Lincoln Cole's Blog, page 28
October 12, 2016
Halloween is coming!
With any luck, I'll be able to drive sales of Raven's Peak during Halloween! By the end of this month I should know how many sales I got for September with the big promotion that Amazon ran, so I'm looking forward to that! It's crazy not knowing exactly how many books have sold, but at least I don't have a long time to wait.
Anyway, just wanted to say how excited I am that Halloween is on the way! Easily one of my favorite Holidays!
Unrelated: Collision of Worlds is almost finished for publishing in November, and I have a few other projects wrapping up before the close of 2016. I also have a lot of big stuff planned for 2017 and I can't wait to get those projects underway!
October 11, 2016
Book Review: Shifting in the Realms: The Twin Cities Series - Book 1
Today I will be reviewing Shifting in the Realms: The Twin Cities Series - Book 1
The ReviewShifting in the Realms: The Twin Cities Series - Book 1 isn't a really long book, but it really packs a punch. There is a lot going on in here, and a lot to unpack, but it does a good job of telling the story and being interesting without really falling in on itself and the world it is building.
Cody is dead, but he isn't really dead because he has somehow found a way to stay around and help his pack out despite not really being alive. There is a lot happening out in the world, and a lot outside of the immediate story, so it was clear that the author intends for this to be a multiple entry story, and I think she has a lot of content to cover.
The writing was good, though it would have used a little more punchiness at times. I liked Cody and his love interest, but I think it suffered from the problem most novellas run into in that it was simply so short it was difficult to actually keep up with the story and feel like everything was given the attention it deserved.
Shifting in The Realms (The Twin Cities Series Book 1)
By Theresa Snyder
Rating: 4-Star
Definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre!
About the Author
Theresa Snyder is a multi-genre writer with an internationally read blog. She grew up on a diet of B&W Scifi films like Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still. She is a voracious reader and her character driven writing is influenced by the early works of Anne McCaffrey, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein and L. Ron Hubbard. She loves to travel, but makes her home in Oregon where her elder father and she share a home and the maintenance of the resident cat, wild birds, squirrels, garden,and occasional Dragon house guest.
Blog: http://www.TheresaSnyderAuthor.com
October 10, 2016
Book Review: Trojan
Today I will be reviewing Trojan: The Enemy Within by David L. Wallace.
Review
Trojan: The Enemy Within
By David L Wallace
Trojan: The Enemy Within by David L. Wallace is a captivating and original thriller novel that is simultaneously true to the genre and the things readers have come to expect while also being entirely different and offering a unique perspective in the styles that it implements and blends into the storytelling.
I think a lot of people might be put off by the cover and expect it to be a political book, and indeed there are some themes for that throughout, but in general it is just a technothriller with some really interesting characters.
It reminded my a lot of the Die Hard movie about the government systems being attacked and it was just as fun and fast-paced as the movie. I didn't really know what to expect throughout, and it had just enough cool explosions and fast-action scenes to keep me engaged in the story the entire time.
Rating: 4-StarsFor fans of the genre, this one is sure to deliver and hold your attention.
About the Author
Before publishing my debut novel, I served over 27 years as an information technology professional working initially for the US Navy, and then the Department of the Navy and various fortune companies. I’m a UCLA Writing Program alumnus, who writes mystery thrillers and children stories. After years of crafting and fine-tuning my story telling ability, 2016 is the year of the launch of my debut novel titled Trojan, which is based on a “what if” scenario I envisioned years ago while attending the Naval & Marine Corps Computer Science School at Quantico. My vow to my readers is to capture your imagination and keep you engaged, from the beginning of each story to its riveting conclusion.
Check it out on Online Book Club!
Book Review: The Blessing of Movement
Today I'll be interviewing The Blessing of Movement by Deborah Konrad.
Review
The Blessing of Movement
$16.95
By Deborah Konrad
The Review
The Blessing of Movement is a motivational novel about the author living with her disabled sister and trying to find the best parts of life. It isn't something I normally read, but as soon as I picked this up I found myself completely engrossed in this heart wrenching story.
It is emotional and achingly good as it delves into the good and bad moments of life, and there were parts of the story that were incredibly sad and made me cry. The author did an amazing job of building up the emotion of the story and really driving home just how great life can be.
Given the topics covered in this story, and the circumstances all of the characters are facing, it would have been easy to make this a depressing novel and just left it at that, but Deborah manages to make it uplifting and powerful as well, truly capturing the essence of this situation.
The Rating: 4-StarThe story is captivating and well worth reading for anyone who enjoys motivational and heartbreaking stories.
