Tag: paranormal romance

What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? AKA The Sunday Post 7-1-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

Except for the “Rockets’ red glare”, it’s going to be a fairly quiet week here at Reading Reality.

And that’s a good thing.

About that “Rockets’ red glare” thing, it’s a quote from Francis Scott Key’s memorable but nearly un-singable Star Spangled Banner, and from one of the peculiarly high-pitched bits at that.

The U.S. Independence Day Holiday, July 4, is this Wednesday. Strange, but there don’t seem to be any tours scheduled this week. I wonder why that is?

There’s no Ebook Review Central this week. The whole U.S. is slacking this week. Including yours truly. ERC will be back on Monday, July 9 with Dreamspinner’s May titles.

I’m going to take this opportunity to catch up from the great “sick out” I had last week.

There is plenty scheduled for the week of July 9. It’s really a go-go-go week!

Looking forward, as I always do on these Sunday posts, I have tours scheduled for Hope’s Betrayal by Grace Elliot on Tuesday, July 10. This regency takes place in the “mother country” of England. So fitting the week after Independence Day.

 

 

And speaking of historicals, Thursday, July 12 the tour books are Forgotten Memories and The Dressmaker’s Dilemma by Theresa Stillwagon. These are U.S. western romances, but not your typical westerns. The setting is a ghost town, and the ghosts are part of the story.

 

There are a few, what am I saying, there are always more than a few, books on my lists that really caught my attention from NetGalley and Edelweiss (and Samhain) that are coming out in the next two weeks.

One is very special. Everyone tried to get an ARC of Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness early, because her debut last year, The Discovery of Witches, was, well, such a fantastic discovery. But her publisher didn’t release the ARC until after BEA. (She also did signings at ALA). The publication date is July 10, and I have to read this. The early reviews are awesome.

Steampunk is coming on strong early in July. Archer’s Lady, the next book in Moira Rogers’ Bloodhounds series is out on July 3. God Save the Queen by Kate Locke is the first book in her new series The Immortal Empire, and it also comes out on July 3. This is one they ran out of at her signing at ALA. Nico Rosso’s Night of Fire (Ether Chronicles #2) is out at the end of the month. Like I said, July is a big month for steampunk!

Steampunk, is so appropriate for July. It is steamy hot here in Atlanta. Record setting hot (108ºF yesterday). Maybe I can just sit here with a cool glass of iced tea and a good book (or 10)!

What’s your favorite way of keeping cool on these hot summer days?

Interview with Jilllian Stone + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> Book Giveaway

I am so excited to welcome Jillian Stone to Reading Reality today to talk about her fantastic (review here) The Seduction of Phaeton Black and a little bit about her other Victorian series, The Gentleman of Scotland Yard. Phaeton Black has been on my wishlist forever, so I was thrilled to get a chance to ask Ms. Stone a few questions about this decadent and delicious steampunk paranormal series.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. What does Jillian Stone do when she’s not writing?

My life, pretty much 24-7 writing and book promotion. Currently, I am writing an e-novella for The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series (Pocket Books) and this summer I will begin the last book in the Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator series for Kensington Brava.

Most of the time when a writer tackles, or re-tackles, the Whitechapel Murders (AKA the Ripper Killings), their detective solves the case. What made you decide to have Phaeton Black be linked to a previous failure, however unfairly?

The premise sets up Phaeton’s story as a misunderstood paranormal investigator. In the opening chapter the reader meets the one man at Scotland Yard who believes that Phaeton might have been onto something in the Whitechapel Murders, (before he was fired) and now there’s a second series of murders along the Strand. Could it be the Ripper again, or a new fiend? That’s all I’m telling!

Absinthe shows up, or drips down, in so much decadent Victoriana. What was the fascination with absinthe? What exactly IS absinthe, anyway?

