Samosa and Stone’s bizarre union continues in ‘Kiss of Stone’

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Genies, passion, faith, and sacrifice…

Samosa and Stone try to live together as a normal couple but quickly learn that is not quite possible. Stone is a genie and Samosa is a divorcee trying to complete school.  Their sensuous relationship brims over into something that can  kill them both. Samosa’s ex, her own unnatural cravings and Stone’s secrets  prove to be stumbling blocks.

Kiss of Stone is the continuing saga of  a human and a genie and the obstacles they must overcome in order to survive.

Kiss of Stone will be available May 2013.

Review of ‘Collateral’ by Ellen Hopkins- what happens when a soldier comes home

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The affects of war,

Are hard to ignore.

Okay forget my amateur poetry for a second but “Collateral” by Ellen Hopkins, her second adult novel to date is a stunning story told in verse poetry. If there is an appropriate message I can get from this book is that military wives suffer just as greatly as their soldier boyfriends and husbands. Their war is a battle of hope. Grief. Mental anguish.

Ashley loves Cole. Cole is a Marine- the type Ashley swore she would never go out with. But how can she ignore his golden eyes, sweet poetry and the fact he is the most sensual/sexual person she has ever been with?

Soon, Cole must go off to war in Iraq and Afghanistan and slowly…little by little, a piece of who he is to her chips away. Hopkins does a beautiful job having Ashley’s voice within the pages and Cole’s poetry scattered throughout. In defense of Cole, what he has seen and done begins to color his poetry and perspective over the course of five years. In the book there are plenty of clues not voiced in the free verse as to his fidelity and how much damage he has really done to his “collateral”-a.k.a Ashley. (Read more of my review on Amazon)

Review of ‘Glass’ proves Kristina did not learn her lesson…

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I guess Kristina did not learn in “Crank” about what crank, a.k.a. The Monster is really capable of. So much has happened here so I’ll be brief and leave out some really juicy parts.

In “Glass”-the follow up to Crank, Kristina has a beautiful baby boy, named Hunter Seth and he looks like his father(the handsome lifeguard from “Crank” who forced himself on Kristina). She lives with her mom and her step-dad and brother. Her sister Leigh lives with her partner, Heather.

All seems to float easy on the surface…but we are privy to Kristina’s internal dialogue:

“So it will come /at no surprise to you that lately/I have been hearing the plea/of the monster, distant/at first but creeping closer…”(Hopkins,2007, p.20: Glass).

She gets a few sniffs, some puffs, smokes and finds herself leaving behind baby Hunter in the wake of her trysts with The Monster and the monster brings along a few “friends”: Brad, Trey, and a few faces she never thought she’d see again.

She falls for Trey- hard. He is everything to her and he walks around with the monster. He says he loves her too, but what Kristina will learn is that loving someone and caring for the person you love are two different things…even when they should not be.

If you liked Crank, Glass is another important book about the power of addiction.

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Review: ‘A Good Man’ by J.J. Murray-Writing with soul and with a soul

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As usual while in the library I look to their featured stands and see what is new. The other day I saw the cover of this book, “A Good Man” by J.J. Murray and thought the color was stunning and even the cover model looked flawless and so I read the back of the book and was immediately hooked from the blurb.

Sonya Richardson, retired WNBA player who prefers to be alone and watch Man v. Food gets a call one day that she has been entered into a new reality show called “Hunk or Punk”- she has the looks, the charm, and…she is forty. But at least she can pass for twenty-nine. And the hunks? All young, black men willing to woo her.

And one white man.

Here is where it gets even more interesting: John James Bond is the former pastor of an AME church and when he is contacted to be on the show, he hesitates and is right to assume he will be the white guy to take the fall in less than four weeks. However, once he meets Sonya he finds himself letting down all his guards and it isn’t hard to do since he is honest. And Sonya, surprisingly, let’s down her shield as well and welcomes his comforting presence. He is quickly becoming a true anomaly in all this. And a fierce competition.

Dialogue

What I enjoyed most about this book was the dialog. I never read a book by J.J. Murray before but he has an ear for conversation and reality. A few readers(okay maybe most) could be turned off by the many “ums” in the book, but let me explain: The term was endearing and it was cute.  The “ums” were like mantras and little innocent moments. Jewels even.The two main characters can not help but like one another in a house full of men who could be seen as “in your face” type however when John speaks with Sonya, it is personal, they relax around each other and their secret flirtation turns into all out seduction using nothing but their words of honesty.

Setting

Never had I read a book that actually takes place on a reality show. This book must have been inspired by pieces from “I Love New York”, complete with obstacle course challenges, cook-offs, singing competitions and Sonya’s family member coming to regulate with a sniping attitude and the fact that they all live in a mansion together-yeah pretty similar to ILNY.

