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Tuesday, 30 April 2013

NOS4R2 by Joe Hill

A terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling king of horror.
 
Summer. Massachusetts.
 
An old Silver Wraith with a frightening history. A story about one serial killer and his lingering, unfinished business.
 
Anyone could be next.
 
We're going to Christmasland. . .
 
NOS4A2 is an old-fashioned horror novel in the best sense. Claustrophobic, gripping and terrifying, this is a story that will have you on the edge of the seat while you read, and leaving the lights on while you sleep. With the horrific tale of Charles Manx and his Silver Wraith, Joe Hill has established himself as the premiere horror and supernatural thriller writer of his generation.


Let me start with this: isn't the cover super creepy, yet absolutely stunning? It sets the mood for the pages inside, that's for sure.

Victoria McQueen--Vic, or the Brat--starts out being a young, innocent girl with the uncanny ability to find lost things by crossing through the Shorter Way Bridge. A bridge that was condemned years before, yet she can ride her bike through it, come out at the other end and find lost things, or come out where she needs to find certain answers.

Her childhood is far from perfect because her parents are often fighting and she knows her father hits her mother, but she can always depend on her bike to get her where she needs to go. Actually, that's how she finds out about the child killer Charlie Manx--a stammering librarian who can divine things with Scrabble tiles mentions him. But Vic doesn't pursue Manx for years, because every time she uses the bridge she gets violently ill. She goes years without trying, and actually convinces herself it was all in her imagination... until she's in her late teens and runs away from home, finds her old beloved bike, and winds up at the Sleigh House--Charlie Manx's house.

After barely escaping with her life, she's rescued by a chubby guy on a bike and Manx is shortly arrested, but her life is never the same. Even though she loses herself in painting and becomes a popular children's writer, she still can't seem to live a normal life. She barely pays attention to her son, or the man she lives with, and those pesky children keep calling her from Christmasland... 
 
Her life is a hell of a mess, and while she's trying to get things back into some order Manx returns and takes her son.

Wow. What a book! It's pretty long, but not once did it drag. The story grips you from the very beginning and just doesn't let you go. I was on the edge of my seat, couldn't wait to see what was coming next. I just had to know how it was all going to end for Vic and her family, as well as the other deranged individuals.

NOS4R2 is an amazing, well-written story that takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of mental proportions. Not only do we follow Vic from innocence to completely messed up, but we also get a glimpse into the madness of Manx, and his delusions. Not to mention the Gasmask Man--shudder--who is a truly disgusting individual, yet also not all there. This dark, spooky, and very violent tale is an incredible study of the human mind. About the darkness and horror that dwells inside our 'inscapes', and what happens when thoughts and reality collide.
 
And at the heart of it all is one very flawed, broken woman who is ultimately saved by love, and will do anything to save her son.

Oh, and one last thing. This book is so reminiscent of one of my favourite authors... Stephen King. I know, I know, but I say this as the ultimate compliment. :)

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's a keeper!


NOS4R2, May 2013, ISBN 9780575130685, Gollancz

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

NEWS!


First there was a space cowboy in Wither. Then, a shapeshiter in Clash.
Now, there's an arena warrior with a bloodlust problem in Shiver...
 
That's right! I've signed another contract with Samhain Publishing, and this time it's for the third installment in my SFR series, RECAST. And I'm so excited about it!
 
I can't wait for readers to meet Knox. If you've read Clash, you've actually already 'met' him on the page. He was briefly mentioned during the very bloody, chaotic arena scene. :)
 
This is the story of Knox and Lian. Two strangers from very different worlds with a lot in common...
 
I'm looking forward to sharing more details as I get them!
 
For now, I'm still dancing with joy. ;)

Thursday, 18 April 2013

MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE by Diana Rowland

My Life as a White Trash Zombie (White Trash Zombie, #1)
Angel Crawford is a loser

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.
 
 
OMG! This book is... awesome. I loved it.

