Wish for Me
By A. Star
(The Djinn Order #1)
Publication date: April 27, 2015
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Steampunk
Synopsis
Three wishes. Two lovers. One destiny.
When
the snarky Glory St. Pierre discovers the gold mechanical vase in her
deceased grandmother’s basement, she has no idea that she has uncovered a
priceless treasure: a genie lamp. With a real genie inside. A very sexy
genie with a not-so-sexy grudge against the entire human race.
Irving
Amir hates being called a genie. He’s a Djinn, and he is none too happy
to be in the service of Glory, who is as intolerable, and beautiful, as
humans come. Now he owes her his gratitude for freeing him and three
wishes. Damn his luck.
But an arrow through the shoulder alerts
Irving to the fact that he is being hunted, and after a truce dinner
with Glory ends with them both almost being killed, hating each other
goes right out the window. As feelings change and love starts to
develop, they must dig through the secrets and lies to find the truth…a
truth neither of them will ever see coming.
WARNING: Not suitable
for ages 18 and under. A significant source of bad language, sexy
times, and dirty jokes. If you suffer from a lack of a sense of humor,
take with plenty of wine. If the symptom persists, see a doctor.
Goodreads | Amazon
Excerpt
“So, why are you here?” I held up a hand. “If you’re here to kill me, at least let me put some makeup on so I can be a pretty corpse like the ones in the movies.”
I laughed. He didn’t. I wanted to punch him, but before I could even open my mouth, Irving stalked forward and snatched all of the blankets from my bed.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?” I exclaimed.
“There it is,” he said.
“There what is?” I looked down and saw the gold mechanical vase. “Oh, the vase thing?”
He shot me a look. “It is not a vase.” He looked down again. “It’s a Chronolier.”
“A what?”
“A Chronolier. It means ‘golden exodus’.”
“Golden exodus?”
“Yes. But in simple, mortal terms even you could understand, it’s a lamp.”
I frowned. “Like a light lamp?”
“No.”
“A lava lamp?”
“What in the hell...no.”
I thought about it some more. Then laughed. “You can’t mean what I think you mean.”
He cocked his head at me. “What is it you think I mean?”
I pointed. “You think that’s a lamp. Like a genie lamp.”
“Djinn is the correct term and I don’t think anything. I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because,” he said, “I’m the Djinn it belongs to.”
He didn’t even give me a chance to process that.
“Where is the key?” he asked.
“The key?” I remembered it had fallen off my bed and landed somewhere...
“There.” Irving knelt down and retrieved the key from under my bed.
“So it is,” I mumbled, trying to blink away the approaching dizzy spell.
“Thank Sultan,” he said, examining the key as he stood. He held it up. “This key is quite valuable, Glory St. Pierre. You should try not to be so careless with it.”
“Excuse you? I don’t even know what the fuck you’re talking about!”
Irving rolled his eyes like I was slow and should have caught on already. “You found my Chronolier and you turned this key, at least three times, correct? Which means, I’m yours for three wishes.”
I blinked. “Are you saying–”
“Yes, Glory. I’m a Djinn.” He blew out an impatient breath. “Or a genie. But if you call me that, I will make your life as unpleasant as possible at every opportunity.”
I stared at him. “Okay.” I reached down and dragged my covers off the floor and over my head. “I’m ready to wake up now.” This had to be a dream. I pointed toward the sky. “I blame you for this!” Old Addie would know who I was talking to.
“You are not dreaming, Glory,” Irving said.
The hell I wasn’t. Dude had just told me he was a fucking genie. I better be dreaming.
About A. Star
A.
Star is a fan of dirty passion. She loves to read it, and she damn sure
loves to write it. She is the author of the Mythos: Gods & Lovers
series, the Djinn Order series, and the Knights of the Joust series. She
is a night-owl and a coffee junkie, and the only sneaker she would be
caught dead wearing are Converses.
Author links
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
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I'm sure most book reviewers have noticed a trend by some authors and marketers to send out a mass email asking for their book to be reviewed.
This annoys the shit out of me and I usually follow those emails up by immediately hitting the delete button. Sometimes I don't even read the whole email.
Why is that, you might ask? Almost every blogger I know has submission guidelines that are super easy to follow. It's simple things like how to ask, what kinds of genres they are willing to accept and if they require a social media follow.
I know authors are busy people who probably send out hundreds of review requests. But keep in mind, bloggers are just as busy.
