What I'm Reading Now - Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway

Buy Link: Amazon

Jodi Marshall isn't sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she's in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she's being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns heÆs not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she's part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendants of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.Jodi's deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn't difficult enough, Jodi discovers she's the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can't figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday

Q:   What are / were your favorite book (s) of the year?
(bonus points if you know how many books you read.)

I've read over 50 books this year and I've had a lot of favorites.

Brady Christianson - The Devil's Garden - Guest Post & Giveaway

About the Book

A Marine’s past is never far behind him, but sometimes it’s a lot closer than he thinks . . .

After years of enjoying the soft, quiet, civilian, family life, former Recon Marine Brandon Colson still has a large price on his head…only his family doesn’t know it. That is, until a heavily armed squad of terrorists breaks into his house and tries to kill him and his family.

After swiftly dispatching the would-be assassins, Colson realizes the ghosts from his past have somehow managed to come back to haunt him. His worst nightmare has come true. His identity—a secret until now—has been mysteriously compromised. Something he did years ago, while on a recon mission during his tour of service, has kept anger burning in the hearts of powerful Arab adversaries. And the men who attacked his house are simply an omen of what is to come.

With his family in hiding, Colson and local detective Sam Collier set out to locate and neutralize the remainder of the terrorist cell. It’s a race against time, and the plot they uncover along the way defies all expectation.

Their fates in the balance until the last second, the two men must fight for their lives as they navigate a trail littered with bloodshed and revenge that leads straight to hell on earth: The Devil’s Garden.

Guest Post

The fog of war is a place where confusion rules, innocence dies and demons are born. Sometimes these demons come back to haunt a man and other times they simply come back to kill him. Few men would welcome the fight, which is to say, a proud and terrible few. The Devil’s Garden twists a Recon Marine’s worst nightmare into a deadly reality.

There is a saying in Recon: There is no life after Force. The lack of adrenaline and ensuing boredom will kill a warrior’s spirit. However, former Recon Marine Brandon Colson has a different kind of death to fear. After years spent in remote deserts and jungles on the other side of the planet dreaming of a quiet, civilian, family life, he finally has it. The problem is he has a large price on his head that even his family doesn’t know about: He is wanted by terrorists he worked to bring down. With revenge in their hearts and murder on their minds, Colson’s enemies plan to revisit his sins upon him, his wife and his children. When a heavily armed squad of assassins arrives at his home in the middle of the night, he quickly dispatches the men, but knows the identity he buried deep in his past is no longer a secret. With his family in hiding, he makes it his personal mission to eliminate the threat to his family and reclaim the life he’s made.

The Devil’s Garden captures the irreconcilable thoughts and trepidation of a military man turned family man who must now fight to protect his family. As Colson’s crucial mission leads him to the Devil’s Garden of Florida, a forgotten wasteland of swamps, collapsed shacks, and lost souls, he finds that the midnight attack on his home was simply an omen of what is to come. With his fate in the balance until the last second, Colson must navigate a trail littered with bloodshed and revenge.

***

The Devil's Garden can be purchased at:
Amazon
MyBookOrders.com

Price: $14.95 paperback
ISBN: 9781938690167
Pages: 391
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Release: November 11, 2012


About the Author

Brady Christianson is a former United States Marine Corps Recon Marine whose military service and Christian faith has shaped his writing.

Connect with Brady:
Web Site
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

Leave a comment with your email address to enter to win a PDF ebook of The Devil's Garden.

Ends 12/31/2012

No comments = no winner.

Charles O'Keefe - The Newfoundland Vampire - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Why did you choose this setting
I chose Newfoundland because it was where I was born and where I've lived my whole life. Also since my main character, Joseph, is based highly on me it seemed to make the most sense. That's not to say the book doesn't take place in other places but Newfoundland is the primary one.

2. How is it a fundamental part of your overall theme?

Hmm, well I like to think Newfoundland is a very unique place, it's isolated, cold (for a lot of the year) but the people are very friendly and we have beautiful scenery and wildlife. Joseph takes the lessons and moral's he's learned while living in Newfoundland and applies to dangerous/morally questionable situations he's put in as a vampire. Also since there is plenty of wildlife here and Joseph is a vegetarian, it made for a convenient (and sometimes amusing) choice for him to find blood.

3. How challenging was it to write about?

To be honest I didn't find it challenging at all. The scenes in the book which occur in Newfoundland where all set in places I have been and even went back to take pictures for the book. I have a much better memory for places and events that I do people and names.

