Sharing a Sense of Desolation with Travis Simmons (#bookreview #giveaway)

While it wasn't necessarily a bad book, there were so many little issues with Desolation that I really had trouble enjoying it.



On the plus side, Travis Simmons has definitely done something interesting with zombies here, adding a little fresh blood and brains to a genre that's become very tapped out. Rather than limit himself to a choice between the classic shuffling zombie and the contemporary speedy one, he incorporates both into his story, and then adds a third flavor in the infernals - basically zombies with brains. Not content to stop there, he also adds an even darker element, with human necromancers who have the power to create and control the zombies. It definitely makes for a very dark, exciting read, but he needs more space to fully explore the concepts.



Unfortunately, this is a book that's in dire need of an editor. While I generally don't like to focus on that element in my reviews, when it becomes a distraction - as it did here - I have to call it out. Little things like the proper use of its/it's and there/their/they're are one thing. They're annoyances, but you can train your mind to skip by them. Wrong or missing punctuation is another thing entirely, however, and there were passages - particularly following a line of dialogue - where my reading just hit a brick wall of incomprehension. Also, while I know it's difficult to work personal details into a first person narrative, it shouldn't have taken 7 or 8 chapters before Asher is revealed as a guy. Yes, I know it's clear in the synopsis, but when a book has sat on your e-reader for a few months, the value of a synopsis or cover blurb is entirely lost.



As for Asher being a guy, I certainly had no issues with that, and thought gay romance angle was an interesting touch, particularly with his lingering feelings for his now-zombie boyfriend. Their romance was solid, and I think Asher's grief was very well portrayed. In addition, I really liked how Simmons continued to play with the romance angle, right up to the climax of their final zombie confrontation. My problem with Asher was not his sexuality, but his personality and his perfection. He's a little too much of the perfect hero, more a pulp adventure novel cliché than somebody fit to lead a post-apocalyptic horror novel.



Ultimately, this felt like a young adult novel that was deliberately sexed-up and bloodied-up to appeal to a wider audience. It certainly has potential, and I think Simmons can do some really exciting things with the material, but this first volume is just a bit too rough and unpolished for my tastes.

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About the Author



I have been writing since I was 14. I began writing a book called "The Calling of the Two" and while writing that on and off I started uncovering another idea.



"Yes, this is all well and good, but what about before? What happened in the world before these characters came into it?" I always knew there was a "before" and as I started wondering about it I got ideas. At first they were little ideas but as I discovered the names for my characters a whole story about them emerged.



I started working on The Revenant Wyrd Saga several years back and I am very happy I did because hearing and documenting Jovian and Angelica's story has been one wild ride.



I live in a remote part of upstate New York and honestly just hoofing around my neck of the woods gives me a ton of inspiration for my novels. I love research, and I love speculating on different ideas and theories.



Website: http://www.travissimmons.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortravissimmons

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisSimmons5

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4342608.Travis_Simmons

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About the Book



Desolation

by Travis Simmons



Asher St Paul thought it was just a typical zombie apocalypse like in the movies, until the necromancers crawled out of the woodwork.



Since the undead have chased the living into hiding, the necromancers are able to roam freely in a new America of their making. Asher is seeking safe harbor. The need for safety is what drove him from his home in Philadelphia Pennsylvania before it was shelled. He has searched from quarantine to quarantine, always finding them overrun with zombies until he hears of The Refuge, a military compound in Binghamton New York.



With his family and lover lain to rest by his own hand, he has nothing left to lose and gives everything he has to reach the safe haven. But questions arise when he reaches The Refuge, mainly, how has he been able to sustain multiple zombie bites and not change? He thinks he has found safety in the military compound turned quarantine, but he was wrong. Even now there is a necromancer trying to make The Refuge

their kingdom of the dead.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from Jitterbug PR and from the author

as part of a virtual book tour. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The

opinions I have expressed are my own. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade

Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in

Advertising.”

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Dateline: Atlantis by Lynn Voedisch (#bookreview #giveaway)

While Amaryllis is hardly a female Indiana Jones, and the story dives (pun intended) a little too much into the mystical depths of Atlantis for my tastes, I still found this to be a thoroughly satisfying read. Dateline: Atlantis is a bit predictable at times, as if Lynn Voedisch were conscious of trying to touch on all the standard elements of the genre, but it also contains enough surprises, genuine thrills, and awe-inspiring details to make it worth a read.



Voedisch wastes little time taking us into the subterranean and underwater ruins, painting a vivid picture of an ancient civilization lost as much to the waters as to time. The level of detail is just about perfect, offering enough to satisfy readers with an interest in archaeology, but not so much as to lose readers who are more interested in the mystery and adventure.



