by Angela Smith | Aug 21, 2015 | Introspective
For those who don’t know, Sandra Brown is my favorite author. Her writing conveys everything I’ve ever wanted for my own writing, and I found her in my teen years when I was only dreaming of writing romance. Every year, I wait patiently for her newest novel and esteem how she publishes one bestseller a year when the world now urges authors to publish, publish, publish.
I’ve gone to writer’s conferences just to hear her speak. Went to the Austin Book Festival just to have her sign my book and get a picture with her (unfortunately, that picture is long lost by now). Entered contests (cat caught reading contest won one year).
I haven’t reached stalker status, I promise, but even the other day my husband said “Oh, you must be reading the new Sandra Brown novel”. Her newest book came before finishing the last minute touches on a kitchen remodeling project we’ve spent months working on.
So why am I always depressed after reading her novels? Here are a few reasons:
The story is over
What will I do now? I’ll have to wait another year, unless I bring out the old ones. Which I’ve been known to do throughout the year. But right now I’m remodeling, and all my books are packed away somewhere I’m not even sure where to start searching. Thank God for libraries, Kindles, and bookstores, huh? One can never have too many Sandra Brown novels.
Her writing is better than I can ever dream of emulating
Okay, so she does inspire me to write better and think outside the box, but her years of experience and pure creativity seem like a distant dream to me. I do feel like I’m a better writer after reading her novels, along with a few of my other favorite authors, because their strong writing helps remind me to not be lazy in my own. But…who am I kidding? I’m a small pebble in a very large sea, drifting and weaving through an ocean of bestsellers and fighting to stay afloat. Bobbing for that next big story idea, and to be noticed.
Okay, it’s a bit overdramatic, but still.
I’ll never have a chance to sit down with her just to bask in her presence
I told you I’m not a stalker, and that is true, but just to have a conversation with her would be a dream come true. Maybe not quite as exciting as say, meeting Chris Hemsworth, but it’s close. I did meet her one year at a Dallas Writers Conference. She was the keynote speaker, and I approached her after her book signing (when she and her personal assistant were trying to pack up and get away) to let her know I enjoyed her speech and she was the reason I was there at the conference that day. It was a conference I’d never heard of until her posted schedule, and her speech was phenomenal. So were the things I learned in the classes.
She hasn’t gone so suspenseful that I can’t stand reading
That’s nothing to be depressed about, but one thing that could depress me (if I let it) is how some of my favorite authors have just gotten way too gritty and suspenseful, with very little romance and lots of blood and guts and gore and plot-driven detail. I love how Sandra Brown keeps the balance, even with some of her more thrilling novels, and I love how her stories are character-driven. I sometimes wonder if the (plot-driven) thriller romances are one of the reasons romantic suspense has been declining over the past few years. Genres go through its popular stages, but so many of the bestsellers are barely romance anymore. There are still lots of good romantic suspense stories out there, but Sandra Brown’s books really do have the perfect balance and is one reason I fell in love with romantic suspense so long ago.
What did I like about Sandra Brown’s newest release, Friction?
Hello? A Texas Ranger for a hero, and a judge who has the control of whether or not he gets his daughter back? What’s not to love? I especially loved this one because it is set in Texas, and because I have worked in criminal prosecution for 17 years as a legal assistant/office manager. I have met many Texas Rangers and many judges, and I love how she plays these two characters in such a realistic way. Her stories are always raw and edgy no matter what she does, and this one did not disappoint!
So I’ll get over my depression that the book is over and will eagerly await the next, as I always do. But if you haven’t read her yet and love a good suspenseful romantic thriller, what are you waiting for?
by Angela Smith | Jan 31, 2014 | Books
A few weeks ago, I promised a review of The Latecomer’s Fan Club, by Diane V. Mulligan. I had a few problems getting the book and unfortunately when I did get it, I was so stuck in getting my edits sent to my publisher that I didn’t have time for a review. I did, however, take some time in the evening (during a long and luxurious bath that I desperately needed after my edits) to start reading the book, and I had a hard time putting it down!
