Fiction

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5 Questions with J.R. Wagner

Published May 1, 2012 by LS Murphy

J. R. Wagner was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania during a blizzard. The snow made travel by car impossible, so his father called an ambulance when his mother went into labor. The ambulance became stuck at the bottom of their home’s driveway, prompting the dispatch of a fire truck, which towed the ambulance to the hospital where he was born.

Maybe it was this experience that destined J.R. to love adventure. A competitive cyclist, triathlete, mountain biker and adventure racer, he once received a medal for saving a woman’s life during the kayaking section of an adventure race. And the adventure is hard to miss in his debut novel Exiled (Live Oak Book Group, June 5, 2012), the first book in J.R.’s young adult fantasy series The Never Chronicles. He’s got a day job to keep him “grounded”; J.R. helps run his late father’s Downingtown, Pennsylvania floor-covering business.

J.R. first started writing at 10 years old with his sequel to “Return of The Jedi” – the self-proclaimed “Star Wars geek” had lofty aspirations of working with George Lucas on filming the project. In 1990 he began filming his version of “The Lord of The Rings” in his parent’s basement, but the plug was pulled after he nearly burned down the house. Since then the storyteller has also written a full-length science fiction screenplay, a thriller novel and a second screenplay.

After graduating in Kinesiology from Arizona State University, J.R. returned to Downingtown, where his creative fires were re-stoked by his two beautiful daughters.

J.R. also endearingly considers his wife Lisa his muse. It was during their trip to Maine he began writing Exiled.

   Now on the the FIVE QUESTIONS

1. Where did the spark of inspiration come from for Exiled?

I had a vision of the opening chapter and decided to write about it.  Once I finished the chapter, I put the story aside for several months until it started poking the back of my brain telling me it wanted me to write more.  Finally, I obliged and couldn’t stop until the story was told.

2. How many books are planned for The Never Chronicles?

I honestly have no idea. There are two written so far so I imagine there will be at least three.  The story takes me where it wants to go -I am powerless to stop it.  It could decide it’s finished one day and that would be it.

3. What is your solution to writer’s block?

I’m one of those people that people who get writer’s block love to hate. For some reason, it just doesn’t happen to me.

4. What are you reading right now?

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Knife of Never Letting Go(Chaos Walking, #1), and 11/22/63 -I can’t read just one at a time.

5. Finally, Beatles or Rolling Stones?

The Beatles!

Exiled will be released on June 5th. 

Website: TheNeverChronicles.com                

Author blog: whatisthenever.blogspot.com

Book Review: Black Heart by Holly Black

Published April 26, 2012 by LS Murphy

Synopsis: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

The Cover: Meh. I almost missed this on the shelves since they changed to cover design.

The First Line: “My brother Barron sits next to me, sucking the last dregs of milk tea slush noisily through a wide yellow straw.” I love Cassel’s voice. You get an immediate picture of a brother annoyed by his sibling. Since this is the third book in the series, readers will already have a good idea of their relationship. This sentence just punctuates it more.

The Good: Cassel Sharpe is a quick witted young man with a razor tongue and more skills than he has sense. I adore him. There are no easy choices for Cassel and he struggles with being good against being a curse worker. His internal struggles are well written and anyone can relate to his self-doubt.

The Bad: That the series is over. Seriously, Holly Black is brilliant.

Recommendation: Read them all.

5 Questions with Daniel A. Cohen

Published April 24, 2012 by LS Murphy

Daniel A. Cohen was just your average business student. Microeconomics, finance, marketing… you name it, he had to do a PowerPoint presentation on it. One dark and stormy night, he was bitten by the radioactive realization that memorizing business jargon could possibly be the most boring activity known to man.

After gaining eagle-eye vision, abs that could grate cheese, and a talent for imagining things (including his cheese-grating abs), he wrote his first novel and began his epic battle against the formidable business jargon. He continues to fight the good fight by playing saxophone and writing YA fantasy, forever hoping his Veil trilogy will help inspire others to join his cause.

