Back To The Bubble!

January 27th, 2012

Imagine for a second that the world is ending; that there are only a few thousand humans left on the planet, and they are unable to reproduce.  Oh…you can have a baby, but the chances of it living past day 2 are ZERO, which makes you the LAST in a very long line of humans that will eventually time out.

What would you do?

Would you..

A: Curl up into the fetal position and pretend it’s all just a bad dream?

B: Blame your eventual demise on the government? or

C: Do something about it?

The answer for Kira, the lead character in “Partials” by Dan Wells is C.  Do something about it.

“The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

“Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.”

Now, in order to appreciate this book you must first understand a few things.  #1 it is a dystopian novel, but unlike the relatively fluffy ones that we enjoy (you know…the ones weighted down by forbidden love and teenage angst in a world gone mad) Partials is a “hard-core” dystopian.

What’s the difference?

Well… for starters, the plot is NOT about finding that special someone in the middle of the night whose duty is to hold your hand and tell you everything is ok; it’s about survival at it’s most basic of levels.  While there is technology, it is either your enemy, or you can’t use it for lack of power.  There is a government, but their moral compasses are…questionable, and though the world is wide enough to afford you freedom, you are not allowed freedom.

I’m not insinuating that there aren’t character connections, because there are, (in the most unlikely of places in fact) but they are vastly different from the books that are currently out there, which…is actually rather refreshing if you ask me.

The 2nd, and probably the most important factor to under before you dive into this 480 page adventure is that it is VERY detailed.  Now, while this doesn’t bother me, (I’m used to forensic anthropology novels that spend 80 pages establishing the live cycle of a maggot) it may drive some of you crazy.  Why? because it is science related.  Think of it as reading the manual to your microwave over and over and over.  Some of you might actually find it beneficial to skim (*gasp* yes… I said skim) these parts in order to reconnect with the plot.  Me? I’m not a skimmer, but I can see where several people might be tempted to put down the book and walk away when Wells starts to go on his robot rants if they don’t.

So, what did I think overall?

Well, despite the occasional meandering into clever-clever land, I actually really enjoyed it.  It was original, well thought out and had several sub-plots that helped establish the conditions of their post-war/virus lives.  While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is definitely a winner for those of you that enjoy the battle of life, and as an added bonus…the ending was spot on, all the way down to it’s book #2 setup.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: it’s not about HOW far you will go, but WHY you are willing to.

(3.5/5)

 

Book Trailer

Cover Lust

January 26th, 2012

So, I was sitting here, indulging in some cover lust & thought I would share.  If you have ever wondered what I do with my free time & Google…this is it, I could stare at book covers for hours. Anyways, here are a few that I like. What do you think?

Click images to see them in all of their glory!

 

Cover Lust

There’s A British Dude WHERE?

January 26th, 2012

Afternoon Kindle-ites! Well, today I decided to take a break from the whole “I can’t remember my name” theme I’ve had going on and instead focus on boobs. That’s right…the ones you see directly to the left, the ones you are staring at instead of actually reading what I’m writing. *waves* Hi! Yes..ok, now that I’ve got your attention, let’s talk about “Knockers” by Ellyn Oaksmith.

“Knockers is about a young woman, Molly, who, through a surgical error receives unwanted breast implants. Furious, she schedules surgery to have them removed, only to find out that the implants begin talking to her. The implants, Max and Louise, give her great advice about her burgeoning love life although they rarely agree and are both highly opinionated and belligerent.  Through Max and Louise, Molly learns to trust her own instincts and falls for the most unlikely of men. “

That’s right ladies and gentleman….Talking Boobs!!! Now, before you get all high and mighty on me and think I’ve completly lost my marbles for loving this book, let me explain to you why it was so freaking brilliant that I stayed up until 3am reading (and pointing and laughing) at it.

Who here has seen the movie “What’s Your Number?” (which is actually based on the book “20 Times a Lady” by Karyn Boznak…just FYI) If you have, you know the beauty of well placed humor. The chances of 2 relatively hot people shedding their skivvies and jumping into the Hudson River at midnight are slim to none, (no one wants to chance bacteria in the lady bits) but “reality” isn’t what matters in these scenarios…it’s the feeling the “made-up” experience provides you.  Oaksmith adapted the same concept (delusional reality) and created an entire world around it.

Here is the thing, Molly (the lead) has some seriously deep-seeded issues, that (like most women) she keeps stuffed in her denial drawer.  It’s not until a pretty funny (ok, maybe not so funny for her) accident at the plastic surgeon’s office, that these issues come to life.  Literally. In the form of 2 talking breast implants.

I’ll admit, at first I was a little concerned that this book had jumped the shark, but the more I read the more it made sense.  Molly needed help, and what better way to give it to her than to make her a tad insane.  Her boobs (Max and Louise) added an outlet for Oaksmith to express Molly’s inner anxiety without wasting valuable space on monologues, and in taking the risk of the unconventional…she was able to create two very interesting and often funny characters without having to give them a past or even a future.

