Double Showcase (Review & Q&A) | “The Gilded Cage” by Judy Alter A story Jorie was inspired to read due to ancestral roots in Chicago!

Posted Friday, 17 June, 2016 by jorielov Alter Ego Publishing, Judy Alter, The Gilded Cage 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “The Gilded Cage” direct from the author Judy Alter in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read ‘The Gilded Cage’:

For those of my dear hearted readers who follow me on Twitter, they might have seen me add ‘Ancestry Sleuth’ to my Twitter Profile ahead of June’s arrival. It was a wink and a nod towards the fact that I love researching my ancestral roots, and how ancestry has long-held an appreciation in my family’s living history stories! On this note, the key reason I was keen on reading The Gilded Cage was the fact the entire story is based on the history of Chicago – a city that is quite important to my ancestral past!

So much so, it has sort of rubbed off on me as those who are familiar with Mid-Western dialects and specifically how a Chicagoan talks, I’ve been told my family’s roots in the Windy City has affected how I articulate my words! I am a true blue smorgasbord of my gene pool – as I am predominately of Mid-Western & Northeastern roots, with a fleeting layover in the boroughs of New York! Laughs. Somewhere along the route of all of that, as influences of linguistics out of my European & Scandinavian ancestry fused together, I came to speak without a familiar accent per my region of birth.

I always felt this was a positive thing – as it speaks to how the living histories of my family’s past were a big part of my childhood, and how the pursuit of ancestral research was truly inspired by the work my Mum and grand-father had begun before me! It’s a pursuit I’ve taken up again with Mum, as we chase through the pages of time, seeking out new information and finding the databases are blessedly being updated quite regularly these days!

The past is never fully outside our grasp, but sometimes the ‘stories’ of the past are lost to time itself. This is why finding stories built around certain decades of time help to illuminate a particular setting & timescape into your mind’s eye. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to learn more about Chicago’s Gilded Age and use what I learnt in Ms Alter’s novel as a my own springboard towards talking more about Chicago with my Mum! I only wish my grandparents could have been here to join in on the conversations!

I was inspired by the premise of the story to host a convo with the author in conjunction with my review on this blog tour. Due to a slight delay in the responses reaching me, I’ve amended my tour participation to include this double-showcase rather than two separate entries on it!

The Gilded Cage

Born to a society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and become one of the major robber barons of the city, giving generously to causes of which he approved. She put philanthropy into deeds, going into shanty neighborhoods, inviting factory girls to her home, working at Jane Addams’ settlement Hull House, supporting women’s causes.

It was a time of tremendous change and conflict in Chicago as the city struggled to put its swamp-water beginnings behind it and become a leading urban center. A time of the Great Fire of 1871, the Haymarket Riots, and the triumph of the Columbian Exposition. Potter and Cissy handled these events in diverse ways. Fascinating characters people these pages along with Potter and Cissy—Carter Harrison, frequent mayor of the city; Harry Collins, determined to be a loser; Henry Honoré, torn between loyalties to the South and North; Daniel Burnham, architect of the new Chicago—and many others.

The Gilded Cage is a fictional exploration of the lives of these people and of the Gilded Age in Chicago history.

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780996013123

on 18th April, 2016

Pages: 318

Published By: Alter Ego Publishing

Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook

Visit this page on the author’s site for Excerpts of the Novel!

About Judy Alter

Judy Alter is the award winning author of fiction for adults and young adults. Other historical fiction includes Libbie, the story of Elizabeth Bacon (Mrs. George Armstrong) Custer; Jessie, the story of Jessie Benton Frémont and her explorer / miner / entrepreneur / soldier / politician husband; Cherokee Rose, a novel loosely based on the life of the first cowgirl roper to ride in Wild West shows; and Sundance, Butch and Me, the adventures of Etta Place and the Hole in the Wall Gang.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Friday, 17 June, 2016 by jorielov in 19th Century, Bertha "Cissie" Palmer, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Chicago, Civil Rights, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, History, Indie Author, Passionate Researcher, Potter Palmer, Reader Submitted Q&A, Social Change, the Gilded Age, Vulgarity in Literature, Women's Fiction, Writing Style & Voice

