The Body Market by DV Berkom - Review and Giveaway

This review is in conjunction with a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Click the banner above for other stops on the tour.

A retired assassin is called in when a celebration south of the border turns into a nightmare.

Everything's for sale...

Former assassin Leine Basso is hired by a wealthy Beverly Hills power couple to find their missing daughter, Elise, who was last seen partying with her boyfriend at a club in Tijuana. At first, police believe the two teenagers are the victims of a carjacking. But when Leine finds their missing vehicle with the boyfriend’s mutilated body inside, and the local cartel warns her away, she knows if Elise isn’t already dead, she will be soon, or worse.

In the lethal world of organized crime, there’s always a worse.

As Leine races to uncover the reason behind Elise Bennett’s disappearance, she must also battle the powerful interests fighting to keep her from the truth.

MY REVIEW:

I really enjoyed this book. You can tell that it's part of the series (in fact, I discovered it's book three of the series--the first two being Serial Date and Bad Traffick.  However, it is definitely a standalone.  The author gives enough clues so you know there is a backstory you don't know, so there's also enough character development within the story itself that you don't feel like you are missing anything.

I really liked the main characters in this book.  Leine is tough, but she also has her tender side, and I like her scenes with Santa-- it really shows that side of her.

The book starts off right in the action and gives the reader a first-hand look at Leine Basso's style and toughness.  This book is very much a page-turner and I could not wait to find out what happened--and the ending was not quite what I was expecting.  Now I have to go back and reread the book to see what clues I might have missed!  I'm also going to be picking up the first two book in the series--I think I might just have found a new auto-buy.  4 flowers and, thanks, Ms. Berkom, for a good read.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

The first man seized him by the arm and shoved him away from the car and onto his knees, aiming a gun at his head. With the weapon still trained on Josh, he reached inside the car and unlocked Elise’s door.

“No!” Elise screamed as the second man wrenched the door open, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her out of the car. She landed hard on the gravel beside the Porsche. A sharp pain lanced down her leg, followed by the warm, sticky-wetness of blood.

Elise didn’t have time to gain her feet before the man grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. She kicked and squirmed and tried to rake his face with her nails as he dragged her away from the car, losing one of her shoes in the process, but the man never faltered. The moment before he shoved her into the back of the open SUV, Elise managed to twist around and look back at Josh.

Shoulders shaking and head bowed, his wristwatch glinted in the moonlight. A light breeze ruffled his hair.

“Take my car. I promise I won’t report it if you let me go,” he pleaded with the man in front of him.

“I thought you said it wasn’t your car,” the man replied with a smile as he moved behind him.

“I lied. I’m scared. Please don’t kill me. I—I’m only eighteen.” Sobbing now, Josh put his hands up as though they were playing a game and it was time to quit. Elise held her breath. Overwhelming fear tightened her chest and spread to her throat, the nausea in her stomach gaining momentum.

Before she could utter a sound, the man aimed the gun at the back of Josh’s head.

And fired.

DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages. 


Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves later, she now lives near Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, a chef-turned-contractor, and several imaginary characters who love to tell her what to do.

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Body-Market-Leine-Basso-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00P31LAT6

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Market-Leine-Basso-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00P31LAT6

Global Amazon Link: http://bit.ly/bodymkt

iBooks: http://bit.ly/thebodymktiBooks

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/bodymktBN

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/bodymktSW

KOBO: http://bit.ly/bodymktKOBO

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.dvberkom.com
Blog: http://www.dvberkom.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DvBerkomAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dvberkom
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dvberkom/
Google+: www.google.com/+DVBerkom

Amazon Author Page:
US: http://amzn.to/oMUb1Z
UK: http://amzn.to/pBwClD
Smashwords Profile: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dvberkom

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Angry Woman Suite by Lee Fullbright - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

Today we're spotlighting author Lee Fullbright on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the Historical Psychological Mystery, "The Angry Woman Suite".

Lee will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner above, it'll take you to a list of tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a really cool prize!

Raised in a crumbling New England mansion by four women with personalities as split as a cracked mirror, young Francis Grayson has an obsessive need to fix them all. There’s his mother, distant and beautiful Magdalene; his disfigured, suffocating Aunt Stella; his odious grandmother; and the bane of his existence, his abusive and delusional Aunt Lothian.

For years, Francis plays a tricky game of duck and cover with the women, turning to music to stay sane. He finds a friend and mentor in Aidan Madsen, schoolmaster, local Revolutionary War historian, musician and keeper of the Grayson women’s darkest secrets. In a skillful move by Fullbright, those secrets are revealed through the viewpoints of three different people–Aidan, Francis and Francis’stepdaughter, Elyse–adding layers of eloquent complexity to a story as powerful as it is troubling.

While Francis realizes his dream of forming his own big band in the 1940s, his success is tempered by the inner monster of his childhood, one that roars to life when he marries Elyse’s mother. Elyse becomes her stepfather’s favorite target, and her bitterness becomes entwined with a desire to know the real Francis Grayson.

For Aidan’s part, his involvement with the Grayson family only deepens, and secrets carried for a lifetime begin to coalesce as he seeks to enlighten Francis–and subsequently Elyse–of why the events of so many years ago matter now. The ugliness of deceit, betrayal and resentment permeates the narrative, yet there are shining moments of hope, especially in the relationship between Elyse and her grandfather.

Ultimately, as more of the past filters into the present, the question becomes: What is the truth, and whose version of the truth is correct? Fullbright never untangles this conundrum, and it only adds to the richness of this exemplary novel.—Kirkus Reviews

Now enjoy an excerpt:

“I’ll tell you what I’m ready for, Aidan. I’m ready for the top floor.” His eyebrows shot up.

“I beg your pardon?”

“The third floor of Grayson House. I’m ready for it. I’m really ready.”

“I don’t think I understand—”

“Please, Aidan.” I emphasized each word: “I’m ready to meet Jamie.”

I turned and walked out of that parlor then, and into the foyer and up the ten steps to the landing where the grand staircase turned direction. I ran up the first flight, then paused at the second landing, waiting for Aidan. When I glimpsed him behind me, I turned and ran up the next flight, to the third floor, straight for the door at the end of the hallway, next to the door that opened onto the outside stairs.

I’d been able to pinpoint this door as the one by the soft thumps I’d heard when I’d sneaked into Papa’s room on the second floor—things nobody thought I’d hear—and by watching from my spot across the road: the quick deliveries and arrivals, the things and people nobody thought I’d see.

I hesitated, not feeling anything, I was now so empty. No more anger. Instead I was in tune with senses: the steady tick-tock of the clock at the end of the otherwise soundless hallway, the wallpaper’s perfectly vertical stripe, even an aromatic odor reminiscent of the appendectomy I’d had when I was six—was it ether? And then, finally, Aidan’s ragged breathing when he caught up with me. We were ready, in position—and it was understood I’d assumed leadership: I’d go first.

I turned the doorknob. My opponent had just run through his resources.

Lee Fullbright, a medical practice consultant in her non-writing life, lives on San Diego’s beautiful peninsula with her writing partner, Baby Rae, a 12-year-old rescued Australian cattle dog with attitude.

The Angry Woman Suite, a Kirkus Critics’ pick, 5-starred Readers Favorite, and a Discovery Aware winner, is her first published novel.