Like every good romantic comedy there are gobs of misunderstandings, lots of clumsiness and huge bouts of uneasiness,  but lets be honest…those are the characteristics that drive stories like these, and as if that wasn’t enough, they characters were damn near perfect, in a very “we-are-a-screwed-up-bunch-wackos” way.

The only problem I had with this book, (and I’ve actually ganked an entire star away from it’s rating because of it) is the horrible editing.  While the plot is fantastic, there are parts were I had to stop and re-read a sentence to understand what was trying to be said.  For example:

“Instead I forced myself to I call Dr. Hupta’s office from the kitchen.”

These are easy to bump over, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be fixed.  Immediately.

Despite the oopsies… it was a hilarious book that anyone in need of a good belly laugh would be wise to read.  I’m certainly glad that I did.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: always bring a STABLE friend with you to the hospital…

(4/5)

READ it then SEE it…

January 25th, 2012

Evening Kindle-ites!  My OCD is going into overdrive so I thought…why not drag you down with me.  Today’s obsession… the world of  “The Woman in Black” which started as a book and is now a movie.  Here are details on both. Enjoy!

 

Read It…

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh.

Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge.

 

 

See It…

You Got Robbed!

January 25th, 2012

About a month ago I reviewed (on Amazon, not here) a book called “Flip.”  In “Flip” a teenage boy wakes up (after a horrible accident that was never actually described) in another boy’s body.  Not exactly the best way to start off your morning right? Well, as the story progressed we learned that even though Alex (the boy now living inside Flip’s body) had technically kicked the bucket, his soul had other plans.  As in “Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Go directly to…. the closest available body.”

Anyways…I was not a big fan of this book, I actually think I rated it a 1, (I’d have to go back and look) but that’s beside the point, the point is that the concept was not the problem.  The execution was.  Why? Because it never went anywhere.  The entire book felt one long unmitigated journey to no man’s land.  Other than Alex trying to find out what the hell happened to him, (which yes… I admit did have it’s moments, why wouldn’t it) there was nothing to the story. Zip. Zilch. Nada.  Think of it as waiting, for 274 pages, for a shoe to drop that eventually you realize… was on your foot the whole damn time.  It was exhausting.

So what does this have to do with Harry Krebs’ novel “Fractured Persona?”  Everything.  “Fractured Persona” is “Flip” written correctly. (Ok…it’s a bit of a “grown-up” version, but it’s the same general story. I’ll stop talking now.)

“Richard Fornek is shocked to discover he has acquired not only a different identity, but also a new body after recovering from a coma in a North Carolina hospital. Although he recalls every detail of his life as Richard Fornek—his job back on the West Coast as a structural engineer, and his stormy thirteen-year marriage to Karen—his appearance is that of local warehouse worker Dan Curtis. Traumatized, he insists that he’s Richard Fornek, but when faced with the prospect of incarceration in a psychiatric hospital, has no choice but to live as Curtis; including accepting his marriage to Curtis’s spunky wife, Elizabeth. Before long, Fornek finds himself beginning to fall for Elizabeth, but the accusation of the murder of Curtis’s former lover throws a wrench in the blossoming relationship. Fighting to prove his innocence, he attempts to plead his case to his only confidante, a Baptist minister. If all fails, he will be faced with the death penalty and losing the woman he has grown to love. Steeped in mystery, suspense, and a touch of humor, Fractured Persona by Harry James Krebs is guaranteed to keep readers guessing from the first page to the last.”

“Hey Misty….What made “Fractured Persona” so different?” Well, in the most ridiculous of terms (cause duh…that’s what usually pops into my head) it had gumption. Not only did Krebs write a story that is sure to draw anyone in from the very first sentence.

“I wasn’t sure how long I was conscious before I became aware of my surroundings.  It could have been minutes, but it could have also been several hours.  I slowly lifted my head to inspect the setting around me.  The medical facility decor was unmistakable, with it’s cinder-block walls painted with cream-colored glass paint for ease of cleaning.  The air in the room was filled with the usual antiseptic smell mixed a hint of urine.  I hoped it wasn’t mine.”

But he managed to write a story that is not only intriguing on a “mental” level but an emotional one as well.

What do I mean? Well… first of all, it’s kind of hard not to focus on the fact that Richard/Dan hasn’t the faintest idea of who he is, where he is, or why he is there, but that’s not what makes the story.  What makes the story is what happens to him WHILE he’s trying to figure all of this out.

Stop. I know what you are thinking. “Duh Misty….we know that “what happens to him WHILE he’s trying to figure all of this out” is what the story it about.  It’s kind of obvious!!!”  But hear me out, cause I assure you, that’s not what I’m thinking.

Richard is a bit of a disaster, but underneath all of the moaning and groaning about his less than perfect life, he’s a good guy.  Dan (the man’s body that Richard decides to go all body snatchers on) isn’t a good guy.  As a matter fact he is probably one of the worst “Body snatching” options on the planet.  He is a drunk.  He is an ass. He is a cheat, and even more impressively disgusting…he is the prime suspect in murder investigation.

Overcoming THESE obstacle, not his missing body, is what drives the plot in this book. (This is the “kicker” that was missing from “Flip.”)

