read: midnight train to paris (episode 3)

Midnight Train to Paris (Episode 3) by Juliette Sobanet          5/5 stars

Publisher: Montlake Romance   Length: 31 pages          Format: Kindle

*This book is a Kindle serial, which means that each week a new episode will be released until you have a complete book. I’m choosing to review each episode individually.*

Goodreads: When hard-hitting DC reporter Jillian Chambord learns that her twin sister, Isla, has been abducted from a luxury train traveling through the Alps, not even the threat of losing her coveted position at The Washington Daily can stop her from hopping on the next flight to France. Never mind the fact that Samuel Kelly—the sexy former CIA agent who Jillian has sworn off forever—has been assigned as the lead investigator in the case. When Jillian and Samuel arrive in the Alps, they soon learn that their midnight train isn’t leading them to Isla, but has taken them back in time to 1937, to a night when another young woman was abducted from the same Orient Express train. Given a chance to save both women, Jillian and Samuel are unprepared for what they discover on the train that night, for the sparks that fly between them . . . and for what they’ll have to do to keep each other alive. Midnight Train to Paris is a magical and suspenseful exploration of just how far we will go to save the ones we love.

It just keeps getting better. Besides being a pleasurable read for me, this book has also taught me a big writing lesson about pacing and building suspense. I am not so good at pacing and reading Midnight Train to Paris has really helped me better understand how important it is to have a story flow smoothly and keep the reader hanging on week after week.

Things get intense in this episode. This would be the point in a soap opera where the beautiful girl ends up in a coma after a bad accident. Only here we have Jillian discovering a huge secret about her sister and facing down Isla’s crazy ex-fiancé. We are lead through a car chase that left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I feared for Jillian and the driver who helped her escape throughout chapter eight.

I stayed up way too late the other night reading this episode, but it was totally worth it. This episode ended with a cliffhanger that had me gasping out loud. I won’t spoil the story for those who haven’t read it yet, but it will leave you utterly shocked.

I am also totally rooting for Jillian and Samuel to get back together. She’s realizing that she probably never should have let him go, and there is a moment, as they’re boarding a train, when the need for them to be together is so obvious, you’d have to be blind not to see it. I should also note that we are getting more details about the 1937 crime and how it relates to Isla and Jillian.

I wish I could meet Ms. Sobanet. She is the kind of author I want to be – someone who nails it with every single book. This is the first I’ve read of her, but I will go back and read the rest of her books. It’s obvious she knows Paris quite well and has done her research, making her stories relatable and realistic.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book on my own and all opinions are my own. I will be reviewing each episode as I read them so check back on Wednesday, May 29 for my review of episode 4.

interview: vanessa ryan

I’m super pleased to be spotlighting Vanessa Ryan during her blog tour for her latest release, A Blue Moon.

About the book: Lorrie Duncan, an abstract painter working as a substitute teacher, dreams of making it big in the art world when she’s not busy looking for Mr. Right. She seems on the verge of getting what she wants, at least with respect to her career, because her current boyfriend Marty is a rising star in the L.A. art scene. But when a fortuneteller gives her a medallion with malevolent powers, her life and plans fall apart. Now, to survive, she finds herself in a race to discover its secret, before it destroys everything she holds dear. A Blue Moon is Vanessa A. Ryan’s first novel, a genre-bending literary urban fantasy.

I was able to sit down with Ms. Ryan and chat with her about her writing process and books.

What inspired you to write A Blue Moon? I began writing A Blue Moon some years ago when I was recovering from an illness––my attempt to understand why things happen the way they do. And that’s the underlying theme of the novel. In this story, a woman’s desire for acceptance among her peers and as an artist, leads to some tragic and unexpected events. But this story also has what I call horrifying humor. I don’t know if horrifying humor is a real phrase, but if you’ve ever seen a Coen Brothers movie, you know what that means.

What is your writing process like? Do you plot out every single detail or do you just wing it? I have a basic idea of what I want to write and then I begin. I’ll write for a few hours and then I’ll step away and think about it––what do I need to add or subtract or change. For me, the best part of writing is rewriting. Everything’s already there. I just need to pare down, elaborate or shift the story or characters. I usually write at least three to four drafts. Toward the end of the process, I’ll spend all day and night on a draft. I like to immerse myself in it so I see how every detail fits.