Here are some tips on how to get a blogger to accept your publication for review:
1. Include my name in the greeting. My first name is all over my blog. (It's Ashley, by the way). It's at the top of my Meet the Nerd page and it's at the end of every single post I make. If you can't put forth the effort to find out my name, I can't put forth the effort to read your book. #sorrynotsorry
2. Include a summary of your book and a link to Amazon/B&N/Goodreads. I don't have a lot of time on my hands. Meaning, I don't have a lot of time to go searching to find out what your book is all about. Cut out the extra steps and just tell me what it's about. Sometimes, I also like to read other reviews to find out if there's certain things I'm not a fan of, such as a insta-love. I do try my best to pick novels I think I will enjoy. I'm doing both of us a disservice if I read everything that comes my way.
3. Do NOT ask me to review books I don't accept per my review guidelines. I detest contemporary romance, it makes me want to gouge my eyes out, and I state that in my guidelines. Why are you asking for a one star review? Don't waste my time or yours. Instead, find bloggers who DO like contemporary romance.
4. On that note, follow my rules for request. I have just one rule really. You have to follow me on Twitter. This is for two reasons. First, I like to be able to tweet out the link once the review is up, as well as build my connections. Secondly, I use it to weed out people who obviously haven't read my guidelines.
5. Mention something about a blog post you read. I had two great authors recently who commented on one of my posts when they asked to be review, and it pushed them to the top of my review list. It's can be as simple as "I totally love your review of XXX" or "I see you still need a K title for your A-Z reading challenge." This shows me you've at least perused my blog, which I appreciate. If you expect me to read your book, I expect you to read some of my posts. It's a give and take.
6. Don't tell me that you know I will love reading your book. You don't know me, and you don't know what I like to read. I don't like being told what to do or how to feel. Just ask my mother how well that's worked out for her.
7. Make sure your initial email is well-written and concise. No joke, I've had authors email me and I can't even tell what they're asking me. Example "i would love for to read my book. I'ts about a boy who is an alien but loves a girl who is not. please let me knwo and i will send to you." Now, an error or two can be overlooked. I know authors send tons of requests and emails every single day. But, if I can barely get through your email without cringing then I'm probably not going to want to read your book either. Thanks, but no thanks.
8. Don't resend the same email if you haven't heard back from me. I either haven't had a chance to respond to you yet, or I'm not interested. Sending me the same exact email won't help your case. If you want to send a follow up, that's perfectly reasonable. Something as simple as "Just wondering if you've had a chance to look over my request I sent on [date] and your interest level if you have."
9. Email me. I like email, it helps me stay organized. I'm a nut who has 10 subfolders to sort things into. So if you think asking me over Facebook or Twitter is the best move, think again. I'm usually on those two for about five minutes for a quick check and post, but that's about it. It also means there's a very good chance you haven't even looked at my blog. Does that mean everyone prefers email? Not at all. But it's probably the best bet.
10. Don't be offended if I don't respond ever. While I try my best to get back to authors who do follow my guidelines, I lead a busy life. We all do. Sometimes I read an email and I'm not interested in reviewing for whatever reason, so I put it in the back of my mind to respond to later. Then I forget, because I'm human and sometimes forget things. It doesn't mean I hate you, but after a certain amount of time I'm going to assume you've probably forgotten about me.
In short, be personal, polite and include as much information as possible in your first contact.
Edit: Here's a great example. I received this just one day after posting these guidelines. I took out the name and title so as not to embarrass anyone.
Hi,
I am XXXX and my debut fantasy novel, XXXX has been
released recently. So, it would be really great if you could please
review it.
Regards,
- and he didn't even sign his name
Yea, and it'd be great if you could please go away.
The Wonderland Effect
by Robert Arrington
Publish date: July 4, 2015
Genre: Fantasy, young adult
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads summary
Alice Littleton, gifted with the powers of Wonderland, draws a catastrophe down on herself when she tries to use them in aid of a kidnapped child. Now, she and her father are being pursued by a relentless paranormal intent on recruiting other supers- or eliminating potential competition. She finds her way to Prometheus Academy, a new school with a truly empowered student body, where she finally feels like she fits in. When the school comes under attack, Alice must decide whether to run again, or take a stand against the forces threatening her and her new friends.
My thoughts
In all reality, I've never been a fan of Alice in Wonderland. I've always found the story a little creepy and a bit annoying. But I decided to give The Wonderland Effect by Robert Arrington a try because it sounded like a good twist on the original story.