The good part is that Murray has created a sensitive, sweet, intelligent personality for Sonya. She is not a “Sista with an attitude” but she knows exactly what she wants and she gets it too. Although she is from North Carolina and John is from Burnt Corn, Alabama(Burnt Corn? Wow, that was funny)- they find themselves attracted to the sandy beach of LA catching a sunrise (so sweet!)as opposed to being in the mansion, which is filled with tension and lies.

Overall Reaction

I see myself reading more from Murray. He is a writer with a heart for dialogue and infusing fiction with reality. Certainly the characters’ charm wooed me anyway. Sonya was sweet but confident while John was a strong man with a heart for God and where God places him, this could be why some of the men at the mansion couldn’t really be too mad at John…okay some. The entire book felt like a reality television show except with text and it kept me up well into the night because I had to know who Sonya will choose and if any other subplots would ever be solved.

It doesn’t need to be said that Sonya is black and John is white because the book wasn’t really focused on color although the topic came up a few times. The focus was on the Spirit of the people in this work and if you love a good romance(and reality shows) you will love “A Good Man”

Book Details:

A Good Man, J.J. Murray

Published: Kensington(2013)

ISBN:978-0-7582-7722-0

Tracking an Author: Ring of Stone, and what’s Pinterest got in store for writers?

tblc.org

Social Media. What would we be doing without the array of tools writers use daily to connect with their readers and why do I suddenly enjoy Pinterest specifically?

For those unfamiliar with Pinterest, it is a site where you digitally “pin” your favorite images and photos. What’s amazing is that you can grab images from the web or upload your own and the site has a way to link the image back to its own host site. You just pin up and go. Think of it as an online bulletin board. It also allows you to arrange and plan your ideas visually for interior decorating, food recipes and yes…Books!

Even now my posts and pages on this blog come with a Pin It! button so you can easily pin what you see on here to your boards(first join Pinterest)

How does this work for me as a writer and how can you use it to further reach your audience?

• I found that for my free short story “Mark of Fortune” I can search images of people on the web who resemble my characters. That part is so much fun because I feel as if I’m a director looking for the perfect person to play as [blank]
• Even images of scenery, houses, interior rooms- whatever, I am able to find and place them on my own Pinterest Boards.
• For planning, I may consider going online first to find settings, scenes and characters to inspire me to write my fiction and poetry. How neat is that! Getting inspiration visually before putting fingers to keyboard is wonderful beyond words.
• There are some pitfalls, writers can fall into if they are not careful. Mainly, do not post up all of your “goods” for everyone to see- let some story plots and secrets be discovered. In fact, a neat article on Poet’s & Writer’s explains more of what writers can and shouldn’t do on Pinterest. Please check that out.

In other news I am pleased to announce that “Ring of Stone”- the second part to Mark of Fortune is under way and is going through some editing right now and also choosing an eBook cover takes some time, but at least its technically finished- just need some polishing. It will be published on Smashwords.

Also my new website is about done as well as one dedicated to Mark of Fortune and the world of genies. Excited about that too!

Stay tuned for a Sneak Peak of Ring of Stone!

Book Review: ‘The Irish Healer’ by Nancy Herriman, 5 stars

The Irish Healer: A Novel by Nancy Herriman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nancy Herriman’s writing can be described as lovely, on time, and true. Her characters’ personalities and their flaws is what makes “The Irish Healer” such a wonderful read.

It is the 1830s and Rachel Dunne is leaving her home in Ireland to be an assistant to a physician in London. Back at home though, she was accused of murder and the town was set to gossip. At least in London working for the elusive, handsome Physician James Edmunds, Rachel may have a chance to start afresh and perhaps leave healing alone all together.

James Edmunds no longer trusts God with his medical practice or his family anymore. After his wife passed away, he had his sister in law take care of his daughter Amelia- to keep at bay his own mistakes from the past, yet when he meets Rachel Dunne, his new assistant, he wants her around more and more and he wonders if God may be giving him another chance.

What makes this story grand and pleasing, is that both characters are at odds with God. They have both placed their trust in Him at some point before but when things went sour, they lost their faith. So not only does Mr. Edmunds push against the grain of God’s will, Rachel does too as she refuses to help anyone sick for fear she may kill them, yet God keep placing her where she needs to be-

Especially when James Edmunds own daughter falls ill and it may be up to Rachel to push past her hurt pride to help. She endures the stereotypes and dreadful words from those who hate her simply because she is Irish but she does meet a few nice folk along the way who help put her faith back in place.

*Book was received from Worthy Publishing for my unbiased review.

