Sorry all for being MIA most of the summer. What a crazy time it has been! No worries though I have been reading a lot and have a few reviews to write! A few of the titles include Tan Lines, Schooled, Twisted, and a few other great titles thanks to Boarders going out of business! Happy reading and see you all soon!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Strip
The Strip by J.J. SalemMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Via amazon.com "Perfect body...Perfect sex...Perfect murder - Decadence Las Vegas: glittering city of sin, the ultimate adult playground where fantasy fulfilment is one phone call away. Desire Three women hold all the cards. Billie is the town`s hottest act with her casino spectacular `Rebirth`. Kristin is the Vegas answer to Jackie Collins with her scorching blockbuster novel and TV series. Jennifer is the go-to therapist for the city`s highest profile residents, a sympathetic ear, and a keeper of dark secrets. They have everything...except passion in their complicated marriages. Danger When Billie, Kristin, and Jennifer discover sensual fulfilment courtesy of a high-priced stud service, it feels good to get what they want, to leave with no strings. But once is not enough. The erotic escapes become pure addiction. And what begins as sexual adventure ends in deadly obsession as their lives slowly unravel."
Loved this book!! Let me start by saying that this book popped up in my mailbox unexpectedly and I am so glad it did. I highly recommend this book. I usually don't read non-YA books but this was amazing and I was so glad I read it. The characters come to life so vividly you feel like you are right there with them. The story line draws you in and it keeps you! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!
View all my reviews
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Unwritten Rule
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6589111-the-unwritten-rule" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">![]()
http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301589148m/6589111.jpg" />The'>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6589111-the-unwritten-rule">The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth'>http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/363405.Elizabeth_Scott">Elizabeth Scott
My rating: 4'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/171500149">4 of 5 stars
This book was awesome!! I could relate to the character in the book because I used to be the best friend that always came in second. You could feel the love that Sarah had for Ryan and actually for bad for him because of how Brianna treated him. I am so glad they got together and as far as Ryan was concerned Brianna got what was coming to her!! Now where Brianna's parents are concerned, I did feel bad for her and wished better for her but trying to trick or trap someone into loving you isn't right at all. I would highly recommend this book to all ages!
View'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5428636-tasha-s">View all my reviews
My rating: 4'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/171500149">4 of 5 stars
This book was awesome!! I could relate to the character in the book because I used to be the best friend that always came in second. You could feel the love that Sarah had for Ryan and actually for bad for him because of how Brianna treated him. I am so glad they got together and as far as Ryan was concerned Brianna got what was coming to her!! Now where Brianna's parents are concerned, I did feel bad for her and wished better for her but trying to trick or trap someone into loving you isn't right at all. I would highly recommend this book to all ages!
View'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5428636-tasha-s">View all my reviews
Friday, June 24, 2011
Guest Post: Kelly Hashway!!!
First let me thank Natasha for letting me be here today. This is a great blog, and I'm honored to be part of it.
One thing you should all know about me is that I pride myself on being weird. I'm a former middle school language arts teacher and my students could vouch for my weirdness. But my philosophy has always been, "If you're not weird, you're boring." I don't want to be boring. My students didn't want me to be boring either. So, I embrace the weirdness within. And I really think it's made me a better teacher and a better writer. Why? Because what is better than making a child smile? That's right, nothing.
My mind comes up with some pretty crazy things, but they make for good stories. Sometimes stories I never even set out to write. I've published about seventy short stories for children of all ages, so you can see I put my crazy thoughts to good use. The story I'm most proud of right now is my debut picture book, May the Best Dog Win. This is the story of Dash, an adorable mixed breed dog who has the life until the new Super Sweeper 5000 shows up on his doorstep. Dash doesn't know what to make of Sweeper at first, but the more he looks at Sweeper the more Dash thinks Sweeper is a strange new breed of dog. But is Sweeper the new favorite dog? You'll have to read May the Best Dog Win to find out. If you want to get your hands on a copy of your very own, you can head over to Amazon or my website. I'm selling autographed copies through the contact button on my site:http://www.kellyhashway.com.