LINKS:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13555924-the-angry-woman-suite

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/fullbrightlee

Blog/website: http://www.leefullbright.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Angry-Woman-Suite-Fullbright/dp/193769853X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352916923&sr=8-1&keywords=the+angry+woman+suite

Nobody Has to Know by Frank Nappi - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

Today we're talking to Frank Nappi on his tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the thriller novel, "Nobody Has to Know".

Frank will be awarding a $50 Amazonn GC to one randomly drawn commenter, so comment today AND follow this tour (if you click on the banner above, it'll take you to a list of tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a really cool prize!

Thanks to Frank for answering all my prying questions!

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

Nobody Has To Know is actually the first time that I deviated from what I typically write. My agent had suggested to me some time ago to try something a little different, a little risky if you will. It took some time to come to fruition, but Nobody Has To Know was a most exhilarating, eye opening departure from my usual historically based fiction that has been categorized as YA crossover. The process by which I crafted this novel was far different from the others, and engendered in me a new found respect for others who write faithfully in this genre.

What research is required?

No research required for this one. As is the case with all of my work, just being a student of the human experience offered ample material with which to work.

Name one thing you learned from your hero.

Cameron Baldridge offers a frightening glimpse into a world both chaotic and threatening. His proclivity for self destructive decisions reminds me, as it does all of us, of just how drastically life can change with a poor choice. And, for all of us who have come close to making one of these choices without actually carrying through, Cameron provides a safe distance from which we may watch what could have been.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I don’t think I do anything too quirky or idiosyncratic. Unless of course you consider that I can only do my very best work if I am seated at my desk, with my 12 inch Batman posable figure, F. Scott Fitzgerald magnetic finger puppet, Mr. Met Bobblehead doll and musical Rocky Drive-In Christmas ornament all around for support and inspiration. I don’t know. Is that weird?

Plotter or pantser?

A little of both I would have to say. I am anything but formulaic but of course there are times when an idea strikes and it must be recorded.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Two orange New York Mets stadium seats obtained from Shea Stadium before they knocked the old place down. If I look long enough, I can still see me and my dad sitting there, sharing the sights and sounds of the game we both love so much.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Well, I am presently playing with another thriller since the reception for Nobody Has To Know has been so warm. I am also working on a third installment of my Mickey Tussler series.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Yes. How important is it for you as a reader to like the main character in the book you are reading? Can you still enjoy and appreciate a story that features as its protagonist a less than likable person?

Nobody Has To Know, Frank Nappi's dark and daring new thriller, tells the story of Cameron Baldridge, a popular high school teacher whose relationship with one of his students leads him down an unfortunate and self-destructive path. Stalked through text-messages, Baldridge fights for his life against a terrifying extortion plot and the forces that threaten to expose him. NHTK is a sobering look into a world of secrets, lies, and shocking revelations, and will leave the reader wondering many things, including whether or not you can ever really know the person you love.

Cam knew he should not have encouraged her - should have never pursued her. It was the first thing he was told before he took the job. It wasn’t so much an admonition as it was a statement of fact.

“Remember, you can be friendly with these kids, but you are not their friend,” his mentor, a seasoned veteran of twenty nine years, warned. “Especially the girls. That’s just trouble waiting to happen.”

Cam shrugged it off. He had heard that warning before. Besides, he had no interest in teenage girls, especially the ones sitting in his classroom.

“No problem there John,” he had explained at the time. “I have it covered. I have no time for any of that. I’m involved already. College sweetheart. It’s cool. Really. We’ve been together for years.”

“Is that right?” John commented. “Then what’s the deal? I mean, twenty five isn’t old friend, but seems to me you should have taken it to the next level by now.”

Cam flushed and stood more awkwardly now. John marveled at his protégé’s attempt to free himself from the moment’s grasp.

“I don’t know,” Cam replied. “Why does everyone ask me that? I really don’t know. I guess the timing has never been quite right.” He paused briefly, gleaning some obscure meaning behind the raised eyebrows of his friend and mentor, then continued to speak, like an actor who had just been cued from offstage.

“But that should change soon. Hayley and I will probably be engaged by Christmas.”

Cam should have remembered John Volpe’s words. He should have listened to logic, and tucked away those feelings. He should have done a lot of things, like remembered his master’s thesis – the one that explored La Femme Fatale. He knew all the names. The sirens of Greek Mythology. Mata Hari. Memo Paris. Daisy Buchanan and Mattie Silver. And of course there was Nabokov’s Lolita. She was the one he remembered most. “All of them,” he had written, “are so very beautiful, so alluring, yet deadly – life draining vampires who possess the power to transfix the opposite sex with their feminine wiles, leaving these spellbound males weak, vulnerable and ultimately barren.” He should have remembered. He should have considered how much he loved teaching and his genuine affection for everyone at Hillcrest High School. He tried. But all he could see was her. For some reason, all he could think about was her long dark hair, and what it would be like to touch it – to let the soft strands cascade across his own body. And the wet shine of her lips. My God, what would it be like to feel those as well? To press his to hers. She was so beautiful, so exquisite, so young.

So many times, during their little chats before and after class, he stared into her blue eyes, marbled with gray flecks, and was lit by her electric smile, all the while wondering how it was that this universe managed to give birth to such a perfect creature. She was perfect. She was just as Nabokov had described his Lolita -- the nymphet, a mystical, magical, sweet smelling creature budding with sexuality, ripening on life’s vine, right before his very eyes. Yes, the forbidden fruit. Oh how she tortured him. The curve of her mouth; her slender waist and fully formed hips, both attenuators to the rhapsody of her walk; her sweet smell and the softness of her tan skin. Everything about her called to him desperately. It was a familiarly paralyzing feeling. The girl was also familiar. He could recall, as a kid, humid summer evenings with his friends, racing around on damp lawns under a gray sky that had just begun to soften into the pitch of night. Freeze tag was the game most often. Some complained it was a bit juvenile, but there were all sorts of variations, including a wrinkle that included their favorite alcoholic drink of choice.

The rules of the game were basic: once touched, you could not move. You remained frozen in place, sometimes drinking to excess, until someone freed you from your current state. He could still remember waiting, silent and still, for what seemed sometimes to be an eternity. It was uncomfortable. Cam’s knees would ache and his arms would burn. It was interminable. He was always tempted to transgress, to flex his muscles under the cover of the deepening night. He never did. Even though he could move, he never did, for the spirit of and passion for the game always trumped logic and reason.

He played it all the time, with Maleigha. She was his first love. It was the summer before he began high school when he met her. She had just turned fourteen, and was visiting her cousin, who happened to be his next door neighbor. He was slightly older and they had spent that entire summer together, swimming and riding bikes. He often thought, even now, how odd it was how they seemed to click instantly. She came from a Latin American family that lived in a trailer in New Jersey. She was a singer, and a lover of jazz music. He was just a kid from Long Island who loved the Mets. Their cultures and upbringing differed greatly as well. Yet somehow, none of it mattered. It was part of the magic.

The days that summer were filled with innocent fun with a group of others. They sat around many afternoons listening to their favorite tracks from Rage Against the Machine and The Smashing Pumpkins while playing Super Mario 64 on his Nintendo. When they tired of that, the world outside offered more frivolity, including wiffle ball, Marco Polo, tag, and man hunt. They were rarely at a loss for entertainment. Those were good days. But night time was really special. At night, it was all about Maleigha.

