Category: Blog Series Page 134 of 230

The Friday 56 for 10/1/21: Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it

from Page 56 of:
Daughter of the Morning Star

Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson

I pounded again.

After a moment, I heard footsteps, and the door was snatched open by the same skinny guy I’d seen enter. He no longer wore the jacket with his name on it, but I took a leap of faith. “Jimmy Lane?”

He stared at me, and I had time to study the face on his oversize head, acne scarred with a withered Fu Manchu and limp dark hair that slithered over his shoulders. Oddly, his body parts were all oversize—not only his head but also his hands and feet—almost as if he’d been assembled from parts that didn’t quite match. He had the look of somebody who had taken a lot of questionable chances in life and had paid for every single one of them in spades.

I hadn’t thought it was a particularly difficult question but asked again, this time mixing it up in an attempt to jog something loose. “Lane, Jimmy Lane?”

WWW Wednesday, September 29, 2021

It’s time for the last WWW Wednesday of September. It really slipped up on me–I’d have told you that there were a handful more days left in the month while still knowing that next week is October. Anyone else’s brain this messed up?

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson, there are few fictional places I enjoy visiting than Absaroka County and its sheriff’s department. I am listening to Out of House and Home by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) on audiobook—it’s nice to catch up with Fred and the gang, too.

Daughter of the Morning StarBlank SpaceOut of House and Home

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Hawthorne Legacy, the sequel to that twisty YA novel. I also just revisited The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Lesley Manville (Narrator) on audio in advance of getting my hands on that sequel (I really should’ve done the same for the Barnes book, it took me a while to reorient myself).

The Hawthorne LegacyBlank SpaceThe Thursday Murder Club

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be a hoot—Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner. My next audiobook is up in the air—I’ve got a lot of time on the road scheduled for the next week or so, and I imagine we’ll be listening to one or two audiobooks.

Fan FictionBlank Space???

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

PUB DAY SPOTLIGHT: The Case of the Missing Firefly (Stonebridge #4) by Chris McDonald

Chris McDonald’s The Case of the Missing Firefly is out in the world today! It’s the fourth in the Stonebridge Mysteries, a series I’ve been enjoying a lot this year. I’ll be sharing my take on the novella here in a bit, but for now I just want to talk about it a bit.

The Case of the Missing Firefly

Book Details:

Book Title: The Case of the Missing Firefly by Chris McDonald
Series: The Stonebridge Mysteries
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Release date: September 28, 2021
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Hardback
Length: 96 pages

Book Blurb

The notoriously hard-drinking, backstabbing Stonebridge Radio crew are having their Hallowe’en party on Winkle Island, rumoured to be the most haunted place in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, Adam and Colin are there too, having accepted an easy payday from Colin’s event organising mother.

At dinner, a shocking announcement is followed by an even more shocking murder, and the theft of a priceless Firefly necklace. To top it all, thanks to a raging storm, everyone is trapped on the island.

Faced with devious radio presenters, a strange tour guide, and a rampaging murderer, Adam and Colin are back in business.

The Case of the Missing Firefly is the fourth in the Stonebridge Mysteries series of cosy crime novellas.

Purchase Links:

Kobo ~ Google Books ~ Red Dog Press

About the series

Stonebridge is a small town on the north coast of Northern Ireland. Most of its inhabitants are friendly, happy people. Most of them… Because bad things happen even in the happiest of places. It’s a good thing, then, that Adam Whyte and Colin McLaughlin call Stonebridge home.

Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of detective shows, a misplaced sense of confidence and a keen desire to see justice done, these two are the closest thing the town has to saviours. Which isn’t that reassuring…

About the Author

Chris McDonaldOriginally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in South Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, The Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure, before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime.

He’s a fan of 5-a-side football, has an eclectic taste in music ranging from Damien Rice to Slayer and loves dogs.



Red Dog Press
My thanks to Red Dog Press for the invitation to participate in this celebration and the materials they provided.

BOOK BLITZ: The Entrant (Antigravity Racing League Book One) by Rock Forsberg

This morning I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for Rock Forsberg’s The Entrant—book one in the Antigravity Racing League—to celebrate its publication today. It looks like a heckuva ride.

