Thursday, May 31, 2012

Guest Post with author L.M. Pruitt


Will You Still Love Me…In The Next Book?

Keeping the Romance Active Throughout a Series




Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb. Jeanine Frost. Charlaine Harris. What do these three ladies have in common? Besides being amazing writers and even more amazing individuals (seriously, do you ever hear a mean thing about one of them? Because I don’t.), they all have the enviable skill of keeping their main characters romantic lives both active and applicable through the arc of an entire series.

Roberts/Robb has so many book titles I couldn’t even begin to list them all. One of her most popular by far is the In Death series featuring Eve Dallas and Roarke. The setting may be futuristic and the crux of the action may be said to be police procedural, but the core of the books is the relationship between Eve and Roarke. These are two troubled individuals who through the most random of circumstances find each other and fall in love. But Roberts/Robb doesn’t end the story there. Through the course of the series she shows us what happens after the “I do”, both the good and the bad. Problems don’t disappear after you get your happily ever after, and it’s Eve and Roarke’s commitment to working through their problems that keeps their relationship both realistic and romantic.

DVD Review - Grimm's Snow White

It seems like the old Grimm’s fairy tales are becoming popular again thanks to the television series Once Upon A Time, and of course the lackluster comedy Mirror, Mirror and the dark Snow White and the Huntsman. Early this year The ASYLUM brought out their own titled Grimm’s Snow White to DVD starring Eliza Bennett (Inkheart), Jamie Thomas King, and Jane March on a much lower budget.

    The plot follows the basic Snow White formula, but there are a number of differences. After Snow's father is eaten by a lizard-dragon, Prince Alexander arrives shortly after and offers to marry the now widowed Queen Gwendolyn. After rejecting his offer (for now), the Prince meets the beautiful Snow White and he instantly falls for her. Meanwhile, the Queen’s mirror tells her that Snow is fairer than her, therefore she sends her huntsman to take Snow into the forest and murder her.

    Snow is rescued by elves. The huntsman is forced to kill an innocent man and brings his heart to the Queen, telling her it belongs to her stepdaughter. The Prince is heartbroken, while the Queen is thrilled as her plan to rule the kingdom is unfolding, which includes destroying the elves and taking their magic. The magical elves are the dwarfs in this tale, and they take the poor Snow into their home.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Guest Post with author Lisa Kessler

 


The Night Owl Brigade

Hi everyone –

Thanks for having on the blog today! Can I admit I don’t drink coffee? LOL

But I do write into the wee hours of the night! (or is it morning?) I’m a card carrying member of the Night Owl Brigade. You know the ones. Those writers who stay up way too late crafting their books and posting on Twitter.

In my defense though, I have a tough time getting my creative juices flowing during the day. I don’t know if it’s the sun or what, but the ideas just don’t start flowing for me until it’s dark outside. So maybe it’s not a coincidence that my Night Walkers are dead until the sun goes down, right? 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Guest Post - Gus Pelagatti, author of “The Wicked Wives”





The Wicked Wives, is a noir suspense thriller of historical fiction:  murder, betrayal, court room drama, love and lust based on the true story of the 1938 poison scandals in Philadelphia. 

When I was eight years old, I overheard adults in our South Philadelphia neighborhood discussing seventeen disenchanted and unfaithful neighborhood wives who allegedly murdered their husbands for insurance money. This was a fascinating topic for an 8 year- old boy eavesdropping on adult conversation. People were discussing the true story of Philadelphia’s  infamous 1938 poison murder conspiracy scandals.  My fascination led to obsession as I grew older, and I knew that I had to write about these women, their lovers and their husbands.

The setting of The Wicked Wives takes place when the times were marred by the Great Depression and the prelude to World War II, and is largely confined to the City of Philadelphia. At 293 pages, the novel is equal parts murder, suspense, love, lust, corruption, treachery and intriguing court suspense leading to a dynamic ending.