How did you come up with the title for this book? I love the song Blue Moon. But adding an “A” to the title made it sound more musical, as in singing the blues.

Do you have any more books in the works? I have another book coming out in June. This a group of shorter works in the horror/paranormal genre. It’s titled A Talent for Evil. Right now, I’m writing a cozy murder mystery that takes place in Los Angeles and Santa Fe. It’s titled A Palette for Murder. While I love paranormal stories, I’ve had this story rattling around in my mind for sometime and I finally want to release it.

Just for fun: if you could travel to any time period, past or future, when would it be and why? Wow. I guess I’d like to visit the ancient world––Egypt, Rome, Babylonia, Greece. I am fascinated with ancient history, especially Egyptian. Of course, I wouldn’t want to get stuck there. But it would be fun to discover what we don’t know about those times.

Thanks Brianna for having me as a guest on your blog. Happy reading!

Excerpt from A Blue Moon:

ONE

“I have to see my attorney after school today,” I said.

“Really? And what do you need an attorney for?” Eleanor Holbrook asked.

I knew Eleanor would be interested. Eleanor’s job as an English teacher brought her immense satisfaction, as she often said, but her real focus these days was her good-looking attorney boyfriend and his important law practice. At least when she wasn’t trying to decide which washer and dryer her parents should give her for her wedding.

Other teachers at the lunch table looked curious too, though unlike Eleanor, they were too polite to ask, or not interested enough to care. But leave it to Davy Rodale, the seventh grade science teacher, to butt in. He called out from the cafeteria line, “Having trouble with your ex, Lorrie? Tom––isn’t that his name? Is he still bothering you?”

God, what ever possessed me to go out with Davy? “No, it’s nothing to do with my ex. I have to sign some papers about an inheritance I’m getting.” I said it loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.

I let them wonder about it while I ate my salad. No harm letting people think I was going to be rich, especially Eleanor.

Eleanor nodded and smiled at me. She only hung out with people with money. Now that I seemed to be one of them, maybe I was worth more of her time.

Vanessa A. Ryan is an actress in Southern California. She was born in California and graduated from UCLA. When not writing or acting, she enjoys painting and nature walks. Her paintings and sculptures are collected worldwide. At one point she performed stand up comedy, so her writing often reflects her love of humor, even for serious subjects. She lives with her cat Frannie, and among feral cats she has rescued.

Find Vanessa on Facebook, Twitter, and on her blog.

Buy the book: Kindle    Kindle UK       Paperback

 

 

 

spotlight: gambling on love

The other day, an author named Patti Shenberger tweeted me, wondering if I’d like to participate in her blog tour for Gambling on Love. Of course, I agreed, figuring it would be fun to do an interview and giveaway. We also connected on Facebook and I found out review copies of the book were available, along with opportunities to do a spotlight prior to the book’s May 20 release. So, here we are.

Mississippi after the Civil War isn’t easy when you’re a willful young lady nor if you’re a slave, and Felicity is determined to make their lives better. She devises a plan to move her father’s illegally indentured workers North. After conning Jake McCade, the owner of the gambling river boat known as the River Maiden, into helping her, she, disguised as a boy, accompanies her slaves. Everything is going according to plan until Jake gets a little too close and discovers her subterfuge.

While Jake and Felicity find themselves in agreement about helping the slaves, they are at odds over everything else, including their quickly escalating feelings for one another.

When her father catches up to them, it’s either marriage or jail for Jake, so they decide to chance the wedding –for propriety’s sake. Will gambling on love be a bust or reap a happily ever after?

Excerpt: He pictured Felicity on the other side of the solid oak doors, her beautiful evening gown falling to the floor in a pile of silk and lace, her undergarments tossed carelessly aside in her haste to reach his bed. He’d go to her, he decided, take her into his arms, lay her naked atop his bed and make slow, passionate love to her.

He could see it so clearly in his mind’s eye: she’d come to him willingly, open her heart, her mind, her body, for his touch, his taste. He’d tease her at first, taunt her with those kisses  she was so fond of. He’d caress her in places she’d never been touched before: her breasts, the flat plane of her belly, the soft skin on the inside of her creamy thighs.

