John Abramowitz Guest Post

Today the wonderful John Abramowitz joins UFR for a guest post. When I got his request to review his book, Atticus for the Undead, I was super excited. And a little bit bummed that I had to wait like three months before I could review it (UFR really got busy). You should check out the synopsis, it will make you want to read the book. So on to his post, I hope you enjoy it:

            I'm going to tell you about the biggest problem I had when I started writing stories.

            Don't worry, it's not a problem that shows up in any of the books I've self-published. I'd been trying to write stories for about fifteen years before I was comfortable letting anything I'd written see the light of day. And I'm about to tell you why.

            I was trying to write Great Literature.

            Anyone who's ever been through a middle-school English class knows what I'm talking about. Great Literature has meaning. It has import. It contains layers of symbolism and weighs in on the important issues of the day. It ventures bold opinions on slavery or sexism or the Defenestration of Prague -- well, okay, maybe not that last one.

            And so I went into fiction-making (at the tender age of twelve or so) with the idea that if I couldn't say profound things, I'd better not say anything. The first problem with this line of logic, of course, is that I didn't have any profound things to say when I was twelve (a situation that hasn't changed much now that I'm twenty-nine). Beyond that, though, this led me to try to construct the stories I wanted to tell around the messages I wanted them to have.

            Moral of the story: Don't do that. It's pretentious, you run the risk that your deeper meaning will be lost on your readers, and worst of all, it usually leads to boring reading. Put your energy into telling a compelling, entertaining story. If you do that job right, the meaning and social commentary will flow from there.

            For instance, my latest novel, Atticus for the Undead, has social commentary and opinions in it. It deals with issues of bigotry, the gap between parents and children, and the moral rightness of risking others' safety for your own beliefs. But I didn't write it to do any of those things -- I wrote it because I wanted to put a zombie on trial for eating brains. Everything else flowed from that.

            I'll conclude with one of John's Cardinal Rules of Fantasy Fiction (others can be found hereand here). For this one, I'll paraphrase Star Trek: First Contact:

            "Don't try to tell a great story, just tell a story. And let history make its own judgments."

Elizabeth Kirke Interview

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed a book called Semester Aboard, by Elizabeth Kirke. It was such a fun read from beginning to end. So when I heard from Elizabeth again, we decided to do an interview. I hope this interview will inspire those of you who haven't read the book to read it, and those who have read it I hope this helps hold you over until her second book comes out.


UFR: When I was reading the book, I wasn't sure if it was intended to be a YA Book or not. As my own personal preference I have a hard time finding YA books I like, but the thing I really enjoyed about Semester Aboard was that it was enjoyable for me and I could easily see it being a great upper YA book. So my first question is Semester Aboard a YA book, or was your goal to appeal not only to adults but to the upper YA audience?
EK: Honestly, I wrote it without a true audience in mind. Semester Aboard actually started out (well, the long version is a lot more complicated, I'll post it on my blog someday) as a "fic" that I was posting on the Original Work section of a fanfiction website. Most of the members were women between the ages of 17 and 26, so I was writing it to appeal to them. I suppose that makes it upper YA by default, but I never really labeled it that until after it was out and people started asking.

UFR: Another thing I loved about the book was the wide variety of "magics" in the book, why did you chose so many different types of "magics" for the book?
EK: Why thank you, I'm glad!  That's another part of the long history of the birth of More than Magic.  I suppose I'm going to have to post that soon to explain it all!  Right from the beginning I wanted a wide variety of characters and abilities.  One of my favorite books growing up was The Hobbit (today is Tolkien's eleventy-ninth birthday in fact!) and one of the things I always loved about was how there were hobbits, and dwarves, and elves, and wizards, etc.  Don't get me wrong, I love books with just vampires or just witches.  That said, I really enjoy books with more than just the usual collection of races. Having a bunch of different kinds of magics allowed me to really expand on the magical world and, I felt, made it a lot more fun to write.

