Category: Fiction Page 273 of 348

Welcome to our Book Tour stop for The Quest for Merlin: Magimakía. In addition to this blurb about the book and author, I’ve got a a Guest Post from Rafael Lovato about the life of this book up to this point and my 2¢ about the book.

Book Details:

Title: The Quest for Merlin: Magimakía (Book 1)
Author: Rafael Lovato
Release Date: June 30, 2016
Page Count: 286
ISBN: 978-1530797950 & 1530797950
Imprint: Howling Wolf

Keywords: young adult fantasy, goblin hero, angels and demons, witchcraft, RPG games, elves fairies trolls, merlin series
Genre(s): Young Adult/Fantasy/ Action Adventure

Synopsis:

The Quest for Merlin is the first book of the Young Adult fantasy series Magimakía, goblin word meaning “The Great Battle of Mages and Witches.”

Follow Oliver’s journey, a skinny, naive 15 year old boy who knows nothing about magic, let alone how to survive high school as a bullied and outcast teen, as he attempts to help save the Order of Mages from destined extinction.

Kidnapped by a midget goblin and his troll cohorts, Oliver’s only hope is to learn the whereabouts of the all powerful Merlin who has been missing for over 500 years.

With the help of two witches, Avery and Violet, Oliver begins his journey in a world full of potions, spells, and bubbling cauldrons, learning a lot about witchcraft and magic.

You will be spellbound as you are transported into this amazing landscape where anything could happen, as tragic events unfold that could keep Oliver from saving Merlin and the entire world of Mages and Witches!

One Liner: Magimakía – the Quest for Merlin is the first book of a contemporary fantasy series for young adults that explores the universe of RPG and MMORPG where a naive, bullied 15 year old boy, without any knowledge of magic, tries to find the mage Merlin and save the Order of Mages and Witches from destined extinction.

Author Bio:

Rafael Lovato is a Brazilian author with six books published commercially in Brazil, and one in Portugal, Magimakía, a busca por Merlin. This is his first book published in the US. In 2014, the prestigious Oxford University Press bought one of his award-winning short story to use in their courseware as writing model to teach students, already published in the book Portuguese language for 6th Grade, by Oxford.

For More Info:

Book Page: http://ravenswoodpublishing.com/bookpages/magimakiabookone.html

Author Links: http://www.rlovato.com.br
https://www.facebook.com/operegrinojoshua
https://twitter.com/rlovatoescritor

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Quest-Merlin-Magimakía-Book-ebook/dp/B01EI2R4V8
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quest-Merlin-Magimakía-Book-ebook/dp/B01EI2R4V8
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01EI2R4V8
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-quest-for-merlin-rafael-lovato/1123675514;jsessionid=3E933572BB6A6699C9EB512693D80A46.prodny_store01-atgap05?ean=2940153226026
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-quest-for-merlin
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rafael_Lovato_The_Quest_for_Merlin_Magimak%C3%ADa?id=S7b-CwAAQBAJ&hl=en
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1105254907
Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/6173524

Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Let There Be Linda

by Rich Leder

Kindle Edition, 377 pg.
Laugh Riot Press, 2016

Read: June 13 – 15, 2016

Let There Be Linda is hard to describe briefly — it’s like Eoin Colfer’s Daniel McEvoy books with a touch of magic, Elmore Leonard trying to write like Neil Gaiman, or is it Gaiman trying to write like Leonard? Leder says he’s inspired by Monty Python here — I think he’s close, but it’s more A Fish Called Wanda than Python (at least the way it comes out, maybe not in his mind).

The first few paragraphs are likely enough to make you rethink picking up the book (not because of Leder’s craft, but the subject matter). It took a force of will for me not to move on to one of the other 20 or so books on my TBR. Thankfully — oh, so thankfully — it took very little time after that for me to get over it. Within a few pages, Leder had won me over. Also thankfully, the antics of the character in the opening paragraphs were really toned down when he appeared in the future (when not toned down, he was at least behind closed doors).