In addition to May the Best Dog Win, I have six other picture books on submission to different publishers. I also recently signed on with my agent, the amazing Lauren Hammond of ADA Management, who will be representing my full-length middle grade and young adult manuscripts. If it's not already obvious, I write full-time. Aside from being a Mom (and yes, I do believe that word should always be capitalized) writing is my favorite job in the world. What other profession lets you use your imagination to write stories that will bring smiles to children's faces?
Right now, I'm busy promoting May the Best Dog Win by visiting schools, setting up book signings, and participating in interviews. If you'd like to learn more about where I'll be or about my other published works, please drop by my website.
Thanks again to Natasha for letting me spend the day here. Please feel free to leave questions or comments. I'll be stopping in all day to respond.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Guest POST: Tamworth Grice (aka @tamworthgrice)
Hello everyone. I am Tamworth Grice’s Evil Twin. Recently, we sat down together for an interview. Here’s a transcript of that talk:
Evil Twin: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Tammy.
Tamworth Grice: Please don’t call me Tammy. You know I don’t like it.
Evil Twin: Oh, sorry. (Malicious snicker) Tell us about yourself.
Tamworth Grice: I don’t like to talk about myself too much, because I like to keep the focus on the book. But here are some stats: I’ve got brown hair and eyes. I wear glasses because I’m blind as a bat without them. I live in the western part of the U.S. I love animals, although I don’t have a pet right now. I’m still mourning the passing of my beloved dog and cat—
Evil Twin: (Interrupting) So what is your book about?
Tamworth Grice: It’s about an eighteen-year-old girl who thinks her favorite rock star is sending her messages through his music to kill people. She’s going through a very difficult time: her father has died, the family has suffered economically, she’s at her third school in two years, she’s taking summer-school classes to make up credits so she can graduate, she’s dealing with living in a new town where she doesn’t know anyone, and so on. She fixates on Ian Magick, a “bad boy” rock star with a sort of Satanic image, because his music seems to speak to her. And then she begins to think that literally he’s speaking to her.
Evil Twin: Sounds boring as hell. Except the Satanic part, of course. What inspired you to write this book?
Tamworth Grice: Several things. I read about how Ozzy Osbourne had been sued by a father whose son committed suicide. Osbourne had a song called “Suicide Solution,” and a depressed teenager played the song as he shot himself in the head. The family said Osbourne was subliminally, through his music, telling his fans to kill themselves. Osbourne won the case, but the idea of rock stars sending subliminal messages intrigued me.
Evil Twin: That’s it? That’s all that inspired you? How dull.
TG: That’s not the only thing. At around the same time, I got two DVDs from the library. One was a docu-drama about Frank Sinatra, and I was fascinated by the behavior of his fans. These girls—who were called the “Bobby Soxers” —would scream, cry, scratch their faces, and tear their clothes off at his concerts. Some writers described it as “wartime hysteria.” This was during World War Two when the girls’ fathers, brothers, boyfriends, and husbands were literally risking death on the battlefield. So I put the subliminal messages idea together with the concept of a girl who fixates on a rock star at a difficult time in her life.
ET: (Yawns)
TG: And the other DVD was about Charles Manson.
Evil Twin: (Perks up) Now that’s interesting. Tell me about that.
Tamworth Grice: I was intrigued by the fact that Manson—this little and kind of creepy-looking guy—had such personal charisma and such a hold over his followers that they would even kill for him. I would maybe understand if they killed people when Manson was right there, thinking it was “kill or be killed.” But he wasn’t even there for the murders. And the victims were innocent people Manson didn’t even know—so there was no motive for the murderers of avenging a slight against their leader. Plus, Manson was a rock-star wannabe. So all three ideas—Osbourne’s subliminal messages, Sinatra’s charisma, and Manson’s murderers—came together in Listening to Ian Magick.
Evil Twin: I wish we had more time to talk about Manson. . . .
Tamworth Grice: Would you like to hear about what I’m working on next?
Evil Twin: Not really. But tell me anyway.
Tamworth Grice: My next book is about a Goth girl whose estranged older brother, a cop, dies under mysterious circumstances.
