Review: She Ain’t Heavy

30 October 2013 by Melissa

About the Book, She Ain’t Heavy:

SheAintHeavy

Just when counter clerk Teddy Warner is about to be evicted from her Scranton apartment, she bumps into beautiful, brilliant, blond Rachel – her estranged childhood friend whose mother forbid their friendship thinking Teddy was beneath them.

Teddy and Rachel reconnect over hot chocolate and under New Year’s Eve fireworks. Their discussion leads to an invitation. Soon, Teddy’s on her way to Philadelphia, where Rachel is a student, to share an apartment and begin an exciting new life in the City.

Teddy views Rachel as perfect. Rachel can’t bring herself to shatter the image by letting on that she is having an affair with a married man. Just when Teddy is starting to feel at home, Rachel insists on some privacy. Acting out her anger at being asked to stay away, Teddy indulges in a one-night stand.

When Teddy returns to their apartment the next morning, Rachel is being carried out on a stretcher – the victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. This unforeseen tragedy leaves Teddy alone in a strange city, with no money, no friends, and no connections.

As Teddy struggles to find her way, she meets a mentor at the same university Rachel previously attended who takes an interest in her, but with strings attached. She also develops a unique bond with the firefighter who rescued Rachel. And yet, Teddy remains committed to helping Rachel get back on her feet, at a time when no one else who supposedly loves her can accept her in this diminished way. Along the way, Teddy discovers her own strength in the roles of caretaker, lover, and friend.

Buy a copy at Amazon.com

About the author, Arnine Weiss:

Arnine Cumsky Weiss

Arnine Cumsky Weiss is a nationally certified sign language interpreter and a teacher of English as a second language. She has worked in the field of Deafness for over thirty years. She is the author of six books. BECOMING A BAR MITVAH: A TREASURY OF STORIES, BECOMING A BAT MITZVAH: A TREASURY OF STORIES (University of Scranton Press), THE JEWS OF SCRANTON (Arcadia Publishing), and THE UNDEFEATED (RID Press) and THE CHOICE: CONVERTS TO JUDAISM SHARE THEIR STORIES (University of Scranton Press). Her second novel, SHE AIN’T HEAVY (Academy Chicago)was published in June, 2013. She is married to Dr. Jeffrey Weiss and is the mother of Matt, Allie, and Ben.

Connect with Arnine Weiss:

Website: ArnineWeiss.com
Twitter: @Arnine

My Thoughts:

So often when there’s a story about two young women, one of them is relegated to being only the best friend. What I found refreshing about Arnine Weiss’s She Ain’t Heavy is that even though the novel is primarily Teddy’s story, even when she isn’t the character in favor, so to speak, she is never the sidekick, and neither is Rachel.

That said, the part of me that was raised to be strong, independent, and self-sufficient was frustrated by a lot of this story, largely because it reminded me that I’ve been supremely lucky. I’ve never been unemployed (except by choice), never struggled to find a place to live, always had really solid relationships with my parents and friends, and when I read about people who do have problems finding work, or a home, or friends, instead of sympathizing, or empathizing, my middle-class privilege rears it’s ugly head.

But that’s beside the point. Arnine Weiss has drawn many wonderful characters in She Ain’t Heavy, and I enjoyed ‘meeting’ all of them. I love that each character speaks with her (or his) own voice, and that all the dialogue sounds natural.

And, personal frustration aside, I did appreciate that nothing came easily for Teddy. She worked for every life change, and earned every good thing that happened to her.

She Ain’t Heavy is contemporary women’s fiction of the best kind: it makes you think, and it makes you look at your own life, and compare it to the characters in the book, but it’s also just a really good read.

Goes well with macaroni and cheese (with pepper from a Santa boot shaker) and diet Coke.