UFR: A question I love to ask in most of my interviews is what would your books theme song be?
EK: That's a tough one. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but a large portion of this book was written with the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean (the first 3 in fact) playing in the background.  I've spent hours and hours sitting on the decks of ships listening to that soundtrack, and every time I hear it it takes me back.  I also hear songs from time to time and think "Oh, that's SO this character's theme song!" but I'm not sure if I've ever really thought about one for the entire book.  Is it a cop-out to say that I don't know?  I think it's too long (you wouldn't believe how much I trimmed and I still couldn't get it shorter!  Actually, seeing how wordy these answers are, I'm sure you would.) and has too many ups and downs and changes of pace to easily attach a single song to.  Maybe I should go kill some time by compiling a soundtrack!


UFR: Is there a character in the book that has a lot of your personality in it, and if so who?
EK: I think they all have a little of me here and there, although they've all morphed and developed into complex "people" over the years.  I think most of me actually shows up in the (non-magical) events more so than the people.  I often hear the advice "write what you know," so I did.  I've visited each and every place mentioned in the book and experienced most of the (sadly, non-magical again) things.  But, I'll throw some specifics your way, Jen shares my love of history, Dani has my taste in cheesy movies (he's also the older brother I wish I had) , Charlie picked up his blacksmithing hobby because I worked in a blacksmith shop, Mariana and I both felt daring enough to get tattoos in South America, Thomas (and Jon) got Japanese thrown at them because I studied it in college, and TS ended up an Irish/French mutt (hah!) because the Welsh blood in me demanded a UK character and I love France.  Speaking of languages, most of the characters are at least bi-lingual because if I had the time, I'd learn as many languages as I could.  TS is fluent in all of the languages I wish that I knew!

URK: Jen is a so curious and has a huge desire to learn more about the magic world she kind of fell into. How did you find the balance of how much to tell both Jen and the audience about magic?
EK: That was tough.  I tried very hard to stick to the "show, don't tell" mantra, but there were times where I had to just say "This is A and this is B."  As things were explained to Jen I tried to step back and ask, "If this is as much as I say, will the audience understand?"  If not, I embellished and if it was too much, I trimmed it back.  I also tried to only explain what was needed.  One line in particular sticks out.  Jen asks TS something to the effect of "How are you colorblind during the day if you're human?"  The original answer was a long, overly wordy explanation of magic and things.  I looked at it and said, you know, "I may be human right now, but I'm still a magic. And more importantly: a werewolf."  sums it up.  The extra information doesn't need to be there.  The audience can fill it in for themselves.

UFR: One of the great things about you having so many characters in the circle of "magics" that the book follows, is that each person really offers a different emotional response for the reader. I loved reading TS, he really lightened up situations. Was there any one character you had the most fun writing.
EK: I'll agree with you there, TS was loads of fun to write.  It's hard to pick any one character.  I have a ball writing scenes between Thomas and Dani, those are always fun.  Rak, brief though his appearance is, is fun to write too.  I'd probably have to say that the most fun I have isn't just one character, but when it's dialogue between at least two.  At the risk of sounding crazy, when I stick two characters together the dialogue just flows and takes on a life of it's own.  All that said, Dani isn't always the most *fun* to write, but he's got a few skeletons in his closet that make writing him very interesting. I've got more than a few pages lurking on my hard-drive about his life and it was very hard to resist revealing more about him than I did.

UFR: You are in the process of writing the sequel to Semester Aboard, are familiars going to play a bigger role in the next book?
EK: They won't exactly play a bigger role, but Rak will be there from page one and throughout the book.  I have a vague outline/dream (dramatic music) for the third book, in which (keep in mind the second isn't anywhere near done yet) familiars will play a much larger role.

UFR: Jen clearly has a lot left to learn about magic, even though she got a lot of experience in the limited amount of time in this book, she has only scratched the surface. Is Thomas going to continue teaching her?
EK: Well, I'm sorry to say it, but they haven't seen each other!  Semester Aboard ends in August and the second book picks back a few months later, in January, and will be the first time Jen has seen any of the gang since the voyage ended.  But don't worry, her magic and knowledge have already come a long way!  Then again, as you said, she has only scratched the surface.  Thomas and the others still have a lot to teach her.