He’d suckle at her breast, first one and then the other, drawing on her gently until she whimpered for him to increase his ardor. He’d take her to places she had never imagined, places he’d rarely gone himself. There were certain types of lovemaking saved only for those who were special to you. He’d not much experience with these more personal touches, tastes, but enough to know what he was doing. He’d go there with Felicity because she was special.

Jake shifted his stance at the bar, making room for the swell of his body when he thought of making love to Felicity…his wife. Closing his eyes, he pictured her naked beneath him. He’d prepare her gently, thoroughly, and when she was ripe and wanting, he’d sheath himself inside…

Jake cursed his vivid imagination. In all his experience, he’d never once taken a woman’s virginity. The realization of what he was about to do made him wary. As tantalizing as his thoughts had been, Jake knew he’d need to take another approach, a more gentle awakening of Felicity’s rite of passage into womanhood.

Despite his own desires, he needed a plan, a good plan.

View the book trailer here.

Buy the book: Amazon Barnes and Noble        Add to Goodreads

Connect with Patti: Blog            Facebook         Twitter

Connect with Nancy: Blog        Facebook         Twitter

Entangled Publishing is offering one e-copy to readers, open internationally. Just follow the steps below to enter. Giveaway will run May 17-May 24.

1. Like Entangled Publishing on Facebook

2. Leave a comment below with your favorite time period in history

3. Tweet about the giveaway

You must do all three to be entered. When you’ve done all three, leave a comment with your name, a link to the tweet, and your email address. Remember, this giveaway is open internationally, so please share it with your friends.

 

have a fantastic weekend!

Halfway through May already. Summer has arrived with a vengeance and isn’t showing any signs of letting up any time soon. (Obviously, summer is my least favorite season). I’m holding out for a vacation to a more temperate climate in the fall.

New favorite song = Young & Beautiful by Lana del Rey

Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek (via The Oatmeal)

I’m participating in BookSparks PR Summer Road Trip (via BookSparks PR)

Fan-designed Gatsby covers (via FlavorWire)

Famous faces, then and now (via Telegraph UK & A Cup of Jo)

Have you found anything cool around the web recently? I’d love to hear if you have.

read: midnight train to paris (episode 2)

Midnight Train to Paris (Episode 2) by Juliette Sobanet          5/5 stars

Publisher: Montlake Romance   Length: 31 pages          Format: Kindle

*This book is a Kindle serial, which means that each week a new episode will be released until you have a complete book. I’m choosing to review each episode individually.*

Goodreads: When hard-hitting DC reporter Jillian Chambord learns that her twin sister, Isla, has been abducted from a luxury train traveling through the Alps, not even the threat of losing her coveted position at The Washington Daily can stop her from hopping on the next flight to France. Never mind the fact that Samuel Kelly—the sexy former CIA agent who Jillian has sworn off forever—has been assigned as the lead investigator in the case. When Jillian and Samuel arrive in the Alps, they soon learn that their midnight train isn’t leading them to Isla, but has taken them back in time to 1937, to a night when another young woman was abducted from the same Orient Express train. Given a chance to save both women, Jillian and Samuel are unprepared for what they discover on the train that night, for the sparks that fly between them . . . and for what they’ll have to do to keep each other alive. Midnight Train to Paris is a magical and suspenseful exploration of just how far we will go to save the ones we love.

Like a house, a good book take times to build. Research, world-building, character development, and more are all involved in making a book realistic and believable. Ms. Sobanet has all of these things down pat.

Picking up where we left off in episode one, we find Jillian and Samuel meeting with Morel family and facing down the reporters, who are at the Morel’s home, despite Samuel’s repeated requests to keep the media in the dark for the time being.

The suspense is building with this addition to Midnight Train to Paris. Samuel informs the Morel family of the crime which happened seventy-five years earlier, something Helene Morel, Isla’s future mother-in-law, is suspiciously mum about it. It may be too many episodes of NCIS, but anytime I read a mystery I’m suspicious of everyone, whether they’re guilty or not.

Jillian is left with Frederic and his parents while Samuel goes off to help the other investigators on his team. The tension between Samuel and Jillian is running high, but Ms. Sobanet is laying low about their relationship right now. I have a feeling something is going to happen with them, but I could be wrong.