Often, Cam would take her for walks through the nature preserve not too far from his house. She loved the sound of the crickets, and the gentle trickle of the shallow waterway that snaked its way through the underbrush. It was there they would hold hands and talk about the summer and the beach and about their feelings for each other.

“This is very different from where I come from,” she said, marveling at the moon through the treetops. “I really love it here.”

“Is Long Island really that different from New Jersey?” he asked.

She looked at him with bubbling amazement.

“Yeah, just a little,” she answered, shaking her head playfully.

“Well, it’s not that far,” he said. “Maybe your family can move here.”

She never looked so sad.

“I don’t think so Cam.”

“Well, you never know,” he continued. “Besides, you can always visit, right?”

She was thinking of her mother, and the last thing she said to her before Maleigha left.

“Have good time at Carla’s, behave yourself Maleigha, you hear? No trouble, okay? But by time you get back, we be all set to leave for Ecuador. No worries mi hija. It be fine.”

It will be fine, her mother kept saying. Somehow, Maleigha just could not see how moving to the other end of the earth would ever be fine. Not now. Not ever.

“Sure Cam,” she said through glassy eyes. “I can visit.”

He thought of Maleigha often. It was eleven years since he had last seen her, and he was now a twenty-five-year-old man with a beautiful fiancée and a promising career. Time had altered many things for Cam, but Maleigha remained a part of him. And although life had offered him a promising path to follow, other thoughts were now surfacing as well, like how this new nymphet of his, Nikki, knew very well, on some level, just how enticing she was. That’s why her sweaters fell the way they did across her round breasts, and why her clothes left very little unknown about just how shapely she was. It was the same reason why she twirled her hair when she laughed and why she giggled flirtatiously every time she said hello to him in the hallway. She was no child. No way. And he was no longer a man in control, but a tortured soul, slave to her essence, lost always in beautiful, woeful distraction.

There were moments when it was almost more than he could bear. When she touched his arm playfully, or blinked her eyes in that coquettish way of hers, it rendered him in agony. His heart would rebel feverishly, and his reality would divide instantly into two sectors – the ecstasy felt from the passing of electricity through that touch or flirtation and the devastation of a world that simply forbade any further advance. Those fires of love, or perhaps lust, burned wildly in the chasm between hemispheres and transformed quickly into waves of passionate thought. What would it be like, he wondered, to press his body up against hers? Just once. To feel, with all his being, her tight, silky skin next to his. It was a desire that ruled his soul.

Even so, he should have known better. Although only seven years separated the two, it should never have gone any further. It should have ended with those harmless flirtations, like their conversations about things they both loved, like the Mets and Kanye West, and the way he always saved her a piece of his Orbit gum or the many visits he made to Carvel, where she worked part time, just because he was “in the neighborhood.”

“You again?” she said laughing. “This is the third time this week. You sure must love ice cream.”

“What can I say Nikki,” he answered. “I’m addicted.”

Yes, he should have recognized the signs and just walked away. But he didn’t. Somewhere, deep within the darkest chambers of his soul, lurked the feeling that he had to have her – that his body would not survive in her absence. It was an uncompromising pang. Not even John’s advice and knowledge of all that he could lose were enough to extricate him from the blissful imaginings and real life longings. No. It did not matter. Nothing else mattered. Not any more. His world had been turned upside down in an instant, and he had reached the point of no return.

Frank Nappi has taught high school English and Creative Writing for over twenty years. His debut novel, Echoes From The Infantry, received national attention, including MWSA's silver medal for outstanding fiction. His follow-up novel, The Legend of Mickey Tussler, garnered rave reviews as well, including a movie adaptation of the touching story "A Mile in His Shoes" starring Dean Cain and Luke Schroder. Frank continues to produce quality work, including Sophomore Campaign, the intriguing sequel to the much heralded original story and the just released thriller, NOBODY HAS TO KNOW, which received an endorsement from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille. Frank is presently at work on a third installment of his Mickey Tussler series and his next thriller. He lives on Long Island with his wife Julia and their two sons, Nicholas and Anthony.

Nobody Has to Know book trailer:

http://youtu.be/WdMjNDJ5hT4

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/FrankNappi

Website:

http://www.franknappi.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/authorfranknappi

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/589342.Frank_Nappi.

Nelson DeMille's Endorsement:

"A haunting, briskly-paced page turner that explores the darkest recesses of the human psyche while propelling the reader through an intricate series of hair-raising twists and turns. Nobody Has to Know is a masterfully written tale that is expertly told. Frank Nappi knows how to entertain the reader from start to finish."
-- #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nelson DeMille.

Divine Fury by Robert B. Lowe - Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

Today we're talking to Robert B. Lowe on his tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the mystery/thriller novel, "Divine Fury".

Robert will be awarding a $25 Amazonn GC to one randomly drawn commenter, so comment today AND follow this tour (if you click on the banner above, it'll take you to a list of tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a really cool prize!

Thanks to Robert for answering all my prying questions!

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

Since my Hardy Boy days, the mystery-thriller genre has always been my ‘comfort’ leisure reading. When I started my first book (that was Project Moses and Divine Fury is the second), I wasn’t sure how great I’d be at all the facets of novel writing but I thought I could piece together a mystery-thriller plot that had some nice twists and turns and didn’t collapse on itself. I also thought I could keep the pace and action going. To me, that meant mystery-thriller. Since then, I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on the characters. In fact, I hadn’t planned on a series with the same main characters and a couple of the same secondary ones as well. But, people made it clear they wanted/expected that so, I figured, what the hey. So, the Enzo Lee series is two and counting!

What research is required?

I try as much as possible to keep the locations to places where I’ve been. So, generally I’ve been to all those places – whether a farming area or restaurant. But, I may try to refresh it or spur some my descriptive side by looking up the location on the Internet or looking at people’s photos. One of the characters in Divine Fury is an army vet who was injured in the Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia. I read a lot about that, and also ready about U.S. Army snipers. Some of the injuries I described are pretty close to technical reports I read that discussed what happened there. They were written, I think, as part of a study to better understand the types of casualties that can be expected based on the type of actions in modern warfare.

My main character is a newspaper reporter and I’ve had lawyers in the plot at places. I worked in both of these professions and have a pretty good general sense of the general corporate world so for those aspects I can rely on my own background. Beyond that, I’ll often try to talk to people in other professions or with expertise in certain areas. For example, I’m working on a plot now that involves medical research and drug development so I’m developing some lunch-and-coffee contacts for that. My journalism interviewing/research skills have come in handy.

Name one thing you learned from your hero 

Enzo Lee, the main character, is a former investigative reporter who has remade himself into a fluff feature writer who, of course, gets sucked into situation where his prior expertise is required. He writes much more clever stories than I ever did when I was a journalist.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I’m always trying to figure out what to do when I get stuck. I figured out that if I just start describing something – hopefully the place where the next chapter will take place or the food on the table, etc., it gets me started and pretty soon I’m into the scene.

I’ve also started to jump ahead to places or scenes I’m thinking about, even if they occur much later in the book. I may or may not use it. More likely, I’ll revise it a lot or cannibalize it somehow. But, it keeps me writing when I’m having trouble just walking through the book chapter by chapter. It helps to go with your energy and enthusiasm when it’s there for a character or scene. If the book is somewhat like a painting, you’ve got to fill that part of the canvas at some point anyway. Often, it helps with a lot of other parts as well.

