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2013 Reading Challenge
Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) has
read 0 books toward her goal of 75 books.
New-To-Me Authors
2013 reading goal:
15 new-to-me authors.
1) Stacy Gail
2) Heather Massey
3) Sidney Bristol
4) Ann Mayburn
5) Thea Harrison
6) Virna DePaul
7) Mary Quast
8) Molly Harper
9) Eleri Stone
10) PJ Schnyder
11) Kait Ballenger
12) Denise L. Wyant
13) Lucy Monroe
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Showing posts with label Deep Freeze Blog Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deep Freeze Blog Tour. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Author Guest Post: Sidney Bristol
Hello Readers! Today I bring you author Sidney Bristol. It can never be said that Sidney has had a ‘normal’ life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.
I had the pleasure of hanging out with Sidney while attending AAD2012 in New Orleans and look forward to seeing her again. Today Sidney is here to talk about her latest release, A Kiss for a Cure (Lyrical Press, February 4, 2013, Sci-Fi Romance). Please help me welcome Sidney to That’s What I’m Talking About.
Thanks so much to Jen and her team for hosting me! I had the great pleasure of meeting Jen last year in New Orleans at Author’s After Dark. Her pictures don’t do her justice, she’s way prettier. I’m just a tad bit jealous of her hair.
I’m touring around the interwebz talking about my latest book, a science-fiction romance called A Kiss for a Cure. I’m really excited about returning to my science-fiction roots. Ages ago when I was a fledgling writer the first thing I wrote was bad sci-fi fan-fic based off the Predator movies, if you could make a romance out of aliens with mouths that look like the toothy entrance to the afterlife. What I wouldn’t pay to be able to have some of those pages back!
A Kiss for a Cure is nothing like Predator! It’s actually kind of an awesome book, and here are five reasons why I think you should read it:
1) It’s – IN SPACE! Everything is better in space. Really. Just look at movies like Star Wars, anything Star Trek, Spaceballs, The Fifth Element, Aliens or a lot of other sci-fi horror movies. In space you can get away with a lot.
2) There are sharks. In space. No really, I worked out the fictional science for there to be sharks, several types of them, alive. In space. It’s like the futuristic version of Shark Week. In space! How cool is that?
3) My hero is hot. I feel like the book cover is awesome, but Cai is so much hotter. Long hair, buff alien dude, and completely confident about his cooking, dancing and singing skills on top of all the booty kicking he does. What isn’t to love?
4) There’s a dramatic rescuing. Of course there is! It’s an exciting, Shark Week in Space book! There has to be a dramatic rescuing. It’s in the rule book. So there isn’t a rule book, don’t hate on me, but if there was one, it would be in there!
5) My heroine might, or might not, blow stuff up. That’s the problem when you have a super intelligent scientist for a heroine. Jordan has the know how to do some serious stuff, but doesn’t quite think through how her decisions might play out. Good thing she has a sexy alien at her back.
There are more reasons why A Kiss for a Cure should be in your shopping basket, but I’ll let you mull over those a bit. Cheers!
Kiss for a Cure Lyrical Press | Barnes and Noble | Amazon | iTunes
What’s a girl to do when her parents gift her with a man for Christmas?
Caught between two kingdoms, Jordan has given up the privileged world of intergalactic court life to become an interstellar biologist researching space sharks. Unexpectedly saddled with a husband from a race who are rumored to be sex fiends, her life is yanked in a direction she doesn’t want.
But Cai isn’t human and he must have the emotional feedback of a mate in order to survive. Charged with protecting Jordan, can he win her heart and keep her safe from harm?
Will they survive the challenges that arise…sexual, emotional and political? Time is ticking away and it’s not on their side.
---
Excerpt
Jordan froze, staring at the seven-foot-long box wrapped in silvery paper. The one sent by her parents. Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it. No, that pounding came from the box. From inside the box.
Blood drained from her extremities. Her chest constricted until she panted for breath.
What had her parents done this time? She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth. In the history of bad, over-the-top and gaudy presents, she feared this might be the worst.
