tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82866985882996071312024-03-06T02:39:01.937+00:00Confessions Of A BookaholicReviews And Bookish Thoughts
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-43549535542519520902015-07-12T20:45:00.001+01:002015-07-12T20:45:44.536+01:00Bad News <p dir=ltr>My laptop has finally given up on life. One day I'm typing like the wind and the next it won't even turn on which means there won't be any posts until I can get a new one. Sorry about that! </p>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-91662628927366944702015-07-06T17:52:00.000+01:002015-07-09T20:22:32.151+01:00Blog Tour: Sleeping with the Blackbirds <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hey guys, welcome to Confessions of a Bookaholic's very first blog tour! Alex Pearl, author of the YA novel <i>Sleeping with the Blackbirds</i> will be joins us in this thrill ride of a tour!<br />
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The novel has been described by author and screenwriter George Layton as <b>"A delightful fairy story that deals sensitively and compellingly with real, modern-day issues like homelessness, single mums and abusive parents."</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lhlwjzjDlJIADS_RSflwEczOLeDXsrXvkB5DXpdAA4z0IM7myM5lWUIBN5UFsUg2eTrsgXEx-YvEOc1CgTgYMn0RJqufedApJs_7MCIucudHdo-A-ctndE7BTUmg0v46L2QtyxdelkY/s1600/Blackbirds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lhlwjzjDlJIADS_RSflwEczOLeDXsrXvkB5DXpdAA4z0IM7myM5lWUIBN5UFsUg2eTrsgXEx-YvEOc1CgTgYMn0RJqufedApJs_7MCIucudHdo-A-ctndE7BTUmg0v46L2QtyxdelkY/s320/Blackbirds.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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Here is the synopsis: </div>
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<i>Eleven-year-old, Roy Nuttersley has been dealt a pretty raw deal. While hideous parents show him little love and affection, school bullies make his life a misery. So Roy takes comfort in looking after the birds in his garden, and in return the birds hatch a series of ambitious schemes to protect their new friend. As with the best-laid plans, however, these get blown off course - and the lives of both Roy and his arch tormentor, Harry Hodges are turned upside down - but in a good way.</i></div>
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Find out more on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14609964-sleeping-with-the-blackbirds?ac=1">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleeping-Blackbirds-Alex-Pearl-ebook/dp/B00FK14Y74">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://sleepingwiththeblackbirds.co.uk/">Website</a></div>
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There are a number of events involved from reviews and guest posts to interviews and giveaways.</div>
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The tour schedule is below, visit as many as you like! </div>
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<b>6th July</b> - <a href="http://www.bookwormiespot.com/">Book Wormie Spot</a> - Guest Post</div>
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<b>7th July</b> - <a href="http://archiestandwoodsreviewsandwritings.blogspot.com/">Mallory Heart Reviews</a> - Review</div>
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<b>8th July </b>- <a href="http://www.ckbooksblog.wordpress.com/">CK Books Blog</a> - Review </div>
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<b>9th July - </b><a href="http://mousiey.blogspot.co.uk/">Mousiey Books</a> - Review</div>
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<b>10th July - </b><a href="http://booksandbarrels.blogspot.com/">Books and Barrels </a> - Review </div>
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<b>13th July - </b><a href="http://www.danielaark.com/">Daniela Ark's Blog</a> - Interview</div>
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<b>14th July - </b><a href="http://lovelyparanormalbooks.blogspot.co.nz/">Lovely Paranormal Books</a> - Guest Post<br />
- <a href="http://www.tanyarobinson100.blogspot.co.uk/">Tanya Robinson 100</a> - Review</div>
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<b>15th July - </b><a href="http://www.aealbert.com/">A.E. Albert: A Writer's Blog</a> - Interview</div>
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<b>16th July - </b><a href="http://acascadeofbooks.blogspot.co.uk/">A Cascade of Books</a> - Interview </div>
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<b>17th July - </b><a href="https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/">Poseidon99</a> - Guest Post</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-44236489640460604452015-07-05T16:44:00.000+01:002015-07-05T16:44:13.972+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Sandra Saidak, author of Daughter of the Goddess Lands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support.<br />
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<b>I am NO LONGER accepting submissions for my spotlight scheme.</b><br />
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Today I am hosting Sandra Saidak, author of Daughter of the Goddess Lands.<br />
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<b>About Sandra</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2L7uzrIdxn7YMEV6-FppVGw3oqUvx52j4KCvOC4vMW91Oi_t2rGlRe4vrX4w9o3SpDr290sc6TlQkaAQeqsc9OeP6m_W5dQ5A-8-f0JkhLO1IPyNQPYuzSZ4hkYN792rRNSMk4flNSA/s1600/BioPic%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2L7uzrIdxn7YMEV6-FppVGw3oqUvx52j4KCvOC4vMW91Oi_t2rGlRe4vrX4w9o3SpDr290sc6TlQkaAQeqsc9OeP6m_W5dQ5A-8-f0JkhLO1IPyNQPYuzSZ4hkYN792rRNSMk4flNSA/s200/BioPic%255B1%255D.jpg" width="192" /></a>Sandra Saidak is a high school English teacher by day, author by night. Her hobbies include reading, dancing, attending science fiction conventions, researching prehistory, and maintaining an active fantasy life (but she warns that this last one could lead to dangerous habits such as writing). Sandra lives in San Jose with her husband Tom, daughters Heather and Melissa, and two cats. <br />
Writers she counts as her greatest influences include Jean Auel, Spider Robinson, Zena Henderson, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Ursula Le Guin. <br />
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Sandra’s prehistoric fiction series, Kalie’s Journey began with the novel, Daughter of the Goddess Lands, an epic set in the late Neolithic Age, and published in November 2011 by Uffington Horse Press. Book 2 of the series, Shadow of the Horsemen, was released in July of 2012. A story set in the Kalie universe can be found in Sandra’s short story collection, In the Balance. <br />
Sandra loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to post a comment on her Author’s Page, or her <a href="http://www.sandrasaidak.com/">website</a>.<br />
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<b>Interview</b><br />
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<b>Hi Sandra! Thank you for joining us at Confessions of a Bookaholic.</b><br />
I <b>know you write prehistoric and alternate history fiction but many of my readers won’t be familiar with those genres, will you explain what they entail?</b><br />
Prehistoric fiction is generally viewed as anything which takes place before the birth of writing, anywhere in the world. When set in Asia or the Middle East, it often bumps into Biblical fiction or new takes on the Classics, like the Trojan War. Generally, prehistoric fiction relies on archeology and a really good imagination, since very little information from those times can be proven—or agreed upon. Alternate History is taking any real event in history and asking: “What if things had gone the other way?” What if the South had won the Civil War? What if Nazi Germany had won WWII? What if the Black Plague had wiped out 90% of Europe in the fourteenth century instead of 30%? What if Islamic Africa became the dominant power and colonized the America with slaves brought from Europe? And yes, there are novels about each of the scenarios I just mentioned.<br />
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<b>How easy is it to maintain a balance between fact and fiction in your work? </b><br />
I’ve studied archeology since I was twelve, so I’ve got a pretty good library now. I find the balance easy to maintain because the research only gives me ideas, pictures of artifacts, and information on what the climate was at a certain time and place. The characters I create tell me the story I’m going to write, and that’s when the real work begins.<br />
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<b>Tell us about your Kalie’s Journey series! </b><br />
The problem with this question is that I could talk about this series all day, and I’m sure your readers will eventually have to move on to other things. Kalie’s Journey is about the culture-clash that occurred when peaceful, Goddess-worshiping farmers first encountered violent, nomadic horsemen in what is now Eastern Europe and Russia. It takes place about six thousand years ago, and there is a lively debate in professional circles about how much of what I show in my books actually occurred. What no one disputes, however, is that the abuse of women that I describe in my fiction is very much a fact of life in many parts of the world today. I was inspired to write these books after reading the work of Mary Mackey, Joan Wolf, Judith Tarr and Joan Dahr Lambert. I loved their books, but none of them had exactly the heroine I wanted to read about, or the confrontation I wanted to see between characters who hold such strongly opposing views. So I wrote my own book, which grew into a series. My favorite part was starting out with a character who had survived abuse and trauma, and traveling with her as she grew from an angry victim to a powerful hero.<br />
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<b>I read that you are an English teacher; do you believe that daily interaction with young writers influences your own writing in any way?</b><br />
Unfortunately, most of my students are not big fans of either reading or writing. It’s more a case of the students themselves inspiring my writing. I teach high school and teenager’s lives are so full of drama—whether they want it that way or not. Sometimes, when my students misbehave, I threaten to put them in my next novel. This actually helps, because they always want to know what characters they would become. I like to think that being a published author gives me more credibility than I had before. I tell them, “I know what I’m talking about because I don’t just read books, I write them.” For those students who do enjoy reading, I think that helps. The ones who don’t like reading don’t seem very impressed to have a published author as a teacher, except when they ask me how much money I've made.<br />
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<b>What authors have influenced your writing the most?</b><br />
There are so many, and the answer constantly changes, depending on what I’m writing (or thinking about, or living through) at any given moment. Jean Auel, of course, since she remade the genre of prehistoric fiction, and made it so popular that there’s now room for writers like me. The rest are all in the science fiction/fantasy realm: Spider Robinson, Robert Heinlein, Zena Henderson, Orson Scott Card and Marion Zimmer Bradley. There are many more, but that should give your readers an idea about me.<br />
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<b>Tell us about the most interesting character you have created.</b><br />
I think my most interesting is Adolf Goebbels, the main character of my upcoming book, From the Ashes. Adolf is my only male protagonist to date, but—much to my surprise—he was the easiest to write. A privileged son of the ruling class in a world where Nazi Germany won WWII, Adolf is probably the nicest, humblest and most empathic character I’ve created. Although Ilsa, originally created as Adolf’s love interest, tried to hijack the novel, I managed to satisfy her by putting her in charge of the military side of the revolution. A terrible soldier (because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone), but a brilliant leader and visionary, Adolf showed me strengths I didn’t know I had as writer—and a person.<br />
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<b>How important do you believe it is for writers to read widely? </b><br />
I don’t know many writers who don’t love to read. I certainly do. I can’t speak to “widely” since that means something different for each person. I enjoy fiction over non-fiction, but within that genre, I read science fiction, fantasy, historical from almost any period, and all kinds of mainstream fiction. I sometimes read books in the genre I’m writing as a form of research, but if a book doesn't hold my interest, I don’t finish it. <br />
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<b>What should we look out for from you in the future? </b><br />
This summer, I will be making my debut in alternate history with From the Ashes, a novel set in a future where Nazi Germany won WWII. The inspiration came from a documentary I saw long ago, when a historian explained that one of the plans of SS Chief Heinrich Himmler was to create a series of museums showcasing vanished races (this would be after he and his government finished exterminating them). But the result was that, even while the war raged, many Jewish books and artifacts were preserved for this purpose. (I don’t know anything about other groups, such as Gypsies, although I would love to find out.) It came to me one day, more than twenty years ago, that a world under Nazi rule would be a pretty terrible place to grow up, even for the children of the ruling class. What would happen, I wondered, if an angst-ridden adolescent, dreaming of a better world, or looking for meaning in his life, wandered into one of these museums—and started reading? Before I knew it, I had young Adolf Goebbels (grandson of Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda) leading a group of college outcasts, ready to overthrow the government—with Judaism as their guide.<br />
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<b>I read that you have cats called Cocu and Oreo, they sound adorable. I’m sure my readers want to hear more about! </b><br />
Cocu, the older cat, is a Japanese bobtail. I’d never even heard of that breed until my husband met one and fell in love with him. Cocu is nearly pure white and, of course, has that stubby little bobtail that makes me laugh when he wags it. My husband is more of a dog person, and insists this cat is really a dog wearing a cat suit. I think the word cocu is a form of ancient Japanese currency or measure of rice; I never did get it figured out. Oreo, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is black and white. He’s a rescue cat we adopted. I wanted to name him Tuxedo, but was outvoted by the rest of the family. A scrawny kitten when we brought him home, Oreo now outweighs Cocu by several pounds, but Cocu is still the dominate one—for both the felines and humans in the house<br />
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<b> Finally, is there anything else you wish the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic to know? </b><br />
I really love to hear from my readers, and I also love book discussions. Put those two together (discussions about the books I write) and I’ll be on cloud 9. If anyone reading this interview decides to start reading my books, I hope you’ll post a review, comment on my blog, or start a discussion somewhere (but if you do, please tell me where, or I may not know about it!) I also hope to see you in a discussion of favorite books we turn out to have in common.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLvBPgasaEp_YPAiVW_4CxCeqtZ4Ld0ElUR-6YPKsOvnhAMZvVjPaPkTlbIBPsqbQs_i7mxDHUy-8xiqQS80FWnGX5nCvJ6ouJcyIno5lGJ3fNtebx82zkMARVeAL0V0_sXOS_aLJnoQ/s1600/Daughter_of_the_Goddess_Lands_Post_Card%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLvBPgasaEp_YPAiVW_4CxCeqtZ4Ld0ElUR-6YPKsOvnhAMZvVjPaPkTlbIBPsqbQs_i7mxDHUy-8xiqQS80FWnGX5nCvJ6ouJcyIno5lGJ3fNtebx82zkMARVeAL0V0_sXOS_aLJnoQ/s320/Daughter_of_the_Goddess_Lands_Post_Card%255B1%255D.jpg" width="205" /></a><b>About Daughter of the Goddess Lands</b></div>
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Daughter of the Goddess Lands is the unforgettable saga of Kalie, a courageous young heroine born into the untamed beauty of prehistoric Europe. Kalie's peaceful life is shattered when a brutal attack by horsemen from the east leave her scarred in body and soul. As the sole survivor of the assault, Kalie makes her way home, and warns her people to prepare for the invasion that she knows is coming. But the goddess-worshiping farmers of her home have no concept of battle, and dismiss Kalie's warning. </div>
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When the marauders strike again, they cut a swath of destruction and death that prove too late the truth of Kalie’s words. Then Haraak, the leader of the invaders, demands a tribute of gold, grain and slaves in exchange for sparing her village. It is in Harak's cruel show of power that Kalie sees a chance to save her people--and gain revenge for herself. </div>
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She leads a group of volunteers to infiltrate the horseman's society, and then destroy them from within. Once she is among them, Kalie uses her skill as a storyteller, and her knowledge of healing to penetrate the horsemen’s inner circle and to discover the secrets that could lead to their destruction. But Kalie discovers that price of revenge is high, and that a quest for vengeance can become a journey of healing and redemption.</div>
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Tell Sandra and I what you thought of the Spotlight! </div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-48586148503437446972015-07-02T16:54:00.000+01:002015-07-02T16:55:07.977+01:00Review: King's Warrior by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341948697l/13518388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="King's Warrior (The Minstrel's Song, #1)" border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341948697l/13518388.jpg" width="210" /></a><b>Series: </b><i>The Minstrel's Song #1</i><br />
<b>Genre: </b><i>Fantasy </i><br />
<b>Release Date: </b><i>February 29th 2012</i><br />
<b>Source: </b><i>Received from author in exchange for an honest review</i><br />
<b>Overall Rating: </b><i>4/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Cover Rating: </b><i>4/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Synopsis: </b><i>Six hundred years ago the land of Aom-igh was threatened with invasion by the Dark Country across the Stained Sea; in their danger King Llian sought the help of the dragons and the myth-folk. Graldon, King of the Dragons, granted the human king with a gift that would help him defeat his enemies. Graldon also promised King Llian that the dragons would come to the humans’ aid should Aom-igh ever be in such danger again. Years passed, and Aom-igh remained safe and isolated from its enemies. The dragons slowly disappeared and faded into legend and myth, and people forgot magic had ever existed. </i><br />
<i>When her kingdom is threatened by the Dark Country once again, the headstrong Princess Kamarie sets off on a quest to find the man who may be able to save them all: the former King’s Warrior. Traveling with her are two companions: her eccentric maid, and a squire who resents his charge to travel with and protect the princess. However, finding the legendary hero proves to be the least of their worries. Together the companions encounter more than they ever bargained for. A beautiful gatekeeper, a sword fashioned by dragons, enemies who pursue them relentlessly and hound them at every turn, and an underground world full of mythical creatures are just the beginning of their adventures. </i><br />
<i>As they search for the answers to mystifying riddles and seek a way to save everything they hold dear the comrades will learn a little about courage, a lot about truth, and more about themselves than they ever imagined. But if they can succeed in their quest, they may join worlds together. </i><br />
<b>First Line:</b><i>Graldon, King of the dragons, mighty lord </i><i>of the skies over Aom-igh, handed the </i><i>golden sword to the mere man who stood </i><i>before him.</i><br />
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I always say that I am not a fan of fantasy but this keeps being disproved again and again as I delve further into the genre. I think what I actually don't like is a novel that focuses more on plot and events rather than character development and this does appear to be more common in fantasy than in any other genre. This does not apply to every fantasy, though, as I am slowly discovering after getting lucky with the genre recently. King's Warrior is another of those fantasies I have discovered which deviate from the tendency to focus entirely on plot, in fact, it focuses on plot and character development in equal parts and this works really well. The worldbuilding has often been compared to that of the Lord of the Rings but I think there is one significant difference, King's Warrior is a young adult novel and therefore the language is more suited to a variety of different people as opposed to the complex and sometimes dull language of the Lord of the Rings. When reading this novel I often forgot it was a young adult novel because of the gorgeous language, it was only when I got to the end that I realised it lacked the more gory and explicit aspects of the normal fantasy but this complemented the novel rather than detracted from it. The young adult tag of King's Warrior does not mean it cannot be enjoyed by all, it is one of the rare YA books which anyone can love.<br />
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The character development was definitely the best part of the novel, I loved every one of them. Kamarie in particular was a wonderful heroine in the way that she is very unique. In all literature, not just fantasy, a heroine is often at one extreme or the other - weak or ridiculously strong. Kamarie, on the other hand, has a very strong personality and is easily admirable but she still has feminine weaknesses. I know what you're thinking but I don't at all mean that in a sexist way. I mean, the environment in which Kamarie lives mirrors our medieval period and therefore also has the traditional gender roles, women are feminine and domestic and men were the warriors. Kamarie deviates from this by being a female trained as a female warrior but, unlike most strong female characters, this deviation isn't taken to the extremes, she still respects the role that her society has determined for her. While the feminist in me feels slightly conflicted about this, I really do appreciate the realism and the author's ability to craft such a lifelike character. The other characters were all also equally realistic and interesting, I loved every one of them. What I really enjoyed about the character were their relationships. The loving and, again, realistic relationship between Kamarie and her parents was refreshing to read and the sweet one between her parents themselves was a lovely contrast to the usual troubled relationships I was used to reading about. My favourite relationship was the love-hate one between Kamarie and Oraeyn, it was so amusing to read about and easy to relate to. It is the realism of Schmidt's characters that makes them so great.<br />
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This novel had me glued right away, some may call the plot slow but personally I think it is that aspect which enabled the characters to be so complex and developed. The plot itself is not sacrificed for the fantastic characters, this book could easily be used as a recipe for the perfect fantasy. I would recommend this book to everyone, even those who are not the biggest fans of the genre like myself. I loved every page and cannot wait to get my hands on the second book. The sooner I can get to it the better.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-36260954792093785782015-06-28T00:00:00.000+01:002015-06-28T00:00:00.649+01:00Sunday Spotlight: John Williamson, author of Collision<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support.<br />
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Today's author is John Williamson, author of Collision.<br />
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<b>About John:</b><br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1374925931p5/6574089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="J.M.J. Williamson" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1374925931p5/6574089.jpg" /></a></div>
I grew up in York, graduated in economics from Hull University, and then moved to London to make a career as a charted accountant working for one of the world's largest firms of chartered accountants.<br />
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I am now retired living in Bedfordshire and pursuing what I love most - writing.<br />
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I love sci-fi movies and books, and I love writing. It was therefore not surprising that my first novel published would be a sci- fi novel.<br />
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<b>Interview: </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Tell us what makes Collision unique</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Collision is a thriller, a sci-fi and a love story all in one novel. It started life as an idea. A man is running along a beach at night when a UFO crashes further down the beach after a high altitude collision with a US spy plane. However, when he gets to the crash site it has gone. But now the US, UK and Russian secret services are trying to find it and the mysterious catwoman to get hold of the UFO technology.<br />
<br />
The main characters are the man of the beach (Ben), a university lecturer, and the mysterious catwoman seen on the beach (Elle). The antagonists include the secret services of three nations and some more. Let’s just say the UFO is not what it first seems. No spoilers here.<br />
<br />
<b>Your book is labelled a sci-fi romance, what attracted you to that genre?</b><br />
<br />
I don’t think I set out to write a cross-genre story. I wrote the story I wanted to tell and then looked for the best way to describe it. At the heart of the story is a classic Sci-Fi trope: time travel. There is also a strong romantic theme to the story, which is something more than just the ‘B’ story. At the time of publication I chose sci-fi romance as the best way of describing the story. But with the benefit of hindsight I may have been wrong. The story does not easily fit into mainstream Sci-Fi or Romance genres. An alternative would have been to place it under the thriller genre which captures some elements of speculative fiction.<br />
<br />
<b>In your bio you describe your love of sci-fi movies, what would you say was the main difference between sci-fi movies and novels? (minus the obvious of course)</b><br />
