Thursday, December 13, 2018

Jack Jetstark's Intergalactic Freakshow by Jennifer Lee Rossman



Jack Jetstark’s Intergalactic Freakshow
By
Jennifer Lee Rossman
75,000 words / 260 pages     *     Science Fiction
Blurb:
Jack Jetstark travels the universe to seek out the descendants of superpowered freaks created long ago by VesCorp scientists. The vibrations encoded in a particular song transform the members of Jack’s crew into a firebreather and an angel, a wildman and telepathic conjoined triplets, so they hide the truth of who they really are with the theatrics of a carnival.
The song plays every night through the receptor Jack carries with them, but when one night it has a different ending and their temporary powers become permanent, Jack believes the change is a signal from the woman who sent him on this quest in the first place. He and his freaks must navigate a universe at war to protect the love of his life.
But does the ruler of VesCorp really need protecting?

Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H52T2FV
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jack-jetstarks-intergalactic-freakshow-jennifer-lee-rossman/1129486313?ean=2940156072750
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1435552830
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/jack-jetstark-s-intergalactic-freakshow


Author Bio:
Jennifer Lee Rossman is a disabled and autistic freak, and proudly so. Her work has been featured in many anthologies and her debut novella, Anachronism, was published by Kristell Ink in 2018. She blogs at http://jenniferleerossman.blogspot.com/ and tweets @JenLRossman.
Social Media Links:
https://twitter.com/JenLRossman




Excerpt:
“First thing you’ve got to know,” I said, brushing my hair from my face as the wind began to pick up, “is that we’re all freaks. Everyone in the whole universe, for one reason or another. Most try to hide this fact. A few of us embrace it, not so much because we want to but because there’s nothing else for us. So we show people the terrifying and unseemly parts of us no one wants to see, and we charge ’em good money to see it.”
Lily stepped forward and knelt to display her shoulders and back, all bare, featherless skin down to the dangerously low neckline of her sequined dress. “See? No wings.”
“But you flew,” Cara insisted. “If it isn’t costumes and harnesses, then what?”
I held up the receiver, a small wooden box the size of my hand with a speaker on one side and images of galaxies and solar systems carved into the others. Not the most advanced technology, but I wouldn’t have anything else.
I checked the time. Soon.
I debated how much to tell her. No matter how many times I tried to explain it, it never sounded remotely plausible, but I had to warn her. Seeing the end result was one thing; seeing it happen before your eyes was another matter entirely, though the complete truth was an ancient burden none of them deserved to be saddled with.
“The music plays,” I said. “Same song, same time every night, and it triggers something inside us. That feeling you had, like you were made of magic? That’s what it feels like when your DNA recognizes a song, even if you’ve never heard it before.”
She stared at me in eager anticipation, nodding slowly. Whether she actually believed me or was just humoring me, I couldn’t say, but it was a nice change from the usual interruptions of “that’s impossible” and “science doesn’t work that way.”
I cast a sideways glance at Theon, who had given me more trouble than the others, and continued. “Makes you feel alive, like there’s a purpose to your existence and you can do the impossible, and that ain’t just in your mind. We’re all freaks, but we—” I motioned to my crew. “Well, we’re different. Our bodies hear that song, and it triggers our genes to change, to grow into… I don’t know, the true selves that live in our heart or some sentimental crap like that.”
“How poetic,” Lily said with a laugh. She looked up at Cara. “I know it’s hard to understand. It happens to me every night, and I still have no idea how it works, but I can fly, Merulo becomes the feral wildman, Parthen and the boys really can read each others’ minds and feel each others’ pain… Jack breathes fire and gains the ability to give impassioned speeches without sounding like an uninterested jerk.”
I checked the time again.
“So what changed in you?” Pneuman asked with earnest interest. “During the music, I mean?”
Cara hesitated, almost like she was afraid of hearing the absurdity out loud.
“I turn into a wild beast,” Merulo pointed out quietly. “And these three grow into one, psychic organism. Whatever you’re about to say will probably be the most normal thing we’ve heard in months.”
After another moment’s thought, Cara rolled up her sleeves. Her arms, though pale peach and freckled like her face, gleamed in the diminishing sun.
I reached out to touch her. Cold, almost metallic. That explained how she opened the lock.
“You’re a cyborg,” I said, tapping my nail on her forearm to hear the clinking sound. They just couldn’t get the texture right, no matter how hard they tried.
Her moon didn’t seem like the type of place to have a neurologist trained in bio implants, and I doubted anyone there could afford to travel to see one.
“Fancy. Who wired it into your brain?”
“I did it all myself.” She held up a hand and demonstrated the various functions and attachments installed in her fingers, glossing right over the fact that she had just admitted to performing brain surgery on herself. She yanked her sleeves down. “And I’m not a cyborg,” she clarified. “I’m just good with electronics and I like gadgets. My dad says it’s bad to be a cyborg.”
“Well, I tell you what, kid. You can’t make a person change by pointing out their flaws, but you can be the one person who doesn’t try to.”
“I’ve always had a connection to electronics,” she said, shyly extending a hexagonal wrench from her forefinger, “like I could talk to them. But when I heard the music… something happened.”
I checked my watch. Not long now. “Yeah, something always happens. What matters is what happened to you, kid.”
“They… talked back.” Her words came slow at first, her reluctance to being different still holding her back, but as she talked, she grew more excited, more animated. “I could hear the messages stored on the phones of everyone around me, could see the last videos that played on their contact lenses. I could see the blueprints of your ship in my head. She’s an Aldebaran cargo ship, Highwire model. Superluminal capability, more weapons than she came out of the factory with, and she has a capacitor that should be repaired soon. And I felt like, if I wanted to, I could touch any source of power on the ship and control everything remotely.”
“Ready to feel that way again?” I asked, holding out the transmitter as showtime approached.
And passed.
It was time, but the music didn’t play. The music didn’t play.
Why didn’t the music play?