If you think this is going to be a straightforward story about a girl who has gifts and someone who is after her (based on the blurb), you're dead wrong. This story turned out to be complex with a myriad of interesting characters. We follow Alice on her journey of discovery as she joined by friends fashioned after Lewis Carroll's characters.
We also see parts of the story told from the other students at Prometheus Academy where Alice attends after she's discovered using her gifts. This means there are a lot of things happening at once, adding depth to the overall story.
As for Alice, I wasn't so sold on her in the beginning. She's a bit naive and innocent, and she's far to eager to believe what Oglethorpe, the bad guy, is selling. But then I realized she really reminded me of the original Alice. Too curious for her own good. In the end, her spunky personality won me over.
I really enjoyed the Wonderland characters, like Hatter, Ches and Marchie, as well. They always had Alice's back and added a great comedic element to the story.
Alice's gifts include being able to talk to animals, the ability to shrink/enlarge herself and a variation of flight. While all of Alice's gifts are related in some way to wonderland, Mr. Arrington created new and interesting powers tailored to each individual student. One student has the gift of illusions and other had supernatural luck.
Overall, The Wonderland Effect gets a solid 4 stars from me, mostly because of the complexity of the story. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone likes a twist on the classics, as well as anyone who likes action, adventure and some superhero-like powers.
** I was provided a copy of this book in return for an honest review
Good news is that you can get The Wonderland Effect is available now on Smashwords. It will be available on other outlets by July 15.
Get it here
Smashword
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Fractured Memories
by Jo Schneider
(Jagged Scars #1)
Publication date: May 20, 2015
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Sixteen
year old Wendy never knew the world before the Starvation. She’s
learned to put her trust in her knives, and her confidence in her
fighting ability. When the Skinnies attack her compound, she’s the lone
survivor.
Injured and near death, Wendy is rescued and nursed
back to health by mysterious strangers. Her saviors offer her a place
among them, but trust has never been one of Wendy’s strengths, and
suspicion soon leads to evidence that these people might be the group
who killed her family.
The decision to get her revenge, and take
the settlement down from the inside out is easy. Keeping her distance
from those she must befriend in order to make it happen proves to be
much more difficult.
Goodreads | Amazon
About Jo Schneider
Author
of Babes in Spyland, New Sight-YA fantasy out April 2014, wearer of a
black belt in Kempo and always in search of the next cool place to
visit!
Author links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Q&A with Jo Schneider
1. What does your writing process look like?
Imagine a desk, and at one end is a neat, little pile of papers. Next to that is another pile, this one not quite so tidy. Maybe one paper is slipping off the stack, which leads the eye to an array of notes that may have been, at one time, in a pleasing fan shape, but now looks like someone gave it a noogie. This is usually where you will discover the discarded wrappers of whatever snacks I could find. A glass with the glazed on remains of a Diet Coke will be sitting on a Dr. Who coaster, and the little cup for pens will be empty, because the pens are now hiding under the papers. When your eyes reach the keyboard, you'll see that everything has been pushed aside to make room for me playing of Facebook.
2. What book do you wish you could have written?
Ender's Game. That book has captured so many people's imaginations, I would love to have been the person to have written it. Plus, Ender's Game sits somewhere in the middle of commercial fiction and literary fiction, a place I hope to venture someday.
3. How important are names in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any other name choosing resources you recommend?
Names are very important, and I'm sometimes horrible at finding just the right one. Ages ago, I bought a baby name book--a book that my fiance packed up when we got married and moved in together and was a little concerned about--and I often use that to find names. Sometimes I look at meanings. Often I will end up with names that all sound the same (one syllable for instance) or all start with the same letter. When that starts to happen, I find a letter I haven't used and I flip open the book. Sometimes I use the web too. Especially if I need, say, legitimate last name from Africa.
In my first novel, New Sight, I couldn't think of a name for the bad guys, so I named them the New until I came up with something better. By the time I got finished writing the book, the New had stuck. It's a dumb name, but now it's theirs.
4. What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
This one is easy, and maybe you're expecting me to say "Finishing my first manuscript!", but that's not it at all. While writing isn't easy, it's something that I can do. What I struggled for six years to get is my black belt in Shaolin Kempo. I'm a round girl--always have been--and I had to put some seriously hard, physical effort into every single thing I did at the dojo. I can write all day, but ask me to do a push up, and I still inwardly roll my eyes and do them from my knees. So yeah, black belt. I'm pretty proud of that.
