Author Interview & Book Review: Lisa April Smith (Paradise Misplaced)

Today, as part of the official launch of her newest book, Paradise Misplaced, I have the pleasure of hosting Lisa April Smith, Great to have you here, Lisa.   

LAS:  Thank you for inviting me, Crystal.   

Crystal: Paradise Misplaced is the sequel to Exceeding Expectations and I understand that fans have been begging you to hurry up and release it. I’m not surprised. Reviews for Exceeding, including mine, have been amazing. If you haven’t read it, people, do it now!

LAS: Reviews have been wonderful. Overwhelming! The book (EE) hadn’t been out more than a week or so before I received a Facebook post telling me that she “LOVed” Exceeding Expectations and that I should “not waste time.” I needed to “get busy and finish the sequel.” So many readers have been good to me – with reviews, e-mailing fun and fabulous comments. It’s a high better than chocolate.

Crystal: Frankly, the first thing I was drawn to were the covers of both books. Great choices.

LAS: Thank you. Frankly, I obsess over my book covers. Let’s just say that the graphics designer and I have many animated conversations over each cover before we finally agree.  

Crystal: I hear you have another exciting announcement for us. Something for readers who prefer the paper-and-ink books they can hold, or don’t own a Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc.  

LAS: I do. Very exciting! Keeps me up at night exciting. Exceeding Expectations is now also available as a paperback on Amazon.com. And if it isn’t available as a paperback at Barnes&Noble.com today, it will be very soon.  

Crystal: What about Paradise Misplaced? Will that be available in paperback too?

LAS: Absolutely! We’re working on that as well. It’s all part of my grand mission to become America’s Next Top Author.   

Crystal: If you haven’t read Exceeding Expectations, avid reading Friends, do it today. It’s always more enjoyable to read a series in the order it came out. Now you have a choice to read EE either as an e-book or paperback. Great having you here, Lisa. I’ve included a brief description of Paradise Misplaced below. But for more about all your books, I recommend visiting your website http://www.LisaAprilSmith.com.

LAS: Many many thanks, Crystal, and to your loyal followers – my favorite kind of people, people who enjoy reading.

 

Crystal: We’re all wishing you the best of luck on your goal to become America’s Next Top Author.   

                         

Paradise Misplaced

the sequel to Exceeding Expectations

by Lisa April Smith

Launch Date: Sept. 15, 2012

All the unexpected twists and suspense, danger and crime, romance and sizzle, that kept readers of Exceeding Expectations turning the pages long into the night, are back in Paradise Misplaced, along with Charlie, Jack and Naomi – three unforgettable characters.   

In Manhattan, being recently dumped by her soulmate becomes the least of Charlotte (Charlie) Morgan’s problems after she is shoved off a subway platform in front of an oncoming train. Her modeling career seems over and she may not walk again. Throughout her lengthy hospital stay the police have no success finding her assailant or determining a motive. A handsome detective recovering from similar injuries is assigned to be her physical therapy partner. Fearing that her unknown attacker will try again he urges her to draw up list of possible suspects – anyone she might have angered or rejected. Eliminating those who don’t fit a compiled description leaves just one possible suspect, an untouchable power broker with a famous art collection.    

In Buenos Aires, Jack, the loveable lothario/conman, in his quest for his next wealthy wife, is romancing wealthy women he meets at a fashionable hotel where he isn’t a registered guest. To finance these activities he ever-so-gently exploits tourists and the local land barons. But whether he succeeds, falls short or fails miserably, readers can rely on sexy Jack to be entertaining.       

In Israel, understandably bitter Naomi, working on an archeological dig, seeks temporary relief from her demons in hot casual affairs. Unwilling to be yet another in a series of her lovers, a rough-hewn widowed farmer relentlessly pursues her.

Will Charlie, Jack and Naomi meet? Will a story that begins on three continents end in triumph or disaster? No predicable ending here. You’ll have to read the book to find out.

