February 2016 - A Life Through Books

Monday, February 29, 2016

Blog Tour: Silent Partner by @JChaseNovelist #interview
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Suspense / Police Procedural / K9
Date Published: December 2015 2nd Edition



One Cop, One Serial Killer, One Witness 
Who Will Survive? 

Northern California’s elite Police K9 Units arrive at an abandoned warehouse after a high-speed chase and apprehend two killers after they have fled a grisly murder scene. This barely scratches the surface of a bloody trail from a prolific serial killer that leads to unlocking the insidious secrets of one family’s history, while tearing a police department apart. 

Jack Davis, a top K9 cop with an unprecedented integrity, finds himself falling for a beautiful murder suspect and struggling with departmental codes. 

Megan O’Connell, suffering from agoraphobia, is the prime murder suspect in her sister’s brutal murder. 

Darrell Brooks, a psychopath who loves to kill, is on a quest to drive Megan insane for profit. 

Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret. Someone else must die to keep the truth buried forever. Silent Partner is a suspense ride along that will keep you guessing until the bitter end.



Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

The hardest part of writing books, at least for me, is the balance of time and continued focus. If I’m not careful I can suffer from procrastination, so I’ve taken great lengths to balance my time and keep my book on a strict timeline.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

When I’m writing or creating book outlines, I listen to classical piano music—basically all of the classics Mozart, Bach, Chopin, etc. I don’t want to be distracted by words or a toe-tapping beat. I prefer quiet music or none at all when I’m editing, but with any other type of work I go for it with fun tunes—80s rock, heavy metal, and even some fun recent Pop music.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

I don’t have critique partners, but I use beta readers. They are invaluable to book projects. Oftentimes, they bring things to my attention both good and awkward that I’ve never thought about before.

What book are you reading now?

I wish I had more time to read. Right now I’m reading The Kill Room by Jeffrey Deaver, and non-fiction I’m reading California Desperadoes by William B. Secrest for research.

How did you start your writing career?

I am not sure exactly how my writing career began because I’ve always been a writer of articles, movie reviews, and copyrighting. Officially, my fiction career began in 2008 when I published my first novel Compulsion.


My next book Body of the Crime, a Chip Palmer forensics mystery, will be released spring 2016. It’s a new series that highlights a reclusive forensic scientist, criminal profiler, and professional witness that helps special crime units to track killers and all types of serial criminals.  







Jennifer Chase is an award-winning author and consulting criminologist.  She has authored five crime fiction novels, including the award-winning Emily Stone thriller series along with a screenwriting workbook.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor degree in police forensics and a Master's degree in criminology and criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.





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* A portion of the sales from Silent Partner will be donated to purchase a new ballastic/stab proof police K9 vest*




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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Blog Tour: Dark Secrets of the Past by @EvelyneSants7 #interview
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Suspense
Date Published: May 5, 2015

Marion, a carefree and rebellious young girl, will discover her childhood, her parents, her entire life has been built on lies.
She will somehow try to rebuild her past, as heavy and painful as it is, in order to move forward and find the child she gave up for adoption before leaving for India for seven years in hopes of forgetting.
While there, she will meet extraordinary people, such as Shilpa, Nazma, Paoli, who will take her on a beautiful and difficult adventure across this country and culture that she barely knows. Unfortunately, the suffering caused by her child's absence will never disappear. 
Upon returning home, her only thought will be to find her child. In her quest for the truth, she will take every risk, discovering a terrifying secret. She will put her life in danger while confronting a terrible revenge.
Will she live up to the incredible journey that awaits her? There's only one solution – face the past in order to better understand the present, understand the present to better live the future.


Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

To have time to write it, and to be patient: take all the time necessary to write it well even if we are in a hurry to arrive at the end.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?
Pop songs those who bucks you up and makes you want to dance.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
No, I work just with a professional proofreader, and gfor books in English with a translator.

What book are you reading now?
I’m reading the new book of Joel Dicker “Le livre des Baltimores”, it’s the author of “The truth about the Harry Quebert Affair”.

How did you start your writing career?
I started my writing career to answer to a question: “Have I a talent or not?” “What I write it’s good or not?”, the only way to answer it it was to expose my book to all the readers.