5. What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Years ago, I was at a little, tiny writing/Sci-fi/Fantasy convention and I went to a class by a guy I'd never heard of. A guy named Brandon Sanderson. His first Librarians book was about to come out, and he was talking about magic systems. I don't really remember what he said about that. What I do remember is one simple statement he made, "Don't be afraid to suck."
I've lived by this creed ever since. Don't expect to be the best author in the room, don't expect to get everything right the first time, and don't expect to wow every reader you encounter. What all authors need to do is keep writing. Find some people who will help you get better and listen to them. It's okay to suck, as long as you're willing to try again.
6. Do you read reviews? Do you respond the them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I started out reading my reviews, but quickly gave up. Partly because it's like an emotional roller coaster with some ups, some downs and often times afterwards I just wanted to throw up. My fix for all of this was to have my husband read them. He then tells me if there are any common threads. For instance, if three or four people say they felt the ending was rushed, then that's something I should look at.
I remember getting a review of my first novel that said it was horrible and she couldn't connect with the characters and she didn't even make it through the book. I was devastated. How could anyone be so mean? In a fit of rage, I looked up her blog to see if she was mean to everyone, or if it was just me. That's when I found out that she reviews fluffy romances, not action/Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories. No wonder she didn't make it through, there wasn't nearly enough googly eyes and sexual tension for her. That's when I asked my hubby to read the reviews for me. One romance writer hated my book. That's totally fine, but her feedback isn't terribly pertinent to me, because I'm not writing Twilight.
7. What is your biggest failure?
I still haven't received any death threats for killing off a character. This will happen.
8. What is your biggest fear?
The dark. No, wolves. No, the lack of toilet paper in the apocalypse.
9. What do you want your tombstone to say?
Okay, two things here. The mom of one of my best friends growing up wants this on hers, and I think it's brilliant, "See, I told you I was sick." I can probably talk my husband into this.
If not that, then something silly. None of the sweet, tear jerking messages that people leave.
Those are lovely, but not really me. I'm more like, "Did you turn the lights off before you left?" or, "Be good. There is no try."
10. If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Flying. Fast. Then I'd figure out some weapons and the bad guys would hate me. Buahahaha!
11. What super talents do you have?
I'm killer at writing dialogue.
I'm really good at making people feel stupid (the question didn't say good super talents).
I'm good at diffusing tense situations. With either humor or logic.
Sometimes I think I'm around to look dumb, just so other people can feel good about themselves.
12.What is one place you want to visit that you haven't been before?
I've had the opportunity to travel a lot, but I've never been to Antarctica. I know it sounds insane, but I totally want to go! Seriously, penguins and the driest place on earth. Plus ice. I'm so there.
Wolfskin
by W.R. Gingell
Publish date: May 1, 2015
Genre: Fantasy, young adult
Rating: 4/5
Summary | Goodreads
‘If you want adventure, you have to march right up to it and kick it in the shins . . .’
At
fourteen, barefoot and running wild, Rose is delighted to be
apprenticed to Akiva, the witch of the forest. She thinks it will be all
enchantment and excitement, and not so much fuss about baths. The
reality is much more sober and practical- that is, until she meets a
mysterious wolf in the forest and is tricked into stepping off the path .
. .
In young, naive Rose, Bastian sees a way of escape. Cursed to
remain in the shape of a wolf after running afoul of a powerful
enchantress, he has lived many decades under a spell, and now he is both
desperate and ruthless. But by breaking part of Bastian’s curse, Rose
has caught the attention of Cassandra, the enchantress who cursed him:
and Cassandra is by no means ready to forgive and forget.
Meanwhile,
wardens have been disappearing from the forest, one by one. Rose is
certain that Cassandra is behind the disappearances, but can she and
Bastian get to the bottom of the matter before Akiva disappears as well?
And are Bastian’s motives entirely to be trusted?
Sometimes the
little girl in the red hood doesn’t get eaten, and sometimes the wolf
isn’t the most frightening thing in the forest.
My thoughts
Honestly, in the beginning I was a little unsure about reading and reviewing Wolfskin by W.R Gingell. Now that I'm in my mid-20s (sigh... getting older) I tend to lean more toward stories with slightly older characters or NA fantasy. I find that I can relate more toward characters that are closer to my age.
So with that in mind, I did get a little frustrated with the main character and her childish reaction to things. She was a little bit whiny and pouty. However, then I reminded myself that I was a little brat at 14 too, and I started to really enjoy the story once I got that out of the way.
What's good. The story itself was excellent. It wasn't anything like I had expected at all, which is always refreshing to see in a fantasy. Our main character, Rose, has a lot of learning to do in her apprenticeship and we learn right along with her. I found myself confused at times by what was happening, but it made me connect with Rose more, since she was struggling to understand everything at the same time I was.