Evil Twin: Anything about Satan in that one?
Tamworth Grice: You’ll have to wait and see.
Evil Twin: (Groans) Well, that wraps up our interview. (Dismissively) Good bye.
Tamworth Grice: Wait. You didn’t say how to get the book—
Evil Twin: I said we’re done.
Tamworth Grice: (Speaking quickly) The book is called Listening to Ian Magick . . .
Evil Twin: It’s over.
Tamworth Grice: . . .and it’s available through Amazon as an eBook for Kindle at ninety-nine cents.
Evil Twin: (Angrily) That does it! (Vanishes in a puff of smoke)
Tamworth Grice: Uh, um, well, thank you for the interview, Evil Twin. Bye
Tamworth is giving away a copy of her book too!! You know the rules! You MUST be a follower, you must tweet "Happy Birthday Week @luvlovemedew!! I want a copy of LISTENING TO IAN MAGICK by @Tamworthgirce hellota-ta.blogspot.com!" last but not least...you must comment with email and GFC name!
Evil Twin: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Tammy.
Tamworth Grice: Please don’t call me Tammy. You know I don’t like it.
Evil Twin: Oh, sorry. (Malicious snicker) Tell us about yourself.
Tamworth Grice: I don’t like to talk about myself too much, because I like to keep the focus on the book. But here are some stats: I’ve got brown hair and eyes. I wear glasses because I’m blind as a bat without them. I live in the western part of the U.S. I love animals, although I don’t have a pet right now. I’m still mourning the passing of my beloved dog and cat—
Evil Twin: (Interrupting) So what is your book about?
Tamworth Grice: It’s about an eighteen-year-old girl who thinks her favorite rock star is sending her messages through his music to kill people. She’s going through a very difficult time: her father has died, the family has suffered economically, she’s at her third school in two years, she’s taking summer-school classes to make up credits so she can graduate, she’s dealing with living in a new town where she doesn’t know anyone, and so on. She fixates on Ian Magick, a “bad boy” rock star with a sort of Satanic image, because his music seems to speak to her. And then she begins to think that literally he’s speaking to her.
Evil Twin: Sounds boring as hell. Except the Satanic part, of course. What inspired you to write this book?
Tamworth Grice: Several things. I read about how Ozzy Osbourne had been sued by a father whose son committed suicide. Osbourne had a song called “Suicide Solution,” and a depressed teenager played the song as he shot himself in the head. The family said Osbourne was subliminally, through his music, telling his fans to kill themselves. Osbourne won the case, but the idea of rock stars sending subliminal messages intrigued me.
Evil Twin: That’s it? That’s all that inspired you? How dull.
TG: That’s not the only thing. At around the same time, I got two DVDs from the library. One was a docu-drama about Frank Sinatra, and I was fascinated by the behavior of his fans. These girls—who were called the “Bobby Soxers” —would scream, cry, scratch their faces, and tear their clothes off at his concerts. Some writers described it as “wartime hysteria.” This was during World War Two when the girls’ fathers, brothers, boyfriends, and husbands were literally risking death on the battlefield. So I put the subliminal messages idea together with the concept of a girl who fixates on a rock star at a difficult time in her life.
ET: (Yawns)
TG: And the other DVD was about Charles Manson.
Evil Twin: (Perks up) Now that’s interesting. Tell me about that.
Tamworth Grice: I was intrigued by the fact that Manson—this little and kind of creepy-looking guy—had such personal charisma and such a hold over his followers that they would even kill for him. I would maybe understand if they killed people when Manson was right there, thinking it was “kill or be killed.” But he wasn’t even there for the murders. And the victims were innocent people Manson didn’t even know—so there was no motive for the murderers of avenging a slight against their leader. Plus, Manson was a rock-star wannabe. So all three ideas—Osbourne’s subliminal messages, Sinatra’s charisma, and Manson’s murderers—came together in Listening to Ian Magick.
Evil Twin: I wish we had more time to talk about Manson. . . .
Tamworth Grice: Would you like to hear about what I’m working on next?
Evil Twin: Not really. But tell me anyway.
