Book Review: Jenna’s Case by Andy Siegel

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Jennas Case image

 

 

BOOK BLURB

 

A teen-aged girl can be among the most vulnerable of human beings. And the preyed-upon young woman at the dark center of Jenna’s Case is certain to win the heart of readers. Believing Jenna Radcliff to be the victim of a Brooklyn doctor willing to put greed above his oath to do no harm, Tug takes on her case with deeply felt zeal. Yet what he quickly comes to understand is that his new client—once an obviously bright, outgoing girl (and ace neighborhood jump-roper)—is now a nearly mute shadow of her former self. As he proceeds to amass evidence against the conscienceless and defiant surgeon who’d willfully mutilated Jenna, Tug unfortunately soon discovers that the forces set against him are not only more numerous than he’d imagined but also more deadly.

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

Review - 3d rendered headline

 

 

 

Better than expected. I LOVE when that happens. My first read into the Tug Wyler adventurous legal series was an entertaining romp. Tug Tyler is a personal injury lawyer who’s quite an interesting character to say the least. The overall tone is humorous with a good dose of conflict served in various forms. Andy Siegel is a good storyteller who’s witty and has a good knack for storytelling. Jenna is the victim filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against a shady doctor with criminal ties in the neighborhood. This book is full of twists and turns with another spin or two for good measure. My next read is Nelly’s Case. 

 

 

We Recommend!

 

 

 

 

©Michael Paras Photography (973) 476-3988

 

 

Andy Siegel maintains a special commitment to representing survivors of traumatic brain injury in his practice of law. He is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and of the Brain Injury Association of New York State. His many trial successes have regularly placed those outcomes among the “Top 100 Verdicts” reported in the state annually. A graduate of Tulane University and Brooklyn Law School, he now lives outside of the greater NYC area. 

So how did the colorful, cocky and self-deprecating Tug Wyler come into being? He was hanging around, shadowing my daily life for a long time; I just didn’t know it. But here’s the short version: I shared a trial story with a mom at my kids baseball game who said I should write a book and the idea of him just appeared in my head.

Unable to shake the spell he cast, I began to write, each morning when I got on Metro North, what became my debut novel, Suzy’s Case. But I was doing it only to amuse myself. I didn’t read courtroom mysteries or legal thrillers; as far as I was concerned, I was living them. The rush to cover up genuine wrongs of the sort that lie at the heart of the Tug Wyler Mysteries happens continually out there in the real world. Believe me, fiction doesn’t know the half of it.

Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster published Suzy’s Case. My book agent Sterling Lord then penned a deal with Open Road Media and Mysteriouspress.com to publish Cookie’s Case. After requesting and receiving the reversion of my rights on these novels, and after my option with CBS Television to create a one-hour procedural TV show based on the Tug Wyler character expired, I formed Rockwell Press.

For Tug Wyler readers, I promise a mix of rule-bending high-tension conflict during the course of which you’ll laugh in spite of yourself . . . while never knowing what’s going to happen next. Like me, Tug’s the kind of street-smart push-it-to-the-limit lawyer you’d want on your side when the worst has happened.

 

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The Happy Medium of Storytelling Part 1

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Retro microphone over recording software background.

 

 

Let’s talk about storytelling. Or rather, let’s talk about the medium through which storytelling is told and perceived. This is such a fascinating topic I couldn’t resist writing about it.

What is your choice of medium when it comes to books? Paperback, an ebook, or audiobook? I have particular interest in how audiobooks affect our perception of a story. Just stop yourself and consider this one thing. Medium.  According to Google medium is defined as the following:

1. An agency or means of doing something.

2. The intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance.

Both definitions are great, but I prefer the second one because it provides more insight into the topic. Some readers prefer the tactile and visual feedback of a book any day over a digital one. Others hail the ebook over any dinosaur book. I’ve always had trouble digesting books in physical form for some reason. But when the advent of the ebook was created I became a book addict.

Others prefer yet another medium of storytelling. The audiobook. People are listening to more and more audiobooks these days, including myself. Why? What affect does the audiobook have upon the reader? Or better yet, what affect does this medium have upon the listener?

