Tag Archives: books

Giveaway for Kill Me’s Release blog tour

Posted on April 21, 2012 | 10 Comments

picture of a wrapped present

Yay! the blog tour for Kill Me is on… and I’ve decided give away some cool prizes in celebration! Check it out and earn your contest entries.

  1. One lucky winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift card, because a QuirkyGurl can never have too many books.
  2. One lucky winner will receive a $15 iTunes gift card, in honor of the moderate musical theme in Kill Me.
  3. One very lucky winner will receive a Kick A** Swag pack, including a signed paperback copy of Kill Me and some other fun gifts.

Giveaway dates will run from April 22nd – May 5th at midnight. Winners will be notified shortly after the contest ends. So how do you win?

To enter for a chance to win one of the prizes, you can do one (or more) of the following:

Additionally, doing one of the follow will not only earn you good karma, but bonus chances at winning:

  • Tweet the book’s amazon link:       “Check out the new #kindle #ebook ‘Kill Me by Alex Owens’- music, magic, fangs & freaks. http://amzn.to/JdV19o #bloodchordseries ”         (you can change the text however you see fit, but the book link and the #bloodchordseries must be posted so I can track the tweets.)
  • If you’ve read the book and liked it, consider reviewing it on Amazon, LibraryThing, or Goodreads.
  • Post a link to this giveaway or to Kill Me’s Amazon page on your own blog, facebook, etc.

After you’ve done at least one (or more) of the above, you must leave a comment on this post so that I know what you’ve done. Thanks in advance, and good luck!

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Book Review – Dead Is the New Black by Christine DeMaio-Rice

Posted on March 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

Dead Is the New BlackDead Is the New Black by Christine DeMaio-Rice

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although this novel is billed as a cozy mystery, it is far more than that. Dead Is the New Black is a complex novel, woven with delicate finesse by the author. At it’s core is a heroine that underestimates herself on many different levels. She’s smart, talented, and takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of everything. Which gets her into trouble. But I don’t need to elaborate– that’s what book blurbs are for.

I will say that I really enjoyed this book. It’s been polished to perfection by the author and that really shows. The careful crafting and layering of details made me feel like a part of the novel, and not just a reader. That characters were well developed and the setting (in a design house one week before a big fashion show)is fabulous. It was one of the cleanest books I’ve read in a while too– no profanity, adult situations or graphic violence. (Of course, that makes me realize how much of the books that I read actually has all that stuff. Oy!)

I’m definitely going to keep an eye open for more novels from this author!

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Quickie Book Review – Darkness on the Edge of Town by J. Carson Black

Posted on March 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

Darkness on the Edge of Town (Laura Cardinal #1)Darkness on the Edge of Town by J. Carson Black

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I downloaded this book one day while it was Free. Now I wish that I’d paid for it – because the author deserves something for all of her hard work!

Darkness on the Edge of Town is in some ways, a typical police procedural/ suspense novel– but it differs in how well-crafted the story line is and how well developed the characters are. I’d recommend this book to just about anyone looking for a nail-biting crime novel.

J. Carson Black has a gift for clean prose and if her other novels are anything like this one, I’ll surely be reading more of her books!

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Library-Lubber, Yes I Am!

Posted on February 3, 2012 | 1 Comment

 As I’ve grown up, many of my interests have fallen by the wayside. No, I’m not on a self-actualized quest to become a jack-of-all-trades. I’ve just outgrown certain things, or they decided to outgrow me first.

Tennis turned into keeping my kids from bouncing off the walls. Horseback riding was a tad to risky to me– since I virtually spent three years having babies and recovering from having babies.

Any kind of crafty project is just way too inviting for my kids; paints, hot-glue guns, thread and needle– try keeping all that away from a brood of toddlers.

I did manage to hang on to one of my most favorite past-times– reading. I can do that during my twenty minutes of solitude in a bubble-bath. I can do that leaning over the kitchen counter in between burger flips. I can do that with one child sitting in my lap and the other clinging to my leg out of jealousy. I can read anytime, anywhere.

I vividly recall my mom fussing one lazy summer afternoon about my irritating devotion to the printed word.

The heat was unbearable. You know, those dry, molten days when you just wish the Chesapeake Bay would rise up and flood your back yard. A day so hot, drowning wouldn’t be so bad…as long as you got to be in cool water for the process.