Angel is pretty much a loser. She lives with her alcoholic father, only works dead-end jobs, has a boyfriend that helps her dependency on drugs, and has no ambitions. Well, that's until she dies. She might not remember the night she died or the overdose that supposedly killed her, but she's not going to screw up her second chance. Especially since someone was nice enough to line up a job at the morgue for her.

All of a sudden, things are looking up. She actually enjoys the job and is even good at it. Of course, this new life comes with a side effect... she's constantly craving brains. Yep, Angel's a zombie!

This story was a great new twist on the zombie genre. Actually, it combines two of my most favourite (reading) things--UF and zombies. And it's so well done, too. Angel's a very well written character. I was totally cheering her on and wanted her to get out of the shitty slump and take control of her life. The mystery of her death and the serial killer murders was also interesting... and the outcome, awesome!

Yeah, I loved it. Guess who ordered the next two books? ;)

Monday, 15 April 2013

Hello, it's Monday

Yikes! I meant to pop in last week but just kept running out of time. Why does it always feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get allthestuff done? Um, probably because there isn't. O_o

I don't understand how people get bored at home. I've got so many things to do every single day...
 
Anyway. What's new? How is everyone?
 
Today is the first day of my daughter's school holidays. She goes back on May 1st. Don't ask me why her high school has decided they need two and a half weeks off between Term 1 and 2. Seriously confused about that, but whatever. She's got stuff to do.
 
This pretty much means that I'll be starting Sierra Fox #5 while she's at home. I plan to start on April 29, so let's hope it all goes according to plan. Fingers crossed.
 
Last week I spent a lot of time brainstorming and taking notes of the main events that are going to be happening in the book and found myself handwriting actual words. Which means I have three different chapters written. Sure, they're bare bones and out of order, but they're already written. And the best thing is how much of the story is already playing out inside my head like a movie. I absolutely love it when the story gets to this stage.
 
I can't wait to get started, and might even do that sooner. If I can get this week's to-do list goal done, that is. This week I want to write 4 guest blog posts + answer interview questions I've scheduled during the release week of ON PINS AND NEEDLES. Today I came up with the four topics I'm going to write about, so that'll help me get started on the actual writing tomorrow. :)
 
We've been catching up on Season 7 of SUPERNATURAL. I've missed the lovely Winchester Brothers! We're about halfway through the season and can't wait to see where it leads. I remember we took a bit of a break from it because of the Leviathan storyline, but I don't mind it now. It's interesting. Probably just needed some time to miss them.

Loki had his annual check up/vaccine visit at the RSPCA on Saturday and seemed to be okay, not as wonky as he usually gets. But today I found a small bald patch on his back. :/ This has happened before shortly after getting this needle, but last time it was pretty bad. Now I'm keeping an eye on him. As long as only fur is missing and his skin doesn't get scabby or irritated, he'll be fine. The downside is that he's getting the shits with me watching him like a hawk.
 
Well. That's it for now. I do have some good news that I'll hopefully announce soon, so stay tuned! ;)
 
See ya.
 
 

Friday, 12 April 2013

HEXED by Kevin Hearne

Hexed (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #2)
Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to “make nice” with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial non-aggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. The new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of WWII.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch-hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.
 
 
This is the second book in The Iron Druid Chronicles, and it's a lot of fun!

When Atticus is attacked he's pretty sure it's the local witches trying to kill him, but as it turns out it's a bunch of even worse witches. Now, he's going to have to work with the local coven to defeat these hexen and keep their area safe. However, there are a bunch of other problems for him to deal with, and they won't stop coming. Even Goddesses want a piece of him. ;)

Wow. What an awesome fast-paced book. I love Atticus, he cracks me up. Even though he's over 2,000 years old and in continual danger, he's still laidback and hilarious. Oberon is funny too. And I really like Granuaile. They make a great team!

I had so much fun reading this. The vast mythology is very well woven into the story, and I can't wait to see where it leads.