Spotlight on Hopefully Ever After by Linda Barrett

29 October 2013 by Melissa

About the Book, Hopefully Ever After

Linda Barrett could be any one of us. She’s an ordinary woman living a wonderfully ordinary life – husband, kids, teaching, writing – totally unprepared for Murphy’s Law on steroids. In February 2001, everything goes wrong. She discovers her breast cancer exactly when she starts a brand new teaching job which is exactly the same time as the release of her very first published novel. Secrets must be kept to protect her fledging career as a writer. No secrets in the classroom however. Her adult students, preparing for the GED exam, out her in five minutes when they spot her wig!

Nine years later, Linda is fully recovered from her lumpectomy, chemo and radiation when breast cancer hits a second time. She is no longer a random one-in-eight woman who develops this disease. Blood tests show she’s a target of faulty genes, a carrier of the BRCA 1 gene mutation. Without drastic measures, she’d be susceptible to a third or fourth cancer hit. Murphy’s Law once again comes into play. This second time around coincides with a thousand mile relocation from Houston to Tampa. Putting a house on the market while handling a double mastectomy, implant prep, and six rounds of chemo is not for the faint of heart. Linda’s heart is not faint as she implores: “Do house hunters think we’re part of HGTV? Real homes aren’t perfect!”

At the heart of this memoir, however, is a love story. Cancer is merely the vehicle that exposes a mature marriage in full bloom. With her Knight-in-Shining-Tinfoil at her side, Linda and Michael Barrett meet the challenge of two enemies: cancer and fear. Their fight is hard won, but with cancer now in their rearview mirror, they are relaxed and laughing again. As Linda says, “Life is good. After all the turmoil, we’ve landed in a soft place. Friends and family are all around, and I expect to live out a natural lifespan however long that may be.”

Everyone deserves a Hopfully Ever After, and that’s what you’ll find here.

Buy the book from Amazon.

About the Author, Linda Barrett

Linda Barrett is the author of 13 novels of contemporary romance. She’s earned many industry awards through Romance Writers of America, including the Holt Medallion, The Award of Excellence and the Write Touch Reader’s award. Family Interrupted is her first women’s fiction story. A graduate of Hunter College, Linda now lives in the Tampa area with her husband. They have three grown sons and the most adorable, intelligent, super-duper grandchildren ever!

Connect with Linda Barrett:

Website: Linda-Barrett.com
Facebook: Linda Barrett

In their words: Arnine Weiss, author of She Ain’t Heavy

28 October 2013 by Melissa

As part of the blog tour for her newest book, She Ain’t Heavy, author Arnine Cumsky Weiss has written a lovely guest post for me about the benefits of joining a writing group, something I’ve always waffled about. I think it’s really appropriate considering the number of my friends and acquaintances who will be starting NaNoWriMo on Friday.

Five Benefits to Joining a Writing Group

by Arnine Weiss

I moved to New York City several years ago, kicking and screaming. My husband transferred here for a new job, and I learned that a mid-life move is not easy. I came from a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania where people on the street said hello and neighbors watched out for each other. I arrived in NYC to learn that the only people who will risk making eye contact with you are those with their hands out.

To make a better connection to the city, I registered for a writing class, which has evolved into a writing group. One of the highlights of my week is getting together with these fine folks and sharing our writing. I’ve realized there are five major benefits in belonging to a writing group.

It forces you to meet deadlines. We all have busy lives and best-laid plans are often thwarted. By making a commitment to yourself and your fellow writers, the group keeps you on task and forces you to produce the expected number of pages.
The feedback. The groups I’ve been involved with provide gentle, honest feedback while mutual respect is fostered. Our members come from a wide demographic, making the perspectives varied and more interesting.
Sense of Community. Writing can be a very lonely endeavor, and writers spend time with characters that often don’t talk back. It can be isolating and requires constant discipline. The writing group creates camaraderie with like-minded individuals who understand your struggles and celebrate your triumphs.
Familiarity. As your history grows with your writing group, your colleagues get to know your work and your characters, sometimes better than you do. I’ve heard comments like, “Oh, John would never do that.” Or “Mary would never say that.” They refer to your characters by name and know what they look like and how they behave. And the group will call you out if your work is not up to your professional standards.
And finally, the snacks! We meet in each other’s apartments and celebrate each other’s work in an atmosphere of collegiality while snacking on fun food. It’s always a joy to get together.