Mom was going to The Pool. On those days, everyone went to The Pool. Everyone, that is, except me– and my mom just didn’t understand. Why in the world I would rather sit cooped up in the house, when I could be frolicking with half the Shore at The Pool?

That was just they way I was, and that’s the way I still am.

My husband complains sometimes, too.

“Can’t you just put that book down for five minutes?” He’ll say, leering over our dinner plates, while my daughter pitches macaroni across the room.

Yes, I read through dinner sometimes. I read on the treadmill at the YMCA. I’ll read pretty much whenever a few minutes of free time presents itself. I guess one could argue that I’m addicted to books, and I wouldn’t deny it. But then, there are worse addictions one could have, I would point out.

Sometimes, I was able to coerce my mom into dropping me at the library on her way to The Pool. Those were my favorite summer days. While the Shore sweated it out in the elements, I sat cross-legged amid a pile of books. I meandered down the aisles in search of that perfect book, much like Dorothy on her quest down the yellow brick road.

While the dragonfly’s and bumble-bee’s hummed outside, I sat in the library as the hum of the air conditioner carried me through historical battles, futuristic planets, and steamy mysteries (that I will admit, I probably shouldn’t have read back then).

Go ahead, call me a “Library Lover”. I can take it. After all, it’s true.

I shudder to think who I would be if the library hadn’t been there to foster my love of the printed word.

Fortunately, there are many people out there that agree with me. We could make up a club. At the least, someone thought to designate the month of February for us– as Library Lovers Month.

So while I could sit here all day and expound on my debt to the Eastern Shore Public Library, I have better things to do. What, you ask?

Well, of course, I’m going to the library.

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Hetaera–Suspense in Ancient Athens (Agathon’s Daughter) by Susan Tyrpak- Book Review

Posted on January 21, 2012 | 1 Comment

I just finished another book and it was so good I had to review it immediately~  Hetaera–Suspense in Ancient Athens (Agathon’s Daughter), by Suzanne Tyrpak.

I received a copy of the ebook after entering a giveaway on LibraryThing (I think)-my memory isn’t what it used to be. Some of you may remember that I reviewed Susan’s other novel, Vestal Virgin, some time ago, and after seeing that this novel was historical in nature too (and because Susan writes that sooo well) I just had to read it.

Unlike Vestal Virgin, Hetaera is a bit tamer, and the steamy moments mostly happen off-camera. But this second novel of Tyrpak’s is just as full of suspense, intrique and carefully constructed (i.e. real and flawed) characters as her debut novel. Like any good suspense novel, there are bad guys and good guys, guys that are good but do dumb things, meddlers and other unfortunate obstacles, and of course a heroine down on her luck.

But Tyrpak does more than just craft a page-turning read– she brings ancient Athens to life through her prose. So much so, that I could practically see it in my head. (Ok, so occasionally Spartacus tried to worm his way into my mind-movie too. What can I say, I’m a Blood and Sand fan :-) ) My only gripe is that I have to wait for the next book in the series to be released. Hope it comes out soon!

Five Daggers,uh, I mean Stars!

FROM AMAZON —-> “Agathon’s Daughter is a tale told by a writer who deserves your attention, a writer who certainly captured mine.” New York Times bestselling author, Tess Gerritsen–Foreword, Hetaera

Product Description
Hetaera–suspense in ancient Athens, is Book One of the Agathon’s Daughter Trilogy.

Born a bastard and a slave, Hestia has a gift: the power to read people’s hearts. And yet, the secrets of her own heart remain a mystery. Hestia’s keen intellect makes her a match for any man. But even a literate slave has little control over destiny. Sold to a prominent statesman with sadistic tendencies, Hestia becomes his hetaera (consort). As her wealth and fame increase so does her despair. She dreams of freedom, but she faces enemies at every turn. When Hestia is accused of murder, the mystery of her past unravels and fate takes another turn.

Hetaera: Agathon’s Daughter was awarded third place in the Maui Writers Rupert Hughes writing competition.

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Flirting With Death by Heidi Hall – Book Review

Posted on January 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

I snagged a copy of this book when it was offered as a freebie last week (I think, my days run together fairly often) because the cover was cute and who wouldn’t want to read a chick-lit Assassin novel? I’ve also noticed the author Heidi Hall around on Kindle Boards and the like, and she’s a Doll. Besides, what did I have to lose? The book was free after all.