Plotter or pantser?

I think of it as ‘explorer.’ I know generally what it looks like on the other side of the forest but I’m pretty unsure exactly how I’ll get there. I know there will be dead ends and obstacles. Some I can overcome. Others I just have to run into, realize I can’t got that way and find a different way.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

I’m in a guest studio over my garage where I often go to write. Just a sink with a high window but with lots of leaves and sunlight hinting at my neighbor’s garden. There is also a nice ipod speaker dock l’ve got Pandora playing the Neon Trees channel.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I’m up to about Chapter 9 of my third books, also an Enzo Lee mystery thriller. There will be at least 50 more chapters so there still is a long way to go. I’m hoping I’ll be finished by the end of the summer. I think I may take a break from Enzo for the next book. I may center it on another popular character or perhaps go off in another direction altogether. I expect to stay in the mystery-thriller genre but there are a ton of different types of books you can do within that.

Do you have a question for our readers?

If you read a lot of budget and free indie ebooks, what percentage would you say are:

-give up before 40 pages
-get through it but see serious flaws
-worth my time
-wow!

Do you have any way – lists, reviews, recommendations, etc. – you use to screen the dogs?

Candidate Andrew Harper was a college basketball star, a crusading prosecutor and a beloved Congressman. He is also openly gay. When the San Francisco politician gets the inside track to become California’s next governor, it sends shockwaves through the political and religious establishment.

Reporter Enzo Lee is cajoled into leaving his comfortable niche covering fluffy features for the San Francisco News to cover the historic campaign. A series of campaign events are mysteriously and dangerously disrupted. A key endorsement is scuttled at the last minute. An earlier murder takes on new significance when it is linked to a Watergate-style break-in involving computer spying.

But, finding the culprits behind political sabotage and high-tech hacking take a back seat when it’s discovered that a troubled war veteran armed with guns and explosives has begun a violent journey from small-town Montana to the City by the Bay.

When Lee becomes a target himself he must dodge attempts on his own life while trying to expose the conspiracy and, with the help of police allies, foil an assassination plot.

Divine Fury is the newly released second book in the Enzo Lee series from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert B. Lowe. The series was kicked off by the best-selling Project Moses, the bioterroism thriller that made the Amazon Top 20 Mysteries list and was a finalist in the Best Indie Books of 2012 competition.

Divine Fury is a page-turning thriller with suspense, action, romance and enough twists to keep the reader guessing. It also focuses on a timely theme as the issues of same-sex marriage and gay rights become a major cultural battleground in America.

“Gripping…with an adrenaline-filled climax combined with compelling characters.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A fascinating and fast-paced mystery/thriller. It is a thought provoking and extremely captivating story." – Kindle Book Review

When he saw the red Ford in the distance heading toward him, he knew he was right. It took another two minutes before they were where he wanted them – right in front of his position completely exposed on the mountain side.

The first shot took out the left front tire and brought the Ford to a halt. The second shattered the windshield. When he took out the rear left window, they finally realized someone was shooting at them and they ducked down. Two more shots took out all the glass on the left side.

Walberg saw the doors on the right side – away from him – open and then close. He could hear them shouting and screaming hysterically.

“Stop! Stop! Stop shooting at us! Help! Somebody help!”

He pulled off three more shots, hitting the side of the truck. Maybe they couldn’t hear the rifle with the suppressor on but they’d certainly hear and perhaps feel the impact of the bullets.

Then the driver’s side door opened. The big one. He must have been too bulky to drag himself over the console with the gear shift in the way and get out the other side. As he stepped hurriedly to the pavement beneath the truck, he immediately slipped and went sprawling on this face beneath the open door.

Through the scope, Walberg could see his face clearly as he pulled his head up and, still sprawled on the ground, searched the hillside. He seemed so close, Walberg felt that he could pick which side of his face to shoot if he wanted.

“Bang,” he said softly. “Bang. Bang.”

Robert B. Lowe is a Pulitzer-prize winning author whose fiction is based in San Francisco, his adopted home. His past experiences – a 12-year career in investigative journalism and a Harvard Law School degree – enable him to write gripping mystery thrillers in both the legal and journalistic fields. Lowe draws his inspiration from John Grisham, Dick Francis and Lee Child and adds his own San Francisco twist. Readers will enjoy his references to the city’s landmarks such as Chinatown, North Beach and Pacific Heights and the Bay area’s foodie culture.

Divine Fury is Lowe’s second novel. His first was the best-selling Project Moses which reached the Amazon Top 20 Mysteries list and was a finalist in the Best Indie Books of 2012 competition hosted by the Kindle Book Review.

Divine Fury continues the adventures of Enzo Lee, a jaded journalist rehabilitating his career as a feature writer in San Francisco who stumbles into scandals and criminal conspiracies that require his investigative expertise to unravel.

When Lowe isn’t writing he enjoys a day at the golf course and spending time with his wife and daughters.

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/W1rVMC
Website: www.robertblowe.com
Twitter: @authorRobBLowe
http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Fury-Mystery-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00A42ADKG
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/divine-fury-enzo-lee-mystery-thriller-series-robert-b-lowe/1113780048?ean=2940015869545

The Seven Year Itch by SD Skye - Virtual tour and giveaway

Today we're talking to SD Skye on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the FBI Thriller novel, "The Seven Year Itch".

The author will award a kindle fire and $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter (US only), so comment today AND follow this tour (if you click on the banner above, it'll take you to a list of tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a really cool prize!

Thanks to SD for answering all my prying questions!

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I started this FBI Espionage (really counterespionage) series because I actually worked in the field. For 20 years I served as an Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Intelligence Community, the first 12 years as an Intelligence Operations Specialist in the FBI’s Russian Counterintelligence program. I really enjoyed my experience there, and I had the opportunity to do and experience things few could imagine. So, I think once the writing bug finally bit me, it was probably natural that I would incorporate some of those experiences into a book or series.

I began my career writing romantic comedy/chick lit under another name, and comedy and relationships is well within my comfort zone. My so-called love life is God’s running joke and provides me with an ample source of material for such stories. But I had always incorporated a bit of mystery into my plots which helped make them page-turners. In order to build this J.J. McCall series, romantic suspense/mystery/espionage seemed like the most natural progression. However, it was a major challenge for me in that the plots are so much more complex than those in romantic comedies and there are multiple points of view—whereas in chick lit I write in first person. But I’m really enjoying the challenge. And I’ve found that even though I tried to tone down the comedic element, I apparently can’t help myself because readers are always telling me how witty the main character is. But I think humor just adds to the depth of her character as she deals with some very serious cases and sketchy situations.

What research is required?

