Posted Thursday, 12 April, 2018 by jorielov (Narrator) Alison Campbell, Kay Hunter Detective series, One to Watch, Rachel Amphlett, Saxon Publishing 0 Comments
Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “One to Watch” via Audiobookworm Promotions who is working directly with the author Rachel Amphlett in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
What held me in the throes of “Will to Live” and why I was itching for the next novel:
This soon became a rather complex arc where it truly foretold the author’s intricate way of giving us a riveting story in which to feel enthralled. She even gave Kay and Adam more heartache of concern over their personal safety as much as the boundaries between private life and public service. The further we dig into the series itself, the more alarming it is to realise what Kay is facing in her career – how sometimes there are people who working against you even when your simply trying to do right by those your entrusted to protect.
What was really cagey was someone was trying to drive Kay absolutely crazy by how they were ribbing her already vexed angst with confounding disbelief how records were consistently being re-arranged, re-written and edited. The records in question were connected to the case which had placed Larch on her trail – where nothing she did was good enough and everything she did was a new reason to give her grief from Larch. This was a nod towards how electronic records are too easily erased or altered outright without having a hard-copy to back-up the proof of what they contained originally.
As you move through the series itself, you start to observe the cascading effect of everything – how what you know from one installment feeds into the second and I am sure will continue to carry forward until the dramatic conclusion of where Kay Hunter finds herself in opposition with an unknown foe. It is this thrilling element of unknowns which keeps you hitched inside the series itself but you can’t forsake each of the individual cases to pick up on the subtle clues being added to the back-story of why Kay Hunter is being professionally attacked and challenged.
You become invested in her life and the lives of her detectives under her – especially when the new recruits to her team like Gavin and Carris prove they are not just incredibly brave and dedicated to the job but they give her a new hope to hang tight to prove one way or the other, she is not at fault for whatever is coming down in the future against her. In that regard, the last time I was caught up in a conspiracy against a lead character, it was when Beckett couldn’t sort out what was the truth about her mother’s death on Castle. I have more hope for Kay Hunter to have a better ending than Beckett had herself as Castle simply derailed after awhile.
Right now – I feel hungry for more of the series – as I have yet to truly solve one of the cases ahead of Kay and her team! Each time I think I have it sorted, Ms Amphlett happily throws me for a loop, adds another twist or gives me something to chew on whilst I wonder ‘how did I not see that coming?’ – she’s a brilliant plotter when it comes to a Contemporary Thriller – as you can’t help but listen to her stories straight through – not that I had the luxury of this as I had to break it into a few different listening sessions – but she wills you to want to do that! The absences keep the intrigue level at a high height of curiosity and by the time you listen to the ending chapters, your musefully happy for tucking into the Kay Hunter series! Literally, your mind swirls with everything you learn and you can only hope in the end, Kay and her colleagues can walk away like your favourite tv serial characters.
-quoted from my review of Will to Live
Similar to The X-Files, I have the tendency to truly hone in on the sub-plot which to me feels like the entire arc and anchour to a series – in the vein of how the conspiracy surrounding Kay Hunter and the person(s) who are attempting to dishonour her are what are motivating me forward after each installment. I am appreciating the tightly conceived mysteries threading through the series, but there is a moment of curiosity solely keen on finding out who is marking Kay Hunter as one to take-down when by all appearances, she’s a dedicated detective committed to her job and to her husband. She takes the cases seriously and she enjoys the bantering in the office with her fellow colleagues but she could do without the added stress she’s subjected to by Larch (the one character I wouldn’t trust if I were her).
As you move further into the series, you start to see new layers of interest towards this angle of theory surrounding Kay; each piece in of itself is a telling component of the building climax, wherein your unsure if your fully prepared for the ‘ending’ of how it will either come fully out into the surface or if there will be a showdown – as similar to what I voiced before, it does echo the issues Det. Beckett felt crushed under (ie. Castle) whilst it also echoes the trials and adversities of Rizzoli & Isles – these are fiercely strong women in law enforcement stories who are dealing with incredibly difficult issues from a nemesis they never quite understand until they can sort out their identity. Sadly, even then, sometimes the truth leads to more questions than a resolution.
