On My Shelves is a weekly post at The Book Faery Reviews which shares THREE books from our personal collection. These books could be favorites, books to be read as soon as possible for our own enjoyment, as well as books to be read soon for scheduled reviews.

Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own.  ~William Hazlitt

HERE ON EARTH BY ALICE HOFFMAN - The bestselling author of Turtle Moon and Practical Magic tells her most seductive and mesmerizing tale yet—the story of March Murray, who returns to her small Massachusetts hometown after nineteen years, encountering her childhood sweetheart…and discovering the heartbreaking and complex truth about their reckless and romantic love.

From bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes Here on Earth, a spellbinding tale of love and obsession. After nearly twenty years of living in California, March Murray, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, returns to the small Massachusetts town where she grew up to attend the funeral of Judith Dale, the beloved housekeeper who raised her. Thrust into the world of her past, March slowly realizes the complexity of the choices made by those around her, including Mrs. Dale, who knew more of love than March could have ever suspected; Alan, the brother whose tragic history has left him grief-stricken, with alcohol his only solace; and Hollis, the boy she loved, the man she can’t seem to stay away from. Erotic, disturbing, and compelling, Here on Earth is the dramatic and lyrical account of the joys of love, and the destruction love can release.

ICE QUEEN BY ALICE HOFFMAN - From the bestselling author of Practical Magic, a miraculous, enthralling tale of a woman who is struck by lightning, and finds her frozen heart is suddenly burning.

Be careful what you wish for. A small town librarian lives a quiet life without much excitement. One day, she mutters an idle wish and, while standing in her house, is struck by lightning. But instead of ending her life, this cataclysmic event sparks it into a new beginning.

She goes in search of Lazarus Jones, a fellow survivor who was struck dead, then simply got up and walked away. Perhaps this stranger who has seen death face to face can teach her to live without fear. When she finds him, he is her opposite, a burning man whose breath can boil water and whose touch scorches. As an obsessive love affair begins between them, both are forced to hide their most dangerous secrets–what turned one to ice and the other to fire.

A magical story of passion, loss, and renewal, The Ice Queen is Alice Hoffman at her electrifying best.

LORD OF THE DEAD BY TOM HOLLAND - Wandering with his friend Hobhouse in the mountains of Greece, Byron is drawn to the beauty of a mysterious fugitive slave whose pale, slim body and burning, black-fringed eyes arouse his lust; soon Byron is utterly entranced, and his fate is sealed. The supreme sensualist embarks on a life of adventure even his genius could not have foreseen – that of the world’s most formidable vampire. Chosen to enjoy powers beyond those any vampire has ever known, Byron enters a dark, intoxicating world, traversing centuries of long-lost secrets, ancient arts, and scorching excesses of evil. From the Levant to London’s salons, from the frozen Alps to the dark languors of Venice, he drinks deeply of terror and sex, ever more desperate to destroy his need for the most forbidden of desires. But his diversions, delicious and cruel, are suffused with the rich scent of doom. Byron’s gift is also his torment: an all-consuming thirst that withers life at the root, damning those he loves…

Drawing on the facts of Byron’s flamboyant, tortured life, as well as clues in the mysterious, dark imagery of his poetry, Holland paints a portrait of the poet as an aristocrat of remarkable beauty and deadly charm with a shocking, bloody secret.

All book summaries are from Barnes & Noble.

If you’ve read it, what did you think about it? Good mix of history and the paranormal? Did you remain engaged from beginning to end not wanting to put the book down as if you might actually miss something?

Sovereign Power. Eternal Pleasure.

Revealed at last in this new vampire saga for the ages: the true, untold story of the “Virgin Queen” and her secret war against the Vampire King of England. . . .

On the eve of her coronation, Elizabeth Tudor is summoned to the tomb of her mother, Anne Boleyn, to learn the truth about her bloodline—and her destiny as a Slayer. Born to battle the bloodsucking fiends who ravage the night, and sworn to defend her beloved realm against all enemies, Elizabeth soon finds herself stalked by the most dangerous and seductive vampire of all.

He is Mordred, bastard son of King Arthur, who sold his soul to destroy his father. After centuries in hiding, he has arisen determined to claim the young Elizabeth as his Queen. Luring her into his world of eternal night, Mordred tempts Elizabeth with the promise of everlasting youth and beauty, and vows to protect her from all enemies. Together, they will rule over a golden age for vampires in which humans will exist only to be fed upon. Horrified by his intentions, Elizabeth embraces her powers as a Slayer even as she realizes that the greatest danger comes from her own secret desire to yield to Mordred . . . to bare her throat in ecstasy and allow the vampire king to drink deeply of her royal blood.

As told by Lucy Weston, the vampire prey immortalized in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this spellbinding account will capture your heart and soul—forever.

• Gallery Books, December 2010
• Trade Paperback, 320 pages
• ISBN-10: 143919033X
• ISBN-13: 9781439190333

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Powell’s Bookstore

The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor Vampire… by cosproductions

Book summary taken from Simon & Schuster.