Joining a writing group has changed my outlook on living in a city that can be cold and unfriendly. We started out as colleagues and have evolved into friends and like any good relationship, most of us are in it for the long haul.

About Arnine Weiss:

Arnine Cumsky Weiss

Connect with Arnine Weiss:

Website: ArnineWeiss.com
Twitter: @Arnine

About the Book, She Ain’t Heavy:

SheAintHeavy

Buy a copy at Amazon.com

Watch the Book Trailer:

Review: The Diabolist by Layton Green (with Giveaway Raffle)

25 October 2013 by Melissa

About the Book, The Diabolist:

The Diabolist by Layton Green

In this gripping thriller, the bizarre murder of a Satanic priest in San Francisco draws Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults, to the scene. Witnesses claim a robed figure, seemingly able to appear and disappear at will, set fire to the priest. When the leader of another Satanic cult in Paris dies under similar circumstances, the case only grows stranger… and more dangerous.

Convinced that a charismatic New Age prophet is behind the murders, the investigators undergo a perilous journey into the world of the occult as they try to penetrate the prophet’s inner circle. From the catacombs of Paris to London’s nefarious East End, from the haunted walls of York to a monastic fortress in the Sicilian wilderness, the case plunges Viktor and Grey into a vortex of black magic, ancient heresies, and the dark corners of their own pasts.

The Diabolist is a chilling novel that not only pulsates with action and suspense, but also mines a trove of fascinating historical, philosophical, and paranormal research to probe some of our closest held beliefs. From the opening pages to the astonishing conclusion, this latest installment in one of today’s most original new thriller series is not to be missed.

Buy your copy from AMAZON.

My Thoughts:

It’s always odd when you come late to a series of novels. In the back of my mind, as I was reading The Diabolist was a vague curiosity about the first Dominic Grey installment, and some questions about the development of the character. Those thoughts were very far back, however, as Layton Green plunges you into his story from the very first paragraph.

The journey, from there, is an amazing collection of dark ritual, detailed detection, and delicious description. From San Francisco to Paris, and more, I felt like I was traveling with Dominic and Viktor, and while, at times, I wanted the warmth and safety of four solid walls and bad television, I was, nevertheless gripped by Green’s story.

My perception of The Diabolist may be colored, somewhat, by my love of horror and dark supernatural stories (this was the latter, not the former), and the fact that I read this in October. I kept imagining this book as a movie because both the story and the settings felt so cinematic.

The confines of a page are not enough for Layton Green’s writing. His work beg to be translated into 100-foot high IMAX images, rendered in 3D, and given a score by Hanz Zimmer (John Williams is too sedate) or something akin to what Philip Glass wrote as the alternate score to Dracula.

I’m babbling, but the practical upshot of all this is that The Diabolist is a well written story. The supernatural element serves the mystery but stands on its own. The puzzles never get in the way of plot. The characters all crackle.

Layton Green has a new fan.

Goes well with: Chicken chili and homemade cornbread, with apple cider on the side.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Excerpt: Upir and the Monster Gang by Sharron Thornton & Raymond Thornton

24 October 2013 by Melissa

About the Series, Upir and the Monster Gang, by Sharron & Raymond Thornton:

Upir and the Monster Gang Cover

Coming from a long line of highly respected vampires, Upir knew that going to Neewollah, the Monster Mausoleum, would help him live up to his family’s reputation, but he never anticipated the terrifying turn his stay there would take. Upon entering, Upir befriends several strange creatures and their nights soon become treacherous when they have to dodge flying skulls whose hollow eye sockets shimmer with bright blue lights, avoid huge plants with tongue-like tentacles that devour young monsters, and run from a mad scientist who loves to use the monster students in his experiments. Most of all, they try to stay away from Muriel, an ill-tempered, nasty gorgon girl with slithering snakes for hair. She is the leader of three cantankerous monsters that follow her every command. Her group is bent on destroying Upir and his gang.