As I said, Amaryllis is hardly an Indiana Jones (or even a Robert Langdon), she is still an interesting heroine, and more than capable of carrying the story. The proverbial dogged reporter, she pairs professional diligence with personal enthusiasm for her quest. Gabriel is probably my favorite character in the novel, a man of secrets who clearly knows more about Atlantis than he's letting on, but who is everything you could ask for in a sidekick. As much as I disliked the man and his motives, Landon Hewitt makes for an interesting foil, a museum archaeologist who is willing to hide or destroy the truth of history to preserve the biblical mythology of his employers.



Like I said, the mystical element was a bit too heavy for my tastes, and I found some of the crystal scenes confusing, but the conflict between faith and history was strong enough to counter it. I wasn't quite sure where Voedisch was leading us, and precisely how she'd wrap up all of the elements, but the final scenes are just as satisfying as the initial explorations.

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Author Bio:

Lynn Voedisch is a Chicago writer who had a long career as a newspaper reporter and worked for 17 years at the Chicago Sun-Times. She also freelanced for many other publications, both in print and online. She lives with her husband and pet cat three blocks from the Chicago border. Her son, a new attorney, lives in the city. Her hobbies are tennis, tai ch, an promoting the appreciation of literature.



Catch Up With the Author:

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Read an excerpt:

She dives underneath the waves. Next to her is the tip of a giant stone structure. It widens as it plunges down to the ocean floor, filling her line of sight. She surfaces and swims toward the top of the rock. Amaryllis fights for breath as the waves roll up toward her chin and away. She dives again. The structure is a pyramid, without a doubt. It can’t be a natural formation. Its lines are too regular. The stones used to fit the pyramid together are huge—twenty-ton boulders at least—yet they are meshed with knife-edge precision. She can’t get her fingernail between them. Another thing occurs to her: this pyramid is not built in steps, but is smooth-sided like the monuments of Egypt.



She bobs up and down, diving and surfacing for a quarter of an hour, finding more impossible things. These walls, unlike those of the Maya structures they found on land, are still smooth. They are weathered and pitted, but not covered over with barna- cles and seaweed. She sees the remnants of writing carved into the rock near the top, but can’t tell what language it is. It has neither the pictorial intricacy of Maya glyphs nor the simplicity of Roman characters. It has a modern aspect, clean and stylized, proportionally balanced, as if it were a font designed by an adver- tising agency. Yet, some of the figures recall the ancient themes of the American Indians: swirling vortices, men with large heads, hunting dogs. The most prominent of all symbols is a cross in- scribed with concentric circles.



Amaryllis’ strength is nearly gone, but she dives once more if only to give the fullest of reports to her cohorts sleeping back onshore. She slips below the surface and feels along the eastern wall, pulling herself down. She is looking for a dark square she glimpsed before, gaping and black. It yawns at once before her, its edges wavy in the ocean swells. A sea turtle darts in front of her, and she constricts her lungs. She streaks to the surface, gulps a huge lungful of air and immediately she’s at the opening again. Seconds disappear as she measures the portal. It’s just big enough to slip through, but will she be able to get back out? A shining gem illuminated by a sun ray catches her eye. She swishes inside.



With lungs screaming, she scans a tiny chamber, carved from top to bottom with ancient writing. Gold glints from porticos on the sides. A painting is still visible on the ceiling. A carved hand, claw-like and strong, rests on a pedestal in the center of the space. The red hand holds a stone so beautiful, she can’t bear to leave it. In the filtered sunlight that passes through the door- way, the gem dazzles like Venus in the night sky. The morning star—the guide that Amaryllis can rely on. She grabs the jewel.

Through the door, up to the surface, sucking in the air—she’s free.

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Giveaway:



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Shadow Sights and Ghost Lights with E.J. Stevens (#bookreview)

Well, consider me pleasantly surprised. Given the cover of Shadow Sight, with the thigh-top leather boots, perilously high stiletto heels, and apparent lack of miniskirt, I was all set for another urban fantasy full of a heroine looking hot, kicking ass, and falling all over the hunky bad boy. I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover, but I likely would have passed this one by if the cover and book blurb for its sequel hadn't been what caught my eye.



E.J. Stevens hasn't quite turned back the clock to a time before sexy-vampires and leather-clad gymnasts ruined the streets of urban fantasy, but she's put the mystery and mythology back ahead of the other nonsense, where it belongs. This is a surprisingly dark story, with scenes that could slide very well into a horror novel, but it also has its whimsical touches, complete with pixies, mermaids, and even unicorns. The psychic who can't touch anything has been done before, but Ivy Granger is interesting enough as a human being to make the concept work, and to drive the story forward.