4. How did you develop your setting as you wrote your book?

I thought of the places I love to go in Newfoundland (and places I thought would be interesting/creepy/beautiful for the reader) and described them as best I could. As I hinted at above, when I was in the later editing stages I spent a couple of hours going back to places I had described and took pictures. They were useful in several ways, they jogged my memory, they helped me add a few more details and I got to use four of the pictures I took on the back cover.

5. How do you transport them there through your writing?

I try to describe everything about the area, the smells, the sounds, little details that I would notice and that I believe Joseph (and the reader's) would notice as well. If I have been to street or area and I have feelings about it I'll put those feelings in as well (though sometimes for places I haven't been they are what I imagine Joseph or Cassandra would feel). I also put in street names in any town/city setting so that if they reader has been there they know exactly where I'm talking about or they can also look it up on the internet if you're curious.

6. How do you introduce them to an area they may not be familiar with?

Since they're vampires they have enhanced senses. So I talk a lot about smell, whether it's an industrial smell, wildlife or just people. They also can sense other vampires so that it something else they do whenever they enter a strange area. Otherwise Joseph is a an observant/geeky guy and I have him do things I would like to do (or have already done) or he points out details he already knew from having been there before or having learned about a place from another source.

7. How do you go about making the setting come alive for the reader?

As my editor told me, it's the details (actually I had two people tell me that, so it must be true :) I try to used all five senses as much as possible. Also as Newfoundland is know for a lot of fog, wind, rain and snow I try to have the weather play a part. The fog can create a sense of mystery, danger and suspense. Why pouring rain can make the characters sad or also create a dangerous scene if they are climbing or fighting with swords.

Excellent questions, thanks so much for having me and I hope you and all they reader's of this blog have a wonderful Christmas season :-)


About the Book

Like every other geek alive, Newfoundland native Joseph O’Reily secretly wants to be a superhero. At thirteen he fantasized about being a vampire, and ten years later he’s still fantasizing – but mostly about a beautiful redheaded woman who has eyes only for him. The one thing different about Joseph’s adult fantasy is that, amazingly, it comes true one night when he goes to a local university pub. Cassandra Snow, literally the woman of his dreams, invites him to her place for an evening of personal pleasure. Of course he’s not going to say no. But when strange things start happening afterward, Joseph quickly learns that not all dreams should come true. 

Prices/Formats: $10.99 paperback, $2.99 ebook
Pages: 224
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Penumbra Publishing
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Buy Link: Amazon, Kindle 


About the Author

Charles O'Keefe currently lives in the beautiful province of Newfoundland where he work as an Inventory Manager at O’Keefe Agencies. He is happily married and we has two furry children named Jude and Esther. He enjoys many hobbies such as walking, Pilates, writing, reading, movies, gaming, television,acting, poker and of course vampires (not the sparkly kind!). Lately he has been focused on writing and after his first novel, "The Newfoundland Vampire" came out in April of this year was soon hard at work on a sequel. For those interested in his first book please look here. He believes in animal rights and I have been a strict vegetarian for many years. He also believe in helping to save our planet and trying to help people whenever he can. He would also describe myself as Agnostic. He has a BA in English along with Masters in education which provided me with him with a brief teaching career. 

Links to connect with Charles:
Web site
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Feature & Follow

Feature & Follow

Q:  What is the last book that made you cry? Tell us about the scene....

I usually don't get that emotionally involved when reading a book but "Tuesday's With Morrie" had to be the one that made my eyes tear up.

What I'm Reading Now - Tangled by Kathleen Gerard

Buy Link: Amazon

After twenty-seven years of marriage - and twenty-seven years spent with an artificial Christmas tree - Edward and Annie finally purchase a fresh pine. When they bring the tree home, however, the presence of the ample Scotch pine suddenly stirs a range of emotions in this long-married couple.

Tangled is a powerfully moving, compact short story from our Nibs line that captures the deeper essence of the Christmas spirit.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday

Q:  Do you keep a list of the books you've read?

To complete the whole question, I have to say I keep an on-line track and a written list of books I have read, so not to re-read or buy the same book.

John Catenacci - Dianna's Way - Author Interview & Guest Post

About the Book

Dianna is a young woman in her late 20’s when she meets John, a man in his late 40's. They fall in love and marry. A central feature of their life plan is to have one child to fulfill her fervent lifelong dream of being a mother.

