Monthly Archives: June 2012

Status Update: On The Mend

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So, I had to have emergency surgery over this past weekend. Everything went well and I’m on the mend, but I’m behind in my reading and editing. As much as I know my body needed it, losing one day to the hospital and two days to sleep set me back. Oh well, life happens.

In other news, I got some great news from my pal Bill Talcott: he’s made me his official editor! I got the news this morning via Facebook that he has officially added me to the book. I’m thrilled! He writes a good story, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next! And if you haven’t checked out The Mission yet, see my review (written before I was his editor) and then go get a copy! It’s a quick read with good characters and thrilling plot – easy enough reading for a nice sunny weekend.

And let’s face it, Bill breaks in here enough that I just might as well give him the key anyway. 🙂

I also just finished the (as of yet unreleased) sequel to Jim Galford‘s first book, In Wilder Lands: The Fall of Eldvar. This is one book I can’t WAIT til it comes out! (Officially, that is…) The cover art on the first book is being updated and the same guy, Darryl Taylor, is doing the second book’s cover – his work is awesome! The book itself, called Into the Desert Wilds, picks up where the first one left off (kinda) and follows the characters across new lands. There are some details on Jim’s website, but I’m not going to give much away (yet!) though Jim has given me permission to rave about his book, so there will be future posts about it, I’m sure!

Oh! I almost forgot! I got interviewed! You can find out a little more about me and the authors I’ve worked with here.

Guest Post: Near-Death Experiences

Guest Post,

Today I’m going to welcome Grrouchie to my blog. While he normally talks about poker, da Grrouch has honored me with a guest post. I’m pretty sure this came up because of recent events (no, I’m not dead!), but I remember hearing this story and thinking…

WTH were you THINKING!

And here’s Grrouchie!

My mind has been a blank slate for going on a month now as one of my oldest friends (and I mean that in the sense of length of time we’ve known each other and not in the WOW look at those wrinkles granny sense) informed me that she wouldn’t mind if I did a guest post on her blog.

I tried multiple times on multiple topics but nothing ever hit me, I’d get one or two paragraphs in and decide I hated the whole thing and scrap it.  I think the problem stems from the fact that Tricia and I have known each other for pretty much our entire adult lives at this point and as such I didn’t want to just churn out a piece of crap and submit it over to her.  Also, with her proficiency for writing and spotting issues I would prefer if I at least had a bit of substance so I didn’t get picked apart like a turkey on her Thanksgiving table!

So, with that aside how about I shut up and jump into it? Continue reading Guest Post: Near-Death Experiences →

Blog Tour: Second Time Around

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Blurb:

Jamie lives with his straight modeling best friend of three years, John. He’s finally achieved his life long dream of opening up his own bakery and John throws him a party. There he meets Matthew, co-owner of the Home Improvement shop across the street from his new bakery. They hit it off. Only there’s one problem. Matthew is possibly straight and there’s a 90% chance that he thinks Jamie is a woman!

Continue reading Blog Tour: Second Time Around →

Review: Second Time Around

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Second Time Around
Second Time Around by H.A. Caine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The more he thought about it, the more he was certain Matthew had no idea he was a guy.

Jamie is finally going to open his own bakery, and his roommate, John, throws him a party to celebrate. There he meets Matthew, the hot co-owner of the Home Improvement store on the same block as Jamie’s bakery. But since Jamie prefers to wear female clothes, he’s not so sure Matthew knows he’s a guy.

This short story is all about second chances, being true to yourself, and following your dreams. Jamie has a strong sense of character and knows what he wants out of life – even if he goes against the grain, he’s true to himself. While part of the plot seemed a little cliche, it had a slight twist that did work out for Jamie.

Second Time Around is a quick read with a feel-good ending, leaving the short and sweet romance blossoming.

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Review: One Bite To Passion

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One Bite To Passion
One Bite To Passion by MaryLynn Bast
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You’re a beautiful women Paige, remember that and don’t let anyone make you feel any different.

Paige is on a business trip to Japan when she meets Casey, a young man taken with her at the first glance. Though married, Casey makes her feel in ways her husband never has, and she ends up having a wild night of passion with him. But when her husband, Dalton, shows up and proves that her recent dreams are, in fact, true, Paige will have to decide which man is worth standing up for and giving herself to forever.

In this sexually charged story, Paige is an older, self-conscious women stuck in her marriage for the sake of her children. The range of emotion Paige displays – doubt, for Casey is younger than her; passion; fear; betrayal – is very realistic, lending credence to her depth of character. Though the introduction of the vampires seemed a little forced, the paranormal aspect of this book was a slight twist different than other vampire books, which made it interesting to read about.

