eBook Review: The Great Sphinx of Amun-Ra by Herbert Smith

I must say, reading The Great Sphinx of Amun-Ra was likely one of the oddest experiences I've had all year. Herbert Smith first came to my attention as part of the Pump Up Your Book tour, and I was quite eager to give his tale a read. Unfortunately, the book had not arrived in time for my stop on the tour, so Herbert stopped by instead with a guest post. When the book finally did arrive, it was a printed manuscript, complete with a handwritten...

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TGIF - Feature & Follow Friday

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to provide some much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each of whom feature a chosen blog for the week, it's an interesting way to get to know one another.Question of the Week: Birthday Wishes -- Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake...who...

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Canada Day Blog Hop GIVEAWAY

Good day, eh? Welcome to the 2nd Annual Canada Day Blog Hop, co-hosted by our fellow Canucks over at Snowdrop Dreams of Books, Rabid Reads, and Stitch Read Cook.Each blog participating in the hop has their own unique Canadian themed giveaway to offer. Here at Beauty in Ruins I have put together a multi-purpose giveaway, open to US/Canada mailing addresses.Going with the theme of Canadian authors, I have paperback copies of the 2 most important works...

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Waiting On Wednesday: Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. AndersonA remarkable collaboration that is unprecedented in its scope and realization, this exquisitely wrought novel represents an artistic project between the bestselling science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson...

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GUEST POST: Beginning to Remember by Anderson O’Donnell

Beginning to Remember byAnderson O’DonnellThere’s no question that, both as individuals and as acollective society, our attention spans have narrowed. We bounce from one shinynew diversion to another, forgetting much of our past in the process. Newbuildings are thrown up on top of old ones; we can’t even spare the time or theexpense to give our history a proper burial. In my new biopunk thriller, Kingdom, I tried to address this cultural amnesia...

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Paperback Review: Riptide by Preston and Child

I can't remember the last time a book frustrated me so often, and so deeply, yet still managed to be so much fun. If only Preston and Child could have devoted the same amount of attention to character building as to treasure hiding, this could have been a stellar read. What frustrates me is that I know they can do it. Agent Pendergast is one of the greatest characters being written today, and they usually manage to surround him with a solid cast...

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TGIF - Feature & Follow Friday

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to provide some much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each of whom feature a chosen blog for the week, it's an interesting way to get to know one another.Question of the Week: If you could “unread” a book, which one would it be? Is it because you want to start over and experience it again for the first...

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eBook Review: Waiting For Daybreak by Amanda McNeil

"What is normal?"It's a good question, and one you'll never look at quite the same way again after reading Amanda McNeil's Waiting For Daybreak. Taking her inspiration from  I Am Legend, Amanda offers up a first-person exploration of the last human being on Earth scenario . . . but then ups the stakes with a narrator who was already asking the question "What is normal?" long before the world devolved into a mass of angry,...

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Waiting On Wednesday: Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:Seven Wonders by Adam ChristopherTony Prosdocimi lives in the bustling Metropolis of San Ventura – a city gripped in fear, a city under siege by the hooded supervillain, The Cowl.When Tony develops super-powers and acts to take down The...

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FREE - Cinema of Shadows and The Exodus Gate

Not 1 but 2 - yes, count 'em, 2 - free Kindle releases this week from Seventh Star Press!First of all we've got Cinema of Shadows by Michael West, a book I reviewed here:Welcome to the Woodfield Movie Palace. The night the Titanic sank, it opened for business...and its builder died in his chair. In the 1950s, there was a fire; a balcony full of people burned to death. And years later, when it became the scene of one of Harmony,...

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GUEST POST: The Great Sphinx Of Amun-Ra by Herbert Smith

The name of the oldest civilization known to the modern world is Kmet, sometimes spelled Kemet (or other variations), although the original name in the original language would be transliterated as Kmt. Many eastern languages still are devoid of vowels, although some use a symbol to indicate where a vowel should be; the same symbol for all vowel sounds. That is the reason for different English spellings for Arabic words. For example, the word for...

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TGIF - Feature & Follow Friday

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to provide some much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each of whom feature a chosen blog for the week, it's an interesting way to get to know one another.Question of the Week: Happy Father's Day! Who is your favorite dad character in a book and why?Since we're talking...

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Waiting On Wednesday: The Dusk Watchman by Tom Lloyd

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:The Dusk Watchman by Tom LloydBook Five of The Twilight ReignAfter his pyrrhic victory at Moorview, King Emin learns the truth about the child Ruhen - but he is powerless to act. Instead, he must mourn his dead friends while his enemy promises...

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eBook Review: The Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick III

Sometimes you want to sit down and savour a literary meal, to indulge yourself in a four-course door-stopper of a novel that leaves you feeling comfortably bloated at satiated at the end. Then again, sometimes you just want to grab a narrative snack, to guiltily devour the sugary goodness of a candy-coated novella, preferably one that leaves you feeling just a little bit sick as you force down that last bite.The Cannibals of Candyland is...

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Retro Saturday Geek-Out at the NFCC

So, we had a retro geek-out day today at the Niagara Falls Comic Con. Considering the convention first saw life last year as tiny ad-hoc affair, squeezed into the corners at Dave & Busters on Clifton Hill, the 27,000 square foot set-up at the Scotiabank Convention Centre was a pretty impressive full-scale debut.Coming into the hall, the first thing we encountered was a trio of R2-D2 droids, followed by a pair of Stormtroopers.On display at the...

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TGIF - Feature & Follow Friday

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to provide some much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each of whom feature a chosen blog for the week, it's an interesting way to get to know one another.Apparently I need to pay closer attention - this week is FF #100, with a massive list of giveaways. I missed out on joining...

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GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Louis Corsair (author of Absolution)

I’m very happy to be here as Bob’s guest! What I wanted to talk about is a subject that becomes all too visible within the first few sentences of my novel, Absolution: The language. Because the protagonist, Raymond Adams, lived in the 1940s he speaks a certain way. Some of you will be reminded of those black and white film delights from the Studio Era of Hollywood, with their sharp dialogue that sometimes sounds funny now--like the way the word “baby”...

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