Blog Book Tour | “Southern Haunts 3: Magick Beneath the Moonlight” Anthology [edited by] Alexander S. Brown & Louise Myers

Posted Thursday, 5 May, 2016 by jorielov (Editor) Alexander S. Brown, (Editor) Louise Myers, CG Bush, Granny Wise, H. David Blalock, J.L. Mulvihill, Seventh Star Press, Southern Haunts 3: Magick Beneath the Moonlight, Southern Haunts Anthology series, Southern Haunts: Spirits Who Walk Among Us, The Priestess' Trunk, The Untold Tale of Wiccademous 1 Comment

Acquired Book By:

I was selected to be a stop on the “Southern Haunts 3: Magick Beneath the Moonlight” blog 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 received a complimentary copy of “Southern Haunts 3: Magick Beneath the Moonlight” 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 wanted to read …Southern Haunts 3 and why I haven’t read Vols. 1 & 2:

I cannot remember exactly when the original Southern Haunts anthology dropped into sight, as I was either hosting for TCM or it went live prior to joining the blog team of reviewers and hosts. I do remember live-tweeting the conversation happening on The Star Chamber Show for Southern Haunts Vol. 2 and how despite the fact I knew I’d never read it as it’s not a topic of interest of mine – I respectively enjoyed the hour on the radio talk show! As mentioned in this tweet! If you follow the #SouthernHaunts tag on Twitter, you’ll find more of my older tweets on behalf of that convo and the anthological series as a whole!

Towards the close of 2015, Mr Brown asked me if I might consider reading the next installment of Southern Haunts as he had noticed I’m starting to appreciate the ‘cosier side’ of Horror (i.e. my reviews from World Weaver Press might have been a strong indication last year!) – I asked him a few questions about what I might find inside the anthology, as despite the fact I have a passionate interest in Cosy Horror, I’m still trepiderious about ‘reading’ Cosy Horror as my preferences are not generally the preferences of those who write Horror! It’s a delicate niche I’ve uncovered and like most of my favourite genres to devour, it’s one of those particularly particular genres I am reading as I wander through it!

His responses reassured me to the point where I was seriously excited for a blog tour to celebrate the release – so much so – I did a bit of background research of all three installments, as previously I had been aware of them, moreso during that podcast for The Star Chamber Show, but I hadn’t quite looked into them as a whole. I found out that aside from reading this third anthology, I definitely want to give the first volume a bit of a go as well! Mostly as I recognised that I had overlooked the fact, the original Southern Haunts anthology and this third one walk hand in hand with the types of stories I am appreciating reading whilst happily finding myself residing inside a new genre of joy!

I have my ‘own he shall not be named’ outside of Potter’s nemesis, and as I’m truly not into the darkest shades of humanity nor of the darkest of villains, the second volume isn’t one I am focusing on – however, if you click through the blog tour badge, you’ll find information about it or if you visit Seventh Star Press you’ll be able to pull up enough information about it if your curious.

The biggest draw for me is when I learnt Southern Haunts 3 has a focus on Southern Gothic, folklore and the mysterious suspenseful bits of Urban Fantasy undertones threading through it’s particular palette of Horror selections,… I decided I wanted to try reading this one if only to prove one of the first Indie Publishers I championed as a book blogger can tempt me with their Cosier side of Horror!

Southern Haunts 3
Subtitle: Magick Beneath the Moonlight
by (Editor) Alexander S. Brown, (Editor) Louise Myers
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Courtney Vice, Enggar Adirasa
Source: Publisher via Tomorrow Comes Media

Deep within the South, read about the magickal folk who haunt the woods, the cemeteries, and the cities. Within this grim anthology, eighteen authors will spellbind you with tales of hoodoo, voodoo, and witchcraft.

From this cauldron mix, readers will explore the many dangers lurking upon the Natchez Trace and in the Mississippi Delta. They will encounter a bewitched doll named Robert from the Florida Keys, and a cursed trunk that is better left closed. In the backstreets of New Orleans, they will become acquainted with scorned persons who will stop at nothing to exact their revenge.

These hair raising tales and more await you in Southern Haunts 3: Magick Beneath the Moonlight. Read if you dare.

