Chirenjenzie

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Check out The Fly House!

All righty,
You know we love our indie authors. And so when we have someone that completely rocks the hizzouse, we just have to shout it out!

This weekend marks the launch of Misty Provencher's newest book, The Fly House. Misty's an incredible person and a great writer. We first met her at the UtopYA conference last summer, and she is a hoot!

Here's the synopsis:
The Earth’s atmosphere is swiss cheese. To avoid the oncoming oxygen crisis, black-sheep heiress, Maeve Aypotu, has been chemically suspended in one of the Archive’s plush, multi-million dollar chambers, located underground. Scientists claim they can patch everything up in about 15 years, so, just to be safe, the Archive programmed the chambers to open in 17 years.

And then, everything on Earth went wrong.

Up on the surface, Pluto has taken control of the planet, scorching away all signs of human civilization and reconstructing the environment to suit the Plutian’s lucrative dragon trade. Humans that survived are forced to be laborers, divided into five Houses, each handling a different stage of the dragon harvest. Survival and repopulation have become a currency among the Houses. To make matters worse, Rha Diem, the rugged leader of the Fly House, has gotten word that the cost of existence just rose to a price that no human should have to pay. And now there is a whole Archive of survivors that will be expected to pay too.

Learning to trust one another may need to start small—with the fusion of one powerful Rha and one bad ass black sheep—before a damaged race can even hope to regain control of their alien Earth.

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? It's only $0.99!

Visit Misty at: http://mistypro.blogspot.com/

Here are Misty's 7 ways UtpYA 2013 Con inspired The Fly House.

1. The Fly House cover wouldn’t be what it is now if I hadn’t met Amy Miles at UtopYA. She hated the first cover with good reason (I’ll show it to you later). Girlfriend’s got an eye. She sent me some pics of different dragon ideas, including the dragons that are now on the cover. I ran with it! Thanks again, Amy!

2. Janet Wallace mentioned several times in the conference to “Lift as you climb.” The idea being that we support one another. What a beautiful thing to say. Such a powerful message, it slam-dunked me. Although the message is throughout the book, I was happy that I was able to incorporate the actual phrase into the book, since it meant so much to me.

3. Diem’s name probably should’ve been Annus, but, well…I couldn’t do that to him. During her closing speech, Janet Wallace told us to ‘Carpe Annus’…live the year. I love Latin (it was a base for many names in the Cornerstone series) but we had to go with Carpe Diem for this tale.

4. Janet Wallace had a baby before UtopYA and she made an appearance at the conference too. Her name is Maeve.

5. After the con, I stayed in touch with several of the readers, bloggers and writers. One of them contacted me to do a charity for a family with three children who had lost their father. I donated two character names, to be named by the patron of the highest donations. Amber Bradshaw & Amy Z were the generous contributors. Be sure to look for their names in The Fly House!

6. I love challenges. I had decided that I would write a book on whatever the 2014 theme for UtopYA was, because I had loved the con so much and knew I was coming back instantly. However, the moment the 2014 theme was revealed, I kind of freaked. ALIENS?? What was I going to do with ALIENS?? It wasn’t my usual fare, but aliens ended up being a blast to write!

7. Diem’s dragon was named in honor of the relationships I forged while at UtopYA. I know, it’s a dinky thing, but it was symbolic to me of the huge and powerful relationships I came away with.

Ways to find Misty

Monday, December 2, 2013

Charisma Blog Tour--Another Hit for Hall!

I'm half way through this one and absolutely loving it! Seriously, if you like adult contemporary you'll love this one! Be sure to scroll down and enter to win a SIGNED copy of Charisma!

Blurb:

In the aftermath of a violent incident and near death experience, Sarah Lange is plagued by heavenly voices and dogged by a desire to return "home". Frightened by her desire to terminate her existence on earth, she checks into a trauma center in Malibu, California and meets Dr. David Sutton, an intellectual, a scientist, a reductionist and someone who believes in nothing beyond his immediate experience. David’s world is as divorced from mystery and magic as Sarah’s is alive and animated by it. Their sessions open up a dialogue about the separation of worlds—one easily defined and explained and one unknowable and waiting on the other side of human experience. Even as his faith in his profession fades, David struggles to bring his disturbed patient back to the real world. In a desperate effort to define herself, Sarah "escapes" and David must decide how far he is willing to go to save a patient and ultimately himself.

About Barbara Hall:

Barbara Hall is an award-winning author, screenwriter, vocalist and television producer. She was the executive producer of the hit CBS drama “Judging Amy” and the creator of “Joan of Arcadia”—the highly successful television series in which she reinvented the Joan of Arc legend in the form of Joan Girardi, a teenager who keeps encountering God—as both a cute boy and a lunch lady.

