D.E. Haggerty's Blog, page 90
January 13, 2016
The Last Dinner Party by Carly M. Duncan
Title: The Last Dinner Party
Author: Carly M. Duncan
Publisher: Createspace
Genre: Mystery
~ Synopsis ~
When Jeanie D’Alisa is found murdered in her bedroom after hosting a dinner party in her home, detectives Anna Cole and Kristy Hicks are called to investigate the crime. Known within her community for her generous, yet unpredictable nature, Jeanie’s secrets unfold as family, friends and neighbors become suspects. Anna and Kristy discover stamped passport pages revealing travels unknown and a curious relationship between Jeanie and the charming salesman who frequents the apartment building. Meryl, Jeanie’s devoted and needy friend, further complicates the investigation when she phones Jeanie’s sister who is studying abroad and lies to her about the cause of death. Through a muddied pool of misdirection and betrayal, will Anna and Kristy be able to assemble the clues in order to bring Jeanie’s killer to justice? The path to solving the mystery becomes tangled with faces of loved ones who are revealed to be foes in this story about the lengths people will go to in order to save themselves.
For More Information
The Last Dinner Party is available at Amazon .
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble .
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads .
~ Excerpt ~
She opened her eyes only once she heard the apartment’s front door close. She couldn’t even bring herself to turn over in the bed despite her discomfort, for she didn’t want a single mattress coil’s shift to alert him to the fact that she was awake. She waited a moment, lying in her bed, pausing in case he had forgotten anything, but the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.
Meryl Brunetti had been awake for twenty minutes, but she wasn’t prepared to begin the day. Not until he was gone. She didn’t want to see him, she didn’t want to talk, and she certainly wasn’t prepared to deal with anything they’d discussed the night before. She needed more time, and she needed to figure out how she felt.
Instead of waking up at seven o’clock to make him breakfast as usual, to start his day on a pleasant note, and see him out the door, she slept. Or, rather, she pretended to sleep. She’d been unable to sleep the night before. Her mind twirled with anger, despair, and uncertainty.
When she heard the sound of the shower signally the beginning of his day this morning, she felt drowsiness weigh on her eyelids, as though his impending exit might cause her relief. She felt her mind quiet, and forced herself to keep her eyes shut. She wouldn’t rise and she wouldn’t make a sound. She couldn’t bear to see his face. Not after last night. She’d have to pretend later that she’d accidentally slept in.
Maybe she could blame oversleeping on the alcohol. She’d need some excuse, given the average schedule she kept, which rivaled military rising hours. She might be able to blame a hangover for her tardiness depending how closely anyone was counting her cocktails last night. As a rule, she vowed always to have a drink in hand at any social gathering both as an accessory (she could never figure out a comfortable, natural place for her hands), and an ordinary pause in conversation (she often took a sip when she couldn’t think of the next thing she wanted to say.) As a result, she appeared to always have a glass in hand, but she rarely drank with the same fury as some of her louder, and more entertaining friends.
After he left their home, when she heard the click of the lock in place behind him, she emerged from the bed and walked with purpose to the coffee maker. She brewed the first pot of coffee for the day. There would be at least one and perhaps two that followed, depending on her afternoon.
The morning light that flooded into the apartment seemed excessive this particular morning. On any other morning, Meryl would relish in the beautiful daylight that overtook her home, but today she had the beginning of a headache, perhaps from lack of sleep, and she pulled the living room curtains closed.
She wanted to spend a rare day in her pajamas without responsibility, but she couldn’t afford such a day. She never could. Every day, there were endless duties to address. There was the grocery shopping, preparing for her next book club meeting, picking up or dropping off the dry cleaning, meeting with other mothers on various committees, baking for fundraisers, and sometimes making multiple trips to the high school to drop off a meal or some piece of sports equipment that her son had forgotten.
Meryl loved to be busy. The constant buzz of her life made her feel like more than the housewife she was, but she sometimes secretly dreamed of a day off from cooking dinner, and wished she didn’t have to have the answers to every question her family members posed. They trusted her to know all, and she usually did, but the exhausting task of running more lives than her own was far too much for her to think about today. She wished she could sleep away her thoughts and responsibilities.
~ About the Author ~
Carly M. Duncan is a television producer and writer. Working in television, she has prolifically created visual narratives for more than a decade for networks including TLC, Discovery Health, MTV, NatGeo, Travel Channel, FYI and more.
Her writing career officially began when one of her short stories, First Place, was published when she was a high school student in California. Her first two novels, Marcie and Behind You, are mysteries that touch on family bonds and the events that can strengthen or destroy them.
Her third novel, The Last Dinner Party, introduces a pair of female detectives who will return in future stories. In addition, she is a mentor and editor to other writers as well as an avid reader. Her favorite authors include Agatha Christie and Stephen King. Carly lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.
For More Information
Visit Carly M. Duncan’s website .
Connect with Carly on Facebook and Twitter .
Find out more about Carly at Goodreads .