Wednesday, November 28, 2018

The House Always Wins by Brian Rouff

House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian RouffHouse Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff Publisher: Huntington Press (Oct 3, 2017) Category: Paranormal Romance, Ghosts, Crime Thriller, Las Vegas Mystery Tour dates:Oct-Nov, 2018 ISBN: 978-1944877064 Available in Print and ebook, 324 pages House Always Wins Anna Christiansen’s small-town life is about to go haywire. A young reporter stuck in a dead-end job, Anna falls head over heels for an interview subject, the bass player in an up-and-coming alt band. In short order, she pulls up stakes, moves to Las Vegas, gets married and pregnant, and buys a big fixer-upper haunted by the ghost of a Sin City racketeer. That’s when Anna gets notice from a corrupt casino owner that he’s buying up all the properties on her street to make way for a parking lot. But Anna has poured her heart and soul into the house and digs in hard to fight the system — not the easiest of tasks in a city where bribery, mayhem, and murder are standard operating procedures. Can Anna’s tough-guy ghost provide the help she needs to prevail in this dangerous cat-and-mouse game? Will Anna’s life be left in ruins? Or worse? “It’s pure Vegas, told from an insider’s perspective.”- Anthony Curtis, Huntington Press

Guest Review House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Guest review by Sol A. Anna, a reporter in a small town gets an interview with an up and coming band and her life changes forever. She falls for the bass player, Aaron. Aaron sweeps Anna off her feet and brings her to his hometown of Las Vegas. They marry, she is pregnant and they buy a fixer upper. Anna gets to work on the house so she can nest before the baby arrives. She did not count on having someone keep her company though, a ghost. Meanwhile a developer is trying to buy up properties in her area and is willing to do anything to get residents to sell. However, he underestimates Anna! She will not be bullied! This is a new take on Las Vegas. Rather than focusing, where everyone focuses, Brian Rouff focuses and the part of the city where people actually live and raise families. He dazzles us with characters that leap from the page and a alluring plot rather than glitz and glamour. It makes for a delicious recipe to sink your eyes and senses into. I highly recommend ‘The House Always Wins’ and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Excerpt House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

