Sunday Salon - Happy Halloween!

If you'd like to participate with The Sunday Salon, just click the button above.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Blog Tour: Moonlight Rises by Vincent Zandri

Interview

1) What type of research do you do for your books?

Mostly I make it up as I go.

2) Do you prepare an outline before you begin a book?

I used to prepare outlines, but now the first draft is a detailed outline

3) What book would you choose to read for your own relaxation?

Reading a pretty cool novel by JR Rain right now called The Lost Ark

4) Who is your biggest influence in your writing career?

Ernest Hemingway

5) Who is your all time favorite author?

Ernest Hemingway

Book Details

Genre: Adult Suspense, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: StoneGate Ink
Publication Date: August 13,2011

Synopsis

“Life sucks. Then you die. Or, if you’re Dick Moonlight, first you die and then you live.”

Dick Moonlight is dead.

Really dead this time, now that three President Obama-masked thugs dressed all in black and communicating only with hand-held voice synthesizers pressed up against their voice boxes have beat the life right out of him inside a dark, downtown Albany alley. What are the thugs after? A box. Size, weight, description unknown. They also want him to stay away from his newest and only client: a handicapped nuclear engineer of dubious Russian heritage by the same of Peter Czech.

But then, now that they’ve killed him, Moonlight’s problems seem to be over. In fact, as he undergoes an out of body experience, his soul floating above his train-wreck of a corpse inside the Albany Medical Center I.C.U., he feels pretty damned good. Great in fact. To make death all the more sweeter, his one true love, Lola, is standing by his bedside. With her long dark hair draping her chiseled face and big round Jackie O sunglasses hiding tear-filled eyes, she appears every bit the grieving sig other. Nothing could make the dead-and-gone Moonlight prouder.

But then something happens. Something bad. A man enters into the I.C.U. Some young guy. He takes hold of Lola’s hand, and pulls her into him. Together, the two share a loving embrace over Moonlight’s dead body. Now, what seemed like a peaceful death is anything but. Moonlight wants back inside his body so he can face-off Some Young Guy and find out if his true love has in fact been cheating on him. At the same time, he wants to find out the true identity of those thugs who killed him so he can exact his revenge. No doubt about it, Moonlight needs to live if he’s going to uncover some pretty painful answers and take care of business.

Like a little kid dropping down a playground slide, Moonlight slides right back inside his bruised and broken body. Opening his eyes the white light blinds him. He feels the pain of his wounds and the pain of his breaking heart.

Life sucks, then you die.

But Moonlight rises.

Author Bio

Vincent Zandri is the No. 1 International Bestselling Amazon Kindle author of THE INNOCENT, GODCHILD, THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT FALLS, CONCRETE PEARL and the forthcoming MOONLIGHT RISES. He is also the author of the bestselling digital shorts, PATHOLOGICAL and MOONLIGHT MAFIA. Harlan Coben has described his novels as "...gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting," while the New York Post called THE INNOCENT, "Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant!" In March, April and May of 2011, he sold more than 100,000 Kindle E-Books editions of his novels, and is rapidly closing in on the 200K mark all totaled. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri's work is translated into many languages including the Dutch, Russian and Japanese. An adventurer, foreign correspondent, and freelance photo-journalist for RT, Globalspec, IBTimes and more, he divides his time between New York and Florence, Italy.

Connect With Vincent

Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Website

The Next Stop

October 29th-Full Feature&Giveaway@CMash Loves To Read

Purchase Links

Amazon|BarnesAndNoble

Cover Art Weekend Blog Hop

<center><a href="http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Yvonne473/coverartweekendbloghop.jpg"/></a></center>



This is a brand new meme to display all those beautiful, funny, crazy and even those that make you think book covers you come across each week. I don't know about the rest of you, but I love looking at different book covers. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but they are sure fun to look at. So, if you'd like to join in the fun, all you have to do is...

1. Take the button at the top of this post and post it on your blog.

2. Chose a book cover of your choice and post it. (You can post as many covers as you'd like.)

3. Sign up with Mr. Linky below. Please use the url that links directly to your cover art post.

4. Visit other blogs on the list to see what covers they are featuring this week.

Instead of just one day, I thought I'd run this through the weekends - from Fridays to Mondays. That gives people more of a chance to blog hop.

Have fun!

Another Halloween book (plus, it fits in with my cats and mystery theme!)

Guest Blog: Author Marja McGraw

The Socrates' Book Review Blog and The Socrates' Cozy Cafe Blog are happy to welcome author Marja McGraw to our happy home. She agreed to do a guest blog post and we're so happy she did. Marja is the author of two mystery series, The Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries. Welcome Marja!