DVD Review - The Secret World of Arrietty

The Secret World of Arrietty is a 2010 animated Japanese film based on the award winning novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton. It was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and produced by Studio Ghibli. After a successful run in Japan, and winning the Animation of the Year Award at the 34 Japan Academy Price, it was released in the Untied States by Walt Disney Pictures in early 2012. Disney’s release had an American dub with the voices of Bridgit Mendler, David Henrie, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett.

A boy named Shawn is sent to live with his great aunt Jessica’s, the same house his mother had grew up in. Shawn’s parents are busy with work and don’t have the time to take care him. He is going to have  heart in a few weeks and needs to rest. His mother told him about the little people who live in the walls, of course Shawn thinks it was just a story, but he was wrong.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Review - House of Night: Legacy

HOUSE OF NIGHT: LEGACY
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics 
PUB DATE: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 9781595829627 
AUTHORS: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian
CONTRIBUTORS:  Daniel Krall, Dan Jackson, Eric Canete, Joelle Jones, Jonathan Case, Joshua Covey, Kari Kerschi, Ryan Hill, and Steve Morris



    House of Night: Legacy is set between the first novels Marked and Betrayed, and contains the first five issues: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spirit. Zoey Redbird is a fledging (a future vampyr), but she is different than the others as her mark is filled in, as she is destined to lead the Daughters of Darkness even though she just wants to be a normal teen. With the help of her friends and with the guidance of Nyx, she has to learn about the five elements - earth, air, water, fire, and spirit. And in the process she learns a few life lessons.

DVD Review - Dark Shadows: The Revival

After a heavy advertising campaign, NBC aired the reboot of the 1966-1971 Dark Shadows soap opera in January 1991, but only this time it was aired in primetime instead of daytime. The series followed the basic plot of the original with Victoria Winters (played by Joanna Going) traveling on a train to Collinsport where she has taken a job as governess at the Collinwoods. She’s really there to take care of David (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who claims to see ghosts at the “old house.” While this is happening, Willie Loomis breaks into a crypt looking for jewels, but instead he releases the vampire cursed Barnabas Collins (played by Ben Cross).

    Barnabas makes Willie is servant. Then he quickly introduces himself to the Collins as a cousin from England, in which the family gives him the “old house.” When Barnabas sees Victoria, he wonders if she is the reincarnation of his lost love Josette Du Pres. This here is a major change as in the original Maggie Evans was the look-alike for Josette. Barnabas peruses a relationship with Victoria.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

DVD Review - One For The Money

*Note - I have never read any of the books in this series, so I am reviewing the DVD as is.

Based on the fist Stephanie Plum novel, published in 1994, by bestselling author Janet Evanovich, Katherine Heigl steps into Plum's shoes as her life has been turned upside down when she become unemployed. With nowhere else to turn to, she takes a job at her cousin Vinnie's Bail Bond as a bail enforcement agent, aka a bounty hunter.

Her first assignment is to bring in a former vice cop Joe Morelli, who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend from high school. And she might have tried to hit him with a car. She is determined to bring him in, but in the process she stumbles upon the real killer.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Review: Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan

Sam Hopkins is not a popular kid and being the son of a preacher does not help him out any. He spends his afternoons trying to get home without being beat up by a group of juvenile delinquents - Jeff Winger, Ed Polanski, and Harry Mac. Then one afternoon Sam had had enough and fought back. To his surprise, they liked the violent side of him and welcomed Sam into their group, where they taught him how to hotwire a car, steal, and other non-church like things. Sam knew what he was doing was wrong, but he now had friends.

There is an eccentric young girl named Jennifer, who is shy, talks to herself at times, and sometimes mentions about the bugs in her mind. Being outsider she is targeted by Jeff, Ed, and Harry Mac, which results in Sam defending the girl and dishonoring his friends at the same time. After recovering from a violent assault from them, Sam is visited Jennifer. She tells him of the devilish demons that she hears in her mind that they are going to bring death.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Guest Post with author Marie Bilodeau



I knew this blog tour was worthwhile when it made me discover this blog. Seriously. I *love* caffeine.  I *love* writing.  And now, I *love* this blog.