If I had a complaint about the first book, it's that there's no real sense of urgency. It's an interesting story, with several layers to keep you occupied on an intellectual level, but little to engage the reader on an emotional level. Stevens wisely steers clear of the tacky, artificial, soap-opera drama that permeates so many urban fantasies, but seems to have had some trouble finding an adequate replacement for it.



With Ghost Light, Stevens doesn't really offer anything new, but she does develop the themes and characters of the first book. We get to see more of her world, and more of the magical creatures that inhabit it, which is probably my favorite aspect of the series. There's a real depth to the mythology here, with faeries, vampires, and mermaids falling into their own roles in society. It's not just a bunch of monsters dropped into the 'real' world, but a subtly different world where race extends beyond just skin color.



Ivy is better developed here as well, coming across as a significant participant in the world around her, rather than just an outsider. I felt her struggles to understand and come to grips with her powers were better defined her, giving her a much-needed strength that seemed to be somewhat lacking in the first volume. The characters around her come to life a bit more this time around as well, particularly Jinx, who breaks out of the generic 'someone to confide in' role. Torn is a fantastic new character, and once it became clear he wasn't being introduced solely to fill the hunky bad boy role, I really took to him.



The storyline this time around is a bit more of your standard urban fantasy tale, but it still has enough touches of originality to keep it fresh and intriguing. Stevens' vampires are subtly different from what we've become used to, and she does a great job of handing the touchy subject of putting children as risk, which is something of a relief for me, since stories of the fae almost demand a child-stealing element. There's a much better balance of emotions here as well, creating more of a connection with the reader, and moving beyond mere intellectual interest.

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E.J. Stevens is the author of the Spirit Guide young adult series and the bestselling Ivy Granger urban fantasy series.



When E.J. isn't at her writing desk she enjoys dancing along seaside cliffs, singing in graveyards, and sleeping in faerie circles.



E.J. currently resides in a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing.



Visit E.J. at her blog From the Shadows, Amazon, Goodreads or Twitter.

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Guest Post and Giveaway with Jason S. Walters

I remember it as vividly as if it were yesterday. My father, sporting an awesome set of Issac Asimov sideburns, driving me to see Star Wars in our Volkswagen Bug. The warm rain pounding down as it always does on a summer afternoon in Florida, the humidity causing Dad's glasses to fog up. Elvis on the AM radio.



The year was 1977. And Dad had always been disappointed by science fiction films.



Can you blame him? A physicist and engineer by trade, he could only look at modest special effects, limited grasp of science, and slow pace of the films of the time (Logan's Run and Futureworld come to mind) and sigh.



“Son,” he said to me, “I know you're excited about seeing this film. But don't be too disappointed. There are going to be little green men with pointy ears and ray guns. They'll shoot each other... and that's about it.”



A couple of hours later we were back in the car, silent and looking at each other with wide eyes.



“Wow.” I said.



“Yeah. Wow.” he replied. “Not what I expected.”



Little did I know that at the tender age of seven I had become seriously hooked on science fiction – and, in short order, this grew to include its sister genres of fantasy and horror. Since I belonged (and still belong) to a family of avid readers, making the move at an early age from watching science fiction movies to reading genre books was a natural one. My parents started me out with Tom Swift books, and I moved rather rapidly on my own to authors like Issac Asimov, Heinlein, HP Lovecraft, CS Lewis, and Jack Vance. At the age of twelve I was particularly enamored by Vance's Demon Prince books. They were dated even when I was reading them in the 1980's (Guiding a starship by slide rule? Really?) and Vance knew it, but the whole “manly revenge on galactic supervillains”  thing was about as much awesome as a preteen boy can handle without actually hurting himself.



Though I'm now much older (thought apparently not much wiser), I've never lost my love of science fiction as a genre. It's always appeared to me to be the least constricted of the fiction genres, able to effortlessly absorb contain other genres, whereas the reverse is not necessarily true. For example, you can easily put swords & sorcery style fantasy into a scifi story by simply having the characters travel to a world where such things are the norm. You can introduce horror into a scifi by having the characters chased through a derelict spaceship by an alien creature, or politics into it by using a future civilization to highlight problems in our current society. All of these things are still considered science fiction. But if you reverse the situation – say, put spaceships into a fantasy novel or aliens into a political novel – they are instantly considered science fiction, and are politely asked by the rest of the genre to leave the building.



Like snarkiness, science fiction pretty much creeps into everything I write, asked or unasked. So when I decided to write a novel highlighting some of my problems with urbanization, world wide civilization, and our treatment of the mentally handicapped, it was an easy choice. Nakba is a novel about all of these things, and a space opera as well. So besides the usual spaceships, heroes, and villains it also contains the usual menagerie of displaced oddness that you'll find in any of my books: French feminist clones, obsessive holograms, African tribesmen on Mars, renegade Japanese sex robots, and Russian Suprematism to name a few. It couldn't be anything other than a science fiction novel, to be honest.