Without warning the young monsters find themselves entangled in a plot to destroy the Monster race. Will they escape the clutches of this horrifying villain and alert the Monster world, or will they become his loyal soldiers?

Read an Excerpt from Upir and the Monster Gang:

The Welcoming Committee

“Yeah, you kid!” A monster with an enormous bumpy head, bulbous nose and winged ears pointed at the vampire. A single tooth protruded from the troll’s lower lip as he gaped at Upir.

A wolf-boy, his grin revealing sharp pointy teeth, was with the group. His eyes had a hungry look to them.

Upir swallowed and tried to sound calm. “Yeah, what do you want?” he asked.

A green goblin boy, a skateboard under one arm, shoved his way between the other two and glared at Upir. “We’re the welcoming committee around here,” he said sarcastically.

Upir doubted that. “Okay,” he said slowly.

The goblin boy pointed up at the troll. “He’s Groks. I’m Gordon.” He tilted his head at the wolf boy. “And that’s Raff.”

Raff sneered, “What’s your name?”

Without thinking, Upir said his whole name. “Upir Amarande.”

“Yooper! Yooper!” Groks laughed, slobber spilling down his chin. “What kinda stupid name–”

“Move it!” A girl with dozens of slithering snakes for hair came forward as the other three monsters stepped aside. The gorgon stood before Upir, her breath smelled of swamp water; the snakes on her head hissed and stretched toward him. “What did you say your name was?”

Upir told her.

“Amarande, huh?” She looked Upir up and down and smiled, “Well look what we’ve got here boys, a little monster royalty in our midst.”

Upir started to shake his head, but before he could speak, the gorgon stuck out her hand. “Glad to have you aboard,” she said.

Upir shook her hand as he asked, “Aboard?”

Groks groaned. “Muriel, we don’t need a vamp–”

“Shut up, troll!” She turned back to Upir. “My gang,” she said as her head tilted toward the monsters behind her. “We plan on running this place, and I’m inviting you to join.”

Upir smiled. “Serious?” he asked. He didn’t like the fact that, once again, he’d been befriended because of his name. But to run with the in-crowd, he could deal with that. “Thanks,” he said.

“What’s going on!” a voice screamed behind them. The kids turned. The
hunchback lumbered toward them, his hump weighing him down to the floor. “What are you kids doing in the hall? It’s almost lights out. Get to your rooms!” Turning to his hump he mumbled, “Hugo always has to chase kids all over the place.”

Muriel lowered her gaze and innocently said, “We’re going now, Mr. Hugo.” Turning to her gang she growled, “Let’s go!” She slapped Upir on the arm as she brushed past him. “Welcome to my gang, Amarande. See ya around.”

“Yeah, see ya around,” Groks said hitting Upir on the back so hard that he stumbled into the wall.

Raff snickered and Gordon hooted. Muriel called out another “Shut up!” before they were out of sight.

Upir pushed open the creaky door and entered a dark, stone-like cave.

Jagged pieces of rock, some crooked as bad teeth, protruded from the ceiling and floor. Nestled in an alcove was a bunk bed made of heavily-polished dragon bones. On one wall rested a long narrow desk of stone and against the other wall sat a black coffin, just his size. The room smelled like the dust of ages past. And although there was no window, a strange light emanated across the ceiling. Looking around the room, Upir noticed a ghost hovering above the top bunk. The floating boy wore a long transparent shroud; a green woolen scarf was slung around his neck. A long chain, wrapped around his waist, clinked as it drifted lazily
in the air. Upir saw the rock wall through the boy’s glowing form.

The ghost boy smiled making his blue eyes look bluer and his plain face look mischievous. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Gusty,”

Upir smiled back. “I’m Upir,” he replied, glad he hadn’t offered his last name. He knew everyone would find out soon enough. But until then, maybe he’d have a chance to make friends on his own.

Gusty moved, seeping in and out of form like a genie near the mouth of its bottle. Upir blinked a few times, not sure the boy was really there.