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

NIGHTSHIFTED by Cassie Alexander

Nightshifted (Edie Spence, #1)
Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine—from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond…

Edie’s just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her watch, all hell breaks loose. Now she’s haunted by the man’s dying words—Save Anna—and before she knows it, she’s on a mission to rescue some poor girl from the undead. Which involves crashing a vampire den, falling for a zombie, and fighting for her soul. Grey’s Anatomy was never like this…
 
OMG! This book is so awesome. It was so much fun, and even horrific in some places. I love the world, the creatures, the humans... everything!

Edie is a nurse in the County Hospital’s Y4 wing, which is where they take care of supernatural creatures. She's completely human and only took the job to save her ungrateful junkie brother. Still, as far as she's concerned a job's a job and she takes as many shifts as she can get.

However, the night she kills a vampire while trying to fulfill a dying man's wish, her life is turned upside down. She's got days before a vampire tribunal decide her fate and in order to survive, she gets herself a vampire lawyer and goes looking for the only witness that can help her--a child vampire. Along the way, she meets an alluring shapeshifter and a very helpful zombie.

I absolutely loved this book. Edie's a brutally honest character who doesn't sugercoat anything. She takes what she wants when she wants it. If she wants to go on a night out, she pops into the local club and dances the night away. If she's in the mood for company, she'll invite a one-night stand into her home. Her Achilles' heel is her brother, who constantly takes advantage of her kindness and steals from her. I didn't like Jake much, I have to admit. The other characters were awesome. I love the staff at Y4, Ti, Asher, and even the creepy Anna.

Can't wait to read the next book. Actually, I've already ordered it and pre-ordered the two after that. I know this is going to become one of my favourite series! :)

Friday, 5 April 2013

Time flies...

It sure does! I can't believe that I'd been looking forward to the 4-day Easter weekend for so long... and now it's over. This week we're back to the 2-day deal. O_o
 
Anyway. It's April. Yikes. This month is going to be a weird one, and I doubt I'm going to be able to start writing anything new. My daughter has one week left of Term 1 and then has two weeks off. We've also got a few appointments--vet, doctor, etc. By the time everything's done, it'll be the last week of this month.
 
So, it's best not to get upset about not tackling new writing. Besides, I have some guest blog posts to write, brainstorming, note-taking, reading, and a bunch of other stuff I can do in the meantime. :)
 
There's always plenty to do around here!
 
The Walking Dead finished up this week. Did you watch the Season 3 finale? I loved it, though I have to admit that I was deeply saddened by the (unexpected) death of one of the main characters. And I started missing the show straight away, so badly that I decided to catch up on the comic books. As of yesterday, I am officially up to date. Kirkman, bring on Issue #109! ;)
 
Oh, and in case you missed it: A PATCH OF DARKNESS is now available in print! This is very exciting news... especially since Sierra's second book will be released in print on July 2 and the third book will be released June 18!
 
This makes me VERY happy! :D
 
What else is new? Uh, not much. After finishing Sierra Fox #4 and sending it to my editor, I decided it was time to reward myself with a bunch of reading. The only problem is that I have so many books I want to read RIGHT NOW that it makes it hard to choose the next one... I'm not complaining, though. This is a great problem to have. IMO.
 
Okay. That's it for now. Hope you all have an awesome weekend! 

SEVEN KINDS OF HELL by Dana Cameron

Seven Kinds of Hell (Fangborn, #1)
Archaeologist Zoe Miller has been running from a haunting secret her whole life. But when her cousin is abducted by a vicious Russian kidnapper, Zoe is left with only one option: to reveal herself. Unknown to even her closest friends, Zoe is not entirely human. She's a werewolf and a daughter of the Fangborn, a secretive race of werewolves, vampires, and oracles embroiled in an ancient war against evil. To rescue her cousin, Zoe will be forced to renew family ties and pit her own supernatural abilities against the dark and nefarious foe. The hunt brings Zoe to the edge of her limits, and with the fate of humanity and the Fangborn in the balance, life will be decided by an artifact of world-ending power.