Because my books draw on my career experience, I haven’t yet had to do a lot of research in terms of the plots. Because I’ve been out of the counterintelligence game for quite a while now, sometimes I do have to go back and research the terminology. Some has stuck with me, but some is long gone. I have also read a few books by the Russian defectors that I’m familiar with. It helps to put me in the right frame of mind when I’m building the Russian characters. Also, I’ve researched some Russian colloquialisms to integrate into the dialogue when I can. I try to keep that to a minimum though.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Hmmm. This is a really good question. I think that the biggest lesson I’ve learned from J.J. McCall is that there are no lies bigger than those that we tell to ourselves—because we may actually begin to believe them. The irony in J.J.’s character is that she’s a born lie detector (as the result of a generational curse), but J.J. can’t detect when she lies to herself. And she’s got a substance abuse problem that she’s in denial about. Because she’s not a fall down lush, she thinks it’s okay to take little sips all day to cope with stress, but that lie ends up putting the life of someone she loves in jeopardy and she may learn her lesson too late.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

Oh, I have a million of them. Every year they seem to change. For example, last year I kept getting writer’s block and could only write if I used a special butterfly notebook (that I bought from Target) and a Sharpie fine-point pen. It had to be THAT kind of notebook and THAT pen or the words would not come. But I wrote three novels in a row using those notebooks, including the bulk of The Seven Year Itch.

Now, neither the pens nor notebooks will work for me. The only way I’m truly productive is if a Harry Potter movie is playing in the background. And no other movies work. Just Harry Potter. Maybe my brain is subconsciously attempting to channel a movie deal. I don’t know. While I love the movies and my 12-year-old son isn’t upset with it, I can’t wait to get out of this stage.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m a pantser turned plotter. When I wrote my romantic comedies I was decidedly a pantser and wouldn’t write an outline if you paid me. I kept spouting the ideals of the pantser society which essentially suggest that you should let your characters drive the story, that you should merely dictate what your characters tell you if you want to write a truly engrossing, authentic story. When you outline or plot in advance, you take control from your characters, thus your story won’t reach its full potential.

Well, whoever said that probably hadn’t tried writing a complex espionage plot with multiple points of view. When I finished my first draft, my plot had more holes than the south side of the moon. I wrote no fewer than 27,000 drafts (only a slight exaggeration) trying to fill them in. At that point, the whole pantser thing went out the window. No, it was hurled out of the window with Hulkian force. I decided to compromise with my characters and I allowed them to drive the outline and the scenes, but we will plot or die.

I can still be a pantser with the romantic comedies though. That probably won’t change.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Hand sanitizer and a box of Puffs plus with Lotion. I’m nursing a cold and trying my best not to re-germinate the house.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Well, I’m working on writing the rest of the books in the series (four more) and a new romantic comedy. I’ve come up with the titles and have a general idea about the next four cases and how each book will play out. Now, it’s just a matter of plotting the twists and turns. In the next book, Son of a Itch, J.J. investigates a bug planted in the White House Situation Room. Meanwhile, the antagonist from the first book—codenamed ICE Phantom—is plotting to kill J.J.

I think while the first book kind of sets the foundation, each book will get better and better. I’m so excited about writing this one. Lots of great twists and one heck of an ending!

Do you have a question for our readers?

If you read serial novels, I would love to know what qualities in the story or character hook you in so that you want to follow a character from book to book.

Her Family Was Vexed With a Generational Curse. Now for Lie Detecting FBI Spy Catcher J.J. McCall, the Truth is in The Seven Year Itch.

FBI Special Agent J.J. McCall is a born lie detector who recruits foreign spies to catch American traitors. She and co-case agent Tony Donato have lost two of their most critical Russian sources in the past two years, and they may lose another in just a few short days if they don’t catch him, The ICE PHANTOM, a rumored insider spy more insidious and elusive than Ames and Hanssen combined. They suspect he might be burrowed deep inside FBI counterintelligence—and his body count is going up.

Drawn into an unsanctioned mole hunt, they have a week to catch him, save a key source’s life—and their own. While J.J.’s lie detecting ability helps them narrow down the list of suspects, the lie she tells to herself may help the ICE PHANTOM defect to Moscow and get away with the murder of the man she loves.

Skye's debut FBI Series, filled with mystery, espionage, romance, and suspense, will keep you burning through the pages until J.J. catches the very last spy.

J.J searched for serenity in bottom of a Belvedere bottle. The wait for his sugar-coated lies had dragged on for too long, and she’d lost patience. After glancing around the small reception area to ensure no one was watching, she removed from her purse a silver flask and smiled. It was filled to the brim with relief. One small gulp and the soothing burn slipped down her throat, calming her prickly nerves. Inside she felt on the brink of dissolution. The 10 am swallow was just a necessary evil. It would get her through the meeting, until time for her next dose of repose.

Another dead source. She couldn’t stomach the thought of his demise. Two had been more than her fair share. The unceasing cycle of loss had worn her resolve thin. She’d refused to let another family suffer that pain if she could in any way prevent it. J.J. wanted to tell the FBI where to stick her badge and gun, but she had promises to keep. Promises to Viktor. Promises to herself. No matter what Cartwright said, she’d see her case through until the end. And the end was as near as nightfall because the op was simple and would go off without a hitch.

J.J. stiffened her back and squared her shoulders as the elixir took effect. Her posture mirrored that of the powerful yet graceful eagle perched atop her FBI badge. She’d eyed it, waiting for the carefully choreographed denial and deception ritual to begin.

Author Bio:

S.D. Skye is a former FBI Russian Counterintelligence Program Intelligence Analyst and supported several key cases during her 12-year tenure at the Bureau. She has personally witnessed the blowback the Intelligence Community suffered due to the most significant compromises in U.S. history, including the arrests of former CIA Case Officer Aldrich Ames and two of the Bureau's own--FBI Agents Earl Pitts and Robert Hanssen. She has spent 20 years supporting counterintelligence, intelligence, and military missions in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

An award-winning author of romantic comedies in her other life, Skye is a member of the Maryland Writer's Association, Romance Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. She's addicted to writing and chocolate--not necessarily in that order--and currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with her son. Skye is hard at work on the next installment of the series.

www.facebook.com/authorsdskye

www.twitter.com/sdskye1

www.authorsdskye.com

Buy Links

Ebook

http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Year-McCall-Novel-ebook/dp/B00AM4HVT2/ref=la_B00AMAUFK8_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355625857&sr=1-1

Paperback

http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Year-Itch-McCall-Novel/dp/0983920230/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355625984&sr=1-3&keywords=s.d.+skye

Pinpoint by Sheila Mary Taylor - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

Today we're welcoming author Sheila Mary Taylor to the blog on her tour with Bewitching Book Tours for her Psychological Thriller, "Pinpoint".

The author will be awarding 5 print copies and 5 eBook copies of her book via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post -- and it's an international drawing!

Ms. Taylor was kind enough to answer all my prying questions. Thanks!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

Well now, the truth is I don’t ever plan to write in any particular genre. Pinpoint is a Psychological Thriller, and you could also tag it: Legal-Crime. But this isn’t because I set out to write in this genre. It’s always a complete accident because what happens is that I’m drawn not to a genre, but to a particular character whose predicament presents a scenario which is so challenging that I just have to find out what happens to her or him, and why. A character will begin to haunt me, to inhabit my dreams, to frighten me because of the predicament they are in. And it’s this predicament that decides what the “genre” will be, if indeed it belongs in any genre.

I know that more and more in this digital age, “genre” seems to be an all important element in defining how a book is presented, how it is marketed and in creating a niche for an author whereby she can make a brand name for herself. But somehow my writing at the moment is too spontaneous for me to be able to do this. Possibly one day I will find that niche.

What research is required?