Not to be.

Not long into their marriage, Dianna discovers she has an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Hand in hand, they begin a 17 year spiritual journey into the nature of love and healing. Along the way, she discovers and fulfills her life purpose and, in the process, takes John by the hand, gently helping him to reveal, then fulfill, his own.

In the beginning, John, being much older, thought he would be her teacher but gradually discovers in the most important dimensions of life quite the opposite is true. With Dianna’s guidance, he ultimately discovers we are all teachers, we are all students and we are all one.

Theirs is a story of courage, determination and a lightness of being, as they descend into the deepest valleys of crushing disappointment, pain and suffering only to rise again to ever higher peaks of appreciation, gratitude and love. Throughout it all, their journey is laced with light and laughter.

Even today, after her passing, they continue their relationship, piercing the Illusion that veils this reality, exploring its limits while continuing a spiritual journey without end.

Author Interview

Open your book to a random page and tell us what’s happening.
In my reality, nothing in life is random — or accidental. When I was about to write this response, I happened to look out the window and saw three – three – hummingbirds dancing around a honeysuckle – have never seen this before – like Dianna saying “talk about the hummingbird chapter.”

While I was writing the book, it occurred to me to use a hummingbird as one metaphor for how Dianna lived her life – flitting from person to person, embracing their love whole heartedly while impregnating each one with a simple grace, unflagging humor and ineffable love in return, all in one magical spontaneous exchange.

The look of triumph on her face, her excitement and joy, when the first hummingbird showed up in our yard was unforgettable. She had worked so hard for several years, planting for them, and finally there it was, this little Ruby Throated blur. In that moment I saw, once again, her determination, patience, faith, appreciation and gratitude all in one tiny vignette during one day of our lives.

Do you plan any subsequent books?
An already almost fully formed book is in my mind now. Better writers than I have said don’t talk about a book idea or the energy for writing it will bleed away, leaving it stillborn.

John's wife, Dianna

Tell us what you’re reading at the moment and what you think of it.
The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die by John Izzo and The Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware because I am old enough now where I should pay attention to these things — probably before tomorrow — and A Broken Sausage Grinder by Hank Thomas, a friend of mine and The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele, a relative and friend of mine. I often read several books at a time, switching back and forth depending on my mood. All are interesting in different ways and for different reasons.

There is so very much talent in the world isn’t there?

***

Price: $16.95 paperback
ISBN: 9780985247904
Pages: 365
Release: December 14, 2012


About the Author

After spending his youth doing cement construction work while getting his education, John Catenacci earned a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He went on to work on the Apollo 11 Project as a member of the USAF in California, then as an engineer for the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, doing both process research as well as designing and building chemical plants.

Mid-career he became interested in group dynamics, leading to another 20-year career in team building that took him across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Saudi Arabia.

With a sprinkling of published short stories and articles in small magazines along the way, his abiding passion has always been writing, something now coming to fruition in this, his first book.

Connect with John:
Web Site
Facebook
Blog Tour Site

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What I'm Reading Now - Fever by Mary Beth Keane

Buy Link: Amazon

A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as “Typhoid Mary,” the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the early twentieth century—by an award-winning writer chosen as one of “5 Under 35” by the National Book Foundation.

Mary Mallon was a courageous, headstrong Irish immigrant woman who bravely came to America alone, fought hard to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic service ladder, and discovered in herself an uncanny, and coveted, talent for cooking. Working in the kitchens of the upper class, she left a trail of disease in her wake, until one enterprising and ruthless “medical engineer” proposed the inconceivable notion of the “asymptomatic carrier”—and from then on Mary Mallon was a hunted woman.

In order to keep New York’s citizens safe from Mallon, the Department of Health sent her to North Brother Island where she was kept in isolation from 1907-1910. She was released under the condition that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary—spoiled by her status and income and genuinely passionate about cooking—most domestic and factory jobs were heinous. She defied the edict.

Bringing early twentieth-century New York alive—the neighborhoods, the bars, the park being carved out of upper Manhattan, the emerging skyscrapers, the boat traffic—Fever is as fiercely compelling as Typhoid Mary herself, an ambitious retelling of a forgotten life. In the hands of Mary Beth Keane, Mary Mallon becomes an extraordinarily dramatic, vexing, sympathetic, uncompromising, and unforgettable character.