So, to make it fitting, I thought I would disclaim, nay, confess, how caffeine supported me in writing Destiny’s Fall.

Destiny’s Fall is the second in a series.  Its prequel did well and won some awards (yay!) and got nice reviews (double yay!), and I hadn’t intended to write a sequel (um, yay?)  But I was glad to do so, and find all of my old friends again, even though they hated me for what I put them through in book one.  Whatever – they don’t get a vote.

I started writing Destiny’s Fall in the not-yet-decent hours of morning, enjoying a lovely cup of hazelnut coffee as I collapsed spaceports, tore families apart and collided galaxies.  The coffee did its best, but winter set in.  I live in Canada’s capital city, which is nested in a valley.  It gets cold, and it gets so humid ice forms in your marrow.  I’d sit at my little coffee shop in the mornings and shiver as I drank my coffee, but it was no longer enough.

G.I. Joe Retaliation Delayed

For some odd reason Paramount pulled their upcoming G.I. Joe Retaliation with stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Joseph Mazzello, Ray Park, and Walton Goggins from the original June 29th 2012 to March 29th, 2013. They are planning on converting the movie into 3D. Why can't Hollywood learn that movies don't look great after they have been converted. If they had filmed in the movie originally with 3D cameras, maybe that would have been alright, but I am not a fan of 3D movies. What was the purpose of releasing the first trailer during the Super Bowl? What about the soon to be released line of Hasbro toys? Or the new DVD releases of the animated series?

With the major flop of the bloated Battleship, I would say Paramount is scared of another one. Even though the first movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra did well at the box-office, it was critically panned by critics and by fans of the original cartoon. I have to admit that the Retaliation trailer looks promising and more in line with the cartoon.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Review - Golden Chariot by Chris Karlsen




Golden Chariot
AUTHOR: Chris Karlsen
PUBLISHED BY: Books to go Now
ASIN: B007KNLC02
RELEASED DATE: 2012
PAGES: 316



    Archaeologist Charlotte Dashiell is always up for a challenge, which is why she ends up at an archaeology dig of a recently found sunken ship from the Trojan War era. She is somewhat of a conspiracist with an intriguing theory about the Trojan War and being on the recovery team makes it the perfect time to find out if she is right.

    The Turkish government assigned an agent to guard the site, but is later murdered for unknown reasons, but Charlotte has her theories and the Turkish government has their own. Agent Atakan Vadim is assigned to investigate the murder with Charlotte possible being a suspect because of her connection to a private collector on the black market. As Charlotte and Atakan work together to figure out the mystery, an undeniable attraction blooms. Unknowing to them, the murders are watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to steal a rare artifact from the site.

The Friday 56 - The Earth Painter


Rules:
Grab a book, any book. 
Turn to page 56. 
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
Post it. 
Add your (url) post below in the Linky at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/.

DVD Review - Dark Shadows: Fan Favorites

After reading two Dark Shadow books and watching the previous greatest episodes collection, I ordered the Fan Favorites DVD, which is much cheaper than buying the series’ DVD volumes or the upcoming complete series. I haven't seen the remake yet and sadly it's a box office flop compared to other Tim Burton/Johnny Depp films.

For the readers that don't know what Dark Shadows is about, please let me brush you up on it. Dark Shadow aired on ABC-TV from 1966-1971 in the afternoons with a blend of Gothic romance and supernatural horror plots, which was somewhat groundbreaking for a soap opera of it's time. The ghostly plot was added about six months into the series. Afraid of cancellation, the creator Dan Curtis brought in Jonathan Frid to play the vampire cursed Barnabas Collins to increase ratings. For several years the series was a success, taking in over twenty million viewers at its peak.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Guest Post with author Rebecca Lee Smith



Some writers possess that effortless gift for weaving story lines, themes, and character studies together in just the right way, until a plot emerges fully developed. Like magic. Some writers can do this without breaking a sweat.

