Free Spirit in Paperback

As of today, Free Spirit, the second book in my New Orleans Magick series, is available in paperback! Of course, it is still available for the Kindle as well, but I know some of you really prefer to read your books in paper. You can find it on Amazon via this link.

Once you've read it, please consider writing a review for it. It doesn't have to be more than "good book" or "skip it" if you want, and yes, I DO want honest reviews, so don't hesitate if it's not 5 stars. Both Amazon and Goodreads are great places to post your review. Thanks so much! It's hard to get noticed on Amazon, and reviews are a place to start. And by all means, if you love it, please share with your friends! Huge, happy hugs from me (and you guys know I'm kind of all about my personal space, so you know a hug means you're loved!)!

If you're in the Northern Virginia area, signed copies of Magick Charm, the first book in the series, will be available at 13 Magickal Moons in Occoquan, VA. As soon as I get my first box of Free Spirit in my hands, 13 Magickal Moons will have those as well!

I'm very excited to share this news with everyone, and I hope you enjoy the book!

The Cat Who Hates Me

I’m a cat person. Some of my friends even jokingly call me the Cat Whisperer because I pretty much get along with all of them. I love cats and they love me… mostly.

My dad’s cat, Katie, does NOT love me. She hates me. With a passion. Now to be fair, she pretty much hates everyone with the exception of my dad. She tolerates my mom, but probably only because Mom feeds her.

Katie - Can't you just see the disdain for me on her face?

It still kills me though, every time I visit them, I try to play with her, try to feed her, try to pet her, all with no joy. If I get within two feet of her cat tree, she starts to growl! If I get too close, she swats me.

As for my dad, he gets along with most any animal, especially, of course, his rotten cat. My cat, Luna, however, doesn’t like him very much… but he has been known to spit gum at her occasionally… don’t ask!

Luna - The epitome of cute.

It occurred to me today that cats and readers have something in common. Not that they growl and swat me! But because what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another person… or cat. How many people love love love 50 Shades of Grey? Yeah, soooo not me. But I adore The Stand by Stephen King and I’ve found quite a few scathing reviews of it that I completely disagree with. Taste – and the love of a cat apparently – is subjective.

So the next time I get a less-than-glowing review, I’ll try to keep Luna and Katie in mind. And I’ll do my best not to growl at the reviewer.

Review: Inhale by Kendall Grey

Inhale by Kendall Grey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:

Strangers in reality, inseparable in dreams…

After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale biologist Zoe Morgan finally lands a job as director of a tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime, and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her from the fiery hell of her dreams.

Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords. That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire country.

*This book contains graphic language, sex, and some violence. Not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

**The author will donate all profits from the sale of the JUST BREATHE trilogy to programs that educate people about whales and the challenges they face.

Review:

Based on the blurb, I thought this would be a good read, but it completely blew past all my expectations. It’s the type of book you tell all your friends about – but you don’t loan them your copy because you’re too busy re-reading it while you wait for the next one in the series.

There’s so much going on in this book – whales, elementals, dreams – but all of the diverse plot lines come together seamlessly.

The characters are people you’d like to know, or maybe they remind you of a friend. It’s easy to sympathize with Zoe and Gavin because their characters are detailed, well-rounded, and flawed, yet likeable. Even the villains are likeable in an awesomely evil love-to-hate-them kind of way. And there some serious chemistry between Zoe and Gavin! Let’s just say Kendall Grey knows how to write a great sex scene!

This is the first book in a trilogy, and I was really pleased it didn’t leave me hanging like other series sometimes do (don’t you hate that?). The story is wrapped up – for the moment – and the romantic relationship leaves you on a happy, emotionally satisfying note. I can’t wait to read the next two books!

Review: Elemental Magic by Angela Wallace

Elemental Magic by Angela Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:

Aileen Donovan is an oceanographer with magical control over the element of water. While her normal focus is on research and fighting poachers, she’s about to go up against the stuff of legends—and that’s saying something for a supernatural.

A transport ship is missing and everyone’s eager to get their hands on the cargo. No one knows what exactly it is, but when fragments resembling coral begin to drive local residents insane, Aileen suspects a preternatural source. Whatever is at the bottom of the ocean, a power-hungry alchemist wants it, and releases a sea dragon to eat the competition—literally.

Aileen sees this as an opportunity to win the professional recognition she desires, but keeping secrets is complicated when she’s working with local Coast Guard officer Colin Benson. Her sense of love and duty will be put to the test, and when the tide washes out, it might have been better if that lost ship had stayed lost.

Review: 

The premise of Elemental Magic sounds intriguing, and I’m happy to say it doesn’t disappoint!