There is a twist in this episode that I absolutely didn’t see coming. I won’t say what it is, because it’s a huge spoiler, so I’ll just leave it that I was surprised/not surprised by this twist. I cannot wait to see how this twist plays out in the future.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book on my own and all opinions are my own. I will be reviewing each episode as I read them so check back on Wednesday, May 22 for my review of episode 3.

read: the chermasu (the order saga, book 1)

The Chermasu (The Order Saga, Book 1) by Brian McKinley 5/5 stars

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services        Length: 29 pages          Format: Kindle

Goodreads: When the strange old man came to Alia Cheveyo’s home on Third Mesa, she had no idea that her life was about to change forever. Taking her to his Canyon de Chelly hogan, he guides her through a spirit journey that will introduce her to a lineage she never knew existed. Now, she will have to make a choice: will she accept this strange new knowledge and go where it leads her or cling to the way of life she loves?

To me, a sign of a good book is one that leaves me wanting more, no matter the length. The Chermasu was one such book. Although I’ve never really been interested in Native Americans, this book may have been the one to pique my interest.

Dreams are very powerful, very specific things. Alia has powerful dreams about her mother and things that may have happened in the past. When Alia meets Red Feather, she is taken on a journey she never anticipates. I vaguely remember learning about spirit journeys in college, maybe in my women’s studies class.

I tried to read Ancient Blood, which is Mr. McKinley’s first full-length novel in the Order Saga, but it was giving me major nightmares (which I have anyway. The book just made them much worse). Reading The Chermasu was much better for me and I enjoyed it. It’s obvious he’s done his research about the Navajo and Hopi Native Americans. The details were present in his descriptions of both Alia’s home and Red Feather’s hut. I could clearly imagine this book taking place in Arizona or New Mexico.

I should mention that while this is part of the Order Saga, it has nothing to do with Ancient Blood. It mentions vampires, referring to them as blood-drinkers, but none of the characters are the same and the setting is completely different. Also, despite it’s short length, the characters (all two of them) were fleshed out and I really felt like I was able to get to know both Alia and Red Feather during the story. I would love to see Alia’s story continued in a full-length novel.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book directly from Amazon. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for my review in any way.

write: cherry blossoms

The inspiration for this week’s prompt came from REM’s The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight and the image shown here.

Shaylee’s hair whipped around her face as she walked down the aisle toward me under a canopy of cherry blossoms. I knew she was thinking she should have worn her hair up, but we hadn’t anticipated such strong winds. Unfortunately, there was no time to move the ceremony inside. I could see her fingers gripping the satin ribbon wrapped around her bouquet. I could tell she was nervous and was ready for this part of the day to be over.

Focus on me. He tried to mentally send that thought to her, wishing her had the power to reach into her mind and calm her down. He knew it was his love for her that had made her change her mind about getting married. She’d been staunchly against it after her last boyfriend had cheated on her, but when she met me while we were camping with mutual friends, I knew she was the one.

Finally, she arrived at the chuppah, where I stood, surrounded by my brother and my closest friends. Her bridesmaids were on the other side of the aisle, smiling. I noticed her sister Casey dab her eyes with a tissue. Shaylee gave her father a quick peck on the cheek as she turned to face me.

The rabbi began his speech, going through the seven blessings and all the other Jewish wedding traditions before finally having us exchange rings and say our vows. When all that was over, I smashed the glass. Everyone cheered and a wedding niggun began playing in the background. Shaylee reached out to take my hand. I grinned at her and twined my fingers with hers. We were forever bound.

We made our way down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Now, there would be photos on the beach before the reception started. “I can’t wait to change into my other dress,” Shaylee whispered as we went up the aisle, heading toward the beach where the photographer was waiting. She’d found a vintage off-white bohemian number at a boutique during our last trip to San Francisco. I didn’t really under this second dress trend, but Shaylee assured me it was the way modern brides did things these days. Since I’d walk through fire for her, I was willing to do whatever would make her happy.

When we got down to the beach, everyone kicked off their shoes. Shaylee and her friends were laughing about some inside joke and Jay, my brother, was passing around cigars to the guys. The photographer was trying to get everyone organized so we could finish up the bridal party shots and get to the reception. I stood on a rock, occasionally puffing a cigar, watching Shaylee and her friends. My heart felt like it was going to fly out of my chest. I loved her so much and couldn’t stand the thought of life without her.

Little did I know, our world would be turned upside down little more than two weeks later, by events both good and bad.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I have a rough idea, for once, of where it’s going.