For me, plotting a novel is like pulling teeth, only not nearly so pleasant. When I have a tooth extracted, a good dentist (unless he’s Dr. Scrivello from Little Shop of Horrors) will shoot me full of Novocain to ease the pain. No one shows up with a feel-good hypodermic when I’m stuck in the weeds with great people, a wonderful setting, and no plot. Plotting is a tricky business when you’re writing a mystery. The suspects must have a reason for the reader to suspect them, the clues must be legitimate, red herrings must be planted to keep the reader guessing, and it all has to make sense in the end. Throw a believable romance into the mix, where the hero and heroine have internal and external conflicts they must resolve while falling in love, staying alive, and solving a crime, and you have a bloody nightmare. Or, at the least, a fairly intense six months of pounding your head against the keyboard.

Developing a plot is not easy for a writer (me!) who is a hybrid, that weird combination of a plotter and a pantser. I’m never fully satisfied with either approach. Part of me longs to make neat color coded charts and graphs instead of a shuffling through a pile of notes scribbled on scraps of paper. The other part wishes I could sit in front of the computer screen and let my imagination soar by the seat of its pants from beginning to end. But that, of course, would take forever, so I end up doing an odd combination of both.

Review - Angel & Faith Volume 1: Live Through This

ANGEL & FAITH VOLUME 1: LIVE THROUGH THIS
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PUB DATE: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 9781595828873 
AUTHOR: Christos Gage
CONTRIBUTORS: Dan Jackson, Phil Noto, Rebekah Isaac, and Steve Morris


The Angel & Faith comic book series takes place during the Season 9 Buffyverse, where the renegade slayer Faith is helping Angel recuperate his way back to being good after being possessed by the “Twilight” during the season 8 comic book storyline, in which all magic was destroyed. Faith inherited Rupert Giles’s estate along with the watcher’s files after he was murdered by Angel. In the four part issue Live Through This, after defeating a demon that Giles once fought, Angel starts having visions of Giles and Jenny Calendar, whom both died by his hands. Feeling regret, Angel looks for away to bring Giles back and to make amends to the others that he hurt when he was “Twilight.”

    This series is set in London, where Angel is trying to clean up the streets by fighting the local demons with the help of Faith when she isn’t busy partying. Angel searches for Mohra blood in hope that he can reanimate Giles’s body. They are introduced to two new villains Nash and Pearl who are taking advantage of the no magic Earth.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Guest Post - Comparing The Myths And Facts Of The Human Soul

Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, here are five myths and facts about the human soul that will certainly make you stop and think.


1. Part Of A Whole

Myth- Whether a person believes in a God, the big bang theory or mythology it is believed that every soul is only a small part of the whole from one “supreme “source. As the soul matures it develops its own self-identity (the ego) and forgets about the “source” from which it was created.

Fact- Scientifically speaking, every human being is a part of a whole through childbirth. For any living thing to reproduce, a part of the original whether it is plant, animal or human must be used. Mathematically that makes it a fraction or piece of the whole and genetics will always link the new part through DNA to the original being.

ARC Review - Adventures into the Unknown! Archives Volume 1

TITLE: Adventures into the Unknown! Archives Volume 1 
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PUB DATE: June 6, 2012
ISBN:  9781595829306
AUTHORS: Edvard Moritz, King Ward, Mac Elkan 
CONTRIBUTORS:  Al Feldstein, Al Ulmer, Bruce Jones, Fred Guardineer, Leonard Starr, Paul Reinman