Aileen is a water elemental still honing her powers. Suddenly, she is put to the test when a ship laden with mysterious cargo goes missing, a sea dragon attacks, and she joins her friends and family in a race against a dangerous alchemist to find the missing cargo.

Plenty of magic keeps the story moving at a rapid pace. The addition of creatures like mermaids, nereids, and sea dragons keeps the reader wondering what other secrets Wallace’s mythology has in store.

The romance is sweet and light, allowing the mystery and action to take center stage in this book. I’m looking forward to the next book, Dry Spell, to see how Aileen and Colin’s romance continues!

View all my reviews

Review: Love Chosen by Marne Ann Kirk

Marne Ann Kirk

I got a chance to meet Marne Ann Kirk at the conference in Salem last week. The day I met her, I picked up her book, Love Chosen, the first novel in her Fae Dragon Chronicles series by Crescent Moon Press. More on my fellow conference attendees later this week (I still have to download all my pics!), but let me just say how much fun I had chatting and laughing with Marne! Her sense of humor comes through in her novel too. I had to stop and giggle when I read her heroine’s thoughts on love at the beginning of the book: “Love sucks dragon eggs.” Well, of course her attitude changes a bit by the end of the story…

Dragons and majical fae are only the start of the many things to love about Love Chosen. The romance between Issie and Tyler was so hot it practically fried the circuits of my ebook reader! *fans self*

Not only is the kingdom in turmoil because of long-standing prejudices, but a new danger comes forward that threatens the dragons and fae alike. The high stakes in Marne’s story kept me turning pages late into the night… just one more chapter… and then another…

I can’t wait for the next book in this promising series!

My Good News (which couldn't have come at a better time!)

I have news. But before I share that news, let me tell you the story of how I came by it.

I’ve had a rough week. I’m so incredibly close to sending my next manuscript to my publisher, but every time I get rolling, something gets in my way. This week, it has mostly been house drama. There’s this whole mold problem with the house we’ve been fighting with the HOA about for 6 months… that’s another story which I’m going to ignore for now. What it means is that I've had contractors in my house half the week while I fielded dozens of emails about the subject every day. Then there's my dryer, which I’m trying to fix… I ended up in the scary, dark crawl space behind the dryer for an hour or so yesterday. Good times. So when it didn’t work again today coupled with the whole to-do list crashing in on my head, I had a minor melt-down. Tears, cursing, cats hiding. The whole bit.

Once I wrung myself out, I picked up my laptop again, determined to accomplish something today. So I started on the little things I could get done in a hurry. One of these tasks happened to be grabbing a quote from Magick Charm’s review at Romantic Times Book Reviews for my publisher’s website. Easy enough. So I headed to RT’s page of my review and here’s what I saw:

What’s that yellow print? That wasn’t there the last time I saw this. A… nomination…??

My brain shorted out for a moment and then I started thinking again. While my book was published in 2010, the review was written in 2011. Therefore, the book could be nominated for the 2011 awards. I hadn’t even read through the nomination list before now. I completely missed it. So I clicked on the yellow link and find this:

Yep, that’s my name beside the nomination title.

About this time, John walked in the door and I called him over to the computer. I pointed out both web pages, just to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind or anything. He couldn’t vouch for my sanity, but he did confirm that I was nominated for the RT Reviewers' Choice Awards!

So that’s the story of how it took me 3+ months to discover my nomination. And it was exactly what I needed after a long, frustrating week. I swear, I’m still shaking with excitement!

The winners will be announced in the June issue of RT, which I should have in my hands in about 3 weeks. I think my head would explode if I actually won my category, but I’ve discovered that it really is true what they say - it is an absolute thrill and an honor to be nominated. I am so amazingly happy that people like my book and they get my strange brand of humor. Thank you, readers, and thank you, RT!

Review: Tasting Nightwalker Wine by Janet Miller

Hollywood After Dark: Tasting Nightwalker Wine by Janet Miller


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Summary:

Romance novelist Stella is swept off her feet by a mysterious man she meets on her book tour.  Unfortunately, her date is a vampire who accidentally drains enough of her blood to leave her unconscious.  Stella threatens to expose his true nature unless he teaches her about the supernatural as research for her novels.

Nightwalker Sebastian agrees to Stella’s blackmail under the condition that she become his willing blood donor.  Their agreement puts her in danger when Sebastian learns that someone is hunting local vampires.