 

 

Young woman listening

 

 

The narrator and his or her performance is the medium through which the story is perceived. No two narrators are the same in skill, personality, voice, training or delivery. So in a sense, you’re getting a completely different medium with each and every narrator. Cool eh? I thought so. But it doesn’t end there.

According to Professor Mehrabian, only 7% of communication is verbal, and 93% nonverbal. Or, the nonverbal component would be 55% body language, and 38% tone of voice. There is some debate about this (of course), so we have to take into consideration other factors such as context, etc. I’ll spare you the boredom. What I’m getting at is the paralinguistic, or paralanguage part of communication that makes up 93%.

Writing to convey ‘what’s not said’ is extremely hard, but the best writers do it with much practice. What’s not said makes up a huge portion of communication, meaning and in understanding another person. This is critical in the context of storytelling when conveying a character properly.

 

 

Story. Text on the strings

 

They say that the nonverbal component is broken down into body langauage and tone of voice. Body language being 55% and tone of voice 38%. When you read a book the author has to convey this information adequately. All the nonverbal tells of communication must be rendered by the authors writing. Good writing does this well, but anything less is lacking a lot of useful information.

Now you throw in a narrator. I love narrators! We have to see the entire story through their eyes and skill amongst other things. These are what linguists call Paralinguistics, or paralanguage. Which basically means everything that isn’t verbal. According to the aforementioned statistics it means everything as far as understanding another person’s attitude, motive, mood, personality etc. All this must be skillfully conveyed through the narrator.

 

 

 

Body Language, word cloud concept 8

 

 

 

Stayed tuned for part 2!

 

Check out my other blogs

AudioSpy | Mystery Thriller Week |Book Reconn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Thief’s Daughter – Kingfountain Series Book Two

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

The Thiefs daughter

 

 

 

A Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Owen Kiskaddon first came to the court of the formidable King Severn as a prisoner, winning favor with the stormy monarch by masquerading as a boy truly blessed by the Fountain. Nine years hence, the once-fearful Owen has grown into a confident young man, mentored in battle and politics by Duke Horwath and deeply in love with his childhood friend, the duke’s granddaughter. But the blissful future Owen and Elysabeth Mortimer anticipate seems doomed by the king’s machinations.

A pretender to Severn’s throne has vowed to seize the crown of Kingfountain. But Severn means to combat the threat by using Elysabeth as bait to snare the imposter—and forcing Owen, as a pawn in the dangerous charade, to choose between duty and devotion. With poisoners and spies circling ominously, and war looming on the horizon, Owen must make painful sacrifices to beat back the advancing shadows of death and disaster. Will Owen’s conflicted heart follow the king’s path or will he risk everything for love?

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

 

Review - 3d rendered headline

 

 

 

I love what author Jeff Wheeler has created with the Kingfountain series. I don’t read a lot of fantasy, but this series is one of my favorites besides the Game of Thrones. Owen Kiskaddon and Lady Elysabeth Mortimer are truly remarkable characters with their own genuine personalities.

Jeff Wheeler style of writing has a sense of elegance that’s hard to put into words. One of the first things I noticed about his writing was an excellent point of view in the characters and unique creative settings that ground you into another realm. Exceptional.

 

 

Five golden stars isolated on white background

 

 

 

Jeff Wheeler author image

 

 

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jeff Wheeler took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. He is a husband, father of five, and a devout member of his church. Jeff lives in the Rocky Mountains.

To learn more about each of his worlds, his advice for new writers, his e-zine Deep Magic, and which series to start reading first, check out his website! Jeffwheeler.com

 

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Book Review: Robin Hood’s Dawn – Book one

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Robin Hood's Dawn

 

 

Don’t miss this unique retelling of the Robin Hood legend!

England, 1154-1194
A kingdom under assault.
A conspiracy born of anarchy.
A hero standing against tyranny.

 

 

Falsely convicted of a shocking crime, Robin Fitzooth, the Earl of Huntingdon, finds refuge in Sherwood Forest and becomes Robin Hood.