Absinthe, or the green fairy, is a liquor distilled from herbs: anise, sweet fennel and wormwood. It gained its romantic reputation during the late Victorian period, and was a particular favorite of the Parisian artisan crowd. There is also a wonderful ritual to making the drink and a visible chemical reaction that takes place when the chilled water drips slowly into the glass and mixes with the absinthe. The effect of several glasses has been described as clear-headed or lucid drunkenness. Absinthe is Phaeton’s drink of preference and it suits his character perfectly. He also enjoys a good single malt whiskey.

What attracted you to steampunk for your paranormal series instead of the usual contemporary setting?

I enjoy writing historicals and I liked the idea of combining a few genres, paranormal and steampunk romance with a Byronic antihero character (occult detective). The book also has a few erotic love scenes, so it really covers a lot of subgenres! In The Moonstone and Miss Jones, the sequel to The Seduction of Phaeton Black, the historical characters do some dimensional time travel and explore contemporary London, which was fun to write.

 

If you were casting Phaeton Black, who would play the part?

Johnny Depp or Ben Barnes would be the closest to Phaeton in terms of looks. Personality wise, Phaeton is a libertine, somewhat brooding character, who can be very funny at times. He is a magnetic force throughout the story.

Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?

Both. I wrote a seven or eight page synopsis for The Seduction of Phaeton Black and then adjusted the story as it developed.

Do your characters ever want to take over the story?

All the time.  Sometimes I have to beat them back with a stick, other times I let them take me to a new, interesting place.

Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

I have always loved reading for pleasure, back as far as I can remember, whether I was being read to by my parents or reading to myself.

What was the first moment you knew you wanted to write?

I flirted with the idea of writing for years but never applied myself to learning the craft and business until the last five or six years.

What book do you recommend everyone should read, and why?

I think that Outlander by Diana Gabaldon was one of my more recent influences, along with Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. Just read them over and over. Neither book is perfectly written, so that should tell you something. It’s not about perfection or how lovely you can turn a phrase, it’s all about the story.

Can you tell us a little bit about your future projects? Phaeton will be back, right?

Oh yes, it takes three books to completely straighten up Phaeton and even then…! In book #2, I’ve introduced a number of new eccentric characters (The Nightshades) as well as several interesting antiheroes. The relationship between Phaeton and America takes a few twists and turns in book #2 as well.

I saw on your website that you also have another Victorian romance series coming out. How do The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard compare to Phaeton Black?

Actually, the first book in the series is available now, An Affair with Mr. Kennedy (Pocket Books). This is my historical romantic suspense series, with a bit of James Bond Steampunk tossed in. The heroes are all detectives for Special Branch, Scotland Yard, who become involved with spirited, heroic young women. The books are full of action, adventure and romance. I have two more full length books coming out this fall and an e-novella for Pocket Star.

Coffee or Tea?

French Roast in the morning. Iced green tea during the day!

Great questions Marlene, thanks for having me!

And thank you so much for answering them! The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard sound every bit as intriguing as  Phaeton Black, even if they are based just slightly closer to the ground. (And that’s a bit of a hint about some of Phaeton’s adventures).

If you want to keep up with Jillian Stone, you can find her on her website or on Facebook , Twitter, or Pinterest.