I was contemplating where this was going to take us before I entered One to Watch – as I knew the titles had a duality of purpose – except, in this one regard, I was hoping it might leant itself to drawing us closer to the conspiracy rather than being the bridge clue into the mystery. I have a feeling when I finish my listening of Hell to Pay, I am going to be in withdrawal for Call to Arms!
One to Watch
Sophie Whittaker shared a terrifying secret. Hours later, she was dead.
Detective Kay Hunter and her colleagues are shocked by the vicious murder of a teenage girl at a private party in the Kentish countryside.
A tangled web of dark secrets is exposed as twisted motives point to a history of greed and corruption within the tight-knit community.
Confronted by a growing number of suspects and her own enemies who are waging a vendetta against her, Kay makes a shocking discovery that will make her question her trust in everyone she knows.
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Find on Book Browse
ASIN: B075ZY63PY
on 3rd October, 2017
Length: 7 hours, 27 minutes (unabridged)
Published by: Saxon Publishing
Scared to Death Cover AUDIO
Order of the Kay Hunter Detective series:
One to Watch | Book Three
Hell to Pay | Book Four | Synopsis
Call to Arms | Book Five | Synopsis
About Rachel Amphlett
Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.
Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.
She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | LibraryThing | FantasticFiction
Read More
Posted Thursday, 12 April, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), British Literature, Crime Fiction, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Detective Fiction, England, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Good vs. Evil, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Mother-Son Relationships, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Psychological Suspense, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Sociological Behavior, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, True Crime
Posted Sunday, 8 April, 2018 by jorielov (Narrator) Alison Campbell, Kay Hunter Detective series, Rachel Amphlett, Saxon Publishing, Will to Live 2 Comments
Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Will to Live” via Audiobookworm Promotions who is working directly with the author Rachel Amphlett in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
What held me in the throes of “Scared to Death” and why I was itching for the next novel:
Your heart is clutched in your throat as soon as you enter into the horror of their lives – two parents are madly driving off to the location they frantically jotted down in a desperate search for their daughter – as they argue about directions and which turn is which – you grow more anxious by the second as their car increases speed to shorten the distance from her to them. You feel their anxiety, you worry your own nerves won’t hold out nor will theirs as they inch closer to arriving.
The minute details of police procedurals, crime scene investigations and the actions of all of the characters each in turn of each other is a special feast for the reader – as all of these details add to the layering of how the audiobook is being narrated. You are happily so well in-tune with the visual aspects of this story as it unfolds as to feel like you’ve stepped through the pages and have entered each of the character’s souls. You feel and think just as they are whilst they are going through the motions of where each of their roles takes them. It’s a very intimate layering effect – as the human condition is dissected and re-affirmed through how Ms Amphlett gives her characters’ the freedoms to be raw and authentically honest as you would expect to find them if you had arrived on scene yourself.
I have a lot of praise for Ms Amphlett threading through this review but it was her tenacity for truism for the way in which she crafted this Thriller I wanted to make a special note about as she truly fused real-life methodology with a fictional crime in such an expert way of execution you simply could not forsake the time you had within it’s chapters! She pulls you in immediately as she’s mastered the heart-connection of giving an emotional layer of empathy between her readers and her lead investigator, Kay Hunter. This is pivotal not just for a Thrilling Crime Drama but for all stories as it lends itself a better route towards securing your attention for the long-term.
I was fascinated by finding the ‘science’ within Criminology being inclusive to the story-line but also, the layers of how Forensic Science played a crucial role as well. Even Forensic Psychology could be rooted out by how well she utilised her research into the background of the narrative and of the pacing of all the disclosures along the route of where the investigation turnt perspectives on the criminal minds behind the scenes. In short, she’s one writer to keep a keen eye out for future stories and series – she has a convicting way of alighting you into her character’s lives and once you feel that connection taking root in your own heart and mind, it’s an experience you want to keep repeating!