Review:

Miller’s entertaining Hollywood After Dark series is peopled with interesting, well-rounded characters.  The mythology guiding the vampires and other parafolk is well realized, but does little to set itself apart from other paranormal stories.  The premise of vampires making wine in Napa Valley is compelling, but ultimately not used to its best advantage.  While able to be read as a single title, continuity with previous books in this series is strong.  Don’t miss the ones written under Miller’s erotica pseudonym, Cricket Starr.  

Review: KOP by Warren Hammond

KOP by Warren Hammond

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:

Veteran police officer Juno has been assigned a new partner and an important homicide case. Police Chief Paul Chang, his close friend and former partner, is in trouble, the crooked empire he has painstakingly built threatened by a mayor pledging to root out corruption. So when a good PR opportunity comes to solve the murder of a city official’s son, Chang calls in Juno. The investigation leads to unexpected places, implicating those high in government and organized criminals alike.

Review:

It is a credit to Hammond’s writing skill that his main character, a corrupt police officer, is not reviled as a villain. He is in fact incredibly likeable, believably cast in the hero’s role. The futuristic setting, as important in this novel as another character, is well-drawn and compelling. This gritty cop drama is well-plotted, each twist a surprise. The conclusion of the novel is a bit abrupt, but leaves the reader anxious to read the sequel, Ex-KOP.

Review: Plague Year by Jeff Carlson

Plague Year by Jeff Carlson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary: 

Cam and his small community of fellow survivors live on a small mountain peak just over 10,000 feet above sea level.  Below this altitude is an invisible ocean of fatal nanotechnology.  Cam’s community struggles to survive until a stranger arrives to help them, setting off an unforeseen series of events.

Nanotech specialist Ruth works in the International Space Station, far above the machine plague below.  But in order to craft a cure, she must go back to Earth and find the origin of the plague.

Review:

Jeff Carlson’s debut novel grips the reader from its opening sentence.  A strong character-driven tale, Plague Year contrasts people’s heroic side with their basest instincts.  Delving into fears regarding technology, weapons of mass destruction, and political intrigue, this book is both chilling and timely.  

Review: The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman

The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:

MIT lab technician Matt Fuller discovers that the calibrator he was working on can disappear.  At first it vanishes for only a second, then for several seconds, then minutes.  Matt decides it is, in fact, a sort of time machine, able to leap into the future for longer and longer periods of time each instance he activates it.  He designs an experiment to send a turtle into the future, then finally himself. 

When he reappears about a month later, Matt is accused of murder and arrested.  To escape his circumstances, he leaps into the future once again.  Stranger futures await him along with the growing desire to find a way to move backward in time to the beginning.

Review:

Joe Haldeman deftly weaves the elements of physics, religion, and technology together in this tautly imagined and plot-driven story.  Despite the occasional high-level physics verbiage, the novel is a compelling read, completely unpredictable and un-put-down-able.  

Shark Week - Jaws Book Review

As some of my readers must have already guessed, I absolutely love sharks! Anything ocean-y, actually; I’m a big fan of whales, squid, and coelacanth too.

This week is Shark Week on Discovery Channel and it’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. (Yes, I do know I’m a geek. Thank you for noticing.) So to celebrate Shark Week, I’ll be writing a couple of fun sharky posts as well as reviews of shark fiction. Of course, I have to start with that famous classic, Jaws!

The original hardback cover

Jaws is not just the basis for a great movie, but a fantastic book in its own right. It's actually much more complex than the movie, and this is part of what makes it successful as a book: characters you care about, complex relationships between the main characters (ex: Chief Brody and Ellen), the influence of small-town politics, and the almost scientific description of the shark. Benchley doesn't overdo and sensationalize the shark in this story. Its scenes are very matter-of-fact, which actually makes the whole thing more chilling.

Cover based on
Jaws movie poster

The writing is very clean overall, all of the elements work together, and nothing is extraneous. This is simply an excellent story told well.

Happy

Shark

Week!

Two Great Vampire Books - The Becoming and Blood Drive by Jeanne C. Stein

The Becoming and Blood Drive are the first two novels in the Anna Strong Chronicles. The seventh book is slated for release in August. I love when I find a great author who has a series - especially when I discover them after a number of the books have already been released. It means I can devour them all back to back and not suffer through the wait between novels!

The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:

Bounty hunter Anna Strong got more than she bargained for when trying to bring in her skip, Donaldson.  He attacked Anna, turning her into a vampire during the violent assault.  An elder vampire, Avery, helps Anna discover her own growing powers and her place within a secret underworld of influential vampires.  But vampire hunters infiltrate her personal life, violating her home and threatening her safety and that of her friends.  Anna must use her supernatural abilities and the help of her mysterious new allies to set things right.