Danny and Mike Miller are brothers, as close as Cain and Abel. Danny’s the attractive, lecherous, irresponsible, talent agent, who is always on the verge of success (even moreso, when he can’t get to the track or a phone to call a bookie). Mike’s his opposite, married, overweight, ultra-responsible, and an accountant enjoying success — and on the verge of a lot more. The one thing they have in common is that they’re devoted to their mother — Mike feels he has to be (and probably has some real affection for her), and Danny needs a place to live. On her deathbed, their mother makes Mike swear that he’ll watch out for Danny. She’s had a vision and something horrible is going to happen after her death, and she wants the two of them get through it together. Which is good, because both of them are going to need all the help they can get.

This horrible thing — or series of horrible things — will involve a very small pawnbroker/loan shark and his very large companion; a drug-addicted dentist, his plastic-surgery addicted wife, and their sometimes dead dog; a detective who wants to be a stand-up comedian; there’s a guy who thinks he’s a zombie, a couple of sometimes dead mothers, and a few other odd characters.

Oh yeah, and the girl who can bring dead things back to life.

Most of these characters owe the diminutive loan shark more money than they’ll be able to repay in years, more of them are being investigated by the Comic Cop, some of them are looking to Danny to make them money, and the dentist to care for their teeth — and . . . honestly, tracing out the interconnectedness of all these characters and plotlines would require one of those giant corkboards and colored strings that used to be on every TV detective show. But stranger. And Funnier.

Oh, yeah, and dead fish, dogs and people stop being dead.

This is strange, bloody, a little violent, and impossible to explain in a way that does it justice. You just have to read the silly thing. It’s one of the most unpredictable novels I’ve read in ages. It ties up all the important things, and doesn’t leave anything unresolved. But Leder doesn’t bother to answer everything — you’ll spend a few days trying to suss a few things out. I enjoy it when authors do that — but only on the unessential (but interesting) points. It helps the experience last longer.

I’ve spent a week trying to figure out what to say about this one, and I’m not satisfied with what I came up with. I liked the book, I recommend it — it’s amusing; there’s heart to it; there are characters that are unique, yet familiar; a world that you’ve not come across before — and a strange sort of crime story. It’s just the right mix of black comedy and criminal activity and family. If this is what all of Leder’s books are like, I need to read more of them.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I just wish it’d made more sense.

—–

4 Stars

Let There Be Linda Excerpt: The Page 69 Challenge

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Quotations

If you like page 69, buy it

(inspired by barbtaub.com)

Danny knew Omar was right; he was about to black out. He could sense the sun setting, even though it was the middle of the day. And he could hear Harvey singing the last verses of “Danny Boy.”

And if you come, and all the flowers are dying, If I am dead, as dead I well may be, I pray you’ll find the place where I am lying, And kneel and say an Ave there for me,”

I’m going now, Danny thought, but something happened split seconds before he lost consciousness, something he knew was important in spite of the singing dwarf and the giant choking the air out of him. It was the thing that was wrong with the room, the odd thing, the offbeat and out-of-tune thing.

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me, And all my grave will warm and sweeter be, And then you’ll kneel and whisper that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.”

It was the fern on the bamboo coffee table, the dehydrated-dry-and-shriveled-brown dead fern that Jenny Stone had taken in her hands and breathed on. He was looking straight down right at it. Alive, he said in his head, it’s alive. And then everything went black.

—
Note: I love this Page 69 Challenge idea — thanks so much, Laugh Riot, for introducing me to this.

Let There Be Linda Excerpt: Detective Gary Shuler

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Detective Gary Shuler

Early on, when he was six, seven, and eight years old, when he was hurt and confused because he was the one and only child who was addressed by his full name plus a name that wasn’t his name, his parents had pacified him with tall cold glasses of milk and stacks of Oreo cookies. The cookies became physically, emotionally, and intellectually synonymous with safety and comfort. He ate them constantly throughout his life. He couldn’t stop eating them. At the same time that they were feeding him Oreos, his parents also recognized there was nothing they could do to stem the Gary Shuler Vista tide, so they taught their son to ride those waves with laughter, to be in on the joke instead of being the joke.