So if you might enjoy reading a science fiction novel that tries to juggle social criticism, thoughts about heroism, and general abnormality in the unsteady arms of an exurban desert recluse (moi), think about picking up Nakba. With any luck it will leave you wide-eyed in the rain, glasses fogged up, and possibly sporting giant Issac Asimov sideburns.

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About Jason S. Walters:

Jason S. Walters is an author, essayist, and publisher best known for running Indie Press Revolution (IPR), a distributor of micro-published roleplaying games. He is also one of a small group of investors that purchased Hero Games in 2001, and serves as its general manager. After owning a San Francisco bike messenger service for 15 years, he and his wife Tina moved to Midian Ranch: a homestead near the town of Gerlach, Nevada. It is also the location of IPR’s warehousing complex. They have a daughter with Down syndrome named Cassidy and animals too numerous to mention.

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Nakba

A thousand years ago humanity’s dissidents fled, leaving behind a peaceful, unified world content to exist in a state of perpetual hedonism. Then a daring escape plunged civilization into chaos, forcing its rulers to expand  outward to maintain order. Now all that stands between a newly imperial Earth and the rest of the solar system is a loose coalition of Maasai tribesmen, cloned feminists, shape-shifting humannequins, and vengeful Berbers led by the least likely hero in human history: a young woman with Down syndrome and a bad attitude.

An Unforgiving Land Reloaded

In the desert life is hard. It can also be surreal. In the absence of congestion and convention, imagination takes you by the hand: or the balls. In this macabre collection of riveting tales, ENnie Award-nominated author Jason S. Walters grabs the reins of storytelling as if it were a wild stallion, leading the reader ever deeper into the physical and spiritual wasteland of the Black Rock Desert.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Blood Moon by Holly Hunt (GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY)

So, what's next? Blood Moon is a roaring success (he he) and my other books are out there keeping their own. What's next on the cards for the wonderful Holly Hunt?



Well, I'm a mistress of all genres, as people who have investigated my books would have found out. In my current library, I have a dark fantasy, a historical romance, a m/m romance, a fairy tale, an apocalyptic, and a time travel book. What could possibly be left, I hear you ask.



Well, I haven't touched on cri-fi yet (crime-fiction, for the uninitiated), so I'm working on one of them (10,000 words, yay!), where a killer, who only strikes on a holiday, is hunted down by the mother of one of his victims (who happens to be a cop. Let's be clear on that. Also, she shoots him (spoilers!!)).



What about sci-fi? Well, I'm stalling on completing Mercury's Fodder, a story about the last six humans in existence, and their adventures when Earth is turned into a lovely ball of lava after a massive moon-strike incident. It's fun, there's bounty hunters, salt, and icy planets.



And, I have decided that once I work out what steampunk actually is, I'm going to destroy that genre too. Yay!



What's this? You want to read snippets of the stories I'm working on? No! … Well, okay, if you keep them a secret. Follow these links to read a tour-only exclusive insight into the first pages of the stories – tour-exclusive! What fun! (Hover over the links to see which is which [language warning for both]).



Good evening, and happy reading!

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Blood Moon

Holly Hunt



Genre: Horror/Paranormal

Publisher: Damnation Books



ISBN: 9781615726783

ASIN:  B0087QFMA2



Number of pages: 136

Word Count: 41,500



Cover Artist: Dawne Dominique



Amazon



Book Description:  



Upon a dark and blood-filled hour, humanity's doom will rise to power.



Werewolves are real. They haunt the woods of North America, feeding on the bodies of humans stupid enough to blunder across their paths. Once rogue and uncoordinated, the rise of their goddess Alsvinth has brought them all together, with one goal: destroy as much of the species as necessary to enslave them within meat farms, to feed the werewolf army taking over the world.



Olivia, a werewolf from western Canada, and her brother Charlie set out to kill the goddess and save humanity. But can the werewolf and human destroy the goddess’s power, or will she prevail and turn the planet into a wasteland?

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About the Author:   

An author living in Canberra, Australia, Holly Hunt writes a collection of works including Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror and Romance. Currently undergoing an apprenticeship in Butchery, Holly spends her days off writing and watching superhero cartoons.

Holly lives with her partner, Matthew, in a two-bedroom unit crammed with comics and movie memorabilia. She dreams of one day owning a big garden, three dogs and a cat, and can’t wait until that day gets here.

http://rhythempoets.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Hunt/111905542194012   

https://twitter.com/hollyhuntauthor  

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4717881.Holly_Hunt   

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Giveaway

As part of her tour, Holly has graciously offered the change for one lucky reader to win a e-book copy of Blood Moon. Simply leave a comment for Holly below, and we'll randomly pick one lucky winner at the end of the week!