-quoted from my review of Scared to Death
I was so excited to be a part of this blog tour as soon as I finished the first installment – I had finally found a Contemporary Thriller novelist who gave me something I was looking for inside a gripping and realistic police drama without the overt explicit content too often running amuck in the offerings today. I don’t mind a bit of intensity but I’m not into the graphic nature most police dramas take you visually – irregardless if their on tv, in film or in a novel.
Blessedly, Ms Amphlett leaves me wanting more of her Kay Hunter series – because she’s found an empathetic bridge into Kay Hunter’s mind and heart – of anchouring us into her personal journey and the reasons why we should feel as attached to her as we do. She has a back-story running parallel to the cases and this reminds me of why I was attached to Rizzoli & Isles whilst the foundation of the series truly is a homage to NCIS. For these reasons, I am honoured to be a part of the blog tour and continuing my time with Kay and her team of detectives who have one of the most difficult caseloads anyone could ever hope to be delivered.
Will to Live
Reputation is everything.
When a packed commuter train runs over a body on a stretch of track known to locals as "Suicide Mile", it soon transpires that the man was a victim of a calculated murder.
As the investigation evolves and a pattern of murders is uncovered, Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter realizes the railway's recent reputation may be the work of a brutal serial killer.
With a backlog of cold cases to investigate and attempting to uncover who is behind a professional vendetta against her, Kay must keep one step ahead of both the killer and her own adversaries.
When a second murder takes place within a week of the first, she realizes the killer's timetable has changed, and she's running out of time to stop him....
Will to Live is the second book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter - a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future....
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Find on Book Browse
ASIN: B076B2B82J
on 12th October, 2017
Length: 7 hours, 15 minutes (unabridged)
Published by: Saxon Publishing
Scared to Death Cover AUDIO
Order of the Kay Hunter Detective series:
Will to Live | Book Two
One to Watch | Book Three | Synopsis
Hell to Pay | Book Four | Synopsis
Call to Arms | Book Five | Synopsis
About Rachel Amphlett
Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.
Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.
She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | LibraryThing | FantasticFiction
Read More
Posted Sunday, 8 April, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), British Literature, Crime Fiction, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Detective Fiction, England, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Good vs. Evil, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Mother-Son Relationships, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Psychological Suspense, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Sociological Behavior, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, True Crime
Posted Thursday, 29 March, 2018 by jorielov (Narrator) Alison Campbell, Kay Hunter Detective series, Rachel Amphlett, Saxon Publishing, Scared to Death 0 Comments
Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Scared to Death” via Audiobookworm Promotions who is working directly with the author Rachel Amphlett in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
What initially prompted me to listen to Scared to Death & why I loved it:
I became keen on Police Procedurals in my twenties – those were the years where I watched all the Law & Order series on television – where my preference was for the Original series and Criminal Intent. I also watched a heap of NCIS – including getting caught up inside the spin-offs, but it’s the Original series which captured my heart – all because of Mark Harmon, as it was his character of Gibbs who truly anchoured me into the series overall. The ensemble cast was impressively connected – they had a chemistry of connection you love to find in a tight knit series such as this one.
As I was listening to Scared to Death, there were overtures of NCIS within how it was being written whilst the details of what make this a hard-boiled crime drama also echoed those memories of watching NCIS and feeling as if the series was pushing me to the very edge of where I could go with a crime drama. There is a certain layer of intensity I can handle and then, if it goes too far afield from there, I tend to pull back and seek lighter faire. I always knew NCIS was at the height of what I could appreciate whilst Criminal Intent on the opposite end of the spectrum was also winning the top spot for it’s own unique styling of how you shift focus from the crimes to the law and to the police in tandem.