UFR: One of the things I was curious about when it came to the sequel was how you were going to get the group back together. The semester on the cruise was the catalyst for everyone being in the same place, would you like to give us some hints as to how they find there way back together.
EK: Nothing terribly complicated =)  The gang likes to go on vacation together, so this time they invite Jen along.  I mentioned that the story takes place in January; the plan is to spend a couple of weeks between semesters at a ski resort.  Of course well...they may run into more than just moguls and ice patches...

UFR: Finally is there anything you want your readers to know about Semester Aboard or the upcoming sequel?
EK: First, I'm thrilled by all of the positive reactions I've been getting!  I can't say how much it means to me that people are enjoying it!  You've inspired me to go ahead and write (heads up, it's going to be a mouthful) the full story behind how Semester Aboard came to be. I suppose I'll wrap things up by just saying that if people want to know more about Semester Aboard and the sequel, they can check out my facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/morethanmagic and my blog,
elizabeth-kirke.blogspot.com  The first three chapters of Semester Aboard are posted on the blog.  I've also been amusing myself by filling out internet questionnaires on behalf of the characters and posting them on my blog.  They're spoiler free, so people who haven't read can check them out to get to know the characters, but I think people who have read it will get a kick out of them too.  I also post updates on Book 2 on there, and often have coupons and free copies of Semester Aboard up for grabs.  I can tell you the next free copy will be going when my page hits 400 likes (then, 450 etc etc)

Speaking of which, to thank people for reading, I'd like to offer a coupon code (which doesn't expire for a year!).  If you want to pick up a copy for only .99 cents, head over to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79269 and enter the code, ZM56D at checkout.

And also, the first 3 people to comment on this with their email addresses will get a code for a free copy =)

Thanks so much for having me, Kate!  I hope I didn't wax on for too long!

Elizabeth

UFR: I want to say thank you again for joining us today here on UFR. For people who haven't read the book yet you should check it out, as well as the review of it as well: http://www.ufreviews.com/2011/12/semester-abroad-by-elizabeth-kirke.html. I think readers will appreciate the learning experience that Jen goes through as well as the adventures on the ship. There are a lot of elements within the book that appeal to a wide variety of readers, so check it out!

Awakening by Karice Bolton

So unfortunately I haven't been able to read nearly as much as a like, so for that reason alone I was excited to get back to reading with this book. And what's more is I always like a tale about fallen angels, there are so many different takes on the concept it's so much fun to try and figure out how the author envisions their characters.

The basic plot of this book centers mainly around Ana and Athen. Ana is a white demon (child of a fallen angel) and she has been separated from her family and has no memory of them. This book is primarily her journey of reawakening and regaining the person she was before she lost her memory. This is a rather slow process because she is not just getting memories back but also getting her special abilities back as well. Athen is the love of her life from before and he is essential in not only awakening her but also in protecting her.

Much of this process is frustrating for Ana, mostly because she doesn't always understand what is going on with her. I often time felt her frustration as well as the story progress. Her family, Arie, Cyril, and Athen sometimes do a truly terrible job at giving her information. In their defense they do seem to be withholding information from her out of concern, but it often leads to confusion, fear, and unpreparedness for Ana.

One of the main issues I had with this book was that I felt it moved to quickly. I really enjoyed the concept of losing a family member and then finding them and bringing them back into the fold, but the execution of the concept gave me some pause. The beginning of the book moved at the perfect pace. I felt connected to Ana and what she was feeling. And then somewhere along the middle events started happening at a much quicker rate, and were lacking in the detail compared to the beginning of the book, ultimately I stopped identifying with Ana as much, as well as sometimes feeling like I didn't have enough information to really understand the plot as it was developing.

That being said the general plot is solid. Like I said I liked the idea of the family and the awakening, and as the book progresses you find out there is something larger at work. It was enjoyable to follow along with trying to unravel the greater evil, as well as figure out how the white demons were going to fight against it.