We hopped into Aaron’s car, some kind of faded blue Japanese hatchback from the early 2000s that looked like his budget suite on wheels, and drove to Mandalay Bay, a golden-glass monstrosity on one end of the Strip. I had no idea which end, because I hadn’t been in town long enough to know my directions. The sun had already gone down, so that was no help, although it gave the illusion of cooling off a degree. Not that it mattered. Before leaving Aaron’s, he’d insisted I change into light sweats (“buffet pants,” he called them in preparation for the orgy of eating we’d be engaging in later) and comfy sneakers to help with all the walking. I had briefly wandered through the Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit right after turning 21. (I always thought it interesting how they listed “Casino” first, a sliver of honesty in a profession built on something else.) But nothing prepared me for Mandalay. It was like going to my first Major League game after watching Double A. You could tuck the entire Greektown building into one corner and hardly notice. The casino, from the carpet and wall coverings to the lighting, matched the golden hues of the exterior, possibly some sort of subliminal message to gamblers that fortune lurked just around each corner, the push of a button away. I clutched Aaron’s hand tightly as we wove our way through a pack of freshly sunburned conventioneers still wearing their “Hi, My Name Is _____” stickers, past drunks slurring rude comments to drunker drunks stabbing at the wrong buttons on ATM machines while others waited behind them for their infusions of cash, and stopping briefly to gawk at a gaggle of Asian tourists whooping it up in front of a long row of a You Might Be a Redneck slot machines. From somewhere in the distance, a cheer rose from a group of mostly male gamblers flanking some kind of table. “Dice,” Aaron said, noticing me stare in that direction, trying to figure out what was going on. “They call it ‘craps,’ but I call it ‘claps’—whenever there’s a big noise in the pit, it’s coming from a crap table.” “Pit?” “Oh, yeah, that’s the area in the middle of the casino with all the table games.” “Crap. Pit. It all sounds a little too Freudian for me.” No sooner had the noise died down than I heard groans from another table, the vagaries of Lady Luck captured in a single quick sequence. Meanwhile, a crew of young women, one wearing a pink T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Bride” and the others featuring “Bride’s Bitches,” stumbled around like fawns in heels they hadn’t worn since senior prom. From time to time, the sounds of simulated coins hitting imaginary trays filled the air; Aaron had to explain that the newer generation of slots took greenbacks, but nary a coin. Then he handed me a twenty and pointed me in the direction of an I Dream of Jeannie machine. “It’s my favorite,” he said. “Wanna know why?” “I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.” “I like to hear her say, ‘Yes, Master.’” “You’re a barrel of laughs tonight.” I gave him a playful nudge. “Go ahead. Take it for a spin. You might hit the jackpot.” “I can’t. Where I’m from, twenty dollars is a lot of money. I know how hard it is to make.” “Well, you can’t come to Las Vegas without giving it a try. You could be walking around lucky and not know it.” I studied the machine for a moment. “I have no idea where to put this.” Aaron indicated a slot where you inserted the bill. But when I slid it in, the machine spit it right back out. “Look, that’s gotta be some kind of sign,” I said, relieved I wouldn’t be wasting his money after all. “It’s a sign the paper’s too wrinkled.” He reached in his wallet and extracted a newer twenty, which the machine was only too happy to swallow with a digital gulp. “Now push the Spin button. Or you can go old school and pull the handle. Either way.” Despite my misgivings, I knew I’d better get it over with. I gave the handle a good hard yank and watched as the colorful reels spun round and round while the Jeannie theme blared like a calliope. After a few seconds, they came to rest with a haphazard assortment of images: a palm tree on an island, a jewel, a magic lamp, the Taj Mahal, and Jeannie herself astride a flying carpet. “Is that good?” I asked. Aaron shook his head. “Try again.” I did as I was told with the same result. In less than two minutes, the twenty was history, presumably on its way to line the pockets of Mr. Mandalay himself. I stood up and backed away from the machine like it was a wasp’s nest. “That was, like, no fun at all.” “Good,” Aaron said, revealing his true intentions. “Sometimes when people hit it big the first time, they get hooked. They think it’s easy. But look at this place. It wasn’t built by giving money away. Sure, they’ll throw someone a bone from time to time, but only to keep the fantasy going. It’s good for marketing.” I regarded the football-field-sized room and realized Aaron was right. Despite sporadic bursts of excitement, most of the players appeared bored, desperate, drunk, or worse. A few younger gamblers seemed like they were trying way too hard to have a good time, downing shots of a crimson substance that reminded me of cough syrup and calling each other “Dude” and “Bro” and “Yo” in testosterone-fueled rasps. It reminded me of the first sorority party I attended in college. Which was also the last sorority party I attended in college. Earlier, near the ATMs, I’d noticed a sign with the headline, “When the Fun Stops,” and an 800 helpline number for problem gamblers. For most of these folks, the fun appeared to have stopped before it began. “I get the feeling that people like the idea of Las Vegas better than they like the actual place,” I said to Aaron. “And that’s what makes you an astute chronicler of the human condition.”