Not for the easily embarrassed but for those who love a good explicit story, One Bite To Passion fills the pages with lust and charged tension and finds an unique way for everyone to be ‘happily ever after.’

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FMB Blog Tour: One Bite to Passion

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Title: One Bite To Passion

Author: MaryLynn Bast

Genre: Fantasy (Urban, Dark and Epic), Paranormal, Romance, Erotica

Publisher: A Renaissance E Books publication

Ebook

Pages: 107 pages

Words: 39,995

Book Description:

On a business trip to Japan, Paige has just found happiness with Casey, an exciting, young man with a passionate interest in Paige.  After a night of wild sex, feels like a new woman. Drawn to Casey, Paige can’t refuse him even though he says he wants to possess her and she learns he is a vampire. Then Paige’s unfaithful husband, Dalton, shows up. He has supposedly broken off his affair, but Paige suspects he is still seeing his mistress. Soon, Paige begins to notice disturbing things happening around her and discovers she has become the center of a battle between covens who consider her The Chosen One. But when she faces the greatest peril of her life, and Casey shows up to help, Page realizes she is willing fight the covens side-by-side with him, if it means the chance of a future with this vampire she has come to love. Continue reading FMB Blog Tour: One Bite to Passion →

Review: Bedtime Stories for Dogs and Bedtime Stories for Cats

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Bedtime Stories for Dogs and Bedtime Stories for Cats
Bedtime Stories for Dogs and Bedtime Stories for Cats by Amy Neftzger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In heaven, cats swim in a warm pool of cream that never goes cold or sour.

These same jobs we perform here on earth will also exist in heaven, but in much greater magnitude and importance because our performances will have eternal consequences.

From creation to heaven, squirrels to bunnies, cats and dogs have their own unique tales of how things work in the world and what their place is in it. Bringing order to chaos and protection from evil are very important jobs that our canine and feline friends partake in every day to make the world a better place for us humans.

Containing short stories, poems, and essays, the tales set up as intended to be read to your pet. There are tales of horror, of adventure, and of joy to explain some of our pet’s behaviors. There are also tales that have a counterpart in the opposite section (a dog perspective and a cat perspective).

A cute collection of dog- and cat-friendly stories, Bedtime Stories for Dogs and Bedtime Stories for Cats offers a unique take on pet behavior while giving them folk tale-type legends fit for any pet lover’s to share with their pets while curled up together for bed – or any other time.

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Blog Tour: Shadow on the Wall

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I know I’m running a little late today, but I do want to welcome Pavarti K Tyler’s Blog Tour for her new book, Shadow on the Wall. Check out the first book in The Sandstorm Chronicles to see a new breed of super hero emerging, totally different than what you’re used to.

Blurb:

Controversial and daring, Shadow on the Wall details the transformation of Recai Osman from complicated man to Superhero. Forced to witness the cruelty of the Morality Police in his home city of Elih, Turkey, Recai is called upon by the power of the desert to be the vehicle of change. Does he have the strength to answer Allah’s call or will his dark past and self doubt stand in his way?

Pulling on his faith in Allah, the friendship of a Jewish father-figure and a deeply held belief that his people deserve better, Recai Osman must become The SandStorm.

In the tradition of books by Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie, Shadow on the Wall tackles issues of religion, gender, corruption and the basic human condition. Beautiful and challenging, this is not a book to miss. Continue reading Blog Tour: Shadow on the Wall →

Review: Purgatory

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Purgatory
Purgatory by Tomás Eloy Martínez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I woke up, it occurred to me that the most unbearable loneliness is not being able to be alone.

Emilia has spent the last 30 years of her life looking for her husband, Simón, who had disappeared while on a trip to map obscure Argentinean country. When she finds him, he is exactly the same as the day he vanished, yet she is changed – older, more worn – and she questions if he would still love her, and if she’s in her right mind.

Do not be fooled – this isn’t your paranormal ghost story. The ghost portrayed here is one on of the thousands of “subversives” that the government swept under the rug – torturing, killing, and executing them. But Emilia had never given up hope that she would see her Simón again, though whether he was able to stitch together a new map back to her or if he is in her head is left unclear.

Inserting himself (or the fictional “author” of the piece), Martínez’s statements about the Argentinean government and the country’s inability to integrate its past with its present is sharply contrasted and interwoven with a love story that spans several decades. Slow – ponderous – at times, Purgatory takes the life of Emilia and what ‘has been’ and weaves in here thoughts of ‘what might have been’ to complete a complicated picture of not only one women, but also her family and government and country, into a political statement and a love story bound together like lines on a map where only Martínez’s knows the key.

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