I Wish I’d Written that Book

I enjoy writing mysteries more than anything I’ve ever done before. Initially people called it my “hobby”, and I smiled politely while trying not to voice my thoughts. However, about the time my fifth book came out, those who knew me decided it wasn’t a hobby after all. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)

However, I’m also an avid reader, or at least I was until I started writing. Now I don’t have enough time to read everything I’d like to. For purposes of this article though, I’m going to remain a reader.

Beginning with my mother’s Honey Bunch books, and moving on to the Oz books, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books, and finally real honest-to-goodness adult books, I’ve enjoyed the freedom to go places and do things vicariously through the characters and the stories.

All that reading and all of those characters and storylines are what prompted me to write mysteries. Some of the ideas are so unique that when I finish a book I sit back and wish I’d written it.

Janet Evanovich is so funny. Mary Higgins Clark’s books are so polished. Tony Hillerman’s books gave me a whole new perspective on quietly waiting for things. I can’t wait for the next Dorothy Bodoin book to come out so I can see what her characters and the collies are up to. I love exploring the pyramids with Elizabeth Peters. Clive Cussler takes me on such wonderful adventures. And those authors are only the tip of the iceberg. I’m constantly finding new and lesser known authors to read.

When To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee came out, even though I’d never given a thought to writing a novel, I read the last page and wished I’d written that book. The characters were so real to me—Atticus, Jem and Scout. The storyline reminded me of what times and people were like in the thirties. (Even though I wasn’t even a sparkle in my mother’s eyes in the thirties, I’ve heard things.) And Boo Radley--oh, what a guy. I think every town has had someone whom people talked about and who was highly misunderstood. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read the book. You’ll be glad you did.

Marley & Me by John Grogan made me laugh out loud, and then the story made me cry. I wish I’d written it because it was so entertaining. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t really quite believe the story and ended up with two yellow Labrador retrievers, Sugar and Murphy. Believe me, Grogan’s story was spot on. These dogs are half nuts, but I wouldn’t give them up for anything.

Sometimes I read one simple idea in a story--and wish I’d thought of it first. Oh well… I do my best.

If you like mysteries, and the idea of being stranded in a ghost town appeals to you, try Old Murders Never Die, by me (Marja McGraw). Maybe one day someone will read it and say, “I wish I’d written that.” One can always hope.

Yvonne, Thank you for letting me visit today. Thinking about all the books I’ve read makes me remember why I enjoy writing so much.

To find out more about Marja's books, check out her wonderful website...

Marja Mcraw Website


and check out her books...

Thank you so much for joining us, Marja!

Cat Thursday - October 27th

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Teaser Tuesdays - October 25th

If you'd like to play along on Teaser Tuesdays, just click the button above.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading...



I had a few bouts of fitful sleep, but none after three o'clock in the morning when I thought of the things I'd said to him. I'd been replaying his words and actions over and over, and they were bad enough, but my own sickened me. I'd begged my cheating boyfriend not to leave me. Worse, I'd offered to let him try out his new girlfriend then return to me if he wasn't satisfied. "Take her for a test drive, honey, then come back to the old reliable ride waiting at home."

Musing Mondays - Audio Books

If you'd like to play along on Musing Mondays, just click the button above to join in.


This week’s musing asks…

Do you listen to audiobooks? Why, or why not?

My answer...

Yes, I do. I have a commute to work for a total of an hour a day. So, I figure in those 5 hours a week, I should get some reading accomplished. It doesn't always work out well since some books just don't work for me as an audio book, but I've been able to catch up on some series books this way. I find it's a little harder for me to listen to suspense books, but the chick lit or non-fiction books work really well for me in audio.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last week I finished...




Currently reading...



Next up? I'm not really sure, but it might be...

Bingoed by Patricia Rockwell

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
EBook

Publisher:
Cozy Cat Press

Release Date:
July 2011

The Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility is really hopping when one of their residents, Bob Weiderley, wins at Bingo. A whole dollar bill is his, but when he goes up to collect his winnings, he passes out and winds up in a coma. His fellow residents are stunned. Bob has been in such good shape, even though he is nearly 90.

90-year-old Essie Cobb isn’t buying that the excitement got to Bob. There has to be more to the story than that and she intends to find out. Along with her good friends Opal, Marjorie and Fay, they investigate the situation and find much to be suspicious of and a surprising amount of suspects.

For one thing, just before Bob fell into a coma, a stranger sent him a letter with incredibly shocking news. There’s, also, the director of the Happy Haven, as well as the social director, both of whom are acting strangely. Essie’s suspicions even stretch out to the women Bob eats dinner with on a regular basis. She’s determined to get to the bottom of this and find out who wants Bob dead and put an immediate stop to any more plots to kill the man.

Bingoed is a humorous book filled with both mystery and laughter – not to mention a number of endearing characters that will warm your heart. It’s a fast-paced, quick read that will surely lighten your mood. This is the first, and hopefully not the last, in the Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth Mystery series.



FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own..