Leading a band of men against the injustices of a malevolent sheriff and his henchmen, Robin begins to unravel a web of treachery threatening the English royal family.

As shadowy forces gather to destroy the future of a nation, Robin faces deceit, betrayal, and the ravages of war as he defends his king, his country, his people, and the woman he loves from a conspiracy so diabolical, so unexpected, that the course of history hangs in the balance.

From the mists of an ancient woodland, to lavish royal courts teeming with intrigue, to the exotic shores of the Holy Land – Robin Hood leads the fight in a battle between good and evil, justice and tyranny, the future and the past.

Part one of an exciting three-part retelling of the Robin Hood legend!

Although the books in the trilogy are not stand-alone, they do not end in cliffhangers.

 

 

 

Robin Hood - Merry Men. Date: circa 1860

 

 

 

“Robin Hood’s Dawn is historical fiction at it’s best.”

 

 

 

BOOK word cloud with magnifying glass, concept

 

 

 

Authors Olivia Longueville and J.C. Plummer deliver a masterful new tale on Robin Hood. The flavor is authentic. The setting, dialogue, characters, customs, made for an impressive novel. One new delicious twist on this spin on Robin Hood is the role that Lady Marian plays throughout the book. Their blazing relationship is the centerpiece of the entire book. I’m amazed at how well this book was written. Can’t wait for book two!

 

 

 

 

To Excel, Best Quality Service, Excellence

 

 

 

 

 

Olivia Longueville image

 

 

Olivia Longueville has degrees in finance and general management from London Business School. Currently, she is working in investment banking and is also helping her father run the family business.

Longueville loves historical fiction, considering herself an amateur historian, and she is passionate about historical research, genealogy, and art. She has undertaken in-depth research into the history of the Valois dynasty, the French Renaissance, the Tudors, and the Plantagenets.

As an established published writer of Between Two Kings, she is interested in creating strong and diverse characters, and giving voice to stories that are unique, compelling, inspiring, and amusing.

 

 

 

JC Plummer image

 

 

J.C. Plummer graduated Summa Cum Laude from Washburn University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology. She then earned a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Science from Dartmouth College.

Growing up on a small farm in Kansas, Plummer developed a lifelong fascination with history and a curiosity about other cultures and people. Coauthoring The Robin Hood Trilogy has merged her passions for history, culture, and technology into one unique, exciting project.

As an author and historian, Plummer’s goal is to provide thoughtful and entertaining storytelling that honors the past, is mindful of the present, and is optimistic for the future.

To learn more about her book, Robin Hood’s Dawn: Book One in the Robin Hood Trilogy, visit www.angevinworld.com.

 

 

 

 

April’s Books and Blurbs

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

columns of books

 

 

 

 

Rest in Pieces cozy mystery

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

When Beatrice takes on a new case, she must solve it before anyone else rests in pieces.

It’s a beautiful evening for a wedding and Beatrice couldn’t be prouder as the mother of the bride. It’s a happy occasion and a beautiful ceremony—aside from the appearance of the odd and uninvited Ophelia. Ophelia argues with another guest, who is later discovered dead. Beatrice must piece together the truth before the killer strikes again.

 

Blurb grade: 7/10 

I love the contrast here in the blurb. You have a beautiful situation of marriage marred by murder. This definitely piques my interest how the mystery is solved!

 

 

 

Mirror Mirror Legal thriller

 

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

On the day that Jeff Ryder learns he is going to be made a partner at Warrick, Thompson, and Hayes, his past catches up with him. The State Bar of California accuses him of coaching witness Marty Lewis to lie seven years earlier while he was working as a prosecutor in order to convict small-time con man, Dillon Reese, of the attempted murder of police officer Christopher Rafferty, a former Navy SEAL.

Jeff loses his million-dollar lifestyle, but sets up his own law office, determined to clear his name, by proving Reese is the shooter. Jeff discovers that Chris was wearing defective body armor made by Armor Up Corporation on the night he was shot. Jeff persuades Chris and his wife Beth to bring a negligence suit against Armor Up and the San Diego Police Department for millions in damages. Jeff forms a deep friendship with Chris, but that friendship is challenged with Jeff falls in love with Beth.