<br />
Money. Hollywood tends to choose stories that will make the biggest impact on the box office. Most of these tend to be storylines with positive endings rather than tragedies. But then again I tend to like positive endings.<br />
<br />
Money is also important to finance the amount of time and resources invested in a blockbuster movie. Unlike a novel, a movie is a collective effort of numerous writers, the director, actors and technicians. A huge effort goes into preproduction and post production to produce the highest of quality stories. Every second of a movie is there for a specific reason, and what is surplus ends up on the cutting room floor.<br />
<br />
Compare that to time and resources available to the poor novelist who has to rely on himself/herself plus maybe a helpful agent, and an editor.<br />
<br />
Having said that I believe a writer can learn a lot about story design from analysing why certain movies are so successful.<br />
<br />
<b>Who is your favourite character of your creation?</b><br />
<br />
That’s a difficult question to answer. I like them all in different ways. I would say Jean Daniels who plays the main antagonist in Collision. She’s a relentless CIA operative who will stop at nothing to achieve her objective. But she’s not driven by selfish reasons or greed — others are. She’s a patriot following in the footsteps of her heroic father. In some respects she is a mirror image of the main character (Elle), who is a workaholic. The only difference between them is that Daniels has psychopathic tendencies: she doesn’t have any boundaries she wouldn’t cross to get what she wants.<br />
<br />
<b>Which authors would you say influenced your work the most?</b><br />
<br />
In my younger days, I would say the Sci-Fi writers: Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson. They certainly stirred my interest in science fiction. More recently, I have learned a lot from the works of Dan Brown, Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth.<br />
<br />
<b>Give us an excerpt of a favourite review you have received for one of your books.</b><br />
<br />
Here are two extracts:<br />
<br />
“… an immense and complex thrill seeking adventure. It gives way to strong characters and constant action with a little romance thrown in for good measure…”<br />
<br />
“This is a novel about high-tech, industrial espionage, corporate greed and… time travel!”<br />
<br />
<b>Do you have anything new in the works that we should look out for?</b><br />
<br />
Yes. I’m in the editing phase of my second novel, which I hope to publish in the autumn. It’s another sci-fi story set again in the current day. The main characters are a unmarried mother with a sixteen-year-old daughter running a spa hotel in a Yorkshire village whose best friend is an alien, and a redundant investment banker from the City of London! Together they must save the Earth from enslavement by evil alien corporations. And No, before you laugh, it’s not a comedy. I said it was unusual. There is some more detail about the book on my website jmjwilliamson.com.<br />
<br />
<b>Tell us something unexpected about the life of an author.</b><br />
<br />
With the exception of the big-named authors, the vast majority of writers don’t make a huge amount from their writing. They write because they love to write. Of course, we would all love to write the blockbuster novel and movie. But the reality is that you’re more likely to be hit by lightening than get such a pay-off.<br />
<br />
Having worked in the City of London for almost forty years as a chartered accountant before retiring I’m fortunate in not having to rely on my writing to put food on the table. But other indie authors are not so lucky, many having to combine their writing with a full time job.<br />
<br />
<b>Is there anything else you want the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic to know?</b><br />
<br />
<br />
I’m always contactable through my website at jmjwilliamson.com. and I would love to have feedback from readers. In fact, like most writers I crave feedback. Also if anyone would like to review my new book before publication drop me a line.<br />
<br />
<b>About Collision:</b><br />
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390224996l/20566270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Collision - a sci fi romance" border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390224996l/20566270.jpg" width="247" /></a>This is a story about corporate greed, espionage and time travel. But it’s also a love story about two scientists from different times, who are caught up in the events.<br />
<br />
A UFO collides with a US spy plane at 150,000 feet, but survives. US military intelligence track the path of the UFO to a beach in Northern England, before they lose sight of it. After a call from the Whitehouse to Downing Street, MI6 are tasked to work with the CIA to investigate the UFO. But with the UFO now gone, the only clue to its whereabouts is a mysterious cat woman seen by a witness on the beach.<br />
<br />
The morning after the incident, a young woman wakes up in a service station after sleeping there overnight. Traumatic memories of her escape, from the night before, flood into her mind. Now her only chance of returning home is to find the scientist who shares her field of research, and persuade him to help her before the security forces catch her.<br />
<br />
<b>Find out more about Collision on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20566270-collision---a-sci-fi-romance?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://jmjwilliamson.com/about-the-book-collision-a-sci-fi-romance/">Website</a></b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-56763251259782632472015-06-25T15:48:00.000+01:002015-06-25T15:48:23.542+01:00Review: Affairs of the Dead by A.J. Locke<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400508558l/19337446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Affairs of the Dead (The Reanimation Files #1)" border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400508558l/19337446.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>Series: </b><i>The Reanimation Files #1</i><br />
<b>Genre: </b><i>Paranormal, Urban Fantasy</i><br />
<b>Release Date: </b><i>November 25th 2013</i><br />
<b>Source: </b>Received from the author in exchange for an honest review<br />
<b>Overall Rating: </b><i>4.5/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Cover Rating: </b><i>4/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Synopsis: </b><i>"Help ghosts, stop a thief, and try not to die..."</i><br />
<i>Necromancer Selene Vanream helps ghosts settle their affairs so they can move on. But when breaking the rules gets her in trouble, she's bumped down to tracking ghosts trying to avoid the afterlife. Ghosts like Ethan Lance, who claims he was kicked out of his body when someone else jumped in. Which might be plausible--if such a thing were possible. And if Micah, Selene's partner, didn't pull her into an investigation of brutal murders that lead directly back to Ethan.</i><br />
<i>But when the whole mess puts Selene's life in danger, she suddenly has very personal reasons to get Ethan's body back. Between her uncomfortable relationship with Micah, and problems with her boss, Selene learns just how much trouble it can be when you don't follow the rules...</i><br />
<b>First Line: </b><i>"I was in a strip club trying to help a ghost get laid, which was challenging but not impossible."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I'll be honest with you guys about the reason I decided to pick this book up. I haven't read a good paranormal book with a sassy heroine in a long time and one look at the cover confirmed for me that this was the perfect book to restart on. I know, I know, judging a book by its cover is a really bad idea, however this time it really did pay off. Selene was just as sassy as the cover model suggested she would be and the novel had the satisfying mixture of romance and action that I expect from a good urban fantasy. From the moment I read the first line I knew this book was for me. The reason I always include the first line in my reviews is that it is so important for the reader to be grabbed right away. This doesn't have to be through action or humour, it can also simply be from language style or plot set up. <i>Affairs of the Dead</i> nailed it, I like a book that fills me with questions from the start and slowly reveals all and A.J. Locke succeeded here. I doubt many of you who enjoy the genre are able to read that first line and be satisfied not knowing what comes next.<br />
<br />
It has been such a long time since I actually prefered the female protagonist of the story to the male one. It is a fact that most books that are aimed at women very much focus on the male protagonist because the trick to gaining a fanbase is having all the women fall totally in love with the main male character. I am in no way complaining about this device, I love falling for a new guy every time I pick up a book, however the problem many authors come across is in focusing so much on this male character, the female protagonist winds up underdeveloped. I almost wrote that this device is reversed in <i>Affairs of the Dead </i>but that would be to suggest that the male protagonist was underdeveloped which is certainly not the case. You can tell that Selene is the main focus of the story, she is sassy, hilarious, independant but also sweet and kind, the kind of multifaceted personality you would expect from the traditional male love interest. She is a heroine so skillfully crafted that you can both admire and relate to her. There are various male protagonists in the novel and every one of them is just as developed. Ethan is absolutely adorable, like the younger brother we all wish we had, and Micah is just lovely, somewhat aloof to begin with but that's exactly what you would expect. You don't just automatically become comfortable with someone right away after all. Locke's characters are both likable and realistic in a balance that many authors just cannot manage.<br />
<br />
<i>Affairs of the Dead </i>is not your traditional ghost story. A.J. Locke creates a world unlike anything I have seen before. The necromancers and the normal people coexist peacefully, the ghosts are no secret they are a fact of life. I really think the deviation from the norm of the ghost world being shrouded in secrets works well here. Locke creates a world that we can actually imagine existing that operates almost exactly like ours with the exception of us lacking a necromancer network. Overall, I really loved this book and was gripped from start to end, which was rather inconvenient given that I started it in one of my busiest periods! Locke incorporates both light fun and serious, heartrending events masterfully. I would recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in the genre, or those who are bored of bland characters, because once you start you just can't stop turning the pages.<br />
<br />
Look out for my review of Requiem for the Living, book 2 in the Reanimation Files, coming very soon!<br />
<br />
<b>Tell me what you thought of my review in the comments and while you're here please check out all my active giveaways in order to find gems just like this one! </b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-17119581216534645622015-06-24T16:34:00.001+01:002015-06-24T16:34:34.451+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Christine Keleny, Author of Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at emily.confessionsofa<br />
bookaholic@gmail.com with 'Author Spotlight' in the subject line.<br />
<br />
<i>I know it's not Sunday, don't worry, but I am now caught up from my very busy period earlier this month.</i><br />
<br />
Visiting with us today is Christine Keleny, author of<i> Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>About Christine:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1301532414p5/2792379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Christine Keleny" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1301532414p5/2792379.jpg" /></a></div>
I am a writer, reader, author, editor, book designer and publisher. I am a mother of two, mostly grown, children and a wife. I like working with my hands, so when the need or desire arises, I crochet, sew, tile, paint, cross stitch, frame pictures, stain furniture, cut and split fire wood, x-country ski, train and ride horses…<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
But my main loves are writing and helping others publish the book of their dreams. I started writing in college (a while ago!) and haven't stopped since. I'm having the time of my life!<br />
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Find out more on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2792379.Christine_Keleny">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Keleny/e/B0052XSHKU">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://ckbookspublishing.com/about-2/about/">Website</a><br />
<br />
<b>Interview:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Hi there Christine!</b><br />
<b>Tell us about your book, ‘Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up’.</b><br />
Carolyn Keene is a pseudonym for some 28 writers of Nancy Drew, though there were three primary writers. But who really created Nancy is a significant controversy in the Nancy Drew world, so that is what my story is about, the three primary characters of Nancy and how she came into being.<br />
<br />
<b>What inspired you to write a Nancy Drew rewrite of sorts?</b><br />
My book is not a mystery, but it is fiction. It tells of the lives of the three primary creators of Nancy and shows what influences they all had in writing her story.<br />
<br />
<b>Which of the characters is your favourite and why?</b><br />
I think I like Nancy’s first creator, Edward Stratemeyer, the best. He sounds like he was a very interesting and pleasant man. He was very creative and a prolific children’s writer. He really made writing for children a thing. He wrote the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift and many many more.<br />
<br />
<b>Tell us about your other works.</b><br />
My first three books are what I call my Rose series (Rosebloom, A Burnished Rose, Rose From the Ashes). They are three books about a young farm girl in Wisconsin in 1936 who runs away from home to get a job on a Mississippi riverboat. Book I is about her time on and along the river, Book II is when she becomes a nurse in WWII and book III is when she comes home.<br />
Then there is “Living in the House of Drugs.” That is a memoir I wrote for a recovering addict and alcoholic that grew up in the Chicago projects.<br />
“The Red Velvet Box” is a book I only have as an ebook. I want to illustrate that book so have not put it in print yet. It is set in 1951 and is about a young girl and her relationship to her grandmother, who is getting forgetful. She connects with and helps her grandmother through a box of old Christmas ornaments.<br />
<br />
<b>What authors would you say influenced your work the most?</b><br />
I write mostly historical fiction because I love history and I think it’s a great way for people to learn about our past. I’m not sure there is any one author, but the king of historical fiction in my eyes is Gore Vidal.<br />
<br />
<b>I read that you also help struggling writers get published, tell us about that.</b><br />
My day job (which is my second career) is my indie publishing company: <a href="http://ckbookspublishing.com/">CKBooks Publishing</a><br />
I offer editing – all types - print book formatting, ebook formatting, simple cover design and book publishing. Or I can just answer any questions a writer might have. Whether you are self-publishing or going the traditional route, there is a lot of information out there and it can be confusing, so I like to help authors by answering any questions they might have about the process. I was a new author once myself, so I like to help when I can.<br />
<br />
<b>What advice would you give to writers who are just starting out?</b><br />
Read a lot, especially in the genre that you’re writing in, but really any good writing is helpful to read, and of course, write a lot. Don’t worry if it’s any good, just write. Computers make it so easy to change things after the fact.<br />
<br />
<b>I read that you have won an award for your work; did you ever imagine you’d get so far?</b><br />
It’s nice to feel like others think you are doing well with your writing, but that is really just a marketing thing when a writer puts their book into a writing contest. What readers I really want to impress are the ones I meet at book events or online.<br />
<br />
<b>What other upcoming books should we look for from you?</b><br />
When you asked about writers who influenced me, one I have really resonated with lately is Alan Bradley. He has written the Flavia de Luse mystery series. So I am going to attempt to write my first middle-grade mystery about a 12 year old girl by the name of Agnes Kelly. Agnes is a precocious girl in 1961, who is taken under her grandmother’s wing after her father dies. Grandma thinks there is something fishy about her son’s death and Agnes gets drawn into the mystery. But in the style of Alan Bradley and JK Rowling, I’d like my book to transcend age limits. We’ll see!<br />
<br />
<b>Is there anything else you want the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic to know?</b><br />
As a promoter of indie authors, I would like to remind readers that no matter who you read, please leave reviews of what you’ve read. It is so important to any writer, but especially writers who don’t have a large publishing company to back them up. It also helps other readers. There are so many books out there to choose from and your opinion does matter!<br />
<br />
<b>Thank you for joining us at Confessions of a Bookaholic!</b><br />
Thanks for having me! And happy reading!<br />
<br />
<b>About Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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If you always wondered how the plucky, intelligent, resourceful, and famous girl sleuth we affectionately call Nancy came into being, “Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up” will give you insights into the lives of the three primary creators of Nancy and her pals and the controversy that still rages today about who really created the Nancy that millions of readers across the globe have come to know and love.<br />
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"Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up is a fresh take on one of America’s most popular characters—Nancy Drew. Keleny offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at the dedicated and determined creators of the series. She also reveals the competing—and often conflicting—visions each author had for Nancy. This novel is entertaining, smart, and exceptionally well researched. It is certain to interest anyone who is curious about the surprising mystery behind the Nancy Drew mysteries." ~ Jenna Nelson, PhD<br />
<br />
<b>To be in for a chance to win enter the competition below!</b><br />
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="976f403b21" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/976f403b21/" id="rcwidget_hnnm1df8" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-14501816552242704882015-06-21T12:10:00.000+01:002015-06-22T12:11:05.904+01:00Sunday Spotlight: John Elray, Author of Pattaya Beach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b><br />
<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with 'Author Spotlight' in the subject line.<br />
<br />
Visiting with us at Confessions of a Bookaholic today is John Elray, author of Pattaya Beach.<br />
<br />
<b>Hi there John, welcome to Confessions of a Bookaholic!</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>Tell us something about Pattaya Beach which isn’t covered in the synopsis.</b><br />
That's a tricky question to answer without giving too much away but I'll give it a shot. Probably the best way to address this is to talk about the methodology I used when writing Pattaya Beach, namely drawing on actual events and conversations and working them into the story. These can be as simple as an off hand comment which could easily go unnoticed but in reality has a profound meaning. For example, when Fah tells Ed that she doesn't like her step father because of the way he treats her mother: "…he use her like a football… make red come out." In part, it's the broken English Fah (a composite of two individuals) uses to express this the best she can that gives the statement more power than if I were to tell you the same thing in proper English. Another instance where an actual event was used is the tale she tells of the bar girl whose body was found in a large duffle bag after sitting for three days under the hot sun in a vacant lot right off the main Beach Road. Apparently a customer took her to his hotel room and got too rough with her… to the extreme. As it was told to me, "the police know who he is, but they don't know where he is". Pattaya is a small city, however, it's rife with drugs, local thugs, Russian mafia, and more than its share of crazies. Life is cheap there. It can be a dangerous place.<br />
<br />
<b>That cover is really very unique, care to explain it?</b><br />
The cover of Pattaya Beach is a collage made up of a few of the photos I took one night in 2006 in an effort to capture the night life of the town. It's laid out in much the same fashion as you'd see Pattaya walking through one of the bar districts to the beach… illuminated signs overhead, the girls enticing passersby to patronize their establishment, and the gentle slope of the land down to the palm fringed shoreline of the Gulf of Thailand. The sign being held by a young lady advertises Lady Drinks, which are mixed drinks containing little if any alcohol which one can buy for the girl(s) of one's choice to secure some conversation time. The girls get a commission for every drink bought by their customer.<br />
<br />
<b>Who is your favourite character of your own creation?</b><br />
I guess my favourite is the female protagonist, Fah, although I'm not sure I can take full credit for creating her since she's a composite character based on two real people. So I'd have to go with Ed, the male protagonist. He is a fabrication but has some stereotypical qualities found in many of the farang (pronounced falang, meaning western) men who frequent Thailand. Ed has some interesting personality quirks that I spent a considerable amount of time researching so that I got it right. Saying any more than that would be a spoiler.<br />
<br />
<b>What is the best piece of feedback you have got on your work?</b><br />
The most gratifying statement made about Pattaya Beach came from a literary agent who posted a review of it on Goodreads. She described it as "…a tutorial in excellent writing."<br />
What is it about Thailand that intrigues you enough to base your book there?<br />
I first began travelling to Thailand on business, and while I've been there many times now since I started writing Pattaya Beach, the first two or three years were real eye openers. It was the revelation of a culture which, on one hand, is vastly different from what most of the English speaking world is familiar with… a Buddhist society with all it's charm, customs, superstitions, and religious devotion, while on the other hand is no different whatsoever when all the veneer is stripped away. This contrast is especially true in Pattaya where pretty much anything goes.<br />
<br />
<b>What inspired you to write about this subject matter?</b><br />
If you were to ask frequent travellers to Pattaya what its most prominent feature was, they'd probably say the bars… and lots of them. It's these establishments and the women that work there, in one fashion or another, that provide ample fodder for the novelist. Each lady has her (or in some cases his) own unique story, sometimes resulting in happy ever after true love but more often than not ending in heartbreak, trapping them in a world that beckons with opportunities that seldom pan out. It was this seemingly futile, revolving door, pursuit that led me to create Pattaya Beach driven by one of those "gotta write this story" obsessions.<br />
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<b>What authors do you believe have inspired your work the most?</b><br />
Two names come to mind. One is Leon Uris, whose outstanding works of historically based fiction ignited the spark in me to write my first novel, Khalifah – the story of how the son of Muhammad's archenemy took control of the Muslim empire in the seventh century. Like Uris's works, it's by and large a historically accurate (albeit fictionalized) epic that spans many years in the main characters' lives. The other author is John Burdett who has written several fascinating novels set in Thailand.<br />
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<b>Have you any more works planned that we should look out for?</b><br />
I'm presently doing a book of short stories, most of which can be generally described as dark humor. It's about half completed and has the working title "… And You Though You Had It Bad". I plan to have it ready for publication by early summer.<br />
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<b>Fancy telling us about your publishing company, Aardwolfe Books, and what it is you do?</b><br />
I'm one of the principals of <a href="http://www.aardwolfe.com/">Aardwolfe Books</a>, a small publisher of distinctive works of fiction and narrative non-fiction. We also provide editorial services to authors, either directly or through agents, to include line editing, story editing and ghost writing. We're always looking for new (or established) authors with promising manuscripts and provide thorough proofing and copy editing before releasing a book for publication. Our only requirement is that the author provide us a high quality product before going into copyediting, but we never insist that they use our editorial services to get there as a condition of publication.<br />
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<b>Finally, is there anything else that you want the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic to know?</b><br />
Only to acknowledge the superb effort you put in, Emily, to connect writers and readers on Goodreads . I'll be happy to respond to any members who have further questions via the Ask The Author feature on my profile page Thanks for the opportunity to showcase Pattaya Beach.<br />
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</b> <b>Thank you for joining us John!</b><br />
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<b>About Pattaya Beach</b></div>
