new book » West of Mars

Teen Boy Reads: Department 19

Mar 122013

Well, I have another book for you today. Beware, this book is VERY mature and NOT geared for small children. DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY!

Department 19
Will Hill
out of

Jamie Carpenter’s life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein. Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula. Aided by Frankenstein’s monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire.

Department 19 takes us through history, across Europe, and beyond – from the cobbled streets of Victorian London to prohibition-era New York, from the icy wastes of Arctic Russia to the treacherous mountains of Transylvania. Part modern thriller, part classic horror, it’s packed with mystery, mayhem, and a level of suspense that makes a Darren Shan novel look like a romantic comedy.

After Jamie Carpenter’s father died, his life changed. And it is not for the better. He has been moving around ever since that day. And now, his mom has gone missing. After being whisked away to top-secret wing of the British Government and given a military-level fight-and-weapons training, he learns that his mother has been captured by vampires. The second oldest, and the second most ruthless vampire, Alexandru, to be exact. This puts Jamie, a TEENAGER, on the hunt for one of the world’s most dangerous creatures, ever.
OMG! I could never stop raving about this book! It was the best thing that I have read in a long time, and that is really saying something. I won’t actually describe the book since I would go on and on and on about it, but I will say that it is a LOT more mature than all of the other books I have reviewed so far, so take caution. If this book was a video game, it is rated M, and as a movie, it would be rated R. Just saying. Young children, take caution. But it is a great book, despite all the blood and vampires exploding. Check the book’s website out at department19exists.com

Saddened by our parting again,

Your friend at TBR

Teen Boy Reads: Guys Read: Thriller

TeenBoyReads No Responses »

Feb 262013

Hey, everyone.

Got another book for you in the series of books designed exactly for teenage guys to read. Well, dive in!

Guys Read: Thriller
Edited by Jon Scieszka
out of (3/5)

Volume 2 of the Guys Read Library of Great Reading has been described as “chock-full of mystery, intrigue, and nefarious activity.” Also “a pulse-pounding collection of brand-new short stories, each one guaranteed to keep you riveted until the final page.” Who are we to argue? But we will say it’s all that and more.

Guys Read is BACK!! This thrilling collection contains all the Thriller short stories you could ever need! If you did not realize that, reread the title. Edited by Jon Scieszka, we have some of the greatest Thriller novel authors all piled into one!
Well, I can truthfully say that thrillers are not my favorite kind of book. However, this was MUCH better than Revolver, the last book I read. This, being the second of three existing Guys Read books, will be the second in this review trilogy. The next is Guys Read: Sports Pages.
Well, the book was good, but like I said, I don’t really like thrillers. But albeit the fact that it was a whole collection of thrillers, the book WAS good. Not really all that much more that I can say, but I CAN say that I liked the book.

Keep reading, my friends,

Your friend at TBR

Featured New Book: The Psalter, by Galen Watson

Featured New Book: In Her Sights, by Keri Ford (Charley Colins)

Featured New Book No Responses »

Oct 222012

I swear, I’d seen Keri Ford’s name around the blogosphere with the release of an earlier book, so when she dropped into my inbox, looking for an editor, well, I was excited. I mean, hello? She’s got a backlist that’s over 10 books long already. And I recognized her name! That’s always a bonus — when I recognize an author’s name, and s/he is coming to me for an edit.

Yeah, it doesn’t take me much…

So I’m more than pleased to share Keri’s new release, published under her pen name of Charley Colins: In Her Sights. I’ve read this. I’m one of the people who helped shape it.

Just remember… any mistakes are due to the gremlins!

Now, on to Keri…

Thanks for letting me visit you Susan! And what a fun question because I have an answer this time! I usually don’t have just one song for a book, but when I was working on In Her Sights, the one song I kept going back to was Pink’s Trouble.

Lexie, my heroine, is a kick-butt kind of girl at night. She knows it and she’s good at it. But it’s a secret. During the day she has to be sweet and loving and always smiling and ready to be polite for people.

When she hits the streets at night, dressed in black with her ski mask and all her weapons, I picture her moving to this song. If this book was a movie, this is the song that would play at the end while she’s running across rooftops and fighting men on the street with of course, a huge smile on her face.

It’s the music, the tone of Pink’s voice, and the words. All of the attitude just pours from the song and lyrics. It speaks about who Lexie really is on the inside. The part of her she has to keep hidden from everyone.

And is that Jeremy Renner I see?

Blurb:

Some call her a killer.

Others call her a hero.