                                                         

My Review:              

Lisa has done it again.  I loved the first book, Exceeding Expectations (see my review) and if it's possible I think I loved Paradise Misplaced even more.  Exceeding Expectations comes first, but Paradise Misplaced can be read on it's own. I do recommend reading both books though because they are excellent books and I know I enjoyed learning as much as I could about both Charlie and Jack in the first book and getting all the back story, though Ms. Smith does a good job explaining some of it in Paradise Misplaced.

I have to say that this book had me enthralled.  I found it hard to put down and often found myself reading for hours at a time.  I have had a hard time doing that lately with school starting back so that says a lot for Paradise Misplaced.  But I would get very sucked into the lives of Charlie, Jack and Naomi and how things were getting weaved together and the what-ifs that were forming that I could hardly put the book down even to sleep.

The characters are once again amazing.  I really enjoyed learning more about Naomi and Jack in this book.  Jack is a charmer and one step ahead at all times.  Naomi is bitter, and a bit like Jack, not charming but knows how to use situations to her advantage.  Seeing them in their settings was fascinating and adding to it the fact that Ms. Smith uses exotic settings of Israel and Argentina for them made it more fascinating.  Then of course there is Charlie.  I love Charlie and I cheered for Charlie in this book. The resilience she finds in Exceeding Expectations stays with her in this book and though she has some down moments I love how she always tries to find a way to shine.  And though this book really did feature her prominently I really felt this was more of Jack and Naomi's story with enough Charlie to weave everything together.  And I liked that.  I think it was a perfect balance.  I loved all three stories and loved how Ms. Smith switched between the stories.  

The plot moved along wonderfully.  The stories of the characters switched between the chapters, but it never felt forced and I never felt confused about which character the chapter was about.  Each character truly had their own voice and their own plot that pushed the book along.  Ms. Smith masterfully keeps their plots separate yet weaves them together in a way that is completely believable.  Again nothing in this book felt forced to me.  Everything was smooth, just like Jack. ;)

Overall this was an amazing book to read.  Perfect for these first cool fall afternoons.  Great for lazing around on your porch swing with a cup of tea and enjoying a great book.  This is that great book.  Ms. Smith weaves a marvelous story of a family separated and living their lives.  There are unexpected twists and turns, great character moments and some very interesting secondary characters.  Paradise Misplaced is a book that should not be missed. 

My Rating: 5.0/5.0                                                                                                                    

                 

***I received this book from the author for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

Press Release: The Russian's Pregnant Mistress by Elizabeth Lennox releases today

New Romance Novel from Elizabeth Lennox: The Russian’s Pregnant Mistress Becomes Available on September 15!

WASHINGTON D.C., September 14, 2012 – Filled with Elizabeth Lennox’s trademark style of passion along with characters you love and love to hate, The Russian’s Pregnant Mistress will have you enthralled with its unexpected plot twists and romance, as two lovers from opposite ends of the earth partake in an unexpected affair.

The Russian’s Pregnant Mistress is the story of two people never destined to be together. Damon is a former homeless child turned self-made Russian billionaire who is still scarred from a former affair. Gabby is a bright young ambitious girl from main-street America. When Gabby becomes pregnant with Damon’s child, the two are plunged into an unforeseen odyssey. 

Elizabeth Lennox’s rich emotional landscape delivers an achingly accessible complexity that makes The Russian’s Pregnant Mistress provocative, fresh, and its author a forceful new voice who brings an entirely new level of romance to readers!

The Russian’s Pregnant Mistress is available for sale through Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/The-Russians-Pregnant-Mistress-ebook/dp/B009A21KSK/ref=sr_1_1), and iBooks (http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/russians-pregnant-mistress/id561426771?mt=11) on September 15, 2012. 

Learn more at www.ElizabethLennox.com.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Lennox has published over 40 romance novels. From her frequent travels around the world, she has used several of her favorite locations in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean as backdrops for her stories. Recently she has published the Sisterhood trilogy and the Atracelli Series

Ms. Lennox lives in Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C.

