Author Spotlight: Scott Hunter

Scott Hunter is the author of "Trespass" a fast-paced archaeology thriller. This book will be the next review on this blog. But first, more about the author.

Scott Hunter was born in Romford, Essex in 1956. He now lives in Berkshire with his wife, two youngest children and Archie, his Cocker Spaniel. He is a committed Christian (Scott, not Archie) and is actively involved in his local church in Reading.

Scott is a writer of Crime, Historical and Children’s novels. He won first prize in the Sunday Express Short Story Competition for his historical entry set during the English Civil War, and was long listed for the Times/Chicken House Children’s Novel Competition for “The Ley Lines of Lushbury”.

Scott divides his time between writing, IT contract work and drumming with the Steve Summers Band.

Other books by Scott Hunter:

Rattle and Drum

The Serpent and the Slave

Lines of Lushbury

Black December

You can find out more about Scott Hunter at:

http://www.scott-hunter.net/

http://scotthunterbooks.wordpress.com/

Feature and Follow Blog Hop #3

What Its All About!

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me. 

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Starchild: The City of Souls (Book 2)

by Vacen Taylor

In The Age of Akra, a pilgrimage to the Valley of a Thousand Thoughts brings together four children as an ancient prophecy is set in motion. Having triumphed against dangerous adversaries, Mai, Long, Akra and Sahib are now pursued by the melkarie and must escape to the City of Souls. In the land of Naroan, in a city hidden under a blanket of living green, they are confronted with the challenge to find the Singing Soul.

But the underworld has other plans, and a beast so fierce is conjured to stop the children from finding anything that will add to the power to the prophecy of the seven nations.

Website * Pre-order * Goodreads

Author Vacen Taylor

Vacen Taylor is an author, writer, storyteller, occasional artist and amateur photographer. She describes her writing as a basic prose style with the occasional splash of creative penning. She collects comics and loves superheroes, anime and science.

Facebook * Twitter

Giveaway Details

$10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Open Internationally

Ends 9/8/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the publisher. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

*An additional $10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash is available to anyone who shares this giveaway on their blog by 9/8/13. See link in the rafflecopter form.

Book Review: Day of the Elephants

Day of the Elephants

Ron Swager & Ed Chinn

Smith Publicity -- Reel Marketing Systems, LLCPub Date   Jul 10 2013

ISBN 9780615827773

Amazon Synopsis:

Try to imagine that you are an eight-year-old boy living a village life of peace, safety, and familial love. But, suddenly, you are caught in the explosion of death. In an instant, everything familiar is destroyed. You leave your childhood forever. For the next twenty years, you see the darkest possibilities of humanity. And then, you touch the majestic beauty and grace that triumph over the darkness. This is a story you won't forget.

My Thoughts:

The Day of the Elephants has nothing to do with the large animal with four legs and a trunk. The elephant is a metaphor for terrorists, whether they be those who bring about terror and death to a nation, or a more “civilized” form of terrorist – physical, financial, relational, vocational or other issue which attempts to devastate an individual. From the outset of the book Swager and Chinn make it clear that the story of Roland Deah is a parallel for each of us as we face our own issues that knock us down. As Roland never gave up, so we must never give up. Swager and Chinn use Scripture throughout the book to help illustrate their thoughts.

Swager and Chinn do a reasonable job of narrating Roland’s story, one of brutality and horror without going into too much detail. They tell of child soldiers as young as 3 years old and the horrific acts used to recruit them. They tell Roland’s story as he travels through Liberia, across the Cavalla River into the Ivory Coast to a makeshift refugee camp at Guiglo.

In the middle of Roland’s story, Swager takes a detour and tells of his heart attack. He compares this “elephant” to Roland’s “elephant”. He then carries on to the conclusion of Roland’s story telling how Roland came to live in in the United States.

I found this story to be very educational about what goes on in other countries. I can’t say that I “enjoyed” this book, as the topic is not “enjoyable”. It is a story that needs to be read because we need to know what happens elsewhere in our world so that we can do something about it.

I found that Swager’s telling of his heart attack as a parallel “elephant” was just not on the same level as Roland Deah’s experience. It was trivial by comparison. However, I understand why he included it. This book was intended to tell Roland’s story and to remind each of us that we can overcome whatever we have to face.

