WordPress has updated their policies, not allowing people to link to author websites and books any more, or even give praise to books. Several of our friends have seen their blogs suspended.
I don’t want that to happen to The Single Librarian, so I’m moving my blog to weebly.com, just in case. I hope to see you there.
New address: http://thesinglelibrarian.weebly.com
We’re hosting the cover reveal today for YA horror novel “Skateboard Xombies: Search for the Crystal Coffin”. This is the first book in a five-part series of Kindle singles.
Title: Skateboard Xombies: Search for the Crystal Coffin
Author: Ace Antonio Hall
Genre: YA Horror
On a normal school day in Lunyon Canyon, California, teenage necromancer, Sylva Fleischer, bickers with her teacher in class over an unfairly graded paper. But when the principal announces that all teachers should lock their door and not let any students leave class, the entire school is trapped in a world of terrifying zombies that not only bite with their teeth, they bite with their minds.
Since all life on Earth faces extinction at the hands of the perilous undead, a guardian of a secret society of vampire monks saves Sylva, her friend, Half-Pipe and her family, and lead them to an alternate world. And that’s when the real terror begins … on a planet full of every imaginable type of undead creature that ever lived … Including those telekinetic zombies!
Praise for Ace Antonio Hall and Confessions of Sylva Slasher:
“As I say on the front cover … A treat for Buffy fans–but 100% Ace Antonio Hall’s own twisted vision. Breathes new life into the living dead; run, don’t shamble to get a copy.” –Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author, Robert J. Sawyer
“In a vast sea of zombie tales, Hall’s tale is more than a cut above. He brings the entire genre to heel and treats us to one Hell of a ride.”
—Art Holcomb, Editor-in-Chief, Andromeda Entertainment
Ace Antonio Hall is an actor, former music producer, and ‘retired’ educator with accolades as a Director of Education for the Sylvan Learning Center and nearly fifteen years experience as an award-winning NYC English teacher. He has a BFA degree with a concentration in screenwriting and has published poetry, short stories and fiction in magazines, anthologies, newspapers and novels.
Inspired by his father, Chris Acemandese Hall, who penned the lyrics to the Miles Davis jazz classic, “So What”, sung by Eddie Jefferson, and his sister, Carol Lynn Brown, who guest starred in the 1970’s film, “Velvet Smooth”, Ace spawned his creativity into developing the beloved but flawed teen character, Sylva Slasher.
Ace was the Vice President of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (2009-2011), and continues to head the Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror (ScHoFan) Critique Group as Co-Director of critique groups within the society. He is also a member of LASFS and the International Thriller Writers.
On April 14, 2013, Montag Press published his YA zombie novel Confessions of Sylva Slasher. His next release, Skateboard Xombies, is coming out later this year, and he has already begun working on Skateboard Xamurai for the third installment in his Sylva Slasher series.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website | Blog | Instagram
Looking for some zombie gear? Check out Ace’s Zombie Pop Shop!
On the cover reveal day, you can win a $10 Amazon gift card. Fill in the Rafflecopter form below to participate!
Go here to participate in the giveaway.
“Okay, fifteen points,” Ms. B. said calmly, from over my shoulder.
I straightened up from the water fountain, and turned to her. “Really?”
“Find someone or a credible source to give credence to your theory and you will get an A-plus on that paper. Additionally, get rid of that section on biocentricism.”
My mouth opened to protest, but she didn’t let me get a word out.
“I know that Dr. Lanza is the third most respected scientist in the world,” she said. “He’s interesting and I’ve read some of his theories, but there just isn’t enough data to back up his claims that our consciousness continues to live after our bodies die.
Once the body dies, the spirit, the soul, everything is as dead as a red shirt on Star Trek. Sorry, I know that your family business raises the dead for grieving families and such, and you’d like to believe that there is some kind of place we resurrect from, or ascend into, but there is no heaven. No hell. No afterlife, and no facts to support them. Scratch that section and you have a deal.”
Before I could respond she was already walking back into the class room, so I jogged up behind her and was about to open my mouth in protest until our principal, Mr. Lee, interrupted over the loudspeaker.
“May I have your attention,” he said. “This is not a test. I repeat, this is not a test. I need every teacher to listen carefully. Please lock your doors—right now. Close your doors, and lock them. Do not let any students leave your classroom for any reason.”