If you want to find out about Phaeton’s adventures for yourself, you’ll have your chance if you enter the giveaway below.

~~~~~**GIVEAWAY**~~~~~

 

The Key to Phaeton’s Heart steampunk necklace (designed by Ula Kapala and pictured at right)  and ten (10) print copies of The Seduction of Phaeton Black are being given away tour wide.

To enter the giveaway just fill out the Rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Author S. J. McMillan: Dancing Terribly but Writing Well

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> blog tours

After reading (review here) S.J. McMillan’s new urban fantasy City of the Gods: the Descendant, I was very glad to have the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her book.  I’m also incredibly happy to find out it’s definitely a series, because The Descendant ends hanging off a cliff! Let’s see just what Ms. McMillan had to say.

First, tell us a little bit about who S. J. McMillan is when she’s not writing.

First and foremost I’m a wife and mother. I’ve been happily married to my wonderful husband for 13 years. We have three awesome kids. I have a full time job as an administrative assistant to a financial advisor. I stay pretty busy when I’m not writing, just taking care of my family and spending time with them. When I have a bit of me time to enjoy, which is rarely, I waste time on Facebook or Twitter, read, and watch singing and dancing competitions. My favorite is So You Think You Can Dance. Those dancers are wickedly talented!

City of the Gods: The Descendant, is an urban fantasy. What drew you to urban fantasy in particular?

I wanted a story and characters that people could relate to. I want readers focused on the situations the characters find themselves in and not preoccupied with rules, laws, or scenery. This being an urban fantasy all the same rules and laws apply in the story as they do in real life. If a crime is committed in the story, the police are still going to come out and investigate and do their best to catch the bad guy. The fantasy part is more about the certain abilities the characters have.

Where did the inspiration for City of the Gods come from?

As I was researching for a place for the ancient civilization to come from, I stumbled upon the city of Teotihuacan, Mexico. Little is known about how the city was created, which civilization created it, and what caused the downfall of such a large civilization. This intrigued me. I searched the internet like crazy for as much information as I could possibly find. It seemed like the perfect place to base the history of the book in. Teotihuacan means ‘birthplace of the gods’.

The cover of the book is gorgeous! It really blends the historic opening with the modern. What’s your favorite scene from the book, and why?

My favorite scene would have to be in the last chapter. It introduces an important character to the series in an epic way. I can’t say too much more than that without spoiling it for the reader.

Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

My mom, grandma, and great grandma. I was entertaining them once when I was 11 or 12 years old, with a little song and dance. While they loved my performance they thought I should also broaden my interests to reading as well. Before that time I really didn’t read unless it was for school. My mom took me to the local library and found a love for the popular YA horror novels like the Fear Street series. I’ve been reading ever since. I’ve also broadened my reading genres as well.

Who influenced your decision to become a writer?

I had an English teacher my senior year that I absolutely loved. At the time I was just writing poetry. She asked if she put some of the poetry in a school publication. I was surprised by her request. I didn’t start trying to write a book until a few years after that, but still to this day continue to write poetry whenever inspiration hits me.

Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?

I do a little of both. I start with an outline for every chapter, but usually end up having to revise the outline because I add or change things up as I write. I always have to go back to the outline to make sure I’m staying on track with how I want the story to flow. I also have piles of post-it notes everywhere with ideas that I want to include in the story and don’t have time to add it to the outline. Then I have to pray I don’t lose the notes with my disorganization.

Do your characters ever want to take over the story?

There are times when a character tries to go off on a tangent, but I try to bring them back to where I want the story to go. Sometimes their interference is a good thing. They give me ideas or extend a scene and make it better than I could have hoped for. There are a few scenes that I loved where the characters took over, but I had to edit them out because they didn’t move the story forward. I like to think of those like scenes from a movie that were cut. Maybe one day I will share those edits with the reader.

What’s your favorite book, or who is your favorite writer, and why?