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Fah, a twenty-two year-old farm girl from Thailand's rural northeast has moved to Pattaya City to do the one thing that has any hope of bringing her decent money – work in the sex trade. Her goal: land a well to do foreigner who can deliver her and her family from a subsistence life. Ed, a recent arrival from America, looks like he might just be the one. What Fah doesn’t know, however, is that Ed is a deeply disturbed man who has traveled to Thailand to kill his nemesis, Bill (Fah's employer), in retaliation for an imagined betrayal. What Ed doesn't know is that he's about to fall in love – and that's when all the trouble begins.</div>
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Whether you're a seasoned traveler to the Land of Smiles or a neophyte, you'll be totally absorbed in John Elray's latest novel, Pattaya Beach. Based on a true story, Pattaya Beach exposes the grit beneath the veneer of the fun capital of the world, and delves into the psyches of its cast of inimitable characters in this compelling novel that you won't want to put down. The author guides you along the broad arc of Fah and Ed's engaging odyssey to convey invaluable insight into the people, passions and perils of Thailand – a land of pleasure unmatched anywhere else on earth.</div>
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<b>Find Pattaya Beach on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8343733-pattaya-beach">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pattaya-Beach-John-Elray-ebook/dp/B003FMUZ8W/ref=la_B001K8UQ2S_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434969318&sr=1-2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.aardwolfe.com/">Aardwolfe Books</a></b></div>
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Enter the giveaway below to be in for a chance to win and don't forget to comment and let us know what you think!<br />
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-68287638287586873322015-06-18T00:00:00.000+01:002015-06-18T00:00:02.275+01:00Cover Reveal: Fluence by Stephen Oram<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm sure you all remember Stephen Oram from <a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/sunday-spotlight-stephen-oram-author-of.html">his spotlight</a> here at Confessions of a Bookaholic a few weeks ago, today I have a special cover reveal for you all for his newest book!</div>
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<b>FLUENCE</b></div>
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<i>Ten thousand minutes and counting</i></div>
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Genre: Dystopian</div>
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Published by Silverwood Books</div>
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<i>Amber is young and ambitious. Martin is burnt out by years of struggling. She cheats to get what she wants while he barely clings on to what he has. It’s the week before the annual Pay Day when strata positions are decided by the controlling corporations. The social media feed is frenetic with people trying to boost their influence rating while those above the strata and those who’ve opted out pursue their own manipulative goals.</i><br />
<i>Fluence is a story of aspiration and desperation and of power seen and unseen. It’s a story of control and consequence. It's the story of the extremes to which Amber and Martin are prepared to go in these last ten thousand minutes before Pay Day.</i><br />
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Find Fluence on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fluence/dp/1781323631/">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://stephenoram.net/fluence/">Website</a><br />
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<b>About Stephen</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_mVDh1kdlBLr4BQGAd4zA_fEV5tiES4GLc2zY9xhb29xrUQGlzhY1DgBbP0bEzCCYI8QjIlfhHNzHzSCvfaUeVu9z0YFBjn6E32X7uOETJB6v2STQnA19OFVrc0NstUndexXT6K-6Cw/s1600/8461328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_mVDh1kdlBLr4BQGAd4zA_fEV5tiES4GLc2zY9xhb29xrUQGlzhY1DgBbP0bEzCCYI8QjIlfhHNzHzSCvfaUeVu9z0YFBjn6E32X7uOETJB6v2STQnA19OFVrc0NstUndexXT6K-6Cw/s1600/8461328.jpg" /></a>Like each and every one of us, my perspective of the world has been affected by many people and <br />
experiences: as a teenager I was heavily influenced by the ethos of punk; in my early twenties I embraced the squatter scene and then joined a religious cult, briefly; I did some computer stuff in what became London’s silicon roundabout; and I’m now a civil servant with a gentle attraction to anarchism. I really enjoy taking a sideways look at our world and thinking, “what if,” and then writing about it through speculative fiction.<br />
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Visit Stephen on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StephenOramAuthor">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/OramStephen">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.stephenoram.net/">Website</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8461328.Stephen_Oram">Goodreads</a><br />
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What do you think of the book so far? Enter the below international giveaway to be in for a chance to win!<br />
<br />
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><b>There will be a review tour for Fluence soon. Read the book or interview the author! Sign up for the tour by emailing brookbooks@hotmail.co.uk</b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-9431451971941527662015-06-17T12:11:00.000+01:002015-06-18T16:20:51.131+01:00Sunday Spotlight (on Wednesday): Elisabeth Grace Foley, author of the Mrs Meade Mysteries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b><br />
<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with <b>'Author Spotlight' </b>in the subject line.<br />
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Visiting with us at Confessions of a Bookaholic today is Elisabeth Grace Foley, author of the Mrs Meade Mysteries.<br />
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I have been so busy recently which is why the spotlights I missed are being posted this week - don't worry I am back on track now!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVX-6ag9EbJc8fOWsDHLUo8kMvET9-5E3sft63_tz8zJG9XcKnexZr672sDmmxpM0-K_NFZmfiv5eFnB39u1-yqNmMOmeHYneAZ7sh33zTt89TYrWJjmMhhlFlqo2hwWXQMnUaaFT9w0/w371-h509-no/IMG_4385_pp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVX-6ag9EbJc8fOWsDHLUo8kMvET9-5E3sft63_tz8zJG9XcKnexZr672sDmmxpM0-K_NFZmfiv5eFnB39u1-yqNmMOmeHYneAZ7sh33zTt89TYrWJjmMhhlFlqo2hwWXQMnUaaFT9w0/w371-h509-no/IMG_4385_pp.JPG" width="233" /></a><b>About Elisabeth:</b><br />
Elisabeth Grace Foley is a historical fiction author, avid reader and lifelong history buff, the author of Peacemaker Award-nominated Western novella Left-Hand Kelly, and short story collections The Ranch Next Door and Other Stories and Wanderlust Creek and Other Stories. Her work has appeared online at Rope and Wire and The Western Online. Her other books include a series of short historical mysteries, the Mrs. Meade Mysteries; and short fiction set during the American Civil War and the Great Depression.<br />
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<b>Find out more about Elisabeth on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5266694.Elisabeth_Grace_Foley">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://thesecondsentence.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me_06.html">Blog</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elisabeth-Grace-Foley/e/B005SE93M4">Amazon</a></b><br />
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<b>Interview:</b><br />
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</b> <b>Hi there Elisabeth, welcome to Confessions of a Bookaholic!</b><br />
Thank you! I’m excited to be here!<br />
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<b>Firstly, you have written a lot of books! Tell us about some of your most popular ones.</b><br />
My series of historical mystery novelettes, the Mrs. Meade Mysteries, have been my bestselling titles most of the time. Everybody loves a mystery! Mrs. Meade is a shrewd but kind-hearted widow lady with a knack for solving the puzzles that arise in a small Colorado town in the early 1900s. Think Miss Marple in the Edwardian era, in a part of America that still has a bit of the frontier element left. And my novella Corral Nocturne, which is a retelling of Cinderella set on the Montana prairies, has also been popular with readers; it’s been receiving some lovely reviews!<br />
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<b>What is it about historical and western fiction that you like so much?</b><br />
History has always fascinated me from a very early age—I love reading about past times and about the personal stories of the people who lived them. There’s a quote by Louis L’Amour that I like: “Historical novels are, without question, the best way of teaching history, for they offer the human stories behind the events and leave the reader with a desire to know more.” That’s definitely been true for me. As for westerns, I grew up watching western movies with my dad and enjoying them, and then later, when I ventured into reading western fiction and history, I became interested in the Old West era as a part of American history. I find it a wonderful backdrop for storytelling: you have such a large slice of the country to choose from for your setting, and so much history to spark ideas for plots and characters. It isn’t only about the cowboys and outlaws; it’s about the families who settled the country, those who went west to start a new life after the Civil War, the young people who headed west to seek their fortunes. There are so many stories there to tell.<br />
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<b>How do you balance fact and fiction in your works?</b><br />
Usually when I set out to write a story it’ll be in a time and setting that I’m already interested in, so I have a background gathered from the history I’ve read, and also from fiction written at that time. I try to have my characters speak and act in a way that’s realistic for the time period—reading fiction written during the era itself is an excellent way to get a sense of that—and I research factual things like clothes, houses, inventions, etc. as I go along, if I run into something that I don’t know about in detail.<br />
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<b>What authors influenced your work most?</b><br />
For westerns in particular, my biggest influence is probably my personal favorite B.M. Bower, an early woman author of westerns who began writing around the turn of the 20th century; and also Henry Herbert Knibbs, Dorothy M. Johnson, Max Brand, and Elmore Leonard’s early western short stories. O. Henry, P.G. Wodehouse and A.A. Milne taught me the delights of wordplay and a sense of humor; Booth Tarkington and Leo Tolstoy I love for their ability to create wonderfully human, sometimes flawed but relatable characters; while authors like Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier leave me awed by their skills with description and creating a sense of place and atmosphere.<br />
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<b>I notice that you write lots of short stories/novellas, what is it about those that appeal to you more than the traditional novel?</b><br />
Actually, my ambition has always been to write novels. If anyone had told me five years ago that I’d have written and published this much short fiction, no one would have been more surprised than myself. But I’ve enjoyed writing short stories and novellas, and I feel that all the work I’ve put into them has been like serving an apprenticeship in honing my writing skills. At present I’m trying to take a step back from shorter works for a while (except for continuing the Mrs. Meade Mysteries) and focus on finally completing a novel—I’ve got a few novel manuscripts in various stages of being written or edited.<br />
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<b>On your blog you say that you’re a Christian, many writers cite their faith as a major influence on their works – is this the case for you?</b><br />
I don’t see myself as writing so-called “Christian fiction,” because I’ve always been rather ambivalent toward that term—but yes, my Christianity does influence my work in the way it influences all areas of my life. I always strive simply to craft the best quality book that I’m able, but I think my writing will always reflect my beliefs and worldview in some way, as all writers’ do. Sometimes Christianity may play a direct role in a story, if I feel it’s needful to the plot; other times it won’t; but I think it always influences what I write in some way.<br />
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<b>What books would you compare your works to? Comparisons are always helpful for readers looking for more books.</b><br />
Well, as I mentioned before, I think anybody who enjoys Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple books and similar mysteries will enjoy the Mrs. Meade Mysteries. A recent reviewer of Corral Nocturne compared its style of that to L.M. Montgomery, which was a very flattering compliment! For my westerns, I think readers who like the traditional westerns of Louis L’Amour and others will enjoy them; but my stories are not just based around gunfights and action; they’re largely character-driven and I think they would appeal to readers of general historical fiction too.<br />
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<b>You described a liking for ‘obscure forgotten gems’ in your blog, will you share some of those with my readers?</b><br />
Some of my favorite discoveries from the past few years: Thorofare by Christopher Morley, Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby and Other Stories by Kathleen Thompson Norris, The Street of Seven Stars by Mary Roberts Rinehart (one of her non-mystery novels, set in Vienna just before the outbreak of World War I), and Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries by Melville Davisson Post, to name just a few. And one of my favorite books ever is Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley, a splendid adventure novel set in the Elizabethan era that doesn’t seem to be as well known.<br />
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<b>Which of the characters that you’ve created do you like the most and why?</b><br />
I get quite attached to most of them, but I think some of my favorites are Claire Lester in Left-Hand Kelly, Cole Newcomb in Corral Nocturne and Sheriff Andrew Royal in the Mrs. Meade Mysteries. Sheriff Royal has been one of the most fun characters for me to write. As for Cole, when I set out to write a Cinderella retelling, I knew I wanted to give my Prince Charming character a little more personality and charm than the prince seems to have in most traditional versions of Cinderella—and I think I succeeded pretty well, for I’m quite fond of him myself. With Claire, it’s a little harder to say, but by the time I finished writing the book she was one of the characters that I liked and empathized with the most.<br />
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<b>Which of your works did you find the most enjoyable to write?</b><br />
Probably my short story “The Rush at Mattie Arnold’s” from Wanderlust Creek and Other Stories. The idea for the story came to me on the spur of the moment, and it only took a few days to write, which is much faster than I usually complete a story. I knew where the story was going, the ideas for dialogue came to me smoothly as I went along, and basically it was just plain fun.<br />
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<b>I noticed that you're quite young to have so many works published, what advice would you give to a young writer like yourself?</b><br />
First of all, read—read plenty of good books, and definitely include classics that have stood the test of time. There’s nothing like reading quality books to observe what good writing looks like, and to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work. Second, if you are young and just considering publishing for the first time, I’d advise taking a good hard look at your work and deciding if you’ve really made it the best it can be before you go ahead and put it out there. There are some manuscripts I wrote not too many years ago that I’m glad I didn’t rush ahead with, things I’m quite content now to regard as practice for what came after. Edit it as many times as you need to; get honest feedback from friends or beta-readers, and just try to appraise it honestly.<br />
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<b>Finally, do you have any upcoming works that the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic should look out for?</b><br />
The one definite thing on the agenda at the moment is the next entry in the Mrs. Meade Mysteries, The Silent Hour, which I’m aiming at releasing in autumn 2015. After that, I don’t know yet which of my works-in-progress will make it into print next!<br />
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Elisabeth has kindly agreed to give away a copy of Left-Hand Kelly, which was recently named a Peacemaker Award finalist for Best Independently Published Western Novel<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403365161l/22042426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Left-Hand Kelly" border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403365161l/22042426.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>About Left-Hand Kelly</b><br />
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Sixteen-year-old Lew Kelly grew up idolizing his enigmatic ex-gunfighter father. Everyone thought Lew’s habit of practicing his quick draw was a harmless amusement—until the day when a boys’ hot-headed quarrel exploded into gunplay, with disastrous results.<br />
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Three years later, Lew is withdrawn and bitter—and he still carries a gun. When an unexpected twist of circumstances forces him to face again the memories and the aftermath of that ill-fated fight, will old wrongs be righted—or will the result be an even worse tragedy than before?<br />
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<b>Find the book on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wanderlust-Creek-Other-Stories-Elisabeth-ebook/dp/B00SS4VUFO/">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24313635-wanderlust-creek-and-other-stories">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://thesecondsentence.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html">Blog</a></b></div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-74228288850701294362015-06-12T00:00:00.000+01:002015-06-12T00:00:01.944+01:00Review and Book Tour: Warrior's Surrender by Elizabeth Ellen Carter <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIiHTpBZ6QuDSUStp2XQViyJ4txuWcN02cJuIkF3ZGHUzEkhBx2f9Vj_yW7Gsj63SQotzRUIxb4e3pexJHkbzsoFf1MLkXuuv-U0r9LRfk2u3tPjT2B8JIo159oUmT6m6Z2uSfTYiKi4/s1600/RMBT+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIiHTpBZ6QuDSUStp2XQViyJ4txuWcN02cJuIkF3ZGHUzEkhBx2f9Vj_yW7Gsj63SQotzRUIxb4e3pexJHkbzsoFf1MLkXuuv-U0r9LRfk2u3tPjT2B8JIo159oUmT6m6Z2uSfTYiKi4/s320/RMBT+Banner.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JBItGHxukAqHxMo9RbgYGUkeCOmk2FZZ6sXBL5P1SD1HKG92GH9ok-lotN3-4Z68ILCRAVPfOJkanTgmCyvlMIpgaUfkkyuPU32YHrelBsY0V-lDzgNYtIccEXegP9E3BkCifED-edE/s1600/WarriorsSurrender+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JBItGHxukAqHxMo9RbgYGUkeCOmk2FZZ6sXBL5P1SD1HKG92GH9ok-lotN3-4Z68ILCRAVPfOJkanTgmCyvlMIpgaUfkkyuPU32YHrelBsY0V-lDzgNYtIccEXegP9E3BkCifED-edE/s320/WarriorsSurrender+Cover.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>Series: </b><i>Standalone </i><br />
<b>Genre: </b><i>Medieval Romance </i><br />
<b>Release Date: </b><i>November 7th 2014</i><br />
<b>Source: </b><i>Received as part of the book tour in exchange for an honest review</i><br />
<b>Overall Rating: </b><i>5/5 Stars </i><br />
<b>Cover Rating: </b><i>2.5/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Synopsis: </b><i>A shared secret from their past could destroy their future…</i><br />
<i>Northumbria, 1077. In the years following William the Conqueror’s harrying of </i><i>the North, Lady Alfreya of Tyrswick returns to her family home after seven </i><i>years in exile. But instead of returning victorious as her dead father had </i><i>promised, she returns defeated by Baron Sebastian de la Croix, the Norman who </i><i>rules her lands.</i><br />
<i>To save her gravely ill brother's life, Alfreya offers herself hostage to her </i><i>enemy. As Alfreya gets to know her new husband, she finds he’s not the monster </i><i>she feared, and their marriage of convenience soon becomes a bond of passion.</i><br />
<i>But Sebastian is a man with a secret—one that could destroy him. </i><i>As a series of brutal murders haunt their nights, the man who betrayed </i><i>Alfreya’s father returns claiming to be her betrothed. He has learned </i><i>Sebastian’s secret and will use it to further his own ambition—using </i><i>Sebastian’s own family—which will destroy Sebastian and mark him a traitor, and </i><i>plunge an unprepared England into war with the Scots…</i><br />
<b>First Line: </b><i>The flare of a pitch-soaked torch lit the corner of the timber long-house.</i><br />
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When I read historical fiction I really do tend to love it however I do not pick it up very often for reasons unknown even to me. Therefore, obviously, I haven't read very much historical fiction but I was a huge fan of Phillipa Gregory so I thought I'd give another historical fiction a try and I'm so glad I did. Carter's <i>Warrior's Surrender </i>vastly surpassed anything Gregory ever came up with, and that's not just because it name-dropped a few areas really close to where I live! In fact, it was by far the best book I have read in a very long time. I know reviews always say things like 'I couldn't put this book down' and I always look upon those reviews and recognise exaggeration but now I get it. <i>I literally couldn't put it down.</i> The moment I read the excerpt (which is below so that you can see what I mean) I was gripped, I had to read it. This is one of those books that you speed through all the while mourning how fast it is going. I wanted so much more.<br />
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The characterisation of a novel is always the most important part to me, as I know it is to many other reviewers. How can you possibly fall in love with a book if there are no love-worthy characters? It's impossible! I loved almost every character in this book, even the ones you were supposed to hate, because they were all so well developed and relatable. Alfreya, or Frey, was one of the best heroines I have come across. She managed to be both feisty and in love - at the same time. There are so many authors out there who keep their feisty heroines cold with the men in their life in order to keep their independent spirit (Katniss Everdeen comes to mind) but that is not how it has to be and Carter realised that in her portrayal of Frey. She managed to create both a tender and feisty character and that is so rare, I was very impressed. It is not often that I love the heroine of a story as much as the hero but in this case I did - Frey and Sebastian were perfect. Despite this, it was indeed Sebastian who I became most invested in, he had the typical characteristics to begin with: he was cold, guarded and witty. However, unlike most characters who fit these qualities, he had genuine reason to be - given that Frey was his enemy for a long time - and he did not keep these qualities any longer than he needed to. Sebastian, alike Frey, managed to balance his strength with his loving nature. Seriously guys, I loved these two!<br />
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The plot itself was unbelievably tense! A compromise for many authors who focus on characterisation is that they sacrifice the plot, it gets slow and uneventful a lot of the time. Once again, this was not a problem for Carter. The plot really kept me on my toes - me! The queen of working out endings in record time. From start to end the plot kept me wanting to turn the pages (aka swipe my phone screen) faster than humanly possible. I will definitely be re-reading this one, it was too good not to. As many of you know, one of my favourite series' of all time is the His Fair Assassin series and this book reminded me of it so much. Yes it lacks nuns, assassins and the god of death but in writing style and characterisation it was on par. Anyone who loved HFA like I did will absolutely love <i>Warrior's Surrender.</i> I can't wait to read more of Elizabeth Ellen Carter's work and I fully intend to get my hands on some more very soon. In the meantime I am praying for a sequel.<br />
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Seriously, enter the giveaway or you will really regret it!</div>
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</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Excerpt:</b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA">By the light of the fire she could see the abandoned chair. To see the second chair Frey must peer around the door. </span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">It too was empty.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Frey frowned. Did she doze and Sebastian slipped past </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">her unseen? She took a further step or two into the room and looked.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">The bed was…</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Before Frey could complete the thought, she was grabbed </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">roughly from behind and held firmly against a man’s broad chest. A large hand </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">covered her mouth and suppressed an involuntary scream.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">The man recognised her and relaxed but did not remove </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">his hand.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“You picked the wrong night to slit my throat while I </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">slept, princess.”</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Sebastian’s whispered voice filled her ear. He held her </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">still for long moments before speaking.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">"Are you recovered? You will not scream?”</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Frey nodded and shook her head in answer to each </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">question and she was released, her heart pumping furiously.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“Do you suggest I pick some other night then?” she </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">said, wiping her mouth to rid the sensation of his hand. </span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Sebastian ignored her barb and poured a small measure </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">of spiced wine into his goblet. He handed it to her and watched as she drank.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“Why do you assume the worst of me?” she asked.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“Habit,” he answered, arms folded across his chest.</span></i><br />