“Yeah, he’s really there,” said another boy who emerged from a pile of blankets on the bottom bunk. He stood up, his rumpled flannel shirt and jeans hung limply from his stick frame. “Gusty likes to show off,” he said. The boy’s head was a carved hollow pumpkin. Light flowed through the triangular holes; the yellowish rays reflected across the room like searchlights. The grin on his face was cheerful. “I’m Payne,” he said to Upir. “Welcome to Neewollah.”

A Message from the Authors, Sharron Thornton & Raymond Thornton:

We’re on our way to be published! My name is Sharron Thornton and I wrote a children’s novel entitled Upir and the Monster Gang. The book has 60 full page, full colored illustrations which were done by my son, Raymond Thornton. We have chosen to use an online, crowdfunding site called Kickstarter to begin this amazing venture.
Beginning October 1st and running through November 16th we are doing a pre-launch, first edition sale of our book. Attached to this email is a link to our Kickstarter page. There you can watch our video and see some of the Upir and the Monster Gang products we have listed. One of the great things about Kickstarter is that it’s like a grassroots campaign that spreads and then builds momentum.

After the Kickstarter we have marketing and distribution lined up to take Upir and the Monster Gang to the next level, but we need your help getting it started. Please share our Kickstarter page with your family and friends on your email lists, social media and any other networks you may have and then ask them to share it also.
http://kck.st/19jvVMG.

Connect with Sharron and/or Raymond:

Web: UpirAndTheMonsterGang.com
Facebook: Upir and the Monster Gang
Twitter (Sharron): @SharronThornton
Twitter (Raymond): @RaymondThornton

Review: Gracious Living without Servants by Brenda Cronin

23 October 2013 by Melissa

About the book, Gracious Living Without Servants:

Gracious Living Without Servants

(From the back of the book) Juliet has done the right thing all her life, and where’s it gotten her? She’s a thirty-year-old widow who’s had to move in with her parents.

Things start to look up when her glamorous but married neighbor Seth seems to be flirting with her and helps her land a job at a local paper.

Then she’s assigned to investigate Seth’s wife. Juliet is quickly immersed in lies, manipulation, and a deepening sex scandal. But she feels alive for the first time in a long time.

Maybe she needs to do the wrong thing for once. Or maybe she s headed for disaster.

Buy a Copy from Amazon

About the author, Brenda Cronin:

Brenda Cronin

Brenda Cronin writes for The Wall Street Journal, where she has worked since 2001. Her short fiction has been published on both sides of the Atlantic. This is her first novel. Born in Washington, she was raised in Connecticut and lives in New York City.

My Thoughts:

I fell in love with the title of this novel, something you should never do, before it ever arrived at my door (thank you, TLC tours), and that was my first difficulty with this novel. Then, I had trouble settling into it to read. It wasn’t that it was poorly written – in fact Cronin’s prose is eminently readable – just that my own mood was tangled and dark. That was my second difficulty.

Nevertheless, after a couple of false starts, I found myself absorbed in the story of recent widow, Juliet, and her new life, which involves a longer-than-expected “temporary” return to her parents’ home in New Haven. I need to inerject here, that I have family – Yalies all – in that part of Connecticut, and Cronin got the flavor of their speech, and the unselfconscious (to the point of oblivion) self-entitlement of a certain class of people spot-on. Little things like Juliet’s use of the word “Mummy” with her mother, which otherwise would have read as British, instead placed us firmly in Connecticut’s upper-upper middle class.

While I enjoyed the story, however, and loved Gracious Living Without Servants, for the way the author crafted it, I found myself becoming frustrated with Juliet’s poor decision making. An affair with a married, older neighbor is one thing, but not discontinuing it when you’re assigned to investigate his wife isn’t something a thirty-year-old woman should make. Ditto the day-dreaming about a possible future with Seth – Juliet isn’t twenty. Shouldn’t she know that men of his ilk never leave their wives?