Tell us about your next release.
It’s a suspense book, it’s the story of an exceptionally gifted girl, who has an intelligence above the standard, and I don’t tell anything more because I prefer to let you discover by yourself when it will be finish. 



Poetry was my first discovery and my first passion. Putting words together that, in theory, did not go together, giving them breath, a new life, was a revelation for me. Yet despite this, my imagination tormented my mind. The desire to go further, to be able to create characters, to give them a destiny, emotions, an imaginary reality, illuminated my literary path.
Thus, “Dark Secrets of the Past” was born, a book which made me tremble many times while writing.
Carried away by this momentum, I could not return to my poems. This experience gave me the certainty that what I truly want to do is write passionate stories in order to share them with readers.
I hope this book carries and transports you as far as it did me while I was writing it.

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Thursday, February 25, 2016

PROMO Blitz: Conflicted by M.M. Koening #free
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New Adult Romantic Suspense
Date Published: December 2013

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Find out what happens when a sexy, tattooed bad boy goes head to head with a sassy, fierce female in the first book of the explosive Secrets and Lies series!

Mia Ryan was on the path to make all her dreams come true. Her life was everything she wanted it to be; until one fateful night changed everything – leaving her broken and without direction. Nearly a year later, she still has little faith in anyone or anything. Desperate to reclaim her life’s ambition, she takes an unexpected offer that promises to solve all her problems. But as Mia moves forward, she’s faced with obstacles she couldn’t have foreseen. The biggest of them lies within the mystery of Ethan Fitzgerald; a man who affects her like no other, but who she should avoid pursuing, at all costs. On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …




Excerpt


“Why are you so upset?”

“I'm angry because you keep denying me when it's clear you want me. To top it off, you come to my club and dance with countless men right in front of me,” Ethan growled.
He ran his nose down my neck before licking away a bead of sweat. I gasped. The hand that he had moved to my waist slipped underneath my top. He caressed my belly before running his fingers further down, making every ounce of me come to a dull ache. Against my will, my body moved in ways to encourage him to travel further south to take full advantage of me. Ethan's hands settled along my waistline, lazily trailing his fingers along it. My mind screamed one last time that this was not an option for me. In a last-ditch attempt, I paused his hands so he wouldn't go any further. Ethan whipped me around to face him. The passion in his eyes was unmistakable.

“I'm trying to do the right thing,” I moaned.

His hands drifted underneath my shirt and up my sides on their way north this time. As he progressed along my rib cage to the lower line of my bra, he moved us off the dance floor. Ethan pushed me up against a pillar at the far end of it. He brought his body right into mine. He tossed in an occasional thrust of the hips as he pinned me, just to remind me how very well he knew my body. Ethan cupped my breast with tender strokes of his hand before pressing his lips on a spot underneath my ear lobe. It was enough to melt every part of me. I was throbbing all over for him.
 “You want me. I want you. I don't care what's right or wrong,” Ethan hissed.

I tilted my neck as he trailed deep kisses down my collarbone and exposed shoulder. I wanted him so much that it was close to making me burst. I moaned even louder when his teeth grazed the crook of my shoulder. He sucked along my neck with eagerness,making no effort to hold back his want for me. I slanted my head to bring my lips vigorously down on his. My tongue drifted across the top of his mouth before his tongue met mine where they danced to the beat with the music around us. My hands moved down to his hips as he pumped against me. I slid them even further down to his ass. Ethan responded by grinding harder and grabbing one of my legs to raise it around his hip.

Our bodies melded together in an erotic dance as our mouths devoured each other. I lost myself in the music, in his lips, in his body, in his hands, and in the desires he brought out in me. His hands ran up and down my body while his lips and hips brought me to the point of no return – I ached for him.





About the Author


M. M. Koenig enjoys being active and has a variety of interests that coincide with her passion for life. Always one to try new things, she has acquired a variety of skills. Her sarcastic nature and multitude of experiences tend to find their way into her novels.

When she has free time and isn't writing, she spends as much time as she can with friends and family. To fuel her soul, she is constantly looking for new music, movies, and books to keep the writer's block at bay.

Get your Copy FREE!