Oreos and comedy became the subconscious pillars upon which his life was built. He became the class clown in every class and carried an Oreo four-pack everywhere he went. He was popular and smart and a good athlete. But he was also a bit of offline, not your normal everyday kid. He saw the world at odd angles. He was an odd angle himself. “He’s a good guy, Gary Shuler Vista,” people would say, “but he’s a strange bird.”

Let There Be Linda Excerpt: Donald the Dentist

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Quotations

Donald the Dentist

It was Wednesday noon. Donald the Dentist only worked a half-day (one to five), which was a good thing because he had been up all night doing cocaine in his office after Detective Shuler had handed over the garbage bag holding his dead dog. He couldn’t bear going to bed and listening to Carol cry herself to sleep.

He had finally dozed off somewhere around six and was awakened by the sound of music—literally; The Sound of Music was blasting in the living room—Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and all the various Von Trapps singing “So Long, Farewell” as they slipped into the night and across the border.

He rubbed his index finger through the white dust on the mirror on the coffee table, ran the finger across his gums, got out of the armchair, picked up the garbage bag that held Chachi’s carcass, and walked out of his office. He went down the hall, intending to grab a shovel from the garage so he could dig a hole in the backyard behind the trees beyond the pool and bury the bag, but he arrived at the large living room just in time to see his wife kick the chair away from her feet—the chair she was standing on, so she could hang herself with the rope she had looped over the rafters that spanned the room beneath the twenty-foot, tongue-in-groove, cathedral ceiling painted Dr. Seuss red.

Let There Be Linda Excerpt: Meet Jenny Stone

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Quotations

Meet Jenny Stone

“I’m Danny Miller,” he said, taking the chair next to her, “President of Miller Talent Agency.” There was a bamboo reception desk, a wicker loveseat, the two chairs, the big mirror, and a fan that made a dying animal noise. There was no receptionist.

She was sitting, but Danny thought she might be five foot five or so. She had straight-as-string brown hair that was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her skin was smooth and clear and white, as if she never went out into the Southern California sunshine. She wore zero makeup. No gloss, no eye shadow, no blush. She wore thick black glasses. She was thin, he thought, but he couldn’t really tell what was happening under her blousy blue shirt and gray Catholic-school skirt. She wore knee socks and sensible shoes. She had brown eyes that made him think of coffee. She was younger than him, late twenties. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. She was unadorned in every regard. It was as if she were trying not to be here—or anywhere—trying to be unnoticed by any and all. There was no guessing what kind of talent she thought she had.

“I’m Jenny Stone,” she said in soft voice void of confidence, a voice that in and of itself was trying to be unnoticed. “What do you do, Jenny Stone?” Danny said, putting his hand out.

She shook his hand and said, “I bring dead people back to life.”

A Few Quick Questions With…Rich Leder

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Laugh Riot Press’ Calvin Shomaker suggested some questions for me, and for the most part, they were like what I had planned on asking (maybe his were a bit easier to translate into a sales pitch). Doesn’t really matter who came up with the questions, I just like to give credit where it’s due — Leder’s answers are the thing you want to pay attention to.

Why did you make the transition from screenwriting to novel writing?

After 25 years of telling stories in the strictly regimented format of screenwriting, I had the strong desire to work a deeper, wider canvas. In a script, the writer can only access the thoughts of the characters with action or dialogue. In a novel, the writer can explore the mind and heart and soul of the characters at his/her leisure—discuss the characters’ actual thoughts and feelings. Budget is a non-issue with a novel but a big concern with a movie. Sheer number of characters can be problematic in a script but not in a book (so long as the characters are meaningfully created). Number of locations, page count, and other considerations a movie must make are non-existent in the world of a novel.

I wanted to experience writing without regimentation.

Describe Let There Be Linda in two words. Try Two Sentences.

I can do six words: black comic thriller of the year. And I can do five words: silly, bloody, violent, hilarious fun. And I can do five words again: Monty Python meets Quentin Tarantino. And, finally, I can do two words: wild ride.

Where did Let There Be Linda come from? Who and what were the inspirations?