About the Author
Deborah Konrad was born in Houston, Texas during the latter part of the Jim Crow era. At the young age of fifteen, she was faced with assisting her parents with the care of her paralyzed sister, Sandra. This experience, and the events that led up to it, serve as the backdrop to her first book, "The Blessing of Movement". Deborah has had a varied professional life, running the gamut from stockbroker to quality assurance manager. The one consistent thread that runs throughout her life is writing. She holds a BA in Biochemistry and an MA in Healthcare Administration. Deborah lives in Cypress, Texas with her husband Nelson.
October 6, 2016
Book Review: Open Season
Today I will be reviewing Open Season by Maryann Miller.
The Review
Open Season (Seasons Mystery Series Book 1)
By Maryann Miller
This novel is full of situations of racial tension that are interesting and provocative. It starts with Angel's partner, Sarah, having shot a young African American male in a shootout and killed him, and despite it being an accident it creates a huge problem for Angel who has to decide if she will keep working for her, or if she needs to find a new partner or leave the force because of how terribly things have gone regarding Sarah's career.
The book has strong echoes of events happening in America today and resonates with a clear message regarding racial strife and tension. The book is incredibly emotional, and through everything it makes it clear that both of these women have important decisions to make about their futures, both together and on their own. It isn't going to be easy.
The writing style is crisp and dramatic and pulls the reader firmly into the story, and I definitely can see a lot of readers being pulled into the series and reading the next book as well to find out what happens to these women next! It is a fairly standard police procedural, but with a lot of clever and emotional twists.
Rating: 4-StarDefinitely worth reading, and for fans of the genre and female leads in police procedurals, this will be well-worth it!
About the Author
Maryann Miller, an award-winning author, has been in love with story-telling since she was a child and used to scare her sister with stories of the monsters in the cellar. Those tales were never written down. They were always whispered in the dark, and when Maryann started writing stories, they were different types entirely.
As a young child, she didn't consider that she would grow up to be a writer. She fancied herself quite the singer and thought she would someday sing in front of crowds of thousands. Alas, that proved to be more dream than reality.
At another point in her childhood, she dreamed of being an actress, but it took many years before she was brave enough to give it a try. She is the Theatre Directer at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts where she has directed shows for a number of years, and just in the past few years she finally decided to try playing a role. It appears she was more suited to acting than singing, and she has since starred in several productions at various community theatres in East Texas.
A diverse writer of columns, feature stores, short fiction, novels, screenplays and stage plays, Maryann has won numerous awards including being a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute for her screenplay, A Question Of Honor. She has also received the Page Edwards Short Story Award and the 2015 Best Mystery award for Doubletake.
Miller lives on some acreage in the beautiful Piney Woods of East Texas with one horse, one goat, one sheep, one dog, and four cats. She has been writing all her life and plans to die at her computer.
October 5, 2016
Book Review: Life Expressed in 25 Words or Less
Today I will be reviewing Life Expressed in 25 Words or Less by Jack Cantwell.
The Review
Life Expressed in 25 Words or Less
$15.32
By Jack Cantwell
Life Expressed in 25 Words or Less is full of what the author calls 'word pictures'. At first, when reading this volume, I had the sense that the author wasn't really sure how he wanted to present the volume and exaggerated a personal touch, but after reading through many of the poems I see that the personal touch is by design.
Many of the poems are brilliantly written and vivid, and the author does an amazing job of bringing us into the little poems. The phrasing is brilliant and the style is unique.
Even the poems that don't quite live up to the same quality are amazing, and the author really shines in this short format style of writing. I was thoroughly impressed by it and can see a strong future for this author.
Rating: 5-StarThis is well worth reading for anyone who enjoys poetry and likes short and succinct poems!
About the BookHi. Welcome to my world of word pictures. They represent selected random thoughts that span a period of almost twenty-five years, from my time in Japan to present day. The next version will include moments from before that time as well. Here’s a reading tip for maximum enjoyment: 1. Read the prologue for background. 2. Read the first aha moment. 3. Pause. 4. Read the next one. 5. Pause. 6. Keep repeating the process. This book has been published in a limited printing run for sharing with friends, family, and business colleagues. I hope you get the picture as you read. Some are written for humor. Some are simple observations of life. Others are either events that triggered expressions of faith or simply thoughts that popped up in my head. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read. I would appreciate feedback too.
Check it out on Online Book Club!
October 3, 2016
Book Review: Nightlord: Sunset
Today I will be reviewing Nightlord: Sunset by Garon Whited.