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“Now tell me what you’re doing in my chambers while others sleep.”</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“I have to speak to you.”</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Sebastian’s eyebrows rose in surprise. It might have </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">been scepticism, but Frey couldn’t be sure.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“And it couldn’t wait until morning?”</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">All of a sudden Frey’s courage left her and she </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">wondered if her senses had taken leave of her too.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">She was an unmarried woman, alone, late at night in the </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">bed chamber of a man whose mere presence made her feel powerful sensations that </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA">she struggled to understand. What on earth was she doing?</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">She shook her head softly. </span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“This was a mistake.”</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">As she turned to leave, Sebastian grabbed her wrist.</span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-CA">“It’s a mistake to not finish what you start.”</span></i><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">About Elizabeth:</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></b>
A future with words was always on the book for Elizabeth Ellen Carter who started writing her own stories when she ran out of Nancy Drew mysteries to read when she was 10.<br />
Using her mother’s Olivetti type writer with the italic keyboard, she spent endless school holidays making up her own stories and then using the Dewey Decimal System to arrange and categorize her bookshelf. Somewhere around the age of 13 she determined to become a journalist and at 17 was awarded a cadetship to the Gold Coast Bulletin. She covered news, council, education, health but had the most fun as the paper’s entertainment and features reporter covering film, TV<br />
and music. Best of all she met her husband there and together they started a small award-winning media, marketing and advertising agency and now she works as marketing manager for an international organic skin care company. In 2012, Elizabeth also returned to the keyboard to write<br />
stories (and laptops are so much better than manual typewriters). Her debut, Moonstone Obsession was shortlisted for the 2013 Romance Writers Of Australia’s Emerald Awards for unpublished<br />
manuscripts.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author Links </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethEllenCarter">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/EECarterAuthor">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/eecarterauthor/">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ElizabethEllenCarter/posts">Google+</a> | <a href="http://eecarter.com/">Web site & Blog</a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buy Links </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Surrender-Elizabeth-Ellen-Carter-ebook/dp/B00PAXKS4K">Amazon</a><span style="text-align: center;"> | </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warriors-surrender-elizabeth-ellen-carter/1120689886">Barnes </a><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warriors-surrender-elizabeth-ellen-carter/1120689886">& Noble</a><span style="text-align: center;"> | </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/warriors-surrender/id948344424?mt=11">iTunes/iBooks</a><span style="text-align: center;"> | </span><a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-warrior039ssurrender-1667656-161.html">All Romance eReads</a></div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-17567519770001992172015-05-31T22:05:00.000+01:002015-06-01T10:58:50.381+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Scott Kinkade, Author of God School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b></div>
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<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with <b>'Author Spotlight'</b> in the subject line.</div>
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Visiting with us at Confessions of a Bookaholic today is Scott Kinkade, author of <i>God School </i>who is sharing a guest post with us today. </div>
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<b>About Scott:</b></div>
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I write science fiction. I frequently imagine a past that never was, and futures that never will be.</div>
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I run a <a href="http://www.thegamecalledrevolution.blogspot.com/">sci-fi blog</a> where I post book and movie reviews.</div>
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I also work to educate people about the reality of living with clinical depression and Asperger's via my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/InfiniCalendar?feature=mhee">YouTube channel</a>.</div>
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World Building in Fiction </div>
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Most sci-fi and fantasy novels have their own world, and it's the author's job to make that world believable. To me, there are three essential aspects of making that happen: lore, diversity and religion.</div>
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First, let's start with lore. Your world absolutely has to have a rich history. What happened in the past to make your world interesting? Who are your historical figures? How was history shaped to bring your inhabitants to the present? An unparalleled scribe in this regard is George R. R. Martin. He has spent countless hours fine-tuning the details of his world, and it shows. From Mad King Aerys to the Dothraki, there's no shortage of history to be learned in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. </div>
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Another loremaster is Stephen Hunt. For those who have read his Jackelian steampunk series, you know his world of Jackals is rich in detail. He gives us many tidbits of Jackals' history throughout the series, steadily forming it into a compelling, believable world.</div>
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But perhaps the all-time king of lore is J. R. R. Tolkien. He inserted an obscene amount of lore into Middle Earth. Ever read The Silmarillion? He wrote an entire book dedicated to the history of his world. That's true dedication.</div>
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Also, if your story takes place in an alternate Earth, we need to know what's different about it. How does its history differ from our own timeline? For example, in my steampunk Infini Calendar series, Marie Antoinette championed steam power, leading to the creation of airships and other steam-powered technology in the 18th century, well before the Industrial Revolution. And in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, the American Civil War started much earlier and went on for over a decade.</div>
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Next, let's take a look at diversity. Every good world must have different peoples and cultures. Again, George R. R. Martin is very good about this. You've got your Starks, your Lannisters, your Dothraki, your Wildlings and many others. Each of them has their own unique viewpoints and motivations which drive them (and continually bring them into conflict with one another). And I must again cite the work of Stephen Hunt. Jackals has Victorian-esque society, a jungle region,a sky city, and a country where women rule over men, just to name a few.</div>
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Finally, any good world you create should have religion. Here I must mention--you guessed it--George R. R. Martin. The characters in his world share a wide variety of beliefs. They worship a multitude of gods, including the Drowned one. It seems like everyone in that world has their own set of beliefs.</div>
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In my own novels I've explored the role of religion in our lives. In my Infini Calendar series, Joan of Arc struggles to stay faithful to God despite knowing she's going to be burned at the stake (a struggle she fails in that timeline). I go even further in my Divine Protector series (beginning with God School), creating new religions in the world of Narska. The Holoists worship the god Bethos, while the citizens of the Faust Kingdom bow to the Lost Gods which include Earth deities. Conversely, the students at Divine Protector Academy don't worship any gods because they are gods (or, at least, gods in training). But even before attending the school for gods, protagonist Ev Bannen wasn't religious at all. He couldn't reconcile the idea of a benevolent creator with the physical and emotional abuse he and his mother suffered at the hands of his father. So, in a sense, even a lack of faith counts when coming up with your world's belief systems. </div>
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There's a very good book by Jay Marian called Creating God: Worldbuilding a Religion (How to Write Fantasy Book 1) which details the important functions of religion within a fantasy world.</div>
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Well, that's about it. I've covered what are, in my opinion, the three most important aspects of a fictional world. Really, though, that's just the starting point. Feel free to be as creative as you want in designing your world. Just make sure it's believable.</div>
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<b>About God School</b></div>
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<i>18-year-old Ev Bannen was just hoping to get admitted to college. He never expected to be recrui</i><i>ted to a school for gods, where he’ll be spending his days building up his strength, learning to answer prayers and getting an education in religion alongside aspiring god of money Jaysin Marx, the lovely but troubled Maya Brünhart and anger-prone ginger Daryn Anders. But the organization of evil gods, Zero Grade, has plans to unleash hell on earth, and they require the blood of potential gods to do it. What’s more, someone close to Ev is not who they claim to be, and their betrayal may doom mankind forever. Ev steps up to save the day, but does he even stand a chance in hell of defeating a legendary deity?</i></div>
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<b>Find God School on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23950694-god-school?ac=1">Goodreads</a>| <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1505430429/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738">Amazon</a></b><br />
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<b>If you are an author and want to be spotlighted drop me an email. Don't forget to share my spotlight posts wherever you can, it's really important to support the lesser known author community! Also if you want to be included in my scheme then you need it to be popular enough for you to have maximum publicity!</b><br />
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-14731669643970672222015-05-24T17:55:00.000+01:002015-05-24T17:55:43.504+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Marc Nash, author of An Eye for an Eye for an Eye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b><br />
<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with <b>'Author Spotlight' </b>in the subject line.<br />
<br />
Visiting with us at Confessions of a Bookaholic today is Marc Nash, author of the dystopian novel <i>An Eye for an Eye for an Eye</i>.<br />
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<b>About Marc</b><br />
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</b> 20 years in the counterculture working at Rough Trade Record Shop, now working in freedom of expression NGO world. I hope my books are more than just the sum of the above. I used to be a playwright, but then started writing more for dancers and physical theatre performers. I like a challenge and I like to move out of my comfort zone. Now I’m a novelist and am writing more ‘voice’ than I ever did as a playwright. Go figure!<br />
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Find Marc on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/597905.Marc_Nash">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marc-Nash/e/B005K1KSOC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://sulcicollective.blogspot.co.uk/">Blog</a><br />
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<br />
<b>Interview</b><br />
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<b>Hi there Marc!</b><br />
<b>Tell us something about An Eye for an Eye for an Eye that the synopsis doesn't cover</b>.<br />
That it’s a police procedural without an actual detective at its heart and is actually about the death of procedure. It’s a dystopia which is in fact not too far further from becoming a reality in our world if certain current events continue to play out. And it has paranormal elements which are explored as to whether they can be truly called paranormal or not. So it’s both three genres and not those genres at the same time!<br />
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<b>Tell us about your genre(s) and why they interest you?</b><br />
I don’t restrict myself to any single genre. This one was dystopian because I was thinking a lot about the civil unrest in countries like Greece and Italy due to the economic cuts imposed by their governments as the Eurozone hit financial trouble. I just imagined what it would be like to take that to its logical conclusion and that ended up in a dystopia!<br />
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<b>Who is your favorite character from all of your works?</b><br />
Karen Dash from my novel “A,B&E”. She’s a tough woman who’s had to hold her own in two very male worlds of academia and criminal gangsterism, through a mixture of being as tough as the men, while also retaining enough femininity to give her that little bit extra over the men. She’s funny and clever and yet also ground down by the male worlds she has to operate in. She directly addresses the reader too, as if you’re holding a conversation with her.<br />
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<b>What sets An Eye for an Eye for an Eye apart from other works?</b><br />
It is that most difficult of things, a genre work which has high literary content. It goes deep into character motivations; there are thoughts about man’s relationship with man when our creature comforts are denied us and lots of metaphors and images to give a real sense of the physical environment. And as already mentioned, it subverts its genres as much as conforms to them.<br />
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<b>What author do you believe inspired your work the most?</b><br />
None specifically, though this book only came about because I was so irritated by a book I read that claimed to be both genre and literary and was really bad, that I sat down the next day to write one of my own. There was no planning, I just started writing, though many of the ideas and themes must have been swirling about in my head, my irritation just brought them altogether to produce this book! The first draft came together really quickly.<br />
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<b>What is the best feedback you've got on your work?</b><br />
I’ve been described as “thought-provoking” and “use(s) the reader’s grey cells like a hockey puck. There is no slacking off you have to pay attention”. A critical review for a collection of my flash but which really tickled me was “just strings of words that took up space and left me none the wiser afterwords”. I really liked the first half of that statement as a description of all literature!<br />
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<b>You say you do flash fiction, tell us about that.</b><br />
1000 words maximum to tell a story is just so liberating rather than restrictive. With no time to set the scene, no room for lengthy descriptions of character, it places such a high value on the words themselves. With so few to play with, the words have to do so much work and this emphasises metaphor and imagery which allow you do that. I’ve now written 200 stories, mainly one a week and it’s really influenced my longer novels as well. I’ve published four collections of flash; many of the stories will knock your socks off in terms of what we imagine the structure of a story to be. With flash anything is possible, in a way that couldn’t be sustained over the length of a novel.<br />
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<b>Your cover for An Eye for an Eye for an Eye is very unique, how does it link to your book?</b><br />
It was collaboration between me and the artist Little Appleseed. I let her choose the central image she thought appropriate from the book and then we honed it between us. Mezcal is a Latin American drink like tequila in which a worm is added to the mixture. Supposedly if the worm is preserved by the Mezcal, it shows it’s good quality alcohol! The worm is also said to be hallucinogenic if swallowed. Like many detectives, the protagonist in the book is a heavy drinker and due to his emotional state often looks to crawl inside the bottle to be with the worm. I love the way Little Appleseed echoed the worm in the bottom of the bottle with the colouration of the eye on the label. We also came up with the idea of reversing the author’s name looking through the bottle glass. I like covers in which title and author name are organically part of the image, rather than take away from the overall effect.<br />
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<b>What other works should we look out from you in the future?</b><br />
Well I have a healthy back catalogue of seven other books. I’m trying to get a book of short stories published traditionally, while I have enough flash stories for my fifth collection and perhaps my strongest yet. I am also collaborating with a video designer on a kinetic typography video of one of my flash stories. I’ve done this once before and represents a very different and fresh way of telling a story, by emphasising the letters that make up the words, since these are what move in kinetic typography. My first video is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6pFwk_NJaY">here</a>.<br />
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<b>If you could invite three authors to lunch, past and present, who would they be?</b><br />
Samuel Beckett definitely for his humor and take on the world. William Burroughs just because he was so out there and would have tons of anecdotes. And Franz Kafka my favorite author of all, though he’d probably refuse or complain about the food because that’s just the kind of guy he probably was! I think he’d get on well with Beckett though, they’re equally dark.<br />
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<b>Is there anything else you want to tell the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic?</b><br />
Just thank you to readers and you wonderful book bloggers for all the support you give to us indie authors! You guys make it all worthwhile.<br />
<br />
Thank you for joining us on Confessions of a Bookaholic!<br />
<br />
<b>About an Eye for an Eye for an Eye</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZg7UXxQ23nLFyO1b54UB7Io3Y2JDvxQHo48IGLVHSX4JjyDQydWYdg32saji2mrMtlkVr4vBbG0qVfOCskPLdswpCZiAQIFIr2Vql_G9KwHwssz-5y7oDHGg6Q8aAbkawPAkrTpdowu4/s1600/AEFAEbig.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZg7UXxQ23nLFyO1b54UB7Io3Y2JDvxQHo48IGLVHSX4JjyDQydWYdg32saji2mrMtlkVr4vBbG0qVfOCskPLdswpCZiAQIFIr2Vql_G9KwHwssz-5y7oDHGg6Q8aAbkawPAkrTpdowu4/s320/AEFAEbig.jpeg" width="200" /></a><i>You can tell a lot about a society from its murders. And Simon Moralee can tell everything from its victims. He has the gift- or is it a curse?- of being able to recover a vision of the last thing murder victims had imprinted on their minds before death. It means he can identify their killers and describe them to the police to secure a one hundred percent clean-up rate. A gift he first discovered as a teenager when cradling his butchered mother in his arms.</i><br />
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</i> <i>His financially bankrupt society leaps at the opportunity his gift provides, by cutting the level of policing and detection back to the bone, as a yet another cost-saving measure. The few remaining policemen serve as Simon’s minders as they seek to protect their most valuable asset and the one remaining celebrity the State can promote to their citizens as a good news story. Only people are losing interest in his exploits, as they lose hope for their society with its murder rate spiralling beyond Simon’s ability to keep pace. And into this numbers game emerges a new threat, when a criminal mastermind with a psychic power of his own, challenges Simon in a psychological joust to the death...</i><br />
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Find <i>An Eye for an Eye for an Eye</i> on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18598267-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye?ac=1">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-Marc-Nash-ebook/dp/B00FIP9TEU/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Amazon</a> </div>
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Marc has kindly agreed to a giveaway of <i>An Eye for an Eye for an Eye </i>plus the flash fictions <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17931538-long-stories-short">Long Stories Short</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12749406-52ff">52FF</a>. </i>Enter below! The first winner selected will win AEFAEFAE, the second LSS and the third 52FF.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="976f403b11" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/976f403b11/" id="rcwidget_gvmknesl" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Make sure to let Marc and I know what you thought of the spotlight in the comments!<br />
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<b>If you are an author and want to be spotlighted drop me an email. Don't forget to share my spotlight posts wherever you can, it's really important to support the lesser known author community! Also if you want to be included in my scheme then you need it to be popular enough for you to have maximum publicity!</b><br />
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<b>If you do share my scheme let me know where and I will post an endorsement of your blog/book/anything in exchange on my Twitter account.</b></div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-86455478651973445372015-05-20T00:00:00.000+01:002015-05-20T00:00:03.742+01:00Sunday Spotlight on Wednesday: John McCaffrey, author of The Book of Ash.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b><br />
<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with <b>'Author Spotlight'</b> in the subject line.<br />
<b><br />
</b> This spotlight is a bit late due to a busy schedule but visiting today's Sunday-spotlight-on-Wednesday is John McCaffrey, author of the dystopian satire, The Book of Ash.<br />
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</b> <b>About John </b><br />
<b><br />
</b> Originally from Rochester, New York, John graduated from Villanova University, and later received his MA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York. His stories, essays and book reviews have appeared in more than 30 literary journals, magazines and newspapers.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pendulinepress.com/wp-content/themes/penduline/functions/thumb.php?src=http://www.pendulinepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/John-McCaffrey.jpg&w=400&h=300&zc=1&q=90&a=b" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pendulinepress.com/wp-content/themes/penduline/functions/thumb.php?src=http://www.pendulinepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/John-McCaffrey.jpg&w=400&h=300&zc=1&q=90&a=b" height="150" width="200" /></a>A Pushcart Prize nominee, his story Words, first published in Fiction Magazine, was also selected for Flash Fiction Forward, an anthology containing work from some of the most noted writers of our time, including Grace Paley, Dave Eggers, and Paul Theroux.<br />
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John also helps direct a nonprofit organization in New York City and is an Adjunct Creative Writing Professor at the College of New Rochelle’s School of New Resources. His debut novel, The Book of Ash, was released by Boxfire Press in 2013.<br />
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</b> Visit John on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7737818.John_A_McCaffrey">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-McCaffrey/e/B00HBIVK0S/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.pendulinepress.com/contributors/john-mccaffrey/">Website</a><br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>Interview </b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>Tell my readers about ‘The Book of Ash’.<br />
</b><br />
The idea for The Book of Ash came years before, right after 9/11. My first thought was to write a novel set in a society whose one and only goal is to create “emotionally healthy” individuals, people, for example, who are not inclined to crash planes into buildings or wage vengeful wars. But the more I wrote, the more I began to doubt that such a thing could be achieved. If anything, I latched onto the notion that forcing someone to behave in a certain way is the surest way for them to do the opposite. And so the book became darkly satirical, a dystopia in the same vein as Orwell’s 1984, depicting, as one reviewer wrote, “a world that that is endearing and menacing, farcical yet deadly serious, wholly invented and yet strangely familiar.” <br />
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While purposely comedic, I also think The Book of Ash is surprisingly sexy, perhaps not in a Fifty Shades of Grey way, but more in the understated, underhanded, and unhinged manner that befits most romantic relationships.<br />
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<b>How do you balance the mixture of satire and dystopia?</b><br />