On the eve of proving that he never coached Lewis to lie, Jeff is arrested for a double murder. If he uses his alibi, Chris and Beth will be destroyed.

 

Blurb grade: 8/10

For some reason I’ve been really drawn to legal thrillers lately. This one by Deborah Hawkins looks great. The complexity of the plot seems very interesting.

 

 

 

The Library by Stuart Kells

 

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

“If you think you know what a library is, this marvellously idiosyncratic book will make you think again.” —The Sydney Morning Herald

Libraries are much more than mere collections of volumes. The best are magical, fabled places whose fame has become part of the cultural wealth they are designed to preserve. Some still exist today; some are lost, like those of Herculaneum and Alexandria; some have been sold or dispersed; and some never existed, such as those libraries imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien, Umberto Eco, and Jorge Luis Borges, among others.

Ancient libraries, grand baroque libraries, scientific libraries, memorial libraries, personal libraries, clandestine libraries: Stuart Kells tells the stories of their creators, their prizes, their secrets, and their fate. To research this book, Kells traveled around the world with his young family like modern-day “Library Tourists.” Kells discovered that all the world’s libraries are connected in beautiful and complex ways, that in the history of libraries, fascinating patterns are created and repeated over centuries. More important, he learned that stories about libraries are stories about people, containing every possible human drama.

The Library is a fascinating and engaging exploration of libraries as places of beauty and wonder. It’s a celebration of books as objects, a celebration of the anthropology and physicality of books and bookish space, and an account of the human side of these hallowed spaces by a leading and passionate bibliophile.

 

Blurb grade: 8/10

For anyone who love books and libraries how could you not love this blurb! Even for an author to tackle the breadth and scope of the history of libraries is amazing. Looking forward to reading this one.

 

 

 

Light It up

 

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

“Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Petrie’s Peter Ash is the real deal.”—Lee Child

In this action-packed thriller starring war veteran Peter Ash, a well-planned and flawlessly executed hijacking reveals the hidden dangers of Colorado’s mellowest business, but Ash may find there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. 

Combat veteran Peter Ash leaves a simple life rebuilding hiking trails in Oregon to help his good friend Henry Nygaard, whose daughter runs a Denver security company that protects cash-rich cannabis entrepreneurs from modern-day highwaymen. Henry’s son-in-law and the company’s operations manager were carrying a large sum of client money when their vehicle vanished without a trace, leaving Henry’s daughter and her company vulnerable.

When Peter is riding shotgun on another cash run, the cargo he’s guarding comes under attack and he narrowly escapes with his life. As the assaults escalate, Peter has to wonder: for criminals this sophisticated, is it really just about the cash?

After finding himself on the defensive for too long, Peter marshals his resources and begins to dig for the truth in a scheme that is bigger—and far more lucrative—than he’d ever anticipated. With so much on the line, his enemy will not give up quietly…and now he has Peter directly in his sights.

 

 

Blurb grade: 9/10

Author Nick Petrie comes highly recommended so suffice it to say I’m looking forward to it. Peter Ash sounds like a wonderful character. I have nothing to base this on, but just a gut feeling.

 

 

 

 

Audiobook Blog Tour: Detective Hunter Series Book 4 – Hell To Pay

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Detective Kay Hunter

 

 

Detective Kay Hunter #4 – Hell to Pay

 

 

Hell to Pay Cover AUDIO

 

 

About Audiobook #4

Author: Rachel Amphlett

Narrator: Alison Campbell

Length: 7 hours 14 minutes

Publisher: Saxon Publishing⎮2018

Genre: Mystery, Police Procedural

Series: Detective Kay Hunter, Book 4

Release date: Jan. 01, 2018

 

 

 

 

Synopsis: When a road traffic accident on a dark autumn night uncovers a disturbing conspiracy, Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter’s investigation exposes a ruthless serial killer exploiting vulnerable young women.

With her enemies unmasked and her career spiraling out of control, Kay’s determination to seek vengeance for the victims brings her dangerously close to those who want to silence her.
Undeterred, she uncovers the real reason behind a plot to destroy her career and sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.

