Wednesday, September 28, 2011

WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY featuring Faith Mortimer


THIS IS A CELEBRATION!
What is the occasion?  Another winning book by Faith Mortimer.  She has wowed readers with thrilling and sometimes chilling books like "The Crossing" and "The Assassin's Village."  Now she's done it again with her new release "Children of the Plantation"


5.0 out of 5 stars Exotic Agatha Christie -Style Mystery



Faith Mortimer was born in Manchester and educated in Singapore, Malaya and Hampshire, England. I qualified as a Registered nurse and after some years changed careers to oversee a number of travel and sport related companies.

I am happily married with four children. Once the children began to attend University, I decided to join them in reading for a Science degree. I obtained my Honours Science degree with The Open University in 2005 and believes that the dedication and stamina needed to sit for a degree gave me the confidence to finish writing my first novel. I achieved this and January 2009 saw the publication of The Crossing. This novel is based on a true incident and Ithoroughly enjoyed the six months or so research that went into the book and the 12 months writing and editing.

The Crossing is available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon.

In 2010 I finished writing my second novel; a murder mystery set in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus where I spend the majority of my time.

This 93,000 word novel was posted on the Harper Collins/Authonomy site and out of over 8000 books was chosen in November 2010 to be the Number 1 book! You can read the review here.

Harper Collins Review for The Assassin's Village

'The Assassin's Village' is a traditional murder mystery, set in Cyprus. It centres on the brutal murder of Mr Leslie, an expatriate whose Lothario ways, military past and cavalier demeanour have earned him no shortage of enemies among the villagers. It is a novel written very much in the style of Agatha Christie: a classic who-done-it, in a small, gossiping, rural village. The prose is brought up-to-date with the fairly explicit themes of sexual liberation and exploitation.

As a thrilling read, 'The Assassin's Village' certainly fits the bill. I flew through the first 19 chapters. The prose is easy to follow, and dramatic in duly regular intervals.

I was particularly engaged by the different perceptions of Mr Leslie. We are already interested in the character, knowing from the prologue that he is to be our victim, and the author cleverly throws our judgment of him with every new perspective. Particularly endearing is the relationship between Antigone and Mr Leslie. Indeed, the sequence of chapter seven, where Antigone watches her brother hunting, is by far the strongest in the novel so far. It illustrates all of the strengths of the writing, the prose is obviously impeccably researched, and brings in a political element that raises the calibre of the story; the setting is evocative; and the characterisation is strong and feels fresh...

...I should say that, I really like the way you subverted normal linear chronology to lay out the events. It is, clear that you are capable of presenting the clues very well, and I particularly liked the way you used Diana's sketching to map out the facts and unlock the possibilities.

From here I would consider the relevance of everything in the plot. There are many motifs centred on the play Macbeth - the suggestions of occult activities, the play being put on by the villagers, the quotes prefacing each chapter, the relationship between Antigone and Mr Leslie, and Mr Leslie's endearing side in general, the political history, and the parallels of Diana's writing to the unfolding of the broader plot are all strong - these are all interesting themes...

... overall, there is a lot to commend in this manuscript.

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OTHER BOOKS TO LOOK FOR AND WHAT READERS ARE SAYING


The Crossing

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing midlife reckoning with fascinating detail


The Assassin's Village

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping from start to finish!







5.0 out of 5 stars
 A beautiful supernatural tale you're sure to remember...



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

WINNERS: AUTUMN HARVEST: FALL BETWEEN THE PAGES BLOG HOP TOUR



Well, I have to say that this was a very difficult task...in a good way.  Still, it saddens me that we were not able to give all of the participants a free copy of the eBooks offered.  However, there will be more opportunities to participate and possibly win in future Blog Hops.  We have more planned, so stay tuned!!!

On to the reason for this post...to announce the lucky winners!  Thank you for joining us and having fun on our little hop to help you usher in one of the greatest seasons of the year.

THE LUCKY WINNERS ARE!!!

First Prize - A Hint of Murder by Lia Fairchild
msmjb65 - Mara J. Brandon

Second Prize - Toxicity by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Shadowestr

Third Prize - Burnout by Traci Hohenstein
KimC

Fourth Prize - The Nation's Daughter by Valerie Maarten
Alison

Fifth Prize - Children of the Plantation by Faith Mortimer
Terri Dion

Sixth Prize - Sacred Secrets AND The Gifts by Linda Prather
Pam P. Mandigo

You will receive an email requesting your desired format.  As always, your email will be concealed at this point and will not be used for any other purpose but to contact you about the contest.  CONGRATS!!!