The Entrant Blitz Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: The Entrant by Rock Forsberg
Series: Antigravity Racing League
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Release date: September 28, 2021
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 378 pages

The Entrant

Book Blurb:

The ARL race crafts run on sonic speeds just a few metres from the track and race massive rollercoaster circuits all across the galaxy. It is the biggest sport under the federation.

Zane Silvering, the son of an ARL legend, races in a local antigravity league and dreams of making it big in the galaxy.

On his eighteenth birthday, after being kicked out of his team, an ARL team offers him a position as a substitute. Despite the warning signs, he seizes the opportunity, and boards a massive spaceship, the mobile base of a team competing for the galactic championship.

But the life of an ARL racer isn’t as easy as he thought. The crafts are raw and powerful, the competition relentless—also inside his team—and the game sometimes gets dirty. Just to get to race, he has to beat some of the galaxy’s best racers.

And there’s more to the team than racing: a group of them run secret missions for the enigmatic owner. Soon Zane works night-shift as their getaway pilot.

When the day and night jobs meet, he must step out of his father’s shadow, and race, not only for the glory, but for his life.

If you like underdog stories, awe-inspiring galactic trekking, and high-adrenaline racing, The Entrant will keep you strapped to your seat until the finish line.

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

About the Author:

Rock Forsberg is a science fiction author. He loves awe-inspiring stories and started writing so that he could create epic worlds and stories of his own. He has also written songs, poems, and short stories, both in English and in Finnish. He considers writing to be a long game, with a lifetime of learning, and dozens of novels to write.

A dual citizen of Finland and Australia, he splits his time between Helsinki, Finland and Sydney, Australia. If he not writing, he’s reading, keeping fit (he’s a health geek), playing guitar, or enjoying time with his family and friends.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Blitz.

Love Books Group

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Chronicles of Iona: Exile by Paula de Fougerolles

I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Blog Tour for the first in Historical Fiction Trilogy, The Chronicles of Iona by Paula de Fougerolles: Exile. This Tour Stop consists in this little spotlight post and then my take on the novel coming along in a bit. Let’s start by learning a little about this novel, okay?

The Chronicles of Iona: Exile Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: The Chronicles of Iona: Exile by Paula de Fougerolles
Publisher: Careswell Press
Release date: May 25, 2012
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 394 pages
Chronicles of Iona: Exile

Book Blurb:

The Chronicles of Iona: Exile tells the story of the Irish monk and Scottish warrior, Saint Columba and Aedan mac Gabran, who would band together to lay the foundation of the nation of Scotland.  They were a real-life 6th-century Merlin and King Arthur and their story has never been told.

The book begins in 563 A.D.  The Roman Empire is long gone, freeing the region of Scotland from the threat of imperial rule but opening it to chaos from warring tribes vying for control. Columba, a powerful abbot-prince, is exiled from Ireland to the pagan colony of Dal Riata on Scotland’s west coast for an act of violence. There he encounters Aedan, the down-and-out second son of the colony’s former king, slain by the Picts.

Together, this unlikely pair travels the breadth of a divided realm, each in search of his own kind of unity.  Their path is fraught with blood feuds, lost love, treachery, dark gods and monsters, but also with miracles and valor.  Beset on all sides, their only hope is to become allies—and to forge a daring alliance with the pagan Picts.

How Columba overcame exile and a crisis of faith to found the famous monastery of Iona (one of the greatest centers of learning in Dark Age Europe) and, from it, the Celtic Church in the British Isles; and how Aedan avenged his father’s death and became, against all odds, the progenitor of Scottish kings and the greatest warlord of his age, begins here.

For both, what begins as a personal imperative becomes a series of events that lead to the foundation of Iona and the kingdom of Scotland—events that literally change the world.

Purchase Links:

Amazon ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Paula de FougerollesPaula de Fougerolles has a doctorate from the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge, and has taught and published in the field. She has lived and traveled extensively throughout Scotland and Ireland, including a prestigious year-long Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in which she criss-crossed Europe in search of the physical remains of the so-called Dark Ages—research which ultimately led to this award-winning historical fiction series. To learn more, visit www.pauladefougerolles.com.