Genres: Anthology Collection of Short Stories and/or Essays, Cosy Horror, Genre-bender, Ghost Story, Gothic Literature, Short Story or Novella, Southern Gothic, Suspense

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781941706336

Published by Seventh Star Press

on 2nd November, 2015

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 382

Published By: Seventh Star Press (@7thStarPress)
Available Formats: Softcover, E-book

Converse via: #SouthernHaunts, #Anthology & #7thStar

About (Editor) Alexander S. Brown

Alexander S. Brown is a Mississippi author who was published in 2008 with his first book Traumatized. Reviews for this short story collection were so favorable that it has been released as a special edition by Pro Se Press. Brown is currently one of the co-editors/coordinators with the Southern Haunts Anthologies published by Seventh Star Press. His horror novel Syrenthia Falls is represented by Dark Oak Press.

He is also the author of multiple young adult steampunk stories found in the Dreams of Steam Anthologies, Capes and Clockwork Anthologies, and the anthology Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells. His more extreme works can be found in the anthologies Luna’s Children published by Dark Oak Press and State of Horror: Louisiana Vol 1 published by Charon Coin Press.

Visit Smashwords.com, Amazon.com, and Barnesandnoble.com to download his monthly short stories known as Single Shots. These are represented by Pro Se Press and they are known as stories that will be featured in the upcoming book The Night the Jack O’Lantern Went Out.

About (Editor) Louise Myers

Louise Myers was born in New Orleans and during her teenage years was uprooted from everything she knew and was replanted in Mississippi. Though the transition was difficult, she is very glad to have the opportunity to have both worlds under her belt. She says this because she knows from living in both places, they are both a world all to their own. She is the wife of a wonderful husband and mother of three beautiful children, as well as the proud parent of a spoiled mutt.

She was assistant editor of Southern Haunts: Spirits That Walk Among Us, co-editor of Southern Haunts 2: Devils in the Darkness, and co-editor of Southern Haunts 3: Magick Beneath the Moonlight.

She is a beta reader, book doctor, editor, and author. Though this is her second story in print, she has been weaving tales for many years for pleasure. She has many thoughts on several topics she’d like to write, mostly surrounding ghost stories.

Goodreads

Posted Thursday, 5 May, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Coming-Of Age, Cosy Horror, Crime Fiction, Earthen Magic, Fantasy Fiction, Ghost Whisperer, Indie Author, Parapsychological Gifts, Tomorrow Comes Media, Urban Fantasy, Vulgarity in Literature

Book Review | “See Also Murder” (A Marjorie Trumaine #Mystery, No.1) by Larry D. Sweazy

Posted Tuesday, 3 May, 2016 by jorielov Lady Darby Mysteries, Larry D. Sweazy, Marjorie Trumaine Mystery, Prometheus Books, See Also Murder, Seventh Street Books 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction. I received a complimentary copy of “See Also Murder” direct from the publisher Seventh Street Books (an imprint of Prometheus Books) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On what inspired me to read the Marjorie Trumaine Mysteries:

I had discovered See Also Deception was a Spring 2016 release on behalf of Seventh Street Books – mindful of the fact I have a preference for reading books in series straight from the beginning and/or in case of successive sequels, if I could soak inside the first novel, I could at least ascertain the direction of the series by first becoming acquainted with the lead character’s introduction. This is why I asked Seventh Street Books about receiving See Also Murder as a way to entreat inside See Also Deception. I wanted to understand the make-up of the series from a first-time reader’s perspective as well as become anchoured to the series straight from the gate of it’s origins.

I have a keen eye on for Mysteries – especially those which are told with a sophisticated edging rounding out their characters and where the conception of their settings are an equal match to the wit of the dialogue and/or the arc of the lead character’s life. I love finding mysteries so wickedly told by their creators, as to level out a joy in the discovery of a ‘new’ series to ache to read next.

I had a bit of luck finding a few serials prior to being a book blogger (*see my Short List below this review*, wherein those which are not linked through my blog were the pre-blog discoveries), but these past three years have yielded more joy in finding writers who are creating the Mysteries I love to champion to other readers! The ones where you feel so connected to the heart of their narratives, it’s hard to put them down – you forsake sleep and try to noodle out the hidden truths behind the crimes in step with the sleuths themselves – all the while caught up inside the joy of your first reading of a new Mystery series which stole your readerly heart.

This is why when I first discovered Seventh Street Books, I was so excited! And, I am finding I truly love the stories they are publishing and curating a list of new lovelies I am going to be continuously reading as each new release drops into sight! What wonderful joy for me!