The author reeled me in with her complex characters. The issues they went through are what many people experience in life, and she wrote it in an interesting, conflicted, and genuine way. Her writing wasn’t overcrowded with too much writing junk, but a quick and easy read with realistic characters and great prose. As an author myself, I know how important it is to engage readers so they forget they’re reading and feel they’re experiencing the moment. This author did a great job of doing that!
Here is more information about The Latecomer’s Fan Club. Also, you can find it on Amazon for a steal at 99 cents!
Blurb:
What is it about guys with guitars in their hands that makes them so irresistible, even when they are obviously self-centered jerks? If Abby and Maggie could answer that question, maybe they could finally get over Nathaniel. There’s just something about him when he picks up his guitar and gets behind the microphone, something that makes sensible women act like teeny-boppers instead of rational, self-respecting adults.
Abby was first sucked in by Nathaniel’s rock ’n roll swagger four years ago when a drunken fling turned into a series of drunken hook-ups that became something like a relationship. Now, as New Year’s Eve promises a fresh start, she wants to believe he’s finally going to grow up and take their relationship seriously.
What does Nathaniel hope the new year will bring? An escape from the disappointing realities of his life. He’s thirty-four years old and he’s barely making ends meet as an adjunct philosophy professor, which was always only a back up plan anyway. Nathaniel’s real goal was always to make his living as a musician, but his band, The Latecomers, broke up a couple of years ago, and he hasn’t picked up his guitar in months. When he decides to spend the holiday with some high school friends instead of hanging out at the bar where Abby works, he gets the happy surprise of reuniting with his long-lost friend Maggie. Newly divorced, Maggie has just moved back to her mother’s house to regroup.
Nathaniel and Maggie were supposed to be the ones who left Worcester forever to conquer the world. He was going to be a rock star. She was going to take the world of art by storm. He’s never gotten farther than Boston, and her best effots only left her broke and heartbroken. As they ring in the New Year together, Nathaniel decides it’s time to take control of his life and to start making his dreams come true. He thinks the first step will be easy. All he needs to do is break up with Abby and finally admit his feelings for Maggie. But the new year has more surprises in store, and nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
Excerpt:
People seem to believe—and Maggie herself once thought—that divorce was the result of some cataclysmic event, that a marriage in trouble reached its end like a pot boiling over. But her experience taught her otherwise. It was more like a pot set on a burner to simmer and then forgotten until the contents evaporated and all that was left was a blackened pot. No one ever told you that an argument over how to load the dishwasher could be the end of your marriage. And, Maggie wondered, in cases like hers—the slow simmer and burn of her six years of marriage—how do two reasonable, responsible adults who are clearly incompatible in fundamental ways make the decision to get married in the first place? How in the world had she and Andrew ever thought marriage was a good idea? One night shortly after she filed for divorce, Maggie had called her mother and asked her that very question.
“You married him because you were in love,” her mother had said, but that wasn’t it at all and Maggie knew it. She had never been in love with Andrew. She had been attracted to him. She had been attracted to the lifestyle he could provide for her. But she hadn’t been in love. No, she believed that romantic love was a myth, a fairytale, a childish notion, and she had told herself to be practical. What everyone wants is companionship and financial security, and Andrew could provide those things. She thought Andrew was similarly pragmatic. They were not the sort of couple who said “I love you” a dozen times a day.
And even now, even though it hadn’t worked out, Maggie didn’t think the failure of their marriage was due to a lack of love. She thought she could survive that if other parts of it were okay, but Andrew hadn’t been the companion Maggie needed, nor had she been what he needed. How do you explain any of that at a New Year’s party to someone you haven’t spoken to in fifteen years? How do you explain that you wept in front of the TV during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton because you couldn’t warn her that she was making a terrible mistake, that she wasn’t going to have a fairytale life as a princess, that the only life she was going to have was the one he said she could have from now on?
When pressed by someone to give a more specific answer, Maggie always chose the shortest version of the story: he wanted children, she didn’t.
Diane Vanaskie Mulligan began writing her first novel, Watch Me Disappear, during an after-school writing club she moderates for high school students. She published it in August 2012. It was a 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Award Finalist in the YA category. Her second novel, The Latecomers Fan Club, will be released in November 2013.
