New Release & Review: Growl by Ashley Fontainne

 

Synopsis:

My name is Sheryl Ilene Newcomb. And yes, my initials are
S.I.N. A funny little piece of whimsical humor my parents found amusing when I
arrived. Mom and Dad were two high school sweethearts who adored their guns,
their beer and their self-appointed titles of King and Queen of the Rebellious
Rednecks. The day I arrived, they didn’t think anyone in the town would have
the mental acuity to put two and two together to discover their little inside joke. Shame on the pathetic excuses who called themselves teachers in this dreary city, because Mom and Dad had been right: no one caught on to their little attempt at humor.

Then, it turned out to be true. Looking back with wiser eyes
now, my family and I concluded that the events leading up to my transformation started the summer I turned nine. But the day we realized there was a problem, and no turning back, was a week before I started my senior year at Junction City High. The day the fangs and claws appeared and the monster inside of me
emerged. When mutilated corpses appeared near a pile of brush down by Caney Creek, everything changed.

That day, I changed, forever. Because evil woke up andgrowled, its ominous rumblings heard by every living thing in Locasia County, Mississippi.

 

Sheryl has been left scarred, battered, and bereft with the loss of those she loves. The main character, 18 year old Sheryl, accounts the background and story of her family's magical (I'm not spilling the beans, I swear) past and insane battle of good vs evil that takes place in her small town. Not sure what genre to put this well written novel in- paranormal, action/suspense, teen romance, mythological? A strong mix of all of the above and a very entertaining read.

The story has some thick twists and turns that resolve themselves in the end. The story follows a handful of generations and the strong element of mythology that lingers in the area. A pondering cliff hanger, or maybe open end, left me going "hmmm!"

Side note: I wouldn't put it in the YA category at all even though the protagonist is younger due to the strong content.

Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.

Her muse for penning the EVISCERATING THE SNAKE series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley's love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.

Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.

Her latest release, the suspenseful thriller The Lie, took home the GOLD medal in the 2013 ILLUMINATION BOOK AWARDS for ebook/fiction.

 

Book Review: Tell Me When I'm Dead (The Dead Series #1) by Steven Ramirez

*** 5/5 Stars ***

This story was ooey gooey awesome! Zombie gore with a hate but love him hero... this book was awesome. While I can't watch horror movies, I love me some old fashioned flesh eating monsters (weird, huh?). MR. Ramirez did an excellent job of keeping the story unique in a market saturated with the undead. The characters are raw, real, and just crazy enough that is made my reader hair stand on end.

The main character is a recovering alcoholic and a jerk, married to a gal who's tried for years to change him. On one fatal night of a car crash, life goes way out of whack. His ex girlfriend is literally out to get, I mean eat him, and the previously docile sick folk are now out for flesh. Dave discovers a platoon of friends, enemies, and new family in his escapade to escape the horde of undead and keep those he loves alive. I don't want to give any spoilers!

A very fast paced horror story with lots of action and plot lines, this book kept me on my toes and reading late into the night. Ends on a clammy cliff-hanger. You might as well do your favor and just buy book one and two together so you don't have to wait to see what happens next.

 



 

Steven Ramirez is the author of Books One and Two of THE DEAD SERIES,Tell Me When I’m Dead and Dead Is All You Get. He has also published a number of short stories, as well as a children’s book, and he wrote the screenplay for the horror-thriller film ‘Killers.’ To hear about new releases,visit  http://stevenramirez.com/newsletter/. Steven lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughters.

You can connect with Steven on Twitter at https://twitter.com/byStevenRamirez and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StevenRamire.... More information at http://stevenramirez.com/

Book Review & Giveaway- Deviltry Afoot by Carol Pritt

Genres: Paranormal, Occult

Blurb: Seeking justice for her daughters murder Tina must seek answers in the supernatural realm. Terror is spreading over Pendale. Love is pitted against a dreadful force.

         

 

 

 

 

This book is full of the supernatural creepy crawlies. Deviltry Afoot starts out with the story of Donald, who is a nasty human and beyond the grave presence readers will get a nice taste of throughout the book.  In short, Donald’s father passes, his mother falls off into a religious fervor, and his taste for murder is wetted by killing the school bully. Fast forward to many years later in the peaceful and small town of Pendale, and readers will meet Tina who is a single mother of a gorgeous, sweet, college aged Becky. Becky is one of many brutal, bizarre, and cruel serial murders that take place. All they have in common is a confusing mix of clues including a taxi cab, a dark/shadowed stranger, and elderly woman, creepy voices, and the town’s past history of murders. Tina becomes obsessed with finding Becky’s murder and is ensconced in an insane ride with the minions of the bad guy downstairs and their trickery. Though the murders and setting could have been overwhelming gruesome or overdone, the author weaves a nice tale of supernatural nastiness battled by a mother’s love and grief for her daughter. There is a definite theme of love overcoming darkness, the strength of a mother’s love, and the eternal battle of evil and good. But the author leaves the readers with an incredibly creepy, hairs standing on end ending that makes one really wonder about those shadows seen from the corner of the eye.