The characters I did enjoy though for the most part. Ana's emotions all make sense and feel very organic to her as a character, and early on in the book it was very easy to identify with her. Arie is a fun loving character, and you can tell in the scenes with her in her element, that if you were around her in real life it would be hard to be anything but happy. Cyril provides a great balance to Arie, as well as being a rather funny guy himself, there were times in the book I needed a good giggle and Cyril was always the one to provide it. Athen is a good character as well, although out of everyone I felt he was the most annoying. All of his actions are done specifically to try and protect the woman he loves, but often I felt like his over protectiveness was stifling and his complete aversion to being intimate with Ana felt out of place and inorganic for the two characters. That being said he is still a solid character and a good guy.

The book definitely leaves the reader wanting to know what happens next to this family (talk about a cliff hanger), and so while there were elements I didn't always like in the book, the good elements way outweighed those so I am going to give it a "Good" rating. I think this book is a good book for urban fantasy readers, and while it is a love story there is little actual romance, so if you are looking for hot and heavy this might not be the book. Overall solid book.

SEE THE GIVEAWAY PAGE FOR A GIVEAWAY OF THIS BOOK!
http://www.ufreviews.com/p/giveaways.html

Farsighted Tour! Guest Post by Emlyn Chand

Announcing the Farsighted Social Media Whirlwind Tour! 

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Farsighted eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes, including lots of Amazon gift cards (up to $100 in amount) and 5 autographed copies of the book. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday, December 30th, so you don’t miss out.  

How to Win Prizes!

1. Purchase your copy of Farsighted for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
2. Fill-out the form on Novel Publicity to enter for the prizes
3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift card!
4. BONUS: If you leave a comment on this blog post, you have another chance at $100!
5. DOUBLE BONUS: If I receive more comments than any other blogger, *I* win $100. 

...And I can win too!

Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.  

The Featured Events include:

Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook page and share their latest post (you’ll see the Farsighted book cover included with it). It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs.  

Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Are you ready for some more fun? Take a picture of yourself with your copy of Farsighted either in paperback or on an eReading device, then post it to Emlyn Chand’s Facebook page or email a copy to author@emlynchand.com. You just way win one of three Amazon gift cards! A $100 prize will go to the photo with the most interesting setting (so put your holiday travel time to work for you). Another $50 will go the funniest photo, and one more prize of $50 will go the scariest photo—this is a paranormal YA book after all. An autographed copy of Farsighted will go to one randomly selected entrant. For more details about this contest, please visit www.emlynchand.com.  

Remember, it’s all about the books!

 

About Farsighted: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Farsighted is the winner of the 2011 Dragonfly eBook Awards. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
 
About the Author: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.  

Hello 2012. Goodbye World!

A Guest Post by Emlyn Chand

  The New Year is upon us. And if the Mayans were right, so is the apocalypse. Oh, man... Just when Earth was getting good.

Well if I’m going to go by flame, flood, meteoric collision, or zombie uprising, I think it’s best to be prepared. No, not with a flame retardant unitard or a well-equipped cross bow, but with mental resolution—with a calm acceptance of humanity’s plight.

Consider this a combo suicide note/ Dear John letter to the world. I might as well get a few final words in (just in case those Mayans knew what they were talking about). Pfffhew, here goes...  

Dear World,

I wish I didn’t have to write this letter. We’ve been together some twenty-seven years, and that’s a long time. Sure, we’ve had our clashes. You’ve sent a fair share of inclement weather my way. Remember that thunder storm when the tree almost broke through the window of my apartment? I was so scared. That was totally not cool on your part. And tornados? I mean what’s that about. Control your temper!

But I know I’ve hurt you too. I’ve been frivolous with your resources and have sometimes even—gasp—littered. I bought a V6 when I could’ve bought a hybrid. In fact, I think my carbon footprint is a size 12 at least—and that’s a size you have to special order at the shoe store. Yeah, I’m not saying I’m perfect. We all do things we regret, but Earth, you know I love you, right? That’s why it’s so difficult saying what I have to say...

We can’t be together anymore. I’ve heard talk of a major problem. They say you’re going to die a horrific death, and since I count on you for protection, I’m gonna die too. I’d like to say we’ll be together in the next world, but do planets go to Heaven? I can’t say for certain, so I think I should say goodbye instead.