January 12, 2016
A guest post by Bryan Koepke: Author of Sabotage
A few years back I read an article about corporations that were too big to fail. This got me thinking about a premise for a new book in the Reece Culver thriller series. I envisioned a large multi-national corporation named Draecon International that was headquartered in London.
With this initial idea in mind I came up with a handful of powerful executives each on a path to satisfy their own motivations. As I wrote Sabotage I thought about what a high level executive might resort too to ensure that this giant of a company didn’t fail, and what pursuits they might take on to ensure their career went the direction that they’d envisioned.
As with any book I’ve ever written the initial notes, outline, and plot serve only as a beginning framework. As I write tens of thousands of words weaving together subplots and scenes the characters take on a life of their own and guide the story in new directions I’d not thought of earlier. For me this is where the real magic of writing takes place.
With each new revision of the novel the story grows in depth. I’ve come up with an analogy for this – think of a thriller writer writing a novel and let the image of a painter standing at an aisle come into your mind. With each new revision of the novel the depth of the story increases much the same way as the layers of paint cover the canvas as an artist paints her painting in oils. At points along the way the craftsman takes a step back and looks at the whole of their work. A dab of paint here becomes a new tree on the horizon or a lighter shade of blue becomes a cloud reflecting off of the surface of a pond. For me writing works the same way. I step back and build a timeline of the scenes within the novel. I outline them making notes about possible new paths a character might take. As I write I leave these notes up on the right side of my computer screen.
As I wrote and rewrote Sabotage the motivations of the main characters became more obvious. Much like the interworking of a large family, the interworking of a group of executives within a large corporation is filled with conflict, tension, and rivalry. As the company grows workers are passed over for promotions, positions are filled with newly hired employees, and the overall dynamics of the corporation changes. In times when markets are tight assets or divisions are sold, and employees are terminated to make way for new corporate visions. In the end the people at the top will do whatever it takes to save Draecon International.
~ About the Book ~
Title: Sabotage
Author: Bryan Koepke
Published: Writers Cabin Press, Ltd.
Genre: Thriller
~ Synopsis ~
Reece Culver and his friend Haisley Averton travel to Scotland with only one thing on their minds – fishing. After witnessing an automobile accident involving a freelance journalist they quickly realize that something far greater than a crash caused his SUV to sink into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic.
With increasing curiosity, Reece inserts himself into the complicated life of Marie Rhodes who is in the middle of her own crises as she watches her 20-year marriage crumble.
Realizing that they’ll never make it out fishing, Haisley uses his skills in computer forensics to find out who hacked into Karl Rhodes’ office computer at Draecon International and made it appear that he’d remotely accessed the dead journalists laptop. As Haisley combs through logs on the chief of strategy’s computer he stumbles upon an even bigger plot involving a secret drone factory somewhere in the United Kingdom, what looks like funds being embezzled out of Draecon International, and a plot that threatens the national security of the U.K.
Reece spends increasingly greater amounts of time with Marie Rhodes trying to learn what she knows and soon finds that he can’t resist the temptation of falling in love with the woman of his dreams. But as things heat up he questions her true motives.
When Karl Rhodes’ executive secretary is found dead Reece agrees to protect Marie’s soon to be ex-husband Karl. In a tricky game of cat and mouse Reece travels the globe as he tries to keep Marie, her husband, and Karl’s mistress out of harms way, and unknowingly puts himself directly into the crosshairs of a hired assassin.
For More Information
Sabotage is available at Amazon .
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads .
~ About the Author ~
Bryan Koepke lives in the United States with his wife, and dog. He grew up in the midwest, settled in Arizona, and then twenty years ago made his way north to Colorado. He’s a private pilot, Electrical Engineering Technician, and since 2009 has been employed as a Financial Analyst. Bryan has always had an interest in writing. He wrote his first stories at the age of 7. He started writing thrillers in 2010, and published his first book in 2014. He holds an FAA Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic’s license, Pilot’s license, and has a BS in Finance. He’s also taken multiple graduate level engineering classes. His many hobbies include hiking, fishing, skiing, and travel. He’s an avid reader and enjoys watching television shows like 24, Homeland, Breaking Bad, The Blacklist, and Ray Donovan.
For More Information
Visit Bryan Koepke’s website.
Connect with Bryan on Facebook and Twitter .
Find out more about Bryan at Goodreads .
January 11, 2016
Review of Naked Choke by Vanessa Dare
Title: Naked Choke
Author: Vanessa Dare
Genre: Contemporary Romance
~ Synopsis ~
Trapped at the bar during her best friend’s engagement party, Emory finds herself with Mr. Dud and his obnoxious pick-up lines. That is, until sexy Grayson Green steps in to rescue her. She’s been out of the game so long that she’s practically a dating virgin. With her son off to college and her husband now an ex, Emory is learning how to be not a wife, not a mom, but a single woman. What she doesn’t anticipate is falling—hard and fast—for a dominate, alpha male. Grayson Green’s an MMA champion, used to working hard and playing harder. He spent years in the limelight where fast times and fast women were easy to come by. Women just want to screw him and men want to be friends with the infamous Green Machine. The appeal is gone and he steps out of the ring to make some changes and get control of his life. He runs his own gym and is a trainer for the next champ. All the training in the world can’t save him from the one-two punch of meeting Emory. She’s different. She has no idea who he is…and she wants him anyway. She’s everything he never knew he ever wanted and he’s going to do whatever it takes to keep her. Gray convinces Emory that there are no games with him, that he wants to take care of her, protect her, and pleasure her until she can’t see straight. But not everything from his past are championship belts and sponsorship deals. He’ll have to protect her from the one thing he can’t control. Gray will do anything to keep Emory because he knows that winning in the cage is nothing compared to winning her heart.