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GIVEAWAY: Bloodline by James Rollins

To celebrate the mass-market release of BLOODLINE by James Rollins on March 26th, I am very pleased to be taking part in a week-long giveaway. Just complete the entry form below, and the winners will be announced on March 25th.



But first, a little bit about the book . . .



In a thrilling masterwork that will make you rethink your perceptions of life and death, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes you to the edge of medicine, genetics, and technology, revealing the next evolutionary leap forward: immortality.



Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu — the staff of Jesus Christ — a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.



A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president.



Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency.

For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning...



Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries…a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking:



Could you live forever?



Would you live forever?

Fill out the form below to enter to win a copy of BLOODLINE by James Rollins. Please note that providing your email address will also subscribe you to the James Rollins mailing list.

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Phantom Harvest by C.R. Richards (SPOTLIGHT)

Title: Phantom Harvest

Author: C.R. Richards

Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press

Length: 368 pages

Sub-Genres: science fiction/fantasy



Blurb: Gideon, a half-breed mutant with a surly temper and rotten luck, struggles to scrape a living as a tracker in the desolate territory near the gateway to the human world. Business seems to be picking up when Gideon is approached by a powerful dark elf with deep pockets and a serious problem. Human miners at the dark elf's plant are being taken by an elusive predator. Gideon is pressured to find the killer before word of the disappearances reaches the human world, endangering the tense relationship between their two races. But, nothing is simple this close to the conduit between worlds. Archangel, a ruthless mercenary operating in the secret sectors of mutant society, has set his own deadly game in motion. Surrounded by savage wilderness and cut off from contact with civilization, Gideon must find a way to protect his friends and survive to collect his bounty.

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About The Author:

Cynthia's literary career began when she interned as a part-time columnist for a small entertainment newspaper. She wore several hats: food critic, entertainment reviewer and cranky editor. A co-author of horror and urban fantasy novels, her first solo fiction project - The Mutant Casebook Series - was published by Whiskey Creek Press in 2013. Cynthia is an active member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and lives in Colorado.



FB: authorcrrichards

Twitter: CR_Richards

Author Website: www.crrichards.com

Publisher Website: www.whiskeycreekpress.com

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February Follow Giveaway - WINNERS!

A huge thanks to everybody who stopped by over the past month to take part in the February Follow Giveaway!



We did successfully surpass the 500 GFC followers milestone, so there is 1 winner who will receive a book of his/her choice. Congratulations to . . .

Lauren T.

While we didn't quite hit the second milestone level I was aiming for, I'm still quite pleased with the 22 new GFC followers and 27 new Facebook 'likes' the month did bring in, so I've decided there will still be a second winner who will receive a book of his/her choice. Congratulations to . . .

Michelle S.

Thanks again to everybody, and please keep your eye out for a few big giveaways I have coming up over the next few months!

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Knights of the Darkness Chronicles by D.N. Simmons (GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY)

Hello,



My name is D.N. Simmons and I’m very happy to be here with you today. I’m an Urban Fantasy author and my series is called the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles. It features vampires and shifters living openly with humans where neither side fully trusts the other.



I know what you’re thinking, what’s so different about this book that features vampires and shifters? Well, I’m here to tell you, you won’t find another book/series like it. For one thing, it’s multicultural, dark, erotic and witty. With each new book, the plots get grittier, the action gets more intense and the characters evolve as well as their relationships. Also, there's not a second where there isn't something going on.



The KOTDC is riveting, dark, sexy and bold. I really wanted to give readers something new and exciting to delve into in the urban-fantasy/paranormal romance genre. Another thing that sets this series apart is the fact that I don’t have one set main character or even two. I have several and the story is told from a broader perspective giving readers more to love and a better understanding of who these characters are from the heroes to the villains.



The bookstores are filled with series about vampires, shifters and other paranormal beings, that’s why I knew my series had to blaze a brand new avenue for fans of the genre to enjoy and from the wonderful reviews that continue to pour in, I’m happy to know that the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles is sure to entertain.



Thank you so much for this opportunity.

D.N.

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About the Author:



D. N. Simmons lives in Chicago IL., with a rambunctious German Shepherd that's too big for his own good and mischievous kitten that she affectionately calls "Itty-bitty". Her hobbies include rollerblading, billiards, bowling, reading, watching television and going to the movies.



She has been nominated at Love Romances and More, winning honorable mention for best paranormal book of 2006. She has won "Author of the Month" at Warrior of Words. She was voted "New Voice of Today" at Romance Reviews and "Rising Star" at Love Romance and More.



To learn more, and have the opportunity to speak with the author personally, please visit the official website and forum at www.dnsimmons.com   D.N. is always interesting in meeting new and wonderful people.



Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dnsimmonsKOTD



Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000552496587



Blog: http://authordnsimmons.blogspot.com



GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1396694.D_N_Simmons

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Desires Unleashed (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles Book One)



Desires Unleashed is the first novel in the riveting, highly-addictive and sexually charged Knights of the Darkness Chronicles. Experience the heart-pounding thrill of the chase in this electrifying page-turner as you uncover the mystery behind the series of gruesome killings that have been terrorizing the citizens of Chicago.



When a grisly decapitated corpse pops up on a Chicago Street, drained of blood, the highly-trained, government-funded special police force assigned two of their best detectives to the case. S.U.I.T. Detectives Warren Davis and Matthew Eric delve deep into their investigation to discover just who or what is leaving mutilated bodies in public places. They soon realize that the killer or killers is one step ahead of them and if they are going to stop the menace before another innocent human is viciously attack, they are going to need help.



Natasha Hemingway liked her life just the way it was... normal and supernatural free. The vampires and shape-shifters were just where she wanted them to be--far away from her. All was going well until an unfortunate accident landed her in the hospital. It was then that she discovered she had an ability that could help her save countless lives.



All of a sudden, she finds herself thrust into the dangerous and alluring world of the supernatural and into the arms of two very sexy and deadly vampires.



Original, gritty and sprinkled with just the right amount of humor and wit, the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles will suck you in and take you for a ride you won't forget. You don't want to miss out on this amazing series!





The Guilty Innocent (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles Book Two)



The Guilty Innocent is the second novel in the edgy, action-packed, sexually-charged, Knights of the Darkness Chronicles.



In this installment, Darian, the gorgeous, charismatic and charming master vampire of Chicago is framed for a crime he didn't commit, but why? His lover, Xavier, Natasha and a few others must travel halfway across the world to find out who and why before time runs out and all hell breaks loose!



Original, sexy and gritty, the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles will suck you in and take you for a ride you won't forget!

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HUGE February Follow GIVEAWAY

Just One Week Left in the February Follow Giveaway . . . and Just 10 Followers Away From a Second Giveaway!

Like a lot of bloggers, I watch the numbers, keep an eye on the statistics, and observe the measures. I'm always looking to expand my audience, increase my traffic, and build my exposure. Part of it is pure vanity, of course (I like to know that somebody out there is watching), but a larger part of it is an honest desire to help the authors I cover reach a broader audience.



At the same time, I want to say thanks to everybody who does stop by on a regular basis, so I figure why not combine those two goals and offer up a HUGE February Follow GIVEAWAY! I've accumulated some fantastic books over the last six months, including a few ARCs, which are always an interesting addition to the bookshelves. So, as part of my giveaway, I'm offering up:

• Wonders of the Invisible World by Patricia A. McKillip (ARC)


• After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall: A Novel by Nancy Kress


• The Duchess of the Shallows by by Neil McGarry & Daniel Ravipinto


• Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane edited by Jonathan Oliver


• The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson (ARC)


• Faithful Shadow by Kevin J. Howard


• Shades of Souls Passed by Teresa R. Andrews


• Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason (ARC)


• The Donors by Jeffrey Wilson


• Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution edited by by Ann VanderMeer


• A Murder of Crows by David Rotenberg (ARC)


• Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (ARC)


• Shadow of a Dead Star & Bone Wires by Michael Shean (e-book)

To make it fun and fair, I've decided that YOU will help determine how much I give away:

500 GFC followers - 1 winner will receive a book of his/her choice

525 GFC followers-  2 winners will each receive a book of their choice

550 GFC followers-  3 winners will each receive a book of their choice

 +

175 Facebook likes - 1 winner will  receive a book of his/her choice (maximum value $15) from Amazon.com.

The fun starts tonight and runs all month, so be sure to follow . . . tell your friends to follow . . . and keep spreading the word for more entries. On behalf of the authors who call Beauty in Ruins home from time to time, and on behalf of myself, THANK YOU.

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The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin (REVIEW + GIVEAWAY)

While it's not a 'bad' novel by an means, The Darkening Dream is one book where I had a hard time finding the hook to keep me reading. The characters were a bit too thin to truly engage me, and a bit too independent for the first decades of the twentieth century, which made it hard to take their plight seriously.



Having said that, Andy Gavin does an admirable job of mixing magic and mythology, presenting us with a world that is fascinating to explore. Rather than placing religion and the supernatural at odds with one another, he brings them together, adding an interesting new edge to not just his vampire, but the overall tale. Some readers may be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of mythology included here, with various cultures and themes represented, but it added to the overall story.



The characters themselves were a bit too religious for my tastes on the one hand, and a bit too progressive in their attitudes on the other hand, but their core beliefs were entirely in keeping with the time period, so I can't fault Gavin for that.