The characters were new and refreshing. After I got over my initial dislike of Rose, I came to love her energy and curiosity. It reminded me a lot of myself at that age.
Then there's Akiva, the guardian witch Rose is apprenticed to. She's not your typical lovey, dovey fairy godmother. She's a tough, no nonsense old broad. She really makes Rose work for everything and never just gives her the answer to whatever problem she's facing.
Lastly, we have Bastian. His character is very drawn out through the novel. When we meet him, he's a conniving, vicious wolf who's about to eat Rose on their first meeting. After she breaks the first part of his curse, we don't see that much of him. Rose runs into him here and there, but he doesn't really play a bigger part until the second half of the novel.
What could have been better. The pacing was a little off for me. Sometimes it would take an entire chapter to go through a few days. Other times it was months down the road within a few sentences. To me, it didn't quite flow as well as it could have. I like it better when there's a consistency to the timeline.
I would have like to have seen more of Bastian in the beginning half of the novel. After Rose broke the first part of the curse I thought he'd be around more. He still had two more parts to the curse but didn't seem to be in a hurry to break them.
Overall, I gave Wolfskin a rating of 4/5 because I really, really enjoyed the storyline. The few things that I didn't like were very minor and didn't take away from the book as a whole. I'll definitely be recommending this one.
** I was provided a copy of this book in return for an honest review
Get it here
Amazon
About the author
W.R Gingell is a Tasmanian author who enjoys reading, bacon, and slouching in front of the fire to write.
Author links:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
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The Heartbeat Thief
by A.J. Krafton
Publication date: June 12th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
Synopsis:
Haunted
by a crushing fear of death, a young Victorian woman discovers the
secret of eternal youth — she must surrender her life to attain it, and
steal heartbeats to keep it.
In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has
only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and
lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be
difficult, not when she has her entire life before her. But it’s not
life that preoccupies her thoughts. It’s death — and that shadowy spectre
haunts her every step.
So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly
attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he
wasn’t so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about
knowing how to avoid it…
When her mother arranges a courtship
with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted
destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell
that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a
steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the
heartbeats of others.
It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit
Edgar Allen Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to
stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the
back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across
the seas of Time…
How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?
Goodreads | Amazon (99 cents for two days only)
About AJ Krafton
AJ
Krafton is the author of New Adult speculative fiction. Her debut The
Heartbeat Thief is due out on Kindle in June 2015. Forthcoming titles
include Taking' It Back & Face of the Enemy. She's a proud member of
the Infinite Ink Authors. AJ also writes adult spec fic as Ash Krafton.
Visit Ash at http://ashkrafton.com
Author links:
Twitter | Blog | Facebook
3 Questions With AJ Krafton
Q: What inspired the story of The Heartbeat Thief?
It started with a single scene, a conversation between a young woman and a mysterious stranger who steals up beside her at a funeral.
A lot of my stories start out like this, a single scene with no other context. It’s as if I happen across a conversation between strangers and only see one tiny snippet of their story. Sometimes, the scenes get written and tucked away in an “ideas” folder on my hard drive, lying dormant. Sometimes, a trickle of life stirs within, and a story grows out of that tiny seed.
Sometimes, the seed germinates and grows and blooms into a novel. That’s what happened with that first passage —it was the seed that grew into The Heartbeat Thief.
I went back to the oldest draft of the story and found that original seed. Here is the passage as I’d first written it:
That frightens you, doesn't?
She didn't turn to look at him. His presence was like a thick fog, tenuous yet flowing, something she felt along her skin. She didn't need to look at him—she knew right where he was. That sense of nearness, something she recognized even for all his strangeness.
She knew him. Didn't know why, or how. And she didn't care. It was simply what was.
She pinched her lips together, watching a woman bent in grief, clutching a handkerchief to her mouth. "Doesn't it frighten everyone? Dying--in such a sudden way—"
Ah, it's not the suddenness, or the surprise, or even the shock. It's the brick wall at the end of the road of life. You don't like the ending, no matter how it comes.
She tilted her head, just enough that she could capture him in her periphery. “No. I don't like the ending.”
He drifted closer, hovering just over her shoulder, like an umbrella. His mouth close to her ear, he chuckled a sonorous tone. Why would you? Your beauty, faded? Your charms, withered? Your friends and admirers, all gone away? You'll die alone, bienaimee. Everyone dies alone.