There are two other books in the series:


Mia Ryan has learned the hard way that her choices can have horrible consequences. Taking an offer that was supposed to get her life back on track was nothing but a ploy. To keep the ones she holds dear safe, she's forced to finish what she started, without any hope of finding out why she was targeted in the first place. Though Mia has Ethan by her side, she can't seem to believe in him, especially since most of his life remains a mystery. Ethan Fitzgerald has done everything in his power to prove to Mia that she can trust him, but it never seems to be enough to convince her to drop the last wall around her heart. With deep and dark secrets lurking around every corner, he has his own plan to keep Mia from any danger, but it may just shatter their love forever. There are so many questions – with even more shocking answers – and when Mia uncovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same...




Mia Ryan’s past and present are about to collide in startling ways, leaving her to question everything she’s ever known about herself.
After a shocking turn of events that revealed some mind-blowing secrets, Mia becomes more determined than ever to take back her life from the darkness that’s consumed her. In her pursuit for answers, she quickly discovers that parts of her past, which have always been a mystery, might be the key to saving the ones she loves…and the man that stole her heart.
Ethan Fitzgerald knows that things are never what they seem. Taking down his father’s empire wasn’t supposed to be a challenge—that was before Mia Ryan waltzed through his door. Forever changed by a love that reignites his purpose in life, Ethan is willing to do whatever it takes to protect Mia, and his enemies know it.
In this edge of your seat finale of the Secrets and Lies series, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. Can Mia and Ethan’s relationship withstand the malicious forces threatening them, or is letting go the answer that saves them and the ones they love? Everything comes at a cost—and it might just be true love.

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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Blog Tour: Confessions of a Paris Party Girl by @vickilesage #review #giveaway
7:24 AM 2 Comments


Memoir / Humor
Date Published: January 14, 2014


When newly-single party girl Vicki moved to Paris, she was hoping to indulge in wine, stuff her face with croissants, and fall in love. It proved to be much moredifficile than she'd imagined. In this laugh-out-loud memoir, this cheeky storyteller recounts the highs and lows of her life in the City of Light. Sassy and shamefully honest, Vicki makes you feel as if you're right there in Paris stumbling along the cobblestones with her.

Will she find love? Will she learn to consume reasonable amounts of alcohol? Will the French administration ever cut her a break?




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Review 
It takes no time at all for Vicki Lesage to hook her reader with her words and her story in general. I was invested from the get-go.  This novel is a great example of the struggles a person can go through and the ability to overcome just that. I loved the humor of the novel. It really helped to cut through some of the more emotional situations. 

Vicki Lesage's writing style is smooth and effortless. I felt like I was in her head and that is a huge testament to her writing ability. Powerful and Emotional and Inspiring. 



Amazon bestselling author Vicki Lesage proves daily that raising two French kids isn't as easy as the hype lets on. In her three minutes of spare time per week, she writes, sips bubbly, and prepares for the impending zombie apocalypse. She lives in Paris with her French husband, rambunctious son, and charming daughter, all of whom mercifully don't laugh when she says "au revoir." She penned the Paris Confessions series in between diaper changes and wine refills. She writes about the ups and downs of life in the City of Light at VickiLesage.com.

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Monday, February 22, 2016

Blog Tour: The Samsaric by @greg_lwin #review #giveaway
5:00 PM1 Comments


Historical Fantasy Horror
Date Published: November 17, 2015

SAMSARA: The cycle of birth, death and rebirth within the realms of existence ... 

The plague of 1918 A.D. 
The mortal world is in a state of devastation. 
A woman wakes up in an abandoned temple of Kali, the goddess of darkness, in the ancient city of Gaya. 
She does not know where she is. 
She does not remember the events leading to this. 
She only hears the familiar voice of a tormented man who has haunted her dreams. 
He tells her a story - of a time of souls and suffering, of immortality and gods, of life and death. 

This, he says, is Mesopotamia. 

The SAMSARIC is a fast-paced fantasy-horror novel full of history, horror and vampirism from an ancient era.








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Review 
Completely sucked in. That is what happened to me after finishing the first chapter of this book. G.W. Lwin has really created a creepy, imaginative, fantasy/horror novel. 

Definitely not for the faint of heart, this is a that really lives up to its genre and may just give you some bad dreams. At times I felt like I was living the story and that is a huge testament to G.W. Lwin's writing ability.