As a child growing up in Chatham, Virginia, Barbara Hall had a single vision: moved to write by the isolation and frustration of a small Southern town in which she lived. The youngest of three siblings, she often collaborated on stories with her older sister. Hall knew by the age of eight what career path she would lay out for herself. Hall attended James Madison University, gaining a myriad of awards during her completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

An accomplished author, Hall wrote three young adult novels including: “Skeeball and the Secret of the Universe”, “Dixie Storms” and “Fool’s Hill” as well as the mystery “House Across the Cove”. Her other novels include “A Better Place”, “Close to Home” and “A Summons To New Orleans”. Hall’s literary work has also been recognized by the American Library Association Best Books & Notable Books.

In the realm of television, Hall has been nominated for three Emmys (“I’ll Fly Away,” “Northern Exposure”) and a Golden Laurel from the Producers Guild of America, receiving a Humanitas Award, NAACP Image Award and TV Critics Association Award. “Judging Amy,” earned numerous Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for its cast and crew, was nominated for New Program of the Year at the 2000 Television Critics Association Awards and won Favorite New Series at the 2000 TV Guide Awards.

Not confining her talents to the written page, Barbara Hall is an accomplished musician, vocalist and a founding member of the alternative country rock band—The Enablers. The Enablers album, Come Back Soon, is available via her website at www.theenablers.net.

Barbara Hall lives, writes and creates in Pacific Palisades, California with her daughter Faith.

Connect with Barbara:

Website
Twitter
Facebook

Book Trailer

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Kailmeyra Series Gets a Makeover!

Hi all!
I'm so excited that today is the day I get to officially introduce the new Kailmeyra Series book covers. When I joined the merry band over at Raven Key Press, the first thing they requested to change were the covers. My incredible literary manager, Italia Gandolfo, submitted the request to Michael Canalas, oh-my-god-incredible-graphic-designer-extraordinaire, and boom-shacka-lacka this is what he came up with!

I absolutely ADORE the new covers! Even better, I took the opportunity to fix a few things in the books that had been bothering me, and I added a few scenes along the way.

So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive! We're still plugging away at trying to get the soft covers up and running (a logistical nightmare, but that's a post for another day :-), but hopefully we'll have them live pretty soon!

Best news is that if you purchased the ebook through Kindle, the update should automatically show up on your device. #win/win.

I'd like to take a sec and thank you all for being so supportive. Your positive feedback and encouragement is what keeps the fires burning! :-)

An update about the third in the series, The Heart of the Ancients. The cover designer is working on the jacket even as we speak, and we are starting serious rounds of editing. I promise we'll have it up and running as soon as we can!

Friday, November 22, 2013

The Kennedy Imperative

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's Assassination. Some will remember where they were when a shot was fired from a book depository. Some will vividly recall the graphic footage of that fateful day. As for me, Kennedy reminds me of my childhood kitchen table.

Why?

My father had a fascination with the Kennedy era. He's a conspiracy theorist by nature (even though he'd never admit it). I came from an extremely intelligent home, where dinner was a family affair. Every night, discussions over plates of pasta or meatloaf and mashed potatoes were really debates more than anything. We'd discuss everything from a woman's right to choose to the hunger crisis that so affected Ethopia at the time. Values were challenged. Beliefs forged. Character molded by the sheer act of communication. My father is still to this day one of the most complex people I've ever known. Through the years, one of the most favored topics was President Kennedy.

And so when Leon Berger's new trilogy came out, I did what every self-professed book snob does ... I went to Amazon and opened the look inside. After the first few pages I pre-ordered the entire series for my father for Christmas (all three books in the series are on the way even as we speak :-).

I'm sure dear old dad won't mind if I have a little looksy first before I wrap them in pretty paper and attach a bright red bow. After all, he'll need someone to hold a lively discussion on New Year's Eve, right?

If you are history buff that loves it when a writer has enough talent to weave fiction into reality, you have to check the series out.

Here's the info on the first book. And the best news? The ebook's only $3.99!

About the book:

The Kennedy Imperative (BOOK 1 OF A TRILOGY: BERLIN 1961)

While the construction of the Berlin Wall challenges JFK with the first major crisis of his Presidency, young CIA agent Philip Marsden is sent on his first mission across into East Berlin. As the tanks face off at Checkpoint Charlie, he uncovers the difficult truth about his Russian-born mother.

About Leon Berger:
After an extensive globetrotting career based in London, New York, Singapore and Beijing, I'm now fortunate to be able to spend more time at home in Montreal indulging in my twin obsessions of writing and photography.
Since returning from abroad, I've had 10 books published, with many positive reviews in national and international media as well as some exceptional reader feedback. Several have been translated and two have won major awards.

My largest and most ambitious writing project to date is THE KENNEDY TRILOGY, my newly released series of political thrillers based on the 3 major crises of the JFK era, Berlin, Cuba and Dallas.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Review: 3 Gates of the Dead by Jonathan Ryan

Sometimes, the most evil things come from the most holy…

Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, Aidan Schaeffer, a young assistant pastor, is in a constant state of spiritual turmoil. When Aidan learns that his ex-fiancée is the first victim in a string of ritualistic killings, he finds himself in the middle of an even deeper fight. Tormented by demonic threats and haunted by spirits, Aidan throws himself into investigating Amanda’s death; all the while supernatural forces have begun to attack the people around him. The more questions he asks, the more he is drawn into the world of a mysterious Anglican priest, a paranormal investigation group and a rogue female detective investigating the murders. As the gruesome rituals escalate, ancient hidden secrets and an evil long buried threaten to rip Aidan’s world apart.