For a while, I wondered whether I had inadvertently stepped into a YA piece of dark fantasy, but then the horror - and the dark sexuality - reared its gratuitous head. I was actually a bit shocked at what the author put his characters through, and if I'd been able to make a connection, then I think he may have creeped me out. Sarah is the one character in whom I took any sort of significant interest, and that was largely after the fact, with her twist decision at the end of the tale a high-point for me.



One minor complaint in terms of the narrative is that some scenes were just too short, making me wonder why Gavin bothered with the POV change at all. It almost felt like a quick splash screen in a video game, transitioning between one element of the story to another, so it may just be habit. I like my scenes long and in-depth, giving me a chance to become immersed in the story, but that's a personal complaint.



Overall, an interesting story, well-told, with a nice layering of mythologies. It's a bit too mature in some senses for the YA market, and a bit too simplistic in others for the adult market, but I suspect it would make a great read for those looking to make the transition.

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Andy Gavin is a serial creative, polymath, novelist, entrepreneur, computer programmer, author, foodie, and video game creator. He co-founded video game developer Naughty Dog and co-created Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. He started numerous companies, has been lead programmer on video games that have sold more than forty million copies, and has written two novels including The Darkening Dream, a dark historical fantasy that puts the bite back in vampires.



website: http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin

Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin

GR: http://www.goodreads.com/asgavin

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/andrewgavin/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gavin

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The Gun Machine by Warren Ellis (REVIEW & GIVEAWAY)

Warren Ellis - The Gun Machine

Published January 3rd 2013 by Mulholland Books

320 Pages



Synopsis:

After a shootout claims the life of his partner in a condemned tenement building on Pearl Street, Detective John Tallow unwittingly stumbles across an apartment stacked high with guns. When examined, each weapon leads to a different, previously unsolved murder. Someone has been killing people for twenty years or more and storing the weapons together for some inexplicable purpose.



Confronted with the sudden emergence of hundreds of unsolved homicides, Tallow soon discovers that he's walked into a veritable deal with the devil. An unholy bargain that has made possible the rise of some of Manhattan's most prominent captains of industry. A hunter who performs his deadly acts as a sacrifice to the old gods of Manhattan, who may, quite simply, be the most prolific murderer in New York City's history.



Review: 

This is my fifth First Reads from Goodreads. I was excited to win this book, being a fan of Warren Ellis's Spider Jerusalem in the Transmetropolitan comics.



After his partner's death in a condemned building, Detective John Tallow comes across an apartment filled to the ceiling with guns, each gun belonging to a previous death.



The hunter performs deadly acts of murderer across New York City, following right behind Tallow every step. Tallow must solve the case of the apartment of guns, along with many other murders that haunt him to the end.



The cast of characters in this book are very intriguing. Although I found myself trying to pick out the Spider Jerusalem, I only found a quirky dialogue from Tallow's LT. and new partner Scarly.



Great read recommended for crime Fiction readers.

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Mayan Prophecy Averted Giveaway!

We survived! Let's celebrate! (courtesy of Night Shade Books)



Well, we can add the Myan end of the world prophecy to the long list of things that didn't happen. And while it's probably no surprise to most of us that we woke up as per usual, we think it's still worth celebrating! Plus, its the Winter Solstice! Double trouble! So let's nestle into the longest night of the year with some free reading, shall we?



Here is how it works:

Email StillHere@nightshadebooks.com and you'll receive an auto response from us with a username, password and link to our download site where you'll be able to download the .epub or .mobi files of some of our most exciting and appropriately apocalyptic titles:

          

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Bound by Blood by Shane KP O’Neill (GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY)

BOUND BY BLOOD – MY THOUGHTS

by Shane KP O’Neill

I had so much fun writing this book.  I wrote the first chapters back in November 1992, but didn’t touch it again until September 2006.  With a complete re-write of the original and an extra seventy chapters of the new, Bound By Blood, is a finished product at last.



I have opted to begin the series with this book, Chronicle III.  This is where my reader will see Dracula as a vampire for the first time.  A dear friend suggested to me that my readers probably wouldn’t want to wait until a third book before they saw a vampire.  He was correct of course.  Even though the first two books are laced with some stomach-churning horror, I will not release Chronicle I: The Gates Of Babylon at least until the summer in 2013.  I promise it is worth waiting for though.



The ability to be able to cleverly manipulate famous historical figures and events to suit my purpose is so inspiring for someone like me.  I use the context of the story to expose the shortfalls of the Catholic Church in that period, the weaknesses of that institution and the corruption of the men at the helm.  As a Catholic myself this was a little challenging, but exciting nevertheless.