My belief is that most or all writers are contrarians, more suspicious than cynical, especially when confronted with something that seems too good to be true. But I also believe that most writers are shy, and rather than stand up on a soap box yelling their views, they choose the safer haven of the page to voice their dissent. Even safer is satire, which blends humor into the mix, making it possible for a writer to dole out the medicine of their message, so to speak, with a bit of sugar. Thus, in the case of my novel, any balance I was able to achieve between satire and dystopia was achieved by wanting people to like me more than hate me for the story I was telling.<br />
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<b>What is the best feedback you’ve ever got?</b><br />
In the first fiction-writing class I ever took, my teacher, a wonderful woman and writer named Carol Dixon, who has since passed away, told me I had a “unique voice.” I was not sure what exactly this meant at the time in regard to writing, but I knew it was a compliment, and I needed that so much at the time, not being sure if writing was something I was good at or wanted to pursue. As I matured, and learned more about the craft of writing, I began to understand that developing an original, consistent voice to tell a story is the single most important attribute. This makes me value Carol’s words even more.<br />
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<b>Who is your favourite character of your own creation and why?</b><br />
I really like Baldwin Wallace, the lead character in The Book of Ash. He’s 33-years-old, struggling in a bad marriage, terrified of his stepfather, and pretty much conditioned to be meek. Yet he retains an ember of rebellion in his soul that allows him to fight back and find something he never thought possible: true love.<br />
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<b>What authors would you say have shaped your writing most?</b><br />
I am an obsessive reader, and once I latch onto a writer I like, I’ll read everything they’ve written, book by book, until I exhaust their collection and even my affection for their work. That said, no matter how much I try, I never tire of reading and rereading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway, which first showed me how important it is to use clear, concise prose. 1984 by George Orwell inspired me to take chances with imagining new worlds. Graham Greene, I feel, is the best at tapping into the inner psychology of a character to illuminate a wider theme. But of all the writers I have enjoyed, Somerset Maugham is the one who has most influenced me. I love the way he takes time to tell a story, twisting the beginning along so that you are always guessing, wanting more, even getting angry for him to hurry up, but never stopping the reading. Also, I have tried to emulate his style of spacing narrative and dialogue. His prose, to me, is the cleanest, prettiest around.<br />
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<b>What are you most proud of in your literary career?</b><br />
The fact that I’m finally able, after taking numerous classes, getting my MA in creative writing, struggling to write and publish stories, struggling to write and publish a novel, going through so much, that now I can teach writing to a degree I don’t think I otherwise could. I truly feel blessed to be able to share whatever wisdom and experience I have with writers of all age levels, helping them tap into their creative force and reach their full potential.<br />
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<b>What advice would you give new writers just starting out?</b><br />
Compulsively observe. Be like Sherlock Holmes and take time to build the muscle of seeing the world, the smallest details, and the largest vistas. We are living in a time where many people experience the bulk of their day peering into an I-Phone or computer screen. The writer that breaks this trend, who takes time to see, hear, and feel the world around them, who can shut out the noise of technology and tap into the moment, will win the day with great work and publishing success. Then, of course, they can tweet all about it to their followers.<br />
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<b>What kind of readers do you aim your book at?</b><br />
People who don’t take themselves or life too seriously, but are serious about living life to its fullest.<br />
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<b>What should we look out for from you in the future?</b><br />
I’m nearly done with a new novel set in Long Island during the Prohibition era. It’s full of action and mystery, and, not to give too much away, Orwell.<br />
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<b>Is there anything else that you wish the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic to know about?</b><br />
Only that it is a great blog and you do an outstanding job of giving writers a chance to connect with wonderful readers.<br />
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Thank you for joining us at Confessions of a Bookaholic!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364774564l/17276721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Book of Ash" border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364774564l/17276721.jpg" width="206" /></a><b>About <i>The Book of Ash</i>:</b><br />
<i>A satire of feel-good therapy, presenting a post-apocalyptic dystopia where the peddlers of self-esteem often mask raging insecurities and homicidal urges. Struggling to survive (and just maybe find happiness) amidst the chaos is Baldwin Wallace, a 33 year-old miracle counselor whose marriage is crumbling under the weight of his wife's infidelity. When Baldwin finally decides to confront the issue once and for all, he is thrown into a dizzying swirl of events that not only threatens to change the future of this surreal world, but also bring him the one thing he thought he could live without: love.</i><br />
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Find The Book of Ash on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17276721-the-book-of-ash">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Book-Ash-Novel-John-McCaffrey/dp/1938191048/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Amazon</a><br />
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John has also kindly agreed to an international giveaway of 4 paperback copies of The Book of Ash!<br />
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="976f403b9" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/976f403b9/" id="rcwidget_qyjq25qm" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-41235103719591019802015-05-10T00:00:00.000+01:002015-05-11T21:54:18.410+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Tara Ellis, Author of Bloodlines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s320/sundays.png" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b><br />
<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with <b>'Author Spotlight' </b>in the subject line.<br />
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</div><div>Visiting us today is Tara Ellis, the author of the Young Adult, Science Fiction Forgotten Origins Trilogy. She answered questions below about her works, life and pets and also agreed to a giveaway!</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>About Tara</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><div>Author Tara Ellis lives in a small, rural town in Washington State, set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She enjoys the quiet lifestyle with her husband, two teenage kids and several dogs.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQhfv5L6fcDM1GOMqygt6czw9xrNMnCnxZJ6B2ZaMpFw8w5I3LWjuSdHSWBuaQYiJGpLCdrT2Va3b8Wf3dFt5x0G88pBpSmOXvFr19Ht44mHqR0SBtjRVBKDRRBzsNSbqruk5vuDsrg0/s1600/tara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQhfv5L6fcDM1GOMqygt6czw9xrNMnCnxZJ6B2ZaMpFw8w5I3LWjuSdHSWBuaQYiJGpLCdrT2Va3b8Wf3dFt5x0G88pBpSmOXvFr19Ht44mHqR0SBtjRVBKDRRBzsNSbqruk5vuDsrg0/s200/tara.jpg" width="200" /></a>Tara was a firefighter/EMT (yes, you read that right) and worked in the medical field for many years, before committing herself to writing young adult and middle grade novels full-time after life threw the MS curve-ball at her. (she still dabbles in teaching CPR)</div><div><br />
</div><div>She grew up on sci-fi, was a devoted Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica fan, and has since found a love for conspiracy theories. This background, combined with a wild imagination has led to The Forgotten Origins Trilogy. The first book in the series, Bloodline, was named 'Indie Book of the Day in Oct, 2014' and voted as 'Top 50 Indie Books of 2014'. (readfreely.com)</div></div><div><br />
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<b>Hi there Tara! Tell us about your Forgotten Origins Trilogy!</b><br />
This should be the easiest question, right? But for all the countless hours I have spent telling the story…I still don’t have a canned response as to how to sum it all up. It’s epic. It’s not at all what you expect and really, I don’t think there’s another young adult series out there like it.<br />
The Forgotten Origins Trilogy is most definitely sci-fi, but it also spans several other genres, including; mystery, thriller, horror, dystopian and supernatural. It’s told first-person, from the point of view of sixteen-year-old Alex. She’s your typical teen, although very down-to-earth and level headed, thanks to her father. He was killed during a mugging two years before the story starts, while her parents were on vacation in Egypt. Her dad was full Egyptian, but was born in the States due to his own parents being there for work. They eventually returned to Egypt, and he chose to stay, though his ties to his heritage were strong. Yes, this becomes very important to the story later on.<br />
Why? That’s what makes this trilogy so unusual. But first, I have to tell you about the meteor shower. That’s where the first book, Bloodline, begins. It’s a historic event, and Alex’s dad had been pretty much obsessed with it. While it totally lives up to everyone’s expectations, it also releases a viral plague on the world. One that changes most of the population into something…well, I don’t want to give it all away, do I? ;)<br />
From there, the story becomes more complex. It involves ancient, secret societies, pyramids, crystal skulls, and conspiracy theories brought to life. One of my pet peeves are any parts of a story that makes you go, “Oh, come on!” I go out of my way to make all aspects of the back story believable. All of the ancient Sumerian texts, Native American legends, biblical stories and other various religious beliefs quoted, are real. The way that I tie them all in together, and the secret societies, are my own creations. I did a LOT of research, including how viruses work, and DNA structure (and its manipulation).<br />
I hope that I have imagined a story that anyone who enjoys the genres I listed, will find both intriguing and entertaining.<br />
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<b>What first attracted you to the sci-fi genre?</b><br />
This answer is easy! I’ve been a huge sci-fi fan my whole life. I’ve always had a wild, vivid imagination. My first memories of television were of watching the original Star Trek with my dad.<br />
I just love to get lost in it. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. There’s something about the unknown that attracts me, and taking it and making up a different reality is the ultimate journey.<br />
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<b>What do you think makes your trilogy special?</b><br />
I’ve already named a few things, but a big one is the fact that rather than your typical trilogy, where each book seems to lose a little steam…I really believe each of my books is better than the last. I love Bloodline. It’s my ‘first’. But I’ll admit that Heritage (book 2), is better. I got braver about developing the characters and exploring the story more. Then there’s descent (book 3). I absolutely love this one. I didn’t want it to end. I was actually crying as I wrote the last lines (just a little), because I had become so attached to both the characters and the stories.<br />
Another major point is just how original it is. It’s been described as a cross between the DaVinci Code and Indiana Jones. I find that a lot of YA stories out there hinge on the love interest. I need a story with more meat than that. (my books are a ‘clean’ read) I need one that makes you think and question what you know as reality. I feel that I’ve achieved that with The Forgotten Origins Trilogy.<br />
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<b>Tell us about your favourite character in the trilogy.</b><br />
I don’t want to come off as cliché, but I have to be honest, and say Alex. She really seemed to take on a life of her own as I was writing, and I was even surprised with how her character developed. I think she is incredibly believable. Flawed. Scared. Smart and tough, but also vulnerable and desperate at times. By the end of Descent, you look back and think about her journey and who she’s become…it’s both sad and thrilling at the same time.<br />
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<b>I read that you have been a firefighter and worked in the medical field, do you think such careers have influenced your writing?</b><br />
Absolutely. There are a couple of situations where this comes into play. I have taught CPR for going on fifteen years, and I am proud to say that the scenes that involve this insight are extremely accurate. I’ve been on some pretty traumatic calls as a firefighter/EMT and have experienced death first hand as a support officer. I incorporated this knowledge into how the characters dealt with things, and I think that realism translates into a believable experience for the reader that elicits some strong emotions.<br />
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<b>You’ve had some really good reviews on Goodreads; tell us about a piece of feedback which really made you smile.</b><br />
There was one review in particular that really touched me. She got the story. She connected with the characters and understood the over-all message in the trilogy. Here’s a small excerpt: “…Page after page you're just enveloped in this tale trying to get to the end wondering if it'll end with that bang it started off with. I really did feel this story was about freedom, keeping our humanity, faith, and last but not least, friendship and family. Nothing in this world is worth giving up all those things or giving up on. A wonderful message for anyone who has been through any type of adversity. You really can do anything as long as you have faith & are fighting that good fight.” – MissezMathis, Amazon/Goodreads<br />
To have a complete stranger read my creation, and get that from it, is a feeling that made it all worth it. I relied on books as a child to help me deal with stress and a reality that wasn’t always someplace I wanted to be. To be able to extend that is something I cherish.<br />
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<b>I read that you’re also a photographer, tell us more about that!</b><br />
Yes, I am! I suppose that if you were to measure success by profit, then I would say I am more successful as a photographer. It’s pretty much funding my writing. I mostly do landscape and nature photography, and then sell canvas prints locally and at craft fairs. However, I’ve been branching out more lately into portraits.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9Om4kx6uUVb7zt7r0IKrM9vXXaBIftHBThVPF1lW0Kl1xjkEustMW7bCNQh3Be4GdQMmkB1svLZ9FdVYG4UQm2tKPrJzpfOjxDdpSWb5vT6fLZgD3FY8rtIM-BmOtWh0Xa2oeYF_HGI/s1600/tarr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9Om4kx6uUVb7zt7r0IKrM9vXXaBIftHBThVPF1lW0Kl1xjkEustMW7bCNQh3Be4GdQMmkB1svLZ9FdVYG4UQm2tKPrJzpfOjxDdpSWb5vT6fLZgD3FY8rtIM-BmOtWh0Xa2oeYF_HGI/s320/tarr.jpg" width="320" /></a>I’m sure you and your readers are familiar with #1 New York Times, best-selling author, S.C. Stephens? She wrote the amazingly successful ‘Thoughtless’ series, and just released ‘Thoughtful’. I had the absolute pleasure of taking the head shot for her new book! (If you look at the photo at the back of Thoughtful, you’ll see credit given to Tara Ellis Photography) She is actually a HUGE inspiration to me, as an indie author. She’s one of the rare ones that broke through and made it. She’s also an incredibly nice person, and I’m so happy for her!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVzk9zooVKkpKnz8zpjK7Aj1EupqzlEC8gza9v8G46rtqh2C5ZgL9TLfd54N4iupCTuFPtUX4HLhLtikkM9qo3yIdhAmuzFQEXU5D2xdTLSUoHb3WnpoQvh1zXKxn0z7DsIA8KxHs8AI/s1600/tar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVzk9zooVKkpKnz8zpjK7Aj1EupqzlEC8gza9v8G46rtqh2C5ZgL9TLfd54N4iupCTuFPtUX4HLhLtikkM9qo3yIdhAmuzFQEXU5D2xdTLSUoHb3WnpoQvh1zXKxn0z7DsIA8KxHs8AI/s320/tar.jpg" width="211" /></a>I’ve also incorporated some of my photography into my book covers. Mel, at Melchelle designs, has created all of my covers and I just love her work. The background in Bloodline is one of mine, and for Descent, I used my daughter as a model! I had such a specific image in mind that I had to set it up. (It involves a rifle) Everyone had said that the model from the stock art used on the first two looked like her, so we went for it, and I think it turned out perfect!<br />
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Here are a couple of examples of my work. This first picture is from down the road near my house. There were some trumpeter swans hanging out and I waited until the weather was just right! The second picture is of my daughter, and I manipulated it a bit to use it for some advertising for the series.<br />
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</div><b>What should we look out from you in the future?</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdIMGBLJ9muQdgIDX0rDoGrugvBo6U5-fudL5ekTbOJ9CnQtQuWk-8SvsiSg0Y4a1oVkV_ESH2HsRKc0paPxl6bM8vJFbC_vfiJojv26iG7Q9DQICaU_gzyEhcEGOtrxVJZ3QN7wdf5c/s1600/nnn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdIMGBLJ9muQdgIDX0rDoGrugvBo6U5-fudL5ekTbOJ9CnQtQuWk-8SvsiSg0Y4a1oVkV_ESH2HsRKc0paPxl6bM8vJFbC_vfiJojv26iG7Q9DQICaU_gzyEhcEGOtrxVJZ3QN7wdf5c/s320/nnn.jpg" width="213" /></a>I’m currently working on the third book in my other series. It’s a middle grade mystery series, similar to Nancy Drew or Trixie Beldon. I’m really loving this one, too, and it’s very easy for me to write. I’ve also started to record and produce my own audio books. So far, I have Bloodline and The Mystery of Hollow Inn (book 1 in the Samantha Wolf Mysteries) out. I plan on producing the whole trilogy by this summer. I’m happy that all of the reviews to date have been good! I’ve done some theatre and a lot of story time, so the narrating comes naturally. I’m telling you though, the mastering/mixing is a lot of work!<br />
My goal is to have the first five books in my kid’s series done by the end of this year, and…I don’t think I’ll be able to stay away from the other world that I created for too long! I have plans to write some novelettes, told first-person from five of the other characters in the Forgotten Origins trilogy. The stories will pick up where the trilogy left off, in the dystopian world left behind. I might then do another full length novel, going back to Alex, and incorporating all of the stories from the novelettes into it.<br />
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</b> <b>You say you have dogs, I love asking about pets! Tell us about them.</b><br />
What a great question! I always like to talk about my ‘other’ babies. The first-born is Baxter, and he’s an adorable, cinnamon colored Miniature Poodle. I have to confess that I based the dog in the trilogy, also named Baxter, after him. Although they are different breeds, the personalities and traits are much the same. If it feels, as a reader, that Baxter is an awfully well-rounded character for a dog…that might be why! <br />
My other doggy is named Daisy, and she’s a Schnoodle. That’s a mix between a schnauzer and a miniature poodle. Also super smart, if not a little neurotic. She is definitely a one-person dog and she chose to attach herself to me.<br />
Unfortunately, we just had to say goodbye to our longest-standing family member, Scooter, just over a month ago. He was an Australian shepherd mix, and although he wasn’t very…intelligent, he was VERY loving and we miss him dearly.<br />
We also have an incredibly cool, sixteen-year-old cat named Spine, and a bearded dragon named Henry. He LOVES crickets.<br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>Is there anything else you want to tell my readers at Confessions of a Bookaholic?</b><br />
Yes, there is! I would just like to invite your readers to give my trilogy a try. I realize that there is a literal sea of books out there. I’m also an avid reader, and so I know how hard it is to find the gems simply by browsing. Finding good indie books are even more difficult, because they often don’t have the thousands of reviews to help the reader decide.<br />
I recently made my trilogy available as an ebook box set, so not only is it more affordable, but because of the length, the free sample on Amazon allows you to read the first twelve chapters of Bloodline! So in addition to the 50+ reviews on Amazon that the trilogy has (with a 4.8 average) you can read almost half of the first book for free and decide for yourself if it’s worth the purchase.<br />
I would also like to invite any reviewers to personally contact me about getting a review copy. I’m always more than happy to gift my books for the sake of an honest review.<br />
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I want to thank you for this opportunity to connect with your readers, because it really does make a difference. The hardest part of being self-published is reaching an audience, and getting to share my story with them! Please don’t hesitate to visit my various sites and leave feedback, I love to hear from other readers and authors.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Visit Tara on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Ellis/e/B00IVF1JQK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7457338.Tara_Ellis">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/taraellisauthor">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaraEllisPhotography">Photography Facebook Page</a> | <a href="http://taraellisauthor.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/taraellisblood">Twitter</a></div><div><br />
</div><div><b>About Bloodline:</b></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSor8tekjceb-1tXYN8Lz2WiT77gLLj9hrQGUeCDiUECSjRcTYFqf5GKpHM2MLmIUfPnRi3tFkf_iRW7d-u9Epf4V3IJX4JRccRmUuPCwnWVvD_nDq2_uf9RJF7I-myN7jRAuo-mNjPg/s1600/412Ogvs9KlL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSor8tekjceb-1tXYN8Lz2WiT77gLLj9hrQGUeCDiUECSjRcTYFqf5GKpHM2MLmIUfPnRi3tFkf_iRW7d-u9Epf4V3IJX4JRccRmUuPCwnWVvD_nDq2_uf9RJF7I-myN7jRAuo-mNjPg/s320/412Ogvs9KlL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_+-+Copy.jpg" width="210" /></a>Sixteen-year-old Alex has always suspected her father’s death wasn't random, but she never guessed how deep the mystery runs or what it involves. When a rare meteor shower is followed by a highly contagious infection, the people she once knew so well start acting like they have a similar purpose that doesn’t include her. Alex can now only rely on her friend Chris and loyal dog Baxter as she plunges into a strange, new world predestined since ancient times. Wandering the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, deciphering cryptic messages left by her father, desperately searching for a cure-will Alex have the courage and faith to even survive?</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Find the Trilogy on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/135272-forgotten-origins-trilogy">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=series_rw_dp_labf?_encoding=UTF8&field-collection=Forgotten%20Origins%20Trilogy&url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8y6CymD6IU&list=UUURog3ODq-dEkmd-dQXYjKQ">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/forgottenoriginsbloodlineHeritageDescent/timeline">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://bloodlinetaraellis.wix.com/ebook">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Teens/Bloodline-Audiobook/B00R56G7T0/ref=a_pd_Kids_T_c8_1_sim_auth">Audible</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V2TS744">Free Sample</a> </div><div><br />
</div><div>Tara has agreed to not one but two giveaways! The paperback giveaway is for the US ONLY but the other is international, feel free to enter both if the requirements allow it but you can only win one.<br />
<br />
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Make sure to let Tara and I know what you thought of the spotlight in the comments!<br />
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If you are an author and want to be spotlighted drop me an email. Don't forget to share my spotlight posts wherever you can, it's really important to support the lesser known author community! Also if you want to be included in my scheme then you need it to be popular enough for you to have maximum publicity!<br />
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<b>If you do share my scheme let me know where and I will post an endorsement of your blog/book/anything in exchange on my <a href="https://twitter.com/EmilyBookaholic">Twitter </a>account.</b><br />
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</div></div>Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-76684563412027083232015-05-08T22:11:00.000+01:002015-05-09T11:46:05.690+01:00Review: Hero, Cursed by Diantha Jones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Series: </b><i>Mythos #2</i><br />
<b>Genre: </b><i>Mythology, Fantasy</i><br />
<b>Release Date: </b><i>August 17th 2014</i><br />
<b>Source: </b><i>Copy in exchange for an honest review</i><br />
<b>Overall Rating: </b><i>5/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Cover Rating: </b><i>4/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Synopsis: </b><i>Before he knew the Oracle.</i><br />
<i>Before he knew the Quad.</i><br />
<i>Before the Great Unknown threatened his world.</i><br />
<i>He was a hero, cursed forever. </i><br />
<i>Shunned by a family that doesn't understand him, demigod Lenka Tahile aka "Swindle" is a complete loner and he likes it that way. Then he meets the hero, Ace Remedy, the brother of an infamous demigod Prince, and his life goes from bad to worse. Ace is loud, rude, and disruptive to his peaceful existence in every way. He's also hilarious and daring, and Swindle ends up finding a friend just when he thought he'd never have another.</i><br />
<i>But little does he know, becoming friends with Ace was all part of the Fates' plan. Now his past is slowly coming back to haunt him and there's nothing he can do to stop it. Nothing but try not to bring to light the lost love, the failed hopes, and the cursed existence that he would kill to keep in the dark. </i><br />
<b>First Line: </b><i>Summer Solstice break was over, forums had resumed, and all I could hope for was that I wouldn't slit anyone's throat before the say was over.</i><br />