I gave this book 3 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Book Trailer: Day of rhe Elephants

Have you ever felt like you were in over your head? I do. I keep learning new things about blogging, and I thought I had adding videos down pat. After all, I did already successfully add a video to a previous post. But that is not the case today. It makes my head hurt! Oh well, Rome was not conquered in a day, and I guess blogging isn't either.

I was hoping to add the trailer to the book "Day of the Elephants" by Ron Swager and Ed Chinn, but I was not able to locate it with the "insert a video" button. I was able to locate the trailer on YouTube itself, but absolutely no success in getting onto my blog.

If you would like to see the book trailer, you will have to visit the author's webpage for the trailer. Click here to get to the website.

Author Spotlight: Ron Swager and Ed Chinn

Today we have two authors to spotlight. They are the authors of The Day of the Elephants. This is the true story of a young African boy and his escape from death when his village is massacred.

Ron Swager

Ron Swager is a businessman who has been involved in a variety of businesses as both employee and owner. He has written marketing plans,  business plans, and sales training manuals.” Day of the Elephants” is his first published literary work.

He enjoys golf, fly fishing  and competitive gin rummy.

To find out more about Ron, visit www.dayoftheelephants.com You can also find Ron on

GoodReads.

Ed Chinn

Ed Chin began writing in 1997. Since then he has authored newspaper and website columns as well as having ghostwritten several books.

Ed has authored three books: Footprints in the Sea, New Eyes for a New World and Day of the Elephants.

 He is the owner of the Cook River Pub, a book publishing company that works mainly with new authors. To find out more about Ed or his publishing company, visit http://coolriverpub.com

Feature and Follow #2

What Its All About!

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me. 

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

This Week's Question

Book Selfie! Snap a picture of you and your current read. 

Join the Fun

and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!\

Book Review: Jenny Rat

Jenny Rat
by Martin Simons
Bookmasters, Inc.
Publication Date: Jan. 8, 2013


Amazon Synopsis:

"Jenny, a young girl who has been sexually abused since childhood and now brutally assaulted, has been reduced to utter despair. She is saved by a reclusive, shy young man, Michael, twenty eight years old, who stumbles across her dying in the gutter outside his isolated house. He is a brilliant consultant engineer who works from home with his computers, rarely venturing outside. Profoundly shocked he gets her to hospital and visits her there as she struggles to recover. Mentally she is shattered. He is greatly shaken by the intrusion into his settled life but, full of compassion cannot abandon her.


She recognizes in him a hope of refuge and determines to live with him. He welcomes her. They pretend to be sister and brother but this cannot last.She has great talents as a sculptor. He encourages her, providing tools and materials as she grows, constructs and reconstructs her works and her life. She begins to chip at him as she shapes her art. He is compelled to
expand outside his self-imposed solitude. She attends school and brings friends to the house. A crisis develops which they overcome with difficulty.They become lovers.


As they both continue to develop and grow, their relationship alters. At first he was the stronger, advising her to take control of her own life. She discovers in herself the power to do so and knows she is responsible for changing him too. As they grow further, more changes must be faced."


My Thoughts:

I rarely give up reading a book, but this one I just couldn't get through. I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion in a review. When I couldn't finish it, I debated whether or not to write the review, but ultimately decided to do so as per the arrangement.

I did read several chapters (approximately 20% of the book )and found it to be very repetitive and slow moving. There was some foul language in it that I felt was quite unnecessary to the plot.  The premises of the book is an interesting concept however. For me, this book was a bust. It is also very definitely adult fiction. 

I give this book one star.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Book Review: Cities at Sea

by Martin Simons

Publication Date: October 15, 2012

Bookmasters, Inc.

ISBN: 9780987414311

Synopsis:

Cities at Sea is set 1000 years in the future, a time when the world is mostly covered with water, and cities have been built on huge rafts which float upon the seas.

Sal, who lives on the Sydney raft, visits Shanghai, the largest raft of all, hoping to locate Jezzy, a genetic scientist who has been doing research into genetically altering humans to give them gills. Sal wants to be like a mermaid, free to roam the oceans.