Blog Book Tour | “The Judgment” by D.J. Niko #Biblical #HistoricalFiction

Posted Friday, 10 June, 2016 by jorielov D.J. Niko, Medallion Press, The Judgment 0 Comments

On how I acquired the book & my connection to the publicist:

I was selected to participate on The Judgment blog tour coordinated by Hook of a Book Media & Publicity, run by a fellow book blogger and friend of mine: Erin Al-Mehairi. I crossed paths with Erin via her book blog Oh for the Hook of a Book when I first started hosting blog tours for historical fiction writers via HFVBTs. Our friendship developed out of a shared passion for riveting historicals with compelling stories and incredibly dimensional characters who felt they could walk off the pages! Friendship aside, as I start to host for her authors my opinions are based solely on the story I am reading for review and are never influenced by my connection to Erin. I take each story I am reading as a new experience whether or not I know the author or publicist directly or have only met them for the first time by accepting a book to review.

I received my complimentary copy of The Judgment direct from the author D.J. Niko in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read ‘The Judgment’:

(initial reaction)

I’ve seen her novels on blog tours, but the timing was never good for me to participate or get involved whilst the tours were progressing. I liked the fact this historical takes place in Ancient History! I’ve been wanting to find authors who write during this section of history, as Biblical Historical Fiction fascinates me! I also love the Ancient Civilisations of Egypt and Rome, whilst learning more about History so far removed from our present world to soak inside something wonderfully different! This was one reason I was so keen to read Stephanie Thornton’s “Daughter of the Gods” which I thoroughly LOVED!

Expanding on my initial joyous celebration of being selected to read my first Niko novel, and thereby my second Biblical Historical novel, I wanted to recaptialise on things I had shared during a blog tour about Women of the Bible: Scripture Princesses by Rebecca J. Greenwood (see Review & the Q&A) wherein I talked about my appreciation for ‘meeting’ some of the remarkable women of the Biblical Historical past. When I first encountered the book blogosphere, I went instinctively to my favourite author’s blogs (i.e. Lauren Willig* & Julie Lessman) before finding The Word Wenches*, Heroes, Heroines & History, and routed myself through the INSPY Fiction blogs which took me to a lot of incredible authors & book bloggers sites alike! I was stumbling across writers for Biblical Historical Fiction along that route as well, except to say, this isn’t a new pursuit of mine!

Going back into my childhood, when I would visit book shoppes quite regularly, seeking a wicked good story that may or may not be designated for my age group (as once I fought to understand how to read, I grew easily bored remaining inside my age group of selections! thus, I read adult novels by thirteen; although I sampled a bit prior to that! there wasn’t such a designated genre to explore like there is today for ‘young adult’.) – thus, I started to fetch an eye of interest for the Biblical fiction authors even back then! At the time, I knew the issues and story-lines facing those characters were going to be difficult to read, so I side-stepped them for lighter INSPY novels – mostly Historical Romance or a story of the Amish, as Amish & Mennonite Fiction always delighted me, as I had a bakery IRL as a teenager run by a local Mennonite family.

My curiosity for this section of literature, was re-inspired by Stephanie Thorton’s novel (as foresaid) but also by the Early Reader introduction by Ms Greenwood! I simply haven’t had the proper chance to sort through what is readily available to read whilst dipping further back into the past, than perhaps, I routinely do! We all have our ‘favourite’ timescapes and settings; for me, I like to continue to challenge myself to even move further back into the past, root out new heroines and heroes of time I may never have heard of or only know by ‘name’ but not on a personal level of saying ‘this person lived this life & accomplished this’.

When I caught sight of the premise behind The Judgment, I felt this was as good of a place as any to continue my journey — reading a story set against the backdrop of Kings would be an easy transition for me, as I spend enough hours wrapped up in the Royal Courts of England (throughout their extensive historical past!) to know a bit about life at court inasmuch as the political potboilers & changing tides that goes along with that kind of a life.