She turned her back on it and put a hand to her stomach. She needed to sit down, preferably on something soft and forgiving, but her furniture had yet to be delivered. The only furniture in her new quarters was her bed. Everything else was packed up in the utilitarian beige plastos she’d purchased secondhand from a shipper to get her things to university. They showed their age with scrapes and dented sides, but they were so sturdy nothing had ever been broken in moving them from place to place. Plastos were stacked against the walls, in groupings in the middle of the floor, and in her bedroom. Everywhere. Her new quarters looked like a cargo hold.
Again, the pounding came from the box, but louder. She jumped and spun to face the box. Whatever was in there wanted out. She leaned against the wall and stared at the silvery paper. Light from the floor-to-ceiling windows made glimmering patterns against the surface of the package. She could escape the room, since her upgraded quarters had a real bedroom and a kitchenette, but whatever was in the box would still be there.
Sucking in a deep breath, she crept toward it until she could touch the top with her fingertips. It was cool against her skin, even through the paper. Bending, she put her ear against it and gently rapped. The box rang hollow.
Maybe she’d heard something in the Center clanging. There was always the chance there was construction going on over the holidays since most people were away for several weeks. Or maybe one of her plastos had fallen.
Something knocked from inside the box.
Sidney, thank you so much for stopping by!
You can find Sidney on line at:
You can find Sidney on line at:
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Author Guest Post & Giveaway: Heather Massey
Hello Readers! Today I bring you author Heather Massey. Heather is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for science fiction romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express. She’s also an author in the subgenre. To learn more about her published work, visit www.heathermassey.com.
When she’s not reading, she’s watching cult films and enjoying time with her husband and daughter.
Today Heather is here to talk about her latest release, Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts (Lyrical Press, February 4, 2013, Steampunk/ Western Romance). Plus... Heather is offering a copy of Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts to one lucky commenter, details below. Please help me welcome Heather to That’s What I’m Talking About.
Expectations play an important role when starting a book. Even if you’re about to read a familiar genre you enjoy, there are still mysterious twists and turns a story can take. As in life, there are no guarantees in fiction.
But what if a book covers unfamiliar territory? How will you know if it’s truly up your alley? You won’t always figure out the answer one hundred percent, but often it helps to obtain information beyond the cover and blurb. As a fan of some very niche subgenres, I know how important it is for readers to learn about new-to-them books/authors so they can make an informed decision.
Steampunk romance is a recent phenomenon and readers are still trying to figure it out. Therefore, I’d like to present a number of elements I included in Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts, my new Western steampunk romance from Lyrical Press. This story has steampunk and romance, but what does it really tell you about what kind of reading adventure to expect from it? I will provide some of the (non-spoiler) answers in this post.
To begin, here’s the least you need to know: Violet Whitcomb, an inventor’s daughter, joins forces with mysterious gunman Logan McCoy and an automaton gunslinger to rescue her father from the clutches of an evil overlord known as the Iron Scorpion.
Edisonade influences
The steampunk genre has roots in Edisonade-style stories. Victorian-era people were fascinated by technology and engineering and their interest was channeled into tales about inventors and their fantastical devices.
Edisonade tales have a reputation for action/adventure and stylish trappings such as brass goggles, airships, and automatons. Steampunk can also include those elements but it isn’t solely defined by them.
Two of the main characters of Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts are an inventor and his daughter. I began with a basic Edisonade trope (i.e., the inventor) but subverted it through the heroine’s gender. During the adventure, the reader is introduced to a Weird West world of fantastical steampunk devices.
Action-adventure elements are a significant part of the story as well. The heroine and hero are on a quest and face dangerous obstacles each step of the way. Unlike the Edisonade stories of old, the heroine in this tale gets an equal share of the action!
The penny dreadful motif
Penny dreadfuls were a 19th century form of genre fiction. Printed on cheap paper, the publications featured sensational stories generally aimed at adolescents. Penny dreadfuls were affordable, serialized stories. Young folk read them to escape the drudgery of their daily lives. Who could blame them?
No matter the negative judgments aimed at the consumption of penny dreadfuls, they were entertaining and introduced their readers to all kinds of different worlds.