 

Now on to the FIVE QUESTIONS

 

1. Congrats on your novel Masters of the Veil. Where did the spark of inspiration for Sam Lock come from?

I’m a huge sci-fi/ fantasy fan. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Alvin Maker, Name of the Wind; I love it all. I noticed that there seemed to be a trend in fantasy novels where an outcast is pulled into a fantasy world and finds his place in the new society. I thought it would be really interesting to see what happened if the opposite circumstance occurred. Say… a football playing, popular kid getting pulled into a fantasy world and struggling to find a place there. I couldn’t find it, so I wrote it!

2. Masters of the Veil is the first in a trilogy. How different is the writing process for you now than it was writing the first book?

Oh man, I thought writing the sequel was going to be easier than the creating the first, but that’s not the case at all. With a sequel, us fantasy authors have to keep track of SO much. We have to reveal more of the world, develop the characters further, and keep track of so many interpersonal relationships. I’ve found that writing a sequel requires putting in the effort, but I’m very excited about how “Children of the Veil” is progressing.

3. What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Keep pushing against the tide of rejection! All it takes is one yes to change your life.

4. What is your solution to writer’s block?

I’ll get back to you when I find it. What’s yours? (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) (Actually, my secret is to interview other authors to find out their secrets. L.S.) 

5. Finally, Star Wars or Star Trek?

Neither. Lord of the Rings all the way! But If I have to say something with “STAR” in it, than STARDUST by Neil Gaiman. Pretty much anything by Neil Gaiman is pure genius.

 

Book Review: OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

Published April 19, 2012 by LS Murphy

Synopsis: Jewish girl. Christian camp. Holy moly.

Ellie Taylor loves nothing better than a good argument. So when she gets accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp, she’s sure that if she wins the final tournament, it’ll be her ticket to a scholarship to the best speech school in the country. Unfortunately, the competition at CSSPA is hot-literally. His name is Devon and, whether she likes it or not, being near him makes her sizzle. Luckily she’s confident enough to take on the challenge-until she begins to suspect that the private scholarship’s benefactor has negative feelings toward Jews. Will hiding her true identity and heritage be worth a shot at her dream?

Debut author Amy Fellner Dominy mixes sweet romance, surprising secrets, and even some matzo ball soup to cook up a funny yet heartfelt story about an outspoken girl who must learn to speak out for herself.

The Cover: Not a fan. It seems too generic. Honestly, I wouldn’t have picked it up at the bookstore based solely on the cover.

The First Line: “I love to argue. I’ll argue about anything – school uniforms, raising the driving age, or ear hair.” What a great introduction to this character. She’s smart, sassy, and sure of herself. And who doesn’t love to argue?

The Good: Ellie’s struggle with her identity is one most people face. In this instance, it circles around her religion as an identifier. Dominy writes Ellie with heart and conviction, even when she’s convincing herself of one thing when she feels another. Of course, as we know from the opening, Ellie loves to argue. Sometimes that means she’s arguing with herself.

The Bad: As much as I enjoyed this book, it moved slow at times.

Recommendation: Definitely worth checking out.

Cover Reveal: After Dark by Emi Gayle

Published April 16, 2012 by LS Murphy

After Dark
The 19th Year Trilogy – Book 1
by Emi Gayle
Release Date: October 31, 2012

What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her.

In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.

She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.

Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists — which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.

In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.

URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/16

http://www.emigayle.com/blog/

5 Questions with S.S. Michaels

Published April 10, 2012 by LS Murphy

S. S. Michaels is a writer of transgressive fiction. She holds degrees in Business Administration and Film & Video Production. She has lived abroad, traveled widely, jumped out of an airplane and driven a race car. In film and television, she read slush and wrote coverage, then moved on to become a production coordinator. She finally served as a TV network financial analyst before leaving Hollywood. She lives with her husband, two kids, and two dogs.