Some (aspects) of the story I know loosely based on lessons I learnt ages ago in Sunday School but I never would say my classes dipped past the superficial acknowledgement of things; hence one of the wrinkles I oft found with Sunday School. We might have been told about King Solomon being a ruler, but the lessons fell flat just as my lessons in school always did as well – names, dates, event markers in time; but never the exploration of who a particular person was or how that person lived or even, what happened between their birth, major event and date of death?

There is so much between ‘dates’ and ‘events’ – this is one reason I have drawn a pleasurable passion in reading Historical Fiction; imagine what is awaiting me in Biblical Historical Fiction!? Not to mention, in this instance it’s partially ‘Biographical Historical Fiction’, too! To say I was excited would be putting it mildly!

*NOTE: As I read across genres, I also read across Mainstream & INSPY literary spectrums; these two were earmarked to say, they were not INSPY but Mainstream. As literature to me is forever all-encompassing. To find out which INSPY authors are marked on my most immediate ‘next reads’ list, please visit my 70 Authors Challenge!

Notation on Cover Art: It is hard not to readily notice the cover art on behalf of ‘The Judgment’ due to how strong the woman on the cover is portrayed! You immediately think back towards King Solomon’s era of life – where boldness was paramount to power; where women had to endeavour to overcome great odds & find the will to reign even when their heart was not fully invested. It was a time of uncertainty and a time where bold colours are felt to have flourished; thus I felt the make-up choices and the darker lit design befitted the quick impression that flitted to mind after reading the premise of the story! Once I greeted Basemath in the first Chapter, everything pulled together nicely! It truly is a striking book cover but to match the character is beyond brilliant! Unfortunately for me, I believe my first inclination to believe which character is featured on the cover was mistaken.

The Judgment

965 BCE

Upon the death of his father, Solomon has been appointed king of the united monarchy of Israel and Judah and charged with building the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. He travels to Egypt to negotiate with Pharaoh Psusennes II for gold for the temple and to improve relations between the two nations. There he falls in love with the pharaoh’s beautiful daughter, Nicaule, and the two kings agree to an arranged marriage. Against her will, for she loves another, Nicaule follows her new husband to Israel.

Forty years later, Solomon’s empire is on the verge of collapse. Power has made him arrogant, permissive, and blind to the scheming of his wife and one of his lieutenants to topple the united monarchy. As the king’s faith falters and his people’s morals collapse, enemies gather at the gates of Israel. A visit from a mysterious queen restores Solomon’s perspective in time to save his soul—but it is too late to preserve his kingdom.

Someone who once was loyal to King Solomon has come back to claim the crown of Israel—and tear Solomon’s empire asunder.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

on 10th May, 2016

Pages: 317

Published By: Medallion Press (@medallionpress)

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #TheJudgment, #AncientHistory & #WomenInHistory

+ #BiblicalFiction or #HistFic

Read the Guest Post attached to the blog tour I appreciated the most | The Lit Bitch

About D.J. Niko

D.J. Niko is the pseudonym for Daphne Nikolopoulos, an award-winning journalist, author, editor, and lecturer who has spent her entire adult life traveling the world.

As a former travel writer and zealous adventurer, she has visited remote spots on six continents, many of which have inspired her archaeological thriller series, The Sarah Weston Chronicles. She was born and raised in Athens, Greece, and now resides in Florida with her family.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Friday, 10 June, 2016 by jorielov in 10th Century BC, 1st Millennium BC, A Father's Heart, Ancient Civilisation, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Biblical Fiction, Biblical History, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover | Notation on Design, Book Cover | Original Illustration & Design, Christianity, Content Note, Domestic Violence, Equality In Literature, Family Life, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Hook of a Book Media & Publicity, Important Figures of Ancient Times, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Iron Age, King Solomon, Mental Health, Military Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Vulgarity in Literature, Warfare & Power Realignment, Women of Power & Rule

Cover Reveal | #DarkChocLit embraces ‘Immortals of London’ series by Berni Stevens with the second of the series “Revenge is Sweet” Vampires, anyone?

