Zoe & Kim Giveaway: AND THE WINNERS ARE!

Below are the results from the AWESOME giveaway from Zoe Winters and Kim Kinrade. A big thanks to all who participated and congratulations to the winners.

Stay tuned! I will be posting reviews in the next few weeks of works from these wonderful authors. Love these ladies!

Winners for Zoe Winters and Kimberly Kinrade Kindle Fire Giveaway:

The winners are as follows:

First Prize: Signed copies of Zoe Winters’ and Kimberly Kinrade’s books (all the books pictured above): Alexandra Z. (email addy starts with “vair”)

Grand Prize: Signed copies of all books plus an Amazon Gift card for $200 (to purchase a Kindle Fire or whatever the winner would prefer instead.): Valerie L. (email addy starts with “just.v”)

Blogger Prize: (the blogger with the most comments on their post): Signed copies of all books: Gracen Miller (Road to Hell blog)

If you didn’t win but thought books from either of our authors looked good, then please support them and their work! Information again for the authors and where to find their books is below:

Learn more about Zoe Winters's Preternatural Series here:

http://zoewintersbooks.com/books/

Book 1: Blood Lust


Book 2: Save My Soul


Book 3: The Catalyst


Book 4: Life Cycle

Dark Mercy (novella)

And more about Kimberly Kinrade's Forbidden Series here:

http://kimberlykinrade.com/books/forbidden-series/

Book 1: Forbidden Mind

Book 2: Forbidden Fire

Book 3: Forbidden Life (coming Oct. 2, 2012)

About Zoe Winters

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. Her favorite colors are rainbow and clear.

To receive updates on new releases from the author, send an email to: zoewintersbooks AT gmail DOT com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. Newsletters go out only when there is an actual new release or a big contest. Your inbox will not be cluttered, newsletters won't go out more frequently than once a month, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

You can visit the author at: http://www.zoewintersbook.com

Be sure also to visit http://www.theriantype.com for some fun supplemental material.

Twitter Page

Like her on Facebook

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Author Profile

About Kimberly Kinrade

Kimberly Kinrade was born with ink in her veins and magic in her heart. She writes all things paranormal and fantasy, including award-winning young adult and children's books.

Visit her at http://KimberlyKInrade.com

Also visit http://IPIAcademy.com to participate in a fun fan-based site with swag and info on all things paranormal. You even get to be a secret agent!

Twitter Page

Like her on Facebook

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Author Page

The Journey to Indie Publishing and Dark Dealings

Over a year ago, Aimee Salter was gracious enough to feature the opening of Dark Dealings as a part of the First 500 Words Critique series on her wonderful site: Seeking the Write Life..  The feedback and encouragement I received was fuel for my journey forward.

Now all these months later, with Dark Dealings published across all eBook formats and in print, I stop back to share what the journey has been like and offer some quick tips on publishing your own work.  Follow the link and leave any comments or questions there. I promise I will answer.

http://www.aimeelsalter.com/2012/06/guest-post-k-victoria-smith-author-of.html

Stop back here on Thursday for the next of my reviews on another Indie author.

Review: Billy Purgatory: I Am the Devil Bird

Billy Purgatory: I Am the Devil Bird.

Skateboards, vampires, ancient gods and goddesses, the Vietnam War, Jimmy Hoffa, zombies and LBJ. What do they all have in common? A unique and seamlessly woven blend of mythologies and pop culture called Billy Purgatory, I Am the Devil Bird. It is a story that jumps through time and space and artfully written by Jesse James Freeman.

In his first novel, Mr. Freeman takes us on the first stage of Billy Purgatory’s journey. As best described by the author:

Billy Purgatory happens to be the most badass skateboarder and sweet talker any broad can meet--even at the age of ten. He is also the target of supernatural forces he can't understand, and doesn't want to.

Billy just can't seem to avoid all things Monster. Growing up, he encounters Devil Birds, gypsies, Time Zombies and vampires (and not the kind you want to bring home to your Pop, either). He tries to convince himself they're not real by joining the army, fixes cars and even goes to Vegas. But whenever Billy thinks he's put it all behind him, a monster shows up, and it's usually in the form of the beautiful Anastasia... 

This description only barely scratches the surface of the world that Billy lives in as he tries to run from himself and the world. When we first meet Billy, he is a street-wise kid who speaks in a voice somewhere between a modern Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield. He is an observer in his world, a wounded child where you see glimpses of the innocent inside. Yet he is ready to battle with just about anyone. And he gets his wish as all kinds of mythic and supernatural beings enter his life, including said Devil Bird, a giant rooster that drinks too much tequila, fights humans and, in its spare time, acts as an oracle.