 

Deep into an uneasy dream Tina’s face was twisted in consternation. Dan hadn’t stayed over this evening. She’d told him she needed time to gather strength and come to grips with what lay ahead. He’d looked hurt. She knew he could not understand her need to be alone at such a time. He offered to sit up with her all night. She told him she was wrung out; she would be able to sleep a bit. She longed to fall into unconsciousness and to block all thought. Her bedroom felt airless. The little clock on her nightstand seemed to have a very loud tick tonight. The dials revealed it to be 1:00 pm. Still asleep Tina shifted her weight to lie on her back. Her heavy cotton nightgown became bunched up under the small of her back. Suddenly she brought up her hands folding them over her chest in the position that the dead are laid out. Beads of sweat broke out on her face, although the temperature in her room was a cool sixty-four degrees. She was carrying groceries to her car in a dark parking lot. Behind her there was a small convenience store. It was lit up. The buildings light stopped at the front of the building. Tina tossed her bag of groceries into the passenger side of the seat. Just as she lifted her leg to get in behind the wheel she thought of her mother. She’d yell up a storm if she could see her now. As a teen Tina was lectured countless times about getting into a car alone. First check out the back seat to make sure no one was lurking there, she could still her mom stress. Tina sat her leg back down on the pavement. She opened the back door. All clear. She slid into the front seat closing her door and rolling down her window most of the way. Glancing out her open window she began to shake all over. Two hands with long tapered fingers suddenly grasp the window! As if in slow motion a hooded figure raised itself! Her door was flung open wide. It pushed her backward sending her sprawling across the seat. She was immobile from fear. The thing lowered itself to her feet. It covered her with its form inch by inch. Its dark cloak was spread wide to enfold her completely. Her heart thumped so hard she felt ready to pass out praying she would. It was up to her head now. Tina was so cold it was as if she were entombed within a block of ice The smell of decay surrounding her was so rank she couldn’t catch a good breath. The hood slipped back a bit. She couldn’t decipher its features clearly. She could only make out black pinpoint eyes. Drool oozed from its mouth. A great gob of spittle plunked down on her forehead. She let out a scream. She thought she’d cried out, and awoken. It was actually only phase two. Still dreaming she thanked the Lord that it was only a nightmare. Lights flickered from the traffic through her drapes. Something in the room didn’t feel right. The sheet was shifting downward of its own accord. Two hands grasp the foot of the bed as a cloaked figure crawled up and over her! She surrendered herself up to it. She was entirely passive until sirens from a passing rescue unit brought her to an actual waking state ending her ordeal. Rest would elude her the remainder of the night. She sighed and got up from the bed. First light would signal the start of her greatest trial. She must commend her only offspring to eternal rest.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Deviltry-Afoot-ebook/dp/B00ESLTDNW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Infinity Publishing http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-8376-9

Barnes & Noble (Paperback) http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deviltry-afoot-carol-pritt/1115098698?ean=9780741483768

Alibris http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?browse=0&keyword=deviltryafoot+&mtype=B&hs.x=23&hs.y=18&hs=Submit

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Half . Com http://product.half.ebay.com/Deviltry-Afoot-by-Carol-Pritt-2013-Paperback/159848986&cpid=5000052062198

Book Depository http://www.bookdepository.com/Deviltry-Afoot-Carol-Pritt/9780741483768

Sony https://ebookstore.sony.com/search?keyword=deviltry+afoot

Carol Pritt lives in the northeast with her family. She has two Associate degrees, one in Liberal Arts, and the other in Journalism from the local community college. Ms. Pritt enjoys writing, reading, spending time with her family, and playing with her pets. This is her first novel. Author Links: Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/17686561-carol-pritt Facebook https://www.facebook.com/carol.pritt.9 Twitter https://twitter.com/carolpritt Website http://deviltryafoot.com/ LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/carol-pritt/6b/786/b21

Carol is giving away a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card, Winner's Choice! The giveaway will start 11/25/13 at 12 am eastern time and ends 12/24/13 at 12 am eastern time. Enter through Rafflecopter. a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Review: Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan

Chasers centers around a group of four 16 year olds that hail from different countries around the world. Jesse (our main character telling the story), Dave, Anna, and Mini survive a horrific subway crash in New York, only to surface to the end of the city... maybe the world... as they know it. Everything around them is destroyed and those left around them are thirsty. Nothing seems to satisfy them including the human blood some drink from dead bodies around them. The kids hole up and watch the city crumble around them. The story comes ends with an unresolved cliffhanger and weird, twisted ending.