Monday, September 19, 2011

AUTUMN HARVEST: FALL BETWEEN THE PAGES BLOG HOP TOUR (SEPT 19-26)


TOUR RULES:


1)  HAVE FUN!!!

2)  INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3)  THIS TOUR STARTS:  Monday, September 19, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
      THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, September 26, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
      Winners will be drawn and posted September 27th! *** 

4)  MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS! EXPERIENCE A NEW PARTY DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5)  PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR AND PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERY AUTHOR SOME LOVE!

6)  DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN?  WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first.  Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***




WELCOME TO AUTUMN IN FLORIDA
The temp is currently 90 deg. and holding...

This is the closest we get to seeing the change that comes with Fall...

YET...

Most of us have moved here because this was our alternative...
So no more whining from me!

Now, for the chance to win exciting new eBooks and to introduce you to some wonderful authors!

1. Click follow on this blog for future contests, giveaways and fun, OR
2. Leave a comment on this blog with your e-mail address (in case you are one of the lucky winners) OR
3. Join us on Twitter for fun tweets, updates and interesting chats.  Feel free to butt in...OR
4. Join us on Facebook and leave a comment about your favorite time of year and why.

Each prize will be randomly drawn for one lucky winner for each eBook copy. Each participant has an opportunity to win multiple prizes on this tour.  For future opportunities to win AWESOME prizes, click on the link in left column and follow this blog for more fun and excitement to come.  GOOD LUCK!


FOR MYSTERY/THRILLER LOVERS!!!


LIA FAIRCHILD - Twitter
1. First Prize - "A Hint of Murder" - 1 eBook copy


LIBBY FISCHER HELLMANN - Twitter
2. Second Prize - "Toxicity" - 1 eBook copy


TRACI HOHENSTEIN - Twitter
3. Third Prize - "Burnout" - 1 eBook copy


VALERIE MAARTEN - Twitter
4. Fourth Prize - "The Nation's Daughter" - 1 eBook copy


FAITH MORTIMER - Twitter
5. Fifth Prize - "Children of the Plantation" - 1 eBook copy


LINDA PRATHER - Twitter
6. Sixth Prize - "Sacred Secrets"and "The Gifts" - 1 eBook copy of each (package)




In case you're lost and need to get back to the Blog Hop Linky List, click on the link below:

Friday, September 9, 2011

WILL THE REAL LARRY PLEASE STAND UP...


Who is Larry Enright?  We all know the blah-bity-blah stuff, but do you REALLY know Larry?  Well, I'm going to spill the beans.  Yeah, you can always go and read his Bio to learn all the things he wants you to know, however these are the things he doesn't want you to know to tarnish his "polished" persona.

TOP TEN THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT LARRY...

1. In August, he officially decided to join the ranks of the unemployed and become a beach bum.

2. After his decision to "retire" was reached, this brought down the beginning of the Apocalypse...earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods, etc.

3. He brings in extra cash, to supplement his income, as a hair model.

4. One of his retirement aspirations is to write music and play in a Rock Band.

5. Another tidbit I've learned about Larry: Since retirement, he's become a party animal.  Or to quote him, "Par-tay" animal.

6. He recently confessed, since retirement, he sits around eating bon-bons and watching soaps all day.

7.  His signature dish is: Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.

8. Another random bit of info you may not know about Larry.  In his earlier years, he turned down the role in the hit show "The Life of Riley" which was later played by William Bendix.

9. Larry is so old, his first E-Reader was the etch-a-sketch.

FINALLY:
10. This just in - Larry has so many people working on his book launch he feels like the retired Shuttle Endeavor at NASA...without the photo op.

Still, we all love his generosity and humor.  In spite of all of these "little known facts" about his life, we keep him around because he writes awesome books and he's so darned cool!!

FOR ONE (1) LUCKY READER:
For a chance to win a copy of Larry's latest book, please leave comment about one of your funniest childhood memories.  A random participant will be drawn and will receive a free kindle e-copy to enjoy.  Also check out his Bestseller Four Years from Home