Posted Friday, 10 June, 2016 by jorielov Berni Stevens, ChocLitUK, Dance Until Dawn, Immortals of London, Revenge is Sweet 1 Comment

If your a regular reader or frequent visitor of Jorie Loves A Story, you know I’ve been smitten with the novelists who publish their relationship-based Romances with ChocLitUK for a good two years now! I love being on the cusp of learning about a ‘new release’ whilst I remain patient to see if the Digital First new ChocLit novel will make it to a print release further down the road of it’s lifetime. I don’t mind the gaps between the ebooks and the print editions – as it’s always given me the pleasure of balancing my ‘next ChocLit reads’ to include both Front List and Back List offerings. Thus, I am enjoying being a member of the Reveal Team at ChocLit whilst it gives me a chance to introduce my readers to a variety of sub-genres within Romance I appreciate picking up to read!

On my new position as a ChocLit Star member: Whilst I am part of the ChocLit Reviewers having brought reviews & guest author features to Jorie Loves A Story for the past two years, I have recently become a part of the Cover Reveal Team, as disclosed when I hosted the first Reveal on behalf of Sheryl Browne’s ‘Learning to Love’. This new team works with ChocLit providing honest feedback on ‘projects’ such as title & book cover design choices as well projects in development on behalf of the publisher. I accepted being a ChocLit Star as I felt my love of the stories would be a good fit to give in-depth responses to the projects pitched to the Stars. Therefore, this Cover Reveal is the first where my input as a ChocLit Star helped the reveal become possible!

The Immortals of London in sequence:

(previously called: the London Vampire Chronicles)

Dance Until Dawn | No.1 (review) (key excerpts are from this review)

Revenge is Sweet | No. 2

Follow Will Austen on Twitter!

I had such a profound pleasure of joy reading ‘Dance Until Dawn’ as it simply caught me unawares – I was on such pins to read it, as I am not the traditional reader for #VampireRomance nor one who is readily inclined towards reading a heap of PNR (as I have the tendency to prefer ‘cosier’ story-lines which does not oft yield to be included in the same thread of thought of the ‘paranormal’); yet, from the moment I first picked up this particular novel, I was smitten! So much so, the novel was awarded one of my 2nd Annual Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards! It was that incredible and unputdownable! Even for a girl who is shy about PNR and has the tendency to run in opposite circles from vampires & immortal creatures of the dark!

Let me illustrate my point by sharing key excerpts from my first reading of ‘Dance Until Dawn’:

My love of the setting:

I love lush depictions of a setting inside of a novel, and getting to know Hampstead (a northern corridor of a suburb to London) was quite a smashing find! I liked how it echoed a reminder to me of the East Village in NYC with the Heath being a bit like Central Park; this natural oasis in a highly dense metro city where you would not fathom to find such natural beauty amongst the city dwellers! I like finding places within well-known cities which take you a step outside the normal route of exploration; digging inside a little hidden niche where time and place were curated with care. I could definitely understand why Will wanted to take Ellie here, it was a way of giving her back a part of her soul.

On how Will Austen made a reader become emphatic to his cause:

Stevens has a keen sense on how to present Will in a way that is not quite attractive in the beginning yet gives you time to warm to him whilst reading what he is scribbling into his journal. He’s a bit like a newfound father trying to capture all the moments of a young babe’s life, as he’s quite protective of his ‘fledging’ as he refers to Ellie during her transition from human to vampire. It is through this incubator period both of them are seen in their raw emotional and most inquisitive states. A brilliant move on Stevens to give us something to chew on whilst we’re sorting out how we feel about Will!

