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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Authors Taking the Easy Way Out



This week Facebook was lit up with drama, but then again when isn’t it?

The reason for this uproar is due to an author, who set up a GoFundMe campaign asking people for money to fund her full-time writing career. I won’t reveal this author’s name, but if you’re on Facebook, I’m sure you’ve seen it mentioned.



The action of this author has other authors fuming, saying it isn’t right for her to ask readers to donate so she can pursue her writing dream. On her page, the author talks about the hardships of writing and how she wishes to be a full-time author.

News flash! Every author has been down that road, you’re not the first one and you certainly won’t be the last.

As authors, when we decided to pursue our writing dreams, we knew there'd be challenges along the way. Aside from writing, we also work other jobs in order to pay the bills. Sure, we’d love to be able to write full-time, but unfortunately it isn’t possible. Yet, we continue to strive, hoping that one day we can achieve our dream of writing full-time.



In life there aren’t any easy passes, if you want something you’ve got to work hard for it. There are obstacles along the way, but you’ve got to learn to overcome them, that’s one of the biggest parts in pursuing your dream. When you work hard to achieve your dreams, you feel a sense of accomplishment. At the end, you realize all the work and challenges were worth it.

Tell me, where’s the sense of accomplishment if you take the easy way out.  



Personally, I’d rather work hard and earn my dues. As for the author and her GoFundMe account, I wonder how they feel. Do they feel a sense of accomplishment knowing she’s relying on others to make her dream come true? Do they feel guilty for taking their reader’s money?

Based on some of the comments I’ve read, the author doesn’t care what others think. They still stand behind their actions; they see nothing wrong with it and are quick to shut down anybody who criticizes them.

Since the author continues to go ahead with their GoFundMe plan, all I’ve got to say is good luck and don’t let it come back to bite you.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Book Review: Excellence by Raj Davis



Title: Excellence
Author: Raj Davis
Genre: Urban Fiction
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Excellence is the story of siblings Todd, Lee, and Ebony, who grew up in an abusive household and as they reach adulthood they strive for excellence and making something of their lives. The siblings go down different paths in life. Todd became a drug dealer and ends up in prison, while his sister Lee became a social worker who strives to help others like her, her work priorities tend to come first in Lee's life which makes her son Nicholas feel neglected. As for Ebony, she's a child genius who enters college at an early age and quickly becomes an respected doctor.

The premise of the story is great, I loved reading about the siblings journey through life and how their experiences molded them to become the way they are. As you read about their plights, you feels sadness for what they go through and how deeply they were affected by their childhood.

While the story was wonderful, I did think it was short. There were some parts that I felt could've used more details. For instance, I felt like the author could've delved more into their childhood. The first chapter gives detail about what life was like growing up and throughout the story they mention how bad their father was and how they never want to see them again., yet I felt like there was more that needed to be explored. Also, the ending even though it was supposed to be a tearjerker, I felt like it was stiff. The characters' emotions didn't emanate off the pages and I felt like their stories wrapped up too quickly.
Rating: 4 stars 


Monday, September 14, 2015

Cover Reveal: Rock and Roll Saved My Soul


Fighting Chance -- A Rock & Roll Saved My Soul Anthology:


On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. this equates to more than 10 million women and men per year.

 Domestic violence isn’t just about being physically abused. It’s also about the emotional and psychological side, too. Come on a journey with others who have experienced domestic violence and are willing to share their stories, to show everyone else out there that they have a chance.

Fighting Chance is a book of stories and poetry for those who have dealt with domestic violence and are sharing how they stood up to it and have moved on with their life. It wasn’t easy for most of us. And some of us still may struggle with it, but we want to reach out to others who may be going through something similar and let them know you don’t have to put up with it. Find your voice and fight back.


Behind Closed Doors by Kate Marie Robbins: 

Everyone knows everyone else's business. This is the world that Ivy Martin grew up in. Her life was far from perfect. Bullied mercilessly in high school. All she wanted was to leave the town and all the cruel kids behind and start a new life.

But when she goes to the annual graduation party things take a turn for the worse. One of her only male friends, Landon takes advantage of her, leaving her feeling dirty and used.

College wasn't any different. The kids are just as cruel. Then she meets a man and hopes that her luck had finally changed, but Davin isn't who Ivy thought he was. And before she knows what is happening she's trapped in an abusive relationship with almost no way to escape. Isolated from her friends and family, she has nowhere to turn.

This is one woman's story of the devastating heart break that domestic abuse can bring.
Survivor by Renee Jean: 

Jasmine Byers couldn't think of anything better than going to a party with her best friend, that is until she arrived and met Tyler Winegard, the most handsome boy she had ever seen.

Everything started out perfect. He was sweet, attentive, and made Jasmine feel like she was the only girl in the world. Slowly, however, she noticed that everyone around her had begun to pull away. She found her entire world revolved around a boy she was starting to suspect had a more sinister side. 

After just a few short years Jasmine's dream man turned into a nightmare and now she finds herself fighting not only for her sanity, but also her life.


Finding Rachel by Brianna Vanderland:

I needed to find Rachel once more...