1. Start a binder. This is a habit I’ve freely borrowed from Phyllis A. Whitney’s wonderful Guide to Fiction Writing, though over the years I’ve adapted her own “notebook method” to suit my own needs. Before I read her writing guide I was forever losing track of all the little bits of paper on which I’d taken notes, and forgetting ideas that came to me at odd times, but now whenever I get the first germ of an idea for a book I start a 3-ring binder for it. I label the binder, section it off with dividers like I used to do for schoolwork, and fill it with lots of lined paper. And on the first page I write the date I got the idea for the book, and what the idea was. My standard sections are always “Work Calendar”, in which I keep track of my writing progress day by day; “Plotting”, in which I write down any and all ideas that come to me (and paste in those messy little jotted notes I make while in the bathtub); “Outline”, in which I occasionally (but only occasionally) try to guess what might happen in the next few chapters; “Characters”, which I use mainly for writing down names and keeping notes on any real-life historical characters, and “Revisions”, in which I keep track of all the things I know I’m going to need to go back and change in the second draft (especially helpful if I decide to change someone’s name or age, which has happened). The rest of the binder is divided into a heap of “Research” sub-sections, depending on the book. In my binder for my book The Winter Sea, I have “Research” sub-sections for the 1708 invasion attempt, Jacobite spies, Scottish clothing for 1700-1710, English and French clothing for the same period, the Scots and Royal navies, Cruden Bay, James VIII of Scotland, Union Politics, The Irish Brigades, and several other things that would likely bore the average person but were fascinating to me and essential to the story.

2. Do the preliminary research. Research, for me, is an ongoing exercise. Throughout the writing of a book I’ll be continually reading sources, searching out material, and checking facts, and this will fuel my writing which in turn will raise more questions that I need to find the answers to…and on and on it goes. I don’t expect to track down everything I’ll need at the beginning, but I like to make a start. I scout out my locations and visit the ones I can visit (though sometimes for various reasons I’m midway through the writing before I can actually manage the travel). I talk to people who work in the same fields as my characters. And I start reading what books, articles, and original documents I can, always with an eye to finding more. But I don’t let this stage stop me from the next step, which is…

3. Start writing. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike, just sit down and start putting words on the blank page, that’s the only way I know to start a story. Again, I tend to defer to Phyllis A. Whitney’s advice that “Probably the best way to start any story, long or short, is to show a character with a problem doing something interesting”, but I realize the first line—or even the first page—of my first draft won’t necessarily be the first line or first page of the finished book. I don’t look for perfection at this stage, I just want to feel my way into the book and start “hearing” my characters, getting to know them. Often for the first few chapters this is a very slow process for me, but at some point there’s almost a “click” I can feel and the book comes to life for me.

4. Keep going forward. Which sounds basic, but I’ve learned not to go back and tinker with what I’ve written while I’m working on the first draft. When I sit down to start work each day, I read over what I wrote the day before, just to get back in the rhythm of the story, and then I go forward from there. If I feel the urge to change something that’s already happened, I simply make a note in the “Revisions” section of my binder and ignore it till the second draft, instead of wasting a lot of time polishing a scene that might not even make it into that second draft, let alone the final book. This lure to go back and rework what I’ve already written instead of pushing on with something new is what used to keep me from finishing my books when I was a teenager, only now I’ve got wise to it. Giving in would, for me, be like trying to drive from New York to L.A. if every morning I had to get up and start back in New York again. I’d never make it to the west coast doing that, just as I’d never write “The End” if I kept “polishing” instead of pushing on.

5. Ignore the urge to throw it out and start again. With every book I reach a point when I’m convinced the story’s going nowhere; that it’s rubbish, can’t be salvaged, and not nearly as compelling as the NEW idea I’ve just had for this OTHER book… I’m writing my eleventh book, just now, and I’ve been writing books and finishing them for two decades, but I still run up against this wall in every one of them. I’ve learned to just ignore it. All it means is that I’ve reached the Dreaded Middle of the novel. It will pass. The thing is, when I start a book I have a lovely, perfect vision of it, and by the time I reach the middle, what I’ve written doesn’t look at all like that first vision. As a teenager, I used to think this meant I’d done it wrong, but now I know it always works like that. I only have to soldier on and make it to the end, and then I’ll get to re-work everything in second draft, and things will look much better. Never like that perfect vision that I had at the beginning, but that’s fine. There’s always the next book, I promise myself…

6. Reward yourself. To keep myself going through the Dreaded Middle, I give myself little rewards. These change, according to the novel and my mood. Sometimes it’s a glass of wine every 50 pages. Sometimes it’s a night out at the movies every 100 pages. Right now, because I’m in a bit of a difficult part, I’m letting myself watch one episode of Scarecrow and Mrs. King on DVD every time I finish a chapter. The thing is to find whatever works as a treat for you, and use it to help yourself through to the end. And your end reward should be BIG. Something wonderful. A whole day in your pajamas with a pot of tea, and other people’s books to read. Or dinner at a fancy restaurant. What you choose is up to you—the challenge is to finish what you’re working on, so you can write “The End” and claim your prize.

So there you have it: The Susanna Kearsley method. If there’s any part of it that you can use, I hope it helps. If not, at least you’ll have a little insight into how I spend my days. And if you’re sitting down to write your novel, just remember the important thing is simply to keep at it. Best of luck!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Susanna Kearsley’s writing has been compared to Mary Stewart, Daphne Du Maurier, and Diana Gabaldon. Her books have been translated into several languages, selected for the Mystery Guild, condensed for Reader’s Digest, and optioned for film. She lives in Canada near the shores of Lake Ontario.

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR… Website | Facebook | Twitter 

The first time Julia Beckett saw Greywethers she was only five, but she knew that it was her house. And now that she’s at last become its owner, she suspects that she was drawn there for a reason.

As if Greywethers were a portal between worlds, she finds herself transported into seventeenth-century England, becoming Mariana, a young woman struggling against danger and treachery, and battling a forbidden love.