Notation on Cover Art Design: I love the simplicity of the cover – it eludes directly to Marjorie Trumaine’s personality, as she is focused on her duties as an indexer but she likes to find ways to use her keen skills of observation and deduction on the side. The clever bit is how the small droplets of blood carry over to the back jacket where just a small mattering of drops are around the ISBN code! I liked how the index card was used to ‘title’ the novel, as that is such a Marjorie thing to do! Also, the lined paper background to the back jacket felt quite fitting and the typewriter typography was brilliant!

See Also Murder
Subtitle: A Marjorie Trumaine Mystery

1964—Life on the North Dakota farm hasn’t always been easy for Marjorie Trumaine. She has begun working as a professional indexer to help with the bills—which have only gotten worse since the accident that left her husband, Hank, blind and paralyzed. When her nearest neighbors are murdered in their beds, though, Marjorie suddenly has to deal with new and terrifying problems.

Sheriff Hilo Jenkins brings her a strange amulet, found clutched in the hand of her murdered neighbor, and asks her to quietly find out what it is. Marjorie uses all the skills she has developed as an indexer to research the amulet and look into the murders, but as she closes in on the killer, and people around her continue to die, she realizes that the murderer is also closing in on her.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781633880061

on 5th May, 2015

Pages: 253

Marjorie Trumaine Mystery series:

Story Locale: A small town in North Dakota in 1964

Series Overview: Marjorie Trumaine, a freelance book indexer, uses her research skills and attention to detail to help the police solve crimes in rural North Dakota during the early 1960s.

See Also Murder | No.1

See Also Deception | No.2 | Book Synopsis on Riffle | Pub Date: 10 May, 2016

Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #MarjorieTrumaineMysteries

About Larry D. Sweazy

Larry D. Sweazy Photo Credit: Rose M. Sweazy

Larry D. Sweazy is the author of See Also Murder, A Thousand Falling Crows, Escape from Hangtown, Vengeance at Sundown, The Gila Wars, The Coyote Tracker, The Devil’s Bones, The Cougar’s Prey, The Badger’s Revenge, The Scorpion Trail, and The Rattlesnake Season.

He won the WWA Spur award for Best Short Fiction in 2005 and for Best Paperback Original in 2013, and the 2011 and 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction for the Josiah Wolfe series.

He was nominated for a Derringer award in 2007, and was a finalist in the Best Books of Indiana literary competition in 2010, and won in 2011 for The Scorpion Trail. He has published over sixty nonfiction articles and short stories, which have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine; The Adventure of the Missing Detective: And 25 of the Year’s Finest Crime and Mystery Stories!; Boys’ Life; Hardboiled; Amazon Shorts, and several other publications and anthologies. He is member of ITW (International Thriller Writers), WWA (Western Writers of America), and WF (Western Fictioneers).

Photo Credit: Rose M. Sweazy
FYI: think Patrick Swayze when saying the author's name!

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Posted Tuesday, 3 May, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Antique Jewelry, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Indexing, Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Folklore and Mythology, Greek Mythology, Homestead Life, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Librarians & Library Staff, Library Catalogues & Databases, Life Shift, Prometheus Books, Publishing Industry & Trade, Small Towne USA, The Sixties, Upper Mid-West America, Vulgarity in Literature

Cover Reveal | NEW #ChocLit novel by Sheryl Browne “Learning to Love”!

Posted Tuesday, 3 May, 2016 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Learning to Love, Sheryl Browne 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.

I hosted Ms Browne’s Cover Reveal for “The Rest of My Life” last July [2015] as part of the reveal celebrations coordinated through Brook Cottage Book Tours. This year, I have the pleasure of joining the Reveal Team put together directly through ChocLitUK! I could not be more delighted – as I love having a bit of an advanced notice about what is upcoming by the ChocLit authors – as they all write across such a wide array of sub-genres, I am never at a loss for needing a ChocLit fix! If anything – sorting out which story to focus on and which ‘new’ author to explore next is the hardest part as a book reviewer for the publisher!

I get so giddy about making selections – it’s such a joy to take a bit of extra time throughout the score of the year to highlight the novelists I haven’t yet had the joy of reading whilst finding new threads of topics to converse about during my weekly Saturday #ChocLitSaturdays chat! I developed this chat to help bring a larger awareness about the publisher inasmuch as to help bridge together the bookish: writers, readers and book bloggers!

Today, I have the joy of re-highlighting Sheryl Browne – with a realistic romantic depth of story-line that is sure to touch your heart-strings – just by the premise alone!