Media Relations

John Cashman

Digital Firefly Marketing

john@digitalfireflymarketing.com

Guest Post: Pipe Dreams & Warriors by C.C. Humphreys (A Place Called Armageddon)

Pipe Dreams and Warriors: The Author talks about his favourite form of research – in the place where the action happened, talking to the people.

‘A room with a view is a surer posession than any virtue’. So wrote a Byzantine poet about a thousand years ago and having been to the city that so inspired him, I know exactly what he means. 

There are few places with more fabulous views than Istanbul and the tourist who goes there will be suitably dazzled. I know I was the first time when I did the full tourist number. But it was my second visit that took me beyond astonishment to deeper feelings – to sense, in my own small way, the love its inhabitants must have for it. This second time, in the summer of 2010, I met its people and learned a little of their love for the place.

I was so fortunate. My last novel ‘Vlad’ about the real Dracula, had just been published there. So my Turkish publisher organized a book signing for me. Truly one of the thrills of my life, to be a tiny part of that legacy of words – Latin, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Persian. For a millenia, words had been made there, passed through there, on their way to enrich the libraries of the world. I was, in such a small way, a part of all that.

It was the people who dazzled me. I was there for warriors – and met them, first in the shape of my translator, Murad, who shared snippets of his sufi philosophy and who had been in the National Judo squad. Then, over a pipe of apple tobacco in a narghile den (what the English call hubble bubble), I was approached by a huge man with a matching smile: Suleiman, a national karate champion, keen to practice his newly acquired English. And there was a warrior of a different kind there too, a gentle philospher, Acay, disciple of the mystical poet known in the west as Omar Khayamm. He was impressed with the little I could recite (‘Awake, for morning in the bowl of night/has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight.’ My Father would wake my teenage self with that of a morning!)) and we talked and smoked and exchanged ideas.

The people reinforced my early thoughts – that the city is made up of descendents of those who fought either side of the wall. That there were heroes and villains on each side, as there always are in war. And that Istanbul is the city it is – still central to the world, still with a huge part to play, because of that melding.

About A Place Called Armageddon:

To the Greeks who love it, it is Constantinople. To the Turks who covet it, the Red Apple. Safe behind its magnificent walls, the city was once the heart of the vast Byzantine empire.

1453. The empire has shrunk to what lies within those now-crumbling walls. A relic. Yet for one man, Constantinople is the stepping stone to destiny. Mehmet is twenty when he is annointed Sultan. Now, seeking Allah’s will and Man’s glory, he brings an army of one hundred thousand, outnumbering the defenders ten to one. He has also brings something new – the most frightening weapon the world has ever seen...

But a city is more than stone, its fate inseparable from that of its people. Men like Gregoras, a mercenary and exile, returning to the hated place he once loved. Like his twin and betrayer, the subtle diplomat, Theon. Like Sofia, loved by two brothers but forced to make a desperate choice between them. And Leilah, a powerful mystic and assassin, seeking her own destiny in the flames.

This is the tale of one of history’s greatest battles for one of the world’s most extraordinary places. This is the story of people, from peasant to emperor - with the city’s fate, and theirs, undecided... until the moment the Red Apple falls

Author Interview: Allan Leverone (Revenant)

Today as part of the Partners in Crime Tour I welcome Allan Leverone, author of Revenant.  I have a wonderful interview with Allan today so enjoy and come back next week for my review of Revenant.  Welcome Allan!

How did you come up with the title?

REVENANT represents the first time I’ve written a book as a followup to another. The first book in my series of supernatural suspense novels set in Maine is titled PASKAGANKEE, and that title alludes to the name of the tiny town where the action occurs. There is a significance to that name, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!