Tamworth Grice: My next book is about a Goth girl whose estranged older brother, a cop, dies under mysterious circumstances.
Evil Twin: Anything about Satan in that one?
Tamworth Grice: You’ll have to wait and see.
Evil Twin: (Groans) Well, that wraps up our interview. (Dismissively) Good bye.
Tamworth Grice: Wait. You didn’t say how to get the book—
Evil Twin: I said we’re done.
Tamworth Grice: (Speaking quickly) The book is called Listening to Ian Magick . . .
Evil Twin: It’s over.
Tamworth Grice: . . .and it’s available through Amazon as an eBook for Kindle at ninety-nine cents.
Evil Twin: (Angrily) That does it! (Vanishes in a puff of smoke)
Tamworth Grice: Uh, um, well, thank you for the interview, Evil Twin. Bye
Tamworth is giving away a copy of her book too!! You know the rules! You MUST be a follower, you must tweet "Happy Birthday Week @luvlovemedew!! I want a copy of LISTENING TO IAN MAGICK by @Tamworthgirce hellota-ta.blogspot.com!" last but not least...you must comment with email and GFC name!
Guest Post: Sammie Spencer (aka @authorsammie)
Hi guys - Tasha has so kindly let me take over her blog to tell you a little bit about myself and my sexy witch book, Amaretto Flame. ;-) My name is Sammie Spencer, and I'm a mom of two humans and two dogs. Their names are Cassie, Christopher, Cooper, and Freckles. I'll let you guess which are the humans. My book is about a witch named Olivia. When she screams, people die. She makes a mistake and as punishment, she's sent to a human town to live as one of them for the summer. Considering she's been shunned by humans her whole life, this isn't really a good thing. However, she soon discovers they're not as bad as she thought...especially the sexy, rugged Jackson Vance. (hubba hubba) BUT...when the Venator (witch hunters) attack the town, she's got to figure out how to save herself, her new human friends, and her family.
It's hard to say what inspired me to write. It has always been there, hiding inside of me like a weird mutant just waiting to rip itself out of my chest. Except, instead of a mutant, it's words. I have always loved books and reading, so writing was only the next step.
Right now, I'm working on Shadow Wishes, the sequel to Amaretto Flame. Super awesome, and my poor coven will be put through the ringer, I tell you. If you're interested to read about my witches (and that sexy musician I mentioned), you can buy Amaretto Flame through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, andSmashwords. Thanks for lettin' me chat it up with you!
Sammie Spencer
http://sammiespencer.blogspot.
Find Me On:
Amazon
Smashwords
Goodreads
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Sammi is giving away a copy of Amaretto Flame and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your twitter name and your GFC name (you must follow) and tweet the following: "Happy Birthday Week @luvlovemedew!! I want a copy of Amaretto Flame by @authorsammie hellota-ta.blogspot.com Birthday Week Extravaganza!"
It's hard to say what inspired me to write. It has always been there, hiding inside of me like a weird mutant just waiting to rip itself out of my chest. Except, instead of a mutant, it's words. I have always loved books and reading, so writing was only the next step.
Right now, I'm working on Shadow Wishes, the sequel to Amaretto Flame. Super awesome, and my poor coven will be put through the ringer, I tell you. If you're interested to read about my witches (and that sexy musician I mentioned), you can buy Amaretto Flame through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, andSmashwords. Thanks for lettin' me chat it up with you!
Sammie Spencer
http://sammiespencer.blogspot.
Find Me On:
Amazon
Smashwords
Goodreads
YouTube
Sammi is giving away a copy of Amaretto Flame and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your twitter name and your GFC name (you must follow) and tweet the following: "Happy Birthday Week @luvlovemedew!! I want a copy of Amaretto Flame by @authorsammie hellota-ta.blogspot.com Birthday Week Extravaganza!"
Monday, June 20, 2011
GUEST POST: Dennis Sharpe aka @witlesslackey
Hey everybody!! So excited it's my birthday week and to celebrate I am having some really awesome guest posts...and GIVEAWAYS!!! I know how you all love giveaways!!