 

Buy Links for Audiobook #4

Buy on RachelAmphlett.com

 

Rachel Amphlett does it again in book 4 of the series, Hell to Pay. Crafting a sinister plot that Detective Kay Hunter will find all to personal. This series has become on of my favorites of the year in crime fiction. And for good reason–They’re awesome! Kay comes across an old adversary when she come across a traffic accident with links to a ruthless serial killer. Brewing at the same time is a mysterious drama related to Kay. Another great one!

Narrator Alison Campbell is a pleasure to listen to in every book. Very professional and skilled at conveying the emotions of the characters. She delivers an exceptional performance in every book. Way to Alison!

 

 

 

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About the Author: Rachel Amphlett

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

 

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Instagram

 

 

 

Alison Campbell photo by Libby Christenson

 

 

Narrator Alison Campbell

 

 

 

 

Audio Series Blog Tour: Scared to Death by Rachel Amphlett

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Detective Kay Hunter

 

 

 

“If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully.”

 

 

 

Scared to Death Cover AUDIO

 

 

 

About Audiobook #1

Author: Rachel Amphlett

Narrator: Alison Campbell

Length: 8 hours 27 minutes

Publisher: Saxon Publishing⎮2017

Genre: Mystery, Police Procedural

Series: Detective Kay Hunter, Book 1

Release date: Oct. 2, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis: “If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully.”

When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.

But Detective Kay Hunter isn’t convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.

When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay’s worst fears are realized.

With her career in jeopardy – desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay’s hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.
For the killer, the game has only just begun….

Scared to Death is the first book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter – a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future….

If you like the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, Peter Robinson’s DCI Banks series and the Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza, discover Rachel Amphlett’s new detective novels today.

 

Buy Links for Audiobook #1

Buy on RachelAmphlett.com

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

 

Rachel Amphlett has found the secret to create a thriller crime series. When I listened to this audiobook I got the sense that everything gels well together.  I’d say the author excels at portraying realistic crime scenes, fascinating plotting, with a unique killer. Which, in this crowded field is easier said than done.  A very solid book and balanced writing.

Narrator Alison Campbell has intriguing style of narration. Her accent is great with the ability to create various character voices.  Pacing is slower, yet lures you more into the story. Great job! I’m definitely looking forward continuing this series!

 

 

 

 

100 percent quality

 

 

 

 

 

 

rachel 2016-2141

 

 

 

 

About the Author: Rachel Amphlett

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

 

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Instagram

Splendid Q&A with Author Fiona Cummins

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

 

Fiona Banner

 

 

 

fionacummins_378

 

 

 

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her debut novel, which sold at auction across Europe, is published in the US by Kensington. It has also been optioned for a TV series with scripts penned by The Grudge screenwriter Stephen Susco. Fiona lives in Essex, England with her family.

 

 

 

Interview Key Shows Interviewing Interviews Or Interviewer

 

 

 

 

INTERVIEW – FIONA CUMMINS

 
Compare your career as a journalist and your career now as a novelist.
In some ways, they’re two sides of the same coin. After 12 years on the Daily Mirror, I’m used to meeting deadlines and being edited. Both jobs shine a light on stories that have emotional resonance.

 
But publishing works so slowly compared to newspapers. In my old job, I’d write a news story and within a few hours it would have been sub-edited, laid out and printed. My first novel was published twenty one months after I signed my deal.

 

 

 

Typewriter with Novel buttons, vintage

 

 

 

Tell us about the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course and why you decided to attend.

 
I heard SJ Watson (Before I Go To Sleep) talking about it on the radio and I loved the sound of it. It was expensive and I’d just left my job, so I was worried we couldn’t afford it, especially as I had no idea whether I could write a full-length manuscript. But it gave me permission to take myself seriously as a writer. I also learned the importance of finishing what you’ve started.

 

 

Do you feel like you know your own writing process now?