If I’m being completely honest, I was rather impressed by Krebs’ ability to make me both adore and want to strangle the lead character.  While we (meaning the readers) know that Richard is Richard, not Dan.  It’s hard not to want to lash out at him for all of the shitty things he has done to those around him.  For that, and that fact alone… I pat Krebs on the back.  It’s a pretty impressive feat to accomplish in 312 (or so) pages.

My only complaint? There was never a definitive resolution to the whole “Hey…this isn’t my body!” situation, but… I guess, you can’t win them all.

All in all… a pretty interesting book.

If you like a good mystery and thrive on the unknown, this one might be a good gamble for you.  If nothing else, the ending shocked the socks off of me and that is a pretty hard thing to do these day.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: deny deny deny!

(4/5)

Tuesday Newbies!

January 24th, 2012

Click images for additional information

Waking Up Naked

January 23rd, 2012

So, I’m just going to go ahead and dub this week “I don’t know who the hell I am!” week, seeing as how all but 1 book I’ll be talking about this week is riddled with amnesia, (yeah…weird)

Anyways, I am a super huge goober fan of Heather’s and have been for a while now, (especially since she named a character after me!) so when she emailed me over the holidays and practically begged, (ok…maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic) to read her next novel “Blank Slate Kate” I couldn’t refuse.

Here is the thing, Heather is fantastic with emotional dynamics, she has on several occasions, (Planning to Live, Go Small or Go Home, Seven Exes are Eight too Many) made me cry like a teenage girl who realizes her Gucci is fake, and when I’m not making a total ass out of myself, I’m laughing at her rather refreshing takes on life, (“I follow a link to Twitter and am soon drowning in endless updates like “Boyfriend farted this morning. Ew.” and “At Starbucks to work. Go me!”.  Everyone’s talking, constantly, but nobody’s saying anything that matters.”)  So when I realized that “Blank Slate Kate” was about a woman who wakes up thinking she’s a hot 16 year-old blonde girl only to find out she’s a 30 year old tattooed brunette, I couldn’t wait to get started.

First…they synopsis:

Waking up with a strange man is scary. Realizing you lost fifteen years of your life overnight? That’s terrifying. With her memories from seventeen to thirty-two gone, Kate has no idea who she is and where she belongs. As she begins to fall for the man who found her, she wonders if she forgot those years for a reason. Should she keep trying to retrieve her original self, or start a new life?

Now, as much as I love Heather, (and her work…obviously) this was not her finest hour.  While the book was entertaining, and even laugh out loud funny in parts…it lacked the draw I usually feel when reading her work.  Was it poor character planning? Maybe…there is one character in particular (Jake) whose attitude was very mono-directional only to be chopped in half and scattered about like buck shot, (dear God… I did NOT just make a gun reference) about half way in, BUT… even this couldn’t REALLY be the problem, it wasn’t THAT bad.  Maybe… it’s that Heather’s writing almost solely depends on her ability to capture her audience with emotion and that’s hard to do when your main character doesn’t know how to feel herself.  Who knows… the fact remains, that regardless of the pleasantness of this read, (and yes…it was a fun, quick, pleasant read) I wasn’t attached, (emotionally) they way I should have been to Kate/Donna and her battle for self-recognition. (*tear*)

All that aside, the story, (premise) itself was undeniably fantastic.  There was Heather’s ever present “love” aspect, but at the same time there was intrigue, (in the form of a mysterious iPhone app) gobs and gobs of heartache, (bound to happen when you are basically clueless) and enough wit to fill a garbage bag.

So, was I disappointed enough to steer you in the opposite direction? No…like I said, it was a pretty cute, interesting read. And though it wasn’t her BEST effort, (according to me) there’s no denying that it was still a good one.  If you like romances, this is definitely one you will enjoy so go ahead and snatch it up.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: What’s in a name…a rose by any other, oh forget it, we all know that’s bullshit.  Cheers!

Click image for complete details.

(3.5/5)

Kindle Freebie Alert!!

January 21st, 2012

Afternoon Kindle-ites! I just wanted to apologize quickly before I released you into the wild with the pretty interesting list of freebies.  I really hate it when I have to leave the blog stagnant for more than 3 days, but this week my house turned into one big giant germtopia.  Yep.  Everyone in my household (excluding hubs) got Strep, and because of it, I spent my days guzzling pills for my fever, wallowing in my own man-made tower of self pity AND… taking care of 2 sick children.  The bad news? I’m still not well.  The good news? I feel good enough to resume my obligations and my children are well enough to go back to school on Monday (allowing me to catch y’all up on all of the wonderful things you missed last week.)  Anyways, enough about Count Germula… on to the freebies.  Happy Hunting!

 

 

 

A disheartened girl finds hope in a gifted boy and a mystic mountain.

SOLSTICE-Of The Heart, book one of the SOLSTICE SERIES, relates the story of the budding romance of Julissa Grant and Aaron Delmon, as seen through the eyes of Julissa who, like any high school teenager, struggles through the pitfalls of school and life.  Her life turns anything but normal as she becomes infatuated and intertwined with the high school’s outsiders, Beaumont, Belmont, and, her new-found beau, Aaron Delmon.