Back in the 1940s a comic titled Adventures into the Unknown! hit the stands. It was published by B&I Publishing (aka American Comics Group) and was one of the earliest horror comics. The stories were more traditional and stayed away from the blood/gore horror of today, and relied more upon ghost stories and gothic novels which eventually became a popular series. Just like other comics, Adventures into the Unknown! was criticized for its violence, but it (unlike others) survived the Senate of Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings of 1954. The series eventually ended in 1967 after 174 issues.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Review - Fezariu's Epiphany by David M. Brown


Fezariu's Epiphany
AUTHOR: David M. Brown
PUBLISHED BY: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1456500597
RELEASED DATE: 2011
PAGES: 386


    In this dark fantasy novel, tells the tale of a young man, Fezariu, whose mother was a prostitute. Until the age of twelve he believed that his mother was dead, when actually she was working in a popular brothel. Their reunion was nothing but a disaster as she rejected, making Fezariu to make a life changing decision of becoming one of the Merelax Mercenaries. Years later a mission requires him to return to his home town where he learns the real reason why his mother wanted nothing to do with. Fueling with rage, he wants nothing other than revenge.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

DVD Review - Gilmore Girls The Complete Second Season

After becoming addictive to watching reruns on ABC Family and Soap.net, I stumbled upon the Gilmore Girls season one and two bundled together for under twenty dollars at a Target Store. After quickly going through the first season, a few days later I started watching the second season. A week went by and I had finished watching it. I realized that the series was aimed for a female audience, but for some reason it clicked with me, mostly because I caught Lorelai and Rory constantly drinking coffee, and I have always liked Lauren Graham ever since I saw her in Bad Santa.

Season 2 picks up where the first season finale ended, with Lorelai finally saying "yes" to Max's marriage proposal and Rory starts up her relationship with Dean again. I found it odd that the first few episodes are set during the summer, as in most TV series the start of season takes place three months later, where the kids are going back to school. The first three episodes involve planning for the upcoming wedding, which never really happens as Lorelai calls it off. The following episode has Rory and her on a road trip to visit Harvard; well it was more like crashing and is my favorite episode now. Lorelai's love life is ignored through most of the season besides from a few scenes with Rory's father who ends up going nowhere. Rory's love life is the man focus as she is torn between her sweetheart Dean and Luke's troubled nephew Jess.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

DVD Review - The Witches of Oz



I caught a few minutes of the second part of The Witches of Oz on an Encore channel the other day, where I saw a taxi floating in the air inside of a bubble while the wicked witch and her monkeys are causing chaos in the streets of New York. The scene caught my interest, but I had to leave at the time and the movie wasn’t going to be on again. Luckily, I happened to stumble upon it for under ten dollars and of course I had to buy it. Little did I know that the movie was 164 minutes! After a little googling, I found out it was original intended as a mini-series, but ended up being cut down to 100 minutes with 15 minutes of new special effects added and released to a limited (very limited) run in theaters earlier this year. Why in the world would they send the longer version to DVD and to Encore?

The Witches of Oz is set in our time and involves twenty-something Dorothy Gale getting a publishing contract for her OZ children stories; therefore she leaves her family farm and heads to New York. As strange situations occur, Dorothy’s memory slowly returns and so do the evil Wicked Witch and her followers (Princess Langwidere, Nome King, an army of Winked Monkeys and a powerful dragon.). Soon Dorothy’s friends from Oz return too, including Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Frick & Frack, the good witches, and Oz himself, as they try to help her defeat the wicked witch once and for all.

Review - Dollhouse Volume 1: Epitaphs

Dollhouse Volume 1: Epitaphs

PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PUB DATE: April 11, 2012
ISBN: 9781595828637 
AUTHORS: Andrew Chambliss, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
CONTRIBUTORS: Andy Owens, Cliff Richards, Michelle Madsen, and Phil Noto

I only got a chance to watch few a episodes of Dollhouse during it’s original run, so I was quite interested in Epitaphs which takes place between the series episodes Epitaph One and Epitaph Two: Return, which were both set in the year 2020

Set in the future, where most of the population has been brainwashed by mental virus delivered through phones. In the process your entire memories are wiped out, but you are reprogrammed to be zombie-mindless killers. A small band of survivors are trying to undone the damage that has been done.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Guest Post & Giveaway with author Kristine Cayne





Hello Everyone! I’m excited to be here today at the Coffee Addicted Writer’s blog. I have the pleasure of sharing with you and interview I did with Rémi Whitedeer and Alyssa Morgan, the hero and heroine of Deadly Addiction, the latest book in my Deadly Vices romantic suspense series. Rémi and Alyssa were unusually candid in responding to my questions, and I think you will enjoy this unique view into their world. 
 