Buy Links
~ Book Review~
I, like most middle-aged women, am a sucker for a hot MMA fighter. Of course, I grabbed the chance to read Naked Choke. Instalove, hot MMA fighter, and an older heroine? Where do I sign up? Naked Choke is a quick read that I definitely recommend to heat up a boring Sunday afternoon; especially – brrrr – cold Winter afternoons.
I loved that Emory was older, although 38 is starting to seem young in my life! I did find her internal monologue too long and verging on boring. She’s a very accomplished woman and yet she’s insecure and shy. I found her awkwardness with Grayson a bit hard to swallow. What can I say about Grayson? Loved him! I liked the banter between the two of them, but there was too much thinking in between. The end was also a bit too abrupt for me – almost like the writer was rushing to meet a deadline.
Overall a quick, fun read.
~ Excerpt ~
“Which one is he?” He popped the lid on his drink.
One team wore black-and-white striped T-shirts like a bunch of convicts, the other wore dark green ones with a yellow collar. As I scanned the men, I realized Faith would have enjoyed this. Watching sweaty, fit men run around and tackle each other, showing off their caveman qualities would spike any woman’s libido. When I finally glimpsed Gray on the field, my heart stuttered. The other night wasn’t a fluke. He did something to me. This guy, why this guy? Was I insane? There was one way to find out.
“There.” I pointed.
“The blond?”
I shook my head, took a sip of soda to cool myself down. Gray looked…God, amazing. Manly. He was wearing one of the ridiculous convict shirts, the neckline stretched out by someone’s rough grab. Sweat dripped down his forehead and he had a streak of dirt on his arm that blended in with the tattoo. With his arm exposed, I could see it was large enough to creep up his forearm and over his biceps. Although he was dark complected and tan, it stood out in stark contrast. I hadn’t been wild about tattoos in general before, but on Gray…it totally melted my butter. I had to wonder if he had any others, and if so, where?
“No, the one with the dark close-cropped hair.”
Simon looked where I pointed, his brows going up. “Holy shit, Em. That’s the guy?”
~ About the Author ~
Vanessa Dare does it all: Urban contemporary to time traveling to Scotland and everything in between. Her bestselling alter ego, Vanessa Vale, sticks with steamy Wild West romps.
Vanessa loves to hear from fans. She is on:
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Mailing List
~ Giveaway ~
Vanessa will be awarding a ebook copy of Naked Choke to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a ebook copy of any Vanessa Vale/Vanessa Dare book to a randomly drawn host.
January 9, 2016
A Review of Death Goes to the County Fair by Annette Drake
Title: Death Goes to the County Fair (An Ogallala Mystery)
Author: Annette Drake
Published: October 15, 2015
Publisher: Baskethound Books
Genre: Cozy Mystery
~ Synopsis ~
Joni Harte knew her first job out of college would be tough, but she didn’t expect it to be murder.
With the ink mostly dry on her journalism degree, Joni accepts the position of news reporter and photographer for The Ogallala Gazette. She’s tasked with chronicling all of the goings-on of the quirky characters who inhabit this small Missouri town.
While investigating the identity of the first murder victim, Joni makes an enemy of the local sheriff. Worse, she catches the attention of a violent stalker who promises to cure Joni of her curiosity.
As the Ogallala County Fair comes to an end, Joni must uncover the truth before she comes to hers.
~ Book Review~
What a fun idea – a murder/mystery at the county fair! Although having a reporter be the heroine of a cozy mystery is by no means a new idea, I liked the angle of the small town location with a small town newspaper and a young reporter who keeps fudging things up. Joni Harte is no investigative reporter and that just makes the story more believable and fun to read.
Death Goes to the County Fair is a quick read, which I did enjoy in the end. I found the story hard to dig into though. There were too many details and not enough action. The descriptions themselves were very well written but not always relevant to the story. The flashbacks weren’t seamless and resulted in the story not feeling very smooth. I would have enjoyed more dialogue to get the story moving.
I recommend this novel to lovers of cozy mysteries who are looking for a quick read.
~ About the Author ~
Annette Drake is a multi-genre author whose work is character-driven and celebrates the law of unintended consequences.
Death Goes to the County Fair kicks off the premier of her cozy-mystery series set in Ogallala, Missouri. The book premiered on October 15th.
Her romance titles include A Beautiful Day in Alaska, A Year with Geno, and Celebration House.
Annette’s middle-grade novel, Bone Girl, was published in March of 2014 by Baskethound Books and is available in ebook, print and audiobook.