On my connection to the author:

I happily have had the pleasure of interacting with Ms Browne through #ChocLitSaturday the chat off/on for the past year or thereabouts. She is a delightful presence to have in the chats and I am thankful she found a niche where she felt comfortable chattering with fellow ChocLit authors, Romance novelists, book bloggers, readers, and other bookishly chatty spirits who alight on Saturdays!

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her ahead of reading her novels. 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. This is also true when I follow-up with them on future releases and celebrate the book birthdays that come after their initial publication. Read More

Posted Tuesday, 3 May, 2016 by jorielov in 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight, ChocLitUK, Contemporary Romance, Family Drama, Indie Author, Modern Day, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love

Double Showcase: Review & Interview | “The Path” (Tag series, No.1) by Peter Riva with an interview with the author on behalf of his Cyberpunk series! #FuellYourSciFi

Posted Monday, 2 May, 2016 by jorielov Peter Riva, Skyhorse Publishing Inc., Tag series, The Path, Yucca Publishing 1 Comment

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a part of the blog tour for the Path series by Peter Riva hosted by iRead Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of “The Path” direct from the author Peter Riva in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I took a chance on this Sci Fi Series:

I had my eye on this series originally, when I saw the blog tour go live on behalf of The Path except at the time I wasn’t sure if I could focus on reading it, which is why I took a pass on hosting the tour. What drew my eye to read this title now, in the Spring is a personal curiosity about ‘Cyberpunk’ as well as AI as a method of telling a story set in the future, as I haven’t even see AI the motion picture, yet! I did go and see Asimov’s classic turnt into a motion picture: I, Robot and I truly loved the concept of that story-line as well as how it was handled in film. I might change my opinion after I read the series, which was something I tried to do ahead of seeing the film; I yielded my timing was not in the cards, as I hadn’t wanted to miss my chance to see it in a theater. Although, I do separate my feelings for books and motion pictures, sometimes I objectively cross-compare the components of a story set in both mediums, or find I prefer one over the other in the end. It just depends – I walk into both with such an open mind, I let my thoughts remain open to what is possible.

Cyberpunk is actively spoken about during Sci Fi November, a book blogosphere event I’ve participated in for each year I’ve been a book blogger (i.e. three years) and yet, I’ve not picked up a novel to read set in this sub-genre! I also happen to love Hard Science Fiction stories as a whole due to the level of technology and science embedded into the core of background fuelling the story forward. This brings me to the focus on my blog happening right now in the beginning weeks of May!

What ‘#FuellYourSciFi’ means and why I’m focusing on Science Fiction for a fortnight:

I hadn’t had the best Sci Fi November in 2015 and I completely missed the Sci Fi Experience as well (December/January),… a disheartening reality for a sci-fi geek of a girl to admit, but my heart wasn’t into reading the stories back then due to personal adversities and illnesses. I wanted to dip back inside the science fiction stories I had on my shelf to read back then, inasmuch as try my hand at new stories coming out right now this Spring 2016.

Thus, I’ve decided to create my own mini-focus on behalf of Science Fiction which I’m calling #FuellYourSciFi – as a jump-start to getting your head back inside a genre your passionate about exploring! This includes works of short stories, novels and select Non-Fiction being highlighted across sub-genres and creative expression for a solid fortnight here on Jorie Loves A Story! I’m thankful I can kick-off the event with this blog tour whilst I give ‘Cyberpunk’ a whirl and see if at long last, it’s a section of Sci Fi I can sink my teeth inside! Follow my journey on Twitter by the tag #FuellYourSciFi!

This is is a double-showcase post for the Reaching Angelica blog tour, wherein I requested to read the first novel in the series ahead of the second. I also submitted questions I felt were pertinent to new readers of this trilogy and honed in on the questions which interested me most as a first-time reader of Peter Riva and the Cyberpunk worlds his trilogy is set inside.

The Path

All life on earth is about to be terminated by an entity as old as the galaxy itself. To make matters worse, Simon has broken everything already.

In a future world that is run by computer systems and that is without want, how can a man find his role? Then, if the very computers he works on to try to make them more human suddenly try to kill him, revealing a secret so vast that it affects every living soul on the planet, can that man be a hero?

These are the questions that face the stumbling, comic, and certainly flawed Simon Bank. His job is to work with the System’s artificial intelligence, making it fit more perfectly into human society so that it can keep the country running smoothly. But when the System threatens the peaceful world he knows, Simon suddenly must rush to save his own life, as well as the life of everyone on earth. Forced to reassess everything that he thought he knew, he is caught within circumstances way beyond his control.