I just finished this book and really enjoyed it! It's an UF with a new spin, where the Fangborn--werewolves, vampires, oracles--are very different to what we're used to. I liked that!

Zoe is an archaeologist who loses her mother. She's been running most of her life because her mother wanted them to stay a step ahead of Zoe's father's family. But shortly after her mother dies, Zoe gets caught up in something she has no idea about. And when her cousin is abducted, she has no choice but to use her skill and wit to find an artifact the kidnapper wants. She starts following clues to an ancient mystery. One that might actually be closer to her than she ever expected...

I had no idea this book would turn out to be such an international adventure. Zoe ends up going to London, Paris, Berlin, Venice, Greece and Turkey. Wow! It makes me tired just thinking about it, especially since there's a new threat at every turn. Sometimes it's hard to guess who's friend and who's foe. But when Zoe starts using her Beast side, instead of trying to suppress it like she's done most of her life, she slowly learns to use her gifts to her advantage.

This turned out to be a fun book with an interesting heroine, a large cast of characters, and an intriguing adventure dealing with a myth that I personally find fascinating--Pandora's Box. I also found the worldbuilding different, refreshing, and all the archaeology stuff was great too!

I'm looking forward to reading the next installment to see where Zoe ends up next.      

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Print Release: A Patch of Darkness

That's right! The first book in my Sierra Fox urban fantasy series is now available in print!
 
OMG. So exciting. It's such a beautiful book! I want to hug it. LOL.

All it takes is one weak seam for everything to fall apart.

Sierra Fox, Book 1

In a perfect world, Sierra Fox would have stayed away from the Council she left years ago. But in this world—where spirits have the right to walk among the living—it's her job to round up troublesome spooks and bring them before that very same Council.

Though her desk is piled high with open cases, she can't resist an anonymous summons to a mysterious late-night meeting with a bunch of other hunters, each of whom seems to have a unique specialty. The news is dire: something is tearing at the fabric of the universe. If the hunters can't find who or why in time, something's going to give in a very messy way.
 
As current cases, family secrets, new clues and her tangled love life slowly wind themselves into an impossible knot, Sierra finds herself the target of a power-sucking duo intent on stealing her mojo. And realizing she holds the key to the last hope of sealing the widening rift.

 
Warning: Spook catching: may contain traces of ectoplasm and otherworldly nasties. Not recommended for those with allergies to ghosts, demons, and with boyfriends who think your power is theirs. While reading, avoid dark patches and stay to the light.


Tuesday, 2 April 2013

THE WALKING DEAD, Vol. 17: Something To Fear by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn

The Walking Dead, Vol. 17: Something to Fear
In this volume of the NYT bestselling survival horror, Rick and his band of survivors work to build a larger network of thriving communities, and soon discover that Negan's "Saviors" prove to be a larger threat than they could have fathomed. Crossing Negan will lead to serious, dire consequences for the group; it seems that for the first time since the Governor's reign of terror that Rick may have Something to Fear.
Collects The Walking Dead #97-102.
 
 
** Spoiler Alert **
 
OMG! I can't believe what happened in this volume of The Walking Dead! I am outraged, sad, pissed off, grossed out... I just can't believe that one of the characters that has been there from the very beginning is now gone.

A lot of stuff happened. Glenn and Maggie are expecting their first child, Andrea and Rick finally get together, Carl shows just how hard he's become but that there are things that can still break him, and we finally meet the asshole who calls himself Negan.

I really enjoyed this, though I have to admit that I'm deeply saddened why the barbaric ways of this new world. It's almost like the zombies aren't even their biggest threat anymore, it's other humans! And I find that very sad. Probably because this might be fiction, but I can see the greed of humanity and the need to survive twisting people this way. :(

Anyway. I'm glad that Rick has another--secret--plan, and can't wait to find out what it is.

RIP Abraham and Glenn.
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