So glad I downloaded it. Flirting With Death has a fairly unique plot (at least I’ve never seen one like it) and the writing was concise, fun and even a tad snarky. I just love me a good dose of Snark!

Compelling supporting characters gave bad-girl-turned-good-girl Kayla a lot to keep her busy while she tries to figure out how to live a “normal” life, who exactly tried to kill her, and why that earned her a one-way ticket out of the CIA. In the middle of all that, Kayla finds some time to right a few local wrongs, even if it means turning her kitchen into a temporary kennel. Who says assassins can’t have a heart of gold,even if it’s a little tarnished?

Flirting with Death is no longer free, but at $3.99 it’s still a Fab bargain. And right now it’s also ranked in the Top 20 of multiple categories on Amazon- so clearly I’m not the only one who loved it!

Product Description from Amazon: Is there a twelve-step program for recovering assassins?

Kayla McKenna is a covert assassin—and she likes it. After her father was murdered by terrorists, she was consumed by the need for retribution. But landing her dream job as a CIA assassin turns out to be merely a stepping stone in her plot to avenge the heartaches of the past… and present. One botched mission earns Kayla a burn notice, a bullet hole and a one-way ticket back to suburbia. Banished to her childhood stomping grounds with a meddling, shopping-addicted mother intent on grandkids, three overprotective cop brothers, a sexy criminal who can’t decide whether he wants to shoot her or date her, and a new boyfriend even her family loves, Kayla may finally get the chance to find out what really matters in life.

That is, if living a “normal” life doesn’t kill her first.

With a delicious combination of mystery, suspense, romance, edgy chick-lit, and a dash of paranormal, the first installment of the new Assassins Anonymous series is a wickedly fun treat.

*This is a full length novel at 342 printed pages.

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Friday Freebies – Free Kindle Books

Posted on January 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

Thought I’d start the (almost) weekend off with a bang and announce two of our books that are FREE today on Amazon as part of the Select program. Earlier in the week, I let Memories For Sale, SKIN, and Reflections of Motherhood go free for a day and the response was great!

That prompted me to go ahead and pull the ebook Still Life Paintings from Smashwords and B&N so that I could put the story collection into the program as well. So, today and tomorrow (Jan. 13th and 14th) only, Still Life Paintings is free for download on Amazon. It’s my hope that offering the book for free will encourage more reviews. The book has gotten great reviews, but what it needs now is more volume. Crossing Fingers!

Also, since I screwed up the previous freebie for Reflections on Motherhood (supposed to be free for two days, but the special only ran for one day) I’ve decided to go ahead and run another One-day-only freebie today (Jan 13th) for Reflections as well.

As usual, I’m blogging about the freebies, and I plan on posting on FB and Twitter, but I could always use the help spreading the word!

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IWU Holiday Hop Blog Tour 2011

Posted on December 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Since I’ve been busy moving (right before Christmas! Ack!) and trying to get BLOOD CHORD ready for publication, I didn’t have time to participate in this years Holiday Hop with many other Fabulous Indie Authors. I do want to take a second to share the information with you guys though.

The hop runs from December 15th to December 25th. Winners will be chosen after the contest has ended, and the results will be posted on their websites/blogs between December 26th-December 31st. The grand prize winner of the KINDLE FIRE will be chosen on December 31st and announced on January 1, 2012 on this site.

To begin, go to the HOLIDAY HOP page. You can blog hop in any order you choose. Start with an author and then work your way through everyone. Click on the NAME of the author to be directed to their blog site. Once there, check out their contest and enter to win. Yes…it’s that easy! And that fun.

This year’s hop has some great authors and terrific prizes. I’ll give you a little taste of some of my favorite authors here:

On Guerilla Wordfare with Lizzy Ford, she’s giving away an autographed, limited edition War of Gods trilogy paperback.

Christine DeMaio-Rice (author of Dead Is The New Black) is hosting a Fab fashioned-themed contest on her blog Fashion Is Murder and it’s so yummy I might have to participate in that one!

Danielle Blanchard is running a contest to promote her new book Death Wish over on her blog.

Kate Danley is giving away book copies and some cool swag too! I want The Woodcutter!

So what are you waiting for? Hop to it!