She tugged her shawl tighter about her shoulders. “Don't say that.”
But it is truth. Oh, if only there was a way to avoid all that.
“No one lives forever.”
Do they not?
His voice held such a curious tone, a tease in the words that caught her attention. “In the afterlife, yes.”
In this life.
She faced him, locking her gaze with his. His dark eyes glittered and a smile tugged at the corners of him mouth. “Why would you say things, here?”
Where better to admit the truth? He stole behind her, trailing his finger along her shoulders. In this place, life meets death. They stare each other in the face. The only difference between them is that the dead no longer care.
He drew back, his sudden withdrawal leaving a cold mist on her skin. The only question that remains is…do you still care, bienaimee?
She wrinkled her nose. “Of course, I still care.”
Then, he said, his voice deepening into a throaty chuckle. Don't die.
She turned to admonish him for his audacity but, when she spun around, he was gone.
No way could something like this stay dormant in a dusty old file. The stranger’s mystery and his shadowy threat and the promise of eternal life simply held me captive, and I knew it would haunt me until I wrote it.
That was where The Heartbeat Thief came to life.
Q: Where did the characters get their names?
One character was named by a fan on Facebook, one name was inspired by a song, and one simply named himself.
Felicity Keating is a close friend of the main character, and was named in an impromptu contest I held on Facebook. I had a name for her but I felt like doing something spur-of-the-moment. I loved the suggestion of Felicity because it was so fitting for the character and what she symbolized. (The Facebook Friend who suggested the name is mentioned in the Acknowledgements section of the book.)
The main character is Miss Constance Fyne, who prefers her nickname “Senza.” Her given name, Constance, alludes to the word “constant.” The suffix con- means with. Senza is Italian for “without.”
Her last name Fyne is a play on fine, or fin: French for end.
Senza Fyne is a play on the Italian word senzafine, which means “endless”. Fitting name for a girl who seeks the secret to eternal youth.
I love the word senzafine. I learned it when I heard the Italian metal band Lacuna Coil sing their song of the same name. It’s my absolutely favorite LC song.
One line of the song, when translated into English, fits Senza perfectly: I’m standing still in this moment of pure madness…I don’t know if I wish for good or evil although perhaps sin will give me more…
Playing opposite to Senza is a tall, mysterious stranger who teases her with secretive smiles and suggestions of magic. From their first meeting, he calls her bien-aime, which is French for “beloved.” When she demands his name, he listens to the tolling of a nearby church bell before calling himself Mr. Knell.
But he has an older name. A much older name. And it will take Senza a very, very long time
before she realizes just who he truly is.
The song “Senzafine” fits him, too. One particular verse fits Senza’s dark seducer perfectly. There is no life without me. There is no choice without me.
And Senza utterly believes him.
Q: How did the work of Edgar Allan Poe inspire this story?
I’ve been a Poe fanatic from an early age. There is something about that tragic man that keeps me captivated: his unwavering stare into the depths of the shadows that filled his life, his penchant for beautiful, melodramatic language, his undying devotion to the people he’d loved and lost.
My favorite Poe spots are in Baltimore (where he’d once lived and is interred) and in Philadelphia (where one of his homes has now become part of the National Park Service
[http://www.nps.gov/edal/index.htm]). It’s believed that his story “The Black Cat” was inspired by the basement of that house. (I have a black cat Webkinz that I would love to stick into a hole in the wall there but the husband says NO THAT’S VANDALISM AND JAIL and other husband-type warnings. Such a party pooper.)
A few years ago, I had the chance to visit the Rare Books department at the Philadelphia Free Library, where they had Poe’s work on display. I could have spent a week in there, with only a thin pane of glass between my hand and the pages touched by Poe’s very pen. The original manuscript of Rue Morgue was inches away from my face. I was in complete thrall. (The husband rolled his eyes and moved me along.)
While my short stories and poetry often pay a small tribute to him, this is the first full-length
work that I’ve devoted to his style. I let all the wonderful macabre shadows creep in and take over while I was writing. The Heartbeat Thief also includes specific references to “The Masque of the Red Death.”
In “The Masque of the Red Death” a wealthy lord turns his home into a sealed fortress in an effort to protect himself and his close friends from the Red Death, a plague that was spreading through the country. One night he threw a party for his guests…but someone unexpected showed up. The unexpected guest was dressed as a ghoul bathed in blood and everyone fell dead at its feet. (The End.)