For me to pick one favorite book or author would be impossible. I have read several books multiple times. Most of my favorite books were ones I read in high school. My favorite author include Michele Bardsley, Christine Feehan, Lynsay Sands, and Katie McAlister. These authors create strong characters, interesting plots, and add a bit of humor to their books. These are the authors I buy books from no matter what.

What projects do you have planned for the future? The series continues?

Yes, the series does continue. I’m currently working on the second book for the City of the Gods Trilogy. After that I will start on the final book. I also have plans to write another urban fantasy book and a ghost story. Who knows where I will go from there…

On your website, you said your guilty pleasures included singing loudly and dancing terribly. So what’s your favorite type of music to dance terribly to? And just how terrible?

Do I actually have to answer the how terribly part? I get embarrassed if my husband or kids walk into the room while I’m shaking my groove thang. They think it is hilarious! I’m just glad we don’t own a video camera, or my dancing would be on display for all to see on youtube.  As for the music, give me anything with a good beat. Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Jessie J, Rihanna, and Katy Perry are a few I’ve been known to boogie to. The singing loudly music tends to be done more with artists like Adele, Evanscence, Paramore, and Flyleaf. The list could go on and on.

Coffee or Tea?

I hate the way coffee tastes, even if I add loads of sugar, so I gotta go with tea on this one. I like sweet tea or green tea.

It’s always good to talk with another tea drinker! Thank you so much for talking about City of the Gods with us. I’ll be looking forward to book 2. And you’re right, the character you introduce at the end is a shocker. Book 2 can’t come soon enough. Write fast!

City of the Gods: The Descendant

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Maybe the Mayan calendar is right, and the world really is coming to an end. They just had the date a bit off. And things aren’t quite hopeless, or there wouldn’t be a story in it.

One other tiny detail, the ancient civilization involved wasn’t the Mayans, it was the Aztecs. But there’s still the whole “end of the world” deal. Except that in this case, there is one person, a Redeemer, who can prevent it. If she’s not stopped.

And the forces of evil definitely pull out all the stops trying to keep the Redeemer from fulfilling her mission. Even before she finds out she has one.

Katalina is that Redeemer. But she doesn’t know. Of course she doesn’t, because the story of The Descendant is Katalina’s journey.

The story begins with Kat at a crossroads. This is not an uncommon beginning for a hero’s (or heroine’s) journey. Not only has Kat just been fired, she came home to find her fiancé moving out of their apartment, with the help of his new girlfriend. Heated words were exchanged.

But when Kat meets her best friends at their neighborhood hangout, everything changes. First, it turns out that her BFFs are not quite what they seem. Sabine and Vivian are Kat’s bodyguards, although Kat doesn’t know that yet. Second, the club has gone upscale in the last week, and the new owner turns out to be hot for Kat.

And third, Kat goes out into the alley to get some fresh air after running into her recent ex — and her split personality evil side kills two drunks who try to rape her. Yes, you read that right. Kat has multiple personality disorder, and her dark side, a nasty piece-of-work named Lina, takes over whenever Kat can’t handle things. Drunken rapists definitely qualified.

Kat created Lina when she watched her parents die in an auto accident. Lina has nothing to do with being the Redeemer. At least not yet.

But the evil dude who watches the drunks attack her does. He’s the sworn enemy of Vivian and Sabine. His name is Damien. Once upon a time, he used to be Vivian’s fiance. Back in Teotihaucan.

Damien has been chasing the Redeemer forever, waiting for her to be born. Vivian and Sabine have been watching forever, waiting for the Redeemer to be born. Tristan, the new owner of the club, is Vivian’s brother. He has been hunting for the Redeemer for his entire life, waiting for her to be born. They’ve all been waiting since 700 A.D. Just for Kat.

Kat doesn’t want any of this. She wanted the life she had. But like the Rolling Stones said, we can’t always get what we want. Kat and Tristan are going to have to try very, very hard to get what they need.

Escape Rating B: This could have been a standard paranormal romance, but the author took some twists that definitely made it more interesting.

Choosing the Aztecs as the forebears for this history was a brave choice. The author doesn’t gloss over their historic practices of animal and human sacrifice, nor Kat’s revulsion toward them. Her job is to save the world in the present, not correct the past.