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When I got an email from Diantha requesting a review of this book I almost jumped for joy. Anyone who has followed my blog for a while will know that I absolutely love the Oracle of Delphi series and also really enjoyed the first of the Mythos novellas therefore it is an understatement to say that I was excited to read this. At first I had difficulty with this book as it had been so long since I had read the others and couldn't remember everything but after a few pages I reconnected with the series enough to be able to remember most of the events. I personally think that is the mark of a really great series, there are so many that I have had to abandon because I couldn't remember what had happened previously in the series. Luckily that was not the case with Hero, Cursed.<br />
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The characterisation of the Oracle of Delphi series has always been one of the strongest I've come across. I really love all of the characters from the humans to the demigods to the actual gods. They're all so realistically flawed and therefore very easy to identify with. This novella exemplifies this by exploring the character of Lenka aka Swindle. In the main series Lenka fascinated me, he was so tormented and mysterious. Not Strafford-tormented but close. I was so excited to see that this novella was from his point of view for this reason and I was not let down. I was really hoping for a real plot twist to explain why Swindle is the way he is and Diantha did not disappoint. Normally I can predict this kind of thing but I was really surprised, there were some things I had already guessed from the original series but the majority caught me off guard. I feel like after reading this novella I understand the character of Swindle better, I liked him before of course but now that has been hugely magnified. The characters I already loved didn't appear much in this one but the glimpses I did get satisfied me for now.<br />
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I loved how mythology based this series is, a lot of books are based upon one myth and revolve around it only. This novella in particular incorporates so much mythology! References included Jason and the Argonauts, Medea, Odysseus, Calypso - they didn't all have big main parts but the name-drops themselves really made the book special. Also, after studying Classical Civilisation at A-Level I finally began to feel like that qualification had real life applications like everyone promised it would. As long as I can get mythological references I am happy!<br />
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I really loved this insight into the mind of Lenka and absolutely cannot wait for the the next novel or novella in the series - I don't care which comes first, I just need my Oracle of Delphi fix as soon as possible. I really miss the character who we didn't see much of! My love for Ace is still as strong as ever! I have kept all spoilers for both the main Oracle of Delphi series and the Mythos novella series because I really want you guys to read them for yourself, you won't regret it, I promise! Tell me whether you like the look of the series and any other views you may have!<br />
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<b>Best Quote</b><br />
<i>"</i><i>We </i><i>weren't spying," I said. "We were observing."</i><br />
<i>"Same thing," the Naiad holding Ace by the cuirass said.</i><br />
<i>"No, it's not," he replied. "Spyin' is wha' idiot fellas do when they don ' t want a pretty wan to know they're lookin' at her. We have absolutely no issues with openly starin' at you and expressin' how much we like wha' we see."</i><br />
<i>"Nice, Remedy," I mumbled with admiration.</i><br />
<i>"Then why were you hiding in the lotus flowers?"</i><br />
<i>"We were jus' waitin' for you to come find us." Ace flashed a grin. "Hide. And. Seek."</i><br />
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To sway you further towards reading it check out my reviews of the rest of the series below.<br />
<a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/prophecy-of-most-beautiful-by-diantha.html">Prophecy of the Most Beautiful (Oracle of Delphi #1)</a><br />
<a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/prophecy-of-setting-sunrise-by-diantha.html">Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise (Oracle of Delphi #2)</a><br />
<a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/solar-defeated-by-diantha-jones.html">Solar, Defeated (Oracle of Delphi #2.5/ Mythos #1)</a><br />
<a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/oracle-of-delphi-blog-tour-review-and.html">Prophecy of Solstice's End (Oracle of Delphi #3)</a><br />
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-12005029759819863292015-05-03T13:43:00.000+01:002015-05-03T13:43:14.430+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Sameer Ketkar, Author of God's Glass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZULXyR4AVHKhyphenhyphenb1hDTCAbhyphenhyphenmHlZ2CeRZKaK4N2zKSUxNT8v4nYZ9s-HYeW25a_AjS-l4K3fwz9scjwpmJ1b9Sdj7GZuknag_Yq_zzDmCQMwJtbDmrcVYzZcjdFyRJKg5WBjtlhENwvs/s1600/sundays.png" height="236" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at emily.confessionsofa<br />
bookaholic@gmail.com with 'Author Spotlight' in the subject line.<br />
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Today's author is Sameer Ketkar, author of the unique romance novel <i>God's Glass</i>. He has kindly agreed to both an interview and a giveaway below.<br />
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<b>About Sameer</b><br />
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Sameer Ketkar published his third novel, "Victory Blvd.", in the summer of 2014, and his fourth novel, "God's Glass," in winter of 2014. He is currently working on a novel about the historical king Charlemagne, as well as a sequel to his 2013 novel "Bodies: Book #1: Staged Fright." Sameer published his first novel, "Entanglement," about two star-crossed lovers who can't seem to unentangle themselves from one another, in January of 2011. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California, and has written one feature film, "Backwaters." He has written dozens of unproduced screenplays and TV pilots, and has written and directed numerous short films and commercials. Sameer likes to play guitar and draw pictures in his free time.<br />
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<b>Interview</b><br />
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</b> <b>Hi there Sameer, welcome to Confessions of a Bookaholic!</b><br />
<b>God’s Glass looks really interesting! Can you tell us anything about it that the synopsis doesn’t cover?</b><br />
It’s really a story about unconventional love and unconventional lifestyles, and how they can be normal – even beautiful – too. As a kid growing up I always felt like a bit of an outcast; the weirdo. So God’s Glass is kind of my ode to weirdos. By presenting a character as strange and unconventional as Joanie Callahan, I’m hoping I can reassure many people out there who ask themselves, “What’s wrong with me?” I’m hoping those people will see Joanie and realize there’s nothing wrong with them. They are just different. And that is beautiful in its own right. <br />
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<b>Looking at the reviews I noticed you had LOADS of five star reviews! Did you expect this amount of success?</b><br />
Definitely not! God’s Glass is such an unusual story I wasn’t expecting many people to respond to it. I am very glad that they have so far. The story definitely requires an open mind, so I am hoping more people with open minds will check it out. Sales have been marginal so far, so maybe that reflects the story’s unconventional status!<br />
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<b>What is the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received?</b><br />
Never quit. I’ve had people absolutely slam my stories, but conclude their criticism with: Keep on writing. And it’s great advice. You cannot please everyone every time. Sometimes you cannot please anyone at all. So write stories that you enjoy, and keep writing them, and you’ll find an audience. <br />
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<b>Tell us about your other works!</b><br />
I’ve been writing a long time. Twenty years now! I initially started writing short stories, but then went to film school to study screenwriting. That is still my number one goal, to become a film and TV writer. But it’s a hard industry to break into, so I’ve started converting a lot of my old scripts into novels that I can self-publish on Amazon. One of those script-to-book adaptations I really feel could be an interesting ongoing series (it started off as a TV pilot) is another story about unconventional love, called Bodies. It’s a relatively standard police procedural, except that the three lead investigators get into a longterm threesome relationship. I want to show all the ups and downs of starting a relationship – but with a threesome dynamic. All the drama, all the highs and lows, the fighting, the makeup sex – but with three people. Oh, and all that drama takes place during police procedural cases! I really want to show that relationship develop over time, especially since two of the members of the threesome are a married couple with kids! So the “other man” in the relationship has to win over the kids as well as the parents...all while an ongoing bioterrorism plotline consumes their time. <br />
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<b>Who is your favourite character in God’s Glass?</b><br />
Definitely the lead character, Joanie Callahan. She’s just so unusual and so heartbreaking. She reminds me of an extreme version of myself, which is why I wrote her that way. She’s the beacon for misfits around the world, to tell them: You’re not alone.<br />
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<b>What advice would you give to new writers?</b><br />
Same advice as the best piece of feedback I ever received: Never stop writing! Don’t be one of those “writers” who talks about writing but never does it. Always write. Everything you write will teach you something. You will grow as a writer every time you write. So that means the more you do it, the more you will grow. If you’re not inspired, then write a journal, or write jokes, or write music. Keep training your creative muscle at all times. Like any other muscle, it needs workouts to grow strong. You might want to schedule a time every day to write. And if you make a schedule, stick to it. Don’t slack off or let things get in the way. This is your life. Make it work for you; don’t let things stop you from writing. <br />
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<b>What is your favourite thing about writing?</b><br />
It makes me feel like a mad scientist. I feel like, “a-hahahahha, I am creating the next great thing.” It doesn’t matter if it ends up being a bad story. When I’m on a roll, I always have that mad scientist feeling. And damn it if that isn’t the best feeling in the world!<br />
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<b>What authors do you believe shaped your work the most?</b><br />
This is a tough one, because my favorite authors and biggest influences don’t really show in my work. They are just my gods that I hold up on a lofty pedestal. J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Crichton, George Orwell, George Lucas, Trey Parker, Billy Wilder. I aspire to be as great as these writers, but in truth I never really try to imitate them. I do my own weirdo stories that I hope will be as well received as those authors’ stories. <br />
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<b>What should we look out for from you in the future?</b><br />
I am working on a historical fiction story about the king Charlemagne. I’m also trying to get a film version of God’s Glass off the ground, as well as a television crime drama.<br />
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<b>Is there anything else you wish to tell the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic?</b><br />
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Thank you for taking the time to read my long-ass interview! Verbosity is a symptom of being a writer. No, there is no cure. <br />
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<b>Visit Sameer on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sameer-Ketkar/e/B004J416CE">Amazon </a>| <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4581941.Sameer_Ketkar">Goodreads</a> </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_opmCft8nNmUs_94SgQFqVt0ikurpQ77YQDuYCYZtxWIX8tn-YR2pEnayJ3kCFBot0VUiQ9NHm48igssI4YvuTO_LoKJDSaGWZrUq-o3ZyTpL7Y6KSffbpawVlSph3gDN9-HoUYGuwQ/s1600/23500512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_opmCft8nNmUs_94SgQFqVt0ikurpQ77YQDuYCYZtxWIX8tn-YR2pEnayJ3kCFBot0VUiQ9NHm48igssI4YvuTO_LoKJDSaGWZrUq-o3ZyTpL7Y6KSffbpawVlSph3gDN9-HoUYGuwQ/s1600/23500512.jpg" height="290" width="200" /></a><b>About God's Glass</b></div>
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<i>“God’s Glass” is the life story of Joanie Callahan, a woman born with algophilia -- the scientific term for masochism. But Joanie’s masochism isn’t just sexual -- it’s all of her happiness that’s tied to pain. She can only feel the highest emotional joys -- from art to music to curiosity to love -- through some measure of pain. </i></div>
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<i>Joanie's family ostracizes her for this, going so far as to get her an exorcism, and have her committed to a psych ward for electro-shock therapy. </i></div>
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<i>Joanie's all alone in the world, until she meets a boxer named Michael who might possibly be just like her...</i></div>
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<b>Check out <i>God's Glass</i> on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23500512-god-s-glass?ac=1">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sameer-Ketkar/e/B004J416CE">Amazon</a></b></div>
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I can't be the only one who thinks <i>God's Glass </i>looks amazing - I wish I had time to read it myself! If you agree with me but don't wish to rush to Amazon just yet to get it then you're in luck because Sameer has agreed to a giveaway! Enter below to be in for a chance to win - this is one I really recommend you enter. <b>After you've entered comment below telling me why you want to win, this will even get you extra entries! </b><br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="976f403b5" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/976f403b5/" id="rcwidget_w9xwa9c9" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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If you are an author and want to be spotlighted drop me an email. Don't forget to share my spotlight posts wherever you can, it's really important to support the lesser known author community! Also if you want to be included in my scheme then you need it to be popular enough for you to have maximum publicity!<br />
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<b>If you do share my scheme let me know where and I will post an endorsement of your blog/book/anything in exchange on my <a href="http://twitter.com/EmilyBookaholic">Twitter</a> account.</b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-65319442202549244452015-05-01T18:26:00.000+01:002015-05-04T23:36:24.678+01:00Review: Darkest Light by Alex Taylor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24990141-darkest-light" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0xn6FaeEpVSa0DNhbbkLpiXSyzDJpa1aagpUkW6WwQfRl4Xd5r7FHYC-TFF8a4cln3Lp3-uFzFQIIoaf-yH_FwzH23MaU0dG1u1qtS1RsicrH4sYPPpYbrwcR7N4JVyw1EpWl7MtOsU/s1600/dl.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span id="goog_1128634976"></span><span id="goog_1128634977"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><b>Series: </b><i>Darkest Light #1</i><br />
<b>Genre: </b><i>Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance </i><br />
<b>Release Date: </b><i>January 16th 2015</i><br />
<b>Source: </b><i>Copy from the author in exchange for an honest review</i><br />
<b>Overall Rating: </b><i>3/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Cover Rating: </b><i>3/5 Stars</i><br />
<b>Synopsis: </b><i>The weather is stormy, and the room is dark and cold. Michael dreams about a woman in the comfort of his bed, missing her warmth against his naked body. He ponders, wondering what he can do to change his lifestyle and crummy house. He hates his job and his daily routine. This isn't just any morning, though. Michael is about to embark on a journey that will change his perspective on life. Darkest Light is a fantasy and a romance, full of mystical creatures, magical scenes and a beautiful alternative world, which will set your imagination loose.</i><br />
<b>First Line: </b><i>Bzz, bzz, bzzz, bzzz. The alarm wakes me with a sudden fright.</i><br />
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I received this book in exchange for an honest review and, initially, I was apprehensive, the premise was nothing like I had read before. I know that alternate universe stories are not unusual however I had never come across one before so this was a new experience for me. The story is set up quickly, we meet Michael, a very discontented fellow who wants more out of life and it's easy to understand why from his descriptions of his home and life. It is easy to identify with Michael because in one way or another we are all somewhat discontented however this is taken to the extreme with his characterisation. The main purpose of many people when reading fantasy books is to escape the monotonous nature of real life in favor of an exciting fantasy land in which anything can happen. This is usual, what is unusual is to have that happen to a character within a fantasy. Michael himself appears to represent the reader of fantasies in the way that he too escapes his tedious life to go to a brilliant exciting world in which he can gain fulfillment. Overall, the plot of the novel really interested me and I think it was quite successfully executed on the whole with the exception, perhaps, of the slow pace. Not much actually happens within the plot now that I think about it but don't let that put you off, anyone who has read <i>The Catcher in the Rye</i> knows that a book does not need much plot development in order to be successful.<br />
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My main criticism of <i>Darkest Light </i>has to be the writing style. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it is weak. What I mean is that it was not for me. Everyone has a writing style that they prefer and for me it is always past tense, I find it very difficult to connect with a text that is written in present tense and sadly for me this book was. I know of lots of people who favor present tense and I know many have no preference between tenses so this is certainly not something that would put off too many people. I may just have been being picky but this did not sit too well with me and is perhaps a reason why it look me quite a while to finish it, that and my very busy schedule.<br />
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I feel quite mixed towards the character if I am honest, on the one hand Taylor depicts them very realistically. All the characters are very multi-faceted, unlike with many authors who idealise their protagonists these ones are very flawed. I know what you're thinking, flaws shouldn't be praised because they make the characters less likable. While this is true, flaws also serve to humanise the characters and make them more relatable. This is certainly true of Michael and Noeleen, they are very human and relatable in a number of ways but I really think it's possible to be too relatable. Like I said earlier, the reason many read fantasy is to escape the real world and to then be greeted with character so realistic that you could meet them in the street could be seen as an anti-climax. This was only slight however, I was quite impressed overall with the character development despite this.<br />
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In conclusion, though I could not connect with the writing style of <i>Darkest Light</i> the realism of the characters and the exciting and imaginative plot was really quite impressive and for that reason I gave it <i>three </i>stars. I would recommend this book to sci-fi and fantasy lovers who are less picky than me about narrative style.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-57356693593770830842015-04-28T00:00:00.000+01:002015-04-28T00:00:00.138+01:00Tips From a Book Blogger to an Author #1: Social Media Edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have been planning this post for a while and am very glad to finally have the time (ability to ignore other commitments) to write it. Every day I get an email or a Goodreads message from one author or another asking me for tips, it's only natural that authors would want to get a bloggers perspective after all, so I decided to write this series for those who are less keen on directly asking for help. If you do have any questions that I don't manage to answer in my tips then just shoot me and email and I will help! My first post in the author tips series centers around the useful and essential invention that is social media.</div>
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Dear authors, </div>
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<b>Social media is your friend!</b></div>
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I'm sorry guys but if you are an author who wants to succeed in the world you need to have some social networking profiles, if you don't have any and still manage to succeed you are the exception rather than the rule. The two platforms I recommend to all authors are <b><a href="http://goodreads.com/">Goodreads</a> </b>and <b><a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a></b>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrylE1ReNOK8Gvg8u1dubUiWLJXacXvjxu8xfT2l6S9VF0-ZcQSpWlbuPf5itMBw7Sy0Dex6X8XdWaVNd89rNMyDsNvklu3_DupVnvZnpKILuwvvuHJSP9fhIffs-CUlCKLG4YolXdT7U/s1600/gr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrylE1ReNOK8Gvg8u1dubUiWLJXacXvjxu8xfT2l6S9VF0-ZcQSpWlbuPf5itMBw7Sy0Dex6X8XdWaVNd89rNMyDsNvklu3_DupVnvZnpKILuwvvuHJSP9fhIffs-CUlCKLG4YolXdT7U/s1600/gr.jpg" height="139" width="320" /></a>They are essential, trust me, and not just one or the other - both. It is vital that you implement Goodreads as an author, the majority of book lovers are on that website which makes it worthwhile anyway but also it acts as a catalog of the worlds books. If your book isn't on there no one will find it. Don't believe me? Google your a book and I guarantee one of the top results will be Goodreads. Many authors believe that having their book on Amazon is enough but that is not true. When I search a book that I'm interested in I don't click the Amazon link, that is for if I want to buy it, I <u>never</u> use Amazon for informational purposes, Goodreads is the way forward for that! </div>
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It is not just your book details that should be put on Goodreads though, your author profile is also very important. I personally like to read author bios and they are very useful when I am making up interview questions. If there is nothing or barely anything in your profile then you cannot expect to get anything other than generic questions! Make your profiles personal and relatable, tell us about your hobbies, your influences, even your pets. Be as friendly as possible and, who knows, you may start to get more requests from reviewers - no one wants to email an author who doesn't seem approachable! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPb19g9D-GDqUgrIs7wLLd3oxIlat0OmUPTiHyv_pLiLGD7oIGzHAEiDAwShHXeiNUoRz9bEQiBXLAoeaAg8Iiu0bDDzR8Y_2u8Prh1n_iJ5cRoGlplH8iyaxJsJmGGiQnET8LWW1FgA/s1600/hjhkhkhkjh.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPb19g9D-GDqUgrIs7wLLd3oxIlat0OmUPTiHyv_pLiLGD7oIGzHAEiDAwShHXeiNUoRz9bEQiBXLAoeaAg8Iiu0bDDzR8Y_2u8Prh1n_iJ5cRoGlplH8iyaxJsJmGGiQnET8LWW1FgA/s1600/hjhkhkhkjh.png" height="162" width="400" /></a>Goodreads is not just about information sharing though, it is a bookish community. By participating in conversations, group reads and supporting other authors you are involving yourself in that community and making friends and contacts. I would say the majority of my contacts come from my involvement in Goodreads. I moderate a group on Goodreads called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/62777-books-blogs-authors-and-more">Books, Blogs, Authors and More </a>that's main purpose is to help build this community between, yes you guessed it, readers, bloggers and authors. This may appear to be shameless advertising but I promise you that is not my aim, I aim to provide a support system which is vital for authors like you..</div>
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Speaking of being approachable, you must have means of connecting with your readers. Not all readers write full reviews but almost all post their views on Twitter. If you don't have Twitter you are really missing out, I always tweet my favorite authors with my views and links to my reviews. For all you know there may be a few reviews of your book out there that you have never come across because you don't have Twitter. Unlikely yes but possible. Twitter is a way of communicating <b>and </b>getting the word out about your works. When I tweet that becomes available to all of my followers to look at, if I mention you in a tweet then it is likely my followers will jump from my tweet to your profile and follow you. Suddenly you have more potential fans.<br />
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No one gains popularity unless they put themselves out there and social media is the way to do that. The two platforms above are <b>essential </b>but there are a number of others which are also important. Websites and Blogs put all of your information in one place for readers to find which is very useful. Facebook is another platform that can be potentially useful however this one only tends to work well if you already have a large and active fanbase.<br />
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<b><i>I hope you take my advice and it helps you because that is my aim in many of the things I do around here at Confessions of a Bookaholic. Tell me what you thought of this post in the comments and look out for the next installment in my author tips series! </i></b><br />
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<b>Remember, if you have any questions in the meantime I am always available to answer them via email or Google Hangouts if you prefer.</b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-66494188907735389092015-04-26T00:00:00.000+01:002015-04-26T00:00:04.777+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Carys Jones, Author of Dare to Dream<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at emily.confessionsofa<br />