Each time Julia travels back, she becomes more enthralled with the past…until she realizes Mariana’s life is threatening to eclipse her own, and she must find a way to lay the past to rest or lose the chance for happiness in her own time.

Read the first chapter here.

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (April 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402258674
• ISBN-13: 978-1402258671

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Other Stores

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Review to be posted VERY soon. I can tell you though that it’s a good one!

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review from Sourcebooks.

Matthew knows that he died twenty years ago. He has, after all, been bouncing around New York city ever since, causing mischief and having fun as a supernatural being. But recently some problems have been cropping up: not only is he hallucinating things in garbage cans, but his mentor doesn’t think he’s working up to his full potential, his best friend can’t offer any solace but drunken confusion, and his wife is dying in Central Park.

See, the past twenty years haven’t meant a thing because now it’s time for Matthew to make his second choice and become a tester of humanity.

And that’s all before the zombies show up.

Come explore the world of Matthew and Epp and see what a samurai from Feudal Japan has to do with the course of modern physics, what a two-thousand year old Roman slave has to do with the summit of Mount Everest, and what a dead man from Brooklyn has to do with the fate of the world.

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Kindle | Smashwords | Nook | iBooks |Diesel | Sony Reader

AND NOW THE INTERVIEW…

THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS: What is your favorite line from a book?

JOSEPH DEVON: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The last line in The Great Gatsby. Capping off that entire story as well as reflecting on Nick’s train journey back home…gives me the chills every time I read it. It’s just perfect.

TBFR: How do you describe your writing style?

JD: I try not to. Ha…I really don’t know how to answer that. That question makes me instantly sheepish. Um, but I like to weave together a lot of different stories into a climax. I love exploring relationships and I’m told I have an ear for dialogue. I also love a little action, a little suspense, and I’m not adverse to some plot twists.

TBFR: Do you hear from your readers? What kinds of questions do they ask?

JD: I get a decent number of emails from readers. They tend to tell me how attached they became to certain characters, which is such a wonderful thing to hear. They also get a little angry at me if something bad happens to a main character, which is also a great compliment. Oh and they all want to know when book three is coming out.

TBFR: How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?

JD: Nope. No formulas, no outlines, not if I can help it. I used to write like that and things started feeling way too forced, I didn’t like it. I tend to have a few major scenes in mind when I’m writing that I want to get to, but I take my starting points and then try and let my characters naturally find their way from plot point to plot point on their own. Letting them be themselves and having their own internal motivations drive them to where I need them to be always works better and often leads to far more interesting scenes than I could ever come up with ahead of time.

TBFR: What books have you faked reading?

JD: Haha…I don’t know that I’ve ever done that. I actually have read Ulysses, though in a class, as well as a number of the other bigger clunkers. Plus if I don’t like an author and stay away from them I’m more than happy to voice that opinion. You shouldn’t fake read anything, you should just be you. No?

TBFR: If everyone was forced to read three books, what books would you suggest?

JD: James Joyce’s The Dead, it’s the last story in The Dubliners. The rest of the short stories can be a bit thick, and it took me a few tries to read The Dead, but once it clicked it became one of those collections of words that I need to read once a year.

The Old Man And the Sea, because lets face it, you should probably keep lists like this to short books so you don’t scare people away, and that’s a nice short glimpse of what Hemingway can do.

And then one of my books. Because I might as well get some marketing in while I’m forcing these poor people to read things.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Joseph Devon was born in New Jersey and currently lives in New York. He’s been a student, a nanny, worked at the Ground Zero recovery project after 9/11, and of all the things he’s created he is probably most proud of the character Kyo. He writes a blog at josephdevon.com and also enjoys photography, so he’s also at flickr, and tumblr, and twitter too, and sometimes he thinks maybe he has too many social networking outlets.

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR…Website  | Twitter 

March 1st – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove
March 2nd – Farrah K. @ The Book Faery Reviews
March 2nd – MK @ MK McClintock Blog
March 5th – Inga K. @ Me And Reading
March 6th – Bob Mi. @ Beauty in Ruins
March 7th – Darlene G. @ Darlene’s Book Nook
March 8th – Morgen B. @ Morgen Bailey’s Writing Blog
March 9th – Meredith Al. @ From Meredith Allard
March 12th – Miranda Wh. @ Ricochet Reviews
March 12th – Beverly G. @ Everyone Loves A SiNner
March 13th – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove
March 14th – Laurie J. @ Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews
March 14th – April R. & Wendy @ My Book Addiction and More
March 15th – Bobbie @ Nurture Virtual Book Tourz™ Blog

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review as part of the NURTURE Virtual BOOK Tourz.

GUERLAIN – LAVANDE

Guerlain created this soliflore in the 1840s… over 170 years ago! It was reprised again in the 1920′s but was no longer produced beyond WWII. Anything but a ‘typical’ Lavender scent, Lavande has a complex backbone of shimmering citruses, lavender, tumbling florals, vetiver and darker, mossy accords. It is distinctly Guerlain in it’s approach as more of an ‘abstract’ of Lavander than a literal interpretation. Its deeply aromatic heart and exceptionally mossy base are unparalleled in modern perfumery, making it a regrettable loss to the annals of perfume history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012.  Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio.  Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com.  The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.  She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra–and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances–and of her mother’s suicide–she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it’s financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake–Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L’Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation – or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451621302
• ISBN-13: 978-1451621303

PRE-ORDER NOW for March 23rd release:

I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review as part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.