About Brian RouffHouse Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Award winning author, Brian Rouff was born in Detroit, raised in Southern California, and has lived in Las Vegas since 1981, which makes him a long-timer by local standards. When he’s not writing articles, screenplays and Las Vegas-based novels such as “Dice Angel,” “Money Shot,” and “The House Always Wins,” he runs Imagine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm. He is also a regular contributor to Living-Las-Vegas.com. On a personal note, Brian is married with two grown daughters and five grandchildren. In his spare time he enjoys movies, playing guitar and the occasional trip to the casino buffet line. Website: http://brianrouff.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianRouff Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrianRouffAuthor/

Buy House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Amazon BarnesandNoble BookDepository

Giveaway House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

This giveaway is for one print copy or ebook copy of the book. Print is available to the U.S. only but ebook is available worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 30, 2018 at midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff Tour

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Oct 16 Kickoff Lu Ann Rockin' Book Reviews Oct 19 Review Dawn Bound 2 Escape Oct 25 Excerpt Dawn Bound 4 Escape Oct 26 Guest Review Indie Review Behind the Scenes Oct 30 Video Interview Carole's Book Corner Nov 5 Guest Review & Excerpt Bev Beverly’s Book Blog Nov 8 Guest Review and Excerpt Leslie StoreyBook Reviews Nov 12 Review Shannon Pulp and Mystery Shelf Nov 19 Interview Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 20 Review Autumn A Little Bit of R&R Nov 28 Review Monica Writers N Authors Nov 30 Review & Interview Yari Yaris-book-world Nov 30 Review House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Thursday, November 8, 2018

House Always Wins by Brian Rouff



House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff- On Tour


House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian RouffHouse Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff
Publisher:  Huntington Press (Oct 3, 2017)
Category: Paranormal Romance, Ghosts, Crime Thriller, Las Vegas Mystery
Tour dates:Oct-Nov, 2018
ISBN: 978-1944877064
Available in Print and ebook, 324 pages
House Always Wins
Anna Christiansen’s small-town life is about to go haywire. A young reporter stuck in a dead-end job, Anna falls head over heels for an interview subject, the bass player in an up-and-coming alt band. In short order, she pulls up stakes, moves to Las Vegas, gets married and pregnant, and buys a big fixer-upper haunted by the ghost of a Sin City racketeer.
That’s when Anna gets notice from a corrupt casino owner that he’s buying up all the properties on her street to make way for a parking lot. But Anna has poured her heart and soul into the house and digs in hard to fight the system — not the easiest of tasks in a city where bribery, mayhem, and murder are standard operating procedures.
Can Anna’s tough-guy ghost provide the help she needs to prevail in this dangerous cat-and-mouse game? Will Anna’s life be left in ruins? Or worse?
“It’s pure Vegas, told from an insider’s perspective.”- Anthony Curtis, Huntington Press