KC: What is your guilty pleasure?

Rémi: Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” – “Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans” – I can’t stop singing it!

Alyssa: [laughs] I love the Sang-Froid sloches from the dépanneur. 
 
Rémi: That’s cause you’re ice-cold, baby.

Alyssa: Stop! Now I’m thinking about Vanilla Ice.

Rémi: [singing] Ice, ice baby. All right stop, collaborate and listen!

Alyssa: [covers ears] Please, I beg you.

KC: If this book was made into a movie, who would play you?

Rémi: I don’t know who’d play me, but Katherine Heigl could play Alyssa.

Alyssa: You really think so? I’m flattered. As for you, Adam Beach, back when he was in Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale
 
KC: What movie title best describes your sex life?

Rémi: Goin’ South [winks]

Alyssa: Goldfinger [laughs]

The Friday 56 - Golden Chariot


Rules:
Grab a book, any book. 
Turn to page 56. 
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
Post it. 
Add your (url) post below in the Linky at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Guest Post with author K. Reed




Any topic I want? Cool. Let’s talk Regency.

The Regency era has been romanticized. How could it not be with their need for grand balls and beautiful gowns all in order to make the proper match? Chaperones closely observed their charges as they walked along the promenade in their best day gowns. Curricle rides and handsome rakes sped through small hamlets. It was where society ruled, and rules ruled society.

But what happens when the world you know changes dramatically?

I want to thank Billy for hosting me today and allowing me to introduce you to the world I created in Dark Inheritance: Fallen Empire.

Dark Inheritance inhabits a world where funeral pyres dot the countryside and a plague has decimated the populace. Those who are left suffer riots, starvation, and highwaymen in order to survive. As you can probably tell, Dark Inheritance is an alternate history Regency romance.
Grayson, Baron Harwich, has lost his family but has managed to retain a semblance of order on his estate and the village he’s absorbed into it. The England he once knew has changed—it’s become feral. To guard against it, he’s forced to build a barricade around his land and assign sentries to protect his home soil. An action he never envisioned he’d need to take against Englishmen.


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Review - Wish You Were Here by Beth K. Vogt




You would think Allison Denman would be happy on her wedding day, but she isn’t, she even hates the wedding dress she has on. Just five days before the wedding she had kissed her soon-to-be brother-in-law, Daniel. And before her wedding day could start, she leaves her no-to-be groom waiting at the alter. Kissing David had been her wake up call. She always wanted to be married, but not to be married just for the sake of it.

Allison is a Christian and she wants to be true to her faith. She believes God has a plan for her and it may just be out of her normal comfort zone.

Review - How to Apologize to Your Woman



How To Apologize To Your Woman
AUTHOR: Karen Field Bolek
PUBLISHED BY: Bolekian Perspective Publishing
ISBN: 9780983364603
RELEASED DATE: 2011
PAGES: 219




There is not one man in the world that understands what a woman is thinking, let alone how to apologize to her when you have done something wrong. Author Karen Field Bolek has written an interesting book titled How to Apologize to Your Woman . . . So that she won’t use it against you in the future to help us men to apologize. She shows the reader how to use simple step-by-step methods for delivering a thoughtful apology, so no more lying, just be honest. To give a meaningful apology you have to really mean and feel what you are saying. You must also understand what you are apologizing for. Also taking in consideration your wife’s/girlfriend are feeling about what you said or done to cause the difficult situation in the first place.