There will be a new guest blog everyday starting today with Dennis Sharpe (a.k.a. @witlesslackey) and he has a book called Blood & Spirits!
MAKE SURE TO READ THE WHOLE POST THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE A SURPRISE AT THE END ;D
Hello there. My Name is Dennis Sharpe and I’ve been asked by Tasha to take over blogging duties here today. This is my first “guest blog”, so I hope I don’t offend. I have a little blog of my own, but I focus there on reviews of books I wanted to read, and what writing projects I’m currently working on myself. So, as you can imagine, this is bit different for me.
I was provided with a list of things I’m supposed to talk about, but it wasn’t as in depth as my usually commissions for articles and the like. I was told to tell a bit about myself so I’ll start by telling you, again, that I’m a writer. By that I don’t just mean that I put words in order on a page or a website. I mean that I create with words. I’ve been reading and writing, in a fairly non-stop fashion since I was about 5 years old. I think I was first inspired to write by my mother – but don’t tell her that.
What I create isn’t for everyone, but I’m happy to say that I cultivated a small but loyal following. I write poetry, lyrics, screenplays, teleplays, articles, and a wide variety of fiction (of varying genres and lengths). I have even been known to sing lyrics I’ve written in a couple of bands and direct a couple of screenplays I’ve written as indie films.
So, yeah. I’m a writer. I’m a reporter. I’m a director. I’m a singer. I’m a guitarist. What I am most proud of, however, is that I am a single father of three of the most beautiful children to ever take steps in this world. I know that’s a matter of opinion, but it’s my opinion, and I’m the one writing the blog, so there you go.
I was also asked (and I believe it to be the actual purpose of my visit here on this blog) to promote my recent book release, “Blood & Spirits”. It’s a dark tale of Middle American urban fantasy, with vampires, and spirits, and zombies (oh, my!). The story centers on Veronica Fisher, a madam in a small town who also happens to be a vampire. Veronica, not entirely of her own free will, adopts Rachel Gregory, an eight year old ghost, who she begins to love and care for. Rachel goes missing and all sorts of badness ensues, causing Veronica’s well structured, if not wonderfully highbrow, life to fall apart. She finds herself dealing with a seedy and sexually perverse zombie with a proclivity for ritual magic, and trying to track down grave robbers and any other leads she can find to get Rachel back. Her extended “family” includes not only the girls of her brothel, but Frank, her right hand man, leg breaker, and non-heterosexual life partner, as well as Lucy, a potent spirit, friend, mentor, as well as a dead madam in her own right.
The book is gritty, raw, and disturbing at points, or so I’m told. It is also worth mentioning that it is only book one of “the Coming Storm” trilogy. The other two books should be out by years end if all continues as planned. But we all know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and writers…
Outside of Veronica and all the paranormal misadventures in her little world (I’ve written more than 20 manuscripts total in said world), I’m also working on a series of paranormal YA books, as well as a younger series that started as “Daddy, write a book for me.” from my 3 year old daughter, Sadie. I also have a stand alone steampunk offering in the works, as well as a very ‘adult’ oriented zombie novel I’m editing as well. I tend to stay as busy writing as time allows.
If you’d like to pick up Blood & Spirits you can do so at Amazon.com (in eBook, or Print formats) as well as Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, or the Sony eReader store. You can also follow my crazy works in progress on my Facebook page, or at my blog.
Links:
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Spirits-Coming-Storm-Trilogy/dp/1456325639/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1304344915&sr=8-7
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Spirits-Coming-Storm-ebook/dp/B004XJ500Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304344915&sr=8-1
Barnes & Noble Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Blood-Spirits/Dennis-Sharpe/e/2940011297779/?itm=1&USRI=blood+%26+spirits
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/57811
Twitter: @WitlessLackey
Website: http://www.dennissharpe.com
Dennis is giving away a copy of Blood & Spirits and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your twitter name and your GFC name (you must follow) and tweet the following: "Happy Birthday Week @luvlovemedew!! I want a copy of Blood & Spirits by @Witlesslackey hellota-ta.blogspot.com Birthday Week Extravaganza!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