As much as her bad decision making frustrated me, however, I enjoyed the book for what it was. It takes courage, in our instant-gratification culture, to write a book that doesn’t wrap everything up in a neat bow. As well, I particularly liked the way Juliet’s deceased husband, Alex, was a character in his own right, even though he existed almost exclusively within her thoughts – Alex would approve, Alex might not agree, Alex would understand. It added dimension to Juliet’s character, as well as to the novel as a whole.

I feel compelled to add that I’m reading this with the experience of being 43 and having a marriage that is going on 19 years, and my own experience colors my reaction to this novel, but it’s well written and truly interesting.

Goes well with canopes and a glass of merlot.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this novel. Here are the rest of the tour stops for Gracious Living Without Servants:
Tuesday, October 15th: bookchickdi

Tuesday, October 22nd: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Wednesday, October 23rd: Bibliotica

Monday, October 28th: Book-alicious Mama

Wednesday, October 30th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Thursday, October 31st: A Simple Life, Really?

Tuesday, November 5th: Anita Loves Books

Thursday, November 7th: Brooklyn Berry Designs

Monday, November 11th: Amy’s Book-et List

Tuesday, November 12th: A Book Geek

Thursday, November 14th: Obsessed Italian Brat

Spotlight on Upir and the Monster Gang by Sharron & Raymond Thornton

22 October 2013 by Melissa

As a child of the 1970s I grew up on reruns of The Munsters and The Addams Family, as well as those classic horror movies – Boris Karloff in Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi in Dracula. As I got older my love of cinematic horror only grew, and my geek-girl tendencies meant that even though I’m older than the target demographic I embraced everything from The Monster Squad (1987) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and fell in love with Being Human.

What could be better, then, than to help introduce a new series aimed at tweens that is from the monsters’ point of view?

About the Series, Upir and the Monster Gang, by Sharron & Raymond Thornton:

Upir and the Monster Gang Cover

Watch the book trailer:

If you liked that, here are some other short clips:

Upir and the Monster Gang – The Sea Serpent

Upir and the Monster Gang – Monster Lives

Upir and the Monster Gang – Screaming Skulls

Upir and the Monster Gang – The Monster Garden

About the Authors, Sharron & Raymond Thornton:

Sharron Thornton taught elementary school for 35 ½ years. She felt it was important that her students developed a love for reading. One of the special times of each school day was right after lunch recess when she read a novel to her children. It didn’t take the kids long to get quiet and settle down for they were anxious to hear where the next chapter would take them. Sharron soon realized that books were doors to imagination for all children at all levels of learning.

When she retired, Sharron missed all of those young faces. She missed their emotional involvement with the characters and story lines from the books she read to them. So, she decided to work on an illustrated novel with her son Raymond who is an artist. Thus, Upir and the Monster Gang was born, a world of monsters, mad scientists, zombies, ghosts, vampires and all things that live in the night. Sharron has been writing for almost a decade. Besides the Upir series, she is working on several other children’s novels.

Thorntons At Graveyard

Raymond Thornton is an artist from Northwest Indiana. At the age of fifteen he started his fine art training at the Drisi Studio Academy of Fine Art. For five years he studied the finer points of painting and drawing. He then continued his studies at Columbia College and the American Academy of Art in Chicago where he received a degree in fine art.

Raymond’s oil paintings have been exhibited across the country. He has received many awards including the gold medal at the 96th annual Allied Artists of America Exhibition and an award of excellence at the 2012 Oil Painters of America Eastern Exhibition. He has illustrated many national ad campaigns. Most recently he illustrated and co-created with author Sharron Thornton, his mother, Upir and the Monster Gang. It is an illustrated novel about a young vampire and his monster friends which features over 60 full colored illustrations.

Connect with Sharron and/or Raymond:

Web: UpirAndTheMonsterGang.com
Facebook: Upir and the Monster Gang
Twitter (Sharron): @SharronThornton
Twitter (Raymond): @RaymondThornton

Spotlight on: Phoenix: The Beauty in Between by Lilliana Anderson

21 October 2013 by Melissa

I’m always happy to help support women authors, so I’m happy to be part of the group of bloggers introducing you to Lilliana Anderson’s latest work.