The moment I knew I was hooked on Will Austen & Ellie’s story:

Whilst Will first took Ellie out and about under the cover of night, I started to warm up to him as a character because his brute exterior was starting to melt a bit more. He’s a complicated character because he’s brooding behind a past he doesn’t want to yield to Ellie, even if it means he is to become misunderstand by the reader at the same time. How this reminds me dearly of Buffy and Angel; how vampires by nature are private creatures who’d rather not show their inner selves to anyone, lest the person they believe has overtaken their heart. Despite a few flutterings of recognition, what I appreciated was the refreshing newness to Dance Until Dawn, as I don’t want to spoilt it but let’s just say by most vampire standards Ellie is lacking two key elements to her survival and this made me appreciate her even more!

The main takeaway I shared as a ChocLit Star was this: I liked how unpredictable her [Berni Stevens] characters are as they truly are going through personal growth and exploring who they are whilst we’re meeting them during times of crisis or change in their lives. It’s a clever style and one that won my heart!

You can see then, why I was quite happily gobsmacked my first project as a ChocLit Star advisor was to comment on behalf of the potential title and cover design for the pending sequel of a novel that quite bewitched me!

I do want to share with you why I favoured the title ‘Revenge is Sweet’, as it speaks to why this series opener left such an impression on me a full year after I first read it!

The title that stood out to me most is “Revenge is Sweet” because it’s more encompassing than focusing on the heart of Ellie & Will’s relationship which is cornerstone to the series, but it has a more evolving concept past where their union of hearts can lead the reader. It would make sense Will would fight to the death to protect Ellie – as his bravery was well placed in Dance Until Dawn where you could tell when it comes to Ellie, Will Austen will do anything he can to not only protect her but to declare her as his to anyone who tries to go against him or her.

He’s obsessive that way! I could justify him taking revenge on anyone who questions or puts into jeopardy the order he’s tried to keep for himself, his friends and the order of vampires/immortals he considers ‘under his charge’ as it hints towards his personality and controlling complex.

I am keen, dear hearts, to hear what your thoughts are on behalf of the layout of the cover’s design and the title which was selected to aptly depict the heart of this sequel? Do you think those of us who are ChocLit Stars helped pin-point what to focus on? Have you read ‘Dance Until Dawn’? If so, what do you think on my justification on behalf of Will’s temperament? If you haven’t yet read the series, does this spotlight on the sequel intrigue you to begin reading it?

On 28 May #ChocLitSaturday celebrated Berni Steven’s upcoming PNR release (now known as ‘Revenge is Sweet’) to continue where Dance Until Dawn left off!

Replay the Chat via Nurph!

I am so wicked excited for this forthcoming title I cannot contain myself!

Posted Friday, 10 June, 2016 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight, ChocLitUK, Gothic Romance, Indie Author, Romance Fiction, Vampire Romance

Double-Showcase: Review & Q&A | “Heart of Stone” (An #EllieStone #Mystery, No. 4) by James W. Ziskin Including footnotes on the series and a convo with the author!

Posted Wednesday, 8 June, 2016 by jorielov Ellie Stone Mysteries, Heart of Stone, James W. Ziskin, No Stone Unturned, Prometheus Books, Seventh Street Books, Stone Cold Dead, Styx & Stone 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I was selected to review “Heart of Stone” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 3rd Year Book Blogger.

As a new reviewer for Seventh Street Books, I was quite intrigued by discovering another new author under this imprint for Prometheus Books, as thus far along I have found this imprint to be producing wicked good content for mystery enthusiasts! I requested if it were possible to receive the first book in the series, “Styx & Stone” as this series is in-progress and has a total of four novels thus far released.