Maybe it was my fault.  I married too young and had my son too young.  Not that I would trade Daiel for the world.  Jason was everything at first, but he changed.

He became violent, he hurt me and our son, something I'd never forgive him for, but I knew I needed to get away and become as strong as iron. 

I needed to find myself again.

Tainted Deception by Aleya Michelle


TAINTED DECEPTION by Aleya Michelle
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Standalone Novel
- SYNOPSIS -
Ivy Maisen thinks she knows exactly what type of guy Chase Hudson is — billionaire, extremely good looking, cocky as hell, and a guy that women salivate over... 
But looks can be deceiving... 

Underneath the tuxedo, luxurious demeanor and smooth character is a bad boy covered in tattoos, piercings, the lead singer in a band, and he owns three of the clubs that Ivy frequents. 

Oh and he rides a Harley... 
Will Ivy finally open her eyes and allow herself to see the real Chase or will she reject his alter-ego and refuse his advances again and again? 

When desire is tainted with deception and lies, does that person become less desirable? 
Could love be the one thing powerful enough to push them past the deception and down to the real person underneath the facade?



- PURCHASE -



- ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
ALEYA MICHELLE
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia. 
Happily married and mother of 3 gorgeous and very active boys. A true lover of reading and escaping into a book, I love to write and find solace and escape through my characters and story lines.
So excited to finally publish my debut novel Breaking my Heart in May, Book 2 Healing my Heart was released September 17th.
The third and final book in My Heart Series is Forever in my Heart and is releasing February 20th.
Favorite past times include shopping, reading, going to the beach and seeing friends. 
Music is another great love.

- SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS -
AMAZON
| FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | TWITTER

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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Book Review & Giveaway: One to Go by Mike Pace




Title: One to Go

Author: Mike Pace

Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Tom Booker’s life is about to change and make him question everything he’s ever known.

Upon leaving work, he’s involved in a deadly car accident and in the other car is his daughter and a group of her friends. In order to save their lives, Tom makes a deal with two demons, he becomes their personal hitman by killing a person every two weeks.

Everything returns to normal and Tom thinks he imagined the whole scene, but a few weeks later one of the passengers dies and Tom realizes everything’s real. Knowing that his daughter’s life is at stake, Tom uses his job as a lawyer to find victims to sacrifice in order to save his daughter. As time ticks away, Tom struggles with his conscience, his religious beliefs, and faces trouble that put his and his daughter’s lives in jeopardy.

I admit at first I didn’t like Tom, his drinking and his womanizing turned me off a bit. Yet, as the story moved forward and Tom struggled with his guilt for taking lives, I sort of felt sorry for him. It showed that he had a conscience and even though what he does is wrong, the scenes with his daughter proved his love for her and what a parent would do to protect their child.

The demons in the story took on human form and I have to say they creeped me out, especially when they’d pop up at various times to taunt Tom about his deal.

The book started off a little slow at first, but towards the middle it picked up steam when Tom found himself in trouble and coming up with a way to keep his end of the bargain with the demons. As for the ending, it kept me on edge wondering was Tom going to be able to save his daughter and I liked how the author tied up the loose ends.

One to Go is a mysterious thriller set against Washington’s backdrop that combines the elements of crime, politics, suspense, and the supernatural.

Rating: 4 stars
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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Cover Reveal: Tempted by a Vampire by Susan Griscom

Title: Tempted by a Vampire
Series: Immortal Hearts of San Francisco
Author: Susan Griscom
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Cian DeMarco, a sexy, rockstar billionaire vampire has lived in San Francisco's prestigious Cliff Side neighborhood in his beautiful mansion overlooking both the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean for seventy years. Happily—or so he thought. Until the rare beauty that is Magdalena De la Rosa sits down at one of the front-row tables in Club Royal where he and his band perform once a week.
Magdalena De la Rosa has it all—Bachelor's degree in journalism, a job she loves in California, a gorgeous apartment in San Francisco, and a dream guy. Except her boyfriend lives and works in Sacramento—an hour and a half drive from the city Magdalena has always fantasized about living in. All her dreams change, however, when she and her girlfriend find their way into an upscale nightclub and she's suddenly swept off her feet by the lead singer of that night's performing rock band, The Lost Boys. 
Sparks ignite between the two until a threat that was thought to no longer exist returns to wreak havoc on Cian's and Magdalena's lives. Will the temptation to be together outweigh the reality of what Cian must do to keep Magdalena safe from harm? 
A stand-alone book. The first in the all-new Immortal Hearts of San Francisco series. 18+ due to adult content.


Susan Griscom writes paranormal and contemporary romance. She's hooked on gritty romances and is a huge fan of superheroes and bad boys confronted with extraordinary forces of nature, powers, and abilities beyond the norm mixed with steamy romance, of course. 
She loves those days when she gets to sit around in her sweat pants, doing nothing but writing emotionally charged stories about love and violence, and drinking coffee. 
She lives in Northern California with her romantic husband and together they have five great superhero kids and eight mini-superhero grand kids, so far.
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