Review - Purr-fect Recipes for a Healthy Cat


Purr-fect Recipes for a Healthy Cat
AUTHOR: Lisa Shiroff
PUBLISHED BY: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN: 978-1601383983
RELEASED DATE: 2011
PAGES: 288


  



    I am a cat lover, so when I saw the title Purr-fect Recipes for a Healthy Cat: 101 Natural Cat Food & Treat Recipes to Make Your Cat Happy, I had to review it. Author and fellow animal lover Lisa Shiroff takes you through the basics, which provides great information for new cat owners, like what a healthy cat looks like; a cat’s natural diet; cat friendly foods; and foods that are dangerous. You’ll also get a brush up on the current trends of the commercial pet food industry, where you’ll learn what and what not to buy for your cat.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

DVD Review - Gadget Boy's Adventure in History: Stopping Evil Across Time


Gadget Boy's Adventure in History came in a DVD giveaway package I won a few months ago. I remember watching the original Inspector Gadget back in the 80s and I loved the silly concept. In this spinoff that aired for two seasons from 1995-1998, Gadget Boy is a child with the personality like Inspector Gadget, and also has many gadgets and an extendable arms and legs. Gadget Boy is aided by Agent Heather, similar to Penny on the original series. There is no Brain here, but instead there is robotic dog named G-9. And there is no Dr. Claw, but instead the villain is Spydra, who wears a pink mask and has six arms. Along with Spydra are her minion twin brothers Mulch and Hummus, and her pet vulture Boris.

Review - The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers



The Charlatan’s Boy
AUTHOR: Jonathan Rogers
PUBLISHED BY: WaterBrook Press
ISBN: 978-0-307-45822-3
RELEASED DATE: 2010
PAGES: 310


    Grady is an uneducated 12-year-old orphan who is caring, innocent, and generally a nice person, but he is not particularly good looking. With no family to love, he travels the countryside with a con artist named Floyd. Together they work as a team to swindle wages from the town folks by using a variety of schemes, such as Grady performing as “The Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp.”

    Floyd knows all the tricks of their trades, and with Grady’s help, they plan to create a Great Feechie Scare, hoping they will get rich. After a life of being a liar and a fraud, young Grady starts to wonder what kind of a person he is becoming.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Review - Calico Joe by John Grisham



Calico Joe
AUTHOR: John Grisham
PUBLISHED BY: Doubleday
ISBN: 978-0-385-53607
RELEASED DATE: 2012
PAGES: 198





    Unexpected Paul Tracey gets a call from his most recent stepmother who informs him that his ex-major leaguer father, Warren Tracey, is dying of cancer. His relationship with his father has been very distant since his parents divorced when he was in his early teens. Knowing that his sister doesn’t want anything to do with their father, Paul takes it upon himself to go visit him, but first he makes a quick stop to Calico Rock to try to find Joe Castle.

    In the summer 1973, the Chicago Cubs rookie Joe Castle came out of nowhere and shocked the Major League Baseball fans as he hit home run after home run. Warren Tracey followed Joe Castle vigorously, even keeping a scrapbook full a newspaper clippings and autographs, so you can say he was a big fan. Warren also was a fan of the New York Mets, as his father was a starting pitcher and a major alcoholic with some anger problems. On August 24, 1973, the Cubs were playing at the Shea Stadium with Warren as the starting pitcher. Warren was in one of his foul moods that will forever change the life of Joe Castle.

Review - Roan by Jennifer Blake

Roan
BY: Jennifer Blake
PUBLISHED BY: Severn House
ISBN: 978-0-7278-8124-3
RELEASED DATE: 2012 (Original copyright in 2000)
PAGES: 380

 After one of the suspects jumps out of a moving van and rolls down a hill, Sheriff Roan Benedict pulls out his gun and fires, only to realize that he had just shot a woman. He takes her to the hospital with the intention to charge her for robbing a local grocery store. When Tory awakens, she claims that she was a kidnapping victim, but does not know the names of the men that were in the van. Roan does not want to believe her, but he cannot exactly arrest her either.