Kat’s psychological response to witnessing her parents’ death was to create a secondary personality, Lina, to handle the hard stuff in her life. Lina is a bad-ass. Re-integrating Lina into Kat becomes a necessary part of Kat’s journey to becoming the Redeemer. Still, that initial scene where Lina emerges was a WOW! The reader isn’t sure whether Lina is the Redeemer, whether she’s evil, or whether she needs to be exorcised.

Although Kat is very attracted to Tristan, she loses her faith in him, and all her friends, when she discovers how much they have concealed from her over the years. No matter how justified that concealment, Kat should lose faith. Talk a about a whopping big set of lies.

On the other hand, I didn’t get Damien’s initial motivation for turning to “the Dark Side”. He definitely was evil, but why it happened in the first place, all those years ago, wasn’t quite clear to me. He turned “bad” because the truly evil dude wasn’t punished enough? He betrayed his friends and his entire belief system for that?

I’ll need a better explanation, or a bigger evil, in book 2. But I definitely want a book 2!

What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? AKA The Sunday Post 6-17-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> blog tours> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

The biggest thing on my mostly virtual nightstand this week is plane tickets. And they are virtual, since no one gets actual plane tickets anymore.

On Friday, I’ll be flying to the original home of Mickey Mouse. No, I don’t mean Orlando. If I were going to Orlando, I’d drive.

I’m going to Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland. But I’m not going to visit Mickey. Or, at least, not on purpose.

The American Library Association Annual Conference is in Anaheim again this year. (We were just there in 2008). What does ALA mean to me? A lot of meetings. And a LOT of opportunities to meet authors and pick up free Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) and books. I expect I’ll see pretty much the same ARCs that the BEA attendees did. I have my fingers crossed.

But while I’m at ALA, this blog will still go on. There’s even going to be a blog hop next weekend. But before that…

The Lovestruck Giveaway Hop is still going strong. Don’t just look at my hop post, but be sure to check out all the hoppers! There are over 125 blogs participating, so hop and take a chance on some great book giveaways.

This week I’ll have two tours with interviews and reviews.

On Tuesday, June 19, my guest will be S. J. McMillan to talk about her paranormal romance City of the Gods, the Descendant. I’m in the middle of this book right now, and she’s used an unusual culture as her starting point. Her heroine is the descendant of the Ancient Aztecs. The battle  between good and evil is shaping up to be pretty epic.

Thursday we’re going into space with Maria Hammarblad. Her heroine is Kidnapped, but lives out that frequent fantasy of traveling those “strange new worlds and seeking out new civilizations”. Even though her kidnapper is a hunk, it turns out there’s no place like home.

Kidnapped is a great lead-in to Friday’s SFR Blog Hop. I’ll be participating, along with other members of the SFR (that’s science fiction romance) Brigade as we provide SFR related book giveaways on all our blogs.

About that traveling nightstand of mine. Especially when I’m on the road, I look at this post to figure out what I should be reading!

I have some books that caught my eye on NetGalley or Edelweiss that are due out next week. Let’s take a look at what they are:

Two sequels to books I reviewed last year. Suited by Jo Anderton is the follow-up to her marvelous science fiction debut, Debris.

And The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton is the second mystery by Elizabeth Speller, after last year’s haunting The Return of Captain John Emmett.

I expect to pick up what my husband calls a “metric butt-load” of books from the conference. After all, I need to give LaZorra a new throne. I dismantled her old one.

Stacking the Shelves (7)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

I tried to keep it down this week. Well, except for that really tempting email from Sourcebooks about all the neat new books they had on NetGalley. And the Nico Rosso book, because that’s the sequel to Skies of Fire, by Zoe Archer (Mrs. Rosso), which I loved.

Why did I try to keep it down this week? Because next week is ALA. The American Library Association Annual Conference. A significant chunk of the publishers from BEA probably just shipped all the same Advance Reading Copies from BEA straight to Anaheim, California for ALA.

In other words, a biblioholic’s dream, except with programming.

I can hardly wait. But meanwhile…

From the Author/Publisher/Publicist:
Spider’s Lullaby by James R. Tuck
The Express Diaries by Nick Marsh (print ARC)

From Edelweiss:
Night of Fire (The Ether Chronicles #2) by Nico Rosso

From NetGalley:
The Unspoken (Krewe of Hunters) by Heather Graham
Hell on Wheels (Black Knights Inc. #1) by Julie Ann Walker