For Pinpoint I had to do an enormous amount of research and I enjoyed every minute of it. I believe in trying to experience personally as much of what happens in the novel as I possibly can. Like going to the places I depict in the story; like actually taking part in my character’s activities. For example, I attended many murder trials in the Manchester Crown Court. I visited police stations and was even smuggled in to an interview room at Strangeways Prison when a solicitor was interviewing a murder suspect. I also enrolled in a self-protection class. I masqueraded as a social worker and knocked on people’s doors. I drove to outlandish areas I didn’t know, sometimes scared out of my wits. I walked through them and breathed in their air. Spoke to people I didn’t normally meet. And for those things I couldn’t do myself, I went directly to the highest authority available to give me first hand information, making sure I had my tape recorder switched on. People are so willing to help you when you say you are writing a novel!

Name one thing you learned from your heroine?

In exploring the predicament of Julia, my main character in Pinpoint, I learned that it isn’t always possible to do what in normal circumstances you know to be the right and logical thing to do. That circumstances can drastically affect or even twist your judgement, especially when you are on a cliff edge of deciding which precarious path to take. And this is the very crux of Julia’s predicament: on the one hand she has to consider the potential danger to her daughter that Sam Smith, her escaped murder poses, although if he is who she thinks he might be, she knows he couldn’t possibly harm her daughter; and on the other she is driven by her inborn love for her long-lost twin brother, who, even though her amnesia prevents her from remembering his name and face, she nevertheless knows that he was the one and only person up to the age of ten, who loved her and protected her.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

Getting up at 4:30 in the morning has never seemed odd to me, and yet my friends think I’m quite mad. But what better time of the day to start writing, when the brain is rested, fresh and ready to send out tendrils into the unknown to pluck new and wonderful ideas for your novel.

Plotter or pantser?

Oh, definitely pantser. Plotting doesn’t work for me. Sometimes I wish it did as it might even make my writing journey a lot simpler. But it’s almost as though my muse is saying to me, once I have my desperate heroine embroiled in her predicament – No! don’t even try to think what will happen next! That would spoil it for you. How could you possibly know all that stuff when your heroine doesn’t even know it. And if she knew, then there’d be no surprise – not for you and not for the heroine and not for the reader. Much better just to let it unravel, like it does in real life – an unpredictable surprise around every corner. Okay, okay! I tell my muse. I get the message …

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

I am trying really hard to cram as much into my life as I possibly can. When I turned 83 this year I had to resist doing a mental calculation which, let’s face it, might have made me pretty despondent. Having come to writing late in my life, and also holding down a full-time job as an editor for a publishing company, something I always wanted to do and which has belatedly changed my life, I still cannot resist making to-do lists. One of them is the myriad novels I intend to write. They are stacked up in an ever upward spiralling pile. I can’t tell you what genre they are in because as you already know that is only determined once my main character begins to embark on her journey of escape/fulfilment/discovery/retribution – whatever. So one of these days I might surprise you with something quite different but something I do hope you’ll read, even if it isn’t in your favourite genre.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I’m really excited about my new novel. It just needs a final edit and then it’s ready for my publisher. Dance to a Tangled Web also started out with one character in a predicament but has ended up with three main characters whose lives have become entwined, each with a seemingly unsolvable dilemma which nevertheless inescapably links them. There is even a very slightly paranormal touch to this one. I suppose you might call it a romantic drama. A physiotherapist working for a ballet company is married to an orthopaedic surgeon and they both desperately want and need a second child. IVF treatment fails with unexpected and catastrophic results, when the life of the third ethereal character is threatened. And though tragic from one point of view the ending is surprisingly gratifying. Nobody was more surprised at the outcome than I was.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Apropos my own situation, I wonder whether your readers like to know what kind of novel their favourite author is going to come up with next? Would they like to read more of the same? Or would they like to be surprised, not only by the content of the book but by the – to use that word that isn’t yet part of my vocabulary – the genre?

A lawyer, a murderer and a policeman - caught in a tangled web of love, loss, terror and intrigue.

When lawyer Julia Grant interviews Sam Smith who has been charged with an especially vicious murder, she feels a strange connection to him, as if she has met him before, as if he holds the key to something she has forgotten among the unbearable memories from her past she has determinedly blotted out.

He feels a connection too. "Julia, you are the only one who can help me," he pleads.

Is it the same connection? Does he know something she cannot recall?

When he is duly convicted despite her best efforts, he suddenly turns on her in the courtroom and threatens that one day he will make sure to wreak his revenge on her.

But why? What has she ever done to him?

And then, on his way to prison, he escapes ......

Sheila Mary Taylor was born in Cape Town beneath the towering slopes of Table Mountain. Her Scottish parents, both serious academics and writers, despaired of her, as the things that turned her on as a youngster seemed far removed from their serious world of academia.

And no wonder. Cape Town was a distracting paradise to grow up in: mountain climbing, surfing in the glistening waters of the Indian Ocean, roller-skating, riding, hunting – and parties galore. She did it all, although the thing she loved most was dancing, and until she was twenty-three when she met Colin, her husband-to-be, on a visit to the UK, she wanted to make ballet her career. But having been surrounded by wall-to-wall books from an early age, and listening to music almost non-stop as her father played his hi-fi classical records so loud it was like having an orchestra in the house, was bound to have a belated influence on her. Yet it was only much later that these two strong influences – combined with the clock-ticking heartbreak of her youngest son Andrew being diagnosed with teenage cancer – would change her life and kick-start her writing career.

Her plethora of unusual activities: jockey in amateur ladies’ races, exhibition roller skating in night-clubs, a spell of acting and directing, secretary to a diplomat, creator and editor of a dramatic society magazine, dancing in the Royal Albert Hall, and above all, living in exciting exotic places around the world with Colin, her mining engineer husband of almost sixty incredible years – have all enriched and inspired her writing.

http://sheilamarytaylorauthor.blogspot.com/
http://sellyourstoryuk.com/2012/10/01/sheila-mary-taylor/
Twitter: @AuthorSMBelshaw
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sheila.belshaw
LinkedIn: Sheila Belshaw

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Greco's Game by James Houston Turner - Virtual tour and giveaway!

Today we welcome James Houston Turner to the blog on his tour with Pump Up Your Book.  He's here to talk about his thriller, "Greco's Game".

Pump Up Your Book and James Houston Turner are teaming up to give you a chance to win a Kindle Fire and more!  See the Rafflecopter entry forms below.

FIVE THINGS YOU'D PROBABLY NEVER GUESS ABOUT FORMER IRON CURTAIN SMUGGLER AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE ALEKSANDR TALANOV THRILLER SERIES JAMES HOUSTON TURNER

(1) I think the best thrillers are built around a love story. What higher stakes are there than the threat of losing someone you love, or someone who loves you?

(2) I believe in happy endings because my life thus far has been one continual, long, happy ending. The reason is because I've stared death in the face more than once, although my sunny outlook hasn't come without cost. In 1991, I was diagnosed with cancer in my jaw, but having neither health insurance nor the $200k needed for an operation, was refused treatment in San Diego by a doctor who simply walked out of the room when he found out we had no insurance, leaving me alone in the examination chair. Being from Australia, my wife called "home" to see if help was available there. There was, and so with weeks to live, I flew with her to Adelaide, where for $17k, a team of surgeons opened my face up like a book and removed a tumor the size of an orange. They then made me a new jaw bone out of hip bone, grafted skin into my mouth where teeth used to be and stapled me back together. I was not expected to live 18 months. That was over 20 years ago. Later, when my writing career seemed to be going nowhere, I applied for a customer service job with a large company. I was refused, not because I lacked skills, but because I was too ugly, a reference to the facial scars I still carry from my cancer operation. And yet, sometimes the hard knocks of life are blessings in disguise, for if I had been hired, I may well not have persevered with my writing to become the published author I am today. So I have learned that adversity often produces untold blessings we cannot foresee.