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Always Late For The Party or, Reading List Catch-Up

Posted on December 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Of the few constant thing in my life, no is more true than this: I am always late for everything. I can leave early. I can leave on time. It doesn’t matter really. I will always arrive five to ten minutes late. A dead car battery, a chain of creeping tractors in the road. Something always comes up.

I’m hoping that applies to my funeral as well, so at least some smart-assed relative can say, “See, I always told you she’d be late to her own funeral. Hand over the five-spot.”

But I digress. I seem to do a lot of that on here. My brain does tend to spurt off on tangents… see there I go again. What was I talking about? Oh, yes. Catching up on my huge list of To-Be-Read books. Or I was getting there at least.

So always late to the party, I am reading a Halloween themed book just a few weeks before Christmas. It’s probably my unconscious’s way of tempering the sticky-sweet feel-good holidays with something of the darker variety. What ever my motive, I’m really enjoying my latest read. It’s The Halloween Collection by the fantastically creative people at Indie Eclective.

So far I’ve read Ralphie the Special Werewolf by P.J. Jones (fantabulously hilarious!), Sunwalker’s Kiss by Shéa MacLeod (I want to see more of Jackson- a lot more :-) ), Haunting in OR 13, by Alan Nayes (creepy, spooky and expertly crafted), and To Taste of Shimmering Revenge by Jack Wallen (witty, greusome and buckets of fun) but I’m sure the rest of the stories are just as good. I’ll include the Amazon product desctiprion below for all the slightly-twisted Gurls and Boyz out there.

As of this writing, the collection is actually FREE over on Amazon. It’s a great way to sample some of the hottest Indie Authors out there and won’t cost you a dime (for now anyway) so what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:
The Indie Eclective: What is it, who are they, and why can they spell neither “eclectic” nor “collective” correctly? The Indie Eclective is an ensemble of authors operating under the assumption that Readers like Good Books. The Halloween Collection showcases spooky reads from nine very different authors. Whether you enjoy light or dark paranormal, YA or adult-themed genres, there’s bound to be a story to suit your tastes. Thanks for reading!

Rhyn Trilogy: Origins, by Lizzy Ford: Gabriel’s fate as an assassin seems set until he meets a courageous half-demon child named Rhyn, whose plight rekindles the humanity he thought he’d lost.

Ralphie the Special Werewolf by P.J. Jones: Ralphie doesn’t want to get snipped, but his pack is tired of watching him defile the sofa cushions. Now, he’s got to find a mate by Halloween night—or else.

Sunwalker’s Kiss by Shéa MacLeod: While searching for a magical bloodline, Sunwalker Jackson Keel discovers magic of a different kind.

The Village of Those Who Touch The Dead by M. Edward McNally: “All obligations will be paid. There are no exceptions.”’

Haunting in OR 13, by Alan Nayes: Halloween never frightened Sara McCaffe, until she stepped into Operating Room 13!

To Taste of Shimmering Revenge by Jack Wallen: A vampire is awakened after four hundred years only to find his kind embarrassed and shamed by the rash of shimmery, hunky vampires on the big screen. His revenge will be sweet and tasty.

Magickal Vendetta by Heather Adkins – Revenge is a dish best served up in a pink saucepan for accident-prone blood witch, Gretchen. By harnessing the power of Halloween, she hopes to break the bond with the soulmate who did her wrong.

From the Keegan’s Chronicles series: Haunted House by Julia Crane – Keegan, Lauren, and Anna find much more than they bargained for during an innocent trip to a commercial haunted house. Someone long dead awaits them on the second floor…

From the Gifted Teens series: Mind-Blower by Talia Jager – Kassia and Daxton’s romantic picnic is interrupted by the arrival of creatures bent on her destruction. Will her powers fail her when she needs them most?

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Winning, Wrecks and Witches

Posted on November 29, 2011 | 1 Comment

Whew, it’s been a killer month. NaNoWrimo has kicked my butt, I’ll have to admit first and foremost. I have probably broken that coveted 50k word goal, but it’s been spread out over 4 different works in progress (including one spanking new baby that seems to be about past lives and why people aren’t supposed to rememeber them!) so unless I wanna be a NaNo cheater I won’t be getting my banner this year :-(

Besides all that holiday madness and NaNo, I had house guests for the first two weeks of the month. Of the manly-hunting variety. I’m just now recovering from the Camo overload. Then, my husband had the misfortune of wrecking his truck. Or rather, some random guy crashed into Hubby and had no license, insurance etc. So we’ve been dealing with that and trying to find a suitable replacement truck. (Here’s his mangled deer-hauler. How sad is that?)