We’ve had a good run, you and I. And I never regret having loved you. How I wish I could save us both, but who am I to interfere with an ancient prophecy?

I’ll miss the way you spill light through my closed blinds in the early morning, gently telling me it’s time to start my day. And I’ll remember fondly the way the ground smells after a restorative rain shower—the way the pitter patter on my skin prickles like teensy weensy fingers giving me a massage, the way the earthworms come out of the ground and dance on the pavement. The songs of birds in the morning are my favorite; they always sound so happy. I wish I understood the lyrics to their upbeat symphony so that I could join in with them. And ice cream? I’ll give you credit for that, because the cows are yours, the vanilla bean is yours, the sugar is yours. The taste is magnificent! To never feel that icy sensation arouse my taste buds again is such a great shame.

I’m tearing up now just thinking about all our good times together. I hope you’ll remember me with the same fondness. No matter what happens, I will ALWAYS love you.

Now it’s time to say goodbye. Go out with a smile,

Monique Domovitch Guest Post

Announcing the Scorpio Rising Social Media Whirlwind Tour!  

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Scorpio Rising eBook edition has dropped to just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes, including 2 Kindle Fires, Amazon gift cards up to $100 in amount, 5 autographed copies of the book, and 5 autographed copies of its recently released sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday, December 23rd, so you don’t miss out.  

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Scorpio Rising for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
2. Fill-out the form on Novel Publicity to enter for the prizes
3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift card!
4. BONUS: If you leave a comment on this blog post, you have another chance at $100!

 

...And I can win too!

Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.   

The Featured Events include:

Monday, Blogaganza on Novel Publicity! We’re kicking-off on the Novel Publicity Free Advice blog. We’ll ask the writer 5 fun and random questions to get everyone talking. Leave a comment or question in response to the post, and you may win an autographed copy of Scorpio Rising or its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio. Don’t forget to enter for the other contest prizes while you’re over there!  
Tuesday, Twitter sharing contest! A tweet is tiny, only 140 characters. But on Tuesday, it could win you $50. Send the following tweet across the twittersphere, and you just may win a $50 Amazon gift card. Autographed copies of Scorpio Rising and its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio, are also up for grabs. The winner will be announced Wednesday morning. Here’s the tweet: Looking for a read that's full of love, drama, and betrayal? Scorpio Rising has been reduced to 99 cents! http://ow.ly/7zA2s #whirlwind  
Wednesday, Google+ sharing contest! Yup, there’s yet another awesome opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card, and this time it just takes a single click! Visit Google+ and share Emlyn Chand’s most recent post (you’ll see the Scorpio Rising book cover included with it). On Thursday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. Autographed copies of Scorpio Rising and its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio, are also up for grabs. Three chances to win! How about that?  
Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook pageScorpio Rising book cover included with it). It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. Autographed copies of Scorpio Rising and its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio, are also up for grabs. 
Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Win a Kindle Fire! Two are up for grabs! Visit Monique’s website to leave a comment on any of her posts and sign-up for her author newsletter. One person will win for each method, so be sure to do both. and share their latest post (you’ll see the

Remember, it’s all about the books!

 
About Scorpio Rising: Set in New York and Paris amid the glamorous and competitive worlds of art and real estate, Scorpio Rising takes the reader from the late 1940s to the 1960s through the tumultuous lives of its heroes. Alex Ivanov is the son of a Russian immigrant and part-time prostitute. He yearns to escape his sordid life and achieve fame and fortune. His dreams of becoming a world-class builder are met with countless obstacles, yet he perseveres in the hope of someday receiving the recognition he craves. Half a world away, Brigitte Dartois is an abused teenager who runs into the arms of a benefactor with an agenda all his own. When she finds out that her boss has an ulterior motive, she flees again, determined to earn her living through her art. This career brings her fame, but also the unwanted attention of her early abuser. Monique Domovitch’s debut novel, Scorpio Rising, is a compelling tale filled with finely etched characters and a superb understanding of the power of ambition. Scorpio Rising promises to resonate with all who once had a dream. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  