When I set out to write the second book in the series, I had a couple of specific goals in mind: I wanted a one-word title, in keeping with the title of the first book, I wanted it to be hard-hitting, and I wanted to tease potential readers with a little taste of what they might get if they read the book. The dictionary definition of “revenant” is “a person who returns as a spirit after death,” and the novel’s plot centers around a power-hungry con man who steals a sacred Navajo object imbued with a mystical and terrifying power, so you can probably see where we’re going here…

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

My number one goal when I sit down to write a book is to entertain. I’m a genre writer through-and-through, I write mostly horror and thriller novels, and if I can transport the reader away from the problems of her world for a little while, and into a world of action or danger or fright or intrigue, I feel like I’ve done my job. That’s not to say you won’t pick up on a theme or two when you read my work—we’re all products of our environments, after all—but my overriding goal when I write is not to push my world view on anyone else, it is to make your pulse pound and to keep you turning the pages.

How much of the book is realistic?

That’s a great question, and the answer really comes down to your expectations as a reader. REVENANT is a supernatural suspense novel dealing with an amoral sociopath who finds in his possession a sacred object with the ability to reanimate the recently dead. It’s a situation most people probably would agree could not happen, or at least is not likely to happen, so in that sense, it’s not realistic at all. But the entire horror genre consists of books dealing with events and occurrences most people would agree could not happen or would not be likely to happen.

In that context, REVENANT is as realistic as any other book in the genre. It’s all about suspension of disbelief. And in a broader sense, the book is totally realistic when you consider it deals with a sociopath so power-hungry he is willing to stop at nothing to achieve his goal. You can turn on the television news every night of the week and see similar stories.

If you had it to do all over again, would you change anything in your book?

I’m an inveterate tinkerer, and whenever I read one of my novels or novellas I always find sentences, paragraphs and even entire chapters I feel could be changed for the better. But you have to draw the line on rewriting and revising somewhere or else you’ll never produce a product, and eventually you reach a point as a writer where you’re just changing things for the sake of changing them, rather than seeing any improvement in the end product.

But as far as storyline is concerned, I’m very happy with how REVENANT turned out. The characters are believable and sympathetic, and the plot moves along nicely, bringing the reader to (I hope) a satisfying conclusion. I wouldn’t change any of that.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Finding the time to work on it every day. Thrillers and horror novels rely heavily on their pacing, even more so than novels in other genres, and I feel like I lose momentum and have trouble maintaining the proper pace to the story if I don’t get between 1500 and 2000 words down on the page every day.

But I work a full-time job as an air traffic controller, forty hours a week, and have a family I would like to make sure remembers what I look like, so it’s really easy to run out of hours in the day. I’m not complaining, though. I love to write and setting aside the time to do it is a sacrifice I’m happy to make.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Another tough question. REVENANT is the sixth full-length novel I’ve written, including a couple which are still unpublished, and every time I start working on a new book I’m absolutely convinced there is no way I will be able to manage 75,000-85,000 words of coherent fiction that anyone will want to read.

I manage my terror by approaching the story one scene at a time. Instead of telling myself “You need to write a book”—which seems damned near impossible—I tell myself, “You have to write a scene,” which feels a lot more manageable. Eventually, after enough scenes, a lot of hard work, the passage of time and maybe some smoke and mirrors, I emerge out the other side with what is (I hope) a quality book.

The biggest thing I learned from REVENANT is that I can actually do that. It still amazes me when I think about it.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I’ve always been fascinated by the power of the written word. As a kid I was always reading, Hardy Boys novels, Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes stories, you name it and I read it. It was not at all uncommon for me to be in the middle of three or even four books at a time. Yes, I really was that strange.

From the youngest age I loved the way a well-written story could transport you into a totally foreign world filled with danger and intrigue. I can remember thinking as a young boy how cool it would be to write books and be able to do transport other readers into the worlds of my imagination. I wrote my first story when I was probably eight years old or so, about a guy who gets lost in the woods in the winter, and as spring approaches, his body is found huddled against a tree, one tear frozen to his face.

