Author Spotlight: Erin Healy

As I was reading on my current book, Never Let You Go by Erin Healy, I took a look at the materials the publicist sent with the book and thought an occasional author spotlight would be a good thing to do.

I like knowing about the authors I am reading and wanted to know more about Erin Healy because her book is really amazing so far.  Never Let You Go is her first solo effort, but she has co-written two books with Ted Dekker, Burn and Kiss.  I will be looking for these after I finish Never Let You Go.  So now a little more about Erin Healy, compliments of the press release from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists.

About Erin Healy

Erin Healy is an award-winning editor and co-author of the supernatural thrillers, Kiss (Thomas Nelson, 2009) and Burn (Thomas Nelson, 2010) with Ted Dekker.  Now Healy presents her solo debut novel, Never Let You Go (Thomas Nelson, May 2010, 9781595547507, Trade Paper, $14.95), a new brand of cfiction building on her work with Dekker that melds supernatural suspense with relational drama.

Healy is the owner of WordWright Editorial Services, where she has specialized in fiction book development for the past eight years.  She has worked with popular authors such as Frank Peretti, James Scott Bell, Melody Carlson, Colleen Coble, L. B. Graham, Brandilyn Collins, Rene Gutteridge, Michelle McKinney Hammond, Robin Lee Hetcher, Lisa Samson, RAndy Singer and Robert Whitlow.

Healy earned her bachelor's degree in English with a minor in communication studies from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., and began her career as an editor for Christian Parenting Today during the mid-1990s.  AFter advancing from assistant editor, to associate editor, to editor while WordWright Editorial Services in 2002.

Healy began working for Dekker the same year, editing 12 of his well-known, heart-pounding stories, before collaborating with him as a co-author on Kiss.  Her first novel, Kiss is the story of Shauna, who wakes from a coma to find she is responsible for a terrible accident that left her brother permanently disabled and her recent memories erased.  She discovers she has the paranormal ability to steal memories from others, a capability she uses to clear her name and find out what really caused the car accident.

Burn is the story of one woman's ultimate betrayal fo friends and family and the far-reaching consequences of her actions, featuring overarching themes of good vs. evil, guilt and regret, and the grace of second chances.

Her solo debut Never Let You Go follows a devote, hard-working single mother who lives in the shadow of her estranged husband's choices and a family tragedy.  When troubling elements from her past suddenly return, her tenuous grip on life and her loved ones is threatened.  Staggering supernatural events begin spilling into her world, provinng that Hell's fury is great, but Heaven's power is greater still.

Healy currently resides in Colorado Springs, Colo., with her husband, Tim and two children.  She is the director of the Academy of Christian Editors, as well as a member of the International Thriller Writers and the American Christian Fiction Writers.  Visit www.erinhealy.com for more information.


Press release courtesy of Phenix and Phenix Literary Publicists.

Also check out Erin's website - she has a great contest going to win one of 40 copies of her new novel, Never Let You Go.

Review of Never Let You Go will be coming next week - I have just sat down and read about 100 more pages of it and it is a real page-turner.

Book Blogger Hop Mixed With What I'm Reading on Friday

I'm joining in the Book Blogger Hop this week.  I did forget to put how long I've been blogging in my link, so if you're visiting my blog from the hop - I have been blogging for a little over 1 year and love it.  I'm looking forward to visiting a bunch of blogs over the weekend and adding more to my google reader.  So go and check out Crazy-For_Books.com for the Mr. Linky for the Blog Hop.  


What I'm Reading on Friday Edition:

Kindle: Dangerous by Diana Palmer
For review and I'll be having a giveaway for this sometime next week (a print copy).  I only started the first few pages at lunch today and Mitch and I are without the boys tonight so we are going to enjoy a date night so I don't think I'll get much more reading on it today.  I am intrigued and a little lost with the beginning, but will withhold judgment until I read more.

Audio in the Car:  Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross 
I started the 4th Disc today, the plot is twisting away :)

Review Book:  Never Let You Go by Erin Healy
I read some of this before bed last night and it is so good - even in the first few chapters.  I can't wait to read more.  This will be my main read until it's done.