Generally speaking, I do not oft seek out the harder hitting Suspense & Thrillers as I can only take so much visually – generally erring on caution as I am a sensitive hearted reader. Ergo, when I learnt about this series, there was a particular reviewer who was commenting about the aspects of it’s center core – of what is inclusive and what isn’t – of course, this is subjective per each reader, but something made me think perhaps this series was one I not only could handle but perhaps, one I would enjoy listening too.
From the very first moment I started listening to the narrating styling of Ms Campbell, I knew I had made a good choice – even if I knew going in – I was going to re-examine my ‘live on the edge of my seat’ listening experience such as the ones I had during NCIS – I was game for a dramatic crime series such as this one due to series I have been appreciating through Seventh Street Press. (ie. Hiro Hattori, Marjorie Trumaine, Anna Blanc and Samuel Craddock respectively – all of which you’ll happily find on my blog)
Scared to Death
"If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully."
When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.
But Detective Kay Hunter isn't convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.
When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay's worst fears are realized.
With her career in jeopardy - desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay's hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.
For the killer, the game has only just begun....
Scared to Death is the first book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter - a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future....
If you like the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, Peter Robinson's DCI Banks series and the Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza, discover Rachel Amphlett's new detective novels today.
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
Find on Book Browse
ASIN: B076127JBZ
on 2nd October, 2017
Length: 8 hours, 27 minutes (unabridged)
Published by: Saxon Publishing
Scared to Death Cover AUDIO
Order of the Kay Hunter Detective series:
Scared to Death | Book One
Will to Live | Book Two | Synopsis
One to Watch | Book Three | Synopsis
Hell to Pay | Book Four | Synopsis
Call to Arms | Book Five | Synopsis
About Rachel Amphlett
Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.
Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.
She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | LibraryThing | FantasticFiction
Read More
Posted Thursday, 29 March, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), British Literature, Crime Fiction, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Detective Fiction, England, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Good vs. Evil, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Mother-Son Relationships, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Psychological Suspense, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Sociological Behavior, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, True Crime
Posted Tuesday, 13 March, 2018 by jorielov AshleyRose Sullivan, Awesome Jones series, Lona Chang, Seventh Star Press 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on the “Long Chang: A Superhero Detective Story” Superhero Fiction release tour from Seventh Star Press. The tour is hosted by Tomorrow Comes Media who does the publicity and blog tours for Seventh Star Press and other Indie and/or Self Published authors. I am a regular blog tour host with Tomorrow Comes Media and have been an avid fan of the #AwesomeJones series since it first debuted. I was overjoyed the second installment in the series is now releasing and that I could participate in it’s blog tour.
I received a complimentary copy of “Lona Chang: A Superhero Detective Story” direct from the publisher Seventh Star Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I love reading the #AwesomeJones series:
Lona Chang took Awesome by surprise, not only for her growing affection and respect of his character, but for being endeared to him as a companion. The two took to each other quite readily, but it was how they fit into each other’s pocket that I felt bemused about the most whilst reading the story! You see, they were the near-identical half of the other, and I refer to it being ‘near-identical’ as although they each read the newsprint release of breaking news, they differed on a category or two. Little unbeknownst differences out of a sea of common threads which helped knit Awesome Jones and Lona Chang together in the bliss of conjoined living. She was quite methodical herself, yet Awesome took the cake for exacting out his observations, and for being near computeristically perfect in his actions. Whilst the two were together, they not only complimented each other in synced harmony but they cancelled each other out on their eclecticism.
Lona and Awesome were intricately entwined by their common share of loss, as they respectively never knew their proper origins. They were each raised by loving parents who adopted them as their own when their biological parents had died. They attempted in their own way to resurrect a connection fate did not allow to solidify whilst their parents were alive. In their shared ambiguous loss, they each sought ways in which they could formulate a way to connect themselves through a passion of their parents; even if the only true connection they had were fragmented pieces of their parents personal effects. These tangible reminders were a weight of a burdened yoke which toyed with their emotional well-being.