From outside, emergency sirens started wailing. They were heading toward school grounds.
“Above all,” Mr. Lee said, “staff and students must remain calm.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Ms. B. said, hustling me back to the door.
“The school,” Mr. Lee said, “is on lock-down until further notice.”
Murmur buzzed through the classroom. Ms. B. shut our door quickly, and locked it.
“I repeat,” Mr. Lee said. “I need everyone to remain calm.”
“Do you think it’s a gunman?” asked a boy named Roger.
“Okay, students,” Ms. B. said. Her face had turned rather pale. “Stay in your seats.”
Emergency engines were getting louder and louder.
Ms. B. looked at her desk. “On second thought, R-Roger,” she stuttered. “You and Terrence move my desk to block the door.”
“Okay, Ms. B.,” Roger said, getting up.
He and super-tall Terrence, the school’s all-city basketball forward, lifted the desk and sort of duck-waddled across the floor to place it in front of the door. Red flashing lights seeped through the cracks in the blinds.
“Thank you, boys,” Ms. B. said. “Now go back to your seats.”
On the way back to his seat, Terrence walked over to the windows. “I hope it’s not some psychotic joker out there with orange hair.”
I hope it’s not another school shooting.
The siren blared so loud it started to hurt my ears. Terrence was about to peek through the blinds when Ms. B. ran over to him, and ushered him away from the window.
“Sit down, Terrence,” she said. “Let’s do as Mr. Lee—”
The windows shattered. Walls imploded with a thunderous sound and a fire truck slammed through our classroom, taking Ms. B. and Terrence with it.
I’m interviewing Jennifer Blackstream, author of fantasy romance “Divine Scales”. My questions are bolded, the author’s responses are in regular font.
What’s the hardest part of being an author?
Writing even when you don’t feel like it. Writing is a lot like exercising sometimes. You need a routine, otherwise days can go by with no progress.
Can you give us a short synopsis of Divine Scales?
It’s a retelling of the Little Mermaid, so the storyline is pretty well known. I changed a few things to give it my own spin. Marcela’s lost some of her voice, but not all of it, it hurts her to walk, but it’s because she’s never worn shoes, not because of magic, and she is more responsible than her original counterpart. Also, her sudden infatuation with Patricio is due to a curse laid on the angel prince by a witch, not just love at first sight.
How many hours per day do you spend writing?
I don’t really time myself. My daily writing goal is 2k (2,000 words). Sometimes that takes an hour, sometimes it takes four!
Name your top five favorite books.
Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton
Dresden series by Jim Butcher
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister
Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton
What are you working on now?
I’m working on Book One in my new series (a spin-off from the Blood Prince series tentatively entitled Lords and Ladies). Working title is All for a Rose and it’s a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Title: Divine Scales
Author: Jennifer Blackstream
Genre: Fantasy Romance
A warrior with a hunger for sin . . .
Driven by a terrible hunger for the black souls of evil men, Patricio, divine executioner of the gods, patrols the kingdom with blood on his hands and ice in his heart. The families of his victims sing his praises–the result of a witch’s cruel curse that condemns him to be forever surrounded by false adulation. When the curse sours the first hint at romance Patricio has had since becoming the king’s heir, his rage is all consuming. Disgusted, he leaves the mermaid in the sea and returns to the palace…only to be shocked when she bargains for the legs to follow him.
A mermaid out of her element . . .
Marcela’s world has been turned upside-down–literally. Once a proud member of her father King Triton’s royal guard, she’s now the victim of an angel’s curse. Enchanted into false adoration bordering on obsession, she traded her tail–and her voice–to the sea witch for the legs she needed to pursue the object of her desire. In a cruel twist of fate, the very magic that gave her the means to pursue her passion also broke the spell that caused it. Now she’s in the angel’s arms, but how can either of them trust the desire churning inside them when so much magic has muddied the waters?
Trust isn’t easy when nothing is as it seems . . .
A mermaid with legs and no singing voice. An angel with a curse. A witch with a chip on her shoulder. The world is full of magic and mayhem, and for an angel and a mermaid, it will take more than a kiss to balance…the Divine Scales.