Annette makes her home in Washington State. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, she loves ferry rides, basset hounds and bakeries. She does not camp. If she can help it.
~ Giveaway ~
a Rafflecopter giveaway
January 8, 2016
Looking Back at 2015
I love New Year’s resolutions! I know how weird that sounds, but there’s just something about a clean slate that appeals to me. It’s like a new school year with new notebooks, text books, and journals that have that wonderful new-paper-smell. On a personal level, I never have any trouble coming up with New Year’s resolutions. There’s always something I need to improve in my private life. Okay, there are many, many things that I need to improve in the personal sphere. But that’s not what I’m going to talk about today. I’m going to concentrate on my writing life. Before I can try and figure out what my writing goals for 2016 are, however, I need to be brutally honest with myself about how my resolutions for 2015 turned out. In other words, was 2015 a complete failure in my writing life?
Update my website. Migrating my website to a new platform has been on my to do list for at least forever. I was starting to think it was going to be one of those things that I was always planning to do but never got around to actually doing. Instead, I got so irritated with my website and the blogging platform which I was forced to use that I actually got my butt moving and started researching website platforms. Of course, the fact that my latest book, Molly’s Misadventures, is about a woman starting a blog made me think that maybe I should have a professional looking blog. Almost immediately after migrating my website (and blog), my website views started climbing. Definitely a win for 2015!
Blog more often . If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times: writers don’t have time to blog! It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally figured out what a cop out that is. Sure, it’s sometimes difficult to come up with ideas of what to blog about. And when I’m really rolling with my novel writing, I don’t want to take time out to blog. Here’s the thing. I made a deliberate decision to self-publish. If I’m going to continue down this self-publishing road, then I have to take responsibility for marketing and branding. A good website is naturally part of the whole branding thing, but if there’s never any new and exciting content on that website – what kind of help is that? I made a pledge to myself at the start of 2015 that I would blog once a week. I’m excited that I’ve mostly kept to that, but it’s just not enough.
Get organized . In my previous life as a lawyer, I was über organized. You learn that stuff quick when you have to account for every minute of your work day. I let the ‘creative’ excuse veer me off the organized path and I paid for it. I had no idea which marketing efforts worked. Heck! Sometimes I had no idea which marketing efforts I was making, let alone how much they cost. And then there are the reviewers. I was determined to get more reviews for my books, but I wasn’t even bothering to keep track of which bloggers were reviewing my books. Obviously, that needed to change. I’ve put together worksheets for marketing efforts and reviewers. Administration isn’t my favorite thing, though, and I often let this type of work slide when my writing muse is riding me hard. Oops!
Sell more books . Anyone who has taken the time to really talk to me about how many books I sell has heard the speech about book sales not mattering. It’s something I try to convince myself of nearly every morning that I check my sales numbers. Even though I love the life I live – mostly – it would be nice to get some validation in the form of increased book sales. One way to increase sales is to write books in a ‘popular’ genre. Although I’m not one for following trends or being popular, I did think writing chick lit was worth a try; especially after I had a fun idea for a cozy mystery series. Writing a series is another way to increase sales. So, how did I do? 2015 sales nearly doubled compared to sales in 2014. Although that’s awesome, I was hoping for a steeper curve than that.
Well, I didn’t do too bad for 2015, did I? (Don’t answer that!) Obviously, there’s always room for improvement. So here are my writing priorities for 2016:
Try to blog twice a week. *Gulp* I love my journals and used this resolution as an excuse to buy yet another journal to keep track of blogging ideas. That’s pretty much as far as I’ve gotten. Can we start our resolutions in February?
Keep better track of my marketing efforts. *Cringe*
Keep writing. *Duh* That’s a big Homer-face palm but I still haven’t managed to get myself motivated and in gear this year. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. Or next week. Or maybe after vacation.
January 5, 2016
Spotlight on Oh Ship! by Lori Moore
Title: OH SHIP! TALES OF A CRUISING CHICK AND OTHER TRAVEL ADVENTURES
Author: Lori Moore
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Pages: 134
Genre: Travel/Humor
Reading Lori A. Moore’s true tales of things that happen on the high seas will have you saying, “Oh Ship!”
From stories of passengers pepper-spraying other passengers to grown men fighting over glass figurines of penguins, you’ll laugh until your ribs hurt.
For More Information
Oh Ship! Tales of a Cruising Chick and Other Travel Adventures is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Watch the book trailer at YouTube.
~ Book Excerpt ~
As security was escorting the middle-aged woman from the second floor of the formal dining room, my friends overheard the woman saying, “But I only maced her once!” Curious, they followed behind and sat nearby to eavesdrop on the conversation while security questioned the woman whom they had just sat down in an empty lounge area.
Of all the things you could imagine one woman macing another woman for, what do you think this incident was over? A man, perhaps? Not even close. It was over a cup of hot chocolate! Yes, apparently this woman’s tablemate had drank her hot chocolate at dinner, so she pulled out her pepper spray and maced her with it.
Why it didn’t occur to the woman to just order another hot chocolate is beyond me. What further boggles my mind is why she thought just macing someone once was so much better than having maced her multiple times.