Chirenjenzie had the honor of being part of the cover release for 3 Gates of the Dead back in the spring. Now, I'm super stoked to announce that it's available for all the world to enjoy! Here's my review:

While I'm typically not a fan of horror, Ryan absolutely blew me away with 3 Gates of the Dead. It's entirely creepy and disturbing ... and that's a good thing.

We start off with Pastor Aidan Schaeffer who's having a bit of a faith crisis. Actually, it'd be a huge faith crisis considering he's the associate pastor of an Ohio church, and pastors are supposed to believe in God. As if that's not enough, he finds he's suddenly suspected of the ritualistic murder of his ex-fiancee, Amanda.

After being cleared of the charges, he sticks around to help the smexy Detective Brown work through the increasingly disturbing clues. With the help of some paranormal investigators and a priest you can't help but love, Aidan struggles to piece together the clues left by Amanda before the next murder occurs. Is it just some nutcase at work or is there something much more sinister at work?

Ryan does an exquisite job in creating a novel that covers every element of storytelling to its fullest. Sharing the horror limelight with the likes of Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft can't be easy, but Ryan knocks it out of the park with 3 Gates of the Dead! Trust me when I tell you, you'll never look at footprints in the snow the same way again!

If you like horror, suspense, and all things paranormal, you're definitely in for a treat!

I have to recommend giving this book a try even if you aren't a horror lover. The writing is excellent, the characters a rich and unique. This is the kind of novel that leaves you thinking about it for months afterward. And that, to me, is a great read! Definitely worth 5 bloody footprints!

~ Izzie

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Premier Digital Publishing is Giving Away Ebooks!

One of our favorite indie publishers, Premier Digital Publishing, is giving away 5 free ebooks to two lucky winners! If you haven't checked them out, they have some great books by incredible authors! Click on the pic to see their catalog, and the rafflecopter is below that.

Whoot! Gotta love a good giveaway!
Pam

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

No Way Out is Amazing!

Book Blurb:

When a powerful firebomb destroys part of an art gallery in an exclusive London district, FBI Profiler Karen Vail is dispatched to England to work with Scotland Yard. But Vail soon discovers that at the heart of the bombing lies a 440-year-old manuscript that holds clues to England's past—with content is so explosive that a group of political radicals is bent on destroying it at all costs.

The trail leads Vail to a notorious fugitive who appears to be planning a major attack on London and the United States. Soon she finds herself on the run from the British security service, Scotland Yard and a group of internationally trained assassins—all determined to silence her…all tightening the net to ensure that she’s got no way out.

National Bestselling author Alan Jacobson has crafted an intelligent, twisting thriller destined to be talked about long after the last page is turned.

My Thoughts About the Book:

Karen Vail is a true tough chick. Her tough demeanor really plays well throughout, and the authors mad writing skills really brings the setting to life. I've never been to England, but now I want to go!

I won't go past the back of the book blurb, but just know that if you are an adventure/thriller reader, you'll love this book! I'm going back to the first in the series now and reading them in order straight through! :-D

Hey, don't forget to scroll down and enter the giveaway. You get a signed copy of the book PLUS $50 bucks. :-)
Much love,
Britt

About Alan Jacobson:

Alan Jacobson’s literary career has been marked by a number of events, but none was more significant than an accidental meeting 20 years ago while researching his first novel, "False Accusations," at the California Department of Justice's crime lab. Jacobson struck up a conversation with FBI agent Mark Safarik, a profiler at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and Agent Safarik subsequently invited Jacobson out to Quantico to tour the Academy.

With the FBI’s help, Jacobson immersed himself in the world of serial killers, rapists, bombers and arsonists. Over the course of seven years, Jacobson made numerous trips to the BAU, had countless hours of conversations with Agent Safarik and his partner, attended FBI training courses, shot submachine guns with the Academy’s head firearms instructor, edited four published FBI research papers on serial offenders and parsed serial killer interviews with Agent Safarik.

Jacobson was finally ready to write his third novel, the first featuring FBI Profiler Karen Vail—the national bestseller, "The 7th Victim." Oozing sharp wit and sarcasm, Vail means well but is human and makes mistakes. The head of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers association described Karen Vail as “a cop you'd go through a door with"—a phrase used to describe a colleague with whom officers trust their lives when bullets are flying.

“No Way Out” is the 5th Karen Vail FBI Profiler novel, which takes place after a terrorist attack in England. Vail journeys overseas, unearths a 440 year-old manuscript, a terrorist plot, and a cadre of assassins who would like nothing more than to make Vail ancient history.

Connect with Alan here:

Website

Facebook