Sal eventually moves to live in Jezzy’s laboratory on the Shanghai raft and undergoes the process of genetic modification, becoming one of Jezzy’s “sea sprites”. Acceptance of this genetic change is met with great opposition from the general population and so Jezzy and her sea sprites break off their section of the Shanghai raft and float away.

As the modified humans raft is not equipped with all the necessary equipment and structural soundness to travel the oceans safely, it becomes damaged. Jezzy and the crew, with Sal playing an important role work to rescue themselves.

My Thoughts:

Cities at Sea was an interesting and imaginative look into the future at what the world might be like after the seas rise due to global warming. The world’s issues of racial discrimination, poverty, disabilities have been solved. Everyone has the same skin colour, everyone has a job and contribution to make to society, disabilities and disfigurement can be repaired. There is no crime as the penalty for such is marooning of the offender, which is tantamount to a death sentence. Life is regulated and routine

The scientist Jezzy changes Sal into a new species, capable of reproducing offspring like themselves - human, but amphibian - able to live both in the water and on land. She does this by finding people who have some latent genetic information that can be stimulated to cause ears to change back into gills.   This could only be believable if one believes in evolution. That is the purpose of fantasy though, isn't it - to create worlds where things can happen that are not possible in the real world. It is a very intriguing idea to think that humans could be genetically modified in order to allow humans to breathe under water. It  would certainly be one possible solution for global warming.

Martin Simons writing in this novel was light and entertaining. Although there were references to sexual intimacy, there were no explicit descriptions. The creates a perfect world where there are no illnesses, injuries/amputations can be repaired, poverty is nonexistent - Utopia. Yet the main characters are still looking for something. I think this is a statement about humanity. No matter what we have, there is always something more that we are searching for.

The solution that the characters come up with for the sinking raft problem opens the doors at the end of the book to a possible sequel. 

I gave this book a rating of 3 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Author Spotlight: Martin Simons

This week I will be reviewing Martin Simons' novels, "Cities at Sea" and "Jenny Rat". Here's a little bit about him.

 Martin Simons was born in England but now resides in Australia. He served in the British RAF and then became a teacher. He has taught at the high school and university levels.

Martin’s interests include education, aeronautics and the sport of gliding. He has been an editor and is a prolific writer. He has written numerous articles which have been published in a variety of Journals. He has also written geography textbooks, model airplane books, books on aerodynamics and two novels, Jenny Rat and Cities at Sea.

For more information on Martin Simons and his writing, visit his webpage: http://martinsimons.com.au/

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Feature and Follow Blog Hop 1

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO bloggers, Rachel of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools — keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them “hi” in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Please follow with Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin or by email.  Thanks.

Book Review: Captured in Moonlight

by Christine Lindsay
Publication Date: Feb. 14, 2013
Whitefire Publishing
ISBN: 9781939023001










Amazon Synopsis:

Prisoners to their own broken dreams...

After a daring rescue goes awry, Laine Harkness and her friend Eshana flee to the tropical south of India…and headlong into their respective pasts.

Laine takes a nursing position at a plantation in the jungle, only to discover that her former fiancé is the owner…but fun-loving Laine refuses to let Adam crush her heart like he had years ago.

Eshana, captured by her traditional uncle and forced once more into the harsh Hindu customs of mourning, doubts freedom will ever be hers again, much less the forbidden love that had begun to flower.

Amid cyclones, epidemics, and clashing faiths, will the love of the True Master give hope to these searching hearts?


My Thoughts:

Captured By Moonlight captured me right from the beginning with the kidnapping of a young temple prostitute about to give birth. This is the effort the two heroines of the story. Eshana works at a mission dedicated to helping widows and orphans. Laine is a nurse. They kidnap the young woman (actually, a 14 year old child) as she is living in deplorable conditions, is there against her will, and needs medical attention.

Lindsay's novel continued to hold my attention throughout its well-written pages with words that created visually vibrant images in my mind as I read. The characters have depth.  I wanted to shake some sense into Adam as he struggled with his sense of duty and responsibility. I applauded Eshana as she worked through her struggle of faith, keeping the Lord first and foremost in her life, trusting God to work out the details for His purpose.