Review:

Mysterious characters and ingenious plot twists abound in this novel that clearly stands out from the crowd in the vampire genre. Urban fantasy fans will love Jeanne Stein's fresh voice in this powerful opening book of this series.

Blood Drive by Jeanne C. Stein


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary: 

Bounty-hunter-turned-vampire Anna Strong returns in this sequel to The Becoming as she clings to the normalcy her mortal family and friends offer her.  A threat to a niece she never knew existed brings Anna’s ferocious vampire nature to the surface in her family’s defense. 

She wallows through the distasteful world of prostitution and pornography to catch the men who threaten her niece, Trish.  Anna must use her supernatural abilities and the help of the secret underworld of influential paranormal allies to set things right even while she remains unsure of who she can trust.

Review:

The first person present voice lends a gripping immediacy to the story.  Stein’s sleek writing style and creative plot twists ensure a fantastic, fast-paced read. The books in this series can be read alone or savored together.

Review: A Witch's Lament / Thursday 13: Novels Set in Salem

A Witch's Lament by Catherine Anne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Blurb:

When Skye Temple buys a historic house in Salem, Massachusetts, the witch capital of the world, she ignites events that began centuries ago during the witch trials. Salem's bloody history unfolds with her discovery of ancestral diaries, the murders of local girls, and her attraction to Jerome Phips.

A local police officer, Jerome has returned to Salem vowing to uncover the truth of his mother's disappearance during a ritual gone wrong 30 years ago. His suspicion of Skye and her family's history keeps tension between them high.

Burdened with the birth-task of the Goods to keep an ancient knife protected, Skye gains a new understanding of her powers, while the need to avenge his mother's death drives Jerome. Past and present collide in a final ritual between evil, love and honor.

Review:

I’m a sucker for stories about Salem. I love the town, and it makes such a rich backdrop for a paranormal book. The author makes great use of the setting, winding in elements of Salem’s violent history alongside the modern commercial aspects of the town.

The story itself is fast-paced and filled with magickal twists and turns. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I look forward to reading Collins’ next book!

Thursday 13: Novels Set in Salem

1. A Witch’s Lament by Catherine Anne Collins
2. A Witch’s Legacy by Catherine Anne Collins
3. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde
4. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
5. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
6. The Last Witchfinder by Jennet Stearne
7. Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
8. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
9. The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
10. The Crucible by Arthur Miller (okay, it’s a play, not a novel)
11. The Afflicted Girls by Suzy Witten
12. Susannah Morrow by Megan Chance
13. Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill

Updates and ROW80 Day 3 Check-In

I’ve been busy over the last few days! I’ve been working on a new blog project with Sam from 13 Magickal Moons, and I’m happy to announce that the Ask-A-Witch blog went live yesterday! It’s a place on the web where your spiritual and magickal questions will be answered by practicing Witches. We have a list of questions that we’re working on answering for you, so please keep checking in if you sent a request.

This past weekend, I joined a read-a-thon that Back of the Book Reviews was hosting. It was a blast, and I finished off several new books that I can recommend. I’ll post a couple of reviews later this week!

        

ROW80: I started a new writing challenge in an attempt to finish my latest re-write. I have to admit, I was procrastinating about opening the rough copy of the book. As much as I like the story, right now it’s a mess and I was dreading wading through it all. But I pulled out my printed copy of the beast last night and started whacking away at it with a red felt-tip. The pages I’ve worked on so far are now so red they look like they’ve been sitting on the floor of Eric’s dungeon! I have to admit, though, perhaps the story isn’t quite as messy as I thought.

I will sign off here and get back to work! Good luck, ROW80-ers!

Review: Hybrid by Brian O'Grady

Hybrid by Brian O'Grady

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I’m a science geek, so O’Grady had me with the cover, which depicts winding DNA strands. But this book is more than just genetics, a killer virus, and a race against time! The human element in this story is strong, with the quirky main characters having well-developed back-stories that blend together into a compelling narrative. There’s plenty of action and suspense here too.

One thing that I particularly appreciated was the scientific discussion of the virus itself. It shouldn’t be surprising that O’Grady is able to give a thorough description of the medicine behind it since he’s a neurosurgeon!

I got lost a couple of times among the plethora of characters and subplots, but overall, this was an entertaining story. I give it between 3.5 and 4 stars.



View all my reviews

Review - The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, edited by William Goldman

Usually I read the book before I see the movie. Among the few exceptions are Jaws, Dexter, and The Princess Bride. I read TPB for the first time in high school. I had just seen and fell in love with the movie, and in my experience the book is always better. In this case, I’m not sure that’s the case.