When Awesome Jones grapples with the choice between the life he’s formed together with Lona and the life he’s dreamt of living, they each have to put to test the strength of their love for each other. I sided with Captain Lightning (one of the main superheroes focused on in the story) on the outdated rules and regulations of The Guild (apparently superheroes are organised more than you realise!). He’s put in a most difficult position because as you can well imagine, he goes from knowing a scant amount about his ancestry and then, in one large dose of revelation he gets far more than he bargained to learn! I would imagine that if you wake up one day and your entire essence of who you are as a person is chucked out for this alternative version; a version you knew nothing of and had no idea of how to accept, there would be a period of adaption to adjust!
This is when I found myself reading at such a lightning clip as to beg my eyes to move faster down the page, as I had my hand at the ready for turning into the next scene! Again, I love the pace of Awesome Jones as you get to the point where you want to see him succeed. You want him to develop self-confidence and believe in his own truth. There are always forces against you in life, and there is always a chance that your going to falter in your confidence on your own behalf, but part of what endeared me to this story is that the main characters believed in each other. It did not matter what the outcome of their lives would be as far as where their place in the world would fit, as if they had each other they could overcome just about anything crossing their path.
-quoted from my review of Awesome Jones: A Superhero Fairy Tale
Ever since I finished reading #AwesomeJones and took to Twitter to announce my findings within the first novel of the series, I’ve wanted to return. To become re-swept into the vision Ms Sullivan has created for her superhero world and to find out more of what she’s envisioned for her heroes. She has such a strong voice in this wicked hybrid of novelling a comic book story-line – wherein she’s created her own wonderful niche of how you can bend a novel to the will of your own pen. She’s given credence towards following your own instincts towards how a story can be told and she breaks barriers of code by how a novel can be written. In essence, she’s a rebel in her own right and I love her for it.
It is hard to pin down exactly what drew me closer to Awesome himself and to Lona’s story-line which hugs so close to our lead hero. There was a moment as I was first reading #AwesomeJones where I just felt this was a wholly original story, told in a unique manner of delivery where narrative and comic illustrations merged beautifully together to tell a poignant story. You become so dearly involved and entranced by her style, you nearly forget how wicked awesome it is to find someone who is re-setting the heights of where a story like this take a reader.
A bit like how we all have our preferences in superhero motion pictures and televised adaptations – I have the tendency to shy away from the leading crowd of options and seek out the ones who stand out to me. For instance, my favourite upcoming release at the moment is the sequel of The Incredibles – similar to this series, you could say they broke the rules on how superheroes can have a strong base of family and even their children can have hidden talents which can develop alongside their parents.
I truly love the vision of this series – not to mention the fact it’s a joy to be reading!! You don’t have to worry about anything too shocking taking place – even if there are hard-hitting threads within the series, I just meant, this is less intensive than reading traditional Crime Dramas. The beauty though is watching how Ms Sullivan crafts her stories together – as your hardest instinct to overcome is not to read this so fast that you miss the nuances along the way! There are little nudges of insight into the wider world as it’s evolving but mostly, I love the hugged close to her characters’ points-of-view the most! You feel so personally engaged with their line of sight and how they are internalising their own adventures – it’s truly a remarkable series!
Lona Chang: A Superhero Detective Story
by AshleyRose Sullivan
Source: Publisher via Tomorrow Comes Media
When one of the world's greatest superheroes dies in her arms, Lona Chang takes it upon herself to investigate his murder. Armed only with a power she barely understands and a mysterious coded book, Lona begins a quest for answers that leads her down a dark rabbit hole of secrets--secrets the ancient organization known as the Guild is determined to keep hidden at all costs.
Meanwhile, when a new threat descends upon Arc City, Lona's soulmate (and freshly minted superhero) Awesome Jones defies the Guild, dons the cape and cowl of his father and finds a group of unlikely allies. But can Awesome trust them--or himself? He'll have to fight his own demons first if he has any hope of defending the town-and the people-he loves.