Three years after her husband, Simon, and his brother, Mickey, go missing on Mount Hood, Dierdra Grant moves her 16-year-old daughter, Julissa, cross-country and sets up house in Mickey’s cabin in Shasta City, California.  Having lost a friend and her father in a short time, Julissa has become disheartened with the world.  Dierdra, broken-hearted and unable to find closure over the death of her husband, is more of a hindrance than a help to Julissa.  Julissa turns away from her Catholic upbringing and runs renegade with her best new-found friend, Cherrie.  While “boy-hunting” in the Crags with Cherrie, Julissa meets, for the first time, Aaron Delmon, a gifted boy who will change her life forever.

Unknown to Julissa, Aaron Delmon is a descendant of the ancient civilization, Lemuria.  He has been sent “from below” to blend in as a teenager in a high school while working with a cell of Lemurians to prepare the framework for a return to the Way of the Lemurian known as the Law of One.  When he meets Julissa, he is being schooled as a memorizer and trained in vampirism, which allows him to control, manipulate, and store life-force energy.

 

A lie that brings a smile… or the truth that draws tears?
Dr. Olivia Crane lives a quiet life. No one questions why she doesn’t socialize or where she spends every weekend.

When the visiting physician from France strolls into her office, with open arms and a confident smile, her perfect control is about to crumble.
Good God, he can’t be Dr. Luc George, the man she loved ten years ago? Should she return his scorching kisses, or should she lock her door before he digs into her many secrets?

Secret daughter, secret friend, secret enemy. Had Luc really known his sweet Olivia back then? He wants her back, but he wants the truth, too. Now, Olivia has to face her past before she can grab her second chance.

 

***Read my review of the book HERE!***

Romance, adventure, murder and revenge, Christina Matthews does it all. An obsessed fly-girl with the Right Stuff and True Grit finds love in the oddest place, the cockpit. A beautiful and brainy college girl born with jet-fuel in her blood is haunted by a gripping family tragedy and the violent murder of her best friend. The only thing she truly fears is sleep. Tortured by nightmares, this test pilot’s daughter has to find a way to save her sanity or die. Mike Clark, call-name Lazer and a real Top Gun, looks to be the best kind of therapy.  With dreams of becoming an Astronaut-Commander, Christina struggles through heart-stopping perils in the cockpit and crash-lands on a deserted island. Without hope for rescue, she concocts an oddball plan to return survivors to civilization.   Risking her future at NASA, Christina delivers on a promise to a dying friend and faces her evil nemesis in the sky. Only by overcoming deep-seated fears can she exorcise her ghosts and pursue a lifelong dream of flying in space.   Will true love conquer Christina’s curse, or will she auger in?

 

As one of New York’s top sex therapists, Dr. Morgan Snow sees everything from the abused to the depraved. The Butterfield Institute is the sanctuary where she tries to heal these battered souls.

The Scarlet Society is a secret club of twelve powerful and sexually adventurous women. But when a photograph of the body of one of the men they’re recruited to dominate — strapped to a gurney, the number 1 inked on the sole of his foot — is sent to the New York Times, they are shocked and frightened. Unable to cope with the tragedy, the women turn to Dr. Morgan Snow. But what starts out as grief counseling quickly becomes a murder investigation, with any one of the twelve women a potential suspect.

The case leads Detective Noah Jordan — a man with whom Morgan has shared a brief, intense connection — to her office. He fears the number on the man’s foot hints that the killings have just begun. With her hands tied by her professional duty, Morgan is dangerously close to the demons in her own mind — and the flesh-and-blood killer.

 

Livie Saunders is fluent in the language of flowers; she taught the meanings to her fiancé, Cotton O’Dell, but then Cotton vanishes without explanation on their wedding day forcing Livie to learn the language of desolation. Heartbroken, she buries her wedding gown beneath a garden pond and resolves to move on, but there are nights when she slips . . . into a sequined red dress and a pair of stiletto heels, a stranger’s bed, a little anonymous oblivion that is not without consequence. Still, she recovers a semblance of ordinary life and imagines she is content. But then, six years later, Cotton returns and her carefully constructed world shatters. The old questions bite like flies. Questions that Cotton O’Dell prays he can answer. He prays that Livie, whom he has never stopped loving, will be moved to forgive him. But there is more than Livie to be concerned about. There is Cotton’s act of cowardice that caused him to become a fugitive in the first place . . . that crime he committed for which the legal clock is still ticking. That thing he did that will shock Livie to her core once she learns of it. Livie is desperate to trust Cotton, but then he goes missing again. Time telescopes, avenues of escape close, and as lives hang in the balance, choice dithers between mercy and revenge. And a decision that will take only a moment will carry the consequences of a lifetime.