Inspired by the real-life Pandita Ramabai, founder of the Mukti Mission in India, this novel has as its backdrop the Hindu social issues of child-brides and ostracization of widows and what the Christian missions did in the 1920's. The historical aspect of this novel is made more real as it includes a number of references to actual historical figures and events. It is an illuminating dip into another culture and time.

I thought that this book, although it did not win any awards as the previous book in the series "Shadowed in Silk", was even better than its predecessor. It does well as a stand-alone novel, but readers who enjoy this book will want to read the first book of the series as well as the third "Veiled at Midnight" which is due to be released in February 2014.

This book fully deserves 5 stars!

Captured by Moonlight Book Trailer

It's always nice to have a special connection to something you want to tell others about. This book, "Captured by Moonlight" by Christine Lindsay is one of those things. Christine is a long-time friend of mine and I am thrilled to be able to showcase her book on my blog. (Friendship played no influence on my opinion of the book that I will be posting shortly.)  

I have watched Christine as she gone through the many-year process that God has taken her through before she had her first book published. I know that there were times when she thought it would never happen. I am so excited for her and her success, and the ministry that God has given her not only as an author, but also as a speaker at ladies events. She has some amazing things to share. I hope you have the opportunity to hear her speak of the breath-taking things God has done in her life.

Here is the book trailer for "Captured by Moonlight", written by Christine Lindsay. On my last blog, you found out a little bit about Christine. The model for Laine on the front cover of the book and in the trailer is Christine's daughter. My husband Eric Svendsen http://www.ericspix.com/ had the privilege of taking the photographs for the cover of the book.

To find out more about Christine, her books and availability as a guest speaker, please visit her website  http://www.christinelindsay.com/

Author Spotlight

Today's author spotlight is on a local author. Christine Lindsay immigrated to Canada from Ireland when she was 4 years old. She has lived all across this country, but now resides within the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia.

Christine has three children with her husband Dave, two boys and a girl. She is also a grandmother. Adoption has a special place in Christine's heart. Before meeting her husband of over 30 years, Christine had a baby girl that she gave up for adoption. She was blessed with an opportunity to reunite with this child 20 years later. Christine and her family have a good relationship with her birth daughter.

Christine is the author of two books, "Shadowed in Silk" which has won two awards (the Grace Award 2012, and the  ACFW Gold Genesis 2009 for Historical Fiction)  and "Captured by Moonlight". These are the first two books in her series "Twilight of the British Raj". On the cover of "Shadowed in Silk" is the picture of a young woman wearing a sari. This is Christine's birth daughter.  Christine's daughter Lana - the daughter God gave her to keep - graces the cover of her second novel "Captured by Moonlight". If you would like to read the full story behind the covers of these two books, just click on this link Story Behind the Covers. The third book in the series "Veiled at Midnight" is due to be released in February 2014.

Christine is both an author and speaker. To find out more about her, check out her website:  http://www.christinelindsay.com/index.html

Book Review: The Final Conflict

The Final Conflict: A Tale of Two Witnesses

by Kenneth Zeigler

Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.

Date Published: June 18, 2013

9780768403329

Amazon Synopsis:

Darkness consumes the planet as the Great Tribulation moves into its final and most critical moments.

As history spirals towards its conclusion and creation imminently awaits the victorious return of Christ and His armies, Dr. Tom Carson, his family, and an elite resistance team rise up and engage the malevolent forces of evil in the battle of the millennium.

After establishing a secret base, Dr. Carson and his task force use supernatural technology borrowed from the saints of Heaven to declare all-out war against the beast and his false prophet.

While the resistance team cannot thwart prophetic events from unfolding, they are committed to pursuing and rescuing those whom the beast would seek to destroy—no matter what the cost.

Prepare for an action-packed, heart-pounding race against time as a group of ordinary people face off against the most diabolical forces the world has ever seen.

My Thoughts:

The Final Conflict: A Tale of Two Witnesses is the fifth and final book in the “Tears of Heaven” series written by Kenneth Ziegler. Zielger’s story is based on the spiritual principles and revelations recorded in the Bible.

Dark Angels, strange flying creatures with stinging tails, technology from Heaven, telepathic links, wormholes, particle weapons,  microchips implanted under the skin, and extreme weather conditions are all elements  that  all meld together in a spellbinding  story of the final days of earth.