Left field? Shadows in the wood? Breeze in the meadow? Dark side of the moon? I have no real idea where LINDA came from. It was, I suppose, that indescribable moment of creative human magic. But I know who inspired the spirit of the thing: Monty Python and Quentin Tarantino.

What type of readers would love this book?

Readers who like dark comedy. Readers who like thrillers. Readers who like wild rides. Readers who like to laugh out loud.

Are you done writing films? If so, what does the future hold for Rich Leder and Laugh Riot Press?

It feels like I’m done writing screenplays on spec. If I’m hired to write, then I’ll write one. But if I’m just going to sit down and write a story, I’m going to write a novel from this point in my life onward. That’s what it feels like.

Why should people read your books?

To experience characters they’ll never meet in real life that are so real they’ll think they’ve met them in their real life after all. To laugh out loud. To be thrilled. To be transported to another place. To laugh out loud. Did I mention that one?

What do you want readers to know about you before they start reading you?

I love to write, and I love to make readers laugh. I love to tell fantastic stories—hilarious mysteries and dark comic thrillers—and I care enough about my characters to make them real people readers will fall for.

Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder Book Tour

By HCNewton

On June 28, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Welcome to our Book Tour stop for Let There Be Linda. Along with this blurb about the book and author I’ve got a Q & A with the author, Rich Leder; some excerpts from the book: Meet Jenny Stone, Donald the Dentist, Detective Gary Shuler, and a little something we’re calling The Page 69 Challenge; and my 2¢ about the book.

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the current promos from Laugh Riot!

Book Details:

Book Title: Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder
Publisher: Laugh Riot Press
Release date: July 1, 2016

Book Description:

Leder’s black comic thriller tells the tall tale of estranged brothers Mike and Dan Miller—accountant and con-man talent agent respectively—up to their necks in the virtual quicksand of LA’s San Fernando Valley during the hottest summer in Southern California history.

The root cause of their problems could be the missing seventy-five thousand dollars, or the sadistic, loan shark dwarf and his vicious giant, or the psycho comedian cop on the case, or the coke-snorting dentist, or the deranged zombie real estate developer. Or perhaps it’s the poodle—the poodle is suspect, no doubt. Or maybe it’s the grocery store checker who breathes life into death.

Oh yes, it could be her too.

And so to repair the head-on collision the Millers have made of their personal and professional lives, the brothers summon their mother back from the dead to clean up the wreckage. But what the Miller men discover is that screwing with the laws of nature is a violent, bloody, hysterical, and hilarious idea.

Author Bio:

Rich Leder has been a working writer for more than two decades. His screen credits include 18 produced television films for CBS, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, and Left Bank Films.

He has written four funny novels: McCall & Company: Workman’s Complication; McCall & Company: Swollen Identity; Juggler, Porn Star, Monkey Wrench; and Let There Be Linda.

He founded Laugh Riot Press as an imprint for his funny books and the funny books of other indie authors.

He has been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, an indie film director, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a PTA board member, a commercial real estate agent, and a visiting artist for the University of North Carolina Wilmington Film Studies Department, among other things, all of which, it turns out, was grist for the mill. He resides on the North Carolina coast with his awesome wife, Lulu, and is sustained by the visits home of their three children.

Current Laugh Riot Press Promos:

Buy One Get One Free: Let There Be Linda is on presale on Amazon for $2.99. On July 1^st it will be $4.99.

If you preorder Let There Be Linda before July 1^st, and send Rich (rich@laughriotpress.com) a proof of purchase, he will send you a free e-copy of his romantic Hollywood sex comedy Juggler, Porn Star, Monkey Wrench. That’s two great reads for $2.99!

Ask a Question, Win a Signed Book! Email Rich any questions you want answered on the Laugh Riot Podcast (http://www.laughriotpress.com/podcasts/) for the chance to win a free signed book!