As he grows, hard to say matures, his voice takes on a more somber, hardened tone. Occasionally we get to glimpse the boy within, especially when it comes to his relationships with women. The two most complex women in his life are his mother, who is most certainly missing and may be dead, and Anastasia, who is definitely un-dead and not missing enough for Billy (or maybe not around enough—it’s complicated).

Mr. Freeman peoples Billy Purgatory with a well drawn cast of secondary characters. If I had any complaint about this first novel, however, it would be with these secondary characters. Some I want to know more about and perhaps they will reappear in later additions to this series. Some seemed unnecessary, although with Mr. Freeman’s imagination and the wild ride we are on with his novel, he may have plans for them, too.

Perhaps, my only other complaint is that nothing is resolved. While I know this is deliberate on Mr. Freeman’s account, I found it somewhat un-nerving. Perhaps it is just my traditional mind trying to wrap itself around a well written genre-blending or breaking novel.

Billy Purgatory is Jesse James Freeman's first novel. He's also studied psychology and film and scripted comics. When he's not writing books, Jesse James trains falcons to kill Leprechaun Robots, and will continue to do so until the world is relatively safe. 

I give Billy Purgatory: I Am the Devil Bird

 

Billy Purgatory: I Am the Devil Bird can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Preying Angels by Jeff Davis, a Psychological Cyber-thriller

An Internet attack on the Federal Reserve brings together two colleagues, Michael Thomas and Gabrielle Sinclaire.  Once members of the Archangel project, a Special dark-ops government computer intelligence team, they suspect the attack was committed by another Archangel, Uriel/Lucifer, gone rogue. While investigating this cyber-crime from Thomas’ Mississippi home, they are called to assist in the analysis of a teenager’s home computer that may hold clues to her disappearance and the murder of other young girls.

Preying Angels is a dark cyber-thriller made all too chilling by the knowledge that internet stalking exists and we, especially the young and trusting, are all at risk.

Jeff Davis’ debut novel is a very good beginning for a career that promises to engage the reader in plots that are intriguing and push the envelope. He deals in a straight forward manner with, I believe, just the appropriate amount of violence, with young people as victims of adults with sick and twisted minds and the grief and pain of their family and the law enforcement officials who hunt the killer,  He takes it to the next level by introducing us to a master villain whose very willingness to manipulate a psychopath to achieve his own ends creates a new level of psychological horror.

If I had any suggestions, it would be to make the hero and heroine more three dimensional.  Mr. Davis writes the bad guy well.  I would like to know more about his protagonists, what makes them tick, what are their own flaws. How did they stay on the right side of the law when Uriel/Lucifer did not.  He hints at it, but I want to feel more of what Gabby and Michael feel. Don’t worry, he doesn’t have to go all romance on us in the next book but maybe a little more Jason Bourne.  We know that Bourne is a killing machine but he get a sense of his personal demons and torture. I’d just like him to dig deeper into their psyche and let us see it on the page.

I give Preying Angels 3-1/2 triskeles and look forward to even better coming from this inventive and fearless new writer.   

Preying Angels is available through these links at Amazon for Kindle and Smashwords. A print version will be available soon. 

Thursday Reads: Darkness Dawns

Happy Thursday!

                Sorry for the absence, like many this time of year I have been out of sorts.  But while I was, I read a terrific book.:  Darkness Dawns by Dianne Duvall.

Once, Sarah Bingham’s biggest challenge was making her
students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a
wounded stranger, she’s landed in the middle of a battle
between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also
need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most
compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his
desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can
barely control . . .

In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman
has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to
love him is impossible -- when it mean forfeiting the world
she’s always known, and the life he would do anything
to protect.

Darkness Dawns is the first in her Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series that will introduce readers to more such warriors and take readers along on their journey as they endeavor to discover the truth behind their existence, encounter powerful new beings and face increasingly complex challenges spawned by an escalating number of formidable foes. 

I give it a 5-fangs rating.  It is well written and paced with just the right mix of action and hot romance and sex.  Sarah is well written as the heroine who because of her integrity finds herself in a very different world from her University teaching position.  My one tiny issue was Sarah’s gift, I hadn’t seen that coming.  Maybe I missed that scene.  Dianne’s world-building is intriguing in her injection of environmental issue.  But you’ll have to see for yourself.

Check Dianne and Darkness Dawns on her website www.dianneduvall.com .