A Rockin' Review of Brew by David Estes

Buy now on Amazon

OK, this was one of those books that just made me want to read more.  It was an awesome read.  I *loved* this book and would recommend it to all my friends.

Honestly, I read it because I wanted to know what all the hype was about.  And when I started reading it, I wasn't entirely convinced.  It was a little slow to start-- something that is not necessarily a bad thing.  More than that, I had a little trouble with my suspension-of-disbelief with some of the politics involved in the premise.  Allow me to explain:  The story revolves around the modern discovery that witches (of the bubble-bubble-toil-and-trouble variety) do exist.  I had no problems with that.  But there's all this political stuff linked to that discovery that was hard for me to "get with".  Particularly when the government started burning witches at the stake, and then drowning them....  I just had difficulty believing that this could really happen in modern times.  It jarred me.  But lemme just say, if you feel the same way, get over it.  The rest of the story is worth it.  I continued reading because I found the characters to be intriguing and fresh.  I wanted to see if the potential played out.

At the beginning, I expected the story to be a little canned.  I expected the high school thing.  I expected idunno... the girlfriend to be a witch, and so on and so forth.  *Not* what happened.  The story kind of has a *wham* moment when you're like... what the hell?  And then it seems like it's going to really get going.  Then it... kind of gets going.  But not yet.  Not really.  Just wait for it.  All I can say is keep reading.  Keep reading.  No really.  KEEP READING.

The story *really* gets going after you get through a preliminary sequence that, yes, is actually very important to the story, though not nearly as enjoyable (IMHO) as the rest.  I will say again, reading the first bit is entirely worth it.  Also, as I write this, I realize that it sounds like I am saying the first bit is bad, and that is not the case.  The whole thing is well written.  The characters are unique from the get-go.  It's just that the beginning honestly does not do justice to the body of this work.

So... what rocked:

• The characters!  These characters really stick in your head.  They're so *real*.  They are believable, and loveable, and understandable.  They're your new BFFs.  You will root for them, and cry for them, and shriek in fear as horrible things come at them.  Oh.  And you will laugh, even though the whole world has gone to hell.
• The dialogue:  I know.  It kind of comes back to the characters.  But the dialogue is great.  No awkward conversations.  The dialogue reads really well and ties together the whole massive adventure with thoughtfulness and laughter.
• The wisdom:  I don't see this in a lot of books.  I mean, a lot of books *try* to be wise, but just come off as contrived.  And no, this book is not *trying* to be wise, as far as I can tell.  There were just a few little profound statements here and there that really made me stop and think.  Things that I really connected with.  These came through moments where the characters were reflecting or talking.  I don't think an author can make this stuff up-- it comes from bringing something *real* to your books, and again, in my humble opinion, that's a gift that not many authors have.  This was probably what turned this book from "like" to "love" for me.  It had some real depth.
• Kick-ass pacing:  Once we got past the beginning, the pacing was killer.  I was tired trying to keep up.  I was like... "Wait, guys, can we stop and take a break for a minute?"  But I didn't want to stop.  Not really.
• The dog.  OMG, I love the dog.  And while it might have something to do with the fact that he is sooooooo much like my dog (aside from the glowing part), he is just beyond awesome.  Read it for the dog, if nothing else.

So yeah, this is one of the best books I've read lately.  I can't wait to read the next one, and can't believe I have not done that yet!

Connect with David Estes

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3167424.David_Estes

Blog: http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Davidestesbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidestesbooks

A Rocking Interview with Merry Farmer

Today we have Merry Farmer, author of Historical Romance and Women's Sci-Fi novels, sharing her experience with us.

Find more about this prolific writer on her website, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, or sign up for her newsletter to be up to date with news about her.

What made you decide to go Indie and self-publish?

I’ve been writing since I was ten years old, and through the years I’d toyed with the idea of publishing. I even started sending one manuscript out on submission to agents the old fashioned way about ten years ago. But the whole process left me cold. Then I discovered Indie publishing, and I knew in an instant it was exactly the publishing method for me. I am a self-starter who likes to set my own schedule and write the things that I want to write. I love the freedom Indie publishing gives me to construct my books the way I want to see them constructed. I also love the fact that as an Indie author, I own my work and no one else has rights to it.

