Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Audubon Caper - Reviewed by Larry B. Gray

Review of The Audubon Caper   
by R. Murry

Guest Reviewer: Larry B. Gray



Review:

Do you want to read a book you won't put down? Do you want a book that will grab you by the seat of your pants and won't let you go? 

The Audubon Caper by R. Murry is the book for you. In this true crime tale, Roy Murry has pulled it all together into a fast past adventure tale.

The author did a great job in developing the story line. It is both easy to follow and believable. Each plot and subplot kept me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down.

The characters were easy to identify and follow. I found myself caught up in the story, cheering for the hero all the way through. The author made the characters believable and like able, even the so called bad guys.

I enjoyed reading The Audubon Caper by R. Murry and highly recommend it.  I give read FIVE STARS.


Purchase at:





Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Ghosts & Lovers



Review of Ghosts & Lovers:
First Confession     
By Aneesa Price

Reviewer:  R. Murry

Having an active sexual lover makes for a happy camper in most cases.  Preferred lover is the one that you’re married to.  Ms. Price developed an interesting twist on that theme.

The physical acts of making love in Ghosts & Lovers are written so well I reread them twice and may look at them again in the future.  Her main character Simone is in need of that physical enjoyment.   It is found in her new home’s shower while her husband is working and pursuing other endeavors.  Sex is forced on her to the point of enjoyment until guilt and love for her husband overcomes the encounter.

That is all I can say without telling you who her new lover is and what the story entails.  The psychological involvement between the two voyagers into bliss comes across well with a climactic conclusion that the reader will enjoy.

Ms. Price construction of this novella is straight forward with no lapses that the reader would lose their attention. The story is quick moving and right to the point – which is more important: love of a good man or great sex through imaginary endeavors?  Simone answers that question.     

A quick read before bedding down with your lover is recommended.

Books: http://www.amazon.com/Aneesa-Price/e/B008NA62CO

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Aneesa Price



Interview with Aneesa Price          
author of Ghosts & Lovers: 
First Confession

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I live, read and write romance. I have my own ‘happily ever after’ (although we worked for it) with my husband and two princesses. We currently reside in Johannesburg, South Africa, the largest metropolitan area on the African continent.
I first worked as an intern psychologist and after a stint as a therapist I left psychology for the corporate world. There I climbed up the ladder to become a Senior Change Consultant, which is what I now do as my ‘day job’.
My journey as an indie writer was born of extreme dissonance and needing to be more creative in my work. I played around with the idea of opening up a patisserie but thank goodness, one day I sat down and just wrote. It was love at first sight. 

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

I only wrote once before and this was in Junior High. It was a fantasy, which is about all I can remember. Then in the next year, I moved schools as racial segregation was coming to an end in South Africa and I was so busy adjusting that I didn’t quite pick up the pen again – instead I baked and read – A LOT.
I believe the time wasn’t right for me to begin writing in earnest then. I needed to experience and overcome the many challenges that life threw at me. This past, as well as the privilege I had as a therapist of encountering the pasts of others, deeply colors my writing.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

My life inspires me as does my loves… they inspire me in all that I do. I often don’t know exactly what plants an idea seed but I do know that I put who I am into my writing. Not in the autobiographical sense but things I value, things I’ve felt, seen, heard or observed in others.
The odd thing is that since I’ve begun writing, my subconscious is quieter, more content. I used to have many vivid and sometimes nightmarish dreams but when I write, I sleep the restful sleep of darkness.

What do you like about writing a story?

It just feels right. I could go for endless hours without moving an inch when I press my laptop keys. It doesn’t feel like work, it isn’t hard to do and it seems as natural as loving my children. I accept it as a part of who I am and who I’ve belatedly discovered that I need to be.

Can you tell us about your books?

I wanted to create ways of making my work more accessible, so I combined the two novels and one novella that I wrote this year into The Romance Collection: 3 in 1 Christmas 2012 Special Edition. Not the most exciting title but I reckon that the holidays are exciting enough and I so wanted a Christmas themed book cover, which it has.
This book contains Coffin Girls, Finding Promise and Ghosts & Lovers: First Confession. I’ve also added 4 bonus recipes from my pantry so to speak referred to in the book as Love Romance, Love Food.
My books are written for adults who believe in happy endings and who want a realistic journey where the road to that ending has inter- and intrapersonal challenges for the main characters to overcome.

What genre best fits for the book?