Jennifer Blackstream is a psychology enthusiast with both a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology. Her fascination with the human mind is most appeased through the study of mythology and folklore as well as any novel by Sir Terry Pratchett.
Jennifer enjoys listening to Alice Cooper, trying new recipes (to which she will add garlic whether it calls for it or not), watching television with her family, and playing with her woefully intelligent young son. She lives in Ohio.
Jennifer spends most of her time drinking coffee from her X-Men mug and desperately trying to get all her ideas written down before her son can find that all magical button on her laptop to make her latest work vanish.
To learn more about Jennifer Blackstream and her novels, visit her website at http://www.jenniferblackstream.com.
BOOK ONE
Buy Before Midnight on AllRomance
Buy Before Midnight on Barnes and Noble
BOOK TWO
Buy One Bite on Barnes and Noble
BOOK THREE
Buy Golden Stair on AllRomance
Buy Golden Stair on Barnes and Noble
BOOK FOUR
Buy Divine Scales on AllRomance
I’m interviewing Jennae Vale today, author of time travel romance “A Bridge Through Time”. My questions are bolded, Jennae’s responses are in regular font.
Ashley Moore’s life in San Francisco has hit a few snags, not the least of which involves sightings of a mystery man around every corner. Is she losing her mind or does he really exist? Her search for this grey-eyed stranger leads her to Scotland. There she meets a witch with a secret, a vindictive English knight who is bent on revenge, and she crosses a fog shrouded bridge into the arms of a 16th century Highlander.
Title: A Bridge Through Time
Author: Jennae Vale
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Ashley Moore’s life in San Francisco has hit a few snags, not the least of which involves sightings of a mystery man around every corner. Is she losing her mind or does he really exist? Her search for this grey-eyed stranger leads her to Scotland. There she meets a witch with a secret, a vindictive English knight who is bent on revenge, and she crosses a fog shrouded bridge into the arms of a 16th century Highlander.
Cailin MacBayne is no stranger to beautiful women, but has always managed to stay one step ahead of commitment. That all comes to an end when he meets Ashley. He doesn’t care where this beautiful, yet unusual lass came from, he’s just happy to have found her. Ashley cannot resist the handsome Scot and finds herself falling hopelessly in love. In the process, a secret is revealed, a battle is waged and Ashley must ultimately decide whether to return to her own time or give up her 21st century life to stay with the love she has found in the past.
Jennae was born and raised a New England girl, just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where her imagination was always bigger than she was. Her large, extended Irish and Italian families were a great source of support, inspiration and humor. Laughter, love and food were never hard to find in her home. Jennae grew up surrounded by nostalgic, historical landmarks, which fed her love of history and creative writing.
She has worn many hats over the years. From owning her own typing service and horse training/boarding facility, to operating an embroidery/t-shirt business, her entrepreneurial spirit was strong and thriving. Determined to do something she truly loved, her vivid imagination took over again and she decided to follow her literary dream of writing stories that tapped into her love of magnificent people and places.
Jennae now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, where they’ve raised two beautiful and talented children. Along the way they’ve gathered a menagerie of pets, including one dog, three cats and 4 chickens to make the family complete.
You can contact Jennae at her website: www.jennaevaleauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennaevaleauthor
Twitter: @jealil
Amazon http://amzn.to/1wxZs6v
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1vy9Pp4
Kobo: http://bit.ly/ZCxatt
Apple:http://bit.ly/11kciZd
Title: An Impossible Dilemma
Author: Netta Newbound
Genre: Thriller
Local vets Victoria and Jonathan Lyons seem to have everything—a perfect marriage, a beautiful five-year-old daughter, Emily, and a successful business. Until they discover Emily has a rare and fatal illness.
Early trials show that a temporary fix would be to transplant a hormone from a living donor. However in the trials; the donors had died within twenty four hours. They have no choice but to accept their daughter is going to die.
When Jonathan is suddenly killed in a farming accident, Victoria turns to her sick father-in-law, Frank, for help. A series of events present Victoria and Frank with a situation that, although illegal, could help save Emily.
Will they take it?
