
“What will you have? Unfortunately, I have tons of inventory left from today.” She opened the back side of the display counter, revealing about a dozen or so of six different types of cookies. “I swore I wouldn’t sell day-old cookies, but I may bundle up some at a discount rate tomorrow since there are so many.” The touch of sadness in her voice made him want to whip out his wallet and buy them all up.
“I’ll take an oatmeal raisin, a chocolate chip, and…. Are those ginger snaps?”
“Actually, those are molasses cookies. They are spicy like a ginger snap, but different.” She stacked an assortment of cookies on a plate. “It’s my nana’s recipe. See what you think. Coffee?”
“Don’t make coffee on my account. I’m too wired already. I’d rather have milk.”
“Me, too.” She poured milk into a couple of mugs and started toward the corner table, which featured a plush, secondhand love seat. He followed with the cookies. A rapping on the window drew their attention to a couple outside. Gwen pointed to the Closed sign, but the couple persisted.
He walked to the door. “We’re closed.”
She rushed to his side, adding, “We’ll be open Tuesday at seven a.m. We hope to open in the evenings starting in late January.”
The couple walked away.
“I could have made a sale, but….” She sounded frustrated and tired.
“I think we should stay in the kitchen. I doubt people will bother us if we have lights on back there.”
A spark returned to her eyes. “If we sit on the floor behind the counter, no one will know we we’re here. They’ll think someone left the lights on by accident.”
Sitting side-by-side on the floor, backs against the counter, they set the plate of cookies between them along with their mugs of milk, handy for dunking. He picked up the firm molasses cookie with large pieces of sugar that stuck to his fingers. The crisp outside yielded to a softness that melted in his mouth. Sweet with a hint of saltiness to make it interesting, just like Gwen. Tonight, he’d see if she would melt in his arms, and his mouth. It was his night.
August 19, 2014
Forever Flames – #romance #pastlives
I’m so excited to have Debbie Christiana on my blog today! She’s been here before – most recently when she came by to talk about the horror anthology DarkLight Four – and I’m thrilled that she’s back. She recently celebrated a couple of milestones; the release of her novella Forever Flames AND the re-release of her first novel, Twin Flames. I first read Twin Flames before I knew Debbie all that well. It’s a wonderful book, and I’m so happy to say that I’m friends with the author. Anywhoodle, here’s Debbie to talk about reincarnation, one of the underlying ideas for both these stories…
Many thanks to the lovely Liv for letting me stop by to talk about my two new paranormal romance releases, a revised Twin Flames, and a companion novella, Forever Flames. The main premise of the story revolves around reincarnation, past lives and soul mates. While I find reincarnation and everything that goes with it fascinating, I often wonder what the rest of the population thinks of it.
So yes, I have numbers, a few statistics from polls – but remember… “The so-called science of poll-taking is not a science at all but mere necromancy. People are unpredictable by nature, and although you can take a nation’s pulse, you can’t be sure that the nation hasn’t just run up the stairs.” - Elwyn Brooks White.
Despite the murky accuracy of said polls, we as humans love them, take part them and then report them. Here are some “facts” I received from the supreme search engine of the all-knowing Internet, Google.
According to Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in 2010, 25% of Americans believe in reincarnation. Women slightly more than men, Democrats more than Republicans –why that last fun fact was included, who can say? 22% of Western Europeans believe in rebirth with Hungary having the highest rate of any European country at 13%. I didn’t get exact numbers from countries where Buddhism and Hinduism are the main religion, but from my research for the books, it’s close to 100%.
A Pew Forum in 2009 reported 24% of American Christians believed in certain aspects of reincarnation as well 31% of church-going Europeans.
71% of Americans believe in and/or have experienced a feeling of déjà vu. Keeping with the above Pew Forum, 24% of that number believes it’s connected to a past life or the theory of reincarnation.
On average 73% of Americans believe in soul mates. Surprisingly, 74% of men believe they have a soul mate, while the number is lower for women at 71%. Beware; this particular poll was taken on Valentine’s Day weekend, so the nation’s pulse was racing for sure.
56% of Americans believe in love at first sight, which is more likely to occur the moment you meet your soul mate.
So, what are your thoughts on reincarnation? Is it romantic nonsense or have you found your soul mate? I’d love to hear what you have to say.
***
BLURB FOR FOREVER FLAMES:
Sometimes the past won’t stay where it belongs.
Marc and Natalia are settling into parenthood, but can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu when it comes to their new baby.
Sensing they’ve been a family before and something horrible happened, they journey back in time, through hypnotic regression, to eighteenth century Belgium. Here they relive a shocking lifetime that challenges their love more than any other, and brings repercussions back into their present life.
Last time, remembering their past lives brought Marc and Natalia together, this time it may tear them apart.
***
Brief excerpt from Natalia’s regression back in time:
NATALIA…
“The dog comes at me. I leap away and hit the rocky ground hard. His jaw tugs at my leg. I kick and thrash at him with my other foot. It happens so fast but Maarten is on top of him and amid all the commotion I hear the dog’s neck break.
“‘Eline! Are you safe, my love?’
“Maarten scoops me up in his strong arms and I collapse into him. My heart is broken over the loss of a dear companion, but I’m relieved and grateful the horrible ordeal is over. ‘Let me look at your leg. Did he break your skin?’
“‘No. My boot saved me.’
“I turn my leg so he can see. He brushes my long dress up past my knees. At the sight of blood running down the side laces of my boot, fear crawls deep into my chest. It isn’t possible. I clutch onto Maarten’s chest and want him to tell me it’s not really there, that my mind is playing tricks on me.
“‘Maarten, I never felt him bite me. It must be from my fall.’
“‘Darling, your injury may be from your fall but I won’t take the chance. You know what we must do.’
“With a dread-filled nod, I acknowledge what needs to be done. I gather up my terror and hold my tears for later. If the rumors are true about what happens next, tears will be of better use to me then, than now.”
♨♨
MARC…
“Despair hangs around my neck like a noose. There is no time to waste. There are two deep puncture wounds on her calf above her boot. They aren’t from her fall, and she and I both know it, but I don’t want to scare her more than she already is. A rabid dog has bitten her. I lift her up onto the seat in the carriage and the race to save her life begins.”
***
If you’re curious how Marc and Natalia met and it all began:
Blurb for Twin Flames.
She’d never met him before, or had she?
The last thing forty-year-old Natalia Santagario expected was to be sitting on a Manhattan barstool, ogling a man she’s never met, but swears she knows.
He didn’t know her at all, or did he?
The mysterious dark-haired woman at the end of the bar stops twenty-eight-year old Marc Tremonti in his tracks. His head says she’s a stranger, but his heart tells him otherwise.
Together they embark on an adventure that will change their lives forever.
Marc’s aunt Mariella, an expert in reincarnation, persuades them to relive their past to help explain their enigmatic attraction. As they open the doors to their past lives, they discover they have been lovers for hundreds of lives, are connected by an ancient bond, and are considered Twin Flame soul mates.But their reunion in this life is complicated by an almost ex-wife, a temporary bout of amnesia and a mischievous and meddling ghost with its own agenda. Will their strong connection find a way to bring them together? Or is this the lifetime they must go their separate ways?
***
You can find me at:
Facebook: Debbie Christiana, Author
Twitter: @DebChristiana
Buy links Forever Flames
Buy links Twin Flames