As tensions rise between the Guild, Lona, Awesome, his allies and Arc City's criminal underground, Lona realizes that life, and the answers to its questions, are never as simple as they seem in comic books.
Genres: Action & Adventure Fiction, Adoption & Foster Care, Amateur Detective, Genre-bender, Superhero Fiction Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 978-1941706640
Also by this author: Silver Tongue
Published by Seventh Star Press
on 30th August, 2017
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 323
Published By: Seventh Star Press (@7thStarPress)
Available Formats: Softcover and Ebook
The Awesome Jones series:
Awesome Jones | Book One (see also Review)
Long Chang | Book Two
Converse on Twitter: #AwesomeJones + #LonaChang & #7thStar
About AshleyRose Sullivan
Born and raised in Appalachia, AshleyRose Sullivan now lives, writes, and paints in Los Angeles. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University and her first novel, Awesome Jones: A Superhero Fairy Tale is available from Seventh Star Press. She can be found at her website or her blog, My Year Of Star Trek.
Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Tuesday, 13 March, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Doctor Who, Fantasy Fiction, Genre-bender, Good vs. Evil, Horror-Lite, Indie Author, Parapsychological Gifts, Parapsychological Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Tomorrow Comes Media, Urban Fantasy, Urban Life, Vulgarity in Literature, Zombies
Posted Saturday, 10 March, 2018 by jorielov E. Chris Garrison, Four 'til Late, Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection, Katina French, R.J. Sullivan, Road Ghosts series, Seventh Star Press, Spectral Delivery, Tipsy Fairy Tale trilogy 2 Comments
Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
I have a very special *surprise!* for you, today is the dawn of a new interview series here on Jorie Loves A Story! As you know, I love trying new ways to connect with authors & for the readers of my blog to enjoy the conversations I bring to my blog. I’ve hosted live interviews on my blog where authors respond to questions in real-time with readers as much as I’ve hosted author chats on Twitter; not just solely the ones I host via @SatBookChat.
March, 2018 marks my 5th Blogoversary (on the 31st) here on Jorie Loves A Story – what better way to mark the auspicious milestone than to bridge into a new way of conversing with the writers I am appreciative for having crossed my path as a reader and as a book blogger? The first two lovelies will be focusing on two such authors – whose stories have enriched my heart & endeavoured to take my imagination further than I have travelled previously. They each write Speculative Fiction stories in niches of genre I had never known about previously until I tucked into their beautiful lovely novels and discovered new ways of ‘seeing’ Spec Fic!
I have scheduled a third video interview this Spring by an author I hope to read one day – so you see, today is quite the special day! This is the first in a series of video interviews wherein I have found a way to new media outlets to reach out through the divide and interact with authors in a way which builds on the conversations I started five years ago on Jorie Loves A Story but allows this new portal of insight to draw us all a bit closer and have the opportunity to get to know each other on a bit more of a personal level of insight.
I look forward to taking this journey with you and reading your reactions after you finish listening the conversations as they evolve. Although, these are vlog interviews – I encourage you to play them as they are embedded here, whilst having the JOY of reading my in-line reactions as I initially listened to them myself – seeing where the author & I each reacted to each other as we had this ‘virtual’ fireside chat and engaged in an intrapersonal way.
If you use YouTube directly, I encourage you to leave a comment on there as well as on this post in the threads below. This way both I & the author will know your thoughts, listening to your thoughtful comments & the conversation can carry forward. Bless you if you chose to share the video or this post on your own social networks.
Now, as you know – I am rather infamous for having delightfully in-depth conversations – therefore, before you hit the PLAY button, due yourself a kind favour? Brew yourself a cuppa & find a comfy spot to sit – this is interview is just shy of *forty!* minutes of bookish insight & writerly blissitude of the collective writings of Ms Chris (E. Chris Garrison). She’s a dear friend of mine – as previously disclosed – connected through this series (the Road Ghosts) as explained on my review of the series whilst we had the chance to ‘hear’ each others’ voices for the first time when we were both guests on the Star Chamber Show.