(3) I love starting my day with a mug of great coffee. I get up before dawn, pad into the kitchen and grind those aromatic double-roasted Guatemalan beans while the water heats in our electric kettle. Then, while the coffee steeps in our French plunger, I heat the mugs with rest of the water, empty, then melt 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb coconut oil in the mug and fill with coffee before using a tiny blender to froth it to perfection. Nothing else is required. No sweetener. No milk. Nothing. I absolutely love this morning ritual.

(4) While Talanov's current drink of choice is a frosty shot of Chopin vodka, mine is the naked margarita. I call it the "naked margarita" not because you end up that way after drinking one, but because it is a straightforward, unadorned drink where you can actually taste the ingredients, unlike its flamboyant cousin, the frozen margarita, which contains masquerades of syrup and fruit. When it comes to the naked margarita, I rarely have more than one. The second one is never as good, anyway, and I'm not in it for the buzz, but the flavor. Here's how I make it: 50ml Don Julio tequila. 25ml Cointreau/triple sec. Juice of 1/2 lime. Ice. Oh, yeah.

(5) My favorite food to prepare for guests is the tamale pie. It's a double-crust pie with a "Picadillo" Mexican filling that combines meat with some sweet and some heat. It takes time to fix, which is why I like it, because I love cooking from scratch. Plus, something this "hands-on" is a welcome relief from the mental demands of writing eight hours a day, five days a week. Basically, it's minced lamb (my preference, although you can certainly use beef or pork), homemade frijoles (refried pinto beans), jalapenos, roasted almonds, chopped apple, sultanas/raisins, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, corn kernels and spices. Bake, then slice and serve as a main course topped with salsa (we make it fresh), avocado, and sour cream. What a medley of flavors that go extremely well with a nice salad and, yes, you guessed it: the naked margarita.

(6) As you can tell, counting was never my strong suit, but I had to leave you with this: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" (Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States). Amen to that, Mr. President.

Colonel Aleksandr Talanov — the “ice man” — is married to a woman he wishes he could love. But he can’t, and it’s an ugly consequence of his training with the KGB. Even so, no one should have to experience what Talanov experiences: the brutal murder of his wife in front of his eyes.

Wracked with guilt and suspected of plotting her death, Talanov spirals downward on a path of self-destruction. He should have been killed, not her. He was the one whose violent past would not leave them alone. Months tick by and Talanov hits rock bottom on the mean streets of Los Angeles, where he meets a hooker named Larisa, who drugs and robs him.

But in the seedy world of prostitution and human trafficking ruled by the Russian mafia, this hooker made the big mistake of stealing the ice man’s wallet. In it was Talanov’s sole possession of value: his wedding photo. Talanov tracks Larisa down to get that photo because it reminds him of everything that should have been but never was, and never would be because an assassin’s bullet had mistakenly killed his wife. Or was it a mistake?

The answer lies in Greco’s Game, a chess match played in 1619 that is famous for its Queen sacrifice and checkmate in only eight moves. In an unusual alliance, Talanov and Larisa team up to begin unraveling the mystery of what Talanov’s old KGB chess instructor regarded as the most brilliant example of how to trap and kill an opponent. The question is: who was the target?

A native of Kansas, James turned to writing fiction as a result of his years as a smuggler behind the old Iron Curtain. He has been on a KGB watchlist, organized secret midnight meetings with informants, located hidden mountain bunkers, and investigated legends of forgotten tunnels buried beneath the cobblestones and bricks of some of Central Europe’s most venerated cathedrals. Department Thirteen, his debut thriller featuring former KGB informant, Colonel Aleksandr Talanov, was inspired by those experiences and went on to win the USA Book News “Best Thriller of 2011″ award, a gold medal in the 2012 Independent Publisher “IPPY” Book Awards (thriller/suspense), and a gold medal in the 2012 Indie Book Awards (action/adventure).

A former journalist in Los Angeles, James holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Baker University and a Master’s Degree from the University of Houston (Clear Lake). His 2011 “Too Ugly Tour” saw him drive 4500 miles across America promoting his books and speaking to thousands of students about not letting the hard knocks of life defeat you, which in his case included years of rejection, surviving cancer, and once being turned down for a customer service job because he was “too ugly” — a reference to the facial scars he still carries from his successful 1991 battle against cancer. He and his wife, Wendy, a former triathlon winner, live in Adelaide, South Australia.

You may visit him at www.jameshoustonturner.com

James loves hearing from readers and bloggers. To contact him directly, click here:  http://www.jameshoustonturner.com/contact.htm

Follow James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jhoustonturner
Follow James on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jameshoustonturner
To order a copy of Greco’s Game on Amazon, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Grecos-Game-ebook/dp/B008PFCRTY
To order a copy of Department Thirteen on Amazon, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Department-Thirteen-ebook/dp/B005QSSMYM/
To order a copy of The Identity Factor on Amazon, click here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Identity-Factor-ebook/dp/B004TO5JLI/
Follow Greco’s Game on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrecosGame
Follow Talanov on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aleksandr.talanov

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: A Human Element by Donna Galanti

(Full length, paranormal thriller from Echelon Press)

This review is done in conjunction with the author's virtual tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. Donna will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow the tour (if you click on the tour banner above, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a GC!


One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next. Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him.


I was intrigued first by the cover to this book, and then by the premise.  It has all my hot buttons: serial killers, psychic powers, romance ... what's not to like?

The book starts off with a bang, literally.  A meteor falls to earth while a little boy watches.  In another place and time, a few months later, babies are born and one is surrendered to a mysterious man in black, putting into play everything that matters in the book.

We spend about half this book watching our hero and heroine grow up.  I admit to finding the heroine, Laura, a little too perfect, too nice, too friendly, too loving.  She seemed to have no flaws. But the hero more than made up for it since he seemed to have no virtues.  I admit, I struggled to like him and giving him the label "hero" felt wrong.

Still, they were clearly meant to be together, and as they came together he began to redeem himself and to find that sweet little boy he used to be.  Laura never developed any real flaws, but I liked watching her with Ben.  It made her seem a bit more normal, which may have been the author's intention.

The evil here is truly evil in every way.  I shudder to think that something like X-10 could ever exist.  He had no mercy, no pity, no positive emotions.  He thrived on hate and anger and perverted lusts.  The courage Laura must have had to face him would have been enormous.

"A Human Element" had everything it needed to be a edge-of-your seat thriller, but I found it a bit slow.  I think we spent just a little too much time watching Ben and Laura grow up. Some parts of their lives were integral to the plot (like Laura's friend, Jim...I really loved him!), but some was a bit dull and unnecessary. 

Still, overall it was a good book with an ending that surprised me.  Ms. Galanti has an amazing imagination and solid writing skills, and I expect to see great things in the future from her.

3.5 / 5 Flowers -- I liked it!

Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense novel A HUMAN ELEMENT (Echelon Press). Donna has a B.A. in English and a background in marketing. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Horror Writers Association, The Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and Pennwriters. She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in PA with lots of nooks, fireplaces, and stinkbugs but sadly, no ghosts.