In Rides Trouble (Black Knights Inc. #2) by Julie Ann Walker
Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster
Hearts of Fire (Deadglass #0.5) by Kira Brady
Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett

For Book Lovers Inc.:
The Virgin Huntress (The Devil DeVere #2) by Victoria Vane
Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony

From the Robot Army:
Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher

As always, all titles are ebooks unless otherwise stated. The Express Diaries print ARC was special. It came from England!

Be sure to take a look at Tynga’s Reviews to check out all the other Stacking the Shelves posts, because Tynga is the host of this meme.

But I’d love to know what’s stacking up on your shelves!

Kiss of the Goblin Prince

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> Book Lovers Inc.> book reviews

Kiss of the Goblin Prince by Shona Husk is a story about second chances. And third chances. And twentieth chances. On the one hand, it’s about realizing that we only have a short time at this life, and that we have to make the most of it. And at the very same time, it’s a story about that classic conundrum that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Literally, life after life, whether the person remembers those other lives or not. The soul remembers.

Amanda watches her sister-in-law marry a man that she barely knows, and wonders how Eliza could turn her life around so fast. Not that Roan isn’t a major improvement over the now-residing-in-jail Steve. But Eliza and Roan haven’t even known each other long enough to file the 30 days paperwork to make this wedding legal.

Amanda is a widow with a young daughter, a daughter with a fatal disease. A daughter whose father died before she was born. She was a wife for a year, and has been a widow for seven. She’s poured all her energy into taking care of her daughter, Brigit. Watching as severe asthma steals more and more of Brigit’s lungs every time she has an attack.

But in that church, watching Eliza marry Roan, she finds herself watching Roan’s brother, Dai. And feeling things she hasn’t felt in years. And isn’t any too comfortable with.

Dai is no more sure of himself than Amanda. Roan and Dai spent almost 2,000 years under a curse. They were goblins. Slowly, slowly losing their souls to the lust for gold, cursed by a Druid priest during the Roman occupation of Wales for leading a failed rebellion.

Eliza’s love for Roan cured the curse. Roan was the King, and curing him, cured Dai as well. But they were the only ones left in their band of warriors to survive the ages. And Dai, well sometimes, he’s not so sure he came all the way back. In nightmares, he’s still in the Shadowlands, still a goblin.

What he feels for Amanda, he’s afraid to pursue. He spent those centuries researching their curse, researching magic. He’s bargained away parts of his soul, many times over. Those vows still bind him. And in the human lands, he discovers that he can practice real magic. Magic that has not been seen since the Druids that cursed them died out.

With his newfound magic he learns much that surprises him about the modern world. He can see connections between people. He can see disease, even though he doesn’t know how to cure it. He can actually see the growing attraction that runs between himself and Amanda.

And he can see the reason why he, Amanda and her daughter Brigit were brought together. In a previous life, Brigit was his sister. He couldn’t save her then, but now, he feels that he must try, no matter what it costs him.

Even if he has to tell Amanda the truth, and he loses her. The only woman he has ever loved.

Escape Rating A: This story was complex, and it really drew me in. It kept going deeper and deeper as it went. On the surface it seemed straightforward enough. Eliza and Roan get married (after The Goblin King) and now it’s Dai’s turn.

But not simple at all. Dai is much more tortured, not just by the past, but by everything he studied. All those magic rituals and vows, one on top of another. He’s been a scholar for centuries! All those secrets, and no one to ever tell. Starting with the biggest secret of all.

Amanda has been hurting too. She feels like she can never do enough for her daughter, and she’s fighting a battle she can’t win. Eventually she’s going to be left alone. But all her energies are focused on taking care of Brigit.

Putting these two tormented people together made for one amazing story.

For more of my thoughts on this book, take a look at Book Lovers Inc.

The Goblin King

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> book reviews

Goblins are not the stuff that dreams are made of. Not unless those dreams are nightmares.

But somehow Shona Husk managed to make The Goblin King into a sweeping romance of love and redemption as well as a darkly sensual twist on Beauty and the Beast.