Here’s her reply…

This is a tough one to answer. I write suspense and my characters are often in precarious, unenviable positions. If I knew I was going to trade places with one of them, I’d write about a woman living on a tropical island, surrounded by books and music, with no worries aside from which flavor ice cream to eat. Of course, that would make for a boring story.

Of all my characters, I’d pick Lucianna Martel from my novel Hit List. She’s a private investigator, working the strangest case of her career. Ian McCormick’s mother Corinne has gone from sane to crazy in the space of a weekend. Ian hires Lucianna to find out what happened to her. Suddenly, Lucianna finds herself attempting to trace the routes of insanity.

Lucianna is smart, independent and tough. She’s also sexy and has a great sense of humor. I love her Uncle Vinnie, who is Lucianna’s secretary, backup and enforcer. In the midst of this complicated investigation, Lucianna falls in love. She’s not too happy about this predicament. The idea of being in love has her more rattled than the guns firing at her.

Lucianna and I share some traits. She’s vegan and I’m vegetarian. This means I could live her life for a day without being subjected to dinner at a steakhouse. We also share a love of animals and music. I couldn’t trade places with a character that hates animals or had never heard Eric Clapton play guitar.

Though we do have things in common, our differences are vast. She hasn’t been married, has no children. She’s an extravert, while I’m a total introvert. Her legs are long and thin, mine are short and fat gravitates to my thighs. The world is a different place through her eyes. Her life is travel, crime, guns, dating, and the sort of independence I never experienced. Lucianna is the kind of badass woman I’d like to be for a day.

At the end of those 24-hours, I’d be too exhausted to do more than sit on the couch in my pajamas, surrounded by my three dogs and holding a good book. My life does have advantages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Darcia Helle lives in a fictional world with a husband who is sometimes real. Their house is ruled by spoiled dogs and cats and the occasional dust bunny. Suspense, random blood splatter and mismatched socks consume Darcia’s days. She writes because the characters trespassing through her mind leave her no alternative. Only then are the voices free to haunt someone else’s mind.

Find and follow Darcia Helle on: Author Website | Author Blog | Other Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Max Paddington refuses to go into the light until he finds his killer. This presents a dilemma, since Max is even less competent as a spirit than he was as a live person. No one sees or hears him and he can’t manage to get anywhere or do anything on his own.Joe Cavelli is a private investigator, living an ordinary life. Then one day he walks across a parking lot, gets yelled at by a ghost, and his life only gets stranger from there.Max and Joe team up to find Max’s killer. In the process, they form an unlikely friendship and change each other’s lives in ways they never expected.

• Genre: Young Adult (YA) Fiction - Contemporary/Paranormal Mystery
• Published by: Createspace (July 14, 2011)
• Age Recommendation: 12 years of age & up
• Format: eBook & Trade Paperback
• ISBN13: 978-1463640200
• Number of pages: 250

Buy the book at: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Author’s Website | Smashwords | Sony – Reader Store | Diesel | Kobo

 

 

Into The Light by Darcia Helle – NURTURE Book Tour Schedule:

February 27th – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove
February 27th – Farrah K. @ The Book Faery Reviews
February 28th – Grace L. @  Books Like Breathing
February 28th – Hywela L. @ Hywela Lyn: Romance That’s ‘Out Of This World’
February 29th – Miranda Wh. @ Ricochet Reviews
March 1st – Inga K. @ Me And Reading
March 2nd – Melissa Kr. @ Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf
March 2nd – Laurie J. @ Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Melissa Douthit grew up in North County of San Diego, California. After graduating with a Computer Science degree in Southern California, and working for a summer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, she moved to the Bay Area to work at NASA Ames Research Center for a year and then at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for another four years.

From there, she moved to Monterey, California, to work at the Naval Postgraduate School on a government project for two years. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, working with the Army Corps of Engineers on another government project. Since high school, she has been a voracious reader of books of all genres, with an emphasis in fantasy and science fiction. Her literary work is strongly influenced by her professional experience and includes many elements of her scientific background.

You can find out more about Melissa on her website: http://melissadouthit.com

The Firelight of Maalda…Chalice and her group leave Barenthren to travel to Portalis.  There she and her friends discover the beautiful city, its people, its history, and its secret that has been kept hidden for thousands of years.  During their stay, they learn that Dar’Maalda has thefirestone and that he plans to use it.

What is the firestone and what does Dar’Maalda plan to do with it?  What are the Naezzi?  What does the title, The Firelight ofMaalda, really mean?  And … what is the secret of Portalis, the secret that has been guarded so jealously for so long – so jealously, that many have given their lives to protect it?

In The Firelight of Maalda, the second novel of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia, you find out.  It is a tale of intrigue and wonder where two opposite worlds collide in an explosive journey that leads Chalice and her friends to the dark islands lurking just beyond the horizon of Ielieria, where the Firelight of Maalda sits … and waits.

GET THE BOOK… Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Be sure to grab the two novella prequels, The Vanishing and The Journey Begins, which are currently free on Smashwords for you to download, whichever format you need.

• The Vanishing, the hero’s story before the beginning of the trilogy is here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75235
• The Journey Begins, the heroine’s story before the beginning of the trilogy is here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73993

To enter, answer this question…

What’s the first thing to come to mind when you think of
a fantasy adventure story from your youth?