 
Not really. Every book has a different feel about it. Rattle took multiple drafts to get right while The Collector took one. My third novel – I literally finished it about two hours ago – is quite complex and will need some more work, I think. But I have approached each of them in the same way. I don’t plot, it’s much more of an organic process. I have a rough idea of the shape of the story and that’s it. I don’t tend to start writing until I know the first line, and often, the last.

 

 

 

Rattle book

 

 

 

In another interview you talked about talent.”Talent is all very well tenacity, self-belief, originality, and the ability to get the words on the page….” I love this definition of talent.

 
Describe your experience of tenacity and how this affects writers.

 
I think it’s about keeping the faith. Talent is important, but persistence is key. Novels are rejected for so many reasons, some of which have nothing to do with an ability to write well. An editor is unlikely to buy a book about a crime-fighting circus act if she bought one like it the week before. A literary agent might already have an author writing a novel about a crime-fighting circus act and wish to avoid a conflict of interest. The market may have seen several books featuring crime-fighting circus acts and have become saturated. The point is, we all need a healthy spoonful of good luck too, but if you give up, you won’t even get a chance to lick the spoon.

 

 

 

Kind leckt den Löffel ab

 

 

 

 

Describe your experience of self-belief before after publishing your books.

 
If you don’t believe in yourself, no-one else will. It takes a lot of discipline to sit in front of a computer and write every day, to keep writing and polishing and editing. What keeps us going? Faith that we can do it. But not blind faith. It’s important to listen too. If your manuscript has been rejected by multiple agents multiple times, perhaps it’s time to think very carefully about where you might be going wrong and the best way to fix it.

 

 

 

Describe your experience of originality and how it can benefit writers.

 
Publishers are always looking for fresh voices, for the Next Big Thing. I enjoy books that do things a little differently, that have a distinctive narrative voice or approach their stories from an interesting angle. I try to do this with my own writing too.

 

 

 

original red grungy vintage stamp

 

 

 

 

Have you ever wanted to quit writing?

 
Never. I’ve been frustrated when I can’t make my stupid brain match my vision for a book, I’ve been beset by self-doubt, I’ve ridden the emotional rollercoaster of rejection and disappointment but why would I ever want to quit the best job in the world? Someone is paying me to sit in bed, wearing my pajamas, drinking tea, eating biscuits and making stuff up. You’ll have to prise my laptop from my cold, dead fingers.

 

 

How important is it to “Keep going?”

 
This was a regular refrain throughout the Faber Academy course and weirdly, this had never occurred to me. I made the mistake of thinking that if the first chapter wasn’t right, the book wasn’t right. We were encouraged to keep writing. First drafts can be worked upon, and often, the end informs the beginning.

 

 

 

 

never give up try again keep going

 

 

 

 

 

What are you working on now?

 
I have just finished my third novel. It is set on an ordinary street but some of the residents of The Avenue hide some very dark secrets indeed.

 

 

 

 

Thank you image

 

 

 

 

Fiona Cummins

Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

 

The Collector Fiona cummins

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books & Blurbs: March 15, 2018

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Books and Blurbs March 15

 

 

BOOK AND BLURBS MARCH 15, 2018

 

I know where you live Pat Young

 

 

 

Penny believes she’s being watched. Yet no one should know where she lives.

Penny seizes the chance of a new life for her family when her husband is offered a job in Europe.

At the airport they meet charming Sophie, fluent in French and looking for work as an au pair. Penny, struggling to cope in France, offers Sophie a job and she soon becomes an important part of the family’s life. But Sophie is hiding something.

Then Penny’s toddler son, Ethan, is abducted and an international hunt for the child begins. The police beg Penny and her husband to take part in a television appeal but the couple refuse. Unknown to the police, Penny and Seth have new identities and are determined to lay low and protect them. But it may be too late for that.

Who has taken Ethan and why?

Are the couple’s true identities linked to the abduction?

And who has been watching them?

To save her son Penny may have to put her own life on the line

 

 

Blurb rating 8/10

 

Yes. I decided to rate blurbs, why not?