Once upon a time, Roan was a Celtic prince, back when Rome ruled the Western world. Back when the Druids practiced real magic. His people rebelled, and failed. Roan and his band of warriors were condemned, not to death, because death would have been too quick, but to eternity in the Shadowlands. Eternity as goblins.

Their punishment didn’t come from the Romans for the attempt, it came from a Druid priest for betraying the rebellion. The worst of it was, Roan and his men weren’t even guilty.

But the Druid could never admit his mistake, so the punishment continued, century after century, as one by one, Roan’s men fell to the curse. Either their souls were eaten away by the goblin’s lust for gold, or they died in fighting the goblin horde.

Roan was King of his band of goblin-men. Being a goblin meant that any human could summon him to the Fixed Realm that we call Earth. Roan had to obey the summons, but he learned that he didn’t have to obey the summoner, not if he was willing to endure a little pain.

One 20th century summer, a girl on the cusp of womanhood summoned him, to rescue her from her brother’s drunken friends. Eliza thought the Goblin King would serve her better than rape by drunken teenage boys. She turned out to be right.

Years later, faced with a fiance who has both stolen from her and brutalized her, Eliza choses to summon the Goblin King again. A goblin who is what he is has to be better than a goblin who pretends to be a man.

Roan almost doesn’t remember her. The goblin curse almost has him, but not quite. And Eliza brings him back from the brink of the darkness. Except that time is running out. Roan’s kingdom in the Shadowlands is about to be physically overrun by goblins. Roan and his brother Dai are the only two warriors left, and even the magical defenses he has created have limits.

Eliza is his queen, but unless she can break his curse, he cannot return to the Fixed Realm, to Earth. If she stays in the Shadowlands, she will die with him. If she returns to her own place, her conniving fiancee will ruin her, or possibly worse.

The Druid priest wants to destroy everything Roan holds dear, including Eliza. Can they find the answer before it is too late?

Escape Rating A-: Making a goblin the hero was a stroke of genius. Absolutely brilliant. He’s a piece of mythology you don’t see used much, and certainly don’t imagine in the hero role. Yes, it’s a take-off on Beauty and the Beast, so what? West Side Story was Romeo and Juliet. The point is that it’s well done.

I always like it when the hero and heroine (or hero and hero) rescue each other. He doesn’t just sweep her off of her feet. He needs to be rescued every bit as much as she does. It’s not one-sided.

My only teeny-tiny wish is that the evil fiance, Steve, hadn’t been quite so cookie-cutter dastardly. In a story where all the other characters were multi-dimensional, his one-dimensional-ness stood out. So to speak.

The story of Roan’s first meeting with Eliza, where she summons him to rescue her from her brother’s drunken friends, is appropriately titled The Summons. It’s a prequel enovella and is currently available free. At that price it is definitely worth reading!

Stacking the Shelves (6)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

The size of this week’s Stacking the Shelves (see Tynga’s Reviews for the details about Stacking the Shelves) post isn’t all my fault. Honest. Okay, it’s mostly my fault.

But Sourcebooks sent out a “care package” of three print ARCs to all the librarians on their review list. That’s where the first three books came from.

And I want to say a huge heartfelt “THANK YOU” to the person who assigns review books at Library Journal. All they have is a list of which genres I’ll review for the print magazine. And then it’s hit or miss. The last book I got was The Mongoliad (see review) so sometimes, it’s a serious miss.

But this time, oh this time, I got a book from the top of my wishlist. I opened the mailer, and there it was. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. And so far, it is a beautiful mystery. One detective’s life is also a beautiful mess.

As always, anything not noted as print is an ebook.

From the Author/Publisher/Publicist:
All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith (print ARC)
That Book About Harvard by Eric Kester (print ARC)
Dear Zari: the Secret Lives of the Women of Afghanistan by Zarghuna Kargar (print ARC)
The Delphi Bloodline by Donna Del Oro
Nightshifted by Carrie Alexander
Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel (print ARC)

From Library Journal for Review:
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (print ARC)

From Goddess Fish Promotions:
Timeless Sojourn by Jamie Salisbury

From NetGalley:
Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel
The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden
Rogue’s Pawn by Jeffe Kennedy
Dangerously Close by Dee J. Adams
A Scandalous Affair by Karen Erickson
The Ravenous Dead by Natasha Hoar
Blades of Winter by G. T. Almasi
Artemis Fowl: the Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

From Penguin First Flights Program:
City of Women by David R. Gillham