The Raie’Chaelia…When Chalice sets off for Branbury in the middle of the night with her grandfather’s instructions, she has no idea of the dangers that await her.  The King’s men have destroyed her home village of Canton and she is suddenly thrown into a Terravailian world that she does not know.  Lost and alone, she is hard pressed to evade the iron grasp of the madman who rules the land.  With thehelp of a friendly Chinuk, an old man, and a book that she discovers along the way, not only does she find true friends and true love, but she also finds her true self and what it means to be the Raie’Chaelia.

The story of Chalice, a young girl quickly becoming a woman as she leads her people in a battle for their lives and their world. Along the way, we are all enchanted by the domed cities, the wise little furry creatures and the wisdom of these people whose lives are both ancient and post-modern.

GET THE BOOK… Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

The Firelight of Maalda…Chalice and her group leave Barenthren to travel to Portalis.  There she and her friends discover the beautiful city, its people, its history, and its secret that has been kept hidden for thousands of years.  During their stay, they learn that Dar’Maalda has thefirestone and that he plans to use it.

What is the firestone and what does Dar’Maalda plan to do with it?  What are the Naezzi?  What does the title, The Firelight ofMaalda, really mean?  And … what is the secret of Portalis, the secret that has been guarded so jealously for so long – so jealously, that many have given their lives to protect it?

In The Firelight of Maalda, the second novel of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia, you find out.  It is a tale of intrigue and wonder where two opposite worlds collide in an explosive journey that leads Chalice and her friends to the dark islands lurking just beyond the horizon of Ielieria, where the Firelight of Maalda sits … and waits.

GET THE BOOK… Barnes & Noble

Be sure to grab the two novella prequels, The Vanishing and The Journey Begins, which are currently free on Smashwords for you to download, whichever format you need.

• The Vanishing, the hero’s story before the beginning of the trilogy is here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75235
• The Journey Begins, the heroine’s story before the beginning of the trilogy is here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73993

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Melissa Douthit grew up in North County of San Diego, California. After graduating with a Computer Science degree in Southern California, and working for a summer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, she moved to the Bay Area to work at NASA Ames Research Center for a year and then at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for another four years.

From there, she moved to Monterey, California, to work at the Naval Postgraduate School on a government project for two years. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, working with the Army Corps of Engineers on another government project. Since high school, she has been a voracious reader of books of all genres, with an emphasis in fantasy and science fiction. Her literary work is strongly influenced by her professional experience and includes many elements of her scientific background.

You can find out more about Melissa on her website: http://melissadouthit.com

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS… I don’t normally read a lot of young adult fiction. Frustration usually comes into play for me because I feel as if I can’t connect well with the characters. However, with this particular young adult fantasy that was not an issue at all and glad I got the opportunity to read it. If I didn’t feel as if I was Chalice, I definitely felt as if I was a close friend with her in the story. At times it almost felt like I was even playing an RPG game (yes I’m a nerd…haha) wandering around on a quest through village, forest, and mountains. I loved Chalice’s curiosity, bravery, and strength, and I felt like I was questioning and learning things as she was along the way. Definitely looking forward to the 3rd book in the trilogy, The Return, to see how it turns out. For those who enjoy a fun fantasy adventure that isn’t too over the top, I think they’d enjoy this trilogy as well.

2,000 years later, Father Chris Mognahan is a member of the Hetairia Melchizedek, a secret society within the Catholic Church that studies Biblical omens. The society asks Chris to investigate an unusually grotesque crime – a murder on a college campus where the killer’s hand literally burned off the victim’s face. While the killing seems isolated at first, the society ties the murder to the final Biblical prophecy and a terrifying omen that the order of the prophecies is about to be disrupted. The final battle is coming too soon – long before humanity is prepared to win it.

Suddenly, Chris finds himself fighting against time and hell to keep the prophecies in order and stop an early Armageddon. He is joined by a band of unlikely allies, and together they find themselves in Rome above the Vatican Necropolis – the city of the dead – where the future is revealed to them in ancient texts.

They are not alone, however; an evil as old as time itself hunts them. As they travel across continents on their mission, the demonic force follows relentlessly, waiting in every shadowed corner, and every dark place.

As Armageddon descends, Father Chris finds that his only hope lies in a young woman within the group who has a secret gift – and their belief that God Himself may have sent her to keep the final angelic trumpet from sounding out the early end of the Earth.

• Paperback: 478 pages
• Publisher: 23 House (September 23, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982477767
• ISBN-13: 978-0982477762

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Carrie Salo is a dark storyteller and emerging author of supernatural thrillers. Classically trained at an Ivy League university, she studied the works of master storytellers seven stories underground in the muffled heart of one of the world ‘s largest libraries.

Carrie seeks to wield unrelenting suspense in her own exploration of all things (especially true things) that keep us awake at night.   She has written under the guidance of two bestselling and national prize-winning authors.   Her extensive travels have taken her to many haunted places, including the private catacombs of the Vatican.   The Sounding is Carrie’s debut novel.

Carrie enjoys the smell of old books, New York riesling, late night jogging and thunderstorms, though not in that order.   Storytelling is Carrie’s secret life.   While she looks into all the dark corners by night, by day she is an advertising copywriter and account manager.

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…The Sounding was both exciting and scary;  a heart beating kind of read that couldn’t be put down. So real feeling that it made me wonder if it could really happen.

I received a copy from Planned Television Arts in exchange for an honest review.

On My Shelves is a weekly post at The Book Faery Reviews which shares THREE books from our personal collection. These books could be favorites, books to be read as soon as possible for our own enjoyment, as well as books to be read soon for scheduled reviews.

Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own.  ~William Hazlitt

The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman - For more than one hundred years, creative souls have traveled to Upstate New York to work under the captivating spell of the Bosco estate. Cradled in silence, inspired by the rough beauty of overgrown gardens and crumbling statuary, these chosen few fashion masterworks–and have cemented Bosco’s reputation as a premier artists’ colony. This season, five talented artists-in-residence find themselves drawn to the history of Bosco, from the extensive network of fountains that were once its centerpiece but have long since run dry to the story of its enigmatic founder, Aurora Latham, and the series of tragic events that occurred more than a century ago.

Ellis Brooks, a first-time novelist, has come to Bosco to write a book based on Aurora and the infamous summer of 1893, when wealthy, powerful Milo Latham brought the notorious medium Corinth Blackwell to the estate to help his wife contact three of the couple’s children, lost the winter before in a diphtheria epidemic. But when a séance turned deadly, Corinth and her alleged accomplice, Tom Quinn, disappeared, taking with them the Lathams’ only surviving child.

The more time she spends at Bosco, the more Ellis becomes convinced that there is an even darker, more sinister end to the story. And she’s not alone: biographer Bethesda Graham uncovers stunning revelations about Milo and Corinth; landscape architect David Fox discovers a series of hidden tunnels underneath the gardens; poet Zalman Bronsky hears the long-dry fountain’s waters beckoning him; and novelist Nat Loomis feels something lingering just out of reach.

After a bizarre series of accidents befalls them, the group cannot deny the connections between the long ago and now, the living and the dead . . . as Ellis realizes that the tangled truth may ensnare them all in its cool embrace.

Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie Montana by Goyer & Fleiss - Julia Cavanaugh has never left New York City. But in 1890, the young woman must head west to ensure that the orphans under her care are settled into good families. After her final stop in Montana, she plans to head straight back east. But upon arriving in the remote town of Lonesome Prairie, Julia learns to her horror that she is also supposed to be delivered—into the hands of an uncouth miner who carries a bill of purchase for his new “bride.” She turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from a forced marriage but with no return fare and few friends, Julia’s options are bleak. What is God’s plan for her in the middle of the vast Montana prairie?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith - “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read.

Eva Ward returns to the only place she truly belongs, the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking happiness in memories of childhood summers. There she finds mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but also into the arms of a man who is not of her time.

But Eva must confront her own ghosts, as well as those of long ago. As she begins to question her place in the present, she comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs.

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402258585
• ISBN-13: 978-1402258589

BUY THE BOOK…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Susanna Kearsley’s writing has been compared to Mary Stewart, Daphne du Maurier, and Diana Gabaldon. Her books have been translated into several languages, selected for the Mystery Guild, condensed for Reader’s Digest, and optioned for film. She lives in Canada, near the shores of Lake Ontario.

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Fascinating time-travel book with elements of love, a “magical feeling”, and a twist. The way in which the room or clothes would just change to go from the past to the present was neat. There were times I wondered where I’d end up if that were to ever happen to me and would I stay. A book I’d definitely re-read again because I’m sure there’d be something new I may have missed. Kearsley did a great job telling the story and I look forward to picking up another by her. For those who like time-travel, history, and romance, this is a book you should find.

My Book Rating:

I received a copy for review from Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review.

Well, as it turns out, scores of people would write about angels, and they’d beat me to the punch. So many, in fact, that literary agents around the Twitterverse would start moaning about how sick they were of angels. “No more!” they insisted. “It’s overdone! Enough with the angels!”

But by then, I had a trilogy full of angels under my belt, and embedded deeply in my heart. No way was I giving up on them.

I knew my angels were a little bit different. They lived in a celestial St. Petersburg of an earlier age, and there were no religious elements in my Heaven—no God or Devil, only the angelic Host of the nobility and the peasants they called Fallen. And fall they did, but it was where they fell that really grabbed hold of me. If Heaven was like St. Petersburg, I reasoned, then that was where they’d wind up in the world of Man.

Thus began an obsession with Russia that would lead me to teach myself the Cyrillic alphabet and the basics of the language, and would lead me all the way to St. Petersburg itself, and beyond, to the ancient kremlin of Novgorod.

The rest of my journey was only in my head, but my virtual travels would take me across Russia from the Far East on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and yet farther north to the White Sea port of Arkhangel’sk (which had gotten the idea of Russian angels stuck in my head in the first place). Eventually, my fallen angels would lead me into the icebound Beloe More itself to the islands of Solovki, of which Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago, “It was a place with no connection to the rest of the world for half a year. A scream from here would never be heard.”

The island fortress and monastery once used as one of the Soviet Union’s most infamous gulags is just 150 kilometers from the Arctic Circle. You can’t get much farther north than that…except, as one of my characters puts it, “the euphemistic North” of the Seven Heavens, where it all began.

So there I was, four years later, with 300,000 words’ worth of Russian fallen angels and a querying landscape that was apparently lousy with their Western kin. Luckily, I found an agent who loved them anyway. And today, my little demons have finally been officially loosed upon the world.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on angels, fallen and otherwise. Had enough of them? Or can’t get enough?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Jane Kindred began writing romantic fantasy at the age of 12 in the wayback of a Plymouth Fury—which, as far as she recalls, never killed anyone…who didn’t have it coming. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed. Jane is the author of The Devil’s Garden (Carina Press/June 2011) and The Fallen Queen (Entangled Publishing/December 2011), Book One of The House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy.