The Review
Nightlord: Sunset
$25.99
By Garon E Whited
This book is an alternate world fantasy full of insane moments and a lot of fast-paced action. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I began reading it, and it kept me thoroughly engaged from beginning to end one I had started into the meat of the text.
Eric is in love with the vampire that turned him, and he takes the sudden fact of becoming a vampire fully in stride. I'm not sure if I wouldn't have been a little more bothered by it, but it is well-handled. Then, suddenly he loses Sasha and is forced to embrace his new life and powers fully to combat the forces of evil and avenge her.
And, this is when the story really starts to get crazy. It is full of a lot of crazy twists and turns that I never saw coming when Eric has to hide from people who want to kill him while simultaneously stopping another horrible evil from taking over the world.
I got the sense that this was meant to be a series, but it never explicitly said that, but if it does end up having more content released I will definitely be checking it out!
The Verdict: 5-starsThis barely feels like an indie title and is definitely worth checking out for anyone who likes wild and crazy fantasy stories.
About the Author
If you have comments, critiques, kudos, criticism, or questions, you can email me at:
Garon.E.Whited@gmail.com
Would you like to know more? Go to:
www.garonwhited.com
If you want to try and keep track of what I'm doing, I'm on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/garon.whited
We now return you to your regularly-scheduled Author Biography.
============================
Garon Whited was supposedly born in either 1969 or 1970; the original birth certificate is suspiciously unavailable and other records do not agree.
After spending some years in college playing with computers, he finally joined a radical group of jellyfish herding nomads. Having fought zombie dolphins, quasi-corporeal spirits, and brain-sucking mole rats, he is uniquely qualified to write fantastic fiction. His subsequent attempts at professional salsa repairman and ley line salesman met with similar success. He claims to live in Texarkana, on Earth, but people have been known to disagree.
October 1, 2016
Book Review: Gypsy Magic
Today, I will be reviewing Gypsy Magic, by Tonya Royston.
The Review
Gypsy Magic (The Gypsy Magic Trilogy Book 1)
By Tonya Royston
I really enjoyed this book and learning about Gracyn as a character. The book sets up the story and gives us some strong and engaging characters who we can easily relate to, and I was thrilled to see just how deep the story went and how interesting those characters could become.
I think this is certainly an author to watch out for in the future, and she has a very vivid way of developing her story and giving us enough details to bring the story to life without bogging us down in extraneous features.
Gracyn was a great character, and watching her adapt to this new magical world that she knew nothing about was a real treat. I think that fans of the YA genre who love powerful female characters exeriencing an unexpected world for the first time certainly won't be disappointed.
Verdict: 4-StarFor the right audience, this book will really suck you into the world!
Author BiographyTonya Royston lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, son, two dogs, and two horses. Although she dreamed of writing novels at a young age, she was diverted away from that path years ago and built a successful career as a contracts manager for a defense contractor in the Washington, DC area. She resurrected her dream of writing in 2013 and hasn't stopped since the first words of The Sunset Trilogy were unleashed.
When she isn't writing, Tonya spends time with her family. She enjoys skiing, horseback riding, and anything else that involves the outdoors.
More information about Tonya and her upcoming endeavors can be found at www.tonyaroyston.com.
September 30, 2016
Milestone: Raven's Peak Reached 100 Reviews!
Raven's Peak has made it up to 100 reviews within the first three months after launch!
I wasn't sure if it would manage to get that many, but last night it received its 99th review, and then this morning two more reviews came in simultaneously and pushed it over the edge!
Raven's Peak (World on Fire) (Volume 1)
$10.87
By Lincoln Cole
Raven's Fall (World on Fire) (Volume 2)
$12.49
By Lincoln Cole
Raven's Fall is up to 7 reviews now, and hopefully I'll be able to get some more to trickle in over the next few days. If you haven't posted a review on it either book, I would really appreciate one!
September 27, 2016
Book Launch: Collision of Worlds
Kindle Scout officially rejected CoW for publication, and I have to say I'm not surprised. I've never heard of them taking a book that is from a different series and not the first book, so I was fairly certain it would be turned down.
It's already up for pre-order if anyone wants a copy! My next projects are Shadows on the Horizon, which is the next book for WoF - Side Jobs and gives more background into Arthur and Abigail.
And then I have a few other projects I'll be working on for next year, wrapping up WoF series (at least the first three books) and then adding another entry in GoE, as well as starting a new series I'm really excited about. More on that to come later!
Collision of Worlds (Graveyard of Empires Book 2)
By Lincoln Cole
