Friday, September 1, 2017

Book Blogger Hop: September 1st - 7th




Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML


Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews!

Do you participate in The Bloggiesta?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
  

My Answer:

No. To be completely honest, I have never heard of The Bloggiesta before this week's hop.


Linky List:

Interview & Giveaway with Marcus James


Now available to purchase on Amazon from Candiano Books is the erotic supernatural romance Rise of the Nephilim: A Blackmoore Prequel by Marcus James.


LOS ANGELES, summer of 1987.

Kathryn Blackmoore, the 26 year old heir to Blackmoore World Corp. and the future matriarch of the Blackmoore dynasty of witches has fled the haunted old monied neighborhood of South Hill in Bellingham, Washington looking to trade in a century of rumors, superstition, and her own heartache for the sun, sex, and music of the Sunset Strip.

Taking up residence in the famed and decaying Chateau Marmont hotel, Kathryn quickly finds herself in an erotic and thrilling journey into the world of Niiq, Arish, and Kuri; members of the band Nephilim, who seem to have the women of the Strip enthralled by their dark and sensuous sound. When bodies begin to turn up all over town and a mysterious and haunting figure fixates on Kathryn, she quickly learns that you can never escape your destiny.

RISE OF THE NEPHILIM is the first of a two part erotic paranormal romance/thriller revealing the beginnings of one of the most captivating characters in The Blackmoore Legacy series. It is a standalone prequel of eroticism, romance, and suspense.


The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his newest novel.


When did you become interested in storytelling?

At a young age. I remember I was in the first grade and I wrote a story about a young vampire that refused to go to sleep in his coffin and was determined to try to sleep upside down as a bat, but he couldn’t figure out how to stay as a bat long enough. I was six, so I can't imagine it was that great! When I was eleven is when it came on me quite suddenly that I could do it professionally, and that really it was the only thing I was meant to do.

What was your first book/story published?

I acquired my first literary agent at the age of nineteen for a novel called Instructions In Flesh. It didn’t go anywhere and I wish I could say that it got cannibalized into other things, but it never really did. At this time I got my first short story deal with Alyson Books (for decades they were the Knopf/Random House of LGBT publishing houses) for a story titled The Politics of Gray, for an anthology called Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Underwear and Lingerie. A year later, my first novella, Following The Kaehees was published after winning a writing competition. I was really out of the gates running from that point on.

What inspired you to write Rise of the Nephilim?

Well, I have this series, The Blackmoore Legacy (the first two books are Blackmoore and Symphony for the Devil) about this tormented and cursed family of witches, and one of the most popular characters is Kathryn Blackmoore, the central character's (Trevor Blackmoore) mother. I had been interested in both writing an erotic paranormal horror romance with a woman at the helm, as I normally write gay male main characters, and to tell the story of Kathryn as a young woman. A glimpse into the person she was when she was young, not a mother, and living her life somewhat carefree in the 1980’s, And Sunset Strip and that whole L.A. hair Metal-Gun’s n' Roses-partying scene was exactly where I knew she had been. It was a place of reinvention back then, and Kathryn was a young woman escaping a lot of stuff.

What character in Rise of the Nephilim is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

For the age and the sort of devil may care attitude I would say Kathryn is most like me. At 25/26 I was a live-by-night kind of person. I went to bars, saw bands play pretty much every night. I shopped and drank and rebelled. For the first part of my twenties I didn’t really act ‘my age' for a variety of reasons/circumstances that were going on, so I started living it up later in my twenties. There was a great exercise in freedom/adulthood that made life a sort of adventure every night.

The least like me would have to be Sheffield Burges-Kathryn's love interest and future husband in the main series (deceased)-he was simply everything I wasn’t in school. Popular, a jock, prom king, etc. I probably would have lusted after him growing up, but we are nothing alike.

What is your favorite part in Rise of the Nephilim?

I really love the first couple of chapters that take place eight years earlier in 1979. In Symphony for the Devil, it is mentioned that Kathryn was stalked by-and she later killed-a serial killer that had been named The Campus Slasher towards the end of her senior year. That whole scene is an homage to Halloween and to the Friday the 13th films. I had so much fun writing it, and it really plays like a classic slasher in your head, with witchcraft of course. I love Kathryn Blackmoore as my Final Girl. The Final Girl is such a great piece to the horror mythology, especially in slashers, and the fact that she is really the thing to be feared in the night because she’s a witch just makes it all the more awesome.

What was the hardest part to write?

Really just trying to capture the feeling and imagery of Los Angeles in the eighties. I wasn’t there. I was a toddler, so it required hours upon hours of research. I love research. I do it for all of my books, and I get obsessive with it. But this was about finding places/parties/shops etc. That don’t exist anymore. Like Scream, which was a goth party at the Embassy Hotel on the weekends. I had to track down flyers, dates of shows, who preformed on a specific night, etc. And that research for one thing took hours of combing through pictures and articles, and the comments on articles and so forth, to try to piece one chapter together. It’s important to me that if people who were there read Rise they will say “God, I remember that.” Or people who were at The Rainbow or The Whiskey will get the same feeling.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

How to Choose the Best Birthday Present for a Friend



When it comes to choosing a birthday present for a friend, it can be difficult to know where to begin. If you're going to a party to celebrate their big day, you know you need to bring something, but you may worry that it's not the right sort of item. If you're not going to a birthday party, you might want to get something nice for your friend, but don't want to put them in an awkward position. However, you shouldn't neglect your friend just because you're unsure of yourself.