 

In Saudi Arabia, two American missionaries are targeted by the infamousreligious police—Muttawa. The man is tortured and killed; his wife arrestedon trumped-up charges before being deported to the United States. Compelledby the injustice of her plight, young attorney Brad Carlson files anunprecedented civil rights suit against Saudi Arabia and the ruthless head ofthe Muttawa. But the suit unleashes powerful forces that will stop at nothingto vindicate the Arabian kingdom. Witnesses are intimidated and some disappear;jurors are bribed; and a member of Brad’s own team may be attemptingto sabotage the case. As Brad navigates a maze of treachery and deception,he must gamble his case, his career, and the lives of those he loves on hisability to bring justice to one family, challenge the religious intolerance of anation, and alter the course of international law.

 

Imagine a moment of unseen intervention on your behalf. What would you do if you discovered invisible beings surrounding you? What if you were the key to their survival? SON OF EDEN introduces a world where unseen beings really do exist, love has no limits, and the realization of one’s self worth is pivotal. Tormented by sadness over her mother’s death, Emily Wallace wonders if life really has any purpose. Her question is answered when she meets Alexander. After transgressing the laws of his kind, Alexander reveals his true nature to Emily and the two find life without one another is not an option. But, forming such a cosmically unique relationship comes with a price. It becomes apparent that some will stop at nothing to ensure an ancient prophecy surrounding these two is never fulfilled. Is the Opposition motivated by knowledge of Alexander’s true identity? Or, are they more concerned with who Emily is destined to become.

 

When lifetime friendship mixes with romance, things can get weird.

Tessa Monroe may not be able to operate a toaster oven safely, but she sure knows how to create and execute a marketing plan. Christian Douglas, her best friend since eating paste was in vogue, is a wedding photographer as romantic as his craft, engaged to a woman he believes is the one. Unexpectedly, his fiancée dumps him because she senses he’s in love with someone else—someone he “proposed to” on the third grade playground, someone who grew up without plans for romance, marriage, or a family thanks to her high powered career.

Love each other? Not as anything more than friends, think both Christian and Tessa. But when a new “perfect” woman and the ultimate job opportunity threaten to drive the friends apart for good, Christian and Tessa must finally confront their true feelings for each other. Their lives have led them to very different destinations; can love bridge the gap between them?

 

Since his commanding officer in the Peninsula took a bullet meant for him, James Moore, now the Earl of Rutledge, feels responsible for the dead man’s young son and the boy’s exquisite mother, Carlotta Ennis so responsible that he offers to marry the lavender-eyed beauty. Though their marriage was not to be a love match, Carlotta’s torturing presence has James yearning to make her his true wife.

Though she did not love his lordship, her desperate situation forced her to accept his proposal. Little did she know she would come to crave being with him, would hunger for his every touch. If only she could be worthy of the fine man she’s married, if only she can keep him from learning her dark secret . . .

 

 

A disturbing glimpse into a digital future, not far from now.

Mathew Grey is a brilliant scientist who accidentally unleashed a man-made plague that ravaged America’s heartland, and now threatens the rest of the planet. Riddled with guilt and running out of time, he decides to use a dangerous technology to enter a computer-generated reality called Cyberdrome, hoping to unravel a mystery that could be the key to Earth’s survival.

Alek Grey was an athlete whose career was cut short by a near-fatal accident. Now he is a software hacker with the unique ability to outsmart the best Artificial Intelligence programs of his day. When he is called in after one of his programs inadvertently attacks Cyberdrome, he is shocked to learn that both his father and ex-fiancée have become trapped inside the simulation, unable to be removed without risk of death.

Alek knows of only one way to rescue the people he loves, but will he risk all of humanity to save them?

 

He hasn’t spoken her name in fourteen years. She keeps a journal hidden in the back of her closet and permits herself to write about him once a year—on the anniversary of the first and only time they made love. They promised to love one another forever, but tragedy tore them apart. Now, destiny may just bring them back together.

At eighteen, Rourke Flannigan and Kate Redmond thought they’d spend the rest of their lives together—until a family tragedy tore them apart. Fourteen years have passed and they’ve both carved out separate lives hundreds of miles apart—hers as a wife and mother, his as a successful, driven businessman. But once a year, on the anniversary of her daughter’s birth, Kate pulls out a red velvet journal and writes a letter, which she’ll never send, to the man who still owns her heart. Once a year, on the anniversary of the first and only time they made love, Rourke permits himself to read the annual investigative report detailing an ordinary day in Kate’s life.

When a subcontractor at one of Rourke’s holding companies is killed, Rourke decides to pay the widow a visit and offer condolences, never dreaming the widow will be Kate. As they embark on a cautious journey of rediscovery, one far greater than they could have imagined, secrets and lies threaten to destroy their newfound closeness—forever.

 

Fresh off a marriage that spiraled into a dangerous tailspin, Ellie Coulter doesn’t believe in fate or luck. She’s been surrounded by darkness since her parents’ untimely death, and harbors a secret that never lets her forget that she’s different.

Ellie builds a safe bubble around her life that includes nothing but her coffee shop, her few friends, and her dog. Then a handsome young doctor, David Mitchell, starts to break through her protective shell and Ellie realizes there may be a risk worth taking.

Then one of Ellie’s friends abruptly leaves town; entrusting her home to Ellie’s care. The house has its own mysterious past that draws Ellie into a new darkness. Her ex-husband resurfaces with premonitions of Ellie’s death. And suddenly Ellie’s life is being turned upside down yet again, and even David can’t help her make it right.