Netta Newbound, originally from Manchester, England, now lives in New Zealand with her husband Paul and their boxer dog Alfie. She has three grown-up children and two delicious grandchildren.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/newboundnetta?ref=hl
Twitter – https://twitter.com/nettanewbound
Website – nettanewbound.com
Buy from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Dilemma-Netta-Newbound-ebook/dp/B00OMC8MGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415892040&sr=8-1&keywords=an+impossible+dilemma+netta
Today is the release for WINTER WOLF, a paranormal/urban fantasy by author R.J. Blain. The cover looks amazing, and the author gave me some of the most thorough interview responses ever, so I’m thrilled! My questions are bolded, author’s responses are in regular font.
What’s the hardest part of being an author?
This is such a hard question, because all of it is challenging. When writing the draft, I want to tell a good story. When I edit, I want to turn the good story (hopefully good story…) into a great one. I want to make my characters interesting, enjoyable, and touch readers. I want people to walk away with something—even if it is amusement over some of their antics.
But a lot needs to be done to accomplish that. Winter Wolf is 124,000 words long. That is, for the curious, 686 thousand characters. It’s a staggering amount of work checking over every single one of those characters for mistakes. My advance reviewer copies had seven mistakes caught after they went out. (I might have wept and kicked my feet.)
There are more buried in those words, ones I may never catch. It is painful, spending hundreds of hours over months working on a novel for there to be errors—despite the amount of time I spend ruthlessly hunting them down.
It’s true what they say about authors being too close to their work. I often do not see many errors because I know what the words are supposed to be, not what they are. That’s why I have so many editors.
But they miss things too. Ultimately, it is my responsibility to find every mistake and fix it. It’s a pretty notable burden… but one I want to carry. I want every book I write to be better than the last one. Not everyone will like my books or my style. That’s impossible. But I want those who do like it to have something they truly enjoy, free of errors. (I chase impossible dreams.)
Can you give us a short synopsis of Winter Wolf?
I get asked this question a lot, and I keep trying to find a new, interesting way to answer it—that isn’t just copy pasting from the back of the book. It’s a bit of a game with me.In the case of Winter Wolf, I can get away with this game because it’s such a diverse novel. I like twisty, knotted intrigues and action-packed thrillers. I like stories that make readers think. I like dragging readers along for the roller coaster ride. Winter Wolf isn’t as… challenging of a novel as I normally write.
Winter Wolf is the story of a woman who is forced to turn her cowardice into courage, to turn her prejudices into supporting alliances, and heal the pain of abandonment into strong familial ties, no matter what the cost to her.
It is the story of a woman who is forced to set aside everything she values, risking it all for the chance of saving the family she had abandoned years ago.
It is the story of a wizard who must use all of her powers to try to save a race on the brink of extinction due to a plague without a cure—and live despite the fact there are those who would kill her for simply existing.
What inspired you to write this book?
Where do I begin with this? There are so many factors in what made me want to write this book. I am really interest in infectious illnesses. (I know, it’s a weird, morbid thing to be interested in…)
I love turning the mundane into the magical. I enjoy thrillers. I enjoy reading about characters like Nicole, people who are forced to find their limits and boundaries for the sake of others.
Nicole was so hard for me to write because she’s so very different from me—and I’m glad. Writing her forced me to look at the world a different way, and I really came away with a lot from the experience… even when there were times I felt hopeless about whether or not I could actually write the book. I had to lean on my editors a lot for her characterization. I also had to talk to a lot of people who share traits with her, to learn and understand what type of person she really was.
I still don’t know if I did her justice.
There are so many ‘what if’ questions I pursued in this book I’m not even sure I could pick out which one was the most important and relevant.
I came away regretting that Nicole, while an important player in the Witch & Wolf world, isn’t going to be the star of the next novel. That story belongs to someone else. That’s one thing that is hard for me about the Witch & Wolf stories—most books are from a new character’s point of view, although the other characters join forces as the story progresses.
Blood Diamond features many of the major players from both Inquisitor and Winter Wolf. I’m really excited to start working on it sometime in 2015. (I’m crossing my fingers I can have it ready for publication by November of 2015.)
My traitorous fingers doubt me, though, as they’re determined to have the release date be 2105.
How many hours per day do you spend writing?
14+ hours, 5 or 6 days a week. I will take a few days off here and there to make up for the crazy schedule. Sometimes, I will take a week or two off at one time when I need a break. Writing is hard work, and once I get involved with a novel, I don’t like stopping. I like being in the flow of a book, so days off break that flow. Sometimes I end up not taking a single day off for an entire month or two, especially if I am near deadline time.