I received my complimentary copy of Heart of Stone from the publisher Seventh Street Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Borrowed Books via my Local Library: I had the pleasure of seeking out the two books between ‘Styx & Stone’ and ‘Heart of Stone’ via my local library. ‘No Stone Unturned’ was available quite readily via my local library’s catalogue, however, I had use our ILL (inter-library loan) services to fetch a copy of ‘Stone Cold Dead’ which arrived quite timely, I must say! I was not obliged to post my reflections or reviews on behalf of these novels, as I sought them out for my own edification to understand the series and the character ‘Ellie Stone’ better as I read the first novel and the fourth installment of the Ellie Stone Mysteries. Likewise, I was not compensated for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

A few surprises awaited me as I read the Ellie Stone Mysteries:

[ Reflections on ‘No Stone Unturned’ ]

Part of what makes me think of Jesse Stone* as I am reading an Ellie Stone Mystery is how similar the two are in their habits. Ellie is never far from a hard drink (a habit that nearly cost Jesse Stone his life and career) nor a lit cigarette. Her mannerisms are a reflection of the former but with a bit more softness to her personality than a hardened edge like Jesse maintains. Although, truth be told, Ellie isn’t all roses either – the stories get to her on some level as does the direction of her life – she’s not as happy as she eludes nor pretends.

Ellie goes after stories – she doesn’t wait for the call to find them; if she did, I fear she’d never work as an investigative journalist. Her uphill climb against the men notwithstanding (she’s a bit anti-feminist) Ellie focuses on what she can do to charm the facts out of a scene. Hence why when she returned to a crime scene, she picked up a few clues no one else bothered to seek out. Especially since a bottlecap or a smudge of motor oil would not be at top of a detective’s list of ‘what to find’ on scene!

Yet, I felt pulled out of this novel straight from the beginning – I barely left the initial crime scene search, as I felt I was losing traction fast with the impression I had of Ellie Stone from Styx & Stone – she felt altered in this installment, almost as if the author had changed his writing style in presenting Ellie to those of us who loved her in her debut! Once I lose pace with a character and the manner in which she’s meant to be seen in a series, I become disillusioned. It is quite rare to happen to a series I get wholly enthused about in the opening act of a serial in-progress, but it has happened in the past. Sometimes, despite the joy of discovering a new series, something wans in the execution of successive installments – for me, Ellie felt harder and embittered more than usual in this exploit. I also felt the style was colder somehow – it’s hard to put into words – how I felt when I read this story was ‘off’ from the joy I had with Styx & Stone. I did not want to ‘put’ the original debut down whereas this time round, I was skipping forward to see if I could re-attach myself ‘somewhere’ but found it was impossible.

[ Reflections on ‘Stone Cold Dead’ ]

The plot rankled, however, I appreciated Norma’s entrance as a competent secretary who has a keen thirst for research to aide Ellie Stone! Unfortunately, Norma’s entrance as wonderful as it might be was not enough to anchour me into the story. There was something about the back-story and delivery of Ellie’s pursuing investigation that simply did not root me to the plot and thereby, I had no interest to know what became of the missing girl. Sad as that might be, I was simply not invested.

Part of the problem, too, is there is a certain way to highlight the downward spiral of a character – Ellie and Jesse (i.e. Jesse Stone, again) share this in common; they are both exhibiting self-destructive behaviour patterns, one sought help finally through psychotherapy but the way in which Ellie is being presented consistently through this installment, somehow it felt contrite and predictable. Almost as if she would succumb to this pattern of a lifestyle choice because of who she was and the version of herself she wanted to be most. Where you feel empathy for Jesse, you feel pity for Ellie; not quite the way I think she was meant to be portrayed?

*NOTE: All cross-references to Jesse Stone are based on the Jesse Stone Mystery Movies starring Tom Selleck as I haven’t had the pleasure of reading the book series.

In regards to the style of the Ellie Stone Mysteries – the original version was represented again in short bursts but faded as quickly as it resumed. Leading into my readings of Heart of Stone, I can honestly say I was betwixt and between my final thoughts on how I felt about Ellie Stone.

Heart of Stone
Subtitle: An Ellie Stone Mystery

On a summer day in 1960, two men dive off a lakeside cliff and plummet to their death on the rocks below. By all appearances, this is a tragic accident. Or was it? Ellie Stone jumps in with both feet to investigate, risking her safety, and her heart. “Heart of Stone” is the fourth installment in Ziskin’s Ellie Stone Mysteries.