You can find Jane on Twitter: @JaneKindred

on Facebook: www.facebook.com/somewherebetweenheavenandhell

or on her website: www.janekindred.com

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves—fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda—who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

• Title: The Fallen Queen
• Author: Jane Kindred
• Genre: Fantasy with Romantic Elements
• Length: 314 pages
• Launch Date: December 2011
• ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-52-7
• Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-53-4

 

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to the author, Jane is letting us give away 1 copy of The Fallen Queen to a randomly selected commenter on this post. This giveaway will run now through Friday 11:59pm December 16th. This is open WORLDWIDE. Printed copy can be mailed to US/Canadian addresses or E-copy if you’re international.

To ENTER giveaway leave a comment for Jane. EASY!

Of course we always love it when you…

• List Price: $17.99
• Paperback: 482 pages
• Publisher: FIRST Wild Card Press (December 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615530222
• ISBN-13: 978-0615530222

Visit the author’s website.

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire was a fun read that placed me into a magical world of fairies, gremlins, Yeti’s, gnomes, talking trees, nymphs, and others. The pages are filled with excitement as Mellie, a chosen F.A.I.R.I.E. squadmember from the human world, prepares for the big fight in their version of schooling.  Pearson draws delightful illustrations throughout the novel to reinforce her magical world. My favorites included the the talking redwood tree that let Regnans & Mellie through  to the other world, the Yeti’s foot about to stomp a Gremlin, and Mellie under water getting accustomed to talking and breathing. This is a book I know my 12 year old would enjoy reading and escape into a magical place. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fun youthful fantasy world.

My Book Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

***Special thanks to M. C. Pearson of FIRST Wild Card Press for sending me a review copy.***

As for my writing pattern itself, when I awaken it’s usually with an urgency to get started. So after coffee and a cigarette, and a quick bite to eat, it’s then on to writing, usually at least eight straight hours, with short breaks and more food as I get hungry — and of course more coffee and a cigarette or two, this process first beginning with a quick review of what I’ve written the day before. I write — involving plenty of rewriting, until my mind gets tired and I know it’s time to quit. On Sundays during the football season, or when Tiger Woods is playing in a televised golf tournament, this pattern is not so stringent. The only part of my writing which determines what type of day it will be is my passion. If my creative process really becomes engrossed in the writing at hand, rendering me oblivious to all around me, my writing can extend way beyond eight hours. My creative process is often still working even as I prepare for bed, finding myself jotting down ideas to pursue the next morning. On occasion, after I’m asleep, I’ll awaken to jot down important thoughts and insights I don’t want to chance forgetting when I begin my writing the next day. This has resulted in some fantastic narrative. When I sleep my creative process doesn’t.

Such gives birth to my novel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…A native of Flint, Michigan, Gerald Griffin wrote his first short book of fiction while in the 9th grade. Ever since then he has felt compelled to write — his style reminiscent of Frederick Forsythe, with a dash of Damon Runyon and Tom Clancy.

Following several years of private practice, his two sons grown and away, Gerald eased into writing full-time — non-fiction, fiction, and ghost writing, first turning out the published non-fiction work, THE SILENT MISERY — WHY MARRIAGES FAIL. This was followed by his three published novels, THE CORRUPTORS, THE DEATH DISCIPLE, and THE LAST COMING, this last novel written in collaboration with Robin Moore.  After this came his published non-fiction ghost writing works, TRAPPED IN THE LAWYERS’ DEN WITH BLOODSUCKERS and GBI AGENT.

A nature lover, he relocated from Atlanta to the lake scenery of Gainesville, Georgia. He lives in a quaint home, high on a hill, surrounded by inspiring forest foliage not far from the waters of Sidney Lake Lanier; the forest floor a protective canopy for the passing deer.  In this setting, Gerald wrote the novel OF GOOD AND EVIL, followed by its sequel A TIME OF RECKONING.

Nancy Cline, a member of MENSA, said in review of Gerald’s writings: “In this age, yes, there is a nobility of spirit and the courage to preserve and to protect that nobility.  In the field of fiction we have men of great stature… To that list add the name of Gerald Griffin…”

Gerald is a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW). While in practice in Atlanta he was listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Personalities of America and Notable Americans.

Visit Gerald’s Author’s Blog at: http://geraldggriffin.blogspot.com.

 Overall, a gripping action thriller with a touch of paranormal and a captivating love story.

Ron Sheffield, an ex-Green Beret discharged from the Army for going crazy, has discovered top secret terrorist documents endangering his life by an unsavory White House political cell, the documents revealing al Qaeda plans threatening the existence of Western civilization. He also possesses uncanny mental talents which enabled him to survive fierce covert battles in the Middle East while the men serving under him perished, these tortured memories leaving him distraught with merciless guilt to the point of suicide—staved off only by desperate “hiding” activities.

This potent mixture of documents, guilt, hiding and uncanny abilities, combined with Ron’s remarkable and irrepressible love affair with Amber Ash—who saves Ron’s life through talents similar to his own—propels the two down volatile paths of relentless danger, troubles and confrontations defining their destiny, including, among other things: sanity-saving killings; Ron having no choice but to become a specialized Mafia hit man; a White House plot on Ron’s life; conflicts with a divinely gifted secret society headed by Amber’s billionaire father; acquiring the specifics of the 9-11 terrorist attacks beforehand, but the attempt at warning ignored; disturbing honeymoon intrigue; devastating discovery of who really orchestrated the U.S. invasion of Iraq; struggles to thwart Bin Laden’s startling scheme of global domination; frustrating hindrances to cornering the most important and dangerous terrorist alive—not Bin Laden, rendering success of the pursuit bleak; frightening dreams prophesying disturbing reality; and a fight against the impossible to prevent the nuclear obliteration of a large American city.