I was hesitant to pick up this book due to some of the so-so reviews, but I'm glad I did. I would definitely pinpoint the audience for young adult. The language and progress of events would keep a younger audience engaged without boring them to tears with details. The gore and ick was kept at a minimum that was appropriate for the storyline, and there were a few s-word bombs. What I appreciated in this storyline was the character's real human traits and emotions. Their decision making was on par with a 16 year old trapped in a crazy, possibly bombed out city.

My only few complains was the lack of quotation makes to separate the conversations between different voices, but I sort of understand where the author was going once I read the end. The book moved fairly slow in some parts and took a while to build up, but I never felt bored reading this book. I will definitely be reading the second book to figure out what the heck is going on.

(From amazon.com): James Phelan is a Melbourne-based writer. He has studied and taught writing at a post graduate level, and has been a full-time novelist since the age of 25. His first book was the author interview collection LITERATI: Australian Contemporary Literary Figures Discuss Fear, Frustrations and Fame (John Wiley & Sons, 2005). His thriller novels featuring investigative journalist Lachlan Fox include FOX HUNT (Hachette, 2006), PATRIOT ACT (2007), BLOOD OIL (2008), LIQUID GOLD (2009), RED ICE (2010). His ALONE trilogy of Young Adult post-apocalyptic novels are titled CHASERS (Hachette, 2010), SURVIVOR (2011) and QUARANTINE (2011). James has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, having worked at The Age from 2000-2006, and has contributed to short story anthologies and serialised novels, including: PICTURE THIS (Penguin, 2010), WATCHLIST (Vanguard, 2010), and the GET READING! anthology (2011). His latest novels are a thriller introducing a new character, Jed Walker, THE SPY (Hachette 2013), a 13-book Young Adult series THE LAST THIRTEEN (Scholastic, Sept 2013 and monthly in 2014), and several other projects. You can find James at www.jamesphelan.com

Review: Controlling the Dead by Annie Walls

 

 

 

Love zombies? Strong plot lines? A machete wielding heroine who paints? WHY have you not read this yet? Walk… run… hurry and go buy this book! Kansas and her buddies return for more zombie butt kicking and heart wrenching action in book two of The Famished Series by Annie Walls. Kansas has survived her horror and is trying to heal. She juggles her feelings for Rudy and Mac while trying to rescue just about everyone around her except for her broken self. After traveling with Reese to New Orleans to talk Voodoo with the local priest, Kansas will later earn a surprising gift for her troubles of visiting later in the story.

Returning to the boisterous and rowdy community, Kansas spends the majority of her time lost in booze and trying to recover. Forced into a week of healing, the story shoots off as Kansas starts scheming to save others while fighting her attraction to Rudy. As the group leaves to find the disturbing evidence of those infecting innocents, the band of friends suffers losses and gains equally.

I love, love, love this author’s writing style. Her supporting characters have vivid personalities and their stories intertwine perfectly with the main plotline. I enjoy the author’s easy flow of details and describing a horrorific world without being overly dramatic or gory. Kansas is an easy character to like and a fun, if damaged heroine.

 

 

 

 

Author of dark fantasy and sub-genres of horror. Voracious Reader and Googler. Lover of dark humor. Horror Buff. Zombie Apocalypse Enthusiast. Loyal Cracked follower. Pinterest Addict. Wife of adoring husband. Mother of a six year old Bruce Wayne. Cook. Maid. Kisser of boo-boos. Ultimate Time Waster. Perfect Procrastinator. Lolly Gagger. Trubie. Cake Decorator. Tea Drinker. Sculpey Sculptor. Girl Gamer. Perfectionist in the art of Facebook stalking. And now, God help me, a blogger. Oh yeah, and a twitter, twatter, tweeter. Well yeah, I'm one crafty bitch.