Book Blogger Hop 10/21-10/24

The blog hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books

This week's question...

“What is your favorite type of candy?”

My answer...



I LOVE M&M's. Plain, peanut...doesn't matter to me. I love them all.

Follow Friday 40 and Over

This a fun blog hop hosted by Java at Never Growing Old. It's for all bloggers over 40. Here are the rules...

1. Grab the button
2. Add your link to the list
3. Visit as many other blogs as you can
4. Follow the ones you like (and comment on their blog to say that you are following)

Sign up at Never Growing Old.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Follow Friday Four Fill-In Fun - Week 33

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
This is a fun meme and it's hosted by Hilary at Feeling Beachie. Check out her lovely blog, if you'd like to participate.

This week’s statements

1. I am afraid of bugs - any kind of bugs, I don't discriminate!

2. My bedroom is my favorite room of my house (everything is here - our TV, my computer)

3. The last time I went to the bookstore I couldn’t stop writing down all the books I wanted.

4. I got my first couples massage when I was in Mexico last year.



see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Cover Art Weekend Blog Hop

<center><a href="http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Yvonne473/coverartweekendbloghop.jpg"/></a></center>



This is a brand new meme to display all those beautiful, funny, crazy and even those that make you think book covers you come across each week. I don't know about the rest of you, but I love looking at different book covers. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but they are sure fun to look at. So, if you'd like to join in the fun, all you have to do is...

1. Take the button at the top of this post and post it on your blog.

2. Chose a book cover of your choice and post it. (You can post as many covers as you'd like.)

3. Sign up with Mr. Linky below. Please use the url that links directly to your cover art post.

4. Visit other blogs on the list to see what covers they are featuring this week.

Instead of just one day, I thought I'd run this through the weekends - from Fridays to Mondays. That gives people more of a chance to blog hop.

Have fun!

I thought this would be appropriate for the season...

Booking Through Thursday - Vacation Reads

If you'd like to join in on Booking Through Thursday, just click the button above.



This week's question...

Do your reading habits change when you’re on vacation? Do you read more? Do you indulge in lighter, fluffier books than you usually read? Do you save up special books so you’ll be able to spend real vacation time with them? Or do you just read the same old stuff, vacation or not?

My answer...

I tend to read more because I'll have more time when I'm on vacation whether it's on a plane ride or waiting in an airport or lying on a beach. Also, I don't take a computer on vacation with me. Therefore, I'm not checking email, blogging or Facebooking. More time to read!

As for the type of books, I try to stay away from review books because I need to clear my head and it would feel as if I'm doing a job instead of vacationing. I'm the type that has to write my review right after I finish a book or I forget what the book is about. LOL Short term memory :) However, I'll be going away in a couple of weeks and I'll probably be reading review books anyway because I'm so far behind.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Cat Thursday - October 20th

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Laurel Dewey

What Goes Into Researching A Suspense Thriller

By Laurel Dewey


When I first told a few friends that I was going to write a crime/suspense thriller with a mystical twist, one of them responded with, “So, are you going to learn how to shoot a Glock?” I realized that “shooting a Glock” (a service weapon a lot of cops own) was an example of how superficial the understanding can be of what cops do. So much of what we think goes on during a homicide investigation is framed from what we’ve seen on television or the movies. And, yes, “shooting a Glock” is really a minor portion of that.

Since I had zero understandings of the workings of a real homicide detective and I wanted to make sure everything was authentic in the Jane Perry series, I sought out a lot of police officers from all the various levels of law enforcement: Street cops, fraud detectives, homicide sergeants, etc. all helped me create a much more accurate picture of what I needed. I went on midnight to six in the morning ride-a-longs with two street cops and garnered insight into what goes on when the rest of us are asleep.

I also went to Denver and was thrilled when a public information officer for the Denver PD allowed me to tour the actual homicide division at Denver Headquarters. This kind of tour was invaluable to me because I could describe the carpet, color of paint, where the detective’s offices were located, what view they had outside their windows, what the interrogation room looked like, and so much more. To me, this just helped make the whole setting more authentic.

Perhaps the most difficult part was realizing that I needed to describe crime scenes in a realistic manner. I met a homicide cop in Grand Junction, Colorado who was extremely generous with his time. He put together a slideshow presentation of gruesome crime scenes based on what I knew would be featured in the books. I needed to know what a knife wound really looked like, what a suicide gunshot to the head actually looked like, and many other grisly, real-life, death-inducing events. But because of certain plot points in my first novel, Protector, I also needed to see crime scenes that involved children. This was probably the worst thing I had to witness. The only way I could view it was without emotion and looking on it as an investigator would— basically separating themselves from the reality and focusing on the arm, then the leg, then the head and so on. But there is still one photo that I can’t get out of my head and it’s not so much because of brutality. In fact, the two children in the photo appear to be sleeping peacefully in the photo. And I think that’s what gives it a sense of creepiness because if you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t know they were deceased.