Simon’s only hope is to rely on intellect and instincts he didn’t know he had, and on new friends, not all of them human, to change himself and all humanity. And he doesn’t have much time.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781631580123

on 20th January, 2015

Pages: 224

Published By: Yucca Publishing (@YuccaPublishing)
an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. (@skyhorsepub)

The Tag series:

The Path | No.1

Reaching Angelica | No. 2 (Book Synopsis on Riffle)

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook Read More

Posted Monday, 2 May, 2016 by jorielov in #FuellYourSciFi, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blog Tour Host, Content Note, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Fly in the Ointment, Hard Science Fiction, Human & Computer Interfaces, Indie Author, iRead Book Tours, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Science Fiction

Double-Showcase | Interview and Review on behalf of “Shadows of Angels” by L.G. Rollins

Posted Saturday, 30 April, 2016 by jorielov Cedar Fort Inc, L.G. Rollins, Shadows of Angels, Sweetwater Books 2 Comments

Originally, when I first caught sight of this new release Shadows of Angels, I was quite inspired by the premise and the direction of it’s story-line. So much so, I captured the heart of it’s central core of thematic inspirations through a conversation I had with the author, Ms Rollins. This interview was meant to run during the blog tour last December [2015] however, a few things happened to me personally which prevented my participating therein. I succumbed to a horrid thirty-day virus which was affecting people in my area – it was one of the worst Winter cold seasons in recent memory as everyone knew someone who affected and/or was becoming sick themselves. I was not in the best shape to read much less sort out how to blog about such a lovely conversation such as the one I had with Ms Rollins.

The other difficulty was the fact my review copy of the paperback was delayed in reaching me – which given my state of mind last Winter, was not the best timing. I did attempt to read the beginning of this novel during December whilst battling through the virus, but to be honest, my joy of reading it waned a bit when I could not wrap my head around the story itself. I credit that to being so consumed with my illness, the conceptions of this story were a bit much for me to take-on at the moment.

As you will soon learn, there are layers to this story and being an epic Fantasy in of itself, you don’t want to be muddled with a virus whilst your trying to sort out what is happening and why everything is set the way it is to be presented. I, in turn, was able to curl inside a Western Romance instead – also on tour during December and put reading Shadows of Angels until such a time I could enjoy it properly. My spirits were so low in December it felt so good to enter into a story which felt so very comforting to reside in for awhile.

For those who are familiar with the events of my life in 2016, it won’t be a surprise to know this is one story I kept having trouble getting inside – I tried every so often, to see if my heart and head could understand the story and reach a point where instead of starting/stopping my readings, I could simply move forward within the text itself.

As a precursor to my thoughts as I read the story, I wanted to share the interview as I think it represents a brilliant introduction to the concepts and elements which gave Rollins her backbone to create the world in which her characters live inside Shadows of Angels.

According to your biography, you’ve happily been living alongside dragons, keeping talismans that may or may not belong to you, and have a good report with dwarves and elves! Mind you, my curiosity was piqued as I felt it was quite a clever introduction to your readerly soul. What pray tell inspired the descriptive clues?

Rollins responds: I think you hit it on the head already. I love to read. I love stories. Any story — doesn’t matter if it’s a book, song, movie. I feel stepping into another person’s story allows you to experience life from a perspective that, otherwise, would have always been hidden. And, in a way, these stories shows us who we were all along.

Can you reveal what inspired your Zaad Stone trilogy? Was it conceived as a fully fleshed out serial or did it organically grow as you delved deeper into it’s core?

Rollins responds: Does any author get struck with lightning and, in an instant, have an entire serial, fully fleshed out, in their mind? If so, I’d love to meet them! But, no, that’s not what happened with the Zaad Stone Trilogy. It’s gone through many big, over-hauling changes. People who survived the first draft of this novel, now die after just a few chapters. Individuals who were once unimportant are now vital. But my first thoughts about this story were not about the Zaad Stones at all—they came into play later, and also went through many revisions. The first few thoughts of this story were actually centered around the Druiman, which is the breeding ground of monsters and dark magic. It started there, collided in my head with memories of the tale Snow White and Rose Red and grew into what would eventually be Shadows of Angels. Read More

Posted Saturday, 30 April, 2016 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Indie Author, Teenage Relationships & Friendships