Ghosts & Lovers: First Confession is an experiment that I approached with trepidation and ended up loving. Here, I didn’t do any research until halfway through writing it. And it is a huge departure for me at least in that it is written in the first person, set in South Africa and is short. It is ultimately about love, marriage and desire with a paranormal twist.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I’ve begun writing the second installment of the Coffin Girls series but I’m taking this one slowly by design – I need this one to surprise and delight too. I owe it to the Coffin Girls fans.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Do your research, write from the heart, write with your readers in mind and carry on writing until you finish the work.
Edit your work many, many times and if you can afford it (I seriously recommend this), hire an editor.
Read, have an open mind and heart and watch and listen. Our world is beautiful and strange and the reality of it often offers much to amuse, delight or make our eyes mist.

Where can people go to read your work?

I had my work available on all the major online retailers but I mostly sold books through amazon. I’m thus now experimenting and seeing if exclusive publication through amazon would be beneficial. I have to review this in February next year.
Here is my amazon author page link where my books are all listed:

http://www.amazon.com/Aneesa-Price/e/B008NA62CO

Do you have anything to add?

I’m a writer, we always have a lot to say *grin*.
I welcome new connections with humble appreciation. Lovers of romance, fans of my books or other writers and reviewers are welcome to connect with me via the social networking sites.

Here are details:
Aneesa Price – Sugary, Spicy Reads (author and reviewer page on Facebook):

Aneesa Price’s Fabulous Fan Club (on Facebook):

Twitter:

When I host giveaway or release events, I always announce it on the Fan Club wall and Sugary, Spicy Reads. I also do ad hoc giveaways for Fan Club members only.
I would like to, if I may, end off by extending my sincere gratitude to the many fantastic friends and readers who support me by reading my work and who encourage me to continue on this writing journey. Thank you too to Mary-Nancy Cody Smith for the amazing editing job on Ghosts & Lovers: First Confession and for her support and belief in me. Thank you to Carrie Fort and Mary-Nancy for surprising me with the Fan Club and for administering it. 





Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Heroes and Lovers Review


Review of                           
Heroes and Lovers
By Wayne Zurl

Reviewed by R. Murry

My uncle Lou used the word spiffy to infer that an individual had class, was cool, and had his act together.  Yes, the 60’s.  I’m dating myself again.  I don’t think spiffy is a real word, but it describes Mr. Zurl’s character Sam Jenkins and spell check didn’t put a red line under spiffy.  Sam is a hero with style.

Wayne’s characters come alive in a small Southern State in the United States of America where the day to day life of a relocated New York gray haired detective is accounted for.  Criminal events happen that must be rectified.  Mr. Zurl goes into some detail in his interview below.  I won’t.

What I’ll say is the character Sam is the center of resolving crimes against his town where he is the Chief of Police. The whole story revolves around how he intellectually finds clues that others don’t see.  Not because he is such a brain, but because of his investigative street smarts that they don’t have in the Smokies.

Sam’s wit is sometimes over bearing, but enjoyable to the reader. Not so for the other characters he is surrounded with.  To them, he comes across as not being sensitive enough at times.  He feels he is and can’t understand why they don’t get it.

Here’s where the love comes in.  Three women love him: his wife, a reporter, and his police desk sergeant.  They’re all in love with him on different levels.  Fair to say, this presents some uneasiness for Sam, who tries to understand the why.  

Even though he jokes about these subconscious affairs going on, they pop up to the surface.  Sam is oblivious to the underlining affect.  All the three women try to explain with some break through.

The adventures in this light crime chronicle are appealing to the reader who wants to enjoy a read that is not over bearing with a blood and guts story.  Heroes and Lovers is a fun read with some frills attached. 

Buy at amazon:  http://amzn.to/1IuSeYr
  
     

Monday, December 17, 2012

Interview with Wayne Zurl


Interview with 
Wayne Zurl, Author of 
Heroes and Lovers

Questions by R. Murry


Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Shortly after World War Two I was born in Brooklyn, New York. Although I never wanted to leave a community with such an efficient trolley system, I had little to say in my parents’ decision to pick up and move to Long Island where I grew up.

Like most American males of the baby-boomer generation, I spent my adolescence wanting to be a cowboy, soldier, or policeman. Of course, all that was based on movies and later television. The Vietnam War accounted for my time as a soldier.

After returning to the US and separating from active duty, the New York State Employment Service told me I possessed no marketable civilian skills. So, I became a cop. That was as close to military life as I could find. Now that I’m retired from the police service, I still like the cowboy idea, but have interrupted that aspiration with an attempt at being a mystery writer.

Years ago I left the land of the Big Apple, and live in the picturesque foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee with my wife, Barbara.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

I remember taking an elective English workshop in high school and probably wrote several stories there, but I can’t remember any of them. The first fiction I had published was a novelette called A LABOR DAY MURDER.