Book Review & Tour: Enchanced by Courtney Farrell

Michelle and Seth, brother and sister, are the offspring of the lineage that created The Institution. The Institution’s purpose? Breeding genetically perfect specimens and culling those below standards. Immune to disease, insanely intelligent, and bred to withstand any human weakness, the Enhanced rule the world after the war. Norms, those without genetic engineering and “wild bred,” are kept outside of the wall and used as servants or for sources of amusement. Michelle, Seth, and their band of friends’ worlds are about to end. Seth and his best friend Brian are kicked out of the gated community and forced to band together with a clan or norms. Michelle and her friends race to find out why the boys were sent away and discover previous unknown powers. Discovering love, hate, and the true nature of being human, Enhanced is a fun romp in the dystopian genre.

This book could definitely be included on a “must read” list for young adults who love a bit of sci-fi or dystopian in their reading regiment. Besides a few curse words here and there, the book deals with natural teenager/young adult dilemmas like love, lust, growing up, and raging against adults. I never felt the book halted on the action and the characters had clearly defined personalities. The market is swamped with this genre, but this book holds its own in the saturated market.

Brian could go no farther. Below him, Carissa rounded the corner, sticking close to the only home she ever had.

“Carissa!” he shouted. She hesitated, looking up, and then shook her head at him.

Brian waved wildly. “Wait!” That threw him off balance and he windmilled his arms, trying to stay on his feet. Fresh pigeon droppings made the metal slick, and the Institute’s star athlete failed. He slipped and crashed hard onto the broken pavement Outside. Pain exploded through his knees and back, but he struggled to his feet almost immediately. Bloody abrasions covered Brian’s forearms and knees. Pain screamed from the crushed knee, triggering an animal instinct to hide. He backed into the shadow of one of the little Norm hovels that lined the alley.

He took a deep breath to call Carissa’s name again, but a flash of blue in his peripheral vision stopped him. A couple of Augment security guards lurked in the alley outside the gate. Cooking fires made the air gray with smoke, giving the place an eerie feel. Brian concentrated, trying for a pain block, but these things take a focused mind. He limped around the corner, finally forcing himself into a shambling run. Carissa slipped along ahead of him like she didn’t even touch the ground.

Brian did his best to catch up, but he never got any closer. The cull entered a sunny stretch and he suddenly saw why. Carissa ran for her life, pursued by a man in blue. Pain from Brian’s shattered knee shot up his leg, slowing him down, but he wouldn’t give up. Ahead, the blue uniformed man dropped to a crouch and pulled out a crossbow equipped with a laser sight. Ignoring his injuries, Brian pounded down the alley.

The cull must have seen the little red dot dancing along the wall, because she stopped running and turned around to face her hunter. Sunlight caught her hair, turning it to gold. She spread her arms like an angel, and the bolt took her in the heart. Carissa fell more gracefully than any cull had a right to, dead before she hit the ground.

“No!” Brian screamed. He turned on her murderer. The Augment security chief knelt in the dirt with a second bolt already fixed in his crossbow, aimed right at the boy’s chest. For a moment, neither one moved.

Brian didn’t want to know, but he had to ask.  “Do you,” he gasped for air and spit out blood. “Do you kill all the culls?”

The man’s face crumpled, making him look decades older. “Them fancy genes of yours, they don’t want ‘em mixing with the common folks’.”

“They? Who gave the order?” But Brian already knew.

“Salomon.”

“So there’s no colony of Imperfects…that’s just what they tell the culls, so they go quietly.”

The security chief nodded, his weathered cheeks streaked with tears. “I told ya, boy. Givin’ her food wouldn’t matter none.”

The Augment unexpectedly pivoted the weapon in his hands and held out the stock. Brian snatched it away and leveled it threateningly. The chief clambered to his feet, gripping his knees like an old man, and straightened up to stand at attention. His blue eyes locked fearlessly on Brian’s brown ones. Brian froze, and the man gave him an encouraging nod.

                “Go ahead, son. Do me the favor.” The chief slowly lifted his arms and held them out, just like Carissa had. Strangely, that little movement saved his life.

                Brian couldn’t pull the trigger. Instead, he swung the bow savagely against the Institute wall, beating it over and over until it flew from his hands. Then he walked away, leaving the Institute security chief alone with the body of the first girl he ever loved. At the corner Brian turned and looked back.

“Are y’ gonna tell ‘em?” the chief called down the alley. His voice echoed strangely from the ruins of the old city. “Are y’ gonna tell’em, or will you let ‘em hope?”