Ellie is running out of time. Something old and evil has awakened and it wants Ellie all to itself. She must solve a century-old mystery and keep a grip on her sanity in order to survive.

 

In a time when the world was ravaged by chaos, one kingdom remains; ordered, isolated, protected. Then Tabitha Serannon awakens an ancient power and the world begins to change.

She is hunted for her talent. The Shadowcasters whisper in her ears as their evil closes around her. Soon the Riddler walks beside her, but is he on her side? She has a moment to learn the magic before she loses her grasp of the Lifesong, but the path she must follow leads into Darkness; into terror, treachery and desire.

To survive she must give voice to a music that she hardly understands, an enchantment that will echo through all time.

 

 

Edwina is a small town librarian and loves her predictable lifestyle. But her stepsister Cecilia has other plans. As they are about to board a plane for Scotland, Cecelia is suddenly called away. Exhausted and alone in Edinburgh, Edwina collapses into the arms of a tall Scot. Anxious to meet his fiance, Alex Dunnegin whisks Edwina off to his castle and that’s when the trouble begins.

 

 

 

 

We show one face to our family and another to the world. Who are we really? Who am I, and who do I want to be?

Keira Maddock lives in a dark future in which the Elite have everything, and everyone else suffers. She is a survivor. Out of necessity, she has become a skilled seductress, thief and bounty hunter – a Freelancer. When a typical job goes awry, it changes everything. Alliances are formed, long kept secrets are revealed and lives are forever changed.

 

 

 

Will he secure his future by ruining hers, or will she ruin his plans by securing him? A new twist on the old fortune hunter plot puts an impoverished earl in a position to gain his fortune only by ruining an innocent’s reputation without offering marriage. The innocent he’s selected, however, has no plans to settle for anything less than marriage and will go to almost any length to secure him.

When the impoverished Andrew Black, Earl of Townson, hits rock bottom, he makes an agreement that will end his eight year poverty streak once and for all. In order to gain his fortune he must do but one simple thing: ruin an innocent girl’s reputation enough to make her flee to America.

Brooke Banks isn’t interested in marriage, or so she thinks. She came to London to have a good time, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Widely known for her tendency to flout the rules, she suspects nothing when a handsome stranger appears on her doorstep.

Thirteen days, a handful of kisses and one scandalous situation later, Andrew and Brooke will have to choose to stick to their original plans, or decide if a life together is worth the risk.

 

An armed—and armored—terrorist breaks into the Longview Police department, shooting anything in his path before detonating the explosives hiding beneath his body armor. As retired police detective Alex Mendez waits for news of his injured cop wife’s condition, the whole of East Texas begins to dig out from the carnage visited upon it. While Alex sits with Lisa, the television screams with reports of similar attacks in small towns all across the country. They’ve struck again. And just as it had on September 11th, 2001, the game has dramatically changed.
As the local law enforcement adapts to being overwhelmed for such carnage, Alex is forced to wrestle with demons both personal and professional.

When terrorists connected to the cell group responsible for the Texas attacks kidnap a severely injured Lisa Mendez, the stakes are raised for Alex yet again as he weighs the hazards and benefits of coming out of retirement or sitting on the sidelines, leaving his family’s fate in the hands of strangers. Terrorists have invaded his country. They’ve destroyed his town. Now they’ve raided his home. They’ve drawn the line in the sand. Badge or no badge, Alex Mendez is just the man to take the fight right back to them.

 

When someone begins killing New Orleans street people, it affects the City’s tourist trade just beginning to recover from Hurricane Katrina. More than just simple acts of murder, voodoo is involved, the killer likely an actual Vodoun deity. Homicide detective Tony Nicosia seeks the help of gumshoe, and Big Easy insider Wyatt Thomas. Wyatt enlists Mama Mulate, Tulane English professor, and actual voodoo mambo. Together, they try to unravel the strangest mystery to hit the venerable City since the era of Marie Laveau.

 

 

 

What’s the price of sin?  Human Paige Sloan once loved werewolf Drake Wyler more than life, but then that life was taken away from her. Attacked by vampires, Paige was bitten, and, on a cold, dark night, the life she’d known ended. She was reborn as a vampire–a werewolf’s deadliest enemy.

Paige ran from the vampires who attacked her, and she ran away from her lover. She didn’t want Drake to know what she’d become, and she didn’t want to face the fury of his pack. But a girl can only run for so long until the past catches up with her.

Some sins mark your soul.  When Paige learns that Drake is being targeted for death, she knows that she can’t hide in the shadows any longer. She has to return to him, and she will do anything–anything–in order to make sure that he keeps living. The vampires might have destroyed her chance to live and love Drake, but they won’t take him. Not over her undead body. She’ll slay them all…and maybe, just maybe…she’ll even have the chance to sin–one more time–with the werewolf who’d marked her as his mate.  Some sins are worth dying for…

 

Seventeen-year old princess, Clara Williamson, lives an old-fashioned existence in a biosphere of the future.  When her sadistic mother, Queen Ada, betroths her to an abusive prince of a neighboring sphere, Clara determines to escape Outside where savages roam free.  Clara escapes tyranny only to discover the savages are not the only people who survived the cataclysmic events of one hundred forty years prior.  Once Outside, Clara finds herself trapped, unable to return to the abusive life of the sphere while facing certain danger Outside.  Can Clara find love and freedom with the peril that threatens to consume her?