One homicide detective I talked to a lot during the research of the first novel in the Jane Perry series, Protector, told me that if any writer wrote a book on what really transpires during an investigation, it would be incredibly boring. I remember one of his comments that television and films have given people the idea that murders are solved within a set period of time and usually fast, with lots of twists and turns. The truth is that most homicide cases that have no immediate suspect can take years to solve, if ever. And any twists and turns are few and far between. The bottom line is that a writer needs to create just enough suspension of disbelief to make it interesting without making the reader scream out, “Hang on! That would never happen!”

Case in point: in Protector, there’s a scene where Emily (the young victim who witnessed the murder of her parents at her home but can’t remember what she saw) is brought back to her house with Jane to see if her memory can triggered. That’s something that actually can and does occur in investigations. However, in order for certain major plot points to happen, I had to create a situation where Emily stayed overnight in the house with Jane. When I asked the detective about whether this was legit, his comment was adamant. “That would never happen. Completely out of protocol.” But then he quickly suggested that if one of the characters mentions that it’s against protocol, it would soften it a little and make it more realistic….even though it would still never happen. The scene remains in the book with the necessary “against protocol” statement and it’s one of the dramatic and chilling scenes in the book.

And what about shooting that Glock? Yeah, I did that too. In fact, I took a weekend NRA gun safety class where I shot targets, learned about gun laws in Colorado, cleaned the Glock, practiced loading it quickly and was counseled on how to determine when and when not to shoot during a home invasion.

Basically, I immersed myself in the world of Detective Jane Perry in order to write about her life and her work. From the incredible reader response I receive on a daily basis, I think it all paid off.

AUTHOR BIO: Laurel Dewey was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the author of two nonfiction books on plant medicine, a Silver Spur-nominated Western novella, hundreds of articles, the Jane Perry novels, PROTECTOR, REDEMPTION, and REVELATIONS, and the Jane Perry novelette, AN UNFINISHED DEATH. She lives in Western Colorado with her husband, where she is currently working on a standalone novel.

AUTHOR SITES:
Website: www.laureldewey.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurel-Dewey-Author/200115782067

Blog Tour: Unrevealed/Promissory Payback by Laurel Dewey

Unrevealed/Promissory Payback by Laurel Dewey

Genre:
Suspense, Thriller

Format:
EBook

Publisher:
The Story Plant

Release Date:
October 2011

These are two separate books, each one is a novella.




Unrevealed:

This is a synopsis from Barnes & Noble:

Laurel Dewey’s Detective Jane Perry is quickly becoming one of the most distinctive, dynamic, and unforgettable characters in suspense fiction today. She’s rock hard, but capable of extraordinary tenderness. She’s a brilliant cop, but she’s capable of making life-altering mistakes. She’s uncannily talented, and she’s heartbreakingly human.

In Unrevealed, Dewey gives us four indelible portraits of Jane Perry:

ANONYMOUS: One of Jane's first AA meetings leads her to an encounter with a woman in need of her detection skills...and a secret she never expected to uncover.

YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: Forced by her boss to speak at a high school career day, Jane meets a troubled boy and finds that his story is only the beginning of a much more revealing tale.

YOU'RE ONLY AS SICK AS YOUR SECRETS: An early-morning homicide call introduces Jane to a mystery as layered as it is unsuspected.

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM: Jane finds herself sharing a 2:00 am conversation at a downtown bar with an old acquaintance. Will the bloody night that proceeded this moment complicate Jane's intentions?

Filled with secrets disclosed and others desperately covered, Unrevealed is an absolute treat for all Jane Perry fans – four stories, all told from Jane's distinctive and unparallelled perspective.


My thoughts…

I never read anything by this author before so this was a great introduction to her writing as well as this series. Jane Perry is a wonderful and strong female character. I always enjoy “discovering” strong female characters. She says what’s on her mind and she’s a character that readers will be cheering for. This novella was a great way to learn more about this character before reading more in this series.




Promissory Payback:

Jane Perry is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of a much-hated woman who mislead investors leading them to lose all their hard-earned money. There is a long list of suspects and Jane has her work cut out for her.



My thoughts – This was a great suspense. I really enjoyed trying to figure out things along with Jane. There were a couple of twists and turns, although I didn’t think the outcome was all that shocking, but it was a good mystery.




I give both stories a 4 kitty rating.




FTC Disclosure: Partners in Crime Blog Tours provided me with a copy of this book to review for the blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Teaser Tuesdays - October 18th

If you'd like to play along on Teaser Tuesdays, just click the button above.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading...



"What do you think caused him to pass out?" asked Marjorie.

"I guess winning Bingo was just too exciting," suggested Essie. The three women looked back and forth at each other.

"I guess if you have to go, winning at Bingo is the best way," said Opal.