~ About the Author ~
Lori A. Moore is an award-winning author and professor who doesn’t take herself too seriously and believes her greatest gift to be silliness. A public speaker and consultant, Lori has four graduate degrees in business. Lori, her husband, and their four-legged child live in Louisville, KY. An avid traveler, she has explored much of the globe, finding and bringing silliness to all places.
For More Information
Visit Lori Moore’s website.
Connect with Lori on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about Lori at Goodreads.
January 2, 2016
A Review of The Lightening Round by Bruce Stuart
Title: The Lightening Round
Author: Bruce Stewart
Published: November 1, 2015
Genre: Literary / Women’s Fiction
~ Synopsis ~
Did you ever wonder what it’s like to dare to fall in love with someone who literally isn’t on your level?
The Lightening Round is a fast-paced novel brimming with colorful characters, sinister plots of intrigue and revenge, and over-the-top antics.
Hannah More, a single mom with weight issues, assumes that her longtime boyfriend, Luke Havitt, is about to propose marriage to her. Instead, he proposes that in order for Hannah to take their relationship to the next level, that she needs to join a gym and to lose weight. Hannah soon finds herself entering the Ultimate Level, a highly controversial yet incredibly sought after San Francisco “fitness experience” known for not only having the latest in technology and fashion, but also segregating all of its members based solely on their weight and fitness levels.
This snappy novel ultimately questions whether true love can survive two individuals from different levels. Even if those levels are only found at a gym.
~ My Review ~
The Lightening Round is one of those books, which is incredibly hard to categorize. I must admit that I was expecting a sweet romance proving that there are no leagues or levels in love. That’s not exactly what I got. In the end I’d have to say that the novel is a cross between a satire and a romance. I think if the author had chosen to concentrate on satire or romance, the book would have worked better. Because – as much as I did like the story itself – the book in its entirety didn’t do it for me.
I liked Hannah despite not completely believing her character. She was cute and funny and completely off beat. I liked her growth throughout the novel as she lost weight and got her life together. I didn’t like that this growth resulted in her more and less neglecting her best friend, though, and I didn’t complete buy her character being entirely clueless about her love life. The relationship with her sister didn’t seem realistic either, especially considering the loss of her parents and her position as the older sister.
The gym – Ultimate Fitness – was too weird for words. A gym that prohibits members from different levels connecting with each outside the walls of the gym? And I just can’t believe that anyone would subject themselves to the hell of Level 1 (and I volunteered for the Army!). And what was with the overuse of acronyms? It was cute at first, but at some point it was overdone. As a satire, the fitness experience known as Ultimate Fitness worked well. As a metaphor for the different leagues we as humans place ourselves in, it went a bit too far.
Despite its excesses, I did enjoy the story itself. With some editing, the story could be excellent. As is, there’s too much jumping around. Interactions between characters are not always believable nor do they feel genuine. The timeline stops and starts with flashbacks and background information provided at the strangest of times. The romance doesn’t feel genuine to me. Hannah is going about her life and all of a sudden she starts thinking oh I miss him so much. Huh? Why didn’t we get these romantic feelings/thoughts before?
With its unique story, The Lightening Round is definitely worth giving a try.
~ Excerpt ~
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Tonight out with Luke, I ate like a bird.” Hannah and Levreece both dusted off her filthy pink satin gown as they caught their breath on a bench fifty feet from where they had first started their journey.
“Aiya.” Levreece blurted out a Mandarin expression for Oh, My God. He looked straight into Hannah’s bloodshot eyes. “Hannah, Lady Love. Your To Go bag survived the crash—kinda like one of those black boxes they have on airplanes. And, you know, I took the liberty of poking around inside it. Well, let me tell you, girlfriend. From what I saw in that there bag, the only bird you ate like tonight was one of those Raptors hanging around inside the Jurassic Park. The ones that can polish off a whole cow in a single serving and then they’re on to the really big eats.”
“I’m going to lose him.” Hannah put her face in her hands.
“And that’s a bad thing? Losing Luke Havitt is like finding out that a swarm of locusts that had been camping out in your apartment has finally gotten pissed off ‘cause you didn’t feed ‘em well enough and decided to move in with your nasty nosy neighbor across the hall. This guy’s a complete user. He’d steal the gold fillings out of his own mother’s teeth and sell ‘em back to her. And as a man who likes other men, I can’t for the life of me see what turns you on about this whiter-than-white airbrushed airhead with literally no ass. I swear when I look at him from behind I can’t tell where his back ends and his legs begin. Couldn’t you at least land a dude with some booty?” He jokingly stood up and wiggled his large behind.
The edges of Hannah’s mouth initially turned up from her friend’s humorous motions, but she quickly allowed her smile to fall to the ground as reality set in. “You’re one of my best friends in the whole world, Levreece. Please help me.”
~ About the Author ~
Bruce Stuart is the founder of five previous books and is the founder of the popular serial fiction website, SerialTeller.com. The Lightening Round was previously seen in part as a serial on SerialTeller.com under the pseudonym K.T. Newman. Bruce lives and works in San Francisco.