I based it on a gambling raid I led at an after-hours club in New York. Like all the Sam Jenkins mysteries, I transplanted the case to Tennessee and gave it a little Smoky Mountain flavor by adding some non taxed moonshine to the illegal card game. The story-worthy problem came after finding a handgun linked to an unsolved homicide.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone mystery series inspired me to develop the Sam Jenkins stories. Stone was a former LAPD detective who took a chief’s job in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts. I figured I was a cop and Parker wasn't  I could draw from twenty years of war stories and turn them into fiction. How hard could it be to make a retired New York detective a Tennessee police chief? I soon learned getting fiction published wasn't a walk in the park.

What do you like about writing a story?

I’ll always say writing is fun. The post-publication marketing is too much like work. Taking an idea from one or more actual cases or incidents, fictionalizing and embellishing it to a standard of marketable fiction is like making something from raw materials. 

Getting a finished product good enough to be “sold” to a publisher is gratifying. Those finished products satisfy my creative need. And it’s easier to stack up manuscripts or books than model airplanes and oil paintings.

Can you tell us about your book?

HEROES & LOVERS is a composite of real incidents. The initial sting operation used to prosecute a flim-flam artist is the kind of thing cops do all the time. It allowed me to get Sam and TV reporter Rachel Williamson together again and put people in certain places at inopportune times. The more complex problem was based on an assault and attempted rape of someone I knew. 

I used a kidnapping to prolong the incident and add that extra tension readers like. This story shows a darker side of Sam Jenkins atypical from the other books and novelettes. Sometimes cops do things they wouldn't ordinarily do if they become too personally involved with a case.

Here’s the book jacket summary:

Sam Jenkins might say, “Falling in love is like catching a cold.  It’s infectious and involuntary. Just don’t sneeze on any innocent people.” 
Getting kidnapped and becoming infatuated with a married policeman never made Knoxville TV reporter Rachel Williamson’s list of things to do before Christmas. 

Helping her friend, Sam Jenkins, the ex-New York detective and now police chief in Prospect, Tennessee, with a fraud investigation sounded exciting and would get her an exclusive story. 

But Sam’s investigation put Rachel in the wrong place at the wrong time and her abduction by a mentally disturbed fan, ruined several days of her life.

When Jenkins learns Rachel has gone missing he mobilizes all personnel at Prospect PD and enlists his friends from the FBI to help find her.

During the early stages of the investigation, Sam develops several promising leads, but as they begin to fizzle, his prime suspect drops off the planet and all the resources of the FBI isn't helping.

After a little old-fashioned pressure on an informant produces an important clue, the chief leads his team deep into the Smoky Mountains to rescue his friend.  But after Rachel is once again safe at home, he finds their problems are far from over.

And if anyone is in the mood for a short film with some really cool music, here’s the video trailer link: http://youtu.be/koFYAGc6I3U

What genre best fits for the book?

It’s a police mystery with a pinch of thriller tossed in.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I've just finished revisions and my portion of editing on another full-length novel called PIGEON RIVER BLUES. As soon as my wife proofreads it, I’ll ship it off to the publisher for his editor to take a look. Here’s my idea of a dust jacket summary:
Winter in the Smokies can be a tranquil time of year—unless Sam Jenkins sticks his thumb into the sweet potato pie.

The retired New York detective turned Tennessee police chief is minding his own business one quiet day in February when Mayor Ronnie Shields asks him to act as a bodyguard for a famous country and western star.

C.J. Profitt’s return to her hometown of Prospect receives lots of
publicity . . . and threats from a right-wing group calling themselves The Coalition for American Family Values.

The beautiful, publicity seeking Ms. Proffit never fails to capitalize on her abrasive personality by flaunting her alternative lifestyle—a way of living the Coalition hates.

Reluctantly, Jenkins accepts the assignment of keeping C.J. safe while she performs at a charity benefit. But Sam’s job becomes more difficult when the object of his protection refuses to cooperate. 

During this misadventure, Sam hires a down-on-his-luck ex-New York detective and finds himself thrown back in time, meeting old Army acquaintances who factor into a complicated plot of attempted murder, the destruction of a Dollywood music hall, and other general insurrection on the “peaceful side of the Smokies.”

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

I've learned something very important from having my stories produced as audio books. Listening to what you write gives you a better perspective than just reading it to yourself over and over again. Ending up with a cadence or writing voice that sounds good to a reader is just as important as any other aspect of writing. So, I’d recommend to take what you believe is a finished product, lock yourself in a room or sit in the woods, and read your story aloud. You will pick up little things that need to be rephrased or tightened up every time.

When you’re peddling your work to an agent or publisher, who accepts submissions directly from an author, NEVER GIVE UP. Don’t think that just because one or two dozen people reject you, all is lost.