 “The Final Conflict” begins after the Rapture when those who were truly ready for God’s kingdom were taken from the earth. Now is the last chance for those remaining on the earth to escape an eternity in Hell.

David Bonner, killed September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Centre returns to earth from Heaven.  Tom Carson, deceased for the past 6 years, has come back from the dead, where he was residing Hell.. Now a believer in God, Tom and David become the two witnesses prophesied in the book of Revelation.

This skillfully written story is an action-packed fantasy that brings together biblical prophecy, current events, futuristic technology, science fact and science fiction. It is sure to cause discussion and debate as Ziegler’s interpretation of the events during the end times is quite unique. One thing Ziegler makes clear in his writing though – salvation is based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and not dependent upon one’s viewpoint of the end times. This book will make you consider whether you are ready for the last days.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Author Spotlight

Kenneth Zeigler's, book "The Final Conflict: A Tale of Two Witnesses" is the upcoming book for review.

Kenneth  Ziegler has been writing stories since junior high school.

He has an avid interest in science and holds a master’s degree in chemistry with his graduate research in quantum mechanics. Ken has taught chemistry, physics and astronomy at the high school and college level. He is now teaching at the University High School in Tolleson, Arizona. He has also been a consultant for NASA on the Messenger Mercury Program.

Ken’s writing career officially began in 1997, and since then he has written the 5 books in the Tears of Heaven series. Listed below are links to find out more about these books

Heaven and Hell

The War in Heaven

The Rise of the Beast

The Children of Eternity

Ken Zeigler's newest book "Lilly of the Valley" is also available.  Here is the link to find out more about this book.

Lilly of the Valley

Can't Get Enough Books

If you are like me, books are a passion. I love to read just about everything. Of course I have my favourite genres, but other than a dry textbook, pretty much anything is up for grabs. In the past couple of years I haven't read much of anything, because paperback books were making my chronic migraines worse. However, now that I have discovered ebooks, I can read again, though perhaps not as much as before. The best thing about ebooks is that they are less expensive than paperbacks. Books range from 99 cents to just a few dollars. And if you look hard enough, there are many free ebooks available on the internet.

Since I got my iPad, I have experimented with not only reading ebooks, but also with audiobooks and podiobooks. Since I also enjoy being read to, these formats have been a real boredom breaker when my migraines won't let me read. I'm having a lot of fun discovering what's out there in the various formats and learning to hunt them down.

I'd like to hear from you what your favourite kinds of books are, where you get them and whether you read them on an e-reader, or  the paper version.

Book Review: Kiriath's Quest

By Rick Barry

Publication Date: Dec. 10, 2008

JourneyForth Books

ISBN: 9781591669050

Synopsis:

Prince Kiriath is just an ordinary guy (albeit a prince) placed in extraordinary circumstances. Rick Barry calls him a reluctant hero.

For generations, the Grishnaki have tried to destroy the people of Shiralla. But never have the they penetrated so deeply into Shiralla territory in great numbers. Then, one morning when King Jekoniah and Prince Kiriath are out for an early morning ride, they are ambushed by a large number of Grishnaki warriors. King Jekoniah is kidnapped, and Prince Kiriath is left for dead.

Thus begins the extraordinary circumstances that make Prince Kiriath into a reluctant hero. The Grishnaki send word that they are holding King Jekoniah for ransom. But the price of the ransom is too high as it will eventually lead to the total destruction of the people of Shiralla. Kiriath sets out rescue his father from the Grishnaki valley.

My Thoughts:

Kiriath’s Quest is full of adventure and action. Facing danger each step of the way, Kiriath sneaks into the valley to save his father. Rick Barry’s writing is smooth and flowing. He holds the reader’s attention and keeps him on the edge of his seat. This novel, written for the teen/young adult audience is well written. I like the use of creatures and objects that can only be found in a book of fantasy. Rick sets the imagination soaring.

The people of Shiralla maintain their standards of integrity while satisfying justice as they deal with those who wish to exterminate them. Kiriath’s Quest makes you think about how you or I might handle situations where we can choose vengeance or mercy. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.