Elements of “Masque” are present throughout The Heartbeat Thief. Excerpts from Poe’s story are used in the section introductions, setting the tone of the chapters to follow. The novel’s structure was also loosely based upon the flow of Poe’s story—Prince Prospero's seven apartments now become the seven major settings of the story. I used color references and allegorical context to connect Senza's journey through time to the passage of Poe's ill-fated party goers, right the very last black room, where Death awaited them all.
Overall, I hope that the theme, the atmosphere, and the character’s obsession with life and death would do my idol proud. I hope to visit Baltimore again soon, just to stop into Westminster Burying Ground [http://www.eapoe.org/balt/poegrave.htm] for a moment to say hello, to offer another bit of thanks for his unending inspiration, and to leave a few pennies on his gravestone.
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Fabled
by Vanessa K. Eccles
Publication date: May 5th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Rowena
thinks the Grimm’s infamous podcasts are simply another teen fad until
she finds herself trapped in a land of nightmarish storybook characters.
She tries desperately to flee Mezzanine and return home, but Dresdem,
Mezzanine’s wicked monarch, plans to use Rowena’s access to her world to
bring dark magic and absolute rule into Georgia and beyond.
But
when Rowena’s dear friend Madeline falls into Dresdem’s grasp, her
battle with him becomes war, and all hopes of home are temporarily
thwarted. With the help of an invisible hero, a beast, and an owl, she
sets out to free Madeline from a deadening sleep. But Rowena must become
her own hero when she finds herself bound by the kingdom’s darkest
family. She must make the ultimate choice – align herself with her
enemies or live on the run forever.
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
About Vanessa K. Eccles
Vanessa
K. Eccles graduated Troy University with a degree in English. She
currently serves as executive editor of Belle Rêve Literary Journal and
is founder of the book blog YA-NASisterhood. When she’s not writing or
devouring books, she enjoys the lake life with her Prince Charming and
their four dogs.
Author Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Exerpt
The dirt shifted beside me, and the end of the tunnel opened. The crevice felt like it plucked me up in a whirlwind. In seconds, I landed on the ground face first on the surface of whatever lay beyond the tunnel. It smelled like nature after a storm. When I opened my eyes, I stared down at my mud-covered hands. The darkness that I once thought would be my tomb was now gone, and two low hanging moons lit the forest where I found myself. Even though I had no idea where I was, the fact that I was out of the hole sent a surge of relief that filled my entire being. I stood up, dusted off all the mud I could, and looked back. Strangely, there was nothing but trees. As I moved closer to the spot where I’d most certainly came from, all I saw was a mirror that reflected the woods. An illusion. I touched its smooth surface, tried to find the end of it but couldn’t. Another dead-end.
Before I could figure out what to do, I heard a voice and spun around to confront it.
“What are you doing here?” I heard a man’s voice growl, but I couldn’t see anyone. I looked around. He sounded like he was only a few feet from me.
“Where are you?”
“First, tell me why you’re here?”
“I don’t know why I’m here. I’m lost, I think. I was at a party, and while walking in the woods behind the house, I fell into a hole. Now here I am. I have no idea what happened. Where am I?”
Silence.
Right square in front of me, he appeared out of thin air. I blinked my eyes in disbelief. He seemed to be about my age and wore his hat cocked to one side with suspenders atop a blue button-up and brown trousers. It reminded me of Dashielle’s costume. I guess he could read the amazement on my face, so he answered the question that my mind was trying to form.
“Invisibility. That’s all.”
Synopsis
A human sacrifice throws vampires of two worlds, trueborn and baseborn, into an escalating conflict. One side pushes for revenge, the other for freedom. The trueborns stubbornly hunt for Anthony and Louis, pushed by Hesrah’s desire to avenge her human best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are divided between rallying with those challenging the rule of Ankhsis and obeying the trueborns.
What emerges from the portal between Earth and Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Neither human, nor baseborn, and certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?
In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?
Pre-order Links
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Excerpt
Hesrah was growing impatient; she wanted to return to the portal, so she decided she needed to push them to finally share their information with her.
“What is it that you have discovered that needed my immediate attention?”
Anhubis took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and threw it on the table. She reached out to it and found a few photos in it. Louis, strapped down to a chair, all bloody and beaten. Good for him!
“What is this?” she asked, looking at Anhubis from under knitted eyebrows.
“One of our baseborn friends – we still have a few of those – followed Anthony after the events in Juliana Park. He managed to send these over before being caught.”
“Do you know where he was?”
“Yes, but they are long gone.”