About The Sting of The Scorpio: In Scorpio Rising, Monique Domovitch presented a compelling tale filled with colorful characters and the manipulation of power, ambition, and greed. Now she gives us its spellbinding sequel, The Sting of the Scorpio, where Alexander Ivanov returns to New York with his new bride, Brigitte. The real estate industry is ripe with opportunity. Blessed with irresistible charm, ambition, and the single-minded obsession to succeed, Alex plots and manipulates his way to almost mystical success. Everything he touches turns to gold, but it’s never enough. When a hostile takeover bid leaves him struggling to save his beloved company, he suspects those closest to him of plotting his downfall. Brigitte, the beautiful redhead who abandoned her country and her career to become his wife, feels alone. In return, Alex has betrayed her time and again, each indiscretion cutting deeper into her soul. Brigitte’s son, David yearns to be an artist, but Alex’s plans leave no room for such frivolous goals. He grooms a reluctant David to become the heir apparent until a devastating tragedy attracts the attention of another young man. The Sting of the Scorpio is a rich tale of a man at the mercy of his own greed and a woman bound by her need for love. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. 
 
About the Author: Monique Domovitch began writing at the age of fifty-five. Two years later, she has two self-published novels—her Scorpio Series—and a three-book deal with Penguin, for books she has written under the name of Carol Ann Martin. Never seen without her laptop, Monique and her husband travel the world and divide the rest of their time between their homes in British Columbia and California. Monique loves to hear from readers! Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.  

Please enjoy this guest post from the author

Deciding to become a writer was a natural extension of falling in love

People often ask me what attracted me to the life of a writer, and I have to say it was a natural extension of falling in love…with books, which I have been for as long as I can remember. 

I remember my mother taking me to the public library when I was as young as four years old. That was when she introduced me to Madeline, the little schoolgirl. As teenager, I discovered Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames, and then Harlequin books. And then I really fell in love for the first time. I was in England where my friends introduced me to a book by Wilbur Smith. I think I hadn't read ten pages of his book--can't remember the title anymore--when I knew this was it. I could spend the rest of my life in bed with this writer's books. 

Over the next few years, Wilbur Smith’s books made me discover Africa, where I met animals I'd never heard of, and villains the likes of which I hope to never meet. I was swept into his stories of love and passion and greed; stories from which I never wanted to walk away. I devoured book after book of his, until, of course, the inevitable happened. I caught up with every last one of his books and was facing a long void until his next book hit the stands. And I, fickle reader that I am, had an affair with a few other authors, and then it happened again. I read Dominic Dunne. And wham. I was in love again. 

With Dominic Dunne’s books, I spent time with the truly rich and the truly manipulative. How can anyone forget books like The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, or An Inconvenient Woman, or A Season in Purgatory? Once I discovered them, I was hooked. Forgive me Dominic, for I betrayed you too when I discovered my next big love, Nelson De Mille. 

De Mille is a master of sharp, snappy talk, and he makes all those words come out of the mouth of a sexy good cop with a bad attitude--John Corey. Now here's the funny part. I don't really know what John Corey looks like, except that he has scars on his chest from some bullet wounds. I also know that John Corey is almost as fickle when it comes to love as I am when it comes to favorite authors. He seems to fall in love with a different woman in almost every one of his adventures. That is, until he met and married Kate. But who knows, so far she's only been around for a couple of novels. For all I know she'll be dropped off, maybe even killed in the next book, and then sexy John will be available again and I can go on dreaming. 

Now here's something you might not know about me. I'm married, and—get this—my husband doesn't mind my little dalliances with all these authors...as long as I don't meet them in person that is. 

And why am I blabbing about all these loves of mine? Because, every time I start a new project, I hope with all my heart, that I infuse my novel with enough passion and ambition and greed that when you, dear reader, read my work, you will fall—perhaps just a little bit—in love with my characters. And I promise to love you right back, even knowing that I will never be able to write fast enough to keep your from someday leaving me for some other writer. 

C’est la vie! 