Praise House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Finalist, American Fiction Awards, Romance: Paranormal category
“A whirlwind romance leads an unlikely pair of newlyweds to Las Vegas, home of every dream and nightmare they can imagine―from predatory developers to a friendly ghost. Rouff spins a guilelessly winsome fable whose charming heroine needs to have everything from her ghost’s personal history to the ritual significance of her newborn’s bris explained to her―which means that the reader gets treated to all these explanations too.”-Kirkus Reviews
“Paragraphs are replete with uproariously sarcastic similes, metaphors, and tongue-in-cheek comments. Narrative hooks, drama, unexpected openings, and cliffhanging chapter endings keep the story flowing. Complicated situations, including confrontations with neighbors and pressure from the casino, build to a significant and unanticipated climax. A fun read from beginning to end, The House Always Wins is an attractive romance with a unique ghostly touch.”-Clarion Foreword Reviews, 5 stars
“Author Brian Rouff has dreamed up a fun little tale, which he describes in a release as “part coming-of-age saga, part mystery and part ghost story.” When it comes to Nevada stories, Rouff knows his stuff. He has lived in Las Vegas for more than 35 years and has also written the Las Vegas-based novels Dice Angel and Money Shot.”- C. Moon Reed, Las Vegas Weekly
“Brian Rouff’s writing of The House Always Wins: A Vegas Ghost Story is impressive. It’s a charming, fast-paced story beautifully narrated by the main character, Anna. It contains wit, mystery, and a bit of nostalgia. Meyer reminisces about his racketeering life and how developed Las Vegas has become. Anna is a strong-minded person who possesses a sense of humour, even when her problems are serious. I thought the road trip was interesting, also the descriptions of the communities that had seen changes, for better or for worse. The author has shown the other side of Las Vegas in this must-read novel.”- Michelle Stanley, Readers’ Favorite

About Brian RouffHouse Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Award winning author, Brian Rouff was born in Detroit, raised in Southern California, and has lived in Las Vegas since 1981, which makes him a long-timer by local standards. When he’s not writing articles, screenplays and Las Vegas-based novels such as “Dice Angel,” “Money Shot,” and “The House Always Wins,” he runs Imagine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm. He is also a regular contributor to Living-Las-Vegas.com.
On a personal note, Brian is married with two grown daughters and five grandchildren. In his spare time he enjoys movies, playing guitar and the occasional trip to the casino buffet line.

Buy House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff


House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff

Monday, October 22, 2018

On Deadly Ground by July Belshe-Toernblom (based on a storyline by Thomas W. Starbuck) with excerpt, review and giveaway


Welcome to my blog and my stop on the tour for Deadly Ground.



Description of Deadly Ground by Thomas W. Starbuck and Judy Belshe-Toernblom
'Deadly Ground' – a riveting story about the human race under threat, with a rare DNA condition providing a second chance for humanity. A fast-paced novel that reads like an apocalypse movie with a biological viral disease, some romance, and aliens in the mix, centered on the unforgettable human main character AB, who becomes the hope for humanity’s regeneration.
By author Thomas W. Starbuck, whose storyline for “Deadly Ground” was adapted and written by Judy Belshe-Toernblom.

Praise for ​Deadly Ground by Thomas W. Starbuck and Judy Belshe-Toernblom

“Great concept…makes you think. Could history be repeating itself? Fast read. Anxious for the sequel.”- Peggy Holder, Amazon
“A really good book and definitely a page-turner. I really liked the characters which is so important to me when I read a book. And the story really makes you think a lot about the things that are going on around us throughout the world. This was a different type of book than I normally read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book has something for so many readers’ interests – some fantasy, some romance, some sci-fi. It’s also a quick read. I’m looking forward to the author’s sequel to ‘DeadlyGround’.”-Amazon Customer

You can find out more about the book and authors here: 



a Rafflecopter giveaway
Excerpt:

Deadly Ground
T.W. Starbuck, Author

Excerpt 4 (Ch. 19) – 707 words

AB exhaled the words, “Not by the hair of my chinny chin . . .”
And then he passed out. He had survived himself and an attack of coyotes.
Days later and looking like a bad case of mummy wrapping, AB was still alive. He had wrapped his ribs by laying cloth on the floor and rolling over it. His face had healing scabs, and his arms were bandaged. He was a mess, but alive. However, he had added to
his look a gun holster with a loaded gun.
Now limping, he was using Vi’s pink cane to lean on as he raked through some of the burned rubble in his house. As he searched through the ashes, he found some small egg-like objects. When he cracked them open, he saw that they were the remainders of his burned family albums. There in his bandaged hand, he held his memory treasures of family’s and friends’ pictures. He looked at each one for a very long time, trying to make the memory come alive.
There were pictures of his college days with Clayton, the band they were in. Family pictures of himself as a boy and his brother.
As he pushed away more of the ash, he found the cover of the book of poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay that his mother had read to him as a child. Only the cover had survived.
He flipped the cover over. The inscription on the cover could still be seen. To Adam, may each morning bring you as much joy as you bring me. Love, Mom.
AB held the cover to his heart and cried. He had lost so much, and could find no reason to live, and yet he was still alive.
As he got up, his cane hit a box under the rubble. It was the metal box that his antique Dragoon pistols were in. He dusted off the box and opened it. The guns were dirty but still intact. He ran his hand over the barrel of one of the guns. He spit-shined it a bit. He then removed a bag filled with bullets from the box and loaded the gun. He spun the chamber a few times, and then he looked down the barrel. He slumped his shoulders. Depression had reached its peak. Nothing to look forward to and too much effort to even regain what he had.
AB slowly walked out on the half-burned deck and sat in his smoke-singed chair, gun in hand. AB was very much a man on the edge. He was no longer afraid to die. He put the gun to his head and scratched his head with it. He sat and looked at Winnie’s grave.
“You sure look peaceful, old girl—I miss you.”
The sound of gunfire from the antique gun echoed in the empty skies.
Lying dead was a coyote that had been trying to dig up Winnie’s grave.
“I told you, you sons of-a bitch to leave her alone. I’ll leave you there you as a reminder for your flea-bitten buddies.”
AB stared once again at Winnie’s grave. He got up and took the gun with him into the house. He walked over to the mantle and took Clayton’s vase off the shelf. He sat down on the couch and looked a long time at the vase. Then he went back outside and brought the vase with him. He sat back down in his chair, still holding the vase; and talking to Clayton, he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t look for survivors longer, buddy. I’m just so tired and so lonely. I’m beat up.
I’m not brave enough to live this solitary life. I want to be with you all and my family.”
He put the gun to his head and began to shake and cry. He gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t cry, you jackass—there’s no one to miss, and no one to miss you.”
He steeled himself for the impact.
“This is the better way.”
He pulled the hammer back. His body shook as his finger tightened on the trigger.
Suddenly, a brilliant light flashed across the sky. It hovered long enough for AB to see that it was a spacecraft of sorts.


My thoughts:
I enjoyed this little book.  At 157 pages and with such a compelling storyline, this is a fast read.  The author pulls you into the story with the descriptive language and then gives you interesting characters; all the while moving you into the thick of things with the threat to the entire human race.  
It's a page-turner!  It's a make-you-thinker!  
I wasn't sure about AB as the main character's name, but then upon learning that it was actually Adam, I started to wonder...then the chimera angle, and I wondered some more...
Well done!  A fastpaced, multifaceted read.  I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to participate in the tour, and I am looking forward to the next book!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The Backup Plan by Jen McLaughlin - - - my thoughts...

Welcome to my blog!  It is my pleasure to feature
The Backup Plan by Jen McLaughlin

Amazon Blurb:
"THE BACKUP PLAN is classic new adult at its finest. With plenty of angst, drama and emotion, I seriously loved this romance!” ~ NYT bestselling author Monica Murphy
I’m beyond help...
I threw a football before I could walk. Everything in my life revolved around football–and I loved every second. I was a star. Until, suddenly...I wasn’t. Now everyone thinks I’m the monster who killed his best friend. I’m an outcast on campus, silent and alone. Then Taylor Selmer walks back into my life. When will she learn–I’m beyond saving.
I need to save him...
Chase and I used to be friends. But after the accident, nothing was the same. We used to have something special–until we didn’t. But he doesn’t smile anymore. Doesn’t talk. Doesn’t play. It hurts me to see him this way, and I will do everything I can to get him back in the game. Whether he likes it or not.