Bought from Amazon:
Just One Night by Chloe Cole

Are your shelves overflowing this week? Did anyone bring back a ton of books from BEA? Do tell!

Author Interview with Blair McDowell

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> blog tours

Today is a very special day for author Blair McDowell. June 7 is the Release Day Blitz for her delightful (sorry, couldn’t resist) time-travel ghost romance, Delighting in Your Company (review here). Blair is popping up all over the blogosphere today, but I managed to sit her down (virtually, at least) to answer a few questions about her writing and this haunting story.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is Blair McDowell when she isn’t writing about ghosts?

I run a B&B in the small fishing village of Gibsons Landing on Canada’s spectacular west coast. After the tourist season ends I go traveling—usually to Italy or Greece for a month. Then down to the Caribbean to a small island where I’ve had a house for 40 years. Then back to Gibsons to start the whole cycle again. Through all of this I try to write at least 4 hours a day. I’m retired from my day job so all of this is now possible.

Delighting In Your Company takes place on the island of St. Clement’s in the Carribean. Is there a real St. Clement’s? Or was there a particular place that served as the inspiration for the setting?

There is indeed a real island on which St. Clement’s is based. It’s St. Eustatius, and I built a house there some forty years ago. The legends and stories I heard there over the years were the inspiration for Delighting In Your Company.

It feels like a lot of research went into Delighting, about the legends of the West Indies, and about the “Triangle Trade” of rum, molasses and slaves. Would you like to share some of the interesting things that you found while you were researching the book?

I think some of the facts I discovered about the slave trade were the most interesting—and the most appalling. I made my hero, Jonathan, anti-slavery. I think one of the facts that struck me deeply was that although the slave trade was outlawed by Parliament in 1807, the actual ownership of slaves—the abolition of slavery in the British Isles — didn’t happen until some thirty years later. All the outlawing of transport did was result in a flourishing business for ships that could outrun the law.

Delighting is both a ghost-romance, and a time-travel romance. How did you decide to mix the two?

I couldn’t have done one without the other in this case. The story seemed to come from out of nowhere except my knowledge of the islands and their folk tales. It just arrived in my head, quite complete.

Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

Odd. I can’t even remember learning to read. I’ve always loved reading and read in every spare moment. When other children were playing ball, I was off in a corner reading.

Who or what most influenced your decision to become a writer?

Again, no one. It was as natural a choice as breathing. I’ve written since I was a child. Long letters to friends, short stories just for myself, then professional books in my field when I was a university professor, and now (my favorite) novels. I love writing.

And are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you plot everything out in advance, or do you just let the story flow?

I plot carefully. First I choose the setting I want to work in, then I start thinking about possible characters in that setting, then I start developing plot. The plot may change as I work on the book, but I start with a very complete story idea.

Do your characters ever want to take over the story?

Indeed. In Sonata, my book that will be coming out in the fall, one character completely turned the tables on me. I don’t know how it happened.

What book do you recommend everyone should read, and why?

There just isn’t ONE book. No two of us are alike in what we bring to the books we read. What one person enjoys another may cordially detest. My advice is to read widely and in many genres. Only in that way can we be broad enough as readers or as authors.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next project?

Sonata is the story of a world class concert artist who falls in love with a Vancouver cop. There is a jewel heist, attempted murder and general mayhem before our hero and heroine finally get together.

What about your off-writing time? Any special hobbies or interests you’d like to share?

Travel. I love to travel. I enjoy being surrounded by cultures and languages other than my own.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee—the kind the Italians call “cappuccino oscuro” Dark Cappuccino. A Cappuccino made with a double espresso and topped with the foam of milk—not actual milk, just the foam.

Blair, thanks so much for letting us have a glimpse into your writing world!

(Photo credits: Photo of St. Eustacius: Walter Hellebrand from Wikimedia Commons, Diagram of the slave ship is from the Archives of the Library of Congress and is in the Public Domain.)