Visit her at: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/

Connect with Donna here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DonnaGalanti
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthor
Blog: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/

Purchase A HUMAN ELEMENT here:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/dg-the-Kindle
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/dg-he-Nook

No Remorse by Ian Walkley - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

Today we're welcoming author Ian Walkley to the blog on his tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the action/thriller novel, "No Remorse".  I'm so glad I saw this tour, the book sounds amazing and it's on my TBR list.  Remember folks, the holidays aren't too far away and books make GREAT gifts.

Ian is giving away a $50 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour so comment today AND follow his tour (if you click on the banner over there on the left, it'll take you to a list of his tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a GC!

Ian was gracious enough to answer all my prying questions. Thanks, Ian!  Also, he asks a question at the end that I'd love to see your answers to... and now, I turn the floor over to our author.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

My writing heroes were Ludlum, Maclean, Wilbur Smith—action adventures, global conspiracies—so I naturally gravitated to thrillers. I tend to like action and suspense, but I get bored with mysteries that basically take up lots of pages with manipulated scenes designed to delay the revealing of the secret. Thrillers are basically about creating tension that makes the reader want to turn the page. And given many males particularly do not read fiction, I would like to write books that get men back reading again, while also appealing to female readers. I think the answer is short chapters, lots of action, and a mix of conflict, violence and sex. That is, a thriller. My readers write to me about how they stayed up all night to finish No Remorse, or how their husband wouldn’t pay them attention until he had finished the book. It is a great airplane read. When I was running my marketing consultancy I traveled a great deal, and loved to read escapist thrillers while flying. I wanted to write a book that other travelers would enjoy.

What research is required?

Many thriller writers such as Lee Child say they do little research, while others like John Gilstrap and DPLyle do a great deal for their technical thrillers. I have a background as a market and social researcher, so I have some understanding about motivations and behavior. There is a great deal of research into aspects of No Remorse, such as settings like Paris and Dubai, and into some of the activities of the bad guys. For example I found that global human trafficking is a business rivaling drugs. And there are some terrible things happening with slavery and kidnapping. I also did a considerable amount of research into the whole corruption of the financial system, and the development of computer software that could be used in the way described in the book.

Name one thing you learned from your hero.

One thing that you cannot control is the past. My hero has serious female problems because his fiancée left him for his brother four weeks before their wedding. Will he be able to work with the woman who is effectively his boss? Gradually, he realizes that he has to give up those chips on his shoulder that come from past failures and past problems with trust. But then, can he trust the organization he is forced to work with?

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I’m a little old-fashioned about trusting computers. I back up my work every day, and more often if I make changes to substantial sections of plot. I have enough material saved for about six novels I think! I will sometimes get up in the middle of the night or early hours to write because a great idea comes when I’m dozing. I use photos for prompting about characters, and diagrams of relationships, and I try lots of different things – index cards, software, flowcharting – for plot formulation and scene structure. I write best in the early morning and try to hold off the marketing stuff until after lunch.

Plotter or pantser?

I would like to say that I outline and plan. I try. I use cards, A3 pages, software programs with structure outlines. But I find every 10,000 words or so the writing takes a life of its own. I have to keep referring back to my storyline. With No Remorse, I found I could add deleted chapters back in some cases, because they fitted with a sub-plot. So, I don’t mind having to delete chapters or characters. It’s all practice, and might be useful another day.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Directly to my right is my window out to my backyard and pool, and my second computer screen. Below the desk is sitting one of our dogs, a poodle/shihtzu cross called “Charlie” who sits at my feet every day while I’m writing.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I’m working on a crime thriller set in Australia. There’s a preview at the end of No Remorse. It is about a woman vigilante Kasey who acts as bait to catch bad guys. When she goes to a country town called Deception Crossing she encounters an American she was in love with several years earlier. There are lots of bad things happening in Deception Crossing and soon Kasey and the American find themselves and their loved ones under serious threat.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Thanks for the opportunity… I would like to ask readers whether they think thrillers should have more explicit sex and violence or whether they prefer such things to happen “off stage”. Traditionally, thrillers tend not to have many sex scenes because they slow the pace down. But with the popularity of Fifty Shades of Gray, I am wondering whether there will be any change here. Similarly, true crime tends to have more explicit violence and this genre seems to be increasing in popularity. What do readers want in thrillers?

Two men, exiles from their respective societies, take conflicting approaches in the quest to regain their place and self-respect, and find themselves at war over a kidnapped girl.

Lee McCloud (“Mac”), a special forces soldier facing trumped-up charges of murder, is forced to work for a mysterious government outfit operating outside the law.

Khalid Yubani, cast out of Saudi Arabia for an offence against another member of the Royal family, seeks revenge through ruthless acts of evil. Engaged in the worst forms of human trafficking, Khalid buys Sophia, the daughter of Mac’s best friend, who has been kidnapped in Mexico. With time running out for Sophia, Mac enlists the help of a beautiful computer genius, a British SAS soldier and a Lebanese fixer to try to find Sophia and save her from the terrifying fate that Khalid has in store.

Although starting the quest as a man with no remorse, Mac gradually discovers a side of himself that he suppressed after witnessing the abduction of his own sister years before.

Dodging assassins, corrupt generals, evil medicos, Mossad agents, corrupt bureaucrats, and sharks, Mac ignores the order to stay out of trouble and follows Sophia’s trail from Mexico to Paris, London and Dubai, and the island of Andaran, where Khalid and his henchmen are waiting…

EXCERPT:

The long journey had been a nightmare, bouncing along in trucks and noisy cargo planes. First, they had thrown Sophia and Danni into the back of a truck filled with crates of vegetables, barely enough room to move, struggling to breathe in air that reeked like steamed cabbage. Crammed in with them were two others, Jeanette from Toronto, and Erika, from Sweden, who explained in stilted English that she was an exchange student, taken in Mexico City. Jeanette cried as she told them three men grabbed her as she was walking through the grounds of her hotel to the pool. The two bottles of water they’d been given were soon empty, and they sucked water from the lettuce leaves in one of the crates. Sophia tried to reassure the others, to talk her own confidence up. Air trickling in through a small ventilation grill couldn’t disperse the heat and fumes, and after a while Jeanette began to retch. The stench was revolting, and soon all four of them had emptied their stomachs into a plastic bucket they found in the corner.

"I'm so sorry, Sophe." Danni said, as the truck lumbered along. "I wish I'd never suggested we go shopping by ourselves."

Sophia shook her head and held Danni close and said words she was not so sure of herself. "They'll get us back, I'm sure of it." Still, she cursed herself for nagging their parents to let her and Danni go shopping. It should have been safe, only ten minutes from their hotel. But it wasn’t.

Ian Walkley has had a career in social and market research, and has been writing novels, short stories, travel articles and copywriting since 2008. He has co-authored two publications on small business and his first novel, No Remorse, was published in 2012. Ian's screenplay "Deniable Justice" placed fourth in the Writer’s Digest 2011 Competition for best screenplay. Ian has travelled extensively and researched his subject, and brings a knowledge of location and technical detail to the exotic settings and big screen thrills. Ian lives in Brisbane with his wife and three children.

http://www.ianwalkley.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ianwalkleyauthor
http://www.twitter.com/ianjwalkley