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‘The Tongue of My Heart’- a poem

Image courstesy of Microsoft Office Images

Just the tongue of my heart

that has kissed your bad luck

of straggling with me and

carrying the bricks

Just the tongue of my heart

finally welcoming you into

all that is me and all you

hope me to be as we meet

first

Just the tongue of my heart

in your dreams and your mind

that once we start, I’ll be yours

and you’ll be-

Is it the lash of the words

or the way that I sway

my hair and my eyes

and you thought I was no more

than face, neck, and back

You thought I was

less than the vixen or the

supermodel lying in gloss

pages in your pickup

and here my words have

quickened your heart

and you wonder how slow you

could have seemed to

others…

how we take our time to

drink verbals with each other….

‘Pilfering Hearts’- a hot box poem

Image courtesy of 4freephotos.com

*before the fragrant odor of

his rose slip away into

history and leave the

pot boiling over-

before the dancing shoes are put up

and the legs filet around

his slim ones and the gift

of movement rocks me

and the techno grooves

the DJ ministers over the air

says “Goodnight”

here we stand, twin souls

that could have happened

should have but

I called him from her

and he took me from Him

we shake the sheets together

smooth skins and bruise lips

philandering other human’s hearts.

I sit alone.

*This poem arrived to my mind after the exercise in post on poetry exercises and invoking the muse. The words seem to be coming from a place of sensuality adulterated(and yes, I am happily married- don’t confuse me with the speaker of the poem-I blame the creative process) Anyhow towards the end of the poem, it became more spiritual for me and less about the physicalities between the speaker and her lover.

What do you think?

Its her heart on the line- poem inspired by “Samurai Champloo’

Image of Mugen from samuraichamploocorner.blogspot.com

Daylight catches

your hair

like a wildfire

in your-

wild ebony tresses

and the lock upon my

heart is greased

and loosened,

you look at me

and then not see

you pretend not

to see the

bird you

just set

free

*If any of you have seen Samurai Champloo then you may guess(maybe not) that this poem is from the heart of Fuu,15 to Mugen,19. Mugen: infinity, loose and carefree with no answer to no one is the opposite of Fuu but he plays with her heart without playing. I love the anime so far and invite you to see it too on Netlfix or grab from Amazon.

Christian fiction romance novel embued with emotion and reality at the same time

Earlier this week I wrote an article on Questionable Language in Christian Fiction and also visited blogs and forums which told the horrible  truth that most “clean” Christian Fiction are dull, unrealistic, and just not up to par with others. This does not mean that secular writers have it going on- many don’t.

Which is why when I read “My Stubborn Heart” by Becky Wade, I was pleasantly surprised. It has been many moons since I’ve read a good Contemporary Romance infused with Christian ideals and still love it. Here’s a brief review from my article about this book:

“Kate Donovan, 31, has had one bad relationship after the other and prays for God to send her a husband. Then one day her grandmother invites her to Redbud, Pennyslyania to a little town called Chapel Bluff to renovate her childhood home. It is there Kate meets the guy who will be renovating- the chocolate dreamy eyed ex- ice hockey player Matt Jarreau.

Matt, 32 is still grieving over the death of his lovely wife. It has been three years and the only way he can somehow cope is to help people with fixing their homes, retrieve to his dark home and brood around others.

That is until he meets, spunky, waif, and witty Kate Donovan. Meeting Kate can seem to be like getting hit head on by a train. The author is careful with word choice to really communicate Matt’s torrent of emotions as his heart and spirit wrestles with one question: Why am I still attached to my wife who would want me to move on?” (Read more on Examiner)

I never thought I could actually read a Christian Fiction Romance without putting it down and even now I have to reflect back on why didn’t I put it down? I think this is why:

1. The character of Matt Jarreau was described as physically gorgeous but had eyes that were a deep, deep unusual brown, it is telling of the tragedy he endured- this hooked me.
2. Kate is 31 and never been in a stable relationship. She resembles Audrey Hepburn and wear black ballet shoes or “flats” as she calls them. I like how she isn’t the typical 31 year old – whatever that means.
3. The setting was different and fictional- Redbud, Pennyslvania.
4. An old family home being renovated so I had the pleasure of reading about Kate’s love for antiques and watching the Antique Road Show.
5. Cooking! The foods they ate in the book sounded absolutely delicious!
6. There was overt mention of church, God, and faith- but Matt really needed these things and the author kept the plot realistic. No one gets over their dead spouse easily and Matt made it hard for Kate’s faith and care to pierce through.

I can’t say enough how excited I am about Becky Wade and I am anticipating another good love story from here. Visit her website for deleted scenes and other fun extras!

Also stay tuned for a post about why I am such a versatile blogger. In other words why am I knee deep in sensual fiction, action, erotica and still talk about Christian books like “it ain’t no thang”…And who else will be receiving this award? See you soon!