The end result is often a short temper and tears. My friends are often very gracious, especially near the time for a new release.
Which reminds me, I need to buy them all a cake. (Because I can’t bake.)
Name your top five favourite books.
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb (I shamelessly confess to crying multiple times during this book.)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
This is where I stopped and had a complete and total brain malfunction. Because it amuses me, I am going to write the first thing that popped into my head.
“A book about those people who did that thing.” (The book is actually called “Resenting the Hero” and the author is… Moore. Something Moore. And I can’t remember the author’s first name. I’m so sorry. But it’s a really funny, witty, exciting book!)
I’m cheating with this, and listing two complete series. I also confess math is hard… 1, 2, 3, 5… something like that.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs
Now, as for why I love these books? The characters intrigue me—especially in the case of Fool’s Assassin. They make me laugh or cry with the characters. Most laugh, though. I’m not much of a weeper… except in the case of Fool’s Assassin.
They make me care for these characters. What else can I love more? Not much. I lovingly recommend these titles and series to fantasy lovers.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my Requiem for the Rift King series; it is my epic fantasy series, featuring the story of Kalen, the Rift King. It is also the story of Breton, Kalen’s Guardian and adopted father. The series is the story of kingdoms at war, and a threat that can—and will—destroy them all if they can’t put their petty fighting aside. The skreed don’t care for the world of men, and in their hunger and desire to simply return home, they’ll do anything—even the genocide of an entire race.
Storm Surge, the second volume, will hopefully be released sometime in early 2015. I’m also hoping to finish The Tides of War, book three of the series, sometime in late 2015 or 2016.
There are so many novels I want to write and simply not enough time to write them all!!
Title: Winter Wolf
Author: R.J. Blain
Genre: paranormal / supernatural suspense / thriller / murder mystery / urban fantasy
The Hunted Wizard
When Nicole dabbled in the occult, she lost it all: Her voice, her family, and her name. Now on the run from the Inquisition, she must prove to herself—and the world—that not all wizards are too dangerous to let live.
The savage murder of a bookstore employee throws Nicole into the middle of Inquisition business, like it or not. Driven by her inability to save the young man’s life, she decides to hunt the killer on her own. Using forbidden magic to investigate the past, she learns that the murderer is in fact a disease that could kill the entire werewolf race.
Forced to choose between saving lives and preserving her own, Nicole embraces the magic that sent her into exile. Without werewolves, the power of the Inquisition would dwindle, and she could live without being hunted.
Nicole’s only hope for success lies in the hands of the werewolves she hates and the Inquisition she fears, but finding someone to trust is only the beginning of her problems. There are those who want to ensure that the werewolves go extinct and that the Inquisition falls.
But, if she fails to find a cure, her family—including her twin sister—will perish…
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When she isn’t playing pretend, she likes to think she’s a cartographer and a sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband. She is currently on a quest for a new warrior fish.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
Favorite Books & Series
In no particular order:
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern
Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar & Gryphon Series
Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera & The Dresden Files
Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris
Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega, Dragon Bones, & The Mercy Thompson series
Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time
Google+
Twitter
Facebook
rjblain.com
witchandwolf.com
Available At:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Wolf-Witch-Book-ebook/dp/B00N1BXDMW/
iTunes Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id912946393
Not an interview today, but a cover reveal, and this cover features a kitten! What more can you want in a cover? I love the banner too, with the little paw marks.
Title: The Bleaklisted Books
Authors: Donna Brown, David M. Brown
Genre: Non Fiction: Humour/Pets & Animals
Blurb:
My mini-irons,
I urge you to embrace the goose-spell of Animal Farm and you will find sanctuary when our difficult war is over. I will add, of course, that given that conquering the world means a long, long, long, long, long war, I will permit you to read another book every now and again.
Just remember which books are bleak-listed; e.g. Barry Potterer, 100 Years of Silly Tudor, Prude and Perjury, The Hungary Olympic Games, The Chronicles of Nerdia and Of Mike and Ben.
In the meantime, here is a list of books I have vetted and will reconsider for approval if the appro… apprap… proper changes are made. Read this manyule carefully mini-irons.