For More Info:

https://www.facebook.com/LaughRiotPress/
https://twitter.com/LaughRiotPress
http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Leder/e/B00N66JNN0/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8304523.Rich_Leder?from_search=true&search_version=service
http://www.laughriotpress.com/

United States of Books – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

By HCNewton

On June 27, 2016

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, United States of Books, Western

Lonesome Dove

by Larry McMurtry

Author: C.H. Armstrong at C.H. Armstrong Books & Blog

When I learned I would have the pleasure of reviewing Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, I quite literally did a fist pump of victory. Simply stated, this is one of my all-time favorite novels, and one of the very few I would consider reading more than once. For that reason, I’ll not beat around the bush: I enthusiastically give this novel a full 5-star review. If I could give it more than 5-stars, I most certainly would.

So what’s it about?

I asked this question of those who originally recommended it to me, and the answer I received didn’t inspire enthusiastic thoughts: It’s the story about a bunch of old cowboys who go on a cattle drive.

Huh? How is that even remotely interesting? Why would I want to read about a cattle drive?

The answer is this: Just do it. I promise: You won’t be sorry.

Lonesome Dove is about a cattle drive, but it’s more than that. It’s about the strong ties of friendship between two former Texas Rangers, Captain August “Gus” McCrae and Captain Woodrow F. Call, two men who couldn’t be more different. While Call is stoic and serious, McCrae is often seen as more laid back and carefree. But the truth is that the two men, for all of their differences, are like yen and yang or two sides of the same coin. It’s almost a love story without the romance element. They complement each other and, while they seem to have nothing at all in common, they are simply not the same without the other.

Besides the main characters is a series of supporting cast members who round out the story…a 17 year old boy, the son of a prostitute, who suspects that Call might be his father; a young prostitute, Lorie, who just wants to get out of town; and the reprehensible coward, Jake Spoon, who abandons her and leaves her defenseless against the elements and those who would do her harm.

In truth, I sat down to read this book because I wanted to silence someone who insisted I read it…and so I talked my best friend (700 miles away) into reading it with me, just so I would have some company in what I thought would be a grueling read. To my surprise, it was action-packed, funny, heartbreaking, and truly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Trust me – you don’t want to miss this book. If you read nothing else this year, pick up a copy of Lonesome Dove. You won’t be sorry!

Hexed (Audiobook) by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels

By HCNewton

On June 24, 2016

In Audiobook, Dogs, Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin Hearne

Hexed (Audiobook)

by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels (Narrator)
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles, #2

Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hours and 52 minutes
Brilliance Audio, 2011

Read: June 21 – 22, 2016

This takes place just 3 weeks after Hounded and the dust is still settling. The target on Atticus is bigger than before — funny what a reputation as a god-killer will do to a guy, from attacks to pleas for help, more people than ever want to know where he is.

Last time, I summed up the book with this:

Atticus finds himself in even more trouble–this time there’s a very nasty coven that wants to come in and take over the Tempe area–and their first step will be eliminating all other magic practitioners.

So our hero has to suck up his prejudice against witches and team up with the very same group that threatened him last time out to defend the home turf and maybe even clean up some long unfinished business.

which pretty much holds up.

The couple of additions I’d make are that I loved Coyote, and had totally forgotten that he appeared so early in the series. I miss Mr. Semerdjian — and while I understand why Hearne took the steps he did to prevent us from getting the nosy neighbor in every book, I sort of regret it after getting reacquainted with the character. Another thing that I’d forgotten about, but really enjoyed (probably more than I should’ve) is the scene where Atticus has to go all Three Stooges with the policemen and his camouflaging of his sword, some baseball bats and himself. Seriously funny, while juvenile, stuff.

Speaking of funny, it’s dangerous to listen to these at work — there were at least two times that Oberon’s commentary made me laugh out loud. Thankfully, none of the people who work next to me were at their desks either time, or I’d have gotten a few looks. Just a warning to anyone thinking of it — you may look silly.

Luke Daniels delivers again — he’s so good at this that I’m thinking of shopping for something by him just to hear him read. The only complaint I have is that his Mr. Semerdjian sounds too much like a high-pitched Oberon. Which is just weird, and probably not something that either character would enjoy. Daniels’ Coyote, and the speech patterns Atticus adopts while talking with him are fantastic.

A great edition of a solid sequel.

—–

4 Stars