E.J. Divitt's Blog, page 4

My Interview With "Shh I Am Reading"

https://shhiamreading.wordpress.com/
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Leticia of Shh I Am Reading. If you'd like to read my interview, you can find it here.
It includes the usual things: favorite kind of chocolate, ghost kings, villainous capes, upcoming projects and favorite books.

Cover Reveal: Ghost Of A Memory

I have the final draft of the cover for the June release of book three of my paranormal fantasy trilogy, The Ghost Protector Trilogy. Barring any final tweaks, here it is:


What do you think?

The Top 10 Best Paranormal/Supernatural Authors

The Top 10 Best Paranormal/Supernatural Authors
10--Carrie Vaughn-Kitty Norville series

9--Rob Thurman-Cal & Niko Leandros series

8--Kim Harrison-Rachel Morgan series

7--Kelley Armstrong-Otherworld series

6--Neil Gaiman-Sandman, Neverwhere

5--Kevin Hearne-Iron Druid Chronicles

4--Nalini Singh-Psy-Changeling series, Guildhunters series

3--Patricia Briggs-Mercy Thompson series

2--Jim Butcher-Dresden Files, Codex Alera, Cinder Spires

and the winner for best paranormal author (in my opinion) goes to:

1--Ilona Andrews-Kate Daniels series (aka Magic series)


Honorable Mentions:
Jeaniene Frost-Night Huntress series (aka Cat and Bones)

Charlaine Harris- Harper Connelly series

Jennifer Estep-Elemental Assassin series

Faith Hunter-Jane Yellowrock series


This list was surprisingly difficult to whittle down. I had no idea I liked so many paranormal and supernatural series.

Book Review: Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Meh.
That is my over all opinion of this book. Meh. I didn't hate it but I certainly would never pick it back up to reread it.
The characters spend ridiculous amounts of time discussing things like how people knock or the history of cardamom. In all fairness, Fluke has always been a fan of giving us lessons on grammar or spices or whatever piece of history she thought was entertaining, by having her characters go on and on about them. I just feel like the last few books have been more and more stilted and this makes those idiosyncrasies stand out.
The recipes are still there. They are dumped into the middle of chapters so you have to break from reading the story to look at them or bypass them. Please put them at the end of the book so they are a) all together and b) not in my way when I'm reading.
If you've seen my prior reviews, you also know I'm not a fan of the new groom. Why have a love triangle for about 17 books and then give her a completely different fiancée? The obvious answer is because the author didn't want to choose or didn't want to upset people by choosing the "wrong" one. The triangle went on way too long and then you just ignored it. Not cool.
I seriously doubt I will ever read another book in this series. If I do, it will be because it has been long enough that I've forgotten my annoyance and it will be because the library had it sitting around. I won't spend another dime or waste space on my bookshelf.


View all my reviews

Dead In The Water by Hailey Edwards

Dead in the Water by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'd have to say 3 1/2, maybe 3 1/4 stars?
I read this book through KU and I had planned to give this book four stars right up until the ending. I enjoyed the character of Cam. Being a gemini was an unusual choice in the world of paranormal fantasy and I enjoy variety. There were a lot of different types of fae presented which made it feel like a fully realized world--though a bit overloaded with creatures at times. Cam's grief over Lori gave the book a depth and gravity to it right from the beginning. (Not a light hearted read.)
There were a few editing mistakes in the book "so" instead of "no"; "me" instead of "be". They were minor.
I was not a big fan of this romance subplot (and I usually enjoy romance subplots) because I'm not a big fan of having the love interest behave the way this guy did. I don't think he crossed a line they can't come back from but I do think he went too far.
I was not happy with the resolution of the story because I don't really feel like it had one.
MINOR SPOILERS
I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger because our heroine was not left with a gun to her head but major things were left unresolved. A character (one I liked) is missing under bloody circumstances. Cam believes the bad guy they caught was just a vessel and this is confirmed by two murders after it. I would have felt better about the ending without those last two murders. If she just suspected it wasn't the guy, it would be more of an ending. Being given proof it's not the guy and he's still killing and then ending the book anyway? That seemed like a bad way to do it. That left the major case open. An ending needs to feel like this chapter of their life is closing and that just didn't happen here. Cam is getting on a plane to go continue working the same case and find the missing character. How is that not cliffhangerish? How is that a resolution?
Overall, a good story. Understand that to resolve this, you must be prepared to read the next one which comes out 4/26/16

View all my reviews

Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting spy thriller. I'd read another one.
This is the first in a new series about a former black ops government assassin/spy. He breaks loose and spends his time trying to help the desperate and helpless. Some one comes after him though and he has to use all of his skills to fight someone just like him.
I liked the overall book. I was wrong about who the bad guy was and happy to be. I found it got bogged down with too much detail and overly describing parts but over all entertaining and worth a sequel read. There were some parts that were truly convoluted but I liked the main character and I like several of the supporting characters. A decent start to a new series.

Free Copies Available

Daily Writing Prompts To Spur Creativity
Amazon giveaway to win a free ebook of Daily Writing Prompts To Spur Creativity.
Giveaway runs until 5/8/16 and there are still four copies available to win.
Don't miss out on a free copy.
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/dd1e94a...

Win A Free Copy Of My Writing Prompts Book

Win A Free Copy

Amazon Giveaways this month include my writing prompts book, Daily Writing Prompts To Spur Creativity: 365 Writing Prompts To Help You Get Started. You can enter to win a free ebook copy here. No purchase necessary. (April 8th through May 8th, 2016.)


You do not need to own a Kindle to read the ebook. Amazon has a free cloud reader app that you can use on any computer or smartphone.

Sample prompts include:

Write a scene between a young man and his sentient car after he decides to take a cab on a date.

Your character shifts into a chicken but can't control it.

Zombies come out to society and fight for equal rights.

You come home and find your spouse in bed with a pigeon, a bowl of spaghetti and your favorite shirt. Describe the conversation.

You find a red hair in your bed and you are blond.

Good luck. Enter here.

Frustrated Today

I'm having a frustrating day. Work, family, technology; it's all frustrating me. I can't seem to buy a break today.
I'm working on telling myself to let it go and get past it but it's like trying not to think about something. The more you tell yourself, "Don't think about it," the more you think about it.
Ultimately my problems are minor--unless work really blows up--but they are consuming my mind right now.
I should be editing and I have some ideas for a short story to work on but no, I'm just fuming. Any advice on how to get past it?

Quotes

I'm listening to the audiobook version of Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz and I heard a line I particularly liked. I don't think Hurwitz is the first person to say it but it really touched me.

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

Everyone has pain in their life. Physical, mental, emotional.Everyone has something. How you choose to face it is up to you. It is such a powerful statement.

It is, of course, also overly simplistic. Some pain blindsides you. Someone dies, something breaks. There are some diseases that ravish the body with pain.

In some cases, ignoring pain could lead to bigger problems; like not getting a broken bone set properly.

So while the statement may not be wholly true or wholly doable, it is absolutely something to which I can aspire.

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

Something I'll think about.