 

 

A teenage time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.

Boy watching with her best friend would be enough excitement for fifteen year old Casey Donovan. She doesn’t even mind life at the bottom of the Cambridge High social ladder, if only she didn’t have this other much bigger problem. Unscheduled trips to the nineteenth century!

When Casey gets talked into going to the Fall Dance, the unthinkable happens–she accidentally takes Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time.

Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just ‘brotherly’ protectiveness?

When they return to the present things go back to the way they were before: Casey at the bottom of the social totem pole and Nate perched on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her little brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.  Which of course, she does.

 

Every year the best colleges reject thousands of the brightest young minds in the country. But what might happen if a large number of them refused to take no for an answer?

One morning, Shepherdton College receives 437 envelopes from twenty-eight states. Each contains the same two-word message: Still coming.

That’s just the beginning. The college president’s house burns down; the water in the country club swimming pool turns red; the ghost of a local war hero appears.

Another message is received: We’re Here.

Nerves fray, and if the “comers” aren’t trouble enough, a Peeping Tom turns into a home invader, and shows signs of becoming a full-blown sexual predator.  The town fragments and people take up arms after one last message is received…  Won’t Be Long Now.  Still Coming is a psychological thriller for anyone, student or parent, who’s ever sweated a college admission decision.

 

Can a disgraced Special Forces soldier find redemption, and will redemption cost him more than just his own life?

North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel was dishonorably discharged after losing his covert team on a far off world called Eden. Now, he’s being offered an opportunity to command a new team, on a new world, with a new mission, but the true motives behind the mission are unclear.

From the decaying Caribbean to politically-charged South America, from the slums of Mars to a tiny colony on a planet six hundred light years from Earth, Gabriel’s Redemption follows the disgraced Commander Gabriel as he leads a Special Forces team to an ice-bound world. Their given mission: to eradicate a drug cartel that is producing a highly-addictive stimulant brutally extracted from the bodies of the native inhabitants. Upon arriving, Gabriel and his team find the mission isn’t exactly what it appeared to be, and that they weren’t the only force dispatched to the planet.

 

After a family tragedy, Brett Macklin has sworn to take the law into his own hands and make the guilty pay. This time, Macklin’s target is Wesley Saputo, porn kingpin and murderer, who has slipped through the courts time after time, only to kidnap, rape and kill again…and again. Macklin’s mission: locate and destroy Saputo before he finds another innocent life to destroy.

 

 

 

 

Ellen Harris, a glamorous singer with a major contract, is haunted by nightmares of childhood abuse and the brutal murder of a loved one. Just as life is turning around for her, she must face the terrors of her past — and a new terror, even more vivid, in the form of a murderer who will stop at nothing. Ellen has no choice — she is alone, and she must pursue the murderer to the bitter end — even if it means losing her own life

 

 

 

 

Ace is on the run from everyone, it seems. He’s running from a busted Witness Protection Program assignment, an international collection of gangsters and arms merchants he pissed off working undercover, and worst of all—from his own scarred self-image and the nightmares that haunt him.

After two lonely years on the road he risks a short visit with his old friend, Granville Tubbs, who lives in the sleepy small town of Ferris’ Bluff, Arkansas. He hasn’t even had a tingle that anyone has been on his trail for almost a year. What could go wrong in a few days?

Plenty, it turns out. But some things go right, too…shotgun ambushes aside.

The ultimate loner, Ace is soon brought under the spell of the quirky small town and its residents. As he tries to help Tubbs, all the while jealously guarding his alias, the friendliness of the townsfolk chips away at the wall of solitude he’s built. It’s as if Leets and Dicky and Art Drury are determined to become his new friends. And the pretty widow, Annie Travers—well, try as he might he can’t deny the growing mutual attraction between the two of them.

He runs smack up against the dark side of Ferris’ Bluff in no time. The greedy lawyer, Tremont, and his slutty wife, Reena, are after something in Tubbs’ estate. The local mechanic, Pink, is out to mess him up, too. Ace is soon enmeshed in a battle of wits and wills with some of the locals.

And if that ain’t thorny enough, Russian arms dealers who Ace hurt badly on his last assignment have been keeping a loose watch on Tubbs. When he discovers that Annie’s husband’s accident wasn’t an accident at all and Dicky Stover, the victim of a brutal beating, is killed while in the hospital, hitting the road is no longer an option.

 

CFBI agent Jasmine McLellan is assigned a hot case—one that requires the psychic abilities of the PSI Division, a secret government agency located in the secluded town of Divine, BC.

Jasi leads a psychically gifted team in the hunt for a serial arsonist—a murderer who has already taken the lives of three innocent people. Unleashing her gift as a Pyro-Psychic, Jasi is compelled toward smoldering ashes and enters the killer’s mind. A mind bent on destruction and revenge.