 

 

 


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Saturday Miscellany—9/25/21

A short list this week, but a pretty diverse one. Should be something for just about everyone here—maybe 2-3 somethings.

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Why Noir and Science Fiction Are Still a Perfect Pairing
bullet A New Book and a New Press—Sara Gran describes the launching of her new press and some of what got her to this point—for those who like behind-the-scenes publishing talk
bullet Five Mystery Novels to Read If You Love Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building—No, I am not linking to this just for an excuse to talk about how much I’m enjoying the show (but seriously, if you have the means..watch it). This list of books is promising—one I’ve read, one I’m waiting for from the library…and the rest? Hmm……
bullet The Don Winslow Book Club September 21 Edition—good lookin’ stuff.
bullet The Music of The Band by Nicholas Eames—a look at how Eames used the music of different eras to create his dynamite fantasy world (and a couple of nice Spotify playlists to boot)
bullet Here’s Why I’m Ditching Goodreads And Switching To Storygraph — And Why You Should Too—I’m less impressed with Storygraph, but I do see the appeal. What about you? (yes, you)
bullet My Favourite Authors By Category—this is an inventive way to frame the discussion (one that would cripple me were I to try it, but I love seeing others pull this kind of thing off)
bullet Why do I read so much?—well, yeah. I’d add (at least), because it’s there.
bullet Blogging Struggles: How Do Bloggers Stay Motivated?
bullet Do Hype, Book Buzz, and High Expectations Affect Your Reading Experience?—they have to, at least a little, right? Carol takes a deep dive into this question.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson—the novel that last year’s so clearly indicated was coming is now here. Walt looks into death threats against a High School Athlete. I should be picking up my copy this afternoon, and I may set aside my current read for a day or two for it.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Inspired who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger.

Book Blogger Hop: “Traditionally” vs. Self-Pub/Indie

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Julie @ JadeSky:

Are you more willing to read traditionally published books than self-published (indie) books? Or do you not have a preference?

Are you more willing to read traditionally published books than self-published (indie) books? Or do you not have a preference?
I don’t have a preference, really—other than a handful of times a year when someone/multiple someones (including me) is doing a celebration of Indie books/publishers/authors/genres when I think about it a bit more. I really don’t spend that much time thinking about where a book comes from.

I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not—I think I could argue both ways.

There’s an important twist on that question: Am I more likely to read traditionally published books than self-published (indie) books? And the answer to that is, yes, I’m absolutely more likely to—because I’m exposed to them more, I see the advertisements for them, they show up in various algorithms more, etc. Outside of blogs and social media, I’m not going to hear a lot about self-pubbed/indie books. If that word-of-mouth kind of thing is positive, or if it comes from someone like Fahrenheit, Red Dog, Down & Out Books, etc., I’ll grab it. But I’m far more likely to hear about a book, and therefore pick it up and read it, if it’s traditionally published.

What about you?

WWW Wednesday, September 22, 2021

The last two weeks have basically been full of me staring at my laptop screen, unable to get words to come out. That’s an exaggeration of sorts, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. What’s worse, is that I’m excited about just about everything I’ve been trying to write about.

That’s one of the nice things about these WWW Wednesday posts, they require very little thought. Also, they’re fun to do apart from their ease. So, I”m going to give myself a little reprieve, schedule this and then catch some shut eye and try again tomorrow.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino, because I’m more curious than I should be about his prose and am listening to Marked by Benedict Jacka, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audiobook.

Once Upon a Time in HollywoodBlank SpaceMarked

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Paula de Fougerolles’s The Chronicles of Iona: Exile, a piece of historical fiction, and the fascinating Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper on audio.

The Chronicles of Iona: ExileBlank SpaceWord by Word

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Case of the Missing Firefly by Chris McDonald and my next audiobook should be The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Lesley Manville (Narrator).

The Case of the Missing FireflyBlank SpaceThe Thursday Murder Club

What’ve you been reading this week?