This book sounds very interesting.  It sounds shrouded in mystery, suspense and secrets. That sounds like a recipe for a good book! You have a family with a hidden past, hidden identities, in the midst of troubling circumstances leading to an uncertain future. I”m hooked.

 

 

First chapter impression…

 

First impressions are everything, right? I love where this story begins. A couple with an unspoken past that required witness protection involving the FBI. They went as far as getting new identities, so you now its gotta be pretty bad. So it makes you wonder. What happened to them? But that wasn’t even the first impression.

Penny, seems paranoid about someone watching her at every turn. Why is she paranoid? Who is watching her, and why?

Then they meet Sophie at the airport on the way to France. Right away I’m thinking who is the “Sophie” character. She’s already on my radar for a shady person.

This was a great lead in for the first chapter!

 

 

 

********

 

 

 

Rattle US cover

 

 

On still nights, when the curve of a winter moon is smudged in the flow of the River Quaggy, the dead clamor for him. And sometimes he coaxes the living to join them. To other people, his victims might be mere medical oddities. To him, they are fascinating specimens, worthy of display. Above all, he is a collector, eager for recognition even as he hides in the shadows.

Detective Sergeant Etta Fitzroy is the first to recognize the connection between the disappearance of a young girl and a cold case that almost cost her the career she’s sacrificed so much for. A faceless psychopath is walking the streets of London, tantalizing the authorities with clues, taunting them with his ability to spirit his victims out from under their very noses.

Better than anyone, Etta Fitzroy understands loss. But this is one contest she will win if it kills her . . .
 

 

 Blurb Rating 10/10

 

Now that’s how you do a blurb! The first section poetically reveals the mysterious antagonist lurking in the shadows. By reading it you can sense his uniqueness, M.O., and ambition for recognition. Excellent.

Every serial killer requires a hard nose detective, and that sounds like Detective Sergeant Etta Fitzroy.  I like the fact that this has a female lead. intriguing indeed.

 

First Chapter Impression…

 

The first chapter was juicy! Fiona Cummins is quite poetic in her delivery and has a great command of the language. Her sentences flow nicely leaving you wanting more. I loved the use of metaphors to reflect the nature of the predicament of the family.  A lot is revealed in such a short chapter.

 

 

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Let me Lie

 

 

 

The stunning new novel from Clare Mackintosh, the international bestselling author of I Let You Go and I See You.

The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.

Last year, Tom and Caroline Johnson chose to end their lives, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents’ deaths, unwilling to accept the verdict of suicide.

Now with a baby herself, Anna feels her mother’s absence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as she digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her.

Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie….

 

 

Blurb Rating  10/10

 

I’m totally loving this blurb!

The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.

How can you not love that? Isn’t it striking?

Need I say more? Even in the blurb, nothing is as it seems. You can tell this is extremely suspenseful. Can’t wait to read this one.

 

First Chapter Impression…

 

Very fascinating first chapter! I love how she begins this book. A person flirting with death, or decision that might lead to it at the slightest misstep. The person speaking then turns their attention to their loved one, conversing back and forth in romantic tones. Who will die first? It doesn’t say who is speaking but we can infer it’s Anna’s parents based upon the blurb. Tom and Caroline Johnson. Impressive beginning.

 

 

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The Plea Steve Cavanaugh

 

 

“Rip-roaring legal thriller…Twisty, bloody, and convincing.” —Ian Rankin
An innocent client. A wife in jeopardy. Who will take The Plea?

When billionaire David Child is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Clara, the FBI believes they can get him to testify and take down a huge money laundering scheme.

Con-artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn is given the job: persuade David to plead guilty and give the agents the evidence they need. If Eddie can’t get David to take a plea bargain, the FBI has incriminating files on Eddie’s wife – and will send her to jail. But David swears he didn’t murder anyone.

The evidence overwhelmingly shows that David killed Clara: the security video showed no one else entering their apartment, the murder weapon was in his car, and he was covered in gunshot residue he can’t explain. Yet as the FBI pressures Eddie to secure the guilty plea, Eddie becomes increasingly convinced that David is telling the truth.