   

Book Reviews:
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

*****Check out my sidebar for two giveaways going on right now and there are more to come very soon!*****

Other notes for today - I worked on my blog and it has a new look, what do you think.  On the personal tv watching front, we watched 3 more episodes of Lost last night (I think we are on season 2 episode 21), but there won't be any tonight as Logan, the son who watches with us will be with Jacob at his grandparents' house.  Even our little one watches from time-to-time when he wanders in (though most of the time he is off playing in his room) and was confused last night when they called Locke, John.  He had always heard that was Locke and did not understand that wasn't his first name.  I love 5-year-olds.



ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun!  This is a weekly event!

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

Book Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publish Date: January 5, 2010

Hardcover, 454 pages

My Review:
I read Bleeding Violet for the YA Bloggers Debut Book Battle, and it was a stunner.  It is so different from other YA paranormals that I have read.  Dia Reeves creates a very interesting world that borders our reality and thrusts Hanna right in the midst of it.  Hanna already doesn't fit in in the real world.  Labeled as manic-depressive and suffering from the loss of her father, she sets off to find her mother.  Hanna is labeled as crazy and suffers from hallucinations so when she sees things out of the ordinary, you are never quite sure if it is the world of Portero or Hanna's mind.  When she arrives in Portero, she finds her mother, Rosalee doesn't really want her.  But Hanna stays and as she learns more about the dangerous world of Portero and makes friends, things become even more interesting.

I have to say my favorite thing about Hanna was her style.  I love to sew, and Hanna sews.  Hanna sews all her clothes and has a magnificent eye for style (I'm a little more lacking there).  I loved the descriptions of the outfits she wears and creates.  We learn so much about her and her "tough girl" act in this book and I found her interesting throughout.  Most of the other characters are secondary, though Rosalee was key in Hanna's development along with her sometimes/maybe boyfriend, Wyatt, who I loved at times and found slightly irritating at other times.

This book is just different, that is all I can really say about it.  Different and interesting.

My Rating: 4.25/5.0

About the Book:


Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.
But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

About the Author:

Check out Dia Reeves' website.
Follow Dia Reeves on Twitter.

FTC Information: I bought this book for my Kindle.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

 

Book Feature and Giveaway: The Last Christian by David Gregory

The Last Christian by David Gregory

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

Publish Date: May 4, 2010

Paperback,  416 pages

My review will be coming next week - this is one of the books I'm trying to play catch-up with and I'm really looking forward to reading it.


About the Book:


A.D. 2088.

Missionary daughter Abigail Caldwell emerges from the jungle for the first time in her thirty-four years, the sole survivor of a mysterious disease that killed her village. Abby goes to America, only to discover a nation where Christianity has completely died out. A curious message from her grandfather assigns her a surprising mission: re-introduce the Christian faith in America, no matter how insurmountable the odds.

But a larger threat looms. The world's leading artificial intelligence industrialist has perfected a technique for downloading the human brain into a silicon form. Brain transplants have begun, and with them comes the potential of eliminating physical death altogether—but at what expense? 

As Abby navigates a society grown more addicted to stimulating the body than nurturing the soul, she and Creighton Daniels, a historian troubled by his father's unexpected death, become unwitting targets of powerful men who will stop at nothing to further their nefarious goals. Hanging in the balance—the spiritual future of all humanity.

In this futuristic thriller, startling near-future science collides with thought-provoking theology. The Last Christian is a provocative “what if?” novel from David Gregory, best-selling author of Dinner With a Perfect Stranger.

About the Author (From the WaterBrook Multnomah site):

David Gregory is the coauthor of two nonfiction books and a frequent conference speaker. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning two master's degrees. David lives in Texas, where he works for a nonprofit organization.

Giveaway:
Waterbrook Press has given me 1 copy of The Last Christian to giveaway to the readers of this blog. Simply comment to enter.  Additional entries for following (rss, email, blogger, networked blogs, etc.), tweeting (1 per day), posting on your blog (sidebar is fine).  Please comment for each entry - it makes the accounting easier.   Giveaway open to US/Canada only.  Don't worry if you are first or last - I'm starting to randomize all entries before using random.org to draw a number - so it's more like drawing a name out of a hat.  Giveaway runs through June 4, 2010.


FTC Information: I received this book from Waterbrook Press for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Past Winners who have not received books - please email me

It has come to my attention that a few people have not received books from me that they won. If you will please email me your address and the book(s) you won and I will see what is going on. I know I was behind a while back and I still have a few out that I need to get out, but I have realized that I have missed some emails (not sure where they are going, but I'm not getting them). So if you haven't received something, let me know and I will try and see what is going on.  My email is crystalfulcher(at)ec(dot)rr(dot)com.