BOOK BLITZ: The Forgotten Gun by John Reid

This morning I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for John Reid’s The Forgotten Gun—the first book in the DCI Steve Burt Mystery series—to celebrate its publication today.

The Forgotten Gun Blitz Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: The Forgotten Gun by John Reid
Series: A DCI Steve Burt Mystery
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Release date: August 31, 2021
Format: Ebook/Hardcover/Paperback
Length: 210 pages

The Forgotten Gun

Book Blurb:

A Metropolitan Police detective about to be dismissed is given a second chance by his old boss, who is now a police commander. He’s given a new unit to run and two misfit detectives to assist him. All three know their status is temporary.

Their first case together is an impossible double murder. Each murder is identical. Both victims are expertly shot in the head from long range, but the post-mortems reveal no bullets were used in the shootings. The CSI teams calculate that in both cases there was no place for the marksman to have fired from, unless suspended over busy roads.

Although it’s a case apparently impossible to solve, DCI Steve Burt reluctantly agrees to investigate with his new team. Their enquires lead them into the murky world of greed, corruption, fraud and money laundering, but they are no nearer solving the murders. The team is stumped until the DCI meets a retired army major and a WW2 veteran who unwittingly hold the keys to solving these impossible murders.

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

John ReidThe author was born in Scotland and after serving in the army embarked on a career in industry and commerce. He has worked in several different sectors of business mostly in senior roles and latterly as CEO of a large international data capture company.

He retired for the first time in 1995 but continued to work as a consultant helping new businesses become established. In 2018, he finally retired from business life to become a full-time author. John lives in the UK and Portugal with his wife and they have two grown-up sons.

John has used the DCI Steve Burt series to get involved with Sense, a great charity that supports anyone living with complex disabilities. Sense helps people communicate and experience the world. They, like John, believe that no one, no matter how complex their disabilities, should be isolated, left out, or unable to fulfill their potential.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Blitz.

Love Books Group

Saturday Miscellany—9/18/21

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet The Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-books—This feels like a problem…
bullet 30 cool indie bookstores across the country that you’ll want to check out—You know those people who tour the US to visit every MLB Ballpark or something? Lists like this make me want to try my version of that. If only I had the time, means, and willingness to leave my house that much…
bullet Mystery in the Mountains: 10 Novels Set in the High Country of the American West—On the other hand, I have almost zero desire to visit any of the locations mentioned here outside the pages of a novel (which is a shame, because it’d be pretty easy for me).
bullet I really wasn’t trying to turn these posts into Tori Eldridge-fests, but she’s clearly doing what she can to get her name–and the name of her new book out there–and doing so with interesting articles, so…
bullet Stories Behind Our Names
bullet Binge-Worthy Characters in Books and on the Screen
bullet Robert Crais shared a pic of the first draft of his next book—fans will be happy to see this, people interested in writers’ process should check it out to see his revision notes, etc.
bullet 10 Memorable Roald Dahl Quotes to Live By—Dahl’s 103 birthday was this week, Bookstr noted the day with this fun collection
bullet What makes a good book?—HiuGregg shares some musings
bullet 5 SFF Books Featuring Middle-Aged or Elderly Heroines Who Still Kick Ass
bullet One Key Reason to Read the Book Before the Movie—Yes. (also, some good reasons to watch first…but they pale in comparison)

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet When Sorrows Come by Seanan McGuire—The 15th (!) Toby Daye novel sees her get married, find a coup, and thinking about her future more than we’re used to. I will post something gushy about it soon. Loved it.
bullet True Dead by Faith Hunter—Jane goes back to New Orleans for reasons personal and regal in her 14th (!) novel. I talked more about it not that long ago
bullet The Ninja Betrayed by Tori Eldridge—Lily visits Hong Kong, where I expect things will get a little hairy.
bullet Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach—Roach’s books always look interesting, but I haven’t gotten around to trying one. This one could change that.
bullet The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the Kingby J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator)—New audiobook editions of The Trilogy were released this week with Serkis narrating. I’ve been kicking myself for a couple of years for not carving out time to re-read these books. I’m going to spend some Libro.fm credits to fix that.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Tarahaddasa and Inspired who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

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