Two men fall to their deaths from a cliff near a lake in the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Police rule this to be a tragic accident, and that the two victims – one, a stranger to the lake and, the other, a teenage boy from a nearby music camp – didn’t know each other. Stranger than that, Ellie notices her elderly cousin’s station wagon parked 20 yards from the edge of the cliff.

These details cause Ellie to investigate. She sticks her nose where it’s unwanted, rattling nerves and putting herself in jeopardy. Wading into a slippery morass of left-wing, Jewish intellectuals, rabid John Birchers, and charismatic evangelicals, Ellie must navigate old grudges and Cold War passions, lost ideals and betrayed loves.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1-63388-183-9

on 7th June, 2016

Pages: 290

Ellie Stone Mystery series:

Interesting Trivia: this series has been optioned for a television series!

“Stone Cold Dead” – received a nomination for the 2016 Lefty Award for Best World Mystery Novel. “No Stone Unturned” received a coveted Anthony Award nomination for Best Paperback Original in 2015.

Styx & Stone | No.1 (review)

No Stone Unturned | No.2 | Book Synopsis

Stone Cold Dead | No.3 | Book Synopsis

Heart of Stone | No.4

Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #EllieStoneMysteries OR #EllieStoneMystery

Read an Excerpt of Heart of Stone on the author’s site!

About James W. Ziskin

A linguist by training, Ziskin studied romance languages and literature at the University of Pennsylvania. After completing his graduate degree, he worked in New York as a photo-news producer and writer, and then as director of NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò.

He has since spent 15 years in the Hollywood post-production industry, running large international operations in the subtitling/localization and visual effects fields. Ziskin grew up in Amsterdam, New York, and now lives in the Hollywood Hills.

Photo Credit: William Ziskin

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Posted Wednesday, 8 June, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Adulterous Affair, Amateur Detective, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Brothers and Sisters, Classical Music | Composers, Clever Turns of Phrase, Crime Fiction, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Diary Accountment of Life, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fathers and Daughters, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Investigative Reporter | Journalist, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Judiasm, Lady Detective Fiction, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Music History, Noir Crime Drama, Photography, Reader Submitted Q&A, Religious History, Singletons & Commitment, Sociological Behavior, Story in Diary-Style Format, The Sixties, Vulgarity in Literature, Writing Style & Voice

#WWWWednesday No.7: A surprise #bookmail from Hachette Books, #bookjoy from Light Messages & introducing #BookAngelCate!

Posted Saturday, 4 June, 2016 by jorielov Amanda Ortlepp, CenterStreet, Claiming Noah, FaithWords, Hachette Book Group Inc., Jane Two, Lady Darby Mysteries, Messenger by Moonlight, Sean Patrick Flanery, Stephanie Grace Whitson 4 Comments

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading!?
What did you recently finish reading!?
What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

To help introduce you to the books I’m reading, the Synopses link to Riffle.

If you’d like an alternative to GoodReads, I highly suggest trying Riffle*.

I’m still boggled by the fact my Riffle Lists have been viewed *21,824* times! I’ve only just started to curate the lists and embed them into my blog where I expand on why I created them, too! I have 18 Lists published out of 32 lists I’ve drafted! I am looking forward to revealling more of them this year!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

What are you currently reading!? (Wednesday 1st June to Wednesday 8 June)

Personal Library & Local Library Reads

No Stone Unturned (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.2) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)
Stone Cold Dead (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.3) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

And, the books I am reading for review:

(I fought off a cold this past week & carried over a few books) The lightning storms returning a bit earlier than expected dampened my readerly mood, too!