December 27, 2015
Where the heck do you find reviewers?
Last week I blogged about my experience on NetGalley. If you read that post then you know I’m not very positive about my experience on NetGalley, but that doesn’t change the fact that I need to get reviews of my books. Tons of writers have written about this topic before, but I thought I’d share my experiences as well.
Family and friends. Like most newly minted authors, I thought friends and family would be falling all over themselves to read my books and write reviews. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. There are a few great friends that have been super helpful and supportive, but the vast majority aren’t interested. They have their own lives – busy raising children, working, and trying not to go crazy. I was a bit miffed at first. After all, I would be crazy excited if a friend of mine wrote a book. But the older I get the more I realize that I shouldn’t put my expectations on my friends. So don’t be upset if your friends and family don’t run out and buy your book and write glowing 5 star reviews.
Goodreads. There are several groups of Goodreads which offer reviews. Writers are put together in groups of 10 to ensure that there are no reciprocal reviews (which are frowned upon by Amazon). The reviews are guaranteed, but that also means you are required to read 4 books as well. On the one hand, this is awesome. Reviews are guaranteed! (I know I’m repeating myself, but it bears repeating.) My issue with the reviews was that frankly some (not all!) of the reviewers got off on putting down other writers who they were reviewing. And there are also several old school writers out there who believe that Goodreads reviews should be more critiques than reviews and therefore should automatically be one star lower than Amazon. If you’re looking for a critique, this is great. If you’re looking for a review not so much.
Paid reviews. Amazon is trying hard to eliminate paid reviews from being published on its website. Unfortunately, the Amazon policy goes so far as to make normal blogger reviews sometimes suspect. I’m going to be honest and say I did actually pay for some reviews (via Fiverr and otherwise). Don’t. Do. It. Often the so-called reviewer doesn’t even bother to read the book. I may be paying for a review, but that doesn’t mean I automatically expect 5 stars. But it seems that’s what a lot of services provide. A review, which makes it clear that the reviewer didn’t even bother reading the synopsis, isn’t going to do you any good.
Review library services. This is a paid service often run by a blog tour company, but also available from several paid book advertising companies. The problem with this type of service is that there is no guarantee of reviews – at all. Some companies will offer a partial refund if they are unable to secure any reviews. You’ll still be out costs, however, as they’ve put in the work to find reviewers and will need to be compensated for that work. I haven’t had a lot of success with this method. Just like my NetGalley experience, I’ve had quite a few reviewers download my book but not provide a review. I’m definitely considering trying again but with a different company. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Library Thing giveaway. You can do a member giveaway on LibraryThing. The winners are strongly encouraged to write reviews. I did a giveaway of one of my books and didn’t get one review. This may be a good way to promote your book, but it’s definitely not a successful manner for getting reviews.
All is not lost! The above methods didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had some positive experiences. (And heck! Maybe the above methods worked for you, let me know.)
Contacting bloggers directly. There’s no denying that this is time consuming. It’s also the most effective manner of getting reviews and repeat reviews. I now have a list (it’s short but it’s still a list!) of bloggers I contact whenever I have a new release. Nine times out of ten, the bloggers on this list will agree to review. To get the most out of this method, it’s important to write a good review request. See my article on how a writer should go about asking for reviews.
Review Tours. If you don’t want to take the time and effort needed to write individual bloggers, a review tour is a good option. Make sure that the tour company ensures that reviews are posted to Amazon or another retail outlet. Most companies will guarantee a certain number of reviews or give you a rebate if they’re unable to find a minimum number of reviewers. You’ll want to keep a list of the bloggers who liked your book. They may be willing to review your next book as well.
RRBC. Rave reviews book club is a club for writers helping writers. Members are required to review three books a year of other members. There’s tons of other support as well. If your book is chosen for an additional push (like book of the month), there’s a good chance you’ll gain some reviews as the other members are writers too and understand the need for reviews. There’s a minimal cost to join.
That’s pretty much everything I’ve tried so far. I’m still working at achieving 50 reviews for one book – which is the point at which Amazon (according to that crazy algorithm) will show your book more often. I’d love to hear other authors opinions and experiences!
December 21, 2015
DiSemblance by Shanae Branham
Title: DiSemblance
Author: Shanae Branham
Published: 8/8/2012
Genre: Clean YA Suspense/Fantasy
~ Synopsis ~
Jason Tanner lives between two worlds. Problem is, only one is real.
Inside the hologram machine 17-year-old Jason has everything his heart desires, including a digital simulation of his dead mother. While outside the machine, he’s forbidden contact with everyone. Living within the shadow of a serial killer, Jason is captivated by the beautiful girl next door, Boston Manning. Disobeying his father, he secretly cultivates a relationship with her.
For Boston life is divided into those that have and those that have not. Displaced in a new high school, she is determined to have the life she’s always wanted. But will her choices hijack her dreams and plunge her into the treacherous clutches of a serial killer?
As an action-packed romantic thriller, DiSemblance is sure to keep you guessing until the very end.