I didn’t get serious about writing fiction, though, until about six years ago, but I still love knowing my work can take people away from their problems, even if only for a little while.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

I wish I had only one favorite author; I admire the work of so many different people I must have at least a couple of dozen favorites!

If you held a gun to my head and forced me to pick just one, I would have to say Lawrence Block. The man has been making a living writing genre fiction for longer than a good many of us have been alive, and his work is still as fresh, interesting and exciting today as it was four decades ago. He has created several different series characters which are distinctive and different, and writes dialogue that is crisp and cutting.

There are plenty of other authors I admire, though, including (but not limited to) Lee Child, Tom Piccirilli, Robert Gregory Browne, Sophie Littlefield, Vincent Zandri and many others. Anyone who has managed to carve out a career writing fiction over a long period of time deserves admiration and respect, in my opinion. It’s not an easy thing to do.

Tell us your latest news.

Well, my big news would be the release of my fourth novel and second in the PASKAGANKEE series, titled REVENANT. It’s the book I’m currently blog-touring to support and one of which I’m very proud. And if you’re considering giving it a try, be aware it works perfectly fine as a stand-alone; it is absolutely not necessary to have read the first book to read this one.

The publication of REVENANT makes two horror-ish books in a row I’ve written, and I love thrillers as much as horror, if not more. So I’m taking a short break from the supernatural and have finished roughly two-thirds of the first draft of a more traditional thriller which takes place in the mid-1980’s, at the end of the Cold War. The book is titled PARALLAX VIEW and tells the story of a kickass female CIA agent who is tasked with a very simple mission: the delivery of a top-secret communique from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Someone is determined to prevent the communique from reaching its destination, however, and soon our hero finds herself on the run, chased by nameless assassins, with no one to turn to for help but a perfect stranger. It’s filled with action and has been a lot of fun to write.

Additionally, I plan on writing a horror novella to submit to DarkFuse Publications, which has released two of my previous three novellas, and I am scheduled to write a horror short for an upcoming charity anthology being edited by one of my favorite people, Katherine Tomlinson of Dark Valentine Press. It’s not my place to release the details of the anthology, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Whew. I guess that’s it for now!

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I sure do. I would like to thank each and every single person who has spent their hard-earned money on my work, whether it be a full-length novel, novella or short story. There are plenty of options for readers to spend their entertainment dollars on, and plenty of books written by more well-known authors than me. I am humbled and honored when people purchase a book of mine.

Believe me when I say you are never far from my mind when I’m writing, and I welcome the opportunity to hear from you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for checking out my work. You can connect with me at my website, www.allanleverone.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, @AllanLeverone.

About Revenant:

A sacred Navajo artifact, imbued with a shocking and dangerous power.

An amoral con man, willing to stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

And a tiny northern Maine town, isolated and vulnerable.

Last November, Paskagankee, Maine was shaken to its core, held hostage by a centuries-old curse, terrorized by a brutal killing spree stopped at the last possible moment by new police chief Mike McMahon and beautiful young patrol officer Sharon Dupont. Now, just as the pair - and the town - is beginning to recover, a new horror comes calling.

Billionaire Seattle software designer Brett Parker is in Paskagankee to check on the progress of his newly-constructed summer retreat. But he's not the only new resident in town.

Max Acton, murderous sociopath and Arizona cult leader, has gained possession of a long-hidden sacred Navajo artifact with the ability to reanimate the dead. Acton aims to use the stone in a murderous plot to kidnap Parker and steal his revolutionary new software design developed for the U.S. Department of Defense, selling it to the highest bidder and making millions.

He doesn't even need to get his hands dirty. All he needs is a victim to kill . . . and reanimate . . . and force to do his bidding. All he needs is a revenant.

And the revenant is angry.

And he's deadly.

And he's unstoppable.

And the town of Paskagankee will once again become a battleground between the living and the dead . .