And of course, I’m busting my hump to get BLOOD CHORD ready for publication sometime this month. I will beat the holiday rush, dag-nabbit. You can enjoy the tentative cover for that while I procrastinate via blogging.

Lastly, the third book in what has become my favorite series as-of-late, A Reckless Witch by Debora Geary has finally been released! I’m so excited about it that I can’t wait to find a couple of hours to read it. (You may remember I’ve reviewed the first two books in the series previously.) If anyone beats me to it– NO SPOILERS! I mean it!

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That’s it. I’m off to finish editing my novel Blood Chord so it can be born, grow up, and move out of my house already!

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Book Review – The Temple by Heather Marie Adkins

Posted on November 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

I was looking for a good, witchy, paranormal read over the Halloween Holiday, and boy did I find it. Admittedly, life sidetracked me a little and I didn’t get around to reading The Temple until after Samhain, but that hardly matters.

The story kept me sucked into it until the very end, leaving me tired and with a stiff neck this morning. Not only is the plotting in The Temple original and well-paced, but the writing is tight and clever, with just the right amount of snarky wit. The witch/ Wiccan details throughout the book never feel homogenized or stereotypical, and that is very hard to accomplish these days.In addition, I was particularly enamored with the sections pertaining to The Goddess and the descriptive way the author handles things.

Author Heather Marie Adkins is a practicing Wiccan and Independent author (Indies Rock!) so I’m not surprised at how polished and authentic the novel is. And the life she breathes into each and every character… very impressive! Equal parts mythology and mystery, with a dash of romance– The Temple is a stellar fist novel and I’m excited to read more from Adkins!

Product Description From Amazon:

Vale Avari has a mysterious past and a laundry list of super-powers, but that’s nothing compared to what she finds upon moving from small town U.S.A to jolly-good England.

A chance dart throw lands her in Quicksilver, an off-the-map place with a big problem – people are dying, and word is, it’s supernatural.

At her new place of employment, a temple dedicated to the ancient Mother Goddess, Vale learns something even more shocking – women guards are disappearing at an alarmingly patterned rate; women who possess special gifts like her own.

Supernatural powers aside, Vale isn’t ready to believe in the Wild Hunt as the culprit, and she’s determined to prove the deaths are acts of human violence.

Plagued by a brute with a history of domestic violence and lusting after a dark-eyed man with a secret, Vale has a limited amount of time to discover the killer before he strikes again. In the process, she’ll learn things aren’t always what they seem and the supernatural might not be so extraordinary after all.

The Hunt could ride for her.

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Reading ADD; Or My Inability To Pick My Next Read

Posted on October 26, 2011 | 1 Comment

Maybe it’s the fact that I’m disgraced trying to plan my daughters belated Birthday/ Halloween party. Or maybe it’s the staggering amount of books loaded into my Kindle, Nook and iBooks apps. Or maybe, just maybe there are too many books out there to choose from, stalling my selection of the perfect book to spend the next several hours of my life with.

Wait, did I just utter the phrase “too many books” for real? Ye, Gods! I didn’t mean it, I swear!

But back to my dilemma at hand. What to read next? In keeping with the season, I’d love to read something spooky. Bonus points if the book is witchy, original and an exceptional read. So tell me, do you know any good books that fit the bill? I’d love to hear your suggestions. Let me have ‘em!

Perhaps something along the lines of one of these:

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Book Review – Diary of The Displaced by Glynn James

Posted on October 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I downloaded this book, but whatever my preconceived notions were, Mr. James blew them out of the water.

Reading this novel felt a bit like falling down Alice’s portal. Given the nature of the plot, it couldn’t have been written any other way. As the main character, James Halldon, wakes up in a strange foreign place, the story begins. We learn more about his predicament as he does. Of course I had to keep reading to figure out where he was and if he’d ever escape.

Diary of The Displaced is a well-written, uniquely crafted, one-of-a-kind book. Part horror, part sci-fi; totally entertaining. On a side note, I’m already reading book two of the series, Chasing Spirits now!

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