The story allows me to play with such amazing characters as Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Thomas Wolsey, Elizabeth I, Emperor Charles V, Francois I of France, Pope Alexander VI aka Rodrigo Borgia, Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, Pope Pius III, Pope Clement VII, Niccolo Machiavelli, Pope Sixtus IV, Pope Paul V and Martin Luther among others.  In all areas of the book I have striven to use real people where possible.  Even though some people may find how I have used some of my characters as somewhat controversial, I am sure you will still find them very engaging.  In every scenario, and in whatever setting I have placed my real historic characters, I have striven to portray them as real people with real emotions and feelings and I have tried to show them in their true light.



But it is the fictional character, Jean Pelou, who steals the show.  I needed someone special to see out the closing sequence of chapters to the story, and chose him.  He is inspired by two of my favourite movie characters.  The first came from Sam Neill’s Brian de Bois-Guilbert in Ivanhoe and Hugh Jackmans’s Van Helsing.  I tried to mould those two images I had in my mind into one to create Pelou.  He certainly turns out to be the hero of the piece.



This is where Dracula’s journey through the ages begins.  His descent into darkness is complete.  He is at one with Lucifer.  With Dracula and the other members of his entourage I have endeavoured to add some new dimensions to the vampire genre and indeed, to take the vampire to another level.  This was no easy task in light of the production line of great vampire movies and books over the last two decades.  I am confident I achieve this despite that fact.  My Dracula is certainly like no other that has gone before.  At least I like to think so.



Bound By Blood is not just a vampire or Gothic horror novel.  It is also an historical adventure, a tale of paranormal fantasy, and a romantic tragedy laced with erotica.  I am sure there is something there to attract readers of every genre.

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About the Author:

The author developed a fascination with Dracula from an early age.  Like many others he was enthralled by Christopher Lee’s portrayal of him on the big screen.  It was in his late teens that he discovered Dracula the man and the love affair began from there.  An avid historian, he studied the period in which the real historical Vlad Dracula lived, 15th Century Balkan, for many years.  It followed from there then that with his love of writing he would always choose Dracula as his subject.



Away from writing, the author has a wide range of interests.  He has lived and travelled all over the world.  He has a love for all things historical, with a particular fascination for medieval Europe.  Anywhere he travels he likes to search out locations with an historical interest.  He is well read and in recent times has a preference for the work of James Patterson, Carlos Luis Zafon, John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer and Stephen King.  He also keeps his library well stocked with historical texts.



For a time he played scrabble on the international stage and represented Wales at the 2007 World Championship in Mumbai, India.  He has a real love of sport, most notably football, rugby union, cricket and boxing.  His great loves in the football world are Manchester United, Glasgow Celtic, Internazionale and lowly Luton Town.  His sporting heroes include George Best, David Beckham, Roy Keane, Ian Botham and Muhammad Ali.  His only other activities away from these are long country walks and time spent with friends and family.



www.draculachronicles.co.uk  website



www.draculachronicles.co.uk/blog blog



@ShaneKPONeill  Twitter



http://www.facebook.com/ShaneONeillsDraculaChronicles  FB author page



http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12341417-shane-o-neill  Goodreads

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About the Book:

The Dracula Chronicles: Bound By Blood

Shane KP O’Neill



Genre: Gothic Horror



ISBN:  978-0-9556701-0-7

Word Count:   261,281



Cover Artist:  David Evans – GraphicStudio4



Book Trailer:  http://youtu.be/MxL9XzO7x28 



The Dracula Chronicles is the brilliant and terrifying new concept of Dracula. It is an epic journey through the ages where the forces of Light and Darkness struggle for supremacy until the Second Great War, as foretold in the Book of Revelations. This bitter feud began after the creation of mankind. Lucifer’s jealousy leads to the First Great War of the angels. Hundreds of thousands of years on the feud simmers beneath the surface. It plots the course of history as we know it today. Both sides manipulate the major players through the centuries to seek an advantage over the other.



On a cold night in December 1431 in Sighisoara an old gypsy woman delivers a prophecy to the great Vlad Dracul. She tells him he is about to sire two sons, one an angel and the other a devil. He returns to his fortress just as his wife bears him a son, whom he names Vlad. In the very same moment across the country on the border between Transylvania and Hungary a gypsy girl gives birth to another son, Andrei. The die is cast. The twin souls are born. The young Vlad Dracula becomes the instrument of the forces of Darkness. To balance this, the baby Andrei is blessed by the angels and bestowed with awesome powers. These chronicles are their story.

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Giveaway:

As part of his Bound by Blood tour, Shane is offering a signed copy of the book to one lucky commentor as a prize (open to international shipping).

All you have to do is leave a comment below, letting us know who your favourite fictional vampire is!

giveaway ends Sunday (Nov 25th) at midnight

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