Now on to the FIVE QUESTIONS

1. Where did the spark of inspiration come from for Idols & Cons?

I was working on a television award show and a couple of our guests were boy bands. I observed their dynamics and had an idea or two.

2. What authors have influenced you the most?

I’m most influenced by Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, S. G. Browne, and Jeremy C. Shipp.

3. What is your solution to writer’s block?

Writer’s block… Hmm, I used to think that didn’t exist, but I’ve recently been hit right in the face with it. I’m still struggling with it, so I’m open to suggestions. I’m going to try running and reading more. We’ll see.

4. What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama.

5. Finally, Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Beatles all the way.

Her novel Idols & Cons is available from Omnium Gatherum Media.

Synopsis:  Jake Wolfram is the biggest, slickest, sickest pop star of our time.

Drug-dealing voyeuristic punk, Jake, is yanked from poverty and into the white-hot spotlight after witnessing a crime committed by his neighbor, Damien Tungsten, front man for the boy band, In Dreams.

Jake lives life on the run, hiding in the limelight, and resenting every single minute of it. He’s relentlessly pursued by his former friend, psychopathic visual artist, Patrick Salinger, who coerces Jake into helping him turn a grisly murder into a masterpiece.

Seizing control of the power he craves, Jake disposes of Damien, confronts Patrick, and lives a bad-boy rock-and-roll lifestyle as he hijacks Damien’s super-stardom.

But Damien’s not quite ready to let it go.

In her debut novel, Michaels uses biting wit and seething satire to bring the reader behind the scenes, to an explosive world where pop music grinds up against the cutting edge of art and drugs are the fuel that ignite it

Cover Reveal: Blue Moon by J.A. Belfield

Published April 9, 2012 by LS Murphy

Blue Moon
A Holloway Pack Story #2
by J.A. Belfield
Release Date: December 1, 2012

Someone is watching the Holloway pack, and this time, the female isn’t the target.

Life with a group of seven male werewolves worries Jem Stonehouse not one bit. She is engaged to the Alpha’s son Sean Holloway after all. So what has Jem’s territorial instincts on high alert?

The pack’s latest addition. Both of them.

None of the men think there’s a problem with the new girlfriends. Jem’s intuition tells her otherwise—that and a nagging suspicion the new females aren’t there to partake.

Jem believes they’ve joined in to take.

The question is … What?

As the eve of the blue moon draws ever closer, Jem’s running out of time to find the answer and outwit a thief of the worst possible kind.

A woman who believes she can’t lose.
 

URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/18

Previous Books in this series include:
Darkness & Light (#1)
Instinct (#0)
Eternal (#0.5)

http://www.jabelfield.com

Cover Reveal: Greta and the Goblin King

Published April 9, 2012 by LS Murphy

Synopsis: While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon.

To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape.

But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…

GRETA & THE GOBLIN KING releases on November 13, 2012

Check back in September for an excerpt!

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13260802-greta-and-the-goblin-king

Barnes and Noble pre-order: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/greta-and-the-goblin-king-chloe-james/1040613977

Bio: Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she’d at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Jacobs_Chloe

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChloeJacobsAuthor

Website: http://www.chloejacobs.com

Book Review: Tidal Whispers

Published April 5, 2012 by LS Murphy

Synopsis: A romance collection of four stories featuring mermen, sirens, and water sprites.

Heart’s Desire by Julie Reece
After a terrible accident, Tessa returns to her family beach house to heal. She doesn’t expect to see her first summer crush from seven years before. Cameron, though, reappears and ignites a relationship that’s far more intense than ever before. The only problem? Summer is once again coming to an end, and this time, Tessa will have to decide whether to choose life with Cameron or to never see him again.

The Sweetest Song by Claire Gillian
Under Poseidon’s rule, Circe is the most destructive siren in the Pacific ocean, her songs luring ships and their crew to their watery graves. Not Otis, the best halibut fisherman in the Alaskan waters. His ship, the Calypso, has avoided disaster each time Circe set her sights on him.