My thoughts:  
I enjoyed reading The Backup Plan.  It is filled with angst, drama and emotion, just as Monica Murphy says!  The characters are great and the storyline is edgy.   
Taylor is fantastic.  She is my favorite character in the book.  She is driven and no-nonsense, but compassionate and idealistic.  
Chase is troubled and dark, but yearning for something or someone to make his life a better place.
The rollercoaster ride of a journey that these two are on keeps you hoping for the fairytale happy ending, but you aren't sure it can happen.
Their relationship is as tumultuous as it is sweet; made more so by their past and their common, yet unknown to each other, desire to be together.  
The Backup Plan is a fast read with hoped for ending.  

Buy it HERE.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Happy Release Day! The Backup Plan by Jen McLaughlin

Check out The Backup Plan by Jen McLaughlin!

You can buy it HERE.



BLURB: 

"THE BACKUP PLAN is classic new adult at its finest. With plenty of angst, drama and emotion, I seriously loved this romance!” ~ NYT bestselling author Monica Murphy

I’m beyond help...
I threw a football before I could walk. Everything in my life revolved around football–and I loved every second. I was a star. Until, suddenly...I wasn’t. Now everyone thinks I’m the monster who killed his best friend. I’m an outcast on campus, silent and alone. Then Taylor Selmer walks back into my life. When will she learn–I’m beyond saving.
I need to save him...
Chase and I used to be friends. But after the accident, nothing was the same. We used to have something special–until we didn’t. But he doesn’t smile anymore. Doesn’t talk. Doesn’t play. It hurts me to see him this way, and I will do everything I can to get him back in the game. Whether he likes it or not...

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jen McLaughlin 
Also writing as USA Today bestselling author Diane Alberts 

***Come back on Wednesday to see my thoughts on this newest book by the fantastic Jen McLaughlin!

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Twenty-One Steps of Courage by Sarah Bates (review, interview, giveaway)

Welcome to my book blog ~ it is my pleasure to feature Twenty-one Steps of Courage by Sarah Bates

Twenty-One Steps of Courage by Sarah Bates
Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc.  (Mar 31, 2012)
Category: Literary Fiction, Military Fiction, Adventure, Realistic Fiction
Tour dates: Feb/Mar, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-61434-957-0
Available in Print, ebook, & Audiobook 280 pages
From award-winning author. In 2006, with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan raging, Rod Strong enlists in the Army to achieve the goal his father sought before he tragically died in the Gulf War. His objective: The Old Guard regiment, the elite Soldiers who stand as Sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery. Rod overcomes the obstacles that litter his path until an unexpected firefight in Afghanistan changes his life forever.

Praise Twenty-One Steps of Courage by Sarah Bates

“Sarah Bates professes not to know much about the military yet she tells an inspiring story that captures the true essence of what the military is all about — love of country — unit esprit de corps — family values — personal courage. Every high school student, every parent and all of the politicians in this country should read this book.”- Lloyd N. Cosby, retired Tomb Guard (Alexandria, VA, US)
“I…read the book and I cried A LOT–it was very heartwarming and extremely interesting. When you described the part about him fighting and saving his brother–I felt I was there–a sure movie deal I hope.”- Detra Hoffman (Los Angeles, CA)
“The book covers a lot: what to expect in boot camp and after, the amount of control that the military has over your life once you join, and the responsiblities and hardships that your decision to join places on your loved ones. It also explores camaraderie between soldiers, the pride that attends possessing a strong sense of duty and of self, and the rewards of follow-through. Twenty-One Steps of Courage is a well balanced story about military life. Not too left or right, it’s a good read, one that I would recommend to anyone.”- Caradae Linore (San Diego, CA)
“The author did a wonderful job portraying the feelings of an 18-year-old man. Although I’ve seen the soldiers marching at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I was unfamiliar with the training and precision involved. I didn’t understand a lot of the military acronyms but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this story.”-Midnight Reader, Amazon Review

About Sarah BatesTwenty-One Steps of Courage by Sarah Bates

Award winning author, Sarah Bates’ fiction has appeared in the Greenwich Village Literary Review, the San Diego North County Times (now the Union-Tribune) and the literary magazine Bravura.
She is the author of ‘The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’, published in 2016, and co-author of the 2005 short story collection, ‘Out of Our Minds, Wild Stories’ by Wild Women. Bates was an English Department writing tutor at Palomar College in California for ten years. She privately tutors academic and creative writing students and is writing a new novel.
She is a Military Category Finalist for ‘Twenty-One Steps of Courage’, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, (2013) and 2nd Place Finalist, for ‘The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’, Unpublished Novel-Category, San Diego Book Awards (2015). It has since been published.
Sarah Bates lives in Fallbrook, California.