About the Book, Phoenix: The Beauty in Between:

nix The Beauty in Between

After being unceremoniously kicked out of home at a young age, Paige was forced to fend for herself.

In a bid to survive, she did things that most people would never dream of, and stopped caring about herself as a result.

When the fastest way to get food and shelter was to sell her body, and the fastest way to forget was to take drugs, Paige embarked and a steady downward spiral. Until, finally she hit rock bottom…

In A Beautiful Forever we got to know Paige as she battled the demons of her past to move forward with her future and find her happy ever after. Now, in Phoenix, we get to see the moments those demons were created and how she managed to get her life back on track.

Buy a copy at AMAZON

About the Author, Lilliana Anderson:

Lilliana Anderson

Bestselling Author of the A Beautiful Series, Alter and the Confidante Trilogy, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.

Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters as well as a biographical trilogy based on an ex-Sydney sex worker, named Angelien.

Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just its outback and tries to show characters in more of a city setting.

When she isn’t writing, she wears the hat of ‘wife and mother’ to her husband and four children.

Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.

Originally from Sydney’s Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.

Her latest book is the new adult contemporary romance, Phoenix: The Beauty in Between.

Connect with Lilliana:

Web: LillianaAnderson.com
Twitter: @Confidante_Lili
Facebook: Lilliana Anderson – Author

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Stranger You Know, by Andrea Kane

18 October 2013 by Melissa

I love a good mystery/thriller, and I especially love them when a strong woman is the protagonist, so when Lisa @ TLC Books offered me a copy of The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane, I HAD to say yes. And I’m glad I did.

About the Book, The Stranger You Know:

The Stranger You Know

It begins with a chilling phone call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead.

College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they’re posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life—a criminal brought to justice with the help of Forensic Instincts.

Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath’s desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey—a connection that grows closer and closer to her.

Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopathic won’t stop until he makes sure she’s dead.

Buy a copy of The Stranger You Know from Amazon.

My Thoughts:

I was gripped by the character of Casey Woods, her company, Forensic Instincts, and her four-story brownstone apartment/office building from the first moment I opened the Kindle file holding The Stranger You Know. She and Hero the bloodhound (because what detective firm doesn’t need a bloodhound?) leaped off the (virtual) pages and into my brain, and as I met other characters, Yoda the AI interface, Patrick the colleague, and the rest, I was only more and more pulled in.

Andrea Kane’s writing is descriptive and keeps things fresh and contemporary while still serving the story. Each of the characters had a distinct voice, and I loved the concept of using everyone’s skills – technology, psychic powers, the dog, field experience, to form a team of investigators that could easily rival any Whedonesque neo-Scooby-gang for both chemistry and results.

It’s difficult to describe any kind of crime novel without spoiling plot points (which is also why I tend to avoid doing summaries), but I will say that there are clues laid out fairly nicely, and while it could be argued that the plot is a bit predictable, that isn’t a detriment to enjoyment of the story, because the characters are so well drawn.

I didn’t do a lot of research into the author, but I know that this isn’t Kane’s first outing with these characters. Even so, it doesn’t feel like a new reader is missing any crucial backstory. I’m sure the other Forensic Instincts novels are equally good, but The Stranger You Know is strong enough to be a stand-alone story.

If you love a good mystery, you will, as I did, love this book.

Goes well with cafe au lait and pumpkin spice bread..

About the Author, Andrea Kane:

Andrea Kane

Andrea Kane’s psychological thriller The Girl Who Disappeared Twice became an instant New York Times bestseller, the latest in a long line of smash hits. With her acclaimed signature style of developing unforgettable characters and weaving them into carefully researched story lines, Kane has created Forensic Instincts, an eclectic team of maverick investigators. Recruited because of their special talents and dynamic personalities, the high-energy members thrive on blatantly disregarding authority. Armed with skills and talents honed by years in the FBI and Special Forces and with training in behavioral and forensic psychology, this unstoppable team solves seemingly impossible cases while walking a fine line between assisting and enraging law enforcement.