First of all, think about your friend's hobbies and interests and try to get them something tangentially related. This shows that you've been paying attention to the things that matter the most to them, but it also keeps you from trying to find something in a field that you know little about. So, if they are avid golfers, get a humorous mug about golfing, but don't try to buy them the latest golf club. Similarly, if your friend loves to swim, find something clever like personalized hooded towels from a respected company like Purple Pumpkin Gifts, which they'll enjoy every time they go swimming.

An alternative to buying your friend a traditional present is to get them an experience instead. Recent studies show that people remember and value experiences more than physical gifts most of the time. Find an adventure that you can do together, or get your friend something they can enjoy alone or with family. Consider a wine-tasting trip, river rafting, or tickets to a museum exhibit your friend has been wanting to see. These are gifts that your friend will get to enjoy twice, once while given and once while used.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Wall-mounted Fireplaces: Why Electric Fireplaces Should be Your Choice


If an idea of making a fireplace part of your home has got your attention, chances are that you already worked out a few choices. However, the truth is most of them require heavy financial spending, giving up a good amount of your living space, and needing building permits.

You must be fascinated to see lifestyle magazines and TV programs hailing fire pits and fireplaces to make a living space the best area of the home. Undoubtedly, they add sophistication and elegance to any space; however, the limitations that come with traditional fires may restrict you from getting one.

A wall mounted electric fireplace, on the contrary, can prove to be a genuinely practical solution for your indoor living. In winters, these fireplaces will illuminate and heat up even those confined areas where you cannot safely install a traditional fireplace; and they will function just as well in a bigger space of your house.

In addition to these stunning patterns of electric fires, you will gain other benefits too. They are safe, hassle-free, and easy to install, and are a viable fix for all types contemporary indoor living.

You don’t have to pull apart your house

In case you are considering installing a traditional fireplace into your wall, there’s a great deal to handle. Some of the issues you will face are:

  • Cutting into the wall;
  • Re-strengthening the wall;
  • Abiding by the restrictions to ensure safe installation;
  • Weakening the structural integrity of your home;
  • Needing clearance for wood-burning fireplaces

In addition, you might have limited choices for the type of fireplace you can select, depending upon the capability of your walls to allow blows to the extent required for various inserts. Giving up on a considerable floor space is another downside of installing a traditional fireplace.

On the other hand, getting a wall-mounted electric fireplace means you will not be making irreversible structural alterations to your home. With an electric fireplace mounted on your wall, you will not only enjoy the actual heat and environment offered by electric flames, but there won’t be any permanent installation occupying your space.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Blu-ray Review



Marvel; PG-13; 136 minutes; Walmart
Available now on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD from Marvel Studios is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It's already available on Digital HD and Digital 4K Ultra HD.

Directed by James Gunn, the film stars stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Laura Haddock, with Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell.

Based on the Marvel comic books of the same name created by by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 picks up shortly after the first film, where Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Baby Groot are now known around the galaxy as the Guardians of the Galaxy. After retrieving valuable batteries from a inter-dimensional monster, the leader of the Sovereign race agrees to hand over Gamora's estranged sister Nebula. Everything goes as planned, well, until Rocket insults the Sovereign race and steals a few batteries. The Guardians barely have to time hop into their spaceship, before the Sovereign unleashes their drones upon them.

After crash landing their starship, Quill, Gamora, and Drax are rescued by Quill's long-lost father, Ego, and an alien named Mantis, who take them to his "home" planet while Rocket and Groot both stay behind to repair the starship. Well, that is until a group of Ravagers tracks them down and takes them hostage

BONUS MATERIAL (may vary by retailer):
Blu-ray:
  • The Making of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” – A four-part, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, done in the style of classic-rock album liner notes. 

  • Visionary Intro – Director James Gunn provides context on how he continues and expands the storylines of these beloved characters in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

Book Blogger Hop: August 25th - 31st




Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML


Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Maria @ A Night's Dream of Books!

Have you ever read a book written in a foreign language you might be fluent in, and then read the same book in English?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
  

My Answer:

No. All the books I own are in English.


Linky List:

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Review - Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Attack Of The Jack!

Scholastic; 152 pages; $6.99; Amazon
Now available from Scholastic is Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Attack Of The Jack! written by the bestselling author R.L. Stine.

The original Goosebumps book series debuted in 1992 with "Welcome To Dead House." The books quickly became popular with middle graders. Sixty-two titles were published between 1992-1997, before a spinoff series Goosebumps 2000 took over in 1998. The books were adapted into a low-budget live-action anthology television series that aired on FOX Kids from 1995 to 1998. Several other spinoff book series were released during the late 1990s, titled Give Yourself Goosebumps, Goosebumps Presents, Goosebumps Triple Header, and Tales To Give You Goosebumps.

The Goosebumps franchise was resurrected in 2008 with a brand-new book series called Goosebumps Horrorland. More spinoff series followed - Goosebumps Hall of Horrors, Goosebumps Most Wanted, and Goosebumps SlappyWorld.

"Attack Of The Jack!" is the second book in the Goosebumps SlappyWorld series. Unlike the other spinoffs, this series features an introduction by the #1 favorite Goosebumps villain Slappy, the ventriloquist dummy. "Attack Of The Jack" centers on twelve-year-old Violet Packer and her ten-year-old brother Shawn being sent to a little New England seaside village, Sea Urchin Cove, for the summer; where they will stay with their uncle Jim for the summer while their parents are traveling for work.

Uncle Jim, an old admiral, lives in a lighthouse with his talking cat named Celeste. While Violet and Shawn were a little nervous about staying with an uncle they barely knew, their attitudes change as they get settled into the lighthouse. They can explore the lighthouse all they want, but Uncle Jim told them never to open one specific door. Of course, Violet and Shawn get bored and open the door to the room, where they find a chest full of jack-in-the-boxes. However, what they didn't know is that the evil Captain Jack and his crew are locked up in the boxes.