Where can people go to read your work?

A good place to start is at my website. Readers can find all my published works, a chronology of the stories, summaries and excerpts, reviews and endorsements, and even photos from the areas when the action takes place. Then, all the larger sellers have given me author pages. 

Here’s a list of links:

Author website:  http://www.waynezurlbooks.net 
Mind Wings Audio author page: http://mindwingsaudio.com/?s=wayne+zurl


Do you have anything to add?

Sure. I’d like to thank you for reading my book and inviting me to your blog to meet your fans and followers. Since I’m writing this on December 17th, I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday—no matter which one you celebrate, and a healthy New Year.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Animal Passions


Animal Passions
      Written by
Melody Snow Monroe

Reviewed by R. Murry

Lara, the main character in Ms. Monroe’s sizzling novel, tells a friend about what happened to her when she disappeared days ago.  She says, “I stumbled upon what is called an alignment point and landed in an alternate reality.”  I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase. 

“An alternate reality” is where Lara was according to this entertaining story of how she falls in love.  In that reality, her two male lovers are shape-shifters.  They shift from humans to lions, protecting their beloved Anterra. 

These men are the border patrollers.  That is how they come upon Lara at an alignment point, which comes and goes at will near the border.  At the time, they were battling their enemy the shape-shifters, the wolves, which often happens.

This paranormal shifter novel has all the right ingredients to keep the reader involved.  Ms. Monroe’s characters are well defined, and the story moves at a good pace until you hit the sex scenes, where the pace moves faster to the point of ecstasy for the characters and the reader.

Those encounters bring Lara closer to her partners than she wishes.  She wants to return to her reality – her friends, work as a movie star, and the pleasures of earth.  Only her lovers can return her to mother earth, on the other side of the alignment point. 

You’ll have to read the book for yourself to see if Lara’s true reality is arrived at.   I was going to use a corny phrase said by Lara near the end of the story, but it would be a give-away. 

I recommend this enjoyable read to those who like encounters by threesomes. Have ice cold water nearby to keep you cooled down during the read – it’s hot.


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Melody Snow Monroe



Interview with Melody Snow Monroe
Author of Animal Passions and many others

Interviewed by R. Murry


Can you tell me a little about yourself?
I taught high math, economics, and photography for years until I decided I wanted to write full time. I joined RWA in 2001 and belong to two local chapters. What’s helped me the most is meeting some amazing authors who were so willing to share their wisdom.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?
I am probably one of the few authors who never wrote stories-other than for school assignments (note the math background). I did, however, love to read. I started with Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler and Kathleen Woodiwiss (my mom was a huge romance reader). When my book buying began to impact our finances, my husband suggested - why I don’t write a book. I figured how hard could it be? Answer? Damned hard.
BTW. My first book is still “under the bed.”

Were you inspired by someone or something?
My husband thought I could do it. Ha. I am a natural storyteller, but it took years and years of honing my craft to learn how to write.

What do you like about writing a story?
I love coming up with characters and putting them through their paces. When I write, I get to control things (actually my characters control me. Hmm. Maybe I’m really a submissive—okay not going there)

Can you tell us about your book?
ANIMAL PASSIONS was a complete diversion from the previous 23 books that I had written. I’d only done contemporary and wanted to branch out. I put myself in my heroine’s head and wondered what would it really be like if you went for a walk in the woods and ended up in an alternate reality where men shifted into lions and wolves? Hence the story was born. And boy was I hooked on shifter stories. The men are so alpha and yummy.

What genre best fits for the book?
ANIMAL PASSIONS is a paranormal shifter story with two men and one woman (Ménage)

Are you working on something new at the moment?
I have 5 books in the High-Country Shifter series (only 4 are out—ANIMAL PASSIONS is the first in that series). I wrote another 5 book series set in Delight, North Carolina in which panther shifters are trying to keep their identity secret. What’s different about this series is that encoded into their DNA is the fact that when they meet their mate, they know it immediately. Too bad the mate might not want anything to do with them. That’s my Panther Cove series.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Write, write and write some more. I write 4000 words a day, go to meetings, and connect with other writers. I think entering contests really helped me develop a thick skin. Listen to people. If three or more tell you the same thing, consider what they have to say.

Where can people go to read your work?
My books can be found either on the Siren website at http://www.bookstrand.com/melody-snow-monroe
Or on Amazon:

Do you have anything to add?
If you read an author’s work and like it, either give it a rating, a like, click on the tags, or write a review. Remember, we are people, too.
Also, it is NEVER too late to start. If twelve years ago, someone had said I’d be a bestselling author, I would have laughed. Now, I’m smiling.