Diane holds a BA in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College. When she isn’t teaching or writing, she’s the managing editor at The Worcester Review and the director of The Betty Curtis Worcester County Young Writers’ Conference You can also find her occasionally strumming her guitar and singing at various bars in central Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband.
LINKS:
http://www.dvmulligan.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Latecomers-Club-Diane-Mulligan/dp/1492221996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383078097&sr=8-1&keywords=the+latecomers+fan+club
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-latecomers-fan-club-diane-v-mulligan/1116995396?ean=2940045290449
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360992
https://twitter.com/Mulligan_writes
by Angela Smith | Dec 13, 2013 | Books, Guests
Welcome to today’s tour for The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby, by Victoria James!
Victoria will be awarding the first two books in the Red River Series (A Risk Worth Taking & The Best Man’s Baby) + $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Click the banner to follow the tour and be sure to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway!
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An Entangled Christmas Classic …
Jackson Pierce didn’t make his fortune entertaining every half-cocked idea, especially one involving diaper changes. Not even the cute brunette who links him to the baby in her arms can crack his icy heart.A baby on the doorstep is the least of Hannah Woods’s problems—she has to find the baby’s uncle, or the child will end up in foster care. She sleuths her way to the reclusive CEO’s doorstep only to find six feet of holiday sexy—and a door slammed in her face. But when Jackson comes around and urges they marry for little Emily’s sake, Hannah finds herself falling for the jaded billionaire and wishing for a holiday miracle of their own…
Excerpt…
This cabin was his anti-Christmas sanctuary, a place where there was no talk of family. No talk of Christmas. The only evergreens were outside and not one of them had a single damn light on them, just the way he liked it. But now he was being forced to harbor some strange woman who knew a hell of a lot about him and who had something to do with his sister.
He watched as she continued to brush the snow off her pants with one hand and hold that tin with the other.
“Look, I’m not going to let you sleep in your car during a blizzard.”
She stopped her swiping and cocked her head to the side. “Well, I guess you should have thought of that when you slammed the door in my face. It’s not exactly the best way to make a guest feel welcome.”
Jackson opened his mouth and then shut it, not knowing what to say. He was not a man used to being argued with. He had gotten used to the quick “yes, sirs” that he received from his employees.
She shot him a dirty look as she walked past him. He caught her arm. For a moment nothing happened and then she turned into steel beneath his grasp. Her eyes widened and she stared at him. He was trying to decipher the expression when she jerked her arm from his grasp. He noticed her breathing was shallow and rapid. That confidence she had shown only seconds before was gone. This woman felt threatened by him. His exes could say a lot about him, but violent was not an adjective used to describe him. He abhorred physical violence, and he’d never touched a woman in anger.
“I can’t let you stay out here. I have a guest room,” he said, trying his best to sound patient and calm.
She stared at him for another minute, then raised her eyebrows as she spoke. “Are you going to yell at me again?”
He shook his head sheepishly. He felt like he was being reprimanded like a small boy. Her face relaxed and she gave him a slight nod.
“Fine. I’ve met crazier people than you and I know how to handle myself. I’ll stay.”
He stared at her incredulously. She’d called him crazy.
“On one condition,” she said raising her chin and folding her arms.
“Condition?” She had barged in on his vacation and now she was negotiating terms of her stay?
She nodded once, the pom-pom bopping with the motion.
He gave a brief nod, why the hell not, it seemed he had very little control of the night anyway.
“No yelling in front of the baby,” she said over her shoulder as she opened the back door of her car. Her head disappeared into the car and he stared numbly after her. Maybe he hadn’t heard right, but then he heard an odd noise.
“Baby?” he finally managed to choke out through a throat that seemed to be filled with tar as she emerged from the car holding a baby seat.
My Review:
I loved The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby. The setting drew me in and made me feel I needed to bundle under the blankets and keep warm. I love a good, snowy read during this time of year, and this one did the trick! A perfect book to read during a cold, dreary day outside when all you want to do is cuddle under the blankets. I love how the two characters both had a backstory that didn’t overwhelm the main story. Hannah is a strong, capable woman who has a reason for going to the extremes she does to find the baby’s uncle and convincing him to adopt his sister’s baby. The character arc and their growth stayed true, and kept me entertained until the very end. A fun, romantic story worth reading.