Lexie Olympia calls herself neither. She’s getting the job done because she can. A beloved philanthropist by day who’s nicknamed Melville’s Sweetheart, Lexie has the city wrapped around her little finger. Having been a victim in the past, left behind with the killer still on the loose, Lexie knows what it’s like to live with that fear. Instead of biting her nails over it, she takes action. Drug lords, gang leaders, con artists, kidnappers, serial killers, anyone who leaves behind innocent victims are marked on Lexie’s list.

When a neighbor leaves a stolen ancient dagger on her doorstep and skips town, Lexie’s left picking up the pieces. The police, a local private investigator, and a gang are all after this artifact and Lexie uses her nighttime persona, Artemis, to get to the bottom of things. Everything is going smoothly until she gets caught.

Chapter One can be read here
Amazon
B&N
AllRomanceEbooks
Smashwords (affiliate link; help me AND Keri earn a few pennies, why don’tcha?)

Website
Twitter:
Facebook
Goodreads

Featured New Book: What Happens on Sunday by Laurie Koozer

Featured New Book 3 Responses »

Aug 202012

I’m not sure how Laurie Koozer and I met. Was it our Pittsburgh connection? Twitter? Something else that’s shared?

I don’t know. I DO know that I’ve been a guest on her blog, Yinz R Readin’, and now that she’s got a book of her own out, it’s only fair to return the favor.

Plus, Laurie’s cool people. I can’t wait until she and I begin taking Pittsburgh by storm.

Which means you KNOW she’s got a cool song to accompany her new book, What Happens on Sunday. I was lucky enough to do a proofread on this book, and let me tell you: it totally captures the Pittsburgh essence. Look out, world: Laurie’s here.

Without further ado, here’s what Laurie has to say about music and What Happens on Sunday:

I always think of my book when I hear the song “Hell’s Bells” by AC/DC. Every time I hear this song, particularly the long introduction with the bells tolling, I imagine a very cinematic vision of my characters getting ready for a Steelers game – Megan slutting up a vintage Steelers shirt and listening to pregame coverage in her Bloomfield apartment, Patty in the kitchen making game time snacks in the suburbs, Desiree putting on Steelers jewelry and a pullover fleece in preparation for a tailgate, Shannon alone in her apartment picking out a jersey to wear and ignoring calls from her sister, Jen tucking her Terrible Towel into her pocket as her and Dave argue about which wide receiver is going to have a better day, and Angela, very intentionally not wearing Steelers gear and avoiding anything on TV about the game.

I think the juxtaposition of a hard rock song to describe a book about six women is pretty fitting too given this book and the world in which they live – while softer elements such as romance and family relationships ultimately drive this novel there are parts of each character’s arc that get somewhat gritty, dare I say as bleak as a Steelers losing streak in a Pittsburgh winter? These are women who love and cry and yearn yet there is also a certain kind of grit and steel to them that is reminiscent not only of their Steel City heritage, but the gridiron game that they love.

Wow, huh?

Here’s the blurb:

In Pittsburgh, what happens on football Sundays is more than just a game and for six women during the 2005 Steelers season, their complicated relationships with the team provide solace, distraction and occasionally frustration.

Jen is a very young and very pregnant newlywed who worries that getting married on the same day as a Steelers loss will doom her marriage.

Megan never met a tailgate or a man she couldn’t conquer but is scared of losing her best friend to a relationship.

Desiree is a brash professional struggling to deal with her husband’s ex-wife and children and beginning to wonder if it’s the right time to start a family of her own.

Angela is a high school senior long ago branded bad luck for the Steelers and all she wants to do is get the hell out of Pittsburgh even if it means leaving behind her best friend Robbie.

Patty, a mom who sends a pair of sexy panties to a different player every week, hasn’t been on a date since her divorce five years ago.

And then there’s Shannon, she’s thirty-four and single. She spends the majority of her days navigating Pittsburgh traffic and her evenings tending bar and pining after her sister’s boyfriend.

As the Steelers make what seems to be an impossible run to the Super Bowl, their lives will intersect, each of them finding connections in the most unexpected places.

You guys will have to tell me if this resonates with you the way it resonated with me. This is one that’s haunted me since I worked on it, and given how many projects I see every month, and how many books I read as a reviewer, and how many books I read for pleasure, that’s saying something, wouldn’t you think?

So. Go buy. It went live on Amazon on August 13, which was just last week.

My favorite of all the e-book retailers is Smashwords. They offer us authors the highest royalties while giving you readers your choice of formats. Pick up Laurie’s book there, why don’tcha?

Connect with Laurie, too. Like I said, she’s cool people. Like attracts like, after all!

Good Reads

Blog

Twitter

Older Entries