Amazon

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Fortunately, I think the challenge that existed when I was first starting out—to be taken seriously as a writer—is long gone. The problem all writers have these days is being discovered by readers. It’s particularly hard for Indie authors just starting out because often being discovered means paying for promotions that reach readers. There are a lot of resources to be discovered though, from working with your fellow writers to approaching bloggers about being featured to hiring a publicist full-time or for specific campaigns. But any Indie author just starting out needs to take a deep breath and accept that once you’ve clicked “publish,” then the real work begins! And it is a lot of hard work. Rewarding, but hard.

Amazon

What are you working on right now?

Well, today is release day for my latest, Trail of Hope! I'm currently working on the next book in the Hot on the Trail series, Trail of Longing, which is coming out on January 5th.

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.

Why do you write in the genre that you do?

I write historical romance because I absolutely love and adore history. No, seriously! I’m a total history nerd, with not one, but two degrees in History. More importantly, through all my study of history, I’ve learned that people who lived decades or even centuries before us really weren’t that different than we are now. They got stressed out, they fell in love, they had disappointments and crushes and trouble with their parents. In my historical romance, I try to bring out all of the similarities between modern life and the lives people lived in the past. I sort of fell into writing western historicals accidentally, though. I always thought I would write Victorian novels set in London. But the West called to me, and I answered!

Amazon

Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

I write every day. EVERY day. I feel like you have to do at least some writing every day to keep the juices flowing. I am pretty disciplined about how I write too. Monday through Friday, I get up at 5:30am and write for about an hour before getting ready for work. When I get home from work, after supper, I write for another hour and a half or so. And don’t tell my boss, but when things are slow at the day job, I do a lot of plotting and outlining. On the weekends, I work for an hour or two when I get up and in bits and pieces throughout the day when I can. The funny thing is, as disciplined as I am about writing, I max out on creativity after about an hour, an hour and a half, and need to take a break so I come back fresh.

Amazon

Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

I used to be a big-time pantser and just write where the story wanted to take me. But then I got serious about publishing on a schedule, and I realized that I had to impost at least a little structure. I switched from pure pantsing to plotting out a few major points that I knew I needed to reach in each story, but pantsing in between. I guess I was a plantser then. But this past summer, I had a sort of revelation about my writing process. I started using an extensive outlining plan put together by my fellow writer Patti Larsen. Her method works really, really well for me. Now I outline each book in detail before writing. The difference is that now I can finish a first draft in under three weeks! And since that means I can publish faster, who knows where it will take me in the end.

A Rockin' Review of The Enemy's Table by Charlotte Woollard

Purchase on Amazon

Charlotte Woollard's The Enemy's Table is a solid debut novel.  I'm not sure if this is actually a genre, but I'd call it Christian paranormal romance.  At any rate, in The Enemy's Table, both angels and demons are real and at work in a small town where teens are mysteriously committing suicide in droves.  While the deaths do appear to be self-inflicted, it's clear that something fishy is going on.  Our main character, Beryl, a southern beauty with a faulty heart but a strong spirit, finds herself targeted at the middle of this conspiracy that is apparently linked to a group of high school wrestlers-- including her new bad-boy love interest, Holden.

Feeling-wise, I'd call this book a Christian Twilight.  No, there's no vampires, but the small-town high school romance, paranormal aspects, and teen drama have a similar feel.  I was worried that it might get preachy, but while it was clearly message-driven, I did not feel that it ever interfered with the story.  Ultimately, I think I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed reading Twilight, and it would be a great choice for a teen looking for a belief-centered story.

What I liked best:  Beryl was definitely a charmer, and I really enjoyed her falling head-over-heels for Holden, this bad boy that everyone warned her about.  I also loved that she made her own decisions about him, which weren't based on what other people told her to think.

Though I felt the pacing was a touch slow in the middle, I think this was a well-written debut novel that shows Charlotte Woollard has a lot of promise.  The ending packed plenty of punch and excitement, as well as some great emotional pull that was truly touching.  I was rooting for Beryl and Holden all the way, and was really satisfied with the way it all turned out.