“A Marvelous, fast-paced thriller, sure to appeal to teen science-fiction aficionados and the uninitiated alike.” ~ Jill Allen, Clarion Review
~ Excerpt ~
Jason
Friday, October 31st, night
Boston steps through the hole she created in the alder brush onto a patch of grass between a straw-bale wall and the woods.
“Who’s there?” a girl calls from a blanket a short distance off to our right.
I shut off the flashlight and step through beside her, waiting for her instructions.
“Don’t worry, honey.” The male voice is coming from the same direction. “Whoever it is can join us. We’re just getting started.”
Boston drops the machete and bolts back into the woods heading down the trail. I switch on the flashlight and shine it at the voices. The creep that attacked Boston last night and a pretty blonde girl are sitting together on a blanket spread out beside the straw-bale wall. The girl is frantically buttoning her shirt. Hard-edge squints against the light. He’s getting around well, with a cast on his leg.
I pick up Boston’s machete and her backpack and trail her to the car, where she’s trembling in the driver’s seat. Confused by the sudden change of plan, I throw her stuff in the backseat, climb into the passenger side and wait for her to explain herself.
She stares out the front window for the longest time. Then she tosses her mask in the backseat and starts the engine.
“What are you doing?”
Her face is pale as a ghost when she looks at me. “That’s Candice with Ricky.”
I know that her statement is supposed to mean something to me, but it doesn’t. “Who’s Candice?”
“She’s the girl I was going to warn about Ricky.”
“You can still—”
“What?” Her tone is acid. “Tell my friend that the guy she’s making out with tried to rape me last night?”
“Yeah.” I don’t understand what she’s afraid of. If I were Candice, I’d want to know that I was hanging out with a rapist. “Wouldn’t you want to know?”
“But what if Candice doesn’t believe me? What if Ricky says those horrible things about my mother and calls me a slut, again?”
I’m not aware of any horrible things about her mother. “You’re not a slut.”
“Thanks.” She lowers her chin. “If that’s true, then why’d your brother take pictures of me?”
“Because he’s messed up and doesn’t understand people need to be respected.”
Her voice cracks when she speaks. “Why’d your dad let him?”
“Because he doesn’t know how to fix Isaac so he only focuses on his invention, hoping that we’ll be all right on our own.”
She looks at me. “Why didn’t you stop him?”
She’s accusing me of being the bad guy? I feel my pulse throb in my neck as I try to keep the anger out of my voice. “I saw the pictures of our neighbors that you threw away in your room. You didn’t take those pictures because you thought they were sluts, did you?”
Her body goes rigid. “Of course not.”
“My brother likes you.” I touch her hand and her muscles relax. “I should have stopped him, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to upset him. Just like you don’t want to upset Candice.”
She draws her hand away from me. “So you’re saying I should go back!”
“Only if you really believe I should have stopped Isaac.”
She glares at me and turns the radio up so loud that the music destroys any chance of further conversation. After several minutes, she grabs the machete from the back seat and shuts off the radio. “I’m not scared!”
“I know.” But I don’t know. My heart is racing like I’m riding a fifty-foot wave.
Switching the headlights on, she presses on the gas pedal and speeds down Daemon’s driveway. Nearing the back of the maze, she turns onto the grassy section and plows through the edge of the woods moving towards Ricky and Candice. Branches crack and break against the windshield and scrape the side of the car until she stops in front of her targets. Bursting from the vehicle with the machete in one hand and the mini recorder in the other . . .
~ About the Author ~
I am a professional writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in grammar. I have also attended several years of classes and workshops in screenplay writing at the Los Angeles Screenplay writer’s Expo.
I love suspenseful, action-adventures and clean, young adult, romance stories. I was born and raised in a small town in Idaho. I am the second out of six children. When I was in my early 20’s my mother was killed by a drunk driver. This one incident drastically changed my life. I have always had a passion for reading and writing fiction. Owing to a life long struggle with Dyslexia, early teachers discouraged me from pursuing a career in writing.
As I have spent over twenty-five years transforming my language disabilities into professional writing skills, God has honed my insatiable passion into an incredible vision.
For the Love of Dixie by Shyla Colt ~ Review
Title: For the Love of Dixie
Author: Shyla Colt
Published: 10/27/2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance / MC
~ Synopsis ~
After having her heart broken by Echo, Dixie Dunn makes a new life for herself, away from the Kings Of Chaos. Now, she must return in order to get her stubborn father back to fighting shape after a heart attack. She knows she’ll have to face Echo, as he has made it clear over the years that she still belongs to him. But she refuses to give him any chance to crush her heart again. Echo, Joel Spencer knows that Dixie hates him, but he also knows she yearns for him. After being forced by his hateful father to practically leave her at the altar when they were teens, he realizes that he has his work cut out for him. One thing is on his side, he knows what she wants and needs. This time, he WILL make her his again, and to hell with whoever gets in his way
~ Book Review~
I love a good MC romance and I enjoyed the previous book in the Kings of Chaos series by Colt. So I was excited to get my hands on this novel. I really liked the idea of this story. It’s not just an MC romance with suspense, but also touches on the very important issue of racism and interracial relationships. Colt handled this well. I felt how much of an outsider Dixie was and the betrayal she felt when no one said anything about the racist comments. There’s a lot going on in this story and previous happenings from A Lighter Shade of Blue come into play as well. Although the story of Echo and Dixie itself is a standalone, you’ll need to read the previous novels to understand some of what’s happening in this story.