I incorporated a penny dreadful motif into Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts not only for fun, but also as a way of informing readers about the heroine’s personality. Her experience as a reader of penny dreadfuls impacts the plot and her relationships with other characters—often with unexpected results.
Western film homages
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| Man With No Name |
While developing this story, I thought it’d be cool to feature an automaton gunslinger in action. And what if he looked like Eastwood’s Man With No Name from director Sergio Leone’s classic Western film A Fistful of Dollars (1964)? Hence, Arthur the automaton was born, a quirky sidekick for the hero and heroine.
A “sweet” heat level romance
Given the story’s tone, action-adventure elements, historical setting, and characters, a “sweet” heat level romance seemed a natural fit. Since erotic romance has gone mainstream, the heat level of Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts is an important item to know going in.
The story has plenty of sexual tension, though, and the sweet heat level challenged me to discover fresh ways to incorporate the push-pull nature of the hero and heroine’s attraction into the narrative. Some of them are “hidden” in plain sight. If you decide to read Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts, I challenge you to spot them all!
Now it’s your turn. In the form of tags, tell me about your favorite Western, steampunk romance, or any other book/film/television show in any genre you think people should know about.
Giveaway Time!
Leave a comment for this post and you’ll be entered in a random drawing for a chance to win a digital copy of Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts!
* Winner’s choice PDF, ePub, or .mobi.
* The deadline to enter is 2/28/2013.
* Please include your email address and preferred format.
Now for the blurb:
The West just got a whole lot wilder.
A woman on a mission... Scientific achievement isn't enough for Violet Whitcomb. Life working alongside her renowned scientist father is filled with intellectual challenges, but what she truly craves is love and adventure. She’s resigned to a fate of academic pursuits…until a fateful trip across the American frontier changes everything. A rogue inventor known as the Iron Scorpion kidnaps Violet's father and she alone is left to plan his rescue.
A man with a secret... Logan McCoy knows firsthand going up against the Iron Scorpion is suicide, but he can't let Violet waltz into the villain's lair alone. She may be a stranger, but she's also the most compelling woman he's ever known.
A perilous quest... Their attraction is undeniable, but their alliance turns contentious when Violet insists on including a third partner on their mission: her father's latest invention and the world's most advanced automaton, Arthur. The reason for Logan's resistance isn't clear until Violet comes face-to-face with the Iron Scorpion's diabolical devices, and by then, it's far too late.
Heather, thank you so much for stopping by today!
GIVEAWAY details...
Heather is offering to one lucky commenter a copy of Iron Guns, Blazing Hearts. To be entered, please leave a comment for Heather. Please also leave your email so she may contact the winner. The contest is open until February 28, 2013. One (1) winner will be randomly selected from the comments left on this post. Contest opened to all, except where prohibited by law. Heather will announce the winner in the comment section after the contest is over.
You do not need to be a google friends connect follower of my blog, but it is always appreciated.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Author Guest Post: Nerine Dorman
Hello Readers! Today I bring you author Nerine Dorman. A South African dark and contemporary fantasy author, fiction editor, newspaper sub-editor and writer, Nerine is also a full-time snark, and is very grumpy most of the time (unless she has coffee and/or cupcakes or gets her hair brushed, in which case she purrs). She is the editor of Bloody Parchment (eKhaya, Random House Struik); editor of the upcoming Dark Harvest anthology (Dark Continents Publishing) and occasionally reviews books. She blogs regularly and her editorial regularly appears in South African newspapers.
Today Nerine is here to talk about the Karoo region of South African and her latest release, Camdeboo Nights (Lyrical Press, Feb. 4, 2013, Paranormal YA). Please help me welcome Nerine to That’s What I’m Talking About.
Magic in the Camdeboo…
I make no secret of the fact that I love the Karoo. For those of you who don’t know where or what the Karoo is, it’s the somewhat desolate semi-desert that makes up the interior of South Africa. Roughly divided into the Little and Great Karoo, this is a land of big, starry skies, sun-bleached vistas and sometimes the occasional rusty squeal of a wind pump can be heard over the harsh sound of cicadas. Small farming communities are often joined only by a dusty dirt track lined with prickly pear and blue agave, and myths and legends abound. Turn a corner and you’ll find a rusty Buick sagging into the dirt, or pick up bits of Blue Willow pattern china.