“Why would Anthony do this to his partner in crime?” she asked, tilting her head.
“God knows,” Anukh stepped in. “Maybe they were never partners. Maybe he found out who Louis really was.”
“Can you find them again? Or do I have to bring an Inner Sanctum squad over here?”
“Don’t you dare!” Anhubis said in a thundering voice, pointing a threatening finger at her. “The Inner Sanctum will not meddle on Earth. I will find them again.”
“Make sure you let me know the moment you do,” Hesrah said, her eyes boring into him.
“Won’t you be too busy guarding the portals, waiting for your precious human friend?”
His mocking smirk, more so than his sarcastic words, got to her and in a blink of an eye her fist raced through the air, connecting to his face. As he fell to the ground, she lunged and got on top of him, her fangs piercing the skin of his neck. Her nostrils flared at the spicy cologne he was wearing and she managed to squeeze a few drops of his blood before Anhubis threw her off of him. The fight would have surely escalated if Anukh wouldn’t have stepped in to stop them.
“Are you both crazy?” he hissed, a deep frown line marring his forehead. “Anhubis, you are the head of the High Council. Surely you can tell how ill-advised being inconsiderate towards humans is. And you, Hesrah! You are a part of the Inner Sanctum and your mother’s daughter. You should both be ashamed.”
When they moved away from each other, Anukh, with a half sad, half disgusted smile, said a hurried good-bye and left the room.
“If you ever talk about her like that, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Hesrah said through clenched teeth. To her, that was not a threat, it was a promise, and she suspected Anhubis knew it, as he nodded quickly and took a step back.
The Edge of Hope (Bad Blood I) by Alina Popescu
Everyone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?
Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.
Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?
Ebook
Take advantage of the sale for book 1 – 99c on Amazon.
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Paperback
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Edge-Hope-Blood-Volume/dp/1497436303/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Edge-Hope-Blood-Volume/dp/1497436303/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-edge-of-hope-alina-popescu/1119064391
CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/4729236
About the author
Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.
Social Links
Site & Blog: http://alina-popescu.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralinapopescu
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alina_popescu
Instagram: http://instagram.com/alinapopescuwriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/alina-popescu
Google+: https://www.google.com/+AlinaPopescu
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/alinapopescu
I stumbled across this on Facebook somehow, and even though I always seem to be the last one to sign up for these kinds of things, I love taking part in something that gets my reading and writing brain fired up.
Host by Jessica over at Lovin' los libros, the read-a-thon is pretty simple. Everyone's goals seem to be about reading and getting ahead on review and blog posts. I decided to follow the trend because I need a little push in both directions.
Goals
1. I have so many books that are half-read for whatever reason. I'm going to finish up at least 5 this weekend. I have not decided which ones yet. (I'll update if I decide)
2. I've got at least 5 more reviews that need to be written and 3 discussion topics. I plan on getting all of those done.
3. And of course, I'll be checking out the twitter happenings at #memorialreadathon.
4. Bonus: Plan ahead!
For today's Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice, I picked a re-read of one of my recent favorites.
The rules:
- Grab a book, any book.
- Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
- Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)
- Post it.
- Add your (url) post at Freda's Voice.
- It's that simple.
What book I chose: Yield the Night (Steel & Stone #3)
Summary
After surviving a round-trip to hell, Piper figures she can survive
anything. After all, she just lived through the devastating loss of her
Consul apprenticeship and a torturous stint at boarding school. How much
worse could it get?
Well, she wasn’t expecting a group of crazy radicals to burn her home to the ground and take her prisoner.
The
Gaians, a.k.a. the crazy radicals, plan to rid Earth of daemons and
they need Piper’s help. In exchange for her cooperation, they promise
her the answer to all her problems: magic. With her own magic, she could
reclaim her apprenticeship, the only future she’s ever wanted. But her
magic comes at price — it could kill her.
With the life she’s
always known crumbling around her and her future slipping from her
grasp, she needs Ash’s help one more time. But the greatest danger of
all lies within her, and no matter what she does, she may lose
everything — including him.
The 56
Ash's hand swung toward hers. She could see the perfect trajectory as though someone had drawn a diagram over the scene: her hand swinging toward his, his arching down toward hers. His hand would close securely around her wrist, her grip locking around his in turn. In the slow motion bubble of time in her head, relief swept through her.
And then Seiya yanked Ash back from the ledge.
Horror filled his eyes. His fingertips brushed hers as their hands swept past each other's.
Her bubble of slowed time popped and her scream filled her ears as she plunged into the icy river.