I love anything that comprises the old and the ancient full of rich history and spirituality. For me, reading and learning from our ancient past is truly a beautiful, unique and intriguing journey.
From a young age, I have felt that there were two versions of me: the old spiritual one and a young soul who still lives in his fantasy world.
However, both of these versions share one commonality - my interest in vampires from the ancient mythology and beliefs. I was mesmerised by their folklore since young.
The need to express is very strong within me. Writing, for me, provides this gateway and helps me to grow as a person. It is a life-long learning path that I gladly embark.
As a writer, I would like to improve each and every stage of writing, to possess the art of crafting words to communicate the emotions that arise from within to the readers ... a vision shared by many authors.

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Friday, February 19, 2016

Blog Tour: Beauty and the Recluse by @elliegray58 read a #review
2:00 AM1 Comments


Contemporary Romance
Date Published: February 12, 2016


Following the recent death of her father, and in need of both a job and somewhere to live, Kiya takes a housekeeping job on the spur of the moment. She soon finds herself living in a beautiful but neglected mansion, working for a strange and reclusive man.
St. John is a man scarred by the past, both physically and emotionally, and is determined to live out his life alone. They are two very different people, drawn to each other almost against their will, but can Kiya convince St. John that he is not the monster he believes himself to be?

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Review 

What a perfect read for someone who wants some romance along with a good laugh. 

The pacing in the story was well done and the story itself was well-developed. I really enjoyed Kiya's character and all of the quirky moments. 

Relatable Characters, Humor, Romance, and a plot that will keep you flipping pages. What more could you ask for?


Ellie is an author of contemporary romance who also enjoys writing YA fiction. She is a proud member of the Romantic Novelist Association and lives in the beautiful East Riding of Yorkshire with her partner, David, two children, two cats and a chinchilla.
Currently working full-time in the public sector and studying for a Masters Degree, Ellie hopes one day to achieve her ambition of being able to write full time.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Blog Tour: Born to Sin by @alsimpson79 read a #review
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Erotic Romance
Date Published: February 2016


HAMISH

I was born to an alcoholic mother and alcoholic, drug dealing father. Not a good start to life for a young boy. I was born to sin.
I've lied, cheated, assaulted, been an adulterer and stolen. It's how one survives the 'hood'. I have a reputation for being the 'bad boy', the fuck 'em and leave 'em type. I have never spent the night with a woman and I have never brought a woman home. We 'play' at her place and as soon as I'm done, I leave.
After fleeing my home at the age of thirteen and living on the streets - an option I found better than being with my parents, my life is turned around by an elderly lady.
I educate myself, become an award winning chef and return to the 'hood where I rent an apartment. I love and care about no-one and nothing except my Harley Motorcycle. It's here I met Jonesy and he takes my life in a whole new direction. Along with Wade, a fellow chef and the only person I can trust, the pair teach me how to love. Not only myself, but others.

BLOSSOM

I'm a wealthy Restaurateur thanks to an inheritance I received when my father passed.
I live in a penthouse apartment in the 'rich' part of the city.
Being pampered and spoiled all my life has turned me into a woman who sees something she wants and, like a dog with a bone, I won't let go until it's mine. I'm a winner. I ALWAYS win.
I don't have relationships with men. One night stands suit me just fine. I can't trust it's me they want and not my money.
I meet Hamish by chance when I'm on the hunt for a new Head Chef. He treats me like I'm not worth a second thought. I've never been treated this way and I decide at that moment, I will make Hamish mine.

Hamish has no interest in the pampered Blossom but for some reason she gets under his skin.
Then, something happens that makes him realize, he has fallen in love. Will it be too late? Will tragedy strike before he can hold her in his arms and confess his true feelings?




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Review


So its not exactly the most unique of novels, but I will admit it fits right into my guilty pleasure favorite genre. 

I think there were so many elements to this story and it really made it so multi-dimensional. There was sweet romance, hearbreak and drama, and even a few surprises.

I love the way that A.L. Simpson writes, the plot was so well thought out. No plot wholes along the way, I felt like everything was tied up in a neat bow at the end.

If you like characters that break their sterotypes, this is definitely for you.




About the Author

I grew up in Sydney and moved to Queensland as an adult.
I am married with two sons and a daughter.
I love to read and am like a sponge. I will read pretty much anything.
Travel, walks and the beach are my three most favorite things to do.
My hope is for readers to enjoy what I have written as much as I enjoy writing it.
Born to Sin will be my first book.

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