Courtney Farrell was once a molecular biologist, but her habit of daydreaming destroyed far too many experiments. As it turned out, writing down the movies behind her eyes was a lot more fun than lab work. Courtney is the author of fourteen nonfiction books for young people, mostly on social and environmental topics. She lives with her family on a Colorado ranch where they support a barn full of freeloading animals, including a fat draft horse and a bunch of crazy chickens. Enhanced is her first novel.

ONLINE LINKS:

• 
  >Website  www.courtneyfarrell.com
  


• 
  Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Courtney-Farrell/405475149467821
  


• 
  Twitter  https://twitter.com/CAFarrell
  


• 
  Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7894049-courtney-farrell
  


• 
  >Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPBU6S
  


• 
  Crescent Moon Press http://crescentmoonpress.com/books/Enhanced.html

Book Review: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

I've committed the ultimate reader sin- I watched the movie before I read the book it was based on. Based is used loosely in my opinion. This book was engaging and just real enough to scare the living crap out of me. If zombies swarmed, this book would be fact and not fiction. I synopsis revolves around the oral histories supplied by survives around the world who are interviewed by the author. From American to Antarctica, the history of the world destruction slowly unravels. The book touches on human greed, determination, and our ultimate need to survive whatever is thrown at us. The different viewpoints provided by the interviewees introduce the reader to the various responses of each country and culture's response to the undead take over. I was lucky enough for to listen to the audiobook version. It was glorious and made the creepy, holy crap is this real?! factor, so much closer to home than if I had been creating the voices in my head. Each character has an authentic accent and it's so REAL. I highly recommend the audio version. It's like listening to the oral history of world war survivors and reliving the scene through the painful chords of their personal voice.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, Max Brooks has been called "the Studs Terkel of zombie journalism."
He lives in New York City but is ready to move to a more remote and defensible location at a moment's notice.
Max Brooks's The Zombie Survival Guide formed the core of the world's civilian survival manuals during the Zombie War. Mr. Brooks subsequently spent years traveling to every part of the globe in order to conduct the face-to-face interviews that have been incorporated into World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.

Book Review & Tour: Ivory by F. M. Sherrill

Two worlds. One dark and one bright. Gryth lives in eternal sunlight and Lectra in moonlight. After witnessing the brutal deaths of her father and mother, King and Queen of Gryth, Ivory is left as the sole heir and wages war against the Lec. Part of a three warrior group called the Blood Pack she roams the outside walls of Gryth, killing anyone and anything in her way. Ivory’s people are dying and she sets out to a final battle to destroy her enemies. Captured, she is made to relive all the truths, lies, and truths within lies that are her past, present, and future. Facing possible death multiple times, betrayal from her closest allies and winning and losing love within a few months, her plate is quite full. She must face herself, her past sins, and her heritage.  Now facing the true enemy that is out to destroy their whole world Silver, King of the Lecs, and Ivory must stand together or lose everything and everyone they love.

The author’s style of writing is very fluid and poetic. Most books I like to listen to audibly using a special program, but the writing was too quick and descriptive. The reader definitely needs a quiet nook and a few free hours to be able to follow this author’s extremely fast descriptions and actions sequences. The story is very gripping and a lovely dark fantasy. The author does a great job of setting the scene, character building, and generally making the reader dizzy with all the twists and turns. My only complaint is the story seemed to peter out at the end. Ivory was coming to grips, adapting, and all of a sudden she’s back to bad-attitude-I-hate-everyone sequence. It’s like all of her growth went down the drain and she’s back to be a witchy woman with no compassion or heart. The book ends on a funky cliffhanger and no closure. Hopefully the author will wrap up the series and Ivory can finally get some lovin’, defeat the bad guy, and save her people.

Aren't author's bios boring? I always wanted to read one that went something like this:

F.M. Sherrill: recent citizen of earth. Plans on ruling the planet once she gets over the common cold. Or, F.M. Sherrill: time traveler. Decided to alter the space-time continuum by writing a novel, thus changing history slightly, which will eventually lead to the rise of a new human species.

But here it is. F.M. Sherrill is a novelist, A.K.A. an avid bullshitter; that's why she lives in L.A.. She's been writing for as long as her ancient mind can remember, devouring tales like an anemic vampire roaming the streets in hot pink heels, always thirsty for more. When she's not writing, she's making steampunk weapons, sewing giant plant-eater Mario plushes, making costumes for some film bloke or cosplayer, and sculpting/casting movie prop replicas while gardening in her urban apartment. Her favorite tools? A soldering iron, a blowtorch, a band saw, a sonic screwdriver, a replicator and an active imagination.

ONLINE LINKS:

Facebook facebook.com/fmsherrill

Twitter  twitter@fmsherrill