The romance between Echo and Dixie is a great second chance romance. I love second chance romances but only when I don’t have to scream at the characters to stop lying to each other and be truthful about the past. There was no yelling with this novel. Echo stepped up and you have to love a man that does that. I didn’t like Dixie as much as Echo. Her psychological-speak was annoying.
Although I liked the overall story and the romance between Dixie and Echo, I was less charmed by the writing. The start of the novel is confusing. There’s a bit of an information dump with all the background information. The flashbacks throughout the novel aren’t seamless. All in all the writing felt a bit staccato, jumpy, and hurried. The sex scenes didn’t do it for me either, but that’s probably because it gives me the creeps when a woman calls her lover ‘daddy’.
~ Excerpt ~
Echo
My father was a proud example of what a King of Chaos should be: loyal, strong, and ready to take care of business, or defend his own. At one time, he was the apple of my damn eye. I didn’t realize till much later in life how fucked up his views were.
We lost my grandfather in his prime to a fucking robbery of all things. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught a bullet to the brain. They found the guy; a black man strung out on heroin. I think that’s where his bullshit beliefs about keeping races separate, and blacks being inferior started.
Growing up, I thought he wanted to protect us from people who meant us harm. It was a familiar concept I could accept because it was an extension of us versus them. Civilians and the club. Then I saw how he treated Dixie Rose. Suddenly, I understood what he felt and taught was corrupt and wrong. A hate that knew no bounds. It wasn’t about him protecting those he loved from the outside world, or the people who’d hurt Grandpa. It was an uncontrollable hate for anyone with the wrong color of skin. It screwed with me, divided my loyalties. I’d always been drawn to Dixie Rose. She was a brilliant ray of sunshine, always laughing and smiling. I never understood why my father acted so gruff with her. I made a career of hiding our relationship. Maybe that’s why I thought I could have my cake and eat it too.
I was dead fucking wrong.
Parked in my car like a little bitch afraid to face the consequences of his actions, I try to form a plan. We’re welcoming Hoss back into the fold officially. It’s the perfect diversion to get her alone. With all the carrying on, I can get her back to my dorm. She’s angry and obstinate, the only way I can get her to sit still long enough to speak with me is by force. I can’t blame her really. I fucked us royally. I’d make good on it if she would let me.
I need to prove to her I’ve changed.
I wasn’t the man she needed me to be before. That’s changed. Ready to get things started, I step from the car and amble inside.
I walk through the club, shaking off the questing hands of the blonde I’d been nailing on a regular basis. The years apart have only reinforced that. I spot her in the corner sipping on a bottle of beer as she watches Slick line up a shot.
Her hair is pulled up on top of her head revealing her slender neck. The swell of her full breasts in the form fitting black tank top with the KOC emblem and the tight black pants have my dick twitching. She looks like royalty. Her face isn’t caked with makeup … there’s a delicate beauty to her. With her full lips painted red, and the fringe of eyelashes accentuating those brown orbs that never miss a thing, she is a goddess to me.
She’s a part of it, but separate. I want to change that. She deserves to be immersed in the culture she was born to. I walk up on her blindside and lean against the wall beside her.
“Here I thought you weren’t going to show,” she drawls.
“Good to know you were looking for me,” I say.
She scowls. “Don’t flatter yourself. I like to know where my enemies are.”
“I’m many things, but your enemy has never been one of them.”
“I don’t know, people who hurt me aren’t my friends.”
Her words hit their target, but I refuse to let it show. “Not what you said the last time we had a run in.”
“So, you make my pussy wet. You taught me all I know; it’s a matter of muscle memory.”
I lean down and whisper in her ear, “Fucking bullshit.”
“I’m sorry, did I hurt your feelings?” she retorts.
“Takes more than that. I want to bring this shit out in the open.”
“What?” She blinks owlishly. “No, you can’t do that. I won’t let you do that.”
“You think you control me?”
“Fuck this.” I lift her up and toss her over my shoulder.
~ About the Author ~
Shyla Colt grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, but has lived a variety of different places thanks to her wanderlust, interesting careers, and marriage to a United States Marine. She’s always loved books and wrote her very first novel at the age of fifteen. She keeps a copy of her first submission letter on her desk for inspiration.
After a lifetime of traveling, she settled down and knew her time had come to write. Diving into her new career like she does everything else, with enthusiasm, research and a lot of prayers, she had her first book published in June of 2011. As a full-time writer, stay at home mother, and wife, there’s never a dull moment in her household.
She weaves her tales in spare moments and the evenings with a cup of coffee or tea at her side and the characters in her head for company. A self-professed rebel with a pen. Her goal is to diversify romance as she continues to genre hop, and offer up strong female characters.
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