Almodis: the Peaceweaver by Tracey Warr (Synopsis)
Heart of Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.4) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

(The books I previously planned to read)

Along the Way by Jacqueline Kolosov (Synopsis)
#ChocLitSaturdays The Golden Chain (Charton Minster series, No.2) by Margaret James (see No.1) (Synopsis)
A Place Called Hope by Philip Gulley (Synopsis)
Almost a Millennium by Jeanbill (Synopsis)
A Sinner in Paradise by Deborah Hining (Synopsis)
Indy Reads Books (anthology) edited by M. Travis Dinicola & Zach Roth (Synopsis)
Scarecrow (edited by) Rhonda Parrish (Synopsis)

Non-Fiction Reads:

Einstein at Home by Friedrich Herneck (Synopsis)

Upcoming Blog Tours in June:

Heart of Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.4) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis) 7th June (review)
James W. Ziskin Author Guest Post will be featured on the 9th of June (guest post)
The Gilded Cage by Judy Atler (Synopsis) 17th June (review) and 15th June (interview)
TBA Gray Widow’s Walk (Gray Widow trilogy, No.1) by Dan Jolley (Synopsis) (review) (interview)

After meeting Ellie Stone for the first time within the pages of Styx & Stone this past week, continuing her story leading up to the fourth installment of the expanding series Heart of Stone will be wicked sweet for me! I love being able to continuing reading a series I have already taken a keen interest in devouring! I look forward to continuing to share my adventures on behalf of Ellie Stone in other words! I am not sure what to expect in the next three novels, as the first story had to end on such a sombering (but well timed) note – Ellie was going through a period of transition and I look forward to seeing where we pick-up the threads of where we immediately left off!

Almodis: The Peaceweaver was such an extraordinary blessing to receive as the publisher Impress Books found a way to give this American book blogger the sweet blissitude of reading her first Tracey Warr Historical novel! It was one of those moments in the twitterverse where you discover a new publisher you’re keen to read books from whilst finding authors who are writing the kinds of stories your seeking – it was a lovely exchange of joy on both sides! When I saw Almodis arrive by Post earlier this Spring, I could not wait to take up residence in the book!

A few titles this week are part of my backlogue and are reads I have wanted to get inside for quite a long while such as: Along the Way and Almost a Millennium! I started reading the first one on Thursday and had planned to post the review on Friday until a six hour stint of a severe lightning storm crashed into my area with such a fierce declaration of intentions, I spent those hours exploring ‘book photography’ whilst hoping this Summer is not a twin of last Summer’s nightmaric lightning storms! Oy. Thus, as I am posting this #WWWeds on Saturday in lieu of Wednesday as our weather patterns have been haphazard this week, I will be finalising my thoughts on behalf of ‘Along the Way’ as well!

Ever since I first picked up the Charton Minster series by Margaret James (see The Silver Locket) I have known I was going to appreciate the legacy of this series! Each new installment continues the story-line moving forward through the decades until the contemporary world emerges out of the historical past! It’s a war drama at it’s core of heart but it’s so much more than that! I will delight in seeing where everything ties together!

A Sinner in Paradise is written by my third author to discover via Light Messages – this is the Indie Publisher out of North Carolina whose publishing inspiring fiction with such hearty story-lines as to firmly etch the characters and their stories straight into your heart after you’ve left their presence! I find their stories to be transformative, encouraging and a true lift of joy to read about characters whose adversities in life are not keeping them down as they lean on their faith as they pull through the obstacles they face head-on! Such conviction and a propensity for emotionally compelling stories are why each time I sit down with a Light Messages novel I am full of happy expectation!

A Place Called Hope is the last of my original three selections by FaithWords, as I reveal today the next three I am reading on behalf of both FaithWords & CenterStreet imprints by Hachette Books!

I am going to be featuring the two anthologies back-to-back as I have been wanting to showcase Indy Reads Books and Scarecrow for awhile now! I felt those readers who love reading short stories in search of #newtomeauthors will appreciate the duality of the showcases, as they are both incredibly diverse in both tone, structure and setting for the stories included in each collection! Likewise, I am reading Einstein at Home to kick-off my non-fiction selections via Prometheus Books! A bit of a nod towards my #SciFiSummer readings as well! (Shh! more sci-fi is on the horizon towards the end of June!)

Posted Saturday, 4 June, 2016 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, Books for Review Arrived by Post, Jorie's Box of Joy, WWW Wednesdays