bookaholic@gmail.com with <b>'Author Spotlight' </b>in the subject line.<br />
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Today’s author is Carys Jones, author of the new YA release <i>Dare to Dream</i>! She has written a guest post for you all to enjoy – although it is not bookish it does discuss some book-to-tv adaptations among other things which is always interesting!<br />
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<b>About Carys: </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxFLlUE6LDV8HsZiI5g589c70CuDRwcyNMPZnkGn2eLYjNEfk0Sc-u6cSUiw7y7qfsJ7zVdASVLSOTvIM-KI2HhEAKmRP2vrIzsTyQyFVUoV3Iw7zP7bdVgBZRyJnJVvb_YP62S0B5iA/s1600/authr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxFLlUE6LDV8HsZiI5g589c70CuDRwcyNMPZnkGn2eLYjNEfk0Sc-u6cSUiw7y7qfsJ7zVdASVLSOTvIM-KI2HhEAKmRP2vrIzsTyQyFVUoV3Iw7zP7bdVgBZRyJnJVvb_YP62S0B5iA/s1600/authr.jpg" /></a>Carys Jones loves nothing more than to write and create stories which ignite the reader's imagination. Based in Shropshire, England, Carys lives with her husband, two guinea pigs and her adored canine companion Rollo. When she's not writing, Carys likes to indulge her inner geek by watching science- fiction films or playing video games. She lists John Green, Jodi Picoult and Virginia Andrews as her favourite authors and draws inspiration for her own work from anything and everything.<br />
To Carys, there is no greater feeling then when you lose yourself in a great story and it is that feeling of ultimate escapism which she tries to bring to her books.<br />
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<b>Visit Carys’ <a href="http://www.carys-jones.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/tiny_dancer85">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7314534.Carys_Jones">Goodreads</a></b><br />
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<b>Guest Post: My Favourite TV Shows</b><br />
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I’m lucky enough to be able to work from home full time as a writer. Yes, this does mean that sometimes I sit about in a onesie all day and don’t leave the house. No, I don’t watch TV all day I do actually do (some) work. Saying that, I like to treat myself in the middle of the day to a break watching one of my favourite shows! I can be quite a fan girl about shows I like so allow me to share with you some of the ones I’m currently gushing about;<br />
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<b>The Vampire Diaries</b><br />
I LOVE TVD! I’m unfashionably behind and have only just finished season 5. I did cry. A lot. Some were tears of joy because I’ve been gunning for Alaric to return for AGES! I am most definitely team Damon. I absolutely adore him; he’s the bad guy with the heart of gold and I can’t get enough of him! He’s back in season 6 right? Right?!<br />
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<b>American Horror Story Coven</b><br />
I watched American Horror Story Coven over Christmas and was just blown away by it. It was by far my favourite of the AHS shows so far. I've never been a huge fan of witches when they've appeared in other shows like True Blood and The Originals. I felt like Coven was the first time I actually thought witches were cool and would flirt with wanting to be one! It was also refreshing to see a show crammed full of strong, empowering women. I loved it and recommend it to anyone (so long as you aren't squeamish…)<br />
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<b>Grey’s Anatomy</b><br />
If only doctors in real life were as handsome as they are in Grey’s Anatomy! My life would be a lot more fun! : ) I've loved Grey’s Anatomy for years and feel sad to think back to a time when it wasn't in my life. For me, there is always just the right amount of drama and angst weighed against the interesting medical issues being dealt with. I hope the series never ends though sadly I fear that one day it probably will as nothing lasts forever. Though Grey’s could be the exception, don’t you think??<br />
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<b>Pretty Little Liars</b><br />
I got into this show thanks to Netflix when I was searching for something new to watch. As with most of the shows I watch, I’m behind as I don’t watch them on TV. I’m almost at the end of season 4 so no spoilers about season 5 please! The show frustrates me as much as it excites me. Who the hell is A and are we ever going to find out?! Probably not but that’s half the fun! I spend most of the time coveting all the fabulous clothes the girls in it wear. And if you wondered who I identify with most in the show it would probably be Aria as I've secretly always wished I was brave enough to dye my hair pink…<br />
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<b>Reign</b><br />
Again, this was another Netflix discovery but oh my, am I glad we met! Reign is thrilling, exciting and full of sumptuous ball gowns which make me wish I wasn't actually locked in the house writing all day so that I could have an excuse to get all dressed up! I’m still deciding between Bash and Francis but leaning towards Bash as he’s the forbidden brother which makes him all the more alluring…<br />
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So…yeah, like I said, I’m mostly writing when I’m at home all day. Mostly… *coughs nervously*<br />
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<b>About Dare to Dream:</b><br />
<b><br /></b><i>"The world was going to end. Of that, Maggie Trafford was certain."</i><br />
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<i>Fourteen-year-old Maggie Trafford leads a normal life. Well, as normal as being crammed in a three-bedroom house with four siblings and a single parent can be, anyway. But despite being somewhat ignored at home, Maggie excels, earning top grades, a best friend who would do anything for her, and stolen looks from a boy in Maths. </i><br />
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</i> <i>It’s not until the dreams start that Maggie realizes “normal” is the least of her problems. Every night, she lives the same nightmare—red lightning, shattered glass, destruction. But nightmares are just that, right? No one believes her when she says it’s an omen. At least, not until the already mysterious pillars of Stonehenge start falling. </i><br />
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</i> <i>No longer alone in her fear, Maggie and the world watch with bated breath as one after another, the historic stones tumble, like a clock counting down. But only Maggie knows what it means: when the last stone falls, destruction will reign. And when the world ends, there’s only one option left—survive.</i><br />
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</i> <i>Horrifying and raw, Dare to Dream is equal parts tragedy and hope, detailing the aftermath of apocalyptic catastrophe, the quest for survival, and the importance of belief.</i><br />
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<b>Check out Dare to Dream on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23337621-dare-to-dream">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1942111088/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Dare-Dream-Dr-Carys-Jones/9781942111085">Book Depository</a></b><br />
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Carys has also kindly agreed to a <b>giveaway </b>of two copies of her novel <i>Dare to Dream,</i> how exciting! Enter below to be in for a chance of winning her amazing novel.</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="976f403b4" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/976f403b4/" id="rcwidget_3zr7xvs9" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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I hope you enjoyed learning more about Carys and <i>Dare to Dream</i>, don't forget to enter the giveaway to be in for a chance to win! If you are an author and want to be spotlighted drop me an email. Don't forget to share my spotlight posts wherever you can, it's really important to support the lesser known author community! Also if you want to be included in my scheme then you need it to be popular enough for you to have maximum publicity!<br />
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<b>If you do share my scheme let me know where and I will post an endorsement of your blog/book/anything in exchange on my Twitter account.</b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-90660039245705653292015-04-25T04:00:00.000+01:002015-04-25T04:00:04.809+01:00Cover Reveal: The Gatherers by Ashley Ehlers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinW_eCsohwUpdgZjcG-4qkGa82fQfMIT0uOYXO_8lSllJNLFdPTaaIdmv7_1SvmvtF1EyTBT9n0IQsYrSsOLZoLvwWOBdSwxwfYd4JHxJZhmCWkHM_Q5sBzbehqnb086EwQf4-t3-uSc/s1600/unnamed.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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This cover reveal was hosted by <a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/">Xpresso Book Tours</a>.</div>
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I'm sorry I haven't posted a review in a while guys but because I have been so busy lately I literally don't have the time to read or review. My smaller posts such as Spotlights, discussion posts and cover reveals like this however will stay constant because they're quick and easy. Bear with me guys, the blog will get back to normal soon!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTNKh4rkSST3TXIzqrsh4ngpgcnpZreUxwzV0tSNKKjxD8MPGfxhMltVQ7tnPhxr0fuBXEdRNWfolVKQJbiD42lh5cCs4K9kStabWOa8Px1NCX-lqudVsTKesLmnJCR0ZXQZhA1FTESU/s1600/16194122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTNKh4rkSST3TXIzqrsh4ngpgcnpZreUxwzV0tSNKKjxD8MPGfxhMltVQ7tnPhxr0fuBXEdRNWfolVKQJbiD42lh5cCs4K9kStabWOa8Px1NCX-lqudVsTKesLmnJCR0ZXQZhA1FTESU/s1600/16194122.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>Today's cover reveal is of the prequel to Ashley Ehlers Harvesting series! First here is some information on book one, <i>The Harvesters</i>:</div>
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<i>When she finds her boyfriend shackled to a white metal table Ashley fears for the worst.</i><br />
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<i>On a small road trip of dropping off a package for Jason’s father, the young couple never thought they would be running for their lives. Running away from supposedly friends whom in turn to be a family of harvesters. </i><br />
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<i>Human harvesters and they're looking for something specific. And Ashley just might be the perfect match.</i><br />
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<b>Find out more about book one on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16194122-the-harvesters">Goodreads </a>| <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Harvesters-Harvesting-Series-ebook/dp/B00AEWHNI6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364006825&sr=8-1&keywords=the+harvesters+by+ashley">Amazon</a></b><br />
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Doesn't that cover look haunting? The cover I am going to reveal to you today however is debatable even better!<br />
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*Drumroll*<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2yl5Q4w_7EvYH-w-6BX2448NxoeksZQDQ6jqgI0lF2zo7iROTyCdbSAehx0jSemluFQZ7Hlo9_EqtBaz_FYGiM9wjpaCxWVoXLkVTUrEFJCUlVMLd6QRZ-uXe7PUGL0Z1shidqwZayM/s1600/gather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2yl5Q4w_7EvYH-w-6BX2448NxoeksZQDQ6jqgI0lF2zo7iROTyCdbSAehx0jSemluFQZ7Hlo9_EqtBaz_FYGiM9wjpaCxWVoXLkVTUrEFJCUlVMLd6QRZ-uXe7PUGL0Z1shidqwZayM/s1600/gather.jpg" height="640" width="425" /></a></div>
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This amazing cover was designed by <a href="http://niinascoverdesign.weebly.com/">For the Love of Reading Cover Design</a> and I think they did a great job of it!</div>
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<b>Title</b>: <i>The Gatherers </i></div>
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<b>Series</b>: <i>Harvesting #0.5</i></div>
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<b>Publication date:</b> <i>April 25th 2015 </i></div>
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<b>Genres:</b> <i>Horror, Young Adult</i></div>
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<b>Synopsis: </b><i>Ashley and Jason weren't the only ones to have an encounter with The Harvesters that day.... Coleen hasn’t been the happiest with her father remarrying, especially to the mother that gave birth to her enemy, Virginia. Bleach blonde bimbo as Coleen thought the moment they started high school. But since they’ve graduated, their parents married for a year now, Coleen has seen a whole new side of Virginia and the girls have gotten closer than ever. However the parents don’t see it, as the girls put up a front, so they plan a getaway to the family’s cabin before the girls go off to college.</i></div>
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<i>Being away from the city is exactly what the girls wanted. Virginia even has something special planned for Coleen on this holiday and being out in the woods is the perfect setting for it. Though things get put on hold when their family dog Trudy runs away and Coleen’s step mother insists she goes out and find her. So as Coleen walks into the woods she gets a chilling sign from her step mother, Tori, which starts a domino effect of bloody unforgettable events.</i></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20574832-the-gatherers?ac=1">Check it out on Goodreads</a></div>
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<b>About Ashley:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKroip_Em4EFiJFdbxVBchSoQIjT5WM3Fm-8k2IYZ3cX2nuUrQgoaB6idUMhE1kDFOSnMQ2tz3toLeDaDbfbjQ00MkF9riM9drC7MXi11z_xCmVaPPp4sBCW_Sj9FGOgzoZTUW7oPg4y8/s1600/authorr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKroip_Em4EFiJFdbxVBchSoQIjT5WM3Fm-8k2IYZ3cX2nuUrQgoaB6idUMhE1kDFOSnMQ2tz3toLeDaDbfbjQ00MkF9riM9drC7MXi11z_xCmVaPPp4sBCW_Sj9FGOgzoZTUW7oPg4y8/s1600/authorr.jpg" /></a>Newly married Ashley Ehlers now resides in San Diego with her husband who is currently stationed there. There in their cozy two bedroom apartment she finds the peace she’s been looking for. As they settle into the new chapters of their lives Ashley’s Muses are growing stronger than ever as <br />
inspiration is around every corner in her latest adventure.<br />
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Check out Ashley's <a href="http://www.paranormalsisters.blogspot.ca/">Blog </a>| <a href="https://twitter.com/AEhlersWrites">Twitter </a>| <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6604539.Ashley_Ehlers">Goodreads </a><br />
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I hope you enjoyed today's cover reveal! I personally want to read the books just based on those striking covers.<br />
Tell me what you think of them!<br />
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<b>Do you want to have me partake/host a cover reveal here on Confessions of a Bookaholic? </b><b>Just drop me a note at emily.confessionsofabookaholic@gmail.com</b></div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-65928156090452920582015-04-19T00:00:00.000+01:002015-04-19T00:00:02.139+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Stephen Oram, Author of Quantum Confessions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at <b>emily.confessionsofa</b><br />
<b>bookaholic@gmail.com</b> with <b>'Author Spotlight'</b> in the subject line.<br />
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Today's author is Stephen Oram, author of Quantum Confessions. He has kindly agreed to an interview and giveaway with us here at Confessions of a Bookaholic!<br />
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<b>About Stephen:</b><br />
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</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jICkT8Uq-PMi_Na-OyI8WQaYgU6Td_lqp9VKmZU6l23zGUiFGQNwakCq69rFeTqZ3dXXYORGbNbvvIdAAgPp9xjNSMzd3YssYc_JV8LU-TxcUUGL7pgRI4AF_Lk3kdnix0f02218C7U/s1600/8461328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jICkT8Uq-PMi_Na-OyI8WQaYgU6Td_lqp9VKmZU6l23zGUiFGQNwakCq69rFeTqZ3dXXYORGbNbvvIdAAgPp9xjNSMzd3YssYc_JV8LU-TxcUUGL7pgRI4AF_Lk3kdnix0f02218C7U/s1600/8461328.jpg" /></a><i>Like each and every one of us, my perspective of the world has been affected by many people and experiences: as a teenager I was heavily influenced by the ethos of punk; in my early twenties I embraced the squatter scene and then joined a religious cult, briefly; I did some computer stuff in what became London’s silicon roundabout; and I’m now a civil servant with a gentle attraction to anarchism. I really enjoy taking a sideways look at our world and thinking, “what if,” and then writing about it through speculative, usually dystopian, fiction.</i><br />
<i>I live in Fitzrovia, London and my debut novel, Quantum Confessions, was published by SilverWood Books in August 2014. </i><br />
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<i>I also write Living in your dystopia, which is the online diary of a visitor to our universe who is trying to decide whether we’re worth saving or not.</i><br />
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See his full bio on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8461328.Stephen_Oram" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
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<b>Interview:</b><br />
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<b>Hi Stephen! Thank you for agreeing to be spotlighted on Confessions of a Bookaholic.</b><br />
<b>My first question is the one you probably expect from all interviewers, tell us about Quantum Confessions!</b><br />
I’m fascinated by the concept of trust and that’s what Quantum Confessions is about. It’s the story of Aled and Grey and what happens to them in a world where all trust is destroyed. I’m often struck by how much we choose to trust as we go about our everyday lives; society doesn’t descend into chaos mainly because we trust its structures – family, police and so on. Things tend to go wrong when people can’t talk to each other, either because they’re so entrenched or so wishy washy it’s impossible to have any meaningful conversations. Aled and Grey live in a world on the verge of collapse - he’s an absolutist and she’s a liberalist. And when you bring quantum physics and multiple realities into the mix, things start to get really interesting.<br />
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<b>You say that you write a lot of contemporary dystopian fiction, what does that entail?</b><br />
I use the phrase contemporary dystopian fiction as shorthand for stories based in a recognisable near-future that’s gone bad. It’s fiction that takes a sideways look and asks what if?<br />
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I often base the story a few years into the future so I can have some fun with technology and politics but keep it plausible. I start by imagining how our world might go wrong. I tend to mull it over for quite a while, trying to see it from a fresh perspective. Then I focus in on a couple of things that seem weird and weave them into my imaginary world – that’s the sideways look. The inhabitants of the story then grow out of the things I imagine about people I meet as I’m mulling things over and once I’ve got a good sense of the main characters I start to work on the story. For example, in my next novel Fluence I started wondering what it would be like if government was run by corporations and if social media popularity was used rather than money to determine your place in society. Throw in an aspirational young woman and a struggling older man and the story’s born.<br />
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<b>Where did your interest in dystopian fiction stem from?</b><br />
I’m not sure, but I find it great fun and exceedingly cathartic. Something about it resonates deep inside of me, whether it’s classics such as Orwell’s 1984 or the more recent Charlie Brooker TV series, Black Mirror. I’m a big fan of being slightly out of sync with my surroundings which I think many of us do by travelling to different cultures or by being tipsy during the day (neither of which I do that often by the way). Along with satire, it’s my preferred vehicle for social comment.<br />
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<b>What authors do you think have influenced you the most?</b><br />
There’s a long list of authors who have influenced me. I’ve mentioned Orwell and Brooker already and when I was younger I was enthralled by the twisted worlds of Jeff Noon and Iain Banks. I’m also influenced by the great page turning stories of Minette Walters and the dark lyrics that come out of the On-U Sound music label.<br />
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<b>What is the most helpful piece of writing advice you have ever received?</b><br />
Use everyday language and cut out unnecessary words.<br />
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<b>What advice would you give new writers that you wish you received back then?</b><br />
It’s a marathon not a sprint. I read that loads of times after I’d written my first book, but it didn’t really sink in for ages. It’s hard to bring a novel into being and the sense of euphoria once you’ve completed it is amazing, but it’s only the beginning. Then you need to let people know it exists. That’s hard work and takes longer than writing the book, unless you’re already well known and people are queuing to get their hands on it. The flip side and just as important, even though I sometimes forget, is to enjoy the experience and to keep reminding yourself that you’re writing a novel, you’re writing a novel, you’re writing a novel – how brilliant is that!<br />
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<b>Tell us about ‘Living in your dystopia’.</b><br />
You’ve probably realised by now that I’m a great fan of the short intense burst that triggers a shift in the way we view things. That’s why I love writing flash fiction. Living in your dystopia is a collection of short observations by a visitor to our universe. It has the intense burst but with some dry dark humour thrown in every now and again. I published it on my blog because I wanted to give readers a chance to sample my work for free; here’s one to whet the appetite: you smell, which is a shame because I like you.<br />
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<b>In your works so far, who would you say is the most interesting character you have created and why?</b><br />
Grey is the most interesting because she’s a strong woman – intelligent and driven and yet vulnerable at the same time. I know that could sound as if she’s a bit of a stereotype so let me explain. She’s brought up by two powerful role models - her mum and her aunt. She’s a scientist and yet she believes in a supreme consciousness. On the downside, she can be arrogant and she’s rubbish at relationships. Here’s how she describes herself… These two powerful women were shaping me, helping me form my own wonderful uniqueness of two strong and sometime opposing sides to my personality. A side that thrives on detail and gets totally engrossed and a side that is wildly imaginative…<br />
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<b>What should we look forward to from you in the future?</b><br />
More and more and more! Fluence comes out in June this year and I’ll keep writing the flash fiction and the little teaser thoughts called what if? I’ve started thinking about the sequel to Fluence, but there’s nothing written down yet so it’s very early days. If any of this sounds interesting to your readers, they can sign up for more news and stuff at my website - www.stephenoram.net<br />
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<b>Finally, I read that you are British (like me!). Do you think your place of birth influenced your writing in any way? In a world that is really quite dominated by American authors it would be interesting to hear about that.</b><br />
I think being British has a huge influence on me, but then I’ve never been anything else so it’s a bit of a guess. Britain is a country that’s very sure of itself in some ways and very lost in others. I’m sure the confusion in our psyche between the fading muscle of an ex-empire and the desire to be a quirky creative nation does some strange things to us. In terms of how it influenced my writing it’s hard to say, but I do love the gritty slice of life of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Jimmy Govern as they lovingly open up their stories by letting normal characters react to abnormal circumstances. I think Britain, especially London, is a fantastic place, but don’t get me wrong there are plenty of others - New York and Marrakesh being two of them.<br />
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<b>Is there any bonus info you want my readers at Confessions of a Bookaholic to know?</b><br />
I really appreciate honest reviews and I’d love more; my new website allows comments on each piece of flash fiction and it’d be great to hear your readers’ views.<br />
There’s a few signed copies of Quantum Confessions still available from my publisher SilverWood Books <a href="http://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk/product/9781781322635/quantum-confessions" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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And, I’d like to say a huge thank you to you for interviewing me and giving me the chance to spread the word about my work.<br />
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Visit Stephen's <a href="http://www.stephenoram.net/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/OramStephen">Twitter </a>| <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StephenOramAuthor">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/StephenOram">Goodreads</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdM5Dnvm8zGxSZMmQthkavQFvBt1XWi2o4mOFKOdKTPcvKlscAD5eO_47E2SGKfSfepRcvFP2AO009Jz4cfcOT3poS3n12ENoIN-yX7H7w_NzvZ0iHVW_kxeb_SyH3ki5KJdJM3Dyki0/s1600/51KAl2eYd-L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdM5Dnvm8zGxSZMmQthkavQFvBt1XWi2o4mOFKOdKTPcvKlscAD5eO_47E2SGKfSfepRcvFP2AO009Jz4cfcOT3poS3n12ENoIN-yX7H7w_NzvZ0iHVW_kxeb_SyH3ki5KJdJM3Dyki0/s1600/51KAl2eYd-L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_+-+Copy.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a><b>About Quantum Confessions:</b><br />
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</b> <i>"A veritable head trip; yet rooted in a believable and sometimes visceral near-future.”</i><br />
<i>Grey is a high performing student with attitude. Aled is torn between his morals and his desires. They live in a world where those who believe in absolute truth are on a collision course with those who don’t. Society is becoming dangerously polarized and despite a thread of history that binds Aled and Grey together they take opposite sides in the conflict; Grey is recruited by The Project and Aled is given custody of The Proof of Existence.</i><br />