Monique

Warrior's Rise by LJ DeLeon

I was excited about this book because it involved the Fae. The Fae is a topic I really enjoy reading about because it is so fast, there as so many different way to include them in a book, and so much is able to come right out of the author's imagination. Any time an author is able to put their stamp on something or where the reader gets a good feel for the authors imagination is fun for me as a reader.

As with most of my reviews I want to start off with the things I like about the book. I am seriously impressed with the authors ability to have such an imagination. It is clear from page one that the author has an amazing imagination and really did as much as possible to convey that to the reader. Because DeLeon had such a creative vision it resulted in a complex plot. Complex plots are kind of a double edge sword for me. Either that are complex in a way that is compelling and makes the reader want to flip the next page, or the plot is so ambitious and complex that it can be hard for the reader to follow. I think this book teeters the line. There were certainly moments when I felt confused because things were too complicated, and there were moments where the complex plot had me wanting to read quicker so I could find out what would happen next.

One other aspect I liked about this book was the characters. I found Deva to be an interesting character with a heavy load on her shoulders. Deva is the Caidh Arm, the Goddess' holy weapon, which essentially gives her a lot more powers than she had before as well as make her a target for the dark. She is coming to very powerful powers as an adult, and that has to be a hard adjustment to make. She spends most of this book growing as a character, both as a Fae with powers and as a person. Deva is being guarded by Padraig, which just adds more depth to her character as the relationship develops.

Padraig is also an interesting character, and I like him because he is such a strong character. A lot of the problems I have with characters who are in a protection type role, is they always seem to want to minimize their character, they end up being controlling and never really let the character they are protecting come into their own. I don't think this was a problem for him which is why I enjoyed reading him more, he was part teacher and part protector.

And now for the things I had problems with in the book. There was way to much information all at once. This was evident for me in chapter one. I felt like the author had this great really creative idea in their head and then wanted to tell me, the reader, all about it, as quickly as possible. You were not only introduced to a lot of a characters quickly, but given so much information about them and the situation it was hard to organize the characters in my head. However, the biggest problem I had with this was that I didn't feel like I knew the characters themselves. When you don't know the characters, the reader can't form an emotional bond to them. You miss out on a lot of the details not just with characters but with world building. And those are two huge elements you don't want to feel that you don't know enough about.

I also found in parts there were issues with things were phrased awkwardly or the grammar needed some work that had me having to stop and re-read things, which ultimately led to disrupting my flow when reading the book. I am one of those readers who once my flow has been disrupted it can cause me to lose interest in the book, because it frustrates me.

In the end I am going to have to give this book a "so-so" because while it had some great elements, especially on the creative side, but the execution just wasn't always there so I had hard time really getting into the book. I really wish that there had been less elements within the book, so that the author could have focused more on other elements that would have helped me identify with the book and the characters.

In Leah's Wake by Terri Giuliano Long

I read this book as a part of Novel Publicity's week long promotion of this book. It's not in my normal genre that I review, but I wanted to give it a try because let's face it even once in a while you need to read a book that is out of the norm for you. I think there is a lot you can say about this book, if you want really delve deep and analyze each other characters you certainly could. If you wanted to find a character you could identify with, there are a wide range in this book, so I believe everyone could find at least one person to identify with.

To start with I want to say this book, for the vast majority of it, is not a feel good type of book. I think most people want to believe there family is doing well, and when it turns out that it's not the case it's hard on everyone. Leah is a rebellious teenager who's action have a huge impact of every person in her family. When I look back at my own teenage years, I know I was not the best of kids. I know I put my parents through a lot, but never was I to the point that Leah was, and for that I am thankful. And while I can certainly identify with her to a point, because I did rebel as well, I often times found myself thinking she is one of the most selfish girls I have read. She honestly has no care for how anything she does affects anyone else, and even when she has moments of clarity, where she knows she was wrong in her actions, all it takes is for five minutes to pass by before she passed all the blame to someone else and takes off. I can honestly say that when it was told from her point of view, especially towards the end I had a hard time reading her, because I just wanted to send her to one of those bad kid camps and be done with it (not the best impulse but hey I had had enough of her selfishness).