One Karoo destination that is my heart’s rest is a small Eastern Cape community of Nieu Bethesda that’s part of the Camdeboo region. When people ask me where this is, I happily tell them “exactly in the middle of nowhere”. And that’s precisely the way I like my holidays.
What drew me to Nieu Bethesda initially was the Owl House, a creation of the artist Helen Martins during the 1950s to 1970s. She spent many years building hundreds of cement sculptures of owls, camels, pilgrims, mermaids and more, and covered the inside of her home with mirrors and lamps. The walls were painted bright colors and covered in crushed glass, which would reflect the light from the many candles at night. It was an altogether magical place, and has long fascinated me. Naturally, whenever I do have spare cash lying around, I make my pilgrimage to Nieu Bethesda to get away from everything.
I wrote a large chunk of Camdeboo Nights during my last visit to Nieu Bethesda in 2009. We spent ten glorious days in the Karoo, and I got a feel for Nieu Bethesda’s routine. Since completing the novel, I’ve had characters of other stories return to the hamlet, and the Wareings in their various guises occasionally take small cameo roles in my other novels. I’m firmly under the spell of the Karoo landscape and its people, and make absolutely no apologies for it.
Instead of following the story from only the points of view of two main characters, I decided to alternate between the viewpoints of two secondary characters as well. I hope my readers pick their favorites. I certainly have mine, but I’m not going to say who!
Trystan is a 200-year-old vampire who’s gone into hiding. He committed the cardinal sin of killing another vampire, and he’s addicted to the rush he gets from their blood. That’s why there’s a price on his head, and he’s been lying low in the small Karoo hamlet of Nieu Bethesda since the early 1900s. The only attachment he’s allowed himself is his 1948 Hudson Commodore, which he’s lovingly maintained for more than sixty years. The few times he’s gotten involved with other people (vampires included) it’s always ended in heartache for all concerned. When Helen moves in next door, he can’t decide whether he wants to eat her, or protect her. He cannot deny that he’s attracted to her, but is it her potential as a wielder of the mystical Essence, or is it because she makes him feel alive?
Helen’s had a rough time. She and her brother, Damon, feel as though their father’s abandoned them just when they need him the most. Their mother is suffering from a mental breakdown, and they have to go stay with their grandmother, a forbidding woman whom they’ve never met. Not only that, but they have to start at a new school. When a strange boy appears on Helen’s balcony one night, she is fascinated, even if she thinks Trystan is a little odd. She finds his interest in her flattering because up until now she hasn’t had much luck with boys. But things start going a little strange, and Helen discovers that Trystan’s not the only one who’s attracted to her—and some of the others don’t have her best interests at heart.
Teen witch Arwen hates the fact that her family, a bunch of eccentric witches, live as recluses. But she hates her school too, and often runs into trouble with bullies. She’s angry and often stirs controversy, just for the hell of it. But when she meets Helen, Arwen inadvertently triggers a series of events that even she could not predict, and she isn’t quite ready for the misadventures that follow. Thing is, can her ability to harness magic save her and her friends?
Etienne is a little person, and has put up with a lifetime of teasing. He’s been moved from school to school so often, he hasn’t put down any roots, and Arwen is his only friend. He might be small in stature, but he has a big heart, and that’s what counts when the trouble starts. And he, and his friends, are about to find themselves in a whole world of trouble.
Of course there’s a whole cast of characters, and the story takes quite a few unexpected twists and turns. There is even a lion (yes, this is Africa, after all). So I invite you to step inside the story and meet the gang. You’ll get to see a slice of Africa that isn’t featured on the Discovery Channel.
See Camdeboo Nights at the Lyrical site (http://lyricalpress.com/camdeboo-nights/)
Stalk me on Twitter @nerinedorman (https://twitter.com/nerinedorman)
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