With adversaries threatening, Eddie has to find a way to prove David’s innocence and find out if there’s any way he might have been framed. But the stakes are high: Eddie’s wife is in danger. And not just from the FBI…

The Plea is a locked room mystery from Steve Cavanagh, the author Nelson DeMille compares to John Grisham, Scott Turow, and Brad Meltzer.

“The Plea is one of the most purely entertaining books you’ll read this year. It’s a blast.”
—John Connolly, bestselling author of the Charlie Parker novels

 

 

Blurb Rating 10/10

 

From reading the blurb you can tell the plot is rich in detail, dilemma and complexity. I think I was hooked even half way through. It’s a winner. Steve Cavanagh is one of the new authors I’ve found that I can’t wait to read!

 

 

First Chapter Impression…

 

Even the first sentence is packed with intrigue, and it’s only the prologue! This is going to be a gritty legal thriller full of conflict, tension and moral dilemmas. Juicy, juicy, juicy. Hooked! Definitely recommend this one. I only read the prologue and was so excited had to stop and write something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Tour: The Final Enemy by Dan Petrosini

Posted on by Benjamin Thomas

Picture The Final Enemy Teaser

 

 

 

 

 

The Final Enemy Audio Cover

 

 

 

Synopsis: In the face of a death-defying power, what’s the “new normal”?

Like all reporters, Jack longs for a breaking story but is stuck writing obituaries for a small-town rag. As his frustration mounts, it hits him that no one has died in over three days. Jack’s odd observation becomes something far stranger when he connects a meteorite to the bizarre phenomenon.

Seizing the opportunity, Jack breaks the story and after a struggle to control the meteorite’s power is resolved, a swelling population begins to create havoc. With the survival of the human race hanging in the balance, politicians enact increasingly horrific measures and desperate citizens take matters into their own hands.

Jack’s in a position to not just report the news, but change it, and his decisions and observations creates an epic thriller that pits the potential of human immortality against a force designed to change – or obliterate – humanity itself.

Only one man might stand in its way … the man buried in the obits department.

The Final Enemy is a story of social disintegration as well as a saga of survival. Secret plans, starvation, suicide, and a series of events that spiral the human race into a desperate survival mode evolve from a seemingly singular event and leads to a fast-paced action story that delights with its penchant for the unexpected.

In the Matthew Mather and A.G. Riddle tradition, The Final Enemy is a gripping blend of thriller and science fiction that will prove hard to put down.

 

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The Final Enemy Banner

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

 

I loved the story concept behind this book. The meteorite that strikes Earth that mysteriously has death defying properties for the entire planet. It was interesting to see the ripple effect it had on society. Apparently the meteorite is blessing to all of mankind. Until the world begins to see the affects of a human race who can live forever.

Narrator performance was overall entertaining. He does do a good job of connecting you to the story. Some of the character voices were pretty funny.  The sound quality wasn’t the greatest but not too bad overall.

 

 

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?

As a reader, I was never drawn to series and thus never considered writing one. However, many author groups detail the benefits of a series and now I have three books completed.  It’s too early to tell, as book 2 just released and 3 in editors hands, if there is a benefit besides having a fully fleshed main character!  That said, I am aching to get back to a new stand alone idea.

 

 

What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?

The most important aspect I’ve learned is to write consistently.  Block time out and start writing.  If possible each day but if you can only write a day a week, that’s fine just make sure you do it each week. You will grow as a writer and the words will pile up.

 

 

What’s next for you?

My next novel is in my editor’s hands right now, so it will be out in a few months. Next, I am working on two outlines – one for the fourth book in the Luca Mystery Series and the other a Sci-Fi story.

 

 

 

 

dan

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DAN PETROSINI

Dan has his own view of the world and culture or lack thereof. He is passionate in his belief that people can realize their dreams if they focus and take action. He actively encourages people to break out and live a the life they want.
Married with two daughters and a needy Maltese, Dan splits his time between South West Florida and New York City, where he was born. Dan teaches at local colleges, writes novels and plays the tenor saxophone in a couple of jazz bands. He also drinks way too much wine.
Dan has an active blog at http://danpetrosini.com and has written seven novels.

 

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