Given one last chance to deliver Otis to Davy Jones’ locker, Circe takes to land to waylay the handsome captain. Instead, it may be Otis himself who hooks the Siren.

Pearl of Pau’maa by Kelly Said
Should Miki choose to wed the local wealthy boy she doesn’t love, her stomach will stop grumbling. Her soul, however, will suffocate. With one last opportunity before she must concede, she sneaks off for a final dive to her hidden crate at the bottom of the seabed. What waits for her is more than a captured lobster. It’s a treasure she cannot claim without great sacrifice or true love.

The Undergarden by Jocelyn Adams 
Nixie, a water sprite, lives a solitary existence as she struggles to understand the strange world beyond her waters. When she meets one of the pink ones, a curious boy named Wyatt, their friendship blooms into a love that can exist only upon the sands that divide his solid ground from her underwater paradise. Some love, though, once born, cannot be undone, even in the face of death.

The Cover: Gorgeous image! The colors are well balanced and shout MERMAIDS and other underwater creatures. It’s also clear that this is a romance.

My Thoughts on the Stories

Hearts Desire by Julie Reece: Great story to open the anthology. Reece sets up a story that will both break your heart and set it soaring. Poor Tessa, I felt her agony.

The Sweetest Song by Claire Gillian: Gillian leads you through the frustration of Circe, a failing siren, to the realization of why she’s cannot complete her mission with humor and humanity. While Circe was only doing her job, I couldn’t help but feel for Otis as he struggled to understand what was going on.

Pearl of Pau’maa by Kelly Said: Harmon, the soldier who doesn’t believe in the power of the pearl, and Miki, who is desperate to survive, take you to the depths of the ocean as they come together in more ways than one. Said paints the scenery with skill and ease as we swim alongside Miki and Harmon.

The Undergarden by Jocelyn Adams: If this story doesn’t make you cry… WOW. I seriously teared up as Nixie and Wyatt’s story took me on a roller coaster ride through the highs and lows of love. Just an amazing way to end a completely engaging anthology.

Recommendation: A must read for fans of romance.

5 Questions with Lynne Kelly

Published April 3, 2012 by LS Murphy

Lynne Kelly was born in Galesburg, Illinois, grew up in Houston, Texas, then tried living in colder places again before making it back to the Houston area. She works as a sign language interpreter and writes novels for children and young adults.

Lynne’s debut middle grade novel Chained will be released in May 2012

Visit her at: http://lynnekellybooks.com/wordpress/

Now on to the FIVE QUESTIONS

1. Where did the spark of inspiration for Chained come from?

I’d heard that if a young elephant is captured and tied up, it will struggle and struggle to break free, but once it gives up, it gives up forever. So years later you’ll see the same small rope or chain holding a full-grown elephant, who doesn’t know it could easily break free if it tried. That was the birth of the captive elephant!

2.  How much research time did you put in to recreate India?

A lot! It was really important to me to describe India accurately. One challenge was making the setting seem natural and familiar to the characters, but showing it clearly enough so readers who don’t know much about India could envision it. I read books and online resources about India and Indian culture, but I learned most from talking to people who’ve lived there. I don’t think most people know how diverse India itself is; I know I didn’t. There are such differences from region to region, it’s almost like many countries in one. I couldn’t just pick out an “Indian name” or have them eating “Indian food,” for example– it needed to be an appropriate name or food for that part of India.

3. What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Read as much as possible, especially in the genre you want to write. Besides letting you know what books are already out there, I think that reading great writing helps you naturally absorb good storytelling skills.

4. What is your solution to writer’s block?

I do better with pen and paper than with the computer, so when I’m feeling stuck I sit down with a notebook and a pen to do some freewriting about whatever I’m working on. Usually I’ll come up with some good ideas or a sentence I need for a scene.

5.  Finally, Beatles or Rolling Stones?

I love them both! If I had to pick one, though, it’d be the Beatles.