I have changed how I do my email lately, so that may be the problem, I will be looking into it because I do want to get your wins to you.  I'm also going to try and do a do you want this post re-announcing winners this weekend after I go through and see who I am missing.

Thanks!

What I'm Reading on Thursday

Kindle: Infinity (Chronicles of Nick #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon 
I should be finishing this up this evening.  This one was a lot of fun to read and could be just the book to help me reclaim my reading mojo.  Ahh - it reminds me of reading my first Dark Hunter book when I first met Nick, and this book and the series that will follow will help the reader understand Nick better until he gets his official Dark Hunter book.  Now I think we have to wait until February 2011 for the next one - the horrors!  Oh well - time for me to catch back up on the  Dark Hunter books.

Audio in the Car:  Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross 
I started the 3rd Disc today and this is moving right along, very enjoyable, like the reader and the character of Ty a lot.

Review Book:  Never Let You Go by Erin Healy
Soon as I finish Infinity I'll be back to this and I can't wait.

   

Reviews completed:

Secrets of a Playboy's Bride by Leanne Banks

Scream by Mike Dellosso

Other notes for today - we watched 4 episodes of Lost last night, I think that puts us midway through season 2.  My husband is so addicted that he had supper almost ready when we walked in the door at 6pm and we watched until 9:15.  I have imposed a new limit of cutoff time for older son to get a good night sleep and allow for me some time to read and unwind before going to sleep. I think it's a good thing as I slept well last night and actually woke up before the alarm this morning.

Giveaway: The Rule of Nine by Steve Martini

Thanks to William Morrow, I have one copy of The Rule of Nine by Steve Martini to giveaway. I received the giveaway with my own coveted copy yesterday and I would love to get it into one of my reader's hands. It goes on sale on Tuesday, June 1 and you could have it soon after. Here's a little more about it. More information about the giveaway is below.   I will be reading it in the next week or so and posting my review.  I love Steve Martini and can't wait to read this one.

The Rule of Nine by Steve Martini

Publisher:  William Morrow

Publish Date:  June 1, 2010

Hardcover, 400 pages

Paul Madriani Book # 11

About the Book:

The Old Weatherman dreams of a plan that could be his swan song, an attack to drive a stake through the heart of the right-wing establishment and bury it for good. Now he's found the money, the ideal weapon, and the professional who knows how to use it. And he has set his sights on the perfect target at the very seat of the United States government, in the heart of downtown Washington. It will be a strike heard round the world.
San Diego defense attorney Paul Madriani is still reeling from the trauma of a near nuclear explosion he helped avert at the naval base in Coronado. Threatened by federal authorities to keep quiet about the close call in California, Madriani is now faced with a new problem in the steely-eyed and alluring Joselyn Cole, a weapons control expert, who believes he has to go public with what he knows if they have any hope of stopping a similar event in the future.

But Madriani has been linked to the murder of a Washington, D.C., political staffer, and authorities believe a shadowy figure called Liquida—a hired assassin known as "the Mexicutioner"—may be responsible. And this man, as the last survivor of the attack in San Diego, might be driven by a bizarre and horrifying star-crossed vendetta, and might now be looking for Madriani himself. What Madriani and Cole begin to fear is that the Old Weatherman and this madman have joined forces and intend to pull the city—and the country—into a vortex of terror before Madriani and Cole can find answers to the enigma that is "the rule of nine."

The Giveaway:

One copy of The Rule of Nine by Steve Martini provided by the publisher, William Morrow, that I will mail out to the winner within a week of the close of the giveaway.  The winner will be notified by email and posted on the website and will have 48 hours to contact me with their address before I draw another name.  Giveaway ends June 3, 2010.

To Enter:

Simply comment.  Tell me if you've read Steve Martini before or just say enter me.  Additional entries for tweeting (1 per day), following me in any way (twitter, google follower, rss, email, see sidebar to follow), and 5 additional entries for telling me your favorite book you read in May.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry (I'll count the 5 entries for your favorite book in May, so you don't need to leave that 5 times).  All comments will be randomized and then I will pick a number using random.org.

Thanks!  Look for another giveaway coming tomorrow and some housekeeping of some drawings I still need to do.  I took a small hiatus but I am back now so if you are expecting a book know it will be coming very soon.  Thanks for your patience - life just gets in the way sometimes.  :)