Connect with Charlotte Woollard

 

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

A Rockin' Review of Gailene's Vow by Stuart Land

Purchase on Amazon

Stuart Land has written a fun, sexy, exciting vampire adventure that is sure to please.  The story in this book weaves between the lives of two women-- Gailene, who lived in the past, and Zondra, who lives in the present.  Both of these women portray strong, distinctive characters, but each are full of their own complexities and driven by their histories as well as the events around them.  I loved that this was not another of those entirely predictable vampire stories, but was its own thing.

Normally, stories that jump between viewpoints are a little annoying to me, but Stuart wrote this one so well that it didn't bother me at all.  As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed the contrast between old-world, society-hopping Gailene and new-world, motorcycle-riding Zondra.  I also loved the interplay between the two perspectives, and how all the pieces of the puzzle gradually came together.

Another treat in this book was the complexities of the characters.  Even the minor characters were done really well.  I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Zondra and Calverton, the (kind-of) butler.  I also really liked how Gailene had so many faults and yet I felt for everything she was going through.  She was truly well-rounded and real.

All in all, a really fun book!  I'm glad I read it and am sure I'll be checking out more of Stuart's work in the future.

Connect with Stuart Land:

Website

Facebook

Google+

Twitter

A HUGE Holiday Giveaway with #IndieBooksBeSeen

Enter for your chance to win one of these fabulous Indie Book Titles.

Plus by subscribing to the newsletter you will be kept up to date with news, events, giveaways, new releases, cover reveals and much, much more.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Current list of authors and books:

DB Nielsen - SEED: Keepers of Genesis I
Mark Shaw - The Keeper of the Wind
J.C. Brennan - A Fine Line
Kylie Kaemke - Heavy Hearts
Robert A Palmer - Relyk
C.L. Schneider - The Crown of Stones
K.S. Marsden - The Shadow Rises
L.A. Starkey - Deceived
K.K. Allen - The Summer Solstice: Enchanted
LISA - The Elemental
Kevin Moore - The Golden Merra volume 1
Wanda Smith - Summer Winds
Jacci Turner - Bending Willow
Renee N. Meland – The Extraction List
Heather Day Gilbert - Miranda Warning
Jonathan M.Dixit - BabyWorld
Christina L.Rozelle - The Treemakers
Taylor Ann Bunker - Witch In The Woods
Donald Wilson II - Cross Roads
Rose Montague - Jade
Colleen Gareau - Sam(uel) and My Mother's Summer Vacations
Mika Jolie - The Scale (Martha's Way Series)
C.K. Dawn - Cloak of Shadows
Wesley Morrison - Let No False Angels
D.M. Cain - A Chronicle of Chaos
Suzanne McKenna Link - Saving Toby
Ash Krafton - Bleeding Hearts
Peggy M. McAloon - Elle Burton and the Secret Portals
Ksenia Anske - Irkadura
Dylan J. Morgan - The Dead Lands
Kristen Mott - Odie the Stray Kitten
A.S. Washington & De'Quan Foster's - The Twelve
Adam Dreece - The Yellow Hoods: Along Came a Wolf (Book 1)
Lori Crane - Oaktibbee Creek
Lori Lesko - Copyright
Johanna Harness - Spillworthy
J.S. Snow - Redemption
Mikey Campling - Trespass The Darkeningstone
M.J. Fahy - The Magpie King
Neil Winnington - Religious Pursuit
C.J. Morrow - The Finder
Danielle Prophet - The Opposite Of Gravity
Robin MartinDuttmann - Zoo to the Moon
Rochelle Campbell - Fury From Hell
Christina McMullen - Going Green
Paul David Chambers - Manners Cost Everything
Clara Grace Walker - Gratification, Gossip and Redemption
W.M. Calloway - The Xenton Chronicles
Christy Heron - Unrequited
Josephine O'Brien - Shared Skies
Mark Victor Young - Once Were Friends
Patrena Miller - She's Not Worthy and The Road
M.E. Walker - The Finding
HJ Lawson - War Kids
Elizabeth Guizzetti - Other Systems
Jo Bissell - Beyond the Reach of Judgement
Suzette Brown - Alzheimer's Through My Mothers Eyes
Kirby Howell - Autumn In The City Of Angels
Michelle A.Picarella - Livian
Jessica Keller - Saving Yesterday
Elena Sandovici - Dogs With Bagels
K. M. Herkes - Controlled Descent
A.T. Russell - Sacred Puppies
David P Perlmutter - Wrong Place Wrong Time
Jennifer Gibson - Sway, Compass and Destiny
Kory M. Shrum - Dying for a Living and Dying by the Hour
 

Fighting Writers Block

Now, I don't know about the rest of the writers out there, but there are days when the words simply won't come.