Your Cat-tain
Charlie Brown
Donna: Donna is a longtime book lover and sometime book reviewer and has devoured books from an early age. She writes short (or long) stories as and when inspiration hits and is married to fantasy author David M. Brown (Fezariu’s Epiphany, A World Apart). She was also co-contributor to David’s book, Man vs Cat, a humorous look at life with six rambunctious rescue cats.
Donna has lived in many different areas of the UK over the last 30-something years but has remained in Yorkshire for the past decade. She ardently disputes the misnomer that ‘It’s grim up north’. You can find Donna on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Goodreads, or visit her and her husband’s shared blog: B-Lines and Felines.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/_mrs_b
Website: http://books.donnambrownuk.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/donnambrownuk
Instagram: http://instagram.com/donnambrownuk
David: David Brown could be considered a fantasy fanatic, especially since he has spent the last 10 years developing a 47,000-year history for his fictional world of Elenchera. When converting his obsession into literary form, David commits himself to a rigorous writing and editing process before his work can meet his approval. Combined with the critical eye of his wife and a BA Hons in History and English, David’s dedication leads him to his goal of inspiring readers through heartfelt stories and characters.
Although David is inspired primarily by fantasy fiction, he also finds his muse in the form of anime, world cinema, history, and biographies. His own books, Fezariu’s Epiphany and A World Apart, combine aspects from worlds both old and new into compelling tales of a world not soon forgotten., David himself certainly does not lack a spirit of adventure; in fact, he left his job in 2007 in order to spend a month travelling. Second only to meeting and marrying his wife, David counts this as one of the most amazing experiences of his life.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/elenchera
Facebook: http://facebook.com/tweedling
Website: http://elenchera.com
Blog: http://blog.elenchera.com
Feline Central
Twitter: http://twitter.com/felinecentral
Facebook: http://facebook.com/felinecentral
Title: Godwin’s Law
Author: Bernard Maestas
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Buy: Amazon
Gwen Kane, estranged daughter of a Forbes millionaire and the bearer of a horrifying secret is lured into a dangerous international cult. It falls to Alex Kirwan and Ted Reagan to rescue her. What should be easy money for the mercenary team of a freerunning ex-commando and his computer hacking partner proves to be anything but as they find themselves doggedly pursued across Europe, Canada and the United States by highly trained forces with resources vastly disproportionate to the recapture of one missing acolyte.
Will Alex and Ted unravel the mystery of Gwen’s importance in time to survive?
Will Gwen pierce the seemingly impenetrable armor around Alex’s heart?Will Alex and Ted get paid?”
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading. I expected to enjoy this book…but turned out, I did more than just enjoy it – I loved it. Gwen Kane is the estranged daughter of a Forbes millionaire, holds a terrifying secret, and has been lured into a dangerous cult. It’s up to Alex Kirwan and Ted Reagan to rescue her, and they do so in fast-paced, breathless style, in a book packed with action from start to end. What should be an easy mission ends in a manhunt across Europe, Canada and the USA. The duo starts to wonder why Gwen is so important, and more importantly, if they’ll ever get paid for all their hard work.
This is the second book in the series, but I managed to follow it just fine without having read the first book. The book was so action-packed, I barely had time to breathe, let alone take a break while reading. It also has a good dose of humor, sometimes subtle, and as a reader, I couldn’t help but root for the two main characters. Flawed as they are, they immediately appealed to me.
An excellent thriller, highly recommended to anyone who loves this genre.
I’m interviewing Bernard Maestas, author of thriller “Godwin’s Law”. My questions are bolded, author’s responses are in regular font.
What’s the hardest part of being an author?
Answering this question, haha!
In all seriousness, the hardest things are probably rejection and writer’s block. Anything artistic requires thick skin but having your manuscript rejected by hundreds of agents and publishers can be absolutely heartbreaking. Two unpublished novels, in particular, that I wrote, almost ended my career because I was so devastated by their failure.
When I’m actually on a roll, writing itself comes easily, but I face these long and painful bouts of being completely stifled creatively.
The marketing and promotion aspects of the job are decidedly tough for me, too. I’m not really good at that sort of stuff. The social media aspect of it doesn’t come easily to me either but I love connecting with my fans and readers, so that certainly makes up for it.