<i>Against the backdrop of a failing society and experiments to find the link between quantum physics and a supreme being, the real question that unfolds is...</i><br />
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<i>"Who chooses your reality?”</i><br />
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Check out Quantum Confessions on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22979554-quantum-confessions">Goodreads </a>| <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1781322635/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Quantum-Confessions-Stephen-Oram/9781781322635">Book Depository</a> </div>
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As I said before, Stephen kindly agreed to a giveaway which is below - please leave a comment after you enter with your opinion on this post!</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="976f403b3" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/976f403b3/" id="rcwidget_tma48wib" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><br />
I hope you enjoyed learning more about Stephen and Quantum Confessions, don't forget to enter the giveaway to be in for a chance to win! If you are an author and want to be spotlighted <b>drop me an email.</b> Don't forget to share my spotlight posts wherever you can, it's really important to support the lesser known author community! Also if you want to be included in my scheme then you need it to be popular enough for you to have maximum publicity!<br />
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<b>If you do share my scheme let me know where and I will post an endorsement of your blog/book/anything in exchange on my <a href="https://twitter.com/EmilyBookaholic">Twitter</a> account.</b></div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-91313425508597225182015-04-18T10:38:00.000+01:002015-04-18T10:38:17.858+01:00Actual Confession of a Bookaholic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I named my blog I thought I was being witty, I never thought I would have to post any actual confessions, however I do have one to make:<div>
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<b>I don't like Harry Potter.</b></div>
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Just let that sink in for a little while. I am in a real-life book club that maintain that no one who doesn't like Harry Potter can be a good judge of books and I seek to challenge this notion! It's not even that I haven't read Harry Potter, I got through the first three books, I just couldn't like them. I thought it was because I was too old when I read them but I have been informed everyone from 0-1000 likes them so that can't be it. It is the language that is used, I believe, that I dislike. It is child-like for the very understandable reason that it was written <i>for children</i>. If any of you ever wonder why I state that I will not accept children's literature in my review policy, this is why. I know Harry Potter is amazing really, I just can't appreciate it at my age.</div>
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But the films. they are based at an older audience, does that mean I like them? No, no it doesn't. But I do very much prefer them to the books, Like really prefer them, The casting is amazing (I love Alan Rickman and Emma Watson ridiculous amounts) but I just can't enjoy the films fully. This may be due to the ever-overshadowing prospect of me accidentally telling someone that I prefer them to the books - something which I would likely be stoned for - or it may just be the lack of background knowledge. I've known of many people who didn't read the Hunger Games before watching it who just <b>didn't get it</b> and I may have that problem with Harry Potter.</div>
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I do hope that this one confession of dislike for a very mainstreamly adored book will not reduce your opinions of me. I posted this in order to prove that you shouldn't judge a reviewer on the books they don't like because that is just not a fair assessment. </div>
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Guys, just because I don't like Harry Potter does not mean I'm a bad judge of books - it means I am a unique one and I pride myself on this.</div>
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I've been getting lots of requests for children's literature and this is partly an explanation for why I have had to reject them all. It is also partly my curious mind wondering what other really really adored books people dislike. </div>
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<b>Tell me about a well loved book you dislike in the comments!</b></div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-19533430269830181872015-04-16T21:26:00.000+01:002015-04-18T10:11:46.585+01:00Top Ten Book Bloggers to Watch (Part Two: 6-10)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Two weeks ago I asked you guys to put forward blogs you thought deserved to be in my top ten bloggers to watch list, be they yours or others, and you certainly complied! I have put together a list of my top ten but if you are not included, don’t worry, there were a lot of others to contend with. I will be tweeting endorsements of the blogs I don’t include (<a href="https://twitter.com/EmilyBookaholic" target="_blank">@EmilyBookaholic</a>) so watch out for yours! This list is in no particular order, sorry number one but you’re equal to number ten but you can pretend to be extra special if you like. I posted <a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/top-ten-book-bloggers-to-watch-part-one.html" target="_blank">the first five last week</a>, here are numbers 6-10!<br />
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<b>6. <a href="https://bookmouseblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Book Mouse</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiZPEbjVRdxhhXqSlq66-sxFPC05srnWhOOltuemEPhJ3Hi3PZLjmdHeGLj8m-3kvkRZBfJKKUZeKv_7H-W5KuPEfCa1M0Na8MwD-RvdgVMbHF03Oh-1t5CR1ILzW5_-Fn6aU4ILgvUc/s1600/book+mouse.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiZPEbjVRdxhhXqSlq66-sxFPC05srnWhOOltuemEPhJ3Hi3PZLjmdHeGLj8m-3kvkRZBfJKKUZeKv_7H-W5KuPEfCa1M0Na8MwD-RvdgVMbHF03Oh-1t5CR1ILzW5_-Fn6aU4ILgvUc/s1600/book+mouse.png" height="280" width="550" /></a><br />
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This is one of my favorite book blogs on the internet and that's not only because it is adorably named after a cute furry creature! I really enjoyed reading the reviews, even if I didn't agree with the four star review of Wuthering Height, I would have barely given it one star! I really loved the latest post on <a href="https://bookmouseblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/getting-children-to-read/" target="_blank">getting children to read</a>, I'd really recommend you check it out!<br />
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<b>7. <a href="http://extreemeobsessed.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Forever Obsession</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGVPHiZfaHvU05JxJvRP0n5pDZlpSr_iDbTOP5Totx1A-Eptm6w3pSCJohamrT7Arisn2qTR10kUCCtpUkspMbJ5Pa8q7plhtOl3XxRJQA7Rnd9lFPrTvrueDcWGRTqDAq5Ff1HFvu94/s1600/forever+obsession.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGVPHiZfaHvU05JxJvRP0n5pDZlpSr_iDbTOP5Totx1A-Eptm6w3pSCJohamrT7Arisn2qTR10kUCCtpUkspMbJ5Pa8q7plhtOl3XxRJQA7Rnd9lFPrTvrueDcWGRTqDAq5Ff1HFvu94/s1600/forever+obsession.png" height="350" width="550" /></a></div>
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</b> Forever Obsession is a book blog with a really great design, it's simple but still attractive. A very positive point in Forever Obsession's favour is the <a href="http://extreemeobsessed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/mortal-heart.html" target="_blank">5 star review of Mortal Heart</a>, book three in Robin LaFever's His Fair Assassin series which is AMAZING by the way. I hope to review book two and three soon but for now here is <a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/grave-mercy-by-robin-lafevers.html" target="_blank">my review of book one: Grave Mercy.</a><br />
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</b> <b>8. <a href="http://leaf-on-the-breeze.blogspot.ie/" target="_blank">Leaf on the Breeze</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dilTDtNs5pcBoRYDdfUgJJclgP_JPLcWSG2Oba7Yk34bl2xwlW9pluK2GNV_E9E-3wg43bT2VtU4WH621fEWOD8FBYLC1LsJhku58UxnUVf4pMZ55Yn8WxwYqaRLzYzbENaZm7kji-g/s1600/leaf.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dilTDtNs5pcBoRYDdfUgJJclgP_JPLcWSG2Oba7Yk34bl2xwlW9pluK2GNV_E9E-3wg43bT2VtU4WH621fEWOD8FBYLC1LsJhku58UxnUVf4pMZ55Yn8WxwYqaRLzYzbENaZm7kji-g/s1600/leaf.png" height="350" width="550" /></a></div>
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</b>Leaf on the Breeze is an unusual book blog run by Killian who you might recognise from his perceptive comments here at Confessions of a Bookaholic! Why is this blog unusual you ask? Because it integrates both books and music into reviews which I personally find impressive. I recently read and enjoyed <a href="http://leaf-on-the-breeze.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/my-top-7-favourite-ya-series-so-far.html" target="_blank">the post shown in the screenshot above</a>.<br />
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<b>9. <a href="http://www.danielaark.com/" target="_blank">Daniela Ark's Blog</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6UR-GwT_mfltGkmIgXyOuBypn1qwgvrJmKu-Fe99EFzXDwxox0T_ufnnk69jTpFZgX-wnV_6QSB7TB521XRa6z1ES2EZArcalTDRHNo4RnPDTnC0hIW2_PKNUc0KlhxbJJwnJvSqQw4/s1600/daniela.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6UR-GwT_mfltGkmIgXyOuBypn1qwgvrJmKu-Fe99EFzXDwxox0T_ufnnk69jTpFZgX-wnV_6QSB7TB521XRa6z1ES2EZArcalTDRHNo4RnPDTnC0hIW2_PKNUc0KlhxbJJwnJvSqQw4/s1600/daniela.png" height="350" width="550" /></a></div>
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This is a blog that I really love and am glad to have discovered through this blogger scheme. Daniela's blog caters not only to readers, with numerous reviews and giveaways, but also authors, with tips, tools and competitions, and bloggers. Obviously this is a very diverse blog and I really enjoyed visiting the different corners of it. I loved her <a href="http://www.danielaark.com/blogging-tip-how-to-write-a-book-review-part-ii-book-review-checklist/" target="_blank">post on how to write a book review</a>, I plan on writing a book on a similar theme in the future!<br />
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<b>10. <a href="http://www.bookwormsindresses.com/" target="_blank">Bookworms in Dresses</a> </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpswGOFiHFqxf6g4_PlpwFLEoZs5OCuU9Yf6XheWsP-zaAq0T79hkWrHZnPL870y-qKH-xZlD8xP3RHETHZskQ9yPpykF9yA7xHwY5w3m2W0EenelC3axM2qGwfhAj79XjUR6RdJmKV0c/s1600/dresses.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpswGOFiHFqxf6g4_PlpwFLEoZs5OCuU9Yf6XheWsP-zaAq0T79hkWrHZnPL870y-qKH-xZlD8xP3RHETHZskQ9yPpykF9yA7xHwY5w3m2W0EenelC3axM2qGwfhAj79XjUR6RdJmKV0c/s1600/dresses.png" height="350" width="550" /></a></div>
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Bookworms in Dresses is run by a blogging trio and though it is not strictly a review blog, though it does have some, it still has a focus on books and mixes that with fashion which I like. I love their posts on Bookworm's style - it's really good to get an idea about my fellow bookaholics fashion sense!<br />
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Couldn't find your blog on my list? If you I haven't featured you then I will still publicise for you in the twitterverse as I promised. For now, please share, repost and tell your friends about my blogger spotlight, it's always great to help out our fellow bloggers after all!<br />
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<b>If you have been featured today I recommend sharing my post on your own blog to show your followers that you've been chosen as well as letting them know about the others who were picked - you can take the whole post if you like, just make sure to link back and credit it to me.</b><br />
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8286698588299607131.post-57136127369760986382015-04-12T15:41:00.000+01:002015-04-18T16:42:11.187+01:00Sunday Spotlight: Massimo Marino, Author of the Daimones Trilogy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.uk/p/sunday-spotlight-archives.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBzKej9rtJvyrN-E_C9gh0Ya0cg0SNLK3PF2bfQcXXQ12FetwFaPGVz1n0e7oCHvfdF7Axa5736hWXnhOq6OnGBe928QpOaRyYSA3UbCwWn_dkOeZf2gBEsBruiO2DgX__-u_3yGDm80/s1600/sundays.png" height="236" width="320" /></a>Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at emily.confessionsofa<br />
bookaholic@gmail.com with <b>'Author Spotlight'</b> in the subject line.<br />
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Today's author is Massimo Marino, author of the Daimones Trilogy, a work of post-apocalyptic, alien sci-fi. The concept of Massimo's trilogy is quite complex but don't fret because he kindly agreed to an interview in which everything will become clear!<br />
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Firstly, I'm sure you want to know what Daimones is actually about:<br />
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<i>Dan Amenta woke up one morning to discover the world had changed...the Apocalypse had arrived. Death, destruction, and disaster were wreaking havoc across the globe. Yet Dan and his family remained untouched and he sensed some sort of supernatural power had left them the only three people alive on Earth. They were not. The efforts to survive and find others brought Dan to discover the disturbing truth about the human extermination. He met Laura, who brought revelations about the catastrophe, and her presence - a young, sexy, disruptive girl - raised questions about what was moral and ethical in the new reality. Other survivors reported what they had seen, forcing Dan to seek explanations from his own past. Ancient hallucinations strike Dan with the force of a sledgehammer and bring him face-to-face with his new role in a scenario with roots millions-of-years old. Planet Earth was now in the hands of an older power but not the one Dan had ever envisioned.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfSBxeYCam0WVv9unK-lvq2shki5SvYNDV5Jv3Y7TtKaHuoALrb69dkIZ-f9iecYrzXMll261jX2E8LutFg-FsRlzyNVMMFc4-w0k-seGVtGOtcY6edFrjtlLpTLEUgZWwC_v7efgG9I/s1600/NEW+Daimones+Bookmark+Front+Twitter+Card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfSBxeYCam0WVv9unK-lvq2shki5SvYNDV5Jv3Y7TtKaHuoALrb69dkIZ-f9iecYrzXMll261jX2E8LutFg-FsRlzyNVMMFc4-w0k-seGVtGOtcY6edFrjtlLpTLEUgZWwC_v7efgG9I/s1600/NEW+Daimones+Bookmark+Front+Twitter+Card.jpg" height="200" width="550" /></a></div>
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<b>INTERVIEW:</b><br />
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<b>Hi Massimo! </b><br />
Hello, Emily. Thanks for the chat.<br />
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<b>Your Daimones Trilogy has a really complex concept! Would you mind explaining in a few words to our readers what that entails? </b><br />
Thank you. Its complexity came to birth and grew while I was working on the first novel. At first, the story found me and introduced itself as a single, complete, independent story. Then, it revealed it had other grandiose plans for me. It all started when I discovered in TIME magazine, and then searched in countless online articles from various newspapers around the world, about inexplicable deaths of scores of animals. They all have in common a peculiar element: the death occurs one species at the time; all others, even when they share the same ecosystem, are not affected. It doesn't look like what we’d expect from a natural cause. So, the ‘what if’ started.<br />
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<b>I read that you have won or been nominated for a lot of awards for your work, did you ever expect it to go so far? </b><br />
I’m the first to be amazed and marveled. It’s another of those ‘what if’. I sent my novels (the first and the second, not yet tried with the third) to literary awards opened to all authors from all publishing paths. The response from the juries has been beyond expectation, but also the response from readers, I have to say.<br />
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<b>I also read that you consider yourself a scientist envisioning science fiction, how do you think your scientific background has influenced your work? </b><br />
A lot. As a scientist, you need to have a prolific imagination. Fundamental research has a lot in common with reasoning and dreaming about ‘what ifs’ in the Universe. In addition to that, my scientific background allowed me to imagine future technology that are actually a possible evolution of our proven knowledge, or our yet-unproven edge science theories. I imagine today’s technology obstacles to prove them (or disprove them) as being solved, and envision what kind of impact will they have in our society, and what struggles they might cause.<br />
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<b>Do you think people without that scientific background can still appreciate your work?</b><br />
Depends on what work you are referring to. If you’re thinking of my academic works then the answer is probably ‘nope’ as they are rather specialistic writings, but my novels are accessible to all public. Being scientifically correct does not mean spending sterile pages of describing new technology… boring for the readers (and for the writer). Those are the pages readers skip. So no scientific background barrier in my novels. Actually, I have received private comments from readers who discovered science fiction through my books and thanked me: they didn’t expect science fiction to be as entertaining as other genres they liked. Science Fiction not just for geeks, and science fiction is not just laser swords, spaceships, aliens, and outwordly situations. It also is about emotional struggles, love, passion, doubts, fears, and all that make us humans resonate and be excited when we read a book.<br />
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<b>You have a number of other books out, tell us about those. </b><br />
I wrote a small collection of five short stories, crime dramas, where I do explore the theme of tortured loves: they can lead to the most heinous and hateful crimes. Currently, I’m working of my fourth novel, “The Law”, a NA urban sci-fi that takes place in the same galactic order that emerged from the events narrated in the “Daimones Trilogy”. It is not a sequel per-se, though, and readers don’t need to have read the trilogy to appreciate “The Law”. “The Law” is about the reasons of the heart versus the diktats of the brain. The struggle between what you *feel* you must do, and what you *must* do because of how you feel. In “The Law”, I cover the themes of "Law and Order", racial tensions, repression for security, and love between two young members of different races who believe they can change the world. The events show how the suffering, violence, and hatred have their roots in the ignorance of the other.<br />
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<b>What is the most difficult part of writing science fiction? </b><br />
It is about writing “science fiction”. Science Fiction is a story where the scientific element is crucial for the story to even exist. Without it, there’s no story. Some believe that writing science fiction means just putting their characters in the future, add aliens and techno-babble, describe spaceships and stars, and voilà, a science fiction story. Not so. If you can write the same story, have the same plot in contemporary times, without any real need of the scientific element in your story, then you’ve not written science fiction. This Occam Razor does not come from me, by the way, but from giants in the genre.<br />
To make it more understandable: you may take a western story. Cowboys vs Indians, horses, guns and arrows, immense prairies and battles. Now change the horses into spaceships and X-Wing fighters units, cowboys into space troopers, indians into aliens, guns into death-ray guns and arrows into anti-matter blasters, immense prairies into the interstellar deep space, and battles… well battles will always be battles. Have you written a science fiction story? Some believe they did. Giants in science fiction, and I agree with them, say no, that you have just ‘dressed up’ a cowboy-indians western story with a space-suit. To those writer giants, and to the discerning science fiction readers it’s still cowboys vs indians. It’s the equivalent of B-series, low-budget movies. At best, you smile at the naivety.<br />
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<b>What advice would you give new writers, particularly of sci-fi, out there? </b><br />
A bit along the lines of the above answer. Science Fiction is about exploring the human conditions facing struggles and life/death situations (not just physical death, but moral, and professional as well) that takes place in a world where the science evolution and extrapolation have made so that those struggles and life and death situations could arise. Then, they need to read, read a lot, in the genre but also in others. Read with a writer's eye, take notes of what prose triggers what reaction in you, and study the craft. Then, after you’ve read a lot, you might start dreaming about writing.<br />
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<b>You told me that you have refused to sign contracts with traditional publishers and opted for self-publishing. Can you tell my readers more about that and perhaps give some advice for their own publishing endeavors? </b><br />
We are the witness of a (r)evolution in the publishing industry triggered by Amazon and the like. Jeff Bezos has opened the gates and the gatekeepers are looking at each other unsure of what to do. Self-publishing has created a marvelous thing: everyone can publish a book, and establish a one-to-many direct relationship with readers who buy and enjoy the new voices. There’s a terrible monster that haunts the publishing valleys, too: everyone can publish a book, and readers are exposed to the slush pile for the first time visible to the many. The advent of cheaper and cheaper flash printers, together with higher and higher print quality, makes so that printing books in advance hoping to sell them later is bound to disappear as a business model.<br />
Books are already in online catalogues available to all bookstores. These last will have their own POD printers in the back office, and customer will access loads of online information about the authors and their listed works. A reader will be able to pay and download to a device with RFID (a short distance wi-fi service, think of bluetooth), and/or click to buy the printed edition. Get a coffee or a latte at the embedded BookStop Café and be served latte, cake, AND a freshly baked book, right on the spot.<br />
No more distribution costs, no more returns. Every single printed book is printed because it has been bought. Bookstores will have a never ending catalogue and be able to sell any physical book.<br />
Dinosaurs that will disappear are those publishers who still believe that their service and added value to writers is just to get published, and writers need to put up with everything else for that privilege. This business model is no more sustainable because the basis for it is no more. It will disappear, and those who don't change business plan will be soon forgotten and crumble faster than IBM did when the clone PC and the primitive Windows operating system made through to the market.<br />
Don’t pay in order to be published (run from Vanity Press: they are the plague) but at the same time don’t jump with joy only because a publisher wants to print your story. Read the details of the contract, talk to other writers, ask for advices and you’ll discover that today writers receive, in general, contract terms as if digital publishing hadn’t happened yet, and expert freelancers in the publishing process to allow an Author to do what any publishing house does were nowhere to be found. The times have changed, and also agents and some publishers are starting to notice that. In those cases, the only answer available to a serious writer is “Thanks, but no thanks."<br />
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<b>Have you any more ideas for books that we can look out for in the future? </b><br />
Of course. I wouldn’t call myself a writer or an author if I hadn’t. “The Law”, my WIP or work-in-progress, is the start of a new series, and more ideas and stories are lining up at the doors of my mind just because I’m writing it. In addition to that, I’ve co-founded a start-up, BookGarage, that will deal a lot with the publishing (r)evolution we are witness of and address, based on my experience, the needs of everyone involved in the creation and fruition of a book, and the reading pleasure that derives from it.<br />
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<b>Finally, do you believe your books will inspire young people to get involved with science? </b><br />
Today’s science already flirts with science fiction. The work conducted at CERN, and its implications, opens the doors to a possible future that rivals with the best science fiction inventions from the greatest writers. The study of black holes and wormholes, space-time bending, instant communication, dark matter, and the understanding of the law of the Universe that would come from that are breathtaking. You can read some of those in my blog, or come with me in my writing journey.<br />
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<b>Thank you for visiting us over at Confessions of a Bookaholic!</b><br />
Thank *you*, Emily. I enjoyed every moment of it. All the best.<br />
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Follow Massimo on <a href="https://twitter.com/MASSIM0MARIN0" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and check out his <a href="http://massimomarinoauthor.com/" target="_blank">website</a><br />
Check out Daimones on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15811231-daimones?ac=1" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daimones-massimo-marino/1112936761" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/162885" target="_blank">Smashwords</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Daimones-Trilogy-Vol-1-Massimo-Marino-ebook/dp/B0083IHV5I/" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br />
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I very much enjoyed hosting Massimo here at COAB, if you wish to partake just drop me an <b>email</b>. Next week's author will be <b>Stephen Oram</b>, author of Quantum Confessions</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02509891266988043903noreply@blogger.com2