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My thoughts:  I wasn't sure what to expect when I agreed to read this book.  My newphew is a Ranger, so the story truly hits home for me.  I began the book with a bit of apprehension. 

With that said...
Sarah Bates tells us the story of a young man with a dream.  His dream is complex and the road to achieving it is hard, filled with battles of many kinds.  

As a mother, my heart was filled with so many emotions while I read the story.  The story of a boy: searching for his brother, attempting to fulfil his mission to honor his father, trying to believe in himself, do the right thing and reconcile all this with his desire to live a life with his love.

Sarah builds characters that are easy to invest in and the story flows.  We follow Rod on his journey from enlisting to his final walk.  The pages turn easily and I found myself lost in Rod's courageous battle.  

Well worth a read.  
Thanks Sarah for joining us for an interview:

* When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was a high school sophomore, I had a job after school each day that interrupted my sleep. I tried to stay alert through my classes but each afternoon I nodded off during my English course. When my teacher threatened to drop my grade I asked for makeup work. “Write some poetry,” she said. I did and have never stopped writing. Although I no longer write poetry, that incident set my path.

* How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
A couple, maybe…while I interviewed for jobs in advertising agencies. My career in advertising ultimately led to freelance non-fiction writing followed by fiction, which is my primary writing objective now.

* What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
My habit of creating a Time Sheet on which I log the hours I write might be more of a necessity for me than a quirk. If I’m headed to the end of a novel, that Time Sheet is the whip snapping over my head!

* Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
Ideas often emerge unpredictably. Sometimes I jot down an idea and never pursue it, other times the idea grows in importance and might become a novel or a short story. Characters are all around me, all the time. A fictional character might have the mannerisms of a friend, the physical description of a stranger.

* How do you decide what you want to write about?
If an idea is compelling and I become obsessed with it, a story usually surfaces.

* What books have most influenced your life?
The Bible has influenced my personal life: my ethics and attitudes. Beyond that, books by authors Thomas Hardy, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver, and contemporary authors Stewart O’Nan, Colum McCann, John Jakes, Tim O’Brien, Donna Tartt, and Barbara Kingsolver influence my writing life.

* What are you reading right now?
I am fascinated by the historical novels of John Jakes and am coming to the end of The Kent Chronicles. As I usually do when I find an author I can learn from, I plan to read everything else Jakes has written.

* What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Few days go by when I am not writing so I’ll answer in that context. To get my mind off a particularly knotty writing dilemma sometimes I binge watch cooking shows on TV or pull weeds in my garden. If I’m really stressed, my husband and I take a day off to wander around San Diego County where we live, or if that’s not enough, we fly someplace to site see.

* What is your favorite comfort food?
Pasta with basil pesto and anything made with fresh tomatoes.

* What do you think makes a good story?
Conflict, believable characters, perfect word choices makes a good story.

* Who would you consider your favorite author and why?
My “favorite” author is usually the one I am obsessed about at the moment. However, I always go back to Fitzgerald when I need to remember how a well-told story can influence a reader.

Fun random questions:
• dogs or cats?
Both.
• Coffee or tea?
Coffee for sure.
• Dark or milk chocolate?
Dark chocolate, ummmm.
• Rocks or flowers?
Rocks. I return home with a rock as a souvenir of my travels.
• Night or day?
Day. I’m up when the morning sun hits the horizon of my back yard.
• Favorite color?
Blue
• Crayons or markers?
Neither.
• Pens or pencils?

Pencils. I have a coffee mug full of sharpened pencils that I offer to the members of my writers’ critique group. 

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