With a worldwide following and novels published in more than twenty languages, Kane is also the author of numerous romantic thrillers and historical romances. She lives in New Jersey with her family, where she is busily crafting a new challenge for Forensic Instincts.

Connect with Andrea Kane:
Web: AndreaKane.com

This review is part of a TLC Blog Tour.
Here’s the link to the tour stops:
http://tlcbooktours.com/2013/08/andrea-kane-author-of-the-stranger-you-know-on-tour-octobernovember-2013/

In Their Character’s Words: Jess Money’s Public Enemies

17 October 2013 by Melissa

I’m participating in a virtual blog tour for Jess Money’s new novel Public Enemies, and he was kind enough to write a guest post from the point of view of one of his characters. Enjoy! (And don’t forget to buy the book!)

Going Out With A Bang

by Kenneth Johnson, FBI Sr. Special Agent (Ret.)

Everyone who becomes an FBI agent harbors the dream of helping break a big case, the kind that gets taught to future recruits at the FBI Academy. Fortunately, working under Supervisory Sr. Special Agent Darren “Doc” Medlin in Special Assignments Section Bravo, my very last case turned out to be the biggest in FBI history. Given how it ended, whether or not it gets taught at the Academy is still in question.

To a casual observer, Doc and I probably seemed like an unusual team; he was in his mid-30’s and I was approaching the mandatory retirement age of 65, yet he was my superior. This happened largely because Doc was willing to deal with the bureaucracy and political nature of leading an SAS team while I wasn’t. (Okay, the fact that he was a born leader and maybe the best FBI agent ever had a little something to do with it.)

The age difference never mattered to us. We were completely simpatico, Butch and Sundance, Batman and Robin. And like those fictional characters we had our own special woman, our Etta Place, our Bat Woman. Her name was Kelli Randleman and aside from Doc, she was the best agent I ever worked with.

To the public, it was known as the Manifesto case; inside the bureau it was the Crusader file. At its core, the case was simple: a guy using the alias Tom Paine, after the famous Founding Father, set out to force the country to reform through the adoption of a set of Constitutional amendments. As laudable as his goals were, unfortunately he set out to accomplish them using vigilante violence.

Doc’s team was assigned to spearhead the manhunt for Mr. Paine, which proved to be no simple chore. Paine was exceedingly smart, some might even say he was a genius, and during the course of living a normal productive life he had accidentally gained a skill set that later served his terrorist goals quite well. His understanding and command of technology let him evade some of our best investigative tools and even turn some of those tools against us. The more he eluded us and the more his movement grew, the higher the tension among the public rose. Our concern wasn’t just fact that we just couldn’t allow self-appointed vigilantes to whack politicians and business leaders they disagreed with. Doc and I both knew that domestic political terrorism and civil unrest are milestones on the road to civil war.

Our efforts were further complicated by the fact that Paine chose to communicate his messages and demands by calling a young, previously obscure female talk show host named Crystal Dickerson. Doc carried around this vision of his mythical ideal perfect woman and she was it. In all my life I never saw any man fight so hard against inevitable natural attraction, but he refused to let it compromise the case. Of course, for professional reasons she did a pretty good job of holding her ground, too. In the end you could say that we all won, but only because the country also won.

And I got to end my thirty-seven year FBI career with a bang.

* * * * *

About the Book, Public Enemies:

Public Enemies

The only thing the elite fear, an uprising of the people, is about to be realized.
After bankruptcy took away his dying wife’s medical care, Thomas Paine is on a crusade for a Second Bill of Rights using violence against politicians, banksters, and CEO’s.

How far will FBI Agent Darren Medlin go to stop the public from joining Paine’s insurgency? Forced to publicize Paine’s demands, what decisions will talk show host Crystal Dickerson have to make? And which way will the country turn?

Buy a copy at AMAZON