Author Bio:
Victoria James always knew she wanted to be a writer and in grade five, she penned her first story, bound it (with staples) and a cardboard cover and did all the illustrations herself. Luckily, this book will never see the light of day again.
In high school she fell in love with historical romance and then contemporary romance. After graduating University with an English Literature degree, Victoria pursued a degree in Interior Design and then opened her own business. After her first child, Victoria knew it was time to fulfill the dream of writing romantic fiction.
Victoria is a hopeless romantic who is living her dream, penning happily-ever-after’s for her characters in between managing kids and the family business. Writing on a laptop in the middle of the country in a rambling old Victorian house would be ideal, but she’s quite content living in suburbia with her husband, their two young children, and very bad cat.
Victoria loves connecting with readers, you can find her online at www.victoriajames.ca and on Twitter: @vicjames101
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6585223.Victoria_James
https://www.facebook.com/victoria.james.7146557
Twitter: @Vicjames101
Website/Blog: www.victoriajames.ca
Buy Links:
Barnes & Noble
Entangled Publishing
Amazon
by Angela Smith | Nov 22, 2013 | Guests
Welcome to the Review Tour of King of Bad, by Kai Strand!
Kai will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC plus a signed book mark to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (International).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules or observe curfew. He wears his bad boy image like a favorite old hoodie; that is until he learns he has superpowers and is recruited by Super Villain Academy – where you learn to be good at being bad. In a school where one kid can evaporate all the water from your body and the girl you hang around with can perform psychic sex in your head, bad takes on a whole new meaning. Jeff wonders if he’s bad enough for SVA.
He may never find out. Classmates vilify him when he develops good manners. Then he’s kidnapped by those closest to him and left to wonder who is good and who is bad. His rescue is the climactic episode that balances good and evil in the super world. The catalyst – the girl he’s crushing on. A girlfriend and balancing the Supers is good, right? Or is it…bad?
My Review of King of Bad:
The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that it had to end. I wanted to finish it, but I didn’t want to see it end!
Great character development, good twists, and a unique storyline among a common tale of villains and superheroes. The story flowed well and smoothly, and the author did an excellent job of making me feel like I was inside the story, inside Jeff’s head. This story is a unique gem among a common theme of superheroes. The author does a great job of balancing the character with the action, the setting, and the plot. I never felt like I was reading a story; I felt I was a part of the story. I’d love to see it on the big screen! I can’t wait to see what else Kai Strand has to offer her readers.
I’d give this book five stars! An A+! And absolute 100. Even though it’s a young adult fiction, it was a great read for adults as well. I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to see what would happen next and was surprised in the end. Highly recommended for you or your teen!
Excerpt…
“Source, who is she?”
Source followed Jeff’s line of vision. “Oh, that’s Oceanus. Don’t even think it, kid. She’s already found a match.”
“What do you mean?”
“See the guy next to her?”
“The skinny red head?” Jeff hoped.
“No, the other one.”
“Oh, the Adonis?” Jeff’s heart fell. He’d no hope to thwart the god-like S.V. seated next to Oceanus.
“Not far off. People call him Set. The God of chaos, storm, wind. He’s a great guy.” Sarcasm wrapped around Source’s words. “Descended from a long line of super villains Known he’s an S.V. his whole life so came to the school ready to rule from what I hear. Real nasty character, even for an S.V. You don’t want to piss him off.”
“Oh, I won’t piss him off. I don’t go looking for trouble.” Jeff considered his life before the academy and real-ized that looking for trouble was the only thing he used to do. He amended his statement, saying, “Much.”
His stomach knotted. Had the academy turned him into a coward?
Source chuckled. “Don’t worry. You’ll get a name and things will settle into some sort of normal. Once we figure out what your root ability is, I’ll help you develop it. Though, after your hulk impersonation, I doubt anyone will dare taunt you.”
Jeff felt the anxiety lift. Source was okay for a bad guy.
About Kai Strand
When the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died, the end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for younger children Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Visit Kai’s website, www.kaistrand.com, to browse her books, download companion materials or to find all her online haunts.
You can usually find Kai online at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaiStrandAuthor
or Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaiStrand
Buy King of Bad:
Whiskey Creek Press
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Add it to Goodreads.