Jasi’s team, consisting of Psychometric Empath and profiler, Ben Roberts, and Victim Empath, Natassia Prushenko, is led down a twisting path of dark, painful secrets. Brandon Walsh, the handsome, smooth-talking Chief of Arson Investigations joins them in a manhunt that takes them across British Columbia—from Vancouver to Kelowna, Penticton and Victoria.

While impatiently sifting through the clues that were left behind, Jasi and her team realize that there is more to the third victim than meets the eye. Perhaps not all of the victims were that innocent. The hunt intensifies when they learn that someone they know is next on the arsonist’s list.

The case heats to the boiling point as Jasi steps out of the flames…and into the fire. And in the heat of early summer, Agent Jasi McLellan discovers that a murderer lies in wait…much closer than she imagined.

 

Ghost in Her Heart: Dark Lands Book 5

Every man has a little beast inside…every woman longs to tame him. Where will you be when the beast roars for you?

The quintisential geek, Vana had never had a lover. The ultimte warrior, Dagon had never had a wife. Thanks to a rift in space, she’s about to become both.

Beast Wars: Dark Lands Book 6

Dey has a taste for ancient treasure—Keg is the one assigned to guard it. Ancient ziggurats protected by forgotten technology are no match for Dey, but Keg is one challenge she can’t dismiss.

Sexy and irrepressible, Keg doesn’t understand why the woman in the pink snakeskin jacket would swagger around with a gun. With war looming, what better way to keep her out of trouble than to make her his own?

 

She’s been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He’s not the “Evernight type” either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

“I couldn’t stand it if they took it out on you,” he tells Bianca, “and eventually they would.”

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can’t be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed.

 

How far would you go to save your dream? Seventeen-year-old Ariceli Pisa is a senior at the prestigious Cambridge High School and has her sights set on Northwestern University. She’s a cheerleader, a member of the National Honor Society…and a drug dealer. That’s not the only secret she has to keep from her best friend Naomi–she’s also madly in love with Naomi’s ex-boyfriend, James Bartlett.

 

 

 

 

After their teacher assigns a persuasive essay challenging students to improve one aspect of their life, Daniel discovers that Jazmin is still fighting demons from her past. Daniel is ready to become her hero as he comes up with a plan to have Jazmin run for the Board of Education in order to stop an abusive principal. Little did he know, their actions would change their school forever.

 

 

 

 

FOUR PEOPLE from dissimilar backgrounds, and with no prior knowledge of one another, are forever linked by unrelenting danger and by evil on scale that betrays comprehension. ERIC, a successful businessman and ZOE, a beautiful social worker, set out on a quest for the truth . . . a quest that leads them through a labyrinth of extreme danger and unspeakable wickedness

Tuesday Newbies!

January 17th, 2012

Click Image for additional details

Books Gone Mad

January 16th, 2012

Morning Kindle-ites! I stumbled upon this the other day and was completely mesmerized so I thought I would share.  The artist’s name is Brian Dettmer and his sculptures are created with books and other forms of antiquated media (for example cassettes.)  You know what, I’ll just post his bio and then you  can read it.  Anyways, I hope you find these as interesting as me.   You can see more of his work by visiting his website HERE.  Enjoy!

 

Who is Brian?

Dettmer is originally from Chicago. He currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

Brian Dettmer is known for his detailed and innovative sculptures with books and other forms of antiquated media. He is currently represented by Kinz + Tillou (New York), Packer Schopf (Chicago), MiTO (Barcelona), Toomey Tourell (San Francisco) and Saltworks (Atlanta). Dettmer’s work has been exhibited Internationally in several galleries, museums and art centers including the Museum of Arts and Design (NY), Museum of Contemporary Art (GA), the International Museum of Surgical Science (IL), Museum Rijswijh (Netherlands), Wellcome Collection (England) the Bellevue Arts Museum (WA), The Kohler Arts Center (WI), and the Illinois State Museums (IL). His work can be found in several public and private collections throughout the U.S, Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Dettmer’s work has gained International acclaim through internet bloggers, and traditional media. His work has been featured on the CBS Evening News, The New York Times (US), The Los Angeles Times (US), The Guardian (UK), The Telegraph (UK) Chicago Tribune (US), The Age (AU), Art News, Modern Painters, Wired, The Village Voice, Harper’s, Esquire and National Public Radio among others.

In recent years Dettmer has established himself as one of the leading International contemporary artists working with the book today. In 2011 his work was featured on the cover of Book Art (Gestalten Publishers, Berlin) and discussed in a historical context in Bookwork (Stewart, The University of Chicago Press). In 2012 he is scheduled to have solo shows in San Francisco with Toomey Tourell Fine Art and The Jewish Community Center; in Maribor, Slovenia as part of its celebration as the European Cultural Capital of 2012; in Lucca, Italy for Cartasia, a biennale of contemporary paper art; and in Atlanta, GA at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. His work is also scheduled to be in several group shows including “40 under 40” at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute.

 

 

The Art!

Click the images to see them full size

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