Or in my current case, weeks, possibly even months.

I couldn't tell you exactly when it started. When I suddenly began to find it hard to get the words that were in my head down on paper.

But for some reason the flow has stopped.

Instead of my typing skills barely being able to keep up with my brain, I find myself staring at a blank screen for hours on end. Looking at the little blinking cursor.

And if I do manage to write, I end up deleting most of it in a fit of frustration. Even blogs. I can't tell you how many times I wrote and deleted this post.

I'm afraid that for once, I don't have any advice. Instead I'm asking for it. What do any of you do when the writers block simply won't shift? What are your tricks and ideas for getting rid of writers block?

I'd love to hear them!

On a separate note, huge congratulations to my fellow Rock the Book Chick, Kate on the release of her second book, Evolution. If you haven't read the 'E' series yet, get yourselves on Amazon and buy a copy. E was my favourite book of the year by far, and Evolution comes in a very close second.

Have a great weekend!

Announcing the release of Evolution by Kate Wrath

Evolution, the second book in the E series, is now available! Get Evolution and E for only 99¢ each during release week, November 12th-19th, 2014.

 



Outpost Three is still standing… barely. But the deadliest threat it has ever faced is on its way-- a violent force that will annihilate every man, woman, and child.

With the Sentries under his control and Grey’s army defeated, Matt is more powerful than ever. Eden is little more than his prisoner, but that line is blurring as her affection for him grows. Now, as the Outpost faces total destruction, Matt must sacrifice the possibility of attaining Eden’s love in the vague hope that her past might hold the key to saving them all.

Eden’s journey will begin to unravel the mysteries of her previous life, reveal dangerous new questions, and change not only the future of Outpost Three, but shape the course of history.

This eagerly anticipated sequel to Kate Wrath’s E begins an epic quest into the dark, dystopian landscape of Eden’s world.












Get both books in the E series, E and Evolution, for 99¢ each on Kindle for a limited time only: November 12th- 19th, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Connect with Kate:

Join Kate for the Evolution Release Day Facebook Party:

You're invited! Come hang out November 12th from 8-12 pm Eastern and celebrate the release of Evolution. Woohoo!

An excerpt from Evolution:

We run down the narrow alley and take the first turn, then another. We keep running, moving. I don't even notice my surroundings until, at last, we slow to a stop. The smell hits me first—the stench of piss, of something rotten, all condensed into a small space. Breathing hard, we stand in the street and look around us. We're in a main thoroughfare now, judging from the traffic, but it’s still narrow. I feel squashed, smothered. On all sides, a crowd throngs around us. Most of them are dressed in rags. Hollow faces huddle three or four bodies deep against both edges of the road, dirty, hopeless, and lost. Many of them are children.


I'm scanning their faces frantically before I even realize what I'm doing. "Oscar," I hear myself whisper. It hits me, and I break off before I can call out his name. Before I can start running again, sifting through the masses of them.


Apollon's hand clamps onto mine, but he says nothing. He and Jonas are focused on Jacob, who is shaking violently. Tears are pouring from widened eyes down his face. I want to help him, but all I can do is stand here trying not to break down, myself.

"We need to find somewhere to regroup," Jonas says quietly. "Get out of this mess."
I cast around for somewhere to go, but as far as I can see, it's piles upon piles. People, and people, and buildings looming over them. There's no breathing room. No space. I have to force my breath to steadiness. It's too much.
There is a commotion on the street ahead, maybe a block away. The ragged masses push away from the center, squashing and trampling each other in the process. We're caught in a wave of motion and carried backward, but still we try to look. Where the commotion started, there's a group of figures, similarly dressed in black with blue bandanas. They're moving down the street toward us.


The wave of people suddenly backlashes from the other direction, and we're pushed the opposite way from before. We manage to finally see why. On our opposite side, there's another group of people. These are dressed primarily in white. One of them, clearly a leader, wears a purple doo rag and carries what might be the biggest gun I've ever seen. He raises it toward us.