The character I felt the worst for throughout the book was Justine. Justine is Leah's younger sister, and honestly she was left out in the cold over and over again. Their parents thought Justine was a good student, never got into any trouble, and so the focused mainly on Leah. And when Leah started going down the wrong path, Justine didn't understand why everyone was being mean to Leah, she only ever heard Leah's side of the story. Her parents really needed to sit her down and explain everything to her.

The parents in the story, Zoe and Will, go through a terrible time. They are each doing the best they can do, working, pushing Leah to do well, and genuinely just trying to make sure their girls have a good upbringing and set them up for a good future. Unfortunately jobs involve a lot of time, quality time with kids diminish, and things start falling through the cracks. By the time Leah is in trouble neither parent knows how to help her. If I had to pick one think they needed to do as parents was get on the same page. It seemed like the spent more time arguing with each other than coming up with a plan, and when they did have a plan, Will's temper always got in the way of the follow through.

Overall, I felt like this book is well written, and a testament of what can happen to families no matter how much money a family has. There were point in the book I could have done without, I felt like sometimes the author got on a tangent that wasn't needed to progress the story. But besides that I felt like it was a good read, and I think it will make the people who read it really think about their own lives, and perhaps, feel a little bit grateful for my own life after reading this story.

For more information on the tour see below



Announcing the In Leah’s Wake Social Media Whirlwind Tour! As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the In Leah’s Wake eBook edition has dropped to just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes, including Amazon gift cards of up to $500 in amount and 5 autographed copies of the book. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday, December 16th, so you don’t miss out.  

To Win the Prizes

1. Purchase your copy of In Leah’s Wake for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
2. Fill-out the form on Novel Publicity to enter for the prizes
3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift card!
4. BONUS: If you leave a comment on this blog post, you have another chance at $100!

 

...And I can win too!

Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.  

The Featured Events include:

Monday, Radio Interview with Novel Publicity! We’re kicking-off on the Novel Publicity Free Advice blog. We interviewed Terri on our radio show Sunday night and have embedded the full podcast and blogged about its highlights. Give it a listen and then leave a comment on the blog post. This is a great chance to get to know more about this inspiring and friendly author. One commenter will win an autographed copy of In Leah’s Wake. Don’t forget to enter for the other contest prizes while you’re over there! Tuesday, Twitter sharing contest! A tweet is tiny, only 140 characters. But on Tuesday, it could win you $50. Send the following tweet across the twittersphere, and you just may win a $50 Amazon gift card. An autographed copy of In Leah’s Wake is also up for grabs. The winner will be announced Wednesday morning. Here’s the tweet: In Leah's Wake has taken the publishing world by storm. Get the book for just 99 cents http://ow.ly/7ywpZ #whirlwind Wednesday, Google+ sharing contest! Yup, there’s yet another awesome opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card, and this time it just takes a single click! Visit Google+ and share Emlyn Chand’s most recent post (you’ll see the In Leah’s Wake book cover included with it). On Thursday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of In Leah’s Wake is also up for grabs. Three chances to win! How about that? Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook page and share their latest post (you’ll see the In Leah’s Wake book cover included with it). It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of In Leah’s Wake is also up for grabs. Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Win a $500 Amazon gift card, simply by leaving a comment on Terri’s most recent blog post. Yup, you read that correctly—$500! How easy is that? An autographed copy of In Leah’s Wake is also up for grabs.

Remember, it’s all about the books!

About In Leah’ Wake: The Tyler family had the perfect life – until sixteen-year-old Leah decided she didn’t want to be perfect anymore. While her parents fight to save their daughter from destroying her brilliant future, Leah’s younger sister, Justine, must cope with the damage her out-of-control sibling leaves in her wake. What happens when love just isn’t enough? Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. About the Author: Terri Giuliano Long grew up in the company of stories both of her own making and as written by others. Books offer her a zest for life’s highs and comfort in its lows. She’s all-too-happy to share this love with others as a novelist and a writing teacher at Boston College. She was grateful and thrilled beyond words when her award-winning debut literary novel, In Leah’s Wake, hit the Barnes and Noble and Amazon bestseller lists in August. She owes a lot of wonderful people – big time! – for any success she’s enjoyed! Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.