Come see why we both *love!* the paranormal & psychological suspense with dashes of Cosy Horror thrown in for good measure! Take a walk into the unknown realms & find an author talking openly & honestly about what excites her about her characters & why she loved writing this epic series entitled: Road Ghosts! Remember: as we both love the paranormal – share your own takeaways about ghosts & hauntings in the Comments!
On my connection to Ms Chris (aka E. Chris Garrison):
I first discovered the style of Ms Chris’s story-telling when we both appeared on the Star Chamber Show, which is a weekly podcast on BlogTalkRadio sponsored by the publisher Seventh Star Press. Since our first encounter with each other, we’ve developed a friendship I am blessed to have and I appreciate getting to know a bit more about an author whose not only developing a unique style in the world of Fantasy but is receptive to the thoughts readers have as they gain impression by reading the stories themselves.
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Chris through our respective blogs, the twitterverse, the podcast world, and privately. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. For more information, I disclosed a bit more on my first 10 Bookish, Not Bookish Thoughts (read No.7!).
The Road Ghosts Series:
Road Ghosts Omnibus E. Chris Garrison
spectral-delivery Book Cover
Four ‘Til Late (Book One)
Sinking Down (Book Two)
+ Spectral Delivery (companion short story) | *to fit between books 2 & 3
Me and the Devil (Book Three)
Published By: Seventh Star Press (@7thStarPress)
Available Formats: Softcover and Ebook
Why I appreciate reading the stories by E. Chris Garrison:
I’ve come to love how Ms Chris combines the supernatural with the fantastical – of how she has her own unique style for giving us Urban Fantasy with heaps of quirkified humour wherein the cosier bits of horror which are sometimes laced inside her stories never truly feel oppressively horrific. She keeps the tempo light in her craft but there are keen moments of seriousness abounding in them as well. She hits on harder topics, delves into the emotional and psychological lives of her characters but at the heart of her narratives are rag-tag families who choose to be together (strangers turnt friends who become bonefide family) to take-on whatever sinister forces are out to drag them down.
You get the benefit of having all the lovelies you love out of Fantasy intermixed with supernatural entities which could leave a few hairs standing on end – as they are brilliantly conceived and have their own nod of realistic intensity about them but you also know, your in for one wild and wicked awesome ride of a story! You can easily get caught up walking alongside her characters, seeing what they see and experiencing a bit of their lives as you do. They’re ordinary people who have had the extraordinary enter into their lives without too much interference on their end to jump-start the veils between the worlds to disappear. It’s keen how she writes the stories as if everything happening inside them is as natural to occur to her characters as meteorological phenoms.
-quoted from my SERIES Review of Road Ghosts
Read about how the Road Ghosts series was created & developed via Beauty in Ruins
I, especially loved reading this guest post on the blog tour this month due to the fact I hadn’t known the inside bits of how it was created or what was etched inside it until now. Connecting the dots on who inspired ‘Gonzo’ makes sense but also, how Gonzo embodies the spirit of ‘Uncle Chuck’ – this much I knew from reading ‘Restless Spirit’ ahead of the Road Ghosts series. Somehow I had also missed the fact my dear friend is a paranormal sleuth as well – something I’ll happily have to add to our upcoming convo for the tour! As we share a love of parapsychology! Ha! As soon as I saw her saying ‘Scooby Doo for grown-ups’ I smirked like a Cheshire cat! For one thing, who *didn’t!* watch Scooby Doo!? lol This guest post is delightfully engaging for those of us who haven’t had the pleasure of following the series as it released.
Converse on Twitter: #RoadGhosts & #7thStar
Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Saturday, 10 March, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Doctor Who, Fantasy Fiction, Genre-bender, Good vs. Evil, Horror-Lite, Indie Author, Parapsychological Gifts, Parapsychological Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Tomorrow Comes Media, Urban Fantasy, Urban Life, Video (vlog) Author Interview, Zombies