    Two unknown men try to break into the hospital. Roan knows that Tory is no longer safe there and invites her to stay at his house until she can identify the kidnappers. Of course, Tory is not exactly telling the truth. She is running away from her evil ex-fiancée and her stepfather, who are both after her inheritance. As a romance blossoms between Roan and Tory, she wonders if she can tell him the truth. However, she may not have a choice as her ex arrives in town for her.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Guest Post with author Olivia deBelle Byrd


BOOKS AND BELLIES
by Olivia deBelle Byrd

A funny thing happened before a recent book signing of my published book Miss Hildreth Wore Brown - Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. A new library had just been built in my hometown and the library foundation had graciously asked me to do a book signing.  The event would be complete with a Southern tea and beautiful belles in antebellum dresses using the catchy theme “Books and Belles.” The Sunday before this lovely event, the announcement came out in our local newspaper, but due to a sleepy proof editor the event was billed “Books and Bellies—A Taste of the South.” The head of the library foundation immediately called with the words, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. My friend said to look on the bright side—maybe a lot of people will come just to see exactly what she is going to do!”

I assured this gracious gal that if they were expecting a belly dance they would be sorely disappointed. As I explained, “I was raised by a host of Southern women and threatened within an inch of my life if I ever showed my belly in public. I am still not over it. This belly has yet to see the light of day.”

As my birthright, I passed this on to my daughter. It is true I had to give in to bikinis, but if she were not within two inches of a beach, her belly was not to be seen. Before she left the house, I even made her perform the “belly test,” as she exasperatedly called it. She had to raise both arms so I could be sure her shirt covered every inch of her belly. If you are raised by a slew of Southern women, some lessons stick for life. Trust me on this one!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Review - The Midwife of Venice


Midwife of Venice

AUTHOR: Roberta Rich

PUBLISHED BY: Gallery Books

ISBN: 978-1-44516-5747-0

RELEASED DATE: February 2012

PAGES: 344


    Hanna Levi, a Jewish midwife, is known through Venice for helping mothers give birth by using the ‘birthing spoons’ that she designs herself. A Papal forbids any Jews to give medical treatments to Christians, which the rule has never been a problem for Hanna, until a Christian nobleman asks for her help. His wife has been in labor for days and he wants Hanna to help with his son’s birth. In exchange, he’ll pay for husband Isaac’s ransom. Isaac has been captured and forced into slavery in Malta. Hanna must go against her religion to help save her husband.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Review - Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch



Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch
BY: Lara Parker
PUBLISHED BY: Tor
PUBLISHED IN: First Mass Market Edition 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7002-0
PAGES: 336


    The now human Barnabas Collins is ready to start a new life with his fiancée Dr. Julia Hoffman, who curried him from the vampire curse set upon him by the witch Angelique. The Old House, which was mostly burnt in the previous novel, is now owned by the mysterious flower child named Antoinette, who is the split image of Angelique. Julia tells him to forget about it, but he can’t forget about all the horror the witch has put him through.

    Barnabas, along with his manservant Willie Loomis, stumbles into the reconstructed Old House and he shockingly finds that the interior is the exact duplicate, as if the fire never occurred. Now he is more than sure that Angelique has returned from the grave. Before leaving, they find a corpse with bite marks on the neck. Is there another vampire in Collinsport?

    Barnabas is determined to find out the truth, which takes him and young David Collins to Salem, where he starts to have doubts about who Antoinette is. He even starts to fall in love with her. Barnabas is soon encountered with the so-called-vampire and is bitten. Now to save the Collins family he may have to return to his curse.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Friday 56 - The Midwife of Venice

Rules:
Grab a book, any book. 
Turn to page 56. 
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
Post it. 
Add your (url) post below in the Linky at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/.