Can you give us a short synopsis of Godwin’s Law?
Godwin’s Law features the return of wisecracking mercenaries Ted and Alex from Say That to my Face, the first book in my Internet Tough Guys series. Ted Reagan, computer hacker and MIT graduate, is the brains. Alex Kirwan, ex-French Foreign Legion commando and parkour traceur, is the brawn. Together, they are soldiers of fortune, fighting for themselves under the banner of their own company, Reagan Kirwan International. This book is their first mission of their new company, a seemingly simple job of extracting a young woman from a dangerous international cult and delivering her back to her family. Surprisingly, the cult is not willing to let her go easily and throws all of their paramilitary resources behind getting her back. The answer to what makes her so valuable to them is beyond belief!
What inspired you to write this book?
There were quite a few things that inspired me in roundabout ways. The Empire Strikes Back gave me the idea start-to-finish chase while the song “Not Gonna Get Us” by TATU always played in my head when I envisioned the movie trailer for this story.
More directly, the heroine, Gwen, was inspired by someone I knew. I needed some way to channel my thoughts of that person and this story came to mind, heavily adapted and exaggerated, of course.
How many hours per day do you spend writing?
When I’m on a roll, I can go for twelve hours or more just banging away. But, I suffer serious and frequent bouts of writer’s block and go weeks or months without writing. I wrote my last book in a week (eight days, to be exact) but I’ve only done two in 2014.
Name your top five favourite books.
Easy. In order from number one, Catcher in the Rye, Great Gatsby, Macbeth (does that count?), Ender’s Game, and Moby Dick. I love to read, I go through about a book a week, and there are many that I really love, but these are the ones that have stood the test of time for me. I read them all when I was young and still love them to this day.
What are you working on now?
I just finished a noir crime thriller/mystery called Concrete Smile that was a blend of two of my unpublished novels with an idea that’s been festering in my brain for about thirteen years. It came out better than I could have hoped!
Now, I’m working on a really cool (I think) fantasy novel under the working title of OneiroKnights. I’ve also got the outlines for the next two Internet Tough Guys novels ready to go but I felt like I needed a break from thrillers having just written the third in the series, You Think This is a Game?, and Concrete Smile. OneiroKnights is actually two fantasy novel ideas I had compressed into one super-story!
Title: Godwin’s Law
Author: Bernard Maestas
Genre: Thriller
Gwen Kane, estranged daughter of a Forbes millionaire and the bearer of a horrifying secret is lured into a dangerous international cult. It falls to Alex Kirwan and Ted Reagan to rescue her. What should be easy money for the mercenary team of a freerunning ex-commando and his computer hacking partner proves to be anything but as they find themselves doggedly pursued across Europe, Canada and the United States by highly trained forces with resources vastly disproportionate to the recapture of one missing acolyte.
Will Alex and Ted unravel the mystery of Gwen’s importance in time to survive?
Will Gwen pierce the seemingly impenetrable armor around Alex’s heart?
Will Alex and Ted get paid?”
Bernard Maestas lives in paradise. A police officer patrolling the mean streets of Hawaii, he has a background in contract security and military and civilian law enforcement. When not saving the world, one speeding ticket at a time, and not distracted by video games or the internet, he is usually hard at work on his next book.
www.bernardmaestas.wix.com/bernardmaestas
www.facebook.com/BernardMaestasOfficial
www.twitter.com/bernardmaestas
I’m hosting an interview with Wayne A.D. Kerr, author of MG paranormal adventure “Kristin’s Ghost”. My questions are bolded, the author’s responses are in regular font.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me better. Keep reading my friends.
Title: Kristin’s Ghost (The X+Y Files #2)
Author: Wayne A.D. Kerr
Genre: MG Paranormal Adventure
Night after night a strange apparition appears at Kristin’s bedside. Is it dangerous? Is the dancing spirit trying to send her a message?
When Xander and Yzzie discover that their friend is being haunted, the seventh graders make it their number one priority to solve the mystery of Kristin’s Ghost.
The truth will surprise them all!.
Wayne A D Kerr was born and raised in Canada, but has lived in the United States for the past twenty years. When not writing or reading adventure novels, he is most likely hiking, biking or playing tennis.
The Single Librarian 