Don’t get me wrong - I love this book. The movie was so fantastic, however, it’s hard to compete with it! But there are always little things in a book that don’t show up in the movie, and that is the case here. In my recent reread of TPB, I noticed how much satire Goldman infuses throughout it. Much of that couldn’t be conveyed in the movie.

Also, a good portion of the story is told in the introduction in supposedly autobiographical detail of the struggle Goldman had in editing Morgenstern’s work. It’s quite an interesting story, but not at all real! I didn’t get it when I read this as a teenager. I thought if it was an introduction by the author, it was all true. Nope, it was part of the story. See, there is no S. Morgenstern. And the difficulties Goldman described with Morgenstern’s estate (not to mention personal trials with his family) simply didn’t exist. He even goes so far as to add Stephen King into the tale, saying that the Morgenstern family had hired him to edit the sequel, Buttercup’s Baby. As you’ve probably guessed, there is no sequel – at least not until Goldman writes it, and it seems he has a bit of writer’s block when it comes to The Princess Bride. I probably would too. What can you write to follow such a popular novel that would satisfy the fans? I still hold out hope he will eventually finish it, because I’d love to read Buttercup’s Baby!

If you enjoy the movie, I think you’d like the book as well. You always get more detail in the book, and The Princess Bride is no exception. Do you want to know what’s so special about those four white horses Fezzik finds at the end of the movie? Do you want to know what led Rugen and Humperdinck to create the Pit of Despair? Do you want to learn how Inigo became the best fencer in the world? Pick up the book and let me know what you think!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here is a reenactment of the Miracle Max scene with cats:

RT Book Review

MAGICK CHARM
by Jennifer Wells

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Sensuality: HOT

4 1/4 stars RT Rating

Twins as different as night and day, a stalker and the wonderful, spooky uniqueness that is New Orleans make this one terrific read. Wells does a wonderful job of keeping the reader guessing as to the identity of the stalker. You’ll be scared one minute and chuckling the next, thanks to Wells’ subtle humor. This one is a definite keeper.

Janie is the straight-laced, responsible twin with a job at the local newspaper. She’s got the boss from hell and a cute co-worker named Ryan who she could definitely fall for.

Rachel is the wild hippie twin who sings with a band in a dive in the French Quarter and has horrible taste in men. After a fight with her latest loser boyfriend, Rachel moves in with her sister, bringing along her stinky ferret. Soon Rachel is convinced she has a stalker and the twins decide to switch identities so Rachel can keep an eye on those interested in Janie’s “Rachel.” (CRESCENT MOON, Sep., 267 pp., $14.99)

Reviewed By: Cindy Himler

Publisher: CRESCENT MOON

Published: September 2010

Coffee Time Romance Review

MAGICK CHARM

JENNIFER WELLS
ISBN #: (13)9780984180509/(10)0984180508/(13)9780984180516/(10)0984160516
Sept 2010
Crescent Moon Press
Crescentmoonpress.com
Trade Paperback/eBook
$14.99 / $9.99
288 Pages
Paranormal Romance
Rating: 5 Cups

All it took was a single phone call to turn Janie’s simple, orderly, comfortable existence into a chaotic, messy, co-habitation with her gregarious, dramatic, and - thanks to modern surgery - more bountifully endowed twin, Rachel, and her smelly pet ferret, Nostradamus.

Ryan and Janie are co-workers at The Big Easy News where they both report to their dragon-lady boss, editor-in-chief, Jacqueline Reddy. Janie finds Ryan quite attractive and vice versa but neither one has attempted to establish a personal relationship since dating amongst co-workers is strictly against office policy and is grounds for termination. Ryan also happens to live just downstairs from Janie in the same apartment building.

As the story opens, Rachel is in the process of breaking up with her loser boyfriend. Janie agrees to let Rachel take up temporary residence with her until Rachel can sort things out and decide how she wants to move on. The mayhem ensues as the intellectually-minded, neatly-organized Janie and her free-spirited, mouthy, colorful sister try to adjust to living together after having lived separate and very divergent lives for years. Hilarity abounds as the cast of secondary characters make their appearances, some wrecking havoc and some bearing gifts.

I was absolutely, totally charmed by this thoroughly entertaining novel. The several important characters are all exceptionally well-developed with identifiable characteristics and quirks. The conversations sparkle with humor that is fresh and believable. The story, told from Janie’s perspective, in first person, is fast-paced and flows smoothly to a joyfully satisfying conclusion. I love Nostradamus; the naughty little scene-stealer also stole my heart. Time flew by as I quickly turned the pages to find out what would happen next. I applaud the author for penning such an original, outstanding tale and highly recommend this fun urban adventure romance to anyone who craves a little Magick.

Laurie
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More