Spine-chilling, with unending surprises. The reader never knows what’s coming next, and is left on edge, unable to put the book down.

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Eloquent Books (July 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160976014X
• ISBN-13: 978-1609760144

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble

NURTURE YOUR BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE…

• November 7th – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove
• November 8th – Kendall G. @ Telly Says @ Reading; Reading & Life - Giveaway
• November 9th – April R. & Wendy @ My Book Addiction and More - Giveaway
• November 9th – Mindy Br. @ The Journey and Musings of a Single Country Gal and her cat! - Giveaway
• November 10th – Farrah K. @ The Book Faery Reviews
• November 11th – Hywela L. @ Hywela Lyn: Romance That’s ‘Out Of This World’ - Giveaway
• November 14th – Bobbie @ NURTURE Virtual BOOK Tourz™ Blog
• November 14th - Lindsay H @ Everyday Is An Adventure
• November 15th – Pamela Bl. @ Life as a Mom CEO - Giveaway
• November 16th – Laurie J. @ Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews - Giveaway
• November 17th – Mason C. @ Thoughts in Progress
• November 17th – Beverly G. @ Everyone Loves A SiNner - Giveaway
• November 18th - Tammy G. @ News and Reviews from the Heart of the Dragons Den - Giveaway

You see, The Grym Brothers originated with my wife. Prior to the Gryms, my main series were the Alex Cheradon books. They were an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink selection of all my favorite things: humor, sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventure, time travel, and exploding cars. I loved the books. Alex Cheradon was my “firstborn” so to speak. The rest of the world, however, they were taking some time to warm up to the concept.

My wife suggested that we start a new series. Something between the genre-bending of Alex Cheradon and the mundane lives of my more character-based novels.

As we were drifting off to sleep one night, she mumbled out: grim reapers who hunt down dead souls on the run.

I was awake instantly.

It was a simple, but brilliant concept: Grim reapers as bounty hunters.

The pieces started to fall into place pretty quickly.

I made my lead characters brothers, Thane and Mort. They were complete opposites. Thane was the older, mature, responsible brother. Mort was the family screw up. I placed them at the bottom of the grim reaper totem pole, never missing an opportunity to dump more grief and aggravation on them. I gave them a missing father, who was also a grim reaper, to add some legacy and mystery to their lives.

Whereas some of my other books solved problems by going through elaborate action set pieces, I wanted the Grym brothers to be different. Yes, there would be action, but mostly it would be of the Grym-brothers-get-their-butts-often-and-repeatedly-kicked-beaten-and-bruised variety. I don’t even have my characters carry a gun. Instead, Thane carries only a taser.

As I started writing the series I realized that it wasn’t the mythology of the grim reapers that I found so interesting. In fact, as I started to hear back from readers, they agreed: It was Thane and Mort that were lynchpins of the entire series. It was their relationship with each other that drew the readers and me in.

Yes, they’re grim reapers. Yes, there’s a fascinating mythology surrounding the grim reapers(The Council of Reapers, Alpha Reapers, Stick Magic). But at the end of the day, they’re just two brothers who kind of can’t stand each other, but have to work together anyway. And, I think we all know a little something about dealing with family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Jason Krumbine is the author behind the pulse pounding, wisecracking Alex Cheradon Series, the dead soul hunting Grym Brothers Series (including Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead), and the tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance “A Graveyard Romance.”

You can visit his website at www.jasonkrumbine.com or visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasonkrumbine and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jmkwriter.

You can also email him at onestrayword@gmail.com.

The Grym Brothers Series (image links go to Amazon.com)

THE DEAD COUPLE

Jack and Cindy were a happily married couple. She was an elementary school teacher. He was an aspiring children’s book author. They had the perfect life together, until the day they decided to kill themselves.

Suicides, by their very nature, tend to head directly into the afterlife.

Jack and Cindy’s souls never arrived.

Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.

Thane and Mort Grym are two such reapers.

TWO AND A HALF DEAD MEN

People die every day.

But not all of the souls can or want to move onto the afterlife.

That’s where the brothers Thane and Mort Grym come in.

Thane and Mort are bounty hunters for dead souls. They inherited the job from their father and they’re two of the best in town.

But when there’s a double homicide at the Kirkland Motel the Grym brothers end up with more than they bargained for. In a world without vampires, zombies or the undead, one of their bounties might not be as dead as he’s supposed to be.

BETTER OFF DEAD

They say dead men tell no tales, but that’s just because they’ve never worked as a Grim Reaper.

Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.

Lori Standford’s mother died six months ago. Now she’s back, haunting Lori out of her home. Lori turns to her close friend, Emma Grym, mother of Thane and Mort Grym, for help.

Now Thane and Mort find themselves embroiled in a mystery of dead men that stretches all the way to the top.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

Join Jason Krumbine at the Pump Up Your Book Live! November Author Chat / Book Giveaway Party on Friday, November 18 starting at8 p.m. eastern!

Jason will be giving away three e-copies of his books in The Grym Brothers Series!  You could win a copy of Two and a Half Dead, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead simply by attending the  chat and asking Jason a question.  All there is to it!

For details on chat, visit the official chat page for the November authors at Pump Up Your Book Live!